Zanji Hummed to himself as he stood behind the helm of his ship. He was relatively excited for he had made it into the His first island visit as a pirate captain all by himself. He felt proud of himself yet there was a feeling of loneliness at this accomplishment. He wanted to get some crew mates as soon as possible it was rather lonely aboard this large ship. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a map and checked on the horizon. He wasn't a top notch navigator but thanks to his log pose he had a good idea of where he was headed. The closest island that he was going to visit and possibly resupply at was named Dawn island. A rather unusual name for a piece of land perhaps it had a desert climate to it. He hoped it wasn't in this case he enjoyed the warmth of the sun but desert heat was something all together a different subject. He looked up towards the sky as he heard a all to familiar sound of a sea gull cawing most likely calling out to his little friends.

This brought a small smirk to his face as he drew closer and closer to the island. A particular song kept coming to mind as he hummed a few bars. It was a old pirating song but it was still a good one in his opinion. He slowly began to furl in the sails as a dock came into view. He would let the oceans current drag him into port. He tied off the sails and stretched out his arms and quickly climbed up the ladder and tied off the sails. After tying up the sails he would slide down the polished metal railing  the masts ladder and returned to the helm. He chuckled as he continued to hum along the tune of Bink's sake as he saw already quite a few ships into the dock it was going to be a bit of a challenge to find a free spot but he would manage somehow. His jolly roger in the crows nest of the first mast waved lazily in the air proudly displaying its insignia as he carefully maneuvered his large ship into a free area.

He quickly dropped anchor and tied off the boat to the docks. He yawned loudly and set out the disembarking plank to the dock and slowly walked down it. Today he was wearing black vest with gold buttons along with a white dress shirt as well as a red string tie with a pair of black pants and black leather dress shoes,and long white trench coat. His hands were in his pockets as he felt his stomach growl loudly. He had not eaten yet today he wasn't a very good cook perhaps he could find a inn to stay in and get some decent food. He did not really care for the extreme desert heat he was in right now.  He preferred a nice spring time island but Alabasta was a summer island and a desert to boot so he really had no choice. He was stuck here till he found a navigator and a log pose. He was just lucky he got to this island safely.  He sighed as he walked slowly into town as he checked out the locals and what they had to offer. After what seemed like a hour but only roughly twenty minutes of asking random people if they knew any scientists or smiths within town he was pointed into a general direction of a person who fit both qualifications. He walked up the steps of a inn and proceeded towards a door down the hall and knocked on it lightly and would reach into his shirt. he pulled out a small golden locket and gently rubbed his thumb across nervously.

Rokuju Vinsmoke was in town today to take care of some loose ends. Small business deals here and there are what kept her afloat these days, which meant she had to attend to the needs of various companies strewn about the desert town. She didn’t enjoy being out here by her lonesome, away from her pre-established manufacturer. This meant that she wouldn’t have access to her ongoing projects while she was on the road. This was a problem because she took joy from her work. To not be able to fiddle with her gadgets left her bored. Regardless, this trip was necessary. She couldn’t just do her own thing 24/7, she still needed money to fund herself. Oh what a pedestrian life she had fallen into. It was aggravatingly normal and of little consequence to anyone else. Even the marines didn’t bother with her. For a woman who belonged to a once great lineage, the fact that she was able to simply take a fake name and blend into this country was not good for her pride.

So here she was, holed up in an inn after a long day of traveling. Her body ached from walking through dunes while pulling on the reins of a stubborn ass who would stubbornly half ass the whole journey. As soon as she had reached her room, she proceeded to lay on her bed atop the covers. Oof. She wished she could hire someone reliable enough to take care of the relations end of her business. But there was not really anyone that she would trust with her technology. Simply put, she didn’t know of anybody that could do what she could do when it came to advanced practical application of science. Even when she went to market a batch of energy guns to pirates, they would never show the appreciation that her work deserved. They just simply wouldn’t be able to comprehend the wondrous advancements that had gone into the finished product. All they wanted to know was that the end went bang and people would die. Ugh, lamenting about her situation seemed like a daily chore at this point.

Thats where the therapeutic fiddle with her projects would come in. Luckily for this trip, she had been able to bring a patch of a battery fabric that she was creating. Ro would grab it out of the rucksack at the end of the bed and begin to poke and prod it with a pair of handy pocket tweezers. The intricacy and delicacy of her craft was something that hours upon hours of refining would go into. Also many prototypes had to be chucked out with every mistake. Sometimes it took her thousands of attempts to get the system right. Today was another day where she would stuff it up.

