Gojo's eyes were drawn to a faintly glimmering, peculiarly cracked compass amidst the clutter of the junk stall. Eager to acquire it and to determine whether this seemingly insignificant item might, in fact, be something extraordinary, he reached for it.
He picked up the broken compass, which no longer pointed north but instead spun slowly, occasionally freezing in one arbitrary direction.
"That's some useless scrap. Tell me how much you've got; I'll sell it to you cheap."
Upon hearing those words from the shopkeeper, Gojo's face shifted into a knowing smirk.
"How about 100 beli?"
The man grimaced. "Okay, deal."
"Deal. No refunds."
"Deal."
Gojo obtained the broken compass after purchasing it on a whim from the dealer. "If it's broken, then it'll fit right in with us!" He snatched the compass and promptly pocketed it.
On the other hand, Ryuken was seated on a wooden stool, polishing his sword with thorough concentration, all while his intuition whispered that his captain had undoubtedly purchased yet another useless trinket.
Gojo returned with the broken compass in his hand. He jolted slightly when he noticed Ryuken meticulously maintaining his blade. "Hey, Ryu, look what I got!"
"What's that? Isn't it broken?"
"…Hehe…"
"Just another piece of junk to sink our boat."
Lol.
"Hey," Gojo called out, "do you still have that map we purchased back in Foosha?"
Ryu placed a hand on his chin. "Yeah, I've been keeping it secure."
Gojo hummed in approval. "Okay, good. I'm going to auction it here for some cash."
"Auction? Don't you mean sell it?" Ryuken whistled softly. "Never know what's going on in that head of yours."
After handling the map over to his captain, Gojo carried it toward the shopkeeper, who was currently bargaining with another customer—likely a bounty hunter, by the look of him.
"I've got something to sell… something magnificent." Gojo plunged his hand deep into his pocket and produced the map they had acquired some time ago. "I've got a treasure map to sell."
"A treasure map?!!"
The exclamation drew every eye in the room toward the individual holding the weathered parchment.
"Hey, are you serious?!" A pirate blurted out, a parrot perched confidently on his shoulder—clearly his pet.
"That fool," Ryuken scoffed under his breath. "Does he really intend to trick them and cause a scene?" He sheathed his sword securely back into its scabbard.
Chatter erupted throughout the store, focusing all attention on Gojo. He placed the map on the table, resting his palms firmly on top of it. "Auction time."
"You bastard!!"
Several bounty hunters and local pirates—whose bounties were higher than Gojo's—growled in response. "I've got 200 beli!"
"250!"
"500!"
"720!"
"1000 beli!"
"…"
"1000 beli it is," Gojo announced. He collected the money from the buyer and handed over the map. Meanwhile, Ryuken remained at the back, observing the scene unfold before releasing a resigned sigh.
"Hmm?" A figure sitting posed in the corner, a gun resting in his left hand, gazed intently at the wanted posters he held. After getting a firm look at both Ryuken and Gojo, he glanced back down at the bounty posters. "Are you for real?" he whispered to himself. "So that's the swordsman of the Blue-Eyed Pirates… and that nigga with the blindfold is the captain?" He noted that in the poster, the captain was depicted without a blindfold, yet here he was, wearing one now. "Think you'll fool me?" He lit a cigarette slowly, his eyes narrowing in calculation.
"Captain of the Blue-Eyed Pirates, Satoru Gojo, with a bounty of 5 million, and Ryuken, the swordsman, with 3.5 million beli," he muttered, puffing on his cigarette, causing the entire crowd to stare in his direction.
"Satoru Gojo? What's a small fish like you doing here?" A pirate burst into laughter.
'Shit!' Ryuken cursed inwardly, already moving quickly to stand by his captain.
"And? Who're you?" Gojo responded, his voice calm and dismissive.
The man flicked his pistol casually in his left hand. "Just a good sniper having fun."
"A sniper?" Gojo's eyes gleamed with excitement. "Hey, join my crew!"
"Huh? Sorry, won't do," the sniper replied. "What's the point of joining pirates as weak as you guys? No offense, but every pirate here has a higher bounty than you."
"Don't judge a book by its cover," Gojo uttered coolly.
Bang! Bang! Bang!!
The sniper fired three shots directly at Gojo, who caught each bullet effortlessly with his bare hand, causing everybody's jaw to drop in disbelief.
How is that possible? Interesting!
The man who had fired the gun stood utterly dumbfounded, struggling to process what had just happened. I mean, this nigga with the lowest bounty just caught bullets fired point-blank from a pistol.
"What the fuck are you?"
"The man who'll be the king of the pirates."
Hearing this bold declaration, the other pirates and bounty hunters could scarcely believe their eyes. A visceral urge to kill this man enveloped them—yet they held back. How could they possibly fight someone who caught bullets with his bare hand? I don't wanna die young, so I'll pass.
