Chapter 9

When the group arrived at their pair of boats an unpleasant surprise waited for them. The three pirates that Nami had robbed and that had become minions for Markus and Zoro were waiting for them. They seemed full of themselves, until they saw Markus and Zoro, after that they became submissive and immediately ran away.

The four of them got on the boats, two to each boat. Markus got to ride with Nami which brought a smile to his face. As they were sailing away the matter of the treasure came up, along with the fact that Luffy left the bag Nami had him carry behind. Nami was furious! She grabbed Luffy by the head and started trying to shove his head into the water while screaming, "That was MY treasure!"

Luffy struggled desperately under her insane rage powered grip, "Stop it! I can't swim! I'll DIE!"

Nami kept trying to shove his head into the water, "Good! Die once for leaving my treasure behind!"

Markus and Zoro watched the scene before them while laughing. Things were looking up for them. Nami checked her map and directed them to the next island nearby. After setting course, Nami was kind enough to fix the damage done to Luffy's hat by Buggy. Markus relaxed on the ship as they sailed. It would be a day or so before they got to the next island. Markus was pretty sure that they would get their next crew member and their ship on the next island. He spent his time searching his memories for details on Usopp's island and what happened there. After thinking for a bit he remembered the general gist of what would happen and the main villain, Captain Kuro. Most of the details still eluded him though.

Thinking about it more.. didn't Kuro have a special movement technique that made him fast enough to practically be invisible? But it had a stupid name didn't it? Well, he never had to say the name of the technique out loud, he just hoped he could steal it. It could come in handy until he could move at the speed of lightning. He hadn't defeated anyone with a special technique yet so he still had hope there would be a special reward like a loot drop or something for doing so. Kuro would be his to defeat.

The day passed and the night soon followed it. Long before noon of the next day the island where they would meet Usopp appeared before them. Usopp was his least favorite character. He was worse than Nami, at least she had 'cute' and 'intelligent' going for her. Usopp didn't have many redeeming traits. Still, he wasn't going to stop him from joining the crew. He was Yasopp's son after all, so if something happened to him there could be trouble.

They docked their ships at the shore, there was a thin ramp-like corridor through the cliffs that surrounded the island. Honestly, with a well-manned defense this place would make a great fortress island. It made Markus wonder why the Marines didn't set up a base here. As they got off of their boats, a bunch of pirate flags suddenly popped up from the bushes as a young skinny man wearing just a pair of overalls with no shirt stood up proudly and laughed, "I am Captain Usopp! Me and my one hundred million men control this island!"

Nami gave him a deadpan look, "You're lying."

Usopp panicked, "Busted!"

Nami just grinned at him, "See? You said 'busted'."

Usopp freaked out again, yelling at himself. At the same time, his three little minions raw away while Markus and Luffy both laughed. Markus might not like Usopp all that much but even he had to admit that Usopp was a good comic relief character. Luffy grinned at Usopp, "You're funny!"

Usopp glared at Luffy, "Don't make fun of me! I'm Usopp the great!"

Luffy tilted his head to the side a bit before asking, "Is your old man Yasopp?"

Usopp scrambled down from his perch and came right up to Luffy, "You know my dad?!"

Luffy nodded, "Yup. I met him when I was a kid. He's a great pirate!"

As Luffy and Usopp chatted, Usopp led the group to a restaurant called 'Meshi' of all things. That's just lazy! They all enjoyed a meal and chatting together though when Luffy brought up the topic of looking for a ship, Usopp pointed out it was a small town so finding a large ship was unlikely. Nami brought up the mansion just outside of the town which made Usopp nervous for some reason. He left quickly after that.

Markus knew that nothing would happen until tomorrow. He could remember a few details about Kuro and his pirate crew and he fully intended to mess with them. His first step in messing with Kuro should happen shortly but until then he enjoyed the meal with his crewmates. After a while, Usopp's three little minions came into the restaurant looking for him. They were panicky and scared, thinking that the pirates had eaten Usopp. It didn't help when Zoro actually said, "We ate him." while Markus just grinned darkly and picked his teeth.

