L

After finishing what she had set out to do, she began to walk back down from the ship.

She arrived at the bottom of the ship and arrived on the dock, where a man began to question her. "I am sorry, but what are you doing with that ship? I don't think it is yours?"

Alyssia shook her head and responded calmly. "This ship belongs to pirates. They attacked me and my crew to steal my ship and belongings. I asked if they still wished to fight to give them the chance to back out, but they did not listen and wished to even kill me. In exchange for their loss, I have claimed their belongings, including this ship, and I will also claim their bounty later."

The man looked shocked after hearing their words. "Don't you know that this is illegal?"

Alyssia shrugged. "What they had done was illegal. I am just defending myself, after they have been captured and will be turned in their belongings are ownerless so it cannot be considered stealing."

The man looked like he wanted to argue further, but he closed his mouth and stormed off angrily. "Lawless bunch! All of them!"

Perhaps, like many people who had .,heard about the newly ownerless ship, this man wished to try his luck and get some valuables, but he was a step too late.

There may be some legal actions that the Island officials could take to claim the ship and the belongings for their own, but before they acted, most underground forces may act first and claim it for themselves through various methods.

Sadly, Alyssia had already stated her claim and had already taken everything so that it was ready to transport to her ship.

As she saw him leaving, she closed her eyes for a moment and then smirked sarcastically. "A thief and a murderer lecturing me on morality and law... how funny."

Even during her interaction, she never let him get close and her guard was up so that was probably why he left so easily but as she closed her eyes, she saw his skillset which showed several skills ranging from knife skills, to theft skills, assassination skills and misdirection skills.

After she opened her eyes, she had already purchased the misdirection and theft skills from him before going back to the ship.

She got a piece of wood and began to write on it [New owner: Alyssia Lucine, the sake of the ship will be brought up in a couple of days. If you wish to challenge this, then come to my ship and settle the ownership by duel, but you must put something at stake to gain it.], then she picked up some of the bags that Archie was carrying, after she had placed the piece of wood in a place that many could see from the dock.

She looked at Archie, who had several crates in his hands full of different things, and asked. "Do you think they will understand me well enough?"

Archie looked at the sign before replying. "You just want to create a chance to fight, don't you?"

Alyssia immediately retorted. "Not at all! I mean, it would be good to fight some more, but this is my way of warning them from approaching the ship and claiming ownership. If they want it, then they must come to me and offer up something in return so that the exchange is fair, but if they want to fight for it, then I want something from them if they lose. After another one or two attempts from someone foolish, many will give up and just use fair means of getting the ship."

Archie sighed as he said in a quiet voice. "She has not changed… now she is just getting worse and finding ways to disguise herself. Battle maniac Alyssia of the mink tribe… she hasn't changed at all…"

Suddenly a kick landed on his stomach, which pushed him back a little and made him have to steady himself but also the crates that he was carrying.

He was lucky that more force wasn't used or he would have dropped them all. Then he heard a chillingly cold voice. "Do you want to say that name again?"

'She heard me...' a cold sweat went down his back as he pleaded. "I'm sorry, boss! I promise I will not say it again! Please forgive me."

Alyssia did not even look at him and continued walking while saying in a tired voice. "Fool. It doesn't matter."

She had been living a life full of duels, training and learning with the help of the system to improve her strength and martial arts and also earn points to support her needs, but that also came at a certain cost.

She earned many nicknames and rumours over the years that made her consider giving it all up and going into seclusion because it was too embarrassing, but over time, she learned to grow a thicker skin.

Around her crew who she was comfortable with, she was open to some jokes and name-calling but when her past was brought up and the nicknames were mentioned she couldn't help but scold or hit on occasion but she was never really so rough with them that she could hurt them.

While they were continuing on their way, Alyssia suddenly removed a pistol from her waist and pointed it toward an approaching man with a vigilant tone of voice. "So, you came back."

The man looked shocked at her sudden response, as he thought he would not be noticed. 'Strange… I even found a chance to change my clothes and wear a human skin mask. How did she recognise me?'

"Your smell." As if knowing what he must be thinking, she responded and then threw a rope at his feet. "Remove everything from your body that is dangerous or is of value and tie this to your wrists and ankles. Do not leave it loose and do not make me ask you nicely twice."

The man frowned and then began to follow her orders as the gun was pointed towards his heart. He had no choice but to tie himself up and wait for instructions, but inside he was screaming. 'Damn! This is asking nicely?! This crazy girl!'

