Chapter 8 The hawk takes flight

Deciding to have a small training arc right after I recruited my first core crew members might've been the best decision, kind of like a direct opposite of boot camp. They've learned to respect me based on my work ethic not through me telling them two. I'm the first one to start and the last one to leave, hell sometimes I show up early to get an extra few hundred sword swings in before they even get out of bed.

The main reason I started this little camp was to help them build discipline, well besides them and me desperately needing to get stronger. Mori came from a very laid-back castle guard background while Drake came from a weak pirate crew, neither place was very good to build discipline and I refuse to run a motley crew. Luckily I haven't once had to put my foot down on any issues, they've trained their hearts out so far without me even needing to lift a finger besides equipment gathering and a few tips here and there.

Speaking of their training there were a few surprises since three days ago when I evolved my swordsmanship.

FLASHBACK NO JUTSU... YESTERDAY

It was going like a normal day, I was dodging a boulder tied to a string with a blindfold on, dodging everything like a master with Observation Haki.

*BANG*

"GOD FUCKING DAMMIT THIS IS STUPID!" I yelled to the world while grabbing my nose trying to stop the blood flow. 'Yep, I've only managed to get it to a point where it warms me maybe 1/15th of the time and this isn't high-speed blows, just a normal 40-pound rock. Yeah that two-year time skip is starting to make a lot more sense' I finished the thought with a sigh at making minimal progress on my Haki training.

'Honestly, I should be focusing on quests to get Coins to get an impossibly badass fruit that will carry me all the way to the New World, like pretty much half the cast of One Piece. Well at least in this era which I'm pretty sure is nowhere near Rodgers, but that's more on Rocks D. Xebec than anything. So far from what I've seen nobody even comes close to his level in this era, maybe Luffy eventually. Sadly the fruit route sounds nice until you run into an Adirmal or a Yonko commander-level person and get flattened.' Finishing the thought I smell something funky in the air. 'Is that smoke?' I thought in worry noticing that was where I left Drake and Mori to train by themselves. Taking off in a full sprint to hopefully get my barrings on the situation.

"Could it be a raid? Why would Pirates come all the way here, we're on the opposite side of town away from the port" I thought in confusion finally making it into the clearing, trees burning down, the grass turned to ashes and a fucking panda running around trying to get the fire off his pants.

"What the hell are you idiots doing and where the hell is Drake!" I yelled at this ridiculous scene.

"Sorry boss! I swear I didn't mean to" Drake said landing right next to me in a gust of wind.

"What do you mean? Did you buy a flame thrower I didn't know about?" I asked in confusion.

"No, Mori and I were training as usual until I felt like my stomach was on fire, thinking I'm about to throw up Mori runs over to help me. Eventually, it felt like my stomach lining was going to melt so I forced myself to throw up. Except it wasn't barf but a fireball!" Drake said in excitement. 'Huh? An ancient Zoan with fire-based abilities! The fucking system didn't put that in the description. Still, that's definitely a good long-range ability for a flier like him'

'I'd bet he can only shoot it from his mouth as well, definitely not any kind of fire control, but who knows Devil fruits are weird sometimes'

"Yeah that is awesome," I said feeling a little down over giving it away.

"I know right, too bad for Mori the fireball landed right on his ass, HUHURHUR" Drake said with one of the funkiest laughs I've heard. 'Well this is the One Piece world, at least it's not Foxy levels of annoying. That shit made me annoyed for half the best arc in the show'

"Yeah very funny, help me put this shit out," I said with a sigh before stomping a nearby flame.

BACK TO PRESENT

'Yeah, so inclusion Drake finally learned a signature move. I've been trying to hint at them to figure out a half-transformation but they've not had too much progress so far. At most Moris has been able to turn his hand into a paw and Drakes has grown a few claws. Still, progress is progress. Me on the other hand, I'm a certified prodigy who mastered Observation Haki in two days' I thought with a smirk rubbing my bruised-covered face in sadness.

'I might not have made much progress on my skills but I made some decent progress on my stats in these six days that we've been training like dogs'

LVL 10 (19,900/192,000XP)

TITLE:

NAME: FATE D. KAL

STR-114

END-162

WILL-154

INT-35

DEX-127

STAT POINTS:95

GACHA COINS:40

BERRIE COUNTER:23,035,000

'Yep, just about 40 stats across the board in three days, not bad' I finished the thought just barely dodging a person walking in front of me.

Yes, the day has come, a burly sweat and oil-covered man came in yelling that the ship was completed. Without even waiting for the others I headed straight for the docks. It's only minutes later I see a Caravel-sized silhouette at the docks, moving forward I notice the first thing people can recognize from a distance. A large Berrie symbol is painted on the main sail indicating it is a bounty hunter's ship.

Finally reaching the docks I can't help but let my jaw drop at the sight, Black stained wood, three nice and sturdy masts, a large cabbing area in the back and a beautifully hand-carved Hawk about 1 meter wide with its wings spread in challenge 'She's perfect' I thought before the shipwright Rodger walked up to me with smile noticing my reaction.

"So what do you think sonny, she's a beauty. One of the best to ever come out of my shop" He said proudly giving the ship a pat.

"She's perfect, exactly how I imagined," I said in awe staring at my first boat, noticing Rodger seem to get fidgety I get a suitcase out of my inventory.

"Here you are Rodger, 3 million. Keep the change" I said offering the man a handshake in thanks, he said how grateful he was before running off towards what I'm pretty sure is the Casino.'Eh, everyone has their vice who am I to judge' I thought before jumping onto the deck to get a better idea of what we're working with.

"Jeez, how much did this cost you," Drake said landing on the lower mast.

