Crater Island

Victor woke up in bed, shirtless. His wounds bandaged and his arm in a sling. (The one that was punctured by El Toro.)

He found himself in a small room that looked like a simple hotel room except that it was adorned with medical tools and supplies.

"So you're finally awake. I was worried that you might die from blood loss." Said a young woman with white, short-cropped hair and a line scar on her left cheek. She didn't look like a doctor by how she was dressed in casual attire, but he wasn't in a situation to complain.

"What happened? Who are you?" Victor demanded as he tried to get up, but she placed her hands on him to keep him from doing so.

"Just relax, you've been out for 3 days. How you're not dead is a miracle in itself." She said as she pushed him back down and placed a hand on his forehead.

Victor had a feeling of nostalgia from her motherly motion, blushing a little.

"Well, you don't have a fever so that means no infection, which is good." She said to herself as she walked away, pulling out a cigarette and a lighter.

"As to your questions, my name is Clair, the doctor of Norte Town. Your friend brought you and Tanner on his back. I'm amazed that he could make the trek on his own in this place. It's more than 50 miles from O'este town. I'm sure that Tanner helped him with directions cause that poor man couldn't see his own hand if it was right in front of his face." She explained as she lit a cigarette and took a drag, gently blowing out the smoke.

"So where are they?" Victor asked.

"Tanner is resting in the next room and your friend, Jesse I think it was. He has been wandering through the town for these last few days, trying to gather information about Crater Island."

"He has? Why?" Victor asked.

"He mentioned that a man named El Toro was heading there."

"El Toro!" Victor growled, forcing himself to get up, collapsing the instant he tried to walk.

"You idiot! Do you want your injuries to reopen!" Clair shouted, using herself as a crutch and put him back on the bed.

"You need time to heal. With your injuries, you should be dead by all accounts. So try to calm down. He's been gone for a while so he should be coming back soon." She said.

Jesse opened the door to the building.

"Hey, Miss Clair! How's he doing today?" He asked.

"Speak of the devil." She said as she cupped her mouth. "He's awake so you can talk with him!"

Jesse walked in with a relieved smile.

"Took you long enough. I'd thought I'd have to start looking for a nice tombstone." He said as he took his hat off and sat down across from Victor as Clair left them alone.

"So how is the sheriff?" Victor asked.

"He'll live, luckily the bullet missed his vitals, but the alcohol made his blood thin so he would have died anyways if I hadn't carried him to the town."

Victor felt better after hearing that.

"That's good."

Jesse's tone became serious.

"Yeah, I'm sure that you know by now, El Toro is headed for Crater Island. After you were beaten, he got information on its whereabouts and immediately left."

Victor was confused when he heard this.

"But how? Tanner said that anybody who knew about its location was dead."

"That's not entirely true." Said Tanner, walking in, his side patched up from the bullet wound.

"Looks like the old man has been holding out on us." Jesse explained.

Tanner lowered his head as if he was ashamed.

"I'm sorry for deceiving you. Even though I was dying, I felt that if there was a way to save the two of you, since you were the first decent people I've met in a long time. I decided to give him the information that he wanted."

XXXXX

(3 days ago)

Victor's body lay half buried in a large crater made from El Toro's finishing move

El Toro walked out of the crater his body made, returning to his human form.

"Now that he's taken care of. We need to find out where to find Crater Island. Since all this town has left is that guy and the old man. I doubt they know. Kill them." He said, putting on his cape.

The pirates readied their guns.

"Wait. I am the only one that knows what you are looking for. I'll tell you, if you let us go." Tanner begged on his hands and knees, fighting to stay conscious.

El Toro raised his hand to stop his men.

"Ok then. If you tell us, I will let you go." He said, turning to the man.

Tanner felt more at ease when he heard this.

"Thank you. The Island cannot be found by the Log Pose. I am the only one who knows its location. If you head due south for 10 hours and southwest for 10 more. You will find it. The treasure, however, I know nothing about."

El Toro carefully listened to the man's words.

"Gracias, your information will be put to good use. However, since you say that you are the only one left that knows how to get there. I can't have others getting in my way so I must keep them from having that information."

