John looked at the girl sitting beside him on the bench. She was bent over, hands on her knees, and lost in her thoughts. To be honest, he wasn't really against her joining his crew. A pretty good combatant like her would be a good addition, but he didn't really know her that well yet. There were other issues as well. Like this island needing some protection, and the fact that she didn't know he was planning to become a pirate in the future.
Meanwhile, Silk was currently debating with herself. She didn't want to leave the village defenseless, but her goal of finding the person who killed her parents was something that she couldn't let go. She felt that she would never be able to move on with her life if she didn't settle the matter. She needed to find the man who killed her parents, Arlong.
John saw the intense look on the young woman's face. He thought that the girl must have been having an intense internal battle in her mind, so he decided to give her some time to think. He tapped her on the shoulder and said, "Hey, I'll still be here for a few more days. Think about your decision carefully and then come and find me." He then waved goodbye and left her sitting on the bench.
—
John was walking through the streets, looking for a shop that sold leather. Suddenly, the hairs on his neck stood up, and he had a feeling that someone was following him. Turning around, he saw a face peeking out from behind a building. The person quickly pulled their head back to conceal themselves from John's view.
Why is this girl following me? John wondered. He was becoming increasingly irritated by this girl who kept disrupting his plans for the day. Sighing, he decided to simply ignore her and continue on his way.
After a few minutes of searching, John finally found a shop near the pier. The shop had fishing gear and various little knickknacks displayed, but he feared that they wouldn't have any leather for sale. When he asked the shopkeeper, it turned out that he was right. However, John didn't give up just yet; he asked if the shopkeeper knew where he could find some leather. The shopkeeper told him sadly that the village hunter, who sold leather, had died in the battle. He said that if John wanted to, he could talk to the hunter's widow and ask if she had any leather left from her late husband's stock.
John felt a twinge of guilt upon hearing this, remembering that thirteen people actually died during the battle. The quest results told him he had saved 47/60 villagers, and he had regarded that as a success; however, in reality, the people here had lost a significant number of friends and family. This event only served to make it clearer than ever before that, despite his gaming ability, this world was not a game. It was his reality.
He asked the shopkeeper where he could find the hunter's wife, and was told that he could find her house at the foot of the mountain. When he arrived, he saw a fresh mound of dirt with a wooden cross set on top of it. Through the window of the house, he saw a woman carrying a toddler in one arm and cooking on the stove with the other.
Silk, who was hiding behind a tree, also saw this scene and again began thinking about her decision to leave Mulberry Island.
John waited a few minutes for the widow to finish cooking and set down her child before he knocked on the door.
"Hello, what can I do for you?" the mother asked when she opened the door. She smiled at him, trying to appear as though she were doing fine; however, her dark and sunken eyes told a different story. John debated with himself whether he should act normally or be delicate with the grieving widow. After thinking for a few seconds, he decided to get to the point in order to avoid disrupting the woman and her family. He smiled at her gently and said, "I'm here to purchase some leather."
The widow was a bit confused, but then she recognized who the man on her doorstep was. It was the man who had saved their village. "Uh, can you please wait for a few minutes?" she replied softly. She went inside and instructed her children not to leave the house. She then washed her face, combed her hair with her hands, and patted her clothes down. She left the house and led John to her husband's workshop a short distance away.
It was a small wooden shack that had a chimney on top. Outside, a few tanned hides were basking in the sun, while inside, a couple of hides were hung up. Below them were some burnt wood and ashes. A table with some tools could be seen in the corner of the room, where some leather strips were laid out. "This is…was, my husband's workshop," the widow said sadly. "The pirates weren't much interested in taking these hides; they just stole all of our money."
John just nodded. "I'll take them all, even that table and those tools over there." He said while pointing at the table. He then approached the hides that were hung up and asked, "I just need to smoke these for a bit, right?"
"Yes..." The woman answered, her sadness being forgotten for a bit because of John's straightforwardness.
Meanwhile, John was looking at his crafting menu and saw that he could craft the hides into leather anyway. He was only taking the table and tools with him so no one would question him about the armors he would be making. He just needed them to think he had created the armors manually.
John pinched his chin and nodded. "How much are they all together?" he asked.
