chapter 8

Lentil Island Docks

Pop Rock Candy

I'd been reeling from post-coital bliss when the villagers of Lentil Island brought their offerings. The bags of gold and jewelry were presented before me, and my unfocused eyes could notice that the chief was saying something. His lips were moving, as were his hands, gesticulating in one manner or another, asking for something. I nodded my head, and the villagers eyes lit up.

I paid it no heed. My gaze was flickered to the redheaded girl beside me. Sifting through our recently acquired riches with childlike enthusiasm. My stare didn't linger. My sunglasses, worn even at night, made it so my gaze wouldn't be found.

"Oh, thank you, thank you!"

The villagers were thanking me for something. My mind was replaying the showers. The memory of soft lips and wet tongue, latching around me, working with expertise. Expertise. That was the word. That was the word.

My hand ran through my hair. Alcohol. My throat desired it. Tobacco? I'd never smoked in my previous life. There wasn't anything stopping me from doing so now. "Cigarette." The words escaped my lips. "Need a cigarette."

There was no one left on the deck, I realized. The villagers were gone. Marianne was gone. Still, a hand emerged, a white stick of death placed between two well-manicured fingers. Taking the object from her fingers, I snapped mine. A tiny spark, and the well-acquainted smell of smoke greeted me. The death stick landed between my lips, and I took a drag. The smoke made their way through my lungs like concentrated oxygen.

I breathed in, and then out, slowly. A sense of ease travelled through me. I relaxed my body, leaning against the guardrails of the Pop Rock Candy.

"Thanks."

Mikita crossed her arms. The questioning look she tossed me was unfamiliar.

"What?"

"You let them go."

My brows furrowed. "What?"

"The villagers," she said. "They didn't all pay up. And you let them go."

The villagers. The thought came. So that was why they were thanking me.

"I had sex with Marianne."

"That's why you let them go?"

My head, tilted, up and then down. "She was good."

She made a sound. It sounded like a cross between a grunt and a grumble. "You're joking."

I took a long drag of the cigarette. "She was… very good."

"Is that tomorrow's headline? Local Pirate Captain has sex, loses brain function."

I spat a glob of smoke in her face. "Funny." I said. "Real comedian."

A burst of sea breeze hit the deck. The howling of the wind took the smoke, sending it east along with dust, leaves and anything else too light to stand up against mother nature's breath. Mikita's hair whipped wildly in the wind along with her dress.

She shuddered from the cold. I took off my jacket on instinct, swinging it over her shoulders. She gave me a strange look, but didn't object. She huddled within the larger jacket, staring at me with something in her eyes. "Thanks."

"…it's nothing."

I gestured the cigarette to her. She declined with a shake of her head.

"What's eating you?"

My mind went through several answers. They bounced from questions, to statements, to theories. Standing on a gently rocking boat at a harbor in a town of a world that once only existed to me in the snippets of my childhood and in pages of black and white, my response was to stretch out my hands, slowly, and touch her cheeks.

"…Captain?"

Fleshy. Soft. Three-dimensional. No matter how I dragged it. The face didn't start following cartoon logic and exaggeratedly stretching.

"Ow, ow ow, Captain!" she smacked my hand. Giving me a glare, she rubbed her cheek. "What was that for?"

My lips were unable to keep level. "Just checking." I took another drag of the cigarette, exhaling more smoke into the air. My thoughts strayed to the cancer stick, and how it landed in my hands. "…where did you get this?"

She jerked her finger backwards. "From pinky's ship." The pile of objects and trinkets in bags behind her came to my attention for the first time. Large satchels and bags now present that hadn't been there before, many of them having the words MARINE brandished on the side along with the accompanying sigil.

"You're welcome."

I stubbed the finished cigarette. "I didn't know you smoked."

She shook her head. "Too bitter."

"Maybe some sugar would have helped?"

An exasperated sigh emerged. "You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"

"Maybe." I wagered. "Maybe not."

My lips pressed tightly together. I felt the smoke in my lungs. Diffusing like oxygen into my body, harmlessly. Exhaling, I re-emerged the smoke, blowing it skywards. A light, pleasant weight settled on my shoulders. It was Mikita. Sitting on my shoulders, thighs brushing against my ears, chest pressing against the back of my skull.

"Talk, Captain. Something's bugging you."

"…why did you join Baroque Works?"

I felt her stiffen a bit at the question.

"Why do you want to know?"

My ears picked up the sound of Marianne's snoring from my room atop the ship. The sound of music, playing softly deep into the town. A fair distance, I heard a young boy confess to his crush, apparently the 'scary pirate' made him realize that he may never get the chance.

"Curiosity, I guess."

Mikita hummed an unfamiliar tune. "Well, for starters, it pays. I mean, it used to pay. Mr. 0 tended to be generous by giving us commissions on the bounties we caught."

"So you joined for the money?"

"That's part of it, I mean, who doesn't want to make more money?" she huffed. "The other part was security."

Her ankles locked underneath my chin. I barely registered their presence. "Security?"

"Bounty hunters don't last long on their own," she said. "Pirates always sail in crews, and Marine Officers have the entire Marine organization at their back – but as a bounty hunter, you don't have any of that. Take down one bounty, and the crew members of your target will hunt you down for revenge. Take down enough, and you find yourself building a small army of enemies – all of them eager to tear you limb from limb."

"And of course," she cleared her throat. "Being a young, gorgeous, charming woman like myself, my enemies will more or less be pleased to ravish me."

A dramatic sigh escaped her lips. "Woe! Woe, the perils of beauty."

"Indeed," I intoned dryly. "What a horrible curse, being beautiful."

She made a gesture I could only guess was wiping a mock-tear. "Thank you for understanding, Captain." She sighed. "Thus, it is with a heavy-heart, that I chose instead to join Baroque Works and have a partner who could watch my back for my enemies, while I did the same for his."

"…and did I?" I asked. "Watch your back?"

She was silent, for several seconds. She let out a small sound. I felt her, resting on my head, one arm atop the other, and chin atop both. Her ankles uncrossed, and swung idly back and forth, like a child on a swing.

"What do you think?"

"We were good partners."

"Wrong." She said, stiffly.

"We weren't?"

"We were great partners."

"Ah." I said. "I see."

Leaning forward on the ship's railing, I gave another glance out to the open sea. There was still a part of me that felt this was all a fever-dream. An ultra-vivid hallucination. A make-belief world endorsed by my imagination in my final, dying moments. Maybe to give me solace? Maybe to make it feel like the life I'd lived before this one had been worth something?

But, the more I thought about it, the more I felt that it couldn't be the case. My imagination wasn't this rich. This bountiful. It was sorely lacking. I couldn't create people and lives and give them complexity and meaning, when I was barely able to navigate the complexity of my daily struggle and find the meaning of my own existence.

I'd have been comfortable ignoring all these thoughts. Pushing them to the back of my mind as I enjoyed every ounce of power that was made available to me. Lived a purely carefree hedonistic experience, day after day, second after second. Yet when I remembered what Marianne told me –

Mikita pinched my cheek. "You're overthinking something again." She said. "Stop thinking whatever it is you've been thinking and let's do something fun."

"Like what?"

"I found some alcohol on pinky's ship, along with tons of cards."

"I thought you hate alcohol."

"I hate the taste of alcohol." She huffed. "But everyone needs to get decently buzzed once in a while. Maybe we could even get pinky to join in?"

I thought it over. "I don't think she'll be willing."

"That's what'll make it extra fun."

I took some extra seconds to think it over.

"Unless you're afraid you're going to lose?"

She said the magic words. I was predictable, in that way.

"I hope you're a better gambler than you are a cook."

XXXXXX

"Call."

Poker, it seemed, was the same, no matter what world you were in. The cards, rules, terms, and systems. I knew that the One Piece World was diverse and inspired from numerous real-world cultures, but I hadn't expected the tiny things like games to transfer over. Chess, no doubt, would also be the same, and there was no doubt that in Wano Country, they would have the Shogi and Go variants.

"Captain, your move."

Mikita and I were both, clearly, buzzed from the alcohol. My list of immunities had finally reached a limit, and I was as weak to alcohol as the common man. No, I was probably weaker. The alcohol of modern-day standards did not at all compare to what these inhuman monsters in the One Piece world drank. It was more accurate that Mikita was buzzed, and I was wasted pretending to be buzzed, because I didn't want it to be let out that I couldn't hold down my alcohol.

It made no sense. Shouldn't I have inherited Mr. 5's alcohol resistance?

Unless Mr. 5 had no alcohol resistance to speak of, and Mikita had known all along. It made sense, in a way, that a literal bomb-man would keep away from liquids that were highly flammable.

"Fold."

The cards sprawled out on the deck spun and twisted in my vision. Mikita's smug, clearly knowing grin, was overwhelmingly blatant. To my left, her hands still locked in place with seastone cuffs, and her cards hidden in them, Hina tossed the ever-slightly heated glare between myself and Mikita.

"How… how did we get her to agree to play with us again?"

Mikita's smug grin grew.

"What?"

"That's the third time you've asked that question, Cap'n."

It was?

Well, shit. I was definitely drunker than I thought.

"No, but really –"

"All in."

"Ho, pretty confident aren't you, pinky?"

"Hina does not lose."

"Except for that time when you lost your crewmen, your ship, and your legs."

The Marine Captain slammed her cards down onto the deck. "Hina will recover. Hina will seek retribution. When blond head lies in the bucket after executioner's axe has fallen, Hina will be the one to crack joke."

Ignoring the three Hinas in my vision as hallucinations, I shook my head a bit to clear them out. One Hina returned, clad in her Marine Captain overcoat, with her pants legs tied where the stumps of her legs ended. Her cheeks had a red tint to them, and judging by the numerous, numerous bottles of alcohol that laid scattered around us, I figured that Hina had been drinking just as we had.

