"Is everything alright, captain?" Admiral key questioned when he saw the strange expression Tsuru was making.
He still couldn't understand this captain under his charge. What could be going through that though in her head at this moment?
Tsuru who had been lost in her thoughts, snapped back to reality when she heard her commanders words. "Not at all, sir. Will that be all?"
No matter what it was that was troubling her. It was her problem to deal with. As long it doesn't affect their operations then it was none of his concern.
Ignoring her strange behavior, Admiral key nodded. "Yes. You are all dismissed"
As soon as the meeting ended the marines filed out of the room in an orderly manner to carry out their duties.
Jiro had a disdainful and mocking look on his face when he thought back to how Edward and the others had humiliated him and his soldiers, forcing them to retreat. Now he was going to make them regret ever laying a hand on him.
They have only themselves to blame for their situation. They should have come peacefully with him.
However he was annoyed by the fact that all the glory won't belong to him now that the vice admiral was dispatching all the marines under his command after them.
Tsuru also hurriedly left the room, her mind set to a particular destination. She frowned when she remembered how she could have arrested them back then. She should have trusted her instincts.
'How foolish'
Unaware of the situation going on outside, Naruto and the others continued to discuss while waiting for Kureha to finish making the medicine.
While they were chatting, Edward suddenly thought of something that he had ignored before. Taking a gulp from his rum bottle, he turned to Roger and asked.
"So what is the name of your pirate crew?"
Edward sudden words startled Naruto and the others when they heard it, prompting them to turn to him with contemplating looks.
"We haven't actually managed to come up with any name" Naruto answered before taking a sip from his drink, then continued, "At least I and Rayleigh haven't settled on a name yet. However Roger wanted to call us the conquerors"
"Pfft, Gurararara!" Edward burst into a loud laughter when he heard that. His gaze unconsciously wandered to Roger who was busy drowning himself in alcohol, oblivious to what was going on, or at least he seemed.
"Talk about arrogant. With that kind of name, forget marines, even the pirates will see you as an enemy"
No matter how strong they are they were still seedlings in the eyes the veteran pirates that have spent years sailing around the Grand line. Even them didn't dare use the name conqueror. Therefore it was blatant declaration to them.
They would just unnecessarily be making themselves some powerful enemies.
"That was what I said" Rayleigh sighed when he heard Edward's words. His captain was really something else. He didn't know whether it was because his ambition was too big or if he was just a natural trouble maker.
"It doesn't matter either way. It won't change my ambition. I won't back down no matter who stood in my way" Roger who had been quiet all this while turned to look at Edward and said with so much conviction that it stunned Edward.
No matter how impossible his dream might sound. He would do whatever he could to achieve it. Even if it cost him his life he would see it to the end.
Roger already knew that when he chose to be a pirate he had forever become the enemy of the world government. Which meant that they would chase him to the end of the world and back until he was either dead or arrested. So if the pirates wanted a piece of him as well, then so be it.
Rayleigh chuckled at Edwards reaction. It always amuses him how easy it was for Roger to surprise people with his determination.
Even Rayleigh still had doubt about his ambition. It wasn't an easy task to achieve. After all, he wanted to conquer the world.
Unsurprisingly, Edward had never heard such overconfident words in his life. He felt like Roger was saying this because he hadn't yet experienced the cruelty of the Grand line.
However Edward wasn't mad, instead he grinned at Roger. For some reason he didn't dislike Rogers attitude. You must act big if you want to step into the big stages. As pirates you must be ready to risk it all in order to succeed.
"Given a few more years, with this personality of yours, I can tell that just the mention of your name would be enough to give the marines an headache" Edward laughed.
"I can already picture it" Naruto laughed. He had already come to accept that Roger was different from the rest of them. While he might act immature sometimes, he had never gone back on his words.
Moreover, he had already promised to walk this path with Roger until the end. After all, if it wasn't for him and Rayleigh, he'd probably be dead and forgotten by now.
