บท 9: Chapter 9
Chapter 9
There were twenty members on this ship. But besides Law and the bear, Snow didn't know the others. Not even a bit; he even had forgotten the polar bear's name as it had been so long since he started living in this world. Without Law's abilities and this ship being a submarine, Snow wouldn't have chosen this crew.
It didn't matter now. He was the captain of this ship and crew. Even if it took a lot of effort for Law to explain the situation, it wasn't that his crew didn't trust him. But rather, Law struggled to find words to tell the others that Snow was now captain. Even if it didn't look like it, Law was quite a prideful man. So, Snow expects Law to share his opinion loudly if Snow does something stupid.
"Listen up," Snow addressed the crew for the first time as they looked at him with various emotions. "I know it might feel a bit weird, and you won't accept me so easily, but the fact is, I am stronger than Law. And we both need each other's help, so my standing would be above his. I don't expect you to accept me as your captain, and I won't order you to do anything you don't want to as long as you do your jobs."
With that, Snow ended his speech. He hoped he got his message loud and clear across the crew. Caribou and Coribou looked impressed by Snow. They did look a bit worried for themselves before Law explained the situation. At least Caribou did when he discovered Snow was sick and dying. But seeing him better and absorbing the strongest pirate crew in the North Blue made him remember why Snow was the captain.
But the brothers were simple people who could be easily put in their places. Snow was more worried about the rest of the Heart pirates. Only seven crewmates had explicit jobs on the ship, and the rest were just support. None of them were strong or special in any way. They were only a bit better than your average marine.
Bebo, the polar bear mink, knew a few martial arts and, as a mink, had a lot of potential. He was also the navigator of the ship. And just from one glance, he seemed quite weak-willed as he quickly accepted the situation. But Snow knew it wasn't entirely true as he was the only one with eyes that told Snow he would fight if he did anything to Law. Snow only had to look out for Bebo, while Law was his captive, so that does count for something.
Penguin, a normal-looking, lean guy, was responsible for cooking. Shachi was similar in size to Penguin but had bright red hair. He was the shipwright. Ikkaku, the only woman on the ship, had curly dark hair, and she was the tailor; she was responsible for the yellow uniforms the rest wore. Uni was the ship's gunner, a tall man with a bandana covering his face. Clione, the ship's lookout, had brown hair. And finally, the helmsman, Hakugen, a weirdo with a smiling white mask covering his face.
If nothing else, at least they looked colorful put together. Snow didn't expect much to begin with, and besides them, the rest of the crew were avoiding his gaze in fear. When they got used to him, Snow would have to test them to check their strength. Maybe with some heavy lifting, some of them could amount to something. Who knew?
"This one is Caribou. He will be the ship's quartermaster," Snow introduced the creepily smiling swamp guy. "He has a logia-type devil fruit power and can turn into a bottomless swamp. So, you can throw stuff at him, and he will be able to store it inside his body. This one is Coribou, brother of Caribou, and he will be the cabin boy. He is a bit dull but strong enough, so don't hesitate to give him work, or he will just sit somewhere lazily."
Snow tried to be as easygoing as he could. He might have sounded awkward, but he hoped that with time, they would accept him. He needed a crew, and he didn't think he would find a better one. Entering the New World won't be easy, and the forces he will be facing off will get only stronger the further he goes to find a way to heal himself and take some revenge against the World Government.
…
As weird as it was for the crew to get used to the new structure, it wasn't as weird as it was for Law. He couldn't deny that Snow had defeated him fair and square, even if Snow somehow knew about his Devil Fruit capabilities. Law still had only himself to blame, as he lacked the strength to take a few hits from Snow when Snow was already dying from sickness.
He would lie that the idea of doing something to Snow while on operation didn't come to his mind, but in the end, Snow was right; he was a doctor, and he had pride as one, too. He also had to admit that the story about Snow's doctor did remind him of his father. Both brilliant doctors were pushed to the depth of despair by the World Government.
And Snow was right. Law's crew wasn't strong enough. They might be able to handle themselves in the Grand Line. But that might be their limit. Both Snow and Law needed each other. That is why Law couldn't disagree with him, even if he didn't like to be the one taken advantage of. As Snow said, he was stronger, so he took the position of the captain, so all Law had to do was to get stronger and defeat Snow and take back the position of the captain.
"How much farther to the next island, Bepo?" Law asked the navigator of the ship.
"Couple of hours more, captain," Bepo replied, and then he realized what he said. "Ah, sorry, ah, sir."
Law could only sigh at this situation. Even though Law knew Bepo for a long time and they were friends, everyone around him called Law captain, and so did Bepo and it was hard to forget old habits. He guessed they would have to get used to it for now. But it won't be for long, as Law was already developing a tactic to defeat Snow.
"Don't worry about small things," Snow said as he patted Bepo's head. "A few more hours, huh? Good, good, let's get supplied on this island and prepare everything we need for the Grand Line."
