The Hunt Begins (Once More)

"Today, we'll do something special. We'll hunt pirates."

At his words, the elite cadets grew excited, Venator included. After all, it's not every day that you get to go hunt pirates.

"The objective of this is to assess your rankings within the camp. Your contributions to the fight will be noted, and your rankings will be adjusted accordingly. Currently, Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Pabulum are in first, second, and third respectively, meaning they have access to extra special training compared to the other 97 cadets within this camp."

Zephyr explained the main objective of the expedition, and at the mention of their names, the No. 3's eyes lit up, and it was understandable. After all, being in third place at this specific camp very well mean that you're in first, because Sakazuki and Borsalino are quite literally built different.

"Also, the spoils of war are yours and yours to keep, unless you would like to turn it in for merit points, which you can use to exchange for even more things. Anyways, get ready to go in a day. And don't worry about getting harmed. After all, I'm here, and I will give my life to protect you."

The cadets went from being nervous at having to fight to being extra confident, because after all, Zephyr is an Admiral, one of the greatest powers within the Marines.

"Dismissed."

At Zephyr's dismissal, the cadets chatted with each other, and many of them surrounded Pabulum, congratulating him for being top '1' within the camp.

Pabulum accepted the praise with a haughty face, his arrogance radiating off of him.

Borsalino and Sakazuki split off from the gathering and went their own way, as did Venator and Stes.

"Venator, can we explore Marineford? I'm bored with the camps..."

Venator paused for a moment, considering Stes' proposal. "Sure, why not?"

The two then walked out of the training camp areas, and headed into the city of Marineford.

...

"Woah, that's pretty cool!"

"It sure is."

Currently, Venator and Stes are watching a carnival show, performed by clowns and other tricksters.

"Ladies and gentlemen, for this trick, we have something special to show you!", the ringmaster announced to the crowd watching the performance.

"Here is our hidden prodigy, the one that you all probably came to see; please give your attention and applause for Ignis Corydon!"

At those words, a man stepped out from the shadows of the tent, wearing a colorful mask and costume, while bowing to the audience.

"Thank you for coming to my show! For my first trick, I shall..."

Venator tuned out the rest of the clown's words as it didn't interest him. What interested him was... the Sova emblem on his chest.

Venator stared at the emblem with high intensity, almost to the point that he didn't notice the 'tricks' performed by the clown.

The clown pulled out some devil sticks (juggling sticks), and lit them on fire as he breathed on it.

Venator's eyebrow rose as he wondered, 'What is a devil fruit user doing with his life?'

From Venator's perspective, there were no fuels of any kind on the sticks nor from the man's mouth - at least not any that he could see. Venator believed that he was a devil fruit user, although he might be a bit hasty, as he has already met two devil fruit users on this island.

None of that mattered to Venator anymore, as his attention returned to the emblem on the clown's chest. The Sova family's emblem.

'How did he get it?'

Venator racked his brain for answers.

There were three possibilities; one of his exiled brothers, or... Erobus.

Venator's teeth gnashed at the name, and he took a deep breath to calm himself.

Stes did not notice Venator's internal anger as he was mesmerized by the performance.

After a few more minutes of using his devil fruit powers, the clown bowed to the audience before vanishing.

"Woooooooh! Ignis Corydon!!!"

The crowd cheered and reminded Venator of the clown's name, and Venator made sure to note it down within his mind.

'Ignis Corydon...'

"Let's go, Stes."

"Huh? Okay."

The two headed back to the training camp, and on their way, Stes 'requested' Venator to buy things for him.

Venator gladly did it, as 1. They had plenty of money from his bounty, and 2. It would allow Venator to take his mind off of Ignis Corydon for a moment.

"Mmmmh! This taste good!", Stes blissfully smiled as he enjoyed the snack that Venator bought.

"I agree. This is quite good."

The snack that they were eating was meat skewers sold at a stall, and the vendor was quite happy with his sales as Venator and Stes bought a majority of the available skewers.

Stes bought a few more food on their way back, until he stopped to stare at something on a stall.

