The Chained Boy

Seth zoomed in towards the ship. He smiled all the way, hatching up his devilish plan. But as he approached close,

Boooommmmm!!!!!

A canon was fired. Seth had anticipated it. Forget about a pirate ship, any ship would retaliate in some form if an unknown foreign being suddenly approaches them.

Unlike land where people take time to judge objects, here at sea, people can't stay so patient. A psychology is at play that makes people insecure at the tinniest of problems, for even the smallest mistake here could lead to death. You can call it 'the way of the waters'.

And this situation here was is in no way small. So, Seth was already expecting the canonball flying towards him. The wings on his back started beating rapidly as he flew past the ball. But that was not all.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

What welcomed his grand dodge was a shower of gunfire.

Not even Seth was confident enough that he could dodge them all. Sure he had learnt and had a good control over his flying techniques but that didn't mean that he was a pro at it. After all, there is a limit to how much one can learn in a month.

But Seth wasn't in the least bit bothered. He maynot be able to dodge them but he had a different way to solve this problem.

"One, two.... Ten, I see? Now what should I do?" Seth said as his wings took a wide spread before beating, sending a gust of wind at the cannonballs.

Whooshh~~~

The wind wasn't strong enough to stop all the balls, so Seth had used Observation Haki to mark out the ones that would actually hit him and selectively directed the wind at them.

Three balls were slightly deflected, altering their course from Seth while two more were halted in the air by the sheer force of the wind and the balls losing strength, fell down in the water below.

(Guess I am still not strong enough to deflect them back)

But he wasn't disappointed with the execution. To choose the right option in the matter of seconds and having the will and power to back it up shows how much Seth had advanced due to his training.

The pirates, on the otherhand, were surprised by the unusual phenomena they had witnessed. And Seth seeing the chance, flew into the ship.

"I have survived your barrage. Let's see if you can survive mine" Seth proclaimed releasing twenty to thirty feathers at the pirate crew.

The captain who saw the scene was horrified by how a single man was demolishing his gang. He had sailed for years now and had even been to the Grand Line once. He knew well how dangerous Devil Fruits can be and that was why he had been searching for one all this time, but in vain.

Judging by the form, the attacker seemed to have a Zoan class fruit which would mean that it would be very hard to deal with him directly.

But no idea came to his mind and with every passing second, more of his crew were getting KO-ed.

(Kairoseki??)

Also called seastone, it was a big weakness of a devil fruit user. Just holding it was enough to make user lose his devil fruit abilities until it is held.

(But I had only one of those cuffs and it is being used on that guy. What should I-)

"Thank you for saving my time. Now, I don't have to search for you."

Suddenly the attacker was right in front of him.

The captain, surprised, went for his guns but before he could pull it, he was punched in the gut.

Flat.

The captain was knocked out. One punch was all that was needed. A punch filled with the full power of a Zoan fruit.

Seth looked back at the crew knocked out singlehandedly by him. Not a single one was standing, all laying unconscious.

"Well I improved a lot" he smiled as he remembered the last fight he had at the Foosha village. He had had a hard time fighting them and he would easily get tired but now the case was different. Even after all this fight, he wasn't so tired and could still go on strong.

Then his sight fell on the ship, the reason why he took this fight. He could have easily evaded them but no, he wanted the ship.

"The ship isn't in a bad shape. It should do well for my first."

Although he was at first disheartened by his first encounter being a pirate ship, it sure turned profitable at the end.

"There may be a few hiding somewhere but first, I need to take care of them."

He dragged everyone into one of the empty rooms and threw them inside before locking it. The room was congested for the number of people he had defeated wasn't small but he didn't care for the comfort of the pirates. This way, even if they wake up they won't be able to escape.

"Now for the remaining pirates who are hiding."

Seth went to search for the ones hidden as well as check on the treasury and the provisions.

He arrived at the granary on the first floor. Seemed like the pirates had recently stockpiled their food. There was lot more than what he could eat. Even if he ate for a whole month, it wouldn't even be half of it.

(If only Luffy were here)

Luckily there weren't many pirates hiding and the few who did were effortlessly knocked out. Guess the commotion drew everyone to the deck.

