Hello fellow readers, Lord Sylph here with another chapter of Omni-sea. I want to apologised for the long wait and I will try to post new chapters every week or every month at most. I opened a P'atreon page so if you want to make a donation to help me keep up with my work I would appreciate. I will keep writing even though but the help will help me to speed up the process.
Omni-Sea
Chapter 2
Learning the Way around the Seas
"We need to make a few adjustments on that thing." Ben said while eyeing the Marine ship docked near the island's shore. Rook, Merin and him where resting after beating the entire Marine troop that tried to kill them and then proceed to get rid of the platoon on board their vessel. The entire force was knocked unconscious in the middle of the island and was restrained by a thick layer of clay thanks to Merin's powers.
"You sure aren't suggesting that we should hijack a ship owned by this planet local law enforcement?" Rook asked with concern about his partner's idea. Merin, on the other hand, sure was on board with that.
"Look man, those guys were about to kill every one of us in the name of their fanatic "Absolute Justice" doctrine." The young man said with clear despise in his voice. "You need to understand, Rook, that things on these waters aren't black and white. There are dipshits and fucking assholes inside the Marine and you just saw a few of them, with luck you can see a few straight and right Marines that have some human decency but the rest are thrash." Ben couldn't help but cringe at the words of someone so young having such hatred against anything or anyone.
"Rook." Ben said to gain the alien's attention. "Maybe we need to hold our own opinions until we get how things in this place really work. It's not the first time that I have encounter societies with corrupt governments and corrupt law enforcement." The alien knew by this point that all the things he knew and studied at the Plumber's academy wasn't always accurate and you had to adapt according to the present situation.
"Fine, but I want you to tell us the history of this place if you want our help from now on." Rook said to Merin. The young devil fruit user nodded at that suggestion.
"You got a deal man. Now, we need to get that ship a makeover to erase any hint that could be, in anyway, traced back to the Marines and we should get going to the next island.
"I think I know the perfect guy for that job." Ben said while selecting an alien to take Merin and Rook to the ship so they could leave that island before anymore surprises could pop out. "Astrodactyl!" Ben yelled in his new form that looked like a bipedal dinosaur with a green coloured jet pack on its back.
"I still can get used to the idea he is not a devil fruit user." Merin said while watching how Ben took off the ground thanks to the device he was using. The flying alien used its talons to grab Rook and Merin in an iron grip and they were carried to the ship.
"What kind of modifications we should implement on that vessel Marin?" Rook asked to the young scholar but the only answer he heard was a panic plea.
"Please don't let go of me." Merin said while holding on Astrodactyl's leg like a lifeline. "If I fall it would be the end of me." The alien plumber saw terror on the clay user and it was caused by the possibility of falling into the ocean.
"What's the matter?" Rook asked.
"Devil fruit users can't fall into the water. We grow weak depending on how much we submerged, if our bodies fall under water we become hammers without any way of moving until we drown." Merin said with fear.
"So not only that Kairouseki thing can hold you but you need to be careful around water?" Ben asked while approaching to the ship and he looked down to his passenger to receive a nod for an answer. "Men, that's just stupid, you get a super power only to never swim or enjoy being on water for a nice bath in a tub." The alien hero couldn't avoid thinking about that massive flaw in the devil fruits.
"That's a useful piece of information Ben." Rook said. "You got a bunch of aliens that use water as a weapon. If we encounter more of those individuals you can easily neutralize them using their weakness."
"I know but it's like a bad joke, you know?" Ben said and they arrive on the ship's deck in just seconds. Marin felt relieved that he was on the solid ground and started to look for the necessary tool to get their journey moving.
"What should we do about the roles in this vessel?" Rook asked after seeing that the ship was pretty big and it required a certain number of hands to handle it.
"Well, you are good with guns and keeping everything in check so you can be the gunsmith and second in command." Ben said after returning to his original form. Rook gave him a look. "What?"
"What about you? You will be the captain?" The alien plumber asked.
"It will be a way to make reality one of my childhood dreams." Ben said while laughing. "Being the captain of a pirate ship was one of those regular dreams of mine."
"Ben, we are not pirates. We are members of an intergalactic peace keeping organization and we shouldn't be even here." Rook complained about the way his partner was dealing with their current situation.
