Smooth Sailing Chapter 24: Ocean's Navel 4 (Patreon)

Chapter 24: Ocean’s Navel 4

(Lemons in this chapter! There will be a notice when it's time for 'em!)

As much as I wanted to go back up and see if entering the treasure chamber again would resummon the Beasts of God we’d killed earlier, I held in my curiosity. People would probably be mad at me if I did, and honestly, I was pretty tired.

‘And I need Eliza to patch up my coat,’ I thought to myself as picked up a mug and knocked it back, the alcohol Sliding down my throat in a single gulp.

Several people cheered me on, and I raised the now drained container to the air, laughing cheerfully.

We were staying in the city for the evening as thanks for our actions. Our crews were invited as well, and everyone was breaking out what little supplies they still had for a victory feast.

That had cheered up Buggy, at least. As he put it, ‘Half of being a pirate is the treasure! The other half is the party afterwards!’

I could not disagree with that, and was enjoying myself as everyone laughed, ate, drank, and celebrated their new freedom.

‘Though I better slow down,’ I thought as I burped loudly after rapidly draining another mug of chilled and foamy beer. That was my fifth of the evening, and though I didn’t feel buzzed, it was probably best if I didn’t get blackout drunk.

“It’s a shame the monsters disappeared,” Meroie commented, the blue-haired woman approaching me as I stepped away from the main party scene.

“Sure is. I bet they’d have tasted great,” I commented.

That was something I’d noticed about the seafood in this world: it was damned delicious. The giant crab I’d harpooned when I saved Buggy had been unlike any other crab I’d ever eaten, in a good way.

‘And I bet the fish in the Grand Line are even better,’ I mused.

“At least the Beasts of God are gone,” the bluenette sighed, tone laced with happiness and relief. “The Ocean’s Navel can recover. It’s going to take a while to undo a decade’s worth of damage, but we’ll do it.”

“I wish you luck in that regard,” I said, taking careful sips of my sixth mug.

“With the Ships’ Graveyard no longer guarded by those monsters, we have access to the supplies again,” Meroie informed me. “Repairs will be done on your ship by tomorrow evening. And your friend’s refurbishments will be done in two to three days.”

“Excellent!” I declared happily. “That gives us a bit of time to do some treasure hunting.”

“Feel free to dig through the wrecks,” Meroie shrugged. “After what you did, nobody will say a thing.”

I nodded at that, and then turned my attention back to the party. I could see Jango leading several townsfolk, as well as Hep, Pep, Pop, and the Buggy Pirates in a dance-off. Cabaji and Mohji were butting heads over something, probably stupid, and Richie was being ridden by a bunch of laughing kids. And Buggy was laughing with Hamu as he retold the events of the fight with Captain Joke with a few embellishments that painted the teen as the real hero of the story to the townsfolk.

Medaka was discussing things with some of the shipwrights, learning some important facts about ship upkeep, and I had a feeling she’d end up becoming something like a shipwright for the Lovey Dovey. Eliza and Jodie were having a romantic time near the fire, being all sickeningly cute as they fed each other food, and I had a feeling they’d be sneaking off for some alone time soon. Last but not least was Moodie, the doctor having passed out after drinking a bit too much.

“I better move Moodie somewhere else,” I declared, deciding that the poor Fraunce woman didn’t deserve to sleep in the dirt tonight.

“We can go to my house,” Meroie offered. “It’s probably a bit dusty, since I haven’t been there in over a year, but it should still have a bed or two.”

“Thank you,” I said, before walking over to grab the drunken woman.

“Ooo… no… captain… not around so many people…” Moodie moaned and I picked her up, and I snorted in amusement.

“Sounds like she’s having a fun dream,” Meroie chuckled as she led us to her home. It was a modestly sized building on the edge of the town, right next to the shore.

Just as she’d claimed, Meroie’s house was indeed dusty, but nothing a quick bit of sweeping with a broom and dustcloth couldn’t fix, and she’d had the sense to lay down some dust clothes over the bed, couch, and a few other pieces of furniture.

