Small talk

CHAP 116

/Rumble!/

The sky rumbled to the sounds of lighting.

But I didn't know if they were natural or not… It's better if I don't find out.

/Chomp!/

Ace ate a piece of a chicken leg, uncaring about the tense atmosphere in the ship.

Because he is trying to keep his identity a secret, he would always eat alone in his cabin, with me joining him from time to time.

/Gulp!/

-Haaa. This is truly good! He said

He looked at me and saw my pensive look

-What are you thinking about?

/Chomp!/

-... That guy. No matter how much I looked in the bounty book or in old newspapers, I couldn't find even a small mention about him. The best I found was a newspaper from 5 years ago about a heavy thunderstorm somewhere near Alabasta.

-In that particular storm, there were rumors about a man flying amidst the storm.

-And you think that's the guy?

-No… That's too unlikely.

-So why are you so troubled? Not like he is our enemy. The Marines will have to deal with him, not us.

-But I would at least like to know some…

-Look. In the Grand line, strong enemies are everywhere John. It's normal to not know the abilities of one or two… Or even several dozen. If they appear, just blast them. Like we have been doing for the past few months.

/Chomp!/

Ace had a surprisingly good opinion…

-Surprisingly, you are right. I already did my best, but if he comes for us… We could try to inform ourselves in the next Marine outpost. Although I doubt they will share any information with us.

-So… "Gulp"... Where are we… "Chomp"... Going now?

-For the thousand time, don't talk with your mouth full.

I picked a map and put it on the table. I used Hamon to make it float in front of us.

-I think the best course of action would be to stop at Cactus island and get some supplies, we need at the very least a Log pose, else we won't be able to travel effectively… Worse, we might get lost in the dangerous seas.

Ace just took another bite out of his chicken and said leisurely:

-I used to travel around Paradise all the time, if things go down the hill, I can provide directions. But I do agree that we need a Log pose. I didn't go everywhere in Paradise after all.

Ace looked at the map and said:

-Where do you think they are right now?

-Who? The straw hats?

-Who else, you idiot?

-How was I supposed to figure that out? For me, you could very well be talking about your Ex.

-Pff.

Ace spit the booze he was drinking. I easily avoided it.

-But… If I were to guess, they are certainly somewhere training, probably right here in Paradise.

-...

-At least they are safe. Man, if I can't figure out where they are, then the Marines also can't.

I don't need to figure it out since I already know.

-Yeah. You are right. There is no need to worry about Luffy. He is certainly safe and sound, goofing around like always.

Ace had a big smile on his face.

-You seem to really like him.

-He is my brother after all. Although it wasn't always like this… When I first met him, I just bullied him all the time… But he never stopped running after me, that determination changed me a little.

-Ho? Weren't you born in South Blue while he was born in East Blue?

-The thing is…

Ace told me a lengthy story that went from morning to night about his childhood days, how Garp trained him and how he together with Luffy and Sabo "conquered" their island.

-... And then, Sabo kicked that pirate right in the nu…

/Creek!/

Right when he was about to tell me about another one of his fights, the door to the Captain's room opened, revealing a sailor in patched-up clothes.

Although he was wearing rags, this was only his style, as his salary is more than enough for him to buy dozens of clothes.

Before he could even step in the room, Ace put back his bandana and hat, hiding his face.

-Captain! First mate! We are about to reach the end of the stream! Helmsman Fedrum has said we will reach Twin Cape in a few minutes.

-Thank you, sailor. You may go back to your duties. Said Ace in an unusually heavy voice.

This was him acting in order to keep his "serious yet caring" captain persona.

-Yes sir!

/Clouk/

The door closed with a clicking sound.

-Seems we will have to continue our talk next time. I said

-Next time you will tell me about yourself! It's unfair if I am the only one to talk about such embarrassing things.

-You didn't seem to mind though. Neither did I force you to tell me…

-Trying to escape?!

/Fwush/

I disappeared from the room before Ace could say anything more.

-HA! You may escape for now, but there is only so much space on the ship! I will force you to tell me about yourself!

…

The moon was bright, shining strongly in the Ocean.

From the ship's mast, I could see all the way down towards the sea, including the Twin Cape lighthouses. The place where Crocus live's

Who is Crocus? He was the Roger pirates' Medic, the person that allowed the pirate King to persevere for years in his disease. All the way until he reached Laugh tale.

And obviously, he was there to see it!

So right over here, we have a man who not only saw and lived with the pirate King, but also went to the most legendary place in the World!

And with me, we have none other than the son of the pirate King.

If we ask nicely, would he tell us how to reach Laugh tale?

… Probably not, but it would be an interesting experience to ask just how strong was the pirate king.

That would give me a gauge of how strong Haki can get with training.

Remember that Roger took years from defeating the Rock's pirates to finding Laugh tale. Meaning he could've gotten much stronger.

…

Our nameless boat stopped right beside the rightmost lighthouse. It was mostly to give a breather to all of our sailors.

The moment we stopped, an old man with a dark-colored shirt with some flowers in it left the small house near the lighthouse.

He wore blueish-grey shorts with sandals. He also wears glasses, a seaweed necklace, three gold bracelets, and a green-gem bracelet on his left wrist. He also has a scar on his left arm.

His eyes had two dark circles in them, showing we might've woken him up earlier than he is used to.

Before he could say something talked.

-Are you this lighthouse's caretaker? We are sorry to have disturbed your sleep. But there was a massive battle just on the top of the mountain, and our ship ended up being caught in the crossfire. Would you mind letting us stay here for a night to repair our ship?

His eyes stared intently at me for a few moments before he said:

-If you want to ask someone something, then you must first present yourself…

-Ah! Of course, sorry. We are the...

But before I could finish he said:

-I am Crocus. I am 73 years old…

He is just as I imagined.

-... Why are you all silent? Cat got your tongue?

-It's not that…

-You can stay here for a day if you wish, just be sure to leave by morning if you don't want to see someone dead.

The air got tense.

-And who would die? Asked Loodwick

-Me.

/Pff!/

I knew it…

-If that Laboon comes back and you guys fight against it, my house might be flattened for good this time, so make sure to leave before then. If you need anything I am inside the house.

…

Everyone apart from me and Ace was speechless.

Him, because he didn't care. Me, because I already knew his personality and "jokes".

-Alright! We will take this night to rest and leave John's clones to fix the ship. Said Ace

-Only this time. Don't think this will repeat anytime soon. I said

-Hurray! A day off! Screamed one of the sailors

Susein's face was normal, she was probably going back to training. She was quite shaken by the last fight.

Fedrum looked relieved, maneuvering the ship after the fight took its toll on him.

The brothers immediately fell on the floor and started to snore exactly at the same time, showing just how tired they were.

Popeye and Loodwick just looked at each other and saw the dark circles in their eyes. With a nod, they went to sleep in the cabins.

Frindin also went to sleep. The next day she healed many minor injuries caused by the previous event. She was tired after using her devil fruit so many times.

But I had another idea.

I made my way to the front of the ship, ready to jump down.

-Hey. Where are you going?

-I think I should visit him, that's all.

-... Are you hiding something from me?

-Not really. I just think we should talk at least once.

-If you don't want to say it, that's fine.

-Well… There is much more to that old man than he reveals. Let's go talk to him and you will find out.

-Sure.

(I recommend to take a look at the notes)