Although Alyssia had said that it was his smell that gave him away… that was true, but she also recognised his skillset which was still fresh in her memory, so she identified him as the same person but in disguise.

He most likely knew that he had been exposed during the last meeting so got changed and disguised so that when she lets down her guard, he could approach while she was carrying the goods and stab her.

Once he had dealt with her, then he could pick up her bag and run away before the other person had a chance to respond.

Unfortunately, he had met the wrong opponent and got caught.

She looked at the mask on his face and couldn't help but show a look of disgust. 'Human skin masks... how revolting! Even making yourself look like a kind adult male just so you could get close…. The underworld and their methods are starting to show their hideous side already.'

She pointed the gun at him, and then calmly ordered. "Keep walking towards my ship. You know where it is. If you try to flee, then expect no mercy from me."

As she was watching him follow her instruction, she couldn't help but think. 'Should I also hand him in for a reward? He must also have a stash somewhere. Money just keeps dropping from the skies. First a Sea King, then a pirate crew's ship and treasures and now a thief or assassin's secret stash. The world is looking so good right now!'

If the thief knew her thoughts, he would probably vomit blood.

Arriving back on the ship with the thief, Alyssia noticed a couple more people that were tied up so she couldn't help but turn her head towards the docking area once more and further beyond there.

Like a predator that found her prey, her eyes locked onto someone who was hidden in the shadows far away.

She did not even wait a second before zooming towards the edge of the ship and launched herself through the air, landing within the docks, creating a loud noise as she landed.

This created a commotion among the many ship owners or workers, but most of all, it frightened many people who were watching behind the scenes.

She ran so quickly that she began to disappear from most people's views as her concealment skill began to be put to use.

Even if her shooting and sniping skills were not that high, she still had her science knowledge and other skills in her possession, so she was able to guess some vantage points that could be attacked from, if it was from a distance.

As she stood on her ship and noticed something wrong, she knew that certain individuals had yet to give up, so she began to search for any vantage points around the ship and found a couple of spots that seemed to be a little strange.

A combination of her concealment and climbing skills with her physical capabilities and jumping power allowed her to quickly escape their sights and make her way through the island quickly.

She climbed up to the top of one of the buildings and ran at full speed, jumping across to another building so fast and stealthily that nobody seemed to notice her presence or hear her footsteps.

As she reached her destination, she jumped down into a building window and kicked the woman, who was standing with a carefully positioned rifle, aimed towards her ship from afar.

-x-

Just as she lost sight of Alyssia, she began to feel uneasy as she kept looking for her, but as time passed, she wished to leave quickly for fear that she was exposed.

As she went to pack away her rifle by the window, a pair of legs appeared in her sight as the feet came into contact with her face, knocking her unconscious.

A cold look appeared on Alyssia's face as she looked at the woman on the ground.

Perhaps it was their intention to target her who was the captain of the ship's crew first, so they were waiting for their chance to fire upon her, but there was always the chance that someone would act differently and fire upon her crew from afar.

Her crew were experiencing new things every day, and these days were important for them to grow and experience the world, but just now these people had touched her bottom line, which was using hit-and-run tactics and unfair means of assassination that could harm her innocent crew members.

If they used other methods then it could serve as a lesson for her crew but shooting from a distance with a rifle from a vantage point before running away to avoid being found was considered a possible threat to their lives and if they succeeded while she was away then she may not even be able to find the culprit.

She took the rifle from the desk that was positioned by the window and looked at it calmly before throwing it aside and began to look for something that could tie the woman up.

After tying and gagging the woman and blocking the exit to the door, she jumped out of the window and flipped back up to the roof before moving in another direction.

This time she jumped down onto a balcony while knocking out a middle-aged man who also had a similar type of gun with the same style and look.

She looked around the room and then tied him up doing the same, but this time she tied him up in a bedsheet and put him over her shoulder before heading towards her previous location with the rifle on her back.

While she landed back in the room, she could tell that like the other, these were rented rooms of hotels, so there were no valuables owned by the two assassins.

She clicked her tongue as she tied their bodies together and then proceeded to pick up the other rifle and began to carry the bodies down from the window together as she made her way into a back alley.

She continued to walk with the wrapped-up assassins most of the way unnoticed as she stayed in the shadows, but as she got closer to the docks once more, she was noticed by many people.

