Harlen softly hummed a tune while basking in the sun and fishing. They had left Top Hat island three days ago and were bored so other than training Haki, which Harlen still had a hard time understanding. He didn't enjoy getting hit repeatedly while blinded or having to spar with Markus but he could tell he was getting stronger.
Markus had also had him start heavily working on training his legs for the Marine techniques Markus stole. Harlen was quickly surprised to see a large looking swamp. He quickly ran over to Markus and kicked him awake.
"I'm uhp! I'm up!" Markus slurred as he groaned his sleep away. Markus looked around before seeing Harlen. "What's up?"
"Land Ho!" Markus woke up completely with a huge smile that scared Harlen.
"You should have started with that! Let's go!" Markus patted his back with what Harlen could now tell was Armament Haki. His back stung for the entire hour it took to get to the island. Markus used Armament on the paddles to easily push through the swamp canals to fund a village made of wooden huts on what seemed to be trees cut for foundations.
Markus bounced and shook the boat in excitement before abandoning Harlen.
"Come on! I smell adventure!" Harlen sighed but tied the boat and quickly ran after Markus. They walked across a wooden port. Markus tapped Harlens side with Armament and pointed to a wooden hut with the words 'BAR' in big words. Harlen groaned and pushed Markus away as they walked towards it.
They sat at the bar where Markus slid a bunch of money to the bartender.
"So anything interesting around here? Or anyone?" Harlen groaned and looked away to look around the bar and village.
"Hmm. I guess if we're talking interesting then you have to mention Anderson." Harlen perked up and looked back with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. Markus smiled smugly and slid another berri to the bartender, feeling grateful to prove a point to Harlen.
"Alright! Where exactly is this Anderson guy?"
"Ah if he isn't at his Hut then he's probably out fishing. He's the best fisher the world has ever seen! I've seen him catch Sea King's with nothing but a fishing rod!" Markus was bouncing in his seat while Harlen was still surprised and was really thinking about how he got, got.
"Alright! Let's check this guy out!" Markus shoveled the rest of his food into his face before running out, not seeing Harlen still trying to stuff his own face real quick. Markus ran and jumped between the different docks while laughing and looking for Anderson. He asked everyone but they all gave the same answer of either in his Hut or fishing.
Markus never asked where his Hut was not thinking it but Harlen had. He grabbed Markus by the scruff of his shirt as he tried to jump across another dock and pulled him back. Markus choked and struggled before falling into the water. He emerged with a glare at Harlen.
"You did that on purpose!" Markus pulled himself out of the water while Harlen raised his sleeve and shouted back.
"I'm trying to tell you I know where Anderson lives! If you listened you'd know that!"
"And as my Vice-Captain you should know I don't care!" Markus looked away while Harlen just stared at him with a twitching eye.
"You're fucking with me aren't ya?" Markus smiled and wrapped an arm around Harlen.
"Of course! Now come on, my trusty First Matey! Let's find us another crew member!" Harlen sighed but smiled as he pulled away from Markus.
"It's this way." Markus smiled and kept walking while Harlen just sighed. A few villagers looked at the two boys with slight confusion but ignored them while they had their little scene.
The two pirates found Anderson's Hut and knocked on the door. Harlen was about to knock again but Markus stopped him.
"Oh what, you can knock on my door for an hour but try and knock twice here and it's wrong." Harlen rolled his eyes and pulled his arm away while Markus shrugged. Harlen knocked again while Markus sat on the stairs. Harlen kept knocking on the door while slowly getting more and more irritated while Markus smiled.
After half an hour Harlen sat next to Markus with a grumble. He looked over at the grinning Markus.
"What are you smiling about?" Markus shrugged lightly.
"Observation Haki. Pretty nice for seeing anything in my range. I don't know who Anderson is but I can tell no one home." Harlen's eyes widened. He forgot about Observation.
