A week passed since the incident at the now-disbanded Mercury Collective, and two weeks had passed since the conquest of the Panipuri Kingdom. The Humo Robinson drifted along the waves toward the Sabaody Archipelago, following the lead of the numerous collective ships.
It was a bright, sunny day as Shaska lay on her favorite deck chair, puffing on a cigar and sipping from a (large) glass of wine as she crocheted. Her legs were still in casts after having the bones broken by Mandy. How an octopus mermaid's boneless tentacles become bony legs after she turns thirty is still a scientific mystery, especially the ability to transition back and forth. The point remained that Shaska had a much easier time traversing on land with her human legs than her tentacles, so it was paramount that her legs be repaired properly.
Schwarz was on the deck, too, strumming along on his guitar and singing what was a popular sea shanty in this world, and a recognizable song in others.
"Don't you hear my call, though you're many years away? Don't you hear me calling you? Write your letters in the sand for the day I take your hand in the land that our grandchildren knew."
Lulupo and Roxanne continued their training in the gym, with the latter having moved up to one hundred pound weights. Ren was reading comics in the dormitory, while Zinnia tended to flowers she grew with seeds found in the Robinson's gardening section. Johnson was tinkering with his backpack, while Puerco sat in the crow's nest looking at a bikini magazine, disguising it with a medical textbook.
All in all, it was a normal, boring day for Worldwide Smoke. Or, as normal and boring as a day can be on the Grand Line.
Johnson finished his tinkering and went to the deck, pulling up a chair next to Shaska. He looked at her crocheting and was somewhat surprised.
"You… don't seem like the type who crochets, Shaska," he said.
Shaska looked at him with an unimpressed look on her face, then blew smoke and went back to her work. "Everyone needs a hobby, kid. Especially when I'm not as 'mobile' as I was before."
She put down her crochet hooks and took a sip of her wine, then continued with "tell you the truth, I'd much rather be training to fight that king guy, but that crazy ogre messed me up pretty good. We don't know when we'll run into him again.
"Doctor says I should be good to go in another week or so. Coating the Robinson will be a three day process; I've had it done numerous times. We should also take our time at the archipelago to get that freakin' gash in the hull fixed. It's been there for what feels like forever."
"Hm. And don't you think it's a bit early to be drinking?" Johnson asked.
"Five o'clock somewhere," Shaska replied, taking another sip.
Puerco looked up from his dirty magazine to check for land in the distance. And he found it.
"Hey, Shaska!" he called, looking through the telescope. "I see what looks like a bunch of huuuuuuge trees in the distance! I think it's an island!"
"Yup, that's Sabaody, alright," Shaska said. "I can only see a tiny dot from here, though. It'll be another few hours before we reach it."
—-
Ren came up to the deck from the dormitories, stretching as she did so. She saw Schwarz still strumming his guitar and singing, so she pulled up a chair next to him.
"You… have a really good singin' voice, Schwarz," she said, slightly blushing.
"Thanks, I know," Schwarz replied.
Ren was somewhat taken aback by his arrogance, then remembered how he phrased his request for her to retrieve his sword the previous week.
"I'll let you do me a solid and find it for me."
Ren thought "noble upbringing must have tampered with his mind… he thinks so highly of himself… but he saved my life twice… and… he's so beautiful."
"I wanted to be a musician before my family was slaughtered," Schwarz said. "I still really like music… but I have other priorities now."
He played a dissonant chord, then said, "I miss my little sister, Noire, more than anything… every now and then, I still get flashbacks of happy times with her… which inevitably lead to me thinking about her dying, bloody and mutilated in my arms…"
He started playing a sad, blues-y melody, then said "but I guess you're kinda the same. Losing your whole island to a crooked Marine. The desire for revenge… I know it all too well."
Ren couldn't help but blush at his candor; there was clearly more to this guy than just a spoiled noble.
He continued to strum along, not looking up, and said "what brought you up here, anyway? Just looking to talk?"
Ren snapped out of her reverie and said "oh! Uh, Ah just got bored readin' mah comics. Haven't gotten any new ones in a wahle, so Ah was just checkin' t'see how far we were from Sabaody. There's probably a comic shop there."
"Aren't you a little old for comics?" Schwarz asked. "How old are you, seventeen? Eighteen?"
"Y'shouldn't ask a lady her age, Schwarz!" Ren said, slightly incensed. "An' comics can be enjoyed bah all ages, not jus' kids."
She looked down, then said "but yeah, Ah'll be eighteen in a few months…"
He looked up and said "maybe I'll treat you to a special birthday concert, then."
