Smooth Sailing Chapter 19: Gold Island 2 (Patreon)

Chapter 19: Gold Island 2

My head snapped up as I heard the explosion through the walls of the museum, and I wasn’t the only one. Buggy and Jango both reacted as veteran pirates should, immediately tensing up and preparing for battle while Moodie flinched and looked around with wide eyes.

“I forgot my mace again!” I groaned, berating myself even as I booked it back towards the ships. Buggy, Jango, and Moodie followed behind a moment later.

As we exited the museum, we found chaos in the streets of the small, sleepy settlement. Over a dozen pirates were rampaging through the village, laughing as they attacked and looted.

“That explosion must have been a signal!” Jango guessed.

A pair of pirates spotted us standing outside the entrance to the building, and ran at us, but were quickly put down.

“Eldoraggo’s doing,” I guessed as I punched one of the pirates hard in the face.

“Certainly not us,” Buggy grunted, wiping the blood from the other pirate from one of his spiked gauntlets. He, at least, hadn’t forgotten to bring a few weapons with him.

Thankfully, the town seemed to be intact and the people within it were being spared most of the pirates’ attention. Instead, they were focused on the docks and the ships anchored there.

‘Seems that Eldoraggo’s crew saw how poor the place was and decided to try their luck with us,’ I guessed.

Such a move made sense. Buggy wasn’t shy flying his flag, and pirates often had decent loot, or at least supplies they could steal.

We hastily returned to the Big Top and Lovey Dovey, and just as I’d expected, found them under siege. Eldoraggo’s crew had tried to seize them from us, but hadn’t expected to be pushed back. Hep, Pep, and Pop had bravely held off four times as many pirates who’d swarmed the heart-shaped boat, while Cabaji and Mohji were leading the defense of the floating circus.

“Ah, captain!” Cabaji called out upon spotting Buggy. “Welcome back!”

He did a backflip and slashed his sword across the chest of one of the attackers, then spin kicked his target over the side.

“Couple of pests tried to board, but we’re taking care of them!” Mohji laughed.

The fur-clad man cracked his whip, wrapping it around the throat of a nearby pirate and then swung him around like a human flail. The beast tamer than flung the captured man into the water, while Richie swatted pirates around with his giant paws.

“That’s it, boys! Throw these scallywags overboard!” the clown-nosed man shouted, throwing a few knives and finger-spikes into the back of a bunch of Eldoraggo Pirates who had brought out a cannon and were aiming it at the Big Top.

“Pop! Mace!” I ordered, and the axe-wielding man nodded, hurrying to fetch my weapon.

It came sailing through the air a moment later, and I snatched it up before bringing it down onto a couple of Eldoraggo Pirates, sending them flying.

With our arrival the battle quickly turned in our favor, and the remnants of Eldraggo’s minions ran off back to their ship.

Not wanting to let them escape, I turned to my crew. “Hep, Pep, Pop, are you okay?”

“Yes, Captain Alvida!” Pep assured me.

“The weapons you and Medaka made for us really helped!” Hep said, showing off the sword we’d made for him.

“Good! Get down here! We’re taking the fight to Eldoraggo’s ship! Let’s see how he likes it!”

I then looked around. “And where is Medaka and the others?”

“They went on a guided tour of Woonan’s palace,” Pop informed me, and I grimaced.

“Then they aren’t here. Damn it.” Odds were they were where the explosion had come from, and that meant they were near Eldoraggo.

“I’m going to stay behind,” Moodie informed me as she pulled out a doctor’s bag.

I nodded, accepting that her lack of combat skills would be a detriment in this instance.

“We’ll head into town and get rid of any stragglers,” Buggy announced as he and his crew finished disposing of the bodies left behind by the fighting. “Gonna teach these rats how bad it is to go after the Buggy Pirates!”

I gave him a thumbs up, then rushed towards Eldoraggo’s ship, my crew in tow. The name Golden Howl was scrawled across the side of the vessel in gold leaf, and the ship itself seemed barely able to float what with all the gold trim and decorations littered it.

