Seaside System - Chapter 14.1 (Patreon)

A flash of annoyance shone in Nami's eyes at the return of the octopus fishman, but it was almost immediately replaced by the gleam of greed as he sat the sack of treasure down in front of them.

To be honest, Kaden himself was a bit confused. Sure the sacks were decently big and all, but he was expecting…more.

"Ohohoho!" Nami practically teleported from his side to beside the sacks and began rifling through them, her eyes flickering at speeds that were totally not natural, "Three hundred and sixty seven million beri!" she crowed with delight.

"…How the hell did you come away with that so quickly?" Kaden asked giving the orange haired beauty a deadpan look.

"Don't underestimate my sense for money amateur!" Nami turned her head to stick her tongue out at him.

"That isn't an explanation," Kaden snorted, but yeah that was way less than he was expecting. He turned his gaze to Hachi who was staring at Nami, nonplussed, "What's the deal Hachi? With how long you guys were here and how many people you were taking money from, I was expecting a few billion to be honest."

"Well, I'm not the best when it comes to balancing money, but there were a lot of expenses nyuu," Hachi shrugged, "We fishmen are naturally bigger than humans on average so we eat more, and our crew was pretty big with over fifty members. Plus we had to keep paying off the marines every month, and the last reason is why I said I can help you with looking for a big ship."

Well that was somewhat something of an explanation, "So you guys had a ship being built?" Kaden raised an eyebrow in interest.

"Yeah, well it was finished years ago and has just been sitting in storage for when we planned on going back to the grand line…." Hachi replied and trailed off, an uncomfortable look on his face.

Yeah, he was probably well aware Arlong never truly had any plans for going back there. And the ship was probably built not to conquer the grand line like they all thought, but more as a placeholder to shut anybody complaining up.

"Where is it then?" Kaden asked, casting a look around what was formerly Arlong Park and now Kaden's Holiday House of Fun.

Or whatever else he thought up to call it.

"It's probably at the ship yard on the other side of the island," Nami mused, "Arlong had a place where he had ships he and the others took down, so they could strip them of all their valuables and use them for parts if needed."

Huh. He hadn't noticed anything like that at all on his way here. Then again it wasn't like he'd been specifically keeping an eye for anything like that and circling the islands.

…Though he had to admit he was a bit impressed Arlong had actually thought that far ahead. It was hard to remember sometimes the guy wasn't a completely retarded racist weakling.

"Alright then, how about we go check it out?" Kaden grinned, interested in spite of himself to see what kind of ship Arlong had gotten built to convince his brethren it was worthy of conquering the grand line.

Considering the Noah was easy to view from Fishman Island, he was hoping Arlong understood what kind of amazing vessel would be needed for such a thing.

Well it had to be big at least, going by what Hachi said.

"…Pass, it'd take over a half hour to walk there from here," Nami snorted, "We can do that later, we should get back to celebrating now we have this load of cash!" she chirped and happily and excitedly rubbed her face against one of the sacks of beri.

Kaden gave her a blank look, "Oh…that's too bad," he noted blandly, "I was hoping it had a good place to use as a treasury and I could store all the beri I've collected in it as well. And since you seem to be so good with money, I figured you'd love to be the treasurer of the crew as well and hold on to it."

In the blink of an eye Nami was standing up, one sack held behind her neck by two hands and a massive grin on her face, "What are you waiting for Kaden? We've got a ship to see!" she chirped marching towards the currently gateless gate leading out of Kaden's Holiday House of Fun.

…Yeah he needed a better name.

Among other things, like getting the place fixed up. But he could probably pay a few people in Cocoyasi village to take care of that for him.

"How about instead of walking the long way, I just fly us over?" Kaden offered.

"On those clouds of yours?" Nami paused and gave him an interested look.

"I could, but…" he trailed off before giving her a smirk, "You're still having a hard time believing a bunch of the stuff I said to you right? Especially about Devil Fruits. How about I transform and you both can ride me through the sky there?"

"Nyuuu?" Hachi blinked, cocking his head to the side and watching with open curiosity.

"….That's not an innuendo is it?" Nami raised an eyebrow at him challengingly.

"If it was, I wouldn't be including Hachi in the offer," Kaden snorted, "No offense Hachi, it's got nothing to do with you being a fishman, I know there's a lot of pretty merfolk ladies, and has more everything to do with the fact you're a guy."

"Nyone taken!" Hachi shrugged and grinned.

"Alright then, let's see this dragon transformation of yours and see if it lives up to the hype." Nami snorted.

"Don't blink then." Kaden grinned at her as he stood up from where he was sitting, and then his body began to change. His eyes turned a gleaming gold, red scales formed upon his skin, golden horns jutted from the top of his head, his spiky blonde hair lengthening out into a wild golden mane and his body as a whole began to change and morph, transforming into a giant serpentine body that towered above both the fishman and human woman alike.

"…Eh….." Nami stared stunned, before swallowing heavily and her eyes widened in absolute shock, "Ehhhhh!? What the hell you're massive!"

Looking down upon her, a smirk spread across Kaden's crimson red maw, huge gleaming sharp teeth beaming under the moonlight, "Not how I was hoping to hear that from you," he laughed, "Chadadadadadadadada!"

"Nyuu, impressive!" Hachi clapped his six tentacles together, "You're like a small sea king!"

Well, that was kind of as expected. As someone from fishman island, Hachi had probably seen sea kings that absolutely dwarfed him.

Hell he'd seen some that absolutely dwarfed him.

