Kaizo was finally putting to use all the skills he's learnt these last 3 years, and if he had to put it into words, it would be...underwhelming.
Honestly, these pirates were weak, the thing is, he doesn't know if it's due to his or the world's standards. Regardless, it was quite therapeutic to beat the crap out of bad people whilst letting out your own demons in the mix.
*BANG*
A shot was heard from behind him, Kaizo didn't even looked back but brought his hand towards the direction of the bullet and caught it with his hand. Before the shooter could be shocked, Kaizo flicked the bullet right towards his eye.
'Bullseye.' Kaizo thought as he delivered a shoulder throw to a pirate and slammed him against another pirate.
He cartwheeled towards another pirate and delivered a falling kick to his neck and stomped him, launching himself towards another pirate in a sledgehammer motion.
'Palm Strike!' Kaizo slammed his palm on another pirate's chest and lunged into another.
The merchants on the other hand were baffled at seeing Kaizo's strength display, a few minutes ago they were struggling to fight these pirates, but Kaizo was effortlessly disarming them and catching bullets as if they were nothing.
"Say boss, what should we do?" Asked one of the employees.
"For the moment, let's keep our distance and shoot any pirate that gets close." The boss, his name's Oscar, ordered as they positioned themselves near the captain's quarters.
Their attention, however, was caught when a big pirate carrying a freaking Canon landed on the merchant's ship.
"YARGH! Who dares interrupt me plundering?!" Spoke the man.
He's of large build with a fat belly; he wears the typical pirate outfit with his hat but with black pants. His face looks like someone who's got more STD's than your average whore, he's the captain of the Scurvy Pirates: Sully.
"It's him, cap'n! that weirdo acrobat!"
"Not exactly an acrobat perse, I'm just having my light workout of the day. You guys are way too weak for me to fight seriously." Kaizo clarifies as he stretches his left arm.
"Well, too bad for ya brat! You're fighting the Captain of the Scurvy pirates, the great scurvy-eye Sully!" Sully boasts proudly but Kaizo just cringes.
"Question: Are all pirates as cringy as you, or is this your personal mark? Because let me tell you something, I've read enough Chinese novels to know when a cringy line has been spoken and you've just done that." Kaizo.
"Cringy?! What could a brat such as yeself know about a great pirate such as meself?!" Sully.
"Look, I don't really care about you, are we going to fight or will you do me the favor of jumping overboard?" Kaizo asked, annoyed, today has been a disappointment.
When it was within his reach, Kaizo did something that baffled everyone even more. With swift, soft movements he started to gracefully redirect the cannonball's trajectory from his chest to the ocean behind him.
Kaizo blows on his hands and then repeats the motion.
'Use less strength and more agility when receiving but use the strength when redirecting the projectile... PS: my hands kinda burn.' Kaizo thought as he finished cooling off his hands.
Sully couldn't believe what he just saw but regardless decided to keep shooting.
"Blasted brat!" Sully.
Kaizo didn't bother and slowly walked towards Sully.
*BANG*
Deflected.
*BANG*
Deflected.
*BANG*
"It's futile." Kaizo.
On the last shell, Kaizo didn't just deflect it, he also sent it back to Scully. The fat pirate was hit in the chest, and his body was at least sturdy enough to not get blown to bits, before he could have more screen time, Kaizo delivered a spin kick at his face and slammed it towards the floor.
There was a pregnant silence.
No one dared to face the man that had just defeated someone as big as Sully. But Kaizo couldn't care less and approached Oscar.
"So... what's happening here?" Kaizo finally asked for context.
"W-well, *AHEM* My colleagues and I were traveling through the seas, as the merchants we are, when these slobby pirates tried, or more specifically were, to rob us." Oscar.
"Ah, classic pirate behavior. Say, how about we make a deal?" Kaizo.
"A deal?" Oscar.
"I clean up these loose ends and you help me with a little... quest, let's call it that." Kaizo.
Oscar is a man that has lived through a lot for a man barely in his 30's, he's dealt with Royalty, assholes, and even traded with less barbaric pirates, so it's safe to say that he's got a knack to read people.
Yet he can't seem to be capable of reading Kaizo at all, Ally? Enemy? It all depends on what HE does... which is why he took the no brainer.
"You've got yourself a deal." Oscar spoke with confidence and Kaizo smirked.
He lunged at the rest of the pirates and proceeded to beat the living snot out of them for the next 5 to 10 minutes.
