9 Chapter 9

'For years, they've been digging, only to find nothing but scrap irons present all around the world. However, the treasure is definitely there; journal from Gouma's navigator proved that this island is the final destination that he went with all his wealth.'

Mad Treasure, standing in front of the huge pit that was developed into a fine mine, thought with a grin,

'And Gouma himself was an average, non-devil fruit user. He wasn't necessarily noteworthy in terms of brute strength... meaning that he couldn't have dug deeper than these folks did for years. Then... isn't it obvious? The Treasure isn't buried down there, but rather...' Mad Treasure turned his head around, to the ocean that surrounded the island,

'...Underwater.' Upon reaching the conclusion, Mad Treasure clicked his tongue.

Mad Treasure is a devil fruit user, and those having attained its power are known to be cursed by the sea. Once he sets his foot in the water, he will powerlessly drown with all strength sipped out of his body; he required his subordinates to dive in his stead.

"Jararara, how troublesome."

Mad Treasure, expressing annoyance, began walking back to his ship.

And at some distance away, behind a tree bark, Rowan was spying on Mad Treasure.

'The direction in which he's walking toward...' Rowan frowned in realization, "...He's going back to his ship, huh.' He thought sternly, "If a conflict is to arise there while Mad Treasure is present...'

With a concern written on his face, he began to sneak his way out, running toward where Mad Treasure's ship lied at a speed faster than Mad Treasure's walking pace. Thanks to his years of practice, his movement wasn't noticed by the pirate.

__________

"Ne, handsome guy,"

On the coast, two teenage girls, Carina and Nami, were found making their way to an obese pirate member of the Treasure pirates, who was lazily standing at some distance away from the docked ship, inspecting for any threat,

"are you guys really the infamous Treasure pirates?" Carina nudged the man, "Is it true that you have tons of gold piled up in that ship of yours?"

The man, seemingly pleased by the word 'handsome,' rubbed the back of his head with a blush, "Hahah, you bet! There are tons of gold indeed! After all, my captain is none other than Mad Treasure!"

"Wow..." Nami whispered in feigned awe, before asking with excitement, "Can we join also?"

"...Eh?" Upon Nami's statement, the man raised his eyebrow, before laughing boisterously, "HAHAHAHA!!! Unfortunately, we don't accept flat boards on our ship! Grow some more before you come back and ask, kiddos!"

Of course. At present, Nami was twelve and Carina was eleven. From one glance alone, they were nothing but innocent young teens—which also was the reason why they were having an easy time with thievery.

"W-we're good at cooking!" Claimed Carina, "We can also wipe the deck! And, and, uh," Carina then pointed at Nami, "she's pretty skilled in the department of navigation!"

The man rolled his eyes, "Yeah, right. A kid like you, skilled in navigation? Pff… whatever, shoo shoo, go away."

Nami, having taken a step back, deadpanned at Carina.

'...Your plan is foiled from step one.' Nami's eyes seemed to be saying, which caused Carina to grit her teeth while maintaining her cute smile, trying to hide her embarrassment in front of the pirate.

"H-hey, come on. Listen—"

The man completely ignored Carina. Turning around, he walked back to the ship where the rest of the crew lied, and while doing so, waved his hand at them,

"Yo, Zesty!! Bring out some booze!! Let's have a quickie before the captain returns!!"

"Aight, yo!! Captain said that he's gonna be out for hours anyway!"

Carina's face twitched as she gazed at the man. Nami, standing next to Carina, asked dully, "Now what?"

"WOOOHOOOO!!! IT'S PARTY TIME!!!!"

"ARRRR!!!"

The distant pirates, loud to an ear-splitting extent, were going full-on crazy. Drinking the entire barrels down and not bothering with Nami and Carina standing far away from them—thinking that two girls can't pose any threat to them, they partied in a manner that seemed foolish to the two.

In this circumstance, Carina turned her head away from Nami, trying to hide her embarrassment. Nami, snickering at Carina's demeanour, asked, "...What now?"

"Cheh..." Carina, exhibiting a pout, pulled out a large, hidden sac from a nearby bush. Nami rolled her eyes in response,

"Of course," Nami muttered, "The usual strategy of sneaking in."

The two girls walked back as if moving out of the pirate's temporary turf, before silently moving around the coast—behind the bushes and trees that stood nearby. Then, reaching the edge of the land, in touch with the water, they slowly walked with their bodies lowered.