Someone approached her and asked. "What do you have there? I think you are acting suspicious!"

Alyssia smirked and then pointed to her nose and asked. "Me? Suspicious? Sorry, but you are very wrong, sir. I have just done a good deed and apprehended two snipers that wished to assassinate my crew members. Hmm… let me think…"

Then her eyes lit up, and she took out a card and passed it to the man. "Do me a favour and I will pay you for your hard work. Find this person and ask him to come to my ship. Tell him Alyssia Lucine is asking for him."

The man paused for a moment, but after remembering there would be money involved, he moved quickly. "I will bring him right away. Don't worry. "

As he left, she walked towards the ship as the crowd parted for her as if they were avoiding a plague so couldn't help but think. 'Am I truly that scary?'

Most of it was attributed to the fact that she was carrying a human-shaped thing on her shoulders that was wrapped up but there was also the unusual appearance that helped to attract more attention and make people avoid her.

As she reached the ship, she couldn't help but get on her knees and pray. "God, dragons, giant elephants or whatever form of a religious figure that exists in this world... seriously… I didn't mean to show off my strength. I just wanted to lay low, but why did you have to force my hand? You are so mean!"

The original plan was to lay low and not show off her power on the first island that she arrived on, but upon being angered, her feeling won over her rationality, which made her go into action right away.

Many people may have seen her jump from the ship, which was not too bad, but to be able to lose sight of her for some people may cause warning signs that she is dangerous and then she showed up with two assassins a little later.

If they didn't know that she was dangerous before then, now they definitely knew.

Meanwhile, her crew members were either ignoring her antics or focused on their work, but on the lookout, Carrot was laughing while holding her stomach. "Ehe.. eheheheh sis Alyssia is so funny!"

Alyssia looked up at Carrot and got off her knees, then untied the fabric-wrapped assassins from each other before making sure that they were bound properly and had nothing hidden on their bodies. "Back to work. First, interrogate these two and the person I had brought earlier. Hey Nica and Archie... is it possible to build a fighting ring on the deck of the ship if we have the money for materials?"

Nica looked at her and calmly analysed the pros and cons in her mind before responding. "If it is for a one-on-one or two-on-two battle, then we can set up one easily, but if it is any bigger, it will take up too much space on the ship. Don't tell me you want our ship to become a site for your daily games?"

Archie had a look of despair on his face and was about to make a comment, but held it in after remembering the kick earlier. "It should be easy. Do not worry, once I am done with the other ship, I will get to work on it as soon as possible."

"Good, make sure nobody escapes and always remain vigilant. Nica, you need to be on the lookout with your sniper and look for possible vantage points. You missed some, and it almost cost us this time. Those two newly joined people had rifles pointed towards our ship and may have been there for quite some time." Alyssia nodded as she went towards the ship's lounge to close her eyes to begin absorbing the newly gained knowledge and skills.

As the crew were busy with their things, Alyssia continued to go through her skills and slowly filter through some things that interested her like the misdirection, acrobats and various changes that had taken place within her lower body, upper body and staff-based martial arts and also the blade or sword skills that could be used with her scythe blade attachments.

Although she did not have a direct path, it was opening up to her slowly, but she knew that she was still lacking in many places even if she had slowly practised the basic kicks that the system had provided her when she first entered the world.

At first, she had an advantage over her enemies because she was able to use low kicks to knock her opponent off balance but as she got older, she found out that most high-level fights usually end after a couple of blows and if it is a long fight, then mostly attacks are targeted at the chest, neck and head to deal a deadly blow to the enemy but also brief exchanges of blows between the feet, shin, the back of the legs or fists.

After remembering the very few finishing moves and general lack of lower kicks besides the odd sweeping kick, she focussed mostly on moves that attack the upper body.

Now that she was learning acrobatics to adjust her balance, she was doing things like handstands on the ship but also cartwheels and various types of flips so that she could use various moves much like Sanji the master of The Black Leg Style and Boa Hancock who also uses several moves that require those skills.

In a fight between powerhouses, there would also be many exchanges of blows with Haki, Iron Body and many other techniques or Devil Fruit abilities that would help to protect their body better so the idea of weakening the lower half of her opponent's body instead of going to a knockout or damaging kick would be a waste of time.

She also had her tail to keep her balance and control or stop her spinning when needed or even push herself to spin faster and to attack or hold onto her enemy too, at times when her enemy had dodged an attack.

