CHAPTER 14:
Leaving the Nest
John looked at the girl sitting beside him on the bench. She was bent down, 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 will be a good addition but he doesn't really know her that well yet. There were other issues as well. Like this Island needing some protection, and the fact that she doesn'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 can't let go. She felt that she would never be able to move on with her life if she wasn't able to settle the matter. She needs 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 and 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 felt that someone was following him. When he turned around, he saw a face sticking out from behind a building behind him. The person then immediately pulled their head back to hide from him.
Why is this girl following me? John thought. He was getting quite annoyed at this girl who had been interrupting his plans for the day. He sighed and decided to just ignore her and go 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 and he feared that they wouldn't have any leather for sale. When he asked the shopkeeper, it turned out that he was right. But John didn't give up yet, he asked if the shopkeeper knew where he could get some leather and the shopkeeper told him sadly that the village hunter, who sold leather had died in the battle. The man told him that if he wanted to, he could talk to the hunter's widow and ask if her husband had some leather stocked.
John felt a twinge of guilt hearing this as he remembered 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, but in reality the people here have lost a significant amount of friends and family. This event had just made it more clear that even though he had a gamer ability, this world definitely wasn't a game. It was his reality now.
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 got there, he saw a fresh mound of dirt with a wooden cross set on top of it. John looked through the window of the house and 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 her child down before he knocked on the door.
"Hello, what can I do for you?" The mother asked when she opened the door. She showed him a smile to seem like she was doing fine but her dark and sunken eyes told a different story. John debated with himself if he should act normally or be delicate with the grieving widow. After thinking for a few seconds, he decided to get to the point so as not to disturb 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 doorway was. It was the man who saved their village. "Um, 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 leathers 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 can be seen in the corner of the room where some leather strips were laid out. "This is…was, my husband's workshop. The pirates weren't much interested in taking these hides…they just stole all of our money." The widow said sadly.
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?"
"Uh, you need to scrape the hairs out then hang them outside for a few weeks." The woman said, her sadness being forgotten for a bit because of John's straightforwardness.
Meanwhile, John was looking at his crafting menu and saw that he can craft the hides into leather anyway. He was only taking the table and tools with him so no one will question him where the armor he'll be creating came from. He just needed them to make it look like he created the armors manually.
John pinched his chin and nodded. "How much for all of them?" He asked.
At 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 her husband left her family. But when she thought of her children, she decided to part ways with it. The one buying it was the person who saved their village anyway.
"Um, 10,000 berries for all of them." She replied.
John reached into his pocket and handed her a stack of bills. When she took it in her hands, she thought that it was definitely heavier than 10,000 berries. "H-how much is this? I think you gave me more than 10,000." She asked him hesitantly.
"That's a hundred thousand." John said as he grabbed the leathers and the hides and rolled them together. He stuffed them inside a sack that he saw inside the workshop, slung the sack over his shoulder and headed back towards his ship to store the leathers. He came back to get the other stuff when the widow called him.
"Wait! Why did you give me these? I only asked for 10,000." She asked. She had already separated the money and was about to hand John the excess but he stopped her.
"You should take it and leave this island." He said, looking completely serious. He faced her and sighed before continuing. "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 that luffy and his crew had helped.
Did they get attacked again, or did it stay peaceful after he saved them?
He also thought about the islands he'd helped.
Is Goat Island doing okay?
Will Shells Town continue to be peaceful?
Is Mulberry Island going to survive after he leaves?
He thought about it and realized that, just because he saved a place once doesn't mean that it's going to stay safe forever.
Meanwhile, the woman was thinking about her situation as well. Without her husband, her family would not survive, especially not if they stay in Mulberry Island. The money that John gave her will be enough to move somewhere else and even start a business. This money can really help her and her kids so…
"Thank you." She bowed towards John, showing her gratefulness.
"You're welcome." John said while lifting the table on 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 widow asked him, "Excuse me, can you tell me your name?".
"My name's John, John Kenway." He said.
"Thank you John-san." The widow 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 didn't patrol near the island. They also take a very long time to come when they are called. That's why pirates hanging around the area were so confident, because there were 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 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 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 creating more leather strips to grind the skill but rejected the idea eventually. He only had limited materials and decided that he'll make armors for his crew instead. He then started to craft the armors one by one.
40 exp!
—
Silk saw John enter his ship with the table and tools and wondered what he was going to do with those leather and hides. An hour had already passed and the bounty hunter still hadn't left his room, so Silk decided that it was time to stop following him. She jumped from her hiding place and went 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 was a bit disappointing though. It looked like the headwear of a medieval era peasant, only it was made of leather. This 'helmet' made him look like an NPC so he thought about going without it. He was about to replace it with his black hat, when he thought of an idea.
"Hide Helmet?" He asked softly, unsure if it would work, when a screen appeared before him.
Helmet Options
-Default
-Invisible
-Costume
Hmm…I know what Invisible means, but what is Costume?
He thought as he tapped on 'Costume'. Immediately, another window showed up.
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 9am.
He thought to himself. Then, his stomach growled, confirming that it was indeed time for lunch. He surmised that time must have flowed when he was crafting the armors. Though, at that time, to him, the crafting felt instant. He didn't know why it had that mechanic, 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 armors. They asked him where he got it and he told them that he made it. He told them about the widow and the workshop and they accepted it. Baba wore the whole set while Broll opted to not wear the helmet, copying John. Though, he didn't know that John was still wearing his.
They visited Vien in 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 by.
—
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 as he wasn't sure if he should let her join his crew yet. He wiped his sweat, got dressed and went up the 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 while drying his hair with a towel.
The headman looked at John and then at his crewmates. He originally wanted to talk to their leader alone but decided to let the others hear what he had to say. After all, these people were going to be his granddaughter's allies in the future.
"I want to talk to you about Silk." He uttered.
"Is it about her wanting to join us?" John asked as he leaned on the mast with his arms crossed. "Don't worry, I told her she should stay here and protect the village." He told the old man. Though, he wondered if the young swordswoman will be enough to fight off a pirate crew on her own.
The old man shook his head. "No, I want you to accept her into your group." He said.
John raised an eyebrow at this. "Then who will protect this village?" He asked, still unsure about 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 because of 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 answered 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 like he was 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 asked him in a friendly manner.
The old man stayed silent and looked at the bounty hunter's eyes, as if looking for something. After a while, he motioned for them to take a seat at the ship's deck. He then started to regale them with the story of the Kino pirates and about their daughter, Silk. He told them how the pirate group protected their island, how the villagers hated them at first and how they eventually grew to like the rowdy group. Then, he relayed to them the demise of the Kino crew, meeting their end near Conomi Islands, and how a certain fishman caused their-
"Arlong?!" John suddenly shouted, interrupting the headman's storytelling.
"Who's Arlong?" Asked Broll, tears welling up in his eyes because of the sadness of the story he just heard. Meanwhile, Vien and Baba wore serious expressions.
Angry veins appeared on the headman's temple as he coughed, getting their attention back to him. He continued to tell them about Arlong, the pirate with the highest bounty in the East Blue. A pirate who leads a crew of fishmen, who were 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 stayed silent, thinking about Silk's story, her quest to confront her parents' killer. John for one, wasn't worried about it.
I think I can take her to Conomi Islands…Arlong's going to be defeated by Luffy there anyway.
…
…
"I'll let her join." John finally said and the old man smiled and got 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 said.
He had sensed that the headman wasn't really confident that the village would be able to protect themselves and might even let themselves be killed in a fight with the pirates.
The old man was shocked that the young man had somehow known that he was planning to fight to his death the next time they got attacked. "Don't worry, we don't plan to die without fighting." He told the bounty hunter.
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 with a judging tone and went back to walking.
"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.
"Do you know what's stronger than swords and guns?" He asked the group as they stood in front of the pirate ship. "Those!" He exclaimed while pointing at the ship's cannons.
—
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, John Kenway. 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 up 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.
Their crewmate, Vien, was back at work unfurling the sails. He got discharged yesterday but got a strict warning not to move too much by the healer. He was proudly wearing his set of leather armor, including the helmet.
"What are we doing with Gally's ship?" Asked Broll, who was pulling up the anchor.
Crescent Moon 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 can sell it and hire some guards or something. It's not our problem now." He said as he plotted a course to their next destination on his [World Map].
Then, the headman came out to the pier with the rest of the villagers behind him. The people waved goodbye and yelled out their thanks to the people who saved them. The headman had tears threatening to fall from his eyes as he waved a cloth in the air.
John grinned at this and punched his fist in the air, eliciting cheers from them.
"Get ready to depart!" He shouted.
"Aye, aye, Captain!" His crew answered.
He was about to turn the ship around when a voice shouted from the dock.
"WAIT!"
A figure ran quickly and jumped on the ship's deck. It was the young swordswoman, holding a sword in one hand and carrying a large rucksack on her back. She plopped down on the deck as she caught her breath from running all the way from her house 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 out of the pier and left the island.
"Get into your position, newbie!" Baba ordered from her spot on the lookout. Silk looked up and smiled determinedly. She headed to the front with her saber in hand, ready to cut down any pirate they came across. 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