Chapter 11: Gains!

Markus walked back into Jasa's former hideout holding his head to see Anderson and Harlen waiting on him. He smiled at them who both noticed the head and smiled back at his success.

"Learn anything interesting?" Markus walked up to them casually even though his body was still in pain.

"Yeah actually. Think my Observation increased. That thing you were talking about with spreading your Haki thinly to sense more worked wonders against that shitty swordsman." Harlen nodded to himself thankful his Haki protected him from some nasty cuts.

"My Armament got stronger but not much." Anderson rubbed his head with a sheepish smile.

"Hahahahaha! No need to worry as long as you are stronger than the you of yesterday! I learned to cut steel! Wanna see!" Markus proceeded to show off by lowering then cutting the steel gate open with a smile. Harlen rolled his eyes but had a small smile while Anderson was incredibly impressed.

"Again! Again!" Anderson, a thirty something year old man, danced like a child as Markus, also a child, used his new found strength to cut everything in the area down for fun. Harlen eventually had enough and dragged the two back to town. Markus whined that he just wanted to show off a little while Anderson was confused why he was being dragged around like a child by someone half his age.

They eventually headed South East back to Lieford where Harlen knew a few ships had been abandoned. They walked through the village casually even though Markus strode around with Jasa's head. Most were surprised by the head recognizing the man that ruled over them with an iron fist.

People came up to them and praised them but Markus just waved them away before unleashing his Haki. He looked around before smiling and confidently heading in a direction towards the docks. It didn't take them long to find a few villagers along with Rebecca loading food onto a ship. Markus was confused as he walked up to them and tossed Jasa's head in front of Rebecca getting her attention. 

"Holy shit! I saw that elephant earlier and assumed y'all died!" Markus was confused even further.

"Why are you loading this ship?" Rebecca shrugged and turned around to get the still stunned villagers back to work.

"Looked like a good one." Markus looked around at the caravel with a dragon figure head and nodded.

"You are not only a perfect chef but also have a great eye for the important things! Wow! I'm such a good captain picking out such a great crew member!" Rebecca waved her hand as she soaked up the praise before giving him a blank look.

"Thanks Captain humble." Markus laughed.

"You're welcome! Now I'm hungry!! Can you make me something pleaseeeeeeeeeeeee-'' Rebecca covered Markus's mouth with a blank look.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" She walked into the ship's kitchen to make dinner while the villagers finished supplying the ship and the Celestial pirates rested and watched the setting sun. Markus waited until Rebecca came back with food to jump on the figure head and let his Haki explode across the village.

"JASA AND HIS CREW ARE DEAD!!!!!! LET'S PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTTYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Villagers started pouring out of their houses in confusion to find Markus passing food and alcohol around and using Jasa's money to buy more from every bar on the island. The crew partied for an entire week spending a day in each village celebrating not only their victory but also Rebecca's recruitment.

Markus after the week of partying finally opened his system.

[Pirate Crew upgraded! +1 Legacy Point! Perk Gained!

[Pirate Crew:

Celestial Dragon Pirates - E

Captain - Markus Lv. 70

Vice-Captain - Harlen Lv. 53

Navigator - Anderson Lv. 42

Chef - Rebecca Lv. 36

Increases all stats of crew members by 2%! 

Increase Crew rank by recruiting members and reaching higher levels!

D-Rank Requirement:

0/4 Crew Members Level 100/ 4/100 Crew Members!]

[Perks:

[South Blue Captain]

A captain from one of the four Blues! 5% increase to all crewmembers stats! 10% increase in charisma!]

After seeing the requirements he thought about it and decided to spend a month training on the island before they left. He started practicing his Haki with Halren while having Anderson guide Rebecca in awakening her own Haki. 

Markus started with Armament and Swordsmanship as he trained in his new Advanced Flow Style trying to mimic the demonstration Shisu had once given him. He lowered his body and sheathed his sword with his eyes closed. Harlen was slightly confused but still held caution as he crouched slightly and slowly moved towards Markus.

The second he entire Markus's range his Observation forced him back. Harlen jumped back so roughly he slammed into the ground hard enough to scrap part of his back. Markus had used Flow: Automatic. Using Observation to an absurd degree he had effectively made a two meter radius around him that he could automatically attack or parry though it left him vulnerable to long range attacks if they are fast enough.