His men were about to fire upon them, but Jesse had prepared for such a thing. Being a former Marine, he knew better than to take a pirate at their word.

"Get down!" He shouted as he tossed a small bag with a lit fuse. Inside was gunpower that exploded into a large smoke cloud.

"Damn that insect." El Toro growled as his men shot into the cloud.

"Come on. We don't have time to waste. Our mission is more important than a couple of weaklings." He ordered as his men stopped shooting and they moved out towards their ship.

Jesse and Tanner were hiding behind one of the buildings after the crew left the town.

"Hey old man. Where's the nearest town with a doctor?" He asked.

"Norte Town, but it's a long ways to get there, why?"

"Cause I'm taking us there."

XXXXX

"And that's what happened." Jesse said. "Oh, and I saved this for ya."

Victor caught the piece of straw that he gave to Jesse.

"Thanks." He said, putting it back in his mouth.

"So now that you know where El Toro is headed. What will you do?" Tanner asked.

"Kick his ass." Victor said bluntly.

Tanner looked like he was going to have a heart attack.

"You can't be serious. The last time, you were beaten bloody. What makes you think that you have a chance in the condition you are in. Besides, he has a 3 day head start and quite possibly has found the treasure." Tanner exclaimed.

"Well we won't know until we go there, right."

Victor then seemed to be in thought for a moment.

"I'm hungry. Where can I get some food?"

The two men fell from the tense moment being shattered by that phrase.

"Jeez, I don't understand you sometimes." Jesse said as he rubbed his sore head.

Victor just grinned.

"Hey now, I haven't eaten in three days so cut me some slack."

XXXXX

All three went to a local restaurant as Victor inhaled everything within reach. Despite his emphasis on manners, sating his hunger took priority.

After a short while, he drank a glass of water in several big gulps before slamming it down in satisfaction.

"Ah, I feel alive again." He said as he leaned back, cleaning his teeth with his straw.

After this, Jesse decided that it was a good time to speak.

"So, what are we going to do about Crater Island? El Toro and his men could have found the treasure by now and took off before we even arrive."

Victor took in the information.

"That is a possibility. But I doubt that they found the treasure after only a few days. But still, I intend to seek retribution. He should have made sure that I was dead." He said, a grin beginning to spread on his face.

"After what you went through, a normal man would have been dead a hundred times over. Who wouldn't think you were dead?" Jesse stated.

"You didn't." Victor replied.

"That's because I know you better than they do. You wouldn't be much of a captain if you couldn't survive that."

Victor laughed. "Even a tough captain would've been killed. I'm just made of sturdier stuff."

"But what about your injuries? Earlier, you could barely walk." Tanner pointed out.

Victor looked at his arm in the sling.

"Oh that? I just needed to get some food. I feel a lot better anyways." He ripped off the sling and bandages, revealing that his worst injuries looked more like scratches now, shocking the two men.

"What are you? How can your wounds have healed so quickly?" They asked.

"Like I said. I'm sturdier than most people."

Victor, Jesse, and Tanner went back to the clinic where Victor found his shirt, which now had a large hole in it.

"So are we ready to go?" Victor asked.

"Yeah. The Magna Carta is docked near the town so all we have to do is set sail." Jesse replied as he put on his hat.

"Good, it looks like the Log Pose has already set for the next island. Plus, the sooner we head out, the better the chance we have at catching up to them."

XXXXX

Victor and Jesse boarded the Magna Carta while Tanner stood on the pier.

"Well I hope you boys do the smart thing and don't get involved with those pirates. Even if you are Hunters, you won't stand a chance." He advised.

"Well it's too bad that we're not that smart." Victor said with a grin.

"Jeez, are you two trying to give me a heart attack." He griped.

"Don't worry. I don't intend to lose this time." Was all Victor said as he waved.

"It was nice to meet you, Sheriff. Take care now."

Tanner waved back.

"I will, I just hope the two of you do the same."

XXXXX

Victor turned the ship to the west to go around the island so they could start their trek to Crater Island.

"Hey Victor. I know that we could leave when we were ready."

"Yeah, so."

"So, what the hell is this?" Jesse said, looking at several large empty barrels.

Victor jumped down from the helm and smirked.