“Put her down on the couch,” Meroie instructed, and I did so, laying the sleeping blonde down onto the cushions. She mumbled and made grabbing motions before snagging a throw pillow and cuddling it closely to her chest.

“Now, where am I going to sleep?” I wondered, looking around the living room.

“I have a few ideas,” Meroie said in a sultry tone, and I found myself being dragged into her bedroom and my lips capture by her own.

“I see,” I gasped out when we parted for air, and she smirked.

<<((LEMON START!))>>

“I know you were staring at my ass when we were climbing the mountain,” she teased.

“Can you blame me?” I retorted. I reached out a grabbed a handful of pert, plump ass, causing her breath to hitch.

“Let’s get you out of those clothes,” I whispered into her ear before yanking her pants down. I then yanked her fuzzy and unflattering coat up over her head, revealing a tank top and a barely covered up black sports bra.

“Nice,” I murmured, reaching out to cop a feel of her breasts.

She moaned as my hands roamed her body, before I decided to see what I was work with and took off her bra with a single Smooth tug.

“Beautiful,” I declared, and she blushed. I grabbed her breasts and began to rub them, twirling her nipples between my fingers.

“Ahhh~!” she gasped, and her reaction caused me to grin. I decided to give her a moment to catch her breath and let go, putting my hands on my hips as I raked my eyes over her naked body.

Meroie was definitely beautiful. Perky C-cups and a nice, big ass with a slender waist. She had a tiny amount of muscle tone in her arms and legs, just enough to make her look fit. The women here were literally out of this world.

“I want to see your body, too,” Meroie told me, face still flushed from my earlier caresses, and I let her do it herself.

Tossing my hat to the side, she stripped me of my jacket and shirt, and made sure my booty shorts were down around my ankles a moment later.

“Like what you see?” I asked, cocking my hips and letting her get a good look of my body.

“Damn,” Meroie whistled. “I sure do.”

She reached out and grabbed my breasts, but her hands Slipped right off which caused me to laugh and her to pout.

“Having trouble?” I asked with a teasing grin, and she frowned before gaining a determined expression.

“Ah!” I gasped as she gently kneaded my breasts, finding just the right way to touch me without Slipping right off.

‘They is going slow and steady, it seems,’ I thought between moans. If something was touching my skin slowly, my Smoothness did less to push it aside. So, the slower Meroie went, the stronger her grip on my perky tits got.

Not wanting to let her win, I reached out with my right hand to her thighs and began to stroke her inner left leg before letting my fingers crawl up towards her pussy. She was dripping with excitement, and I Slipped my digits into her wet fold.

She gasped and her legs quivered weakly, something that had be grinned at. I started pumping, going faster and faster until Meroie came with a cry and she collapsed onto the bed, unable to stand any longer.

“Damn, girl, you were pent up,” I hummed. I pulled my hand back and licked her cum off my fingers, which made her shudder excitedly.

“Little bit, yeah,” she replied. “Not exactly a lot of opportunities down here or up above for the last couple years.”

“I imagine so,” I replied. “Now…”

I kneeled down and pried her legs open. She did not resist, and I was presented with her wet slit. It glistened like a jewel and I licked my lips before diving down.

Meroie couldn’t stop the shout from escaping her lips as my tongue Slipped and Slid all over her lower lips.

My Devil Fruit was proving its worth in yet another field, as my oral skills were now boosted by having a nice and Slippery tongue. Meroie writhed on the sheets, crying out happily as I ate her box.

“I-I-!” she gasped. “I’m gonna-!”

“Come on,” I urged her, raising my head to stare into her eyes. “Do it. Cum for me.”

I lowered my head down to her cunt, but I made sure I kept eye contact with her the entire time. The way her breasts heaved as I did this was incredibly arousing, and my folds were starting to drip as well, and I rubbed my thighs together eagerly as my own excitement grew.

Meroie obeyed, and squirted, and I was very pleased with myself for this. Even if I was now drenched both up top and down below. I stood up and crawled onto the bed and proceeded to straddle the bluenette.

