Across the Line

Hitch-Pike
It was silent. Awfully silent.

It was peaceful. Awfully peaceful.

Two elements that didn't quite ever work in unity. Not on the seas of the New World.

Was it luck? Or perhaps it was the doing of another. Whatever the reason, they had been lucky. Fortunate even, to not have encountered more than a few Sea Kings following their departure from Ishitani.

Since leaving, Draco D. Damon had fallen into a deep slumber. As was to be expected, of course. The lad had only partaken in a battle against Mengis, a mink of such incredible fortitude that the as a whole had refused to let retire his services, no matter how many times the bloody fool had gone against their morales. As a result of his last encounter with Asura, the tiger mink had been demoted… again.

This wasn't the first time such a thing had occurred, and it most certainly wouldn't be the last, either. The 44 year old had been a now for well over 20 years; the fact that he was a Captain in rank at current only went to show for how little he cared for honorary positions. Ten years, ten years ago he had held the rank of Vice Admiral, and ever since then everything had gone downhill. He had seen all the ranks a Marine could ever possibly see, except of course those above that which he had reached, and seen them more times than any other Marine should see fit.

He had managed to become a Vice Admiral no less than twice; a Rear Admiral no less than ten; a Commodore fifteen times; a Captain now for the twentieth. And should he be demoted any further, then he would see it be his twenty-sixth time that he had been demoted to the rank of Commander. Demotions were nothing new to him. At this point, he was so used to it. At this point he had forgotten what rank he even was; hell, by all means, if things carried along as they did, he was just as good as any other Ensign!

In light of his opportunistic thinking, Apu had the luxury of an entire household at his disposal in his taking care of Damon. The house he had ripped from Ishitani's foundation was one of three complete stories; he had lain Damon to rest up in the master bedroom on the third floor, while he worked the kitchen on the first. And my was he a sight to see.

The Titan Pirates' Fifth Division was in charge of the Yonko crew's meals; they were a division comprised of the very finest chefs and cooks the crew had to offer. Apu was of no exception. Even in his time on, he had operated under the banner of his own restaurant, the famed "Bubba Gump", and his craft was admired by many on the face of the island.

Using the kitchen of the house to his complete benefit, and having left it in pursuit of that which lay below, Apu had prepared an absolute feast for his wounded ally. Trays and trays of seafood were aligned along the table, ranging from soups and salads to fish and meats. Not only was it a glorious sight to behold, but better yet, each of the foods were heavy with nutrients that would ensure a fast recovery for Damon.

Carrying up a tray filled with everyone of those dishes, Apu made his way up the flight of stairs until he had arrived in Damon's room, to see the injured man still fast asleep with a newspaper over his face. What's this? Where had it come from?

Setting down the tray, Apu peeled it off of Damon's face. And his expression was one of astonishment when he had seen that Damon had made the front page. Entitled "Demon of the West" it featured Damon in a state that Apu hadn't quite seen in its entirety: a number of additional arms sprouting out from his backside.

What stood out to him immediately was Damon's new bounty of 170,000,000. A smile formed on his fat, fishman lips. "The bastard's gone and surpassed my bounty."

He narrowed his eyes as he read further along the lines. "The culprit behind the murder of the Asha Kingdom's King?" Apu read aloud softly to himself. Perhaps there was a darker side to Damon than he had known. Or maybe, just maybe, this was what Damon had been mumbling about in his sleep all along. Maybe this was what he had been having nightmares about, maybe this was what he had been framed, accused, and marked for having done, when in reality, he was innocent.

Just as innocent as he was.

---

"Kresha!!" Apu screamed, his face in his hands. He was currently in hiding, but his heart ached with such intense agony that he could not help but give away his location to his pursuers. "Kresha!!" he screamed again, feeling so lost. Feeling like he no longer had any other place in the world to be, nowhere to belong to.

He was squatting down in the crevice of two buildings, his figure obscured by two barrels of garbage. He had hoped that the stench would keep the humans from chasing after him, but he was wrong. The moment he screamed was the moment they were able to find him, having followed the long trail of blood that was seeping out of him.

