Alright so this is the update for the pirate king's left hand man. Thank you you guys a lot for supporting this story.

I've seriously been digging a lot more deeper into one piece due to this story. I have even started to learn the importance of somethings that I had ignored before. it's been really exhausting. It's like having to restudy the whole course of a semester a week before an exam.

Well anyways, I recently published an helldivers fiction. So please make sure to check it out later. Also I'm using this week to update all of my stories including mukou and God hand which I had put on hiatus for a while now.

They will be getting new chapters soon.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the time and effort used in writing this fiction.

Chapter 3

"I seriously never saw that one coming" Naruto said as he gawked at the newspaper in Rayleigh's hands alongside an equally shocked Roger.

It has been three days since they left the beginners island. With the berries they were able to buy enough food to last a while and fix up their ship. Things had been looking good. And this few days has been quite peaceful for them.

However, this morning Rayleigh had bought a newspaper from a passing newspaper seagull. And what they saw came as a complete shock to all of them.

After that Rayleigh immediately called for a meeting.

"I thought he was kidding when he said that their pirate crew was a famous one" Rayleigh sighed when he saw a headline in the newspaper that reads.

'The infamous gorge pirates defeated by an unknown pirate crew with just three members.'

"I can't believe we got famous overnight just from beating a group of weak pirates. Will we be given bounties now?" Roger laughed as he started imagining how he'd look like on a wanted poster.

"You are taking this too lightly, Roger. With the marines now aware of us, it's going to be difficult operating undercover while building up our crew. With just the three of us it's only a matter of time before we get caught" Rayleigh explained. He needed Roger to know just how severe their situation was.

Having a wanted poster doesn't necessarily mean good thing. At this point it just gives them unwanted attention.

Naruto and Roger fell into silent when they heard Rayleigh's words. As the saying goes, the wind howls against the highest peak. Or in a pirates case, fame without power only brings destruction.

"You are right, Rayleigh. With just the three of us it's going to be difficult if not impossible to resist capture once the marines start coming after us. I think it's about time we start looking for more crew members" Roger said after contemplating for a while.

"As much as I support that idea. Finding trustworthy people in the grand line is not going to be an easy task" Naruto said. Rayleigh also nodded expressing that he agreed with his words.

"Naruto is right, Roger. There's no need to be hasty"

"No we can't afford to wait any longer. We'll cross that bridge when we get there" Roger said seriously.

Naruto and Rayleigh exchanged looks before shrugging.

"If you say so"

Roger grinned when he got the two to agree with him before he turned to Rayleigh and asked.

"How much longer until we get to the next Island?"

"Since it's my first time using the log pose, I can only make a rough guess of about a day or two" Rayleigh said completely uncertain since he was still new to the whole log pose of a thing. However Roger nodded and said

"Then let's not waste anymore time. We'll go full speed ahead"

"Aye aye captain" Naruto gave a mock bow before they all returned to their stations.

However, after Two days of sailing they didn't come into contact with any island. They had been worried since their food supply was running low. Moreover, the ship had been damage to the point that it was already leaking in some places.

Fortunately on the third day they finally came into contact with an island.

"Is this for real?" Naruto gasp in awe. The island before them was a huge one and on it are several rock mountains. The shape of the mountains along with the graves give the mountains the appearance of giant cacti.

Moreover, there was a river flowing through the island allowing ships to dock inland.

Even Rayleigh and Roger were amazed by this scene. This was the first time they were seeing something like this.

After a while of sailing across the river, they finally found a dock to leave their ship.

"That took longer than expected" Naruto said when he got off the ship. Rayleigh's estimate had been off by a whole day. It was kinda scary since their boat already started leaking. If they had spent another day at sea, they might end up swimming with fishes.

"The first order of business should be getting ourselves a new ship before we drown in our sleeps. With the amount of berries we have left, we can't afford to buy a new ship. But we can at least steal one" Rayleigh said. With the amount of damage their ship had taken. It was already a miracle that it was still afloat.

"Also while we are at it. Can we do something about that jolly Roger?" Naruto asked as he pointed at the sorry excuse of a jolly Roger waving above their ship.

"What's wrong with it?" Roger asked. It had taken all his artistic talent however little it was to draw that flag. It was his pride and joy.

