Chapter one: Ardael

South Blue

Nerlena island

When Ardael entered the marine branch, it was almost empty. Only four or some marines present, less than one-tenth of what should be, and all busy communicating on transponder snails.

He reached the receptionist's desk on the other side of the door but the receptionist was also too busy on the transponder snail to notice him. She had up-to-shoulder blond hair and a slightly thin body frame. She wore a yellow jacket that went well with her blond hair and a katana was strapped to her belt.

"WEST!" She yelled," I SAID 'WEST', NOT 'REST'. THEY WERE SIGHTED AROUND THE WENT OF SNOWCAPE ISLAND," She yelled into the transponder snail.

"WE ALREADY SEARCHED THE VILLAGES HERE! HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO SEARCH THE REST OF THIS DAMN ISLAND IN THE MIDDLE OF A GODDAMN BLIZZARD? WE'LL BE LUCKY IF WE CAN ESCAPE THIS PLACE WITH JUST FROSTBITES!" A man yelled back from another side of the transponder snail as best as he could over the whistling sound of the wind.

"For the hundredth time W.E.S.T west. HEAD WEST OF THE ISLAND."

"NO! NO! THE TROOPS ARE IN NO CONDITION TO SEARCH THE REST OF THE ISLAND. THEY'VE STARTED SNUGGLING WITH ONE ANOTHER JUST TO STAY WARM. IT'S JUST TOO DAMN COLD OUT HERE. WE NEED TO FIND SHELTER SOON. " The man shouted back.

Ardael curled his lips up a little listening to their exchange. But he still knocked on the desk to get the receptionist's attention. She put the call on hold and gave Ardael a thankful smile.

Ardael returned the smile. She must not have enjoyed having the conversation as much as Ardael did listening.

"What can I help you with, sir?" She asked professionally.

"Sorry, if I interrupted you! I just needed a bounty cashed in." Ardael said.

"Don't worry, it's our job. But…" the receptionist paused to glance at Ardael's clothes, then at the wooden stick he was carrying, "You kinda look too well dressed to be a bounty hunter… and way too young to need a cane."

Ardael had black hair and a perfectly trimmed light beard. He was wearing a black overcoat, under it was a white neatly pressed shirt perfectly tucked in his black pants. a black thin tie around the neck and he was carrying a nicely carved long wooden stick with golden engravings on it in his left hand. Another hand on the desk.

Ardael smiled, soft. "Well, I'm a traveling merchant - hence, dressing well. Bounty hunting is more of a side business. And this 'cane'-" Ardael pulled on the wooden stick a little to reveal a sharp blade then close it immediately, "-is for cutting. Not walking. It's a shikomizue. Kinda like a katana without the hilt."He said indicating the katana on her waist.

"Interesting sword, and even more interesting side business for sure."

"Yes! I get that often," Ardael said. "There seems to be hardly anyone around. A special occasion or something?" He added turning around towards the empty desks.

"Well, manhunt seems an occasion special enough."

"Manhunt? By an entire branch?"

"Three to be exact." The receptionist held out three fingers.

"Three? Three marine branches on a manhunt for a single man? Who's this popular fella?" Ardael asked, curious?

"Man called Butch. A pirate with a side business of human trafficking. Slaughtered half the town on an island nearby this morning, rest half, taken. Hopefully," She sighed. "Anyway, you said you were here to cash a bounty? Where are the heads?"

"Right outside." Ardael gestured to the receptionist to follow him outside the building.

What the receptionist saw outside left her eyes wide open for a couple of seconds. The pile of a dozen bodies lying on top of one another all bloodied was not a very pleasant sight to see. Also, the moonlight and the cold breeze combined with the dense smell of blood and burned flesh only made the sight more gruesome to look at. Beside them, another couple dozen beat-up looking men were kneeling in silence as if their life depended on it.

"Are," she said, softly," they all dead?" She had her eyes fixed on the pile of bloodied bodies.

"A few are. Rest, unconscious."

The receptionist closed in to examine the bodies." The Brown hair pirates!". She said after lifting the head of the body on the top of the pile by the hair.

"That's what they called themselves. Pretty notorious, by what I heard!" Ardael lit his cigarette with a golden lighter.

"Notorious for plundering transport and merchant ship on sight. I suppose they attacked your ship," the receptionist said moving away from the bodies. Then she lit a cigarette too.

"They did."

"Seems like they must have run outta luck to have met you, doesn't it?"

"It certainly does," Ardael said as he exhaled smoke.

