Bonus Chapter for 100 Powerstones.
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"He is only 14. We thought we could make him join our side by offering him safety, and then we could shape his great talent..."
"Silent Step Kuro... a man who will be a big problem in the future has appeared."
"That Saint Jalmack. He has caused so much trouble."
After the meeting with the Marine officers was over, five men sat around a table in the empty room.
"What do you think?"
"We should get rid of him right now. The longer we wait, the harder he will be to deal with."
"But what about the Marines? Will they be willing to fight that man?"
"It would be fine if they just don't want to. But at worst, they might fake his death and hide his crew, along with Nico Robin, inside the Marines. After all, most of his crew are former Marines who were going to be sold as slaves. It's very possible."
"...It's funny. The man who warned us about trouble is now the biggest trouble."
The men sighed as they looked at a wanted poster on the table. It showed a pirate with glasses and sharp eyes for a 14-year-old.
"What about Cipher Pol?"
"They are busy with another case right now. So is CP-0. Lately, more countries have been acting strangely, so they are looking into it..."
"Most of them are probably poor countries that can barely pay their taxes. What can a bunch of starving bugs do?"
"Still, there is strength in numbers. We need to check on them."
An old man with a long sword let out a deep sigh.
"Everyone is just putting up with it, huh? ...That man says things that are hard to hear."
None of them saw the man in the picture as a child.
"First of all, how did he even cross the Red Line?"
"Around that time, there were stories in the East Blue about someone running up the giant red cliffs. We thought it was just a silly story, but it matches the last known location of 'Silent Step'."
"...Is that true?"
"Marines who fought him also reported that his leg strength was not normal."
"...So he's not just smart, he's also a skilled fighter. What a problem... and now he's protecting the last child of Ohara."
"From the way he acts, he will never give up Nico Robin, no matter what happens."
The largest man, the only one not sitting in a chair, picked up the wanted poster and spoke.
"At least, he does not seem like the type of man who wants to change the world himself. Of course, something could happen that makes him see the government as an enemy, but right now, he doesn't even seem very angry at the World Nobles."
"...So, we just leave him alone?"
"We can only gather as much information as we can. Since they are a new group, they can move around easily. A man like him will use that to hide."
–
A month had passed since the war between the West Blue regional headquarters and 'Silent Step'. The investigation into the Marine slave incident had begun, and some of the Marines were slowly being returned. The people at Marineford were busy taking care of them.
"What is it, Tsuru? More paperwork?"
"Garp, you should do some of your paperwork too. You're just leaving it all to your younger officers again, aren't you?"
"Bwahahaha! If I do it, they'll just have to fix it all. It takes twice the work!"
"You never change..."
"So, what's that?"
"It's the battle report from the fight between that pirate and the regional headquarters. We finally have a clear picture of how each ship moved."
The legendary Marine's eyebrows moved when he heard the word "pirate." He looked happy.
"Kuro! Bwahahaha! A strange new pirate has shown up!"
"You're so relaxed about this."
"Don't say that. After hearing what that man said, I have my own thoughts too."
"...How is Zephyr?"
Many people had heard the conversation between Kuro and the Five Elders. This included important people like Fleet Admiral Kong, Sengoku, and Garp. It also included Sakazuki and Kuzan, who had worked with Kuro on this case, and the instructor Zephyr, who had trained many Marines and was the angriest of all about what had happened.
"He decided to stay with the Marines for now. Kuzan and Borsalino worked hard to convince him."
"...That's good. We're starting a new system. We can't afford to lose any more people, or the organization will fall apart."
"We don't know for sure yet. He only said 'for now.' He said he will think about it again after he takes care of the Marines who have returned."
Their faces turned sad when he said that. They had already seen the returned Marines.
Some were lucky to only have scars on their bodies. Others were missing arms or legs, or had terrible burns. Even those who looked fine on the outside had empty expressions and wouldn't look at anyone. On the other hand, some who were badly hurt had a constant, trembling smile on their faces.
"...Honestly, if I met the pirate Kuro, I don't think I could give the order to capture him.
...So many young people suffered so terribly, and he was the one who fought for them with everything he had."
"I feel the same way. ...Sengoku, who is going to be the next Fleet Admiral, must feel torn about it too."
If the people captured this time had been regular citizens, how far would the Marines have gone to help?
How much would they have cared about how those people felt?
There wasn't a single Marine there that day who wasn't affected by the pirate's questions. Both Kuzan and Sakazuki had nothing to say and could only clench their fists so hard they bled. Kong, who was about to become the Commander-in-Chief, even shed a few tears of regret for not doing enough.
"If Zephyr had quit the Marines, he might have gone to join Kuro."
"Yes, that's possible. It's not just that he has the guts to stand up to the Five Elders... his way of life is just too bright."
A gag order was issued, but by then, the rumors had already spread. The story of the slave incident, and the young pirate who saved them, was quietly becoming a legend within the Marines.
"Vice Admiral Garp! Vice Admiral Garp!? ...Hey, Garp!!"
"See, someone is calling you. It must be that young girl, right?"
"Oops, I did promise her something."
As the old marine laughed loudly, Tsuru sighed, and the door was thrown open.
"Come on! You said you would train with me, so why are you in here!? Hina is upset!"
