Chapter 12: The first mate and the Vice captain
Okay guys, the last chapter was quite short, so I decided to be fair to you all and upload a new chapter. I hope you like it.
25 powerstones for a new chapter
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After Baki and Oliver left the Marine base, the town's residents noticed that Baki and Oliver were carrying the bodies of the Marine commander and his lieutenant.
They were shocked when they saw this, and Baki yelled at one of them, "Doctor Peter, hurry up; they need medical attention."
Quickly, an old man ran towards them and started checking the Marine base commander's condition and his lieutenant.
After a moment, the old man sighed in sadness and said, "Sorry, Baki Dave is dead. I can't help him, but I can save Mark."
When Baki heard this, tears began to fall from his eyes, and he nodded to the doctor. They quickly walked back to his clinic to treat the Marine base commander.
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Inside Peter's Clinic
While Oliver and Baki sat outside the medical room of the clinic, Oliver was in deep thought.
"Should I invite Baki to join me? That punch of his was incredibly sharp and powerful," Oliver thought to himself.
Suddenly, Oliver heard the system's notification in his head.
DING, the system detected that the host needed to make a choice.
Recruit Baki Rewards Dragon Fist Martial Arts Manual and a Random Devil Fruit
Don't recruit Baki. Reward monstrous talent in martial arts.
After hearing the system notification, Oliver smiled and thought, "Well, I really like Baki; he is a decent guy. I will recruit him after things calm down here.
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After couple of hours
The door of the medical room opened, and the old doctor walked out. He smiled at Baki and Oliver, then said to them, "I was able to save Mark, and he had regained consciousness. Baki Mark told me that he wanted to talk to you."
Baki nodded and walked to the medical room while Oliver sat in his seat waiting for Baki to finish his talk with the Marine base commander.
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Inside the Medical room
Baki entered the medical room and took a seat next to the bed where the Marine base commander was laying.
Mark looked at Baki and asked, "Baki, tell me how is Dave?"
When Baki heard the Marine Base Commander's question, he lowered his head in sadness and clenched his fist in anger. Then he said to Mark, "I am sorry to tell you this, Mark, but Eddy didn't make it. We were late to save him. I am sorry."
Mark's eyes turned hollow after hearing this. He gazed at the ceiling in sadness and said to Baki, "It was my fault; Baki, I was too weak."
Baki didn't know what to say to his friend to comfort him; he just kept quiet and listened closely to Mark.
Mark then looked at Baki again and said to him, "Baki, can you do me a favor?"
Baki looked at Mark and nodded to him, then he said to Mark, "You are my friend, Mark. I will do everything in my power to help you. That is what friends are for."
Mark gave Baki a small smile and said to him, "Thank you, Baki. Can you go and capture all the pirates that are around the base? I will call Captain Smoker to come and send those bastards to Impel Down. Doctor Peter told me that you and your friend took down those pirates and that those pirates are still around."
Baki nodded his head and said to Mark, "Leave this to me, Mark." Me and my friend will take care of this. Just rest and try to recover."
Mark smiled at Baki and nodded his head. When Baki saw that Mark accepted his suggestion, he exited the medical room.
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Outside the medical room.
Oliver was getting bored. Oliver was on the verge of departing to train in the town's forest when the door to the medical room suddenly opened, allowing Baki to exit.
Baki looked at Oliver and said to him, "Oliver, can I ask you for a favor?"
Oliver smiled, nodded to Baki, and said to him, "Sure thing, Baki, we are friends. What do you need?"
Baki first smiled at Oliver, then asked him, "Can you help me capture those pirates? Soon the Marine captain of the logue town will arrive here to take those pirates to prison. We don't want them to escape after what they have done."
Oliver nodded his head in understanding and said, "Sure, let's get on with it because I need to talk to you after we finish capturing those pirates."
Baki looked confused and asked, "What do you want to talk about?"
Oliver smirked and said, "You will know when the time comes, Baki."
When Baki heard this, he pouted, and they both left the town's clinic to capture all the pirates who were alive.