Once the confusion was cleared up, the kids led the crew to where Usopp was most likely at, the mansion outside of town. When they arrived, Luffy was as impatient as ever and used his abilities to slingshot himself, Nami, Zoro, and the three kids over the fence around the house. Markus decided to take a gentler approach and leaped over the fence to the other side. Thanks to the commotion of their rough landing, it was easy for him to find the location of the others.

When he joined them he could see everyone standing around on the ground while Usopp stood on a tree branch. Across from him was an open window that led into a bedroom. Standing at the window was a young woman. Everything about her screamed the word 'pale' from her skin tone to her shoulder-length blonde hair. Just the sight of her inspired the desire to protect in normal people and Markus was no exception. Kaya was a pretty girl with a sweet disposition and a kind heart. Anyone who wanted to harm her needed to pay for it.

Just as Luffy was asking about a big boat, a shout came from behind the group, "What are you doing here?! You can't simply trespass on the mansion grounds like this! Leave at once!"

Standing off to the side was a tall thin man wearing a black butler suit. Markus had to admit that he looked the part with his round-framed glasses and slicked back black hair. He almost looked dignified... except for the shoes he wore. They had a strange striped pattern on them that looked rather ridiculous. Markus had forgotten about that detail. He just hoped they weren't necessary for the skill that Kuro used because that's who the man standing away from them was.

Kaya looked over at the butler, "Klahadore, these people were just..."

He cut her off with a raised hand and voice, "I do not care. If there is a reason I will hear it later." His gaze focused on the large group of people, "Now leave, all of you. Or is there something you want to say?"

Luffy immediately chimed in, "We want a boat."

Klahadore deadpanned, "No."

His gaze then shifted to Usopp, "You're Usopp, aren't you? I've heard a lot about you from the townsfolk. You have quite the 'reputation' with them."

The others might not have noticed but since he knew who Klahadore really was, Markus noticed the subtle sly intent behind the man's words. Usopp clearly didn't as he puffed out his chest with pride, "Oh? Why thank you! You can call me Captain Usopp if you want!"

Klahadore just shook his head and what followed was a self-righteous speech condemning Usopp as a liar and his father as a filthy pirate. To Markus, it was clear that Usopp was being egged on, and to great effect. Usopp lost himself in rage and ended up decking Klahadore right across the face and knocking him down. Zoro was forced to restrain Luffy to keep him from joining in on the fight. Markus knew it was all an act but he had to give the man credit, he was a phenomenal actor. If he didn't know better, Markus would have sworn he remembered wrong and that Klahadore was just an innocent butler trying to protect the young mistress of the house from a delinquent. But he did know better.

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Captain Kuro (Klahadore)

Class: Assassin

Level: 23

Hit Points: 320/320

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Markus smiled as he looked at Kuro's information with Analysis. With his level, Kuro's hit points should have been much higher than they were. It helped confirm his suspicion that Kuro was a full Agility build, likely with a bit in Strength to for added damage with those ridiculous claws of his. Kuro's speed would be an issue in a fight but Markus had his Observation Haki to help deal with that. If he still couldn't keep up he could dump his attribute points into his Agility to get faster. Still, he needed to make some preparations. It'd been a while since he had a good workout. If he pushed himself for the rest of the day he should be able to gain a few points in his Agility attribute.

Markus watched as Klahadore continued to berate and degrade Usopp to continue to rile him up. Just as Usopp was going to deck him again, Kaya spoke out, "Usopp please stop! No more violence!" Tears formed in her eyes from watching two people she cared about fighting, "Klahadore isn't a bad person. He's just worried about me."

Though he wasn't too familiar with Kaya, and barely remembered her from the show, Markus felt for her. He had the urge to end it all now and just put a bullet in Klahadore's head. He knew Kaya would find out the truth later so maybe it would be best if Klahadore died and she could remember him as a kind and caring butler. Maybe she didn't need to know the truth of who he was and what he planned to do. As Markus was having his internal debate, Klahadore kicked everyone out. Markus stuck behind the group, letting them get a fair distance away. Klahadore glared at him, "I said leave!"

