"Awooooooo!" Sid howled out into the world with her arms wide and a breath dial in each hand. She closed her eyes and basked in the wind and water that blew into her and through the leaves of the tree she was standing on. "Awooooo!"
"Oy, Sid! Come down from there! You're going to catch a cold," Cricket shouted from the base of the ship's mast. They were sailing on Shoujo's ship while Mashira and his crew were right behind them. The sheer fact that Shoujo had a lush, strong tree serving as the main mast of his ship made him lovable in Sid's eyes.
Sid said nothing as she allowed herself a few more moments to be in this blissful state. The sensation of being completely shrouded in this salty mist while the air rushed right past her was nothing she had ever felt before. She felt so alive. She felt so free.
She was beginning to see why Blue Sea people chose to travel on ships instead of using wavers. She might be from the sky but to her, this, this right here was paradise. Even though they had only been sailing for about a week, Sid was sure she could stay like this forever.
"Oy! Kid! Since you're up there charging up those breath things, keep a look out for the island!" Shoujo yelled.
Sid opened one eye, her only compromise from his request. "Okay!"
Boo hovered in front of her, surfing with the wind and enjoying the moment just as much as Sid. Every now and then he would turn to look back at her, to make sure she was still there.
"If you see anything," Sid said to her sky sheep, "Let me know."
"Boo!"
Even though it was getting close to noon, the sun was barely shining through the fog around them. The air was damp and the wind was strong. It pushed the massive scavenging ship with ease. Cricket could only hope that this good weather would carry through to the end. He had forgotten the joys of sailing and being back on one, and traveling once again, brought back all the memories, good and bad, he had pushed aside for so long. He was beginning to realize how much he had missed it.
He walked to the bow of the ship and rested against the railing, taking in his surroundings.
"Old timer, you look very natural there," Shoujo said as he joined his friend.
Cricket chuckled. "I was a captain, remember? But yes, it feels good to be back out at sea."
Shoujo remained quiet as he watched the old diver stare out into the open waters. His lips twisted in thought but just as he was about to suggest something, he was interrupted.
"Hey! I think I see something!" Sid shouted, "I see trees!"
Shoujo and Cricket shared a laugh. "Of course that's the first thing she calls out," Cricket grunted and then turned to call up to the Shandian, "What else do you see? Is it a forest or just a few tall trees? How far away is it?"
"There are clusters of them. Not a forest but they are still very tall and the clusters are far apart from each other and there's a big pile of Vearth- I mean, dirt, that is covered in trees. It's very high!" Sid reported.
"I think she means a mountain," Shoujo mused.
"Anything else?" Cricket asked.
"That's it but it's straight ahead if that helps!"
Shoujo pulled out the Eternal Pose and he stared at the direction of the compass needle. "Yes, it looks like that's Lisart," he said, "Alright, men! Get ready to dock. We're approaching the island. Someone get on the crow's nest and take over for the kid."
"Ay ay, sir!"
"Sid, get down from there! I mean it this time!" Cricket shouted.
"Coming!" Sid said.
There was the sound of rustling leaves, followed by a loud thump as Sid shimmied down the tree and jumped off the last few feet onto the deck. There were leaves stuck to her damp clothes and skin and twigs stuck out of her hair and she couldn't look happier while her sky sheep shook himself dry at her feet. The only cleaning up the Shandian did was a casual wipe of her hand to fling off the stray leaves on her messenger bag.
Cricket raised an eyebrow. "Had fun up there?"
Sid nodded eagerly. "I've never experienced weather like this before. The weather in Skypiea has always been sunny. This is...This is amazing!"
"Captain!" one of Shoujo's men reported from the crow's nest, "If this wind stays, we should be at the island in less than an hour."
--------------------
"An hour?" Law crossed his arms over his chest and stared solemnly at the horizon, "Got it. Thanks, Shachi. Go back and assist Bepo. Penguin!"
"Yes, Captain!"
"Alert the rest of the crew. Who is on Guard Duty this time?"
'I believe it's Uni's turn to stay back and watch the ship for today."
"Tell Uni that Ikkaku will be switching shifts with him."
"EHHHH?!" Shachi and Penguin cried with shock and disappointment.
Law turned and he grinned unkindly. "I'll come down later to personally let her know that she has you two to thank for this."
