Over the next couple days, Marcus charted a course to their next destination as they sailed through the island chain. Most of the islands they passed were tiny with only a couple of trees. While others were big enough to support small fishing villages. They stopped by a couple of them because Luffy and the others wanted to check them out. But after the third village had nothing interesting to do, no one asked to stop at the fourth one they found.
On the third day they finally reached their goal, or at least that is what Marcus assumed when he saw a grove of trees on a hilltop. He studied the area with his spyglass before he said, "Trim the sails! We are going to stop here."
"Isn't this just another boring village?" Luffy asked as he picked his nose.
"No idea. But we should stop here and get some training in so grandpa doesn't beat us up for slacking off." Marcus said as he put his spyglass away.
"Like grandpa needs a reason to beat us up." Ace said as Sabo nodded in agreement.
"That's true. But I still wanna get more training in."
As the ship slowed down, Marcus aimed for the small dock near the main area of the village. It was big enough to fit their ship without much issue and probably used for visiting ships. Since there was a smaller dock not far from it which was filled with small fishing boats.
It was close to noon as the ship approached the dock and while most people were probably eating, a handful of people were on the dock. The most prominent among them was a dark haired man with a thick mustache. He was wearing a brown, short-sleeved police uniform with sandals and his eyes studied the ship as it prepared to dock.
After lines were secured and the gangplank dropped, Marcus walked off the ship as he said, "Nice to meet you, I'm Marcus."
Genzo stepped forward as he said, "I'm Genzo, the sheriff of Cocoyasi Village. Could you please get your captain so I could ask the purpose of your visit?"
"You're talking to the captain." Marcus said with a grin before he added, "As for our purpose, we came to visit and possibly trade some of our goods."
Genzo watched Marcus for a few moments with narrowed eyes before he said, "You better not be lying to me son."
Marcus smirked as he yelled over his shoulder, "Everyone is free to disembark!"
"Yahooo!" Luffy said as he rocketed off of the ship while pulling Usopp with him who was screaming like a little girl as they flew through the air.
Genzo and the other people with him stared with their mouths open as Luffy and Usopp flew over their heads. A few moments later they slammed into a wall before Luffy jumped up laughing as he pulled a protesting Usopp with him. Ace and Sabo appeared a moment later before Ace said, "I'll go make sure Luffy doesn't break..."
Ace was cut off by the sound of something crashing down before he said, "I'll stop him from breaking more stuff."
Genzo looked at the cracked wall of the house Luffy hit as he said, "Someone better be paying for that."
Marcus nodded and pulled out a stack of money as he asked, "Do you guys have a docking fee?"
"We only charge if you stay longer than a couple days."
"We will be here for at least a month." Marcus said as he handed the money in his hands to Genzo.
Genzo glanced at it and tried to return most of it as he said, "This is too much."
Marcus shook his head and refused to take back the money as he said, "Keep it since I know my brother is gonna cause more trouble."
As Genzo was about to speak and refuse the money again, Zeff, Sanji, Zoe and the others walked off the ship. Genzo eyed Zeff before he looked at Marcus with narrowed eyes as he asked, "I thought you said you were the captain?"
Marcus glanced over to Zeff before he said, "I am the captain."
"Then who is that?" Genzo asked as he pointed at Zeff.
"Him? He's the cook."
"Cook? Why isn't he the captain?" Genzo asked as he studied Zeff.
"Because this isn't his ship." Marcus said with a shrug.
"Hey brat, I'm going shopping for supplies. Do you want me to look for anything special?"
Marcus glanced at Zeff as he said, "We're gonna stay here for at least a month, so don't worry about resupplying just yet."
"A month? Didn't you want to hunt more pirates?"
"We will, but I want to properly train for a while and this place seems nice." Marcus said as he glanced towards the village.
Within a few moments everyone left to go explore the village before Marcus asked, "How is the security around here? Do I need to worry about anyone trying to steal from my ship?"
"I might be the sheriff, but it's mostly an honorary title. Our village is so small, everyone knows each other. So we don't have any issues with crime." Genzo said with a hint of pride.
"Great, since I also wanted to check out the town too. Any places you recommend and do you have a bath house?"
"We have a decent restaurant that also acts as the village's bar… As for a bathhouse, we have one near the center of town." Genzo said as he pointed to a set of buildings and added, "I can show you the way if you want."
