Kitaro welcomed his new friend onto his ship and had his slaves do the same when the man arrived. He had taken a detour for what Kitaro was sure would be considered ad style change but in the end it was likely something of a way to maintain his status as a warlord. There were a lot of eyes in Saobody and most of them belonged to the government in some way. Most eyes everyone belonged to the government in some way. It made the job of good and honest people like Kitaro here much more difficult than it should have been...Regardless, the welcoming commitee of slaves was cut short due to Kitaro's current lack in that department. He was in the process of breaking in a few more at the moment, but they were not ready to stand on the ship as the...two...that he still had loyal to him that he considered broken in enough to act as slaves on the deck. Mojojoa and Flounder.

Flounder and Kitaro had recently been through something that most would consider strife, but as such it was something that probably in some psychiatrist's office somewhere would have been claimed to have brought them closer together. "The bigger is Flounder, he is the Shipwright and he is a slave. No Devil Fruit for him as you may be curious in that regard, but he is also not a fighter by any stretch of the word. He may look it, he may sometimes act like it, but he is not a warrior of the sea. Only a Fish that cares about my ship. While you are aboard my ship, think of him as at your service." Kitaro introduced the fish with a hand gesture that resembled a wave and a tip of the hat motion besides. The other slave that was up on board of the deck was Mojojoa, a much more trustworthy slave for the time being, and a more significant direct help. Kitaro briefly debated whether or not to go into his backstory but then decided he would simply talk and what came out, would come out. "This one here is Mojojoa, he is a loyal Mink who was long ago seperated from his peoples. He is a master martial artist and I would have to say quite good at it from my own perspective as well. Not just a master in title, but in practice. He was a slave fighter, a pit fighter of sorts would be more accurate. Don't let his giraffe appearance confuse or disarm you, he is a formidable fighter and capable of using a fighting style that enhances his combat called Electro. It is exactly what it sounds like, the manipulation of electricity through direct combat." Kitaro gestured in a similar way toward the Zebra man that had been aboard his ship as well. The one he should have brought with him to be smart rather than Flounder to try to make something out of him that he clearly, was not. "Consider him at your service as well, though he is a bit more fiesty out of the two."


Kitaro then turned on his heels and began to walk to his own captain's quarters near the rear of the ship. His ship was larger than that of some parked around him, but it was a transport Caravel at the end of the day. He needed to upgrade to a bigger one to be able to maintain his slave marketting and his business in the Underworld. He was quickly outgrowing his means to do business. Before he could finish that thought however, his mind raced back to the company that he had on his hsip. Something of a potential for a new alliance that he had been so far railroading the conversation and path that the two were taking. It was an alliance, though Kitaro was guiding the direction that the two were traveling now. Though had the Shichibukai here before him, Kuro, not agreed he would not have been on his ship in the first place. "We leave for Saobody immediately." Kitaro spoke mostly to his slaves about this one and the two ran off to man their posts and to get the ship ready to leave port. "Kuro, my Warlord friend, I invite you to enjoy any hospitality that my humble ship can offer. Though I admit there is not much in the way of hospitality or amenities. I am a man who travels as a minimalist to afford the costs of doing business. I'm sure you understand. Your quarters are beneath the captain's cabin and under the helmsman's wheel if you would prefer a rest. I myself am in dire need of one. I was fighting bears and to make a long story short, am somewhat exhausted. Though no less glad to have run into one such as yourself here." Kitaro mused before disheartening into his own captain's quarters. To sleep but mostly to think about where he is going in the near future.

