Chapter 24: Stolen
There was a large island in front of them, with a mountain range as far as they could see in the distance. The first thing Wolf noticed was the docks that led to a small village. It was tiny in his eyes, but Wolf felt that this was not the place known as the Gao Kingdom. Still, it drew his eye.
"Are we stopping here?"
Buggy asked from below.
Wolf shook his head.
He could see some of the villagers coming out of their homes upon noticing their ship. None of them seemed afraid, which told Wolf they had plenty of travelers come and go. That, or they knew no one would bring harm to their village when it was on the same island on the Gao Kingdom.
Sailing past the village Wolf led his crew past the rocky mountains. On the other side, were large stone gray walls. There was one building that they could see in the distance that was taller than the walls themselves. Their entire crew wondered what it was, and what was in it.
Many started speculating as to what could be stored in that place. However, that was not what Wolf was interested in. He was looking for the marine HQ that he hoped this place would have. Even if it was not large, they should still have a base here.
There were many ships docked at the port, however, none of them were pirate ships. All of them seemed to be merchant ships of various kinds, with one marine vessel.
"Buggy, tell everyone to gather here before we dock."
Wolf said as he started to steer their ship in the direction of the massive town.
Buggy swiftly left to gather everyone leaving Wolf to marvel at the sight of this kingdom. There were plenty of people walking the streets, and a lot of them dressed in fancy clothing. Wolf could tell they were rich.
There was the idea of plundering this place for all it had to offer, but Wolf dismissed that idea. They were not that strong, at least not yet. Wolf could escape, but in the process, the rest of his crew would be captured or die. He had no plans for them to die here.
Within minutes the entire crew was gathered on the deck looking up at Wolf.
"We are approaching Gao Kingdom and I just want to tell you all not to cause too much trouble. I have a mission to do here, and i'd rather not be disturbed by something happening. Arlong, that means controlling yourself. Stay on the ship with the other fishman, or explore. Whatever you want. Buggy… do what you do best."
Buggy wanted to ask what that meant, but Wolf looked past him over to Kuro.
"Kuro, make sure everyone stays in line. You'll be in charge of them while i'm gone."
Wolf looked over everyone.
"You are all curious, but it is for all of our benefits. We are here to get what we need and get out, nothing else. When I return, we can travel the world and look for specific devil fruits. I know that is what many of you want. However! You've all been told of our merit system, so only the ones that work the hardest will be rewarded graciously."
All his crew smiled and nodded. Some cheered at Wolf's remark. They all knew that being a devil fruit user would change their lives. Gaining immense power beyond their wildest dreams.
As for Wolf, he returned his gaze to Buggy.
"I'd also like for you to find out about any auctions here. We have plenty of time to spend, so i'm not in a real rush. If anything is coming up, let me know. I'm sure we can find a way to secure enough funds."
Buggy smiled.
Treasure. His specialty. It was something he had a nose for, and he was already planning on finding out what lay on this island. Old tales, treasure maps, and auctions. If there was anything to gain from it, Buggy was ready to do it all.
With his crew excited for their time in the Gao Kingdom, Wolf steered his ship into the port. Docking in an open spot and leaving the rest to his crew. Everyone knew their part, he just had to play his.
Kuro came up to him before Wolf had time to leave.
"The place you are looking for might not look like a normal marine headquarters. These places change appearance all the time, but you'll know what you are looking for when you see the marines."
Wolf nodded.
"Yeah, I know. I have something I want you to do while i'm gone. If there is an auction happening, we need funds. Find us some targets, we'll do what we did to Stern back in Lougetown."
Kuro grinned and lifted his glasses.
The two of them took all of Stern's wealth right under the man's nose. Kuro remembered how the man fainted when he woke up to nothing. The marines were bewildered by the situation they had no clue what to do.
"I'll find ones that are suitable."
Wolf nodded.
"Then i'll be going."
Wolf said before he vanished from the top of the deck. He appeared on the surface of the wooden platform below their ship and walked off.
One thing he had to note was that the people of Gao Kingdom dressed differently than in Loguetown. Some of them glanced at him, snorted then looked away. To those types Wolf ignored them and minded his own business.
In the middle of a crowd, someone bumped into Wolf. It was a young man with jet black hair wearing a white suit. He stumbled backward from the impact and the four men by his side held him.
Wolf stopped and looked at the man.
"Even the trash of this kingdom has the gulls to walk the same street as me. I swear this place needs a deep cleaning."
The man said as he started to brush himself off.
Wolf chuckled at the man then moved past him.
"You think you can escape after what you've done? Do you know who you ran into?"
Someone shouted at Wolf.
"Don't know, and don't care. If you want me dead get in line, there's a whole list of people who want the same thing."
Wolf yelled back at them without really caring.
After that incident, Wolf ran into no more people. It was not like it was his fault in the first place, that man was not paying attention and bumped into him. Yet he blamed Wolf.
Wolf shook his head as he recalled the encounter. He had no time to play around with that man, he had a goal.
His goal was right in front of his eyes. There were two marines stationed outside a large brown building. Both of the soldiers had rifles strapped on their backs.
There was no sign on the building that stated it belonged to the marines, but he felt this was the spot.
As Wolf was about to make his move, someone ran into him. It was a small kid with curly yellow hair wearing a black suit. Wolf looked at him and the kid bolted away before Wolf could say anything.
Furrowing his eyebrows, Wolf noticed something was off. The sack he kept hanging at his side was gone. Although it was only placed there for appearances sake, so he did not mind it much. Still, that kid stole from him.
Wolf laughed.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone