Cindy was clearly not exaggerating. Although the East Blue is considered relatively calm, the sea is still the sea, and its unpredictability can always play a cruel joke. No one can say in advance what difficulties will be encountered along the way.
Rogu, being confident in his abilities, understood that physical strength alone was not enough. He had no idea how to operate a ship, and without experience, even with all his strength, he could not do anything about it. With this in mind, he decided to listen to Cindy's advice and hire a crew.
Cindy, who had owned a bar in the town of Low for many years, was a master of his craft. He knew everyone in the port, so finding the right people was not a difficult task for him. So, by the time the cargo was transferred to the ship, Cindy had already found five.
Five men lined up in front of Rogu. They were all different heights and builds: tall, short, plump, skinny, the whole palette. Their skin looked weathered and tanned, indicating years spent at sea. They smelled faintly of salt and fish, the true scent of the sea.
Cindy explained that he had used his connections to find people who were urgently looking for work. These people were willing to work for a moderate salary, and each of them had extensive seafaring experience. Rogu glanced at them briefly, without expressing any particular emotion.
"Let them be," he said, showing no interest in further conversation with the new crew members. Instead, he went up to the upper deck, where he leaned on the railing and watched the port.
After the interview, the sailors spent about an hour gathering their things. Then, under Cindy's clear direction, they got to work. Some took up the anchor, some the ropes, some the sails, and some the helm. Cindy led the process with confidence and calm, as if she had been doing this all her life.
Rogu, watching from the upper deck, saw the ship slowly moving away from the port. And when Cindy adjusted the course, the ship switched to cruising speed. The wind filled the sails, and everything went on as usual.
....
The first day of sailing passed calmly and without incident.
As night fell, and darkness enveloped the ship, Cindy approached Rogu's cabin door and knocked.
"Come in," came a voice from inside.
The door was unlocked. Cindy walked in, holding a tray with a bowl of hot soup on it.
"I made some soup for you," he said, placing the tray on the table.
"Leave it there," Rogu answered shortly, pointing to the table.
Cindy put the soup down and glanced at what Rogu was doing. He was carefully writing something down in an open notebook. However, Cindy couldn't make out a single character. Thinking about what to say and not finding the right words, he decided to simply leave the room, saying at the end: - Rest, and I'll go.
"Okay," Rogu nodded, watching him go. After Cindy left, he turned his gaze to the bowl of soup.
Taking a spoon, he stirred the soup lightly.
"Really that fast?" he muttered under his breath, shaking his head. Picking up the bowl, he headed to the toilet and poured its contents into the toilet, flushing it all away.
Having finished with this, he closed the notebook and lay down on the bed, waiting...
Time passed. The moon had already taken its place at the zenith, and Rogu was getting more and more sleepy. Because of which he even began to doubt: - Was I wrong? Maybe they didn't plan to act today?
His suspicions were not unfounded. Even when he first met Cindy, Rogu noticed four lines of text, seemingly suspended, near his head. These lines hinted at his pirate past. However, his reward was only 8,000 beli - even less than most unknown pirates. Because of this, Rogu initially did not attach any importance to it.
He didn't despise Cindy because the reward was small. The problem was that he had no proof that Cindy was a pirate. Besides, it wouldn't be wise to go after the Marines and expose a bar owner in a place like Low's for 8,000 beli.
After the incident with Alvida, Cindy confessed that he used to be a pirate. And then Rogu seriously considered taking him to the nearest Marine office.
"Small change is money," he decided. However, everything changed when Cindy told him her strange story. This made Roga think that this man might have hidden intentions. And indeed, Cindy soon expressed his desire to follow him. Moreover, he asked Roga to take him with him to Loguetown.
Who in their right mind would leave their home and business for dubious prospects in another city?
Of course, Cindy's explanation for Lowe's being unsafe sounded ridiculous. After all, if it really was as dangerous as he claimed, how could he have worked as a bar owner for so many years?
Rogu didn't believe a single word. Especially when it came to a man with a pirate past. But despite this, he still agreed to take Cindy with him. Why? Because he didn't care what plans or tricks he might have.
Rogu was a pirate hunter. And when the pirates find him, it's like money jumping into his pocket. And what is money for Rogu? It's coins, it's new skills, it's power!
He dreamed that every day there would be such naive pirates who would throw themselves into his arms. So when in the morning Cindy brought five pirates with rewards on their heads, introducing them as sailors found through his connections, Rogu almost laughed out loud.
Pirates who bring in money hire more pirates. It's a self-sustaining income stream! One Cindy with a bounty of 8,000 Belly brought in five, each valued at over 10,000. Isn't that lucky?
But Rogu didn't rush. He watched. Cindy told stories, organized the team, moved... It all looked like a carefully planned show. Which made Rogu think that there must be a much bigger fish lurking somewhere behind all this.
And so he decided to wait. But to his deep disappointment, a whole day and half a night passed, and no "fish" appeared. Lying on the bed, he had already begun to doze off, when suddenly their ship shook slightly.
Rogu immediately opened his eyes and strained his ears. In the silence of the night, he began to distinguish different sounds: the creaking of boards, the whistling of ropes, and also cautious but confident steps. He grinned and nodded to himself: - Well, if there are no big fish, then the crew will do. It will do.
Hearing someone's footsteps approaching, Rogu decided that it would be improper to lie down when the "guests" were almost at the door. So, he sat up in bed, preparing to meet them face to face.
The footsteps stopped at the door. This time there was no polite knock. Instead, the door swung open with a loud bang from a powerful kick.
Standing at the threshold was none other than Cindy. But this was no longer the good-natured bar owner with a wide smile. Now his face expressed cold confidence, and there was an icy glint in his eyes. His smile was cunning and self-assured, as if he had already calculated all the moves in advance...