The receptionist ordered two of the few marines working in the hall to transport the ones conscious to the cell and pile of bodies to be identified.

After getting the report after a few minutes, Ardael and the receptionist entered the hall once again. But, this time they went straight to a small cabin instead of stopping at the receptionist's desk. The sigh on the door read 'Captain Kiddo'. The receptionist sat on the chair behind the table above which there was a nameplate which also said, 'Cpt. Beatrix Kiddo'.

"Thought you were a receptionist!" Ardael said making himself comfortable on the chair opposite her.

"Our receptionist left on maternity leave and the idiot who was supposed to fill in for her today is stuck in a blizzard island leading a search party," She sighed. "This was supposed to be my day off, now I'm here issuing orders to idiots."

Ardael smiled at her, bitterly.

"Enough about all that," the 'receptionist' now known as, Captain Kiddo waved her hand," The pirates you captured were a notorious bunch, had a total of seven members with bounties among them. Total, it adds up to a hundred and twenty-four million Bellis. What name should I put the cheque on?" She took out a pen and a checkbook from the drawer.

"Put it on Ardael." He said."A-R-D-A-E-L" He spelled his name to her when she wrote 'Ardell'. She corrected it.

"Alright, Mr. A-R-D-A-E-L, I still have work to do, and the chief won't like it if I'm found slacking off again. My transponder snail is resting, so I'll need to use the one on reception." she handed the cheque to Ardael and stood up," Bank's near the clock-tower, you won't miss it. Enjoy your rest of the evening. " She extended her hand to Ardael, which Ardael stood up and took politely.

"You too, miss Kiddo."

"'Captain' Kiddo," She politely corrected him, "we're in my office."

"You're not in uniform. " Ardael said taking a glance at her yellow jacket and pants. It looked good on her.

"Well, I suppose-", Ardael and Kiddo were about to reach it when someone knocked on the door. "Come in!" Kiddo said.

A young boy in the chore-boy uniform entered and gave Kiddo a military salite," Captain Kiddo. The Chief has sent you a message." The boy hands her a little note, after which he leaves the room.

After reading what was on the note, Kiddo looks at Ardael, doubtfully.

"Is there a problem?" Ardael asks noticing the look.

"The chief seems to wanna meet you for some reason," she said, "any ideas why?"

"I have been in the Grand Line for some time now, so I don't think we've met before. Even if we did, it would have been a long time ago, so, no."

"You were in the Grand Line?" She said, surprised, "The chief also came back from the Grand Line a couple of months ago. Commodore Locke, ring any bell?"

"Sorry!" Ardael shook his head. Both of them walk out of Kiddo's cabin. She returns to the receptionist's desk. Ardael follows the young boy who was waiting outside to the chief's cabin, which was two floors above the main hall.

The chief's office was many times bigger than the kiddos. There was a big fire-place at the right wall from the door, a small round table and chairs in front of it. The left wall had many shelves full of books. In the middle of the room was a big white bearskin rug, it's head was facing the door. The other side of the room had a window and in front of it was a black desk with many folders and files stacked above it. Behind it sat a man in a red shirt and white marine overcoat. The man's muscular physic was visible even when he was seated. He had dark red hair, a light beard of the same color and his eyes were black.

"Locke. Is that what they call you now? Sounds kinda boring wouldn't you agree, Captain Vincent?" Ardael said as he sat on the chair opposite Commodore Locke's desk, " But still, congratulations! For the promotion. Though I can't say the same about the nickname."

"What is it that brings the Bounty Hunting Merchant, Ardael, here in the south blue?" Locke asked, not averting his eyes from Ardael's.

"Well," Ardael paused for a moment before continuing, "South is where it all started. But I suppose you already knew that. As for why I'm here, let's just say that there's an unfinished business." Ardael leaned forward a little," But what I wanna know is why are YOU here?" he said pointing a finger at Locke," YOU being in THIS Blue, on THIS island seems a little too much to be a coincidence. Aren't you being a little too desperate?"

"Maybe." Locke broke the eye contact." A drink? It's my favorite," He took out a bottle of whiskey and two glass from a drawer under the desk."I know it's yours too."

It was the Southern Knight's Whiskey, old and very hard to find, Ardael's favorite."You've done your homework thoroughly."

"So, imagine my surprise when I learned that we have the same favorites, not many even know about this brand anymore." He poured the whiskey and passed Ardael a glass. "A shame they had to close."

"A shame indeed," Ardael raised the glass of whiskey," To what the time has forgotten!"

