chapter 7

Understanding. The ability to piece together the grander picture of a scattered jigsaw puzzle. Man was forever condemned with the curse of ignorance, spouted by the likes of Aristotle and existing in biblical days since Adam's decision to take a bite of the forbidden fruit. Human nature, was such that we were infinitely curious beings. As long as man existed, that hairless bipedal monkey, there would always be a member of the species, an outlier, a deviant, who would seek, with fervor and vigilance to find questions where the universe had already provided answers.

I was no different. Laughter ripping from my throat as I severed spinal cords from heads and sent jawbones ejecting through necks. Clarity descended upon my form like a vengeful god scrubbing away post-coital bliss. In between the rush of adrenaline that came from dodging bullets, the uncomfortable sense of ecstasy that came from appearing before man and woman alike, drinking the desperate terror in their eyes as they recognized that their final moments were upon them.

"P-P-Please – m-mercy -"

Blood upon my lips, I hugged the shivering Marine, whispering softly into her ear. "Allahu Akbar."

Truly, indeed, god was great. Whatever deity it was, out there, that brought me to this world. That allowed me, to breath in, with a deep, satisfied air, the intoxicating scent of carnage. Whatever deity it was, that helped me acclimatize me to this body. Whatever deity it was, out there, sitting, cackling, their boxers at their ankles, lotion in hands as they stroked their twitching cock to my exploits.

"M-Monsters!"

"T-they're monsters!"

"Wrong."

Understanding. It was a shame when man failed to arrive at it. Their lives, ultimately, were perhaps worth less to me than the fish and sea kings I consumed for dinner. Killing them was not so much a chore, as it was a routine. Mario, shattering a brick. Sonic, collecting rings. Pacman, eating pellets.

They weren't enemies. They weren't obstacles.

"We're Devils."

They were just pick-ups in the terrain.

"Allahu Akbar."

Understanding.

When I found her, racing across the carnage, killing with movements to fast to track, it became clear to me. The why. This world was a place where natural selection shined through. There was no justice. There was no honor. There was only power, and those who could use it.

She was not attracted to me, as a person, she was attracted to the power I wielded. The security I possessed. The ability to indulge in her worst impulses and most repressed desires, without consequence. Without judgment.

"And the violent taketh it by force."

The world was a vast ocean overpopulated with pirates and crooked enforcers of justice. Peace was an alimony given from the strong to the weak. Choice of partners were decided not by meaningless virtues such as nobility, strength of character or sense of humor. In the lawless world of pirates, the top candidate for a partner was someone you believed could survive. Next, came a person you believed could protect. Protect you from a stronger pirate, who'd arrive with a hook for a hand, a belly full of ale and a fat cock, itching to stick it into the first pair of legs he could sight.

Unlike the peaceful world I came from, where the choice of who to love rarely depended on their ability to survive a bar fight, things were different here. The world of One Piece was almost medieval in that regard. It followed the law of the jungle, in that regard. It mattered little your proclivities and hiccups, as long as you were strong, as long as you could protect – you were a prime candidate for a partnership.

"Cap'n – you alright?"

She appeared before me, a blur of movement. There was considerably less blood on her outfit than there was on mine. Then again, her chosen method of going through the collectibles was arguably cleaner than mine.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

She crossed her arms over her chest. My, my, that beautiful chest. "My eyes are up here."

"And yet, my gaze decidedly chose not to focus on them."

She rolled her eyes. "You've been ogling me for a while now."

My shoulders found themselves giving a nonverbal 'meh'. "Is that a complaint?"

"I didn't say it was."

"You also didn't say it wasn't."

"We're in the middle of battle, you know."

I scoffed. "You've seen me work up more of a sweat eating dinner."

Her eyes sparkled, a bit, and she laughed. She didn't deny the claim. Curious. Was my theory, indeed correct? The women of this world were attracted to power above and beyond all else? Perhaps, with Mikita, it was true. Yet, where did that leave Marianne?

"I think we've cleared out most of them," she placed her hands on her hips. "That was…"

"Disappointing?"

"Fast." She said.

"Disappointing by default then."

Indeed, much of the Marine Base was rubble. Rubble, burning debris, strewn organs, charred corpses beyond recognition, bloods, splattered unto wall, floor and ceiling alike. There was no one moving. No sound to be heard. I estimated we cleared out about four hundred… maybe five-hundred of them? I didn't care to count. If only there was the occasional scoreboard telling me how many lives I'd managed to end.

