163. Tom

Jude calls the rest of the crew via denden mushi and they all come soon. They gather on Little Hunter's main deck and the Water 7 team is stunned when they see Brook.

"This is Brook, our new member," says Buggy casually.

None of them says anything before Jude & Ruff suddenly scream.

"GYAA! GHOST!" screams Jude & Ruff as they run and hide behind Palu.

"G-GHOST? Where?" asks Brook panicky too.

"It's you," says Cricket while sweatdropping.

"Eh? Ah," says Brook in realization.

"Oi Captain, why are you recruiting a ghost?" asks Palu confusedly.

"Don't worry, he is not a ghost. Just someone who only has bones & hair," says Buggy.

"That's what I mean by a ghost," says Palu.

"Sigh, he is a devil fruit user, is that enough?" asks Buggy.

"Ooh," says everyone in acceptance.

Jude & Ruff also understand it easily and now they aren't scared again.

"Eh? Is that explanation really enough for you?" asks Brook confusedly.

"Yeah," says the Water 7 team.

"You guys accept it too fast, aren't you?" asks Deon while sweatdropping.

"What can we say, devil fruits are the most mysterious things in the world. I won't even be surprised to see something like this skeleton here exist because of devil fruit," says Palu.

Everyone nods and welcomes Brook to the crew. Then they introduce themselves to the new guy like normal. Buggy then asks them if there's any problem and they shake their heads. They've solved the problems that came to them.

The Water 7 team then reports what they've done in these few days. They have met with Tom and the Tom Workers. The team also have learned about Tom's Sea Train project and it makes them interested.

Palu has joined the Tom Workers and helped them build things. Tom allowed Palu to join and learn from him after seeing Palu's big passion. Even if Palu is Buggy's crew, Tom won't teach him anything if his passion is low.

Ruff also has joined the Tom Workers, although not as a shipwright. He joined the Sea Train project and already gave Tom a few ideas. Ruff is very eager to at least make a working prototype of the Sea Train.

As for the others, they are just enjoying their free time like tourists. They take turns to enjoy their days and guard the Adam Wood. Water 7 is used to have pirates coming, so they don't have any hard time with the locals.

"Alright, you've done great. Now we can start our new ship project. Let's go to meet Tom-san and co," says Buggy.

Everyone nods and leaves the ship. They go to Tom's workshop together which is located very close to Scrap Island. It doesn't take long for them to reach the location. Buggy finally can see Tom, Kokoro, Iceburg, Cutty Flam a.k.a Franky, and Yokozuna the Frog with his own eyes.

"Tom-san, long time no see," calls Buggy excitedly.

"Ooh, Buggy, you've finally come, hahaha," says Tom happily.

"Kokoro-san, and..... the others, long time no see too," says Buggy.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THE OTHERS? DON'T PUT US AS EXTRAS!" shouts Iceburg & Franky.

"GERO!" shouts Yokozuna too.

"Hahaha, you look strong, Buggy. Very different from the last time I see you," says Kokoro.

"That's more than 4 years ago. Of course, I will change. Tom-san, I think you've known my reason to come here from my crew," says Buggy.

"Yeah, I will know it even if they didn't tell me. The Adam Wood is a very clear clue. It's like you want me to make another Oro Jackson," says Tom.

Buggy smirks hearing that and says, "Another Oro Jackson? This ship will be even greater than Oro Jackson. I don't want to just be like Captain Roger, I want to surpass him. So my ship needs to be better than his ship too."

Tom gets stunned for a moment before laughing, "HAHAHA, THAT'S THE SPIRIT, BUGGY. You are really Roger's apprentice. Then, can you show the blueprint now? Palu doesn't want to show it without your approval."

"Sure. Take it out, Palu," says Buggy.

Palu nods and shows their new ship's blueprint to Tom. Tom & co come forward to look at the blueprint and widen their eyes in surprise. They never expect this kind of blueprint from pirates like the Clowns.

"Who made this blueprint?" asks Tom.

"Me, but most of the ideas are Captain's. Ruff and I also gave some ideas, but Captain contributed to around 70% ideas of this blueprint," says Palu.

"Why don't you stop being a pirate and change into a ship designer, Buggy?" asks Tom jokingly.

"No thanks, that's not fun. Besides, I've thought about this design for years, so of course, most of the ideas are mine. So, what do you think?" asks Buggy.

"Alright, I'll help you make this ship. But it won't finish fast even with the 4 of us working together," says Tom while pointing at Palu, Iceburg, and Franky.

"Time is not a problem. I want my ship to have good quality, so I know it can't be rushed. How long?" asks Buggy.

"Around 1 month. This ship is big and has many new mechanisms. So I think 1 month is needed," says Tom.

"Alright, just tell me what you need. Money won't be a problem," says Buggy.

"Hahaha, of course, money won't be a problem for someone who can buy Adam Wood with this size," says Tom.

"Also, Ruff will work on those mechanisms, so you don't need to worry about that," says Buggy.

"That's good to hear. The mechanisms are the most difficult things in this ship, after all," says Tom.

After talking some more details with Tom, they finally seal the deal. The Clowns will stay on Water 7 until their new ship is finished. Buggy orders the ones who don't work on the new ship to not slack off and keep training.

Night comes soon and Buggy talks with Tom. He asks if Tom needs his help about the problem with the World Government. But Tom says he can take care of it himself and Buggy doesn't need to worry about it.

Buggy can only sigh and accept it because he knows Tom can really take care of it. He will get a pardon for his punishment, but the bastard Spandam will mess everything. All of it is because of the Pluton blueprint in Tom's possession.

'Well, let's see if the World Government still dares to execute him after I'm done dealing with Kaido and maybe Big Mom. If I can be an Emperor, then they will think twice to execute someone who built my ship,' thinks Buggy while grinning.

The next day, Tom's Workers plus Palu start their work to build the new ship. Ruff works separately to build the ship's mechanisms. The others are helping with menial things like carrying materials, preparing food, and entertaining the workers with music & dance.

The Clowns also take their time to walk around the island and train. They need to maximize this 1 month of rest to the fullest. They are quite close to the Marine HQ and even closer to Enies Lobby. So Marine might suddenly come here and they need to prepare for it.

______________________________________________________________

You can read up to 35+ chapters ahead of this fanfic novel & the other one on my Pa_treon page if you are interested.

Clicking that power stone/like also seem to be a good choice, hehe.

I've uploaded:

1. Chapter 187 of Fairy Tail: Sun Eater

2. Chapter 198 of Transcended as Lord Buggy

https://www.pa_treon.com/CaptMermain

(the web didn't use _underscore_, it's to avoid censorship)