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Chapter 18– Pirates Have Attacked?
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"...Genzo-San. Pirates...are here?" Avaganda-San says, stopping in his steps before he catches himself and keeps on moving towards Genzo. Finally, he reaches him and helps to keep the exhausted man standing. Genzo nearly collapsed onto the man, panting and full of sweat. He must have run all the way here.
"...Yes, pirates. And they are too strong, there is no running away... So, you have to prepare, and if you give them what they want... they won't kill you." Genzo manages to get out through all his huffing, finding it incredibly hard to do so but having to do it anyway, the direness of the situation forces him to.
"E-Even if there are p-pirates here, they won't stay long! And we have a marine base just near here. They will come before long and run them off. So we don't have to be scared!" One of the housewives said, trying to convince herself. But I know for a fact, as does she and everyone else here, that the marines coming to rescue us is less likely to happen than a Seaking flying. Ever since Captain Nezumi become the captain of the marine base, which is on a whole other island a distance away, the marines have decreased their presence here to the point that you are having an odd month if you see a marine.
The only times you will see a marine would be at the time of the month that one of the marines would come over to give the orphanage their funds, and I assume the funds dedicated to a single child would be missing from it, maybe even more. Needless to say, the marines are not reliable for anything, and to wait for them would be us just showing the pirates our neck where they can cut into it.
"Yeah, the marines will help us."
"The marines are going to get those pirates!"
"YEAH, WE DON'T NEED TO BE SCARED! WE CAN-"
"WE CAN'T RELY ON THEM! THEY WOULDN'T COME TO HELP US! AND EVEN IF THEY DID, THE PIRATES ARE TOO STRONG, AND THEY WOULD SLAUGHTER THE MARINES. THEY ARE VICIOUS MONSTERS!" Genzo screams, interrupting the stream of villagers who were also having bouts of delusions. And there is no doubt in my mind that if he didn't interrupt, then that mentality would have spread to the rest as well, and they would all hedge their bets on the marines protecting us, running from reality.
"WHAT IS GOING ON!?" I hear behind me, and I turn my head to see Bob there, finally having come to see what the commotion was about. Quickly people flock to the boisterous man. With Bob being as loud and crude as he is, he has become kind of a reliable man around here, and a lot of people rely on him. They trust him. Quickly, the villagers inform him of the situation.
"GENZO, IF WHAT YOU ARE SAYING IS TRUE... Don't worry. Me and some of the other men in town will grab some weapons, and we will fight them off and free your town." Bob, who is usually so bombastic with his voice roaring uncontrollably, has his tone lowered for the first time ever. He leans down and pats Genzo on the shoulder to comfort him, reassuring him that he, with his buddies, will go help his village. I will go as well. It is time to put my training into practice and use the skills I have been honing for what they were meant for. It will be different fighting other people, but I will adapt.
"YOU ARE NOT LISTENING TO ME. WE CAN'T BEAT THEM. NO HUMAN COULD! THE PIRATES ARE FISHMEN!" Genzo roars again as if the fact they are fishmen actually means something. Though I suppose that if they are like Aquaman and they live at the bottom of the sea, then their bodies have to withstand the pressure at the depths of the ocean, so theoretically, they should be super duper strong.
"A FISHMAN? I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS, BUT ALL OF US CAN BEAT THOSE GUYS OFF!" Bob returns to his regular pattern of speaking, shouting out his reply. Unfortunately, I also don't really know fully what a Fishman is, and I am only guessing from my previous life memories.
"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! THEY HAVE SHARK TEETH AND WEBBED HANDS, AND THEY ARE INCREDIBLY STRONG! INVINCIBLE! WE COULDN'T DO ANYTHING TO STOP THEM, AND WE LOST PEOPLE BECAUSE OF THAT! SO DON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE. I CAME TO WARN YOU!" Genzo belts out in return, silencing Bob and the rest with the sheer desperation in his voice.
"I-I have heard about them... In the newspaper... They are vicious animals that attack people." A nearby villager hesitantly comments, drawing attention from the crowd and also convincing some others to speak up.
"I have also heard about them..."
"The World Government said they are dangerous... and incredibly powerful."
Slowly more and more of the villagers speak up, each corroborating and informing the others of the fishmen. Speaking of the rumours, they have heard over the years and what was reported in the newspapers, though, I am sure that those reports stopped a few years ago. If I recall correctly, a few years ago, the newspapers were reporting about a pirate crew, the Sun Pirates. It was apparently a crew made up of vicious fishmen or something, but they were defeated years ago and imprisoned, so it can't be the same pirates.
