…It took me half a goddamn year to get this done. My excuse? Tax season, it sucks, moving on.
"Tsk, don't tell me that brat found another idiot to cry pirates as a dumb joke. Listen, kid. You shouldn't do stuff like this just because a friend told you to." A villager tried to talk me down but I held a hand up and pointed towards where Kuro, Luffy, and Zoro went. Not even three seconds passed before a light rumbling and explosion could be heard.
"This isn't a joke or a lie. The Black Cat pirates will invade the North entrance of the island by sunrise tomorrow. Their captain and first mate are already on the island, and the former is fighting two of my friends as we speak. Now, we should be able to deal with the remaining pirates by ourselves, but some help would be appreciated. Even just a borrowed weapon would help." Giving them the name of a real, albeit somewhat forgotten pirate crew seems to have changed the course of public opinion.
"Black Cats? I've heard of them but thought they disbanded after their leader died. Are you saying the Navy lied?" It wasn't that much of a stretch if the villagers were being honest, though they'd never say it out loud in front of a Navy man. "Let's say what you're telling us is the truth, what's your plan, and what do you need?"
Playing at hypotheticals at least means that they aren't discarding the idea outright. Good, if I tell them that Kaya is also helping out and that we have a rudimentary plan already, it should make it all the more real in their minds. Things were going well, and the others should be playing their parts just as well or even better.
Too bad I didn't get to see Kuro getting his ass kicked by Luffy and Zoro. Alas, there was work to be done.
With Nami, Usopp, and Kaya
"That's a lot of oil, it's lucky that we have it, but why keep so much around?" Nami asked as they prepared to move the third chest-high barrel of the stuff off to where they were setting their trap. "I doubt the winter gets too bad here, we aren't too far from Kokoyashi's latitude."
"It's fairly warm year-round, winter doesn't go much further below ten degrees. We mostly have this amount because trade isn't always reliable, especially in this age of piracy. But more so than that, Merry has been working on building a ship for the last few months. The process required that we stock up on some essentials." Kaya responded, helping out with the search but not yet healthy enough to lift anything heavy.
"A ship huh? You know, we've been looking for a ship for our crew, and the one we've been using so far isn't suitable at all. Say, what do you think about parting ways with it as payment for us defending your town? I think that's more than fair." Nami's Beli eyes were back in force, a sneaky grin on her face.
"Oh come on, is this really the time for that?! I know you guys want to get rid of that eyesore but we need to focus, plus, shouldn't you be a bit more subtle on the pitch?" Usopp tried to be the voice of reason, deadpanning at Nami for her greed.
"I don't mind so long as the village is left safe and sound. A ship is a small price, especially since we were just going to sell it anyway. And I already have more than enough wealth to live comfortably and do what I need to do. Just promise Merry that you'll take care of it properly, he put a lot of blood and sweat into that ship." Kaya accepted the terms, they were barely a thought compared to what she had just learned recently and what was to come.
"Oh, we will. I promise you that much, I take care of what's mine." And it would be nice to finally have a ship of their own. Until now she had just been hitching and stealing rides from others. A home on the seas… A nice change of pace, for sure. "Grab a few bags of sugar and charcoal too, we could use them to make makeshift explosives."
"And you know that…How? No offense Nami but you seemed more like the sneaky type than the tinker type. Plus, we'd also need some sulfur, or nitric acid mixed with alcohol to act as-" Usopp started but noticed that he was wasting time with hypotheticals, they didn't have what they needed, so there was no point discussing it.
"I picked up a thing or two from Arthur, he knows a surprising amount about chemistry. And it's not like explosives are particularly difficult, the tricky part comes with getting all the ratios right. But you're right, we don't have what we need for that. It was just a thought. Let's get going, this should be enough." Journeying with that guy had proven more profitable than she ever thought... In more ways than one.
She chuckled at the thought of the bounties they'd cash in, thoroughly creeping out her current companions.
She couldn't wait.
