Serious; The Justice Gamblers; Chapter 3: Trying the luck (Open to the Justice Gamblers)

Luis then came down to meet Oga , he then nodded his head "I have a den den mushi... mine wasnt working just now though.... you can give it a try." Luis then handed the den den mushi to Oga. He was still monitoring his surroundings and sighed, he took out a ciggarette and lit it as he handed the den den mushi to oga.

At Oga's and Luis' place (West Side of the Forest)

As Luis hands over the Den Den Mushi to Oga, the longleg instantly clicks it. Although the longleg was quite dumb, at least he knew how to use it. He clicked the button on the slug-looking device that enabled communication between great distances and he attempted to call the unit of Capoeira. Apparently, he did not know of the events that happened and so it was natural to call him... The whole unit was already slain by Goid who was now fighting Karma at the east side of the forest.

"Damn... They are not responding." Oga said to Luis with a worried look on his face. Seconds afterwards, the man clicked the Den Den Mushi again. This time, he was trying to call Crudo who was at the basement. However, he did not respond as well... For Capoeira's unit, it was natural to not respond... But what could be possibly be going wrong with Crudo at the basement? Did something happen?

"Crudo is not responding, as well..." Oga said. "Something is probably going wrong at the basement as well as at Capoeria's unit." he said to his comrade. They would probably have to go and take a look.

Luis then nodded "Fine you lead the way then... we also need to keep a look out... something doesnt feel right about this attack...." Luis hiked his bag up and followed Oga quietly, making sure he knew where his knife was in case things got bad.

At Oga's and Luis' place (West Side of the Forest)

"Let's go to the basement... We will definitely find Crudo and Capoeira and the others might have arrived there..." Oga said and handed the Den Den Mushi back at the sniper. Then, he started doing a few exercises before he started running towards the direction of the basement. Being a longleg, Oga was quite fast, faster than regular people used to be. As soon as he reached a great distance from Luis, the longleg stopped for a moment and said "Follow my lead!" and continued running towards the basement... But little did he know that the events that would take place after the two of them returned to the basement would be very critical.

[[Luis and Oga]]
Luis ran and jogged behind Oga, he was watching the scenery around this place and began to regret destroying the trees and setting a bomb for his enemy earlier. But then again, it was survival. Survival was important, Luis needed to survive. It was what he was trained to do. It was what he was born to do. To survive, to adapt , to take advantage of every chance. Luis remembered how he had been brought up, his adopted mother and father were wonderful people. Truly lovely to the core, and had brought him up to be a well educated well look after boy, despite him being the son of the pirate dog who had defiled their town. Luis knew he owed nothing to his bastard of a father, he owed everything to his adopted family. Luis had learnt in marine naval academy, how to survive. Warfare tactics and listening to orders. Tactics Luis was good at, but listening was a particular weakness of his. It made Luis almost feel like laughing.

At Oga's and Luis' place (Back at the basement)

Oga and Luis had been walking for quite long and after moving through the forest, they finally returned back at the basement. However, what they would find was something very, very surprising that would definitely shock both of them. At the middle of the camp, there was a big pole and at the top of the pole there was one man that both of them knew very well and admired; he was Vice Admiral Raymond Mountain!

"Vi-Vice Admiral?!" Oga said with a shocked look on his face as he looked at Raymond. "Wh-What are you doing here?" he questioned the man with a worried look on his face.
"Allow me to explain..." a man's voice was heard and Yonotai appeared from inside the prison along with the injured traitorous unit of Inoyama. Although all of them were quite injured they could still walk and battle. "I just caught him." Yonitai said with a smile on his face and then looked towards the moon.
"Huh? You... caught him? Impossible!" Oga said.
"Run, children! Leave from here! Even if you beat those guys you won't beat their boss!" Raymond yelled at both Luis and Oga. However, Oga would not listen to him. Instead, he took his battling stance and he prepared to take on the enemies in order to save the Vice Admiral.

Raymond, the strongest person in the unit had been caught and things were intense! With Raymond caught and the boss of the Clue Pirates coming to the place, the final battle was about to start and what the Clue Pirates were doing on the island was about to be revealed.

