CHAPTER 16:
Island Hopping
"So you're good at aiming and shooting at things?" The girl with tangerine hair asked. They were sitting inside the kitchen of their newly acquired ship, talking with the newest addition to their 'crew'.
"Of course!" exclaimed a young man with a long nose, proudly pointing at himself. "They call me Usopp, the Great Sniper King!" he declared, with his nose pointing toward the sky.
"Alright, I've decided!" Yelled a young man wearing a straw hat. "From now on, you're gonna be our sniper." His wide smile present as always.
"Speaking of snipers," a man with green hair interjected. "I wonder what that guy is doing right now?" He wondered as he leaned back and looked outside the window.
—
Broll was tying the ship to a small dock they found at the entrance of Shimotsuki Village. It was already night time when they arrived at the island, the moon already shining down on their ship.
"What are we doing out here, captain?" The young deckhand asked while the others were scouring the area. There were no shops or merchants, nor were there sailors or fishermen walking around, just a small path going inside the woods, which John assumed lead to the village.
"I heard there's a dojo here." Vien commented. "Are we going to learn martial arts?"
"No, they teach swordsmanship here." Baba stated as she started leading them down the path. "Maybe we'll be learning swordsmanship." She walked ahead as though she was quite familiar with the village.
Silk excitedly stepped up and walked beside the older woman. "Really? Can I learn new techniques here?" She asked, looking forward to improving her sword skills.
Just when they were about to head inside the trees, a voice stopped them. "We'll go in tomorrow." John, their captain announced. "It's quite late already, the villagers are probably asleep now." He pointed out while beckoning his crew back to the ship. Their excitement died down as they all went back inside the ship and ate dinner before going to sleep.
The next day, while John was cooking breakfast, a figure came strolling from out of the forest path. John felt a pressure that he had never felt before all the way from inside the ship's kitchen. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he was alerted of an oncoming danger. He went out to the deck to look for the source of the immense pressure when he saw a man approaching the ship.The figure strode lazily toward their ship, looking quite relaxed.
The man in question looked very much like a normal person. Long black hair in a ponytail, wrinkles on his face, round eyeglasses and he wore a gray yukata. On his hip was a normal looking sword, though it oddly gave off an unsettling feeling. John looked at his radar and saw that the man was designated a white-colored dot, revealing that he's neutral party.
"Hello there." The man greeted. He raised a hand to make himself known. So as not to be rude, John immediately descended the ship to talk face to face with the visitor. "Hello, my name is Kenway John." He extended his arm outwards, which the visitor shook gently. "What can I do for you?" The bounty hunter asked.
"Ah, my name is Shimotsuki Koushiro." The older man introduced himself as he looked up at the ship's mast. He saw that there were no black flags on it, though the ship itself looked like it belonged to a pirate. The lack of a figurehead also made the ship look even more unusual. Assessing bo immediate danger from them, Koushiro eased up on his killing intent a little bit, and John was able to exhale in relief.
"May I ask what your occupation is, Mr. Kenway?" The older man implored. "I just want to know…your purpose for visiting this island." His eyes were closed in a friendly upward tilt but John could still sense some hostility from him.
Back when he was a soldier, John had experienced a similar feeling of dread. It was when he accompanied his superior to give a report to a certain high ranked officer. When they entered the office, they were greeted by a man who looked like a pencil pusher and was standing at only about 175 cm. He had a polite smile the whole time, but the sargent came out of the office sweating buckets after the man's many questions. Later on, he heard that the man was a 3-star general and was already in his 50s, though to John, he looked like someone who just turned 40. The general have apparently taken part in wars that happened before John was even born and survived, his experiences getting him to where he is today. That's when John learnt not to judge someone's strength and experience by their appearance alone.
John inserted a hand in his pocket and took out an item from his inventory. "I'm a bounty hunter." He said while showing the man his badge. Koushiro looked at the silver badge and saw a blue sticker attached to it with the symbol '10' denoting John's bounty hunting rank. The small pressure and hostility finally evaporated and was replaced by warmth as Koushiro smiled. "Ah, a former student of mine is also a bounty hunter like yourself."
So he doesn't know that Zoro has become a pirate now?
John thought about telling the Pirate Hunter's sensei that he had met his student in Shells Town but decided against it. He didn't want to be the one to tell the him about his student's change of occupation.
"I've only been a bounty hunter for about a month so I'm trying to familiarize myself
with the various islands here in East Blue." John told the swordsmanship instructor. "Me and my crew are just here for sightseeing."
"Then feel free to look around the village." Koushiro said with an eye smile. "I'll take my leave then, Mr. Kenway." He turned around to the forest path when the young man stopped him to say something.