…how did that happen?

"Big talk pinky. Let's see what you've got."

Cards unveiled on the table. The seven of clubs, diamonds and hearts, along with a ten of spades and the ten of diamonds.

"Full house. Not bad, but I've got a better one."

Four Kings, from hearts to spades, and then the Queen of diamonds.

"Four of a kind," Mikita cackled. "Better luck next time, pinky."

"Outrageous!" Hina cried. "You are clearly cheating!"

"Of course, I am. I'm a pirate." Mikita said. "It's not my fault you can't cheat."

"Despicable wench."

"Ugly bitch."

"Pirate slut."

"Marine whore."

"Dishonorable cunt."

Mikita paused for a second.

"Cripple."

Hina let out a strangled, raged cry. "If not for these cuffs –"

"You wouldn't be able to do anything even if you had them off," Mikita said. "You're too slow, remember? Slow, and weak." She snorted. "How'd you manage to become a Marine Captain anyway, with that level of skill?"

Hina slowly grit her teeth. "Hina did not anticipate pirates from the New World to appear in Paradise. Had Hina known –"

"What?" Mikita frowned. "We've never been to the New World."

"Lies." Hina gestured her hands to me. "That is clearly a pirate veteran of the New World. Even completely inebriated, he gives off an ominous aura of danger that only those who have sailed that sea manage to exude."

So, I wasn't fooling anyone by my act that I wasn't wasted, but I was fooling people into thinking I was from the most dangerous seas on the Grand Line. I'd take that win.

"Captain hasn't been to the New World." Mikita gave me a glance. "Right?"

"…Perhaps."

Mikita shot a suspicious gaze at me. I tried to shrug, but my shoulders rebelled and ended up swaying like parboiled spaghetti. "The world is a… vast place."

"Indeed," Hina agreed. "Which is why Hina wishes to know why pirates such as yourself killed so many of my fellow innocent –"

"They," the word drawled from my lips. "Were not innocent." I placed my cards flat on the deck. A sense of annoyance hit me as I looked over Hina. She flinched, staggering backwards in an awkward shuffle. I couldn't tell if it was the alcohol, or not, but the longer I looked at her, the further my annoyance grew further.

"Captain –"

"Pirates roam the seas, everywhere – but the marines, you marines, are worse than them."

"The marines are not –"

"I wasn't done talking."

Her lips slapped shut.

"Pirates, at least, are what they say they are. They kill, steal, pillage and destroy, and no one expects them to be anything but pirates." I wagged my finger at her. "But you Marines… the ones supposed to be the peacekeepers and justice holders… you fold your arms to the fight against injustice when it does not suit you. Worse, you become the very tyrants and monsters you claim to protect the world from…"

I wasn't sure where the words were coming from. The annoyance and irritation. My chest burned with an odd sensation that was more than the alcohol. Ignoring the double vision, my hands reached out for more of the liquid, feeling it slide down my throat with a rapid burn. Along with the annoyance, came a different feeling, a strange feeling.

"I know what I am," I rapped at my chest. "There are no pearly white gates and angels waiting for me when I die, nor do I need any. In my lifetime I will turn countless women to widows and children to orphans. I will paint nations red and black with blood and soot. Wherever I sail, the skies shall rain ash and both the innocent and guilty shall tremble and turn to their idols and gods in prayer."

I barked a laugh, raising my mug. "Men will hide their wives and their daughters, their sons and their fathers, and they will take up arms, mites of dust in rebellion against a scorching tempest – and one by one, as the empty graves fill with cremated dust, the world will come to know my name."

I licked my lips, and uttered a single word:

"V."

A pressure, I felt, unlike any other, burst from deep within me. Whether it was the alcohol, or me subconsciously using my power, I couldn't tell. It didn't matter. Their hair flew back, their eyes went wide, and their postures, both, irrevocably straightened.

Hina muttered something under her breath. So softly that I barely heard it. "The King's aura…"

My lips twitched. "Speak up woman."

"Why would you choose to become such a monster?"

Again, my shoulders shrugged like limp noodles.

"Because," I gestured. "I'm a Pirate."

Neither of them understood. Their lack of comprehension remained adamant on their faces, Hina far more so than Mikita. I barked a small laugh from their expressions, shaking my head and reaching out to more alcohol. I couldn't tell how much I'd drank at this point, but, I felt great. More than great, in fact.

The sluggishness of my body movements and duplicates I was starting to see still wasn't enough to put a damper on my mood.

"I'll admit, you've impressed me woman," I rose a bottle to Hina. "You still have this much spitfire in you, all things considered. We killed your entire crew and took your legs, but here you are, drinking and gambling with your captors, not the tiniest glimpse of defeat in your eyes."

She shot me a dirty look. "Hina does not break easily."

