Moving such a massive piece of wood was no easy feat. Kaido, unimpressed by their efforts, used his Flame Clouds to transport the Adam Wood to the shipyard himself.
Kaido enthusiastically described his vision for the pirate ship to the shipwrights.
It was the first time they'd seen Kaido like this. After drifting like a weed for over twenty years, he was about to have a place to call his own.
Kaido's excitement was palpable.
Noro watched with a smile, arms crossed.
The young Divine Dragon, so full of life.
After much deliberation, Kaido finally settled on a design.
Having paid the deposit, Kaido left the shipyard with Noro, a satisfied grin on his face.
For a ship this size, it would normally take two months to complete. Noro used Beli as a bludgeon, hammering the timeline down to one month.
On the way, Kaido clapped his hands, suddenly realizing, "Noro, we forgot about weapons for the ship! How can a pirate ship not have cannons?"
Noro hadn't forgotten, he just thought they were unnecessary. All the cannonballs in the world couldn't match Kaido's Dragon Breath.
But if Kaido wanted them, so be it.
Noro smiled, "We can buy some at the black market later."
"No, no, no."
Kaido's expression was serious, "We can't just settle for anything. I know a scientist. I'll call him and have him help us outfit our pirate ship with weapons."
Noro raised an eyebrow, "Who?"
Kaido replied, "Queen."
The goofy fat man, as expected. But Noro wasn't holding his breath.
In the original story, Kaido invited Queen in 1489, but Queen didn't abandon his ten-year-old son and officially join the Beasts Pirates until 1496, a full seven years later.
He didn't know why they were so fond of abandoning their wives and children. Yasopp was the same, and so was Queen.
(There's a theory that Queen is Franky's biological father, but he wasn't accepting theories here.)
Noro didn't want to dampen Kaido's enthusiasm, "Sure, ask him if he's willing to come."
Kaido grinned, "Alright."
As they walked, Noro suddenly realized that their situation was different from the Beasts Pirates in the original story, who had started with nothing.
They had money!
He turned to Kaido, "Don't forget to tell this scientist that we have money, lots of money, to support any experiments he wants to do."
"Worororororo... I know," Kaido said.
The two chatted and laughed as they returned to the pirate ship. Kaido eagerly contacted Queen.
To their surprise, Queen agreed, promising to come as soon as possible.
Money was indeed omnipotent.
Even Vegapunk, backed by the World Government, often complained about a lack of funding. How much more so Queen?
On the fifth day in Water 7, the Beasts Pirates welcomed their "Plague."
A large, fat man, even in his youth.
But behind the fat man, a small head peeked out, a person Noro hadn't expected.
Buckingham Stussy, also known as Miss Buckin, the original for the cyborg Stussy.
It had only been five years since the God Valley Incident. Buckingham Stussy was still radiant, breathtakingly beautiful.
But Noro didn't like this woman. Stussy was not only greedy but also ruthless.
She and Whitebeard had been on the Rocks Pirates together for so many years, and they'd been so affectionate at God Valley. The two must have had something going on.
But after Whitebeard died at Marineford, Stussy instructed her idiot son to wipe out the Whitebeard Pirates remnants, just to get Whitebeard's inheritance.
After all those years together, didn't Stussy know Whitebeard's personality? Was Whitebeard the kind of person to leave behind a huge fortune?
Of course, Stussy knew, but her greed was greater. Judging others by herself, she stubbornly believed that Whitebeard must have left behind a huge fortune, so she almost cruelly wiped out Whitebeard's remnants.
A complete femme fatale, with no sentimentality whatsoever.
Stussy waved, her smile like a flower, "It's been a while, Kaido."
Kaido replied irritably, "I don't remember inviting you, Stussy."
"Don't be so heartless, Kaido. We were comrades on the same ship, after all," Stussy said, unconcerned by Kaido's attitude, still smiling.
She'd overheard Kaido telling Queen on the Den Den Mushi that they had a lot of money now.
How could she not come?
She'd rather Kaido was lying, and she'd made a wasted trip, than miss even the slightest possibility.
Kaido's face remained cold, "Spare me the pleasantries. What do you want?"
"Why, to join your pirate crew, of course," Stussy said, pouting, looking pitiful,
"The Rocks Pirates disbanded. Now I'm just a weak woman. How can I survive on the sea? Of course, I need to seek shelter with a strong man like you."
Kaido didn't believe a word Stussy said, but he enjoyed hearing it.
Back on the Rocks Pirates, Stussy was one of the earliest officers, and she was close to Whitebeard. Her position on the ship was very high.
He, on the other hand, was just a trainee.
Kaido turned to Noro for his opinion, "Noro, what do you think?"
He respected his vice-captain's opinion.
He didn't like it!
A person like Stussy, still young and beautiful, was fine to play around with, but letting her on the ship? She'd run off with the treasure one day.
Noro pulled Kaido aside, "What are you thinking? I know what kind of person she is, I knew it in the Marines. You were on the same ship as her, don't you understand? Do you think she's sincerely joining us?"
Kaido's lips curved into a confident smile, "What's there to be afraid of? With you and me here, what trouble can she cause?"
Not bad, praising himself and Noro, leaving Noro no room to object. And did he want her to join?
Noro scrutinized Kaido, "You want her to join?"
Kaido nodded, "That's right."
"Why?"
Noro was puzzled, "She's useless. Why do you want her on the ship?"
Kaido's dragon eyes darted mischievously, revealing a strange light, explaining:
"She may be useless, but think about it this way, Noro. Stussy didn't even call Rocks captain on the Rocks Pirates, but now she's joining my pirate crew and calling me captain."
Speechless =_=
He couldn't understand Kaido's thought process at all.
Then don't blame Noro for pouring cold water on him, "She might not call you captain. You were just a trainee on that ship, and women care about their reputation."
"It doesn't matter. Once she's on our ship, everyone will know I'm her captain, whether she says it or not," Kaido said, his expression growing more smug.
Noro could actually understand Kaido's thinking. It was like you used to be an intern at a company, and she was already a manager. Then the company went bankrupt, you started your own business, and that manager came to you looking for a job, and had to call you boss.
The satisfaction, just thinking about it, was exhilarating.
Kaido was only twenty-five now, in the prime of his youth.
===
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