Chương 41: Chapter 40: Nojiko's invitation
Conomi islands - Cocoyashi Village.
Evening in Cocoyasi Village, the village was full of people who had arrived from all over the villages and towns of Conomi islands to gather there.
The entire island was celebrating the defeat of Arlong and his crew as everyone was dancing and partying on this happy occasion.
A massive buffet was set up in the village's center, filled with all different food and drinks, free for everyone to enjoy. No one was greedy or selfish in this moment of pure joy, especially after just getting their freedom back.
Near Cocoyashi village, a black battleship was slowly approaching the village's shore.
On 'Black Star', Austin, who had just finished taking a shower, stood at the ship's deck, examining the visible village with his telescope.
Unlike his last visit to the village, this time, Austin noticed that the streets were full of people celebrating and dancing with joy.
' It seemed a lot of the island's residents gathered there.' - Austin thought for a moment and got a brilliant idea, prompting him to smile playfully. - ' I should make my entrance a little bit flashy, befitting the hero who saved the island so that my image will be imprinted forever on their minds.'
.....
While 'Black Star' was approaching the village, in the town's center, Nojiko was having a drink and enjoying this happy atmosphere.
But her blissful moment didn't last long and was soon interrupted by a loud voice calling her, prompting the blue-haired woman to turn around toward the voice direction.
The voice owner was a small boy with brown hair and round eyes, wearing a green beanie and an orange jacket. The boy, Chapo, reached her and said with great joy in his voice.
"I have just returned from Arlong's Park! It's completely in ruins!" The boy yelled with joy.
" Pretty awesome, right? "Nojiko replied, smiling.
"Yeah, amazing! The guy who did that must be really cool!" The boy yelled in reply and asked her, "Where are they?! Those who beat Arlong's pirates are here, right?!"
The boy wasn't the only person wanting to see his saviors. Many people who arrived from different towns had the same wish, as everyone started asking questions.
"Yeah! where are they?" ; "I want to see the men who took down Arlong and thank them myself! "; "Hey, Genzo-san, where are they?"; "Don't tell me they have already left."
Genzo was troubled and came running to Nojiko, pleading, "Oy, Nojiko, didn't you tell me they would be here soon?!"
" He promised me they would come after they finished something, so let's just wait!" Nojiko shrugged her shoulders in reply.
"Alright!" Genzo turned to the crowd questioning him, speaking loudly. "They will be here soon, so just enjoy the party, and when they come back, I will inform you all!"
5 minutes later, the boy, Chapo, sitting beside Nojiko, couldn't help but state. "I really want to see him!"
"Me too, brat!" Nojiko replied in annoyance. " Just enjoy the party, okay?"
" A Pirate Ship! A Pirate Ship!" Suddenly someone yelled, panicking, which made all the present people look in the shore direction.
Soon, they noticed the Black battleship that had just docked at the shore, but what made their faces pale in terror and panic were the Pirate flags on the ship masts.
Before the crowd could run away, Nojiko, alongside the people of the village, felt a strong wind blowing their hair. Promoting them to look up, only to be greeted by the sight of five men standing high on top of one of the buildings, looking down at them from up there.
A blonde samurai, an elderly man, a huge bald man, a blue-haired swordsman, and at the front was a young man dressed in everything black, with his long black coat fluttering behind because of the wind.
The young man at the front examined the crowds below for a second before disappearing from the top of the building and appearing elsewhere.
Austin, who suddenly appeared in front of Nojiko, ignored the stupified expression on the young woman's face as he said nonchalantly.
" Yo! Sorry for the delay. It took us a while to finish what we were doing! ... " Austin glanced around for a moment before looking back a Nojiko with a warm smile, stating, " I hope we are not very late for the party."
" Ah!...No ..No...ehm!" Nojiko stuttered in her reply while blushing.
Even though she couldn't understand why she felt like this in Austin's presence, she was fascinated by his charisma and look.
At this moment, Brain, Zero, Sebas, and Erya appeared behind Austin using 'Soru'. Making Nojiko curious about the newcomer as she peeked at Erya.
" Ah! You haven't met him before," Austin introduced Erya " This is Erya, a member of my crew and family."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Nojiko!" Nojiko smiled, introducing herself, to which Erya simply nodded back with his typical plainly emotionless face.
The crowd comes to their senses, as murmurs and gasps can be heard as the people examine Austin's group.
