5 Chapter 4: Encounter
(POV - First Person)
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"Today is indeed great weather!" I spread both my arms out above my head. It was really great weather to be out on the sea. Hopefully, I can get more gold. I still have a long way from my goal.
I felt a presence behind me and I turned around. My adopted step-sister who picked the oranges in her basket on the farm just came back. I don't know about her, but how can she managed to have fun while picking orange. I do like tangerines which reminds me of my mother, but not farming them.
"You awake Nami," Nojiko said.
I smiled at her and said, "yes."
I continued, "You know today is a great day to relax, the wind doesn't pick up much and the sky is clear from the cloud."
"Unhum..."Nojiko nodded her head agreeing with me.
She placed down her basket on the porch and sat there.
"So are you going to the pirate base to draw a map for them again?" Nojiko asked. From her tone, she too really hates those Fishman pirates just like me. Of course, they killed our mother, so I wouldn't forget them no matter what.
"Nope, I'm going to go out to the sea today. I feel like I'm going to get a lot of gold...hehe." I answered Nojiko.
With a worried face, Nojiko said, "Please be safe. Don't pressure yourself if you can't find it."
I turned my face to look at her again and gave her a huge grin on my face and showed her a peace sign.
"Don't worry. I am known as Cat Burglar, after all, I always come back without them noticing me. There is no way pirates are going to catch me." I eased Nojiko's worries.
I took out and ran while yelling back at Nojiko who was still sitting on the porch.
"I see you later Nojiko, wait for me to be back with a lot of Beri!"
Nojiko stood up, shouted back at me with both hands on her mouth to make a loudspeaker with her hands by shaping it.
"Nami, be safe! Come back quick!"
"Hahaha"2x, we both laughed as I made my way to the dock.
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I regretted my words now for overestimating myself and tried to steal from Don Krieg's ship. If only he wasn't playing dirty, they wouldn't have even noticed me. How can they place a mini bomb inside the treasure chests? Luckily, the explosive only made a loud sound, or else I wouldn't be alive now.
Don Krieg was known as one of the most powerful men in East Blue with a 17,000,000 berries bounty on his head, aside from Arlong, he was feared by many. Don Krieg was a huge, muscular man, with short cut purple-gray hair and long sideburns. He wore a dark grey coat made from animal skin with white-collar long fur. He had more than 50 ships under his control and was known to play dirty against his opponents.
"Ahhhhh! Damn it!"
I cursed at my own bad luck. Luckily though, only 5 of his minions chased after me.
'Did he think those idiots of his know how to sail better than me?'
I am currently on my small boat with a sail on navigating my way to escape from Don Krieg's crews. Since they also used the same small boats similar to mine, I can lose them, but the wind doesn't pick up at all. Then I saw an island.
'If I am able to get on one of the islands in front of me, I can lose them.'
"Finally!" I shouted when I got on the beach. It seemed like they were still more than 150 yards out on the sea.
"Hahahaha, there is no way you guys will catch me!" I hollered back at them while showing them my finger, and stuck out my tongue.
As I walked back while still looking at them who were angry and shouted back at me from their boats, then I accidentally stepped into a hole and twisted my legs.
(Note: For those who forgot, the holes on the beach made by Buggy the clown and his pirates after they shot Lee with cannonballs)
"Ouch!" I screamed out loud.
"Who made a hole here!"
'Whoever did that, I cursed him to die worse than a chicken who choked on its own food.'
When I tried to climb up, the ankle on my right was really painful, it seemed like I had muscle strain there.
I noticed that pirates were reaching the land from the sea, so I exerted all my strength into my left leg and tried to stand up. To my luck, I was able to make my way into the forest before they landed on the beach. As I kept running, while walking at the same time, I moved parallel direction instead of going in straight to lose them. After an hour, I finally saw water steam which seemed to be drinkable.
'I am really thirsty right now.' I thought.
As I made my way toward the stream which was still really far.
"There she is! You wouldn't get away you sissy little girl!" I heard one of the pirates shout behind me.
'How can they find me? Damn it!' I cursed at my bad luck in my head again and took out toward the stream hoping that the water was deep.
'If the water is deep enough, I would be able to swim down the stream into the seabed.'
As I was moving with all my strength, even though my leg hurt, I was still able to handle the pain as I was thinking about not getting captured by them.
The moment I neared the stream, to my surprise, the water was not deep. One of the pirates who pursued me appeared to run out of his patient and threw his log toward me.
(KheAaaaaah!!!)
It hit my back as I fell down. But instead of dropping all the way down on my knees, I supported myself with my arms first and was able to get back up quickly.
I continued up the stream hoping for a place that I could hinder the pirates. As I made my way up and saw that the water was more swallowed, I was thinking of crossing the river. To my surprised again, a young man was on the opposite of the stream. When I first saw him, I didn't think much. What surprised me a little was the black ink tattoo that showed up from behind his back. Who knew he was the one who will change my fate.
