Chapter 11 The Friend of The Beard
"Is he alive?" I hear a voice ask.
"I think? It looks like somebody patched him up. He's missing fingers on his left hand and has a huge scar from his nose to his ear. His left arm is completely torn to shreds from the looks of it but it looks like it will still function. Other than that he looks like he's breathing" The second voice answered sounding angered.
"He got lucky it seems, I guess negotiation worked, haha" The first voice laughed with joy.
"Drake..... shut the fuck up" Mori said with an angry scowl.
"..W..water.." I barely said through labored breaths, seconds later I drink probably the best water I've had in my entire life. With a pained groan, I open my eyes to a sight that made me smile, my two crew mates both looking at me with barely restrained anger.
"Hey will one of you grab me a smoke… please?" I said noticing neither of them moving, drake got up with a sigh before heading into the cabin.
"Who was it?" Mori asked with barely restrained bloodlust.
"…. The fifth Commander of the Whitebeards" I answered him, he thought over it for a moment before realizing he had no clue who it was.
"Flower Sword Vista, don't let the fifth rank fool you. I think he's the second or third strongest on the crew. Wanted for 850,000,000, extreme lowball if you ask me" I informed him with a smirk.
"And I stabbed that bastard through the stomach, don't know how but fuck 'em, Hahaha," I said breaking out into a raunchy fit of laughter.
"Why'd you knock me out!" Mori screamed and got in my face. 'Wow, he lasted a whole four sentences before losing it'
"Obviously it's because you wouldn't have listened," Drake said walking in with a pack of smokes and a lighter. My eyes light up in happiness as I use my only working hand to grab them and light one up in. sighing in contentment I turn back to the still-angered crew members.
"Guys come off it, I made a decision. We're all alive, so I made the right one" I said with a tired smirk.
"What's the point of all this training if you just send us off when things are looking bad?" Drake asked with smoke coming from his ears.
"No, what's the point of all that training if you died yesterday?" I asked to which they both remained silent.
"I don't expect either of you to even think of fighting a 'New worlder' for at least another 2-3 years. You both have good potential but there are some people that have sailed the Grand line for years on end, hell some were even born in it. And no matter what your pride tells you, I'm your Captain. It's literally in my job description to make sure you idiots aren't in over your heads" I said before going into the cabinet near my bed to grab the 'bad day' whiskey.
"Enough of that, Drake what's the situation?" I asked going from friend to Captain in a near instant.
"It's been a full day since you ordered me to leave the island with Mori, we returned at night to find you bandaged up and left on the deck with nothing but your two swords next to you. We moved you to your room. James contacted us earlier this morning for an update on what's happening, he seemed worried to all hell. I asked him for the closest bounty office and he said there's one in Kaori Village on Swallow island towards the northern port" Drake finished.
"There was also this stuffed into your cloak" Mori said handing me a sheet of paper. opening it quickly I see it's a message from Vista.
Dear Kal
'Good job on your first training session, you really surprised me with your abilities. You have an amazing array of them already but listen close, the way of the sword is a path that many have lost focus on because of the time it takes. Don't let it discourage you, even my Captain the great Whitebeard could go weapon to weapon with the Pirate king himself even though he has arguably the strongest fruit. You have real talent in Observation Haki, focus on that before even thinking of Armament. I know that may sound wrong as a swordsman but just trust your Sensei in this matter. If you ever need advice or you'd like to sell all the valuable shit you seem to make magically appear I left my direct Den Den Mushi number at the bottom of this letter along with my Vivre card. Oh and don't worry about that Paramecia, I hid it under one of the floorboards near the figurehead. Never cut twice kid, see ya!'
"THAT FUCKING BASTARD!" I screamed in rage.
"HE CUTS MY GODDAMN FINGERS OFF THEN PROCLAIMS HIMSELF MY SENSEI" I yelled tossing the finished bottle of booze at a nearby wall.
"Captain chill, you made friends with the Whitebeards and it only cost you a few fingers. I'm sure many would kill for that trade" Drake said trying to be the voice of reason.
"Fuck all those 'daddy' issue having bastards!" I said before getting myself under control.
"What is Haki?" Mori and Drake asked simultaneously. 'Fuck I read that out loud didn't I'
"Ughhhhhh, can we please talk about this later guys? Go set sail towards Swallow island, I just want to turn these bounties in" I said to which they both nod and leave the room in a hurry. 'I swear I'm taking one of that bastard's hands next time I see him, but hell Drakes right, this is a solid contact to have. Was that bastard really training me that whole time? Is that how they do it in the New World?' I thought before accepting the quest completion rewards.
QUEST
A SWORDSMAN'S PRIDE
OBJECTIVE: SURVIVE 'FLOWER SWORD' VISTA FOR 30 MINUTES.
BONUS: LAND A HIT-COMPLETE
REWARDS: 1,000,000XP, TITLE: FRIEND OF THE BEARD,120 STAT POINTS
BONUS REWARD: 10,000 GACHA COINS.
