About a month after Garp and Bogard left the boys had settled into a new training regiment. Luffy even started to train harder when he could no longer beat Marcus in spars. While Sabo and Ace could tie or beat each other in fights using weapons. Marcus was currently unbeatable while using a weapon and now that Ace and Sabo knew how strong he was, they wouldn't let him fight unless he went all out. That's not to say Marcus was stronger than Ace or Sabo. Both boys were actually stronger than him in physical strength. Marcus was only able to win from his masterful skill in swordsmanship.
But when it came to fist fighting, Sabo and Ace could normally beat Marcus or atleast tie with him. Luffy on the other hand now lost to everyone. But it was working as a great motivator for him and he seemed to be improving the fastest out of everyone.
Their new training routine actually matched what Garp made them do each day. Wake up early, put on their training harness and do the marine training exercises. During that time they would also hunt a couple animals, one for Makino and one to give to Dadan and the bandits. Once done they would head back to Makino's for breakfast, then head out to run while being weighed down with heavy objects till lunch.
After lunch they would spar with each other a few times, then finish with the tree punching exercises. They stopped around dinner time and then had free time till they took a bath and went to bed. Marcus still pushed himself every day after dinner. Sometimes the other boys would join him, but they mostly hung out and played games in the bar instead. They didn't always finish the day off at Makino's though, sometimes they would stay at Dadan's or the secret base they built in the forest. But on average they spent most of their days at Makino's because she cooked the best.
Besides their new rest day once a week, they also had a day for fighting. They would go into the forest and fight different animals for the day. They also set up a rule that you had to fight with your weapon one week and no weapon the next week. Even Luffy had to follow the rule and couldn't use his gloves every week. That training worked well to give them some fighting experience, but after seven months all of them could beat most normal animals with no issue.
Only the stronger, more troublesome beasts gave the boys issue, not to mention the massive kings of the forest. Since that was the case the boys started to train by fighting criminals in Gray Terminal and Edge Town. It also gave the boys a chance to make money, since they would take money and valuables from anyone they beat up.
It was almost a year into this new training method when they finally found someone with a bounty hiding out in Gray Terminal. It was a small time pirate with a bounty of one hundred and twenty thousand belly. Even with the bounty being so low, Marcus voiced reason to the group and suggested they jump the guy. Ace argued that he could easily beat the guy alone, but Marcus brought up this was the first person with a bounty and it was better to be cautious.
While they did come to an agreement to fight the man together, Ace and the others had a different idea on how to act.
Marcus let out a sigh before he said, "Can we at least watch him for a while and make sure he's alone?"
Ace shook his head as he said, "No, let's just go beat him up now and get it over with."
Luffy and Sabo nodded in agreement before Sabo said, "We should be fine even if he has another person with him."
Marcus rubbed the bridge of his nose as he said, "Why do you guys want to rush this? It's not like he is going anywhere."
"And how would you know he's not? Have you asked him?" Ace taunted.
"I don't, but…"
"Exactly! So let's go catch this guy." Ace said.
Marcus raised both arms up in the air as he said, "Fine, let's go in with no plan. But if this backfires, you listen to me next time."
"Maybe." Ace said before he started walking towards the shack where their target was hiding.
It didn't take them long before they arrived in front of the small ramshackle building and Ace walked up to the door and kicked it in. A second later a gun shot rang out which caused all the boys to flinch back in surprise. Luckily the shot was aimed for an adult and not a kid, so the bullet flew right over Ace's head. A few seconds later a large man walked into the middle of the door frame holding a gun and glanced at the boys before he started to laugh.
When he finished laughing, he glanced at everyone before his gaze landed on Ace as he asked, "What the hell are little shits doing?"
Ace glared up at the man as he said, "We came to collect your head."
The man laughed as he placed his pistol into his belt before he asked, "Some kids with toy weapons think they can take me?"
He reached down to grab Ace as he said, "Come here you little shit, I'll teach you a good lesson about life and if you're lucky, you might live to remember it."
Ace didn't wait for the man's hand to reach him and jumped back as he pulled out his weapon. The other boys did the same thing as the man charged towards Ace as he attempted to grab him again. All the boys charged at the man in response and Ace was the first to land a hit on the man which left him stunned as his vision blurred from the strong attack to his head. The other boys arrived a moment later and each landed a blow on the man which forced him down to one knee. As the man recovered, he reached for his gun, which Marcus smacked out of his hand a second later.
Over the next few moments or so, the boys relentlessly attacked the man till he finally collapsed on the ground unconscious. Once he was knocked out, the boys tied him up tight and then searched his shack. Inside they found some food, wine and a small treasure chest filled with valuables. They only took the treasure chest with them which Luffy carried, while Sabo and Ace carried their bounty. Marcus took the man's gun and acted as the guard for the other boys as they headed to the small marine base on the coast of the kingdom.
Once they arrived at the base they were greeted by a guard at the gate who asked, "What are you boys doing here and why are you carrying that person?"
