"So, you going to attack me like your buddies or are you going to put the blade down?", Toji asked as he slowly cleaned his dadao with a red cloak, looking up at the only surviving member of the ship.
The young man in question looked horrified as he stared at Toji, who didn't blame him as he stood up from the beheaded corpse he was sitting on while glancing at the bodies lying on the blood that were all gushing blood into the sea around them.
"Since you're not attacking, I guess you're not going to attack. What's your name?"
"D-D-Dion," The young man answered with a stutter and Toji nodded as he walked over and looked at the guy.
"Well, I have a few questions. Answer truthfully and I'll give you a quick death. Lie or deny me an answer and I'll chop a piece off, starting with a finger. Do you understand?", Toji asked, watching as the guy quickly nodded before smiling and sitting back down.
"Good! First off, what fleet do you belong to?"
"N-Not a fleet. The Renegade Phoenix's crew."
'That's…Tengfei, right? They're supposed to be the most bloodthirsty of the Crimson Sails Armada and according to that bartender, the other commanders hate him and his men. Huh, wonder why Mosi is letting him sail freely in his territory.'
"Okay. Second question, how many of you were there on this ship?"
"Twelve when we l-left the island, but we lost two to the seas and another two to spirits."
'Spirits? The cursed spirits of this world are visible to all?', Toji had read on how there were times that people were able to see spirits, but he thought that such times were only because the people that saw them were spiritual inclined.
'However, it seems that spirits are now able to make themselves visible to anyone, most likely in a more monstrous form to scare off anyone that they wish to terrify.'
"I see. Third question, how many of the Renegade Phoenix's crew is on the island?"
"A-All sixty of them. The crew of t-twelve I belonged to were ordered t-to bring back supplies before w-we headed back to the main island."
"And where is that?," Toji asked and waited before sighing as the guy stayed silent while looking a bit nervous.
The next moment, Dion fell to his knees with a pained cry as he held his left hand to the former spot of his right pinky, gritting his teeth while Toji stood behind him while cleaning off his dagger.
"I'm going to count to five. If you haven't answered after every count, I'll take another finger. Once the fingers are done, I'll take toes and once the toes are done, we start cutting off limbs. Good? Good! Now then, where is your island?"
"Y-You don't…understand…If I tell you…they'll hunt me down."
"If you don't, I'll start selling your organs so pick your poison."
"O-Okay! Okay! They're on an island to the south of here! We're supposed to meet the crew there after they returned from a raid in two days."
"Good. Final question, then. Is your captain there?", Toji asked and watched as Dion looked at him with a frown before shaking his head as he saw the guy quickly stumbling to his feet.
"I'd rather die!", Dion shouted while picking up a dadao from the ground, but as he spun around, he gasped as Toji was already in front of him with his own pilfered dadao held out to his side.
The boy in question simply watched as his prisoner's left arm fell to the floor before he spun around him, slicing off his right arm as well before holding the sharp edge of his blade against Dion's throat with a frown.
"Last chance."
"Death…before defeat!", Dion growled as he sliced open his own throat on the sword, Toji not surprised as he simply cleaned his blade while watching as the boy gargled while falling face first onto the pier.
"…Hah, guess I know my destination," Toji muttered as he turned and walked back towards the dock, ignoring the terrified people quickly making path while sheathing his blade once more.
After all, his new ship was already fully stocked so all he needed to do was get some crossbow bolts and it's off to an island.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
'I guess…I should have left…a few alive!', Toji grunted as he pulled on the lines attached to the main sail, thankful for the fact that it was a single-mast ship he was on as anything more and he would have had to hire a few guys with his well-earned money.
Then again, knowing how stubborn and money-greedy he was, Toji would probably just kill the entire crew when they got to the next destination to make sure he kept all the cash.
'It's a good thing I'm finally coming up on the island,' Toji thought with a frown as he adjusted his sails, the stormy winds having subsided somewhat as he stared at the island he was approaching.