"I am sure that kicking the shit out of a platoon of Marines and taking possession of their ship it's just what it takes to be branded as a pirate." The alien hero said and the plumber knew that he was right. "So we just need to roll with this and once we start sailing Marin can fill us in about this whole gig," Ben finished the conversation just before the clay user came out of the lower quarters of the vessel, he was carrying a curious device on his wrist.
"This is a Log Pose, like I said before we need this to reach any place on this sea." Ben and Rook saw that the device looked like a compass but the needle was suspended inside of a crystal sphere.
"I remember you said that it follows the magnetic fields of the different islands of the Grand Line so the ships can sail without getting lost." Rook said and Merin nodded at the alien.
"That's right, without this thing we can be sailing for days and week in circles without possibly know that we got lost." That really was a scary fact.
"Man, this place sure it's messed up." Ben said. "Ok, now that we got ourselves a ship and you got our only way to navigate around here you should take the navigator's position." That statement made Marin run to the helm and get his position.
"Aye aye captain Ben." Marin said like an obedient minion while laughing.
"Second in command Rook." Ben said with a smile on his face. "Lift the anchor so we can start our journey."
"You are enjoying this, aren't you?" Rook said with an annoyed look on his face at seeing the current situation.
"I would be lying if I said otherwise." Ben said while selecting an alien to make modifications and adapt the ship. "XLR8!" Ben transformed in a bipedal alien with a raptor's look and claws for hands and a helmet on his head. A blur soon went down through the stairs to start searching for tools and things to get rid of and Merin couldn't help himself.
"How much it takes to get used to the things he does?"
"Well, it took me a couple of years and a lot of headaches." Rook answered after finishing his chore and went down to start an inventory of the things available on the ship.
"In what kind of thing I got myself into?"
Nightime – Grand Line
"I can't believe what you have done on this thing?" Marin said while eating the food that the Marine had in their cargo. The current owners of the ship where sit in front of one of the tables close to the kitchen and they enjoyed of a cooked meal.
"You said that we needed to get rid of anything that could be related to the Marine so I did that." Ben said.
"Are you sure it was a good idea leaving the helm unattended?" Rook asked the navigator of the ship.
"Don't worry, I locked the helm and we are still going on the right course." Marin said while showing the Log Pose and the needle didn't move an inch.
"Good to know that." Ben said while finishing the content of his plate and pat his belly with satisfaction. "We should retake the conversation that we couldn't finish on that island Merin." The clay user looked at his captain with confusion. "You know. The one where you were going to tell me why you had a bounty on your head and the Marines that showed up tried to kill all of us just for being with you." Rook also wanted to know about what was the deal about Merin and the local law enforcement members.
"I guess I own you two an explanation." The scholar said while thinking about how to start that difficult conversation. "First you two need to understand that archaeologists and every one that dedicated his life to discover and unravel the mysteries of the past it would be branded as a criminal and be hunted like an animal."
Ben and Rook showed shocked and horrified expressions on their faces after hearing the words of Marin.
"Why is that!? Should the history not be recorded and studied for the future generations to learn where they come from?" Ben asked in his ingenuity that things should be like they were back on Earth. Rook, on his side, soon adopted a serious façade and spoke what was on his mind.
"The government tries to bury and erase all kind of records of something compromising for their hold on this land." That statement made Ben understand the situation and Marin looked at the plumber. "They fear what will happen if the rest of society know about the past."
"That is correct, Rook." Marin said while closing his fists in anger until his knuckles turned white. "That same fear and insanity for power drove them to eradicate the people of Ohara." The words of Marin caused Ben to show a face of anger.
"They commit genocide on an island just for people trying to understand and share knowledge?" For the Earth native that was just impossible to believe. Who in the fuck authorizes a genocide just for studying history!?
"By the time we knew back on our home that Ohara was branded as a devil's nest that was plotting to create weapons of mass destruction and other bullshit built on lies and propaganda it was too late. The merchants and other usual visitors of our island gave the government the tip about our locations in hopes of earn a huge amount of Belli." At that point, Marin couldn't do anything to stop the tears falling through his cheeks at remember what happened with his people.
"I should have gone Humongasaur on those bastards!" Ben yelled and tried to calm down after hearing the kind of sick shit that him and Rook landed on.
"Marin." Rook said with a calm voice to the young scholar, the clay user looked at the plumber. "I am sorry about the way I judged you after meeting you."
