Chapter 189

"I'm sure whatever you want to say can wait until then..." Cricket calmly said as he lit up a cigarette, prompting Masira and Shoujou to drop foods bags and the alcohol barrel they were carrying as they went to work putting them on the table.

"So... you guys are pirates, huh?" Cricket slowly said, his expression turning complicated as the word pirates came out of his mouth. "Are you after the One Piece?" he asked after getting a nod from me.

"I can't speak for the others, but as the captain of the crew, I don't have any interest in the One Piece," I replied with a smile, shaking my head.

"I became a pirate because it just felt like the natural thing for me to do..." I added, waving my hand to the side as I nodded at Masira, who put a plate of food and a cup of alcohol in front of me.

"But now, I'm aiming to claim the title of the world's strongest," I concluded as I picked up a piece of fruit from a plate nearby, putting it aside as I patted Lago, gesturing for the bird to help himself.

"Now that's one lofty goal, hahaha," Cricket said, suddenly laughing, but there was no mockery in his tone as he laughed, causing me to grin.

"I joined the crew because Johnny and the others saved my life, and I wanted to see the world beyond my hometown..." Elly said from the side, chuckling as she watched Lago fly off my shoulder into the table, gobbling the fruit and calling in satisfaction as he did.

"But what about you, Cricket?" Elly asked as she turned to look at the former pirate after noticing that Byron and Laffite weren't in a sharing mood. "Why did you become a pirate...?" she asked again, tilting her head to the side with a curious expression.

"I became a pirate to escape my home in north blue..." Cricket flatly replied, though his tone was tinged with bitterness, earrings three curious expressions from Byron, Laffite, and Elly.

"Have you heard of Noland The Liar's tale?" Cricket asked, heaving a sigh as he noticed the trio's curious expressions.

"Didn't you mention something about that to Doc, captain?" Elly asked as she turned to look at me, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"I did," I replied with a nod of my head. "But the story will have more weight if you hear it from Cricket instead of me..." I added with a shrug of my shoulder, giving Cricket a meaningful smile, much to Elly's confusion.

"So you've heard, huh?" Cricket asked with a raised eyebrow as he blew a cloud of smoke from his mouth. "No matter... Noland The Liar was..."

Cricket then proceeded to tell us about Noland's story, how he was executed for lying, and the fact Noland was Cricket's ancestor.

"... I was always laughed at as a kid, shamed by my ancestor's blunder," Cricket calmly explained, heaving another sigh. "I had to leave that place, and piracy was the only way I knew how..." he added, a faint nostalgic smile on his face.

"Now that I think about it, being a pirate was probably the highlight of my life... one adventure after the other..." Cricket remarked, his smile becoming noticeably bigger as he spoke.

"Then why did you stop being a pirate? And how did you end up here?" Byron asked with a curious expression, confused at what drove Cricket to quit being a pirate.

"It happened eight years ago when my ship ironically arrived here by accident," Cricket replied, closing his eyes and rubbing his forehead in frustration.

"It was supposed to be a regular pit stop, restock, adjust the log pose, and leave, but..." Cricket said as he opened his eyes, an annoyed expression on his face.

"I discovered this was the same island Noland talked about, the so-called city of gold, that many of my ancestors came to, trying to reclaim the family's honor, nowhere in sight..." he explained through gritted teeth, seething in frustration.

" And that's when I knew Fate wouldn't let me escape my family's curse any longer... so I accepted it and stayed here and find out once and for all if the city of gold exists or not..." Cricket added, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

"So your crew...?" Byron asked, suddenly pausing as realization dawned on his face, and he stopped before completing his sentence.

"That's right. My crew had hopes and dreams of their own and didn't want to be burdened with my family's curse..." Cricket replied, surprising everyone with a smile.

"In truth, I don't blame them. Even I wanted nothing to do with this matter, but fate insisted, and I had no choice but to oblige..." Cricket replied, letting out a breath as he relaxed the stiff posture he had while telling the story.

"Fate is fickle that way," Laffite said in a consoling tone, shaking his head as he did. "So you've been diving in search of Noland's city of gold for the past eight years?" Laffite asked, his expression a mixture of curiosity and approval.

"That's right," Cricket replied with a nod of his head. "If I found out the city of gold was real, then that was fine... If I found it wasn't real, then that's fine as well," Crocket remarked with a smile.

"It wasn't about proving Noland's innocence or clearing my family's name anymore... I just want to know for sure before I die and settle things once and for all before I die. For myself, and no one else.." Cricket concluded, shaking his head.

"You've endured so much, Cricket. You're a real man," Byron said as he suddenly stood up, patting the man's shoulders with tears running throughout his face, much to the Cricket and everyone else's bemusement.

"Still... captain, knock-up streams and ships are falling off the sky..." Elly muttered as she turned to look at me with a thoughtful expression, having connected the dots already. "Do you think...?" she asked in a hesitant tone.

"The city of gold exists," I stated in an intentionally loud tone, getting everyone's attention, especially Cricket, who looked at me with his eyebrow raised in bemusement.

"You don't have to look at me like that. These aren't cheap words of consolation," I said as I looked at Cricket with a smile. "I know for a fact the city of gold Noland spoke about exists..." I added, spreading my arms to the side.

"The only reason you haven't found it is that you weren't looking in the right place," I concluded with a shrug, leisurely sipping from the cup of rum in front of me.

"What do you know?!" Cricket said, losing his smile as he glared at me. "I've been searching every day for the past eight years!" he added, smacking the table with his palm, and causing it to crack as dishes and cups went flying.

"There's no inch of the sea I haven't dived into, and you're telling me I haven't looked in the right place?" Cricket asked, his expression twisted in rage, his tone marred in frustration as he glared at me, daring me to repeat what I said.

"Well, you did say you were diving..." I replied with a shrug of my shoulder. "But the city of gold didn't sink into the ocean..." I added, waving my hand to the side.

"It flew into the sky..." I concluded as I pointed into the sky, a wide grin splitting my face.