The danger had passed. Anybody could sense as much. Most of the King Crab's crew were either dead or completely incapacitated, and John Krabbe himself had not enough fight left in him to chase after the Red Rums anyway. Besides that, he was an honorable man of his word. No, the South Blue was peaceful once more. Or at least peaceful enough. As Bonesword posed his question to the bounty hunter, he gave out a fairly weak laugh. [color=red]"Kookiooki. Please. Unlike you pirates, I'm the honest and honorable sort. Besides, I've checked your charges. Worst you've done is royally mess with some nobility by jostling the sticks up their collective asses. I'm not too worried about you."[/color] That's when he suddenly recalled that one of the pirates, Feya, had fallen overboard. [color=red]"Oh, right! Hey! Shrimp Brigade Pink! Go pull that woman back aboard-where is Pink?"[/color] He looked around, but couldn't see the Shrimp Brigade's sixth member anywhere. [color=red]"Crud. Must've fallen over himself when Saban went psycho."[/color]

With that the man forced himself back to his feet, albeit painfully, and tossed a flotation ring overboard in Feya's direction just in case she had any problems staying afloat. When he turned back around he was being approached by two other pirates. The illustrious Captain Cedric D. Boone, and his prisoner Wafer D. Kite. Were the two possibly related? Eh, didn't matter anymore. As Boone requested that Krabbe help find their missing member, the bounty hunter gestured over the side to where he had tossed the flotation ring. Before he spoke anything back Kite gathered everyone's attention to... Seriously? He was making death threats now? Pfft.

[color=red]"Don't kid yourself, kookiookiooki! Don't pretend like anybody here is still in fighting condition. Your crew knew the dangers of flying a jolly roger and were willing to pay for it with their lives. They did so proudly, and with more honor than I can attribute to most scallywag pirates. Why don't you honor their memory, eh kid? Go sail again and live for their memory."[/color] That seemed rather dismissive, yet his words rang with a twinge of sincerity. Did he really mean it? Regardless, he didn't seem to be paying much attention to Kite anymore. He turned back to address Captain Cedric D. Boone.

[color=red]"Don't equate my age to my experience, nor my authority. Saban was a monster and I did my best to hold his leash. You all injured him enough that the leash broke and now he's loose somewhere again. Bah!"[/color] He waved his hand, and made a pincing motion with the fingers as though he still had his crab claw. [color=red]"Anyway, like I said, I'm a man of my word. No more fighting, you're all free to go. But since you're heading to Clock Town, I take it you're going to stock up on supplies before heading to the Grand Line? Take this."[/color] Krabbe unstrapped from his wrist some kind of [url=https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/onepiece/images/0/0e/Log_Pose_Infobox.png/revision/latest?cb=20130513045420]glass ball[/url] with a compass needle inside of it, then handed it to Boone.

[color=red]"Consider it a token of thanks. That's called a log pose, something I picked up from Saban after he left the Grand Line. From what he told me, normal compasses don't work there so you've got to use one of these. Honestly I didn't pick up any of the specifics as to how it works, but from what he told me no ship could last ten seconds on those seas without one. Now..."[/color] Krabbe cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders before meeting Boone eye to eye once more. He had a look of fierce determination. It was not one of malice, but more one of challenge and excitement. [color=red]"Get the hell off my ship, criminal."[/color] He punctuated with a small wink.

[hr]

Near the horizon, floating on a piece of debris barely large enough for a single man to sit upon, sat a familiar face watching and observing as the Rum Runner left the scene of battle successfully. Though he had run from the whole ordeal, it was not an act of cowardice, no. He had had orders to watch and observe. To gather information. Things got too dicey, so he had to pull out. If he stayed any longer, he'd have to show off his true combat skills, and that would have broken his cover. No, unacceptable. Best to fall back for the time being and report in his findings. The blonde man in pink armor reached into the breastplate and pulled out a small den den mushi. He pressed a small button on the snail's shell, and the creature began to communicate through radio waves. 

[color=pink]"I'd like to report in. Code phrase sigma gamma twenty-seven."[/color]

"Acknowledged. What is your update?" came a smooth feminine voice from the den den mushi.

[color=pink]"The target has been lost. Former Impel Down jailer Shotaro Saban has eluded me. Turns out he had another body somewhere and recalled himself to it."[/color]

"Understood. What is your assessment of the situation?"

[color=pink]"There's no need to pursue further. Saban's much weaker than he used to be and is no longer of any use to the World Government."[/color]

"I will advise our superiors of your findings. Report back to base."

[color=pink]"There's one more thing that I'd like to report. To you, off the record."[/color]

The woman on the other end paused for a few seconds before responding. "Continue."

[color=pink]"That person you're so interested in. I found him. He's a pirate now, and sails a ship called the Rum Runner."[/color]

Another pause. "Excellent news. Keep tailing him, Mizu." Click, the den den mushi shut off, leaving the man to his own thoughts as he floated aimlessly on the sea. Then suddenly it hit him.

[color=pink]"But how am I going to tail him on this piece of driftwood?!?!"[/color]

[hider=Character Box][center][b][color=pink][s]Shrimp Brigade Pink[/s] Mizu Shikihara
Cipher Pol 8 Agent[/color][/b]
[img]https://proxy.anonymster.com/browse.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fimg00.deviantart.net%2Ff103%2Fi%2F2006%2F054%2F2%2F0%2Fbard_by_aibryce.jpg&b=2[/img][/center][/hider]