I licked my lips. A dry chuckle escaped them. My alcohol-stained breath hit my nose and told me of another smell I'd perceived – a challenge. "Is that so?" I shot a glance at Mikita. The blonde gave me an annoyed look, as if she were capable of reading my mind.

"Cap'n –"

"You heard the Marine Captain, didn't you Miki-chan?" I said. "She doesn't break easily. Even after you shattered her kneecaps, she doesn't break easily."

It was probably the alcohol; I would tell myself later. At the same time, I felt that it wasn't entirely the alcohol. Oh, no, I was in control here. I had the power here. It was… intoxicating, how one's brain ran through the tiny little things you could do to someone when you had them at your absolute mercy.

Most sane people had possessed the random thought, at least once. The fantasy, of getting one-over on their enemies, or strapping their most reviled and hated foes down into a chair, and methodologically, taking them apart, piece-by-piece, to the sweet sound of glorious retribution.

Most people believed in karma, believed in a just world, believed that what goes around comes around, and when someone got what was 'coming-to-them' we cackled and nodded our heads as we rationalized and justified our schadenfreude.

But they're just all excuses –

Excuses, excuses, I sang in my thoughts.

Humans were not creatures of logic. We were creatures of pride, biases, jealousy, judgement – we could justify any atrocity so long as it buttered the slices of our ego that needed to be reaffirmed every day that we were good people.

Another chuckle. I licked my lips a second time. My gaze divebombed unto Hina's form, a predatory assassin of the heavens selecting an unsuspecting lamb of the earth for a first and final ascension.

"If you're so hard to break then –"

"Cap'n," Mikita cut in. "We still need her for the ransom."

My head, slowly, tilted, in the direction of the blonde. A sense of annoyance, anger, ran through me at the interruption. Why was she interrupting my process? A hummingbird did not dare come in between a falcon and its prey – so who was she to interrupt me?

"Would it bother you?"

"What?"

I poked my finger straight forward.

"If I were to pin her down and take her here and now. Would it bother you?"

She went still at the question. My lips went up. I showed my teeth, all thirty-two of them.

"It –" she hesitated. "It has nothing to do with me. It's just… I mean, you said she's a valuable captive and –"

Lies. I could feel it. Tell it. The mounting pressure in my gut continued to grow. My heartbeat blasted in my chest, quickening, racing. I tried to calm it. I failed to calm it. My entire body felt coiled. Wound, like a serpent preparing to strike. The haziness in my mind flittered in like a girl in a skimpy two-piece suit of cumulus clouds.

"Or," I rasped. "Would you prefer, if you were the one I had my sights on?"

She staggered from the intensity in my gaze. Staggered, before rising. "Captain… you…" her brows furrowed. "I think you had a little too much to drink."

"You didn't answer my question, Mi-ki-ta~!"

She couldn't stop me even if she tried. The sonic boom I left in my wake rang in my eardrums as a painful, echoing screech. My Vice-Captain was pinned to the deck. I held down her arms, grinning. She didn't struggle. She didn't try to struggle. It was as if –

Wait.

A few seconds passed, and I noticed the look in her eyes. No fear. No apprehension. No hesitation. No reluctance. A few second passed, and my brain started to hurt. An odd pain hit me at the back of my head.

"…Captain… you're totally drunk."

Her alcohol stained breath hit me, and I laughed at the irony.

"So are you."

"Not the same way you are," her arms wrapped around my neck. "You're an aggressive drunk. And I'm…"

She pulled me closer. Her lips were sweet. Honeyed and bitter in the same breath. Her tongue worked its way into my mouth like an introvert finally home from a grand odyssey. I engaged the kiss back, returning it aggressively. I tasted her, all of her, and my tongue dominated hers, claimed her as mine.

Our mouths departed for air. Breaths hard and fast.

"I'm… a very horny drunk," she admitted. Face red, abashed, unashamed.

"So it would bother you, after all."

Her face scrunched into one of annoyance. "I don't understand why you'd look at other women… I'm right here." She pointed. "What does Mari have that I don't? What does pinky there have that I don't?"

Hina tried her best to act inconspicuous, somehow hoping we'd forget about her. I laughed a bit, shaking my head.

"Even the richest men in the world still want to make more money."

"So you're saying I'm not enough?"

"I'm saying, you don't have to worry about how many women I choose to fuck," I rasped into her neck. "None of them will ever be able to take your place."

She shuddered from my words. Her legs wrapping around me. "Say that again," she whispered. "But slower."

My lips twitched. "You are irreplaceable."

She gasped, moaning into my ear. "More."

"You mean more to me than anyone else."

Her back arched, body shook, as she pressed herself against me and let out soft, heated moans into my neck. "Captain, I – I – I'm – I'm – "

Pressing my lips into her ear, I whispered, "You mean the world to me."

Her legs tightened against my pelvis so hard I almost felt them break. She melted like butter on a hot pan beneath me, toes curling, thighs gyrating, back arched and mouth open. She quivered like a naked leaf. She bit down on her lower lip, muffling her own moans until they were low enough to just be barely audible.