"Just under six million, not bad considering it'll pay for itself in just a few years now that I don't have to pay for an inn every night. Not to mention traveling for bounties is required in this line of work" I finished my reasoning just as Mori landed on the deck. Giving everything a good look he turned to me with a smile.

"So you finally gonna tell me her name?" Mori asked in anticipation, Drake seemed equally as curious as he hopped down from his post to listen.

"Well, I had a name picked out for a while but seeing her color scheme I decided to change it a little." I said definitely not trying to boost the suspense with an explanation.

"Just say it!" They both yell comically.

"The Ebony Hawk!" I said with pride while jumping onto the hawks' back for theatrics.

"A little on the nose but I like it!" Mori agreed.

"Eh, I would've gone with something more menacing, like 'The Raptor" Drake said with a smirk while we were both giving him a deadpan stare. 'Says the dude that's literally a dinosaur'

"Critics, you can't win 'em all," I said with a sigh.

"Alright enough of that, it's time to go shopping," I said giving Mori around a million Berries and Drake half that.

"Alright, Mori you're in charge of Furnishings and a few odds and ends. We need 10 beds, a few tables, and chairs. Two desks, a map of the Entire north blue, compass. That should be all for now.

"No problem boss" Mori said with a smirk to which I sent him a glare.

"Now Mori, you don't need to call me boss all the time….. Call me Captain" I said making a pose and adding the illusion of my nose gaining a point.

"Yeah…. Sure Captain" Mori said a little confused.

"So what's my job?" Drake asked curiously.

"Glad you've asked chore boy Drake," I said while a large tick mark grew on his forehead.

"Just kidding, you're in charge of groceries and essentials. That 500,000 is our food budget for the month so focus on cheap filling things like chicken and pork and you know the obvious stuff like toilet paper napkins etc. The main thing I want from you is to get three of every single fruit in the market, make sure it's exactly three."

"Why so many?" Drake asked confused.

"It's a secret, just trust me. I'll tell you eventually" I replied.

"So what do you have to do?" Mori asked.

"Well I gotta head to the training ground to grab our equipment and I have to set up a bounty wall. It's not as cool to have them in a stack like this" I said pulling out a stack of over 100 bounties."

"Alright, guys make sure you hurry because I want to get a head start on a few of these guys," I said shuffling through some papers. They both gave a quick nod before running off toward the marketplace. Smiling I begin heading toward the training area. 'I really wish I could have drawn a Human Human devil fruit, it would've been nice to have Ceaser join the crew' I thought with a sad sigh. 'There's still a chance I could find one, Maybe just a fruit that boosts Intelligence would work the same. I wouldn't mind risking it to see if I can get my training partner to come along'

'Hmm, it would've been nice to train for a few more weeks but I really want to make more progress on the hunter questline. Plus I've really made the greatest strides in battle, It's way more dangerous but it's honestly worth the risk. Especially if I want to make actual progress in Observation Haki, still even if I fought in an arena gladiator style I couldn't see myself passing the Novice level in less than a year. Who knows though I may be a prodigy' I finished the thought finally making it into the clearing throwing a wave to Ceaser I head over to shove all the equipment into my inventory. Caesar seeing this begins making a sorrowful face, seeing this I walk over to him to give him a punch on his shoulder.

"Come on buddy, it's not like I'll never be back," I said while the beast huffed in disappointment.

"Man don't be like that, you probably have a family and everything keeping you here" I said dismissively, he seemed to be thinking about it before shaking his head.

"So you do have a basic understanding of human language, interesting" I said grabbing my chin in thought. 'I'd bet if I found a fruit that boosted intelligence by just 250 it'd work with his already abnormal intellect'

"Fine, if I find a good enough fruit for you, then I'll let you join our crew" I said with conviction to which the beast smiled.

"But you can't stay here waiting, there are hundreds of strong beasts on this island, I want you to be at the absolute top of the food chain when I return to look for you," I said to which he nodded in conviction.

"Well, I do have a going away present for you for how much you've helped me get to this point, here put these on" I said dropping a pair of large steel gauntlets onto his lap, he seemed to nod in thanks before putting them on and giving the air a few jabs.

"Alright Ceaser, I'll see you in a few months tops" I said giving him a pat on his shirt, deciding to head over to the bounty office to give a goodbye to James.

2 HOURS LATER...

After going over to the Bounty office, I met with James. Deciding to exchange our Den Den Mushi numbers, it's annoying to talk to him but hell, he's one of the only good contacts I have. Plus he can always call if there were Pirates spotted near me, kind've like Afred and Batmans' dynamic.

'Honestly, I really hope that letter makes it to Law and he doesn't get followed' I thought remembering the small message I asked James to send. 'It's only a matter of time before Corazon gets caught being a spy and when that happens Law will be screwed. I really didn't want to risk it but hell, Trafalgar's worth it' I finished the thought thinking of all the battles we've seen Law survive. Turning the footsteps hitting the deck I can see Drake coming in with a large buddle about two times his size on his back.

"Any trouble?" I asked curiously.

"No, I got everything you asked for without much trouble, I'll give you your change once I get this all to the kitchen" Drake said leaving towards the kitchen.

"Don't worry about it, Helmsman. Just make sure you put all the fruits in the ice box that has a lock"

"Yeah yeah" He said while heading towards the kitchen, just in time for Mori to be seen dragging a dolly up onto the ship. Stacked 30 feet high with beds blankets and pillows tied to the top, and another 3 workers behind him dragging in tables, chairs, and couches. It only takes me 10 minutes to direct them where to put everything. 'Finally the Hawks ready to take her first flight'

"Alright, boys lift the anchor!" I yelled in happiness at finally leaving my first island.

"Drake turn her starboard, Mori once we're out of port lower the sails!" they both hurry to complete the orders, It's not 20 minutes later that Embassa city is just a dot in an endless sea.