Persuasion Tactics #48
Author's note: one of the earlier chapters reached 200 powers stones... though it wasn't the 250 I wanted, I'll still give ya'll double release of another chapters reaches 200.
You know what to do!
...
Hiding behind a trash heap with Luffy, Ace gritted his teeth as he turned to Cedric, who was holding a strange pistol and hiding nearby from the flying bullets.
"I thought you said this would be easy and quick?!" Ace exclaimed in irritation. "What part of this looks easy?!" he added, his eyes twitching.
"Easy and quick for me..." Cedric replied with a shrug. "Well, just sit tight and enjoy the show," he added as he jumped over the cover and began shooting. For every bullet he fired, a pirate fell, much to Ace's surprise.
However, it didn't end there. Cedric sprinted toward the remaining pirates after emptying the gun's chamber. He ran between numerous trash heaps to evade their shots. He quickly closed the distance, putting himself in the pirates' line of fire. They immediately fired the last of their ammunition, but Cedric remained calm and didn't even dodge. He raised his spear and spun it, deflecting all incoming projectiles. The pirates froze for a moment, amazed by Cedric's display, before turning around and sprinting away without hesitation. But Cedric wasn't intent on letting them go that easy. He stabbed his spear into the ground and retrieved two loaded pistols from his jacket, promptly shooting the fleeing pirates in the leg without missing anyone. This caused them to fall face-first into the ground.
"See what I mean? Quick and easy..." Cedric said with a grin after he blew the smoke off his two revolvers and put them away. "Now we just have to nicely ask these fine gentlemen about the whereabouts of their boss," he went on as he gestured for the two boys to come out of hiding. They had no reason not to oblige.
"You don't say..." Ace said, his eyes wide as he emerged from behind the cover and noticed the bullet wounds on every pirate's leg, each almost perfectly identical. "But how are we going to make these guys talk?" he asked, scratching his head as he stopped beside Cedric, followed by Luffy.
"With a little persuasion, of course..." Cedric said as he walked to the nearest pirate. "Excuse me... would you mind telling us where we may find your captain?" he asked as he kneeled on one knee next to the pirate.
"I'm not telling you anything, brat!" the pirate exclaimed in a resolute tone that spoke of an unbreakable determination never to betray his captain and shipmates. "You might as well just kill me 'cause I ain't talking!" he added, firmly shaking his head.
"Well, if you insist..." Cedric said with a careless shrug as he stood up and whistled, calling for Chuchun. The giant bird instantly obliged. "I guess it's been a while since my friend here had a decent meal..." he added with a faint smile as he patted Super Sparrow.
"What... what do you mean...?" the pirate hesitantly said as he alternated his gaze between Cedric and the oversized bird beside him, clearly confused.
"Chuchun here is a Super Sparrow from South Blue... his favorite meal is humans..." Cedric said as he continued patting Chuchun's feathers. As soon as he finished his sentence, the oversized bird let out a faint cry of agreement and turned to the pirate.
"He's been very well-behaved, so he needs a treat... isn't that right, boy?" Cedric went on with a grin, and the oversized bird let out another overzealous cry of agreement.
"But... but... I have a nasty rash on my back..." The pirate said, clearly grasping at straws in his despair. "I won't taste good... please don't eat me..." He added, tears running down his eyes.
"You wouldn't mind, would you, boy?" Cedric asked as he turned to the Super Sparrow, and he merely shook his head, keeping his eyes glued to the pirate. "See? I'm sure you'll make a good meal," Cedric added, nodding in satisfaction as he looked at the pirate, prompting Chuchun to take a step toward him.
"Wait... wait! I'll talk..." The pirate exclaimed as soon as the giant bird moved, causing him to stop. "Please don't let it eat me!" He added, pleading as he turned to Cedric with a fearful expression.
"Are you sure...?" Cedric asked as he scratched his head. "Wouldn't you be betraying the trust of your captain and shipmates if you talked?" He added, raising an eyebrow.
"Captain Gallly is an asshole anyway! He keeps most of the treasure we get to himself!" The pirate replied, frenziedly shaking his head. "He's staying at the ship inside a cove south of the Gray Terminal's docks!" He went on without bothering to wait for a reply.
"There, I talked, so please don't let this monster eat me!" The pirate said, finally getting on the giant bird's nerves and earning a peck on the head that knocked him out for his effort.
"See? A little persuasion goes a long way..." Cedric said with a grin, turning to the two boys and snapping them out of their shocked daze. Luffy was the first to react.
"Wha! Marines are really evil! He was going to let the bird eat this guy!" Luffy said, panicking and jumping around until Ace knocked him on the head to calm him down.
"Calm down, you idiot!" Ace said, shaking his head in exasperation. "He was obviously lying about the bird eating the man..." He sighed as he watched Luffy finally calm down.
Cedric chuckled at the antics of the two brothers and turned to Ace. "Is he always like this?" he asked, alternating his gaze between the two brothers.
"Every minute of every day..." Ace said with a fed-up expression. "But he'll surprise you here and there if you stick by him long enough..." He added, looking at his brother with a fond smile.
"Anyway... we have the info we need..." Cedric said, changing the subject as he had nothing to add. "Now we just need to catch this Gally guy, loot his treasure, and see if we can turn him in to the Marines for the bounty..." He shrugged his shoulders.
...
"So this is the guy... I'm pretty sure I've seen him before," I muttered as I hid behind the cove's entrance, looking at a man in a gaudy epaulet long coat and a bicorne hat. He was a middle-aged man with a markedly lean build, gray hair (except for his handlebar mustache), and an upward-curling goatee. Overall, he looked like a stereotypical pirate who'd drop common loot when defeated.
"Oh... and it looks like he's missing the guys we beat up already..." I added with a chuckle as I watched the pirate captain angrily bark orders at his subordinates.
"Where the hell are these guys?!" The man, Captain Gally, said as he looked at one of his subordinates. "They should have been back with my money already!" He went on, spitting saliva and coating the unfortunate subordinate's face.
"I don't know, cap'n," the man said, not daring to wipe his face as he stood before the angry pirate captain. "They haven't reported in yet..." He hesitantly added, not knowing what else to say.
"You think I don't know that already?!" Captain Gally bellowed in rage as more saliva flew out of his mouth and into the unfortunate subordinate's face. "Hurry up and get out there! Find them and bring me my money!" He instructed, dismissing the pirate with a wave as he turned around and headed for the ship, still spouting obscenities.
"It's a wonder that guy hesitated before he started talking..." I said with a chuckle, raising an eyebrow as I watched the poor pirate wait for Gally to leave before wiping his face with a depressed expression.
"If I had a captain like Gally, I would have turned him in to the Marines myself..." I added, shaking my head as I turned to Ace and Luffy. "So, how do you want to do this?" I asked with a grin, causing the two boys to tilt their heads in confusion.
"Well, aren't you two bored of watching me do all the work?" I asked, giving them a meaningful look. "I'm pretty sure you two can take him down without my help..." I added, gesturing toward Gally's ship.
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