My trek through the god forsaken forest, and it's many annoyances, for about an hour or two had only one benefit. I was finally able to activate the tremor fruit in my hand, though my grasp on it was still shaky, no pun intended, when I tried to hold the power for a length of time beyond a few seconds.
Every time I try and keep the blue glow around my hand charged it eventually putters out and pops like a bubble. Without even so much as a gust of wind to follow. I couldn't even get it to work on my hand well, so I was clearly very far off from putting it around my bisento blade. But it wasn't all bad I guess, at least I actually have a sense of what direction I need to go in order to improve it. The only thing I haven't tried yet was releasing the tremor power in an attack.
I was waiting until I found the bandit hideout before trying that. I'd rather have a target to use it on, I didn't want to destroy nature all willy nilly. I didn't even live here after all, and the townsfolk probably wouldn't appreciate it anyway.
But I digress.
I continued to walk past trees and brush all the while turning the power on and off in my hand repeatedly. I was not usually a fan of nature, and it wasn't much of a fan of me. This is proven when for the hundredth time I found myself either getting caught in a bush, or getting knocked on the head by a branch I somehow didn't see. My teeth were grinding and if anyone were to see my face they would probably shit themselves.
After another yank of my leg and a casual karate chop to a nearby branch the foliage above me slowly disappeared until I found a little cliff that let me see the rest of the island. I sighed in relief when I stood at the edge and looked out. To be honest... it was a pretty breath taking sight. The ocean surrounding the island, the trees, and the general look of peacefulness brought a small smile to my lips. That smile dropped a bit when I saw the rise of smoke coming from the north western part of the island.
I slammed the butt of my bisento on the ground, straightened up, and muttered, "There they are."
With my destination set I began looking for a way down. I looked around left and right of the cliffside and didn't see anyway down which made me sigh in disappointment. I idly scratched the back of my head as I contemplated my little predicament.
"What to do. What to do..." I took a step closer to the edge to see if there was a way to climb down the edge, that was a mistake. The edge crumbled immediately when my foot sank into the soft earth.
"Oh shit!" I yelled as I stumbled off the cliff. I began my immediate free fall and while I might be significantly more durable than before I still didn't want to land on the ground after falling off a cliff. Thinking quickly I righted myself in the air, took my bisento in my hands, and stuck the blade into the cliffside. This carved a nice gash into the rock and I slowly started to slow down.
My impact on the ground was lessened, but I still landed fairly hard. Once my feet touched the ground I could've sworn the ground itself shook from the impact it had with my legs. Thankfully I did not seem to be hurt at all, not even my teeth were rattled. So I straightened myself back up after pulling my bisento out of the rock and looked back up at the cliff.
I whistled, "Wow, that is quite a slash mark." I checked the blade. "And not even a scratch or a bit of dulling on the blade. Nice. I should probably get moving though, all that noise was bound to attract someone."
With that I started walking to where I saw the smoke.
Apparently no one must have heard my little bout with gravity. I did not meet a single person during my hike. These bandit must either be deaf, incompetent, or way too full of themselves and believe they are the most powerful people on this island. It could even be a combination of all three.
Honestly I was kinda glad, sneak attacks are better anyway.
I was thinking all this as I gave a calculating eye at the four buildings from my crouched hiding spot in the tree line. On a side note it was really hard to find one that fit me considering my size. The right middle building looked like it held food and the like, and if the noise were to go by it was probably their cafeteria too. The building to the left of that looked like an armory, it had a nice helpful weapon sign on it that had a picture of a sword and gun. The left and rightmost buildings looked like they were where the bandits slept.
All this and the small wall surrounding the camp made this look fairly organized. And from what I have seen there was only one gate, which made my first targets all the more clearer.
I stood up and stretched before beginning my walk to the gate. I casually twirled my bisento, creating a small gust of wind that kicked a bit of dirt up. The two bandit guards standing on top of a small, covered ledge above the gate saw me instantly. Not surprising since it was like the middle of the day and I'm practically a small giant compared to them.
"Hey! The hell are ya doing here bub?!" Shouted the first as he and his buddy gripped their spears tighter and pointed them at he.
I paid them no mind as I continued to casually trek onwards.
"Are ya deaf old man?! Or just stupid? Answer the question!" Shouted fodder number two.
I still ignored them as I raised my bisento up above my head and tilted to the ground. When they got in range of my weapon I turned it to the flat end and swung it t them. They couldn't get away in time and my bisento crashed into one of the support beams of the roof of the makeshift guard tower. It easily ripped through the flimsy wood and my weapon crashed into the sides of the bandits, knocking them out cold as they were flung off to the other edge of the camp. The ledge tower crumbling down with a loud crash.
I made a note of their location for later and focused on the wooden gate in front of me. I rested my bisento against my right shoulder and pulled my left fist back, ready for a punch. I inhaled a bit and released as I slammed my fist into the gate, the gate flung forward in splinters and various bits of wood. The first wave of bandits already coming out of the cafeteria.
