《The Thunder Demon Straw Hat Luffy (A One Piece Fanfiction)》


 Chapter 1 - 1: Romance Dawn

    In the party bar in Foosha Village, a group of pirates could be seen drinking and having a good time. Sitting at the bar is a young seven-year-old boy named Monkey D. Luffy and next to him is a red-haired man with a straw hat eating a plate of food.


    "Hey, you have to take me with you on your next adventure Shanks. I want to be a pirate just like you!" Luffy said with a huge smile on his face while looking at the red-haired man now named Shanks. Shanks looked up from his food and turned towards Luffy and started laughing.


    "Hahahaha! Right as if you could ever be a pirate." Shanks said.


    "Why couldn''t I?" Luffy asked. A large man eating a piece of meat answered his question.


    "Listen Luffy, you may be a good swimmer and all, but that doesn''t mean you will make a good pirate," said Lucky Roo while eating his meat.


    "But I''m a great fighter too, my punches are like two pistols!" he said as he held out his fist for them to see. It was an amusing sight to see for everyone else in the bar.


    "Are they now?" said Shanks with a mouth full of food.


    "What''s that suppose to mean!" Luffy yelled. Lucky Roo laughed and spoke


    "He means you are too much of a kid, kid," he said.


    "And he is right you know, I got boys older than you," said Yasopp. A tick mark formed on Luffy''s forehead before he starting to yell at them.


    "I''m not a kid! I''m a grown up!" he screamed at the top of the lungs. He was brought out of his screaming by Shank''s voice.


    "Here have some juice and clam down," Shanks said as she slid a glass of what appears to be orange juice over to Luffy. Luffy''s eyes lit up and he got a huge smile on his face.


    "Wow thanks, Shanks," he said as he began to drink the juice. As he started drinking Shanks starting laughing at him while hitting the bar counter.


    "I don''t know one pirate who drinks juice!" Shanks said while laughing.


    "That''s a dirty trick!" Luffy screamed causing everyone at the bar to burst out laughing, "Stop laughing! That was a cheap shot!" he screamed at the rest of the pirates. While all of this is going on the owner of the bar Makino is watching the interaction between Luffy and the pirates with a warm smile on her face. Suddenly the doors of the bar were kicked off of its hinges and came flying into the bar.


    "Excuse us." said the tall man standing in front of the door. At this point, the entire bar was silent while looking at the door. The man who was leading the group of other men into the bar was a tall, dark-skinned man with black hair, a black goatee, and an X-shaped scar above his right eye. He wore a long red coat over a white shirt, black trousers, and a golden necklace. "So these are what passes for pirates around these parts. Looks rather sad, to be honest" he said as he walked up to the bar counter and stood next to Shanks.


    "Welcome gentlemen, what can I do for you?" asked Makino.


    "We''re mountain bandits, but we didn''t come here to tear your place apart. All we want is some sake. Let''s say ten barrels should do." he said to Makino.


    "I''m sorry, but actually we are fresh out of sake right now," Makino said. After the mountain bandit had said he didn''t come to terrorize the bar Luffy and tuned out and turned his attention elsewhere because in his opinion a mountain bandit ordering sake was boring. So, he turned to his right at the c.h.e.s.t sitting on the counter of the bar. He knew it belonged Shanks because he saw when they brought it in with them. His mind immediately began to race with ideas after ideas about what may be inside of the c.h.e.s.t. So, he decided to satisfy his curiosity and look inside. It was somewhat disappointing because inside of the c.h.e.s.t wasn''t any treasure like Luffy had hoped it would be, instead it was a strange looking fruit. It was a light blue fruit shaped like a really big pear with darker blue swirls on it. At that very same time, Luffy stomach growled so he decided to eat the fruit. Luffy being Luffy, instead of taking a small bit of the fruit to see what it takes like he places the entire thing in his mouth and bit down. He instantly regretted it. That was the most disgusting thing Luffy had ever eaten, however, he did not spit it out instead he swallowed. At the same time, his swallowed he was startled when something large fell beside him. He looked over to see Shanks laying on the ground while the mountain bandit was screaming some nonsense about being worth 8,000,000 beli. Luffy immediately jumped up on the bar stool that he was sitting on and screamed at the bandits.


    "Leave Shanks alone!" he screamed at the bandit while unconsciously releasing a wave of unknown power. When Luffy did this the strangest thing happened, one by one the mountain bandits started passing out along with a few weaker members of Shanks'' crew. Shanks and the rest of the crew that were awake had their eyes widen while the leader of the mountain bandits was shaking in his boots.


    "W-what did you do brat!?" he yelled/asked Luffy. Luffy for his part looked shocked and confused about what had just happened.


    ''There is no doubt about it. That was the conqueror''s spirit.'' Shanks'' first mate Benn Beckman thought to himself before making eye contact with his captain who nodded to him. Before anyone could have reacted The mountain bandit leader took out his sword and swung it to chop Luffy in half while screaming at the top of his voice.


    "I am going to kill you brat!" he yelled as the sword began to descend towards Luffy. Shanks who was still on the ground couldn''t react fast enough even though he tried but stopped halfway because of what happened next. The sword cut through Luffy''s shoulder and made it''s was to his c.h.e.s.t but stopped there when sparks of lightning came from Luffy''s body and electrocuted the bandit. The sword fell out of Luffy''s c.h.e.s.t when the bandit began to fall to the ground as well. Everyone in the bar started at Luffy as the huge cut from his shoulder to his c.h.e.s.t began to come together again with the sight of lighting present in the gap. No one said a word, they all stared at the small seven-year-old boy. everyone was brought out of their staring by Shank''s voice.


    "Luffy! Did you eat the fruit that was inside of the c.h.e.s.t?" he asked to which Luffy nodded. Shanks then tried to grab Luffy by the shoulder only to have his hand pass right through Luffy and get a serious electric shock at the same time. Shanks immediately pulled his hand back. He then looked at Luffy before he spoke. "Luffy you just ate the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, part of a group called the devil fruits. Eating any of them takes away your ability to swim for the rest of your life, but the one you age is a Logia class devil fruit meaning now you can turn your body into lightning and become lightning!" Shanks yelled. Luffy for his part had stars in his eyes at the idea of becoming lighting.


    "Does this mean I can come with you now?" asked a very hopeful Luffy. Shanks went to take his seat at the bar again before he was joined by his first mate who signaled Makino to join them before they began whispering so Luffy couldn''t hear.


    "Captain, he just ate a logia class devil fruit and one of the more powerful ones at that." said Benn Beckman, "plus conqueror''s haki, if he doesn''t learn how to control his powers he could seriously hurt someone." he finished while shanks took on a serious look and Makino a more worried one.


    "Is he going to be alright?" as a worried Makino. Shanks looked at her and smiled before speaking.


    "Yea he will don''t worry." the three of them were brought out of they whispering when Luffy screamed at them.


    "Hey! Stop whispering I can''t hear what you are saying." Luffy yelled causing them to break apart. He then turned to Shanks before speaking again, "So, can I come with you guy Shanks?" he asked again making Shanks turn to look at him before speaking.


    "I will decide if I will take after you answer two questions. Okay?" said Shanks to which Luffy nodded. "The first question, do you know what you did to knock out those bandits?" Shanks asked causing everyone in the bar to quiet down to hear Luffy''s answer.


    "No, I don''t know how I did it. It usually just happens when grandpa is training me," said Luffy to which Shanks nodded with his eyes close before his eyes shot open in surprise.


    "You mean you used it before?" he asked in surprise. Luffy just nodded.


    "Yea against some monkeys grandpa had me fight during my training." said casually as though it was noting while everyone else looked at him wide-eyed except for Makino.


    ''Who has a seven-year-old fight monkey as a part of training!?'' Every pirate thought to themselves. Shanks then turned towards Makino and asked her a question.


    "Who is Luffy''s grandpa?" Shanks asked to which Makino took on a sinister look before she spoke.


    "Monkey D. Garp," she said causing the entire bar to freeze and looked at her with their eyes widen.


    "You mean Garp ''the fist'' is his grandfather?!" Shanks yelled out to causing Makino to giggle before nodding. Shanks began to calm himself down before turning back towards Luffy who was picking his nose causing everyone to sweatdrop. "Okay, Luffy second question." Shanks said getting Luffy''s attention, "What''s your dream?" Shanks asked to which Luffy took on a huge smile before he stood up on the stool and yelled out at the top of his lungs.


    "My dream is to be King of pirates!" he yelled,


    "And why King of the pirates?" Shanks asked.


    "Because the King of the Pirates is the man with the most freedom!" said Luffy surprising everyone, "Just you wait I am going to have the greatest adventure and find the One Piece and become King of the pirates!" Luffy said with a lot of determination in his voice causing everyone to smile and Shanks to see an image of his old captain Gol D. Roger behind Luffy.


    "Well Luffy," Shanks said getting Luffy''s attention, "Welcome to the crew!" he said causing everyone to began cheering and Luffy to start crying.


    A week had passed since Shanks agreed to take Luffy with them. Currently, the entire village was at the docks to say goodbye to Luffy and the pirates. At first, the mayor did not agree to Luffy leaving but after Benn and Shanks explained to him how dangerous it will if Luffy doesn''t learn how to control his powers he understood and agreed but made it clear that Makino would be the one to tell Garp when he comes back to the village. Another thing that happened during the week was that Shanks had sent one of his crew member who didn''t have a bounty on his head to cash in the bounty of the mountain bandits and give it to Luffy. Luffy who currently was currently on Shanks''s ship Red Force waving goodbye to the villagers before he screamed out.


    "Bye Makino! I''ll come back before I set out on my own!" he yells as the ship sailed further away from the island. With the Island now out of sight, Shanks began giving orders to the crew.


    "Okay guys no stop, we have enough supplies to last us so set a course for the Grand Line," he said.


    "Aye Captain!" replied everyone. Shanks then turned towards Luff who was looking around with a huge smile on his face causing Shanks to chuckle.


    "Luffy!" yelled shanks getting Luffy''s attention, "Come with me." he said as he began walking towards what appears to be the sleeping quarters, "This is where you will sleep," Shanks said indicating to the room with a single bed, desk, and closet inside. It wasn''t a big room but at the same time, it was big enough for one a.d.u.l.t person. Luffy looked around and noticed his stuff was already in there waiting for him. He stepped inside and smiled.


    "I love it," he said causing Shanks to smile.


    "Okay, Luffy let me tell you how things are going to happen once we enter the Grand Line," Shanks said getting Luffy''s attention. Luffy also noticed that Benn, Roo, and Yasopp were standing by the doorway. "First thing that will happen is Lucy Roo is going to teach you how to control that devil fruit of yours a bit then from there every day in the morning Benn is going to teach you navigation and history along with battle strategy and anything else he comes up with. That will be for about three hours a day every day. the rest of the day is either spend with me teaching you Haki or Yasopp teaching you how to shoot. whatever extra time you have you will train to master your devil fruit powers or you can do that after you either master Haki or sharp shooting. Understood?" asked Shanks to which Luffy nodded and spoke.


    "Yep, now I have one question." he said to which Shanks nodded for him to proceed, "Do you have any meat?" he said causing the four of them to comically falling over. After Shanks had explained everything to Luffy again to make sure he understood he began to explain to Luffy what Haki was and how it may be useful in combat. to say that Luffy liked the idea was an understatement. Luffy kept begging Shanks over and over to start his training until Shanks finally caved and started teaching him Observation Haki. It had been three days since the crew left Dawn island and the entrance to the Grand Line was in sight. Luffy was excited at the thought of sailing up a mountain. As the ship began ascending the mountain and peak was becoming visible Luffy dashed to the front of the ship and began climbing to stand on the figurehead. Everyone saw this an began to get scared when Luffy finally stood on the figurehead. As the ship reached the peak and began descending into the Grand Line Luffy stretched out his arms and screamed to the heavens.


    "I AM GOING TO BE THE KING OF THE PIRATES!" he screamed causing everyone on board to smile at the determination in the young seven-year-old.


    **CHAPTER END**

 Chapter 2 - 2: Farewells and Koby!

    **Timeskip: 10 years later on an island in the New World**


    On a small island in the New World, a pirate ship could be seen docked close to the island. On the shores of the island, a large group of people could be seen standing with their backs towards the sea while looking at a man standing in front of them. This man was the now seventeen-year-old Monkey D. Luffy. Luffy was now 6''5 and well built. He was wearing long black pants with a pair of steel-tipped boots and a crimson red dress shirt with the top three buttons opened revealing a necklace with a lightning bolt pendant. Strapped with a black cloth around his waist was a katana with a black and white diamond pattern handle hanging off the left side of his hip. And to top everything off was the thing he treasures more than his own life resting on his head, the straw hat that Shanks gave to him. Everyone from the Red-Haired Pirates was gathered on the shore today to see Luffy off to start his own adventure.


    "I want to thank you guys for all you have done for me over the past ten years and I am truly grateful for all you have taught me," said Luffy while looking at everyone.


    "Ah don''t sweat it Luffy," said Lucky Roo who was walking over to Luffy carrying two large barrels on his shoulder while somehow able to hold a piece of meat in his hands as well. "Here, got you something for the trip," he said as he placed the barrels down. "There should be enough meat and booze in there to last you the trip to the east blue." he finished. Luffy smiled at him and thanked him for the food. As Lucky Roo was walking back to stand with the rest of the crew Yasopp began walking towards Luffy.


    "Hey Lu, I got a bit of a going away present here for you," Yasopp said as he pulled out a medium box from his coat and handed it to Luffy. Luffy took it and looked at the nice wrapping around the box before he spoke.


    "Yasopp, you really didn''t have to do this. You guys have done way more for me than anyone ever had," Luffy said.


    "Nonsense kid, we''re a family and you can never do too much for your family," Yasopp said while patting Luffy on the back. Luffy smiled and opened the box to see a black, and red flintlock pistol. (It is Doflamingo''s gun only black and red instead of black and gold.) Luffy held the gun in his hand and looked in the box to see the holster. He strapped the holster around the waste so the gun would be on his right side. Luffy then took on a puzzled look on his face. He had a gun and a holster, but no ammo. He looked over to Yasopp and spoke.


    "I don''t see any ammo in the box and there is none loaded into the gun. Am I going to have to buy some?" Luffy asked genuinely confused. He looked around to see everyone else confused just as he was. He then looked at Yasopp to see him with a wide smile on his face.


    "No, you don''t have to buy ammo for this gun. Never will," he said adding to the confusion of Luffy and everyone else there, "This is a special gun made especially for you. I always wanted one, but even if I bought one for myself I won''t be able to use it. You see this gun is powered by your devil fruit and in your case, it will not fire regular bullets but instead, it will fire your lightning as bullets." Yasopp said surprising everyone there and causing Luffy''s eyes to widen.


    "I never knew they made weapons like this," Luffy said as he looked at the gun in his hand. He was brought out of his admiring by Yasopp''s voice.


    "Before you can use it you need it to register your devil fruit. So, channel some of your lightning into the gun," he said. Luffy held out the gun and began channeling his lightning powers into the gun and soon the entire gun was covered with lighting. He then looked to Yasopp who nodded to him to stop with he did only to see the excess lightning get absorbed into the gun. "There, that should do it. Try shooting this." He said as he pulled out an empty sake bottle and tossed it into the air. Luffy held the gun in his right hand, aimed it at the bottle, and pulled the trigger. Out of the gun came a bolt of lighting that moved faster than anyone other than Luffy could see racing towards the empty bottle in the air. Upon impact, the bolt of lightning didn''t just shatter the bottle and continue on its path as everyone expected. It hit the bottle and exploded. Everyone was stunned at what they just witness. Luffy wanting to test something out he aimed the gun at a nearby tree, compress his lightning, and then he pulled the trigger. Like before a bolt of lightning raced out of the gun towards the tree. However, this time it pierced through the tree before doing the same to five more trees behind it before it finally exploded destroying the last tree in the process.


    "What did you do differently there Luffy to make it pierce through all those trees?" asked Shanks, Luffy placed the pistol in the holster and turned towards Shanks before speaking.


    "I simply compressed the Lightning a bit more this time, but I didn''t expect it to do that much damage." He said before turning towards Yasopp and continue, "Thanks Yasopp, I love it!" Luffy said with a huge grin on his face. Yasopp smiled at him and patted him on the back before leaving to go stand with the rest of the crew. While he was walking back Shanks started walking towards Luffy with a parcel in his hands. He didn''t say anything he just handed it to Luffy and stood there. Luffy looked at it with a smile on his face before he opened the wrapping to see a coat folded inside. He took the coat out to examine it to see that it was a Black and gold captain''s coat. (Think Gold Roger''s coat only black instead of red.) Luffy then took the coat and placed it on. He wore it the way he saw every other captain of a pirate crew wearing theirs, just resting on his shoulders. Luffy looked at Shanks and spoke.


    "Thanks, Shanks, I love it. It fits perfect," he said with a smile. Shanks smile at him and replied.


    "It''s nothing Anchor. If you are going to be captain of your own crew might as well look the part." Shanks said with a chuckle.


    "Again thank you guys for everything. Without you guys, I don''t know where I would be, or if I would have learned the things I learned with you guys over the past ten years." Luffy said as he looked at everyone a bit teary eyes. He then wiped his eyes and took on a more serious look on his face as he looked to the sky and began concentrating. In the sky above everyone could see a thundercloud starting to form. It then started to increase in size, getting bigger and bigger until everyone realized something. It wasn''t getting bigger, it was getting closer to them. Everyone was wondering what in the world was Luffy doing. The cloud finally came down and hovered just about a half of a foot above the ground. It was a dark thundercloud about the size of a small 6 person boat. Luffy then walked over to the two barrels he got from Lucky Roo Picked them up and placed them on the cloud. The sank down a few inches before staying in place. Everyone eyes were wide.


    "THAT''S YOUR RIDE!" they all screamed. Luff looked at them and gave them a wide grin.


    "You betcha!" he said with giving them a thumbs up. He then placed the rest of his stuff on the cloud. He then began concentrating on the cloud once more and from the cloud, a lounge chair began to form. Luffy then climbs onto the cloud and sat on the chair before turning towards the group to speak.


    "I should re-enter the Grand Line by the end of the month. When I see you guys again I''ll be a famous pirate," said Luffy smiling. Everyone gave him a warm smile.


    "I''ll be looking out for you Anchor," said Shanks.


    "We all will," said Benn. Luffy then waved at them and began speaking.


    "Bye guys. Thanks for everything again," he said. As he said that the clour he was riding on began ascending into the air before it shot forward and began climbing to higher altitude. Everyone just stared at the flying Luffy and waved.


    "I''m going to miss that kid," said Yasopp. Everyone just nodded their heads in agreement. Luffy, who was laying in his lounge chair made out of clouds, was just relaxing as the and enjoying the scenery of the world below him. He was traveling at about 65 MPH and was about 20,000 ft in the air. At first, it was a bit heart to breath but after a couple of minutes, Luffy got used to the thin oxygen that was present that high up. On his journey, Luffy could see various small Sky Islands with people on them, some waved at him with he waved back, while others were wary of him so they ran into their homes and hid. Luffy didn''t really care all he did was continue on his journey to the East Blue, it would take him about one day to reach the East Blue or less then a day if he decides he wants to go faster. For now, Luffy is just enjoying the relaxing ride.


    "So, this is The Holy Land Mariejois," Luffy said as he stopped the cloud and have it hover high over the capital of the World Government where no one will be able to see him. He had been traveling for about six hours now and finally reached the Red-Line. Seeing as how he can fly with the cloud he didn''t need to go down to Fishman Island, he could just fly over the Red-Line. Luffy couldn''t help but admire the city, even though he didn''t like the bastards in the World Government, he couldn''t deny it was a beautiful city with amazing architecture. "Well I am not here to admire the sights, I have places to be," Luffy said as he narrowed his eyes forward and concentrated on the lightning in the thundercloud before blasting off a lot faster than which he was moving at first. Luffy now entered Paradise traveling at a speed of 100 mph. He had taken off his straw hat because he didn''t want it getting blown away. At this speed, Luffy is estimated to arrive in the East Blue in about three hours.


    **Timeskip: 3 hours later**


    Luff is now in the East Blue after being gone for 10 years. He immediately slowed the cloud down to only about 40mph and lower the altitude to just about enough so he could see the world below him quite clearly.


    "Feels good to be back home. First stop Makino-neechan, then off to find a crew." Luffy said as he began traveling towards Dawn Island. After traveling for about an hour Luffy finally arrived at a familiar island where he flew his cloud onto the docks before stepping off. As Luffy stepped off he turned to the cloud and it began to hover higher and higher until it finally disappears into the other clouds present in the sky. Luffy then turned around to see that he had attracted a crowd. The man standing in front of the crowd was someone Luff remembered quite vividly. He was mayor Woop Slap. He has a cleft chin, wears oval glasses, has a mustache and a beard, and held a cane on his hand. Luffy smiled at the man and began walking towards the crowd.


    "Who are you? Are you a pirate!?" asked the mayor while pointing his cane at Luffy. Luffy took on an amused look on his face before he answered.


    "Yes, I am a pirate," Luffy said doing very little to hide his amus.e.m.e.nt, "However, you can relax mayor I mean you no harm, I am just here to see my older sister," Luffy said confusing everyone there who was wondering who was his sister. Before they could have questioned him Luffy began walking towards Makino''s bar knowing full well he had a crowd following him. As he reached the bar he walked inside and sat in the same seat he sat in 10 years ago when Shanks was there. Makino was not by the bar so he assumed she was in the back. He was a few minutes before she finally came out. When she saw a young man sitting at the counter she went to him and spoke.


    "Good afternoon sir is there anything I can help you with," Makino said. Luffy gave her his famous grin before answering.


    "Yes, a large tub of meat and some sake...Makino-nee-chan," Luffy said while grinning. As he said they he heard gasps from behind him and one from Makino as well as he covered her mouth with her hand and started tearing up before she launched herself over the counter surprising Luffy and the crowd that followed him. As she launched her self she screamed at the top of her voice.


    "LLUUFFYY!" she screamed as she crashed into Luffy knocking him off the stool before hugging him and crying into his c.h.e.s.t. "Luffy you came back as you said. I missed you!" she said as she sniffled a bit. She finally got off of him and helped him up before she ran into the back and came back out with a large tub of meat and a bottle of sake. She set it down in front of where he sat at the counter before she went around the counter and sat next to him before speaking. "Tell me how was your trip with Shanks, where did you go? what did you see? tell me everything!" Makino said excitedly. Luffy chuckled at her antics and was about to answer but before he could the entire crowd that followed him into the bar screamed out.


    "LUFFY''S BACK!" they screamed s they all pulled out mugs of booze from what appears out of nowhere and began sitting around the bar to hear Luffy''s stories. Luffy chuckled and began telling them stories of his time with Shanks. Luffy stayed in Foosha Village for three days before he decided to set out to find a crew. Currently, Luffy was standing at the same docks where he arrived at with the entire village standing there to see him off. Luffy was currently looking up into the sky calling the thundercloud that had all of his stuff. Soon out of the clouds everyone saw a single thundercloud come out and began descending towards Luffy. The cloud then pulled up beside the dock as if it were a ship docking there and Luffy stepped on it. Luffy then turned towards the group of villagers and spoke.


    "Bye guys, I will see you guys when I am King of the pirates," Luffy said as he waved with a huge smile on his as the cloud began to pull away.


    "Be safe Luffy! I''ll be checking the newspaper every day to see what you''ve been up to." Makino shouted as Luffy was pulling away. Luffy gave her a thumbs up before dashing away. He kept the clout just ten feet above the water and had it sailed at a slow speed of 25mph. While sailing a sea king rose from the water and tried to attack Luffy, but Luffy simply sent a blast of Conquorer''s haki and knocked the beat out before continuing his way. Luffy now shifted his chair into a throne with lightning sparks occasionally coming off of it and his face took on a more serious impassive look. Gone was the happy go lucky Luffy, this was Captain Luffy. luffy then spoke in a tone that would send Chills down his enemies spine.


    "Time to turn this world upside down," he said. After traveling for about ten minutes Luffy was startled by the sounds of cannon fire coming from the starboard side of the cloud. He looked to see who was shooting at what and that''s when he saw the ugliest pirate ship he had ever seen in his life. The ship was a large pink ship, with four sails, one higher than the other three. Each sail has a pink heart, and the ship herself has two hearts on each side. The figurehead is a duck and the jolly roger of a skull is depicted from the side and has a pink heart on it. The ship was currently attacking a civilian vessel.


    ''I wonder if anyone there has a bounty on their heads.'' Luffy wondered as he turned the cloud and head towards the pirate ship. As the cloud pulled up beside the pink ship, Luffy had it stay hidden just off the side before he stood up and turned his body into lighting before teleporting to the deck of the ship. All the pirates and civilians saw was lightning struck the ship while a loud thunder sounded in the clear blue sky, and now standing in the spot where the lightning had struck is a man with a captain''s coat hung on his shoulders and a straw hat on his head. Everything about the man radiated power, his gaze if cold enough to freeze the sun and his aura was strong enough to make seasoned fighters cower in fear. No one said a word, they all just stared at the man in fear. The silence lasted about two minutes before what appears to be a fat, ugly woman spoke.


    "Who are you and why are you on my ship!" she screamed at the man, trying to act bravely in front of her men on the outside while in the inside she was shaking her boots.


    "I was simply wondering who is the captain of this hideous vessel," he said as he looked around while using his Observation haki to sense around the ship. He sensed a girl in the lower levels robbing these pirates. He couldn''t help but chuckle. He was brought out his observing when the fat lady spoke.


    "Are you the pirate hunter Roronoa Zoro?" she asked which earned her a raised eyebrow from Luffy before he replied.


    "No can''t say that I am. Who might you be?" Luffy asked genuinely curious about who she was and whether or not she had a bounty.


    "I am the most beautiful woman of all the seas," she said as she placed her iron club on her shoulders before continuing, "the one and only ''Iron Club'' Alvida!" she said. When she said that Luffy couldn''t help but burst out laughing.


    "You? The most beautiful woman of all the seas?" Luffy said as he started rolling on the floor laughing, "Sorry hag, but you ain''t nowhere close to being the most beautiful woman of all the seas." Luffy said as he stood up and looked at the woman to see her fuming, but that meant very little to Luffy as he began speaking again, "do you by chance have a bounty on your head?" Luffy asked. He saw the woman smirked before answering.


    "Yes, I have a bounty of 5,000,000 Beri on my head," she said as Luffy simply sighed.


    "Damn, was hoping it was a bit more. Anyway time for business." Luffy said as he sent a wave of Conquorer''s haki towards the pirates effectively knocking out all of them except Alvida and surprisingly a short pink haired boy who only fell to a knee. Luffy turned to the boy and spoke, "You have a strong will to be able to withstand my haki like that kid," Luffy said with a smile that made the boy smile as well. Alvida turned to the boy and was about to speak, but never got a chance to, because she was hit square of the jaw by Luffy with a fist coated in lightning effectively knocking her out. Luffy then placed his palm on her back and spoke.


    "Bind!" he said and then all of a sudden from the palm of his hand three rope like bolts of lightning came out and sn.a.k.e.d itself around Alvida binding her in place. The boy with the pink hair had his eyes popping out of its socket.


    "How did you do that?!" he asked/screamed. Luffy smiled and answered.


    "I ate a devil fruit, the Rumble-Rumble fruit to be exact. So, now I am a lightning man." Luffy said as he turned his entire right hand into lightning, "By the way what''s your name?" Luffy asked.


    "Oh I''m Koby, sir," Koby said as Luffy turned his hand back to normal.


    "Nice to meet you, Koby, my name is Monkey D. Luffy! And I am going to be King of the Pirates!"


    **Chapter End**

 Chapter 3 - 3: The First-mate!

    Flying just above the water is Luffy and Koby sitting in Luffy''s thunder-cloud. Luffy was sitting on his throne while Koby was sitting on a small chair Luffy made for him. Following behind Luffy''s cloud is a captured Alivda who is on a separate thunder-cloud that Luffy summoned to transport her. They are currently headed to Shells Town to cash in the bounty on Alvida''s head and also take Koby there to join the marines. Even though Koby wanted to be a marine, Luffy could honestly say he liked the kid. He had a good sense of justice and even though he was a bit of a coward, with the right type of training he would become a fine marine, and Luffy knew just to person to turn him into one. Luffy Couldn''t stop himself from chuckling at the thought of THAT man training Koby. Luffy was brought out of his thought by Koby''s voice.


    "Wow! I still can''t believe I am sitting on a cloud!" Koby said happily as he ran his hand on the surface of the cloud. Luffy chuckled at his antics before he spoke.


    "Yea well, this is a thunder-cloud it is a lot more firm compared to regular clouds found on one of the Sky Islands," Luffy said making Koby whipped his head around and looked at Luffy with eyes the size of dinner plates.


    "Y-you mean there are islands in the sky?" Koby asked with a voice of pure shock.


    "Yes, is even a sea of clouds up there that your boats can sail on," Luffy said surprising Koby even more. "However, I don''t know if there is any here in the skies above the East Blue, but I know for a fact they are in the Grand Line." Luffy finished with a smile.


    "Wow!" was all Koby could say. Luffy chuckled at Koby''s reaction before his face became serious as he spoke to Koby.


    "Hey, Koby," Luffy said getting Koby''s attention, "Alvida mentioned Roronoa Zoro earlier and I was wondering who is her?" Luffy asked causing Koby to turn pale.


    "He is a great pirate hunter. He is a man who diced up his bounties just like an animal bent on carnage, a blood-thirsty beast. He has been called nothing less than a living breathing demon in human form." Luffy couldn''t help but sweatdrop at that description. "Recently I heard he was captured and is being held at the marine base in Shells Town," Koby said causing Luffy to grin. When Koby saw the grin he immediately grew pale, "Please don''t tell me you are thinking about doing what I think you''re thinking about doing!" Koby yelled but Luffy simply chuckled and didn''t reply making Koby even more scared. The two of them and an unconscious Alvida traveled for about five more minutes before they finally reached the marine base city. Luffy and Koby exited the cloud before Luffy sent it up in the sky to wait for him to summon it back when ready. The cloud carrying Alvida followed closely behind Luffy and Koby as they walked through the town, earning them odd looks from the civilians there.


    "I want to see who this Roronoa Zoro is. Who knows maybe I''ll even have him join my crew." Luffy said with a serious look on his face as they walked through town. When Luffy said that Koby immediately began to beg Luffy to find someone else.


    "Luffy seriously, you are out of your mind if you think the right thing to do is get this guy to join you," said an extremely scared Koby. Luffy just kept an emotionless look on his face as he spoke.


    "I never said he was going to join my crew. I said MAYBE he will," Luffy said as he stopped by one of the local vendors that were selling apples and picked one up and bit down on it before flipping the vendor a beli. He then looked to the guy that sold him the apple and spoke, "Are they really keeping that Zoro guy here?" Luffy asked. The moment Zoro''s name left his mouth everyone who was close enough to hear the question jumped back with a look of pure horror on their face. "I''ll take that as a yes," Luffy said before walking off with Koby close behind.


    "Maybe we shouldn''t mention the name Zoro here," said Koby in a low voice as he whispered to Luffy.


    "Let us just head to the base. You did say you wanted to become a marine right?" asked Luffy as they continue walking towards the marine base.


    "Well, of course, I do Luffy, but I don''t feel as though I am ready yet. From what I''ve heard, the man in charge of this base is named Captain Morgan," said Koby. Similar to the reaction of Zoro''s name, everyone that was within range to hear Margan''s name jumped back and took on a look of pure horror. Luffy narrowed his eyes at this before thinking to himself.


    ''It seems this is one of THOSE marine bases.'' Luffy thought to himself. He looked over to Koby to see him having a puzzled look on his face. He then looked at Luffy and began to speak.


    "That was odd. I mean I can understand them being scared of Zoro and all, but why a marine captain?" Asked Koby. Luffy''s face then took on a more sympathetic look as he looked at Koby before he spoke.


    "You will come to understand that in the world we live in you can''t believe everything you are told. You must be able to try to see the world for yourself and come to your own conclusion. In my experience and from what I have seen not all pirates are bad and not all marines are good." Lufyy said surprising Koby who looked like he didn''t want to believe what was just told to him until Luffy spoke again. "Remember Koby, power can turn good people bad." Luffy finished allowing Koby to think about what he just said. They walked in silence until they made it to the gates of the marine base where Luffy told the guard posted there that they were there to cash in the bounty on Alvida''s head. The guard then took them into the base to the cashier who gave them odd looks after seeing Alvida laying on a thunder-cloud with lightning binding her. After verifying that is was her, the cashier gave Luffy a bag with 5,000,000 beli inside to which Luffy tucked away in his coat. Luffy and Koby began exiting the marine base when Luffy noticed something in the corner of his eye. As they were walking Luffy looked to the left to see in the open courtyard is a man tied to a post. Luffy smiled to himself.


    ''So, that''s Roronoa Zoro,'' he thought to himself before looking straight ahead as they were about to exit the base. As the exited the base Koby as about to say something to Luffy but never got the chance to as Luffy turned Left and began walking along the walls until he suddenly stopped in front one of the walls and started climbing it. Koby started to panic and scream at Luffy.


    "Luffy! What are you doing!? Someone will see you!" yelled a panicking Koby, but instantly became silenced by the words that came out of Luffy''s mouth next.


    "So, there you are Mr. Pirate Hunter," Luffy said as he looked at the man strapped to the cross. Koby turned pale as he looked over the fence in hope that Luffy was mistaken someone else of the demon, but from one look of the man, Koby instantly knew he was the Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro. Zoro was a muscular young man of average height with lightly tanned skin and green hair. He has three identical gold earrings on his left earlobe and a green bandana tied around his head. He wore black trousers tucked inside black boots, a plain white shirt with three undone buttons at the collar and his green haramaki. The two of them were knocked out of their observation by Zoro''s voice.


    "Hey, you two," he said getting their attention, "You''re an eyesore. Get lost." he said in a cold voice making Koby scream while Luffy just looked bored.


    "Luffy, let us just get out of here," Koby said to Luffy who simply ignored him. Then suddenly the two of them heard something hit the side of the wall to their left. When he looked to see what it was they saw a little girl with a ladder climbing the wall. she then looked towards Luffy and Koby before she placed her index finger to her lip telling them to be quiet. Luffy could only stare at the girl as he threw a rope over the wall and climb over. The little girl then began running towards Zoro with a huge smile on her face. She then reached in front of Zoro who didn''t look happy to see her.


    "What do you want?" he said to the girl in a harsh voice trying to scare her but the little girl just kept on smiling.


    "I thought you may be getting hungry now. So, I made you a couple of rice balls," she said as she looked at Zoro.


    "You got a death wish kid? Scram," he said to her, but she didn''t look like she was going to budge an inch.


    "But you haven''t eaten anything the whole time you''ve been tied up. Here," she said as he held up two rice balls, "I never really made them before, but I did my best so I think they''re fine." She said trying to convince Zoro to take the rice balls.


    "Listen, kid, I''m not hungry. Now stop irritating me and get lost!" Zoro yelled at the girl. The little girl''s smile vanished for the first time and was replaced with a frown before she spoke.


    "But-" she began before Zoro interrupted her.


    "Do not make me kick your a.s.s little girl!" Zoro yelled causing Luffy to narrow his eyes at him. Suddenly the gates of the marine base began to open and three figures could be seen entering.


    "Now now, no one likes a bully," said the man in the middle of two marines, "Rornona Zoro, you seem to be handling this well. Don''t you agree?" Luffy narrowed his eyes at the group that just entered the base. For some reason, he didn''t have a good feeling about them. "Looky here, some tasty rice balls." said the man in the middle as he snatched one of the little girl''s rice balls.


    "That''s not for you!" the little girl screamed at the man. The bit down on the rice ball and the face e made soon after told Luffy that those rice balls did not taste good. He was right as the mad immediately spat it out.


    "Ahh! Too sweet! It''s packed with sugar! You''re supposed to use salt you idiot, salt!" the man screamed at the little girl. The little girl looked as though she had just had her heart broken.


    "But I thought it would taste better sweet." the little girl said sadly. The man then snatched the other rice ball from the girl and threw it on the floor before stomping on it causing the little girl to cry.


    "It seems you haven''t read the notice posted today. ''Anyone found aiding a criminal in any way will be executed. Signed marine Captain Morgan''" the man said causing the little girl to flinch when he mentioned Morgan''s name. The man chuckled at her reaction before speaking again, "It seems even you know my dad''s name." This got Luffy''s attention.


    "So, he is Captain Morgan''s son," Luffy said to himself, but loud enough for Koby to hear.


    "Does that mean he isn''t a marine?" Koby asked.


    "I don''t know. However, I highly doubt it seeing as he isn''t in Marine uniform." Luffy said as he looked at Koby. When he turned back to the courtyard he saw one of the marines that were there with Morgan''s son picked the little girl up and tossed her over the fence causing Luffy''s eyes to widen. He quickly turned his body into Lightning and teleported to catch the little girl. He caught her mid-air and landed with her in his arms safely. The little girl smiled at him before she spoke.


    "Wow thank you, mister," she said happily. Koby came rushing over to Luffy and the little girl.


    "Koby why don''t you take this little girl home. There is something I have to do," said a serious Luffy as he turned his body into lightning and vanished. Zoro, who was still tied to the cross was startled when lightning suddenly struck the ground and the man who had been on the fence earlier appeared in the spot that the lightning had struck. The only thing he could do was stare at the man with eyes the size of dinner plates.


    "H-how did you do that?" Zoro asked. Luffy kept a serious look on his face as he spoke.


    "I ate a devil fruit," said Luffy. Zoro nodded to show that he understood, He had heard of devil fruits but never actually thought they existed. Zoro then looked at Luffy with a serious look before speaking.


    "So, what do you want?" he asked. Luffy didn''t say anything for about a minute, he just stared at Zoro through narrowed eyes before speaking.


    Are you really as strong as people say?" Luffy asked.


    "Mind your own business!" Zoro yelled causing Luffy to sigh.


    "Ten days huh? I''ll be back" said Luffy before he turned to leave but was stopped by Zoro''s voice.


    "Wait, hold on," he said getting Luffy''s attention, "Could you pick that up for me?" he asked while looking at the crushed rice balls on the ground. Luffy looked at him like he was crazy.


    "You''re going to eat this?" Luffy asked as the bent down and picked up the squished rice ball, "Its mostly mud." he said causing Zoro to yell at him.


    "Shut up and give it to me! Now" he yelled causing Luffy''s eye to twitch. Luffy then picked up the rice ball and fed it to him while doing his best not to stab a lightning coated fist through Zoro''s c.h.e.s.t. After Zoro ate the muddy rice ball he looked to meet the emotionless eyes of Luffy before speaking once more. "Tell the little girl they were delicious," he said. Luffy didn''t show any emotion on the outside but he smiled on the inside. He then turned his body into lighting and teleported to Koby and the little girl.


    *Timeskip: 2 hours later*


    Zoro was looking up at the clouds in the sky as they passed by when suddenly out of the clear blue sky, Zoro saw a bolt of lighting coming towards him. His eyes widen and he started trying to get free of the ropes. The bolt of lighting then struck the same spot that it had struck two hours ago.


    ''And people said lightning doesn''t strike the same place twice.'' Zoro thought jokingly to himself as he looked up to see the same man from before standing there with the same emotionless look on his face, but this time Zoro noticed something different about the man. He couldn''t figure out what was different, he had the same straw hat on his head, the same captains coat, the same sword on his side, along with the same gun. Everything was the same down to the emotionless look on his face, but it was at that very same time Zoro was able to get a look of the man''s eyes. Before they lacked any ounce of emotion, they were the cold eyes of a man who would kill you without a second thought, but now, however, his eyes were filled with anger. Zoro didn''t know what scared him more, the thought of this man being able to kill anyone without a second thought when he is going about his normal day or the thought of that same man being angry. Zoro decided to swallow his fear and speak.


    "You again, what do you want?" Zoro asked. Luffy began walking forward until he stood only a few feet away from Zoro before he spoke.


    "I have an offer for you." Luffy said surprising Zoro, "That idiot''s son was never planning on following through on his end of the deal. He was going to have you executed tomorrow." Luffy said causing Zoro''s eyes to widen before he started thrashing around and yelling.


    "That sniveling little bastard!" he yelled. "When I get my hands him he is going to wish his daddy had flushed him down the toilet as he should have!" Zoro said causing Luffy to chuckle before he spoke.


    "And how are you going to do all that tied up her." Luffy said with a smirk on his face before continuing, "by the way, when I heard he was going to execute you tomorrow I knocked a few teeth down his throat. So, there is a good chance your execution got moved up to today." Luffy said causing Zoro''s eyes to widen even further.


    "Untie me so I can kick that bastard''s ass!" he yelled causing Luffy to chuckle once more.


    "This is where my offer comes in I can untie you and let you live, but you''re going to have to join my crew," Luffy said causing Zoro to clam down a bit before speaking.


    "What crew?" he asked.


    "I am putting together a pirate crew and I am looking for people to join up. So, what''s your answer?" Luffy asked. Zoro stayed silent for a minute before answering.


    "Listen, that idiot''s son took my swords, if you can get them back I''ll join your crew," Zoro said causing Luffy to smile before turning his body into lighting and teleported away. Upon the roof of the marine base, every marine that was present on the base could be seen raising a giant statue of Captain Morgan made of stone. Standing off to the side looking at his men working was the captain in charge of the marine base, ''Axe-Hand'' Morgan. Morgan was a very tall and muscular, intimidating man with blonde hair and a steel jaw. His right hand is replaced by a huge steel ax, the handle of which seems to go right through his forearm. He wore a large, billowing coat like a cape. Laying on the ground behind Morgan the crying form of his son Helmeppo.


    "Now stand it up, men! Display my greatness for the world to see!" Morgan yelled at his men. As the marines were in the process of pulling the giant statue upright a bolt of lightning struck the center of the statue causing everyone''s eyes to widen. Ten just when everyone thought things couldn''t get any stranger, standing in the spot where the lightning had struck was Luffy looking at everyone.


    "What is this god awful thing that I am standing on?" Luffy asked as he started examining the statue before he spoke, "No one will miss something this ugly." he said as he raised his right leg in the air and coated it with Armament Haki. He then stomped his leg on the statue causing every marine there to start sweating. At first, it looked like nothing happened which cause a few marines to release a sigh of relief, but after five seconds later the entire statue suddenly crumbled to dust. Morgan was shaking with rage before yelling out.


    "Kill him!" he yelled and every marine drew their weapons. When everyone looked at the spot that Luffy was standing, they saw that he was gone from there and was now standing by the door with Helmeppo.


    "I need you to show me where Zoro''s swords are," Luffy said as he began walking through the door with Helmeppo over his shoulders. Luffy was calmly walking through the halls of the marine base as though he didn''t have a trouble in the world. "Where are Zoro''s swords?" Luffy asked Helmeppo.


    "They are in my room. It is the door coming up on your left." Helmeppo said. As they stood in front of the door Luffy kicked it open before tossing Helmeppo inside. Luffy then sent a wave of Conquorer''s Haki towards him making him pass out. Luffy looked around the room and noticed it was extremely girly. The walls were pink, the furniture was pink with flowers on them, everything about this room said it belonged to a girl. Luffy though Helmeppo lied to him and took him to the wrong room, However, when Luffy saw the three swords braced against the wall he knew he was in the right place. Luffy grabbed the swords and looked out the window to see something that made his eyes widen. Standing in the courtyard where Zoro was tied up was a very scared Koby surrounded by marines along with Morgan himself. The Marines were beginning to take aim to fire on Zoro and Koby. Luffy opened the window and immediately turned his body into lightning before teleporting to the courtyard. Koby and Zoro stared as the marines took aim and were prepared to fire their guns when all of a sudden Luffy appeared in front of them with his usual lighting strike putting Koby and Zoro at ease for a bit while startling the marines.


    "FIRE AT THE KID WITH THE STRAW HAT!" Morgan yelled at his men. Luffy immediately covered his body in Armament Haki and waited for the guns to fire. He didn''t have to wait long because, seconds after Morgan gave the order every marine with a gun, pulled the trigger. What happened next made everyone''s eyes widen. The bullets that were fired at Luffy hit him but did no damage. They simply fell to the ground squished as though they hit a metal wall.


    "That won''t work on me," Luffy said as he stared at them with the cold eyes of a killer.


    "Just who are you?" Zoro asked with eyes the size of dinner plates. Luffy turned him and used one of Zoro''s swords to cut him free before speaking.


    "The name is Monkey D. Luffy," Luffy said as he handed the swords to Zoro, "And I''m going to be King of the Pirates." before Zoro could saying anything to Luffy Morgan gave his men new orders.


    "If bullets won''t work then use your swords!" As he said that all the marines drew their swords and charged Luffy, Zoro, and Koby. Before they could reach the Luffy and Koby they were intercepted by Zoro who held off each of their swords with all three of his. Luffy was amazed by the fact he was using three swords. Zoro held two katanas in his hands while the third one he placed in his mouth. Luffy was brought out his observation by Zoro''s voice.


    "Make one move and you die," Zoro said to the marines in a cold voice that made a few of them start crying. He then turned his attention towards Luffy before speaking again, "Today I officially become a criminal because I fought against the marines. So, I''ll become a pirate that I can promise you, but I want you to know one thing. While I am with you I dedicate myself to is fulfilling my ambition." he said. Luffy turned and looked at him before speaking.


    "Which is?" Luffy asked. Zoro smiled and spoke with a lot of determination.


    "To become the world greatest swordsman and nothing less," he said aking Luffy smile before replying.


    "The king of the pirates would have no less on his crew," Luffy said. Luffy and Zoro were once again interrupted by Morgans voice.


    "What are you waiting for men Kill them!" he yelled. All of his men backed away from Zoro allowing him to stand up before they spoke in a scared tone.


    "Sir, we can''t beat them," said one Marine.


    "Yea they''re monsters!" said another one.


    "We will only die if we face them!" said one more marine. By now Morgan was shaking with rage.


    "This is a direct order, every marine who is spouting weakness pull out your gun and shoot yourself in the head!" Morgan yelled. At first, Luffy thought he was crazy to give an order like that because no one was stupid enough to follow such an order, but Luffy was surprised when he saw the marines actually brought their guns up to shoot themselves.


    ''What a bunch of idiots.'' Luffy thought to himself as he watches the marines shakingly held up their guns to shoot themselves. Luffy quickly sent out a controlled blast of Conquorer''s Haki towards the marines making each of them pass out on the ground foaming at the mouth. Morgan''s eyes widened when he saw his men passing out. He looked to see if it was Zoro who did something but he was Zoro was just as much surprised as he was. He then looked towards Luffy only to see him calmly walking towards him.


    "A leader who cares so little for the lives of his own men is nothing but sc.u.m," Luffy said in a tone that sent shivers up Morgan''s spine. Morgan quickly caught himself and swallowed his fear before speaking.


    "They were weaklings, all that matters in this world is power and titles. A weakling like you could never understand that!" Morgan yelled before charging towards Luffy, but stop dead in his tracks when Luffy spoke.


    "That downwards chop from your right hand won''t do anything," Luffy said making Morgan''s eyes grew wide as dinner plates. While Morgan was frozen in fear Luffy never stopped once while walking towards him. Luffy then covered his palm in lighting before disappearing from everyone''s sight. Luffy then appeared to Morgan''s right and with his lighting coated palm he sliced off Morgan''s right hand from his elbow. Morgan yelled out in pain and tried to jump back to put some distance between him and Luffy, but he didn''t get to go far because Luffy was already behind him with his arm pulled back ready to strike.


    "Chidori!" he yelled as he stabbed his hand through Morgan''s c.h.e.s.t. Zoro and Koby stared wide-eyed as they watched Luffy pulled her hand from Morgan''s c.h.e.s.t letting his lifeless body lay there in a pool of his own blood. Luffy then pulled out a handkerchief from his coat and began wiping the blood off his hands. He then looked at the dead body of morgan before speaking in a cold emotionless voice.


    "Sc.u.m like you don''t deserve to live," he said before he began walking back towards Zoro and Koby. As he was walking back towards them the marine soldiers who were unconscious on the ground began to regain consciousness. When they woke up and saw the body of their dead captain on the ground instead of them trying to exact revenge on Luffy like he had expected, they began cheering and thanking Luffy for freeing them from Morgan''s reign.


    "It seems they were all scared of Morgan before we showed up," said Koby getting Luffy''s attention. Just as Luffy was about to reply he heard something hit the ground next to him. When he looked over to see what it was he was his first-mate passed out on the ground.


    "Well we better get him some food," said Luffy as he picked Zoro up and slung him over his shoulder before heading to the bar that the little girl from earlier, who he learned was named Rika, mother owned.


    *Timeskip: 15 minutes*


    "Oh I am stuffed!" said Zoro as he sat at the table with an empty plate in front of him. "Having not eaten in three weeks I was ready to munch down on my boots strap," he said earning giggles from Rika and her mother. Luffy sat across from him with a bottle of whiskey and a glass half filled with whiskey. Luffy couldn''t help but smile at his first-mate antics. Zoro then turned towards Luffy and spoke, "So, how many others have you gathered for this crew beside me?" Zoro asked. Luffy took a sip of his whiskey before reply.


    "Just you," he replied before taking another sip of his whiskey. Zoro looked at Luffy like he was crazy.


    "So, you and I are what amounts to a pirate crew?" Zoro asked.


    "I can take on an entire fleet of Navy battlesh.i.p.s by myself, and when I am done with you, you will be able to do the same," Luffy said in a serious voice. If anyone else had said something like that Zoro would have thought they were crazy, but after meeting Luffy, Zoro doesn''t think anything can surprise him anymore. Just as Zoro was about to say something a group of marines entered the bar and looked Luffy who didn''t look all that bothered by their presence.


    "Hey, you there, we heard you fellas are actually pirates. Is this rumor true?" A marine who Luffy guessed was the highest ranking officer on the base after Morgan said.


    "Yea we are," Luffy replied before taking a sip of his whiskey.


    "We appreciate everything you did to save our town from that horrible tyrant who terrorized us all for so long, however, now that we know you are pirates as marines we cannot sit idly by and watch you go about your business. Therefore, you and your crew will need to leave this town immediately and out of respect for what you have done, we will not report you to headquarters." said the marine causing the people who were outside to begin to protest. Luffy then raised his hand getting all of them to be quiet before he spoke.


    "That''s okay everyone we were planning on leaving anyway, however, before we go there is something I need to do," Luffy said before he reached into his coat making all of the marines there nervous. He then pulled out a transponder snail and placed it on the table before dialing a number. The snail began to ring for about ten seconds before someone picked out.


    "Hello," said a man on the other end of the transponder snail. Luffy smiled before replying.


    "Is this Vice-Admiral Garp?" Luffy said making every marine and civilian''s eyes to widen the size of dinner plates.


    "This is him. Who is this?" Garp asked. Luffy grinned before replying.


    "Your grandson," Luffy said making everyone''s jaw dropped. Luffy chuckled at their reaction.


    "LUFFY!" Garp yelled through the transponder snail, "You brat, how dare you leave the island and join that red-haired bastard huh!" Garp said making Luffy roll his eyes before replying.


    "I miss you too grandpa." Luffy said with a smile making Garp chuckle, "Anyway I called because I knew you always wanted me to join the marines but that''s not going to happen." Luffy said making Garp growl on the other end of the line, "However, I found my replacement for you." Luffy said while looking at Koby making his eyes widen.


    "Oh, and just who is this replacement?" Garp asked.


    "A kid named Koby. He is a bit weak and a bit of a coward, but I think you''ll like him." Luffy said. Garp didn''t say anything for about thirty seconds before he sighed and replied.


    "I''ll take him and just you watch when I''m done with him he''ll kick your a.s.s up and down the Grand Line," Garp said making Luffy chuckled.


    "He is in Shells Town in the East Blue. By the way, Shells Town is going to need a new Marine Captain. I had to kick Morgan''s a.s.s," Luffy said.


    "I don''t even want to know why," Garp said. Luffy smiled before speaking again.


    "Well, I got to go Gramps. I''m sure you and I are going to cross paths soon so, until then." Luffy said making Garm chuckle.


    "Take care of yourself brat," Garp said before hanging up. Luffy placed the snail back in his coat before standing up and walking over to Koby. He reached in his coat and pulled out the bag of money he got from Alvida''s bounty and handed it to Koby before he spoke.


    "Here take this, you deserve it after all she put you through," Luffy said making Koby''s eyes filled with tears. Koby didn''t get to say anything before Luffy turned towards Zoro and spoke, "Get your things we are leaving," he said. Zoro then grabbed his swords and stood up to leave. Luffy then turned to the marines and spoke, "Take care of Koby until my grandfather shows up will ya," he said as he and Zoro began walking out the door. The marines could only nod their head dumbly. As they are walking down the road towards the docks Luffy began summoning his thunder-cloud. When they arrive Zoro had his jaw on the ground at the sight of a thunder-cloud. He almost passed out when Luffy got into the cloud.


    "T-that''s your ship?" Zoro stuttered out. Luffy chuckled before speaking.


    "It''s temporary until we get a real one," he said as Zoro got in and sat in the seat that Koby sat in while Luffy was on his throne.


    "Well Captain, where too next?" Zoro asked as he sat his swords down in the cloud.


    "Orange Town, I need to see a certain clown," Luffy said in a serious voice.


    *CHAPTER END*

 Chapter 4 - 4: A Chop-Chop Man and A Thief!

    Luffy and Zoro were traveling towards Orange Town at about 80mph just about twenty feet above the water. Zoro was laying back in the cloud napping while Luffy was sitting on his throne with a glass of whiskey in his hand looking at up at the sky. Luffy then turned to the sleeping form of Zoro and spoke.


    "Oi, wake up," Luffy said causing Zoro to turn over on his side while mumbling something Luffy couldn''t understand. Luffy then took on an evil smirk on his face before pointing his right index finger at Zoro. At the tip of Luffy''s index finger, electric blue sparks could be seen building up before a small bolt of lightning shot out of Luffy''s finger and slammed into Zoro''s behind causing him to yelp in pain. Zoro immediately sprang to his feet with all three swords drawn ready for an attack. Luffy had an amused look on his face as he looked at Zoro, He gave a small chuckle before speaking to his first-mate. "Relax Zoro, it was me," Luffy said making Zoro resheathed his swords before yelling at Luffy.


    "Why the hell did you do that!?" Zoro asked/yelled.


    "I tried waking you up the normal way but you wouldn''t wake up so I had to get creative," Luffy said as he took a sip of his whiskey. He then tossed a cup towards Zoro before speaking again, "The barrel on your right has food and the one on your left has booze," Luffy said while pointing at the two barrels that Luckey Roo gave to him. Zoro thanked him before taking some meat from the barrel to eat along with a cup of booze to drink. While Zoro was eating Luffy thought it would be a good Idea to let him know the plan going to Orange Town. "We are going to arrive in Orange Two in about thirty minutes. The pirate who we are going there to see is Buggy ''The Clown'', he has a 15,000,000 beli on his head," Luffy said making Zoro take on a serious look on his face before speaking.


    "And why exactly are we going to meet him?" Zoro asked with a raised eyebrow. Luffy took a sip of his whiskey before replying.


    "I''ve heard a lot about him from my mentor if he is as good a pirate as I expect him to be I''ll ask him to join the crew. If he is not, however, we kick his a.s.s and cash in the bounty on him and his crew," Luffy said with a smirk. Zoro took a bite into the piece of meat he had in his hand before giving Luffy his opinion.


    "And what if he is the pirate you expect him to be, but he doesn''t want to join the crew?" Zoro asked.


    "Simple, we kick his a.s.s and take his bounty," Luffy said making Zoro chuckle. "From now on anyone with a bounty on their head we are going to cash in. In this cloud right now there is 800 million beli that I got from a few pirates in the Grand Line," Luffy said making Zoro spit out all of the booze he had in his mouth and look at Luffy with eyes the size of dinner plates.


    "800...800...million beli?" Zoro asked in a surprised voice to which Luffy nodded before speaking.


    "Yea, I plan on clearing out the big bounties in the East Blue before we head into the Grand Line. I highly doubt we will find a suitable ship that will survive the Grand Line to a lot of that money will be spent on first buying a ship, repairing it, and then eventually we are going to need a new one. However, if we are lucky to find one that could survive the Grand Line then all we will need to worry about is the repairs," Luffy said earning a nod from Zoro saying he understood. "That being said, getting a ship and maintaining it is my responsibility as Captain so, any opponent the crew face that has a bounty on their heads gets to keep the bounty for themselves. The treasure looted is divided among the crew equally," Luffy said. Zoro drank the last of his booze before speaking.


    "That sounds good, Captain," Zoro said with a smile making Luffy smile as well. The two of them traveled for about ten more minutes before they reached the shores of the Orange Town, or what used to be Orange Town. The entire town looked like a tornado pass through it. Zoro and Luffy stepped out of the cloud and began walking into the town. While walking Luffy sent a command to the cloud to stay in the skies about the island. When they reached the down they realized that it was abandoned, there was not a soul in sight. The only thing there was a lot of destroyed houses and vandalized buildings. Luffy sighed and tilted his hand down a bit to cast a shadow over his eyes before he spoke in a cold menacing tone.


    "It would seem Buggy is not the man I thought he was," Luffy said as they continued to walk through the town, "Seems we will be 15 million beli richer than we were a few minutes ago," Luffy said causing Zoro to chuckle.


    "Hopefully there is someone strong on his crew for me to face," said Zoro while placing his hand on his swords. Luffy and Zoro were brought out of their conversation by a group of people running towards them. It appeared to be three members of Buggy''s crew were chasing a girl about Luffy''s age. The girl had short hair with a particularly curled strand over the left side of her face and she was about 5''6 in height. She wore an orange mini-skirt with two white rings on each side filled in with orange and a short sleeve white shirt with blue stripes. Zoro and Luffy looked at the group with a curious expression on their faces, as the group got closer Luffy saw a rolled up paper in the girl''s hand that was about to size to be a map of some kind. It was then Luffy understood why she was being chased, she must have stolen an important map from Buggy and now he is going to kill her.


    ''Oh well, that''s none of my business'' Luffy thought as they kept walking forward. When the group got even closer Luffy noticed the evil smirk on the girl''s face as she looked at him and Zoro and couldn''t stop himself from sighing, ''This girl is going to involve us isn''t she?'' Luffy asked himself. The moment Luffy finished his thought the girl stopped in front of him and spoke in a relieved tone.


    "Oh hey, boss! Thanks for coming to save me," the girl said earning a raised eyebrow from Zoro and Luffy as well as the three pirates that were chasing her. Before Luffy had the chance to say anything the girl spoke again, "They''re all yours now boss, have fun!" she said before taking off running. Luffy sighed before he looked at Zoro and nodded. Before the three pirates knew what hit them, they were laying on the floor in a pool of there own blood while Zoro stood behind them resheathing his swords.


    "What a pain," Zoro said as he looked over at Luffy, "I thought you said I was the only member of your crew," Zoro said to Luffy.


    "You are," Luffy said as the looked up on the roof of one of the houses and just kept staring there.


    "Then who was that girl?" Zoro asked as he walked and stood next to Luffy and looked at the roof of the house to see what he was looking at.


    "No idea,"Luffy said. As he said that the girl from before popped her head over the roof to peep and see if Luffy and Zoro were dead yet. To her surprise, they were still alive and the three pirates that were previously chasing her were laying on the ground an inch away from death. She then looked over at Luffy and shivered when her eyes met the cold eyes of the boy in the straw hat. She then took another look at the three pirates before speaking.


    "You guys are really strong!" she said as she jumped down from the roof and landed on the balcony of the house. "Even though you were outnumbered and they had sabers, you were able to beat them," the girl said. Luffy kept the emotionless look on his face before he spoke.


    "Its the girl who set us up a few minutes ago," Luffy said. "Who are you?" Luffy asked causing the girl to put on a wide smile before replying.


    "I''m a talented thief who steals strictly from pirates, the names Nami!" She said happily. Luffy was about to speak, but before he could the girl spoke again in an excited tone. "Hey! Do you guys want to team up with me!?" She asked sounding very excited by the prospect. Luffy turned around preparing to walk away before he spoke.


    "Thanks for the offer but I have no use for a thief, especially one who puts the lives to two innocent civilians in danger just to save her own skin," Luffy said before walking away with Zoro. Nami clenched her fist and looked down at the ground feeling a bit ashamed when Luffy said that. She then looked up to see Luffy and Zoro walking away, these were two really strong guys who could really help her in achieving her goal and she was not about to let an opportunity like this go to waste just because they saw a part of her that really wasn''t her. She jumped off the balcony and yelled at them while running to catch up with them.


    "Wait! Hold on! I''m not like that!" she yelled while running towards them, "At least think about my offer for a bit before you reject it, "She said as she finally caught up to them. Luffy and Zoro stopped walking and turned towards her before Luffy spoke.


    "Listen Nami, I''m sure you are a nice girl and all but like I said before, I don''t have any use for a thief. Unless you have some other skill that may be useful on the open sea, I don''t see us working together," Luffy said with a sigh. He knew he couldn''t judge her based on that first encounter, that wouldn''t have been fair for her. Nami smile widely which told Luffy she had a skill that may be useful.


    "I am the most skilled navigator you will ever meet!" Nami said proudly with a huge smile on her face. Luffy looked at her and smiled back before speaking.


    "A navigator? Now that is someone I am looking for," said Luffy making Nami''s smile grew wider, but her smile immediately vanished when Luffy spoke again. "How about you join my crew. I have been looking for a navigator," Luffy said. The moment he said that Nami stopped smiling and yelled at Luffy.


    "No!" she said confusing Luffy, "I take it you two are pirates?" she asked earning a nod from Luffy and Zoro. Nami clenched her fist and yelled at Luffy and Zoro, "There is nothing in this world I despise more than pirates! I only like money and tangerines!" She yelled out causing Luffy to look at her with sad eyes. It was obvious that pirates did something to her or someone close to her. That was the common occurrence in the world, pirates raid a village and destroy the lives of many innocent people causing them to develop a sense of hatred towards all pirates. Luffy placed his hand on her shoulder before he spoke to her in a more comforting voice instead of his usual cold emotionless one.


    "You know not all pirates are bad like the ones you met," Luffy said causing her to look up at him with wide eyes.


    "How did you know I have met bad pirates!?" she asked/yelled. Luffy sighed and looked around before he spoke.


    "Let us not talk in the open like this. I am sure you don''t want Buggy''s pirates to find you," Luffy said as he started walking towards one of the abandoned houses. Zoro, who had remained silent throughout the whole ordeal followed his captain into the house and behind him, a very confused and angry Nami followed as well. The group entered the house that a family had abandoned in hope of getting away from Buggy. There were pictures on the wall of the family of four along with a well stock liquor cabinet to which Luffy decided to examine. While examining the cabinet Luffy''s eyes were as wide as dinner plates, Zoro noticed and decided to check on his captain.


    "You okay there, Captain?" Zoro asked. Luffy took a bottle out of the cabinet and showed it to Zoro before he spoke.


    "This is a bottle of Suntory Yamazaki 12-Year-Old Single Malt Whiskey!" Luffy said excitedly causing Zoro and Nami to roll their eyes at his behavior.


    "Yea so what? It''s just whiskey," Nami said earning a gasp from Luffy.


    "Just whiskey? JUST WHISKEY!?" Luffy yelled out startling Namir and Zoro. In the short time that Zoro knew Luffy, he rarely if ever saw Luffy express any emotion. So, to see him here right now without the impassive look on his face was something Zoro knew he wouldn''t see again for a while. "This bottle of whiskey cost 250,000 belies!" Luffy yelled out making both of their eyes widen at the price. Nami''s eyes turned into beli signs at the thought of selling that bottle. Luffy noticed the look in Nami''s eyes and immediately shouted at her. "Don''t you even think about it Nami!" he yelled knocking her out of her thought. Luffy then walked over to the dining room table, sat down and poured some of the whiskey into a glass. He looked over to Zoro to see him with a bottle of sake in his hands as he sat down next to Luffy and guessed that Zoro prefers sake instead of whiskey. Luffy then looked at Nami who didn''t sit down next to them opting to stand by the window and look out. Luffy took a sip of his drink and smiled at the taste. He was interrupted from his whiskey enjoyment by Nami''s voice.


    "So, are you going to tell me how you knew I met a bad pirate?" She asked. Before Luffy could answer her question she spoke once more again, "As far as I am concerned, all pirates are nothing more than sc.u.m. All they do is ruin the lives of innocent people and then leave happily," Nami said with a lot of anger and hate in her voice. Before she could speak again Luffy decided to say something.


    "I''m guessing the pirates you''ve met were the sc.u.m of the earth and they hurt you or someone close to you. I can understand why you hate pirates so much, but you shouldn''t judge all pirates based on your interaction with one," Luffy said as he looked at Nami from the corner of his eye. "It was ten years ago a group of pirates came to my hometown. At first we were all scared of them and thought they were going to raid the village and kill everyone but instead, they were nice guys who played with the kids and helped out around the village. They stayed there for about a two months and when they left they took me with them and taught me everything I know," Luffy said surprising both Nami and Zoro. Nami looked at Luffy with complete shock and jealousy written all over her face.


    ''why couldn''t pirates like them come to our village instead of that...monster!'' Nami thought to her self angrily. She was brought out of her thought by Luffy''s voice.