"This is my plan to beat El Toro." He explained as he pat one of them.

"Care to explain?" Jesse asked.

"Well you know. As powerful as El Toro is, he has one major weakness that he never should have showed me."

"And what is that?"

"That he's a Devil Fruit user."

"Didn't seem like a weakness last time." This comment got him a dirty look from Victor. It sort of scared him.

"So what does that have to do with the empty barrels?" He asked, trying to change to subject.

Victor snorted as he cooled off.

"Just like all of the people who eat a Devil Fruit, they forever lose the ability to swim. So I'm going to bring the ocean to El Toro."

"So you mean to throw barrels of sea water on him?"

Victor scratched the back of his head.

"Not exactly."

XXXXX

From a bird's eye view, one would believe that the island was covered in craters, like it was bombarded by a meteor shower.

Deep within the Island, El Toro watched from the edge of the gigantic crater for which it was named. Down below, people were digging multiple tunnels with pickaxes and shovels while others pushed carts filled with rocks to dump them out of the crater.

Of course, these weren't El Toro's men. They were captured pirates of other crews that El Toro had beaten. El Toro's men were the 'motivators' using whips and other tools of pain to keep the workers from stopping.

"Captain, how long do we plan to stay here? Others before us have never found anything except rocks and ruins. Is there really supposed to be a treasure here?" Spada asked.

"No, what we are looking for isn't treasure." El Toro explained.

"Then what, sir?" His 2nd in command asked.

"According to the information my organization gave me. The ancient civilization here was destroyed by a weapon of their own creation. A weapon that can obliterate an entire island sounds like it would be a great use in our plans." El Toro answered.

"Does a weapon of such power actually exist?"

"Even I think it is merely a legend, but if we were to find it. Our organization would become a force that nobody could oppose."

El Toro spread his arms wide as if proclaiming his superiority.

"Then, we will destroy the World Government and bring true freedom to this world!"

His men heard his words and raised their arms in the air.

"Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!" They shouted in unison.

XXXXX

(20 hours later)

The Magna Carta could see the island in sight, along with El Toro's small fleet of ships.

"Looks like we're in the right place. We should search for a cove so that we don't get spotted." Jesse suggested.

"Got it." Victor gurgled as he drank a giant barrel of sea water in giant gulps.

Victor let out a breath as he set the barrel down.

"Phew, this is harder than I thought is was gonna be." He groaned as he grabbed another barrel of water that drifted alongside the ship.

"I think you've had enough. I'm still trying to figure out where you put it all."

Indeed, Victor's body didn't really look different despite his never-ending binge.

"Lots of sit ups." He laughed as he pat his stomach.

"Honestly, I think you're idea is half-baked at best. But at this point, there's no more time to come up with a new one." Jesse claimed.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine." He walked to the bow.

"Great, now I gotta take a piss."

"I suggest you don't if you want to retain that reservoir of water in your body." Said Jesse.

"Right." Was all Victor said as he fought back the urge.

XXXXX

After finding a small area of water inland, they docked and searched the area for any enemies.

"It looks clear. They must be searching for the treasure right now so we shouldn't have a problem getting spotted."

The two continued to investigate, finding mostly ruins of ancient buildings and old tunnels that prior treasure seekers either found nothing, or possibly died from a tunnel collapsing.

"Feel anything?" Victor asked.

"Nothing, but my ears are picking up sounds from that direction." Jesse pointed farther inland.

"Ok, that's where we're headed."

XXXXX

Not long afterwards, they came across some men whipping some workers who were hauling rocks away from the site.

"Move faster you ingrates! The Captain doesn't take kindly to slackers if you catch my drift! If he catches you taking a break, what I'm doing will seem like a flea bite compared to what he'll do to ya!" Shouted one of the men as he struck long gashes on their backs, causing them to scream in pain.

"That bastard!" Jesse growled as he readied his guns.

"Lets go." Victor yelled as they jumped into action.

"What the hell?" The man with the whip said as he turned to get a face full of fist, causing it to cave in before he spiraled into a rock wall.

"Intruders!" Shouted another as he pulled out a pistol to shoot, but Jesse slammed the butt of one of his revolvers on the man's head, knocking him unconscious.