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Two hours later
Baki and Oliver bound all the surviving pirates with chains and patiently waited for Captain Smoker's arrival.
After another hour, a Marine ship arrived. On board the ship, there was a short, silver-haired, muscular, tall man smoking two cigars at once. He has brown eyes. He wears a large, thick white and blue specialist marine jacket, which he keeps open, with greenish fur lining the neck, wrists, and hem. The jacket bears the kanji for "justice" written on the back of it. He straps several cigars to the jacket. He also wears brown leather gloves, blue jeans with a brown belt, and large military-issue brown leather boots.
Next to the man stood a beautiful young lady. She has dark brown eyes and wears her black hair between chin- and shoulder-length. She wears rectangular glasses with red frames.
The young woman is dressed in short-sleeved shirts of various colors and designs, which she typically conceals with her white-trimmed, waist-length blue leather coat. She tended to wear dark blue jeans with black shoes but has also paired white capris with tan shoes.
The young woman's name is Tashigi; she is master chief petty officer, and the muscular man's name is Smoker; he is a Marine captain and the commander of Logue Town Marine Base.
After the Marine ship docked, Smoker and Tashigi disembarked the ship, and they started walking to the Marine base. The Marine soldiers who accompanied them trailed behind them.
Smoker and Tashigi took five minutes to reach the town's Marine Base, where they arrived. They observed approximately a hundred chained pirates, while Baki and Oliver were engaged in a conversation on the ground.
Baki lifted his head upon noticing Smoker and Tashigi approaching him. He nodded to them and said, "Smoker, Tashigi, it's been a while."
Tashigi narrowed his eyes at Baki, and Smoker nodded to Baki. He then said to Baki, "It has been a while, kid. Who is the kid next to you, Baki?"
Baki smiled and said, "His name is Oliver; he's a friend of mine, and he helped me deal with those pirates."
Smoker looked at Oliver deeply, his gut telling him Oliver is strong. He then said to Baki, "Baki, I have said this to you before: you should join the Marines. You are strong. You can do a lot of good things with your strength."
Baki didn't reply to Smoker; he just stood up and started walking away. He then stopped walking and said to Oliver, "We are leaving. Oliver, let's go."
Oliver smirked, stood up, and started walking away with Baki. Baki then stopped and said to Smoker, "Mark is recovering in the clinic." If you want to visit him and I refuse to join the Marine Smoker, my answer will never change. See you around."
Both Baki and Oliver then continued walking towards the town forest.
Smoker sighed in disappointment, and Tashigi looked at Baki's back in disgust. She then said to Smoker, "This guy disgusts me; he chose to be a bounty hunter to make money instead of using his strength to help the innocents."
Smoker shook his head and said to Tashigi, "You are wrong, Tashigi." If Baki wanted to make a fortune from bounty hunting, all the pirates who had bounties in the East Blue would have been captured by him. Baki is really strong."
Tashigi was surprised when she heard this, and Smoker continued, "According to Eddy and Mark, he only went bounty hunting when he needed money to survive, and he only chose pirates who committed heinous crimes that were against his principle."
Tashigi, perplexed, questioned, "Why doesn't he join the Marines? He will have a stable income if he does."
Smoker shocked his head and said, "I don't know the full story, but I know only one thing: he wants revenge against someone who murdered his mother. Mark and Dave didn't tell me the specifics because they respected Baki's privacy, and I also respect Baki as a warrior and as a person."
When Tashigi heard this, she nodded her head. Smoker then turned to the other Marine soldiers and yelled at them, "What are you looking at, you morons?" Bring those criminals into the ship quickly; we don't have all day."
All the Marines suluted and yelled, "Sir, yes, sir."
They quickly grabbed the pirates and dragged them back to the ship under the watchful eyes of Smoker and Tashigi.
Captain Howell and Eddy were among the pirates captured by Baki and Oliver.