"I… expected a bit more of a challenge." She said. "It was easy. Too easy. I didn't even go as fast as I'm capable of going. I didn't even go half of that. And yet…" She shook her head, turning to glare at me. "You've turned me into a monster."

"You're welcome."

The blonde sighed. "So… what now?"

"Now we – " My hearing, picked up something. Sounds. Rumbling. Approaching. Footsteps. At least fifty… sixty? "…we welcome our new guests."

The new batch of Marines that barged into the base were the same cookie-cutter grunts wielding pistols and flintlock rifles. They were also of weak constitution, as many of them took one look at I and Mikita's masterpiece and collapsed, clutching their hands over their mouths in failed attempts to keep the vomit from spewing over the floor. Wisely, many immediately understood that it was a wasted effort, and retched about without restraint.

Entering professional mode.

While it would me amusing, funny even, to create a cognitive dissonance by greeting the Marines with cheer, I already knew the type of image I wanted to project. Fear was just another tool in the arsenal.

"Who… who has done this?"

A Captain, as Mikita told me. A familiar one. One that shouldn't have been here. Then again, I supposed it made sense to encounter her. She had arrived on Alabasta after the conclusion of the whole Crocodile-debacle, which meant she had to have been on route to Alabasta when the debacle was happening.

"Hina demands answers!"

Pink hair. Third-person speech. Captain's jacket. Top, pants, shoes – it was most certainly her. Captain Hina. Smoker's old classmate.

Truly, God is great.

|I. A. M. V|

Hina's stomach was ill. Hina had seen, a lot of things in Hina's days as a Marine, but never had Hina seen anything like this. A massacre of this level was unprecedented. Undocumented. Hina's eyes saw the burnt carcasses and sprawled intestines, and Hina's stomach kicked. Hina swallowed hard. Hina swallowed down and steeled Hina's mind.

There were two people, standing in the middle of the courtyard. One was a woman, blonde hair, rainbow skirt and jacket. Hina could feel an odd, ominous aura from the woman. The woman was in good physique. Better physique than Hina herself. That was unusual, Hina noted. The woman hung of the shoulders of the man, and that was where Hina's heart started beating fast.

The man was dark skinned. Blackened hair, red jacket, sunglasses. He was covered in blood. Soaked in it. The man's hands were in his pockets, and his expression was unreadable. There was no emotion to be found there. Hina could not tell if the man was happy, angry, upset, bored or irritated. His presence took up the room, Hina noted. There was a sensation at the back of Hina's mind, telling Hina that she should run. The man was dangerous. Hina did not know how dangerous, but she knew he was dangerous.

Is he a member of a Yonko's crew? A pirate from the New World?

Only those monsters from that sea gave off the same aura this man did. Already, to Hina's side, Hina could see that Hina's men were shaken. They were terrified. The man's silent demeanor and oppressive aura, along with the sight of the massacre had demoralized them.

"Hina demands answers." Hina repeated. Hina needed to regain Hina's mettle. "Hina wants answers. Now. Hina asks who you are?"

The man's expression did not change. Hina could not see a reaction. It unnerved Hina. The woman, however, did smirk. She smirked, Hina noted, as if she was amused.

Something, in an instant, changed. Hina only heard the cries of the men. Hina turned, not ready for the sight.

"C-Captain –"

Hina's men, lay, dying. Dead. Holes, punctured through their chests. Clean. The woman, the smirking woman, stood in the middle, her right-hand dripping with blood. Hina's heart roared.

"HINA WILL MAKE YOU PAY –"

Hina swung wide. Hina's Ori-Ori no Mi was meant to capture. Hina shaped it, into long iron bars that would catch the woman.

"My you're slow."

Hina's heart turned to ice. The woman was behind Hina, patting her hand over Hina's back. Soru? Hina knew. That level of speed was something only who had mastered those arts could attain. Hina spun around, trying again –

Pain exploded from Hina's left leg. Hina let out a cry. Hina looked down, to see Hina's left knee bent the opposite direction.

"Even your Devil Fruit doesn't make a difference."

Pain exploded from Hina's right leg. Hina crashed unto the ground. Hina couldn't stand. Hina grit Hina's teeth, summoning an iron dome. The iron dome protected Hina like a turtle-shell. Hina breathed, gasping, trying to force her mind off the pain. Hina knew that Hina's consciousness would not last. Hina's mind was overwhelmed with pain.

