My son

Near the coast of Narhad Island

"Arittakeno yume wo kakiatsume

Sagashi mono sagashi ni yuku no sa

POCKET no COIN, sore to you wanna be my Friend?

We are!

We are on the cruise!

We are!" {Editor Note: Oh the nostalgia}

Fred and Stephen happily travelled in their brand new pedal-powered boat, taking turns to drive it while singing songs, most of them [invented] by Fred over the years...

"I LOVE THIS SONG!

Do you have any new ones that I haven't heard yet?" Asked Stephen who pedalled happily to the rhythm of one of his favourite non-Heavy Metal songs and possibly the one he had heard the most.

"Yes... I guess I have something new...

But let's better leave the songs, in a few minutes we'll be home... I won't have time to finish it..." Fred replied, who had already tired of singing anime opening songs for today, he had been doing it all the way since they had left their secret hiding place

"Oh come on...

Just one more please!

That this time all in English!" Stephen begged and demanded like a wayward puppy looking for more biscuits

In the world of One Piece, the main language par excellence was Japanese, however in many regions English and even Spanish were used, even if it was in small drops in clichéd phrases especially in popular Western-style songs.

And of course for being something exotic a child like Stephen was shocked to hear songs entirely in English like the ones Fred knew

"Looks like it's your birthday and not mine...

...

Okay, one in English...

But in return I sail the ship to the dock!

And you will have to act as a choir…" Fred said, once again spoiling his little friend, although this time not for free. He might be mentally over 30 years old despite having a 10-year-old body, but still he was unable to resist the idea of handling this ship.

"DONE!" Stephen replied, agreeing to Fred's terms, quickly relinquishing the pilot's seat to him.

And just as quickly Fred sat up, took the wheel, put his feet on the pedals and thought aloud about the song he could bastardise now "Hmm...

Let's see...

Which song would be the appropriate one?

A cool, epic, stylish and somewhat edge that a pre-pubescent might like...

And another not so pre pubescent...

...

Hmm…

...

Oh! Of course!"

And once Fred decided which song to plagiarize, he tried to sing the best way possible and imitate the instrumental accompaniment with his own voice thanks to the lessons he learned in one of his strange books

"I'll endure the exile... I'll endure the exile...

The darkness of night falls around my soul And the hunter within loses control Gotta let it out, gotta let it out Gotta let it out, gotta let it out…

This demon inside has a hold of me Clenching its power, trying to break free Gotta let it out, gotta let it out Gotta let it out, gotta let it out!!!!

Move fast baby, don't be slow Step aside, reload, time to go I can't seem to control All this rage that's inside me

Pullin' shots, aimin' dots, yeah, I don't miss Branded by fire, born in the abyss Red hot temper, I just can't resist All this vengeance inside me!!"

"Ohhh!!

I like this one!

Although I still prefer the Heavy metal ones" Stephen said very excited when he heard this industrial rock song that for some reason seemed extremely epic to him

"All of these thoughts runnin' through my head Arm on fire, veins burnin' red Frustration is gettin' bigger Bang, bang, bang, pull my Devil Trigger"

Both sang and laughed as they sailed along the coast of their home island at a slightly slower speed than they had been doing so far so that this happy and endearing moment would last a little longer.

Although they didn't want to drag it out forever...

In the village their dear families were waiting for them to celebrate Fred's birthday... and they were a little late for that [surprise] party where there would surely eat for twenty people even if there were only five, like every year

"Embrace the darkness that's within me. No hiding in the shadows any more When this wickedness consumes me Nothing can save you and there's no way out"

They already wanted to reach the pier and dock their first boat that without a doubt would attract the glances and the questions of all the grandfathers and grandmothers who at that time were socializing with each other on the porches of their houses

Questions they would answer with pride, declaring that this had been an amazing present that a certain best friend had built for his best friend on his tenth birthday.

"I'm a wildfire you won't tame Igniting my temper, can't put out my flame There's no way to contain This storm swelling inside me!"

They wanted to see the faces of excitement and astonishment of Sara, Tania and Edu... but especially on Edu's... who would surely beg them to get on the boat and take a ride with them at that precise moment.

