Chapter 5 – Symbol

Ffion turned out to be an interesting addition to my growing crew – interesting, but not necessarily the most useful. Much like Bonney she possessed a Devil's Fruit ability, from the so-called Geki Geki no Mi, a fruit which bestowed upon the user increased power, stamina and speed in direct variation to their emotional state. In simpler terms, the angrier she becomes the stronger she becomes – the downside seeming to be the loss of awareness and clarity that comes from having a level-head in battle. While that seemed to make her a loose-cannon I had no doubt that over time she would be able to refine such a unique talent in a more suitable manner.

Her attitude was a problem.

While we unloaded the cannons from the fast-sinking marine ship she seemed to have the gall to try and wrangle herself a more executive role in the chain of command by throwing half-hearted orders at Bonney and Dyran despite her massively weakened form. When we returned to the undamaged schooner I had a similar chat with her as I had had with Dyran in the days prior, albeit without the conflict and with a more angled line of dialogue. "Make no mistake," I told her as she rested in a hammock below deck, "I did not rescue you out of the goodness of my heart. I came on recommendation from your former colleague, Mr. Sutton, who supplied me with a glowing resume of your activities as a pirate. And while I'm sure becoming subordinate to me as opposed to being a captain of your own vessel may seem like a step-down, allow me to disabuse you of any notion that I am a normal pirate." She had remained silent throughout, whether due to weakness or consideration of my words I couldn't tell.

"This world is built on gold, and cash, and property. Materials which I am all too familiar with. Within time I plan on making this world mine – I know that I will stand as the wealthiest pirate to ever sail these fine seas. By the same token, members of my crew would be entitled to whatever share their work demands. You will find me a fair employer – though the work shall be hard, and trying. But the rewards," I pull out the sack of gold I had snatched from one of the corpses, letting the coins fall into my other fist. The gold gleams brightly between my fingers, and her eyes – which were so transfixed on my own – greedily stared at their glimmer with a look I knew all too well. "The rewards are insurmountable, Ms. Owens."

Without a doubt I would end up having trouble with her over the course of my journey – but for now she appeared mollified by the prospect of plunder, and equally comforted by the knowledge I had the ability to chase off a Vice-Admiral without any visible damage. The chance presented to her for revenge against her former ally, Captain Gekko Moria, sweetened the deal.

That lead to my most pressing problem – the issue that Kuzan had kindly presented me with as a parting gift. My lost Wind-Heart; something that left an ache in my body like I cannot describe. Luckily this problem coincided with experimentation I had planned a few weeks prior to the incident anyway – studying whether the anatomy of the humans in this world was similar to the anatomy of those in the elemental nations. Did Chakara exist? I tasted it in the air, faint but present. In the elemental nations it was palpable, and for a capable sensor the fluctuations in chakra saturations allowed for pin-point tracing of a specific individual – based solely on the chakra density that surrounded them.

Unfortunately I was only ever an amateur in this department, and as sensors tended to have few extraneous techniques I never bothered to amend my amateurism by absorbing one of their hearts. What I did have adequate skill in, however, was medical ninjutsu. With the Jiongu acting as a Glass-cannon in its early years I was compelled to steal heart's almost exclusively from medical shinobi in my early days in order to incorporate an understanding of the human body into my being, and therefore being more equipped to heal myself unconsciously even at an atomic-level. This understanding came with a plethora of medical techniques that I had never needed to use considering my natural healing-factor, however in this instance it was a blessing to have.

Bonney was a child hungry for attention, as demonstrated by her apparent rivalry with Ffion she picked up almost upon meeting her – this hunger drove her to beg for what little scraps of training and attention I could offer in between my busy hours writing my correspondence and recording information in my journals – and while I didn't wish to cause any damage on my budding protégé, to have a willing test subject was far too good an opportunity to overlook. With my anaesthetic technique I put her into a deep and dreamless slumber; it was the most preferable method with which to study the anatomy of a living subject. Having used this technique only a few times prior I meditated briefly beforehand to ensure perfect clarity and calmness in the case of an accident while I did my experimentation.