"We also heard there was a dojo here. One of my crew members is an aspiring swordswoman and I was wondering if she could learn from the sensei here." The bounty hunter asked. He also wondered if he can learn some techniques for himself.
"Oh, how old is she?" Koushiro asked.
John replied. "She's 18."
Ah, I'm sorry. I only teach young children in my dojo. It takes years to even learn the basics of our family's sword techniques you see." He explained. "But, if you ever come by Isshin Dojo, you're all free to watch."
After that, they said their goodbyes and John returned to the ship. Later on, while the crew was eating breakfast, he told them about his encounter with the village's dojo instructor. Silk was disappointed that she wouldn't be able to learn from Koushiro but asked if they can stop by the dojo as she wanted to see how the students trained there. Her parents taught her some of their techniques but ultimately, the swordswoman trained herself and developed her own style so she was interested in seeing how others train.
They all walked inside the forest and after they reached a clearing, they saw that the path went down a mountain side, with stairs carved from the rock. It lead to a wooden drawbridge above a fast-flowing river. After crossing the river, they finally saw Shimotsuki Village, a rural-looking vilage with rice fields dotting the lanscape.
Location Discovered!
Shimotsuki Village
10 exp!
Men and women were working on the fields under a pleasant sun and children were running around pulling kites and other toys. They gave a warm welcome to the group as they passed by, though John couldn't help but notice some of the farmers have swords on their waists, indicating that they may be trained swordsmen. There weren't many shops in the village except a sweets shop and a hot spring bathouse, which John was eager to try as he hasn't been to a hot spring before. Apparently, the primary export of the village was rice and a prominent merchant picked up their entire village's produce every month.
"This is a very peaceful place." Baba commented with a melancholic look.
"Indeed, it's a nice place to retire in." Vien added, also feeling a bit nostalgic.
They eventually found their way to the dojo where Silk watched the children train diligently. To John and the others, it looked like they were only practicing basic moves but it seemed like Silk was able to glean something, based on the way her eyes watched their every movement. They ended up spending the whole day in the dojo as Silk kept on begging them to stay a little longer. Later on, after the sun had set, they thanked Koushiro as well as the students and left. John invited them all to try the hot spring bath that they saw earlier and they all agreed. The bath relaxed their bodies and even soothed some residual pains from the previous fights, giving them the best sleep they've had that night.
—
"Anchors aweigh!"
Vien lifted the anchor as the crew prepared to depart. John stood at the helm holding the wheel as he steered the ship out to sea.
"Where are we going next?" Asked Broll as he pulled the sails down. John looked at his [World Map] and saw two islands close to them. He picked one and announced, "we're going to…Sixis Island!"
—
Location Discovered!
Sixis Island
10 exp!
There was nothing there. Literally nothing, not even a single animal. The only interesting location was a clearing with candles scattered around in a circle. The candles have long been put out and there was a stain on the ground which John assumed was blood. What the crew didn't know was that, at certain times of the year, the currents surrounding the island gets so chaotic that it becomes very hard to sail out of it. Luckily, the currents were peaceful during that time and they were able to leave the island easily.
—
The next island they landed on was even weirder than the previous one. It was a single, large, circular island surrounded by four mountains located at the edges. From the [World Map, it looked like a giant bear's paw.
Location Discovered!
Kumate Island
10 exp!
The island was covered by a rainforest, the grass was taller than houses and vines covered the trees and the ground. The crew did not see a single house in the outskirts of the island. After an hour of going deeper inside the forest, they finally spotted a hut. This is were John, who didn't pay attention to the cover stories of the manga made a mistake. He saw two people whi looked like local tribesmen coming out of the forest. They wore stripe shirts and grass necklaces and had dark painted eyes and noses. He tried to talk to them but the only answer he got was a spear thrown at him that almost stabbed him in the chest. One of them started to make weird sounds with his mouth and more tribesmen came out of the bushes with spears, which they immediately threw at them.
"RUN!!!" He yelled as he as his crew turned back towards the ship. They ran as fast as they could and without stopping that their leg muscles started to heat up. On the way to their ship, they ran across another group. A group that looked like circus performers. They even had a huge lion and a guy riding a unicycle with them. But John didn't have time to process what he just saw as he didn't want the tribesmen to catch up to them before they reached the ship.
Safely aboard the G.O.A.T, the deckhands immediately prepared the ship for departure without their captain instructing them to. On his part, John quickly ran up to the helm and manuevered the ship away from the island while Silk stood at the stern with her sabre at the ready. The crew was unaware that they had just avoided being eaten by a tribe of cannibals, the Kumate Tribe.
—
"Where are we going to next?" Broll asked with bated breath. He looked like he was enjoying their Island hopping adventure, smiling widely while drenched in sweat.
