บท 18: Chapter 18
Chapter 18
A/N: Warning: Contains excessive exposition.
A/N 2: Final scene of this chapter ended up way longer than intended. Sometimes you can't control what you end up writing.
Kivuruk Island, South Blue
What's a better word for 'productive'? Fruitful? Constructive maybe? No, those don't really fit. None of them quite encompass a broad enough description to illustrate just how much I've gotten done these past 30 days.
Because..oh ho ho..it has been significant.
Let's start with the big picture. Kivuruk itself.
The village is really coming along nicely, perhaps to the point where it can finally self-manage again. I'll admit that the new homes are a bit small for the number who have to live in them. And what limited furniture they do have is shoddy and obviously the work of people just trying to get something usable throw together. But everyone has a roof to rest under. Everyone has a bed to sleep in. There's food in the pantries. Most of the running water is back online, and Dan left just this morning on his first mercantile trip since the attack.
It'll be a long time before the village ever resembles its past self. The drastic loss of life made sure of that. But I have faith that the people here will persevere until it does. Their spirit may have been hurt but it was not broken. And considering I made sure everyone over the age of 14 now has their own rifle I rather doubt they'll let anyone hurt them in the same way again.
Barkers astonishing levels of growth have finally begun to slow. He hasn't stopped quite yet but it's obvious his first plateau is coming. Lv. 20 isn't high enough to take on a gang of invaders by himself -groups of dagger wielding fodder possibly excluded-, but it's still damn impressive. As long as he continues to push himself, finds a way through his upcoming wall, and studies the technique booklet I'm writing for him, I really don't see any reason why I'll need to worry about this place. Short of Eustass himself coming back here, he and the villagers should be able to handle anything.
Rika has recently...well...it's complicated. Before I left for Karate island she seemed..fine? I'd at least say content. She knew I was leaving, I thought I'd be gone awhile, neither of us really expected a continuation of what started that night in my cabin. But then...there ended up being no real reason to stay on Karate Island...all of my grinding was just as easily done here so...so coming back was the logical choice right? I thought she'd be happy. Instead she's just...all over the place. At first she was cold. That frosty indifference was followed by anger and her accusing me of taking advantage. Then a few nights later came her forcing herself on me combined with hours of the raunchiest most animalistic sex of my life. I thought I had finally figured out where she was emotionally...only for her to be gone before I woke up. I tried to talk to her in the village later that day but she fled at the sight of me. Tears in her eyes and hand pressed over her mouth.
I just...I don't know what I'm supposed to do about it. I don't understand what she wants. And even if I did I really am going to be leaving soon. That two month deadline I gave Mori has dried up and it's time for me to start sanitizing this ocean.
So on that note, let's move on to personal development.
With five of the 'Six Powers' already at my beck and call it was easy to reverse engineer the last and complete my set. [Shigan] may be the least versatile [Skill] in the rokushiki family but that doesn't mean I was gonna let it fall by the wayside. I don't envision myself using this one as much as I do its siblings. The idea of my finger getting coated in a strangers blood rather grosses me out. However, as the trees full of holes behind my house will attest, this doesn't mean I'm not proficient.
And speaking of proficient, [Geppo] is maxed. [Soru] maxed. [Tekkai] and [Rankyaku] are trailing right behind them in the low 40's and [Shigan] is already up to 26. The ultimate dream was to get them all to (50/50) before the two months were up but I suppose even [Prodigy's Shadow] has its limits. Without it, it would've taken me half a year to get them this high. I've touched on goal setting before and the reasons why I think it's important. What I failed to mention though is that there are three simple words you should always remember as well. And those are 'Ehh, close enough.'
There were a few other [Skill]'s that saw some much more minor improvements but I won't waste time dwelling on them. Instead, shall we talk actual levels because my hands have certainly not been idle.
Zōken and his crew of miscreants weren't the only ones I've scooped up these past four weeks and the Exp has been rolling in. Honestly it's their own fault. If they didn't want their pirate careers to come crashing down then they shouldn't have wandered into the radius I've set around my island.
A mere 72 hours after I thoroughly trounced the kitty, Mori called me about intercepting a bandit turned seafaring cutthroat named Borbely. Easy job, easy 3 million. Man reminded me of a male version of Alvida. Hideously rotund with no skills beyond swinging a club around. The battle did teach me an important lesson though. Always use [Observe] on the fodder once the fight is over. If I hadn't I would've completely missed that his ships cook, a greasy potbellied fellow named Rusin, had his own price on his head for 400K. Plus there was a runaway thief working as a deckhand who was listed for 55,000 'Alive only'.
Don't ever forget the old adage about 'small things adding up over time'. It's those little prizes that are eventually going to help me reach the 'One Billion' mark. I don't think I can make it there relying on 'big hitters' alone.
Eight days later while Kiwi and I were out flying came my discovery of a ship belonging to Tiereney 'The Traitor'. Bounty 8.15 million. Tiereney was a naughty naughty boy who served as living proof that human greed makes you stupid. Once a decorated marine, Tiereney turned to the pirate life after stabbing his commanding officer to death when their ship reclaimed a rather large sum of pilfered gold. The story goes that he tried to convince his fellow shipmates to join in the mutiny in exchange for their own shares of the treasure...but none were receptive..which meant in his eyes...they had to go too. He was decently skilled. Certainly talented with that knife of his. Had I met him half a year ago he would've carved me up like a spring chicken. As I am now though, well, turns out fancy tricks with a dagger are pretty useless when dealing with someone who's not just faster than you, but can also turn their body tough as iron.