“Repay the favor,” I ordered, planting my own moist cunt onto her face, and Meroie began to tentatively explore my pussy with her tongue, licking slowly with the nervous eagerness of an amateur.

“I’ll have to teach you to how do this properly while I’m here,” I declared, and that sent a noticeable shiver of excitement through her which intensified her tongue work.

After a bit, I grabbed her by the hair and pushed her face deeper into my pussy, to the point her nose was tickling my clit. The feeling of her breath on my lower lips was ticklish, but combined with the renewed vigor of Meroie’s tongue exploring my depths, I got closer to the edge than I’d ever gotten in this body.

“Are you ready, Meroie?” I asked, panting heavily. “You ready to take my cum all over your pretty face?”

I heard a muffled response that sounded like agreement, and I grinned. “Good. Good! Take it, slut!”

Dirty talk always did it for me, and I finally came, hand tightening around her hair and pressing Meroie’s face as deep as I could, spraying my girl-cum across her upper torso. My liquids stained her face and dribbled down onto her breasts.

That was my first actual orgasm in this new body, and it blew my mind. Seemed like I was a bit of a squirter now, too.

Panting happily at the release and at the wave of relief and satisfaction that came with it, I rolled off Meroie, letting her gasp and pant as well, and I settled down next to her on the bed.

“Good work,” I praised her, a hand reaching out to pat her on the head before it drifted down to squeeze a breast.

Meroie mumbled something in response, before snuggling into my side. I let her, and the bluenette became the little spoon. My hand drifted down and cupped her ass, and I was definitely going to explore it later.

As I began to drift off, I noticed that the door to the bedroom was ajar, and there was a bit of wetness on the floor, right where somebody might have been sitting and peeking through before doing a bit of spraying of their own.

‘Well, well, well. It seems Moodie has been a naughty girl,’ I thought with a smirk before closing my eyes. I’d have to discipline her later. For now, though, I was going to have a nice rest with the hottie I’d scored.

Truly, the pirate life is for me!

<<((LEMON END!))>>

111 &&& 111

“HAH! Look at this!” Buggy declared, holding aloft a fancy lockbox encrusted with barnacles. He used a dagger to pry the lid open and cheered when he found it contained some jewelry.

“Somebody is enjoying themselves,” I chuckled, although I couldn’t deny that there was also something oddly fun about exploring old ships, some possibly centuries old, and finding anything that was still intact and worth something.

Like an extreme version of antiquing mixed with Storage Wars. I’d never really been into either, but I’d been dragged along to enough garage sales and antique stores by family who were into that sort of thing that it felt comfortably familiar.

Yesterday we’d slain some monsters and saved the island, and now we were traveling around the Ocean Navel’s Ships’ Graveyard, looting the wrecks while also helping the shipwrights select the choicest materials to be used in our repairs.

“Hey, captain! Look at what we found!” Mohji called out, he and Richie standing around a large, white, double-door wardrobe.

Opening it over, the contents had been ruined by water and time, the clothes reduced to rags that would make Eliza cry if she saw them, but what was left told a story of finery. The tailor could probably tell what they’d been made of, though.

“Ooo, nice!” Buggy declared, running over to the discovery. “That looks like it’s made of Silver Beech, only found in the North Blue! Whoever owned this must have been rich! Or maybe a merchant ship from across the Red Line?”

He ran a gloved hand over it, before turning to his beast tamer crewmate. “Where did you find it?”

“Over there, in that ship!” Mohji said, pointing to a half-submerged wreck with a large amount of barnacles coating practically every inch.

“Hey now! That’s a South Blue dhow!” Buggy exclaimed.

“South Blue?” I asked. “How did it get here?”

“Who knows? Maybe it was a merchant vessel that got lost? Though it’s more likely the dhow sunk and then got dragged here through some underwater currents,” he mused.

“I was under the impression the Calm Belt was, well, calm, and lacked currents,” Moodie commented as she picked her way over to me.

