We made our way down the mountain in the twenty days that I had for my cooldown. The others protected me while I kept my eye on the panther, it was unusually quiet so I had to make sure it didn't try anything.
Phoenix, the immortal chicken our other animal companion had apparently grown to like me, regardless of what I did, the bird followed after me. Sad to think that unlike the adorable deer that was going to join Luffy's crew, this animal was actually emergency food.
As for everything else, there had been no sign of Bluejam since we fought him. Silas had collected poison from the slumber lilies, there was no chance of death with them, just an eternal rest he could snap people out of with a drop of blood. He had made it to level 24, his strength and vitality increasing with all the poisons he pumped himself with.
Coconut grew to level 28. He loved every moment of our descent, fighting different kinds of beast, even a massive ape that had helped his close combat skills grow immensely.
On the other hand, Dick and Billy hadn't trained or fought much at all. Their levels were stagnant.
As we approached the bottom of the mountain I felt my control over bone return. "We made it." I smiled.
"Our ship is out that way so we'll be seeing you guys around." Dick waved hurriedly walking away with Billy.
Coconut smiled as he shot out his chains wrapping around the two. "Don't try to run now, we haven't settled our deal. Didn't you want to recruit us?"
Dick cursed inwardly, in that fight almost three weeks ago he could tell that the pirates had become too much for him to handle. He had hoped they forgot about the bet. "Let's just call it even, no need to start a competition now."
"Oh no, we can't have that." Silas joined in. "We need someone to lead the new recruits." He said pointing to where Chico and the other Ganzack Pirates were docked close to the rowboat we had used to get here.
Dick sighed in defeat. "Alright you win, we'll sail under your flag, but don't go thinking that means you can call us every time you run into trouble." He reached into his pocket tossing me a baby transponder snail before turning away. "We only have the two so dont go losing yours."
"One more thing." I stopped them.
"What is it now?" Billy asked, growing impatient, he needed to get his arm looked at with proper equipment.
"It's for you Billy." I walked up, placing my hand on his arm before picking up the chicken. "Sorry Phoenix but ima need a few bones. Bone art: Helping hand." I called as I pulled bone from the chicken over and over again collecting it all into the form of an arm before placing my hand on Billy and guiding it to him. "It's much thicker than a normal skeleton hand, and should feel pretty good. It's basically a real arm outside of the fact it's made from bone and you'll have to get used to the feeling."
Billy picked up his blade with the prosthetic feeling pain erupting through his body from something touching the bone directly. He clenched his teeth, fighting to not lose his grip.
"That's so cool!" Coconut whispered excitedly.
"Guess this means you'll have to increase the strength of your bones, it would be a shame if the arm broke mid fight." Dick patted his brother on the back as the two walked towards where they were docked.
"You guys go with them." Silas ordered the remainder of the Ganzack pirates. "We'll take Ganzack's ship."
"From now on you guys aren't bandits!" I shouted after the group. "You'll be known as the storm pirates, named after me of course, better not disappoint!" Dick acknowledged me with a dismissive wave before disappearing into the crowd.
I smiled, turning to the others. "We should be heading back now, Buggy is sure to be missing us."
"Is he coming with us?" Silas asked, referring to the panther.
I pulled the panther forward, walking up the ramp attached to Ganzack's ship. "Of course, he's a powerful fighter." I told him. "Unlike Xiomi he doesn't have a reason to remain here. He's free." Which was my way of saying he wasn't directly connected to the system and forced to stay in one area.
"Fine by me." Coconut rested his hands behind his head.
Silas shrugged. "If you think it's for the best." He said as he followed us onto the ship.
...
"Come on phoenix, don't be mad!" I cried out as I chased the chicken around the ship. It may have been only level 2 but it was still hard to grab. I chased it for another couple minutes when it suddenly turned on me, head lowered feathers standing out. I stood there confused until it released a cry and half flew half ran forward. A moment later and I was being assaulted by a flurry of pecks. "Hey calm down!" I flailed about trying to get it off.
Coconut burst out laughing watching the display. "Be careful Sir, we're supposed to eat him, not the other way around."
I tried opening my mouth to reply to the boy but got a mouthful of feathers as the chicken stuck its wing in my mouth.