And lastly, there's my latest capture. My largest to date. Ingrid. The infamous captain of the Wretched Widow. Ingrid represented the turning point in my career as she's the first 'major player' in this ocean I've taken down. At 13.6 million it wasn't the woman herself that made her so formidable, speaking truthfully I found her ship to be scarier than she was. It was a big ugly thing with gray-colored wood and a weeping angel as its bowsprit. No, what made Ingrid such a known force in South Blue was the quality of her subordinates. Starting with her right hand there was Garna, a large barbarian-like woman wielding a great-axe with a blade half the size she was. Bounty 9.1 million. Third highest was Najeela, a redhead in plate armor dual-wielding a pair of niuweidao's. Bounty 7.45 million. Next up, Iwamori and Seshiro, a pair of men dressed as monks who's rippling muscles were best described as absolutely shredded. Bounty 4 million flat. Each.
By the time I had finished tearing my way through the entire 70-odd person crew there was so much value lying around that I simply had to call in the marines to pick them up. No way was I gonna haul them all in myself. Easier to just drop the anchor, sit on them for a few hours, and hand them over gift-wrapped en masse when the authorities show up. Either way I still get the rewards. Not to mention seeing that hideous ship get sunk by marine cannons in the aftermath was a treat all its own.
All together the battles, combined with some small incidental daily [Quests], has been enough to rocket me up all the way to Lv. 52. Before we break down my stat improvements though we need to talk about Lv.50 because woo wee was that an eventful one.
I'll start off by saying that as expected it began with a points increase.
Stat points awarded per Lv up increased! (20) → (25)
That was then followed by a prompt similar to the one I last witnessed at Lv. 25.
The effectiveness of your [Skill] [HP Regen] has been increased! (4.2% per minute) → (4.4% per minute)
It may seem like a marginal increase due to the 4% bonus I'm receiving off [Seimei Kikan] but the implications of this improvement shouldn't be ignored. It's technically double the jump of the one I had last time when it upgraded from (0.1) → (0.2).
More importantly, just like at Lv. 25 I felt my body shift. The extra toning in my muscles was nice and I'm certainly not going to say no to a subtly more broad chest but the real prize...no no..not 'prize'...the real achievement was the tiny ¾ inch increase on my height.
Why so much emphasis on such a small thing you ask? It's a matter of male pride. Every man on the planet who's under six feet wishes deep down that they were taller and anyone who claims otherwise is lying. Perhaps even to themselves. Height is directly related to respect and being above six feet is an unofficial club. It's a childish, vacuous thing to be proud of but that doesn't change the immutable fact that I feel pride all the same.
All of these changes though, were expected. I didn't know exactly how much things would increase but I had foreseen that the increases themselves would happen.
The final item that Lv. 50 brought..the thing I didn't foresee or expect...was the [Perk].
Congratulations! You have reached Lv. 50!
Please select one of the following [Perk]'s.
I don't think I need to explain why this caught me flatfooted. Every [Perk] hence far has been related to stats themselves reaching a certain threshold, not my personal level. In hindsight I suppose it makes sense that generic-type [Perk]'s which aren't related to any particular trait could be awarded this way...but... I can honestly say it just hadn't occurred to me that those might be a thing.
The first of the two was an Exp booster called [Combat Junkie]. It's function was relatively simple. Whenever an enemy was killed, KO'd, or sufficiently removed the fight, bonus Exp would be rewarded based on the strength of that enemy. Fodder and basic mooks between levels 5-9 would award an extra +15. Grunts of a slightly higher quality at levels 10-14 would net me +30, 15-19 's gave +60, you get the idea. At first glance a few handfuls of '+30' seem a bit inconsequential when each level up takes over 5,000 Exp now...but then I did some rough math about gains over a few years.. and well...it wasn't a small number.
Honestly. It seemed like a really solid [Perk]. It would get a lot of work done over the course of a lifetime considering the career path I've set myself on.
I definitely would've picked it if option 'B' wasn't the most busted, absolutely ridiculous, ability the [Game] has offered me to date.
[Natural Growth]
In this world some men are strong. Some men are smart. Some men are fast and some are wise. And in this world some men... did not have to work hard to be this way. They simply woke up every morning and naturally reached talents that others fail to achieve despite decades of hard work. Is this fair? Is this right? Does it matter? Wouldn't you be one of these men if you could? If you select this [Perk] you will then choose between STR, VIT, DEX, INT, or WIS. At the beginning of every week your chosen stat will increase in value by 10 points. For doing nothing more than getting up in the morning.
...yeah.
I was speechless for a moment too.
10 a week. That's 520 a year. Assuming there's no theoretical 'cap' on my stats, that's over 5,000 free points a decade. I..I have no reference for what a number like that could even look like. Would a VIT rating that massive put me in the same weight class as the Yonko? How does that number in STR compare to Nightmare Luffy who could toss Oars around like he wasn't a 100 Ton super giant? DEX? Don't even get me started on DEX.
In the end... I couldn't decide.
So I let fate take the wheel instead.
Flipism couldn't help me here since a coin doesn't have three sides...but a dice does have six. I gave STR the low, DEX the high, and VIT took the 3 and 4 in the middle.
And wouldn't you know it?
Nat 1.
Fate spoke and STR was selected as the winner.
I think you've heard enough by now though. No more monologuing.
