Chapter 10: Freedom

[AN: Changed a bit of the last chapter to make it more realistic since if no one could use at least emission on the Island then there would barely be any reason for the Navy not to arrest the criminals on this Island.

There would also be no reason for most of the strong Cipher Pol Agents to stay on Eisleymos if everybody there was weak and could not use at least one advanced level of Haki. To me, Emission seemed to be the easiest one to master out of all the advanced Haki techniques.]

[Urek D. Mazino's Point of View]

It is almost time for my escape and I have someone to thank for this opportunity, it is none other than... What was his name again? Sparta? No... Spandex? No... Spartacus? No... I think I was close to getting the name right with my second guess- Spandam!

Yes, his name was Spandam, the idiot who barely left enough people to manage this ship. Most of the strong Cipher Pol agents that were on board this ship are currently busy arresting and framing the top bosses of Eisleymos which means that if this ship were to suffer an unfortunate accident, anyone who gave a shit about my existence would think that I died along with this ship.

There was a total of fifty Cipher Pol agents on board of this ship and barely five of them seemed strong enough to be worth paying attention to during my escape plan. I mean I was planning on killing every single one of them but it was necessary that I do it before they manage to contact someone off this ship.

It took me a day but I now have every part of this ship memorized. From the kitchen to the escape boat, still, with my Observation Haki, I could see every part of the ship as in a see-through black-and-white version of it but it was better to know my way around without needing Haki...

I mean I used it to memorize the whole ship but you get my point. Anyway, the Cipher Pol agents did not seem to be worried about me or the three other captives, I could not feel even the slightest amount of caution from them whenever they brought us our meal for the day.

I would have called them dumb if it were not for the drugs they put in our food. It served to weaken us but I had already been through this on Eisleymos so I already had a resistance bordelining immunity build up for drugs of this level though the same could not be said about the other three.

They were three kids roughly my age or a bit older, two girls and one boy. The boy's hair has a reddish-orange color and it pushes back out of his face. He also bears a small scar on the right side of his forehead.

[AN: Imagine Hidetora Tōjō from Beelzebub as a kid.]

The first girl has short but wavy orange hair, blue eyes, full lips, and a beauty mark located under the right side of her mouth. The second girl has short blonde hair cut into a flare cut and blue eyes. The girls could barely move though the boy seemed to be able to move.

[AN: Imagine Rangiku from Bleach and Seras Victoria from Hellsing as kids.]

Just like me, all three of them had a slave collar on their necks. unlike me, they have a couple of bruises on their bodies which meant that they resisted. I liked that though I was still going to kill them when the time came for my escape because dead men tell no tales.

That was my train of thought until I saw the Cipher Pol agent come to give us our drugged food for the day. He dropped four bowls filled with soup and four pieces of bread which spilled on the floor of our shared cell.

"Eat up, we wouldn't want the future precious slave of a Celestial Dragon to die of starvation before the Celestial Dragons have a chance to play with, would we?"

The other boy glared at the Ciphel Pol agent who sneered back in response before speaking.

"Oh, you don't like it? Trust me, where you are going, licking soup on the floor is going to be a luxury."

"Screw you!"

The boy yelled which caused the Cipher Pol Agent to shake his head in a way that showed mocking disbelief before he retorted.

"Now that is not a nice thing to say to someone like me, who was kind enough to give you guys a preview of what awaits you in your new life as slave of the Celestial Dragon. I guess you Zoldyck don't know how good your life was before you got too greedy."

He looked at me and then added.

"Still, if you don't believe me why don't you ask your new friend over there, he was a Battle Slave on Eisleymos... then again, you might have known him before he came onto this ship since it was the Zoldyck that had sold him into slavery."

At his true yet somewhat incorrect statement, the three other kids looked at me with shock while the Cipher Pol looked at us with glee and anticipation. The Zoldyck had not sold me into slavery, they had dumped me there in hopes I die while making them money.

Still, I had seen those eyes countless times, he was looking forward to a show or a fight maybe he was bored or that was just his nature but I was not going to entertain him. Although the fact that he does this shows how relaxed the agents on this ship have become.

