No escape: Karasu attacks an island filled with pirates. ((Open to all, marines and pirates alike)).

The island is a desert with a few towns scattered across the plains. Each town has an old western feel to them, since the doors to bars are walk through (basically) and there isn't much that isn't made of wood. Horses are the norm to travel across these towns, and roads are not used. Crime exists in every town. Many pirates decide to stay in this island because most marines consider the island unsafe and not worth the trouble it causes trying to liberate it. That doesn't stop some marines from showing up every once in awhile to grab a few pirates. The islands heat is constant, and mirages are common to the people traveling in the desert. Each of the towns are city sized, but they are still called towns because.. well, it's hard to call something a city when there isn't anything modern inside of it (or taller then two stories), besides.. all the cowboys residents are calling the cities towns so why the faq not .

Karasu drank inside the bar known to attract the deadliest pirates. Karasu didn't taste anything he ate or drank, but it was nice feeling the drink move down his throat. It satisfied his thirst. Karasu looked around the bar and looked for someone to bring in for his bounty. Karasu needed money, after all, and he needed a lot of it. Business was slow these days, since not many people could hire Karasu and his prices for killing enemies. One thing the town hasn't noticed since Karasu's arrival, however, is the sudden disappearance of Karasu's wanted posters. Karasu and his vulture made sure to get every poster from the town they were currently in. After gathering every poster Karasu burned them, and walked around unnoticed. Bounty hunters will need to bring their own wanted posters to know who Karasu was, not that it was hard to recognize his face after the person saw Karasu's bounty.

He waited, and watched the room for any potential prey or allies.

"Oh my..." said a short man, dressed in blue colors, while drinking some whiskey. "Why... Why... Why?" he mumbled, as if he was somewhat drunk. "Everyone got a week off except from me... That was so unfair..." he whispered, making a few people around listen to him. "For an accident. It really was an accident!" he kept speaking with a low voice and then he closed his eyes for a few moments, thinking of what happened that made him stay all alone inside that dangerous bar that was filled with pirates.

[Flashback]

The short and fat man with the blue clothes is moving across a town along with a few people. He is walking with difficulty, indicating that he was quite drunk, much like he was inside the bar that he happened to coincidentally be along with Karasu. However, while walking along with those people, he speaks a few words that make everybody pay attention at him.

"Hik! Captain... Where are those pirates? I am bored of searching for them while hiding my identity to not make them escape!" he says, making everybody realize that he was a marine in a secret mission.

"Oh shit, not again Jinjen..." said the captain. Apparently, the man just made the mission much more difficult.

[Flashback ends]

"I made a mistake..." said Jinjen with a disappointed look on his face over the punishment. Apparently, the mission ended up well in the end, but Jinjen was actually punished for his stupidity and so he was now sent at the island of desert in order to inspect the place and see who were the pirates who were there, while the rest of his division were on vacation after the success of the previous mission that Jinjen almost ruined. "Those bastards are definitely drinking in a bar along with girls... And I am here..." said Jinjen while crying, making people from around stare at him with a weird look on their faces, the look that one used to show to people they deemed pitiful and pathetic.

Dagon hated deserts. He was leech fishman pirate for crying out loud. He loved liquids: water, rum, and blood. He walked into the bar just long enough to hear the marine, though he didn't know he was a marine, pity himself like a dog. Dagon hated people like him. He drank the last of his rum at threw it hard, directly towards the head of the marine. If it hit, it would do little more than a shallow cut and surprise him.

"If you made a mistake, then stop killing your liver and fix it, you moron!"

Ignoring any response the man made, he walked over the the one person who seemed not to care specifically about the scene he had just made. He sat down next to him.

"Barkeep, have any raw livestock? I also need some more rum."

Examining the room, he had just become the center of attention. Causing a scene, sitting down beside one of the strangest men in there, ordering fresh raw meat, being a fishman all together, and acting like he was just another customer walking in the door. People seemed not to care so much, however, and returned to their own conversations.

"Right, right, right... I will fix it... But first, I have to fix myself." said Jinjen right after getting hit by the glass of rum in the head, high just like before. "Bring me some more whiskey! Two glasses!" he raised his voice and dropped a few coins at the bartender, ordering two more glasses of whiskey. Then, by the time the bartender gave him the two glasses, he grabbed them and got up, moving towards the fishman. He stood right next to him and with a smile on his face, the face of a drunk, he spoke a few more words. "Here, fish. Your glass slipped off so I ordered you another one. Hik!" he said and handed over the glass of whiskey at the man, apparently ignoring the quiet man who was standing right next to the leech fishman.

"Thank you, you ever so generous man. How may I be of service? You did, after all, just save me the trouble of paying for my own drink. Just be careful. I am a leech, so I may drink your blood."

The warning was both a joke and exactly that: a warning. Blood was delicious. He had to have it. He needed it. It made him stronger. It was a drug to him: a steroid or stimulant... Or both. He drank half of his whiskey while waiting for him to respond. He was a very paranoid person by nature, however, and so he genuinely expected something to go amiss in mere moments. He was ready to "crunch" the blood out of anybody who should oppose him, or "slash" anyone who thought they could harm him. He almost wanted the fight to kill him, and he craved the fight as much as the blood; however, he also craved peace and time to enjoy the little things like he was.

Karasu sighed when he heard the drunk in the bar. Karasu didn't recognize the man's face, so he couldn't have a decent bounty on him. The fishman that yelled at the drunk decided to sit next to Karasu, he tried to sneak a peek at the fishman. It took Karasu a few seconds, but he recognized the man's face. His bounty was 30 million, his name was Shezmu Dragon. Karasu didn't know more then that. Karasu sighed when he continued to hear the conversation of the two men that stood oddly close. Karasu hid the noticeable scar on his left cheek with his left hand.

"I was hoping for a higher bounty to show up in this bar, but 30 million seems like a fair amount of belli.. wouldn't you agree, Shezmu Dagon?" Karasu didn't need to tell the fishman his current information, all it really did was warn the fishman of his current situation. Karasu has decided to make the fishman the target. With a quick whistle a black vulture burst through the ceiling and landed on Karasu's shoulder.

