Smooth Sailing Chapter 11: Clatter Town 4 (Patreon)

Chapter 11: Clatter Town 4

When I woke up after my nap, it was dusk. Though the sinking sun had done nothing to stop the partying. If anything, the townsfolk were getting even louder!

Yawning, I sat up and check myself over. For a moment I marveled at Alvida’s body’s healing factor. Bruises and burns that should have taken weeks to fully heal on my old Earth body were now almost gone, and the aches and pains were faded.

Once I’d finished examining myself, I glanced at Medaka, and saw she was still sleeping. Her own injuries looked like they’d take a little bit longer to heal, but her broken nose and busted lip would probably be fully healed within a week, at most.

Nobody else was in the clinic, and so I stood up and got dressed. Once I’d done so, I Slipped out of the building, not wanting to alert anyone to my plans. With my Devil Fruit helping people’s eyes Slide off of me as I made my way out of the town, and returned to the Lovey Dovey. Boarding it, I sailed over to the wreck of Ganzack’s ship.

To my relief, the King Crab did not actually sink after Medaka and I were rescued from it. Since the ship was too close to the shore, it ended up getting stuck on the reefs and sand banks of the cove.

Half of it was submerged, though, and for the moment, the vessel was being left alone. I had no doubt it part of it would be scavenged. But for now, it sat like a tombstone in the water, a monument to the destruction of the Ganzack Pirates and the death of its captain and crew.

Instead of partying with the villagers, or resting as Eliza and Jodie had urged me to before my nap, I had found myself returning to the ship, drawn to it. Or, to be honest, to the body that had been left where it had fallen.

Ganzack’s body had been left where it’d fallen, and his remains had been pecked at by gulls and nibbled on by crabs – a fitting way for the crustacean themed pirate to go, I supposed.

After shooing away the animals, I stared at the headless body and the large red puddle it lay in for a bit. This was… were humans always so full of blood?

“Jeez, you did a number on him,” Buggy grunted, waddling over.

I jumped in shock and spun around, heart pounding in my chest, not having heard him sneaking up on me. “Where’d you come from?!”

“I was in the boat when you took it for a spin,” he replied blandly. “Trying to update your maps with the charts and stories the islanders have about the Bund Span. Imagine my surprise when I found you awake and sneaking over here.”

“I wanted to see my handiwork, I suppose,” I muttered, looking back at the Pirate Shogun’s remains.

“That so? Well, I saw the fight from the cliff. Reckless. Lotta room for improvement, too. You clearly have never had many fights with anyone your equal, and it showed. Though I did like the part where you hit his head so hard it went soaring into the horizon like a baseball!” Buggy cackled, a tad bloodthirstily. “Guess that’s why they call you Iron Mace Alvida!”

“I thought he could take it,” I muttered, not bothering to look up from Ganzack’s corpse. I’d noticed him following me, but hadn’t bothered to do anything about it.

“You’re obscenely strong, way beyond normal East Blue levels, so I’m not surprised,” the clown-nosed pirate commented, waddling closer. He seemed to be able to sense something was off with me, and he glanced at me face. “What? Never killed before?”

“No,” I replied shakily. He stared at me, obviously surprised a pirate with a five million beri bounty had never stained their hands.

And maybe Alvida had. Some of her memories seemed to imply as such. But me? I’d never done anything like this before.

After a moment Buggy sighed, before slapping my thigh. It Slid right off, but it still grabbed my attention, and I looked over at him.

“Life is something precious. Don’t waste it,” Buggy declared. “But don’t be afraid to take a life if it means saving another. That is the way of the sea.”

“That’s… rather poetic, really. Who said it?” I wondered.

“My captain told me that, after my first kill,” Buggy admitted, and I blinked, surprised to hear advice passed down from the Pirate King himself.

“Who was it?” I wondered. “Who’d you kill, I mean?”

“Some guy. An enemy on another pirate crew. He had pink hair, and that’s really all I remember. But he died because my knife went into his chest and perforated his heart,” he stated. “Killing does get easier. And sometimes, it is unavoidable. My captain didn’t kill. I think the last time he actually killed someone was… well, it was before my time on his ship.”

He raised a finger. “But! My captain could get away with it because he was strong. Mercy is something only the strongest can afford to offer, after all. Another pearl of wisdom he passed on to me. He could fight and win without having to resort to killing because he was powerful enough to do so.”

