"Hey…" Popeye was the one to break Luffy out of his thoughts. "You know the deal."
Luffy nodded, taking out his first-ever naginata, Horn's Edge. It might not be a named sword, but this one was the first formal weapon he used. So he was a bit sentimental about the blade… But a deal was a deal, so for the next few hours, Popeye inspected the bone blade very carefully.
Hours passed by, Zoro had left trying to find out more about his new blade. Others also did their own things. While Luffy was around Popeye as he inspected the blade.
Finding out how it was made was quite hard for him. From what he found out, this blade might be old… well it was made from bones. And upgrading the blade would be challenge for any normal smith. But he loved the challenge.
"To tell you what… Find me again in a few months later… I might be able to upgrade the blade." Anchor said. "You might not know this… but your blade has a hidden ability of its own. It's able to regrow itself with the iron in blood… so it might not be the most durable blade, like the graded blades. But don't worry if you break it… it should be able to regrow itself."
Luffy blinked… he didn't know that… but now that he mentioned it. While doing his routine cleanup on his blade, the scars on Horn's edge would always go away a day or two later. He didn't think of it that much, but now it kind of made sense.
"While it might be a bonus… it's also a drawback in upgrading the weapon. Without proper material and the proper way, even I won't be able to keep the blade's ability intact… But I should be fine now that I have had a better look at it." Popeye grinned. "You know coming to this Island isn't all bad."
Luffy also grinned. "You can say that again…" but then he frowned. And suddenly looked towards the port, his eyes were hardened.
"What happened?"
"An enemy… and a strong one," Luffy said, picking up the bone blade before jumping in air. Mid-air, Sparky who was around the jungle jumped on Luffy's shoulder.
Popeye blinked. "Did he use Geppo… nah, must be some kind of wind devil fruit." He shook his head, there's no way a non-marine would be able to use that. Even he took a few years to learn that… but then again, he was weak in his leg area anyways. Speed was his downfall.
Anchor also took his weapon in his hand. "But I might need to check who's trying to cause trouble." he said, "I don't want the kid to die on me now."
Anchor found Luffy's character quite likable, similar to the vice admiral he respected. But then again they were related… so he didn't want the kid to die, in case a tough opponent arrived.
He knew Luffy was strong. But he would rather be safe than sorry… also the town's people need to clear out if another fight were to break loose.
.
When Luffy dropped down near the port he saw the scene, Nami looked horrified. Gin was knocked out with some splashes of green on his clothes, the green liquid looked like acid as they burned through his shirt, and his mouth foamed… while his body was struggling in agony.
The same for Hatchan and Mommo, who were on the water floating unconscious.
"You better have some very good reason for attacking my friends there," Luffy said, with his hands crossed on his chest. His two naginata crossed on his back. He could have started the fight if it was anyone else, but Luffy recognized the man. And he wasn't an easy opponent.
Luffy was already a foot taller in hight with more muscular definition, his hair swaying wildly like a dark mane of a lion, and most of all. He was pissed. And yet he was trying to be as calm as possible.
"Hmm…" the man looked at Luffy, before rubbing his chin as he took a drag from his cigarette. The man was tall, even taller than Garp, and had a really eerily carefree expression. "Oh, aren't you so-called hero of this part of the sea… my my, I hope you don't mind if I cash in the bounty of these two?"
Of course, he was cashing in the bounty of Gin and Hatchan. Honestly, Luffy didn't even know if Hatchan had any bounty on his or not.
"I do actually," Luffy said, "They work for me now… and as you can see they weren't causing any trouble around here… so I hope we can end this without a fight."
The tall man laughed. "You might not to fight me… but I'm very eager to fight you. You have had quite the reputation as a bounty hunter… I have been at this job for years now brat… and I don't like your gain to sudden fame. So maybe you will have to fight me after all. I wouldn't mind a good fight… and how strong could someone from the weakest sea be?"
The man was none other than Aramaki. Or better known as his allies as Green Bull Ryokugyu… a current bounty hunter who hunts down pirates. In the original, he was appointed as an Admiral in the marines after the war. During the World Military Draft in the two years time skip he along with Fujitora became marine Admirals.
So this wasn't just an easy opponent that Luffy could fight through. Still, Luffy was confident in killing the freak if it came down to a fight. In Luffy's estimation he should be still around Admiral level, then why did he believe that… well, he never said it was going to be a fair fight.
Still, Luffy might end up losing a limb or two if a fight occurred… and not the mention. He might end up losing one or more of his crew members. That's why he wanted to avoid having a fight.
However, what bothered Luffy was that Aramaki's devil fruit is different from what he remembered from the series. He wasn't seeing any outgrown vines or trees anywhere, but what he could see was green acid-like liquid dripping down from Gin and Hatchan's wounds. Shit… it also means he would need to be ready for something unexpected.
Luffy had kept tabs on Aramaki and Fujotiro with the few underground connections he had back in dawn Island. Like Sakura Island, Dawn Island was also a notable spot in East blue where ships from other parts of the Blue or even the Grandline docked from time to time.
So buying some info from the merchants was a good way to get up to date on news there. Still, while contributions of the Marines and pirates were always on the front page of the newspaper. Luffy was able to find some news on Aramaki there. And this man was dangerous. More so now that with observation Haki Luffy could sense that the man also had haki himself.