What goes well with tea? (Rk/Nova/Saito/Zeph)

[RK]

Cinna Island
2:31 PM
Clear Skies

Cinna Island, a hilly, rolling patch of land in the South Blue, sitting comfortably along the waves. This scenic isle, famous for its sprawling sugarcane beds, is where a certain samurai is currently resting his head. This snowy haired samurai, sat comfortably at a small table for one at a cozy little tea shack in Santa Barbados. Sipping lightly at his piping hot tea, the man glanced out onto the ocean. South Blue was a long way from home. Known for its temperate climates and warm weather, the South Blue is the last place you'd expect to see a Samurai, but then again, isn't that what makes the world so fun?

It was nice of the woman running the Tea Shack to make this cup on the house. Ken had arrived around ten minutes ago after wandering around looking for a tea shop. He had heard that this kindly woman made the best tea in town, so naturally the Samurai thought to give it a whirl. However, when he had initially arrived to sample the product, he found that a ruffian had been harassing the poor woman. She could not have been any older than about 27. The Samurai could tell that this guy was certainly making unwanted advances on her. In that moment, he knew that he could either act, or do nothing. However, he also knew that he would act, because that was his way. Ken approached the man slowly, not wanting to cause some sort of tussle. He placed a firm hand on the man's arm and pulled him aside, and with no words, made him stop. Ken wouldn't allow some brute to treat a lady with such disrespect. The man was of light skin, with barely any hair on his, but a thick scruffy beard. He was wearing a bandana around his upper-arm, and was wearing a loose fitting blue shirt and brown shorts, along with some sandals. After that, the man walked off, grumbling to himself. If the man had had any weapons on him, there surely would have been some sort of confrontation. Thankfully however, that outcome was averted entirely.

Taking one last sip of his tea, Ken brought the cup back to the woman and bowed to her. She nodded her head in appreciation, and her face lit up like the sun. "The tea was delicious, thank you very much." Ken spoke in a gentle and refined tone as he gave a slight bow. He turned around and started his way back into town, not even getting the woman's name. The dirt path leading back into the main part of town was scenic and serene, and called upon all of Ken's senses at once. He could feel the warm breeze brushing against his face and through his hair. The scent of the ocean not far from him wafted into his nostrils. The taste of fresh tea still hot on his tongue, the sight of gorgeous natural landscapes coupled with the unique architecture of Cinna. Most importantly, the sounds of his feet thumping along the ground, reassuring him that he's still moving forward.

As the wayward swordsman found his way into town, he found himself the subject of many stray eyes. He didn't mind, his attire was a little over the top for most people outside Wano. He felt a little bit embarrassed but nonetheless pressed on. Ken had a mission to do, he had to build a crew to help him explore the world and reach the Grand Line, the greatest sea. If only that were so easy though. You can't just magically happen upon friends. Ken slowly came to the realization that he's really only ever had one friend. Depressing truths aside, Ken decided that the most likely place to find people would be inside an alcohol establishment. Personally, Ken does not drink, except for sake, so it will be hard to strike up a conversation with much of anyone.

As Ken opened up the door, the first thing he felt was a strong grip on his shoulder pulling him away from the Bar door. Turning his head, he was greeted by 5 men, one of which was the guy from before. The pulled the Samurai out into the street, now brandishing swords and clubs. "We'll teach ya to mess with the Iron Grip Pirates" The man from the Tea Shack blurted. "Iron Grip Pirates?" Ken asked with a quizzical expression plastered to his face. What kind of a name was that? Do they hold onto stuff really tight? Ken thought of all this and more as one of them pointed a blade to him. "We're gonna make an example of you, boy." Another of the pirates uttered, they seem to have been more salty about this than Ken had initially determined. The young Samurai stood his ground and reached for his personal blade, Ryuutenryou, strapped to his waist on the left side. As the Samurai unsheathed his blade, the men did not falter, and the supposed "leader" of the group of five brought his blade upwards to take a strike at Ken. Just as the young swordsman was about to take countermeasures, the pirate was struck by a kick, and knocked aside to the far end of the street. Marine Soldiers then rushed by Ken and made their way over to arrest the man. The other pirates, noticing the situation was about to get heavy, slowly and silently crept their way back into the bar.