"I don't expect you to know who I am, so I won't bother with introductions.. but I need money, and you'll have to do."

"You're really going to go after me, a 30,000,000 bounty rookie? You must be pretty weak for that. This is the grandline, right? There plenty of places to find better... I wouldn't mind a little brawl though. It might be a bit fun."

Shift

Dagon lunged at the Man, fist raised and mouth open. He calculated his move. By using shift at such close proximity, it was nearly impossible to dodge him. His shift was nearly soru speed, making him appear to be a translucently blue blur when in motion even to the most experienced. His rings would pack quite a punch if the man didn't block, and even if he did, if he caught the fist he would be electrocuted. His rings had the power of the gura gura and the goro goro. Electricity and vibration. Generally, a super-shockwave. He liked to call them his "happy-buzzers". But that was merely a distraction. His real motive was the bite. If he could just get one bite, he would start increasing his healing rate and perhaps even paralyze his enemies left arm.

Dagon got a good look at Karasu's face during the lung, triggering his memory. Dagon wasn't exactly strong, but he was clever and resourceful. By giving him a heads-up, the enemy had just given the perfect opportunity to deal some damage. A normal child could kill a yonkou if the child had enough luck, intelligence, and the right opportunity. Dagon hoped he hadn't picked a fight with a soru-speed fighter. This enemy was obviously more experienced and this attack of his was nothing more than an escape tactic. The cornered rat will bit the cat and run between its legs; Dagon's only goal was to escape, which he could do if the enemy wasn't fast enough. Realizing the difference in power, he drew his knife, freshly soaked in the fat and oil of seakings and seacows hidden in the sheathe as a follow-up. Just one cut would cause a fat-fire.


(OOC: as explained IC, this is all tact, not power. For a good comparison of this situation, watch The Beautiful Suzuka vs Genkai in yu yu hakusho)

Karasu smiled when he heard the fishman talking. The moment the pirate said he didn't mind a brawl Karasu ordered his vulture to prepare itself. The fishman quickly turned itself and attempted a punch at Karasu, but before the fishman had even turned the vulture was preparing to defend. The fish that moved at Soru speeds was now going to make contact with the vulture's wings. Just before the fist pounded against the vulture's body the wings immediately turned to thousands of swords, small ones, that replaced the feathers. The vulture, though, was unharmed and the body seemed to be extremely hard. As hard as steel. The vulture, however, did fly backwards to the wall beside Karasu. Once the vulture slammed against the wall it immediately regained it's composure and made its way back to Karasu.

"I'm guessing you're not the 'strong' type, right?" Karasu sensed some vibrations. The attack seemed strong, but not strong enough to burst through steel. Unknown to Karasu, the attack came from the ring. When the wing turned to thousands of swords Karasu was hoping he'd cut the fist that connected to the wing. After the initial attack Karasu stood up and watched the opponent draw a knife. Karasu sighed, this man was going to use a knife on him? Karasu drew both of his pistols immediately and shot two powerful bullets with the strength of canons at the enemy. The attack had the power of a canon, but the size of a normal bullet.. this made the bullet the type to very easily penetrate flesh.

Karasu aimed the bullets at the enemies legs, attempting to handicap the pirate before he showed signs of wanting to escape. Weakening him is Karasu's priority.. but if he gets out of hand, then Karasu will have to go the extra step. Currently the enemy was point blank from Karasu, and the reaction Karasu had to his attack took less then a second. Since Shezmu only showed quick speed, Karasu was hoping the rookies lack of experience would mean he didn't have a fast 'reaction' like Karasu had as an ability. Even the fastest man in the world can get hit by an average man swinging a bat if his reactions to the attack are average. A speeding bullet is in a different level. So far all Karasu saw in the opponent was a fast speed, Karasu only hoped his reaction wasn't as fast.

Right after the attack Karasu made he stepped back and shot fourty more bullets throughout the room. These were normal bullets, but with piercing potential compared to the unusually round bullets used with average gun slingers in one piece. If Shezmu held still only 4 bullets will connect with him, the other bullets moved around the room.

Dagon was inexperienced, but talented. Whent he vulture turned to swords, he turned his punch into a jab, only making contact with the rings. He knew the lunge to avoid the shots to his legs but he couldn't stop the ones toward his torso. He deflected the one closest to his arteries and turned enough that the other bullet only hit his deltoid, taking a huge chunk of the muscle with him. He tossed the knife to his good arm, the one with the rings, and lunged again at karasu. He punched with his hand again, this time knife to the outside. He tried, once more, to bite karasu while following witht he punch and knife as back-up. Expecting the bird to deflect, he was prepared to twist his wrist and strike the bird with the now ignited blade. He knew it wouldn't do much, but if the bird bled he could use the blood.

Judo Strike

Increasing his strength and speed threefold in a single instant, he struck with all of his might knowing that this increase also decreased his agility and that if this didn't work he would severly wounded; however, he was prepared to drain the blood of a bystander if needed to heal himself. Just because it is more efficient to do it to the enemy doesn't mean that he won't make exceptions. He needed blood. He needed to kill.

"Give me your BLOOD!!!"

After the opponents first defense against Karasu's vulture, he saw that the hardness of the vulture's wings wasn't enough to fight this opponent. The fishman apparently had no problem changing his ways of attacking mid-way through a swing, which meant that the surprise of Steel (Karasu's vulture) is not going to be very effective.. not unless he suddenly became too fast to control himself. When the fishman lunged at Karasu with his dagger, at near Soru speed, an opportunity arose. The fishman swung at Karasu, and it looked like Karasu was sliced in half for a second. But less then a second later a continuous barrage of shots (picture the sounds of 10-20 pistols being fired at around the same time) started to surround the opponent. Karasu was moving at such a speed around the fishman that he was leaving after images. At the same time he was firing rounds from every direction. One thing opponents usually notice at this point is that Karasu isn't reloading, no matter how many times he shoots.