"B-b-but, Captain! If you blame us then she'll never want to talk to us again!" Shachi protested.
The grin on the captain's face only grew bigger and more unkind. "Exactly. Now go."
"Aw man..." Penguin groaned as the two engineers turned to the hatch and descended to the lower decks. He jabbed Shachi with his elbow as he pushed past his friend, "This is all your fault."
"What was that?" Law shouted and the two quickened their pace and hurried out of sight.
Law rolled his eyes and he returned to watching the sea. The weather was foggy but refreshing, he'll give it that. It was a welcoming contrast to the stifling conditions of being submerged for too long. The sweat on his face was now replaced entirely by the sea's condensation. The air in his lungs was now cool and abundant.
However, it was far too damp for his liking. It was making his hoodie heavy and it was starting to stick to his skin. Hopefully, whatever island they're approaching will be an inhabited island with some sort of shelter for him to dry off. A restaurant would be nice. Maybe even a hotel or resort of some sort.
He was well aware that having been two weeks out at sea, with over half the time underwater, was making his crew restless. Hell, he was getting restless too. He knew it had to be done, though. They had to get out of sight and away from the Navy's attention, especially after the fiasco on the last island.
Being able to go underwater and escape enemy fire was exactly why he agreed to let Shachi and Penguin build this submarine in the first place. Had he known that it would mean spending days and sometimes weeks in confinement, maybe he wouldn't have consented so quickly.
They needed to resupply the ship for sure. Their pantry was only two cans, four jars, and six boxes away from being empty. Not ideal for a crew of 21. The unyielding pressure from sailing at the bottom of the sea had caused some inevitable damage to the ship that needed to be repaired and attended to as soon as possible. Law dreaded to even look at the gauge for the oxygen supply.
The Grand Line was an unrelenting and merciless opponent and Law was well aware of it. Much too aware of it. He wasn't sure if his crew was as cognizant as they should be. Yes, they knew what they signed up for when he asked them to join him but he did ask them under false pretenses.
He would feel guilty for lying to the people who he knew had the utmost respect for him and pledged an undoubtedly strong loyalty to him but he also knew it was for their own good. After all, asking them to take down one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea was a lot less appealing than asking them for help to find the One Piece.
Although, he doubted even if they knew the truth they would second guess their decision to join. If they knew what he truly wanted...What he was truly trying to do...They would lay down their lives to help him.
To the end is what they promised. They would follow him to the end.
If only they knew this would most likely lead to his own end...
Taking down Doflamingo was going to cost him his own life. Law made no qualms about that. Yes, he'll take the proper precautions and avoid if necessary but...if it really should come down to it, it would be worth it. He was willingly putting his life on the line to bring down that monster...but not his crew's. Their life was not a bargaining chip.
He had lost enough people. He couldn't take any more. He refused to allow that to happen again..
The news has been very quiet about the whereabouts on the Warlord and that was troubling to Law. Just because Doflamingo wasn't in the news didn't mean he was not doing anything. He had to be up to something and whatever it was, Law was going to stop it and expose Doflamingo for the monster that he is. It wasn't enough to kill Doflamingo. Law wanted everything the monster cared about destroyed, which meant not only his life but also his power and reputation.
Law was lost in his thoughts and before he knew it, the island was directly in sight. It was a lush island with grass and greenery blanketing everything. At the center of the island was a rocky mountain with sharp cliffs. As the ship sailed around to find a safe place to dock, Law saw that as they got to the opposite side of the island, the source of the smoke were large factories that sat on the mountain with an even bigger fortress at the very center. The mountain was enclosed by a stone wall at the base.
There were also many ships docked on the factory side of the island of many shapes and sizes. Rowboats were anchored next to a few galleons but the majority were caravels. There were two galleons in particular that stuck out of the group. One had a large tree growing right at the center of it's ship and the other one had a giant wooden monkey with cymbals in each hand as its figurehead. None of the ships seemed to have any type of pirate symbol on them so Law had the crew sail back to the greener side of the island to dock.
This was not an island that appeared to be used to hosting pirates, or at least not an island that many frequent currently. They had to proceed with caution. They found a small bay that was semi-enclosed by a naturally made rock wall. The boulders were smoothed out by the waves and they formed a handlike shape. It's rock fingers poked out of the water and shielded whoever rested in its palm from the crashing waves and the jagged coastline.
