บท 11: Chapter 11
Chapter 11
Sengoku was getting a headache as he looked at the report before him. Gravedigger Snow and the Surgeon of Death Trafalgar Law were the two most notorious pirates in the North Blue. While Law was a known entity, Snow appeared out of nowhere and quickly rose to infamy. Still, at least he didn't have a powerful crew under him, and Sengoku thought he could be dealt with quickly enough.
Well, he wasn't quick enough. He thought that with Rear Admiral Chaz following Snow's tail, he wouldn't have a chance to get more powerful. Sengoku was wrong; only a few days had passed, and now he had a report that he had joined the Heart Pirates, and the witnesses said that he was referred to as captain. That was troublesome news.
It was as troublesome as the fact that the Marines let human traffickers slip through their fleet and only went to capture them when they were already defeated. Sengoku had the real report of what happened, so even if the world only heard that Marines bravely rescued human trafficking victims, he knew that someone from that fleet was taking money from the traffickers.
At least Rear Admiral Chaz was on the scene and took control of the fleet. Otherwise, the news would have been bad. Sengoku didn't want to take orders from the Five Elders to suppress the press. That would have meant that he would have to silence everyone on the issue. As much as Sengoku believed in justice, there were lines he didn't wish to cross—lines that the Five Elders had no concern for.
"Call Gion to my office," Sengoku made a call.
Rear Admiral Chaz wouldn't be able to handle the Heart Pirates alone. Sengoku had to send support. As much as he knew that it would be a waste to send a Vice Admiral to one of the Blues, he was left with no choice. Snow was too dangerous, and he was only gaining momentum. He couldn't let him get into the Grand Line.
…
Snow had never learned how to fight. Techniques and martial arts were foreign concepts to him. All he knew was that swinging fast and hard was the best strategy, and so far, it had worked out quite well for him. But he saw his limits; he could do nothing against Reiju, who had a stronger body and had been taught how to fight since she was little. Snow didn't need to imagine what would happen to him if he faced someone even stronger.
Snow had thought that he should learn at least a few things before he reached the Grand Line, so he blocked the polar bear's attacks with his umbrella. Bepo was quite agile for his size. His kicks were quite fast and precise, indicating that he had been learning martial arts for at least a few years. But it mattered little as Snow easily blocked his attacks without being pushed back even a little.
"Is that all you can do?" Snow asked, getting bored.
Even though he knew that his body was quite strong and that his devil fruit further enchanted it, Snow expected more from one of the crew's main fighters. For an hour, Snow let Bepo show off his skills, and so far, Snow was disappointed. Law, observing from the sidelines, didn't seem to like it either, as Bepo finally gave up and collapsed to the ground, sweaty and heavily breathing.
"That's enough for today," Law sighed as he helped Bepo up.
"Pathetic," Snow murmured, making everyone lower their heads in shame. "How long are you guys going to hold back your former captain? This isn't a game. We will face opponents that will be stronger and stronger. If you are going to hold us back, it might be better if you didn't even come with us."
Snow didn't want to be so harsh. But he had no choice. They were too weak. They relied on Law for too much. No matter how strong Law was and how little opposition he received in the North Blue, he was still one man. And as Snow showed, Law's powers weren't unbeatable. It was only a matter of time before they faced someone with powerful devil fruit or someone proficient in Haki.
"Kehahaha," Caribou enjoyed the show, too, with his head high. "At least they can be our meat shields."
"What are you talking about, mud brain?" Snow asked as he pointed his umbrella at Caribou. "You are our meat shield. Now, get here. I want to see if my swings are getting better or not."
Caribou's smile quickly disappeared. While Snow didn't hit others and only let them test his crew's strength and his body's endurance, Caribou was different. Since he was a Logia user, no physical attacks hurt him, making him the perfect target for Snow. He didn't need to hold back as he knew Caribou wouldn't get hurt.
Even Coribou could only take a few hits from Snow's umbrella before getting knocked down. But Snow thought he could toughen him up, as Coribou was a bit weird and seemed to heal from his injuries quite fast. And weirdly enough, no matter how hard Snow hit Coribou, he never really complained or showed signs of being in pain. Maybe he was too stupid to feel pain, but there was definitely something unusual about his body.
Snow wondered if he could mold Coribou into a tank. While He doesn't think he has time to learn martial arts, if he doesn't find a way to heal his lungs, he will only have three years to live. And it would take at least that much time for Snow to show any results while learning martial arts. It was a safer bet to learn more about his devil fruit abilities. And it would show more results in training his crew.
"Captain!" Snow had to stop in the middle of beating Caribou. "It is another miss. The island is filled with marines. Their ships are surrounding the island."
"Fuck," Law wasn't the only one who cursed. "We can't enter the Grand Line without a log pose. And the only way to get it is from the islands near the reverse mountain. Of course, the Marines know that too and are prepared for it."
"That's why I told you we should just blast through them," Snow replied, rolling his eyes, as the situation was simple for him.