The opponent tried to turn into a stronger form and attack Karasu right after he disappeared and started moving at Soru speeds around the opponent. Instead, however, the fishman hit nothing but an illusion. Shots were continued to be fired every second the fishman was stuck in the middle of Karasu's death circle. Shots were aimed at his legs, arms, chest, and anything he could hit that isn't close to the mid-sagittal plane of the body. Some of the shots, however, were aimed at the fishman's chest.. but the right area, and others were aimed at his shoulders. Even if Karasu punctured a lung, getting the opponent immobilized was the first priority. The vulture stayed in the air above the fishman. He was making sure the fishman wasn't flying out of the technique Karasu created. It was a bar, after all, the ceiling wasn't very far from their heads.. even if the fishman tried to fly away, nothing stopped Karasu from shooting at the fishman while his back was turned from Karasu. From this close distance, it'd be hard to miss such a shot.

Unknown to the opponent, Karasu's eyes were now closed.. Karasu was in his total silence state.

In the moment he took to increase his power, he had missed his chance. Dagon should have powered up from the beginning against such a powerful opponent. As a reflex, he activated his signature technique.

Slash

Dagon deflected the bullets at his chest, all entering his arms instead, while the other bullets flew at him. But he knew he had to act fast. While making his reflex, the pain of the first several milliseconds of bullets pushed his conscious mind to the max. What could he do to survive this? He could heal himself, reduce damage, or avoid damage; he chose the latter.

Judo Flip

Switching from strength and speed to agility and balance, his shift technique became a sort of dance the flitted around Karasu's bullets, only grazing him at best, while using gentle taps from his Slash to deflect bullets that he could not avoid AND would hit a vital area. At this point, his best bet was merely to wait for Karasu to end this relentless barrage so that he could drain someone of blood and heal himself. After deciding his plan completely, a full quarter second, he noticed, had passed. As soon as this hit, the pain started to hit him. He remained cold and calculating so he had only been ignoring the agony for a moment, he realized, as opposed to adrenaline numbing him. Suddenly he was in a panic. Still no adrenaline.

*Stop it you bastard, let me have half a second to eat someone. I need blood. I need blood! I Need Blood. I Need Blood! I NEED BLOOD!!*

"BLOOD!!!"


(OOC: I just realized that karasu's total silence weakens him in the aspect of sound, so I'd like to point out that when he exclaimed "BLOOD!!!", he was screaming as loud as physically possible for a leech fishman to yell. Since it is a very lop-sided battle for obvious reasons, I felt the need to point out the minor details just to give my weakling-in-comparison some degree of chance of at least getting a hit on karasu, since actually hurting him is way out of the ballpark lol)

"Hik! Hik! Those two... I didn't even know they had bounties on their heads... If the boss finds that out, I will be scolded... Oh shit, oh shit... What will I do? OH SHIT! THAT GUY IS... KARASU AMMO?!" said Jinjen as he snapped out of his drunk situation by the time he realized that Karasu Ammo, the former Warlord and now pirate with a bounty of 250,000,000 Beri was standing right next to him before. And not only that, but he was also fighting against that leech fishman who seemed to be having a bounty of 30,000,000 Beri on his head, making him another strong combatant.

"Damn it... I can't relax even in this remoted place..." thought Jinjen and gulped, as he looked at the pirates who were battling with each other. While Karasu seemed to be having a quite easy time against Dagon, the leech fishman from his side seemed to suffering as the former Warlord did not only have the strength that was necessary for a Warlord, but something more. And that was more easily understood especially when Karasu's bullets pierced through the arms of the fishman, making him suffer in pain due to the luck of adrenaline that he yet had.

"That guy... He is a leech fishman... He needs blood in order to heal..." thought Jinjen afterwards. "I could give him my blood if he has a chance against Karasu, but that is way too naive. If I do so, I might end up being the one who is going to be killed. On the other hand, if I tag along with Karasu and help him, I will actually have more chances to get out of this unharmed. After all, that leech is in a pinch. He won't stand for long if he gets attacked by two people at the same time." he whispered while speaking, making only a few people who were around listen to him. "Okay... I made up my mind." thought Jinjen afterwards, as he curled himself, making his body looks like a blue ball and started spinning and rolling around himself. What was Jinjen going to do?

Karasu heard everything Jinjin whispered to himself. Now Karasu knew that the drunk knew Karasu's bounty, among other things. Apparently the marine/bounty hunter knew that the fishman was a leech fishman, and that he needed blood for.. something. Were these some of the things Marines learned? Or was this a pirate with better then average knowledge that made an observation?  Karasu smirked while moving around the body that was now moving around Karasu's bullets. Karasu could try to end this bar fight while he still had the upper hand. Apparently the other person was contemplating whether or not to help Karasu or Dagon. Either way, Karasu didn't want the marine/pirate to interfere with his bounty. Marines were known to attack pirates and put them in prison, that means that pirate that was caught is now in a cell and nobody got his bounty as a reward.
 
Like most things, this ran in Karasu's mind in less then a second while he was shooting at the fishman. Karasu had two choices, either attempt to defeat this fishman and ask the marine/pirate questions or attempt to defeat both of them and ask questions later. Karasu then heard a scream coming from the fishman in front of him, it was a shocker but not nearly loud enough to create havoc on Karasu. The effects doubled, which meant that it was an unusually loud scream to Karasu.. but not enough to make his ears ring. While Dagon was waiting for an opportunity to escape (a dramatic pause that never happened) Karasu was now convinced to not allow him to escape and get blood. Thanks to the marine, Karasu now knew that the fishman needed blood to get an advantage in the fight. Karasu wasn't going to let a prey stand longer then he has too.
 
Suddenly a voice echoed in the room, the opponents that have heard this in the past don't have a good memory from it.. in fact, this is how Karasu helped a pirate escape from the clutches of an admiral and his crew.
 
"Blizzard Bullet Stance."
 
Suddenly the bullets directions changed all together. Karasu still aimed at the legs and arms of the opponent, and his bullets still tried to immobilize him.. but this time it was different. Karasu shot several bullets that aimed at the body of the fishman, and others that were aimed at the ground. Suddenly ice cold air started to pop in every direction on the ground. Karasu then curved his own bullets to clash with other airborne bullets causing an explosion of air that freezes everything it touches around the fishman's body, but mostly around his limbs. Karasu maintained a fair distance from the blast of the bullets, but still felt the chilling air that it gave off. To the fishman it would look like the bullets were exploding on their own, because the bullets were in fact clashing on each other and using both of their combined ice air explosions. Karasu didn't shoot normal bullets anymore, he shot blizzard bullets.
 
