Chapter 49
A thousand meters over the sea, Victor flew fast in the same general direction as his warship.
It didn't take long, just after about 15 minutes, an island cloaked in the darkness gradually emerged in the field of his vision, which caused him to suddenly come to a halt from the rapid flight.
"Hmm... This must be it," he mumbled to himself, adjusting his gaze between the island in front of him and the mini-map projected on his eye.
Descending to about a hundred meters, he searched for a covertly convenient location to disable his suit's invisibility.
After all, the camouflage ability of the nano suit is something that is best kept a secret, for use as a trump card when the time comes.
And while he was looking about, he noticed that there were a few ships, including pirate ships, docked close to the harbor.
"So the Bone Butcher Pirates were here all along..." Victor muttered, seeing a Jolly Roger on one of them.
This particular pirate group has been terrorizing a number of islands inhabited by civilians, which was the reason his warship was making its way to this island in the first place, in order to apprehend them.
"That's..." Not far from the Bone Butcher pirate ship, a second pirate ship moored, flying the jolly roger of another, a more infamous pirate group. "What's this lot doing here, all the way away from the New-World?"
At the same time, inside this small village's sole pub.
Rustling and hustling sounded out loud within the pub as everyone laughed their lungs out, while the majority of the others spoke aloud as a result.
They were clearly not village residents at first glance, since they were all dressed in classic pirate gear. Their clothes were filthy, their teeth were as brown as wood, and the bulk of them had wounds all over their exposed bodies.
"Captain, this guy is the Bone Butcher, the new rookie with a bounty of 80 million..."
Three men sat at the table in the very center of the pub. One of them, a man that had a hideous scar on his right cheek said to the man in front of him while motioning to another on his right.
The individual who was referred to as the captain turned his attention to the man in question before asking, "Butcher... Do you know who we are?"
Bone Butcher, the man in question, was a big man with white hair and a dark complexion. "I'd be stupid not to recognize who you are... The infamous Human Blade..." He responded in a horse voice.
The captain, now called the Human Blade, was also a hefty man in comparison to the majority of those present inside this pub. He had brown hair and a brown complexion, and he wore black pants and a naked upper body with a scarlet cloak — characteristic of pirate commanders — slung over his shoulders.
The attention of everyone inside the pub got grabbed by a sudden sound of *BOOM* followed by the ground slightly shaking, seemingly something heavy falling to the ground not too far away from the bar.
The bar fell into stillness, and before their curiosity could take any action, the entry door opened, revealing a tall figure. However, because of the light coming in from outside, it was impossible for anybody to see the person's face.
*Step*
*Step*
The appearance started to clear as the individual moved slowly inside towards the last empty table. The figure had eyes as crimson as blood, clad in full black, and a black cloak that reached below the knees.
Every step the figure made filled the room with a sense of foreboding that radiated along with it, making the people inside feel as if it were the tik of their final moments.
*Step*
*Step*
Walking slowly to the table was deliberate, because in that little span of time, his glance crossed every face within the tavern, while Jaya did the scanning.
'Sure enough, all pirates...' He thought, focused on the transparent prompts in the corner of his vision.
The stillness continued, and everyone's attention continued to be focused on him, not surprisingly, because of the odd attire, coupled with the eerie sensation when he entered.
Then everyone saw the figure abruptly turn his attention in the direction of the bartender.
"Water in a glass, and meat..." Victor spoke looking across. No one could tell who it was since the sound modulator on the suit made the voice creak heavy and artificial.
The bartender stared back dumbfounded, his hand that was previously wiping a glass had long come to a stop when Victor entered. His mouth kept agape, however, to get him out of distraction, Victor let out a bit louder this time, "Water!"
The latter awoke from his trance and cried out, "Ri... Right away, sir..." before rushing in the direction of the glass bottles to his right.
The crowd eventually stopped being distracted, and the pub gradually returned to its boisterous environment.
"Who's this punk?"
Back at the table where the pirate Butcher sat, one of them, the one who appeared to be the captain Human Blade's subordinate , suddenly exclaimed.
And the tone he employed gave the impression that he was carefree, but the sweat beads that had formed a moment before contradicted his effort at nonchalance.