Genzo disbursed his helpers before he walked with Marcus towards the center of the village. As they walked he asked, "So you hunt pirates? Aren't most of you too young for something like that?"
"Most of us can wipe the floor with someone four times our age, so why should age matter?"
Genzo glanced at Marcus as he asked, "Where are all your parents at?"
"Do you always ask so many questions when a ship visits the island or is it because I'm so young?"
Genzo frowned slightly before Marcus said, "Anyway thanks for showing me where to go, I'll be fine from here."
Marcus disappeared from Genzo's view moments later which made the man quickly look around trying to find Marcus. After he couldn't find him, Genzo let out a sigh and headed back to his office. Marcus stopped by the restaurant to eat lunch and then went to the bath house to rest for a while before he headed back to the ship.
Once back at the ship, he took up a post in the crows nest and relaxed as he read the newspaper. As he was reading the newspaper his den den mushi started ringing so he answered it and said, "Hello."
"Brat, is that anyway to greet your grandpa?"
"Grandpa? Why are you calling? Are you coming back to visit already?" Marcus asked as he skimmed the newspaper.
Garp sounded upset as he said, "No… Sengoku has me staying at HQ to help keep the warlords in line."
"Warlords? Is Jinbe there?" Marcus asked with some interest.
"The big blue one? Yeah he's here, why?" Garp asked through a mouth full of what Marcus assumed was either crackers or donuts.
"Can I talk to him?"
"I don't want you talking to some pirate scum. Your brother is bad enough, I don't need you getting any ideas." Garp said in an annoyed tone.
"Remember my issue? I need to talk to him about that."
Garp went quiet for a few moments before he let out a sigh and said, "Give me a little while and I'll call you back."
Garp hung up before Marcus could respond which made him smile as he placed his den den mushi away. Marcus went back to reading until he heard someone on the deck below making noise. Marcus didn't think about it much at first, but still glanced over the side of the crows nest to see an orange haired girl.
The girl was in a faded dress with green trim as she crept around the boat. Marcus watched her for a few minutes before she quietly disappeared through the door leading in the ship. Marcus shook his head slightly as he placed the newspaper down and grabbed the rope that led to the deck. Within moments Marcus was on the deck and quickly followed after the girl.
Marcus, being used to the ship knew exactly where to step to not make any of the boards creek as he searched for the girl. It didn't take long to find her as every board made a sound when she moved. Marcus found her near in the hold going through items they collected from pirates over the past year.
As she searched she mumbled to herself, "I wonder what's worth the most money that they won't miss?"
Marcus carefully picked up a jeweled candle holder without making noise and handed it to the girl as he said, "This would probably work."
"Oh, thanks! This is definitely worth a lot of money." The girl said before she froze in place and her head slowly turned towards Marcus.
Marcus smiled at her as he asked, "You know what the punishment for thievery is on my ship?"
The girl's eyes widened as Marcus placed a hand on his sword and said with a predatory grin, "We cut off the person's right hand."
A blood curdling scream erupted from the girl's mouth as she bolted out of the hold of the ship. Marcus smirked slightly to himself as he followed after her and couldn't help but notice she didn't let go of the candle holder in her panic. Marcus wasn't in a rush and kept a certain distance with the girl as she escaped the ship and headed towards the village.
When the girl realized Marcus was still chasing her she started to yell for help as she rushed towards the middle of the village. People on the street and in the buildings all approached to find out what was going on until Genzo appeared. The girl bolted for him like she found her savior the moment she saw him and said, "Help! He said he was gonna cut off my hand! He's evil, he must be a pirate!"
Genzo's eyes narrowed as he scanned the area to find who the girl was talking about before he found Marcus. As Marcus approached closer the girl pointed at him and said, "He has to be a pirate, just look at him! He looks evil with that scary face and sword!"
Marcus stopped in front of Genzo as he said, "We have a bit of a problem here."
"You're the problem!" The girl said before Genzo placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "Settle down Nami, I need to find out what's going on here."
"He's an evil pirate and wants to cut my hand off!" Nami said as she pointed at Marcus.
"Is that the hand you want me to cut off?" Marcus asked with a smirk, which made Nami jump and hide behind Genzo who let out a sigh before he looked at the gathered crowd and said, "Go on, nothing to see here. I'll handle it."
