Amidst all the ruckus of the other pirates cheering for a fight, the captain of the Krunch Krew merely gave a shrug and nodded to Boone. [color=turquoise]"You're the one with the special compass, so I guess we're following your lead. Omnomnom! Bullet Bill, on behalf of my crew, I accept your terms as well!"[/color] His declaration led to the cheering of the Buccaneers even louder.

[color=darkslategray]"Good! Good! Truth be told I'd hate to have to scrap yer ships and bust yer skulls here and now. Wouldn't be hospitable of me, eh?"[/color] The enemy captain gave a wink. [color=darkslategray]"Then let us return to the fortress, so the games can commence! If ye lose, yer ships and all yer booty become our property! But if ye win, ye get ta stay here until yer log pose registers my island, unaccosted by me mates, and then ye can leave freely! In case ye were wond'rin, the Chokehold takes about forty hours t'record on yer log pose. Now, follow us!"[/color] Bullet Bill made an emphatic wave with one arm, turned to leave, and parted through the crowd. The mass of pirates didn't follow their captain, not until both the Red Rums and the Krunch Krew had already moved reached them.

The walk up the island hill was actually quite pretty and pleasant, if one ignored the constant threat of attack and death surrounding them. The Krunches seemed to be taking the situation in stride. Their captain found the situation to be quite humorous, expressing joy that Bullet Bill had some measure of honor to offer the contest to begin with. After all, they had no need to do so, as the two crews literally had nowhere else to go unless they were to brave the Grand Line blindly. Hachirou remained stoic as ever, his face as blank and gruff as it had always been. He took the opportunity to get his cardio going by jogging. Trickshot Jo was actively shooting glares at the island's inhabitants, her body language clearly saying, "I'll slap you all silly without a care in the world." Ken... Hadn't even registered what was going on. As far as anybody could tell, the doctor was totally unaware that they had been surrounded by the enemy, much less that they were to be fighting some sort of contest. As for Smith... Wait, where did Smith go?

Dirk felt a tap on his shoulder, but nobody was around... Suddenly the Red Rum's helmsman was being moved through the crowd, just below eye line and swiftly between them all. When Dirk came to a stop, he had rounded a corner completely out of sight of the marching crowd, and the cause of his sudden movement was revealed: Smith was standing directly in front of him, but the ninja had removed his beard, hat, and eyepatch. Wait, was he harder to see now? Yes. Yes he was, for some reason. Despite wearing an all black outfit against a green and brown rocky background, losing those accessories somehow made him nearly impossible to see. Weird.

[color=black]"I've measured your movements. You're used to being sneaky. I think that while our crews are fighting the enemy, we should perform some espionage and learn about these foes, find their weak points, and sabotage their operation here. Are you up for it?"[/color]

Meanwhile, the rest of the crews had been marched to the front doors of the fortress. Two large, burly pirates wearing marine coats were standing guard. Bullet Bill gave the order, and the guards opened up the doors to a [url=https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/dumbledoresarmyroleplay/images/b/b8/Prince_Castle_Entrance_Hall.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20150210141200]grand entrance hall.[/url] Two sets of spiral stairs led to an observation balcony, which had many stands of seating placed along with a concessions booth. A single Buccaneer pirate stood at the top of the viewing balcony holding a try of popcorn and peanuts which read "50 Belli Each." The main area of the hall had been cleared of most obstacles, including the carpet. The walls were lined with targets, practice dummies, and a number of weapons. The center of the floor had a wide circle drawn around it in black paint. But perhaps the most concerning detail of all were the cannons... They had been setup all around the walls! No matter where anybody went in this room it seemed that a cannon was still pointing directly at them, what the hell?!

Bullet Bill strode with pride into the hall, his crew following and still escorting our heroes, keeping a close eye on those that remained. Nobody had picked up yet that two had gone missing. [color=darkslategray]"Officers! Assemble!"[/color] One by one a group of quirky and odd characters emerged from the crowd, or around the hall. [url=https://pre00.deviantart.net/ee43/th/pre/i/2018/083/b/a/pool_party_katarina__custom__by_eveestenzia-dc6rxtt.jpg] A red haired woman in a bikini,[/url] [url=https://pre00.deviantart.net/79cf/th/pre/f/2018/123/e/b/dangerous_night_by_sprsprsdigitalart-dcal127.jpg]a dapper man with a cane, coat, and top hat,[/url] [url=https://pre00.deviantart.net/1e34/th/pre/i/2008/304/b/a/xeph_soulknife_by_thedarkestseason.jpg]a tan skinned man, bare-chested, with long ears,[/url] [url=https://pre00.deviantart.net/7c50/th/pre/i/2018/049/5/0/little_red_by_grim_red-dc3kz5f.jpg]a muscular black haired man with a clock tattooed on his back,[/url] [url=https://pre00.deviantart.net/319a/th/pre/f/2013/330/6/4/fallout_4_cosplay_by_sntp-d6vsrzz.jpg]a man clad in full armor with a face-obscuring gas mask and a marine coat[/url], [url=https://pre00.deviantart.net/c8b6/th/pre/f/2013/157/1/a/one_piece_oc_by_zom8iezilla-d682sif.jpg]a cigar chomping man,[/url] and [url=https://pre00.deviantart.net/7310/th/pre/i/2018/051/f/e/lady_maria_of_astral_clocktower_by_tokami_fuko-dc3rnrv.png]a pale skinned woman in fanciful leather with two swords on her side[/url] made up the entirety of the officers Bullet Bill had called to assemble, with the captain himself taking center stage between them all.

[color=darkslategray]"The process is simple,"[/color] began Bill. [color=darkslategray]"I decide which one o'me officers is up to issue their challenge, then you decide who goes against them. When someone loses, they're out. First side to lose all their men forfeits the contest. Sound simple enough?"[/color]