"We're going back to civilization." John answered, exasperated. "But first, we're stopping over on the next Island, we need to rest." The sun was already setting and their legs were very tired. It was midnight when they reached the next island.
Location Discovered!
Island of Rare Animals
10 exp!
This time, Baba helped John in the kitchen to cook their dinner. The whole crew immediately fell asleep after eating. The next day John, who knew that there wasn't much to be found on the island, got ready to leave when his young deckhand raised his hand to get his attention.
"Let's explore this island captain!" He said in excitement. Silk and Vien surprisingly agreed with him. He looked to Baba who just shrugged. "Alright then, but only for an hour."
They descended the G.O.A.T and headed towards the overgrown forest that covered the small island. Even though John knew what was in the island, his previous experience in Kumate Island still made him a bit jumpy from every little sound as they walked in the forest.
"Aahh!"
John jumped in surprise when he heard footsteps coming from the trees. The crew members turned towards the sound and pulled out their weapons in case another tribe starts attacking them. As they waited in suspense, a creature came out. When they saw it, they started laughing hard.
"Hahaha! It's just a goat, Captain!" Broll laughed while pointing at the animal.
"Hehe! I didn't know you were scared of small animals!" Silk laughed heartily. It was the first time she saw the calm and collected John scream in fright. The other two chuckled as well when Vien noticed something strange.
"Wait, that's not a goat…"
Upon closer inspection, the small animal that had goat-like horns and a goatee was actually…a dog. "Moof moof!"
"What kind of animal is this?" Vien asked as he got closer to the dog-goat. Or is it goat-dog? Surprisingly, the animal didn't run away and even let him pet it. "Wow, what a weird dog!" Broll remarked as he too came over to pet the strange animal. Silk was hesitant at first but eventually joined them as well.
"I think I've heard of this island before." Baba commented. "They said its filled with weird animals and…it's said that there's treasure here as well, but it's guided by a-"
"Get of of this island!"
A voice suddenly resounded from around them. The voice echoed as if it was bouncing from tree to tree.
"If you take a single step inside the forest, you will receive the FOREST'S JUDGEMENT!"
"What? Who's that?!" Vien asked. He pulled out his pistol and pointed it at the forest in a panic. "I won't hesitate to-" suddenly, John appeared by his side and pushed his pistol down.
"Put your weapons away." He commanded, his demeanor back to being serious. He put his hands up and shouted. "We're not here to cause trouble!"
…
No answer came from the forest so John continued. "We're bounty hunters! We we're just looking around but we'll be on our way now." He then motioned for his crew to follow him out of the clearing. Just as he was nearing the edge of the forest, the sniper turned his head around and asked the figure behind the trees. "Did a boy wearing a straw hat pass through here?"
"WHAT?!"
BANG! The sound of gunfire echoed within the forest as a round bullet soared in the air towards John. Completely out of instinct, he managed to activate [Bullet Time] and [Combat Roll] to dodge the bullet. As he rolled on the ground, Baba saw the bullet go through John's back out of the corner of her eye.
"Captain!" They all collectively gasped.
"WAIT! WAIT! WAIT!" John stood up, completely unharmed. There isn't a single drop of blood, nor were there any holes on his shirt or in his body, not a single scratch can be found on him. Baba was fairly sure that a bullet went through his back. "I'm friends with him! I'm friends with Luffy!" John declared in a panic.
"What? Don't lie! How's a pirate friends with a bounty hunter?!"
"I'm telling the truth! Believe me! He's even friends with a marine!" John pleaded. "I'm sure he even tried to befriend you too!"
"That, that actually sounds like him…"
The figure put his pistol away and slowly came out from behind the trees towards the clearing. John's crewmates all shared a surprised look when they saw what the figure looked like, except their captain, who smiled as if seeing a familiar face.
The figure who came out was a man with a BIG, GREEN afro and a thick beard. However, the truly bizzare feature of this person was the treasure box in which his body was encased in, leaving only his head, hands and feet free.
"Are you really that strawhat kid's friend?" The treasure-box man asked and John confirmed it, telling him a brief story of how they met in Shells Town.
"Wow, everything in this island's strange! Are you one of the strange animals too?" Broll interrupted rudely, standing close to the compressed man.
"What?! I'm not an animal! My name's Gaimon, the guardian of this island!" He protested wildly as Baba came over and hit Broll on the head.
Silk also came forward. "So you're a guardian? What are you guarding here?" She asked curiously.
"If your wondering, there's no treasure in this island. Found that out myself earlier." Gaimon irritably revealed. "As you have seen, the animals on this island are pretty strange. And some people see these animals as something they can profit from. I have grown close to these animals from the many years I've been on this island, so I protect them from those who seek to abduct and sell them." As he explained, the goat-dog from earlier came up to him and licked his cheek in a friendly manner. Vien and the others were impressed by Gaimon's desire to protect the animals and so, they cheered for him, which made his cheeks blush. John also gave him a thumbs up as he went back and finished his story of how he and Luffy met.
