Setting Sail Towards Jaya

The process of loading all that copper on the two ships took hours.

The plank that we normally used to climb up towards the ships were too thin for the carriages to easily climb up to. So we needed to find more sturdier and thicker planks for us to use. Which wasn't easy, since the World Government had deforested most of the island, we had to find a tree that was on the other side of the island.

This was something that I decided to do myself since I was faster than the rest of the crew. 

I immediately took to the sky, and started looking for any trees within the island, and luckily, I managed to find a little forest that was on the very edge of the island. I immediately used moonwalk to dash over. The trees seemed to be rather young because of their short height, but other than that, they looked very healthy and ready to chop. 

I unstrapped Labrys from my back and cut through two trees, they immediately fell down, but I strapped labrys back to its holding place before carrying the two trees back to the ships.

As a result, after a couple of hours of carving, we finally managed to make new, wider planks for the ships. Soon enough, we managed to get the copper on the ships, the rest of the crew immediately dropped down in exhaustion and groaned after. 

It was then that I decided to spend the night on the island.

As the rest of the crew slept in peace and quiet. I remained wide awake, as I spread my Observation haki to its limits. I already knew that the possibility of people revisiting the island was going to be miniscule. However, I just couldn't risk the chance that they could. Anything could happen at sea, and I had gone through far enough to know that.

Soon, morning came, and we set sail back to Water 7 as soon as the crew woke up. It was within the cabinet of the ship, that I took the oppurtunity to get some sleep as we went back.

When I woke up, I found that the ship was currently docking in the harbor of Water 7. I immediately walked down and had the crew follow me with the materials needed for the making of the ship. 

I found Tom discussing with some other ship-builders about some blue-prints. They would also occasionally look at one of the ships that was floating nearby before looking back at the blueprints before scribbling something down. He eventually looked up and smiled at me.

"Brat! I see you have brought something for me!!" Tom exclaimed excitedly.

"Yeah, this is the copper that you were asking. I'm going to get the Devil's Wood next," I replied.

"Blessed Copper! Call it by its proper name, Boris!" Tom lightly chided.

"Well, from where we got it from, it was far from blessed. If anything, I wouldn't be surprised if it was cursed," I argued.

"Well, that's your opinion, but I'll change it as soon as we finish building the ship! Just you wait!" Tom replied before laughing. 

I sighed before turning back and heading back out. We had much more materials to gather before Tom and his crew could build the ship.

"I told the crew to start prepping for Jaya," Ken immediately stated.

"That's good, tell the crew to wait for my command. On a side note, I have something I need you and the other guys to do while we're gone," I replied.

"What? I'm not going?!" Ken exlaimed.

"Well, I initially wanted to leave you behind," I started, but as soon as I looked at Ken's sad expression. I could only sigh, "but I don't want to take the risk of being undermanned while we're away, so you're going to have to come with us."

"Okay!" Ken's eyes flashed with an excited shine.

"Pick out some men to leave behind and keep an eye on the ship," I instructed.

It was then that I recalled something important, and I immediately began to rush back towards the harbor. I had to meet Tom again, and he was exactly where I had left him.

"Tom, what am I going to do with the Devil's Wood when I find it?" I asked.

"Oh! I almost forgot about that! Hold on," Tom said as he started making his way to the office.

It was there that he started to rummage through his desk looking for something before he placed something on his desk.

"Use this, if you get to Skypiea, someone will be able to tell you how to use it;" Tom explained.

"Wouldn't it be easier for you to tell me instead of having me ask around?" I protested.

"Well, how else will I have proof that you went there?" Tom replied.

"Are you saying that the people of Skypiea know how to use this?" I asked back, slowly picking up the item. It was a small circular seashell, the top was pointy, but it had a concave shape on the bottom.

"That's what the person who gave this to me said," Tom replied.

I had already known that Skypiea existed, I was just surprised that Tom; a fishman, had connections with Skypiea. 

"Fine, I'll make sure to ask around if I get there," I relented, pocketing the thing. It was obvious that it was a dial that the Skypieans often used, the problem was that I didn't know what kind of dial it was.

Soon, we were already on our way to Jaya island. Ken wasted no time sorting out the people who were to stay in Water 7, and Stussy had already organized the goods necessary for our expedition.

"So, boss, why are we going to Jaya island?" Kane, a navigator, asked.

"Well, we're going to bust a myth," I replied.

"A myth? What myth?" Brok responded.

"Skypiea," Stussy replied.

The crew immediately rumbled in surprised upon hearing the news.

"Isn't that place a myth?" Another crew member asked, but he was immediately bashed on the head by another crew member.

"You moron, that's why he said that he was going to bust a myth!" 

"How is going to Jaya island going to tell us where Skypiea is?" Another crew member asked.

"Well, we need to find information about it, and the best way to get there;" Stussy replied patiently.

"Jaya island has that kind of information? That's surprising," Brok replied curiously.

"Anyway, that's where we're going to start our search for it," I concluded.

"Why did the ship-wright ask you to go somewhere like that? Surely he knows that Skypiea is a myth, right?" Kane asked.

"Well, we don't necessarily have to go to Skypiea, but I heard that's where we are likely to find what we're going to be looking for;" I replied calmly.

"Oh, that makes sense, but what exactly are we going to be looking for?" another crew member asked curiously.

"I'll let you know after we get to Jaya, so make yourselves busy. It's not like the wind will magically guide us there," I instructed firmly. 

The crew immediately made themselves scarce and began doing their daily routine. Hell, even the pirates that we had captured earlier back had slowly intergrated themselves with the crew. They initially said that they didn't want to join our pirate crew, but their actions spoke much louder in comparison.

I could only light a cigarette and sigh as I let out a puff of smoke. It was then that I had remembered something else of importance up there in Skypiea, looking at Ken. I slowly began to ponder about letting him have it or not.

"Should I test his loyalty?" Stussy asked.