The Will of D. reamers

Marcus and everyone were in the galley eating with their new guests. Zeff and Sanji were slowly eating soup while everyone else was eating mostly meat, bread, cheese and some rice. While Kuina could cook, her skill set was pretty small overall. So while their meals were better than they used to be, they were still pretty basic.

Once Zeff finished his food he relaxed in his seat and watched everyone else eating before he finally asked, "Where's the captain and the rest of the adults?"

Luffy lifted a big piece of meat above his head as he said, "I'm the captain!"

"Don't mind him. Our grandpa might have given him brain damage and he thinks he's gonna be the pirate king." Marcus said with a sad smile as Sabo and Ace nodded in agreement.

Luffy jumped up from his seat as he said, "I will be the pirate king!"

"See what I mean?" Said Marcus as he shook his head slowly before he added, "Grandpa hit him over the head one too many times."

Zeff glanced between the boys before he asked, "So then where's your captain?"

When Luffy opened his mouth to talk again, Marcus shoved a piece of meat inside it as he said, "I'm technically the captain and there are no adults on our ship besides you."

"Why are you kids sailing around alone and where are your parents?" Zeff asked as he glanced over all the kids while Sanji looked up in interest.

"We wanted to explore East Blue and get stronger fighting pirates before we turn them in for their bounties." Marcus said with a shrug before he said, "As far as our parents go, my mom's dead and my dad got lost when he went to get some milk."

Zeff didn't have much of a reaction to Marcus's statement but Sanji's eyes widened as he looked towards Zeff with concern. Marcus caught the look and smiled before he said, "Don't worry little zombie, we aren't gonna turn in the cripple for his bounty."

"We aren't?" Sabo asked as everyone else looked towards Marcus.

Marcus patted his sword as he said, "He might be a pirate, but he isn't really a bad one. Besides, Red Leg Zeff was the captain of the Cook pirates and a well known chef."

"And?" Ace asked after a few moments when Marcus stopped talking.

"He is gonna be our cook from now on."

Zeff frowned as he said, "Just because I am missing a leg doesn't mean I can't handle a couple of brats. What makes you think I'll even entertain the thought of being your cook?"

"Well for starters, we saved your life." Marcus said as he held up an index finger.

"I was gonna give you half the treasure I have as thanks for that."

Marcus held up a second finger as he said, "We might be young, but we could easily wipe the floor with you in your current state. Maybe if you were in your prime we might have issues, but missing a leg and how weak you currently are, even Zoro could beat you solo and he is the weakest person on the ship… Well little zombie boy takes that place now, but you get the point."

"I'm not the weakest!" Zoro said as he shot a glare at Marcus.

"I'm not little zombie boy! My name is Sanji!" Sanji said as he also glared at Marcus.

"Oh wow! The little zombie boy finally talked! I was starting to think you didn't know how." Marcus said with a mocking tone.

Sanji frowned slightly before Zeff put a hand on his shoulder and said, "Settle down little eggplant."

Marcus smirked as he held up a third finger as he said, "If you don't wanna be our cook, then we have no use for you and we'll turn you in for your bounty."

"You can't do that, he saved my life!" Sanji yelled as he stood up with both hands placed on the table.

"Doesn't matter if he saved your life, he's a pirate with a bounty. So he either makes himself useful and we don't turn him in, or he becomes extra cash for us." Marcus said with a shrug.

As Ace and Sabo nodded in agreement Zeff asked, "For how long?"

"Till we finish sailing around East Blue or grandpa finds us. Whichever happens first."

"Won't grandpa capture Zeff if he catches him with us?" Sabo asked.

Marcus shook his head as he said, "I'm pretty sure grandpa wouldn't do that if I asked him… Maybe."

Marcus stared at Zeff for a few moments as he rubbed his chin before he said, "Actually, we could always have him change up his look and pretend he is someone else. If he was clean shaven and his hair was dyed black, combined with how much weight he's lost. He would look like a completely different person."

