A Storm Brewing

**Date Started:** November, 21st 2019.
**Date Completed:** February 27th, 2020
**Previous Role-Play**: N/A
**Next Role-Play**: A Bond Born of Fear
**Users Involved:** User:CoolBlackZ
**Setting:** Doro Island
**Characters Involved**:
* **Pirates**: Gale D. Joseph, Koga
* **Marines**: Raigo

## A Rookie's Debut

The beautiful morning sun shined brightly across the vast seas of the ​South Blue​ as a small boat was seen drifting across the ocean towards a nearby island. Standing on the boat with an excited look on his face was a blonde haired young man wearing a head band and outfitted in a loose silver jacket with a swirl on the back as he whistled when he spotted the approaching island.

"Looks like I've finally arrived" He grinned before gripping his fists tighter with an excited glint in his cerulean eyes. His name was Gale D. Joseph, though most people just called him Joey, and he had finally begun his life as a free pirate after setting out on his journey from his hometown, Loom Village that was located on Rize Island. It was something he had dreamed about since he was just a child and after hearing the stories about ​Monkey D. Luffy​, the Pirate King; Joey knew he that the life of a pirate was for him.

So here he was, aiming to challenge the Grand Line and in order to get started, Joey needed two very important things; a crew and a ship. The first one would be simple since there was no shortage of people wanting to become pirates across the world but the second one would be a bit trickier as he wasn't a shipwright nor did he possess much wealth at all to purchase his own ship.

"Guess I'll save the ship for a bit later. Right now, I should focus on finding some crew mates" He assured as his boat finally reached the dock of the island. Jumping off the boat, Joey tied a rope to a ground pole and secured it tightly before grabbing his bag full of belongings and began walking towards the source of civilization on the rather small island.

### Getting Information

"Doro Island. That's the name of the island your on right now. It's a rather small island compared to the other nearby ones and there aren't many attractions here so we don't get many tourists"

Those words came from a rough looking middle aged man who was cleaning a cup behind a bar table as Joey listened to his explanation from his seat in front of the bar. He arrived in this town shortly after docking on the island and sought out a bar to gather information regarding what was on this island and also if anyone powerful or skilled was here that would be interested in joining him.

The bar's name was the "Drunk Owl" and it got its name for its rather track record of plastering its customers with the finest alcohol on the island. There were numerous people spread out across the bar either drinking at their own tables or chatting each other up on the wall's as Joey took a brief glance around them, ignoring the flirtatious looks coming from a group of women sitting near the back table as he looked forward and eyed the bartender.

"You're new around here right? Where you from kid?" The bartender said as he gently placed the cup on a shelf and picked up another one.

Joey's eyebrows twitched in annoyance at how he was being referred to as "I'm not a kid"

The bartender chuckled "You look like one to me, so that's what I'll call you"

"Oh yeah?" Joey frowned but then smiled. Now this guy had done it "Pass me your strongest drink and I'll show why I'm not a kid"

The bartender snorted in amusement before he grabbed one of the cups and placed it under a barrel, opening the valve and filling it up with a purple liquid. He then placed the cup on the table and slid it over to Joey who grabbed it with a determined look on his face.

"It's on the house. Let's see you back up your tough talk *kid*" The bartender teased as Joey had heard enough and without a moment's hesitation, downed the drink in one gulp as the bartender whistled in surprise and a few cheers were heard around the room.

"Baaaah!" Joey slammed the drink back onto the table and flashed a cocky grin towards the bartender.

"Piece of cake"

The bartender inclined his head in approval, throwing his hands into the air as a sign of defeat.

"My bad, guess you're not a kid after all. I've seen men twice your age unable to handle a shot of that stuff" He complimented before picking the glass up and refilling it. He tossed it back to the young *man* and crossed his arms.

"You got a name then, *man*?" He teased.

"It's Joseph, asshole" He downed the second drink as easily as the first and wiped the liquid from his mouth with his sleeve. "Gale D. Joseph. Call me Joey. I'm a pirate and I'm looking to gather a crew and a ship and sail for the Grand Line"

"Oh really now?" The bartender didn't bother to hide his surprise as he examined the blonde haired youth from top to bottom. Striking yellow hair, a face woman would swoon over, good lean physique, and the disposition of a confident if not irritable leader.

"Strange. I definitely would have heard of a pirate with such a striking appearance. You must be a rookie then, no?"

Joey nodded. "Just set out a few weeks ago from my hometown and this is the first island I've reached"

"I see. You said your looking for crew mates on this island right? The only people you'll find on here willing to join a pirate crew are bandits and thieves, along with some mercenaries who hang around these parts"

Joey didn't seem pleased by that as he frowned. "Well that's a bummer. I'm looking for individuals who catch my eye and stand out, y'know? I'd rather have ten amazing people than a hundred average Joes. Tell me, is there anyone on this island you'd consider special or that possess weird abilities?"

The bartender raised an eyebrow at Joey's question.

"Weird abilities? Are you perhaps referring to those who have gained powers by eating a devil fruit?"

"Bingo" Joey winked as he shifted himself in his seat, hopeful that the bartender could aid in his search.

Instead, he was waived off by the bartender who looked incredulous towards Joey's question.

"Don't be crazy, there aren't any people like that around these parts. Do you know how rare it is to find people with those demonic powers in the South Blue? Sorry kid, your out of luck if-wait, actually there is someone but..." The bartender stopped his words short with a conflicted expression on his face, causing Joey to look at him quizzically.

"What's wrong?"

Realizing his mistake, the bartender shook his head.

"Forget about it" He began as he started cleaning another cup on the top shelf "If you're looking for special individuals, there's someone on this island who might catch your eye but the chances he'd join you as a pirate are slim to none"

Now Joey was interested and he immediately sat back down.

"Go on"

The bartender looked over his shoulder, a bit puzzled on the forwardness of this young man but shrugged nonetheless and carried on.

"You wouldn't know about him since you just arrived but there's a thief on this island who will appear from time to time and steal whatever he can get his hands on. He'll show up and cause a huge panic with his strange powers, on top of his ridiculous physical strength"

Joey's eyes lit up with excitement before confusion arose in his mind "Doesn't this island have marines? What are they doing?"

"Ha!" The bartender laughed out loud "They're no match for him. We're just a small island in the South Blue that have no ties with the World Government. There's no way they'd send any important or powerful figures here. As a result, there's no one on this island that can stand up to the Bloody Saw"

"Bloody Saw? That can't seriously be his name"

"It's not. No one knows his real name so those on the island refer to him as that because the Marines gave him that name after their latest scuffle with him"

"I see..." Joey said, contemplating the man's words in his mind with a serious look. If he were being honest, this Bloody Saw sounded quite promising, especially if he was already an enemy of the Marines. That was a basic requirement for being a Pirate so at least he didn't have to worry about that.

With his interest aroused, Joey then asked the obvious question.

"Where can I find him?"

The bartender stopped what he was doing and gave Joey a stupefied look at what he had just said. Before he could answer Joey's question however, a rather tall and well built man slammed his arm on the bar table right next to Joey and glared at him.

"Why the fuck does a pipsqueak like you want to know where that monster is?"

Joey briefly glanced at him from the corner of his eyes; he was rather ugly with tattoo's all over his body and reeked of alcohol and bad life decisions. This wasn't even mentioning the man's putrid breath that smelled like rotten fish.

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business. I was talking to the bartender, not your ugly ass”

“...Say what?” The man’s mood dropped instantly at the insult and a few men in the back had even stood up when they heard that comment. Joey noticed this and smirked inwardly, finding it rather hilarious that these guys were so sensitive to just some friendly trash talk.

“Now I’m not sure y’know this kid, but I run this side of town and if you know what’s good for ya, you’ll watch your fucking mouth when you talk to me, unless you want me to ruin that pretty face of yours” The man smirked as he pulled out a dagger from his pocket and locked the edge.

“Uh huh…” Joey deadpanned, turning his eyes to the sighing bartender. Clearly, this was an everyday occurence for him as he didn’t even seem worried or surprised.

“Look, the kid didn’t mean anything by it Garlo. I’m sure that-

“Shut it, Vic” The burly man called Garlo snapped at the bartender who attempted to diffuse the situation. “I got no beef with you and i’d like to keep it that way”

The bartender frowned. “If you cause a ruckus here, the Marines will be on your ass and you won’t get the chance to relax after your latest voyage. Do you really want that?”

