chapter 52

(Author's note: quick heads up; I made a mistake last chapter by saying that Bryon's father went to the grand line 50 years ago; I edited it to grandfather, because Bryon is currently 23 years old and he would be at least 50 years old if his father left the sea 50 years ago. Also, Johnny's laugh will be Rehahaha now instead of Tehahaha because I feel this one sounds better, and Belly will be Berry from now on as well)

"I see. In that case, the test is, in fact, quite simple. You merely have to -" I said and then took a quick step forward and buried my fist in Byron's stomach. "- take my punch and not fall for 30 seconds," I concluded with a smile as I took a step back to observe his reaction.

Byron's face was scrunched up in pain, and his teeth were clenched so hard they looked like they will break any second even his knees were shaking, but Byron didn't shy away from the challenge as he removed his hands from his knees and raised to his waist as he straightened his back.

He took a second to calm himself and steady his legs and was finally able to stand still without shaking after three seconds, but that didn't last long as his knees resumed shaking after merely five seconds.

"Already ten seconds now. You only have to endure for twenty more," I said with a nod, as I looked at him with a smirk.

"You can do it!" came Wilson's voice from behind me, causing some of the people who gathered to spectate to start cheering for Byron as well.

Five more seconds had passed, and Byron's breathing became even more ragged as the exhaustion and pain finally forced him to lean back on his knees or risk falling flat on his stomach.

But Byron still didn't want to give up, and he strained his body beyond what was usually possible for him as he straightened his body again and kept looking me in the eye with burning resolve and determination. He even had the cheek to smirk at me as his wounds started spurting blood from the strain.

By the time twenty-five seconds had passed, Byron's body was entirely covered in blood and was on the verge of losing consciousness several times. But Wilson and the crowd's constant cheering had been of use as the loud voices of the crowd had woken him up several times after losing consciousness for fractions of seconds.

"5...4...3...2...1," I concluded the count down for the last five seconds. "Welcome to the crew," I said with a smile as I put my hand on his shoulder, but he didn't respond, causing me to check his vitals in a hurry to make sure he didn't die of blood loss.

"Rehahaha, what a guy," I remarked with a loud laugh after giving him a quick check-up. "He actually lost consciousness while still standing," I concluded as I raised my head back and laughed even more loudly.

"Hey, someone go and get his luggage while I patch up his wounds before he really dies of blood loss," I stated as I put Bryon's unconscious body on my shoulder and jumped back into the ship.

"I'm on it, captain," Said Laffite as he jumped off the ship and started picking up the bags that some town's people were carrying for Byron.

"An interesting guy ended up joining us," Said Wilson with a smile while drinking a big mouthful from a bottle of rum.

"Oh, he'll definitely be a good companion in the future," Said Elly as she while wiping her rifle with a white cloth while sitting on a barrel on the ship's deck.

"He's not half bad, for a young punk, that is," said Bob with a shrug of his shoulders as he played with his mustache.

Two hours later:

We've already set sail, and Toroa island has disappeared into the horizon behind us. And we are currently making our way to the marine's 80th branch, which was located on a small island west of the Irishia kingdom, to deliver Jelly bean Jack's head and claim his bounty.

It had taken me a full hour to patch up Byron's wounds, and to say that he was severely injured would be an understatement. It was, in fact, a miracle that he was able to reach the ship and talk normally even before I punched him in the gut, considering the injuries he received while fighting the pink pirate captain before Wilson arrived there.

I was currently leaning on the black pearl's railing while humming some songs quietly by myself to pass the time, but I had to stop as I heard footsteps from behind, causing me to turn around and smile as I spotted Elly's approaching figure.

"Is it really okay, captain?" Elly asked with a confused tone as she leaned at the railing next to me.

"What is?" I asked back, while tilting my head to the side in confusion.

"I'm talking about Byron. You know he passed out before Thirty seconds passed," she said and kept going before I could speak a word. "It's not like I have a problem with him joining, but I'm concerned that it will give you a bad reputation since you didn't keep your word. You didn't even sink the third ship that no one bought," she concluded with a worried tone as she looked me in the eye.

"Well, you see, Elly. Words are just words and they have no real value to them," I said with a smile. "In the end, what really matters is actions, not words," I concluded, but Elly still seemed to still have some concerns.

"Other than that, do you know what's the best thing about being a pirate?," I said as I put my hand on her head to ruffle her hair and she shook her head to both answer my question and shake of my hand.

"We can lie as much as we want and change our minds whenever we feel like it, because no one expects to keep our word in the first place, since we're pirates," I concluded with a smile. "Even though we're not officially pirates yet, Rehahaha," I remarked with a loud laugh, and Elly laughed as well, the last of her concerns vanishing with her laughter. (author's note: a little brook joke yohohohoho)