"There he is!" a human from the mob of over fifty hollered, igniting the rest of his human friends and pals to roar wildly. Torches and spears and pistols and swords in hand, the mob angrily charged toward Apu, a bullet running through the barrel to his left and causing feces that had been stored within to funnel out like a volcano.

Apu had no time to sulk, even when the dung had spilled into his wounds and entered the insides of his body. Only one thing came to mind and that was to run. To run and run and run, all the while screaming Kresha's name. Maybe, just maybe she was there on the same island as him.

Maybe fate would see to it that they would meet again very shortly and that it was just a cruel dirty prank the world had played on them. He lost his footing on a puddle of his own blood and rolled down a hill, straight into a pool of mud. By now the mustard fishman had been turned all brown, brown with mud, brown with dung, brown with fear.

When a human tossed his torch into the mud and it burst out into flames, Apu had no choice but to use his Sudden Burst to thrust his way out of the there quickly. His shirt had been caught in the flames, however, and so he had to discard it quickly as the fire torched his fishy flesh.

Tears in his eyes, he was forced to a slow jog as his fatigue caught up with him at long last. His mind nearly snapped as he felt the force of a bullet skim his ankle. "Kresha…!" he hollered again, this time as he tripped on a loose liquor bottle. Falling onto the brick road of the town, he found himself unable to move. He found that his arms and legs had finally given in to the days he had been running; it was over. It was all over.

And that was when he turned his head to the left, to look away from the ensuing mob. But instead what he found on the other side of his body was… another human. A large human, so large that he made Apu, as a fishman look small by comparison. And of all things, this man, this bald man had a chestnut on the top of his head, oddly enough.

His cheeks flush with a blush, the man was laying in the middle of the town with alcohol dripping from his lips. He was so drunk that perhaps he hadn't the slightest of clue where he was. And as the man sat up, Apu prepared himself for the worst. "Ehhh?" the man flashed his wobbling gaze at Apu. He itched his long, black beard with one hand while the other tightly grasped a bottle of some liquor Apu had no interest to identify. The man clogged his lips with the bottle, taking a long swig as the mob appeared in sight.

Apu clenched his eyes shut. "Y-you probably want to kill me like the rest of them, don't you?!" Apu hollered, his mind and body, his soul too, tense with stress and agitation. "So then do it! Just do it already!!"

The man's brow narrowed into a glare as he drank more and more of the rum, emptying it down into his throat.

"What are you waiting for? Kill me! Just kill me!!"

The mob appeared before the two men with renewed brutality. They had no interest in the chestnut headed man, but should he get in the way of their justice, then they had no qualms trampling him along with the monster.

It all clicked in his mind. The chestnut headed man met the mob with a powerful glare. And in that moment, the bottle shattered in his grasp. It was as though time itself had froze, for a mysterious force emanated from within the man's figure, and in the next moment, every last person that had made up that mob, fell to the floor, unconscious.

Apu's eyes widened. He looked over at the man, not knowing what he had done. Not knowing what awaited him. Not knowing that in the coming weeks and months, he would forever and always swear his allegiance to him; forever and always swear to serve under the great Montblanc Burling.

---

Folding the newspaper neatly, Apu set it aside on the counter beside the bed. He had no idea what Damon could turn out to be, but if he matched his potential in the slightest, then that newspaper could end up being a vital artifact serving as a humble reminder as to where it all began.

Placing the tray of food down onto Damon's lap, Apu shook the man awake. He had changed his bandages every few hours over the course of the now three total days that Damon had been asleep. "Hoy, wakey, wakey."

When Damon didn't get up even after all that, Apu resorted to slapping his face subtly. "Hoy, wake up already, come on now, Damon!"

"Huh huh huh, what?! You guys dumped tar in the pot-" Damon blinked rapidly turning his head around. "Oh." He settled his eyes into Apu's figure and they softened, as he smiled. "It's you, sorry for that." Damon rubbed his head with his left hand and finally saw the food in his lap. "Oh, this- I could've helped you, y'know." This had happened the first time Damon had fallen asleep, though he was sure this was the second time, Apu went and just prepared some meal for him, and it was delicious, he wouldn't lie.