"Not our business..." Human Blade stated after glancing at Victor one more before swiftly retracting his gaze. He too felt a sensation of enormous crisis when Victor had previously crossed eyes with him. Something he felt only from his captain and his rivals.
Therefore, he decided right here and there to get out of the fray, unless of course, the other party deliberately decided to provoke. Even though the latter appeared to be dangerous, he wasn't the person to back down.
After all, his captain, the undisputed overlord of the current sea, would be losing face if he were to do so.
Chapter 50
In what seemed like a blink of an eye, nearly an hour passed as Victor devoured some meal, which, to his utter delight, tasted even better than he had thought it would.
During this time, he had been quietly overhearing the discussions of pirates inside this pub, in particular, the conversation that was taking place between the three guys who were sitting next to him.
Moreover, he had also communicated with A1 to obtain a rough estimate of when they would arrive on this island, so that he can begin the whole operation.
And at this moment one of the people sitting there abruptly got out of his chair and walked over to Victor.
'Ah... here comes the cliché asslicker of the young master...' Victor thought to himself.
"Hey, Punk, who do you think you are, hogging all the attention like you're some kind of big shot?" The man spoke condescendingly.
Victor continued to wipe his mouth with a piece of cloth, as his suit conveniently morphed a gap for it when he ate, and he did not even bother to cast a sideways glance.
"Hey, you def? Can't you even—"
"Is there something on my face?" Victor spoke, again, without so much as a glance toward the latter.
*Bang* His hand slammed on Victor's table before letting out, "do you know who we are?"
"Should I?"
The others all stopped chatting, and now their attention had been drawn to Victor and the man who was causing the uproar.
Victor had long stopped radiating his energy, making his presence as regular as a normal civilian. As a result, some of the people appeared to have forgotten how they felt when he first entered.
"Listen, punk..." the man drew the chair across from Victor and sat down abruptly. "We're the Flying—"
*BOOM!*
A gunshot rang out, cutting off whatever the man was about to say. When he turned around, he saw his Captain holding a pistol pointing up, its mouth emitting white smoke.
"Cap- Captain..." The man murmured, sweat beads forming on his brow.
"We're leaving..." the man who apparently had fired the shot, the same person whom Victor had been secretly observing, spoke with clear displeasure visible on his face. He got to his feet and headed in the direction of the exit.
Although he was courageous and a veteran with many years of sea experience, he was also a careful guy who understood when to avoid a confrontation with an opponent he knew nothing about.
After all, that pressure he had felt an hour back was no joke, and he was not about to put his life in danger for no good reason.
However, just as he took the first step, a distorted, and indifferent voice reverberated over the entire room, which made him come to a halt involuntarily.
"What's the hurry, Mr. Krats..." The distorted voice, Victor, spoke behind the mask. "Nicknamed the Human Blade, who ate Paramecia-type Blade-Blade Devil Fruit, and the Flying Pirate's 7th fleet commander, whose boss is the Lion him self... What a glowing resume, Mr. Krats..."
Victor's remarks were followed by a strange stillness, and after a little pause, the man now known as Krats spoke. "You know me. So what?"
"Oh nothing significant, Mr Krats..." Victor said, tilting his head to the side before continuing. "I simply came for your 360 million Beli head..."
The inner bar atmosphere was once again filled with unsettling silence.
But not for long.
"Hah... HAHAHAHA..."
Krats broke out laughing, as if he'd just heard the greatest joke ever. The rest of his thugs then joined in, laughing like there was no tomorrow.
What was particularly humorous was that none of them took any action against Victor, like the bunch of cowards they were, and instead simply followed the big man.
"Did you hear that, lads?
This fool is out for the captain's head..."
"Hahahaha... Who is this man... Doesn't he know who we are?"
"No... No... Didn't you all hear him brief the captain on the specifics... I'm sure he has a brain condition... Otherwise, why would someone purposefully irritate us..."
"That's exactly... hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha"
The thugs laughed and insulted Victor, flinging insults at him; nevertheless, Victor did not answer and sat with one knee crossed over the other, a blank expression on his face.
Krats' stare remained fixated on Victor, but he didn't say anything further after the initial burst of laughter.
He had been a pirate for a long time and had even battled against individuals more tougher than him. And he could tell by the power Victor exuded as he walked in that he wouldn't be easy to deal with.