I glared at them and rumbled loudly, "Knock, knock. Daddy's home."
A lot of them were visibly shocked at my height, appearance, and show of strength. But a larger guy, he was probably the bandit's leader, started shouting orders.
"Oi! Stop standing around like a bunch of piss ants and go get a weapon!" Every bandit that didn't already have one quickly started running to the armory.
"I'm not giving you a chance!" I yelled, they stopped and stared at me in shock as a blue glow surrounded my left fist.
"Combat magic?!" One yelled, stepping back in fear.
"It can't be! He doesn't have a horn!" Yelled another as he pointed a finger at me.
"But look at the glow! It has to be!" Shouted a third, grabbing his head I shock and fear.
"Whatever it is, we can deal with it!" Encouraged the leader as he got into a defensive stance.
"Earthquake punch!" I dramatically shouted as I punched the air in front of me, right in the direction of the armory.
I waited for something to happen.
And so did the bandits.
They looked at each other confused for a second, and then started laughing crazily. My face burned bright red in embarrassment as the leader started grabbing his stomach all the while guffawing. Some of his bandit minions were on the ground, slamming their fists. Others were putting their arms around each other for support as they too bellowed in laughter.
"Grrr..." I growled in anger, shaking with rage. "Stop fucking laughing at me!" I punched the air once again with my tremor powers activated. It worked this time and cracks appeared in the air. This shut the bandits up instantly and their jaws dropped to the ground when a huge shockwave of air pressure zoomed at the armory. The armory did not stand a chance, and there must have been gunpowder in there because it exploded after it got hit, sending wood and metal bits everywhere. Some bandits were blown away by the initial shockwave, others by the explosion. I'd guess around ten or fifteen.
A collective gulp could be heard in the silence that followed. Every head turned in my direction, every face sporting jaws dropped, wide eyes, and sweat pouring out of their bodies. The leader shook himself out of the daze first.
"Don't worry about that boys! There are still more of us than him, largeness be damned!" This seemed to give them a confidence boost. "Come on old man! Who do you think you are to challenge me! The great and terrible... Axe the Beheader!" His men cheered.
A shadow covered my eyes as I grinned at the newly named Axe.
"Who am I? You ask." I chuckled loudly and started spinning my bisento around my body dramatically before slamming it butt end into the ground, causing cracks to appear the end, and yelled, "I... am Whitebeard! And I will be the Pirate King!"
"Hah! Yeah right, no one has been able to claim that title yet. Face it old man, you'll die of old age before that happens." Axe spat to the side and glared at me, "Besides, the marines have been cracking down hardcore on pirates recently. You'll be dead as soon as you raise a jolly roger."
I snorted at him in contempt, "Hmph, I won't go down that easily. Now, I think it's time to get rid of you guys."
I took a battle stance with the end of my bisento pointed right at Axe. I made a "bring it on" gesture with my hand. The bandits roared a battle cry and they all charged me en mass. This was a poor decision, I work best in large groups. When they got close enough I dropped down into a crouch, pulled the bisento back in a swinging position, and swung it in a wide arc in front of me. The pole arm slammed into at least twenty of them and they flew into the rightmost building.
Seeing their comrades so easily dealt with made the others stop their charge and skid to a halt in front of me to try and run away. They couldn't get far when I took a few steps and swung downwards at them at few times. The bisento crashed into the ground with mighty force and blasted bandits away each time. One guy got brave and tried to come at me from the side with his sword raised high. I simply gave a low kick, it was at torso height for him, and sent him flying into a few of his friends.
I knocked a few more heads around, and destroyed a bit more of their buildings until it was just me and Axe left. By this point he was shaking and sweating in fear as he watched his men get knocked around like playthings. The funny part was... I kinda was just playing with them. I always kept an eye on the gate though, in case they tried to escape and all. But once I was sure everyone but Axe and I were knocked out I just focused on him.
I slammed the bisento on the ground once more and glared down at Axe, "I'm positive you know where this is going correct?"
Axe was shaking so much I was afraid his sword would bounce out of his grip. He slowly nodded, an answer to my question.
I grunted, "Good. Now... will you fight me like a man, or cower and wait for your punishment meekly?"
Axe's face gained a smallish amount of steel, but he was till clearly afraid. It was better than nothing though. He raised his axe in the air, I had to force myself to not roll me eyes, and charged me like his men did. Though I could tell he had significant more battle experience than his underlings. That was probably why he was their leader.
It wasn't enough though. I casually sidestepped his chop and backhanded him downwards, he was out cold before he even hit the ground.
I scratched my face and examined the camp, looking for rope or chains. I spotted a rather lengthy bit of rope off to the side of a building, it was enough to tie up everyone. why they had that much rope I couldn't have guessed. I smiled and put the rope in the middle of the camp, then gathered all the bandits up and tied them up tight in groups.