    "This straw hat was given to me by the captain of the pirate crew as a promise. A promise to meet each other again when I become King of the pirates!" Luffy said as he held the straw hat in his hand while smiling fondly at it, "I cherish this hat more than my own life. It''s my treasure," Luffy said as he places the straw hat back on his head and turned to Nami and spoke. "So Nami, join my crew and let''s turn this whole world upside down," Luffy said with a huge grin on his face. Nami saw his smile and couldn''t stop herself from smiling back at him.


    "I will never stoop so low as to become a pirate," Nami said causing Luffy to frown, "However," She continued making Luffy''s face brighten up once more in hope of her joining, "I don''t see why we can''t team up in order to achieve our common goal," Nami said making Luffy smile widely at her before he looked to Zoro and raised his glass.


    "Here is to our new navigator!" he said as him and Zoro drank what was left in their glasses. Luffy then stood up, took the expensive bottle of whiskey and placed it into his coat. Nami saw this and looked at him strangely, Luffy saw the way she was looking at him and spoke. "What? I''m a pirate," he said causing her to shake her head.


    "So, what is the order, Captain?" Zoro asked as he stood up with his captain. Luffy dropped the smile on his face and took on his emotionless look once again before he spoke.


    "Let''s see Buggy and kick his a.s.s," he said as he began to walk out of the house. Zoro smile at the chance of a fight while Nami looked absolutely terrified.


    "B-Buggy?" she asked in a scared voice. Luffy looked at her and spoke.


    "Yea, he is the reason we came here. I was going to ask him to join my crew, but after seeing what he has done here I am going to kick his a.s.s," Luffy said as they continued to walk towards where Buggy and his crew were staying. The group walked for about three minutes when they finally arrived in front of a drinking pup which Buggy and his crew seem to have occupied the roof of the place. Luffy looked up at the roof and yelled out, "BBUUGGGGYY!" The music that was playing on the roof stopped and Luffy could see the silhouette of a group of people walking towards the edge of the roof. Finally, the group came into view and Luffy and the crew saw Buggy standing in the center of the group. Buggy was a slim, yet muscular blue-haired man with an appearance resembling that of a clown, he had a big red nose on his face which Luffy learned from Shanks is his real nose. Buggy''s face was covered in makeup, he had crossbones going down his face forming an X; he also had two blue lines near both of his eyes, red lipstick and his jolly roger on his hat. In his pirate captain attire, he dons a striped white and red shirt with short sleeves, white gloves, a sash around his waist like many other pirates, and a pair of loose pants reaching to his calves, just above a pair of striped socks and pointy shoes. He also has a scarf around his neck. Hanging from his shoulders there is an orange, fur-lined captain''s coat. On his head, he has an orange hat with his jolly roger on it, over a neckerchief with the same pattern of his shirt.


    "Who is that shouting the name of the great Captain Buggy!?" Buggy asked as he stood on the edge of the building looking down at the group.


    "Wow, Shanks was right you do have a big red nose,"Luffy said pointing at Buggy''s nose. Everyone on Buggy''s crew started to sweat a bit and looked at Buggy with a fearful look in their eyes.


    "What did you say about my nose!?" Buggy yelled while pointing at Luffy, "And how dare you mention that bastards name in front of me!?" Buggy asked again even angrier than before.


    "I said you have a big..red..nose," Luffy said making Buggy sake with rage, "And as for Shanks, I''m his apprentice," Luffy said proudly. Buggy stopped for a second before he started chucking making Luffy raise his eyebrow.


    "Men! prepare the Buggy ball!" he yelled out to his men. His crew brought a cannon forward and aimed it at Luffy. Another crew member brought a red cannonball with Buggy''s jolly roger on it and placed it into the cannon. "Now Fire the Buggy ball!" he yelled causing one of his crew member to lite the fuse. Zoro then stepped forward and spoke.


    "I got this Captain," he said as he unsheathed one of his swords. As the cannon fired the Buggy ball was racing towards the group but was intercepted by Zoro who sliced it into two halves causing it to miss Luffy and Nami and hit the two buildings behind them. Buggy looked like he was about to throw a fit about his precious Buggy ball being so easily cut but Luffy spoke before he could.


    "You know Zoro, I would like to avoid doing any more damages to this town. So, how about you let me handle the Buggy balls from now on. Okay?" Luffy said as he stared at the houses destroyed by that one ball. Luffy then turned towards Buggy and spoke. "You know Buggy, you are not what I had expected. From what Rayleigh and Shanks told me about you I expected you to be some legendary pirate with a 500 million beli bounty on his head. But instead, here you are in the weakest sea of them all terrorizing innocent civilians. And to think you were once a crew member on Gol D. Roger''s crew," Luffy said in a disappointed tone while surprising everyone there from the members of Buggy''s crew to Zoro and Nami. Buggy took on a fearful look before yelling out at Luffy.


    "Hey! Be quiet about that! The Navy will execute me for sure if they find out about that!" Buggy said. Before Luffy could say anything Buggy''s crew shouted out in unison.


    "Captain! You were a member of The King of The Pirates ship!?" They all shouted out in unison making Buggy almost want to kill them. Luffy raised his eyebrow at their reaction before speaking.


    "Didn''t tell your own crew," Luffy said while walking forward, "You are a disgrace to call yourself a captain, Buggy," Luffy said as he stood next to Zoro. Buggy was beyond angry, Luffy could have sworn he saw steam come out of his ears. Buggy then turned towards his Crew and yelled out an order.


    "Fire another Buggy ball!" he yelled out making a member of his crew load another one of the special cannonballs into the cannon and fire it at Luffy. Zoro was about to act but Luffy put his hand up making him stop to see what Luffy was going to do. Zoro then saw Luffy''s forearm turn pitch black. Luffy then did something that made everyone present widen their eyes, he caught the cannonball with his b.a.r.e hand before tossing it into the air for it to explode. Buggy''s eyes were almost popping out of its sockets and his jaw was to the floor, but somehow he barely managed to stutter out something loud enough for everyone to hear.


    "H-haki!" he said causing Luffy to smirk before he replied.


    "Did I forget to mention I am from the New World?" Asked smugly as he looked at Buggy''s entire crew and sent a wave of Conquorer''s Haki knocking everyone out except for Buggy, a man on a unicycle and a man who was trying to wake the unconscious lion. Buggy stared at his men as they fell one by one foaming at the mouth.


    ''The conquerer''s spirit!'' Buggy thought to himself before turning towards the man on the unicycle and yelling out orders.


    "Cabaji! Kill them!" he yelled and the man now named Cabaji jumped off the roof with his unicycle and charged towards Luffy ''s group. Luffy turned toward Zoro and nodded. Zoro then ran forward to meet him with all three swords drawn. Luffy stood back and watched as Zoro and Cabaji fought. Luffy immediately picked up that Cabaji wasn''t a true swordsman instead, he is a trickster who uses a sword. As the fight was going on Luffy saw Buggy''s hand was flying towards Zoro and quickly turned his body into lightning, surprising Nami and Buggy, and teleported just about Buggy''s detached hand and stomped on it with his foot. He then looked up at Buggy and spoke in a voice that lacked any once of emotion.


    "If you want to fight someone I''ll happily fight you," Luffy said. Nami was watching the whole encounter with eyes the size of dinner plates. First Luffy catches a cannonball with his b.a.r.e hands, then he makes everyone pass out by just looking at them, then Buggy''s hand detach from his body and now Luffy turned his body into lighting.


    ''These people aren''t human'' She thought to herself before yelling out to the group.


    "What are you people!?" he yelled making Buggy and Luffy look at her. Luffy was the first to speak.


    "I ate the Rumble-Rumble fruit. So, I''m a lightning man" Luffy said surprising both Buggy and her. Buggy then cleared his throat and spoke.


    "I ate the Chop-Chop fruit. I''m a Chop-Chop man!" Buggy said proudly. Nami never thought devil fruits were real, she always thought they were just stories that the pirates told. Luffy seeing Nami''s stressed-out look and decided to have her think about something else.


    "Hey, Nami," Luffy said getting her attention, "Why don''t you handle the guy trying to wake up his lion. Seeing as how badly he wants that lion to wake up tell me the lion probably does more of the fighting than him so it should be easy. Plus he is not paying attention so sneak up on him or something," Luffy said knocking her out of her worrying only to have her yell at him.


    "And why should I do that?" she said. Luffy smile at her before speaking.


    "Because, If you do I will let you keep all the treasure we take from Buggy," Luffy said making Nami''s eyes turn into the beli sign before running off to the guy with the lion. Luffy then looked over at Zoro to see he had already beat his opponent and was now sitting against one of the buildings watching Luffy and Buggy. "Help her if she needs it," he said earning a nod from Zoro. Luffy then turned towards Buggy and unsheathed his sword allowing Zoro to see it for the first time. It was a pitch black katana with a think line of sliver showing the sharpness of the blade. The katana looked like it could cut through gold like a hot knife through butter. Buggy saw the Katana and smirked.


    ''The fool, didn''t he hear me say I am a chop-chop man? swords don''t work on me'' he thought as he watched Luffy raise his foot releasing his hand from under it before he turned his body into lighting and appeared in front of Buggy with his sword in the air. Instead of dodging the attack, Buggy stood there unmoving. Luffy noticed this and changed his swing to only nick Buggy''s cheek. When Buggy felt blood running down his face he immediately felt it making sure he was cut and not just feeling things, he then looked at Luffy with a fearful look and spoke.


    "H-how?" he asked. Luffy smile and spoke.


    "Because I am a lightning man I control lighting. There isn''t a metal out there that can withstand my lightning and not melt. Well, there is only two," Luffy said surprising Buggy and Zoro, "Gold which my sword is obviously not made from and..." Luffy then took on a smirk on his face before continuing, "Sea-Prism Stone" Luffy said making Buggy''s eyes widen. Luffy then touched the tip of the sword to Buggy''s c.h.e.s.t causing him to drop to the ground feeling as though all the energy in his body just left him. Luffy then channeled his lighting through his sword causing it to light up with electric blue sparks before he spoke.


    "Bind!" he said causing three bolts of lighting to sprout from the tip of his sword and wrap its self around Buggy holding him in place. He then walked over to Cabaji and did the same thing to him and the man who Nami fought. Luffy then looked over to Buggy who was struggling to get free of the binds and spoke.


    "Don''t try," he said getting Buggy''s attention, "Those lighting are infused with haki effectively neutralizing your devil fruit power," Luffy said making Buggy''s eyes widen in shock. He was about to scream but Luffy spoke before he could. "You see I have an ability that other logia users don''t. I can infuse haki into my element without having it being connected to me," Luffy said confusing Buggy. Luffy saw the confusion and decided to elaborate. "For example, Navy Admiral Aokiji is an Ice logia user and he can infuse haki into his ice, but he has to be touching his ice to do that and the second he lets go of the ice the haki is gone from the ice as well. Me on the other hand, when I let go of my lighting my haki is still there," Luffy said surprising everyone there. Luffy then turned to his crew and spoke "We are going to cash in their bounty then head to Gecko Island," Luffy said earning a raised eyebrow from Zoro.


    "Why are w going there?" he asked. Luffy smiled and spoke.


    "To pick up our sniper," he said.


    *CHAPTER END*

 Chapter 5 - 5: A Liar and A Ship!

    Luffy, Zoro, and Nami are currently traveling on Luffy''s thunder-cloud towards Gecko Islands after cashing in the bounty on Buggy and his crew. Luffy had then split up the bounty between the three of them, with Zoro getting 8 million for defeating Cabaji, Nami getting another 8 million for defeating a man who Luffy learned was Mohji the Beast Tamer, and Luffy got 15 million for defeating Buggy. Luffy had allowed Nami to keep half of the treasure she had found on Buggy''s ship while Liffy made her leave the other half behind for the townspeople. The group was about two miles off the Northern Shore of the island and were traveling at about 40mph. Soon as the island came into view Zoro turned towards Luffy, who was sitting on his throne and spoke.


    "So remind me again why are we going to this island," Zoro said getting both Nami and Luffy''s attention. Luffy looked at him and sighed before replying.


    "Like I told you earlier, we are going to the island to hopefully pick up a sniper," Luffy said. Nami then looked at him with a raised eyebrow before she spoke.


    "Hopefully?" she asked. Luffy then nodded his head before speaking.


    "I don''t know if he is going to want to join. Hell, I am just hoping he is a sniper like his dad and want to be a pirate," Luffy said before he pulled out a glass and poured some whiskey in it and took a sip before he began to speak again. "And we are going to try to get a ship on that Island as well," Luffy said causing Zoro to nod his head and trusting his captain, while Nami took on a disappointed look on her face. She then looked at Luffy and spoke.


    "Why o we need a ship?" she asked she ran her hands on the surface of the cloud, "I mean this cloud is way better," she said. Luffy looked at her with an impassive look on his face before he spoke in a monotone voice.


    "You may feel it is way better because you aren''t the one who is keeping it together and flying it," Luffy said. Nami didn''t say anything else, she just turned and faced forward. After traveling for a few more minutes before they arrived on the shores of Gecko Island. As they stepped on to the shore Luffy sensed four individuals hiding on the cliff above them. "Be careful, we are being watched," he said getting their attention. Zoro placed his hand on his swords while Nami placed her hand to her side getting ready to pull out the staff she had folded and strapped to the inside of her t.h.i.g.h. The suddenly Luffy sensed an incoming attack and immediately pushed Namia and Zoro out of way allowing the attack to simply pass right through him. Luffy then looked up to see a teenager standing at the top of the slope with his arms cross.


    "I am Usopp, leader of the invincible nation of pirates who rule over this island. You stand before a living legend, the most revered pirate who ever lived. I am the great Captain Usopp!" the teenage boy said causing Zoro and Nami to sweatdrop at his introduction while Luffy smile at his antics. Usopp was a slim tan-skinned teenager with medium-length black woolly hair, prominent lips, and a long nose. He wore an olive green plaid bandanna, a blue and white striped armband on his left arm, brown overalls with a white sash and no shirt underneath. He also carried with him a yellow satchel.


    "If you dare try to attack this island my arm of 8 million super pirates will squash you like bugs!" Usopp said. As he said that a bunch of pirate flags tied to sticks began to rise from the bushes on the cliff surrounding the shore. Luffy raised an eyebrow at this before he spoke.


    "Don''t you mean three little kids?" Luffy asked. The moment Luffy asked the question Usopp began to shake in his boots with sweat pouring down his face. From the bushes that the pirate flags were raised from, three little kids ran out screaming. Usopp turned to the running away kids and scream.


    "Hey! Where are you going!?" he asked/ yelled. Luffy couldn''t stop himself from chuckling.


    "Some crew you got there Captain Usopp," Luffy said mockingly. At the corner of his eye, he saw Nami bent down and picked something up before she spoke.


    "A pirate using a slingshot huh? Now I have seen it all," she said. Usopp got angry when she made fun of him using a slingshot. He reached into his pouch and pulled out a green slingshot before aiming it at Luffy.


    "Shut your mouth, or I''ll shut it for you. I am a proud man and I won''t stand for it. This is your last warning or you''ll get to see why they call me proud Ussop and not push over Usopp," he said as he pulled back on the slingshot and aimed at Luffy''s head. "You''ve already seen just how good I am with this thing. So, you know I can rival anyone carrying a pistol," he said. Luffy looked at him while placing his hand on his hat and tilting his head down a bit causing the hat to cast a shadow over his eyes before he spoke in a chilling tone.


    "Now that you''ve drawn your pistol, are you willing to use it?" Luffy asked causing Usopp to sweat a bit. "Guns aren''t for threats, they''re for actions. Are you willing to risk your life for it? Because..." Luffy paused before pulling out his own pistol and aiming it at Usopp before continuing, "...I sure as hell am," he finished causing Usopp to shake in his boots. However, even though he was absolutely terrified, he did not drop his slingshot, he kept it aimed at Luffy. Luffy smirked before sending a small amount of lightning into the gun so he wouldn''t kill Usopp and pulled the trigger. Faster than anyone could track a bolt of lighting left the gun and traveled through the air before flying straight through Usopp''s slingshot and collided with the pellet he had loaded in there effectively destroying it. Everyone could only stare at the crumbling pellet with their jaw on the floor. Usopp dropped to his knee and looked at Luffy in awe. Luffy chuckled before he spoke once more, "Nice shot huh?" he asked making Usopp nod dumbly. "Yea, your dad thought me how to do that," he said making Usopp''s eyes go wide before he tumbled down the cliff causing Luffy and everyone else to sweatdrop.


    "You know my dad?" Usopp asked as he got back up and dusted himself off. Luffy placed his gun back in its holster before he spoke.


    "Why don''t we go get something to eat and we can talk there," Luffy said. Usopp nodded his head before leading Luffy and his crew towards a restaurant/bar called Meshi. When they got to the bar everyone ordered food and sat down to eat while they listened to Luffy tell Ussop stories about sailing with his dad. To say Usopp was amazed at the fact that his dad was the sniper for a Yonko''s crew would be an understatement. Luffy looked at Usopp and can see that he was proud of his dad being a pirate. After they finished eating Luffy was about to ask Usopp about buying a ship, but before he could speak Usopp stood up puffed out his c.h.e.s.t before he began to speak.


    "It is decided!" he said at the top of his voice, "One day I too will travel the seas like my father and become a brave warrior!" Usopp said with a determined look on his face. Luffy chuckled before he spoke to him.


    "Well what a coincidence, I happen to be in search of a sniper for my crew. In fact, it is one of the reasons I came here," Luffy said getting Usopp''s attention. "Your dad said you would make a good addition to my crew if you ever wanted to become a pirate. So, how about it? Do you want to join my crew and let''s turn this whole world upside down?" Luffy asked with a smirk on his face. Usopp looked scared and nervous at the thought of joining a pirate crew. He fidgeted around for a bit before he finally replied to Luffy.


    "Umm, can I think about for a while?" He asked softly. Luffy just nodded his head yes. Ussop was about to leave but Luffy''s voice stopped him.


    "Hey Usopp," Luffy said getting his attention, "Do you know where we could purchase a ship?" Luffy asked. Usopp placed his index finger to his chin and began to think for a minute before he replied to Luffy.


    "There isn''t any shipyard on this island, however, if you want to buy a ship your best bet is to check the mansion up on that hill," He said while pointing out the window at the lone mansion on the hill. When Nami heard mansion her eyes immediately changed into Beli signs at the thought of the money that was in the mansion. She looked at Usopp and asked him a question.


    "Who lives in the mansion?" she asked. Usopp smiled brightly at her before replying to her.


    "An orphan girl named Kaya, her parents died three years ago and she has been in a depression since then," Usopp said making Nami looked down sadly, "I have been visiting her every day trying to cheer her up ever since her parents died and I am headed over there right now so if you want you can come along and I''ll introduce you," Usopp said. Luffy smile and replied.


    "That sounds great Usopp," Luffy said as he and his crew stood up and followed Usopp out the restaurant. After walking up the hill four about five minutes the group arrived at the mansion where Usopp lead them around the side to the hedges and removed a piece of the hedge creating a hole big enough for someone to crawl through. Nami looked at Usopp and spoke.


    "Why do I get the feeling that you are not welcomed here, Usopp," she said making Usopp chuckle nervously before replying.


    "Well you see, the butler here doesn''t really like me. So, I have to sneak in to talk to Kaya," he said. Luffy and Zoro couldn''t stop themselves from bursting out laughing making Usopp blush in embarrassment. After Luffy and Zoro calmed down the group went through the hole in the hedge one by one and entered the yard. The group stood under a rather large tree at the side of the house. Usopp bent down and picked up a pebble and then proceeded to climb the tree. He threw the pebble at one of the windows of the house and suddenly it opened and a brightly smiling girl stuck her head out and spoke to Usoop.


    "Usopp, you came?" she said happily. Usopp smiled back before replying.


    "Of, course I came, and I brought some friends who came here to join the Usopp Pirates and meet you," Usopp said pointing to Luffy and his crew standing at the bottom of the tree. "Kaya, this is Luffy, Nami, and Zoro," he said while pointing at each of them as he spoke. "And guys, this is Kaya," When he said that Luffy and his crew waved at her making her smile and wave back. Kaya was a slim and pale-skinned girl with blonde hair. She had wide brown eyes, that are of a sort of lighter shade and she wore a pale long dress. Kaya looked at Luffy and spoke with a warm smile on her face.


    "It is nice to meet you all," she said. Luffy smiled at her and spoke in a kind voice that his crew had never heard him use in the short time they knew him.


    "It is a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to meet you as well, Miss Kaya. However, this is more of a business meeting more than a social one," Luffy said making Kaya raise an eyebrow before replying.


    "And what business do you have with me exactly?" she asked. Luffy took a step closer to the house before he spoke again.


    "It was brought to our attention that we would be able to purchase a ship from you," Luffy said while looking up at Kaya. Kaya took on a thoughtful look for a second before turning around in her room and began shouting someone''s name.


    "Merry!" she shouted, "Could you come here for a second." Ten seconds after she yelled out, Luffy heard someone opened the door to her room. Luffy watched as a strange looking man came and stood next to Kaya and spoke.


    "You called Miss Kaya?" he said while looking at Kaya not noticing everyone else who was outside. Kaya smiled at him before she replied.


    "Yes, I did. I would like you to meet a friend of Usopp," she said before pointing outside at Luffy and the gang. "This is Luffy and his friends. He is interested in buying a ship. Can you take him to the docks and show him our ship?" she asked making Merry looked at the group a bit skeptical a first before nodding. Merry then exited the room and headed to the outside where Luffy and his crew were to lead them to the docks. Merry arrived outside with the group and spoke to them.


    "If you all would follow me I will take you to the ship," he said. Luffy turned towards Nami and Zoro and spoke.


    "Why don''t you guys stay here and keep Kaya company with Usopp while I go check out the ship," he said. Zoro nodded trusting his captain while Nami also nodded her head because she thought it was boring to pick out a ship. Luffy then looked over to Merry and nodded his head slightly telling him to lead the way. Merry then lead Luffy towards the back of the mansion where they had their own personal docks for their use only. It was at the docks Luffy saw a beautiful ship docked, Luffy looked over to Merry and saw him with a proud smile on his face as he looked at the ship. As they got closer Merry turned to Luffy and spoke.


    "This is The Going Merry," he said pointing at the ship. "It is a ship I built all by myself," he said proudly. Luffy turned and looked at the ship examining it every inch. The Going Merry was a caravel class ship designed by Merry and had a jib and a central steer rudder. The ship''s armaments consisted of four cannons, one in the bow pointing forward, one in the stern, and two pointing to either side and to top everything off, and the figurehead of the ship was a sheep''s head. After examing the ship Luffy came and stood next to Merry once more and spoke.


    "It''s a beautiful ship," he said while looking at Merry, "how much for it?" he asked. Merry took on a thoughtful look for a few seconds before he replied.


    "80 million," he said surprising Luffy at how cheap it was. "We don''t really get to take her out that much anymore and she is only sitting here collecting dust. So, if you were wondering why she is that cheap, that''s why," Merry said causing Luffy to nod his head.


    "I understand," he said before he walked up to the ship and placed his hand on it before he spoke. "However, I plan on going into the Grand Line, and a ship like this won''t survive the Grand Line as it is right now," Luffy said making Merry nod his head in an understanding way. Merry was about to speak but Luffy spoke before he got a chance to. "I will pay 100 million for the ship if you can make a few upgrades to it," Luffy said surprising Merry.


    "And what sort of upgrades do you have in mind?" Merry asked. Luffy looked over at him and spoke.


    "I noticed that the ship doesn''t have a captain''s quarters, I would like one to be added in," Luffy said to which Merry nodded his head. "Also, the current cannons on the ship are of an older model, I would like for them to be replaced with new models. I would also like for the rudder to be replaced. Currently, as it is would snap against a strong current," Luffy said. Merry made note of everything he asked for before he spoke.


    "I will also check the wood on the ship to see if any needs replacing. This won''t make her survive the Grand Line, however, it should extend her lifespan a bit longer allowing you to find a stronger ship," Merry said. Luffy nodded his head before he spoke again.


    "And how long will all these upgrades take?" he asked. Merry brought his finger to his chin and thought for a moment before he replied.


    "About two weeks or so. I will have the builders start on it right away," He said making Luffy smile at him before he replied.


    "I would really appreciate that, thank you," Luffy said before the two of them made their way back to the mansion to meet up with the rest of the crew. As the crew came into view Luffy and Merry saw that some sort of commotion was going on between Usopp and a rather well-dressed man who Luffy take to be the butler that didn''t like Usopp. Luffy looked at Merry as they were walking there and spoke in an amused voice, "I take it that is the butler that Usopp said didn''t like him?" he asked causing Merry to chuckle before replying.


    "Yes, that is Klahadore," he said. As they got closer they were able to hear Klahadore insult Usopp and his dad Yasopp causing Luffy''s smile to immediately vanish from his face. Luffy saw Usopp was really close to hitting the guy and decided to let his presence be known by speaking.


    "You know, some might think you have a death wish for insulting a member of a Yonko''s crew," Luffy said as he and Merry got closer. Klahadore and Kaya turned at looked at him with wide eyes. Klahadore quickly regained his composure and spoke to Luffy.


    "I do not know what you are talking about. I did no such thing," he said while staring at Luffy. Luffy walked up to him and stared at him in the eyes and spoke once more.


    "Usopp''s father is the sniper and left hand to Red-Haired Shanks," Luffy said surprising everyone there including Usopp. Usopp knew his father was on Shanks'' crew, but he had never thought his father would be Shanks'' third in command. Usopp was interrupted from his thought when Luffy spoke once more. "So let''s be honest here, do you really want to piss a Yonko off, BUTLER?" Luffy said putting emphasis on the butler part. Luffy could easily see in Klahadore''s eyes that he was scared even though he kept his face stoic and emotionless.


    "So what?" the butler said surprising Luffy. "Even if he is the son of a member of a Yonko''s crew, I highly doubt that a Yonko from the Grand Line will come all the way here to the East Blue for something like this," Klahadore said smugly. Luffy then gave a chuckle that sent shivers down the spine of the butler before he spoke.


    "Why would Shanks need to come when I''m already here," Luffy said before pulling his coat back and lifting up the left side his red-shirt giving everyone there a look of his well-toned eight-pack abs. However, the thing that caught everyone''s eyes wasn''t his abs, but the tattoo that was on the left side of his abdomen. When Klahadore saw it he immediately began to sweat. On the side of Luffy''s abdomen was a tattoo of a Jolly Roger, but not just any Jolly Roger, the Jolly Roger of the Red-Haired Pirates.


    "T-that''s..." Klahadore stammered as he pointed at Luffy''s tattoo. Luffy smirked before he spoke.


    "The Jolly Roger of the Red-Haired Pirates, yes," Luffy said before he pulled his shirt back down and looked over to his crew to see Zoro had a smirk on his face at the thought of how strong his captain was while Nami had a slight blush on her face as she remembered Luffy''s abs. Luffy turned back to Klahadore and spoke once more. "You see, Shanks is practically my adopted father because he and his crew raised me for the past ten years, and eventually I became part of the crew as well, hence the tattoo," Luffy said before he turned to Kaya and spoke. "I will take the ship, Miss Kaya. I already spoke to Merry on some things I want to be done on it and we already agreed to a price. I am sure Merry will fill you in on everything," Luffy said as he turned to leave with his crew and Usopp. As Luffy was walking away he turned and looked at Klahadore and spoke in a deadly tone, "If I ever hear you insult one of the Red-Haired pirates again I will kill you myself, Butler" Luffy said before walking away with his crew. After leaving Kaya''s mansion, the group was currently walking down the hill to head back to the village. While walking Zoro noticed that Luffy was in deep thought and decided to ask his captain what was wrong.


    "You okay there Captain?" he asked knocking Luffy out of his deep thought. Luffy shook his head slightly before turning to Zoro and spoke.


    "Huh?" was all he said showing that he wasn''t paying attention to what was going on. Zoro raised his eyebrow and spoke again.


    "I asked if you''re okay. You look a bit distracted," he said making Luffy nod his head before he replied.


    "Yea I am. There is something about that butler that is familiar, but for the life of me I can''t figure out what is it about him that''s so familiar," he said in a frustrated voice. Zoro then began to think and try to help his captain figure out what was familiar about the butler, but he came up empty as well. Nami who was looking at the two of them sighed and spoke to them.


    "Maybe you are thinking too much into it," she said getting their attention. "Why don''t we check into one of the local Inns and get some rest. Maybe that will help you figure it out," She said making Luffy nodded his head in agreement. Usopp took the three of them to a local Inn and Luffy check everyone in and ordered dinner for the three of them and Usoop before they all went to sleep for the night.


    ''Maybe a good night''s rest will help me figure out why he is so familiar,'' Luffy thought before he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

 Chapter 6 - 6: A Foiled Plan!

    After a good night''s rest, Luffy was the first one up at around 5:00 am and decided to go for a stroll through the village. Luffy walked for a while before ending up on one of the cliffs surrounding the southern shores of the island. He spotted a nice tree and sat down at the base of the tree and stared up at the sky while enjoying the peace and quiet. Luffy''s peace and quiet was interrupted by two voices coming down on the shores of the beach. Wanting to see who it is, he got up on all fours and crawled to the edge carefully to make sure he wasn''t seen or heard by whoever was down there. When Luffy reached the edge, he peeked over to see who it was, only to see Klahadore talking to a strangely dressed man.


    "Is everything set Jango?" Klahadore asked the man. Jango took a seat on one of the nearby rocks before he replied to Klahadore.


    "Rest assured, everything will go accordingly to plan...Captain Kuro," Jango said causing Luffy to smile in satisfaction having finally figured out why that Butler seemed so familiar.


    ''So, that''s why you''re familiar,'' Luffy thought as he watched the two men. ''Captain Kuro-of-1000-plans... looks like I''ll have some entertainment while we wait for the ship,'' Luffy thought to himself. He was brought out of his thought when Kuro shouted at Jango.


    "Don''t call me that idiot!" Kuro screamed, "I gave up that name a long time ago," he said as he readjusted his glasses. Jango sighed before he stood up and spoke to Kuro.


    "Fine, Fine. Just hurry up and give the signal so we can kill this rich girl and inherit her money," Jango said nonchalantly. Luffy could have sworn he saw steam come out of Kuro''s ears when Jango said that.


    "You idiot, I can''t get her inheritance because I am not related to her!" Kuro said before he adjusted his glasses once more. "Miss Kaya need to perish in an unfortunate accident but before she perishes in an unfortunate ''accident,'' I need you to hypnotize her and make her create a will leaving all of her fortunes to her butler, Klahadore," Kuro said with a pompous smirk on his face. Jango sighed and sat down on one of the nearby rocks before he spoke again.


    "Right, right," he said with a sigh. "Just hurry up and give the signal, the boys are getting bored," he said with a sadistic smirk on his face. Kuro looked at him for a while before he spoke again.


    "There is something that has come up which may be a hindrance to our plan," Kuro said making Jango look at him with a raised eyebrow. "There is a boy currently in the village who wears a straw hat, I want you to avoid him and his crew at all cost," Kuro said surprising Jango even more.


    "Why?" was all he asked. Kuro looked at him with a serious look on his face before he replied.


    "He has ties to one of the four emperors," Kuro said making Jango''s eyes widen. "I doubt he will get involved after all he is a pirate. However, if he does I will deal with him," Kuro said before he turned to leave. Jango stood up and turned to leave as well but spoke one last time before he left.


    "Right, I''ll have the boys on the North shore at daybreak to storm the village," he said before he walked off. Kuro didn''t reply to what he said, he simply walked off as well. Luffy got up from his position on the ground and started to head back to the village to tell the crew about what he had heard. After walking for a few minutes, he arrived at the Inn and saw that everyone was up and Usopp was there already. Luffy then proceeded to tell them what he had heard making Usopp dash out of the Inn to warn Kaya. Luffy looked at him and shook his head before speaking to the rest of the crew.


    "Well, he is about to get his heart broken," Luffy said before he took out a glass and poured himself some whiskey. Nami looked confused at what he meant.


    "What do you mean?" she asked with a confused look all over her face. Luffy took a sip of his whiskey before he answered her.


    "Usopp is famous around the village for being a liar. He is about to go tell Kaya the man who her parents left in charge of taking care of her is a pirate," Luffy said before he took another sip of his drink and spoke again. "Would you believe him if you were Kaya?" he asked. Nami looked thoughtful for a moment before she shook her head saying no. Zoro took a seat opposite his captain and spoke in a serious voice.


    "So, what are you going to do, Captain," Zoro asked. Luffy downed his drink before he answered in a cold and deadly voice that sent chills down the spine of both his crewmates.


    "I owe a debt of gratitude to Shanks and his crew that I can never repay. So, I''ll be damned if I let a small-time pirate from the East Blue run amuck on the island that Yassop''s wife is buried," Luffy said causing Zoro and smirk while Nami had fear written all over her face. The crew had spent the rest of the day planning with Usopp who had returned heartbroken as Luffy had predicted. The day had arrived, and the entire crew got up around an hour before daybreak and headed to the North shore to wait for the pirates. The group stood in a line across to the top of the slope leading up from the shore. Luffy stood there looking bored while Nami and Usopp looked scared and Zoro looked excited. Finally, the Black Cat Pirates ship docked on the shore and a large group of pirates came off the ship and started running towards the village but stopped when they saw Luffy and his crew standing at the top of the slope. One of the pirates turned to a man who Luffy recognized to be Jango and spoke.


    "Captain, there is a bunch of kids here!" he said causing Jango to look up the slope. He looked at everyone at the top of the slope and when his eyes landed on Luffy''s straw hat he immediately grew pale and started sweating. He pointed to Luffy and spoke with a stutter.


    "T-that B-boy!" he said making everyone look at Luffy. "Captain Kuro said we should avoid facing him, but if we don''t get by him we will have to deal with Captain Kuro himself," he said in a scared voice before he cleared his throat and screamed out an order to his men, "Men! Kill them before the Captain gets angry!" he yelled causing all of the pirates to charge at the group. Luffy looked at Zoro and nodded causing him unsheathed his swords and charge at the group. Zoro started cutting down pirates left, right, and center. Usopp looked at Zoro with stars in his eyes while whispering something about being ''so cool''. Jango saw his men were dropping like flies and turned to his ship and screamed out.


    "Sham! Buchi! Get out here now!" he screamed, and two other pirates came out of the ship. Jango then ordered them to attack Zoro causing the two of them to look at Zoro in fear. The two of them reluctantly attacked Zoro while saying how scared they were until their entire demeanor changed into a more confident one showing that they were only acting scared. Luffy watched as Zoro got two of his swords taken away from him causing him to go on the defensive. Luffy then Looked at Nami and Usopp and spoke.


    "Nami, Usopp," he said getting their attention. "Go get Zoro back his swords, or else he won''t win," he said making them look at him in fear. Nami was about to protest but the look she got from Luffy caused her to swallow her words. Luffy watched as Nami and Usopp ran down the hill towards Zoro''s swords laying on the ground. Just as they were about to reach the swords they were intercepted by Jango holding some sort of metal ring tied to a string. Jango then tried to hypnotize Nami and Usopp only to have Nami use her staff to flick Zoro''s swords towards him before she and Usopp began fighting Jango. Luffy then turned his attention away from Nami and Usopp to Zoro. Luffy saw Zoro caught both of his swords before he started to go on the offensive, however, he was still struggling against the amazing tag team of Sham and Buchi. Luffy then saw Buchi was about to attack Zoro from behind while he was too busy fighting off Sham. He turned his body into lightning and teleported behind Buchi getting his attention. Luffy then coated his right palm in lighting and backhanded him across the face sending him flying down the slope, crashing into their ship''s figurehead before continuing his path through the ship''s cabin.


    "It is rude to attack a swordsman from behind," Luffy said before he looked back up the slope to see a very pissed off Kuro standing there causing Luffy to smirk.


    "What the hell is going on here!" Kuro yelled causing everyone t stop fighting and look at him. The Black Cat Pirates looked scared out of their minds at the sight of Kuro. Jango looked like he was about to wet himself.


    "C-captain K-Kuro, these kids are monsters!" he stuttered out making Kuro looked at everyone there with a pissed off look on his face. When his eyes landed on a smiling Luffy all he could do was stare at him with a look of pure hatred before he reached into the bag he was carrying and pulled out a pair of furred gloves with full-length katana blades at the end of each finger. Luffy saw this and looked at Zoro and spoke.


    "Finish up your fight Zoro and get off this slope," he said. Kuro looked at Jango and spoke in a deadly tone.


    "You have five minutes to clean up this mess Jango," he said as he started to put the gloves on, "or else I''ll kill you," Luffy went down the slope to help Nami take care of Jango quickly while leaving Zoro to finish off Sham. When Luffy reached the bottom Jango didn''t know who he should be more scared of, Kuro or the man who just slapped one of his crewmates through an entire Gallion. As Luffy got closer, Jango immediately tried to hypnotize him but before he could react Luffy was already behind up with his index finger pressed against the back of his neck. Before he could do anything, he felt an electrical shock at the base of his neck causing him to pass out. Luffy then looked at Nami and spoke.


    "Why don''t you go clean em out, Nami," He said causing her to smile widely before rushing off to the ship with Usopp to steal their treasure. Luffy then looked up the slope to see Zoro and just finish defeating his opponent and was walking towards Luffy. Kuro looked beyond pissed, he couldn''t fathom how a group of kids had caused all of his plans to crumble this much. Three years of planning had all gone down the drain thanks to these kids. He looked at Luffy and his crew with a murderous look in his eyes before he took off towards them. He was moving too fast for Zoro to track but Luffy could see his every move. Luffy then took off after Kuro at speeds far greater than his and intercepted him in the middle of the slope with his fist buried in Kuro''s stomach causing him to fall over on all fours gasping for air.


    "Why?" Kuro asked from his position on the ground making Luffy look at him with a raised eyebrow, "Why are you getting involved?" he asked. Luffy chuckled and spoke in a deadly tone.


    "I''m bored. So, I''ll kill time by killing you," he said pissing Kuro off even more. Kuro then shot up and slashed at Luffy''s head but was surprised when Luffy made attempt to dodge. His eyes widened even further when his cat claws cut Luffy''s head clean off, but instead of blood, all he saw was electric blue sparks of lighting from Luffy''s neck and his separated head. Then suddenly Luffy''s separated head turned into a bolt of lightning and reattached itself to Luffy''s body. Usopp, Zoro, Nami ad Kuro had their jaws on the floor at what they just saw. Luffy just stared at Kuro with an impassive look on his face before he spoke once more in a bored tone, "Is that it?" he asked.


    "J-just what are you?" asked a bewildered Kuro. Luffy chuckled a bit before he replied.


    "A Demon," he said before he punched Kuro square of the face sending him tumbling 15ft back before finally coming to a stop. After about five minutes Kuro shakily stood up to his feet and looked at Luffy before he spoke.


    "My plan... My plan... My plan cannot fail!" he screamed out at Luffy causing everyone there to look at him as though he was crazy.


    "I think I hit him a bit too hard," Luffy joked angering Kuro further.


    "I will kill you Straw Hat! You, and your band of misfits! Then I''ll make Kaya sign over all of her fortunes to me before I kill Her!" Kuro screamed not noticing a teary-eyed Kaya behind him. Luffy chuckled menacingly before he spoke.


    "Before you do all of that, I have a question for you," Luffy said puzzling Kuro and everyone there. "Have you ever been kicked at the speed of lightning?" Luffy asked puzzling Kuro at first before his eyes widen when Luffy appeared crouched in front of him. Luffy then kicked him from his crouched position right under his chin sending him flying 50 ft into the air. Luffy then turned his body into lightning and teleported to the left side of Kuro with his left foot from the knee down covered in lightning. Luffy then spun his body to the right and delivered a lightning speed kick of Kuro''s midsection sending him flying towards the ground at lightning speed causing Kuro to break the sound barrier before he impacted the ground. The moment Kuro''s body impacted the ground, it created a crater 10ft wide with his broken body lying in the center. When Luffy landed back on the ground he placed his hands in his pockets and investigated the crater and cringed slightly at the sight of Kuro. Kuro had four of his ribs sticking out of his c.h.e.s.t, his neck of clearly broken, and his right foot was facing the wrong way. One thing was clear, the oh so great Captain Kuro was dead.


    "He did all that with just one kick?" came the frightened voice of one of Black Cat Pirates getting Luffy''s attention. Luffy turned to see some of the Black Cat Pirates were starting to wake up making him realize that Zoro didn''t kill them.


    "I highly suggest you take that weird guy with the rings and get the f.u.c.k off this island before I slaughter all of you!" Luffy said making all of them scatter to pick up their fallen comrades before hopping on their ship and sailing away scared. Luffy then walked over to Kaya and spoke to her with a smile, "Miss Kaya, how about I treat you to breakfast?" he asked making her look away from Kuro''s dead body, "You''ve had a pretty rough start to your day. So, what do you say?" Kaya looked at Luffy teary-eyed and nodded before she spoke.


    "But, what about Klaha...I mean Kuro''s body?" she asked. Luffy smiled before he looked up into the sky making Kaya and the rest of his crew look up as well. They all say a small thundercloud began to descend from the sky over Kuro''s body and swallowed the corpse up before returning into the sky.


    "What body?" Luffy asked making Kaya smile. He then turned to his crew and spoke. "Well, are you three going to stand there all day because I am hungry?!" he asked rhetorically making them run towards him and Kaya before all of them walked back into the village.


    *Timeskip: 5 days later*


    Luffy and the crew were currently standing on the Southern shore of the Island staring at their ship. The Going Merry her cannons upgraded, the figurehead was repainted and a lot of the wood on the ship was replaced making her a bit stronger than how she was previously. Luffy and his crew were in the middle of saying their goodbyes to Kaya and Merry when they heard someone scream behind them. They all looked up the hill to see Usopp carrying a big bag tumbling down the hill.


    "Someone please stop me!" he screamed. Luffy and Zoro walked forward and stuck out their foot planting it right on Usopp''s face effectively stopping him. "Thanks," Usopp said as he fell face first on the ground.


    "Don''t mention it," replied Luffy and Zoro. Usopp then dusted himself off and told Kaya he was setting out to sea like his father to become a brave warrior. Luffy chuckled as he and Zoro boarded the ship. When Luffy got on he leaned over the railing and spoke to Usopp.


    "So Usopp, are you going to join my crew?" he asked. Usopp looked up at him and placed his finger on his chin and before thinking for a while before he replied.


    "I will happily join your crew as you Captain!" he proclaimed proudly making Kaya giggle at his antics.


    "Try again," said Luffy in a deadpan voice.


    "As your vice-captain then!" he proclaimed once more.


    "That''s Zoro, however, I do need a sniper," Luffy said. Usopp smiled before he shouted out to the heavens.


    "Yosh! I will be the head sniper!" Usopp shouted making everyone sweat drop.


    "Just hurry up and get on," Luffy said. Usopp got on board and placed his things away. Luffy then summoned the cloud that they were using for traveling and which also had all their stuff. when the thundercloud arrived Luffy had Zoro and Usopp place the food and liquor in storage while he gave Nami her treasure. Luffy then dissipated the cloud and a medium size c.h.e.s.t fell out getting everyone''s attention.


    "What''s in the c.h.e.s.t Luffy?" asked Nami. Luffy walked over to the c.h.e.s.t picked it up before he replied to her.


    "Nothing you need to worry about," said a very serious Luffy before he took it into the Captain quarters of the ship and locked the door. Zoro and Usopp shrugged their shoulders not really caring about what''s inside. Nami however, stared at the closed door of Luffy''s quarters what a determined look on her face.


    ''Whatever is inside that c.h.e.s.t must be very valuable. I will have it.'' she thought.


    *Chapter End*

 Chapter 7 - 7: Finding A Cook!

    Luffy and his crew were currently sailing on the Going Merry towards a floating restaurant that Luffy had heard of. It is rumored to have fighting chefs and in Luffy''s mind, that is exactly what he needed. Luffy was currently sitting at the back of the ship on a throne he had made from a thundercloud. He was sitting there with a glass of whiskey in his had watching all his crew members do their own thing. Zoro was training, Usopp was standing not too far from Luffy getting one f the cannons ready for a test, and Nami was laying on a lawn chair behind Luffy reading a book on navigation. Luffy looked up on the main mast of the ship and smiled at the sight of his pirate flag with the jolly roger he created flying proudly. His jolly roger was a Japanese hannya skull wearing a straw hat with two lightning bolts replacing the usual crossbones. Luffy had made Usopp paint a larger version of the jolly roger on the sails of the ship striking fear in the hearts of his enemies from a distance. Luffy then turned towards Usopp and spoke.


    "Hey Usopp," he said getting Usopp''s attention. "Is it ready?" he asked. Usopp gave a wide smile before he replied.


    "Yes, it is all set," Usopp said before he made some ridiculous pose and began speaking again. "Just give me a target and I will show you what the great Captain Usopp can do!" he said proudly causing Luffy to sigh and take a sip of his whiskey before he replied. Luffy looked out into the distance and saw a giant rock off the starboard side of the ship.


    "Look over there," Luffy said while pointing at the giant rock. "I want you to hit that rock," he said. Usopp looks and the rock and began to aim the cannon. Luffy could see he was sweating a bit but didn''t say anything. Usopp took aim and fired the cannon. The cannonball sailed through the air before colliding with the rock smashing it into pieces. Luffy smiled when he saw Usopp hit his target, he was a sniper just like his father. All Luffy needed to do was get him to stop acting like a coward. "Good job Usopp," Luffy said congratulating him. Usopp turned to Luffy and smiled and made another ridiculous pose before he spoke.


    "You can expect only the best from the great Captain Usopp!" he proclaimed proudly. Luffy shook his head before he looked over at Zoro and yell out.


    "Zoro!" he called out getting Zoro''s attention. " Could you come here for a second," He said before looking over at Nami and spoke again. "You too Nami," he said causing her to close her book and walk over to Luffy. When everyone arrived Luffy stuck his hand into the cloud that he was sitting on and pulled out three bags that obviously had something in them.


    "What''s with the bags Captain?" Zoro asked.


    "I think it is time to give all of you your share in Kuro''s bounty," Luffy said making Nami''s eyes to turn into beli signs. "Kuro''s bounty was 16 million and there is four of us. So, it is 4 million a person," Luffy said as he handed the bag to each of them. Usopp thanked Luffy and so did Nami however, after thanking him she immediately began cuddling with the bag of money causing the three guys to look at her funny. When Luffy handed the bag to Zoro he took it before he spoke to Luffy.


    "Umm, could you hold on to it, for now, Captain?" he asked as he handed the money back to Luffy. Luffy nodded and took the money and place it back into the cloud. Usopp then handed Luffy the money back and asked the same thing to which Luffy agreed and then looked over to Nami to see if she wanted him to hold onto hers as well. Nami shook her head vigorously saying no. Luffy just shrugged before he spoke in a serious voice once more.


    "Just so we are clear," he said getting all their attention. "This is probably one of the few times I am going to be sharing a bounty with you," Luffy said puzzling Nami and Usopp.


    "What do you mean Luffy?" Nami asked.


    "As I already told Zoro, the treasure we find and loot from other pirates and marines will be divided equally among the crew. However, any bounties we get from defeating someone with a bounty on their head is going to who defeated that person," Luffy said earning a nod from Usopp and a pout from Nami which he ignored. Luffy then stood up causing the thundercloud to rise into the sky before he began walking towards the kitchen. "I am hungry, let''s eat," he said causing his crew to follow behind him. Upon entering the kitchen Luffy sat down at the table and refilled his glass before he turned towards Zoro and spoke. "How much food do we have left?" he asked. Zoro walked over to the fridge and looked inside before he replied.


    "We have about two days'' worth of food left," he said. Luffy nodded his head before he turned towards Nami.


    "How long till we reach the restaurant?" he asked. Nami looked outside and looked at the map before she replied to Luffy''s question.


    "We should reach there in a few hours if the wind keeps up," she said. Luffy took a sip of his drink before he spoke.


    "Well it seems we will be okay," he said earning a nod from everyone. "In the event that we do not get a cook from the restaurant we will stock on food there before we move on," Luffy said. Before anyone could say anything they all heard a loud crash outside and a man yelling.


    "Get out here you damn pirates!" a man yelled from outside startling the crew. Luffy got up and walked out of the Kitchen to see who in their right mind thought it was a good idea to attack his ship. As he opened the door and looked down at the deck he saw a very angry man wielding a sword staring up at him.


    "You better have a damn good reason for being on my ship," Luffy said in a menacing tone as he jumped down from the upper deck. The man stood in front of Luffy with his sword raised in the air and yelled out.


    "And now you think you can kill my partner!" he yelled as he swung his sword to cut Luffy in half. Luffy easily saw the swing coming and stepped out of the way. However, the moment he stepped out of the way the man''s sword collided with one of the railings of the ship effectively breaking it apart and that pissed Luffy off. Luffy teleported in front of the man scaring the crap out of him before he grabbed his head and flung him across the ship causing him to slam into the wall of the captain''s quarters. Luffy looked up at the upper deck to see Zoro walking towards the edge of the railing to see who it is Luffy was fighting. Zoro saw the man and his eyes were immediately widen causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow at Zoro''s reaction. Before Luffy could question him about it Zoro spoke.


    "Johnny, is that you?" Zoro asked while looking at the man now named Johnny with a surprised look on his face. "Where is Yosaku?" Zoro asked again before the man Johnny could reply to the first question. Johnny looked up at Zoro from his position on the ground to see who was calling his name. The moment he saw Zoro he immediately sprang to his feet and spoke to Zoro.


    "Big bro Zoro!?" he yelled/asked. "Why are you on a pirate ship?" he asked again. Zoro sighed before he spoke again.


    "Would you calm down," Zoro said as he began walking down the stairs. "Where is Yosaku?" Zoro asked again. Johnny then began to tear up before he ran to the side of the ship causing Luffy and Zoro to follow him. Then they got there they saw a man lying on the small boat looking ill.


    "He''s been sick," Johnny said. Zoro signed before he turned towards Luffy who simply nodded before walking away. Zoro then turned back to Johnny and spoke.


    "Bring him on board," Zoro said to Johnny causing him to nod he head rapidly. When Johnny jumped off the ship to get his friends Luffy spoke to Zoro.


    "I take it you know these two?" he asked as he sat on a nearby barrel. Zoro sighed and walked over to Luffy before he spoke.


    "Yea I met them a while back during my bounty hunting days," He said causing Luffy to nod his head. "Their good people," Zoro said as he watched Johnny drag Yosaku''s body on the ship. Zoro then walked over to them and spoke. "What''s wrong with him?" he asked.


    "Up until a few days ago, he was healthy and full of life. And now he keeps fainting and getting pale," said a very emotional Johnny. Nami and Usopp had just arrived next to Luffy and Zoro on the deck of the ship as Johnny explained what was wrong with Yosaku. "So, I thought maybe we should rest on a little island, but then a cannonball came flying from this ship," He said causing Luffy and Usopp''s eyes to widen. Luffy chuckled nervously a bit before he spoke.


    "Yea, sorry about that," Luffy said as he got up from the barrel and walked over to Johnny while ignoring Usopp''s rapid apologies. "Don''t worry about your friend," Luffy said causing Zoro and Johnny to look at him waiting for him to elaborate on what he meant by that. Luffy then turned towards Usopp and gave an order. "Head into the kitchen and bring all the limes we got," he said causing Usopp to nod his head rapidly before he dashed into the kitchen.


    "What does he have big bro?" Johnny asked Luffy. Luffy turned towards him and was about to speak but Nami beat him to it.


    "He has scurvy," she said making Johnny look to Luffy for confirmation to which he nodded. When Usopp returned Luffy told him to squeeze the lime juice into Yosaku''s mouth. Usopp got to squeezing while Luffy went back to sit on the barrel.


    "Scurvy is caused by a deficiency of plant-derived nutrients like vitamin C," Luffy said from his position on the barrel. "You and your friend are two morons," Luffy said surprising Zoro, Usopp, and Johnny while Nami simply nodded her head in agreement. "Every sailor should know about scurvy before they set out to sea, dumbass," Luffy said causing Johnny to look down in shame. "But don''t worry your friend will live," He said causing Johnny and Zoro to take on a bright smile on their faces. Just as Luffy finished speaking Yosaku shot up into a sitting position before looking around trying to figure out where he was. When his eyes landed on Johnny he smiled and shot up to his feet and started dancing with Johnny.


    "I''m cured!" Yosaku shouted as he and Johnny danced around. Luffy sighed and looked towards Nami and nodded. Nami then slugged the two of them over the head and began scolding them about not being cured just yet. Just as she started to scold them Yosaku passed out again. Luffy sighed and Looked towards Zoro.


    "Take him inside and have him get some rest," Luffy said earning a nod from Zoro. Luffy then walked back to the back of the deck and summoned his cloud throne again and sat down. Johnny, Zoro, Nami, and Usopp soon join Luffy at the back of the ship. Luffy then turned towards Nami and asked a question. "How long till we get there?" he asked. Nami looked ahead of the ship and replied.


    "I would say less than an hour," she said while pointing off into the distance ahead of the ship. Luffy and the others looked ahead and saw a tiny silhouette of something which Luffy assure is the restaurant.


    "Ah, I see you guys are going to the Baratie," Johnny said getting all of their attention.


    "You''ve been there?" asked Nami to which Johnny nodded.


    "Yes, I have," he said. "The food is to die for. However lately I''ve been hearing rumors about a certain hawk-eyed man showing up there," he said while looking at Zoro. The moment Luffy and Zoro heard what he said both smiled a bit, however, Luffy''s smile was less noticeable compared to Zoro''s. When the ship was about fifty feet away from the restaurant Luffy and the crew was startled by a loud horn and the sound of bells ringing coming off of the starboard side of the ship. Everyone looked over to see a Marine ship coming up beside them causing all of their eyes to widen at the fact that the marines snuck up on them so easily. Luffy got up from his throne and walked down towards the main deck of the ship before he jumped up on one of the rails and stood there staring at the marines with Zoro by his side.


    "I have never seen that pirate flag before," a pink-haired marine said as he walked over to the edge of the marine ship. "I am Ironfist Fullbody, but you can just call me Sir," said the marine as he stared at Luffy. Luffy could tell he was one of those marines who were too c.o.c.ky for their own good.


    "I don''t recall ever asking who you were marine," Luffy said in an emotionless tone. Fullbody was clearly pissed off by Luffy''s comment, so he clenched his fist and slammed it on one of the rails of the marine ship before he yelled at Luffy.


    "Just who do you think you are punk?" ask/yelled Fullbody.


    "Me?" Luffy asked while pointing at himself, "I am Monkey D. Luffy, the captain of this ship," he said.


    "Why is it that I don''t recognize your flag?" asked Fullbody. Luffy looked at him like he was an idiot before he replied.


    "Well, maybe because it is only a day old," Luffy said. As Luffy said that he noticed Fullbody''s face took on a c.o.c.ky smirk before he began to chuckle.


    "Is it?" he asked in a condescending tone. Full body was about to speak again but something caught his eye. He looked over towards the main cabin of Luffy''s ship to see two men hiding there. Luffy looked over to see what Fullbody was looking at and saw Johnny and Yosaku peeking out of the door. "You two," he said while looking at Johnny and Yosaku. "You''re that bounty hunting duo that goes after the small fish," Fullbody said mockingly. A beautiful woman in a red dress then walked out from behind Fullbody and spoke to him.


    "Come on babe lets go," she said as she latched onto Fullbody''s arm. Fullbody looked at her and nodded before he turned his back to Luffy and the crew and began walking away. As he was walking away Johnny jumped out and pulled out a large stack of wanted posters and threw it in the air and screamed.


    "Do you think small-time bounty hunters will go after these guys!" he yelled as the wanted posters scatter all over the ship. Fullbody paid no attention to him instead, he looked to his Marines and gave out an order before leaving the ship.


    "They''re an eyesore, sink em," he said before leaving. As he said that the marines aimed one of their cannons right at Luffy causing him to narrow his eyes.


    "They''re pointing at cannon right at us!" Usopp screamed. Luffy held up his hand silencing Usopp before he spoke.


    "Relax, I''ll handle it," he said shutting causing everyone except Nami to look at him to see what he was about to do. Without any warning, the marines faired their cannons right at Luffy. Luffy just stood there and stared at the incoming cannonball before he stuck out his right hand and caught the cannonball causing all of the marines, Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku''s eyes to widen. "Now, that wasn''t ever nice," Luffy said in a tone that made the marines wanted to shit themselves. Luffy then pulled his arm back and sent some lightning into the cannonball causing blue spack of slighting to be seen around the black ball. He then threw the cannonball at lightning speed towards the marine ship''s main mast. The cannonball then collided with the main mast and exploded destroying the mast and a large chunk of the deck, while also sending a group of marines flying back. Johnny and Yosaku stared at the scene with their jaws wide open. They had never seen anything like this before. They had heard stories of people with devil fruits and the things they can do, but they never actually saw someone with one. Fullbody who was already on a small dinghy with the woman in the red dress and two marines quickly ordered the two marines to turn the dinghy back around after they heard the explosion on their ship. Luffy hopped off the railing and turned to face his crew. He was about to speak but Johnny spoke before he even had a chance.


    "Wow big bro Luffy," he said as he Yosaku stared at Luffy. "You took out that a Navy ship with just one move," he said causing Luffy to turn and look at the burning marine ship and spoke.


    "They''re lucky I didn''t completely destroy the damn thing," he said causing their eyes to widen. Luffy then turns back towards his crew and spoke. "I''m hungry, let''s go eat," he said as he formed a small boat out of a thundercloud to fly everyone to the restaurant. As everyone was boarding the small cloud Luffy saw Nami staring at a wanted poster in her hand causing Luffy to narrow his eyes at her.


    ''Just what are you hiding,'' Luffy thought to himself before he turned and hopped into the cloud. When Luffy hopped on a few seconds later Nami joined them with an obviously fake smile on her face which Luffy saw right through. Luffy leaned over to Zoro who was sitting next to him and whispered in his ear.


    "Keep an eye on Nami for me," he said causing Zoro to look at him weirdly before nodding and narrowing his eyes at the back of Nami''s head. When the crew reached the door of the restaurant, they hopped off the cloud and Luffy shoved the two large doors open. When the doors open everyone in the restaurant stopped what they were doing and turned to look at Luffy and his crew. It was obvious that they were pirates, and it was even more obvious who their captain was based on how Luffy was dressed. Luffy noticed a few women in the restaurant was looking at him with small blushes on their faces. Luffy saw a man walking up to them holding a silver platter. He was an average-sized, muscular man with a lot of hair on his arms and legs wearing a navy blue short-sleeved shirt with yellow buttons on both sides, and light blue on the end of the sleeves. He had on knee-length shorts that are the same color as his shirt, along with brown shoes. He also wore a white apron, a pink ascot, an earring in his right ear, and a white rope tied around his head.


    "Hello and welcome to the Baratie," he said with a smile on his face which Luffy clearly saw was fake. "May I ask how you will be paying for your meal?" he asked causing Luffy to chuckle before he replied.


    "With money of course," he replied causing Patty''s fake smile to be replaced with a real one before he spoke again.


    "Well then, allow me to show you to your table," he said before leading Luffy and the crew towards an empty table. "Your waiter will be with you in a moment to take your order," he said as he handed out the menus. Luffy nodded his head in acknowledgment before looking through the menu. Five minutes later a blond-haired man wearing a black suit came over to the table and spoke.


    "Hello, my name is Sanji. I am the sous chef here but will be acting as your waiter for today," He said with a cigarette in his mouth.


    *CHAPTER END*

 Chapter 8 - 8: Defending the Baratie!

    Luffy and the crew were currently sitting down at one of the tables in the Baratie enjoying the meal they had ordered. Luffy ordered a bottle of whiskey with a large platter of meat, Nami ordered a glass of wine to go with a salad, Usopp ordered a medium seafood platter with a bottle of coke while Zoro, Johnny, and Yosaku ordered a large meat platter and two bottles of sake. The entire crew was sitting there enjoying their meal, laughing with each other, and having a good time. Then suddenly the doors of the restaurant were roughly shoved open gaining the attention of everyone that was in there. Everyone looked at the door to see a very pissed off Fullbody standing there breathing heavily while giving Luffy the death stare. Luffy just looked at him for a second before he went back to his meal. Fullbody saw this and it pissed him off even more. He stomped into the restaurant making a b-line straight towards Luffy. The people in the restaurant along with Luffy''s crew began to get nervous while Zoro placed his hands on his swords getting ready to fight for his captain. When Fullbody reached Luffy, he stood on the right side of Luffy staring down at him as he was eating.


    "Just who do you think you are!?" Asked a very angry Fullbody rather loudly for everyone in the restaurant to hear. Luffy didn''t even bat his eyes lashes at him, he just continued eating his food. "Because of you, my men are either dead or seriously wounded and my ship is in chaos!" He yelled at Luffy. Luffy looked up from his food and looked at Fullbody before h spoke in a bored tone.


    "Well, maybe you shouldn''t have attacked me," Luffy said before going back to his meal. Fullbody was now enraged by the way Luffy simply dismissed him as though he was nobody. He was a Navy Lieutenant from Navy HQ, this was completely acceptable. So, he raised his fist in the air and slammed it on the table spilling everyone''s drink except for Luffy''s because he picked his drink and his plate up when he sensed what Fullbody was about to do.


    "Do you have any idea who I am?!" Asked/shouted Fullbody. Luffy sat his drink and plate back down before he answered him.


    "Are you a Navy Admiral?" Luffy asked calmy startling Fullbody by the question. "Because if you''re not one and you continue to annoy me..." Luffy paused and looked up at Fullbody with the cold emotionless eyes of someone who will kill you without hesitation before he spoke again. "...You will surely die here today." When Luffy said that Fullbody unconsciously took a step back before he regained his senses and was about to speak, but before he could say anything the waiter that was in charge of serving Luffy''s table came over and spoke.


    "Is there a problem over here, Sir?" Sanji asked Luffy. Luffy looked up at Sanji and smiled before he replied.


    "Yes, there is," Luffy said before pointing his fork at Fullbody. "This gentleman here his disturbing my meal," he said. Fullbody Looked at Sanji before he looked back at Luffy and yelled.


    "I don''t care about your meal!" he screamed as he picked up Luffy''s plate off the table and began to examine it before he spoke again. "And this food looks disgusting," he stated before tossing the plate of food over his shoulder. Luffy was about to blast him right out of the restaurant with a bolt of lighting, but before he could Sanji performed an amazing spinning heel kick that connected to Fullbody''s head and sent him flying across the restaurant. As Sanji began walking over towards a down Fullbody, Luffy turned to his crew and smile before he spoke.


    "I think I found our cook," he said causing Zoro to voice his complaints.


    "Why do we need that perverted cook?!" he asked/yelled causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "Don''t worry about it, I am sure you two will get along great," Luffy said with an amused smile. Luffy then turned to see what Sanji was doing and saw him and Patty along with another chef, who had a wooden leg, a really tall hat and an impressive mustache kicking Fullbody towards the door. When Fullbody reached the door and began to shakingly get up one of his surviving marines came bursting in the door.


    "Lieutenant! Lieutenant Fullbody!" the marine yelled getting everyone''s attention. "We''ve got trouble! The prisoner has escaped, pirate Kriege''s henchman attacked us and vanished," the marine said. Fullbody''s eyes went wide before he replied.


    "What that is impossible. When we picked him up three days ago he was on the verge of starving to death and we haven''t fed him anything, so where did he get the strength!?" Fullbody asked. Luffy looked around the restaurant and saw everyone was beginning to panic when they heard Kriege''s name which confused Luffy because he had never heard of a pirate named Kriege. Luffy then turned his attention back to Fullbody and the marine to listen to what they were saying in order to get some information.


    "I''m sorry Lieutenant, I-"


    *Bang*


    The sound of a gunshot rang out through the entire restaurant and the next thing everyone saw was the marine drop dead on the ground. Standing behind the now dead marine holding a smoking gun was a man in a grey tracksuit who looked like he was on the verge of death, The man walked into the restaurant and sat down at one of the vacant tables before he spoke.


    "I do not care what it is, just bring me something to eat," he said causing Patty to walk over to him with a large fake smile on his face and spoke.


    "Hello and welcome, you damn crook," he said happily causing the remaining guest to jump back in fear. "Might I be so bold to inquire how you will be paying for your meal?" Patty asked. The pirate looked up at him and pointed his gun right between Patty''s eyes before he replied.


    "Would a bullet be enough?" he said. Patty''s face lost its smile and took on a more angry look.


    "So, you don''t have any money then?" Patty asked before he slammed his fist on top of the pirate''s head breaking the chair the pirate was sitting on and sending crashing in the ground. "Even if you are a pirate, we only cook for paying customers!" Patty said before two other chefs came and picked the pirate up and take him to the back of the restaurant. What no one seemed to have noticed was that Sanji had left the commotion that was going on between the cooks and the pirate and went back to the kitchen. Luffy turned towards his crew and spoke.


    "Wait here I''ll be back," said before he got up and headed in the direction of where the chefs took the pirate. When Luffy opened the door leading to the back of the restaurant he saw the pirate laying on the ground hunched over holding his stomach. Luffy stepped outside and stood against one the rail of the ship and stared at the pirate for a while before he spoke.


    "What''s your name pirate?" he asked getting the pirate''s attention. The pirate looked up from the ground and stared at Luffy and was about to speak but before he could a plate of food was placed in front of him along with a glass of water. The pirate and Luffy both looked to see who it was that place it here and saw Sanji standing there with smoking a cigarette.


    "Eat," Sanji said before moving to stand next to Luffy. The Kriege pirate stared at the food and began to tear up before he yelled at Sanji.


    "I don''t want your charity," he said before pushing the plate of food away. Sanji looked at him for a while before he spoke.