"RIGHT! QUIET DOWN! Genzo-San, what do we do?.. What can we do?" Bob shouts to quiet down the dense crowd and then becomes quiet again to ask this of Genzo-San. I guess he was sufficiently cowed by the murmurs of the group and figured out he was biting off more than he could chew, so he has deferred to the man who knew more about the situation. And I was prepared to go and fight those pirates as well, but I am only a single guy, and I can't fight an entire pirate crew by myself, especially if fishmen are as strong as they are purported to be.
"THEY... They have attacked our island, but they are not just ransacking or pillaging us. They are planning to take over this entire island, and I believe they have the power to do so.." He says, surprising us all. It is so out of the ordinary for pirates to actually make a campaign to take over an island instead of quickly hitting it and taking whatever they can and then running away before the marines come.
"S-Surely, you can't be serious, Genzo-San... The marines will eventually get here, even if it takes days or weeks. Why would the fishmen want to stick around and wait for them? It doesn't make sense." Avaganda-San pitches in, interjecting with common sense, which I find most of the people in this world don't subscribe to. The fact that they are actually planning to take the island means that they are either incredibly foolish or the pirates are so assured of their strength that they don't think the marines will be able to do anything to stop them.
"They are planning on taking over the island, and they are strong enough to do so. Don't you know where fishmen come from? They are from the Grand Line, the most treacherous sea in the world. A dangerous place where ships go to die, and they live there. The blues are much tamer in comparison, and the East Blue is the weakest out of the four blues. Which means we have the weakest marines as well. The Grand Line fishmen will be able to take this island easily." Genzo informs us all, hitting us with information we did not know before. There is only so much that I can gather from newspapers. I guess being a sheriff means he has to have this kind of information and stay up to date.
"So what is our course of action, Genzo-san? Are we going to have to fight?" I speak up, not wanting us to dilly dally any longer and waste precious time. Given the way Genzo ran over here, the pirates have already taken over his village, and they could be showing up here at any moment. We need to figure out what it is we are going to do, and if we are indeed going to fight, then we need to gather weapons and direct the bystanders to a safe place.
"We aren't going to fight, Detoro-Kun. They are just too strong, and we will lose many men. It is not worth it. Arlong and his crew are taking over this island, and they are planning on ruling it for a while. They are charging 100,000 per adult and 50,000 per child every month, and if you can't pay, then they will kill you. I... I have already seen them do it. So everyone, quickly go and figure out how many berries you have and if you will be able to afford the price for your families." At his words, the villagers quickly get going to figure out their finances and if they can stiff the price. Meanwhile, Avaganda-San directs Genzo to rest and sit down against a nearby building.
I stay as well, and it is just the three of us. Genzo resting against the building, Avaganda sitting next to him, and I am standing there in silence. The pirates are asking for a high price. With the population of this island as big as it is, they will be getting at least 10,000,000 a month if they do take this place over. I don't know if everyone on this island will be able to afford such an exorbitant price, and even if they can, they won't be able to maintain it for long without some serious losses and changes in their lifestyles.
"What about you two? Do you have enough money?" Genzo asks after a moment, spurring me from my thoughts.
"Ah, yes. Just about. I was saving up to buy some books from the merchants the next time they passed, maybe get some limited editions. But, Haah... I will have to sell my current rare book stock if these pirates stay for too long. And? What about you, Detoro-Kun?" Avaganda answers and then looks towards me in worry. Damn, I never got around to reading those super rare books of his. Apparently, he even has Noland, the liar's actual journal. Shame, I will probably never get to see it.
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"Hm, yeah, I will be fine. I have enough. I have been saving up quite a lot from all the jobs I do around the village. I will be able to pay for myself for the next few months if it comes down to it." So I say, calming their worries. And they have no clue that I am lying because I have nowhere near the amount required to pay for myself. I barely have 20,000 left, and that was just because I was saving it to buy myself and George a nice meal.
Every time I was paid, I bought the necessities, and then I immediately went about getting supplies to improve and work on my home, and all my money was sunk into it. I also sometimes splurged on cool clothing for myself whenever merchant ships pass by and they have some unique items in stock. What is the point of just sitting on money after all? It is there to be spent, and that is what I did. I was spending just as much as I was earning every month so I could make my house even better. Who knew that I would be forced into such a position now, and I have no money to pay for myself.
