Task Name: Discovered: Prevention of Potential Threat
Tier: 2
NPC or PC: PC
Location: Baterilla Island
Crew, Team, or Personal: Personal
Description: While asking the residents of the island on anything about a Devil Fruit, the teenager realizes a marine soldier had discovered him. He must battle and silence him before he can warn his comrades. Unfortunately, this battle will draw the attention of more soldiers.
Enemy Details: 6 Tier 1 Marine Soldiers
Boss: No Boss

With each step he had took in an effort to speak to the woman, whom was working at a stand that sells fruit, Malik grew closer along with his growing intentions on telling her where he can find a Devil Fruit that is rumored to be present on this island. Of course, they were just rumors, leaving little facts to go on. However, they were all he could search from as well as the fact that it was his choice to believe, if it was true or not. Finding a certain object on rumors took a great portion of faith along with a strong will to face possible disappointment when one finds nothing. For the young adolescent of a pirate, he is truly sure that he will find a Devil Fruit in Baterilla. After the numerous stories he had his father tell him as well as the possibility of one being anywhere in the world, he was more than excited to go search for one when he began his life of piracy, so to speak. His first adventure was very recent and was as clear as day to him within the confines of his mind. That same goal was why he was trying to conceal his visage from the public around him in the first place. This island was under the influence of the World Government. As such, marines were probably wandering around every corner, patrolling the landscape to spot any criminals. With his actions in previously defeating Tri-Shadow before, he was undoubtedly going to be seen as a potential danger towards the government, given the fact that he was a pirate. When he was close enough, he simply halted his slim feet, now standing in front of the woman that now noticed him earlier. She turned her gaze towards him as he appeared he was going to speak of something. A fair distance away, a marine soldier Malik recently passed turned towards the adolescent as his appear looked familiar to him.

"Excuse me, ma'am, I hope I am not taking too much of your time, but do you know of the whereabouts of, say, a Devil Fruit. I have come here after hearing rumors about it. My desire is to find it and gain extraordinary powers. I first asked the blacksmith, if he knew anything on this type of fruit. Unfortunately, he knew nothing, but mere mentions of it. So, he simply told me that you know more on the subject. If not, I will go about my business and ask someone else." The young pirate novice said, asking the pretty lady about the location of the object he has come to Baterilla to find while explaining why he was hear in the first place to begin with. This was all spoken outward while the young martial artist kept a quiet tone to his form of speaking as to not draw any attention to themselves. As he was speaking, the marine, who had found Malik familiar started to walk towards the woman and teenager to confirm his certain suspicions. When he was within hearing distance, he was in time to hear the ending of the young warrior's explanation. Before she could answer the adolescent on what he desires, both the young fighter and her noticed a marine approaching them as they both turned their gazes in the approaching soldier's direction. When Malik gave the man, unknown to him, approaching from his right side, it was too late to return his angle of keen sight to the beautiful beautiful woman he was speaking too. The moment he looked at the soldier, the man instantly recognized him. The boy who was rumored to single-handedly crushed an infamous cult by the name of "Tri-Shadow" during his eventful stay at the trouble Briss Kingdom. Now, it's people are comfortably more at ease with all the cultist's in the jail of the palace, ruled by the king and queen of the country.

At seeing the familiar face of the young pirate, the soldier's expression turned to one that of shock while at the same time stopping in his tracks at seeing such a formidable pirate in his active wake. What the other soldiers said is true. He was quite young for someone as powerful as he was. From the man's analytical assumption, the adolescent seemed about fifteen to him, maybe sixteen. Either way, he was taller that most boy's his age. He was noted to not let his guard down when he ended up meeting this boy. He learned many cultists underestimated this young warrior's power due to how young his was in the first place. This was understandable, since most opponent of an experienced fighter were much older. From young to middle-aged adults. The marine soldier decided to stand his ground, not wanting to back down. The bounty, the teenage boy had earned since his farewell from the Briss Kindom was impressive. The young follower of the government, right now, was going to take it upon himself to arrest this boy, before he becomes a major threat in the future. He also sees it as a chance for glory and to achieve his own ambition. Sadly, this will lead to his downfall. Moving his right hand to his sheathed sword on his left hip, the marine's current state of emotion soon switched from shock to excitement. He grabbed hold of his weapon's handle and waited for the adolescent to make the first move.