"It's okay." Marin said trying to stop crying. "You guys didn't know about me and the situation of this place. It's understandable."
"Now I can understand why you wanted to get rid of anything that said "Marine" on this ship." Ben said remembering how the navigator made him threw away all the uniforms, flags, and pieces of equipment that were branded with their colours.
"You escaped thanks to those merchants that owned the ship were Ben found you?" Rook asked.
"Yes, I was happy to know that at least there was some decent human beings that said fuck off to that bloody money." Marin said but then his expression turned sour. "But that didn't stop the rest of those pricks to give information of my whereabouts to those bounty hunters that killed the crew that helped me escape."
"Rook, what do you think about being labelled a pirate now?" Ben asked his partner and the plumber look at the hero.
"If being a criminal it's going against the kind of people allowing these acts." Rook started to say before smiling. "Then we should be the worst kind of pirates that they ever dealt with, captain." Ben couldn't help but snort at those words.
"Why would you want to take a fight with the whole world?" Marin asked suddenly. The duo looked at the scholar and they saw a desperate young man. "The World Government it's a coalition of more than 180 countries and kingdoms with the backup of the Marine and other secret organization, the two of you would just walk straight to your deaths." Ben remained silent after hearing those words, he took a moment to see a broken young man that lost everything he knew and now was being hunted like a criminal.
The alien hero walked and took a knee in front of Marin so their eyes could met.
"Because that's what heroes do." Ben said with a conviction that shattered every wall of doubt inside of Marin's mind. "If the world it's wrong then we will fight until the very end to change it. Death won't stop us and we will help every person that asks for our assistance." After saying that, Ben put his hand on his navigator's shoulder and gave him a smile.
"It's our duty to keep peace and stability in every place we know of. It's time for a change around here." Rook said with confidence.
Marin, who was a crying mess, felt relieved at finding such reliable people. He thought his life was over after being captured by those hunters, he was ready to forfeit his will of living thinking that was deserved. But then Ben came and saved him and now he was part of a crew that would do the impossible. Bring war to this world of injustice and lies.
"We should get ourselves a name though." Ben suddenly said and the whole inspiring and emotional atmosphere vanished.
"You really think that it's the thing we should we worry about?" Rook asked while bringing his hand to his forehead.
"Well yeah, we can't cause troubles and get ourselves known as "the crew without a name that causes troubles." We need something catchy." That was the breaking point for Marin, the clay user started to laugh while holding his belly due to the sudden turn of the conversation. Ben complained about the lack of commitment to the task of naming the crew while Rook just joined Marin in laughing.
It was a good night to be laughing and enjoying the voyage with friends.
Next Day – On board of the Ship
"I gotta say that this is a good job." Ben said after appreciating the way the vessel looked after finishing the makeover yesterday thanks to XLR8's speed. The sails were replaced and now they were plaint white, the hull of the ship got painted following the look of Ben's Omnitrix symbol. Green, black, and white were the primary colours that the ship showed.
"I am still can't understand where did you get the necessary paint to do all of this." Marin said from the helm. Rook was by the cannons making sure that those primitive weapons were on top condition, they weren't going to use them because they had more powerful weapons but he wanted to check everything out of habit.
"I just mixed some random things that were on the ship using one of my smart aliens and the rest is history." Ben said while looking at the vast ocean in front of the ship.
"How many of those beings can you turn into?" Marin had curiosity about the amount of power Ben had at his disposition.
"I have 80 different transformations, sometimes a new one unlocks and the list grows so we should be ok in power department." Ben said with a carefree attitude and the clay user needed to pick up his jaw after hearing the alien hero.
"You got 80 different powers that you can access and that's not even your limit?"
"Pretty much, yeah."
"Just where did you two come from?" Marin asked, not for just Ben's abilities also for the weapons that Rook had on himself. His main weapon was too much advance and the way it changed into different types of weapons and tools was astonishing.
"If we tell you it's possible that you won't believe us." Rook said after finishing his inspection of the cannons.
"Try me." Marin said with curiosity.
"We came from outer space, my friend. We are space travellers that deal with any kind of intergalactic or universal treats." Ben said with pride while adopting his characteristic hero's pose. The deck fell on silence and Marin had a blank face.