It was a bit on the smaller side as the island was covered in trees and foliage with a river leading in from the sea and towards what appeared to be a small port.
However, as Toji turned into the river and towards the port, he frowned at the large metallic war cruiser stationed at the port, parts of its body adorned with blood red metal.
On top of the ship flew a flag, the background of it a dark red while a golden yellow phoenix-like bird design was on front of it and the words 'Phoenix' had been painted on the side of the ship with streaks of red paint dripping down from the ship to look like blood.
"Supply crew is returning!", Toji heard someone shout from the island and smirked as he lifted the sails and let the waves carry the ship in towards the island as he went down towards the cargo storage.
It took a minute or so, but he quickly sliced open a hole under him and fell through into the water with a deep gulp of air right as he heard footsteps stepping onto the ship.
The next moment, he quickly swam as deep as he could before spinning around right as he felt a powerful vibration ringing throughout his body, watching proudly as his homemade bombs had turned the ship into a bomb large enough to destroy part of the port as well.
'Time to start this operation,' The boy was a blur as he swam towards the surface, taking out his butterfly sword and shooting out of the water like a bullet right as the first target looked at him.
The next, the man's head fell into the water along with his body as Toji landed on the pier, rushing in towards the shocked pirates before they all turned angry and rushed at him with their weapons held high.
The next target swung their Jii halberd at his head, but Toji easily leapt over it while swinging his sword through the man's skull, ignoring the body collapsing behind him as he quickly parried the sword coming down upon his head before slicing open a third pirate's throat.
Leaping backwards in rapid succession as he stared at the large crew running towards him, Toji tossed his butterfly sword to his left hand while unsheathing his dadao with his right and smirked as he awaited the pirate crew.
The moment the first person swung their kanabo at his head, Toji was already past them with his butterfly sword dripping blood, the person in question looking shocked as their arms fell off before their head followed a second later.
The second was treated to a rapid barrage of stabs to their chest before the boy crouched down, letting a third person cut open his comrade's guts with his Guan Dao before slicing the man open from crotch to forehead.
Not a single blood touched him as Toji rushed further in, his arms a blur as he parried, blocked and countered in rapid succession, leaping with a barrel roll over two men trying to slice him while slicing off their arms and stabbing through their hearts from behind.
Ripping his swords out, Toji did a split kick over a spear-wielder's thrust while kicking away two men trying to attack him from the side, knocking them into some of the other fighters' path while throwing his dadao at the first fighter he could see.
The blade sliced through the person's neck and stabbed deep into the chest of the second one behind them, the force of the impact being enough to knock the pirate back into a few others right as Toji took out his dagger and slowly spun it and his butterfly sword with a smirk.
"What's up? You guys look like you're hesitant on fighting," Toji spoke with a smirk as he stopped spinning his blades, watching as they all glared at him before he looked towards the ship as a voice spoke up.
"Who the hell are you, kid?!", A female voice shouted and he stared at the slim woman looking over from the side of the ship, dressed in parts of the Fire Nation Navy armour while a nasty scar ran from below her left eye all the way down to her mouth.
"You must be Tengfei, captain of the Regenade Phoenix. I'm Toji, a bounty hunter."
"At your age?!" The woman asked and Toji's smirk widened as he shrugged.
"One doesn't need a set age to start hunting people down. Besides, a guy called Dion didn't feel the same way after I killed the crew he was with."
"And I'm guessing he's dead?"
"Yep. Also, if it helps, I'm also the guy that got Dan-Kung," Toji spoke and caught the brief frown that appeared on the woman's face as well as the slightly nervous looks from the three dozen or so guys around him.
"I see. How about you come work for me? You look like you would fit in just nicely considering you killed most of my men."
"Eh, they're were nothing much anyway. What I'm actually here for is some information."
"Okay, then. Ask."