At this moment, Ken felt another grip on his shoulder. This time however, it was a marine, someone of high standing, both in rank and stature. "Hey kid, that guy didn't hurt you did he?" The marine spoke in a fatherly tone. Ken sheathed his sword and looked up at the man. The medals on his jacket indicated his rank as Marine Captain. "No sir...just some troublemakers, messing with someone they think is helpless." Ken responded slowly, making sure the captain heard every word. Despite his slow and serious tone, the Captain gave a soft chuckle and patted Ken on the back. "Alright boys, pack it up, the Grand Line is our next stop, Levon, you know what do, the next Captain will arrive in about a week." The Captains voice boomed across the street as a platoon of marines made their way with the Captain to the docks. Another group, led by a much smaller man, apparently named Levon, was standing close by, all saluting. As the Captain and his men faded out of sight, Levon, who was a tall, lanky man, turned around to face his subordinates. "Alright troops, we've got one week to clean this place up as best we can and make sure the new captain feels right at home!" Levon bellowed, gaining the respect of his troops, whom responded with a mighty cry. Levon took a moment to take a look at Ken, making sure the Samurai was ok, before leading his men back to base.

"Huh...so that's what the marines are like." Ken murmured as he gave a slightly displeased face at such a boring lifestyle. Good thing he chose to become a pirate.

[Nova]

Not too far away from the tea shop, the fishman known as Moo Dee Blues was being surrounded by some racist pirates. They seemed to call themselves the 'Steel Release' Pirates, or something of the like.

"You should learn not to mess with the Iron Grip Pirates, kid."

That was it. The 'Iron Grip Pirates'. Moo didn't know why they were acting like he actually did something to 'mess with them'. They were the ones who were cornering him, while he said nothing and listened to their half-witted insults. They seemed to think that they were much, much more than they actually were. They also seemed to think that they controlled this island, seeing as they were basically everywhere here. He saw some around every corner, he believed.

"--call yourself a pirate? With that tiny boat of yours?"

Moo had kind of blocked them out at this point, but he did hone back in when they began to talk about his boat. It reminded him of how he barely remembered how he even got to this island. Or what it was even called. It was Cinnamon Island or something like that. No wait, now he remembered. It was Cinna Island. He remembered coming here on a small, two-person boat.

He also remembered seeing these 'Iron-Grip' pirates when he docked on this island, too. Now that he thought about it, they were most likely the ones that destroyed his boat! He saw about three people destroying his boat. Of course, he dealt with them himself (By throwing them into the ocean). Maybe that's what they meant by him 'messing with them'.

"Did you even really need a boat? What, those gills of yours not working or something?"

Moo twitched a bit when this man said that. It was at that moment, that he slowly walked up to the man, raised his fist, and threw a punch straight to his face. He did it with enough force to send him flying back onto the ground. He grinned a bit, took off the glove he used to punch the guy, and tossed it onto the ground. He cracked his knuckle, and placed another glove on, in order to keep clean.

"Thanks for that. Really helped loosen me up. Or at least my fist."

The rest of the men, which was about three more, looked at Moo in awe, shock, and confusion put into one strange looking face. It was mainly in shock of how far the man that was punched flew. Moo's grin grew a bit wider.

"What's wrong? Somethin' the matter?"

Moo's ego was bigger than ever at this point. He gave them a devilish look, before breaking into a run, and attempting to flee the area. Moo followed closely after them, wishing to maim all three of them, possibly at the same time. He stopped out of confusion, when they came to a stop in front of him.

"Ah! C-Captain!"

Unfortunately, Moo hadn't realized that he was being tricked. As soon as he turned around, he saw that no one was there, and turned back around to see that they had both gone. Now it was just him and another man in the street, one that seemed to be gazing at a small group of marines.