By this point, the widow wasn't really thinking about the consequences of selling her husband's things. After all, the workshop was one of the only things he had left for his family. However, when she thought of her children, she decided to part ways with it. The person who's buying it was the person who had saved their village anyway.
She replied, "10,000 berries for all of them."
John reached into his pocket and handed her a stack of bills. When she took them in her hand, she realized they were heavier than 10,000 berries. "How much is this?" she asked him hesitantly.
"That's a hundred thousand," John said as he grabbed the leathers and hides. He rolled and stuffed them into a sack he had seen in the workshop. He slung the sack over his shoulder and headed back toward his ship to store the leathers. He was coming back for the rest of the items when the widow called him.
"Wait! Why did you give me this? I only asked for 10,000." she said. She had already separated the money and was about to hand John the excess when he stopped her.
He looked at her seriously. "You should take it and leave this island," he said. "To be honest, this place will probably be attacked again. It's quite far from the other islands and the marine base. Without any defenses, there's no stopping any pirates from pillaging this village again and again. Without anyone to protect it, this place will…"
John stopped; he couldn't help but think about the places where Luffy and his crew had helped.
Did they get attacked again, or did it stay peaceful after he saved them?
He also thought of the islands he had helped.
How is Goat Island doing?
Will Shells Town remain peaceful?
Will Mulberry Island survive after he leaves?
He thought about it and realized that, just because he had saved a place once, didn't mean it was going to stay safe forever.
Meanwhile, the woman was also thinking about her situation. Without her husband, her family would not survive, especially not on Mulberry Island. The money that John had given her would be enough to move elsewhere and even start a business. This money could really help her and her children, so...
"Thank you," she said, bowing toward John in gratitude.
"You're welcome," John said while lifting the table onto his shoulder. "You should go to Shells Town in Organ Islands. There's a marine base there, and the people are nice too. Oh! Goat Island's nice as well; that's where I'm from." John advised. He then turned around to leave again when the woman asked him, "Excuse me, can you tell me your name?"
"My name is John. Kenway John."
"Thank you, John-san," she said while bowing.
—
Silk followed the bounty hunter as he carried a craftsman's table down the mountain. She heard his conversation with the hunter's wife and it got her thinking. Mulberry Island is doomed. She didn't know why, but the marines don't seem to patrol near the island. They also take a very long time to come when they are called. That's why the pirates hanging around the area are so confident; there are no marines to stop them. What she knows is, the island needs a protector. But the question is, who?
—
Inside the ship, John set the table and tools aside and opened the crafting menu. He looked up the recipes and saw that the materials he had brought were recognized by the system. He first turned the hides into leather and then some of the leather into leather strips.
SKILL ACQUIRED!
Armorsmith lvl 1 - Armors you create are 5% more protective. (Not retroactive)
Not retroactive, eh? So if this skill levels up, any armor I've already made would not be affected. Does that mean that I would need to grind this skill first, so that the armor I make will have better stats?
John thought. He started to consider making more leather strips to grind the skill, but eventually rejected the idea. He only had limited materials, so he decided to create armors for his crew instead. He then began crafting the armors one by one.
40 exp!
—
Silk watched as John entered his ship carrying the table and tools, wondering what he was going to do with all of those leathers and hides. An hour had already passed, and the bounty hunter hadn't left his room yet; Silk decided that it was time for her to stop following him. She jumped down from her hiding spot and continued on her way.
—
John opened the door of the captain's quarters and stepped out wearing his newly crafted set of leather armor. The armor, gauntlets, and boots looked quite good, surprisingly fitting the aesthetics of the One Piece world. The helmet, however, was a bit disappointing; it looked like the headwear of a medieval-era peasant, only it was made of leather. John considered replacing it with his black hat, but then he had another idea.
"Hide Helmet?" he asked softly, unsure if it would work; and then a screen appeared before him.
Helmet Options
-Default
-Invisible
-Costume
Hmm...I know what 'invisible' means, but what does 'costume' mean?
He thought as he tapped the Costume icon. Immediately, another window appeared.
Choose costume for current helmet.
-Wide-brimmed Hat (Black)
-Leather Helmet
He chose the first option and immediately, the leather helmet on his head morphed into a black hat, surprising him. Feeling a bit panicked, he looked around the area and thankfully, no one was around to see the unbelievable sight. He then checked his inventory and the leather helmet was still equipped.
