Baterilla

(Two Days Later)

<i>South Blue Marine Command Center</i>

"This is absolutely unacceptable!" A marine captain roars, as he bats aside the newspaper in front of him in rage. "Pirates, making a mockery of the marines right outside of a world government kingdom!"

"'Pirates Loot Sorbet Kingdom Base, Have the South Blue Marines Lost Control of their Sea'?" Hina spits at the paper in rage. "It was just one loss; besides, it was a planned attack and he had used hostages. Hina had no choice!"

"Do you think the reporters care about that!?" The captain shouts out. "They'll have our skins for a report like this! First Roshwan is attacked by the rebels, now Sorbet is looted by pirates, only days apart at that! This is a mockery of our South Blue marines!"

Meanwhile, a Den Den mushi, that had been sitting silently on the table, suddenly speaks up.

"The headquarters has decided to send a commodore from the headquarters to the South Blue to help you get a handle on your situation. I hope that by the time she gets there, you have made numerous arrests." The voice calls out.

"Yes, Vice Admiral Yamakiji!" The two say in unison. Yamakiji was a Vice admiral whose job it was to oversee and manage the affairs in the South Blue from the Grand Line.

"Now for the matter of the bounty. Set the captain and the vice-captain's bounties. bounties moderately high. They didn't kill any marines and their strength is unknown so give the captain ten million and his lieutenant seven."

"Sir, Hina believes that they are much stronger than that. In addition, there is another two members of the ship who are worrying. Namely, a skilled thief known as the Pink Purloiner, and another officer of the pirate group who commands similar respect to Kid and Rex, called Killer."

"Have these two committed any serious crimes that you can prove? Or has Rex done anything to merit a higher bounty? You have to realize, if we give him a big bounty, it will only reveal just how impactful his crimes are. Better to downplay it, give him a small bounty. The commodore will deal with it later."

"Uhh." Hina pauses. While robbing a marine base was serious, ten million was more than enough of a bounty for such a crime. She felt that her feelings were getting in the way of her objectivity. "Hina is sorry for questioning you Vice Admiral."

"No worries." Yamakiji says, "If that's all, then I'll be going now. I hope to not get another call like this for a few months."

Hina and the captain nod as the call ends.

Still, Hina cannot help but feel a pit in her stomach as she does. Something told there that this bounty wouldn't be enough and that one day, the marines would regret not going all out against Rex from the start.

(Two Days Later)

"So, what's our next target! A merchant ship, a village, a city!?" Kid asks eagerly.

"For now, we need somewhere to sell all the goods we just stole." Killer says calmly.

Rex nods. The marine raid had been very lucrative. Berries aside, they had gained dozens of guns and decent-quality swords from the marine armory, as well as cannons and other ship's fixtures looted from the scout ship and the two ships in the marine port.

While some of these would be directly used to strengthen the ship and the crew, most of them could be sold for a good price on the black market.

Of course, there was more to the haul, with the crew having gained months' worth of grain and a couple million Berries worth of seized wealth. This had excited the crew even more as that grain could be turned into alcohol, a recipe that Rex and Kid had stolen from the Roshwan treasury.

But the truly priceless gains were the knowledge. The marines had information on every pirate group in the South Blue. They had detailed maps, including the locations of suspected underground hubs and the hunting grounds of various pirate groups.

With that, Rex was planning on keeping under the marines' radar for a while by robbing the robbers instead of attacking civilians. After all, having a high bounty wasn't good if you didn't have the strength to back it up. Rex preferred to stay low key until he had assembled his crew, then they would make a name for themselves.

If there was one thing that was disappointing Rex, it was his progress in turning Bonney into a crewmate. Honestly, Luffy made it look too easy.

Rex had tried being nice to her and unlocking the cuffs. Through that, he learned that Bonney's abilities wouldn't work on him in Jacket form, something related to the fact that they didn't work on clothes. He also learned never to undo Bonney's cuffs.

He had also tried to bribe Bonney with food, but this method wasn't working too well either. Rex was considering using more forceful methods, but he decided to just let time smooth over the relationship.

Now, he allowed Bonney to walk freely through the ship, granted she was wearing her sea stone at all times.

"When will reach the next island?"

"We'll reach Baterilla within the hour Captain."

"Good."

Rex says, as he stares out at the white tower in the distance. Some parts of him simply couldn't believe that he was finally going to that place.

The place where a pirate king had fallen in love. A place where a legend whose death would shake the earth had been born.

Rex wondered if Rouge had been buried there. It was possible she had been, though Garp may have moved her body to have her interred at Loguetown.

Either way, Rex would give his respects to her one way or another. Among all the one piece characters, Rouge had been one that he respected the most. That was why he had named the little Tiger after her.

(One Hour Later)

<i>Baterilla, South Blue</i>

The ship has docked at Baterilla with Rex and Kid going out to make a deal with some black market brokers.

While on the surface, Baterilla was a peaceful 'vacation' island, Rex had learned that it had also functioned as a neutral ground where many black market deals would go down. From fencing goods to hiring assassins, anything illegal could be done at Baterilla, for a price.

Ever since a world government fiasco, where they had sieged the island and arrested many innocent merchants, the citizens of Baterilla were openly opposed to the Marines having a presence in Baterilla, increasing the influence of the underground.

It doesn't take long for Kid and Rex to finally find the hub that they are looking for. Rex knocks three times.

"Names?"

"Rex Vesta."

"Eustass Kid."

The bouncer on the other hand of the door seems to rustle through some paperwork before the door is unlocked with Kid and Rex allowed in.

As Rex enters, he notices his and Kid's bounties at the side. They were the only members of the King pirates to get a bounty. Rex had found them in the papers two days ago and was satisfied. It was better than the average South Blue pirate, but he was no one famous yet.

If it weren't for the fact that he had robbed the base completely clean, without leaving even a dagger behind, Rex felt that he wouldn't have even made the papers. Even when he did, he was on the tenth page, considered as small-time news.

Still, having a bounty had its benefits. Free access to underground hubs was one.

"So what's the deal?" A stone-faced man asks, Rex resists the urge to laugh in his face.

The man was truly ugly. In fact, ugly wasn't sufficient to describe how ridiculous he looked. He had a massive, bulbous, Usopp-esque nose, and tiny eyes that were extremely close together. White bubbles frothed out of his mouth, almost as if he was a rabid dog.

Kid bursts out laughing, but the man doesn't even blink.

"We have some goods to sell."

The man just snorts. "You kids think that just because you got yourselves a bounty that you'll have anything that'll interest the black market?"

The man laughs uproariously at that before sneering at the two. He had thought at first that the duo was here to purchase something and had treated them with the utmost respect. If they were planning on selling however…

"You brats don't understand the might of the black market. What are you planning on selling? A couple guns? A handful of swords? The black market deals with such objects in an immense bulk!" The man says proudly. "Weapons numbering in the dozens, tens of cannons and tons of mead! This is the first time that I, Dongo the Ugly, have seen a couple of newbies dare to think that they could sell to us."

Rex smirks, nodding along with everything Dongo had said.

"Mr… the Ugly, was it? This is a list of the goods we would like sold." Rex said, slipping the man a piece of paper.

"Huh, didn't you hear me!? You think some scraps will interest the mighty black… WHAT THE HELL!"

Dongo's eyes scan over the paper briefly then almost burst out of his skull. While he knew that Rex and his pirates had robbed a marine base, he had thought that was just hyperbole by the news. He had figured they robbed a ship or two worth of guns and fled.

But, as he looked at the numbers, Dongo realized he had underestimated them by far. This wasn't robbery, this was annihilation. Dongo would be surprised if there was even a single bullet left over in that marine base after all this had been taken.

"My honored customers," Dongo says changing his tone entirely, "The humble Dongo is incapable of processing an order of this size, so I will have to speak with my manager on this matter. Is there anything I get you while you wait? Some warm tea? A large feast? Some women to service you?"

Kid grinned, enjoying the change in attitude. "How about you give us your clothes? They look pretty nice."

Dongo grimaces for a minute, having paid good money for these clothes. But as he thinks of his commission for such a sale, he shamelessly strips down to his underwear and runs to the backroom, laughing like a madman.

"Geez, I didn't think he'd actually do it." Kid says, holding the clothes in his arms with a shocked expression.

Soon after, the manager comes out, equally respective to Dongo and negotiates a price for the goods. The organization they had dealt with didn't have the funds to buy everything with cash, so some of the goods were bartered for other things such as alcohol or high-yield explosives. Rex had even gotten a slave who was a decently skilled cook.

"Oh yes, one last thing!" Rex says as he was leaving the black market, goods in tow. "I was curious if I could get the intelligence of the surrounding area."

"Of course, what would you want?"

"Nothing much," Rex says, "Just the local newspapers of any nearby islands in the South Blue."

This is arranged rather easily, with the black market attendant returning in a few minutes with a few stacks of paper and a number.

"If you ever need anything more master Rex, you can deal directly with our Hideous Thieves black market association. Here is our main branch's Den Den Mushi number, and my personal number."

Rex nods, loading all the goods on the ship before letting his men, even Bonney, run free for a while. Baterilla was a vacation island and they had done good work over the past week. Besides, money was no problem at the moment.

Rex on the other hand, breaks off from the crew, going around to the residential area.

"So, you're sure you've never heard of the name Portgas Rouge?" Rex asks for the thousandth time.

At this point, Rex wasn't sure if no one had heard of her, or if the ones who had just wouldn't speak up. Eventually, he found the cemetery and had stopped at a particular grave.

'Here lies Ann Rouge. Loving Wife, Devoted Mother and Powerful Spirit. May she rest in peace. 1467-1502'

While the grave didn't read Portgas Rouge, Rex could immediately tell that it was hers. The age lined up and her death year also made sense, not to mention Ann would have been Ace's name had he been born a girl.

Taking a rose he had bought earlier he placed it on the grave and walked away. It was a month late, but it was still close enough to the 9th anniversary of her death.

"May you rest in peace."

As Rex leaves a hidden figure suddenly appears with an odd expression on his face.

"Did Rouge ever have any other friends or relatives?" The man muttered, placing his own flower above the rose. "Sorry for being a month late. That old bastard Sengoku didn't let me leave until now."

With those words, the marine hero, Iron Fist Garp left the island. Unaware that the young boy he had just met would go on to create a legend surpassing his own and that of his rival.

Meanwhile, Rex had returned to his crew, a thick stack of Berries in his hand.

"Anything you want to eat, is on your humble Captain!"

"Really!?" Kid and Bonney asked synchronously, their eyes like drumsticks.

"Kid's food is on the house, Bonney you get vegetables." Rex said, chiding her like he would a child. "Naughty children don't get desert.

Bonney frowns, trying to jump and grab the Berries. Rex just shakes his head, retrieving a long staff and bonking her head.

Bonney hisses, scowling at the staff. Rex had dubbed it the 'Bonney stick' and used it to bonk Bonney whenever she did something he didn't like.

"Now, let's eat drink and be merry. For tomorrow we may die..." Rex says, forgetting the end of the famous bible quote. "So we live every day to the fullest!"

"Here, here!" The men cheer, lifting glasses of alcohol, before chugging them down like water.

Rex wished he could freeze time at this moment, a nice, happy celebration.