One of Oscar's employees approached him and whispered.
"Em, boss, are you sure we should trust a complete stranger?"
"No, I don't think we should. But we have very little choice here, look how easily he's dealing with these pirates. As a merchant you know that it's best to have a good relationship with people like him than get on his bad side." Oscar explained as Kaizo kept defeating the pirates.
After some more uneventful fighting, Kaizo yawned as he piled the pirates on top of the merchant's ship.
"This is good enough, right?" Kaizo asked while pointing at the pile.
"Yes, my men here shall handle the rest, Oscar Ortega, from the West Blue merchant association." Oscar presented himself.
"Kaizo, a martial artist." Kaizo shook his hand.
After every pirate was apprehended, Kaizo took his things from his raft and sat near the mast of the ship as he started to define his extent of his deal with Oscar.
"I need a proper small ship to travel through the West Blue, information about Monkey D Garp and also any information regarding the Grand Line." Kaizo.
Oscar's eyes widened.
"You're planning to go to The Grand Line?!" Oscar asked baffled.
"Not yet, I have some things to do here." Kaizo.
'Until I know where Luffy is, I can't allow myself to dwell too deep into the Grand Line lest Wexof might kill me for breaking his rules.' Kaizo thought.
In truth, he stopped minding about having that small chain around his neck known as "follow the plot". Kaizo made peace with that and decided to achieve his dreams regardless of what Wexof forces him to do.
Oscar was a bit shaken by the Grand Line being mentioned but didn't commented about it, even though its not as mysterious as it used to be, many still regard The Grand Line as one of the most dangerous and lethal places in all the seas.
And they're not wrong! Only the strongest, toughest, of people survive there, even more with the beginning of The Great Pirate Era and the pirates more ruthless than ever.
Regardless, he will keep the end of his deal, for a merchant's word is their biggest tool.
"Very well, once we arrive to our destination, I'll handle your arrangements." Oscar.
"Cool... BT Dubs, where are we going?" Kaizo.
"Ah, we're going to the island of Mortellio." Oscar.
"Kinda new to this whole traveling, what's there?" Kaizo.
"Mortellio is one of the prime commercial island on this part of the blues. There's no item that passes through this sea that hasn't been mentioned or known there." Oscar explained.
"Really, nothing?" Kaizo.
"Well, there might be a few exceptions here and there but 89% is good enough to round up to everything, right?" Oscar.
"Meh, good enough. Any decent ways to make money?" Kaizo.
"Well, you'll see how "rewarding" hunting pirates can be, but if you're not in the mood for that there's always jobs for people of your strength." Oscar.
'Well, at least I don't have to hunt or die here, but I'll hunt every pirate I can just to be safe on the money side.' Kaizo.
"If I may inquire Kaizo-san, from which island do you come from?" Oscar.
"Kano Country." Kaizo lied.
When the name Ohara is such a taboo, saying you're from there might not be the best thing to say.
"Why leave the island, sure the Chinjao Family might be at odds with the Marines but they still offer better accommodations than... well..." Oscar tried to put it nicely.
"I know my raft is shitty you don't have to glaze it over. I left because of my dream of becoming the strongest in the world." Kaizo.
"Strongest, meaning that you'll fight people like Whitebeard for the tittle?" Oscar.
"Pretty much, don't yap about it if you're going to say negative stuff about it." Kaizo warned.
"Not at all, but given that's your dream, would you like to purchase a Devil Fruit from us?" Oscar.
'If a strong man such as himself buys a fruit and becomes a prominent figure in the future, I'll be able to sell the other fruits at even higher prices! Too bad the association only has 5 Devil Fruits.' Oscar thought.
Propaganda.
One of the ways merchants can showcase their products without suffering losses is to advertise them by using those who have bought them.
Given how rare Devil Fruits are many would jump at the chance of having one, unless...
"Nah." Kaizo answered uninterested.
Unless that person is Kaizo.
"B-but it's a Devil Fruit! One of the sea's treasures, surely a man aiming to become the strongest would want one, right? Even great pirates such as Whitebeard and Kaido have them." Oscar tried to resell the idea.
"I don't want to lose my ability to swim, like 90% of this place is pure seawater, why would I willingly lose my ability to swim when I'm one misstep of dropping into the bottom of the ocean?" Kaizo answered.
"I get that, but the benefits surpass the downsides." Oscar pressed once again.
