Short break (Part 2)

After a long night in which Fred received many new and good ideas from Clark, the morning of the next day arrived.

Like every morning... even when he was at someone else's house... Fred prepared a nutritious breakfast (with his new powers), trained until he was half dead (before Clark's astonished gaze), showered normally, organized his ideas and unlike others normal mornings had other commitments

Helping the Linonel family with certain household chores, going shopping a long list of substitute products to replace all the ones he lost when his submarine blew up, pay a visit to the exotic snakes exhibition (although this time not to buy poisons), bother Francis and try to recruit Hina at the Marine base and above all...

Attend the press conference that he himself had called! Where Fred answered without any problem for several minutes to all the kind questions asked by the journalists

"Here Lala Land from Blueberry Times" Said a beautiful woman after raising her hand to ask for her turn "What advice could you give to new... or old... pirate hunters to help them become as successful as you are?"

A professional secret that Fred was happy to share even if it did help his competitors a bit. "Many people think that the best time to attack a pirate by surprise is when he's sleeping.

But not! It's when he's pooping!

When he's sitting on the toilet bowl, with his pants around his ankles and he starts to push his sphincter...

RIGHT NOW IS WHEN YOU SHOULD ATTACK!

Guaranteed success"

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

So far, all the questions had been nice to be answered by like-minded journalists... but obviously there weren't only friendly journalists with easy and pleasant questions. Even so Fred answered them, though less precisely than before and without even paying attention to the names of his interviewers.

"You're probably the best pirate hunter in the history of the West Blue, but also the most sadistic.

Is it really necessary to torture the pirates you defeat in such cruel ways?"

"The only things necessary in this life are to eat, drink, excrete, breathe and sleep to avoid death.

Everything else is optional, so no… it's not necessary, like the vast majority of things we do in this life"

And more questions

"Do you enjoy hunting, killing and torturing human beings?"

"Human beings? No, only scum with human appearance.

And well... it's always recommended to enjoy the work that one does, so at least I try like Impel Down jailers do"

And more uncomfortable questions…

"There're rumors that you sell the organs of the pirates you kill.

Is that true? Do you think it's ethical?

"You ask me if I think it's ethical to use the organs of people marked for death by the World Government for killing innocent people to save innocent people who need one of their organs?

Yeah, I don't see anything wrong with that and it's quite an interesting rumour."

And more uncomfortable questions made expressly to hurt him…

"Do you consider yourself a hero despite the questionable acts you perform?"

"I have never considered myself a hero and I think anyone who considers themselves one is an arrogant jerk. This assessment can only be made by other people and if they consider me a hero despite the questionable acts you speak of, I guess they aren't so questionable.

Even so, I am not a hero, just a person who tries to make this world a better place getting paid for it like almost everyone… and of course being a nice person with the nice people in or outside my job"

And more uncomfortable questions that questioned his good intentions

"Unlike many bounty hunters, you are famous for being a kind, nice and even generous person with ordinary people.

Is it an act to increase your fame?"

"I just behave as my parents have taught me.

I can't prove that I do everything unselfishly in the same way that you can't prove otherwise

But regardless of my intentions, no one can deny that my actions are correct and the results are positive."

And more uncomfortable questions that sought to find him problems

"You have often been compared in intelligence to Tanuki, the strategist of Parabelum, and some analysts claim that you're better than him in everything.

What do you think about this?"

"I think that a lot of people give their opinion just to give their opinion

I consider these comparisons to be just a monumental waste of time, this's not a competition"

And more uncomfortable questions that were directly insults, especially among the pro-marine journalists

"Do you think it's right and healthy that there're people, especially children, who admire and take as an example a guy who kills and tortures people for money?"

"That depends on the person being killed and tortured.

It's diametrically different to kill bastards than to kill people who don't harm anyone for money than to kill those innocent people for money.

But if you have doubts about this matter, I think it would be better to ask the World Government, the one who pay your salary. After all they created and sustain an organization called Marine where people around de world are paid to hunt down and kill pirates and another called Impel Down where they are jailed, tortured and executed.

I'm just a freelancer doing part of their job and getting paid by them for it.