But that doesn't mean he would disregard what Victor had said.
With such a behemoth behind him, it was now impossible for him to chicken out. His boss would be embarrassed if he lost or perhaps walked away. Something he will not let to happen at any cost.
Furthermore, he was not going to back down in front of his subordinates now. The reason he laughed out loud was because to maintain his face. After all, every pirate's reputation depended on it.
At this time, an unexpected person started giving out information about Victor. "I know him... People call him, the Boogeyman. A small-time bounty hunter who appears and disappears here in the Grand-Line."
"A bounty hunter?" Krats remarked, his gaze straying away from Butcher and Victor.
"Hmm... But, as far as I know, his targets never had exceeded 20 million..." Butcher elaborated.
"Hahaha... twenty million..." The thugs began snickering again, as if they had heard another fresh joke.
"Quiet!" Krats yelled, silencing the atmosphere immediately.
"Oh, I had no idea I was that well-known..." After a moment of silence, Victor spoke up.
"You aren't... I know this because a few months ago, you killed one of my men. I tried to find you. I wanted to kill the jackass who had damaged my good name. So I did some research, which is why I know some things about you..."
"I see... Well, I'm here now, Bone Butcher, aren't I?" Victor remarked, extending his hands in a snarky way. "So what are you going to do?"
Chapter 51
That did, indeed, elicit the expected reaction from the man. He began to shuffle slowly towards Victor's direction, snapping his neck's nerves as he did so.
Krats, however, did not interfere with Butcher's actions because he wanted to observe Victor in action and gain a better understanding of his capabilities.
The extras present began to disperse throughout the tavern, eventually surrounding Victor in a circle, leaving Butcher and Victor in the middle.
"Ah before you begin whatever it is that you're about to do, I'd like to tell you all lot a story." Butcher's motions came to a quick halt as a result of Victor's statements, but this was just a temporary pause as he raised his hand shortly afterward, and a pointed, long, white item started emerging out of the palm of his hands.
"Recount your stories to the damned of hell..."
The insult was disregarded by Victor, who instead placed his right hand on the table. He reached down and grabbed the wooden spoon that he had been using up until this point in order to consume the food.
The white spear, which appeared to be a long piece of bone and had obviously emerged from the butcher's torso, was held firmly in the butcher's grip.
Butcher swung it violently to the side in an attempt to hit Victor in the skull.
But.
Victor had vanished the instant Butcher began the move, reappearing to his right before burying a punch to his ribs, making him slump forward, and vomit a mouth full of saliva.
Butcher had to take a moment to catch his breath after getting whacked so hard. And during this time, Victor started to tell the story.
"Once upon a time, there lived a merciless mercenary who was dreaded by everyone in the underground world..."
*Cough*
*Cough*
Butcher forced himself to catch his breath, and his eyes were bloodshot. He paid no attention to Victor's statements and motioned to smash the spear at Victor once again.
But Victor left his spot again and came back on the other side before *BOOM*, again, he delivered the second blow to his gut.
*BLAKKK*
*COUGH*
*COUGH*
Because the sight appeared so unrealistic, the thugs who were around it held their breath the entire time. They did not strike back, as if they had collectively and inexplicably forgotten to do so, and instead chose to stay still while watching the events unfold in front of them.
Even Krats stopped still; he was, after all, astounded that he, a veteran from the New World who was competent in both Observation and Armament Haki, was unable to track Victor whenever he moved or vanished.
Victor strolled around Butcher while continuing his monologue.
"His tales were so exaggerated that some refused to believe the stories, and labeled him as a nobody.
However, to those who genuinely knew him, who had... Purchased... His services, you could say... To them, that fucking nobody... Was known as, the Baba Yaga."
*Cough* "The fuck are you talking abou-"
*BOOM*
Another blow slammed him in the midsection. Butcher's eyeballs were on the verge of exploding, and this time, along with the vomit, a chunk of the food he had just eaten also came out.
While Butcher lay on all fours and coughed constantly, Victor resumed his narrative.
"However, there were those unlucky souls who had the misfortune of falling prey to... the Baba Yaga. They all call him the... Boogeyman. Which is funny, because, Baba Yaga and Boogeyman, they both mean the same thing..."
