The amount of time it took for Jackson's journey from the village of Shimotsuki to the restaurant known as Baratie was longer than Jackson initially thought it would be. He could only assume that it had taken so long because he decided to hitch a ride with a ferrying company instead of actually swimming to the restaurant. Despite the length of time, Jackson had been able to catch up on some events going on in the world that he hadn't been privy to. He could only blame his ignorance of world events on the fact that he'd been so enthralled with the completing his training that nothing else seemed to matter that much. 

However, once he began to read the newspaper he realized just how much he'd been missing out on. He had heard nothing about the famed Pirate King, Wallace D. Rose, having a battle with the Marine Admiral known as Howard D. Saint. These two names were well known around the world, and especially to Jackson. The result of the battle, however, was something he hadn't expected - the defeat and capture of the Pirate King and the death of his first mate. This news was beyond shocking, and Jackson could only imagine what those in charge of the Revolution would be thinking at a time like this. With such a monumental victory for the Marines, there was no doubt whatsoever that their overall morale would raise and they'd begin making larger strides through the Grandline and New World. This wouldn't exactly bode well for both Pirates and Revolutionaries, but things like these were to be expected. They each worked outside of what the World Government would consider legal; it was only a matter of time before things came to a head.

Another thing that managed to pique Jackson's interest was the fact that Wallace's second mate had been able to escape the capture of the Rose Pirates; even going so far as to declare that he'd break Wallace free from the bindings of Impel Down. Frankly, it sounded like an impossible task. Impel was infamous in regards to its ability to lock away even the worst of criminals and have them all but forgotten in the annals of history - yet, he couldn't exactly say that he wasn't interested in assisting the man. Sure, it sounded like a suicide mission, but if it could be achieved it would mean a huge blow to the Marine forces as well as their morale. Jackson didn't know what kind of man this Pirate King was, but if he was an important enough target that the World Government wanted him captured in order to destabilize pirate forces, then breaking him out would cause almost irreparable damage for the World Government - not only for their morale and forces, but also in terms of their reputation in the media.

All of this was extremely far off, but at least Jackson had something he could look forward to possibly assisting with if he ever made it back to the Grandline. Other things in the News Coo that Jackson found himself  now informed about were the new bounties of Rookies within the Four Blues. A fw names stood out, like Naga, Melissa, and Leparo - their bounties currently placed at a huge amount, with Naga's bounty even sporting a payout of 10 million beli. In spite of these huge bounties, there was one that lagged behind only a small amount. There wasn't a picture or anything that gave Jackson an indication of what this person looked like - except for the name "Reinaka Sciwalker". The name was one that Jackson remembered quite well, and he couldn't help but crack a smile as he thought back on his first meeting with her. He'd wondered how she'd been doing ever since their first encounter with one another and he was a bit surprised that she'd managed to raise such an impressed so quickly - but then again, with her skills and abilities this wasn't exactly as surprising as he initially thought.

His recounting of what he'd read within the News Coo continued, even while Jackson walked through the the entrance of Baratie and informed the hostess of who he was. The woman quickly pulled out a slip of paper and handed it to Jackson before directing him to a table. The slip of paper appeared to be a list of names and bounty amounts, and while he read the slip of paper Jackson took a seat at the table - his mind fully fixated on what all of this could potentially mean.

"Ah, Jackson. It took you quite a while to get here - I started to think someone tipped you off that I'd be here and you decided not to come."

The voice behind these words was one that Jackson could almost instantly recognize, no matter how much time passed between hearing it. He wasn't exactly sure how to react, but his eyes remained glued to the piece of paper and almost instinctively he let out a light sigh. 


"Hello, Father. It's been a while."

The footsteps that accompanied the voice immediately came to a halt following Jackson's greeting.

"Hey now, I thought you'd sound a bit happier to see me."

"Don't mistake my tone for unhappiness, father. I'd just wish we didn't need to play these games every time you want to meet me. It would have been rather simple to simply tell me it was you that I was meeting."

