Time had passed since Yuurei had been at his own execution. He made it out alive, and that was all that he cared about. His life was in his hand once again, but of course, it wasn’t in the circumstance that he thought he would have it in. Still, there were some good perks that came with this job, and one of them was information. The swordsman had learned that there was an interesting person that was around the Greenie Pass. There were rumors of the name, and when Yuurei heard of the name Iron Drayden, he decided that it was best to look into him. He had heard about what he had been doing and that he had gotten a large number of people to follow him. This intrigued Yuurei because he wanted someone with that caliber to serve under him. This man and his follower could prove useful to him in the future.

He didn’t know where he was located, but he did know what he could do. He knew that the marines nearby would have more information about this man, so he had made his way towards the nearest marine outpost. Yuurei’s walk wouldn’t take long as he had been near the area in the first place. He could see that there were two marines guarding the entrance to the outpost, and when they looked at him they didn’t know who he was at first, but when he got closer they were no longer on guard.

”Yuurei, what brings you here?” The marine asked him.

” I’m here to talk to the guy in charge here. I got a question for him, and I kind of need information from him. So, excuse me while I enter this place and keep guard ya guys doing a good job.” He said as he had his hands crossed over each other.
They heard the tone of his voice and knew that he didn’t care that they were in his way. They weren’t going to stop him either, as Yuurei walked into the outpost. He looked at all the marines that were gathered around and chatting together, there were others who were training, which was the best thing they could do. A lot of them had looked at him, but he didn’t care. He could only smile at them, but then he stopped walking. His eyes looked at a rack of swords. His eyes sparkled and he jogged over to them before he came to a stop. He was excited to see the swords, but when he got closer he noticed that the materials that made them were not all that.

”I thought they were going to be awesome. What a fucking disappointment. I should have known better. They wouldn’t have good quality swords out in the racks.” He said as he shifted his body and continued his walk towards the middle tent.

When he got to the tent there were two more marines on their post there. Yuurei looked at them both and nodded as they were nervous with his arrival. They heard about him, and they could feel the strength that was coming from him. Yuurei would walk straight into the tent without hesitation and when he walked in he would see a chest in the far right and a table in the middle. There were was also a bed next to the chest, and three men surrounding the table. They stopped talking and looked over to Yuurei trying to figure out why he was here.

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Yuurei had a smile on his face as he was looking at the marines that were here. He took them into account and made sure that none of them would do anything stupid before he proceeded on to what he was going to say.

”How are you all doing today? It seems like I interrupted something important, but I got something I need to ask. It’s simple and then I will get out of here. So, if you can do me a solid and hear me out.” He said to the marine in charge.

Their faces shifted to each other as they were looking at each other. They started mumbling with each other, but it would quiet down soon enough. He just stood there arms crossed as he knew they were just being difficult at this point. One of them stood straight as he was looking at Yuurei.

”Yuurei is it? I remember you from the events at the arena recently. What is that I can help you with? The quicker this is done, then the quicker you could leave us alone.” He said out loud.

Yuurei had a smirk on his face because it was what he wanted to hear. His arms had moved into the air as they moved behind his head as he had intertwined his fingers together, so he could rest his head in his hands.

”I want to know information about Iron Drayden. I heard the man is around the Greenie Pass, but I can’t seem to pinpoint his location. I heard you guys might know where he is, so could you tell me?” He asked them.

The marine looked surprised to hear that the Shichibukai was going after a pirate soon after he had been appointed the status.

”Yes, we know of his whereabouts, but apparently we were ordered not to touch him because he is doing the kingdom a favor.” He said to Yuurei, hoping he wouldn’t go after him.

Yuurei looked at him and could only burst out with laughter.

”Hn ha ha. I’m not going to bring him, so don’t worry about it. I just want to talk bust out a conversation with the man, so how about it guys tell me where he is?” He said this to them as he wondered what they were going to say next.