I stood up which caused the three others to tense and the Cipher Pol Agent to smirk in anticipation. I walked towards the food that he had dropped and picked a piece of bread and the bowl that had the most soup still in it. I went back to my corner and ate in peace.

"*Tsk* This isn't what I expected. I guess I will find something else to relieve my boredom."

Those were the words spoken by the Cipher Pol Agent as he left, leaving the three others warry of me. This is when my train of thought began to change. For some unknown reason, I started reminiscing about Rob.

---

I was telling Rob what I would do when I got out and started getting hunted by the Zoldyck though to him it was more of an 'if I got out' conversation.

"I'll kill them all! Every last one of those that hunts me down. I'll rip their spine out and beat them to death with it. If they piss me off too much then I might even sell them as a slave, let them have a taste of their own medicine."

At my words Rob got quiet for a moment then spoke in a sober tone that I had rarely heard him speak in.

"Kid, I won't tell you not to do that because however you exact your revenge is up to you but can you promise me one single thing?"

"I wasn't born yesterday old man, I won't say yes without knowing and it will depend on whether I can do it and how much pain in the ass it will be for me...."

My words caused him to chuckle, I smiled before continuing.

"So... what is it?"

"I-If you ever meet a slave of a Celestial Dragon a-and you can do something about it, whether it is to free them by killing them or releasing them of their chain... without bringing too much trouble on yourself... Please do it."

I noticed the wavering in his tone as silence came between us then I asked him a question.

"What's a Celestial Dragon?"

To my question, Rob looked perplexed before he laughed and answered it.

"HAHAHA! I forgot you don't know what a Celestial Dragon is. Well long story short, a Celestial Dragon is someone that would make whatever evil acts you have seen the Zoldyck do look like child play.

Life as a Celestial Dragon's slave is worse than death... It is something that you would not wish upon even your worse enemy... believe me, compared to the Celestial Dragons, even the vilest of criminal can look like a saint."

As I saw the troubled look in his eyes, I sighed before I spoke.

"Fine, if it doesn't put me in a tough spot, and if I feel like it then I'll save the slaves of the Celestial Dragons that I encounter."

Rob had a tear in his left eye as he spoke to me.

"Thanks, kid."

I got curious and asked his name then the rest is history.

---

...Okay maybe not so unknown since the flashback was about Celestial Dragons and Zoldyck. Anyway, I waited until nightfall, when most of the Cipher Pol Agents were either asleep or had their guard at their lowest, to speak to the three kids sharing a cell with me.

"Do you want to live or die?"

My question caused them to tense. It could be because of what the Cipher Pol Agent said and now they think that I want to kill them because of the Zoldyck or it could be because of my appearance. I never got a haircut so now my hair cover most of my face on a daily basis. It does not instill a friendly vibe at first sight.

"Why are you asking us that?"

The boy with orange hair was the first to speak while he shielded the other two with his body. I looked into his eyes and saw that he had the will to live in fact all of them had it but I wanted to hear them say it so I spoke once more.

"I want to know so humor me, all three of you."

He gritted his teeth at my response before looking at the other two then all three looked at me before they answered in unison.

"We want to live."

I then asked my second question.

"Good so here is my second and last question, do you want to live as slaves of Celestial Dragons or be free?"

"Who the hell would want to be a slave to those monsters?!"

They almost yelled in unison after gritting their teeth and clenching their fists which caused me to laugh a bit. I then looked at them and spoke as I stood up.

"That means you guys want to be free, you still haven't given up which is good... Follow my lead and don't make any noise."

I walked towards the bars of the cell leaving them confused on what I was doing until they saw me slowly bend the bars wide enough to let us pass through. I did it slowly to make the least amount of noise. I walked out of the cell and saw that they still had not moved.

"Why would you help us?"

The boy asked before the ship started to shake due to an explosion., I used my Observation Haki out of reflex and felt that all the Cipher Pol Agents that were on deck had died. I say that because I could not feel their presence anymore. I felt a foreign but powerful presence on the deck.