“Me? I avoid killing because that gets heat on ya you don’t want. The Marines really step up their game if they confirm you’ve got a lot of blood on your hands.” He slapped my leg again. “So, if you want to avoid killing anyone ever again, get stronger so you get to make that decision for yourself.”

Buggy then frowned. “However, sometimes… sometimes it may be necessary. In this instance? Had you spared him, what would happen next?”

At that, I frowned. “He’d be arrested?”

“Right. But this island ain’t under the Marines’ jurisdiction. Sure, the locals could hand him over if a Marine vessel passed by, but odds are they would have to decide his fate themselves. And after what he did? Well, Ganzack would either rot in jail forever or he’d meet the noose. Same outcome if the Marines got their grubby mitts on him, actually,” Buggy pointed out.

“That’s… that’s not the same,” I muttered, but I wasn’t sure if I was able to believe that. From the way the red-nosed shorty snorted, he didn’t believe my protests either.

“Ask yourself, then, if it matters whether you’re the one who pulled the trigger or not when the outcome would be the same either way?” he asked me, before walking off. Probably to finish the maps or loot the King Crab’s cargo hold.

Pondering Buggy’s words, I eventually nodded my head in agreement. He was right. If I’d captured him, his fate was either a long stint in jail, or a brief meeting with the headsman. And if I’d beaten him and let him go? Then all the people he would hurt afterwards would be my fault.

Not all people I’d face going forward deserved to die if they lost a fight with me. Yet there were some whom I could not risk sparing. People who would not turn over a new leaf if given a second chance.

‘I have to become strong,’ I decided, clenching my fists.

Buggy was right. Roger was right. The weak cannot afford mercy. If I want to be able to fight and let my opponents live afterwards, then I must be powerful enough to win decisively.

Mind made up, I knelt down beside the rotting corpse I was responsible for making. Though it was gross, I couldn’t hide my curiosity, either. To that end I stripped the shirt off of Ganzack’s back, revealing the metal exoskeleton beneath.

‘It looks like he fused the cybernetics with his own spine, allowing him to control it as if they were his own limbs by piggybacking off the signals sent by his brain to the nervous system in the rest of his body,’ I guessed, examining everything.

I couldn’t be entirely sure this was what had been done, as I lacked a lot of necessary technical and medical knowledge, but I had a feeling I was close. Leaning in closer, I poked and prodded at the smooth red metal decorating his spine.

What Ganzack had made appeared to be a primitive form of Mind-Machine interface, and I wondered if perhaps there’d been some sort of control chip or additional parts stuck in his brain that helped with the seamless integration.

Sadly, without his head to examine I’d never know for sure, and I wasn’t willing to root around in the brain matter littering the deck to find anything that might be left there.

Why was I doing this? Because there’s more than one kind of strength. Knowledge is power, after all. By examining Ganzack, I hoped to be able to obtain even more information about his technology and steal it for myself and my crew.

Unable to glean anything more just by examining Ganzack’s body, I got up and wandered into the warship, seeking out the captain’s quarters. It wasn’t hard to find: big and ostentatious with a golden crab on the front of the door, I entered by breaking in.

Within, a large King-sized bed sat pressed against one wall, while a desk, shelf, and a few chests rested against the bed, thrown there by the ship listing and partially sinking. The floor had been carpeted, and it muffled my footsteps as I stepped through the doorway.

‘He’s got to have kept some notes about his machines somewhere,’ I thought as I rifled through his room. Where else would he keep such important information except close to him?

My guess turned out to be right, as I discovered a hidden compartment inside of the desk after a bit of searching. Inside of it were several journals containing his personal notes, as well as the blueprints for his oddly advanced cybernetics.

“Damn,” I murmured aloud as I flipped through a collection of schematics for a series of limb enhancers. “Say what you want about the bastard, but Ganzack was smart.”

He was no Vegapunk or Franky, but he wasn’t far off. His brilliance lay primarily in mechanical engineering, but he’d also dabbled in biology and medical sciences in order to understand the best way to integrate his cybernetics with a human body.

And just as I’d thought, Ganzack had invented a Mind-Machine interface device. It did indeed need to be attached to the spot where the spine met the skull, and it let the user control robotic limbs as easily as one could use their original parts.

