Chapter 60: Diddy Returns
"Ho, would you look at that? They actually managed to defeat the Bear pirates, including their Captain; what a welcome surprise." Remarked Freyja lightly as she looked up at the smoking ship with a raised eyebrow.
"Hoho, I always knew they could do it; they're quite powerful in their own right. Your average day pirates won't be enough to stop those rambunctious lot." Said Sebas with a slight chuckle of happiness as he approached the edge of the boat before waving his hand, causing the three to be lifted out of the water and into the air.
"Hahaha! Did you see that, Father!? Showed those pirates who are the real pirates!" Exclaimed Grand with a large smile as his brother and sister were levitated onto the ship alongside him by Sebas.
"Yes, I saw everything that transpired from the moment you stepped foot onto the ship; congratulations on winning. It was a hard-fought victory." Replied Sebas with a faint yet proud smile as he looked at the three standing before him.
"Now that everything is over, I'm going to rest; I'm pretty sure I've broken a few ribs as every time I breathe, I'm hit with a wave of pain." Said Trenza with a frown as she holstered her pistols and approached the stairs, hissing in pain every few seconds.
"Grand, if you could go help tend to Trenza, Scar and I will plunder the Bear pirate's ship; from what I saw in the captain's memories, they had a rather good pile of valuables in the ship's cargo." Stated Sebas as Grand nodded and went after Trenza while Scar approached the plank between the two ships.
"I don't know if that's really necessary, Sebas." Remarked Freyja from the helm as she looked down at the two, one walking and the other floating to the other ship.
"Hmm, what do you mean by that Freyja? We're pirates; don't pirates plunder other pirates after they're defeated?" Questioned Scar with furrowed brows while looking at Freyja, whose words confused him.
"Normally, yes, but Diddy isn't really interested in being a pirate. He decided to be a pirate because it sounded better than being labeled as a revolutionist or something else by the Marines. Besides, Diddy isn't the type of person to use any currency; if he wants something, he'll just take it, no questions asked. What's the use of treasure when we've got a captain like that?" Stated Freyja with a shake of her head as she folded her arms while glancing at Scar.
"Now that you mention it, that does indeed sound like something he'd do; no wonder he didn't bother ransacking the Briss Kingdom's treasury. I just figured he didn't want to search for it as I'm sure it would've been rather tedious, especially after he killed everyone who might possibly know its location." Said Sebas with a thoughtful expression while nodding as he floated between the two ships.
"Still, having treasure aboard the ship shouldn't pose any problems? I'm doubtful he'd get angry from that, well, as long as it's stored properly." Added Sebas as he looked at Freyja, who nodded back.
"You're right; I'm positive he won't mind. If you two wish to steal their valuables, that's fine by me; I don't mind. I just figured I should tell you in advance." Replied Freyja lightly as she glanced at the burning ship.
"Though, I suggest you hurry; the ship doesn't look like it'll stay afloat much longer." Added Freyja as she grabbed a nearby newspaper and started reading.
"Let us do this quickly then, Scar; only take what you believe to be the most valuable first; we can return for everything else." Ordered Sebas as he landed on the ship's deck, mentally creating an ethereal shield that prevented any smoke or fire from reaching him.
"Got it, Father." Said Scar with a nod as he arrived on the deck and closely followed behind Sebas while they navigated through the smoke.
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"Is that everything?" Asked Freyja while whistling in awe as she stared at the treasure, which took up nearly half of the ship's cargo space.
"Yes, at least everything we could find; there may be more stuff, but the ship was starting to sink, so we quickly left afterward." Replied Scar as he wiped the sweat off his forehead while admiring the substantial amount of treasure with a slight smile.
"Didn't know being a pirate granted such wealth; this is easily more than I've ever owned, and I was previously a noble." Remarked Freyja as she observed the contents of the treasure, which consisted of golden chalices, jewels, jewelry, chests filled with Beri's, and really anything that was valuable.
"Well, this much is only expected since it was from the Bear Pirates; they were a rather dominant pirate group in the South Blue; after all, their Captain, also known as Bear-Man, had a bounty of 20,000,000 Beri's. I'm sure they were on their way toward the Grandline to enter Paradise, though they unfortunately encountered us." Declared Sebas lightly, feeling somewhat satisfied at their haul.
