Many things happened (updated)
AN: Someone pointed out that the last scene was bland and I agreed with it as well, and since many people did not read it yet, I decided to change it slightly to make an attempt to make it better
Now enjoy.
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Bepo practiced his devil fruit powers. It was interesting because, just like its heat counterpart, this fruit worked the same but on cold rather than heat.
It did not create ice, but it could release something like an aura that can freeze anything that it touches. If it touches someone, they will get frostbite rather than being covered in ice. He can also do the same thing in his body, and it does not require him to unleash the aura-like thing.
This fruit also consumes stamina, but the consumption is very low. With Bepo's stamina, he can freeze a decent part of the sea surface and use it in fights.
But for now, I have asked him to focus mainly on the control part than increasing the power.
I gave him a few exercises like making the shapes of letters, numbers, etc with the freezing aura. I got this idea from certain hunters who use aura too.
Similarly, we drew some lines and patterns in his fur and he has to only make those lines cold, not any other part of his fur.
Bepo was practicing diligently.
Soon 12 hours passed and Hercules and Arjun woke up.
Hercules: "Ugh...Where am I?"
Arjun: "You here too brother?"
Hercules: "Yeah, looks like we are got some treatment"
Arjun: "We are on a ship for sure"
We sensed them moving and visited them
Jai: "Hey don't move for now, how are you guys feeling?"
Arjun: "Oi, when did this happen?"
Drake: "We found you guys lying on Spider Miles, so we picked you up and gave you treatment"
Hercules: "What happened to Hidden Mist pirates?"
Law: "Dead. All of them other than the captain and vice-captain"
Drake: "But they are captured, because they have some use to us for now"
Arjun: "Oi oi oi. How did you capture Zabuza?"
Sachi: "Thor beat him of course"
Hercules: "But how?"
Jai: "There are ways to get around such powers."
Arjun: "Don't tell me that you got sea stone. Even we could not find it"
Penguin: "Oh hell no. There are other ways"
Arjun and Hercules both raised their eyebrows.
Jai: "But enough about that, tell me why did you fight him without sea stone"
Hercules: "We did not plan to fight Zabuza. We had planned to kill Gato and escape via sea"
Arjun: "But it did not go as planned. He found out, and we had no way of defeating him"
Hercules: "We still took out as many of his men as possible, before our 'death'"
Hodur: "Don't worry. They will not be alive for long. We just have some interrogation to do"
Arjun: "Why are you not doing it?"
Jai: "They have yet to wake up. Thor and Hodur roughed them up pretty bad"
We chatted for some time and had huge amounts of food later.
12 hours passed again and this time our beloved ninja duo woke up.
Zabuza: "Damn, where am I, Haku get up"
Haku tried to open her eyes and shouted
"I CAN'T SEE!!! I CAN'T SEE!!!"
She was still not used to her blindness or she forgot that she lost her eyes, no one knows. But we do know that she felt despair.
Jai: "Well well well, look our sleeping beauties are awake. Hmmm... I take back the beauty part"
Haku was gritting her teeth and spoke
"You... why? Why did you decide to torture us like that? Did you kill someone of yours?"
Thor: "Does Valhalla trading group ring a bell to you?"
Haku: "Of course, it does, who does not know them?"
Zabuza still had his eyes. So he saw both Thor and Hodur. He observed them properly and finally, he said
"It seems you both did not die 12 years ago. To think a small blunder would get back to us like that"
Hodur: "Oh, you realized? Now that makes things easy for us"
Zabuza: "I will tell you anything, just give me a painless death"
It was probably Thor's previous treatment of breaking his hope or he just resigned to his fate, but Zabuza's will was truly broken. Our haki also said that he did not lie.
Haku: "No don't tell them. They will kill us once they get the information"
Zabuza: "It is useless Haku. They will kill us anyway. It is better to die a normal death than torture. It is better to tell them everything, after all, Loki is the one who sent us there"
We deduced it perfectly even beforehand but confirmation always helps.
Thor: "Tell us everything and I believe I don't have to explain what 'everything' means"
Zabuza: "We were in collaboration with Loki. We take out his competition, sell him stolen goods in slightly lesser value and he provides us with information and rare goods like that meito."
Jai: "How come this has never come into marine's radar? Looking at your tracks anyone can guess that. Even we knew that much. You are just confirming it"
Zabuza: "We bribe the marines of course. You know captain Hamster right? He works with us."
Law: "You guys have a decent part of North Blue under your control"
Zabuza looked at Thor and said
"He is also the one who took your father's call 12 years back when he was asking for help since he figured that he would be attacked in that voyage"
"Hamster obviously called Loki next and made a deal to ignore that call. He was an ensign at that time, but eventually, he climbed the ranks, where we helped and he takes relatively lesser bribes from us forever"
Thor and Hodur were getting angry again. It was one thing if Hamster was just taking bribes, but this guy played an active role in killing their parents. But Drake noticed something weird in the story since he was the son of a former marine and said
"It is not possible to bribe your way through ranks in marines like that. You will need merits to earn any position. I can understand for any lower positions, but you can never reach captain rank that easily"
Haku: "We gave him information, some good tech weapons, and most importantly his devil fruit. After all that anyone who is not an absolute idiot will be able to climb up to the captain position and Hamster is a smart guy. Our investment paid off and we easily made more money than we invested or bribes"
We further interrogated them so that we can collect very detailed pieces of evidence and expose the people later on.
