18 Prove Thy Self

Marco showed me my bunk bed and a place where I could store my belongings before giving me a tour of the ship. We ended up in the common room, where it seemed like half the crew was eating and drinking.

The smell of food was so intense my mouth started to water, "You smell that, we caught a sea king yesterday, and Thatch spent all day preparing it. Here let's go get a plate."

It was like any other cafeteria so I waited in line and I have to say that the wait was worth it. It was some seafood stir fry, and the chucks of fished fell apart in my mouth.

When I finished my meal, I noticed a drinking game going on, and the pile of gold in the middle was certainly appealing. The rest of my treasure had finally run dry when I brought that bottle of sake.

I waited my turn, and I challenged this large burly man who probably weighed more than my old ship.

"Are you sure you want to do this Soren, you're going against the champion? Now one can handle his rum like Bungy can. Well, maybe, Whitebeard."

Bungy was the guy I was going against, and someone quickly poured out four shot glasses of what must be this world equivalent of Everclear.

I knocked back two shots, and I felt nothing. That's thanks to my increased metabolism. I initially designed my liver to handle poisons on Magellan's level, so alcohol wasn't a problem.

Ten shots in Bungy was out like a light, and I quickly walked away with money in my pockets and my street cred levels rising.

Burning off all that alcohol made me pretty sleepy, so I took a nap, the bed wasn't the best, but the cozy feeling of the ship around me put me to sleep real quick.

"Soren, wake up. The captain wants to see you." I groaned to see Marco looking down at me, "What does the old man want."

Marco shrugged, "It's best to do what he says. Trying to argue with him his like talking to a seastone wall."

Whitebeard was on his throne, his two nurses checking over his condition, "You're finally up. The rumor of you beating Bungy in a drinking contest has spread throughout the entire ship."

I shrugged, "It wasn't my first time, and I may have cheated a bit." Whitebeard chuckled, and he leaned forward, "Do your devil fruit powers have something to do with it."

I shrugged again, "Maybe, why do you ask."

"Are you stupid, boy? You don't keep secrets from your future captain." Whitebeard said, getting right up in my face.

"Fine, I ate a Paramecia Fruit that gives me the power to manipulate my body in any way I want."

Whitebeard sat back in his chair, "Now was that so hard? Now you want to be a part of this crew, right."

I nodded, and Whitebeard smiled, "Good, now if you want to be a part of the crew, you have to prove yourself."

Before I could get a word in Whitebeard, steamrolled over me, "We're about to engage with a hostile pirate crew who been moving into my territory. We're moving in on them as we speak, bring me the head of their captain, and you're in."

I smiled, "You got it, Captain. Just point him out to me." Whitebeard made a dismissive noise, and I left, returning to my room to sharpen my sword.

The next morning everyone ate a quick breakfast before Whitebeard called all hands on deck. I made my way to Whitebeards side, proving oneself must be a common practice.

After a few minutes of waiting for the enemy galleon, Whitebeard passed me a sheet of paper, "That's the captain, you get one shot, don't screw it up."

The man in the picture had long blonde hair and an angular face with almond-shaped eyes. His name was Lady Killer James. He wasn't a small fry with a 200 hundred million bounty, but I could handle him.

"I'll bring you his head on a silver platter." I stored the paper underneath my shirt. I was wearing a plain white Gi. I found that other form-fitting clothes didn't like it when I changed.

When the enemy galleon appeared in the distance, the sails unfurled to catch the wind, and we sped off into combat.

When we got close enough, I watch as my crewmates brought ten small cannons to the port side, and they fired harpoons that sunk into the side of the enemy galleon. The spears were attached with ropes, and everyone cheered as the ships started to draw closer together.

Not keen on waiting, I grew a pair of wings and took to the air. It seemed as if I wasn't the only one as my crewmates started to run across the ropes to get to the other ship.

Hovering in the air, I scanned the deck of the enemy ship, and I locked onto my target, "Just sit still, and it will be all over."

[Iai Sutairu: Sun Fall]

Like an arrow fired from a bow, I fell through the air, ready to take Jame's head. Much to my dismay, James turned around just in time, and with a wave of his hand, he summoned a wall of flowers.

Frowning, I shot back up in the air, and I started to pepper him with bone bullets from my arm, but his flower wall blocked all of them.

Sighing, I infused my sword with Haki as I descended to face James head-on, clearing an area for myself. I killed a group of pirates below, "Stay back from this one. He's mine."

The pirates moved away from James, and I, as the Whitebeard pirates, started a slaughter.

"I don't recognize you. How about you join my crew. You can be my right-hand man." I laughed in his face, and I pointed my sword at him.

"I'm here to kill you, nothing more, nothing less." Clearly, James wasn't used to people telling him no.

"W-well, you can perish against my roses." I sighed as James waved his hand, attacking me with his flowers.

As the flowers engulfed me like a title wave, James laughed as he clenched his fist, "Die to a thousand thorns."

As the sphere of flowers started to constrict around me, I frowned, "I was hoping for more of a challenge."

[Bone Art: Sukeruton]

A white liquid seeped through my pores before solidifying into hard bone armor, a simple air blade from my sword destroyed the flowers as they burst apart like a cacoon.