"The Phantom"
Clad in all black stood the rumored Phantom. A thief that did as he pleases, terrorized Leaf Port for almost a year now with no one including the Marine being able to apprehend him.
Kael instinctively clenched his and was about to let down his wrath on the Phantom but Leonard stepped in holding his hand
"Calm down now Kael, look he's just a kid"
They both peered at The Phantom small figure
"But he stole from me"
"I know but…you're also the first person that he's returning a stolen item to. There must be a good reason for that don't you think?"
"There better be a good reason" Kael pulled his arm from Leonard and looked at The Phantom one last time before entering back into the house
Leonard sighed, then turned to the little figure before him, he gestured "Why don't you come inside, let's talk"
***
The Phantom sat with her knees on the floor right in front of Kael and Leonard. Slowly she unwrapped her head cover and removed her mask revealing her facial features.
Her eyes were dark blue but somewhat looked tired and hollow. Her short purple hair were millimeters above her shoulders. She was young and most of all pretty.
"I knew it, you're the girl from this afternoon at the restaurant?!" Kael remembered the girl on purple gown beside Fang"You could've said something earlier I was really about to beat the living shit out of you"
"Thank God I stopped you" Leonard laughed dryly then walked up to her "I have a lot of questions to ask you but first of all, why are you here?"
"I'm not a kid" She blurted out. Her voice high pitched.
"What?"
"I said, I'm not a kid"
"Who called you a kid? I didn't call you a…ohh" It dawned on Leonard "Im sorry okay. But why bring that up now?"
"My name is Yimu and I'm here because all of us have the same goal" She said while her expression remained passive
Leonard turned to Kael then back to Yumi
"You are the criminal who constantly steals from people. Why would you want to take down Spear" Leonard asked
"I believe that's none of your concern" her face gained a bit of emotion. Leonard didn't notice and Kael could only feel it
"Look, if you want us to work together then I'm sure the first step to that would be being honest with each other" Leonard told her.
"Her reason for helping us doesn't matter Leonard" Kael entered abruptly "As long as she won't betray us"
All Leonard could do was let out a long breath and hoped for the best. He faced Yimu, "So you got anything that will help us defeat Spear? Any information will help"
Yimu began spitting out everything she knew about The Commissioners. Their base structure, where they live, their usual activities and the landscape of their base. She didn't spare any information, even went on to talk about when they eat, sleep and perform other activities.
Leonard could only grow more weary and wondered who this strange looking girl could be to the commissioners. All the information she revealed are one that you need be more than just a foot soldier to know about.
"To take them down as fast as possible you need an army. May I ask how many you already have with you?" Yimu asked. Leonard and Kael exchanged a play glance at each other
"About that" Leonard began "We don't have anybody with us – but…! Your information is very helpful and we plan on going after Spear directly and take him out. And now with your information we have a chance to make this work"
"It won't work" Yimu said "With only both of you against Spear and his men it won't work"
"Wait a minute, you said both of us…"
"I can't risk my life and the life of my…" Yimu's voice was pitching high when she stopped, she took in a deep silent breath and continued "I can't risk my life like this."
"Then don't" Kael looked at her and then at the make shift map in front of her "You've given us everything we need."
"Are you sure about this? We need as much hands as we can get" Leonard asked
Kael walked up to the map and removed the small piece of wood that marked Spears men "Taking out Spear's lackeys won't be an issue. The problem is Spear and John. I've got no idea how strong they are I would've love to take them both, but being cautious we have to split them." He shifted his gaze to Leonard
"You've fought against them before and from the looks of things you got a strong beef with them. So which one will you like to beat up"
Leonard's expression quickly stiffened, his deadly stare piercing the piece of wood with an 'S' on it. He failed woefully in hiding his hatred for Spear
"I'll take their leader" His voice, deep and full with scorn.
"Then it's decided. I'll take John." He faced Yimu "Try as much as possible to stay away from his lackeys. You don't wanna get caught up with them."
The meeting ended with a mutual understanding. Everyone knew their roles, all that was left was the time to act
***
Dawn was here and you could see the tip of the sun at the horizon painting the seas orange. Cold morning breeze passed through the lands leaving people shivering under their hot breath. It was another usual morning in Leaf Port except today won't end the way it started.
The journey to the other side of the island took some time on foot. As they approached the base Yimu broke out from the rest of the crew, her thoughts were stern on the fact that their plan was half baked.
Kael didn't see any problem with Yimu leaving. While he could sense she was strong he believed that her strength wasn't needed in this fight.
When they approached the docks it was exactly as Yimu said it would be. That gave Leonard a little comfort. Now the problem was acting according to the laid out plan.
Spear's men, counting over three hundred in numbers, were at the docks. Their work ranged from off-loading and loading goods, to ship maintenance and cleaning. There were some that slacked off and distracted themselves with a bottle of booze or played games.
"So what's the plan again?" Kael asked. They hid under the cover of the thick dark bushes, where the sun was yet to cast its rays upon
"We are to blend in and make our way to Spear and John's house" Leonard points at a three storey building that looked like a factory. It was some distance away from the docks but close enough to supervise the activities from there
"But is that really necessary?" Kael suddenly asked
"What do you mean? We have already talked through this"
Kael flashed Leonard a smile, "Stay behind me" he told him
Leonard had a feeling he was about to do something stupid and tried to stop him but all his efforts were in vain. He could only listen to Kael's order and watch from behind
Kael approached the horde. They were quick to notice him and tell he wasn't part of the association even after their large number.
One of them walked up to Kael "Are you lost or something? You town people aren't allowed at the side of the island now scram"
Kael chuckled, tightened his fist and drove it into his guts. He coughed out all the air he had in him and passed out at Kael's feet.
He proceeded to stripe him off his blade that bent like a scythe.
The rest of the horde acted as though their brain cells were sewn together. They drew out their sharp edged blades in sync.
"I haven't done this in a while"
Kael took a deep breath filling his lungs with so much air that they popped out. He let out the air with a hushed deep voice
"Fall"
A strong wave of Haki washed through the earth covering a distance of over twenty kilometers. Ideally everyone present on that island felt Kael's presence