Locke did the same," To what the time has forgotten!" Ardael only took a sip while Locke chucked it all down in one go. Locke took in a deep breath and sighed tiredly. He seemed to have had a long day. He pinched his nose bridge, gently rubbing it," This job," he groaned, "is truly frustrating, you know that? Commanding these incompetent bunch of fools, managing peace, hunting down good-for-nothing pirates, all that while also investigating you. The cherry on top there's a mass-murdering human trafficker running around. And when I thought this day couldn't get any worse, you pop right in. sometimes I just feel like quitting any starting new."

"You sure have it difficult," Ardael said," maybe you should just give up on investing in me. Not like you're gonna find anything useful." He emptied the glass and set it on the desk.

"You wish!" Locke smiled," As if I'm gonna drop the only thing that's truly fun, and that too right when I'm so close to uncovering the mysteries of the bounty hunting merchant."

"Well, couldn't you just make the investigation official and have teams assigned to it, Instead of doing it all by yourself? Would save a lot of time." Ardael said as he watched Locke refill the glasses.

"Tried that once. After the Ortho palace heist last year, I requested permission to investigate you. You were seen on the island a week that happened just like you were somewhere near when many other robberies happened. But the higher-ups dismissed this matter saying, Why would a fairly good merchant and a highly successful bounty hunter who has more the three hunts exceeding four hundred million and countless smaller ones need to rob a treasury with less than half a billion Bellis in it? It seems too unnecessary."

"That higher-up sounds smart." Ardael took the glass that Locke just refilled.

"After that, I didn't bother requesting another permission, I just decided to do it by myself. It's a lot easier to think when doing something alone."

"So how much have you learned about me from this SELF QUEST of yours?"

"Not much," Locke started tapping his finger on the desk as if trying hard to think," Just that some places which 'I' suspect you robbed or had some hand in doing so had dealings with the underworld or had some shady business going on. I know that you have some connections with the revolutionary army. I know that you first came to the south blue sixteen years ago- I couldn't find from where. I know that you lived the majority of your life around this island working as a guard on merchant ships until you disappeared after the Carving Festival last held eight years ago and now you are here, just a month away from the next Carving Festival," He stopped his tapping," that seems to be too much to be a coincidence too, doesn't it? And that's not all I've learned about you.

Ardael emptied the glass again. "Seems like you know more about me than I'd like the Marines to know about. I hope you haven't reported to the higher-ups, that would make my life a living hell!" Ardael said, jokingly.

Locke chuckled at Ardael's joke," I would have if it was worth reporting. It took me months to find just this much about you, now I'm simply too curious to know why would a merchant's past be so difficult to uncover." He moved to refill Ardael's glass but Ardael refused.

"Are you tryin' to get me drunk and spill some beans? If so, I should let you know I have a very high tolerance for alcohol. Also, you should refrain from wasting something so valuable on someone like me," Ardael stood up and picked his sword which was leaning by the chair," And I should be leaving, we have some cargos to unload, and my men should be ready any minute." He extended his hand for a shake.

"It was nice talking to you. Too bad trying to get you drunk didn't work," Locke said as the two men shook hands. Locke then showed Ardael to the door.

Outside there were a total of five marines including Captain Kiddo aiming their guns at the door. Seeing this Ardael smiled and raised his hands a little above his shoulders," Take all my money, don't shoot," he said sarcastically. Locke chuckled and gestured the marines to lower their guns.

"If the 'getting you drunk' idea had worked then I would have had to put you under arrest." He said to Ardael.

Ardael lowered his hands," But still, you would need at least a couple of warships to even put up a fight." Ardael said looking at the marines. Two old men in their fifties, two young men in seamen uniform, and one captain Kiddo. Simply too little manpower. Even commodore Locke was more known for his brains, little for his brawn.

"Agreed!"

Locke returned to his office after ordering the marines to get back to their posts and Captain Kiddo to help Ardael out.

"So, why did the chief call you and made us stand ready outside the door?" Kiddo asked Ardael as they were walking down the stairs.

"He thinks that I'm the mastermind who has orchestrated heist in many high-security places, and never left any solid evidence," Ardael said, nonchalantly.

"Are you?" Kiddo asked.

"I don't know. What do you think? Do I look like a mastermind who can orchestrate high-security heists?"

"You look like a man in his mid-twenties who likes old-man stuff." She chuckled pointing at Ardael's sword.

"Again, I use it for fighting not for walking." They reached the main gate of the branch.