"You want to move on now?" Law was a bit surprised but not against the idea.
"The Marines will definitely try to set a trap for us once they hear that the two strongest pirates of the North Blue have joined hands," It surprised Law how tactful Snow was; from first impression, Snow looked like all brawn and a bit of brains. But there was probably more to him than Law can imagine. "Once we land on the island, I want to take a better look at the ship."
"Why?" Law asked, curious.
"I am no shipwright, but I know a thing or two about metals, and as good as this ship is, it can be improved," Snow replied. "It needs more defenses and better frames. I want it to dive even deeper into the water before pressure crushes it. Who knows what we will get into in the Grand Line, so we need to prepare for the worst."
Law couldn't disagree with it. With Snow's treasure, it wouldn't be hard to buy the materials they needed. Law didn't want to waste too much time in the Grand Line, and he wished to start gathering power in the New World so he could challenge Doflamingo. So, it was good that his and Snow's goals aligned.
…
Once they found a safe place to land, Snow quickly went to work. It impressed Law how strong Snow was to be able to pull up the whole ship to the land. A Mythical Zoan devil fruit wasn't anything to be scoffed at. Snow himself said that he was feeling a lot lighter after the operation. So, he was eager to get to work, and he sent Law and Caribou to get materials and supplies.
Caribou and Coribou were another addition to the crew. They sounded as if they looked like two idiots. Coribou didn't seem to possess any thoughts in his head, and Caribou, at most, had only two thoughts. One of them was fear of Snow. Law didn't know what Snow did to Caribou, but it was enough to make Caribou terrified and respectful of Snow.
"Kehehehe," Caribou entered the nearby town with a creepy laugh.
"Don't even think of anything," Law warned the brothers, as he didn't want to cause trouble before leaving. "We are only here to resupply."
"Of course," Caribou agreed as he looked around. "We take what we want and leave."
Somehow, Law thought that Caribou's words had a different meaning. He didn't know them well, but he could agree with Snow that Caribou's ability was very useful. Not only was it a logia, but to be able to consume an almost unlimited amount of objects and then store them inside one body was very useful. If only their personalities were a bit better, then Law wouldn't be so worried about them.
"Real sorry, big bro, but I am hungry," Coribou said while looking at Law.
"I am not your bro," Law replied coldly. "And you will eat when we return."
"Ah?" Coribou looked confused at Law for a long moment. "You are not big bro. Big Bro! Big Bro! Where are you?"
"I am right here, Coribou!" Caribou had to yell for his brother to turn his gaze upon him.
"Real Sorry, big bro, I didn't see you," Then again, Coribou turned his gaze somewhere else. "I am hungry, big bro."
Law barely spent any time with them, and he was already losing his patience. He was ready to remove their brains and make them mindless puppets if it would help him get some quiet time. How Snow dealt with them was beyond Law's apprehension. Instead of dwelling on things, Law decided to quickly finish their supply run and return to the ship before he lost his sanity.
"Hello, sirs," A gruff man greeted them as they entered the hardware shop. "Would you need any help?"
"There is the list. I want everything on it," Law gave the list Snow prepared to the shopkeeper.
"Of course, sirs, and how will you pay for it," The shopkeeper asked, looking over them and not seeing them carrying large amounts of money they needed to buy everything on the list.
"Pay? Keheheheh," Caribou started laughing as he extended his hand towards the shopkeeper. "It is you will have to pay us for letting you live."
"We will pay, don't worry," Law said, swatting Caribou's hand away with his sheathed sword.
Before Caribou could say anything, Law sent him a chilling look that promised pain if he disagreed. Law might have lost to Snow, but he was still capable of turning these idiots into anything he liked, anytime he liked. Unlike Snow, who could fly and escape his reach, they could do no such thing. And maybe it was time to remind them of what he was capable of.
Caribou at least seemed to understand that, so he obediently coughed up the money and got the materials the shopkeeper prepared inside his body, even if they had to ignore the staring from people around them as Caribou consumed everything into his swamp body. Law had to do that a few more times as he finished running errands.
Law knew that Snow told him to do that only because he could reign in Caribou, but that didn't change the fact that he was running errands and babysitting those two idiots. Law was starting to curse Snow and his stupid ability to turn into a giant bird, shoot his metal feathers, and let out a screech that could deafen anyone. Still, he finished his work and could now return to the ship. They only needed to find a log pose.
Of course, it was not that simple. It seemed Snow was a magnet of trouble as Law heard a massive explosion in the direction where his ship was. Law started to ponder if the deal he made with Snow was worth it as another explosion rang out soon after. Law had to quickly return to the ship and see what the damage was before Snow caused more trouble.
A.N. As always, If you want more, up to seven advanced chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852. And if you have any requests for stories, I will only take them on my pa treon.
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