I didn't want to write an author's note this chapter because I was tired but an author deserves my thanks. Welcome back and although the rest of what we wrote won't be sent today I am happy to send this one.

In a clearing deep in the forest, two men stood arguing over the uncoscious body of a pirate captain.

"I caught him first, so I should get more of the bounty. 70/30, in my favour." The gunman said.

"I caught him after you let him escape. 60/40, in my favor." Retorted the swordsman.

"60/40 in my favor, you mean. I'm the one who noticed he was getting away again." The gunman replied.

"50/50?"

"50/50."

As they usually did, the men agreed to go half and half.

Hesoi heard voices. These weren't the annoying voices of the Shakespeare Pirates which made muted alarm bells ring in his mind. Motioning for all the irritating chatterboxes to shut their traps, Hesoi crept quietly towards a clearing in the trees. He was going to find out what that sound was the trees were covering.

What Hesoi saw . . .

A badly beaten man was gagged and tied to a tree. In front of him were two logs, a smirking man sitting on each one, looking smugly at the man across from him. One had a sword strapped to his hip. The other had a holstered gun.

Hesoi was fearful to that these men would do to the man gagged and stuck to the tree. But, being Hesoi, he was also very interested in what kind of fight these guys could give him. He cracked his knuckles in anticipation, the sound causing his targets to peer warily in the direction of the bush he was hiding in.

With a smug smile (and a 'quiet down' motion to the oh-so-stealthy Shakspears), Hesoi walked into the clearing.

The gunman narrowed his eyes at the newcomer, while his companion smiled bloodthirstily. The swordsman spoke.

"Well, well, what do we have here? It's rare that we have visitors."

" Trust me, being a visitor here is much better than being a guest on that annoying Shakespeare pirate ship." Hesoi said. Behind him in the bushes, Riley and Dyson looked at each other. Should they do something?

Hesoi continued, "Now, which one of you is stronger, hm?" His smirk grew wider, challenging either man to make a move. If the gunman fired Hesoi was sure he could deflect and if the swordsman swings Hesoi was sure he could break his sword. But there was no point in fighting both of them. The weaker of the two would just irritate him.

" I know your the strongest one, gunman. Why don't you push that swordsman who looks so weak and we can have a real fight." he said cockily.

The gunman raised an eyebrow.

"97 million." He said simply. Everyone looked at him in confusion. Witha sigh, he clarified "You, mister Hesoi, are worth 97 million."

The swordsman grinned.

"He's worth more than this silly small-time captain. I call dibs!"

Both Hesoi and the gunman gave the sword-wielder a withering look.

"Who asked you?" Hesoi said boredly, before adding "Riley, Dyson, the sword-guy's yours."

Electricity shot into the sky as Riley made himself known to the swordsman. And although Dyson didn't have the powers Riley had he made a good entrance slashing his sword in the air.

"Tch." The swordsman made a noise of derision as the two came at him, separating him from the gunman. Hesoi threw a metallic fist at the gunman, forcing him to jump to the side. The gunman attacked in a manner that told Hesoi he was ready to fight the hard way.

Bang!

His guns had the ability to fire lots of bullets and faster than most small guns. Hesoi leapt back, slightly annoyed already with the speed and quantity of the little metal projectiles. Wait a minute . . . Hesoi grinned. He didn't need to dodge, he could just absorb the bullets instead. After coming up with his ingenious plan a bullet went right into his stomach. The bullet would have shot through Hesoi's heart if he didn't make the bullet go through his skin and then move to his finger.

The gunman was terrified seeing Hesoi still alive after being shot in the heart. His fingers shaked near the trigger until he found the strength to fire again and then again. But Hesoi just kept grinning, walking slowly towards the gunman.

Riley dodged, the sword slicing the ground where he'd been standing. The swordsman was increasingly frustrated about Riley being able to dodge. All he knew about Riley was he was fast and didn't carry a sword; he didn't know Riley could shoot out and control electricity.

The swordsman also wasn't paying any attention at all to Dyson, who was standing out of the way, waiting for an opportunity to strike without losing his head in a literal sense.

The Shakspear pirates slowly but surely sneaked around the perimeter of the clearing, intent on reaching their captain. Some of them felt bad for leaving Hesoi and his crew to fight a gunman and a swordsman but then they remembered how cold Hesoi had been to them.

Their captain was more important than their guilt. Besides, Hesoi seemed to be enjoying himself. Carefully, quietly, they began to saw through the ridiculously thick rope holding their captain to the tree. They saw no blood on the ropes but drops of blood stained over their captains body. It was hard to know what their captain was feeling, but his blood loss told them he needed the rope to be cut through right away.

Thankfully, the man was unconscious, so he was unable to make any sounds that would give them away.

The gunman backed away in fear, guns clicking uselessly as Hesoi continued to approach.

"Guess what I'm going to do?" Hesoi asked with a grin.

This swordsman guy was really annoying, Riley decided. Annoyingly fast. Once again, he twisted to the side to avoid getting hit. One hit from the sword and Riley could lose anything from the tip of one of his fingers to his whole hand. Muttering irritatedly under his breath, Riley clenched a fist, summoning his electricity. His fist was soon surrounded by crackling. Now, he continued to dodge, waiting for opportunity to strike. The swordsman noticed his crackly fist.

"What you up to, boy?" The man said with a high-pitched cackle.

" I'm just using every move I know from imagination and experience until I beat you."

The swordsman raised an eyebrow at the statement. Then he burst out into full-blown laughter, standing still with his head thrown back. That was his mistake. Riley leapt forward, hands crackling, reaching out to grab the swordsman.

The swordsman was so startled by Riley grabbing him that his mind didn't know what to do.

He continued to stand where he was like a deer caught in headlights.

Hesoi heard a loud crackling sound and a scream. He momentarily paused in his absorption of the gun to look at the swordsman across the clearing.
It would seem that his two crew mates were doing just fine. He turned his attention back to the gunman in front of him.

" I'm standing in a position no gunman can lose to a man in front of him. This gun is real and can kill, you should be dead when I shot you."

Hesoi thought the gunman was just being cocky because none of his other bullets hit him and became nothing more than strength for his power. However, Hesoi had forgotten to account for the substance known as Sea Stone. He was unprepared as the man whipped out a second gun and fired.

Riley looked down at the body in contempt. He didn't know if the swordsman was dead or not, and he didn't care. He heard Dyson sigh in relief, before suddenly gasping in disbelief. Riley turned to see what Dyson was looking at. Riley's eyes widened.

Across the clearing, Hesoi staggered back and coughed up blood. There was a Sea Stone bullet lodged in his chest, blocking him from activating his powers. He fell backwards, still coughing. The gunman stood over hi with a triumphant expression.

"That's what you get for being cocky." the gunman said, raising his Sea Stone loaded gun again, preparing to shoot Hesoi in the head.

Riley just stood in shock, staring in horror.

With a faint rustling sound, the Shakspears finally cut through the rope tying their captain to the tree. While everyone was still distracted, they prepared to carry their captain away, not noticing Hesoi's predicament in their concern for their leader.

Dyson ran as fast as he could, which was very fast indeed. The gunman, too caught up in the moment, didn't notice Dyson until the former Chore-Boy ran into him, knocking them both off their feet.

Bang!

The shot went wide. Hesoi stared, vision blurry. Was that really Dyson? Was that really the same half-coward marine he'd been dragging around? Hesoi had forgotten that while Dyson may be a half-coward, at times he was also half-lion.

Dyson scrambled to his feet, now having to face a very pissed off gunman. He gulped.

" You don't hit like you swallowed a Devil Fruit," the gunman laughed nastily.

"I didn't . . ." Dyson said in a tiny voice. The gunman didn't hear him.

" Something tells me all I need is an ordinary bullet." The gunman put his Sea Stone gun away leaving only his ordinary gun. He reloaded his gun just so there were bullets to shot the former Chore-boy with.

Riley finally shook himself from his daze. It was his turn to run towards the gunman, fists crackling with electricity. Even if the gunman knew one punch of Riley's fist could electrocute his entire skull and brain it wouldn't stop him from shooting Dyson.

They'd all forgotten about Hesoi. The man was on his knees, blood trailing from his mouth. His eyes seemed glazed, but that didn't mean anything. Hesoi had a strong will, enough to fight the weakening effect of the bullet lodged in his shoulder for long enough that he forced himself to his feet and lunged at the gunman before the trigger could be pulled.

Dyson watched as the gunman was pushed off his feet.

Bang!

The shot went wide, hitting at tree on the other side of the clearing instead of Dyson. Then Riley arrived on the scene, electrocuting the man before he could do anymore harm.

" Riley!" Dyson shouted. The next thing Riley knew Dyson was pulling Riley's hand in the air instead of on the gunman.