Properly sitting up, Damon munched on the food gently, savoring each bite as best as he could. He looked up to Apu and extended his arm. "Do you want some?" He said while using his other hand to hold the food he ate. "Have we arrived anywhere?"

Apu pulled over a chair and sat down beside the bed, folding his arms as he watched Damon eat. He shook his head and showed his palm to the man, refusing the food. "No, no, I made it all entirely for you. Besides, I've already had plenty to eat for myself."

He shook his head again after. "I got out a few times myself to ask for directions along the way, docked the house on some few islands. I have a good idea as to where we are, now, but I don't think it's a very good idea to get off here. Matter of fact, that's why I didn't wake you up when I left."

He motioned towards the window. "...We're not exactly in the greatest of spots, right now. We're in enemy territory, to be more precise."

"A'right, next time, it'll be my turn." Damon replied between munchs, having a blank expression as many ingredients drifted through his mind, it had been so long since he had last cooked something. "Some few... islands? Um, how much did I sleep?" He swallowed a piece whole and cleaned his saliva, continuing to listen, Damon hadn't left Asha for quite some time, most of the missions were on nearby islands.

With Apu's gesture, Damon then looked at the window and his eyes widened, taking in the visage of the sea and an island. "Enemies- Marines?!" He moved abruptly in the bed, his veins showing up. Part of his pants could be seen, the same ones provided by Princess Mariel back at Enji, though, they seemed to be cleaner now.

"Yeah, quite a few islands, actually. I lost track of time, to be completely honest, but if I had to guess... I'd say you've been out for at least... at least three days. Maybe four, maybe more." He chuckled. It was hard to remember much of anything when you were too busy being chased by humans every time you stepped foot on land.

"Oh yeah, you mentioned being a cook yourself, right? Gee, that's really convenient. You see, the division of the Titan Pirates that I belong to, the 5th Division, actually is in charge of preparing the meals and everything else for our crew. We're a crew full of cooks and chefs; of course we do lots of other things as well, but that's our main priority."

He looked at Damon with a proud smile. "You've had my cooking so many times now. I'd love to eat by your hand someday."

Apu's expression became more fierce after that, following the mention of being on enemy lines. Unfortunately, it wasn't as simple as the Marines this time around. "No, not the Marines. If that were the case, I could just bring up Captain's name and maybe, just maybe they'd let us slide by again. But no... it's much worse than that."

He moved his eyes toward Damon. "Ever heard of the Xros Pirates?"

"Holy shit-" Damon mentally slapped himself and cut short his words. "I-I see then... seems like that Tiger man really got the best out of me..." He wouldn't want to confirm it again, but, Mengis' amount of aura was similar to that of Damon's teacher, Bambina. He wondered if they had even met, considering both were Marines.

Damon frowned at Apu's words, he shouldn't be surprised that a crew needed chefs, but... not so many chefs. "Your bandana does remind me of a Chef's Trademark... don't tell me you're sorta' Self-Taught too?" He scratched his chin, as if to increase his observation skills while looking at said piece of clothing.

His mother, who is named Helena and is the one to have gotten him into the cooking ways, has told him that Chefs would dress differently to prepare food, depending on their methods and teaching schools. She pushed Damon through the first steps, he was just 8 back then, but had to leave the island soon after, going back to work at a a large bar or something. He wasn't approved to be a Soldier of the Kingdom, at first, but was elected as one of the new cooks after someone tasted his meals. He just had to improve from there, and, Damon would never say he was unhappy.

Damon was snapped out of his thoughts by Apu, once again, and smiled at him. "I'd gladly offer my meals to you!"

That smile soon faltered, as the Fishman went back to the true matter at hand. "Much worse... do you mean..." His hands felt to his now empty lap, and Damon gulped, hearing the name of the crew. "Xros... my old master has told me that those are supposed to be one of the four strongest Pirate Crews around..." The information had slowly sunk into his mind, Bambina had a deadly serious tone when speaking about it, these people weren't ones to be taken lightly, and Apu's reaction just cemented it. "That's the single thing I know..." He shook away his shuddering, this wasn't the time to fall back.

