Mission — P1

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"If you are serious about enlisting in the marines, you can keep that outfit." Gorilla told Vin.

Vin turned around, still sitting on the metal guardrail. He eyed his clothing once more. It was a simple, tight white shirt, and unlike other uniforms, it had long sleeves. Though his pants were regularly as any other—they had no noticeable difference, a simple pair of blue trousers like the rest. Vin did, in fact, plan to join the marines. He had nowhere else to be, and the pay motivated him.

"I'll join." He spoke in his usual monotone voice. "Where are we going?"

Gorilla nodded at Vin's decision to join the marines. "G-2. In the Grandline." The captain told the boy. "It is the marine base my marine group and I reside within. I have business to handle there."

And so, they sailed. The sailing to the base was simple due to the fact that marine ships use seastone to appear invisible to the Sea Kings, allowing them to have a smooth and calm ride through the usually harsh seas of the world. Better yet, the weather was fantastically clear today.

Once the group had arrived, uniformed men rushed down to the dock and anchored the ship. Gorilla trudged by them, allowing the sailors to disembark. The Captain signalled for Vin to follow him, which Vin did. He pushed the metal gates to the secondary building within the base, greeting the uniformed marines standing by the door. They paced along the stairs, eventually reaching his office.

"The waters have been unusually calm recently. There isn't any large conflict—as far as I am aware." Gorilla stated, sitting on the chair tucked near the desk within the room. "I've accepted your enlistment, and hence you are a part of the G-2 marine faction. This means you will take orders from me or anyone ranked higher than I. "

Vin nodded. "Understood."

"Your first task will be to dispatch a pirate crew. This pirate crew is not too notorious—but they are not to be underestimated, the Captain, 'Bilgo the Crocodile' has a bounty of 15,000,000. He posseses the Hachu Hachu no Mi, Model: Kurokodairu and has defeated numerous marines in the past. You and a group of marines consisting of 15 Seaman Recruits, 5 Seaman First Class and Commander Glove will take his crew down." Gorilla thought for a moment. "Right. You are not aware of the ranking system." The Captain handed Vin a paper containing all of the Marine Ranks. "You are currently a Seaman Recruit."

"Right, but I have no battle experience or prior training whatsoever." Vin explained.

"I'm sure if you get handed a gun you'll be on a similar level to the other Seaman Recruits. However, go train with your Devil Fruit in the outside field, but once you're done, mold the terrain back to its usual shape. You're leaving tomorrow morning." Gorilla responded. Vin nodded and stepped into the courtyard of the base.

He activated his power once more, the unique power he felt before now surging to his feet as he stood on the concrete. The concrete started molding into shape, a dent in the terrain forming. Vin had crafted a concrete trident of sorts, though not very practical at that. The three spikes at the end of the trident could hardly be called sharp—they were closer to thin cylinders than objects with the potential to stab. Vin focused his energy once more, attempting to turn the blunt edges sharp, though to little avail. Indeed, as the day continued, he also progressed his mastery over molding. Although, for the amount of time it takes to make visible progress, this method of training was not particularly ideal. He changed the trident to a simple spear, and that is when he noticed the edge was sharp. 'This will have to do.' He deconstructed the weapon back into the ground.

After this stage of training was complete, Vin felt certain effects. His mastery had improved enough where he could create larger basic shapes, such as a wavy concrete line to attack or a wall about his size. These weren't particularly impressive showings, but they'd have to do, at least currently. However, a limitation he took note of was that, if he did not mold the spear close to him, it wouldn't even be a spear—instead, a deformed thin cylinder. Vin assumed this meant that the ability to mold his surroundings to give them a special property, such as sharpness, would only be possible when the molding was done close to him. Because he could only mold his surroundings upon touch, Vin speculated this was due to the fact that the Devil Fruit's unique energy he felt in his hands or legs—which allowed him to mold in the first place—lessened the more distance it travelled.

He resumed his training, focusing his energy to create a better, sharper spear as well as progressively making a wall centimetres larger. He had made some progress on this training—not any game-changing progress, as it was mostly experimentation. Vin was exhausted, and hence passed out on the courtyard after restructuring the terrain.

Vin awoke on the courtyard and eyed his fellow marines embarking a far smaller ship than the one he sailed on previously. It was closer in size to a Caravel rather than the unbelievable size of a Warship. Regardless, Vin took that as his cue to leave and strolled onto the ship. The other marines eyed him.

"A new recruit?" Glove asked the boy who had sat down on the guardrail. Vin turned to Glove, inspecting him. Apart of the usual marine attire, he wore a coat which dangled on his shoulders like a cape. As well as the fact that the Commander did, in fact, wear boxing gloves. He gave a nod before facing the sea once more. Vin was acting somewhat oddly to how Glove and the other marines had expected.

Soon, the ship had stopped at its destination. They arrived on an island with a small seaside town.

"This should be where the crew is.. keep your guard up, everyone!" Glove spoke loudly as he began his patrol around the streets of the town. The marines, including Vin, followed along. A marine walked up to a civilian, peeking behind a door.

"Excuse me Miss, would you happen to have seen a pirate? Perhaps one that turned into a crocodile?" The marine inquired.

The lady looked to her sides, a drop of sweat falling from her face. "Yes.. They stole our money and food, and has not been present within the town for a significant portion of time."

Numerous civilians were pestered by the marines for further information, but they all provided the same response. The pirates came, wreaked havoc, and then left. At the exterior of the town, the marines gathered once more to discuss what they were going to do. They stood by Glove as he prepared to present a plan of action to the marines.

"We will patrol the forest and go to the opposite edge of the island. If the cartographers were correct, there is another beach at the other end. Perhaps they left their ship and valuables there, and perhaps they may even be there." Glove spoke convincingly, encouraging the marines to follow his plan.

The group split up in four teams, each with five marines, to cover more space, though Glove handed one member of each squad a mini-transponder snail to keep in touch in case of an emergency or sighting. Vin's group consisted of 4 Seaman Recruits, including he, and a Seaman First Class. His fellow marines didn't seem very keen on this tactic; they only agreed to the mission because it is uncommon for a Commander to fail in missions like these. However, without a superior to take care of the mission, the task is undoubtedly more dangerous.

Vin heard a rustle. In the corner of his eye, he saw the silhouette of a man. No, two men. 'A weapon.' Vin ducked as three bullets quickly sped towards him and his fellow marines through the bushes. The Marine Seaman First Class was shot in the joint between his arm and torso—the Navy officer yelled in agony. In front of them, two figures could be seen moving slowly in the direction of the group. As they marched forward, their faces came into view, a twisted, deformed face with a top hat and a composed round face revealing themselves. The more twisted-looking man had no weaponry on him, whilst the other man held a gun.

"Heiheiheiheihei!!" The unarmed pirate laughed. All of a sudden, Vin's marine comrades began to sob or scream in panic, pacing about as though they were in another world. Whatever the man did, though, had no effect on Vin. "You're still on your feet?" The twisted pirate yelled out. "Your fellow marines have been put in an illusion of their greatest fear! They cannot escape the facade until they face it and accept it.

Vin stooped and touched the ground with his palms, causing a flutter of energy to leave the area. He pulled what appeared to be a staff out of the earth by tugging on a stone stick that had suddenly appeared. Vin stood up, drawing the last portion of the staff out and exposing a spear he had summoned as it soon emerged from the ground.