Devil's Luck Pirates

-WHAT?! – The group says in unison after William explained what his newly acquired Devil Fruit can do.

-Now that's straight-up cheating! – Atom exclaims. William simply gives him a smug look in response.

-With that kind of power; you can become King of the Pirates, Captain. – Verona comments.

That's setting the bar a little bit too high for someone like William.

-Roger was the King of the Pirates. I can't live up to that guy! – Becoming King of the Pirates never crossed William's mind at any point in his life. Not even when he became one himself.

With the matter of the Devil Fruit solved, the group starts planning their journey to the Steam Pipe Pirates hideout. Gravy, Duros, and Verona went back to the ship to get some supplies for their day-long journey.

They then begin to travel through the desert of Krendor. It isn't as hot they thought it would be, and the occasional small cluster of trees gives them some much-desired shade to rest for a little bit. But Ragnar just keeps on walking at a hurried pace. Only stopping after a considerable amount of convincing from the part of the crew.

-What's the hurry, big guy? – Atom comments as they stop for a moment under some palm trees – I want to settle the score with those guys as much as you do, fella. And it'll be of no use if we get there being all tired from running through the desert.

Since Atom didn't hear Ragnar's story back at the cave, he would never understand. The crew just stays silent, deciding that he is not worthy of knowing what Ragnar's going through.

-I don't have just a petty misunderstanding with those guys – Ragnar says to the surprise of everyone – They were the ones who destroyed my village… And potentially murdered my wife and son.

Now that's a real surprise.

-You had a wife and son?! – Pearl asks astonished.

-Don't look at us. – William says sharing the same feeling - This is new information for us as well…

-I'm so sorry, Ragnar… Why didn't you tell us that before? – Duros asks.

-I just didn't want to involve you guys in my personal vendetta more than necessary.

Now Ragnar's actions take on a completely new light. Atom even starts feeling bad for having brought up this topic.

-I obviously want revenge. – Ragnar continues – But at the same time, I just want confirmation if they're dead for sure. When I came back to the village that day, I just found ashes, but no bodies…

-I believe with all my heart they're still alive somewhere! – Duros proclaims.

-And we'll do whatever we can to find them! – Pearl also proclaims.

Verona puts a hand on Ragnar's shoulder and looks at him dead in the eyes – Let's get those sons of bitches.

Ragnar smiles in response – Thank you, guys. I really appreciate it.

-Well then… – William says, standing up – Let's go get them, shall we?

With their spirits reinvigorated by the new meaning of their mission, the group continues on their adventure until the sky becomes dark and the moon shines brightly.

They consider setting up camp to spend the night until a peculiar smell tickles his nose.

Gunpowder.

He immediately runs off to where the smell is coming from. The others try to keep up with him but to no avail. How can he still have this much energy even after a whole day of walking?

In a moment, Ragnar comes across a cave entrance with a lit torch next to it, and a half-asleep guard.

Blinded by rage and ax in hand, Ragnar rushes towards the man and decapitates him in a single hit. His ax even gets stuck in the wall the man was lying against.

The group eventually catches up to him just in time to witness this.

Holly shit… William thinks. Ragnar was about to enter the cave but he manages to stop him.

-Ok. Ragnar, buddy, I know you want to slaughter these guys; and you'll get that opportunity. But for right now, we should at least enter the cave a little bit more stealthily, and after we scout everything you can go full bear mode, ok?

Ragnar looks at him. He's a lot calmer than William expected.

-Oh, yeah. Don't worry, Captain. I have some questions for these guys before I shred them to pieces!

-Alright… – William says, catching his breath and clearing his throat – Men! Pearl. Atom… Gravy!... Actually, Gravy; how is your combat experience?

-Pretty bad. I used to get beat up a lot as a kid. – Gravy responds with his usual smile.

-…Can I trust you to stay at the cave entrance?

-I can do that.

-Ok. You can start making our victory meal. And if we don't come out until dawn, you can just leave.

-Sure thing, Captain. – Gravy puts down his huge backpack and pulls out a collapsible table. He swiftly sets it up and starts with his cooking.

-Alright! The rest of you, we're going in!