Freaks! Freaks! Freaks! 3

Yoh: Aniki you’re finally up?

Hao: Yeah, I was pretty messed up back there. I guess that fellow did not go easy on me. Anyway, you need to accept that opportunity, It won’t come by easily. We should take this chance and cure your illness; whatever we’ll have to deal with after is nothing for you to worry about. If you’re dead all becomes worthless for me at the end of the day.

The twins began a dialogue we were excluded from. Ace looked at all this with his usually distant mannerism. He did not feel like intervening, this had nothing to do with him. Rather he was not sure why I would go out of my way and help those two criminals. From what he’d observed before they seemed to be pretty notorious in this zone of the dump. Logically they should be the boss around here or be working for someone close to that Captain Brent…

“I’ll be waiting outside with Ace, you guys just come warn us when you’ve decided.”

Ace and I came out the tree trunk. I had some reservations, but I really needed these two boys to join our strengths ...

Their contribution would be essential and indispensable and I was impatient at the idea of recruiting them. The sooner the better in this kind of situation. The one to strike the first blow would get the advantage here. I did not like to use other people’s weaknesses but I had learned that politics were indispensable when trying to raise an army.

Using this young boy’s sickness in order to get him to work for me was a bit shameless, but I would essentially cure him, not dispose of him. Once he was cured I was free to act a bit more appropriately and maybe become friends with them. People had to rely on each other in this dirty world and nothing was black or white. Life, in reality, was more of a grey color…

The sooner someone understood this concept, the less they would have problems with their moralities. Remorses was not useless, but they could impede someone’s road to success. At the end of the day, one had to act according to what benefited them the most, as long as it did not cross the boundaries of their code of conduct. I was comfortable with this so…I had done a lot worse.

Hao : Raoh, you guys come inside, we’ve made our decision already!

I did not pray any longer and I went in to receive my long-awaited answer.

The future of our piracy would depend largely on the participation of the two rascals. They could be the disruptive element on the seas.

Not in the normal way, but rather in the way their techniques and abilities worked. I had a great experience to try in the days to come if I could find what I needed.

“You made your choice in the end? I hope it's a positive answer.” I asked a bit expectant.

Yoh looked at his brother apprehensively. The latter nodded shaking his head up and down

“So what’s the deal? Made a decision yet?” I was playing dumb clearly aware that the tables had already turned. Curing the little guy was the priority. It seemed like a life-threatening illness and anyone but an idiot would mull over accepting my conditions at this time.

If all of this did not seat well with them, they’d find a fix later; right now the most important thing to do was to please the doctor...If they had to run away with the bill or kill me that was a story for another day.

I had figured out what they had been discussing, and I was sure it was along those lines. Hao was a bit like me, so finding out his plan was a cinch…

“Yeah! We accept your conditions or whatever. Just get to work already and heal my brother. We’ll join whatever group you’re trying to create.” Hao announced at the top of his lungs. Yoh also looked a bit more resolute than before as well. He was gripping his fists as if he was going to experience the most difficult torture this world had to propose.

“Now the most important question...Can you actually do your job and heal him?! I’m not saying this because I doubt your abilities or anything. We’ve tried all sorts of quacks this last year and one more won’t harm. Still, that sickness of his is weird. I think it got something to do with his arteries or his heart…He has not been able to do a lot of things properly for a long time now and his health is poor in general. I’m worried he won’t last a long time living in this dump…” Hao explained.

“Let me take a look. Take off your shirt.”

Yoh: Okay!... (He hurriedly said, a bit flustered.)

“Ace, Go and call Luffy and Sabo. We’ll start our next move from here. Bring the provisions too.”

Ace : Got it. (Ace left like a tsunami, leaving the door open behind him.)

Hao : Hmmph! That guy has no manners. Did anybody ever teach him doors are supposed to be closed?

“Haha...That is…” I tried to find an excuse but the guy was right. I hated this as well.

I touched Yoh’s heart and some of his arteries. Using my Hokuto expertise I instantly associated the clogged arteries with some kind of coronary disease or intravascular problem. It did not really matter to me what name the illness had though. I essentially worked differently from doctors. Doctors needed to identify the illness before using an appropriate means. I just defied nature and eradicated the cause of the illness, rather than the illness itself. Using pressure points I forcefully annihilated any kind of cell aging or malfunction. It was almost on an atomic level. It was like a program telling the body to heal itself automatically. Hokuto was heaven-defying yes…

After manipulating the pressure points for fifteen minutes he was all set.

“Do you feel something?” I asked knowing the answer already. There was no incurable disease for “Hokuto” and this was just child’s play for me. Toki was able to survive atomic radiations in my previous life and only died because we fought. If he did not force destiny he could prolong his life as much as he needed. Sickness and mortality did not kill Hokuto practitioners, only loneliness and violence did it.

Yoh: I'm ... healed!! Aniki !! my arteries are no longer blocked. I do not have that pang in my heart when I try to make sudden movements. Haha! Thank you Raoh. Oh my god, it's a miracle.

Hao: What? Yoh, are you really healed? How is it possible, just fifteen minutes passed between when you took off your shirt and now ... Raoh who are you really? (He was totally stupefied)

"Monkey D Raoh is my full name, the future strongest man in the world, that's if you want to be short ..." I started to blab on my plans and ideals. The "conviction phase" had begun. I had already impressed the two elements in question, now only remained giving them the desire to follow me for real. I did not want to wake up one day and realize that they had fled with all my money, my boat and my clothes…

The first thing to do was to establish links with the two twins. I told them a lot of stories about my life with Luffy and Dadan. I also told them about our plans to become pirates and how Luffy wanted to reign on the seas as a king of pirates. Hao found all this interesting, he listened attentively. He seemed to be hungry for power and this kind of ambition responded to his profile. Yoh was less interested, he seemed more attracted by the ideas of freedom and vagrancy that the life of piracy proposed. He was a kind of hippie, a free spirit, I ended up giving him the label …

Becoming friends was a little too early and sudden, but as the discussion progressed we started to build links. They were not yet ready to tell me about their lives and were mischievous, but I was able to learn some superficial things that helped break the ice separating us. Now they had much fewer scruples about talking to me about certain things.

For example, I learned that the two children were not from “Dawn island”. Apparently, they were abandoned at three years old by a group of pirates who seemed to include their father and their mother. They did not go into more details, but if they managed to remember something at that age... They must have been “aware” at three years old and even before. Not surprising considering their status as transcendents.

They inadvertently relayed this message and did not develop once realizing their mistake. But it was clear that these two were as mystical I was. What they did not know, was they did not need to take so much precaution ... I already knew of their secret.

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

Luffy was approaching the entrance with Ace and Sabo. He looked from left to right, not sure where he was being taken. He was hungry like a ravenous wolf at this precise moment and was ready to devour all the supplies that were in the gigantic bag on his back. He climbed the last dirt march and pushed pieces of tin cans before catching his breath.

Luffy: Where are we? What are we doing here Ace ?!

The poor boy was not sure what was going on right now. All that interested him now was to fill his rebellious and capricious stomach.

Ace: I do not know about it. Do not cause me problems Luffy. All this circus is still the fault of your brother. He met two wacky twins ...

Ace realized his mistake suddenly. Luffy and Raoh both met this criterion.

Luffy: What did you say, Aceee!!?

Sabo:... It's okay guys we arrived. Let's not waste time complaining unnecessarily here. Let's go.

Sabo sighed.