Venator found the object that captured Stes' attention, and it turned out to be a toy soldier.

"Does it remind you of your family?"

"Yeah. It does."

Stes uncharacteristically ended the conversation, and they walked back to the training camp in silence.

Venator allowed Stes to rest for the day as he did not want him to be tired for tomorrow's battle, as he could lose his life in it.

"Be in your best condition, Stes. Tomorrow will be dangerous for you."

"I'm not a little kid!"

"You're 12."

"I'm 13."

Venator stopped in surprised, and turned to Stes, and smiled. "Happy Late Birthday, Stes Sova."

Stes nodded, "Thank you."

"I'll go off to do something now. Have a good night, Stes."

"You too."

...

The thing that Venator walked off to do was... gathering arrows.

Venator decided that the rock arrows wouldn't be enough for the pirates, as the arrows were only intended to bruise the target. Venator needed something that would kill.

Venator turned around and headed back into Marineford, as he believed that it was his best chance at finding a weapon shop.

Unsurprisingly, he found the shop located near the Marine H.Q, and he entered it.

The shop owner looked up in surprise, as this was an unpopular hour for customers to come by, but he quickly regained his bearings and smiled, "Welcome to Kazuki's weapon shop, how can we help you today?"

Venator returned the greeting, "Hello, I would like to find some arrows."

The owner nodded with an unsurprised look, as he had already spotted the bow the moment Venator came in.

"What would you like your arrows for? Hunting? Killi- Ahem, fighting?"

Venator ignored the slip up and replied, "Fighting."

"Alright~ How many of them would you like? We have 200 arrows for fighting in stock right now, as they are not a popular weapon among Marines... Oh, no offense."

"None taken. I'd like your entire stock, if that's possible."

"Of course, of course. Since you are buying in bulk, you will receive a 15% discount."

The owner walked into the back of the store to get something, and he came out hauling a large basket.

"The total is $800,000, thank you for your purchase."

Venator nodded and paid the amount needed, before stringing the basket over his shoulder and left the shop.

"Please come by again!"

Venator probably would come by again if he wanted to hide his devil fruit powers.

...

In a room's shadow, a man was seen having a conversation with a Den Den Mushi.

"Sir, we are going on an expedition tomorrow, what should I do?"

"Do you know the plans for the expedition?", the voice behind the Den Den Mushi replied.

"Yes, we will apparently split up into 3 ships, each of them having at least 2 Captains accompanying them, with the exception of one, where Admiral Zephyr is."

"Zephyr... Do you know which ship he will be on?"

"Admiral Zephyr will be on his own battleship, which is recognizable with the black fist figurehead."

"I see... go on that ship. We'll be attacking the other two. Anyone of notable threats to our plans?"

The silhouetted man replied, "There are three. There is Sakazuki and Borsalino, who both ate a devil fruit, the Magu Magu no Mi, and the Pika Pika no Mi, granting the user the ability to control magma and light respectively, sir."

"What about the other one?"

"Pabulum. He is a close-range specialist, and his fighting style is brawling with his bare fists. He is the unofficial rank 1 in the camp, as Sakazuki and Borsalino are considered monsters. I believe that there is also one more notable person; Venator Sova. He was able to defeat two cadets at once during a challenge, and he uses a bow. I do not believe that he will be a large threat due to his limited amount of arrows."

"I see... do you know which ship Sakazuki and Borsalino will be on? None of us are equipped to fight a devil fruit user."

"They will be on Captain Ajax's ship, which is recognizable by his red-painted hull. Borsalino and Sakazuki are best friends, so they will most likely not split up from each other."

"Alright. Thank you for your report. Continue to spy on them, and you can leave once you reach Rear Admiral."

"Thank you, sir."

*KATCHA*

"I'm sorry guys... I have to do this..."

The silhouette mourned the loss of his fellow cadets in advance as he got up to leave.

...

"Sova, huh? That's HIS brother..."

The man in the shadow gritted his teeth as he traced a burn mark on his shoulder.

"I'll kill you."

The simple statement carried much weight, and it turned the atmosphere of the room around.

"Venator Sova..."