LVL UP X5….50 STAT POINTS ADDED
'Holy shit 5 level ups…. I completely forgot about the bonus reward' I thought while shaking in anticipation. Deciding to hold off for a minute I decide to see what my status looked like after a battle like that.
LVL 15 (35,000/380,000XP)
TITLE: FRIEND OF THE BEARD-(boosts learning speed on skills by 15%)
NAME: FATE D. KAL
STR-120-(141)
END-161-(185)
WILL-150-(231)
INT-35
DEX-235-(243)
STAT POINTS:0-170
GACHA COINS:40-(10,040)
BERRIE COUNTER:17,830,000
'Ok maybe he was training me, still a bastard though. But that's the least of my concerns now, I'm coin rich!' I thought gaining a devilish smirk, 'Whose luck could be higher than a guy that just survived a Yonko crew?'
WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO A 10,000-COIN LEGENDARY GUARANTEED DRAW?
DRAWING....
Waiting patiently a small bracelet with a compass needle in it falls into my hands. 'This is log pose? How in the hell is this worth 10,000 coins!'
LEGENDARY GRADE TOOL
ETERNAL POSE OF THE FORGOTTEN ISLAND (WEST BLUE)
EFFECT: THE ONLY LOG POSE LEFT THAT POINTS TO THE ISLAND '?????' THAT NO HUMAN HAS SET FOOT ON FOR OVER A THOUSAND YEARS.
'A mystery huh? I can't lie I'm very interested who knows what I will find there? Plus I needed to go the West Blue at some point soon anyway, this couldn't have been more convenient''
SECRET QUEST DISCOVERED
FORGOTTEN ISLAND III
OBJECTIVE: ARRIVE AND DISCOVER EVERYTHING YOU CAN ABOUT THIS ISLAND.
REWARDS: ???,???,???
CONGRATULATIONS YOU HAVE SPENT OVER 10,000 COINS IN THE SHOP, NEW BERRIE TO COIN EXCHANGE HAS BEEN ADDED.
CURRENT RATE: 100,000 BERRIES PER COIN
'YES! Finally, something to sink my excess money into!' I thought with vigor before refocusing on the Eternal Pose.
"Even a quest huh, Legendary items are no joke" I thought with excitement before pulling my weak body off the bed with a pained groan. 'I still have one more thing to check to see if this actually works' heading towards the Fruit freezer with what little power I have left.
I open the lock and begin scouring through the 30 assorted fruits till one bundle of cherries catches my attention. Turned orange with black spots and a swirl on each cherry.
EPIC GRADE ZOAN FRUIT ACQUIRED
NEKO NEKO NO MI MODEL: CHEETAH
EFFECT: TURN INTO THE FASTEST LAND ANIMAL, PERMANENT BOOST OF +350 DEXTERITY AND +150 ENDURANCE
'Two boosts from a regular Zoan? It has to be one of the few outliers'
"Well damn, this changes everything. I might actually have to give Vista a call" I said with a small smile, realizing I could get almost any fruit if I'm strong enough. Deciding to say fuck my pride I head towards the bounty room to get ahold of my Snail phone. If I started selling fruits on the black market left and right eventually someone (Kaido) will learn of me. It's the safest option to bite the bullet and set up a cordial relationship with the 'Whitebeards'.
*peryperypery peryperyper..CLICK*
"Whose this?" I hear Vista's smug bastard voice.
"Hello there, I'm a devoted fan that got this number through connections I can't specify. I always wanted to ask you how it feels to always be second best? It must hurt your pride to train so hard to never even have a sliver of a chance at surpassing Mihawk"
"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU, IF I EVER FIND YOU I'll KILL YOU!" Vista screamed into the Mushi. 'Hah, get fucked'
"Oh sorry, I'm just a guy that's missing two fingers. Nothing too serious" I said with a smirk watching his facial expressions from the snail. Going through the whole emotional spectrum until finally landing on annoyance.
"Kal..….of course. What can I help you with, it's been barely a day. I'm impressed your up already but I expected nothing less from my apprentice" He said with a cocky smirk due to him seeing my angered expression from the snail.
"Yeah yeah fuck you and all that. I have the strongest 'base' Zoan fruit I've ever seen and I'm looking to sell it, preferably to you guys to keep it on the down-low if you catch my drift" I offered him a deal.
"Hmmm, what do you know about it?" He asked seemingly interested.
"It's a cheetah Zoan, from what I've seen when my vice-captain killed the user it boosted not only her endurance but also her speed by an even higher degree. Just from eating it the girl was able to perform knock-off versions of Soru and Geppo, so given to a trained 'New worlder' I'd expect them to jump a few tiers in power"
"Very interesting. Let me make a quick call and I'll be right back with you…"Vista said sounding quite interested if his tone was anything to go by. Turning towards the 'bounty wall' I realize that there were so many Coins just waiting for me out there on the sea.' eh, fuck it, I'm in a good mood, let's do some small draws'
WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO A 10-COIN UNCOMMON DRAW X4?
