One Piece: Lost in the Tutorial #78

Hawkins' eyes narrowed, but he remained silent, his expression carefully composed despite the palpable tension in the air.

Blake chuckled, a cold and mirthless sound that seemed to hang in the air. "You don't seem to understand, Hawkins. Let me explain," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "I'm going to cut off your arm, which leaves you with two options two options...."

He leisurely pointed his blade at the Magician. "Your first choice is to use your last effigy to make me lose an arm instead, but if you do that you'll be as good as dead since nothing would stop me from killing you..." he trailed off, enjoying the slight shift in Hawkins' expression.

"Your other choice is to lose the arm and keep the effigy, but then I'll cut off the rest of your limbs and throw you into a dungeon where you'll rot for the rest of your life... you'll get to live though, so that still counts for something, right?" Blake concluded with a chuckle.

Hawkins' face paled, but he maintained his usual composed expression as he drew a card from his deck. Blake, losing patience, lunged at Hawkins, swinging his blade at his shoulder. The blade cut through the card and stopped an inch away from cutting into his flesh.

"Stop!" Hawkins exclaimed, his voice sharp and urgent. "I've drawn the Tower card. It signifies the collapse of the old and hints at a new way forward."

Blake's glare was filled with disdain as he paused, the threat of violence still lingering in the air. "Spit out whatever you want to say, and make it quick. I don't have a lot of patience to spare..." he growled.

Hawkins took a deep breath, his composure returning. "I understand that I can't achieve victory here," he began. "And so I will propose a deal that can benefit us both..."

Blake raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued but still wary. "And why would I make a deal with you, Hawkins? I hold your life in my hands."

Count Armand cursed at Hawkins, his voice trembling with rage. "I brought you here to deal with Blake, not to strike bargains with him!" His words were cut off mid-sentence as Sif lunged at him from behind, slapping the back of his head with her massive paw and pushing his face into the dirt.

Hawkins ignored the fallen noble, turning his calm, calculating gaze back to Blake. "You will accept the deal..." he said, his tone steady. "Because you don't wish to lose an arm... what's more, I am in a position to help you get rid of the pests in your kingdom." He glanced meaningfully at Count Armand, whose face had turned as pale as snow.

Blake chuckled, the sound echoing through the forest. "So, you kill the opposing nobles for me and fuck off never to be seen again in exchange for your life? Is that it?"

Hawkins nodded, his expression unwavering. "Yes. I am a wanted pirate, and I could have thousands of reasons for killing a group of nobles... maybe I simply wanted their fortune... or they hired me and we had a falling out over my pay...."

Blake's amusement grew, and he sheathed his sword with a flourish. "Well, I can't help but despise you for turning coat so quickly, but that would make things easier for me..." He turned to Sif, who was still holding Count Armand down, her growl low and menacing. "Let him up, Sif. We wouldn't want to make this too easy for him."

Sif reluctantly released her hold on Count Armand, who scrambled to his feet, glaring at both Blake and Hawkins with a mixture of fear and fury. "You can't do this, Blake! The nobles won't stand for it!"

Blake's grin widened. "Oh, Count Armand, you seem to have the wrong idea... I won't be doing anything other than simply enjoying the show. It's Hawkins here you gotta worry about..." he trailed off, watching Hawkins transform into a scarecrow-like straw monster again. "As for your noble buddies, they'll be joining you soon after."

Hawkins stepped forward, drawing another card from his deck. "I'm sorry, Count Armand. The Tower card has been drawn. It's time for the old to fall and the new to rise."

On that day, many houses belonging to nobles were broken into, and cleaned out of everything valuable, only to be burned alongside their nobles. Many civilian witnesses came forward claiming they'd spotted a strange scarecrow monster in the vicinity of every incident, some even saw it ripping one of the nobles to shreds.

...

As they finished docking the ship, the crew disembarked from the ship, led by Law. They emerged into the bustling port that seemed more busy than usual, despite the darkening of the sky, they couldn't help but feel something strange was happening.

Looking around, Bepo was the first to notice a large crowd gathered near the beach near the docks. "What's going on over there?" he asked, pointing towards the commotion.

Curiosity piqued, everyone turned to look. Law's gaze followed Bepo's gesture, spotting Blake standing a distance away from the crowd with Sif by his side. "I'm going to take a look," Law said to the crew. "You all should get some rest for now."

After a long voyage, everyone was exhausted, so they didn't argue and immediately dispersed, each with their own plans for the evening. On the other hand, Law made his way towards the shore, the murmurs of the gathered crowd growing louder with every step.

Near the center of the crowd, he saw over a dozen coffins lined up in neat rows. A man stood over them, delivering a somber speech. Law weaved through the onlookers, finally reaching Blake.

"What's going on here?" Law asked, his voice low. "Who are in these coffins?"

Blake turned to him, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Allow me to introduce Count Armand and his entourage of noble lackeys..." he gestured toward the coffins. "You might know them better as the ones who were the least pleased about me taking the throne..."

Law raised an eyebrow. "I didn't think you'd take care of them so quickly in the short time I was away..." he crossed his arms, glancing at the coffins before shifting his gaze back to Blake. "And I definitely didn't think you'd be shameless enough to attend someone's funeral after killing them...."

Blake chuckled, a dark amusement in his eyes. "The hearts of Drake and Kiera that I sent to you helped me achieve this..." he shrugged his shoulders. "And no, I'm not that shameless. The one who killed them was Basil Hawkins."

Law couldn't help but be taken aback, "You mean that magician guy? Why would he go out of his way to kill a bunch of nobles who just happened to oppose you?"

Blake chuckled, "Basil Hawkins had two choices: either death or life in a dungeon with all his limbs cut off. He gave himself a third choice by making himself useful to me."

Law's confusion deepened. "How did Hawkins even get involved in this mess?"

Blake waved a hand dismissively. "It's a long and boring story that I don't have the time to share. Ask Hawkins about it if you're interested. He's inside the dungeon under the royal castle."

"Why did you imprison him after he killed the nobles for you?" Law asked, still puzzled.

"I simply didn't like the guy," Blake replied with a sigh. "And I can't let a crime like killing a bunch of nobles go unpunished so early in my rule. It'd make me look incompetent and weak."

Law paused to think about it before shrugging his shoulders. "Makes sense, I guess."

The two of them watched the funeral proceed in silence for a few moments until Blake seemed to remember something. "Speaking of captives," he said, turning to Law, "what did you do with Drake and Kiera after taking their hearts?"

Law replied, "Drake and Kiera were too valuable to let go, so I brought them along so you could decide what to do with them. They're both in the brig on the lower decks of the ship."

Blake's eyes glinted with a hint of mischief. "You did well. Kiera is a wild card, but I owe her old man a big debt..." he trailed off, a smile forming on his lips. "As for Drake... that's a damn jackpot. I'd take out Count Armand out of his coffin and give him a kiss if I could for sending him after you..."

Law raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What makes Drake so valuable? He is fairly strong, but I don't see him being that useful in any way other than acting as an enforcer..."

Blake grinned at Law knowingly. "I can tell you all about it, but why ruin the surprise?" he said. "You'll find tomorrow, but for now, I have a speech to make about what an awesome human being Count Armand was, and you need to get some rest..."