"That takes care of them." Victor said as he dusted off his hands.

The slaves, seeing their captors beaten, collapsed. Exhaustion taking over their bodies.

Victor walked to one of the men and knelt down.

"Don't worry, they won't be getting up anytime soon. So tell us, where are the rest and how many are there?" He asked.

The man was bleeding badly, but he managed to gain some strength and look up at him.

"I don't know how many. More than a hundred I think. The main site is at the center crater to the south. But going there is suicide. Their captain is as strong as a monster. Even our captain was killed easily by his 2nd in command. They brought us here to dig their tunnels for some treasure that existed here a long time ago. That's all I know."

Victor nodded.

"Thanks, now rest. We'll handle this." He said as he stood up.

"Come on. We've got unfinished business."

"Aye Captain." Jesse said as they headed south.

The two quickly made their way south. Encounters with the Libre pirates were rare so most likely they were all focused at the center of the island.

Finally, they reached the crater, which must have been over a dozen miles in diameter and incredibly deep.

"So this is where the treasure is most likely at." Jesse said.

"Possibly, but I wonder what kind of treasure could have survived whatever did this." Victor stated.

"You've got a point. Now how do you think we should go about all of those pirates down there? Not to mention El Toro and Sangre Spada."

"Well we could make some sort of distraction. All we need to do is figure out what we could use to do it."

"How about a big explosion?" Jesse suggested.

"That could work if we had something that could do that." Victor replied.

"How about these?" Jesse showed him a handful of dynamite.

"Where did you get those?" Victor asked.

"Found them when you were asking that guy questions earlier." He stated.

"And you didn't bother to tell me." Victor said, the vein on his head throbbing.

"I didn't think it was that important."

This caused Victor to knock Jesse on the head.

"Ow, what did I do?" Jesse whined, a large bump formed underneath his hat.

Victor didn't even answer as he looked around, his eyes catching El Toro in the distance.

"Ok, well we have a means to cause a commotion. So here's what we're gonna do."

XXXXX

El Toro was like a gargoyle as he stood watch over the excavation.

Sangre Spada appeared at his side.

"Anything to report?" He asked.

"Nothing about the weapon. However, some of the workers were buried in one of the mines. I don't think we can continue digging in such an unstable area.

"It's not important enough for me to worry about. Just tell them to keep digging." He ordered.

"As you wish." Spada said with a bow.

Just then a great explosion in the distance caught everyone's attention.

"What the hell? There's no workers over there." El Toro said.

"Spada, take some men and check it out." He commanded.

"Yes, Captain."

Spada took 20 men with him and they headed out with guns and swords while El Toro continued to watch the main site.

"Looks like you're running low on manpower!" Said a familiar voice, which El Toro instantly recognized.

"What the… Impossible!" He turned to see Victor high in the air, quickly falling towards him.

"What's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost." Victor said as he pulled back his fist.

El Toro snorted as he prepared himself.

"You've already lost to me before, what makes you think you can beat me now?" El Toro said as he tightened his muscles and raised an arm to block the punch.

His arm successfully blocked the punch, but for some reason, it gave easily to the smaller man. Much to El Toro's surprise he was hit with his own arm and sent flying across the crater, plowing through people and rock as he tumbled everytime his body hit an obstacle. Finally, he stopped, facedown on the ground.

Victor landed, crushing the ground beneath his feet.

"Preparation." Victor stated as he raised his fist as if to show that he was predicting the outcome of the fight.

El Toro began to chuckle from his position. Then he exploded into laughter as he pushed himself to his feet.

"I don't know how you changed in such a short amount of time, but it still won't do you any good. This time I'll be sure to finish the job!"

The man wasted no time as he transformed, becoming the monstrous bull that had easily beaten Victor before.

Everyone saw this and ran in fear of the beast, even his own men.

El Toro blew twin streams of air from his nose as he threw off his cape.

"This time, you will die!" He slammed a hoof down on the ground, cracking it.

"I don't think so." Victor replied as he got in a stance.

El Toro roared as he charged at full speed, shaking the ground like an earthquake as he lowered his horns.

XXXXX

A/N

The next two chapters will involve fights between the Vice-Captains and the Captains so prepare for some action.