Chapter 6
HIBARI-Eesign
There were very few marines who came close to the fame of the Hero of Marines, Vice Admiral Garp, and the three Admirals. These people were the pillars of the Marines upon which their entire organization was built.
But over the last few years, a new name had begun to gain popularity amongst the recruits. A recruit plucked out from East Blue who tore through the courses at the Marine Academy and joined the crew of the famous Marine Hero, before he took off on his own a few years later.
He famously saved his Captain from one of the rising rookies of West Blue, and saved the entire crew single-handedly, and tore down the record for most pirates captured in a year by any Marine of equivalent rank for three years. To many youngsters in the Marine academy, he was a budding hero.
Yet he had his own naysayers as well, for he was not just a marine. Captain Bartolomeo was also rumored to be involved with the infamous Barto Club, a budding business empire that was based out of East Blue.
Many whispered that most of his achievements were all bought and paid for, and that his quick rise through the ranks was all because of corruption and money, and yet all of them were fools.
She was among the thousands that he had saved. She knew that his actions went beyond his duties as a marine as he took down Slave rings and human traffickers on his own, with no orders from the Headquarters.
He had even gone against one of the 'Seven Warlords', earning himself a year-long punishment where he was forced to scrub the floors of a Marine Base for a year, all because he refused to back down in the face of evil.
He was the one who had inspired her to join the Marines, and that was why, after completing her course at the Academy, she had petitioned Vice Admiral Tsuru to join his crew.
But as she grew closer to him and found herself as her attache officer, she realised that there was indeed more to the captain.
"Wow," one of her fellow crewmates gasped as they examined the massive destruction that had been left in the wake of his fight with the Arlong Pirates.
"This whole side of the forest has been torn up," he commented, and indeed, an entire section of the forest had been destroyed, but she had an inkling that this had not been destroyed during his battle against the Arlong Pirates.
"Well, what can I say. I was simply celebrating with the Villagers over here when those idiots broke free from their constraints," and he was lying.
But why? She wondered. What had truly transpired here to cause this much destruction?
"So, I fought them again. But no matter, it's over now," he commented as he rested on a broken tree stump, yawning as he stood up.
"Hibari," he called out to her, startling her as she stood straight and saluted.
"Yes, captain."
"Write up a report for me and send it to HQ," and she nodded.
"Yes, sir," he walked off, and she did not miss how the rest of the crew was eyeing her with amazement.
"What is it?" she asked, as one of them explained.
"The captain must really trust you, because he doesn't usually like when other people do his paperwork," he replied, and she frowned, for she had not known that.
"Yes, he is called the paperwork demon, with his immaculate work usually is. Even Admiral Aokiji used to push off all of his work onto him when Captain was working under him," and that was a surprise.
"You are saying that he used to do Admiral Aokiji's work," she asked, and so that meant that she was being to him what he was to Admiral Aokiji.
"Yes, though the captain would make the Admiral train him as payment," and the older crewman suddenly shuddered.
"When they fought against one another, it almost felt as if the entire world would collapse. It was quite deadly," and she had heard none of these tales about him, for mostly people looked down on him or talked badly about him because of his businesses.
It made her perk up as she glanced back at the captain's retreating back.
.
.
.
In the end, a few hours later she had written her report and stood in the Captain's office as he presented him the final copy before forwarding it to HQ.
"I did not ask you to bring it to me," he said, but she nodded nervously.
"No, you did not. But I still wish that you could examine it before I send it over to HQ," he said, turning around and facing her as he put down the report.
"You know that I was lying," he asked, his eyes focusing on her as she felt herself shrivel under that gaze.
"I...I..."
"You knew that I lied about the Arlong Pirates escaping and that the forest was destroyed because of a second fight against them, yet you still followed my command," and she nodded.
"Yes, sir. I did," she answered resolutely.
"Why?" he asked, and the power emanating from him was abnormal, and she could feel her entire body trembling.
"Because I trust you, Captain," she answered between breaths, and he rose from his chair and walked up to her, and raised his hand.
And she was but a mere ensign, while he was a very powerful Marine Captain. If he struck her down, it would not even matter to anyone that she was already dead.
She closed her eyes as that hand descended, yet the pain she had expected never came, as a soft hand struck her on the head.
"You pass," she heard, and slowly opened her eyes and saw him standing in front of her with a smile on his face, as he rubbed her head.
"What?" she gasped as he continued to smile.
"I said you pass," he said as he retracted his hand and gave her a warm smile. And she would be lying if she said that she missed his head pat as he continued.
"I don't need a mindless HQ slave as my Ensign, so I decided to test you. And lucky for you, you passed with flying colors," he said as he leaned back on his desk.
"You were testing my loyalty," and he shrugged.
"Somewhat, so now that I know that you are not an HQ mule, ask me?" he said, looking her directly in the eyes.
"What?" she gasped.