The water rippled and slight splashes were heard as they moved. However, no pirate paid attention to the noise, for they thought the sound came from various fish out in the ocean.

"NAOTA!!" Screamed one pirate all of a sudden, before punching his fellow crewmate, "THAT BOTTLE WAS MINE, STUPID!!!"

"Gaaah... it's just ooonnneee bottle, buddyyy~" The other one replied with a wobbly body, before returning with a punch of his own.

"""FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!""" The remaining eighteen pirates chanted in excitement, and there was no attention to spare for two thieves who were now right at the back of the ship, climbing up the ladder attached on its side.

"Phew~!" Carina let out a cocky smirk, "Easy peasy~!"

In contrast, Nami didn't lower her guard and looked to her left and right carefully. Then, they began to descend into the ship, which Rowan—who just arrived—managed to sight from afar, behind a bush.

"...Shit." Rowan couldn't help but curse with a cold sweat on his back, "Whether they managed to 'join' the crew or not, Mad Treasure is returning back far too earlier than what we anticipated."

He had to make a decision; Mad Treasure wasn't far away.

"...All pirate members look drunk. Far too occupied. Nami and Carina already entered the ship." Rowan mumbled, "Get the anchor back up, open the sail, and steal the ship itself... no, takes far too much time, and there is no way an act like that can be done in secret. Furthermore, the ship of that size... takes some time to gain speed. We'll essentially be trapping ourselves in there, with no way out. Then..."

Nami and Carina must've entered because they were confident. Judging by how drunk and occupied the pirates looked, Rowan doubted that they'll be noticing the girls' entrance anytime soon. He considered the option taking them out of the ship and getting out of here before Mad Treasure notices, but concluded that there wasn't enough time for that option either.

"...Hu," Rowan massaged his temple and took in a deep breath, "8.5 million Beli, huh."

…Rowan believed that there was only one option left for him: to hunt Mad Treasure down, the man whose bounty is far higher than the highest that he's ever hunted until now.

"Practice round before the fish, I suppose."

With determination, he walked back, toward the road that Mad Treasure was walking through.

__________

"...Hm?"

In the middle of a road, surrounded by forests and various other vegetation, Mad Treasure came to a stop with his eyebrow raised. In front of Mad Treasure stood a black-haired teen—Rowan—whom he saw with that senile old man previously.

"Why," Mad Treasure, after examining the teen who was blocking his path, chuckled in amusement, "Are you here to revenge that gaffer?"

Rowan formed a grin, all while hiding a sweat drop on his back. He stated, "What revenge? I'm simply here to state," before flipping out a knife and pointing its tip at mad Treasure, "to give up on Gouma's treasure."

From that statement, Mad Treasure lost his amusement.

"...What?"

"I've been seeking it for months by now. Don't you understand?" Rowan stared at Mad Treasure casually, "I've already—"

"JARARARARA!!!" Mad Treasure then exploded into a laugh full of delight, before looking at Rowan in a perverted sense, "Yes, this is it!!"

Rowan stopped his words, unable to follow Mad Treasure's mood swing.

"The jealousy from the inferior, incapable losers who's unable to roll the pea-sized brains of theirs to beat me in a race to a treasure... JARARARA!!!" Mad Treasure crackled madly while gazing Rowan, "This is the greatest joy in treasure hunting! Watching as the weak ones be all bark and no bite, speaking useless words like 'I came here first, so leave!' Do you know how many like that I've come across until now?!"

Rowan, wishing to stall for as long as he could, said, "...And?"

"I'll ensure that you live…" Replied Mad Treasure, while rubbing his palms giddily, "I'll make you realize that the gap between the two of us is far too large, and watch as you make that expression of inferiority, of jealousy and helplessness. Watch as I find the treasure with barely any effort, retarded monkey."

Subsequently, Mad Treasure placed his right palm out toward Rowan,

"Chain Arrow!!"

BOOM. Rowan, out of reflex, tilted his head to the right. Just when he did so, a thick, long, and metallic chain burst out from Mad Treasure's palm. Passing through the empty air, it struck onto a tree bark at the back.

'Devil fruit...?!'

This was the first time that Rowan's ever come across a devil fruit user. After all, in the East Blue, 'devil fruit' was known as nothing but a myth by many, and if not for Rowan knowing that the main character of One Piece manga, 'Monkey D. Luffy,' was well known as a rubber man, he too might've believed that devil fruit is made up.

