19 First Blood

Though it wasn't his first time flying in the Hind, Thomas couldn't help feeling a little giddy as he peeked over the ship's railing and down at the sea below. He had Caenis standing nearby, and Drake had forced him to tie a thick rope around his waist, but it was hard to feel safe when flying 3,000m above the sea, standing on the open deck of a ship...

Of course, as terrifying as the height was, it was nothing compared to the massive Sea Kings that would occasionally poke their heads out of the water, some nearly reaching the Hind's altitude as they came up to absorb sunlight. The anime and manga simply didn't do the monstrous creatures justice, and even though he had seen several realistic Kaiju-themed movies, Thomas's mind struggled to comprehend what it was seeing right in front of him.

Even the largest Godzilla, standing at 300m, couldn't compare to the size of some of the larger Sea King's heads. A few even looked like they could swallow entire islands, much less the renowned Titan, in a single bite...

Demonstrating that Thomas wasn't alone in his disbelief, Caenis had a fairly skeptical look as she questioned, "There are people in this world that can fight monsters like this? With their bare hands...?"

Smiling wryly, Thomas replied, "If the feats I witnessed in the anime and manga are accurate, then yes. That's one of the reasons I don't want us rushing into things. You and the others are very powerful, but the strongest people in this world are capable of bisecting mountains, destroying small islands, or irreversibly changing the terrain with their awakened Devil Fruit abilities..."

Though he knew Caenis wasn't really afraid, Thomas turned to her with a smile as he added, "Luckily, we have someone like you on our side. Your ability to manipulate the sea and produce tidal waves is a hard counter to many Devil Fruit users, and your durability should put you on par with some of the world's strongest. I just prefer to be safe than sorry..."

Snorting through her nose, Caeni groaned, "There you go again..." before crossing her arms and adding, "Well, with a convenient system like 'Bounties,' it's only a matter of time before we accumulate enough belief to Ascend. Once I regain my strength as a Divine Spirit, nothing in this world will be able to stop me."

While he didn't know how powerful Caenis and the others would be once they ascended, Thomas doubted Zelretch would have given him a power system that was 'useless' in the world of One Piece. He knew that Musashi could theoretically kill anyone, even in her current state, but he couldn't know for certain until she faced off against Mihawk. If even she lost, they were in for a rough journey...

Nodding his head, Thomas replied, "I'm looking forward to it." with a sincere expression and tone. This earned him a disproving look from Caenis, but, as she had already said she didn't mind him behaving like an idiot, she ultimately remained silent...

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After three days of flying through the sky and sailing, the Hind had completed a journey that would have taken even a seastone-coated Marine Battleship, capable of voyaging over the Calm Belt, weeks to complete. However, instead of the Conomi Islands, their first stop was a large, three-story ship with a white fish head on one end and a fin-shaped tail on the other. It was painted a combination of mint green, mustard yellow, and ketchup red, giving it a fairly unusual appearance, but Thomas couldn't help smiling as the Hind pulled up alongside the three other ships present, a large civilian vessel, a Marine ship, and a predominately red caravel bearing a Jolly Roger.

Seeing the Hind pull up alongside them, the pirates that had stayed behind to watch over their ship immediately took an interest in both the vessel and the people onboard.

Though the Golden Hind was fairly small as far as ships in One Piece were concerned, its sleek design and unique features made it stand out like an ornate dagger among a large collection of dull swords. It had an appearance that would make anyone want to possess it, even if there weren't a bevy of beautiful women occupying the deck.

Ignoring their Captain's orders, one of the thirteen Pirates that had been left to watch over their ship pulled out a flintlock pistol and attempted to shoot Thomas. He was the only man present, and his large size, combined with his recent 'glow up' in terms of outfit and appearance, made the group of Pirates believe he was the Captain. The mangey-looking marksman thought that, so long as he could get rid of Thomas, he and his crewmates could claim both the Hind and the women on board as their prizes.

Though Thomas immediately erected a Mana veil around his body, it was ultimately unnecessary as Caenis caught the bullet with her bare hand, scowling as she said, "So much for the rule about not fighting in and around the restaurant."

Rather than his usual wry smile, Thomas had a solemn expression as he said, "Pirates wouldn't be Pirates if they followed the rules..."

Just as Thomas was thinking about asking Caenis to throw him over and onto the enemy's deck, the jarring sound of rapid gunfire sounded from his left as Drake unloaded on the thirteen Pirates. When she was done, she spun her ornate flintlocks around her fingers before blowing the smoke off their ends as she said, "They aren't worth our time."

As one of her abilities as a Captain allowed her to see the Bounties of others, Drake could tell the group of Pirates were utter trash. Thomas needed his 'first blood,' but if it were a completely ordinary person, he might waver or be traumatized by the experience. If he felt it was his life over his opponent's, he would feel 'accomplished' to have survived the encounter rather than feeling guilt.

