After accepting the Quest, I quietly left Dadan's bandit hideout while everyone inside was unconscious.
The Quest was this:
[Quest: Take out the Bandits]
[Take out the remnants of the Higuma Bandits]
[Reward: Two random [1 Star] Draws]
[Failure: Higuma Bandits go free to terrorize the civilians for another day]
I'm going to be honest, I thought Shanks and his crew killed all of them... but, it seems like a few of them wisely chose to flee to a cave nearby.
How do I know that you may ask? Well, the answer's simple. I asked The System where they were, and it told me.
After around... let's say thirty minutes of walking, I found a large cave on the inside of a mountain.
I quickly hid behind a nearby tree when I noticed two bandits guarding the entrance.
'System... how many bandits are in the cave?' I asked The System.
[Twelve bandits are inside of the cave, thirty more are coming back from a successful raid on a nearby village. They have four civilians hostage, probably for slave labor] The System told me.
'Damn... what should I do? I might've fucked up, not taking Kakyoin and Tai Lung with me... at least I have the Jacket-Man Pirate. System, what are the stars of the bandits? And, better yet... what star am I?' I asked The System.
[Fourty are [0 Star], the final two are [1 Star] bandits, you are at the lowest level of [1 Star], the two bandits are mid-level of [1 Star]. Jacket-Man is the lowest level of [2 Star]. If you summon him, you will have almost no problem with the bandits] The System answered.
'Thank you... System. Summon Jacket-Man Pirate... then, rename him to Jack...son. Jackson's a good name' I told The System.
[Certainly Host. Summoning Jackson [2 Star]] The System told me.
In a burst of bright light that definitely alerted the bandits, an almost seven-foot-tall man with black hair styled in a pompadour, alongside a very pointy goatee wearing a purple-colored suit and tie appeared, he wielded a silver katana with a purple and black handle, ready to strike at any moment. He looked like he would be a member of the yakuza back on my original planet.
He looked toward me and kneeled.
"Jakakakat... it's a pleasure to meet you, my master. Thank you for naming me Jackson... it truly means a lot to have a name" He said with a large grin, showing off his shark-like teeth.
"Oh, it was no problem... speaking of problems," I said, as I looked toward the cave, only to see eight bandits already out, at the ready for any sort of attack.
"These... pitiful worms are hardly a problem, master. Allow me to... take out the trash!" Jackson said as he charged at one of the bandits, slicing his head clean off, then splitting another bandits head in half, before he got stabbed in the back by another one.
"Hey! I got him!" Yelled the offending bandit, before he was suddenly wrapped in by Jackson.
"No... I GOT YOU!!! JAKAKAKAKAT!!!" Jackson laughed, as he somehow... possessed the bandit and forced him to slay his comrades. Then, Jackson went into the cave to kill the remaining four bandits inside.
'You know... I didn't think the Jacket Jacket Fruit could do that... no, I'm almost sure it can't do that. What the hell? Was the original user just dumb or did The System buff the Devil Fruit?' I thought to myself.
[No. The System did not power up the Jacket Jacket Fruit. The other user is just... inept] The System answered my thought.
'Oh... neat' I said to The System.
It had taken about a minute, but Jackson came out of the cave, no longer possessing the bandit, covered in blood, almost all of it certainly not his own.
"Jakakakat... it seems like I'm going to need a new suit, master!" Jackson said with a grin.
"It's not over yet Jackson. There's still thirty more coming back... with... slaves" I said with a grimace, just the thought of my own freedom being taken away was terrifying...
"Jakakakat, that just means more for the blender!" Jackson said, his grin becoming more... menacing.
"Alright... let's just wait out inside the cave, maybe ambush them... or something," I said as I walked inside of the cave that was previously... infested.
"Uh... master, you might not want to do that!" Jackson said worriedly.
As I stepped into the cave, it hit me.
It hit like a truck.
The smell... the god awful smell.
Blood, shit, and guts... oh god that smelled disgusting.
I had to hold myself back from vomiting, and I very nearly couldn't do it.
"Oh god..." I said, queasily as I pulled up my shirt to use as a makeshift mask.
Let's just hope that those bandits don't take too long.
I can't wait to get out of this cave.