Obviously they would have to refuse because their families were waiting them for dinner, but they would promise to give them a ride tomorrow morning if they helped them a lot with the training

"I'm a bomb you can't defuse Might just accept you're gonna lose Can't turn down, I refuse To hold back anym…"

And when they finally arrived at the town pier, ready to become the center of attention of the whole village...

"WHAT THE HELL!?"

They found everything practically destroyed and some of the people who, in principle, should have been getting up from their chairs to receive them were on the ground, over huge pools of blood.

"Fuck...

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

"No…

NO! NO! NO!

This cannot be happening..."

Fred and Stephen completely dumbstruck, panicking and barely able to breathe at the sight of such unexpected horror… and without losing a second more than necessary, both got off the ship and made their way into that hell that hours before they called home.

But no matter how far they went, all they could see was the same they witnessed from the ship...

"Shit… shit…

SHIT!!!"

There were many friends and acquaintances on the ground and without exception each and every one of them had serious injuries on their body and the only thing that differentiated them is that the ones that were bandaged were still breathing and the ones that were completely covered with a sheet were not...

"This… this is…"

The situation was horrible, without a doubt, as far as he had been able to see there were four dead people, among whom was Sara and Edu's father, Tania's grandfather and grandmother and old Daylo… and those who were still alive despite being stabilized would need a long time in bed to recover, although the older ones might never get up again...

The worst thing is that they still hadn't seen everything, the trail of victims continued further on and the only thing that made Fred look forward without falsely praying to the god who had made him reincarnate in this world was knowing that it was very likely that his father was still alive.

'These bandages...'

Although it was brief, he was able to examine the condition of the people who were alive and concluded that a professional had performed the treatment they had received… and the only doctors on the island were him and his father

'Please… please… please…'

That meant that he had survived whatever attacked them and had healed those who survived like him...

"FREEEED!!!

STEEEEPHEN!!!"

However, before they could go any further, Stephen and Fred were stopped by the only people left standing on the street. They were Tania, Sara and Edu, the children of the village, who ran towards them in tears to hug them and tell them what had happened.

"PIRATES!

Unfff... unfff...

THEY DID ALL OF THIS!

THEY KILLED DAD AND KIDNAPPED MOM!!

BUAHHHH! BUAHHHH!!!"

"THANK GOD YOU ARE FINE!

Unfff... unfff...

WE WERE AFRAID THOSE TWO PIRATES HAD CAUGHT YOU IN THE FOREST!!

And... and... and...

Unffff... unff...!!!"

BUAAHH!! BUAAAHHHHHHHH!!"

"Unfff... unff...

I'M SORRY!

Unffff... unff... unff...

If I hadn't yelled...

Unfff... unfff...

IF I HADN'T YELLED NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED!

BUAHHHH! BUAHHHH!

THIS IS ALL MY FAULT!!!

BUAHHHH! BUAHHHH! BUAHHHH!!!"

The children were completely devastated, unable to deal with their feelings and thoughts, as expected.

They had just witnessed firsthand and for the first time in their lives the cruelty and brutality that pervaded this world. They had seen their family, friends and acquaintances robbed, injured, killed, kidnapped and possibly even raped without the ability to do anything, possibly without even having the ability to process what was happening around them.

They were so traumatized and affected that they were unable to express themselves clearly and almost unable to stand up. The physical and mental exhaustion and also the injuries that some of them had suffered began to take their toll on them and it was difficult to know if they would faint or not soon, especially Sara, who seemed to be the most affected.

It was difficult to understand them, but Stephen and Fred, especially Fred, were able to intuit what had happened when they saw the situation and heard their incomplete and decontextualized explanations.

"Guys, I have an idea of what has happened and I would like you to explain it to me in full detail, but first of all...

Where are Norman and Marlon? Asked Fred who caressed the heads of Sara and Edu, who hugged him with all their might while crying on his chest and abdomen

Fred was the oldest child in the village, not to mention that mentally he's an adult, he had to transmit calm and keep a cool mind to try to find a solution to this situation. And the best he could do now was to find the best fighter in town, who had surely faced the enemy and the doctor who had cured those who had survived, who happened to be his uncle and his father.