Something connected against Hina's dome. Hina's eyes went wide. A fist. A fist, through Hina's dome. A fist, puncturing hole through solid iron. Fingers slipped between the gap. It was the woman. She… she is strong as well? With nothing but brute strength, the woman tore open Hina's dome.

Hina noticed the man was standing beside her. His presence was fire. Hina felt as if Hina was in front of a burning inferno. The man, leaned, staring at Hina.

"My name... is V."

Then, Hina saw the light.

|I. A. M. V|

"Did you really have to break her knees?"

Mikita and I walked down the cliff from the Marine Base with the unconscious Captain slung across my shoulder. I'd been fortunate enough to find a pair of seastone handcuffs on her, and judicious enough to apply it.

"You said I shouldn't kill her. And I didn't kill her."

"…you crippled her on purpose, didn't you?"

Mikita clutched her chest in an exaggerated fashion. "Me? I could never!" Her eyes trailed over to Hina's unconscious form. "So… what's the ransom on a Marine Captain worth anyway?"

I shrugged, groaning when the action sent Hina falling from my shoulders unto the ground. Sighing, I settled for dragging her against the dirt by her hair. "I don't think anyone's ever had the balls to try it before, so it should be a lot."

"Should be?"

"We got screwed over with Dorry and Brogy's bounties, but a Marine Captain can typically take down a lot of bounties in the thirty to ninety million beli range. So, we'll start off Hina's ransom at three-hundred million to cover for our losses with some extra on top, and we'll double it each time they try to jerk with us."

"You really think they'll pay the ransom?"

I shrugged. "If they do, that's great. If they don't – still great. Just means we get to keep her, and advertise to the world that there's a pirate crew who can literally screw over their Captains. Either way, it's a win-win situation."

On approaching the bottom of the cliff, I noticed immediately that there were a lot of the citizens… villagers? Gathered around. Several of them in fact. From old men, to children, to youths, all giving hushed and muttered whispers as they stared at the ash and smoke coming from the Marine Base.

Numerous pair of eyes came over to both myself and Mikita, with more eyes landing on the person I was dragging behind me, and what exactly she was wearing. An old man approached, walking with a terrible gait and a cane, bald and bearded, he rose a shaky finger.

"You… the Marines…"

"Dead." I said.

"…all of them?"

"All except one," I rose Hina's unconscious body into the air. "I'm keeping this one."

There were several hushed mutters. "The Marines… are gone?"

The mutterings and whispers grew in tempo. "They're… they're finally gone – I – I can't believe it –"

Eyes turned to each other, and at once, the people of Lentil Island broke into cheer, laughing excitedly, swinging their arms and whooping like Looney Tunes characters. Mikita gave me a weird look, and I gave her a small, toothy grin in turn. These poor fools.

"Why are you celebrating?"

The elder cleared his throat. "You see – those marines, they made our lives hell. They abused –"

"Stop." I rose my hand. "I know that the Marines were crooked. But that doesn't answer my question. Why are you celebrating?"

The gathered villages muttered, their cheery air dying as it was replaced by confusion. "The Marines are finally gone, you said you got rid of them all!"

"I did." I said, nodding. "And do you know what I am?"

Understanding. It was a beautiful thing. I saw it dawn on the eyes of the elderly. The younger ones still didn't get it. "You're a pirate."

"Exactly." I said, nodding. "To be more accurate, I'm the pirate who just took down an entire base of Marines. Do you know what that means?"

The Elder's frail hand shook. "What… what do you want?"

"A fair sum." I rose my hand. "Twenty thousand beli per adult male head. Ten thousand beli per female. Five thousand beli per child. Pay me for saving you from your woes, and I'll set sail from your island and never look back."

There were, as expected, cries of shock and dismay. "That's too much!"

"You unfortunate souls seem to be misunderstanding something."

I flared it. I had some more practice with it since I was on Little Garden. Killing Intent. Taking my overwhelming desire to end and terminate existence, and bursting it out in the form of an oppressive aura. The villagers staggered. Some collapsed to their knees. Others, pissed themselves. Some, clutched their chests, the shock too much for them as they went into cardiac arrest. And some of the older, simply found themselves unconscious.

"It would literally take me nothing to simply ransack your homes, take your treasures, wives, daughters – burn down your ancestry and eliminate you all from this speck of existence…"

I sighed.

"But I am a benevolent pirate. So, I ask, instead, that rather than I strip you of your things, you give them willingly. My price is not up for discussion. If you cannot pay, I will kill you. If your neighbor cannot pay, I will kill you. If you try to cheat me, I will kill you. If you try to escape, I will kill you. I do not care how you do it, but do it. I know the exact number of men, women and children on this island. If I get even a single beli less than I am owed – "

I flared my desire to kill a second time.