"Goda damn it! You let me knock forever on purpose!" Markus chuckled.
"Not forever just till you got annoyed and for the record I did try and stop you." Harlen was about to argue but remembered Markus did try and stop him so he simply pouted and huffed in annoyance.
"So we just wait?" Markus sighed at Harlen's question.
"Sadly. I lost our boat." Harlen sighed.
"Same." They sat there in silence for only a second before looking to their right and seeing an older man around 35 holding three large fish with tusks and a trunk. Markus gulped thinking about frying them while Harlen looked at the man.
"Hello. I'm Harlen. This i-"
"I'm Markus! Captain of the Celestial Dragon Pirates!" Markus stepped forward in excitement getting to introduce himself. The man actually took a step back in shock while Harlen took a step back in defeat having seen that coming. The man recovered surprisingly well.
"Well pirate sirs I'm Anderson. What might y'all be doing here at my home?" Markus's face lit up again.
"Awesome! Join my crew!" Anderson was stunned and dropped his fish. He stumbled slightly trying to pick the fish back up.
"Good sir you must be joking! I can fish and navigate these sea's quite well but I'm not a pirate material." Markus laughed loudly.
"No need to be! You're my crew material so welcome aboard!" Anderson stood there dumbfounded before backing away while shaking his arms.
"No, no, no, no, no, no! I can't be a pirate! Especially ones named after those nobles!" Markus laughed and waved his own hands.
"No need to be scared! Those Celestial Pigs on the red line took the name 800 years ago and kept it even though most don't deserve it. Why can't I do the same?" Anderson was taken back while Harlen wasn't as surprised, already getting used to his captain's thoughts.
"You can't be serious." Markus chuckled.
"As a heart attack. Now come on! You can be our navigator/fisher! I eat a lot though! HAHAHAHAHA!" Markus patted both their backs. Harlen sighed while Anderson took another step back feeling slight fear.
"Come on this ain't funny no more! You can't seriously want me to be a pirate with you! You don't even know me!" Markus looked at Anderson with such a serious look both Harlen and Anderson were caught off guard.
"Don't need to. You met the requirements to join my crew so you're in. Don't betray me though~!" Markus switched back to his playful manner and smiled at his new crewmate. Anderson was about to argue but Harlen patted his shoulder.
"Trust me. It's faster if you just accept it. It becomes much quicker this way." Harlen smiled softly while Anderson was in deep thought.
"We'll finish this later. I need to skin and cook this fish. I'm starving." Markus gulped down some saliva and nodded as he followed Anderson into his home like a puppy. Markus watched in fascination as Anderson skillfully flayed and cooked the fish up into a nice tuna tartare. He was actually even happier about the side achievements.
[Obtained Secondary Class:
[Beginner Chef] - Increase cooking capability and quality by .5%!]
"This is delicious Anderson!" Markus scarfed his portion down while Anderson sighed and ate.
"Thank you sir." Markus shook his head.
"Call me Markus or Captain or Cap'n or Mark! Sir just sounds too formal!"
"I haven't joined you yet!" Markus smiled and leaned in.
"Yet! Now! You gonna eat that?" Anderson felt his eye twitch and looked over at Harlen. Harlen smiled and nodded. Anderson nodded his head in respect for dealing with Markus alone until now.
"Whatever. I need to get that last fish to the Bar. I'll pick up some sake." Markus nodded and laid on Anderson's couch with a smile holding his stomach.
"Hey, get us more food too! Harlen go with him! I'm gonna take a nap!" Markus rolled over without listening to Anderson saying he should come or Harlen saying he wanted to nap and quickly fell asleep.
"Ugh, so unfair… Come on, I'm hungry anyways. He ate most of mine." Anderson sighed and nodded. "Also get used to sighing. He does this a lot. Reliable though."
They walked towards the Bar not noticing a scared civilian whispering into a den den mushi.
****
"So were you abducted by him too?" Anderson asked Harlen who was surprised and laughed at the question.