"There...

Unfff... unfff

They are there...

Unfff...

Follow me...

Unfff… unff" Tania replied as she sobbed on Stephen's chest. Tania was a responsible girl who tried to be as mature as she could full-time, so like Fred she also tried to stay calm so as not to worry Sara and Edu even more, although it was impossible for her to do so.

And following Tania they reached the end of the main street and there they found Marlon and Norman, one next to the other, both stretched out face up on the ground and unable to move

"DAD!!" Stephen screamed in panic seeing the horrible state of his father, who lay unconscious on the ground at his feet

He was very pale from the blood he had lost and all the damage his body had taken, damage that was impossible to camouflage even with all the bandages Norman had covered him with, especially the lack of his right arm, which caused his son to fall to the ground from the shock

As for Norman...

"Dad...

Are you awake?" Fred asked as he surveyed Marlon and Norman's condition.

Both were injured, but unlike Marlon, Norman's eyes were open, though they didn't seem to be looking anywhere in particular.

"Hi son...

How are Marlon and the others?

They are fine?" Norman asked when he heard his son's voice, worrying more about the people he had tried to save than his own physical condition.

This reassured Fred, after all the fact that his father had the luxury of worrying about other people's injuries must mean that his own weren't that serious.

"Marlon is stabilized, if he were someone else I would worry, but he's a tough guy

He will survive without a doubt" Fred replied and letting Stephen know as well, reassuring him about his father's condition, and then giving some not very good news "I'd like to say the same about the others, but I'm afraid some of the older ones aren't so lucky.

You have treated his injuries very well, but their bodies are likely to fail at some point due to his age"

"I see...

Nothing is perfect in this world...

But I'm glad I was of some help at least for once" Norman said partially relieved, a relief that relaxed his body more, making the blood from his main wound come out more easily despite the bandage that surrounded the affected area.

Something that Fred caught almost instantly despite being on the opposite side of that wound, so he opened his bandage to check what had happened to him and...

"Fuck!

Now isn't the time to worry about others

Have you seen how you are!?

I have to rush!" Fred said with great concern as he took the medical supplies that were next to him to treat that gunshot wound at all costs, which had been opened excessively.

Fred realized that he had misjudged his father's attitude. It's not that he had the luxury of worrying about others because he was out of danger... what happened is that he was so screwed that he perhaps believed that was useless to worry about his own health condition

"Yes, I'm screwed son...

The bullet has pierced deep and has torn my weak and not very muscular tissue, I have been healing it, but as I moved to operate the others the wound has gotten bigger and bigger up to this point

Although I don't think I would have managed to attend to everyone without your anaesthesia and your strange energy shakes, without them I would have fallen sleep long ago...

The anaesthesia is fantastic, not only has eliminated all the pain, it has also allowed me to move almost without problems... and the shakes have kept me awake and operational until a few minutes ago, although its texture is horrible, it's like drinking vomit…

Hahaha..." Said Norman vaguely explaining to his son how he had ended up in this situation while at the same time praising his son's strange experimental products... and as almost always he tried to camouflage his pain with humour

And Fred understood everything...

He understood how his father had been able to open that wound so much when the pain should have made him pass out. And in some strange way he intuited why knowing that something like this could happen to him, he still decided to ignore the alerts sent by his body, which asked him to rest so that he could heal his wounds and prevent them from getting worse… to heal the bodies of other people

Fred wanted to lecture him for doing such a stupid thing, but there was no time for it, every second was crucial to save his father, if it was still possible.

"NOT THE TIME TO JOKE EITHER!

Save your strength!" Fred yelled, who continued to operate on the wounds and also transfusing his blood with his father's at the same time. Yelling at the patient that he shouldn't even talk in his condition

However, the patient in this case was a doctor, a doctor who knew that perfectly well. Even so, he believed that what he should do now was precisely to speak, since it would possibly be his last chance. "I don't think I have much more strength, son...

...

Yesterday I wanted to talk to you about what happened with your mother, but I didn't dare...

I wanted to try to tell you about it again tonight, however... well...