But still, encountering the devil fruit power like this, all of a sudden… this wasn't what Rowan expected.

'Fruit about chains… chains can be produced from his body!'

While making such a thought briefly, Rowan quickly jumped back. At the next moment, the tree-connected chain began to shorten, pulling Mad Treasure in rapidly. Mad Treasure, with a crazed grin, clenched his left hand into a fist as he was approaching Rowan,

"Chain,"

The thinner chains expanded out from his left arm and encased his hand,

"Hammer!!"

BOOM!

Rowan, leaning backward such that his body was in an arc, with his back facing the ground, managed to dodge Mad Treasure's potent punch that generated a crack on the same tree bark that his chain previously impacted onto.

Immediately after, the tree, having broke due to two strikes from Mad Treasure, began falling onto the two of them. Rowan, widening his eyes, quickly jumped sideway, while Mad Treasure rolled his left shoulder, before,

BOOM!

punching the falling tree vigorously. The tree broke into multiple pieces and landed around Mad Treasure without harming him.

"Heh." Mad Treasure, looking at Rowan, snorted with a grin intact on his face, before launching his body toward Rowan once more. Rowan breathed out lightly before dashing toward Mad Treasure this time around, with his right fist cocked back.

And once again, Mad Treasure punched with his chain-covered left,

"Chain Hammer!!"

Rowan, in return, seemed to be planning on meeting Mad Treasure's chain punch with his right fist. However, at the last moment, he lowered his arm, and under Mad Treasure's watch, twisted his body counter-clockwise, such that Mad Treasure's punch passed through his right. And then,

PUK.

Rowan's heel landed on Mad Treasure's right cheek, causing the latter to be knocked sideway from the blow.

"...Huh," Mad Treasure now stood still, dumbfunded by the fact that a he received a blow. His right cheek was slowly swollen, and Mad Treasure, spitting out a spit mixed with a blood, then laughed in hilarity, "Jararara, you are quite nimble, aren't you?"

Boom. Mad Treasure, jumping with all his might, propelled his body toward Rowan,

"Doesn't change a fact that you're a loser, however!!"

BOOM! Rowan leaped back, just in time before Mad Treasure's fist smashed onto the ground, generating slight cracks.

"Chain—"

Then, from Mad Treasure's fist that was embedded in the ground, three chains arose and flew toward Rowan,

BOOM.

Rowan lowered his body to dodge one,

BOOM.

before rolling on the ground to dodge another. Immediately standing back up with the strength of one arm,

BOOM.

Rowan barely managed to evade another chain that came in flying from the sky. He took a step back, and then found his back touching a tree bark.

"Jararara..."

And as Mad Treasaure laughed, Rowan realized those three chains, ones that he just dodged, were circling around him. Mad Treasure then clenched his right hand,

"—lock!!"

Rowan urgently jumped up to dodge the chains from wrapping around him, but one managed to hook onto his left ankle and slam him down.

BOOM.

Rowan groaned as his face kissed the dirt. However, ignoring the pain, he attempted to get the chain on his ankle undone—

"Jararara!!!"

—he couldn't move his body. In an instant, his entire body was wrapped around by the chains, and no matter how many times Rowan wriggled around, he couldn't get the chains undone. At this state, Rowan saw Mad Treasure slowly walking at him with his left fist covered by the chains once again. The crazy-looking pirate, then, abruptly punched his first forth, much to Rowan's panic,

"Chain Hammer!!"

BOOM!

It directly landed on Rowan's face, and one blow was enough to render him dizzy. The blood splattered out from his nose. His brain hurt, and the high-pitched noise that suddenly intruded his ears—it was a punch stronger than any that Rowan's ever come across.

"N-not... yet..."

However, Rowan managed to withstood in the end—

"Chain Hammer!!"

BOOM.

—before another came,

BOOM.

and another,

"Chain—" Mad Treasure had his bloody, chain-covered left fist cocked back for yet another punch. With a grin, he was about to unleash it, before,

"Huh?"

raising his eyebrow as Rowan's posture slumped, indicating that he's lost his consciousness.

"Jararara..." Mad Treasure remarked as the chains fell off from Rowan's body, "Weak indeed."

before continuing his walk toward his ship.

And the unconscious Rowan could only hope, that Nami and Carina managed to escape in meantime.