If you think that being a bounty hunter and therefore being a marine or a jailer is not right or healthy, please send them a complaint"

It didn't matter if the question was friendly or not, Fred was easily able to answer and get away with it. He was so comfortable in this situation that he wouldn't mind being in the spotlight much longer, however, he had a tight schedule that he had to stick to.

"Good

Next and last question? Said Fred, pointing to one of his favorite regular journalists.

"Yes, here's Wade Wallace from the World Economy News Paper.

After the great feat you have carried out and that without a doubt makes you the best bounty hunter in the history of West Blue, what's your next goal?

Capture the rest of West Blue's notorious pirates before the end of this week? Go to the Grand Line to become the best pirate hunter in the world by defeating Parabelum?" Morgans subordinate asked, trying to pull out the big headline of the day.

And he got exactly what he was looking for

"Actually... none of that... unfortunately the first is practically impossible and I'm still not ready for the second..." Said Fred, trying to calm things down... before dropping the real bomb "For now I want to take a break as a bounty hunter."

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTT!?"

An information bomb that unleashed a storm of questions from many journalists, including the ones from gossip magazines, who broke all protocol and established order

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THIS FRED?"

"ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT RETIRING NOW THAT YOU'RE IN YOUR PRIME MOMENT?"

"HAVE YOU FOUND A GIRLFRIEND AND WANT TO SPEND MORE TIME WITH HER? T'S CAPTAIN ZOLA?

And Fred, somewhat surprised by the great reaction and questions from all his audience, he tried to bring order before they jumped on him

"No, no, nothing like that...

You all know me very well as a bounty hunter, but as you may know I am also a co-owner of a company called [FreedSteel] where we develop and sell different products that I even use in my hunting's

Our famous [Super Invigorating Shake] and [Training Suit] to become as strong as me with a lot of training, our line of household appliances, our electric generators, our several animal and non-animal aphrodisiacs, the famous anaesthesia [Painkiller] that doesn't numb the body, the recent [Sleep Killer] to not sleep for days without negative effects for the body and brain…

AAANNNNDDDD!!!

Our new flagship product, the [Wound Welder] a miraculous drink that closes your wounds at a speed visible to the human eye" Said Fred, gratuitously advertising his business in an extremely blatant manner.

And to promote his new product even better, just as he had planned when gathering the journalists, Fred cut his arm a bit, swallowed his drink and after a few seconds the wound quickly closed before the astonished eyes of the journalists

"WOW! INCREDIBLE!!!"

"NOT EVEN SIX SECONDS TO TAKE EFFECT!!!"

"AND JUST TWO SECONDS TO CLOSE DE WOUND!!!"

"THAT'S REAL?!"

After this rare medical feat outside some parts of the Grand Line, photographs and pen-and-pencil sounds filled the air to document yet another facet and feat of the famous blue west character. Even some of them almost forget Fred's earlier statements or how he had steered the conversation to force them to advertise one of his products for free.

And after this well-rehearsed demonstration, Fred continued with his speech before being interrupted again.

"These are the things we develop and produce at [FreedSteel] although frankly I've been neglecting it for a long time and leaving almost all the work to my partner Stephen

That's why I would like to focus more on this other side of me for a while to develop and improve products as good as this one and thus help people in their daily life

Cleaning the seas of the pirate scum that threatens our life, property and freedom is commendable, but I would also like to help people in other… less violent… ways

It's surely what my father would have wanted and I would like to honor his will" Fred said after a bit of emotional manipulation that lowered the exaggerated enthusiasm of the reporters

"So...

You won't completely abandon your bounty hunter job?" Wade Wallace asked again, who was somehow asking his fellow journalist's to respect their turn

"No, I'm just going to take a short break... in which I'll probably be working on more than ever...

And even if I wanted to leave this profession, I doubt that this profession can easily leave me.

Hahaha...

And now that I've answered a few extra questions...

Adios!" Fred said as he released a smoke bomb and disappeared like a ninja just as Clark begged him to do this morning.

POFF!!!

