A New Spark

**Date Started:** April 24th 2023
**Date Completed:** May 25th 2023
**Previous Role-Play: /**
**Users Involved:** LaFangedPanda, GregOfEvil
**Setting:** East Blue, 1585
**Characters Involved:**
* Sir Leveigh
* Morozov D. Cole

## Dreams of a fool

It had only been one day since Leveigh decided to steal the St. Frauce and abandon the Frauce Kingdom. He just couldn't stand by and do nothing after he witnessed his home kingdom getting robbed by the Heavenly Tribute. These so called World Nobles had already so many riches and they still needed to rob the citizens of his kingdom who worked really hard to get that money. It was time that someone revolted against these crimes and Levy thought that the best way would be to challenge the leaders of the world themselves, the Gorosei.

He realized that he wasn't powerful enough to defeat them on his own. He needed some strong comrades to help him with this. What was the easiest way to find some strong comrades? His devil fruit powers of course! He could use his devils to travel to different islands in the East Blue, hoping to find interesting people that could join his crew. Levy met a lot of interesting people during his time in the Frauce Kingdom, so he was hoping he could maybe track some of them and convince them to join his crew. So Levy decided to send out his devils to different island all across the East Blue.

A couple of days later, one of the devils, named Middle, reached an island where a town was located. Several people were wandering through the streets, chatting with each other or buying some food and clothes. "Let's ask these people if they know any strong people that live on this island", Middle thought to himself. He approached several people in the town, but as they approached some of them, they quickly started screaming and ran away. It wasn't long before the streets were empty because everyone fled inside their houses.

"Did I do anything wrong?" Middle asked himself. But then he looked behind him and saw why everyone was running away. In the town centre stood a man, if you could even call him that. He was a giant figure, easily 5 meters tall or even more. He was covered in a white fur and his face resembled an alligator. He was also holding a giant bottle of what appeared to be alcohol. " What kind of creature is this?" Middle wondered. But he didn't feel any fear towards the creature, he even felt like he met such a creature before. He approached the creature standing in the town centre emptying a giant bottle of alcohol. Middle flew up till he could make eye contact with the creature. "Hello there," Middle said with a smile on his face, "What is such a giant man doing here in this town centre? It seems you are scaring the people away."

The man stood there perplexed by the strange creature talking to him, saying, "I must've had too much to drink." As he took a bottle full of booze and took a massive swig from it, "What are you?" "Some demon from hell?" He said it with a drunken voice as he started laughing at the absurdity of the idea of a demon from hell coming to visit him. The man pushed aside the creature while laughing and drunkenly walked into a nearby bar with his long tail dragging behind, nearly hitting his head on the doorway. As the man entered, many people started to run away from the bar; almost tripping on each other as they left.

Middle didn't appreciate being ignored and followed the man inside the bar. "Ignoring someone isn't very nice, sir", Middle told the man while he got to the bar : "Hey bartender, please give my man here a bottle of your best Whisky, maybe that will cheer him up." Middle turned his gaze back at the man again and repeated his question : "So I will repeat myself again, what is a big guy like you doing here in an ordinary town like this?"

The man was shocked that the bartender reacted to the little demon. "So, you're not a hallucination!" The man said, "Are you a demon that came here to claim my soul?" He said as the bartender nervously handed him a bottle of whisky, which the man quickly snatched before the bartender nor the demon even realized and began drinking while watching the demon.

The man regained his composure and looked the demon in the eyes, asking, "Why are you asking me this?" with a stern expression. "My current situation doesn't concern you!" The man then slammed the bottle of whisky onto the counter, shattering it. He then got up and started to leave without paying.

While the man left the bar, Middle looked at the bartender who seemed too scared of the man to even ask him to pay his drinks. Middle then again went after the man and told him what he thought of him : "Well Sir, who do you think you are leaving a bar without paying for your drinks? Also, at the speed you emptied that bottle earlier, it seems you aren't at a very good place right now. Only people that go through a lot of problems empty a bottle that fast during the middle of the day."

Middle realized that this man was going through a rough time. So he decided to quickly continue by replying to the man's question earlier : "To reply to your question earlier why I am here, I'm currently on the look out for my captain to find strong crew mates to join his pirate crew you know. And you seemed like a strong fella to me at first, but know that I got to know you a little bit, it seems as you are just a lazy drunk scaring people away without a good reason."

"So a pirate thinks he's better than a lazy drunk!" As the man was about to leave the bar he spat out "Pirates are good for nothing fools! Fools they firmly believe every dream of theirs will always come true!" The man turned around to leave the bar as he whispered to himself "I was a fool once."

Middle was surprised by the man's sudden outburst, this was clearly something that was bothering him. Middle tried to figure out why the man was triggered. "What's wrong with someone who just wants freedom? Being a pirate surely isn't without risks, but isn't freedom worth all these risks? I would rather live a dangerous live as a pirate and have all the freedom in the world than live in a safe kingdom ruled by a corrupt government, don't you agree?"

"Without dreams, there can't be freedom, so what do you think happens when your dreams don't come true?" The man said while looking sentimental, "Without dreams, you might as well live in a country ruled by a corrupt king!" The man took a bottle from the counter and took a drink and proceeded to leave while tossing some money at the bartender.

While the man left the bar, Middle saw something falling out of his pocket. Middle took it up and looked at what it was. "A bounty poster?" Middle was surprised that this alcoholic was carrying a bounty poster in his pocket.

But he became even more surprised when he saw who's photo was on the bounty poster : "Sir Leveigh, Dead or Alive, 5 million berries." Middle's eyes almost fell out of the surprise. His mouth was wide open, he couldn't believe it! Who was this man? And why was he carrying Levy's bounty poster with him. Middle quickly made contact telepathically with Leveigh, who was still standing on his ship, to tell him this news : "Sir, you won't believe what just happened! I was following this man to see if he was strong enough to be recruited, but then a bounty poster fell out of his pocket. A bounty poster of you, sir! What do I have to do now?"

Levy, standing on the deck of his ship, remained calm. "Just be calm, Middle, there is no need to panick. I suppose he doesn't know who you are, so just try to figure out why he is carrying that bounty poster. Maybe he has a good reason for it and we don't need to panick for it."

"Ok sir, understood." Middle turned his face at the man again and asked him directly : "Sir, something felt out off your pocket. It seems to be a bounty poster. Can I ask why you are carrying it around?" Middle tried to stay as calm as possible, but you could just hear a little trembling in his voice. He kept looking at the man and refused to look away, waiting for the man the answer his question.

The man quickly snatched the paper before the demon had a chance to react "Give me that!" He yelled, he examined the paper for a few seconds, "You can have it, I'll never be able to collect his bounty." He said while throwing the paper at the demon "Just look at his bounty, he's bound to be strong" he told the demon.

"Are you a bounty hunter?" Middle asked. It was true that 5 million berries was a bounty that could be considered serious in the East Blue, but there were countless people with higher bounties here. So why would this man already gave it up if he saw a bounty of only 5 million berries? He didn't seem to be a really ambitious bounty hunter.

The man looked at the demon. "If you want to call me a bounty hunter, then sure, I'm a bounty hunter." The man said with a non-serious tone, "Why are you asking?" He said to the little demon.

"No particular reason", Middle replied, "It's just a little rare to see a bounty hunter in the East Blue. I imagine that people with the big bounties are in the Grand Line, so I supposed that's were most bounty hunters would be." Middle wanted to get a little bit more information about the man and started asking more personal questions : "So Mr. bounty hunter, I realize I don't know your name yet. Can I ask you what your name is?"

"My name?" The man asked; he wasn't really sure if he should give his real name. "Should I?" He asked himself. He thought, for a moment, "I guess there's no harm in giving you my name." He told the demon, "My name is *Morozov D. Cole*!" He shouted with a voice full of pride.

Middle telepathically contacted Leveigh immediately : "Do you know a bounty hunter with the name of Morozov D. Cole, Sir?" Leveigh, still on his ship, seemed to remember that name. He thought deeply and suddenly remembered who he was. "Morozov D. Cole! Of course, he was a pirate a couple of years ago that sailed the East Blue. I thought he went to Reverse Mountain to go into the Grand Line? Why is he back here in the East Blue as a bounty hunter?"

Leveigh then gave an order to Middle : "Middle, this man seems like a powerful guy with experience sailing the seas. I think he would made a good addition to the crew. You say he is trying to capture my for my bounty? Why don't we make it a test for him? Please suggest him to help look for me, that way we can find out if he is capable to join our crew or not."

"Okay Sir." Middle replied. He then started talking to Cole again : "Morozov D. Cole, that's a cool name. What do you say if we team up and try to catch that Leveigh guy on your bounty poster? I think I know where we can find him."

Cole looked at the demon and thought for a moment."Will this demon really help me fight this guy?" He thought, "I guess I've got nothing to lose; if things go south, I can just throw the little demon at him and run." He looked up at the demon, saying, "Fine, I accept your deal." He said with a hint of optimism.

"That's great!", Middle replied. "I know this man is from the Frauce Kingdom, so I think it would be a good idea to go search there for him. Do you have a ship to go there?"

"SHIP!" Cole laughed, "Who needs a ship when you can swim there." He laughed some more his laughter echoing around the town, "Just lead the way and I'll follow you." He told Middle with a mischievous grin on his face.

## The Devil's Bounty

It's been just a few minutes since Cole and Middle left town; Cole was now swimming at incredible speeds; each stroke of his body only increased the distance between him and Middle, "Do I keep going straight!?" Cole shouted towards Middle, his voice barely heard over the crashing waves.

Middle had trouble keeping up with Cole, he was indeed an incredible swimmer. But Middle knew where they had to go, as he stayed in contact with Leveigh to know where his ship was currently at. "Just keep going straight! At this rate we will be there in no time!" Middle shouted to Cole while trying to fly as fast as he could to keep up with him.

"Alright!" Cole shouted at Middle as he continued swimming at incredible speeds. After a few seconds, he spotted a ship on the horizon. He then quickened his pace until he was right next to the massive ship. He then quickly jumped onto the side of the ship, causing it to rock a little. Using his claws to hold himself up, he then swiftly leaped onto the deck some boards of wood cracking from the impact. "Is this it?" He asked Middle.

Middle got on the ship right behind Cole. He had already contacted Leveigh in the meantime to let him know that they were coming his way. As Middle and Cole were standing on the deck of the St. Frauce, no one could be seen. "I know this is his ship", Middle said to Cole, "we should go around and look for him, I know he is here somewhere."

"Looking around will take too long." Cole said as he lifted his hand, which then spontaneously ignited into a brilliant white flame, sending waves of heat in all directions which warmed up the entire ship, "It will probably be faster if we burn him out," Cole said with a mischievous grin as he prepared to strike the deck of the ship with his large firey claws.

"Wow don't set my ship on fire, you idiot!", from the top of the crow's nest, Levy jumped on to the deck. "I barely managed to get this ship at of the Frauce Kingdom, so please be a little careful with it, will you? I didn't know this guy was such a hothead, Middle, you should have told me."

"I'm sorry, Sir", Middle said as he flew back to Leveigh. The surprise could be seen on Cole's face as Middle approached Levy like that. "You should be Morozov D. Cole", Leveigh said, "I heard you are targetting me for my bounty according to my friend Middle here. Why don't we try to see if you have what it takes to claim my bounty?" Levy said with a confident smile on his face, looking Cole directly in the eyes.

Cole stopped his attack mid-strike, and his jaw almost hit the ground in shock at what he just witnessed. "I knew I shouldn't trust that **MOSQUITO DEMON**!" Cole shouted towards the sky. He was now faced with a dilemma: he couldn't run away from this fight as he didn't know his way back as he just blindly followed Middle's directions and didn't pay attention to his surroundings, but on the other hand, if he fought, he would get himself killed. Who knows what a man with a $5 million bounty could do?

"Well, nice to meet you. I assume you're Leveigh?" Cole said while trying to hide his terrified expression and now trying to make small talk. As he was talking to Leveigh, he tried to sneakily move his tail and try to grab him by his foot and throw him into the ocean.

"I am Leveigh indeed, the man who will become the King of the World and defeat the Gorosei. You are quite an intimidating guy yourself, what is with your appearance? You aren't human, are you?" It didn't seem like Leveigh noticed the tail sneaking up to him, but he did. He decided not to respond to it to see what his opponent's first move would be and try to figure out his fighting tactics.

Cole's plan seemed to work, and as a smiled formed on his face he snagged Leveigh by his foot and quickly spinned him around "Aha I've got you now, your bounty is mine!" Cole boldly declared as he quickly launched him into the water, "I'll drag you to the bottom of the ocean, and cut you up until there's nothing left but your head, and by the time I'm done even the ocean will bleed red!" Cole then swiftly jumped into the water and waited for Leveigh to hit the surface of the water with his large blue claws waiting to sink into Leveigh's flesh.

Leveigh didn't seem to be surprised by Cole's sneak attack, as he saw it coming from miles away. As he was facing to surface of the ocean, he shouted : "Middle!" Middle quickly flew to Leveigh and catched him by his jacket before he could hit the surface of the water. He then flew Leveigh back onto the deck of the ship. Leveigh got to the side of the ship so he could see his opponent who was still in the water.

"So you like to take opponents by surprise, Morozov D. Cole, is that the kind of fighter that you are? Just know that I have already a ton of battle experience as a former general, so don't think that I would fall for a sneak attack so easily. I think you already figured out I'm a devil fruit user, so it was clever of you to try to get me into the water. But Middle told me you were a formidable swimmer, so I think I rather stay on my ship. Why don't you come back onto the deck and face me like a real man?"

Cole was surprised that Leveigh somehow found out his plans and was about to run, but Cole took a closer look at the ship; it didn't seem like a regular pirate ship. It seemed more well-built than that. "Perhaps I could sell it for beer money?" Cole thought, "Fine, I'll fight you like a man, but be warned, *Chenoos* are the perfect killing machines!" A chuckle escaped Cole's lips as he propelled himself towards the ship, using his sharp claws to climb up the side, leaving noticeable damage in his wake.

Once he reached the deck, Cole's arms and tail were enveloped in an intense blue flame that left scorch marks on the wooden planks. His tail was now raised upright, much like a viper, ready to strike its prey on the deck. Cole stood upright, his intimidating posture towering over Leveigh, and as the sun began to set, The blue glow of Cole's flames illuminated the ship's surroundings, creating an eerie yet beautiful spectacle. He slowly circled Leveigh, never once breaking eye contact with him. He almost appeared as a blue phantom, as none of his heavy steps even made a creak on the wooden floor below him. The only sound that came from him was that of the dancing flames on his body. His tail suddenly launched at Leveigh like a flaming whip.

Leveigh quickly blew a giant bubble with the Bubblebumb he had in his mouth, using it as a shield for the incoming attack. The bubble took the impact of the attack and after a couple of seconds, the giant bubble popped. This released a stench of Levy's bad breath all around the area. The stench was so horrible that it would disorientate most people, but Levy was accustomed to it so it didn't affect him in the slightest. Leveigh also made sure to make the bubble big enough so the stench would also reach his opponent when it would pop, this way he tried to disorientate his opponent by disabling Cole's senses with the smell of his bad breath.

Cole began to cough; he quickly succumbed to the effects of Leveigh's horribly disgusting breath. Cole quickly collapsed towards the ground, his hands on his throat as he struggled to breathe. "Is this some kind of poison!" Cole coughed out; his tail was now starting to move frantically, hitting various objects and causing considerable damage to the deck of the ship. With a last gulp of air, Cole decided to hold his breath, nearly vomiting while doing so. He then got up, his figure now more imposing than before, and quickly launched a downward strike toward Leveigh with his flame-covered claws, aiming directly at his head.

Leveigh jumped backwards, just barely evading Cole's attack. He was lucky that Cole's senses were disabled or that attack would have dealt a lot of damage to Leveigh. He quickly grabbed a Bubblebumb out of his pouch and took a stand similar to a baseball pitcher. **BUBBLEBUMB STIKE OUT!** As he shouted the name of his next attack, he threw the bubblebumb at Cole with the speed of a bullet. He aimed directly at his chest, hoping that would be the place that would do the most damage to him.

Cole was able to block the gum with his arms, but the force of it was able to push him back a little. As Cole went for another strike, he realized his arms were now stuck to his chest, the gum acting as a sort of glue. He started to heat up his arms in order to melt the gum. His only way to fight back now was his tail, so he quickly launched a strike towards Leveigh's side with his flaming tail.

Leveigh retracted his sword so it became a shield on his left forearm, being able to block Cole's attack with it. But the attack still had an impact on Leveigh, showing how powerful a Chenoo's tail is. He had to find a way to end this battle quickly, to prevent his opponent from growing stronger and destroying his ship any more. He saw how much of an effect his bad breath had on the Chenoo's sensitive smell, so he decided to try that again. He blew a bubble filled with bad breath and seperated it from his mouth. **"BAD BREATH SPIKE!"** He shouted as he spiked the bubble at Cole like a volleyball player. He wanted to make the bubble pop on impact in Cole's vicinity to release his bad breath around Cole again.

Cole's eyes widened. "He's about to release that poison again!" He thought, and without thinking, Cole leaped backward, distancing himself from Leveigh. Cole's entire body exploded with a blue flame. He then launched his tail towards the bubble, the intense heat of his tail popping the bubble and releasing the toxic stench away from Cole. He then tried to use his tail and wrap it around Leveigh's neck.

Leveigh was surprised by Cole's attack and struggled with the Chenoo's tile around his neck. Did he underestimate his opponent? He turned out to be quite a capable fighter and the members of the chenoo tribe seemed to have some really powerful abilities. But it appeared as his opponent forgot about Middle, so Leveigh tried to use Middle to fight, as he was currently struggling and trying to get out of the stranglehold he was held in.

Middle quickly flew up till he was just above Cole, he then used his tail to strike his opponent hard into the ground. He used his full force this attack, hoping it would be enough to send the big Chenoo a few decks downwards.

With a resounding thud, Cole crashed onto the ground, obliterating the deck and hurtling towards the second floor. The force of the impact caused him to lose his grip on Leveigh. A gaping hole now appeared on the deck, spewing forth an intense burst of heat. Suddenly, Cole emerged from the hole, his serpentine tail propelling him upward like a snake ready to pounce. As he emerged, he was enveloped in a striking blue flame, illuminating the area around him. "Leveigh!" he roared, launching forward like a deadly viper, his flaming claws poised to strike at his target.

Leveigh stood directly in front of the big Chenoo, while Middle was behind him. "You're outnumbered here", Leveigh said, "We have you surrounded." Leveigh extended his sword again and charged at his opponent, trying to slash him through his chest. In his other hand he was holding a Bubblebumb, in case a saw an opening to hit his opponent with one of his bullet-fast Bubblebumb throws.

The momentum of Cole's strike made it impossible for Cole to dodge Leveigh's sword as it sliced his chest, creating a gash. Cole crashed into the floor, creating smoke and dust. As Cole got up, blood began to drip off his wound, the drops of blood catching fire as soon as they hit the floor. Cole put a hand up to his chest, analyzing the wound. Cole realized that he was outmatched. As he tried to rush towards Leveigh, he felt lightheaded and almost stumbled to the ground. "I've used too much fire!" Cole spat out, and as a final attempt to finish the fight, he launched his tail at Leveigh and Middle as he took some of his flaming blood and began launching it at Leveigh.

Leveigh blew a giant bubble of Bubblebumb to act like a shield for the flaming blood drops that were launched at him. But it was over for Middle, he was unable to dodge Cole's tail and took a direct hit. Middle vanished as Leveigh's middle finger reappeared on his left hand again. "Good work taking one of my devils out." Leveigh said to his bleeding opponent, "But it looks as if you are nearing your end as well. You put up a good fight and you got some interesting abilities. I don't want to finish you off right now, I actually got a proposal for you."

"Ha!" Cole chuckled at Leveigh's words: "What kind of proposal?" Cole asked with a hint of skepticism as the fire around him began to subside, and as he collapsed to the ground, he looked up at Leveigh, "What if he's tricking me? He might try to kill me when I let my guard down!" Cole thought to himself as he was losing strength, his eyes narrowing at Leviegh, "Before you tell me your proposal, throw me in the water!" Cole shouted, "If I don't cool down, I can't regain my strength, and I'll die, so if you want to tell me your proposal, you better hurry!" Cole shouted towards Leveigh. Cole scoffed at his own words: "There's no way he'll help me; who will help their enemy? Only a fool will do that. Well, I guess this is the end. I guess I had a short life." He thought as he started losing his conscience.

