Everyday Life with the Straw Hats
Liminal Tournament arc: part 3: An Important Client
The straw hats arrived at the island where the tournament was being held. they stepped onto the docks and began approaching the main entrance, looking at the surrounding area.
"Wow, look at all of these people here" chopper said in awe, "I've never seen so many different types of liminals before!"
"Not all of them are liminals, chopper, most of the are but some of them are minks as well." Smith informed.
"I've heard of minks before." Mero spoke up "They are similar to liminals but they are all mammals, correct?"
"Yes, that is true. and they are also known for their incredible strength. don't let their looks fool you." said Smith.
they reached the front gates of the facility. it looked like an old worn out fortress of sorts that looked like it went through hell and back. its appearance definitely seemed like it would attract a lot of the kind of shady and crooked people, which made sense considering the nature of this illegal liminal tournament.
"Look at how cool this place is, its like a super bunker that has withstood battle after battle!" Luffy exclaimed in excitement "Hey Franky, could you build something like this?"
"What kind of question is that?! I built the Sunny which I'm sure could take way more damage than this puny clubhouse could!" Franky said angrily. "My craftsmanship far exceeds this pile of junk."
Smith interrupted their conversation so she could discuss some important matters. "Okay, listen up everybody. the Tournament will be official starting very soon, but I need to go over the plan one more time. okay?"
everyone looked towards Smith, they could tell she was being serious which was rare for her, they gave her their undivided attention.
"Okay, first is team A, Fighting team. this will consist of Luffy, Zoro, Sanji and Cerea. the four of you will be fighting in the tournament, the goal is for any one of you to win, it doesn't matter who. the winner gets to meet Khann Menshild. He is the host of this tournament and he is the leader of the MAD organization. he is the one we are after so when one of you gets to meet him you need to place this tiny location tracker on his sleeve when you go to shake his hand." Smith explained as she gave each member of Team A a tiny tracking device the size of an ant. "That way he can be tracked back to his home base and the agency I work for can go and apprehend him and seize everything from his headquarters."
"Team B, Sneaking Team. that will consist of Usopp, Rachnera, Brook, Franky, myself and my other comrades. once the tournament starts, that when we will have our chance to infiltrate the secret areas of the facility and find where any prisoners or slaves are being kept, we need to be quick because once the tournament is over, our opportunity is over and our chance of success goes to zero" Smith stated.
"Other comrades? who are you talking about?" Usopp asked with a confused look on his face.
"You'll meet them soon, they are on their way here as we speak." Smith answered.
"Team C, Intel Team. this will comprise of everyone else who is not in team A or B, your job may seem simple but it is just as important, you will be in the spectators area watching the tournament. since the fighting team will be too busy fighting to communicate with anyone of us, you need to be the eyes and ears and tell us if you see anything that could be vital like guards going on patrol or if you hear other spectators talking about something that could be important, you need to tell Team B everything that goes on."
Smith lowered her sunglasses to look at everyone very firmly. "One more thing, this tournament is social event for many top-tier members in the underground, and many of them have connections to other high-profile individuals who are apart of the black market. Does everyone understand their role?"
everyone nodded in agreement.
"Okay" Smith began, bracing herself since there was no turning back now. "Lets go inside and finish this mission nice and easy."
Inside the Facilitiy: Khann Menshild's office
"Sir, you have a visitor who needs to speak with you, I think its very important." someone said to Khann over his transponder snail.
Khann smiled "I know who it is, let him in, I've been expecting this visitor."
a large muscular individual walked into Khann's office, he had long hair and muscles so bulky he could crush a boulder on his arms just by flexing.
"Aw, hello there, it is good to see you. I assume you came by to discuss the arrangements between myself and your Boss"
"I'm here on his behalf because my boss is a very busy person and I'm here to make sure the agreement between the two of you is not forgotten." the visitor said.
"I would never forget an agreement like this, especially with someone that has a reputation as big as your boss." Khann smiled slyly "It was very thoughtful of him to donate such important artifact for me to use as the grand prize for the winner of the tournament."
the visitor glared at him "It was not a 'donation' it was a part of our agreement. besides the representative from my captain's crew will surely win the prize back so there is not much of a concern about losing the artifact." the visitor said matter-of-fact, making sure there was no misconception about why Khann received the artifact to use for the grand prize. "But remember your part of the deal" the visitor continued. "Regardless of who wins or loses the tournament, all the prisoners and slaves you have stored away at this tournament facility and at your headquarters will be given to my boss as 'new recruits'. you want the protection that will be guaranteed from my captain along with the entire fleet that he has, right? then make sure to keep your end of the deal and there won't be any trouble."the visitor finished.
"I know, I know, you don't have to remind me, I would never betray your captain. he has too much influence and power to get on his bad side." Khann starts to smile characteristically, "Besides, I am very honored to have a client that is a Pirate Emperor such as your captain."
"I'm glad you still understand the importance to this deal and to not overstep where you are in the pecking order." the visitor stated with an intimidating glare. "I'll be leaving soon, but first I'm going to go socialize with the other visitors here. keeping connections strong and relationship positive is an important thing, especially in the black market. wouldn't you say?" the visitor said with an intimidating stare at Khann.
Khann didn't let it faze him one bit and greeted the visitor goodbye. "Please, enjoy your time while your here. and give my regards to your captain. I understand he is a busy man but you did a fine job coming here to discuss the subject with me." khann for the first time gave a subtle but menacing glare back at the visitor "Jack the Drought."