"Where can I find Kangana?", Toji asked as he tapped his dagger against his shoulder, watching as the woman's expression instantly shifted from a smile to a glare before rolling his eyes as she spat.
"Kill him," The moment she said that, Toji was already gone as he carved a bloody line through the men, his body acting on instinct as he rapidly made his way towards the ship.
The woman in question just looked more and more irritated as Toji ripped through her men, feeling slightly disappointed in the supposed 'strongest crew in the Crimson Sails Armada',as well as a tad bit nervous when she saw the boy stabbing through a man's eye while looking at her.
Ripping his dagger and the eye out, Toji flicked it at another pirate before rushing towards him, grinning as he picked up a Guan Dao before chucking it at the side of the warship.
The spear stabbed deep into the side of the ship while leaving half of itself out to form a step, Toji doing the same as he continued to throw spears at the ship with tremendous force until he felt satisfied by his makeshift spear-stairs he had made.
Spinning around and ducking under a slash of a pirate trying to attack him from behind, he fell to the floor along with his intestines as Toji slipped under the legs of a pirate before kicking him off into the river.
Stopping in a runner's position, Toji tensed his legs as he looked at the first target before dashing forward with a strong lunge, rushing towards the edge and leaping towards the ship with a powerful jump that shattered the pier below him.
As he neared the first pole, he grabbed it with a smirk, easily stopping his momentum before flipping onto the pole and jumping from spear to spear with a grin.
As he leapt off of the last one and onto the ship, Toji had to raise an eyebrow at the small crew of five that was gathered in between him and the woman he spoke to, who was standing behind her men with a crossbow already loaded.
"You think you can just come in-!", Instead of letting her finish, Toji pulled his crossbow off before firing a precise arrow right past her men, Tengfei looking shocked as she moved to the side.
However, it was not fast enough as the bolt delivered a shallow cut across her shoulder, firing her own bolt back which Toji easily parried to the side while smirking.
"Nice. Aiming for the throat even though I look like a kid."
"The one who brings me him dead gets fifty gold coins. The one who brings me him alive gets me for a night."
'Oh damn. I can see how she controls them,' Toji thought with a raised eyebrow as he saw the excitement immediately enter her men's eyes, shifting his dagger in his left hand into a reverse grip while crouching as he held his butterfly sword in front of him.
The next moment, chaos broke out on the deck as the men charged at him with battle cries, Toji responding in kind as he held his blade outwards before doing the same.
Unlike the ones below, this group surprised him as they all leapt into the air before unleashing a punch in unison, flames erupting from their fists as he slipped under and rolled away from another bolt shot at him by Tengfei.
He was not given time to get to her as the men landed and spread out, one kicking at him and unleashing a wave of flames while the other four ran to surround him from the sides.
Quickly dodging backwards to get away from the flames, Toji threw his dagger at the ground and made it bounce towards Tengfei, who quickly ducked out of the way while firing a bolt at him.
Dodging under it, Toji sliced the bolt in half before kicking the lower half towards a firebender, who quickly moved out of the way only for the young boy to get in his face.
However, the teen didn't go for the kill as he slid through the man's legs while slicing his ankles open, kicking the man back while dodging forward right as a barrage of flames burned him alive.
Rolling with his jump, Toji leapt away while taking his crossbow off and shot at Tengfei, stopping her from firing a sneak attack as she was forced to jump out of the bolt's path.
Clipping the crossbow to his back once again while frowning at the sight of a fireball being punched at him, Toji took a deep breath before rushing forward and dodging it with a corkscrew.
Surprising the firebender who punched the flames at him as the boy sheathed his sword, Toji ducked and weaved around the follow-up blasts before diving forward with a barrel-roll right as the man tried to deliver a leg sweep.
Swiftly unsheathing his blade and cutting through the back of the firebender's neck, Toji rolled right as a fire stream nearly clipped his leg, stifling his hiss as he felt the flames scorching his foot a bit before smirking as he watched them wash over the first firebender.