## First Crewmate

A little confused by what his opponent was asking him, Leveigh doubted to help him. But he was confident in his own abilities and this way he could see if Cole was a man that could be trusted, something that would be very important if he would accept the proposal that Leveigh had in mind. "Okay, I will help you get back in the water", Leveigh said, "You earned my respect, so I hope I did the same to you and we can start to trust each other and not see each other as enemies anymore. This world is full of strong people and it is good to have some strong comrades." As Leveigh was speaking to Cole, he helped the big Chenoo get up and brought him to the side of the ship, helping him to get in the water again.

As Cole hit the water, he started to sink, the blood from his wound rising up and setting fire to the surface as if it were napalm. The splash of water also awoke Cole. "He didn't kill me?" He thought as the soft glow of the moon illuminated his surroundings as he was in the water. As he looked up, peering through his flaming blood as if it were clouds, he could see Leveigh looking down into the water. A few more seconds passed, and Cole was now starting to remember what Leveigh had said: "What kind of fool respects his enemies?" Cole thought, and he then thought about Leveigh's dream, "Defeating the Gorosei, King of the World!" Cole chuckled to himself: "The people he'll face along the way are bound to be stronger than anything he's ever going to imagine!" But Cole thought about Leveigh's words a bit more: "He knows the dangers he'll face, but why is he not scared?" After a few seconds, Cole launched his tail towards the ship like a tentacle as he grabbed ahold of the edge of the ship and lifted himself up. As he got on the deck again, he looked at Leveigh, "Regarding your dream, you know the people you'll face—the pirates, the marines, even the Gorosei—they're bound to be stronger than you, so why has that not stopped you?" Cole asked Leveigh.

"Because I will assemble the strongest crew ever!" Leveigh replied, "I will recruit strong people and build a crew that can take on any opponent. A good team will always be stronger than an individual, you know. The Levy Pirates will grow stronger together until even the Gorosei will tremble in fear if they hear our name! What do you say, Morozov D. Cole, do you want to be a part of the future strongest crew in the world? Are you ready to join the Starfish and become the first member of the Levy Pirates?"

Cole stared daggers at Leveigh. Something about Leveigh's words made Cole remember the pirate he once was: "What kind of fool is this man?" Cole thought, "If I accept his proposal, maybe I can become at least half of the man I once was." Cole reached out to Leveigh, "Fine, I'll accept your proposal, but on one condition!" Cole told Leveigh, "If you so much as lose my respect, I'll leave immediately and not look back!" Cole declared as he took a bottle of wine out of his pocket and began drinking it. "I guess I'll humor this ridiculous fool!" Cole thought as he awaited Leveigh's response.

A huge smile appeared on Levy's face as he couldn't hide how happy he was with his first crewmate. "You have my word that you won't lose your respect, nakama. But we will have to train and become stronger if we want to take on the strong people that rule this world! A big adventure is awaiting us, this is only that start of our journey. Dare to dream big and believe in them, that way you can accomplish them." Leveigh reached out into his pouch and took out a piece of Bubblebumb. "You want some of my delicious Bubblebumb? It tastes very good, hahaha!" Levy said with a smile that appeared to grow bigger every second.

"Gum!? You mean to tell me that you fought with bubblegum?" Cole let out a chuckle as he took the gum out of Leveigh's hand. "So, do we set sail? We need to get this boat fixed." Cole asked Leveigh.

"Hahaha, this is no ordinary bubblegum", Leveigh replied, "This is Bubblebumb! The best bubblegum you can find in the East Blue and soon in the whole world!" Leveigh scratched his head and looked around his ship. "You really made a mess out of my ship, didn't you? How can we make it to the Grand Line in this? It's time to find us a shipwright who can fix this ship up and make it a ship worthy for the Levy Pirates! But first we will have to pick someone up that I haven't seen in a long time."