Albert is seen walking to the path that leads to the mountain while he was aware of the two guys he had encountered earlier were following him from behind.
But instead of confronting them, He decided to keep going up as he started ascending the mountain.
It was a long walk towards the mountain. But Albert stopped and glanced behind him.
"How are you both doing so far?" Albert asked as it turned out that Luffy and Zoro just a couple steps behind him.
Both of them were sweating buckets and were completely out of breath after the long walk towards the mountain under the scorching hot sun above them. Eventually, the two were on their knees and Zoro was using one of his swords as a support stick while Luffy used a tree branch.
As for Albert, He was used to the natural elements and was able to tolerate the highest temperatures for days or weeks due to the endurance he had earned in his training. But visible sweat is seen on his forehead.
While the latter stares at the two Straw Hat Pirates. Luffy simply continued marching his way upward and his progress was rather slow at that point on.
Albert simply sighed at this and turned his head away from the two.
"Well, I won't stop you. But if you manage to reach a house that's just up ahead. Then I'll be impressed," Albert said, then continued merry way towards the said house, "Best of luck to both of you,"
While he went on ahead, Zoro turns to Luffy.
"Luffy *pant* Why do you want to follow this guy? *pant* " Zoro questioned,
Luffy ignored the swordsman's question and simply continued his climb just like what Albert has said to them.
Zoro clicked his tongue and decided to follow alongside Luffy despite the scorching heat of the sun above them.
Simuna's House.
Albert reaches the Simuna's House that was built 150 meters by the mountain. It's amazing how a single man would build a house in this tall mountain despite the rumors of the mountain killing hikers or pirates that climb it.
But either way. Simuna was one of the few who can climb the mountain with eases. The Second goes to Albert himself as he was trained to endure high altitudes of the mountains.
Albert then approaches the house, knocks on the door, and hears Simuna's Voice from the other side.
"Is that you kid?" Simuna asked,
"Yes, and I also bought the groceries you asked for," Albert said,
Simuna then opens the door and takes the Grocery out of Albert's hands.
"Thanks, kid, Now get inside. You're letting a draft in," Simuna said, taking the groceries inside the house.
Albert sighed at this, entered the house, and closed the door behind him while Simuna pulls every groceries out of the bag,
"By the way, Kid. What took you so long?" Simuna questioned,
"Pirates, Bandits, and hiding the Treasure I collected. The Usual," Albert said, as he sat down on a chair,
"I see," Simuna said as he pulls out a bottle of sake from the bag and smiles eagerly at this,
But even before he could pour a glass from it. Albert suddenly groans in pain which caught the attention of the former as he saw Albert's hand placed onto his forehead.
"Looks like a storm's coming on this island," Simuna said,
"Yeah... and it's a strong one..." Albert said, followed by a scream as his headache had gotten worse and his knees were on the floor as he grips onto his head in pain,
Simuna, filled with concern, goes to Albert's side.
"You alright, Kid?" Simuna questioned,
"No... I'm not," Albert said, as his headache was somewhat painful at the moment,
"How about I get you to your bed and try preparing something that might help you with that problem," Simuna said, as he wrapped Albert's arm around his neck then carried him towards his bedroom to rest for the day.
Once that was done, Simuna closes the door behind him, puts his hands inside his pocket, and deeply sighs at this.
"Still hasn't gotten over it... What am I going to do to you," Simuna muttered in thought,
While he thinks it over, He suddenly hears a couple of knocks on the front door.
"Who the hell could that be?" Simuna questioned,
He then approached the front door, opened it, and noticed two people panting with buckets of sweat all over their bodies.
A few minutes later...
Albert somehow recovered from his splitting head and gets off of the bed while he notices some medicine placed on the desk.
The latter then grabs the medicine, drinks a glass, and immediately settles down on the bed. Soon enough, Albert's headache started to die down for a moment but gets a few flashbacks from his past.
He could imagine a tremendous storm, waves colliding with a merchant ship, and he could faintly hear the crew screaming as they faced their demise at sea.