"Hey the panther is asleep, it's your turn to stand guard, I need to take a nap." Silas said as he dusted the black fur off his clothes staring at Coconut before seeing me in the corner of his eye. "Do I even want to know?!"
I tried explaining myself but everything was muffled which only led to Coconut laughing louder. Silas chuckled, his hand to his mouth. Embarrassed, lightning flashed through my hands as I tore the chicken away, roasting it immediately with electrocute. "It's not funny!" I shouted.
Silas held up his hands. "You're right sir, it isn't funny at all." He replied sarcastically.
"Really?" Coconut giggled. "I thought it was pretty funny."
"Fuck both of you." I returned dryly.
"Hey watch your mouth!" Silas responded with a smirk. "There are children present, what are you going to do if he picks up that foul language?"
Knowing his role to play, Coconut immediately entered the conversation. "Fuck fuck."
"Oh no I'm such a horrible teacher." Silas said with a grin.
"You two did not just use my own shit against me…" I stood there stunned. "I'll remember this betrayal." I turned away walking towards the crow's nest near the top of the incomplete tower. The two were still laughing behind me and I needed some time to think about what just happened.
I made it to the top of the tower looking down on the massive cannon and wondering if there was some way to complete it. 'I could take it to Iceburg. But he's not good with weapons, not like Franky. I mean if a bunch of normal civilians could complete it then Usopp might be able to make it work.' While lost in my thoughts I felt a sharp pain on my side. Looking down I saw the chicken head cocked to the side in confusion, as if it was wondering what I was thinking about.
"Hey what you doing up here?" I rubbed its head. "Either you are very forgiving or you're becoming a masochist." I chuckled.
The chicken pecked me on the neck with a steely eyed glare.
"Aight aight calm down, I'm sorry." I picked up the creature, placed it on my shoulder and jumped inside the tower. At the bottom was a room that opened up leading to the other parts of the ship, along with multiple Cannonballs and a place for them to be placed. I used my ability on the structure.
[Devil's tower(incomplete)
A massive cannon in the shape of a tower that increases the power of a cannonball over 100 times, leading to an explosion strong enough to destroy a small island.
Can not be completed without the blueprints!]
"So I'd have to find the island he was on in order to complete it?" I asked aloud. "Doesn't seem like a good move, maybe I could have it repurposed, turn it into something else." While I was thinking, a roar came from outside, followed by laughter. "What is he doing now?"
I ran outside to see Coconut jumping around the ship as Halftail rushed him. "Come here Kitty." The boy taunted the creature as it swiped its paw. Coconut sidestepped the attack punching the panther in its jaw, grinning as it recoiled in pain.
"Stop!" I shouted. "The ship cannot handle this much fighting; it's still incomplete!" But it was too late because the moment Coconut was distracted the Panther slammed a paw into the boy's shield sending him flying into the tower as it cracked.
I stood there shocked for a moment as I watched the tower break slowly falling over. The moment I realized what was going to happen I dashed over, placing my hand on it and sending it to my inventory but a small part of it was still attached to the ship and the entire thing disappeared from under us.
"Oops." I spoke as we free fell into the water. Coconut laughed as he landed, the crab armor surprisingly able to float. I held on to Phoenix landing in the water, forced to swim alongside an irate panther who clearly hated getting its fur wet. "Is everyone alright? I didn't mean to take the whole ship."
"Yeah I'm fine but how did yo-" Coconut cut himself off as his eyes landed on Silas who was still sleeping peacefully on what looked like a bed made of Flower petals. "How is he doing that? Did you guys get new abilities without telling me?!" He pouted. "That's mean."
"Okay first, this is an ability I had for a while, where do you think the sword comes from? Now second, I have no idea what that is." I told him.
[System error has occurred! Unauthorized use of ability has resulted in an anomaly.
Updating…
Update Complete!]
[Silas, Pirate, Lv. 24]
Age: 22
[Stats]
Vit: 17
Str: 20
End: 28
Agi: 37
Def: 18
[Skills]
1. Poison resistance(Poison damage reduced by 50 percent.)
2. Xiomi's blessing(Flowers that are hard as steel protect him at all times.)
'So there are things even the system can't control, did Xiomi go against her coding, is this what Silas meant by her giving him her blessing?' I chuckled. 'She's a good person.'