Luis immediately ran as soon as the Vice Admiral said so. He then said to Oga "Well, good luck down here!!!" Luis ran as far as he could. To others it looks like he is running away , however he was actually already targeting vantage points. His rifle was something he needed, and he had carried it properly so that the condition of his rifle wouldnt be affected. He climbed immediately and set up his rifle at the top of this opening. Luis then held his finger to the trigger. He was now watching everything , and with the den den mushi he left with Oga, he could now communicate with a direct frequency. "All set...."

"Huh?! Where are you goin'?!" Oga said with a shocked look on his face as soon as Luis started running away. "Without you I am alone at the mercy of the enemies! Come here!" he turned his back and waved towards Luis in a funny way in order to stop him from running away.

"Did your comrade abandon you?" Yonitai said with a smile on his face as soon as he looked at Luis running. "Quite amazing for your division! Hahahaha!" he completed and then he pointed towards Raymond. "Anyway... This was the wisest choice he could make... Because, as soon as my boss comes over here, Vice Admiral Mountain shall be executed and along with him anybody who stands on the way!"
"Damn it... Why... Why are you guys doing this?!" Oga asked with an angry look on his face.
"It's the plan of the boss... We are always working based on a plan... Why do you think my crew is called a super rookie crew? The boss is always moving based on a plan... And this one is the most perfect plan he ever formed! Haven't you heard of the Goat Island Incident before?" Yonitai asked.
"Goat Island Incident... What do you mean?" Oga asked. However, before Yonitai was about to respond another voice was heard.
"Shut up, Yonitai. You always tend to do that... I have no reason to inform them about my business... And you would better not do that."
"Does it matter, sir? They are going to die, anyway."
"Just do as I say and shut up. I am the boss here and I won't accept any commands from my subordinates." a man's voice was heard. He was none other than the boss of the place.
"Sorry, Pierrot-sama..." Yonitai said and closed his mouth.

[Introduction Box]
[Hercules Pierrot]
[Captain of the Clue Pirates]
[Bounty: 80,000,000]

"Now... What do we have here? A longleg? Interesting... I don't have a longleg in my crew. Man... May I ask you... Will you join my crew, or not? I have heard that you got rid of Ball... So you are strong enough to fit in my crew. What do you say? Will you assist me in my quest to find One Piece?"

While listening to that, Oga gulped. He did not know what to say. However, that did not happen for the obvious reason. Oga did not gulp because he did not know what to say. In fact, he was afraid of Hercules. He had a killing intent on his face and a very slim body that was scaring him. He looked a lot like a snake... And he also wore that detective clothing... He was so mysterious that he caused big fear.

However, Oga soon came back to his senses. Apparently, Luis contacted him. The man had not abandoned him, after all. He was probably searching for a spot. As soon as he listened to his voice, Oga said "Hmph... I am a Lone Wolf... So I'll prefer to stay alone."

"Fair enough." Hercules said and he disappeared from his spot and reappeared behind Oga. Then, he kicked him at the head and sent him flying a few meters away while saying "Do you reconsider?"

"Oga!" Raymond shouted as soon as he looked at the marine getting hit.

The boss of the Clue Pirates had finally appeared! How strong was he and what was his real plan? And what happened to Karma's battle? Did he lose to Goid or not? So many questions remained... And they would be answered very soon...

Luis grit his teeth and fired two bullets at Hercules, stopping him from moving foward, he also fired a shot aimed at Yonitai "Fuck..... more and more powerful assholes keep appearing... where the hell is KARMA?!!!!"

At Oga's and Luis' place (Marine Camp)

"Catch!" Hercules said and he grabbed the bullets that were fired towards him with his bare hands before they could cause him any harm. Then, he looked towards Luis with an angry look on his face and he said to Oga "Do you think that I could not see your friend? You are such a fool... Why do you think that I have a bounty of 80,000,000 Beri? Is it because I am handsome... Or is it because I am cool? No... It is because I am dangerous... Dangerous enough to stop a sniper's bullets with my bare hands...". Then, he pointed with one of the bullets towards Oga. He threw it with his hand and the bullet moved with great speed, hitting the longleg at the leg and causing him great damage. The longleg fell on the ground and he started lying on it. "Do you understand our difference, Marine?"

