As soon as Murphy made the exchange, a miniature black Den-Den-Mushi appeared in his hand.
This tiny creature was only the size of a button, and now it was looking at him with its lively eyes.
After studying Dan-Den-Mushi for some time, Murphy was delighted to discover that it was very easy to operate - just open the system and give a command to control it remotely. And all the images and sounds that Dan-Den-Mushi captured were automatically saved in the system. Thanks to this, he could view and listen to them directly from the system or output them to other devices, which was incredibly convenient.
As expected from the system, the video was of the highest quality!
Leaning back in his chair, he concentrated and began to control the black Den-Den-Mushi.
The ship was not new - patches were visible in many places on the hull, and everything around exuded an atmosphere of dilapidation. Cracks and holes were found everywhere. And tiny Den-Den-Mushi glided through them like a fish in water.
Suddenly, voices were heard, causing Murphy to startle. He immediately directed Den-Den-Mushi towards the source of the sound.
A small crack in the hull let in some light. Looking in, he saw a blue sky with white clouds—the pirate ship had already set sail and was now sailing the seas.
Thanks to the system that gave the effect of full presence, Murphy seemed to feel the salty smell of the sea breeze and it seemed that if he just jumped slightly, he would find himself in the sea.
On the deck, two of the pirates he had encountered when boarding the ship were talking in whispers. One was the middle-aged pirate who had wanted to throw Murphy off the ship, the other was younger.
Den-Den-Mushi moved forward through the gaps below the deck until he stopped at a place where the conversation could be clearly heard.
- Old man, stop worrying. You warned him, and if he didn't leave, what could you do about it? - the young pirate patted his comrade on the shoulder, as if consoling him.
The gesture itself was not in question, but combined with the young pirate's words, it seemed a little strange to Murphy.
"Oh, I don't know why I backed down then. If I had been more persistent, the boy wouldn't have stayed on the ship," the middle-aged pirate's voice sounded regretful. Murphy had simply looked at him with a smile, and he had fallen silent. Now, thinking about it, he found it very strange.
- That's fate. Whose fault is it that the boy didn't leave?
- Eh, with such an appearance, Nidam will surely make him... "vice-captain".
Vice-captain?
Murphy was becoming more and more confused, after all, these two looked quite normal, so what was the problem?!
- Come on, brother, don't embellish! What vice-captain! Everyone on our ship knows that the "vice-captain" is the one who warms the bed. To be honest, Nydam just has her eye on the boy!
Wow!
Murphy sucked in his breath sharply from his chair. No wonder he had always felt something was wrong. He had considered many possibilities, even the possibility of slave trading, but not this development.
Warm the bed?
Ugh, disgusting!
- Yes, but then Mori will be able to leave his post as vice-captain, and it will be much easier for him.
- Mori is a good man. I wonder what this boy will be like when he becomes vice-captain? No matter how bad it is, the vice-captain can still command us. We can only hope that in moments of anger he will not take it out on us!
- There's nothing to be done. We are only the lowest link in this sea, our fate is in the hands of others. How I miss those times before I went to sea!
.......
Seeing that the conversation was going further and further away from the topic and was no longer informative, Murphy took Dan-Dan-Mushie away. Fortunately, thanks to their conversation, he had already learned everything he needed to know.
Now he understood why that man named Mori had been so kind to him. Turns out he thought Murphy would take his place! Tch, it wasn't easy being a special purpose tool.
But Murphy decided he should consider why he was being singled out. Pirates, when they meet strangers at sea, usually assess each other's strengths.
It was understandable that Nelson hadn't taken him seriously in the tavern - he had been weak then. But now that he had become so much stronger, his strength had been ignored again. Did he really look so prey?
Probably... no.
This time, a female pirate noticed him, and it was all about his appearance. Apparently, he was perceived not as a weakling, but as a handsome man!
Well, nothing can be done about it!
Appearance is given from birth, you can't change it just like that. If this is the case, then there is nothing to think about.
Having discovered the cause of his problem, Murphy immediately felt relieved. He decided to continue controlling the Den-Den-Mushi and head to the captain's cabin to find out if there was some trap being set for him, driven into a corner.
Black Den-Den-Mushi, as if anticipating interesting discoveries, excitedly moved forward, rather quickly maneuvering between the various cracks, and soon discovered a place similar to the captain's cabin.
Unfortunately, there was no one inside. The only signs of the room's status were the captain's hat on the table and, perhaps, a chest in the corner containing some gold and silver.
Taking advantage of the absence of people, Den-Den-Mushi walked around the room. The chest could not be opened, so it was impossible to find out what was inside, and this worried Murphy a little.
Then he noticed a stack of reward leaflets on the table. The first one belonged to Captain Nidam himself - a reward of 32 million beli.
Murphy calmed down a bit when he saw the amount. Although the figure took into account many factors, in most cases it still reflected the strength of the pirate.
Murphy estimated that the 32 million Belly bounty meant that in a head-to-head fight he had the upper hand. It was the dirty tricks she might use that he had to worry about.
While he was thinking about this, there was suddenly a knock at the door.
"What is it?" a voice was heard.
"It's mealtime," Mori's voice came from behind the door.
- Okay, wait a minute.
Murphy found a secluded crevice in the captain's cabin and pointed Den-Den-Mushi there. He then shrunk the real-time image and positioned it in the corner of his field of view. This way, he could keep an eye on the monitor without having to constantly control the snail, without limiting his movements.
Murphy opened the door and saw Maury standing right behind it.
A faint light filtered through the window, cutting through the swirling dust and falling perfectly on both of them.
Murphy's face expressed a strange emotion, but because he stood with his back to the light, his expression was hidden in the semi-darkness and difficult to make out.
As for Murphy himself, he could not see the look of Mori who came to him, who stood facing the light. The glare on his glasses hid his eyes, and only his constant smile was visible.
"Follow me," said Mori. "One cannot do without replenishing one's strength at sea."
Murphy hadn't had time to eat yet and was hungry, but he was dubious about the situation. This wasn't his house or a restaurant, but a pirate ship full of unfriendly intentions towards him.
So should he eat or not...?