CH - 73 [ pirate flag ] 1

The Black Tail had just pulled away from Loguetown and they had to decide where to go next. Halcen wanted to head straight for Shanks, but he knew they were going to need to take a detour first. He couldn't keep a woman and child on board who were not warriors. Bo and his family needed to be taken care of first.

Halcen gathered the three of them together with the rest of the crew on deck. "So where do we need to take you?"

Bo looked at his family. "I think we should head to Syrup Village. It's the safest place to settle. There's no Marine presence and there's very little crime. Nobody would ask questions."

"Fine," Catharine said. "We'll go there. It's not like we have any other options."

"Why do we have to go anywhere?" Josopp asked. He was only ten and didn't quite understand the full story.

Bo didn't want to lie to his son. "Dad got in trouble with the Marines. So we can't stay where we used to live and I've got to find a new job. But you're gonna like Syrup Village. It's where I grew up. It's really fun. There's lot of nature and there will be a bunch of kids your age to play with."

"Okay." He nodded his head. He understood, but he was sad that his dad was in trouble.

So they continued on through the East Blue towards Syrup Village. Halcen hoped this would be their last stop before finally finding Shanks. There had been so many detours. He wasn't sure how much worse it could get, but he didn't want to test it.

After his tussle with Akainu, Grey was doing some much needed resting. He was relaxing on the deck, lying in a chair. His hands were wrapped in bandages filled with anti-burn cream. He said he was fine, but they could all tell he was in pain. But with as powerful as a foe as he'd dealt with, he was lucky that was the only thing that happened. Some medium severe burns on his hands that would heal in a few weeks. It could have been much worse.

With his ego bruised and his first mate looking like the hero again, Halcen vowed to himself to become stronger. With the winds of change coming, he knew that more dangerous foes would lie ahead. If he wanted revenge on Marco and Whitebeard, he would need to get much stronger much quicker. He was fairly strong as it was, but not nearly strong enough. He knew going up against a Yonko in his current power level would be suicide. He had played his games long enough. Sure, he had taken down Commander Darmichal and Captain Vergo, but those were fairly weak in the grand scheme of things. He had been able to get the upper hand on Marco when they fought, but he had only just gotten the Phoenix Fruit. Halcen was sure that with each passing day, Marco grew more and more into his power. So then too, must he.

Halcen went to Jory to talk to the kid. "You're serious about wanting to get stronger, right?"

Jory seemed surprised. "Uhm, yes? Yes!"

"Then we're going to start training. We can't just sit around in our downtime anymore. We need to get serious about becoming a real pirate crew. We need to get stronger."

Jory stood up in inspiration and nodded. "Let's do it."

So the two of them began working on their training on the deck, as a spectacle for all to see. Halcen hoped their session would be a good inspiration for the others too.

Halcen picked up a couple of smoothed wooden sticks to use as training swords. They were about four feet long each. He looked at them and nodded in approval. "These'll work." He handed one to Jory and took one for himself.

Jory got into position.

Halcen rushed at the boy, who flinched. Halcen swung and hit Jory in the back. He was holding back but Jory still yelped.

"I thought we were training," he complained in a groan.

"We are! That doesn't mean I'm not going to hit you! We're training not playing! If you don't want to get hit, pay attention. Defend yourself. Fight back!"

Jory nodded. He rubbed his back. He was sore, but he would be able to handle it. He looked on with concentration. "I can do this," he said so only he could hear.

"Are you ready?"

Jory nodded.

Halcen charged again straight ahead. Jory got ready to block, throwing his stick in front of him.

But Halcen dove down to the side then rolled behind Jory and swept his stick across his left leg, knocking the kid on the ground.

"Ow!" Jory said when his head hit the deck.

"Gotta be ready for anything," Halcen poked.

Jory turned over and looked angrily at Halcen. He growled in aggravation. He threw himself up and swung at Halcen, who jumped over the stick.

"Come on!" Halcen shouted.

Jory swung in an upward slash, trying to hit his Captain.

But he dodged it effortlessly.

"Stay still!" Jory shouted.

"What would be the point of that?" Halcen laughed.

"This isn't fair! You're so much faster than I am!"

"Fair?" Halcen stopped moving. He grabbed Jory's stick mid-swing, halting it, and then yanked it from Jory's hands. He now had both sticks. He walked up closer to Jory.

Jory fell to the ground with a mortified face. He knew he was in trouble.

The others turned their attention to the spectacle and began to watch.

"If you wanted fair," he said almost as if the word was a curse, "you got in the wrong business. The world isn't fair. You think living a pirate life is going to be fair? You think it's all fun and games? Is that why you came along? You told me that you wanted to get stronger. Did you change your mind?"

Jory took a deep breath. "No."

"Do you want to go back to Corteano?"

"No," he growled.

"Then shut the fuck up about 'fair!' Stop your whining. If you want to be a pirate, you gotta work hard. Do you really think all of your enemies are going to be basic Marine soldiers? Cannon fodder? You saw what happened with Hawkeye. You saw what happened with Akainu. If you want to be in this crew, we need to be strong enough to handle people like that. Do you have what it takes to take on Hawkeye? Don't you want to be strong? Isn't that why you're here? To become powerful?"

"Yes," Jory said quietly.

"I didn't hear you!"

"Yes!"

"Good!" Halcen threw the sticks on the floor.

Jory flinched, thinking he was about to get hit.

"Now get out of my sight. Lesson's over."

Jory stood up and walked away, his head hung low, and headed down below deck.

Everyone had gathered around and had watched Halcen tear Jory apart.

He glanced at their faces. Most of them disapproved. But it seemed like Morkine and Fein understood.

"Excuse me? I don't need your approval. This is my ship, my crew. If you want to baby him, he's just going to get himself killed. Being a pirate is a dangerous life. I have a responsibility to make him stronger so that he stays alive. He asked me to bring him along. I'm just trying to keep him alive, like I would for any of you. Or would you rather we leave him to his own devices and let him die?"

"We get it, Halcen," Grey said with remorse.

Kazuki came and found Halcen later, when he was alone in the kitchen having some coffee. He'd already eaten his lunch but he needed a refresher. They were soon to arrive at Syrup Village and everyone was getting ready.

"Halcen, can I talk to you?"

"What's up?"

"I wanted to ask you about Loguetown."