Nice!
He was fitting the hat on his head when he noticed the sun high up in the sky shining very brightly. He looked around the pier and saw the fishermen already eating what looked like their lunch.
Is it lunchtime already? I could have sworn it was only 9 am. He thought to himself. Then, his stomach growled, confirming that it was indeed time for lunch. He surmised that time must have flown while he was crafting the armor. Though, to him, the crafting felt instant. He didn't know why this mechanic existed, but it didn't matter right now.
"Hey! Let's eat!" He called out to his crew.
—
After eating, he handed Broll and Baba their new leather armor. They asked him where he got it, and he told them that he made it himself. He explained to them about the widow and her workshop, and they accepted it. Baba wore the entire set, while Broll opted not to wear the helmet, mimicking John without realizing that John was still wearing his.
They visited Vien at the clinic to bring him some food and show him their new gear. Vien was envious and said that he couldn't wait to get better, so he could wear the armor as well. He dubbed it their new Bounty Hunter Uniform, which Broll got excited about.
—
The next day, while John was training in the weight room, a crewmate called out his name, saying someone was looking for him. He got up and wondered if it was the swordswoman again. He didn't want to talk to her at the moment because he wasn't sure if he should let her join his crew. He wiped his sweat, got dressed, and went up on deck where he saw who their visitor was. It was the headman of the village.
"What can I do for you?" John greeted the old man as he dried his hair with a towel.
The headman looked at John and then at his crewmates. Originally, he wanted to talk to their leader alone, but he decided to let the others hear what he had to say. After all, these people would be his granddaughter's allies in the future.
He said, "I want to talk to you about Silk."
John asked, "Is it about her wanting to join us?" As he leaned against the mast with his arms crossed. "Don't worry," he said to the old man. "I told her she should stay here and protect the village." Though he wondered if the young swordswoman would be enough to fight off a pirate crew on her own.
The old man shook his head. "No," he said. "I want you to accept her into your group."
John raised an eyebrow at this. "Then who will protect this village?" he asked, still unsure of the whole situation.
Suddenly, Broll butted in. "Why do you want her to go with us? Does she also want to become a bounty hunter?" he asked. Baba hit him on the head for this and told him to be quiet. She was the oldest on the crew and seemed to already understand what the old man wanted from them.
The old man looked out to sea and spoke somberly. "Don't worry about us...we won't submit to the pirates anymore. With the weapons you gave us, we'll protect this village with our own hands." He said as he clenched his fist.
John looked at the old man's expression and noticed that he didn't look like someone who was determined to fight. Instead, he was looking sadly at the sea as if he were nostalgic.
John turned serious; he uncrossed his arms, approached the headman, and looked him eye to eye. Then, he said something that shocked the old man.
"She has something she wants to accomplish, and you want us to help her, right?" He said to him in a friendly manner.
The old man remained silent and stared into the bounty hunter's eyes, as if searching for something. After a moment, he gestured for them to sit down on the ship's deck. He then began to recount the tale of the Kino pirates and their daughter, Silk. He spoke of how the pirate group protected their island, how the villagers initially despised them but eventually grew to love the rowdy group. Next, he narrated the demise of the Kino crew, meeting their end near Conomi Islands, and how a certain fishman was responsible for their deaths.
"Arlong!?" John exclaimed, interrupting the headman's storytelling.
"Who's Arlong?" asked Broll, tears welling up in his eyes as the sadness of the story he just heard overwhelmed him. Meanwhile, Vien and Baba wore serious expressions.
Veins appeared on the headman's forehead as he coughed, regaining their attention back to him. He continued to speak about Arlong, the pirate with the highest bounty in the East Blue. A pirate who leads a crew of fishmen, who are said to be ten times stronger, faster, and tougher than humans.
"That girl, she will definitely seek out Arlong. She wants answers. She wants to know why he annihilated her parents and their crew. So...I want you to take her. Not to help her get revenge on Arlong, but to make sure she doesn't do anything reckless that might get her in danger." He continued, finally ending with the real reason why he wanted John to let her join.
