CHAPTER 4:
Preparations
The afternoon sun was shining upon Goat Island as the pirate crew of the Alvida Pirates were lounging on their deck. They were enjoying the ocean breeze and pleasant warmth when suddenly, the doors of the Captain's cabin opened.
SLAM!!
Alvida, the captain of the Alvida Pirates, sauntered out of the room, slinging a massive iron mace over her shoulder.
"Beautiful afternoon, right boys? Are the preparations ready?"
She was a tall, big woman with wavy black hair. She wore a white cowgirl hat, a pink plaid shirt, and a blue captain's coat.
The pirates were startled, but one of them replied, "Y-yes, Alvida-sama! The weapons are ready, and the cannons are loaded!"
"Perfect! Hahaha!...Coby! Who's the most beautiful woman in all of the seas?"
"It's Alvida-sama of course! eh-hehehe." Coby said, bowing and rubbing the back of his head.
"That's right, so I don't wanna see anything dirty on my ship…Now get ready!"
Just then, two figures approached the ship from the village.
"Who are those two?" Alvira asked her crew.
"I think one of them is the village chief, captain."
Alvida walked up to the gangway to greet the newcomers. "What do you two want?" She asked with a smirk. "Do you want me to spare your lives? It doesn't come for free you know…hahaha!"
The village chief came forward and bowed his head towards alvida. "We wish to surrender all our treasure and this Island to you. But we must ask you to grant us a few hours to evacuate our homes and bring you all our valuables. We appreciate it if you can honor our last request."
Alvida looked at him quizzically and inquired. "And who's to say you wont just leave and take all your treasure with you huh? Are you trying to trick me, the most beautiful woman in all of the seas?!"
The village chief was taken aback by this and looked at the pirate captain, he then swallowed what he was about to say. The other man came forward and bowed. "You can leave some of your men to keep watch over us. We promise to deliver all our treasure to you and then leave on our boats to another island; you can even take the boats from us afterwards."
Alvida looked at the small, ugly fishing boats surrounding her ship. "You can take those ugly things with you wherever you're going," she said, her voice dripping with disdain. "But don't you dare think you're safe from me, wherever you are." Her smile was malicious.
"You, you, you and you,Coby! "Don't let any of these people out of your sight! If I catch any of you slacking off…"
CRACK!!! She swung her iron mace down and cracked the wooden floor. Then she pointed her mace at the two intruders. "That's what I'll do to your heads as well if you are lying to me." She then left toward her cabin.
When she turned around, John used 'Observe' on her.
Alvida
Lvl. 20
Age - 25
HP - 285
AP - 45
Level 20…that's the highest level I've seen yet, but that doesn't tell me much. Mitsuo is only level 17, but he has more health...I think Alvida has a lot more strength, considering she wields a giant iron mace.
The duo walked back to the village accompanied by the 4 pirates. They went up the town square and headed for the tavern. John opened the door and inside were all the residents of Goat Island.
The village chief stood in front of them and spoke in a loud voice. "The great Alvida has granted us permission! We must now use the short time given to us to prepare everything for the pirates; don't waste any time, everyone!" After his speech, he turned back to the pirates. "Thank you for your patience."
STAB!
John whipped out his knife from his vest and stabbed the pirate in front of him in the neck.
20 exp!
The two other pirates were surprised and were about to unsheath their weapons when two people emerged from the dark area behind them and whacked them both on the head with metal pipes.
CLANK!!!
Coby's face drained of blood instantly, and his eyes shot out of their sockets. Beads of sweat immediately formed on his forehead and he quickly bolted for the door, but a hand caught his shirt. It was Mitsuo, who had raised Coby in the air. Beside him, his daughter Sasa started tying up the knocked-out pirates. She stared at the dead pirate on the floor who was bleeding from his neck as she did so. Then, she looked at Coby and then at John and asked, "Should we kill this one too?"
Coby's heart was beating very fast at this point. Was this how he was going to die? By the hands of people who thought he was a pirate? Tears began to fall down his face.
John replied, "No, don't kill him. I want to talk to him."
Mitsuo set him back down and John put a hand around his shoulder. "Come with me, I want to talk to you."
This man had just killed one of his crewmates so...Coby obediently followed him. John led Coby to the back of the bar and looked him straight in the eyes.
"What is your dream?" John asked him out of nowhere.
"W-what?!" Coby was dumbfounded by the sudden question.
John put both of his arms on the boy's shoulders and asked him again. "What is your dream?"
"I-I, I uh…," he looked into this man's eyes and saw that he was serious…He then looked downward to the side and whispered, "To be a Marine."
