One Piece: Chaos Kong

Chapter 37: Second-Mate

"Join my crew Sebas!" Said Diddy with a grin while sitting down beside the grievously injured Sebas, who looked up at him as if he was crazy.

"A-Are you crazy? W-What makes you think I'll ever join your pirate group!?" Exclaimed Sebas in confusion and disbelief between his bouts of coughing and grunts.

"B-Besides, even if I wished t-to join your so-called crew, I've been defeated twice a-and am on the verge of dying." Added Sebas as he lay in a puddle of his own blood while breathing heavily, to which Diddy smirked.

"Hehe, I wasn't asking you, Sebas; It was an order! Either join my crew, or I'll leave you to die." Remarked Diddy with a chuckle, though his words caused Sebas to squint as he eyed him.

"L-Leave me to die? That must mean you have a way to save me, don't you?" Asked Sebas lightly as he spit out more blood while his weakly beating heart continued to slow down.

"Yes, I can save you, but as I said, if you don't wholeheartedly join my crew, I'll have no reason to save you; besides, I don't desire someone who'll join my crew just so they won't die, someone like that will be useless." Replied Diddy with a slight grin as he rubbed his head, which emitted waves of throbbing pain.

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While weakly lying on the ground in a near-death state after having been defeated twice, I looked up at the one responsible for this and intently scrutinized his expression; I've been alive for a long time, and I've dealt with many people, so I'm very confident in judging someone's character.

Crazy, power-hungry, battle junkie, instinct-driven, and incredibly determined; those were some of the few characteristics I could glean from him. Following such a person would only result in a quick or gruesome death, yet at the same time, no one can reach the top of this world without containing at least a little bit of these characteristics.

'Seeing this man slightly reminds me of my younger self; now that I think about it, when did I start to lose those parts of myself? No, I hadn't lost them; I can sense them deep within me; all this time, I've been suppressing them unknowingly.' Mused Sebas with a glint as he looked at Diddy while reminiscing about his younger self, the days when he desired more power and pushed his mind to its limit.

"I-I've gotten complacent; it s-seems creating and managing a gang has unknowingly deprived me of my true self, turning me into nothing but a man who would willingly accept death before achieving his ambition." Said Sebas as he looked a the ceiling, his words slightly confusing Diddy though he didn't bother questioning it and left him be.

"T-Tell me, Kong, w-what is your desire, your dream; what is the reason you fight?" Asked Sebas as he turned and looked at Diddy, who displayed a feral grin.

"To be the strongest! I've always wished to become the strongest, the absolute pinnacle of power, and I won't stop until I reach it!" Stated Diddy with an unshakeable will that Sebas could perceive, amazing him at Diddy's sheer determination.

"T-That's a crazy goal, t-to be the strongest, no one has ever achieved that; such a dream is even more difficult than becoming the King of the Pirates. W-What if you die during your travels? What then?" Replied Sebas as he coughed blood while eyeing Diddy, who laughed at his words.

"Die? Hahaha, I refuse to die! Now that I'm given a chance to truly chase after my dream, I'll never stop, no matter what obstacles and tribulations I'll face in the future!" Declared Diddy with a grin while Sebas laughed at well, though given his state, he started spitting blood again.

Feeling myself weaken, I deemed that my time had come, and while if it were before, I would've gladly accepted my death, yet after being defeated twice by Kong and then speaking with him, he had awakened something that's been suppressed for far too long, something that was on the verge of being lost forever.