Shadow Keeper Pirates

by RyugaAburame

Money rules all, Tenryuubito rule money. After the natural deaths of the Worst Generation, the Marines cracked down on pirate uprising, all but wiping out aspiring pirates. The pirate life is all but lost. At a point like this, the only thing that can spark the fire of rebellion and revolution is a good book about a rubber man, written by none other than a skeleton with an afro.

21. He calls himself?

200 miles north of the small island, the unknown man that had clapped for the crew's takedown slowly floated to the ground in front of a metallic hut, landing gracefully on one foot and raising his arms out to the side at chest level. With a flick of his wrist and a nod of his head, a golden cane and a top hat appeared in his hand and on his head respectively. "Well, we have a bit more data on our fruit. It takes away cognitive functioning, so our beasties are a little too easy to take down. And I can't believe you didn't think of this, but the eyes are too vulnerable. That also makes the beastly thinking a problem. I was thinking you could toss in some echolo-"

"YOU DON'T THINK I TRIED TO COMPENSATE FOR THAT!?" Yelled an elderly woman's voice. The man took two steps back, twirling his cane nonchalantly. "Temper temper, Jackie. I was only suggesting."

The old woman opened the door to the hut, arms folded. "You think I can just throw in a bat's ear and you've magically got a fix to that?"

The man chuckled, placing his cane on the ground again. "I was led to believe you were a witch. Isn't magic-"

She snatched the cane from him and attempted to hit him in the leg with it, but the cane deformed, stretching around the his leg and splitting in two, then becoming whole again on the other side of his shin. He tipped the rim of his top hat down with a smile, "Now now, let's not be violent."

He snapped his fingers and the cane disappeared. "So, let's hear what you're working on."

Jackie rolled her eyes and folded her arms again, "Like you suggested, I'm working on a fix to the beastly nature. Echolocation I know I can do, but whatever's messing with the subject's minds will take longer to figure out."

"Aahh, you are a gift. Anything else you need from me?"

Jackie looked up towards the clouds as she thought. "For one, a bigger lab. And better test subjects. That little village has been too easy. Not a good enough trial for improvements."

He nodded with a finger to his chin, taking note of her demands. "Understandable. I'll get to work on those."

He started to float away, but stopped 2 seconds later and returned to the ground. "Would you also like a black cat? Witches are fond of those, right?"

Jackie slapped her hand to her face, slowly sliding it down out of pure annoyance, "Ugh, God. "

The man took off his top hat and bowed.

"That's my name. Don't wear it out."