Chapter 112: Reconstruction
(unedited)
A week had passed since Akane had taken over the island, or should she say 'received' the island from the inhabitants.
With no ruling power in the island, such as nobles, kings or even ruling pirate crews, it was hers to claim for herself. Not that the island was worth all that much to be honest, as the population had become scarce due to Marcellus, the natural resources were depleted as well, giving her no materials to really work with. Yet.
Her survey of the island had giving her a surface level of understanding about the environment, but it did not give her any information about the resources underneath the very earth she stood on. Who knows, maybe there were minerals that would give her an edge in her future fortifications of the island. Don't even mention the fact that she could introduce new plant species to the island and make them flourish with her plant manipulation power.
For now, the most important part was to restore the island and fortify it against future attacks. She couldn't stay here all the time to work on the island. If she wanted to increase her progress, she would need to split up the crew for the time being. Those who remained on the island to rebuild and bolster their strenght through builing an information network, as well as try to get manpower from other places. Such as the scientists Marcellus could get from Germa, as well as manpower from fishman island, like the slaves Shinobu rescued from the Celestial Dragons.
If she played her cards well, she could just start attacking every Celestial Dragon to 'free' their slaves and recruit them into her crew. But those were just idea's she would have to put on hold for now.
It was up to her to get started with the restoration and get this show on the road.
Having found the most fertile place on the island, Akane crouched down on the ground, letting her power seep into the earth.
It was quite barren, with just a few bushes and trees to be seen in the immediate surroundings, yet the few seeds and roots remaining underground were enough for her to boost their vitality, with only a little nudge being needed to speed up their growth and let the flourish.
Slowly but surely, small and fragile sprouts began to pop up. Fresh blankets of grass soon covered the once desolate area, making it seem like a green sea had taken the place of the cracked, brown earth.
Yet Akane didn't stop there, pouring more and more energy into the ground, small seedlings grew until they became trees towering more than two hundred feet in height alone. Soon everything had disappeared in a dense forest of trees, that had gained the size of those ranging in the thousands of years old.
Sagging down on the ground, her energy almost completely spent, Akane observed her handiwork, grinning in satisfaction at the results. While not all the plant life she had grown was edible, there was a wide variety that was edible.
Now she would have to repeat this a few more times in the span of a week and the once dead island would be reformed into one that teemed with flora and, eventually, fauna.
Patting herself down from all the dust, Akane ventured deeper into the woods to enjoy the results.
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(Ban's POV)
"How did it come to this?"
A thought that had crossed my mind more than once just today alone. It could be save to say it was since the little fox had gone off to complete her task for today.
While the little fox had disappeared somewhere, I had my plate filled with other tasks, ones that included building walls around the whole island. Fortunately I wasn't the only one that had been saddled with this task. Lafitte and Soren had pitched in to give me a hand, which helped, if only a bit.
From the sea, I could see Indra ferrying loads of stone slabs, placing them down every few feet. They were unrefined crude slabs of stone, still carrying hints of seaweed and coral on the rough edges. Surely Indra had harvested it somewhere from the sea floor.
And lo and behold, Isn't that another Sea King?
"What the?!"
Just beside me, Soren was gasping in surprise, as Sea King after Sea King were depositing materials, a loud roar from Indra spurring them on to increase the pace.
"It seems Indra has already taken control of the nearby Sea Kings. A naval army in the making, won't you agree?"
Lafitte hummed, his cane twirling around as he cud the stone slabs into perfectly sized bricks.
I couldn't help but laugh at the sight, renewed vigor spurring me on.
"Well, let's get this finished. I don't want to be outdone by the Little Fox's pet. No offense, but I am worth far more than an overgrown sea snake."
An indignant roar from the sea made me grin even more, as Indra seemed to take offense from my words. Just my one sentence seemed to have lit a fire under it, as the Sea Kings increased in number, throwing slabs and slabs of stone on the coast, leaving me and the rest to deal with it.
"Oh, don't even begin. Let's see if you can keep up with me!"
I shouted back, as I threw my jacket to the side and got to work.
A grunt of Soren only made me laugh as they followed my lead, ready to catch up and surpass the speed of Indra.
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"Ara ara, the boys are hard at work it seems."
Shinobu giggled as she could see the clouds of dust rising up in the distance. The ground continued to shake, though not to the point of breaking anything in the shelves.
Looking back at her patients, Shinobu smiled gently, having bandaged a little girl up just a moment ago.
"Now take care not to get hurt. There aren't enough doctors around right now. Now off you go. Your mother is waiting."
Seeing the little girl off, Shinobu left the patient ward for a breath of fresh air, spotting Dazai not far from her.
He was sitting on a bench not far from her, a few den-den-mushi on th ground in front of him.
Talking on multiple lines, Dazai would hang up soon after, calling another number not long after. One of the snails on the ground sporting the tell tale markings of a red tattoo on the side of its shell.
While the other Den-den-mushi were connected, only this one wasn't.
Having noticed her, Dazai motioned her to remain silent, writting a note as he continued his conversation.
[Collecting information. Silent snail is for Akane]
Nodding in understanding, Shinobu took a seat besides Dazai, taking a few Den-den-mushi for herself as she too began to call some of her aquintances.
Surely they wouldn't mind coming to help her, the one who saved their lives?
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Having returned late in the evening, Akane was greeted by the tired faces of her crew, in particularly from the construction crew. Ban was lounging against the wall, a mug of no doubt liquor in his hands, while Soren and Lafitte lay sprawled out on the ground, grunting from their sore muscles.
Dazai had dozed of at some point as well, having been covered in a blanket at some point.
It was Shinobu who walked up to her to share the progress, a cup of steaming hot tea in her hand. Handing Akane the cup, Shinobu led her to one of the few remaining chairs, as she too took a seat.
"Has everything gone well on your end captain?"
Blowing a bit before taking a sip, Akane hummed in affirmation, groaning a bit as she felt the warmth spread with a single sip.
"A quarter of the island has been restored. Though I assumed it would take a week, it might be done sooner than expected. It won't be long before the villagers can grow their own food. How was it on your end?"
Looking at the trio on the ground, Akane could only scoff at them, having expected them to have more stamina than this.
That thought disappeared when Shinobu spoke up.
"The finished the wall around the island. The only place not fortified is the beach where the ship is. The villagers are currently constructing a harbor there."
Shinobu for once showed a genuine smile, a hint of praise in her eyes.
"They worked hard, enough for them to get a break tomorrow."
Akane hummed in agreement, wondering if she should pop open a bottle of one of the more expensive wines for the boys to enjoy. Though maybe later, after the debriefing.
"And your side? How did that go?"
"Oh, that went splendid as well. All the injured have been treated. The people on the island are surprisingly resilient. A small wound heals in but a few seconds. Only broken bones take a bit longer. Aside from that, Dazai has managed to set up the foundations of an information network, fragile as it is. The people we helped along the way were more than happy to share information every now and then. As do the slaves we freed, wanting to join our side as soon as possible."
With the good news arriving one after another, Akane's grin only widened more and more. At the end of it, she had already found herself one of the most expensive bottles of liquor in her possession, popping it open then and there.
"It seems we can enjoy ourselves for today!"
What could be better than a plan going acording to plan.
All she would have to do now was call up an old acquaintance and her base had officaly formed.
This was the start of the Demon Fox pirates home base of operations.
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