Windy Days (Open)

[Mr. Bobbin]

A strong easterly wind blew across the stones of Tequila Wolf, carrying the scent of the sea to the busy workers. Of course, most of them paid the smell little mind. After all, the construction site smelled of salt water yesterday, and it was likely going to smell like salt water tomorrow, and every day thereafter until they finally managed to reach terra firma. Indeed, it was a rare occurence for anyone on that bridge to even stop to notice that the air smelled of salt.

But for the young man coming into port, the air around him smelled of adventure. Windy days had a rejuvenating effect on Lin Shiyao; even after weeks at sea, staring at endless tracts of nothing in a dingy little schooner, at the mercy of every stray wave and every fluctuation of the weather, a calm day like this, with a constant wind and not a cloud in the sky, was such a welcome sight that he began to enjoy the sea, even as he looked forward to getting on solid ground.

Marching off the gangplank, he made his way to the city proper. Tequila Wolf. A temporary settlement in the middle of the ocean, frequented by passing sailors and merchants, not to mention the occasional pirate on the run. Here, a traveler could refill their rucksack and look out for information on the next bounty.

Another light breeze wafted through, and Lin smiled, turning his face to it. But how could one focus on work on a day like this? he wondered. A day like this, one should be out and about, seeing the sights, sparse as they may be, and getting to know the people. Perhaps he would meet an exceptional town guard or find a rare treasure (of the sort that was very very cheap, he thought, with consideration to his lean wallet) or something else that might happen spur of the moment. He began his purpousless walk down the street, happily alert for anything out of place, different, that he might be able to remember from this trip.

[DRACO MAHK]

[cs=2][bg=eeeeee][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,475px,true][atrb=cellspaing,0px,true][atrb=cellpadding,5px,true] I CAN SEE YOU BUT YOU CAN'T SEE ME, I could touch you and you wouldn't even feel me.
[bg=eeeeee][atrb=cellspacing,0px,true][atrb=padding,5px,true] Under the concealment of a black hood, Draco stood in the corner of the merchant vessel that he had used to catch a ride. He never really knew where he was going, always catching rides with various merchant ships while posing to be one of the merchants. He had no money and no ship to take him where he wanted, a true wanderer who did not care where the sea took him. He looked out from one of the windows in the cargo hold, noticing quite an enormous bridge coming into view. it seemed he was now in the country of Tequila Wolf - quite the spot for some serious merchant trading. Draco made his way out from the depths of the inner ships cargo hold onto the deck, feeling the pulse of the wind brush his cloak off his head. He looked around whilst many of the other merchants gave him awkward looks. His image juxtaposed theirs greatly. He had some style to him, some nice clothing, whilst they were mostly dirty and wore drabs of brown cloth. He wondered whether they realised yet that he wasn't one of them or not, but that was not such a matter anymore as the ship had finally docked. With one last salute to one of the older merchants, Draco made his way down the ramp and onto the docks of the country. His bright orange hair was highlighted by the glow of the sun. At first glance, many people would assume that he was a pirate. Pirates were always stereotyped by their eye-patches. Everyone else who had sustained an eye injury always fell into that characterisation. Draco hated this link with pirates, as he despised the very existence of them. It was one of the reasons why he was a bounty hunter, to rid the world of the pirate scum that plagued society. Making his way across the bridge, Draco took notice of most of the other people that were around here. Many of them, merchants, were dressed poorly and showed signs of not having quite a good sense of hygiene. One person however seemed to stand out, thus Draco began to tail him. He wondered whether this guy was some sort of pirate, here to buy some goods at a cheap price. He didn't seem to be built like your average merchant, he had muscular tone. Perhaps this man was a pirate. Draco noticed a scar on the right side of his face, assuming it was probably from a knife fight with another one of his pirate scum friends. Draco paced a fair distance behind him and wondered whether he'd get the feeling that someone was following him. If this man was a pirate, Draco was here to end him.	[bg=eeeeee][atrb=cellspacing,0px,true][atrb=style,text-align:justify;][atrb=padding,5px,true] TAG(S) open ? WORD COUNT 460. MUSIC strobe - deadmau5 NOTES bounty hunter reppin!
[cs=2][bg=eeeeee][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,475px,true][atrb=cellspaing,0px,true][atrb=cellpadding,5px,true] WAIT A SECOND AND YOU'LL SETTLE DOWN, I'm just waiting 'till you really let your guard down. ☞ designed by NOWAKI of ote. ☜

[Mr. Bobbin]

It wasn't long before the joy of being in the open air began to wear off, replaced by a happy return to normal thought. And, it was fortunate that he had decided not to get too carried away with his good day, because no sooner had he taken to window shopping than he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He tried to get an idea of who was around him by looking out of the corner of his eye. One person in particular stood out, even though he could only catch a glimpse of fiery red hair and an eyepatch.

