Clash (2)

Okami appeared right at the Great Gate and saw the Gray Terminal being razed by the Bluejam Pirates. The place was just like a picture of a living hell. Pandemonium broke out and people were running around without a particular direction.

Even though the flames were raging, Okami did not feel the blazing temperature because of Flash Fire. He activated his Observation Haki and looked for Luffy and Ace. After a few minutes of searching, he detected their auras and found out that they were being surrounded by several people. At once, he teleported to their direction.

Meanwhile, Ace, Luffy, Dadan and her underlings were facing against Bluejam while the rest of his men were knocked unconscious.

"Give it up already, you stinking sea monsters!" Dadan shouted as she blocked the Bluejam's attacks with her ax. "Get your hands off our Ace!"

Bluejam staggered a bit before he regained his strength. "Why you...you're the boss of those ruffians from Mount Colubo. What are you doing here?"

"I'm Dadan the bandit. And for better or worse, I happen to be the guardian of these brats, so fuck off!" Dadan turned around and scurried away as she screamed, "Run for it!"

Ace wiped the blood off his mouth and gripped his weapon pipe. "I...I won't run!"

Dogra, one of Dadan's men, stepped forward and explained, "What are you saying! You can't face Bluejam on your own! He's beyond the level of a kid like you has hope of taking down!"

"I said I won't run!" Ace refuted.

Dadan snorted and stood in a fighting stance. "I'll take full responsibility for Ace. Take Luffy with you. Now, go!"

"No! Release me! Ace! Ace!" Luffy struggled against Ramil's grip but to no avail.

The rest of Dadan's men bolted away and the only ones left were Ace, Dadan, and Bluejam.

Bluejam sneered and looked at them in disdain. "A woman and a child. If you start getting overconfident just because you're a little handy in a fight, you could end up a bloody mess. The only people who survive on the battlefield are the strong and the cowards, while the foolish one meets an early death...that's just how this world works."

Dadan moved closer to Ace and whispered, "Why don't you use your pokemon?"

"I left the Pokeball at the house," Ace answered as he readied himself for the coming attack.

"Die!" Bluejam shot Ace with his flintlock, excited that he was about to kill them. But the reality betrayed his expectation because the bullet hit an invisible barrier, saving Ace from harm. "What the fuck?!"

"You truly are an evil pirate, Bluejam. Like I care or anything but you are targeting the wrong guy."

Bluejam followed the source of the voice and realized that it was coming from the blazing fire at the left area. He squinted his eyes and saw a silhouette of a human walking towards them. After a few seconds, he finally recognized who the newcomer was. "Okami, the Progenitor of Pokemon?! What are you doing here?!"

Okami ignored Bluejam and strutted toward Ace and Dadan, his body unscathed from the scorching flame. He took out potions from his pocket and offered it to them. "Here, drink this. It will rejuvenate your body."

Ace did not ask any questions and drank the potion greedily. At once, his strength was restored. "Thanks, Okami."

Dadan scrutinized the bottle and hid it inside her pocket. "Okami, please convince Ace to escape. Bluejam's strength is no joke."

"I won't run!" Ace reiterated with conviction in his voice.

"I know," Okami uttered as he faced the towering Bluejam, who was taller than Dragon. "Hello, Bluejam. Looks like you are in a pinch right now. Did the royals betray you?"

Bluejam's eyes narrowed into a slit. "How did you know this?! Are you also part of this?!"

Okami chuckled. "You sure are a fool. Looks like your dream to become a noble led to your downfall. Do you truly believe they would give the noble status to a pirate like you?"

"Fuck you! They will soon taste my revenge but for now, you will suffice to quench my rage."

Bluejam dashed forward and leaped towards Okami. When he was a meter away from the kid, he swung his long pirate saber downward. He cackled when he hit the kid's hand, only to find that Okami was unharmed. Unconvinced, he hacked his weapon against the target's neck, waist, and chest, only to become frustrated when he realized that he was not causing any damage. "You?! What are you?!"

Unbeknownst to the pirate, Okami used 'Harden' skill fused with Armament Haki, thereby giving him strong defense. Expectedly, a normal slashing attack would not penetrate Okami's absolute armor.

When Bluejam hacked his saber for the eleventh time, Okami grabbed the weapon with his bare hand and crushed it into pieces.

Bluejam started to feel scared and moved backward to escape when he bumped against something on his back. Alarmed, he immediately turned around and was surprised when he realized that the enemy looked exactly just like him, except for the dotted eyes. Even then, he quickly recovered and punched his clone.

The fake Bluejam retaliated with a punch, stopping the pirate's assault effectively. They were both flung several meters away.

Okami absorbed Snorlax, Machoke, and Kangaskhan as he rushed forward and grabbed Bluejam in the air. Once caught, he hurled the towering giant against the ground, almost breaking his opponent's back due to Okami's unusual strength.

Bluejam screamed from the pain and tried moving when he saw Okami's hands right up his face.

SPLAT!

Okami crushed Bluejam's head with a single Megapunch covered with Armament Haki. The brain matters splattered over his clothes but he did not mind it at all. He simply wiped off the grime with his handkerchief and headed toward Ace and Dadan.