"Iryo: Fukai Shindan." Not dissimilar to switching on a tap, my chakra began to flow from my palms and searched for a new network to latch onto – finding Bonney's body as the path of lowest resistance, and delving into her flesh like an electrical current. As each chakra pulse entered information was returned to my brain, etching a map of her internal organs into my mind. From the memories of the Medical Ninja I once absorbed I knew that the technique was commonly used in hospitals in practice to look for internal injuries and diseases. It was a time consuming and arduous process but as the minutes passed the layered image in my head was built upon. Her organs were all healthy… But something was strange about her heart. I couldn't honestly describe what was wrong with it, but in contrast with the few I'd used the technique on in my past I could feel something quite drastically different. No matter, that wasn't the most pressing issue.

Chakra did exist in this world.

I felt it; colourful and beautiful. Her nature was Earth, tempered with Water, but the network which was designed to pump the chakra like blood throughout the body was weak and crippled. Brittle and wretched. With relative ease I sent chakra directly into her network, flooding the previously decrepit system with power that would have remained untapped. The jumpstart I applied would fill the chakra network enough to allow it to become self-sustaining: I could not increase her reserves for fear of damaging the network through chakra pressure, but with the proper instruction she would be able to utilise chakra as well as any shinobi could.

If I wished to rob someone of a heart I wouldn't need to go through this frivolity. All it would take from this point on was nature sensing – something I could do in my sleep by this point in my life. I was strong enough to cope with a weak chakra nature for as a new heart – and that would likely have to do. Casting my attention back to my charge, I flicked her forehead with enough force to abruptly tear her from her sleep. "Oi, what the hell Kaku-" her complaint is cut off as the feeling of chakra inside her suddenly reaches the forefront of her mind. I can't quite imagine what it must feel like, living your life without chakra and suddenly feeling it inside you. Perhaps it's akin to a blind man seeing for the first time – feeling the rush of spiritual and physical energy coursing inside you and filling your very being with purpose. Unable to contain the alien feeling she promptly vomited over the side of the bed, her delicate form shaking. "What did you do to me?" she groans. From the weakness in her voice it is impossible to discern whether the question is genuine or accusatory.

"My body was injured quite grievously after our encounter with the Vice Admiral. In order to repair myself I require a special kind of person – someone who has the potential to use the same kind of abilities I can. You helped me test a theory, and in doing so I unlocked that same potential inside you. This blessing is twofold: firstly I am now secure in the knowledge that I will easily be able to find someone to fill the void Kuzan left in my chest. And secondly: from this moment on your training can begin for real." Tearing off a strip from the bedsheets I mop the excess vomit from her face in what I hope is a mollifying gesture. "You are now ready to become a warrior without calibre. With the strength you hold; the earth and sea will be yours to command. You will become a valuable asset to me indeed, Jewellery Bonney. I'm glad I didn't kill you when we first met."

"That's not cherishing at all…" she mumbled, rubbing her temple wearily as the after-effects of her sudden chakra awakening still rumble in her body.

"I'm not the cherishing type – I thought you would understand that by now. Now gather yourself, quickly: we have an important meeting very soon."

"Really? You arranged a meeting for right after you performed a vivisection? That's a bit much, isn't it?" I raised an eyebrow at her moderately impressive vocabulary. "Hey, don't look at me like that – I have to do something when you're locked in that study of yours writing letters. I've been reading!" she crossed her arms in front of her and stuck out her jaw, evidently very proud of herself, "I even read that boring law-book you ordered a while back! Though honestly I didn't understand a lot of the words… Some of them seemed to be a completely different language."

"… I'm impressed." My rare trickle of praise was enough to elicit a blindingly white beam from the child. Turning my back on her momentarily I withdraw a thick, black leather-bound volume with the gold lettering 'LAWS OF THE WORLD – VOLUME 2.' Emblazoned on both the cover and the spine, with no further decoration. "Finish the next one, now you've shown yourself to have some skill." Her beam quickly fades to be replaced by an unimpressed scowl. "Do so, and I'll teach you something interesting." My promise somewhat mollifies her, and with her body seemingly used to the newfound circuitry in operation she hopped to her feet with newfound energy and plopped her foraging hat on her head.

Falling into step behind me the two of us leave the Captain's cabin onto the wide deck of the schooner I had stolen from those hapless sailors many weeks before. It had endured heavy abuse from its assault on the military brig when we had rescued Ffion, however the hull would likely remain intact enough to let us journey to the Grand Line and stay afloat for a while until we could procure a larger ship. My tastes suited a Man of War class ship more than the others – however with my sailing inexperience and low crew size that would have to wait for the moment.