A pirate? Certainly, the stranger had enough of an ostentatious look about him. Pirates tended to go for the colorful, for whatever ungodly reason, and tended to attract attention to themselves in the worst possible way. Of course, Lin could not think of anybody answering to that sort of description in all the bounties he saw. Meaning either he was mistaken, or he was being followed by a pirate of no real significance. It wasn't his policy to go after small fry unless he really needed the money. Still, there was something to be said about a pirate that actually had the stones to follow a professional bounty hunter around.

Eventually, after getting several glimpses at his follower, surreptitiously hidden between travels across the street and around corners, he was fully convinced that he was being tailed. Suddenly, before he could give the stranger time to worm away, he turned on his heel. "Your manners are worse than your tailing skills, friend. Don't you know it's rude to follow a fighter without his permission?" He held his hands out in front of him, in an unorthodox manner the common observer could only assume was a fighting posture. "I suggest that, unless you're here for a fight, you explain yourself before I am forced to assume you're a threat." Lin finally got his chance to see the stranger up close, and it was just as he suspected. Something about the man before him sent numerous warning signals. He had a hunch that that eyepatch wasn't the result of an unfortunate childhood accident.

[DRACO MAHK]

[cs=2][bg=eeeeee][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,475px,true][atrb=cellspaing,0px,true][atrb=cellpadding,5px,true] I CAN SEE YOU BUT YOU CAN'T SEE ME, I could touch you and you wouldn't even feel me.
[bg=eeeeee][atrb=cellspacing,0px,true][atrb=padding,5px,true] Draco had to make sure to keep the perfect distance away from this individual. Too close and he'd be easily spotted, too far and he'd lose him in the crowds of people. Stalking was quite an art that most people were unable to master. It required patience and a good eye. A straying eye on the other hand made it quite difficult. Draco reached into his left pocket pulling out a single cigarette. Placing it into his mouth, he used his other hand which had now grabbed the lighter to light up the stick. Throughout this time he'd been focused on two main things. Lighting up the cigarette whilst trying to walk through this crowd to avoid any unnecessary bumping and disruptions of merchant stores. This meant that he was unaware that his target had been watching him and had now come to a halt and confronted the bounty hunter. The words of the man was what made his eyes look up. Draco came to a halt and realised what had happened. "Shit," he thought to himself whilst studying the face of the man that stood before him. The scar on the right cheek was definitely clearer now. There was no point in stressing, he'd already been found out. Draco kept his facial gestures neutral, showing no signs that he'd failed his stalking task. He plainly glanced to the man in front of him, grabbed onto his cigarette with his right hand and exhaled a cloud of smoke out into the 'pirates' face. "You don't have your crew here to defend you, scum. It would be wise that you didn't start a quarrel with me," Draco stated whilst using his other hand to pull his coat back to reveal a holstered flintlock on his waist. "Are you lost? It's strange for you pirates to be walking around alone. I'm no threat to you unless you're here to cause disturbance to the people of this country." He made sure to keep a fair distance between him and the 'pirate'. Just incase the pirate suddenly lashed out with a concealed weapon in an attempt to cut Draco down. Draco was always prepared for these situations. Normally, Draco knew all the faces of the main pirates out in the ocean as they were stored in his bounty book or placed on wanted posters. This one he had not seen before, thus he assumed he was probably new to the whole piracy experience. He wondered whether today would be a day of bloodshed.	[bg=eeeeee][atrb=cellspacing,0px,true][atrb=style,text-align:justify;][atrb=padding,5px,true] TAG(S) open ? WORD COUNT 419. MUSIC unorthodox - wretch 32 ft. example (bar 9 remix) NOTES bounty hunter reppin!
[cs=2][bg=eeeeee][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,475px,true][atrb=cellspaing,0px,true][atrb=cellpadding,5px,true] WAIT A SECOND AND YOU'LL SETTLE DOWN, I'm just waiting 'till you really let your guard down. ☞ designed by NOWAKI of ote. ☜

[Mr. Bobbin]

Lin blinked. "Pirate?" He dropped his stance, with an expression of impatient frustration, seeming to completely ignore the gun in the stranger's pocket. "Give me a break, why don't you? A pirate? Me? Do I really look like a pirate to you? Wait, don't answer that..." He frowned for a second. Naturally, he had cultivated this wild appearance that he had specifically so he could blend in with pirates. In hindsight, it was foolish to think such a tactic wouldn't backfire from time to time.