Jackson's replied seemed to come as a shock to his father. For some reason, it always seemed that he simply assumed that Jackson wanted nothing to do with him, which couldn't have been further from the truth. Even though Jackson and his father couldn't see eye to eye when it came to many different topics; yet, this didn't mean he didn't love his father dearly. Jackson could always tell that there was a bit more to this than his father would ever talk about, but Jackson could only assume that his father still blamed himself for what happened so many years ago on Fishman Island. Bringing this up though wouldn't fix anything, so Jackson simply decided to bite his tongue and let this interaction play out however it would. He knew that one day the conversation about what happened all those years ago would come up, but now didn't appear to be the correct time or place to discuss it.

"So what is it that you needed to talk to me about? From the tone of the letter it sounded very urgent."

Metal sounds could be heard as the massive man moved through the deck of the restaurant. A large vessel that floated along the way giving people all kinds of foods. It was home to some of the finest cooks and some great fighters also. The monk was fingering through a book he had picked up along the way named ‘Art of War.’ This was many of his training regimen, one must have a strong mind that falls in line with the body, soul and will power. He glanced up for a moment too make sure he didn’t run into anyone. He was here for a specific reason. He was summoned here by a higher up to the area. He was to meet someone who he would work with. He was not above the idea of working with someone due to the fact he was a young-in. He wasn’t so full of himself too think he would not work with anyone.

Not too mention he could learn a few things if the guy he is supposed to work with was stronger than him. His fighting style was one unique to him and he himself was still figuring out how it worked. He just knew there was a great potential. Moving through the restaurant he scanned the area around him and noticed individuals that stood out in the crowd.

Jackson's directness wasn't lost on his father, causing a satisfied smile to creep across his lips. Even though his son didn't exactly see eye to eye with him when it came to many of the matters concerning the World Government, at least he could tell that his son was growing stronger both physically and mentally by following his own path - that didn't mean he would stop trying to convince his son to follow him though, but he was proud to see his progression, nonetheless. 

Deciding not to leave his son waiting for too much longer, David finally began to speak.

"Well, there are a few reasons why I summoned you here today. The first reason being one that you've probably already prepared yourself to answer."

Before Jackson could even open his mouth to shoot down his father's offer to join him, David continued speaking. 

"Hey, you don't need to answer right now. Just think of it as an open offer. Whenever you change your mind, you're more than welcome to join...however, the other reason I'm here is because you've just been handed down an assignment."

As his father reached down to pick up a packet of paperwork, a very tall, burly man made his entrance into the floating restaurant and began eyeing his surroundings. The man appeared to be extremely out of place, but once his father spoke out the words, "Ah, right on time." in response to the man's heavy footsteps Jackson could only assume that this man had something to do with all of this. 

The packet of papers soon slid across the table in Jackson's direction while David turned around slightly in his chair and waved in the direction of the new arrival. 

"Jackson, I'd like you to meet Dai Nagare. Dai, I'd like you to meet my son, Jackson Hyde. It's imperative that you two get to know each other, as you'll be working together on this next assignment."

Jackson was a bit taken aback by the immediate thrust into partnership he'd been handed after working solo for so long, but he quickly began to wonder if that was part of the reason he was being partnered up on an assignment. Maybe the higher ups had started to feel he'd been shirking his responsibilities a bit too much. Quietly standing up from his seat, Jackson nodded in Dai's direction and extended his hand to the man.


"Hello, Mr. Nagare. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The attire of choice for the day was his flashy monk wear. A bright gold and orange sleeveless robe embroidered with golden reefs on the shoulders. His bald head seemed to shimmer in the light as he looked up from the book. His eyes met the eyes of another from across the room he must have been the contact he was sent here for. He made his way over to the table where another fish like man was sitting directly across from the man who had his back to him. Dai quickly placed the book away into his sash where it would sit safely. Dai gave a nod, but one would not be able to see his eyes behind dark tinted glasses. The man knew his name and said the name of the lad that sat directly across from him.

