After Grand saved Janet from drowning, I hung her from the mast by her ankles for the remainder of the day as a form of punishment; the blood rushing to her brain may or may not have caused her to pass out a few times, but by the time night rolled around, I reluctantly dropped her to the deck with Grand catching her, lest she breaks her neck.
"Ow, my aching ankles." Said Janet in pain as she lay in Grand's arm while glancing at her ankles, which had a red mark from the rope that held her up.
"You'll be fine; stop moaning; this wouldn't have happened if you didn't eat my freaking devil fruit." Remarked Diddy blandly as he folded his arms while walking down the side of the mast before landing on the deck beside Grand.
"Now shoo off; if it weren't for Grand constantly pleading to set you free, I would have you hung through the night; leave my face my before I change my mind." Added Diddy with a light scowl as he glanced between Janet and Grand while the two rapidly nodded their heads.
Watching Grand run off before disappearing down to the lower deck, I huffed in annoyance before glancing at Trenza and Scar, who were minding their own business; turning around, I leaped up the upper deck, landing near Freyja manning the helm.
"We're going in the correct direction, toward Angel Island, right?" Asked Diddy curiously as he stopped walking and looked at Freyja, who had her legs folded and was currently reading the newspaper.
"Yeah, we're going in the right direction; if you don't believe me, see for yourself." Replied Freyja lightly as she glanced at Diddy before reaching into her magical storage, calling her cleave, grabbing the eternal pose, and tossing it to him.
"Heh, I believe you; this isn't something you'd lie about." Said Diddy with a slight smirk as he held the eternal pose before tossing it back toward Freyja, who stored it back in her magical cleavage.
"So, anything about the death of Saint Xalrons?" Asked Diddy as he stood behind Freyja and looked at the newspaper alongside her, causing her to grumble while shaking her head.
"No, there hasn't been a single mention of Saint Xalron's death; knowing the world government, I doubt they'd ever willingly let the world know about a pirate killing a Celestial Dragon. Do you know how much leverage and respect they'd lose from the rest of the world?" Remarked Freyja with a scoff and a shake of her head as she flipped the page, only for Diddy to read something interesting.
"Hmm, Strawhat Pirates? Aren't those the people who beat one of the seven warlords of the sea, Crocodile, the sand dude, or whatever he was? I remember Sebas telling me about it before we raided the ship." Questioned Diddy with a raised eyebrow as he looked at an article about Alabasta, which had an image of the Going Merry and the Strawhat's pirate flag.
"Yes, why? You interested in them?" Replied Freja lightly as she and Diddy read the article, skipping the parts about Alabasta.
"Sure, defeating one of the seven warlords of the sea mustn't have been easy, so they are probably a decently strong pirate group; I would love to fight them. What was the Captain's name again? Monkey? Luffy?" Stated Diddy with a feral grin while baring his teeth before suddenly frowning and tapping his chin.
"His name is Monkey D. Luffy, also known as Straw Hat; although it's his second bounty, his is also 100,000,000 Beri's like a certain someone's. He's probably stronger than you think." Remarked Freyja with a smirk as she reached into her cleavage and grabbed a folded-up paper before handing it to Diddy, which he promptly opened.
"Mael has a bounty of 150,000,000 Beri's, yet I beat him like a cheap drum; as I said before, a bounty doesn't determine your strength, merely how much the World Government sees you as a threat. If it were based on strength, I'd have at least 500,000,000 Beri's, and yours would be around 400,000,000." Replied Diddy with a scoff as he looked at the wanted poster of Monkey D. Luffy, finding it more amusing than intimidating.
"Still, after what we did, I'm sure we'll be seeing a massive jump in our bounties; curious as to what yours will be?" Said Freyja lightly as she snatched the bounty out of Diddy's hand before stuffing it back into her cleavage.
"If I don't have at least 300,000,00 Beri's, I'll raid the Marine HQ myself." Declared Diddy with a frown as he folded his arms and glanced at Freyja's breasts, still curious about how her storage works.
