Chapter 17

General pov

Two shadows raced through the top of houses engaged in a high speed chase. The one at the front wore black clothing that hid his stature. He had a fairly handsome face with blonde hair and deep blue sea eyes that surprisingly matched his attire. But that wasn't was important at the moment. He was running for dear life for the madman behind him with orange hair wearing black pants and a white shirt was hot in pursuit.

He was the captain of the 'Darklight Pirates' famous for their untraceable activities in robbing villages and abducting kids for slavery.

They were known for taking advantage of places remotely protected by marines and doing what they knew best in the dead of night. And though they were unknown never having lost a member to the marines, that was exactly why they were famous and had a very high bounty of 170,000,000 beli with him having the highest of all being 70,000,000 beli. They were a gathering of pirates who had failed to make a name for themselves in the grandline after getting a huge dose of reality by meeting the true monsters of the sea.

That was exactly why they would take a full three months in preparation before commiting a raid on the targeted village making sure they knew the entire situation and eliminating any oddities or if it was beyond their capabilities they would simply give up. He was their captain and most elusive of all but he was now getting chased by one of those monsters he had promised himself to avoid at any cost. He was trying to get away alone not because he was the only one to be found but because he was the last member who had not been caught.

The boy had successfully passed through their defenses and made his way to their secret hideout at the basement of a well known hotel. They were busy playing poker and when the only member with observation haki had warned them of an approaching member they were ready to risk it all but when it turned out to be a teenager, they entertained the thought of selling him off. They had forgotten the fact that the said boy had discovered their lair and carried no weapons on him. It wasn't long before the others were subdued and the only reason he got away was because of his devil fruit.

He was a user of the misdirect fruit which allowed him to always change direction randomly everytime he was about to be caught. It was very useful for escaping allowing him to always find a way to escape, going left whenever his opponent expected him to go right and vice versa. He was a master of his trade even predicting an escape route in preparation for this situation and making a bee line straight to a crowded area. But whatever luck had always been by at his side seemed to have gone on vacation at this particular day.

There was nobody present at the streets and after turning back, he saw a ball of flames coming straight at him. He casually escaped without even thinking about it, but was met by a fist straight to the face knocking him out instantly and cutting short the chase.

Ra pov

Finally, I had caught the fucker. He had a very annoying ability, everytime he went west and I followed he appeared at the east running away. The most annoying was that he could even trick observation haki giving me a hard time before he led himself to a straight open street and cut short the cat and mouse game. I carried him and heading back to the basement they were originally gathered at, I put the five bodies in a sack I found there and headed to the marines base.

It took a while but after arriving and showing my hoard, I was given my reward and left the place. The marines there were not very welcoming but they gave me my reward and even hurriedly chased me away. Maybe it was due to the fact that I caught pirates who had eluded them for a very long time despite having a base at the island where one of the marines bases was located. What was most surprising was that they had wanted posters for the 'Darklight Pirates', how cringe, though they were famous for not being seen. I had successfully made a killing of 170,000,000 beli in my first bounty showing how much informed Shakky was about things.

Now all that remained was to find a ship heading to water 7 and getting a ship built for me. Shakky had said that there was a very talented shipwright there who had built Gol D Roger's ship the Oro Jackson, though if I wanted a ship built by him would be another story. I was scared of being robbed, so carrying the chest containing my money I went straight to Shakky's rip off bar. I arrived at the place and after negotiating I gave her two million beli to keep my treasure safe for me.

I was seated at the counter drinking a cup of juice while waiting for the day to end and making small talk with the regulars at the bar, though not a lot. Shakky came back after serving to one of the folks so I decided to ask her what bothered me most since I came here. "Why are you so helpful to me?" She took a few puffs of her cigar and replied, "I am glad that you are suspicious of me but you took too long." Indeed I did, just because I read about her from a book doesn't make her an ally nor trustworthy. You never know what is not potrayed about a character and though she was an ally to the straw hats doesn't necessarily mean that she is one to me.

Seeing that I had realised my mistake, she continued," As Deri said you are too innocent for this life Ra, though you are strong for your age, maybe too strong that you have been blinded by your power and are too careless for your own good." That was when it came to me, I had never told anyone my name since coming here and immediately raised my guard by transforming to my battle form. I demanded not asked in a deep voice, "From where did you learn the name of my venerable self."

Not at all startled or even afraid she puffed out smoke and replied,"Don't be so alert, my husband told me about a werid island and kid named Ra in one of their adventures with Roger." I was still alert but after saying,"Your mother's name is Sonell." did I relax. My shirt was a mess and the chair I was sitting on before was burnt to smithereens. Shakky gave me the stink eye and said that I would be paying for the chair and also fixing the hand shaped hole on the counter.

She left me in silence and I realsed that maybe I was still too innocent for the life I desire to pursue as shown by how I lost my composure when she called me out though I hadn't told anyone my name. If only having fighting strength could solve all of my problems . This thinking business was difficult for me. Deri came and comforted me,"Don't worry I will help take your innocence away." Haaa.. it seems she also knows word play. I was a bit relieved with her intentions till I remembered that we were like peas in a pod, using our fists first. I turned back to Shakky asking her to tell me what her husband had said about me. Which was in a way a means to pass time.