Several hours later
"These will work just fine, thank you kindly. Now, my friends should be back with…Ah, there they are. Luffy, Zoro What took you so long?" I ask as the dynamic duo walks out of the woods, the latter carrying Kuro's bloody and beaten body over his shoulders, cat claw weapons included. No injuries were visible on their bodies, though Zoro had a few cuts on his shirt.
"The guy was annoying to fight, kept jumping around everywhere and it was tricky to land a hit. But he went down after just a few. Hm, I finally got a few glimpses of what you were trying to teach me, no offense, but I think you were just too slow and weak for me to consider you a threat. Makes it tough to take the training seriously." Ah, so he was using Kuro as a training dummy. Fair enough.
"Yeah, coming close to danger or death accelerates the process. Sorry for my weakness, but I'm glad that you've made progress. As have I, the townspeople will be on our side and they even provided us with some weaponry for the battle. I won't be a complete burden in combat anymore." I say, flashing the flintlock pistol and cutlass that I was gifted. There was a pouch on my hip too, but that would be a surprise for later.
"That's good, but don't stress yourself out about it. Nobody becomes strong overnight, leave the bulk of the fighting to us until you're ready." Zoro reassured me along with Luffy's enthusiastic nodding. I smile at the sentiment, though If I was going to guarantee my survival in Paradise I'd need to become stronger regardless.
"Holy hell, you weren't lying. Those are Kuro of a Thousand Plan's claws alright, that lying bastard butler." An older man walked up to inspect Kuro's weapons, kicking the unconscious pirate in anger upon realizing that he and the town as a whole had been duped for years.
"And tomorrow, you'll have the chance to let out some of that emotion on that guy's mooks. I'm sure it will help you all feel better. Don't worry, we'll be here to help and make sure nobody gets hurt too badly. We'd like a crack at them too, since they messed with our new friend. Rest and eat well folks, you'll want energy for that." Beating someone to a pulp takes a lot out of you.
"Yeah! Let's beat 'em up, nobody hurts my crew and gets away with it!" Luffy was all in, already having adopted Usopp into the crew, even if the young warrior of the sea didn't know it yet. Zoro smirked and nodded in affirmative. He could use more targets to sharpen his new skills.
"Damn straight, and when we do we'll take all of their treasure for ourselves. Consider it fair payment for protecting this island." Nami piped up as she, Usopp, and Kaya came back from setting their traps. A mischievous smile was present on the greedy navigator's face.
"I doubt they're going to have much money, Nami. They've been lying low for years ever since that asshole decided to fake his death." Usopp burst Nami's bubble and gave the unconscious Kuro a punch to the jaw, waking him up as a result. Which would have had the long-nosed sniper cowering in most other circumstances but seeing the former pirate captain getting manhandled by Zoro took away a lot of the intimidation factor.
"You're done Kuro, don't bother trying to escape. Tie him up and keep him visible in public, and if he so much as twitches, break his arms and legs. Be thankful that I'm not doing that already, scumbag." I attempted intimidation and it seemed to work. The beaten man stopped tensing his muscles, even though his face twisted in anger. He knew he was beaten and that attempting an escape would end poorly for him.
"Since you're awake now, answer our questions. What is the condition of your former crew, we want to know if it's worth robbing them blind or not." I don't know what I was expecting, but I really shouldn't be surprised how quickly Kuro sold out his crew when given the opportunity.
"Those incompetent fools, I'd be surprised if they even had a million beli to their name. They always relied on my planning to get anything done, particularly that complete idiot Jango. Useful as his hypnosis may have been, his intelligence was a new low even for my many years at sea." Harsh but fair in all honesty, Jango was the type of idiot who would fall for even Usopp's brazen lies.
"Got it, so there's no point in trying to be sneaky. Their ship is probably bare bones. Guess the town will have to settle for just beating them to within an inch of their lives and a cut of the bounties we'll be cashing in." I rub in the fact that we'd be turning his ass over to the Navy when all this was said and done.
"What kind of pirate turns in bounties to the navy? Do you have no pride?" I saw through his bullshit immediately.
