It wasn't until noon that Bai Chuan finally spotted Tom's rotund figure emerging from the house. The man shuffled out at a leisurely pace, a yawn stretching across his face, the corners of his eyes still holding two tears that hadn't quite spilled free from just waking up.
"What's all this racket about, you lot, hollering out here?"
Tom mumbled the words groggily, completely failing to notice that an extra person had appeared in the courtyard.
"Master, look who's here."
Iceburg spoke up. Only then did Tom's eyes refocus enough to register that aside from his two disciples, someone else was present.
"You are...?"
Tom found the face familiar, but for the life of him, he couldn't place where he'd seen Bai Chuan before.
"Don't remember me, Mr. Tom? We met a year ago."
Bai Chuan said to him.
But even after hearing this, Tom remained in a fog of confusion.
"Sorry, you do look familiar, but I still can't figure out who you are. Must be age catching up with me—memory's not what it used to be."
"That's fine."
"Master, have you forgotten? He's Bai Chuan—the Bai Chuan from the Roger Pirates."
The moment the two keywords "Roger Pirates" and "Bai Chuan" hit his ears, the figure floating in Tom's memory instantly snapped into alignment with the man standing before him.
"Weren't you dead?"
Tom asked, bewildered. Memories from that period suddenly resurfaced in his mind. Even though he hadn't been on the ship himself, he had followed every member of the Roger Pirates with particular care.
When news of Bai Chuan's death had reached him back then, he'd mourned for quite some time.
"That was false information. I really was on the verge of death at the time, so the Navy concluded I'd died. Never expected I'd end up pulling through."
"Alive is good. Alive is good."
Tom stepped forward and clapped Bai Chuan on the shoulder. He'd thought he would never lay eyes on any of Roger's crew again in this lifetime.
"But what brings you here looking for me?"
No one visits a temple without a reason, and Tom wasn't about to believe Bai Chuan had come all this way just to see him. After all, the two of them had shared only a single encounter before this.
"I'd like you to build me a ship, Mr. Tom."
Since Tom had cut straight to the point, Bai Chuan got straight to his as well.
At the request, a troubled expression crossed Tom's face.
"What's wrong, Mr. Tom? Are you dealing with some difficulties right now?"
Reading the room—that much Bai Chuan could manage.
"I don't build ships anymore. All my energy is poured into the Sea Train now."
"Isn't there any room for negotiation? I'll prepare all the shipbuilding materials myself."
"Yeah, Master. Building one ship just for Bai Chuan won't take that much time, and Bai Chuan's one of our own. Can't you make an exception this once?"
Iceburg spoke up in Bai Chuan's defense, because he knew that at this point, Bai Chuan was the only person who could save his master.
"That's right, Master, help him out. The man came all this way, traveling thousands of miles just to have you build a ship—it couldn't have been easy."
Seeing both his disciples pleading Bai Chuan's case, Tom's face flickered with a suspicious look. Just what kind of spell had this young man cast on his two students? Why were they siding with an outsider instead of their own master?
"But I truly don't have the time right now."
Tom replied bitterly. The daily grind of researching the Sea Train already had him swamped to the point of exhaustion.
"That's all right, Mr. Tom. I've got plenty of time. As long as you can get the ship built for me within five years, that'll do."
"Five years? You mean you're not planning to set sail anytime soon?"
Hearing this, Tom turned the question back at him. He knew that if Bai Chuan and his crew made an appearance right now, it would cause an absolute uproar.
"Not anytime soon. We've decided to lie low for a while. In five years, once my crew has built up enough real strength, then we'll take to the seas again. We don't want to go through that feeling of hovering between life and death ever again."
At these words, Tom sank into hesitation. Five years was a very long time. He would have more than enough time and energy within that window to build a truly superb pirate ship.
"If you agree to build the ship for me, Mr. Tom, I'll also help you out with a little something."
"What kind of something?"
The only thing he needed help with right now was the Sea Train. Could this man actually know how to build one?
"Your role in building a ship for Pirate King Roger can't be kept under wraps anymore. So I imagine the number of people coming to you for ships from here on out will be endless."
"So... the help you're offering is?"
"I'll keep every last person who comes looking for you to build a ship—or looking to make trouble—blocked outside. That should be a pretty good deal for you, wouldn't you say?"
Bai Chuan was confident Tom would agree to this proposal. Even if Tom didn't care about his own safety, he had to think about his two disciples.
With Bai Chuan and his people running interference, it would cut down a tremendous amount of danger for them.
And judging by the injuries on Iceburg and Franky, the two of them had been getting roughed up plenty by others lately.
"No problem. On those terms, I'll agree."
The moment Bai Chuan's second offer landed, Tom immediately accepted. Just as Bai Chuan had surmised in his thoughts, they were indeed in desperate need of protection right now.
Because he carried something of immense importance on his person. If that thing were to fall into someone else's hands, the consequences didn't bear thinking about.
The World Government claimed they would send people to protect him too, but he didn't trust the World Government's people one bit. When it came down to it, the ones who might put him in the gravest danger could very well be the government themselves.
"By the way, Mr. Tom, do you know any other top-tier shipwrights?"
"What for?"
Tom's eyes locked sharply onto Bai Chuan's. Was this man implying his shipbuilding skills weren't good enough?
"No, no, Mr. Tom, you've got it wrong—it's not what you're thinking."
"Then tell me. What do you need another shipwright for?"
"I'm planning to have another ship built as well. I was afraid you wouldn't have the time, so I figured I'd find another master shipwright. It's not what you're imagining—I'm not looking down on you."
"Oh, so that's how it is. Well then, let me tell you: the finest shipwrights on this island, besides myself, are standing right in front of you."
"In front of me?"
Aside from Tom, the only people in front of Bai Chuan were his two disciples.
"You don't mean these two, do you?"
Seeing Bai Chuan shift his gaze toward them, the pair promptly struck a very proud pose.
"That's right. Young as they are, they've already absorbed every shipbuilding technique I have to teach. Right now, they're first-rate shipwrights on this island."
"The ship I want built has some very demanding specifications. Can you two meet my requirements?"
"Don't worry. Whatever the requirements are, we can meet them. And even if we can't—well, isn't that what our master's here for?"
Franky declared.
"Good. Then I want you to build the largest ship in the world—a ship capable of sailing a crew of giants."
"What do you need a ship that huge for?"
At Bai Chuan's request, all three of them stared with mouths agape. Even the most massive pirate crew had no use for a vessel that enormous.
"You're just messing with the two of us, aren't you?"
Franky asked, a note of suspicion creeping into his voice.
"Not at all. I'm going to rebuild the Giant Warrior Pirates, so I need a ship that giants can actually sail on."
"Ah, so that's it."
"So, can you two pull it off?"
Hearing Bai Chuan's question, the two apprentices turned their gazes toward Tom. Once they saw Tom nod, they answered with fierce excitement.
"No problem."
/-\
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