When they were anchored and ready to disembark, Law split his crew. The medical team was to go with the cook, Verner, to pick up food supplies. The mechanical team, led by Shachi and Penguin, were first to stay behind to assess the condition of the Polar Tang and then to head into town to get anything the ship needed for repairs. That left Law and Bepo to explore the island and get any useful intel they might have.
"Regroup back on the ship in four hours. Is that clear?" Law demanded.
"Yes, Captain!"
The captain and the navigator disembarked first. They walked along the coastline, down a lightly tread road, towards the factory side. The green side of the island turned out to be occupied by farmers. They could see crops of all sorts extending all the way to the base of the mountain with a few farmhouses scattered here and there. They saw more fruits and vegetables than they did people.
"It's so nice," Bepo said, his mouth watering as they passed by a fenced-in cornfield, "Nice and quiet."
"Ah."
"Oh. Captain! Someone's coming."
There was a farmer in the middle of pushing a wheelbarrow full of root vegetables down the trail towards them. He was a middle-aged man with reddish brown hair and dusty blue overalls. As he approached the pair, he slowed down and eyed them warily as he approached.
"Afternoon," he called out, "Are you looking for someone?"
"Why would you say that?" Law asked.
"No one ever comes 'round here unless they're looking for information," the farmer said, "Especially not folks with a pet bear."
"I'm not a pet," Bepo huffed and crossed his arms.
The farmer's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "It can talk?!"
"I can do a lot of other things too," Bepo sulked.
"We're not looking for anyone in particular," Law replied, eager to move both this conversation and himself along, "But we are looking for information. We stopped here to resupply our ship and it would be helpful to know the fastest way to get into town."
"Yep. Yep. Yep," the farmer said with a grin, "Matter of fact, I'm heading there right now. Gonna go and sell my wares. Since you guys are in need of supplies, are you also in need of sustenance? Can't get much better than fresh produce. Pulled them right out the ground this morning. In fact, I have more back at the house. I can only carry so much at once."
"My crew is still getting ready but once they do, you will probably cross paths with them. You can barter with our cook to see what he needs," Law replied, "Now...directions?"
"Ah! Yes," the farmer said and then he turned to face the corn fields, "Hey! Padra! Get out here. I know you're in there somewhere! Padra!"
"Call me Paddy!"
They saw a few corn stalks rustle and shake against each other. Then the shaking carried down the field until a teenage boy with the same color hair as the farmer came running out towards them. Unlike the farmer, his clothes were cleaner. He wore a white button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbow and brown pants. He covered his hair with a flat brown cap. He had a newspaper folded and tucked under his arm and a pen and notepad held tightly in his hands.
The farmer looked the boy up and down and then shook his head with a smile. "It's rude to spy on people, Padra."
The boy ignored the farmer and he tipped his cap to Law. "I noticed that you docked your ship all the way at Whitroy Cove. Why's that?"
"Why not?" Law shot back coolly.
"Now, now, Padra!" the farmer scolded, "This isn't the time for one of your little stories. Just take these men to town while I go find this young man's crew and see what they need from our farm. You said they were docked at Whitroy Cove?"
"Yes, but for the last time, I hate being called Padra. Call me Paddy. I-" the boy started to protested.
"Go along!" the farmer said sternly and then he smiled at the pirates, "Don't mind my boy. He seems to think of himself as some kind of newspaper man-"
"Journalist. I'm a journalist," Paddy corrected.
"It's all because of those factories," the farmer clucked, "Ever since they opened a few years back, all everyone can talk about is the news and the newspaper. They should worry about themselves more rather than sticking their nose in other people's business, I say."
"That's not what a journalist does," Paddy said. He threw his hands up in the air with pencil and notepad still in hand, "It's about revealing the truth and sharing other people's stories."
"What are those factories then?" Law asked, "How does it relate to the news?"
"I'll explain everything on the way to town," Paddy replied and started to head down the road, "Follow me."
"Ah," Law said. He gave a curt nod to the farmer and followed Paddy.
As soon as they were out of earshot from his da, Paddy slowed his pace so he was walking side by side with Law. "You're a pirate, aren't you? You're Trafalgar Law. Captain of the Heart Pirates. You attacked the Naval Base on Benrey Archipelago and earned yourself a bounty of 60 million bellis."