She heard a knock at her room door behind her. The stimulus shifting her attention away from her project for just long enough for her tweezers to slide into a gap in the fabric, bridging a gap in the battery and short circuiting it. The whole thing would explode in a puff of carbon with just enough force to push her off her bed and go sprawling on the floor with a thud. Annoyed at the interruption, Ro would get to her feet and answer the door to find a young man on the other side. Her face black with soot, blue eyes would look at the man expectantly.

Zanji slowly pressed his thumb against his locket once again. This locket was a thing of great value to him. Inside it held a picture of his deceased parents. it was made by one of the finest smiths in his town how long since died which had happened to have been a friend of his father's. He was unsure of which he really did not care to find out. It was a one of a kind item special crafted. He heard a thud and the sound of shuffling feet. He moved his hand away form the locket and stood up straight and tall. what stood before him however was a beautiful women Blonde hair about mid neck length that is pinned back. Large blue eyes, creamy olive skin although her face was covered in soot and a small nose. The left most end of both eyebrows curl into an upward facing spiral.

He made mental notes of these fine features and felt a rush of inspiration inside his mind. Oh a beautiful ballad began forming inside his head. he cleared his throat and gave a apologetic bow to the women. "My apologies for intruding upon you miss, It seems I may have interrupted you." He rose from his bow his amber gold eyes shining brightly. He was somewhat curious to know about what exactly what she was working on but that would have to wait for another time. "My name is Zanji D. Ryotoji and I have been searching this town for quite sometime for a truly competent and talented scientific mind and I have heard a few good rumors about you and your work." He smiled gently his body tone not meaning a single inclination of violence his tone of voice was calm and full of honesty. He may be a pirate but he was a honest one. "I have come perhaps make a business proposition but, it seems I arrived at a crucial moment in your work would yo perhaps care for me to come back at a more convenient time?" He held his violin cvase at his side his trusty custom designed pistol lay within his coat within the holster.

She was not exactly sure what she was looking at when she opened the door. Clearing his throat, bowing and then apologising, the young man gave her a peculiar first impression. His introduction was a little superfluous and a little charming. It was quite obvious that he wasn’t from the area, his conduct would make him stick out like a sore thumb among the humble folk that resided in this land. Although this was not necessarily a bad thing, Rokuju was definitely the same in this regard. Despite being met by a dirty and unamused face, he didn’t seem to care at all, ploughing on with his agenda.

Apparently, he was looking for ‘a truly competent and talented scientific mind’. Well he had come to the right place, although Ro had half a mind to close the door on him right there and then. She wasn’t in her best mood, but all the same, she didn’t mind at all that he had come to her for her skill. Maybe this would be someone that could actually appreciate her craft. For someone other than one of her paid employees to give her work the respect she thought it deserved is something that she wanted.

Zanji finished by mentioning that it looked like she was busy and asking if he should come back. Ro would open her mouth to provide an answer that they were both expecting her to give. Despite her intentions, what was produced from her throat was a cough of black dust which would plume out into the young man’s face. She must have breathed in a little of the soot in her previous accident. After getting over the moment of surprise and embarrassment, she would step to the side and hold the door for the young man to enter. “Well, you’ve uh, come to the right place..” She would gesture with her free hand to a plain wooden chair that Zanji may choose to use if he pleased.

Zanji watched as he waited for the young women to speak. He was surprised at how young she appeared to be but hey he wasn't going to complain. He chuckled as when she opened her mouth she had coughed and some soot hit him in his face. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a clean handkerchief and began to wipe the soot off his face. "Oh quite alright comes with the territory with you profession I assume no harm done reminds me a bit of my home life." In all honesty it really did remind him of his childhood his father occasional helped out as a black smith and would take his son along with him to work.

He smiled kindly as she stepped aside allowing him access to her room. he nodded his head gratefully as he walked in. His black violin case swinging lightly from his hand as he took a seat at a nearby empty table and placed his violin case atop the table and clicked it open and pulled out a pen and some musical score sheets that were blank. He clicked his pen open and just like that the was off. His pen hand dashing across the paper writing down musical notes filling up a bar in mere seconds  as he hummed to himself the tune and he looked up and blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry bit of a habit with my profession got to get down the music before it leaves my head otherwise it would be a waste."

His golden locket caught the light of the sun and glistened brightly flashing its reflective surface over towards the young women's direction. He placed the pen down and put the papers back in the violin case and clicked the pen closed. "I thank you for taking time out of the day to allow me to speak with you i was just curious about you work and your creations you've made and what exactly you profession means to you? would you mind going into a little detail about what you can do miss ughh I'm sorry I didn't catch your last name from the innkeeper so i do not wish to be to formal and presume to call you by your first name after all I a am a gentlemen."