"I'm a martial artist through and through. I don't want to rely on external factors to my strength. Now, stop pressing or I might "renegotiate" our agreement." Kaizo spoke on a menacing tone.
'Man, what a bother, If I say I'm not interested then leave it at that for Christ's sake.' Kaizo.
Seeing Kaizo's "no bullshit" demeanor, Oscar receded.
"Anything else going on in Mortellio?" Kaizo.
"Well, truth to be told... there's been some "issues" going on around lately." Oscar admitted.
Not wise to say this to a business partner but he has a feeling he can't lie to Kaizo.
"You see, Mortellio is the homebase of the Five Families of the West.
"You see, Mortellio is the homebase of the Five Families of the West." Oscar whispered to Kaizo.
"Who are they?" Kaizo whispered back.
"They're the ones who control everything regarding business throughout the whole West Blue. The Navy may had tried to uproot them but they're just too well-preserved and have managed to remain in their positions for decades." Oscar explained.
"Isn't it kinda bad of you to say such secrets?" Kaizo.
"Not really, it's an open secret throughout these parts, the only problem is snitching and taking sides since that's bound to cause problems. Which reminds me, don't accept a contract with any of them in specific or else you won't be able to free yourself from their grasp." Oscar.
"Appreciated. Why's this the first time I've heard about it anyway?" Kaizo.
"Regardless of how open this secret is the heads of the families don't appreciate that there's people talking about them and their business so most people just keep that knowledge to themselves." Oscar.
Kaizo nodded and without much else, he waited patiently for them to arrive at Mortellio.
It was a massive island, and by massive I meant it, Ohara looked like a kid islet compared to Mortellio, although, to be fair when you have 5 whole families fighting over land one expects said land to be huge.
They docked at the town of Riva, which is the headquarters of the Merchant's Association. If you're wondering how the other families are fine with them dealing in their turf, The association pays a tribute each month to keep them content, good thing they're mobsters, not gangsters.
Riva is also right in the middle of the island, this was in order to guarantee a "safe" place for civilians to live and not being forced into joining a faction. Remember that most mafia is purely business, bringing kids into it isn't part of it...most of the time.
As they left the boat, Oscar escorted Kaizo to the "Marine" branch of Mortellio. I put the "" there because it's obvious that said marines are corrupt a-holes, but that doesn't really matters to Kaizo.
Once he claimed the bounties for the pirates he got a bit over 50 thousand ₿, it wasn't as much as a million but Kaizo hardly cared since carrying that much money is a hassle at the moment.
The other good thing is that Oscar promised him a nice fair ship for him to sail properly. While carrying his stuff and looking someplace to live, Kaizo was bumped by a passerby.
"Watch where you're going." The man complained but didn't stop walking.
"Sorry." Kaizo apologized but didn't stopped either.
The man who seemed peeved changed his "angry" expression and smirked as he took out a pouch from his pocket.
'Hehe~ That sucker was a total newbie~ Time to count my winnings!' The man happily opened the pouch...only to find it filled with smooth rocks and small pieces of metallic junk.
'What the-?!' The man was baffled.
"A hundred, two hundred, three hundred Yahoo~ I got lucky~" Kaizo's voice was heard as he "accidentally" passed besides the man while counting the money.
"Ey! That's my money mongolo!" The man yelled at Kaizo.
Kaizo looked at him with an innocent smirk.
"No it isn't, this money was in my pouch here *Kaizo takes out a pouch from his left pocket* see? Filled to the brim *Kaizo opens it and reveal the gold coins inside* I did loose my pouch filled with soft stones and metal scrap though... oh well, I'll give it to goodwill." Kaizo smiled like Anya as he saw the man in front of him throw the sachet away.
He's a tall, brown-skinned black-haired, yellow-eyed man wearing a Hawaiian shirt over a white undershirt, has sand-colored pants and brown shoes, his waist is adorned with a tri-colored waistband, at his sides he has two machetes in their scabbards and he has a sombrero with black lines.
"Bueno, I tried doing things the easy way but... *The Man unsheathes his machetes* I guess I have to do this the Tombo way." The man stance himself.
"Looks like it. *Kaizo tied his things tighter and do some minor stretches* Kaizo, a martial artist." Kaizo presented himself out of courtesy.
"Monterrey, prepare to lose a limb or two boyo." Monterrey lunged at Kaizo.
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In loving Memory of Charlie Kirk.
"If you believe in something, you need to have the courage to fight for those ideas - not run away from them or try and silence them."-Charlie Kirk.