Hercules and Arjun were shocked too since they did not know many of these things.
Now that everything was clear, we needed to decide the next course of action. Since it involved a corrupt marine captain and probably more soldiers under him, we need to do something about it. If we straight-up attack a marine captain, we will get a huge bounty on us.
I am not much bothered about that, in fact, I secretly want to be a pirate. But I did not say anything to my crew till now since they did not like pirates. Other than Bepo, Penguin and Sachi everyone suffered from pirates very badly. Moreover, grandmas might have left the marines, but even they don't like pirates.
But again, being a pirate is not my top goal, my top goal is being the strongest and being free. I am ok with reaching that goal by any path other than joining the government. Joining the government already takes away true freedom. Piracy has many risks involved and probably that made the profession more adventurous.
Coming back to our options, Tsuru was definitely an option to handle Hamster. If she knows about this, then she would do something to change it, and compared to her influence, a marine captain or a trading group is nothing. But for that, we need to reach her.
She contacted grandmas using some random den-den mushis every time since she might be under surveillance. So we had no way to reach her unless grandmas have some special way.
After thinking for some time, I said
"Let's go back home. Grandma will have a solution for it"
"Yes let's do that" Bepo said
We set our destination to Swallow Island. We will pick up grandmas there and move to the sea to discuss.
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We reached Swallow Island and anchored the boat on the jungle's shore. Law, Hercules, and Arjun stayed back on the ship to look after the pirates.
We visited our orphanage as fast as possible and met grandmas.
But we were greeted by a kick from Catherine.
Catherine: "We told you to not attack the Valhalla trading group so why did you people attack it?"
Thor: "Wait what? When did we attack the group? We just captured the pirates."
Jai: "Wait, we captured the pirates, not killed them. Grandma, tell us everything about it"
The grandmas too noticed that it was not something simple, so Dorothea handed us the newspaper. It read
"The famous bounty hunter group Faceless Hunters together with another duo Pirate Seekers, yesterday attacked a ship of Valhalla trading group for looting. However, the marine captain Hamster was patrolling nearby and he fought them and chased them away. Who knows how many ships had they pillaged before getting caught. Since the marines kept a record of their names and faces when they registered them as bounty hunters, they could provide the identity to us. This makes it another common case of bounty hunters turning to piracy. They have also earned their bounties...."
Before I could continue, Catherine, snatched the newspaper and asked me
"What happened? How did it turn out like this?"
There was nothing much to explain here, it is better to show them directly. So I said
"Come with us, to our ship, you will know everything there"
They accompanied us and reached there. They saw tied up Zabuza and Haku. Their will was broken totally.
We asked them to repeat everything that happened and they did as told.
Grandmas knew everything and it was clear to them why it happened. Lying was impossible to them as the pirates were not very good actors.
In the meantime, we went over our bounties and it was decent for the first time. Hercules and Arjun too got bounties.
Thor: "Grandma is it not possible to remove our bounties? We are being framed. If Tsuru-san knows this and orders an investigation, we will come out innocent"
Dorothea: "I can talk to her, but I doubt they will mark you people innocent after all this, even if they know the truth"
Hodur: "But why?"
Jai: "It's their reputation at stake. The government cares about its reputation and authority more than anything else. It's their reputation vs some puny lives, does our lives even matter to them at this point?"
Everyone got their answer. There was no going back. So I decided to kill both the pirates. Using them as witnesses were no longer possible.
"It's time to end their lives. Guys, do that thing first. And Law, take out the sea stone from Zabuza"
Everyone picked up fruits from a sack that we kept previously ready and distributed the fruits throughout the ship
Grandmas, Arjun, Hercules, and Zabuza were shocked to see this.
After that, I thew my katana to Thor. He got what I wanted him to do.
Law had taken out the sea stone as well. I was not sure if sea stone will interfere with the experiment and I certainly did not want to risk it with a logia. I will test it later with some useless zoan.
Zabuza did not try to escape either, since he knew it was impossible to escape and he surrendered his life to make the process easy.
We kept our word and did not torment him further, since Thor had already broken his will like this, he was satisfied.
Thor and Hodur both stabbed their sword and spear into Zabuza and Haku's hearts respectively.
Soon a fruit placed in the storage changed into a devil fruit.
Grandmas, Arjun, and Hercules were shocked to see this.
Dorothea: "How is something so simple possible?"
Jai: "It does not happen every time. We have failed previously a few times"
Everyone asked many questions and I answered them. But there was one more topic to be discussed.
What to do now? We are outlaws now and we have some revenge to complete.
Seeing this, I proposed
"If we are going to become outlaws, why not fly the black flag?"
Everyone looked at me.
Dorothea: "You always wanted to fly the black flag didn't you?"
Everyone had smirks on their faces. I was surprised this time.