“The surface is still as glass but some currents exist deep below the surface,” Buggy revealed. “Not a lot, but they are there.”

“That’s pretty interesting,” I admitted. “So, pretty much any ship in the world could be found here?”

“Theoretically, though not all deep-sea currents are the same,” Buggy replied. “Though considering the Ocean Navel’s position, and the fact it sits at the center of a truly massive sink hole, it’s no surprise that so many unusual finds would crop up.”

“They say every ship that sinks in the East Blue ends up here,” Hamu spoke up, working nearby with Medaka to haul some scrap metal over to a grow pile of the stuff. “Not sure how true that is, but we get a lot of junk washing ashore, some of which is centuries old.”

“Now, enough of that boring stuff! If you found this wardrobe in that ship, that must mean it belonged to somebody crazy rich!” the red-nosed pirate claimed, rubbing his hands together greedily.

“Like a king?” I wondered.

“Most likely,” Buggy nodded, and he eagerly approached the ship. “That means there might be something else in there worth quite a bit of beri!”

I followed along, just as curious as he was. The wreck was larger than the dhow I was familiar with, likely due to the leviathans and weather of the world making a small one-masted rather worthless. It still retained the same overall shape and appearance, if just scaled up.

“Based on the build up of barnacles, this is definitely at least a century old, though I’d wager less than two,” the clown declared, running a hand over the encrusted surface of the hull. He then rapped it. “Seems sturdy enough.”

He then pulled himself up, and after a moment I climbed onto the deck after him. The ship was mostly in one piece, and was slightly tilted but not too badly. The sails and rigging were gone, rotted to nothing, but everything else was still there.

Heading below deck, the stench of mildew and rot was quite potent, and mingled with the salty smell of the sea to create a pungent aroma.

Some crabs and other critters scuttled across the floor as we explored the interior, before coming to the room that Mohji had found the wardrobe. It had a bed, but it was broken and the mattress looked like it had melted into a mass of coral and sludge, and now only worms and crustaceans slept in it.

Aside from that, there was a chest, rotted and broken apart but still of high quality. Inside, what might have once been books or perhaps a bunch of beri had melted together into a solid brick of papery pulp. Though perhaps the most interesting sight was a portrait that had been sealed behind glass, the only thing that had kept it safe from the ravages of its underwater grave. The painting depicted a man of South-East Asian features dressed in something sort of like the garb old Hawaiian royalty had worn.

“Fancy digs,” I said, looking around. “Definitely captain’s quarters.”

“Nothing left in here,” Buggy claimed, kicking what might have once been a desk. “Seems like the wardrobe was the only thing left.”

“Well, we haven’t explored the whole place yet,” I pointed out. “Should we see what is below deck?”

He nodded, and we went through the rest of the ship, curiously exploring everything. We found the galley, which was naturally empty, save for some knives wrapped in oilskin that had somehow survived the salt and rust in decent condition.

The crew quarters were where we uncovered the first signs of somebody having been here in the form of skeletons lying on the ground or tangled up in rotten hammocks. Of note was one skull that still had a circlet of gold attached to it.

“Definitely a noble of some sort,” I muttered as I picked up the crown.

The artifact looked untouched by much of the grime and decay around it, standing out for that reason alone. On closer inspection, the crown wasn’t a single band of golden, but dozens of small threads and wires of golden braided together to create an almost rope-like appearance.

Intwined within the golden threads were pink pearls, which made it clear that this belonged to someone of great wealth. Unless pink pearls were more common in this world. But still, the craftsmanship alone was impressive enough to fetch a nice price.

I then glanced over at Buggy when I was done admiring the loot. “Hey, what’s the difference between archeology and grave robbing?”

“I asked Rowing – Err, that is, the scholar of my old crew – that same question, and he said that archeology is for the sake of history and preserving or uncovering facts, while tomb raiding or grave robbing is for personal wealth and glory,” Buggy replied as he picked through the bones. “So, technically, what we are doing is the latter.”