"Sorry to say Roger but that jolly roger is an insult to pirates all around the world. And I don't plan on sailing under a jolly Roger that looks like a kid's drawing" Naruto replies seriously. If they were going to do this. Then they have to do it right.

"He is right, roger. Nobody would want to join a crew with a jolly roger like that" Rayleigh added. He had been meaning to get rid of it since the day he first set his eyes on it.

"But, you guys did" Roger said with an innocent smile. However, his innocent remark only earned him the ire of his crewmates.

"NOT EVERYBODY IS LIKE US!" Naruto and Rayleigh hit him on the head.

"Alright, alright." Roger eventually relented. Those two punches hurt a lot. He could still feel his vision twirling.

After hearing him agree, Rayleigh nodded and said. "Good. Now let's go"

The three of them unhurriedly left the dock and walked into the town on the island.

However they noticed something odd as they walked on the street. For some reason everyone was sneaking glances at them, and were trying not to make it look obvious. Some were even openly staring at them while whispering among themselves.

"Roger, did you do something while we weren't looking?" Rayleigh immediately turned to the troublemaker of their group.

"I didn't do anything. I haven't left the group since we arrived on this island" Roger said with a perplexed look. He was just as surprised as the others.

"I don't think Roger was responsible this time, Rayleigh. Look" Naruto pointed at a wall of a building not far to their left.

Roger and Rayleigh turned to the indicated wall and what they saw there surprised them. On the wall was three wanted poster with their faces on it and a starting bounty of twenty thousand berries each.

"Are you for real" Rayleigh was at a lost for words as he looked at his bounty poster. He couldn't believe his eyes. His wanted poster was of him looking at the camera with a serious expression.

"I look good" Roger laughed joyfully when he saw his wanted poster. His picture was of him putting his straw hat on his head with a goofy grin on his face.

"Doesn't this mean that we are already being hunted?" Naruto groaned as he glared at his wanted poster in frustration. His poster picture was of him holding up a badly beaten pirate with a mean look that could kill.

Whoever took that picture was really trying their hardest to get him killed.

"Let's quickly get what we came from and leave this island" Rayleigh said and the three of them agreed without hesitation and promptly left the area. However they didn't notice the figure that was following behind them in the shadows.

The three of them quickly found a secluded alley to escape from the unwanted attention.

"Things aren't looking so good for us" Naruto said as soon as they rounded the corner.

"A lot of bounty hunters will be gunning for us now. Even the stronger ones might decide to join in" Rayleigh frowned, displeased by their current circumstances. The worst scenario was finally happening.

"We should get going before things become troublesome" Roger suggested.

However, as soon as Roger finished speaking a fourth voice interrupted their conversation.

"Are you guys lost?"

The three of them turned around as one to see a man standing at the entrance of the alley. He was an average-sized man with light skin, and dark red colored hair tied in a ponytail, with an even fringe and two strands framing his face.

The group of three immediately tensed up as soon as he took a step forward.

"Who are you?" Roger asked with a chilling tone. The smile on his face nowhere to be seen. The atmosphere immediately felt heavy.

However despite their hostile attitude towards him, the man still smiled and said. "You can call me Spencer. I'm just an ordinary bar man working on this island. Also there's no need to be suspicious. You guys aren't the first group of pirates with a bounty to come here"

"If we are not the first then why was everyone staring at us" Naruto asked not buying his excuse one bit. Roger and Rayleigh also nodded.

"Well, can you blame them. You guys are a mysterious pirate group that no one as ever heard of. And yet you still managed to take down the infamous gorge pirates. Anyone will be curious about you guys. And I am no exception" Spencer explained. Don't they understand that having a bounty brings a lot of attention.

"Well what is it to you?" Rayleigh asked with one hand on the hilt of his sword. If Spencer was to give the wrong answer he will immediately cut him down.

However, despite knowing this Spencer still smiled and said. "You guys don't know your way around this island, but I do. It would be unfortunate if you were to encounter the marines or some bounty hunters. So I'm offering my help"

Naruto and the other exchanged looks before huddling together to discuss.

"I don't trust this guy" Naruto whispered earning him a nod from Rayleigh.

"Neither do I. Especially with that innocent smile on his face"

"He seems okay" Roger shrugged nonchalantly.

"Shut up"

After a quick discussion Rayleigh said. "We have nothing to lose. Let's just see where it goes from here. It won't be too late to cut him down later"

"Okay" Naruto and Roger nodded without much suspense.

Spencer patiently waited for them to finished their discussion. And not long after the three of them break off from each other before Rayleigh turned to Spencer and said. "Lead the way"

"Alright. follow me." Spencer said before turning around to leave the alley. Naruto and the others followed behind him. Before they knew it they had already walked out of town and were heading towards a cliff not far from the town. On the top of the cliff was a small bar.

Naruto turned to Spencer when he saw the bar and asked. "Why the hell did you build a bar outside of town and on top of a cliff for that matter?"

"Why else? For people like you of course. Now come on" Spencer laughed before leading them into the bar.

When they entered the bar, they saw a few people drinking and eating in the bar but they didn't seem to care about their presence. They only gave them a quick glance before looking away.

Spencer greeted a few of the customers as he led them to the counter.

"Boss where have you been?! I've been looking all over for you!" The bar man shouted as soon as he laid eyes on Spencer.

"Sorry, sorry. I ran into some new comers in town, so I invited them over to the bar" Spencer explained before jumping over the counter.

"Travelers?" the man turned to naruto's group of three seated in front of the counter. A look of surprise flash across his face before he politely said.

"Forgive my rudeness. My name is Taro. I handle the bar in the boss stead." The barman introduced himself. Taro was a young man of average height. He has chestnut-shaped light hair and a pair of goggles on his head.

"You look nothing like a barman" Naruto was quick to point that out.

"Yeah, I get that a lot. But here in the grand line where pirates dominates most of the seas, you can't afford to look weak" Taro laughed.

"So what brings you guys to the grand line?" Spencer asked after he poured the three of them a glass of rum.

"What makes you think that we are not from the grand line?" Rayleigh countered with a fierce look. However Spencer wasn't mad that Rayleigh refused to answer his question. Instead he shrugged and said.

"A hunch. Also the fact that your crew just got it first bounty. Any pirate group worth their salts wouldn't have settled for less. So my guess is that you are a newly formed pirate group from one of the four seas that recently entered the grand line in search of treasure or adventure."

"You are right. We came to the grand line in search of adventure" Roger admitted with a laugh before taking a gulp from his cup. Oy for him to get smacked on the back of the head from Rayleigh and Naruto.

"ROGER!!"

Spencer and Taro laughed heavily at their action.

'Well there goes our plan' Naruto facepalm. Since the plan was already ruined, there was no point keeping up with it anymore. Naruto ignored Roger's apologies and asked.

"So where exactly are we?"

"The island you guys are on right now is called Cactus Island due to the shape of the mountain. It's the second island recorded on the log pose after the twin cape" Spencer informed as he refilled their drinks. "If you guys came through the reverse mountain then you would have passed the light tower at the entrance of the Grand line."

"Well that explains somethings." Rayleigh muttered to himself. Then, he looked at Spencer and asked. "Can you tell me about the situations of the marines in the Grand line?"

"Not much. But there have been news of a few rookie marines that have been taking the ocean by storm. I'll advice you to be careful out there" Spencer said as he poured Rayleigh another glass of rum.

"Hey, Rayleigh? Do you feel kind of funny?" Naruto asked as he examined the inside of his cup in confusion.

Did I drink too much? He couldn't help but wonder as his vision suddenly turned blurry and he fell to the ground unconscious.

"Naruto?" Rayleigh looked at him in surprise. Did he had to much to drink? Come to think of it he hasn't heard Roger's voice for a while now.

Perplexed, Rayleigh turned to Roger only see him passed out on the counter as well. Rayleigh immediately understood what was going on and quickly reached for his sword.

However, before he could draw his blade his body suddenly slump over as he slowly lost consciousness.

'Shit. I let my guard down' Rayleigh glared at Spencer as he lost consciousness. The last thing he saw was that annoying smile on his face.

Spencer sighed in relief. For a moment there he thought Rayleigh was immune to his sleeping medicine. If it had been so, they would have had to put in a lot of effort to take him down.

Once he made sure that Rayleigh and the others were was unconsciousness Spencer turned to the other inhabitants of the bar who had been watching in anticipation and shouted.

"Men! Tonight we celebrate!"

"YEAHHHH!"

That concludes chapter 3. According to the request of a reader I made the chapter longer than usual which I'm going to keep up like that.

So I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Also check out my other stories just in case you forgot.

Until next time.

Ja ne