"Is your grandpa a bounty hunter or something?" Zeff finally asked.

"No, our grandpa is a big dumb gorilla who likes to beat us up!" Luffy said as he unconsciously rubbed the top of his head.

"And that's exactly why he hits you." Marcus said as he let out a sigh before he looked back at Zeff and said, "Don't worry about who our grandpa is, just tell me if you want to be our cook or not."

Zeff chuckled slightly before he asked, "I don't really have much choice now, do I?"

"You do, but one is clearly better than the other."

Zeff let out a sigh before he said, "Fine you brat. I'll be your cook."

Marcus smiled as he said, "Pleasure doing business with…" Marcus was cut off by the sound of a cannon blast going off.

Marcus and the others quickly jumped up from the table to run outside and see what was going on. Which left Zeff alone with Sanji who didn't leave the table and said, "Sorry."

"What are you sorry for little eggplant?" Zeff asked as he looked towards Sanji.

"If it wasn't for me, you would still have your leg and wouldn't have to agree to work for them."

Zeff patted Sanji on the shoulder as he said, "That brat is right, even with my leg I wouldn't be able to refuse them in my current state. Besides, these brats seem interesting and I can put off building my restaurant for a little while."

The ship shuddered slightly before they heard some muffled yelling as fighting could be heard coming from above them. Zeff glanced down at Sanji and said, "Help me to the deck, I wanna see what's going on."

It took a couple minutes for Zeff and Sanji to finally reach the deck and they were greeted with chaos. Everyone except Marcus was in a vicious melee with a bunch of pirates and it looked like they were going to win. Zeff watched quietly as Sanji glanced around with his mouth hanging open and his eyes almost popping out of his head.

Marcus pushed Sanji's mouth closed as he said, "Close your mouth little zombie or you might just swallow a fly."

Sanji shot a glare at Marcus who smiled as he said to Zeff, "I told you, we could wipe the floor with you."

"They're okay for a bunch of brats… But why aren't you fighting?" Zeff asked as he glanced towards Marcus.

"It would end too quickly if I stepped in. Besides this is training for others." Marcus said as he watched over everyone else.

"The strongest brat is still just a brat."

Marcus shrugged as he said, "Think whatever you want old man."

After another couple of minutes passed by, most of the pirates were defeated. As Marcus was about to tell everyone to tie up the pirates and loot the ship. A scream rang out and everyone looked over to see an older woman in pretty bad shape being held hostage. The captain of the ship apparently saw what was going on and decided to use her to help turn the situation around.

The pirate captain was tall with a thin build and when he smiled you could see some of his teeth were black with decay. He placed a knife close to the woman's throat before he said, "Now that I have your attention, I want you to surrender or she dies."

"Are you trying to add a murder charge to your record, just before you're caught?" Marcus asked as he stepped forward with his hand on his sword.

The captain pulled the woman closer and said, "I said surrender or she dies."

"I fail to see how that's my problem." Marcus said as he gripped the hilt of his sword tighter.

"Because I said I would kill her if you don't surrender. Are you stupid boy?" The pirate captain asked as he focused on Marcus.

"I'm not stupid, I just think you're misunderstanding something very important here."

The captain narrowed his eyes as he asked, "And what's that?"

"When you take a hostage, it should be someone important that the other party cares about."

The man pulled the knife a little tighter and drew blood as he said, "What the fuck are you talking about? A hostage is a hostage, you stupid brat. You either do what I say or she dies."

"And I just told you she doesn't matter to me or anyone else on this ship. Which means she holds no real value as a hostage to you or us." Marcus said as his body tensed up and he added, "Do we look like marines or some kind of hero to you? Do you really think we would surrender just because you asked us to? Just how stupid are you?"

The pirate captain pulled the knife away and pointed it at Marcus as he yelled, "What the fuck is…" The man was interrupted as Marcus disappeared from his spot and a second later the pirate captain's arm flew through the air as blood shot out of where it was just attached. 