"Riight, whatever you guys use get high enough to come out with that bullshit keep it well stashed because it's really dangerous." The words of the young scholar made Ben land on his face and Rook was confused.
"What kind of substance will make you go up so much to think yourself a plumber?" The alien asked.
"No Rook, that's not what he meant with "get high"." Ben answered and his partner looked more confused. "Forget it, point is he doesn't believe us."
"Captain, I see land." Marin said and the duo looked behind to actually see an island in the horizon.
"Good, we can buy some more food. I hope to get some potatoes and vegetables because I need chilly fries." Ben said while getting anxious to see more of this land.
"We should see of getting more crew members. This ship lacks more manpower." Rook said while keeping track of the most important things.
"I don't know if someone will join us." Marin said. "What do you think the reaction of a possible crew member will be after hearing "join our crew of an enemy of the government and prepare to face off the mighty of the world"? They will fucking run and called the nearest marine that's for sure."
"Well, I don't know. Maybe something will happen that will make us take somebody with us." Ben said like nothing. "Life is strange you know?"
"If somehow we can find a new crew member in that island I would start to believe in the impossible." Marin said.
"Sounds good. You need to have faith, even for the lost causes." Ben said and the crew sailed to its new destination.
Meanwhile – Graynest Island
"Sir, we received a transmission from the base." A wearing a black suit said while entering in an office carrying a document. The room was occupied by a group of four wearing dark clothes. Three men and a woman were looking at the new comer with a blank face. The one sat behind a wooden desk made a gesture with his hand and the nervous man delivered the paper.
"What is the news about that little rat, Griz?" One of the men in the room asked. He was tall with a black jacket and shirt on its torso, black trousers, and dark dressing shoes. His black hair was tied in a ponytail and his face had a scar on its forehead.
"Apparently, Laban." The now named Griz said to his partner. "Our target was located by that group of bounty hunters, they disobeyed the orders of bringing him here to us and they greed forced them to slaughter the crew that rescued the member of the now destroyed scholar institution." That piece of information made the only woman in the group sighed.
"I am not surprised, that scum act more like beasts that rational trash under the rule of the government." The woman was wearing a black blouse with a white shirt below, a black skirt that fell up to above his knees with black stockings covering the rest of her legs until the black high hells on her feet. "So now we need to track those brutes and get rid of them and secure the target?"
"No, Nime." Griz said to the woman. "Those idiots were defeated by some kind of strange devil fruit user that came out of nowhere." Nime, putting her hand above her impressive bust, looked curiously at her leader.
"How strange are we talking about?" The other male member of that group asked. He was a beast of a man, thick arms and legs full of muscle with a broad chest that looked hard as steel. His face showed a battle maniac expression that demanded a good fight with a worthy and strong opponent. His black hair looked like a mane that grew up to his lower back. The clothes of that man consisted on a suit jacket without sleeves that was unbuttoned to show his bare torso full of scars, the trousers were black with a few tears and sandals on his feet.
"The kind that spills trouble and complications strange, Furba" Griz said to the wild man. "This guy came out flying in the shape of some kind of insect being that could freeze everything on its path." The members of the group showed shocked expressions on their faces. "He defeated on his own the whole group of bounty hunters without breaking a sweat, then a marine ship owned by Gin Yari Treda appeared and tried to stop our target and the mysterious user from escaping but he suddenly changed in some kind of bipedal turtle and flew away."
"Are we dealing with a possible mythical zoan devil fruit user of some kind?" Furba asked with thrill on his voice at the chance of fighting someone with strong powers. His excitement ceased when a hard and deep growl was heard inside of the room and all the eyes tried to avoid Griz.
"I know what you want, stupid brute. And you won't jeopardize our mission on these parts just for your fighting addiction." Then, all the presents could see how fangs started to replace teeth in the leader's mouth. "Do I make myself clear?" Furba wanted to express his opinion but his instincts told him just one thing. Answer wrong and you are done for.
"Crystal, sir." The giant man said and then the atmosphere inside the room relaxed.
"Perfect, now the only lead we have of our target whereabouts it's that he is on board of a stolen and modified Marine ship according to our scout's report. That ship should arrive on this island today." Griz eyes went straight to Nime. "Make sure our operatives pay close attention to everything that happens on this island, if they see something related to our target and the one that helped him we move and finish our assignment." Nime nodded at Griz petition and she went out of the office.
