Bounty Hunting (2)

Lieutenant Robert almost wanted to barf when he heard how casual Okami greeted him like they were best friends or something. What happened back in the Marine Base a year ago was still fresh in his mind because it was the only time he felt scared and helpless. He coughed loudly to clear his throat and replied, "So, it is you, pirate hunter. I thought there was a monster invasion."

Okami pointed behind him. "Oh, are you talking about them? They are all my crew members and friends. Don't worry, they're a hundred percent human."

"What are you doing here, Pirate Hunter? I hope you're not here to cause trouble or we can exact justice against you."

Okami waved his hands. "Nah! Why should I harm my friends? I'm just here to get a copy of the wanted posters. You know, I need lots of Beli to create my ship and bounty-hunting is the easiest way to earn them."

Lieutenant Robert's mouth twitched, knowing that pirate hunting was a dangerous job. The bounty was a way of the World Government and Marines to determine the threat level it had to the current authority. It considered every aspect of the wanted person like its strength, influence, and significance to the history that could affect the World Government. He looked at his right side and shouted, "Eric, come here!"

Eric took a deep breath when the lieutenant called his name. All he wanted was to stay away from Okami because he was deeply scarred in his heart the first time he encountered the devil a year ago. Without a choice, he mustered his strength and approached his leader, saying, "Ensign Eric, reporting for duty, sir!"

"Retrieve all the wanted posters back at the office and bring them to me. Right now!"

"Yes, sir!" Eric ran as fast as he could, relieved that he had to stay away from Okami.

Okami was pleased that he did not have to resort to confrontations just to get his wish. "Thank you, my friend. Are the pirates giving you a headache?"

Lieutenant Robert nodded as he carefully limited his actions so as not to aggravate the devil. As much as possible, he did not want to create an enemy out of this troublesome figure. "Since the time Gol D. Roger announced the existence of One Piece in the public, many nonsensical people were trying to become pirates and claim the treasure. Such an absurd mentality!"

Gol D. Roger, the pirate king and considered to be the greatest pirate that had ever existed, was the captain of Shanks when he was just starting to become a pirate. His death paved the way for the new era, where dreams and passions were the core of their seafaring. This was the reason why pirates were popping out like mushrooms.

Okami moved closer to him and whispered, "Can you tell your men to stay far away from us? I have to give you something and I don't want them to see this or hear anything I've got to say to you."

Robert remembered the Fire Stone and quickly instructed his people to back out several meters away from the vicinity. When he was sure that no one was close enough to hear their conversation, he signaled Okami to proceed.

Okami took out two Fire Stones he prepared beforehand and offered it to Robert. "Here, a gift for you, Lieutenant."

Robert became ecstatic when his suspicion was correct and grabbed the gems immediately. The first one that he received from Okami earned him thousands of Beli from the noble. Since then, he informed his contacts to look for this expensive stone's source, only to fail. Curious, he glanced at the boy and asked, "May I know where you get this stone?"

Okami understood his intentions and answered, "It's a secret. Anyway, why are you interested? Did the stone I give you back then was sold for a high price?"

Robert chuckled. "Yes. If you want, I can help you sell those things to the nobles. They love them and has been telling me to get some more."

"That's good. We can be partners if you are interested. Fifty-fifty."

Robert knew that this was the best scenario for him if he wanted to create a good impression among the nobles and Okami. As long as he was careful, he could become rich. "I accept it."

Okami shook his hands and sealed the deal. They further discussed how they do the business and created a contract that could benefit them both. Instantly, they became good friends and the past was forgotten. They were happily talking with each other when Makino and the rest arrived at the seashore.

Makino jumped down and landed on the ground as clouds of sands scattered in the air. Okami's Gyarados stayed nearby while Glen, Mackie, and Troy transformed back into their human form.

The marines gasped in unison when they witnessed this and they became all the more panicked. They already heard about the strange powers of people who ate the Devil Fruit and they instantly judged them as Devil Fruit users.

Robert sensed his men's discomfort and sympathized with them. Alarmed, he scanned each one of them and became all the more flustered because of how 'normal' they looked. They all wore outfits that the villagers usually had. He stared at Okami and inquired, "Are they Zoan Devil Fruit Users?"

Okami responded with a smile and asked in return, "What do you think?"

Robert took this as a yes and was glad that he befriended this group. He knew that the Devil Fruit user's strength was unpredictable and normal marines could only become cannon fodders to them. This time, he gave up any vile thoughts against Okami and decided to cooperate with him sincerely.

Okami was about to introduce his crew when he felt the Pokemon App appearing before him.

******************

You have befriended Lieutenant Robert Scully.

You have earned 200 PP.

***

Pokemon ready for redemption:

Gastly (100 PP), Hoothoot (100 PP)

***

Total PP: 5,650

******************

Okami felt elated when he read the prompts. It had been a year since he received a reward like this because he was busy with his training. He decided to redeem the pokemon when he returned to Foosha village.

He unsummoned the Pokemon App and introduced each one of his crew members to the lieutenant.

They spent their time discussing the area's present situation as they waited for Eric to arrive. After twenty minutes, the ensign finally came back with a pile of posters on his hands and gave them to Okami.