Even utterly inebriated as I was, I could tell my words were a drug to her. An intoxicating drug to her just as power was an intoxicating drug to me. We were addicts and enablers of our own making. I could trace the origin of my addiction for power, but I could not fathom the origin of Mikita's addiction for validation.

"Captain…"

"We aren't quite done yet," I wagged my finger in front of her face. "I'm going to make you enjoy a new kind of intoxicating pleasure…"

I turned to Hina, who had slowly been trying to crawl to her escape. The Marine Captain froze like a deer caught by lights on a grand stage. Mikita's gaze turned to the Captain as well, and her lips, slowly

XXXXXX

Pop Rock Candy

The Following Morning

"Ugh… my head…"

Waking up with a minor headache was not something I wanted to repeat. Waking up naked, however, with three equally naked women on my bed, was something that I definitely wanted to repeat.

Wait… three?

"…Marianne? When did you?"

"Keep your voice down!" Mikita hissed. She sat up, her blonde hair in a scattered mess as she glanced around the room. Hina lay naked on the floor, passed out completely. Marianne laid atop my chest, sleeping, or at least, pretending to sleep. I could hear and feel her heartbeat and I knew the rhythm it gave off was currently different from when I'd heard her actually sleeping.

"My head feels several sizes too small for my brain…" Mikita held her head in her hands. "Ugh why did I drink so much…"

She glanced around the room. Her brows narrowed at me.

"What?"

"…I hate you."

I chuckled. "I highly doubt that's the last time I'll hear someone say that."

"…volume!" she held her head, cursing. An accusatory finger pointed at me. "How are you still so…"

"So…?"

"You drank more than pinky and I combined," she said. "How aren't you throwing up all over the place? And why do you look as if you're not even hungover?"

I glanced at my body. Other than a mild headache and some soreness around my waist from all the sex, I didn't feel that bad. "Devil Fruit physiology?"

"That's so bullshit." She palmed her face. "Your powers are bullshit."

"I know."

"So much bullshit." She repeated again, before turning to Marianne. "Speaking of bullshit…" she spanked the girl hard across her butt. Marianne squeaked as she jumped up. The redhead turned to give a hard glare at the blonde.

"Don't look at me like that, I know how to tell when someone is faking sleep." She turned to Hina. "That goes for you too, pinky."

Hina didn't move, or make any notion that she'd heard Mikita speak. The blonde grumbled a bit, before she lifted Mari-chan on her shoulders and made her way to the door.

'Hey!'

"We shower, now. Then you do your paint brain-magic on me."

'My powers can't cure hangovers!'

"There's a first time for everything."

'But –'

"The only buts I want to hear are yours and mine in the showers! Now, now, now!"

I chuckled a bit, shaking my head as the duo left the room.

Brief memories of the previous night returned to me, and made me cringe a bit. People occasionally told me I was a… problematic drunk. Alcohol removed most inhibitions I had and made me tell people to their face how much I either hated their guts, or wanted to get into their pants. Sometimes both at the same time.

Giving me a feeling of euphoria and a sense of grandiosity was new, however. It made me wonder that if all alcohol in the One Piece world had that effect, then it explained why pirates in general were such large hams. I couldn't exactly conclude on it, anyway, considering I had no idea as to what alcohol production method was used in this world, or if the plants were all of a stronger, more insane variety.

"…you know, you can stop pretending to be asleep now. You weren't fooling anyone to start with."

I placed my legs off the bed and unto the ground, staring at the only other person left in the room. She didn't bother trying to cover up, considering I'd already seen everything there was to see, and her cuffs didn't exactly give her that liberty.

"…why did you keep Hina alive?"

Straight to the point. "Well, you're a valuable captive –"

"Hina is not."

My brow furrowed. "What?"

"Hina has no value."

"You're a Marine Captain. I'm sure the Marines will be willing to pay a hefty price to –"

"The Marine HQ follows code of absolute justice. Marines do not negotiate with pirates. Marines do not trade with pirates. Marines do not conduct any activity which would besmirch the name of the organization. Ransoms are paid only for high-value members of the World Government, Royalty or relatives to royalty, and World Nobles or their relations. Hina does not fall under any of those categories."

The pink-haired woman gave a cold stare. "Marines are soldiers, and Hina has always knows soldiers are expendable."

I thought it over. "You're telling me that no one will pay a ransom for you."

"That is exactly what Hina is saying."

"But you're a Marine Captain."

"Even if Hina was an Admiral – the outcome would not change," she shook her head. "Marines are never to let it be known that pirates outdo them. Should it be known that Hina was captured, Hina's chapter will close. A new Captain will patrol seas where Hina once operated, with new ship and crew, and Hina will be considered K.I.A."

"But you're still alive."

"If Hina were returned unharmed, Hina's loyalty would be questioned. How did Hina remain unharmed if all of Hina's crew and shipmates were killed? It would paint Hina as either a traitor, liar or something in-between. If Hina were to return maimed as you have done, Hina will be considered unfit for duty. A commiseration check will be given to Hina, along with an immediate removal of rank and titles."