"You can hide that pea-shooter now, friend." Lin appeared to be genuinely disappointed that he wasn't able to justify fighting. "Going after vigilante fools with no bounties isn't how I operate. I'm a good guy, trust me, even though I don't exactly look it." He sighed, turning around, seemingly going right back to window shopping. Even if he didn't have a bounty, it would certainly have been nice to find out he was talking to a pirate, if only to justify getting into a quick scrap before he had to worry about finding a place to sleep and other boring nessecities. Still, he knew better. Anybody who proclaimed strangers to be pirates that loudly clearly had an axe or two to grind against them and, in his experience, people like that didn't wind up being pirates. Usually, they became bounty hunters or unofficial town guardians of some sort. Either way, it just wouldn't do to start picking fights with his co-workers.

[DRACO MAHK]

[cs=2][bg=eeeeee][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,475px,true][atrb=cellspaing,0px,true][atrb=cellpadding,5px,true] I CAN SEE YOU BUT YOU CAN'T SEE ME, I could touch you and you wouldn't even feel me.
[bg=eeeeee][atrb=cellspacing,0px,true][atrb=padding,5px,true] The man seemed immediately taken aback from Draco's proclamation of him being a pirate. It was clear that Draco had assumed something that wasn't realty, this man was no pirate. Draco studied this mans features carefully once more. This man looked exactly like your average pirate. Perhaps it was some guise in which he went under to perform some reconnaissance; undercover work. The bounty hunter listened carefully to the mans words whilst taking in another breath through his cigarette. "Vigilante fools with no bounties." It came into realisation that this man was indeed no pirate, but was a bounty hunter much like Draco himself. However him and Draco seemed to have a different approach to bounty hunting. Draco tried to make it quite obvious that he was no pirate through his attire and appearance, this one seemed to prefer to take on this guise in order to deceive potential hits. Very smart approach. After understanding that this bounty hunter was not what he originally came across to be, Draco allowed his long cloak to flow back over his holsters on his waist. He squinted his eye carefully to the man as he contemplated what he would do next. "Seems like I owe you an apology. It's not everyday I come across another bounty hunter of whom is dressed as someone I would usually target. The name is Dravex. Perhaps we will work together in the future; your misleading appearance would come in handy." Draco spoke to the back of the bounty hunter as he turned around. His peripheral vision caught sight of a merchant ship preparing to leave the docks. Once he would finish conversing with the bounty hunter, Draco would make his way onto the cargo hold of that ship. From there another journey into a random country would begin.	[bg=eeeeee][atrb=cellspacing,0px,true][atrb=style,text-align:justify;][atrb=padding,5px,true] TAG(S) open ? WORD COUNT 301. MUSIC call your girlfriend - robyn (feed me remix) NOTES dravex is a codename!
[cs=2][bg=eeeeee][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,475px,true][atrb=cellspaing,0px,true][atrb=cellpadding,5px,true] WAIT A SECOND AND YOU'LL SETTLE DOWN, I'm just waiting 'till you really let your guard down. ☞ designed by NOWAKI of ote. ☜

[Mr. Bobbin]

Another bounty hunter? Lin hadn't encountered a colleague in a while; one of the perks and curses of the job was that one could spend a fair majority of their career with no human contact other than with pirates and the people who give you your Berries. Common sense told Lin to swallow his annoyance like a polite man and accept the stranger's offer. After all, there was a saying in this area about two heads being superior to one. At the very least, they could swap information and compare pirate tracking techniques.

"A word of advice, friend." He made a motion for Dravex to join him at the window. "In my experience, pirates come in so many forms and guises that it would be a waste of energy to hunt down every person who dresses like a brigand." There really was nothing of importance in the store window. Apparently, some gunsmith of middling talent decided to set up shop here. Lin didn't really care for guns, except when they were pointed in his general direction.