Meanwhile, Yonitai swiftly moved his body away from the bullet at the last second. He looked towards Raymond with a worried look on his face and he sighed. What was going on?

[[Luis]]

Luis cursed his luck , but he wasnt going to let it phaze him. This guy could catch normal bullets at normal speed, but there was no way he could catch different bullets at different speeds. Luis slowly clicked as the limiters in his rifle were falling off. Luis lifted the rifle and aimed. Each shot, was not going to be like a bullet anymore, but like a freaking artilerry shell. But the risk was , it took a huge toll on Luis's arms if he fired these shots. Luis then grinned as he grit his teeth "Lets gamble, who gives in, my arm, or your life!!!!!" He then fired a mega shot, which on impact would easily pierce steel.

"Jump!" Hercules said but before he could jump, the fast shot hit his body and caused him great damage. Smoke was raised from the ground... A cloud of smoke was surrounding his body. His figure could be barely seen standing still... Soon enough, the smoke cleared and Hercules could be clearly seen. He was quite injured, but he was still strong enough to keep going. Obviously, Luis had caused him much damage but the damage was not enough to take him down.

"S-Sir, are you alright?!" Yonitai asked Hercules to see how he was.
"Shut up." he said and he looked towards Luis. "You will pay for this." he said and he disappeared from his previous spot, only to reappear in front of Oga to perform a kick at the longleg's face. The kick made Oga fall on the ground and Hercules was stomping on him with great power. Blood was coming out of Oga's nose and mouth and Hercules was laughing madly above his body while looking at Luis.

"If you shoot me with that thing again, your friend will die, as well." he shouted to Luis afterwards and with the leg that was not stomping Oga, he performed a swift motion to create an air blade that was moving towards Raymond. "As for your Vice Admiral, he will die before you will notice!" he said as he performed the attack.

"One Sword Style - River!" a voice was heard afterwards and another air blade appeared, clashing with the air blade that Hercules created.
"Who is it, now?!" Hercules asked angrily and a figure appeared...

That figure was very familiar. He wore a marine coat on his back and he carried three swords with him. Two of the swords were sheathed while the other one was on his hand. The sword was full of blood. The man had probably cut down somebody before with it... And the man had a determined look on his face. The man was none other than Karma. The Captain of the Justice Gamblers had just returned.

"It seems that I got back in time..." he said to Hercules and the others.

[OOC: Since i'm back...]

Oga felt the harsh and violence legs kcking him hard. It's making his innury from earlier worsen and he's now coughing in blood with his body all wounded up and dirt. This man seem to be strong, if his ears are working properly, he's a man with 80 million beli on his head. Moreover, the guy he fought earlier is just his second mates and much weaker than this guy, however Oga seem to get beaten from that guy. What about this one? The difference is just too far away. It's been some time since he felt like this. The desperation, the despair, the light out, snd everything. He's just too weak, and all his word are just a bluff. He said he wanted to bring the world justice but he's weak. He's now paralyzed, he's afraid...mostly, he thinks highly of himself but not this time. He pretend to lay on the ground while watching the battle took place because he's too scare to stand up, too scare to fight back. It's not likes him at all...it's like, he's a wolf without any fang.

Oga raised his head up just to see the air blade aiming at Raymond. His mind shouted No, but his body are too scared to say anything. It's just likes that time...the time when he's abandoned. The time when all those childern hates him just because he's a longleg...that time when those clid beat him up. He always walks behind the other's back, he always tried to train harder so that he could walks beside the other, so that he cold join the herd.