'Jackson'

That name would become engraved in destiny of Dai from this point on. They would be working together as revolutionaries from this point on. He grabbed the mans hand and gave a firm handshake. “At your service Jackson, better get used to this mug.” As he said that a grin crept across his face revealing a golden grill in his mouth that said 'Fury' his nickname.

Dai would pull up a chair from a empty table and place it at the chair the two fellows was already placed at. He looked over at the man who clearly seemed to be higher ranking. “So what exactly is our mission?”

As the man grabbed a hold of Jackson's hand and shook it, Jackson found himself immediately alerted to the firmness of the handshake. Though it wasn't an excessive use of his strength, it was more than enough for Jackson to surmise that this man wasn't as big as he was for no reason. While shaking his hand in return, he was greeted by a smile that seemed to spell out the word "Fury". Jackson wasn't exactly sure what to make of this word. Did it denote the fact that this man was hiding extreme anger issues behind that smile, was it a word he fancied, or was it some sort of alias for the man? Either way, the issue of what the word meant was neither here nor there, and with the handshake ended and Dai pulling up a chair to the table, it was time to get back to the business at hand.

After he took his seat to rejoin the conversation, his father quickly began to point in the direction of the packet he'd slid over to Jackson earlier - signaling the young man to open it up. Not taking long at all to pick up on the signal, Jackson opened the packet and began to flip through black and white photos. Each photo seemed to be focused on specific buildings, a large amount of Marine ships, and a huge amount of weapons. Even though the pictures seemed important, without an explanation Jackson wasn't quite understanding the context in which the pictures were taken. After finishing with the packet, Jackson slid it over into Dai's direction so he could get a look at them as well.

When David was sufficiently sure that each of them had a good look at the pictures, he began to give his explanation of the work they'd be doing - something that would help them both fill in the gaps. 

"The World Government has decided that they need to increase their presence in the Blues. They feel that if they use more force in each Blue, they'll be able to stop small time criminals that seem to pop up from becoming bigger threats later on. We can't, by any means, allow them to increase their military presence here."

The Revolutionary Leader took a quick break and took a sip of his water before continuing on.

"What you two will be doing is dismantling their efforts to build up their forces in this Blue. The easiest way for us to do that is if we destroy the bases they've set up in order to create weapons to outfit their increased forces. With those bases destroyed, they'll take a hit to their combat effectiveness - when that happens, it'll make it easier for our forces to come in and take them out. Our entire secondary operation relies on the both of you. If this works out well enough, I can see about getting you two posted in another Blue on an operation similar to this one, but you need to prove to everyone else that you're both capable of handling this first. Understood?"

Dai sat down at the table and removed his sunglasses. He hung them on his shirt right in front of his chest. Looking over he saw the packet that sat in the hands of Jackson. Attention was called to this packet, answering Dai’s earlier question about their mission at hand. Jackson quickly brought up the contents of the packet. He looked over it and placed the contents back. Clearly it was not for everyone’s eyes. Dai caught the packet as it spun across the clean wooden table. With a finger it stopped before it could hit his large body. He picked up the long, brown envelope that held the mission specifics. He pulled them out one by one and glanced at them quickly. Dai made sure to take a photographic shot of each picture for later usage. He could not keep this envelope for clear reasons. He quickly put the contents back and pushed it back to the head of the table.

"The World Government has decided that they need to increase their presence in the Blues. They feel that if they use more force in each Blue, they'll be able to stop small time criminals that seem to pop up from becoming bigger threats later on. We can't, by any means, allow them to increase their military presence here."

Dai knew of this occupation just by observations. In a lot of his recent travels around the blues before getting here he noticed a lot of the Marine vessels getting beefier. He knew it would become an issue for everyone who stood in their way. Everyone was well aware not every marine stood by the code of justice. This power could be used to tip the scales in their favor. Of course the Revolutionaries would see fit too make sure that did not happen. A bit of excitement could be seen in Dai’s grin. He was all about causing the Marines problems. This would be a good way to get some reputation also.  

