CH - 76

Halcen stood impatiently at the head of the ship. They had traveled for what felt like weeks, but they had finally made it. Ahead of them, slowly gliding through the water was the Moby Dick, the largest ship Halcen had ever seen. The glorious ship awakened his childlike wonderment, if only for a moment. He It had a massive white whale frontage with black spots on the corners to mimic eyes. The ship itself was so long it had thirteen cannons on each side running from front to rear, and six more sitting atop them. Below that was a dark blue stripe that added a touch of elegance to the brown wooden exterior. The tail and had what appeared to be a giant white fin with blue stripes jutting up into the air. It needed four masts the size of giant cedar trees, loaded with tow sails a piece just to moved. The sails were so large they looked like clouds in the clear blue sky. Halcen gasped as he looked upon the ship.

His fragile teenage mind had been rampaging with thoughts of anger and annoyance. Halcen had just lost his parents and the crew had shown him no mercy. They had allowed him no rest or time to grieve. He had been worked raw like a slave, being taught how a ship runs and forced to help out. He was filled with anger. But he understood that pirates did not give a fuck about emotions, so he tried not to complain too much. "Hey, assholes! I can see the ship!"

Jozu laughed raucously.

The crew of the Moby Dick saw them approaching and began to make ready to stop and welcome them aboard. They all went about bringing their sails up. With their whole crew's help, and their helmsman's expertise, they quickly slowed to a stall. The Moby Dick waited for them.

Jozu's second in command, Blanche, came forward to where Halcen stood. She walked up to the railing of their ship, the Regal Rhino, and looked across the sea. "There it is," she laughed. Blanche was a weird woman in Halcen's mind. She was about eight feet tall, with thin shoulders, long red hair, and a large bosom. Halcen was always trying not to get caught staring. She didn't have any Devil Fruit abilities, but she was supposed to be very fast, and fought with a whip. She had very keen grey eyes. "Are you excited?" he asked Halcen. She was always around Halcen, watching over him and making sure he was learning properly. It annoyed Halcen. He just wanted to be left alone.

"Why would I be excited?"

"Meeting Whitebeard for the first time. I still remember my first encounter with him. God, he was-"

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Halcen asked, cutting him off. "No, I'm not excited to meet some old geezer."

Blanche began to laugh. "I know, to you right now, he doesn't seem important. But one day you'll understand."

"Fuck off." Halcen had been dealing with getting to know the crew. He was pretty at ease with most of them, but Jozu and Blanche seemed to put the most pressure on him. He was sick of the grownups trying to force their will on him. He wanted to be the one calling the shots.

Halcen looked down at the sea passing underneath him. Getting so up close and personal with the water felt uneasy. He took a few steps back from the header. He took a deep breath. "Here we go."

They pulled up to the Moby Dick and dropped their sails. This was where they needed to meet; out in the middle of the ocean. Being pirates made it hard to have high caliber meetings like this on land. They were wanted men and women. It was safer in the ocean. The crew of the Moby Dick dropped a rope ladder so their Regal Rhino counterparts could climb aboard.

Halcen had become used to running a ship, but this was so much grander, so much more than he had been around for the last couple weeks. He was in awe, constantly looking about, trying to get his eyes to focus. But he just couldn't believe how big this ship was. There was just so much going on. The crew, the activities, the ship itself. Halcen tried to take it all in. But even above that, he could feel something… intense. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something very powerful on this ship. He could only wonder.

He must have looked like a kid in a candy store because Blanche walked up to him and said "Stop drooling," she laughed

Halcen snapped back to reality. "Hey fuck you," Halcen said. He didn't think it was funny. He caught up with Blanche, who was heading towards the crowded crew.

"Stick with me, kid. We got to find Whitebeard."

Halcen gulped. I wonder…

Blanche stopped to talk to one of the crew. "Hey, Rotto," she said, tapping on a big guy's back.

Rotto turned around. He was taller than Blanche, by at least a foot. He was rather rotund, and he had blue skin, gills, and a fin on his head.

Halcen looked agape.

"What's wrong, kid?" Rotto said. "Never seen a fishman before?"

Blanche intervened. "Come on, Rotto. He doesn't mean any harm. Just look at him. He's just a kid. What do you say? Have you seen Whitebeard around?"

Rotto's face twitched. He didn't take his eyes off Halcen. "Yeah, he's on the throne."

Blanche patted Rotto on the shoulder. "Thank you." She looked to Halcen. "This way."

Halcen followed along. "I didn't know such people existed," he said, still clearly confused.

"There are a lot of things you don't know," Blanche said. "But just because you're not used to it does not mean you can be rude about it."

Halcen looked down in shame. "I understand," he said through clenched teeth.

Blanche came up with Halcen in tow. They were at the butt of a crowd all surrounding something. They were all more excited than the rest of the ship. Something was there, Halcen could feel it.

"Excuse me guys, we need to get through."

Nobody paid her any mind.

"GUYS! Move, please!"

Halcen watched Blanche struggle in vain. He didn't say anything, but he thought it was amusing watching her be powerless. She had been on his ass twenty-four-seven since he'd gotten on her ship. She was Jozu's number two. But in the overall hierarchy of the Whitebeard Pirates, she was overlooked.

Then suddenly the ship began to sway. Everyone turned to look at the port side, including Halcen and Blanche.

"Oh, shit," Blanche said.

Jozu had finally climbed his way up from his ship. He had stayed behind to take care of some of his own important business. He had sent Blanche ahead to introduce Halcen to Whitebeard.

Everyone froze in silence as Jozu began walking towards them. He didn't say a word, but everyone moved out of his way as he headed toward Blanche and Halcen. He looked down at them.

Blanche nodded.

The crowd that had blocked their path parted sides.

And there he sat; Whitebeard. He sat back, relaxed, in a giant blue cloth chair. His giant white jacket was hung over the back. He sat with his shirt off and his peach skin was illuminated by the day's sun. Even sitting down he dwarfed Halcen. He had a giant scythe-looking white mustache, and no beard.

It's him, Halcen thought to himself. That's where all that power is coming from. And he's just sitting there. Halcen looked upon the man in disbelief. This old man…