Didn’t seem to be perfect, though. He could only accurately control some of his cybernetics at a time, and was unable to use them all at once in tandem. That explained why he hadn’t tried shooting me in conjunction with his crab claws, and tended to only use one at a time.

Regardless, the tech Ganzack had invented was very impressive even with the flaws.

‘Shame I don’t have any way to build something like this right now,’ I thought with a frown. I lacked the technical know-how and the materials to construct fully integrated robotic limbs right now.

Still, I took it all, tucking away the journals filled with blueprints under my arm. Maybe at some point in the future I’d find a way to use the knowledge they contained.

‘Now to see what else is lying around,’ I decided, and started to ransack Ganzack’s room.

I found a couple sea charts that had a great more detail about the Bund Span than my own, as well as a map of the East Blue that denoted the different locations of Marine bases. A useful discovery.

After finding a few wads of beri, some interesting books, and stealing Ganzack’s pillows, I went back up top to get some help for searching the rest of the ship.

“Hey, Buggy!” I called out towards the Lovey Dovey.

“WHAT?!” he shouted back.

“Wanna help me plunder some booty?!” I asked, and a moment later Buggy was climbing back up onto the deck of the King Crab.

“I am always up for taking treasure!” he cackled. “Let’s see what they have!”

I had a grin on my face as well as we began to loot the enemy’s ship. The Lovey Dovey wasn’t very big, so we had to be rather selective in what we took, but we ended up with quite a bit, including spare metal and parts for Ganzack’s crab-themed robo-exoskeleton, around a million beris worth of jewels, and another quarter million in cash from the crew quarters and some hidey-holes scattered about.

Extra food was grabbed as well, mainly seasonings like pepper, cinnamon, and a variety of dried herbs, but a barrel of lemons was also scrounged up, as well as a couple bottles of fine wine. Spare medical supplies were stocked up on, along with things like soap and shampoo to stay clean. Ganzack used a very expensive and fancy brand that I snagged for myself.

We left the weapons for the townsfolk, as we couldn’t really fit a lot of cannons onto my tiny boat, as well as the rest of the food. Hopefully it would be useful to rebuild and defend themselves with.

There sadly wasn’t much else to take, as it seemed that the King Crab wasn’t ready to be deployed, and so most of the pirate’s supplies were being kept in their base at the Devil’s Tower. The haul we did get wasn’t terrible, though, and we brought it back to the Lovey Dovey to split with the rest of the crew.

“Come on, let’s head back to the party,” Buggy said as he dropped a sack of jewels. “I need a drink!”

That was a sound plan, and we sailed back to Clatter Town. Sadly, Eliza and Jodie noticed I was missing from the clinic at some point, and when Buggy and I tried to sneak back in, we got caught.

The scolding the two of us received was quite terrible! It was worth it, though. Not that they appreciated me saying so…

111 &&& 111

The next morning, I was up bright and early, well-rested and feeling much better after sleeping off my injuries. But there were things to do, and so it was time to do them. No more lazing around!

Today was going to be spent here in Clatter Town. I’d had to argue and fight with Buggy over this, but in the end I got what I wanted. And that was a chance to stay here for a bit and start preparing for the future.

The fight with Ganzack had shown me a few things. Firstly, while my Devil Fruit granted me an impressive defense against most forms of attack, it still had its weaknesses.

Ropes and chains that were tied tightly enough could prevent me from Slipping out of them, and though I hadn’t tested it yet, nets were probably the same when it came to trapping me. Then, things like adhesives were also capable of incapacitating me. Not to mention my Smooth skin did absolutely nothing against explosions or the effects caused by them, like the shockwaves.

I had a feeling I’d be able to eventually overcome some of these chinks in my metaphorical armor, such as finding a way to Slip free of ropes, chains, and nets, and making my skin so Smooth and Slippery that not even glue could stick to me, but it would take a lot of training.

Furthermore, while I had a bunch of ideas for how to utilize the powers of the Smooth-Smooth Fruit, the fact remained that they were mainly defensive in nature. If I wanted to increase my combat capacities, I’d need to find a way to use it for that purpose, as well as getting new tricks.

The most obvious way to do so would be learning Armament Haki. With that, I’d be able to fight other Devil Fruit users more effectively when I inevitably ran into them. Learning and mastering the Color of Armament would take a lot of time, though, and I needed something a bit more immediately usable.