I also felt that the rest of the Cipher Pol Agents were now awake and were rushing towards the deck though one of them had already died upon reaching the deck. Seeing that time was of the essence, I turned to walk away without looking at them and spoke.

"You can stay here and at best die or you can fight for your freedom. I don't care anymore since I offered my help, it's your choice whether to take it or not."

I did not need to turn around to know what they chose. I could feel them following me as I maneuvered around this Ship to reach the deck though I took a little detour to the Kitchen to fall up my stomach.

Seeing as how we were all starving for food, no one complained. The fact that I told them that the Cipher Pol Agents were all up on deck and getting killed somewhat reassured but also worried them.

They were worried about who was killing them and more specifically his or her intentions though I found it weird that they did not consider that it might be a Zoldyck that came to rescue them or something.

I learned their names because they told me while we were eating. The boy was named Tōjō, the orange-haired girl was named Rangiku and the blond-haired girl was named Seras. When they asked me my name, I told them it was time to go and we headed towards the deck.

Hm?! That powerful presence just finished the last Cipher Pol agent and then disappeared... How? That is- question for later, it is better to leave before it reappears since right now my goal is to escape not to fight.

As we reach the deck now filled with blood and bodies, I see that each one of the trio is shaken. They are holding themselves from vomiting while I kind of have this nostalgic feeling... Yep, I definitely have a set of screws loose.

As I am about to signal them to follow me to the nearest raft boat, I sense an attack coming toward my head, naturally, I dodge it with Arcobaleno Sonído and reappear a couple of feet away from my previous position only to find the trio knocked out on the ground.

"Hohoho! I came here for the Zoldyck kids because I thought they would be interesting in a couple of years if I trained them though you already are interesting but... I don't remember any of the Zoldyck kids who were caught having white hair... So who are you, rainbow brat?"

An old man with a cane said while standing behind the fallen trio. From what I can see he has green hair and a sort of tattoo on his fac- 

"What?"

I instantly used Arcobaleno Sonído to avoid the incoming attack, a stab from his cane aimed at my heart, I sensed but as I did, I never lost track of the old man, he had not moved from where he currently is. This made no sense.

"Hoho! You reacted to the fake intent I just gave which means that you have Observation Haki... Either that or you have excellent instincts. Still, not bad for someone your age... This is getting even more interesting. So... Who are you, rainbow brat?"

The old man said as he rubbed his beard with his free hand. He is looking down on me... which is good because he will not expect what is about to happen. 

Thanks to my talent "The End" and my knowledge of Nen that I tried to apply with Haki, I learned that with Armament Haki, I could not only coat or infuse an object with it but also emit it outside of my body over a short distance without a medium to carry it as well as use it to destroy something from the inside out.

On something as thin as a collar, that newly learned ability gives me the perfect opportunity to crush my collar and throw it away. Granted I have not tested it yet on an actual collar but I did try it on the wall of my cell back on Eisleymos and it made the brick, I had carefully pulled out of the wall, as solid as dust when I tried to crush it after using that newly learned ability.

I had seen a couple of collar explode on Eisleymos and I knew how much time it took for them to explode once they started beeping.

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*

"Don't tell me you gave up already?"

The old man asked in a disappointed tone.

*KRRSSHH!*

I crushed the collar around my neck with Haki then threw it at the mysterious old man who in a state of shock could only mutter one thing before the collar exploded in his face.

"Huh?!"

*BOOM!!*

I did not waste any time, I got closer to him and swung my hand at him.

"Dismantle!"

The cloud created by the explosion was cut in half but the old man was nowhere to be seen. Before I could even look for him, I heard clapping from behind me and used Arcobaleno Sonído to distance myself from my previous position, I now faced the old man who was still clapping.

*Clap* *Clap* *Clap*

"Bravo! BRA! VO!! I didn't expect you to use Armament Haki as well and use an advanced technique to boot. At first, you had my curiosity but now... you have my attention you rainbow brat! Let's see if you can go three for three!"