Later – Feather Town's Docks
The occupants of the vessel descended to the dock of the island after dropping anchor and relaxing a bit. Ben and Rook observed how the town that was called Feather Town looked like some portrait from earlier times. They felt like time travellers at seeing the lack of any significant piece of technology of the more modern times.
"Now this it feels more like a pirate adventure at every moment we spend here." Ben said while Rook couldn't help but agree with his partner.
"We should get our provisions with heist and avoid getting not required attention." The plumber said while looking at Marin. The clay user felt a bit nervous but he tried to avoid showing it.
"I will get us some money so we can buy what we need." Ben said while holding a leather bag that was full with a shiny content.
"Then Marin and I should walk around this place and see what kind of information I can gather." Rook said.
"Sounds like a plan, Rook." Ben saw a sign of a bar a couple of buildings into the town and he said. "There is a bar in this place, let's meet up there in about an hour to relax a bit on land and then keep moving." Everyone agreed to that plan and the group separated.
Ben – Broker Shop
After asking for a couple of minutes, Ben was able to find someone who could trade with to get some of the currency used on this region. The interior looked neat similar to the hall of a bank, and a man wearing a suit received Ben after saying the reason of his visit.
"I understand you have pieces you want to trade in exchange of Belli." The man in front of Ben said and the young hero nodded.
"Yeah, we run out of cash and we really need money due to our journey through the sea." The alien hero put his hand inside of the bag and he extracted an exquisite green coloured diamond. The owner of the shop couldn't help but gasp at seeing that piece of precious stone.
"Where do you get that gem?" The man asked with stupor and Ben gave him the piece so he could examine it.
"Well it is part of a collection of heirlooms of my home island, I felt very connected with them but I seriously need money." Ben said while holding his laugh. The broker studied the piece of diamond with a special glass and nodded after checking the surface.
"I understand young man, this is very valuable and I will make sure that you receive a fair amount." The man eyed the bag. "How many of this diamonds do you have?" Ben took out another nine shards of the bag and he could swear that the eyes of the broker changed to stars.
"This is all that I have."
·Young man, I think we will get along really well." Ben just smiled and waited to receive the money. The secretary of the broker heard what her boss said and wrote a message while hiding the greed off her face. After finishing, she approached to a window and let out a very low whistle. She took out the written paper and a quick shadow flew over her arm and the message vanished.
When the woman returned to her desk, Ben was shaking the broker's hand while holding the leather bagged that looked heavier than before and the alien hero came out of the building to look for provisions and other things for the journey.
Rook and Marin – Blackboot Bar
The plumber was reading a newspaper that described an interesting piece of news for the alien
Alabasta kingdom saved by the heroic action of the Marines
The warlord Sir Crocodile wanted to accomplish a grab of power in the kingdom of Alabasta, his dark organization Baroque Works almost caused a civil war by provoking fights between the imperial guards and the rebel army. But thanks to the action of the Marines, especially the recently promoted Commode Smoker and his lieutenant Tashigi, the scheme was discovered and now the culprit was captured along with his accomplices.
"What is a Warlord of the Sea?" Rook asked Marin. The two where inside of the bar after walking through the town and collecting the newspapers, thanks to a few belli the clay user had, to read about what was happening on the world.
"They are important pirates that decided to work for the World Government, They had bounties so large that you could buy a small island and still you will have money to spend." Marin said and Rook understood.
"So they are practically privateers at the payroll of the Marines in exchange of being exempted from the law?"
"Basically, they follow and status quo and stay neutral unless the government makes them do something. Take for example taking out certain pirate crews or groups that cause too much noise or challenge the current order of the world." Marin's words made Rook realized what kind of trouble they could get into if they started making waves.
"They could send one of these pirates to take us out." Rook said.
"Exactly, it won't happen right away but you need to cause enough havoc and gain the amount of influence necessary to poke the beast to make that a possibility." Marin drank his drink after saying that and the alien thought about getting more information about the members of Warlords to get ready in case of conflict.
"Hey guys, sorry for keeping you waiting!" The duo sat at the bar turned around to see Ben entering the place while carrying bags full of goods.
"I presume that you plan worked like a charm." Marin said. Ben just laughed and patted the omnitrix.