And I refuse to ask any of the other villagers on this island to pay for me, not when their own lives are dependent on that same money. If they spot me now, what happens if the pirates do end up holding this island for a prolonged period of time. The villagers will need every scrap of money they have to keep themselves safe in the coming months, and I can't leech their very livelihoods off of them, even when I know that they would be very much willing to pay for me. I can't risk it coming to bite them in the back later down the line.
"That is good, Detoro-Kun. Now, let's wait until the rest of the villagers come back, and if anyone has problems meeting the amount, then we can help out." Genzo says, Avaganda-San nodding his head as well. I also shake my head in affirmation because if any of the other people here have money problems, then I will try my best to help them out, and if they are all fine, then... I don't know what I will do.
"Anyway, Genzo-San. If the pirates attacked your village, how were you able to get away and come warn us about this?" I ask because I am a bit confused. He was describing the Fishmen pirates as bloodthirsty, vicious animals, yet he somehow managed to get away and run all the way here to warn us. If the pirates were as strong as he says, then they would have been easily able to prevent him from doing so.
"After we all paid our dues... one way or the other. They left us alone, no longer bothering with us after they got what they wanted. We were beneath their notice. They didn't particularly care what we did since they thought our actions would amount to nothing. They left, saying something about a park. Some of the other villagers set about gathering weapons to go and attack them, I tried to stop them, but they wouldn't listen. I already witnessed what the Fishmen can do, and I knew attacking them would be useless, but they wouldn't listen to reason, so I ran here to warn everyone." He says, and after that, we stay silent until the villagers return.
Seemingly all at once, the villagers begin to return, and each one confirms that they have enough money and that they are each capable of making that same amount every month. Which is a huge relief, and as everyone begins to mix together and discuss, I quietly start to walk and discreetly leave the crowd, quickly ducking out of view and then making a beeline towards my home, sprinting all the way.
Yes, I could probably scrape together the remaining 30,000 from all of the villagers, but then I would still be working for them and getting paid by them, draining even more money from their coffers. So I think it best that I just disappear and leave, for now, making things less complicated and the villagers' lives easier. I will go and try and find a marine base, probably not the one Captain Nezumi commands since he is a big coward and is more likely to roll over than try to stop them.
This will be a one-time cash injection for these pirates because I will sail off, find a reliable marine base, and maybe even find Garp himself to come and free the island. I think Garp lived on an island somewhere in the East Blue with his grandson. Before a month even passes, I will go and get help and come back to liberate this island. The villagers will just be paying this tax just this once to buy some time because the pirates will soon be defeated.
"GEORGE, WAKE UP! IT IS NO TIME!" I shout at George as I spot my home in the distance. Arriving back at my home, I run down my cobbled path and past the bleary George and into my house, quickly making my way to my wardrobe and getting a few sacks before shuffling a bunch of his clothes into one of the sacks. No time to be picky and coordinate or anything. I need to be quick and leave before the fishmen come and demand payment.
I go to my desk drawer and open it up, immediately pushing past all the books to reach the map I have at the bottom, along with a compass since I was practising, wanting to travel myself one day. Then, moving out of my bedroom, I head to my fridge and quickly shove some of the food that will last a while inside, and I also then move the refrigerator out of the way, revealing a hidden compartment behind it where I keep my valuables. Which, right now, is just my 20,000, which I take and stuff in my bag full of clothes, stuffing it into the very bottom. With that done, I throw both bags over my shoulder and walk out of my home to see George standing outside and looking around, confused.
"Gebu?" He questions me as I turn around and lock the door of my house, and then I go to pocket the key. But I freeze, knowing that I am again leaving the island and I won't be coming back for a little while, and I don't want to lose my key out there and have to break the door when I come back. I worked really hard on that door. So I guess I have to bury it again, probably in the same place, and I can pick it back up when I return.
"We are leaving, George. I have already put some fruits in the sack for you, so don't worry. We will sail to the nearest island, and from there, we will figure out where the nearest reliable marine base is." So I tell George as I place the key temporarily in my pocket and walk around my house towards the attached shed. Opening it up, I look in to see all of the tools I have procured over the last four years, tools that I bought and tools that I made myself for a specific purpose, and right there at the back is my objective.