DRAWING...
I smirked as a banana fruit fell to my hands first then a dagger, an uncommon grade skill orb, and another weird cylinder fruit.
RARE-GRADE ZOAN FRUIT ACQUIRED
SARU SARU NO MI
EFFECT: TURN INTO A SHIFTY MONKEY, PERMANENT +250 ENDURANCE
'Hell for ten coins I can't complain' I thought before moving towards the small dagger.
UNCOMMON-GRADE DAGGER
EFFECT: BOOST DEXTERITY BY 10%
'Hmmm, it's not bad. I'll probably give it to Drake' I thought before crushing the uncommon-grade skill orb.
UNCOMMON-GRADE SKILL LEARNED
TRAP-MAKING LVL 1/50- ONE OF THE ARTS OF DECEPTION, EXCEPTIONALLY USEFUL WITH THE RIGHT PERSON.
CURRENT MASTERY: BOOST TRAPPING DAMAGE BY 15%, TRAP-MAKING SPEED +10%
'Eh, could've been something worse like another combat skill I have no time to train. And last but hopefully not least'
RARE-GRADE PARAMECIA FRUIT ACQUIRED
KILO KILO NO MI
EFFECT: CONTROL YOUR BODY WEIGHT TO 1 KILOGRAM OR INCREASE IT UP TO 10,000 KILOGRAMS
"This is Miss Valentine's fruit, hmm it doesn't even offer a boost to stats. Kinda garbage" I thought out loud before depositing all the fruits into my inventory for safekeeping.
'I wonder if these are even worth anything… I remember in the show it said that any fruit no matter if you knew what it was or not could be sold for 100 million' I finished the thought and waited for Vista's call.
*peryperypery CLICK*
"Hey kid you there?" Vista asked.
"Yep so what's the word?"
"Just got off the snail with Pops, he said he's willing to give you a try. He's offering you 250 million for the fruit, sound cool?" Vista asked.
"Yeah that's fine, it's still a regular Zoan at the end of the day" I answered honestly.
"Ok, Where are you headed right now? I'm still in the North Blue so I can send a runner to come make the deal"
"I'm heading towards the bounty office on Swallow island, Kaori Village,"I answered quickly.
"Ok, I'm sending Haruta. Look for a midget with red hair. It shouldn't take him longer than a day to get there" He answered as I could hear stuff being thrown and yelling in the background.
"..Ok.." I said a little unsure of the situation.
"Oh, and one last thing kid, If find any swords no matter the grade I'll come personally to buy them, I'm sort of a collector you see." Vista said with a salesman's smile. 'Obviously, what commander would come all the way here for just a sword'
"Yeah after I burn them and chip the edge" I said with a scowl.
"Oh come off it kid, you advance by months because of me. Be a little appreciative of your sens.."
*CLICK*
"Motherfucker" I said while lighting a cig. 'Still, that's 2,500 coins off a fruit I'd never use. I could probably sell that Blood fruit for 10X that, but I have a future crew member in mind I'd like to give it to. I really need to check out the black market prices to get a better market value on what I'm selling. I know for sure a Logia could go for a few Billion'
*CREAK*
My bones screamed in protest as I got up, deciding I'd done enough plotting for the day I head towards the deck to see what the boys are up to.
Walking out I see both of my crewmates mid-spar, luckily not full Zoan, wouldn't want them to destroy the new ship after all. They both stop at the sound of the door opening to turn to me with angered expressions.
"Why aren't you resting dumbass Captain" Mori said with a scowl.
"Because you Idiots are wasting time flailing your bodies against each other, Drake you need to focus on Soru. Go put that full suit on, I want you to be able to use Soru in your 'Base' by the end of the month." I said to which they both seemed slightly reluctant but soon Drake went towards the armory to grab the suit.
"Mori your with me, you're figuring out Tekai by the end of the day" I said with resolution, he seemed to forget his annoyance and nodded in agreement.
"How is your progress?" I asked him because it's been about 3 weeks since he started training it, I expected it to be harder than Soru by a good margin so the amount of time is really a non-factor.
"I'm close, I feel it in my bones. The problem is there are a few muscles in my back that I can't seem to flex, I've tried stretches and managed to activate them but then others give me problems." Mori said finishing with a sigh.
"Hmmm, since your back is giving you the most problems I'd recommend starting there when you try to activate it. Once you are able to do that the rest should come easily, focus on back-based exercises for a few days, rows, deadlifts etc. I expect you to learn it by the end of the week bro, we need to move on to your swordsmanship soon." I advised him before heading off to look out at sea, seeing Swallow island in the distance. 'Phew, at least the Islands are so close to each other, I can't wait to sell this fruit and complete a few quests'