I wanted to have these guys face their crimes but I didn't have a clue as to how I'll transport them. I was about to simply drag them when I spotted the intact left residential building. An idea hit me.
"If Zoro during the Alabasta arc could lift and throw a building... then couldn't I lift an entire building as well?" I grinned. "This'll be quite a shock to the townspeople. I just hope I get there before the evening. It looks like its two or three now and I'm kinda hungry."
I walked to the left building and tried to think of a way to lift it up. I walked around it perimeter and when I got back to the front door I nodded as I figured it out. I stuck my bisento in the ground blade first and walked a bit to the side of the building. I cocked my right fist back and slammed it hard against the ground. Cracks appeared around where I punched the ground. I did the same thing to a number of locations around the building, making sure to connect the cracks.
Once the area was sufficiently weakened I walked back to the front and started throwing the bandits inside the building. Once they were all inside I walked over and picked up some of the loose rocks around where I first hit the ground and threw them aside. When an area was clear I gripped the bottom of the ground the building was resting on, the unbroken rock, and started lifting it up from the ground. The building started slowly rising and I had to occasionally shift my grip in order to keep bringing it up from the ground.
Eventually the entire building was raised and I was proudly holding it up with almost no strain. I shifted the building's weight around and rested it on my right shoulder. With it firmly in place I grabbed my bisento with my other hand and stabbed it above my head and into the rock, I grabbed the rock and building with my free hand to keep the load steady and began my trek back to town.
"This will be a shock, might even make a few faint if I'm lucky." I laughed in delight at the prospect.
I was sweating when I finally managed to get back to town. I was pretty warmed up right now and I was beginning to feel the strain of lifting this big building, rock, and bandits for about three hours in the heat. Going back through the forest took longer with my larger load and no real knowledge of the land. But I can admit I was pretty proud of this little feat. It's not everyday that someone could be able to do this.
I managed to garner a large crowd before I even got close to the town gate. Apparently seeing a building approach your village is cause for concern. When they all saw that it was just one person who was doing an extreme version of home moving they gawked. One person even fainted, that caused me to smirk.
The mayor and Peelin' were at the forefront of the gathering. Both could not seem to believe what they were seeing either. They constantly rubbed their eyes, probably hoping to try and get rid of an illusion. But stopped a bit in front of the crowd and set the building down next to me. I walked forward until I stood in front of the mayor.
"Well, your bandit problem is no more mayor. In fact they are all beaten and tied up inside the building I brought with me." I waved an arm in the direction of the downed building. "They are yours to do with as you please."
The mayor looked at the building in amazement, then turned to me and said, "Well I'll be damned..." Then he grinned widely and turned to the townsfolk, "Well I'll be damned! We're free!"
The townsfolk got out of their amazement and started cheering loudly. They hugged each other, slapped each other on the back and had a grand time. Someone suggested a party and they all seemed to agree. Drinks and food was already being passed around.
I looked at the mayor and smiled awkwardly, "Well, while I'd want to stay and party... I want to go out there and get my dream started more. So how about that boat?"
He grinned up at me, "Hah! You can have two boats! To be honest I didn't even think you could do it... But I've never been gladder to be wrong before! Come on, it's just down at the docks." He waved for me to follow him and I did.
We stood at the edge of the pier and looked at my new boat. It was big enough for me to sit and walk around the deck with a bit of squeezing, though I couldn't get into the cabin or any of the areas under the deck.
"She was mine when I was younger, took her fishing and sailing to neighboring islands before settling down. She should serve you well until you find yourself a bigger one." Said the mayor as he seemed to reminisce about old times.
I nodded and smiled down at the mayor, "Thank you mayor."
He shook his head, "No... thank you. I'm glad we can finally be able to live in peace now."
I grinned and we laughed. I was about to get on the boat when we heard a voice.
"Now partner. You aint just gonna up and leave without so much as a goodbye huh?"
I turned around and quickly caught something that was heading for my face. I looked down and saw that it was a pretty large bag, much too large for someone Peelin's size to throw easily. I looked questionably at him.
Peelin' smirked, "Now how can I let our hero and friend go without so much as a proper thank you? We might have only known each other for a day but that don't mean nothin'. In that bag is some homemade food and basic supplies like map and compass. You don't look like you got much else on ya."
I smiled at Peelin', "Thanks Peelin', this means a lot to me." I set the bag to the side as I stepped in the ship, I started fiddling with the sail while I briefly wondered how I knew what to do. I brushed that off when I heard one last question from the mayor.
"So what are your plans? I don't think you ever mentioned it."
I turned to Peelin' and the mayor and grinned, "Gurarara, why I plan on becoming the next Pirate King!"
Their eyes widened in shock. While they stood there in shock I started lightly laughing and stood up and waved goodbye as I slowly drifted out to sea. My adventure has finally started.