CH - 71 [ trouble ] 1

The giant Marine ship pulled up beside the Black Tail, overshadowing the tiny ship in comparison. The hatches where the cannons were kept were opened and the many black weapons stared down the little ship like demon eyes.

Halcen was gripped with fear. His Sensory Haki was still pretty poor, but he could still feel the massive power aboard the oncoming ship. Grey shook with anticipation. He knew all too well the power that flowed from above. He was cursed with much stronger Sensory Haki, and he could tell that was not just one powerful being on board, but two.

"We have to get out of here!" Halcen shouted at Morkine, even though he knew it was too late.

"Halt your ship!" came a booming voice.

Halcen looked up to see who it was. A tall man in a red suit and a long white cape with a white hat on his head stood at the edge, looking down on the pirates below. The man had slightly tan skin with a yellow tint. He looked to be about his mid forties. He was quite built. His face resembled that of a mean bulldog.

Next to him stood a man about a foot taller than him, and much older. He looked to be almost seventy. But he had a mean face as well. He had a thick chin and a wide jaw with sharp eyes, short gray hair and he was wearing glasses. He too was wearing a long white jacket, but he had a pinstripe suit on. He was extremely well built and much grander than the man next to him.

"Oh shit," Kazuki said out loud.

"Who are these guys?" Halcen asked.

Bo answered the question. "Admiral Akainu and Instructor Zephyr. Two of the most powerful men in the Marines, both physically and in rank."

Halcen gulped.

"If we try to escape, their ship will tear us apart."

Halcen looked to Morkine. "Stop the ship."

Morkine did as instructed. He and Jory took down the sails and put the rudder to a halt and the ship slowly stopped midwater. They had only gotten about half a mile from the docks of Loguetown.

"What are we going to do?" Jory asked.

Grey didn't say anything, but he wanted to.

"Why did they come after us?" Fein asked.

"We'll just have to wait and see," Halcen said.

And just like that, the two men dropped from their ship all the way down to the Black Tail's deck at least fifty feet down. They caused the ship to bounce and create small waves. They showed no signs of struggle with their landing. When they stood up straight, you could tell Akainu was a few inches taller than Grey, which made Zephyr just that much more imposing.

"Big Red," Grey said through his teeth.

"Grey, I'd say it's nice to see you, but I'd be lying."

"You got older."

"You're one to talk. Did you think I'd stay a child forever?"

"I hoped you'd grow up, but I see you didn't mature. It seems you never outgrew your lust for power."

"Grey, you know Akainu?" Halcen asked, struggling to keep up.

"We grew up in Loguetown together," Akainu said.

"Before it turned into a Marine town, it was a good place," Grey said.

Akainu spat. "I'm surprised to see you out and about."

"I couldn't sit around and do nothing forever."

"So this is your new Captain?" He asked, looking to Halcen. "You could have done better." Then he began talking to Halcen. "When we heard some you had left Whitebeard to go off on your own, we sent Reluji and a couple snipers to snuff you out. Had I known the other crewmate was Grey, I would have come myself instead. I guess that's what I get for skimming the report."

"All that just for me?" Halcen laughed.

"Well I figured Reluji could handle a few random pirates. I'll be honest; I didn't do much research on the matter. Reluji may have gotten his position primarily from connections, but he's still relatively powerful. But I didn't expect him to be a coward."

"You heard what happened?" Bo asked.

"When I heard my own son had committed treason, I knew something was fishy."

"Son?"

Kazuki sighed. "What do you want, father?"

"Oh, fuck," Halcen said.

Everyone looked to Kazuki in shock.

"I came to take you back to the Marines. We'll have this mess cleaned up and your names cleared. We won't ever have to speak of this atrocity again."

"I… I don't want to go back. But you can take Bo with you. He's an honorable man and he actually enjoys being a Marine. Take him back and help him. He's got a family and they need help."

"Excuse me?" Akainu said.

"Whoa, whoa," Bo jumped in. "Don't go speaking for me. I don't want to go back to the Marines."

"What?" Kazuki asked, quite confused.

Bo went on to explain. "I mean, sure, all I wanted to be since I was a kid was a Marine. Anything but a pirate. But after what's happened over the past couple weeks? We were betrayed by our commanding officer and left to die, my wife and son were taken hostage by the very men who I swore an oath to, and then they tried to sentence us all to death without even a trial! Not to mention we were almost killed by a Warlord! Just because of one man's lie? Forget that. Fuck being a Marine. I may not know exactly what the future will hold, but I'd rather risk it than go back to the people that did that to me. At this point, I would rather be a pirate than a Marine."

Akainu laughed at Bo's resolve. "Be whatever you want to be. Kazuki, we're going."

"No, I don't want to go back."

"You're a Marine, dammit! And you will fall in line!"

"I never wanted to be a Marine! I wanted to live my own life. Now, I actually have that option. Having Reluji brand me as a traitor was probably the best thing that could have happened to me!"

"You're traveling in the company of pirates and you're telling me you want this?" Akainu was getting angry. "These people have brainwashed you. You're coming with me and that's final."

"No! I won't!"

"I won't have my son consorting with pirates!"

"Well you don't have a say in the matter. This is my life, not yours."

Akainu was enraged. He began to walk toward Kazuki but Grey stepped in front of him.

"Don't do this," Grey said gently putting a hand up to Akainu's chest.

Kazuki was taken aback.