WC: 843
Skipping Travel Time to Saobody

The Warlord found the ship to be quite larger than his own, definitely not designed for immediate personal travel. With him no longer needing that ship, both due to this alliance, and due to his plans for the future, he simply got rid of it, leaving him with little other option but to go with Kitaro towards wherever he was going. If Kuro had to guess, the most obvious answer would be Sabaody Archipelago, known for both its intense black market focus, and its numerous specialized shipwrights. Stil, it was quite amusing that the ship he was currently on, with both slaves being animal based, looked less like a slave ship and more like a traveling menagerie. A strangely humanoid version of one, but still. With there being no other option, save swimming between islands, which he decided to do sometime in the future, Kuro calmly followed behind Kitaro, not worried in the least for his safety. No matter how terrible or dark Kitaro's own business was, the simple fact that Kuro would owe him a favor would be enough to stay any hostile intentions for now, if only due to his vast connections via government alliance. 

He kept a stern, but neutral expression as he regarded the slaves. He had little doubt that was what they were. He was quite unsure how to act around them, given their odd mindsets, and the fact that he had never dealt with a slave after they became one. It was due to this, he did not respond towards the slaves themselves, momentarily treating them as if they were not there. "A fishman shipwright? Sounds like you prepared for the worst." It was pretty fair to say that a Fishman shipwright had several advantages a normal shipwright did not, the least of which was checking for damage underwater. Mid-voyage repairs would be made relatively simple, and they would also know how to dismantle an enemy ship from underwater. It was quite amusing to think about. The Giraffe Martial artist, however, made no sense to him, but he did not mind the idea too much. Mostly because the mink was not Kuro's responsibility in any way, so any problems occurring from the strange combination would have to be dealt with by someone else, likely Kitaro. "They are yours, so I have to assume they are reliable. I can't imagine you using unreliable ones. Do you have a navigator? If not, I function as one as well, and it seems the least I can do for taking me with you just to the island." He tried to make his wording clear that he did not consider helping him to find a slave as something he had dealt with yet, just the favor of letting him ride with him to the island, so the slave-finding would still warrant a favor, something he was all too happy to do. 

After Kitaro's instructions, Kuro nodded, but decided he would rather stay on the ship. He, unlike Kitaro, had plenty of rest, and nothing had exhausted him on the island. "I'll stay up here for now, I rather enjoy the fresh air." Kuro seemed slightly more confident now, or at least more focused and less caring of external forces. It probably had to do with the abnormal clothing he now wore. It was decided strange, mostly due to the mask. Said mask seemed made of some weak glass-like fiber, but it was most certainly not. Still, the mask was strange not because of the interesting and somewhat colorful designs on the front, but for the eyes which seemed to have glowing irises of orange, and the fake-hair, which covered Kuro's real hair with an even more wild black version, In reality, the mask alone would not be likely to disguise him, though it would serve quite the abundance of help there. No, what truly made him seem to be someone entirely different now was his tattered red clothing, with what seemed to be armor underneath, covered almost entirely except for the gauntlets, boots, and belt. The tattered and torn red cloth was the complete opposite of what Kuro would normally wear. While it covered his body enough for him to not care, it was far from his usual blue, noble-esque clothing. As to where his other clothes were... Yes they were.

It may seem like too much to some, given Kuro was pretty safe already as a warlord, and a simple disguise would let the marines blame it one some up and coming Supernova, but Kuro preferred to not be on the chopping block at all, especially with his new plan in mind. He may have also just enjoyed donning an entire persona to mask himself, as the confidence boost suggested. It was not like he could just bypass an admiral, or several hundred onlookers by donning a fake beard. No, that would be ridiculous. Either way, the reality of the situation struck him slightly, making him realize that, while he had this outfit on, he was perhaps the freest pirate. No actions he took would matter so long as he was not recognized by someone else. With that thought in mind, perhaps he should find an inventor to.... convince to make things for him. Yes, it would likely help make the disguise that much more useful. Maybe some explosives too...

Stepping towards the very front part of the ship, Kuro looked out to the sea, wondering if this meant he as truly heading somewhere in life, rather than just wandering around more. Somehow, despite the simplicity of what was happening, it felt like it. He supposed it was just because now there was someone else with him, but his instincts told him that the meeting between those two was only the beginning of a very long, very world-shaking journey towards an endless sea. Yes. it was only ever the beginning.

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982 words, Skipping Travel Time to Sabaody Archipelago