"Yeah actually. I refused at first but he just refused my refusal! We have a weird captain." Harlen shook his head while Anderson became confused.
"If he basically kidnapped you, why are you so loyal? I've known you two for like an hour and I can tell you trust him. Why?" Anderson was trying to understand Markus better while Harlen was thinking deeply.
"Hmm. He's a good guy. A little crazy for sure and more than a little stupid but he can use his brain when needed. He's a good captain." Anderson hummed but still frowned.
"But why do you follow him?" Harlen stopped working and had a dead look in his eyes while looking into Anderson's soul. Anderson froze and felt a chill like he was looking at a dead body instead of Harlen.
"A reason to live." The two kept walking in silence before reaching the bar.
They walked in with Anderson leading before he dropped the fish he brought onto the counter. He sold the fish before buying some alcohol. They each carried a barrel of wine heading towards Anderson's home when Harlen stopped. Harlen grunted in aggravation and dropped his wine barrel.
Anderson looked back in confusion before he looked back at Harlen.
"Let's go." Harlen ran back to Anderson's while Anderson set his wine down more gently than Harlen before running after him. They reached Anderson's quickly with Harlen running through the front door a little violently making Markus wake up with a groan.
"Quite with all that racket!! Huh… Oh right! Welcome back! Y'all bring the drinks?" Markus sat up right and looked between the two that seemed like they were in distress.
"No! It's a large Marine Ship heading this way!" Markus got serious and stood up before putting his sword on his waist.
"We aren't starting a war here so let's head around to the otherside of the island." Markus led Harlen and, the very grateful, Anderson through the mud of the marsh before stopping halfway into the island. Markus looked around in thought while Harlen and Anderson were confused.
"Shouldn't we get moving Captain?" Harlen asked as he looked around trying to see what Markus was looking at. Markus smiled at Harlen.
"Did you forget what Observation Haki does?" Harlen was even more confused about what Observation had to do with it before he noticed the area they were in and his eyes widened.
"That's smart. Anderson. Go that way and hide. I'll hide in those trees. What about you cap'n?" Anderson was even more confused himself not knowing what Haki was or how it helped here. He listened though and took a fishing pole off his back before hiding deep in some bushes dipping into the swamp. Harlen climbed a tree and hid among the leaves.
Markus simply stood in the middle of the swamp with a smile. He waited patiently before his eyes sparkled. He quickly took a deep breath and disappeared under the water.
"THEY WENT THIS WAY!! FIND THE BLASPHEMOUS PIRATES!" A shout sounded sending a few animals running while splashing could be heard. Over a hundred Marine soldiers stomped through the swamp searching the island for pirates.
Markus rose from the water and grabbed a man before sinking back under without anyone noticing. It was already sunset and they were in a swamp. Markus hunted with a cruel smile as he swam against the swamp floor as he would appear and quickly drop a marine or two under the water where he used a small burst of Conqueror's and an Armament arm around their neck causing them to pass out quickly. He had hunted over twenty marines before they even noticed.
"SSSSTTTTTOOOOPPPPPPPPP!!!!" All the Marines stopped in unison before looking towards a tall, thin woman wearing a coat of justice. The woman had strawberry blonde hair and large gauges in her ears each highlighting her surprisingly beautiful face. "WHERE ARE OUR MEN! HOW DID NONE OF YOU EVEN NOTICE WE WERE DROPPING LIKE FLIES!!! IN FORMATION! NOWWW!!"
The banshee-like screaming caused all the Marines to move quickly while Markus slowly rose from the water with a cruel smile. The Marines all looked at him and quickly pointed their guns. The banshee woman's eyes widened slightly at Markus rising from the swamp but she quickly recovered and pulled her own gun and sword.
"That's him! Markus of the Celestial Dragon Pirates! Catch him alive!" Markus was only a little worried that they seemed adamant about catching him alive but smiled knowing they would have to beat him first.