After Smoker was sure that pirates were secured in the ship, he turned to Tashigi and said to her, "Tashigi, let's go and visit captain Mark at the clinic. I want to check on him, and I want to get a detailed report of exactly what happened when the pirates attacked."
Tashigi nodded her head, then they both walked to the town's medical center.
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With Oliver and Baki
After the duo entered the forest, Baki looked at Oliver and asked, "So what do you want to talk about, Oliver?"
Oliver chuckled, then looked at Baki with seriousness and said, "I told you before that I plan on becoming a pirate. I want you to join me as my first mate and my vice captain."
When Baki heard this, he burst into laughter and said to Oliver, "Get real, Oliver, you want me to be a criminal, no way."
Oliver smiled at Baki and said, "Come on, Baki, I am sure your reputation as a bounty hunter is not that good." The way the Marine woman looked at you confirms this."
Baki scoffed at Oliver and said to him, "I don't care what other people think of me. I never did anything in my life that I regret, and I plan to live my life without any regret."
Oliver smirked widely when he heard this and said, "I knew that I liked you for a reason, Baki, because we two are similar. You should know what kind of person I am. I have no intention of committing acts such as raping, raiding villages, or engaging in such activities. I have my own pride. I told you this before: All I want is to achieve my goal, my ambition, and keep my promise to my adoptive father."
"Tell me, Baki, don't you have an ambition that you'll do anything to achieve it, even if it costs you your life?" Oliver asked carefully.
Baki was stunned when he heard Oliver's question. He could feel the air around Oliver, and his aura changed completely. Oliver's presence demanded respect.
After Baki calmed down, he thought back of his early childhood.
Flashback
Baki, four years old, is standing in front of a muscular, spikey, red-haired man with tanned skin.
The man smirked at Baki and said, "Baki, you asked me to teach you martial art. Why do you want to learn martial art?"
Baki smirked, "I want to be the greatest martial artist in the world, father."
Baki's father burst out in laughter, "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA."
Baki looked at his father in anger and yelled, "Stop laughing."
Upon hearing this, Baki's father ceased his laughter and expressed, "You have a significant journey ahead, son." If you aspire to be the world's greatest martial artist, you must defeat me to have a chance and face Hayate Kano, the world's greatest martial artist."
Baki widened his eyes in shock and asked, "Is he stronger than you, father?"
Baki's father narrowed his eyes in anger and yelled, "Stop wasting time, Baki; today I will teach you how to punch properly."
End of flashback
Baki looked at Oliver and smirked, then said, "I have my own ambition, Oliver. I want to be the greatest martial artist, but before that, I need to get revenge on my father for killing my mother."
Oliver widened his eyes in shock when he heard Baki's father had killed Baki's mother. He told Baki, "I'm not the type of person who bothers with other people's personal business, but you'll need an ally to settle the score with your father, and if you travel with me to the grandline, you'll meet great martial artists because only the strong survive there."
Baki thought about Oliver's proposal. When Oliver saw Baki was thinking deeply, he smirked and continued, "If you agree to join me, I will give you a devil fruit I found and a martial arts manual."
When Baki heard this, he became interested and asked, "I don't care about the devil fruit, but what kind of martial art manual do you have?"
When Oliver heard Baki's question, he answered him, "the Dragon fist martial art manual."
Baki widened his eyes in shock when he heard this. Baki tightly grasped Oliver's shoulder and asked, his tone full of excitement, "Did you say the Dragon Fist martial art manual?"
Oliver was confused but nodded to Baki. "Yes, I said the Dragon Fist Martial Art Manual." I'm willing to give it to you if you join me."
Baki couldn't believe his ears and yelled at Oliver, "Give it to me now."
Oliver scoffed and said, "No way; I will only give it to you if you join me."
Baki smirked, extended his hand, and said to Oliver, "I will gladly join you, captain."
Oliver smirked when he heard this. He shook Baki's hand and said, "Good, I'm happy that you decided to join Baki." Let's shake the whole world together, partner."
Baki's eyes brightened up in excitement when he heard this.
This was the start of a pirate crew that will shake the whole world to its core.