Cannons roared, the pirates onboard seeing us rushing at them and making the natural assumption that shooting at us would solve the problem. To be fair, it might defeat normal people, but I wasn’t normal.

I swung my giant spiked club into one of the cannonballs, sending it flying back into the Golden Howl with a laugh, treating the giant sphere of metal like a common baseball. The rest of the cannon fire went wide thanks to Jango hypnotizing the gunners, the shots landing in the water or impacting the island far from the inhabited parts.

A group of pirates tried to drag the gangplank up to keep us from boarding, but a single piece of wood wasn’t going to stop us. I jumped upwards and landed on the Golden Howl’s deck, punching somebody in the stomach and sending them tumbling before sweeping out with the mace, bowling over a couple more individuals.

I kicked the gangplank down, allowing Jango and the P Brothers to rush onto the deck with me, all while bullets Slipped off of my body.

“What is she?!” a Eldoraggo Pirate screamed in horror as he tried – and failed – to shoot me in the face.

“She’s just like the captain! A Devil Fruit user!” another pirate retorted. “Don’t use guns! Use swords!”

He then ran forward with a battle cry, trying to hack me apart, but a swipe of my mace sent him far away from me.

The fighting after that was over quite quickly. The ship hadn’t had very many pirates on it – most had been trying to attack the town or the other ships in the dock – so we took control after a very brief clash.

Quite a few of Eldoraggo’s crew threw down their weapons after seeing me send their friends flying, and Jango hypnotized them to fall asleep for a while so they wouldn’t struggle.

But now that the ship was ours? It was time to see what we’d earned!

“Look at all this gold!” Hep exclaimed, looking around the cargo hold.

Numerous treasure chests full of gold coins filled the area, all of them filled to the brim. There were also sacks of golden jewelry like rings, necklaces, and the like, though only a few had gemstones embedded in them.

“Couple million beri, easy!” Pop declared, sifting through a pile of gold coins and letting them fall from his fingers in awe.

“Couple million? Probably closer to a hundred million,” I replied with a whistle.

A caravel the size of the Going Merry had managed to carry three hundred million beris worth of gold and treasure, and this ship was a lot bigger and thus had significantly more cargo space, so a hundred million was a low estimate.

Of course, gold wasn’t nearly worth as much in this world as it was back on Earth. If you stuffed a caravel full of gold and then sold it anywhere on Earth, you’d be walking away with a lot more than three hundred million yen – or however much that was in dollars.

However, the Golden Howl was not filled to the brim and was carrying far less wealth than it potentially could have. No doubt Eldoraggo had wanted to save room for Woonan’s gold, and left some of his own treasure behind somewhere else.

Though for some reason, the gold coins within the treasure chests all had Eldoraggo’s Jolly Roger on the obverse, while the reverse had the number ‘1’ on it.

‘Did he mint his own coins?’ I couldn’t help but wonder.

In the movie, he’d paid his swordsman in gold coins, but nobody in the East Blue – or anywhere else in the world – used gold coins as currency! It was all paper money these days! This just raised more questions!

“Remember, we’re splitting this with Buggy and the others,” I reminded them after tearing my gaze away from the sparkling payday, and went back up top to find said clown-captain.

“Hey, Buggy, what do you want to do with the chumps who surrendered?” I asked, leaning over the railing to shout down at him. “Also, we’re slightly richer!”

“Round up the ones who were smart enough to give up, and toss ‘em on board their ship. If their captain is smart, he’ll leave!” he shouted back, the gauntlets Medaka and I had forged for him dripping with blood.

“And if not?” I inquired.

“Then we let the townsfolk do what they wish,” he replied bluntly.

“Fair enough,” I shrugged, trying to act cavalier about letting the people of Gold Island lynch the pirates if Eldoraggo didn’t retreat.

‘Still haven’t killed anyone since Ganzack… although I’m pretty sure some of these bastards wish they were dead,’ I thought, glancing around at a few pirates with twisted and broken arms and legs.

Honestly, Buggy and his crew hadn’t killed all that many, either. People could survive a crap ton of abuse in this world, so long as their vital organs, like the heart and brain, weren’t touched. The guy Cabaji has slashed? Alive. Mohji and Richie’s victims? Bruised and probably sore, but alive as well.

Some hadn’t survived the clash, but that was just the price of combat, and many more would make it out alive than reasonably could be expected back on Earth.

‘I’ve got to stop thinking about my old world,’ I thought with a shake of my head. ‘Comparing everything to how it used to work isn’t healthy.’

We rounded up the downed pirates and wrapped them up in ropes before tossing them into a pile on the Golden Howl’s deck, and then began the process of carting off the gold we’d found in the storage area. Buggy was practically salivating at the sight of treasure, and I could admit I was also excited to have acquired some real loot instead of expensive branded merchandise.

“Captain Alvida! Captain Alvida!” A voice called out, shaking me from my thoughts.

“Medaka?” I uttered, perking up as I heard the red-head shouting for me.

I soon spotted her, running through the town’s main street with Eliza and Jodie trailing behind. Relieved that they seemed physically alright, I ran over to them to see what had gotten Medaka so upset.

“Your safe,” I said, looking them over. They were dirty and looked like they’d crawled through the jungle, but they were definitely in one piece. “When I heard the explosion, I got worried.”

“Yeah! That big dumb jerk blew up the palace!” Medaka shouted. “And he kidnapped the tour guide to force him to show him where Woonan’s gold is!”

“Why would the tour guide know where that would be?” Moodie couldn’t help but wonder as she walked over, Jango beside her.

“I dunno, I think he’s crazy!” Medaka claimed.

“Well, his minions attacked us and the town, and I’m not a fan of that. Guess we have to beat him up,” I declared, resting my mace on my shoulder.

“Who are we beating up?” Buggy asked as he joined us.

“Eldoraggo. He blew up something and is holding a guy hostage. Though I am mostly just mad at him letting his crew run amok. None of us or the townsfolk died, but still. It’s the principle of the matter!” I told Buggy, who nodded.

“Ah. Sounds like fun,” he said, before looking over at his shoulder towards his first and second mates. “Cabaji, Mohji, one of you comes with me while the other watches this place. If you see any Marines, launch some flares.”

“Got it, captain!” the beast tamer said with a salute. He then turned to the acrobatic swordsman and did a round of rock-paper-scissors to determine who’d get to go with Buggy.

“Hah! I win!” Mohji laughed, raising his scissors high into the air, Richie roaring happily while Cabaji scowled.

“Should have done rock,” he grumbled as he stalked back to the Big Top to oversee the treasure sorting.

I turned to my own crew. “You guys don’t need to come. Hang back, rest, recover.”

“I’m not leaving your side, captain!” Medaka declared.

“Same. Wouldn’t be a great way to start my career on your ship, eh?” Jango chuckled.

“Alright, then. Eliza, Jodie, you can stay with Moodie and help patch people up. Or help the P Brothers clean up the Lovey Dovey.”

“Sure thing, Captain Alvida,” Eliza said, and Jodie nodded, relieved.

“Medaka? Lead the way,” I urged, and the red-headed nodded and took off down the dirt road back towards the jungle.

“What can you tell us about Eldoraggo?” I asked Medaka as we headed back the way she came, words punctuated by a blast of noise. “Did he have any crew with him? What about weapons and combat style?”

“He had four people with him. Three looked and acted like… well, like Hep, Pep, and Pop,” she claimed, seated on Richie’s back with Mohji. “The last guy, though, seemed kinda strong. He was tall, and had a big sword.”

“That must be Golass,” Buggy spoke up. “He’s a mercenary swordsman who has recently been seen with the Eldoraggo Pirates. One of the strongest ones in the East Blue from what I understand. The 8 million beri bounty speaks to that.”

“I see. And Eldoraggo himself?” I queried.

“He was tall and wore gold armor! Shiny, but probably heavy. No weapons but his nails were long and looked sharp. Though they were also gold colored. Ah! And he was able to shout so loud he blew up a chunk of Woonan’s palace!” Medaka revealed.