"So, how long ago where they here?" John asked after finishing his story.
"About two weeks ago." Gaimon answered while stroking his beard. "They weren't here for long though. Are you tryin' to catch up to them?"
"No, just trying to gauge where they might be right now." John made a mental note of the timeline in regards to their location. They're probably in Baratie right now. He thought. "You see, me and him made a promise when we went our separate ways. It's that we'll meet each other once again, on the most dangerous stretch of ocean, the Grand Line."
"What?! You're going to the Grand Line as well?" Gaimon asked, surprised. "You young brats are really optimistic aren't you?...but, I believe that that kid can make it. There was no sense of doubt in his eyes." When he heard the strawhat kid proclaim his dream, strangely, he felt hope well up within him. And he felt joy, as if his life had meaning again. "Are you going to accompany him in his quest to find the One Piece?" Gaimon asked.
"Maybe." The young bounty hunter smirked.
—
After talking to Gaimon a bit more, the crew set out to sea once again and made their way to their next destination. After a day of sailing and a night of rest, they finally saw a port town in the distance.
Location Discovered!
Orange Town
10 exp!
What awaited them was rubble. Ruins of buildings destroyed by something VERY destructive. Almost half of the town was waylaid by what seemed like a giant explosion. But, hope was not lost, as the residents appeared to be rebuilding the town, from the scaffolding and bricks laying on the ground. The port was busy with ships coming in carrying building materials and people bringing them into the town.
"Hey, you! Who are you? Pirates again?" One of the residents approached their ship and asked skeptically.
"Were bounty hunters, not pirates." Vien answered him. "What happened here by the way?"
"Bounty hunters? Why didn't you come by earlier? Our town was occupied by pirates for quite awhile!"
"Yeah! It was those weird circus freaks!" Another resident interjected.
"But strangely though, it was also pirates that freed us from them."
"Yeah! They were pretty weird too."
"Is it the kid with the straw hat?" Broll asked them.
"Yeah, how'd you know that?"
"Hmm, he seems like a good guy." The young deckhand said, remembering when he met the young pirate on John's ship back in Shells Town.
"Yes he is." An old man whose hair was shaped like an upside down T stated. "That boy saved us from the pirate clown 'Buggy' and even gave us the funds to rebuild our town." The old man walked closer to their ship and looked up at the man he assumed was their leader. "So don't expect us to tell you where he went, bounty hunters!"
"Yeah! That guy's our savior!" The people around them joined in. The people of Orange town had recently gained a newfound courage after the horrific event that happened to them, so they were a bit more willing to confront those who they deem as their enemy. "Get out of here!"
John stepped closer to the railing to address the crowd. "Hey, calm down! We're not after Strawhat. I'm actually friends with him!"
"Shut up! How is a bounty hunter friends with a pirate?!" The townspeople shouted.
Haaahhh…this is getting annoying.
—
After explaining his relationship with Luffy, the residents finally left them alone except for the old man with the weird hair. "I am Boodle, the town mayor. Can I ask you for your name?"
"My name is John. Kenway John."
The mayor nodded. "Okay. What is your business here in Orange Town John? If you want to know where the strawhat kid went-"
John shook his head. "No, no, I'm not looking for Luffy right now. We're just stopping over, looking for some bounties to claim you know? Have you heard of any criminals around causing trouble?"
"Can't say I have, except for that Buggy and his crew." Boodle stopped for a second as he remembered one little thing. "Though, one of our traders hasn't come back from Blue Town…If you could check what's happening over there, I can compensate you."
John raised his hand to reject the offer. "No need for that. I can check it out if we pass by there. Where is this Blue Town located at anyway?"
"Blue Town's just north-west of here. There's an exit here in town that goes inland. Turn left at the crossroads and just follow the road markers. Or you can just move your ship to the other side of Organ Islands and just walk from there." The old man explained. John decided to have Broll move the ship to the north-west side of the island while he and the rest walk there.
QUEST STARTED!
Blue Moon, Blue Town
Reach Blue Town
?
?
?
Reward: 500 exp, ?, ?
John grinned. A quest was always welcome as it also meant plenty of rewards, in either monetary gains or self improvement. Though the battles he had fought in almost always got a bit challenging by the end, he was more confident now, what with his new skills, armor and even a new crewmate. He was positive that this would be a great boon to his whole crew.
He then wondered about Blue Town, a place he had never heard of before. Though it made sense that there were more than one town in such a big island as Organ Islands, it was still weird that he had never seen it anywhere. He gathered up his crew and told them of their next move, to check up on the state of Blue Town.