Markus smirked and stuck his hands inside of his pockets, "Whatever you say... Kuro."

It was subtle but there was a brief look of shock on Klahadore's face after Markus spoke. Markus didn't stick around and left with the others after shooting Klahadore one last smirk. Markus remembered that Kuro was a man with a thousand plans and he did not take kindly to his plans being interrupted. Having someone, a stranger even, calling him by his old pirate name was sure to mess with him and throw him off of his game. Or... it just might piss him off and make Markus a target for one of his crewmen to kill. Either way, it worked out for Markus because it meant experience points.

As Markus walked at the back of the group and listened to them talking a new quest appeared in front of him.

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New Quest!

Drowning a cat in misery.

You have royally pissed off Captain Kuro. He wants you and the rest of your crew dead, especially you. Show him that you're not so easy to get rid of and make him suffer for even trying.

Objective 1: Survive the assassination attempt! Either avoid or defeat the assassin Kuro sends after you.

Objective 2: Annoy Kuro! Disrupt his plans as much as you can. Defeat members of his crew and prevent them from entering the town. The more crew members you defeat the bigger your bonus.

Objective 3: Punish Kuro! Defeat Kuro in one-on-one combat. The more you embarrass and humiliate him the greater your rewards.

Objective 4: Kill Kuro! Once you feel Kuro has suffered enough put him out of his misery.

Requirements: Completed Objectives 1, 2, and 3. Objective 4 is optional.

Failure Conditions: Death, Failing to complete Objectives 1, 2, or 3.

Rewards:

Objective 1: 10,000 experience, 1x Skill book.

Objective 2: +10% cumulative experience for each pirate defeated (all experience distributed when the quest is completed).

Objective 3: Rewards TBD.

Objective 4: Rewards TBD.

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Markus smiled to himself as he saw the quest. He hadn't had a quest in a while but this one more than made up for it. It was like having four quests in one! He looked it over carefully and decided he would complete the first three objectives without an issue. The fourth though... that one he wasn't so sure about. He'd never killed anyone before and he wasn't sure if he could do it. He also needed to think about Luffy and the others. Although Luffy and Zoro would happily beat the hell out of people, they never actually killed anyone, as far as he could remember. If he killed Kuro, there was a chance he could alienate himself from the rest of the crew and find himself driven out. That would become a huge problem for him! He needed to stick with them until at least Skypiea! After that, it wouldn't matter if they had a falling out. It looked like a dilemma but he made his decision quickly. He wouldn't kill Kuro, it wasn't worth the risk no matter what the rewards might be.

He dismissed the quest screen and looked at the others. Usopp and Luffy had taken off. Soon they would become aware of the conspiracy to kill Kaya. Then tomorrow morning would be the big showdown. Markus joined the others as they lounged around on a fence in the middle of the road. Zoro, Nami, and two of the kids were still with him, the third kid had vanished at some point. He was waiting for one more event then he would head off on his own to train a bit. He didn't have to wait long.

The third kid, who looked like an onion and was unfortunately named Tamanegi, suddenly came running down the street while screaming about some weird backward walking guy. Markus grinned, this was the event he was waiting for. A few moments later a man appeared and was moonwalking down the road in their direction. The man overheard the conversation between the kids and came to a stop in front of everyone, "Hey! I'm not weird! I don't look weird at all!"

The man was Jango, a hypnotist and the captain of Kuro's old crew. He was clearly modeled after the late great king of pop and wouldn't look strange at all... provided he lost the weird heart-shaped sunglasses and striped goatee. Nami chimed in, "Any way I look at you, you look weird!"

Jango looked offended, "I'm not weird! I'm just a friendly hypnotist passing by!"

The kids immediately showed interest and asked for a demonstration. Jango scoffed, "You don't even understand what a hypnotist is! There's no way I'm showing people I just met my hypnotism."

Contrary to his words, he pulled a metal ring attached to a string from his jacket and held it out, "Okay, stare at this!"