'[Status]'
Jack Parker, The Gamer, Lv. 52
Health: 3,500/3,500
Exp: 400/5,200
Money: 48,403,970 Beri
STR: 210
VIT: 175
DEX: 267
INT: 123
WIS: 124
LUK: 43
Points to spend: 0
Click here to see list of [Skills]
-Current number of [Skills]: 44
Click here to see list of [Perks]
-Current number of [Perks]: 6
As you can see there's been progress made in every category except for that oh so elusive LUK. It was disappointed to learn that 250 in DEX wasn't the magic number to unlocking another [Perk] that I had hoped it was. No biggie though. I'm still riding the high from Lv. 50. If we need to go higher then we'll just go higher. Maybe 500 will yield results.
[Natural Growth] is a mere three days away from triggering a second time and I'm wondering how long-
Alert! Your [Den-Den-Mushi] is ringing!
Ah. Excuse me for a moment.
"Puru-puru-puru-puru. Puru-puru-pur-KA-CHK! Mori! Bay-bee! How we doing today?"
"Hah!" The familiar bark comes. "Better than you I Imagine!"
"Oh I don't know.." I teased with a sigh as I relaxed my head against the grassy knoll, breeze in my hair and Kiwi snacking at my side. "I've got more money than I'll ever need, the freedom to go where I want and not to mention.." I pick up the newspaper at my side. "..I'm on page six. It may be just two paragraphs and they only have my first name but I'm feeling pretty much like the world is my oyster. How can you beat that?"
"Easy." The Den-Den-Mushi smiled wide as Mori snickered. "Cheryl's pregnant."
I blinked. "..damn." I clicked my tongue in annoyance. "I think you got me."
"Hah! And since I know you're good for it we'll expecting a nice baby shower gift in a few months."
"Yeah yeah pass along my congrats to the wife and all that..." I sat up to waist level and dropped a bit of the frivolity in my voice. "So. What you got for me?"
The snails expression turned stern. "You know where the Palper islands are?"
"Ohhh yes." I intoned with a sinister razor-like smile. "I'm familiar. Who's the target?"
Norvin de Graaf was by no means one of the strongest pirates in South Blue. He had no special powers nor incredible skill in combat. His crew was smaller than most and his ambitions relatively tame.
Yes. Certainly not the strongest in South Blue. Rather Norvin's accomplishment was one that was quite different. His achievement was being the corsair who had been around the longest. Most of the other so-called 'pirates' on this sea were idiots in his mind. All a bunch of shortsighted fools or rowdy cantankerous halfwits. Norvin was determined to be different. He knew you couldn't just roll up to any old village and conduct a raid without consequences. If you wanted to survive in this centuries long game of 'Pirates vs. Marines' then you needed to learn the rules.
Study the map. Pick your targets. Have an entry plan. Have an exit plan. Have a backup exit plan. Do not do more damage than necessary and paint a target on your back.
He learned the patrol routes Marine ships sailed through. He logged the response times for when different islands called for help. He flew colors of opposing pirate gangs so they'd be blamed for his actions and he believed 'playing dirty' should instead be spelled 'common sense'. He was careful who he recruited and even more careful who he pissed off.
He often cheated. He often bribed. He did whatever was necessary to award himself the best possible advantage so he could out-plan or out-maneuver anyone who dared tried to box him in.
Yes, Norvin de Graaf was a master of the game. He'd been playing it since the times of the Pirate King himself.
But the one thing he wasn't ready for was for someone to change the rules on him.
"Shoot him down! Shoot him down!" Another explosion rocked the Trillium causing Norvin to stumble and lose his footing. Three more cannonballs dropped from the sky and detonated across the ships port side. Great plumes of saltwater rose up and drenched the crew as the ship violently swayed side-to-side.
"Captain!" Adeliz, his helmsman cried out. "Damage to our rudder sir! I've lost-" A sudden eruption of smoke and flame silenced the man forever when a fourth cannonball slammed down fourteen inches to his left.
Norvin growled in anger as he jumped to his feet. "Goddamn it! Can't anyone shoot this motherfucker!" He snatched a rifle out of his shipwrights hands and trained it straight up into the sky. The shadow of a giant bird zoomed past the sun and with it came another payload of black round death plummeting from the clouds.
The captain squinted an eye, squeezed his trigger, and watched as one of the falling bombs blew up harmlessly in midair. A chain-reaction took another of the explosives out alongside it and a third was nudged just enough to land well away from his ship. Norvin almost had time to hope this one tiny crisis was successfully avoided before the last landed dead center on the bow railing and reduced the front tip of his faithful Trillium to splinters.
"ARGH! Fire! Fire!" Norvin snarled. "Shoot that bastard! I want that bird on a spit roast for dinner!"
The cracking thunder of dozens of gunshots filled his eardrums as both rifles and pistols unloaded into the air. "You four!" Norvin commanded to the group nearest. "Load the cannons with canister shot and point 'em 80 degrees upward! If he tries to hide in one of those low-hanging clouds we're gonna blow him to shreds!"
"Sir! There!" His navigator Silas yelled with a pointed finger.
Norvin narrowed his eyes and immediately tracked onto the same blip in the sky his navigator had. "Got you now you son of a bitch..." Just as Norvin trained his sights on the target a second speck slid off the back of the first and started rocketing towards his ship at frightening speed. "What in the world…? No, it doesn't matter."
Norvin steadied his breathing, relaxed his hands and kept his rifle perfectly on target. Just as the flying blip could be discerned as human-shaped he pulled the trigger...and watched as the target turned paper thin to avoid it.
The pirate captain nearly dropped his gun as he staggered in shock. "...that's not possible."
With all the subtlety of a meteor crashing to earth the flying man slammed into the main deck of his ship sending air whipping past him like a wind cannon. Before Norvin could even lower the arm shielding his face, three of his deckhands were cut down with a blue scythe of energy and two others jumped into the sea to try their luck swimming back to land.