"There will no longer be a Lentil Island on the Grand Line."

I slung Hina over my shoulder.

"You have until Midnight."

There was no need for me to look back, Mikita and I left, leaving the silent, foreboding villagers to stare down at their feet, lost in their own worries.

All in a day's work for a pirate.

|I. A. M. V|

Pop Rock Candy

Lentil Island Docks

"Mari-chaaaaan –"

Climbing back aboard the docks, I tossed Hina unto the deck and made my way over to the pouting redhead, stretching my hands open for a big hug.

"Come, give your Captain a hug."

As I was still covered in blood, I understood her reluctance, watching her shake her head. 'Shower.'

"If you can't accept me at my worst…"

'Shower.' Marianne tilted her head. 'Who's that?'

"Marine Captain. We're going to ransom her back to the Marines." Mikita spoke up, floating about the deck. "…Marianne, you… you went shopping? I love the new look."

New look? When I looked her over, I realized she had, in fact, changed her outfit. She was wearing a pair of blue short-shorts, accompanied with a dark red tank-top and a black short jacket on top. Her hair was, rather than being in pigtails as I'd come to accustom with her, pulled back into a single long braid. The look was completed with a dainty schoolbag that hung from her shoulders.

In a lot of ways, it did a lot to make her look more… mature. Or perhaps it was merely the tank-top, doing magic to actually highlight the fact that Marianne had breasts? Or was it the short-shorts making me realize her thighs weren't at all lacking in necessary meatiness…

She spun around, smiling, before turning to me. I could tell that she wanted me to comment. "Excellent, fashion-wise. Defense wise, I would say no."

She crossed her arms and pouted, gesturing to Mikita. 'She wears revealing clothing all the time,'

"She's also faster than a speeding bullet and can make herself nigh-invincible by adjusting her weight. Mikita could fight with nothing but tape to cover her nipples and still wipe the floor with enemies. You aren't quite the same."

Marianne glanced at Mikita. 'You told him your name.'

"I decided the Captain could use a break."

"You told Marianne your name before you told me?"

A groan interrupted Mikita before she could make a comment. The sole non-member of the Devil Pirates on deck was waking up, no doubt groggy. Groggily, she pushed herself up off the deck, trying to stand, only to fail, flail around, and roll. The seastone cuffs were still in place after all.

"Hina… w-w-where…?"

"My ship." I said.

My voice was all the trigger she needed. Her eyes snapped open, and she tried, immediately to rise to her feet. The keyword, was tried.

"Hina's… legs! Hina's legs! What have you done to Hina's legs!"

The cauterized stumps that ended where Hina's knees began were not exactly my idea of a good time. Ultimately, it was the pain from blasting off her legs and cauterizing the wounds to stop her from bleeding to death that had knocked her out. Mikita didn't hold back, and had completely obliterated Hina's kneecaps with her attacks. Sure, there might be some doctor of sorts on Lentil Island, but unless he was Trafalgar-fucking-Law, there was no way he would have put her legs back together.

The whole 'stumps-for-legs' thing was bringing out an amputee fetish I never knew I had. Strange how the little things made you think.

"Hina's legs! Hina's legs! Hina's legs!"

"Mari-chan, do you mind being a dear and making the nice Captain go quiet?"

Marianne complied. She reached within her school bag, withdrawing an easel, some paint, and a brush. With swift brush work, she painted a sigil over Hana's shirt with blue paint. The hyperventilating Marine Captain went still, closing her eyes, and drifting into an quiet state of serenity.

"Thank you Mari-chan."

I approached the girl, and patted her on her head. She dodged my pats, raising her hands into an 'X.'

'Shower.'

"Alright, alright."

I pointed to Mikita. "Miki, while I'm washing off, I need you to go through Captain Hina's ship, strip it of everything of value, and find the Den-Den Mushi. Someone, somewhere will no doubt be calling her sooner or later to check-in, and we don't want to miss that."

"Got it."

"Mari-chan, keep an eye on the Marine, and also keep an eye out for any islanders. They should be arriving at midnight with their cash in tow."

'Okay, captain.'

Going below deck, I took off my bloodied clothes, gloves, and outfit before stepping into the shower, turning on the faucet as the hot water came blasting in full force. My mind replayed the events of the day, causing me to sigh over the annoying fact that I'd lost Dorry and Brogy's heads in lieu of my indiscriminate explosions, but, if things went well, then I should be able to make up for the loss from profiting off Lentil Island and Hina's ransom.