"So who are we meeting?" Bonney pipes up from my side as we descend into the lower deck of the ship.

"Bounty hunters." At my answer Bonney gives a start and stops following in place of staring at me in shock.

"B-but – we're wanted now!"

"I am wanted – that's not a particularly interesting development, considering both Dyran and Ffion have been wanted themselves for years. But in relation to your concerns – I have no doubt we will be able to handle ourselves in the event of the hunters making a decision to aim for our heads. However I am freely willing to make a bet that they will choose to stay their blades when they hear what I'm offering."

Following me once again, Bonney asks the obvious question, "What are you offering?"

"Business."

XXX

Being late was a show of power – a blatant trick that Stede was more than used to by now. When he was a two-bit criminal working for the Caputo family – the higher-tiered members would often delay their arrival just long enough to make those attending wonder if the meeting would even happen before they'd swan in, proudly displaying their gaudy attire and puffing on a cigar probably more valuable than the suits worn by most of the people there. They'd pretend to listen, bored by the proceedings, and rely on their name to propel them through the world of criminal enterprises. Mike Caputo had been his first ever bounty, the smug bastard.

The others in the room didn't seem so nervous. He'd been picked up by a strange looking fishman, named Dyran Sutton, who at that moment was busy sharpening his harpoon with a whetstone – not bothering to even regard the other occupants of the cabin. He'd been offered a deal – some kind of profitable venture being established by Dyran's employer – which would involve multiple bounty hunters getting involved. At that moment, he was wondering whether or not he should have just taken his chances with fighting Dyran, despite his relatively high bounty. Ffion Owens was another familiar face, though despite her well known attitude problem she seemed unusually reserved for this gathering, and had her gaze fixed on her fingernails,

Finally there was the unknown fellow. Quite a young man with a cocky look about him – deep, black hair that had been fashioned into ridiculous looking spikes, a perpetual scowl, and hungry, beady burnt orange-eyes that nervously darted around the room. His body was covered by rather worn leather-overalls that would offer minimal protection against most weaponry, but would certainly be enough to fend off small blades or stray bullets. Resting beside him was a sword – far too large and wide to be any practical use in battle. Its blade was at least the width of its wielders waste, and despite the additional handle that seemed to have been carved into the centre of the blade to improve mobility – the whole thing just looked like an oversized razor-blade with one blunt edge that could only serve as nothing more than a hindrance. Catching Stede's look, the fellow sent him a smirk which showed two very sharp canines. "Looking to start something, buddy?"

Adjusting his glasses, Stede chose to ignore the comment – and instead withdrew a leather-bound volume from his satchel which he began to read quietly. "Hey now – don't ignore me!" rather than the threatening, his tone sounded almost offended. "That's mighty rude, you know?!"

"Yelling doesn't serve to endear yourself to me. Nor does accusing someone looking in your direction of trying to start a fight."

"Can't help it! I'm itching for a scrap." Rising to his (rather short) full height, the man founded on the make-shift armour than covered his chest. "My blade has stayed still for so long that it's burning me up! When's this guy getting here, anyway?!" he snapped at Ffion, who Stede sussed had been the one fetch him.

"No point in asking me – he'll get here when he gets here."

"That's not bloody good enough," he pounded his chest in a primal show of toughness, "I came here because you said it would be worth my while – and so far I'd probably have been wiser spending my time on dry land jerking off!"

"Your attitude annoys me," a new, deep voice cut in. It wasn't Dyran, and it certainly wasn't Ffion. Sitting right beside Stede was a tall, dark skinned individual garbed in a dark cloak adorned with numerous red clouds. Stede hadn't even heard him come in. A surgical mask covered his lower mouth, though from the sides several very distinct stitch marks and scars could be seen. Green and red eyes swivelled from the cocksure young-man to Stede, and then back again. "I should apologise, I suppose, for my lack-lustre introduction. I am Kakuzu, the one who called you hear. I would have arrived sooner, but I was waiting for our final guest." He blinked and stared off into space for a moment, as though forgetting something, "She will be hear momentarily."