"None at all. Besides, it rings hollow from a guy who faked his death and became a butler because he couldn't handle the pirate life. Not that I am one mind you, I just happen to hang out with them. I've got no bounty, so why shouldn't I deliver you to the Navy on a silver platter and make some good money?" I respond, poking his forehead and dodging before he could crash into it out of anger.
"Tsk tsk, bad kitty. We'll have to tie you up a bit tighter for that one. Don't worry though, you won't be bound so badly once you get on our ship. I'm sure we can set up an impromptu cell for you to give us peace of mind at night. Or just a box, depending on how annoying you are." He would only need to stay in it for a week or two anyway, so he'd just be very uncomfortable.
Or he'd get an embolism and die mid-journey. But that hardly mattered, the body didn't need a heartbeat to be turned in for a bounty. "Again, remind me to never piss you off." Nami said once more, though she didn't disagree with my threat.
"And I'll repeat myself, I actually like you. So I wouldn't do something like that…Well, unless you're into bon-" *Bonk "Joke not appreciated, got it. Ow." I could already feel the comically large welt forming on my head. Girl could swing a staff, that's for sure.
"Shishishi, It's nice not being the one hit for a change. Come on Zoro, let's get something to eat, trying to catch that guy made me hungry." "Damn right it did, shifty bastard wouldn't stand still. Hope they still got booze." The captain and first mate couldn't care less what happened to Kuro, they had bigger fish to fry. Maybe literally.
"Those two, they always have a one-track mind. I guess there's some benefit to that too." Nami shook her head, though she did smile at the two. "Promise me you'll stay…Mostly normal, will ya?" She almost pleaded in my direction.
"Says the master thief and pirate who also hates pirates. Face it Nami, none of us are normal. It's just the way of things, accept it now and you may just survive with your sanity." I respond to Nami's defeated sigh. She knew it was true, no matter how much she denied it. And that it would only become more apparent the longer they spent together.
"Well anyways, we should rest up, we've got an early morning and a battle tomorrow. Not that it's going to be particularly hard. That goes for the rest of you folks as well, prepare anything you might need, and make sure you rest up. It's going to be a fun day tomorrow!" The town cheered, their blood having been riled up at the thought of defending their town and of vengeance for Kuro's treachery.
"You know, I've noticed. You're pretty good at riling people up as if you know what to say to get them to do what you want. Is that thanks to your power?" Nami asked though she was only half right.
"Kind of, my ability just lets me know more about people, and even then only for those who hold importance to this world's future in some way. No offense to these folks, but they aren't that. The rest is just knowing what people want, and more importantly, what they want to hear." I explained, my knowledge was useful, but it wasn't enough on its own.
"These people were just betrayed by a long-time acquaintance, someone they may have considered a friend, a distant one maybe, but friendly nonetheless. They are angry, confused, and scared. These emotions bring about hatred, and there is no hatred greater than righteous scorn. I just acted as the little voice fanning the flames of those emotions, that's all." The key to manipulation was amplifying or redirecting what was already there, people were creatures of emotion and if you kept those emotions heightened then their logical side wouldn't be able to keep up.
And even if it does, most of the time people don't bother to listen to it.
"I'll…Keep that in mind. And I thought you were scary when you made threats." Nami said under her breath, paler than usual. Threatening violence was one thing, any two-bit pirate with a big mouth could do that. But manipulating people to do it for you, and so easily, was another thing entirely.
Nami will remember this.
The next day, Northern entrance to the island
"Uh, guys, I think they knew we were coming." A nameless mook spoke up, stating the obvious as he and his crew were surrounded on all sides, with nothing but a deathtrap of a ramp in front of them. And somehow, their would-be victims managed to set up ominous-looking water buoys behind them.
"No shit." Was all another mook could say before he was struck by a rock to the face.
Alright, that's enough for this chapter. I'd rather not get into what caused such a major delay in my writing because this has already taken so long to make, so I'll keep this and the introduction short and sweet.
Until next time, which I can pretty much guarantee won't take NEARLY as long. Now that I'm working sane hours. Later.
