56 Headache
'MUA HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
YEAH!
DANCE FORM MY PUPPETS! DANCE!!!
MUA HAHAHAHAH!!!' Fred thought, showing a big and terrifying evil smile, like every time his evil plans were a success.
However, this was an extremely special occasion since he had never managed to create a chaos of this magnitude, much less one in which so many delicious and succulent millonari rewards were involved.
Rewards that would have been difficult for him to get or even find in other situation, but now they would fall into his hands with almost nothing to do!
Just sit back and wait!
"Well..."
However, since their bounty wasn't his only goal and due to the hyper-productive pace of life he had imposed on himself since birth Fred couldn't just stand there, watching the show while waggling his fingers pretending he was controlling everyone...
"And now that everyone is very busy, I'll keep looking for the Akuma No Mi
I don't think he hid it very far from his base...
The sadistic, my intuition and my experience tells me that" Fred told himself while he sharpened his sense of hearing to perceive if there were still people inside the base despite the ambiental noise that you can find in any war "If I'm found out, it could be dangerous, but...
You can't get rich without taking some risks."
Fred in his past life was quite a negative, paranoid, prudent, conservative and risk averse person in general...
One of those who would prefer not to win 100 dollars if they had a 69% chance of losing 10 dollars... and in this life he wasn't so different no matter how hard he tried to become an entrepreneur and an action man
Normally he wouldn't have risked coming to this island to face so many powerful pirates alone at the same time, as any mistake, no matter how small, in the midst of so much chaos could cost him his life.
No matter how amazing his plan was!
Normally you wouldn't take that risk, but now...
"If I can find it while they are killing each other, much better...
Hahahaha...
And with the luck I've been having lately I'll surely find it without even seriously trying.
Hihihi...
Captain Mcnugget, fly over here over here and let me know if there's any news..." Fred said while inspecting that the necklace with Mini Den Den Mushi of his favorite falcon was in perfect condition and…
Fred entered the lair of the Iron Mask piratates!
---
And a few minutes later...
'Damn...
Not a trace of the Akuma No Mi' Fred thought quite frustrated as he carefully searched for his long-awaited prize in every corner of the lair.
To Fred's disappointment, finding the Akuma No Mi wasn't as simple as starting a war between six pirate gangs.
No matter how much he searched inside the base, he was only able to find...
Traps distributed throughout all rooms! But that was able to locate, bypass and defuse quite easily
'Noobs…'
Corpses of pirates, the vast majority created by him upon entering...
'Sorry...'
And some treasure and cash that Fred claimed for himself.
'Thank you...'
Even the mice he had bribed with food didn't know where it was nor could they find it... and this was beginning to wear on his patience.
"Shit...
How's it going there, Captain Mcnugget?" Fred asked his wingman after the first mishap in months...but as he kept looking even under the rocks.
Captain Mcnugget didn't take long to explain the situation in a very well structured way...
Now there were about 100 pirates participating in that great slaughter
Some of the bounty pirates had also perished during this chaotic battle.
The alliance between Faust and Damian seemed to be the one who dominated the situation
And Faust was displaying some pretty incredible combat power, superior to pirates like Damian or Ronald.
Something really unexpected, even for a bird
"Oh really? So powerful?
More than me?" Fred asked, who stopped looking for the untraceable Akuma No Mi to approach the window to see the situation for himself.
And from there, very carefully not to be seen, he observed how the battle unfolded. Especially the performance of Faust, who as Captain Mcnugget said, was fighting very well, defending himself and his allies perfectly against the enemy's captains and vice-captains at the same time… and even winning
He turned out to be quite a balanced type in terms of strength and speed, although he stood out above all for his strength... and a great mastery of the spear, with which he was keeping all his opponents at bay
"Yeah...
I know it's not easy to make that comparison having such different styles...
As always I only ask you for an estimate" Fred replied to Captain Mcnugget
"..."
An estimate that together with what he was seeing reassured Fred a lot, although he still had more doubts. "Okay... then fine...
But...
In the hypothetical case that only he and Damián's team were left standing...
Do you think Damian and his crew would manage to subdue him and force him to reveal the location of Akuma No Mi?"
"..."
"Yes, I think your criteria is correct…
This is a small problem... especially since I don't see him very hurt... unlike the others...
..." Replied Fred, as he touched his chin after find some problems with the current situation
His plan to reduce his potential enemies was working very well.
With every second that passed more common pirates and even rare ones fell without having to move even a finger and there was a good chance that in the end Fred would only have to face a single exhausted and even wounded enemy
However, that wasn't perfect, at least not as perfect as Fred had hoped...