The young man stepped past Ro and into the room, taking up the seat at the table that she had offered. Closing the door behind him she wandered over to him, wondering what he would do next. She assumed that he would have some sort of proposal for him, although what it was, she was not so sure. Instead of immediately talking, the stranger lifted a case onto the table. It looked like a violin case, so maybe he was a musician? Sure enough, he then pulled out a few sheets of paper and began scrawling musical notation onto them. Not too sure about what to do in response, Ro left him to it for the time being, walking back over to the bed where the remains of her experiment were. She picked out a few salvageable pieces and chucked them back in her rucksack, the rest she sweeped into a nearby bin. The bed covers were singed and the top layer had a hole in it from the electrical burn. It looked like she wouldn’t be coming back to this place again.

Zanji apologised for his distraction, packing up his stuff. Looking like he was finishing, Ro turned her attention back to him only to blink in response to the man’s flashing jewelry. He started the conversation,  asking her for some information of her work. She guessed she didn’t mind showing him a few things here and there. Ro was quite careful when it came to giving out her technology, as the intellectual property was an invaluable part of her operation. “Yes, my name is Elena Veli. I guess I have made a bit of a name for myself in this town.” She supplied him with the name that she had worked under while she had been situated here for the last few months.

She walked over to her rucksack and pulled it up onto the table opposite to Zanji. She would then reach into the bag and tenderly pull out an object covered in cloth. Unraveling it would produce a strange looking pistol. The body consisted of hardened plastic instead of metal or wood. She would open up the casing with a few precise clicks to show the wiring and skeleton beneath. “So this is one of the energy gun prototypes that I have recently made, and a model that a few parties have expressed interest in. Would you like a demonstration?”

He smiled happily as she shut the door and walked towards him. At last perhaps someone worthy of joining his crew. the others he had found were all so weak and had abandoned him. He was somewhat bitter of that he was a man for his crew and would always be. yet why why had they abandoned him. His feet curled up in anger but he maintained a look of calm upon his face as he sat at the table. things would be different this time around he was in the grand line a fresh new start to get him along his way.

He gave her a kind and genuine smile of interest and spoke "it's a pleasure to meet you elena veil." He fiddled with his locket with his thumb nervously once again and slowly held it in his hand as she rummaged about the room. He reached out with his left hand and placed the violin case down upon the ground and brought his attention back up towards the women. He watched as she pulled out a bundle of cloth. He would slowly let go of the locket from his right hand and gently ran the tip of his finger across the gun. "Hmm hardened plastic interesting material choice."

he removed his finger from the gun and crossed his arms he was getting very intrigued. Apparently she had made this interesting pistol called a energy pistol. "Oh a demonstration perhaps later but a few questions first." He looked her over and back towards the gun " "Wouldn't it be more prudent to use a different type of alloy for the gun after all I'm sure a energy weapon would possibly build up extreme heat and would eventually melt a hardened plastic such as this eventually?" He smiled and examined the gun with his eyes. "However the craftsmans ship is very superb even if this is a protoype model, i am a man who takes pride in his craft and i can sense that from your weapon at least the fine little details the delicate little features. Tell me something Elena would you possibly be interested in building something a bit more grander than this lets say for example i am in the market for a air cannon for my ship"

He seemed to be very interested in what she had showed him, the sleek matt grey material of the casing gave the gun it’s polished look. Zanji stroked the gun and made a comment about the material. He noticed that it was a plastic, which was intriguing to Ro. Usually people couldn’t tell what it was made out of, just knowing that it wasn’t metal.

He would next ask a question about heat buildup and if that would challenge the integrity of the gun’s form. An intelligent question by all means. Maybe she had finally found someone who could appreciate her work. She was pleased to start a dialogue, definitely in her comfort zone when it comes to technology. “Well yes, I can’t blame you for thinking that, most plastic you have seen is probably of low quality, with it having very little textile strength or usefulness. But the stuff I make has been refined down to a pure form. This is my own special blend of epoxy resin with a little glass fibre actually. It does not conduct heat nor electricity, is elastic enough that shock trauma will not break it like common metal and it is stronger than steel.” It was true that even though a few areas of the world had started working with plastics, their methods were barbaric. They didn’t know how to reduce their raw oil down into a pure consistency nor were they able to precisely measure the present ingredients due to not understanding the chemical processes. This lead to an overall unsatisfying end product. As a result, plastics had not been incorporated into weaponry. These sort of differences are what made Ro’s craft top notch by comparison.

