51 Saboady Archipelago I

Back on shore walking amongst the towering mangrove trees, Lafitte quickly made himself scarce, while Shinobu was practically beaming as she descended from the ship.

"Lafitte-saaannn~ You can run but you can't hidddeee~ Let's make our outing fun!"

Shinobu followed after Lafitte, speeding up twice as fast as Lafitte. Lafitte looked over his shoulder only to see Shinobu coming after him.

"Please let me have some time for myself!"

Lafitte all but cried as he disappeared from sight.

"Too bad, I lost sight of him~"

Glancing once more towards where Lafitte vanished from, Shinobu went on her own trip. She was especially interested in the bubbles floating around.

Ban and Akane who were left behind were acting a bit awkward. Akane had since her lecture realised she had acted a bit childish, sleeping in the same bed as Ban and all.

"Hey, I know what you're thinking. Stop that. I don't mind at all. I don't even see you as a woman and more as a little sibling so don't mope around."

Akane was cheered up, followed by a burst of anger.

"Not a woman? I AM a woman you know!"

"Hai, hai."

Ban didn't listen any further, while the grin was back on his face as the gloomy mood that had build up had been thrown aside.

"Then let's go and get some supplies. If you want to go to the new world, we would first need to find a coater. I heard it from some guys talking over there. The trip to Fishman island is aparently by going underwater."

Akane agreed, as she stopped walking and jumped on Ban's shoulders.

"You have feet..."

"Don't want to walk. Besides, you're tall and I can see a lot more from up here."

Not going to argue any further, the two of them walked around the streets in search of a coater for their ship.

"Ah right. Remember our ship is in grove forty. It would be bad if we forgot."

Akane added, as she called out to a few people on the side for directions.

Most of them led the two towards amateur coaters, whom were not as experienced as they had hoped. As proof, some of the customers were complaining about the quality of the coating material, while some complained about the time it took to finish the coating. While the worst known thing about amateurs, was that the coating would break at some point while under pressure. She really didn't want that to happen to her and her crew!

Akane and her crew were considered as pirates, not that she considered herself as one, they weren't planning to stay here all that long. So for now, they were looking for an experienced coater who was fast in his work and delivered great quality coating.

Having said that, it was easier said than done to find such a man/woman. None of the guys they went to were any good at all, so they really were stuck here. Maybe Lafitte or Shinobu had more luck, if they were looking for a coating mechanic that is.

As they continued to move around, they eventually ended up near a small gambling den. It was called the Beri-pit, as all the money people spent there would be left there.

"Let's go~ The best information can be acquired in a tavern and in a gambling den. For the right price that is."

Ban didn't wait for Akane's opinion as he went inside like he owned the place and took a spot at the poker table.

Ban looked on as the cards were being shuffled.

"How confident are you in winning this game?"

Akane whispered, as in the time that the dealer was shuffling cards, she had managed to get herself someone to explain the rules.

"Very confident."

Ban replied.

The game went on and remarkably, Ban managed to win a lot of times. Only a few times did he lose.

By the time he had almost tripled his primary stakes, a whole crowd had surrounded him.

"Yo, mister, you don't seem to lose all that often."

A tacky looking man said. He was dressed in a expensive looking suit, if only the gold color of it was a means to say it was. He wore multiple excessively large rings, with a burning sigar in his hands. He rubbed his hands together in a greedy manner when he spotted the pile of chips placed in front of Ban.

The man clapped Ban on the shoulder and moved his head closer to Ban's.

"Can you tell this poor man how you do it? Treat it as helping a fellow gambler out."

Behind Ban's back, the gaudy looking man gestured something to the banker, who nodded slightly in understanding. Catching that something was going on, Akane kept a close eye on the banker. They were clearly up to something.

"Sorry man, trade secrets. If I tell you, I would have to kill you~"

Ban replied, leaning back in his chair as he flipped a few chips in the air.

"Bah, see if you can keep that winning streak!"

The gaudy looking man stomped away to the other side of the table, as he looked took a spot to join the game. The angry look was exchanged for a fierce glint, but in it was also a hunger for the prize.

"Hey little fox, help your brother out a little when you see something odd. Can you do that?"

Ban asked, not minding particularly if she refused.

"You will owe me a favor."

Akane replied, showing one of her own foxy smiles.

"I could have sworn you were a lot more giving the first time we met."

Ban muttered as he once again started the game.

A few others had joined and the game began again.

Unlike the times before, the odds seemed a lot against Ban this time. Time after time he would get a losing hand. It made one wonder if the gaudy man wasn't a cheater himself.

"So, still want my help? you'll get broke at the rate this is going..."

Akane muttered, as Ban again received a losing hand.

"Yeah, knock yourself out. The guy is clearly cheating, even more than I was..."

Not even surprised Ban was cheating, Akane placed an illusion over the cards Ban received this time. Ban smirked when he saw the cards he had gotten.

The rounds went on and on as Ban raised his bet.

At the final round, the others placed down their cards. The gaudy man had a Full house, another had Three of a kind, and the last one amongst Ban's opponents had a Flush.

"Aw, too bad. It seems you lose."

The gaudy man said as he cackled in sheer joy.

The man smirked at Ban, who had still not put his cards down.

"Put down your cards. Let us all see what you got."

The others, even though they lost, began to pester Ban to put his cards down

"Sure, but it is your loss~"

Ban put down his cards, revealing the highest hand one could get in this game, a Royal Straight Flush.

"Imposible! You've cheated!"

The gaudy man yelled. His head became red in fury, the gritting of his teeth loud enough for the others to hear.

"I ain't no cheater. I play by the rules, honest to god~"

Ban said, though he felt a sharp pain in his neck when Akane pinched him.

"Now, time to get my money. I need to get some info after all~"

Ban raked all the chips to himself and went to the nearest exchange corner, and afterwards went to the nearest bar. His opponents glared after him, while the dealer just sheepishly scratched his head, not knowing how Ban could have gotten such a hand.

***

Sitting down at the bar, Ban looked at the bartender, a decently looking man, if not for the big scar running from one side of his face to the other.

"I'm looking for a master coating mechanic. Do you know of one who can help? One who does not mind helping the lawless people."

The bartender glanced at Ban, as well as the kid sitting on his shoulder and tapped patiently on the table.

Knowing what the man wanted, Ban shoved more than a few hundred thousand Beri to the man.

Pocketing the cash, the bartender gave Ban a cup of good beer and Akane some juice.

Under Ban's beer cup was an adress to which he should go.

On the paper were the words:

Shakky's Rip-off Bar,

Coater Ray.