"Wow, I never thought I would run into Malik Roberts at Baterilla. You're responsible for the destruction of Tri-Shadow and supposedly save a kingdom. Unfortunately for you, you are a pirate and as a marine, I cannot allow you to prance around freely. I may not know what you were talking to this woman for, but you are coming with me this minute." The soldier said, serious on taking Malik in as a criminal. The young warrior gave a deep breath, then exhaled the collected air from his lungs. He tried his best to hide his presence this far and prevent himself from being noticed, but in the the end, he was discovered by one soldier. So, he will have to try and deal with this one man, before other show themselves. He turned on his feet and faced the marine in front of himself. He quickly shifted into his battle position, concentrating his focus onto the soldier that was ready to cut him. The beautiful lady watching all of this event unfold in front of her was standing behind her booth, staring at the confrontation taking place in front of her. She never knew that this boy was a pirate, let alone one who was strong enough to bring down an entire organization by himself. Now, she was close enough to the same teenager to witness what he was capable of.

Standing firm on his two legs, the young warrior of a novice stared down his current opponent in his narrowed line of sight. He quickly examined the soldier he was having a confrontation with and could easily see he possessed a sword. From how the marine was standing, he was solemnly positioned to strike with the blade in hand as soon as Malik made a move towards him. To the young fighter, it was an interesting gamble. Risk being cut for the benefit of landing the first blow onto his enemy. The adolescent seemingly positioned himself to charge straight towards the man in front of him. The marine the other end was believed he had narrowed down the teenage boy's strategy, seeing as it seemed he was going to initiate a linear dash at him. Unfortunately for him, he was wrong on this interpretation. For someone as smart and strategic as Malik, it was best to keep his enemies guess at certain time rather than to perform movement that could easily be examined. That was most likely leave him open for an attack. While he was still young, training on his home island with his mother, she taught him that utilizing the same form of attack could give his opponents enough time to find an area of vulnerability and strike in that opening. It was a lesson he was most thankful for the woman who bore him onto this world.

"Now then, let me see, if I can get that sword out of his hand. From how he was griping it in preparation, he wasn't much of a fighter with his fists." The young warrior thought, interpreting the fact that the marine soldier was at a great disadvantage without any usable weapon at his disposal. Everyone had their limits, even him, despite how powerful he is. For example, his fighting style focused around delivering damage at close-range not from longer distances. Those who fight with ranged techniques and weapons left Malik more vulnerable than he was up-close. However, this soldier's weakness was quite the opposite in terms of the situation. If Malik was right, then he will have to knock that blade away from the marine's grip. With himself positioned and most certainly ready for combat, he rushed forward in a straight line at first. The marine took this opportunity to unsheathe his sword with his right hand, pulling it from it's resting position. When he he successfully took it out he poised himself to strike when the adolescent was close enough. Since Malik managed to close an appropriate distance between his opponent and him, the man made a straight slash with his sword. However, the boy saw this and quickly moved to the marine's left, easily dodging the attack. In that moment, he clenched both of his fists, preparing to counter his enemy.

The soldier was slightly taken aback at how easily the teenager was able to dodge his first strike. The adolescent performed an a straight kick with his left leg. Due to how quickly he dodged the form of offensive and the momentarily induced shock, the marine was unable to react at the desire speed he wanted. The young fighter was able to kit the man's right wrist. This was followed by a grunt of pain from the soldier along with the blade being knocked out of his grip. It glided a fair distance, out of the the marine's reach, before quickly descending to the ground. When it landed, it slid across the pavement before it came to a halt. Immediately, in the same moment, Malik retracted his left leg and put it back onto the solid ground. He then, reared back his left fist. He thrusted it towards the marine soldier. It was able to successfully connect to his chest. The force of the impact caused the man to bend over in agony, releasing an audible grunt of pain. This man seemed like an easy opponent to defeat. However, it wasn't him he was worried about, it was the fact that a fight such as the one he was taking part in could hold the possibility of drawing reinforcement. He will have to be sure and do away with this marine quickly, before that happens. He simply pulled back his left fist and slid to the soldier's right, so to stand in the way of his weapon.