And now, hidden behind the smoke screen, at great speed put on one of his fake faces and a wig to completely change his appearance and escape completely unnoticed among the crowd, who were still looking for him

'And in this way I have killed several birds with a single stone... an expression that Captain Mcnugget doesn't like...

Answering all the questions, nice or nasty, makes me look good in front of newspapers and readers, who are too used to politicians answering totally different things than what they are asked.

I've announced to my enemies and competitors that I won't bother them for a while and therefore they won't bother me… although with the fame that I have earned, they probably think that I am really going for them after letting their guard down with a fake new...

I have advertised my business and indirectly indicated to Stephen that I am going to visit him soon... I should let him know through Den Den Mushi, but I really don't want to explain to him several times that his submarine has perished

That way he'll only scold me once when he sees me...' Fred thought as he whistled a secret code to help Captain Mnugget recognize him despite his disguise.

With this, he had already said goodbye to the Lionel family, agreed to the terms of his millionaire payment, bought everything he needed before leaving the island, visited the snake exhibition and had held his press conference.

Nothing tied him to this place anymore for the time being, except…

"Well, before going to the port I'll have an ice cream...

The fruit that I create with my skill is exquisite, but I miss the processed products" Fred said to his favorite bird, who flew discreetly above him to avoid being recognized by his characteristic mascot "You only want meat right?"

KYAHH!

Fred was well known by almost all of West Blue, but especially in this city, where he used to spend some time between his hunting and payment. The locals recognized him wherever he went and constantly looked at him and even stopped him for an autograph as if he were a celebrity.

Fred didn't usually mind receiving this attention as long as he wasn't working, but since he was in a hurry today Fred hid his appearance so that he could quickly reach the port after his well-deserved stop at his favorite ice cream shop

'MMM...

Today I will order a double ice cream, I deserve it'

He just had to wait for the girl in front of her to choose the flavour she liked, wait for his father to win the debate about the maximum size of scoops that ice cream could have, wait for the girl's father to pay for his offspring's ice cream and then Fred would get his sweet and superior reward rich in carbohydrates ill-advised for a healthy diet that would also be difficult for him to eat with the mask he was wearing.

A simple but satisfying plan that he was almost savouring now...

"THIEF!

SOMEONE!! CATCH HIM!"

A simple but satisfying plan that had to be postponed when Fred realized that a guy stole an old woman's bag and fled with the misfortune to pass near him.

'Not in my watch'

Like the hero in the eyes of a portion of the press and the old ladies Fred couldn't let that act go unpunished! However, he didn't want to lose his privileged place in line at the ice cream shop either, much less after having waited so long

That's why he decided to resort to non-traditional methods such as...

SUDDENLY UNFOLDING AND WITHOUT PREVIOUS NOTICE THE LONG HAIR THAT WAS HIDDEN UNDER HIS WIG, CLOTHES AND MASK TO CATCH THAT THIEVE BY THE ANKLES!

"KIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

A tactic that really scared the little girl next to him!

She received a great shock when she saw a man whose face became distorted and then fell to the ground after being pushed by an overwhelming amount of hair that seemed to have come out from under his skin. Such a shock that she even dropped the ice cream that she didn't even have time to taste

However, there was resounding success in catching the thief, who fell face down to the ground and after a few seconds tried to get up to attack whoever had cut off his escape.

"YOU MOTHER FU..."

However, when he saw the face of the person in front of him and the hair that had grabbed him by the heels and lifted him off the ground like a piñata all his anger disappeared.

Instead It was replaced by excruciating fear!

"Uhh...

AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

You… youu… no… no…

You are…

"Frederick Freak!

Demon Hunter!

Dr. Doom!

Pirate Butcher!

Ballbreaker!

Greedy Monster!

Doppelganger!

Dark Mind!

Demon-faced Torturer!

Human Weapon!

Dirty Jobs!

Hero of Blastein

Venom Demon!

Orgy creator!

Bloody Hair

Beast Tamer

Flash Dead!

Super Killer!

Frederick Fread" Almost all the people around him screamed upon see his true face

"Yeah… that's me… all of them…" Fred answered reflexively

In a few seconds almost all the people who were passing through that busy street stopped to go see him and what was he going to do next. However, Fred tried not to pay attention to his fans, as he had unfinished business with the thief he had caught.