As he was searching, he stumbled upon a locked room in one of the floors. But locked or not, didn't matter to him. He used his feather sword and slashed open the door, cutting it in half.

"You don't need a key if you have the strength"

The image inside was different from other rooms. It looked more like a jail, or maybe it was the cell used to lock up people for interrogation or pirates for bounty. An important part of every ship in this age.

But as Seth entered, what met him was a gruesome scene, inhumane to the end.

A young boy, around the same age as him, tied to a chair and was bound with strange looking handcuffs. The boy was half naked, his eyes blindfolded, his mouth taped and there were injuries all over his body, marks of chains, whips, sticks and burns. His left arm seems to have been broken and his legs bore dried up gunhole. There were blood marks everywhere. Just looking at the boy, was making Seth nauseated.

(Just how cruel those pirates were to do this to a human)

Killing is cruel, but tormenting, torturing like this is far, far crueler. The pirates didn't put much of a fight so he had thought they weren't a big deal. But it seems that even a common pirate in reality, is so barbaric.

Seth moved towards the boy, and tried to open his chains. The handcuffs, he noticed, were made of seastone. Though it was his first time seeing it, it was obvious.

(So, this boy uses devil fruit powers just like me)

He won't be able break open the cuffs. But luckily he had obtained a key from the captains clothes. He had tried it earlier on the door but it didn't work. Maybe it was for this. He was about to open it but stopped.

(Wait. I know this guy is in a sorry position but what if he turns out to be a criminal too. I wouldn't want being stabbed in the back while helping this boy. So first I should know his history, then I will decide.)

The chained boy was conscious but feeling someone close-by he was being cautious. For all he knew, the person in front may be another lackey of the captain coming here to torture him.

Seth opened tape on his mouth.

"Hey, I have taken care of the pirates above. Tell me who you are and why are you being imprisoned here."

No matter how much he acted he couldn't fool Seth. The moment he saw him, he already knew the boy was awake.

The boy was shocked hearing someone say that he had defeated the Pirate crew.

(Is he a Marine? Or is he lying?) He thought. He was more cautious than before "First open the fold. I want to see who you are."

Seth did as said, "Is it okay now? Now tell me."

The boy was surprised to see a new face. He had seen nearly every pirate in the crew during his daily tortures but this boy was someone he couldn't recognize. But he didn't relax. What if he was a new recruit?

"Open my cuffs and I will talk."

Seth knew it was natural for the boy to be wary of him but somehow it was irritating to see the boy ordering him like this.

"Not doing. That handcuffs seem to be made of Kairoseki meaning you have eaten a devil fruit. If I open, who knows, what you will do."

Hearing the answer, the boy turned serious. His plot just failed.

He had planned to use his ability the moment he was free but unluckily, the other party was already aware of it. He was also amazed that the new guy knew of Kairoseki as it is a technology popularly used in Grand Line. Even if it's is known in other seas, there was no way people in a peaceful place like the East Blue would know about it.

(This boy. He is either a Marine or someone from the Grand Line or a new member of the crew) the boy reasoned for only they could know about the seastone. He asked "First tell me who you are"

"Not telling you. Tell me who you are and then I will answer" Now even Seth was not backing down.

"Then I am also not telling you anything."

Irritation passed the boiling point, Seth was at first pitying the boy but not anymore "This boy" he grumbled. He stood up and pulled the boy alongwith the chair he was tied to.

"Hey, hey, hey. Where are you taking me?"

Seth smiled devilishly, "See. Some guy was trying to bargain with me. So, I am left with no choice but to throw him into the sea."

Hearing the word 'sea', the boy went aghast. For any devil fruit user, sea was the biggest enemy. Dropping in is equal to drowning. And in his condition, anyone would drown, not just the devil fruit user.

"Stop, stop, you can't do that."

"Oh yes, I can and I will."

"Alright, I will tell you everything" the boy, at last gave in.

Seth stopped. He had never intended to drown the poor guy. It was just a frightening tactic and it worked "Now, tell me. Who are you and why are you imprisoned?"