Then, if a staff was added to that, she could add vaulting and staff spinning to it and also use the staff to defend herself from weapons if she did not yet have control of her Haki or another skill to protect her body.

This is one of the reasons why she had been so desperate to leave Zou…

They may have strong fighting abilities, but their ways are too freestyle and wild, so she could not learn from many of them since they all had different body types and ways of fighting that may not suit her.

Human techniques suited her better for not only strengthening her body further but also because of some of the additional types of techniques that can be learned.

Once she has enough skills, then she can begin to rank them up and then stack them up to create her own killer moves.

After practising for a long time, she went to cook some of the Sea King meat that she had stored away and came out with several hot dishes. "Eat up everyone!"

After a long day of training and absorbing the new knowledge, she did not forget to look through some recipes that she had acquired from several cooks on the island for various fish dishes and put them to some use.

After reading many books on Zou and slowly learning more practical skills, her intelligence stat increased gradually which made memorising things easier and her thinking and problem-solving skills were also increased, so unlike when she was younger, she was able to memorise things and remember them more clearly but also be able to put them to use without having to always check the system if she had made mistakes, like before.

As the cooked fish meal entered her mouth, she began to close her eyes in delight. "This is some good stuff! Especially when cooked properly! I can see why this is so coveted by those in a high positions. Its nutritional value must be huge and if the marines or agents are eating this regularly, then they will definitely become strong if they train diligently."

She quickly made a mental note to defeat another Sea King but for now, she should just enjoy what was gained and increase her strength so that if one day she does step back onto the Calm Belt again, then she would be ready to face whatever may dare to approach her ship.

Meanwhile, her crew had no idea what she was talking about or thinking, but continued to devour the meal with a delighted face.

Not too far away many pirates, a thief and two assassins who had been tied up, smelled the food and their stomachs began to grumble, but Alyssia ignored them.

After the meal, the broker showed up outside of the ship once again and stood waiting to be let on board.

Alyssia allowed him on board to let him see the situation and he couldn't help but frown.

He took a breath and then spoke calmly. "I am guessing that you have unknowingly stepped on someone's toes this time, even if it is your fault. There are a couple of options, but first I would like to hear what your true goals are and when you will be leaving."

Alyssia casually shrugged her shoulders and then replied. "I am a martial artist who is looking to enhance her skills and test myself against different kinds of opponents, but our crew are travelling together for our own goals or even if it is to just support me and keep me company. So, we could be called martial artists or explorers. I will be leaving in a couple of days and heading to my next destination."

The broker thought for a while and then locked eyes with her. "Are you really that strong?"

Alyssia nodded, and then the broker spoke again. "I do not know what kind of martial artist you wish to be, but from what I have heard you are doing… you will need your own set of rules to abide by. Do you perhaps know of the Davy Back Fight? Don't you think that you can do something similar but not as extreme as taking others crew members from them if they lose?"

Alyssia's eyes lit up as she suddenly remembered that part in the story that was hosted by the annoying Foxy with his Slow Slow Fruit. "You mean… like a mixed martial arts battle? Or do you mean something more coliseum based that can also use various weapons too?"

The broker nodded but said. "Something like that, but I am sure that you can set up a prize to be won if you can afford it and to enter. They can pay a certain amount of berries. Just like the strength test or arm-wrestling challenges in festivals, everyone can join, but barely anyone can beat the person who is to be challenged unless someone strong comes along. An example would be the ship and the message you left there… many people would be interested in trying to win it from you and would hire skilled fighters to challenge you. This could also let you gain more things, but if you can hold out until the day of an auction. I can arrange the auction to be in a couple of days to a week's time, and I am sure it will sell for a decent price."

Alyssia nodded after hearing the words, and then looked towards the pirates. "I can hand in the pirates to someone that would pay for their bounty, so if you can arrange that, it would be great, but… those three I would like to keep. How about we do this… I will keep them and interrogate them for now and when the day of the auction comes, I will deliver you three mystery boxes to sell."

The broker looked at her in confusion. "Mystery boxes?"

Alyssia smirked and then replied in a calm voice. "A thief... and two assassins... they must have a private stash or two… if I put the locations on a map and some riddles on how to get it then a treasure hunt can begin for those that purchase it. As for whether they will profit from their purchase is up to chance. That is why it is a mystery box. All you need to say is that inside the boxes is the map, which is marked for somewhere within the island that belongs to someone who has stashed away everything they have earned for many years of work in their career as an assassin or thief. This will save me from going to claim their things and making an enemy out of someone if I unknowingly enter someone's territory."