*VRMMMM*

[AN: Ngl, I don't know how Conquer Haki sound effects are spelled if one of you guys knows how it is spelled let me know by commenting here.]

As he said that, he opened his mouth and showed a full set of fangs for teeth. I felt the air coming from him to be suffocating and the image of a demonic-looking axolotl appeared behind him. Everything about this screamed to run away but I did not, I stood my ground.

*VRMMMM*

Without realizing it, my hair started to flow upward, my mouth contorted into a menacing smirk. I felt something leaving my body, it felt like Haki but not in any way I had previously used. I did not care about that as I just got ready for a fight and muttered something out of habit.

"Strong Prey!"

As I was about to lunge at the old man, I saw his eyes widen as the suffocating pressure that was coming off of him vanished before he took a step back while dropping his cane. His shock confused me until I heard him mutter something.

"T-T-Those eyes..."

It was at that moment that I noticed that my hair had flown up since it fell down at that moment.

"It can't be!"

The old man muttered as he instantly appeared in front of him, grabbed my face, and started inspecting my eyes. I tried to remove his hands off my face but the old fucker was strong. I decided to use Dismantle, without yelling it out loud, and as he sensed it he dodged it before it landed on him.

"This got even more interesting... but just became complicated as well."

He muttered with a melancholic look. Having had enough of this I decided to speak to the old man.

"Can't you say something that makes sense? If you are going to say some cryptic shit like that without adding any context then just think it instead of saying it."

He suddenly put on a serious expression before he spoke, this time in a serious tone.

"Hey kid, what is your type of woman?"

I do not know if it was the pile of bodies or my previous flashback but this gave me a sense of nostalgia as Rob often asked me that question but to my regret I never was able to give him an answer because I always waved that question off. This might be why upon hearing that question, I just answered it without skipping a beat.

"I don't have A type of woman... I! HAVE! SEVERAL! Tall with a big ass, tall with big tits, tall with both, in a slutty nurse uniform, in a sluttly teacher uniform, in a slutty doctor uniform, in a slutty marine uniform, in a slutty pirate costume... Why should I limit myself to just one type!?"

I finished my question by pointing my right index at him and saw him widening his eyes before tears came flowing down his face. He looked up in the sky before he started speaking to himself like he just had a flashback or something.

"Cusack... he really is your son... I... I... I will treat him as if he was my own child."

"What are you muttering you demented old fuc-"

"How dare you call me demented!?"

That was all I remember saying before that old man yelled at me while sending a right hook my way. I tried to counter attack but everything faded to black after that.

[Third Person's Point of View]

Mazino woke up on the shore of an Island. He immediately got up and took a fighting stance while looking around. It did not take long for him to notice that on his left were the three kids, who were also meant to be slaves of the Celestial Dragons, sitting near a campfire with the old man who had knocked him out.

He noticed that like him, the three kids no longer had slave collars on their necks and guessed that it was the old man's doing since he did remember taking them off. He also noticed that they were eating roasted meat that hung over the campfire.

"Oh, you're awake! That's good, I was just about to start the introduction. Come eat with us."

Since his stomach was still feeling the need for food, Mazino decided to join them since he did not see the point in the old man using underhanded tricks. If he wanted them dead then he would have already killed them. Mazino sat and ate while still keeping an eye on the old man.

The old man in question was about to speak but before he could Tōjō asked Mazino the question the latter had not answered. 

"You didn't answer back then. We are from the Zoldyck, the same people that definitely made your life hell so... Why would you help us?"

At his question, everyone looked at Mazino. The three kids wanted an answer as normally most in Mazino's shoes would have left them to rot while the old man simply got curious at what Mazino would say. Mazino took a piece of roasted meat and ate it before he answered while looking at the fire.

"From the very moment I first opened my eyes in this world, every last person I've seen and mostly killed... Had one thing in common... Whether it was Booze... Women... Money... Family... Knowledge... Dreams... Revenge... Power... Ironically even- no... Especially Freedom... 