"Bwahahaha! Sorry, sorry, I forgot."
"Don't worry, Hina. This is just how he is."
A young female Marine, who still looked a bit like a child, appeared.
"I had to work hard to get the training ground for us! Please!"
"You're so serious. Garp, you should learn from her."
"Oh, stop it, you're making me feel bad. Hina, if you don't relax a little, you'll make me uncomfortable."
"Don't lead a serious new recruit down the wrong path, Garp."
Tsuru tapped the papers into a neat pile and stood up. She decided to join the new recruit's training.
"By the way, Hina, you were always serious, but you've been training extra hard lately. Did something happen?"
This old man was a legend, but he was also a wild man. Maybe that's why he became a legend, but Tsuru was a little worried if he was the right person to train a new recruit. Hina's face fell a little, and she mumbled.
"...Because the man I want to catch... keeps getting further and further away..."
–
"Captain Kuro, the camp is set up."
"Good, so our first move is done."
They would probably question the Marines we handed over, and if they did, they would find out about our old base. So, for the past month, we attacked mafia ships and bases to get money and supplies. Then we found a new, empty island and docked the ship there.
We set up a place to sleep, and we hid the ship in a good-sized cave in a cliff. I could probably expand the cave by kicking it as part of my training. If I can do that, we'll have a proper place to hide the ship.
"Alright, can I have everyone's attention for a moment?"
When I called out, the crew gathered around after they finished setting up tents and starting fires.
...You know, you don't have to line up so neatly. You're pirates. Well, it's fine.
"We are now truly pirates, in name and in action. ...We even have a flag."
Perona and Robin, who had been drawing and erasing designs on the ground with a stick, and Amisu, who drew the final version on the flag—she was surprisingly good at drawing—gave a small smile. It's amazing. I saw over 60 different designs at one point.
"From now on, we will be fighting against the mafia, other pirates, and the Marines and the Government. ...We have to survive in these crazy times."
Everyone, including Daz, nodded slightly. They are ready. I'm honestly relieved about that...
"There will be many strong enemies. All of us, including me, will have to get stronger to survive."
The former Marines looked a little nervous, maybe because they weren't sure about their own strength. I think they are already stronger than most Marines, since they were able to protect the ship from that attack under Daz's command.
"But there is something just as important."
"I want all of you to always stay strong on the inside."
Everyone looked confused for a second. Well, I guess that's expected—
"From now on, we will use our power to solve problems. I don't plan on making you do evil things, and I will try to lead us in a way that avoids that. I want to live my life in a way that I believe is right."
In the world of One Piece, if you're not careful, you can easily lose hope and go down a dark path... I'm sure what happens in those "what if" drawings from the comics happens a lot in real life.
"But, there will be times when we might get lost in the power we use. This is more likely to happen the more we do what we think is right."
"Fighting something we think is wrong for the sake of what is right might be justice. But at the same time, it can feel good."
Honestly, I even enjoyed it a little when I was beating up those human traffickers. But now that we are a group, we can't be careless about things like that. If we are, we could lose control.
"The moment we get lost in that good feeling, we become monsters. And monsters, no matter how strong they are, are always defeated by a hero in the end."
From what I've read, Big Mom is kind of like that. What she wants seems right at first, but when it gets twisted, she becomes what she is. I feel like some parts of the Marines are like that too.
Luffy and the other main characters are amazing because they can do whatever they want and still stay true to themselves. Like Law's crew, who say they don't like to kill people.
"So, let's be strong on the inside. Let's see many things, learn many things, and worry about many things as we search for our own way of doing what is right."
"That is what I think it means to be truly strong."
I might die at some point, and the crew might split up, but if everyone here becomes someone who lives with honor... Well, they probably won't have a bad ending. Some of them might even end up joining Luffy's crew.
"...I've said a lot, but what I mean is—let's worry together and have fun together! While we search for the path that we'll regret the least!"
We're criminals called pirates anyway! Hahahaha!
And since Robin is with us, real assassins will probably come after us! Hahahahaha!
It's not funny, but I have to laugh!!
"The name of the flag we will raise from now on is! 'The Black Cat'!"
Robin stood on her toes, and Perona stood on a nearby rock. They held up our flag, which had the side view of a realistic-looking black cat on top of three claw marks. The crew let out a small "ooh..." of admiration.
I thought about it a lot, but this was the only name that fit. I thought about "Black Lion," but no matter how many times I thought about it, it felt like the name was too grand for us.
"Captain!"
"What is it, Toya?"
Toya, one of the few male crew members, is our current helmsman. He's a handsome boy who could be mistaken for a girl. He's also 15, close to my age, so he's easy to talk to.
Toya raised his hand, so I let him speak. Seriously, for a pirate crew, we are strangely organized. I guess it can't be helped since they are all former Marines.
"I was just thinking, isn't a cat a little too cute for a pirate flag!?"
"Yes. —It's charming, isn't it?"
When I said that, everyone burst out laughing.
Ah, that's right. This is how pirates should be. We have to keep laughing.
"Everyone, drink and eat as much as you want tonight! Sing and make some noise!!"
"The Black Cat Pirates! Our journey begins!!"
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Next Goal: 200 Powerstones
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