Chapter 22

Marine Headquarters,

Grandline-1 (G-1), Paradise.

"Wahahahaha..."

"Shut up, Garp!" A loud booming voice called out, followed by a fist banging hard on the desk, but the laughter of the other man continued.

"Wahahahahaha..." Garp only stopped laughing when his friend gave up on asking him to stop. "Don't pretend that you care about a scum of a Slave Merchant, Sengoku."

Sengoku, the current Fleet Admiral of Marines, frowned when he heard his friend's words.

"That Slave Merchant was working for a Celestial Dragon, Garp. And now those Dragons are pushing for the death of all those responsible for harming their trade." He sighed and looked at the Wanted Poster that was lying on his desk.

"What did Kong say?" Garp smirked and asked.

"He suggested a raise in the kid's Bounty to satisfy those Dragons."

"Then do it."

Sengoku did not answer him and kept staring into the cold grey eyes of the young man in the Wanted Poster.

"The kid is asking for attention, Garp. And my instincts are screaming at me to beware of him." He spoke after a while.

"He's just a Kid." Garp waved his hand and sank back onto the couch. "Sooner or later they all sink to the bottom of the sea. Let him have his fun while it lasts."

"Another D. is on the rise, Garp. I can feel it." He seriously said and threw the file the Marines had on the young boy and his crew. "Look."

Garp deftly caught the file and then silently went through it.

"A Lightning Logia, and a strange Coldfire Logia. The report says that the other girl on his Crew is a Logia as well, capable of using extremely hot purple flames." Sengoku spoke. "They took down the former cadet of Zephyr's Corps, Smoker, in the Loguetown, and the girl that beat him knew Haki. How many Rookie Crews have you seen in your life that knew Haki before they even entered the Grandline?" He seriously asked. "The investigation report on Blossom Island states that he effortlessly took down the Pirate Captain Barga 'The Tiger' and his first mate Grover 'The Lustful'. Both of them were veterans with 110 Million Berries and 80 Million Berries on their heads. He treated them as if they were toys for him to play with and then killed them in cold blood. Later, the kid and three members of his crew proceeded to hunt every single Seaman and Pirate that was on the Island. They did not leave a single survivor, and left us a message with the dead body of Gibbon 'The Merchant'."

"They did not harm any civilian in Conomi Islands, Loguetown, Foolshout Island, and Blossom Island. They saved the people of Conomi Islands and Blossom Island." Garp pointed out as he finished reading the report, and then stared at the images of the Crew members of the Blackstar Pirates.

"They kill people for sport, Garp. And the People of Blossom Island now remember him as 'The Devil!'. The Kid and his Crew twice looted the Marines, killed a Marine Captain and a few soldiers, destroyed a base, and now they have targeted a Slave Merchant and left a message to mock us. The kid and his two Vice-Captains know Haki, we don't know much about the capabilities of the rest of the crew yet and combined with how powerful his Devil Fruit is, he could easily contend against our finest Vice-Admirals. That's a threat that can not be ignored."

Garp nodded to his words and then suddenly burst out laughing.

"What are you laughing about?" Sengoku frowned.

"You are getting old, Sengoku. Even a Rookie gets on your nerves so bad."

"Shut up!" The Fleet Admiral slammed his fist on the desk, but Garp just kept laughing.

Sengoku kept staring at the pictures of the Blackstar Crew, and after ten minutes, finally made up his mind. He picked up the Den Den Mushi and made a call to the Information and Communication Department.

"Black D. Sin of the Blackstar Pirates, raise his Bounty by 30 million. Put a 30 Million Bounty each on Black D. Robin and Boa Hancock. Contact G-2 and G-12, and tell them that Blackstar Pirates are priority A. Do not engage them without a Vice-Admiral leading the forces."

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"Finally!" Sin brightly said before laughing happily, but most of the crew did not share the same sentiments as him.

For the last week, Sin had behaved as if he was possessed by something. They stayed on Little Garden for another day, and the next morning they set sail for Asuka Island, with no idea where it was.

As soon as they set sail, Sin disappeared into the sky, searching for the Island in the direction the Giants had pointed, and the rest of the Crew followed the directions of his Vivre Card that Robin always kept in her necklace.

On the fourth day after they left the Little Garden, Sin returned to the Ship with a bright smile, successfully locating Asuka Island and having prepared an Eternal Pose for it. And here they were now, two days later, looking at the incredibly beautiful Asuka Island.

Like all other Spring Islands, it was full of colours, and the air was filled with the Island's natural floral scent. But as beautiful as it was to them, it was also just as dreadful.

"Sin," Bonney called out to him. "Do you really want to do this?" She asked one last time.

"Yes." There was no hesitation in his voice and he turned to lightly smile at her. "We'll be fine."

"You don't know that." She glared at him.

"A Sword is a Sword, Bonney." He chuckled. "And even if it is a Cursed Sword, the stories tend to exaggerate everything. It shouldn't be so bad."

"Is that so..." Bonney did not argue with him and only turned her eyes to look at the Cursed Odachi he was wearing on his back.

Sin understood what she was trying to convey, and he found himself at a loss for words now. If some stories tended to exaggerate things, then some stories fell short of conveying the true scale of the danger and heat of the events that took place.

"I'll be fine." He confidently said to her.

"We will see." She was mad at him for being so reckless, but she knew that there was nothing she could do now to sway his mind away from what he planned on doing. And she was partially mad at Robin as well for not trying to convince Sin against chasing another Cursed Sword.

The tensed nerves of the Crew eased a lot when they sailed into a section of the Island where the docks were. There was a bustling Town next to the docks, and it was a good sign.

However, their arrival alarmed the people of the Town after they saw the Black Sails and the Pirate Flag, and by the time they anchored their Ship, the people were waiting for them with their guns and swords.

"Do not come out of your ship, Pirates!" A middle-aged man, wearing the Sherrif's hat, spoke through the loudspeaker. "I repeat, do come out of your ship! We will open fire as soon as you step on the Docks. Go back! There's no place for you here!"

"Heh... The people of this town are quite the brave men." Sin devilishly smiled and then disappeared in a flash. "Easy there, or you will lose your head." He playfully warned and pressed his Dagger on the neck of the Sherrif.

The sudden turn of events scared everyone, and the people around the two of them stumbled away. All eyes were fixed on Sin and the jolts of electricity that surrounded him, crackling ominously in their ears.

The blood had drained from the face of the Sherrif, and his body was trembling to the touch of the cold blade that was resting on the nape of his neck. He was trying hard to find words but was scared that if he spoke, they could be his last words.

"We are not here to loot your Town if that is what worries you." Robin calmly spoke after the Blackstar Crew arrived on the Docks. "And if you do not lower your weapons in the next 15 seconds, blood will be spilt, and I assure you, it will all be yours." She used her Conqueror's Haki to deter them and break down their will to fight.

The people fearfully looked at them, and obediently lowered their weapons as she had asked.

Sin let the Sherrif go, and the latter fell on his knees panting heavily, still rattled by what just happened.

"Take care of our Ship." Sin patted his shoulder. "If any harm comes to it," he leaned near his ear and whispered, "I will kill you and everyone on this Island. Understood?"

His cold voice froze the blood of Sherrif and he subconsciously nodded his head.

"No harm will come to it." He promised.

"Good." Sin brightly smiled and turned to look at his Crew. "Let's go!"