Dadan gulped loudly, scared because of the unusual brutality that the kid exhibited. She grabbed Ace and moved backward as she stuttered. "You...what...what are you doing?"

Ace could not believe that Okami was a strong fighter. It was his first time to witness such a horrific way of death and he knew that he would never forget this scene. "You...you killed him..."

Okami nodded his head. "Yes. It's us or him. Anyway, we should leave right now or you'll be cooked alive."

Dadan remembered that they were still inside the hellish place and scanned the surrounding. "The fire's getting bigger. There's no way we can leave here without being burned."

Okami unsummoned Ditto and reached out his hands. "Hold my hands if you want to get away."

Ace and Dadan stared at each other, still undecided if they should listen to Okami or not.

Okami noticed their hesitation and chuckled lightly. "I'll give you ten seconds to make your choice. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six..."

Ace snorted and grabbed Okami's right hand. When Dadan saw this, she immediately followed and seized the other hand.

Okami laughed loudly and teleported right into Dadan's front yard.

==================================

It was now daytime but the effect of the razing fire was still evident in the air. Clouds of black smoke were drifted away by the winds but the scorched remains filled the Gray Terminal.

Luffy was still recuperating on the bed because he was badly wounded by one of Bluejam's men but the others were not hurt at all. Even Ace was back to his healthy form because of the potion's effect.

Okami realized that several events of the original plot were changed because of his intervention.

First, Dadan and Ace were not battered to near death.

Second, Bluejam was surely dead. At the manga and anime, his status was unknown.

Lastly, Sabo did not leave on his own. Instead, he directly joined the Revolutionary Army and his memory was still intact.

The rest were still the same. The trash heaps residents were still saved by Dragon and his men while the Gray Terminal was burned thoroughly.

Okami stood up and walked toward Dadan. "Hey, I hope you can take good care of these kids. I will be leaving now."

Dadan nodded. "Thank you for saving us."

"It wasn't much." Okami was about to exit the house when he saw Ace blocking the door. "Do you need anything from me?"

"Is it true that Sabo left the Elite District?"

"Yes. How many times do I have to answer that to convince you?"

Ace took a deep breath and exhaled. After a few seconds, he said, "Teach me to become strong!"

Okami was surprised when he heard his request. Even then, he acted like he was indifferent about it and responded with a question. "Why should I teach you?"

Ace clenched his fists as he gnashed his teeth in rage. "I hate being weak! Those darn pirates...those fucking nobles who treated Sabo badly...it was my first time being defeated like that!"

"You did not answer my question. Why should I teach you?"

"Because...because...why not?!" Ace shouted.

Okami was taken aback by his nonsensical reply and laughed boisterously. "You...hah! That's a good one. Sure, I will teach you but only for a month. After that, I will be sailing the seas with my crew."

Ace's eyes lit up. "You've got a ship?! I thought you're not a pirate!"

Okami shook his head. "I'm a merchant. Not everyone who has a ship needs to be a pirate."

"Oh..."

"You want to become a pirate?"

This time, Ace grinned and pounded his chest. "You bet! I wanna travel the sea and get my own crew and prove to the world that I am very strong!"

"I wanna be the pirate king!" Luffy shouted while lying on his bed.

Dadan knocked Luffy's head. "You shut up! If Old Garp knows that you still want to become a pirate, then better get ready to be pummeled by him, you brat!"

The duo continued bickering with each other.

Ace laughed when he saw them arguing. He shifted his attention back to Okami and asked, "When do we start?"

"Don't get your hopes high. I will just let you accompany me when I do my training so you better keep up with me or I'll blast you off to skylight. Understand?"

"Sure!"

"Call me master!"

"No way!"

After a series of scathing conversation, Okami promised Ace that he would return tomorrow and teleported right back to the ship and slept inside his room.

=================================

Okami woke up at noontime. Once he was done grooming himself, he exited his room and smelled the aroma coming from the kitchen. "Looks like Glen is back." True enough, he saw Glen cooking their lunch when he entered the kitchen.

"Oh, you're awake, Boss." Glen stirred the stew and added sprinkled some spice. "Your favorite, Liger stew."

Okami sniffed the smoke coming from the pot. "Sweet! I'm famished right now."

Glen smiled. "It's about to be done. Anyway, have you heard the recent news about the Gray Terminal?"

"Yes. In fact, I was there when the fire happened."

Glen glanced sideways and asked, "How did it go? I did not proceed to the Goa Kingdom when I learned that no one can enter the Central District without a noble's recommendation. I just bought our supplies from a nearby island."

Okami was about to answer when he heard several voices from the main deck. "We've got visitors." He then went outside and saw Makino together with a young man.

"Boss! Someone's looking for you." Makino said.

Okami nodded and shifted his gaze to the visitor. "How can I help you?"

The young man bowed his head and took out a piece of paper from his pocket and gave it to Okami. "Please take this. You will understand once you read the message."

Okami unfurled the paper, only to find a simple message written on it, 'Dragon. Ship. Devil Fruit.'