Perhaps she had been influenced a little by the programs where people purchase a garage or luggage bag that has not been paid for or claimed in a long time, which led to the idea.

Even if she abandons the idea of getting their private stash, it did not mean that she would not be able to profit from the situation.

Perhaps someone had something stolen by the thief or the assassins had taken a token from their victims that people wanted back so once they heard who the boxes could belong to, they would wish to buy the boxes for the chance to get their hands on it but there would always be others looking to make a quick profit.

The broker nodded with a serious face. "That means that you have to hold onto the prisoners until you have sold the boxes so that the person who has bought it can find it in time, or at least get a head start."

Alyssia smiled and agreed. "Of course. They will be kept safe on board until a day after the auction, then I will turn them over to collect their bounty, even if it is small."

The broker revealed a small smile as he adjusted his monocle a little. "Then that should prove to be an interesting event… what made you think of such a thing?"

She could hardly reveal that she had seen similar things in her previous life, so instead, she put on a mysterious appearance and answered. "There are always those that get enjoyment from gambling on something even if they do not win big, but if they do win big, then their whole life could change for the better."

The broker shrugged and then said. "If you can prove your worth, then I wish to invest in you. How old are you? What are your specialities? Where do you plan to go next?"

A mysterious smile was on her face as she answered. "The journey is no fun if everyone knows the destination right away. I am sixteen and I mainly focus on Leg-Based Martial Arts but I do have a little skill using staff and a gun but it is hardly worth mentioning right now, but it is more than enough to beat people of their level."

The broker began to make calculations in his mind and weigh the pros and cons, then looked at her seriously for a while. "You have impressed me. Give me some time to arrange things with my connections and I will get the word out about the rules of the challenge. What about the ship? Is it being sold as it is or is it being fixed up before the sale?"

Alyssia looked towards Archie, who was now gathering his nails, a hammer and some other materials. "He is going to fix the ship up but, if possible, please hire someone to thoroughly clean the insides of the ship for me before the auction takes place. Those pirates weren't exactly the most hygienic bunch."

The broker nodded as he was almost ready to leave but couldn't help but ask. "What about the rules?"

Alyssia thought about it for a while and replied. "I think it would be best if we set up a prize for challengers. They can pay a small amount of berry to enter and have a chance to win the overall prize money. Let's just do it so that whatever they pay is put back into the prize if they lose. The more challengers and losers, the higher the prize and the more that want to win it. As for the more high-stakes version, let's just call it the Mixed Martial Arts Wager. I put up something that they may want, but they must wager something of equal or similar value to be able to initiate the duel, and the winner takes all. There can also be a private betting booth set up for spectators if someone has the patience to do that."

The broker's eyes lit up, and he became surer of himself in his decision. "I will get to work right away. If possible, you need to name your ship and get everything ready before people arrive… are weapons allowed or not?"

Alyssia shrugged as she answered. "It doesn't matter. If I have an opponent who uses a weapon, then I will use my staff, but if not, I will fight with purely physical strength."

The broker nodded before waving as he left the ship. "I will spread what you have said to various places and will get several slots for the underground auction for you."

Editor Note: That’s it from me guys. Vacation after my studies is over and I got a job now, so I want to focus more on it (it’s a shame I found this novel so late into my vacation as I was home for almost 6 months). For the last chapter from me (as it’s also my birthday) I wanted it to be a bit special, so more than 5000 words chapter. So, if you want to continue in Webnovel, it’s a bit into Chapter 37: Tristan’s new skills. And original now has 220+ chapters with 8 new chapters every week.

PS:

Disclaimer

One Piece world and its character belong to Oda except for OCs, which belongs to the author of this story, dancematdan who is currently posting in Webnovel. I am the editor/proofreader, also a fellow reader who came across this novel, which was underrated so much that I decided to edit/proofread it (while also improving my own English) and post it on this site to spread it, of course with author's permission.

If you like the story, support the author on Webnovel by giving some Power Stones and add the work to Library. Also come join Discord to interact with the author, see drawings of the characters made by the author(like the cover image), also discuss/vote on who gets which devil fruit and abilities(this is for those caught up with the unedited version)

Discord link: /z9Agwgptxk