47 Capturing pirates is an activity for bonding with other people
|A few days later...|
...
"H-how is this possible?! How did they find us?!"
"Run! They are too powerful!"
"Captain, please defend us! We can't fight them by ourselves!"
"Like hell I'm dealing with those bastards! You should have known this would happen once you joined my crew!"
"Captaaaain!!"
In the middle of the ocean, a lot of noise could be heard coming from a single ship. People could also be seen jumping down from it, and several boats moved away from the ship at an incredibly swift speed as if scared of something in there.
-Boom!!-
-Bam!!-
"Aaaaargh!!"
"No, no, please!"
"Stay awaaaay!!!"
The noise coming from the ship certainly didn't help to ease up the atmosphere either.
However, in reality, and as unbelievable as it might seem, all that chaos had actually originated from only two people.
A man and a woman, more specifically.
"I must say, having you on my side is quite helpful"
"I'm glad to be of help"
Robin and Farid, who had agreed to work with each other a few days ago, were now dealing with an entire crew of pirates that had been causing quite a lot of trouble in the Grandline during the past few months.
It was thanks to Robin that they were there, as she had given Farid a lot of information about them and their possible location. Which made it easier for him to track them and ambush them when they less expected it.
She was, after all, the second in command of Baroque Works. Which gave her access to a lot of information about pirates that were worth capturing, or that were causing a lot of trouble lately around the world.
At the moment, both were capturing anyone on the ship that came into their sight. Not stopping even if they screamed for mercy, or on the other hand, offered resistance and tried to fight back.
In the latter case, they would simply give them a beating before capturing them. Just to make sure they would not try to resist later.
Even the captain of the ship, who was a man of enormous height and bulging muscles, was not escaping from this treatment.
"Y-you... You actually dare to fight against me? I will show you that I'm no easy prey and that you made a mistake by choosing to capture m-!"
"Shut it already"
-Slap!-
"Aaaargh!"
Farid, who seemed to be having fun doing his job for the first time in years, slapped the captain without mercy and knocked him out for good.
For some reason, he seemed to be enjoying himself more than normal.
-Rustle-
Taking out a rope from inside his robes, Farid walked toward the captain of the ship and rapidly began tying him up along with all the other pirates that they had apprehended by now.
Robin, on the other hand, simply sat on a nearby chair with a soft smile on her face as she waited for Farid to finish his job while making sure that no one tried escaping.
By now, both of them had gotten somewhat accustomed to working with each other. So they already knew what their roles were and how to make the job more efficient.
In fact, this one was not their first mission together, but the fifth one, as many days had passed since they had fought against the Baroque Works agents and stopped their lame attempt on taking over a country. Since then, they had already caught a lot of pirates across the Grandline, as with Robin's wide net of information, and Farid's good tracking skills, they were able to locate most of them easily.
This one, in fact, would be the last mission in a while, as they had been capturing pirates constantly and without stopping.
Mostly because there was the possibility that the pirates would no longer be where the information said them to be if they took a rest. Pirates waited for no men, after all.
However, it was already becoming a necessity to rest a little. So they decided that this one would be the last mission, before taking a small break.
Besides, It was also the last mission before Farid finished preparing for their infiltration into the castle. This meant that in just a few days more, Robin would finally achieve her objective of seeing the Poneglyph of Arabasta, much to her disbelief and incredulity.
She had thought that the preparation for such an operation would have been much harder, or at the very least, it would have taken a lot more time to prepare... Yet, Farid had taken just a few days of preparation, and he was making it seem like they would go on a trip rather than infiltrating inside a castle guarded by hundreds if not thousands of soldiers.
Even now, she had doubts about whether he was joking with her or not.
"Alright, that should be all of them. Let's go"
"Alright"
As Farid finished tying everyone up with the ropes, soon, he started walking away while carrying all of them at the same time, as Robin followed from behind with a calm expression.
Bellow the Pirate ship, a smaller ship could be seen waiting for them. Seemingly ready to depart back towards Nanohana.
...
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|A few minutes later...|
...
"..."
"..."
"..."
"... So... How's the weather?"
"What?"
"Nothing"
Sitting across each other as they calmly waited for the ship to arrive in Nanohana, both Farid and Robin stayed silent and didn't utter a word while they waited.
None of them had much to talk about, as during the previous days they always busied themselves with deciphering where their next objective might be, and never had much time to talk to each other. However, now that it was their last pirate-hunting session and there wouldn't be any next objective, none of them had anything to do. Which meant that they could only sit and wait for the ship to arrive in Nanohana while trying to strike up a conversation.
Or, on the contrary, stay silent, and simply lose themselves in their thoughts while waiting.
Just like Farid was doing at that moment.
'I didn't notice for a while... But isn't capturing pirates way more fun now?'
Thinking calmly as he watched the waves moving through the window, Farid sighed while furrowing his eyebrows slightly at the thought, before he then looked at the pack of pirates tied up in the back of the ship and hummed in contemplation.