"Have to be sure and keep this guy and his sword separate. I prefer not to suffer any more cuts and have a repetitive occurrence happen to me as it did in the Briss Kingdom." He thought, the idea of having his flesh torn into again not sounding too pleasant to the young fighter of a teen. When the adolescent moved his clenched hand away from his chest, he gripped it with his left hand. This indicated a notable sense of pain. From the severity of the punch, the soldier can conclude that Malik was stronger than most kids his age. What he didn't know was that he has strength considered beyond ordinary human standards. A benefit from his training on Karate Island. The young martial artist stood firm in his combative stance, facing the marine soldier. As the noble person he is, he is willing to give his opponent some time to recover from his previous attack. In a short period of recollecting himself, the marine stood and turned on his feet. He soon switched into a battle position of his own, since there was no regaining his weapon at the moment. He will just have to improvise in this current situation. Unfortunately, for him, Malik was more experienced in close-combat than he will ever be.

The young martial artist readied himself for another one of his own personal assaults. He was on the current idea of being unpredictable to keep his enemy off-guard in order to quickly defeat in the process. He will have to try a different tactic as a result to throw the man off his current train of thought. The aforementioned soldier before him was as much prepared as he could be as he didn't know what was passing through the adolescent's mind. It was actually numerous thoughts, but all of them were current directed at trying to knock out the soldier as quickly as the young fighter was capable of with all of his might at his disposal. The formidable teenage boy decided to make his next move against the man he was facing. He gave a quick dash towards the soldier who was positioned to be prepared for what the adolescent might possible throw at him. However, the marine didn't count on the young warrior being so fast that he could hardly read the pirate's movements. When the boy was close enough to the man, he smoothly slipped passed him and stopped from behind him. He quickly turned on his feet, so he was facing the marine's back. He pulled back his right arm to his left side. At the same time he straightly stiffened his fingers. He then, made a, as it is very obvious, a karate chop aimed at the back of the marine's next. It was sure to put in much force to the attack. It was able to connect the desire body part. The force of the impact causing the man to try and let out a grunt, but this time, it was inaudible. The blow to the back of the soldier's neck also caused his vision to blur until finally, he loss consciousness.

The marine simply felt forward to the ground. When his body made contact with the stone pavement, a thud could be heard from a few feet from his area of landing. Malik simply heard it as he was the one closest to the soldier. The adolescent fighter stood up straight and altered his angle of gaze. He was trying to see, if there was a safe location to place him in while he took his time to regain consciousness. As brutal as his fighting style was, Malik was a merciful person to most people, excluding the seemingly-soulless and wicked individuals. For them, the young warrior would display no suppression of his full-strength and was even, admittedly, violent towards such cruel people. It was a signification of his hatred towards evil. However, as much as he hated it, he refused to reduce himself to it's level just to rid others of it. He was an honorable, virtuous warrior. Though, there were times where even the most just of heroes would find themselves faced with decision that must be done for the greater good, as unpleasant as it may seem in some scenarios. Overall, he may despise evil, but acknowledges that there would be instances where he would have to look into the dark to see the light. He changing line of sight finally stopped on an alleyway where he can easily put the marine into. He then, returned his gaze towards the limb body of the soldier he recently defeat and walked over to him. When he was close enough, he knelt down and reached out with his arms. He managed to grab the man's left arm swung it over to his right shoulder and stood up while holding the knocked-out marine being carried over his back.

"A-Amazing" The beautiful woman working at the fruit stand thought. That one word was all she could muster within the recesses of her mind as she witnessed the battle between a pirate and marine. Mostly, it was the teenage boy she was looking at. He was unlike any fighter she had ever seen. Unbeknownst to the boy, he now had a fan as well as an admirer. He quickly turned on his feet and started walking to the safe designation he saw near his left side when he caused the marine to go unconscious earlier. When he made it to the alleyway with no interruptions, he simply released himself from the man's own weight and helped him turn on his own feet. He then, laid him gently against the alley's wall. Afterwards, he turned and began to walk towards the pretty lady at the fruit stand. As he grew closer, he noticed from a certain distance that she had a smile etched onto her face. From his walking position, Malik concludes that she was surprised by the battle show right in front of her. At least now they will get moments of peace and quiet for now. He hope he has defeated that marine soldier quickly enough, so he doesn't end up drawing further attention from others, namely other marines. When he was at an appropriate distance, he stopped in front of the woman he had been talking to before he had been interrupted.