"What can I say? Diamondhead is awesome when you need quick cash." While taking out a few wads of Belli of the bag to ask for some drink. "Do you have some smoothies?" Ben asked the bartender and he gave the young man a confused look.
"What the hell are smoothies?" the gruff man asked and Ben expected that answer but it hurt to know that.
"You know what a milkshake is?" Ben asked and the owner nodded. "Great, we are on the right track then. You need to prepare a milkshake with some ice and artificial flavour to make a smoothie." Ben explained with a smile on his face.
"I didn't understand a thing you said but if you want a milkshake try in other place, here you got water, booze, and more booze." The bartender said. Ben was shaking with sadness and Rook tried not to laugh at the scene while Marin shocked his head.
"A glass of water then, please."
"There you go." The bartender gave Ben his drink and the hero sipped with resignation.
"At least you got potatoes and the ingredients necessary to make chilly fries." Rook said to an angry Ben.
"I will not submit to this place Rook, I will use either or both Jury Rigg and Ultra T to make a smoothie machine. It will be a revolution." Ben said with conviction and his friends didn't want to keep talking about that.
"Something about this news makes me wonder." Marin said while reading the newspaper talking about the heroic performance of the Marines in Arabasta. He turned the page and a couple of bounty posters fell on the ground. "I knew it." Ben and Rook saw how their friend picked up the bounties.
"Who are those guys?" Ben asked while reading the words printed on the posters.
Wanted Dead of Alive
Monkey D Luffy – Straw Hat Luffy
Reward: 120.000.000 B
Wanted Dead or Alive
Roronoa Zoro – Pirate Hunter Zoro
Reward: 60.000.000 B
"Those guys looked strong and they sure got a lot of zeroes on their bounties." Ben said and Marin snorted.
"I am sure these guys with the rest of their crew did something to defeat Crocodile and his underlings." Marin said and the duo of heroes looked and him with curiosity.
"How are you so sure about that?" Rook asked.
"The Marine is an organization that it's not as loved and respected like everybody thinks they are. Some people had seen some ruthless and corrupted high rankings in the navy can be. Their reputation it's one of the things that helps them keep the faith of the world and they can't lost it to some pirates kicking the crap of one of the leashed dogs biting the hand that feeds it."
"You say that Crocodile lost to this Straw Hat Luffy and saved Arabasta but their covered it with propaganda?" Rook asked while Ben looked confused because he didn't hear all the explanations about the Warlords.
"That's right Rook, I know it because I read an older poster of this guy and his bounty was of 30.000.000 B. The huge increase just helps me to confirm that Luffy and Zoro along with their crew will be worth approaching." Marin said and the two plumbers thought about the possible to find those guys and see what kind of people they were.
"Excuse meee!" The double doors of the bar were kicked open and every tenant saw a young woman enter. She was wearing a brown leather coat, a green blouse that showed her belly, black jean shorts with a brown holster on her right rip. She was wearing white leather high heal boots. "I got some business with that guy!" One of her fingers pointed at the bar, to a young man wearing a green and black shirt.
"Me?" Ben asked very confused and the girl nodded with a wicked smile.
"Ben, did you pick a fight with someone again?" Rook asked annoyed, Marin didn't say anything but he really wanted to get out of there.
"Do you really think I could do that, Rook?" The plumber gave Ben a blank look. "Firstly, that hurts man. Your lack of fate in me is astonishing. Secondly, I didn't do anything this time. I went for the money and then bought the things for the journey." Ben protested and the girl laughed.
"That's why I am here darling, gave the bag with the belli and I would be on my merry way." The girl said and took something from the holster on her hip making the tenants in the bar nervous.
"If you got some business to do then take them outside!" The gruff bartender said while pointing a flintlock pistol at the new comer. Ben had his hand over his Omnitrix while Rook was a few inches of grabbing his proto-tool.
"Just keep this simple and…" The girl couldn't finish his sentence when a voice screamed.
"Nendo Nendo no Onami (Clay Clay Great Wave)!" A tidal wave of clay was launched from Marin's hands and the tenants soon found themselves covered and trapped. Ben, Rooked, and Marin didn't wait and soon they bailed out of the bar through a back door and ran to the docks.
"Marin, did you got to do that?" Ben asked
"I didn't wanted to get involved in a bar fight, we got ourselves what we need now we should escape." The clay user said.