"It's Xiomi's blessing, her flowers protect him even though she's not in this world anymore." I told him.
"It's a shame she had to protect the flower, she would've made a good crewmate." Coconut replied.
I smiled. "True, now let's get going, sitting here kicking my feet to stay afloat is getting annoying."
...
A trip that was only supposed to take us a day's worth of sailing turned into a week as we continued to swim. Silas had woken up at one point initially confused by his situation until it was explained to him but despite how much he tried to let us sit with him the flowers kept dissolving and making us fall through.
It was a long and tiring journey, Coconut had gained two levels and I gained one due to fighting the sea beast that kept attacking.
Halftail had remained silent, calmly paddling after us through the journey. Honestly if it wasn't for the small rocky areas that stuck out from the ocean from time to time, we might've died of exhaustion.
"I see it!" Coconut yelled out in relief. "Orange town is just up ahead!"
"Finally!" Silas rejoiced using a stick to row the flower bed
"It's about time we get out of this water, once we make it to the island i can cure anyone of any diseases we might have gotten by being in the water too long." Feeling a rush of adrenaline we began swimming as fast as we could, reaching the island in a couple hours as night fell. I pulled myself out of the water, glad to reach real land. Phoenix who had remained glued to my shoulder throughout most of the journey flew down happily running up and down the coast.
"Should we sleep first and find Buggy in the morning or find him now?" Silas asked while I cured the group.
"The sooner we report to him the better." I responded as I began walking down the path towards Buggy's building.
"Hey Silas, don't go peeing your pants in fear again." Coconut laughed.
"Shut up." Silas hissed.
I pulled Halftail along, reaching the building and walking up the stairs to the rooftop, surprised to find it abandoned, everything was still there and no one was in the town so I knew Luffy hadn't come just yet.
"Captain! You there?!" Coconut shouted.
Silas looked around seeing no one. "He's not answering."
"Hold on, let me try something." I spread my electroreception out, recognizing four other living creatures on the building plus a few birds. "He's here just won't respond." I breathed in deeply before yelling. "RED NOSE!!! YOU STILL ALIVE?!!"
Instantly the air on the rooftop shifted as we felt an intense aura suppressing us, the four creatures stirred, one of them jumping out of bed and rushing towards the entrance of the tent. "Which flashy idiot is looking to die tonight?!"
I immediately activated my camouflage circling around. "Captain, you're alive!" I cheered, wrapping the man in a hug. "It's great seeing you, but you seem to be getting a bit riled up, we can't have that on a night like this. Electrocute!" Nothing happened. I sighed, taking a step back the red nosed pirate turning on me, his anger at least subdued.
"Darius, so you haven't decided to run away after all?" Buggy smiled. "Good Good, we can head to the grandline tomorrow, where's the other weaklings?"
Mohji, Richie, and Cabaji walked out the tent as I gestured to the others. "That young pirate from before has become an excellent sniper and has pretty good close combat skills, I'd say he's more than enough to beat these three combined." I smiled before turning his attention to Silas. "Doc has gone from the scared and stressed man he was, to a confident fighter with respect for his enemies, he's still stressed though." I chuckled watching the man's hair fall at his introduction. "He should be able to take on Mohji and Richie without much issue."
"So they've improved that much?" Buggy said as his head popped off, floating forward and looking the two up and down. "You wouldn't mind if we have that tested later on would you? What about him?" Buggy asked as his head floated over to Halftail.
Mohji and Cabaji, whose anger was bubbling due to the idea that they could be defeated so easily, immediately fell to their knees as their eyes fell on Halftail. The beast instantly slashed out, cutting Buggy's face into pieces. "Another freak." Buggy grinned, his face reforming. "He has to be at least ten feet tall."
"He and Coconut are about even in terms of ability with Halftail having the edge, Silas is a bit weaker than them."
Buggy turned to his old vice captain. "Told you they'd come back stronger Mohji, it's been two months and you guys barely grew at all, these three came back as worthy freaks for my Circus."
