Serious; Salty's and Johnny's journeys; Chapter 3; Off to another adventure: The secret behind Mirage Island (Open to me and Shad0w)

"Hmm... I see." Johnny says, mostly talking to himself. He walks ahead, holding his chin, thinking, before he turns back and glares at Old Man.
"I am a marine officer. Would you please lead me to the outshirts of this West side? You have no reason to follow me afterwards, as you mentioned, it's dangerous, and a marine cannot let a civilian get into unnecessary danger." He quickly blurts out, apparently, Johnny seems to trust that Old Man is a good guy, and would not lie or try to trick him, so he just told him that he's a marine, and so on.

"Indeed, I will!" Old Man said with a smile on his face, especially after he found out that Johnny was a marine. "Marines are respected here. You see, only a few marines arrive at this place and they are not forgotten. I can remember a man who arrived in this place years ago but left... What is his name? Oh, young man, I forget. Anyway, especially now that I know that you are a marine, I will help you, my friend!" he continued and he jumped on Moley's back. "Come on!" he invited Johnny to climb on Moley's back so that they could move faster.

"Hm, very well. I thank you!" Johnny says, and by placing his hand on the mole's body, he makes a leap, sitting right behind Old Man, with his arms crossed. And so the giant mole begins moving towards the direction the marine was aiming to reach and investigate.
"So .. what exactly is with this place? You mentioned that you favor marines .. so, is your city part of the World Government?" He asks, wanting to maintain some dialogue, as he was already bored of riding onto that mole.

Comic relief-
"W-where am I?" Douche says, looking around, but he doesn't really see anything. "GYAAAAH, A SEA MONSTER OR SAND BEAST ATE ME! GYAAAH!!!"
Currently having fell and having his upper body jammed into a small door of sorts, on the ground, hidden by sand.

"No, not at all." Old Man started explaining, while Moley was making her way at the East Part. "This city was in fact built in order to avoid the World Government!" he shockingly explained to Johnny in a calm way. "You see, the people who inhabit Mirage Island are nothing more than lost pirates who have made their way to Mirage Island and were unable to survive the Grand Line. After experiencing the Swirling Whirlpools at the sea's surface, they ended up on the island. They realized that in this island, there is no way they can be found and so they decided to start a new life here, as peaceful citizens." Old Man continued explaining. "However, as this place is inhabited by former pirates, brawls and fights were taking place. As a result, the people of the island decided something; they would divide the city in two parts, the East and the West. Those who were trying to act violently were exiled to the East place and those who decided to repent for their sins decided to stay here.". he finished and stopped talking for a few seconds.

However, Old Man had not said anything about the marines. That explanation was not satisfying about Johnny's question. Why were the Marines favored, after all, in a city that was being inhabited by former pirates?

"Former pirates?... I see." The marine says, nodding. He remains silent as he hears Old Man's explanation, and even afterwards he remains silent and serious, which would probably make the old man, Old Man, consider that maybe it wasn't a very smart move to reveal such information. Maybe he was one of the hyped-up, crazy absolute justice madmen, and would decide to inform the Marines and attempt to take over the area.
However, Johnny begins talking again, but with a curious, yet casual, tone. "So, why is it still that great for you when a marine happens to come across this place? And .. how come no one has ever reported this place?" He says, while his questions side more on the interrogation, Johnny is actually really casual and almost speaks with a friendly tone. Confusing.

"Oh. That is simple!" Old Man said and he started scratching his head. "It happens because... It happens because... Oh, I forgot! I am an old man, after all!" Old Man finished and he started laughing. He was laughing for about a minute until Moley finally reached the city inside the West Part.

"It looks like we arrived in the city..." Old Man said with a smile on his face afterwards and he jumped down from Moley. "Before I lead you to the East Part, though, I was thinking that we should ask the people in the city whether anything happened here. Who knows, what you are looking for might be here, right?" he explained and then he entered a bar. What would Johnny do? Would he follow him or not?

"Hm .. sure." Johnny calmly says, and follows Old Man, the old man that he had came across earlier on, into the bar. A bar filled with all sorts of rough-looking men, them drinking beer or other kinds of drinks, yelling, playing cards or even arm-wrestling. As Johnny didn't saw the other side of this place, where things were supposed to be violent and crazy, he still considered this to be a bit away from regular peace and quiet. Then again, he didn't found it much of a bad place. Heck, he even had a bit of a fight with a giant mole earlier, this looked a lot more normal now.
"So, what's the danger in the other side that keep you away from entering. Is it that dangerous?" Johnny asks, as he sits down next to the old man.

