When he came back to his senses, Sear found himself surrounded by an unfamiliar sight. Confused and wondering as to how he got here, he got up from the warm bed and stood on his two feet.
Just then, the sole door in the room creaked open.
In front of him, he saw a man with a gray mustache.
"Who?" Sear asked, vigilant.
"Don't be scared and take a deep breath to calm down."
'Who is scared?' Sear grumbled in his head, but nonetheless did as recommended.
"I am called Ron, Outside is my wife, Jessy.. We mean no harm, Rather it is us who rescued you.. Your boat was drifting in the sea without anybody controlling it. We thought it was abandoned, but when our boat got closer, we found you sprawled on the deck, unconscious."
Hearing this, Sear remembered the previous night. A massive storm had hit the sea, that entire night, he struggled to keep the boat steady.
Grasping his situation, he lowered his guard.
"I appreciate your help." He gave a bow, at the same time the door opened again. A middle-aged woman with short hair; Jessy entered.
He gave another thanks to the couple, then the introductions proceeded.
"Right now we are near an island called Goat Island." Ron told Sear. Currently They were at the boat's deck.
"Goat Island?" Sear seemed surprised. 'That's the place I was headed to.'
He then went on to ask, "Can you tell me what kind of place Goat Island is?"
"Goat Island, well it's a lawless place, pretty famous among pirates, bandits, thieves and other hooligans in this part of the East Blue. It's where the underworld gathers. Apparently the marines turn an indifferent eye after they get their cut with bribes."
Sear listened.
Seeing his serious expression, Jessy spoke, "What's your business there, you don't give me the vibe of a thug."
"I am just an adventurer."
"Oh! I nearly thought you were a bounty hunter. Wouldn't recommend that job at such a young age, although you are relatively big in stature, my eyes don't lie." Jessy said while looking Sear into the eye.
"I will keep that in mind."
"Dear, cut him some slack." Ron cuts in the conversation. "See his muscles, that's not your average run-of-the-mill young man."
"Well if you say so honey."
Sear was standing at the back of his boat. The couple were kind enough to help him fit the engine that he had previously taken from those small time pirates.
He pulled on the thick rope dangling from the engine, once, twice and thrice, until the mechanical roar of the engine hits the ocean floor.
Water rippled as the propeller blades rotated as intended.
The boat started to move forward.
"I don't know how I will repay you two for this, mister Ron, miss Jessy!!" Once again he wholeheartedly bowed, before departing.
As the boat disappeared into the horizon, "What a fine young man, it's good to be young and energetic." Ron remarked.
"You aren't too bad yourself honey." Jessy stated. They both smiled.
(A/N-Do you guys think I am rushing the story, or is this pace fine?)
A boat arrived at the dock of Goat Island.
As Sear was just about to step onto solid ground after days of staying in a boat, he was met by a rather greedy man. Apparently he had to pay some fees to safeguard his boat. Sear didn't find this in itself strange, but the amount he had to pay was too much.
After arguing a bit, he reluctantly agreed. Fighting for this kind of matter everywhere he went wouldn't be productive.
Paying 15,000 berries, he left the dock area.
The settlement at Goat Island, seemed to be nothing but a slum.
Though, select few structures adjacent to the dock did somewhat grab Sear's attention. It's where his boat had been kept.
This area was surrounded by walls on three sides but opened up to the ocean from one. There, his boat was in a warehouse next to the ocean. Hauled there by workers.
He even paid an extra 5000 berries to safeguard the boat inside a locked container. Key for which was in his pocket.
Anyway he didn't have much to worry about, as before arriving at the island Sear made sure to hide his money on a smaller island nearby. He did that on the old couple's recommendation.
Apart from that interesting part of the island; nothing else was eye catching.
Children roamed the streets half naked while the adults were in rags, all malnourished, save for a few.
The healthy few had bulging muscles and seemed to be affiliated with some kind of group, this disparity was striking.
'How do I find the revolutionary branch amongst this chaos?' Sear had a headache while closely searching every nook and cranny, individually.
'This is gonna take days.' While lost in thought, he bumped into something.
"Hey, can't you watch where you are going."
Sear felt that someone was talking to him, so he looked back but what he bumped into turned out to be a wooden beam of a house.
'Not me, then..' Sear tried to find whose voice he heard. Not long after.
On the other side of the road, a burly man could be seen grabbing what appeared to be a teenage kid by the shoulder.
"You will come with me to get your punishment." The menacing man announced. The surrounding bystanders lowered their head in fear and shame.
Seeing none had the courage to help the kid, Sear was about to step forward when suddenly a girl came rushing and dived straight at the scene.
She snatched the boy from the man's grasp and escaped as soon as she came.
Dumbfounded, the burly thug took a moment to process what happened, wasting precious time.
When he came to and was about to give chase, Sear tripped him with his foot, swiftly leaving the scene afterwards, to follow after the girl.
The young girl had disappeared amidst the crowd but Sear managed to pick her trail.
When Sear spotted her, he noticed her running while almost dragging the dazed boy along the muddy road.
They were unaware of the fact that someone was following them.
After a certain point in time, the girl parted ways with the rescued boy, but not before giving him some instructions.
Intrigued about what she would do next, Sear continued with what he was doing.
He followed her back till her home. By now uninterested already, he was about to leave to do his work but something interesting did happen again.
Although, interesting wouldn't be the right word to describe it.
"Why do you always create me trouble, you useless garbage. How many times have I told you not to do something like that huh? What a daughter I have got, are you really mine?"
An obese middle-aged man erupted with anger in front of the girl. His sharp, knife-like words stabbed her continuously.
Frozen stiff, the girl wasn't able to respond, not even a flinch escaped her.
Rather than just stand by and observe, Sear decided to act for once. 'Honestly this is soo stupid and pathetic, it's amazing.'
Emerging from behind the wall, "Why don't we stop here." He interrupted the man, about to pull on his daughter's hair.
The two looked his way.
"And who are you to tell me what to do?" The man's attention turned from his daughter.
He was annoyed someone dared to stop him.
Sear walked up to them, calmly, he stood between the two.
The man tried to reach his daughter from the side but Sear blocked him with his arm.
Slap! Annoyed and drunk on alcohol, the fatso hit Sear's expressionless face.
A gasp escaped from the girl. However although she wanted to stop her father's brazen behavior toward her savior, who stood up for her against her father's wrath.
A shadow loomed over her head after years of abuse and torment. Her will was broken.
Seeing the stranger not responding, the drunk man puffed his chest. In his own hubris, continuing this time with a..
Punch
Sear chose not to dodge or retaliate, despite seeing both the attacks coming.
—Once was fine, not enough to get a reaction out of him.
—Twice could have been a mistake
—Yet again, a third time the hand was raised.
Sear grabbed it before it could get close to his face..
Twisting the wrist, he looked the man dead in the eye.
"Ahhh let go, let go!!! Please!" the drunkard cried out in pain, at the same time a strong punch landed on his jaw.
Knocked out cold, he wouldn't see the light of day for a while.
________
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