They couldn't keep going... unless they were drunk on something. They were all... slaves to something... The same could probably be said about me... 

Though endlessly pondering about this was just a waste of time and I had better things to think about while I was on Eisleymos, so I created my motto to simplify things. When I want to do something, I do it, regardless of the rest of the world. When I don't, I don't, and that's that."

His answer left them speechless for a moment while Mazino thought to himself.

'Wait, wanting to know why your friends betrayed you count revenge as well as knowledge right? I mean the guy's last words were, no I can't die until I know why they betrayed me. There wasn't anything else he could say after I slashed his throat...

You know what that is going to count as knowledge else my epic speech is not going to stick.'

Tōjō looked at the fire with a complicated look, he clenched his fist as well as gritted his teeth, remembering something that seemed heavy before he sighed as if whatever was weighing on his shoulder was just lifted. He looked at Mazino before speaking.

"Either way, thanks for saving us and I don't know if you are going to believe this or even care but I thought that you should at least know it... We aren't Zoldyck per se."

"Brother! You can't reveal it! Our family swore to keep this secret to our grave!"

'Oh? A family secret reveal? I hope it's big... Damn, I wish I had brought popcorn.'

Rangiku yelled as she stood up while the old man thought to himself. Tōjō looked at Rangiku while giving her a defeated smile then spoke.

"What's the point in keeping it a secret, the Zoldyck is dead and that secret was to keep them safe so as far as I can see, there is no point keeping it a secret plus the World Government knew about it so it's not even a secret anymore."

He looked at Mazino whose eyebrow rose out of intrigue similarily to the old man while Rangiku sat down and Seras proceeded to pat her on the back as a sign of comfort.

"What most know is that the Zoldycks are generally divided in two categories, the main house, and the branch house. The main house runs the family while the branch house protects it but what most don't know is that the publicly known members of the main house are just decoys.

They act as a secondary safety net for the true members of the main house who often acts as their servants in public which includes even inside their headquarters. I won't lie and say that they are treated as harshly as the orphans that were bought or kidnapped by the Zoldycks..."

To this, he looked at Seras with a conflicted and remorseful look before he continued while looking at Mazino.

"... But they are not that far from it. From birth, we are told to dedicate our lives to the true members of the Zoldyck Family and go through intense training to have the strength to at least fake being the true members of the main house.

Anyway, like I said you probably won't care but I thought that you at least deserve to know this and that the World Government knew about this and eliminated the true members of the main house."

"*Sigh* And here I thought it was going to be a juicy secret."

After Tōjō finished what he had to say, the old man sighed in disappointment before he gathered everyone's attention.

"Okay, enough of this mushy sentimental crap. I rescued you guys because I thought it would be interesting to train you guys and have you fight the World Government later on-"

"Why? I saw you fight the Zoldyck when the Navy attacked so that means that you are on their side... So why would you do something like that?"

Seras interrupted him with a question but he did not seem to mind as he answered her.

"Well, I am doing this to restore the balance of the world."

"The balance?"

Rangiku chimed in which caused the old man to nod then proceed with a serious expression.

"Yes, you guys are too young to know me but I am Nero- Oh right, I'm not allowed to use my full name... I'm Chandler and I am a Vice-Admiral of the Navy's Headquarters who has trained dozens of talented youth who are on their way to becoming Vice-Admiral or even Admirals... maybe.

Now I know what you think, that should be a good thing since I am with the Navy but as I am sure you guys must already know by now is that the World Government isn't as good as they proclaim themselves to be.

This goes against my sense of Justice; Fair Justice! So I decided to even the odds for those that were wronged or led into a life of crime due to corrupt officers and teach them how to figh-"

"Oh cut the crap! I just met you but I know that you aren't the type to help others out of a deep sense of altruism, I've seen dozens of people like you... You're just bored or something and you are looking for entertainment."

Mazino interrupted the old man's speech as he finished the last piece of roasted meat. He stared at Chandler who glared at Mazino for a second before laughing.