"Those weak pirates were a dominant group? Looks like we'll be leaving the South Blue in the near future; knowing Diddy, he'll start getting agitated if he doesn't fight anyone powerful soon." Questioned Freyja with a raised eyebrow as she looked at Sebas, who nodded in response.
"Hoho, I'm rather eager to explore Paradise; I have a feeling it'll be a trip of a lifetime." Said Sebas with a slight chuckle while imagining the crazy things they'll encounter, not knowing they'll far exceed what he could ever dream of.
"Anyways, what should we do now? Will we wait for Captain or continue sailing to Centaurea?" Asked Scar as he looked at Freyja for confirmation.
"Hmm, it's been roughly two or so hours since we've seen him; I imagine he should be return–" Replied Freyja, though she was forcefully interrupted by the ship violently shaking, catching them all by surprise.
"Tch, speak of the devil; the bastards here." Said Freyja with a frown as she exited the cargo and headed toward the deck, Sebas and Scar following her.
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"Haa, haa; I-I need to b-be more careful n-next time, nearly d-drowned." Said Diddy, sprawled on the deck while occasionally coughing water from his lungs as he looked toward the sunny sky, his fur soaked in ocean water.
"Hehe, still, that was an incredible training session; it's been a while since I've been pushed to my limit like that. I'm definitely adding that to my weekly routine; I just wish I could breathe underwater; that would be the cherry on top." Added Diddy with a grin while shifting his head to the right as he sensed a few people approaching him.
Seeing Freyja, Sebas, and Scar near me, with some difficulty, I stood up, though as I did so, I started violently coughing, causing me to kneel on the ground.
"Ugh, finally, that freaking hurt." Muttered Diddy while rubbing his throat as he coughed out a perfectly intact fish skeleton before standing up again.
"What the; did you just vomit a whole fish skeleton? How did you swallow something so large?" Questioned Scar, bewildered as he looked at the fish skeleton, roughly a third the size of Diddy.
"Yes, and it's called swallowing your prey whole; have you never seen a snake eat before?" Remarked Diddy as he gave Scar a weird look while tossing the fish skeleton overboard.
"So, did you guys encounter some pirates?" Asked Diddy as he looked at the three curiously while they unanimously agreed to ignore the fish skeleton incident.
"Yes, we indeed did, Captain; they were the Bear pirates; Scar, Grand, and Trenza took care of them alone. Though I'm surprised, you figured it out so quickly." Replied Sebas while nodding.
"It wasn't hard; the scent of blood is still decently potent in the air. Besides, when I was surfacing, I happened to see a large sinking ship that didn't belong to the Marines." Said Diddy while electricity started dancing all over his body, causing steam to emit from his golden brown fur as he headed to the upper deck.
"So that's where you've been this entire time, the ocean's depths. I'm disappointed the weight didn't crush you to death." Commented Freyja with a frown as she followed behind Diddy, though she was merely returning to her seat at the helm while Diddy continued to his hammock in the back.
"Heh, it was close; maybe if you followed me, you might've been able to force me deep enough into the ocean." Remarked Diddy with a grin, knowing full well Freyja couldn't enter bodies of water, though that's why he said it.
Hearing Freyja click her tongue, I chuckled to myself while reaching down, grabbing Naga-sa, and doing so, I could feel its dangerous aura emit from its body, reminding me of a dog ecstatic to see its owner, though, unlike a dog, this Naga-sa wasn't sentient. After a few seconds, it retracted its aura back into its body, seemingly content with being by my side again.
"So Scar, Sebas told me you and your two siblings defeated the Bear Pirates, along with their Captain; depending on their strength, I may officially allow you three to join the Frenzy Pirates." Stated Diddy as he turned around and eyed Scar, who suppressed his emotions, staying relatively calm.
"I understand, Captain, but the only one worth mentioning was the Captain, Bear-Man; everyone else was just your everyday pirates. However, how will I be able to display Bear-Mans prowess accurately?" Replied Scar while standing rigidly, looking like a soldier before his superior.
"Heh, that's where I come in; I'll make sure I'm real accurate, but just to be on the safe side, we should do it a few times." Said Freyja with a wicked smirk as she stood up and approached Diddy, morphing her entire arm into something much larger and monstrous.