My nose furrowed. "Why?"

"Image." She pointed to herself. "A crippled Captain tells a story. A Marine Captain who lost her entire crew, was enslaved, maimed and raped by pirates, only to have survived by whim or luck. It paints a bad light on pirates, yes, but paints a worse light on Marines. Pirates who hear of this tale will feel emboldened, confident and aggressive, and there will be many seeking to recreate such a legacy for themselves. Whereas Marines who hear of this tale will be cautious, wary, and demoralized."

She shook her head.

"It will not be allowed to happen."

The further I thought about it, the more I realized I'd underestimated how badly the Marines would do anything to preserve their reputation to the world as the 'good guys' who always won. Canonically, they'd claimed that the defeat of Crocodile was done by Smoker rather than admit that a Shichibukai went rogue. They controlled the media in this world, the newspaper and headlines, and it made sense, that they would do anything at all to censor tales wherein the pirates were the victors over the heralds of 'Absolute Justice'.

"If you had any delusions of receiving great wealth from Hina's capture, you are grossly mistaken."

…well, that's a bummer.

"Why bother telling me any of this?"

"You have taken Hina's job, legs, crew, and pride as a woman. Hina has nothing left for you to take except Hina's life. And now that you know Hina has no other value to you, Hina wishes you to take it."

"You want me to kill you?" I asked, amused. "That's a pretty calm request for someone asking to die. Why don't you just bite off your own tongue then?"

"Hina… Hina still has Hina's pride."

"So you're too proud to kill yourself, but not proud enough to ask me to do it?"

She grit her teeth.

"What more do you want from Hina?!" her voice went louder. "What more do you wish to take?"

I bared my teeth. "I'm yet to take you."

"What?"

I patted the bed. "Join me," I said. "My crew."

"You mean your shameless harem of broken and damaged women?"

"You'd fit right in, don't you think?"

"Hina would rather die."

"What if I said I could give you your legs back?"

I saw it flash in her eyes. Hold and stay for a couple of seconds.

"You can't –"

"Oh, no, I'm fairly certain I can." I shrugged. "Look me in the eyes and tell me if you think I'm lying."

Her gaze caught mine. She stared, stared hard, as if trying her hardest, hoping her hardest, that I was lying.

"…how?"

"A vast number of ways," I said. "I have ideas for a temporary fix that can get you up on your feet again instantly, and I have long-term plans which will give you legs far stronger and better than your original."

I could hear her heart beating in her chest. Losing her legs had actually affected her more than I'd imagined. I supposed I could understand. No doubt many people feared losing a limb or becoming crippled, having to live life constantly aided and assisted by another person. The One Piece world made it even worse in that the vast seas, pirates and dangerous weather was not disabled-friendly in the slightest.

"Of course," I said. "I doubt you'd be willing to take that option. It would mean you becoming a pirate, and surely," I drawled, "Surely your convictions and belief in justice are worth far more than a second chance at life."

The turmoil on her face was almost delectable. Cognitive dissonance, was a beauty. In modern day, this would have been a simple decision. A military soldier who was crippled permanently in action, being offered a chance to regain their ability to work again, if only they joined forces with their original enemies – the people responsible for the crippling in the first place.

It was the sort of things that movie plots were made of. Ultimately, it depended on how much Hina valued her ideals as a Marine, and whether she placed those ideals over her own life. If the value she held was too high, she would sooner kill herself than become what she sought out to destroy. But… if it wasn't…

"Hina… Hina would rather die… than join you."

I sighed.

Looks like I have to bring out the big guns.

"How unfortunate," I said, shaking my head. "To think all those men and women under your leadership had to deal with such a coward as a captain."

She bristled. "What?"

"Death is the easy way out," I said. "Why bother living with the knowledge that your poor leadership cost their lives?" I shrugged. "At least, you don't have to meet their widows or orphaned children and look them in the eyes and tell them that their daddy is dead because you were too weak to be able to protect them."

I bared my teeth. "Don't worry, someone else will tell them about the death of their loved ones. It's not like it's your responsibility."

She balled her fists through her cuffs. "You're the one responsible for their deaths!"

"You're right," I said. "And here you are, on your knees, begging me to send you to them, rather than trying your hardest to get them peace in the afterlife. So much for that pride."

She bared her teeth, snarling at me. The sound was guttural, animalistic. Rage and fury –

"Well, I do hope those widows and orphaned kids get some monetary compensation for their losses," I said. "Wouldn't want them to turn to prostitution and and become piracy now would we? Certainly also hope they're well protected… otherwise… another big bad pirate could just come by… and then…"

I sighed melodramatically. "If only there was someone who'd chosen to stay alive, to make sure that those young 'un's don't end up dead at half the ages of their parents," I shrugged, and sighed again. "If only, there was someone, who'd chosen to protect them in the stead of their absent breadwinners…"

"You –" she gnashed her teeth so hard, powdered dust fell from her mouth. "Bastard – "

"Ah well, there's no one left." I cracked my knuckles. "So, where were we? Ah, yes, I was just about to kill you."