"What about you Edward? Have you ever been part of a pirate crew?"
Edward shook his head with a shrug. "Not really. I have never been in a pirate group since my reasons for being a pirate are completely different from others"
Not surprising since everyone became a pirate for completely different reasons. Take Roger for example. His ambition was to conquer the world while Living free. Although Naruto and Rayleigh don't really have a particular dream or objective yet. Their willingness to follow Roger showed that their ambitions or dreams weren't in conflict.
However, there were good Pirates and bad pirates. While some who took to sea to take be criminals, others took to sea to explore and live free. But that makes little difference to the marines. Any one with the title of a pirate was considered an enemy of the world government.
"Make sense. However, I am curious as to how your bounty got so high" Naruto pointed out causing the others to nod along. Edward was still a mystery to them. They practically knew nothing about him. Moreover, he is the first pirate they have met with such an high bounty, it would help them a lot if they could gather information from him.
Roger and Rayleigh also aware of this fact. After all, they already knew that the path that they had chosen was not an easy one.
Edward laughed when he heard Naruto's question. Truth be told he would have been disappointed if they didn't ask him such an obvious question as it would show that they were naïve and ignorant.
Just his bounty alone should have been enough to spark their curiosity. So he was glad when he heard Naruto's words.
"Mostly the only way your bounty can get high is if you're the government threat evaluation of you is high or if you have caused damages to poverty or people under the government's protection. Another reason will be…"
Under Roger and the others curious gaze, Edward raised his right arm and punched against the empty space. However what shocked them was that the space actually shattered like glass under his fist before a slight shock quake shook the house. The three of them nearly lost their bearing. Roger even spill his drink all over himself. The only one who seem fine was Edward.
"EDWARD!" A loud shriek came from somewhere in the building as soon as the shock quake ended. However nobody paid attention to it.
"Is that…?
Edward laughed at their reactions. However, he nodded confirming their suspicion.
"Indeed. It's my devil fruit ability. I ate the tremor tremor fruit"
A devil fruit?! How wouldn't they be surprised? Everyone knew what a devil fruit was but not Everyone had seen one before.
Those who ate a devil fruit are said to gain powers beyond their wildest imagination but in exchange, they lose the ability to swim. It's said that the sea becomes their natural enemy as they lose not only their ability to swim but their power as well rendering them powerless.
"This is my first time seeing one in action" Naruto admitted. Though that might not be true considering the fact that he was currently experiencing amnesia and couldn't recall anything about his past.
Even Rayleigh and Roger have only heard of devil fruit ability user. This was their first time seeing one. There wasn't even a single pirate with the power of a devil fruit in the east blue.
Kureha stood in front of a huge black pot filled to the brim with a green liquid substance, placed over an old stove. There are shelves on all four walls with glass jars containing differed herbs.
Sweats trickled down Kureha's body dye to the heat, causing her clothes cling tightly to her body highlighting her curves.
Beside her was a large cooking table containing recipe books and ingredients that she needed.
She added ingredients from time to time after confirming the recipe in the book. Some of the recipe in the book were created by her after many trails and errors. Some had even taken her years before she got it right. If it wasn't for her persistent and unrelenting spirit she would have given up on being a doctor a long time ago.
After careful preparation and procedures it was finally time for her to add the most crucial ingredient. And just as she was about to a shock wave suddenly hit the building causing everything to tilt over slightly.
She hurried grabbed the pot to keep it from falling over as that would mean she had to start everything all over again. She endured the burning sensation she felt in her hand. Even as the smell of her own flesh infiltrated her smell organ. After a few more second the shock quake finally resided and she let go of the hot pot.
However she still had a puzzled look on her face. Why did a sudden shock quake hit the building? Come to think of it they drum island hasn't experienced any kind of shock quake or earth quake in a while, so that left one last possibility.
With a face full of furious she looked up to the ceiling of the room and bellowed.
"EDWARD!"
She promised to add extra charges for the stupid stunt he just pulled.