“So to answer your question, this plastic will not melt, that is unless you want to throw it into a furnace for a couple of hours, and even then, it will char instead of liquidising.” She pulled out a piece of charred black battery material as an example. “But that was a good question, heat is always a challenge when designing a system. Even though plastic does not conduct heat, heat will still build up. So I leave enough space for venting. Refining energy transforming processes is imperative to creating a practical device.”

Zanji went on to compliment her on the product, which Ro accepted with a small smile and nod. Then he asked her about an ‘air cannon’. Ro’s brow furrowed. “Do you mean like, a canon that fires condensed air as a projectile?” She would go into her rucksack again and produce a pad of paper and a pencil, draw up a chair next to Zanji and begin sketching out a few ideas.

After asking his question he would look directly into the young women's face. his eyes never leaving her own as he stared at her most interested by not her body but by her mind. He nodded his head and smirked at her response about the buildup of heat within the gun. "Oh most impressive i was just thinking about asking about the shock trauma fro the gun very impressive most ingenious material you have created her miss Veil, I am sure you've had some very happy customers with your weapon creations." He was really indeed beginning to like this women's intelligence and her personality that had showed through.

He nodded his head at her question about his air cannon. "Yes precisely what i meant but in a way a few differences, I was planning of having one installed in the prow of my ship where the nautical figure head is." he paused a moment and caught his breath and would begin to speak again to her though his tone had changed from calm to a more excited tone "Of course the figure head has already been hollowed out and such but the cannon itself would most likely have to be a collapsible, then there's always the problem of the backlash from the force of the cannon, Do you think you could design a ventilation system to prevent the ship from moving when the cannon is going off unless we needed to make a reverse escape from a blockade or something."

He felt goosebumps along his body just the thought of finally making his dream weapon to his ship. He shuddered happily at the goosebumps along his spine. "Hmm just a though but why not have a secondary cannon system similar to the front but can be used also as a ventilation system for the primary that would perhaps solve the kickback issue and could be used as a way of escape by shooting us into the air?" He chuckled and shook his head "Apologies I do not mean to step onto your toes you are the scientist I am just a humble musician, Money of course would be no issue miss Veil."

Ro blushed a little at the praise, unused to receiving recognition. This man, Zanji Ryotoji as he called himself, had quite the silver tongue and wasn’t lacking on the charm. She tried her best to keep her head and not be too swayed. This would be, as he had said, a business visit, it would be best for her to keep her composure so as to drive a good bargain for herself.

When they moved onto the topic of the air cannon, Zanji began to rattle off spec after spec, faster than Ro could think about it. She scribbled the key words down on the note pad. ‘Collapsable’, ‘Resultant force’, ‘Mobility’. Just as Rokuju had thought that she had managed to keep up, the young man was off again, obviously he had excited himself. He would suggest another canon on the back to offset the front cannon.

He finally ended with speaking about money. Apparently he would pay a lot to get what he wanted, which is what Ro liked to hear. She was sick of stingy marines that wouldn’t give her what she thought she deserved. While money wasn’t her priority, it was a very necessary means to an end. Ro would sit back in her chair and look at the scribbled notes for a minute, attempting to process the task. Usually she would pour over ideas for hours before deciding on her favourite method. On the spot thinking was stressful, but it was nothing she wasn’t up to.

Leaning back over the table, she turned to face Zanji. “Well as a disclaimer, I am not a shipwright. I specialise in personal arms which are usually on a smaller scale and have a different set of problems to attend to. That being said, I understand the theory of it all and I do have a few ideas. Probably the best I can do is provide you with a set of blueprints and some components which you will then have to get a skilled shipwright to fit for you.” Having this discussion, she realised that incorporating technology into ship building could be a new interesting avenue for her. But she just didn’t have the practical ability.

“So you are looking for collapsible air cannons on the front and back that can be used both on the run and on the offensive. You are right in isolating the issue of resultant forces, as pushback will be a problem with fixed canons. Using the two opposite cannons to counteract each other is an option, although there are some problems with that. Firstly, if one of them gets disabled, the other loses functionality. Secondly, the whole system would be under pressure. Each time you fired the cannons, your ship would be under strain from both ends and compress. Over time your ship will damage itself with excessive use. Not to mention, there may be an ally behind you, firing the front cannon would put them in jeopardy.”

