14 Chapter 14

Basil 'The Magician' Hawkins had recent strings of bad luck. "Chances of knowing who stole my ship and devil fruit..." he muttered to himself. He shuffled his deck of cards and arranged them accordingly. "50℅...60℅...70℅... "

"Boss! The newspaper mentioned you in an article!" a crewmember of Hawkins Pirates ran to him and handed the paper turning it to page two.

[BIG NEWS!! SUPER ROOKIE OF NORTH BLUE!!!]

"As early in the morning, Marine HQ released a piece of information on new and upcoming pirates. 'Silver Tongue' Uzuki Ikari, the captain of Crescent Moon Pirates and his vice-captain 'Surgeon of Death' Trafalgar Law delivered the heads of infamous 'Gunslinger' Gotti and 'The Barber' Alderman! Marine Rear Admiral of North Blue base also concluded that he defeated and stole the ship of 'The Magician' Hawkins!!!"

Basil Hawkins had veins exhibiting on his temple. "When have I ever been defeated? That rat only stole my ship, and he defeated me already!? Ready the ship! We are giving chase!"

"But, boss! The shipwright told us that it will not be ready until next week. "

Hawkins breathed out to calm himself down and think straight. "Chances of pursuing 'Silver Tongue' Uzuki Ikari... " he shuffled the deck of cards again and filed them in front of him. "9℅... Hah. What a lucky rat! Prepare for the week, we will proceed to the grand line soon... Two years, yes, I will see you soon. "

"Boss!" a man ran from the port and panted on the ground. "Two marine ships are moving toward this island! ... We sighted him, Rear Admiral Drake!"

Hawkins stabbed the ground with his foot in anger. "So that is why they named him 'Silver Tongue' huh... Chances of escaping... 22℅... Chances of my survival... 78℅... The goddess of luck is still fond of me. " he grabbed his sword and walked to the port. "Shall we meet an old friend?"

...

"'Silver Tongue' Uzuki Ikari is speculated that he is from Wano Kuni in New World! 'Surgeon of Death' Trafalgar Law is suspected to have eaten the ultimate devil fruit, the ope-ope fruit. The devil fruit was rumored to have been held by Diez Barrels and attempted to sell it to the marines nine years ago but a scuffle occurred and it went missing until it reappeared again today!"

Law read the article mentioning their recent exploits and background. "They have gone all out with the information. And they named us Crescent Moon Pirates, what happened to the Moon Pirates...?"

Ikari grunted and stumped his foot on the deck. "That damned Drake! What an awful nickname! Yours has more aesthetic and it is a cool nickname... Why? Why 'Silver Tongue' for fuck's sake, it could be 'The Samurai' or anything other than that awful name. "

As he shook the paper, wanted posters slid from within. Ikari grabbed the posters and noticed that it had Law's face that has a smirk in it and his hands opening upwards.

[WANTED! DEAD OR ALIVE ]

(TRAFALGAR•LAW )

(80,000,000 BELI )

He switched to the other poster and it was a photo of a green-haired man, wearing a white yukata paired with black jittoku haori patterned with a moon-shaped logo, in his early twenties. He had a smirk on his face and held a blue and white katana in his hand.

[WANTED! DEAD OR ALIVE]]

(UZUKI•IKARI )

(100,000,000 BELI )

Ikari smiled for the first time today. "The photographer is truly amazing! Look at my face, it is not blurred and they gave me a high bounty. We are still not even in the grand line, they are using it to attract bounty hunters to pursue us. Clever. "

"We are ready for the grand line anyway, log pose has been acquired before that Rear Admiral confronted us. " Law looked at Bepo who held the helm and looked at the compass.

"How are the other two doing, in terms of observation haki? We can't have them not prepared for future troubles that have been planned. " Ikari looked at the sky. "I have a vague feeling that my emotions whenever I overexert my devil fruit becomes unstable. Like, it makes me bloodthirsty when reaching the highest temperature with the absolute sun. "

Law frowned at his words. "Do you need me to examine you? I can't have you ruin every plan we make just because of that factor. What would happen if you see Kaido?"

Ikari turned his head and sighed. "No, I will have this under control. One way or another. Absolute zero should do the opposite, make me calm, cold, and collected. Just a theory though. "

A week rapidly passed, sun and moon fought for their place in the sky. Ikari and his crew, the current Crescent Moon Pirates, have reached the ginormous red line.

"So massive...! And Fisher Tiger climbed this wall? He's a madman. " Penguin mumbled under his breath.