"Self taught?" Apu probed his chin. "I mean, not entirely, I guess. Well, definitely for sure not self taught anymore. Back home on Fishman Island, I only really did one of two things: train and eat. I didn't have the money to buy any food, so I really just ended up making my own. And I guess that gave me a lot of practice.

"It wasn't until I met Captain Burling that I became as good as I am now, though. That man... aside from saving my life, he's taught me so very much. His cooking is easily the best I've ever had... my mouth is watering now just thinking about it!" He wiped his mouth before proceeding.

"He taught me how to use Haki, too. Boy, I didn't even really know what that was before then. And I'm not the only one, either. He's taught us all, everyone in our division has the luxury of training with him. That is, whenever he's around." Apu chuckled, thinking about how he had even managed to run into him in the first place. Maybe it was a good thing that Burling was always lost. If he wasn't lost when he was, Apu may have been as good as dead. "Great! I'm looking forward to seeing how you are in the kitchen, Damon!"

He chuckled. "So you didn't know about the Titan Pirates, but you've heard about the Xros Pirates, huh?" He smiled. "That only goes to show what a force those guys are... they're not to be taken lightly. They're a gang of brutal pirates, the most brutal these seas have seen in quite awhile. Like I said before, we're not in the best of spots right now. We've been lucky enough not to encounter anyone yet."

"Oh." Damon briefly dropped his gaze, many people had a good life, but there was also many who had a bad one. His glare lowering, though, made him see his right arm and finally pay attention to it, noticing the black tattoo which was on it. "Seems like I really slept long, even the skin I sprouted disappeared" He mumbled, feeling as if he could shoot down the mood, Damon quickly snapped up. "Fishman Island? I've heard of it, all of you guys come from there 'n all that. I'd like to see it, one day." He glanced to the window, imagining what it would look like.

There it was, about that Burling again. Damon could only imagine the kindness of this man, to take in so much people under his wing. "Dorahaha, I can only imagine! I'm glad even Pirates got bonds, though, like a tribe of yellow meerkats in the middle of a savana." He shoved the sheats away, feeling as if his legs were too suffocated by them, and sat on the side of the bed. "Haki, huh..." A brief pink aura appeared on his left hand as he looked at it. "He sounds like a damn good grandfather to y'all." Damon chuckled.

Then, he realized that was why the Titan name felt so familiar. "Wait, you guys are one of those crews too!" Damon waved his hands around, almost slapping himself for not recognizing it earlier, Bambina had mentioned all of the Yonkos' crews to him. "Goddamn... I guess so, I haven't seen much... but, what are we gonna' do then?"

His gaze sharpened suddenly and he looked to the window once again, and to the island. "I could use Haki to sense around the island and we could sneak in? I managed to, last time... I mean, we'd have to do something anyway." Despite saying this, Damon knew there was a difference between a territory and a simple kingdom. "Depending on the amount of auras I feel, we might be capable of fighting back. Either way-" He glared at Apu and stood up from the bed. "I won't be falling back." His right hand tightened into a fist.

Apu carefully observed Damon. He wasn't a doctor, but in the time they had left Ishitani, Damon had a lot of time to rest. More than that, he had been fed food that was rich in nutrients responsible especially for stabilizing one's health. Traveling into a Yonko's territory ascertained battle. Apu only hoped that Damon was ready for whatever awaited them next.

"I plan to find Captain Burling before anything. He is my Captain after all, and whatever he says goes. That's my top priority, and unfortunately, so long as you're here with me, I have no choice but to force you along the path. My apologies for getting you involved in all of this, Damon."

His eyes ran down Damon's figure, to his hand as it clenched into a fist. "...How are you feeling now, Damon? If a fight were to break out... how would you suffice? Are you anywhere near your top form?"

Damon nodeed at Apu's statement, it wasn't a surprise, he had left it clear ever since they left Ishitani. "I'm fine with that. You don't need to worry on apologizing me, maybe, somehow, I will also find some information about whoever really tricked me back in Asha." He ran his finger along his nose, smiling once again and flashing his right arm at Apu. The tattoo was much more easy to see now, having a dark color to it and a rather strange shape. "I just figured I didn't tell you. I'm from Asha, a former member of theKingdom's Elite warriors!"