"Hey… I know you! You're that rookie the marines just slapped a bounty on!" with surprising dexterity and strength that didn't match up with his lanky form, the spikey-haired young man hefted up his massive blade and sidled the blunt edge over his shoulder, lowering himself all the while into a ready-stance. "'Grinning Doll' Kakuzu, right? Bounty of 83 million!" the boy was correct, Stede recognised him too. It had only been a couple of days ago that the poster, displaying a rag-clad figure with haunting red and green eyes standing at the head of a burning Marine brig, had arrived with the morning's paper.

"Quite an abhorrent epithet, I assure you. Please lower your sword, Mr. Evans – there is currently no need for this exchange to involve violence."

"I would do as he says," Ffion speaks up, talking in a soothing voice (which still seemed to come off as confrontational thanks to her natural tone) to the battle-ready young man, "This isn't a fight you'll do well in."

"I love it when people tell me that," he murmurs, licking his lips and showing off a manic look, "Nothing thrills me more than to prove em' wrong! I'm Archibald Evans, the Strongest Man in the World – and I'm taking you down!" without further warning he surges across the moderately small room, sword flying in a diagonal arc with the intention of slicing clean through the abdomen of the host. From his sleeve, Stede flicked out a scalpel, and Dyran had shifted his position from lounging to a ready-kneel with his harpoon cocked and aimed – but neither of them required action as the trajectory of the blade suddenly changed course without warning and found itself soaring right over the head of Kakuzu, resulting in its wielder losing his footing and tumbling to the ground in a heap, the weight of his own weapon pinning him down. "Gah! What in nine fucking hells?!"

"Our final guest." Kakuzu supplied, without much interest. His gaze shifted momentarily to the smoking bullet hole in the deck of the ship – the bullet seemingly having come from outside the hull. "Her aim really is a sight to behold."

Stumbling, Archibald used the massive-razor to prop himself up. "Don't get cocky there, buddy. Setting a sniper on me is cheating – you ain't stronger than me. Not by a long shot."

"If you continue this foolishness I'll gut you myself!" the pale-skinned fishman snaps at the swordsman, towering over the human by at least a head and offering a far more intimidating presence.

"Like I care about that. I'll take all of you on," lowering himself again, the air around Archibald began to get heavy and energy began to circle around him. "Galning Rus-" without any warning Ffion slamed her fist into his head, planting his face into the floor of the deck and sending splinters flying. Red energy coursed from her body as she displayed the powers of her infamous Geki Geki no Mi.

"He was talking too much." She offered, helpfully.

Rising from his seated position Kakuzu took two long strides forwards, before crouching down beside the prone form of Archibald. Dark skinned fingers twisted around locks of raven hair and with a sharp tug he painfully pulled Archibald's face out of the wood so his neck was at an awkward enough angle that they could make eye contact. Splinters covered the young man's face, and his grey eyes promised bloody vengeance. "Your spirit does you credit – it is one of the reasons you came to my attention above others. That pride of yours is a deadly thing; to those around you, and to yourself. I have no doubt you are a formidable warrior, but at this moment I urge you to temper your attitude." Standing suddenly he pulled the man up with him by the hair, until Kakuzu was at his fullest height while Archibald was hanging above the ground by several inches. "Curb that arrogance of yours, for the moment – or I shall be forced to permanently end your woefully short existence. Proclaiming yourself to be strong, and actually having strength are two entirely different things, Archibald Evans. Don't let your provide prevent you from living long enough to actually obtain your self-proclaimed title." He unceremoniously released the bounty hunter, who collapsed to his knees like a puppet cut from its string. "She's just come aboard," he then murmurs, interest in the younger man instantly lost. "We can begin shortly." He turns his attention to Stede, who had slid the scalpel back into his sleeve. "Your patience is appreciated."

Hesitantly, Stede adjusted his glasses and shifted in his chair. "When profit is concerned patience is a virtue after all."

The haunting red-and-green gaze turned upon the much smaller form of Stede, who suddenly became quite aware of how wiry his own frame was when compared to the bulky and imposing stature of the wanted-man before him. "Quite." Kakuzu then acknowledged.