For a few minutes, Old Man would question the people of the bar whether anything happened. However, no matter whom he was asking, nobody would say that anything bad happened. It looked like things were peaceful at the West Part of the city, just like Old Man expected.

"It looks like nothing has happened here~~~~~~!!! And yes, at that place scary things are going on... The mafia of the city is gathered there, so it's an avoided place..." Old Man said and he scratched his head, like usually. However, at the moment he spoke his words a few men appeared in the bar. They were two men, wearing black suits and black fedora hats. They had a calm yet scary look on their faces, which was slightly shadowed because of their hats.

"Hm? More newcomers? First the weird juice guy and then you? What the-" one of the people attempted to say but before he completed his sentence the two men disappeared from their spots and reappeared behind him. With a calm look on their faces, they stabbed the man with their hands. One of the two pierced through his hat, while the other one through his head.

The two people looked like they were strangers to the people of the bar and more importantly pretty strong... Who were they?!

"Old Man, stay at your seat and don't come closer, I will be right back.." Johnny says, and slowly gets up from his chair, still holding the glass of apricorn juice he was just about to drink, before those mysterious men barged in. He grabs a piece of the hat that flew towards their direction. Wind? Underground? Anyway, that wasn't the time. Keeping his cool, Johnny Cool wanted towards the men, and raised his glass. "Rather than barging in as if you own the place, would you like some juice?"

"Hm? Juice? That so polite for you, Marine Commander Johnny Cool!" one of the two men said and he laughed loudly. It looked like he knew some information about Johnny and his job as a marine. However, the way he spoke about Johnny was very weird. It looked like he was mocking his marine status for some reason, as if he knew something that other people did not know. Finally, it was obvious that the man did not know that Johnny received a promotion...

"We are not here to act like the bosses of the place!" the other man said. "We came here from the East Part, searching for you and it looked like we were lucky enough to find you." he completed and he laughed afterwards. Who were those people? How did they know Johnny? And more importantly... Why were they looking for Johnny?

"Looking for me? Interesting. Shall we take this outside?" Johnny replies back, him being cold but still polite. Putting his hands into his pockets, after having drunk the juice and left the glass on a nearby table that is, he walks towards them. "And it's Captain Johnny Cool-sama for the pair of you. You should try the juice, it was delicious." He adds, a certain level of underestimation for those two being somewhat obvious in his tone.

"Captain Johnny Cool, huh? That's pretty funny considering that you are a..." the first man said.
"Enough! Don't speak out more information! The old man is here, after all." the second man said and the first one stopped.
"Yeah, right." he said. "I forgot he was here. It looks like they are together." he completed.

After the two men were done with their short conversation, they turned their heads towards Johnny. They pointed towards him with their index fingers at the same time and they said together "Take this outside? Mr. Johnny, you are not the one who is making the rules here. We are making the rules... We have your friends at our basement, after all.". It looked like these two people knew a few things about Johnny and more importantly, they knew things about the other members of the Photography Department and Johnny. What was happening?!

".... I see. So, you know." Johnny says, his expression growning darker. Funny, he didn't mentioned his subordinates or said anything about the fact that, according to them, they had them captured or something. And what was that thing that Johnny mentioned that they knew about. However, this wasn't the time to focus there. Because, a moment later, a powerful punch just smached right onto one of those suited men's abdomen, with great force. "Then you die. Jigan." The man says, before he releases the full impact, sending the man out of the bar, leaving a gaping hole on the wall as the aftermath. Rapidly, he turns towards the other man, his foot already right above his head.

(OOC: Don't worry, I don't expect em to just get knocked down from just one hit ))

"Ouch." the man who was hit by Johnny's punch said as soon as he got hit, but with a calm tone in his voice. While he was sent away the people from around would look at Johnny with a shocked look on their faces. "What strength!", "Super strong!" and other similar phrases could be barely heard by the people who were taking a look at the incident.

However, all those shocked faces would change a few moments later. The man who was hit got up from the ground. He cleared the dust off his clothes and he said "How impolite!" he commented and he rushed towards Johnny in an attempt to perform a kick in the man's face.

