Chapter 4-Loguetown

Collapsed on the ground were Yami, Koby, and helmeppo. With the three of them combined, they barely managed to scratch garp, without him even utilizing haki. His skin was tough as iron, and he was surprisingly agile for his size and age. On top of that, he had vastly more experience.

'As expected, the people in this world are monsters.' Yami squeezed his fists and raised them into the air. 'How long until I reach that level? I can't wait, to see the view at the top.'

Garp considered koby and helmeppos growth rate pretty good as opposed to normal soldiers, however, Yami's growth was completely out of this world, there were only a few he considered to match his level in that aspect.

He seemed to absorb attacks like a sponge, and the next time, he wouldn't get struck by the same attack, or if he did, it wouldn't do as much damage. In addition to that, he studied his opponents movements and assimilated them into his own with ease.

'He's going to be a great addition for the marines. However...'

Garp needed to make sure the young man didn't become a bigger responsibity than he could handle. He had seen many talented people rise to great heights, but fall tragically because they became arrogant. He didn't want Yami to be one of those people.

"Looks like some harsh training is in order," Garp muttered under his breath. An almost demonic like smile briefly popped up on his face, prompting the trio to feel a cold shiver run down their spine. As quick as it appeared, was as fast as it disappeared.

-A week later-

Loguetown, the island home to the birth death of who is perhaps the most notorious pirate to roam the seas, Gol D. Roger. And just like him, his son soon followed him to the afterworld.

At his execution, Rogers words inspired a new generation of pirates, putting the seas in a frenzy. "My fortune is yours for the taking, but you'll have to find it first. I left everything I owned in One Piece."

Yami breathed the fresh air as he stepped on land for the first time in a week. Sitting out on sea with nothing to do was boring, especially for a man like himself who can't sit still in one place. His only distraction from boredom were the training sessions they had almost every day, despite not managing to land a solid hit.

It was just like any other day in loguetown. A warm sunny afternoon, with slight clouds that hung in the air, but not enough to block everyones view from the bright blue sky.

The clacking of boots signified a large group of people incoming. Yami turned his head as his ears perked up and noticed a band of marines led by a beautiful orange haired woman.

She stopped directly in front of the ship and saluted. "It's nice to see you again Garp-san. Vocation?"

With a handful of chips in his palm, garp replied, "Well, I guess you can call it that. Good to see you again too Isuca-chan. Or should I call you Ensign Isuca now?"

Isuca shook her head, and finally dropped her salute as did the marines behind her. "Whatever is comfortable for you."

"Hm. You've gotten bigger since the last time I saw you. I see your jobs been feeding you well Bwahahaha." Noticing her red face only made Garp laugh harder. He then turned behind him. "Koby, why don't you and helmeppo show Yami around, and make sure he doesn't get into any trouble."

"Hai!"

By now Garp had gotten an accurate estimation of what Yami's personality was like, and in a way he was similar to an old friend of his, a very troublesome one.

"A new disciple of yours Garp-San?" Isuca asked. She had noticed Yami before, but due to him not wearing the marine uniform, she hadn't know if he came with Garp or simply got lost.

"Something like that." Garp dug into his big bag of chips, and stuffed them in his mouth. "Just a little fledgling I picked up off the side of the road."

"Hmm." Ensign Isuca peered over Yami and his whole figure again. She didn't know what it was, but something about him bothered her. 'Red eyes? That's not very common. And he looks so... foreign.'

"You like what you see lady?" Yami asked, as he raised an eyebrow. People staring at him was one thing he did not find pleasant.

Isuca scoffed. "Don't get over your head. Where is he from Garp-San?"

Garp shrugged his shoulders as he answered, "Don't ask me, I just found him at the side of a road, as I said before." Deep down, Garp still held suspicions at this anomaly that was Yami Matsumoto.

Yami separated from the two sides, and went about his own way, to explore the city. He clicked his tongue when he noticed Koby and Helmeppo on his tail. "Don't you guys have better things to do?"

Koby smiled apologetically. "Sorry, this is an order from a vice admiral so we have to keep watch over you."

Helmeppo nodded his head, these days he was unusually quiet. There were many times Yami had even seen him snoop around his room.

"...alright. Do what you want."

Yami quickly started to survey his surroundings. Rows and rows of buildings the same height stacked next to each other. They were varied in color, but almost all the same design of an apartment building.

There were a few shops at each corner, and civilians traversed the streets in large numbers. Out of the crowd, Yami could see some rough looking men and woman, they didn't seem like the typical civilian.