“What I suggest instead is putting the cannon on a track which is rigged up to a tensile spring. Firing the cannon would move it backwards on the track, which would in turn convert the kinetic energy to elastic that is stored in the spring. This way we can keep the force within a contained system. I reckon that I could feed this back into make it a self cocking canon. This is all the detail I can give you at the moment, if we want to progress, I think we should start talking Beli” She gave Zanji a wink, not wanting to give out too much about her precious ideas. In reality, there were many different ways that this system could work, from heat and steam to electromagnetism. A spring was the most rudimentarily effective from first glance.

Zanji would keep his mouth shut  having spoken already quite a lot already. He noticed her cheeks blushed a little bit  after he had praised her. He watched her hand scribble down the notes and suggestions he had said in rapid secession. She was a real good listener to details he had said she had not missed a single one. he was beginning to like this women more and more by the minute. He chuckled after her little disclaimer and held up his left hand apologetically. "My apologies I know fully well that you are no ship wright please forgive me it's been a dream of mine to have a weapon of this caliber for a while now, been planning it out inside my head for a very long time."

His smile did not fade from his face "I do appreciate the advice from you all the same. Though my ship could use some cannons perhaps you could also draw up some blueprints or make me some or perhaps you could convert my best pistol into one of your own energy weapons." He smiled as he pushed aside his coat upon his left side revealing his weapons that were hidden beneath the jacket.

The sword would remain firmly scabbard and upon his arm would lie a leather holster holding a exquisite looking pistol. The handle was made of a black maple laquer and and the barrel was made from a steel a unique weapon it has a 8 and 3'4 inch long barrel and has a loading cylinder of 4  bullet chambers. On both sides of the barrel there is a bronze cross shaped  emblem imbued with the carrel with a red gem in the center.  which had inlaid upon it two small crosses made from gold upon the side of the barrel. He gently brought his coat back around himself and slowly stood back up.

Zanji smirked and nodded his head and spoke kindly to the doctor. "Well I do agree that first problem would be a issue however the secondary cannon could be used as a ventilation system as i previously stated if it should be damage then the primary cannon would still be operational however the ship would indeed be blasted backwards. As for my ship taking damage from the use of the weapon yes that would be a most troublesome which is why i have been saving up for adam wood for a while now thus would negate the damage from the power of the weapon."  He chuckled and shook his head " there is of course the option of installing impact dials upon the cannon which would absorb the recoil damage however that's a topic for a different time. I will happily accept any ideas you have I trust your judgment miss veil your the scientific expert here not me."

He reached down and grabbed his violin case  and placed it at his right side. He would slowly make his way to the door when he stopped and looked at her. "Oh and before i forget the money as I said before money isn't a problem i want the best quality weapons or weapon i can get from you, Perhaps we can talk more about this later how about you meet me aboard my ship later this evening i have a lab and foundry you may use." He smiled and slowly opened the door and stepped into the hall way "Just look for the ship with a jolly roger that has a skull and cross bones made a flame you can't miss it." He reached towards his locket and clicked it open and spoke his voice somewhat torn between happiness and sadness as he spoke  "Of course you can just listen to this song and you'll find the ship as well." He smiled and slowly made his way down the hall the song from the melody filling the hallway slowly fading as he exited the inn and heading back towards his ship.

Locket song:

(Zanji exit)

Rokuju nodded along to Zanji’s suggestions. There were always many different ways to approach any given problem. She wasn’t surprised when he had suggested using dials. They were very useful tools in peoples everyday life on the Grandline and gave access to many modern day privileges that were previously unattainable for most. But for Ro, they were a bit primitive. A bit neanderthallic compared to her capabilities. Her ears perked up at the mention of Adam wood, the legendary material used to build the greatest ships. If he was rich enough to afford the stuff then he wasn’t kidding when he said money wasn’t an issue. Was this her golden ticket?

The scientist would of course design the product to his specs if he was set on what he wanted. But it seemed like he would trust her to some extent. The man with the golden eyes got to his feet, equipping his violin case and walking to the door. It looked like he had found what he was looking for in this meeting and was ready to leave. They still hadn’t exchanged anything, so she was expecting further content from the stranger.

Sure enough, he invited her to his ship for further discussion. Impressively, he even had a lab and foundry aboard that she was invited to use. Definitely intrigued, she nodded and smiled in agreement, she decided she would have to go and check it out. Ro waved as her new customer left, listening to the melancholic tune that followed him off into the distance.

What an odd little meeting.

(exit)
Thread Closed

Well this was adorable.


7k EP
1 SP