“Good to know,” I hummed, before trying on the crown. It didn’t quite fit, but it looked nice. I decided I’d keep it.

“What do you think happened here?” I wondered, looking around the cabin. All the jumbled up skeletons spoke of a story, but I wasn’t sure what it was saying.

“No weapons, so I doubt this is a mutiny or something,” Buggy guessed, eyeing the scene with the experienced of a veteran. “Seems like there was an attempt at an evacuation. Though let’s see…”

He began to move some bones around, as well as pieces of decaying, waterlogged fabric and wood, and let out an “Ah-hah!” as he uncovered a couple of rotting sacks filled to bursting with gold and other provisions.

“Yes, they were trying to evacuate, but didn’t make it out in time. Probably sunk before they could make it off,” the red-nosed pirate declared before immediately shoving the remains aside so he could get at the treasure.

I left him to it and continued to wander around, but there wasn’t much else that was still in one piece that was of interest, so I left and went to find some other wrecks to explore.

In the end, we fished up a few more sacks of gold, silver, and jewels, as well as a couple pieces of furniture that was in good enough condition to be reused, including some trunks and beds, the latter of which I grabbed because the one in my cabin was getting crowded.

“This would look good in the galley,” I said as I lugged a table out of a wreck Buggy had identified as a galleon from Goa.

“I agree, captain,” Moodie said, making a note of it on a list.

The medic was taking care of cataloging everything we found, although considering she had the handwriting of a doctor, I probably should have had somebody else do it as I sure as heck couldn’t parse her chicken scratches.

At least the new addition to the Lovey Dovey was pretty. The wood the table was made from was nice and dark, like mahogany, and would hide the stains better than the old, lighter table we current had. Also, it was longer, and would fit everyone better.

“Good choice,” Buggy complimented me as he was dragging a chest full of silver candle sticks over to the pile. “That looks it was carved from Goaen Blackwood, probably belonged to a noble’s dining set. You should see if you can find any silverware to go along with it. They usually have specific cutlery made to accompany each table.”

“I have to admit, I am surprised by the extent of your knowledge,” I stated, impressed.

“They don’t call me Trivia King Buggy for no reason!” he declared pompously.

“It’s true! Nobody ever beats him when it’s quiz night!” Mohji agreed.

“Thanks for the warning,” I snorted, before glancing over my shoulder at Jango and the P Brothers. “Go see if there are any dishes or silverware in the galleon that’s still intact and usable!”

“On it, captain!” they called out and rushed into the ship.

“Hey, Captain Alvida! I found something weird!”

Hearing that from Medaka made me chuckle. “The last time you found something weird it turned out to be a hermit crab that tried had hidden inside of an old glass jar,” I reminded her, and the red-head pouted.

“Yeah, but even Jodie and Eliza think it’s weird, so they wanted me to get you!”

Now I was intrigued. Those two were generally a decent judge of ‘weird’ if only because of how normal they were, and if they thought Medaka had found something ‘weird’ then that must be what it was.

“Alright, lead the way,” I said, and Medaka hastily led me and Buggy to a ship that had, at one point, been a Marine vessel.

This alone would have raised eyebrows, but it was on the deck that was interesting. A whole bunch of wooden planks and logs had been stacked up in a pile.

Curiously, Eliza was spinning one of these logs over her head with a laugh, showing off for Jodie who was watching with a hint of amusement. This was odd, because neither of them were strong enough to do that last I’d checked.

“Check it out, captain!” Eliza laughed when she spotted me. “I’m strong now!”

She then put it down, only for Jodie to pick it back up and examine it closely. The wood had a rich, dark brown grain with an almost golden sheen to it, and it was remarkably beautiful.

“Okay, what is that wood?” I asked. That had to be it! But what sort of wood could be so light?

“Oh,” Buggy uttered in awe as he ran a hand over the planks. And, dare I say it, a hint of nostalgia. “This is Adam’s Wood!”

“Adam’s Wood? As in, wood from a Treasure Tree? Those mythical super-sized trees?” Jodie asked, the gardener’s head snapping towards him with incredible speed, to which he nodded.