    "Shut up and eat," he said before taking a long pull of his cigarette before he spoke again. "It is unwise to refuse food on the open sea if you do not eat that food you will surely die by tomorrow morning," Sanji said nonchalantly causing the pirate''s eyes to widen. After trying to argue with Sanji for a few more minutes the pirate finally gave in and ate the food. Luffy just stood there watching the interaction with an emotionless look on his face while waiting for the pirate to answer his question. When the pirate finished eating Luffy decided to remind him of his question.


    "You still haven''t answered my question, pirate," he said getting the pirates attention. The pirate looked at Luffy for a while before he replied.


    "Forgive me, my name is Gin better known as ''Man-Demon'' Gin. I am the right-hand man to the great pirate admiral Don Kriege," he said proudly.


    "Never heard of him," Luffy said plainly causing both Sanji and Gin''s eyes to widen.


    "What the hell do you mean by you don''t know who Don Kriege is!?" Sanji yelled/asked earning a nod from Gin. Luffy simply shrugged his shoulders as he replied.


    "It''s just as I said, I never heard of him," Luffy said earning another disbelieving look from the two of them. Luffy then turned towards Sanji and spoke once again. "If I remember correctly your name is Sanji, correct?" Luffy asked earning a nod from Sanji, "Good...I want you to join my crew," Luffy said surprising Sanji.


    "As interesting as that offer sounds...I have to refuse. I owe the owner a debt that I cannot repay," he said. Luffy looked at him with a bored look on his face and spoke and spoke.


    "I refuse your refusal," Luffy said causing Sanji''s jaw to drop at Luffy''s statement. Sanji was about to yell at Luffy but Gin spoke before he could.


    "Pardon me," Gin said getting Luffy''s attention. "By chance are you a pirate?" he asked earning a nod from Luffy. "And what are your dreams if you don''t mind me asking?" Gin asked earning a confused look from Sanji wondering where he was going with all this.


    "Conquer the Grand Line, find the One Piece and become King of the Pirates," Luffy said nonchalantly.


    "I see... Allow me to give you some advice as someone who has been to the Grand Line," he said earning an amused look from Luffy and a curious look from Sanji. "Stay away from that place. Our entire fleet of 50 sh.i.p.s went in there and only lasted a week before our entire fleet was destroyed by one man," Gin said surprising Sanji and causing Luffy to chuckle before he replied.


    "That just means you guys were too weak to survive paradise," Luffy said earning a pissed off look from Gin. Before Gin could speak Luffy cut him off and spoke first. "It doesn''t matter how much sh.i.p.s you have in your fleet and how much men you have. Only the strong can survive, and I know that because I am from the Grand Line," Luffy said causing the two of their jaws to drop.


    "Y-you''re from the Grad Line?" Gin asked to which Luffy nodded, "I see...I guess you will be more prepared than we ever were," Gin said sadly. Luffy didn''t say anything, he simply pushed off the rail headed towards the door. As he opened the door to reenter the restaurant he turned towards Sanji and spoke.


    "I won''t be leaving here until you join my crew, Sanji," he said before he walked inside closing the door behind him before Sanji could reply. As he returned to his crew he saw they were still eating so he decided to join them and finish his meal.


    About four hours had passed since Luffy had his conversation with Gin and Sanji. Currently, Luffy and his crew were sitting at the same table drinking and conversing getting to know each other a bit more. Luffy had told the crew that he wasn''t leaving here without Sanji so there were going to be there till then. As the crew was sitting there chatting with each other a large shadow was cast over the restaurant gaining everyone''s attention. A random customer got up from their table and looked out the window to see what was casting the shadow over the restaurant. When the man looked outside the window his entire body began to shake and a look of pure fear could be seen. The man started to back away from the window in fear before he started to stutter.


    "I-its...It''s the Dreadnaught Sabre...Its Don Krieg''s ship!" he yelled before he ran back to his table. After he said that everyone in the restaurant began to panic. Luffy just sat there watching the chaos as it unfolded. Suddenly the doors of the restaurant were blown open and standing there was Gin with a man who looked like he was on the verge of dying slung over his shoulder. Gin dragged himself and the man into the restaurant and began to beg for food and water.


    "Please bring us some food and water!" Gin begged while barely being able to hold up his the man whLuffyfy assumed is Don Krieg. "We have money," he said as he pleaded with the restaurant staff. To say the chefs and the customers in the restaurant were shocked would be an understatement. They had their eyes widen and their jaws hanging. The only people whose face lacked any emotion was Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and the owner Zeff. The rest of Luffy''s crew were just as shocked as the rest of the customers. Then all of a sudden Krieg fell face first on the ground causing Gin to beg some more. When that happened Luffy noticed Sanji heading towards the kitchen. Patty then denied him the food and water causing the rest of the chefs to start making comments on how much of a monster Krieg is. Don Krieg then did the unthinkable in Luffy''s opinion, he bowed his head and began to beg the chefs for food. Gin tried to stop him and pleaded for him to raise his head but Krieg didn''t listen instead he continued to beg for food, he even went as far as to beg for the scraps. The next that happened was Luffy hearing Sanji''s voice.


    "Hey, step aside Patty," Sanji said before kicking Patty in the face sending him crashing in the wall. Sanji then walked over to Gin and Don Kreig and placed a bowl of food and a bottle of sake in front of him. "Here is something for your captain," he said as he placed the bowl on the ground. Kreig then began to gulp down the food using his b.a.r.e hands like a wild animal. One of the chefs then ran down the stairs and yelled at Sanji to get the food away from him but Sanji did nothing, he only stood there watching the chef with a bored expression on his face. Kreig then slammed the bottle on the ground and sprang to his feet before he punched Sanji sending him flying. The people in the restaurant started running for the exit leaving only the chefs and Luffy''s crew behind to face Don Kreig. Luffy then sensed something with his observation haki that made him smile before he turned towards his crew and spoke.


    "Hey, go move the ship to the other side of the restaurant. We are about to have more guests," he said making Nami, Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku run outside to move the ship leaving him and Zoro in the restaurant. Luffy then turned his attention back to Kreig.


    "This is a pretty good ship, I believe I''ll take it," Kreig said with a sinister look on his face. "As you can all see, my ship is a wreck. Naturally, I will be needing a nice new one. After a few small chores everyone one of you will leave this ship," he said causing one of the chefs to protest.


    "What? No!" one random chef yelled out but Kreig paid him no mind.


    "There are about 100 men left on my ship. All are weak with hunger and many are seriously wounded. If you value your lives you will prepare food and water for every last one of them," he said.


    "You''re telling us to feed our executioners? Do you hear how stupid that sounds? We refuse!" Patty said.


    "I am not asking you, I am telling you to do it," Kreig said making all of the cooks tremble in fear while Luffy simply scuffed. Sanji then goes up and announced that he will be cooking for 100 people and began to walk towards the kitchen but was stopped by all the rest of the cooks who pointed large knives and forks at him and began accusing him of being a spy for Kreig. Patty then knocked Sanji to the ground before walking over a small door at the bottom of the stairs and pulled out a rather large hand-held cannon before pointing it t Don Kreig and firing it. The cannonball sailed through the air at amazing speed before colliding with Kreig and creating a whole lot of smoke in the restaurant. The cooks started celebrating their victory but were immediately silenced by Kreig''s voice coming from inside the smoke.


    "Are you a chef or a comedian? Because your jokes are lame," Kreig said scaring all of the cooks and surprising Luffy a bit. When the smoke cleared everyone saw Kreig standing there in golden armor with guns coming out of his shoulder along with two pistols in his hand. He then pointed them at the group of chefs and yelled. "So, die!" he screamed as he fired his weapons. "You cooks should not have defied me, I am the world strongest man!" he yelled boastfully. Luffy wanted to laugh so hard at his comment about being the strongest man alive but held it in. Luffy then heard someone''s footsteps and turned and looked up the stairs and saw the owner carrying a large sack walking down the stairs and heading to Kreig. Zeff placed the large sack down in front of Kreig and spoke.


    "This is about 100 meals. Now, take it to your men right away," he said in a serious voice.


    "Owner Zeff what are you doing!?" yelled/asked all of the other cooks simultaneously. Kreig, on the other hand, looked shocked beyond belief.


    "You''re Red-Foot Zeff," Kreig whispered out causing Luffy''s eyes to widen.


    ''I know his name sounded familiar!'' Luffy thought to himself. Zeff then walked away from Kreig and headed back to stand with his chefs.


    "Owner Zeff why did you do that?" one of the chefs asked. "If his men regain their strength they will kill us!" the chef yelled in a scared voice.


    "That is only if they still have their will to fight," Zeff said before he turned and looked at Kreig. "Tell me, did your will survive defeat?" Zeff asked Kreig causing all of the chefs to look at Kreig in disbelief.


    "Not even a pirate ship with 50 sh.i.p.s could make it on the Grand Line?" Patty asked in disbelief. Kreig however just stared at Zeff for a while before he spoke.


    "It is you, isn''t it? You''re Red-Foot Zeff," he said once more. "So, you are alive, the unrivaled pirate captain who was also the ship''s cooks," he said.


    "Yes that is right I am still alive, but what does any of this have to do with you?" Zeff asked a question that Luffy also wanted to know. "I haven''t been a pirate for many years now. I chose the life of a cook," Zeff said making Kreig start laughing before he spoke.


    "Chose the life of a cook huh, yea right. You didn''t have a choice old man. You live as a cook because the only thing you can be now is a cook," Kreig said while pointing to Zeff''s wooden leg. Kreig then went on to tell the legend of Red-Foot Zeff for everyone to hear.


    "Enough chit-chat lets get to the point. What do you want from me?" Zeff asked causing Don Kreig to smirk evilly at him before he replied.


    "You''re the man who sailed the treacherous seas of the Grand Line and came back unharmed," Kreig said causing everyone including Luffy to look at Zeff with a look of pure shock on their face. "There should be a log book detailing your tactics, a full year of your journey there. Give it to me," Kreig said making Luffy narrow his eyes at him.


    "Yes there is such a book in my position, but I will never hand it over to the likes of you," Zeff said causing Kreig to take on a pissed off look on his face. "That log book is the [irde of the crewmen I sailed with. It is far too important to give to you," Zeff said. Luffy could understand why Zeff wouldn''t want to give up that book especially if the men who Zeff served with had perished in the accident that took his leg. It was far too scared of a treasure to any decent captain to just hand over to another.


    "Then I''ll just take it," Kreig said knocking Luffy out of his thought. "Yes, it is true that the Grand Line beat me. Still, I will never give up on it for I am Don Kreig! It is just another ocean. I had enough men, enough weapons, and enough ambition. Regrettably, the only thing I lacked was information, but now I will fix all of that. Once I have your log book I will form another pirate fleet and capture the legendary One Piece!" Kreig yelled causing everyone to fall silent. The silence was broken by the sound of laughter causing everyone to look to at Luffy who was laughing as he began to get up from his seat.


    "Man, that was the funniest thing I head in a while," Luffy said as he got up from his seat and look at Kreig. "You think you having that log book that means you are going to survive the Grand Line? Don''t make me laugh," Luffy said as he stood in the middle of the restaurant between the chefs and Kreig. "It doesn''t matter how much men or sh.i.p.s you have, it doesn''t matter how much information about that place you have. It all means shit if you are weak. And you Kreig are as weak as they come," Luffy said causing all of the chefs including Zeff''s eyes to widen at Luffy''s statement. Kreig looked beyond pissed that some kid was talking down to him and calling him weak.


    "Just who do you think you are punk," Kreig asked in a dangerous voice that made some of the cooks tremble in fear. Luffy was about to respond but before he could Gin spoke.


    "Don Kreig," Gin said getting his attention, "He is the pirate I told you about. The one from the Grand Line," Gin said making everyone look at Luffy in awe. Kreig tared a Luffy for a while and was about to speak but Luffy spoke before he could.


    "I mean come on Kreig you couldn''t even survive paradise for a week and you think that you are going to be able to conquer the Grand Line and find the One Piece? Get real," Luffy said as he began walking towards Kreig. When Luffy was within the reach of Kreig he tried to punch Luffy with a glove that had a rather large diamond on it. Luffy saw it coming and caught the fist with his left hand causing Kreig''s eyes to widen, Before Kreig cold fire any one of his weapons Luffy fliped Kreig in the air and slammed them down on the ground while still holding on to his fist.


    "Don Kreig!" Gin yelled as he stared at his captain laying on the ground staring at Luffy in disbelief. Luffy looked over to Gin and spoke.


    "Don''t worry Gin I won''t kill him," he said surprising everyone. "He is Hawk-Eye''s prey," Luffy said causing Gin''s eyes to widen in fear along with Kreigs. Luffy then let go of Kreig and went back to sit next to Zoro before he spoke to Kreig again.


    "I suggest you go feed your men cause he will be here any moment now," Luffy said causing Zoro to look at the door excitedly. "Shouldn''t have interrupted his nap," Luffy added before taking a sip of his whiskey. Kreig got up from the floor and walked over to the bag containing to food, picked it up and began to leave. As he was out of the door he turned towards Zeff and spoke.


    "In one hour I will come back for this restaurant, anyone still in here will die," he said before he left. Luffy simply scoffed at him. Luffy then looked at Zeff and spoke.


    "Hey, old man," Luffy said getting Zeff''s attention, "I''ll kick Kreig''s a.s.s for you if you give me that chef," he said while pointing at Sanji. Zeff smiled and replied.


    "You got yourself a deal kid," he said causing Sanji to protest but everyone ignored it.


    *One hour later*


    Everyone was still inside the restaurant waiting on Kreig to shop up again when suddenly they heard loud banging outside and the entire restaurant started rocking against what appears to be large waves.


    "He''s here," Luffy said as he got up and began walking towards the door with Zoro and the chefs following right behind him. As Luffy stepped out of the door he saw Kreig''s giant Gallion get sliced in half.


    "It''s been a while hasn''t it, Luffy?" Asked a man standing on a coffin shaped boat. Luffy smirked before he replied.


    "Indeed it has...Hawk-Eye,"


    *CHAPTER END*

 Chapter 9 - 9: Betrayal and The Word strongest Swordsman!

    "It''s been a while hasn''t it, Luffy?" Asked a man standing on a coffin shaped boat. Luffy smirked before he replied.


    "Indeed it has...Hawk-Eye," Luffy said as he stared at the man now name named Hawk-Eye. All of the chefs had come outside and are now standing behind Luffy and Zeff who stood there watching Hawk-Eye''s interaction with the Kreig Pirates. Zoro who was Luffy''s right was staring at Hawk-Eye with a look of pure excitement.


    ''There he is...the greatest swordsman in the world,'' Zoro though excitedly as he placed his hands on his swords. ''I didn''t think I would meet him so soon, but I am not about to back down now,'' He thought with conviction. Before he could continue his thought the voice of one of the cooks interrupted his thought.


    "How did he split that giant galleon in half?!" asked/yelled a random cook. Zoro too had wondered that, how did one man break a ship that size into two. It was at that time Luffy chuckled a bit before he provided everyone an answer to the cook''s question.


    "He cut it," Luffy said while narrowing his eyes at Hawk-Eye while everyone else stared at Luffy waiting for him to elaborate a bit more, but he never did. Zeff saw the confusion on his chefs and Zoro''s face and decided to try and help them understand.


    "That man right there is Dracule Mihawk, also known as Hawk-Eye. He is the greatest swordsman in the world," Zeff said surprising the chefs. Mihawk was a tall lean man with black hair, a short beard, mustache, and sideburns that point upwards. His eyes were strangely colored yellow which resembled a hawk. He wore a black and red ornate clothing with a crucifix pendant, which gives him the appearance of a Spanish swordsman. His attire consists of a wide-brimmed black hat decorated with a large plume, and a long, open black coat with no shirt underneath, with red, flower-patterned sleeves and collar. He had on light purple pants held up by a decorated belt and tucked inside overly large boots in comparison to his leg size. "And if you are wondering what he cut that ship with...he cut it with that sword that is strapped to his back," Zeff said causing everyone looking at Mihawk''s back to get a look at the swords. The blade was an ornately decorated and very long blade. On the hilt of this blade is a crossguard, though the bars between the blade and the hilt are much longer than average. The blade itself is pitch-black with a very strong sheen, a single-edged long sword with a slight curve at the end of the blade. Overall, the blade looks like a large black cross.


    One of the chefs looked like he was about to say something about Mihawk''s sword but as he was about to Mihawk reached behind him and grabbed the hilt of his sword getting ready to draw it causing Luffy to narrow his eyes and placing his hand on his sword getting ready to defend himself if necessary. Everyone held their breath waiting to see what Mihawk was about to do, Luffy was about to ask him what he is planning but before he could speak Zoro walked out from behind Luffy and moved to stand beside Luffy with his green bandana tied around his head. Luffy turned and looked at him to see what he was planning, but with one look Luffy already knew what Zoro was planning. As Zoro was about to jump off of the restaurant and head towards Mihawk Luffy grabbed him by the back of his shirt collar and tossed Zoro behind him. Zoro being surprised by Luffy''s action jumped up to his feet and yelled at him.


    "Why the hell did you do that?!" he asked/yelled. Luffy kept his eyes on Mihawk and didn''t even turn towards Zoro as he replied.


    "You were about to throw away your life for no reason," Luffy said pissing Zoro off.


    "What is that suppose to mean?" Zoro asked angrily. "Are you saying I can''t beat him!?" He yelled out. Luffy who still had his back towards him spoke in his usual emotionless tone.


    "That is exactly what I am saying," Luffy said surprising the Kreig pirates and the chefs there. "You have no idea just how big the ocean is and just how small a fish you are in that ocean," Luffy said as he unsheathed his sword and raised it in the air before he continued to speak. "If you can''t even do this you are no way ready to challenge the world''s greatest," He said. As he finished speaking Luffy brought his sword down in one swift motion aimed at the already split in half Kreig pirate ship. As Luffy''s sword came down the next thing everyone saw was both halves of the pirate ship split into two right down the middle causing the ship to split into four pieces. Zoro and the chefs stared at the sight with eyes as wide as dinner plates. The pirates along with Kreig who were still on the ship were screaming and clutching on pieces of wood that broke off of the ship in order to stay afloat. Kreig himself manage to climb back onto a piece of the ship and stood there soaking wet and stared at Luffy with a look of pure hatred. Luffy paid him no mind instead he turned towards Zoro and spoke.


    "Still think you got what it takes?" Luffy asked. Zoro looked at him for a while before he tightens his bandana around his head and spoke.


    "Only one way to find out," he said before he leaped off of the restaurant and landed on a large piece of the ship that broke off. Luffy sighed and looked towards Mihawk before he spoke.


    "I want him back alive Hawk-Eye," Luffy said with a sighed. Mihawk looked at Zoro for a while before he turned and looked towards Luffy and spoke with a light chuckle.


    "I''ll try," he said causing Luffy to narrow his eyes. Zoro then unsheathed all of his swords and spoke to Mihawk.


    "Dracule Mihawk," he said getting everyone''s attention. "I challenge you to a duel for the title of world strongest swordsmen," Zoro said with conviction causing Mihawk to step off of his coffin-shaped boat and hop onto the same broken piece of the ship before he spoke.


    "Luffy was right. You have no idea just how big this world is and just how little a fish you are in this world," Mihawk said pissing Zoro off. Zoro was about to charge towards Hawk-Eye but before he could everyone heard someone yelling off to their right.


    "LLUUFFYY!" came the voice that was too familiar for Zoro and Luffy. Everyone turned towards their right and saw Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku on a small lifeboat rowing towards them. The one thing Luffy noted was that Nami was not with them.


    "What''s wrong and where is Nami?" Luffy asked as he walked over to the side to met them. Usopp after he finally stopped yelled calmed down and spoke to Luffy.


    "It''s Nami, she tossed us off of the ship and stole it," Usopp said. As soon as he said that Luffy turned his head quickly towards Zoro and yelled out.


    "I thought I told you to keep an eye on her!" Luffy yelled at Zoro. Zoro took his sword out of his mouth and replied to Luffy.


    "I was watching her all the time before he left to go move the ship," Zoro yelled back. "How was I suppose to know she was going to steal the ship?" Zoro asked. Luffy was about to reply but Mihawk spoke before he could say anything.


    "My my looks like you already have a mutiny on your crew, Luffy," Mihawk said with a chuckle pissing Luffy off. Soon blue electric sparks could be seen around Luffy''s body, the wind started to pick up and skies overhead started to darken and was completely covered with thunderclouds. The all of a sudden a loud booming thunder sounded overhead scaring everyone even Mihawk a bit. Luffy then turned towards Zoro and spoke in a deadly tone.


    "Hurry up whatever you are doing there and go get me my ship back while I get a cook and kill Kreig," Luffy said causing Zoro to nod his head in agreement. Luffy then turned towards Usopp and spoke. "After Zoro finishes I want you guys to follow Nami and get the ship back. I will be right behind you guys and I will deal with Nami myself," Luffy said causing everyone there to think one thing in common.


    ''I feel sorry for her,'' they all thought. Luffy then turned towards Zoro and Mihawk to watch their fight which had already begun. Mihawk was fighting Zoro with a small dagger that Luffy know he carried hidden in the cross pendant around his neck. Luffy could see Zoro was trying his hardest but couldn''t match Mihawk''s skill but was pissed off because Mihawk was using a small dagger and not his actual sword. Luffy and everyone there watches as Mihawk stop Zoro''s strongest attach with little to no effort at all.


    ''Welcome to the real world, Zoro,'' Luffy thought as he watched Zoro start to question his strength after having his attack stopped. Everyone around couldn''t believe what they were seeing. They couldn''t believe that even the great bounty hunter Zoro couldn''t beat Mihawk. Luffy paid no attention to murmurings that were happening around instead he kept his eyes on Zoro. The next thing that happened surprised everyone including Luffy. Mihawk stabbed Zoro right in the c.h.e.s.t. From the angle that Luffy was standing, it looked as though Zoro got stabbed right in his heart. However even though he was stabbed Zoro did not back down, he did not fall. Instead, he placed his guard up and attacked Mihawk again. Luff could see that they were talking to each other but he could not hear what they were saying. Whatever Zoro said to Hawk-Eye it made he smile before he took out his actual sword and slashed at Zoro breaking two of his swords and cutting him across his c.h.e.s.t. Zoro then fell into the water causing Usopp and the bounty hunter duo to scream out.


    "ZORO!" they yelled as they jumped into the water to save Zoro. Luffy placed his hand on his sword and unsheathed it all while staring at Mihawk who was staring right back at Luffy with a smirk on his face. The next thing everyone was was Luffy disappear from where he was standing causing the pirates and cooks eyes to widen at the speed he possessed. The next thing everyone heard metal hitting metal right before a huge shock wave was felt causing debris to go flying all over the place along with knocking a few chefs and pirates off their feet, while at the same time creating large waves brocking the restaurant and the unstable pieces of what''s left of the Kreig pirate ship. At first, it puzzled everyone when it came to where the shockwave came from. It wasn''t until they looked at the center of everything only to see Mihawk and Luffy standing there with their swords clashing. Luffy looked eyes with Mihawk before he spoke.


    "I thought I said I want him back alive," Luffy said before he pushed off of Mihawk''s sword and placed some distance between him and Mihawk. Mihawk placed his guard up before he replied to Luffy.


    "Guess I got carried away," he said. As he said that Luffy kicked off and rushed him faster than anyone''s eyes could track. Mihawk was barely able to raise his sword in order to block Luffy downward slashed. As the two swords connected it created another shockwave causing a lot of pirates and chefs to fall over. Kreig stared at the two swordsmen with wide eyes before he whispered to himself.


    "Such power in a single swing of their swords," he whispered as he stared at Luffy and Mihawk as they squared off in the middle of everyone. Sanji who also had his eyes widen at the sheer power of the two men couldn''t believe what he was seeing.


    "Are they even human?" Sanji asked out loud. Zeff scoffed and folded his arms before he replied.


    "That''s what exists in the Grand Line," he said before he tapped Sanji''s shoulder causing him to look at Zeff. "Look at the sky," he said as he pointed to the sky. Sanji and the rest of the chefs along with the Kreig pirates and Usopp and company looked up to the sky to see all of the previous thunderclouds were split right down the middle creating a sort of trench in the sky. Clouds from both sides were rushing into the trench, but neither one dare crossed over the trench. Everyone stared at the sky in utter disbelief.


    "They split the sky..no the heavens in two," a scared cook said in a surprised voice. Everyone was brought of their staring by Zoro''s voice.


    "LUFFY!" Zoro yelled out getting everyone''s attention especially Luffy and Mihawk who separated the moment they heard Zoro''s voice. Luffy looked over to Zoro to see him laying on his back with one hand holding the only sword he has left in the air. "Luffy, can you hear me?" Zoro asked in a shaky voice. Luffy sighed before he chuckled and resheathed his sword before he replied with a smile.


    "Yeah, I hear you," Luffy said. Zoro took a breath before he began to speak again.


    "Sorry for worrying you," Zoro said causing Luffy to smile. "If I don''t become the greatest swordsman in the world you''d be in a dilemma now, right?" he said before he coughed up some blood causing the bounty hunter duo to yell at him to stop and save his energy which Zoro ignored and continued to speak instead. "I will...I will never...LOSE AGAIN!" Zoro yelled out with tears streaming down his face. "Until I defeat him and become the world greatest swordsman I''ll never be defeated anymore!" As Zoro said that Mihawk and Luffy''s face split into a wide grin after hearing with Zoro said. "Do you have a problem with that...PIRATE KING!?" Zoro yelled/asked. Luffy chuckled to himself before he replied.


    "Not a single problem," Luffy said. Luffy then turned to Mihawk and saw him standing there with his arms folded and his sword already strapped to his back. Luffy was about to speak to him but Mihawk looks in the direction and spoke first.


    "It is still too early for you to die. My name is Hawk-Eye Mihawk you are strong but there is still much for you to learn. No matter how much years it takes I will hold this title as the greatest in the world and wait for you. Until that day you must hone your skills then...SEEK ME OUT RORONOA ZORO!" Hawk-Eye said surprising everyone there including Luffy. Hawk-Eye then turned towards Luffy and spoke. "Is your goal still to become the King of the Pirates?" he asked. Luffy smirked before he replied


    "You already know the answer to that question," Luffy said causing Mihawk to chuckle before he turned started walking back to his boat. As he was walking away Luffy spoke once again. "By the way," he said getting Mihawk''s attention, "If you come across shanks let him know I''ll be entering paradise in a week," he said before he turned and headed back to the floating restaurant. Mihawk turned back around and continued to walk to his boat. As he was about to reach his boat the sound of someone landing of the piece the broken ship got his and everyone''s attention. He looked over his shoulder to see Don Kreig standing there in his golden armor.


    "Hawk-Eye," Kreig said making Hawk-eyes turn around to look at him. "I was under the impression you were here to kill me," Kreig said. hawk-eye looked at him with a bored expression on his face before he replied.


    "I was but I had enough fun for today. So, I am going back home to rest," he said before he turns around and began walking back to his boat. As he was walking back to his boat Kreig spoke again.


    "That''s too bad because I am just getting started," he said as he pulled out two pistols and activated his hidden guns that were hidden under his armor and aimed it all at Mihawk. Just as he was about to pull the trigger a bolt of lightning came out of the sky and struck Kreig causing him to collapse on the ground smoking. Everyone stared at the smoking form of Krieg with wide eyes before he looked back up at the cloudy sky.


    "it is as though the gods themselves judged Kreig," Patty said in a voice of utter disbelief as he stared up at the sky. Luffy was looking at all of them with an amused look on his face.


    "You know I could have handled that Luffy. I didn''t need your help," Mihawk said causing everyone to look at Luffy with eyes the size of dinner plates. Luffy chuckled before he replied


    "I know, but I got a deal with the old man," he said earning a nod from Mihawk before he stepped onto his boat and sailed away. Luffy then turned his attention towards Usopp and company who had just got finished bandaging up Zoro. "Usopp," Luffy called out getting his attention. "You four head after Nami. I will catch up with once I get the cook," Luffy said making Usopp standing up straight and salute him before he replied.


    "You can count on the great captain Usopp to get the ship back," Usopp said before the four of them sailed after Nami. Luffy then looked at Zeff and spoke.


    "I do hope our deal still stands?" Luffy asked earning a chuckle and a nod from Zeff. "Good," he said before he turned and Look at Kreig who was now try to stand back up. Luffy turned his body to lightning surprising everyone there and teleported himself in front of Kreig. When Kreig stood up straight he saw Luffy standing right in front of him looking at him with a bored expression on his face. Kreig stared right back at Luffy with a look of pure hatred before he raised one of his pistols and pointed it at Luffy''s head. The chefs were beginning to get worried for Luffy while the pirates all smiled at the fact that their captain was going to kill the straw hat boy. Even though he had a gun pointed to his head Luffy expression didn''t change, he had that same bored expression on his face which pissed Kreig off even more. One of the chefs was about to yell at Luffy to move out of the way but before he could Kreig pulled the trigger. What happened next surprised everyone, even Kreig and Zeff. The bullet hit Luffy right between the eyes and seem to just pass right through him as though he was a ghost. When Kreig saw this he stumbled back a few steps in surprise before he pulled the trigger again and again only to have the same thing happen each time. dropping his gun Kreig began to stutter.


    "Y-you...ate...a...devil fruit," he said surprising everyone who was there. People around Luffy began murmuring about hearing about devil fruits and myths about devil fruits. Luffy just tuned all of them out and focused on Kreig who regained his composure and began to speak. "It doesn''t matter if you ate a devil fruit or not, " he said causing the murmuring to stop and Luffy to raise an eyebrow in curiosity. "I''ll just blow you into the water and have you drown," he said before he reached behind him and pulled out a speak with two big gold plates, like the one ones on his shoulder, on the side. Kreig then rushed towards Luffy and tried to strike him in his c.h.e.s.t, but Luffy side-stepped and grabbed the wooden pole of the spear with his left hand and held onto it preventing Kreig from pulling it away.


    "You are without a doubt the biggest idiot I have ever met," Luffy said in a bored tone as he held on the spear.


    "What did you say, brat!?" asked an angry Kreig. Luffy just sighed before he replied.


    "What kind of idiot puts a metal speak with two giant gold-plated disks ON A PIECE OF STICK!" Luffy yelled before he crushed the wooden stick with his left hand causing Kreig''s eyes to widen. As the tip of the spear was falling to the ground Luffy spun clockwise and kicked it in the direction of Kreig''s ship. The spear sail in the air before he stuck onto Kreig''s ship right in the middle of a group of pirates. As the tip hit the ground it exploded blowing the group of pirates away and into the water. Luffy then looked at Kreig who had a look of fear written all over his face. Faster than anyone could blink Luffy grabbed onto Kreig''s face and smashed his head into the ground. Luffy then stood up and placed his right foot on Kreig''s c.h.e.s.t plate before he spoke.


    "You should be careful walking around with all this metal, Kreig," Luffy said in a voice that sent chills down the spine of everyone there. "You could get struck by lightning," he said before he covered his entire body in lightning and electrocuted Kreig. Everyone staring at the scene could clearly see Kreig was in a great deal of pain and he was trying to scream, yet no voice came out. Gin stared at his captain with wide eyes, he wanted to help his captain, but fear didn''t let him move from the spot that he was in. Luffy electrocuted Kreig for about four minutes before he finally turned off the lightning and stepped off of Kreig and began walking back to the chefs. Everyone stared at Kreig to see with he was going to get up, but with one look everyone there knew. Don Kreig, the pirate admiral, and ruler of the East Blue was dead. As Luffy was walking back to the restaurant he stopped and turned to the pirates and looked at them with cold eyes causing them to flinch under his gaze.


    "I suggest all of you get out of here before I kill you as well," Luffy said causing them to scramble and run to find pieces of the broken ship to use as a boat. When Luffy reached the chefs Zeff was the first one to speak.


    "You are just going to let them go?" he asked. Luffy chuckled and smiled at him before he spoke.


    "A dead man tells no tales," he said before he walked into the restaurant. As he said that Zeff started to laugh.


    "Indeed they don''t," Zeff said before he followed Luffy into the restaurant along with the rest of the cooks.


    **CHAPTER END**

 Chapter 10 - 10: Farewells and Fishmen!

    Luffy was currently sitting at one of the tables in the restaurant eating a bowl of soup with Sanji and all of the chefs. It had been a few hours since Luffy defeated Kreig and everything seem to have calmed down a bit. Other than a few pirates who chose to give up the pirate''s life to become waiters at the restaurant, everything was somewhat peaceful. That was until he heard Patty yell out.


    "Who made this soup!?" he asked loudly. Sanji got up from his seat with a smile on his face and walked over to Patty before he spoke.


    "I did," he said with a smile. "Isn''t it the best soup you ever tasted?" he asked. However, what Patty said next wiped the happy smile right off of his face and replaced it with an angry scowl.


    "More like the worst soup I ever tasted," Patty said before he tossed the bowl of soup on the ground. Sanji then grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and yelled at him.


    "What did you said you bastard?" He asked angrily. Before Patty could reply some more cooks started to comment on the soup.


    "Yea, this thing this disgusting," said one chef.


    "Taste like garbage in a bowl to me," said another. it continued like that for a while before every chef in the restaurant was yelling at Sanji for how disgusting his soup was. Luffy was beyond confused, he was wondering if he was eating the same soup that everyone else was tasting. He looked over next to Patty at the pot that was on the table to see if it was the same pot that he took his food out from. To Luffy''s surprised it was the exact same pot. So, he took his spoon and took another taste of his soup, while ignoring the fight that broke out between Sanji and the chefs behind him. The soup tasted amazing to Luffy. It reminded him of the home cook food that Makino use to cook for him when he was a kid on Dawn Island. Luffy was interrupted from his reminiscing by the sound of what Luffy could make out as Zeff''s wooden leg hitting the floor as he walked. The sound got everyone in the restaurant''s attention, they all looked at the stairs to see Zeff walking down the stairs with a spoon in his hand. He walked straight to the pot of soup on the table before he dipped his spoon into the pot and scooped up some soup. All of the commotions stopped, people who were fighting and eating all paused and look at Zeff with baited breath to see what he would say about the soup. In Luffy''s mind if there was anyone who could truly judge the tase of the soup and be right about it, was Zeff. Zeff placed a spoon full of the soup in his mouth and swirled it around in his mouth to get a good taste of it before he gave his opinion.


    "This soup is horrible," he said before he spat on the floor. As he said that Luffy had his jaw practically hanging. He was about to take a sip of his whiskey before he stopped and looked at the glass and think to himself.


    ''Is the whiskey burning away my tastebuds?'' he thought to himself before he shrugged his shoulders and tossed his drink back and savored the taste. He then turned his attention to Sanji who was walking over to Zeff with an angry expression on his face.


    "What did you say, you only geezer!?" Sanji asked/yelled. Zeff folded his arms before he replied.


    "You heard me the first time brat," he said before he turned around and started walking back towards the kitchen. As he was walking he looked over his shoulder and spoke to Sanji once more. "Might as well join that kid''s pirate crew because I don''t need a crappy cook like you working here," Zeff said. Luffy who saw how much that comment hit Sanji and decided to add his two cents. So, he got up with his bowl and walked over to the pot and started to take out some more soup. As he was serving himself seconds, he spoke to the entire restaurant.


    "You know, I don''t know what you guys are talking," he said getting all of their attention. "This is the best soup I''ve had in years," he said causing Sanji to smile. Sanji then looked at Luffy before looking back and Zeff and spoke.


    "Fine then," he said making everyone look at him. "If you bastards can''t appreciate good cooking then I''ll just go where my cooking will be appreciated," he said before turning towards Luffy who was walking back to his table. "You got yourself a cook, Luffy," he said before walking out of the restaurant. As he said that Luffy smiled at the fact that he just found his cook, now all he need to do was go sort out his navigator issues. As soon as Sanji walked out of the restaurant Luffy looked at Zeff and spoke.


    "You know, I really didn''t taste anything wrong with the soup," he said causing Zeff to chuckle and a few of the chefs to look at him slightly ashamed which confused Luffy.


    "There is nothing wrong with the soup," Zeff said with a warm smile on his face.


    "Sanji is a great cook, one of the best chefs in the restaurant," Patty said causing a few of the other chefs to nod in agreement.


    "So, why did you tell him his food sucks?" Luffy asked before he started to eat his food. Zeff walked over to Luffy''s table and sat down opposite him before he started to speak.


    "That boy is extremely stubborn. He has dreams of his own yet he sticks around this restaurant thinking that he needed to repay a debt that I never expected him to pay back," Zeff said causing Luffy to nod his head showing he understood what Zeff was saying. "He would have never left on his own," he said with a chuckle.


    "So, we decided to give him a push...a pretty hard push," Patty added making everyone laugh. It was at that moment that Luffy''s observation Haki alerted him that Sanji was standing at the door listening to everything everyone was saying about him. Luffy smile and said nothing instead he got up and headed towards the back door to meet Sanji. When he got out there he saw him leaning over the side of the ship with tears in his eyes. Luffy walked and stood next to him with his back braced against the side of the ship.


    "Got any dream, Sanji?" Luffy asked getting his attention. Sanji wiped his eyes before taking out a cigarette and lighting it.


    "Yeah, I got one that I want to achieve before I die," he said before he took a deep pull on his cigarette. "Have you ever heard of the All Blue?" he asked. Luffy turned away from him and looked up to the sky and sighed before he replied.


    "Yeah, I have," Luffy said surprising Sanji. "It is said it is a mystical sea of legend, rumored to be the only place in the world where the North, South, East, and West seas meet. In this legendary ocean, it is said that there are fish from each of the four seas...from what I head it is the ultimate dream of every chef," Luffy said before looking back at Sanji to see his eyes were wide at the fact that Luffy had heard about the All Blue.


    "Do you think it exists?" Sanji asked in a voice that sounded as though he was scared of the answer.


    "Don''t know," Luffy said making Sanji''s mood drop a bit. "However..." Luffy continued causing Sanji to look up at him with hopeful eyes. "...there is only one way to find out whether it exists or not," he said with a grin causing Sanji to grin alongside him.


    "Guess there is only one way huh?" he asked rhetorically with a smirk on his face. Luffy then turned around and looked out into the open sea with a smirk of his own and spoke.


    "Let''s turn this world upside down," he said in a voice filled with conviction before he turned to Sanji and spoke again. "Go get your stuff ready. We need to leave as soon as possible," he said before starting off in the direction that Nami went. "I have a thief to catch," he said before heading back inside. When he got inside he saw everyone was cleaning up the restaurant and a few chefs were sitting back relaxing. Luffy walked over to an empty table and sat down with a glass in his hand before he poured himself some whiskey to drink. While Luffy was enjoying his drink the doors of the restaurant came flying off of its hinges and something came crashing in. Everyone in the restaurant was startled by the sudden change of events. It went from being a calm and peaceful moment to one long and scary one. A lot of the chefs thought it was the Kreig pirate came back for revenge, or the Marines heard about to fight between Luffy and Kreig and had come to arrest everyone. When the dust cloud finally settled everyone was left staring at a truly strange sight. Laying on the ground was a man inside of a sharks mouth. For the second time today Luffy was left wondering if he should stop drinking. He looked around to see if everyone was seeing the same thing that he was seeing and much to his surprise they were.


    "Is that a Fishman?" asked one of the cooks.


    "Did he come all the way from fish man island just to eat here?" another cook said going off of the previous.


    "You idiot it is a human in a pan shark," Patty said to the two cooks. Luffy finally decided to get up from where he was sitting and walked over to get a good look and the man. What he saw caused his eyes to widen it was Yosaku.


    "Yosaku!" Luffy yelled before he pulled him out of the shark''s mouth. When he pulled him out of the shark''s mouth some of the chefs picked up the shark and set it free while another brought a blanket for Yosaku. After sitting him down in a chark Luffy then began to question Yosaku. "Why are you here? Where are the others? Did you find Nami?" he asked. Yosaku wrapped himself up in a blanket before he spoke in a somber tone.


    "We never actually caught up with her, but from the direction she is heading, we think we''ve figured out where big sis is going and what she plans on doing," he said causing Luffy to narrow his eyes a bit.


    "I see," he said before taking a sip of his whiskey. "So we can get the ship back," Luffy said causing Yosaku to look down a bit before he replied.


    "Maybe," he said causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow. "but if our suspicion turns out to be true then the place she is going could mean certain death to all of us if we follow her," Yosaku said surprising Luffy and everyone there with that comment. "The point is we really need your help big bro Luffy. Please come with me!" Yosaku said in a desperate voice.


    "Okay, I don''t really get it, but I got it. Let''s go," Luffy said before he started walking towards the front door with Yosaku following right behind him along with all of the chefs who want to say goodbye. As they were walking out of the door everyone saw Sanji standing there with a bag over his shoulder. He then looked towards Luffy and spoke.


    "Are you ready to go...Captain?" he asked surprising the chefs that were there.


    "Yeah, looks like the rest of the guys are going to need some help," Luffy said before he walked towards the edge of the restaurant with Yosaku leaving Sanji to say goodbye. He could hear Sanji in the background yelling at the cooks about their bad acting and he could also hear Sanji crying while he thanked Zeff for all he did for him throughout the years. Luffy then decided to block out Sanji and look up to the sky and began concentrating to summon a cloud for them to ride on. A small part of the sky began to be filled with a small number of thunderclouds. After the size was suitable to Luffy''s liking the cloud started to descend from the sky to the restaurant. By now Sanji had finish thanking Zeff and came to stand next to Luffy not noticing the cloud coming down from the sky.


    "How are we going there?" he asked while wiping the remaining tears away from his eyes. "If you want I have a small boat that would be able to carry us," he said. Luffy didn''t say anything he simply pointed up at the sky causing Sanji and the chefs to look up as well. To say they were surprised at what they saw would be an understatement. Their eyes were as wide as he can be and their jaws were practically hanging from their mouth as they saw a thunder slowly descending from the sky and stopping at the feet of Luffy. When the cloud arrived Luffy jumped on surprising everyone, except for Yosaku who had seen it before. From the cloud, a throne was formed along with two seats in front of the throne. He then looked at Sanji and Yosaku and spoke.


    "Are you two going to stand there all day or get on already?" he asked rhetorically knocking the two of them out of their staring. They quickly hoped into the cloud and sat down in the seats. As he sat down a bolt of lightning came out of the cloud and went around them, strapping them to their seats. Luffy then turned towards Zeff and spoke. "Do take care of yourself old man," he said before the cloud raced away across the water at an amazing speed in the direction of where the others went.


    "Cheeky brat," Zeff said as he stared at the cloud getting smaller and smaller as he sped away. Back on the cloud, Luffy was calmly sitting on his throne pouring himself a drink while Sanji and Yosaku were poking and touching the cloud trying to wrap their head around the fact that they are riding on a cloud.


    "How are you able to do this?" asked an astonished Sanji. Luffy took a sip of his drink before he replied.


    "I ate a lightning devil fruit. I can control lighting and become lightning itself," he said as he turned his right hand into a large bolt of lightning. "For some reason, I can control thunderclouds to a certain degree. It surprised me as well when I first discovered it," Luffy said. sanji nodded his head and went back to admiring the cloud but was interrupted when Luffy spoke to Yosaku. "So, Yosaku," he said getting Yosaku''s attention. "Do you want to tell us what is so bad about where Nami is going?" he asked. Yosaku then sat us straight and spoke to both Luffy and Sanji.


    "She...She went to Arlong," he said causing Luffy to narrow his eyes and Sanji raise his eyebrows.


    "Arlong! as in "Saw-Tooth" Arlong?" Luffy asked in a surprised voice. Yosaku nodded his head before he spoke again.


    "Nami couldn''t stop looking at Arlong''s picture when she saw it. And it wasn''t a normal kind of stare, there was something different about the way she was staring, something focused. I''m telling you Nami is planning of taking down Arlong and collecting the 20 million berry bounty!" Yosaku said causing Sanji''s eyes to widen. Luffy didn''t say anything he simply waited for Yosaku to continue before he said anything because something did not add up in Luffy''s mind. "The Warlord and Captain of the Fishman Pirates, Jimbe left Arlong here in the East Blue and since coming here he has taken control of twenty towns," Yosaku said surprising Sanji once more. As Yosaku was about to speak Luffy interrupted him.


    "Jimbe didn''t leave Arlong here to cause trouble. The two of them had a fallen out a long time ago and Arlong and a few other Fishmen who think themselves to be superior to humans came took up shop in the East Blue after leaving the Fishman Pirates," Luffy said shedding some light on the subject.


    "How do you know that?" asked Sanji getting a nod from Yosaku showing he too wanted to know how Luffy knew that.


    "I men Jimbe a long time ago when I went to Fishman Island," Luffy said surprising the two passengers on the cloud. "He was really nice. He even gave me meat," Luffy said with a smile causing the two of them to sweatdrop. "Anyway while I was there he told me the story of Fisher Tiger and other stories about his pirate journey. The story about Arlong happen to be one of them," he finished.


    "Wow, you went to Fishman Island," Sanji said with a weird look on his face. "You''ve got to tell me...are the mermaids as beautiful as the stories say?" he asked with hearts in his eyes while his cigarette was puffing out heart-shaped smoke.


    "The stories don''t do them justice," Luffy said causing Sanji to have a nosebleed. "but you don''t have to take my word for it, you can see for yourself when we go there," Luffy said causing Sanji to smile widely and started singing about how many mermaids he''s going to marry. Luffy just shook his head and turned to Yosaku and told him to continue where he left off.


    "Arlong set up his main base of operation on Conomi Islands. He calls it Arlong Park and that''s where Nami is headed," Yosaku said. Luffy sighed and took a sip of his drink before he replied.


    "This girl is more trouble than she is worth," he said while massaging his forehead with his right hand. "I mean if she wants to kill Arlong for his bounty why didn''t she just say so and all of us would''ve helped her. Is she that greedy that she wants it all for herself?" he asked causing the two of them to shrug their shoulders. "Something about her behavior doesn''t add up. Hold on tight," Luffy said suddenly puzzling Sanji and Yosaku. Then all of a sudden the thundercloud that they were riding on sped up and angled itself upward a wit and began to climb higher and higher in the sky.


    "What are you doing!?" screamed Yosaku.


    "Going to a higher altitude. We will get there faster this way," he said before he increased the speed of the cloud once more. Now the cloud was flying across the sky at about 80 mph and was about 20,000 ft in the air. Yosaku and Sanji looked beyond scared at the hight they were. Sanji was doing a better job of hiding it while Yosaku was screaming for his life. After traveling for about thirty minutes high in the clouds, the thundercloud began to descend from the sky until it was back to about 10 ft above the water. Looking ahead of them they could see an island in the distance. Luffy looked to Yosaku, who was trying compose himself and spoke. "Is that the island?" he asked. Yosaku looked ahead of the cloud before he spoke.


    "Yeah, that''s it," he said while pointing ahead. "And that''s Arlong Park right there," he said pointing at the silhouette of the tall building just at the front of the island. As he said that Luffy turned the cloud to the right and started moving away from Arlong Park.


    "What are you doing? Arlong Park is right there," Yosaku asked with a confused look on his face.


    "We are going to the other side of the island. Let''s find Zoro and the rest of the guys before we go tearing this place apart," he said getting a nod of agreement from Yosaku and Sanji. They flew around the island until they reached the rear shore that looked to be secluded enough for them not to be noticed by anyone. The cloud flew ashore before coming to a stop. when it stopped the lightning bolts that were holding Sanji and Yosaku in their seats disappeared. Luffy then stood up from his throne soon followed by Sanji and Yosaku. The cloud then began to get closer and closer to the ground until it touched the ground. Upon contact with the ground, it slowly started to dissipate until the entire cloud was gone and three boys were left standing in the shore.


    "So what now, Captain?" Asked Sanji as he lit a new cigarette. Luffy looked around for a bit before he replied.


    "There doesn''t seem to be any towns or villages nearby," Luffy said while using his observation Haki to check around for people. "There is probably one more inland. For now, I think we just need to find the rest of the guys," he said.


    "How are we going to do that, Big Bro Luffy?" asked Yosaku with a confused look on his face. Luffy thought for a bit before he came up with an idea.


    "I think we just let them know we''re here on the island and then take it from there," he said confusing both Sanji and Yosaku.


    "And how do you plan on letting them know?" Sanji asked causing Luffy to smirk.


    "You''ll see," he said before looking up to the sky.


    *At Arlong Park*


    Sitting tied up in front of what looks to be some kind of pool is Zoro. Surrounding him are numerous Fishmen and Nami. Sitting behind Nami is the leader of the Arlong Pirates, Arlong. Arlong is a large, muscular, light blue saw-shark Fishman. He has long, black hair with a widow''s peak reaching down to his shoulders, under a brown ushanka. He has a fin on his nape, surrounded by his hair, and the gills are located on both the sides of his neck. On the left side of his c.h.e.s.t is the tattoo of the Fishman Pirates, while his own Jolly Roger is on his lower left arm. He was sitting on a white lawn chair staring at Zoro who was staring at Nami.


    "I guess you finally get it. I just used you guys to get what I wanted. You were skilled enough to get me my needs, but boy were you guys a bunch of suckers," Nami said with a smug look on her face causing Zoro to grit his teeth. The moment she said that Arlong started laughing.


    "She had you guys completely fooled. It''s no use she is cold-blooded, she betrayed her own family for money so you really shouldn''t feel too bad," Arlong said causing Nami to flinch which didn''t go unnoticed by Zoro. "If I were you I would just admit defeat and try to forget the day you even met her," he said causing Zoro to look down a bit before he started to chuckle which puzzled everybody including Nami. Here was a man who is most likely about to die and he is laughing as though everything is alright.


    "Forget about it?" Zoro asked rhetorically. "That''s kinda impossible. And as for the thing about us trusting her, we didn''t. well, the Captain sure didn''t," Zoro said surprising everyone including Nami. "The only reason she stole our ship is cause I wasn''t watching as the Captain told me to...I got distracted a bit," he said.


    "What are you talking about?" Nami asked. Zoro chuckled some more before he replied.


    "You see, the Captain told me to keep an eye on you before we went to that restaurant, bust after someone showed up I got distracted and took my eyes off you," he said causing Nami to scoff at him. " And as for not being able to forget about this... Let''s just say she pissed off the wrong person," Zoro said cryptically. Arlong was watching the interaction with narrowed eyes along with every other Fishman.


    "What are you talking about?" Nami asked in a curious voice. Zoro''s face took on a serious look before he answered.


    "You joined the Captain''s crew then committed treason and on top of them stole his ship with his jolly roger on it," Zoro said scaring Nami a bit. "You don''t really think there won''t be any repercussions for your actions do you?" he asked with a smirk on his face. "He is probably on his way here right now and for your sake, you better hope he calmed down a bit from the last time I saw him," he said. As he said that a large shadow was cast over Arlong park and was spreading outwards towards the sea. Everyone looked up and was surprised by what they saw, well everyone except Nami and Zoro. Nami''s face lost all color while Zoro was smiling as he looked up to the sky. Up in the sky, lightning could be seen flashing and striking random parts of the island. Then out of nowhere, a loud thunderclap was heard throughout the island and in a few neighboring islands. The fishmen were confused at what they were seeing. It was as though a major storm just came out of nowhere without any warning. Zoro and Nami however, they knew that wasn''t a normal storm. That could only mean one thing.


    Luffy was here and he is still pissed.


    *CHAPTER END*

 Chapter 11 - 11: The Fall of Arlong Park!

    Luffy, Sanji, and Yosaku were currently walking through a forested part of the island four about ten minutes now. Not too long ago Luffy turned the sky black and began raining down thunder and lightning as a way to let the others know that he was here on the island. At first, Sanji and Yosaku were okay with what he was doing, after all, they saw what he did during his fight with Don Kreig but they were immediately beginning to get scared when the thunder was so loud that the island itself shook, and lightning bolts were striking random parts of the island. After Luffy was done sending his signal to the others, the three of them began walking inland. Even though Luffy was finished giving the signal the thunderclouds were still present in the sky with lightning flashing every now and then.


    "I can sense a large number of people ahead," Luffy said getting their attention. "It is still a distance away...about another ten minutes and we should reach where they are," he said causing Sanji and Yosaku to look at him strangely.


    "How do you know that?" Sanji asked with a curious look on his face.


    "I used my observation Haki to sense them. Don''t worry as soon as we sort out all of this I am going to teach it to all of you," he said earning a nod from Sanji. After walking for another ten minutes the group exited the forest and ended up in what appears to be a small village of some kind. Luffy looked around expecting to see someone in the streets but there was no one there, it looked to be completely deserted. It was odd because Luffy remembered he sensed people in this exact same location ten minutes ago. So he decided to use his observation Haki once more to try and see where all the people were. Closing his eyes he began to try and sense the life force of people around. After a few seconds, he reopened his eyes and spoke.


    "I sensed that all the people in the village are just ahead of us," he said point in front of them. The three of them then began walking up what appears to be the main street of the village until they spot a large group of people gathered around a man. The man was wearing a police uniform with a pinwheel on his hat and his entire body was covered in scars from his face down to his legs. The three of them stood at the edge of the group observing what was going on before they made their presence known. Luffy then tapped Sanji and Yosaku on the shoulder getting their attention ad pointer off to the left of the group causing them to look in the direction of where he was pointing. When they looked they saw a house completely destroyed. Usually, when a house is destroyed, the parts of the roof would still be at the top, but this time it was at the bottom. It looked as though someone picked the house up and flipped it upside down before slamming it into the ground.


    "What could have the power to flip a house like that?" Yosaku whispered to the two of them.


    "A Fishman," Sanji replied causing Yosaku''s eyes to widen in fear. It was at that point Luffy decided to make their presence know.


    "It looks like we missed quite the party," he said getting everyone''s attention. After people starting to notice the three of them standing at the back, the crowd of people began part creating a path for the three of them to walk through. Luffy stood in the middle with Sanji on his left and Yosaku on his right as they walked through the path towards the man with all of the scars.


    "Who are you three?" asked the man in the police uniform, "I''ve never seen you here before," he said. Luffy looked at him with an emotionless look on his face for a while before he replied in his usual monotone voice.


    "We''re just a couple of sailors looking for our friends who came to this island," he replied as he walked and stood next to the man. "You wouldn''t happen to see them would you?" he asked. The people in the town were starting to get a bit nervous, they don''t really get a lot of visitors to this island.


    "Are you pirates?" they man asked making the people in the villages even more nervous.


    "Yes, we are," Luffy said causing everyone''s eyes to widen in fear before they all started to back up slowly. "Relax, I mean you no harm I am just here looking for my crew. One of them is a swordsman with green hair, you may know him as Roronoa Zoro," Luffy said surprising everyone at the fact that the famous pirate hunter became a pirate. "The next one is a long-nosed guy who goes by the name of Usopp," he said. As he said that he noticed a look of recognition across everyone''s face.


    "That brave boy is a part of your crew?" the man asked earning a nod from Luffy. "I see, I don''t know about Roronoa but that long-nosed man was here, but Arlong''s men went after him and they went running in that direction," he said while pointing off in the distance. Luffy''s eyes were as wide as dinner plates when he heard that.


    ''Damn it Usopp,'' Luffy thought to himself. He then sighed and began massaging his forehead before he spoke. "Thanks...um I didn''t get your name," Luffy said.


    "Oh forgive me, I am Genzo," he said as he stretched out his head for Luffy to shake. Luffy grabbed his hand and shook it before he replied.


    "Thanks for your help Genzo, I''m Luffy," he said as he shook Genzo''s hand. Luffy, Sanji, and Yosaku then began walking off in the direction that Usopp was chased in before Luffy stopped and turned back to Genzo to ask another question. "He Genzo," he said getting his and everybody''s attention. "I am also looking for a girl by the name of Nami, know where I can find her," he asked causing everyone in the village to flinch slightly. The one thing that caught Luffy''s eyes, however, was the reaction of a blue haired girl. Not only did she flinched upon hearing Nami''s name but her facial expression changed from that of a serious one to a worried one and using his observation Haki Luffy could tell that her emotions were all over the place ranging from curiosity to worried. Before Luffy could question the village about their reaction he heard Zoro''s voice coming from behind him.


    "LUFFY!" Screamed Zoro as he ran up the road with his only sword in hand to meet Luffy. Luffy turned around and saw Zoro running towards him but frowned when he saw neither Johnny nor Usopp was with him. Luffy had thought that Johnny would for sure be with him for sure knowing how much Johnny and Yosaku look up to him. When Zoro finally arrived and caught his breath he spoke to Luffy. "Luffy, Nami is a member of Arlong''s crew," Zoro said surprising the three of them.


    "What did you just say?" Luffy asked with a surprised look on his face.


    "You heard me, she is a part of Arlong''s crew. she even has his jolly roger tattooed on her shoulder," Zoro said surprising the three of them again. After he said that Luffy began to think back and soon realized he never saw Nami''s shoulder, she always wore short sleeves hiding it.


    ''That''s not possible. Arlong hates humans, so there is no way he would let one join his crew...Uhhhh something doesn''t add up,'' Luffy thought to himself. Luffy then walked back over to Genzo and took a seat next to him before sighing and pulling out a bottle of whiskey and a glass from his coat and pouring himself a drink.


    "Okay forget about Nami for now, where are Usopp and Johnny," he asked. Zoro looked around before shrugging his shoulders causing Luffy to sigh once again. Just as Luffy was about to speak everyone heard Johnny''s voice.


    "BIG BRO LUFFY!" screamed Johnny as he ran through the crowd with tears streaming down his face confusing everyone. Upon arrival, he immediately dropped down to his knees in front of Luffy and began crying causing everyone to look at him strangely.


    "Johnny, calm down, Where is Usopp? is he going to come running in like you and Zoro?" Luffy asked trying to calm Johnny down, but instead calming him down he made Johnny start crying even more.


    "Big Bro Usopp is dead," Johnny said causing everyone''s eyes to widen and making Luffy shot up to his feet. "Nami murdered him!" he screamed causing the villagers to gasp in shock before they all scream in fear when they heard a loud thunderclap above. Luffy immediately bent down and picked Johnny up by the scruff of his neck before speaking in a cold emotionless tone.


    "Don''t f.u.c.k with me Johnny," he said as he stared into Johnny''s eyes. "Nami doesn''t have what it take to kill anyone, stealing is as far as she goes," Luffy said.


    "Luffy is right even though she is with Arlong there is something off about her behavior when I saw her," Zoro said.


    "It''s true!" Johnny screamed as Luffy let go of him. "She was a traitor all along. She is trying to gain Arlong''s favor so she can gain the treasure in Cocoyasi Village all for herself, you don''t have to believe me but I know what I saw. Nami killed Big bro Usopp!" Johnny said. Zoro was about to speak but stopped when he saw Luffy with a serious look on his face staring up the road he came from. Zoro turned and looked up the road causing everyone to do the same. Everyone saw someone walking up the road towards the village. After a few minutes, everyone to makes out that it was Nami walking towards the village with a Bo staff in her hand. When she arrived in front of everyone her eyes immediately made eye contact with the girl with the blue hair and a sad look came across both her and the girl''s face. This did not go unnoticed by Luffy, he looked at Nami with cold eyes and spoke.


    "Where is Usopp, Nami?" Luffy asked as he stared at her. Nami smirked before she replied.


    "With the fishes," she said causing everyone in the village to gasp once more. Genzo looked like he wanted to say something to Nami but before he could the sound Luffy chuckling filled the air causing everyone to look at him strangely.


    "Oh...now I''m really mad," Luffy said. As he said that lightning struck the destroyed house setting the rubble on fire. Johnny then shot up to his feet and pointed at Nami before he screamed at her.


    "Damn you!" he screamed while pointing at her with tears streaming down his face. "Because you Big Bro Usopp is gone!" he yelled. Nami didn''t look the least bothered by his reaction, she just stared at him with a smug look on her face before she replied.


    "Yep, that''s right," she said causing Luffy to raise his eyebrow at her. "So why don''t you kill me and get your revenge," she said causing Luffy to chuckle a bit before he spoke.


    "Kill you?" he asked as he took a few steps forward. "Killing you would simply put you out of your misery...I''m going add on to your misery," Luffy said as lightning flashed behind him. "You know even though you stole my ship and committed treason I wasn''t really going to do anything other than killing Arlong and leave with the bounty, but now you crossed a line," he said making everyone in the village a bit nervous. "So, I am not going to kill you," he said before reaching behind him and grabbing the blue haired girl with the tattoos by her hair and threw her down on the ground in front of him causing the girl to scream out in pain. He then placed his left foot on her c.h.e.s.t and pulling out his pistol and aiming it at her before he continued to speak. "I am going to kill her instead," he said as he stared at Nami with cold eyes.


    "What do you think you are doing Luffy!?" ask/yelled an angry Sanji. "She has nothing to do with this!" he said.


    "Ohhh she has more to do with this than you think," Luffy said as while looking at Sanji. "You see, when you first arrived here I noticed the first person you made eye contact with was this girl and a look of recognition came over both of your faces. So I came to the conclusion that the two of you have history, hell I''d go as far and say the two of you are related," Luffy said causing Nami to flinch. When he saw her flinch he smiled and spoke again. "Seems I hit the nail right on the head, hmmm I would go further and say you two are sisters," he said causing her to clench her fist and grit her teeth. "And you see, Usopp''s dad in a way raised me. So, Usopp is in a way like a brother and seeing how you kill him it is only right I kill her. An eye for an eye right?" Luffy said with a smug smirk on his face. "Those tactics you normally pull are good for the pirates here in the East Blue, but the thing you seem to be forgetting is that I am from the Grand Line, we pirates from there tend to be a bit more ruthless and smart than these ones you got out here. So...any last words you want to say to your sister, Nami?" he asked as he pulled the hammer of his flintlock pistol back getting ready to fire while waiting for hear what Nami has to say. Everyone had their eyes widen when they saw Luffy pull the hammer back. A few villagers hid their face not wanting to see what was about to happen, Genzo looked like he was getting ready to push steal the gun away from Luffy, and Nami looked like she was seen a ghost of some kind. After a minute she finally screamed out loud.


    "USOPP IS NOT DEAD!" she screamed causing everyone''s eyes except Luffy''s to widen. Luffy just smiles at her before he spoke.


    "I know," he said before he took his foot off of the girl and place his pistol back in its holster. Nami looked beyond confused along with everyone who was there.


    "W-What do you mean you know?" she asked in a surprised voice. Luffy looked her with a smirk before he spoke.


    "He is right over there," he said while pointing between two houses. Everyone looked over and saw Usopp hiding behind two barrels between the houses. Upon seeing him Johnny and Yosaku immediately ran towards him and began hugging him. While they were doing that Luffy looked down at the girl he was about to kill and stretched out his hand to pull her up from the ground. The girl was a bit hesitant at first but eventually, she took Luffy''s hand for support in getting up. "Sorry about that just now," Luffy said while looking at the girl. "Just needed to teach your sister a lesson," he said.


    "It''s no problem," she said while dusting herself off. "She can be a bit of a problem sometimes," she said causing Luffy to chuckle a bit before he turned his attention to Nami.


    "So Nami, what''s your plan now?" Luffy asked with a smug smile on his face. Nami looked at Luffy with rage written all over her face before all that rage transformed into a smug smirk similar to Luffy''s which confused him.


    "You know I feel really sorry for you guys," she said in a condescending tone. "Thanks to Zoro''s stupidity Arlong is going to kill him and anyone who is a part of his crew," she said causing Luffy''s eyebrow to twitch a bit when she said Zoro''s crew. "I don''t care how strong you guys think you are, you are no match for the real monsters. I grantee that if you stay on this island you will surely die. So its a choice of life or death," she said with a smug smirk as she stared at Luffy expecting some sort of fear to be written on his face, but instead, he was staring at her with the same smirk before he then started to chuckle.


    "Oh, Nami...do I really look like the type of person who is scared of dying?" Luffy asked rhetorically before he looked at Zoro and spoke. "What about you Zoro, are you scared to die?" he asked causing Zoro to chuckle.


    "Not even in the slightest," he said with a smirk.


    "And Nami," he said causing her to look at him. "If you think Arlong is a monster, you are in for a rude awakening," he said as lightning flashed behind him. Nami turned away for a second preventing Luffy and the others from seeing her face while she clenched her fist. When she turned back around she looked at Luffy and screamed.


    "Fine! Go ahead and die!" she said before running off in the direction of Arlong Park. As she ran off Luffy looked around to see everyone looking at a running away Nami. Luffy began to start walking in the same direction soon followed by Zoro and the rest of the crew.


    "We are going to find a good spot to talk about what happened while you guys were here," Luffy said earning a nod from everyone. After walking for a while the crew came upon what appears to be a flooded field where the villagers plant rice. At the end of the field was a tree that was providing a decent amount of shade so Luffy decided to go there and relax for a bit. Zoro, Usopp, and Johnny then began to tell them everything that happened from the time they left the restaurant to the time they reunited with Luffy. They began to tell him about how Usopp and Johnny basically left Zoro to the fishmen and went to hide in a town that Arlong had destroyed because one person couldn''t pay tribute money. At first, Luffy was angry at the fact that Usopp had to abandon Zoro to save themselves but after hearing what Zoro did at Arlong Park it calmed him down. Apparently, after Nami broke Zoro out of prison and told him to leave he decided to wait there and kill a bunch of fishmen while he was there. Luffy assumed that was what Nami was talking about when she said Arlong wanted to kill Zoro for his stupidity. Luffy was then surprised to find out Nami saved Usopp''s life by stabbing herself in the hand and now that he thought about it she was wearing a black glove when they encountered her.