At that moment, the door to the cabin slowly began to open, to reveal a young woman of no older than twenty. Her hair was a powdery, snow-white, to match her almost equally pale skin. Even when compared to Stede her frame looked delicate enough to break at the touch, as the tightly fitting blouse and skirt clearly showed a distinct lack of muscle on all of her limbs. In keeping with her frail form, her eyes were near bloodshot and had deep, insomnia-induced purple bags which stood out quite starkly in contrast to her near ivory-skin. The opal-coloured irises which stared out of the sockets, however, were quite full of life, and took time surveying each occupant of the room very carefully. Her weight seemed to be supported by a long musket, easily taller than she was – carved seemingly from a rich wood and decorated finely with gold – so much so that if not for the sharp bayonet at the end it would appear almost to be like an accessory. After a few seconds passed the girl opened her mouth unnaturally wide and let loose a massive yawn.

"Molly Westwood," Kakuzu identified her, "A pleasure to meet you at last. I've had a chair ready for you at our dinner table for several days now."

Her lazy eyes regarded him with almost childlike inquisitiveness. "You kept not dying. Can you come with me please?" she suddenly began fishing in one of her trench-coat's deep pockets, pulling out a scrap of paper which had upon it a very untidy looking scrawl. "Yeah… Yeah, I decided to bring you in. I found you, that's done. I shot you, that's done. But I couldn't pick up your body…" she looked from the list, to Kakuzu, to the list again, and so on back and forth, "I can't hand over your body if it's not dead."

"Ms. Westwood is currently the most prolific bounty hunter in East Blue." Explained Kakuzu, "It did cross my mind to send you an invitation, but as luck would have it you were already following us."

Dyran sent his employer a strange look, "A bounty hunter has been following us? For how long? And why didn't you tell us?!"

"Her interest was solely on me, I promise you. She's been following us for three days and has currently fired eleven bullets at my head. All of them would have killed a regular human." He motioned to the empty chair, "I hope to dissuade you from continuing trying to kill me."

"Listen, if this is going to be some cock-and-bull recruitment effort I'm leaving," Archibald seemingly managed to find his voice again. "I ain't becoming a pirate – and even if I did, I'd certainly never settle playing second fiddle to a skulk like you."

"Shut your gob, piss-pot." Hissed Ffion, who rapped the youngster sharply on the head with her knuckles.

"My offer does nothing to shift you from your current vocations – for now at least. If things become more profitable it may be wiser to enter the fold so to speak and abandon your current positions as hunters." He motioned again to the chair, "Sit." He urged Molly, who hesitated, looked at her list one last time, then limped over to the chair and collapsed into it with a loud sigh. "I am familiar with the trade of bounty hunting – more so than most people can say. I am also keenly aware that the volume of pirates and criminals has exponentially grown since the death of Gold Roger. His power vacuum has been filled with far more attainable targets. The problem is finding them. The problem is killing them, when they are often so heavily guarded. The problem is – there will always be one more criminal to take down. The irony is not lost on me, a wanted man seeking to capitalise on the bounties of others… But let me assure you that the project I am proposing ensures the maximum benefit for those involved."

He hefted the table beside him and placed it in front, so everyone seated could see it clearly. Upon it was a map of the world, divided into different-sized grid squares that had been colour coded. Pointing first at the yellow squares he said, "Danger areas – where the pirate volume is high, and their strength is to be feared," he motioned to the red squares, "Military areas – low pirate numbers, and thus low profits," he moved onto green squares, "Merchant routes – plagued by vulture pirates whose goals do not extend beyond their next ill-gotten meal." He then brushed his fingertips over the entire map, "Many more… This world is riddled with potential treasures that no single bounty hunter can hope to reap the rewards from."

His fingers clenched into a fist. "So it won't be a single hunter. It will be an army of hunters." His free hand snaked out, slapping a cloth-symbol on the table. It depicted a bone-white circular face, like a cartoonish skull, with hollow black eyes that had two tear-drops seemingly falling from the right socket. "I invite you to be pioneers in the operation of DEADMAN. Organised hunting. Pooling resources. Sharing information. The ultimate network capitalising on the bounties of criminals."

"Are you being serious?" Stede murmured, glancing down at the symbol with trepidation. "How on earth could something like that even operate?"