He felt like he should demonstrate it, not out of arrogance, nor out of pride. Damon, sometimes, felt like words were better than actions. The key word being sometimes, and this wasn't one of those times. However, they were admist enemy territory, and his mind had been much clearer than ever since he left Asha.

Apu truly took care of him and he couldn't thank him with words. "Enough to make the both of us survive!" The fishman, too, was in top shape, he could tell. Damon glanced at the island again. "I suppose we should clear things, dock this somewhere and go... what is it called?"

Apu was glad to see that Damon was in high spirits. It made things a lot easier when you had a powerful ally to count on. He noticed Damon's tattoo at last. "Asha? No way! I've always wanted to go there, I heard so much about their Five Sins." He quickly corrected himself. "Seven Sins, rather. Matter of fact, I was on my way there when I ran into you. Ishitani isn't very far from Asha at all; I thought maybe I'd use Captain's absence as an excuse to pay it a visit."

Apu clenched his own hand into a fist. "Right! If we don't believe it, who else will? We can take on anyone so long as we think we can!"

As the two pirates shimmered their pride, a transponder snail in Apu's pocket began to ring. Apu looked up at Damon as it rang, not having expected another call from anyone so soon. At least not until someone had found a lead on Captain Burling. Maybe that's what it would be about?

The snail took the appearance of a fox with an eye-patch. And as Apu flipped it on, his vice-captain's voice roared on the other end.

"Despite what the fuc- what happened, Asha is a really nice place to live in!" Damon smiled and rubbed the back of his head, though, he didn't know that these places were close. Maybe that's why he survived reaching Groot and Ishitani. He moved to the window, openning it to look at the skies."Maybe, after all this shit show, you can visit it or something." He turned to smile at the Fishman, putting his right foot over the window's base.

He liked that determination. According to himself, Apu had been through some heavy things, but he was still up, he was still fighting. Damon felt like he should be more like that. He clenched his fist and simply shook it all away, again. Damon was about to say something when a ring sounded off.

"Hoy, Apu! Are you there-gara?" Foxpack's voice roared through the Den Den Mushi. His vice-captain's fierce tone caught Apu by surprise. Had something happened to the captain?

"Y-yes, Foxpack-sama! I'm here. What's the matter?"

"Listen closely, and listen well-gara. What I'm about to relay to you is urgent news."

Apu looked up at Damon. This information was meant for and only for a member of the Titan Pirates. But somehow, Apu felt as though he could trust this man with their secrets and intel.

"Hoy-gara. Are you listening, Apu?"

"Yes, Foxpack-sama."

"Good. Now listen: we've obtained a very thorough lead on several members of the Xros Pirates. It has been brought to our attention that Sengoku is calling forth a meeting between his top executives, however not all of them will be able to attend due to certain circumstances. Out of them all, only a single one of his biggest guns will be remaining behind, and that is Reach, who is in charge of looking after Bedina.

"Bedina is among the most important of islands within the entirety of the Xros Pirates' territory-gara. Seizing control over it and eliminating Reach from the equation is the first step to ensuring Sengoku's demise."

Apu couldn't think past the whereabouts of his captain. "But what about Captain Burling?"

"Burling-san will be just fine, you know that just as well as I do, Apu. The fact remains that this is too good an opportunity to let slip away. If we don't act now, we may never get this chance again!" Foxpack's tone grew even more fierce. "As powerful as Reach may be, if we're able to corner him, there is no way for him to call for backup. Not now, not when the Xros Pirates are in a bundle. The time to strike is now, with or without our Captain!"

"I understand…"

"We await your arrival, Apu. Me and the rest of the crew arrived here last night. We will plan our invasion for three days from now. Be careful not to give yourself up in the meantime. I'll see you soon-gara." The transponder snail flipped off.

Pocketing the Den Den Mushi, Apu stood up. "Damon… I must ask you for your help. We are gravely outnumbered as it is, but our 5th division isn't to be underestimated. We are a proud bunch of pirates! Please, won't you assist us in taking down our enemy?" Apu got down upon his knees, jamming his fist against the floorboards and bowing his head before the wounded figure laying in bed. He knew how much this meant to Foxpack, and so he was willing to throw away his ego entirely to raise their chances, even if only by a little.