Albert tried his best to ignore these flashbacks, hallucinations, or what he calls it. But fortunately for him, He could hear Simuna's laugh just outside his door as he stands up from his bed.
"What's going on out there," Albert asked as he approached the door,
Once he had opened it, His eyes widen when he saw Simuna with two people sitting by the couch.
And these two were not other than Luffy and Zoro. Who had just managed to climb their way here despite the heat of the sun and were treated as guests by Simuna as he serves the two with a couple of food and sake.
Then, The latter notice Albert standing there and turns towards him.
"Ah! You're awake, Kid," Simuna said,
Luffy and Zoro turns to Albert as well while the latter rubbed his forehead a couple of times,
"For the record, I wasn't asleep. I just need some time to relieve myself from the headache that's all," Albert said, then he turns towards Luffy and Zoro, "So you managed to get here. I'm not impressed but I'm sure won't be kicking you out of this house since Simuna let you two in,"
"Good call, Kid," Simuna said,
"Yeah, whatever. I'll be getting myself a glass of water," Albert said, as he went to the kitchen
He then grabs a glass, poured water in it, and drank it in one go. Then he saw Simuna heading towards the fridge, pulls out some meat that was recently bought in the market and heads back to Luffy.
"Didn't I bought that meat a few minutes ago?" Albert questioned,
"You did, But this Boy's appetite is quite the big one. He even ate a week worth of food," Simuna said cheerfully,
As for Albert's reaction, He widens his eyes, and unintentionally drops the glass from his hand. Which breaks when it hits the floor,
"Can you repeat that Simuna," Albert requested,
"I said, The Kid ate a week worth of food. It's amazing for a kid his age," Simuna repeated like he didn't care at all,
But on the other hand, Albert passes through Simuna and went to confront the two pirates sitting on the couch.
"Ahem!... I have to ask again, Is your name Luffy again?" Albert said, directly towards the straw-hatted pirate,
"Yeah! Why?" Luffy replied,
A few tick marks started appearing at the back of Albert's head and he slowly raises a fist with veins popping out.
"You... MORON!" Albert shouted,
Then out of nowhere, he delivers a straight punch towards Luffy's face and sent him flying towards the wall with a loud thud that surprised Simuna as he never saw Albert being this angry before.
Zoro cringes as he witnessed Luffy being sent flying towards the wall. The wall itself had been broken as a huge hole was seen once the dust clears.
"DON'T EAT OTHER PEOPLE'S FOOD! I DIDN'T BUY ALL THAT JUST SO YOU COULD EAT IT YOURSELF!" Albert shouted,
"Ow that hurts! Ow!" Luffy yelled out as he grabbed onto his forehead,
"It hurts?! What are you talking about? You're made out of rubber," Zoro pointed out,
This comment somewhat caught Albert and Simuna's attention as they were clueless about what Zoro had said to Luffy,
'Rubber?' Albert muttered in thought,
Simuna then approached Luffy through the hole in the wall and decided to help the latter up to his feet.
"Tell me, Kid. Did you happen to have eaten a Devil Fruit by any chance?" Simuna questioned,
"Yeah... I ate the Gum-Gum Fruit," Luffy replied,
"The Gum-Gum Fruit? Does that mean your body is made out of rubber?" Albert questioned,
"Yep! Look!" Luffy grabs onto the cheek and stretched them out. This was proof that Luffy had eaten a Devil Fruit,
"Well... I'm not surprised at all," Albert said, as he crosses his arms together,
"Oh come, kid, Try lightening up a bit. It's not every day you get to see a pirate with Devil Fruits theses days," Simuna said,
"True. But I prefer him than the other two I once faced with," Albert said,
"Why is that?" Simuna asked while he and Luffy goes back into the house,
"The first was hard to deal with and the second is an asshole," Albert said bluntly, as he sat down on the couch with his feet on the table, "If this kid is a small-time pirate. Then I wouldn't have a problem with him whatsoever,"
Luffy grits his teeth in anger for being called a small timed pirate. But instead of fighting him, He points his finger towards Albert and yelled the following, "Just you wait! Cause someday, I'm going to be King of the Pirates!"