...
John kept his hands on Coby's shoulders and asked, "Do you really want to be a Marine?"
Coby replied with more energy this time. "Yes!"
"Then you should help us," John said as he took his hand off of Coby's shoulders and looked towards the inhabitants of the Goat Village. "We only want to protect ourselves from these pirates...and we have a plan." He looked back at Coby.
"Will you help us?"
Coby gulped and looked at everyone in the tavern. There were old people, young people, children, and capable-looking individuals. These guys are just trying to protect themselves. The pirates are the ones who are doing things for evil reasons.
…
Whatever plan they have, they don't stand a chance against Alvida. If I help them, I will surely die, but... at least I will die for justice.
Coby finally turned to look at John and asked, "What should I do?"
John beckoned him to walk with him. While Coby waited for his answer, they continued walking and exited the tavern.
"When somebody comes to check, tell them that we're collecting our treasures and evacuating our houses properly. When they ask about your other crewmates, tell them they're watching us very closely and sent you to report to them. Okay?"
"Yeah, I'll do my best!"
Outside, Coby saw the people carrying all sorts of heavy items - cabinets, tables, even beds - to barricade the two paths leading down to the docks. He saw men coming out of the General Goods shop, carrying crates filled with cheap weapons, and giving them out to the people. Children were collecting rocks and putting them into empty crates behind the barricade.
John started speaking, and Coby turned around to look at him. "We plan to create choke points using these two entrances," he said. "If we can divide them into two forces, it will be easier to handle them. But if they choose only one entrance, then we can flank them from behind. When you go down there to make your report, don't let them go up the paths."
"Yes, sir!" Coby answered. For some reason, this man gave off the feel of a Marine officer.
They continued to walk when someone ran up to John shouting, "Hihihi! They're all ready, John!" The man who spoke was short in stature, with unkempt hair, stubby limbs, and a hairy chest and arms. This man was named Petro, a fellow fisherman who was ostracized by the village because he used dynamites to fish. John was never rude to the man because it was all in the past. However, when Petro heard they were fighting the pirates, he immediately ran home and brought out his boxes of dynamite, looking very excited. "Just tell me when, and I'll give them hell!"
John sighed and told Petro to set himself up at the left path and give a box of dynamite to Mitsuo on the right. Petro ran off with glee in his eyes.
They went on and found themselves inside the general goods store. John looked the shopkeeper in the eyes and asked, "Has it arrived?"
The older woman went to the back of the store for a few minutes. When she returned, she held in her hands a long package, approximately 1.5 meters long, which was covered in cloth. She walked up to John and gently lowered the package into his arms. He removed the cloth and held it up in front of his face.
It weighed approximately nine kilograms; its stock was made of wood, while its barrel was made of metal. It lacked a visible magazine and instead, bullets were loaded one at a time through a hole on the side. A leather strap also adorned it.
It looks like a musket, but it works like a lever-action rifle; the bullets are round like a flintlock. The guns in One Piece really are weird.
"How much do I owe you?" John asked.
"20,000 berries...normally it would be 20,000 berries, but just this once, I'm giving it to you for free." The shopkeeper smiled, a soft smile that he hadn't seen from her before.
"But the bullets aren't free though! They cost 20 berries each, so use as many as you can during the battle! Ha-ha-ha!"
"Thanks, you can stay here; you'll be safe," John said as he placed his arm through the strap and wore it on his body, the rifle now on his back. He and Coby left the shop and headed toward the town square. By this time, the sun had set. As they walked, John spotted a pirate emerging from the ship and heading toward the village.
John said, his hand on Coby's shoulder, "Coby! Go down there and distract them. Tell them we're about to bring the treasure down to them. When you hear my signal, run up here immediately."
Coby gulped, then replied, "I-I'm ready, I can do this." He ran down to talk to the pirate.
John ran to the right entrance and saw Mitsuo standing there. "Are you all ready?" Mitsuo nodded; he was wielding a cutlass and had a cigarette in his mouth. He didn't say anything and just looked down at the path. John then addressed the people. "Get ready everyone! It's time."
He then ran to the left, where he saw Sasa and Petro getting ready to fight. Sasa now held a longer metal pipe in her hands, while Petro held the dynamite with glee. "Get to your positions!"
Then John climbed up one of the buildings he had scouted earlier. This one had a view of the docks, as well as the two entrances. He took the rifle off his back and loaded it with bullets. Then he aimed it toward the enemy ship, specifically, at the captain's cabin. He took a deep breath and pulled the trigger.
BANG!!