*PLAKKKK*
"I'LL FUCKING KIL-"
Ignoring the rant, Victor seized Butcher by the hair and lifted him up, and then, with the same indifference, smashed yet another punch, *BOOM! * in the same location, his core, before releasing him.
The latter, after collapsing this time, curled into a ball and choked his guts clear with his cough. He was incapable of even standing up by the time he was coated in his own vomit.
"But you see... There were also people who were directly associated with this, Boogeyman... Acquaintances, you could say... For them..." Victor crouched next to Butcher who resembled a terrified monkey by this point, "for them, he wasn't exactly the Boogeyman."
Once more, Victor hoisted Butcher off the ground by grabbing him by the hair and pulled him up to his full height.
Victor and Butcher were roughly the same height, and at this moment, Butcher was suspended one quarter of a foot above the ground by a single hand that was holding him by the hair.
Every subsequent blow that Victor had delivered had transferred small sums of internal destruction Haki to Butcher, which finally resulted in Butcher being crippled from the inside out. At this point, the latter had lost all control of motions to his body.
His other hand, which was holding the wooden spoon, inched closer and closer to the eyes that were filled with despair until it halted a centimeter away.
Throughout all that was going on, Victor never once relaxed his guard and was also keeping an eye on the others who had encircled him.
And much to his amusement, not one of them, not even Krats, moved one inch. So he did nothing except carry on with the show.
"Mr Butcher... Do you want to know why, his acquaintances don't think of him as the Boogeyman?" In a condescending tone, Victor asked the question while twirling the wooden spoon in front of Butcher's eyes only one centimeter away.
Butcher was unable to respond since he had lost his ability to speak. He appeared terrified beyond belief.
"For them..." Victor began, "he was a man of devotion, focus, and sheer fucking will. The man had it all... You see, for them... He was NOT... The Baba Yaga, or! The Boogeyman."
*PUCHII*
"He was the man who was sent to KILL the fucking Boogeyman!"
Chapter 52
"He was the man who was sent to KILL the fucking Boogeyman!"
*THUD*
Victor let go of the Butcher, who at this point had a wooden spoon drilled deep into his eyes, and evidently... Dead.
A moment later, the faces of everyone looking all turned horrified after coming to a realization of what had just happened. Because the person that had just been butchered in front of them like a piece of meat, was no ordinary pirate like the lot of them.
Heck, that wasn't even a real fight. It was a brutal, one-sided thrashing, that led to the inevitable death. A public humiliation.
Even if Butcher was from the first part of the Grand Line, he was a person who had a Bounty of 80 million, and hence he cannot be regarded to be an average pirate.
*SIGH*
Victor's abrupt exhalation appeared to have jolted everyone out of their stupor, and they all geared up for battle right away.
Krats and his deputy, the one with the cross scar on his chin, also took a defensive attitude.
Victor, on the other hand, ignored all of these reactions and maintained his disinterested demeanor. He turned and took two steps toward his table.
He took the handkerchief and began wiping the palms of its nonexistent blood, thanks to the special characteristics of the nano suit. However, he did so since the performance had to be rated at least five stars.
A second sigh escaped from his lips as he placed the piece of cloth back on the table then picked up another, this time, a wooden fork.
As a result, everyone sprang up subconsciously and pulled their weapons, some swords and others firearms like pistols and rifles.
Krats too seemed to be in a state of utter vigilance. He even went through a bizarre transformation, which made a part of his body now seemed metal and formed a razor-like edge on his fingers, limbs, and some other parts of his body.
For Krats, this could be counted as one of the most humiliating days of his life. He, the dignified 7th fleet commander of the Flying Pirates, in the face of this enemy he had never heard of, was forced to watch, while the subordinate he had recruited just hours ago got killed humiliatingly in front of him.
"Ah... I haven't finished my story yet, gentleman."
"Shut the fuck up you frea-" One of the goons yelled.
However!
*RUMBLE*
Victor let loose his energy to spread outward, effectively shutting the guy up. Simultaneously, this energy spread farther causing a more dreadful and a heavy sensation. It even effected matter, vibrating the tables and the chairs until they eventually started forming cracks under this pressure.
And the thugs instantly collapsed to the ground, breathing deeply as if they each had a boulder resting on their shoulders.
