CH - 73 [ pirate flag ] 2

The Black Tail had just pulled away from Loguetown and they had to decide where to go next. Halcen wanted to head straight for Shanks, but he knew they were going to need to take a detour first. He couldn't keep a woman and child on board who were not warriors. Bo and his family needed to be taken care of first.

Halcen gathered the three of them together with the rest of the crew on deck. "So where do we need to take you?"

Bo looked at his family. "I think we should head to Syrup Village. It's the safest place to settle. There's no Marine presence and there's very little crime. Nobody would ask questions."

"Fine," Catharine said. "We'll go there. It's not like we have any other options."

"Why do we have to go anywhere?" Josopp asked. He was only ten and didn't quite understand the full story.

Bo didn't want to lie to his son. "Dad got in trouble with the Marines. So we can't stay where we used to live and I've got to find a new job. But you're gonna like Syrup Village. It's where I grew up. It's really fun. There's lot of nature and there will be a bunch of kids your age to play with."

"Okay." He nodded his head. He understood, but he was sad that his dad was in trouble.

So they continued on through the East Blue towards Syrup Village. Halcen hoped this would be their last stop before finally finding Shanks. There had been so many detours. He wasn't sure how much worse it could get, but he didn't want to test it.

After his tussle with Akainu, Grey was doing some much needed resting. He was relaxing on the deck, lying in a chair. His hands were wrapped in bandages filled with anti-burn cream. He said he was fine, but they could all tell he was in pain. But with as powerful as a foe as he'd dealt with, he was lucky that was the only thing that happened. Some medium severe burns on his hands that would heal in a few weeks. It could have been much worse.

With his ego bruised and his first mate looking like the hero again, Halcen vowed to himself to become stronger. With the winds of change coming, he knew that more dangerous foes would lie ahead. If he wanted revenge on Marco and Whitebeard, he would need to get much stronger much quicker. He was fairly strong as it was, but not nearly strong enough. He knew going up against a Yonko in his current power level would be suicide. He had played his games long enough. Sure, he had taken down Commander Darmichal and Captain Vergo, but those were fairly weak in the grand scheme of things. He had been able to get the upper hand on Marco when they fought, but he had only just gotten the Phoenix Fruit. Halcen was sure that with each passing day, Marco grew more and more into his power. So then too, must he.

Halcen went to Jory to talk to the kid. "You're serious about wanting to get stronger, right?"

Jory seemed surprised. "Uhm, yes? Yes!"

"Then we're going to start training. We can't just sit around in our downtime anymore. We need to get serious about becoming a real pirate crew. We need to get stronger."

Jory stood up in inspiration and nodded. "Let's do it."

So the two of them began working on their training on the deck, as a spectacle for all to see. Halcen hoped their session would be a good inspiration for the others too.

Halcen picked up a couple of smoothed wooden sticks to use as training swords. They were about four feet long each. He looked at them and nodded in approval. "These'll work." He handed one to Jory and took one for himself.

Jory got into position.

Halcen rushed at the boy, who flinched. Halcen swung and hit Jory in the back. He was holding back but Jory still yelped.

"I thought we were training," he complained in a groan.

"We are! That doesn't mean I'm not going to hit you! We're training not playing! If you don't want to get hit, pay attention. Defend yourself. Fight back!"

Jory nodded. He rubbed his back. He was sore, but he would be able to handle it. He looked on with concentration. "I can do this," he said so only he could hear.

"Are you ready?"

Jory nodded.

Halcen charged again straight ahead. Jory got ready to block, throwing his stick in front of him.

But Halcen dove down to the side then rolled behind Jory and swept his stick across his left leg, knocking the kid on the ground.

"Ow!" Jory said when his head hit the deck.

"Gotta be ready for anything," Halcen poked.

Jory turned over and looked angrily at Halcen. He growled in aggravation. He threw himself up and swung at Halcen, who jumped over the stick.

"Come on!" Halcen shouted.

Jory swung in an upward slash, trying to hit his Captain.

But he dodged it effortlessly.

"Stay still!" Jory shouted.

"What would be the point of that?" Halcen laughed.

"This isn't fair! You're so much faster than I am!"

"Fair?" Halcen stopped moving. He grabbed Jory's stick mid-swing, halting it, and then yanked it from Jory's hands. He now had both sticks. He walked up closer to Jory.

Jory fell to the ground with a mortified face. He knew he was in trouble.

The others turned their attention to the spectacle and began to watch.

"If you wanted fair," he said almost as if the word was a curse, "you got in the wrong business. The world isn't fair. You think living a pirate life is going to be fair? You think it's all fun and games? Is that why you came along? You told me that you wanted to get stronger. Did you change your mind?"