At this point Fred thought that he would have found the Akuma No Mi by now, left it in a safe place and only had to worry about defeating the few remaining enemies, collecting everything that was salable and leave the island
Nevertheless, it wasn't like that and possibly he would need the [help] of Faust to find it…
Besides, he hadn't taken into account that Faust would be so strong!
A combat power that Fred believed he could counter with a combination of his own combat power and dirty intricate tactics he have been usind since before beginning his career as a bounty hunter to defeat enemies more powerful than himself...
Even so…fighting this guy who had hidden true strength until now could have its complications.
And these two unforeseen events were the trigger that disturbed Fred's paranoid and prudent mind.
'Grjjj... I hate it when things don't go the way I want, much less in such complicated situations...
If they were just eating and I had a good mask...'
Despite his paranoia Fred had no doubt that he could capture Faust alive and make him confess to the location of the Akuma No Mi after a good few sessions of torture, mind manipulation and Pact Magic.
However what Faust said about the arrival of his powerful and mysterious buyer on the island was a big problem, at least for his mind, since he didn't have any kind of information about that person…
He didn't know the content of the deal they had made with Faust.
He didn't know when they would come
He didn't know how many would come, neither their combat power
He didn't know if he could afford to offend them at the moment if they were affiliated with a powerful organization like the World Government, the Marine, the Shichibukai's, the Yonkou's or the student council of a Japanese high school.
Fred didn't know anything about them and that's why Fred was so nervous...
'Fuck...
If I don't want to run into more unknown variables that can probably fuck me up well
I have to hurry now that I have control of the situation...
I don't like the idea of going out to fight them when I could just wait until their fight ends, but
but...
FUCK! WHY ARE YOU TALKING SO MUCH!? HAVE YOU COME HERE TO FIGHT OR TO TALK ABOUT YOUR PAST!?
KILL EACH OTHER FASTER, FOR GODS SAKE!' Fred thought as he watched the development of the battle through the window, which had stalled a bit due to the typical anime dynamics with many flashbacks
Although he was still in an advantageous position, there were too many that weren't turning out exactly as he expected and there was a lot of unknown variables. This was a huge headache, both figuratively and literally, since Fred's brain began to heat up when trying to create plans and supplants for every posible event
'But even if I go out right now and beat them all to win as much time as possible there's no guarantee that I'll be able to make Faust sing before his buyer comes.
Should I capture him and take him to the open sea far from here to torture him far from the assembly point so as not to meet this possible unknown enemy?
Once he reveals the location and I return to the island… will the buyer still be here waiting?
Will I be able to come back here and retrieve the Akuma No Mi and escape without being found out? Will I have and can I kill them if they discover me?
What if they were luckier than me and managed to get the Akuma No Mi after searching all over the island and left?
Fuck...
What if in reality Faust, upon finding himself cornered, has given them the location of the Akuma No Mi and has asked as remuneration that they avenge him in the hypothetical case that it's impossible for him to collect his monetary reward?
Not very likely, but not impossible either...
Should I settle for the treasures they have, the ships, their organs, and the rewards... and abandon Akuma No Mi?
No! No! No!
What if it's a very powerful Akuma No Mi? Like the Water Logida... that I don't know if it exists, but it would be very OP in One Piece... or a Mythical Zoan of a deity like Zeus, Sun Wukong or Chuck Norris
FUCK! NO!
Can't risk not taking risks!
But how?' Fred thought as he walked in circles, looking around to try to get inspiration.
At the same time that the war was going on outside the [Iron Mask] pirates' headquarters, inside the headquarters and more specifically inside Fred's brain a war between his prudent self and his greedy self was taking place while his analytical ability tried to mediate between them...
Looking for a plan... even if it's not 100% perfect... that could satisfy both of them while still analyzing the battle out there and looking for the blissful Akuma No Mi in there...
Something not easy and that was overheating his head...
Until...
"JACKPOT!"
---
A few meters from the building
In the middle of the battlefield
"Your fire was incredibly annoying," Said Faust, whose iron mask was being stained by the blood of Ronald [The Flamethrower], whom he had just impaled on his long spear.
The… temporary… alliance between the [Iron Mask] pirates and the [Stalker] pirates had dominated the battle until now! To such an extent that they had managed to kill a captain with a reward of more than 50 millions!
But not only him...
On the enemy side there were only about 30 men left, among which only Rolondo [The Sniper] and Captain Stasky [Rapid Fist] had a bounty
Instead, Faust, Damian, and three of Damian's four elite assassins were still alive, along with about forty filler pirates from both pirate gangs.
One of the two sides was at a clear disadvantage and it didn't look like this trend was going to change in the very near future.