Before Thomas could say anything, Drake looked to Caenis, ordering, "Hop over and see if they have anything of value worth stealing. Don't worry. Your beloved Master is in safe hands with Benienma, Musashi, and myself protecting him."

Though she didn't like the idea of entrusting Thomas to Drake, Ceanis only hesitated briefly before leaping over to the enemy ship. The East Blue was known to be the weakest of the Four Seas, and, according to Thomas himself, the most powerful Pirate currently in the region was a Fishman with a Bounty of 20,000,000 Bellies. Three months ago, she had sunk a ship that had gotten a little too close to their private island, the Captain on board being worth around 50,000,000 Belly. If Arlong was even weaker than that, Benienma should be able to cut down him and his crew before they even knew what happened. With the added protection of Musashi, Thomas was safe even without her babysitting him.

To make Caenis's job easier, Drake fired grappling hooks from the side of the Hind, piercing the enemy ship and pulling it closer as she turned to Thomas and mused, "Shall we head inside? I'm certain our resident sparrow is eager to see these chefs of 'Baratie' for herself."

Regaining a wry smile, Thomas looked to the entrance of Baratie to see several Pirates and Marines running out. The grappling hooks fired from the Hind originated from their portside cannons, so the sound of explosives had attracted the attention of pretty much everyone inside the floating, fish-themed restaurant. This included the Captain of the Pirate vessel they were currently pillaging, a man with orange hair, a hooked mustache that could give Whitebeard a run for his money, and a similarly hooked beard that looked like he was afraid of letting even a single crumb escape while eating.

Seeing what was happening to his ship, the stereotypically-dressed Captain shouted, "You scoundrels! How dare you attack my ship and crew in neutral waters! Once I get onto your ship, you're dead...!"

While the man and his two remaining men ran over to a small dinghy, the smile on Drake's face revealed considerable amusement as she remarked, "The man in the center has a Bounty of 4,500,000. His two crewmen have Bounties of 1.8 and 1.3 million, respectively. They're all pretty weak, but they're yours if you want to try fighting them."

Though he felt his throat tighten, Thomas replied, "I'll do it..." as he began gathering Magical Energy into his fists. Doing so caused a pale blue light to gather around them, similar to the hazy veil covering his body but 'a lot' more prominent.

While the Marines, restaurant staff, and several guests watched on with curious and somewhat judgmental expressions on their faces, Thomas waited for the trio of men to board the Hind, his expression uncharacteristically severe as he said, "Surrender now, and you'll at least have a chance at life..."

Snorting in contempt, the leader of the trio pulled out a black and white cutlass, a murderous expression on his face as he asked, "Do you fools have any idea who you're dealing with!? I am Gally of the Gally Pirates! The man fated to be the next Pirate King! Even if you throw down your weapons and beg for mercy, I'll skin the lot of you! Men, women, children; it makes no difference...!"

Though he secretly intended to capture Drake and the other females present to 'serve' on his ship, Gally first intended to strike fear into their hearts by dealing with Thomas in the most brutal way he could imagine. He was presently unaware of the fact that every other man on his ship had been killed via shots to the head, so he was lively and full of murderous intent as he charged toward Thomas, shouting, "Eat steel...!"

Surprised by how slow the man was, a skeptical look marred Thomas's face as he side-stepped Gally's excessively telegraphed slash. Part of his training had involved sparring with Chiron, Caenis, and Musashi, so Gally's movements almost seemed...childish in comparison.

Reacting without any input from his mind, Thomas landed a left hook on Gally's face that caused the man's head to spin. He didn't think he put much strength into the blow, but it was apparently enough to kill a 5,000,000 Belly pirate in an instant as Gally's head turned nearly 500 degrees before he plopped to the deck, frothing at the mouth as his body violently spasmed.

Though he felt a sudden and intense urge to vomit, Thomas did his best to remain focused as the remaining two members of Gally's crew, a tall, rotund man that resembled a watermelon and a short, incredibly lanky man with striped hair and a jaw wider than the upper half of his skull. The former wielded a giant club while the latter had six dagger's in between his fingers like some knock-off Wolverine.

With Magical Energy concentrated in his left hand, Thomas caught the watermelon man's spiked club with his open palm. Then, even though he felt it was a little excessive, he redirected it to the side, intersecting the path of the wannabe wolverine. The heavy club smashed into the man's face, but it actually did less damage than Thomas's punch, only breaking his nose and shattering several of his teeth. His watermelon companion wasn't nearly as fortunate...

Though he lessened the concentration of Magical Energy around his fist, the color drained from Thomas's face as he unexpectedly found himself up to his elbow in the rotund man's torso. A pungent smell of iron filled his nostril as the heat and pulsations of the man's insides caused his stomach to flip and twist. Then, despite having sustained no injuries, darkness crept in from the edge of Thomas's vision as he abruptly lost consciousness...

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(A/N: When everyone you train against is exponentially stronger than you, holding back isn't easy...)