Karasu was also realizing that the opponent was fighting strangely well for a rookie. The last time he fought a rookie crew he was able to easily send all of them to jail. That crew had a fire logia user. This man was doing fairer then them.. but why was Karasu thinking about this? If he were an assassin Karasu wouldn't think twice about attempting to hire him. But all Karasu knew about this fishman was his bounty.
 

Blizzard Bullet Stance:

Dagon was still dodging the bullets whent he first one he deflected of this new wave froze his claws. He new the exact type of technique this was: he performed his own version as well.

Deep Eruption

His entire body heated for merely a second to melt the new ice, but then he reversed the technique to preserve calories.

Deep Freeze

His skin became as cold as ice while his internal organs thrives in the heat, realizing he had nothing left to offer. He fell into a despair. He was going to die in battle against some stranger without even getting a drop of blood. He couldn't allow it to happen. He had to have some blood. Dagon shifted straight through the bullets and knowing he was not faster than Karasu he knew he wouldn't make it to the a person. He had no choice however.

Crunch

Using his own blood as a medium as to prevent it from being frozen, Dagon shot his "second tongue" out at the bartender, instantly killing the man, and draining his blood slowly. He felt as the wounds healed slightly but not enough. He had already gone into "Deep Freeze" to keep himself from being frozen, he couldn't use his "Deep Extension" to heal at this point. Expecting karasu to stop him at any moment he made judgment call. He used the new man attached to his "second tongue" as a shield while drain his blood. It wouldn't be a powerful shield but he hoped it would by him enough time to heal. Somewhere, in the back of his head, he heard a voice say: Just run away. He's not that interested in you. You don't need his blood. Run. Save yourself. Though it might have been obvious to any fighter he was contemplating his own death, he didn't care about death more than the way he died. He decided is karasue didn't defeat him now, finally overwhelm him and put some power behind the fight he would kill every single person in the bar before his death, excluding his opponent. He prepared his good arm to kill all the weak civilians by returning his blade to its sheathe and then stabing it into his human shield. He threw it boomerang style to behead the ten men closest to the door, thre elderly women, and a small cat on the windowsill. If karasu didn't deflect it, it would ignite on impact with the building and start to burn it to the ground

(OOC: Thinking about how much time has been spent, this battle has only lasted about 8-12 seconds. Even though Dagon is doing well, it is still only a short amount of time and this short time passing means that almost no one has escaped the bar quite yet. And now for whatever respons you have, I'll point out he is also at his last limb now.)

Karasu saw the fishman defend itself from his blizzard bullets by first melting the near frozen ice then somehow withstanding the attack. Suddenly the fishman attempted to strike the bartender, Karasu didn't do anything to stop him to see the effects of the fishman drinking blood. Karasu could hear the ice melting, and heard the crackling sound of ice touching the already cold body. The opponent was very strong, apparently, when it came to temperature changes. Karasu smiled when the opponent tried to defend himself by using the body he grabbed and apparently attacked, considering Karasu couldn't hear the man's heart pumping anymore. Karasu then heard the sound of blood rushing through a thin object, a tongue? The opponent didn't seem stronger from the way he was trying to hold the body, but whatever it was... Karasu didn't like it. Maybe it was his imagination, but the fishman seemed a little healthier then he was a few moments ago. Either way, he'd have to ask the fishman after he was defeated.
 
Karasu aimed his pistols at the bartender in front of the fishman and shot 3 bullets. Almost immediately the body was frozen, the first shot froze the first half of the body, and the second shot froze the second half. The third shot completely froze the insides of the body as well... including the blood. Karasu continued to shoot a few more bullets, all near instantly (fast trigger fingers) and then decided to focus his attention at the rest of the room. If the pirate went after the bartender and killed him so easily for his blood, then the leech really needs it. That meant, unfortunately, that everyone had to die. Karasu used his pistols to shoot at every person in the bar, every pirate, old lady (?) and adult. A barrage of bullets hit every body in the bar and froze them. It was obvious that the fishman would attack the other people if he attacked the bartender for his blood. It was obvious he needed the blood, and he wasn't going to get it from Karasu. All of the people in the bar, except the marine whom was also fired at with 2 bullets, were frozen completely (including their blood which was now crackable), and brittle to the touch. Each of them looked like they were in fear. Karasu knew they were all going to die by the fishman anyways, considering it was hard to defend people while attacking an opponent at the same time.. Karasu has no room for weakness.
 
Karasu fired at all of the people in a bar in a split second by curving his bullets while seemingly aiming for the fishman. However, he could hear every heartbeat in the room before he fired, which meant he never had to turn and shoot or even look at the people in the bar to confirm their locations. Before the fishman had a chance to act and burn all of them, they were all dead.. frozen even.
 
The fishman then attempted to attack the group around him with a small weapon, Karasu confirmed this by hearing the blade swing through the wind. It was small.. so it wasn't a sword, but it was larger then an average knife. Karasu horridly aimed at the object with one pistol while still aiming at the enemy with the other. In a second Karasu shot a curving bullet, a bullet with the strength of a canon, and slammed against the handle forcing it to curve in another direction (Note: Karasu's Blizzard Bullet Stance is now inactive). The Knife then stuck itself on the ceiling, where it started to set fire to the roof. Karasu, however, didn't seem fazed by this. He was confused at first, but the knife seemed to have the ability to catch things on fire. This was interesting. Karasu aimed at the fire with the same pistol he used to deflect the boomerang knife and shot a spiraling bullet into the fire. The technique completely extinguished the flames before it did any real damage to the bar. The bullet that was fired then bounced off the wooded ceiling and fell on the floor next to Karasu.
 