Ren's eyes shot open, and her face went beet red at this. "Oh, well, if crew is still together, then, uh…" she said, forgetting her usual accent.
"Hm. Based on that reaction, she definitely digs me," Schwarz thought. "Now what do I do with that information…?"
"Ah… Ah'm gonna go t'th'crow's nest an' check how far away Sabaody is. Pleasure talkin' t'ya, Schwarz," Ren said as she got up.
"Later," Schwarz replied, strumming along.
"She is really cute, though…"
—
Hours passed, and the Sabaody Archipelago was a stone's throw away. The crew gathered on the deck as the sun began to set. The trees that made up the archipelago were unbelievably massive, dwarfing even a large ship like the Humo Robinson. Large soap bubbles drifted up from the surface of the water. In the distance, the ships of the Mercury Collective were visible.
"Holy shit, those trees are huge!" Puerco exclaimed. "Like, they were huge in the distance, but seeing them up close is something else!"
"And are those… bubbles?" Roxanne asked.
"Those are called 'Hustle Muscle Mangroves'," Shaska explained. "They're gigantic trees that produce giant soap bubbles. Put seventy nine of them together, and you get yourself a Sabaody Archipelago. Each is large enough to hold some sort of settlement on its roots."
In the very far distance were the lights of an amusement park. Shaska had to pause and flick ash off her cigar, thinking back to her childhood.
"Korla…" she thought.
"The trees all have numbers on them!" Zinnia said.
"Oh, yeah, that's how we'll find our way around," Shaska said, snapping out of it.
The tree directly in front of them had a big "44" on it.
"See that? That's grove 44. The trees in the forties are the tourist traps. What we're gonna be looking for is grove 13. That's where my friend's bar is."
"Shaska, darling, I've been here before. Aren't the low numbers where the riff-raff lurk?" Lulupo asked.
"Your point?" Shaska asked, blowing smoke.
"Considering how heavily injured most of us are… it might be a good idea to go somewhere else, darling…"
"We'll be fine. You can still fight. And like I said earlier, my friends at the bar are pretty freakin' strong. Stronger than me, even."
"That… does sound pretty strong," said Lulupo.
"Snake girl! I mean, Zinnia! Take the wheel and steer us to port! Grove 13 is in the center of the archipelago. We'll have to get there on foot. Grove 41 is where I usually dock. The Robinson should be safe there while we're away."
"Yes, ma'am!" Zinnia exclaimed before she and Ruth headed off to the steering wheel.
—
"Wow… the bubbles here are really big…" Puerco said as he stepped off the Robinson. He reached out to touch it, and his hand got sucked in.
"The roots of the Hustle Muscle mangroves secrete a special resin. When the plants breathe, they produce these super tough bubbles," Shaska explained, reclining in a chair made of Lulupo's hair. "My friend's gonna be coating the Robinson with this resin. Gotta do it every time you cross one half of the Grand Line to the other."
"Ooh! An amusement park!" Roxanne exclaimed, looking in the distance.
"We can goof off at Sabaody Park later, Roxanne. We need to get the Robinson coated first," Shaska responded, blowing smoke. "And like I said before, World Nobles visit this place all the time. You guys know how to behave around them, right? We don't want any trouble while we're here. If we cross them, they'll send a Marine admiral here. Then, we'll be in for a really bad time."
The rest of Worldwide Smoke nodded, and they set off for grove 13 together.
—
As the crew walked through the groves, Ren spoke up. "So… what's th'deal with these World Nobles anyway? Ah never understood wah they were such a big deal."
"The Celestial Dragons… are the reason that king guy kinda has a point," Shaska replied bluntly. "Snake gir-Zinnia? You mind taking it from here?"
"Hm…?" Zinnia said. "Oh… I guess I could explain… They are the descendents of the original kings who formed the World Government nearly eight hundred years ago… and they are allowed to buy and keep slaves, despite the practice supposedly being abolished.
"As you all should know by now, I was 'owned' by a man named Saint Legree after being abducted by slavers. Saint Legree is a Celestial Dragon, and even the authority of the Marines or the Seven Warlords wasn't enough to make him face justice for the crimes he committed against me and the numerous other people he kept as slaves."
Ruth nuzzled her face against Zinnia's, and she continued.
"Celestial Dragons are completely above the law. They can do what they want, when they want, consequences be damned. They can even murder those who look at them the wrong way."