Mohji and Cabaji shared a look of mutual defeat, they're place on this crew was now at the bottom. The two people who they looked down on more than anyone else had surpassed them with two months of training. Cabaji especially was mad, it had proved that Darius was right. They had gotten lazy, he was sure that if he had one more year, Darius might've been able to surpass Buggy.
"This calls for a celebration!" Buggy announced. "Kid, you have been promoted, you no longer have to work as my attendant. As for you Doctor, your place on this crew is secured, as long as you're with me I'll make sure you're protected." His smile dropped. "Unless you cross me, then I have to kill you." His smile returned as he marched towards the tent. "I'll bring out some booze, let's party all night!"
As he entered the tent I turned my attention to Mohji. "You're a Beast Tamer right, tame Halftail and you can keep him. He's strong, he can effortlessly burrow into the ground and even use camouflage. Using him for balance while keeping Richie focused on speed should help you gain some much needed power." The beast-like man audibly gulped, deciding to take it slow with the creature.
"What about me?!" Cabaji interrupted, not wanting to be left further behind.
"As for you, we need to find you a decent sword. There's one that I'm thinking of but we'll have to make it to the grandline, just improve what you can for now." I walked past the two following after Buggy, it was about time I had some fun with the whole crew. Even though I refused to drink. "Let's eat!"
...
Hours passed after the party and the others passed out from drinking too much, it was mid afternoon when I saw someone sneaking around camp.
[Nami, Thief, Lv. 3]
Race: Human
Age: 18
[Stats]
Vit: 3
Str: 1
End: 4
Agi: 4
Def: 3
[Skills]
Navigation Lv. Max(Ability to tell the weather and navigate the seas.)
Bojutsu Lv. 5(Ability to use a staff and other similar weapons in battle, a skill with no max level.)
"Took me a bit longer to get here because that dumb rowboat couldn't handle the storm." The girl complained. "I need to find that map fast."
I smiled at the scene, the girl was more attractive than I could've imagined. A fan favorite was in front of my eyes. That didn't matter though, she was an enemy and it was only right that I take her out. I immediately rejected the idea when I saw a bird flying overhead, something in its mouth.
'Buggy said he got rid of the excess crew, that led to Nami making it here late without a proper ship. I'm surprised she survived the storm. Luffy is here on time but Zoro may end up lost without someone to row for him, these guys might be fucked.' Not wanting the perfect candidates for Buggy's motivation to die, I shook the young boy next to me awake, he and I being the only ones who didn't drink. "Coco, you think you could do me a favor?"
The boy yawned. "Huh." He blinked. "What is it?"
"That bird up there, shoot it down, there's a man stuck in its mouth, it'd be a shame if he fell into the sea." Coco looked up, forming his bow lazily and taking aim, hitting his mark directly, the wing being pierced as it shrieked and let go of the boy in its mouth.
Nami's eyes shot up hearing yelling as the boy crashed into the middle of the town, her eyes fell to where the shot came from locking eyes with me. "Shit." I heard her whisper to herself.
"I'm sorry but this space is reserved for the Buggy Pirates." I smiled warmly. "May I ask why you're here?"
"Um." The girl frantically looked around. "I saw the flier, you're looking for new members for the circus right?"
'This girl.' I thought. "Alright then, got any tricks, can't join the circus if you can't act."
"I can juggle." She shrugged.
"We have plenty of those, listen we're gonna be headed for the grand line pretty soon so if you have nothing of value feel free to leave." I turned away.
"Wait!" She stopped me. "I'm also a really good navigator, probably the best in the east blue, I can help you guys."
I sighed. "Seems there's something you don't understand, we're pirates, far deadlier than that fish you're afraid of."
She visibly recoiled. "W-What did you say?"
"Arlong is weak, I could probably beat him on my own." I lied. Then again maybe I could, would he count as a water type? "What you think I couldn't tell, that tattoo of yours is too obvious. If your Captain got problems with the Buggy Pirates, tell him to stop sending his lackeys. That shirt of yours isn't hiding anything, why are you even wearing a short sleeve, it's barely the end of winter."