"That was certainly a show you put on, tough guy. I have to say, I never seen anything like the fighting you do. For a moment there, you looked like a real man." The beautiful female said, complementing the adolescent's supposed "performance", all ending with a wink. Malik could certainly handle flattering verbally, but the last form of action certainly caught him off-guard, causing him leave a light shade of red on each side of his face. He hadn't been this congratulated since he had rescued that woman from those Tri-Shadow cultists in the Briss Kingdom. He looked down towards the ground beneath his feet in embarrassment. He had his shoes rubbing against one another to help cope with the emotion he is currently feeling along with both of his hand clenched. The beautiful woman giggled slightly to herself, but quietly as to not let the boy before her noticed. Just before he seemed so mature when fighting that marine soldier earlier, now he look more of an innocent child to her, filled with light as beautiful as day. She has to admit, he was an interested individual. At this moment, she considered about telling him the whereabouts  the Devil Fruit he may possibly find. In her eyes, he more than desired it. With a beautiful smile, she decided to speak.

"Don't be so shy, cutie. I am just giving you a complement. Now, if you want to know where to find that Devil Fruit you have heard of so much, I'd be glad to tell you." She told the adolescent pirate, brightening his spirits as he looked up with a small smile of excitement, his bliss fading away slightly.

In the not so far distance from the boy and woman, a group of soldier were steadily approaching the two of them. There were exactly five marines in total. They all carried swords hanging on their left hips along with stern expression. This would help one indicate that they were so overconfident, like the previous soldier he had defeated. Unfortunately, for Malik, one of the soldier must have been watching him do battle with the man now unconscious in the alleyway closest to him. After he defeated the marine, one of his comrades when and warned the others of his presence here on Baterilla. From their point-of-view, the adolescent fighter was here to try and start up a rebellion, which was not his main priority from the start. What he truly searched for may be far-fetched, but it was the reason he came all of this way. Having fought a marine, this victory will now label Malik a criminal to the government. From what the young martial artist learned about this organization during his years back on his home island, he concludes that the entirety of the marines, including it's most powerful superiors served under a greater power. From what Malik heard of World Nobles, they treated those less fortunate with cruel and little disrespect. They didn't even considered those of lower status human in their eyes. To him, people of such wickedness and apathy were seen as evil as well as not human to himself. From their blatant disregard for other other than their own and inhumane treatment, individual such as that were undeserving of being human to begin with. He hopes not all World Noble were like that. There has to be at least a few who find how those of their status find treating the less fortunate appalling. He can only wait and see what the world has in store.

Before the pretty lady could speak to the young warrior on where he could find the Sand-Sand Fruit, both immediate notice that more marines were approaching from Malik right side. From what his sight told him, they were marching in a well-ordered group, retaining solemn expressions. When they believed they have traveled for enough, they stopped an appropriate distance away from them. The woman at the fruit knew what they were hear for, to take away Malik. They had no idea how strong he was. With how easily he dealt with the previous solder, she was certain that Malik was guaranteed victory, even if, there were five more marines to defeat in the process. The adolescent never meet someone who thought so highly of himself. He had to guess that to her, he was a hero. This was just another step to him becoming a true hero to begin with. Unfortunately, since the marines were here to confront the young fighter, she wasn't able to tell him on the whereabouts of the Devil fruit he wanted. However she can tell him where to meet her after he defeats these soldiers. She reached out with her left hand and touched his left shoulder to gain his attention from where she was. He turned to look her in her pretty eyes.

"We'll have to talk again later, but for now, you just handle these guys. The marines here can be real jerk and some are ignorant of the true picture. Go ahead and do what you need to. If you find yourself wanting to talk to me again, just head to the my family's inn where travelers can rest, pirate and civilian alike. As log as the prates are nice to begin with." She said, partially explaining on how it has been here with soldiers of the government, like them, causing trouble in how they do their job. She also noted to the adolescent warrior on where he can find her when he was finished doing battle with these marines. When she was finished speaking thoroughly to the teenage boy, she released her touch on the child's shoulder and turned to get something to note of her stand's current status. She walked over to the back of her small establishment and reached out with both her hand. She grabbed what is seen as an open and close sign. She then, turned to the front of her stand and walked up to it. When she was close enough, she simply laid the side of her sign that said "Closed" on the counter to let others know she was finished selling fruit for today. Afterwards, she turned and headed for her stand's exit. When an appropriate distance was meet, she grabbed the knob of a door and turned it. She pulled on it and it opened inwardly. She then, walked out and quickly closed it when she was outside. Now that only Malik and the marines were present here at the moment, he simply stared them down and waited for what they had to say to him in a situation such as this.