[SaitoBatch]

Sitting on a hill of the island known as Cinna, a young man took the time to relax and enjoy the smells while reading a book that upon first glance looked like it was just plain gibberish written down for crazies to read. The markings did not seem to be real words of any type, and yet the man’s eyes fluttered across the book’s pages in a hurry, seeing the truth of the bare scribbles written down. The man looked up as a growling sound filled the air and looked around for the source. “Where is that coming from?” he thought, standing up and stretching at the same time. Suddenly realizing the source of the sound, the man known as Lee thought to himself, “At least no one was around to hear that embarrassing sound. I guess I should go get some food or at the very least a snack.”

Brushing off his pants legs and putting his book into one of his pockets, Lee set off for the town to find himself something to eat that wasn’t just sugar. ”If I eat too many more of those Fried Sugar Canes, I’ll never get to sleep again. But they’re soooo good!” Lee thought to himself with a smile on his face. Distracted by the sweet food, Lee accidentally bumped into a group of Marines. “Oof. Sorry about that sirs.” Lee said to one of the marines, the one that looked the most like a big leader type. “No problem kid, rushing for one of those Sugar Cane Juices I bet.” Laughing, the Captain said, “Try the Lemon Berry kind, it’s the best in my opinion.” Patting Lee on the shoulder the captain and smiling, the captain then continued off with his troops.

Lee in the meantime continued walking towards wherever he could find a restaurant passing by three men who looked to be ruggedly dressed, as if they were common grunts or something. Ignoring them beyond noticing their shirts Lee turned his attention to one of the stranger sights he’d ever seen. One was a man with white hair. “Prematurely grayed?” Lee thought quickly as he looked at the other odd sight, a fish-man with gray skin. Tilting his head to the side Lee thought, “Are those his ears or his gills?” Shrugging, Lee thought, “Well whatever. Hopefully one of them know where I can grab a bite to eat that’s not loaded with sugary goodness.” Since he was closer, Lee walked over to the white haired swordsman and asked, “Excuse me sir, do you know the area well? I’m looking for somewhere to get some non-dessert food.”

[RK]

...Non-dessert food...

Ken couldn't say he knew the area very well, he already had enough trouble finding the tea shop. As a matter of fact, this place was pretty barren in terms of real food. He hadn't found a single establishment selling anything close to udon, yakisoba, ramen, or even sushi! What kind of island can't even make sushi?! It's just raw fish! Ken had hardly noticed that his expression was turning sour in front of the black haired man. This clearly wasn't the best way to help him find a restaurant, if anything he would probably run away soon. "Quick, think of something not stupid." Ken thought to himself. It'd be valuable to have a friend here in the South Blue, maybe even a lifelong companion...lifelong...BAM. Ken suddenly had an epiphany. Why should we have to waste money on cheap store food, when they could just make their own food! "I do know of an establishment that serves only the most quality of cuisine!" Ken spoke with a note of excitement in his voice.

Looking past the man he was speaking with, he could see a rather well dressed Fishman standing not too far from them. He appeared to have horns as well, which was kind of odd, but then again, Ken wasn't really one to judge, he was the one with stark white hair after all...and carrying two swords...one of which was basically useless. Regardless, Ken sped over to the Fishman, motioning for the black haired man to follow.

Upon further inspection, this Fishman was wearing a cape of sorts, which Ken imagined made it hard to swim. Regardless, he seemed like a ok guy, just by the looks of him. Ken drew both his his swords, Ryuutenryou, and the Bushido Ken, and looked up at the Fishman, who was much taller than him. "How are you today, my name is Bushido Ken, wielder of the Bushido Ken." Ken spoke triumphantly as he lifted up the Bushido Ken, forever stuck in its sheath, to show it to the Fishman. The White haired swordsman began to speak again. "So, you wanna help me and my new friend here make sashimi?" Ken questioned as he pointed to the nearby shore with his personal sword, Ryuutenryou. Ken rushed over to the water. The seas of the South Blue were crystal clear, and ripe with fish. Ken had developed a way to fish without spooking the fish. Ken was trying to catch shallow fish, so he jumped out to shallow water, and with his left arm wielding The Bushido Ken, dug the saya-bound sword into the sand. "Alright, and now what id do, is catch them with this sword." Ken erupted out, whilst holding Ryuutenryou. Ken scoured the ocean floor, it was the middle of the day, and the fish were easy to see.