Zoro snapped at him, "You're showing them anyway!"

Markus just laughed, but he paid close attention to the ring as Jango swung it back and forth. He wanted to know if he could be hypnotized or not. His passive skill 'Life is but a Game' said his mind was 'indomitable' but he had to be sure. Jango's hypnotism could be a pain in his ass if it worked on him. Jango continued to gently swing the metal ring back and forth, "When I say 'one, two, Jango' you will all fall asleep. Ready? One. Two. JANGO!"

As soon as he said 'Jango', he and the three kids fell on their backs and started snoring. Markus smiled to himself while Zoro shouted, "What the hell is he doing?!"

The hypnotism had no effect on Markus, meaning he didn't have to worry about that trick of Jango's in the coming fight. With that confirmed, he hopped off the fence and turned to Nami and Zorro, "I'm going to get some exercise. All that sitting around on a small boat makes me feel stiff. I'll look for you guys later."

Zoro nodded in understanding while Nami just shrugged her shoulders, "See you later."

Markus took off at a jog to get away from the others. They didn't need to see what he was about to do. He wasn't exactly being secretive but he had no way to explain his system to them and he didn't want them to think it was a Devil Fruit. Maybe he could explain it as magic, once the rest of the crew has seen more of the strangeness in the world. They likely wouldn't believe him yet. Once he was far enough away and no one was around, he opened his inventory and looked around. He'd collected a fair number of trinkets and helpful items thanks to the training on the island. Every day he got a little something new. One of those things was an outfit he could wear to work out. When the entire outfit was worn it would increase in weight and push Markus to his limits.

Wearing the outfit made his gains while working out faster and easier so now seemed like an appropriate time to use it so he could increase his Agility and get a little faster to keep up with Kuro. The only issue was, the work out clothing was so... blah. The outfit looked like plain gray sweatpants and a sweatshirt. The moment he put it on he felt like a giant weight was pressing down on him. Each step took far more effort than without the clothing. With everything set, he started with a brisk walk to warm up and stretch, though soon he was jogging and then running full out.

It only took minutes for him to be covered in sweat and breathing heavily. He didn't think of himself as a masochist or anything, but he honestly missed his time on the island when he was pushing himself to the limit every day just to get a little bit stronger. The pain sucked but there was nothing like that sense of accomplishment he felt seeing his attributes go up by a single point. He was looking forward to experiencing that once again.

He ran nonstop. To keep himself hydrated, he retrieved refilled bottles of water from his inventory to drink. Every day on that island he got three bottles of water. While there was no fresh water on the island, he'd found the time to refill them on other islands after joining up with Luffy and the others. He carried enough water to last himself thirty full days. Food was a problem though. He could buy food from the system shop but that required money, something he didn't have much of. He'd fix that a bit tomorrow. He planned to take all of the pirate's weapons and sell them to the shop if he could do so without being spotted.

As he ran back and forth across the island for hours on end, he received some weird looks from the island's inhabitants and his own crew, when he passed them once. The looks got even weirder if they were close by where he was running. His footfalls were much heavier than they should be due to the weight of his clothing. This led the ground to tremor slightly with his every footfall. At some point his crew had disappeared and not told him where they were going or what they were doing but he could guess. By now they should know about the plot and be setting up their trap on the wrong slope.

When the moon was high in the sky, Markus decided to call it a night. He had gained two points in his Agility through his hours of effort. It wasn't a huge boost, but it was something and it was free. Well, bought with sweat and effort anyway. He made his way to a stream to wash up before changing into a fresh set of clothing. Unlike the rest of the crew, he couldn't stand wearing the same clothing for so long. He changed into a pair of black pants made from a tough cloth and tucked the legs into a pair of combat boots to keep them out of the way. To cover his upper body he wore a tight black t-shirt that showed off his still growing muscles. The faintest outline of his abdominal muscles could be seen. Over that, he wore a simple black vest. On his right hip, he wore his three-shot flintlock, only his left the marine sword he stole.

This would be his outfit and gear for the upcoming fight tomorrow morning!