Reiju and Carrot Joining

Reiju had come back earlier. As we approached, she looked up, her eyes questioning.

"It's worse than we imagined," I said, my voice thick with emotion. "This is kind of sad." Looking at the tragedy without the anime filtering was quite saddening.

Kaya nodded, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Humans can be so cruel. To isolate an entire island just because you are afraid."

"That is understandable," Reiju said. "When the first white lead disease spread, people all over the neighboring country were afraid if the disease was contagious, so they closed the borders, killing whoever went out of the island," she said.

"That is much worse than I imagined," Kaya finally shed a tear. "I thought they were dead because of the sickness."

"Humans were cruel by nature," Reiju said, her eyes distant. "They'll kill, plunder, even torture their kid or sibling because of some failure," Reiju fleetingly glanced at her bandaged left thigh.

I patted her shoulder and said," Let's wait for the others inside."

As we walked, Kaya kept close to Reiju, her hand lightly on Reiju's arm, as though ready to help her at a moment's notice. 

Back on the Merry's Revenge, I could hardly believe my eyes as the crew came back one by one, arms laden with bags, crates, and odd-looking treasures they'd scavenged from the ruins and forests of Flevance. Each of them had a determined look, their steps confident as they unloaded the spoils onto the deck. But a deep sadness lingered in their eyes.

Carrot's ears drooped, her usual energy tempered by what she witnessed. Even Carmen, always the most dramatic among us, walked with an uncharacteristic quietness.

Bellemere muttered under her breath, her brash confidence tinged with anger. "This kind of place, I thought Cocoyashi suffered enough. What are the Marines doing? Day by day, my hate for them increased."

"Mom," Nojiko said softly, touching her shoulder. She was calm, as always, but there was a tension in her eyes. "The damage was done years ago. There's nothing we can change about it now."

Kaya looked around, her gaze thoughtful and sad, but she joined in with the conversation. "Welcome back, guys. I felt sad, too. All these people must have trusted their leaders to protect them."

Reiju, leaning on her cane, sighed softly. "Trust, when placed in the wrong hands, can lead to terrible consequences. Don't ever trust anyone. Not even your family."

Carmen shook her head, her flamboyant energy dulled but still present. "If I were the leader of this town, I'd have done something to save it," she declared, her tone serious for once. "The people deserve that much."

Sham shrugged, not as moved as the rest of us. "It's all in the past, though. No point dwelling on it." She glanced over at me, her usual calm look softened just a little. "But I guess it's still sad, Captain; I think I will need an extra sex tonight."

Sham then strutted over to me, tossing down a burlap sack that jingled with the satisfying weight of coins. "There you go, Captain. An extra sex for me tonight, right, right?" she said with a hopeful look in her eyes. She pressed her bouncy boobs, covered by her thigh-black Catwoman outfit, her cleavage visible.

I peeked inside, my eyes widening. It was full of coins—berries, pieces of silver, even a few ancient gold coins mixed in. "Sham, you really went all out," I marveled.

She shrugged. "Eh, what can I say? I have a good eye for shiny things. So, what about my extra sex?"

Bellemere and Nojiko carried two large chests between them. Bellemere looked, grunting as she dropped one of the chests. "These were a pain to haul back, especially when you looked at the corpses around, " she admitted, wiping her brow, "but they'll be worth it."

Nojiko gave her mom a patient look before carefully setting her chest down. "We found these tucked away in an old cellar. They're mostly coins, but we figured they'd be valuable."

I lifted the lid of one chest, and sure enough, it was packed with gold and silver, the glint of jewels hidden within the coins. I could feel my heart racing with excitement.

Carrot bounced up. A small bag clutched in her hands, "I was too sad looking at the place, but look! I got some shiny stuff, too!" She opened her bag to reveal a scattering of coins, trinkets, and a couple of gemstones. I patted her head appreciatively, making her shudder and purr. "Every bit counts, Carrot. Great job!"

Carmen looked as proud as if she'd single-handedly found a mountain of treasure. "Behold!" she announced flamboyantly, setting down a heavy sack with a flourish. "The finest treasures I could uncover! I dare say I may have outdone everyone here."

"Shut your mouth, Kooky Cook!" quipped Sham.

"What did you just say, Cat-Servant?" Her body immediately glowed red, ready to attack.

"Sham, If you continue this, there will be no sex for you tonight." I told her, "You as well, Carmen, stand down."

"I apologize, Captain," the cat girl wiles.

"But, husband, I wasn't the one who started it?"

Nojiko laughed softly, patting Carmen's shoulder. "Come, let's prepare food for the evening."

Aerwyna walked with a bag that didn't look large but seemed to weigh heavily in her grip. She placed it down and opened it to reveal carefully wrapped bundles of silver coins, delicate jewelry, and even a few pieces of what looked like ancient artifacts. "I found these in what must have been an old storage vault," she explained quietly. "They seemed worth bringing back."

"Absolutely," I said, looking at the array of artifacts she'd managed to gather. My mind raced with ideas for the new ship—the extra cabins, the reinforced hull, the weaponry I could install.

Reiju smiled at me with a teasing grin, " I don't know the dynamic in this crew, but to gather loyal, capable girlfriends as crew, you must be something else, long-nosed san."

"Thanks, I guess," I said, touched by her praise.

She waved a hand dismissively. "As a scientist, I always felt curious about anything, Long-Nosed Captain."

"Does that mean you are joining my crew now?"

"Your crew looked interesting; there were no cruel and ambitious men onboard; they looked capable," Reiju glanced at Wyna. "I want to join this crew if you have another spot for me."

"Ah! Pink Lady is joining the crew, and then I am joining as well," Carrot said with that energy she had. Finally, there is a good supply of carrots!"

I could hardly contain my excitement as we gathered all the treasure into a pile. I had two new capable crew members, a rabbit mink and a scientist who ate poison like she ate a delicious jelly. 

I looked at the gold we had accumulated. It was enough to fund my dream. I will build a new ship strong enough for the Grand Line, outfitted with everything we'd need.

"All right, everyone," I said, my voice filled with pride. "With this, we're one step closer to our goal. Let's make this ship worthy of our journey, one that can carry us through anything the Grand Line throws our way!"

The crew cheered, their faces alight after the sadness. With our treasure secured, the Merry's Revenge would soon evolve into something more significant.

"Captain, I would still get my extra sex, right?"