In the quiet room, Badak sat cross-legged, replaying in his mind the scenes of Hawkeye and Shanks' duel. Since that day, he had revisited the memory countless times—many moments remained vivid, like frames from a movie.
Their battle, excluding the final "Divine Departure," could roughly be divided into three stages:
The first was a pure contest of swordsmanship. Each had their own style—one overwhelming in power, the other swift and cunning—ending in a draw.
The second stage incorporated physical prowess, their strikes noticeably faster and fiercer, yet still evenly matched.
The third stage saw them going all out—technique, physique, Haki, Flying Slashes—everything was unleashed, yet neither gained the upper hand.
Shanks had ended it with "Divine Departure" precisely because continuing would have been meaningless, just a war of attrition. Hawkeye likely felt the same, stopping after blocking the final move.Badak saw the first stage most clearly and remembered it best. He missed quite a bit of the second stage—it was too fast for his brain to process. As for the third stage, he barely caught any of it. That phase was all flying dust and howling winds, more spectacle than substance.
He clearly witnessed the move "Divine Departure," though he couldn't comprehend it. For Badak, the most useful part was the first stage's swordplay. Imitating masters is the first step to becoming one.
"Fast, precise, steady—I'll train my right hand in Hawkeye's swordsmanship and my left in Shanks' style. Perfect."
"Every now and then, I'll mentally step into one of their shoes, analyzing why they countered a certain way. That'll sharpen my combat awareness."
"Best learn some staff techniques from Teacher Kaido too, then blend all three into my own style—call it the Wish-Fulfilling Staff Art. The Monkey King can't be without his staff, after all."
"Enough thinking—time to act!"
Badak burst out of his room and began training.
Beyond physical conditioning, he incorporated swordplay drills, breaking down movements from Hawkeye and Shanks. These were basic sword techniques, but the way those two executed them held nuances Badak needed to study carefully.
...
Late at night, the tavern was still lively.
Badak wasn't there to drink—he was scouting targets. If he didn't earn some cash soon, he'd be broke by the day after tomorrow!
His mark was a small-time pirate with a mere 5 million berry bounty—Hook Hawk, the combat captain of the One-Eye Pirates, notorious for his brutality. Even lower than the Mountain Bandit King Higuma's bounty.
Badak could have gone after higher bounties, but those pirates traveled with large crews, making for messy confrontations. Even this Hawk had two crewmates with him now.
Sabaody was infamous for its pirates, Marines, and bounty hunters. Too much commotion would draw a crowd, and discretion would be impossible.
It wasn't time for fame yet. Badak planned to claim the bounty under a different identity later.
He hadn't even made his move yet, and he was already thinking about collecting the reward—this was too easy.
"Ahhh, that hit the spot! C'mon, boys, let's hit the amusement district for round two..." Hawk led the way out.
"OHHH!" The two lackeys hurried after him, cheering. Booze and women—wasn't that why they became pirates?
Trailing the trio, Badak scanned the surroundings. No rival hunters in sight—no reason to hesitate now.
Cap, mask, sunglasses—never mind why he wore shades at night (Fiery Eyes and Golden Gaze granted night vision). Badak drew his weapon—a metal baseball bat—and closed in silently.
Many pirates were brainless, and these three were prime examples. Drunk and oblivious, they didn't notice Badak right behind them. Their survival until now was pure luck.
Left swing, right swing—two clean strikes to the back of the lackeys' heads. They crumpled instantly.
Hawk, however, proved why he was a combat captain. Instead of turning, he lunged forward, attempting a roll to evade any attack.
Would Badak let him succeed?
Not a chance. Before Hawk could complete his roll, a sharp pain exploded in the back of his skull. The world spun—then darkness."Piece of cake." Badak clapped his hands, then used the rope he'd prepared beforehand to tie up the three men, stuffing them into large bubbles with only their heads sticking out.
"Let's go!" Badak walked ahead, pulling the rope as the three human-filled bubbles trailed behind him, heading straight for the Marine base.
Fortunately, it was already late at night—otherwise, they'd have drawn quite a few stares. In just a few steps, Badak had shifted from his human form into his Great Ape Form, then used Size Alteration to maintain a height of 90 centimeters.
Oddly enough, despite such drastic changes in size and shape, his hat, sunglasses, mask, and clothes still fit perfectly.
Badak recalled how a fellow transmigrator had once made a name for Zoro on Sabaody Archipelago. Now, he was going to do the same for Chopper. An initial bounty of just 50 Belly? How insulting to my "Beard Chopper"!
The Marine base on Sabaody's Grove 66 had one unique feature: even in the dead of night, bounties could be claimed—as long as they didn't exceed 50 million Belly. Anything above that required the base commander's signature, and the commander certainly wasn't going to stay up late just to sign paperwork.
Badak collected a bounty of 5 million Belly—only Iron Hook Hawk had a price on his head, while his two lackeys merely earned a couple of words of encouragement.
But no matter. Badak left behind the name Tony Tony Chopper, claiming to be a bounty hunter covered in fur, nicknamed "Beard Chopper."
The world of pirates was full of face-blind idiots who identified people by distinctive features—hats, height, a full coat of fur, and the name "Chopper" were more than enough. Hadn't the original story shown that even a tanuki could impersonate Chopper after the timeskip?
...
Another late night, Badak walked out of the Marine base with his bounty, slowly fading into the distance.
"It's that 'Sneak Attack' Chopper again, always coming in the middle of the night."
"Yeah, this is the fourth time this month. From that 5 million Belly pirate at first to this 12 million Belly one now—every time, he comes out completely unharmed, not even a tear in his clothes."
"Of course he's unharmed—he never fights head-on. That's why they call him 'Sneak Attack.' Rumor has it the pirates he takes down never even see him before getting knocked out cold."
"The captain says he's actually pretty strong..."
Badak couldn't hear the rest, nor did he care to. "Sorry, Chopper. I didn't think the Marines would interrogate the pirates. I clearly said 'Beard Chopper,' but they still gave you this awful nickname like 'Sneak Attack.'"
The thought of future pirates and bounty hunters charging at an innocent, snack-munching Chopper while yelling, "Die, 'Sneak Attack' Chopper!" made Badak's lips twist in sorrow, letting out a muffled "heh heh heh" of despair.