"GEEEEH?" I hear George exclaim behind me as I begin to carefully move things around in the shed. I don't want to break any of this stuff since I will have use of it in the future, so I carefully move things about an inch towards the back where my objective lies.
"Why? Because strong pirates have attacked and they are demanding payment, and we don't have enough. So we are leaving before they can kill us, and we are going to get reinforcements as well." So I say, continuing my foraging.
"Geagh?" I hear him question behind me as I move some more of my tools. Would you look at that? The same tools I built for myself on Troga, though they are quite a bit older now and very unusable, they won't do the job anymore, but I kept them for some reason, the sentiment, I guess.
"Why don't I just go and kick their asses? For several different reasons. First of all, I have only been training for the last four years and have not fought at all, so I am unsure how strong I am in comparison to other people. Secondly, I might be strong, but I have no technique, and the attackers are pirates who have no doubt been in many battles. Thirdly, while I may, in fact, be stronger than them, they are fishmen that are apparently way stronger than humans. Finally, even if I was stronger, there is a whole pirate crew of them, so I won't be able to fight them alone otherwise, I would just be walking to my death, and I know if I rallied the villagers to fight, they would just end up dying since they have lived peaceful lives all this while." Finally getting to what I want, I stop talking for a moment and grab hold of it and one other item before dragging them out of the shed and beginning to walk down to the shore.
"There are way more reasons, George, and I can list them all. The best thing to do now is for the villagers to all cough up and pay the toll while I go and find allies, strong ones and a lot of them so that I can come back and liberate the island. The villagers' lives are worth more than their money, so hopefully, they will continue to pay until I can come back." I finish as I reach the shore, and I push the boat I made into the shallow water. I dump the two sacks in the ship as well as the oar before looking to George, who seems surprisingly thoughtful instead of being his usual lazy, dumb look.
"Now, hop in, George, and I will push us out onto the sea... Come on then, what's taking you so lo- what's wrong?" I continue to push the boat, but when I don't hear him behind me, I look back to find George standing in the same spot and looking at me with a sad face for some reason.
"Geaghh..." He mumbles out quietly, surprising me.
"What? What do you mean you can't go? Why can't you..." I trail off, looking back at the boat and the ocean and then I understand what he means. It is just like back on Troga, where my ships would continually sink with George on them when we pushed off from shore, and we needed a dock for the boat to rest in so that the force upwards from the ocean would be more than the force downwards from the ship. As we are now, the boat would sink if George were to come with me, and I don't have time to make a dock or find some solution, and George can't swim either.
"Alright, listen. You are going to have to stay here, but don't worry, it will only be for a month at the most. You can't stay at the house or the home I built you since the pirates are bound to come around sooner or later, so I want you to go and live in the forest, for now, live off of the fruits there." I say, having come to a decision. George will just have to stay here. To be honest, I don't even know why I was planning to bring him with me in the first place. I guess George has just been by my side for the last four years, even if he was annoying. I couldn't imagine being without him now, so I automatically thought to bring him with me.
"Gah." George nods his head in confirmation, agreeing with my words. I think for a moment before I reach into my pocket and pull out my key.
"I want you to look after this while I am gone, okay? Keep it safe for me, for when I come back, and we can live at the house again, alright." I hand the key over to George, who holds it between two of his giant fingers and looks at it in wonder. And then he promptly stuffs the key inside his mouth, catching me completely off guard.
"Wha- GEORGE, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING! I TOLD YOU TO KEEP IT SAFE, NOT EAT IT!" I shout at him, but the words just bounce off like they have always done these past few years, in one ear and out the other. I am about to shout even more when George suddenly closes in on me, his mouth opening wide and giving me a close look at his sharp teeth that unnerve me greatly. But then I get a clear look inside and spot my tiny key resting on one side of his teeth, keeping it hidden.
"Haaah... You scared me then, George." He backs off and smiles at me smugly, proud of himself. "Alright, now go to the forest and don't come back out till I come and find you when I return, okay?" He nods and then turns around and bolts off towards the forest. I watch as he goes and disappears into its depths, relieved that he will stay inside there and be safe until my return. With one last look towards the forest and George, my annoying grey gorilla friend, I turn around and push the boat into the sea.
Quickly hopping in, I grab hold of the oar and start to paddle. First things first, I will sail out into open water, and then when I am out in the open ocean, I will consult the map and figure out where to go from them.
Just you wait, you damn pirates. I will be back to kick all your asses soon with a bunch of other guys.