There some guppies, small fries, and other catches he wasn't interested in. Ken knew what he wanted, it was the big guy just a little bit farther off, taunting Ken. "Hm..." Ken thought out loud on how he would approach this fish. "It's times like this where i wish i had a longer sword." Ken said angrily as he did a little hop in the water to get closer to the big fish. The sea bed was getting ever so much higher, his coat was dipping into the water slightly. The fish was in reach now though. Ken brought his sword back and took a moment to focus, watching as the fish swam slightly closer. Ken thrust forward, digging straight into the gill of the fish. The Swordsman quickly lifted his blade out of the water and grabbed hold of the fish. It was flopping around trying to break free, but it wouldn't get too far with such a wound. Ken stepped into the water and removed The Bushido Ken from the sands, and waded back to shore. , everything from about the waist down was soaked, but he didn't really mind, he got his lunch.

He stood in front of the Fishman and the man with black hair, holding his catch triumphantly. "Haha! I got us a big one didn't I?" The samurai spoke with a great pleasure in his voice. Ken removed some of the armor that adorned his waist and placed it down on the ground. Gently laying the fish on the armor, he gave a small bow, and then used his blade to remove the head, and make a long cut along the bottom of the fish. Ken looked up to his new friends with little emotion on his face as he gutted the fish mercilessly. "Ok, here comes the hard part." The Silver Haired Swordsman uttered as he tossed the fish into the air, and released two slashes on the way down. Ken grabbed at the fillets of fish as they fell down to the earth, and placed them back onto the armor. He had cut off the sides of the fish, where the most meat was. The body fell helplessly back to the ground, having served its purpose. Ken grabbed it and lobbed it back to the ocean. The pseudo chef swordsman removed the skin from the fish and voila, two big pieces of Sashimi.

Ken made several cuts along the wide part of the fish, plopping a piece into his mouth, he shivered with delight and gave a thumbs up. "Please, go ahead a try some, it's safe to eat i promise." Ken spoke in a reassuring tone as he picked up two pieces of fish and handed them to the Fishman and the Black haired man. "Oh and don't worry about me using the sword to fish, i clean it everyday, and i've never used it for combat before."

[Nova]

A few things Moo weren't expecting to happen to him today. Well, actually, they were from the exact same category, that involved interacting with humans that weren't those 'Iron-Grip- pirates from earlier. One of them came up to Moo, and introduced himself. Of course, Moo was already used to being much taller than most people, especially land-dwellers. This one was certainly a...friendly one. There was also the fact that he had silver hair. It was all very strange.

"How are you today, my name is Bushido Ken, wielder of the Bushido Ken."

"What the he--"

Before he could finish his sentence, the man was off and on about a new friend and some sashimi.

"So, you wanna help me and my new friend here make sashimi?"

"What are you on about?"

Moo looked as this guy (Bushido Ken, was it?) pointed towards the shore. Ah, the South Blue waters. So fresh. So blue. So ripe with sea life, and delicious sea life to be specific. So...clean. Enough to make Moo swoon, but alas, that would be unprofessional. He was supposed to be a hardened pirate, after all, wasn't he? It wasn't his job to look bad in front of other people, pirates or not. Of course, they didn't have to know that he was going to be a pirate.

Moo decided he would go ahead and come along. Just to appreciate the beautiful waters surrounding the island, not because he was interested in any sashimi that this strange and probably dirty human had to offer. Maybe Moo would go ahead throw him into the ocean if he appeared not to be of the utmost of cleanliness.

And that was when it got...different. Moo started to watch in horror as the man digged his sword, shiny and clean, into the sand, dirtying it, along with any thought that this man was a totally clean person. His mouth almost dropped to the floor, and he looked at the other brown-haired male, as if expecting him to do something about it.

