I always read back at home how sailing in the ocean is Dangerous, with whirlpools and storms that can sink ships, freak weather phenomenon and tsunami waves, sailing should be one of the most dangerous jobs on this planet, especially in a world that is mostly covered in water.
There's a big difference from reading about such things, and experiencing them firsthand.
"Hold on tight, Spandam!" Spandine yelled as the two of us stood in his office on the Aegis Ship we sailed on for this investigation of ours, "This is going to be a big one!"
My hands were clasped so tight I think they became numb, I was holding onto my father, who was holding onto the ship, while Funkfreed wrapped his trunk around my waist in order to make sure I wouldn't fly away as the ship crested over a wave, plummeting down tens of meters before splashing into the raging waters outside.
"Don't worry! It'll take a lot more to break this ship! The hull is lined with Seastone! Once we reach the Calm Belt we can relax and go over your plan!" Spandine yelled over the loud rain falling outside.
"I'm not worrying about anything!" I screamed at my father, who smiled sheepishly in return as the ship once again rocked as the waves smashed against her.
The ship we were on was large, Easily able to fit a hundred people. With a hull reinforced with Seastone and an engine for voyages in the Calm Belt, The symbol of the World Government was plastered on the front sail of the ship, with the word "CI-POL" written on the sail above, telling the world this ship belonged to Cipher Pol, without telling which branch.
"Oh! Looks like the next wave is going to be even bigger, are you still holding on? I can't feel my leg, so just yell if you are!" Spandine yelled as another large wave lifted the ship into the air, vertigo taking hold of my body as I felt as if I were on an extreme roller coaster.
"Troo!!!" Funkfreed opened his mouth to yell, unable to properly trumpeter as his trunk was still holding on to me.
"STOP YELLING!!!!"
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"I hate sailing..." Spandine smiled widely as he watched his son grumble and collapse onto a chair, the office of the ship where the father/son duo slept in was a mess, with papers and documents strewn about following the ship's fight with the ocean's wrath.
"You'll get used to it," He told him, turning to leave his office to check up on his agents, "Garlo! Laskey! Status report!"
As soon as Spandine yelled those, a blonde man wearing a suit with a small pair of red glasses over his eyes seemed to appear beside him, followed by a momentary gust of wind.
"Outside of a crate of vegetables spilling over in the kitchen, everything is fine. The kitchen crew are already cleaning everything up." Laskey said, his hands resting in the pockets of his black suit.
Spandine turned to the door behind him, watching his Son attempt to stand on shaky legs, "See, I Told you everything would be fine," He smiled at him, "My Cipher Pol is the best out there, It would take a lot more than a simple storm to take us down!"
"You might not want to tempt fate so early, Chief," Garlo said as he walked over and crossed his arms, "We still need to make a pit stop over at Shashakima island to stock up on fresh water before we enter the Calm Belt."
"Do you hear that Spandam?" Spandine smiled at his son, who was busy trying to burn a hole into the back of his father's head using psychic powers, "We'll be stopping in Shashakima Island, We'll restock on Water and spend the night there before entering the Calm Belt tomorrow morning! Isn't that exciting?!" Spandine tried to hype up the idea to his son, wanting to make the most of this special moment.
Sure, he was basically making Spandam solve a cold case about a missing CP2 Chief, but at the same time, this was also an exciting father-and-son bonding Experience!
Sure, he had a small crew of CP9 agents accompany him as security and assistance, but which father wouldn't want the best for his Son?
"What's exciting about Shashakima Island?" Spandam asked, his Elephant helping him stand, "We'll be picking up water, going to sleep, and then leaving once the sun is up!"
"Then how about we go explore a bit while the crew is doing their jobs?" Spandine asked, ignoring the sounds of the Ship's support crew releasing a tired sigh of defeat behind him.
Their job was to take care of the ship, what were they expecting?
"According to CP6, Juanzo the Spike was headed to the neighboring Shasha Archipelago after the Iron Pirates defeated the entirety of his crew," Laskey spoke up, "Both of them should be small fry for CP9 to take care of, but I would still recommend to keep away from the Archipelago, in case either Juanzo or the Iron Pirates pop up."
"So the archipelago is dangerous, is what you're saying?" Spandine asked his agent.
"The Archipelago itself should be fine, Juanzo on his own can't do anything to our ship, but if the Iron Pirates are chasing after him, we should steer clear of them," Laskey told him.
"And that's because-" Spandine started.
"The Iron Pirates are subordinates of Whitebeard," Laskey explained easily, and Spandine nodded his head in understanding.
While attacking a subordinate crew of an Emperor is different than directly attacking the crew directly, and is still better than attacking ex-members turned subordinate captains, the World Government doesn't want to risk the Emperor trying to get revenge. Especially an Emperor like Whitebeard, who is known to treat his crew like family, even if they're just subordinate crews of his fleet.
So long as the Iron Pirates stay out of their way, they should all be fine.
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Shashakima Island is the Northernmost island in the New World that is considered Safe by the world government, which is helped by its location close to the entrance of the New World and the Redline, meaning Marines are able to reach the island quickly in case of emergency.
This makes Shashakima Island a go-to spot for World Government agents entering and exiting the North Blue via the Calm Belt, driving a large number of businesses towards the Island and surrounding Archipelago.
We arrived at the eastern Port of the Island in the early afternoon, giving the Ship's crew ample time to stock up on everything we'll need to go through the Calm Belt. From more freshwater we'll be drinking, and extra coal for the engine we'll be using, to even replacing the food in the Pantry that was destroyed from the Storm we passed trying to get here.
We'll be in the Calm Belt for a week, which would give me enough time to go over my plan for how to solve the mystery of Maximilian Bo's Disappearance.
"Spandam! Let's go check the Island out!" However all of that will have to wait until we're in the Calm Belt, right now, My father is trying his best to make me do anything other than the job he assigned me to do.
"Troo?" I wanted to yell at him that I was busy planning my investigation through, but Funkfreed pushed my shoulder with his trunk, making my frustrations disappear as my best friend asked me to go outside and explore the Island.
"Fine... Hopefully, there are some good books to buy so I won't die of boredom while we're stuck doing nothing in the Calm Belt for an entire week." I grumbled as Funkfreed turned into his original form, letting me catch his hilt as I latched him onto my belt, picking myself up from the pile of maps we had of the different North Blue Islands we'll pass by before reaching Kuen Island, and went outside to join my father.
"That's the spirit!" He smiled and clapped his hand on my shoulder, "Now let's go have some fun!"
I ignored the suited Cipher Pol agent following us as my father dragged me off the ship and onto the docks of Shashakima Island.