"So you're Norvin de Graaf eh?" the figure spoke. "That's funny. You don't look like you're worth 17 million."
Norvin involuntarily stepped back as he swallowed the lump in his throat. "It's you isn't it… the one who took down Ingrid...McCarthy before her..."
"Oh, that's kind of impressive." The hunter complimented. "I'm surprised you know about the second one."
The pirate captain watched helplessly as his quartermaster rushed to grapple the man from behind and was effortlessly launched off the ship for his trouble. "I...I try to stay informed...so it's true then...you're him.."
The intruder spread his arms wide with palms upward. "I'm him."
"Jack Sparrow..." Norvin breathed.
"Ye-Wait! NO! Who told you that was my name?" The man cried indignantly.
Norvin gulped. "The.. the paper said your name was 'Jack' and that you rode a giant...it just made sense to..is that not your.."
"NO!" The bounty hunter let out a long exhale and pinched his nose. "Ugh. I'm not even in the mood anymore. Do you want to continue doing this the hard way or would you rather just come quietly in exchange for your life?"
Norvin looked around at the bloodied faces of his remaining crew and the unsailable wreck his ship was reduced to. "No...no I...I know I'm beaten.." The captain steeled his nerves and drew the saber at his belt. "But if it's a choice between Impel Down or risking it all on the 1% chance I can beat you then I have to go for the long shot!"
The individual identified as 'Jack' but most certainly not 'Jack Sparrow' inclined his head. "So long as it's your decision I guess. Makes no difference to me."
Norvin shifted his footing and thrust his sword before him. "Prepare yourself and mark the day! This will be the final stand of South Blue's greatest tactician! Norvin de Gr-!"
"[Shigan]."
"No! No! No! No! No!" The pirate stamped his foot like a child. "You're ruining everything!"
I briefly paused in my beat down of the crew and stared bewildered at the fully grown adult imitating a petulant third-grader. "Seriously?" I asked to the lackey I was holding up by his collar. "This guy is your captain? This guy?"
The grunt sneered in contempt and tried to reach for the gun stuffed in the back of his pants. "Gff-Fuck!" And then promptly screamed as I dislocated his shoulder for the attempt.
"Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!" The captain 'Dalzeel' whined to his cowering crew. "Double rations! Triple rations! Gold! Treasure! Anything you want for whoever kills him!"
"RROOOAA!" the crowd of Lv. 5's and 6's roared in apparent approval as their swords raised high.
"Well alriiight." I said with a dramatic shrug and dropped my whimpering captive. "I could use a little practice parrying anyway." My knees bent slightly as one hand circled around Kugizume's hilt. "Don't keep me waiting now."
The first taker was a tanned portly fellow who's blue striped shirt didn't quite cover his gut. His overhead swing was so slow and amateurish I couldn't even muster the patience to wait for him to finish. He was just asking to get interrupted with a punch to the stomach.
+25 Exp!
Next came goatee with a yellow vest. I knocked the blade from his hands like it was a child's toy and then employed the briefest moment of [Tekkai Kenpo] to rock his forehead with my own. His knees fell from under him and his eyes whited out as he collapsed at my feet.
+30 Exp!
"Stop it! Stop it!" Dalzeel continued to cry.
+20 Exp!
"That's my crew!"
+40 Exp!
+15 Exp!
"You're sucking all the fun out of pirating!"
+30 Exp!
+35 Exp!
"Rah! If they won't I'll KILL you myself!" The Lv. 14 pirate captain assumed a battle stance and began screaming to himself as though he were 'powering up'.
To my genuine surprise a red carapace began to creep into place across his body. Two long antennae sprouted from his head and his hands morphed into a pair of meaty claws. Dalzeel roared one last time before charging when my hand thrust outward.
"Wait wait! Hold up a second!" I nearly shouted. "You..you can turn into a Lobster?"
Dalzeel stopped his advance with a confused look and then sneered maliciously. "Yesss...does it frighten you?" He snapped his claws threateningly. "Does it fill you with dread? It should. For you see I have attained the most feared power in the ocean! I ate of the forbidden Devil's Fruit! And now no one can-!"
"Nonono you misunderstand!" I cut him off. "I mean you're an aquatic Zoan? I didn't think those were a thing." 'Sure Kaido's got a Crab-user in his crew, but that power was a defective piece of junk that came from a SMILE. That shit don't count.' "I have soooo many questions for you."
"Wha- What? You aren't scared of-"
"Can you breath underwater?" I spat out. "I know you can't go swimming because of the drowning thing but if only your top half was submerged than you'd be fine right? Or would you not?"
Dalzeel stammered. "Wh- I.. I don't.."
"What about freshwater? Lobsters need a certain salinity mix to survive don't they? Hold that thought." I wheeled around and sucker punched the mook who was attempting to sneak up while I was distracted.
+15 Exp!
I swivel back. "If you're in freshwater, but you're in your hybrid mode, are you in a worse or a better position than if you were full lobster mode? Does being part human mitigate the need for proper salinity or are you just double screwed since neither piece of you can breath now?"
"I..I never..stop it!"
I put my hands together. "Let's say I knocked you into the Blue while you're full lobster. Now when a Devil Fruit user hits the ocean they lose control of their powers though not the powers themselves. You'd still be a Lobster-Human. So would you-"
"IS THIS A JOKE TO YOU!" Dalzeel bellows, his chest heaving in indignation.
The back of my fist shatters the jaw of another grunt collecting me another 25 Exp. "Not at all. I'm being quite serious. In fact, I'm trying very hard not to make a 'boiling lobster' pun seeing how mad you're getting and, to be frank, I don't think you're really appreciating that."
