Chapter 5: To the sea

A lone man ran along the beach, his strides were filled with strength as he navigated the slippery sand with ease. Those with a trained eye could see the immense training that had been battered into the young man's body.

Eventually, he arrived at the small lake he had first used when his village fell.

"I'll have a quick wash and then go say goodbye."

This young man was none other than Flint. He had spent the last 7 years training and living on the deserted island where his village had been destroyed.

After washing himself down, Flint returned to the burned village. In the 7 years that had passed, the solemn surroundings had become filled with green as small gravestones lined the street, placed before the areas which used to have buildings.

"Looks like this will be my last visit huh guys?"

He placed a bundle of flowers in front of the biggest grave in the village. Shoddily carved into the stone was the words 'Stryker Family'.

"It's been a rough few years but I finally feel ready... ready to find out who caused this..."

Flint had spent many sleepless nights planning revenge, however around the fourth year, he started to contemplate it deeper. Questions such as 'Who' and 'Why' began to take float about. In the end, he decided that a future ruled by revenge would be worse than death, thus he chose to hold off on revenge until the moment he finds the truth behind the incident.

"Had it been a random pirate attack, Noire would not have acted that way, and that bird freak would not have come either"

He stood up from the grave and turned to leave the village. His back looked sad yet full of dignity.

"Well then, this is goodbye. I won't be back home for a while, so make sure you take care of yourselves."

His footsteps were all that was heard as he left the scene.

"That should be just about everything, and everything else looks to be in check."

Flint mentally ticked off his list as he inspected the few barrels placed in the sailboat docked on the beach.

Anchored on the sandy beach was a small boat with a single black sail. It was filled with barrels that contained everything he had been preparing for the last 7 years.

Alongside training, Flint had been securing travel resources such as preservable foods and clothing.

How had he done this you ask?

No, he was not skilled in sewing, and neither was he a skilled chef.

Pirates were the answer.

Over the past 7 years, a few pirates had found themselves on the island. Depending on the type of pirate, Flint had chosen to deal with them in separate ways.

With the calm pirates who could be befriended and bargained with, Flint had traded with them for information and items. Whereas, the aggressive pirates had found themselves shipped out to see on small boats made of driftwood. While it is true that he could have killed them, Flint had sworn to not spill a single drop more of human blood on this island.

"I doubt it will be this easy on the open seas though..."

He had been steeling himself to eventually take someone's life but fortunately, it had yet to come. All of his opponents had fallen easily to his trained Devil fruit powers. Luckily for him, no one of much skill had ventured to the island.

Flint had used the materials he had acquired and ransacked to repair this village sailboat he had. Even though he had claimed a few ships over the years, they were all too big for just himself to man, especially as his navigation and helmsman knowledge were foundational at best.

"Now then, let's head out"

Flint pushed the boat into the ocean and quickly jumped onto it, grabbing the oars and rowing out into the sea. The more he rowed, the smaller his home became.

"Farewell, my memories!"

He yelled as he rowed.

The waves lightly rocked the boat as the water got deeper. He had chosen today to leave since the conditions were just right.

The island was no longer in sight as Flint, laid back and relaxed under the sun.

"From what I gathered over the years, it seems our island was nameless but is on the outer edge of a place called the calm belt. That was probably why we got so few storms"

When he first heard about the scary place that was sitting on his doorstep, he was terrified. After all, the Calm Belt is known as a Sea King's Nest, yet he had lived his life so far completely oblivious to his dangerous neighbourhood.

"Well according to those pirates, as long as I don't head north, I won't have to experience that hell"

A gentle breeze brushed against his face as Flint watched the ragged sail blow in the wind.

"I wonder whether a black sail will cause any issues"

He spoke with a wry smile. Excluding the obvious Jolly Rogers on the flags, almost all of the pirate ships he had encountered, had black sails.

"Well, that's an issue future me can deal with"

He closed his eyes and rested his head as he let the breeze take him along his path.

Moments later, the waves rocked the boat rousing Flint from his soft slumber.