Let's not talk about the past now, once Marlon wakes up he will be able to tell you everything, surely he's been wanting to reveal that secret for years...

Hahaha...

...

Your future is what really matters to me"

This didn't look good... it didn't look good at all...

'SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! FUCKING SHIT!' Fred thought desperately when he realized that no matter what he did, his body wasn't helping at all to improve the situation

It was as if Norman was convinced that these would be his last words... and this was practically becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.

A self-fulfilling prophecy that Fred refused to accept, so he was prepared to do and say anything that might help him avoid it "Dad...

If it's about being a bounty hunter I..."

"You were right...

You're almost always right...

Without power we are unable to do anything in decisive moments, such as preventing demons in human skin from taking away the people we love

And curiously, many people when they get a little bit of that power become demons despite not having been one before...

Or maybe they always were... but they never had the opportunity to show it until that moment..." Said Norman, who due to the medication and lack of blood was rambling, expressing his thoughts without a very specific order or context. Even so, he gathered what little strength he had left to turn his head, see his son's face and grab his hand.

One of the hands that was trying to save his life, but for him now they fulfilled an even more important mission.

"Dad?"

"I know you want to do great things and possibly have your name go down in history, as the name of many influential and powerful men who surely didn't live fleeing from the world and its conflicts on a remote island

And I am sure that if you set your mind to it, you will achieve it, I am fully convinced...

What worries me is that in pursuit of greatness and power you forget to do good..." Norman said with a softer voice as he grabbed the pendant that he now had in his pocket and put it in his son's hand, which he grabbed with his other hand

It was the pendant that contained the photo that Roxanne she took of the Freed family the day Fred was born… first photo in which Norman, Susana and Frederic appeared at the same time

"..."

"Your mother always said that the true, the only greatness consists in doing good for others...

In her own way she wanted to leave a better world than the one she had found for you and for everyone else, as you could see in her research...

That's why seeing you... the living image of her, wanting to be... being able to be...

The thought that you...

That's why yesterday I gave you... and I told you... and I didn't get to..." Said Norman, whose body was beginning to fail completely, he barely had the strength to speak or to process complicated thoughts

The flame of his life was going out, it was very close to being completely extinguished

"Dad…

Dad!

I promise!

Just like mom I will try to leave a better world than the one I found!

But please stay with me to see it! Don't give up!" Said Fred, who took his father's hands away and without giving up tried to close the wound again while trying to give his father reasons to cling to life no matter how painful and difficult it may be.

However, Fred underestimated his father's physical and mental injuries.

"I know you'll be fine without me...

Without a father…so useless and pathetic…" Norman said with a bitter smile, who on the verge of death couldn't continue to hold back his tears of sadness.

He regretted many things from the past, many things he did, but above all what he didn't do and what he wouldn't do...

He regretted not being able to spend more time with his son to see him grow up and see him fulfill his dreams, but he was relieved to know that he would never again be an obstacle for him, his ambition and great talent

Laments that enraged Fred, who, holding back his tears, stopped operating and hugged his father, now giving him the medicine he needed most "You have never been useless or pathetic! And you never will be!

You are a wonderful father! A great person! An excellent doctor! And the most amazing man I know! AND I WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO REPAY YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU HAVE DONE FOR ME!

DON'T SAY ANYTHING BAD ABOUT YOURSELF EVER AGAIN!

NEITHER I NOR ANYONE HERE HAS EVER SEEN YOU THAT WAY!

I FORBID YOU TO EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!

Please..."

"...

I...

...

I love you son..." Norman said, turning his bitter smile into a genuine one and tears of sadness into tears of happiness as he heard his son's last words.

Words that healed his soul before it left his body...

"Dad..."

Norman died...

Fred didn't even need to take his pulse to confirm that his father had died on the same day that ten years earlier had helped bring him into the world...

Norman died in exchange for saving ten people who now rested near his body... and with his death he made silence in the village where only the usually noisy little children were still awake

But now all of them didn't dare to say anything as they looked at Fred, who was still kneeling on the ground next to the still-warm corpse of his father, wiping away the tears that still came from his eyes at the same time that he forced himself not to cry despite having his heart totally torn

Without saying a single word, Fred picked up the medical equipment he had used recently and now with less haste proceeded to close the wound on his father's body. He planned to finish what he started, although that would no longer serve any purpose except to calm his emotional pain by distracting his mind focusing on a complicated task.

