A New Path - Chapter 201

On top of the deck of Hisoka’s ship, Kuma’s body was laid out for his entire crew to see. Hisoka himself sat beside the body as the ship swayed in the strong winds assaulting them. “You know something Kuma? You’re about to be reprogrammed and become another spy for the Gotei. How does that make you feel?”

“Vegapunk is the greatest mind on the planet. What you seek to do can’t be done.” Kuma had lost almost all of his humanity to the government’s experiments. Only fractions of his own will were left. But, no one in the world knew just how advanced The Gotei’s technology was. Reprogramming Kuma was child’s play.

“Do you really believe us to be that useless?”

“I think he is! He looks like the stupid kind of cyborg!” Said Hisoka’s second-in-command, Melody. Her white and black ponytails swaying beautifully in the winds. Her adorable features would send any young man spiralling into madness.

“Oh? And How would you know that? What does a smart cyborg look like?”

“I don’t know, just not that!”

“Melody The Mad” Kuma looked at the young woman with his dead eyes.

“Yup, that’s my name! Don’t wear it out, dummy!” Melody jumped down from the second floor and gave Kuma a kick to the head.

“That was a little rude, don’t you think?” Hisoka said while fiddling with a gold coin.

“He deserved it!”

“What for?”

“For being a stupid cyborg!”

Hisoka chuckled and flicked the coin to Melody. “Did you contact HQ? When can they come and pick up this guy?”

“They said they are gonna send a team to pick him up tomorrow.” Melody went and clung onto Hisoka’s back while delivering multiple kisses all over his face.

“You heard that, Kuma? We’re gonna spend the night together!” Hisoka pushed Melody away much to her sorrow. “Let me tell you some stories about how the world is gonna look in a few years!” Hisoka leaned back and pulled out his storytime voice. “It will all start with the fall of the Five Elders…”

*******************************************

On Sabaody three ninja were walking and staring in wonder at everything this world had to offer. The island, the sights, they are all so different from the land they were born into. In the Elemental nations, you could search forever, yet you would never find an island like this with such uniqueness to it.

“Is our target here yet?” Sasuke looked over at Itachi who was enjoying the scenery around them. The bubbles that covered the sky had him and Naruto mesmerized by how they perfectly reflected sunlight onto the ground.

“Not sure. It’s our mission to find out, but you don’t have to be so serious Sasuke, enjoy this time of calmness. When the war starts, you will not find these tranquil moments easy to come by.” Itachi said and punched his brother lightly on the arm.

“I prefer combat. I find my calmness in the middle of the enemy army.”

“How dramatic!” Itachi said with a grin.

“Yeah, you should slow down and take a breath, Sasuke. Maybe even eat something ones in a while.” Naruto gave him a quick slap on the back.

“Well, I am hungry,”

“Great, then let us find somewhere to eat!” Itachi and Naruto grabbed one of Sasuke’s arms each and dragged him away.

********************************************

On another part of this island, inside one of the many auction houses, a new batch of goods had arrived. This particular batch was delivered exclusively to this auction house as it dealt in the slave trade. The newly arrived slaves were sitting in the backroom with their explosive collars around their necks. This collar was attached to all of them in an attempt to keep them in line.

Amell sat on one of the benches with a smile on his face. He had erased his entire presence and sneaked in here to meet a certain someone. He had been sitting here for ten minutes and he had finally formed his opinion on the man he was here to meet.

“You are not like I imagined you to be.” He said. His voice was the first thing they heard since getting here, so everyone in the cell looked up after hearing it. And, imagine their surprise when they saw the fifth emperor sitting there with a calm smile on his face.

“Ohh, this I didn’t see coming.” Said the old man that had caught Amell’s attention. “Even in my old age, I get treated to a few surprises it seems.”

“What is a man like you doing in a place like this?” The presence of an emperor in this small enclosed space made everyone painfully aware of their own voices, movements.

“I ran out of money, and if you can do this old man a solid, I would really appreciate it if you could loan me some.” a synchronized nervous breath among the spectators watching this crazy old man asking an emperor for some money.

“Don’t have any on me. Maybe you’ll find my good company as a satisfactory replacement.”

“Depends on the quality of the company.” Said the old alcoholic.

“At the moment my wife thinks of me as a great conversationalist. But, you know ladies, their opinion can change at any time.”

“I have some experience in that field myself. What you say is true, hahaha!”

“Old man, how do you know an emperor?” Said the mean-looking giant sitting in the middle of them both.

“All old people know each other!” Amell said as he sat fiddling with his White Lotus chip in his hand. “Rayleigh, we have more to talk about but you’re about to be busy, so we’ll talk later.” He saw Rayleigh’s expression change from goofy to stoic.

“What do you mean?”

“You’ll see!” Amell’s voice faded away as did he himself right in front of their faces. The giant spoke for all slaves present when he said to Rayleigh, “Old man, you have strange friends.”

————————————————–

End