'Was the break really that effective...? No, I don't think it's that... That break could be barely even called a break with how busy I was... Then what is it?'
Then, looking at Robin from the corner of his eyes, Farid narrowed slightly his eyes, before he then closed them, and started thinking deeply.
'Then, is it because of this woman? She certainly takes care of all the annoying things that I had to deal with when I used to capture guys like these alone in the past, so it makes the process a lot more enjoyable than before... However, that's not enough to make it fun...'
Opening his eyes, he glanced back at Robin, before he then looked at the ceiling and began reminiscing something.
As he did, a nostalgic feeling spread through his mind.
'I remember now... This job was way more fun when I used to do it with Vivi alongside me... I wonder if it's because this is more fun when doing it with someone else?'
Humming in wonder at the conclusion he had just arrived at, Farid snorted, before he then leaned back on his chair and smiled slightly at his own thoughts.
'Well, I don't think capturing pirates is an activity you would do to deepen your relationship with others...'
Then, looking all around him, Farid blinked endlessly, as he tried to think of anything to busy his mind with before he then frowned as he noticed that he couldn't come up with anything.
-Rustle...-
Like that, Farid began looking all around the room, trying to see if there was anything of interest before he then sighed and looked down when he noticed that there wasn't anything like that. His finger tapping repeatedly his forearm in irritation.
'Godamnit...'
Then, not bearing the awkwardness any longer, Farid frowned for a second, before he then looked at Robin and asked her something out of the blue.
"You said you wanted to see that Phoneglyph or whatever, right? Why was it again?"
Of course, he already knew the answer since his memory was impeccable. However, at the moment he needed something to talk about, and since the moment of helping her see that Poneglyph was near, what better moment to ask her that than at that moment?
"...?"
Hearing him, Robin looked up, before she then stared at Farid and drew a small smile. One that seemed to express just how much she implied what she was about to say.
"As I told you before... I love history. Those stone blocks are the only way for me to look into a past that has been left behind by time... A history that has disappeared from our world"
Saying so, Robin let out a long sigh, before she looked into the window as a sad gaze passed by her eyes for a split second. Something that didn't go unnoticed by Farid, who believing that it might be a delicate topic, didn't ask more, and simply leaned on his chair with a tired expression on his face.
It was then, however, that Robin turned to look back at him with her usual smile, and asked her own question.
"What about you? Why are you working as a bounty hunter?"
"..."
Hearing her question, Farid looked at the ceiling for a brief second, as he tried to remember how it all began.
It hadn't been a profound origin story, nor it had been an interesting one... No, at that time, he was just a kid, and he loved to imagine himself as a strong guy beating up pirates all around the world.
Be it being a Famous Marine like Monkey D Garp was, or simply being something more general like a hero... That's what he used to desire.
To become a legendary warrior that would easily defeat any evil guy, no matter how hideous or powerful, in just a few punches.
However, in the end, he got used to hunting pirates in exchange for money and became a regular bounty hunter... Also known at that time as the Midget bounty hunter.
It was easy, and it was profitable... And in a certain way, it was much more comfortable than being in the position of either a Marine or a public Hero... he was alone, and as such, he was free to do whatever he wanted.
Though, as the years passed, things changed as well.
He was now so rich, that there was not really a need to worry about it being profitable or not. With the money he had, he was sure he would live well for the rest of his life without caring about anything.
As for the job being easy... Sure, it was easy. Only when the Pirates ran into you, though. Otherwise, capturing the slippery pirates that move swiftly through the sea was as hard as finding a needle in a haystack.
Fortunately, he had gotten quite good at finding them. However, that didn't make the job less annoying.
When he thought about it, the previous reasons he had to be a bounty hunter had completely disappeared... There was no real need for him to work as a bounty hunter anymore.
Yet, here he was, doing the exact same thing he didn't need to do.
Capturing pirates, all over and over again, even when they seemed to have no end.
He could guess that a reason why he was still a bounty hunter was that he had gotten used to it, and had become in a certain way a workaholic.
Another guess, was simply that he enjoyed beating up pirates (Which was very plausible given his funny expression when beating down men just a few minutes ago).
... But more than that... There was another reason... Maybe the real reason why he was still doing it.
"... I guess I just didn't want to completely abandon all my responsibilities by the time I left my home... Capturing pirates was one of those responsibilities, and maybe I just didn't want to let it go..."
Back then when he was still the Midget bounty hunter, he had kept protecting Alubarna from pirates day and night, and eventually became somewhat the city protector. Not letting any pirate create trouble while being there.
However, when he left, he had ditched that responsibility aside and left the people of Alubarna on their own.
Sure, they had the Marines. But even they had limits on how strong the pirates they could handle would be.
So, knowing that pirates would probably create a lot of chaos once he disappeared, he decided on something. Maybe unconsciously, or maybe on purpose... It didn't matter really.
However, it was THAT decision that kept him capturing pirates left and right for six entire years without stopping.
The decision to protect not only Alubarna but the entire Arabasta.