He closed his eyes as the air blade getting closer and closer but then he heard a sound. He's perplexed when the air blade getting stopped but he hastily looks at the one who rescue Raymond. He smiled faintly before looking back down. Thanks..." he mumbled to himself. This man...even though that he knows he might lose because even Raymond was beaten, he still popped up and saves his crewmate. And what about him? Everyone is fighting, everyone is outting their all, but he's lying on the ground blaming himself. People are walking forward but he himself, fall back without any hope. It's not likes him, a wolf, wouldn't do something like that. Come to think of it, the distance between him and the group isn't that far, if only...if only he takes a step forward and he would see the smiling people joining the conversation.

Stealing the chance when people are distracted by Karma, Oga rolled back to keep his distance far away from the captain. He stood back up, wiping the dirt off his clothe. "You're late" said Oga. He smirks. "Just so you know, Herecules, that's your name right? Well..there's 3 things..three Sins that you committed. One you're ugly, Two you're cocky, and Three you looks down on marine" said Oga smiling. "Since it's me, Luis, and Karama, that makes three people. Perfect. Let gives him a blow each, deal?" said Oga as he glanced at Luis and Karma. He knows by saying it, it spund so easy. This man has just beaten up the whole crew, himself, stopped Luis's bullet, and has a big bounty on his head. But he believed, that everyone right now, esepcially Karma himself, wanted to capture this man. And when their will come together, Perhap, everything is possible.

Karma (Marine Camp)

Karma looked at Hercules with a smile on his face, right after Oga rolled away from his foot and escaped from his clutches. Apparently, with his sudden arrival, not only he saved Raymond who was about to be executed by Hercules, but also he grabbed the attention of Hercules so that Oga would escape from him and so that Luis would be able to keep shooting his mega shots towards the enemy without risking the life of his long legged comrade. Everything went perfectly and now the only marine survivors from the unit were gathered at the camp in order to have the last encounter with Hercules.

"I-Impossible! You were supposed to be dead! I sent Goid, after you!" Hercules said with a surprised look on his face, as soon as he realized that the person who had just arrived and saved the day was none other than Karma, the captain of the Justice Gamblers. "He has never failed in a mission! It's impossible to survive from his clutches! He's one of my strongest men!"

"No matter what you believe, in the end I emerged victorious from our battle... Otherwise, I would not be here..." Karma commented.

[Flashback]

"Argh... argh... argh..." Karma breathed heavily after he was cut on the chest from the powerful slash of Goid, after the man used his jumping technique to reach superhuman speeds and slash Karma before he could stop the attack. Apparently, Goid was a very expert swordsman and with the usage of his fruit, he could jump forward fast in order to momentarily increase his speed and reach great speeds so that he would slash his enemies.

"Can you see our difference? I am a zoan fruit user... There is no way that a paramecia like you will match me... I have been in many battles before... I have slayed countless people... So many people that I do not remember their names. You must be proud, Commodore Tenma... I remember your name and I will always remember it. After all, you put up a great battle against me... I really enjoyed it up to now."Goid said, mocking Karma.
"SHUT UP!" Karma said and he coughed some blood. Then, he got up and he pointed towards Goid with an angry look on his face. "As I said, I will not let you get away from here... You won't get away with this!".
"Do you think so? You might have caused me some damage, but I have caused you more."
"That doesn't matter... As soon as I land you my finishing blow, that won't matter, anyway."
"Hm? Don't make me laugh... Do you really believe that you can do that?" Goid asked as Karma unsheathed his sword.
"Indeed, I can. Soru!" Karma said and he disappeared from his previous position. The next second, the captain of the Justice Gamblers had already reappeared in front of Goid and he slashed him on the chest deeply with his two katanas, while saying "Two Sword Style - Raise: Turn!". In order to make the attack more powerful, Karma had sprouted two more arms, one on each shoulder and so he carried each katana with two hands.
"Wh-What?" Goid said and he fell on the ground while coughing blood.
"Allow me... Allow me to explain..." the injured Karma said to the man. "It's been a while since I am training with Vice Admiral Mountain... And I have been shown how to perform a move to increase my speed to super human levels and match your previous speed. However, your own technique for this has a weakness. You are relying on your high jump to do this and not on your own strength... Even if you can reach superhuman speed, your eye is not trained at seeing it... You would have to have superhuman speed based on your own powers and not on your fruit to be able to catch up with me. Furthermore, in order to increase the power of my attack, I sprouted two arms and grabbed each one of my katanas with two hands... And so, the double slash was more powerful than the regular one..."
"Gororororororo!" Goid laughed while coughing blood from his mouth as soon as he listened to the man's voice. "To think that the day for me to lose to another swordsman would come... Interesting." he said and he closed his eyes. Karma had just won the battle.