"Even with you aboard, our chances of victory are slim at best. I cannot force you to risk your life for our sake, so I will leave it to be your decision to make."

It was that funny-speaking guy again, Damon found out. He took in the information they begun to discuss, it seemed Yonkos clashed way more often than he thought they should do. Damon chuckled at the name of the Executive, somehow finding it funny, he had to make a joke of it later when they meet the guy. Indeed, even before Apu had asked him on it, Damon was willing to go and help them out with this. After what had happened at Asha, he figured that, sometimes, people couldn't pick sides.

There was no right nor wrong in this conflict between Yonkos. Apu was too kind to him, and he would willing help him. Which is why reluctance showed up in his mind once Apu's gaze dropped at the mention of Burling, Damon didn't like this, how the man got down so fast, but, he understood it.

"Nope. NOPE. NOPE!" Damon lowered his body to tap both his hands on Apu's shoulders. "My answer is no, but it's not the answer for the help." He snickered a bit. "NO, that's not what you should be worrying about, I'm itching myself to go and help you guys. You should be worrying about this damn island's name, like, what the hell? I get a territory and give it a name like that? Feels like those shitty dog owners who just get them to defend the house or some shit. Yeah, you guys need to conquer this one, I don't like this name." His eyes widened as his mouth moved in several shapes. Damon was, indeed, trying to complain and cheer the Fishman up.

Damon rose Apu, still tugging at his shoulders. He then let go and went for one of the wardrobes on the room, he figured he should get a better cloth for himself, having seen one on their first day in the house boat. Damon found a pair of black pants, which had odd white belt-like accessories on the legs, they crossed over and around the thighs. The boots were dark, tight and reached to the middle of his lower leg.

He didn't even wait, and instantly got himself into them, using the belt of the previous pants to hold this one up. "Now, let's do this, regroup with these compatriots of yours and get into action-" He was about to head out for the window, but looked back for a second, scratching the back of his head. "-Um, they don't know about me, do they?"

Apu smiled. It was a relief to officially have Damon on their side. Still, the real challenge awaited them. Nothing was promised, not even their lives.

"You placed the world on notice with your antics in Ishitani. There's a good chance they've recently seen your name in the newspaper. I think we should both preserve our identities as best we can for the time being."

He walked toward the window, moving the curtain to gaze out at the sea. It was going to take them a few days to arrive at Bedina. Apu and Damon were going to need every bit of that time to rest and prepare for what lay ahead of them.

It was time for two Yonko crews to clash.

Burning Chains
Within an underground training center in were 5 masked individuals, of varying heights and builds, lined up in straight rows and columns, looking directly towards a leader on a podium. They were a smaller individual, with long purple hair and wore very large robes and a long white mask. As they spoke, all movement within the crowd desisted as they listened.

"Fellow members of the Night Parade," the leader spoke with an echoing voice, "War with the Xros Pirates is nigh. We require information, and thus we will send a single operative to confirm or deny recent rumors, and gather more combat intelligence, for the sake of our Empress. The member we send shall be decided by tomorrow at dawn. Reconvene here. You are dismissed."

Almost every individual present in the large hall had nigh-instantly disappeared, leaving not a trace of their existence behind, sans a single person. They wore a grey mask with two horns and were seen with a white mane. They took said mask off, revealing their face. This was Fukuoka Soren, the normally cheerful apprentice of Kosaka Isshin, appearing quite frustrated at the recent turn of events.

"...They won't send me...I'm an apprentice, and this stuff is important for the Black Widow Pirates..." The man grumbled, his gaze peering down. "But..." Visions of two children smiling with a blue-haired parent came into his mind. "They're always there! With her! It's annoying!"

He disappeared from the training hall in an almost gliding-like fashion, before appearing in a smaller room. He began to pack his baggage, and wore his mask. He looked towards the horizon, and departed without hesitation.

He reached the port, and noticed a small ship with a crew that were about to depart with supplies. Without the crew noticing, he made his way onto the ship and hid himself in one of its many bags. Soren overheard the crew talking, saying that their ship was sailed towards Ishitani, an island that the Titan Pirates recently made their debut upon.

In approximately a week, he had appeared on Ishitani's port. He noticed its barren terrain, but kept himself well-hidden. He found a vantage point on one of the few buildings in the area, and scanned his outwards. Rather than focus his Haki through his eyes, he instead used his ears as the sensory medium. He began to pick up on the faraway sounds a normal human could never hear, and managed to find one of the ships that were sailed to Beldina. It was another supply ship, so it'd prove relatively simple to infiltrate.

Soren once more hid his presence by moving with the wind and shadows. Eventually, he found his way onto the ship and hid once more within the cargo. His ability to survive in low-oxygen conditions had been enhanced due to his training with the Night Parade, which note that the most confined places are the easiest places for a spy to hide.

In a couple of days, the supply ship from Ishitani had reached Beldina to retrieve supplies. In the process of their unloading, Soren had sneaked past the senses of the crew by sticking to the shadows of the ship, before moving into the plain town without anyone noticing him. Fukuoka Soren had now reached Beldina, and would now look for information on the Xros Pirates.

"I will be acknowledged," He said to himself, as he changed out of his Night Parade uniform. "More importantly," His eyes grew fierce, "I will help the Black Widow Pirates win!"

Some days had passed since Soren's arrival on Bedina. He had been forced to keep his movements around the island to a bare minimum due to the sheer number of forces the Xros Pirates had around. Simply put, it was a staggering amount; even some of the more well known officers of the Yonko crew had made their presence felt upon the island.

Home to countless natives, along with intelligence pertaining to the Xros Pirates, Soren had come to know about the immediate culture of Bedina's people. And, for the last few days, word encircling the premier of a new film had stolen away the interest of many.

The hype was real. The island's locals couldn't wait to see their beloved star, Nectar Ellis, on the big screen. He was a man who had been brought up in Bedina's very own soil; now, he was a movie star, one who was on the rise and could potentially take over the movie industry with his brilliant work. His new film was a much anticipated one, and tickets had been sold out a week prior to the film's premier.

That day was today.

Hundreds stood outside the line of Bedina's movie theatre. Their hearts were racing. Children couldn't hardly contain their excitement and the women… oh the women, they nearly lost consciousness simply at the thought of seeing Ellis on the big screen. What a man he was!

Ticket after ticket, ticker after ticket. The bouncers did their very best to maintain the wild crowd outside of their theatre. And as the hour came upon them, there were still hundreds left fighting for a chance to see Nectar Ellis' new movie.

Soren, who had utilized his skills in some capacity to obtain a ticket, was among those fortunate enough to be let inside. Of course his intentions were most peculiar: he closely anticipated at least some officers from the Xros Pirates to be present for the showing. But as he sat down and the film started with a fludder of cheers, he was surprised to see that not a single one of them had bothered to show up. Not yet at least.

The moment Nectar Ellis' charming face appeared on screen was the moment the projector went black. The crowd erupted into a bitter rage. That is, until the doors to the theatre which had been locked up until now, swung open, light flooding into the dark auditorium.

"Alright, alright, get out, every last one of you!" a man with long red hair announced, hands in his trouser pockets. He was a most sheepish looking man, with glinted eyes that glew in the dark, a red jacket unbuttoned to unveil his musculature, and a pair of yellow pants that were tight to his skin and folded above his ankles. He cleaned his ear with one hand while the other held a sheathed katana over his shoulder. "As of three minutes ago, I've decided to rent out this theatre for myself. The rest of you can watch this movie some other time."

The crowd groaned. But they knew better than to challenge a member of the Xros Pirates. As if on cue they all rose up from their seats and climbed up the theatre isles, departing from the movie theatre without a refund.

Soren identified the man as Al Rauf Najeem, a member of the Xros Pirates with a bounty of 460,000,000. Since his arrival onto the island, Najeem had amounted in nothing but trouble. He was as self centered as they came.

Najeem stood lighting a cigarette as the public poured out of the two exits of the theatre on either side of him.