NOVEL NEXT Chapter 18: Carrot
The time came to say farewell to Pedro as he was lowering his ship down into the water below.
Many minks worked together to hold onto the ropes and lowered his wooden boat down Zunesha.
Zou the country of the minks which was on top of a giant elephants back as it used its very long legs to walk through the waters of the New World.
It made it difficult to locate the direct location of the minks home without a vivre card to locate it.
Lowering the wooden ship from such a high place was a difficult task if Zunesha was still moving but also it needed to be lowered carefully so that it did not get damaged before the crew head out on their journey.
Everyone on Zou worked together to make sure that Pedro left safely and helped him lower his boat while.
As the boat was lowered along with the crew many people shouted their wish for the crews safe return, meanwhile Alyssia shouted downwards. "Good luck out there and return safely master!"
Just as the ship was leaving, someone took a final look back towards Zou before continuing on their journey.
As Alyssia watched the ship grow smaller in the distance and disappear, she felt something touch her shoulder as she happened to catch sight of a certain individual who she was scouting.
A small figure of a female rabbit mink was within the crowd of those who were watching the ship leave.
However before she had a chance to approach the rabbit mink she was interrupted by someone else.
In front of everyone, one of the masters of the island had appeared behind her without her even detecting it and spoke. "Pedro asked me to watch over you while he is away-nya. Now you may call me master-nya."
It was rare for Cat Viper to appear during the day but it seemed as if he was only here for to see Pedro off and accomplish the request that had been left behind but the others who saw him were surprised that he had shown up.
Ever since their return, Duke Dogstorm and Cat Viper had become suspicious of or angry with each other because of the death of Kozuki Oden and the knowledge that there could be a traitor among the Red Scabbards who served him.
In order to not meet each other again they decided that Duke Dogstorm will operate during the day while Cat Viper will only come out at night.
Those that followed their wish to follow one of them had begun to either join the night or day faction while most of the civilians kept to their usual routines.
The Musketeers that formed was Duke Dogstorm's daytime organisation and the Guardians that formed was Cat Viper's nighttime organisation that were both formed in order to protect Zou and build up their own group.
During the raid on Wano Duke Dogstorm lead a team of around two hundred minks while Cat Viper lead an unknown number but it was probably a similar number of fighters.
Alyssia thought about the two factions and she had decided to join the nighttime group in the future because of their more varied combat styles as opposed to Duke Dogstorm's group which focussed on swordsmanship.
Alyssia timidly looked up at the large fat cat mink and timidly called. "Yes master…"
Meanwhile Cat Viper inspected her with a large smile on his face. "Mm.. good-nya!"
Truth be told he already somewhat had the intent to recruit her early into the guardians and train her but Pedro had already beat him to it.
He had kept an eye on her as her fame increased but she was still too young to join the guardians so he was thinking of taking her on as an apprentice.
Unlike others he did not tell anyone about her or her talent for martial arts and electro because he did not wish for his rival Duke Dogstorm to find out about her talents and steal her from him.
Cat Viper nodded happily and continued. "Come to Whale Forest where the Guardians protect during the day-nya and I will introduce everyone to you-nya."
Although they generally operate during the night, the Guardians still guard the Whale Forest during the day so Alyssia would be able to find them and join them for training.
She quickly bowed and then ran off saying. "Do not worry I will be there early tomorrow!"
Very quickly Alyssia ran towards the location that she had last seen the small rabbit mink and caught up to her.
Carrot had a dreamy look in her eyes after watching Pedro leave and looked towards the sea filled with excitement and yearning.
In her heart she had took Pedro and his crew as an example of how she would be in the future.
She wished for excitement and adventure in new lands and on the sea with a crew of her own so Pedro was like a hero or role model to her.
In order to satisfy this dream or at least become strong enough so that one day she could go onto an adventure of her own, she would go on to apply to become a Musketeer but their style of combat did not suit her.
After training with Pedro she mastered her Sulong form to be able to enter the form without losing control of herself but also ventured out of Zou along with Pedro and the Straw Hat Pirates to Big Mom's territory but also to Wano after Pedro's death in Big Mom's territory.
Alyssia approached her quickly and observed her expression then her eyes lit up. 'I knew it! She wants to leave one day too so perhaps I can use this to my advantage.'
She cleared her throat and walked towards Carrot who was looking out to sea. "Hello! My name is Alyssia! Would you like to join my group in the future and set sail one day just like Pedro?"
Did she feel shameless for poaching the Straw Hat pirates potential crew member and maybe even affecting the stories flow of events?
Maybe just a little but how could she possibly let go of someone who would have such high combat power in the future.
If she was trained earlier then she may even turn out even stronger than what she was in the original manga.
Although Tristan was showing good potential for combat she most enjoyed learning about medicines and different types of treatments so although Alyssia wished to bring her along, she would not be the second mate on her crew.
On a ship there is often a shipbuilder or repairer, sniper who can shoot the cannons, helmsmen, navigator, chef, doctor, a lookout, a second mate or even a someone to handle smaller chores.
Tristan would take up the role as one of the main fighters in her crew but also her doctor while Carrot would most likely take up the role as the next strongest crew member so she would be the second mate.
Carrot turned to her with a look of excitement. "Who are you? That sounds fun! When are we leaving?"
Under the age of twenty she left Zou and was still an emotional and naive mink who yearned for adventure but was very caring towards those she liked.
Alyssia could see this naive side of her straight away so she took advantage of it right away. "Yes! I am Alyssia, Pedro was my master and he has left. When I grow up I will follow in his footsteps and leave on a ship just like him exploring the world. I hope that you can become my second in command on the ship. Of course you must be strong enough to hold that position so first you must duel me in order to find out your strength and potential."
Carrot nodded excitedly and agreed. "I will join you! I will accept! Garchu! Chomp!"
Suddenly she jumped on Alyssia who was caught off guard and gnawed on her ear in a playful manner.
Suddenly Alyssia remembered once more that Carrot had the habit of gnawing on things, including people and was very quick to jump on a person affectionately.
Then she remembered how to handle her and calm her down so she patted her head gently until she was released from her tight grasp and teeth that were nibbling on her ears. "Let's begin the duel."
As someone who was around the same age as her or maybe a little older, Carrot should have the ability to use Electro a little so Alyssia remain cautious as she said. "And… let's begin!"