"That is why I respect him. Having that kind of conviction and sheer will to scale this mountain to free the slaves of Mary Geoise is commendable. " Ikari said to his crew.

"Kehihihi! Bunch of hypocrites! The lot of them up there. Hey, let's kill some when we encounter a celestial dragon, the so-called 'god'. " Caribou had a sickening grin on his face. "I am so excited, hearing them plead for their pitiful lives. The filth!"

"Don't have an erection now. That is just gross... " Shachi stepped back from Caribou, avoiding him.

"Bro bro, let me bury them. " Coribou added.

"Ikahahaha! Then it is on the to-do list... If we ever encounter one," Ikari humored them. "But their dogs will come and hunt us down. "

Law nodded grimly. "It is not wise to attract an Admiral's attention. Once, we enter New World, we can just visit the shabondy archipelago and snatch a god. "

"That's a good plan. Having influence can mitigate some risks. " he nodded at Law's brilliant plan. "Even if we are not of the D. We can still be the nemesis of the gods. Ikahahaha!"

Bepo hurriedly rotated the wheel. "Turn the rudder to portside! Pillar up ahead!"

Ikari got to the jib sail and adjusted their drag. "How's that? Did we avoid it?"

"Yes! Fold the sails! The current will lead us to the top, once up top, the grand line will be ahead of us. " Bepo answered.

"Lads! Fold the sails! Grand line up ahead, the sea of our dreams! Start of our legend...!" Ikari said with dedication, maintaining the morale of the crew.

Sweet Caroline soon reached the converging point of the mountain. The ship swirled with the current underneath the hull, turning the rudder and their direction toward the Pirate's Graveyard. The infamous sea, Grand Line.

Ikari stood near the bow of the ship, feeling the gusts of the wind touch his face. His long green hair fluttered with the breeze, refreshing him. "Hold tight!" he yelled as the ship leaped from the reverse mountain and landed on the sea, breaking the surface tension.

They jerked and heaved a sigh of relief. "Check the hull! Use the planks if necessary, we don't want to sink just yet. " Ikari had a smile forming on his lips. "The great adventure awaits us, lads! For our dreams, ambitions, and... My revenge... " he mumbled the last words under his breath.

He felt melancholic, leaving his mother alone in North Blue. But soon steeled his resolve. "After slaying the strongest creature known to the sea. Father shall rest his soul. "

Ikari had his hands tightened on the helm. He rotated the wheel onward to their first destination. "Bepo! What will be on our horizon?"

Bepo glanced at his wrist which had the log pose attached. "Northeast, captain! It is stated in the records that there is an island with a gloomy and dark climate. It is named, Kuraigana Island. It has a kingdom inhabiting it, Muggy Kingdom. "

Ikari nodded and twirled the helm of the ship to the port side. "Hoist the sails! Adjust the jib sail to the starboard. Turn the rudder 45 degrees, portside!"

The crew got their orders and scrambled to finish the task. Sweet Caroline was led by the breeze and current of the sea. Only two hours since they set their course toward Kuraigana Island, the weather changed to winter all of a sudden.

"Check the log pose! Do not let the winds dictate our course!" Ikari shouted from the cockpit. "How is the compass? Any changes?"

"Yes, it turned to southeast. "

"Turn the rudder 45 degrees to the starboard! Catch the wind from the portside! Jib sail!" Ikari directed the crew and got the ship to heed the compass. "Fucking grand line. It is a treacherous sea. Be alert at any time! The weather might change again, we never know!"

Soon, they continued to sail and met various sea kings. Exotic marine creatures, some they caught while others chased away. Fatigued took over their bodies, thankfully, they have a ship doctor. Sea sickness is relatively common when the weather was constantly changing.

A week passed, and the Crescent Moon Pirates soon experienced the gloomy and dark atmosphere recorded from the journal. "We have finally arrived! Land a-hoy! Kuraigana Island up ahead, lads!" Ikari said at the top of his lungs from the crow's nest. He jumped down and had a curious expression evident on his visage.

They soon docked near the shore. "Anchors away! So who wants to stay on the ship? We can't have it here remained unprotected, who knows what might happen?"

Coribou volunteered. "Bro bro, you can go, I'll be staying with Sweet Caroline."

"You're still sick? I checked up on you last night. Your temperature was fine. " Law asked, accustomed to checking the crew's vitals.

"I am fine, just tired. I want to sleep... " he yawned and sprawled on the deck.

"Since that is the case, let's have him remain here. Just remember to fire a red spark in the sky, if you ever need help or something you can't handle. " Ikari advised.