'Now that I think about it…'

The most effective way to profit as a pirate would be the Arlong route. Finding a town and subjugating it with taxes, but having the sense not to stay in the town too long. Isn't that just raiding though?

Raiding. Like the Vikings. To approach from the shore, raid the town for goods, supply and riches, then hop on back unto the ocean and continue sailing. However, even the Vikings had a base of operations – a country – they made fully theirs and settled down to farm and cultivate crops or wait out the winter.

I lathered my hair with soap, humming underneath my breath as I thought about how varied and diverse the Grand Line was. Even assuming I didn't want to raid from place to place, I could simply attack merchant vessels or transport lines. The Grand Line was such a place that no one country could have it all, and goods from places needed to be traded constantly. No doubt the World Government Nations had several trade routes in effect that allowed the transport of important materials from supplier to consumer.

Finding those trade routes could net me a surprise or fortune, especially the military ones.

The bathroom door opened, raising my ire as I picked up the familiar light steps and heartbeat of one of my crew members. I turned around, fully, giving Marianne a blank stare as the water rained down on my form.

"I thought I told you to keep an eye on the Marine Captain."

Marianne, was, admittedly, unabashed by my nude form. She'd seen it enough times already, although her eyes always strayed down low. Although there weren't quite races like black or white or Asian in the One Piece world, a lot of the character design was inspired or intended to take after some of the races from place to place. Mr. 5 just so happened to be dark-skinned enough to be considered as someone of African descent, and, fortunate for me, the stereotype about black men that heavily populated the internet and possessed its own genre of pornography turned out to be true.

In simpler terms, I could be among those five men beloved by Piper Perri and not find myself out of place.

Marianne managed to turn her gaze aside, coughing lightly into her hand. 'I put her in a trance.'

My brow twitched. "I think it's time I put an end to this."

'Put an end to –"

The realization of how fast I could move at times still rarely sunk in. Turning off the faucet, emerging from the shower, sweeping the unbelievably light redhead into my arms, and returning back into the shower all before the final droplet of water touched down. Marianne had little time to think, and littler time to protest, before I turned on the faucet again.

She shuddered from the hot water pouring down her clothes. She gave a blank expression as if to say 'are you serious?' and my lips twitched. I slammed my hand against the wall of the showers, giving her no space to escape. Pressing my body closer to her, I reveled in seeing her face go redder and redder with each passing second.

"You've been having a little bit too much fun teasing me these past few days. I don't think you teased Mr. 3 anywhere near the same amount."

'Mr. 3 was my partner.'

I pressed myself closer to her. "And I?"

'You're someone who killed two giants for me.'

She didn't back down. She stared, into my eyes, with far more conviction than I expected someone of her diminutive stature to have.

'You're the person who saved me.'

Slowly, articles of Marianne's wet clothing began to fall off, as she removed them.

'I thought I would die on that island.'

Her top fell off. Her breath, soft, warm, exhaled as droplets of hot water ran down her nipples.

'I almost died… many times. The giants, almost stepping on me. The animals… nearly eating me. And you…'

Her short-shorts came down, as did her underwear. She was a natural redhead, and her legs were thicker perhaps, than I'd given them credit for.

'…you killed them all. Destroyed the whole island. You made my nightmare go away.'

Her right hand stretched, touching my chest. Her body was warm, which was something I came to realize.

'That's more than what my own parents ever did for me.'

"I didn't do it for a reward."

'We both know that isn't true.'

Smart. I realized. Too smart. Marianne's eyes were gleaming. There was more understanding in the eyes of a sixteen-year old than there had any right to be.

'You want to use me. My gift.'

"Mari –"

'Shh.' She placed her index finger on my lips. 'I'm not complaining.' The index finger departed. 'All I've ever known, is how to be used by other people.'

My throat felt dry. She pushed softly against me.

'But… I don't mind being used by you.'

She smiled.

'I pushed my limits, and boundaries… I know I made you uncomfortable, annoyed and irritated you… and not once, not ever… did you hurt me.'

"I would never."

'I know. That's why… I don't mind if it's you…' She leaned in, closer, closer. I could feel her breath. Her thighs warmed mine. Her nipples, pushed against my stomach.

'If it's you… then I do not mind….'

Her lips were soft.

"Use me… to your satisfaction."