"YOU!" Faust shouted, addressing the enemy still-living pirates while he pointed his spear at them, in which Ronald's lifeless body was still stuck, "Listen well, because I won't repeat it again...
You only have two options, join my gang to replace the people you have killed
OR DIE LIKE THIS ONE HERE!"
And he ended that threatening ultimatum by throwing them the lifeless body of the feared captain Ronald, to intimidate them even more.
An intimidation that began to take effect among the different filler pirates, especially those who had lost all their elite members and even the ship
They didn't see many other options but to accept the offer if they wanted to get out of there alive.
'Damn Faust...
Are you simply trying to use this opportunity to avoid fighting more and get members for your tripulacions or... are you gathering cannon fodder to face me later?
Be that as it may, you have anticipated me...' Damian [the Backstabber] thought, somewhat frustrated to see that he wasn't the only one trying to anticipate the movements of his rival in this new alliance
However, unfortunately for Faust, it seemed his plans never came to fruition without Fred's selfless help.
"ARE YOU FUCKING ME!?
DO YOU REALLY THINK I WILL JOIN YOU AFTER KILLING MY CAPTAIN!?" Yelled Rolondo [The Sniper], with a bounty of 26 million, as he backs up to aim his sniper rifle at his next target
"YOU'RE DELUSIONAL!
JUST BECAUSE YOU SHOWED A LITTLE STRONG DO YOU THINK I WILL BECOME THE MINION TO A NOBODY OF 17.5 MILLION?
BETTER DEAD!" Shouted Stasky [Rapid Fist], with a bounty of 33.8 million, while shadowboxing Faust's head
His attempt didn't turn out as he wanted, something that made Damian quite happy, although he tried to hide it 'Nice try, but...
Unfortunately for you, the chances of one pirate becoming the minion of another with a lower reward are slim to none.
Although you have shown to be very strong, they have their pride after all.
STAB! STAB! STAB!
However, I don't have that problem!
I'll…'
However, before Damian could try his luck where his...temporary...partner had failed...
MEEEEECCKKKKK!!!
BOOMMMM!! BOOMMMMM!!!
MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECCKKKKK!!!
¡CHAS!!! PLASH! PLASH!!
A chain of explosions, ultra-loud alarms, and sounds of things being shot, punctured, and smashed went off inside the main building that served as the pirates' hideout [Iron Mask]
A shrill noise of destruction that quickly caught the attention of all the pirates, especially the [Iron Mask], who knew exactly what those noises meant.
What he saw and heard made Faust lose his temper, and he turned his attention from the other pirates to his new problem. "What the!?
WHO HAS GOT INTO THE LAIR AND..."
CRASH!
But his question was quickly answered, since at that very moment one of the wooden walls of the house was blown to pieces, and from that hole came the person who practically activated all the traps and alarms that he had installed, especially in the room where he keep his loot
FIU!!!
It was a man... no, a rather tall young man, probably more than 2.5 meters tall, dressed in a trench coat, shirt, belt, and black pants with multiple pockets of different sizes distributed throughout the large area of cloth in which multiple throwing knives could be seen hanging
And also two katanas on his left side and on his right side a combat knife and a huge gun made 100% metal with a rather futuristic style for the One Piece world.
"No way..."
Just the description of that outfit was enough to trigger all the alarms in the heads of the most astute pirates of the West Blues, but if the description of his face was added to that, even the least aware would begin to tremble with fear.
The face of a young man with extremely long red hair adorned by multiple strangely sharp metallic accessories distributed evenly throughout its reddish surface. Beautiful green eyes, but they looked at them with extreme coldness, hostility and killing intent... and surely also with an unpleasant smile, but they were unable to see it because from nose to chin his face was covered by a black metallic mask with sculpted beast demon teeth's
Only one person, only one person in all of West Blue would dare to appear in that characteristic appearance before multiple pirates without being crazy or afraid of being attacked by all of them...
And that person was...
"Frederick Freak!"
"Demon Hunter!"
"Dr. Doom!"
"Pirate Butcher!"
"Ballbreaker!"
"Greedy Monster!"
"Doppelganger!"
"Dark Mind!"
"Demon-faced Torturer!"
"Human Weapon!"
"Dirty Jobs!"
"Hero of Blastein"
Venom Demon!
"Orgy creator!"
"Bloody Hair"
"Beast Tamer"
"Flash Dead!"
"Super Killer!"
Yelled many of the pirates who were still alive in the middle of that field of corpses
While Fred, carrying a large sack on his shoulder, responded somewhat apathetically as he blinked several times "...
...
Yes, that one…"
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