‘And the best way to do that right now is personal gear and other kinds of equipment!’ I thought to myself as I looked over the forge I was being allowed to borrow, courtesy of the grateful townsfolk.

It had the look and feel of a medieval smithy, but included all sorts of modern-ish technology to assist. There were a number of devices like induction forges, welding torches, lathes, and, precision grinders, but also ones that were a lot more esoteric that I didn’t recognize from my own (admittedly limited) experience with metalworking.

Plus, as it turns out, the secret of Clatter Town’s incredible craftsmanship was the way they made steel. To be precise, they had figured out a form of stainless steel alloy.

‘There must be a chromium deposit somewhere on the island, possibly even nickel,’ I mused to myself. Those were necessary materials to create Stainless Steel out of regular steel.

“Very impressive,” I said, and the elderly man nodded at the praise.

Before Ganzack, he had been a foreman for the town’s foundry and something of a spokesman for the citizens. He was also Medaka’s grandfather, and eager to do whatever he could to help Clatter Town’s heroes.

“Of course. We’re quite proud of our metallurgy and craftsmanship.”

“And you’re letting me have free run of your personal workshop?” I asked in clarification.

“You helped save us. This is the least we can do,” the retired craftsman said. “I do wish we could give you a better place to work, but the foundry will take a while to repair thanks to the damage that wicked pirate did to it.”

“Appreciate this all same. Welp! I’ve got a lot of work to get to,” I said, rolling up my sleeves.

“Let me help!” Medaka called out, running into the forge. She had a few bandages on her face, and still had a black eye, but the red-read had healed up nicely from yesterday’s beating.

“Medaka! Don’t run!” the old man scolded her, and she winced, quickly apologizing to her grandfather, before looking back to me.

“Let me help!” she repeated.

“Sure,” I said.

“I can make really cool stuff! I made my own helmet and armor and there’s… wait, what?” the ten-year-old blinked, surprised by how quickly I agreed.

“If you want to help, then I won’t say ‘no,’” I replied. “Now come on, and show me what you can do.”

Medaka grinned happily at that. Her grandfather hung around for a bit, watching us to make sure we actually did know what we were doing, but an hour in he left, satisfied by our competency.

I was pleasantly surprised by Medaka’s skill. She was very good at handling metal. She wasn’t big enough to pick up hammers and pound away at the metal, shaping it on an anvil, but the island’s technology base included molds, crucibles, and other mechanical tools that meant she didn’t need to rely on that.

She was strong, though. I’d known that fact already seeing how fast she could move while wearing such heavy armor, but watching her lift things that were close to hundreds of pounds with ease was impressive.

‘When she’s taller, she’ll be able to use a hammer like a proper blacksmith,’ I thought to myself as I watched her work the bellows.

I then rolled up my sleeves and tied a bandana around my head to keep my hair out of my eyes. Together, Medaka and I got to work, and for several hours we toiled away in the workshop, creating equipment for my crew.

“Phew!” I exclaimed, wiping my forehead clear of sweat. “That’s the first of ‘em done.”

A pair of steel cutlass blades were laid out on a workbench, along with a battleaxe head and the various components for making a pair of pistols. And not just any pistols, but actual revolvers!

The former would go to Hep, Pop was getting an upgrade to his axe, and Pep would be the best damn gunslinger I could make him into.

Only the metal bits had been made so far. I’d given the craftsmen in town the task to create the hilts, axe haft, and grips for the revolvers. But they’d be able to do so quickly. I hoped. Didn’t want to stick around for too much longer, or I feared canon would pass us by.

‘And I really, really want to see the Straw Hat Pirates in Loguetown,’ I thought to myself. The thought of meeting them in the flesh was… well, it was something I couldn’t help but feel absolutely eager to do.

Wrenching my thoughts away from that, I instead looked down at the other objects I was making.

‘Still working on the weapons for Jodie and Eliza,’ I mused. ‘Almost done, though. Making these designs was fun.’

For Eliza, she’d be getting a pair of gloves. I’d taken inspiration from the wire-gloves used by Walter in Hellsing, and the seamstress would be able to manipulate thin, steel garrote wire that emerged from a spool hidden within the glove, near the wrist.