Ken began to explain how he cleans his sword every day and never actually uses it for combat. While that did make Moo feel a bit better, it wasn't enough to get him to eat the male.

"H-How could you just dirty a perfectly clean sword?" Moo asked. The entire scene was basically torture for him. His OCD usually meant that freaked out and ran around screaming at comically high volumes.

[SaitoBatch]

Lee stared at the white haired man as he seemed to be in thought about the young archeologist’s question. Stared, because the swordsman looked like he was trying to figure out a formula or something. “Umm, if you don’t know then…” Lee started before the man answered a bit too loudly for Lee’s tastes. “Oh, you do? Then where’s that place loca….” Lee tried to say again before the white haired man went off and started chatting up the fish-man. “……Are all the people around here this jumpy or is it just him? Is it the sugar?” Lee wondered as he watched the white haired guy… Bushido Ken… basically drag the fish-man to join them for sashimi. Sighing and rolling his eyes, Lee followed quietly, mostly out of that odd desire people get to see crashes as they’re happening.

Crystal clear waters and fish going by aside, Lee wondered just how Bus…. No… Ken was going to get the fish. “I don’t see a fishing line on you Ken, you didn’t pay this guy to grab the fish for you, did you?” Lee said, right before the swordsman jumped into the water. “Oh, you’re doing it that way then. Just catching them with your bare hands instead of using fishing line or using that sword of yours to spear the fish from the shore. If it works for you I guess.” Lee said watching Ken hop his way to spearing fish… with a sword. Turning to the fish-man, Lee saw him staring at first Ken in horror, then his own personage as if he wanted the archeologist to do something. “What?” Lee said to the fish-man. “I don’t understand why you’re…” Blinking, Lee then said, “Is this offending you or something because you’re an ocean dwelling native?” Lee asked pointing at Ken’s “fishing”. “I mean, I don’t know anything about fish-person kind, so I can only guess.”

Lee was interrupted by Ken’s triumphant return to shore, big fish ready for eating in tow. The martial artist watched as the swordsman expertly prepared the fish, cutting it with expert strokes and skill. The white haired man, finished his work and handed a piece over to Lee who chose to take it silently, but hesitated at eating it. Taking out a handkerchief to hold the piece of fish on, Lee broke off a piece and ate it down. Nodding in approval, Lee said, “Okay you’ve got the skills to be a good sashimi chef Mr. Ken. I‘m impressed.” Thinking for a second Lee then asked, “But if I may be so bold, what’s the point of a sword you can’t use? Ceremony is fine and all but out here, if you don’t want to kill someone with a sword, it would be easier to get one with a blunted edge.”

[RK]

Ken was a bit confused at the remark that the black haired man had made. Ken realized that he must have taken what he had said before about sword as a misunderstanding. Ken took another piece of sashimi and ate it in one bite. Its salty, ocean taste reminded him of his home of Wano. The White haired Samurai stood up and took cloth from his back pocket, it was quite intricate, and clearly of Wano origin, like everything else about Ken. The swordsman stepped back a bit and dunked his sword in the ocean, splashing it around a bit before lifting it back up and wiping it down with the cloth. "Like I said, I clean it everyday, but I haven't used it in combat yet" Ken said in a stern tone, trying to make his point more clear this time around. After completely drying his blade, he expertly placed it back into its saya in a single motion. Ken crossed his arms and looked at the two in front of him. They seemed like a capable pair of men. However, what Ken was planning would take more than capability, it would take power and skill. "Hey, I'm not just being nice to you guys because i like being nice. Though i do like being nice, there's a secondary reason." Ken said, his voice shifting to more of a serene, but still inspirational tone. Ken stared the two down with ambitious eyes. "Listen, I'm not just some samurai who came here to drink tea and look at sugar canes all day. I want to become a pirate. A famous pirate." Ken looked around, making sure the marines that were here earlier had left, and surely that had. Seemed like they were long gone. Probably went back to base to clean or whatever that guy was talking about. Ken could remember his name was Levon.

