"We're back here, Water 7," says Jude.
"Well, let's do what we need to do here. Fill our supply, find a weaponsmith, find a tailor, and maybe recruit some people. Anyway, we will stay here until our log changes in 7 days. You can do what you want but keep training every day and don't slack off. Dismiss!" says Buggy to his crew.
"AYE AYE!" replies everyone before they leave the ship.
The crew splits and everyone does what they want for now. Buggy goes to Tom's Workers with Ruff & Jude following him. These 2 really like to follow him every time they are on an island.
Tom sees Buggy come and gets elated, "Oh, Buggy. You've returned."
"Yeah, we changed our plan and decided to go to New World now," says Buggy.
"So that's how is it. How's your ship?" asks Tom.
"Good, she is still exactly the same as when you built her. We haven't changed a single piece of wood so far. There is a modification before, but it's just temporary and doesn't change the main parts," says Buggy.
"You never change anything? Does that mean the ship never gets hit by your enemies?" asks Tom.
"No, we have better weapons so we could defeat our enemies before they even get the chance to shoot. Also, Pearl is faster than any ship that we've met so none of them can even get closer to hit her," says Buggy while smirking.
"Heh, that sure is great. So, you need my help with something?" asks Tom.
"Yeah, it's not about the ship, I just want to ask if you know a good weaponsmith and a tailor. It will be better if they are young and want to join a pirate crew," says Buggy.
"You want to recruit them, huh? I can understand the weaponsmith, but tailor?" asks Kokoro who has just come.
"Oh, Kokoro-san. Well, my crew has grown bigger and will keep getting bigger. It's good, but there is a problem," says Buggy.
"The boys never care about their clothing. They can wear the same clothes for a week. Also, they never want to spend their money to buy clothes," says Jude with a disgusted expression.
"That's why I'm thinking of recruiting a tailor to make clothes for them," says Buggy.
"Hmm, so that's how it is. But I think just having a tailor won't solve this problem. You can get clothes anywhere, after all. What you need is to make your crew aware of hygiene. Being unhygienic is one of the biggest sources of illness anywhere in the world," says Kokoro.
Buggy thinks about it and Kokoro's words make sense to him. Rather than a tailor, what he needs is someone who will remind the boys of their daily needs. Someone with a mother role for the crew.
Mantis is somewhat a mother for the crew because she is the one who usually gets angry at them and stops their mischiefs. But she just acts when there is a problem. What they need is someone who is dedicated to this work, like a secretary.
*Puru puru puru*
Buggy's small denden mushi suddenly rang off, so he picks it up.
"Cricket here, I've got a tailor that wants to join us," says Cricket through the denden mushi.
"THAT'S FAST!?" says everyone in surprise.
"Well, Mantis wanted to fix some of her clothes and brought up the topic of recruitment. Then suddenly the tailor's daughter which is also a tailor said she wants to join us," says Cricket.
"Well, Cricket, about that-," says Buggy before Cricket says something else.
"Furthermore, she is a manager. She has managed her parents' clothing store for 3 years now. You are searching for a secretary to manage a few things in our crew, right?" asks Cricket.
"Where are you? I will go there immediately," says Buggy.
Cricket tells Buggy his location before closing the call. Buggy & Jude immediately go there while Ruff stays in Tom's workshop. He still wants to help with Tom's sea train project because he is very interested in it.
Buggy & Jude arrive at the location that Cricket said. It's a small clothing store near Dock 3. Cricket is waiting outside while Mantis is inside the store.
"It's a nice store and the clothes are pretty. Hmm? But the name is Dela Tailor even though they sell clothes?" asks Jude.
"Well, it's because they are tailors and this is a tailor shop. All these clothes are their own products that they made in free times," says Cricket.
"Just how much free time that they have to make these many clothes?" asks Buggy with a sweatdrop.
They enter the store and see Mantis is talking with a girl around her age and a middle-aged couple. The girl has long light green hair & eyes, and she also wears square glasses. She has a strict face and Buggy will never think that she is the type that will join a pirate crew.
"I'm Buggy, the Captain of Clown Pirates. Are you the one who wants to join our crew?" asks Buggy.
"Yes, my name is Dela. This is my father Madi and my mother Nia," says Dela.
"Alright. Why do you want to join us?" asks Buggy.
Dela then explains that she always lived in Water 7 and never goes outside. She wants to see the fashion from other islands & cultures. That's why she often asked to join some explorer crews, but her friend always stopped her.
"He always said that explorer crews are weak and can't protect me if pirates attack the ship," says Dela.
"Your friend is correct. It's very rare for explorer crews to be strong. Also, they usually have tasks to do because most of them are sent by Nations, so they won't recruit people anyway," says Cricket.
"I still don't understand why you decide to join our crew. We are pirates, you know? We are bad people, criminals, and hunted by Marine. Won't it be more dangerous for you to join us?" asks Buggy.
"Well, my friend was talking about you a few months ago and he said that you are different from other pirates. I got curious so I tried to investigate it and I'm very surprised by what I found. You guys never really do the crimes like other pirates. You just fight other pirate crews or Marine and never attack civilians. There are no civilian casualties at all on your record. That's why I decided that it's fine to join you," says Dela.
"Oh, that's good. You don't just try to join us without knowing who we are. That's good, you need to be cautious in this dangerous world. But I'm very curious about this friend of yours. How did he know about us and even mention it to you?" asks Buggy.
"Well, he said he has met you and even worked together with you before," says Dela.
Buggy & co raise their eyebrows and try to think of who this person is, but they can't find an answer.
"Can you tell us his name?" asks Mantis.
"Yes, he is-," says Dela before she gets interrupted by someone who suddenly opens the store's door loudly.
Everyone looks at it and sees a teenage boy around Buggy's age there. He has dark blue hair and rather thick lips. He also has tattoos on both of his upper arms. The Clowns know him and are surprised to see him here.
"Iceburg, why are you in a rush like that?" asks Dela.
"*Pant pant* I heard there are some pirates who come here, so I got worried. But it seems everything is fine and I never thought that it will be you guys," says Iceburg.
"Is Iceburg the friend that you keep talking about?" asks Mantis.
"Yes, he said he worked with you to build your ship a few months ago," says Dela.
The Clowns look back and forth at Dela & Iceburg before they smirk. "So that's how it is."
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You can read up to 35+ chapters ahead of this fanfic novel & the other one on my Pa_treon page if you are interested.
Clicking that power stone/like also seem to be a good choice, hehe.
I've uploaded:
1. Chapter 215 of Fairy Tail: Sun Eater
2. Chapter 226 of Transcended as Lord Buggy
https://www.pa_treon.com/CaptMermain
(the web didn't use _underscore_, it's to avoid censorship)