With all of the bodies now frozen, save for the marines (most likely) he continued to walk towards the fishman. Karasu's vulture landed on his shoulder again, this time it expanded its wings so that it took most of the space in front of the pirate. The wing turned its feathers into blades and waited for orders from Karasu, but they never came.
 
"Tsk Tsk, you are worth a lot more then your bounty.. much like myself. You gave me more trouble then I deserve for 30 million belli. Don't get me wrong, with that much money I could buy a mansion and everyone working inside.. but it's not enough. Dagon, before I decide what I do with you and the drunk behind me, I want to know something. What or why are you here, what is your purpose in life.. and what do you do these days that helps you survive."
 
The questions seemed random, but Karasu had a plan depending on the answers.
 

Karasu's plan:

 
Karasu then talked to the marine/pirate behind him, whom might still be preparing for an attack or attacking. If the marine tried to attack Karasu then the king of assassin's will attempt to counter (next post it will be explained if the marine decides to attack). "I'd like to know your reason for being here too, drunk. If you're here as a marine, tell me now so I can give you a message.. if you're a pirate, I'd like to know your bounty. If you tell me your bounty and turn yourself in, I'll let you live."

Deep Extension

"I am here because this is an island with living people that have blood I can drink. As for my reason for living, I was once a slave. I hated the dragons who enslaved me, so I killed all their slave drivers and ran. They didn't have neough time to brand me, so they didn't have enough time to learn who I was. Ever since I decided I would kill every person I don't like. I don't like the unjust who have authority, the criminals who have no degree of intellect, and the heroes who use their actions for ulterior motives. I want to be remembered in history as the tyrant who killed tyrants. I want to be known as the man who brought the world to its knees and then took his own life to liberate them from their slavery. My purpose in life is to kill the emperial dragons, and anyone who gets in my way. To survive, I feast on the blood of people who are not children. I will not kill a child."

After his little speech, Karasu probably noticed that Dagon at this point was completely healed. He had been as wordy as he could, as if giving a speech, in order to use his life return for healing. He had, although, drained all but 500 calories in his body. He wasn't paying attention, but he looked like he was starving by the point. If they were to fight again he wouldn't be able to deflect a single bullet. He barely had enough energy to move around. That is when he remembered his knife.

Float

He floated using fishman karate to retrieve his blade and the moment he grabbed the hilt, the water on his back fell, and he did too. Healthy as he was, he was completely drained. He sheathed his blade and waited, expected his execution.

"Before you kill me, can I get some rum? I ran out before I got here and that drunk only gave me whiskey."

Seeing that both Karasu and Dagon were going with quite dangerous attacks, Jinjen gulped while still curled. Apparently, those two people were causing a big mess in the bar. While Dagon was attacking people in the bar in order to leech their blood and heal himself, Karasu would use his Blizzard Bullet Stance in order to freeze them completely so that Dagon could not take advantage of their blood. A strategist, indeed, Karasu managed to froze all the people in the bar... All except from one. Jinjen. While the bullets were moving towards him, the man would slightly roll his body with seemingly random movements, making him look as if he dodged the attacks with his sheer luck.

"Oh shit, oh shit!!! I am in trouble!!!" said Jinjen while dodging the bullets, still rolling around his body while speaking. "Phew... I am still alive!" he yelled happy, despite the fact that a massacre had just taken place around the area. "That guy, Karasu... He is a monster that nobody should mess with... I should stick to my original plan..." he thought, before listening to the words of the former Warlord who was speaking to him. Apparently, from the looks of the question, the pirate assassin was asking the marine about his identity. He wanted to know whether he was a pirate or a marine so that he would know how to act based on the answer. Of course, if he was a pirate and surrendered, Jinjen would have little to no trouble... Karasu was a man who worked with contracts and by extension his promise of not harming Jinjen would not be broken. However, Jinjen was not a pirate... He was a marine. And if Karasu found that out, he said that he would give a message to the force... That was what Jinjen did not know. Was that message a real message or a bullet through Jinjen's head?

Jinjen realized that he could not give an answer to the former Warlord. Both answers would bring trouble to him. That was what made Jinjen start thinking about lying at the Warlord. He could lie... He could claim that he was a pirate so that he would simply be caught and later given to the authorities. However, nobody could guarantee him that Karasu would not find out about his constant lying and execute him on the spot. Karasu... That guy was really something... Even his pressence made the alcoholic marine think in such a complex way in a few seconds. At least he could realize now that not all the Warlords were chosen without any real standards. The pirate was a beast in terms of strength and mind, a person who could really have a chance to become the Pirate King. One of the few canditates after Anubis Neferiti, Roberto D. Wally, Samakage Iken and Maximillion Maimou.

"I really wish I was a bounty hunter at this point..." whispered Jinjen who was still rolling around himself and then he instantly rolled with great speed outside the bar, with such force that reached superhuman levels in terms of speed. The rolling movement Jinjen performed made him break through one of the bar's walls and move a great distance outside the bar. "Instant Rollout!" he said as he rolled. Apparently, while rolling around himself all this time, Jinjen was building up momentum in order to increase the force and the speed of the rolling attack. As a result, he made a quick escape from the spot, separating himself from the other two men who were still fighting. "I really wish he concentrates on that leech..." said Jinjen after his rolling movement stopped and then he started rolling around himself once more, building up momentum for a second rolling technique in order to move away in case Karasu and Dagon decided to follow him.

"I have to be calm..." he thought, while rolling around himself, prepared for another swift roll to reach a greater distance from the two dangerous individuals.

Karasu heard the pirate's story, and couldn't help but smile at the fishman's background. He had a good goal, unlike most pirates in the ocean, but he apparently used the blood of innocents to survive.. however, he can't use the blood of children because of his moral code. Karasu was once like that, a pirate assassin with a moral code. He left the code behind, and became a real assassin for hire.. but looking at the fishman brought a hint of interest in Karasu. The former opponent also seemed skinny, and for lack of a better word, skin and bones. The other thing that interested Karasu was that the fishman wanted to kill the celestial dragons, this was a very big goal.. and it was one that Karasu unfortunately couldn't be a part of. His initial plan was once to kill the Celestial Dragons, but that was a long time ago. However, Karasu admired that the fishman held a grudge against them, since revenge was the essence of his business. Karasu also couldn't deny that seeing every celestial dragon dead would put a smile on his face. If anyone deserved death, they did.
 