"Malik Roberts, rumored pirate to have single-handedly brought down the Organization, Tri-Shadow as well as the one responsible of attack and knocking a fellow marine officer unconscious while within a small scuffle. I hereby proclaim you an enemy of the government in my eyes and a matter that must be dealt with, immediately." The tall, muscular man in the front, who acted as the leader of the group, said, now considering the adolescent martial artist a criminal having go against the government. It appears it cannot be avoided any longer. From this moment on, he was an enemy to the marines. From his first moment of becoming a pirate, he knew this would happen. All pirates would eventually become enemies of the World Government. To him, he was standing up to what he considered oppression by some of the more corrupted members of the navy. He shifted himself into a combative position. At seeing the boy's reaction towards what the leader of the group had to say, the marine soldier reached over to their swords' handles. Once they grabbed them, they stood read for battle.

The adolescent fighter of an adventurous pirate stood firm on both legs, unwavering spirit put before the group of five marine soldiers. It does not matter how many of marine there were, he will still defeat them all, if they were evil that is. Right now, they were interfering with his goal in find the Sand-Sand Fruit, so he is left with little choice than to combat this stubborn officers. To him, they did not seem wicked, but believe that what they were doing was righteous. He cannot discern them from what they believe was good. It would be forcing his own ideals on others while all he can do is lay out a better path for them and hope that they will take it. When there would come a situation for what he fight's for, he would state his own reasons for just through his dream of becoming a hero. Malik considered being a pirate for more than just his dream. He chose this life, because of the much excitement and never-ending adventures he would have. This would obviously count as one of them, searching for a Devil Fruit he hopes to be here on this island. When it came to battle against pirates and marines, it was not about who was good and who was evil, rather from the factions they were a part of. Many pirate in the world were very infamous from the various crimes they have committed whether for good or for evil.

The martial artist narrowed his focused gaze towards the leader and quickly tried to examine his posture. From the number of marine officers present at the moment, the young warrior was certain he would not leave this area without getting few cuts and scratches from those blades. His was outnumbered and they could use this advantage to at least inflict minor to moderate damage on his physiology. He took time to unzip his cyan hoodie. He then, moved to take off a blue backpack he had been carrying for a while now. He threw it to the fruit stand where the woman was recently present, where it land close by. Afterwards, he took of his hoodie and threw it in the same direction. It ended up landing over his pack. Without worry of his favorite mementos being damaged in the slightest, he swiftly returned to his combative position and prepared himself for rushing in to the line of danger. Malik was hardly afraid of anything and could even stare death in the face with ease. While not baring the letter "D" in his name, his mother said he had similar traits to those who possessed this will.

"Since the muscular man in the front seems to be the leader, if I attack and inflict serious damage to him, the whole group might go in disarray. I could take advantage of that and at least take out a few of them and decrease their numbers." The brave martial artist thought to himself, thinking of a quick strategy before he attacks the marines head-on in their confrontation. If he can greatly harm or wound the leader of the group, then they will lose order. He can utilize this state of chaos to easily defeat various soldier of the navy. Sometimes when one is in battle, there were plenty of ways to win honorably and nobly without brute force. For example, look for an opening and strike. It was like hitting a weak point in a structure. Damage it there and the entirety of it comes tumbling down into a pile of rubble. For Malik, he prefer strategic and powerful ways to settle physical disputes rather than sneaky, suspicious mannerisms. His fighting style is akin to that of a string-willed warrior who rather fight honorably than to resort to under-handed tricks that would destroy that same honor. If the situation would arise where he would find himself losing, he would fight to the very end. Some would choose death before defeat.

He dashed forth towards the group of five marine soldiers. He clenched both of his hands into fists, preparing himself for delivering great physical damage. He was planning on unleashed some new technique head learned during his stay at the castle of the king and queen of the Briss Kingdom. He wasn't wasting all that time just lying around and enjoy the food and shelter that they offered. He even helped with some additional matters that didn't include violence. Both of their majesties were very grateful for all of his help. He was able to change their view on certain pirate as well. As he continued rushing towards the leader, the said man along with his subordinates unsheathed their swords in the process. The leader officer positioned himself with his sword facing forward in the direction the adolescent warrior was running in. When the young fighter was at an appropriate distance between himself and his enemy, he slid to his right. The muscular leader slashed downward a moment too late when the boy performed this action. The teenage pirate then, reared back his left fist and thrusted forward. He was able to hit the marine in the left side of his face. It was noted by the man to be quite painful.

