Timburr's instincts guided every swing of the hammer and every cut of the saw. The bandits initially laughed at the teenager obsessing over pieces of wood, yet after watching me precisely measure beams by eye, carve joints that fit together perfectly, and raise an incredibly sturdy framework without wasting materials, their laughter slowly disappeared.
Before long, several of them had begun carrying logs for me without even being asked.
Seven days later, the new lookout post stood proudly above the hideout. It wasn't extravagant, but it was leagues ahead of the original.
A proper roof shielded the sentry from rain, reinforced supports eliminated the constant wobbling, higher platforms expanded visibility over the surrounding mountain paths, while small storage compartments that could hold supplies. Even the ladder was safer to climb than the old one.
Dadan climbed to the top herself, quietly scanning the surrounding forest before looking back down at the hideout. She remained silent for several long moments before slowly nodding to herself.
"...Tch."
"I hate admitting it....but this is a damn sight better than the old one."
Watching Dadan reluctantly praise the lookout tower gave me another idea. If Timburr's instincts could improve a single structure this much, then why stop there? I slowly looked around the hideout itself. The roof leaked in several places, half the rooms were nothing more than partitions, and everyone practically lived on top of one another. My construction instincts immediately began listing problems faster than I could process them.
"...Dadan."
She looked over with narrowed eyes.
"What now?"
"Can I build a home for all of us?"
Silence fell over the room before every bandit turned toward me.
"A new home?" Dadan repeated. "What's wrong with this one?"
"There's no privacy. Everyone sleeps together. There's barely any ventilation, no proper bathroom, no proper toilet, the storage is a mess, and honestly..." I paused before looking at the dozens of rugged mountain bandits surrounding me. "...I'm getting sick of living with so many sweaty men."
Several bandits immediately burst into laughter while others loudly protested. Dadan's eyebrow twitched before she smacked the back of my head.
"Don't push your luck, brat."
She remained quiet for several moments before sighing deeply.
"...Fine."
"But I'm not buying timber."
"If you're doing this, every piece of wood comes from the nearby forest."
"And everyone here helps."
A grin spread across my face.
"Deal."
"I'm helping too!" Luffy immediately shouted, raising both hands into the air. "I'll carry the biggest trees!"
The following weeks became one enormous construction project. Every morning, groups of bandits headed into the surrounding forest to fell suitable trees while carefully avoiding stripping any single area bare. Others hauled logs back with ropes, peeled bark, shaped planks, or gathered stone for the foundation.
Luffy enthusiastically carried logs almost twice his own size, proudly declaring himself the strongest lumberjack in the mountains while everyone else laughed at his ridiculous enthusiasm.
Meanwhile, Timburr's instincts completely took over whenever I picked up my tools. I laid out the foundations, directed where every supporting pillar belonged, designed proper drainage around the building, separated sleeping quarters into smaller rooms, planned a spacious kitchen beside a pantry, added workshops, storage rooms, and even insisted on building proper bathrooms and toilets inside.
Yes multiple ones. I came from a modern society, and I didn't like to share toilet and bathroom before, nor would I want to share it now.
The bandits stopped questioning my decisions after realizing every finished section was sturdier and more practical than anything they had imagined, and also loved the luxury that came with it.
Dadan saw all of it and at one point even asked if my father was a renowned carpenter. Since Luffy wasn't around, I lied saying that it might be possible since all of this came from instincts, as if I had learnt this all my life.
Dadan even told me that I should go and live in the village, as I would make quite the living. And I just laughed at the proposal, because it wasn't a bad one. I could live quite the luxurious life.
By the time the new headquarters stood complete, it looked less like a mountain bandit hideout and more like a proper woodland lodge. Dadan slowly walked through every room without saying a word, opening doors, testing walls, and inspecting the roof before finally letting out a long sigh.
"...Tch. I really hate talented brats."
Luffy returned from hunting just before sunset, humming happily with a wild boar slung across his shoulders. The moment he stepped inside the newly completed lodge, he was more than amazed.
Sure, he had known and seen how the new home was coming in, but it was beyond amazing for Luffy to see such a huge home.
"KEKOA! This place is huge. I get my own room?!"
He threw himself onto the bed before immediately jumping back up to inspect the shelves, windows, and even the wardrobe. Then he rushed into the bathroom, only to freeze after noticing the wooden tub, the drainage system beneath it, and the water flowing from the elevated storage barrel outside.
I had designed the roof to collect rainwater into large wooden tanks, allowing gravity to provide running water throughout the house. During dry periods, the bandits could simply refill those tanks from the nearby river, ensuring everyone always had access to clean water.
"This is AWESOME!"
Luffy shouted while turning the wooden tap on and off over and over again just because he could. A few moments later he discovered the toilet, stared at it with complete fascination, then loudly announced to everyone nearby that he finally had a bathroom all to himself.
Watching a future Emperor become more excited over indoor plumbing than treasure was somehow incredibly fitting.
After exploring every corner of the lodge, Luffy suddenly threw an arm around my shoulders and grinned wider than ever.
"Kekoa! You'll build our pirate ship too. It'll be the coolest ship in the whole world!"
"...Hold on. When did 'we' become pirates?"
Luffy tilted his head as though I had asked the strangest question imaginable.
"Huh? You're my friend. I'm gonna be the Pirate King. So of course you're coming with me."
He said it with such absolute certainty that there wasn't even the slightest room for discussion.
"We'll leave in about four months! I've already decided!"
"Don't make decisions for me you idiot." I shouted. In response Luffy laughed, not paying my concerns any heed. I knew that this also stemmed from Luffy's selfish desire of clinging to the Pokémon cards.
But his selfishness was also always cute. He never shied away from that. I haven't decided what I wanted to do here, and being a pirate wasn't in my thoughts. I will decide it when the time comes in the future. For now all I wanted to do was sleep on my bed which I so badly wanted to.
The mattress the bandits brought weren't even half as comfortable and soft as my home ones, but this would do the job. I slept soundly and peacefully. I couldn't even express how much I missed my own bed, and room. This was all I ever wanted.
And I was also happy that I was able to pay back in someway to Dadan and the bandits. She had been very generous of having me around and even the ones who came before me.
Ace and Sabo. This woman would even one day go and charge at Garp because of the death of Ace.
Thinking about Ace, made me now think if I wanted to join his crew. I knew that Luffy had invited and from the looks of it, he would probably drag me, but it's not like I couldn't refuse. Others have also refused like Vivi, so even if I refused there was nothing Luffy could do, but staying here would stall his progress for sure.
And going with Luffy would be filled with dangers too. Once I set with Luffy it would be a battle against survival and them against the literal world. I would have time to think but in the depth of his mind, I was leaning towards leaving with Luffy and just see the world.
But those thoughts would come later, and for now let me sleep on this bed and wake up late.
The following days returned to a peaceful rhythm once again. Every morning I woke up, summoned the familiar blue screen, spun the roulette, and then headed into the forest with Luffy before the sun had fully risen above the mountains. Most of the rewards remained exactly what I had come to expect.
More Poké Blocks, another Heal Potion, a handful of Stamina Cards, and blah blah. But there were handful of heal potions too, so it wasn't exactly wasteful. Exciting rewards were apparently meant to be rare, which made sense. If I received a new Pokémon every other day, this system would have been completely ridiculous.