"Simple really – necessity. The hunger for more bounty's festers deep within even hunter. But not all target's are attainable, be it through their comparative strength, or the lack of public knowledge to their location. What I offer is networking – the ability for bounty hunters to band together, share knowledge, and work within boundaries set outside the field of the world government."

"Oh?" Archibald grinned mockingly, "What's to stop someone using the system once then doing a runner with the reward? I assume your organisation would want a cut of the bounty – what happens if we don't pay it?"

"Again, simple. I will place a bounty on your head so high that hunters from every crevice of the world will come crawling out of the wood-work looking for you. I will learn every detail of your life, every place you've been and every dream you've had. I will ensure you are hounded for the remainder of your days – and unlike the military I will have all the time in the world to devote my fullest attention to ensuring your capture. And they will capture you – because I'll want you hogtied and healthy when we meet face to face." He trailed off and shrugged, "At that point the severity of the punishment becomes somewhat irrelevant. I have no doubt some will exploit the system – but they will not last long while I devote my time to it."

"This system is insurance for hunters. It is legitimacy. Become members of DEADMAN, and be secure in the knowledge your targets will not elude you for long."

The announcement was met with silent contemplation from the three hunter's. "Let me be perfectly clear," Archibald was the first person to respond, his voice edged with a dangerously low tone and his stance deliberately poised for action. "I don't work with pirates. As far as I'm concerned you're all two-bit scum who the system chewed up and refused to digest – you're a mound of spit and phlegm that makes me feel sick to look at. How do you think hunters will react to some uppity-pirate waltzing around and trying to corral them into service? Trying to take what little pride we have left in the world and make us cow-tow to someone who didn't even have the strength to stay within the confines of the law?" he spat at Ffion's feet and sent a steady glare at all the room's occupants, his gaze lingering finally on Kakuzu. "Sometimes the only thing that lets us sleep at night is the knowledge that, no matter what shit we've been through, we're the ones who are keeping the gunk off the gears. We're heroes and we'll never be thanked. And I ain't going to compromise that." He rose again to his feet.

At his movement Dyran's body shifted threateningly, but he ceased as Kakuzu thrust out a hand and motioned for him to remain still while his own sight remained unblinkingly fixed on Archibald.

"I'm the strongest man in the world!" with a single arm he managed to lift his weapon, seemingly ignoring moment of inertia, and swung it back over his shoulder, "And I'd rather die that work with a cur like you!"

"Fool," murmured Molly, in an almost inaudible voice.

"You misunderstand me." Kakuzu spoke plainly, his tone even and never rising a decibel. "Working with me? You'll be working for me."

Something snapped.

In a motion that was virtually impossible to follow – Archibald was across the floor, blade brimming with an almost ethereal green light, "Galfjellet skive!" the powerful weapon landed on its target with a sickening 'thwack'.

Tense silence filled the cabin.

In that same unwavering and even tone, "Is this the extent of your resolve?" The skin around his neck was a dull, carbon-grey – seemingly hard enough to ignore a blow even from the powerful blade wielded by the hunter. Archibald stared, along with the two-other hunter's, in silent shock. Almost faster than his eyes could follow, Archibald caught sight of a pink and green blur in his peripheral vision bolting in towards his unguarded left-side with obvious hostile intent, clumsily falling backwards and withdrawing his blade to muster-up a half-hearted guard in order to mitigate as much of the damage as possible. Like watching a hummingbird dart in the air the blur, which he could now clearly identify as a young girl who couldn't be older than ten, weaved around and into his guard, tiny fists latching out and taking firm grip around his waist. With strength that completely belied her petite form, she managed to haul his body off the ground and bend herself back at an incredible angle – slamming his head into the wooden-floor behind her. From this position she adjusted her form and kicked off with her heel, sending both bodies tumbling in the same direction using Archibald's head as a pivot point.

The move ended with Archibald completely prone – face buried in the wood yet again – while the girl landed perfectly on her feet after completing the cartwheel-like technique. Her lungs emptied in a long exhalation, and with her hands placed firmly on her hips she turned towards Kakuzu, "How was that?"

"Too much flair," her master admonished, somewhat scolding her, "A firm blow to the chest would have been enough – take care to remember I would prefer his condition reasonably unspoiled. And don't think I didn't notice your delayed response. Don't let them land a hit next time."

