Chapter 18

Ra pov

After my serious talk with Shakky, I had realised something; I wasn't the strongest..yet and till I became incomparably strong I would not be careless. From that day I stayed in 'sunshine' form throughout the day and stayed in normal form while at night, reason being I could not transform at that time though I didn't grow weaker but retained my normal strength.

Two weeks had passed and I was now prepared to go to water seven as my search had bore fruit and I found a merchant ship with a similar destination to mine. I hadn't lazed around during those two weeks, raising my fortune to 337,000,000 beli, training with Deri and learning more about her powers. We had said our goodbyes to Shakky earlier in the day and we were now on a merchant ship which were surprisingly difficult to come across. I mean it took a whole two weeks to find one and that was with luck on my side.

The journey itself was nothing to write home about write home about. I was bigger than most of the people aboard the ship and with my bulging muscles and tightly clinging shirt on my chest, the rich merchants usually avoided me. All there was between us was my travelling fees getting paid and nothing else. Some days later we approached water 7 though and the ship docked.

With Deri by my side, we were heading to where the shipwrights were located. I was in search of Tom but if not available I'd find myself another talented shipwright to make my ship. As far as I knew, he was a cow fishman and would be easy to spot. I had not seen any fishmen with my own eyes so I was just a tiny bit curious to know how they looked. We failed to find any sign of Tom from where the shipwrights were gathered so after some discussion I went in search of information on any other good shipwright though only as a precaution as we still had some days to search.

I realized something at the time, I wasn't good at information gathering, maybe due to how I showed myself as domineering and instead of asking demanded for information. Some of the few I asked in that not so polite manner ran away or froze in fear while those who were ready to throw hands got their heads buried underground. Communicating in this form was very difficult but it was necessary in getting more accustomed and control over it. Giving out a big sigh, I made my way to scrap island.

There were a lot of shipwrecks there as though it was a cemetery but instead of rotting bodies there were ships. And imagine my surprise when I saw the target of my search sitting on the floor and chatting with the now crowned pirate king. It is unknown whether he should be here at the moment but it is what it is. He seemed to have noticed my presence and flashed me a smile as a form of invitation.

He tapped the ground beside him as if telling me to have a seat on the bare dirty ground though to their credit there were some wooden boxes around allowing me to save some face for them. All that time Tom never inquired who I was, just staring at me in an interested manner.

Roger started the conversation." I presume you are here yo get a ship built for you."

"Yes " I replied promptly

"Wahahaha! Then let me introduce you to the best shipwright I know, Tom!"

"I've heard of him."

"That's great maybe he'll make you a good ship,though not as good as mine. Wahahaha!"

"You are dying, aren't you?" I went straight to the point.

"Is that a question or a confirmation?" He asked. The silence speaking for itself.

"You are an interesting one even forcing a dying man just to come here to talk to you."

"Wait what?" I shot back

"Wahahaha, nevermind boy." I was getting agitated and it might not take much longer before I attacked him, so I shrunk down in order to have a calm conversation.

My clothes loosely covered my body and for the first time Tom talked,"That's an interesting choice of clothes kid." I looked at him ignoring the fact that I was talking to a fishlike person and replied , "Thanks, they are the strongest pair I have." Roger intervened, "So kid what are you here to ask me or tell me in this case."

"It should be advice am giving you."

"Wahahaha! And what could that be?"

"If you plan to leave behind a heir, then you should ensure both mother and child are safe before dying."

"Oh! I see" he looked shocked to hear my words. But then continued

"Wahahaha! I see, then how about this, after I am executed search for a lady in Baterilla named Portgas D Rogue and contact Garp and with his help ensure that they are safe. Treat it as repayment for telling you my stories at sea cause I know many would die to have heard my stories."

I see he is crazy, but I'll try my best to fulfill his wish." Sure why not?" I replied

He shifted his attention to Tom and said," This outstanding young man here is known as Zentar D Ra, a man who as far as I can tell is not hindered by fate."

I wonder what he found out at the end of grandline to know something about me though it shouldn't be much. He turned back to me," Tom here is a very busy man but he wiil build you a ship and you will pay him as normal but you will owe him a favor for skipping in a very long line of people." This should have been a decision which takes time before deciding but knowing that he is Roger's friend and a bit of what the future has in store for him then having to owe a favor isn't that bad. Nodding as a sign of acceptance he laughed and standing up bid goodbye to both of us while leaving.

We sat there each assessing the person before them till I made the first move. "So Tom-san, how much beli would you need to build my ship?"

"200,000,000 beli if you desire adam wood and the money for building it will be paid after you see the final product."

"That's fine and how long will it take?"

"Depending on its size and the number of people building, it maybe some weeks or months."

"Okay, then can you tell me a place of interest for an explorer such as myself to go exploring?"

"Then you should probably head to Tsui Village."

"Thanks and see you soon." I said after I left in search of Deri knowing that I would be in this island for some time.

That was a very interesting encounter with the first fishman I've met.