    "So Nami saved you from being killed by Arlong?" Asked Yosaku.


    "Yeah, she did," Usopp replied.


    "Why would she do that if she is a member of Arlong''s crew?" asked Johnny with a confused look on his face.


    "I believe I can help with that," came the voice of a woman startling everyone. Luffy looked up and saw it was the Nami''s sister.


    "And who are you?" Zoro asked while he looked at her with calculating eyes. Before she could reply Usopp answered Zoro''s question for her.


    "That''s Nami''s big sister, Nojiko," he said while pointing at her. "She saved me from a Fishman when he arrived and took me to her house," he said. Luffy sighed before he spoke to Usopp.


    "I really need to teach you Haki, Usopp," he said in an exhausted tone. Upon hearing that was Nami''s sister Sanji immediately went into his flirt mode causing Luffy to look and Zoro and nod his head signaling Zoro to smack Sanji across the head.


    "You all need to know the reason she joined up with Arlong''s group and if that doesn''t get you to leave here I don''t know what will," she said earning a raised eyebrow from Luffy.


    "Well tell us all about it. I have to admit I''m curious," said Usopp. Luffy then got up from where he was sitting under the chair and began walking away. As he was walking away he spoke.


    "I''ll pass," he said while walking away. "I don''t care about her past. I''m going for a walk," he said confusing them. Zoro sighed and went and sat against the tree was sitting against before he spoke.


    "Don''t mind him, that''s just how he is," he said as he placed his arms behind his head. "We''ll hear you out," he said. After Luffy left the rest of his crew to her what Nojiko had to say about Nami, he began walking on a lonesome road at the that was in the middle of the flooded rice fields and the forest. He had been walking for a while and he was quite some distance away from the rest of the group, it was then he noticed there were three figures in front of him. As he continued walking towards the three figures he noticed that they weren''t moving, they were just standing there looking at Luffy. As he got closer he realized that they were fishmen. They were all slightly taller than Luffy and were definitely more muscular. The three fishmen stared at Luffy as he got closer and when he was close enough for them to speak the octopus Fishman was the first to speak to Luffy.


    "Hello there, stranger," he said with his arms folded.


    "Hey," Luffy said while walking right past the three of them.


    "I''ve never seen you on this island, are you a guest?" the octopus asked while the other two stared at Luffy with a calculating look.


    "Just passing through," he replied never stopping to even look at them.


    "And where are you headed?" the Fishman with a rather long mouth asked.


    "Nowhere in particular, just walking," he said as he began walking away from the Fishman. The octopus Fishman smile and began waving at Luffy while he spoke.


    "Well have a good walk, stranger," he said happily as he waved at Luffy. Luffy didn''t say anything all he did was continue walking away from the group. If you were to ask Luffy why he was walking he couldn''t give you an answer because he didn''t know himself. It was very odd for Luffy usually, he would always make well thought out decisions and everything he did he did it for a reason, but right now he didn''t have a reason for what he was doing. After walking some more Luffy reached a cliff that gave a great view of the beach and the open ocean. While staring out at the ocean Luffy couldn''t help but smile as he looked out to the ocean and thought about the freedom that comes with being a pirate. While he was looking out and enjoying the view, he noticed something at the corner of his eye. When he turned his head slightly to the left he saw a marine ship and from the looks of it, it was from Marine Branch 16.


    ''Did the Marines finally decided to take action against Arlong?'' Luffy asked himself as he stared at the marine ship.


    "I better head back...got a weird feeling that trouble is just around the corner," he said to himself as he turned and started walking back to meet the rest of the crew. He decided to take a different route back mainly because he didn''t want to run into those fishmen again. So, he took the long way that would take him straight to the village and then from there he was going to head back to the rest of the crew. After walking for about 15 Luffy entered the village and began walking up a pretty busy street. Suddenly everyone in the street including Luffy stopped and looked ahead. Walking towards Luffy was a group of Marines along with Genzo. Luffy narrowed his eyes slightly before he began moving to the side of the road and ducking into one of the allies.


    ''Did Genzo call the Marines here to arrest me?'' he asked himself. Just as the Marines were passing by Luffy manage to hear their conversation.


    "What do you want with Nami?" Genzo asked causing Luffy eyes to widen.


    "Your job is just to lead us there, I suggest you do that and stop asking questions," ht eMarine captain that looked a lot like a mouse said. Just as the Marines left Luffy turned his body into lightning a teleported himself to the crew''s location. Zoro and the rest of the crew were sitting around waiting for Luffy to arrive for about 5 minutes now. Usopp was doing something to his slingshot, Sanji was smoking, Zoro was sleeping, and Johnny and Yosaku were playing cards. then out of nowhere a bolt of lightning struck the ground kicking up a lot of dust and scaring everyone half to death. when the dust had finally settled everyone saw Luffy standing there with a serious look on his face. Upon seeing him Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku immediately shot up to their feet and shouted at Luffy.


    "LUFFY!" they yelled while running towards Luffy. Luffy looked at everyone before he spoke.


    "Come on, its time to move," he said before he turned and started walking towards the village with Zoro on his right and Sanji on his left while Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku followed behind. As the group was walking towards the village they passed a mob of villagers armed with weapons headed in the direction of Arlong Park. As they walked by Luffy turned towards Johnny and Yosaku and spoke. "You two go make sure those villagers don''t do anything stupid before I get there," he said causing them to nod before running after the villagers. Luffy the rest of the crew continued on towards the village where he can sense Nami. When they got there they aw Nami kneeling on the ground with a dagger in her hand while she was clawing the tattoo on her shoulder while crying. The next that that happened caused everyone''s eyes to widen. She took the dagger and stabbed it right in her shoulder where the tattoo was while screaming Arlong''s name over and over.


    "Arlong! Arlong! Arlong! Arlong!" she screamed while stabbing her shoulder every time she said his name. Just as she was about to stab her shoulder again Luffy turned his body into lightning and teleported behind her and caught her hand before she could stab herself again. She turned around and looked at Luffy with tears streaming down her face before she spoke in a soft voice. "Luffy," she said before she dropped the dagger. "What do you want?" she asked while looking at the ground. "You don''t know anything. You don''t know what''s been happening on this island for the past eight years," she said while crying.


    "Nope, I don''t," Luffy said in an emotionless voice.


    "This has nothing to do with you. I told you to leave this place!" she said while digging her fingers into the ground.


    "Yep, you sure did," he said once again in the same emotionless voice.


    "So leave! I told you to leave! Get out of here!" Nami screamed while tossing sand from the ground at Luffy which he ignored. She then hunched over on the ground with tears streaming down her face and blood running down her arm crying while Luffy just stared at her crying with no emotion what so ever on his face. she then turned and looked up at Luffy and stared into his cold eyes before she spoke in a soft voice. "Luffy...help me," she said. As she said that Luffy reached up on his head and took off his straw hat and placed it on her head causing her eyes to widen when she remembered what the hat meant to Luffy.


    "Hold on to this for me," he said before turning and walking back to Usopp, Sanji, and Zoro. "Let''s go," he said to them.


    "RIGHT!" the three of them replied in unison before they began walking towards Arlong park leaving a sobbing Nami behind. The four of them walked for about five minutes in complete silence and the closer they got to Arlong Park more the sky would darken. When they came in sight of Arlong Park they saw the mob of villagers standing in front of the gate being blocked from entering by Johnny and Yosaku. When they got into speaking distance Luffy spoke.


    "Step aside," he said causing the crowd to part into two allowing Luffy and his crew to walk through. When the group was in front of the large gate that was the entrance to Arlong Park Luffy looked to Usoop and spoke. "Do you think we should knock?" Luffy asked jokingly causing Usopp to laugh before he replied.


    "Umm let me think...NOOO!" he said before he started laughing with Luffy. Luffy then walked up to the gate and covered his fist with Armament Haki before he punched the gate destroying it. When the gate was destroyed it kicked up a lot of dust preventing those who were inside to see who was outside, and those who were outside couldn''t see inside. When Luffy destroyed the gate the villager''s eyes were as wide as dinner plates at the strength that Luffy had. When the dust finally settled everyone saw the fishmen standing around a larger Fishman sitting on a white lawn chair staring at Luffy and the group of villagers with wide eyes.


    "What that.." Arlong said in surprise at the sight of his gate being destroyed by one man who didn''t seem to use any weapons. Luffy dusted off his captain''s coat before he looked at the fishmen and spoke.


    "Now which one of you is Arlong?" Luffy asked as he stared at the fishmen with cold emotionless eyes.


    "Arlong?" asked the shark Fishman sitting on the white lawn chair. "That just happens to be my name," he said.


    "Good, then you can call me Luffy," he replied while standing in front of the group with Zoro on his right and Sanji on his left while Usopp was hiding behind the broken down wall.


    "Luffy?" Arlong asked from his position in the chair. "And what exactly does Luffy want with me?" Arlong asked in a condescending tone. Luffy stared at him and smirked before he replied.


    "Oh nothing really, just here to kill you," Luffy said causing Arlong and his entire crew to start laughing loudly.


    "SHAHAHA! Do you pitiful human think you could kill me? A Fishman?" Arlong said while laughing.


    "Yes I do," Luffy said getting slightly bored. Arlong finally stopped laughing and looked at Luffy before he started to speak.


    "Let me enlighten you humans about us Fishman because it looks like you clearly don''t understand the hard truth that is right in front of you. From birth, we fishmen are able to breathe not only underwater but also up above the surface while you humans can only do one. We are also ten times stronger than any normal human above the water and in the water where you humans have your strength cut in half, ours increase astronomically. Heaven gave us the power to separate us from you. So we are different! Humans are lower and weaker since the day they were born!" Arlong boasted to Luffy who was beginning to get bored.


    "Are you going to run your mouth all day or are we going to fight?" Luffy asked in a bored tone. It pissed Arlong off at how easily Luffy was dismissing him.


    ''Who does this lowly human think he is!? I am the man who will rule the seas, this human should be honored to be in the very presence of a being like me!'' Arlong screamed in his head as he stared at Luffy with a look of pure bloodl.u.s.t. Just as Arlong was about to scream at Luffy the octopus Fishman spoke.


    "Let us deal with these guys, boss," he said getting Arlong''s attention. Arlong thought about it for a second before he replied.


    "You''re right, Hachi," he said to the Fishman now named Hachi. "These lowly pieces of trash isn''t worth my time," he said before he looked up at the sky. "And make it quick, it seems like a storm is coming," he said causing Luffy to smirk along with the rest of his crew.


    ''You have no idea,'' they all thought with a smirk on their face. Hachi then walked over the side of the pool like structure that seems to lead out into the ocean and placed both of his hand on his rather long mouth before he started to play it like a trumpet. As he did that the people of the village were beginning to get scared then all of a sudden the ground beneath their feet started to shake and the water in the pool began to get rough and rather large waves began to form. As Luffy looked at sea he saw something rather large coming towards the island rather fast. It was underwater but judging from the size of the wave that was heading in their direction, whatever it was it was really big. Hachi then began to laugh loudly as he spoke.


    "HAHAHA! Now every single one of you will become fish food!" he said with his arms spread out wide. "Mohmoo, RISE!" Hachi said. As he said that something very big began to rise out of the pool. What came out of the pool was something Luffy hadn''t expected. It was a giant sea cow. It has a big round nose with a gold nose ring, cow-esque face, and horns, green spots throughout its body. Hachi then pointed at Luffy and his crew before he gave an order to the giant sea cow. "Get em, Mohmoo," he said causing the sea cow to turn it''s attention to Luffy and the gang along with causing the fishmen to charge at Luffy. Sanji and Zoro were about to attack the fishmen, but Luffy stretched out his arms stopping them.


    "Stop," Luffy said with his arms stretched out to his side. "I got this," he said before electric blue sparks of lightning to surround his down. He then looked up to the thundercloud infested sky and spoke in an icy tone.


    "Raging Thunder!" Luffy said as he closed his fists. Just as his fists closed a loud booming thunder sounded above before 50 bolts of lightning came down from the sky and struck Mohmoo and every Fishman except for Arlong and the three who Luffy had met before. It electrocuted every one of Arlong''s men killing them and because of the fact that Mohmoo was in the water that added an extra level of torture to its suffering. However, even though it was in the water Mohmoo did not die. Luffy assumed that it was because of its size that the lightning bolt was not big enough to kill it. So instead, Mohmoo fell back into the water with its eyes rolled back in its head. The villagers all had wide eyes at what they just saw. It was like Lightning rained down from the heavens and killed all of Arlong''s men


    "What kind of man is he?" asked one of the villagers.


    "He defeated...no slaughtered Arlong''s entire crew with just one attack," the village doctor said.


    "That''s big bro Luffy for you, he has devil fruit powers," Johnny said enlightening the villagers.


    "Devil fruit powers?" asked Genzo earning a nod from Johnny and Yosaku. "I thought they were just myths," he said as he stared at Luffy. Arlong and his three officers had their eyes widen as they looked at their fallen brethren.


    "Way to steal all the fun Luffy," Zoro said causing Luffy to chuckle before he replied.


    "Don''t worry, those were just the trash. They aren''t worth your time," Luffy said before pointing at the three fishmen standing in front of Arlong. "Those are your targets," he said causing Zoro and Sanji to smile while Usopp was shaking in his boots.


    "How dare you!" Arlong said with rage written all over his face. "How dare you kill my brothers!?" he screamed before turning towards his officers and yelled out an order. "Kill them! Kill them all!" he screamed.


    "Yes boss," they said before the three of them charge towards Luffy. Before they could reach Luffy Zoro intercepted Hachi, Sanji intercepted the Fishman with weird elbows, while Usopp from distance away from Arlong Park used his slingshot to sent a flaming bomb at the Fishman with a long mouth causing him to chase after Usopp. Luffy stared at Arlong from his same position he stood from the time he entered Arlong Park.


    "Why don''t we let our subordinates fight it out first before we throw down," Luffy said before he pulled out a bottle of whiskey and summoned a thundercloud to create a throne from him to sit. He then poured himself a drink and sat back and watched all of his crew members fight the fishmen. He was using this time to see exactly how Sanji and Zoro fighting style was so he can decide how to advise them in using their Haki. He was interrupted from his observing by Arong''s voice.


    "You have devil fruit powers," he noted causing Luffy to roll his eyes.


    "You just figured that out?" Luffy asked in a bored tone. "I thought you would figure it out when I killed all of your men and send you pet cow to sleep," he said while shaking his head.


    "Why you!" Arlong growled from his sitting position as he stared at Luffy with a look of pure hatred. Soon both Luffy and Arlong''s attention was drawn to Zoro''s fight with Hachi. When they looked over they saw Hachi airborne with all six of his swords broken and blood gushing out of his body. His body was crashed landed behind Zoro kicking up a lot of dust when the dust settled everyone saw Hachi laying in a small crater out cold. Luffy looked over to Zoro and saw he was in pretty bad shape.


    ''He still not fully healed from his fight with Mihawk...That being said, he manages to defeat a pretty strong Fishman while being severely wounded,'' Luffy thought to himself before he spoke to Zoro.


    "You did well Zoro. I expected nothing less from my vice-captain," Luffy said with a smile as he watches Zoro stumble over to him. "Rest now, you earned it," Luffy said as another thunder cloud came down in front of Zoro from him to collapse on. Luffy then turned to look at Sanji''s fight and was surprised at what he saw. Sanji''s fighting style seems to revolve around his legs, but the thing that puzzled Luffy the most was the fact that Sanji was not using his hands. In Luffy''s mind, he would be more effective if he just started using his hands but everyone has their style that represents who they are, can''t really tell them to stop being themselves. Luffy then watches as Sanji kick the Fishman whose name Luffy learned to be Kuroobi, through the main building of Arlong Park.


    "Well, that takes care of that," Sanji said before lighting up a cigarette. He then looked over to Luffy and began walking towards him and Zoro.


    "You did well, Sanji. Now all that''s missing is Usopp," Luffy said before taking a sip of his drink.


    "Do you think it is a good idea to let him fight that guy alone?" Sanji asked.


    "Yeah, he''ll be fine," Luffy said as he stared at Arlong who was looking at the fallen forms of Hachi and Kuroobi with nothing but rage in his eyes.


    "How...how is this possible!?" Arlong screamed. "Humans can''t defeat fishmen! We are superior beings in every way, shape, and form!" He yelled before he stood up from his seat causing Luffy to do the same.


    "Guess it''s my turn," Luffy said before downing his drink. Just as Arlong was about to rush at Luffy he spotted someone behind Luffy and smiled. Puzzling Luffy, he turned around to see what Arlong was looking and saw Nami wearing his straw hat with her shoulder all bandaged up and her bo staff in her hand.


    "Hey Nami," Arlong said. "Did you come here to see me kill these pathic little pirates?" he asked c.o.c.kily.


    "I''m here to kill you," Nami said in a chilling voice that surprised Luffy slightly. Arlong was about to respond to Nami but before he could the voice of Usopp interrupted him.


    "LUFFY!" Usopp screamed from behind the broken wall causing Luffy to smile. "I got you back," he said with a smile. Usopp looked like he been through hell and back. His nose was broken, there was dirt all over him, and he was covered in bruises.


    "Impossible! Chew was defeated?" Arlong asked in disbelief as he stared at Usopp. Usopp simply smiled and give Arlong a thumbs up. Luffy chuckled before he turned his right hand into Lightning and sent it towards Nami causing everyone''s eyes to widen. The lightning hand raced towards here faster than she can move. She closed her eyes expecting pain and waited for it to come, but nothing. She slowly reopened her eyes and saw Luffy placing his straw hat back on his head. Luffy smiled at her before he spoke.


    "You need to relax Nami," he said as he placed his hat back on. "Your punishment will come," he said causing her shiver in fear of what Luffy had planned. He then turned towards Arlong and spoke. "Time to die shark," he said causing Arlong to start laughing.


    "SHAHAHA! Foolish human, do you seriously thin-ugh" Arlong was interrupted from his speech by a lightning coated fist being buried in his stomach sending him flying backward crashing into one of the walls of Arlong Park.


    "You talk way too damn much," Luffy said as he stared at Arlong picking himself out of the rubble. The villagers and Nami stared at Luffy with eyes the size of dinner plates.


    "He laid Arlong out with one punch," said one villager.


    "Amazing!" said another. Luffy ignored all of the villagers cheering and focused on Arlong.


    "It doesn''t matter what species you are from," Luffy said getting Arlong''s attention as he stood up. "Your strength is useless if you don''t know the proper way to use it. I guess that''s why you could never beat Jimbe," Luffy said with a smirk pissing Arlong off.


    "DON''T MENTION THAT BASTARDS NAME!" Arlong screamed as he rushed towards Luffy. Luffy just stared as Arlong rushed towards him and didn''t move. Arlong then grabbed Luffy''s head with one hand and his shoulder with the other before he opened his mouth to bite Luffy''s neck. Everyone saw they had their eyes widen, well everyone except for Luffy''s crew who knew exactly what was about to happen. Arlong bit down on Luffy expecting to taste blood but instead of blood, he got a mouth full of lightning that exploded in his mouth blowing him back. From the spot on Luffy''s neck that Arlong clearly bit off, everyone saw in place of blood and flesh was electric blue sparks of lightning that started to reform Luffy''s neck. Arlong from his position on the ground stared at Luffy.


    "Did I forget to mention I ate a Logia class Devil fruit," Luffy said with an innocent look on his face. "Oops," he said pissing Arlong off.


    "I''ll show you why we fishmen are superior!" Arlong said before leaping into the water. Luffy looked at the spot where Arlong dived into with a confused look on his face.


    "Did he not get the part where I control lightning?" Luffy asked out loud before walking towards the edge of the pool and held out both of his hands in front of him. "I guess he was dumber than I thought," Luffy said.


    "Electro-Murder!" Luffy called out causing ropes of lightning to shoot out of all ten of his fingertips and go into the water electrocuting everything in the water. After a few minutes, Luffy shut the technique off and stared into the water expecting Arlong''s body to float up to the surface. He waited and waited for about five minutes but nothing. Then all of a sudden Luffy saw a shadow in the water racing towards him, then faster an any of the villagers could blink Arlong shot out of the water with his pointed nose aimed right at Luffy''s heart. Luffy simply sighed before he covered his palm in armament haki and caught Arlong by his nose causing his eyes to widen.


    "So, this is the unbreakable nose," Luffy said before he bent it downwards breaking. Everyone present heard the sound of Arlong''s nose break. It was loud enough to make a few of them wince at the sound. Luffy then tosses Arlong over his shoulder causing him to go crashing through one of the windows of the second floor. Luffy then turned his body into lightning and teleported himself to where Arlong was. Luffy appeared in a room filled with paper, books, and sea charts hanging up to dry. He looked around the room and saw there was also a desk and in the corner of the room was Arlong laid out bleeding on a bunch of sea charts. When Arlong noticed what he was laying on he immediately shot up to his feet and began trying to get the blood off of the charts. When he noticed it was futile, the map was already ruined. His head shot around to Luffy was looking around the room, when Luffy turned and looked at Arlong he noticed that Arlong''s eyes were similar to that of an enraged sea king.


    "You bastard!" Arlong screamed while clutching a map covered in blood. "Look what you''ve done!" he said while pointing at the bloody maps in the corner. "I made Nami draw all these maps for the last eight years and now you ruined it!" Arlong screamed. Luffy walked over to the desk in the room and picked up a pen that clearly had blood stains on it before he spoke.


    "So, this is Nami''s room?" Luffy asked in a cold tone.


    "Yes, this is where I had her draw all these sea charts," Arlong said. As he said that Luffy took a step back before he kicked the desk straight through the window angering Arlong even further. "You bastard! What are you doing!?" he screamed as he saw a bunch of maps fly out with the desk.


    "You just pissed me off. So, no more games," Luffy said as he flipped the pen around and covered the tip in haki before stabbing it in the side of Arlong''s neck causing him to scream out in pain before falling to his knees clutching the side of his neck. When he looked from at Luffy who was staring down at him it was the first time in Arlong''s life that he was afraid for his life. Staring back at him was the cold emotionless eyes of Luffy that seemed to stare right into the depts of Arlong''s soul. Luffy then took a step back and placed his right hand on the top of his straw hat and tilted it down a bit before he spoke in a chilling tone.


    "Judgement," he said confusing Arlong and scaring him at the same time. As he said that a pillar of lightning came down from the sky and swallowed the building and some parts away from the building.


    The villagers and Luffy''s crew were startled when they saw a giant pillar of lightning come down from the sky and swallowed up the main building in Arlong Park. The villager and the crew ran back a few feet not wanting to get caught in whatever was going on.


    "LUFFY!" Usopp and Nami screamed out in fear of the worse happening. Zoro who was now awake look towards the two of them and spoke.


    "Relax," he said getting their attention. "Luffy told me once that Lightning doesn''t affect him. So, he is fine," Zoro said as he stared at the pillar of lightning. The pillar was there for about an entire minute preventing any of them from seeing what was going on. When the pillar disappeared what they saw cause their eyes to widen. The entire building was gone, all that was left was a pile of ash with Luffy with a serious look on his standing in the middle while some ash flying around him and lightning flashing behind him. There was no Arlong, no Fishman, not even a brick from the building was left, everything was now just ash. Luffy then walked towards the group and stopped beside Nami with his back towards Arlong Park and his eyes looking straight ahead.


    "You''re my navigator. Got that?" Luffy asked causing a teary-eyes Nami to nod her head yes before Luffy walked pass her and everyone in the direction of the village.


    **CHAPTER END**

 Chapter 12 - 12: Wrath of a Demon and Bounties!

    After the fight with Arlong, the villagers were still trying to wrap their head around the fact that Arlong was defeated and they were now free. It didn''t feel real because since Arlong came to the island they all thought they were going to be stuck under his control for the rest of their life. Then Luffy and his crew came along and gave them their freedom. As Luffy was walking through the villagers making his way back to the village he heard a weird sounding laugh coming from behind him.


    "Chichi chichi!" Luffy heard causing him to turn around to see who it was. When he turned and looked he saw it was the marines who he spotted with Genzo earlier. Luffy narrowed his eyes and stopped walking towards the village and started walking towards the marine captain. "Okay, hold it right there," said the marine captain to all the villagers while all of his marines pointed their weapons at them. "What a lucky day today is, I saw the entire fight and I must say good work and I can only assume this victory here was some bizarre accident. I never thought the fishmen would lose to some riff-raff like you and your crew," He said with a c.o.c.ky smile not noticing Luffy slowly making his way to the front of the group. "However, now that Arlong isn''t here, I will be taking all of the money I was supposed to give to him and all of the treasure in Arlong Park," he said loudly with a smirk on his face causing the villagers to gasp and look at him angrily. "Now drop your weapons! Captain Nezumi of branch 16 gets all the credit!" he yelled. Just as he said that Luffy reached the front and immediately slammed his fist on top of the marine captain''s head sending crashing into the ground. Upon seeing their captain being hit all of the marines aimed their weapons to Luffy and a few of the villagers. Thinking fast Luffy sent a wave of Conquers Haki to the marines causing them to pass out foaming at the mouth.


    "Sorry, but that money is for the village," Luffy said before he turned to Nami and asked her a question. "If there a marine base around here?" he asked. Nami thought for a second before she replied.


    "Yes, just North East of here is branch 16," he said while pointing in the general direction. Luffy nodded his head before turning towards Sanji.


    "Sanji," he said getting Sanji''s attention. "I want you, Johnny, and Yosaku to go raid that Marine ship over there," he said while pointing to the vessel behind them. "whatever you find on the ship give it to the village and bring the marine ship back here to me...and do as you please with the marines on board," Luffy said causing the three of them to nod their head. Luffy then summoned a thundercloud for them to ride on. As they hopped on the cloud took off to the ship. Luffy then turned towards Usopp and Nami before he gave out more orders. "Nami, Usopp," Luffy said getting their attention. "You two go raid Arlong park..." Luffy said before turning towards the pile of ash that is now Arlong park before he spoke again, this time with a nervous chuckle. "...or never mind," he said causing everyone to sweat drop. He then turned to Zoro and spoke. "Zoro can you fight?" Luffy asked. When he asked the question Zoro looked as though he had just been insulted.


    "What kind of stupid question is that? Of course, I can fight," he said causing Luffy to chuckle. Luffy then turned around and saw the marine ship was making its way to the island letting everyone know that Sanji and the guys and succeeded. When the ship had docked Johnny and Yosaku were the first ones out. They were carrying a large black box that has money sticking out of it and from the way they were walking Luffy assumed it was extremely heavy. Right behind the two were five marines each badly beaten with tears running down their face while carrying a large sack over each of their back. Behind the marines was Sanji walking out empty handed with his hands in his pocket and a cigarette in his mouth. Luffy chuckles and shook his head when he saw Sanji. The group arrived in front of Luffy and villagers and dropped everything down in front of them. By now Nezumi had woken up from his dirt nap and was staring at everything from his ship with wide eyes. He was about to yell at everybody immediately stopped with he spotted Luffy staring at him with cold emotionless eyes. Luffy then turned back to Sanji''s group and spoke.


    "I did not expect your raid to be so... fruitful," he said in a surprised tone.


    "Neither did we, but these bastards had a lot of treasure and money on board. The black box is filled with a lot of money and jewels while those sacks are only filled with gold, diamonds and other precious stones," Sanji said before he took a pull from his cigarette. Luffy nodded before he turned towards Genzo and spoke.


    "That''s for your village," he said causing everyone''s eyes to widen.


    "Bu-buts that''s way more than we need," Genzo said earning nods from a lot of the villagers. "At least take some for yourselves," he said to Luffy. Luffy just smirked deviously before turning towards Nezumi.


    "Oh don''t worry about us, we will get paid," he said before he bent down and grabbed Nezumi by the collar and started dragging him towards the marine ship. "ZORO, SANJI, with me!" Luffy yelled out causing the two of them to smirk before following their captain. The three of them along with a screaming Nezumi boarded the marine vessel and began sailing off in the direction of the marine base.


    "Where are we going captain?" Zoro asked causing Luffy to smirk before he replied.


    "Oh we are going to raid the marine base," Luffy said causing Nezumi''s eyes to widen along with Zoro and Sanji''s. Luffy then turned towards Nezumi and spoke. "And if you behave yourself I''ll let you keep your life," he said while staring at Nezumi with the cold eyes of a killer. Nezumi almost wanted to piss himself when Luffy spoke to him. He quickly nodded his head in agreement as he spoke.


    "Yes, Yes, anything you want," he said in a scared voice. Luffy smile and stood him up and dusted him off before he spoke.


    "Good now you are going to lead us into the base as your guests and take me directly to the vault," Luffy said in a calm tone while he placed his hand on Nezumi''s shoulder. He then turned towards Zoro and Sanji and gave them orders. "While I''m emptying the vault you two go search for gunpowder and ammo for the ship," said causing the two of them to nod their head. After sailing for five more minutes the group came upon the marine base island. It was a small island that was completely occupied by the marines, there were no civilians there at all. The marine ship docked and Nezumi began to lead them off the ship and began walking ahead of them towards the base. As they were walking towards the base a group of marines came out from the base to greet their captain.


    "Captain Nezumi!" A marine officer shouted as he saluted his captain. "Welcome back, Sir!" he shouted once more causing Luffy''s eye to twitch. Nezumi sighed and saluted back to his men before he spoke.


    "Okay, okay, stop shouting damn it," Nezumi said in a tired tone. Luffy was impressed by his acting. So far, not one of his men had suspected anything. "I have a job for you," he said getting the marines that were there to perk up. "These gentlemen are our guest and are in need of gunpowder and ammo. Please take them to storage and give them all that we have," he said surprising the marines.


    "All of it, Sir?" the marine asked in a surprised tone. Nezumi got angry and yelled at the marine.


    "Did I speak with a stutter, Marine!?" he asked/yelled causing the marines to immediately jump back before he started apologizing.


    "No, Sir! Very sorry, Sir! We will get right on it, Sir!" he yelled out before he turned towards Sanji and Zoro and spoke. "If you would follow me we could get going," he said causing Sanji and Zoro to nod their heads before they started following the marine. Luffy turned towards Nezumi and spoke in an amused tone.


    "You have one loud and energetic marine," he said causing Nezumi to sigh before he spoke in a tiresome tone.


    "You have no idea," he said while rubbing his temple before he straightens himself up and spoke in a disgusted tone towards Luffy. "Let''s just hurry up and get this over with, pirate," he spat causing Luffy to nod his head before the two of them began walking into the building. Luffy summoned a small thundercloud to put all of the money on and to also ride back towards the island on. The cloud was following the two of them closely behind Luffy as they entered the building and began descending a staircase towards the bas.e.m.e.nt. When they finally reached the bas.e.m.e.nt they came upon a long hallway and at the end of the hallway Luffy could see a giant safe with a door as big as the hallway itself. The two of them walked towards the end of the hallway and Nezumi then walked up to the door and placed a key into a keyhole before he walked over to a knob on the safe, what Luffy assumed to be a combination lock, and began entering the combination before walking back towards the key and turning it four time. On the final turn, Luffy heard a click from the safe before Nezumi walked over to the right side if the safe and grabbed the handle and pull. the large door of the safe came open and inside Luffy could see a large pile of gold at least 10ft tall. Luffy was absolutely surprised, he did not expect the marines to have this much money. He turned towards Nezumi and spoke.


    "How much is in there?" he asked in a surprised tone.


    "500 million the last time I checked," he said surprising Luffy.


    "Just where did you get all this money from?" Luffy asked in a disbelieving tone. "I mean we''re in the East Blue of all places, if it was the Grand Line I would understand, but this is the East F.u.c.k.i.n.g Blue," he said.


    "We collected this in a span of 5 years. Usually, we would need to send half of it to HQ but we just keep telling them we only have enough to keep the base afloat. The fact that we are in the East Blue made them believe us even more," he said causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "Very well," he said before moving to the side and allowing the thundercloud to enter the vault. "After today you won''t have to lie anymore," Luffy said in an amused voice causing Nezumi to growl. The cloud entered the vault and began to increase its size. Soon the cloud had covered the entire vault itself, swallowing everything that is inside the vault.


    "What is it doing?" asked Nezumi as he stared at the cloud.


    "It is storing everything that is in the vault inside itself," he said surprising Nezumi. A minute later the cloud began to shrink until it was about twice the size it was before it had entered the vault. After it finished shrinking it came out of the vault showing the two of them what was left. Nezumi and Luffy looked inside the vault and saw a single gold coin laying on the floor. Nezumi''s eyes were as wide as dinner plates, Luffy had cleaned the entire vault leaving him with a single berry. Luffy laughed before he placed his hand on Nezumi''s shoulder and spoke in his usual emotionless tone. "I think our business has come to an end," he said causing Nezumi to growl. He wasn''t going to try and attack the pirate, he had seen the fight against Arlong. This single pirate slaughtered Arlong''s entire crew before he toyed around with Arlong and they destroyed Arlong park with a single attack. He knew if he tried to attack Luffy he would meet a painful death. Playing it safe he decided to just leade the pirate out of the base before he contacted Navy HQ.


    "If you would follow me, we would be on our way. I am sure your friends are finished with their business," He said before began walking through a different hallway from the one they came from.


    "That''s not the way we came," Luffy said while narrowing his eyes at Nezumi.


    "Yes, I know that. The door leading into that staircase cannot be opened from the inside and no one is allowed to open from to outside in order to let someone out. Anyone who enters through that door has to leave through the door by the prison section of the base," he said. Luffy shrugged before following him through the hallway. At the end of the hallway, they made a left before they came upon a row of jail cells. Some were empty while some had prisoners inside of them. As they were walking by the prisoners were screaming at Nezumi and Luffy and it was starting to piss Luffy off. Finally having enough of them he sent bolts of lightning shooting out of his body into each cell shocking every prisoner. When they reached the end of the hallway they came upon a staircase leading up towards a door, Luffy was about to start climbing the stairs but was stopped in his tracks by a scream for help coming from his right.


    "PLEASE HELP ME!" a woman screamed causing Nezumi and Luffy to turn to their right. What Luffy saw made his blood boil. Laying on the ground in the middle of the cell was a woman with her clothes torn exposing her u.n.d.e.r.w.e.a.r, her face was swollen showing that she was obviously beaten, her entire body was covered in cuts and bruises, and her eyes were filled with tears. Standing over the woman were three marines staring at her with lecherous grins on their faces and a hungry look in their eyes.


    "Shut up, bitch!" one of the marines said before grabbing her by the hair and pulled her up to his level. "No one is going to save you. You''re our little toy to do as we please," he said before shoving her back down to the ground. One of the marines looked out of the cell and saw Nezumi and Luffy looking at them. He immediately straightened up and saluted Nezumi.


    "Sir!" he said while saluting getting the other two attention. When they saw their captain the two of them saluted as well. Nezumi smile and nodded his head before he continued walking up the stairs ignoring the woman''s scream for help. As he took one step on the staircase to start heading up a loud booming thunder sounded outside causing the entire building to shake. Nezumi immediately went pale and snapped his head around to see Luffy staring at the three marines with nothing but rage inside his eyes while electric blue sparks surrounded his body.


    "You marines have the audacity to call us pirates sc.u.m and this is what you are doing to a poor defenseless woman," Luffy said in an icy tone that sent chills down the spine of the marines and every prisoner in there. He then pulled out his pistol and fired three shots.


    *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*


    Three bolts of lightning came out of his gun and hit all three of the marines in the head causing all of them to drop dead on the floor. Luffy then turns towards Nezumi and spoke.


    "You Marines are far worse than sc.u.m itself," he said before he extended his left arm and a rope of lightning shot out and wrapped around Nezumi as he was trying to escape causing him to fall face first on the stairs breaking a few teeth. Luffy then walked over to the wall and place his palm on it before he left lightning through the walls of the entire bas.e.m.e.nt. Three seconds later all of the cell doors came open and the prisoners began running out thanking Luffy as they ran past him. Luffy then walked into the cell where the woman was, she had her back towards him crying as she stared at the dead marines on the ground. As Luffy stood directly behind her he noticed something on her left shoulder that made him even angrier. It was the Hoof of the Flying Dragon, the mark that the world nobles put on their slaves. He immediately took off his captain''s coat and placed it around the girl. She turned around and saw Luffy staring at her with a warm smile on his face. "You''re safe now," he said causing her to cry some more. Luffy then bent down and picked her up bridal style causing her to let out an ''epp,'' Luffy carried her out of the cell and placed her on the cloud before he began walking up the stairs with the cloud carrying the girl following behind. As he was walking up he grabbed Nezumi by his hair and started dragging him up the stairs not bothering to take his time with him. When they reached the door Luffy kicked it off of its hinges knocking out two surprised marines in the process. He then walked through dragging Nezumi with him while the cloud followed behind and began heading towards the exit. As they exited the building they saw nothing but utter chaos. All over the ground was burn marks from where lightning had previously struck while marines were running all over the place trying to capture the escaped prisoners. Luffy spotted Zoro and Sanji standing by the docks with a large set of gunpowder and cannonballs in crates. He began walking towards the two not bothered by the lightning striking everywhere around him and the loud thunder booming overhead. Zoro and Sanji saw their captain walking towards them without his coat on. It was the first time either of them had seen him without his coat. Looking behind him they saw riding on the thundercloud was a girl who had obviously been through some stuff. Zor and Sanji looked at each other before they nodded their head in a silent agreement that they will wait until the captain tells them about the girl. As Luffy was walking towards them bolts of lightning would come down from the sky and strike any marine who would try and attack him in order to save Nezumi.


    "What got you all pissed off captain?" Zoro asked causing Sanji to smack him across his head. "What was that for you shitty cook!?" he screamed causing Sanji to point at the girl behind Luffy. Zoro then realized what he had done and immediately shut up.


    "Enough you two," Luffy said before he summoned a large thundercloud out of the sky. The cloud came down and swallowed up the cargo that Zoro and Sanji acquired before it went and line up behind the cloud with all the money. Luffy then dragged Nezumi onboard the marines'' ship they came on soon being followed by Zoro and Sanji. As they got onboard Sanji raised the anchor and released the sails causing the ship to start to sail away from the thundercloud infested Island. When they were a safe distance away Luffy face an order to Sanji and Zoro. "Stop the ship right here," he said causing Zoro to raise the sails while Sanji dropped the anchor. Luffy unbinds Nezumi and kicked him in the stomach causing him to cough up some blood.


    "Please, please don''t kill me!" Nezumi begged Luffy. Luffy just stared at him with the cold emotionless eyes of a kill for a while before he spoke in an icy tone.


    "Give me one good reason why I should let sc.u.m like you live after what you let your men do to that poor girl," he said causing Nezumi to turn pale and shake in fear. "However, I won''t kill you," Luffy said surprising everyone there. "If I kill you who is going to tell Navy HQ about what happened here. Dead men tell no tales after all," he said before he walked to the front of the ship and stared at the marine base Island for a while before he spoke. "I am, however going to kill your men for they did to this girl," he said before he looked at the skies above the island. Nezumi snakingly crawled to the side of the boat and looked out of the railing, Zoro and Sanji went and stood behind Luffy and girl wrapped Luffy''s coat tightly around herself before she hopped off of the cloud and went to stand off to the opposite side of the ship away from Nezumi and looked out to see what was going to happen. In the skies above the marine base island, the thunderclouds began to swirl around. The wind was starting to pick up and now instead of just the island being covered in darkness, a large part of the ocean surrounding the island was covered in darkness as well. Luffy''s eyes started to glow with power and air around began to thicken making it hard to breathe for Sanji and Zoro, two of them took a few steps back in order to breathe again. Luffy''s body was then surrounded by electric blue sparks of lighting and the crackling of lighting filled the ears of those who were close enough to Luffy to hear. Luffy then raised his right hand in the air before he spoke in a loud booming voice as he brought his hand down in one swift motion.


    "Raijin''s Sacred Judgement!" Out from the center of the swirling clouds, a giant pillar like the one Luffy had summoned at Arlong park came down and swallowed the entire island. As it in cased the entire Island, it produced a bright white flash blinding everyone for a few seconds. About three seconds after the light appeared a loud booming thunder was heard. It was the loudest thunder everyone had ever heard. It forced Zoro, Sanji, Nezumi and the girl to cover their ears. That thunder and that whit flash were heard and seen throughout the entire East Blue. When everyone regained their eyesight what they saw caused their eyes to widen in utter disbelief. The pillar of lightning was gone and clouds in the sky were starting to go away as well, but the thing that has everyone''s jaw on the floor was the fact that in the island had completely disappeared. In the space of where the island was if a hole in the middle of the ocean rapidly being filled with water. Zoro and Sanji were staring at something they didn''t even think were possible. They had known Luffy was powerful, but they never thought he could wipe an entire island off the face of the earth in under five seconds.


    "He...He...just...Wow," was all Sanji to stutter out while Zoro could only nod dumbly in agreement to whatever Sanji just said. Luffy then turned around and began walking towards the girl leaving Zoro and Sanji to continue to stare at the hole that was filling up with water. when Luffy reached in front of the girl he spoke getting her attention.


    "Hey there," he said in a calming tone getting her attention. "What''s your name?" he asked. The girl looked up at Luffy for a while before he answered in a nervous voice.


    "My name is Dian," she said while looking at her feet. "Thanks for saving me," she said with some tears in her eyes.


    "Nice to meet you, Dian, I''m Luffy and you don''t have to thank me for anything," Luffy said as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "Where are you from?" he asked.


    "I''m from right here in the East Blue, Cocoyasi Village on Conomi Islands," she said causing Luffy to smile at her warmly.


    "That''s good cause we just came from there," he said causing her to look up at him with wide hopeful eyes. "And we are heading back there to pick up the rest of my crew. So, we could drop you off," he said. She started crying and immediately wrapped her arms around Luffy and began to sob into his shirt. Luffy smiled and hugged her back before he turned towards Sanji and Zoro and spoke. "HEY! You two!" he shouted getting their attention. "Time to go. Zoro, destroy the rudder and cut the anchor," he said earning a nod for the two of them. Luffy then picked Dian up bridal style and place her back on the cloud before he hopped on with her. Sanji then hopped on behind them soon followed by Zoro after he finished cutting the anchor. When everyone was on the two clouds that contained the money and the cargo began to rise into the sky with its passengers leaving Nezumi on a ship in the middle of the ocean that had no way to steer or stop it. Luffy then pulled out his pistol and fire a shot at the base main mast causing it to explode who the bolt of lightning hit it. The main mast of the marine ship then fell over causing Nezumi to take cover. When the mast had fallen Nezumi came out from where he was taking refuge and screamed at Luffy.


    "You will pay for this straw hat! Mark my word!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. Luffy ignored him and focused on carrying everyone and the cargo in the two clouds. Realizing he wouldn''t be able to hold the weight of everything for long he turned to everyone and spoke.


    "Hold on," he said before bolts of lightning shot out of the cloud and wrapped around everyone holding them in place. The two clouds then shot off to Cocoyasi Village at blinding speed. After Flying for about two minutes the group arrived in front of Arlong Park. Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku were there waiting for them while it looked like the rest of the villagers and Nami had gone back towards the village. They all hopped off the cloud and saw Luffy was sweating a bit.


    "You okay there captain?" Zoro asked causing everyone to look at Luffy.


    "Yea just took a lot of effort to carry all of you plus all the cannonballs and gunpowder," he said causing them to nod their heads. Luffy then sent the cloud with all the cargo towards the Going Merry which was docked right next to Arlong Park and have it drop the cargo on deck. He then turned towards Johnny, Yosaku, and Usopp and gave them orders. "Bring the ship to the rear of the Island, next to the village, Usopp," he said earning a salute from him. "And you two take all of that cargo below deck and place it in storage," he said to Johnny and Yosaku. He then turned towards Sanji, Zoro, and Dian and spoke, "We are going to the village, I need a drink and Zoro needs a doctor," he said. Zoro was about to protest but the look he got from Luffy told him to shut up. Before they left Luffy sent the cloud with all the money up in the sky to wait until he was ready for it. The group then began heading towards the village they hear the sounds of laughter and cheering from the people in the village.


    "It sounds like they are having a party. I wonder what the occasion is," Dian said while walking beside Luffy. Luffy chuckled before he spoke.


    "It''s a long story, But before we tell you that story or I''m sure someone in the village will...I have a question I want to ask you," Luffy said making her a bit nervous. "Were you one of the slaves who Fisher Tiger freed?" he asked causing her to flinch. "Don''t worry, you are never going back there and no one isn''t going to hurt you here. I just wanted to know," he said trying to calm her down. Zoro and Sanji decided to walk closer to the two in order to hear her story.


    "Yes I was," he said causing Sanji and Zoro''s eyes to widen while Luffy showed no reaction. "I was captured when I was a just a little girl and was sold to one of the World Nobles. I remember thinking I was going to die a slave, but one night a Fishman saved me and a bunch of other slaves. Since then I was trying to find my way back to the East Blue, it wasn''t until a few months ago I was able to return here, but right after I entered the East Blue Nezumi and his men found me on a passenger ship. When they saw my mark they took me away and locked me up at their base," She said shakily. Luffy placed his hand on her shoulder before he spoke.


    "It''s okay now, you''re back home," he said while pointing at the village. She hadn''t realized it but while they were taking they had already arrived in the village. It was the same way she remembered it. Upon seeing Luffy the entire Village began cheering and running towards him with bright happy smiles on their faces. Just as they were about to surround Luffy he held out his hand stopping them. "Before anything else," he said before he grabbed Zoro by the back of his shirt and push him forward. "He needs a doctor asap," he said causing an old man in a white coat to step forward.


    "I''ll take care of him," he said causing both Luffy and Sanji to push a grumbling Zoro towards the man. Luffy then placed his hand on Dian''s shoulder before he spoke again.


    "This is Dian," he said making everyone attention turn their attention towards her. "She is from this village but was kidnapped a long time ago. I found her being held prisoner by the Marines and brought her here," he said causing everyone to start whispering among themselves. All the whispering was interrupted by a woman steps forward and speaking to Dian.


    "D-Dian?...Is it really you?" an older woman said with tears in her eyes while holding on to an older man. Dian looked at the two of them and began to cry before she ran towards the two of them and hugged them. Genzo was the next person to speak.


    "I can''t believe it," he said while staring at Dian. "It has been almost 15 years since she was taken," he said causing Luffy''s eyes to widen along with a lot of the younger people of the village. Before anyone else could say anything more depressing Luffy spoke.


    "HEY!" he shouted causing everyone to look at him as he pulls out a bottle of whiskey. "I thought we were having a party," he said with a rare smile on his face. Everyone then began to party.


    **FOUR DAYS and ONE BIG PARTY LATER**


    It had been four days since Luffy defeated Arlong. The entire village celebrated their freedom for three days straight with no work and a three-day long party with an all you can eat buffet. During those three days, Zoro had gotten his wounds treated and everyone on the crew got a long-awaited well-deserved rest. Dian had given Luffy back his coat on the second day after she washed it. She and her parents thanked Luffy over and over for bringing her back home. Luffy kept telling them they didn''t need to thank him but they just wouldn''t listen. Currently, Luffy, Sanji, Zoro, and Usopp were on the Going Merry packing up the food supplies the villagers gave them along with a couple of tangerine trees Nami placed on the ship last night. Standing on the docks beside the ship were all of the villagers, Dian, and her parents along with Genzo an Nojiko. No one had seen Nami all morning, but Luffy knows she was going to show up eventually. He looked at his crew who was on board and spoke.


    "You guys remember the plan right?" he asked confusing Sanji who Luffy left out of the plan. Zoro nodded his head along with Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku.


    "huh? What plan?" Sanji asked with a confused look on his face. Luffy chuckled before he spoke.


    "You''ll see," he said before walking to the back of the ship and looked at the villagers more specifically Nojiko. "Hey Nojiko," Luffy called out getting her attention along with everyone else''s. "Your sister can be a pain in the a.s.s sometimes," Luffy said with a smirk causing Nojiko to smirk as well. "I might need some help keeping her in check," he said. Everyone was staring at the interaction between the two with a smile or in Genzo''s case, he looked like someone just shot his cat.


    "Oh and you want me to help you keep her in check?" she asked.


    "That''s right," Luffy said before taking his hat off and running his hand through his hair before putting it back on. "Well, if you''re interested," he said. She then went into a thinking position before she answered.


    "Okay, you got yourself a new crew member," she said before she hopped on board the ship. Luffy looked at her strangely before he asked her a question.


    "No clothes or anything?" he asked. Nojiko smiled before he answered.


    "Nami is getting it," she said causing Luffy''s jaw to drop. It was then Luffy heard Nami shouting.


    "SET THE SAILS!" she shouted causing him to turn and look at her. He saw her standing some distance away from the villagers. As the villagers were pleading with her to say goodbye Luffy turned to his crew yelled out orders.


    "You heard the lady! Set the Sails! Raise the anchor! Sanji man the rudder!" Luffy yelled out causing all of them to scramble to get everything done. Usopp and Johnny released the sails while Zoro and Yosaku pulled up the anchor while Sanji took command of the rudder and began Steering the ship. Nojiko ran over to Usopp and Johnny to help them tie the sails in place while Luffy stood there with a straight face staring at everyone. Luffy turned towards Nami and saw her running towards the ship weaving in and out between people.


    "You don''t think she is going to do what I think she is going to do right?" Zoro asked from beside Luffy.


    "I think she is," Luffy replied. Nami reached the end of the dock and made a giant leap and jumped from the dock on to the ship surprising Luffy. When Nami landed on the ship the first thing she did was pull her shirt up causing Luffy''s eyes to widen while Sanji began to get excited. Out of her shirt fell a bunch of wallets and purses that she had stolen from the villagers while running past them. Luffy shook his head an started laughing.


    "Thanks a bunch!" she yelled at the villagers causing their jaws to drop. Luffy then looked to the guys and nodded signaling it was time to start the plan. As they sailed some distance away from the island Luffy was sitting on his throne made of clouds, Zoro was up in the crow''s nest, Sanji was in the kitchen making lunch, Usopp was sitting on the floor next to Luffy doing something with his inventions, Johnny and Yosaku were playing cards off to Luffy''s left, and Nami and Nojiko has just finished tending to their tangerine trees and were walking up to the rear deck with lawn chairs to sit with Luffy.


    "What do you think you''re going to do Nami?" Luffy asked while he looked at her with a raised eyebrow.


    "I''m going to relax for a bit," she said while opening the lawn chair. By now Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku went into position to carry out the plan along with Zoro.


    "Relax?" Luffy asked before he started to laugh which puzzled Nami and Nojiko. "You committed treason on a pirate ship and you think you are just going to come back on board that very same ship and relax?" Luffy asked causing her eyes to widen. "In a normal situation that crime would be rectified with your life," he said scaring her a bit. "But you see you had never actually joined the crew if I recalled correctly we only teamed up to achieve our goals," he said causing her to relax for a bit. "That does not mean you are off the hook. You stole my ship that carries my symbol so you must be punished. BOYS!" Luffy shouted. As he shouted that Zoro, Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku all dumbed four large buckets of some mud all over the deck except for the rear deck were Luffy was on. Sanji then came out of the kitchen wearing an apron and screamed.


    ''What the hell are you idiots doing!" he screams while looking at Zoro. Luffy walked over to Nami and handed her a mop and bucket.


    "From this day forward you are on clean-up duty until I say otherwise," Luffy said causing Nami to take the mop and bucking. "And no one is to help her!" he yelled while looking at Sanji and Nojiko causing them to nod. Nojiko nodded with a smile who Sanji looked like he wanted to protest but thought otherwise. Nami then went down with her mop and bucket and began cleaning the ship. After about three hours Nami finally finished cleaning the ship. She came climbing up the steps looking all tired and covered in sweat, she walked over to Luffy and spoke.


    "Done," she said. Luffy smiled and nodded his head telling her she could take a break. Sanji then showed up with three drinks on a silver platter. He handed a glass of whiskey on the rocks to Luffy and took the other two drinks over to Nami and Nojiko. Luffy took a sip of whiskey and smiled before looking up at the sky. It was there he saw a News Coo flying overhead. He whistled getting its attention causing the bird to fly down to the ship. Luffy paid it and took the new paper and went back to his throne. As he opened the paper and began reading he spoke out loud.


    "Hmm this world sure is a turbulent place," he said while flipping through the pages. "There had been another coup in Villa," he said before turning the page again. As he turned the page a piece of paper fell out of the newspaper. "hmm what''s that?" Luffy asked as he stared at the paper flying around the before it finally landed between Luffy and Usopp. When he saw it his eyes widened and Usopp screamed.


    "AHHHH!" Usopp screamed causing Everyone else to come over and see what the commotion was. When they saw it they all stared at it with eyes the size of dinner plates.


    *At Navy HQ*


    Gathered inside Navy HQ in the Agenda Room were all of the Vice-Admirals of the Navy discussing a major threat that has arrived in the world.


    "So, even a conservative estimate of their power they are still too much for our branches to handle to handle?" Asked one the vice admirals as he poured himself some sake.


    "Yes, even before forming this pirate group he killed Marine branch captain Axe-Handle Morgan single-handedly. Since then he showed no signs of slowing down, Buggy ''the clown'' 15 million, Kuro ''of a 1000 plans'' who apparently faked his death the first time 16 million," Brannew said surprising everyone in the room. "Pirate Admiral Don Kreig 17 million, Fishman pirate ''Saw-tooth'' Arlong 20 million," he said pointing to each wanted poster in the board. "Every one of these pirates had a bounty over 10 million and he took them down, but that was to be expected considering who he is," Brannew said getting the attention of the marines. "From the reports we gathered, he has a logia class devil fruit and a powerful one at that," he said earning a few gasps from a few vice admirals.


    "Logias are believed to be the rarest and most powerful class of devil fruit there is," said one vice admiral. "Do we know kind of Logia it is?" he asked. Brannew looked at the paper he had in his hand and spoke.


    "It is believed to be a lightning logia devil fruit. We have a report from Captain Nezumi of branch 16 saying that this pirate completely wipes Branch 16 of the face of the earth killing everyone who on the Island with just one attack." Brannew said causing all of the eyes of the marines to widen at that. He then looked at the paper before he spoke again. "It was also reported that he is a master of all three forms of Haki," he said causing everyone''s eyes to widen.


    "A Haki user!? In the East Blue!?" one vice admiral shouted/asked.


    "Did you just say all three?" asked another. "He has conqueror''s Haki?"


    "This isn''t good," commented another marine.


    "It gets worst," Brannew said causing everyone to stop talking and look at him with eyes the size of dinner plates.


    "Just how can this get worse?" asked one of the vice admiral in a tone that sounded like he was very scared of whatever Brannew was about to say.


    "He is also the apprentice of Red-Haired Shanks," he said causing the entire room to go silent. Before anyone could say anything about that he spoke again. "Ten years ago Red-hair came to the East Blue if you all recalled," he said earning nods from everyone. "It was reported that he took a kid back with him and now we have reasons to believe¡­.No scratch that we are certain that this is the very same kid. Reports go as far to say at one point the kid was a high ranking officer on Shank''s crew and he left to start his own crew with Shank''s blessing. And because of that, we are giving him a bounty of *******" Brannew said stopping to let that information sink in.


    "I can''t believe it," said one vice admiral


    "Where is this boy now?" asked another immediately going into the marines mode.


    "He is currently heading towards Logue Town. We already sent reinforcements to back up captain Smoker," Brannew said.


    "That''s good, we cannot allow a pirate of this caliber to re-enter the Grand Line," one Vice Admiral said earning nods from the rest.


    *Syrup Village*


    "Miss! Miss!" screamed Merry as he ran up to the stairs with a piece of paper in his hand. He pushed open the room to her study and spoke. "Miss Kaya did you see this?" he asked as he held up Luffy''s wanted poster for her to see. She took it and smiled before she spoke.


    "Looks like they are really doing it huh, Merry?" she asked as she stared at the paper.


    "Yea, they are," he replied. Kaya then turned to him and smiled before she spoke again.


    "That''s great news, Usopp is moving towards his dreams so I better start working harder to achieve my dreams," she said with conviction.


    *Shell Town*


    Sweeping the halls of the marine base in Shell two is Coby. As he was sweeping he noticed a wanted poster on the wall. When he looked at it he smiled widely when he saw it was Luffy.


    "Luffy you''re out achieving your dream, but when we meet again we will meet as enemies," he said while smiling all too happy.


    *Some Random Island in the Grand Line*


    Hawk-Eye walked ashore on the island and was immediately greeted by the weapons of a bunch of scared pirates.


    "What do you want, Hawk-Eye?" Ask a very scared pirate with his sword drawn. Mihawk just looked at him with a bored expression on his face before he spoke.


    "Oh relax, take me to your superiors," he said causing the pirate to run off into the woods. "Camping out on a deserted island, what a carefree man," he said before he followed the pirate into the woods. After walking for a few minutes he came upon the camp of the Red-Haired Pirates. They were all sitting around under a large umbrella nursing their hangover.


    "Boss! Ha-Ha-Hawk-Eye!" the pirate screamed at Shanks while pointing behind him. Shanks who was sitting on a log didn''t even look at Mihawk when he spoke.


    "Hello, Hawk-Eye, to what do I owe the p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e? Have you come to fight me? Cause you know I''m not feeling so good at the moment" Shanks said in a low voice.


    "I have no intention of fighting a drunk man, I''ll settle the score some other time," Mihawk said while looking down at Shanks. "I recently came across a mutual friend of ours in the East Blue," he said getting everyone''s attention as he began walking towards Shanks with a rolled up paper in his hand. "I just thought you might want to see this," he said as he unrolled the paper showing Shanks Luffy''s bounty poster. Shanks'' eyes widened when he saw it along with the rest of the crew, he then chuckled to himself before he spoke.


    "Well, in that case, I just can''t let you leave, Hawk-Eye," Shanks said in a dangerous tone causing Mihawk to narrow his eyes. He then brought out a mug and began pouring booze in it while laughing. "Hawk-Eye, come on drink up," Shanks said with a large smile on his face.


    "Weren''t you just hungover?" Hawk-Eye asked.


    "Don''t be crazy, we have to celebrate. Our student just got his first bounty, Everybody lets Party!" Shanks shouted before he raised his own glass. "To Luffy!" he yelled.


    "To LUFFY!" the rest of the crew yelled as they down their drink.


    *Foosha Village*


    Meanwhile back in Foosha village, everyone was celebrating the fact that Luffy was out achieving his dreams. Inside Makino''s bar, the main celebration was happening with everyone drinking and celebrating Luffy''s first bounty.


    "Who would have thought a big-time pirate came from our village," said one of the villagers.


    "I know right it''s amazing," said another.


    "Shut up! What is so great about a no good criminal coming from our village!" the mayor said


    "Aww just look at him Mayor, he is so cute," said Makino from behind the bar. "He''s really out there going after his dream," she said.


    "His dream or his fate?" the mayor said to himself.


    *Back on the Going Merry*


    Back on the Going Merry, everyone was staring at the wanted poster laying on the ground with shocked faces while Luffy was just smirking.


    "Would you look at that I''m a wanted man," he said smugly as he stared at the poster. The picture they used was just after he destroyed Arlong park. It was him standing in the middle of a pile of ash that was Arlong Park with dark thunderclouds and lightning in the sky behind him as stared what looked to be directly into the camera with the cold eyes of a killer with the torn up flag of the Arlong Pirates laying off to the side of his feet. And just below the picture, they had his name and moniker along with his bounty. It read:


    WANTED!


    Dead or Alive!


    Monkey D. Luffy


    Moniker: The Thunder Demon: ''Straw Hat Luffy''


    Bounty: $100,000,000.


    "Wow," Johnny and Yosaku said.


    "100 million!?" Usopp yelled in surprise. "That''s amazing!" he said. As he said that Nami smacked him at the back of his head.


    "Shut up you idiot, this is bad!" she said. "This means really strong marines will come after us," she said with a worried look on her face.


    "100 million? With a bounty like that Navy HQ will sure to take action," Zoro said in a low voice. "Not to mention it is going to attract a lot of bounty hunters, and these bounty hunters are going to be good," he said scaring everyone except Luffy. Luffy saw everyone was starting to panic and decided to ease their worrying.


    "All of you!" he yelled from his throne getting their attention. "Relax and calm down. Unless they send Navy Admiral Kizaru we''re fine," he said calming them down a bit.


    "What''s so wrong with this Kizaru guy?" asked Nojiko.


    "Let''s just say he is the only person who will give me a hard time in a fight," he said surprising them. "Now with a bounty like that it means that the Navy is aware of my relationship with Shanks and my power. " So, they are going to try their best to prevent us from entering the Grand Line," he said earning a nod from each of them. He then turned to Nami and spoke. "Nami, plot a course to Logue Town. We will stop there and resupply and from there we head straight into the Grand Line," he said in an authoritarian voice.


    "Right!" she said before heading to grab her map.


    "Why do we need to stop at Logue Town?" Sanji asked with a curious look on his face. "Can''t we just go straight into the Grand Line? We have enough supplies," he asked causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "We could, but stopping at Logue Town before entering the Grand Line is more of a ritual for pirates," he said earning a curious look from everyone there. "You see Logue Town is the place where Gol D. Roger was born and where he died," Luffy said causing everyone''s eyes to widen. "It also the place where the Great Pirate Era started. It is known as The Town of the Beginning and the End,"


    **CHAPTER END**

 Chapter 13 - 13: Training and A Declaration in Logue Town!

    The crew had been traveling for about a few hours now since they found out about Luffy''s bounty. Luffy was sitting on his throne watching the crew as they all are doing their own thing. Usopp is standing off to Luffy''s right cleaning one of the cannons on deck, Nami and Nojiko were behind Luffy relaxing on lawn chairs, Zoro, Johnny, and Yosaku were at eh front of the ship exercising while Sanji was in the kitchen. Luffy then stood up from his throne and began walking down towards the main deck.


    "All of you, come here!" he shouted causing all of them to stop what they were doing and make their way towards Luffy to see what he wanted. Soon Luffy stood on the main deck with everyone surrounding him.


    "What is it, captain?" Sanji asked while holding a spoon in his hand. Luffy looked around at each of them before he looked up at the sky causing all of them to do the same. They all saw a thundercloud coming down from the sky. Sanji and Zoro immediately recognized it as the cloud that had all of the money they stole from the marine base.


    "Before we beginning," Luffy said getting all of their attention as he walked towards Nami and place his right hand on her shoulder puzzling everyone. "Need to add on to Nami''s punishment," he said before ropes of lightning sprang out of his wrist and bound her in place.


    "AHH!" she screamed as they wrapped around her. "WHAT THE HELL LUFFY!?" she yelled/asked. Luffy chuckled evilly he pushed her back causing her to fall on his thrones which seem to have followed him. Nami tried to break free of her bonds but found it impossible. She then tried to stand up but also found it impossible. Apparently, the lightning that was binding her and the lightning in the thundercloud throne connected to each other effectively holding her in place.


    "Luffy is there a reason you tied up Nami?" Usopp asked with a curious look on his face. Luffy turned away from Nami and faced him before he replied.


    "Yes...this," he said before snapping his fingers causing the cloud to let go of all that it had stored in itself. Everyone''s eyes were as wide as dinner plates when they saw it was literally raining money and all sorts of treasure. Nami look like she was at the gates of heaven but as much as she tried to open the gates to heaven they would not open for her. All she can do was watch from the outside.


    "So this is why you tied up my sister," Nojiko said as she walked over to the large pile of treasure. "You''re very evil you know that captain?" she asked while looking at Luffy with a smirk. Luffy smirked at her before he started laughing. He turned to check on Nami and saw her trying everything she could to break free of her bonds.


    "Its no use," he said getting her attention. "It won''t come undone until I undo it," he said getting her to stop struggling and just look on dejectedly at everyone else. "Alright listen up," Luffy said before walking into his captain''s quarters and coming back out with a few large bags. "Place all of the money in this bag," he said before tossing one of the bags over to Sanji. "After that take all of the gold and other precious stones in these and store them below deck," he said tossing the rest of the bag to Johnny, Yosaku, and Nojiko. "We will store the cash in one of the clouds and keep it in the sky where it is safe. The rest of the treasure will be held here on the ship," he said earning a nod from all of them. Luffy then turned towards Sanji and spoke. "Sanji we are a few days away from Louge Town. I want you to check out inventory for the kitchen and make a list of everything you are going to need for the kitchen," Luffy said earning a nod from him. "Okay all of you hurry up and put this stuff away so I can begin your training!" he yelled out puzzling all of them.


    "Ummm Luffy," Nami said from behind Luffy. "What kind of training?" she asked.


    "Your Haki training," Luffy said before he walked over to Nami and leaned against the throne.


    "And what is Haki, Big Bro Luffy?" Johnny asked with a confused look on his face along with Yosaku. Luffy just sighed before he spoke.


    "I''ll explain all of that when you are all done," he said before summoned a new cloud for him to sit on as he watches the rest of the crew hurry to put everything away. It took about 45 minutes for them to clear everything, but once they did all that was there was a large bag of money.


    "All done Captain!" Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku said as they stood in a straight line while saluting Luffy. Luffy shook his head in amus.e.m.e.nt before getting up from the cloud. As he stood up the cloud he was sitting on moved closer to the throne holding Nami in place before it fused with it creating a bigger cloud. He then snapped his finger as he walked towards the bag causing the lightning holding Nami in place to disappear. Nami immediately sprang to her feet and began running towards the large bag that Luffy had just grabbed hold of. Just as she was inches away from reaching the bag it disappears along with Luffy causing everyone''s eyes to widen. As they disappeared Nami tumbled herself forward landing on top of Sanji with his face buried in her c.h.e.s.t causing Sanji to rocket back with a large nosebleed. When everyone turned around to see where Luffy had gone they all saw him standing in front of the throne with the bag in his hand. While Nami was picking herself up from the ground Luffy held up the bag and dropped it into the throne made of clouds causing it to disappear into the cloud.