"GGGRRAAHHH!"
I peered through through the lens of my rifle's scope as my companion and I cruised sedately over the clouds. I took stock of the players, the numbers, and felt the frown form on my face. I lowered the firearm down and clicked my teeth in annoyance. "Ah. Well this is certainly a pickle isn't it Kiwi?"
"Kee."
The Marine cruiser splintered and cracked as the giant cerulean tentacles pulled it beneath the waves one fractured chunk at a time. At its side the pirate vessel Bloody Jewel sat anchored and its proprietor 'Red Witch' Mira-jane, the woman who once bewitched Slinn Voda, lorded over her new band of marine prisoners.
I raised the spyglass back to eye level. "Okay let's see, we got one, two..five..eight..ten..oh damnit all.. that's a lieutenant.." 'I guess it's not..impossible..that the officer won't recognize the rokushiki. Us being outside the Grand Line..she may never even have heard of them..'
But do I take that risk? I have confidence in my ability to resolve this situation but if I go down there firing off [Rankyaku]'s and [Geppo]'s it's basically an open invitation for the Marines 'or worse Cipher Pol' to start asking questions I'm really not comfortable answering.
The bombing run strategy I've started employing is a no-go here as well. I can't aim the explosives accurately enough to guarantee I don't hit the friendlies. I could lower my altitude to increase accuracy but that just puts Kiwi at risk. Plus there's a third factor in play.
These marines aren't the first prisoners they've taken. I count five persons strapped to the large center mast of their ship. Four females, one male. I switch from the scope to a proper spyglass even knowing what I'm going to see will likely make my stomach curdle.
Four females have definitely..been played with if the condition of their clothes is any indication...one would think the 'Red-Witch' being a woman herself wouldn't allow for such filth to happen on her ship but I guess some people just can't help being sadistic cunts. The one male looks about a step and a half from deaths door. He's blue with bruises, dried blood cakes his body, and oh god the fucks blinded him too. The only clothing left on him is the shredded remains of a reddish-purple suit on his legs..and...and..
My eyes widened in horror. '...it's Guilford...oh my god it's Guilford..'
The captured lieutenant is screaming at Mira-jane now but what about I'm far far too high up to hear. She struggles in vain to rise from the kneeling position two burly pirates are holding her in and the 'Red-Witch' smirks in delight at the scene. She leans down to whisper something, the lieutenant, still screaming, shakes her head pleadingly, and then without ever breaking eye contact Mira-jane draws a pistol from her belt and executes one of the captured Seamen.
'OH SHI-' "Kiwi dive! Dive! Risky or not we gotta go for it!"
The sparrow plunges downward as the acceleration nearly rips the jacket off my back. 'Alright! Plan. Plan. Make a plan! 1. Free the Marines. 2. Release hostages when you can. 3. Cut down anyone who gets in the way. 4. Watch out for unexpected Devil Fruit. Mira-jane's controlling that beast somehow! Speaking of which, 5. Be wary of massive ship-crushing tentacles. [Game] you got any advice on dealing with a giant octopus..sea-monster..possibly kraken thing?'
Ding!
New Quest Alert!
Quest: Defeat Lorthos, the Tidemaker!
Reward: 15,000 Exp.
[ACCEPT/DECLINE]
'Eh... I'll take it.'
One of the grunts takes notice of the divebombing bird and it's not long before hastily shouted orders have both small and large arms training on our direction.
"Kiwi go!" I push off the bird and throw myself left while he sharply veers right. The separation causes a half-second hesitation on the pirates part but no longer. The bullets go flying and- '[Tekkai]!'
-3 HP!
-9 HP!
-2 HP!
-7 HP!
-5 HP!
Bullet Time Skill Active!
-Time is being for you by 18%.
HP Regen Skill Active!
-Current speed: 4.4% max health per minute.
-essentially do nothing as they bounce off my hardened skin like rubber pellets. There's a few stinging welts where the more direct hits landed but they begin healing away practically instantly. Momentum continues to carry me through the air and I maintain the 'Iron Body' at its maximum as I travel. The extra density sees me crash through the floor of the Bloody Jewel the second I make contact and by the time I cancel the technique I'm already on the lowest deck.
"Hi there." I greet to the dumbfounded Lv. 8 'Haamid' who was cleaning the bilge while all the excitement happened upstairs. "Lovely day isn't it?"
The man threw his mop away and scrambled for the flintlock in his belt but by that point Kugizume is already arcing sharply downwards.
+55 Exp!
Haamid goes down with a guttural scream and a wound across his chest that's just short of lethal. If he's smart and wants to keep it that way he'll stay put where he is. Already the upper floors are rumbling as first responders rush to make their way downstairs and intercept the intruder. A small tiny part of my heart aches in pity for the poor sods and what's about to happen to them.
But then I remember this is a ship full of rapists and raiders and just like that everything's fine again.
The first pair of legs appears on the stairs coming down from middle level and with it comes the first crack of my revolver. The legs owner cries out as he stumbles and topples the rest of the flight face-down.
+40 Exp!
Three of his fellows quickly replace him and peer down into the bilge only to see a great sickle of blue light sweeping towards them. One has time to bark in panic, the other two try to backpeddle, but that's all they accomplish as the relatively blunt [Rankyaku] lifts them off their feet and carries both them and those behind back upstairs.
[Soru] vanishes me from the bilge and sets me reappearing right in the middle of the dazed group on the second floor.