This caught Simuna's interest while Albert scoffs at the former's comment.
"Really? You want to sail the Grand Line, Find the One Piece, and become King of the Pirates?" Albert said, "If you ask me, You're in way over your head,"
"That won't stop me. Cause I'm still going to do it," Luffy said with more conviction in his words,
Simuna simply leans against the wall with his arms crossed together as he watched the two.
"You got some confidence, Luffy. But let me ask you something, Do you even have a reliable crew?" Albert questioned,
"Nope, For now, he's the only crew I have so far," Luffy said, pointing toward Zoro,
"It's quite a stretch for the Pirate Hunter himself to become a Pirate himself. But since he's here with you. I guess it's true when I see it," Albert said, as he glances towards the Pirate Hunter for a moment then back to Luffy, "But it's gonna take more than that to survive in the Grand Line. And speaking of that, Do you even have a ship that could survive those treacherous waters?"
"Not yet, But I'm sure I'll get one someday," Luffy said,
"Aren't you full of enthusiasm? Now tell me this, What made you decide that you want to conquer the Grand Line?" Albert questioned,
Luffy simply removes his straw hat and grins towards it.
"Cause I have a promise I intend to keep," Luffy said,
These words had somewhat triggered a memory within Albert's mind. He had remembered a single promise that he intended to keep in past...
A Distant Promise... To A Distant Friend...
And it was something that he had never forgotten and it was enough to make Albert smile a bit to himself.
Simuna grins with interest with Luffy's determination to conquer the Grand Line even with the latter's young age.
"Good Words. But still, there's no denying you lack a few things for that voyage. You don't have a ship, a crew, and probably supplies that can last the entire trip," Albert pointed out, "If I were you, I gather what I need first then head to the Grand Line after everything is ready,"
"You're going to the Grand Line too?" Luffy asked,
"No, I'm just telling you these things so that you would remember them," Albert said, "Those who aren't prepared to sail the Grand Line are destined to sink in their watery grave... Where no one would remember you... Or your story..."
"Oh, Okay. But anyway, I'd like to ask you something," Luffy said,
"Really? What is it then?" Albert replied,
"What was that thing you did earlier?" Luffy said,
"Can you be a bit more specific?" Albert questioned
"That thing you did with the bandits," Luffy mentioned,
"Ohhh... You mean this?" Albert said, raises one of his arms, and suddenly it transforms into a rock-like form that surprised the two pirates,
"Whoa! That's so cool!" Luffy cheered as his eyes twinkled like stars at the sight of Albert's transformed arm,
"Seriously? You're calling a monster of an arm cool?" Albert questioned while a sweat drop behind his head,
"Yeah! No wonder you were strong back there!" Luffy said,
Albert stayed silent for a moment. Eventually, He started to chuckle while transforms his arm back into its original state. This reaction had caught Simuna's attention as he had never heard Albert chuckled to something similar to a compliment.
And he hasn't heard Albert chuckle for a very long time...
"Aren't you full of surprises? But I have to ask though, What brings you to this island in the first place?" Albert questioned,
"Oh, We just sailed until we reached land or something," Luffy answered,
"Wait... Are you saying you drifted yourselves in the sea until you reached some island to dock in?" Albert questioned,
"Yep!" Luffy replied,
"And you don't know where you're going next, Right?" Albert questioned again,
"Yeah, We don't have Navigator. But I'm sure I'll find one someday," Luffy said with optimism while Albert was dumbfounded by the latter's answer,
"Do you at least know where you're going?" Albert questioned one last time,
"Nope!" Luffy answered, This in turn caused Simuna to laugh while he holds onto his chest as he tried to contain his laughter. As for Albert, He was rather confused by Luffy's lack of experience despite knowing that him being the captain.
This made Albert shook his head a couple of times followed by a disappointed groan in his tone.
