Delegation of Tasks #46

Inside the ship, within the captain's quarters, Blake and Law were discussing their recent conquests. "We've already hit the gangs in the central part of town, and the ones on the east and north sides," Law reported, marking X's on the corresponding sections of the map. 

"The majority of the southern side gangs decided to hand over most of their loot voluntarily. Since they saved us the trouble, I suppose we can let them keep what they have left," he added.

Blake shrugged. "I don't really mind, as long as we have enough money to do business with that broker you mentioned," he replied. "How are we doing on that front?"

Law sighed, a hint of fatigue in his voice. "We should have enough, plus enough funds to last us two more voyages once we're done cleaning house," he said. "That said, the gangs on the west side aren't keen on surrendering. They've united under the biggest gang to fight back against us and protect their interests."

Blake nodded thoughtfully. "Will that be a problem?"

Law shook his head confidently. "No. It'll take more time than planned, but it won't really be a problem...." he said, pausing hesitantly. "We'll just have to dismantle the alliance one gang at a time... unless we can get them all in one place somehow."

Double Six, as of his presence as the natural course of things and an inevitability, nodded confidently. "I can get the bosses of those gangs into a meeting so you can deal with them all in one go. My name still carries some weight here," he declared, his tone dripping with assurance.

Law shot him a look that could sour milk. "Remind me again why you're here and why I shouldn't slice you in two with my sword?" he growled, his eyes twitching with irritation.

Double Six returned Law's glare with equal intensity. "Is that something you should say to someone whose castle you toppled?" he retorted. "I'm obviously here because I have nowhere else to go!" 

His shameless confidence clashed absurdly with his status as an uninvited guest, grating Law's nerves. A vein bulged on Law's forehead as he reached for the hilt of his katana, but Blake stepped in before things could escalate further. 

"Hold on," Blake said, raising a hand to calm Law. "As shameless as he is, Double Six has a point. With his help, we can save a lot of time."

Law reluctantly loosened his grip on the katana, still glaring at Double Six.

 "Besides," Blake continued, "he's not exactly freeloading. He's been helping with the ship, fixing things we didn't even know were broken," he added with a chuckle.

Double Six puffed up with pride. "See? I'm useful. And I'll set up that meeting. Just tell me when and where."

Blake grinned at Double Six's words. "Alright, we'll give it a shot. Double Six, you arrange the meeting. Law will figure out the rest," he said, turning to leave the captain's quarters.

"Wait!" Law called out urgently. "What do you mean 'Law will figure out the rest'? What about you?" he demanded, irritation clear in his voice.

Blake glanced back over his shoulder, his grin widening. "Me? I've been so caught up in all this nonsense that I've let up on my training," he explained. "I need to get back to it before I lose my edge." 

Without waiting for a response, he hurriedly left the room, leaving Law no time to object.

Now alone with Double Six, Law let out an exasperated sigh. Double Six offered a goofy grin, which only deepened Law's frustration.

"I'm surrounded by shameless idiots," Law muttered, feeling the urge to abandon everything and swim back to Swallow Island.

...

Two hours later, one kilometer away from Spider Miles, Blake swam leisurely through the turbid sea water, his body slicing through the violent waves as he made his way toward a boulder jutting out from the water's surface. Suddenly, he felt something tugging on his leg. Before he could react, a tremendous force yanked him underwater.

Holding his breath, he looked down and saw a strange aquatic creature—a bizarre hybrid of a shark and a rat—clamped onto his leg, trying to drag him into the depths. His eyes widened at the creature's unusual appearance, but he quickly gathered his wits and punched the sea beast on the top of its head. The impact forced it to release its grip.

Blake watched in amazement as the creature staggered back, shaking its head. It began unleashing slight bursts of air from the gills on the sides of its body, causing the water to vibrate. The vibrations suddenly intensified and seemed to come from all directions. 

Before Blake could fully process the situation, he found himself surrounded by dozens of similar creatures.

Blake's mind raced as he assessed the situation. "This is just great..." he thought, glancing around at the swarm of creatures, each one glaring at him with predatory eyes. "Looks like I'm the main course..." he involuntarily muttered, causing bubbles to escape his mouth. 

Blake's face turned blue, but he had no time to curse his own stupidity as one of the strange sea beasts lunged at him, closing the distance in an instant.

Blake reacted quickly, raising his fist with the intention of punching the creature away, but the viscosity of the water slowed his movements, making it impossible for his fist to reach in time. 

Left with no option but to take the hit, Blake used Tekkai, causing the sea beast's teeth to shatter on impact as it tried to bite him. Holding down the shark-rat hybrid, he jabbed his finger at its head, crushing its skull with Shigan.

'This looks like a good time to test my new sword...' Blake mused, his hand moving to Tidebreaker's grip. He drew it from his belt, the blade glinting even in the murky water.

As soon as Blake drew the prized sword, all his discomfort vanished. The viscosity of the water no longer hindered his movements, and even the suffocating feeling disappeared as he subconsciously began to breathe underwater. How or why this happened, Blake had no idea, but he attributed it to Tidebreaker's mysterious powers.

Blake tore his gaze away from the sword and focused on the nearest sea beast, grinning as he raised his weapon and cleaved downward from a distance. 

To his astonishment, the sea before him parted for a split second, and before either he or the sea beast could comprehend what had occurred, three of the aquatic creatures were reduced to nothing more than a bloody mess floating in the water.

The remaining shark-rat hybrids visibly flinched at the display, their eyes fixed on Tidebreaker. Without hesitation, they all turned fin and swam away, clearly intent on escaping.

Blake watched them flee, a sense of triumph washing over him. "Well, that went better than expected," he muttered, pausing as he realized how naturally his words came out underwater and how clearly he could hear them. "Might as well test all of this sword's powers..." His gaze shifted toward the fleeing aquatic beasts, and with a surge of will, he suddenly propelled himself forward in the water.

His movement felt even more natural underwater than it did on land, and his speed was greater than that of the fleeing sea beasts. Blake quickly caught up to the two nearest creatures and cut them down with his sword. 

Satisfied with the result, he allowed the remaining creatures to flee. He then swam back to the surface and made his way to his original destination, the boulder in the middle of the sea.

Climbing onto the boulder, Blake let out a sigh as he looked at Tidebreaker. "Looks like I really lucked out with this thing," he said, grinning as he traced his finger along the sword's blade.

 It let out a strange metallic hum in response to his touch, almost as if it were alive and acknowledging his words.

Shrugging his shoulders, Blake slid the sword back into its sheath and settled into a cross-legged position on the ground. Taking a deep breath and filling his lungs with the salty sea breeze, he couldn't help but smile.

"I can finally get a break from the polluted air of that damned island..." Blake muttered, letting out an exhale of relief. "I can breathe as deeply as I want here without worrying about chemicals burning my lungs..." He took a deep breath, a relaxed expression appearing on his face as he slowly closed his eyes. 

"If it's here, then I can focus on my internal energy training without any distractions..."