chapter 56

(I deleted this by mistake so I'm reposting it sorry to anyone who thought this was a new chapter!!)

Johnny's point of view:

After another hour of traversing the sea, we were finally at the ports of Tamworth town in the Irishia kingdom since it was very close to the marine's 80th branch, and we disembarked while leaving Bob to guard the ship and the injured Byron since he volunteered like usual.

This time, however, we didn't split apart as we didn't plan to stay here long, and we didn't want to get separated so as not to give the marine's a chance to target us individually if that was indeed their intention.

We were surprisingly well-received in this town, and after some investigation, I found out that this town had a particularly bloody history when it comes to dealing with pirates as the shores of the town were constantly being raided until the construction of the 80th branch nearby, and word of our actions of taking down Jelly ben jack had apparently reached this town before we did.

I was even approached by a fairly good-looking young woman who offered me a recorder snail and insisted I sign it for her. I did, of course, and when I asked her why she wanted to sign such a thing, she pressed the button on the snail's shell, and it displayed a recording of me playing my guitar and singing in that fancy bar back in Ballywood city.

It turned out that someone actually recorded me back then, without my knowledge, and it had spread all around the west blue for some reason.

I honestly didn't mind that. In fact, I was thrilled about it because I was a horny bastard, and becoming famous never hurt in that department, evidenced by the young lady clinging to my arm as Laffite and Wilson chuckled while Elly rolled her eyes in annoyance.

I eventually had to dismiss the girl as we approached our destination, the office of the best shipwright in this town, to have him check up on the black pearl.

While I'm sure that she didn't suffer any damage during our short voyage so far, being too careful never hurt anyone, and I would not risk the well-being of my ship by cutting corners to save time or money.

A middle-aged man hastily stood up to greet us as soon as we set foot inside the office. "Welcome to my humble shop, Johnny silver hand and company," He said with a hasty tone as he made his way towards us. "I am Sheamus, Tamworth town's best shipwright, as you no doubt know, since you are here," He concluded with a smile as he offered his hand to me, asking for a handshake.

"What can I do for you?" He asked with a radiant smile as I shook his offered hand.

"We only need to do a quick check-up on our black pearl. She's currently anchored in the docks," I stated with a smile as I drew back my hand.

"It would be my pleasure to take a look at any of old Jim's works," Sheamus stated with a smile as he proceeded to shake the hands of my companions as well.

After a little more pleasantries, we made our way to the dock and boarded the black pearl with Sheamus, accompanying us as we set sail to make our way towards his dry dock.

It didn't take us long to get there, and we were soon standing next to Sheamus as we gazed at the black pearl in all her glory as the dry dock's workers were hard at work checking every nook and cranny of the ship while cleaning her underside.

"You sure had old Jim go the extra mile for you," Sheamus said with a raised eyebrow. "He even gave up that batch of Adam wood he's been hoarding for several decades now. He must have high expectations for you, fellas," He concluded as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Is that so?" I asked in a confused voice. "He told us that he used the Adam wood to make the keel because we saved his brother's life," I stated while looking at Sheamus in the eye.

"Haha, he said that, did he?" Sheamus asked with a loud laugh. "That patch of Adam wood was his treasure not because of its value but because it's his only way to make his dream come true," he stated with a smile as he turned to look at the black pearl appreciatively.

"His dream, you say?" Elly said what was basically in all of our minds, while Byron looked sheepish for some reason.

"Old Jim is a sort of legend here in the west blue," Sheamus said with a sigh. "He is the best shipwright in this sea and possibly the second-best in the entire world," He concluded while shaking his head.

"The best shipwright in the world is undoubtedly Tom from water seven," He said in a somber tone. "But what most people don't know is that Tom and old Jim learned from the same master," He said to my, Laffite's and Bob's shock as the rest of the crew probably didn't know how much weight Tom's name carried.

"I even heard people in our inner circles say that old Jim had better skills as a shipwright, and the only thing holding him back was the lack of recourses here, like skilled workforce and Adam wood, unlike water seven, which is a shipwright's heaven," He concluded.

"He got that patch of Adam wood by venturing into the grand line and risking his life to get it, and he wouldn't give it up even if he had to die for it," he continued as he turned around to look at me with a smile. "So if he used that to build your ship, then he's entrusting you with his dream to make a ship for a crew that will surpass the people Tom made ships for," He stated with a broad smile as he gazed at my companions and me.

"He probably didn't tell you all of this as he did not wish to burden you with his dream, but now you know, so you better stop playing bounty hunters and get to the grand line already," He stated while pointing his finger at me. "That's right. You're not fooling anyone. Any person who had dealings with real pirates would recognize a crew of pirates when they see one," He concluded as he moved his finger to point at the rest of my companions.

"Rehahaha, you have quite the imagination," I said with a loud laugh not denying or affirming his claims.

"Thank you for telling us about old Jim's dream though. We'll make sure to live up to his expectations in our own way for making us such a great ship," I concluded with a smile as I turned to look at the black pearl with an entirely new perspective, causing the middle aged shipwright to shrug, seemingly not convinced at all.

'Even if he knows we're planning to be pirates, I doubt anyone would believe him, considering our record so far. Besides, the marines might already suspect something based on their strange attitude towards us," I thought inside my head with the equivalent of a shrug.

"By the way, this town seemed very hostile towards pirates," I said as I turned to look at Sheamus again. "And you are acting surprisingly accommodating towards a group of people you think are pirates. I wonder why that is?" I asked with a raised eyebrow while looking him in the eye.

"There are many different people with different personalities, and I can say the same about pirates," Sheamus said with a shrug. "You did nothing to hurt me or anyone I know, so why should I hate you because of what people you have nothing to do with have done in the past?" he concluded with a question of his own as he uncrossed his arms and shrugged his shoulder.

"It makes sense when you say it like that," I stated with a smile on my face as I turned back to look at the black pearl as the dock's workers were hard at work, cleaning her underside from any and all algae and barnacles, infesting her wood.

(Author's note: discord gg/sEtqmRs5y7 <—- the link to my discord server it already has a couple of awesome guys with memes and constant discussions about one piece)