A Lv.9 named Murota raises his hand. "Hey! Wait! Wai-" It's too late though. Both arms are already swinging out and taking kill shots with my .44's. The Exp notifications start flooding in and the pirates protests devolve into generic screaming. I pop the cylinders open, slap new rounds into place with speedloaders, and hear a shrill screech pierce the room from outside.
"What the bloody fuck is going on down there?" The voice I assume belongs to the 'Red Witch' blares. "Did you morons kill the bird fucker yet?"
I can't resist. "You know you curse a lot for a lady!" I shout back up. "Congratulations on your bounty going up to 30 million by the way!"
Dozens of bullets rain down blindly through the ceiling as those above fire indiscriminately into the lower-level. 'Geez. Temper temper. It's like the idiots don't care at all how much they damage their own ship.' Waiting out the hailstorm is a simple matter. Most of the shots don't come anywhere near me and [Tekkai] easily defends against any grazers. Once it subsides I throw my legs into a somersault kick and release another crescent of energy straight up, destroying the already weakened ceiling. A double-tap of [Geppo] has me follow the [Rankyaku] out into the sunlight and I sweep my eyes over the players.
Nine low-ranking marines still tied up.
Roughly three dozen pirate grunts of little import.
And the stars of today's show.
'Red Witch' Mira-jane, Lv. 40
Crowler, 'The Weasel', Lv. 27
Yuriko, Marine Lieutenant, Lv. 32
My appearance, totally unmarked save for a few blood splashes from their comrades, combined with the two supernatural powers has put most of them on edge. The Witch's grunts in particular. In typical One Piece fashion they're wide-eyed, nervously shaking in place and clutching their rifles tightly in white-knuckle grips.
"You know I was kind've worried about coming after you today Mira-jane." I taunt with a smile meant to goad. "Last time we met I almost died. So far though I can't say I'm impressed."
The provocation works as intended when the redheaded captains sneer gains a hint of confusion and she loudly insists we've never met before. Meanwhile, I'm using this small window of time to skim through the profiles of both her and the first-mate.
'The hell? She's Fruit-less? I would've put money on a ...Snare-Snare Fruit or something... How the heck is she bewitching sea-monsters then?' My eyes dart left 'And her first mate is totally ordinary too. This may end up being simpler than I thought.' "I guess I wouldn't expect you to remember. After all I was pretty busy killing your little beastie while my friend took your man Crowler's eye. Stormy night, big red eel thing. Ringing any bells bitch?"
"YOU!" The captain's eyes boiled in realization. "You're the one who killed my baby! My Slinny!"
Several things happened all at once.
1. Guilford weakly rasping "..jack?" in a more dry, scratchy, and broken way than I ever wanted to hear.
2. Lieutenant Yuriko using the wonderful distraction I've created as an opportunity to pulverize the testicles of one of the two holding her down with a backwards elbow jab.
3. Crowler producing a pair of throwing knives from behind his back and launched them at my face.
4. Myself wheeling around and throwing a hasty, yet carefully aimed [Rankyaku] at the rope holding the civilian prisoners tied to the mast.
And finally,
5. Mira-jane drawing an ornate jewel-covered cutlass from her hip and raising it high with a vicious snarl, triggering a massive rumbling from beneath the ship.
Ducking the knives required little effort. Almost as little as firing off a retaliatory shot into Crowlers right kneecap. I wheel to the civilians and see two of the woman holding Guilford up by his arms. "Get inside and stay low!"
In the corner of my vision, Yuriko throws her second captor over her shoulder, steals the sword off the one still cradling his family jewels, and kicks the whining thug under his chin to knock him out. "Bounty hunter!" the officer calls. "Free my men! I'll take care of the bitch!"
Yuriko charges the captainess to engage in a classic 1 vs.1 duel before I can object thus leaving me with not just her request but the entire crew of fodder to deal with and the rising creature of the deep as well. 'Must I do everything these days?'
"What are you idiots doing!" Crowler simpers from the ground, hissing through his teeth as he clutches his bleeding leg. "Shoot him! Shoot him already!"
One of the closer grunts seems to find his nerve and lets the words galvanize him into action. He lifts his rifle to eye level...and that's it, because I've already sent him flying with an iron [Tekkai Kenpo] infused punch to his ribs.
+35 Exp!
The five nearest panic and raise their guns in self-defense. 'Alright, guess we're doing this now!'
I've become quite proficient at bulldozing my way through crowds of fodder at this point. Throw a punch here, kick a man there. I wish I could say it still managed to excite me, really 'get the blood flowing' as the saying goes, but unfortunately that would be a lie. In truth it's just unfair. There's no sport in it. Some of these men are of a similar caliber to the nameless flunkeys who worked for Buggy or Don Krieg.
And I'm going after them with fucking rokushiki.
I retract my statement. That's not unfair. That's brutal.
In less than half a minute it's a complete rout. Most were ejected over the Bloody Jewel's side with only the occasional one being saved by a piece of railing. 'Well if nothing else they're good for some Exp. I'm only a few hundred from Lv. 53.'
"Bounty hunter! Bounty hunter! Little help here!" Turning to the voice I see the..understandably.. panicked faces of the still tied up marines watching the spiky blue dome rising off the starboard side of the ship. A massive cyclopean eye breaks the waters surface and continues to rise until the mythically large octopus is towering over the ship like a primeval god.
Still on the ground Crowler laughs maliciously between sucking pained breaths through his teeth. "Dead now. You're all dead now you stupid sons of bitches."
"Hey." I chirp, getting his glare on me as I walk over with revolver in hand "The man who was tied to the mast. You blind him? Two eyes for your one, shit like that?"