"Where did you get that from, anyway?"

"A client of mine gave it to me as 'payment'. He was a blind swordsman."

"So it's a blind man sword, not old man sword,"

"Yes," Ardael laughed under his breath, "it is a blind man sword." Ardael lit his cigarette.

"I've been meaning to ask, what brand is that cigarette?" Kiddo said.

"Red apple. It's a new brand," Ardael offered her one from his pack and gave her alight.

"It good, not as sweet as the name lets out to be. The roughness is perfect." She said as she enjoined the smoke.

Ardael smiled and said," I should send Commodore Locke a box of it. I kinda feel guilty for wasting his fine whiskey. You think that would be a good idea?"

"I think that would be a GREAT idea." She said.

"Hope we meet again, Ms.Kiddo,"

Ardael walked the busy road of the market street after exchanging 'goodbyes' with Ms.Kiddo. Even though it was well past eight the market was still packed to the brim with customers, just as Ardael remembered. Few royal guards were patrolling the streets in the absence of the navy. It was a ten-minute walk from the Marnie branch to the clock-tower and the bank was right opposite the tower. The building had a giant word 'BANK' painted with green on a board above it.

After Ardael cashed the cheque, he went to a small restaurant run by an old man in his sixties and three boys. The old man was in the kitchen, alone, one of the boys at the counter, and the remaining two were waiting on the customers. The small restaurant had few tables unoccupied. Ardael made himself comfortable in the one nearest to the kitchen.

The waiter came and Ardael ordered a plate of fried rice. The waiter took the order to the old man in the kitchen who had short white hair and a nicely trimmed white beard, he was muscular for a man his age but not too muscular. After receiving the order he began cooking immediately. Ardael silently observed him cook. It only took five minutes for the food to be prepared and served.

Ardael thanked the waiter. He then ate the food, quietly, savoring every bite. The food was filling. A lot better than he remembered. After he finished it, he glanced at the old cook. He was cooking energetically. Seeing this, Ardael paid the bill and left.

Ardael walked through the busy market streets. Even in the night, everything was visible. Moonlight, lamp posts, colorful lights from street shops, and houses made the street look a lot beautiful at night than it would during the day.

People were going about their business everywhere, shopkeepers trying to sell their goods for better value, customers haggling over the price, prostitutes looking for wealthy customers, drunks picking fights at random, pickpocketer searching for their next target. Not much had changed about this place in the past eight years.

Ardael reached the west port after passing through the market street. There were West port, South port, and a royal port in the East of the island. There were many ships docked on the West port. Many transport and cruise ships were there, few merchant and cargo ships, few ships without any flags to represent themselves, and only one marine ship. There were ships of various sizes here but the biggest one was the merchant ship Ardael owned. Despite being a rather small galleon compared to an average galleon in the grand line, it was still almost twice the size of the biggest ship on the port right now, floating above the ocean around fifty meters, another ten underwater. It had three masts and a total of five sails.

The port was also very busy but not as much as the market street. Sailers were loading and unloading the cargo carefully. Ardael passed by all of them and reached his ship at the end of the dock. He jumped on the air a few times to get on-board the ship.

Just as Ardael landed on the deck, Sally, jumped from the crow-nest to the deck.

"You're back early captain," Sally said. He was a little nine-year-old Fishman with blue skin who he had recruited along with his mother a couple of years back.

"Everyone up?" Ardael rubbed the boy's hair as he walked towards the captain quarter. It was on the topmost deck of the ship.

"Not yet. Most are still resting." Sally followed Ardael behind him.

"Thomas, Brown?"

"I saw Thomas in the cafeteria a while ago and Brown didn't sleep at all, he's been working all this time."

"Alright! Send them to my quarters. And wake the rest up, get them ready to unload. We are to set sail before dawn."

"Captain!" Sally called.

"What,"

"Can I go on land? Mom said to get the captain's permission before I get off the ship." He asked.

Ardael turned to Sally. "Go with Mr.Gates and don't attract too much attention. Fishmans are not common around here, so be extra careful." Mr.Gates was the manager in charge of the crew's performance.

"Thank you! Captain!" sally said. He stopped following Ardael and went towards the crews sleeping quarters which was on the first lower deck.

The whole upper top deck was Ardael's quarter. It was two rooms. One for the office and another for a bedroom. Ardael entered his office which was just as big as Locke's. He sat on his chair behind his desk, waiting for his brother, Thomas, and his accountant, Brown.