He continued to speak. "My name is Lin. Lin Shiyao. I came to this sea because I had heard tales of the people who lived here. Piracy appears to be a rampant problem here, and yet it attracts people of the highest caliber. Men who can shoot the wings off a butterfly, and throw pieces of ships around like empty crates. Men who sell their souls, cause themselves to be rejected by the sea, in order to gain incredible power. To be able to meet and fight the best the Blue Sea and the Grand Line have to offer, that's why I took this job. So far, it has been less than fruitful. Strong pirates are hard to come by on a big sea like this." He turned to look at his colleague. "And you? I take it you don't share my curiosity for pirates."

[DRACO MAHK]

[cs=2][bg=eeeeee][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,475px,true][atrb=cellspaing,0px,true][atrb=cellpadding,5px,true] I CAN SEE YOU BUT YOU CAN'T SEE ME, I could touch you and you wouldn't even feel me.
[bg=eeeeee][atrb=cellspacing,0px,true][atrb=padding,5px,true] Draco watched the bounty hunter gesture to him to approach the window at his side. He made one last look over his shoulder to the docks to see the merchant shipping vessel he was going to catch to hitch a ride out of this place. Shrugging his shoulders, he accepted the mans offer deciding that he would simply wait for another boat to leave. He walked up and stood with him by the window. Draco carefully listened to the mans 'words of advice'. He studied the statement whilst gazing into the window of the store, admiring some of the flintlock pistols on display. It was true, he really did need to rethink a better strategy for coming onto pirates. It would be unwise to flash his gun at any random individual, especially not knowing what history and friends they may have. Perhaps this bounty hunter could teach him a thing or two. When the man stated his name, he wondered whether he would do as Draco did and give out a codename. Draco understood that this man showed quite an interest in pirates, something that they were differentiated in. Draco despised the very existence of pirates. The majority of them wasted their lives exposed to crime; raping and pillaging as they pleased. It was the real reason Draco became a bounty hunter. Someone had to put an end to these thugs. "Seems we both have different views when it comes to pirates. I have no real interest in why a pirate chose to pursue a life of crime, and no real interest to fight the greatest of them in the Blue Sea or the Grand Line. The reason I took up the occupation of bounty hunting was to simply attempt to rid this world from any trace of piracy. Bounty hunting gave me the perfect opportunity to do so as the high bounties often lead me to places filled with pirates to be picked off, one by one." As he spoke a sudden scuffle broke out about 30ft away from where they were standing. The sudden scream of what seemed to be an old woman as she lashed out at a man ripping her purse from her made Draco divert his attention from the displays in the store to where the yelling came from. The man had ripped the purse free and began to make his way towards the pair as they stood at the window. Draco turned this head toward Lin and spoke to him firmly. "Perhaps you'd like to show me how you go about your trade?"	[bg=eeeeee][atrb=cellspacing,0px,true][atrb=style,text-align:justify;][atrb=padding,5px,true] TAG(S) open ? WORD COUNT 429. MUSIC hey sexy lady - isquare (skrillex vs. intruderalert! vs. kasger mashup) NOTES take him down lin!
[cs=2][bg=eeeeee][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,475px,true][atrb=cellspaing,0px,true][atrb=cellpadding,5px,true] WAIT A SECOND AND YOU'LL SETTLE DOWN, I'm just waiting 'till you really let your guard down. ☞ designed by NOWAKI of ote. ☜

[Mr. Bobbin]

Lin looked away from the nothing in particular he was staring at. "Is that a challenge? I don't know. That guy seems a little desperate." He took a few steps out into the center of the street, rolling his shoulder. "I'll give him a few taps for the sake of justice. I doubt he could stand much more." Lin took a deep breath, and was off like a shot for the purse snatcher.

He had bridged the gap between them even before the thief had time to realize he was under attack. The bounty hunter ducked down low, one hand cocked back, hands open with slightly crooked fingers. "Lightning!" he cried, launching a right, then a left, his hands crashing into the thief's stomach with enough force to easily knock the wind out of him. In the next motion, Lin's hand was on the thief's falling chest. "Thunder!" Lin shoved, with all his might, taking the thief clear off his feet and sending him to the pavement with a mighty thud.