    "Good now that we are all done let''s get started," he said as he sat on the throne. "Before I teach you Haki I will first explain to you all what it is. I had already told Zoro about it so he has a general idea of what it is and what it does, but he doesn''t know how to use it," he said earning a nod from Zoro. Sanji who finally got his nosebleed under control walked over next to Nojiko and spoke while sticking tissues in his nose.


    "The old geezer had told me once about haki," he said surprising Luffy. "Well, more like he mentioned the name not really explaining what it is," he said causing Luffy to nod his head in an understanding way. Luffy had heard rumors that Zeff did enter the New World but only for a short period of time before he found it too difficult and turned back to paradise. So, he could understand how Zeff came to learn about Haki. "He said it is a power that every pirate in the Grand Line has, and the power itself is that which could rival devil fruit users," Sanji said scaring Usopp, Nami, Johnny, and Yosaku. Luffy chuckled at their reaction.


    "Not everyone in the Grand Line knows Haki," Luffy said getting their attention away from Sanji. "Only those in the New World know about Haki. The pirates in Paradise don''t really know about it," he said earning a few confused looks his crew.


    "Umm, Luffy," Nojiko said causing Luffy to look over at her, "What is this New World and Paradise you are talking about?" she asked causing the rest of them to nod their heads letting Luffy know they didn''t know either.


    "The Grand Line is split into two parts, the first part which we will be entering in about three days time is called Paradise while the second half is called the New World," he said supervising all of them. "It is a common mistake people make in thinking the Grand Line is just one continuous sea but in fact, it is two halves separated by the Red Line," He said as he reached into his coat and pulled out a bottle of whiskey and a glass and began pouring himself a drink.


    "Paradise?" Nami asked in a scared voice causing Luffy to smirk. "I think we all have head stories about the Grand Line and none of them would suggest that it is paradise," she said earning nods from Usopp and the bounty hunting duo. Luffy smirked deviously scaring them even more before he replied.


    "The first half of the Grand Line is called Paradise because when compared to the New World it is paradise," he said causing their eyes to widen. "But don''t worry about that now. I will get all of you stronger by then," he said calming all of them down. "Now back to Haki," he said causing all of them to pay close attention. "Haki is a power that lies dormant in all the world''s creatures. It is not that different from the typical senses. However, most people do not notice it or fail to awaken it," he said before he took a sip of his whiskey.


    "So everyone can learn this Haki thing?" Johnny asked with a look of pure awe on his face. Luffy nodded his head before taking another sip of his drink. "That''s so cool," Johnny said while staring at Luffy. Everyone else nodded their head in agreement of what he just said.


    "There are mainly two types of Haki that anyone, given the right training, could achieve. The first is Observation Haki," he said before pausing and looking around making sure everyone is paying attention. After seeing everyone is listening closely he continued. "It grants users a sixth sense of the world around them and limited precognitive abilities. I have heard rumors of people honing their observation Haki to such a degree that they could see a tiny bit into the future," Luffy said causing all of their eyes to widen.


    "Seeing into the future?" Sanji asked in a disbelieving voice. Luffy nodded his head before he replied.


    "Yeah, just about a few seconds into the future," he said before taking a sip of his drink. "I haven''t reached that level as yet, I can only predict my enemy moves and sense the life force of everything in my range," he said before turning towards Usopp and spoke. "You as a sniper Usopp could use Observation haki shoot targets that are at an extremely great distance away and hit them with precision accuracy," Luffy said causing Usopp''s eyes to widen.


    "Wow!" he said before he started jumping up and down in excitement. Luffy shook his head before he spoke again.


    "The next type is Armament Haki," he said before he held out his right hand for everyone to see. As they stared at Luffy''s hand they were all surprised when they saw it suddenly turned from its usual color to pitch back. "It allows the user to use their spirit as armor to defend against attacks or to make their own attacks more potent," he said before the blackness on his arm seems to recede back into his skin. "If you are fighting against someone else who uses Armament haki it comes down to who has a stronger will or wants to win more and in that case, the weaker one always takes more damage," he said before he finished his drink and looked over to Zoro. "You can use them on your sword to make your attacks more powerful," he said causing Zoro to grin. "There are two important things about Armament Haki you need to know," he said causing them to pay closer attention to what he is about to say. "Firstly, it is something that you can run out of during a fight if you oversure it," he said surprising them once more. "And secondly This type of Haki also has the ability to bypass the powers of a Devil Fruit user whose body has been altered by their fruit in any way," he said causing everyone''s eyes to widen.


    "What do you mean bypass their powers?" Nojiko asked.


    "For example, I am a lightning Logia type user meaning I can turn my body into lightning and make my body intangible against certain attacks," he said causing her nod her head showing she understood so far. "If you were to punch me right now your arm would pass right through me not hurting me and you would get electrocuted, but if you punched me with your fist covered in Armament Haki your fist wouldn''t pass through me, it would hit me and it would hurt," he said.


    "Wow...so it is extremely useful against Devil fruit users?" Nami asked in an astonished voice. Luffy nodded his head before he spoke again.


    "Those are the main two that everyone could awaken," he said causing all of them to nod their heads except for Nami who looked at Luffy with a puzzled look on her face before she spoke.


    "Main two?" she asked causing Luffy to nod his head. "So there is more?" she asked. Luffy smirked at her question before he replied.


    "There is one more that only a certain group of people could unlock," he said surprising them. "It is an extremely rare type of Haki that only one in several million people could unlock it. It''s called Conqueror''s Haki or The King''s Spirit," he said.


    "One in several million?" Usopp asked causing Luffy to nod his head.


    "What does it do?" Sanji asked.


    "It allows the user to overpower the wills of others. Zoro, Nami and Usopp saw me use it before," he said causing those three to take on a puzzled look on their face trying to think about when they saw him use it. "Usually when someone uses it they can make a group of people just pass out from their presence," he said causing the three of them to finally figure out what he was talking about. "Although those who have strong wills can resist the effects of your Conqueror''s Haki," he said before getting up from his throne and walking into his Captain''s Quarters and coming back out with a few strips of black cloth. "First I will teach all of you Observation Haki before anything I teach you Armament," he said as he walked forward towards them.


    "Any reason why that one is first?" Zoro asked.


    "I think it would be best for all of you to learn to predict your enemy''s movements in a fight before we strengthen your attacks," he said as he began handing out the blindfolds to Johnny, Nami, Usopp, and Sanji. "And it is way more fun to learn...well more fun for me anyway," he said with an evil smirk causing everyone to become nervous. "Now pair up! Sanji you''re with Zoro," he said causing Sanji to w.h.i.n.e about not being with the beautiful ladies. "Usopp you are with me," he said getting a Nodd from Usopp.


    "So, what are we supposed to do, captain?" Nami asked causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "One of you is going to be blindfolded while your partner won''t be. The person who isn''t blindfolded has to hit you in the head with one of these sticks," he said as he reached into the cloud and pull out five sticks.


    "Why the hell do you have sticks in there!?" Nami yelled. Luffy shrugged his shoulders before he replied.


    "I picked them up while we were at your hometown," he said as he tossed a stick to each pair while keeping one for himself before tossing the extra one overboard. "The main goal of the person who is blindfolded is to dodge the incoming hit. Do not simply guess and move your head, clear your mind and try to expand your senses, try to feel the life forces of those around you," he said earning nods from all of them. Soon every pair went to a different part of the ship to begin their training. One thing was clear to everyone except Luffy, the next two days were going to be extremely painful.


    **Two days Later**


    The entire crew was currently standing at the front of the ship staring at the Island they were fastly approaching. The past two days had been very painful for every member of Luffy''s crew, the training was a success for the most part. Everyone could predict where most of the hits were coming from and dodge it, but they were still getting hit sometimes. Luffy did not expect them to completely master Observation Haki in two days, so the progress they all have made please him. He knows the best way to learn haki is when your life in danger, it is then your will is at its strongest dues to ones d.e.s.i.r.e to live. So, all they needed was some real-life experience in combat to take their Haki to the next level. While everyone could simply dodge the attacks, Usopp surprised Luffy when he told him that he can sense a faint outline of Luffy. Luffy had explained that was the life force he was sensing and explained how he could use it to pick out his targets.


    "So that''s it huh?" Nojiko asked was behind Luffy knocking him out his thought. He looked behind him and saw she was staring at the island in front of them. He turned back around and stared at the island with a serious look on his face before he replied.


    "Yeah, that''s it," he said in his usual monotone voice. "The town of the beginning and the end," he said before pouring himself a drink. He then turned around and walked back to his thrones. "All of you follow me," he said as he walked by. When Luffy reached his throne he sat down and stared at everyone as they gather around him. He then reached into the cloud and pulled out a small bag of money and tossed it to Sanji confusing him.


    "What''s this for, captain?" Sanji asked.


    "That''s 1 million berries," he said causing everyone''s eyes to widen. "Use that money to buy whatever supplies and food you need for the kitchen and whatever is left over is yours to spend," he said earning a nod from Sanji. He then reached back into the cloud and pulled out another bg this time a bit bigger and tossed it to Zoro before he spoke. "That''s 5 million berries, buy yourself two new swords and buy does two whatever weapons they want," he said while pointing to Johnny and Yosaku. Zoro nodded his head while the bounty hunter duo saluted at Luffy before they yelled out.


    "THANK YOU BIG BRO LUFFY!" they yelled in unison causing Luffy to chuckle. Luffy then reached back into the cloud and pull out another bag smaller that Zoro''s but bigger than Sanji''s and tossed it to Nojiko before he spoke.


    "That''s 2 million berries," he said surprising her. She was about to tell him she didn''t need that much but he held up his hand stopping her before she could speak. "Before you say you don''t need that much the money in there is for you and Nami," he said causing her to smirk while Nami''s eyes changed into berry signs. "Nojiko is in charge of the money," Luffy said causing Nami''s eyes to change back to normal and her face took on a shocked look. "I feel she may be a bit more responsible with it," he said causing Nami to pout. "You two could buy whatever you want, but I have some requests that you need to buy. First Nami I want you to buy more charting supplies cause I don''t know when we will get to buy them again," he said causing her to nod her head. "And secondly, find yourselves some weapons," he said causing them to nod their head in agreement.


    "Aye, captain!" they said in unison. Luffy then reached into the cloud and pulled out a bag the same size as Sanji''s and tossed it to Usopp before he spoke.


    "That''s 1 million berries, buy whatever you need for your inventions or whatever you else you want," he said causing Usopp to nod his head excitedly. "But be warned a lot of people in this town are going to try and sell you knock off equipment and claim it to be from the Grand Line, or it belonged to Gol Roger. Do not be fooled," Luffy warned causing Usopp to nod. Luffy then looked around at everyone before he spoke. "Good, you all have your orders ow let''s dock the ship someplace where the marines won''t find it," he said getting nods from everyone before they ran off to get ready to dock. Just as they were about to walk down the stairs Luffy spoke again getting their attention. "One more thing, there is a marine captain here called Smoker. A lot of pirates have stopped her on their way to the Gand Line but none of them ever got a chance to leave the Island," he said scaring all of them except for Zoro and Sanji. "He has caught ever pirate that has step foot on that Island and will likely come after me. So, none of you worry about that. I am his target, he doesn''t know about any of you but if you hear of a commotion involving me hurry up and finish what you are doing and head back towards the ship," he said causing all of them to nod their head before running off to get ready to dock. Luffy poured himself a drink and took a sip before looking u to the sky with a smile on his face, he was going to achieve his dreams and no one was going to stop him.


    After the ship docked near the end of the island everyone got off and began making their way towards town. While they were walking Luffy kept his eyes out in search of any Marines who may have spotted them entering the island. He was quite surprised when he saw no one there. He had figured that with a bounty like his the Marines would do everything in their power to try and stop him from re-entering the Grand Line, but it would seem that even though they sent more Marines to the island they are doing a poor job patrolling said island. Luffy wasn''t complaining, after all, he didn''t want to start trouble just YET. As the crew reached the entrance of the main shopping area Luffy turned to his crew and spoke.


    "Alright, I''ll see you guys later. I''m going to find out where they kill me around here," he said before walking away leaving his entire crew confused. Luffy''s main goal for to this island was to see the place where Gol Roger died, but before he goes to the execution platform, there was something he needed to do. He was currently walking down the main street looking at all of the stores trying to find the store he was looking. After walking for a few more seconds he finally spotted it, ''Rita''s Tailored Clothing,'' the sign read causing Luffy to smile before making his way over to it. As he entered he saw manikins with suits and coat of all designs, shelves with different color fabrics and in the corner near the very back of the store he saw a counter with a small register on top of with and an elderly woman standing behind of the counter staring at him.


    "What can I do for you today, young man?" she asked in a kind tone. Luffy smiled right back and began walking towards her.


    "I was wondering if you could add something on to my coat," he said as he took his coat off and placed it on the counter. The woman looked at him with questionable eyes before she asked him a question.


    "Are you a pirate?" she asked. Luffy looked at her and smiled widely before he replied.


    "That I am," he said causing the elderly woman to match his smile.


    "It has been a while since I had I pirate in my shop," she said as she held up the coat and began to examine it. "I was beginning to think I would die before I get to see another one enter in here. Let me guess, you want me to add your jolly roger to the back of your coat seeing as how you already have a coat," she said as she turned away from the coat and looked at Luffy. He smiled at her and reached into his pocket and pulled out a picture of his jolly roger and handed it to her.


    "I do," he said as he handed it to her. She looked at it and had her eyes widen.


    "That''s one scary jolly roger you there, young man," she said causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "I''m glad it is doing its job," he said as he looked around the store. "how long is it going to take for you to add it on?" he asked.


    "Not long just give me a few minutes," she said before she turned away from the counter and sat down in front a sewing machine she had right there. Luffy began walking around the store browsing at the clothing that was there. As he was browsing he was talking to the old lady.


    "So, you used to have a lot of pirates as customers?" he asked while looking at the number of shirts that were there. From her position in front of the sewing machine the woman answered.


    "Yes, I did," she said as she worked on Luffy''s coat. "Pirates used to come to this island non-stop on their way to the Grand Line, but all that change when Marine Smoker came to this Island. Since then any pirate who stepped foot on here would be captured and executed," she said distastefully. Luffy chuckled before he replied.


    "That''s good," he said surprising her. The moment he said that the sewing machine stopped and her head whipped around and looked at him with wide eyes. "I mean today everyone with a boat claims to be a pirate. If they can''t make it past one Marine Captain they got no right to even try and enter the Grand Line," he said before looking over at her with a smirk on his face. She smiled at him and went back to her sewing.


    "You''re a strange one, young pirate," she said with a chuckle. Luffy walked back over to the counter and leaned against it before he spoke.


    "The name is Monkey D. Luffy," he said while staring at the woman as she worked on the sewing machine. Without looking at him she spoke.


    "Ah, I see. So, that is why you look so familiar, you are that rookie pirate with that big bounty on your head," she said before she stopped the machine and held up the coat to get a good look at it. "You''ve been making the marines around here extremely nervous you know," she said with a chuckle before going back to working on the coat. Luffy laughed a bit before he replied.


    "Not my fault they''re all wimps," he said causing the old lady to laugh. After waiting for about another minute before the old lady finally finished his coat.


    "Here you go all done," she said as she handed the coat over to him. He held it up and took one look at the back and immediately smiled. Sewed on to the back of his coat was an exact image of his jolly roger, a Japanese demon skull wearing a straw hat with two lightning bolts replacing the usual crossbones.


    "It''s perfect," he said before he put it on. "How much?" he asked. The old lady walked over to the register pushed a few buttons before she replied.


    "2000 berries," she said. Luffy nodded before he reached into his pockets and pulled out a stack of cash and counted a few bills before handing it to the lady.


    "Here you go and thanks," he said as he handed her the money and turned to leave. As he was walking out of the store the old lady spoke to him one last time.


    "Good Luck young man," she said as he walked out of the door causing Luffy to sigh.


    ''Why won''t she use my name?'' he asked himself before ducking into one of the allies. He did not want to walk around the street with his jolly roger on his back for everyone to see. It was still too soon to cause trouble and he had yet to go to the execution platform. So, he began making his way to the said platform by using all of the connected allies that Logue town had. As he was walking through ally after alley and twisting and turning Luffy came to a realization.


    "I am lost," he said with a sigh as he began looking around trying to figure out the right way to go. It was then as he turned around he saw something that made him raise an eyebrow. It was a bar''s sign that said ''Bar Gold Roger'' causing Luffy to raise his eyebrow in curiosity. He decided to investigate the bar and walked inside. It was completely empty and run down. There was dust everywhere, the chairs were overturned on the tables, and there were cobwebs everywhere. The only person in there was a short elderly man sitting at one of the tables with a skull in front of him along with two glasses of booze, one from him and one for the skull.


    "Excuse me, do you work here?" Luffy asked as he walked inside. "The sign outside said this place is called the Gold Rover, How did it get that name?" he asked again before the man could answer his first question. The man looked at Luffy through his sunglasses with a calculating eye before he replied.


    "Scram," he said in a grumpy voice. "this isn''t a place for a kid like you," he said causing Luffy''s eyebrow to twitch. "Besides we are closed for good starting today," he said as he poured himself a drink.


    "You''re going under?" Luffy asked as he walked over and took a seat on one of the bar stools.


    "I am not going under, I decided to shut it down myself," he said before placing the bottle of booze back on the table in front of him. "I''m retiring," he said with a sigh.


    "Sorry, I just wanted to know about the name," Luffy said before he pulled out a glass of his own along with his bottle of whiskey and poured himself a drink. "I''m looking for the execution platform, but I am lost. Could you tell me the way?" he asked before his eyes focused on the skull that was on the table. It looked like a human skull but it was way too large to be a human. "Better question, Where did you get that skull?" he asked.


    "Killer Giant, one of the most feared villain to have haunted the waters of the Grand Line," he said before cl.i.c.k.i.n.g his glass to the one in front of the skull. "He had sent hundreds of pirates to their deaths over the course of his life, but it only took Gold Roger a single blow to put the behemoth down for good," he said with a smile causing Luffy''s eyes to widen.


    "Gold Roger killed him?" Luffy asked in a surprised voice. The man threw his hands in the air before and yelled out.


    "With lightning speed!" he yelled before bringing his arms back down. "You see Killer Giant was known for using this massive blade but it didn''t matter, the whole fight was over before he could even raise it," he said causing Luffy to grin widely as he was listening to a story about his idol. "And here is the wound that did it," he said while pointing to the missing part of the skull. "Killer Giant was a terrible waste of human flesh anyway, but he proclaimed with his dying breath, ''Gold Roger I take my hat off to you. You will forever be the King of the Pirates,''" the old man said causing Luffy to get goosebumps and grin widely.


    "Awesome, tell me more," Luffy said in an excited voice.


    "Eric Dowd, the man known as king; Silvers Silver, the world greatest gunman; the giant Grounds Brothers, they were all famous for their strength, indestructible demons feard by everybody, but not Gold Roger," he said with a sigh before looking down. "Nobody ever wants to hear my stories anymore," he said in a sad voice. Luffy''s entire body was shivering with excitement.


    "I want to hear them, come on tell me more," Luffy said excitedly. His usual cool calm and collected attitude was gone and was replaced with the attitude of a little kid.


    "Don''t rush me," he said while swirling his glass of booze. "Gold Roger, he is the only man I knew back then and maybe even now, to not be afraid of entering the Grand Line," he said as he stared at his drink. "Back then the Grand Line was a mysterious place. Boats that chose to venture there were never heard from again. It was a sea of evil that people feared which few ever considered approaching. Gold Roger came in here the day before he set sail to the Grand Line and drank the entire place dry, before setting out the next morning as though he was going sightseeing," the old man said. Luffy could barely suppress all the fun he was having just listening to the old man''s story. "Then when I had heard he conquered the Grand Line I wasn''t surprised. I was happy he had been the one the conquer that evil sea. On this day 22 years ago Gold Roger died on that platform and that is when it all began, the so-called Great Pirate Era, where everyone with a boat claims to be a pirate. But look around this once great town, I bet you couldn''t find a real pirate, nothing but cowards and sc.u.m," he said before he downed his drink. Luffy downed his drink as well before he regained his emotions and spoke.


    "Couldn''t have said it better myself," he said agreeing with the old man''s analysis of the Great Pirate Era.


    "Men brave enough to venture into the Grand Line have all disappeared from these waters. There are no real pirates left in the world that is why I am closing the bar," the old man said with a sad look in his eyes.


    "I''m going to the Grand Line," Luffy said causing the old man''s eyes to widen. "Or I should say going back to the Grand Line," he said causing the man''s eyes to widen further in surprise. "Gold Roger is the perfect example of how a pirate should be. That is why I am going to the Grand Line, find the One Piece, and become King of the Pirates!" Luffy proclaimed causing a look of recognition to flash across the man''s eyes.


    "Those are some pretty big words," he said as he stared at Luffy. "Even more so because you are in this bar,"


    "I only said what I mean," Luffy said causing the old man to laugh.


    "Young man, if there are still people like you out there should I close this bar?" he asked Luffy.


    "I don''t know, it could just be me," he replied. The old man got up from his seat and began walking towards Luffy.


    "That''s right, it could just be you," he said as he walked towards Luffy with a huge smile on his face. "In that case let''s have a drink, I haven''t been in this good a mood in some time," he said before walking behind the bar.


    "I only drink whiskey," Luffy said as he spun around to face the old man. The man chuckled before bringing out two glasses of whiskey.


    "The how about this," he said as he places the glasses down on the counter. "Let''s raise our glasses and drink to the eternal King of the Pirates," he said as he took off his had. Luffy smiled and took off his straw hat as well before he spoke.


    "Heres to the King of the Pirates," he said as he cheers with the old man before they downed the glass of whiskey. Luffy reached into his coat and pulled out a small bag of money and placed it on the counter before he spoke. "Thanks for the drink," he said before he got up and walked towards the back of the store. His observation haki had warned him that someone was coming their way. So, he decided to leave before he caused the old man any trouble. The old man was puzzled as he saw Luffy leave through the back door wondering why he didn''t use the front entrance. As he was about to ask him why he heard someone enter through the front door, when he looked he saw it was Marine Captain Smoker. He immediately took the money Luffy left and place it in his pocket before he scowled at Smoker.


    Luffy exited the bar and began walking in the direction of Main Street with only one thing on his mind.


    ''Time to cause some trouble,'' he thought to himself with a smirk. As he walked out of one alleyway and began walking down Main Street he could hear people murmuring behind him after they saw his jolly roger on his coat. Luffy ignored it all and set his sights on the execution platform that was in the town plaza. While walking towards the plaza he could sense he was being followed by Marines who were hidden in the shadows while some of them were running around trying to find Smoker. Luffy was hoping his crew had finished doing what they were doing because it was about time for them get off this island. When he spotted the platform he turned his body into lightning and teleported himself to the top of the platform and stared out at the plaza.


    "So, this is what the King of the Pirates saw before he died," Luffy said to himself while looking out. He could see a crowd gathering around the base of the platform and they were all looking at him in confusion. Luffy could also sense the Marines were circling the plaza, none of them was really powerful and told Luffy that Smoker had yet to arrive.


    "GET DOWN FROM THERE IMMEDIATELY!" a man in a police officer''s uniform yelled while holding a megaphone.


    "Why?" Luffy asked innocently.


    "You are standing on an execution platform that belongs to the World Government. Now get down from there right now!" the man yelled. Luffy shrugged his shoulders before he spoke again.


    "I''m not that big a fan of the World Government, so I''m gonna stay right here," he said causing a few people to gasp in shock. The man was about to yell something back at Luffy but before he could he was smashed in the head by a giant metal club wielded by a woman who Luffy did not recognize.


    "It''s been a while, Luffy," the woman said causing Luffy to raise his eyebrow in confusion. "I''ve been looking for you," she said as she swung her club over her shoulder.


    "And who might you be?" Luffy asked.


    "How rude," she said with a devious smile on her face. "You mean to tell me you of all people forgot my face?" she asked in a sweet voice causing all the men around her to lose their minds.


    "Sorry, you don''t have that pretty a face for me to remember it," he replied before smirking when he saw the woman''s smile vanished and was replaced with an angry look.


    "How dare you!" she yelled before turning to the people in the plaza and asked them a question. "Listen up everyone, Who is the most beautiful woman in all the East Blue?" she asked causing everyone''s eyes to change into hearts before they all replied in unison.


    "Why you of course!" they all said. Just then to police officers came and tried to arrest the woman, but just as they were about to the fountain exploded sending pieces of the fountain flying all over and causing mass panic.


    "Great, who''s the dumbass interrupting me now," Luffy asked to himself. When he looked down he saw a group of people wearing hooded coats walk forward and began speaking to the woman.


    "Sorry about that, Alvida," the hooded figure who was leading the group said. Then Luffy''s eyes widened, that woman was Alvida.


    "You''re Alvida?" he asked causing her to chuckle.


    "That''s right," she said in a sing-song like voice.


    "What happened to you?" Luffy asked genuinely curious.


    "I ate the smooth-smooth fruit," she said causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow at that. "Now no attack could hit me, they just slip right off," she said proudly. "And as you can see, because I ate the smooth-smooth fruit I lost my freckles," she said while rubbing her face.


    ''I think you lost a bit more than just freckles,'' Luffy thought to himself. Suddenly Luffy''s observation haki alerted him of a threat coming from above. Luffy took one step back causing his attacker to crash in front of him on the platform with a neck shackle that Luffy assumed to be made out of sea prism stone. He narrowed his eyes and looked at his attacker, the man looked familiar but Luffy couldn''t remember where he met him before. The man was surprised when Luffy dodged but yet he smiled.


    "Hey there you lightning freak," the man said causing Luffy''s eyes to turn cold. "How''s Roronoa doing?" he asked c.o.c.kily.


    "He is doing a lot better than what you will be doing in a few seconds," Luffy said in an emotionless tone puzzling the man.


    "Huh?" was all the man got to ask before he received a lightning speed kick to face sending him flying out of the plaza. Luffy looks down at the group of hooded people to see them no longer wearing their hoods. Now Luffy could see under those hoods were the Buggy Pirates and that man he had just kicked was Cabaji. Luffy chuckled and decided to mess with Buggy for a bit before he started to have some fun.


    "Oh I know you," he said while pointing to Buggy. "What''s your name again?" Luffy asked while he took on a thinking pose while at the same time summoning thunderclouds.


    "You don''t remember my name!" Buggy yelled out in anger.


    "Give me a second, it''ll come to me," he said while waving his hands at Buggy pissing him off more. "Ducky? no that''s not it. Juggy? No not it either. Ugly? Buggy?! That''s it" Luffy yelled out causing Buggy to smile proudly at the fact Luffy remember his name. "You''re Ugly Buggy!" Luffy said while pointing at Buggy causing him to drop his smile and stare at Luffy with rage all over his face. His entire crew went pale when they heard what Luffy called their captain.


    "You flashy bastard!" he yelled causing Luffy to smirk victoriously. Some people around started snickering at what Luffy called Buggy causing the Buggy pirates to pull out their weapons and point them at the civilians. Luffy could sense that Smoker had arrived and was watching from afar.


    ''So, they want me and Buggy to take each other out before they come and arrest us while we are all tired and worn out. Clever plan Smoker, but you are going to have to better than that,'' Luffy thought as he ignores Buggy''s angry ranting.


    "You are going to pay Straw Hat!" Buggy yelled at the top of his lungs knocking Luffy out of his thought. "You will pay for getting me arrested with the rest of my crew and since we escaped I''ve been obsessed with exacting my revenge on you!" he said causing Luffy to remember something.


    "Oh, yeah!" Luffy said stopping Buggy from continuing. "I forgot I had turned both you and Alvida over to the marines," he said causing Buggy and his entire crew to deflate a bit.


    "He didn''t even remember turning us in," they said as they began to sulk. The citizen of you Logue Town were looking at the interaction between the Buggy Pirates and man standing on top of the execution platform with a bewildered look on their faces. It was a strange interaction between two pirates that is if the man on top of the execution platform was a pirate. It was then a man from the crowd shouted out getting everyone''s attention.


    "HEY!" he shouted while pointing at Luffy getting everyone''s attention including Luffy''s. "T-That man...is the rookie pirate with the 100 million berry bounty on his head!" he yelled out causing everyone''s head to whip around towards Luffy who was smiling. "I-It''s The Thunder Demon: Straw-Hat Luffy!" he screamed with a lot of fear in his voice. People all around began to get scared and were wondering where the Marines were. It was then Luffy had decided to get the show started. He looked up to the sky and saw it was completely filled with thunderclouds, Luffy smiled before walking forward on the platform a bit before he stood on the edge and spread his arms out wide before he yelled at the top of his lungs.


    "MY NAME IS MONKEY D. LUFFY!" he screamed getting everyone''s attention to him. "AND I AM THE MAN WHO IS GOING TO BE THE KIND OF THE PIRATES!" he shouted and used his devil fruit to make the thunder boomed in the heavens and lightning to flash right behind him as he said it. Luffy then with his arms spread out wide looked up to the sky and smiled. The people in the plaza were beyond shocked at what they just heard.


    "What..?" one civilian said in shock.


    "He just said King of the Pirates..." another said in disbelief.


    "In this town of all placed, that''s a crazy thing to say," another said. Just when everyone thought crazy there were finished something beyond strange happened. From the dark thundercloud filled sky, a hole opened up in the clouds and through that hole, a beam of sunlight shone down on to the platform and Luffy. Everyone had their mouths hanging off their Jaws. Sanji and Zoro who was standing at the back of the crowd to see what Luffy was going to do had their eyes widen and their jaws on the floor. Smoker and every marine were beyond surprised and a tiny bit scared at what they were staring at. Smoker''s cigarette even fell out of his mouth as he stared at the sight before him. Luffy was standing there with his arms spread out wide, looking up at the sky with a smile while a beam of light came through the clouds and shone down upon him. It was like a spotlight from heaven shining down onto Luffy right after he made his declaration. It was as though he was the chosen one, the Messiah, chosen by the heavens to become the next King of the Pirates.


    Luffy was confused because he didn''t create that hole for the light to come through and was a little creeped out by it. He took a glance down at everyone and saw everyone staring at him in utter disbelief while Buggy and his entire crew fell to their knees and were looking up at him in awe. It was then it clicked in Luffy''s mind what the entire scene looked like. He couldn''t stop himself from chuckling before looking back up to the sky and saw the hold was beginning to close. Thinking he should add a bit more dramatic effect to its closing, he made the thunder boom extra loud just before the hold closed and the light disappeared. As the light vanished Luffy brought his arms down and saw everyone still had their jaws hanging. He turned his body into lightning and teleported to the back of the crowd right in the middle of Sanji and Zoro surprising them.


    "Close your mouths or you will catch flies," he said knocking them out of their bewilderment.


    "Cap...that just now..." Sanji said incoherently.


    "Don''t ask me. I am as confused as you," he said surprising them. "Is everyone ready?" he asked causing Zoro and Sanji to nod. "Well let''s go," he said before they started walking away. As they were walking away hundreds upon hundreds of Marines stormed the Plaza surrounding Luffy and every other pirate there. When the Marines showed up the civilians who were there still staring at the platform were knocked out of their stupor.


    "Well, I guess the Navy really wants to catch you, captain," Sanji said as he lit a cigarette. Luffy and Zoro chuckled before Zoro spoke.


    "There have to be at least 1000 of these marines," he said as he stared at them.


    "Yea the entrance to the Grand Line is probably blocked by Navy Battlesh.i.p.s," Luffy said with a smirk. "Well boys, let''s show the Navy why they shouldn''t f.u.c.k with us," he said as he stared at the group of marines in front of him.


    "Electro-Murder!" Luffy said as he stretched out his hands in front of him. From the tips of his fingers, ten ropes of lightning came out and wrapped around the ten closest marines before the lightning ropes continue to snake themselves around the marines behind those ten and to the side of them. When it was done the technique had 50 marines bounded and screaming in pain. Luffy then upped the voltage and held it for two seconds before he cut the technique off causing 50 marines to drop on the ground dead. He looked behind him to see how Zoro and Sanji were doing. The first them he saw was a giant tornado made of wind tossing marines into the air. When the tornado disappeared Luffy saw Zoro standing in the center with all three of his swords drawn. Then suddenly out of nowhere the body of a marine came crashing through Luffy''s body startling him while electrocuting the already unconscious marine. He looked to see where it came from and saw Sanji spinning on his hands kicking Marines all over the place.


    "Hey! Watch where you kick your marines!" he yelled.


    "Sorry, Captain," Sanji said with a nervous chuckle.


    "Come on let''s go," he said before the three of them began running. As they were running a group of marines tried to cut them but they were easily disposed of by Sanji and Zoro. As they were running through an unknown street to head back to the ship they saw a large group of marines running their way. "They''re mine," Luffy said.


    "Lightning Vortex!" Luffy yelled before he jumped forward and started spinning rapidly while at the same time releasing lighting from his body creating a large vortex of lighting headed straight for the marines. [looks like Kiba''s Fang over Fang only made out of lightning]. The vortex of lightning crashed into the marines and started drilling it''s way to the back while at the same time electrocuting a lot of marines and sending the rest flying into nearby buildings. When Luffy cut off his technique and stopped spinning he was standing in front of a large group of marine bodies lying in front of him while off the sides were some unconscious marines who were blown back by the lightning. Zoro and Sanji were running towards him when they finally reached him the three of them continued their way towards the ship.


    "That''s was so cool, captain," Sanji said while Zoro nodded his head.


    "Yeah, its one of my less destructive attacks," he said. As they were running they saw a girl standing in the middle of the road with a sword. Upon seeing her Sanji already started flirting with her. Luffy looked over to Zoro and saw that he was scowling at her. The three of them stopped a few feet away from the girl.


    "I didn''t know you were Roronoa Zoro and a pirate no less," she said to Zoro as she stared at him with hatred in her eyes.


    "Girlfriend Zoro?" Luffy asked. Zoro unsheathed one of his swords before he replied.


    "You two go on ahead I''ll catch up," he said causing Luffy to nod and drag Sanji away as he was screaming at Zoro. The two of them ran a bit further down the road when they saw a man standing there in front of a motorcycle. Luffy saw him and immediately knew it was Smoker. The two of them stopped in front of Smoker and Luffy looked towards Sanji and spoke.


    "Sanji you go in ahead, I''ll catch up," he said causing Sanji to nod his head before running pass Smoker.


    "I don''t know about that," Smoker said with two cigars in his mouth. "This is the end of the line for you, Monkey D. Luffy," he said as white smoke started to rise out from his body. Luffy chuckled and stared at Smoke before he spoke.


    "I don''t think so. I kind of got an appointment with the Grand Line," he said before electric blue sparks started to surround his body.


    "You are not getting to the Grand Line unless you beat me," Smoker said as the smoke increased around his body.


    "Sounds easy enough," Luffy said. In the blink of an eye, Luffy was in front of Smoker with his fist reared back and covered with haki causing Smoker''s eyes to widen.


    ''So fast!'' Smoker thought before Luffy buried his fist into his stomach knocking the air right out of him and causing him to cough up some spit. Smoker then hunched over on the ground gasping for air. While he was hunched over on the ground Luffy delivered a haki infused ax kick to Smoker''s head knocking him unconscious. When smoker was knocked unconscious Luffy sighed and began walking towards the ship, but he suddenly stopped when he sensed something.


    "Are you going to come out or stay in the shadows...dad," Luffy said before looking off to his right and into a dark alleyway. Out of the shadows, a man wearing a hood walked out and smiled at Luffy.


    "So you know who I am," Luffy''s dad said with a chuckle. "It''s nice to know your grandfather didn''t turn you into a marine," he said causing Luffy to chuckle a bit.


    "Well, can''t say he didn''t try," Luffy said causing his father to laugh. "But I think Shanks did a pretty good job with me," he said surprising the man.


    "Red-Hair raised you?" he asked in a surprised tone causing Luffy to nod his head. "For how long?" he asked.


    "About ten years," he said surprising his father. "Well I did spend some of that ten years somewhere else training, but the majority of the time I was with Shanks and his crew," he said. His dad looked thoughtful for a moment before he spoke.


    "That''s alright I guess. Red-Hair isn''t that bad a man...drinks a lot but ain''t that bad," he said causing Luffy to laugh. Luffy then reached into his coat and pulled out a small card and tossed it towards his father who caught it.


    "That''s the number to my Den-Den Mushi," he said surprising his dad. "Give me a call if you ever need help with anything," he said before he started walking away. His dad smiled before he spoke.


    "Will do," he said as he places the card inside his hooded jacket. After taking a few steps Luffy stopped and narrowed his eyes as he stared in front of him before he spoke in a serious tone.


    "The clan of D has been in the hiding shadows of history for far too long," he said getting his dad attention and causing his dad''s face to turn serious.


    "I agree," he said as he stared at Luffy''s back.


    "The time is near when we won''t be hiding anymore," Luffy said before his body turned to lightning and he disappeared. Dragon stared at the spot where his son was standing and starting laughing before he walked back into the shadows of the alleyway.


    Luffy teleported himself to the docks to see the marines shooting at his ship while Sanji, Zoro, and the Bounty hunter duo were fighting marines on the shore while Nami, Nojiko, and Usopp were trying to get the ship away from danger. Luffy sighed before he launched one of his attacks.


    "Raging Thunder!" he yelled out causing multiple bolts of lightning to come down from the sky and strike the marines. Luffy then summoned a thundercloud and hopped on it before flying over to Zoro and rest for them to hop on. When everyone was on Luffy flew the cloud on to the ship and got off. When everyone was off Luffy turned the cloud into his throne and set it in its usual spot before he started barking out orders.


    "Alright everybody just ahead is the entrance to the Grand Line," Luffy said causing them to smile. "I think we should say something to mark this occasion," he said causing them to nod their heads. Johnny and Yosaku went into storage and brought a barrel of booze out and sat it in the middle of all of them. Sanji was the first one to put his foot on the barrel and spoke.


    "I am going to the Grand Line to find the All Blue," he said with a smile.


    "I''m going to be the King of the Pirates!" Luffy said as he put his foot on the barrel.


    "The world greatest swordsman," Zoro said he place his foot on the barrel.


    "The World''s most famous bounty hunters," Johnny and Yosaku said as they place their feet on the barrel. As they said ti everyone looked at them funny before they all just shrugged.


    "I''m going so I can draw a map of the entire world," Nami said as she put her foot up.


    "I going to help my little sister achieve her dreams...and keep her out of trouble," Nojiko said causing everyone to laugh while Nami g.r.o.a.n.e.d.


    "And I am going to become a brave warrior of the seas," Usopp said before he placed his foot on the barred with the rest.


    "And now to the Grand Line!" Luffy said as they all brought their foot up and smashed the barrel.


    **END OF CHAPTER**

 Chapter 14 - 14: Entering The Grand Line and Laboon!

    It has been an hour since the crew left Logue town and were currently sailing towards the Grand Line. Usopp was manning the rudder while Johnny and Yosaku were up in the crow''s nest looking out. Zoro was sitting at the rear deck of the ship with Luffy cleaning his swords, Nami and Nojiko were looking at a map of the Grand Line while Sanji was in the kitchen putting away the stuff he bought. Luffy was drinking his whiskey while staring up at the thundercloud infested sky. These weren''t his clouds, it looked like an actual storm was coming their way but Luffy didn''t mind. They had a tailwind since they left Logue Town and were likely to be out of the storm before it even began. Luffy was about to take a sip of his drink when suddenly Nami screamed startling everyone and causing Luffy to spill some of his whiskey on the floor.


    "AHHHH!" she yelled. Luffy looked over to her with a murderous look in his eye before he spoke.


    "You better have a good excuse for causing me to spill my whiskey," Luffy said in a cold tone causing her to sweat a bit before she nodded her head. "Well, what is it?" he asked as Sanji and everyone ran over to see what is wrong with Nami.


    "I was looking at this map of the Grand Line that I stole from Buggy and it says here the entrance of the Grand Line is a mountain," she said causing everyone''s eyes to widen except Luffy.


    "A mountain?" Zoro asked while looking at Nami. "Are we supposed to crash into it?" he asked causing Luffy to look at him as though he was stupid.


    "Really?" Luffy asked while looking at Zoro. "Crash into it? Does that sound like how you enter the Grand Line? or does it sound like how you die?" Luffy asked rhetorically causing Zoro to look away in embarrassment.


    "So how do we enter the Grand Line then?" asked Sanji. Luffy took a sip of his drink before he replied.


    "We sail up the mountain," he said surprising everyone.


    "Sh.i.p.s can''t sail up a mountain!" Usopp said causing everyone to nod their heads in agreement to what he said.


    "Hand me that map Nami," Luffy said as he stretched out his hand. When he got the map from Nami he sat it down on the floor in front of them and began explaining how it works. "You see this mountain right here?" he asked while pointing to the mountain in the center of the map. All of them nodded their heads and paid close attention to what he was saying. "That mountain is a part of the Red Line and is called Reverse Mountain. Currents from all four of the seas run up the mountain and into the Grand Line," he said while tracing his finger on the small blue line that represents the currents that go up the mountain. Everyone''s eyes widened when they heard that information.


    "But that is impossible, currents cannot flow up a mountain," Nojiko said while having a disbelieving look on her face.


    "In the normal world it doesn''t, but this is the Grand Line," Luffy said as he rolled up the map and looked all of them in the eye before he continued. "If you go into that sea and try using logic to explain everything that happens there you will go mad," he said before handing the map back to Nami. "There is nothing sane about that sea. One minute it is raining, and one second later it starts snowing, and two seconds after that it is raining hail the size of a galleon," he said causing their eyes to widen and their jaws to drop.


    "You-you are kidding right?" Nami asked.


    "Nope...well the hail thing I only saw that in the New World, but it could happen in Paradise," he said getting them to relax a bit. "By the way, Nami," he said getting her attention. "Did you and Nojiko a log pose?" he asked causing them to nod.


    "Yea we did, but why do we need it?" she asked.


    "It''s how you navigate the Grand Line, regular compasses don''t work there," he said surprising them. "Do not lose it or else we will all die," he said causing her to nod her head furiously. "By the way what did all the rest of you buy while you were there?" He asked.


    "I bought some fresh vegetables to cook some healthier meals a lot with some meat," Sanji said causing Luffy to nod. "I also bought some new pots and pans for the kitchen and some more knives, but the best part is I won a Blue-Finned Elephant Tuna in a cooking contest," he said happily. Luffy looked him with an amused smile on his face before he spoke.


    "I''ll be looking forward to eating it," he said before he looked over to Usopp to hear what he bought.


    "I bought these new pairs of goggles," he said while pointing to the goggles on his head. "They are going to help me hit my targets better," he said causing Luffy to nod his head and waited for him to continue. "I also bought a few chemicals to experiment with so I can make my slingshot attacks deadlier that way pirates and marines everywhere will fear the name Captain Usopp!" he yelled while pointing to the sky causing everyone to chuckle in amus.e.m.e.nt before looking over to Zoro.


    "I cannot say I bought these two swords because the guy gave them to me for free," he said surprising everyone.


    "Why would someone give you two swords for free?" Sanji asked causing Zoro to pick up the sword in the red scabbard before he spoke.


    "It is because of this sword he gave me both of them for free," he said as he showed them the swords. Luffy saw the swords and narrowed his eyes at them.


    "But why?" asked Nojiko while looking at the sword.


    "Because it''s cursed," Luffy said while looking at the blade. Everyone''s eyes widen when they heard that. "It is one of the Kitetsu blades isn''t it?" Luffy asked causing Zoro to nod his head.


    "Kitetsu blades?" Usopp asked with a curious look on his face.


    "There are three Kitetsu blades, and all three of them are cursed. Once unsheathed they must spill an enemy''s blood or else they will take their master''s blood instead," Luffy said scaring all of them. "Or so the myth goes," he said with a chuckle. "what did those two buy?" he asked Zoro while pointing to the bounty hunting duo up in the crow''s nest.


    "I had thought they were going to buy swords but instead the two of them bought a bisento each," he said surprising Luffy. Luffy didn''t complain if that was what they were comfortable with then so be it. He then looked over to Nami to hear what she bought.


    "I bought new clothes and shoes," she said happily causing all the boys except for Sanji to roll their eyes. "I also bought high-quality charting paper and back up ink and pens to chart with," she said causing Luffy to nod his head before looking at Nojiko to hear what she bought.


    "I also bought clothes and shoes with Nami but I also bought this three section metal staff," she said as she pulled out the staff from behind her back and showed it to everyone. It was a silver staff broken into three sections while a chain connected each of the section together. Luffy hypothesizes that it could be used as a staff and as nunchucks and if she adds haki to it it might just a deadly weapon. [picture Ban''s three section staff from Seven Deadly Sins]


    "Nice, better practice how to use it," he said causing her to nod her head before putting it away. "Usopp man the rudder and tell when the current is so strong that you can no longer steer the ship," he said causing him to salute and run off to the rudder. "Sanji I am quite hungry can you go and prepare Lunch," Luffy said causing him to nod and head towards the kitchen. "And the rest of you," he said getting their attention. "I do believe you all still have some training to complete," he said causing them to run and get their blindfolds and sticks. Luffy poured himself some more whiskey before staring up at the sky.


    After sailing for about ten more minutes the ship finally exited the thundercloud infested skies and into clear blue one. The water was calm but Luffy could feel the ship picking up speed. He stood up and walked over to the side of the ship and looked down at the water and saw the water currents moving rapidly with the ship.


    ''Finally, in about a few more minutes the current should be too strong for Usopp to steer,'' Luffy thought as he stared at the water. Suddenly the voices to Johnny and Yosaku knocked Luffy out of his thought.


    "BIG BRO!" they screamed from the crow''s nest getting Luffy''s and everyone else''s attention. "MARINES!" they yelled while pointing ahead of the ship. Luffy forward and saw an entire fleet of about 25 Marine sh.i.p.s lines up sailing towards them/


    "It would seem as though they really don''t want me to re-enter the Grand Line," Luffy said with a chuckle.


    "What are your orders captain?" Nami asked as she and Nojiko ran towards Luffy. Luffy smiled before he replied.


    "Sail towards them," he said causing their eyes to widen. "Johnny, Yosaku, come down from there and take over for Usopp," he said causing the two of them to come down from the crow''s nest and head towards the rudder. Usopp came out and looked towards Luffy for orders. "Usopp get to the cannons in the front and start picking off their sh.i.p.s. I''ll take care of the majority of them," he said causing Usopp to nod before heading below deck to work the large cannon that was under the figurehead. Nojiko and Nami went to the two cannons that were on the upper deck and started firing at the fleet.


    "What are you going to do captain?" Sanji asked as he walked with his captain and Zoro towards the front of the ship. Luffy chuckled before he replied.


    "Something I''ve been dying to try out," he said before he hopped onto the figurehead and look ahead. "It would seem as though this fleet is from branch 8, meaning this is Commodore Nelson''s fleet," he said.


    "Is he strong?" Zoro asked.


    "No he is just really fat," Luffy said with a chuckle as he looked on as Nami, Nojiko, and Usopp took out three of the twenty-five sh.i.p.s.


    "Luffy," Sanji said getting his attention. "Look behind the marines there is a storm coming our way," he said causing Luffy to look and see storm cloud just behind the marines.


    "That''s not a storm," he said causing all of them to stop and look at him. "That is the entrance to the Grand Line," he said causing their eyes to widen. Luffy then clasped his hands together as though he was praying with his elbows sticking out and began focusing on his devil fruit powered. As he did that electric blue sparks surrounded his body and the sky started to darken with thunder booming overhead. Luffy then looked at the Marine Fleet with narrowed eyes before he yelled out.


    "Thirteen Heavenly Pillars!" he yelled causing a loud thunderclap before thirteen pillars of lightning to come out of the sky and strike down thirteen marine sh.i.p.s causing them to explode. Everyone stared at the attack with their jaws hanging on the floor except for Sanji and Zoro who had come to learn that Luffy can do some unbelievable things and wasn''t surprised anymore after seeing him destroy an entire island. Luffy then looked at the nine remaining sh.i.p.s before he spoke.


    "Make sure to leave one ship untouched Usopp!" he yelled.


    "Aye Captain!" Usopp yelled back from below deck before continuing to fire on the marines. Luffy then spotted Nelson''s flagship and smirked before unsheathing his sword and pointing it directly at Nelson''s flagship before covering the entire sword in lightning. Luffy then yelled out his attack in a cold emotionless tone.


    "60 Million Volt Thunder Dragon!" he said. As he said that a giant dragon made entirely out of lightning shot out of the tip of his sword and raced towards Nelson. The dragon made contact with the front of the flagship and immediately blew the entire ship into a million pieces. Luffy then looked around and saw there was only one ship from the entire fleet left and it was sailing away from Luffy and his crew heading to the left. He then hopped back onto the deck of the ship and gave out orders.


    "Raise the sails, the current is going to be enough to take us in," he said causing Zoro and Sanji to nod before running off to tie up the sails. Nami and Nojiko went to go look at the map to help Johnny and Yosaku steer the ship while Luffy walked and stood on the main deck while watching ahead for the entrance. As the ship was sailing towards the entrance they sailed through the wreckage of the fleet they just destroyed. There was wood and dead marines everywhere. As they sailed through Luffy looked over and saw Nelson struggling to stay afloat on a piece of wood. Luffy pulled out his pistol and aimed it at Nelson''s head and pulled the trigger causing a small bolt of lightning to fire out and pierce right through Nelson''s head killing him.


    "Luffy! Up ahead!" Nami yelled getting Luffy''s attention. He looked forward and saw a giant wall that stretched high above the clouds.


    "That''s the Red-Line!" he yelled before he walked and stood beside the door where the rudder was. "Keep her steady, the entrance is just ahead!" he yelled out. He could head Johnny and Yosaku struggling to keep the Rudder steady. Sanji and Zoro came and stood next to Luffy and Usopp and watched as they approach the giant mountain. Luffy then summoned some thunderclouds and had it surround the ship creating a kind of padding just in case they hit the Red Line.


    "Luffy I don''t see the entrance! All I see is a giant wall in our way!" Nami yelled.


    "See that tiny crack in the mountain?" Luffy asked while pointing at the tiny crack in the mountain.


    "Yeah, I see it," she said. Luffy tossed her a pair of binoculars before he spoke.


    "That''s the entrance," he said. She looked through the binoculars before she spoke in a disbelieving tone.


    "I cannot believe it, the current is really flowing up the mountain," she said before passing the binoculars to Nojiko.


    "Hold her steady boys and aim for that crack," he said while pointing forward.


    "AYE BIG BRO CAPTAIN LUFFY!" yelled causing Luffy to chuckle. As they got closer everyone could see the entrance clear. They all saw the water running up the mountain and just at the entrance there were arches going over the canals. it was then Luffy noticed that the ship was drifting off to the right.


    "We are drifting off course! Hard to starboard!" Luffy yelled.


    "Going hard to starboard!" the bounty hunting duos yelled before they began to push to rudder over to the right as hard as they could. With the extremely strong currents, it was very difficult to steer the ship so they had to push as hard as they could. It was then everyone heard something that made their eyes widen.


    "WE MADE IT!" Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku yelled as they started dancing.


    "It now a straight shot from here to the summit," Luffy said before he walked over and sat in his throne and watched as his crew took in the sights. They all had a wide smile on their face as the ship climbed higher and higher.


    "We''re in the clouds!" Nojiko said in amazement.


    "No, we are above the clouds!" Sanji said as the ship climbed higher above the clouds.


    "I can see the summit!" Johnny said while pointing forward. In front of them, they all saw where the currents from all four seas meet and run into the Grand Line. It was a beautiful sight to behold, the four currents crashing into each other splashing of water into the air that immediately froze and turned to ice, and when the sun like hit the ice it looked like diamonds shining in the sky. The Going Merry rode the wave perfectly and entered the canal leading into the Grand Line.


    "There it is, the greatest sea of them all," Luffy said as he stood up from his throne and walked forward towards the balcony on the upper deck. "The Grand Line," he said as he looked out with a smile on his face. As the ship began to descend the mountain the closer they got to the bottom the more puzzled everyone was becoming.


    "Luffy is there supposed to be another mountain at the bottom?" Nami asked in a confused voice. Luffy looked at her with a puzzled look before he spoke.


    "No, why?" he asked. She pointed in front of the ship causing Luffy to turn and look at where she is pointing. At the base of the mountain where the canal ran into the Grand Line, Luffy saw something rather large blocking the exit. "Well that wasn''t there 10 years ago," he said as he looked ahead. Suddenly a weird noise filled the air as they descended. It sounded like an animal wailing or crying out. As they got closer to the bottom Luffy Looked to Johnny and Yosaku and yelled out an order to them. "Get to the rudder and get ready to steer the ship or else we are going to hit whatever that is!" he yelled causing them to run inside before they yelled out back at Luffy.


    "AHHH THE RUDDER IS BROKEN!" they yelled causing Luffy to sigh. Luffy then began summoning large thunderclouds and adding them to the thunderclouds that were already around the ship in order to increase the padding in case they crash into whatever that was. As they got closer the unknown sounds became louder and louder.


    "What is that sound!" Nojiko asked while placing her hand by her ear to try and hear the sound a bit better. As the ship got closer Luffy was finally able to make out what it was.


    "Oh f.u.c.k," Luffy said. "It''s a giant whale!" he yelled causing everyone to panic.


    "Luffy we are moving too fast if we don''t slow down the clouds won''t be enough to save us!" Nami yelled. Luffy turned to Usopp and yelled out an order.


    "Usopp, get to the main cannon in the front and fire it when I tell you," he said causing Usopp to run below deck. As the ship grew closer and closer everyone started to get even more scared as the ship fastly approach the behemoth of a whale. When they were twenty feet away from the whale Luffy yell out. "NOW USOPP!" he yelled causing Usopp to fire the cannon. As the cannon fired the ship jerked back a bit knocking Nami and Nojiko off their feet before it started to slow down. The ship did not come to a complete stop but it slowed down enough for the clouds absorb the impact. When it was all said and done the ship was safe and everyone was alive and that was all Luffy wanted. "Grab the paddles and start paddling around this thing!" Luffy said causing Sanji, Zoro, Johnny, and Yosaku to grab the two paddles and started paddling to the left of the giant whale and away from danger.


    While they were paddling around the whale it was then Luffy got a chance to get a good look at it. It was an extremely large black whale of comparable or greater size than the Sea Kings in the Calm Belt. It many scars across his head from which Luffy assumed it was bashing its head against the side of the Red Line for some unknown reason.


    "That''s one big whale," Sanji said while rowing causing everyone else to nod their head while staring at the whale in amazement and with a tiny bit of fear. It was then the whale suddenly looked at all of them with its extremely large eyes causing their eyes to widen.


    "I guess it didn''t like us shooting at it with the cannon," Luffy said with a chuckle as the whale opened his mouth and wailed loudly while showing everyone its extremely large and pointed teeth that was bigger than the Going Merry. As its mouth opened water from the ocean bean pouring into its mouth and down its throat. The Going Merry began to get pulled it with the water that was being s.u.c.k.e.d in causing everyone to panic.


    "We''re all going to die!" screamed Nami.


    "Is this how it end!?" Usopp yelled. Luffy stepped forward and covered his hand in lightning getting ready to kill the whale when suddenly it closed its mouth and began to submerge under water.


    "Shit it''s going under," Luffy said knowing if he punched a while in the whale they will die for sure. Everyone looked in front of them and saw they were about to crash into the whale''s stomach and closed their eyes including Luffy. everyone waited and waited for their impending doom but it never came. So, they decided to open their eyes to see what was going and what they saw had their jaws practically hanging from their mouth.


    "Is this real?" Sanji asked in a voice of pure disbelief.


    "I don''t know. I''m sure we swallowed by that whale. Johnny said while Yosaku nodded from behind him. In front of everyone, they saw clear open skies with birds in the air and off to the right of the Going Merry was a small island with a house on it. It beyond puzzled everyone, one minute they were being swallowed by a whale and the next they are back in the open sea. They all turned towards Luffy to see if he knows what was going on but Luffy shook his head saying no.


    "I don''t know what is going on, but I know for sure we are not in the real ocean," he said to everyone before he walked over to the side of the ship and looked into the water. "The water in here is green and the sky is painted on," Luffy said pointing to the sky. Before any of them could respond to what Luffy said a giant squid rose out of them and was getting ready to attack them. Luffy had expected everyone to freeze up and get scared but instead, they all were ready to attack. It brought a smile to his face when he saw their reaction. Zoro''s hands immediately to his swords, Sanji was getting ready to kick it, Johnny and Yosaku pulled out their bisentos getting ready to attack, Nojiko pulled out her three section staff and started spinning it, Nami pulled out her bo staff and stood next to sister getting ready to strike, and the most surprising of all was Usopp was with his slingshot aimed at the squid. Luffy had hypothesized that they all sensed it come up and were ready but he still liked the way his crew reacted to the threat. He didn''t even need to do anything, he was sure they could handle it. Just as all of them were about of attack three harpoons came out of the house on the island and struck the squid right in the head killing it. Luffy narrowed his eyes and stared at the doorway of the house and saw a man slowly walking out from the shadows.


    "Looks like someone''s home," Zoro said while staring at the man with narrowed eyes.


    "I say we should fire our cannons there!" Usopp said while pointing at the man.


    "No, hold on a sec," Sanji said while keeping his guard up. When Luffy saw the man he immediately knew who it was after hearing about him from Shanks, but Luffy wasn''t going to say anything. He wanted to see what his crew would do. They all stared at the old man as he walked out of the house never taking his eyes off of the crew while he walked over to the lawn chair. The tension was growing and Luffy could see some of those brave hearts from earlier were starting to sweat a bit. Everyone expecting the man to attack or something but instead, he just stared at them while he walked to the chair making all of them nervous before he plopped himself down on a lawn chair and began reading a newspaper.


    "YOU GOING TO SAY SOMETHING!" Yelled Sanji at the old man.


    "Hey, if you want to fight we can fight," Usopp said from way inside the cabin causing Luffy to sweat drop.


    ''Seems he''s back to his old self,'' Luffy thought in a deadpan tone.


    "We got cannons back here you bastard!" he yelled once more from inside the cannon while pointing at the old man. The old man''s eyes narrowed a bit as he stared at them once more causing the tension to sky-rocket once more making everyone sweat while Luffy was trying to hide his amused smile.


    "You try it and someone''s going to die," the old man said in a serious voice causing Usopp to whimper a bit while Zoro and Sanji narrowed their eyes and prepare for an attack with Nojiko right behind them while Nami ran inside with Usopp.


    "Yeah, whose that?" Sanji asked.


    "Me of course," the old man said causing Luffy to start laugh.


    "Crocus you want to stop scaring the kids," Luffy said with a chuckle before he stepped forward.


    "Who are you and why are you interrupting my running gag," Crocus said in an annoyed voice.


    "I''m a friend of Red-Haired Shanks and Rayleigh," Luffy said making everyone wonder who was Rayleigh. Luffy saw Crocus''s eyes widen before he chuckled.


    "Oh Ho, it''s been a while since I head those names," he said as he placed the paper down. "How are they doing? It has been a while since I saw either of them," he said.


    "They are fine, I can tell you all about them if you tell me where are we and how we can get back to the outside world," Luffy said.


    "I thought it would be obvious as to where you are seeing as how you were eaten," he said causing the crew''s eyes to widen. "And the exit is right over there," he said while pointing off to the side causing everyone to look over and see two giant metal doors.


    "Okay, I am no specialist on whales, but I am sure they don''t usually have giant metal doors in the side of their stomach," Yosaku said as he leaned against his bisento. Before anyone could respond the entire place shook as though it was an earthquake causing the calm waters to become rough.


    "What the hell is happening!?" Nojiko shouted as she and everyone on board tried to keep their balance on the ship as it rocked against the rough waters.


    "It''s begun," Crocus said causing Luffy to look at him strangely wondering what has begun.


    "LOOK!" Nami yelled getting everyone''s attention as she pointed at the island. "That''s no island, it''s some kind of ship!" She yelled as she pointed at the island Crocus was on causing all of them to look and see at the bottom of the island was made of iron.


    "Yeah of course, because we are floating on a sea of gastric acid," Usopp said as he looked over.


    "That means a wooden ship won''t fare well if we stay here too long," Sanji said.


    "Just what the hell is wrong with this freaky whale, old man!?" Yosaku yelled at Crocus. Crocus got up from his chair and looked up to the fake sky before he replied.


    "He is very angry," Crocus said in a sad tone. "These aftershocks are a result of him hitting his head against the Red Line," he said surprising the crew except Luffy who had already figured that out.


    "That explains why he has so many deep scars on his forehead," Nami said as she held on to the side of the ship. "And not to mention all of the howlings," she added.


    "But why is he doing it?" Johnny asked.


    "It''s because he is suffering," Luffy said as he leaned against the cabin.


    "And what''s the deal with the old man?" Nojiko asked.


    "He is most likely trying to kill the whale from the inside out," Nami said causing everyone except for Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji to take on a look of pure disgust.


    "What a despicable thing to do," Usopp said.


    "Okay we figured out the mystery of the whale, now how about we find a way out of its belly before it digests us," Zoro said while looking back at the rest of the crew.


    "We have no right to judge the old man nor do we need to save the whale. What we need to do is focus on how to get the hell out of here," Sanji said as he and Zoro began walking towards Luffy. Just as Luffy was about to say something Crocus did something that surprised everyone. He jumped into the gastric acid.


    "Is he crazy! The acid will eat him alive," Luffy said as he stared into the spot where jumped in.


    "Luffy we have to get out of here!" Nami yelled.


    "We can''t," Luffy said causing their eyes to widen. "The whale is most likely underwater right now, the moment we open those doors we will sink to the bottom of the Grand Line," he said surprising them even more.


    "So we just stay in here and die?" Yosaku asked.


    "Don''t be an idiot, the whale has to go up from water sooner or later," he said causing them to relax and nod. Two minutes later the old man resurfaced next to the two giant doors and began climbing the ladder that was right next to it. As he was climbing up the ladder the smaller doors that were at the top of the ladder flew open and out stepped two individuals with guns in their hands. They aimed their guns at Crocus and pulled the trigger. Just as the two bullets exited the guns two small bolts of lightning impacted the two bullets causing them to explode just in front of the guns destroying the barrels of said guns. Crocus and the two newcomers were shocked at what just happened. When they all looked at the ship that was floating in the middle of the whale''s stomach they saw a very tall boy with a straw hat and a captain''s coat dr.a.p.ed over his shoulders holding a smoking gun aimed right at them.


    "Now, that wasn''t very nice of you to trespass on the old man''s private resort and try to kill him," Luffy said in a cold tone that sent shivers down the spine of the man and the woman. He then tucked his gun away and outstretched both of his hands and faster than the man or the woman could react, two ropes of lightning came out of Luffy''s palm and wrapped around them.


    "AHHH! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!?" the woman asked/yelled. Luffy didn''t respond he simply yanked the roped causing the two of them to fly over and land on the ship. Luffy then let go of the lightning rope causing the majority of it to disappear leaving only the pat that was binding them in place. Everyone then saw Crocus walked through the doors that the man and the woman came out of and disappeared.


    "No who are you two?" Zoro asked as he walked toward the two. Sanji was sitting next to the woman trying to flirt with her while everyone else just looked on as the man and woman spoke to each other in hushed tone. Soon everyone noticed that the whale stopped thrashing around and had calmed down causing the sea that was inside of its stomach to calm down as well.


    "You parasites are still here!" Crocus yelled from the top of the ladder getting everyone''s attention.


    "The old guy is back again," Usopp said.


    "I grow weary of this and for the last time. So long as I draw breath you will not lay a single harmful finger on Laboon!" he yelled from the top of the ladder. Soon the two people who Luffy caught started laughing before they stood up even though they were bounded causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow.


    "You cannon bully us into abandoning our mission," the woman said.


    "We were sent here to kill this whale and that is exactly what we are going to do, and this time we won''t let you interfere! We are-" the man said right after her but was cut off when the lightning binding them gave both of them a shock they will never forget.


    "Put a sock in it," Luffy said as the two of them g.r.o.a.n.e.d in pain on the deck of the ship. "Hey old man Crocus," Luffy said getting the man''s attention. "Can we leave now and talk about all of this outside where my ship isn''t at risk of being digested," Luffy said.


    "Fine," Crocus said before he dived back into the water and swam over to his boat/island. "Follow me," he said before the island started to move towards the two giant doors. As the doors opened the two sh.i.p.s began sailing through a canal inside the whale.


    "Why does this whale have a canal inside of it?" Johnny asked.


    "Call it a doctor''s playful mind," Crocus replied. "It is impossible to treat a whale of this size so I had to come up with a way to work around that," he said causing them to nod their head showing that they understood. As they reached the end of the canal they came upon another set of doors. When they reached in front of the doors Crocus sailed his boat/island up to it and pulled a lever causing the door to open. As the door opened everyone was immediately hit by a ray of sunlight causing all of them to smile. They sailed out of the whale and docked the ship next to the Twin Capes where Crocus lived. The entire crew got off of the ship and went on the small island connected to the Red Line that housed a lighthouse.


    "Sanji," Luffy said as he exited the ship getting his attention. "Why don''t you make lunch seeing as how we didn''t get to eat due to those marines interrupting us," Luffy said causing Sanji to nod his head. before walking back onto the ship and into the kitchen.