The silver samurai pointed at the fishman and the black haired gent. "The two of you seem to be capable enough, to me at least. I want to give you both an offer." Ken said, taking his voice down to just above a whisper. He didn't want anyone hearing this but them. "That crew that has been causing a bit of trouble around town. The Iron Grip Pirates. I've been tracking them down for a couple days now. I feel like they're getting suspicious of me, so i want to finish this now, rather than later." Ken spoke in a serious tone, drastically different from how he was acting earlier. Ken reached into his long robes, and pulled out a wanted poster. "This is my target, and if you accept, it'll be our target. 'Iron Grip' Grahnd. Currently worth 14,500,000 Beri. He's been operating from here on Cinna island for about 3 months. The marines haven't done anything because they're afraid of him attacking the townsfolk. So far, he mostly uses Cinna as a base of operations, and does his pirating activity elsewhere." Ken explained to the two. Their target was this man. The wanted poster was an all too flattering photo of Grahnd laughing with two women sitting at his sides. It appears to have been taken in a bar. Two men could also be seen standing behind him, although their appearances seem to be too blurred to distinguish.

"He's not too much of a menace, the real problem are his hands. Rumor has it that they're as tough as iron, so i doubt its just his grip that's as strong as iron." Ken spoke quickly as he put the poster back into his robes. The man from Wano took a moment to think before his face grew a large grin. "However, we can't just go ahead and fight them head on, we need to call him out, this needs to be a duel." Ken said proudly. He reached for his secondary sword, the Bushido Ken, the sword he was destined the wield. He tugged on the handle, just to make sure it was still impossible to unsheathe. One quick pull and Ken knew the answer to his question, this thing wouldn't budge.

"We could always just head over to his ship, it's docked a little ways away from town, away from the prying eyes of the marines. However, this isn't about just taking him down. That would be too simple, no one would care about a bunch of nobodies who took down someone who is slightly less of a nobody. The only way people will care about this is if we make a huge deal over it. So, in keeping in fashion with my Samurai traditions, I'm going to challenge him to a duel. There's no way he will say no, he is probably way too stubborn and head strong to turn someone down in a fight." Ken declared his plan to the two. He really was just talking at them, hopefully they were getting all of this. He'd be happy to go over it again, but he'd prefer not to.

"Here's the catch. I know his type. They lie, steal, and most importantly, they cheat. I want this to be a fair fight, but i know he's going to bring backup. So, to put it simply, I want you two to watch my back, and if anybody else tries to attack me while I duke it out with Grahnd, It will be great if you guys could stop them from doing that." The Silver Haired Samurai spoke in a much friendlier tone at this point, and began to scratch the back of his head. Such a request was unbecoming of him, but if he was to become a pirate, he would need people to watch his back. Besides, his style is not well tuned to fighting groups. He'd have to work on that at some point.

"So...I know this request sounds kind of selfish but. Will you two help me here...and take this first step with me into becoming the greatest pirates the South Blue has ever seen?"

[Nova]

By the time that Moo had calmed down, was when Ken started to ramble on about those Iron Grip pirates, that basically controlled this island. At least he cleaned the sword, often. And he had never used it for combat? While Moo didn't really use a sword, he was pretty darn sure that the main purpose of them was for combat. And cleaning. Like everything else in the world. Moo's mind was in a different place, and he decided to listen back in.

"--getting suspicious of me, so i want to finish this now, rather than later."

Moo blinked. Was Ken finally getting a grip and deciding to use that long, shiny sword of his? The fishman began to wonder where Ken even got the sword. Did he make it himself? Probably not. Most humans pirates weren't even capable of constructing a dagger, so a full fledged katana seemed a little rare. Then again, Moo barely knew this guy. Maybe he was a well known sword constructor.

"This is my target..."

Moo opened his mouth to say something along the lines of "Why should I care?", but closed it , as Ken began to speak some more.

"...and if you accept, it'll be our target."