From his position Archibald lifted himself up, shaking the splinters and debris from his hair and face. "You sent a child at me?"

"Only a complete fool would offer an invitation to those who normally would do them harm without first conducting the proper research into the attitudes and mannerisms of their guests. I selected you three with purpose and anticipated your abrasive reaction to my proposal." He shrugged quite casually, "I asked my young ward to incapacitate you should you attack following my offer with a twofold purpose in mind. Firstly to try and beat that insolence out of you at least temporarily," Archibald flinched somewhat, "And secondly to demonstrate exactly what position you are in. A child beat you. She is may have been taught quite extensively, but she is nonetheless nothing more than a little girl. Pirates roam these waters with strength that far outstrips hers. That is the final thing I offer hunters who enter my fold." He extended a long arm towards Archibald's sitting form, and offer him a hand, "Protection. Join me and know that any repercussions pirates wish to inflict upon you will pale in comparison to the hellfire I will rain down on them. If you join me you become an investment. I promise you without any shred of hyperbole – I will protect my investments with my life."

Hesitantly, Archibald's arm rose – and then with a firm gesture he took the offered hand.

XXX

"Did you really know he was going to attack you again?"

"Honestly I'm surprised you didn't," Kakuzu responded to Ffion with a harsh tone, not looking up from the documents on his captain's desk. "Mr. Evans is a proud and churlish being who wouldn't accept any offer like this without being sure it was his only option. Hunters are quickly being outstripped and outsmarted by their quarries, and are being driven out of business by the naval contractors who used to pay them. What once appeared to be a war among three factions is quickly becoming a two-party war as the third dissolves into something inconsequential. All of them knew I was offering them a good deal – he simply couldn't accept it without having his pride sufficiently damaged." With a wry smile Kakuzu wrote a long, spidery signature on one of the documents, "Having a child defeat him so devastatingly was apparently enough."

"You could have clued us in," she grumbled, folding her arms over her ample chest and biting her lip in an obvious gesture of discomfort, "For a second I actually thought he'd done some real damage."

"If I your knowledge of the plan was necessary I would have told you about it. You played your part well enough in bringing him to me, and that was all that was required of you."

"Don't treat me like a child! I'm not Dyran, and I'm damn for sure not that brat Jewellery!" in one controlled movement she strode forwards to his desk and planted her hands firmly on the oak. From the sound alone he could tell she was wearing her crimson fighting-gloves, more than likely a defensive precaution as opposed to a threat. "I've not been with you long, and I don't know how you operate – but I've seen enough to know you're new to this pirate gig. For all the bluster and wind you blow, you're nothing but a rookie after all! Pirates pillage, pirates take action – and pirates for damn sure don't mingle with bounty hunters!"

He glanced up from his documents, "You're getting impatient. That temper of yours is inflamed by the power that you hold – but I sense that the fruit alone is not the source of your impetuous attitude. Perhaps you're used to getting what you want with the momentum of your willpower alone." He shifted the documents to the side and gave her his full attention, "Stede Dalzeil is a canny and well-respected bounty hunter. His reputation is one of reverence and respect amongst his kin, and with his favour we earn credibility. Molly Westwood is an assassin with the highest pirate headcount in East Blue – and from what my naval contacts tell me, is feared even amongst the Bounty hunter community. Her favour gives us notoriety. And finally Archibald Evans – despite his nature he is at his core a fairly average hunter. He is strong, that much is true, but he is unspectacular. What does single him out is that pride of his – something which we have curtailed, for the moment at least. This gives us intrigue. People are free to respect us, be fearful of us, and be curious of us."

"It won't take long for me to provide DEADMAN with all the legitimacy it needs. The cut I take will be more than enough to use as capitol for our main endeavours. I gave this path initial priority because it is a path that will provide us with exponentially growing wealth as it grows. In this instance, time is money – and had I spent time on a temporarily lucrative measure over nurturing this project then in the long term I would have made an insurmountable loss."

Ffion seemed unshaken by his breakdown of events, and instead held his gaze with her strong violet eyes, "I was a captain for five years. I know what I'm doing when I'm on a ship. This isn't all about the money – this is a lifestyle! You can't be a legitimate while being a pirate!"