"Well, I'm sure we'll see soon, though I'm curious; this D that's in Straw Hat's name is the same one in yours. Diddy D. Kong. Does it mean something?" Asked Freyja with a curious glance, though all she got was a shrug of the shoulders.
"No idea; your guess is as good as mine. I at first thought it was related to a tribe or something, but considering I'm a mink and Straw Hat's a human, I doubt that." Stated Diddy lightly as he turned around and headed toward his hammock.
"Anyways, it doesn't matter; it's probably just something that holds no real use. I'm taking a nap, don't disturb me, or you're getting the same treatment as Janet." Added Diddy, speaking to everyone who could hear his voice as he closed his eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.
'Heh, Strawhat Pirates, I'm interested in meeting them; the Captain also seems decently strong.' Mused Diddy, not knowing his wish would be granted far sooner than he expected.
___
___
Feeling the ship shake about, I inwardly cursed and snapped my eyes open, only to see nothing but dark clouds, heavy rain, waves far taller than our ship, and numerous lightning bolts. We were currently in a storm, and from the looks of it, quite a bad one; it's not our first time experiencing a storm at sea, but we've never been in one this bad.
'Ugh, this could damage the ship; at least let us make it to Water 7 first.' Mused Diddy as he grumbled in annoyance before leaping out of his hammock and landing beside Freyja, who was trying her damndest to steer the ship.
"How long has this been going on for?" Asked Diddy, needing to yell through the thunder and heavy rain for Freyja to hear him.
"About an hour, though it wasn't previously this bad, I think we sailed right into the eye of the storm; if this continues for too long, our ship, which already isn't in the best of shape, would be greatly damaged. This ship is meant to sail the Four Blues, not the Grand Line; it can't take this kind of beating." Replied Freyja with an intense frown and concentrated expression while constantly turning the wheel, steering away from the massive waves that could easily destroy this ship.
I was about to ask something else, but before I could, a small lightning bolt hit the deck, thankfully not causing much damage other than a small fire, which was quickly put out, though it forced me to grunt in annoyance, leaping to the top of the mast, I stood there until we exited the storm, redirecting all of the lightning bolts that threatened to damage the ship.
Finally seeing the clear sunny sky, I sighed in relief and landed back on the deck before instantly ordering the three stooges to check the extent of our damages; what they said wasn't the best of news either.
"Tch, another fucking hole? I could care less about the few pounds of lost gold; that stuff is useless. Just go and plug it up; we should be close to Jaya Island; it's already been a little over a week since we left the Boin Archipelago." Stated Diddy with a scowl as he dismissively waved his hand toward Trenza, Scar, and Grand, causing them to nod before returning to the lower deck to conduct repairs.
Leaping up the upper deck, I approached Freyja, and without saying anything, I outstretched my hand, prompting her to reach into her magical cleavage and pull out the eternal pose. Holding it in my hand, I noticed the needle was pointing directly above us, meaning Angel Island was directly above us, and Jaya Island should be nearby.
"Good, we're close; now it's time to rely on my senses. Hopefully, we're close enough to smell land." Remarked Diddy as he tossed the eternal pose back to Freyja before leaping to the top of the mast just in time for Sebas to emerge from the lower deck.
"Hoho, that was quite the storm, if I do say so myself; I had to hide myself in order to keep my bandages dry." Said Sebas with a soft chuckle as he walked up the stairs, although the bandages he referred to weren't visible since they were underneath this outfit.
"What's Mael doing?" Asked Freyja with a raised eyebrow as she glanced at Sebas, who was walking toward the upper deck while looking at Diddy up above.
"I was burning the water away; I didn't feel like sinking." Stated Mael in a deep voice as he also emerged from the lower deck with his golden axe attached to his back, while several bandages still laced his body, covering the wound Doberman gave him.
"What's Captain doing?" Asked Mael as he flapped his four wings, landing bedside Freyja and Sebas while the three were watching Diddy.
"He's searching for Jaya Island." Replied Freyja lightly, causing the other two to nod, and not even a minute later, Diddy opened his eyes with a feral grin.
"Hehe, land is to the right!" Yelled Diddy excitedly, ready to experience a thrill after these dull eight days at sea.