Even Krats wasn't spared. He too had leaned forward, however, instead of collapsing to the ground like the rest, he gradually kneeled down on one knee. He did not fall to the ground.
"Damn it! Color of the Supreme... Why am I... getting..."
Krats, who was under an incredible amount of pressure, had unknowingly mistaken Victors momentum for the Haoshoku Haki.
Regardless, the end consequence of his energy momentum remained the same; according to Victor's assumption, the only thing that would changed about it would be the mental aspects of it.
In any case, he'll get the chance to test it out, after all, the Conqueror's Spirit hasn't yet had a chance to exert its dominance over him. After that, he might be able to access the ability with Jaya's help. If not, he can always counter fit some bullshit into the situation.
*Step*
*Step*
"Not too shabby, considering your power level is 53,000." Victor commented while pacing forward, and each step he took added more pressure to Krats, who had an expression of defiance etched all over his face.
*Step*
*Step*
"Who... exactly... are you?" Krats said through clenched teeth. His face was completely soaked in sweat as he resisted the strain of a mountain bearing down on him.
He was still having trouble believing this, reasoning that only the Haoshoku from his captain, or the very, very few like his captain, would have the power to render him immobile to this extent. However, that's exactly what appeared to be happening right in front of him at the moment.
Victor was oblivious of Krat's disbelief about the current situation, and even if he had known, he would not give a hoot.
Under the mask, he grinned menacingly, and the suit's exterior perfectly captured the gesture.
And anyone who even caught a glimpse of this maniac smile saw only one thing: a monstrous predator.
After pausing his forward progress, Victor started pacing in a circle inside the group of terrified men who surrounded him. For them, his attire resembled the skin of a black demon, and his cape appeared like its wings.
Ironically, while it appeared that he was the one who was included in the circle, the others perceived it in a complete 180.
"A more well-known story about him, the Boogeyman," Victor began his narrative once more again in front of the horrified eyes that encircle him, "They says he once massacred a bunch. A group of goons who were, like you lot, drinking inside a bar..."
All of Krats' subordinates' eyes widened at this point. Before, they were frightened, but now they are truly terrified. That this devil in front of them was ready to tell them how they were going to be murdered was on everyone's minds.
"Now, for you lot from New-World, killing a bunch of people inside a pub wouldn't be anything new right?" He spoke, slowing his feet once again. Though just for a second before continuing, but not before cracking another of his trademark grins.
"Well as you can guess..." He held up the wooden fork in front of his chest with one hand for everybody to see, then tapped the palm of the other hand with it. "He slaughtered them all..."
*WOOSH*
*PUCHI*
"Every last one. With a fork..."
The first to fall dead was a burly man to Victor's right. He had a hole between his eyebrows before thudding to the ground.
*WOOSH*
*PUCHI*
None of them were able to track Victor's movements despite their best efforts.
Even Krats, whose power level Jaya measured at 53,000, was insignificant in comparison to Victor's 120,000.
And while Victor took the lives of these criminals as though he was picking apples from a tree, his remarks continued to follow each corpse.
"A Fucking..."
*BOOM*
*VOOSHH*
*PUCHI*
*PUCHI*
"Fork..."
The echoes of *BOOM* and *PUCHI* reverberated at a high frequency, evoking an AK-47 Machine Gun Burst, until finally it stopped after a good six seconds.
Now just three individuals remain. It was Victor, who was clutching a bloody fork, Captain Krats, and the bartender, whose mouth was so wide open that it reached the floor, who, apparently had observed the entire incident.
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AN:
Sorry for the delay.
This week is Eid vacations, so I've been busy.
Enjoy four chapters in a row. And please, please comment your thoughts in reviews.
I know. Jhon fucking Wick. The scene you were picturing... That one, yes... Some of the dialogue may seem familiar. Nope, scratch that... I plagiarized the living shit out of it.
Please leave a review if you haven't already. It would be much appreciated. Any constructive critique is appreciated.
Aside from that, the auxiliary chapter has been updated. I can only hope that things have become clearer. Fingers crossed ?¬ワフ
Any way,
This is my PatrêOn.
ê / RyanFic
There will be no new chapters there because I'm uploading everything here, but if you do decide to support me, please know that I am extremely grateful.
Thank you for your support.