"Wow... Even with that kind of attitude. You'll never survive the Grand Line without a proper crew, a ship to sail with, and the experience for it," Albert commented,
"Oh quit breaking the boy's spirit, Kid. At least he's sailing the seas," Simuna pointed, "Unlike you, who's been afraid on a bit of rain in the past several years,"
Something snapped within Albert's mind as soon as he heard Simuna's words. He immediately stands up from the couch, turns to the latter, and menacingly glares at Simuna with his scarlet eyes.
Simuna, on the other hand, was rather used Albert's scoffs and glares. But this time, He simply smirks at the latter while he clenched his right hand into a fist in case he and Albert would get into an actual fight.
Albert reminisces his past as he recalls his trauma. The memory contains a schooner getting caught in a typhoon, men screaming as they were swallowed whole by tremendous waves, and the last image contains a woman with silver hair falling overboard the ship when Albert failed to reach out for her.
Zoro could see the intensity within Albert's eyes while Luffy watched the two. But the intensity begins to die down when Albert clicked his tongue and his eyes returned to normal.
"Whatever..." Albert said as he marches towards the door with his hands in his pocket.
As Albert exited the cabin, he slams the door behind him in anger while Simuna shrugged his shoulders and lets him go for a while.
"What was that all about?" Luffy questioned,
"Oh, it's nothing. He'll get over it eventually," Simuna said as he heads towards the kitchen and grabs himself a cup of sake to drink in.
"You think so. It almost feels like he wants to fight you or even kill you at that point on," Zoro commented,
"Nah, The Kid doesn't have that kind of thought since I'm the only one he has on this island," Simuna said as he drank his cup of sake in one go,
"What do you mean?" Luffy asked curiously,
"Let me put it this way... Despite the kid's reputation as the Guardian of this Island. He has yet to connect with anyone since he's rather isolated to himself since he's currently having a problem with that trauma of his," Simuna explained,
"Trauma?" Zoro questioned,
"Here's how it goes, you two. The Kid didn't really live on this island. Let's just say that I found him washed ashore a few years back and decided to treat the kid myself. He told me that the ship he was boarded into had run into a tremendous typhoon. The ship sank at sea, the men had either drowned or swept away within those dreadful waves and Albert is pretty much the only one that survived that storm," Simuna explained, "It's rather hard to believe that an 11-year-old kid managed to survive all that. But when he told me every exact detail of the incident, I knew what he said was true,"
"Whoa... That's just-" Before Zoro could finish his sentence, Luffy intervenes by saying, "So cool!"
Zoro groans with irritation while Simuna paid no attention to Luffy's reaction as he continued, "If you put it your way. It is, But remember the things I told to the kid?"
"Yeah, what about it?" Luffy asked,
"Well, Let's just say that he has this trauma that's kinda out of ordinary. The Kid is currently suffering from a traumatic scar ever since he got here. Every time he senses the storm passing through this island, He gets this headache that rarely goes away," Simuna explained, "In turn, He relied on a few medications to relieve himself either to get some sleep or whenever he goes outside to work. And to make things worse, He has been fighting his traumatic scar for eight years straight,"
"Eight years? Does that mean he's strong?" Luffy questioned while he slowly smiles to himself,
Simuna notices this and somehow it caught his curiosity when Luffy began to smile again,
"I raise the kid into the Crimson Guardian. Of course, He's strong. Why do you ask?" Simuna said,
Luffy raises his head towards Simuna with a determined expression on his face.
Meanwhile...
Albert is seen sitting on a tree branch where he could have a view of the Village and the Ocean from the distance.
But his eyes were fixated directly towards the Ocean as he didn't mind the winds blew right through him.
Every time, He goes out to stare at the ocean. All he could ever think about was the demise of the merchant ship he was on. He could faintly hear the screams within his mind, the crashing waves of the sea, and the roaring thunder of the storm.
The memory was hard to forget... But when he relieves himself from this, He could almost image someone he had met in the past... A thought he had never forgotten...
"Let's go and Play, Al!" A Child's voice called out in Albert's mind,
Albert sighs and looks at his cross necklace then back to the ocean.