"I see you know who I am...

Great… This saves me from giving explanations" Fred said as he brought his new victim closer with his long and strong hair to question him better.

"Mr. Fred...

Are you... are you going to... torture me... and kill me... sir?" The thief said, who lost control of his bladder because of the inhuman fear he felt

"For stealing a bag? No...

Maybe I would if you had hurt or threatened to hurt that lovely old lady to steal it.

Because I guess you never do these horrible things to innocent people and you only steal without violence..." Fred clarified as he left the peeing thief on the ground before asking a magical question "Will you answer me honestly?"

A question that the thief answered with all the sincerity that Fred's magic forced him to "Y... yes...

YES SIR!

I only steal, but I never hurt anyone!

I don't like violence! I'm even afraid of blood!

PLEASE DON'T HIT ME!"

"Well… this...has saved you" Said Fred, somewhat surprised, embarrassed, hopeful and at the same time disappointed by the answer of that more or less white glove thief subjected to his Pact Macig "As long as you do what I tell you...

You will do what I tell you, right?"

An answer the thief didn't even need to process "YES SIR!"

And after that magic word Fred got ready to change his life just as Will Smith would have done in Men in Black "Well...

First... return the bag to the lady and apologize until she decides to do so

Then...offer him compensation out of your own pocket for the inconvenience you've caused her

Then go home, put on some pants that don't smell like pee, and go out to find or create an honest job

And finally use part of the money you earn to do what you're going to do right now. Apologize and make up to the people you have stolen so far"

"YES SIR I WILL DO SO SIR!

FORGIVE ME GRANDMA! I WILL NEVER DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS AGAIN!" The thief shouted, who without wasting a single second handed over the stolen bag to its owner, gave her his wallet and bowed before her while banging his head against the asphalt while crying inconsolably.

Such a pitiful spectacle that even the aggrieved old woman couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him.

"Ok, you're forgiven... but don't do something like that again" The old woman replied before turning to her famous and beloved benefactor "And thank you very much Fred

Yo're a lovely young man."

"You're welcome, young lady" Fred responded chivalrously before turning back to the ice cream shop "And now..."

He turned specifically to the father and daughter who was still crying over the loss of her ice cream… and who now both looked at the bounty hunt with fear.

"..."

A fear that this father and daughter and practically all the weaklings in the universe had practically embedded in their DNA and that awakens when they find a powerful being who had deployed his power to dominate others in front of them.

But that fear was extremely unnecessary this time.

"I'm sorry miss, I scared you and it's my fault you dropped your ice cream" Fred said apologizing in the kindest way he could "But don't worry, I'll buy you another

Do you want it double? I want it double"

A kindness and proposal against a healthy diet that left the frightened family man speechless "This... sir...

It's not necessary... it's..."

"Of course it's necessary.

It was my fault and I have to compensate the little lady

What flavors do you want?" Fred insisted, this time asking the little girl directly

A little girl who completely lost all fear for obvious reasons, someone was giving her the ice cream she wanted "Stracciatella and yogurt with wild berries!"

"Oh, nice combination...

Give me two!" Fred ordered the ice cream man while he offered a few more berries "Well loaded, please"

In this way, the ice cream man accepted the transaction, the girl licked her new cone with great passion, her father looked at the large size of the ice cream with some preoccupation, the crowd let out some laughter after contemplating this endearing action and Fred said goodbye to everyone after a long ovation.

"Thanks thanks...

Have a nice day everyone!

And now...

Make way! I'm in a hurry!"

And once again, but this time without a smoke bomb, Fred made his way through the crowd, which resumed its usual routine except for five people, who continued to watch as the teenager ran across the rooftops while he licked his cone

"Wow...

Were the rumors true?

Despite having killed thousands of people in horrific ways, is he a kind and reasonable boy?" The girl's father asked the ice cream man and the older lady with some disbelief.

He and his daughter weren't from this island and in the part of West Blue where they lived Fred hadn't gone to do any pest extermination work yet. Therefore, the image that had formed in his mind of that unconventional adolescent came from the opinions given by the press, which wasn't always favorable to Fred and from his own bias that made him repudiate violence in all its forms.