"I said, ask me? The question that has been on your mind ever since we left Coccoyashi Village. Ask me?" and she wondered how he knew that, but did as she was told.
"Why? Why did you let that second pirate group go?" and, unlike the rest of the crew, she was a sniper and had scouted the entire island with her scope. So, she knew that there was a second Pirate group on that island, one which he had let go.
"The answer to your question is something that cannot be explained in words alone," he began as he gazed out the window, and his unruly hair moved with the wind as he continued.
"It can only be experienced, so as long as you are under me, I want you to do some thinking as we move around the world," and she nodded.
"What is worse, Hibari, between a criminal and an evil? Find the answer to that, and you will know why I spared the Straw Hat pirates," and with that, he passed her back her report.
"As for the report, you can write whatever you want, and you need not bring it to me again," and she took the pad from him as she nodded.
"But what..." yet before she could continue, there was a knock on his door as he spoke up.
"Come in," and she glanced back and saw another woman walk in. Her face seemed somewhat familiar to her for some reason.
"So, are you ready?" he asked her and the woman nodded.
"Yes, I am."
"Good. Hibari, she is Nojiko. I am hiring as a Private for my ship. She will serve alongside you for some time. Show her around the ship," he said, and the older woman smiled at her and offered her a hand.
"Hi, I am Nojiko," and Hibari nodded.
"I am Hibari, Nojiko-san."
"Yes, I know," they shook hands.
"Now finish this up, and then I want you both in the training centre," added the captain as he walked out of his office.
"You two are simply too weak to be a part of my crew," he whispered as he walked past her.
"But Captain, where are we going? Do we have a new heading?" she asked.
"I have already given the new heading, as for where," he answered, glancing back at her.
"We are going to the finest restaurant in all of East Blue, the Baratie..."
0000
BARTOLOMEO
Bartolomeo was a Marine, but that did not mean that he was blind to the faults and hypocrisy of the World Government, which had turned their organization into its mindless attack dogs.
According to general knowledge, the Marines were a branch of the World Government and enjoyed autonomy. But that autonomy was all a lie. Many knew that the Fleet Admiral may hold some power, but the people pulling the strings of the massive organization were none other than the vaunted 'Five Elders'.
And then there was one person who was pulling their strings, though that was a matter for another time.
Bartolomeo knew that he would never be able to achieve his goals in the Marines if the organization stayed as it currently was even if he became the Fleet Admiral. No, the World Government had many a shackles to keep their entire organization in line, and amongst them the biggest shackle was Money.
Even visionaries and intellectuals like Vegapunk himself allied themselves with the World Government because of its massive financial prowess, but that was just one of the significant ways it controlled the Marines.
Bartolomeo knew that to achieve his goals, he would need an independent Money supply, and that was where this place came in.
"What is that?" asked Nojiko as she rode beside him on his ship. In front of them was a massive floating restaurant undergoing massive repairs.
"That is one of the best restaurants in the entire world," and he could still remember his shock when he had first tasted a meal from the place.
"And I am going to have a meal there," and it had been more than a year since he had been able to visit, and it was all because of that wretched 'Warlord' and the mere thought of Doflamingo made his blood boil, but he had learned his lesson.
The next time, they met with each other he would crush the bastard like the insignificant bug he was, consequences be damned.
"What! You are going alone!" Nojiko gasped in exasperation as he laughed.
"Well, you remember the bet, don't you?" he said as both Hibari and her shrank back.
"All you had to do was land one hit," and he had been blindfolded at the time, yet they had failed to do even that.
"So, watch the ship for me," and he jumped up, and a barrier appeared in the sky and began to carry him towards the floating restaurant, and the repairs were nearly complete, though as soon as he landed on deck, he saw many gazes turn towards him.
And the reason was obvious enough for this restaurant was rarely visited by Marines and was a hub of piracy. His presence here while not out of the norm, was a rarity.
"It's him!" "It's the cannibal!" "We have to run!" and many of the diners recognised him, and began to run, and he did not bother to tell them that he was not here on Marine Business.
And just as he had stepped into the main Hall, a burly man stood in his way, with massive forearms, and very well maintained goatee.
"Hey, long time no see Patty," he greeted with a simple wave, and tension hung in the air, until suddenly the cook began to fawn over him.
"Ahh! You are finally here, Barto-sama. It has been so long," and he jumped around him like girl in love as he smiled.
"Where were you for the last year! We all missed you very much!" and he laughed, for he knew that it was his money they missed.
"Well, I just got myself into a bit of trouble," and then he glanced towards a gaping hole in the wall and asked away.
"And it seems like I was not the only one," and he nodded.
"Yes, we had quite a troublesome bunch show up and cause trouble, but don't worry, Baratie still stands. I beat them all up and protected the restaurant," he boasted, but by then the line of cooks behind him had begun to move as he looked up, as the owner of the place showed up.