"Huh? A storm?"

Despite the clear skies minutes before, thick grey clouds had engulfed the sunlight.

Without hesitation, Flint scrambled around his boat, ensuring everything was tied down before returning to the rudder.

"I wonder if I should take down the sail for now..."

With comical timing, a strong wind shot from the side, launching his boat off course.

Flint desperately gripped the rudder, to keep it from steering completely off course but the winds were too strong. His small sailboat was nothing compared to the brutality of Mother Nature. The wooden boat was flung about like a toy atop the devastating waves.

"Shit! Even if I take down the sail now, I will be at the whims of the waves and currents!"

Deciding to bite the bullet, Flint focused on keeping his boat upright as he rode the wind. His body felt like it would be thrown off at any second, but his iron grip kept him stable even when water splashed into the boat.

Eventually, the waves settled down before completely stopping.

"Wait... It's not just the waves, there's no wind either... This can't be happening right?"

His worst nightmares had come to fruition so easily, and what was worst of all, the storm had made him so focused on not sinking, that he had lost all sense of direction.

"Plus, I am certain that the only reason that hellish storm has stopped is because of my new hellscape... The Calm Belt"

Even if he found the right way back, he would just be fodder for that storm once more.

"For now, I better get rowing in some direction. If I stay sat here for too long, I am definitely just fish bait"

He dug the oars into the unnaturally still water, with a fast but measured pace.

His training and survival on the island had given Flint a healthy physique with a strength that normal men would struggle to attain, yet he needed to survive.

No matter how much he rowed, the scenery remained the same, not a difference in waves, nor a difference in wind speed. It truly was the epitome of calm.

He watched the surface of the water carefully, looking for even a small difference.

"Hm?"

His patience was answered when he noticed a small difference from the areas he had passed before.

"It's darker?"

The water seemed to be slightly darker than the surrounding areas.

"Darker water? A cloud?"

He looked up and noticed that the phenomena known as clouds were non-existent in the Calm Belt.

"Time to pick up the pace!"

A bit of panic infested his rowing as he thought of the one other possibility in this sea.

"I am not, and I repeat not becoming Sea King food today!"

The shadow grew bigger as his paddles became more frantic. The splashing of water broke the calming silence of his surroundings before a large silver creature broke the still surface of the water. Its scales were the size of boulders as they glistened in the sunlight.

"That's not even a fish anymore!"

Its fins looked razor-sharp as its mouth housed an uncountable amount of teeth that could pierce through steel.

"Oi! Oi! Oi! Even with a warship, that thing would treat me like a child!"

Flint bit his lip before giving a fierce smile.

"I had hoped to do a bit of testing before using this, but here goes nothing"

He dipped his paddles into the water and kept them still, before closing his eyes briefly. His focus silenced the surroundings, nevertheless, the giant Sea King took no notice, its mouth was wide open as it tore through the waveless sea.

Flints eyes snapped open before the boat started to rock and a weird current appeared around his boat. He retracted his oars and smirked.

"Success"

He muttered before his boat accelerated, ignoring the lack of wind or waves.

Rather, there was some form of waves, artificial currents created by his Devil Fruit power.

Gradually, the boat rushed ahead, leaving the Sea King far behind.

"We'll head straight, at this point, there is no reason to sacrifice speed for direction changes"

He continued onwards for what felt like hours in the unending 'calm' scenery, taking care to speed past any shadowy waters without hesitation.

There had been more than one time when a large tentacle had sprouted from the calm surface.

Finally, Flints tired eyes spotted something. It was faint, but it was unmistakable in these waters.

"An island! I need a bed badly!"

His body felt heavy as he tore through the water's surface with his devil fruit powers.

Despite his trained strength, this was his first attempt going at such high speeds for so long. He prior experiments had been much tamer and more controlled that this, after all, if he crashed or fell, it was game over, even a few meters away from shore.

"I dare say I earned a good meal and bed tonight, lets hope its a friendly place"

His mutters were lost in the open sea as he beelined for the approaching island before him.