It wasn't unusual for him to have been defensive before and to be surprised now, especially considering the bad reputation bounty hunters had around the world. For various reasons, it wasn't a profession with great fame among the civilian population, so much so that even good people who didn't harm innocents like Zoro were seen as a plague like the most violent pirates

However, after meeting him in person, his mental image of Frd changed completely, although he was still a little afraid.

"I understand you...

The vast majority of bounty hunters are rude violent bastards not much better than the pirates they hunt.

It's better not to go near them... but our Fred is different

He's such a good person that even heals free of charge the people he finds injured by of the pirates he's hunting" The ice cream man told him, partly proud to always serve that celebrity every time he was on the island "And he always leaves me a tip if I load the ice cream well...

He's my hero"

"But if you're a dangerous thug, you better have a god to pray to since there's no use fighting, running, or hiding.

Fred will beat you and make you wish you were never born!" The old lady said as she swung her recently recovered bag like a mallet to emphasize her story "I have to introduce my granddaughter to him."

Even the girl was forced to put down her ice cream for a few seconds to sigh "Wow...

So cool..."

And all these conversations were picked up clearly by Fred's overdeveloped ears from many meters away

'MUA HAHAHA!

YES, PRAY ME MORE!

I AM AMAZING!

MU MUA HAHAHA!'

Although he tried to maintain a steely poker face to dignify the persona he was performing, his excessive expressiveness and vulnerability to flattery began to take a toll on his face and also on his psyche.

Something that set off all his mental alarms

"Wait no!" Fred yelled, startling everyone around him.

"KYAHHH!!

Especially Captain Mcnugget, who jumped off his shoulder to take flight again before his strange humanoid companion went back to his thoughts

'This this undeserved fame and modest success it's clouding my mind again!

DID YOU NOT LEARN ANYTHING A FEW DAYS AGO, STUPID BRAIN!?' Fred thought as he mentally rebuked himself as if he were the fusion between Major Payne and Gunnery Sergeant Hartman 'That's right! You're nothing! A piece of shit that doesn't even know how to use fucking Haki!

ANY LOGIA USER COULD COME HERE AND SODOMIZE ME IF HE WANTED!

THEM AND ALMOST THE ENTIRE FUCKING CAST OF THE NEW WORLD!

STOP THINKING YOU'RE SPECIAL! YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE A FUCKING [D.] IN YOUR FUCKING LAST NAME!

AT THIS POINT MAY FANFICT MC WOULD HAVE ALREADY FUCKED NAMI, ROBIN, HANCOCK AND ANYONE WITH TITS AND FORMED A HAREM IN THE NEW WORLD... HOWEVER, YOU JUST TRAIN, WORK AND STUDY LIKE A POSSESED WITHOUT OBTAINING EXPONENTIAL GAINS LIKE MAINSTREAM PROTAGONISTS

YOU'RE A FUCKING LOSER FROM THE WEST BLUE!!!"

A session of self-deprecation for more or less constructive purposes that only started

'Yes, what I do is pretty incredible for a fifteen year old and it's the main reason why I get so much attention from the press.

BUT SO WHAT!

At my age, Big Mom and Kaido were already much stronger and more notorious than me even within the Grand Line.

At my same age those monsters would surely grab me by the ankles and use me as a weapon... like I did with that dwarf and...'

"Pff...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!"

Yes, he had a moment of involuntary rest, but he immediately realized it and went back to re-educate himself savagely...

"Oops no..."

'No! Oh really!

I have to change my mentality!

Everything can and will go wrong! I'm weak, stupid and I'm more likely to fail than to succeed!

That's the spirit that must guide me!'

And so he continued throughout his trip to the port, embittering his mind eating a good ice cream as his only consolation

'You're an overrated piece of shit Fred! You don't even know how to use Haki Fred! Your biscuits never rise properly in the oven Fred!"

Etc... Etc...

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You'll be able to see 8 chapters in advance in my Pa-treon

pa-treon.com/user?u=83938371