The 7.3 million bounty does his best to jeer through the pain. "The fuck does it matter to you?"
His gray matter splatters across the deck as the gun discharges.
+700 Exp!
You have reached Lv. 53!
You have 25 points to spend!
"No reason."
Freeing the marines is the next task and as I go about it I can't take my eyes off the, frankly speaking, brobdingnagian beast overhead. It's still meager in size compared to the literal leviathans of the Calm Belt but that is scant comfort as it just..stands there. It's standing there. Why, why is it just standing there?
I finally turn my attention to Yuriko and Mira-jane where the former has, despite the level difference, literally pinned the latter against the wall. The lieutenant hammers her sword against the pirates own like a woman possessed. The Witch sinks to her knees as her frantic defense continues to weaken and her eyes are wide with panic..at least until she finally notices her summon waiting on standby.
"Help me! Help me!" The jewels of her cutlass appear to almost pulsate at her cry and the air itself seems to shake as Lorthos rumbles with an odd mix of a wet bubbly growl and a warble.
The figurative light bulb over the head finally illuminates. 'It's the sword!' Two tentacles whip forward at frightening speed '[Rankyaku]!' and though I sever the tip of the one coming for me, the one aimed at Yuriko slams into her with force of a semi-truck, nearly knocking her off the boat.
Lorthos roars in pain at what is probably the equivalent of losing a 1/3 of a finger and the colossal green eye focuses on me. "Help your lieutenant!" I order to the freed men. "[Geppo]!"
I soar higher and higher into the air and the multi-meter long pupil tracks me as I go. '[Observe].'
Lorthos, the Tidemaker, Lv. 12
Lorthos is a Giant Cyclopean Octopus who migrated from the Grand Line into the South Blue a century ago in order to seek hunting grounds that were free of Titanic-sized Sea Kings who could threaten it. Although never directly aggressive towards human vessels, Lorthos's attacks on Whales, Sea Beasts, and adolescent Sea Kings have often greatly disturbed the oceans waves and led to more than one small ship overturning into the sea. In some instances his disruptions have been so severe that one isolationist tribe has come to believe Lorthos to be a deity who actually controls the ocean tides.
[BEWITCHED] Lorthos's mind is not fully his own due to Mira-Jane's influence. His mental traits are being reduced by 90%.
Health: 16,572/16,800
STR: 1,575
VIT: 1,680
DEX: 800
INT: 78 (-90%) = 7.8
WIS: 78 (-90%) = 7.8
LUK: 0
More appendages rise up to swipe at me. All it would take is a single sucker on their underside to make contact and I'm a goner. And yet it just doesn't matter. [Geppo] and [Kami-e] provide me so much freedom of movement, so much airborne nimbility, that the monstrosity really doesn't have a hope of catching me.
A second [Rankyaku] slices through the boneless muscle of another limb and the creature screeches angrily. 'Aww don't worry beastie. That will grow back. Pretty sure.'
I zip and dash around his enraged thrashings until I land atop the curved plane of his head. Drawing the Meito from my back, I stab the sword straight down, earning a sizable spray of blood as a reward. I realize that in reality this is probably the equivalent of stabbing a normal-sized octopus with a toothpick but.. pretty certain they wouldn't like that either.
Lorthos drops into the water, creating a surge of water that nearly overtakes the Bloody Jewel, and raises three tentacles to grab at his own head. I withdraw the blade and evade back into the clouds where Kiwi is circling and attentively watching the action.
The octopus begins to coil his limbs, clearly planning a different tactic, but I have one of my own already in motion. A page I'm shamelessly stealing from Kaku.
'[Rankyaku]: Storm!'
Both legs kick wildly, erratically, slinging dozens upon dozens of smaller weaker [Rankyaku]'s down upon the cephalopod. A tactic like this would never work on a Sea King. Their hide is too thick or their scales too armored. Lorthos however is soft. He may have far more muscle and literal tons of more mass than Slinn Voda did but his only protection is the thin coat of slime on his skin.
The damage notifications fill my vision almost as quickly as the sea-creatures screams do my ears. His limbs move to protect his face only for them to rip and bleed in its place. My heart goes out to the poor animal. I probably should have just gone for the Witch's sword instead, attempted to subdue him that way. Unfortunately I'm committed at this point though. Even as gravity pulls me down I don't let up on barraging the monster with flying slashes.
At least not until the unexpected happens.
Alert! Lorthos has broken free of Mira-jane's influence!
I cut the hailstorm. 'That can happen?'
Alert! Lorthos is retreating!
'Wait, really?'
Ding!
Quest Completed!
Quest: Defeat Lorthos, the Tidemaker!
Reward: 15,000 Exp.
You have reached Lv. 54!
You have reached Lv. 55!
You have 75 points to spend!
I blink. "Oh! Well... that's a lot more anticlimactic than the last time I fought a giant sea-monster.."
My boots land back down on the floorboards of the pirate vessel to a sight I wasn't expecting. Mira-jane kicking a Seaman in the stomach while parrying the sword of another. Her jeweled cutlass is gone from her grip and instead replaced with the more generic saber Yuriko had been using. The lieutenant herself is off to the side nursing a vicious wound across her shoulder and trying to get back on her feet. All in all the situation is almost a complete reversal of how I left it.
Mira-jane locks onto me and bats the Seaman away with a wild unkempt look in her eye.
"En garde bounty hunter!" she snarls as she stalks in my direction. "You cost me my beast! Again!" She raised her saber straight ahead as she picked up speed. "Raise your sword you little shit! I'm going to enjoy ripping out your-" The pirate staggered as the .44 round blew through her stomach. Her furious expression melted away and was replaced, not by pain, but rather.. bewilderment. One hand reached down to touch the gushing wound and when it came back bloodsoaked she appeared genuinely confused.