    "I''ll whip up some of that blue-fin tuna that I got back in Logue Town," he said happily. After thirty minutes Sanji reemerges from the from the ship carrying multiple plates of food that look extremely tasty. "Lunch is served," he said as he laid out all of the plates in front of everyone including Crocus.


    "This looks delicious, thanks Sanji," said Nojiko.


    "Anything for you my lovely Nojiko!" Sanji replied with hearts in his eyes. Luffy pulled out two glasses and place one in front of Crocus before he poured both of them a glass of whiskey.


    "So Crocus," Luffy said as he picked up his plate. "What''s the deal with this whale?" he asked causing everyone to look at Crocus to hear what he had to say.


    "The whale''s name is Laboon. He is a unique and magnificent creature, an island whale, one of the largest species in the world that could only be found in the West Blue," he said before he took a sip of the whiskey Luffy poured for him. "Those two people from before were hunting Laboon for whale meat. A whale the size of Laboon could feed a small island for at least two years," he said.


    "So that''s who those two are," Johnny said. "Hey, where are they?" he then asked after looking on the ship and seeing them gone.


    "I guess my lightning binds wore off and they escaped," Luffy said with a shrug before Looking to Crocus waiting for him to continue.


    "There is a reason he keeps hitting himself against the Red Line and howling at Reverse Mountain," Crocus said before he ate some of the food. "Inside Laboon beats the heart of a human and is absolutely devoted to a certain band of pirates," he said causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow at that. "You see Laboon followed a group of pirate all the way from the West Blue and entered the Grand Line. When they arrived here at the Twin Capes their ship was so badly damaged that they spent several months here trying to repair. After they repaired their ship they set sail and because the Grand Line was so dangerous they had to leave Laboon here, but before they left they promised him they could come back for him," he said with a sad look on his face. "It has been 50 long years since then," he said causing everyone''s eyes to widen.


    "Don''t you think 50 years is a bit extreme," Usopp said as he finished his food. "Those pirates sure know how to test someone''s patience," Usopp said.


    "You idiot, this is the Grand Line," Zoro said from his place next to Luffy. "Those pirates are most likely dead," he said.


    "Sad to say but that''s likely true," Nami said between bites. "Back in those days when they sailed, the Grand Line was an uncharted sea, thousand times more precious than it is now," she said.


    "Come on big sis," said Yosaku. "They could still come back for him, have some sympathy," he said making Luffy chuckle. It was an amusing thing to hear, pirates having sympathy.


    "You may one to believe that, but the reality is cold," Crocus said getting their attention once more. "Those pirates aren''t dead, the truth is they abandoned their quest. I learned that they turned tail and left the Grand Line," he said causing all of them to take on a sad look on their face.


    "What a bunch of spineless cowards who rather save themselves instead of keeping a promise to a friend," Nojiko said angrily causing everyone to nod.


    "that''s just cruelty on a grand scale," Johnny said. Luffy just looked at the whale with a thoughtful look on his face.


    "Did you tell him?" Luffy asked while never taking his eyes off Laboon.


    "I did, every miserable detail," he said sadly. "That was the day that Laboon began to howl at Reverse Mountain. Soon after he had begun to slam his body against the Red Line, it is as if he believes that wall is what is keeping his friends away and if he could break it they would soon return," Crocus said causing the bounty hunting duo to tear up a bit along with Usopp. "Laboon is a lost soul dying to be with his friends and is killing himself trying to get to them," he said. Luffy the got up from his seat and walked over to the side of the Twin Capes with Laboon was and stared at the whale. Then out of the clear blue sky, a bolt of lightning came down and struck the whale causing him to howl in both pain and anger.


    "You want to fight you stupid whale!" Luffy yelled at the whale. Everyone was beginning to panic at what Luffy was trying to do. Laboon narrowed his eyes at Luffy before he jumped out of the water and slammed his head into Luffy. Luffy didn''t dodge, nor did he let the attack pass through him he simply stood there and took it. When Laboon went back into the water and turned towards him, Luffy covered his fist in Armament Haki before launching forward and punching Laboon right in the head.


    "LUFFY WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Nami and Nojiko yelled. Luffy didn''t reply all he was doing smiling widely as he and Laboon fought. Laboon then swam away from the Twin Capes for a bit before it came charging towards Luffy. As he was about to attack Luffy spoke and stopped him in his tracks.


    "It''s a draw," he said causing Laboon to stop in his tracks and stare at Luffy. "I''m a lot stronger than I look, but I had a feeling you already knew that," he said as he dusted himself off. "I could always tell when someone was itching for a fight and if you want a battle I''ll gladly give you one. You shipmates use to spar with you did they?" he asked causing everyone''s eyes to widen. "Well, I could rival anything they could throw at you. Tell you what, after me and my friends conquer the Grand Line I''ll come back here and throw down with you," Luffy said causing tears to form in Laboon''s eyes. Laboon then looked up to the sky and howled happily for once in 50 years. Crocus looked at the scene with a smile on his face. Luffy then turned into Lightning and teleported in the ship before reappearing on Laboon''s head with a few buckets of paint and a large paintbrush. "Now hold still," Luffy said before he started to paint Laboon''s head. When he was done a perfect copy of Luffy jolly roger on Laboon''s head. "Good, now it is a rush paint job so you are going to have to avoid hitting your head or else it will come off," he said causing Crocus to smile. Laboon wailed happily telling Luffy he won''t. Luffy then began to walk over to his crew.


    "That was really nice of you, young man," said Crocus.


    "Oh right I never introduce myself," Luffy said with a chuckle. "My name is Monkey D. Luffy, pleased to meet you," he said as he stuck out his hand for Crocus to shake.


    "I''m Crocus, lighthouse keeper here at the Twin Capes," he said as he shook Luffy''s hand. "Now how is it that you know Shanks and Rayleigh?" he asked with a smile. Luffy smiled right back before he replied.


    "I was a member of Shank''s crew," he said as he pulled up his shirt showing him Shanks''s jolly roger. "He and Rayleigh taught me Haki," he said before taking on a thinking pose. "Well more like Rayleigh taught me Haki while Sanks got drunk," he said with a chuckle causing Crocus to laugh.


    "It''s been 10 years since I last seen Red-Hair," he said surprising Luffy. "It was ten years ago when he returned from the East Blue," he said.


    "Yeah, That was when I joined the crew, but I don''t recall seeing Laboon when we came through," he said.


    "Laboon must have been under ramming his head against the Red Line," he said causing Luffy to nod. "Hey Crocus could you do me a favor?" Luffy asked.


    "Sure, after what you just did for Laboon I''ll do anything," he said. Luffy smiled and looked thankful before he spoke.


    "Great, could you explain how the log pose work to my navigator," he said while pointing to Nami. "I would but I want to get out of these clothes," he said while looking at his dirty clothes. Crocus smiled at him before he replied.


    "Sure thing," he said before he walked over to Nami.


    "Thanks a lot," he said before turning to the rest of the crew. "The rest you finish eating and get ready we will be setting sail soon," he said before turning and began walking towards the ship.


    "AYE CAPTAIN!" they all yelled in unison. Luffy entered his captain''s quarters and began to change his clothes. When he emerged from his personal quarters he was wearing the same black steel-tipped shoes with black cargo pants and instead of his usual red dress shirt he was wearing a back slim fit long-sleeved dress shirt with the top two buttons undone showing off his chain with a lightning bolt pendant and some of his c.h.e.s.t. Over the dress shirt was captain''s coat with his jolly roger on the back dr.a.p.ed over his shoulder and to top everything off was his famous straw hat on his head.


    As Luffy exited his personal quarters he heard a commotion over the side of the ship. deciding to see what was going on he walked over to the side and saw the two people who were trying to kill Laboon on their knees in front of his crew.


    "What''s going on here?" Luffy asked in a monotone voice getting everyone''s attention.


    "These two are here to ask us for a ride to someplace called Whiskey Peak," Nojiko said causing Luffy to perk up a bit when he heard the name.


    "Do they make whiskey there?" he asked excitedly causing everyone to sweat drop.


    "Umm, no," said the woman causing Luffy''s smile to disappear.


    "Well I''m not interested," he said before he looked over to Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku. "You three go fix the rudder," he said causing them to salute before running off to the ship.


    "Please!" The man yelled causing Luffy to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "Our ship was destroyed and we have no other way to return home," he said.


    "And how is that my problem," Luffy replied coldly causing them to flinch. "You should have thought about that before you tried to Kill Laboon," he said before he jumped off of the ship and landed next to Nami. He grabbed her wrist and looked at the Log pose before looking at Crocus. "What island is it pointing to?" he asked. Crocus took a look at the log pose before he replied with a sigh.


    "Whiskey Peak," he said causing the two whale hunters to perk up.


    "What are you two getting excited for," he said while looking at the two. "I didn''t say I was taking you," he said causing them to deflate a bit. "Just who are you two anyway and what is it you do?" he asked.


    "We cannot tell you," they said causing Luffy to narrow his eyes at them. "You see mystery is our company''s motto, however, you may call me Mr. 9," said the man with a crown on his head.


    "And you can call me Ms. Wednesday," she said. Luffy just sighed before he spoke.


    "Let''s just say I help you, what''s in it for me?" he asked while looking at them with one eyebrow raised. The two of them looked thoughtful for a moment before they started whispering amongst themselves before they replied to Luffy.


    "We have lots of gold and money," Mr. 9 said causing Nami to become giddy and Luffy to smile even though he knew they were lying.


    "Very well then, We''ll take you," he said causing the two of them to hug each other. Luffy looked over to Zoro and gave him a silent signal to keep an eye on them. Zoro saw this and nodded his head.


    "Captain!" Usopp yelled getting everyone''s attention. "The rudder is fixed!" he said causing Luffy to nod before he turned to his crew.


    "Okay! pack it up, it''s tie to set sail," he said causing everyone to take the plates and cups back on the ship before they all started boarding. Luffy walked over to Laboon and spoke to him.


    "I''m going now Laboon and I promise I''ll be back to fight you someday," causing Laboon to howl happily. "And stop hitting your head or that paint will come off, he causing the giant whale to nod. Luffy then turned to Crocus and shook his hand before he spoke. "You take care of yourself and Laboon, Crocus," he said with a smile as he shook his hand.


    "And you say hello to the Vice-Captain for me when you see him," he said.


    "Will do," Luffy said before he walked onto his ship. "Nojiko, Zoro," Luffy said getting their attention. "Tie those two up for me," he said while pointing to Ms. Wednesday and Mr. 9. The two of them screamed when Zoro and Nojiko began to tie them up but Luffy simply ignored it.


    "All set Captain," Nami said as she stood next to Luffy. Luffy nodded before he yelled out orders to the crew.


    "Alright! Johnny, Yosaku, hoist the anchor!" he yelled causing the two of them to run towards the anchor and began pulling it up. "Nojiko man the rudder, Sanji, Usopp set the sails!" he yelled causing the three of them to scramble. Zoro then walked up to Luffy with the two passengers on his shoulders.


    "Where do you want them, captain?" he asked. Luffy looked at him as he thought about it for a second before he replied.


    "Toss them in the there with Nojiko, she can keep an eye on them while steering the ship," he said causing him to nod before walking off.


    ''Now on to Whiskey Peak,'' Luffy thought as he poured himself a drink before walking over to his throne and sitting down.


    **CHAPTER END**

 Chapter 15 - 15: Whiskey Peak!

    It had been a few days since Luffy and the crew had left the Twin Capes and began their journey to the first island on the Grand Line. They were currently sailing through calm waters while snowflakes rain from above. Luffy was sitting on the throne in the cold, drinking whiskey while Zoro was off to the right sleeping in the cold. Nami and Nojiko couldn''t take the cold so, the two of them were bundled up in winter clothes and staying the kitchen where it was warmer with the two people who Luffy allowed to travel with them to Whiskey Peak. Usopp and Johnny were on the main deck building snowmen while Sanji and Yosaku were shoveling snow off of the ship. Luffy looked down at Usopp and Johnny who went from building snowmen to having a snowball fight. Luffy sighed before he got an idea and smirked.


    "Hey, Usopp! Johnny!" he called out getting their attention. "If the two of you are going to goof off at least train while you do it," he said causing them to look at him with a puzzled look on their faces.


    "What do you mean, big bro Luffy?" Johnny asked while looking up at Luffy.


    "I mean have your little snowball fight while blindfolded," he said before taking a sip of his drink. "It will help train your observation haki," he said causing the two of them to smile before running into the kitchen and grabbing their blindfolds before coming back out and continuing their snowball fight. Luffy then took another sip of his drink and looked up to the sky. As he looked up lightning flashed above and thunder boomed overhead. It was loud enough to make everyone pause what they were doing and look at Luffy.


    "Don''t look at me, that was nature," he said causing them to go back to what they were doing. Luffy then noticed the wind was picking up and once calm snow shower turned into a blizzard. He sighed and reached into his coat and pulled out a square locket that was gold in color and attached to a golden chain that was connected to the inside of his coat. He used his thumb to flip open the locket and took a look inside. Inside of the locket was divided into two parts. Both halves had a log pose in it but, it was two different looking log poses. The upper half had a single log pose similar to the one Nami bought in Louge Town, while the bottom half had three log poses grouped together [picture Jack Sparrow''s compass]. Luffy looked at the upper part of the compass and growled.


    "Something wrong, Captain?" Zoro asked from next to Luffy. Luffy closed the locked before and placed it back in his coat before he replied to Zoro.


    "It would appear as though my navigator is useless," he said before walking to the head of the upper deck and yelled out to the crew. "ALRIGHT LISTEN UP!" he yelled getting everyone''s attention. "STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND TURN THIS SHIP AROUND!" he yelled out confusing all of them. Nami and Nojiko head what he said and came out of the kitchen to see why they needed to turn around.


    "Luffy," Nami said getting his attention. "Why do we need to turn around?" she asked. Luffy looked at her with an emotionless look on his face before he replied.


    "Well Ms. Navigator, if you were doing your job you would have noticed we are going in the opposite direction," Luffy said calmly causing all of their eyes to widen. "Now if all of you are done being surprised I would highly suggest all of you...TURN THIS F.U.C.K.I.N.G SHIP AROUND!" Luffy yelled letting his temper show a bit before he went and sat on his throne and pour himself a full glass of whiskey before he chugged it all it down. Luffy looked down and watch everyone panicking and scrambling about as the weather began to change again. Sanji and Nojiko were manning the rudder, Johnny and Yosaku were tieing up the sails, Usopp was running around fixing damages while Nami was calling out orders. Luffy had thought about going down there and helping Nami, but he decided otherwise because he wanted her to get the experience. It was then Luffy realized that his first mate was nowhere to be seen among the chaos. He looked over the last place he saw Zoro and saw the swordsman was off to his right sleeping causing Luffy''s eyebrow to twitch in annoyance.


    ''He''s really sleeping...I''ll let Nami deal with him,'' Luffy thought to himself with an evil smirk on his face. After about thirty minutes of chaos, everything finally was quiet and the ship was sailing in the right direction. It was at that point Zoro decided to wake up. He got up and stretched while yawning before walking over towards Luffy and spoke.


    "Hey captain," he said getting Luffy''s attention. "Something has been bugging me for a while," he said causing Luffy to raise his eyebrow.


    "What''s bugging you?" Luffy asked as he got up from his throne.


    "It''s about those two people we picked up at the Twin Capes," he said causing Luffy to narrow his eyes.


    "What about them?" Luffy asked. He was genuinely suspicious of those two since he met them. The only reason he agreed to take them to their homeland was so he can raid the island.


    "The names," Zoro said confusing Luffy. "I''m quite sure I head names like theirs before, but I can''t remember when or where," he said causing Luffy to nod his head before he replied.


    "Keep an eye on them," he said causing Zoro to nod his head. Luffy then walked behind Zoro and grabbed him by the back of his neck and dragged him towards the rest of the crew. ''Captain! What are your doing!?" Zoro yell/asked as he was being dragged. Luffy didn''t answer him instead he looked towards Nami before he yelled out to her.


    "Hey, Nami!" Luffy yelled getting her attention. Luffy then tossed Zoro off of the upper deck towards the main deck where she was before he spoke. "My lovely vice-captain was sleeping throughout that entire ordeal," he said with an evil smirk before he walked back over to his throne while the air was filled the screams of Zoro. Just as Luffy was about to sit down Johnny''s voice caused him to stop and turn around.


    "Island up ahead!" Johnny yelled from the front of the ship getting everyone''s attention. Everyone looked up ahead of them and saw an island showing through some mist.


    "So, that''s Whiskey Peak," Sanji said as he lit a new cigarette.


    "Its landscape isn''t like any island I''ve ever seen," Nojiko said.


    "Our first journey on the Grand Line comes to an end," Luffy said as he walked next to the crew and stared at the island. The island itself had an odd shape, there are several mountains that gave off an appearance of giant cacti.


    "Hey look," Nami said while pointing forward. "There is a waterway seems to go right up to the shoreline," she said as they began sailing inland.


    "Umm, I am weighing the possibilities of monsters out there," Usopp said in a scared voice.


    "Well, it is a possibility, this is the Grand Line after all," Zoro said. Luffy then looked towards the bounty hunting duo and spoke.


    "You two go bring our two prisoners, we can use them as bargaining ch.i.p.s," he said causing the two of them to run off to get the man and the woman. As the ship sailed further into the waterway a thick fog appeared causing everyone to be on guard. When Johnny and Yosaku return with the man and the woman, they placed the two of them in front of Luffy and went to stand behind him. Luffy glanced down at the man and woman before he turned his attention back to the surrounding area. Even though he couldn''t see anyone he could clearly sense them. Playing it safe, he gave a mental command to the cloud containing all of the treasure to go up into the sky.


    "Hey, there is someone over there!" Usopp said as he pointed off to the left side of the ship. Everyone looked over and saw the silhouettes of two people moving.


    "We should be on guard," Nojiko said as she pulled out her metal staff. Luffy didn''t say anything he simply looked ahead of the ship with narrowed eyes. As the ship sailed a little bit further in even more silhouettes of appeared. This time they were on both sides of the waterway and the sound of people cheering filled the air. As they exited the fog everyone saw on both sides of the waterway there were people lined up cheering and waving as the ship sailed by. Everyone including Luffy was beyond confusing at what was happening and they all had one common thought in their heads.


    ''What kind of place welcomes pirates?'' they all thought as they stared the citizens of Whiskey Peak with a bewildered look on their faces.


    "Welcome to the Grand Line!" one person yelled from the shore as the crew sailed by.


    "Greetings and good tidings great travelers!" Another yelled.


    "We are happy to have you here at Whiskey Peak!" Someone else yelled out. The entire crew was stunned beyond belief because there is a town that welcomes pirates with open arms. While everyone else to stunned at what was going on, Usopp was relieved.


    "Those aren''t monsters, its people," he said as he let out a sigh of relief.


    "People who are welcoming pirates," Yosaku said in a surprised voice.


    "They Grand Line sure is a strange place," Johnny said as he shook his head. Luffy, Nami, and Zoro, however, were suspicious of the citizens and their behavior while everyone else on the crew started smiling and waving back at the people. Sanji was ogling the girls, Usopps was putting on his brave warrior of the sea act, while everyone else smiled and waved at the people. Luffy looked to Zoro who was standing off to his right and gave a small nod telling him to keep his guard up. He then walked over to Nami and whispered in her ear.


    "When they fall asleep I want you to do what you do best," he whispered causing her to smirk before he nodded her head. As the ship docked the crew walked down to the main deck getting ready to exit with Luffy leading the way. At the back of the group were Johnny and Yosaku with Ms. Wednesday and Mr. 9 tied up. Every member of the crew exited the ship except for Johnny and Yosaku along with Ms. Wednesday and Mr. 9, Luffy had told them to stay on board until he called for them. Down on the shore, Luffy and the crew were standing in front of a tall man with a small red nose and has blonde hair in a style that resembles a powdered wig and was carrying a saxophone.


    "Welcome- *cough* *cough*- Ma~ma~ma~ Welcome, my name is Igarappoi and it is my honor as mayor to welcome you to Whiskey Peak," the man now named Igarappoi said in a welcoming voice that Luffy did not trust.


    "My name is Luffy, thank you for welcoming us," Luffy said with a warm fake smile that the man bought.


    "You will find that this is a place that thrives on making Liquor and music," Igarappoi said with a smile as spoke to Luffy. "Hospitality is a matter of pride in our town. The smiles run long and the Liquor flows as bountiful as sea water," he said.


    "That''s good to hear and all, However," Luffy said as his smile dropped. "We picked up two passengers on our way here who are from this town and promised us gold as payment for bringing them here and I expect to have that gold or else...the blood in this town will flow as bountiful as the sea water," Luffy said in an emotionless voice causing Igarappoi to take a step back before he spoke again.


    "Can I see these two people who you say are from our town?" he asked causing Luffy to nod his head before looking back at the ship.


    "Johnny! Yosaku!" Luffy called out and two seconds later Johnny and Yosaku along with the man and the woman came out. "I believe they go by Ms. Wednesday and Mr. 9," he said as he looked back at the man. As he looked at the man he saw the man''s face take on a pissed off look for a split second before he quickly hit it behind his happy smile.


    "Oh yes, those two are from here," Igarappoi said as he turned his attention back to Luffy. "And do not worry, you will be compensated for returning these two back home. Now would you permit us to throw a party in your arrival so we can hear- *cough* *cough*- Ma~ma~ma~ your tales of adventure?" he asked with a warm smile. Luffy placed his fake smile back on before he replied.


    "We would be honored to," He said as he walked up and shook Igarappoi''s hand before the two of them turned to walk into the town. As they were about to walk off Nami spoke to Igarappoi.


    "How long does it take the log pose to record this island''s magnetic field?" she asked while holding up her hand showing the log pose. Igarappoi looked at her and smiled before he spoke.


    "Oh don''t worry about that," he said as he walked towards Nami causing Luffy to narrow his eyes while Nami looked at him with a confused look on her face. "Such boring details will have to wait. Surely you would like to rest after your journey," he said as he placed his hand on Nami''s shoulder. "Now, Let''s prepare to party! Sing and be merry! Entertain our guest!" Igarappoi shouted causing the townspeople to cheer loudly along with Sanji and Usopp. Igarappoi led the crew in a small bar where everyone sat down and began drinking and eating. Luffy didn''t trust anything about this town so he pulled out his own drink and began drinking and from the looks of it, the townspeople thought he was drinking something they gave to him. It was one big party inside of the bar, the band was playing joyous music, Sanji was flirting with every girl he saw, Usopp was telling his famous stories about defeating some monster, Nami and Nojiko were having a drinking competition against a few of the townspeople, while Zoro and the Bounty hunting duo were off in the corner quietly drinking. From what Luffy had observed Zoro had told those two to keep their guards up and not to trust the people of this strange town. As the evening progressed Luffy''s crew along with the townspeople began to get drunk. It wasn''t until midnight when Luffy started noticing his crew members started passing out one by one. At first, he just thought they drank too much, but when Zoro passed out Luffy realized that their drinks must have been spiked because there was no way Zoro would pass out from the amount he drank. Deciding to go along with it, for now, he acted as though he had passed out as well in order to see what these people''s objectives were.


    After pretending to be sleeping for the past hour Luffy got up and snuck outside through the roof before jumping across to a nearby building and hid in the shadows. He could see standing out in front of the bar that he was just in was Igarappoi talking to Ms. Wednesday and Mr. 9.


    "It''s good to see you again Igarappoi...I mean Mr. 8," said Mr. 9 as he stood in front of Igarappoi.


    "I see you two failed another mission," Igarappoi said as he looked at the two of them. Before any one of the two of them could reply a woman walked out of the bar dressed like a nun.


    "No one had any high hopes of them completing that mission anyway," she said as she began to take the nun costume off.


    "Why don''t you go try and kill that whale!" Mr.9 yelled.


    "Yeah, besides those pirates got in our way," Ms. Wednesday said in an annoyed voice. "by the way, where are they?" She asked while looking at the woman.


    "They are all passed out inside. I had to doctor their drinks a bit otherwise they would still be up drinking us under the table," the woman said.


    "Good thinking, Ms. Monday," Igarappoi said as he looked at the now named Ms. Monday.


    "Now can you explain to me why it was necessary to put on that elaborate show for those idiots?" She asked in an annoyed voice. "I get that nobody wants to hear me wine, but it is my duty to point out the amount of food we wasted. We could have just ambushed them at the harbor, after all, we are already short on supplies," she said while placing her hand on her hip and staring at Igarappoi.


    "Calm down, before you question the validity of my plan you should see this," he said as he held up Luffy''s wanted poster. When Luffy saw this he smirked.


    ''So, they''re bounty hunters,'' Luffy thought to himself as he continues to spy on the group.


    "100 million berries! For that kid!?" the three of them screamed with eyes the size of dinner plates.


    "Don''t be foolish, appearances can be deceiving," Igarappoi said as he placed the wanted poster back in his pocket.


    "So what do we do now? Do we kill them?" Ms. Monday asked.


    "No," Igarappoi said surprising the three of them along with Luffy. "If we kill them the bounty drops 30%. The government like to do public executions," he said in a grim tone.


    "I see," Ms. Wednesday said.


    "Now go, I want them alive!" ordered causing them to nod their heads. It had looked like they were going to reply but before they could reply a voice stopped them in their tracks and cause their eyes to widen.


    "Hey, sorry to interrupt," the voice said causing the four of them to spin around and look at the roof of the bar. When they got around they saw Zoro standing there with his Kitetsu blade drawn along with Johnny and Yosaku each holding their bisentos. Luffy was surprised that they were awake and the fact that he didn''t sense them. "You mind letting my friends sleep," he said as he stared down at the four.


    "Yeah, it was a long and exhausting journey," Johnny said as he locked eyes with Mr. 9.


    "So do try to keep your screams for mercy down. We wouldn''t want to wake them," Yosaku added in an emotionless voice. When Luffy heard that he couldn''t help but smirk.


    ''I think I''ve rubbed off on them a bit too much,'' he thought to himself. Just then the door of the bar opened and out came two men with guns.


    "Hey Mr.8, Mr. Monday!" they yelled as the opened the door. "Four of them escaped from the room while we weren''t looking," they said causing their eyes to widen.


    "FOUR!?" the yelled/asked simultaneously.


    "But there is only three of them here," Ms. Wednesday said in a scared voice. "Where is the other one?" she asked. Before anyone else to fathom a reply Zoro spoke up.


    "Don''t you think it is time you come out of your hiding spot, Captain?" Zoro asked while looking over to the building right next to the bar puzzling everyone else. A few seconds later out walked Luffy from the shadows of the building chuckling to himself.


    "Good job Zoro," he said as he jumped across the roof. "Your training is paying off," he added as he walked next to the three of them.


    "Big bro Luffy, you''re awake as well?" Johnny asked causing everyone to sweat drop. Luffy looked at him for a second before he shook his head and didn''t bother replying to him. Instead, he turned his attention to the four individuals standing below them.


    "You sneaky retches!" Mr. 8 shouted. "You four should have stayed asleep with the rest!" he yelled as more and more people began to gather.


    "A true swordsman would never make such a mistake of letting his guard down," Zoro said causing Luffy to smile. "And judging from the cheap disguises I''m guessing you''re all bounty hunters," he said as he unsheathed another sword.


    "Your specialty is robbing drunk pirates of fall for your hospitality," Luffy added in his usual emotionless voice.


    "I count a hundred of these sc.u.mbags, give or take a few," Johnny added as he adjusted his glasses.


    "We''ll fight all of you," Zoro said as he stared at them with narrowed eyes. "You hear me...Baroque Works!" he yelled causing all of their eyes to widen in shock. Luffy was puzzled because he had never heard of any organization by that name.


    "Ahh! How do you know our name!?" Mr. 8 yelled out in anger and shock. Zoro simply chuckled before he replied.


    "I was in a similar line of work once upon a time," he said while grinning. "Your company came and tried to entice me with a job offer. Naturally, I declined," he said causing Luffy and the others to understand how he knew about the organization. "Do the same rules still apply? Employee''s identity kept secret, cheesy code names, the boss''s identity and whereabouts remain a mystery. Baroque Works the fateful organization that carries out their orders like herded sheep," Zoro said in an amused tone causing Luffy and the bounty hunting duo to chuckle.


    "This is a surprise," Mr. 8 said in a cold tone. "If you know all of your secrets we are left with little choice but to kill you," he said in a grim tone as he stared at the four of them. Luffy chuckled before he summoned his thundercloud throne and sat down.


    "You are welcome to try," Luffy said as he sat down. "The three of you should be able to handle this, if I get involved it won''t be any fun," he said pissing off the Baroque Works agents.


    "You dare underestimate us!" one random Baroque Works agent yelled out in anger. Yosaku chuckled lowly before he spoke to the person who yelled.


    "Please, if anything he is doing all of you a favor because if he joins in the fight, all of you will pass from this world and into the next not really knowing what happened," he said scaring a few agents. Luffy chuckled when he heard what Yosaku said.


    "Enough!" Mr.8 yelled our getting everyone''s attention. "Kill them!" he yelled causing all of the Baroque Works agents to charge at the four pirates. Zoro and the bounty hunting duo looked at Luffy who simply nodded his head telling them to go. That was all the three of them needed before they jumped off the roof and started fighting the bounty hunters. Luffy simply sat in his throne and poured himself a drink as he watched his three crew members tear through the bounty hunters. As he was taking a sip of his drink four random Baroque Works agents got the stupid idea of trying to ambush Luffy from behind. Of course, Luffy knew they were there but he paid them no mind. The four agents didn''t know what hit them as four lightning bolts shot out of Luffy''s throne and pierced right through their c.h.e.s.t killing the four of them.


    "Trash," Luffy said with a sigh before he turned his attention back to everything that was going on below him. Zoro was cutting through the crowd with ease just as Luffy had expected him to. The thing the surprised Luffy was how good Johnny and Yosaku were at wielding a bisento. The two of them were cutting down the Baroque Works agents with ease similar to Zoro and from the looks of it, their observation haki was improving the more they fought. Luffy had a proud smile on his face as he saw the way they are progressing and they were progressing faster than Luffy had expected. Luffy was wondering if it was time to start their training in armament haki. As the fight progressed Luffy observation haki alerted him of someone moving in the bar where all of them were the rest of the crew was sleeping. Upon further analyzing he found it to be Nami searching for anything of value that they might have. Chuckling to himself he returned his attention to the fight. He noticed that Zoro was yelling at one of his swords. It was truly an odd sight to behold, a grown man talking to a sword.


    "Well kitetsu the third, you''re quite sharp but you are also quite the trouble maker aren''t you," Zoro said in an annoyed voice as he held the blade up to his face. "A good sword only cuts when its master directs it to. Cursed sword or not you will listen to me," Zoro said not noticing one of the bounty hunters sneaking up behind him. The next thing Zoro saw was a small bolt of lightning fly passed him cutting off a few strands of hair at the base of his neck before hitting the bounty hunter behind him right in the head. Zoro blinked a few timed before he looked behind him and saw a dead bounty hunter laying on his back with a smoking hole in the middle of his forehead. He then looked to see where the shot came from and saw Luffy sitting on his throne holding a smoking pistol.


    "You need to pay attention Zoro," Luffy scolded causing Zoro to nod his head and turning his attention to his new opponent, Ms. Monday. Luffy turned towards the Johnny and Yosaku and saw them fighting against Mr. 9 and Ms. Wednesday, he then realized that someone was missing from all this excitement and that was Mr. 8. Luffy then looked straight ahead of him and saw Mr. 8 standing in the very same spot as before staring at Luffy with an angry look on his face.


    "What seems to be the matter Mr. 8," Luffy asked in a mocking tone pissing Mr. 8 off more. "Has the oh so mighty Baroque Works beaten by a few measly pirates from the East Blue?" Luffy asked continuing to mock him. "I wonder what your boss will think of all this?" he asked causing Mr. 8 to pale before he regained his composure and yell at Luffy.


    "I will make you pay for all this!" he yelled at Luffy before he blew into his saxophone and bullets came firing out towards Luffy. Luffy paid the bullets no mind and simply allow them to pass through him causing Mr. 8''s eyes to widen.


    "Now that wasn''t very nice," Luffy said as he continued to mock him. Before Mr. 8 could reply a loud high pitched scream came from the area where Zoro was fighting. Luffy and everyone else looked over and saw Zoro holding Ms. Monday by the head squeezing it before he let go and she passed out on the roof. Two other screams came from where Johnny and Yosaku were fighting and when Luffy an Mr. 8 looked over they saw Mr. 9 and Ms. Wednesday passed out on the ground. The other Baroque Works agents were beyond scared at this point.


    "They took out a single digit agent," one random agent said in a frightened voice.


    "And their captain hasn''t even gotten up yet," said another.


    "We are all going to die here today," said one man as he dropped his gun and fall to his knees. Luffy chuckled at their reaction as he watched Zoro and the bounty hunting duo make their way back to Luffy.


    "Good job you three," Luffy said as he got up from his throne and sent it back into the sky. "From the looks of it you haki has improved even further," he said causing the three of them to smile.


    "What are going to do about the rest of them?" Zoro asked as he turned his attention to the rest of the bounty hunters. Luffy smiles and looked at the bounty hunters before he spoke to them.


    "I will give all of you a choice," Luffy said surprising the bounty hunters. "You can either leave Baroque Works and join me or...die," he said causing a few of them to tremble in fear.


    "We will...we will join y-" *BOOM* the agent didn''t get to finish his sentence before something hit him and exploded on contact killing him and a few other agents in the surrounding area. Everyone was confused and scared at what just happened. Zoro and the bounty hunting duo looked at Luffy to see if he did that but to their surprise, Luffy was as confused as they are.


    "It would seem as though we have company," Luffy said lowly enough for the three of them to hear as he looked at a nearby alleyway.


    "Oh my, it would seem as though some of you were planning on betraying Baroque Works," came the voice of a man from the alleyway that Luffy was looking. Out of the shadows of the alleyway a man and a woman walked out. All of the bounty hunters were white as a sheet when they saw the pair. Luffy hypothesizes that these two were higher ranking members of Baroque Works sent here to assist. By now Ms. Wednesday and Mr. 9 had woken up and crawled over to Mr. 8.


    "The three of you lost against a couple of small-time pirates, now that''s just sad," the woman said in a condescending tone as he stared at the three Baroque Works agents.


    "Mr. 5, Ms. Valentine!" Ms. Wednesday said in shock.


    "Hmm, can''t do your jobs," Mr. 5 said.


    "Kyahahaha! Well, that''s clearly the difference between our rank and yours," Ms. Valentine mocked.


    "You came here just to laugh at us!?" Mr. 8 asked angrily.


    "Nawh, that''s a bonus," Mr. 5 said coolly.


    "Kyahahaha! We are here under the boss''s orders," Ms. Valentine said earning Luffy''s curiosity.


    "Hahaha! With you guys here we can finally defeat them. They don''t stand a chance against you," Mr. 9 said as she shakingly stood up.


    "That''s right, let''s track him down and show him what Baroque Works can really do," Ms. Wednesday said.


    "Seriously Ms. Wednesday stop with the jokes. We didn''t come here to clean up your mess," Mr. 9 said as he placed his hands in his pocket.


    "Did you really think we came all the way to the beginning of the Grand Line just to hold your hands?" Ms. Valentine asked rhetorically. "Oh, you are even more pitiful than you look," she chuckled.


    "But, what mission are you here for?" Mr. 9 asked in a confused tone. Truth be told Luffy was wondering the same thing.


    "You mean you haven''t figured it out?" Mr. 9 asked as he took a few steps forward. "There are people here whose crimes against the company are great enough that the boss has sent us here to deal with them. He said someone had learned the secrets, I don''t know what secrets and I don''t want to know. Obviously, someone else did and that right there is against company rules," he said. Luffy could sense that Mr. 8 and Ms. Wednesday were beginning to get nervous and could only guess those two were the ones who had learned the secrets. "Our company motto is the mystery. Everyone''s identity is to be kept a secret no matter who they are. If some someone is dumb enough to nose around the boss''s business...well the...that is a crime punishable by death," he said grimly.


    "Well well, it seems as though things just got interesting," Luffy said to Zoro and the bounty hunting duo.


    "It would seem so," Zoro added as they watched the interaction.


    "So, while we were conducting our search about who had learned the boss''s secret we discovered something, Kyahahaha!" Ms. Valentine said as she spun her umbrella. "As it turns out a rather high ranking induvial from a certain kingdom manage to infiltrate Baroque Works," she said causing Luffy''s eyebrow to raise in surprise.


    "A kingdom?!" Mr. 9 yelled out in surprise. "But wait! I may wear a crown but I am not a king or anything like that, I swear it is just an innocent little hobby," he said pleading with the pair to believe him.


    "Shut up you idiot!" Ms. Valentine shrieked in a high pitched voice.


    "You still don''t get it, we need the people from Alabasta. They''re the ones who angered the boss," Mr. 5 said cooly surprising Luffy even further. At this point, Mr. 8 was shaking in fear as he stared at the ground. Before anyone could react he pulled his bow tie and from the curls in his hair gun barrels poked out and fired five times on the pair of Baroque Works agents.


    "You will not lay a hand on our princess so long as the captain of Alabasta security still stands!" he yelled as he fired five more times.


    "The princess of Alabasta," Luffy said as he stared at Ms. Wednesday. "I had heard that the princess went missing but I never thought she would be working undercover in Baroque Works," he said.


    "Don''t princesses usually have underlings to do those sort of things for them?" Johnny asked.


    "Yeah they do but, Alabasta is currently in a civil war. So maybe all of her underlings joined the rebels," Luffy said jokingly.


    "What do we do?" Yosaku asked as he stared at the spot where the two Baroque Works agents were before they got shot at.


    "We watch for now," Luffy said as he turned and face them. "Nami is still robbing the place. So we let them fight it out and create the distraction away from her," he said causing the two of them to nod their heads before turning their attention back to the altercation. As the smoke cleared everyone saw the two agents unhurt and unfazed by just being shot it.


    "Igaram, captain of Alabasta Security and Princess Vivi Nefertari of the Alabasta Kingdom, we have come here in the name of the boss of Baroque Works to see that you are eliminated," Mr. 5 said as he held up a picture of Princess Vivi. The princess was beyond scared, her eyes widened in fear and her mouth kept moving but words just won''t come out. The other agents that managed to survive Zoro and the bounty hunting duo were staring that Vivi and Igaram in pure shock, Mr. couldn''t believe the woman he had been working with for so long is a princess. Igaram then pulled his bow tie once more and started firing on the pair of agents again.


    "Go on Princess! You must escape!" he yelled to the Princess.


    "Igaram!" The princess cried out. Then all of a sudden one of the agents from inside the smoke fired out something at Igaram that exploded on contact. "Igaram!" the princess cried once more as Igaram fell face first to the ground.


    "Don''t bother," came the voice of Ms. Valentine from above Vivi. Luffy looked up and saw her floating in the air looking down at the princess.


    "It would seem as though we got a pair of devil fruit users," Luffy said surprisingly his three crew members. "If push comes to shove I will fight them," he said causing the three of the nod before turning their attention back to the fight.


    "Princess," Igaram choked out as he lay on the ground. "You must get away from here, for the sake of our homeland. If something were to happen to you our kingdom would crumble," he said causing the princess''s eyes to widen.


    "If you think you can escape from us you must be crazy," Mr. 5 said as he picked his nose.


    "Kill me if you can take me!" she yelled out as she took a defensive stance and started spinning something on both of her pinky fingers. It was then Mr. 9 got up and stood in front of the princess with his baseball bats in a defensive position facing the pair of agents.


    "We have been partners and have been fighting together for a long time. So get going, I am going to buy you some time for a head start," he told the princess.


    "Thank you Mr. 9," the princess said causing Mr. 9 to chuckle.


    "Pretty manly don''t you think," he said before charging towards the two agents. Mr.5 then pulled out a bugger from his nose and flicked it towards Mr. 9. The bugger sailed through the air and hit Mr. 9 right in the face. Upon hitting him the bugger exploded on contact surprising everyone that was watching.


    "Did that thing just come out of his nose?" Yosaku asked in disbelief.


    "Well that''s a strange ability," Luffy said as he stared at Mr. 5 with interest while ignoring the princess''s screams for Mr. 9. Luffy was knocked out of his studying by the voice of Igaram who apparently crawled to the base of the bar and was looking up at them.


    "Pirates, I have the most unreasonable request but I require the help of someone with strength such as yourself," Luffy looked at him with a curious expression before jumping down from the roof towards Igaram.


    "Oh, and what might that request be?" Luffy asked as he sat on a nearby barrel and looked down and the bleeding man.


    "Both of those villains possess devil fruit powers and there is nothing I can do to stop them. So that is why I am begging you please protect Princess Vivi of Alabasta in my place," he begged Luffy. Zoro and the bounty hunting duo were surprised beyond belief. First, he tries to kill them and now he wants them to protect a princess, was he crazy? The all wondered about the bleeding man begging Luffy.


    "And why would I do that, huh?" Luffy asked rhetorically. "You were trying to kill me and my crew a few moments ago and now you want me to save your princess. Give me one good reason why I should help you," Luffy said in his usual emotionless tone.


    "You would be rewarded greatly if you return the princess of Alabasta to her kingdom. I am just a lowly servant but I beg you please protect the Princess," he begged. Luffy just stared at him with his cold eyes before he scoffed.


    "Reward? Yeah right, I know Alabasta is in the middle of a civil war. You barely got enough money for yourselves much less to give me," Luffy said coldly causing Igaram''s head to drop. "However," Luffy said getting Igaram to look up at him with hope-filled eyes. "I will protect the princess under one condition," Luffy said.


    "What is it?" Igaram asked with a voice filled with hope. "Whatever it is I am sure the king would pay it if his daughter is returned safely," he said causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "I will protect the princess only if once I return her to her kingdom...Alabasta becomes my territory," Luffy said causing Igaram''s eyes to widen in shock along with Zoro, the bounty hunting duo, and Nami who was hiding in the corner.


    "I-I...I can''t promise that" Igaram said sadly. "That is something only the king and the Princess could do," he said causing Luffy to smile.


    "Then I''ll just have to ask the princess," Luffy said before Looking up at his three crew members. "You three go protect the princess, I''ll join you after I tie up a few loose ends," he said causing the three of them to run off to the princess. Luffy then looked towards the remaining bounty hunters and spoke.


    "Raging Thunder!" he yelled out causing 50 bolts of lightning to come down from the sky and strike the remaining bounty hunters while thunder boomed overhead. Luffy then looked at the alleyway next to the bar and spoke.


    "You can come out now, Nami," he said causing his navigator to come out of her hiding spot.


    "Hey captain," she greeted as she walked up to Luffy.


    "Did you find anything?" he asked.


    "No, they are completely broke," She said sadly causing Luffy to chuckle. "For a bounty hunter''s nest they suck," she said. Luffy smiled at her before he replied.


    "Don''t worry about it," Luffy said getting her attention. "I didn''t really expect much," he said before he got off the barrel. "Treat his wounds for me, I''ll go help those three out," he said before he turned his body into lightning and teleported away. Luffy landed on a nearby building close to where Zoro and the bounty hunting duo were fighting against the two agents. As he arrived Luffy saw a slightly burnt Zoro fighting against Mr. 5 while the bounty hunting duo fight against Ms. Valentine. The Princess was sitting on a rather large duck watching the fight. "Alright you three I''ll take it from here," Luffy said getting everyone''s attention. Upon seeing their Captain the three of them jumped and stood next to him. Luffy jumped down from the roof and started walking towards the par with a cold look in his eyes.


    "Well aren''t you c.o.c.ky," Mr. 5 said as he stared at Luffy walking towards them. "Thinking you can take on both of us by yourself,"


    "We should teach this brat a lesson, Mr. 5," Ms. Valentine said with an arrogant smirk.


    "Let''s see how you like my Bomb-Bomb fruit!" Mr. 5 yelled as he charged forward to punch Luffy with his left fist. Luffy simply covered his left palm with armament haki and caught his fist with ease.


    "I-Impossible!" Mr.5 yelled out in surprise. Luffy then covered his right in lightning and backhanded Mr. 5 sending crashing through 4 buildings. Ms. Valentine and the princess stared at Luffy with eyes the size of dinner plates.


    "He just took out one of Baroque Works top agents as though it was nothing," Vivi said to herself in a voice of pure disbelief.


    "You...You...monster," Ms. Valentine said in fear as he stared at Luffy who was walking towards her.


    "No not monster," Luffy said as he got closer. "I''m more along the line of a demon," Luffy said before he turned himself into lightning and teleported right behind her and placed his index finger at the base of her neck and channeled a small amount of lightning causing her to pass out on the ground. Luffy then turned towards the princess causing her to back away in fear. "Do not worry princess I''m not here to harm you," Luffy said surprising her.


    "Then why are you here?" She asked with a voice laced with fear.


    "I''m here to work out a contract," Luffy said puzzling her. "You see, Igaram asked me to protect you and return you safely to your kingdom and in return, I want Alabasta to become my territory," Luffy said casing her eyes to widen.


    "What!?" she yelled out.


    "Of course, he couldn''t promise something like that. So, he told me to take it up with you. So here I am," he said as he walked over to a nearby box and sat down.


    "And what exactly would we have to give you in return for being under your protection?" she asked causing Luffy smile.


    "Nothing really," Luffy said surprising her. "The fact that I will have a big country like Alabasta as one of my territories will be enough to boost my reputation in the world," Luffy said getting Vivi to understand now. Zoro and the bounty hunter duo didn''t quite understand why Luffy wasn''t asking for something else like some money every month or something like that as payment for his protection.


    "That cannot be all," Vivi said thinking along the same way of Luffy''s crew.


    "You are right," Luffy said getting everybody''s attention. "but that is not a conversation that should be spoken out in the open like this," Luffy said knowing very well that they were being spied on. "But, do you mind telling me just why a princess like yourself is working in Baroque Works?" Luffy asked while staring at the Princess. The princess'' face took on a sad look as she looked down to the ground before she spoke.


    "As you know Alabasta is in the middle of a civil war, one day I learned of a secret organization called Baroque Works. I found out our people were being manipulated by this organization but that was the only information I could gather about this organization. I didn''t know what to do so I went to Igaram for help and asked him to help me infiltrate Baroque Works so I can see who was pulling their strings from behind the scenes and what exactly they were up to," she said surprising them.


    "Well you got a lot of guts considering you are a princess," Nami said as she walked out of a nearby alleyway.


    "Where is Igaram?" Luffy asked.


    "He said he will be here in a few," she said as she sat down next to Luffy. "Something about some business he had to take care of," she said.


    "So, did you manage to find out what their plan was?" Johnny asked Vivi causing everyone to look at her.


    "Their plan is to create an ideal nation," Nami said surprising Luffy and the others. "That''s what Igaram told me," she said.


    "That''s just a cover story the boss is using to cover their tracks," Vivi said as she clenched her fist. "Their true goal is to take over the Alabasta Kingdom," she said causing Luffy to nod his head because that made more sense rather than some ideal nation. "I have to get back home so I can warn everybody and stop all of the fighting because if I don''t..." The princess said before she started to cry.


    "Don''t worry princess," Luffy said getting her attention. "If you agree to my terms I''ll help you save your country," he said before he got up from his seat and looked up to the sky. "By the way, did you ever find out the boss''s identity?" Luffy asked causing her to panic.


    "What?...The boss''s identity?...you shouldn''t ask that!" Vivi screamed frantically.


    "But you know don''t you?" Luffy asked as he stared at her.


    "Ask me anything but that!" she screamed as she waves her hands frantically in the air. "If I tell you your lives will be put in danger too," she said trying to make Luffy understand the danger while Luffy found it all amusing.


    "Yeah, I''ll pass," Nami said in a scared voice. "This guy is trying to take over an entire country after all. I wouldn''t want someone like that chasing after me," Nami said while sweating slightly.


    "No, you don''t," Vivi said in a serious tone. "I don''t care how strong you people are you don''t stand a chance against one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, against Crocodile," she said causing everyone to stare at her and blinked a few time before she and Nami screamed out.


    "AHHH!" they screamed out.


    "You know for a princess you''re not very bright," Luffy chuckled out. Then all of a sudden Luffy sensed someone behind them and spun around quickly startling everyone. When everyone turned around they saw a vulture and an otter standing on the roof staring down at them. before the otter hopped onto the vulture and they flew off. It was truly an odd sight to behold in Luffy''s opinion. Nami immediately began to panic and tried to leave claiming that they didn''t know what she looked like until the Otter showed up again and help up five well-drawn pictures of all of them causing Nami to sulk in the corner while Vivi apologizes to her.


    "Well then, it looks like the five of us will be sitting at the very top of Baroque Works hitlist," Zoro said causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "It seems so," Luffy replied sounding excited before he looked over to the princess. "So princess do we have a deal?" Luffy asked getting her attention.


    "Seeing as how you are already involved because of me I think I will take you up on your offer," she replied causing Luffy to smile.


    "We''re all going to die," Nami cried and rocked herself back and forth as she hugged her knees.


    "You have nothing to fear!" came the voice of Igaram from behind everyone causing all of them to turn back around. As they all turned around Luffy and the guy immediately wished they hadn''t turned around. Standing in front of them was Igaram dressed as Princess Vivi holding five dummies.


    "My eyes," Luffy said as he stared at the Igaram.


    "It''s- *cough* *cough*- Ma~ma~ma~ it''s going to be okay, princess," he said as he stared at the group. "I''ve come up with a plan," he added causing Luffy to raise his eyebrow.


    "Igaram what are you...?" the princess tried to form a sentence but was too stunned by Igaram''s appearance.


    "I didn''t know you were a crossdresser old man," Luffy said jokingly.


    "Listen to me carefully, Princess Vivi," he said in a serious tone. "Once Baroque Works intelligence unit learned about what happened here agents will be sent after you immediately. And since they are aware that you learned the bosses true identity you must-" he said but was cut off by Vivi.


    "Yes knowing them they will send a thousand agents after me," she said scaring Nami even more.


    "Thus my plan, disguise like this I will pretend to be you," Igaram said while looking down at Vivi. "I will take these three dummies on board with me and I will sail a straight course to Alabasta," he said causing Luffy to understand his plan.


    "So, these dummies are supposed to be us," Luffy said while nodding his head.


    "A Decoy," Yosaku added.


    "While Baroque Works is busy chasing after me the rest of you will head to the Alabasta Kingdom following a less direct route," he said causing Luffy to nod his head understanding the plan.


    "Hold on just a minute!" Nami screamed as she got up. "Who said we were going to take her with us and we didn''t discuss the matter of payment!" she yelled causing everyone to stare at her like she was crazy.


    "Umm, I decided that we are taking her and we already discussed the payment," Luffy said while looking at her with a bewildered look. "Weren''t you paying attention earlier?" he asked.


    "But what about Crocodile!?" she screamed once again.


    "Relax, some measly Warlord isn''t anything to be afraid of," Luffy said while waving his hand in a dismissive manner. Now everyone was looking at Luffy like he had grown a second head. "Besides this sounds like it will be fun," Luffy added with a large grin on his face.


    "We will be forever grateful, thank you," Igaram said before he walked over the water where a ship was docked and hopped it. "Now I Vivi will leave from here," Igaram said imitating Vivi causing everyone to laugh. Vivi and Igaram said their goodbyes and the ship sailed away from the island.


    "He was am alright old man," Johnny said as he stared at the ship.


    "Yeah, he was," Zoro added. Everyone was staring at the ship as it sailed further and further away. When the ship was about half a mile away from the Island it was suddenly swallowed up in a giant explosion causing everyone''s eyes to widen in shock.


    "Holy shit, EVERYONE GET TO THE SHIP NOW!" Luffy yelled to all of them. "Johnny! Yosaku! Zoro! go grab the others! hurry!" Luffy yelled out causing the three of them to run off along with Nami. Luffy turned back to the explosion and spoke. "I didn''t think they would come after us so early," he said before turning to the princess who was frozen in shock. Luffy ran up to her and picked her up bridal style before teleporting back to the bar where the others were. As the Landed in front of the bar, Vivi immediately jumped out of Luffy''s arms and started looking around frantically.


    "Where is he!?" Vivi yelled as she looked around.


    "Where is who?" Luffy asked as he watches Sanji, Usopp, and Nojiko get dragged out of the bar screaming.


    "My duck, Karoo," she said causing Luffy to sweat drop.


    "We don''t have time for this," he said before he picked her up again and teleported to the dock. When they landed on the dock Vivi once again jumped out of his hands.


    "I can''t just leave him here!" she yelled.


    "We are all set, let''s go!" Zoro yelled as he pulled up the anchor. "What''s wrong with her?" he asked.


    "She is missing her duck," Luffy said in an annoyed tone. Zoro looked at the two of them strangely before he spoke.


    "You mean this duck," he said while pointing to the giant duck standing next to him. Luffy and Vivi stared at the duck before yelling out.


    "HE''S ALREADY HERE!?" they yelled.


    "He got here before I did," Zoro said. Vivi and Luffy got on the ship and they immediately set sail and began sailing up the waterway in order to reach the sea faster. As they were sailing up the waterway they entered a thick fog similar to the one the had when they came to the island.


    "Finally, the sun is coming up," Nami said in a relief tone.


    "I''m just glad that we got away from the people chasing us," came a female voice that didn''t belong to any member of the crew. Luffy was cursing himself for letting his guard down so easily, but he now wanted to see how long it would take the rest of the crew to realize.


    "You can say that again," Nami replied not really noticing that someone had invaded the ship.


    "With all this fog we need to be careful to avoid the rocks," the woman said again. Luffy was being patient not to react but it was taking every fiber of his being to not turn around and blast whoever that was.


    "I''ll take care of it," Nami said happily before she blinked a few time and looked over to Luffy who was standing next to her. "Did you just say something?" she asked while looking at Luffy. Luffy looked over to her with a pissed off look on his face.


    "It''s nice of you to finally notice someone snuck onto the ship!" Luffy yelled before he spun around and stared up at the second level and saw a woman sitting on the rails of the upper deck with her legs crossed. Upon seeing her face Luffy smirked and chuckled to himself.


    "This is a nice ship," the woman said causing everyone to panic and be on guard.


    "It''s-it''s you!" Vivi yelled out while staring at the woman in fear causing the woman to chuckle.


    "I just happen to run into your dear Mr. 8 a little ways back, he didn''t look so good," the woman said mockingly while looking at Vivi.


    "So you killed Igaram," Vivi said grimly.


    "You want to explain to me you are doing on my ship," Luffy asked in a dangerous tone getting the woman''s attention.


    "What are you doing here, Ms. All Sunday?" Vivi yelled/asked.


    "You know who she is?" Nami asked while looking over to Vivi. "Who is her partner?" she asked again.


    "Her partner is Mr. 0, the boss," Vivi said surprising everyone.


    "Crocodile is her partner!?" Nami yelled out in fear.


    "She was the only one who knew the boss''s identity and that''s how we found out, by following her back to him," Vivi said as she looked at the woman with eyes of hatred.


    "To be clear, I allowed you to follow me," she replied.


    "You still haven''t answered my question," Luffy said getting her attention as Sanji pointed a gun to her head while Usopp pointed his slingshot.


    "I would really appreciate it if you stopped pointing those at me," she said before both Sanji and Usopp were thrown off of the second deck by some invisible force and down to the main deck.


    "You know you are playing a dangerous game attacking a member of my crew like that," Luffy said as the sky above began to darken.


    "There is no need to get all excited, I have no real orders here. So, I have no real reason to fight you," she said while looking down at Luffy. All of a sudden something hit Luffy''s straw hat off of his head and sent it floating towards the woman who caught it and started spinning it her hand. "So you are the famous Monkey D. Luffy," she said. As she finished speaking a loud thunder clapped sound overhead startling everyone and lighting started striking random parts of the water. Every member of Luffy''s crew took a stepped away from him because they all knew no one is allowed to touch Luffy''s hat.


    "You know, I don''t know if I should be honored..." Luffy said before he started to bring his right up and placed his straw hat back on his head causing everyone''s eyes to widen shock and awe. Ms. All Sunday looked at her hand that was spinning the hat and her index finger just there pointing up. He looked back at Luffy now wearing his straw hat with a small amount of fear in her eyes.


    ''I didn''t even see him move,'' she thought.


    "...or scared that someone as famous as you know my name," Luffy said causing her to flinch slightly, something that Luffy didn''t miss. "Now Ms. All Sunday if you ever touch my hat again...I will finish what the World Government started all those years ago," Luffy said in a dangerous tone scaring her. Two thing was clear in her mind one, she needed to get off of this ship quickly, and two, Luffy was very dangerous. She then tossed something towards Luffy who caught it and upon seeing what it was he looked at her with a puzzled look.


    "The next island is Little Garden, using that eternal pose you can skip right past it and head to Alabasta," she said with a smile trying to mask he fear. "Or else you won''t survive Little Garden," she added grimly trying to scare them. However, she was surprised when Luffy crushed the eternal pose in his hand smiled at her.


    "I am the captain of this and I decide where we go," he said in his usual monotone voice. Ms. All Sunday then got up and started walking to the edge of the ship.


    "Well then I hope that we meet again," she said as she was leaving.


    "I''m sure we will Ms. Devil," Luffy said causing her to flinch again. "And tell Crocodile I''ll be seeing him shortly," Luffy said. She didn''t reply instead he hopped off of the ship and landed on a giant turtle. Luffy then looked towards Nami and spoke. "Plot a course to Little Garden," Luffy said before walking towards the kitchen.


    "Aye!" Nami replied before she started giving out orders.


    **CHAPTER END!**

 Chapter 16 - 16: A Giant Problem in Little Garden!

    Luffy and the crew were sailing in the Grand Line for about a day now since they left Whiskey Peak. They were sailing in calm waters for the majority of the journey, but they had not traveled as far as they would like. The reason for that being that the wind kept stopping every now and then delaying their journey. Luffy was currently sitting on his throne sipping a glass of whiskey while watching everyone move about the ship. Sanji, Usopp, and Yosaku were fishing off the side of the ship, Zoro was sleeping right next to them, Nami and Vivi were standing on the upper deck in front of Luffy watching them fish, Johnny was up in the crow''s nest looking out for any island or any ship heading their way, Nojiko was behind Luffy practicing wielding her three section staff, and Vivi''s duck Karoo was standing off to Luffy''s right looking out into the water. Luffy never thought he would admit this but he really liked that duck, he was fun to have around. While Luffy was watching everyone go about their duties the wind suddenly stopped again causing the sails to drop and the ship itself to stop. Luffy sighed as he felt the ship.


    ''When we get to Water 7 I really need to get a ship with paddles or a propeller under the ship cause this is ridiculous,'' Luffy thought before turning his attention to Nami and Vivi who were walking towards him.


    "Luffy," Nami said getting his attention on her, "The wind stopped again," she said causing Luffy to look at her funny.


    "There is nothing I can do about the wind," Luffy said before he took a sip of his drink.


    "But if we continue at this rate I am that by the time we reach Alabasta it would be too late," Vivi said with a frown. Luffy got up from his throne and placed his hand on her shoulder causing her to look up at him.


    "You are worrying too much, everything is going to be okay," he said with a warm smile on his face before he turned towards Nami. "Why don''t you help her take her mind off things by teaching her some haki," Luffy said to Nami. Vivi heard that and took on a puzzled look wondering just what Haki was. When she looked over to Nami she saw an evil look on Nami''s face causing her to sweat a little. Before she could react she was being pulled away by Nami leading her towards the women''s quarters. Luffy chucked when he saw Nami pull Vivi away before he went and sat back down on his throne. As he sat down on his throne he gave it a mental command to turn around so he could see what Nojiko was doing. When the throne spun around he saw her sweating and breathing heavily while going through different movements at an impressive rate of speed.


    ''She is training really hard,'' Luffy thought to himself as he watches her strike an invisible opponent with his staff.


    "What brought on this intensity?" Luffy asked getting her attention. Once she heard Luffy''s voice she stopped what she was doing and took a few seconds to catch her breath before she replied.


    "What are you talking about?" She asked while breathing heavily. Luffy smiled before he pulled out a second glass and poured some whiskey before handing it to her.


    "Why are you suddenly training so hard?" Luffy asked as he watches her down the whiskey in one go.


    "I have always been like this," she said before she handed the glass back to Luffy who took it and refilled it before handing it back to her.


    "No, you haven''t," Luffy said as he got up from his throne and walked over to the back and looked out into the ocean before he continued speaking. "Since we left Whiskey Peak you have been training yourself non-stop, why?" he asked while continuing to look at the water. Nojiko tightens the grip on her three section staff before she replied.


    "Because I could have easily died on Whiskey Peak if it wasn''t for you, Nami, Zoro, Johnny, and Yosaku," she said causing Luffy to understand what was going on but he didn''t say anything instead he let her continue. "And those guys who were on Whiskey were nothing but cannon fodder compared to the enemies we are going to be facing soon, I let my guard down so easily against a bunch of weaklings and had to be saved by my little sister...again," she said sadly. Luffy then turned around and place his hand on her shoulder before he spoke.


    "Hey, you''re not alone in this. You weren''t the only one who let their guards down back there and Nami didn''t really do much," Luffy said causing her to look up at him with some tears in her eyes. "She didn''t fight nobody, all she did was look around for stuff to steal...well they didn''t really have anything to steal, but that is beside the point...The point is you made a mistake in judgment and you learned from it. There is no need to beat yourself up so much over it after all this life is new to you, I''ve been a pirate all my life, Nami been a thief since she was a child, and Zoro and those two have been bounty hunters a long time as well. We have been at this a while and we developed the skills necessary to survive over time and you will too," Luffy said trying to get her to relax a bit. Nojiko then wiped a stray tear away from her eyes before he smiled and reply to Luffy.


    "Thanks, Luff!" she said with a smile causing Luffy to smile as well.


    "Good, now show me what you got," Luffy said before he took off his captain''s coat an threw it on his throne. Nojiko looked at him puzzled for a second before she spoke.


    "What do you mean?" she asked as she watches as Luffy move a few feet away from her.


    "You don''t want to die when you face stronger enemies, and you don''t want to be protected by your little sister anymore instead you want to protect her. So, you have been training yourself to the ground since we left Whiskey Peak and now I want to see the fruits of all this training," Luffy said as he took up a defensive stance. Nojiko had her eyes widen at what Luffy just said. He had hit the nail on the head about the way she was feeling and now he wanted to fight her.


    "Bu-but, there is no way I can beat you," Nojiko said in a nervous voice. Luffy chuckled a bit before he replied.


    "I never said for you to be me, I said show me the fruits of your training," he said before motioning her to come at him.


    "Fine then, she said as she took a few seconds to calm her nerves before she took a few steps towards Luffy and started spinning her three section staff. Then faster than a normal human eye could track she launched an attack aimed at Luffy''s head which Luffy easily caught with his hand.


    "Tsk tsk, with attacks like that Nami may still need to protect you," Luffy said while shaking his head causing Nojiko to growl as she pulled the section of her staff away from Luffy. She then begins to spin all three sections of her staff once again before she thrust it forward aiming at Luffy''s c.h.e.s.t. Luffy saw the attack coming and simply raised his right hand and stopped it with his palm. "Yeah, you surely are going to die against stronger enemies," Luffy said pissing her off even more.


    "Shut up!" she screamed as he pulled the staff back and swung it towards Luffy head which his easily dodge.


    "With attacks like these makes me think you want to die," Luffy said as he continued to dodge and block her attacks. "Do you want to die, Nojiko?" Luffy asked a bit louder.


    "No," she said as continued to attack.


    "I couldn''t hear that, do you want to die?" Luffy asked again causing her to growl.


    "NO!" she yelled as her attacks got faster and stronger causing Luffy smile.


    "Then strike me down!" Luffy yelled causing a determined and angry look to come across her face before gathered her all willpower into her staff and swung it with all her might aiming for Luffy''s right side. Luffy saw it coming and brought his arm up to block it. As the staff hit Luffy''s arm his eyes widen as he suddenly felt pain in the area where he got hit. He quickly looked at the staff and saw a tiny amount of black fading away from the silver staff. Upon seeing that he smiled and looked over to Nojiko.


    "Congratulations," Luffy said confusing her. "You have unlocked your armament haki," he said before walking over to his throne and putting his coat back on. Nojiko stared at Luffy as he put his coat back on with eyes the size of dinner of plates for a few seconds before she stuttered out a question.


    "What?" she asked in a confused voice. Luffy sat back down on his throne and chuckled at her before he spoke.


    "It is as I just said," he said as he pulled out his glass and begin to pour himself a drink. "That final attack of yours had Armament haki in it, that is why I felt pain when it hit me," Luffy said before he took a sip of his drink. Nojiko blinks a few times trying to process what Luffy had just said before she spoke.


    "But what was it that I did that caused it to awaken?" she asked as she took a seat on the ground in front of Luffy wanting to hear what he have to say.


    "It was your willpower," he replied causing her to look at him in confusion but said nothing instead, she waited for him to continue. "If you remember from my explanation of what Haki was, I explained that in the case of Armament haki a person''s willpower or spirit allows them to create armor around themselves. Just now even though you weren''t in any immediate danger your will to live and your will to prove yourself to be stronger than your sister was strong enough that you unconsciously covered the lower section of your staff with armament haki," Luffy said before taking another sip of his drink and looking over to Nojiko to see if she understood everything he just said.


    "So it was just my will?" she asked in a voice of disbelief.


    "Yeah I know it sounds hard to believe that the will of a person would have that kind of power, but it does," he said while looking at her with a smile. "You are the first one on the crew to awaken it, congratulations," he said causing her to blush slightly at the praise she was getting from her captain.