“The Scream-Scream Fruit,” Buggy said with a nod. “A flashy Devil Fruit that weaponizes the eater’s voice, turning them into deadly waves of noise. Doesn’t sound like he’s that skilled with it if all he’s doing is unleashing sonic blasts, though.”

“Still dangerous,” I warned. “Sonic attacks aren’t exactly something either of us can shrug off.”

Another explosion in the distance rang out, emphasizing my words, and Buggy grunted at that, unable to deny that. Sonic vibrations would easily bypass my Smooth skin just like explosions had done, and unless Buggy Chopped himself up and scattered to the four winds beforehand, he wouldn’t be able to negate any damage done to himself.

We followed the sounds of explosions and soon reached the spot where Woonan’s palace had once stood. The whole place had been reduced to rubble, destroyed by repeated Sonic Blasts.

Standing in front of the sundered structure was a group of six men, two of whom stood head and shoulders above the rest. And one of the men was dangling from the grasp of the tallest man.

‘Hold on, isn’t that the guy from the movie? Woonan’s friend and oden chef? Ganzo or something?’ I thought, squinting at the older man dangling from Eldoraggo’s grasp. He looked like him. Hard to mistake that moustache.

The others were also familiar. A guy with pink hair, a guy with a pink shirt, and a guy with sunglasses cheered on their captain. They were mooks, a trio of cannon fodder who’d robbed the Straw Hat Pirates in the movie.

Next to them, stoic and silent, stood the man who could only be Golass. Appearance-wise he resembled a Native American, except much taller. Seven, maybe eight feet tall. The sword on his back was almost as big as he was, with a rather lovely and nonstandard hilt and grip consisting of blue leather wraps and two yellow and green orbs.

It must have been a Meito, though probably just an Ungraded Blade with how it was able to hold up to the things the man put it through, at least in the movie.

And towering over them at just under ten feet tall was none other than “Howling” Eldoraggo, a man who strongly resembled a lion with his dark skin, fang-like teeth, and wild, mane-like red hair. Hell, maybe there was some Lion Mink blood in him, or perhaps one of his ancestors had gotten freaky with somebody who’d eaten the Lion-Lion Fruit.

Aside from his leonine appearance, the man was also striking due to the sheer amount of gold he wore. Golden, scaly pauldrons protected his shoulders while an escarela thighplate protected his stomach and upper thighs. This armor also shared the scale-like texture as the pauldrons.

Underneath the armor Eldoraggo wore an unbuttoned white shirt that showed off his hairy and muscular chest, and black pants that were rolled up slightly to give them appearance of shorts. A green scarf was wrapped around his waist, and black shoes with pointed tips covered his feet.

“Gol-ho-ho-hoh!” Eldoraggo laughed. “That’s it! Soon I’ll have Woonan’s treasure! And if it’s not buried under this castle I’ll see if that hill with the dumb whale statue is hiding anything!”

“Please, stop this!” Ganzo pleaded, struggling helplessly in the pirate’s grasp.

“You want it to end? Then tell me where Woonan’s gold is!” Eldoraggo demanded, giving the poor cook a little shake.

“Nobody knows where it is!” Ganzo protested.

“Then I’ll just have to keep tearing this place apart until I find it!” he declared with a sharp, cruel laugh.

“Let him go, you big jerk!” Medaka shouted, angrily gesturing at Eldoraggo. “And stop wrecking the place!”

The group of treasure hunting pirates turned around to face us at that, and their eyes widened a little upon spotting our well-armed group. Their eyes zeroed in on one blue-haired man in particular.

“Eh? Buggy the Clown?” Eldoraggo uttered, surprised by the red-nosed pirate’s presence. “You’re after Woonan’s gold too?!”

“No, you flashy bastard! I’m here because your crew took those explosions you’ve been making as a sign to attack the town – and us!” Buggy shot back.

“They did? Damn idiots,” Eldoraggo huffed in annoyance. He then glanced at me. “And who’s this?”