"That's my name, don't wear it out! Now then. Who the fuck are you." Markus's Conqueror's erupted knocking out half the marines almost instantly and leaving the female captain along with the rest of the marines on their knees in newfound fear.
"I…I…I'm- H-Hartly! I'm captain of the 55 Branch here in South Blue! Please don't kill me! The World Nobles were angry about some unknown pirate in the blues using their name and sent us the second they could. Please don't kill me!" The marines were all shaking while Markus glared down at the woman.
"Understandable. Sadly I really don't appreciate you coming to my Navigator's home and threatening me. I hope you understand, right?" Markus gave a soft, friendly smile as he grabbed his sword making the woman's eyes widen. Hartly tried to get up but her legs were shaking. Before she could finish thinking about running away she found she was now looking at Markus upside down.
The marines panicked and tried to run but quickly found Harlen dropping on them and Anderson using his fishing pole to pull back a few marines by the arms. Markus smiled seeing Anderson's unique fighting style but ignored that for now. He focused more on watching Anderson and Harlen fight the frightened marines in silence.
Within a few minutes Anderson knocked out the last Marine with a tired sigh. He looked around at the marines with a look of worry before sighing. He never considered becoming a pirate before but within just a few hours he was actually having fun. Markus and Harlen were almost half his age yet he got along with them as if they were the same age.
He was pleasantly surprised to find he enjoyed their presence along with a growing interest in seeing the world. He followed the two in silence back to town to find everyone hiding in their huts. Markus ignored them and kept walking across the docks towards the Marine ship.
Markus sadly didn't find the wine but didn't care too much as he let his Haki erupt. He boarded the Marine ship with a smile before throwing the few unconscious marines overboard. He looked back to Anderson and Harlen before looking at the large boat and sighing. He walked to the back and found a smaller but decent sized ship and smiled.
"Harlen! Give me a hand here!" Harlen ran over as they got on both sides and lowered the boat into the water before Harlen jumped in. Markus looked back at Anderson who was standing awkwardly behind him. He stretched his hand towards Anderson with a smile. "You coming?"
Anderson was in deep thought as he looked at Markus's hand. He had spent 35 years as a simple fisherman on this island. Everyday he would dream about fishing in the North, or West, East, The Grandline, or even the calm belt. He had dreamed of truly seeing the world for himself. Anderson's eyes sharpened as he looked Markus in the eye.
"I would love to join you on your journey Captain." Markus laughed and helped Anderson down into the boat before running under the deck of the marine ship. Markus came bolting out of the ship's deck and jumped directly into the boat, shaking it.
"GO! GO! GO!" Harlen and Anderson were confused but rushed to move at Markus's urgency. Markus started with a laugh that sent chills down their spines causing them to speed up. They didn't get far before an explosion shook the sea and rocked their boat. Markus kept laughing while Anderson and Harlen looked on in disbelief at the explosion. They both looked at Markus who was smiling before shivering.
"Alright crew! Full speed ahead! We might have just gotten a navigator but I want more! I want more crew mates! So let's go! GO! GO! GO!" Markus playfully shouted and sat at the helm. Harlen shook his head but assisted Anderson who was giving orders on where to go. Anderson didn't have a map on him but he knew from experience the best route to a few islands nearby.
They were all in high spirits as they celebrated. Markus was disappointed they couldn't celebrate Anderson joining but he promised they would the second they could. The Celestial Dragon Pirates now were three members strong.
[Pirate Crew:
Celestial Dragon Pirates - F
Captain - Markus Lv. 50
Vice-Captain - Harlen Lv. 33
Navigator - Anderson Lv. 25
Increases all stats of crew members by 1%!
Increase Crew rank by recruiting members and reaching higher levels!
E-Rank Requirement:
1/2 Crew Members Level 50/ 3/20 Crew Members!]
3000~ Words