The marine answered the question, even if he himself didn't know it. Karasu was still in his Total Silence state, in other words, he heard the marine talking to himself even if it was a whisper. He mentioned that he wished he was a bounty hunter at this point, which confirmed that he was indeed a marine. A pirate could become a bounty hunter at any point and time, marines has their moral code and could not collect bounties. Pirates would lie and say they were bounty hunters with a bounty, maybe even try to lie to Karasu.. but in vain. Unlike most people, Karasu has a den den mushi on him from his ship, he can contact his base in Dark Isle and confirm the name the pirate gave, the bounty, and even see the wanted poster of the individual. If anything came back fishy then Karasu would instantly kill or try to get the answers from the liar. The now confirmed marine rolled out of the bar after slamming into the wall and rolling away. Karasu talked into his den den mushi.
 
"Tough, Grace, there's a rolling marine that might be undercover.. he's rolling, you can't miss him. I want you to give him a message. Tell him, "Karasu would like to join the shichibukai once more, for business." That marine doesn't need to know any more then that, explain that I'd rather talk to someone that has a high rank in the marines.. the minimum is a vice admiral, but I'd rather talk to an admiral or the fleet himself."
 
Suddenly,
A man ran through the dried up streets of the town/city using Soru. But, he was running in the direction of the collection of dust that was moving behind an object that seemed to be rolling in extremely fast speeds. When the object suddenly made a sharp turn this man also followed it. This turned into a high-speed chase. The man with long black hair then talked into his den den mushi

"Tough, stop at D-3 and turn towards the east.. he's heading right towards you without a shred of elegance! Such speed, but execution gives him a 6/10 in my score."
 
Tough was already in position and nearly face-palmed when he heard his partner speak. "Grace, focus on the F#$%ing job." Suddenly Tough saw an object in the distance getting closer and closer by the second. Tough readied himself for an impact by using omega tekkai to harden the muscles in his body beyond the limits of tekkai. It looked like he was going to get rammed by the spiraling ball. Grace, however, was right behind the marine. He shot shigan bullets from his fingers to try and pierce through the enemy and cause bullet-like wounds and slow him down. Tough tried to yell at the marine.
 
"STOP RUNNING!! Karasu has a message for you. Don't you want a candidate for shichibukai?!"
 
Meanwhile, with Karasu and the fishman in the bar,

Karasu saw the seemingly starving fishman and walked to the other side of the barstool, where the bartender usually served food and drinks. Karasu opened his eyes and shot a lock holding some of the food and rations inside. He took out some of the food from inside, including meat, fruits, and spices to add to the meat. Now, something the fishman didn't know about Karasu was his horrible cooking. Karasu has a horrible cooking sense, and his crew has suffered in long voyages because of it. The only thing Karasu could make decently is pancakes.. and the person that taught it to him has disappeared. To show Karasu's lack of cooking knowledge, he tried to serve the food for the fishman.. without realizing that the fishman was a cook. Karasu is oblivious to the fact that he is a horrible cook, even his crewmates have said nothing to him about his meals tasting like barf.

Karasu took the meat and attempted to cut it with a nearby knife he found that was apparently soaked in blood. Karasu didn't mind the blood, so he used it to cut the meat in amateur slices. Karasu then threw the meat in water, like he saw others do, and boiled it. He added no spices, and didn't gut the dead animal with no fur. Karasu then threw some fruits inside and swirled everything around. The fruits weren't cut, just dumped inside. When the soup was done he gave the fishman the entire dish and waited for him to dig into the food in anticipation. Karasu secretly curled his fingers, knowing that the last person that are his cooking threw up.. obviously because he was sick to his stomach, he also sat on the toilet for days.

If the fishman decided to cook himself some food Karasu wouldn't argue, considering it would show that the crew finally had someone to cook for them that wasn't Karasu. Even Karasu knows that having a cook meant the group would like his food better then an amateurs (Like Karasu).

"So I suppose you're not going to kill me?"

Dagon was surprised that this man had just turned down a chance at a point blank shot to go over to the bar. He had completely forgotten about the drunk until Karasu addressed him and he fled. He had little idea what was going on at that point. When he smelled the food, he came to a conclusion.

"Oh, you're going to kill me with food are you? I'd rather eat mango and peach pie made with sea water fish-bone bread-dough. I'll cook some chow."

Dagon got up and went to the back room, where he found a lamb all by itself. It was fattened, and not scared of him. This was a pet lamb of the bartender's, no doubt. He chopped of the head and limbs of the lamb over its empy food barrel and took the carcass to the cooling station. He added sea water to the drained blood of the lamb, added some nearby apple cider, and three gallons of rum. As to attest to his cooking abilities, he extracted the bones and bone marrow a ground it up in some nearby poisons, and mixed it with brown liquor, causing a reaction and the resulting chemicals were what he called bone film and bone salt. He threw the bone salt into the blood mixture, and dumped it all into an over-sized metal pot and sealed it while it boiled. He wreturned to the food station, where he took his bone film and stretched it out, placing all of the organs and bad meats into it. He added some nearby bourbon and garlic and let it broil in the large tea-kettle. He prepared the rest of the lamb's meats into a stir-fry using the remaining blood as a sauce, thickening it with sugar, raw pepper, sea-salt, ground herb, and hot sauce. He quickly grilled the stir-fry, and let is simmer while he finished the broth for the broil by adding sweetened concord-wine over top of it, with several friend vegetabled and as a finish touch, he adding sea-king and sea-cow fat over the two meat dishes. He took the drink of the boil and returned to place hib stiry fry on two wooden plates. He added a nearby roll to each plate, and quickly used his knife to chop and fry nearby potatos into potato wedges, simmered in fat and spices from everything he had been chopping. He placed them on both plates and then placed his soup pot and all on the bar, quickly chopped up the haggis inside, frying what uncooked was left, and then he quickly stirred and served the soup in two nearby porcelain bowls. He poured his signature rum into two tankards made of tin.

"The one thing I enjoyed aboutthe celestial dragons is their food. On my escape, I saw one arguing with his servant that the food wasn't good enough. When I went into the kitchen, I saw some of the best recipes and skills of cooking in the world. I mimic their food by adding my own touches from my years of survival. Guarantee you won't find tastier food that has ay health value."

He sat on his bar seat and grabbed a wooden spoon and steel fork.

"Sea devil, I thank you for your hell and power for giving me the opportunity to kill again."

He started eating his food. He personally didn't like it as much as normal because he made it appeal to the tastes of normal human beings as opposed to blood suckers this go around.

"He will definitely send men after me... I have to think of something smart to get rid of them or..." thought Jinjen while rolling and immediately after he did so, he noticed the track of two men from behind and from the front, two dangerous looking men and strong individuals indeed. Apparently, they looked as if they were following him and so Jinjen could not think of anything else except from that they were members of the Dark Isle Assassins, in other words, Karasu's henchmen. The more the seconds passed, the closer they were coming and eventually the rolling marine ended up in the middle of the path between these two pirate assassins, probably something scary for a marine like himself...

"What am I going to do?! What am I going to do?!" said Jinjen with a loud voice, seemingly scared. By that time, one of the two assassins, Grace, was piercing the air with his Shigan technique and as a result, he was launching several air bullets that were about to pierce through his body if they hit him of course. The seconds that passed, even if Jinjen was at first dodging a few of the air bullets, he realized that he had to stop rolling if he wanted to escape from the incoming barrage of the numerous air-based shigan attacks that would threaten his life. "I guess I have no choice!" said Jinjen as his rolling, curled body jumped high on the air, a very big distance higher from the land he was rolling on before, making him look like he was bouncing. He jumped high on the air, still curled and when he reached the top distance he could reach, he finally stopped curling himself, taking his original stance when he did not did so. The next seconds, he would land on the ground gracefully, standing on his two feet and staring at the two potential enemies, depending on how the discussion would go.

"I see you have a proposition for the marines, huh?" asked Jinjen to the assassin who asked him whether the marines needed a member for the seven royal warlords or not. "Then in that case..." he said and he started spinning around himself for a few seconds very quickly to the point that what he did could not be seen. However, by the time he stopped doing so, all his clothes were dropped away and instead, a new uniform was seen being worn on his body. His frail and fat body was covered with his standard marine uniform and a dark blue cap he wore on his head with the marine symbol printed on it, in white color. However, his appearance slightly differed from that of most marines as he also wore a long navy blue coat that reaches his knees, which he keeps open most of the times, making Jinjen look like a detective.

[Introduction Box]
[Jinjen Jinden]
[Marine Ensign...]

"In that case, I have to look like a marine, like I am of course." he explained what he did. "So... Mr. Ammo wants to be brought back into the Shichibukai, huh?" he asked, making himself look stupid as Tough's words clearly indicated that. "Then in that case..." he continued speaking "I have to drink some alcohol. Hik!" he finished talking while grabbing a small bottle of whiskey he was hiding below his clothes, drinking a few drops of it. Jinjen was a weird guy for sure!

[OOC: Something small, Grace is the one that shot the bullet shigans, not Tough, also Karasu becoming shichibukai won't be official in this thread, depending on what happens on the next thread I'll throw Karasu in to see if he gets the title. If not then I'll have Karasu refuse at the last minute IC.]

Karasu watched Dagon create a meal that got even Karasu's stomach rumbling.. and he doesn't even have taste buds! Karasu watched the complicated steps the fishman took to creating his meals, which he apparently learned while he was with the celestial dragons. This made things more interesting, since now the fishman was someone that Karasu could use in the crew in terms of both strength and.. well, food. Karasu didn't mind stepping back and watching the fishman do the entire food. When he served it Karasu couldn't help but take small bites from the dinner and acknowledge how well it looked and smelled.. however, Karasu still couldn't taste it. Karasu then smiled when he heard the man's prayer before eating, he was thanking the sea devil. A smirk came across Karasu's face, this fishman was interesting. Karasu dug in and waited, he felt like he had forgotten something... perhaps someone else who was in the island? Perhaps there were people he forgot to tell or leave a notice to Karasu's current whereabouts? Either way, Karasu didn't remember and he didn't care. However, the feeling did not leave.. Karasu felt like he had forgotten about someone.
 
When Karasu finished the meal he  turned to face Dagon. "The reason you and I are like this is because I have a favor to ask of you. In exchange for not turning you in, I want you to join my crew. Just remember that the day you attack the celestial dragons is the day I can no longer see you in public. I might be shichibukai by then, and if I'm not then I'll probably be helping you. I have my reasons for attempting to become one, but if you want to get close to the nobles then being part of a pirate crew that can one day meet them in person can't make it any easier."

Meanwhile, with Grace and Tough
 
"Karasu Ammo has decided to help the marines, in exchange for business. He'd like to talk to a high ranking marine; a good example for this is an admiral." Grace spoke after stopping. The weird marine then started to drink. He dodged Grace's bullet shigan earlier, and stopped before hitting Tough directly during his omega tekkai. So far this marine seemed strong, perhaps he was a captain? Grace didn't want to ask, mostly because the man's style of fighting was anything but elegant. Rolling had no elegance in it. Grace and Tough waited for an answer, perhaps the marine could show them to someone that could negotiate Karasu's terms for joining the warlords of the sea.

"I'm more than willing to join such a powerful rival in piracy; though you may ally yourself with my foes at some point, I shall forgive you and should I fail, I expect you to take no liability for yourself. I agree that the day I raise my hand against them is the day I forfeit my ties to this crew and you; moreover, should I fail I expect you to be the one to kill me in public execution. This way, you will not only have no fault of your own, but the government shall begin to trust you further."

He finished gulping down soup and ate the last of his stir fry; he sipped his tankard to further his self accomplishment. This rum he brewed wasn't made for taste: it was made for texture, appearance, and smell; moreover, it was extremely healthy, despite being an alcoholic drink. He picked up the wool from the lamb and quickly chopped it into a thick white spice.