And while was doing so, Old Man and the other mysterious man would look at the brawl while waiting to see what would happen.

While surprised about the fact that the man that he just sent flying is back on his feet and fighting back as if his strike was nothing more than a nuisanse, Johnny easily retains his cool compolsure, and counters back the assault with a fist, stopping the kick cold in it's tracks. The collide made a deafening sound, evidence of the high level of physical power both adversaries seemed to have in spades. "Not bad.." Johnny remarks, but with an apathy in his tone. Making a full-body spin then, the Cool-headed man attempts to punch the suited man on his sides with another Jigan-amplified strike.

Before the strike could hit the man Johnny was battling with, the other man entered the battle. With a calm look on his face, he moved in front of the two and he raised his right hand, grabbing the punch of Johnny. For a few seconds, nobody would speak. Instead, they would stare at the three men, surprised by the fact that they possessed such great strength. The people from around were former pirates after all, and they were all used in battling.

"Well, well... Excuse my partner for fighting with you. We are not here to battle with you, Mr. Johnny. We are here to discuss a matter with you." he said and then he let off the hand of Johnny.
"Oh, shut up, Core!" the other man, who was battling Johnny, said.
"You will shut up, Sore." the other man said with a calm look on his face. "If we hand over Mr. Johnny's corpse to the boss, he will be mad with us.".
"Oh, right, I forgot about that!" Core said.

"T-Those guys! I know them!" one of the people who were in the bar before yelled. "They are usually residing in the East Part, that's why they are unknown here... They are... Before they came to the East Part, along with their boss and their crewmates, the East Part was not as dangerous as it is now... They are Sore and Core Dalton, also known as the "Mafia Twins"! They are rumored to have a big bounty on their heads!".

"Right." Core said while clapping. "Anyway, as I said before, we are not here to fight with Mr. Cool. All we want is to have him follow us... After all, we have his new friends with us, so he would not really want us to kill them, right? That would make him look pretty suspicious to his superiors..." he continued speaking. "So, forget everything, Mr. Cool. Please follow us and we will explain to you the reason we are here and why our boss wants to speak to you." Core finished and he waited to listen to Johnny's answer.

"I can't be helped." Johnny says, pulling his fist away from the man's grip, and places his hands in his pockets again. Turning towards Old Man, he bends forward a bit, kinda as if he bowed or gave him a greeting, before he turns the other way. "I thank you for your intention to help. Have a fine day, and I apologize for hitting your mole." He says, and walks alongside the 2 figures. "Your lip is bleeding, you might want to see that." He randomly throws at Sore, as he passes right in front of him, but still behind Core, who he follows.

"There's no need to worry, my friend!" Old Man said while taking a wide smile on his face. "See you, later!" he said afterwards and looked at Johnny, as he was leaving with Sore and Core.

The three people would move for a while together. While walking, Sore would listen to the random sayings of Johnny, however, he would not reply to anything. He thought that Johnny simply wanted to annoy him. If he got mad and started beating the crap out of him, the boss would not be satisfied with him and he and his brother would probably end up having problems.

"So, Mr. Cool..." Core started speaking "Do your friends know about your past? Or are you hiding it even from them? Because they seem to be really looking up to you... Especially that guy with the camera..." he finished and he waited to listen to the answer of the marine captain.

As the pair continues walking, Johnny suddenly stops moving. By the way, maybe it was a coincidence, maybe it wasn't, but he did so after they went some distance away from any sort of building or any bystander.
"Give me the names of my subordinates, as well as some of their features, if you want me to continue on. Otherwise, I have no reason to believe you.. and I may have to kill you right on the spot." He says, with a calm, but cold tone. While those guys were obviously strong, to the point that just one of them was seemingly a match for him, Johnny's cold tone suggests that he completely and utterly believes that he can actually accomplish as he said. So now, he had to wait and see if those 2 really were holding the others hostages.

