"There you are," I said with a smile as I stood near Cricket's house as I saw my companions approaching the vicinity, Lago flying off Elly's shoulder and into mine/
"Captain, are you alright?" Laffite asked as he nodded at me in greeting, the others following suit as they looked at me and paused, waiting for an answer and an explanation.
"I'm fine," I said with a smile nodding my head as I patted Lago's plumage. "Let's talk here for a minute before going inside," I added while gesturing towards Cricket's house, getting my friends' attention.
"I need to tell you guys about what we found in the shipwreck and why I fracked as much as I did about it," I remarked with a sigh, scratching my head.
"That rock was a Dyna Stone, a weapon of mass destruction," I explained as I mimicked the rock's shape with my hands. "I don't know the principles behind it, but they are highly volatile and could be set by the slightest exposure to oxygen," I added, waving my hand to the side.
"And a Dyna Stone that big could destroy an entire island," I concluded, nodding in satisfaction at my crewmates' frowns, having already clarified the severity of the situation.
"But how did something like that end up in a merchant ship under the sea?" Laffite asked with a frown, seemingly confused at the situation, and I couldn't blame him since I was just as confused.
"I don't know," I flatly replied, shaking my head. "Dyna Stones are excavated from a place called Jail Island in the new world," I explained with a thoughtful expression.
"They are the marine's trump card, and they guard them like their firstborn children, not to mention that distributing the stuff is strictly prohibited by the world government," I added. I then paused, trying to remember everything I knew about the stones from the original work, coming up with nothing else.
"I have no idea how a Dyna stone could end up here so far away from Jail Island and on a merchant ship's shipwreck to boot," I concluded, shaking my head with a helpless shrug.
"Hmm. It didn't look like an average merchant ship, captain," Elly said with a thoughtful expression. "There were all kinds of weapons on that ship, and it must have sunk several decades ago," she added, tilting her head to the side.
"Maybe it was a smuggler's ship, and they managed to get that Dyna Stone before the marines secured that island where the stones are excavated," she concluded, nodding her head, seemingly satisfied with her conclusion.
"That's a possibility, but we can't know for sure," I replied with a smile, shrugging my shoulder, causing Lago to call in dissatisfaction, seemingly annoyed by the sudden movement. "Not that it matters anyway. Let's get going," I concluded as I began walking towards Cricket's house while gesturing for the others to follow.
We approached Cricket's door, but it suddenly opened wide, causing me to smile at the flintlock pistil's barrel pointed straight at my head by a muscular, middle-aged man with blond hair and a large chestnut on his head.
"Go back from where you came," the blonde man said with a scowl. "There is no gold for you here, fools," he added, fiddling with the pistol's hammer with his thumb.
"How scary," I remarked with a smile, mockingly raising my hand into the air. "Unfortunately, we're not here for the gold. Your friend Masira invited us here," I added with a shrug, my hands moving fast enough for the man's eyes to lose track of them as I snatched his pistol.
"We come in peace," I concluded, briefly pointing the man's pistol at his head for a second with an amused expression, only to twirl it in my hand and offer it back.
The blonde man stared at me with an appraising expression on his face, looking me up and down for several seconds before sighing and taking back his pistol from my hand.
"I apologize for the misunderstanding," the blonde man said with a nod as he stowed away the pistol. "Many people come here foolishly seeking gold that doesn't exist," he added with a sigh as he stepped to the side, gesturing for us to go inside.
"In any case, my name is Mont Blanc Cricket, a former pirate," the blonde man, Cricket, introduced himself as he sat on a wooden chair, gesturing for us to do the same after we followed him inside. "I occupy myself with exploring and diving these days," he added with a careless shrug.
"Johnny," I said while gesturing towards myself. "Laffite, Elly, Byron, Kozue. We're pirates as well," I added, introducing my crewmates while gesturing towards them respectively.
"We were diving to explore a shipwreck when your friend Masira came out of nowhere and told us we were infringing on his territory," I explained, chuckling at Cticket's raised eyebrow after he heard my words.
"We didn't know it was anybody's territory," I said with a smile, making Cricket sigh. "Anyway, to make a long story short, Masira befriended my crewmates, invited them, and now here we are," I concluded with a chuckle.
"That does sound like Masira indeed," Cricket said with a smile, shaking his head again. "Still, they should have been here by now. I wonder what's keeping them?" Cricket mumbled, scratching his chin.
"They're just outside," I replied as I felt two people approaching Cricket's house from a distance with heavy, thudding footsteps as they cheerfully, excitedly talked about their shopping spree.
And sure enough, Masira and Shoujou made their presence known as they stuck their heads through the tiny door frame, excitedly greeting Cricket as they got stuck after pumping into each other thanks to their large bodies.
"Elder brother! We went to the town and bought a lot of food and drink!" Masira said with a big smile as he pushed his Shoujou aside and entered Cricket's house.
"Let's have a party!" Masira added, his eyes focused on Cricket, seemingly unaware of our existence. "I also invited some friends. Haven't they arrived already?" he asked as he began walking forward, spooking Lago and making him call out in alarm.
"South Bird...?" Masira remarked with a confused tone as he stared at Lago, Shoujou, who just interred the house following suit as two monkeys and one bird stared at each other in confusion while ignoring everything else.
The strangely intense stare-off was interrupted as Cricket cleared his throat, getting the two monkey brothers' attention. "The guests are already here, Masira," Cricket flatly said while gesturing towards us.
Masira turned to look at us in confusion for a second, only to smile as he recognized Laffite and Byron.
"Oh, so you're here already. That's great!" Masira said with a toothy smile. "But where is the handsome monkey?" he asked with a disappointed expression, having looked around, finding no trace of the four-armed gorilla.
"Wilson was busy, and he couldn't make it," Byron replied with a helpless shrug, shaking his head, making me raise an eyebrow as I turned to look at him with a skeptical look.
"That's too bad..." Shoujou said from the side in a disappointed tone. "I was looking forward to meeting the guy Masira said looked like a monkey more than anyone else..."
'Now that I think about it, taking pride in their monkey-like appearance was Masira and Shoujou's gimmick, so it's not surprising that they'd like Wilson.'
It looks like I'm already starting to forget some minor details about the story, but I suppose it doesn't matter.
"In any case, why don't you two set down the food and drink you brought, Masira, Shoujou?" Cricket said while gesturing towards the ground as he looked at the monkey brothers holding several bags and barrels of alcohol.
"I'm sure whatever you want to say can wait until then."