"Land ahoy," Elly exclaimed from the top of the crow's nest, causing me and the rest to cheer at the end of this eight days long monotonous journey.
During this time, Byron had already recovered from his wounds, so I put him to work by assigning him to manage the sails with Wilson. Luckily, the two of them seemed to get along just fine.
We didn't come across any giant sea creatures or storms this time. The only exciting that happened was that a small-time pirate crew thought we were easy prey.
That said, however, the expressions they had on their faces when they boarded our ship (I ordered my crew to let them board the black pearl because I was bored) were very entertaining.
They kept looking between my silver prosthetic hand and my smirking face, only to the prostate on the ground after they figured whose ship they boarded.
They were nobodies with no bounties on their heads, and considering how entertaining they were, I let them go after beating them up a little and breaking their ship's main mast, but I digress.
'Kano country, huh?' I thought with a smile. I had already decided to come here as soon as I learned that I was on west blue from the bartender back in Ballywood kingdom.
I, of course, had a goal for coming here, and if I am able to achieve that goal during our stay on the island, it will help immensely in achieving my bigger goals and plans for the future.
"We'll be staying on the ship during our stay in Kano country while taking shifts," I ordered with a calm voice as I stood up. "This country is allied with an infamous pirate fleet and thus can't be trusted," I concluded, and my companions nodded their heads to show their understanding.
"We won't be roaming the island carelessly as we're used to, not unless we have a solid idea about the situation there," I say, causing Wilson to sigh. "We'll stay on the ship first until Laffite gathers enough information for us about what we can and can't do there," I say while looking at Laffite, who merely smiles and nods in my direction.
With that said, I gave my companions one last nod to end the one-sided conversation and turned around to gaze at the now visible silhouette of Kano country.
It looked like something out of a Wuxia novel. I could see many strange cylindrical rock formations with only a single tree on top of them and giant pagodas, visible even from this distance.
Other than that, the only thing I could see was pink, green, and rock grey, as it was choke-full of sakura trees, forests, and rocky mountains.
All in all, it looked very charming and beautiful from where I was looking. I could only hope it was just as beautiful up close as well, and not a ruined mess like Wano country, since the two islands were similar in both name and appearance.
We were soon at the docks, and as soon as we anchored the black pearl, a large Asian-looking man who was roughly twice as tall as I am approached the ship, causing me to jump down to see what he wants.
"Welcome to Kano county, bounty hunters," the man said while looking at me. "Everyone is welcome here, whether they be pirates, bounty hunters, or even civilians here on vacation, as long as they don't break the law during their stay," he concluded, and I nodded at him in response.
"You are free to go after any pirate here, as long as you don't cause casualties to the citizens of Kano country, pay for any damages you cause, and contribute thirty percent of the bounty to the royal family," the man stated calmly. "Do I make myself clear?" He asked while looking me in the eye, in a vain attempt to intimidate me or something.
"Crystal clear," I replied with a smirk while looking at him in the eye as well, not showing any fear, causing him to snort and turn around, leaving without saying anything else.
'I don't want to mess with the Happo and Niho navy for now, but that doesn't mean I'll roll over for any random guy with their insignia on his chest,' I thought while gazing at the man's leaving figure.
'This guy looks like he has a giant chip on his shoulder and may cause us some trouble later, but I'll deal with it when it happens,' I concluded with a sigh as I jumped back onto the ship.
"Laffite, look into that guy who just left while you're gathering information," I said while looking at Laffite. "Take him out if he's the kind that no one will miss, or dig up some dirt on him if you think he's too high ranked for his death to go unnoticed," I concluded.
"will do, captain," Laffite said with a salute as he jumped off the ship and disappeared into the crowded dock, leaving the rest of the crew and I with nothing to do.
"Take inventory of our supplies so we can restock as soon as Laffite gets back," I say while looking at Elly and Byron, causing them to nod as they turned around and made their way to the lower decks where we kept out supplies.
'I have some goals to achieve here, but if this place proves too troublesome, then we'll get out of here as soon as Laffite returns," I think while rubbing my chin thoughtfully. 'We're not ready to fight something like Don Chinjao and his Happo navy, but hopefully, I can make the old geezer see reason, and it won't come to that,' I concluded while shaking my head as I turn around to gaze at the busy docks.
"Something on your mind?" came Wilson's voice from behind me, causing me to turn around and see my four-armed friend with a bottle of alcohol in his hand.
"Nope, just doing a little bit of brainstorming. I have plans for coming here, plans that will help us a lot in the future should they succeed," I reply with a smile.
"And you're worried about the success of those plans?" Wilson asked, while chuckling lightly. "You'll make it work somehow, and if it doesn't work, then I'm sure you'll come up with something else," he concluded with a beaming smile.
"Are you growing soft or something, big guy?" I replied sarcastically, suppressing a cheerful smile at my friend's faith in me. "So creepy, this isn't like you at all," I conclude with a disgusted expression as I take a step backward.
"Well, you're not wrong about that," Wilson said while looking at me with a blank face, causing me to chuckle while shaking my head, driving all the negative thoughts and worry out of my mind.
"Can you punks do this somewhere else? I'm trying to relax here," came Bob's head from the side as he was lying on a hammock installed on the black pearl's deck.
"Can it cook, or I'll rip that hairy asshole you call a mouth off your face," Wilson replied as he walked menacingly in Bob's direction.
"Did you just compare my majestic mustache to ass hair?" Bob asked with a visible tick mark on his forehead. "I'll skin that silver hide of yours and make it into a rag for drying dishes, you four-armed moron," Bob added as he stood up as well and began walking towards Wilson just as menacing.
'My crew is the best,' I thought while looking at this scene with a smirk as I leaned back on the ship's railing, taking out my whisky bottle, and getting ready to enjoy the show.
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Somewhere in Kano country:
In a dimly lit a figure dressed in a black outfit decorated with red inscriptions, clouds, and fantastical creatures could be seen sitting in a seiza posture with a katana sword in its lap as it wiped the blade of the sword religiously and ceremoniously.
The figure halted his actions as the ringing of a transponder snail came out of his pocket, causing the figure to carefully put the katana on its as it answered the call.
"Your target has reached the island," came the rough voice of the large Asian man, who approached Johnny's ship when they arrived in Kano country.
The dark figure did not reply and merely ended the call without saying anything.
"Johnny silver hand, I have no grudge against you, but claiming your head will make me one step closer to achieving my goal," the figure concluded in a muffled voice, talking to no one in particular.
The figure then picked up the katana and stared at the reflection of its face, which was covered by a red wolf mask, with large ears that can be mistaken as rabbit ears, and sheathed it with a tired sigh.
(Author's note: discord gg/sEtqmRs5y7 <—- the link to my discord server it already has a couple of awesome guys with memes and constant discussions about one piece)