And it was with that same mystified look on her face that South Blue's famous 'Beast Tamer' died as the next four shots rocked her body.
+1,290 Exp!
You have reached Lv. 56!
You have 100 points to spend!
I holstered the spent revolver and strolled over to the downed officer with an outstretched hand. "Thanks." she chuckled with a wince, accepting my offer and pulling herself up. "Lieutenant Yuriko. Branch 4-5-9."
"Jack." I replied in kind.
Yuriko looked around at the trashed vessel. "I don't suppose you have a-" she stopped noticing the rose-colored Den-Den-Mushi already in my palm. "Wow. You're really on top of this aren't you?" she marveled, accepting the snail.
"I've started carrying spares. I'm getting used to how this process usually goes. Did you see where her cutlass went? I need to take a look at it."
The marine grunted as she started dialing. "After we wrenched it away from her, I kicked it overboard."
'You did WHAT?!' "...would you care to elaborate why?"
"That thing was dangerous." she says with a huff. "Almost all of my men are dead because of it. It's better at the bottom of the ocean than in anyone's hands." Her caller on the other end picks up. "Ah excuse me. Hello, this is Lieutenant Yuriko of Branch 4-5-9! My men and I are stranded and are in need of immediate escort. Our coordinates are-"
While she conducted her call I stepped away and stopped listening. 'Damn it. I didn't [Observe] it when I had the chance! I know there's..limited..magic in this world besides Devil Fruit. I thought it was just some cursed swords and fortunetelling though. Those are practically nothing compared to the power to ensorcell a Sea King to your will.'
Ugh whatever. I'll be kicking myself over that for the rest of the day. May as well get my own phone call done with. I extracted the blue Den-Den-Mushi I use most often and dialed in the number I've already learned by heart.
The familiar rhythm of 'Puru-puru-puru' rings out for a few seconds before a frantic Mori picks up the line. "Jack! Oh- Thank goodness. I don't really have time to talk right now but listen! If you haven't found her yet, turn around! I've been thinking, and maybe a 30 million target is too ambitious to take on alone. Pull back and I'll try to call you-"
"Mori, it's done."
The snail freezes mid-rant. "..say again?"
I plop down near a railing and signal Kiwi to come in for a landing. "It's done. All wrapped up. Witch had taken a few prisoners, some of whom were marines. There's a lieutenant using one of my spare snails as we speak to call in the nearest ship for pickup. I'm gonna stick around here a few hours, make sure help finds them. There's definitely a number who need medical attention. Both civilian and marine." 'Plus I need to make sure there's no fuss on me claiming the bounties. Getting in the kill shots means it counts for the big [Quest] either way but I'm certainly not gonna throw away money.'
"...so you're good?" Mori paused as he worked through his disbelief. "Jack..I haven't directly asked you yet...I did that somewhat on purpose but..exactly how strong are you?"
I smiled into the snail. "Don't worry about it. You just go ahead and get the paperwork ready. I'll maybe see you tomorrow alright?" A quick afterthought strikes me. "Oh and see if you can come up with an answer by the time I get there okay?"
"Hm?" Mori hums as the Den-Den-Mushi cocks its head to the side. "An answer to what?"
"On who's next."
Mori deadpanned at the joke. "Jack.. you need to stop treating this so flippantly." He sighed. "I get that you're strong. I'll admit you've exceeded just about..every..expectation I've had but this is serious work. Getting casual will get you killed."
I leaned back against the wooden railing with a grin. "Mori I just met a giant monster actually from the Grand Line. Two minutes later I had it running away with its metaphorical tail tucked between its metaphorical legs. What's the worst that could happen?"
A/N 3: I'd like to take a moment to address the topic of Devil Fruit. Specifically, about how quite a few reviewers are advocating for Jack to carry around a sack of assorted fruit for DF to respawn into while he's out hunting pirates. Some are saying this would be a fantastic money-making venture whereas others are campaigning for Jack to gift them to Mori/Barker/future allies.
Because of this I believe that much of my audience is suffering a slight misconception relating to how Devil Fruit reincarnate. Yes, in the Punk Hazard arc when Smiley (the giant slime lizard) died, we did see the Axolotl Fruit reappear in a nearby bag of apples. This has led many to believe (including myself at one point) that when a DF-user dies the power will be transmigrated into the nearest 'compatible' fruit.
However. After giving it some thought I no longer believe that is accurate. There is simply too much evidence suggesting that DF truly do just respawn 'somewhere in the world' as multiple characters have stated they do. Take for example that it took Doflamingo two years to get ahold of Ace's Flame Fruit rather than just setting up something beforehand and having it in his possession right after the execution. On a similar note, don't you think if it was really possible to control where a DF power will reappear, the World Government would've been harvesting them for decades if not centuries through this method?
For another pair of data points I point you to the Wano flashback that the manga just finished. We saw two members of Orochi's court with Fruit powers we've encountered before. An elderly woman with the Clone Fruit and a wrinkled old man with the Barrier Fruit. If DF do in fact respawn nearby then how the heck would those powers fall into the hands of Mr. 2 and Bartolomeo during the 'present' part of the story?
I could go on but this authors note is obscenely long already. I'll wrap up by saying I contend that the Axolotl Fruit reincarnating so close in proximity to its previous user was simply an unlikely coincidence and that Jack will not be able to farm DF off the people he defeats.
Though that isn't to say he won't ever encounter any…
Toodles.
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