The force of this impact from Malik's recent attack was able to punch the marine officer back a couple of feet as a result. The group stood in slight shock at their leader taking a serious blow, but it was nothing life-threatening. Suddenly, a humanoid being, which looked to be a hybrid of a human and beetle appeared next to him. From the look of it's physique, the hybrid appeared to be male. As such, the teenage boy will refer to this being as a "He". The shocking appearance of this humanoid beetle managed to throw off the adolescent warrior's guard. From Malik's point-of-view, the beetle-human hybrid took the advantage of this. Immediately after he revealed himself, the hybrid proceeded to roughly as well as forcefully insert his horns directly into his ribs. With no way to defend against an attack of this variety, the adolescent warrior was forced to suffer the full brunt of the blow, as a result. The attack also was able to break a few of Malik's ribs. It caused him to let out an audible grunt of pain due to it being extremely painful along with having him cough up a few drops of blood. This was the most damage the teenage boy had ever received since he began his life of piracy. The force of the implantation of the humanoid beetle's horns was able to throw the young fighter into the air up to a total of four meters.

At a moment such as this, he was slightly relieved that the woman watching him earlier was present at the moment. She would be shock as well as partly horrified at seeing him getting battered and bruise in such a fast manner. However, for now, he had to focus on the situation at hand. While temporarily four meters in the air, Malik had to maneuver himself to manage a safe landing or at least minimize the additional damage that may possible be sustained upon his landing. The sudden surprise of a human-animal hybrid had surprised the adolescent martial artist as he never seen such a being, like him, before. He could hear from the distance that separated this hybrid and him on how he remarked on the pain that the teenage pirate felt. It most certainly hurt, indeed. Blood was now trickling from both sides of his lips, an obvious sign of his current injuries. In his case, a few broke ribs. Right now, there was little to no time to ponder on the origins of the enemy right now. While momentarily remaining gentle glide through the air four meters above the marines he was fighting, he slowly began to descend at greater speeds with each passing second.

"That was an impressive attack. I have now idea were that hybrid of sorts came from, but I have to devise a way to land safely or at least try to evade the next attack coming at as I am coming towards him." The young fighter thought, inwardly complementing on the technique that the humanoid beetle utilized as well as noting himself on trying to land in a damage-free manner or try to dodge the next trying to dodge this next attack that his enemy apparently is going to initiate against him next. As he he descended towards the ground, he quickly started to shift his current position into one that would allow him a greater probability of evasion. He soon moved himself, so that his feet were facing the hybrids horns now. If this being was truly a combination of human and beetle, than he was certain that his opponent had strong armor as well, like multiple insects with exoskeletons. When he was at a good enough distance, he would hit the hybrid horns without sustaining any further damage and just backwards, propelling himself a good distance at five feet to think of a new strategy. When he land on the stone pavement, he slid along the ground for a few inches. Then, he came to a complete stop.

He reached over with his left arm to the right side of his rib cage where he was sure a few of the corresponding bones have been broken. He then gently held his hand over the bruised area as he panted from the exertion of his body under the strain of sever injuries. Despite seriousness of the internal wounds, Malik decided to stand up straight and shift to his combative position, baring with the pain until the battle was over. He now narrowed his gaze towards the human-beetle hybrid and was now more freely able to to wonder on the origins of this being. With his level of intelligent granted from all the information his has acquired over the years and had been blessed with, he would have to guess that this being had eaten a Devil Fruit. This would make the enemy before him the very first wielder of an other-worldly power he had to do battle against. He knew he would meet such wielder of extraordinary powers, but never expected to be this soon or the fact it would be before he would be given a power of his own. Just to be sure on, if this form of his opponent's was the result a power or not, he will simply ask him. First, he turned to his right hand spat out some blood that had been filling his mouth onto the ground and returned his gaze to the humanoid beetle.

"From your appearance, I would say you have eaten a Devil Fruit. I, myself, have been in search of a Devil Fruit since arrive on this island." Malik said, voicing his reasons for being present in this area. Since the marines would be on his tail until his left, he might as well reveal why he was in Baterilla.

