Serious| Crows Zero: Illusive Island (Open to Crows Zero)

The Nest was close to its destination, the first island on the 3rd route of the Grand Line. They had all agreed upon the fact that no route was better or worse than the other so they had decided upon a route by means of dart-throwing. The 3rd route was the one located closest to the dart so that was the route they were going to sail. The sea was relatively calm, allowing the Crows Zero members to walk freely on the deck of the small ‘steampunk’ ship.

The ship was basicly a standard small pirateship but with some minor steampunk traits, the hull was enforced with thin metal plates, the flag was ornamented with a steampunk’ish crosshair and they had the ability to perform a short speedboost or if the wind was failing them, to depend on the engine for a little while.

Near the mast there was a large barrel set with a few barstools and smaller barrels around it.
Shouting out for the members, Shinya spread open a map of the Grand Line on the centered barrel and explained to everyone what they might face on their first island on-route.

“ Look, I know we haven’t been on any really dangerous territory since we all united under this flag, but from what I’ve heard and gathered so far, this will be our first. “

“ The island is supposedly covered in a thick fog that shrouds the island in mystery, which isn’t that big of a deal except for the fact that the fog appeared only over the last few years, and there has only been one ship going in and out the fog. A pirate ship, always the same one. Nobody has seen any residents of the island since the fog appeared either. “

“ This leads me to believe the island is controlled by that specific pirate crew and if I’m right, we won’t be welcomed with open arms. So keep your guard up.
…. Well I’ll be damned, speak of the devil, look at that beauty. Isn’t that an island worthy of the name Illusive Island ? “

Shinya spoke as he stared in the distance, where land was clearly located but shrouded in a relatively thick fogbank which concealed most of it behind a silvery mist.

“ Who has an idea as to how to approach the island ? If it’s a pirate crew that runs the show there, it has to be a sizeable crew to be able to occupy an entire island. “

Shinya looked at his crewmates in hopes they would come up with a plan before they arrived at the island.

Jake was sitting next to his captain. He appeared to tuck his hand under his jacket, but in actuality, he was just making sure his pistols were still with him. He didn't want to do it, but he couldn't help but do it, his instincts never left him alone.
Int he time he got to spend on the ship of the Crows Zero, he memorized every inch of the ship and planned about 20 escape routes from every room. He kept note on the location of every kitchen knife and every glass, just so he could use them in case of an emergency. He did all of this without even knowing why, a fact that bugged him on a daily basis. The reason for his obsessive compulsive behavior was hidden deep in his unknown past that even him couldn't remember. While all of this was happening, Jake seemed as calm and relaxed as anyone else on the ship, making sure none of his mental actions was slipping out, another thing his instincts forced him to do.

Looking at the map his captain presented to the crew, and took a swift look at the island they were approaching to. "Well, if I'll have to take a guess" Jake said in response to his captain's question. "This pirate crew must be pretty big if they managed to assume control of an island, and their forces must be scattered around the island. With that fog supplying them with cover we have no way to tell how the pirates are divided around the island, so we can't find any weak points." He said, spilling his tactical thoughts. This wasn't an easy task for Jake, but in the time he spent with the crew he managed to overcome his instincts enough to allow him to speak with the crew freely. "The way I see it, we have no way of finding the best spot to approach the island from, so we just need to guess. I suggest we use the dart board again".

Jaska lounged on top of a stool, nodding his head as his captain spoke. Immediately he began thinking of a plan for approach. With his right hand he stroked his chin and with the left he tossed his yo-yo back and forth. Suddenly, he dropped his toy and pointed to the island on their map. He had figured out the plan.

"Gentlemen, one of our biggest problems is our enemies are concealed behind fog. Their locations are completely hidden; but, we have no reason to believe they can see through this mist either. We should use the fog as a cover, that way we can take the ship around the other side of the island and surprise our targets." Jaska's voice was bland with continued stroking his chin and then snapped his fingers once urgently, realizing the final details of this idea, "In fact, we need to make sure we have not been spotted for this plan to have even the slightest chance to succeed. Reports suggest we are out-manned and outgunned, but it doesn't matter how hard they hit if they don't know to hit us. If we keep this operation clandestine we can get the high-profile bounties without ever taking a risk." Jaska took in a breath; he wasn't the kind to normally ramble and as such his speech drained his lungs. He finished "Does this make sense?"