"I wonder... How are you doing so far without me..." Albert questioned in thought and the wind blows through him once more, "Guess I'll never find out..."
Albert sighs for the second time and kept on staring towards the ocean. But suddenly, He hears the sounds of explosions coming from the village.
This alerted Albert that the village is being attacked. Normally, He would go back to Simuna's cabin and alert him about it.
...
...
...
But he was still mad at him for what he had said earlier. Instead, Albert clenches his fists together and made his way towards the village by gliding through the air with his powers.
Deadpeak Village.
The Villagers are seen fleeing away when bandits arrived and started pillaging everything in sight.
Buildings were burning, people were getting hurt, and the bandits didn't even hesitate to rob everything worth in value.
But somewhere in the distance, A Man hides in the shadows as he watched the entire scene unfold.
"Shouldn't we join up with them?" A Bandit questioned,
"No, let them have their fun. Our target here is far more important than what their stealing," The man said, whose presumed to be the leader, "Do you see him yet?"
"Hold on, Boss," Another bandit said, as he looked around the area through a telescope.
A few moments later, He spots someone in the air going straight towards the village with incredible speed.
"I saw him! Even though it was for a moment. I definitely saw him!"
The leader then smiled while he pulls out a pair of double blade glaives from his back.
"Good..." The leader said,
Meanwhile...
Albert arrives in the village, lands onto a roof, and notices the destruction around him when the bandits attacked. He then spotted a bandit attempting to slice a villager with his sword.
But Albert manages to get there in time, creates a large sword with his right arm, and slashed the bandit from behind.
"Albert!" The villager exclaimed,
"Were there others like you?" Albert questioned, while his blade arm turns back to normal,
"Yes! The bandits were rallying them to the center of town," The villager said,
"Good enough. Now get to safety before more of them show up," Albert said,
The Villager then ran away to safety while Albert heads to the center of the village to rescue the ones that were captured by the attacking bandits.
Village Square
The villagers that were capture during the attack were rallied to the center of town. Bandits were keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings in case Albert shows up and frees the prisoners.
That being said, One of the bandits soon spotted Albert on top of a building with a glare on his face.
"There he is!" The bandit shouted,
The Bandits picked up their guns and started shooting towards Albert. But the latter uses his speed and powers to avoid or block every bullet shooting towards him.
Once Albert was close to them. He resorted to close-quarter combat and began knocking down every bandit that came towards him.
A couple of punches and kicks were proven effective for bandits while Albert effortlessly avoids every sword slash as if he was predicting every single attack coming at him. He even sent one or two bandits crashing into the ground or into a wall with incredible strength.
Eventually, Every bandit in the area was taken care of and Albert went to the villagers.
"It's the Crimson Guardian!"
"We're saved!"
"Thank the heavens!"
Albert then approached them and started cutting off the restraints of every villager with a knife he picked up from one of the bandits. Once everyone's restraints were off, everyone stood up and turned towards Albert.
"Listen up! I want all of you clear out of this village and get yourselves to safety! Don't stray off from each other and do whatever you can to avoid getting caught by these bandits!" Albert instructed, "Now get going before more show up!"
Everyone started moving away from the area while he gave their thanks to Albert for their rescue. A few minutes later, The entire village square had been cleared out of bandits and villagers.
"Looks like that's all of them. Now I just need to-" Before Albert could finish his sentence in thought. He soon senses something flying towards him at a fast rate and he immediately jumps back to avoid getting caught by it.
Suddenly, The speeding object hits the ground and it revealed that it was a double-bladed glaive. Albert widens his eyes as he recognized this weapon and checked his surroundings for the one responsible for throwing the weapon at him.
When he finally sensed him, He turns towards the rooftops and noticed a man wearing a long-sleeved beige shirt, dark brown pants, short spiky hair, blue eyes, and has another double-bladed glaive onto his shoulder.
"It appears you haven't lost your senses... Red Devil..." The Man commented,
"... Taiga..." Albert muttered as he readied his blade arm,
The man, now known as Taiga, smirked towards Albert while he drops down from the rooftop with ease. As for Albert, He was unamused with the latter's arrival and frowns towards him.