Harlen was surprised, never seeing just a fast attack from Markus or ever before. He was surprised he could dodge it but was relieved he had learned Observation. Markus took a deep breath and knew he needed to increase his speed for the attack to work so after some training he went back to the basics. He swung his sword 10,000 times every day on top of his fight training.

Anderson had Rebecca blindfolded and bonked her on the head with his Fishing Pole, quickly pissing her off. Thankfully she knew it was just for training otherwise she might have killed him for forcing her to be blind while getting hit. He also had her hitting a nearby tree which she was surprisingly very good at having strong and skilled hands from cooking.

While training one day Rebecca had been hitting the same tree from before when something fell and hit her head, "Fuck! What the hell?!"

Rebecca turned around to see an orange apple with gray swirls and a stem that looked like an elephant trunk. She looked confused and picked it up. She smelt it and was about to throw it away when Markus took notice of it.

"Hey! You found a Devil Fruit here?!" Rebecca was taken aback, never having seen one before. She quickly handed it to Markus who was confused and handed it back. "Why'd you give it to me?"

Rebecca was now confused and handed it back to Markus, "Cause you're the captain?"

"Hm? So?" Markus tilted his head and handed the devil fruit back. "If you don't want to eat it you can just give it to someone on the crew or we can sell it. Even the cheapest Devil Fruit can go for 100 million berries. If this is Jasa's like I think it could go for half a billion."

Everyone was drooling at the price named. Rebecca looked at the fruit before handing it to Markus.

"You're the captain! Shouldn't you take this for yourself or sell it?!" Markus tilted his head again.

"But you found it. I may be the captain and my commands are law but I'm not some tyrant. We're not just Crew mates, we're family." Markus smiled and handed the fruit back. Rebecca looked at him dumbly before looking at the fruit and nodding. She quickly smiled.

"I'm gonna be filthy fucking rich!!! So many diamonds?! So many jewels!! Think of the possibilities!" Rebecca quickly ran to the ship with the fruit safely nestled in her cleavage for protection so she could hide the fruit in a chained lock box and put it under a false board. She quickly ran back and handed the box key to Markus and pocketed the chain key herself. She smiled sweetly to the stunned crew at how fast she changed and went to hide the fruit.

Markus laughed her reaction off and was quite surprised they found a powerful Zoan but he didn't want a devil fruit or at least one that wasn't a super powerful one. He didn't want to risk not having the knowledge to develop a fruit. If he was unlucky he could get stuck with one he has no clue how to apply in combat and hold him back. Plus he liked swimming.

Harlen and Anderson didn't really care for a devil fruit at the moment so they didn't really care that much. Rebecca went back to training with a smile on her face while Markus shook his head with his own smile and started practicing with Harlen again. Anderson finished his own Armament training so he decided to get some fishing in to relax and restock since his Captain ate so much.

Markus and Harlen practiced together the most as Captain and Vice-Captain; they knew they needed to be much stronger so they increased their training. They left each night looking nearly dead but always got up ready to continue fighting. Markus was actually surprised but was extremely happy that Harlen could keep up with his regeneration assuming he got extremely lucky finding someone this talented.

Harlen just wanted to get stronger and help support his crew better. Anderson and Rebecca were both keeping up but noticeably had less talent for combat but Markus was fine with that. As long as they could protect themselves he didn't mind since they were his Navigator and Chef after all.

He made sure they knew Haki and combat skills so they weren't helpless. Harlen was exceeding any expectations set as he grew rapidly along with Markus. Each day they would nearly kill each other leading to getting much stronger after each fight.

By the end of the month they had all made significant progress, especially Markus.