"Finely ground wool ignites instantly. Soaked in the fat I use to ignite my blade, it can become a deadly weapon capable of starting a full fire in moments."

He tossed the wool towards karasu after placing it in the jar the old lady had carried her wooden teeth in.

"Why is someone as strong as you around here anyway?"

"I see, I see... Hik!" said Jinjen while walking around the area without following a straight path, probably because he looked a little bit drunk. "If that... If that... If that... DAMN IT, IF THAT'S THE CASE I GUESS I CAN TALK TO A HIGHER OFFICER..." said Jinjen with a loud voice, not because he wanted to show some anger or anything over the two members of the Dark Isle assassins but because he was angry with himself as he had difficulties at speaking and expressing his thoughts. At least, that was how he looked.

Then, he fell on the ground for a moment and as he got up he placed his hand in one of his pockets. There was a Den Den Mushi in the pockets which he grabbed so that he could talk to somebody. He pressed a button on the Den Den Mushi and he called somebody... Pero pero... Pero pero... Pero pero... Pero pero... The annoying voice of the Den Den Mushi was heard, hitting on Jinjen's sensitive nerves because of his drunk state, but the marine would not say anything more as he did not want to make the two assassins angry.

Suddenly, a voice was heard. The voice was a quite calm voice and the appearance of the Den Den Mushi slightly changed, taking the appearance of the person whom Jinjen talked to. "Hello?" asked the voice behind the slug, which now took a quite weird appearance. Around its head there was a large hat that was consisting of several large feathers, much like these that tribes used to wear. The Slug also had sunglasses on its eyes. That man Jinjen was speaking with was really a peculiar man...

"That guy... Hik! That guy is not an admiral, but his authorities minor those of an admiral's... Hik!" whispered Jinjen to the two assassins and then he proceeded to his conversation with the mysterious man. "Hello! There are some people here who want to speak with you... Vice Admiral Vegas!" he spoke, a smile on his face while he was speaking.

Vice Admiral... Vegas?

Karasu nodded as the fishman agreed to join his crew, that meant that the man was now part of DIA (Dark Isle Assassins). With this the fishman could now choose one of the many missions the crew received, and possibly the government. Karasu smiled when he heard the fishman speak. He mentioned that if he were ever caught then it is Karasu that will kill him, which Karasu nodded effectively agreeing to this deal. Karasu continued speaking, however. "You're the first person that talked to me about his death, are you comfortable with the thought of dying? I want to say one thing at least, if I can help it.. I'd rather see you alive and declared dead then actually get killed. Just a random thought from an old soul."

Karasu then drank the Rum, and it felt great. The rum felt.. delectable, it wasn't an experience Karasu could express into words. The nice and smooth liquid moved down its throat, with the natural contractions of the esophagus taking over. The texture was nearly perfect, to the point where Karasu almost tasted something.. and Karasu almost felt healthier, but why? Karasu listened to Dagon, the 'fat' he was talking about seemed dangerous.

Then Dagon asked Karasu his reason for being in the island, "I'm here to collect money, but I'm out of luck.. no pirates are in this island with large amounts of bounties. Business in my island has been down as well, which means no money from contracts" Karasu fell into a brief silence. He hates his lack of money, a King of Assassins is SUPPOSED to be rich damn it.

Meanwhile with Tough and Grace,
Both of the assassins watched the drunk talk to the man in the other side of the den den mushi whom seemed to be a vice admiral. They didn't know what to say, but they knew they had to watch. They waited for Vice Admiral Vegas to talk, Tough looked impatient however.

"Well I suppose you could always freeze me. Leech fishman live in a valley so deep in the ocean that merfolk and young or weak fishfolk will freeze to death. We heal very thoroughly, making us very resistant to the cold. It could take days to fully freeze my skin, let along my entire body. I'd be able to heat myself free when the coast became clear. Honestly, I'd prefer death though. Less chance of the lie unravelling, seeing as how there wouldn't be a lie to be caught in. However, I would expect you to find someone to replace me in this world. A powerful pirate willing to become the greatest evil of all as to control evil and turn the world upside down, and then take his own life in the end as to establish a new world."

After finishing his response, dagon gulped the last of rum. He quickly searched through his memory for ways to make money. He immediately thought of two things: bounties. Himself, and a lone assassin making a crew on a nearby island. He is supposedly extremely powerful.

"Well, do you think if you turned me in and recommended that I be placed in level 5 of Impel Down, they would put me in there? You could explain the trouble I gave you, minus the natural talent in regard to temperature, and that my power is as high as your bounty. Exaggerate a bit. Say, if you hadn't been fastert than me I would have critically injured you. Perhaps I am nearly but not quite shichibukai level myself. Then, I break out. I break the bars with the knife, which will be hidden in my stomach. Fat fires melt steel afterall. And ever level beneath level 1 is underwater, right? That means I could break out through the walls, and have it fixed in no time... At least in level 5 where it is normal for the walls to be frozen together. You get a nice sum and I meet you at a place of your choice."

He decided after hearing karasu's answer he would respond with a variant option.

"As another option is that the island North Northwest of here has a lone assassin and a prison escapee. The assassin is someone you probably know. He had a bounty higher than mine before he even came to paradises. He currently has a bounty of 150 million. He is nicknamed the mudslide strangler. Maybe we could pay him and his friend a visit and use them for profit? We could even do both, perhaps? I escape Impel and go to that island to rendezvous with you. Perhaps I go to your island and wait for your return. There are plenty of opportunities you know. I'd use whatever contacts you have on him. They say no one lives long enough to speak about his devil fruit in action, but someone may know. It might help to prepare gainst him."

(OOC: Uzo Blackheart (nikz) has yet to post and Arden hasbeen inactive for some time now, making Drake's only crew-mate Tamako, who hasn't joined IC yet. If say everyone but Arden were to be thrown in Impel Down, you'd not only get more money but it would also solve my inactivity problem. Uzo would be back in Impel where he was originally, Drake would be in level 5 or 6, and Tamako would be somewhere. With drake's skill, he could stage a breakout, leaving his inactive crewmates behind and leaving with tamako. It would make a good thread too.)