[Flashback ends]

"Do you see this sword?" Karma continued saying to Hercules. "It's the same as his... I took it from him...".
"So you proved to be stronger than him. What an interesting surprise!" Hercules said with a smile on his face. "But what about my other henchmen? They were following you ever since you started searching for us..."
"You can check out in the forest, if you like... They are all down, one by one." Karma said.
"Listen... I am going to make you a proposition. I want you to become my swordsman. If you do, I will not harm you while I will dispose of your subordinates. If you don't... I guess that you will be caught up in my attack. What do you say?"
"I say... Screw you." Karma said and unsheathed his two swords right after placing Goid's sword on his waist.
"I see..." Hercules said and he took his battling stance in order to face Karma.

"That guy is way out of your league! Don't be reckless, Karma!" Raymond yelled at the Commodore.
"As long as you cannot do anything in your state, sir, I am the one who is commanding here... And if something bad happens to me and my crew, I take responsibility! We are going to kick this guy's butt and free you."
"You don't understand a thing..." Raymond mumbled and he said "Whatever..." as the battle was about to begin.
"Let's go, guys!" Karma said and he rushed towards Hercules in an attempt to slash him at the chest.

The final battle between Karma, Luis and Oga against Hercules was about to begin! Who would emerge victorious?

[[Luis]]

While they were all talking , Luis was simply catching his breath, the pain caused by his previous attack could be felt in the recoil, he had at least two or three more non limited shots to be given. He then lifted up his rifle as Karma and Oga charged "Well.. fuck this then..... i hope they stay out of the way!!!" He fired another high velocity power shot. The recoil almost destroyed his arm and jaw. Luis was sent slamming back as he fired that shot which was aimed right for Hercules right leg.

Karma, Luis and Oga vs Hercules (Marine Camp)

"This time I am going to dodge this for sure!" Hercules said with a smile on his face and before the shot had reached him, he said "Jump!". However, even if he attempted to jump there was something that prevented him from moving... He felt as if something was grabbing him. "Huh?! WHAT NOW?!" he screamed and he looked at his legs, only to see four arms grabbing him. "What are these?!" he yelled and Karma started explaining with a smile on his face...

"Well, well... I have eaten the Hana Hana no Mi... I can bloom body parts at will... And I decided to bloom them below you to prevent you from leaving... Hana Hana no Check!".
"Damn it!" Hercules said and he started thinking "If I get hit by two more of these shots, I am going to end up dying... What should I do?". However, before he could think of a good way to escape, the shot hit him at the chest. While the shot was striking him, Karma made the arms disappear in order to avoid getting damaged and Hercules got all the damage by himself...

"You bastards..." Hercules mumbled while staying still at his position. "I am going to kill you!" he completed and he rushed towards Karma in an attempt to punch him in the face with a powerful punch. Hercules' speed was noticeably lower than before... All that damage he received reduced his speed and made it difficult for him to move.
"Too slow." Karma said and as the hand of the enemy was about to hit him, he sliced his arm with his katana, cutting it off from the rest of his body. The Justice Gamblers were turning the tables in the battle!

Using the chance of Hercules being distracted by the other crew mate, Oga sneaked his chance to run with all his might although his wound is toring him apart. The pain is aching him ever since the battle with Mr. Ball and even he got some first-aid treatment, he's not fully heal yet. Because of the earlier impact, with Hercules beating him up, the wound worsen and there's blood leaking from his bandage. He breathed heavily as he run toward Hercules who's now trying to take Karma head on. Although his wound is toring him apart, he still has the grip to his movement, still dashing with full speed and the length between each steps still widen as before.