[Name: Markus

Level: 74

Primary Class: [Advanced Swordsman - Level: 4]

Secondary Class: [Beginner Marksman - Level: 7]

HP: 100%

SP: 100%

HK: 100%]

[Skills:

[Advanced Swordsmanship - Level: 26 [504/480,000]

[Armament Haki - Level: 8 [325,193/400,000]

[Observation Haki - Level: 9 [17/500,000]

[Conqueror's Haki - Level: 3 [364,903/400,000]

[Beginner Marksmanship - Level: 40 [25/1,000]

[One Sword Style - Flow - Level: MAX]

[Cooking - Level: 2 [39/200]

[One Sword Style - Advanced Flow - Level: 2/7]

[Pirate Crew:

Celestial Dragon Pirates - E

Captain - Markus Lv. 82

Vice-Captain - Harlen Lv. 71

Navigator - Anderson Lv. 60

Chef - Rebecca Lv. 49

Increases all stats of crew members by 2%! 

Increase Crew rank by recruiting members and reaching higher levels!

D-Rank Requirement:

0/4 Crew Members Level 100/ 4/100 Crew Members!]

****

After the month of training was up the Celestial Dragon pirates were all gathered on their new pirate ship, the caravel with a dragon figurehead. Rebecca headed for the kitchen, Anderson headed to the helm, Harlen assisted Anderson in sailing, and Markus jumped onto the figurehead to watch the sea.

They sailed for five days and nights before finding an island to dock at. It was a simple looking island with a beach at the North and South with a port on each end of the island. They docked and walked around the village towards a bar.

Markus played his usual tricks but was disappointed to learn the most interesting people in town were just the marines and their Captain, "Good Dog" Bailey. A man with a dog Zoan that protected the village successfully for almost ten years now. Markus was impressed with his strength and decided to not cause any problems so after some shopping for swords and ammo they headed back to their ship.

They were almost at the docks when Markus stopped them. He got a bad feeling when his Haki signaled to him there were over 200 people surrounding their ship. Markus signaled Harlen and Rebecca to head right while he took Anderson to the left. Markus peaked around a corner and observed the Marines boarding his ship. He quickly grew angry and let his presence known with his Conqueror's Spirit.

"I'm gonna count to 3 and you're all gonna get off my ship otherwise don't blame me for getting violent!" Markus looked down his nose at the Marines as they aimed towards him with half passing out. "3!"

"'Blasphemer' Markus! Turn yourself in for crimes against the world! You and your crew have caused enough chaos and disturbed the balance of the seas! If you don't surrender now we will use force!" A man wearing the coat of justice and hat with dog ears glared from Markus's ship. This was Bailey.

"2!" Markus grabbed his sword and leaned forward causing the few marines still standing to grow tense. "1!"

Almost instantly Bailey had charged forward while Markus unsheathed his sword. Harlen was already engaging the other marines while Rebecca supported him. Bailey was about to strike Markus but found his arm caught in a fishing line. Markus capitalized and went for a stab that Bailey avoided but not without cutting his chest.

Bailey gritted his teeth and ripped the line apart before his hat fell and real dog ear took over. His muscles bulged as his head widened and extended. Bailey gained gray fur across his entire body and looked like a large minx in his hybrid form for he had eaten the, Inu Inu no mi: Model Pitbull! 

Bailey spun on his hind legs before squarely clocking Markus in the face. Markus was surprised the attack was faster than him, forcing him to use Armament to block. He took a single step before slashing back and barely missing. He let his Observation extend and focused on how the 'Good Dog' would move along with the wind to quickly dodge and counter attack using a bastardized version of the Paper Arts or Kami-e.

Markus smiled and sheathed his sword before he utilized his own Kami-e in a much better though not combat oriented way quickly evading each attack. He dodged around one of his punches before using Tekkai to block a kick.

Markus then went for a draw slash that forced Bailey back. Markus and Bailey locked eye for a second before each accessing the area around them. Harlen and Rebecca had almost finished the last of the pirates while Anderson was missing. Bailey's eyes widened noticing someone was missing but before he could look around a thin line wrapped around his neck before a hook stabbed into his shoulder.

Markus used this advantage and jumped at the stunned Bailey before he simply knocked him out with a powerful Haki punch to the head. Markus was slightly disappointed in Bailey's strength but considering he was a Captain in the South Blue with a Zoan devil fruit and Kami-e he was quite exceptional. Unfortunately he met the only person in the South Blue that not only can cut steel but also use all three forms of Haki, both usually found in the grandline.

They quickly loaded everything they had onto their ship and threw the unconscious marines overboard before setting sail. Markus still wanted to recruit more people for his crew.

2500~ Words