Crouching Pirate, Hidden Turtle

by Nroque18

To translate the writing on the map to El Dorado, Matt and his crew must seek out Cao Tzu, the wisest sage in MooShu. But first, they'll need to make a deal with Monkey King to get the five Turtle Balls, but can they trust him? The twelfth installment of Pirate Legacy.

4. Chapter 4: A Glimpse of Hattori

Hesitating for a moment, I looked at Emma, who nodded. "Very well then, we accept. Now how do we get you out of here?"

"The cage key is in the keeping of Hattori Hamzo, the renowned sword-smith. His forge is on the slopes of the Sacred Mountain." Monkey King said. "Do not face him in open combat! Hamzo's blades are without equal... if Death should face a Hamzo blade, Death himself will be cut. Your best bet is to take him unawares. Sneak into his shop, come up behind him, and bam! Knock him out cold."

"Sounds easy enough." Emma said, and I nodded. "And it'll be a lot quicker than if we had to, say, get moon pollen from the skyway."

Monkey King nodded, and we soon were on our way to the forge of Hattori Hamzo. The plan was simple. I would knock on the door and have Hattori Hanzo step outside, where Emma could shoot him from her sniper's nest on the ridge overlooking the forge.

With Emma in position, I knocked on the door of Hattori Hamzo, and a Pig wearing a white gi with a headband and katana stepped outside the door. "Yes?"

There was a gunshot, and in the time it took for me to blink, Hattori Hamzo had his sword drawn, and he had actually sliced the burst of electricity in midair. "Whoa, how did you do that!? Without electrocuting yourself!?"

"Get down from there!" Hattori Hamzo shouted in Emma's direction, and a minute later, she was at the door of his home, wearing a rock-colored camouflage cloak with the hood down and looking sheepishly. "Oh, did you think I would not see through your little scheme? Did you think that you are the first the Monkey King has sent? Tell the Monkey King that there will be no clever escape this time. He must serve his full sentence: ten thousand years!"

To prove his point, Hattori Hamzo drew a wakizashi from behind him and swiped the air twice in front of us. A second later, there was a ripping sound, and the fronts of our robes at our stomachs were slashed cleanly through. Needing no further encouragement, we raced back to Monkey King, where we explained to him the situation.

"What!? There is no key? This is an outrage!" Monkey King shouted, and I thought to myself, Looks like failure was the only option for this quest. I wonder what Monkey King will have us do to get him out in the next chapter...