I rose my hands. Small explosions rocked off them, as I slowly gestured them to Hina's neck.

"W-wait –" she looked at me as if she'd been forced to swallow a burnt watermelon. "Hina will… Hina will join… you."

I gave her a smile.

"I'm afraid it's a little too late for that."

She jerked back. "W-what?"

"My offer was a one-time deal. Join my crew and regain your legs. That was the offer. But now… I realize you don't have any real value to me other than being a pretty face. Your devil fruit isn't that amazing, and there are plenty of beautiful women all over the Grand Line who'd literally get down on their knees and lick my feet to join my crew."

I latched my hands around her neck. Her face rapidly turned purple. "W-wait – "

I paused. "What?"

"Hina – Hina doesn't want to die –"

"I've reached the point where I don't care what Hina wants." I squeezed. "But I'll bite. If you can give me one good reason as to why I should spare your life, I'll consider it. If you can think of one way at all that you'll be of use to me…"

"One r-reason?"

Her rapidly purpling face struggled to search for an answer. The seconds ticked by. Her lips blurted out "Hina – Hina knows about Marines! Marine formations, organizations, secrets –"

"You were a Captain," I squeezed harder. "I highly doubt your clearance level went that high. Anything you know can't be that valuable."

"Hina – Hina can do – anything?"

I paused a bit. "Hmm… can you sing?"

"Ah…"

"Do you have vast medical knowledge?"

"N-no but – "

"Are you able to perform repairs and upgrades on a ship?"

"I –"

"So you can't really do anything can you?"

"H-Hina can create things!"

"Create… things?" my lips twitched.

"With Hina's Ori Ori no Mi –" she spoke quickly. "Bindings – restraints –"

I laughed. "That's cute."

I unleashed her. She gasped, breathing in desperately.

"Alright. I'm going to undo your cuffs," I said. "If you can impress me… I'll consider it."

I didn't have the key to her seastone cuffs, but I didn't need to. I placed my finger through the keyhole, and applied a concentrated explosion within it. The heavy objects fell, clanging and leaving a deep indent in the wooden floor.

"Now –"

My hands went up, on instinct, to stop the sharp, black bars aimed at my head and my chest. I caught them, in place. I barely registered the look of surprise on her face. As if she didn't think that I would be able to stop her attack. Her attack that was so unbelievably slow and immensely telegraphed that I would have seen it coming from three alternate dimensions away.

"…did you really think that would work?"

I twisted the metal of her arms until I heard something crack and she let out a scream.

"You know, I was actually going to help you. Give you back your legs. I even had plans about how I'd either track down the Surgeon of Death to transplant you new ones or kidnap Dr. Vegapunk to force him to build you amazing robotic limbs because a part of me felt genuinely bad for you."

I sighed. "I'm a simple man, my weakness is attractive women. But I have limits. Boundaries. My patience is thin. You've spat at my generosity, not once now, but twice."

She didn't look comfortable, with her arms twisted in place. Good.

"Now, I'm not even going to kill you anymore."

I craned my neck.

"I'm just going to hurt you."

I flared my hands.

"Break you,"

I took another step.

"Crush you."

I lifted her into the air with one hand.

"And then, then… when there is nothing left of the proud Marine Captain that was once called Hina…"

I grinned.

"I'll remake you, in my own image."

"W-wait – forgive –"

I laughed.

"Forgiveness is up to God, Hina-chan."

I shook my head.

"And right now?"

I called upon my power.

"You're in the hands of the devil."

The room was bathed in a white flash of light.

XXXXXXX

"Hey, privacy!"

Walking into the bathroom, I ignored Mikita's cry of privacy, and cleared my throat.

"So, listen up. There's a change of plans. Marine Captains are worthless and we're not getting any ransom for Hina. So, we're heading straight to Alabasta to see how much money can be made while bringing down Mr. 0's operation." I said. "Besides that, there's another valuable little person we can abduct that'll certainly get us paid a hefty ransom – and perhaps a Shichibukai title while we're at it. Bath and get dressed, we'll steal Hina's ship and set sail with it come noon. Any questions?"

Marianne's hand went up.

"Yes Mari-chan?"

'What's wrong with the marine lady?'

I tugged the chain attached to collar I'd affixed to her neck and forced her to stumble and crawl forward into the room. Her Marine Captain overcoat was the only thing she had on, and in her mouth was a cylindrical shaped gag, not unlike the type familiarized by the younger sister of a certain Demon Slayer. Her hair was tied back and kept in place with a pin, and fake, makeshift black legs grew from her stumps with her power.

"She pissed me off."