"Um! everyone wanted to see you! They were asking..." Before Nojiko could finish, she was interrupted by Chapo, who exclaimed loudly, " You are the one I met today morning in Gosa village!"
" Huh?!" Austin glanced at the boy before remembering the kid with the sword he met today morning, so he smiled and said, " Ah, so you have come here."
"Um!... Sir! ...Are you the one who took down Arlong?" Chapo asked Austin with shining eyes.
"No, it was my comrade! He is Sebas," Austin replied while pointing at Sebas, who smiled gently in return.
"Ah! Thank you very much, Sir! ... Thank you for saving our island," Chapo said, bowing his head to Sebas.
"It's okay, boy! I was merely following my Captain's orders," Sebas replied humbly.
" Follow me, please. " Nojiko interjected. " There is a table reserved for all of you!"
Austin thanked her and followed her with his subordinates behind.
It didn't take long before they were surrounded by many people who looked at them in amazement.
"Oh! It's them!" ; "The captain is so young " ; "Ah! he is so handsome" ; "Look at that giant man ... He is scary! " ; "Indeed, just from his appearance, you can tell he is strong."
An Old man stepped from the crowd and bowed to Austin and his group saying, "Thank you for saving our village!"
Soon many followed suit as the crowd expressed their gratitude.
Austin accepted their sincere thanks and just smiled while nodding his head graciously at each one of them.
At this moment, Genzo came running toward Austin and said.
"Sir Austin, you are here! Everyone was waiting for you! ..." He paused to stabilize his breath before adding, " Why not give a speech to the people?"
After thinking about it, Austin nodded, indicating his approval, much to Genzo's delight, who quickly called the people to gather, stating that the man who took down Arlong would say a word.
Quickly everyone assembled, paying attention and waiting for their 'savior' to show up!
Austin grabbed a cup of glass filled with a drink and used his 'Geppo' to kick the air and float high above all the villagers, successfully gathering the crowd's attention, who glanced at him with shocked eyes, especially the ones who saw him flying for the first time.
"Hi, everyone! My Name is Ray D Austin," Austin smiled and continued, " Unlike what you have heard, I'm not the one who took down Arlong, but one of my comrades did." Austin smiled and pointed at Sebas. " There he is!"
The people followed his direction as they looked at Sebas. They quickly thanked and expressed their appreciation to the old butler, who smiled gently at the enthusiastic crowd in return.
Soon, the people shifted their attention back to the floating Austin, who continued his speech.
" Arlong has ruled this island for eight years, and everyone has suffered a lot during this period ... Many of you here have lost someone you love because of him!" He paused before saying in a deep voice, " ... There's no way you can forget what's happened in the past, and I don't think you need to."
"You have been saved today ... but that's not the end of it." Austin examined the crown and added, " What's most important is what is gonna happen from now on!"
" You are the ones who gonna support your villages in the future. So, you will have to start from scratch on your own." Austin smiled gently and said, " I have faith that you will succeed, and you will have a better and happier life ahead of you all,"
" So let's have a toast for the bright future ahead of us all!" Austin lifted his glass high in the air and shouted, "Cheers!"
His speech motivated and inspired everyone as they hurriedly followed suit, lifting their cups and yelling, "Cheers!"
.....
The party had been going on for hours now. Despite the time being close to midnight, everyone was still dancing, eating, drinking, and enjoying the moment to the fullest.
On the other hand, Austin was sitting alone on top of one of the buildings, looking at the ongoing party and the happy residents.
Suddenly, Nojiko climbed over and came next to him, panting heavily, as she said, " I don't know how you can get up here so easily!".
Austin smiled in response and continued observing the happy residents in silence.
"I can see that you don't like to be with people a lot, and you prefer to be alone !" Nojiko remarked.
" Kind of, " Austin smiled, adding, " It's just that I don't like noisy places. I prefer a quiet and calm environment more."
" Hm!" Suddenly, Nojiko got an idea and smiled slightly, saying, " You can go to my house if you want ... It's located in the outskirts, so the noise won't be as bad as here."
"Huh? Are you sure ?" Austin glanced back at her with a strange expression on his face.
" Yeah, it's quiet there," Nojiko blushed as she added. " And you can even sleep there for the night if you want."
Austin examined Nojiko's beautiful body from head to toe before smirking slightly and saying, " Well, it appears I will be in your care tonight!"
_________________________
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