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The two sat on the beak of the ship.
"You know, Vin, when you fight, do you ever use your hands?" The senior marine wondered, flicking a cigarette into his mouth.
Vin thought for a second. "Well, besides using them to create weapons, no.. not really."
Koma exhaled smoke towards Vin before continuing.
"Well, maybe you should start brother. Feel like your physical tools are more than enough, honestly. You'd probably still be about the strength of some of the bum ass pirates I've encountered without your powers," he spouted, almost lecturatorily.
"You think?"
"Weeeeeeeeelllll, I don't think you should necessarily do that as it stands cause this is gonna be a challenge regardless, and you're not really used to any hand to hand combat," Koma explained. "But we'll get you trained up soon enough."
The boy nodded. "You never told me where we were going, besides hunting Trafalgar Law. His bounty is 100 mil, though. That's concerning in and of itself."
"Oh, yeah, well.. to be honest, it's not that important. It's a supply town, really. There is a game plan though," Komawara highlighted, and Vin sat up with intrigue. "Since they'll all be going on their own supply runs, the crew, which I believe can't be bigger than 5 people, will be split up. We spot Law, and it's barbecue chicken from there really."
"You reckon?" Vin added. "Even if he doesn't notice us, I think he's still dangerous. But I guess that is our best bet."
Koma nods. "I suppose you must learn about the Heart Pirates. Firstly, Trafalgar Law, the captain," he states plainly. "Of course, his 100 million beri bounty is warranted. Even for me, he's cruel and ruthless. He'll kill you if he gets the chance," a pause. "As for his powers, he possesses some sort of Devil Fruit — the Ope Ope no Mi. Likely the most sought after fruit in the world. The Marines just got complete confirmation he possessed it not very long ago. As for what it can do, that's a bit more complicated. Some sort of a room in which he can control things. But fret not Vin! This is no problem for me…
The man does not possess Haki," he finishes.
"Haki? And that is?" Vin requested an explanation.
"I wouldn't exactly worry about it yet," the Rear Admiral dismissed. "You've got some experience to acquire before we get into that. Now, for the other crewmates, none of them have bounties over 15 million."
He pulls out a handful of bounty posters, stacked on top of each other, showing each off one by one. "First off, Penguin. With a bounty of 15 million, he is reportedly an extremely skilled water fighter. Thankfully, this is a desert island we're going to. I believe he's proficient in martial arts.
Next, Shachi. He, similarly to Penguin, has a bounty of 15 million and is an experienced water fighter. Again, that's redundant. He also carries a katana.
Hakugan is the one with the mask. Can't miss him. Only intel we have on him is that he wields an axe.
They also have a pet. Bepo, a white bear. He has a bounty of 100 beri.
If our plan of sneaking Law fails, which, if I'm honest, I don't necessarily doubt, I can count on you to work some magic to distract whoever comes to aid while I take care of the boss. I'm sure you're plenty to stall a few close quarter combatants on your own," Koma concludes.
Vin shrugs. "I don't know. Maybe. Their bounties don't imply they're very dangerous."
"Well, this is to get you experience. I wouldn't take you to do something I thought you were incapable of," he states.
Vin feels appreciation — clearly, the man has belief in him. A peculiar amount. As if he is more aware of Vin's power than Vin himself, he notes.
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"Oi, Bepo! Marines are coming." A man with a cyan and pink cap, brown hair down to the top of his neck, and a white jumpsuit declared to a polar bear. He peered closer into the horizon with a pair of binoculars. "Inform the captain!"
"Ack! Marines?!" The white bear scrambled. "I can't fight right now.. my skin is going to boil off!"
"Well, firstly.. they may not be looking for one. Amd we don't have a choice," the pirate argued. The bear, with a nod of its head, ran away into the opposite direction, heading deeper into the wild western town.
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As they near the island, the two removed their marine equipment and equipped more casual outfits. Vin puts on a cotton beige shirt with black joggers, and Koma wears a plain purple shirt with flared black silk pants. They head to the bottom of the ship as they arrive.
"Go on then, Vin!" Koma demands in a supportively light manner.
Vin uses his power to carve out a door heading out of the ship below the dock. Opening it, they use the connecting pieces of the wooden dock to reach the stairs heading to the top instead of just getting out from the top of the ship immediately. This way, even if somebody happened to be watching, they would blend in with the civilians, and move past the docking area a bit after the rest of the marines do. Vin had even shrunk Koma's blade to guarantee stealth.
Arriving into the town, they noticed a ton of pirates. This was, after all, a town where pirates mostly stopped to stock up on supplies and have a drink before heading out back into the rough waters of the grand line. Hence, no marine who would ever step foot in here would be violent, the town, besides its casual duels, acting as a safe area from the constant battles of the path pirates sail on.
"None of them are in sight…" Vin muttered. That was true. The town was a practical wild western desert wasteland with wooden 'structures' for housing — the areas with any sort of use for travellers and local customers alike were marked by worn down saloon doors.
Of course, the town remained lively. But what Vin truly recognised was that none of the men they were searching for presented themselves to the two marines who were on a hunt. Of course, had they noticed one who wasn't Trafalgar Law himself, they would have had no choice but to ignore them and continue a stealthy search.
If anything, locating a somewhat carefree Heart Pirate would be easing — it would at least point in the direction that their cover had not been blown and the stealth mission was still a go.
Koma exhaled tobacco smoke from his fading cigarette, inconspicuously observing the boiling surroundings.
"Vin.. while it is true we got to this location quietly.. it'd be good to mention now that there is a chance they know what I look like. I'm a glorified bounty hunter, paid in nothing but blood. I have quite the reputation among pirates," Koma stated.
"Yeah. That should've been your assumption to begin with," a voice echoed from their side. A man wearing a yellow shirt, blue jeans and a white spotted circular cap revealed himself, sitting atop a bar with his legs hanging about. In his hand, a terribly lengthy sword rested, holding it by the sheathe. The guard was unconventional, seeming more like a cloud than a real material.
Vin glanced at Koma. Unshaken, but his face was stricken by calculation.
The young man's face was the same as one of the men in the bounty posters — not the lackeys, but the one they were hawking: Trafalgar Law.