Chapter 41

<Why do you sail?>

'Who are you?!' Rowan looked around him and found nothing but darkness.

<Each one of your actions contradicts one another. In one moment, you sympathize and save. In next moment, you harbour vengeance and brutally murder anyone who stands in your way. What's your goal? Play the hero? The Pirate King? The One Piece? The Strongest Man of the World? Or simply lead a peaceful life?>

Rowan kept looking around to identify the enigmatic voice that seemed to boom everywhere around him, but to no avail.

<You are weak. You have no dream or anything to chase after. You are despicable. As soon as you grow stronger than your previous self, you become complacent and start to act like a fool. Your very being disgusts me. Why are you still alive even?>

'Who are you to judge me?!' Rowan retorted back angrily. 'And why do I care as to how you think of me? My life is mine alone, so f*** off!!!'

Right after Rowan's outburst, he suddenly found himself sitting up on his bed while sweating.

"A nightmare?" He muttered to himself. He was in his room within Prominence.

The day before, Rowan's crew restocked the necessary supplies and left immediately. They also managed to gather some information regarding the next island that the Log Pose is pointing at, by asking other pirates 'nicely.'

In the end, it turned out that their next destination, called Mundi island, is an island with the size similar to the one Breman town was situated within. The Log Pose requires approximately a day to fully record the island and lock onto the next island.

Problem is, the whole Mundi island functions as the marine base, which is the reason why many pirates were stuck in the Breman town. It seems that the marines decided to trap the pirates within the island and prevent any further progression in the Grand Line.

Calming his mind, Rowan stood up and exited his room, which was located under the deck, along with the rooms for the other crew mates. Walking up the stairs, Rowan saw his whole crew mates awake.

"Hey captain, you're awake." Dan greeted Rowan by raising his hand up. His other hand was on the dumbbells that Rowan purchased long time ago in the East Blue.

Rowan smiled as he saw that scene. "Hehe, feels good doesn't it?"

Dan sweatdropped at Rowan's sudden change in attitude. He thought that his captain was quite normal in terms of mentality, but every time he works out, Rowan would turn into a training pervert. "Well, I saw you doing like 90 thousand curls in one go... like how."

Carmen peaked out of the kitchen window. "Breakfast shall be served shortly, so keep yourselves ready!" A mouth-watering aroma was emitted from the kitchen, instantly earning everyone's attention.

Carina, who was sitting on the rocking chair with her sunglasses, was seen to have teleported to the dining table in less than a milisecond, with a napkin tied around her neck and her hands clenching onto a fork and knife.

Already used to her antics, Rowan and Dan shook their heads before taking a seat for themselves.

Soon after, Carmen stepped out of the kitchen, while holding four plates at the same time; two on each of her hand, and the other two on each forearm.

"And the breakfast is served." Carmen placed the plates down and made a dramatic pose, which is now ignored by the members. Sulking, she sat down for her own meal.

Rowan clapped his hands together, "We give thanks to all the ingredients in the world," before wolfing down the food like a wild animal.

Carina was seen to be cutting the meat with an elegance, with her eyes closed and her chin lifted up high, which is the way she imagines how the life of bourgeois must be. There seemed to be a golden aura generated around her as she ate.

"Hot hot hot- oh wait, I AM the fire." Carmen said to herself as she placed part of the food inside of her mouth, which earned a deadpan from everyone.

'Am I the only one normal here?!' Dan cried inwardly as he watched the weird things that his crew mates are keep pulling off. However, right after making such a thought, Dan suddenly exclaimed as he ate a portion of the food, "Ooh, the novel taste I've never tasted before, what an adventure!!"

Whether if it was the Grand Line or just them being the usual, Rowan's crew has surfed away from the usual 'averageness' long time ago.

____________

"So what's the plan now?" Carina asked to Rowan after they finished the meal. "Are you going to pull those bullet tricks again?"

Rowan shrugged, "I can, but we got to think about two aspects for that. First, massacring the marines would lead to a huge raise in my bounty. Say hi to the marines and bounty hunters chasing after us over and over. Second, this is Grand Line, and there probably will be higher-ranking officers in the base that occupies the whole island. I'm not sure if the same trick will work again."

After the reply, Rowan turned to Dan. "Hey Dan, you are probably the smartest out of all of us here. Do you have any idea?"

Dan gave Rowan a smirk as his index pushed up the black eye mask he has been wearing, even though it wasn't necessarily falling off. "So it's my time to shine. The key here is to stay in the island undetected by the marines, until the Log Pose completes its recording and locks onto the next island. An area where the marines are everywhere? What's there to worry, if you become a marine yourself?

Carmen can create a distraction by creating some steams with her fire and the water from the ocean. Captain will quickly fly with Carina and infiltrate the marine base. How? Simply beat up two marines and steal their uniforms. Easy. No need to worry about being detected, since we only need one day. Using the steam, Carmen and I will hide Prominence in far distance; you will be able to sight us captain."

The explanation seemed bland, but Rowan could see the plan working.

"Heh, even better. Why don't we just steal one of the Log Poses they got?" Carina made a suggestion of her own, which earned a nod from Rowan.

"What if the marines sight the ship though? They surely will patrol the surroundings after witnessing a large steam coming out of nowhere."

"Haha. If I were them, I'd be more cautious of any infiltrations and sudden attacks. If anything, they will prioritize the defence; it's you two who have to watch out rather than us." Dan immediately voiced his thoughts.

"How much longer until we reach Mundi?" Rowan turned to Carina after deciding to act upon Dan's plan.

"Around four hours or so." Carina replied with a confidence.

'In the end, direct clash must be avoided, since we know nothing about their strengths. At the same time, the Log Pose must fully record the island or we need to acquire new one. As soon as our ship approaches, they will began their assaults. Seems that Dan's plan truly is the only option we got.' Weighing pros and cons, Rowan came to believe that Dan's idea is the best chance they got.

"Alright. Even the day seems a bit too long though. Carina and I will focus on stealing the Log Pose from their base. If there is any trouble on either side, we will communicate through the same noise pattern we used back in the Logue town. With all that said, prepare yourselves." Bumping his fists together, Rowan concluded the conversation.

Four hours left until Prominence reached Mundi!