17 Chapter 13: Azure Blue Co. #2

Midpoint Island, West Blue

"Captain Jones, is there really no way we can resolve this peacefully?!" President Kennel shouted.

"Resolve?! Peacefully?! If it wasn't for a stroke of luck, me and my crew would be lying dead on the seafloor!" Captain Jones became even more incensed and shouted back.

Meanwhile, on the sidelines, Ulysses turned his head towards Mizuki. They were a considerable distance away, so neither side paid attention to the duo.

"Who's Captain Jones?" Ulysses asked, unaware of who the man was.

"Captain Jones... Captain Jones... Oh!" Mizuki's eyes lit up.

"He's a big-time rookie here, he started piracy not too long ago compared to the other pirates you've fought against, but he has a bounty of 50,000,000 beli! It'll grow into the hundred millions for sure," Mizuki bobbed her head as she explained.

"Oh, that reminds me, why didn't you get the bounty for Yellow Bull?" Mizuki suddenly asked.

"Oh? I didn't feel like it. I already got 100,000,000 beli from the warehouse, it'd just be selfish of me to do it just for the bounty," Ulysses replied.

"So he's a big time rookie... what has he done so far?" Ulysses's eyes were becoming cold.

"He mainly just attacks civilian ships, killing and looting the passengers on-board. But, as far as I know, he's done a lot worse that the World Government hasn't talked about," Mizuki sighed.

"Then, he should die," Ulysses made up his mind.

As Ulysses and Mizuki were chatting, the fighting going on between the two parties grew even more intense. Alec and Enkiri fought against the twins, while the middle-aged men protected the building from damage.

Surprisingly, for a shipwright company, the employees could stand up to a big-time rookie crew quite well. Though, their struggle would soon end once Captain Jones began to target them one by one.

However, that was a matter of how the Devil Fruit user acts. A Devil Fruit would always be useful unless their users were dull and uncreative.

"Grasshopper Kick!" Enkiri sent out a front kick at one of the twins.

Unfortunately, the twin grabbed his leg and pulled him forward. Alec, who was fighting the other twin, glanced at their fight, and was caught lacking as a fist directly hit him on the nose.

"Shit!" Alec and Enkiri both groaned.

President Kennel, who had been watching idly, suddenly acted and pulled out a flintlock. He immediately cocked it, aimed it at Captain Jones, and shot it. Captain Jones, who thought that the fight was in the bag, moved his head at the last moment, narrowly avoiding the bullet.

"Bastard!" he roared.

The machine guns were no longer focused on the building, but on President Kennel. President Kennel gulped, he had been trying to avoid catching Captain Jone's fury, but could no longer idly watch.

Bullets sprayed out and one of the middle-aged men stepped forward and blocked the shots. The cape that he waved around had extremely weird properties. It was soft and lift one moment, but when the bullets struck, it would become hard but malleable, easily absorbing the impact.

Then mysteriously, the cape would turn back to its original form, and could catch more bullets.

"Manuel, thanks," President Kennel wiped sweat off his forehead.

"It's no prob-" Manuel smiled, but his smile flipped.

It was only a matter of time. To keep up with that many bullets took up big amounts of energy. Manuel, who had been doing so since the start of the battle, was caught off guard as a bullet pierced his abdomen.

Manuel coughed out blood, and fell on his knees. Captain Jones gave a devilish grin as more bullets sprayed out.

At this moment, Ulysses stepped in and cut apart the machine guns and bullets with a flick of his wrist. Captain Jones looked at the new arrival to the fight, and he grimaced.

"Why are you helping them?!" he asked angrily.

"There's no need for you to know," Ulysses replied nonchalantly.

Both sides looked at Ulysses strutting towards them and revealed weird looks. Was he on their side, or the other side? They hadn't noticed his actions, and were confused.

"It's that guy!" Alec and Enkiri gasped.

Ulysses swung his sword vertically at the pirates. One by one, the pirates fell down, cut in half, and the Azure Blue Co. crew jolted in shock. Was he a Devil Fruit user?

Captain Jones's face turned furious as he created more and more machine guns. The machine guns were all aimed at Ulysses and they fired simultaneously. Ulysses knocked the bullets down mid-air. To him, it was as if they were moving in slow motion.