The Revolutionary Leader took a quick break and took a sip of his water before continuing on.

"What you two will be doing is dismantling their efforts to build up their forces in this Blue. The easiest way for us to do that is if we destroy the bases they've set up in order to create weapons to outfit their increased forces. With those bases destroyed, they'll take a hit to their combat effectiveness - when that happens, it'll make it easier for our forces to come in and take them out. Our entire secondary operation relies on the both of you. If this works out well enough, I can see about getting you two posted in another Blue on an operation similar to this one, but you need to prove to everyone else that you're both capable of handling this first. Understood?"

“So I can use excessive force as long as innocent bystanders are not caught up in the miss right?”

He was hoping that he could go in how he wanted to. Jackson would learn real quick how Dai operated. He had tact but he was very fond of shenanigans. He always found creative ways to destroy something because it made him chuckle. He looked at the leader with a child like wonder waiting for some form of answer.

Dai's only question in regards to his father's mission brief was something that Jackson found extremely telling. To only ask about whether or not excessive force could be used to achieve their goals was something that Jackson felt may have been a hint at Dai's personality. Not exactly that there was anything wrong with the question, in all respects it was a question that made sense. Since Jackson didn't exactly have any questions of his own, he merely looked in his father's direction as they both awaited an answer to the question.

"Of course. You've been cleared to take whatever action is necessary to complete the objective. We'd also prefer that you try to keep civilian casualties to a minimum if you can. However.."

Jackson's father took a short pause and diverted his attention from Dai in order to look in Jackson's direction before he continued to speak, as if what he was going to say was directed at him.

"If in the course of your mission you end up in a situation in which civilian lives must be sacrificed in order to accomplish your goal, you are to make the mission objective the priority. Am I understood?"

Jackson was taken aback by the words of his father, but quickly shook himself out of the surprise. The way that his father viewed their efforts against the World Government had never been a secret, even if he purposely held these types of views away from the other Revolutionary Leaders and the Commander. He'd always held an extremist view, so the loss of civilian lives didn't mean much to him in the grand scheme of things, as they'd be sacrificed for the greater good.

"Understood...I'm not exactly sure how this makes us any different from "them" tho-"

"Get off your high horse. This is war, Jackson. The sooner you understand that and stop being so naive, the sooner you can actually start making a difference."

Jackson's brow furrowed in response to his father's rebuttal, but he remained silent. Though he disagreed whole heatedly with his father's methods, the thought that his was a naive way of thinking was something that cut deep. 

"Since the two of you know what needs to be done now, it's about time I make my leave. Don't disappoint us."

With those words, David quickly stood only to be followed by a large amount of what Jackson previously thought were other patrons standing up in unison. The large group of soldiers followed David out of the restaurant and into the submarine that had only recently surfaced.

Dai gave a calm nod with a smile too the response given. He was fully aware of the fact there might be casualties if it took place in a public area. It could not be avoided. He would make sure too keep it to a minimum as requested. “Can’t make an omelet without breaking some eggs right?” Of course it was a jest but Dai took this all seriously. Things were gonna get messy and these two would be in the epicenter of it all. The marines needed their globe to be shaken up a bit too avoid a foothold being placed. It would be harder later to deal with a reinforced marine resistance.

He looked over at Jackson as he spoke. Dai had a look into his personality he was a bit more reserve. It would be a nice balance too Dai’s wildness. The leader scolded him something fierce. They must have had some history together, but that was none of Dai’s business. The man was right though, this was war and people were going to die no matter what. A large group of people stood up as the leader stood up. With a quick sign of respect, Dai stood up and gave a legionary salute. A right fist was placed over his heart and he nodded.

The group quickly left the scene and he looked over at Jackson. “Lets get to work shall we?”