'Pirates.' He concluded.

That was to be expected as the city was where pirates from the east blue stopped to restore and gather supplies.

A while ago, while smoker was the captain of their local marine base, many were captured and put in prison before they could set out to the grandline. Nowadays, there has been an influx of pirates strolling around. Ensign Isuca did her best to capture as many as she can, but she was not as thorough as smoker.

After wandering a while, Yami entered a store called "Ipponmatsu's sword shop." The shop had been in business for over two hundred years, and was also where zoro had gotten Yubarashi; one of the fifty skillful grade swords.

Though, Yami had forgotten about that little detail. He just wanted a katana, using the sword was one of the things he loved doing aside from boxing.

If possible, he'd like to be a combination of a sword and fist fighter. Usually, most people would stick with one, but because of his comprehension ability, it's possible he could master both forms of fighting to a high level.

A short man with black hair that went to the side of his head looked over the counter to see who had entered his store. "Hello! My name is ipponmatsu! And welcome to my shop where you can f-"

"I need a sword. A good one," Yami interrupted.

Ipponmatsu greedily rubbed his hands. Just based on Yami's appearance, he seemed to be some sort of young master with a lot of money to spend.

Ipponmatsu looked behind the young man, and notice two similarly young marines, then sneered. 'Damn marines. If it weren't for them I could make a lot more profit from pirates! All the money I could have made...'

Ipponmatsu shook his head, it was out of his hands. But at least he had been seeing a rise in customers as of late.

"Please come this way sir." Ipponmatsu lead him to the back of the shop, but tripped on his yukata.

"..."

"..."

"..."

He dusted off his Yukata like nothing happened. "Ahem, these are our best products! For only a couple million bellis-"

"Million?!" Koby nearly screamed. "Let's find a different store Yami-San, he's trying to rip you off. There's no way a sword that doesn't even have a grade would cost 50,000 bellis."

Ipponmatsu clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Let me tell you something, these swords are crafted with my blood and sweat, every one of these I put a piece of my soul into! Two million is nothing! If I weren't broke I wouldn't even sell these because they are priceless to me, understand?" He finished with tears in his eyes.

Peaking through his hands he looked at Yami to see if he had been moved by his performance. However, what he saw was a completely neutral face, and red pupils the color of red staring back at him, as if they could end his life at any second.

"I don't have time for games. Show me a good sword."

"Aha...well..." Ipponmatsu began to showcase each one of his swords. Yami found all of them fascinating, but there was nothing that stood out to him. Except one sword, the very last one Ipponmatsu displayed.

"This one... well to be honest I'm not the one made this. It was given to me by another man, though, I'm not sure if it is a sword or not."

"What do you mean?" Yami asked as he looked at the weapon. It was an all black sheathe, with the same colored handle. It didn't look like a sword, but more of a long stick. It was a few inches longer than a standard katana.

"No one has ever managed to pull it out of its sheathe. Come to think of it, maybe one person would have been able to do it." Ipponmatsu remembered a certain moss head. "But he's long gone now, and left with a top grade sword."

"...I see." Yami reached for the sword.

"Ah wait, it's inc-"

He then proceeded to lift it, but his arm instantly dropped to just a couple centimeters above the floor.

"-redibly heavy."

The sudden weight of the sword caught Yami off guard. After he adjusted, he pulled it up with relative ease, much to the shock of ipponmatsu who needed three men just to carry it. 'What the f*ck are they feeding kids nowadays?!'

In fact, Yami was not so strong since his arrival. Due to all of the training he had done recently, his physical strength increased because of his high regeneration.

Yami grabbed the hilt of the sword, and tried to pull it out to no avail. "Hmm?" He tried again with more force. Then he thought of an idea, something he had only seen been done in anime or cartoons.

He bit the skin off of his thumb, and let the blood drip down the sword.

A black ominous magicle circle appeared underneath his figure. Drawn out on it were complex symbols.

"What the..."

"What's he doing?" Helmeppo asked. In his eyes, Yami seemed to be unmoving, and his eyes unbelieving of what he saw.

Yami watched as a black orb rised into the air, and snuck its way into the sword. And before long, the circle disappeared, as if nothing was ever there.

Yami scrunched his brows, and noticed the sword was several times lighter than before. He swung it around like a fan, still puzzled by the situation.

A melodious voice rung in his head.

"Are you my new contractor? I command you to set me down and kowtow to me three times."

"..."