Jory took a deep breath. "No."

"Do you want to go back to Corteano?"

"No," he growled.

"Then shut the fuck up about 'fair!' Stop your whining. If you want to be a pirate, you gotta work hard. Do you really think all of your enemies are going to be basic Marine soldiers? Cannon fodder? You saw what happened with Hawkeye. You saw what happened with Akainu. If you want to be in this crew, we need to be strong enough to handle people like that. Do you have what it takes to take on Hawkeye? Don't you want to be strong? Isn't that why you're here? To become powerful?"

"Yes," Jory said quietly.

"I didn't hear you!"

"Yes!"

"Good!" Halcen threw the sticks on the floor.

Jory flinched, thinking he was about to get hit.

"Now get out of my sight. Lesson's over."

Jory stood up and walked away, his head hung low, and headed down below deck.

Everyone had gathered around and had watched Halcen tear Jory apart.

He glanced at their faces. Most of them disapproved. But it seemed like Morkine and Fein understood.

"Excuse me? I don't need your approval. This is my ship, my crew. If you want to baby him, he's just going to get himself killed. Being a pirate is a dangerous life. I have a responsibility to make him stronger so that he stays alive. He asked me to bring him along. I'm just trying to keep him alive, like I would for any of you. Or would you rather we leave him to his own devices and let him die?"

"We get it, Halcen," Grey said with remorse.

Kazuki came and found Halcen later, when he was alone in the kitchen having some coffee. He'd already eaten his lunch but he needed a refresher. They were soon to arrive at Syrup Village and everyone was getting ready.

"Halcen, can I talk to you?"

"What's up?"

"I wanted to ask you about Loguetown."

What about it?" He was clearly annoyed. He didn't want to talk about it.

"Masterson's daughter, Carol."

"Hrmm… Why?"

"I just need to know."

"What I did… was the easier and quickest way to get done what needed to be done. You and Bo needed your rifles, so I made it work. Then we needed to save Bo's family, so I made it work. What else do you need to know?"

"But you had us all convinced. We were all so sure. And then we find out you were playing us all along. But then you acted like it was just the easiest option, making a fool of us. So I have to ask: was kidnapping her ever really an option for you? Would you have actually done it if you didn't have any other plans?"

"What you're asking is full of hypotheticals, as if I'd ever be out of other options."

"Stop dodging and answer the question."

"Kazuki," Halcen sighed. "In all my time with Whitebeard, I learned a lot about being a pirate. I did a lot of things that I never thought I'd have to. And it changed me. It changed everything about me. So I can't know what my limits are until I'm pushed to that point. So I can't give you the answer you want. If I had to, maybe. I can't know. But I always try to think about the easiest and least messy way to do things when I do have a choice."

"I see."

"Is that sufficient for you?"

Kazuki nodded. "Yeah, I guess so."

"And what about you?" Halcen asked.

"What about me?" Kazuki asked, confused.

"What do you do next? Where do your morals lie?"

"I'm not sure. I've been a Marine pretty much my whole life. At this point, I'm just surprised that I even have an option. I suppose I'll need to take some time to myself to decide." He changed the topic. "We'll be getting to Syrup Village soon. We should probably get ready to say goodbye to Bo."

Halcen nodded. "I suppose."

And they both came out to the deck.

"We're here!" Morkine said.

The crew gathered to watch their ship close to the island of Syrup Village. They decided to land in an isolated part of the island so as to prevent themselves from being spotted.

The crew had culminated on the deck on the Black Tail to say goodbye as they made their departure from the group. Bo walked past them all without a word. He went ahead and escorted his wife and son off the ship. He stopped once they had stepped on land. Catharine and Josopp turned to look at him, wondering why he had stopped

He looked deep into his wife's eyes and said "I can't stay... with you."

"What are you talking about?"

He sighed. "I'm a wanted man. My face is on wanted posters. The Marines are gonna be after me for the rest of my life. I can't bring that kind of heat on you two. Syrup Village is quiet, but if I stay in one place for too long, somebody is going to notice."

"So… take us with you!" She pleaded, tears in her eyes.

"You know I can't do that. Where I'm going, you can't follow. It'll be dangerous and I can't risk you two getting hurt."

"But I can't live without you. We need you, please. What are we supposed to do without you?"

"We have some money saved up. That will hold you over for a while. I'll figure out a way to get you more."

"That's not what's important. We need you! Here! With us!"

"I know, I know. It's not fair. But this is all I can do. I'm sorry."

She threw her arms around him, crying.

He hugged her back as tightly as he could. He sighed. "I love you." He pulled himself from her hug, held her face, looked into her eyes, and then kissed her deeply. When he pulled away, she was crying.

