The day passed quickly, with Laffite and Kozue telling the crew and me about all kinds of rumors they heard while looking for Law. Most of these rumors were worthless gossip at best, except for the info about Doc Q and certain weather phenomena that should be native to the grand line.

We all spent the day on our ship as there was nothing to do in Spider Miles except for trash gazing, which is not exactly anyone's idea of a fun time.

I also took the chance to inform my companions about Charles and the fact that he'll be tagging along with us for a while. Though they were surprised, none of them seemed to be against the idea, and Bob even seemed to be interested in the little shit for some reason.

Nothing interesting happened after that, and we spent the rest of the day chatting, playing cards, and drinking, calling it a day early and taking shifts to watch over the ship.

-0-

The morning came before I knew, and we decided to wait for one more hour for Charles to arrive before leaving, leading to the current situation.

"That kid is probably already dead," Wilson said from the side. "Let's hurry up and get out of here," he added with an irritated expression.

"The air here is not right," he concluded with a scowl glaring at the town.

Wilson had spent most of his life on that deserted island in west blue where the air was always fresh and unpolluted, so it stands to reason that he would hate Spider Miles more than the rest of the crew.

He was also a firm believer in the survival of the fittest, which is why he probably disapproved of us helping Charles, even though he didn't say a word about it.

"Calm down, big guy," I remarked with a smile. "We've been here for a couple of days already," I added as I turned to look at the horrid town known as Spider Miles.

"One more hour isn't much," I concluded both to him and myself, as I wanted to leave this place just as bad.

Wilson heard what I said and didn't reply, merely snorting as he took a bottle of alcohol sitting on one of the barrels as he made his way to the lower decks.

Another thirty minutes passed with no trace of Charles in sight, causing me to sigh. 'In truth, I would not have wanted to help Charles as much as I do if he didn't remind me of someone I knew in my past life,' I think to myself while shaking my head.

That person was one of my friends as I grew up in my past life. How Charles acted reminded me of him, always grasping straws and doing his best despite his circumstances.

He was always the black sheep that our parents told us not to associate with, but he had a heart of absolute gold, always sticking to his friends and helping them to the very end.

He eventually died like a dog in the street because of a terrorist attack, and I couldn't even be there for his funeral because my hometown was nothing short of a war zone at the time.

So I had to do something when I heard the little shit's story, but I had to leave the final choice to him because you can't rely on others to live in this world, and he needs to decide that for himself.

Time slowly passes as I reminisce about my past life with a dazed expression on my face, but suddenly some loud voices force me out of my trance, causing me to smile when I see what's causing them.

Charles was running for his life, maneuvering through the crowded port as a dozen or so men chased after him, kicking and shoving everyone in their way.

"Stop right there, you little shit," one man shouted, still running as he pushed people left and right in his pursuit of Charles. "You've killed members of our gang, so there's nowhere for you to hide," the man added.

"Makes this easier on both of us and surrender. That way, I'll only torture you a little before killing you," the man concluded as he stopped running, leaning on his knees and panting.

"Elly," I remark with a grin as I turn to look at Elly while gesturing towards Charles. "On It, captain," Elly replied, calmly taking aim with her rifle and firing rapidly.

The thugs chasing after began falling into the ground with every shot Elly took until there were none of them left standing by the time Charles was standing in front of the ship.

"I made it!" Charles said in between ragged breaths, leaning on his knees to get some rest. "Please get me out of this island!" he exclaimed after catching his breath and straightening his posture while looking me in the eye.

I merely smiled while gesturing for him to get on the ship as I turned around to face Laffite, who was already standing behind the black pearl's wheel.

"Get us out of here Laffite, we have a doctor to find," I exclaimed with a smirk, causing everyone to cheer at finally leaving this depressing island.

-0-

Third person's point of view:

Inside the Marine's headquarters, in Marine ford, the fleet admiral, Sengoku the buddha, can be seen pacing around an empty, dark storage room, seemingly waiting for something or someone.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the room's door, causing the fleet admiral to still suspiciously looking at the door until whoever was on the other side finished knocking in a strangely particular way.

"Who is it?" The fleet admiral asked as he made his way towards the door.  "It's me, vice-admiral Stainless," came the reply from the other side of the door, causing Sengoku to sigh in relief, opening the door as he did.

A well-built man, roughly two meters a half tall with a handlebar mustache and a tanned complexion, came inside the room, promptly saluting the fleet admiral with one hand, the other carrying a suitcase.

"Do you have it?" The fleet admiral asked in a grave tone while glaring at the vice admiral, not bothering to return the salute. "Yes, sir," the vice-admiral replied, gulping nervously at the fleet admiral's intense eyes and opening the suitcase as he did, showing its content to Sengoku.

Inside the suitcase was a transponder snail sitting next to a signed poster of Johnny silver hand that promoted his latest and first concert at Kano country.

"Is all of this secrecy really necessary, sir?" vice admiral Stainless asked, sighing in exasperation. "Even if you are the fleet admiral, no one will blame you for enjoying a little music," he added while rubbing his forehead as Sengoku took the suitcase from his hands.

"What do you mean enjoying music, you bastard?" the fleet admiral asked in what clearly was fake outrage. "Are you accusing me of listening to pirate music?" he added while accusingly pointing his finger at the vice admiral.

"I'll have you know that this is precious evidence that we can use to track down an infamous pirate. Do I make myself clear?" Sengoku asked, intensely glaring at stainless again.

"Crystal clear, sir!" the vice-admiral exclaimed while saluting. "Good, and by the way, If I hear people talking about this...," the fleet admiral nodded in satisfaction, ominously trailing off at the end of his sentence.

"I'll send you on an expedition to take down whitebeard!" the fleet admiral concluded with a blank expression, walking past the speechless vice admiral and exiting the room.

...

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