    "So umm, what do I do now?" she asked trying to change the subject.


    "Well, you need to learn how to summon it at will to point where it would almost become second nature," he said in a serious voice causing her to look at him with a determined look on her face. "In order to do that you need to find a way to recapture that feeling you had just before you attacked me and find a way to make it work for you," he said causing her nod her head at him.


    "I''ll get started right away," she said as she begins to get up in order to continue her training. As she was about to turn and go back to her training Luffy spoke causing her to stop.


    "Before you do that," Luffy said getting her attention back on him. He then reached into his coat and pulled out a blindfold and tossed it to her before he spoke again. "All that training that you were doing with your staff before I interrupted you, I want you to do all that over again this time blindfolded," he said causing her eyes to widen.


    "But why?" she asked not really seeing the point of doing something like that. Her control over her staff was already perfect and didn''t see how that was going to help her.


    "Two reasons why actually, firstly, if you are able to control your weapon with the same efficiency and skill while blindfolded as compared to when your vision is intact it is only then you can truly say you have mastered it. And lastly, it is quite normal for your enemies to try and take away one of your five senses, often times they seek to take away your ability to see. This will you if you are ever in a position like that," he said before he took another sip of his drink.


    "I understand," Nojiko said finding logic in Luffy''s words before she walked back to her training spot and placed the blindfold around her eye and began practicing her with staff again. The first few times of her spinning the staff and twirling it around her body resulted in her hitting herself in the leg, head, and c.h.e.s.t causing Luffy to chuckle before turning his throne around in order to see what everyone else was up to. He saw Usopp and the guys had finished catching fish and Sanji was now in the kitchen cook the fish they catch, Zoro was still sleeping, Johnny was still in the crow''s nest looking out, and Luffy could hear Vivi''s screams as Nami taught her observation haki. It was then Sanji came out and announced that lunch was ready.


    "Lunch is ready!" he yelled causing everyone to stop what they were doing and began walking towards the kitchen.


    "Thank god, I''m starving," Johnny said as he climbed down from the crow''s nest. Luffy got up from his throne and sent it up in the sky where it was safe before he made his way towards the kitchen. When he walked into the kitchen he walked straight over to the table and took the open seat in between Vivi and Nojiko. As everyone sat down Sanji served everyone their food while flirting with the girls. Luffy poured himself some whiskey before he began to eat.


    "Nami, how much longer till we reach Little Garden?" Zoro asked as he took a bit of his food.


    "I don''t know," she said causing everyone except Luffy to stop and look at her with wide eyes.


    "What?!" Usopp screamed. "How could you not know, you''re the navigator aren''t you!?" he yelled/asked causing Nami to growl and was about to yell at Usopp but Luffy spoke before she could.


    "Calm down Usopp," Luffy said in a calm voice. "It is uncharted waters, so there is no exact way of know when we will get there," he said coming to Nami''s defense.


    "Oh, sorry," Usopp said sheepishly while scratching the back of his head. Nami just huffed and went back to her food.


    "Oh, and Nami," Luffy said getting her attention. "The ship needs to be cleaned," he said causing her to look at him puzzled wondering why she needs to clean the ship.


    "Why do I have to do it?" she w.h.i.n.ed.


    "Oh sweet Nami, did you forget about your punishment," Luffy said with an evil smile causing a look of recognition to flash across Nami''s face before she sunk into her seat and replied.


    "Noo," she said dejectedly causing everyone else to chuckle while Vivi looked around confused.


    "Don''t worry Vivi, I''ll tell you later," Nojiko said causing her to nod.


    "I can''t wait to get to Little Garden!" Usopp said in a happy voice. "I can just see it now, the women of Little Garden all lining up to meet the great Captain Usopp!" he proclaimed with his fork in the air.


    "Yeah right, if anything they will all be lined up to meet me!" Sanji yelled at Usopp.


    "I don''t want to burst your bubbles," Luffy said in a calm voice getting their attention. "But there aren''t any people on Little Garden," he said surprising everyone.


    "What!?" Sanji and Usopp yelled. "No people, that what''s on the island!?" they asked simultaneously.


    "From what I''ve heard it is a prehistoric island that is still stuck in the dinosaur age," he said calmly as though it was nothing. Everyone stared at Luffy as though he had grown a second head. Usopp, Yosaku, Nami, and Vivi had gone white as a sheet, the food that Sanji was about to put in his mouth fell to the ground, Nojiko and Johnny were frozen stiff, while Zoro and Karoo just continued eating.


    "Y-you are kidding right?" Usopp asked in a scared voice. Luffy finished eating and downed his whiskey before he replied.


    "Nope, totally serious," he said as he got up and took his plate to the sink.


    "B-but how is that possible?" Nami stuttered out.


    "Yeah, dinosaurs are extinct," Johnny added. Luffy chuckled as he leaned against the wall before he replied.


    "Welcome to the Grand Line," he said with a wide smile.


    "How can you be so calm!?" Vivi yelled at Luffy causing him to chuckled some more before he replied.


    "You need to relax, princess," he said coolly. "We will keep you safe, so calm down," he said.


    "Yeah, stick with me Vivi, your knight in shining armor will protect you!" Sanji yelled with hearts in his eyes causing everyone to sweat drop.


    "Anyway," Luffy said seriously getting everyone''s attention. "When we get there I want Zoro and Sanji to restock our meat supplies," Luffy said causing the two of them to nod their heads in apprehension.


    "Aye captain," they said simultaneously.


    "Good, and now for the most important thing of them all," he said causing everyone to lean towards him a bit. "Under no circ.u.mstances are any of you allowed to touch any of the plants, insects, berries or fruits of any kind while we are on that island, understood?" he asked causing every one of them to nod their heads.


    "But why all of that, big bro Luffy?" Johnny asked wondering why they couldn''t touch any of those things.


    "Because if you get infected by something on that island the cure for it probably doesn''t or no longer exists!" Luffy yelled scaring all of them. "Do I make myself clear?" he asked causing all of them to nod their heads quickly.


    "Good, now Nami hurry up and eat and get cleaning," he said before he walked out of the kitchen.


    Time skip: Two days later!


    "I see an island!" Yosaku yelled from the crow''s nest getting everyone''s attention. He had decided to take the lookout duties today in order for Johnny to relax a bit. Luffy was sitting on his throne yelled out orders for Nami when he saw the Island Yosaku was pointing to.


    "Nami," he said getting her attention. "You''re in charge from here. Take us in," he said causing her to smile before she looked at her log pose and then looked at the crew.


    "There is no mistake, Cactus Island and this one are definitely pulling against each other," she said before pointing to the island. "It''s our next stop!" she yelled causing Usopp, Johnny, and Vivi''s duck Karoo to start dancing and cheering. As the ship sailed closer and closer to the island the cheering stopped and turned into scared pleas to turn around.


    "What the hell is little about this place!?" Usopp yelled while sweating slightly. Luffy decided to get up and go stand with Nami as they approach the island. As he was walking he gave a mental command to his throne to return to the sky before he spoke to Usopp.


    "Usopp, are you forgetting what lives on that Island?" Luffy asked as he walked and stood next to Nami. Usopp thought about it for a second before he turned ad look at Nami and Luffy white as a sheet while trembling slightly.


    "C-can''t we just skip this island?" he stuttered out. "I am sure we can make it to the next island without going ashore on this one!" he yelled. Luffy decide not to answer him instead, he let Nami answer with his complains.


    "The only way to reset the log is to go ashore," Nami said with a sigh while placing her hands on her h.i.p.s.


    "Besides, we need to restock our food supplies," Sanji added as he lit a cigarette. "We didn''t get so much as a sack of flour in the last town," he said as he blew out some smoke.


    "Guys," Zoro said getting all of their attention. "There is our ticket in," he said while pointing forward to the island. Everyone looked to see where he was pointing and saw a small river going into the island. Nojiko ran inside and took control of the rudder and with eh help of Nami guidance she managed to take the ship in through the small river. As they were sailing on the river they all noticed the vast jungle on both sides while the air was filled the sound of different animals and birds. Nami looked at her log pose and back at jungle before she spoke.


    "I don''t know," she said causing Luffy to look at her with a raised eyebrow. "Usopp may be right on this one," she said causing Usopp to look at her with hopeful eyes. "We can rest the log from the ship. We don''t need to go ashore, and once it resets we can leave and never look back," said Nami in a slightly scared voice.


    "Right!" Usopp and Karoo said while giving a salute.


    "Hate to burst your bubbles but we have no idea how long it will take for it to reset," Luffy said as he began walking down the stairs. "There are some Islands where the log pose only takes a few minutes, then there are islands where it takes a few years," He said causing all of their eyes to widen.


    "A-a f-few y-years?" Usopp said as he dropped to his knees. "We are going to die!" he cried out to the heavens.


    "Calm down Usopp," Luffy said trying to get his sniper under control. "We don''t know for sure so calm down," he said before walking off to the side and looked out into the jungle. As he was staring out into the jungle a large tiger emerges from the bushes and began stacking the ship while staring at Luffy who just stared right back with his usually emotionless face.


    "I have never seen a tiger that big," Johnny commented while grabbing his bisento just in case.


    "Neither have I," said Vivi as she walked and stood behind a very scared Karoo. As everyone was staring at the tiger as it walked beside the ship it suddenly stopped and its eyes widened before he suddenly coughed up some blood and dropped to the floor dead. Even Luffy was surprised by what he just saw.


    "What could have killed a giant tiger like that?" asked a very scared Nojiko.


    "I have no idea," Luffy replied worrying the crew even more. "Alright, this is far enough," Luffy said before he turned around and looked at everyone. "Johnny, Yosaku drop the anchor," Luffy said causing the two of them to give a salute before they ran to the front of the ship and drop the anchor.


    "We dropped her, captain!" they yelled causing Luffy to nod his head before he turned towards Sanji and spoke. "Sanji could you make me some lunch, I want to get my energy up," Luffy said causing Sanji to nod and walk off to the kitchen.


    "Get your energy up for what exactly?" Nami asked as she stood next to Nojiko and Vivi who all had their hands on their h.i.p.s staring at Luffy while tapping their foot. Luffy would never admit it but the way those three were looking at him was making him a bit nervous.


    "I want to go explore the island, so, I want to get my energy up just in case I got to wrestle a T-rex," Luffy said nonchalantly.


    "Say Luffy," Vivi said getting his attention. "Would it be okay if I come along with you?" she asked while looking out into the jungle. When everyone heard her ask that they all stared at her with wide eyes.


    "What!?" Nami screamed while staring at Vivi. "Vivi you can''t be serious!" she yelled. Vivi just smiles at Nami before she replied.


    "Well yeah, I don''t want to stay here with nothing to do other than worry about my troubles," she said happily causing Luffy to smile.


    "You know, for a princess you''re alright," Luffy said as he leaned against the rails of the ship.


    "It is official, Luffy has corrupted her," Usopp said while shaking his head when out of nowhere a bolt of lightning came down from the sky and stuck Usopp causing him to fall over on the floor burnt to a crisp. Everyone looked at Luffy only to see him whistling innocently as we began walking towards the kitchen. After lunch, Luffy and Vivi who was riding on Karoo''s back set out to explore the new island of Luffy Garden. As they were running through the jungle for some time now they suddenly stopped when the ground beneath their feet shook as though they were having an earthquake. When they looked up they saw a heard of Brachiosaurus eating the leaves from the really tall trees. All of a sudden the ground shook once more before one of the Brachiosaur''s head came flying off causing both Vivi and Luffy''s eyes to widen.


    "What could have killed a beast that big!?" yelled/asked Vivi.


    "Now what, who?" Luffy said causing her to look at him as though he had grown a second head. "Look at the wound, it is a clean cut. If an animal did kill it then there would be bite marks," he said causing her to understand. Luffy then turned his attention back to the down beast and saw a giant figure stand over it.


    "Gegyagyagyagya!" the figure said before bending down to Luffy and Vivi''s level scaring Vivi and putting Luffy on guard. "I am the greatest warrior of all of Elbaf, I am Dorry! Gegyagyagyagya!" the giant name Dorry said jolly causing Luffy to drop his guard slightly.


    "I-It''s a giant," Vivi said in disbelief as she stared up at Dorry. "I''ve heard they exist but I''ve never seen one before," she said.


    "I''m Luffy and I''m a pirate, nice to meet you," Luffy replied to the giant.


    "Gegyagyagyagya! a pirate? Well good for you young man," Dorry said while laughing.


    "and this is Vivi and Karoo," Luffy said while pointing over to the two of them causing them to stiffen slightly.


    "Gegyagyagyagya! Tell you what you are all invited over to my home for lunch," Dorry said scaring Vivi even more. she was about to decline but Luffy spoke before she had a chance to.


    "We would be honored," he said causing Vivi to fall to her knees and started question in her head if it was a good idea to come with Luffy.


    "Wonderful! Gegyagyagyagya!" Dorry said before placing his very large hand down in front of them. "Hop on," he said causing Luffy to nod and step on his hand before looking over his shoulder looking for Vivi only to see her and Karoo slowly crawling onto the hand. The giant began walking towards a giant size rock with really big holes in while carrying the three of them in his right hand and the headless dinosaur in his other hand. when they got to the rock Dorry sat the three of them down before he started to make a fire and cut up the dinosaur. Luffy decides to help him out in order to speed things along spoke up.


    "Dorry," Luffy said loudly for him to hear, "Why don''t you let me get the fire started while you prepare the meat," he said as he walked over to the large piled of wood.


    "Gegyagyagyagya! How kind of you," he said in a joyful voice before stepping aside and getting Luffy to start the fire.


    "It is the least I can do after all you are treating us to lunch," he said before he pointed his right index finger at the firewood causing a small bolt of lightning to fire out and ignite a small part of the wood. Luffy repeated the process about five times on five different pieces of wood causing them to ignite as well. After about two minutes the fire started to pick up causing Luffy to nod in satisfaction before he walked backed over to Vivi and sat down on the log with her. After Dorry finished cutting up the meat he placed it on the fire to cook before he took a seat in front of the giant Rock and began conversing with Luffy and Vivi.


    "Say, Mr. Dorry," Vivi said politely getting the giant''s attention. "How long does it take for the log to reset on this island?" she asked causing Luffy to look up at Dorry wanting to know the answer as well.


    "One full year!" he said with a smile causing Luffy''s eyes to widen and Vivi to pass out.


    "One year?" Luffy asked causing Dorry to nod his head before he replied.


    "Yes, most people never survive that one year," he said causing Luffy to raise his eyebrow. "They usually succ.u.mbed to the elements or get eaten by an animal," he said before he turned the meat over on the fire. Luffy then sighed and rubbed his forehead and began to think. He needed to get Vivi back to Alabasta in time to stop the war or else he wouldn''t get to make Alabasta his territory and he had no intention of waiting a whole year for that. If he waits a whole year there might not be a country left for him make his territory. He could risk the possibility of flying to Alabasta himself and buying an eternal pose there and come back and grab the rest of the crew but he doesn''t know how long it would take for him to find Alabasta.


    "This just turned into one big headache," Luffy said with a sigh as he started massaging his temple. Just then Dorry took the meat off of the fire and place a large piece of the dinosaur in front of the two of them.


    "Eat up my friends," he said before he picks up another piece from the fire and bit into it. Luffy walked around the log and shook Vivi awake. He then pulled out his sword and carved out two pieces for her and Karoo before he carved out one for himself. Vivi took the piece from Luffy before looking up at him with tears in her eyes. Luffy smiled at her as he places his hand on her shoulder before he spoke.


    Don''t worry," he said in a calm voice. "I said I was going to get you home and stop the war and I will," he said causing her to smile slightly before she nodded to him. Luffy then sat down before her and took a bite of his meat. "Dorry," he said getting the giant''s attention. "I don''t mean to pry but why do you live out here by yourself? Don''t you have a village to call home?" Luffy asked causing Dorry to smile before he replied.


    "I came from a village, a home of many warriors called Elbaf," he said while looking down at Luffy. "It once was home but I no longer call it that," he said causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow at that.


    "Why?" he asked curiously as to why he would leave the home of the giants.


    "There are certain rules in Elbaf which must be obeyed," he said allowing Luffy to understand. " For example, when a fight breaks out and neither side yields, Judgement is handed out by Elbaf''s god. Whoever he deems to be righteous will be declared the winner and is granted survival as well as divine protection," he said before he picked up his meat and took another bite. "This place is out battleground. We have fought for a century and Elbaf has yet to choose a champion, Gegyagyagyagya!" he said causing Luffy and Vivi''s eyes to widen for two different reasons.


    "Even with all the time in the world wouldn''t your d.e.s.i.r.es wane after a hundred years of the same battle?" Vivi said as she stood up. "At this point is there any real animosity left between you two or are you just fighting to fight?" she asked causing Dorry to laugh and Luffy to chuckle.


    ''She really is a pacifist,'' he thought to himself. Suddenly one of the volcanoes off to the left of the rock erupted causing everyone to look over at that.


    "That''s some exposition," Luffy said as he took a bite of his meat and stared at the Volcano.


    "Well then, it''s time to get going," Dorry said before he got up from his sitting position causing Luffy and Vivi to look over at him in confusion. It was then Luffy noticed something about Dorry, his whole demeanor changed, his eyes became cold, his smile was gone, and his posture was that of a warrior getting ready for war. The volcano then erupted a second time before Dorry spoke. "Please forgive me, but there is something I must attend to," he said as he picked up his shield and sword. "That''s the signal my opponent uses to mark the beginning of our fight," he said causing Luffy to nod his head in understanding. "As for why we are fighting...we do not remember, Gegyagyagyagya!" he said.


    "It''s senseless. how can you have so much hatred for someone that you could fight them for an entire century?" she asked while looking up at the towering giant. "What could have happened to make you this mad?" she asked causing Luffy to interrupt her.


    "Vivi that''s enough," he said while placing his hand in front of her face stopping her. "This isn''t what this is about, okay?" he said as he felt the ground starting to shake.


    "You''re right...this is about honor," Dorry said as he narrowed his eyes at his approaching opponent before he took off towards him. Luffy and Vivi looked on as the two giants clashed with two different reactions, Luffy was watching in awe at the scale of the battle taking place before them while Vivi was disgusted at the fact that these two were fighting for no reason what so ever. As the fight progressed Luffy and Vivi were completely absorbed in the spectacle taking place before them when suddenly Luffy''s observation haki alerted him of a presence some distance away to the left. He narrowed his eyes and turned his slightly before looking over making sure he was noticed by whoever was there. When he looked over he saw a woman floating on an umbrella in the sky some distance away. Luffy immediately recognized her as Ms. Valentine and if she was here that meant Mr. 5 was here as well. He didn''t tell Vivi about it instead, his guard was placed all the way up and his observation haki was running at max. Luffy then noticed her descending back to the ground before she was hidden from his view by the bushes. Deciding to see what was going on he tried to sense where she was, who she is with, and where she was going. He sensed her presence along with another familiar presence who he chalked up to be Mr. 5. The two of them were walking away from Luffy and Vivi and heading in the opposite direction. Luffy then tried to find where his crew was, Sanji was by himself, Johnny and Yosaku were together, Zoro was also by himself, and Nami, Usopp, and Nojiko were together. He let out a sigh of relief knowing there are all okay before he turned back to the fight only to see both Dorry and his opponent falling down to the ground before they started laughing with each other. Dorry and his opponent then got up and his opponent handed him something before they went their separate ways. Dorry came back over and sat down with some barrels in his hand.


    "Brogy said he has guests over and they gave him these wonderful refreshments, he was kind of enough to share them with me," he said as he sat down.


    "Did he say who his guests were?" Luffy asked wanting to know if the giant named Brogy was with his crew or Baroque Works.


    "He didn''t say but from what I could see there were two young ladies and a fella with a long nose," he said causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "They are from my crew," he said with a smile.


    "Gegyagyagyagya! Then I should be thanking you for this lovely refreshments a well," he said as he held up two barrels between his fingers before he broke the tops in with his thumb and began drinking. While he was drinking the alcohol Luffy noticed the look on his face suddenly changed, before Luffy could think about it the alcohol exploded casing Dorry''s eyes to roll back into his head and he collapsed on is back.


    "Dorry!" Luffy and Vivi yelled as both of them sprang to their feet.


    "That is the same alcohol that was on the ship," Luffy said while staring at the down Dorry with wide eyes.


    "That other giant must have booby-trapped it," Vivi said causing Luffy to look over at her with a cold look on his face.


    "Shut up Vivi," Luffy said lowly. "There is no way he would do that, there is too much pride involved here for him to pull a low move like that," Luffy said.


    "Alright then, who did do it?" she asked. before Luffy could reply Dorry spoke as he got up slowly with his weapon in hand.


    "You strangers," Dorry said lowly as he stuck his giant word in the ground. "It wasn''t Brogy, no way. No warrior of Elbaf would dare. So, who else to suspect on this island then...besides you!" he said causing Luffy to step in front of Vivi with his eyes narrowed.


    "My crew and I aren''t the only ones here on this island," Luffy said surprising everyone.


    "And just who else is on this island?" Dorry asked in a dangerous tone.


    "A group of bounty hunters," he said while looking up at the towering giant. "If I am not mistaken you are Dorry the Blue Ogre, and this friend of yours is Brogy the Red Ogre, former captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates," Luffy said surprising Vivi. "The two of you have a 200 million berry bounty on your head correct?" he asked causing Dorry to nod all the while looking at Luffy with suspicion. "Why don''t you let me and my crew take care of them while you focus on your fight with Brogy," Luffy offered.


    "And why should I trust you?" Dorry asked while towering over Luffy. "And how exactly do you know they are on this island?" he asked again.


    "You''re from the New World, I''m sure you know about haki," Luffy said remembering that Elbaf was in the New Word, one of the many things taught to him by Shanks''s right-hand man, Ben Beckman.


    "I do know of haki, however, I am not a practitioner of it," he said causing Luffy to nod his head understanding. Luffy assumed that he probably thought of haki as a form of cheating in a duel.


    "I assure you Dorry, whoever interrupted his scared duel will pay for it," he said in a cold voice as the skies above stared to darken and be filled with thunderclouds. Right then and there the volcano erupted signaling it is time for the next fight Luffy looked over at Dorry and spoke. "I take it you are still going to fight in your condition," he said as he stared at Dorry.


    "I must, as an Elbaf warrior," he said before he coughed up some blood causing Luffy to become even more pissed off.


    "What!?" Vivi yelled out in surprise. "Dorry, you need rest!" Vivi yelled out trying to reason with the giant.


    "I am Dorry and I will fight for Elbaf''s pride and die as a warrior!" he said as he began taking slow steps towards his battlegrounds. While Dorry was walking towards his duel the skies continue to darken while Luffy stood there in place with a pissed off look on his face. As Dorry and Brogy began their duel Usopp suddenly crash-landed in front of Luffy and Vivi.


    "Usopp?" Luffy said in surprise. Usopp sprang to his feet and started crying in front of Luffy.


    "Luffy! Nami and Nojiko were eaten by a dinosaur!" yelled in a panic causing Vivi, Luffy, and Karoo''s eyes to widen.


    "WHAT!?" they three of them yelled.


    "We were being chased through the jungle and I was running in front of them and when I look back they were suddenly gone!" he cried out while hugging the giant duck. Luffy not wanting to take Usopp''s word for it began trying to sense Nami and Nojiko and much to his relief he found them.


    "Relax Usopp they''re alive," Luffy said causing him to let out a sigh of relief. Vivi then started to explain to Usopp that Baroque Works is here on the island and had tampered with Dorry''s drink. Just as Usopp was about to speak they all noticed Dorry beginning to fall down while Brogy was going for the finishing blow. Everyone''s eye widens as they saw a tower of blood squirt out from Dorry wound as Brogy cut him across the c.h.e.s.t.


    "DORRY!" they all yelled out. Before they can say anything else two figures emerge from the bushes off to the right of the group.


    "What a shame," said Mr. 5 as he and Ms. Valentine made themselves known. Vivi and Usopp were scared when they saw the two of them and Luffy to growl when he saw them for two reasons. First, for what they did to Dorry and second, for letting his guard down again. He was caught off guard by Dorry dying he dropped his guard and now these two insects managed to sneak up on him. "After a hundred years their duel finally ends...so dishonorably," Mr. 5 said pissing Luffy off even more. Luffy then looked to Vivi and Usopp before he spoke.


    "Nami and Nojiko are in that direction and they seem to be alone," he said while pointing just off to the right of Brogy. "Go find them and wait for me there," he said before he turned back to the duo. "I''ll take care of these two," he said lowly as thunder boomed overhead and lightning flashed. Vivi then hopped on Karoo''s back before the three of them took off running in the direction of Nami and Nojiko. As they were running away Ms. Valentine spoke.


    "Kyahahaha! I don''t know who told you kiddies you could leave," she said before he jumped really high in the air and floated over the retreating group. Just as she was right over the group getting ready to drop down on them Luffy suddenly appeared in front of her.


    "And I don''t recall ever tell you to move," he said in a cold voice causing her eyes to widen before she was kicked back down to the ground at amazing speed. However, when she landed on the ground it didn''t seem as though she got much damaged from the fall, only from Luffy''s kick. That intrigued Luffy, he knew she had devil fruit powers but was curious as to what devil fruits.


    "How interesting," Luffy said as he landed back on the ground and began walking towards the duo. "I had expected you land a lot harder than that," he said while staring at Ms. Valentine who was now holding her side in pain from where Luffy kicked her.


    "I ate the Kilo-Kilo Fruit, I can change my body weight at my will," she said causing Luffy to finally understand.


    "I see, so when I just kicked you your body weight was at 0 or something which allowed you to take minimum damage from that fall," he said as he continued to walk towards the duo. "A devil fruit like that could come in handy," Luffy observed while staring at the girl.


    "Enough chit chat!" Mr. 5 yelled causing Luffy to look over to him. "I think its time we got down to business. I''ve been meaning to pay you back for what you did at Whiskey Peak," he said with a growl.


    "And I will pay you back for what you did to Dorry because if I am not mistaken you ate to Bomb-Bomb fruit, so you were the one who planted that bomb," Luffy said in a cold voice.


    "That''s right, now prepare to face my Bomb-Bomb fruit!" Mr.5 yelled as he charged towards Luffy. Luffy just stared at him with his cold emotionless eyes before he spoke in a low voice.


    "Fools like you who cling to their devil fruits could never beat me," he said before he dodged Mr. 5 punch to the face and then proceeded to give him a haki infused knee to the stomach. Mr. 5 then hunched over on the ground and coughed up some blood, before he even had a chance to recover Luffy pivoted on his left leg and delivered a spinning heel kick right to Mr. 5''s face sending him tumbling back to Ms. Valentine.


    "MR. 5!" Ms. Valentine yelled as she watches her partner lay face down on the ground bleeding from his mouth. After a few minutes, Mr. 5 then began to get back up. As he stood up he looked at Luffy and reach into his pocket and pulled out a gun. Luffy not really being worried about a gun just stared at him with the same emotionless look on his face. Mr. then opened the revolver''s chamber and blew into it before he closed it and aimed it at Luffy confusing him.


    "DIE!" Mr. 5 yelled as he fired six times at Luffy. Luffy could sense something coming towards him but couldn''t see it. Although he could sense it he still didn''t dodge instead, he let all six shots hit him. As the six shots impacted Luffy''s c.h.e.s.t they exploded on contact hiding Luffy from the view of the duo in a thick cloud of black smoke.


    "Kyahahaha! That ought to teach him!" Ms. Valentine said smugly.


    "Teach me what exactly," came Luffy''s voice from inside the cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared they all saw Luffy standing there missing the entire right side of his c.h.e.s.t including his right arm along with a small part of the right side of his face.


    "Just what are you?" Mr. 5 asked in slight fear as he took a step back.


    "I''m a lightning man," Luffy said before the missing parts of his body started to reform themselves as lightning. When the lightning disappeared the two of them saw Luffy standing there as though he had never gotten shot. "Now, I think it is time to get serious," Luffy said before he suddenly disappears from their view causing their eyes to widen. Before Ms. Valentine could react Luffy appeared behind her and placed the palm of his hand on her back before he spoke.


    "Bind!" he said causing five ropes of lightning to come out of his palm and bind Ms. Valentine in place.


    "AHH!" she yelled out in surprise before falling over face first.


    "Sorry, but I don''t like fighting girls," Luffy said before he turned his attention to Mr. 5 and spoke. "Now for your punishment," he said before disappeared and reappear in front of Mr. 5 and delivered a haki infused punch to his stomach. Once again Mr. 5 found himself hunched over on the ground coughing up blood. Luffy then grabbed him by the back of his neck and roughly pulled up and with a great show of strength tossed him in the air.


    "Mr. 5!" Ms. Valentine yelled as she watches from her position on the ground her partner falling from about thirty feet in the air. Luffy ignored the screaming woman and stood right under the falling man. He then covered his fist in haki and held it up to the sky. Mr. 5 landed with his back right on Luffy''s extended fist causing him to scream out in pain. Luffy just held them there in the air for a few seconds before he threw him next to his partner.


    "Please...I...beg...you...please...stop," the downed Mr. 5 begged. Luffy walked over to him and place his food on his back before he spoke.


    "Bind!" he said before five ropes of lightning came out and bound him in place just like Ms. Valentine.


    "Don''t even bother trying to use your devil fruits while you''re bounded," Luffy said while looking at Ms. Valentine. "It won''t work," he said surprising her, she ignored Luffy and tried using her devil fruit powers and found she couldn''t.


    "What have you done to my devil fruit!?" she screamed.


    "That lightning is infused with something special that negates all devil fruit powers," Luffy replied before he summoned a thunder cloud and sat down on it. "Now the two of you are going to tell me why you planted that bomb," Luffy said while looking at the two of them.


    "We''ll tell you...whatever you want...just no more fighting," Mr. 5 choked out.


    "It wasn''t our idea," Ms. Valentine said causing Luffy to look over at her. "It was Mr. 3''s idea. He wanted those giant''s bounty and he outranks us," she said trying to get Luffy spare them. She had just seen how easily he handled Mr. 5 and she knows he can easily kill them both without breaking a sweat. All she wanted was to survive this ordeal.


    "And who is this Mr. 3?" Luffy asked in a bored tone.


    "We don''t know his real name but he is stronger than Mr. 5 and very devious," she said. She was doing all of the talking because she knew Mr. 5 was too injured and did want him to push himself too far. "He ate the Wax-Wax fruit and can control and produce wax from his body," she said causing Luffy to nod his head.


    "And his partner?" he asked knowing very well that this Mr. 3 had a female companion.


    "His partner is Ms. Goldenweek she is a 16 and uses paint to control a person''s emotions," she said causing Luffy to look at her with a raised eyebrow while waiting for her to continue. "It''s called color trap, she can change a person''s personality through the use of certain colors, changing their behavior as she sees fit," she said causing Luffy''s eyes to widen slightly in surprise.


    "And she didn''t eat a devil fruit?" he asked causing her to shake her head saying no. "Interesting," he said. Before he could say anything else he heard some rumbling off to his right and looking over. When he looked over he saw a giant cake made out of wax with five candles spinning at the top. "Well that''s not something you see every day," Luffy said in a bored tone.


    "That''s Mr. 3''s doing," Mr. 5 said letting everyone know he is still alive.


    "Well, I hope this guy is more fun than you two because I went from being really pissed off to really bored," Luffy said as he got up from the cloud and walked over to the two of them. He then picked the two of them up and threw them onto the cloud. He then began walking towards where all the fun seem to be happening while the thunder cloud followed behind him. After walking for a few minutes Luffy and the two captured agents came onto a sight that made Luffy feel ashamed. Standing trapped in the wax of cake was every member o his crew except Sanji along with Vivi. Karoo was tied up next to a little girl who was drinking tea. Luffy also noticed the down figure of Dorry who he could still sense is alive and a captured Brogy.


    "LUFFY!" all of them yelled as they saw him walk into the clearing. Luffy looked at all of them with a cold look before he spoke.


    "What do you want?" he asked in a cold voice surprising them.


    "What do you mean, get us out of here!" Nami yelled.


    "I''ll do that when I feel like it," Luffy replied causing all of their eyes to widen. Luffy then turned his attention to the man with his hair shaped like the number 3. "I take it that you are Mr. 3?" Luffy asked while looking at him.


    "That I am. I see you defeated Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine," Mr. 3 said as he adjusted his glasses. "But that means very little, as you can see I have captured your crew and they are about to die!" he yelled before he started laughing maniacally.


    "Oh yes, I see that very well," Luffy said while throwing a cold glance at his crew.


    "Luffy just what is your problem!?" Nami yelled/asked. "We are about to die!" she yelled out in frustration.


    "Yes, the seven of you are about to be killed because SEVEN you couldn''t handle an old weirdo and a f.u.c.k.i.n.g child!" Luffy screamed back in anger causing a loud thunder to boom overhead and lighting to start striking random parts of the island. Everyone stared at Luffy in shock and in some fear, the last time the crew saw Luffy close to being this pissed was when Nami stole the ship and betrayed the crew but even that couldn''t compare to this. "And my so-called vice-captain over there wants to be the greatest swordsman in the world and here he is getting trapped by some weakling," Luffy said before he raised his right hand in the air. "Try and survive this would you," he said.


    "Judgement!" he called out as he brought his arm down causing a large pillar of lightning to descend on the cake made of wax destroying it. Mr. 3 looked on as his masterpiece was destroyed so effortlessly and his prisoners were now free from the cake but they still had the candle lock attach to their legs. He turned toward Luffy and looked at him with pure hatred in his eyes before charging towards him.


    "Candle Lock!" Mr. 3 yelled while thrusting his hands forward causing a wave of wax to rush towards Luffy who didn''t move an inch. After the wax surrounded itself around Luffy''s feet it hardens quickly locking Luffy''s foot in place.


    "Now what are you going to do, Mr. 100 million berries," Mr. 3 mocked thinking he had successfully captured Luffy.


    "Is this it?" Luffy asked in a bored tone causing the smug smile on Mr. 3''s face to vanish and a look of anger spread across it.


    "What do you mean if this is it?" he asked angrily. "You are trapped and I will not get to add you to my collection along with all the rest of your crew once I captured them again!" he yelled at Luffy who just let out a sigh before covering his entire lower body in lighting causing the wax around his feet his evaporate. "W-what? H-how?" Mr. 3 asked in disbelief.


    "Lightning is five times hotter than the surface of the sun dumb a.s.s," Luffy said as he began walking towards Mr. 3. [thats actually true. Surprised me as well] "Here I thought you would actually be a challenge," Luffy said with a sight while still walking towards Mr. 3. "Guess that was just wishful thinking," He said in a bored tone before he disappeared from view and reappeared right next to Mr. before he delivered a lightning speed kick to Mr. 3''s face sending him flying out of the clearing. Ms. Goldenweek had her eyes widen at how easily her partner had been defeated.


    "He beat Mr. 3," Ms. Valentine said in a voice of pure disbelief as she looked on from the cloud. She knew Luffy was strong but she didn''t think he was a match for Mr. 3. She thought that Mr. 3 would push Luffy to his limits before he gave up but instead, Luffy took care of Mr. 3 without breaking a sweat, it was like a giant stepping on an ant.


    "Well that takes care of him," Luffy said in a bored tone before turning to his crew. As he turned and looked at them he saw all of them laying on the ground with their legs bounded looking up at him. He sighed before he walked over and melted the wax with his lightning before he turned his attention to Ms. Goldenweek and the two bounded bounty hunters.


    "Damn it, my shirt got burnt off," came Nami''s voice causing Luffy to turn his attention over to her. When he looked over he saw Nami standing there with her shirt completely gone leaving only her bra.


    "When I am done with you your shirt is going to be the least of your worries," Luffy said in a monotone voice causing all of them to strengthen up slightly before he turned his attention back to the three Baroque Works agents.


    "What are we going to do with them, Captain?" Zoro asked while looking at the three agents. Luffy said nothing instead he walked towards the three individuals and spoke.


    "I am going to make the three of you an offer," he said getting their attention. "You can either go back to Crocodile and tell him you failed your mission and die," He said causing their eyes to widen when they heard their boss''s identity. "Or you can join my crew," he said causing their eyes to widen further and the jaws to drop. Luffy''s crew were slightly surprised but they couldn''t say that they didn''t expect something like this to happen. Vivi, on the other hand, was surprised beyond belief. As much as she was surprised she was just as angry as well.


    "Luffy you cannot be serious!" Vivi yelled while taking a few steps towards Luffy. "They tried to kill us and now you are offering them a place on your crew!?" she yelled out absolutely livid about that idea.


    "And your point being what exactly?" Luffy asked in his usual monotone voice. Before Vivi could reply Luffy spoke once more. "Nami committed treason and she is still part of my crew, Johnny tried to kill me at one point as well and he is a part of my crew. So what point are you trying to make here?" Luffy asked causing Vivi to look at Nami and Johnny hoping that what Luffy said wasn''t true only see the two of them nodding their head. Vivi then looked back to Luffy and was about to try and reason with him again but before she could speak Luffy beat her to it again. "And need I remind you, Princess, you are a passenger on my ship, not a crew member, and you sure as hell ain''t the captain," Luffy said somewhat harshly causing the rest of his crew to look at Vivi in pity feeling sorry for her. Vivi didn''t say anything else instead she turned and walked back and stood with the rest of the crew before trying not to make eye contact with anyone.


    "Don''t you think that was a bit too harsh, Luffy," Nojiko asked from her position besides Vivi. Luffy didn''t reply to her instead he turned to the Group of Baroque Works agents and spoke.


    "Well?" Luffy asked causing the three of them to look at each other for a second before the each gave their response.


    "I''ll join you," said Ms. Valentine.


    "I prefer to be your ally than being your enemy," Mr. 5 said causing Luffy to nod before he looked over at Ms. Goldenweek. She took some time and looked around to see if Mr. 3 was going to return but after realizing that he wasn''t she spoke up.


    "I''ll join as well," she said causing Luffy to smile before he snapped his fingers causing the Lightning that bounded Ms. Valentine and Mr. 5 to disappear allowing them to move once again.


    "Welcome to the Straw Hat Pirates," Luffy said with a smile causing them to smile and nod their heads. Luffy then turned to the two giants that were off to the side and walked up to them.


    "Sorry I didn''t free you right away Brogy, I want to make sure the threat was gone," Luffy said before he used his lightning to melt the wax freeing Brogy.


    "It is no problem, my young friend!" Brogy said happily before his smile slowly faded away as he looking at the down form of Dorry. Luffy seeing this decided to give him some good news.


    "Don''t worry about Dorry," Luffy said getting his attention. "He is still alive," he said causing everyone''s eyes to widen.


    "What!?" Brogy yelled out in surprise. "Dorry is alive!? But how!?" he asked while switching between Luffy and Dorry.


    "I can only guess that it is because that after dueling for a hundred years your weapons have dulled," Luffy said causing everyone to look over at the two giant weapons and saw that they were in pretty bad shape.


    "Of course, not even weapons made in Elbaf could withstand two giants dueling for one hundred years," Usopp said happily as he was glad Dorry was alive. And right on cue ever one saw Dorry was beginning to wake up. After being helped up by Brogy, Dorry and everyone else went back to the giant rock that Luffy and Vivi were having lunch with Dorry and sat down and relaxed why Dorry patched up his wounds.


    "While we are waiting here can someone please tell me where Sanji is?" Luffy asked as he summoned his throne. Before anyone could answer him they all heard the voice of Sanji coming from behind them.


    "Oh, Nami! Vivi! Nojiko! Did you miss me?" Sanji asked with hearts in his eyes and he skipped towards the crew. When he saw the two giants and the three former Baroque Works agents he immediately went into a protective stance in front of Nami and Vivi. "Okay, who are you and which one of you is Mr. 3!?" he yelled returning to his usual self.


    "And how exactly do you know about Mr. 3?" Nami asked causing him to turn around and look at her.


    "Ohh Nami you look so beautiful in that outfit!" he yelled as he saw Nami in her bra.


    "Care to repeat that!" Nami yelled while balling her fist.


    "Calm down, here have my coat," he said as he took off his coat and handed it to her for her to cover up. "You see I''ve been a bit busy," he said as he sat down on a log nearby. "I just got off the phone with Mr. 0 on the transponder snail," he said causing everyone to look at him with eyes the size of dinner plates.


    "You what!" everyone yelled.


    "Yeah, I found this enemy hide out in the middle of the jungle and he called," he said before he lit a cigarette. "I answered and he thought I was some Mr. 3 who he apparently sent here to kill us and Vivi," Sanji said as he blew out some smoke. "I told him that the Vivi and the straw hats were all dead," Sanji said happily while everyone looked at him like he had grown a second head.


    "So he thinks he doesn''t have to send anyone else after us anymore," Vivi said in a whisper.


    "So you are saying we are free of people chasing us now that we can''t go anywhere," Usopp cried out.


    "We can''t go? Is there something we still need to take care of here?" Sanji asked still unaware that the log takes a whole year to resets. "That''s a real shame after I managed to get hold of this thing," he said as he pulled out an eternal pose set to Alabasta causing everyone''s jaws to drop.


    "An eternal pose to Alabasta!" Johnny yelled out.


    "Now we can finally set sail!" Yosaku added as they all started dancing.


    "Now why can''t the rest of you be like Sanji," Luffy said causing all of them to stop celebrating and started to sulk. "Dorry, Brogy it''s been fun but it is time for us to go now," Luffy said as he got up from his throne and sent it back into the sky.


    "Right, it is a shame that you have to leave so soon," Dorry said while Brogy nodded his head in agreement.


    "Take care of yourselves," Luffy said as he and his crew began walking back towards the ship. After walking for about five minutes the crew arrived back at the ship and saw three large dead dinosaurs in front of the ship. "I take it this is out meat?" Luffy asked while looking at Sanji causing him to nod his head along with Zoro and the bounty hunting duo.


    "Yeah and as you can see mine is clearly bigger than the rest," Sanji said smugly.


    "No ours is the biggest!" the Bounty hunting duo yelled.


    "As if, mine is clearly the biggest!" Zoro yelled causing Luffy to sigh.


    "it doesn''t matter we don''t need it all anyway," Luffy said as he unsheathed his sword and held it reverse grip in front of his face causing everyone to look at him to see what he was about to do.


    "Star Counter!" Luffy said before he disappears and reappears standing on the side of the ship with his back to everyone slowly sheathing his sword slowly. Then suddenly a click was echoed throughout the area as the sword was completely sheathed causing square chunks of meat to fall off the bones of the three dinosaurs leaving behind just the skeleton. Zoro stared at what just happened with wide eyes. Never he had ever seen someone produce that many cuts over such a wide area so fast.


    "Take meat from all three dinosaurs and get ready to set sail," Luffy said before he hopped into the ship and went and stood on the upper deck looking down at everyone hurrying to set sail and packing the meat in the refrigerator. After a few minutes all the meat was stored away, Johnny and Yosaku were on the rudder ready to go, Zoro had just pulled up the anchor, Nami was standing beside Luffy along with the three new crew members, Usopp and Sanji were standing by the main mast waiting for Luffy''s signal to release the sails, and Nojiko and Vivi were at the front of the ship staring out.


    "Everything is ready, Captain!" Zoro yelled as he secured the anchor.


    "Johnny, you guys are ready?" Luffy asked.


    "Aye, Captain!" they yelled back.


    "Well then, Set Sail!" Luffy yelled causing Sanji and Usopp to release the sails causing the ship to catch the wind and start moving forward.


    "The giants said if we keep sailing straight would take us to the western end of the island," Nami said causing Luffy to nod. As the ship sailed further they started to see the end of the rive that leads to the open sea. Standing on either side of the river was Dorry and Brogy looking out at the horizon.


    "Look, it''s the giants. They came to say goodbye!" Usopp said happily. As they sailed in between the two giants Brogy began to speak.


    "A great danger still lies ahead of you," he said while still looking forward.


    "It is an obstacle that has always been here, trying to prevent people from reaching the next island," Dorry added causing a few of the crew members to panic slightly. "Everyone one of you fought like true warriors trying to protect the pride of our duel," he said in a serious voice.


    "And because of that no matter what enemy you face," Brogy said continuing from where Dorry left off.


    "We will never all them to destroy your pride, friend," Dorry said.


    "You must have faith in what we say and go straight, no matter what happens you must continue going straight!" Brogy yelled causing Luffy to nod his head before he spoke.


    "you heard that Johnny, Yosaku?" Luffy asked while leaning over the rails slightly.


    "Aye!" the yelled back. As soon as the ship sailed out of the river and into the open ocean some very big started to come up from the water causing everyone to hold onto something and scream. Out of the water came a giant goldfish big enough to swallow an entire island and was now getting ready to swallow the ship.


    "Johnny! Yosaku! work the rudder before we get eaten!" Nami yelled from next to Luffy.


    "But Luffy said to go straight," Johnny replied.


    "Keep going straight, guys!" Luffy yelled out causing everyone except Usopp to look at him as though he was suicidal.


    "Luffy, don''t be ridiculous this is not going to turn out like Laboon," Nojiko said trying to get Luffy to understand. Luffy ignored all the cries and please and let the ship sail right into the beast''s mouth. When the beast closed its mouth and began to swallow them a sudden bright white light appeared behind the ship and everyone saw a wave of blue and red energy fly past the ship and pierce through the giant fish''s throat while pushing the Ship out the giant hole as well. After flying for a few seconds the ship finally touched back down on the water and moving at a high rate of speed. Everyone looked behind them and saw the giant goldfish had a giant hole in his throat and through the hole, everyone could see Dorry and Brogy standing there holding broken weapons.


    "Well, that was fun," Luffy said before he turned towards Nami and spoke. "Get us on the right course for Alabasta," he said causing her to nod her head and go down to the main deck. Luffy then looked to his three new crew members and spoke. You three follow me," he said as he leads the three of them into the Captain Quarters. There was nothing too special in Luffy''s room except for a bed, a writing desk and a closet. Luffy walked over to the bed and sat down before he looked at the three former bounty hunter and spoke.


    "I''ve had enough of all these code names, I want your real names," he said in a serious voice causing the three of them to nod their heads.


    "Well, I''m Mikita," Ms. Valentine said.


    "My real name is, Gem," said Mr. 5 with his hands in his pocket.


    "And I''m Marianne," Ms. Goldenweek said while eating a rice cake. Luffy nodded his head before he spoke.


    "Well, I am sure the three of you know who I am," Luffy said while looking at the three of them causing them to nod their head confirming that they knew who he was. "Good, now about my plans for you three," Luffy said confusing them.


    "Plan? What plan?" Mikita asked with a confused look on her face.


    "You see after I take out Crocodile, Alabasta will become my territory and there are going to be a lot of Baroque Works agents who will suddenly be unemployed," Luffy said with a smirk. "The three of you along with any other high ranking agents we get to join us will be in charge of the lower rank Millions and Billions," he said before he pulled out a glass and poured some whiskey in it for himself.


    "I see," Gem said causing Luffy to look up at him. "You are going to create an organization like Baroque Works and you are going to put us in charge of it while your away," he noted causing the two females to look at Luffy in surprise. Luffy chuckled and took a sip of his whiskey before he replied.


    "You''re close," he said causing Gem to look at him intrigued at what he had planned. "It is not an organization exactly. I am sure the three of you are familiar with or have at least heard of the black market or the underworld?" Luffy asked while looking up at them. The three of them look at each other for a second before nodding their heads.


    "I don''t know much about it, just that you buy illegal stuff there," said Mikita causing Marianne to nod her head showing Luffy that it was the same for her.


    "That''s fine, What the three of you are going to be actually doing is selling weapons, drugs, and very expensive things," Luffy said as he watching their reactions. He was surprised when none of them showed any outward reaction to what he said.


    "That can''t be it, I''m sure there are numerous people out there who are doing the exact same thing," Gem said causing Luffy to smile.


    "Right you are," Luffy said as he downed his drink. "We are also going to be dealing with rare artifacts and...," he said before he reached under his bed and pulled out a c.h.e.s.t and place it on the bed. "...some extremely rare items," he said as he opened the c.h.e.s.t and showed its contents to the three of them causing their eyes to widen.


    "Those are..."Mikita said in disbelief


    "I''ve never seen one much less this many," Marianne said in awe.


    "Wow.." Gem said.


    **CHAPTER END**

 Chapter 17 - 17: Namis Sick and A Raid on the Ship!

    **Previously...**


    "That''s fine, What the three of you are going to be actually doing is selling weapons, drugs, and very expensive things," Luffy said as he watching their reactions. He was surprised when none of them showed any outward reaction to what he said.


    "That can''t be it, I''m sure there are numerous people out there who are doing the exact same thing," Gem said causing Luffy to smile.


    "Right you are," Luffy said as he downed his drink. "We are also going to be dealing with rare artifacts and...," he said before he reached under his bed and pulled out a c.h.e.s.t and place it on the bed. "...some extremely rare items," he said as he opened the c.h.e.s.t and showed its contents to the three of them causing their eyes to widen.


    "Those are..."Mikita said in disbelief


    "I''ve never seen one much less this many," Marianne said in awe.


    "Wow.." Gem said.


    **Chapter 17: Nami''s Sick and A Raid on the Ship!**


    "Now the three of you see what we are about to get ourselves into," Luffy said before he slid the c.h.e.s.t back under his bed. "Are you in?" he asked while looking at the three of them. The three of them took a few seconds to finally get over their initial shock before they replied.


    "Aye, Sir!" the three of them yelled out simultaneously.


    "Good, I will go into more details once we got everything settled with the rest agents," Luffy said causing the three of them to nod their heads. Gem was about to say something to Luffy but before he could the door to Luffy''s quarters flung open startling everyone inside.


    "BIG BRO LUFFY!" Johnny and Yosaku yelled as they burst through the door. "Come quick! It''s Big Sis Nami!" they yelled causing Luffy to become worried slightly. Luffy quickly ran out of the room of the room and started heading towards the girls sleeping quarters with Johnny, Yosaku, and the three new crew members behind him. As Luffy entered the girls'' room he saw everyone was in there standing over Nami who was laying on the bed. As Luffy walked into the room, everyone moved aside and allowed him to make his towards the bed. When he got there he saw his navigator laying on the bed breathing slightly harder than usual with her face red with sweat pouring off of it.


    "What happened?" he asked Nojiko who was sitting on the bed beside her sister. Nojiko looked up at Luffy with a worried look on her face before she replied.


    "I don''t know," she said in a worried tone. "One minute she was giving out orders to the crew and then she told me she was feeling tired so she handed me the eternal pose before she began heading to her room," Nojiko said as tears began to build up in her eyes. "Then as she was walking to her room she suddenly collapsed on the ground," she said causing Luffy to nod before he placed his hand on her shoulder.


    "Don''t worry," Luffy said as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "I won''t let anything happen to her," he said causing Nojiko to smile slightly. Luffy then placed his hand on Nami''s forehead to check her temperature. After about five seconds Luffy took his hand off and spoke. "She is burning up," he said before he turned towards Usopp and spoke. "Usopp, grab a bucket and bring me some cold sea water," he said causing Usopp to salute and run off to grab the water Luffy asked for. "Johnny, Yosaku, Zoro," Luffy called out getting their attention. "You three go make sure we are still on course," he said causing the three of them to nod their heads before they made their way outside.


    "I''ll go make some soup for Nami," Sanji said causing Luffy to nod his head. Just then Usopp arrived back with a bucket of water in his hand. He sat it down in front of Luffy before he took a few steps back allowing Luffy to make soak a cloth he got from Nami''s room and place it on her forehead. After placing it on her forehead he turned towards Vivi and Nojiko and spoke. "You two keep an eye on her if she gets worse come get me," Luffy said causing the two of them to nod him before the two of them went and sat on either side of her bed. Luffy along with his three new crew member exited the room and made their way to the upper deck where Luffy''s throne was. As Luffy was walking up the stairs towards the upper deck he heard Vivi screaming his name.


    "LUFFY!" Vivi yelled causing Luffy to stop mid-step and turn his body into lighting before he teleported back to Nami''s room door. As he appeared there he could hear the rest of the crew running towards the room as well. Not waiting for another second Luffy opened the door and rushed into the room. As he entered he saw Vivi holding a thermometer in her hand with a panicked look on her face.


    "What''s wrong?" Luffy asked as he rushed towards the bed.


    "Her temperature is over 102!" Vivi said in panic and just in time as everyone else arrived in time to hear what she said.


    "This is bad, she shouldn''t have such a high fever unless her body is fighting an infection," Luffy said with wide eyes as he took the thermometer from Vivi to check for himself. "Whatever is wrong is possibly life-threatening," Luffy added causing everyone''s eyes to widen in fear of their crewmate dying.


    "There are doctors and nurses in Alabasta right," Usopp said in a hopeful voice. "They can help right?" he asked while looking at Vivi.


    "They could help yes, but we are still a week away from reaching there," she said in a sad voice causing everyone to panic. Luffy growled a bit causing all of them to become quite before he walked over to Nami and pulled the cover right off of her.


    "Luffy! What are you doing!?" Vivi screamed. Luffy ignored her and began examing Nami''s arms, legs, and neck.


    "If she has an infection I am looking for a rash or something that will tell me how she got infected," He said before he pulled up her shirt exposing her stomach. "Found it," he said causing everyone to come over and look at what the case of all this was. When they all looked over they all saw a purple rash or something that looked like a rash on Nami''s stomach.


    "I can''t tell if that''s a rash or a bug bite," Sanji said while looking the infected area. Luffy couldn''t help but nod his head in agreement, he had never seen anything like it before.


    "Whatever it is it''s not just any normal kind of infection," he stated causing everyone to look at him waiting for him to continue. "it''s something prehistoric," he said causing a few of their eyes to widen while some of them looked at him in confusion.


    "What do you mean..." Sanji said before he paused and his eyes slowly started to widen before they were the size of dinner plates. "You don''t mean?" Sanji asked in a worried voice.


    "That''s right," Luffy said while nodding his head. "Whatever it is came from Little Garden," he said causing all of their eyes to widen in shock and fear. Nojiko couldn''t take it anymore and broke down crying while hugging her sick sister.


    "Nami," Nojiko sobbed. "Please be okay," he said continuing to cry. Everyone in the room looked onto the crying girl with a sad look on their face. For the first time in a long time, Luffy felt completely helpless. Here was a member of his crew extremely sick and there was nothing he could do to ease her suffering.


    "We need to get her to a doctor ASAP," Luffy said causing everyone to nod their heads in agreement. Just as Luffy was about to speak again, Nami spoke in a sickly whisper loud enough for everyone to hear.


    "Relax," she whispered out causing everyone to look at her as he tries to sit up. "I''m fine," she said as she sat up and looked at Luffy with a strained smile. "Open the second draw on my desk," she said causing Luffy to go over to her desk and opened it. Inside of the draw was a newspaper from a few days ago. Opening the paper and browsing through to see what Nami wanted to show them only to have his eyes widen as he reached the centerfold apparently, 300 thousand royal soldiers have defected to rebels and the situation in Alabasta is now dire. Luffy closed the paper and tossed it on the desk before he looked at Nami with an angry look on his face before he spoke.


    "That doesn''t change anything," he said confusing everyone around him while Nami looked at him with her eyes slightly widen.


    "I''m telling you I am fine," she protested trying to act tough in order to get Luffy to have them stay on course towards Alabasta.


    "what are you two talking about?" Vivi said as she picked up the paper in order to see what was going on. When she turned the centerfold her eyes widen causing her to gasp in shock. "This can''t be!" She yelled out as she read the paper.


    "What''s wrong Vivi?" Sanji asked while looking at her with concern.


    "Is it about Alabasta, tell us," Usopp said


    "300 thousand royal soldiers have defected to the resistance," Vivi said as she read the newspaper. "Until now we have been embroiled in a cold war with 600 thousand royal soldiers against 400 thousand rebels. With this, the balance has shifted," she said in a sad voice causing everyone to look at her with a sympathetic look on their face.


    "The uprising in Alabasta will escalate now and things will seriously get ugly," Nami said as her breathing increased. "That paper you are looking at is three days old," she said causing Vivi''s eyes to widen. "I''m sorry I didn''t say something earlier, we can''t change our speed so I didn''t want to worry you. There is nothing anyone can do right now, you understand Luffy?" Nami asked while looking at Luffy. Luffy unfolded his arms before he replied.


    "Yeah," he said causing her to smile. "I have to get you to a doctor," he added causing her eyes to widen while everyone looked conflicted.


    "What do you mean get me to a doctor!?" Nami screamed in her weakened state. "We need to get Vivi to Alabasta to stop this war!" she yelled with an angry look on her face. Luffy looked at her with his usual emotionless look on his face before he replied.


    "The last time I checked I was the captain of this ship and it goes where I say it goes and right now it is taking you to a doctor no ifs, and''s, or buts about it," Luffy said ending all forms of protest from Nami. "I''m sorry Vivi but my crew takes precedence," he said while looking at Vivi. Vivi looked up at him and gave him a small smile.


    "It''s okay Luffy," she said surprising everyone. "I wouldn''t have let you jeopardize Nami''s health just to get me home anyway," she said causing Luffy and the others to smile. Luffy smiled and was about to reply but before he spoke he noticed something among his crew.


    "Wait a minute," Luffy said getting all of their attention. "If you''re all here, who is making sure we stay on course?" Luffy asked in a worried voice.


    "Oh Big Bro Zoro is taking care of it," Yosaku said causing Luffy and Nami''s eyes to widen.


    "YOU IDIOTS!" the two of them screamed at the same time causing Johnny and Yosaku to hug each other in fear.


    "You left the man with the worse sense of direction to steer the ship!?" Luffy asked/yelled causing Johhny and Yosaku to start shaking in their boots. "All of you go fix this now!" he yelled causing everyone except Nojiko and Vivi to scramble outside. After a few minutes, they all felt the ship took a sharp right turn causing the three of them to hold onto something to avoid falling over or in Nojiko''s case she held onto Nami to keep her from rolling off the bed.


    "It seems we are back on course," Nojiko said as she walked over to Vivi and Luffy.


    "You two keep an eye on her, I''ll find an island with a doctor," Luffy said causing the two girls to nod at him before he turned and headed outside. When Luffy got outside he saw that it was actually snowing causing him to raise an eyebrow.


    ''We must be close to a winter island,'' he thought to himself as he stretched out his hand and caught one of the falling snowflakes.


    "Hey, Captain!" Zoro yelled getting Luffy''s attention. Luffy looked up to where he heard Zoro''s voice come from and saw him standing in the crow''s nest with a pair of binoculars. "What do you think about people standing on water?" Zoro asked causing Luffy to look at him strangely.


    "Are you asking me if it is possible?" Luffy asked.


    "What kind of dumb question is that?" Usopp asked as he stood next to Luffy. "of course it is impossible for someone to stand on water," he added causing Luffy to somewhat agree with him.


    "Then what do you call that," Zoro said while pointing to the front of the ship. Luffy and Usopp turned around and squinted their eyes in order to see a bit further only to see a man dressed like a jester standing on the water with a bow and arrow strapped to his back. The three of them stared at the man for a few minutes blinking owlishly too surprised to saying anything.


    "Hey guys," Johnny and Yosaku said as they walked towards the duo. "What are you staring at?" Yosaku asked. Luffy and Usopp didn''t say anything instead them simply pointed forward at the strange man standing on the water. The bounty hunting duo turned and look at where they were pointing and saw a man standing on the water. They blinked a few time before they wiped both of their eyes to make sure it wasn''t a trick.


    "Hello there, sure is chilly today," he said from his position on the water causing the five pirates to look at each other for a few seconds before turning their attention back to the man.


    "Yeah, it is chilly today," Yosaku said causing Luffy to look over at him.


    "It is definitely chilly today, in fact, I would say it is freezing," Usopp added causing Luffy to bonk the two of them on their head.


    "Would you two focus!" Luffy yelled as he hit them. Luffy then turned his attention back to the man on the water and was about to speak, but before he could his observation haki alerted him of danger coming from underwater where the man was standing. Before he could warn his crew something extremely big came up from underwater.


    "AHHHH! What the hell is going on!?" Usopp yelled/asked as he tumbled back. Luffy used his lightning to anchor him in place as he looked on as whatever that thing was continuing to rise up from under the water.


    "Is that a ship?" Luffy said to himself. As he said that giant metal plates from around the structure began to lower themselves by some sort of mechanics from inside the structure. As the plates completely lowered themselves a pirate flag was raised on what appears to be the main mast. The jolly roger was a skull with a round, metallic jaw l.i.c.k.i.n.g its own lips and wearing a large crown, as well as the standard crossbones located behind it. In Luffy''s opinion, it was kinda goofy looking if he was being honest.


    "It''s pirates!" Yosaku yelled when he saw the skull and crossbones.


    "That ship is huge!" Johnny added. Every other member of the crew ran to the main deck to see what was going on including Vivi and Nojiko. They were all left speechless at the sheer size of the ship that was in front of them, even though Luffy had seen bigger sh.i.p.s he could help but be impressed that a pirate group from paradise could afford something like this.


    "Hahahahaha! What''s the matter?" Asked someone from aboard the giant ship. "Don''t tell me our underwater ship the Tin Tyrant surprised you? Hahahahah!" the voice asked sarcastically causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow. Zoro jumped down from the crows nest and stood to the right of Luffy while Sanji stood on his right. The three of them stared at the ship with an emotionless expression on their face as Johnny, Yosaku, and Gem joined them and stood behind them. Luffy then turned to Usopp and gave out an order.


    "Usopp," Luffy said getting his attention. "Get up to the crows nest and get ready to snipe them out," he said causing Usopp to salute him before he began climbing up to the crows nest. Luffy then turned towards Vivi and spoke. "Vivi, you, Johnny, and Marianne go back inside and protect Nami," he said causing the three of them to nod and head inside. "Nojiko, you and Mikita stay out here and keep anyone from heading into where Nami is," he said causing Nojiko to pull out her three section staff while Mikita got ready to use her devil fruit powers before the two of them nod their heads at Luffy.


    "You all consider yourselves a band of pirates?" the man asked rhetorically getting Luffy''s attention. "That''s a damn shame." When Luffy turned around he found himself, Sanji, Zoro, and Yosaku all surrounded by soldiers with rifles aimed at them.


    "Well they sure move fast," he said as he looked behind him and saw his entire ship was filled with soldiers.


    "I only count 13 of you, sorta strange that your group will only have so few members," the man said causing Luffy to look over in order to see who the captain of these soldiers was. When he looked over he saw an overweight man with a cylinder-shaped jaw made up of tin plates wearing a tin-plate armor and a hooded cape eating a sword. It was truly a bizarre sight seeing someone eating a sword. Everyone was staring at the man as though he was some sort of freak of nature when they saw him toss the hand of the sword in his mouth, chewed it up, and swallowed it.


    "Okay this is weird, what kind of guy likes to eat knives," Yosaku said with a disgusted look on his face.


    "My gums are bleeding from just watching!" Usopp yelled from the crows nest.


    "Alright, I''ll keep this really simple," the man said causing Luffy to look at him. "Mr men and I wish to travel to the Drum Kingdom, you wouldn''t happen to have an eternal pose or a log pose would ya?" he asked the crew.


    "Nope, can''t help," Sanji said as he finished his cigarette. "I''ve never even heard of this Drum Kingdom," he added.


    "Now that we''ve got that settled can you get off my ship already," Luffy said while staring at the man with cold eyes. "We are kind of in a hurry here," he added hoping that this fool would listen to reason and leave.


    "You will never truly enjoy life if you are in a rush," The man said. "But seeing as you have neither poses, I will settle for your treasure instead," he said causing Luffy to look at him for a few minutes before he started laughing.


    "Hahahaha!" Luffy laughed confusing all of the soldiers and the man.


    "You think this is a game brat?...hmm I''m getting hungry," the man said before his mouth opened about three feet wide and took a bite right out of the side of the Going Merry. Luffy and everyone else''s eyes widened beyond belief as they watch the man chew up a piece of their ship and swallow it.


    "He''s dead," Luffy said in a cold emotionless voice.


    "So, what''s the order captain?" Sanji asked as he lit a new cigarette.


    "They were foolish enough to step foot onto my ship so..." Luffy said before paused and stared at the man who is the supposed leader of these men. "...make sure none of them leave here alive," he said causing Zoro to smirk and take on a dangerous look in his eyes as he unsheathed all three of the swords and got ready of battle. "Go wild, guys," Luffy then said causing all of his crew members to spring into action. Zoro started cutting down soldiers left and right, Sanji started kicking soldiers with precision causing a few of their necks to snap, Yosaku was skillfully spinning hiss bisento redirecting the bullets that were fired at him back to the shooters, while Gem pulled out his pistol and started firing exploding air bullets at the soldiers causing them to fly out of the ship. Luffy then turned his attention to the girls to see how they were and he was relatively pleased with what he saw. He saw Nojiko skillfully taking out multiple soldiers with her three section staff while he also notices she is utilizing both her armament and observation haki. As he looked back around at his crew who he taught Haki to he saw all of them are utilizing observation haki to help them battle.


    ''Guess these guys are not that big a challenge for them to unlock armament,'' Luffy thought as he watches the guys fight. It was that very moment Luffy notices something above the ship in the sky. When he looked up he saw Mikita floating above getting ready to drop down with her devil fruit powers. Before she could begin her descend Luffy yelled at her.


    "Don''t you ever think about it, Mikita!" Luffy yelled getting her attention.


    "Huh? But why?!" she wined as he spun her opened umbrella blocking the bullets fired at her.