“Only a handful of ‘em left in the world. I’ve only seen two, and they were awe-inspiring each time,” Buggy said fondly. “Stuff is pretty damn durable, being stronger than steel while light as balsa wood! It can shrug off cannon fire if properly treated!”

“Well, damn. We’re definitely taking that!” I declared.

“Shame there’s not enough to build a ship out of,” Buggy sighed wistfully.

“Well, maybe not a whole ship. I could see a lifeboat being made out of the amount here,” I said, looking it over. “Or maybe the keel of a smaller vessel.”

“True,” he agreed.

“Why were the Marines transporting Adam’s Wood?” Medaka wondered.

“Perhaps to build something for themselves?” Eliza guessed.

“Most likely,” I hummed.

“Who cares? It’s ours now!” Buggy cackled.

That was honestly a good point, and we brought it over to the pile of loot we’d be transferring up to the Big Top and Lovey Dovey when we were done here.

As I unloaded the logs in my arms so they joined the rest of the treasure, I spotted Meroie standing nearby. The bluenette was looking at me while trying to act like she totally wasn’t checking me out, and I couldn’t help but smirk.

‘Seems like Meroie can’t get last night’s fun out of her head,’ I thought with a silent chuckle.

I caught her eye and winked at her, sending the younger woman hurrying off with a flushed face. Seeing that made me quite amused. I’d have to see if she was up for some more fun later tonight.

Though I did notice someone else staring at me, and not being very good at hiding this fact. I glanced to the side, knowing exactly when she was watching me with such a gaze.

“Moodie,” I called out, putting an arm around her waist and pulling her close. “Let’s have a chat.”

“Um, I have, uh, I’m busy?” she stammered, holding up her list.

“Oh? Like, say, peeping on me when Meroie was ‘thanking me’ for my help?” I asked, leaning in close to her so I could whisper into Moodie’s ear.

My ship’s doctor went still, and a massive blush came over her face.

“Y-you know?” she asked nervously.

“That you were getting off on being a voyeur last night? Yes, absolutely. You weren’t subtle. Or diligent in cleaning up after yourself.”

Moodie whimpered, her face now a bright, cherry red color. Seeing this, I decided to drag her along to somewhere discreet so we could have a chat. We returned to Meroie’s house for that. Since the bluenette wasn’t home yet, it would be a good place to have a conversation

“Now, I might be a bit slow at times, but I know that you are attracted to me,” I said, releasing Moodie from my hold. “All those side-glances and the way your eyes linger on my curves.”

‘Which is odd, because didn’t she date Fullbody?’ I thought to myself.

She must have read my mind or guessed my thoughts because Moodie giggled a little. “Oh, Alvida, haven’t you heard? All men from Frauce are gay, and all women swing both ways.”

I blinked before snorting at that. “Can’t say I’ve heard that one, but I guess it fits you, doesn’t it?”

I then folded my arms under my chest. “Let me get this out of the way. I don’t plan on being exclusive, Moodie,” I informed her. “At least, not right now. I’m planning on enjoying the good life as a pirate, and that includes a woman in every port. Maybe someday in the future I’ll settle down, but I don’t plan on it anytime soon.”

Moodie frowned a little at that, and I could see her shoulders slump in disappointment.

“I see,” she murmured. “I should have expected as much from a pirate, hmm?”

“I don’t mind one-night stands,” I told her, putting a finger under her chin and tilting Moodie’s face up so she could look me in the eyes. “But I will not be exclusive.”

“So, it’s fine if I sleep around too?”

“Of course. But just be aware that if you do ever sleep with me, that will change. I am very protective of what is mine,” I told her, leaning close. “And I am also rather jealous.”

“Hypocrite,” she breathed out, face still flushed.

“Pirate~!” I trilled out before letting my finger go. “Now, come along. We have things to do.”

Leaving Moodie a blushing mess, I whistled to myself as I walked out of the house. There were still plenty of shipwrecks left to explore!