" YAHAHAHAHA! Todays the day."
" Yup, you're finally shipping out on full duty again. Are you excited?" Garp asked the young man.
" You know it. I even managed to get assigned to the New World." Markus stated.
Garp grinned large and wide and patted Markus on his back.
" You seem pretty excited. You sure you can handle such turbulent seas?"
Markus looked at Garp and grinned.
" I'm hungry like never before. My battle with the pirates of the New World showed there's still so much more to see, and I'm gonna do my best." Markus said to the man.
" Thatta boy! Now, looks like your ship is here. Are you ready to meet your new crew?"
" Absolutely!"
" Then get outta here. And Markus, take care of yourself."
" Of course, pops. Don't worry about me. I got this."
Markus gave the older man a firm shake of the hand before stepping towards his new battleship.
What a feeling he was experiencing. At sixteen, he was already a captain and preparing to go into the New World.
He stomped aboard the destroyer and was met with an immediate.
" Welcome, Captain Markus!"
Two lines of the Marines finest men and women lined up shoulder to shoulder next to each other and saluted their new captain.
Markus returned the salute.
" Good morning, I am Your new captain Monkey D. Markus. There are three things I expect from each and every one of you going forward. Your very best! Your Dedication! And your honesty! Do you understand?!"
" Yes, sir!"
" Very good! From this day forward, you will obey me, you will do as I say and I will keep you alive. Are we clear?!"
" Yes, sir!"
" We are going to make a difference in the New World. We will protect the civilians we have sworn to protect, regardless of who the enemy is. Do you understand?!"
" Yes, Sir!"
" You will find, I do not care where you came from, who you know, or what you know! I care for what you do! We will strive to be the very best we can be, on this ship! And off this ship! We will not take advantage of our positions within the Marines. If you see anyone threatening the safety of the people you will notify me. And we will handle it as a unit. Everything we do is as a unit. I will not accept any of you slaking in your training. You will work with every day to get better. We will train every day. Are we clear?!"
" Yes, Sir!"
" Good!" Markus exclaimed. " Now, let me be clear on something, I'm not a hard ass. I believe in giving everyone a chance. I also understand the need to rest. I do not expect any of you to do something I myself would not do. I do not expect any of you to obey an order that would risk your life and the lives of your comrades. I know some of you have families, and I know how badly you want to get back to them. Trust me, I get it." Markus explained. " But I'm sure you all know that the New World is a dangerous place, and nothing is guaranteed. But put your trust in me, and we will crush the evil of the pirates. Understand?!"
" Yes, Sir!"
" Alright, then men! Let's SAIL!"
" YEAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!"
Markus released the men and women to their duties.
Watching as they ran about the deck of the ship preparing to set sail, Markus found himself approached by his second-in- command.
" Lieutenant Hakoda, reporting duty, sir."
" A pleasure, Lieutenant. Fill me in on the current state of the ship."
" Yes, Sir. I'll start with myself. I am in charge of overseeing the daily affairs of the crew, as far as training and maintaining the condition of the crew. Petty Officer Cicily is in charge of the meals prepared, Our Quartermaster is Russ, and our weapons specialist and the man in charge of keeping maintenance on our weapons is Warrant Officer Garis. That is all, sir."
" I see. Anything else I should know?"
" Well, Garis is a bit of an... Explosive maniac. He tends to go a bit overboard with the gun powder. But he's reliable. If you want something brought down or blown up, trust him with it." Hakoda stated.
" Very well. Alright then. Let's get this show on the road, Lieutenant."
" Yes, sir!"
...........................
A few hours on the sea left much to Markus' desire. The crew operated as it did normally, and things seemed to be going quite smooth, however, none of them could anticipate what was to come next.
" Attention all men! Line up!" Markus yelled.
The crew took immediate notice of the captain and gathered in front of him on the main deck, in a quick and timely manner.
" Sir, all men are accounted for." Hakoda said to the man.
" Good." Markus stated. " Now, then.... Before we get to the New World, I need to see just what you all can do. So, we're going to have a little training exercise on our first day together. Got it?"
" Yes, Sir!"
" Good. Now then, the objective of this exercise is simple. Beat me."
The command was simple. Beat him. Yet many of the crew members were left completely stunned.
" Uh, Sir? You want us to fight you?"
" Yup! Plain and simple. I need to get a gauge of your skills and there's no better way to do that than to experience it firsthand. Now, then. Give it your best shot."
The men and women were still, none of them had any idea of what to really do. How were they expected to attack a superior officer.
" Well, if you don't want to come to me..."
*Zoom!
Markus split through the forces in front of him and smacked one of the sailors square in the face with his fist, knocking him into the floor.
" To battle men!" Hakoda shouted.
Knowing that the danger was coming for them, whether they liked it or not spurred the remaining marines into action.
First up was the lieutenant himself.
Markus watched as the black shell of Armament haki engulfed the Lieutenants fist.
" Haki! Good, be serious!" Markus ducked under Hakoda's fist and palmed him right in the stomach, Hakoda responded by swing his leg right at Markus' neck as he was flying away. However, Markus simply dodged out of the way.
" HAHA! It's Boom-Boom Time!" Warrant officer Garis, the second youngest on the ship, being only two years older than Markus, lunged at him and his hands started glowing. Garis was a young man with short spiky black hair, red eyes, and a long scar going across his nose.
" A devil fruit?!"
*Boom!
" Haaa! How'd you like that?" Garis asked. " I ate the Nitro-Nitro Fruit. It turned me into a Nitroglycerin man, a human bomb!"
Markus emerged from the smoke cloud, covered in dust, but otherwise unharmed. " That was damn awesome! But not enough!" Markus thrusted his fist right into Garis' gut and dropped the man.
" Who's next- ?!" Before Markus could finish, he dodged out of the way of three bullets, aimed right at his head.
Sitting on top of the mast of the ship was the Quartermaster, Russ. Russ was an older man, around 30, with short black hair, a short black beard.
" Damn! Good shot!" Markus exclaimed.
He was sweating a bit. Those bullets were dangerously close to hitting him, and they were grouped together so beautifully. And then his rifle was intriguing as well. It wasn't like anything Markus had seen before. It was definitely different from the standard Marksman rifle the marines used. It had an extended barrel, and a muzzle at the end that stiffened the sound of the gun firing. Deadly.
* Zoom!
Sensing Markus coming, Russ dived off the top of the mast, just as the man appeared next to where he had been sitting.
" Huh?" Markus was surprised that Russ had managed to dodge him, even if he was holding back.
Russ holstered his rifle on his back, and then pulled out two strange looking pistols. Each of them had six slots on them. The pistols were designed differently. One was black and the other was silver.
*Blam blam blam blam blam!
Russ opened fire on Markus' position, firing five shots from each of his guns.
The bullets whizzed past where Markus had been, missing.
" Shit!" Russ exclaimed. He could sense something heavy coming beside him, but he wasn't fast enough to dodge it.
*BAM!
Markus' fist landed square in Russ' jaw, knocking him into the ground.
Markus stood over the man as he laid defeated, smiling.
He was impressed by the three men who had been brave enough to attack him so far.
" Alright! Who next?" Markus asked as he turned and faced the remaining soldiers.
There was a quick shiver of terror that ran up the spines of the men and women still standing. Normally, Markus would consider sparing them, since it seemed they were weaker than the other three. But not today. And definitely not going forward.
They were going to learn the hard way, what it takes to survive.
*DOOM!
To Be Continued!
.............................
ARRRRRRRGH! IT'S BACKKK!