One Piece: I'm Mihawk's Son

"Nice to meet you, Sir Lightning God!"

"..."

We were in a prestigious restaurant in Vesta, Shandora, surrounded by Skypeans, Shandians, and Amazonians, they enjoyed their meals we waited for ours. They worshipped me but also respected my space in public, it was a decreed law that nobody could bother me for anything other than an emergency. However, Nefertari Vivi's sudden kneeling before me caught me by surprise.

"My god, my lady. Is this woman bothering you? We can remove her from your presence."

A group of guards, wearing tactical suits and weapons crafted by me, offered to remove Vivi. I waved my hand in dismissal, "No, it's okay, she's my guest, you can retreat."

"If there is any matter that raises your concern, don't hesitate to tell us, my god. We will get it sorted."

With a slight bow, they retreated, but I knew they would be watching from the sidelines, protecting me. It didn't matter how many times I insisted I needed no protection; they still did it whenever I was in public.

"Why is she so scared? What did you tell her about me?" I asked Robin, who shrugged her shoulders.

"I just told her that you're really strong and get irritated easily, relatively short-tempered but also very merciful."

"I don't get irritated easily!"

"..."

Okay, maybe I do.

"You don't need to kneel, Vivi. It's my pleasure to meet you. I'm Veyron. Let's start over, alright?"

I used my power to levitate her back to her seat, and dinner continued. As I observed Vivi, I couldn't help but notice her resemblance to 'that' woman, a topic I planned to discuss later with Robin in private.

"Although Robin had indeed told me a thing or two about you, the last few weeks I've spent in Shandora have brightened up my spirit. I can't help but admire your political stance and prowess! The fact sky islands exist and you're their god, is amazing!"

"Eh?"

"Even now you're sharing a delicious meal with us in a public area instead of having your private lodging. You're way more humble than I thought you'd be."

Humble? That's an overstatement. It's a mixture of many factors. First off, because I'm rarely in Shandora, I hardly have any property of my own or a palace. Wyper and Gan Fall have their own, as they're the governors. Hell, even Primrose has a state to her name here. But because I rarely come here and when I do, I don't stay for long, I don't have a place to take her to have this conversation.

What I do have is a lifetime subscription to eat for free in any establishment on my islands. That's why I took her to the most prestigious place in Vesta.

"I just don't like the difference in status. I'm their God, but I want them to know I'm just another individual as they are. I shouldn't feel protected because they're here; they should feel protected because I am here."

Her eyes brightened up like stars, spooking me a bit. 

"Brilliant! If only I had this power, my home..."

Her countenance switched to one of regret and fear just as quickly. She must be very worried about Alabasta. I hope things haven't gone awry there with Robin and her overstaying just because she and I were involved for more than necessary.

"That's exactly why I am here... Robin and I had been, um, dealing with some stuff!"

"Yes, some stuff", Robin coughed with a slight blush and repeated just what I said. 

"Yes! We were busy doing some stuff... but she has told me what has been happening in Alabasta, and I'll personally take you there to sort out this issue."

"Really? Would you do that for us?"

"Yes, although I told him that we could do it on our own, he's not going to accept that excuse anymore," Robin confirmed on my behalf. That's right, I won't tolerate any excuses, especially after what happened to the girls in Dressrosa. Besides, Robin has way more enemies than Hancock.

"My Nefertari family doesn't have a way to repay this favor as of now, but we will do our best!"

"No need to be so reverent. I'll just deal with Crocodile; the rest is up to you two."

"That's more than enough! As long as you can keep that man busy-"

"We can handle the rest. I'll still help you get stronger, Vivi... that's a promise."

"Then when we finish, we can be on our way. I have to stop by the lab to check up on Sugar and Monet before leaving."

The meals were brought to us as we spoke, a set of delicious dishes made with great care and delivered by beautiful Shandian ladies who winked at me left and right. I should come here to eat more often instead of having grilled fish all the time.

We enjoyed our dinner, although I could see Vivi's visual distress. Perhaps she was thinking of the people in her kingdom who couldn't even afford a meal while here she was, dining in luxury. I put my palm on top of hers to reassure her, and only then did she start to eat.

"Do you think your little slaves escaped?" Robin chimed in.

"I know they haven't escaped."

"How?"

"No alarms have been triggered; the question is if my lab is still intact," I sighed. I left them there without trusting them, but it was the most convenient place aside from a prison.

"Leaving them aside, my mother told me about something related to a new crew."

"..."

Robin shivered a bit and looked at me with surprise.

"And she said you're going to be involved in this."

"I thought it would be our little secret. So she did tell you in the end."

"Do you want to keep secrets from me?" I frowned.

"Not at all, but you should know the saying: 'Don't let your right hand know what your left hand does.' If you know, you're bound to tell someone else, and the more the secret is known, the more variables there will be. You should know that even within the World Government organization, there aren't many branches that are aware CP0 exists. We deduce they would be more effective if their existence was even more secret. I want this to be completely hidden."

"Do you think I'm a possible leak?"

"I don't think you are, Veyron. But you're Stussy and Gion's lover. There may even be more."

"You say it like you're certain."

"I'm completely certain there will be more."

I had nothing to say about that. We both looked furtively towards Vivi, who, upon noticing our gaze, became small like a little animal, absorbing the whole conversation.

"Is that the reason why Mihawk is acting on her own now? She didn't even tell me where she went."

"I don't know either... she only told me to reunite Crocodile, and then we'd speak again. I don't know where she went... but I think it's related to Impel Down."

"Impel Down?" My brows raised, trying to think why she would be interested in Impel Down.

"Haven't you read the news? The Lion Shiki has escaped from Impel Down. I spoke to her yesterday, and she told me this would change the dynamics of the underworld. Shiki seems to be very influential."

"..."

How could I have forgotten? There was a movie related to this manga as well

! The Lion Shiki, I don't know much about him except that he was very famous during Roger's time and that he has a Devil Fruit capable of levitation. In hindsight, his powers do resemble mine a little bit. I wonder why my mother cares about that geezer.

"Aren't you worried about her?"

Robin asked me before placing a delicious piece of steak in my mouth.

"She's way more experienced and prudent than any of us, and she also knows how I am. So she's going to be way more careful to not get herself in trouble."

"We already saw what you did for Hancock," She laughed, and so did I. "Then you'd better know that I'd do that a hundred times for my mother. She knows that, so she won't get in trouble."

Let alone I'd commend anyone that actually manages to put her on the spot. Her 4th Haki is not something I can easily defeat... the only person that should exist capable of facing my mother is Imu and perhaps some old dog like Whitebeard who is no longer in his prime; there may be some among the Knights of God too.

I can't help but be eagerly expectant of what she's trying to do.

"You know I had been thinking of names for your crew."

"You were? Even though you're not part of it?"

"..."

"I'm joking, darling... of course, you can name the crew!"

'If you're joking, then why are you sweating?!' I thought, and I'm sure Vivi did too given her expression.

"We will call it Cosa Nostra!"

"Co-sa Nu-su-to-ra... what does that even mean? It sounds cool though."

"It doesn't matter what it means; this is going to be our thing."

"About that, darling... let's not do it? It sounds a bit lam- like a dark mantle to me."

I don't know what she meant by that, but I felt insulted.

"I will give you the destroyer to use as your flagship if you accept."

With little option, I had to resort to bargaining... and it worked.

"I guess from now on, our crew is called Cosa Nostra, Vivi," Robin exclaimed enthusiastically. I know she loves that ship; she even went as far as to hug Vivi, who was in the middle of her meal.

"Eh? Me too!?"