"I'm touched that you still remember me. So tell me, Do you know why I'm here?" Taiga questioned with a cocky smile on his face,
"To kill me, Right?" Albert guessed and Taiga chuckles as his reply,
"Of course I came here to kill you. With you gone, This village is right up to the taking, and my boys and I will be this village's newest guardians for years to come," Taiga said,
Albert scoffed the latter's motives and smirked towards him,
"Guardians? More like tyrants since you always like pushing weak and helpless for your own selfish desires. And you should remember that last time we fought, I beat your ass fair and square. So how about you do me a favor and get the hell out of this village," Albert threaten while Taiga simply laughed it off as if it weren't a big deal whatsoever,
"As if we listen to a brat like you," Taiga said,
"We?" Albert questioned,
When Taiga snapped his fingers, A few of his high ranking officers show up with their weapons at the ready and their cocky smiles on their faces.
"Of course... You never play fair, you asshole," Albert complained,
In Simuna's Cabin
Simuna was finishing a bottle of his sake while Luffy and Zoro were served a few snacks and drinks.
But suddenly, They all got disturbed when someone started knocking on the door a couple of times,
"Who could that be?" Simuna questioned as he puts his sake and went straight to the door.
When he opens it, He sees an exhausted villager in from of him.
"What's seems to be the problem?" Simuna asked,
"Bandits! They just attacked the village a few minutes ago!" The Villager informed,
"Those guys again? Since when do they start their attacks in the middle of the afternoon?" Simuna complained,
"We have no clue either. But right now, The Crimson Guardian is currently fighting the bandits. I heard that Taiga was there too," The Villager explained, and Simuna's eyes twitched at the name,
"I see, but what about the other villagers?" Simuna questioned,
"They all been evacuated," The villager replied,
"Alright, I'll sort out the problem after I ready my weapons. You go and tell the mayor that the problem will soon be sorted out," Simuna ordered,
With a nod, The Villager takes a different route while Simuna goes to his cabinet and readies his rifle.
"What's going on?" Luffy asked with some meat in his mouth,
"Bandits and they're becoming a nuisance even more than ever," Simuna said, after loading up rounds in his rifle, "And if Taiga with them. Then there will be destruction on this island,"
"Who's this Taiga guy?" Luffy asked with curiosity,
"Taiga is wanted man whose well known only on this island as the Wind Sciling Bandit. He has a 10 million berry bounty on his head and he ate a Devil Fruit called the Stream-Stream Fruit," Simuna explained,
"Stream-Stream Fruit? So he's a Stream man or something?" Zoro questioned,
"Don't underestimate it though. When Taiga uses his Devil Fruit, it's enough to destroy an entire building in one strike. Even the kid had a hard time facing him," Simuna explained, "But speaking of which, Is it okay that I ask you both a favor?"
"What is it?" Luffy asked,
"I want you two to go to that village and help out the kid if he's in serious trouble. Since he acts differently went it comes to you two, and I have a feeling that something will work out between you and the kid," Simuna instructed, " So do what you can to help the kid while I handle the minor ones,"
Luffy grins at this and gave a nod to him.
"Sure," Luffy answered, and Simuna smiles back
"That's good to hear," Simuna said, then heads out the door, "Good luck!"
With that, Simuna immediately runs off to handle the bandits troubling the villagers from below the mountain while Luffy and Zoro looked at each other,
"So are we going to join in on this?" Zoro asked,
"Yep!" Luffy replied,
"Then this is going to be fun," Zoro said as he grabbed his Katanas and both readied themselves to assist Albert's fight against the bandits,
To Be Continued...
Well, that's the end of the second chapter. Up next, I will work on the battle between Albert and Taiga.
However, Things will be a whole lot different than the first story as Albert rarely showed his powers from the last one. There will be several fight scenes between Albert and Taiga's Officers and I will save some for Luffy and Zoro to fight with.
That's all for now and I'll see you guys in the next chapter.
The Crescent Rider has signed off...