"What?!" Captain Jones's face was filled with shock.

The first time he saw Ulysses's sword skills, he thought nothing of it. The second time, he was utterly shocked! The blonde man dressed in the long trench coat was beyond his level. He turned around and started to flee, leaving his crew behind.

Ulysses didn't bat an eye as he waved his sword. and Captain Jones's body fell apart into two.

The Azure Blue Co. crew were completely shocked. The blonde man right next to them had easily stopped the battle that was taking the life out of them. Moreover, he had killed all the pirates in the process.

President Kennel immediately stepped out and gave a light bow.

"How may we address our benefactor?" his voice was filled with gratefulness.

"Ulysses," he replied before turning back towards Mizuki and walking away.

The atmosphere was awkward and President Kennel was unsure of what to do. Ulysses had obviously given them the cold shoulder, and didn't want to bother being there for another second. He stared at Ulysses's back for a while, and turned around after ascertaining that Ulysses didn't mind the situation.

"Hmm, you could've talked with them for a bit, y'know?" Mizuki giggled at Ulysses's coldness.

"It's fine. I'm not doing it for them, I'm doing it for myself," Ulysses cryptically responded.

"You're really weird," Mizuki commented as the two faded into the distance.

President Kennel stared at the corpses littered over the ground. A big rookie crew was killed in an instant, and Captain Jones even fled for his life, but was cut down. He went over to Manuel, who was struggling to get up, and helped him.

"We'll get a doctor, someone report this to the Marines," President Kennel ordered as he supported Manuel on his shoulder.

Alec and Enkiri were still out of breath from their fight, and laid on the ground, tired out of their minds.

"It was that guy," Alec and Enkiri remarked.

"That guy?" President Kennel, who was supporting Manuel, turned his head towards the two.

"Yeah. He was just here earlier to order a caravel," they informed him.

"Is that so. We'll need to up the quality of the build to thank him then," President Kennel turned his head back and walked to the building with Manuel by his side.

"Why not just give it to him for free?" Alec and Enkiri asked.

"If he didn't bother to stay for our thanks, then he wouldn't care enough. We just need to get the job done," President Kennel explained as he walked.

He entered the building, and Penelope, who was hiding under the counter, heard their voices. She stood up in glee but was met with Manuel's wounded body.

"Uncle Manuel! President Kennel!" she exclaimed.

"Manuel got shot, we need to get a doctor," President Kennel rested Manuel on a chair.

"Penelope, was there somebody named Ulysses that was here earlier?" President Kennel asked.

"O-oh. Yes, he was here a few minutes before you guys left," Penelope informed.

"Make sure that we have him up for a high class caravel," President Kennel said as he walked back out of the building.

"Alright."

Outside, the Azure Blue Co. crew were gathering all the bodies into bags. They needed to dispose of the scene quick or else it would hurt their company's reputation on the island. President Kennel turned towards the other middle-age man who was defending the building with Manuel, and gave a light bow.

"Thanks for protecting the building, Charles," he was grateful.

"It's no problem, Kennel, if those damn pirates want to destroy my livelihood, I'll stop em at any cost!" Charles, whose head was filled with sweat, gave a hearty smile.

"Alec, Enkiri, nice work you two," President Kennel commended them.

Azure Blue Co. had numerous members with considerable fighting prowess. Though they were nothing compared to say, a high-level pirate crew, they would definitely be able to hold off against rookies like Captain Jones, even if it's only a for a few minutes.

Compared to normal companies in general that could only wait to be overtaken, Azure Blue Co. was able to hold them off.

However, President Kennel sighed.

"We took a gamble with our lives that day. Sabotaging their ship to get rid of scum, it seemed like a good idea. But, damn was it foolhardy," he lamented.

"Boss! We won't let those damn pirates step all over us!" the other crew members expressed their views.

"I know, but we can't take a gamble like that, lest you guys get hurt," President Kennel shook his head.

"It doesn't matter if we get hurt, we won't let our dignity be trampled!" Manuel shouted from inside the building.

"Yeah!" they all chimed in.

