80. Strange Shipwright

Buggy & Manba go to the shipwright's home based on the address that they got from the dockyard manager. They finally find it after walking for 15 minutes.

The house is located near a beach, on the outskirt of a small village. It's just a small wooden house, but it looks very sturdy. The design is simple, but it still looks good and expensive.

Buggy knocks on the door and hears a reply from inside. Then a tall & buff man comes out of the house. He is even taller than Cricket & bigger than Manba. He has messy hair & beard because he was just woken up from his sleep.

"Who are you?" asks the man with a sleepy expression.

"I'm Buggy, a pirate captain. This is Manba, my ship's doctor. Are you Palu? I heard you are a shipwright, so I want to hire you to check & repair my ship," says Buggy.

"Yeah, I am Palu. Just check & repair? Don't ask me, just ask those guys in the dockyard," says Palu.

"They can't, that's why they recommended you," says Manba.

"Tch, must be the manager. If that guy recommended me, then he should've told you that I've refused many jobs," says Palu.

"Say it! What do you want?" asks Buggy.

"Ho, so blunt. Fine, I just want to help a ship that gets treated well by its owner. I don't like ships being mistreated by their owner. If I think your ship is not being treated well, then I will kill you," says Palu seriously.

"You want to kill me if my ship isn't being treated well? Did you have what it takes to kill me?" asks Buggy while grinning and releasing an intimidation aura.

Palu flinches when Buggy does that and he takes a step back. The pirates that heard what he said always got angry or threat him back. But no one has such a strong presence & aura like Buggy.

Buggy just released a bit of his Conqueror Haki. He has trained it since he knows he has it. He has learned everything about haki, even Conqueror before he knows he has it. So his training of Conqueror Haki was rather easy even though he still can only control it a little.

But even if it's just a little bit, it is enough to scare Palu. Even Manba that is not the target feels a little intimidated right now. Buggy's control over his Conqueror haki is still not good, so it leaked out to Manba that's not his target.

'T-this guy is strong. He might be the strongest person that I've ever met. If it's him, then maybe...*gulp*,' thinks Palu while gulping his saliva.

Buggy stop after he thinks that he has scared Palu enough. He's not here to fight with Palu, so he stops now. Palu & Manba finally can breathe normally now after holding their breath for a moment.

"Well, you can take a look at my ship. I can ensure you that you will like it," says Buggy while smiling.

"S-sure, let's see it," replies Palu nervously.

Buggy & Manba then take Palu to their ship on the hidden coast. Palu takes a look at Little Hunter and he can see that Buggy has taken care of it very well. The ship is very clean and neat, unlike normal pirate ships.

There are many bad patching that the Clowns made with their meager carpentry skills. But Palu can see that they do what they can to take care of it.

"What a nice ship. It has many broken parts, but I can see that you really love your ship. How long have you sail on this ship?" asks Palu to Buggy.

"Around 2 years now. It's a ship that I stole from a pirate crew before I started my own crew. So how is it? Will you fix the damages?" asks Buggy.

"Sure, I like your ship. Even though your repairs are sloppy, but I can see that you did your best. Let's fix it on my place," says Palu.

"Alright, let's go there after Mantis & Jude return. Cricket, calls them back," says Buggy.

"Aye aye," replies Cricket.

Cricket calls the girls to return so they won't need to search for Palu's place by themselves. The girls finally arrived after 10 minutes and Palu's face change. He suddenly runs and hides behind the mainmast. It makes everyone confused.

"What are you doing?" asks Buggy confusedly.

"N-nothing, I just want to check the mast," says Palu while looking at the mast nervously.

".... Are you not good with women?" asks Manba.

Palu flinches and nods slowly. Everyone is dumbfounded at this and doesn't know how to respond to it.

"Is it why you live alone on the outskirt of the village?" asks Buggy.

"Y-yeah, I have bad experiences with women when I was a kid. It gave me a trauma, so I am not good with women to this day," says Palu shyly.

"Then, do you hate women and like men more?" asks Mantis curiously.

"No, I just feel uncomfortable around women. I still like women in a love context, so I'm normal," says Palu while peeking from the mast.

"Hmm, don't worry then, we will keep a distance from you to not make you afraid," says Jude.

"T-thank you," says Palu.

Mantis & Jude go to the kitchen to make Palu comfortable. Buggy orders Cricket to steer the ship and follow Palu's direction guide. Manba goes to his room to check on his medicines and make a list of what to buy.

Buggy talks with Palu about what his ship needs and avoids the topic of women. Palu answers all Buggy's questions and explains everything that the ship needs. Palu is glad that Buggy doesn't ask anything about his trauma of women.

"Can you make a head figure for the ship?" asks Buggy.

"Sure, but it will take longer time than just repairing the damages," says Palu.

"No problem. I want Little Hunter to have a distinctive feature that will differentiate it from other ships," says Buggy.

Buggy then gives Palu the design for the head figure. Palu checks it and discusses some of its details with Buggy. They talk about it and finally reach the place after 15 minutes.

Palu tells the Clowns to take out their belongings from the ship so he can work without any hindrance. They do as he said and Buggy orders Mantis & Jude to find a rented place where they can store their belongings while waiting for the ship to finish.

They all work fast and finally take all their belongings to an empty house in the village near Palu's house. There are many empty houses here after many young villagers leave the village to work, so the Clowns can rent one of the houses.

Palu immediately works on the ship and he tells the Clowns that it will take 3 days to finish. He worked alone, so it will surely take a longer time.

The Clowns decide to enjoy their time in this place. They explore the Kingdom and do what they want. The Briss Kingdom is big, so they can spend their 3 days easily here.

Cricket & Mantis always go together because it's a rare chance for them to have a date. Manba goes on his own to find his medical necessities. Buggy goes with Jude to teach her information gathering.

Jude still tries to get closer to Buggy, but Buggy is still unfazed. It doesn't stop her though and she still tries even if Buggy ignores her. Love is truly a hurricane.

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