"If we get into a fight with Marines, all the underground will go into hiding," Law explained the situation to Snow again. "Without them, there is no way to buy a log pose. Only Marines have them, and they are forbidden to be sold to anyone else."
"And I am telling you, we should just take it from the Marines," Snow argued back to Law's annoyance.
Snow and Law went on like this for a while. Law was more cautious, as he suspected since there were so many marines after them that there were at least a few high-ranking marines. Snow, on the other hand, didn't think there were that many high-ranking marines that could trouble him. And those strong enough wouldn't be in one of the Blues.
"Not everything can be solved by violence," Law didn't change his mind.
"Fine, fine," Snow knew he couldn't win against Law, as he simply didn't know about the world as much as Law did. "You win. So, let's compromise. We need a log pose. Do get we need to get to the island. And since Marines surround the island, we have to get there unnoticed. So, I will fly over them and find the log pose. How about it?"
"You are not going alone," Law didn't have it.
"I can take care of myself."
"I don't doubt that, but the fact is wherever you go, you cause a ruckus," Law replied, and even Caribou seemed to agree. "I will be coming with you. I know the underworld and how to get a log pose."
Law knew that Snow wouldn't do as he said and would look for a fight. It was the perfect opportunity to get more experience in real fights. The best way to test himself was in a fight. And since Snow knew there wasn't anyone who would be able to catch him, there was little risk to him. But if he did that, he would lose the chance to get a log pose, and without it, they could not enter the Grand Line.
"Fine," Snow could do nothing but agree. "Let's find a rock or something where we can emerge from the water without anyone noticing us. But I warn you: I'm not that good at flying yet, so don't blame me if I drop you into the water."
"I'm sure you will be able to handle yourself," Law knew that Snow wouldn't do it.
As much as Snow wanted to do it, he needed Law. And Law was sure to use that knowledge against Snow. Well, it was what Snow should have expected. Not always could he do as he wished. And he should look further into the future before acting up. But it didn't mean he wouldn't try anything after they got what they needed.
…
Gion, better known by her alias Pink Rabbit, was a Marine vice admiral. And aside from her alias, she was proud of her accomplishments as a marine. She was confident in her swordsmanship and usage of haki. So, she wasn't very happy to be relocated to North Blue. The cold weather didn't help her mood either.
"Target, Snow, the Gravedigger, bounty 40 million," Chaz, the Rear Admiral that Gion was in charge of, now reported to her. "He is extremely dangerous. If not for Germa 66 Princess Reiju interfering, King Chap might have been killed or at least received severe injuries. He possesses Zoan-type devil fruit: Bird-bird fruit, model: Stymphalian bird."
"And your obsession with him has nothing to do with the fact that you are related to King Chap, Rear Admiral Chaz?" Gion disliked men who used their authority for their benefit the most. "I have read your report. Aside from attacking King Chap and only succeeding in stealing from him, he has done nothing noteworthy for him to have such a high bounty."
"It isn't me who gives out the bounties," Chaz replied, not backing off, even if he was a bit scared of the Vice Admiral. "But he is dangerous. Previous to the attack against King Chap, he singlehandedly defeated one hundred marines and stole their warship. It said that he has buried thousands of people after he massacred his homeland, leaving only ruins and death behind."
Gion had her suspicions on that particular rumor. The Island of Colors, named after the town, was reported to be deserted now. She should take a visit to that island if she had time, as it reeked of lies. If what they said was true, what were the Marines doing on that island? Why didn't Snow kill them all, too, since he was capable of it? Gion wasn't so easily fooled. But it didn't matter; Snow was a pirate, and she would be the one who would capture him.
There were only a few islands where a pirate could acquire a log pose. And if the pirate was foolish enough to enter the Grand Line without one, they didn't deserve their bounties and would die in the sea. So, all she had to do was wait for Snow to show up. This, as well as the other two islands, were monitored by marines; even if they managed to enter the islands unnoticed, the underground factions that would sell log poses were monitored, too.
Gion had cast her webs; now it was time to wait until her prey fell into them. Once they were trapped in her webs, there was no escape. They would be captured, or they would be killed. At any moment now, she would receive a call that would tell her of Snow's whereabouts. Even if he was on the other islands, Gion's ship was fast enough to get here before Snow escaped.
But it wasn't a call that Gion received. It was the sound of something hard crashing into the middle of the town where they were stationed. At first, it was hard to tell what had happened, as all she heard were people panicking and yelling about a monster. As Gion ran to the site of the incident, she found a massive bird made of metal soaring into the sky from the rubble he created.
A.N. I have some bad news. I will be gone from May 6. I have been selected to do mandatory military training for nine months. I don't know how much free time I will have in the military, but from what I hear, I should have weekends off, even if not all of them. So, I will try to write as much as I can on weekends and holidays. Thought I would probably have to drop most of my stories until I finished my training. I want to focus on ending "What is dead may never die" and continue "Will of embers." So, sadly, I will drop this story. I just don't have any motivation to continue it now. I will post the rest of the chapters this week, and then I will see what I am going to do with it.
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