The marines sighed because they knew that this pirate scum wasn’t going to leave until he got what he wanted. This was the thing he hated about Shichibukais even though he knew why they were needed. The marine moved towards a file cabinet and started looking through it and then took a file out and brought it back to the table. He would place it down, opening and looking into what it had to say. When he was done reading it he would look at Yuurei.

”It seems like he is indeed in the Greenie Pass. He happens to be hidden in a forest north from here and has a large output near a cave within the forest. It is said he’s there just in case the marines moved in on him, he would have the element of stealth to escape us.” He paused for a second.

He closed the file soon enough because that was all the information that he was going to give Yuurei.

”That is all that is there for me to tell you Yuurei. Now if you can please be on your way.” He said to the Shichibukai.

Yuurei heard those words and turned around without saying a word and left the tent. He didn’t thank them or anything, but it was because of his dislike for marines.

30/30 Haki Remaining

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Yuurei had his hand clenched into a fist while he was outside right now. He kept the smile on his face as he continued to walk in the direction that he had come from. They weren’t the same people, but they were the reasons why his friends were no longer talking to him in the first place. It was disgusting to be around them, but there was nothing he could do about it. The swordsman had finally made it out of the outpost though and soon enough he took off. He didn’t have time to waste because he knew that time was precious. The scientist had run north of the outpost because he knew he would soon reach a forest. This outer part of this island was filled with different types of greenery areas.
The marines that saw him take off sighed though as they were happy to see that man leaving this specific area.

Yuurei would run through the area as he knew that he was going to have to use his observation to go find the man he was looking for. They couldn’t tell him exactly where he was, but he knew that he could find him if he searched long enough. ”Man if this guy agrees to join me, then that makes the crew stronger. It will be me, Gideon, Vizmir, Kasui, Drayden, and all the others that join with us.” He thought to himself as he was running around. His crew would be all that much better when an additional man like him. He would soon slow down as his run would come to a full stop soon enough. He had arrived at the forest where the marine said Drayden would be located.

”If he’s here, then I’ll give the marines a plus for being honest.” He said to himself.

Yuurei would enter the forest soon after he had arrived without any hesitation. He wasn’t naïve though as he figured that a lot of the forest here was probably rigged. They were probably rigged in a way that only certain people that knew and were with Drayden would be avoided. Yuurei figured that he would have to avoid touching the ground, so what he did next was smart. He activated the hover flats that he created as he watched as he no longer touching the ground. He tilted his feet forward, which brought him to move forward. He was looking around him though as he didn’t want to trigger any traps that could be used between trees and such. He moved his feet around to turn corners and avoided things that he could collide into.

While he was moving through the forest thought he had activated something else. His Observation expanded further than it ever could be. He had gained this ability to fully master this when he was fighting against the like of Hrungnir and Famine. The Shichibukai would be able to feel the presence of the animals that were in this forest. They were lively as they moved around like they always would. Well I thought I would find him right away, but I should know shit don’t work like that. He thought to himself. He knew that it wouldn’t be hard to find this man.

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Yuurei was going around the forest for a few minutes. He moved around in a speed that he could comprehend, but there was no spot of this man’s presence. He wasn’t sure if the marines had lied to him, or if he had been looking in the wrong area. He did notice that this forest was vastly larger than the others, so he figured he would need a bit more time to actually find Drayden. It wouldn’t take long for him to finally find a humanoid presence. It would cause him to stop moving, as he was hovering through the air and turned to look in that direction. It was one presence, but then there were a few more. He was surprised to see that there were many people around, but then he figured that one of them must have been Drayden.

His smirk was innocent, but if one looked they could see that he was happy with what he had found. He moved in the direction of where the few presences were located, and every time he got closer to them more people would show up. This was excellent, but at the same time he was surprised to see that there were a lot of people of around that area. He wasn’t sure if he was understanding the situation. Soon enough the number of people would stop increasing and when he got closer he could feel that the number stopped at thirty-nine. If Drayden is among the thirty-nine people here, then he has almost as many followers than I do. If I can get him to join then maybe they can all join as well. He thought to himself.

