Chapter 168: Regrouped
Ben was on the Bridge of the ship. HQ was there as well at the helm. Zala, Mikita were resting in their rooms. Kaya had strong words for them to rest now. They were not too happy however they could not disagree with their Captain and the doctor.
Ben thought they both had paramecia devil fruits which are strong however they don't have the durability or healing of zoans nor the defense capability of logias. Ben thought he needed more of those shields. He wanted to make sure all his girls could fight however they could also be protected. Ben smiled. The best way to protect is not to fight but this world would not let them. Also they are pirates, danger is at every corner. Therefore the best way is to give them all the tools and train hard.
"Master, you seem to be in deep thought," HQ said.
"Yes, I am, Zala and Mikita got minor injuries," Ben replied.
"It's not the first time either. Mikita got a few hits from Parita. She was fighting a Captain with a devil fruit," HQ reported.
"Yes, I am not going to stop them fighting, however we need to be careful," Ben said.
"Yes Master," HQ replied. She added, "Master, Lexie has arrived with the girls."
"That is good, I will go see them," Ben said.
"Master, I will stay here," HQ said.
Ben nodded. He headed downstairs through the Bridge`s stairs to the Third floor where the vehicles are stored. He walked down and entered the Third floor where he saw the drawbridge of the ship retracting. Ben then saw Lexie park up. He saw Alvida standing on top of the tank.
"Did not want to sit inside?" Ben asked.
Alvida jumped down into Ben`s arms. She hugged him. Ben hugged her back.
"No, I like the fresh air," Alvida said.
Ben laughed. He kissed Alvida's forehead. Alvida smiled back. The door of the tank opened. The engine turned off. Nojiko, Honey, Marianne, and Robin exited the tank. Then Vivi exited, the tank holding a red orb in her hands. BM followed after them.
"Hi All," Ben greeted while Alvida leaned on him.
The girls greeted back.
"Good to be back on the Miss Love Duck," Nojiko said.
"That cavern was getting creepy," Honey said.
"What's that in your hand Vivi?" Ben asked, looking at the red orb.
"This is the treasure," Vivi replied. She explained the adventure they had, including the drawing on the wall, the fight with the robotic small monster and its weakness and how they got out.
"That's quite an adventure. Good job all," Ben said.
"My love will give special rewards," Alvida said.
"Rewards for sure," Ben added. The girls smiled and started to think about it. Robin had other thoughts on rewards.
"Also Vivi, time to go to the doctor," Ben said.
"You picked up on that," Vivi said.
"Ben is a good listener," Maarianne said.
"Okay," Vivi said.
"Kaya should be in her room," Ben said.
"Vivi I can put the orb in our General Store Room," BM said.
"We should get a treasure room," Nojiko said.
"We got berries and gold from our previous battle, are they in the general store room?" Ben asked.
"Yes my lord, they are," BM replied.
"We should consider having a separate room," Ben said.
"I understand my lord, I will work on it," BM said.
"You don't have to do it now," Ben said.
"Okay my lord, I will get on it," BM replied.
The girls giggled. BM took the orb and headed up the stairs.
"I will go and see Kaya," Vivi said as she left
"Are you not worried about her?" Robin asked.
"She had a mythical zoan devil fruit," Ben replied and added, "While she cannot use it yet, it has passive benefits such as durability and rapid healing."
"My love is right," Alvida said.
"I also gave her my gold liquid," Honey said.
"Good job, that is handy ability," Ben said.
"It is," Nojiko replied.
"Okay, girls, let's have the afternoon off," Ben said and added, "We have gotten the treasure, beaten that fishman, and on track to expand our crew by three."
"My love, I want to do some training so please excuse me," Alvida said.
"Well, I don't want to force you to do something, we had battles today, so I will leave it to your judgment," Ben said.
"Thank you my love," Alvida replied as she kissed Ben and left.
"Ben, I will also train," Honey said.
"I will as well," Marianne added.
Ben nodded and said, "Okay."
"Wait for me," Nojiko said. Nojiko, Marianne and Honey left.
Robin and Ben were by themself.
"So what will be your plan?" Ben joked.
Robin was serious. "Ben, I think those drawings, we saw are not what we think they are," Robin said.
"What do you mean?" Ben asked.
"I think those little monsters were not the bigger ones' minions," Robin said.
Ben thought for a second. "What makes you think that?" Ben asked.
"The drawings I saw were different, but I think we need more evidence," Robin said.
"Okay, let's keep this in mind, we have one treasure, I think there may be more," Ben said.
"I do as well," Robin said.
"But, what are your plans for the afternoon?" Ben asked.
"I am going to take a bath," Robin said. She walked away and looked back at Ben. She smiled and then left.
"This could be a trap," Ben muttered looking at the door as Robin left.
However, he thought Robin may be right. Ben remembered a One Piece game which came out very early. The monsters the girls described sounded like them. However he did not play the game so his information was limited. Ben sighed.
"This will be fun," Ben said.
Ben thought he should also do some training. His haki training seemed to stall however he was making good progress on learning new abilities on his devil fruit. He thought it would be important to know new moves and also work on his stamina. He left the room.
Ben walked up back to the Bridge. He saw HQ looking outside the Bridge.
"Hey HQ," Ben said.
"Hello Master. The girls seem all okay," HQ replied.
"Yes, they are and some have a lot of energy," Ben said.
"That is good," HQ said.
"HQ, we are done with this island. Let's head to the next island," Ben said.
"Yes Master. We should be there in less than an hour," HQ said.
Ben thought that made sense. The islands were very close. "Okay, set sail," Ben said.
"I will go find Nojiko to confirm the path," HQ said.
Ben nodded. "I will go and do some training," Ben said.