Chapter 50: Interview With Janet & Diddy
Seeing them collapse onto the deck unconscious, I glanced at Sebas, yet it didn't seem necessary as he was already approaching their bodies.
"I've got it, Captain; I'll take care of them. Also, thank you for allowing them to join; it was rather hard parting away from these three troublemakers. I've known them since they were just children; we may not be blood-related, but they are practically my own children." Said Sebas with a smile of gratitude as he floated the three off the ground before turning around and slightly bowing to Diddy.
"Don't care, and I didn't do it for you; just know if they aren't pulling their own weight, I'll kick them overboard, and It doesn't matter where we will be in the South Blue, I'll still do it." Replied Diddy while glancing at Sebas before shaking his head and ignoring him as he looked at Freyja, who was heading toward the upper deck.
"Hoho, I may not know you well, Captain, but I don't doubt your words." Remarked Sebas with a chuckle as he headed downstairs to the ship's second floor before entering one of three cabins.
Leaping up to the upper deck, landing on the rail right in front of the helm, which is where Freyja was currently sitting as she attempted to steer the ship out of the pier; thankfully, with the way Sebas docked the ship, it was relatively easy to maneuver; I wasn't required to move the ship myself. Just when I was about to question Freyja, I saw Janet walking up the stairs to my right, and in all honesty, I had forgotten she was even aboard the ship with how quiet she'd been.
'Actually, now that I think about it, why is she even here?' Mused Diddy with a thoughtful expression as he hopped off the railing and approached Janet, who quickly noticed him.
"Why are you still here, Janet? Shouldn't you be doing, I don't know, things journalists do?" Asked Diddy curiously as he looked at Janet, who had her pen and notebook out as she blankly looked at him.
"It seems you've already forgotten; you agreed to partake in my interview. Also, I needed a way to quickly get off the island before the Marines arrived." Said Janet with a sigh, while Diddy nodded his head.
"Hmm, now that you mention that, I did say I'll participate in your interview; tch, lame, I don't really feel like doing it anymore, but whatever." Muttered Diddy as he rubbed his chin while furrowing his brows before frowning in annoyance.
I wasn't really interested in doing this little interview anymore, but I also wasn't one to go back on my word, never have been, and never will be. My Father, from my past life, had told me when I was still relatively young that a man should rather die than ever go back on his words; of course, at that time, I thought what he said was dumb, not to mention he ended up drying because of that. However, while it's stupid, as I got older, I ended up respecting him for it; even though he died, he never once went back on his words, and ever since then, I have done the same.
"Heh, since I'm not doing anything right now, let's do the interview right now; I'm keen on quickly getting this over with." Said Diddy with a shake of his head as he turned and approached his hammock, which was at the stern of the ship.
"So, since I'll be conducting an interview, how should I address you? Diddy? Captain Diddy? Kong? Captain Kong? Or maybe you'd prefer your full name, Diddy D. Kong?" Asked Janet as she moved a nearby barrel until it was before Diddy's hammock and sat on it while preparing to take notes.
"I don't care; Diddy's fine with me." Replied Diddy as a yawn escaped his mouth while Janet scribbled in her notebook.
"So, you prefer people calling you by your family name; unusual, but definitely not the weirdest thing I've seen or encountered." Muttered Janet, though her words did cause Diddy to raise an eyebrow.
"What do you mean by family name? Diddy is my first name." Remarked Diddy as he glanced at her in confusion while she confusedly looked back.
"Hmm? Diddy is your first name, but it's also your family name; usually, only if people are really close or intimate with each other will use their family name. Your last name, or your case, Kong, would be the name you are normally addressed by, though it doesn't matter; all of this is like an unspoken tradition." Stated Janet as she informed Diddy, who nodded in response.
'Eh, well, it's a different world, so of course, some things will be different; still, I've gotten used to being called Diddy.' Thought Diddy with a grin as he glanced at Freyja, who was still at the helm.