"Don't judge a book by its cover. What a lame phrase," the sniper said, finally removing the cigarette from his mouth. "Fine! I'll join your crew!"
"Really?!"
"Yeah. I'll help you achieve your dream of becoming the king of the pirates. Anyway, I'm Jake."
"Jake, huh? I'm Ryuken. Welcome aboard."
"Thanks."
"Let's have a banquet!" Gojo's voice echoed powerfully throughout the store, causing the entire atmosphere to erupt into cheers.
Moments later, Gojo had won the hearts of every man present in the shop—pirates, bounty hunters, and locals alike. Preparations for the banquet commenced immediately: fish, meat, chicken, fruits, liquor, and more were brought out one after another.
The shopkeeper brought out his knife declaring, "I'll get the food done in a jiffy." He moved swiftly into the kitchen and began expertly chopping meat and fish.
The anticipation was palpable; the duo—no, sorry, the trio—now sat together exchanging stories while they waited for the shopkeeper to finish preparing the food. Ryuken couldn't wait any longer, so he poured a little liquor into his glass, sipping it gradually until the food arrived.
The aroma was mind-blowing; the entire structure was engulfed in the rich flavors and enticing scents emanating from the kitchen.
Clank!
The kitchen door slid open, and the shopkeeper emerged with heaping plates of food in his hands. "Food is ready! Banquet time, guys!"
With a roar of cheers and shared happiness, the crowd gathered around the table and savored the feast immediately. Holding a huge chicken leg in his left hand, Gojo used his right to savor a generous amount of liquor, fully immersed in the moment, knowing he couldn't feel higher than the most high in heaven.
The banquet was extraordinarily enjoyable; everyone present thoroughly relished their time, drinking and eating to their absolute maximum capacity. Then, a particularly spirited individual rose unsteadily from his seat and proclaimed, "A banquet always feels better with a song!"
"Let's all sing together, you bastards!" Clutching his liquor firmly in his hand, he climbed atop the table, staggering precariously from left to right, his face flushed a noticeable reddish hue.
"Bring the sails and raise them high,
The wind will sing, the sea will sigh.
Carry the tune where gulls all fly,
For tomorrow's far away.
Yo-ho-ho, the waves will dance,
A fleeting life, a fleeting chance.
With mugs of cheer and hearts that prance,
We sail into the day.
Friends we meet and friends we leave,
Tides will take what we believe.
Yet with each laugh, the sea reprieve,
Our bonds will never sway.
So bring the song and pass the glass,
Time will fade, but joy will last.
For though the years may drift so fast,
The ocean shows the way.
Yo-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho!"
They sang the famous pirate ballad from the old days with tears of joy streaming down their faces as they continued to eat and dance with abandon. Gojo, unfamiliar with the verses, danced along enthusiastically nonetheless, muttering only the chorus in a cheerful, if not entirely accurate, manner.
They partied vigorously for some time, completely oblivious to the fact that the day had grown dark and that the wind had begun to blow with sudden and violent intensity. One by one, people collapsed onto their knees, succumbing to the overwhelming effects of the alcohol and passing out right where they lay. Throughout it all, Gojo remained entirely wide awake.
"This is crazy good," he smirked to himself, glancing over at the now staggering forms of Jake and Ryuken, both of whom had drunk far beyond their reasonable limits.
Satoru Gojo watched them gradually fall asleep while he himself continued to sip the remaining fragments of sake in his glass. He then wandered curiously through the shop, searching for any junk that might eventually prove to be of use.
He saw an assortment of different weapons: chunky swords, knuckledusters, and all manner of armaments, but he was not one to fight with manufactured weapons. His own fists were more than sufficient.
Stepping carefully over the already unconscious men, he located the individual to whom he had sold the map and quietly extracted it back from him. "Sorry, man—it's just business."
"Hey, wake up, Ryu! Jake! Let's fucking go!"
Attempting initially to rouse them gently, he found they refused to awaken, only mumbling incoherently in their sleep. With a resigned sigh, he delivered a heavy punch to each of their faces, jolting them both abruptly awake.
"Oh, is it morning already?"
"It's the middle of the night. We should get going before these shitheads wake up."
"I've got a place for us to camp for the night—follow me."
After gathering themselves and collecting whatever useful items they could from the junk store, they exited the premises. Jozu led the way while the other two trailed closely behind him.
The night sky was beautified by the shimmering stars and the luminous moon; a gentle breeze fizzed against their skin as they made their way toward Jozu's shelter.
The streetlights shone brightly overhead, and birds occasionally flapped their wings through the calm air as the trio walked steadily through the nearly ghosted streets.