Dubbed ‘Threads of Babylon,’ the gloves would give Eliza a short to medium-ranged combat option that synergized well with her impressive dexterity. I’d seen her weave cat’s cradles and other shapes using spare thread in mere seconds, and knew she’d be able to make use of this weapon.

Eliza also got two pairs of bodice sheers, which were sharp, dagger-like scissors for cutting, as the name implied, bodices and other pieces of fabric. The ship’s seamstress could use them as backup weapons if needed, as well as with her work onboard.

For her lover, I’d gone with something a bit more straight forward. Instead of a complex weapon that didn’t suit her, I instead crafted Jodie a Monk’s Spade. It was a kind of combat shovel invented by the same Chinese guys who invented Kung Fu. It could function as a shovel – useful for her gardening work – but it also had a sharp, bladed edge perfect for bisecting enemies.

I also made Jodie a bunch of weaponized gardening handtools, like a dagger-trowel, a hand rake that could double as a sai, and a couple more along those lines. Shockingly, it wasn’t very hard to turn ordinary gardening implements into deadly weapons.

‘Suppose that’s why ninjas used to disguise themselves as gardeners back in the olden days,’ I mused.

Glancing down at the revolver components strewn about on the work bench, as well as the other parts for Eliza’s gloves, I mentally calculated how long it would take me to put it all together once the villagers were done with their own side of things.

‘I’ll also have to stock up on spare metal and parts for making repairs. To say nothing of equipment for any new crew I pick up,’ I thought to myself.

I had a few ideas for new members of the Iron Mace Pirates. Wouldn’t be able to get ahold of any of them anytime soon, but that was no reason not to start thinking about it.

Last but not least, there was my weapon. My giant spiked club had endured the battle quite well, just a few scratches and gouges to buff out. Honestly, there wasn’t much else I could do with it. The mace was already big, heavy, and covered in sharp pointy bits. That was basically all a mace needed.

Unless I could find some Seastone to coat the spikes, I’d just have to leave it alone for now. I did have the idea of attaching a chain or rope to the ring on the bottom of the hilt so I could make it into a flail or just make it easier to carry with me, but that was about it.

“Finished!” Medaka called out, and I looked over from my own work to check out the items she was currently working on.

“Lookin’ good!” I praised, shooting her a thumbs up.

Medaka had repaired her helmet and armor, buffing out the dents and gashes, and added a bit more articulation to the joints so they moved more easily. She would still be wearing a heavy set of full plate armor, but it’d be less cumbersome.

The young red-head had also made a new naginata, this time with a shaft made of a stainless steel rod. This was one polearm that wouldn’t be getting sheared in half so easily again. And though it was heavier than her old one, she’d already proven she was physically strong enough to lift it.

“Now all you need is to learn how to actually fight,” I told her, mussing up her hair which caused her to pout and swipe my hand away.

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” she grumbled. “I suck.”

“Everyone starts somewhere,” I assured her. “Give it a few years and you’ll be able to lay the smackdown on anyone in the East Blue!”

Medaka smiled cheerfully at that, before fidgeting a little. It looked like she wanted to ask me something, but anything she was about to say was interrupted by the door to the workshop swinging open.

“Are you done yet?” a gruff voice demanded as Buggy stepped inside, wincing a bit at the heat.

“Almost,” I assured him. “The townsfolk are giving the finishing touches to the weapons. We’ll be able to leave on schedule tomorrow morning.”

“Good,” the blue-haired midget grunted. “We’ve stuck around too long already, I want to get going so I can find my damn ship and crew!”

“We will,” I promised. “Now, before you go, we have something for ya. Medaka?”

“Here, Mr. Clown!” Medaka said, running over to Buggy, a bundle of cloth in her hands.

He grumbled a little under his breath about ‘disrespectful brats’ before turning to me. “What is this?”

“Medaka and I worked together to create something for you,” I explained to him.

“Yup! Thank you for saving us!” Medaka said, handing over the bundle, and he took it cautiously. When it didn’t explode or burst into flames, he unwrapped it, and looked with curiosity at what lay within.

They were a pair of metal gauntlets, not unlike Sauron’s from the Lord of the Rings movie with the fingertips ending in long, sharp spikes. They were made from some of the unknown red alloy we’d reclaimed from Ganzack, and as a result were much harder than even Clatter Town’s famous stainless steel.

“Go on! Try ‘em on!” Medaka urged, and Buggy took his gloves off before fitting the metal gauntlets on. They looked sort of awkward on his reduced body, but they still fit him nicely.

