First crew!

There was a large ship on a private dock behind the main castle.

It was a Brig sloop.

(A battle ship that relies on the skills of the navigator. The Thousand Sunny is a brig sloop)

Inside the ship were many supplies and some treasure chests filled with gold and other items.

It seems this pirate group was always ready to flee, since they had their biggest valuables on the ship rather than in the castle.

On the castle we found many more items, we had the workers in there shift the items and some supplies to the ship.

-Look at this, Ace. I said while pointing towards a board.

-They left us all of their bounties for us to collect. How kind of them.

The board was filled with bounties, as if they were trophies to be displayed. Pirates see the bounties from the Marines/World government as a trophy for their strength.

That's true most of the time, but the value of a bounty may change greatly due to circumstances. A normal human may have terrific values like Robin at the very start due to her forbidden knowledge.

The total amount of all of the pirates was around a Million Berries. Compared to the Arlong pirates, these guys were trash.

(Arlong was around 40 Million I think)

We had the castle workers dump the pirates in the ship jail, so that we can collect their bounty later.

…

After a while me and Ace had a discussion, he went around the place and switched his clothes into more proper and intimidating ones, found in the castle. While I went to our other boat to sell it, since we won't need it. And buy some extra supplies and equipment of course.

As for the guy with the devil fruit? It was the Zoan Roach-Roach fruit. Allowing the guy to become a Roach.

Roaches are very strong insects, it's just that this guy wasn't that strong…

It even gave him flight with his insect wings, something rather powerful in the One piece universe where most fights are above the Ocean.

Kicking the air with Geppo or some other technique can drain stamina rather fast. So flying without wasting it is very good.

I was between killing this guy and gaining his devil fruit, then selling or giving it to someone else.

In the end, I decided to use this guy as an experiment. I placed a bunch of different fruits close to his body. And sent a Ripple directly into his brain, cutting it off from the rest of his body. It was an instant painless death.

And as expected, within a minute, one of the fruits changed into a Brown fruit with a bunch of little Roach legs on the side. It had some smooth scales, similar in composition and look to a Roach exoskeleton.

-Eww…

…

In the morning, our crew was waiting for us in the docks.

-...Do you think we got dumped? I don't see any ships around…

At that moment, a massive ship was seen coming from the Ocean.

-Isn't that! The Noble family ship? What is it doing here?

-Wait! Who is that person on the ship?

When the ship approached the docks a man jumped from it directly into the ground.

He was wearing a beautiful crimson red cloak, he had a black pirate captain hat, his clothes were very uptight. And finally, he had a small knife on his side, and a black bandana.

(Ace had a small sword he never used in the anime/manga. Was it a knife? This isn't the same one since that one was confiscated by the Marines.)

-Is everyone here? Let 's go then! He said.

-Are… Are you our captain? Asked one of the crew members.

-Yes I am.

-Why are you on the Noble family ship?!

-Because I took it from them.

Silence

-He is going to die soon enough… Said one of the sailors.

But the guards they expected never came.

From all of the crew members recruited yesterday, only the navigator stepped forward to enter the ship. It wasn't because he was courageous, it was because he predicted the Noble family pirates were already defeated.

-Just you? Sigh. These people have no courage, John! Did you do your work properly?

-Don't kid me Valet! It's not like it's easy to find a good crew from one day to another! I replied.

After our terrible acting someone finally said something:

-H-Hey!

From the docks, someone suddenly screamed. It was an adult girl with red hair. She was very beautiful, having the legendary "hourglass body" of One piece. But her eyes had clear dark circle marks, she also seemed rather malnourished. Just a little.

She had some freckles on her face and her hair curled up at the end, it reached all the way to her back. She was wearing some cheap linen cloth and a collar with a blue gem at the end.

After a shower, some new clothes and a week or two eating well she will be a man killer.

-Are-Are you guys looking for a doctor? She said

Ace, or should I say, Valet looked at me.

I just nodded in reply.

-Of course we are! But we aren't accepting just anyone! As long as you pass our test, we will allow you to come. He said

-We aren't paying 2 thousand Berries a day for nothing. I complimented

-2…

-2 thousand?! x People in the docks

-BUWAHAHAAH! If you think you are capable you can apply to the crew! As for the bunch down there… You are all dismissed, here is your first and last pay. Ace threw a bag of Berries into the group. Don't come bother me later!

Pirates only respect the strong so this act may be seen as weak, but we aren't looking for trash pirates, we are looking for capable personnel.

-We are in need of strong sailors… Around this much! And a cook, doctor, boatswain, shipwright and a sniper! If you have any distinct talents like a helmsman or a blacksmith, we have space for you!

-As for you little girl, as long as you can patch this guy up you pass the test!

I threw a guy right into the docks. He had his arms broken.

The girl looked scared, but she soon did something surprising...

A small seed appeared in her hands, she then fed the seed to the man and a bunch of sounds started to be made.

/CRACK!/

/POP!/

/SPLURG!/

His body twisted and inflated as if he was about to explode, but it all suddenly stopped, and in its place was the same now perfectly fine man.

His skin looked smooth, his hair looked well treated, even his nails had been done. Those close to the man felt as if they were smelling flowers.

The man woke up confused but was soon knocked out by me again.

-A devil fruit user? Said Ace

-Y-YES!

-Hummm. Is it a healing fruit?

-I-I don't know… I only used it once in my life… She seemed scared and worried.

-So you ate a devil fruit and never used your powers because of fear. Is that it? It's a rather common story, no need to be scared. I said

-She seems to have a very decent fruit, the man was perfectly cured and his body is many times healthier. Even some of the scars and long lasting injuries were cured. The fruit has great potential, I think we can even give her a raise.

-Then welcome aboard! Said Ace.

-You better come quickly! Else all of our positions will be filled! He commented

Everyone in the pier rushed towards the table I had set up near the ship.

-Calm down! First, get in line based on the position you wish for… I said

It was chaotic at first but soon we had our crew ready!