"HAHAHA! You got me, I wouldn't expect less from the progeny of Cusack!"

Chandler waved his hand in a playful manner before he continued.

"You are right, I was lying. My sense of Justice isn't Fair Justice but... Trolling Justice. When things become boring, I follow my motto, One for Nonsense, All for Nonsense! The Navy acquired a lot of talent individuals over the last few decades thanks to me and I feel like the power struggle has gotten boring.

I can't accept that so I often go around finding other talented who will not join the Navy and train them to become strong. I was planning on just training the Zoldycks kids but things have changed now that I found that you were Cusack's kid-

Hold on, with all that was going on I forgot, I never even got your name, rainbow kid."

To this, everyone looked at Mazino who sighed as he thought to himself.

'Well telling them my name wouldn't hurt and I am in a good mood since I am full though I should probably change my name since I don't know how many people have a grudge against Rob and becoming the scapegoat all his love affair would be tiresome... but I like my name... Fuck it I'll just reverse and use Urek's name correctly.'

"My name is Urek, Mazino D. Urek... Who is this Cusack that you have been talking about?"

[AN: Okay since I've been using Urek's name backward I thought I would give a reason why he would reverse it.]

'D?! He has a D. in his name... Well, that's an ironic twist of fate.'

Chandler thought as he rubbed his beard before he spoke.

"Cusack was an old friend and seeing that you have such unique eyes, I can say without a doubt that he is either your father or grandfather though I would lean more on the former. I am sure you have a lot of questions and I will answer them on one condition."

"What's the condition?"

Urek asked now curious.

"You become my student along with these three-"

"Wait a minute, we never agreed to this!"

Tōjō interrupted Chandler before the latter looked at him and resumed.

"Please, you have no choice. The Navy will catch wind of your survival as soon as you leave the Sorbet Kingdom, which is where we currently are and will send thousands of agents gunning for your head twenty-four-seven since they don't take the death of a Celestial Dragon lightly.

As you are now, I can say that the one that will manage to survive more than a year under such threat among you guys is Urek but as soon as they find out that you are related to Cusack, they will sent even more agents for your head."

He pointed at Urek at that last part and stayed silent for a bit before adding.

"So my proposal is that I train you guys, teach you what you can learn from me for the next three years then it's on you guys to survive and do whatever you guys want to do."

Urek did not know about the others but he was going to accept Chandler's offer, his curiosity alone pushed him to accept it due to what Chandler said about his relation to Cusack causing him to be hunted down even more fiercely, which intrigued him.

There was also the fact that Chandler was more powerful than any opponent he had every face combined. Urek knew better than anyone that if he wanted to be free to do what he wanted he needed to be strong.

Tōjō, Rangiku, and Seras also agreed to Chandler's offer. The five of them proceed to live in the Sorbet Kingdom for the next three years where Chandler mainly taught Tōjō, Rangiku, and Seras how to fight.

He no longer taught Urek how to fight after a week since the latter learned everything Chandler knew in under a week. This greatly depressed and angered Chandler who during that week training Urek often chased him with the intent to beat him up for being a 'cocky brat' while crying tears of blood.

Chandler mainly taught Urek about the world, most of which was new to Urek since Rob did not know about the intricate details of how certain factions were built or the location of certain countries.

After three year went by, Urek was fifteen years old and Chandler left the Sorbet Kingdom before the four children decided to meet up in roughly a year or two on Garage Island before they sailed into the Grand Line.

Upon living together for three years, Urek became the de facto leader of their group due to his strength and since he had decided to sail the Grand Line after becoming seventeen years old, the rest followed suit.

They had decided to split up to go on their own adventure throughout South Blue first before attempting the Grand Line. Urek and Tōjō went on their own while Rangiku and Seras traveled together.

[AN:

The time skip is happening so this fic will go on a hiatus for a while. I left it a little bit vague at the end to not shoot myself in the foot when I come back to this fic in the meantime you can check the other One Piece fic;

One Piece: The Cheapskate of the Straw Hats

Want more? Like Thanos, I want those STONES!!!]