Garlo held his tongue as he realized that Vic was right and contemplated just letting the kid off with a scare until he heard what he said next.

“Aww, is the big bad thug gonna run away just because of some Marines? Guess your balls are as empty as your head”

There was dead silence in the bar as all sets of eyes turned towards Joey who remained in his seat with a mocking glance as Vic dropped the glass he was holding as his mouth hung wide open.

“*Is this kid brain dead!? And after I just got him off the hook!*” Vic the bartender wanted to face palm but he far too busy racing his mind on trying to figure out how to save this poor boy from certain death. He had no idea how strong this kid was but trying to mess with a pirate who had a  ​​10,000,000 bounty on his head while still being a rookie was far from a wise decision.

Garlo’s eyebrows twitched rather viciously and several veins appeared on his forehead, his teeth seething in anger at having been insulted by the pretty boy. If there was any mercy he was going to show him prior to him saying those words, there definitely wasn’t now and he gave his boys a nod before they all approached the still sitting Joey.

“You’ve got quite the tongue on you kid and to appreciate that, I’ll have my boys here rip it out of your mouth and save it as a souvenir” He chuckled before snapping his fingers, causing his men to rush at Joey whose smile vanished as he stood up from his seat.

“It’s too late to run now kid” Garlo laughed and just as everyone thought the kid was doomed, the bodies of Garlo’s thugs were all sent flying in different directions as a powerful gust of wind had exploded from where they stood.

“W-What the hell!?” Garlo froze as he glanced everywhere and saw his thugs sprawled out across the bar, some of them even having been sent through walls and immediately turned back to see Joey still standing without a scratch.

“You bastard..…” Garlo growled under his breath, realizing that the weak pretty boy he believed to be out of his league was actually hiding such frightening strength.

“Your next” Joey stated and in a flash, he disappeared and reappeared right below Garlo’s stomach as the older man had no time to react or dodge the punch that Joey delivered to his abdomen. It was a crushing blow that broke several of Garlo’s ribs as the man’s eye’s rolled up and he faded into unconsciousness, his body dropping onto his knees then onto the ground moments later as the bar went quiet.

“All that big talk and yet here you are lying flat on your face after a single punch. What a joke” Joey sneered as he bent down and ripped off a small bag that was attached to Garlo’s waist and jiggled it around, the sounds of coins ringing out. After taking some for himself, Joey tossed the bag to the stupefied bartender who barely caught it in time and smiled at him.

“Sorry about the damage. I hope that’s enough to cover the mess I made”

“D-Don’t… worry about it” The bartender was still in shock that the mighty Garlo who everyone feared on this island had just been defeated so effortlessly and he ingraived the name and face of the young man before him into his brain. He was certain that this young man was destined to make a name for himself in the future; no doubt about it.

“Thanks. Now then” Joey then sat back down in his seat and placed both his elbows on the table to focus on what the bartender had to say.

“Where can I find that Bloody Saw guy?”

## Approaching Enemy

Not that far away from Doro Island was a medium sized Marine ship heading straight towards the island at a comfortable pace. Standing at the head of the ship was a young man with short black hair and a slim physique carrying with him a black hilted katana on his waist. He removed the cigarette currently in his mouth and narrowed his eyes at the approaching island.

“So that’s Doro Island huh? It’s as dull as it looks” He sneered before a sigh escaped his lips and he inclined his head upwards, gazing at the drifting clouds above his head. After finally obtaining the rank of Captain, he had been hoping to be assigned to the Grand Line and start going after famous and powerful pirates to spread his name among the Marines.

He wanted everyone to know and fear the name of Raigo, the Sword Master! It was a badass and catchy name he had been assigned after he had showed off his exceptional swordsmanship during a voyage in the East Blue under the command of another Marine Captain. He remembered the awe struck look on the man’s face and chuckled to himself; it was priceless.

In any case, it was rather disappointing and downright horrific news that Raigo’s first assignment as a Captain of his own squad was to now check up on this backwater island in the South Blue and also quell the renegade bandit known as the Bloody Saw.

“Pft, what kind of shitty ass name is that? Mine’s way better” Raigo snorted, adjusting the katana on his waist slightly as he quickly hoped to find this degenerate and show him the taste of the one known as the Sword Master! He was given orders to bring him in but also allowed to kill him should he resist arrest. That was the only saving grace of being assigned to this small time mission and Raigo could only hope that this Bloody whatever could make his trip a bit interesting.

“Captain!” A marine soldier shouted from behind the man with a resolute salute. “We’ll be arriving on the island shortly”

Raigo waived his hand. “I can see that. Prepare to dock and once we’ve landed, notify the Marines stationed on the island that I’ll be taking over the hunt for the Bloody Saw. The last thing we need is for them to get in my way”

“Roger!” The soldier immediately scurried off and Raigo smiled menacingly as the island grew closer and closer and he stroked the katana by his waist gently.

“Worry not my blade. You’ll taste some blood soon”

## The Bloody Saw Appears

A blur whipped through several trees and made its way to the outskirts of a nearby city as it stopped and took in the sights. What was a blur before revealed itself to be the appearance of a man wearing a brown cape and bandages covering his face as he glared at the city with soul piercing red eyes that were filled with regret, sadness, and unfathomable amount of anger.

“Just you wait sister, I’ll get the treasure you seek” He spoke ominously as his body vanished into thin air, a testament to the man’s speed.

Not too far away from where the rogue had disappeared, a familiar face was seen walking through the streets.  “That bartender really gave some lousy directions” Joey complained with a frown as he held the piece of paper in his hands and stared at the bustling city in front of him. It was far more active in this part of the city than in that old town he had just visited and much more likely that the Bloody Saw was going to show up here, at least according to Vic.

“He said out of all the cities on this island, this is the biggest one that hasn’t yet had the misfortune of meeting the Bloody Saw yet” Joey recalled and as if to prove his point, he noticed that the security here was rather impressive as tens of marine soldiers were seen patrolling every store and section of this part of the city.

“Wow, guess they’re not playing around huh?” Having this many marine soldiers ready to fire at you was certainly a testament to someone’s skills and Joey felt excited as he wanted to see for himself how good this Bloody Saw was.

Before he could dwell on that thought any further, the sound of a woman screaming alerted everyone in the plaza as she fell to the floor and shakily pointed towards the roof of one of the tallest buildings in the area.

“I-I-It’s him! The Bloody Saw!” She announced, causing those present to followher line of sight and sure enough, the man who fit the description was seen standing high on the tall building, glaring down at everyone present.

“There he is!” Joey yelped in joy as he smiled and took in the figure. He was mysterious in every way possible and radiated a feeling of strength that Joey had not felt since he had fought his old man back at home. It was a feeling that instinctively told Joey that this man was strong, *very strong* and that couldn’t have pleased him more as he took a few steps closer to get a better look.

“Take aim!” A Marine who appeared to be of more importance shouted to the men down below as they all aimed their rifles towards the unmoving man, ready to light his ass up at the drop of a hat.

“This is your last chance Bloody Saw! Surrender peacefully or we will not hesitate to-gahhh!” The man couldn’t even finish his sentence before his neck was sliced open and a sea of blood erupted from his neck, his body soon dropping to the floor moments later.

"Oh my god!"

"N-Noooo!"

"Ruuun!"

Panic immediately spread across the  plaza as all of the civilians immediately fled in different directions. The Marines wasted no more time and began firing at the bandaged man who quickly picked up the body of the dead marine officer and used him as a shield. The bullets lodged themselves into the man’s corpse as the Bloody Saw moved quickly and dashed to his next unfortunate victim. He threw the corpse towards the frightened marine officer who panicked and was unable to react as the corpse slammed into his face, blocking his view.

That was the last thing he would ever see as he felt a sharp burning pain in his chest and as he looked down, he saw a dagger now lodged into his chest where his heart was and he coughed up blood before his eyes dulled and he fell to the ground.

“Y-You son of a bitch!” The rest of the Marines knew using bullets was useless now and drew their sabers, rushing towards him with reckless abandon as Joey watched them with a pitiful gaze.

“Those idiots are just throwing their lives away” Joey planned to step in, if only to do the right thing and save the lives of those brave but naive fools but was a step too slow as his eyes widened when he saw the Bloody Saw make his next move.

“Chaotic Festival” The mysterious man spoke those words in a low tone as he curled his body inwards as several saw like blades began to slowly emerge from his head all the way down to his feet. Joey nervously gulped as he had a feeling he knew what the man was about to do and just as he predicted, the bandaged man began to spin on his heel as countless saw blades exploded out from his body in every direction possible.

“R-Retreat!” The marines tried to organize a tactical retreat but it was far too late as they were shredded and sliced from multiple spots. The only person who wasn’t affected was Joey who easily evaded the saw’s with impressive agility and never took his eyes off the still spinning bandit.

“....That’s definitely the power of a devil fruit” Joey confirmed, smiling a bit as he had now seen the capabilities of this bandit first hand and wanted him even more. His murdering of people wasn’t something Joey was fond of but if that was the only downside to him, then Joey was more than willing to forgo it as he had already seen his fair share of deaths thanks in part to his father’s job of being a former mercenary who would occasionally bring back corpses before delivering them.

Meanwhile, the bandaged man had finally stopped spinning and retracted the saw’s back into his body and he glanced at the carnage and destruction he had caused. Not just the people, even the nearby stores and scenery had been destroyed thanks to his attack but he didn’t seem to care as he shrugged and began walking towards the nearest jewelry store.

Joey blinked and couldn’t believe his eyes. After murdering and severely injuring all these people, this guy was just going to go and rob the place as if it was a casual stroll? That was certainly not something you saw everyday.

It didn’t take very long for the man to emerge from the store carrying with him a large bag full of expensive jewels and he looked satisfied with his work before he jumped onto the roof off a nearby building and planned to make his escape.

“Hey”

However, the voice of an unfamiliar person alerted his attention behind him as he turned around and saw a blonde teenager staring at him with ferocious eyes and a confident smirk.

“You going somewhere, buddy?”

## Thief vs Pirate

The mysterious man dubbed as the Bloody Saw narrowed his eyes at the unfamiliar man standing before him and searched his memories but came up blank as to who this man was. He was sure he had never seen or even met him before as his striking features would surely have caught his memory.

“*Well, not like it matters. The fool clearly has a death wish by challenging me…*” The man didn’t think much of the stranger as he merely raised one of his hands and shot forth a saw blade at the man. It flew with incredible speed that no normal person could evade and he aimed it at the man’s neck, hopeful for a quick death.

To the man’s utter surprise however, the blonde haired youth merely tilted his head as the saw blade flew right past the blonde stranger, causing the bandaged man’s eyes to widen.

“*What? He dodged it? At this range?*” It was hardly believable as while those weren’t the fastest saw blades he could produce, they were certainly fast enough that it shouldn’t have been as easy as the blonde youth made it look. Whoever he was, he was definitely no ordinary man as the bandaged man’s interest had been piqued.

“Who the hell are you?” He asked.

The blonde haired youth smiled in return.

“You can call me Joey. I’m a pirate and I’ve been looking for you”

“A pirate?” The man’s eyebrows raised at that. He had kept himself well informed on what took place in the South Blue and yet, that name had never come up in a newspaper or even a gossiping name by bar residents.

“Never heard of you” The man stated bluntly, head tilting in confusion when it seemed the man known as Joey felt personally offended by that statement and pouted with his lips. What a strange reaction.

In any case, if this man was a pirate and was looking for him, it meant he either wished to kill him or recruit him. Either of those options was an impossibility in the thief’s mind but he decided to ask just in case.

“And what exactly does a pirate want with a rogue like me?”

“Heh, I’m glad you asked” Joey smirked. “You’ve been causing a ruckus on this island for quite some time and I hear you’ve got skills. I want those skills on my team so I want you to join- hey!” Joey screamed irritably when he saw the cape wearing thief suddenly turn around and leave before hearing him out.

“Just as I thought. What rubbish” The bandaged man cared nothing for becoming a pirate and even if he did, why would he work under someone weaker than himself? Besides, he still hadn’t fulfilled his promise yet and had no time to worry about joining some pirate crew and having adventures.

He darted through building over building with impressive agility and acrobatic skills, careful not to drop the bag of jewels had he snatched as he turned around, confident that the man called Joey had given up. To his shock however, not only was Joey not giving up, he had closed the distance between them and was following him from a distance that spanned no more than a few steps!

“*I’ve never met anyone who could keep up with my speed…*” The man mumbled, having gained some level of respect for the smiling blonde pirate. So it seemed his dodge earlier wasn’t a fluke. Good, it was no fun if every escape was a walk in the park.

“I’m not going anywhere until you say yes” Joey cried out.

“*We’ll see about that*” The bandaged man thought as he tried to pick up the pace, curious to test the limits of this man known as Joey.

“*This bastard….*”

The bandaged covered rogue was mentally cursing in his mind as he glared at the figure of Joey who was waving at him with a smile as he sat on a rock. The two of them had been playing their game of cat and mouse for nearly an hour now and had moved away from the city and into a nearby forest where they now stood as forest life and tree’s surrounded them.

The rogue didn’t want to admit it but he couldn’t deny the man’s skills anymore. To have kept up with him and still not be out of breath, that must have meant the pirate had been trained incredibly well and had stamina comparable to his own.

“*Looks like the only way to shake this pest off is to eliminate him…*” It was the only solution he could think of as the bandaged man dropped the bag carrying the jewels on a nearby tree and then proceeded to take a stance as he faced Joey.

“Oh? You finally taking me seriously now? Good” Joey responded, as if he had been waiting for this and took a fighting stance of his own. The air around the two dropped as the two fighters glared at one another from across the grassland.

“*This is perfect, let’s see what’ve you got*” Joey thought, pleased with the current development.

The rogue wasted no more time and dashed in with incredible speed, aiming his fist towards Joey’s face as the blonde youth reacted instantly and dodged the blow. To counter, he spun his body and threw a reverse elbow that the rogue was able to track and he blocked with his left arm as a small shockwave exploded from the ground they were standing on, indicating just how powerful these two were.

The two distanced themselves from each other before flying in once more, trading swift blows against one another in what could only be described as ab absolute slobber knocker. Neither one could gain the advantage as every kick the rogue threw out, Joey countered with a punch and for every punch Joey threw out, the rogue countered with a kick.

Seeing an opportunity, Joey landed a straight left punch on the bandaged man’s face that startled him for a minute before he responded by twisting his body and landed a roundhouse kick on Joey’s cheek. The impact from their two blows sent them both flying back a bit as they skid across the ground and readied their stances once more.

The Bloody Saw said nothing and gently touched the spot on his cheek where he had been punched while Joey smirked and wiped the blood from his mouth that had surfaced at that kick to his face.

“That was one hell of a kick, and to pull it off from that position. Phew, yeah you're a badass alright” Joey admitted with a chuckle.

“*...This man  was clearly trained well. His reflexes are superhuman…*” The bandit had never encountered anyone who could keep up with his punches and even land a blow on his face. It seemed he had underestimated this man and had suffered a bit because of it.

“Very well” He spoke, having come to a decision as he removed the bandages from his face as Joey’s eyebrows raised at the action. The previously covered thief was now revealed to be an incredibly handsome young man with crimson red hair and red eyes as the man also removed the brown cape on his back, throwing it to the side.

“So that’s what you look like under there. You must be popular with the ladies with looks like that” Joey snarked with a smile.

The crimson haired man ignored his comments and took a deep breath while stretching a bit.

“You’ve gained my interest, pirate. In response, I’ll stop holding back and crush you with my full strength” The man exclaimed, causing Joey to narrow his eyes as his smile grew.

“Oh is that right? Far be it from me to stop you from giving it everything you’ve got. You might be able to land a few hits on me if you try hard enough” He taunted.

In what could only be described as shocking, the Bloody Saw smiled in amusement.

“I see arrogance is one of your most prominent traits”

Joey frowned at that and pointed at him comically. “Look who's talking! Your not exactly Mr Humble yourself…. Uh….  What was your name again?” He asked mid sentence, having realized that he had never caught the man’s name before.

“...Koga” The man replied, having judged that it was worth telling this man his name before he killed him.

“Koga huh? That’s a rare name, it’s a good one” Joey complimented.

“Save your words. You won’t be remembering it for very long” Koga declared as he threw his arms to the side, using his power to generate two razor sharp saw blades at the end of his elbows.

“Razor Dance!” He shouted as he dashed forward, intent on slicing Joey in half with his elbow saw blades.

Joey immediately countered by dodging to the side as he saw Koga whip right past him and slice through a nearby rock as if it was made of butter, shuttering at the sight.

“Yeah, note to self. Don’t get hit by that…woah!” He jotted in his mind but couldn’t think long as Koga was right on his tail and came after him again. Joey evaded the best he could, using the terrain of the forest to dodge and avoid the incoming strikes. Koga wouldn’t let up as he sliced his way through tree after tree, growing impatient by the second at being unable to catch his prey.

“I see that you're skilled at running away” He taunted, hoping that his words might cause Joey to slip.

Unfortunately for him, trash talking was Joey’s specialty.

“Nah, I just don’t see a reason to get hit by your weak ass attack”

A vein grew in Koga’s head at that remark as his anger had been roused and he upped the speed, causing Joey to widen his eyes and dodge once more but wasn’t fast enough as his shirt suffered being shredded a bit but he remained unharmed as he landed several feet away and exhaled a breath.

“Wasn’t expecting you to amp things up. That was rather surprising” He commented, not rattled at all by the sudden development.

Koga on the other hand was a bit taken back by the teen’s apprehensive nature towards a life threatening situation. Didn’t he see that his life was in danger? Or did he just not believe he’d have to worry about fending off his attacks? Could it be possible he was hiding his strength?

Well, there was only one way to find out as Koga adopted another stance, retracting his elbow saw blades and clasped both his hands together and aiming them towards Joey’s idle figure.

“Buzzsaw!” He shouted, molding his hands into a giant rotating buzzsaw that he fired straight at Joey. The spinning saw cut through the ground with little resistance and aimed to rip the boy to shreds who took a stance of his own and brought his arm back.

“Guess I’ll have to get serious too”

A tunnel of swirling wind pressure began to coil around Joey’s drawn back arm as it spun around it, forming what appeared to be a mini tornado in on his arm, causing Koga's eyes to widen at the sight.

“Tempest Fist!” Joey let his arm fly forward as the giant buzzsaw collided with his tornado like fist as the two opposing forces clashed and sent bursts of wind pressure in every direction. Koga had to shield his face and couldn’t believe his eyes as he witnessed one of his more stronger attacks countered so easily.

“Does he have devil fruit powers as well?” Koga grimaced, having realized he had grossly underestimated his adversary.

“Here, take it back!” Joey screamed and after a brief clash of equal force, he was able to overpower the giant buzzsaw and sent it spiralling backwards straight towards the stationary Koga who merely watched as it flew right past him and destroyed the forest behind him.

“Heh” The wind that had gathered around Joey’s fist slowly dissipated and his fist hadn’t taken any damage  as he smugly wiped his nose “You got any other tricks I should know about?”

“You son of a….” Koga was seething, losing his usual composure at the mysterious blonde youth before him. No, this wasn't good. If he got too excited, his other side would be awoken and that was something he wanted to avoid at all costs as he took a deep breath to calm his nerves and began biting his bandaged hand.

Joey noticed this and raised an eyebrow. “Huh, I didn’t know you were into that kinky stuff dude”

“Shut up. It’s a habit” Koga stated harshly before dropping his now blood soaked arm and addressed the elephant in the room.

“What’ll it take to get you to leave me alone?” Koga asked seriously. He had decided that the trouble and effort he’d have to exercise to kill this man wasn’t worth it and he would rather part with him now on decent terms  if something could be negotiated.

Joey crossed his arms and smirked. “Nothing much, you’ll just have to beat me to get rid of me. I’m not one to take no for an answer so if you wanna get rid of me, you’ll have to do it by force”

“...Tch” Koga clicked his tongue in annoyance. So it was inevitable that they had to fight. He had no interest in becoming a pirate and he knew this man wouldn’t leave him alone so duking it out seemed to be the only option left. However, Koga was afraid that if he engaged this man any more he’d start to lose control of himself.

“Very well. However, I wish to return to my home to store away my treasure. I’ll take you on after I do that” He declared as he made his way over towards his dropped bag.

Joey didn’t have a problem with that arrangement and nodded. “That’s cool. Of course, I’m coming with you to your hideout”

Koga stopped.

“What?”

“What? You’d think I’d just let you waltz out of here and make a break for it?” Joey shook his head. “Nope, I’m gonna watch you like a hawk”

“What are you some kind of stalker? Just wait right here, I won’t try to escape” Koga pleaded.

“Yeah, no” Joey stated, causing an angry vein to form on Koga’s head.

“You act like such a child” Koga snided as he picked up the thrown cape and began walking away.

Joey followed after him at a reasonable distance and smirked.

“It takes one to know one”

### Raigo on the Move

Raigo’s eyes showed no emotion as his gaze swept over the dozens of sprawled out Marine corpses littering the streets of the city he had just arrived too. The marines who were fortunate enough to survive the carnage were severely injured and were being treated by the medical squad as a marine soldier stopped right next to him.

“Sir! We’ve finished counting the damages”

“How many?” Raigo didn’t look at him as he responded.

“Seventeen were fatally wounded and thirty five are in critical condition and require immediate attention. According to the witnesses, the bandit known as the Bloody Saw escaped the scene after being pursued by a blonde haired young man”

Ragio’s eyebrows twitched at his words, more specifically the news about the man pursuing Raigo.

“A young man? What was his identity?”

“Sir! We asked around but no one had any ideas as to what his background or identity was. The only information we could find was from a bartender who claimed the boy’s name was Gale D. Joseph and that he had just arrived on the island today”

“Gale D. Joseph?” Raigo repeated as he frowned. It was an unfamiliar name that he was fairly confident he had never heard before. Although, he was sure that the name “Gale” was a name he had heard before somewhere.

Raigo brought a hand to his chin and analyzed the data he had heard. A young man chasing after the Bloody Saw? Unless he was suicidal, it didn’t make any sense unless the boy was perhaps a bounty hunter or someone who wanted to stop the thief’s rampage. A grim but highly unlikely scenario was that the boy had heard rumors of the Bloody Saw and aimed to recruit him for something but Raigo dismissed that one rather quickly.  The reports on the Bloody Saw were that anyone who tried to recruit him was either killed or heavily injured, which meant he had no intentions of teaming up with anyone.

That being the case, Raigo concluded that the boy must have been trying to stop the criminal and nodded to himself for his brilliant deduction.

“While I appreciate the sentiment of wanting to catch a criminal, it’s the duty of the Marines to bring this bandit to justice. Men!” He shouted, alerting the attention of the Marines who were on standby. “Search the nearby areas and report immediately if you catch the suspect. I want him found before the end of the day, do you hear me!?”

“Yes sir!” They all immediately scattered off to begin the man hunt as Raigo dangled the katana by his waist and smiled in a menacing manner.

“I’ll see you soon, Bloody Saw”

## A Tragic Story

The journey to Koga’s hideout didn’t take very long at the speed they travelled at and no more than ten minutes later did they arrive at a waterfall at an open lake.

“Nice hideout. It’s very…. aquatic” Joey tried to compliment while Koga rolled his eyes.

“It’s *behind* the waterfall you idiot” He walked forward right through the flowing water as Joey blinked confusedly before following him through the water, shaking his head at the water that had fallen on his head. When he opened his eyes again, he was greeted with a large cave that was filled with various treasures all over the place along with living utensils like pots and pans along with a fireplace.

“Wow…” Joey admired with an open mouth as he looked around the place. Unbeknownst to Koga, Joey had grown up in a similar environment with his father and could sympathize with others who shared a similar living style.

Koga ignored him as he dropped the newly acquired collection and quickly made his way over to a section of the cave that wasn’t in plain sight as Joey followed him and stopped when he saw Koga kneeling on the ground in front of a large picture within the cave with flowers and bouquets all over as the picture was lit by several candles nearby.

“I’m sorry I was late Yoko. I know you don’t like to be kept waiting. I was caught up by that fool you see standing behind me” Koga ignored Joey flipping him off and continued. “I’ve brought more treasures for you. I know how much you enjoyed them” He said with a smile and closed his eyes, offering silent prayers in his mind.

Joey was respectful enough to not interrupt the man nor ask questions and even closed his own eyes and offered a bow to the picture, an act that Koga was surprised at seeing out of the corner of his eye but didn’t comment on.

Minutes passed before Koga opened his eyes once more and stood up, not bothering to face the curious Joey.

“So, I take it your sister is…?” Joey worded slowly, a bit careful on treading into sensitive territory.

“Yeah. She died a long time ago”

“But how does that relate to your thievery if your sister, who you said enjoyed these treasures, is no longer with you?”

Koga remained silent longer than usual, sighing to himself as he felt that telling this man who had proved himself to be a worthy foe wouldn’t be such a big deal in the long run.

“I wasn’t always a thief. I was actually born into a pretty wealthy family and  lived a rather fulfilling life with both my parents and my younger sister. However, those happy days were nothing more than an illusion as reality hit hard and me and my sister found ourselves sold by our loving parents into slavery to pay back a huge debt my father owed” Koga grimaced as his fists tightened but continued anyway.

“My sister and I were separated and during my time as a slave, I studied under someone who taught me how to both fight and kill along with survive in the world of slavery. The training was difficult but I persevered, only because my desire to live and see my sister again pushed me to get up when I wanted to stay down.  Soon after that, the man I called master planned to escape and took me along with him as we finally gained our freedom from those bastards. After fleeing to a safe place, I continued my training under him and continued training until I was strong enough to head out and begin my search for my sister. I said farewell to my master who planned on saving as many slaves as he could and we went our separate ways. It took a long time to find any leads about her but by time I had learned about where she had been taken, it was far too late”

The sound of something dripping onto the ground echoed in the cave as Joey looked down to see Koga’s bandaged fist now soaked in blood but he refused to draw his eyes away from the picture.

“Unlike me, my sister wasn’t as strong willed as I am and didn’t last a few months before she died from the injuries she sustained and mental exhaustion. At least, that’s what I learned from the men I tortured when I hunted the place down. In the end, I had no one to blame but myself and my shit stain parents who had chosen our fate”

Then, the mood in the cave seemed to drop as Koga’s lips curved into a smile.

“So what was left for me then? Of course, I had to make them suffer and suffer they did as it didn’t take me long to find out where they were living after they had sold us. I’ll never forget the look of terror and dread on their faces when I showed up in their room in the dead of the night covered in blood as I held the decapitated head of their bodyguard. They begged for forgiveness, for any form of mercy for me to bestow them and in that moment, I hesitated a bit only because at that point there was still some part of me that still considered them family”

Koga then sneered.

“But that hesitation left as briefly as it came as I then saw several oddly familiar looking  children tied up in a closet room screaming for someone to help them. And at that moment, I knew what had transpired. My mother had given birth to more children while we were enslaved and planned to do the same to them. Needless to say, that was the last day either of them would draw breath but not before I tortured them endlessly, in front of my supposed siblings as well” Koga admitted with no remorse in his voice as Joey looked visibly disturbed by what he had heard.

"After they were finally dead, I fled the scene and never looked back. I eventually found my way to this island and made a home here. I don't know what happened to those children  but I'm sure they want nothing to do with a low life like me anymore"

“...But that doesn’t explain why you are so obsessed with stealing treasures” Joey asked, unable to piece together how this all came together.

“I already told you. It was my sister who was obsessed with treasure, not me. As a child, whenever she found something precious or expensive looking, her eyes would light up like a twinkle in the sky and she’d stare at it for hours. Those memories of her were the only thing that kept me going and so I made it my dream to collect the priceless and expensive gems and bring them here for her to watch over” Koga moved closer to the picture and gently caressed it “Perhaps that way, even in the other world she can still appreciate their beauty”

Joey said nothing and merely accepted Koga’s reasoning for why he had become the way he is now. With a childhood that messed up, it wasn’t a surprise that the man’s mental state was quite… different from most people. Still, it wouldn’t detract the steadfast captain in the slightest at trying to recruit the man who he believed needed to move past what his sister wanted and try to live for himself for once.

“So, now that you know the truth behind me do you still wish for me to join your little group of pirates?” Koga asked in a mocking tone, as if the idea was ludicrous that anyone would want to be near someone like him. He fully expected the man called Joey to either leave immediately or try to kill him but what he said next was completely out of Koga’s expectations.

“You bet I do. What, you’d think I’d piss my pants and go running after hearing that story? Pft, news flash buddy. You're not the only person in the world who had a rough life” He stated, which caused Koga’s eyes to widen as he swiftly turned around and stared at the neutral Joey who continued.

“I’m not going to sit here and act like I can understand what you’ve been through or why you do the things you do. I came here looking for powerful allies to join me and I’ve found one. There’s no way I’d let such a talented person like yourself just rot away on this small island when you could be aiming for so much higher”

“...Are you for real?” Koga could hardly believe what he was hearing. Just who in the world was this man?

“You bet I am. You see, I’m going to be the King of Pirates someday and I’ll need powerful crew mates by my side to accomplish that. And that’s why…” Joey stopped as he pointed right at Koga who flinched at the action. “I want you by my side, Koga”

Those words hit a cord in Koga’s heart as he had never heard those words before, not even from the people who had brought him into this world. The only people who had ever said anything remotely close to that was his sister and his master as Koga clutched his pained chest, as if rejecting the joy he felt when he heard those words spoken to him.

“You want me? Get over yourself, I’m not some property that can be won or taken” He bounced back as he turned around, trying to hide the flush of his cheeks at being wanted despite everything he had told him.

“Woah hey now, you're making it sound kind of fishy there” Joey threw his hands up with a chuckle, trying to avoid a misunderstanding. “I’m as straight as an arrow so you don’t have to worry about-woah!” He dodged the rock Koga had chucked at him at his tasteless joke.

“I-In any case, don’t forget that we have a score to settle” Koga tried to change the subject as a confident smirk appeared on his face. “And I fully intend on keeping my word of beating you to get you to leave me alone”

Joey was never one to back down from a fight as he nodded and motioned with his head to the cave entrance.

“Let’s take it outside then”

Koga responded with a nod of his own and began following Joey outside of the cave entrance before he turned around and stared at the picture once more.

“Don’t worry sis, I’m not going anywhere”

## Deadly Encounter

“Hah….”

The sound of heavy breathing escaped the mouth’s of both Koga and Joey as they both stood facing one another, surrounded by destroyed trees and craters all around as their battle had been nothing short of destructive. It had gone on for almost an hour now and both of them had used up a good portion of their strength countering the other’s moves and studying how the other fought.

However, one of them had shown himself to be the stronger of the two as he didn’t appear as winded but was still breathing hard as he cracked a smile.

“What’s wrong Koga? I thought you said you were going to beat me?” Joey taunted as his shirt had been ripped in several places and his face and body had several cuts and bruises all over.

“....Your a monster” The exhausted Koga grimaced as his injuries were noticeably worse with bruises and blood trailing from his mouth from the extended battle he had fought. In part due to never having to fight against an enemy for such a long period, Koga’s lack of stamina was showing as he cursed at his current predicament. He couldn’t deny the facts anymore; the man in front of him called Joey was simply stronger than he was.

“...What kind of devil fruit is that? It’s power is incredible…” Koga asked.

“It’s only because I put in the work to master it as best I could is why you're saying that. You should have seen me when I first got it, I couldn’t make heads or tails of the blasted thing” The blonde youth chuckled as those fond memories came back to him. “It’s called the Swirl-Swirl fruit and as I’m sure you’ve realized by now, it lets me swirl anything I desire and store it up for an attack”

“....That’s certainly a dangerous power if the user knows what they’re doing” Koga admitted.

“You can say that again. That power of yours is related to saw’s right? They’re the only weapons you’ve spawned so far in this fight”

Koga didn’t bother to hide it as he nodded “The Saw Saw fruit is the power I have. You already know the basics of its capabilities”

“And it’s weaknesses” Joey added which caused Koga to growl in irritation.

“You haven’t seen it’s full power yet” Koga argued as he took another stance.

“Right back at ya. You haven’t begun to see what I’m truly capable of” Joey retorted and also took a stance, ready to engage in another battle once more with his newfound rival.

Before they could get to it however, a new unfamiliar voice alerted both of them.

“And unfortunately for one of you,, neither will we”

Both Koga and Joey snapped their heads to the side and were greeted by the arrival of a black haired man wearing a stylish black coat as a cigarette was lodged into his mouth. He was carrying with him a well crafted katana by his waist and he slowly walked out from the forest clearing with no hesitation.

“Is he a friend of yours?” Joey asked half jokingly.

“Not a chance. I thought he might actually be with you” Koga responded, not lowering his guard for an instant against this potential new enemy.

“In your dreams. Do I look like a Marine to you?” Joey countered.

Koga didn’t respond to that but that was only because he knew Joey was right. Regardless, that wasn’t important right now as he spoke to the Marine officer staring at them. Unlike most of those weak marine officers he had faced, this one had a different aura about him and was also wearing a much more dynamic uniform. Clearly, his rank in the organization was higher than just some grunt soldier.

“Who the hell are you? And how did you find us?”

“Hm? Oh that’s right, I suppose I have yet to introduce myself. My name is Raigo and I’m a Marine Captain. As for how I found you, well that’s easy. You two really caused quite a commotion in these parts so it was rather simple to track you down”

“*A Captain?*” Both Koga and Joey thought with surprised looks. They didn’t know the entire ranking system of the Marines but they were fairly sure that captains were much higher on the list than a simple officer. That rank meant he was able to command his own ship and could summon tens of Marines at the drop of a hat to his command.

“And? What does a Marine Captain want with us?” Koga asked threateningly while Joey remained silent in order to gauge who he would go for first.

Raigo sneered. “You can’t be serious. Your a wanted criminal, Bloody Saw. You don’t have a bounty yet but I’ve heard plenty about you from reports on my desk. I’m here to arrest you” He declared while Koga narrowed his eyes at him. Raigo’s sight then drifted to Joey “And as for you, while I appreciate your assistance in wanting to detain this criminal, civilians shouldn’t get involved. I’m sure you possess impressive power but this man is dangerous and needs to be brought down by us, not you” He lectured as Joey blinked in confusion.

“*Wait, he doesn’t know I’m a pirate*?” He was sure that they would have found out by now but he realized that outside of the bartender, no one else knew of his aims to become a pirate and so his secret was safe. For now at least.

Believing he had done his job at getting the samartin to back off, Raigo narrowed his eyes at Koga and raised one hand into the air, causing tens of Marines to pour out from the all around and surround the duo.

“Your name is Joseph correct? Please step aside while we apprehend this criminal, it is dangerous to stand next to him”

Joey merely turned his face to Koga who had gotten into a stance and looked ready to fight his way out.

“Go ahead. This is my problem, not yours. You may be an aspiring pirate but they don’t know that so go ahead and use this chance to escape. It’s a shame you won’t be able to recruit me though, I’m sure that’ll leave you devastated” Koga mocked as he had already expected Joey to abandon him just like his mother and father had. Joey was strong but fighting their way out of an entrapment like this wouldn’t be easy and surely, a marine at the rank of captain was no weakling. You add that with how much fatigue the duo had accumulated after fighting against each other for so long and the situation didn’t look good at all.

However, instead of escaping by himself and leaving Koga behind, Joey stood behind him with his back against his and Raigo narrowed his eyes at this while Koga’s opened tremendously in disbelief.

“Yeah sorry, that’s not gonna happen. Your coming with me even if I have to drag your half dead corpse with me into the Grand Line”

Koga was stunned beyond words. Even in a situation like this where it made sense to just think of yourself, this man still refused to give up his claim of wanting him. At this moment, Koga just couldn’t understand it and he realized now that the words his master had spoken to him applied to this man he had met.

“*Koga, there are certain people in this world who will defy your common sense. They’re wild and unpredictable but more importantly, they’re loyal to the point of suicidal. Those are the kind of people you want to befriend and follow, because those are the kind of people that will be there for you even when the rest of the world turns against you*”

“....You idiot” Koga mumbled as he closed his eyes and smiled genuinely, having accepted what it was his master was saying.

“Heh, takes one to know one” Joey smiled back, the two of them with their backs against one another as they faced down the enemies before them.

Raigo on the other hand was sweating bullets internally that his intuition had been completely off as he never expected the other kid to join up with the thief.

“*Damn it all! And here I thought my intuition was as good as that brat, this sucks*” He mumbled as he sighed and scratched his head. Aw well, you can’t predict them all.

“If that’s your choice, then we’ll simply have to arrest you as well” Raigo declared before he snapped his fingers and ordered the hundred or so marines to attack the duo.

“Bring it on!” Koga and Joey shouted as they both rushed out, starting what would later be known as the landmark of the greatest battle that ever took place on Doro Island.

The Marines let loose their bullets as they aimed for the approaching duo who both jumped into the air and looked down onto their prey that were spread across the wide open grasslands.

“Carnage Festival!” Koga’s body began to spin in the air as countless saws exploded out from his body in every direction as they damaged multiple marines at once.

“Storm Palm!” Joey used his power to swirl tremendous amounts of air pressure into the palms of his hands and once he had gathered enough, he let loose two powerful twisters from his hands that tore through the marines on the ground as if they were bowling pins. The destruction these two caused was frightening as the marines who were lucky enough to not get hit backed away slowly as fear surfaced in their eyes.

“Don’t cower! Attack men! Those two are only putting on a brave front, they’re exhausted!” Raigo shouted.

“*Damn, that bastard’s sharp*” Joey cursed in his mind as he landed back on the ground and took a few breaths. It was true; his battle with Koga has drained his stamina heavily and they would certainly lose if they drew out this battle for too long.

“He’s not a captain for nothing” Koga begrudgingly complimented as he spat on the floor.

“Y-Yeah, we can do this!” Some marines were beginning to gain some resolve at their captain’s words as they charged with their swords and believed they could overwhelm them with sheer numbers. Grunting in annoyance, Koga and Joey both jumped back into the fight and began fighting the surrounding marines with whatever they had left.

“Good. Exhaust their strength. It’ll make capturing them that much easier” Raigo sneered, his goal having been accomplished. He knew his marine soldiers didn’t stand a chance against these freaks but if they could drain them of their strength, he’d be able to finish them both off. Not that he doubted he couldn’t at full strength, he attempted to delude himself in his mind.

“Sir!”

The sound of one of his officers calling him snapped Raigo out of his immature thoughts as he looked behind him and addressed the soldier.

“What is it?”

“We just finished inspecting and retrieving all of the treasure that was stored in that cave. No stone was left unturned in there”

Raigo seemed delighted at the news as a smile appeared on his face.

“Excellent. Have it all brought to my private quarters. I’ll report it to HQ later” He lied with a greedy expression. With how much treasure he imagined they had gathered from that hideout, he’d be able to live a life of luxury for quite awhile after selling it.

“Yes sir! Oh, we also found this” The marine soldier offered a medium size picture of a woman who looked eerily similar to the Bloody Saw as Raigo took the picture and frowned.

“Who is this?”

“We have no idea sir. Judging by the fact that we found it in a shrine in the cave, we assume that it’s a relative of the criminal”

“Oh? Is that right?” Raigo looked at the portrait with little to no care as he tossed it to the floor and stomped on it with his boots.

“S-Sir?” The marine soldier was a bit shaken by his rather harsh act.

“She’s the sister of a criminal and a murderer. Run a search and see if she’s in the database, perhaps we can find her on this island and-!” Raigo immediately stiffened when he felt an intense blood lust emerge from where the two criminals had been fighting the marines as Raigo turned around and was met with burning red eyes piercing into his own from Koga who had seen what he had done.

## Rage and Tears

After punching a marine officer in the face and then spin kicking another one, Koga’s eyes were drawn towards Raigo and a marine who were standing at the back. He planned to attack the captain as he believed if the leader went down, the other marines would surely leave them alone and right before he could do that, he saw something that made his heart froze.

“W-What the…!? Where did they…?” Koga didn’t understand how they could have gotten their hands on that picture he had kept of his late sister as it was supposed to be safe at his hideout. However, what the captain did next had truly shaken Koga to his core as he saw the man throw the picture onto the floor and proceed to stomp on it, causing Koga’s crimson eyes to widen further.

“Hey!” Joey called, noticing Koga’s strange behavior as he ducked under a sword and kicked the marine in the face “What’s wrong with you?”

Koga didn’t respond, only staring deeply at the now crumbled picture as his body shook uncontrollably and moments later, an intense wave of blood lust poured out from Koga’s body. The atmosphere in the forest dropped as several marines shuddered and subconsciously backed away from Koga whose blood lust had become palpable and he glared at Raigo who was also shaken by the man’s sudden killing intent aimed at him.

“YOU SON OF A BITCH! HOW DARE YOU!” Koga screamed as saw’s began emerging on several parts of his body, transforming the handsome young man into a monster with saw’s sticking out of his elbows, ankles, and cheek as he disappeared.

“Gaaaaah!” Several marines yelled in despair as their bodies were shredded and blood spattered across the ground after Koga reappeared and sliced them all on his way on route to the stunned Raigo.

“Koga! What’s wrong!?” Joey couldn’t believe what was happening as he watched in amazement as the man ripped through any marine that stood in his way. He was like a demon as he spared no one and clawed his way through tens of marines until he finally reached Raigo who took a defensive stance in retaliation.

“YOUR DEAD!” Koga’s voice had even transformed as he sounded like a demon possessed and he charged straight at Raigo, twisting his body forward as he morphed into a gigantic spinning buzzsaw and aimed to shred him in half.

“So you reveal your true colors, scum!” Raigo shouted, drawing his katana as he parried the giant spinning saw with his sword as the two clashed. Raigo grunted as he struggled to keep the attack away and was being pushed back inch by inch.

“Haaaaaaa!” Raigo summoned the strength in his knees and arms and thrust his blade upward as he sent the giant buzzsaw upward, jumping after it as Koga stopped spinning and appeared back in his saw form as he looked down at the airborne Raigo approaching him in the air.

“YOUR MINE NOW!” Koga smiled maliciously as he performed the same attack and spun downwards, using the added momentum of heading downward to spin even faster into a much stronger attack than before. Raigo knew this but didn’t look worried as he raised his sword and closed his eyes.

“Moonlight Dance!” He said and in an instant, his body disappeared as the buzzsaw phased right through him as Joey watched on in shock at the speed of the marine captain. Raigo had reappeared several feet above where the buzzsaw was as he sheathed his blade and watched as the saw reverted back into Koga’s human state that landed on the ground, a large sword wound having now appeared on his chest as he coughed blood.

“Koga!” Joey screamed as he rushed over there immediately and tried to tend to him but Koga got up and tried to march over towards Raigo who had now just landed and had also suffered an injury, to his shoulder to be exact.

“Damn, looks like I underestimated how sharp those blades were….” Raigo grimaced as he held his shoulder a bit. It wasn’t deep but an injury to his shoulder was a disadvantage for a sword fighter like him. However, it seemed the thief's injury was far more serious as he took another defensive stance with his sword.

“I’ll kill him….” Koga growled, taking one step at a time despite the slash on his chest but was stopped when Koga stood in front of him and blocked his path.

“Move” Koga threatened.

Joey refused. “Not until you calm the hell down”

“I SAID MOVE!” Koga swiped his now transformed saw blade arm towards Joey who didn’t even flinch as Koga whipped right past his face and cut his cheek. The two glared at one another for what seemed to be an eternity before Koga seemingly backed down and took a knee, clutching the gash in his chest with bated breath.

“Damn it…” He cursed, tears filling his eyes as he punched the ground and then slowly looked around before he spotted the crumbled picture.

Joey followed his line of sight and saw what had triggered the thief before he stood up and slowly walked over towards where the picture he was. He bent down and picked it up, gripping his fists tighter when he saw the condition the paper was in as he shoved it into his pocket and sent a glare towards the startled Raigo.

“...The hell’s that look for kid? You got a problem with me?” Raigo provoked while shifting his stance a bit as Joey said nothing and only started walking towards him.

“If you want to get cut down, that’s fine by me! Moon Slash!” Raigo dashed in and unsheathed his blade, aiming a perfect horizontal slash towards the walking Joey who didn’t budge. At that moment, blood poured from Joey’s stomach as he was slashed openly just like Koga.

“Joey!” Koga called out to him, a sense of dread coming over him but stopped himself from moving to help as he witnessed an incredible sight. Joey was now holding onto Raigo’s katana, refusing to let it go as blood dripped from his hands as the marine captain looked utterly shocked that he had caught his blade.

“L-L-Let go! You stupid fucking kid, let go!” Raigo cursed, unable to break away from the boy’s superhuman strength as Joey spoke in a whispered tone.

“What you did was unforgivable. You took something precious from my friend, so I’ll take something precious from you” Joey announced as he gripped the sword tighter as it began to swirl inwardly, losing it’s shape and form entirely as Raigo immediately let go and backed away.

“W-What in the world!?” He couldn’t believe his eyes as his treasured katana that had taken down countless pirates was now transformed into a swirl like object as Joey dropped it onto the ground, having displayed his devil fruit power.

Joey looked down on the fallen marine captain with a pitiful gaze. “You're not so tough now without your toy, are you?”

“Y-You bastard!” Raigo lost all sense of himself and quickly got up, shooting forth a straight left hook towards Joey’s jaw that connected. He smirked, mocking the pirate for believing he couldn’t defend himself without his weapon. He was a marine captain for Christ's sake!

However, even after taking a punch to the face, Joey merely looked back at the marine captain as blood dripped from his mouth.

“N-No way….” Raigo stuttered and backed away slowly, realizing that his attack hadn’t done anything.

“You call that a punch? You hit like a ninety year old grandma. Let me show you how it’s done” Joey declared and brought his arm back as tremendous wind pressure built up around his right arm, forming his signature technique he had used against Koga.

“W-Wait, please! We can strike a deal! I can-gargghgg!” Raigo never got the chance to finish his sentence as his face was pummeled inward by Joey’s Tempest Fist as the blonde haired youth visibly growled when the attack landed, the anger and fury on his face unmistakable.

“Eat shit you son a bitch!” He yelled as he followed through and sent the Marine captain flying hundreds of meters in the opposite direction as his body began to spin thanks to the swirling motion of Joey’s tornado like punch. His body eventually smashed into a nearby rock cliff as the smoke cleared and he was left embedded into the brimstone, clearly unconscious as his face was unrecognizable and had been twisted inward with blood and mucus covering his face.

“Wow…” Koga watched on in both amazement and terror as the power Joey had displayed now far exceeded anything he had shown before in their previous fight. To think he was holding back this much strength was a terrifying thing as Koga stood up and slowly approached him.

Joey himself was feeling a bit winded as he sat on the floor, exhaling deeply as he was almost at his limit. When Koga approached him, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the crumbled photo and handed it to the surprised thief as he smiled at him.

“I believe this is yours”

Koga didn’t say anything, only reaching out to take the photo as he looked at it tenderly. It was the last memento he had of his precious sister, the only thing that mattered to him, the only thing that made all these years of loneliness bearable.To see someone defile such a thing, it caused him to lose control of himself in a way that he feared would hurt others who tried to get close to him.

Joey sensed his worry and spoke. “I know how much that thing means to you and well, seeing what that asshole had done to it kind of ticked me off. Sorry, I know you wanted to be the one to finish him off” He apologized as he scratched the back of his head.

Koga shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. I should be apologizing to you, you got that cut on your face because you wanted to help calm me down. There’s another side of me, the side that loses control and lets the pain of what I suffered take over and lose control. Whenever I become like that, I just lose all sense of myself and become a monster. I’m sure you don’t want to associate yourself with someone like that…” He trailed off, turning his back to Joey as he couldn’t bear to face him right now. Joey may not have wanted to be his friend but Koga certainly did and wanted to learn more about him, fight alongside him, and grow with him but he knew that he couldn’t. Who would want to be friends with a monster like him?

“What are you talking about?”

Koga’s eyes widened as the voice of Joey rang out from behind him.

“You really are hard at hearing aren’t you? You could be a thirty foot tall dinosaur that could shoot laser beams out of your ass for all I care. I said it before and I won’t say it again. I want you by my side, Koga. You will be on my crew and there’s nothing you can say or do to change that, got it?”

Drip.

There were no words that came from Koga’s mouth, only the sound of his tears dropping onto the ground could be heard as the young man wept where he stood. For the first time in Koga's life, he had actually made a friend and not just a friend, someone who could actually trust with his own life. Someone who actually mattered to him outside of his sister and mentor. Someone who he actually liked.

Joey didn’t have to see his face and only laid back on the ground, a satisfied smile on his face.

“You big crybaby”

## A New Beginning

Having left the scene of the battle field, Koga and Joey had tied up the unconscious and defeated Raigo and dragged him with them as they left the other seriously injured or dead marine corpses on their own. They weren’t saints and only spared Raigo’s life due to him being a valuable hostage they could use for the Marines still left by the docks.

Before they got to that though, Koga had asked that they return to his hideout and just as he had predicted, the entire place was ransacked and not a single treasure or jewel remained. Normally he would have been furious but since he had already expected it, he was calm and merely stepped inside, moving to another hidden section as he moved a few rocks that were hiding a bag full of supplies and personal belongings.

“Smart, I’m guessing you were planning on heading out eventually and wanted to keep those safe” Joey commented as he was holding the rope that was attached to Raigo’s sleeping body.

“Yeah. I didn’t know when but I knew deep down I’d have to leave this island someday, so I kept this just in case” He picked the bag up and threw it over his shoulder. He took one last look around the room, gauging just how many years he had spent in this place and recalling all of the memories he had. It was finally time to move on and Koga was ready as he closed his eyes, offering a silent prayer to his sister as he turned around and faced Joey with a determined look on his face.

“I’m ready” Koga declared.

Joey loved that look as it was the look of a man ready to step out into the world and nodded at him.

“Then let’s go, partner”

The shipping docks of ​Doro Island​ were filled with several marine soldiers who were ordered to stay back per the orders of Captain Raigo who led the pursuit of the criminal known as the Bloody Saw. Those that were under his ship had complete faith in Raigo as they had all seen how powerful the newly appointed captain was and believed he’d return soon with the criminal in sea-stone cuffs.

Unfortunately for them however, the reality of the situation was far worse than they could have ever imagined as one marine soldier spotted two people approaching the harbour while carrying something behind them.

“Hey, what’s that?” A skinny officer asked his fellow marine’s and it only took them a few seconds to realize who the person that was tied up was as nervous sweat fell from their faces.

“C-C-Captain Raigo!”

“He lost!?”

“How could this be….?”

The marines were in a complete state of panic and hastily drew their rifles towards them but stopped when they saw the criminal identified as the Bloody Saw form a saw blade with his hand and rest it against Raigo’s neck.

“If you don’t want his head to roll, then you're going to follow our demands” He stated, causing the Marines to nervously gulp at the blood lust emitted from his eyes.

“O-Our? Y-You mean you weren’t the only one who was fighting against Captain Raigo?” A nervous marine asked as he had picked up on Koga’s intentional phrasing.

“That’s right” He then pointed to Joey who waved at them. “I’m actually not the one who defeated him, he did”

“WHAT!?” The marines all yelled as their eyes popped out and all the attention now surrounded the blonde haired youth that was acting relaxed and friendly.

“That’s right. The name’s Gale D. Joseph, and starting today I’m officially a pirate along with this walking tortue device” He pointed back to Koga who looked a bit embarrassed at such a description.

“Hey, at least make me sound a bit cooler” Koga complained.

Joey waived off his concerns “Don’t sweat the small stuff. Your power is way more intimidating than mine, look at them about the piss their pants” He joked as he noticed one marine whose legs were shaking. Clearly, he was a cabin boy or some pitiful rank that involved not being involved in fighting.

“I-In any case” Koga coughed to clear the mood and get things back on track as he glared at the marines. “Now move aside, we’ll be taking that ship”

“What!?” Several marines yelled, these ones having scars on their faces and looked like veterans as they stepped closer. “You think we’ll do something as outlandish as that? Learn your place filth!”

“Guess we’ll need to give them a demonstration” Joey shrugged as Koga sighed and nodded. Sometimes, pain was the best method in order to get people to listen.

Joey began walking forward as several more cowardly marines backed away but the veteran ones didn’t and charged right at him with their swords, intent on showcasing the pride of a marine soldier.

It didn’t even take a second before one was sent flying through the air and crashed into a building while the other was stomped into the floor with his head now edged in the pavement as Joey dusted himself off.

“Anyone else feel like kissing the ground today?” He asked.

Every marine violently shook their head.

“Didn’t think so”

With that settled, Joey and Koga strutted right past the Marines and now stood on the marine ship and inspected the vessel. It wasn’t a full war ship and was about the size of a normal pirate ship and had several rooms and supplies stocked within. Joey believed he could use it as a temporary ship until he was finally able to get a custom made pirate ship and he nodded at Koga.

“The design’s tacky but it’ll do for now”

Koga nodded and gave the rope carrying Raigo to Joey before he glared at one of the scared marines who were still on the ship.

“All the treasure that you guys found in my hideout, where did you put it?” He asked threateningly, ready to whip out a saw blade at a moment’s notice.

“I-It’s currently in the private quarters of Captain Raigo as per his orders” The marine complied immediately.

Koga believed him and sighed in relief. At least he had retrieved what was lost from him.

“Alright, now let’s set sail already” Joey announced as he ordered the marines to raise the anchor and untie the ship from the dock. They followed his demands but showed defiance on their faces as they couldn’t believe they were being jacked from a group of lowly pirates.

Once they had done so and the ship was beginning to move, Kogaknocked off every remaining marine on the ship while Joey waved at them while they were now resurfacing in the ocean.

“Thanks guys! We really appreciate it!” He spat in a whimsical tone and then turned to the amused Koga and gave him the body of Raigo.

“He’s all yours” Joey nodded and Koga returned it with a small smile before he raised his fist and punched Raigo straight in the face, sending him flying backwards as the man landed in the hands of a few marines that were quick enough to catch him.

“Nice catch” Koga spat sarcastically as it was now Joey’s time to laugh as he slapped him on the back.

“There you go. Your getting better at your trash talk” He praised as Koga rolled his eyes and then leaned against the railing, staring at the ocean view.

“Even though I agreed to it, was that really fine? I’m sure they’ll try to hunt us down after we pulled a stunt like that. Maybe we should have kept that bastard as a hostage a bit longer”

Joey shook his head. “Nah, its better this way.. If we did that, they’d be far more desperate to get him back. Now that we returned him and have only stolen their ship, they’ll come after us but it’ll be far less aggressive than if we still had that asshole in our custody. Besides, we’re pirates. They were gonna come after us regardless” He explained as he stretched his body, looking at the wounds that were now patched up thanks to the supplies carried by Koga in his bag.

“It’s a good thing we both know how to perform emergency first aid. That slash on your chest looked really bad at first” Joey expressed with a concerned face.

“I’ve had my share of close encounters, though I’ll admit today was the worst I’d ever received. I learned how to perform it during my time alone on the island, I assume you did as well on your home island?”

Joey noded, feeling a bit nostalgic. “Yup. My old man taught me. He was a mercenary back in his younger days so he made sure to drill into me how important it was to know how to perform first aid just in case”

“He must be a wise man” Kogo looked impressed but Joey waived him off.

“Meh, he’s alright. Love him to death but he could be a real pain in the ass, especially after mom left us”

Koga’s interest grew at the mention of his mother “Your mother?”

Joey smiled bitterly. “Yeah. I heard from dad mom left us when I was little and never came back for whatever reason. I’m not even sure if she’s alive right now but my dad keeps telling me she is and that she’s always thinking of us. Pft, as if I’ll buy that crap…” he snarked with a bit of resentment but soon calmed down as he realized that it wasn’t the time to be recalling old memories.

“Anyway, let’s stop talking about that. Right now, we have to celebrate the establishment of our crew!”

Koga seemed a bit disappointed as he wanted to hear and learn more about Joey’s past but he seemed content with leaving that conversation for another time and smiled at him.

“Your right. I’m no longer a bandit or a rogue anymore, I’m a pirate now under your banner. I'll see the world with you and obtain the greatest treasures across the globe for both my sister and for myself. I'm trusting you, so don’t let me down now, *captain*” He teased as he playfully punched Joey’s chest as the blonde haired man chuckled and punched him right back in his fist with a smirk as he turned around and stared off into the drifting horizon, wondering what was next.

“This is the start of our adventure! I’ll be King of the Pirates someday and rule these seas! Just you wait and see!”