Malachai sat on the edge of his completely comforted bed, just thinking. Ever since he'd eaten the Denchi Denchi no mi fruit everything about him has been off. His equilibrium, his thinking and even his appetite. This was day five with the devil fruit in his system and he never expected his body to react so harshly. It was as if his body didn't want the powers of the fruit. Julius warned him that his body wouldn't be in favor of devil fruits, but he never understood why. The cold breezes brushed upon the windows of Kuro's home. He'd think about the pretty large bird he murdered to obtain the fruit and only felt slightly bad. It was a beast however, it didn't have any value to him if he wasn't eating it, so it would change nothing with it's death. BURRRRRRPPP Even if he lived with someone he probably wouldn't give a shit about how loud his burp was, though this one shocked even himself. Yawning, he quickly stood up before shaking himself off. He woke up with one goal in mind and that was to finally find out the truth about who his parents were and why they'd leave him with Julius. Regardless of what information he'd find, he would still consider Julius to be his father figure. That was the man who raised him, who protected him even when their faction seemed to be on the brink of destruction. Julius was his true parent, but that just wasn't enough to keep Malachai settled anymore. His brown lengthy hair dangled over his face as he searched on the floor for his shoes, having already quickly placed his pants and torso gear on. On Tundra, it was best to always be battle ready anywhere you go. Most people always wore their armor outside because ain't nobody trynna die. Quickly Kuro jetted out of his home, leaving his door unlocked and not even remembering to bring his keys. Everything he needed was always on him, so it hardly mattered if anybody was to "break in" to his home. The part of Tundra he was from was a little more violent than other parts, but not many people dared to harm Kuro. When Julius was named the highest Lord of Tundra he made sure that the stronghold in which his people resided would be protected at all cost and his reputation itself was enough to keep his people safe. Soon he'll take the rest of Tundra, or at least Kai hoped he would. As soon as Malachai stepped out of his house and onto the grounds of the island the kids waved and called out to him as they ran through the town barefoot, chasing each other with spears and other dangerous weapons. That is what it was like to be a kid on Tundra. If he had time to spare he'd discipline those children in a heartbeat but he didn't have moments to spare, he had to rush over to Julius' headquarters before he vanished to who knows where like he always did.

It wasn't long before the young bastard arrived at the large castle, he basically ran. He only stopped to get air in front of the door of the large structure before being spoken to. "Aye, Kuro, ya lookin' for ya old man?" The young man looked up to see that it was Dante of the Rudd family, not nobility but a family of pretty talented blacksmiths on Tundra. "Yeah...don't tell me the motherfucker dipped again..." Kai stood up and looked at the older man sideways, he had a red goatee with a matching set of red hair on his head. He was one of the generals of Julius' army so he had to be strong. "Aye. He left early today lad, sorry bout that. Maybe I could help ya with what ya lookin' for, aye?"
"With all due respect My Lord, I doubt it. I wanted to finally learn about my deadbeat parents, ya know? Julius doesn't seemed to be interested in what I need these days though. That's cool I gue-"
"That's Lord Julius, Kuro. You speak like you're a real noble, heh." Kai rolled his eyes. He was used to shit like that by now. It was true, he was no nobleman of Tundra despite being the underling of the lands greatest Lord. "Don't be so quick to doubt me, boy. I've fought in every war Julius has fought in. I've fought alongside the strongest men I've ever known, and I've fought alongside the strongest woman I've ever seen... your mother."

Malachai's eyes quickly darted towards the man who dare speak of his mother. He'd never had the luxury of feeling what it was like to have a mother hold you tight when the night was full of terrors. If Dante really had information regarding his mothers proof of existence, he better start speaking now. "... Words were trapped between his thoughts, he didn't know what to say. "Yuba Ryu. The Dragon Queen." The Dragon...Queen? The brown haired bastard widened his eyes. Even the sun seemed to tremble at those very words as the clouds quickly covered him. The Army General continued to speak having Kuro's undivided attention. "Lady Yuba came to Tundra about 20 years ago lost and confused. She landed on the ground naked, aye. All the lil lads stared until Lord Julius came and helped her. Later we found out who she really was." Dante paused again, his eyes now slowly lowered to meet Malachai's eyes. The moment was dramatic. The wind seemed to halt. Kuro felt suffocated for a slight moment, but was able to breath again once the Lord spoke. "Yuba Ryu is of the noble Ryu family. Many of them are said to have died out, but a select few live. They were one of the first noble families to exist in this world. They're also the creators of the bearers of the Dragon Zoan fruit. The fruit your mother had and was able to help us conquer much of Tundra with. Yuba Ryu is from Rubeck Island, she wasn't a Tundra gal, but she was our friend-"

"Get on with it, Lord Dante. What happened to her?"
"It was just after you were sent to Tundra when she died. We were at war with Scum from Pirates Den and she decided that it'd be best if she just destroyed them. We didn't agree, but she was the Dragon Queen, she did exactly what she wanted to do." Kuro balled up his fist as his eyes darkened. A dark energy, hatred, and sadness began to engulf his very soul. From that moment he knew what it was that he had to do. He knew why he was here. His mothers death will not be in vein. That wasn't the entire reason he was angry though. War. War had taken this world by storm ever since the beginning. Someone had to end it all...and he'd be the one to do that, starting with the destruction of Pirates Den. Nothing but evil and torment on that scum island. Without letting Lord Dante finish whatever he was going to say next, Malachai turned around and began walking the opposite way of which he came. It was final. He was going to Pirates Den. First he needed to get ready.