The group remained silent, thinking about Silk's story, her quest to confront her parents' killer. For his part, John wasn't worried about it.
I think I can take her to Conomi Islands... Arlong will be defeated by Luffy there anyway.
…
…
"I'll let her join." John finally said, and the old man smiled as he stood up to shake his hand. But John continued. "But only if I'm convinced that you won't be giving up your lives when another pirate group attacks this place."
He sensed that the headman wasn't really confident that the village would be able to protect itself and might even allow themselves to be killed in a fight with the pirates.
The old man was shocked that the young man somehow knew that he was planning to fight to his death the next time they got attacked. "Don't worry," he told the bounty hunter, "we don't plan to die without fighting."
John wasn't convinced. He got up from the deck and motioned for them to follow him. He descended down the ramp and walked on the pier with his hands inside his pockets as his crew and the headman followed him from behind. He turned around to face the old man. "How do you plan to protect yourselves?" he asked.
The old man was taken aback and struggled to answer quickly. "We'll... uh, we'll use our pistols and swords, the weapons we got from the pirates!" he answered.
John stared at him with a disappointed look. "Do you even know how to use those?" he asked the headman in a judgmental tone before turning away and resuming his walk.
"Uh, we'll study how to use them," the old man answered, walking faster to catch up to the bounty hunter. John beckoned them again and walked towards the Crescent Moon pirates' ship. After the battle, the headman and the villagers wondered what was going to happen to the pirate ship. The marines usually take the ship with them when they arrest pirates, but, this time, it wasn't marines who took care of the pirates.
He asked the group, "Do you know what's stronger than swords and guns?"
—
Silk stood up and left the shade of the tree where she had taken a nap. She stretched a little before descending the hill, deciding to go to the docks to feel some wind and relax. As she approached, she saw a couple of villagers wheeling some things from the pirate ship to the pier. When she got closer, she saw that it was the ship's cannons that they were taking. One of the people wheeling the cannons caught her eye; it was the bounty hunter, Kenway John. She moved to approach him when a hand grabbed her arm from behind.
"We need to talk." The headman said to her with a serious face.
—
It was the next day, and John and his crew were relaxing on their ship, watching the pier. It was now lined with cannons facing the sea, ready to repel any pirate group looking to pillage the village. The other entrance to the island was also being defended by a couple of cannons with a guard watching the horizon.
His crewmate, Vien, was back at work unfurling the sails. He had been discharged yesterday, but received a strict warning from the healer not to move too much. He was proudly wearing his set of leather armor, including the helmet.
Broll asked, "What are we doing with Gally's ship?" as he pulled up the anchor.
Gally, their prisoner, piped up when he heard this. "Hey! That's my ship! You already took her cannons, what more are you going to steal?!" He screamed at them.
John ignored him and went up to the helm. "The old man will take care of it," he said. "He can sell it and hire some guards or something. It's not our problem now." He plotted a course to their next destination on his [World map].
Then, the headman emerged onto the pier, accompanied by the rest of the villagers behind him. The people waved goodbye and shouted their gratitude to those who had saved them. Tears threatened to fall from the headman's eyes as he waved a cloth in the air.
John grinned at this and punched his fist in the air, eliciting cheers from them.
He shouted, "Get ready to depart!"
"Aye, aye, Captain!" His crew responded.
He was about to turn the ship around when a voice shouted from the dock.
"WAIT!"
The young swordswoman ran quickly and leapt onto the ship's deck, clutching a sword in one hand and lugging a large rucksack on her back. Panting heavily, she sat down to catch her breath after having run all the way from her home to the ship.
John looked at her from the helm. He gave her a slight grin and said,
"Welcome aboard."
He then pulled the ship away from the pier and left the island.
"Get into your position, newbie!" Baba shouted from her spot on the lookout. Silk looked up and smiled determinedly. She headed to the front with her sword in hand, ready to cut down any pirates that came their way. The crew now had their first combatant!
—
Silk
Lvl. 12
Age 18
HP - 230
AP - 46
STRENGTH - 5
PERCEPTION - 3
ENDURANCE - 7
CHARISMA - 4
INTELLIGENCE - 3
AGILITY - 9
LUCK - 2
PASSIVE SKILLS:
Swordsmanship lvl 5