Chapter 16: Money Grab
Chapter 16
Sarah: Closing in on MockTown! Or Jaya…pretty much the same thing.
Diana: I'll make this clear. Only Kara, John, and I will be going around town to beat up some notable pirates while the rest of you protect the ship alright? I don't think we'll need to buy anything; not that they even have anything worth buying to begin with.
You know what it's like. A place without order is a place of anarchy.
Tim: Don't worry about us, we'll make sure the ship is fine. I'll even activate the Pacifista if that makes you feel better.
Diana: Actually, yes. Do that. Activate the Pacifista and let's see how many of those Pirates need to die before they realize that they're not taking our ship.
Me: Here. I brought the printed Bounties of the Pirates we think might be on the island.
As the ship docked under the shocked eyes of dozens of pirates, sis, me and John jumped off and unto the dock. Of course, we made sure to not wear our Marine coats or anything that had the Marine Symbol on it…but that didn't help much when our ship had a massive Marine emblem on the side as well as on the sails
Pirate: THE MARINES! THE MARINES ARE HERE!!
Diana: Just ignore him and walk. They'll probably back off once they know we're not here to take over the island or something.
Thug 1: Come of boys! Let's get them!!! I bet that ship has a lot of goods!
The moment he finished that sentence, his head was splattered open by Sarah who was on board. I gave her a thumbs up before we continued to walk down the streets.
Diana: I would say that some of them are in the taverns or someplace like that.
Me: Probably. Want to check?
The moment we walked into the bar, the entire place stopped what they were doing and looked at us. They were silent for a moment before…
Pirate: Marines! The Marines are here!!!
Pirate 2: Shut up you idiot! We can all see that!
Diana: Huh, looks like we aren't able to fool them just by not wearing our Marine coats. Pity, I would've liked to walk around this town a bit more. It's shabby but it reminds me of the slums a bit.
John just smiled as he cracked his fists. Looking around the bar to see if there was anyone with a sizable bounty
Diana: Don't worry Mr. Bartender. We don't start fights. We'll only defend ourselves. Just to the point where they'll wonder if they're truly alive is all.
John: Found you~
He sprinted into the midst of the pirates and managed to grab a pirate that had long hair. Held and thrown to the back of his head with a Bandana. With that, he promptly threw the pirate out the Window and followed after him.
Diana: Whoops. Sorry about him, but we did keep the promise of not fighting in your place.
She said that as she passed a wad of cash that was easily more than two times the cost of the window.
Diana: Come on, let's go!
I followed her out the window and into the streets where John was beating the crap out of the pirate.
Pirate: Stop! Don't you know who I am?! I'm Roshio! Roshio the Executioner with a bounty of 42 Million! I'm not one to be caught by some small fries like you!
Diana: Thanks for introducing yourself. You'll make some nice pocket change for us. John, please make sure to gag him as well. I don't think he's the silent type.
John produced a pair of Sea Stone cuffs and cuffed Roshio before gagging him as well. Seeing him continue to resist he just punched him hard in the hard to knock him out.
Diana: That's 42 million berries; let's see how much more we can scrape together by the end of the hour~.
Diana smiled as she walked up to another bar and kicked open the door.
Diana: Bingo~
This time, she grabbed another long haired pirate but with goggles this time. He was quite tall but it wasn't a problem as she threw him out the door.
Diana: Continue enjoying your drinks. Ignore us!
2nd Pirate: What are you dirty pie *smack*
Diana: Sorry, say that again?
Bystander: Hey! What are you doing to my crew mate!
2nd Pirate: …Bellamy….
Diana: So you're Bellamy? Thanks for coming all the way out here. Saves a lot of time.
With that she clad her hands in haki and punched him straight in the nose. Bellamy, who wasn't even able to follow her fists took it directly…flew…flew a bit longer…and crashed into the side of the pub.
His face was a bloody mess and he wasn't getting up.
Bystanders: SHE TOOK OUT BELLAMY IN ONE HIT!
I promptly ignored them and walked over to Bellamy, grabbed his hair and dragged him back over to our location.
Me: John, please cuff him as well. Might be a good idea to tie his legs as well just in case.
John did as I asked while my sister was done knocking out the other guy. Apparently was this Bellamy guy's first mate with a bounty of 38 million while Bellamy had 55 Million.
Seriously, this Bounty is a very unreliable power leveling source. I mean, Luffy's current bounty of something like 30 million would still be stronger than Bellamy.
The not-so-secret to the price of the bounty would be 'How much threat they pose to the World Government'. Those like Luffy are strong but they don't purposefully go out harming Marines are actively hate them. They also don't pillage and do the typical pirate behavior which in return, doesn't cause disorder and chaos. Thus the Straw Hat Pirate's bounties are mostly just a testament to their strength while bounties of pirates like these…
I glanced a look at the unconscious pirates on the floor.
Are notorious pirates who have made a bad name for themselves. While not as strong, they cause chaos and death wherever they go. Resulting in more damage, and thus more of a threat to the World Government.
Diana: Alright, I'd say a 135 million total isn't bad. We're done here. Let's go back.
At that moment, a huge figure blocked the road back to our ship.