"Oh, relax. There is no need to speak like that!" Core said with a smile on his face and he started explaining "One of them is bald and he has only one hair on his head, as well as a moustache. He also happens to carry a sword with him. I don't know why he claims that he's with you, unless he joined you recently. Yet, he claims to be your friend. As for the other one, who is not your subordinate but your superior... Oh, well. He has a hat, he carries a camera and he has a moustache and a small beard. Seriously... How can that guy be your superior? I mean... He is very weak... Whatever...". It was pretty obvious that Core was missing somebody. He and his accomplices had caught Salty and Fino but they were missing Douche. That was natural, though... Who would expect the pirate to be a friend of Johnny, after all? Johnny was a marine so it was CRAZY for a marine to be friends with pirates.

"Shall we go, now?" Core said and both him and Sore started moving towards their direction. "We are walking for quite a while, so we are almost nearby the East Part." Sore mentioned.

"I see. Very well then, I'm curious to see who is that person that seeks to speak to me." Johnny says, expecting that they wouldn't possibly find or identify Douche. He also pretty much didn't believed them; they didn't told him any names, if they knew what they were doing, they would probably try to take that bit of information too. But, he wanted to see who is that person that knows him and wants to have a word with him.

The three men were walking for quite a while after that. Eventually, they reached a giant wall. Apparently, that wall was something like a burden. It was in fact the wall that was differing the two parts of the city. It was the wall that was splitting the city into two parts, the one and only "Part Wall".

"Part Wall... Wow... We already arrived. I did not even notice how quickly the time passed." Sore said and he took a deep breath.
"Indeed. We were walking for quite a while, after all." Core said and then he grabbed a Den Den Mushi, which he was hiding inside one of his pockets. He pressed a button and he waited... He waited and waited... He waited more and more... Minutes were passing, until...

Suddenly, a small door, which could be barely seen as it had a similar design with that of the wall, opened. Behind the door an extremely short man was walking. The short man wore a black suit, similar to that of the other two men. However, there was a big difference. The short man's suit had two gallons at the shoulders. He was obviously a high ranked commander. The figure was a well-known figure from the outside world...

[Introduction Box]
[Condos Cocoras "The "man" of the underworld"]
[Member of the Mafia Pirates (one of the many crews which were in an alliance with the Black Cross Pirates before Wally's fall from the yonko position)]
[Bounty: 91,000,000]

"I see you are back." he said. He grabbed a cigar afterwards and he started smoking it.
"Of course." Core said.
"Good. The boss was worried about you, you know. He was worried that you met the old man... And you see, he did not really want to lose his most precious close combat fighters." Condos said and started laughing. As he laughed, his cigar fell from his mouth. "Oops." he said and he picked it up.
"Hahahaha! I knew that we were his best fighters!" Sore stupidly said, before being smacked by Core.
"We aren't you idiot. We are just precious." Core said.

[Introduction Box]
[Core and Sore Dalton]
[Members of the Mafia Pirates]
[Bounties: 63,000,000 and 62,500,000]

"Anyway... That doesn't matter." Condos said. "It looks like everything ended up fine... Mr. Cool is with you." he finished.
"Yes. Unexpectedly, he came here without any complaints." Sore said.
"He did not have another choice. If he did not come, we would have to inform his friends about his past... Right?" Condos said and looked towards Johnny with a serious look on his face, expecting his answer.

Why did the men want Johnny?!

With his hands crossed now, instead of being in his pockets, Johnny remains silent throught this whole thing. The person that appeared, well, he never saw him before, so he didn't quite knew what was with all this. Because of this, Johnny decided that it was a good time to begin playing some mind games, to gather some more information about this man.
"My past? What will you tell my subordinates? I am merely a marine officer. My past is surprisingly boring." He starts, yawning in the process.

"I guess it was really boring, judging from that fact that you became a marine! Cahahahahahahaha!!!" Condos said to Johnny. As he laughed, his cigar fell on the ground once again, forcing him to pick it up and place it in his mouth once again so that he would keep smoking. "Anyway, I am not the person to discuss this. I will get you to the boss. He can't wait until he meets you." Condos finished. "Sore. Core. You can get to the West Part again. The boss wants you to make the necessary prepartions." he finished.

"Right." Core said and he started leaving along with Sore.

Who was the boss that Condos was talking about?!

"The boss? My my, he wants to meet me? Not sure if I should fill flattered that whoever he is knows me .. or be disgusted that a scum is eager to meet me.." Johnny coldly says, perfectly maintaining a cold and confident compulsore. Then, he slowly walks, hands in pockets, towards Condos, and apparently, to where he would meet that man.