“Now, use your power to Chop off a finger,” I suggested, and he did so. His left pinky popped off, and floated next to him with the spiked metal tip still attached. Slowly, Buggy’s eyes began to widen, and I grinned as he finally got it.

“You broke your throwing knives against Ganzack’s crab arms, so we figured we should get you some replacements,” I explained. “Since you can control your Chopped off body parts, I figured if you detached your fingers you could do something with that. Have them fly around and stab or cut your opponents. You basically now have ten knives you can control at will.”

“It’s like a swarm of angry, metal bees!” Medaka said excitedly.

Buggy made a gesture with his left hand, and all five of his fingers popped off. He then sent them flying through the air, where they impaled a nearby wooden dummy I’d been using to test my creations. The deadly digits sunk deep into the wood, and he summoned them back to his side. He grinned viciously as they seamlessly reattached to his body, and he gave me and Medaka a nod.

“Fine work,” he said. “Thank you.”

Medaka grinned at the praise and I also smirked, glad to see he’d found it useful.

“Well, I’ll see you at the boat later,” I told Buggy. “I’m going to finish up with the rest of the weapons.”

He nodded and waddled off, though I knew from the distant look in his eyes that he was thinking about how to use his new weaponized gauntlets.

“It’s getting a bit late,” I said, peering up at the position of the sun. We’d worked through the morning well into the afternoon, and I was getting hungry.

The rumble from Medaka’s stomach told me she was also eager for a late lunch or early dinner, and I patted her shoulder.

“Let’s grab some grub,” I suggested. That was an idea she could get behind, and we left the forge behind and wandered inside her grandfather’s house to see what was on the menu.

111 &&& 111

The next morning, several people gathered at Clatter Town’s dock, where the Lovey Dovey was moored and ready to go. There was my crew, of course, but several people from the town had come out to bid us farewell.

“Thank you once more for your help,” Medaka’s grandfather told us as we prepared to leave.

“Please, don’t thank us. Makes us feel like we aren’t proper pirates,” I joked. He snorted a little at that, but shook his head.

“Very well. We won’t thank you. If the Marines come, we’ll claim you harassed us most cruelly with your singing.”

“My voice is Smooth as butter, thank you very much!” I huffed in mock indignation. And it was true! Alvida’s singing voice was very nice.

“Where’s Medaka?” Eliza asked, looking around when she didn’t catch sight of the red-head.

“She was upset to hear you were leaving, so she hasn’t come out of her room since last night,” the old man replied. He had a knowing glint in his eye that I wasn’t sure I liked, but ignored it for the moment.

I cleared my throat. “Thanks for the help with our stuff. You guys do good work.”

The townsfolks had worked hard to get the weapons and gear I’d made polished and ready to go.

“If I might offer a suggestion before I go, though,” I continued. “Don’t dismantle the Devil’s Tower. Keep it.”

“Aye. Never know when another pirate will try to attack our island,” Medaka’s grandfather agreed. “We’ll add some improvements, of course. Damn thing can’t even aim! No idea what Ganzack’s plan was for a cannon that can only shoot straight up!”

We all had a good laugh at that, and proceeded to board the ship. It was time to go and continue our adventure – and to find Buggy’s crew.

‘God, I hope they haven’t been eaten by cannibals already,’ I thought to myself with a mental wince.

Setting sail, we departed the island, and soon, it vanished from view. “Well, that was fun,” I said cheerfully.

“You have an odd definition of ‘fun,’” Buggy replied dryly.

“Ah, come on, you can’t say that it wasn’t exhilarating to bust some heads!” I chuckled. “Didn’t it remind you of when you weren’t a boring old clown?”

“I’ve always been a boring clown. The ‘old’ part is merely something new,” Buggy drawled. “Safety is better. Means I get to enjoy my treasures after I get them.”

“Mm. Fair enough,” I shrugged. “Now, where to next?”

“Well, first I was thinking we check-” Buggy began, only to be interrupted by a bunch of goats going bananas in the cabin. They were bleating like mad, and I also heard someone shouting in shock.

Concerned, I looked around. Hep, Pep, and Pop were out on deck, same as Eliza and Jodie. Nobody should be in the cabin at all! Now feeling curious, I went over to the door and opened it. When I did so, a bunch of goats spilled out, along with a very familiar armored red-head.