Ace and Sabo tossed the guy to the ground before Ace said, "We came to collect the bounty on this guy's head."
"Bounty? Kids can't collect bounties."
Ace frowned as he asked, "What are you talking about? The bounty says dead or alive for this guy. It doesn't say anything else."
The guard glanced down at Ace as he said, "A bounty can only be collected by someone fourteen years of age or older. So are you fourteen?"
Marcus stepped forward showing the bounty poster and asked, "Can you show us where this rule is written? Because the bounty poster doesn't specify anything like that."
The guard shrugged as he said, "You won't find it on wanted posters. It's in the marine guidelines for handing bounties."
Marcus cast a glance at Ace as he said, "Lets just go get big sis to come claim the bounty."
Ace nodded in agreement before he said, "That works."
As Ace and Sabo went to pick their bounty back up the guard said, "Sorry, you'll have to leave him here. We can't have a wanted criminal running around."
Ace glanced back at the guard as he said, "He's knocked out and tied up. He's not running anywhere."
The guard shook his head as he hit a button next to him which caused an alarm in the base to go off before marines started to run out towards the front gate. Within moments a handful of marines were at the gate with weapons drawn.
All the boys went on guard as Ace asked, "What was that for?"
As the alarm turned off and another person walked out of the base the guard said, "I just needed help to arrest this criminal."
A few seconds later a man with a justice coat draped over his shoulders stepped out of the gate and studied the situation around him for a few moments before he glanced at the guard as he asked, "What's going on here, seaman?"
The guard saluted before he said, "Sir, these boys were trying to turn in a bounty. When I told them they were too young to claim it, they tried to leave with the criminal."
The captain nodded in understanding before he glanced at the boys and said, "I'm afraid you can't leave with the criminal."
Ace frowned as he said, "What about our reward?"
The captain shrugged as he said, "Unfortunately you can't claim it."
"Why not?!"
The captain pointed at the captured pirate as he said, "Because you're too young to claim it and he was already brought here. Now that he's here we can't let him leave."
"What if we bring our big sister to claim the bounty?" Sabo asked.
The captain shook his head as he said, "She would have to be here now in order to qualify and claim the bounty."
Marcus moved next to Ace as he asked, "So what, we're just out of luck?"
"Pretty much. Now you can leave him and that treasure chest behind, while you head back home."
Luffy hugged the chest a little tighter as he said, "No. This is ours!"
The other boys nodded in agreement before the captain said, "That chest and everything inside it, is considered stolen property. If you don't hand it over, you'll be considered a criminal and will be arrested."
"You can't just point at something and claim it's stolen property! We've had this with us before we even caught this guy. If you take it from us, then that means you're stealing from us." Marcus said matter of factly.
Ace and Sabo nodded in agreement before Luffy said in a confused tone of voice, "But we collected this from that guy's house, right?"
Marcus could only facepalm himself as the captain said, "So it is stolen property."
Ace and Sabo stepped in front of Luffy protectively as Marcus lowered a hand onto his sword. The captain watched the boys in amusement as he said, "You better follow my orders, if you don't want to end up in trouble."
Marcus narrowed his eyes as he asked, "So what if it was stolen? We beat him so we should be able to claim anything he had. Do you think you can take advantage of us because we're kids?"
The man smiled down at Marcus as he said, "I'm not thinking about it. That's exactly what I am doing, since you're breaking the law. Now drop the chest and leave."
Marcus glanced back at Ace and the others as he asked, "Would gramps be more upset at us backing down or for us standing up for ourselves?"
Ace reached for his weapon and smiled back at Marcus as he said, "Only one way to find out."
The captain shook his head as he said, "Looks like you little kids need to be taught a lesson about how the world works."
The captain stepped back as he said, "Marines! I want you to teach these kids a little lesson and then take that treasure chest from them."
All the marines at the gate said, "Yes sir!"
The marines put away their weapons and started to move towards Marcus and the others who drew their weapons. As the first marine came into range, Ace attacked quickly and knocked the man down with a well placed hit to his knee.
The other marines paused in shock before Ace and the others charged towards them. Within moments the boys were easily tearing through the marines with ease. The captain, displeased with the display, hit the alarm for the base calling more men to help.
As more men arrived, Ace and the others slowly became surrounded and outnumbered. After a lengthy battle over half the marines were laying on the ground incapacitated, while another ten could barely stand. Unfortunately Ace and the other boys were bloody, bruised and laid out in the middle of the marines still standing.
The captain walked through his subordinates to look down at the unconscious boys before he said, "Toss them down in the cells. A week down there should let them reflect on their actions."
He then looked at the thirty marines who were on the ground and said, "This is just pathetic."
He glanced at the marines still standing and said, "Look at all of you. It took almost fifty men to take down four children… Just how weak are you, to be beaten by mere children?"
The captain picked up the treasure chest and started to walk away as he said, "Training is now doubled and you'll only get half your normal rations for the next two weeks. Is that understood?"
The men behind him shouted out, "Sir, yes sir."