Jaska understood very well he wasn't the captain, however, Shinya had asked for an idea and Jaska had offered. Mister Mercury could tell the mission was going to be successful; he didn't understand why, but he knew he wasn't being overconfident. Crows Zero was destined for victory.

Jaska bent over and picked his yo-yo back up. He rubbed the smudges off of it and placed it into his coat pocket before thinking of a far more important factor on this mission; the profits. The crew would split the money into four or five different shares, Shinya would receive the largest share and then Jaska would get the penultimate prize. Whoever was given less then Jaska, he didn't care. He only wanted to know exactly how much he could expect to add to his finances.

"One question; how much will I get for this 'quest'?" A hint of greed stained his voice as he talked.

Oliver took a sip of his tea which helped him stayed calm before a mission. He took up some darts within his hand and began throwing them at the dartboard ahead. Oliver turned to Jaska "That depends on how many pirates YOU capture Alive. 1/3 of the bounty is lost when the target is killed, and I don't expect to share my earnings with anybody." He wasn't going to be cheated out of his money. Oliver threw his first dart. It hit the dead center of the board hanging 10 feet across from oliver Bull's eye. "We should find the fellow villigers of this island. They have grown used to the fog, so I bet if there anyone who can see this through this haze its them. Not even I can see past this fog, and I'm a sniper."

Oliver took out his telescope to loo onward to the island. He couldn't see a thing.

Lizyette laid on the deck, leaning on the railing with her hat on her face, when she suddenly began to speak. "I agree with Jaska. We should circle around the island. If we just go straight forward we'll land on their docks and get killed. On the other side, we might be able to land on the outskirt of whatever settlement is situated on this island. Then we could think of a plan."

Then she flexed her legs, springing her into a standing position before planting the hat on her head. "Or I could do some scouting. They will not be able to see me underwater, and the fog would not be a problem there." She then gestured towards Shinya. "Unless the captain thinks we should all stay on the ship for now."

Shinya gave his first mate a pondering look and was lost in thought until Lizyette came up with the best plan in his opinion.

" Aye, good thinking everyone. Lizyette, scout the island's perimeter and let us know where the best place to dock is. Meaning, no scouting pirates and a position where we can dock easily and sail away easily. "

" Try to avoid direct confrontation, we're outnumbered and possible outpowered aswell, our strength will lie in preparation, surprise and teamwork. "

" Before you go, let's clarify one thing. One's reward isn't measured by how many pirates they capture or kill. Think about it like this, if certain intell that a comrade has acquired saves your life by preparing you for an ambush while you were off and killing a couple of meaningless, drunken pirates who were stowed away in a bar...who should be more rewarded? "

" The rule under this flag lies with me but I do not demand absolute obedience nor am I a dictator, but going by the normal manner of rewarding, will cloud your mind and take your eyes of the true target. So I'm putting my foot down, nobody and I mean nobody, including myself, gets more than anyone else's share. We're a team that depends on one another to survive and I will not let greed cause any fatalities or mistakes. "

Shinya finally stopped talking.

" Now let's get to work. Lizyette, scope the island. We'll throw the anchor and wait for your return while preparing ourselves to dock. I'll make a few scouting creatures to set free once we set foot on land. We'll wait for their intel and move through the fog while they scout the area around us so we get the element of surprise at all times. "

The amount of reward didn't bother Jake that much. Every belly he earned in his hunting trips will eventually be spent on either food, bullets, or his quest after his forgotten past. "Roger that" Jake said, checking his pistols one more time. The idea of sending a scout never occurred to him. Every bit of information was valuable to Jake's quest, so he noted that fact in his brain, the fact that he never thought about a scout might mean that he worked alone before...

He checked his guns ones again, making sure the barrel was clean and the bullets were loaded. After wishing good luck to Lizyette, Jake grabbed a random rope and began climbing up to the crow's nest. From there, he could try and spot something in the fog, and make sure nobody was ambushing their ship from behind. Even though this threat wasn't even realistic, the obsessive compulsive man had to be sure.