The man couldn't even dodge as Toji had cut through his spine and paralyzed him, forcing the man to endure the burning flames currently melting the skin off of his head even as the boy stood up and looked at the three remaining benders.
They didn't rush in as they slowly walk around him, Toji slowly turning with them and making sure none of them got fully behind him along with making sure that Tengfei didn't slip in behind him.
As he turned his gaze to look at the one on his left, he pulled off his crossbow and crouched down right as the one on the right punched out a stream of fire.
Rolling away as the man swung his arm down, Toji notched a bolt while kicking away with a flip as the one in front crashed into his previous spot with a burst of flames, aiming at the flames before shooting at the ground and ricocheting a bolt right into the shoulder of the first one that attacked.
Flipping over to his feet and jumping back as the two uninjured benders attacked him, Toji clipped his bow back on before rushing while unsheathing his sword, taking a deep breath and snapping into his assassin's mindset as he slid under a punch from the first guy.
Catching the fist of the second guy and falling with the force of the punch, Toji hooked his legs around the man's arm before pulling himself out of the way as the man's fist let out a burst of flames, quickly slicing open his wrist before dropping and kicking the man away as the second one attacked.
Dodging and weaving as the firebender punched a rapid barrage of flames at him, Toji bided his time before smirking as he heard the air whistling behind him, ducking right as Tengfei's bolt flew past him and stabbed deep into the man's neck.
The man looked surprised even as Toji sliced outwards and sliced his neck further open, spinning around and moving to the side right as the second firebender rushed in and tried to land a hammer fist down upon his head.
Lunging in with a punch aimed at the man's side, the firebender blocked the punch with his left palm while bringing his right leg around for a high kick, Toji quickly leaning backwards to dodge not only the kick but also the arc of fire that followed after it.
Slicing at the man's supporting leg as the kick sailed over his head, Toji was a bit surprised and excited as the firebender leapt over the slash with a spin, letting go of Toji's fist as he kicked at his head only for the boy to slide under the kick to dodge the burst of flames that came from it.
Slashing upwards, he knew the man felt nothing but pain as he stabbed deep into his upper thigh, ripping his blade out and dodging to the side as the man landed with a grunt only for Toji to crouch down and stab his sword through the man's heart.
Turning to the last firebender and Tengfei, he was not surprised to see her shooting a bolt through the firebender's skull before dropping her crossbow, Toji raising an eyebrow as she smirked and shrugged.
"I know when I'm beat. I surr-!", His sword flew through the air and stabbed deep into her right thigh, the woman's eyes widening as Toji simply pulled his crossbow off and notched a bolt before shooting it through her left arm.
"I…I surrendered!", The woman hissed and Toji simply shrugged as he notched a second bolt and held it to her head.
"I don't care," With those final words, the bolt shot through her skull and stabbed deep into the metal behind her, the boy smirking as he clipped his crossbow back onto his back before looking at the few pirates that had made it to the top.
"I'm letting you guys go because I need someone to tell the rest of your Armada what happened. Then again, only one of you need to be alive," Toji muttered before smirking as he took out his sword and made them flinch in unison as he took a step forward.
"Now then, who's going to be the target?"
A/N: And with that, the prologue ends as we go onto the next arc: Scourge of the Underworld.
Next chapter, we meet a main character from the main story and also move onto the rest of the Crimson Sails Armada fleet.
This part is probably going to be the main focus for the story until we hit close to the main story, which is where I will start moving onto different parts of the universe.
For now, The Crimson Sails are the main antagonists. That's what I'm trying to say.
And now, like always, you can go to my Pat-reon-.-com-/-KingCrimsonNova to read ahead on this as well as many other stories. If you want to, you are free to, but if you don't want, all's good as I will still be uploading here. This is just me trying to get some extra cash.
As always, read, enjoy, review and until next week...
Ba-Bye~!