Malik struggled to stand up straight from his most recent exchange with the Zoan-Type Devil Fruit User. As he did, unfortunately, he felt some soreness in both of his calves. They weren't just sore, he could feel his legs were partly broken. Although, they didn't show visibly, he could feel it inwardly. It was a result trying to evade the full extent of this hybrids attack by trying to block the onslaught of his horns with his cloth covered feet. Unfortunately, his enemy was able to move around his form of evasion and hit him in his limbs located in his nether regions. As a result, the young fighter ended up hitting the ground with a mighty thud. Malik wondered what he was thinking revealing why he was here to begin with. Perhaps it was the stress of this fight, the agony of is internal wounds going to his head, or maybe he was feeling a bit cornered, given the extent of this marine's power. He was left with little choice now, but to defeat the true leader of the group. Since he was obviously strong enough to crack a few of Malik's ribs. With enhanced strength and a tough shell to damage from ordinary blows, the adolescent will have to draw out the full power of his fighting style.

Though, it was highly unlikely, given the fact that it was difficult for him to move in the condition he was in. He could barely move his feet to evade any attack at the moment. So, he had little choice to do, but accept defeat. With a small smile appearing on his own face, he simply allowed himself to fall on his back. When he landed, a resounding thud could be heard up close. The teenage boy himself possessed strength the surpassed an ordinary being's level. He could throw a averaged size man, move boulders, and even crack stone. So, he was certain that he could shatter a insect's shell. Though, right now in this very moment, his injured legs would make it of higher difficulty to be very mobile. So, he simply remained the way that he was. He never thought he was face defeat those soon in his recent adventure to this day. Though, he had to guess he was going to have to experience it sooner or later. Malik saw defeat as a result of the mistakes a fighter makes in battle and like mistakes, one can reflect up them and acquire wisdom to achieve victory in their next battle that was sure to come. The adolescent warrior had no choice, but to accept defeat. They could kill him, but he was still a young boy and far to soon for him to ascend towards Heaven. Hearing his victor's introduction, Malik decided to introduce himself as well. First he struggled to sit himself up with his left arm due to the right side of his rib cage being internally damaged.

"Hehe, it is nice to meet you as well, Steele. I believe you already know my name, given my infamy. So, I will not bother you with any repetitive introduction. Also, as I am unable to stand up with ease due to the damage my legs have suffered, I suppose I shall admit defeat. You are indeed a strong opponent Steele, I commend you for your skill and prowess. I hope to one day meet you in battle again." He said, complementing his opponent on the success of actually defeating him. He now had little choice, but to accept his lose and learn from the mistakes, which lead him in this situation. There was no way he could break out in the condition he was, so he had to simply wait until his injuries were heal. It would take time, but he was certain his body will be as good as new. This latest battle has also given him the experience he needed when facing marines as well as looking for a Devil Fruit. It was seems he was going have to wait a little longer, before h would find the Sand-Sand Fruit. He simply sat in place, to relieve himself of the pain his injuries caused him. With the teenager no longer a danger to them, they all simply tucked away their swords in their sheathes.

They then, started to walk up to him. On of the marine grunts had chains to better restrain him. This was to be safe, in the case he decides to rebel. Although, in their own opinion, Malik was hardly going anywhere thanks to the injuries he had suffered from Steele, their leader. They had to admit, that finding a such a formidable pirate with a bounty as high as his, yet as young as him was certain rare. If allowed to grow, this adolescent can prove to be a real danger to them in the future. Especially, if he were to find this Devil Fruit he was seeking. They truly hope that some time in jail and decrease in this boy's infamous reputation would give him a more disciplined mannerism as will as eliminate the audacity to rebel against the government again. From the look of the injuries, they suspect he had learned his lesson on trying to pick a fight with the marines in a childish manner of sort. When they had managed to close the distance, as he was still a child, two grunts assisted him to his feet and would provide him help on his way to the island's prison. Two more decided to go behind the teenager for restraint. They than gentle grabbed his wrists and put shackles on them. They all began they journey towards the prison in which Malik was spend a certain amount of time in, given his bounty.

[Word Count: 6874 Words (Malik) and 7 Posts + 987 Word and 2 Posts (Steele) = 7861 Words and 9 Posts]