She held onto her shoulder turning and running away, I flashed forward grabbing her arm. "Now why would I let an enemy pirate escape? You come to my village and sneak into my captain's personal base, what were you planning? Assassination?" She tried pulling away but I wouldn't let her. "Bone art: Cursed hands!" The boney hands wrapped around her holding her in place. "Power Cell."
She struggled trying to free herself but realized it'd be impossible. "Look I'm sorry, I'm not one of his pirates. I'm a prisoner just trying to buy back my island, I needed a map to the grand line so I could try making the money there."
"You think I'd believe that?" I drew my sword, a wicked grin spreading across my face, it was pretty fun messing with her.
"This seems to be the highest building on this island, maybe I can find out where I am." A voice could be heard as a hand latched on to the roof and a teenage boy rocketed to the top. I locked eyes with the guy, who surprisingly wasn't far off from his live action counterpart except that he looked younger here. "Hey, do you know where we are?" He asked, looking around before seeing the girl. "What are you doing down there?"
Her eyes began to water as she cried. "Help me, I don't want to die."
'Fuck.' I thought, immediately dropping the cell and bone. 'This is not gonna end well.'
"Wait!" I shouted jumping back. "I was joking, I swear!"
Luffy's fist flashed forward, ready to help a girl he didn't even know. She didn't even give him food. I jumped around dodging each attack which was hard with such a huge difference in stats.
[Luffy, Pirate, Lv. 50]
Race: Human
Age: 17
Devil fruit: Gum Gum Fruit(A Paramecia-type Devil Fruit, that grants the user's body the properties of rubber, turning them into a Rubber Human. *Hidden abilities related to this fruit.)
[Stats]
Vit: 45
Str: 50
End: 55
Agi: 45
Def: 55
[Skills]
Shock Nullification Lv. Max(Nullifies most blunt attacks.
Rubber Body Lv. Max(Can stretch the body to unnatural proportions.)
Lightning immunity Lv. Max(Completely immune to all forms of lightning.)
[Equipment]
Roger's Straw Hat(When gifted to another person, their luck increases.)
"Can I please explain myself?!" I yelled. "Hey if anyone is awake, I could use some help!" Halftail opened his eyes, looking over at me before closing them once more. "Anyone?!" A loud call came from behind me as Phoenix flew at the young teen, the sound more aggressive but not unlike the ones they make when used as a morning alarm.
Luffy seemed surprised. "Stay out the way, chicken." He punched the creature out of the way just for it to heal up and come back.
"Look kid, this is a fight between enemy pirates. It's rude of you to interrupt just because she asked for help." I said, trying to appeal to his pirate pride.
Luffy slammed the chicken away again. "You already beat her! I couldn't watch her die. Gum Gum Pistol!" He yelled, I pulled up a wall of bone as he smashed it to pieces.
"As a pirate, you need to be able to accept death. It isn't my fault she chose this life, I wasn't going to kill her, just give a warning to her crew." I argued.
Luffy seemed convinced for a moment until he heard the girl speak. "I'm not a pirate!" She cried. "I just want to save my sister and everyone else." Luffy's eyes hardened and I could tell he was getting ready to ramp up, not having much choice knowing I couldn't win, I called for help.
"RED NOSE, GET OUT HERE!!!"
...
Buggy's eyes ripped open, A frown spread across his face, his cheeks the same color as his nose. This was the second time in one day he was mocked because of his nose and this time he wasn't going to let it slide. He grabbed his hat putting it on his head as he walked outside the tent. "Which bastard was it? Who's dying today?
I breathed out a sigh of relief as I jumped back towards him. "It was the boy with the straw hat, I tried to stop him but he's too strong for me."
Buggy's anger flared as he faced his enemy, only climbing higher because there was more than one. "What kind of sorcery is this? You got a cloning devil fruit or something?" He asked, seeing two Luffy's.
Luffy stretched his mouth. "I ate the gum gum fruit, I'm a rubber human."
"Is that so?" Buggy took a step forward, almost falling. "Doesn't matter, die flashily your brat!" He yelled, shooting his fist forward, the attack missing Luffy by a couple inches even though he didn't move.