It would take him a few minutes, but soon enough he would come to a clearing and this clearing had a bunch of tents set up. There were a lot of people out in the opening hanging around, but that all changed when they all looked at Yuurei. They weren’t happy that someone they didn’t know make it to the hideout. They were confused about how he was able to bypass all of the traps, but then they noticed that he was hovering in the air.

”Who the fuck are you?” One of the men said to Yuurei.

Yuurei didn’t think he was going to be greeted that way when he showed up, but he wasn’t surprised about it. Instead, he crossed his arms and looked at the man who said that with a mean look on his face.
That look intimidated the man as he stepped back for a second and then stopped to keep his ground. Still, the man saying that, brought others to look and see that they had an invader in their premises. He could only look around to see which one of them could look like they were Drayden. It didn’t seem like anybody here was the man, so he figured that he would call the man out, and see if that would work.

”I’m here to speak to Iron Drayden! I don’t want to fight, or anything I want to offer the man something I don’t think he could refuse!” He shouted, so they could all hear him.

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The men in this camp had looked at each other as they were surprised to hear what he had said. They wondered what was going to happen, and if Drayden was going to actually show up. One of the people from his actual crew had stepped forward as he looked at Yuurei. His face was stern and he looked serious from what Yuurei could tell. This brought the Shichibukai to smile at him as he could tell that this man was definitely not Drayden.

”I don’t think Drayden wants to listen to you, so I’m going to escort you out.” The man said to Yuurei.

When he said this he would rush towards Yuurei as he had his cybernetic arm swing at full force at Yuurei. The scientist smiled when he saw the mechanical arm coming straight towards him. He had moved his foot to his left, and he had sidestepped to avoid the attack. His right hand was on the pommel of his blade as he had a smile on his face.
”I see so you aren’t Drayden. If you know what’s good for you, then I say don’t try to throw a hit at me again. I’m serious because I will make your life a living hell.” He said to Drayden’s man.

After those words were spoken another man would appear, but this time he had come from the cave entrance. Yuurei’s smile had never left him as he moved forward and into the middle of the crew. The guild was surrounding Yuurei, but it wasn’t just them, the other members of Drayden’s crew also surrounded him. He looked at them and he knew they were waiting for him to give them an opening to attack them. Yuurei could see the blonde haired man with the dark eyes. He wore a hoodie over his head and he looked upset that Yuurei was making noise here. The swordsman also saw the hammer that was in his hand, which were part of the rumors.

”You must be the Iron Drayden that I heard so much about. It’s nice to finally meet the man that has been taking out the Revolutionaries that are around Greenie Pass.” He said with a smile on his face.

Drayden looked at him as his angry look didn’t change when he heard his words. He looked at the group of people that were supposed to be supporting him and wondered what they were all doing right now. He figured he wouldn’t tell them to attack right now because the man showed no intentions of killing.

”Who are you? What is this offer you have that you know I can’t refuse? I have everything I need and I’m doing whatever I want.” He said to Yuurei as he walked a bit more until he was about twenty meters away from him.

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Yuurei heard him speak to him, and he just couldn’t help but enjoy the way he spoke. He didn’t know who he was, which was absurd because he was sure everyone knew about him by now. Well, actually he might be right. If he was going to be known then it would be when the next News Coo was out. They would have told the world he had become a Shichibukai. As for now only the marines, the kingdom of Lulusia and the other Shichibukai knew about his title.

”That’s right you don’t know who I am. I don’t think anybody here knows who I am. A lot of you guys are strong-willed by standing here the way you are. Still, I will introduce myself.” He said this as he moved his hand forward.
”My name is Yuurei D. Jiyuu. I’m a pirate, but my real title is a Shichibukai. That means I work for the big guys of so-called “Justice”. I’m here to ask you to join me on my adventure. I want to turn in all the annoying pirate wannabes and other people who think they are tough and do whatever they want. I heard rumors about how good you are with leading those around you, and I can see that first hand that you have a lot of faithful companions with you.” He said as he looked at every one of the people here because of him.