The pirate captain screamed like a stuck pig as he tried to clutch his shoulder to stop the bleeding while everyone else froze in place. Marcus appeared behind the man a second later and punched him in the back of the head to knock him out before he said, "Someone grab some gunpowder and a match before he bleeds out."

It was like a damn broke as the woman screamed in shock and everyone else finally reacted. Sabo ran to get what he asked for as Ace and the others started to tie up the other pirates. Sanji stared with his mouth open and his eyes wide, while Zeff's reaction was different as he watched everything that just happened with an indifferent expression.

The woman stopped screaming well before Sabo reappeared, but she was now sitting on the deck staring down at the man who threatened to kill her. Sabo attempted to help her as Marcus poured gun powder all over the captain's wound before he lit a match and tossed it on it. The gunpowder ignited which woke up the man in the process and as he was screaming in pain, it cauterized his wound. Marcus then kicked the man in the temple to knock him out again before he carried him over to be tied up with the others.

After the pirates were taken care of, Marcus said, "Alright, let's go search their ship for more prisoners."

As the other's jumped over to the other ship, Marcus turned to Zeff and Sanji before he said, "If something happens just yell for help, old man."

Zeff snorted but nodded his head slightly before Marcus jumped back over to the other ship. Once everyone was gone, Sanji quietly asked, "How was he so fast? Isn't he just a human?"

Zeff, who was seated on a bench that was built into the cabin wall beneath the helm's deck, raised an eyebrow before he asked, "You haven't seen much of the world, have you little eggplant?"

After Sanji nodded in agreement, Zeff said, "When you go out and sail the seas, you'll run into all kinds of people. Some are so powerful you won't believe your eyes and question whether what you saw was real or not."

Zeff glanced off towards the endless blue horizon in the distance before he said, "When me and my crew traveled the Grand Line, we ran into many people just like that brat and they weren't even considered that strong compared to everyone else there. If anything he could be considered still a beginner for that place."

"But I couldn't even see him move, everything was over in a second." Sanji said as he glanced towards the pirate captain who was now tied up.

"That just means you need to get stronger."

Sanji looked up with mixed emotions as he said, "But I just want to cook and find the All Blue some day…"

Zeff placed a hand on Sanji's head and rubbed it slightly as he said, "You'll never find the All Blue if you don't have proper strength. The physical strength to not only protect yourself and your companions, but also the mental strength to set out on the journey in the first place."

As Zeff and Sanji talked with each other, Marcus and the others cleared the other ship. They found a few more women in bad shape chained up below deck along with a bunch of treasure. After Kuina released the woman, she helped them onto their ship as the boys moved the loot over.

After they found what they could, Marcus moved back over to their ship and glanced over the women who were all in terrible shape. While not too badly malnourished, all of them were basically in rags with cuts and bruises all over their bodies. Kuina looked horrified as she tried to help the women, but didn't have much luck as they were all pretty much unresponsive to her efforts.

Marcus pulled Kuina to the side before he said, "Go to the other ship and find them some better clothes for them to wear. I'll see what I can do."

After Kuina left, Marcus looked over the women for a few moments before he glanced over to the twenty or so pirates tied up on the deck. After a few moments Marcus decided to try something and moved over towards the pirates before he grabbed the captain. He dragged the captain's unconscious body over towards the women and dropped it in front of them.

The women all flinched back in response and some started to shake being so close to the man. Marcus glanced over the six women and found one who had a burning hate in her eyes as she stared at the man. She was actually the one he held hostage earlier. She was the oldest among the women found and was in the worst shape compared to the others. Marcus watched her for a few moments before he walked over to the pile of weapons they collected and grabbed a dagger.

He walked back over to the women and tossed the dagger in front of the older woman before he said, "You can do whatever you want to him and the rest of them if you want."

All the women collectively looked up with widened eyes at Marcus who said, "I have no clue what any of you went through and I know giving you the chance for revenge isn't the best idea. But if it helps out any one of you in some way, then I guess it's worth it."