He had heard about the presence of a Marine base on this island almost as soon as he'd gotten here. As such he had kept his head down for as much as he could. The last thing he needed was for somebody from the Marines to recognize him before he was ready for it. He needed to round up a crew first. A small group of people that he could fully trust with his secret. Pirates were hardly the reliable type, but it wasn't like he could go to the Marines or just find some random civilians to take him in. Not when he still needed to go looking for those other fruits of his....

Ryu had only recently found himself on Atoll Island. An island with a Marine base was not his most ideal place to start off his search for a pirate crew, but he was starting to run low on his luck of finding sailors willing to grant him passage to another island. There didn't seem to be anybody departing this island for now, though he had been told that trade ships passed through occasionally, or he could alternatively find a way to purchase or trade for a boat...but he didn't really have the resources for that right now. So, he had decided to use his time here wisely and look for a potential partner in crime. After all...Pirates were very well-known for being able to keep away from the Marines.

And luckily, the Marines didn't have a photo of him yet, so he did not yet have a Wanted Poster. All he had to do was be careful with his Devil's Fruit power and he should be fine for now.

At that moment, a loud crash burst through the air and the door to the bar in front of him suddenly exploded, caused by a man having gotten thrown through the door, only to crash into the ground. He was followed by a man easily twice his size. Ryu couldn't help but stop and observe from where he was. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the big guys were pirates. And apparently the smaller one had hurt one somehow. However, he couldn't help but mentally berate the blonde man for intentionally riling up the pirates. Was he stupid? What if-?

Too late!

Down came the sword in a flash, ready to cleave the smaller man in two. Ryu instinctively moved toward the fight to intervene, but paused when he realized that the smaller man was also moving. A moment later, a much smaller sword had been brought out and the captain's sword had been blocked. What followed was apparently a rather one-sided fight. The loner had managed to block every attack coming his way and blow away the pirates with well-aimed and well-timed attacks. Perhaps there was no need to intervene after all?

"Bah, forget this. Just rush him! Show him what it means to make a fool out of the Marvolo Pirates!" a voice shouted from nearby. But then, it was quietly followed by, "Morty, you take care of him while he's busy," in a voice Ryu had only just managed to pick up. He turned his attention to the source of the voice, and identified who it was. A smaller, more portly man was pulling out a flintlock pistol while a taller, lankier one had pulled out a blade of his own. The lankier man, as well as the other members of the group, began rushing at the lone male, ready to slash him to ribbons. But even if they didn't manage, they had the portly man, ready to fire off a deadly shot the moment Mitsuki left an opening....

"I don't think so," Ryu growled under his breath. He didn't have much of a choice. He didn't know exactly what was going on, but he wasn't about to let these guys take advantage of their numbers and end the fight in the confusion with a bullet. He quickly rushed into action, stepping forward and aiming himself for the man in the back who was still readying his flintlock. He held his right arm out to the side. "Dragon...Claw!" he growled. As he did so, the arm began to transform itself, soon turning into what resembled a rather large, crimson claw. The portly man saw the motion and turned to face him, but was too late. He brought his claw up and slammed it mightily against the man's face, slamming him down into the floor, shattering the wooden floorboards of the porch he had still been standing on.

This sudden slam created a loud noise that echoed through the streets, causing the entire crew to pause and turn to look at what was going on. Ryu, suddenly aware of the attention, quickly tried to reform his claw back into his normal human hand, hoping that none of them had gotten a clear view of what had just transpired. His attack had left the short man unconscious...hopefully he wouldn't have a claw-shaped bruise. But for a moment, he feared that he might have overdone things a little....

Ryu turned around once his claw had been turned back into his normal human hand and he looked at the group of pirates and the loner...though he didn't yet say anything, as he wanted to see their reactions...and what they all saw.