161 Set off once more (1/2)

A small bottle of alcohol swished around in my hand as I stared at the ocean bank. The papers had been distributed, what little was said within its confines had been gobbled up instantaneously by the general populace of the otherwise dank underground.

Now, plans of our actions had begun to surface within my mind. What were we to do next?

We would get out of the New World, that was something I had decided as soon as I had seen the state that a single island had left fairly strong members of my crew in. Paradise was where we were going to go, both to train the crew and to stock up on a ship's necessities.

A small tap sounded from behind me as my first mate joined me at the rail. Leaning over he shot me a look.

”When are we leaving, captain?” he asked as he glared expressionlessly at the deceptively calm sea.

”Tomorrow. We're going to need at least this much time for us to get everything prepared.” I said softly before turning my back to the ocean and clapping my hands.

”Crew! Gather up your belongings, shore leave ends tomorrow!” I roared as the crew halted whatever they were doing.

Angella had been sitting on a barrel in the corner, perusing a semi-interesting book. Scipio sat right next to her, reading a smaller one that she had lent to him. Barts and Rein worked silently to understand their fruit while Sorren sat on the floor patiently giving Terrick advice on how he would have to condition his body.

The crew nodded simply before getting back to what they were doing, not an ounce of question in their eyes.

”Fawkes, come with me. We're going to finalize some of the goals and get Marco's help on some important stuff,” I said before walking down the gangplank next to the side. Fawkes followed behind me silently.

Within minutes, we had waded through the relatively familiar thicket of trees to reach the still bustling town. Though the sun had begun to set on the horizon, people could still be seen cheerfully walking through the dusky streets of sphinx.

Parents muttered jokes into their children's ears while old grandfatherly figures sat at corners gossiping about the day's events. Orange lamps glowed brightly as the world began to darken.

As we drew nearer to the bar, we could hear the raucous laughter of its inhabitants. The Whitebeards partied as they had when we had first entered town.

I smiled with a hint of mirth in my eyes as I rapped by knuckles against the door entering almost immediately after.

A few of the pirates nodded to me in greeting while a few others jovially raised their tankards to me before going back into their own solitary bubble of conversation.

I chuckled softly as I walked beside him rapping his shoulder to gain his attention before looking over at the pineapple headed man who had been occupying the corner.