'He is also a person with a story like me. It looked like this is his place', I didn't know why I had time to think about that, but instead of causing trouble for him, I attempted to escape in the opposite direction of him.
'Hopefully, the pirates wouldn't find him.'
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When Lee witnessed Nami make her way in a different direction, he knew that Nami was really kind deep down even though it appeared to many people that Berris was the only thing in her head.
"Ai is there any way you can analyze the enemy's strength," Lee asked Ai who persistently reminded him not to do anything reckless because he was going to face humans instead of beasts.
Ai replied quickly, ('Currently not possible for us. I assume if you level up more, with the abilities of the Dark Emperor, there will be a chance for you to be able to.')
Lee grabbed a rock beside his feet. He wanted to test out one of his abilities after Ai explained it to him.
Lee imagined the flame coated around the rock in his right hand, and he tried to feel it by imagining the heat from the flame.
"*Flame*" Lee called, then the rock turned red.
Even though the rock became a heated stone almost melt on the outer surface, Lee only felt a warm feeling. Seemed like he was immune to heat.
After he used flame on the rock, he also used another ability.
"*Darkness*," Lee said, as the black feathers from his back spread out quickly to cover his right arm and to his hand. He threw the rock at one of the pirates who almost arrived near Nami with both of the powers combined.
"WOOOoooop---Banng!", a red beam flew really quickly which blurry for normal people to see, it hit the pirate at the front. The pirate received the rock straight in the head and flew out like a rocket in the same direction as the rock and hit one of the trees. There was a large hole there. Nobody knows he was alive or Not.
When they look toward the source of the attack, both Nami and the four remaining pirates are shocked with both their eyes popped out and jaws drop wide open. Nami forgot about her situation and just stood there. As for the pirates, the moment they were out from the shock of their friend down, instead of targeting Nami, they made their way toward Lee.
"You have done it you punk!" one of the pirates shouted at him and the others also started cursing at him too. Even though they didn't see it, they knew he was strong.
"You little squeak!" Shouted another one and they sprinted toward with their weapons in their hands together.
Instead of using his abilities, Lee wanted to test his martial art skills with the people of this world. He planned to use *Muay Thai*.
Without waiting for them to reach him, Lee ran toward them and jumped at the pirate with a large iron club in his left hand which was aiming at Lee from above his head.
Lee arrived so fast that the pirate didn't have the chance to hit him. Lee's right kneed the pirate in the face and it flew back. While they perceived Lee did that, they tried to hit Lee from the side. Swords, blade, and Iron rod swiped toward him. Lee dodged it by jumping at the person on his left which was near where Lee came from.
Instead of taking hits directly, Lee quickly held the right arm of the pirate that had a blade with his left hand above, while holding the other with his right hand below the pirate arm. Due to momentum, the pirate was not able to stop himself from swiping even though Lee already held his arm. Lee did a side step by stepping his left leg behind his right leg like he almost did a split by pulling the pirate down.
"*Pieeeere*"2x, the swords made sounds, and at the same time, they would also hear a bang sound from the Iron rod.
The three pirates who also took a swipe at Lee hit their own crewmate in the back instead. Lee still didn't let go of the pirate who shielded him. Lee wheel kicked the pirate in front of him on the ribs that curved in a little before causing the pirate to travel back a few feet. Then he did a front flip over the pirate body by holding an arm that bent at a weird angle before dropping his heels on the two pirates that were left on the opposite side. Both of them were stuck on their chest area which sank in and dropped down without making any sound again.
Even though it took forever to explain the whole process, everything happened instantly and by the time Lee had done, only one of the pirates left screaming.
As for the pirate whose one of his arms bent at the wrong angle was creaming, Lee saw that and did a backflip before dropping on the pirate neck with his left leg kneed on it.
'Finally, it quiets down', Lee thought as stood up, looked around, and looked like all of them didn't even move a fiber anymore.
After Lee finished out all the pirates that were chasing Nami, he made his way toward her. It seemed like she was really surprised and not able to rise up from her position.
"Are you alright? Let me give you a hand" Lee offered as he reached out his right hand toward Nami.
Nami seemed stuck for a little while looking at Lee's face. Lee gave her a gentle smile that he wants to help her.
Nami reached out at the hand that Lee offered to her with both hands to support herself to stand up. After she grabbed Lee's hand with both of her hands, she used her left leg to support herself first before forcing herself to use her right leg a little. After the adrenaline that was in her seemed to run out, so the moment her right leg made contact with the ground, the pain hit her. She fell back on her butt and accidentally pulled Lee along with her.
Lee didn't prepare for that since Nami was about to stand up so he utilized less of his strength, but now he is falling toward her just like the luckiest encounter MC had which he usually watched in anime.
His lips contacted Nami's lips before they felt their teeth bumped each other. It was a salty-sweet flavored for both of them because Nami top lip was bleeding out a little.
('It seemed like you became one of the romcoms' MCs now... hehe') Ai laughed in his head.