Iron Drayden’s eyes widen when he heard that this man was a Shichibukai. It was a status that he had been trying to get, but it didn’t work, but no one had appeared in front of him. He wasn’t sure how strong they were, but he honestly wanted to find out.

”You want me to join you. I have a crew though as you can see. What do I get with joining you?” He asked Yuurei curious to hear what he had to say.

”You will be part of an upcoming crew. This crew I guarantee you it will be strong. I have a giant who cooks, a sniper, a…umm…what are those called again.” He paused moving his eyes up and tapping his chin with his fingers.

”An archeologist. That’s what those things are called. Yeah, we got that too; I plan on looking for this other guy he’s a tiger mink and he looks awesome. There is also a girl who has one arm who I want to recruit as well. She has some strong will and she has balls that a lot of these guys wished she had. I’m telling you it’s going to be fucking crazy.” He said to Drayden.

Yuurei smacked his forehead as he had forgotten himself.

”Also you have me a blacksmith…wait a minute I’m a scientist, my dad is the blacksmith. Well yeah, a man who is a scientist. I heard you were a blacksmith, so I came to find you because I’m in need of one.” Yuurei said this as he unsheathed his blades.

There were four swords in one hand each other them in between each of his fingers. Then the fifth one was held like a regular sword in his right hand. Drayden was memorized with his swords and it surprised him to see each and every sword that was in his hand. The quality behind them was amazing and this man had managed to wield them all in one hand. There was one of them amongst the four in his left hand that he didn’t know about, but he could tell it was on par with the rest of these swords. Still, the sword in his right hand was the one that made Drayden excited. That sword was the crème of the crop. It was a sword made of such high caliber and once again this man had one in his position. He had to take a minute to calm down from the overwhelming weapons presented to him.

”So, you need me to keep them in tiptop shape and make sure if they break I could repair them?” He asked Yuurei.

Yuurei shook his head as that was a part of it, but not the real reason.

”You got a little bit right, but I told you why I truly wanted you. I mean do I need to show you how strong I am as well?” He asked Drayden.

This made everyone a bit over the edged as they got into a fighting stance ready to attack the man with the swords in his hand at any moment. Yuurei could see this and he waited for them to attack him and now that he was armed he was even more dangerous than before.

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Iron Drayden looked at the people who followed him and knew he couldn’t leave them behind. Still, he was asked to join a man’s crew, which he knew nothing about. There was one thing he could do and it was something he didn’t want to do.

”Prove to me how strong you right here and right now. They are going to attack you and if you can’t survive that, then you weren’t meant to lead someone like me.” He said to Yuurei.

The swordsman shook his head because he wanted to avoid violence if he could right now. He was trying to recruit Drayden not fight his henchmen. Then he noticed that they were all moving towards him. The footsteps of all of them made a lot of noise as if a stampede were heading his way. Yuurei sighed and he got into a fighting position. His face serious as he had no need to stain his swords with blood today.
Yuurei had let out a huge blue aura all around him. The speed of this aura was quick and fast and the stampeded would stop running. They were scared as they didn’t know what was coming towards them, but they tried to run away from it, which it didn’t work. The speed of aura was faster than anybody could move here. When it hit everybody they would all stop moving in that instant. There was only one person he chose to have this not affect and it was Iron Drayden.

All thirty-eight men that were hit by this would have their eyes roll back in their head, and foam would start coming out of their mouths. They were stuck as if they had been petrified by the attack, and then they all started falling to their knees and soon on flat on the floor. Iron Drayden so this as his eyes widen when he saw what had happened to his crew. They had been taken out by this man in one attack. He didn’t even break a sweat, which made Drayden even more interested into what this man had asked him. Those weapons he had and the power he had. Drayden had to wonder if he had more power besides that.

”Was that…Was that the legendary king’s will? I heard it was rare to find someone with such an ability, but you have it. What else can you do Yuurei?” He asked.

Yuurei looked at him and smile because he had him where he wanted.

