(Author's note: So I've realized that by stopping the updates here, I'm kind of inconveniencing everyone who isn't subscribed to My Patre*n for my lack of preparation, and I pushed myself a little, writing 8 chapters ahead in the past three days so I can get back to updating here. I also wanted to do a Patre*n membership giveaway to make up for it, but I discovered that isn't possible, so it is what it is. I also wanted to thank everyone who went out of their way to donate power stones, even though there weren't any updates. That shit really made my day.)
A day had passed since the minor incident at pleasure town's docks, and we have had enough time to situate ourselves here. Everyone wanted to get out and explore the island, so I volunteered to stay on the ship since I needed some time to get used to changing my muscles density.
I managed to do it by the end of the day, and I can now change the density of both my skin and muscles.
The changed density didn't need any energy to be maintained because the change is permeant, and I would have to use my devil fruit abilities actively to cancel it.
My muscles and skin's increased density brought a lot of benefits, like increased resistance to damage and durability when it comes to my skin, and the same with my muscles with the added benefit of increased physical strength.
Still, the increased density wasn't without its downsides, like increased weight, which I have to be very careful with, or I'd end up crushing a girl to death if I bedded her with my current weight.
The increased weight also required more stamina to move around, not to mention the enhanced muscle strength that demanded the same as well, but the bright side of it all is that I can use that to train my stamina, so that's that.
At any rate, Pleasure town was the only town on Swallow island, and other than the Swallow theme, which was too exaggerated for my tastes is quite beautiful to behold, Even though I haven't had the chance to explore it yet.
It was also at the foot of the Swallow-shaped mountain, adding more natural beauty to its aesthetic. The town's folk beautifully decorated their houses with flowers and greenery, and the public buildings were no different.
Still, what I was most satisfied with was the fresh air. All in all, this place reminded me of Toroa island, except for the fact that the locals here hated pirates with a passion, evidenced by the warm welcome we received as soon as we reached the island.
"So, you've managed to confirm that law is with an inventor called wolf, but not where exactly they're living?" I ask with a sigh as I listen to Laffite, who was talking about his findings.
"That's right," Laffite said while nodding his head. "The town's folk don't know where Wolf lives, but that police officer, Rudd, the one who was leading the men who ambushed at the port, might know," Laffite explained.
"He seems to be friends with the man after all," Laffite concluded with a smile.
"I see. We can wait for wolf to come to restock at the town or use his friendship with Rudd as a last resort," I said while shaking my head. "We don't want to give him a poor impression about us, just in case he's close to Law," I concluded with a smile.
"What about that evil bastard, Doc Q?" I asked with a scowl on my face, causing Laffite to chuckle. "He's definitely on this island, but he's keeping a low profile for some reason, and I couldn't locate him," Laffite replied with a curious look on his face.
"I'll find him, though. Eventually," Laffite concluded with a confident smirk. "I'm sure you will," I replied with a smile of my own.
'How dependable. Recruiting Laffite was definitely the smartest thing I've done since I came to this world.'
"So, what is this about a pirate destroying the town a couple of years ago?" I ask with a thoughtful look on my face.
"Ah, about that. A pirate called Artur Bacca came to this town a destroyed it while looking for a pirate treasure of some kind," Laffite explained.
"You can see that the town's folk rebuilt this place not long ago by looking at the excellent shape most buildings seem to be in," he concluded while pointing at the port.
"Indeed, they don't look old or damaged at all," I reply while shaking my head. "So who is this Artur Bacca, and what kind of treasure was he looking for?" I asked.
"Artur Bacca is a nobody, a mere loser who couldn't even reach the grand line," Laffite explained in a disdainful tone. "So he came back here to look for legendary treasure left behind by pirate captain called Ladoga who died of illness sixty years ago," he added while pointing at the town.
"He ended up destroying the town, out of frustration or something like that, after he failed to find the treasure," the navigator concluded while shaking his head.
"So, what happened to this Artur Bacca in the end?" I asked, feeling a little curious. "He left the island, as there was no one strong enough to stop him,"
"He ate some Paramecia devil fruit that allows him to change anything he looks at into liquid, which the town's folk couldn't do anything about," Laffite said while gesturing towards his eyes.
"So, he's most likely still out here in north blue somewhere," he concluded.
"Well, no matter. We don't need to concern ourselves with such fools," I remarked with a smile. "We'll get our doctor and check If that weather phenomenon You talked about is real, and get back to the reverse mountain," I concluded as I got up and made my way towards Elly.
"Hey, captain," Elly said with a smile when she saw me approaching her. "Do you need something?" she asked, still smiling.
"Hey, not really. I just wanted to ask about how Charles was doing since he tagged along with you," I replied with a sigh. "Will he be fine if we leave him here?"
"I don't think it will be a good idea to leave him here since the town's people seem to associate him whit us, and they haven't been subtle about their dislike of pirates," Elly replied while shaking her head and heaving a sigh of her own.
"I thought that would be the case," I said with a bitter smile. "No matter, we can drop the little shit off on another island or something," I concluded with a shrug, too lazy to think about it right now.
"It's up to you, captain," Elly said with a smile as I turned to make my way towards Byron and Wilson while waving my hands at her from behind, making her way towards Kozue.
"Yo," I greeted, leaning on the railing next to where they were sitting. "You found anything interesting in Pleasure town today?" I asked with a smile.
"Other than the ungodly amount of bird-shaped trinkets?" Wilson remarked in a questioning tone, letting out a snort of disdain as he did and causing me to chuckle while nodding my head.
"They had a drink called Swallow spirit, but it wasn't that good, so I didn't buy any extra," Wilson explained. "But the food here was good, so this place isn't that bad, I guess," he concluded, taking out a plastic bag and throwing it to me.
"Not bad!" I said with a smile as I opened the bag and took out a piece of barbequed meat, promptly eating it. "What about you, Byron?" I asked while emptying the remaining content of the plastic bag, which had different types of food that Wilson found delicious enough.
"I mostly tagged along with Wilson, so I don't have much to add about the place, but I did separate from him at the end...," Byron replied, trailing off at the end of his sentence with a blissful smile on his face.
"Hm? Are the brothels here any good?" I asked as Byron and I shared a meaningful look, and I suddenly felt a lot closer to the blonde musician, who turned up to be a fellow man of culture (Horny Bastard.)
Byron was about to reply, but he suddenly keeled over to the side, crashing headfirst into black pearl's deck as a rock hit him squarely on the side of his head.
"Don't corrupt the captain more than he already is, you pervert," came Elly's voice from the side as she played with another rock in her hand, with a menacing look on her face.
I looked at that sight speechlessly as Byron adjusted himself and began crawling away with sweat gushing from his forehead, causing Wilson to laugh uproariously.
I merely shook my head and turned around to make my way towards Bob as he was teaching the little shit, Charles, how to fight. "You two seem to be getting along," I remarked with a smile.
"This punk is just so helpless that I couldn't help myself," Bob replied while twirling his mustache with one hand while the other was holding a stick, which he used to adjust Charlie's punching posture.
"Shoulder straight!" Bob exclaimed. "Raise your fist a little higher and bend your knees less," he instructed in a firm tone while using his stick to nudge Charles whenever he repeated the same mistake.
"Well, I'll leave you to it, then," I remarked with a smile as I made my way towards my room, intending to call it a day early to explore the island in the morning.