Okami skimmed through the posters and picked out those that had 10,000,000 Beli or more. He distributed it among his crew members and returned the ones that did not catch his eye. There were a total of 50 wanted posters on their hands right now.

Robert noticed what happened and asked, "Are you planning to apprehend them all?"

Okami slightly nodded. "Can you recommend a place for us to eat?"

"At the Food Foo. The best restaurant the town has to offer." Robert instructed Eric to lead them to Food Foo, which made the latter nervous.

"Thank you for your help, Lieutenant Robert. We still have to discuss our plans for our bounty-hunting. Goodbye."

Okami and his crew followed behind Eric as they went on their way to the restaurant. They wanted to laugh when they saw the marine being stiff and silent as he led them to their destination. After several turns, they arrived at Food Foo. At once, Eric bade goodbye and ran away.

They entered the place and settled on the leftmost table. After ordering their meal, they started discussing their plans.

"We will be hunting at least one wanted pirate before this day ends," Okami explained as he gathered all the posters on his hands. "We should reserve our stamina and let the pokemon do the scouting and surfing for us."

Makino yawned as she leaned on the chair. "No problem."

Okami realized that she adapted Snorlax's characteristics as she progressed in developing her Zoan form. If his guess was correct, then her appetite was also like that of the lazy pokemon. "I will let the flying pokemon do the aerial scouting while the water ones are in-charge of scouring the wide seas."

"Are you not afraid that your pokemon will get lost?" Troy asked.

Okami shook his head. "Unlike your pokemon, mine can detect my presence wherever I go. So, do not follow what I just did unless you are sure that your pokemon can return to you."

"But what about the treasures? How are we going to keep them?" Mackie interrupted as he voiced out his primary concern.

"Each of you will get 10 percent of any treasures we will find. The rest of it will be deposited to our general funds."

"That's good."

Glen snorted when he heard Mackie and refuted, "Greedy snot! All you care about is Beli."

Mackie rolled his eyes. "Then just give up your portion and give it to me."

"Bah!"

Okami coughed lightly to interrupt their argument. "Remember, I will not help and just stand aside to see your performance. Everything will be done by the four of you."

Makino gave a light laugh. "Bring it on!"

Glen, Mackie, and Troy looked at each other before laughing boisterously.

========================

A kilometer away from Yotsuba Island, a pirate ship with a one-eyed skull with rabbit's ears painted on its flag was traveling the sea.

"Clean up the deck!"

"Aye, Vice-Captain Michael!"

Several half-naked men headed to the deck and started cleaning the area. Even though the waves were crashing against their ship, they acted like it was nothing.

Michael, the redhead with an eyepatch on his face, looked up the sky and noticed the numerous animals flying in the air. "Strange...why do I feel that these animals are looking for something, Captain Bunny."

Bunny stopped nibbling the carrot on his hand and folded his arms on his chest, his eyes peeled on the birds as well. "Indeed. As long as they don't come near us, don't do anything to them."

"Okay."

Bunny fixed the eyepatch on his face and continued eating his snack when he discerned that something was floating toward them. He took out his telescope and looked through it, only to find out that they were five strange-looking animals with humans on their backs. In a flash, he shouted, "Everyone, prepare for battle!"

Michael and the rest of them followed right away and grabbed their weapons from their storage. At once, they were in a fighting stance.

Bunny unconsciously gripped the telescope strongly when he perceived the appearances of the monsters that were approaching them. Alarmed, he commanded, "Shoot the cannons."

Meanwhile, Okami, Makino, Glen, Troy, and Mackie were riding Tentacruel, Lapras, Gyarados, Blastoise, and Dewgong respectively as they surfed towards the first ship the flying pokemon encountered while they were scouting.

"Remember the rules. Don't destroy any part of the ship. As for the pirates, kill them all if they don't want to surrender peacefully." Okami carefully walked atop Tentacruel's head and squinted his eyes. "Mackie, tell me what they are doing right now!"

Mackie patted Dewgong's head and stared at the ship. "They seemed to be prepared for our visit, Boss. Looks like they are preparing something for us...wait! There's a cannon on their ship and they are aiming us right now!"

Glen snorted and balanced himself on Gyarados' head. "Let me deal with it, Boss."

"Sure. Remember, I will not help you at all. Everything is on you to make this bounty-hunting successful."

BANG!

A loud explosion reverberated across the sea as the iron ball blasted toward them.

Glen gathered his energy on his mouth and emitted a blast of Hyperbeam, which zoomed toward the rushing cannonball. There was a deafening collision of power between the two, disintegrating the iron shot while the Hyperbeam continued zooming towards the ship, creating rippling waves along the way.

Okami's eyes twitched. "I think I told you not to harm the ship, Glen!"

"Oops! I did not expect my power to be so strong."

Okami rolled his eyes and activated his defense-combo pokemon, replacing Mr. Mime with Weezing to take advantage of his Levitate ability. He followed it up with 'Harden' skill fused with Armament Haki on his body and teleported right before the pirates. When he appeared a few meters away from them, he waved his hands and said, "Hello, pirates!"

Bunny and the rest of them were dumbfounded when they saw someone floating before them like a ghost.

Before they could react, Okami turned around and punched the Hyperbeam before it could even hit the ship.

At once, the sea was almost opened in half because of the strong impact between the two opposing powers.