”I can show you right here what I can do, but that would put their lives in danger, or you can join me and see it yourself first hand. So what do you think Iron Drayden will you join me in my adventure and join my crew? The choice is yours, or we can take a different route if you don’t feel you are right for the task.” He said to Drayden.

The blacksmith stood calmly for a bit as he had a lot to take in. His crew was easily taken out by one guy who didn’t even lift a finger. He was sure he would have fallen if this guy didn’t prevent it. He also knew that he had a bounty on his head, and if this man chose he could have easily brought him in. Still, that wasn’t what he was trying to do, and instead, he was asking him to join his crew. Drayden looked at all of his comrades and figured he would have to make a deal that would keep them alive, or at least safe.

”Okay I will join you Yuurei. Still, under one condition. You leave them alone, and make sure that they nothing bad happens to them. Only then will I join you.” He said to Yuurei.

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Yuurei heard exactly what he wanted to hear from Drayden. The man was going to join him as he wanted. Still, he had made a proposition, and it was not to hurt the people around him. Yuurei sheathed his blades as he looked around to see all the unconscious bodies that were around him. He then looked at Iron Drayden and laughed a bit.

”Hn ha ha ha ha. I wasn’t planning on doing anything to them. If anything I was only going to do something to them, if ya wanted me to. I only came here for you, and if ya would have refused only then I would of probably done something to everybody here. Still, ya have my promise, they will be safe and they should be up soon so no worries. I say go get your stuff because you don’t want to forget anything that ya find precious behind.” He said this to Drayden.

Iron Drayden nodded as he had gone back into the cave to get all the stuff that had belonged to him. He didn’t think something like this was going to happen, but the world worked in mysterious ways, so he decided to move with it. Iron was gathering everything he could into a bag as he didn’t carry much unless it was sentimental, or of value to him. It wouldn’t take long for Drayden to come out of the cave as he saw Yuurei waiting for him. He walked over to him as he stood by Yuurei’s side.

”Do you really have a giant in your crew?” He asked Yuurei.

The Shichibukai chuckled when he heard those words because that was what he was interested in now.

”Yeah, he’s the first mate, my best friend, and an awesome cook. Still, let’s be on our way, so they don’t try and stop you. I’m sure that they will understand, or maybe hold a grudge on you.” He said to Iron.

Drayden looked at Yuurei and nodded as he was ready. Drayden had written a letter when he was packing and he told them that they were free to do whatever they wanted. He also told them that he joined Yuurei so that their life was not taken. The two of them would leave the campsite, and Drayden would close it, so no animal would come in here while they were unconscious. Yuurei was about to walk but remembered that this place most likely had traps.

”You have traps all around this place right?” He asked Drayden.

”Oh yeah we do. I forgot because I was confused about how you got to our campsite.” He said to Yuurei.

”I got these hover flats that propel me from the ground, and increase my speed as a whole. It’s amazing technology that I learned about due to a man that taught me. Still, I don’t think it can hold us both, so the best thing I can do is shrink you for the time being.” Yuurei said to Drayden.

The blacksmith was confused when he heard those words because he didn’t know something like that was possible.

”You can do that Yuurei? What kind of person are you?” He asked.

Yuurei would take out a gun from his back and would aim it straight at Drayden. It wouldn’t take long, but he shot the man and soon he would decrease his size to a fourth of his original. Yuurei would grab Drayden and placed him on his shoulder.

”Boy, I just learn how to do weird things because of my master. I also made this for the giant because it’s hard for him to go on a ship and walk in the doors, so I figured I would help him out with this.” He paused for a bit.

”Anyways let’s go I kind of want to go to the next thing to do on my list.” He said to Drayden.

With that Yuurei and crunched his toes and it activated the hover flats. Yuurei would move forward as he was getting out of this forest. He had been able to get Drayden on his side. He had impressed the man, and he was hoping that he would be a good addition to his crew. Yuurei knew what he was going to do and it continued his inventions while looking for Raijin. That man was in his memories, but he didn’t know how, or why.

[Exit]

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