Woah woah woah. Where exactly was Ken going with this? Was he about to ask them to join him in hunting down a bounty? Possibly even obtaining a bounty? As much as Moo tried, he hadn't exactly been able to attain a bounty. And even when he did happen to try and attack a marine, he usually ended up being scared off by the large groups that they were usually in. This was beginning to get interesting, at least to Moo, anyway. He continued to listen on.

"The marines haven't done anything because they're afraid of him attacking the townsfolk. So far, he mostly uses Cinna as a base of operations, and does his pirating activity elsewhere."

Yep, just as Moo suspected. This was basically their base. He inspected over the wanted poster. This 'Iron Grip' Grahnd guy seemed to have a large ego, judging by the picture. He was sitting there with two--

Wait a second. Had Moo just casually not been listening when Ken mentioned this? 14,500,000 Beri. 14,500,000 Beri? How had Moo just missed that? And how had Moo just never heard of this guy? The poster seemed real enough. If Iron Grip had managed to get that much bounty, he was clearly doing something right.

Now, Ken was asking the two of them to watch his back while he challenged Grahnd to a duel. And now, he was asking them to ultimately join his crew, and become the 'greatest pirates the Sough Blue had ever seen'. Wow. An actual crew. Someone was actually asking him to join their crew. Moo would definitely except, but for now, he needed to play it cool.

"Alright. I'll join this little 'crew' you're talkin' about. But don't think that means I'll be callin' you 'captain' anytime soon. Just keep that in mind." He decided. Well, he just joined a crew. Moo guessed that he could call himself an actual pirate, for now at least.

[SaitoBatch]

Ken explained that he had not used his sword yet and Lee's entire response was to shrug and say, “Oh okay then.” Lee and the fishman guy then were chatted up by Ken, who explained his desire to become a great pirate. Oh sorry, famous pirate. Anyway, Lee listened to Ken talk about some group of jerks called the Iron Grip Pirates. Lee had never met any of them, mostly because he’d only gotten to the island a few hours ago and had spent all of the time reading and forgetting to eat actual food.

After Lee finished talking of his plans to duel the guy the young archeologist couldn’t stay silent anymore. “Okay hold up a second. If he’s been able to run around doing whatever because the actual people whose job it is to stop people like him are worried about him attacking people, wouldn’t us trying to arrest him cause him to use the people as targets?" Looking at both Ken and the fishman guy, Lee continued with, "Not to mention, how do we know he’s actually a “bad guy”? For all we know, he could be running around, kicking the crap out of other pirates and he just ended up with a bounty because he embarrassed the marines.”

Sighing Lee said, “I don’t think you’re wrong Mr. Ken, I’m just saying I’m the kind of guy who needs proof of things. Prove to me that he’s a dick and I’ll at least help you take him down. But you have to split the bounty with the three of us and you need to understand something. While I care about my dream, I don’t have to be a pirate to do it. You want me on your team, you have to prove you’re a worthy man for me to follow.” Smiling, Lee said, “I think you’re a nice guy, but I have to know… are you actually strong? Do you know the weight of a life? You don’t need to be a killer, but you have to at least be able to defend whatever your pirate dream is.”

[RK]

The Fishman seemed to have been sold on the idea easy enough. However, he appeared to be apposed to the idea of referring to Ken as "Captain". Well, it's not like Ken was really requesting him to do so, he just needed some eyes on the back of his head. "Alright, I'm glad you're up for the task Mr. Fishman." However, it appears as though the other one, Lee, didn't seem so immediately keen on the idea of joining up with Ken. He mentioned a few things: If we go after him, he'll target people. The other point was that they had no proof that Grahnd was a bad guy. Ken thought for a moment, running his hands through his shiny silver hair. "Well Lee, I don't think you're very well versed in the way that pirates...well, operate." Ken sighed, looking at the two in front of him. "Pirates don't care about other pirates. I don't need a reason to go after this guy, I don't care if he's a bad guy or not. The fact of the matter is that I picked this guy's bounty poster up off the wall and decided to go after him." Ken's voice seemed to have taken a more serious tone, he wasn't messing around.