"Why does it have to be this way?"

Bo wiped her tears away. He let go of her and knelt down to look at his son. He'd already become so big. "This is probably the last time you'll ever see me. I love you bud." He hugged his son. "Listen to your mother. And try to enjoy your life. Do what you love. Don't be like me."

"I love you too, Dad."

They all gave each other one more big group hug and Bosopp left them behind to return to the ship. They went on ahead to start their new lives in Syrup Village. He didn't look back.

When Bo got back on board, he was welcomed by sympathetic pats on the back and understanding head nods.

He went to Halcen, who was waiting on deck. Kazuki was standing next to him. "Halcen, I need to ask you a favor," he asked with dark eyes and an intense tone.

"What's that?"

"I need you to kill me."

"What?"

"And bring my family the reward money. It should be enough to get them by for a long time."

Halcen laughed. He looked at Kazuki. "I got a better idea. How about you stay alive, and you both officially join my crew? Yeah? Being a pirate, we'll make more money than your bounty could ever measure up to. You can send them lots more over time, and they'll be so comfortable, they'll forget they ever lost you. A pirate can provide more for his family than a dead Marine."

Kazuki was puzzled. "You'd have us join your crew, even though we tried to kill you?"

"If I turned away everyone who ever tried to kill me, I wouldn't have any friends. Ain't that right, Grey?"

Grey laughed.

"Are you being serious? Cause I figured once you'd gotten to Shanks' island, you'd just drop me off and I'd have to go my own way," Kazuki said. "We can actually join?"

"I mean, don't feel forced, but I definitely think this would be in both of your best interest. Don't you agree?"

"Yes," Kazuki said, relieved. Now he didn't have to worry about finding his own path for the moment. For once, he could let come what comes.

Bo wasn't as instantly sold. "My family's safety is the most important thing to me. If I got out pirating, people will eventually come for them."

Halcen looked Bo straight in the eyes. "I wouldn't be too sure about that."

"It's already happened once."

"And if it happens again, we'll kill them the way we killed everyone who stood in the way in Loguetown."

"As pirates?"

"As pirates, we'll have all the freedom in the world. So many opportunities. And we're going to get strong enough to take down anybody. We're going after Whitebeard, remember. Do you really think someone will want to mess with your family when you're in a crew that rival's the Yonkos'?"

Bo nodded. "Alright. Let's do it."

"One thing," Halcen said. "If you're gonna be part of my crew, you're going to need to need to adhere to my rules. You understand? That means no more of this convenient morals bullshit like I dealt with in Loguetown. You follow my lead, wherever I go."

"Agreed," Bo said.

"Alright," Halcen said with enthusiasm. "I've got the perfect thing for this moment! Don't you two move." He went to Grey. "Grey," Halcen said, "Come with me. I gotta show you something."

"Oh?" Grey was concerned. Halcen seemed excited. Whenever he got riled up, bad things usually seemed to follow.

They went below deck and Halcen took him to his own room, the Captain's Quarters. It was small but it was enough for Halcen. He had a piece of black cloth folded on the desk. He unfolded it, laid it all out and showed it off to Grey. "What do you think?"

Grey smiled and chuckled. Lo and behold, he was looking at a genuine Jolly Roger. It had a skull with a knife and pistol crossed behind it and a giant white spiral as the background. "It's beautiful," he said with genuine admiration. For the first time in a long time, Grey remembered the feeling of being a real pirate.

With Halcen's new serious desire, he was taking serious action. Putting up a pirate flag for their pirate crew was a serious statement. He was ready to take action and be a serious threat. "I'm gonna put this up on the top of the mast."

"I think it'll be a fine addition to the Black Tail."

And with that, the two of them brought the flag to the deck to show the rest of the crew. Everyone was gathered on deck. This was the moment. "There was one thing Anosmia was right about. Without a pirate flag, we're not real pirates. And I've finally settled on a flag design for our crew, the Chaos Pirates." And he revealed the Jolly Roger to the rest of them for review.

"That's so cool," Jory said. As sore as he was with Halcen, he couldn't help but feel excited over the flag. And for a moment, he understood Halcen's intensity.

"I like it," Jin said.

"It's not terrible," Fein said, unwilling to give Halcen an actual compliment.

Shira barked happily.

"Oh shush," Fein said back.

"That is quite well done," Morkine said.

"Two thumbs up," Bo said.

"Nice," Kazuki said, smiling.

So the crew hoisted the black flag atop the mast just above the crow's nest, Halcen's favorite spot on the ship.

Now let's get the fuck out of here. Morkine!"

"Yes, Captain?"

"To Architao Island!"