"Hehe, you hear that, Freyja? We must be rather close if you always call me by my family name." Announced Diddy while looking at Freyja, though, to his annoyance, she ignored him.
"Anyways, let's begin the interview!" Said Janet with an eager smile as she started asking questions.
For the next two hours, Janet conducted an interview, and although I didn't anticipate it, I rather enjoyed myself for those two hours; her questions were mainly about my past and how I managed to get to where I am today while also sprinkling in other questions such as where I'm from, my age, whether I've eaten a devil fruit, etc.
While I did enjoy myself, it was only because this was the first time I'd ever sat down and reminisced about my past; if I were to do this regularly, it would get boring quickly. However, shortly after the interview started, Sebas and his three goons, who had awakened, sat around and quietly listened to our conversation, and although Freyja continued steering the ship, I've no doubt she heard everything, especially since when I got to the part regarding her, I'd occasionally see flames erupt off her body.
"… After defeating Sebas twice, he joined the Frenzy pirates, followed by raiding Briss Kingdom the next day, and lastly, with those three joining as interns." Declared Diddy while pointing toward Sebas, Grand, Scar, and Trenza as the interview finally concluded.
"W-Wow, that's quite the past; not only do you remember everything from shortly after you were born, but you even managed to survive more than a week without an ounce of food or water. I-I'm beyond shocked!" Said Janet in astonishment as she looked over the several pages of notes she had written; not only was she amazed by his past, but so was everyone else.
"Hoho, even an intelligent person wouldn't have been able to survive those numerous deadly situations; you'd also need strength, but most importantly, you'd need a powerful will to survive. Otherwise, you'd quickly become a beast's prey before you even knew it." Remarked Sebas with a soft chuckle of amazement before glancing at the quiet Freyja, who had burnt the helm in rage.
"Merely at the age of 8, he was already stronger than the three of us combined!" Muttered Grand quietly while clenching his fist as he looked at the lackadaisical Diddy.
"To Master over 300 different martial arts in only 7 years, not to mention he was doing other things; what level of talent is required to make that even a feasible possibility, let alone a reality." Said Scar softly with slight fascination while glancing at the yawning Diddy.
"To think he's accomplished so many things in 15 years that couldn't even be achieved if people were given ten times that amount; what an utter monster." Whispered Trenza as she unblinking stared at Diddy, who was nearly pooped on by a passing bird.
"I can hear you three, also, it's Captain; get it wrong again, and I'll feed you to the Sea Kings." Remarked Diddy with a frown as he pointed at the three with his staff, causing them to nod quickly.
"Y-Yes, Captain Kong!" Yelled the three simultaneously as they stood up and saluted Diddy with newfound determination.
Retracting my bo-staff back to my side, I ignored those three as they headed toward the deck before shifting my focus toward Janet, who was still busy fiddling with her notebook. Seeing her like that, I just opted to leave her be as I hopped out of my hammock, landing beside Freyja.
"Tch, look what the hell you did; you burnt the helm!" Said Diddy with an irritated frown as he looked at the burnt helm that Freyja was operating, though luckily, it was only the helm.
"Hmph, since you're the only one who really uses the helm, I'll ignore it, but if you burn any other part of this ship, I'll throw you into the sea and watch you drown." Added Diddy as he glanced at the burnt helm before glancing at the unresponsive Freyja.
Seeing how unresponsive she was, I clicked my tongue in annoyance as I grabbed my bo-staff off my back before slamming it onto the deck. Though I ensured the force from the Impact spread through the entire ship, otherwise I would've damaged the deck; however, my actions caused the whole ship to tremble intensely.
"Do you understand, Vice-Captain?" Asked Diddy calmly with a feral grin while intensely glaring at Freyja as electricity periodically emerged from his body.
"Haa, yes, nothing else will be damaged, Captain." Replied Freyja sarcastically as she glanced at Diddy, who was mere seconds away from pouncing on her, before sighing.
Smirking, I retracted my face while also holstering Naga-sa as I stopped myself from beating Freyja up, even though it was rather tempting.