While he had thrown away his identity as the Midget bounty hunter when he left Alubarna, he still continued being Farid the bounty hunter. A mysterious bounty hunter that captured any pirate that came near Arabasta or that caused problems inside it, and did it all in anonymity.
Even if no one knew he was there, he still protected Arabasta from the enormous amounts of pirates that roamed the Grandline. Almost completely alone.
And maybe that was also the reason why he had not been able to turn his head away when he saw the state Arabasta was in.
People dying because of thirst, entire towns being destroyed by sandstorms, and a king who didn't seem to care about anything... He couldn't allow such things to happen to the kingdom that he had been protecting for six years, could he?
Maybe that had been the reason, or maybe he was just a softy when it came to kids starving or old men breaking their bodies apart. Only Farid knew the real answer...
Either way, it really didn't matter to him that much. Whatever the answer was, it had already happened, and there was no use in thinking about it.
"-Sigh...- Because of that, I'm here the way I am. An eighteen years old guy with no family, no girlfriend, and wasting his time capturing pirates all over the Grandline... Quite sad, if I say so..."
Sighing in a self-deprecating manner, Farid looked towards the window while appearing to be lost in his thoughts, with a tired expression on his face.
It was then, however, that he heard a small chuckle next to him, and looked at Robin who was laughing softly with a beautiful smile on her face.
"Fufufu, I think it's a nice reason"
"..."
Looking at Robin with an incredulous gaze, Farid suddenly let out a snort, before then a small smile bloomed on his face.
"If you say so..."
Like that, the journey to Arabasta continued. Albeit, the air around the ship being a lot more enjoyable than before.
...
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|A day later, in the outskirts of Nanohana|
...
Staring into the distance with a surprised expression on his face, Usopp massaged his chin in curiosity as he glanced at the infrastructure and the appearance of Nanohana.
"So that's what a city in Arabasta looks like!"
Luffy, on the other hand, simply rubbed his stomach as an unhealthy amount of drool flowed down from his mouth while glancing at the faraway city.
"Food!!"
-Step, step-
It was then, however, that Nami appeared behind them and raised her voice to speak. Making Usopp and Luffy turn to look at her, as well as all the other straw-hats present.
Vivi, of course, included.
"Listen, everyone, I will only say it once. I hope you will behave properly while in the city, as the last thing we want is for the Marines to know that we are here, and bring more trouble upon us than what we already have"
"Yes Nami-Swan!"
"Alright"
Hearing the agreement of Usopp and Sanji, Nami felt satisfied for a brief moment as a small smile appeared on her face. However, when Zoro opened his mouth, her expression changed completely and anger rapidly crept up to her face.
"... It's good advice, Nami... But the guy you should worry about the most is already gone"
"What?!"
In the distance, an excited shout saying "Food" could be heard, and coincidentally, their captain was missing at that exact moment. Something that made Nami and the others sweatdrop, as a vein appeared on Nami's forehead because of anger.
"That idiot..."
"What do we do now?"
Looking worriedly at Nami, Vivi asked in concern for Luffy, before then Sanji spoke to her while trying to reassure her.
"Don't worry, finding him won't be that hard. We just need to go to the most uproarious place we can find, and he will probably be there"
Hearing Sanji, Nami nodded in agreement as she massaged her temples in annoyance before she then glanced at the disappearing figure of their captain and sighed exhaustingly.
"He is right... -Sigh...- I wish he could at the very least remember he has a bounty on his head before running around so carelessly. What if there's a bounty hunter somewhere in the city?"
Then, hearing her, Zoro let out a short laugh, before he then glanced at the far-away figure running while shouting "food", and answered Nami with a confident smile.
"Don't worry. Luffy can handle himself alone... And besides, what guy could be so strong to take down Luffy? And even if such a person existed, would someone like that be here? I don't think so"
"Maybe you are right. -Sigh...- I just hope he doesn't cause too much ruckus. I appreciate that there's no evil organization trying to kill us anymore, but that doesn't mean we have to disturb and look for a fight with the Marines either..."
"Well, what are we waiting for? Our captain already left the ship, what kind of crew would we be if we left him alone?"
"Alright, alright..."
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|At that same moment, Inside a nameless tavern in Nanohana...|
...
"I must say, it's quite strange to have you visiting me so frequently, Farid"
"I know, you already said the same thing before"
"Ah, did I really? Then it must really be strange if it causes me to forget such a thing"
"You... -Sigh...- I'm starting to think that you don't like having me here"
"I'm not saying that. Though, now that we are talking about dislikes and likes, what about checking your manners when talking to someone older than you?"
"The only ones I respect are old men. You are still young for me to treat you respectfully"
"I don't know if I should feel insulted or not"
"Feel however you like. I personally don't give a shit"
"You little..."
-Foooood!!!-
"Huh... It's quite noisy outside. Are they having a festival or something?"
...
-To be Continued...-
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(A/N: The first meeting is coming, as you guys have been looking forward to for so long (Except the guys who don't like the straw hats).