Meanwhile, Ulysses and Mizuki were walking back to the other side of the island. Mizuki was interested in the situation with the pirate crew and the shipwright crew, and turned her head towards Ulysses.

"Hey, why do you think they sabotaged the ship?" Mizuki asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Ulysses laughed.

"I know... but what do you think?" Mizuki replied.

"They wanted to get rid of the pirate crew out in the sea. Nothing would link their involvement, nobody would live to speak of it," Ulysses spoke.

"Don't you think that's brave? Why did you act so cold to them?" Mizuki tilted her head.

"Because I dislike the chances that our ship would be compromised just as theirs was," Ulysses explained.

Mizuki nodded in agreement, and the two continued to walk down the streets. They would have to do something to fill the time in two days, what would they do? The day was just beginning, after all.

"Say, do you want to go to a cafe?" Mizuki asked.

"And just chat?' Ulysses asked.

"Mhm," Mizuki nodded.

"Sure," Ulysses surprisingly agreed.

The two walked until they came across a cafe. Inside were many people, and there was only one table left. Ulysses and Mizuzki entered the cafe and took the last table, which only had two seats. They sat there for a while, before a waiter finally got to them.

"Hello, what may I get you two?" the male waiter asked.

"Coffee."

"I'll get the same."

"Alright. What kind of coffee would you two like, if you have any preferences?" the waiter asked.

Mizuki and Ulysses shook their heads, indicating that they had no preferences.

"We'll just take the best one in your opinion," Ulysses shrugged.

"Alright," the waiter went over to the counter.

As Ulysses and Mizuki waited, Ulysses began to tap the table with his finger as he looked around. The people in the cafe seemed very friendly, and there was a light atmosphere in the building. It was something he could definitely get used to.

However something else was on his mind. He needed information, and right now, Mizuki was the only person he could trust for it.

The waiter eventually came around with their cups of coffee and placed the cups. He went off with a smile and attended to another nearby table.

Ulysses picked up the hot coffee and took a light sip. The temperature was unexpectedly quite hot, but Ulysses brushed it off.

"Mizuki, who are the members of the Tiger Pirates, and what are their bounties?" Ulysses wondered.

"Oh? You didn't know?" Mizuki was surprised, but composed herself.

"The Tiger Pirates have a bounty of 400,000,000 beli! Their crew is one of the most feared in West Blue, you won't find many pirates of their caliber here," she explained.

"Their bounty is built off decades of piracy, and slaughters. In fact, it should be much higher for all the damage they've done, but the World Government is apathetic to the villagers," she sighed.

"Who are the top figures that I need to watch out for?" Ulysses asked.

"The biggest is the captain. Solomon Night! Bounty of 160,000,000 beli, and he also uses a Devil Fruit! He's so strong that you would need a rear admiral to beat him.

The second figure after the captain is Long Kite, the captain's right hand. He has a bounty of 80,000,000 beli and is even crueler than Solomon.

The third figure is the captain's left hand, who is about the same as Long Kite. His name is Lucas Corn, he's a mysterious figure in the crew though. But he has a bounty of 80,000,000 beli as well. People say that he has a Devil Fruit as well," Mizuki lectured, taking short intervals of breath.

"Mhm..." Ulysses nodded.

"The rest of the 80,000,000 beli is comprised of three people, but they would be no problem to you since you easily took out Yellow Bull," Mizuki stated.

"Impressive. Do you know what Devil Fruit that Solomon Night uses?

"Not really, the World Government has only told us he has an 'unusual ability' which usually just means he's a Devil Fruit user," Mizuki shook her head.

"Is that so..."

"Say, Ulysses," Mizuki suddenly leaned forward.

"What if I told you, that there used to be a kid with a bounty of 80,000,000 beli?" Mizuki asked.

"80,000,000 beli for a kid? That's absurd, what did they do?" Ulysses frowned as he sipped his coffee.

"I'm not sure, but the government was going crazy trying to find her. I'ts been almost a decade, and some people say that she's still around in West Blue," Mizuki leaned back and picked up her coffee.

"Oh really? What's her name?" Ulysses finished his coffee.

"I think it was... Nico Robin?" Mizuki shrugged and sipped her coffee.