Blackbeard: You come into Mock Town and beat up a couple of Pirates and think you can leave safely? Who do you think this island belongs to??!!
Huh, I didn't expect to see him so soon.
Diana: Well then Marshall D Teach, is that something you could really say? From our latest reports, you've killed your fellow crew mate before leaving the crew.
Blackbeard: Zehahahahaha! You have guts little girl! Yes, I did kill my crew mate. But it was for my dream! Something that I valued over camaraderie. The reason I joined the crew in the first place!
Me: Good for you. While I would like to beat you up as well, I do not know if you have a bounty or not. Could you please move aside? If you don't, I might accidentally flatten the pub that makes the delicious Cherry Pies.
Blackbeard: *hmph* You Marines. This is why I hate you. You've been like this ever since the Great Pirate Age has started. Doing whatever you think is your 'Justice'…trying to stop the Pirate age…
Diana: Hey, if you're going to make some speech about how stuff's not going to work or end, please just shut up and tell that to the next guy. I was greatly inspired at one point but then you disappointed me so no thanks.
With that, we just walked past the stuttering Blackbeard and back to our ship. After dumping the 3 Pirates into our small prison area, lined with solid Sea stone and reinforced with Adam tree, we started flying towards Water 7.
Sarah: We've got the money, it's time to enjoy some shopping!
Finally, some serious relaxation coming up. Much better than some backwater town with no authorities.
I wonder how different it'll be from the Anime. Should we leave before the Straw Hats arrive? I'm not sure if it's a good idea to get involved with Enies Lobby which is right after the Water 7 Arc. If we happen to be near the area, then we would be called to help beat them down and that would end the story there. Yeah, we should leave before the Aqua Laguna.
While on our way to Water 7, sis and I continue our hellish strength training while each of our crew members are trying to improve themselves.
Sarah, who've just recently unlocked her armament haki is sparring against John in the mini arena. Considering that she's not an expert at close range, she's holding out pretty well.
John, for his part has greatly improved his control and Devil Fruit abilities. Through immense practice and imagination, he could summon a massive wooden war-hammer, bind people's movements with roots, and overall enhance his durability. We're trying to teach him about the concept of photosynthesis as well as sucking out nutrients (or life) with his roots. I don't think he understands that stuff yet though.
Tim and Doc have teamed up and are trying to fight against a Pacifista on training mode. We made sure that Tim is not allowed to use his Devil Fruit against the 'metal' Pacifista here, otherwise not only would it be too easy but we might use our loyal security guard.
Doc, who already had decent knowledge on haki and some fighting experience managed to awaken his observational haki a few days ago. It wasn't much but now his maneuvers and reaction speed is much better than before.
Tim, while he haven't unlocked either forms of haki, I can feel that he's at the end of both of them. Besides, whenever he wasn't getting beat up, Sarah and Sis were teaching him the Marine Skills. He was already perform three of them quite well. Geppo, Soru, and Tekkai. I'd say he's about as strong as a typical CP agent if he utilizes his fruit well.
*grunt*
But the ones in pain were us. Sis and I both had a limitless potential for our bodies; meaning with enough training we can possible grow infinitely stronger. It looks like we hit a large mountain to climb because ever since we left home, it's been getting much harder. We have to continuously increase the intensity of our training to gain strength and break through our limits.
Regarding our devil fruits, I previously stated that as long as it's vaguely scientifically related or possible, then our imagination's the limit. But there's no internet here to ask about some possibilities for our powers. Sis and I just need to continue to roll our heads to think of new uses and attacks.
One of my recent improvements was a 'fake black hole'. It didn't suck in anything, but rather I pick up a metal ball and infuse it was a massive amount of gravitational pull and throw it in the air. It's quite like "Planetary Construction" from Nagato in the Naruto Series, but it's slower and I need a lot more time to prepare than he does. Maybe it'll get better the more I practice it. It's nice to be able to make and practice setting off Buster Call class attacks in the middle of the Ocean. Initially all of our crew mates just looked at us in disbelief but I think they just resigned and muttered something like how unfair the world in.
My sister, on the other hand, thought of one of the most gruesome ideas I have ever heard of. As mentioned previously, Strong Nuclear Forces is what hold particles and atoms together. So what if she put that force in reverse in a human? We haven't been able to find someone bad enough to try it on yet (and we wanted to keep the Pirates alive for a larger bounty) but I expect that it'll be something pretty gruesome like those exploding people from Watchmen. After all, he had similar powers as my sister (and maybe over electricity as well).
Sarah: Approaching Water 7!
John: Didn't think I would return so soon. Well, I'd be lying if I said I'm not happy to be back home. I'll show you guys around town.
Sis smiled as she got ready get off the ship, putting some of our necessities into her inventory silently. John just went into the prison area and grabbed our prisoners before heading back out.
Diana: Hey sis, let's think about all the fights and stuff later. For now, we'll enjoy ourselves here. After all, who know? We might end up meeting that Perverted Cyborg. We might as well enjoy this capitalistic island. First time that we've ever been to some sort of democracy, isn't it?
With that, the 6 of us stepped onto the dock.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone