Chapter 11: The Battle for Yotsuba: Death Blow
The four had set themselves up nearby in a food stall. There was no shortage of those while on the island and they were hungry. Besides, not being suspicious is better than hiding in plain sight. They would just need to make sure no one heard too much.
"So you made some bootleg version of a timer that you based off of… cartoons… by using a candle that slowly melts towards gunpowder that runs around the whole ship and the main pack will be beneath the pirates. And you're hoping that the explosion will call in marines?"
It was as sophisticated as a banana peel left on the road. Krys had to rub her eyelids with her fingers after imagining what that would look like, Karma nonchalantly huffed.
"Hey, I don't claim to be an expert at anything apart from games and even that is questionable in its own right. We did what we could think of, there was a candle from the lamps so I just took the candle out and sat it on the floor with a lot of gunpowder, It'll take minutes for the thing to blow. And yes, I think an explosion in the docks would make the marines distracted while we infiltrate this compound of theirs."
They all spare a glance to the side, looking toward the massive central building while sections of cannons dotted the wall. The fortification itself was constructed to the likeness of normal medieval castle walls aside from the crenelations which were replaced by cannons.
Speaking of the town, it was much like any other East Blue town, with buildings made of wood and roofed with either thatch or tiles. There are major centres of shops and other commercial buildings meant to facilitate merchants and other businesses.
"So what do we do, captain?"
"I'm glad you asked, Krys. After the explosion, we need to scale the walls. That'll be easy to do once we got some rope which we already took from the pirates. Based on what Krys and Xed found, there should be three sections of the compound, one central position which is where most of the administrative and basically the headquarters are. There's an external barracks off the west of it and the shipyard towards the ocean. We are going through the barracks since it's the most without active guards, with the explosion setting off, they'd be alerted and… if they see our message after the dust settles they'd be searching the town and would be barren of people, we could go by sea but since our little expedition has caused them so much scare, it looks like there are people building ships, so it's no good."
"That sounds like an actual plan for once, do you think it could work?"
"Like every plan, it doesn't always go perfectly but if it doesn't we always have a second option."
"Care to elaborate?"
"If there's any luck, there could be some sick fat fuck ready to buy a cat-girl inside that compound, since Xed would look like a submissive and breedable person, we can dress up Xed in a-"
Xed spat his drink as he stood up in a panic. "AYO, this isn't a plot for anything, is it?! I'm not going near that base in anything other than actual clothes. You are NOT selling me or anything just so I can infiltrate the base."
"C'mon Xed, no horny male can resist you, we might as well get some money while we kill the commodore. It's not like you are helpless, we're superhumans just on strength alone."
"Is that what you're really gonna do to a girl?!"
"You're a man, you always say you are." Karma saw Xed suddenly sit down when he realized Karma was correct. Karma then made the others think about it. "You can do it if we ever need it, right guys?"
"Yep." Larc wouldn't want to miss Xed suffering, it was going to be funny anyway so why not?
"Hell yeah." Even Krys threw all her doubts just because Xed was on the receiving end of a plan that includes his humiliation.
"Can we just do the first plan thing?" Xed was misdirecting, it looked like everyone in the crew was prepared to send off Xed to an ugly bastard to potentially ruin his life by tainting him. He shudders at the thought, this is why he always hated those kinds of hentai.
Krys suddenly realized something. "Hey, how long do we have, Karma?"
"Hmm?" Karma then let out a pocket watch he had been starting to carry around since they didn't have any normal watches. "...Oh shit."
"Don't tell me-"
An explosion reverberated from the direction of the docks.
Krys looked at Karma with disappointment.
"Uhh… let's go!"
The four quickly, but unassumingly, went towards the other side of the wall. As they do, surges of marines kept the peace, calming the people down.
Then another explosion chains after one… then another… then another…
A resulting inferno spreads to more docked ships, flaming pieces of wood acting as sparks for fire and that fire spreading to the magazine of ships docked. It was an unintentional effect but it was appreciated.
The Reapers set themselves near the wall, more commotion could be heard from earshot and the four couldn't waste much more time as they snuck to the side of the wall.
"Hang on tight, it's easy for us to get up since I have my Devil Fruit." Karma lets the rope drag itself up the wall, ensnaring the rim of a cannon as the others grab portions of the rope before being hefted up.
"Marines… they're moving out more and more."
Down below a marine of higher rank wakes the barracks and rushes them to help in the firefighting and subduing the little surprise they had left.
"By the way…" Krys asked as they all dropped down without being noticed. "I heard you sent a message, is that why they're rushing so many marines? Aside from the fire we caused."
"A little threat of more terrorism always did wonders."
Back at the docks and left carved on a wall, a string of text makes up the words, 'This will not be the last. A lamp held high where the rats roam and scatter, an ember of menace is reaching a wondrous delight. Tick-Tock.'
It wasn't a hazard without context but when an explosion happens next to the town, the marines couldn't be lax with such a threat. Plus, with the experience of Karma and Larc, a little riddle would make it at least more concerning. It was plain but vague, a trait they all experienced and know well in the riddles of Sea of Thieves.
Sneaking through the barracks they collected some articles and extra clothes for what they would wear. A quick change was easy because of their backgrounds as students that rushed to school.
Throwing their clothes into a nearby bush, they all acted calmly as they rushed to the central building. Many marines were rushing around so it was easy to get through, if they got called out, they'd just say it was Commodore Monsoon's command. It's not like they remember all the faces of the enlisted men.
"There, they look like important people. Captains." Larc pointed out, a pair of people heading upstairs was spotted, instead of a standard uniform it was more designed for Captains.