He smirks as he noticed the sword cutting the arm away. He also smirks just a while ago when Luis's bullet able to struck Hercules. It seems that Hercules made a bad choice in coming here...the the lion's cave..or rather..a wolf?

His smirks turned into a grin, not that there's any difference anyway. He prepared his right leg for kick. He noticed himself getting closer to Hercules and perhap the fact that his arm being cut may distract him enough for Oga to land his attack. Everybody is alway ahead of him, thus he couldn't fall back now. He's always slow..not physically but mentally. Although he's gifted with his long legs and fast pace, he's still weak mentally and at make his physical attack weaker than ever. But at the end...he realize it when Karma appeared earlier. He's...trying to limit himself, his mind limited himself. He himself is the on putting that barrier in front of him. He himself doesn't has the will to corss it. He himself bind himself to the certainspot. But not any longer...he's going to face his problem fiercely and...he's going to destroy that barrier in front of him and continue on with his road. He's a wolf after all.

"Dammit, you guys alway steal the spotlight dismissing and leaving me behind the shadow!" roared Oga as he jumped out, now close to Hercules. He swings his right leg to back before swinging it again forcefully and swiftly attempting to land Hercules a flying kicks to his left cheek and maybe send him flying slightly. "you know i'm scared! My boot might get dirty from touching your face" said Oga as he attempt to land the kick.

Karma, Luis and Oga vs Hercules (Marine Camp)

"ARGH!" Hercules screamed in pain as he felt the barrage of the flying kicks hitting him at the face and sending him flying several meters away. The left cheek of the captain of the Clue Pirates had become black because of the injuries and he had lost too much blood after Karma had cut his arm. Also, he was very much damaged because of the two mega shots he received from Luis... Hercules had taken some very powerful attacks and it was natural even for a man like him to be in that state.

As the man fell down after he received the kick from the marine, he started breathing heavily. Apparently, he could not accept his defeat. It was something that was impossible... A super rookie like himself had just lost to some pathetic marines... All his work on Goat Island would go for nothing... He had lost his first mate, his second mate, his strongest warrior and on top of that, Yonitai, his supposedly trustworthy subordinate was not helping him while he struggled. "WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT LIKE THAT?! WHY ARE YOU NOT USING THE FRUIT I GAVE YOU TO HELP ME?!" Hercules yelled at Yonitai but Yonitai did not speak a word. "I didn't do this before in order for you to survive... But now I see what you did there... You conspired with all those bastards to escape... I can't understand how else you would catch the Vice Admiral... You betrayed me and lured me here to be defeated by those pests in order to save your own skin! GOATS! COME OUT! COME OUT AND DESTROY THE ISLAND!" Hercules yelled and in a single minute around 10 giant goats appeared at the place. "RAMPAGE THROUGH THE PLACE AND KILL EVERYBODY!" the man commanded and the goats were about to attack the four marines and Yonitai... The last battle was about to start and the Justice Gamblers would have to fight the goats.

"Damn you coward! Fight us! Why are you bringing out that damn goat again! Just look at it, it ain't tasty at all!" shouted Oga. He facepalmed afterward. But what's more important is his wound...he wouldn't makes it. He might be able to help when it come to Hercules since he's kind of small and stuff but not the huge goats. And it would be worse if all the goats gone on rampage and stomped the other marine.

Oga rolled over to Karma's side. "What are we going to do with allthe goats and especially our tied marine? They can't protect themselves, moreover the goats might kill them!" asked Oga. But he doesn't has much time since the goats are droving closer and closer.

[[Luis]]

Luis felt anguish again, this time gritting his teeth as his arm was further injured by the recoil. He fell to his knees and gasped for breath, he then clutched his arm while letting go of his rifle. He then dropped and looked to the battlefield. He saw goats re entering the area. Luis took out a cigarette and lit it again quickly. He reloaded his rifle with his other hand and placed limiters back on. These were normal shots, he didnt high velocity against the goats, he would save that for last. It would certainly break his arm if he used the last shot now, so he was going to kill the goats first. He fired rapid sniper shots at the goats.

Even if the goats were hit by the combined attacks of the Justice Gamblers, they did not seem to stop. They had started rampaging through the place and they were causing great damage. Even Luis' shots were unable to cause any harm to them. Apparently, these goats were something more than the previous goats, these had a more perfect form. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Hercules was laughing while lying on the ground at the view of his pets that were destroying the camp of the Justice Gamblers and were about to kill them. "ATTACK THE VICE ADMIRAL!" he commanded but as soon as he did a shot was heard and Hercules let off his last breath... Blood started coming out of his forehead and Yonitai blew the smoke that came out of his gun. The subordinate had just killed his captain. "Silence, pirate." he said with a smile on his face.

Then, the next second, Raymond instantly broke his chains. "You should not kill that guy but... whatever... He was way too dangerous." he said before he transformed into his giant bronze statue form and performed several Rankyaku at the goats that cut them down and ultimately killed them. In little to no time, all the goats were killed and everything finally ended...

"Just as we planned." Raymond said to Yonitai and Karma looked at them with a surprised look on his face as he saw that happening. "WHAT THE HELL?!" Karma shouted and Yonitai started explaining. "I am sorry for this... You probably don't understand... However, my introduction will help you understand. I am Rear Admiral Yonitai Berbera... I was sent here as an infiltrator to the crew... That guy started as a super rookie and I decided by myself to join his crew to find out what he wanted. However, no matter how much I would approach him, I never got the chance to strike him as he ways way too strong."

"Huh?" Karma said, without understanding.

"You see, Karma, " Raymond said "Yonitai used to be my subordinate once and informed me about the strange activities of the Clue Pirates on the island. As a result, I changed our way to this place and manipulated you into docking here to search the island... Crudo was also aware of the mission... He's hiding at the ship right now... Were you not surprised that Yonitai did not release the prisoners we gathered?"

"Hm... Now that you mention it..." Karma said. "But what was the plan of those guys, after all?" he questioned.

"Allow me to explain... Apparently, Hercules has some connections with a few well-known pirates and he was given a drug called SIQ. He came here and fed it on the goats, turning them into this monstrous size so that he would make them his own warriors. Being the user of the Hiso Hiso no Mi, it was easy for him to manipulate them... However, his illegal activities quickly caught the attention of us and so we had to act quickly..."

"AND WHY WAS I NOT INFORMED?!" Karma questioned with an angry voice.

"You see, we did not have time for that... This was a secret mission and I only trusted Vice Admiral Mountain for that... The Vice Admiral of course informed Crudo and the three of us were always in contact."

"Crudo?! Why Crudo and not me?! And... What about my other subordinates? Are they okay?"

"Luckily enough, we arrived in time... Before we got here, we found them and picked them up. They were all lucky enough to survive from Goid... That guy was extremely dangerous... They are in the ship as well with Crudo, after receiving the first aid."

"And what about Vice Admiral Mountain? Why has he tied with those chains?"

"Oh, I will tell you that..." Raymond said. "That was my idea... I wanted you guys to go all-out against Hercules so that I would see how much you developed... And I must say that I am surprised with your development."

"So let me see... WASN'T I THE ONE WHO CAUGHT THE POWERFUL ROOKIE, AT ALL?"

"Erm... No."

"CURSE YOU!" Karma said with a funny look on his face and got into the ship. "Oga and Luis... The goons of the Clue Pirates are lying unconscious in the forest. Tie them up and bring them over here... We are departing in an hour. And don't forget to bury their captain." he said as he left.

"He has matured as a warrior..." Raymond said and Yonitai agreed, before the two of them got in the ship as well...

Even if the case of Goat Island had ended as a fiasco in Karma's eyes, apparently, everything ended up well... And the increase in strength of the crew members was now clearly shown. The time they passed with Raymond actually helped, after all... And now, the crew would finally set sail away from the island soon to take part in another adventure...