"…"

When he finally finished, once again without making a sound, Fred got up from the ground, put the pendant his father had given him around his neck and turned to Stephen, showing his face to his best friend and the others... an apathetic and almost expressionless face, which masked the chaotic emotions that Fred was experiencing.

"Fred?" Stephen said with completely red eyes, his face and clothes soaked with tears... and extremely worried about his best friend's mental condition. All his instincts pushed him to pounce on him, hug him, comfort him and make him cry on his shoulder until he let it all out...

However, the serial hugger repressed his instincts on that occasion... he didn't know what he should do when seeing Fred with that expression after what they had just experienced

Fred, without changing his expression, as if it were carved into his face, patted Stephen's nearly shaven head one more time to reassure him... and then he walked over to the other children and said in a listless, almost robotic voice "Tania...Edu...Sara...

Tell me everything that has happened, at least what you have been able to see...

I know it can be painful to relive those memories, especially when they are so recent, but... I need to know even the smallest detail.

It's very important..."

Certainly for the three infants to remember what had just happened was as difficult as it was painful, they would prefer not to have to think about it or even lose their memories right now...

However, they couldn't refuse Fred's request, not when for the first time the oldest boy on the island and an object of admiration for them asked something so seriously with that face.

Therefore, with great pain and difficulty, having to stop from time to time to cry and catch their breath, the three children explained what happened...

-----------------------

They explained how the Leech pirates came to the village and how Marlon with the help of their father and grandfather confronted them.

They told him how they hid in the shelters that Fred suggested building, how the pirates found them, how they took them out of the shelter, how they cried when they saw the corpse of their relatives, how they took them out into the street and how they began to torture the older ones in front of them with the intention to make Marlon lose his focus...

They told how Marlon heroically fought seriously injuring the strong pirates and that he was about to win, but lost when he saw that a pirate had caught Roxanne, who was unconscious and very badly injured...

They told how after winning the pirates seriously injured those who were still alive, they took everything they could from their homes and also their mothers, the only young womens in the village

They said that there were still two pirates on the island who were looking for them and that when they left Norman appeared and that they helped him with everything they could to heal everyone… until they finally appeared on the pier, a place from which their arrival wasn't expected.

And with that, they finished their explanation of what had happened in the village…

An explanation that made them cry again as they remembered everything they had experienced, which also shook Stephen who was unable to hold back his tears unlike Fred.

"Unff... unff...

Buaaahhh!!

Unff..."

They had nearly killed his father in the most cowardly way possible and crippled him for life by losing his right arm… also hurt his mother, taken her to some unknown place, and would surely continue to do bad things to her until she died. Without forgetting that they had killed his uncle, who gave his life to save his father and that from what he had been able to intuit, they had probably also injured him when trying to save his mother.

Stephen couldn't stop crying despite the fact that he was starting to get dehydrated... he was unable not to express his pain and despair thinking about what had just happened… even though he tried to avoid it with all his might as well as Fred, who was lost in thought with the same expressionless face as before

"Stephen…" Fred said, meeting his friend's eyes as he offered him a handkerchief to dry them.

"Unff... unff...

Yes...

Unff...

Fred?" Asked Stephen, barely able to breathe as he sobbed, but accepting the handkerchief with which he would try to dry his tears and snot.

"Dry your tears and prepare your toys...

THERE A FEW MORE BEASTS TO HUNT TODAY!!" Said Fred with a voice and face full of hate. A face practically deformed by the extreme hatred he felt, as if it were the face of a bloodthirsty demon who claimed the most brutal revenge against anyone who crossed his path.

An expression so terrifying that it even managed to scare to death people who had survived hell itself minutes ago, even knowing that this hatred wasn't directed towards them...

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You'll be able to see 8 chapters in advance in my Pa-treon

pa-treon.com/user?u=83938371

Chatper Edited By: The_Bored_Immortal