Chapter 31

Prominence was once again, sailing through the sea. A day has passed since Rowly's Wimpy pirates fell by Rowan's hands.

Rowan's crew had left Sohelm island right after gathering the fortunes that previously belonged to the Wimpy pirates, which surprisingly amounted up to approximately 15 million Beli, even with one thousand and five-hundred men under their command.

Now possessing a wealth that amounts to 19 million Beli, Rowan's crew set off towards Sixis, which was situated in the chaotic sea that laid in between Sohelm island and Logue town.

"Rowan, we are about to enter the rough currents." Carina reported urgently. "It all depends on you!"

Nodding, Rowan crouched down on one knee and placed his right hand on the deck. What happened next was interesting, as the rough winds and waves that crashed against Prominence, from the sides to the sail clothes, were bounced off the ship before they could cause any damage.

Prominence sailed through the malevolent storm miraculously, and soon, the ship arrived at Sixis in the middle.

"The marine branch nearby probably received the report by now. I'm not sure what course of action they will take, but we can only move forward from here on." Rowan said as the ship was anchored on the edge of Sixis. "One thing we can confirm, however, is that they won't be able to find us here. Sailing to Bakery town or Sohelm island will require them to go around this disastrous weather, and we will use this to our advantage to enter the Grand Line before they even realize."

Carina and Carmen agreed to Rowan's words.

"With all that said, I just hope we leave here soon. This place seems pretty creepy." Carina remarked as she looked around the island with a frown. Right after, she suddenly tensed before taking out her knife. "Do you hear it?"

"Hear what?" Carmen asked as she looked around in caution.

*Rustle* *Rustle* The sound of rustling was heard on the nearby bushes. Rowan narrowed his eyes towards the bush, ready to react just in case.

Suddenly, a person with long, spike light-blue hair showed up, with an eye mask on his face. He was wearing a green-colored coat with opened midriff, which showed off his toned physique. The man looked bewildered as he stared at Prominence at its glory behind Rowan's crew.

"T-this... how?" The man asked in wonder. "The ship looks completely unscathed... you were able to get through this storm."

Rowan didn't relax as he asked, "And you are?" His hand laid on top of the revolver, attached on his waist. Seeing Rowan's reaction, the man immediately held his hands up.

"Please, I have not come to harm you." The man slowly spoke as he gulped. "I am just a nameless guy who decided to leave his hometown for an adventure, and got stranded in this island with no way out. I came here because I witnessed a large red ship entering the island, and was wondering if it can help me to get out of here."

"The fact that you're nameless already reeks of suspiciousness, you know." Carina replied with a clear suspicion on her face.

"No no, I am the opposite of suspiciousness! It's not that I'm nameless, but that I decided to throw away my name because I didn't want to affiliate myself with my previous family anymore! Don't kill me!" The man said in a panicked voice. "A-ah, how about I make a name for myself?! I know, since I am masked, I'll call myself Masked Dan! T-there, I no longer am suspicious, right?"

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(Author's Interruption: this dude is not OC. He's the Masked Deuce, who's supposed to be Ace's first crewmate. In case you haven't realized, Carmen isn't OC either.)

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Carina looked at Rowan with 'what do you think' look. Rowan walked up to the man who claimed himself to be Masked Dan, and took his mask off. "Hmm, nope, I don't recognize him." Rowan placed the man's mask back on him.

"So Dan, you said that you were on an adventure, right? Alone?" Rowan asked, in which Masked Dan frantically nodded. Rowan couldn't help but be suspicious of the masked man, even though he didn't seem malicious or strong at a glance. After all, he's been fooled before, by Psycho P and Mad Treasure. "Alright. Don't mind us if we do some checkups on you. If everything is ok, we will help you out to get out of here."

Hearing Rowan's words, Dan nodded with all his might.

For the next hour, Rowan's crew tried everything. First, Carina and Carmen dipped Dan in the sea to check if he's devil fruit user of not; he wasn't. Second, they checked for any hidden weapons or poisons Dan may be hiding, and they found nothing. Third, Rowan sparred with him to see if Dan is hiding any formidable strength. Although Dan was quite capable, Rowan was able to defeat him easily.

"So why wear mask and make yourself more suspicious?" Rowan asked. Although he hasn't completely let go of suspicion yet, he was pretty sure, that Dan wasn't an imposter.

Dan lightly scratched his head before answering, "I don't want my family to find me out, if I were to end up on a bounty poster."

"I can't even imagine how bad it has to be, for you to leave your own family like that." Rowan commented, reminiscing his deceased family.

Dan sighed. "They didn't approve me for being a bottom student in the medical school, where they've forcibly placed me into. I've always dreamt myself of adventuring on the sea anyway, so yeah. I just left."

Hearing this, Rowan, Carina and Carmen's eyes widened. The three of them secretly exchanged glances, and gave out a small nod. A potential doctor?! This was the best chance they had!

"Heh, we're on the same page here then." Rowan said with a smirk. "Each one of us, just like you, began to sail with a dream. For instance," Rowan pointed at Carmen, "Carmen over here is on her way to become the greatest chef in the whole world, while Carina over here," Rowan pointed at Carina, "will become the richest person of the world."

"And me?" Rowan pointed at himself. "I, Grimheart Rowan, too have a dream, which is to become the strongest man in the world." Rowan grinned excitedly at Dan, while inwardly thinking, 'Well, to be precise, I just want to survive, but the situation demands me to be strong...'

Dan's jaw dropped at Rowan's claim. "Hold on... Grimheart Rowan?!! It's you?!!"

Rowan heeded no mind at Dan's outburst, and continued. "And now, you." Rowan pointed at Dan. "To have the greatest adventure no one ever had. Join my crew, Dan. In whose ship will you enjoy an adventure greater than I, the Demon of the East Blue?"

Dan's shocked expression changed into a confused one. "What? You're offering me to join your crew all of a sudden, just like that?" He couldn't understand. In one moment, they were suspicious of him to death, and in the next moment, they are suddenly all chummy and wants him to join their crew!

"Don't worry, that was just an initiation to join our crew!" Carina said with a sweet smile. "Every person here went through that!"

"Yes, yes!" Carmen nodded with her eyes closed, while her arms were crossed. 'Something smells fishy... why do I feel like I've been tricked? Ah, whatever!'

"The moment I laid my eyes on you, I knew you were going to be my crewmate. There was no doubt in that!" Rowan held out his hand with a gentle smile.

Dan was still bewildered. "Uh..."

'Should I join? I mean, if speaking about adventuring, what he said is true... I won't stand a chance in the Grand Line alone, without a strong backing like that dude over there.' Dan thought as he stared at Rowan.

Intently observing Dan's behaviour, a corner of Rowan's mouth twitched up very slightly. 'Now!'

"Haa, how sad. It seems that the idea isn't as appealing to you. Don't worry though, we will still help you to leave this island." Rowan slowly retracted his hand with a faked disappointment. Right at that moment, his hand was grabbed by a panicked Dan.

"Please accept me as a part of your crew, captain!!!!!" Dan latched onto Rowan's hand and shook hard.

With a sheer luck alone, Rowan managed to recruit a doctor into his crew!

'*Phew* What a relief. Now, all we have to worry about is entering Grand Line safely.' Rowan thought as he patted Dan's back.

"Welcome to our crew, Dan."