Law raised an eyebrow while everyone else behind him stiffened. "Yes, that's true." He eyed the newspaper still folded under Paddy's arm, "Are you going to report me to the authorities on this island?"
"No," Paddy said, "I'd like to make a deal with you."
"A deal?" Law asked.
"A journalist is only as good as his sources," Paddy said, "And I need one. A good one. An up and coming pirate like yourself would do just fine."
This time both of Law's eyebrows went up and he frowned. He'd been called many things in his life but "up and coming" was not one of them. "So you want me to give you information?"
"You just need to tell me your side of the story," Paddy said and put his pen to his notepad, "What happened on Benrey Archipelago? Did you really take out all three Naval offices and their fleet? What made you do it? Did the marines have something you want? Treasure? A crew member as hostage?"
"Hostage?" Bepo huffed, "I wouldn't call myself a hostage. I was just-"
"Bepo!" Law said sternly.
Bepo's head lowered while Paddy's eyes lit up. "Sorry..."
Paddy turned towards the bear while walking backwards down the road. "So they took you in..." he said and started to scribble on his notepad, "Did your your captain come to save you?"
Law scowled. "That's enough! You already know more than you should. Now it's our turn. Information for information. Tell me more about these factories. What do they have to do with the news?"
Paddy returned to walking normally and he stuffed his notepad back in his pocket, not at all phased by Law's outburst. "Well, up until a few years ago this island was nothing but farmland. It was a quiet life...Life was okay, I guess but that was it. It was just okay... but then our king, King Sadal, he made a deal with the World Economic Journal and they opened up three newspaper printing factories right here on our island! And then everything became amazing! Journalists started coming here to get their stories out as soon as possible. We have a whole newscoo dispatch setup. It's just...it's just been great! It's like the country finally decided to wake up!"
"I see," Law said as they started to walk up a rather steep hill. The road was almost completely covered by grass and weeds, which made it rather slippery since it was still damp from the foggy weather, "So not a lot of people come to this side of the island, I gather?"
"No! Although, the king did offer my dad a large sum of money if we sold him our land. He made that offer to everyone here but most of them said no, which is a shame if you ask me. Would be nice if the town expanded to this side of the island," Paddy said with a shrug and turned around to face Bepo with his pad and pen again, "Information for information. Now, how did you, a big bear, get caught by the marines? Did you do something illegal? Did you kill someone?"
"What?" Bepo gasped, "I would never-"
"Stop! Wait! Sid! Wait!"
"WAHOOOOOOOOOO!"
"Stop. Wait for us. SID! Do you even know where you're going?!"
A woman came backflipping over the top of the hill. When she was at its peak, something on her back caught the sun and everyone was temporarily blinded by it. She jumped high into the air, landed a perfect somersault, and skidded down the slick grass with her bare feet.
"WAHOOOOO!" she cheered.
As she practically flew by Law, the pirate barely had time to register anything about her except for a delicate pair of white wings on her back. That and the look of complete and utter delight exuding from every facet of her face. He also got a look at what had temporarily impaired their vision. The cloth covering whatever she had strapped to her back had slipped, revealing a hint of gold.
"Wait! Sid! Wait! We need to look for Iwan's house together!"
Three men came running after her down the road. Although, calling all of them men would be a stretch. One was definitely a man. He was smoking a cigarette while chasing after the girl and carrying two heavy bags of groceries and knick-knacks in each hand. Law could see a yo-yo at the top of the pile that was in danger of escaping.
Flanking the man were two large ape-like humans. One had flowing green hair and resembled a giant orangutang while the other had on banana yellow headphones and looked very much like a gorilla. The one with the green hair had a stuffed animal, shaped like a fluffy white sheep, draped over his shoulder.
"Are they Minks, Bepo?" Law couldn't help but wonder as the three chasers gave the pirates and Paddy an embarrassed nod before passing by.
"I don't think so, Captain," Bepo said as he sniffed the air around them, "Certainly doesn't smell like it."
"Who is that girl?" Paddy whispered. His eyes were glued to the woman, who was already at the bottom of the hill and cartwheeling through the grass, "What do they want with Ol' Iwan?"
"Don't know," Law said and then gently pushed the boy back up the hill, "Don't care."