"…Captain… what… did you do?" Mikita gave me a disturbed look. "Did you… is she…"

"She's fine." I waved my hand in front of the white of her eyes. "A little blind but she doesn't really need eyes for what I need her for anyway." I snapped my fingers beside her ears, and got a delayed reaction. "And there may be some hearing impairment too." I yanked the chain. "If you ignore the brain trauma from numerous explosions going off in her face, she's fine. Perfectly fine. Best of all, she still knows how to follow orders. Isn't that right, Hina-chan?"

I got no reaction. Sighing, I snapped my fingers, creating a small flash in front of her.

"I said: Isn't that right, Hina-chan?"

She nodded her head rapidly.

"…wow." Mikita stared. "I mean… why?"

"What do you feel when you look at her?"

"Like someone should put her out of her misery."

"And you hate her guts," I said. "Imagine what someone who knows her would feel seeing her like this?"

"They won't like that."

"They'll know not to fuck with us." I yanked the chain one more time, "What will pirates think, when they see a crew with a Marine Captain pet?"

Mikita thought it over. "They'll either really really love us, or really, really be scared of us."

I grinned. "What better way, to spread the name of the most terrifying Pirate Crew to sail the Grand Line?"

Marianne rose her hand.

"Yes Mari-chan?"

'Can I use my Color Trap on her to make her more colorful?'

I thought it over. I didn't see why not.

"As long as she's still recognizable as Captain Hina afterwards."

I clapped my hands, no explosions this time, of course.

"Alright Devil Pirates – we've got some sailing to do."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lentil Island Docks

Hina's Ship

We set sail from Lentil Island to an unexpected amount of fanfare. Many of the villagers came to see us off, waving and cheering as we departed. Because I'd been too busy thinking about Mari-chan last night, I hadn't bothered bombing them all to oblivion for not sufficiently providing the amount of money I told them to.

Somehow, they took this to mean that the 'scary pirate man' wasn't as bad as he sounded, and thus, still a fairly decent person. It amused me, honestly, that the threshold to be considered a 'fairly decent pirate' was 'he didn't kill us all even though he said he would.'

The most difficult part of our departure was saying goodbye to the Pop Rock Candy. Mikita had stubbornly insisted against abandoning our old ship and switching to the larger, far better marine vessel that was Hina's ship. I didn't have any real sentimental attachment to the Pop Rock Candy, as I viewed ships as nothing more than a really slow, really outdated method of transportation.

She finally swayed and allowed the transfer once I mentioned the larger room available on Hina's Ship, along with the possibility of building further extensions – like a jacuzzi. The Pop Rock Candy as a sailing vessel was not suitable for the Devil Pirates – and there were just so many benefits to sailing a marine ship than otherwise.

Captain Hina's ship was far larger than the tiny little sloop, for starters. The enormous cruiser-like beast was complete with three masts, two with two sails and one with a lateen sail. Six mounted cannons lay on each side of the hull and four larger cannons sat comfortably on the bow.

Naturally, a ship of such size was impossible to manage or sail effectively by just three people. Thankfully, we didn't have just three people. Men and women, drabbed in Marine overcoats and outfits moved animatedly above the deck, some, mopping up the place, others, standing idly at attention over the sails. Others stood, at guard, with their flintlock rifles in place.

The only thing they all had in common, was the green tattoo atop their foreheads, occasionally hidden by their caps. Mari-chan had asked me what I wanted tattooed, and ultimately, to go with the theme of the Devil Pirates, I chose the number, '666.'

She didn't get the reference. No one else but me would get the reference. She didn't complain, as she worked skillfully on the few idiotic Lentil Island villagers who'd actually come up to ask if they could join my crew, dreaming of a life of piracy.

There were one or two original marine deckhands amidst them who'd apparently hid and cowered on the ship throughout upon learning that most of their comrades were dead, and Mari-chan had been rather less careful with applying her tattoos to their skulls than the rest.

The idea to use tattoos with her paint came after I'd spotted the tools amongst some of the stuff Mikita had liberated from the ship. After complaining – she was not pleased to realize she grabbed a ton of stuff for nothing – she explained to me that the odd needle and wooden block box was meant for.

It'd somehow slipped my mind that tattoos were a thing here, even though numerous pirates had and used them to identify themselves and their members. The question as to why someone in the marines had possessed tattoo equipment in the first place was a mystery, but one that was solved upon finding one of the young cowering deckhands with Hina's face tattooed onto his arm along with a large heart over it.

As tattoos were permanent, so too, was Mari-chan's hypnotic ability, permanently etched onto the skulls of the cogs of the Devil Pirates. Better still, with the Marine overcoats they wore, anyone who encountered us would be more likely to believe that they were being attacked by Marines than they were being attacked by pirates.

Of course, the ruse would be less effective over time, once people caught wind of what was going on, but for now, it would serve its purpose.

Thus, with our crew fully equipped and our thirst for new adventure and dangerous foes gradually rising –

We began our glory for conquest and chaos, and sailed for desert kingdom of Alabasta.