Chapter 183

I smiled as I got off the bed, turning to give the three girls sleeping on the king-sized bed with blissful expressions one last look as I put my clothes on, leaving a tip for the three girls in light of their hard work as I left the room.

I made my way towards the hotel's dining area greeted my crewmates, who were already there having breakfast while ignoring the annoyed looks Elly and the other girls sent me, no doubt because of how loud I was last night.

"Still feeling stressed, captain?" Byron asked, sending me a knowing smile as I got myself some food and sat next to him.

"A gentleman never kisses and tells," I replied with a deadpan expression as I looked at Byron, much to the latter's annoyance. "That said, I'm a pirate, and I don't give a shit about being a gentleman! Rehahah," I added with a loud laugh, going into full detail about what happened last night while minding my tone so as not to defile the girls' ears with my profanity.

...

"And that's the hand that caused all the trouble..." I concluded my explanation, raising my left prosthetic hand in front of Byron, who looked at me with an expression of both awe, confusion, and horror as I finished the last bits of my breakfast.

"Anyway, there's still much for me to see here," I said, lazily stretching my limbs as I stood up. "I'll talk to you later," I added as I began walking away, waving my hand.

...

"South Grave, eh?" I murmured while looking at the gigantic rainforest in front of me with a smile. It was where Luffy and the others found and captured the south bird.

But what was I doing here, you might ask? Other than exploring, sightseeing, and wasting time, I was here to see if I could get myself a south bird as a pet.

Other than the obvious advantage of having a south bird as a pet, such as always knowing directions even in the grand line, the south birds were notably intelligent and capable of commanding insects.

But all these valid excuses aside, the real reason I wanted to catch a south bird is that they looked very much like parrots, and I wanted one to stand on my shoulder to create the stereotypical image of pirates I grew up with as silly as that may seem.

"A pirate captain with a hook (prosthetic arm), a saber (Triton), a flintlock pistol (Archangel my revolver), and finally a parrot (the south bird...)"

Would it be a waste of time? Probably. Was it childish? Most likely. But I didn't care. The child in me wanted it, and I'm going to do it.

"Welp, here goes nothing..." I murmured with a smile as I made my way through the tree line and into the South Grave rainforest.

I kept walking deeper and deeper into the forest as the trees became taller, the shrubbery getting thicker as the light of day became more and more sparse the deeper I went.

I smiled at the nostalgic feeling as I listened to the rustling of leaves as the tops of the taller trees danced with the salty sea breeze, the not so gentle flapping of the giant insect's wings that inhibited the forest, and the croaking of toads.

It all reminded me of the deserted island I found myself on when I first came to this world. Things were much simpler back then. Just Wilson, me, and constant training as I improved my strength, with no marines or world government to worry about or consider.

Good times, but I'm glad I left because I wouldn't have met Laffite and the others otherwise.

"Jyo!" I heard a deep, loud call from above me, snapping out of my thoughts as I turned to look up, noticing a bird roughly the size of a human toddler looking down at me.

The bird had a colorful plumage, chiefly in alternating patterns of purple and green. Its head was markedly lengthy and narrow, akin to those of toucans.

"Jyo!" the bird called again, clawing at the tree branch it stood on with its claws, causing the hornet nest hanging off it to fall right in front of me.

I just stood there with my arms crossed as hornets emerged from their nests, surrounding me for several seconds as they tried to sting me, only to give up after failing to get through my skin with their stingers.

"Jyo..." the bird called as it looked down at me, its eyes narrowed in a frowning contemplation. "JYO!" the bird called again after several seconds of silence, much louder this time as it raised its head.

My ears twitched at the sound of wings frenzied flapping coming from behind me, and I turned around to see a dozen or so of flying praying mantises roughly the size of a grown man flying towards me.

The bird looked at me with a shit-eating smirk, loudly calling again as one praying mantis broke formation and swung its scythe at a tree to the side, cutting it in half.

I raised an eyebrow at that display of strength, but I merely shrugged my shoulders and resumed staring at the south bird with a nonchalant expression, much to its annoyance as it called again, making the mantises increase their speed.

The mantises shrieked, beating their wings even more furiously as they flew towards me, finally reaching as they all swung their scythes at me.

"Nice try but no cigar," I remarked with a smirk, my expression turning cold as I flaunted my Conquerors Haki, releasing a silver transparent shock wave that stunned the mantises into unconsciousness, making them prob into the ground in front of me.

"Jyo!" the bird called once again, seemingly panicking this time with its small, beady eyes alternating between the fallen insects and myself. "Jyo...!" it called once more, as if saying this isn't over as it flew into the air, trying to flee.

"Trying to run now is too late," I said with a smirk as I watched it trying to get away. "You're coming with me, buddy..." I added as I jumped into the air, chasing behind the bird with Geppo.