As the crowd dispersed, Genzo focused his gaze on Marcus and said in a stern tone, "No one is cutting off anyone's hand… Now tell me what happened."
Marcus motioned towards Nami as he said, "That little brat trespassed onto my ship and stole from me. I told her she would have to lose a hand over it."
"Don't call me a brat you stupid pirate!"
Genzo placed a hand on Nami's head as he said, "I said to settle down."
As Nami went quiet Genzo turned back to Marcus and asked, "I don't wanna call you a liar, but do you have proof?"
"The jeweled candlestick holder in her left hand was taken from my ship's hold." Marcus said as he pointed to the object still in Nami's hand.
Nami and everyone else glanced at it before they focused on Nami who nervously said, "I just found it."
"Found it uh?" Genzo asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I have five more exactly like it still on my ship."
Nami started to sweat a little as Genzo grabbed the candlestick holder and asked, "And where exactly did you find this at Nami?"
"Ummm, I forgot."
Genzo narrowed his eyes as he stared down at Nami and asked, "Tell me the truth, where did you find it?"
"On that pirate ship at the dock." Nami said before she added, "But it should be okay to steal from pirates because they steal from other people."
Genzo chopped Nami over the head as he said, "Stealing something someone else stole doesn't make it right!"
As Nami rubbed the top of her head, Genzo handed the candle stick holder back to Marcus and said, "I'm sorry about this. Nami is a little rebellious and likes to get into troublesome situations."
"Don't apologize to him, he's a pirate!"
Genzo shot a glare at Nami as he said, "He isn't a pirate."
Nami shook her head as she said, "No way, just look at him! He looks just like an evil pirate and the hold of his ship is full of treasure, so he is absolutely a pirate!"
"Your ship is full of treasure?" Genzo asked with a raised eyebrow.
"We hunt pirates and also strip their ships of anything valuable when we're finished." Marcus said with a shrug.
As they talked, a woman with pink hair and another young girl with blue hair approached them at a fast pace. When they arrived the woman asked, "Who wants to cut off my daughter's hand?"
"I do."
Genzo glanced from Marcus to the woman with pink hair as he said, "No one is going to cut off Nami's hand."
"What happened? Why does this little brat want to take her hand?" The woman said as she placed her hands on her hips and frowned at Marcus.
Genzo pointed at the candle stick holder as he said, "Nami snuck onto his ship and stole that from the cargo hold… Marcus wanted to take her hand as compensation."
The woman glanced at the candle stick holder before she turned to Nami and asked, "Did you really steal that?"
Nami nodded her head before she said, "I wanted to buy some books and new clothes after I sold it."
The woman chopped Nami over the head before she said, "Just because we don't have much money, doesn't give you the right to steal from others. Now apologize to him."
As Nami rubbed her head she frowned and said, "But he's a pirate."
"I said, apologize!" The woman said as she chopped Nami over the head again.
Nami looked like she was about to cry as she said, "I'm sorry I took your stuff, you stupid pirate."
The woman nodded in approval before she turned to Marcus and asked, "You have what she stole back and she apologized. Does that work or do you still want to take her hand?"
"Did she really learn a lesson if I don't take her hand?" Marcus asked with a cocked eyebrow.
The woman nodded her head as she said, "Fine, you can take my hand instead."
"NO!" Both girls screamed at the same time as they grabbed onto the woman while Genzo's eyes widened.
As Genzo was about to say something, the woman leaned forward towards Marcus and placed her breasts almost in front of his face as she said in a teasing tone, "Or I could pay you back with my body."
Marcus gave her a flat look as he said, "I don't like old women or used goods."
The teasing smile fell from her face as she asked in an icy tone, "Used goods?"
Marcus shrugged as he said, "You have two kids and are probably four or five times my age. You are practically a grandma compared to me."
"You little brat!" The woman said as she punched towards Marcus's face.
Marcus disappeared from his spot and was over ten feet away as he shook his head and said, "And violent too? Not lady like at all and definitely not wife material. I feel bad for your husband."
"Get over her you little brat, I'm gonna teach you some manners!" The woman said as she ran towards Marcus who smirked and said, "I'm good, thanks." Before he disappeared again which left the woman fuming.