We were now officially on our way towards the Pirate Festival.
According to the Navigators Kane and Brok, the estimated time of arrival was going to be about a week from now. The main reason for this was because the island in question was across the sea, and a bit of a distance off of Whole Cake island.
I wasn't too keen on going near there, mostly because I didn't feel like picking a fight with Big Mom, but, it wasn't like I was going to start a fuss over there....right?
"Don't worry, Commander! We'll be on our best behavior when we get there!" Ken promised with a salute.
"Since when did pirates have good behavior?" Pato asked curiously.
"I agree with Pato, Ken, pirates aren't well known for having morals. Especially when it comes to other pirates," Stussy added.
"It doesn't even matter that much, anyway!" Ken protested, "most battles we've been involved with have been major incidents. There's no way we're going to find ourselves in another conflict, right guys?"
The crew, who were all gathered to hear the plans for when we arrived at the festival, all cheered in unison. Stussy looked at me with a slightly anxious expression.
Throughout the entire conversation, I had been reading the latest newspaper that had come from the World Economic News bird.
There were still no stories concerning the Roger Pirates. It was almost as if they had vanished from the face of the world entirely.
'They have to had found the One Piece by now, Right?'
There wasn't any crazy news about the Roger Pirates after they had reached Laugh Tale. Matter of fact, the only other time the story told us about Roger after he found the One Piece was during his execution. Even by then, the man was sick, and he had already fulfilled everything that he had set out to do.
'He's probably on his way to Rouge, if not already with her'
Ace wouldn't be born for two years after Roger's execution. Rouge was going to hold that baby till all suspicion of it was completely erased. The only thing I could do was wait and see how things would go out.
"Besides," I heard Ken say, "if there's anyone who should be on their best behavior, it should be the Commander!"
Ken pointed at me while making his declaration, immediately snapping me out of my train of thought.
"As much as I hate to admit it, that muscle-brain is a cause for concern within the festival," Pato murmured quietly.
"Don't worry about him during the festival, I'll be with him. So you guys can enjoy yourselves to your heart's content." Stussy smiled while brushing off the allegations.
"If Ms. Stussy says so..." Ken answered.
After enjoying a brief cup of coffee, I got up from my chair before making my way back to the cabin for a mid-afternoon siesta. I hadn't been sleeping too much, and I felt that it had been time to pay off my sleep debt that I had accrued previously.
However, before I could even get in bed, my transponder snail rung near my bedside. Picking up, I was immediately greeted by the voice of Whitebeard, who I hadn't heard from in days.
"Gurarararara!!! How you been, brat? It's been a while!"
"Nothing much, just the usual, we're headed to the Pirate Festival."
"Oh? That little get together for pirates? Why go there? It's beneath someone of Status like you."
"The crew demanded on going on a vacation. Who am I to tell them they can't?"
Whitebeard chuckled for a bit after hearing that. He of all people understood what it was like to be constantly pestered by family members about doing something.
"Well brat, you might as well enjoy yourself then."
"That's the idea, any word from Roger and his men?"
"Ironically, that's the reason that I had decided to call you," Whitebeard replied, "I've been hearing rumors that the Roger Pirates disbanded a while back, but I don't know whether it's true or not."
"Why don't you just call him?"
"Me? Call him?! HA! One of the last people on the planet that I would be worrying about is Roger! I just wanted to ask you to tell me anything that you hear around. It makes things better that your going to the Pirates Festival."
"Whatever, I'll let you know if I hear anything."
"Also, see whether you can get an update on Oden! He may have left us to join Roger, but he's still your little brother!!"
"Whatever."
With that, I immediately hung up the call before plopping myself on the bed. I wasn't too bothered by finding out what Roger was up to because I had already gotten a gist of what his plans are.
However, Oden was another wild card that I had forgotten about for quite some time. I still remember giving his wife my transponder number just in case they needed any help, but whether or not they would be using it was solely up to them.
"It's not like I'm going to burst into Wano just to help the guy, he's a grown ass man as well."
"What are you talking about?" Stussy immediately opened the door and walked into the cabin.
"Nothing much, the Old Man wants me to keep tabs on that idiot," I replied.
"Which idiot? I can tell that you have a long list of people you call that," Stussy asked.
"The one with the bowl for a head,"
"Oden?"
"Yeah, rumor has it that the Roger Pirates have disbanded. So Oden is probably home already."
"Well, I do recall that you had given Toki your transponder snail number a while back. Has she called yet?"
"Nope, and I doubt that they will either. Samurai have an annoying sense of pride that would make them prefer death over asking for assistance."
"Such is life, dear."
I placed the transponder snail back on the bed side before rolling over to my back. I had already removed my jacket and thrown it somewhere, leaving my bare chest out without any covering.
Stussy sat near where I laid before caressing my hair.
"We can't always force people to do what would be beneficial for them. No matter how much it hurts you to watch."
"You're acting like they're going to lose," I remarked.
"We both know that Oden isn't on the intelligent side. Toki is too soft hearted to do what needs to be done, plus she's always busy handling the children. It's a war that we both know they won't win," Stussy explained.
"You think the Old Man is going to make any moves?" I asked curiously, slowly grabbing her hand and kissing it slowly.
"Probably not, We just had a battle with Big Mom. I don't think that he wants to start another like that."
"You're probably right, we can only wait and see in the future," I responded.
As I slept, the ship slowly kept sailing towards the direction of the festival. We were sailing a bit faster than normal thanks to the increased motivation that was coming from the crew. Any sea king or attacking pirate were met with brutal and efficient attacks by the men on the ship. Even Ken and Stussy had a go at them whenever they felt like it.
However, I remained sleeping throughout the day, unmotivated to do anything except sleep.