"The World Government is ridiculously corrupt," said Shaska, blowing smoke. "It ain't right… but that king guy's 'new world order' where he's the king will just wind up being like the old one. If not worse, judging by the Mercury Collective."
"Speaking of, when do you plan on hiring those people?" Johnson asked.
"After we get the ship coating started. They shouldn't be too hard to find," Shaksa replied. "Just look for the reeeeeeaaaally skinny people in drab clothes. Assuming they survived the voyage here, at least."
Shaska flicked ash off her cigar (making sure not to light Lulupo's hair on fire), and said "point is, if we run into any World Nobles, be sure to bow before their presence. Or else they will try to kill you."
"Or worse," Zinnia added.
—-
Eventually, the crew came to grove 13. On top of one of the Hustle Muscle mangrove roots was a small, run-down building. It had an appropriately beat-up sign labeling it as "Shakky's Rip-off Bar".
"Rip-Off Bar…?" Roxanne asked, lighting up a cigarette. "Uh… Shaska…?"
"Trust me, bar gi-Roxanne. This'll be worth it."
Screams could be heard coming from inside.
"I GIVE UP! I PROMISE! I'LL PAY MY TAB! JUST STOP!"
The rest of the crew looked nervous; Shaska had a smile on her face. "Hasn't changed a bit," she said. "Open the door, pretty b-Lulupo."
Lulupo gave a nervous gulp, and opened the front door. A small bell chimed as the door opened. Inside was a slender woman about six feet tall with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth holding a beaten and bloodied pirate by the throat. She had short black hair and was relatively young-looking.
"Welcome. How can I help you?" she asked.
Shaska poked her head out from behind Lulupo. "Heya, Shakky, been a while."
"Shaska! It's been ages!" Shakky exclaimed. "And you all must be Worldwide Smoke!"
Shaska smiled; the rest of the crew looked confused.
"This is my friend, Shakuyaku. She's a former pirate who runs this establishment. Her husband is the one who's going to be coating the Robinson."
"How… How do you know about us?" Schwarz asked.
"I follow the news very closely," Shakky said. "Seems like you got into a bit of a scrape, being accused of killing an entire city."
"Wait, you even know it's just an accusation?" Johnson asked.
"Shaska may be a berry pincher, but she's no mass murderer," Shakky said, blowing smoke. "I know all of you by your wanted posters. Schwarz, Roxanne, Lulupo, Puerco, Zinnia, and Ren. I don't see Andy, though…"
Roxanne lowered her head. "He…"
"Say no more. I understand. The Grand Line is dangerous. And according to the paper, Worldwide Smoke was present in the Panipuri Kingdom when Balthasar von Esens made his grand reappearance," Shakky said.
Shakky turned to Johnson and said "I'm not quite sure who you are, though… Are you new?"
"I'm a former Marine who got court-martialed. Now I'm sailing with Shaska to help her take out von Esens."
"Hmhmhm… good luck with that then," Shakky mused.
Shakky started pouring beer for everyone, except the underaged Ren. "Here's a round on the house. He should be back soon."
"Could I just have a cola instead?" Puerco asked. "I don't drink."
Shakky smiled and said "sure you can," keeping the beer she poured for him for herself.
Sure enough, within a few minutes of drinking and chitchat, the door to the bar opened. In walked an old man. He had round glasses, shaggy white hair, and a goatee that was quite poofy on the bottom. In addition to this, he had a scar over his right eye, though he was still able to see out of it. He was dressed quite plainly, wearing only a red shirt and cargo pants, along with sandals.
"I'm back, Shakky!" he exclaimed as he walked in.
"Welcome back, Ray," she responded with a smile.
"Shaska! It's been ages!" the old man said, noticing Shaska. "Looks like you got messed up pretty bad, too," he added, looking at the casts on her legs.
"We had an… interesting encounter a week ago," Shaska said, blowing smoke and flicking ash off her cigar. "I'll tell you all about it over a drink, Rayleigh."
"Rayleigh…?" Lulupo asked, a quiver in his voice.
"Oh yeah, I suppose 'formal' introductions are in order," Shaska said. "This is my good friend, 'Dark King' Silvers Rayleigh."
"Oh. Dark King Rayleigh," the rest of the crew said, casually sipping their drinks. After a second to process the information, they collectively spat out their drinks. Zinnia needed an extra second to process it before spitting out her beer.
"YOU'RE FRIENDS WITH DARK KING RAYLEIGH, RIGHT HAND OF THE PIRATE KING?!" the rest of Worldwide Smoke collectively shouted, much to Rayleigh and Shakky's amusement.
TO BE CONTINUED