Lin stood up, loosening his stance with a deep breath. "Hooooo... Hmmph." He rose back to a complete standing position, moving back to Dravex's side. "Just a common cutpurse, too concerned with running to put up an entertaining fight. If just one of these fools had the common sense to dodge or block, I wouldn't have to look to the sea for challenges." He was joking, of course, albeit only partially. The fact was, it had been so long since he had a real reason to sweat, he was beginning to worry that he was losing his edge, despite constant training. Still, he could lay low distracted purse-snatchers, so at least he wasn't completely powerless.

[DRACO MAHK]

[cs=2][bg=eeeeee][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,475px,true][atrb=cellspaing,0px,true][atrb=cellpadding,5px,true] I CAN SEE YOU BUT YOU CAN'T SEE ME, I could touch you and you wouldn't even feel me.

[bg=eeeeee][atrb=cellspacing,0px,true][atrb=padding,5px,true] Draco eagerly watched as the criminal edged closer towards them. He drew to the conclusion that this thief was most definitely a beginner in this line of work; unaware of his surroundings and who may pose a threat to him in his endeavours. The red haired bounty hunter wondered how Lin would approach the situation. Draco had planned not to jump in first to apprehend this pathetic criminal, who made a living stealing the purses of old ladies, as he wanted to see what Lin was made of. Was this bounty hunter a marksman or a bruiser type? Watching the thief drop helplessly to the ground from the initial two strikes, Draco brought both of his hands together. He made a clapping gesture towards Lin to congratulate him as the criminal staggered to his feet and quickly ran away from the pair. "Very nice Lin," Draco congratulated before noticing that they had yet been joined by another person. It was the old lady who had her purse stolen. She approached the pair with a beaming face, happy that the criminal who had stolen her favourite purse had now been scared off by the bounty hunter. She moved closer to Lin, smiling in his direction and holding out her hand for the purse. "Thank you kind gentlemen,"

[/i] she said to the pair, trying to work out what to call them, "I'm terribly sorry for the trouble that I may have caused you. It seems my grip is not as firm as it once was, but luckily that thief made the wrong decision into running towards a pair of pir-."[/i] She stopped before she finished off the last word, showing off a mixture of emotions. Draco assumed that she then realised that if they both were 'pirates', they would go off with her money.

"Heh..." Draco muttered, turning an awkward glance toward Lin. As Lin was the closest to the purse that had fallen to the ground, he gave him the privilege to assure to this old woman that they were simply average people, not pirates. Draco put his cigarette in his mouth, gesturing to the old woman that Lin would do the talking.
[/size][/div][/td][td][bg=eeeeee][atrb=cellspacing,0px,true][atrb=style,text-align:justify;][atrb=padding,5px,true]

TAG(S)

open ?

WORD COUNT

362.

MUSIC

hey sexy lady - isquare (skrillex vs. intruderalert! vs. kasger mashup)

NOTES

sorry for the late response, i've had exams and i was studying for them instead of posting :3
[/td][/tr]
[tr][td][cs=2][bg=eeeeee][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,475px,true][atrb=cellspaing,0px,true][atrb=cellpadding,5px,true]

WAIT A SECOND AND YOU'LL SETTLE DOWN,

I'm just waiting 'till you really let your guard down.

☞ designed by NOWAKI of ote. ☜

[/td][/tr][/table]

[Mr. Bobbin]

Lin bent down to pick up the purse, dusting it off with a dour look in Dravex's direction. Honestly, he thought, just how much did he look like a common pirate? He had brought these clothes all the way from his homeland; they were made in his local tailor's, for crying out loud! Here, apparently, they were nothing but the garb of thieves and cutthroats. Lin certainly had his work cut out for him if he hoped to give these clothes a more positive reputation, it seemed. In the meantime, it was a fortunate camoflauge, apparently.

He offered the purse to the lady with a curt bow. "You needn't worry, Miss. I am a bounty hunter, you see, not a thief." Of course, the two weren't mutually exclusive; the bounty hunter trade attracted every money-hungry individual with passing skill in some kind of fighting style and enough money to buy a weapon. Still, just like with his clothes, Lin hoped his personal behavior could trump any preconcieved notions.

With his good deed for the day done, he smiled and nodded in a friendly goodbye and made his way back to Dravex. "So, if you're satisfied now that I can handle myself, perhaps we should move on to sharing what we know. Personally, I'm looking for pirates with decent bounties, particularly those that look like they've earned it. I tire of this chicken-feed bandit hunting."