"Didn't you say that the Log Pose needed to wait and set on the next island?" Rook said while running.
"Yeah but I heard Ben said that he got a form that could helped us in that regard." Marin answered
"I am sure Loadstar can locate the magnetic signature of the next island and I can lock it on the Log Pose." Ben said and the three could see the docks in front of them with their ship waiting to set sail.
"You are not getting away!" The trio saw how the same woman from the bar appeared in front of them blocking their path to the docks. "That wasn't very nice of you, what you did in the bar."
"Just who are you lady? Leave us alone or I will need to use force." Rook said grabbing his weapon and pointing it at his target.
"Try it, blue guy. See what happens." The girl smiled and Ben got a bad feeling about that.
"Rook, something is not right." Ben tried to warn his partner but the plumber shot a plasma bolt against their pursuer. The bolt was just about to strike the target but in turn got absorbed inside of a card that the girl was holding. "What the hell?" Ben and Rook asked when the girl laughed.
"Thank you for your gift but I will return it to you." The same card started to glow and the plasma bolt was thrown against the trio.
The pirates ducked and they saw how the bolt destroyed a couple of trees outside of town.
"What was that?" Rook asked
"Devil fruit, most likely." Marin said and Ben was curious about what kind of ability was that.
"Correct, clay boy. I got my hands on the great Sebu Sebu no Mi(Save Save Fruit) I am a save woman."
"You can save things in form of cards and then release them when you want?" Ben asked.
"You get the gist, now let me save that money you got and I will not mess you up very much."
"Yeah, I think we will pass on that." A green flash shone and Ben changed into XLR8 getting their attacker surprised. "I will give you our money if you manage to hit me even a little bit."
"Is that a challenge? Because Mackie loves a good challenge." The woman sure was excited to test her might against Ben after seeing his abilities.
"Ben, don't go betting our money away." Rook said while changing his weapon setting from gun to bow while Marin covered his hands in clay.
"Let's get this over with so we can leave." Marin said and the fight was about to start when a huge shadow came out of the sky and slammed the ground in front of Mackie and the trio of pirates.
"In the name of the World Government." A voiced started to say while everything was obscure thanks to the cloud of dirt and dust. "Prepare to die."
"They are fast!" XLR8 thought while seeing three shapes moving at high speed and seemed like blurs for the human eye. But thanks to his helmet and his enhanced senses he could move every one away of their attackers path. Ben was surprised that Mackie was also attacked so that made him realise that those guys were a different group.
"I cannot believe that our strike didn't work." Laban said while looking with a cold glare at the group that escaped death thanks to the strange shape shifter member with them. "This will be an annoying chore."
"This sure it's an interesting change of events. Maybe we can find a good fight here." Nime said while looking at Rook and his strange weapon. "I want that guy's device after we kill them."
"Kill us?" Mackie said with genuine fear on her voice after being saved by the guy she tried to rob. The clear thirst for blood was present in the air and she couldn't help but shake at being at the centre of a clear fight to the death. "I am not with those guys." The girl tried to say but Laban shut her
"You are a witness, you have seen too much." The tall man said and vanished in a burst of speed. Marin showed a shocked expression on his face after seeing that move.
"They are here." The clay user thought while a deadly blow was aimed against Mackie but something amazing happened.
"You are slow." XLR8 said with raspy voice after getting in front of Laban and giving him a combination of high speed kicks with a final uppercut of his clawed hands. The members of the group in black saw with impression how one of its member was sprawled in the ground while protesting in pain.
"I will fight that guy." Furba said with a crazy grin that made Ben nervous.
"Nime you will deal with the blue guy, Laban you will get up and face the target and the girl. Furba, you and me will take out this shape shifter." Griz said with a growl and the giant man didn't protest, even if he had to share his pray with his boss.
"Guys, we have to be careful. These bastards are bad news." Marin said and Rook asked
"Who are they?"
"CP3, let's commence our mission." Griz said and the four attacked.
"Scatter!" Ben and Rook yelled and everyone run to deal with their own fights.
Well guys, this is all for now. Ben and Rook found themselves against one of the dark groups of this world. How will they manage to defeat them? What will happen after the fight? All these question will be answered in the next chapter. Thank you for reading, Lordsylph out.
PS: I opened a P'atre'on page so you can make donations if you want and give ideas for more stories.