Thor: "Did you seriously think that if you never told us, we would not know?"
Jai: "But how did you know?"
Hodur: "You are not the only smart one here, we could pick up hints that you subconsciously dropped"
Drake: "You never showed any hatred for pirates in general, but only for those who cause torment to people"
Law: "You always look at Whitebeard, Red Hair, and their crews' news and bounty with a gleam in your eyes, you always stare at black flags in awe even if for a small moment, want more?"
Oops.
Jai: "But you guys did not mind? Almost all of you suffered from pirates at some point"
Thor: "We all know you will never torment people like them and you even hate pirates like them"
Catherine: "You want to be a pirate for adventures right?"
Arjun and Hercules nodded to themselves and walked up to me. They suddenly bowed down slightly to me and said
"Captain Jai, will you please accept us into your crew?"
I was shocked. They will be a fine addition to our crew, but I had to ask some questions
"Tell me what are your goals"
Hercules: "Our previous goal was to kill pirates so that nobody suffers from what we suffered"
Arjun: "But now we will also include corrupt government people in that list as well"
Their goal was good, in fact, they will be compatible with my crew as well, but I still needed to ask some more things
"Both of you have a very good goal, but it is more aligned with the Revolutionary Army than a pirate crew. So why us, rather than the Revolutionary Army? If you want to join them, we will help you find them"
Hercules: "We enjoy a certain degree of freedom and adventure too or else we would have joined the marines. I think we will not be compatible there"
Arjun: "Their way of working is too sneaky for us, and we plan to take care of pirates as well, not just the government"
Jai: "Am I hearing this right? A sniper is complaining about being sneaky? HAHAHA"
Everyone laughed at this, but I soon said
"I accept. Now get up"
Thor came up with a sudden idea
"Oi listen up, get the sake bottles and the cups"
Everyone quickly got them and they lined up in front of me
Thor: "If we are doing it let's do this the proper way"
I was glad that all of them were excited as well and not just doing it for my sake
Grandmas were looking at everything from the side. Contrary to my expectations, they were happy and proud.
My crew discussed something amongst themselves and after their discussion, they said in unison
"As followers, we hereby recognize you as our captain and put our lives and our future in your care. With this cup of sake, we give our oath to you and drink it in your honor"
They finished their sake in one gulp. They started laughing and then Thor said
"It is your time to drink the sake cup as well Captain"
I was touched, but it was my time to accept them as well
"With this cup of sake, I accept every one of you as my subordinates and I pledge to fulfill my role as a captain and a leader above and beyond your expectations"
I too gulped the sake in one go. Grandmas allowed this since it is a very small amount.
Everyone cheered at this
Sachi: "To our new adventure as pirates CHEERS!!!"
Everyone: "CHEERS!!!"
Everyone had one more shot of drink. I and Hodur obviously had to switch to some non-alcoholic drink after getting a certain look from grandma.
Thor: "To a new life of complete freedom CHEERS!!!"
Everyone: "CHEERS!!!"
Even if Law and Drake are more serious types, they too enjoyed this time and participated well.
We all had a feast, we had laughs, we had cheers and overall we had fun. If we had so much fun while making a pirate crew, imagine the fun of being a pirate.
We all started singing, irrespective of our singing skills, but we all enjoyed
`` Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho
Going to deliver Binks' Sake!
Following the sea breeze! Riding on the waves!
Far across the salty depths! The merry evening sun!
The birds sing as they draw circles in the sky!
Farewell to the harbor, To my old hometown
Let's all sing out with a Don! As the ship sets sail
Waves of gold and silver dissolve to salty spray
As we all set sail to the ends of the sea
Going to deliver Binks' Sake!
We are pirates sailing through the Sea!
The waves are our pillows, The ship our roost
Flying the proud skull on our flags and our sails
Now comes a storm through the far-off sky
Now the waves are dancing, Beat upon the drums
If you lose your nerve this breath could be your last
But if you just hold on, The morning sun will rise
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho
Going to deliver Binks' Sake!
Today, and tomorrow, our dreams through the night!
Waving our goodbyes, we'll never meet again!
But don't look so down, For tomorrow night the moon will also rise!
Going to deliver Binks' Sake!
Let's all sing it with a Don! A song of the waves
Doesn't matter who you are, Someday you'll just be bones
Never-Ending, Ever-wandering, Our funny Traveling tale!
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho ``
Everyone enjoyed this party, even grandmas were happy seeing us having fun.
Hercules cooked the food and it was delicious.
Everyone was looking forward to this new journey.
We drew the design of our skull flag as well.
The next morning, Dorothea told us
"We wanted to tell you people about our past when Hodur turned 17, but now that seems impossible since you kids have to always be on the run"
Catherine: "So we will tell you now"
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AN: Next chapter the bounties, epithet, and skull flag will be revealed.
Comment your own creative epithets, not just Jai's, but also of other members.
If I like any, I will use them. (P.S. It is not voting, if I like it I will keep it.)
I will keep Law and Drake's epithet the same as the series.
I also changed my mind about keeping Dream Chaser the ship name and changed it to a name that one of you guys recommended, which will be revealed later (probably next chapter).