If I'm really going to do this, I'm gonna need John to help me. Was the second thought to come to his head after hearing what Lord Dante had just told him. His first thought was to destroy every pirate that existed, but he knew that was just the anger talking, after all, not all pirates were bad people. Just the ones on Pirates Den. The elder man watched as Kuro walked away, already knowing what was going to happen. Everything happened for a reason is what he liked to believe. Julius wasn't around, yet he still managed to get some information regarding his parents - talk about luck. Now that he knew a little about his mother, he wondered of his father but it was too late to turn back now, he was already searching for the ship builder. The story of how Kuro met the Bastard Shipwright is hardly a story at all. When he was 16 him and Julius travelled to Mr. Snow for a ship... the end. However, John and Malachai have continued to keep in contact considering they lived in the same area. By now he knew that John would not deny his services to Kuro if he believed in his cause. There was little to no chance that John Snow would refuse him, his own father was murdered by pirates.

Tundra really wasn't attractive. There was random knives on the floor, blood colored the snow and it smelled of corpses and sweaty whores. John wasn't far now, his shop was at the port of Hunters Bay but the walk seemed to be so far. With every step Kuro took, the more he thought. The more he thought, the angrier he became. It was as if he went through a physiological change within the last 5 minutes it was crazy.


"Finally." he would whisper to himself as he looked around. His eyes scavenged for the shipwright he was looking for but all he could see was other shipwrights...ones he hadn't been looking for. "Everyone I need is nowhere to be found. Fuckin' great." Just as he finished complaining a familiar voice chuckled from behind him. "Lord Julius again, huh?" Quickly the young tanned man turned around to face John snow, his good friend and talented shipwright.However, Kai didn't greet him with a smile, instead he held an expression that clearly indicated his anger.

"John, as your friend I am coming to you asking for a favor." John threw the rag he'd been using to wipe his hands behind him onto a random ship. Kuro stood on the port between two large ships and glanced as he spotted Lords walk by. "Everything alright, Kuro?" Malachai shook his head as he thought about what Lord Dante had previously told him. Sighing, Kuro looked up at his friend before speaking. He hadn't a worry in the world about anybody around them overhearing, in fact he kind of wanted them too just in case anybody wanted to tag along. "I'm going to pirates Den. I'm going to destroy all pirates there, and claim the land as mine." To Kuro it was as simple as the words that left his mouth were, but to John it seemed nearly impossible. He barely had words but managed to cough up a response. "W-well, I'm coming with you! I'll provide you with a ship and we can get going. I'm not exactly a fighter but I'll stand behind you, Malachai." Kai was thankful for his friend although it may have been a little hard for him to express that right away. John didn't feel the need to ask his friend what the occaison was, but he assumed it was a good one. Besides, Pirates Den housed nothing but despicable people. He'd have no problem going with Malachai, however, the young warrior was not asking for John to come. He couldn't dare put a friend in such a position, especially one who had zero years of combat training or experience.

"John, I'm only asking that you supply me with a ship, there's no nee-"
"Kuro, I'm a bastard. I have no family, what left do I have to lose?" He was right. A bastard could only understand the pain of another bastard. Malachai hadn't a sense of purpose before finding out about his mother, he was a motherless and fatherless fool just living life. That all would change soon though. He would become the Dragon that his mother couldn't be - not physically of course. "Alright then. Now we just have to find Jafar, see if he'll agree to get me - us - to Pirates Den."
"So say Jafar does agree-"
"He will."
"And you're going to conquer Pirates Den on your own?"
"I don't doubt that I could, but I hardly have control over my Devil Fruit. We'll head to Lord Finchers to ask for some men, he's a trusted ally of Julius I'm sure he'll help me out."
"You didn't tell me you... nevermind. Everyone who knows Lord Fincher knows that he'll expect to be repaid. If he doesn't think you'll be ale to repay him, he won't in-" A simple glare was enough to shut John up. He'd probably never seen Kuro like this before so he hadn't a proper reaction. Instead he choked on his words and hushed. The two had been walking as they spoke so they weren't far from where Jafar lived. Like Kai, Jafar was known by John considering they both had done business together a few times. With everybody already knowing each other this would be easy. Jafar loved adventure so there was no way he'd turn down this one.

"Isn't that him right there?" Of course it was. It was just like Jafar to be talking to a random woman. To make matters worse, she had kids. "Yo Jafar!" Kuro called out to his friend who'd been standing directly outside of his small home. With a wave the woman walked off, allowing Jafar and his peers to converse in peace. "Fuck off, you two losers just ruined my chance." As upset as Malachai was Jafar was still able to make him snicker. "Don't think you had much of a chance, mate." John stood next to Kai as they both stood before Jafar. "Tch, that's how it seems at first, then all I do is whip out my -"
"Yeah right." Te shipwright chuckled and shook his head. "Whaddya want anyway?" "I'm heading to pirates Den. John only knows how to build ships so now we need a navigator to accompany us on our little adventure" Kai smirked. Jafars eye squinted as if he was attempting to see through his soul. "Ah, and there's nobody in Tundra that can drive better than me? Or did you know I'd be stupid enough to tag along just because you mentioned adventure?"
"The latter, actually."
Kuro crossed his arms over his chest. He knew what the results were from the moment he said the word "adventure".

"Welp, I'm in boys."
"Aye."

The three of them were now a temporary team. When it came to battle two out of the three of them were useless, but hopefully they wouldn't need to fight much. A lot was at risk, were they ready?

"So uh, where exactly are we going now?"
"To House Fincher."
"Holy shit... this is really happening..."
"That's what I said."