'Damn it, he's still drunk.' I made my way towards the back. "I'll need the others if we want to win this." I walked into the tent just to end up face to face with a green haired swordsman. "Who the fuck?!" I shuffled back. "How the hell did you get so lost you ended up here in a circus tent with one entrance that we didn't see you enter?! That doesn't make any logical sense!"
"Huh?" Zoro reached for his katana. "I just saw this island and chose to take a quick rest before continuing to look for my captain. Is there a problem, it seems like you know me."
I backed out of the tent looking over at the chicken. "Phoenix please figure out a way to wake the others. This is not a good situation."
[Pirate Hunter Zoro, Strawhat Swordsman, Lv. 48)
Race: Human
[Stats]
Vit: 45
Str: 60
End: 55
Agi: 40
Def: 50
[Skills]
Lost Ronin(No sense of direction, has high luck and curse resistance)
Three sword style Lv. 50(A style of swordsmanship with no level cap)
"I don't know what's going on." Zoro grinned. "But it seems like you're getting ready to fight."
I took a step back outside seeing Buggy split into pieces laughing as Luffy struggled to hit him. Zoro caught sight of his captain and called out. "Who the hell are these guys?!"
Luffy looked past Buggy. "Zoro, how did you get here?"
Zoro drew his blade. "Does that really matter? I'm assuming these guys are our enemies." He looked at me. "So where's your weapon."
'Fuck my life.' I thought as I pulled out the muramasa, and reduced the size of my reception to just a small area around me. "I'll say it once more, this is a huge misunderstanding."
The tent opened up as Coconut walked out followed by Silas, Mohji and Cabaji stepping into the sunlight.
"Misunderstanding?!" Buggy roared. "This is war, no one insults my nose and gets away with it. Captain's orders, everyone joins the fight or I'll kill you myself."
Luffy's fist clenched hearing the threat. "You'd kill your friends over something like that, I was right, you guys are bad news."
I sighed, defeated, but looking on the bright side, our crew finally got the motivation we needed. "Coconut, you support Buggy. He's drunk; he might not be able to win on his own. Phoenix you keep the girl back, she's good with a staff but you can handle it. Mohji, Cabaji, and Silas, you guys are with me. We won't be able to take down Zoro unless we go all out." The group nodded.
Phoenix waddled up to the navigator, staring her down, his body stiff. "A chicken?" Nami seemed confused. "What is it going to do?" She grabbed her staff in preparation.
Coconut took a few steps back aiming an arrow at Luffy's chest. "Go ahead Captain, I'll support you the best I can."
Zoro looked after the four men and the lion surrounding him, the grin on his face growing wider as he pulled out his other two katana. "Five against one, I don't like your odds."
I let bone coat my left hand, wielding muramasa in my right. Mohji cracked his whip, Cabaji jumped on his unicycle, and Richie licked his paws. Silas pulled needles out of his bag, pressing them into his skin, the flower's poison dripping from one end while the other was bathed in his blood. He grabbed his sea stone daggers and settled into a stance. "I'd prefer not to fight, but if I have to I will." He spoke as his hair began falling onto the battlefield.
Zoro's eyes focused on me, signaling that I'd be first to go. 'God I hope all the memes about him being racist aren't true.' I calmed my nerves, locating the fear in my mind and replacing it with excitement. 'I actually get to fight Zoro.' I told myself, a smile spreading across my face.
"Enough with the flashy standoff!" Buggy shouted. "Buggy Pirates! Let's begin our opening act!"
...
Current Status
Ringmaster Darius, Vice Captain, Lv. 35
Age: 20
Money: 5,010,000
Bounty: 17,000,000
[Stats]
Vit: 26
Str: 50
End: 28
Agi: 36
Def: 35
.
Stats possessed: 0
Points till the next level: 240
...
Responding to comments
merendinoemiliano: Not as good as bad ass but I'll take it. Aren Gisly: I won't lie I had to look up what that term means but no problem.
MDM11: One of them are joining but I don't want major villains to be apart of the crew only minor ones.
...
Final Thoughts
I'm forced to use dots to separate parts of the chapter cause the separator thing keeps tripping. It, for some reason, says obj and disappears.
The fight will begin next chapter, if you have any questions feel free to leave a comment and if you like the story feel free to follow or favorite, whichever one gives you the notification.