“Medaka?!” I exclaimed.

“Ah!” she yelped, quickly scrambling to her feet. “Miss Alvida!”

“What are you doing here?” I asked incredulously. Why had she snuck aboard the Lovey Dovey?

“I want to come with you!” Medaka shouted, and I blinked, surprised by her demand.

“It’s… you do remember I’m a pirate, right?” I asked slowly. “Just like the people who enslaved your island?”

“You’re a good person, though!” she retorted. “Nothing at all like a pirate!”

“She has you there,” Buggy snickered.

Hep, Pep, and Pop all looked like they wanted to protest that. Alvida didn’t earn a bounty by being nice, after all.

“If you join, you’ll have to share a cramped cabin with me, Jodie, and Eliza,” I warned, trying to ignore the flutter in my chest at the girl’s praise.

“And the goats!” Pop added.

“Yes, and the goats,” I nodded, acknowledging his point. “Speaking of which… Pop, round ‘em up before they fall into the ocean, please!”

“I don’t care where I have to sleep! I wanna do with you!” Medaka declared. She then stamped the butt of her naginata against the deck. “Besides, I can handle myself! I’m strong! I beat up a bunch of Ganzack’s guys!”

“You did, but this won’t be the same,” I warned her. “We’ll be heading to the Grand Line eventually.”

“That’s perfect!” she gasped. “I can get super tough there!”

“Assuming you don’t die,” Buggy muttered under his breath.

“What about your grandfather?” I asked, finally deciding to try that angle, but the little girl just shook her head.

“He knows,” Medaka replied. “I left him a letter!”

“A letter,” I said slowly. She began to fidget under my incredulous stare. Holding in a sigh, I ran my hand over my face.

‘Now I know why he had that amused look,’ I thought in exasperation. ‘He knew she’d stowed away.’

“Why?” I finally asked. “Why do you want to join me? Give me a good reason not to turn around right now and sail back so I can toss you onto your island.”

“Because… because you’re strong!” Medaka shouted. I blinked at that, and taking it as a cue to continue, Medaka kept talking.

“When Ganzack came, I-I couldn’t do anything!” she said, looking down at the deck in frustration. “I tried to fight back, to avenge my daddy, but they always beat me up and kicked me around!”

She stomped on the deck. “Worse! They made fun of me for being a girl! Said I couldn’t save anyone because of that!”

A sniffle escaped her, and she rapidly wiped her eyes as they teared up. “And… and because of me… they killed my daddy…”

Medaka then looked up, eyes gleaming with excitement and hope through the tears. “Then you showed up, Miss Alvida! You beat them up! And you beat Ganzack! You’re strong! And you’re a woman!”

I blushed at that, a little flattered, but feeling like a liar. I may have looked like a woman outwardly, but I was now a man on the inside.

‘But I still helped her find her confidence,’ a tiny part of me whispered, and I continued to listen to Medaka’s excuse.

“And that’s why I wanna join your crew! I want to be a strong, independent woman who won’t take no sass from nobody ever again!” she declared.

“I like her spunk,” Eliza whispered to her lover, who nodded.

Both gave Medaka sympathetic looks, well aware of how women were treated in this world. It was progressive in some areas, but ultimately still remarkably patriarchal and skewed against them.

“She’s feisty, I’ll give her that,” Buggy also commented, a note of approval in his voice.

“You want to fight, then?” I asked. “You want to be a brave warrior of the sea?”

“I want to be strong!” Medaka nodded. “A-and I can help around the ship! I know my way around hammers and nails, so I can help with repairs, and I’m good with other tools, too…”

“Fine!” I said, holding up a hand, stalling her words. “If this is what you really want, then fine. You’re determined, and I doubt even sailing back to Clatter Town would stop you.”

“Nope!” she said with a proud nod. “I’d just build a new boat and came after ya!”

“Thank you for the honesty,” I drawled, before poking her helmet, causing the visor to slam shut over her face. She let out a yelp and fell over in surprise, before quickly standing back up.

“Welcome aboard then, Cabin Girl Medaka. First order of business! Helping Pop take care of and clean up after the goats!”

Medaka paled, and Pop grinned before shoving the mop in his hands over to her. She groaned, but got to work scrubbing the floor of the galley all the same. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all!