"Oh and, Lee, I'm not sure if you've realized this but, I am not a bounty hunter, pirates don't beat up other pirates for money, they beat them up for fame. If I wanted a quick buck then I'd head to easy blue and bring in some weaker pirates, but that's not what I intend to do." Ken's voice boomed past his fellows in front of him. Though Lee may not have been totally convinced at the moment, at least Moo was on his side. "One last thing, It doesn't matter if I'm strong or not, I've taken up arms against someone I have deemed to be a threat to me and those around me. Grahnd won't lay a finger on anyone as long as I'm fighting him, and I can assure you that I am no sham when it comes to combat. As a Samurai of Wano I have trained my whole life to follow the way of the blade. I'm not afraid of a man with tough hands." Ken shut his mouth, he was getting a bit flustered as a wash of red flooded his normally pale face. He was a Samurai, it was unbecoming of him to act so rowdy.


Ken took the Bushido Ken in his hands and dug it into the ground in front of him. "I want you both to take a good look at this sword. This is the Bushido Ken, a sword that has been passed down in my family for generations. I have no idea what it is capable of, only that it is a legendary blade among the people of Wano." Ken tugged at the handle again, still nothing, he couldn't remove it, though he tried his hardest. Ken took his hand off the blade and crossed his arms. "This is the sword that I was destined to wield...I am the 100th person to own this blade, and as such, I feel as though it has waited long enough to be properly used. It cannot be unsheathed, but I know that there must be a way, I believe it! I know that somewhere in this vast world, someone or something will show me how to wield this sword. Somewhere in the Grand Line, i will find the answer that I seek!" Ken pointed his left hand at Lee and grabbed the Bushido Ken out of the ground with his right hand, resting it over his shoulder. A wide grinned emerged over his face. "My dream, is to find out how to wield this sword properly. The whole pirate thing is a side dream. I know that with every battle, every hardship, i will find a way to use this blade to its full potential." Ken shouted, a bit too loud for his tastes but it needed to be said. This was his dream, to wield the Bushido Ken.

"I am fairly strong, unless of course you want to test me on something? Maybe a challenge of sorts, or did my words win you over? Regardless there's something I have to do before we pay a visit to Grahnd."

[SaitoBatch]

Taking a glance at the Fishman, Lee said, “Well you’re all up and at them for this aren’t you?” Rolling his eyes at the Fishman’s “defiance”, Lee listened to Ken talk about how he wanted to take out this Iron Palm guy for fame and not beri, which Lee thought would be more useful but then again, Lee wasn’t the center stage type anyway. As Ken continued to talk, the young man crossed his arms and when Ken mentioned that he was a Samurai, Lee’s eyes widened. “Wait, you’re from Wa-no-kuni? You…you’re a samurai, a legit samurai?!” Lee started to ever so slightly shake in place as if he were holding back great joy. “I’ve always wanted to meet someone from Wa-no-kuni. What’s the climate like there? Do the women really know how to fight just as well as the men do? Do you really have an emperor that can transform into a mighty dragon to protect all of his people from harm? Can….”

Lee stopped himself, fully embarassed by his outburst at Ken. Coughing and trying to restore some of his dignity, he said, “Uhh…. Never mind that for now, you were saying?” Lee watched as Ken took out his sword and spoke of it. While he did so, Lee took a look at the weapon itself. “I don’t really see any type of locking mechanism on the scabbard… Maybe it’s a puzzle that’s not normally visible?” Lee muttered to himself as Ken finished speaking.

Lee, having finally heard all of Ken’s reasoning said, “Okay, I’m still not fully on board on the whole piracy thing just yet, but I can help you take out this Graham Cracker guy. I can’t say no to a guy who was willing to tell me his dram after all.” Lee took a ramrod straight stance before bowing in the martial artist’s way to Ken. “I, Lee Xiefeng, will help you defeat your opponent. I swear this on my honor and my dream.”