"You again," he nearly snarled as he simply gave him a wave.
"Hello there, Zeff. It seems like you landed yourself in quite some trouble," he said, motioning to the damage still visible around the.
"Perhaps, now you would be more interested in a partnership," and he was Zeff, the owner of this place and a former notorious pirate who had traversed through the first half of the Grand Line.
"Never," he denied his request once again as Barto shrugged.
"Well, your choice. I will just have to steal another one of your chefs then," and he had done that to him, and now that person, Carne, to be exact, was a part of his own little company.
"Do whatever you want, but you will never have a part of this place," he declared as he shrugged.
"Well, so much for a negotiation. I will just have the usual then," he said and Zeff nodded.
"I will have it made, and don't come here again. You disturb my clientele," Zeff threatened as he had been here for the last dozen times. Barto simply smiled as he walked past him towards his very own private booth.
"I cannot do that. There is no place in the Seas with better food," and the former Pirate turned chef, clicked his tongue as he walked past him, and reached a private room through a side door.
The room had only one table, with two chairs, one of which was already occupied, by a lanky tall man with a massive beehive as hair.
"So, you got my message, Gambia?" and this person sitting in a very fine tailored suit was the head of his business empire, his childhood friend, Gambia.
"Barto!" he jumped towards him, as soon as he heard his voice as they both hugged each other.
"Where were you for the past year? I missed you, my man," he whispered as he smiled and plopped down in the chair.
"Well, it is a very long tale," and Gambia smiled, showing his missing upper teeth as he plopped down opposite him.
"Then it is good that we have lots of time and lots of booze...."
.
.
.
And the food was served, as he told his oldest friend about his clash with one of the Warlords, and how it had landed him in quite a bit of trouble.
"I see now. Perhaps this is why they have been targeting our projects in West Blue," and that made him frown.
"What?" he asked, eyes narrowing as Gambia rubbed his chin.
"Yeah, I thought it strange that one of our casinos in North Blue was attacked suddenly by Bellamy Pirates, so I looked into them and found out that they were associated with one of the Warlords," and that name was familiar to him.
"Yes, Bellamy is one of his underlings," he confirmed, as Gambia.
"Well, it was one attack. But I will alert the others as well," and Doflamingo must know that if he took things too far, he would lose the protections that came with being a 'warlord' and must have stopped.
"Well, that is all a separate matter," and he reached into his pocket and gave his old friend a new deed.
"Look at this," and Gambia picked it up, and as he read it, his eyes widened.
"You are joking!" he gasped as Bartolomeo simply smiled.
"Not at all. I got us a big piece of land in the Seabody," and land there was expensive, but there were perks of being a marine, and so now they were about to expand to the edge of the New World.
"Now we can expand there, and I already have a few plans on what I want to do..." and so the next few hours passed discussing plans about their new operations on Seabody.
This, along with their second HQ in Water Seven, meant that his company was now stationed all over the initial portion of the Grand Line. He had been one of the earliest investors in the Sea-Train, being already aware of its success, and had nearly made a hundred times profit from that one single investment.
Gambia and him were busy talking plans when suddenly Patty rushed into the room disturbing them.
"Captain Barto! Captain Barto! We have an emergency!" he screamed, and in an instant, he was on his feet.
"What happened?" he asked growing a bit worried for Zeff and his crew were no joke, they would not react like this unless it was a real emergency.
"It's him, Captain! The man you warned us about!" he whispered, and he felt his heart sink as he activated his Observation Haki and pushed it to the maximum.
And it was good fortune that he did.
"It's the Marine Hero, Garp-sa..." Yet before he could finish, Barto forced his Haki to the limit, flaring his senses just in time to dodge annihilation and jumped back, as the wall to his side was smashed to bits
"WALLL!" Barto screamed, crossing his fingers at once and the wall shattered like paper as a living cannonball burst through it—Vice Admiral Garp, fists clenched, fury in his eyes.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING YOU BRAT!"
"AAAHHH!" Gambia and Patty were screaming as Garp's fist collided with the hastily erected Barrier, which was the only thing that stopped the fist from tearing apart the restaurant.
BOOOOOM!
The man smirked as his fist creaked against the barrier, though he stopped and turned towards him as he dusted himself off.
"You avoided that hit," he repeated as sweat dripped down Barto's face, for the man was angry, and one barely managed to survive if Garp the Hero was angry.
"So, you have finally gotten hold of Observation Haki, heh?" he gave him that wild, devilish smile as Barto raised a brow.
"What are you doing..." but the man did not let him finish, as he cocked his fist and felt him activate his Armament Haki. Barto did the same, for in front of him was the only person in the world who had broken through his barriers.
And he knew that if he did not give it his all, he very well might just die here right here and now.
"Now let me check your progress with Armament Haki NOW! HAHAHAHAH!"
"GALAXY..."
"GRAND WALL!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
0000
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