[DRACO MAHK]

[cs=2][bg=eeeeee][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,475px,true][atrb=cellspaing,0px,true][atrb=cellpadding,5px,true] I CAN SEE YOU BUT YOU CAN'T SEE ME, I could touch you and you wouldn't even feel me.
[bg=eeeeee][atrb=cellspacing,0px,true][atrb=padding,5px,true] As the old lady walked off, Draco tossed his cigarette to the ground. He looked across to Lin whilst stopping his foot on the remnants of the death stick on the ground. It would be quite beneficial for the both of them to work together in what they wished to achieve. Although both of their ideas on why they go about their work are quite different, they both shared the same goal of collecting hefty bounties on the thugs of the ocean. It was important for bounty hunters to work together if they were wanting to take on big hits. After all, the higher bountied pirates were generally captains who were always surrounded by their crew. It was suicidal for a bounty hunter to think he could take on an entire pirate crew just to get to the captain. However if the bounty hunters did work together, would they be willing to split the loot? "Very true, Lin. It's hard to make a living going after crewless pirates who make a name for themselves simply by robbing old ladies. If you're going to go for a hit you may as well do it right. There's no point in wasting time on insignificant grunts," Draco explained his thoughts on the matter to Lin. He wondered whether Lin was working with any other bounty hunters, and whether if he could trust him if they worked together. In the pirate world it was hard to tell apart the loyal ones to the double-crossers. Would Lin be the type of guy that would put Draco's life in jeopardy in order for him to claim a prize? Draco would. He didn't want it backfiring onto him though. "Are there any other bounty hunters you've worked with or come across? I'm generally one to work alone as I simply feel more comfortable, however to take on big hits it's going to need a lot more than one bounty hunter," Draco lied to Lin. The real reason that Draco worked by himself was that he really didn't trust anyone else. He believed that duality was prevalent in society, everyone's back hid a knife. People in his past had deceived him the moment he began to trust then, and he now believed that if you wanted something done you'd have to do it yourself; everyone else was unreliable. "And I suppose the next step would be to find a place filled with pirates. Somewhere where you could find a target like that," Draco clicked the fingers on his right hand before continuing, "do you know of such a place?"	[bg=eeeeee][atrb=cellspacing,0px,true][atrb=style,text-align:justify;][atrb=padding,5px,true] TAG(S) open ? WORD COUNT 431. MUSIC i am not a human being - lil wayne NOTES aaaaaaaah
[cs=2][bg=eeeeee][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,475px,true][atrb=cellspaing,0px,true][atrb=cellpadding,5px,true] WAIT A SECOND AND YOU'LL SETTLE DOWN, I'm just waiting 'till you really let your guard down. ☞ designed by NOWAKI of ote. ☜

[Mr. Bobbin]

Lin leaned against the building, taking a moment to enjoy the fresh burst of wind that wound its way through the street before finally getting around to answering. "I, too, have worked alone for the most part. Ambushes of individual crew members between journeys isn't exactly group work, you see. Usually, the sods were drunk beyond rational thought and not much good for anything. A few of them were worth the effort, though." The thought of taking on a pirate ship in full was certainly tempting. There were always strong fighters on a ship, and the fact that they were defending their homes meant Lin was guaranteed to see their best. Sure, it was also a fast way to build up some Berries, but more importantly it was a perfect challenge for him.

"Right." He thought back for a second. "A while back, I heard a rumor about islands out there where pirates tend to gather. Places usually under lax Navy control, or occasionally none at all. I believe one of them in particular acts as a refueling station for the fools. Thriller... Bark, I believe it's called?" He scratched his head. "Of course, that's in the Grand Line. I'd almost guarantee we'd see our fill of pirates down there long before we ever found the place. If my memory serves, they're always coming to and from that place, looking for something or other."

He shrugged. "I apologize, but I'm afraid I know little beyond that. There haven't been a lot of promising bounties where I've been working, so I've been sailing more or less in the dark, guided by rumor and hearsay." A part of him hoped that the other bounty hunter was in the same predicament, if only so he wouldn't feel so guilty about coughing up generic information. If there was one thing Lin was good at, it was keeping his ear to the ground, finding out about what was happening recently, but when it came to long-term plans, he fell drastically short. It had not been a problem until now, but lately good leads were hard to come by.