“Iron Mace Alvida, at your service,” I said with a smirk, doffing my hat with a mocking bow.

“Alvida? Wasn’t she a fat bitch?” the goon with the pink shirt wondered.

“Yeah, no way this hot babe is her!” sunglasses fellow declared.

“Why don’t you ditch that clown and hang with real pirates?!” the last of them jeered.

“Richie, feel free to eat those three,” I said, pointing at the trio of pirates.

The giant lion drooled a little and licked his lips, causing the goons – the Hyena Three my mind and memories of the movie and wiki supplied – recoiled fearfully.

“So, you’re here to fight me, eh? Avenge your crew and all that?” Eldoraggo queried, looking between us.

“More like we just want to kick your ass for ruining our day,” Buggy retorted. “We were supposed to be having a stop at the island without violence, maybe a bit of treasure hunting, but no, we had to deal with your crew whom you cannot control!”

“And to save the nice old man from you!” Medaka added loudly.

“You’ve got guts,” the lion-like man chuckled.  

“We sure do. And I call dibs on fighting Eldoraggo!” I declared, pointing my mace at the red-maned man’s head.

“Hey! You can’t call ‘dibs!’” Buggy protested.

“You’re a better match up for Golass,” I pointed out, and he grumbled.

“Fine! But I get to call dibs on the next captain we fight!”

“Deal,” I agreed with a nod. We shook on it, and then turned back to Eldoraggo who looked bemused.

“First time I’ve seen two people argue over who got to fight me because they both wanted to,” he chuckled. “Fine, then! If that’s the way you want it!”

He turned to Golass. “One hundred gold coins if you bring me the clown’s big red nose! And an extra hundred if his head is still attached to it!”

“What did you say about my nose?!” Buggy shouted angrily.

Golass merely smirked and nodded before drawing his sword in a smooth motion. He then swung it at the clown, and realizing what was coming thanks to my meta-knowledge, grabbed Jango by the collar and dragged him to the side with a shout of, “DODGE IT, RICHIE!”

The lion’s instincts were sharp, befitting a majestic predator, and it also leapt aside, getting Medaka and Mohji as far from Buggy as possible.

With a single swing of his sword, Golass unleashed a flying slash that tore apart the jungle behind the red-nosed pirate, several yards worth of trees blasted into splinters and a large furrow carved through the dirt.

“Holy Crap!” Buggy exclaimed, currently in two vertical halves thanks to his Devil Fruit. A moment later he recombined and glared at the swordsman. “That was stronger than the attack I took from the Pirate Hunter!”

Golass blinked, surprised by Buggy’s survival, but Eldoraggo merely laughed. “That’s new! Golass has never killed a Devil Fruit user before! Hey! A thousand gold coins if you win!”

The Native American-esque pirate shifted, a greedy glint shining in his eyes, and he charged at Buggy.

“Alright, bring it on!” my co-captain snarled, and raised his war gauntlets up in a fighting stance.

I narrowed my eyes as I turned to the laughing Eldoraggo, and stood back up, dropping Jango in the process.

Seeing this, the red-maned pirate tossed the tour guide to the ground before striding towards me confidently.

“Go get that old man and Medaka out of here,” I instructed the hypnotist, who nodded.

“Sure thing, captain,” he vowed, before running over to the downed oden chef.

“Hey! You don’t get to-!” Pink Hair started to shout, raising his gun to try and shoot Jango, but was cut off by a roar from Richie as the lion charged into the fray, the Hyena Three no match for the towering beast or his whip-wielding rider.

“Still want to fight?” Eldoraggo asked as he cracked his knuckles and ignored the brutality Mohji was unleashing upon his minions.

“I sure as hell do,” I replied, a vicious grin slipping onto my lips.

This was the first time I’d be fighting against somebody with a Devil Fruit. Ganzack had been a threat because of his gimmicks, but ultimately no real match for the real threats of this world. Against Eldoraggo, I’d have my first taste of what I’d be facing when I stepped foot into the Grand Line.

I couldn’t wait!