Karma nodded and followed a close distance, after winding the stairs, they reached the top of the building and a well-decorated hallway was there with double doors closing just as they reached the top.
"One of them is standing outside, they're probably asking about the explosion and if it would affect them. We blew up a ship, it might be their fears just wanting to be placated." Karma then felt the man's clothing, it was made of cotton, dead matter from a plant.
"Huh-" The captain standing outside gets yanked across the floor, his jacket sprung out and wrapped his mouth just before he screams. With a single quick action, Larc jabs the man's heart and Karma throws him to the side.
The four reach the doors and kick them down, their strength enhanced so much that they blew the door off its hinges.
"Commodore Murphy Monsoon, you must die."
The marine near the commodore tries to reach for his sword but gets a heel stuck right in his face by Krys. The man gets flung to the nearby bookshelf, shattering into pieces from the impact while blood paints the remains of the furniture.
The commodore hasn't even moved, remaining stoic in his stature as the four circle around him. Larc raises his parrying dagger and presses the tip to Monsoon's chest. "Wait," Karma commanded.
Larc responded and quickly retracted his dagger, leaving a patch of blood where his dagger poked a slice in Monsoon's shirt.
"Do you know a man named Bezos?"
The commodore remained silent, the other already understood what must be done as they restrain his hands and place them on the table while Karma unholstered his pistol.
"Answer."
"I have nothing to say to you- AAAAARRGHHH!"
Karma uses the club of his unloaded flintlock and smashes it directly to one of the Commodore's fingers, shattering every bone while the table dents and cracks from the force.
"Answer."
"Nghhh!"
Rolling his eyes from the grunts of pain, Karma grabs another finger before slamming down hard again, his pistol splinters from it as he throws it away.
"AAAAAHGGGG!"
Karma looks to Larc and reaches for his dagger. "This can go quickly or easily. If you give us the right answers, we might let you live."
A sense of hope, or perhaps desperation for what's come engulfed the commodore's mental state. "Jeffery Bezos!" He huffs from the pain. "H-He's a merchant of sorts, we needed the money and he gives us maps for treasure."
"Why is a marine doing this?"
"At least we're no dirty pirates- AAARGHHH!"
A dagger gets driven in his undamaged hand, twisting it and slowly tugging it up and down while Karma asks again, this time more concisely.
"So the marines are corrupt, understandable. Tell me how you met Jeffery Bezos, with more specificity this time."
"Hrnk! …Jeffery Bezos came here seeking an audience with me, I asked what he wanted and he told me he wanted a business deal. Find treasure marked with Xs or lost vessels with their loot washing up. I don't know how he knows or what he does to the stuff we took, it's mostly treasure chests we found that lasted being buried way before the great pirate age and beyond. He's a bald man with a prominent nose and green eyes. He wears gold all around his body and wears a green coat. From what we could dig up on him, we couldn't even find where he came from. His ship isn't even in the registry even though he tells us he's a merchant."
Karma scoffed. "But because he has gold, you didn't bat an eye if he was truly a merchant. Legally or illegally. We're done here."
"...So am I free to go?"
Pathetic is what Karma thought. Karma nods to his crew, making the Commodore faintly smile but it was washed away when the two holding down his arms suddenly tighten their grip.
"Wait! I thought you would-"
A dagger sliced through his neck and then plunged deep into his chest. A look of distraught was his final position before his body slumped to the table and the Reapers left without looking back.
"So a gold hoarder has set itself up… they probably have the ability to unlock stuff like how my fruit does the same."
They all ran while talking about what they found out, it solidified the existence of a true Gold Hoarder, maybe not led by Bezos but it was a guess if they had a leader or not.
Unbeknownst to them, a man shuffles around the corner, biting his lip in anger or worry. He was panting hard after running quickly, only time will tell what this would entail.
The crew made their way to the docks and quickly led themselves to the top of the ship. It was important to report back what they said, the marines would be busy and they needed to leave.
Karma set the ship to sail and after Xed confirmed no one was chasing them, Karma got to the Transponder Snail and dialled the number of the other Transponder snail aboard the Eviction.
"Purururururururu- Kachack!"
"Speak." Flameheart Jr. knew it was Karma based on who knew their reset numbers.
"Flameheart Jr. Good news, we killed the Commodore. Bad news, the other companies might've followed us here. I confirmed the Gold Hoarders having a presence in this world but because of the appearance of one… there might be more."
"...Problematic but predictable. My father wasn't the only one with power - Gold Hoarder, the person, had both a curse and power in his skull in the form of his eyes. It's not plenty but those Veil Stones are powerful in their own right. The Order of The Souls has magic-adept users despite their small numbers, leaving the Merchant Alliance left with no power to try and transfer over. Lastly, Athena's Fortune, not only are they the ones rivalling my Father in power, but they also have amiable relations with the other Trading Companies. Carry on with your Voyage, destabalizing this nation will let us capitalize further and grow the Reaper's Bones."
"Kachack!"
"So what's our next move captain?" Larc approached from behind along with the others.
Karma muses for a second before uttering with full confidence, "We plan."
"Isn't killing royalty hard?" Krys asked.
"If it's this part of the world's royalty then no. The royal guards in Goa are mostly used for just throwing people out, I doubt they have people qualified for actually fighting but we shouldn't underestimate them."
Karma spoke next. "Let's set sail for the meeting place, the Eviction needs us back. Our destination next... the Goa Kingdom."
With that, the set of friends sail into the wider ocean and the realm of One Piece would shake under the entrance of new beings from another world. Its first step to upheaval was only beginning.
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