Lowering himself down, Kaden lay his head on the ground right in front of Nami and directed his smirk at her, "Well, have I made more of a believer out of you?" he asked.

Nami just stared at him for a moment, before letting go of the sack over her shoulder with one hand and reaching forward to place a hand on his draconic snout, "…Incredible…and freakish as all hell," Nami laughed a bit, "I already mostly believed you, but still seeing you like this? It hammers it in all the more, just how absurd devil fruits are and how the grand line must be."

"You chickening out?" he teased.

"Why would I?" Nami snorted at him, before surprising him as she bodily jumped up on top of his head and he felt her grab onto his horn, "I've got my big scary dragon captain to protect me after all."

"Nyuhuhuhu!" Hachi added on by hopping up onto his neck and suction cupping his tentacles around it, "I've never went flying before, this should be fun!"

"Alright, well hold on tight then." Kaden snorted, before rising up to his full height, getting a gasp from Nami and her hold tightening around his horns and a shout of jubilation from Hachi.

And then he tore his claws through the sky and ascended, Nami's scream echoing right in his ears as he did at the sudden motion with no warning.

_________________

"…What the hell is that?" Kaden goggled not long later.

It hadn't taken long at all to make their way to the place where Arlong and his crew had stored ships, though most of them were completely stripped apart and completely useless, nothing of note left behind but scrap.

There was a massive harbour shed kind that looked like it could shelter multiple ships. But inside it, taking up the vast majority of room, was only one ship.

It was absolutely massive. Bigger than a marine warship or galleon. It was an almost pitch black in colour, though with dark blues across it that almost seemed like waves. Across the bottom and top of it, were huge jagged tooth like adornments, with a gargantuan one at the front of the hull, akin to the metal front of an ice breaker but jutting out forward like an ominous spear as if to be used to pierce into anything it came into contact with.

And then there was the figurehead at the front of the ship. Or should he say figureheads? Two massive metallic serpentine creatures with dark grey spikes looming up their back leading to twin pairs of jutting black horns erupting from their heads, and within their spiky toothed maws, each held a massive cannon.

And on the matter of cannons. The ship had an absolute fuck ton of them. As in, each side of the ship was practically dotted with openings for cannons.

Literally thirty seven.

On each side.

With the two within the massive serpentine, possibly dragon figureheads, the massive ship had a grand total of seventy six cannon spots. And that wasn't even getting into the ones on the deck!

On top of said deck, multiple huge pitch black flags hung ominously painted with Arlong's symbol over a set of cross bones, held atop multiple truly massive masts.

It was one weird ass ship.

Probably the most interesting part of it though, was the huge building that looked like two apartment complexes stacked on top of one another, with dozens of windows covered by regal purple curtains that then led down below deck and led off to more windows covered by the same regal purple curtains a bit below deck.

And there was one final smaller building at the back end of the ship, wiuh the largest window of all. Which Kaden assumed to be the captains office.

'I take back all I said about Arlong having good taste when it came to building shit.' Kaden thought right then and there. Clearly he left the design up to whoever he paid to build Arlong Park.

"Are those supposed to be dragons?" Nami was right alongside him, giving the ship a dry look.

"Nyuu!" Hachi shook his head, "They're sea kings!" he puffed his chest out proudly.

'So edgy, fucking hell Arlong.' Kaden cringed just looking at it. The only thing he could say he liked about it at all was the kind of modern looking apartment buildings on it. And he supposed he could get behind the massive spiked ice breaker, that would be good for ramming other ships.

But everything else about it was trash, what the hell man.

"Do I have to sail in that?" Nami whimpered, giving him a pleading look.

"Nyuu, what's the problem, this is an amazing ship! It even has sea stone coating at the bottom and is built with Adams Wood, the same wood that the pirate kings ship was made from according to Rayleigh!" Hachi proudly boasted, "This baby cost us one and a half billion beri to make, it's an amazing ship!"

…Wait, what!?

Putting aside the sea stone coating even though that was awesome, but fucking Adams Wood!? "Adams Wood?!" Kaden gaped at the fishman.

How the hell did Arlong, a total scrub manage to make a deal there to get enough of that for a ship like this, and get someone capable enough to work with it!?

…And why did it have to be done in such a disturbing design!?

"Nyuuup!" Hachi puffed his chest out proudly.

"You've gotta be kidding me…." Kaden huffed, "It's so big and amazing with that, but so lame in design? Arlong what the actual fuck man!?"

Nami turned to him, "What's the big deal about this sea stone coating and Adams Wood? I mean, the same make as the pirate king is cool and all but is it really that big a deal?" she asked.

"…Yeah, it kinda is," Kaden sighed in defeat, shoulders slumping, "It's pretty much the greatest and most durable wood in the world. Just enough Adams Wood for a cruiser sized ship would cost easily two hundred million beri. Cannon fire wouldn't even be able to get through it. No wonder it can stay afloat with those apartment like buildings on it. And sea stone lining the bottom of a ship, makes it so sea kings can't notice your ship, it's how marines get through the calm belt into the grand line easily instead of having to go through reverse mountain."

Nami took in his words, before whimpering, "…Oh god we literally can't just dump it, can we?" she outright sniffled, such was her despair at having to sail in such an ugly edgy ship, "It's a crazy amazing ship….but why is it so ugly?"

Kaden patted her comfortingly on the back, "Right there with you babe," he nodded, "…Maybe change out the sails for white ones. and a different coating of paint like making the dragons red and the hull a lighter colour would help?"

Nothing could be done about the absolutely outlandish amounts of cannon spots though.

"They're sea kings though!" Hachi protested.