"'Not all about the money?'" his tone had shifted suddenly. It spoke of a storm coming, and yet it didn't rise a decibel nor did it increase in tempo, "'A lifestyle', you say? You raise several interesting points Ms. Owens. You were indeed a captain for five years, and I am yet to have even owned a ship for more than six months. As an outlaw, it is also true that it impossible to operate a legitimate business when the World Government would surely take notice of such a large scale endeavour." He rose from his chair, mirroring Ffion's pose almost mockingly, "And yet I continue with this project. Why? Because I know it will work, I know it will bring profit, and I know that the World Government will do nothing to stop it because they have no legal basis in doing so, and they also have no way to tie me to it." He motioned to the plethora of scatter papers on the desk, "What do you think I have been doing in this room? I am fully aware of the legal processes I am violating, but I am also aware that the World Government operates on restrictions. Business is one of my specialties Ms. Owens – some might say I excel at it. For example, did you know that a legitimate business can be used to disguise ill-gotten capitol?"

He paused, registering her confused silence, then continued.

"My plans are based on hard facts and educated predictions. I operate with the aim of making the most profit. I am a patient man. That is why I have taken time, and the majority of the few funds I have in seeding a stable foundation. In time these seeds will grow, and an empire unlike anything you could ever imagine will rise from the earth under my control, and will overturn what meagre weeds had previously taken refuge on that ground."

"A captain for five years? You are decades too young to be trying to lecture me on experience, girl."

After a few moments of pregnant silence, Ffion's poker-face broke as her faint adam's apple bulged slightly with an inaudible gulp.

"But," his arms relaxed and he returned to his seat, diffusing the tension, "You do make one very legitimate point. Piracy is a lifestyle. And I should respect that lifestyle. You and Dyran need some form of income, after all." The unnatural grin that haunted his picture on the wanted posters spread across his face, "Prepare to set sail to the Sugar-run route. It's about time we introduced ourselves to some merchants."

XXX

Iryo: Fukai Shindan – Medical Technique: Deep Diagnosis – sending chakra pulses through tissue which reflect back on the user, imprinting a detailed image in the brain. Used commonly to detect internal injuries, diseases or infections.

Galning Rushet – (Norwegian) – Maniac Rush

Galfjellet skive - (Norwegian) – Crazy Mountain Cutter

XXX

I regard this chapter, largely, as necessary filler that was a pain to write, and may be a pain to read. We'll get onto the Grand Line in the next chapter, and hopefully add a little colour to the story in preparation for the "new" OP verse following the skip to the original timeline.

Writing both the Bounty Hunter scene, and the chakra scene was an arduous task – both of them felt equally contrived during the writing process, but both were entirely necessary in order to construct the future One Piece universe after timeskip which will occur in a couple of chapters. Archibald and Molly are based off of Adelet and Flemy from Six Braves respectively – it's an enjoyable series and it gave me some good templates to flesh out some characters who I didn't really have any personalities for until a few weeks ago. Stede was a hastily added last minute addition in order to make the narrative of the Bounty Hunter scene flow better, and ultimately – depending on how I feel the story is going – may replace a character I had planned to introduce. His name is derived from two pirates who operated during the real Golden Age (and the surname is Scottish and pronounced Dee-el)

I do apologise for the Original Character heavy plot – I recognise it's unpopular and, in such a colourful universe such as One Piece, may feel a bit unnecessary. However at the same time I do have a clear idea what direction I want to story to go in, and in order to facilitate that there were some characters I'd prefer not to touch. Hopefully Bonney is making do for now, and if all goes to plan there should be more character engagement in following chapters (which is actually quite hard for me to do considering most of the main cast are either children or not born yet at this point in the timeline).

I've gotten mixed responses to Kakuzu's monologues – and writing them is sometimes pretty difficult seeing as it often comes off as the ramblings of a madman (which is pretty in character to be honest, and really what I was going for) and for the meantime I'll continue with them. Ultimately I plan to have the story shift to the perspective of Bonney and the straw hats; in a similar but hopefully more well written vein to AC3 (i.e. switching from Haytham to Connor) though Kakuzu will still largely be the focus.

As always – let me know your thoughts on the chapter, and indeed the story as a whole. The reviews I received for the last update were extremely fun and often very helpful in terms of the constructive criticisms that were offered.