    "Well, how about because I don''t want a hole in the bottom of my ship," he said causing her to realize what he meant. "Find another way of using your devil fruit," Luffy said causing her to gently land back on the deck before she thought for a few seconds.


    "I got it!" he yelled causing Luffy to look at her with a raised eyebrow. Mikita then stood in front of one of the soldiers and reared back her fist before she punched the soldier while yelling out.


    "10,000 Kilograms PUNCH!" she yelled as her connection with the soldiers face causing a sickening crunch to be heard from the soldier before he went flying off the ship. She then turned the other soldiers causing all of them to drop their gun and ran off the ship.


    ''She reminds me of Grandpa,'' Luffy thought as he unconsciously rubbed his head. Luffy''s observation haki then alerted him of a soldier behind him with a gun getting ready to fire. Of course, Luffy paid him no mind because the bullet would just pass right through him, however, just as the soldier was about to shoot Luffy he heard someone yelled from above the ship.


    "Exploding Star!" Luffy and the soldier heard before a small pellet flew past Luffy''s head and hit the soldier behind him exploding on contact. Luffy looked behind him and saw the soldier laying on the ground badly burnt before he looked up at the crow nest and spoke.


    "Nice shooting there, Usopp," he said causing Usopp to smile and gave Luffy the thumbs up. It was then Luffy heard something snap as though someone was breaking wood causing him to look over to find the source and saw the leader of these soldiers taking another bite out of Luffy''s ship.


    "Mmm, Your ship... don''t taste...half bad," the man said between bites. Luffy growled before he turned his body into lightning and appeared to the left of the man with his entire right foot covered in lightning.


    "STOP EATING MY SHIP!" Luffy yelled before he kicked the man in his face with a lightning speed kick sending him flying off of the ship.


    "WAPOL!" the men back on the ship yelled as they watching their boss flying away.


    "This is bad, Wapol can''t swim," said the man dressed as a jester. "There is no choice, recall the troops! W have to rescue him before he sinks to the bottom!" he yelled to the soldiers both on board Luffy''s ship and their''s. When he noticed no one of returning aboard their ship he looked down onto the Going Merry and saw not one of the soldiers that they sent over was standing and only a few of them were still alive. "Monsters! We will get you for this!" he yelled before the ship sailed off in the direction that Luffy sent the man now named Wapol flying off to.


    "Well, that was entertaining," Luffy said as he walked over to the rest of his crew. "You guys did good, you made up for your mistake back in Little Garden," he said causing his crew to smile.


    "Does that mean we won''t get punished?" asked a very hopeful Usopp. Luffy chuckled a bit before he replied.


    "Not even in your wildest dream," he said causing Usopp''s head to drop. "However, I do think you earned a less cruel punishment from the one I was going to give you," Luffy said before he walked to the entrance to Nami''s room. "Toss these trash off my ship and keep going straight ahead for now, when it is nightfall drop anchor. I don''t want to risk navigating at night without Nami," Luffy said before he walked into Nami''s room with his thundercloud following behind him. As soon as he entered he found himself face o face with Johnny''s bisento.


    "Halt! You Villian!" Johnny yelled not noticing that it was Luffy.


    "Boy, would you like me to separate your head from your body," Luffy said as his eyebrow twitched. Johnny upon hearing Luffy''s voice immediately withdrew his bisento and saluted him before speaking.


    "Captain Luffy, Sir!" He yelled out nervously. "Very sorry Sir!" he yelled causing Luffy chuckle as he shook his head before he continued into the room. Luffy then made the thunder cloud turn into his usual throne and sat it beside the foot of Nami''s bed and sat down. As he sat down Nojiko entered the room while Johnny left.


    "Any changes, Vivi?" Luffy asked as he converted his throne into a lawn chair and laid down.


    "No, her temperature is still too high," she said in a worried tone. "What was all that commotion out there?" Vivi asked while looking at Luffy.


    "Some fool who was looking for someplace called the Drum Kingdom wanted out log pose and treasure," Luffy said in a bored tone.


    "Drum Kingdom?" Vivi asked causing Luffy to nod. "I''ve heard about it!" she said as he stood up extremely fast causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow. "It is a winter island that is somewhere around this part. It is famous for having the best doctors in the Grand Line!" he said causing Luffy''s eyes to widen in surprise.


    "Well then," Luffy said with a smirk. "Guess I know where we are going now," he said causing Vivi and Nojiko to smile.


    *Chapter End*

 Chapter 18 - 18: Drum Island and A Fallen King!

    It was currently nightfall and almost everyone was currently sleeping in the same room as Nami. The only people who were up keeping watch were Sanji, Gem, and Yosaku. The crew had dropped anchor for the night because Luffy did not want to risk navigating the seas at night without Nami. Even though he himself was good at navigating, he was not as good as Nami. She seems to have a sixth sense when it comes to predicting the weather and small changes in the wind. As for Luffy, he was currently laying on a lawn chair made out of his thundercloud peacefully sleeping. After Vivi had told him about the Drum Kingdom he felt slightly at ease knowing that he could save his navigator. He had not told the rest of the crew about their next course of action just yet, he was waiting until the morning to tell them.


    **Morning**


    Luffy was woken from his sleep by the sound of someone hitting something coming from the outside. He groggily got up to the sitting position on his cloud and rubbed his eyes before looking out and window and saw that the sun wasn''t up yet.


    ''Who the hell is up this early?'' he asked himself as he placed his feet up on the cloud before it started to float up from the ground. When the cloud was good distance off the ground Luffy willed it to head towards the door, he didn''t want to walk towards the door at the risk of waking anyone else up and he was feeling a bit lazy. When the cloud got to the door Luffy reached out and quietly opened the door before he and the cloud made their way outside. As soon as they floated onto the deck he was hit the cold morning air of a winter climate. He immediately shivered and for the first time placed his hand into the sleeves of his captain''s coat before buttoning it up all the way.


    "Who the f.u.c.k turned down the temperature?" he said to himself. He then heard someone hammering once again off to his right causing him to look over. When he looked over he saw Usopp with nails in his mouth and a hammer in his hand fixing the ship that Wapol bit off.


    "You''re up early," Luffy said as he got off his cloud and stretched his muscles.


    "Can''t just sit around doing nothing," Usopp replied while nailing wood to the side of the ship. "We got to find a way out of this jam as quickly as possible, captain," he added causing Luffy to nod.


    "We already came up with a course of action. As soon as everyone gets up Vivi and I will explain it all of you," he said causing Usopp to brighten up a bit. Luffy then heard movement coming from the left him causing him to turn to see who or what it was. When he looked over he saw Yosaku and Gem walking towards him looking really tired. He then looked straight ahead and saw Sanji climbing down from the crows nest wearing a poncho.


    "Morning captain," Yosaku said he stood next to Luffy.


    "You three look tired," Luffy noted while looking at them. "I''m up now so you three can go get some rest before we head off," he said causing the three of them to Look at him with a grateful expression on their face.


    "Do you want me to fix you anything captain?" Sanji asked while Gem and Yosaku headed inside to get some sleep.


    "No that''s fine," Luffy replied with a smile. "I can handle it go get some rest," he said causing Sanji to smile and head inside. Luffy then made his way to the kitchen to make some coffee for himself., before he went into the kitchen he turned to Usopp and spoke. "Do you want something, Usopp?" he asked while looking over his shoulder.


    "Some coffee would be nice" Usopp replied causing Luffy to nod before heading into the kitchen. Just before he walked through the door he gave a mental command to his thundercloud to go up into the sky for now. As Luffy entered the kitchen he placed the kettle of water onto the stove and turned it on. He then grabbed two coffee cups and placed coffee in both of them before he sat them down on the counter and folded his arms as he waited for the water to boil. After waiting for about five minutes the kettle finally whistled causing Luffy to turn off the stove and pour the water into the cups. After he finished pouring he stirred both before he picked up one and took a sip of the hot coffee.


    "Mmmm, that''s good," Luffy said as he savored the taste of the black coffee. He then picked up and other cup and headed outside to Usopp. "here you go, Usopp," Luffy said has handed the cup to him.


    "Thank you," Usopp said as he placed the hammer down and took the cup from Luffy. Luffy then left Usopp and went to the front of the ship, he hopped up onto the figurehead of the Going Merry while careful enough not to spill his coffee. He then sat down on the figurehead and looking out into the ocean with a smile on his face enjoying the view of the morning air. His enjoyment was interrupted however by the sound of his transponder snail ringing.


    *purupurupuru* *purupurupuru* the snail in Luffy''s coat rang causing him to place his coffee down and reach into his coat and pulled out a baby Den-Den Mushi with three familiar scars over its left eye. Luffy smiled before he pressed the button on top of the snail''s shell and spoke.


    "Hello," he said into the snail.


    "LUFFY!" came the joyous and drunk voice of Shanks.


    "Well, its either you''re up early and hungover from drinking all night, or you''re still partying from last night," Luffy said as he shook his head.


    "Hmm, Sleep is overrated! Booze is more fun, Hahahaha!" Shanks said causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "So what is the occasion?" Luffy asked before he took a sip of his coffee. "Seeing as how you called on a secured line I take it this isn''t exactly you calling to check up on your dear apprentice," Luffy said causing Sanks to chuckle a bit. before Luffy could sense Shanks got serious.


    "Ace is in Paradise..." he said causing Luffy to take on a serious look on his face.


    **Three hours Later**


    It has been three hours since Luffy spoke to Shanks. Currently, he was standing on the upper deck looking down at his crew. They were getting ready to raise anchor and start sailing again. Nami''s condition hadn''t changed one bit since yesterday and was slowly getting worse and Luffy was starting to get more worried. Usopp was still fixing the sides of the ship that Wapol bit off, Johnny was up in the crows nest looking out, Nojiko and Vivi were with Nami, Mikita and Marianne were on the main deck securing the ropes, Zoro was standing behind Luffy watching everything, While Sanji, Yosaku, and Gem were stilling sleeping after being up all night keeping watch.


    "Captain," came the voice of Zoro from behind Luffy causing him to turn around. "Where are we going now?" he asked Luffy as he walked and stood beside him. Luffy leaned back on the rails of the upper deck and folded his arms before he replied.


    "Is everyone ready to continue sailing?" he asked while looking over at Zoro.


    "Yeah, everyone is up and ready go," Zoro replied causing Luffy to nod before he turned and looked down at his crew before he spoke.


    "Guess I should let everyone know our next course of action," he said to Zoro. "Alright, Listen up!" Luffy said getting everyone''s attention and causing Vivi and Nojiko to come outside to see what Luffy wanted to say. "Vivi told me something really interesting about that Island Wapol was looking for," he said causing everyone except Vivi and Nojiko look at him with a confused look on their face.


    "Wapol?" Usopp asked while holding on to his hammer.


    "Wasn''t he looking for someplace called Drum kingdom?" Marianne asked causing Luffy to nod his head before he replied.


    "Yeah, apparently this Drum Kingdom is a winter island famous of having the best doctors in the Grand Line," he said causing all of them to look at him with a surprised look on their face.


    "Wait, what''s a winter island?" asked Johnny from up in the crows nest.


    "Scattered within the Grand Line there are four basic types of islands made distinct by their varying climates," Luffy asked causing al them to pay attention. "You''ve got summer islands, spring island, autumn islands, and winter islands," he said causing those who were from the east blue to be surprised and awed by the type of islands that existed in the Grand Line.


    "Wow!" came the astonished voice of Usopp.


    "Each one these island has their own four independent seasons," came the voice of Vivi causing everyone to look at her. "When traveling the Grand Line there are at least 16 different types of weather patterns you must be prepared to endure, ranging from summer island''s summer to winter island''s winter, and everything in between," she causing their eyes to widen. Even the former Baroque Works agents were slightly surprised by that information. They had all know that the Grand Line had strange weather patterns but they never knew why.


    "There can always be an exception to this and you can encounter unknown climates at any given moment," Luffy added to what Vivi said.


    "I think I get it," said Usopp causing Luffy to look at him with an amused look on his face. "The Grand Line has these different Islands one after the other, and that''s the reason why the seas between them have such crazy weather patterns," he said.


    "Correct, and the closer you get to an island the calmer the seas are around you," Luffy added before he leaned against the rails. "However Usopp, that still doesn''t explain for half the ship that happens in this place," he said causing Usopp to look at Luffy with an astonished look on his face.


    "Amazing," Usopp replied causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "Raise the anchor we can talk as we sail," Luffy said to Zoro causing him to nod before he made his way to the front of the ship and pulled up the anchor. "Johnny keep an eye out of any islands, this water is a bit too calm," Luffy said causing Johnny to salute his captain before he started looking out to the horizon. Everyone onboard the ship felt the Going Merry give a jerk forward as the anchor came undone allowing it to move.


    "Luffy," came the voice of Nojiko as she walked up to Luffy.


    "What''s wrong?" Luffy asked while looking over to Nojiko.


    "Are we going to make it in time to save Nami?" she asked in a soft voice while tears start to build up in her eyes.


    "Listen," Luffy said as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "She is going to okay. If I have to I''ll fly her all the way to Mary Geoise myself and make the World Government heal her," Luffy said causing Nojiko to slightly nod her head.


    "Thanks, Luffy," she said.


    "Don''t thank me, I haven''t done anything yet," he replied. Nojiko was about to reply but Zoro''s voice came from Luffy''s right interrupting them.


    "Captain, where is that shitty cook?" Zoro asked as he walked towards them. "I''m starving," he said causing Luffy to sigh.


    "Sanji, Yosaku, and Gem are sleeping. They were up all night keeping watch so let them get their rest," Luffy replied causing Zoro to fold his arms and speak.


    "Pshh! A real man can do without a little sleep," he said causing Nojiko to Luffy to look at him with a huge sweat drop.


    ''This is coming from the man who sleeps every chance he gets,'' Luffy and Nojiko thought.


    "Why don''t I make you something, Mr. Bushido," came the voice of Vivi from their left.


    "You know how to cook, Princess?" Luffy asked in a surprised voice.


    "Of course I know how to cook!" Vivi yelled as he folded her arms and pouted.


    "A princess who is a spy and can cook, the Grand Line sure is a strange place," Zoro said causing Vivi to see red. Nojiko and Luffy safely took a step away from the angry princess allowing her to make her way towards the vice-captain of the Straw Hat Pirates and proceed to beat the crap out of him.


    "You women can be scary sometimes," Luffy whispered to Nojiko causing her to chuckle. After Vivvi was done with Zoro she huffed and began making her way towards the kitchen leaving Zoro lying on the floor with two rather large bumps on his head.


    "I''ll be in the kitchen for those who are hungry," the princess said as she walked by Luffy and Nojiko. Luffy and nojiko looked at Zoro then looked at each other before they shrugged their shoulders and headed to the kitchen. When they enter the kitchen they sat down on the table and looked at Vivi who was standing behind the stove looking at them. "So, what do you guys want to eat?" she asked while tying the apron around her waist.


    "Whatever you make will be fine, princess," Luffy said while Nojiko nodded in agreement. "You should make something for Nami as well," he added causing her to nod. Vivi then began moving around the kitchen grabbing ingredients and chopping up meat and vegetables causing Luffy to be surprised at the fact that she ACTUALLY knows how to cook. It was then Zoro walked into the kitchen holding his head in pain. Vivi paused what she was doing and took one look at Zoro before she huffed and went back to work. As Zoro sat down Luffy passed him a glass and poured some whiskey for him.


    "Here, this will help with the pain," Luffy said as he poured the drink.


    "Thanks, captain," Zoro replied before he picked up the drink and down it. "By the way cap," he said getting Luffy''s attention. "What were you and those new guys talking about?" Zoro asked causing Nojiko to look at Luffy with interest.


    "I am creating an organization so the speak," Luffy said surprising them. "It will be an entire fleet of sh.i.p.s buying and selling stuff on the black market," he said as he poured himself a drink. Everyone including Vivi looking at Luffy with a surprised look on their face.


    "Black market?" Zoro asked causing Luffy to nod. "What''s that?" he asked again causing everyone to look at him like he was stupid.


    "You''ve never heard of the black market?" Nojiko asked in a surprised voice. The fact that he never heard about the black market was just as surprising as Luffy being involved with the black market.


    "The black market or better know as the Underworld is a whole system of connections, smuggling, and shady dealings," Luffy said before he took a sip of his drink. "It is mainly set in the New World, I plan to take control here in Paradise before I go into the New World and topple Joker''s empire," Luffy said causing Zoro to nod his head not really caring. Nojiko took a few seconds to think things through before she too nodded her head. Vivi, on the other hand, looked absolutely furious.


    "Luffy how could you think about doing something like that!?" she screamed/asked causing Luffy to look at her with a raised eyebrow.


    "What do you mean?" Luffy asked not seeing why she was so angry.


    "You are talking about smuggling weapons and drugs! How is that okay!?" she yelled causing Luffy to sigh.


    "Princess, I think you keep on forgetting that we are pirates, not saints," Luffy said before he took another sip of his drink. "We rob, pillage, and plunder to get our treasure. Sure we may not be the most ruthless bunch of pirates that go around and kill random innocent people, but that by no means mean that we are saints in this world," he said calmly while Zoro and Nojiko nodded their heads in agreement.


    "Are you two okay with this?" Vivi asked while looking at Zoro and Nojiko.


    "Well at first it sounded a bit scary, you know dealing with the whole underworld and all," Nojiko said as she leaned back in her chair. "but I know Luffy and he would never do anything that would put his crew in danger and he never does anything without a reason. So if this underworld this is his idea the payoff that comes with it must be sweet," she said causing Luffy to nod. Vivi then looked at Zoro hoping that he would say something that made sense to her no matter how slim the possibility of that happening.


    "I don''t really care, to be honest, he is my captain and if that''s what he says we are doing that''s what we are doing," he said causing Luffy to smile and pour him another drink. "Plus there has to be some good booze on this black market," Zoro said with a grin causing everyone to sweatdrop.


    "You can relax princess," Luffy said trying to calm her down. "I can promise you we won''t be involved with nothing too bad like slave trading. Just going to be selling weapons to those in need of weapons, drugs to the rich and the wealthy, and other high-end goods to those looking for them," Luffy said as he poured himself another drink. "By the way you are about to burn the food," he added causing her eyes to widen before she quickly turned off the stove. Luckily Luffy warned her or else all the food would have been badly burnt. She then took out some plates and small bowls before she placed the food in them and served it to the three of them.


    "Eat up," she said as she set everything down in front of everyone before walking back into the kitchen and picked up another set of food and began walking towards the door. "I''ll take this to Nami...on second thought why don''t we all go eat with her in there," she said while looking at the four of them. Luffy looked around to see if anyone protest the idea before shrugging his shoulder. They all then got up with their plates and made their way towards Nami''s room. When they got there they saw Vivi''s duck Karoo sleeping in Nami''s room. Luffy then called his thunder cloud and had it transformed into a small table on the floor for them to eat on. Luffy and Zoro sat down in front of the cloud with their food in front of them while Nojiko and Vivi were helping Nami get up to eat. Once they finish helping her sit up next to the cloud they all sat down and got ready to eat.


    "This looks delicious," Luffy commented as he stared at the steamed rice with grilled dinosaur meat with hungry eyes. The five of them didn''t wait another second before they all dug into their food. The five of them spent a half hour eating and chatting after Vivi finally let the black market think go. Luffy just finished his food and was about to pour himself another glass of whiskey but the voice of Johnny yelling stopped him.


    "CAPTAIN!" Johnny yelled getting him and everyone else''s attention. "ISLAND DEAD AHEAD!" he yelled from the crows nest. Luffy got up with his plates and spoke.


    "Zoro come with me, you two help Nami back into bed," Luffy said before leaving the room with Zoro right behind him. The two of them made their way to the kitchen before they went out to the main deck. When they got there they saw that the Going Merry was slowly approaching an island in the distant. "Zoro, go wake those three up," Luffy said causing Zoo to nod his head before he headed below deck to wake Sanji, Gem, and Yosaku up. Luffy then walked up the front of the ship and folded his arms and stared at the island they were slowly approaching.


    "Captain are we sure this is a good idea?" Asked Usopp as he walked up behind Luffy. "I mean there could be snow monsters," said a worried Usopp causing Luffy to sweatdrop.


    "Come now Usopp, no snow monster could stand up to the might of a brave warrior of the sea," Luffy said with a smirk as he played on Usopp''s dream. "I''m sure Kaya would think anyone who could defeat a snow monster to save their crew mate''s life is a noble warrior," Luffy added causing Usopp to put on a brave face before he pointed to the sky and yelled.


    "Yes, no snow monster can stand up to the might of Captain Usopp!" he yelled causing Luffy to chuckle before turning his attention back to the island. As the ship sailed closer and closer to the island they all noticed a waterway leading into the island so they decided to sail up through there in order to inland. Vivi head left Nami and Nojiko inside and came outside with her duck Karoo to see if they had arrived yet.


    "Wow, its all covered in snow," she said in an astonished voice as she looked around.


    "Look at those mountains, I''ve never seen anything like them before," Sanji said while looking up at the series of drum-shaped mountains.


    "I guess that''s why they call it Drum Island," said Yosaku from beside Sanji with his bisento in hand. After sailing for up the waterway for another five minutes the ship stopped at the end of the stream.


    "It is a stream of melted snow, this should be a good place to disembark," Luffy said before turning to his crew. "Okay doctor search, who wants to go?" Luffy asked.


    "I''ll stay with the ship," Zoro said causing Luffy to nod.


    "We will stay with Big Bro Zoro," said Johnny while Yosaku nodded. Seeing no one else was saying that they wanted to stay on aboard Luffy spoke again.


    "So I take it the rest of you are going ashore?" he asked causing all of them to nod. Luffy was about to speak again but just as he was to open his mouth to speak shouts from both sides of the water interrupted him.


    "That''s as far as you go, pirates!" a man yelled from the right side of the waterway getting all of their attention. When they all looked up they saw that they were surrounded by people on both sides of the waterway armed with guns all aimed at them. Luffy narrowed his eyes and stared at the group of people.


    "Guess we found the people," Sanji said as he lit a new cigarette.


    "Yeah that''s nice, but they don''t seem too friendly," Usopp said causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "Well we are pirates," he replied. while keeping an eye on the people. Then a man dressed in a green coat stepped forward and spoke.


    "I''ll only say this once, your kind is not welcomed here," he said in a commanding voice causing Luffy to look at him with an indifferent look on his face.


    "Listen," Luffy said getting the man''s attention. "We only came here to find a doctor," he said.


    "We have someone who is sick," Vivi shouted trying to help Luffy convince the people.


    "You will have to do better than that. We won''t fall for that old trick!" a man holding a rifle shouted.


    "This is our island! we won''t let any filthy pirates land here!" another man shouted.


    "Raise anchor and leave now! Or we will blow you and your ship out of the water" another random man yelled causing Luffy to narrow his eyes further.


    "That''s great we barely said hello and they already hate us," Sanji said.


    "Get out of here!" a man yelled before he fired his pistol at Sanji barely missing his food.


    "Big mistake," an angry Sanji said getting ready to attack.


    "No Sanji stop!" Vivi yelled as she held on Sanji. Just as she held onto Sanji the same man who shot before fired his gun again. Luffy realizing where the bullet was going to hit turned his body into lightning and teleported into in front of Vivi and caught the bullet between his index finger and his thumb.


    "You know, even the buddha losses his patience when provoked a third time," Luffy said in a deadly tone causing all of their eyes to widen when they saw him hold up the bullet between his fingers. All of the people then began aiming their guns at Luffy.


    "Luffy please stop!" Vivi begged as she let go of Sanji and held onto Luffy. "Fighting will not solve anything!" she yelled. She then let go of Luffy and got down on her hands and knees and bowed her head causing everyone''s eyes to widen in shock. "Please! we won''t come ashore but at least get a doctor here for us. Our friend is dying from a serious illness! Please, I am begging you!" Vivi begged.


    "Princess," Luffy whispered in surprise.


    "You are not fit to be the captain of this ship Luffy," Vivi said causing Luffy''s crew''s eyes to widen in shock. Luffy clenched his fist and gritted his teeth while using every fiber of his being to stop himself from delivering a lightning speed kick to the princess''s head. "Not everything can be solved by fighting," Vivi added not noticing Luffy or the thunderclouds that are forming in the sky. "We cannot fight here. What about Nami? Think about her," Vivi said causing Luffy to take a deep deep deep...deep breath and exhaled out before he spoke.


    "Princess, you are speaking under the assumption that these people would have lived long enough to defend themselves," Luffy said in a cold tone causing her eye to shoot up at him and stare at him in surprise. "Plus I had no intention of really fighting here so..." he said before he turned to the people holding guns at them and did the unthinkable. He bowed his head. His entire crew was beyond surprise, they never thought they would see Luffy do something like this. "Please help us, our friend needs you," he said with his head bowed. The man dressed in the green coat looked at him for a few seconds before he spoke.


    "I will show you the way to our village," he said as he turned and started to leave. "Follow me," he said as he walked away. Luffy picked his head up and turned to Sanji.


    "Get Nami," he said causing him to nod his head before he headed inside.


    "See that wasn''t so..." Vivi said to Luffy but trailed off when she notices Luffy walking away from her with a pissed off look his face.


    "You are lucky to be alive, Vivi," said Usopp while looking down at her.


    "What do you mean?" she asked in confusion.


    "You insulted the captain of the ship in front of his crew and then made him bow his head to someone weaker than him, Ms. Wednesday," said Gem as he walked up to Vivi.


    "I''ve seen Luffy kill people for doing far less than that," Usopp added.


    **Boom**Boom**


    The sound of a loud thunderclap was heard throughout the island and the vibration was felt all the way in the mountains.


    "Yeap, she is really lucky," Zoro said while looking at the lightning flashing in the sky.


    ''A pacifist just insulted me and made me bow my head to someone far weaker than me!'' Luffy screamed in his head as he jumped off of the ship and landed in the snow. When Luffy landed her heard someone land right beside him causing him to look over to see who it was. When he looked over he saw Sanji carrying Nami on his back piggyback style.


    "Hang on a minute," he said before he took off his coat and threw it around Nami. "Okay, let''s go," he said as they began following the man while the rest of his crew except for Zoro and the bounty hunting duo followed behind. After walking for about ten minutes through a snow-covered forest the man who was leading them looked over and Luffy and spoke.


    "There is one thing I feel I should warn you about," he said while looking at Luffy. "The only doctor we have here is actually a witch," he said causing Luffy to stumble a bit before looking at the man in surprise.


    "A witch?" Luffy asked. " You''ve got to be kidding me, I thought the Drum Kingdom was famous for its doctors," he said surprising the man and the people who were following him.


    "That used to be the name of this place how not it is just an island without any name," he said confusing Luffy.


    "AHHH! A BEAR!" Usopp screamed while pointing forward causing all of them to turn their attention away from the man but to the bear walking towards them on two feet while holding a pickaxe.


    "A hiking bear," the man said calmly. "He poses no threat," he said as they walked by each other. "Don''t forget to bow, its proper manners," he said causing everyone to bow slightly while the bear bowed back. They continued walking for another ten minutes before the group came upon a village. "This is the village we live in. Its name is Bighorn," the man said. Luffy and the crew looked around the small village and couldn''t help but be impressed at its beauty. The snow that covered everything truly adds a beautiful look in the eyes of people who are from a place where it only snows every so often.


    "This place is amazing," Usopp said as he admires the sights. Luffy then noticed the man go over the group of men who he was with earlier and thanked them for their help. It was then Luffy realized that all those people were ordinary people that live in this village.


    "My house is over here you can bring the girl there," the man said to Luffy causing him to nod and signaling Sanji to follow. As they walked to the man''s house random people kept coming up to him and thanking him or talking to him as though he was their leader or something.


    "You can use that bed over there," he said as they entered the house. "I am going to warm this place up," he said as he walked over to the fireplace and sat down his shield that he was carrying on his back. "I suppose I should introduce myself. My name is Dalton, I am the captain of the island security squad," he said causing Luffy to raise his eyebrow. "Please forgive out rude welcome earlier," he added.


    "Water under the bridge," Luffy replied as he walked over the bed where Nami was laying and spoke again. "Can you tell us more about this doctor or witch or whatever she is," he said as he took the thermometer out of her mouth and look at it. "he fever is now up to 107," he said causing Dalton''s eyes to widen.


    "How long has she had it?" he asked in surprise.


    "It''s been several days and it just keeps getting higher," Vivi replied.


    "We need a doctor, any doctor will do. Where is this witch of yours?" Sanji asked.


    "The witch, you see those mountains out there?" Dalton asked with a serious look on his face. "Those mountains out there are known as the Drum Rockies. Look closely, do you see the castle up there on the tallest one, the one in the middle?" Dalton asked causing Luffy to look out the window up at the mountains. "That castle has lost its king," Dalton added.


    "Yeah I see it," Luffy replied as he stared at the castle on the tallest mountain. "What''s so important about that castle?" he asked.


    "That castle is where our land''s only doctor lives," Dalton said. "Dr. Kureha, she is the one the people here call the witch," he added.


    " Of all places why does she have to live all the way up there!?" Sanji screamed/asked. "We need to call her here now, Nami needs her help," he said.


    "I am sorry but there is no way to contact her," Dalton said surprising everyone.


    "You can''t be serious," Luffy said as he leaned against the wall. "Just what kind of a doctor is she," he added.


    "Her skills as a doctor is quite impressive actually, however, she is an eccentric old woman. She is nearly 140 years old," he said causing all of their eyes to widen.


    "So what happens when people here get sick and injured doesn''t she help them?" Vivi asked while looking at Dalton.


    "She comes down from the mountains every once in a while and looks for patients and treats them. Before she leaves she takes whatever she wants from their houses as payment," Dalton said causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "Sounds more like a pirate," he said to himself.


    "Dr. Kureha is the only doctor we have but she is a woman I would stay away from," Dalton added as he looks at the crew with sympathetic eyes before he continued. "all we can do is wait until she decides to come down the mountain," he said.


    "That''s not going to cut it," Sanji said as he bit down on his cigarette. "Nami is getting sicker by the minute, we can not afford to wait that long," he said in frustration. Luffy then pushed off the wall and walked towards Nami''s bed. When e got there he started poking her cheek as he tried to wake her up.


    "Hey Nami, wake up," he said as he poked her. "Nami, Time to get up,"


    "Luffy what are you doing!" Vivi, Sanji, and Usopp screamed. Just then Nami started to stir and eyes slowly started to open.


    "She''s up," Luffy said before he looked at her with a serious look on his face. "Listen we cannot wait here for a doctor to come down the mountain so we are going to have to climb the mountain," Luffy said causing a of the crew member''s eyes to widen.


    "What!? are you crazy!?" Vivi screamed. "Look at that mountain, it is too high and far too steep for anyone to climb!" she yelled trying to get Luffy to listen to reason. "And nami cannon move handles something like that in her condition," she added causing Luffy''s eyebrow to twitch slightly before he took a deep breath.


    "You know princess you keep on doubting my abilities and it is really starting to get on my nerves," Luffy said as he looked over his shoulder at Vivi. "Plus we cannot afford to wait here any longer, it would be a bit to go look for a new navigator," Luffy said with a smile like looking at Nami causing her to smile.


    "I''m...in...your...hands...captain," she said as he stuck her hand out from under the covers causing Luffy to smile before he slapped his hand against hers. He then turned back to his crew and spoke in a commanding tone with a serious look on his face.


    "Okay, Sanji and Nojiko come with me," he said causing the two of them to nod their heads. "The rest of you stay here in the village," he said before he reached into his coat and pulled out a small bag of money and tossed it to Usopp. "And get yourselves something to eat," he said causing all of them to nod. Sanji then walked over to Nami and picked her up before he and everyone else headed outside. When they were all outside Luffy looked up to the sky and summoned a big thundercloud to come down from the sky. Everyone in the village was startled at the sight of a cloud coming down from the sky and quickly rushed over to Dalton to see what was happening. When the cloud came down Luffy hopped on and signaled Sanji to hand Nami to him.


    Sanji walked over to the cloud while carrying Nami bridal style and handed her to Luffy who carefully picked her up and laid her on the cloud. As he laid her down on the cloud her body started to sink in the cloud slightly before it stopped. Luffy then willed the cloud to cover over Nami''s body slightly leaving only her to hear uncovered, that way she won''t be cold.


    "Okay, hop on," Luffy said to Sanji and Nojiko who hopped onto the cloud and sat in the chairs made out of clouds Luff had crafted. Luffy then walked over the rear of the cloud and turned facing forward and the next thing everyone saw was the rear of the cloud started to raise up and form into a throne for Luffy to sit down and on the back of his throne had his jolly roger made out of glowing electric blue lightning for all to see. Luffy then sat down and turned to his crew who were remaining in the village and spoke.


    "Okay even though these people and us didn''t have a warm greeting at first I don''t want any of you to cause any trouble," he said in a commanding tone causing all of them to nod their heads. "And if someone comes here and tries to cause trouble while I am away, protect the people and take care of the threat," he said causing all of them nod their heads once again while the villagers looked on in surprise at the fact that a priate was going to protect them if they need it.


    ''With any hope that speech would be enough to help me convince them to make this one of my territories,'' Luffy thought as he watched the reactions of the villagers. He then turned to Vivi and spoke with a smirk on his face.


    "See princess," he said getting her attention and causing Dalton to look at Vivi with a surprised look when he heard Luffy call her princess. "I can make it up that mountain just fine," he said causing Vivi to look slightly ashamed. Luffy then took on a serious look on his face before he looked straight ahead. He then placed his left leg over right and his elbows on the armrest before interlacing his fingers in front of his face. Two seconds later the thunder cloud began to rise higher and higher away from the ground until it was about 20 ft above the ground and cleared all of the houses. The cloud then sped forward in the direction of the Drum Rockies at about 40 mph.


    "He has devil fruit powers doesn''t he?" Dalton asked while looking at Luffy''s crew.


    "Yeah, he ate the rumble-rumble fruit and became a lightning man," Usopp replied proudly as he spoke about his captain. "By the way is there a place around here were we can get something to eat?" he asked while looking Dalton and holding the bag of money Luffy gave him.


    "I own a restaurant right down this road," a man from the crowd shouted causing everyone to look over and saw a short man that looked to be in his mid 40''s wearing an apron stepping out of the crowd with a smile on his face. "I make the best food in all of Bighorn!" he said proudly while everyone one of the villagers around nodded their heads in agreement.


    "Well then, lead the way," Usopp said before he looked back at Dalton. "Care to join us?" he said to Dalton.


    "I don''t want to intrude," Dalton replied causing Usopp to wave his hand dismissively.


    "Nonsense, come on," he said before he started following the restaurant''s owner with the rest of the crew and Dalton behind him.


    **With Luffy**


    As the cloud shot off in the direction of the Drum Rockies it kept on getting higher and higher as they got closer and closer to the mountain until it was just a few feet higher than the mountain that the castle was on. It was hard for Luffy to see where they were going due to the heavy snow that was falling and the fact that they were going at about 40 mph wasn''t helping with visibility or the cold. After flying four about thirty minutes the group could finally see the castle on top of the mountain clearly and Luffy had to admit it was beautiful. When they were about 100 ft away from the castle Luffy had the cloud slow down as they approach allowing them to admire the snow-covered castle for all its glory. The thundercloud then flew right up to the doorstep of the castle before coming to a stop. Luffy was the first to hop off and dusted off the snow from his body and his straw hat before he turned to the side of the cloud and spoke.


    "Hand me Nami," he said causing Sanji to get up and gently pick Nami up from the cloud bridal style before handing her over to Luffy. When Nami was safely in Luffy''s hands Sanji and Nojiko hopped off the cloud and stood beside Luffy. As they got off the cloud then began to rise up into the sky where it waits for Luffy to summon it again.


    "Where is this Doctor/Witch?" Nojiko said as she looked around.


    "Well the front door is open, maybe we should check inside," Sanji said causing the two of them to look at the front door of the castle and see that it was open. The three of them with Nami then began walking towards the door to see if they can find the doctor inside of the castle. As soon as the entered the castle however they had their eyes widen in shock. The entire first floor was covered in snow, all the ledges and stairs had snow on them. It was like that door was open for days not just today.


    "Who the hell leaves the door open if this is what is going to happen," Sanji said before he walked towards the door to close it only to be stopped by Luffy.


    "No wait don''t close it!" Luffy yelled in haste stopping Sanji in his track. "Look up there," he his said nodding his head in the direction at the top of the door. When the Sanji and Nojiko looked up they saw a nest with small birds on top of the door.


    "they probably keep to door open so the birds can live there," Nojiko said causing Luffy to nod his head before turning his attention back inside the castle.


    "HEEELLOOOO!" Luffy yelled out trying to call someone. "IS ANYONE IN HERE!?" he yelled out again and waited for a reply. He waited for about a minute for a reply to come but sadly none came.


    "I thought Dalton said the doctor lived in the castle," Sanji said as he walked around the first floor.


    "Did we get the wrong castle?" Nojiko asked.


    "No this is the only castle. Let''s have a look around," Luffy said before he began walking up the stairs while carrying nami bridal style. As the walked past room after room it was clear that someone was living in the castle because some of the rooms looked like they were used often while some doors were locked. Eventually, the group found a room with an empty bed and multiple shelves with books inside. "Let''s put Nami down here for now and then figure out where we go from here," Luffy said causing his two crewmates to nod their heads. Luffy walked over to the bed and Nojiko pulled the purple covers of the bed back before Luffy said Nami down on the bed while Nojiko covered up.


    "Where is this doctor," Sanji said with a frustrated voice as he punched the ball.


    "Calm down," Luffy said as he walked over to the fireplace that was in the room. "Dalton said that the doctor often goes down to the town to treat patients. So it is possible that she is down there right now," Luffy said calmly before he pointed at the fireplace with his index finger causing a small bolt of lighting to shoot out of his finger and ignite the wood in there starting a fire.


    "So you''re saying we came all this way for nothing!" Sanji yelled out causing Luffy to sigh before he spoke.


    "Just calm down, she is going to have to come here after all she lives here," Luffy said trying to calm his cook down. "We will wait here for a while if anything I''ll just go down there and bring her up to treat Nami," Luffy said causing Sanji to calm down a bit. "I''ll go wait outside and wait for her," Luffy said before he walked out of the room and headed back down to the first floor. when he got outside he leaned against one of the pillars and folded his arm and waited there for the doctor to return while his captain''s coat flutter in the wind.


    It has been two hours since Luffy, Sanji, and Nojiko arrived at the top of the Drum Rockies with a sick Nami to find a doctor to hear her. They had been waiting for two hours for the doctor to show up but she has yet to show. Luffy was still standing outside in the snow with his eyes closed waiting for the doctor to return to her castle. He was using his observation haki to try and sense if anyone was approaching the castle for the past two hours. He hadn''t been able to sense anyone coming to the castle, only the multiple artic creatures that lived in the forest below the mountain.


    "Finally," Luffy said as he opens his eyes and looked off to his left with narrowed eyes. Luffy stared off to the left of him for about five minutes before two figures could be seen walking through the snow towards him. One of the figures looked human while the other was some sort of creature walking on all fours. As they got closer Luffy could see the figures more clearly, one was a woman with a bottle of wine in her hand, and the other was a reindeer with a blue nose and red top hat.


    "Oh my Chopper, it would seem we have a guest," the woman said. The reindeer looked at Luffy with narrowed eyes and growled at him causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow at him before he ignores it and turned his attention to the woman.


    "Are you Dr. Kureha?" Luffy asked as he pushed off the pillar and dusted the snow off of himself.


    "That I am but you can call me Doctorine, have you come here for the secret to my youth?" she asked with a smile.


    "No, I brought my friend who is suffering for a terrible illness," Luffy said as he stood in front of the duo.


    "That so," she said as she walked forward. "I don''t come cheap you know," she said with a smirk.


    "Money is no issue," Luffy replied in his normal monotone voice. "Just save my friend," he said causing her smile slightly.


    "Well then lead the way young man," she said with her arm stretched out. Luffy nodded before turning around and leading them inside the castle. "judging by that jolly roger on your coat I take it that you are a pirate?" she asked as she stared at the scary looking jolly roger on Luffy''s coat.


    "That''s right," Luffy replied as they climbed up the stairs. When they reached the room that Nami was n Luffy open the door and lead them inside. when they got in there they saw Sanji leaned against a wall smoking a cigarette while Nojiko was reapplying a wet rag to her sister''s forehead. "Got the doctor," Luffy said as he stepped aside allowing the doctor to head towards Nami''s bed.


    "Now what do we have here?" she asked as he pressed her index against Nami''s forehead for a few seconds before she spoke again. "A temperature of 107, my this is serious," she said causing the three pirate''s eyes to widen in shock at what they just saw.


    "She just..." Sanji whispered out in shock.


    "Touched her forehead..."Luffy said equally shocked.


    "And got her temperature..." Nojiko finished.


    "Amazing," the three of them said at the same time.


    "She has a rash on her tummy as well," Luffy said causing the doctor to pull and sheets back and lift up Nami''s shirt to see the rash that Luffy was talking about.


    "My, now this is something I haven''t see in a while," she said before she turned to the crew and spoke. "Where the hell were you on a prehistoric island?" she asked sarcastically not really expecting an answer but was left utterly surprised when she saw the three pirates chuckling nervously.


    "Well...you see there is this island called Little Garden...and it is kinda stuck in the dinosaur age," Luffy said with a chuckle. "Do you know what she has?" he then asked in a more serious voice.


    "Yes I do, she was bitten by a bug called The Kestia. It is a poisonous tick that thrives in jungles with high heat and humidity," she said surprisingly all of them. "When it bites you it injects a type of bacteria into your body. These bacteria lay dormant for five days causing severe pain, a high fever, mild carditis, and arthritis," she said causing Luffy''s eyes to widen in shock. "Given the infection''s progression and the spot of the infection I would say she has been infected for three days now," she said surprising the crew once more.


    "You got all that just by looking at it!?" Sanji and Nojiko screamed/asked while Luffy had his jaw hanging.


    "The pain she has been going through would have all been gone in about two days," Dr. Kureha said surprising them once more.


    "You mean she would have been pain-free in two days?" Luffy asked in shock.


    "That''s right because in two days she would have been dead," Kureha said causing all of their eyes to widen.


    "You can treat her can''t you?" Sanji asked hoping that the doctor would say yes.


    "Even though I had heard that Kestia had died out about 100 years ago I kept the antibiotics just in case. So yes I can treat her," she said causing the three crew member to smile. " Now get out and let us get to work," the doctor said causing Luffy to raise his eyebrow in confusion.


    "Us?" he asked with a confused look on his face. Dr. Kureha turned towards him before she spoke.


    "Yes us, Chopper and I," he said while pointing to the reindeer causing the three of them to look over at the reindeer only to have their eyes widen. Standing there was no longer the reindeer that Luffy first saw that was walking on all fours instead, there was a small toddler-sized human/reindeer hybrid, wearing a red top hat with a sideways medical symbol on it.


    "Interesting, he is either a member of the Mink tribe or he ate a devil fruit," Luffy commented as he stooped down to the level of the reindeer and began studying it. "So, which are you?" Luffy asked causing the poor reindeer to jump back in terror and began hiding behind the door frame, or at least trying to. He had his entire body in view of everyone while only half of his face was hidden causing Luffy to chuckle. "I guess we are going to talk about that later then," Luffy said as he stood back up.


    "Is he a doctor?" Nojiko asked Dr. Kureha in curiosity.


    "He is my apprentice, I thought him everything I know about the field of medicine," she said proudly with a smile. "Now get out so we can work!" she yelled as he punched Sanji in the face sending him flying into Luffy and sending the two of them out of the door. Nojiko hurried out of the door in hope of avoiding being kicked out.


    "Old hag," Luffy said as he picked himself up from the ground and sat down on the stairs before he pulled out a glass and poured himself a drink. "Man, what a day," he said before he took a sip of his whiskey.


    "At least we got Nami the help she needed," Sanji said as he walked and sat down two steps below Luffy while Nojiko took the seat next to Luffy.


    "Yeah, I was starting to think that I was going to lose my baby sister," Nojiko said sadly causing Luffy to place his hand on her shoulder before he gave her a reassuring smile.


    "By the way, captain," Sanji said getting Luffy''s attention. "While we were in there you mentioned something called the Mink tribe, what''s that?" Sanji asked causing Nojiko to look at Luffy with interest.


    "The Mink tribe is a race or different kind of species that exist in the world, kinda like how the fishmen are a different species," Luffy said before he took a sip of his drink. "They are like humans with animal features where each individual takes after a specific animal," he said causing his two crew member to look at him in surprise.


    "Wow, I never heard of them before," Sanji said in surprise.


    "They are mostly an isolated tribe with only a few ever leaving their homeland," Luffy said causing the two of them to nod their heads.


    "That explains a lot," Nojiko said. Luffy then got up and began walking down the stairs.


    "I going to get some air, why don''t you two find someplace warm," he said as he continued to descend the staircase. He walked out the front entrance and stood in the snow before he looked up to the sky and took a deep breath in. He then began looking around the exterior of the castle admiring the sheer scale and beauty of it when something caught his eyes. Flying on the top of one of the towers was a pirate flag. It was a skull and crossbones with pink cherry blossom petals around it, Luffy saw it and smiled to himself.


    He then headed back inside to check and see if the doctor was done with Nami. As he was walking up the staircase he saw standing at the top of the staircase the small reindeer looking at him with a look a pure terror. As Luffy got closer the reindeer began to slowly back away in fear, which confused Luffy to no end. When he reached the top of the staircase he sat down with his back facing the reindeer.


    ''If he is too scared to take might be best not to try and force him,'' Luffy thought as he sat there on the snow-covered steps by himself with a scared reindeer behind him. After sitting there in silence for about five minutes Chopper finally spoke.


    "Are you really a pirate?" he asked in a cautious voice causing Luffy to look over at him with a smile before he replied.


    "That I am," he replied with a warm smile. "Nothing is better than the life of a pirate. No rules, no care, just the open seas, and the never-ending adventure," Luffy said happily causing Chopper to step forward a bit with a look of pure awe on his face.


    "Wow, pirates really go on adventures?" Chopper asked in an astonished tone.


    "Yeah, you get to see the most amazing thing and meet the most amazing people...it is truly the best life to live," Luffy replied with a smile as he looked up to the ceiling.


    "Is that your flag?" he asked while pointing at the jolly roger on Luffy''s coat.


    "That it is," Luffy replied with a smile.


    "It looks different from the rest," Chopper said while looking at the jolly roger.


    "I know, I designed it myself," Luffy replied before he stretched his arm forward towards the little reindeer and spoke again. "Hi, I''m Luffy," he said as he waited for the reindeer to say something. Chopper looked at Luffy''s hand for a few minutes before he inched closer and closer in the most cautious way possible and touched his hand before he quickly backed up in fear.


    "I''m Chopper," he said shyly causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "So, you''re a doctor?" Luffy asked while looking at Chopper causing him to nod his head. "Can you tell me if my friend is going to be okay?" Luffy asked.


    "The treatment was administered all she needs now is rest for it to work properly," he said from his position against the wall. "It will take at least three days for the bacteria to leave her body," he added causing Luffy to nod his head slowly knowing very well that they couldn''t stay there for three days.


    "So judging by the way you are scared of humans I take it you are not a Mink, but you ate a devil fruit," Luffy said while looking at the little reindeer.


    "That''s right I ate the human-human fruit," he said sadly confirming Luffy''s hypothesis and confusing him as well.


    "Why do you sound so sad about it?" Luffy asked in a curious voice. The little reindeer looked at Luffy for a while but didn''t say anything causing Luffy to believe that it was a s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e subject. Luffy then got up and leaned his elbows against the rails of the second floor before he spoke.


    "I ate a devil fruit a well," Luffy said surprising Chopper


    "Really?" Chopper asked in surprise.


    "Yeah, I ate the Rumble-Rumble fruit," he said before he turned around and held his right arm out his all of his fingers pointing down. "I''m a lightning man," he said before small ropes of lighting came out of all five of his fingers and formed an exact copy of Chopper made completely out of lightning.


    "Wowww," Chopper said as he stared at his copy in awe. "I wish I could do something like that," he said as he stared at his lightning clone.


    "Sure it is flashy and all but this power isn''t all that it seems to be," Luffy said as the lightning Chopper disappeared into blue sparks.


    "What do you mean?" Chopper asked while he tilted his head to the side and looked up at Luffy.


    "I mean there are good things about it and bad things about it," he said with a sigh. "I''m sure there are some things about your powers that are bad," he said as he saw a pained look flash across Chopper''s face before he looked down and nodded.


    "Don''t let it get you down," Luffy said as he stood next to Chopper. "People tend to fear that which they don''t understand," he said causing Chopper''s head to shot up and look at him with eyes the size of dinner plates.


    "H-how did you know?" Chopper asked shakily. Luffy sighed and took off his straw hat and ran his fingers through his hair before he replied.


    "Let''s just say we have more in common than you think," Luffy said as he closed his eyes took a deep breath in.


    *Flashback*


    "Catch him!" a man yelled with a machete in his hand while running after a small boy wearing an all too familiar straw hat.


    "He is a demon!" a woman yelled while chasing the boy with a stick.


    "Kill him or else he will kill us!" another man yelled.


    "Demon!"


    "Monster!"


    "Freak!" they yelled as they change the boy through the streets of the village. The small boy was running for his life with tears in his eyes screaming at the top of his lungs. He knew that all he need to do was get back to their camp and he would be safe but he was starting to believe he wouldn''t make it. Looking straight ahead of him he saw his mentor and his crew racing towards him. Upon recognizing his mentor the little boy screamed out his name.


    "SHANKS!" he yelled before he made one big leap into the arms on none other than Red-Haired Shanks.


    "Luffy!" Shanks yelled out in panic as he caught his apprentice. Luffy then began crying into Shanks'' c.h.e.s.t as he held on for dear life. Shanks held him tightly before looking at the crowd that was chasing Luffy with a cold and emotionless glare stopping them cold in their tracks before he turned to his crew and spoke. "Take care of this," he said coldly before he turned and walked away.


    "Aye, Captain," Ben Beckman replied before turning to the people that were chasing Luffy. The last thing Luffy heard before falling to sleep was the sounds of gunshots and screams hat filled the air.


    **Flashback End**


    Luffy then opened his eyes and poured himself a drink before he looked at Chopper and spoke.


    "So, have you ever thought about being a pirate?" Luffy asked before he downed a full glass of whiskey.


    "Did you slip and hit your head on the ice or something?" Chopper asked as he backed away from Luffy. "Look, I don''t want to be a pirate," he said.


    "Oh come on, you will be a great pirate. We can go on a lot of adventure and you get to see the world on the open sea," Luffy said trying to convince the little reindeer. "We will be great friends and my crew will love you," he said as he took a few steps forward towards Chopper causing him to take off running.


    "Why would I want to be friends with you!?" Chopper screamed/asked as he ran away from Luffy causing him to smile before he took off chasing the poor reindeer.


    "hahaha! Come back here! Let''s be friends!" Luffy said while he chased the reindeer through the castle.


    "AHHH! Doctorine save me for this lunatic!" Chopper yelled as he ran into the room where nami was resting Luffy right behind him chasing him around.


    "Come on, let''s be friends and go on lots of adventure!" Luffy said as he chased hopper around the room. Nojiko and Sanji heard the commotion and came in the room with a plate of food to see what was up only to see their captain acting very childishly chasing a chibi reindeer around the room with a huge smile on his face.


    "Umwhat''shats going on?" Nojiko asked with a confused look on her face.


    "This little guy is going to join our crew and be our doctor," he said causing the two of them to look at the little reindeer.


    "I didn''t say that he is lying!" Chopper screamed.


    "Yes you did," Luffy teased/lied causing the reindeer to run out of the room.


    "You know I don''t appreciate you trying to steal my apprentice," Dr. Kureha said causing Luffy to chuckled before he stood up straight and take off his captain''s coat and placing it in front of the fireplace to warm.


    "I didn''t know I need your permission to recruit someone to join my crew," Luffy said as he sat down on the side of the Nami''s bed.


    "I guess you don''t but it won''t an easy thing to do," she said before he put the bottle of plum sake to her mouth and drank it.


    "I know," Luffy said surprising her. "How is she doing?" he asked while looking at Nami.


    "Her temperature went down several degrees and she out of any danger for now, but she still needs at least three days of rest before the bacteria leaves her body," she said causing Luffy and the others to smile and nod.


    "That''s great news," Sanji said before he walked up to Luffy and handed him a plate of food. "Here you go captain," he said causing Luffy to take the plate.


    "Thanks," he said as he sat down and began eating.


    "Why is that reindeer so scared of us?" Nojiko asked while looking at Dr. Kureha causing her to take a big gulp of her plum sake before he began to tell them all the story of Chopper. She told them about him being born with a blue nose and treated like an outcast and how him eating a devil fruit made him more of an outcast not only to his own kind but to humans as well. She then told them about Chopper''s relationship with the only human that didn''t see him as a monster, a man named Dr. Hiriluk. She told them about his dream to make cherry blossoms bloom on drum island in order to try and save the country and cure all medical illnesses. But unfortunately, the fairy tale story of two outcasts did not have a happy ending.


    "I taught him everything I know, including medicine," she said in a sad voice while Luffy and Sanji looked on with a somber look on their faces and Nojiko wiped away a stray tear from her eye. Luffy hadn''t realized it but they were sitting there listening to the doctor''s story for about just three hours. He was about to say something but the voice of his a panicking Chopper and his Observation haki stopped him.


    "Doctorine! Doctorine!" Chopper yelled as he ran into the room while Luffy jumped to his feet and looked out the window.


    "So that bastard survived," he said as looked down at the three individuals standing in front of the castle.


    "Doctorine, there is trouble!" Chopper said in his medium-sized reindeer form. "Wapol is back," he said with anger in his voice.


    "Is her?" she replied as she stood up and walked out the door with Chopper behind her. Luffy took on a serious look on his face before he walked over to the fireplace and picked up his coat and threw it on before he began walking to the door.


    "Sanji you come with me," he said causing Sanji to nod and follow Luffy. "Nojiko you stay here and protect Nami," he said causing her to nod and take out her three section staff. Sanji and Luffy then made their way downstairs with a serious look on their face. When they arrived outside they saw Chopper and Dr. Kureha talking to Wapol and his two goons. Luffy deciding not to waste time and beat around the bush interrupted the conversion.


    "Now, I don''t mean to interrupt but Wapol is mine," he said as he walked between Kureha and Chopper with an emotionless look on his face and his captain''s coat billowing in the wind. "I owe him an a.s.s kicking for hearing my ship," he said as thunder clouds began to form in the sky and electric blue sparks of lightning started to appear around his body.


    "How dare you!" the man dressed like a jester yelled. "How dare you speak to Wapol like he is some lowly commoner, he is a king!" he yelled causing Luffy to chuckle before he walked towards them.


    "My apologies," Luffy said critically. "in that case I will give him a king size a.s.s whopping," Luffy said before he turned to Chopper and spoke. "Chopper," Luffy said getting his attention. "You''re no monster...allow me to show you what a real monster looks like," he said in a cold voice as he looked at Wapol while Thunder boomed overhead. Luffy then turned his body into lighting and teleported himself right in front of Wapol with his right fist covered in Haki before he buried it into Wapol''s gut sending him flying upward about fifty feet into the sky. Luffy then appeared to the right of Wapol while he was mid-air and delivered a haki and lightning-infused kick to his midsection sending barreling towards the ground at impressive speed. When Wapol hit the ground the impact created a crater at least twenty feet wide with a badly beaten and broken Wapol in the center.


    "Wapol!" the two men yelled as they watched their leader get handled so easily.


    "And this is for Dr. Hiriluk and the people of this country!" Luffy yelled before he began descending towards the crater at the speed of lightning with both his legs coated in Haki. Everyone watching only heard what Luffy said before faster than the blink of an eye he disappeared and reappeared in the crater driving both of his legs into Wapol like a spear causing the sickening crunch of his ribs breaking to be heard.


    "He...he...just beat Wapol like it was nothing," Chopper said as he watched on in awe at Luffy''s power.


    "I don''t know why he asked me to come here if he plans on having all the fun," Sanji said grumpily.


    "Amazing!" Chopper said.


    "You fool! Wapol is a member of the World Government! They will have you killed for this!" the jester yelled. Luffy looked over to the two of them with cold eyes before he pointed his index and middle finger at the two them causing two ropes of lighting to shoot out and wrap around their necks before Luffy grabbed onto the ropes and pulled as he increased the electricity causing their heads to fly clean off their bodies.


    "I could care less," Luffy said coldly as their headless body fell to the ground. He then began walking back to Chopper and the group before he stopped and turned and looked at Wapol broken body. He then turned around and began running towards Wapol''s body with his right leg covered in lightning before he delivered a lightning speed kick to the downed Wapol sending him flying out of the country. [He is not dead. I will explain why I didn''t kill him in the Author''s note]. Luffy then turned and walked towards Sanji again. As he walked pass Dr. Kureha he stopped and spoke.


    "This country is now under my protection," he said before he continued walked into the castle.


    **Chapter end**


    ****Author''s note: I didn''t kill Wapol because he still has some relevance to the story. When Luffy originally kicked Wapol off of Drum kingdom in the Anime and Manga, Wapol went on to create a rare and indestructible form of metal thanks to his devil fruit. That is important because it was that metal that Franky used during the two year time skip to build the GENERAL FRANKY and rebuild himself. Plus if you read the manga like me you will know that Wapol is at Reverie right now. Hope you understand.*****

 Chapter 19 - 19: Birth of the Cherry Blossoms and An Alliance Acquired!

    "So, I take it you had a run in with Wapol before, young man," said Dr. Kureha to Luffy while she stared at the two headless bodies. Luffy stopped walking towards the castle and turned and looked at her before he spoke.


    "Yeah, that fat a.s.s ate part of my ship and tried wanted our treasure," Luffy replied before he turned and walked towards the group. "I sent him packing once but it looked like he hadn''t learned his lesson and the fact that he was here meant he somehow got past my crew down in Bighorn..." he said before he paused and narrowed his eyes before continuing. "...and that just pissed me off," he said in a cold tone," causing Dr. Kureha to chuckle.


    "Well, you''re not hearing any complaints from me," he said as he pulled a bottle of plum sake from out of nowhere and drank it. "however, I think my companion over here might have a few complaints," she said while pointing over to Chopper who was staring at the two heartless bodies in shock. Luffy looked over at Chopper and chuckled in amus.e.m.e.nt. Chopper hearing that they were talking about him snapped out of his gazing and looking looked at Luffy.


    "Chopper, I am sorry I stole your revenge from you," Luffy said as he walked forward and patted the top of Chopper''s hat gently. "But a pure soul like yourself shouldn''t have to dirty your hands on sc.u.m like that," he said causing a thin smile to appear on Dr. Kureha''s face. "And only chasing after revenge will only do more harm than good," he added causing Chopper to nod his head slowly. Luffy then looked up and looked off to the right. "I can sense a large group of people come here," he said causing everyone to look in the direction of where he was looking. " From what I can tell there are a lot of them flying here...or maybe floating...and my crew seems to be with them," Luffy added with a confused look on his face.


    "Flying here?" Sanji asked as he walked and stood beside Luffy.


    "I don''t know how to explain it but they are pretty high up from the ground and are moving in this direction, pretty slowly I must add," he said.


    "They must be using the rope I have tied to my old house," Dr. Kureha said causing Luffy and Sanji to look at her and wait for her to elaborate a bit more. "It is how Chopper and I get down the mountain. There is a man-powered pulley cart attached to the rope so they must be using that," he said causing Luffy to nod his head understanding what she was talking about. After waiting for another five minutes the group finally saw something started to rise up from the snow in front of them. It was an entrance/exit made out of metal. After it raised up a group of individuals stepped out of it and began looking around. The first person was a man dress in the uniforms of one of Wapol''s guard causing Luffy to put up his guard and was getting ready to attack him only to see the man had a full head of green hair and realized that it was his vice-captain.


    "Well there is Zoro and the rest," Luffy said as he watched as every member of his crew stood behind Zoro. The group saw their captain and cook and started to smile before they began walking towards them.


    "Hey captain," Zoro greeted as he walked up to the group.


    "Zoro," Luffy said greeting his first mate. "What are all of you doing here? I thought you were watching the ship," he said while looking at his first mate.


    "Well you see I decided to go for a sim and do some exercises but I got lost," he said causing Luffy to sigh.


    "Of course you did," he said with a sigh as he shook his head.


    "I then ended up in some town when some army was attacking the village. I saw the guys were fighting so I went and helped. After that this Dalton guy wanted to come up here because some dude named Wapol was up here," Zoro said while pointing to a badly injured Dalton exiting the metal entrance.


    "Speaking of which, one of you want to explain to me how Wapol got past all of you and even made it here in the first place," Luffy said with his arms folded and while looking at his crew.


    "It''s not our faults captain," Yosaku said while the rest nodded. "Wapol and his two bodyguards disappeared in the snow, it was impossible for us to find them," he said causing Luffy to raise his eyebrow.


    "Yeah, Dalton said it''s their personal fighting style. Apparently, they use the white snow as cover and camouflage themselves in it before they attack their enemies," Johnny added causing Luffy to nod his head understanding what they meant.


    "Luffy," came the voice of Vivi causing Luffy to look over at her. "Is Nami okay?" she asked in a worried voice. Luffy smiled before he replied.


    "She is fine," he said causing all of them to smile. "The good doctor over here," he said while indicating to Dr. Kureha, "treated her and she is in the castle resting now," he said causing Vivi to nod before she and Sanji headed into the castle with Marianne following behind.


    "By the way captain," Zoro said getting his attention. "On our way up here we saw something fly off the mountain what was that?" he asked.


    "Oh that just the king of this country," Luffy replied in a casual tone.


    "Oh okay," Zoro replied. Dalton who was within hearing distance hear what Luffy said and had his eyes widen in shock.


    "You beat Wapol?" he asked as he limped towards the group.


    "That I did...in fact I don''t think he is even alive," Luffy said causing Dalton and the group of villagers who exited out of the metal entrance to have their eyes widen in shocks. "I do know that his two lackeys are dead for sure," Luffy said while pointing at the two headless bodies.


    "That''s Chess and Kuromarimo!" one of the villagers screamed out in shock.


    "Hey Usopp I made us a new friend," Luffy said piquing Usopp''s interest. "He''s a reindeer," Luffy added while he turned and pointed at the spot where Chopper was causing everyone to look there and see nothing there.


    "Umm Luffy," Usopp said. "There is nothing there," he said causing Luffy to look at where Chopper was only him not there anymore.


    "Where did he got!?" Luffy yelled/asked. "He was just here!" he said as he began looking around.


    "You should know by now Chopper isn''t good with crowds," Dr. Kureha said before she downed her sake. Suddenly someone screamed out from the crowd of villagers.


    "Hey! Look over there! There is something hiding behind that tree!" a man with a musket yelled.


    "What is that? Is that a reindeer?" another man asked.


    "No...that''s a monster!" another man yelled out causing Luffy''s eyes to widen.


    "It''s a yeti! Shoot him!" Usopp yelled as they aimed their guns at Chopper.


    "NOOOO!" Luffy yelled out trying to stop the villagers. Seeing that they were not paying attention to him he quickly turned his body into lightning and teleported himself in front of the tree where Chopper out and spread his arms out wide protecting him with his back facing the villagers. As Luffy appeared in front of Chopper the villagers fired causing everyone''s eyes including those who fired their guns, to widen in horror when they saw Luffy appear there. Luffy not waiting to die quickly covered his back in armament haki and took on all of their bullets.


    "W-why?" Chopper stuttered out with tears in his eyes. Luffy simply smiles at him before he replied.


    "Because you are my friend...and I always protect my friends," he said causing chopper to start crying before he ran towards Luffy and hug onto his legs. "Come on let''s go meet my friends," Luffy said to a crying Chopper. He was a bit hesitant but after but he eventually nodded his head and took Luffy''s hand before they began walking back to the group. While they were walking towards the group Luffy kept giving the villagers a glare that promised a slow and painful death if they tried anything.


    "Guys this is Chopper," Luffy said to his crew. "And he is not only a doctor but super cool fighting, and transforming reindeer," Luffy said causing Usopp and Johnny to have stars in their eyes.


    "Really!" they said in awe as they bend down to Chopper level and began telling him how awesome he was causing the poor reindeer to blush uncontrollably. Just then and there Dalton collapse to his knees causing everyone to rush over to him.


    "Dalton are you okay?!" the villagers asked in a panic as they rushed to his side.


    "Take him to the medical ward, I''ll fix him up," Dr. Kureha said all of the villagers before she headed back inside the castle. Luffy and the rest of the crew then headed back inside as well to check on Nami. When they entered the castle they saw Nami begin dragged up the stairs by Dr. Kureha while Vivi, Sanji, Nojiko, and Marianne laying on the ground with two large bumps on each of their heads.


    "I guess Nami tried to escape," Luffy said with a chuckle before following the doctor up the stairs. When they arrived in the room Luffy went and braced against the wall while he watches the villagers carry an injured Dalton to a spare bed in the room by the Dr. Kureha placed Nami back in her bed. The doctor then proceeded to treat Dalton''s wounds while Luffy walked over to the nearby window and opened it. He then summoned his usual thundercloud confusing everyone including his crew members. Luffy reached into the cloud and felt around for a second before he pulled out a bag that doesn''t appear to be that heavy he then reached in the bag and pulled out a bunch of black cloths confusing everyone more.


    "What''s that captain?" Nami asked from her position in the bed.


    "This is a bunch of copies of my flag I had made," Luffy said causing her to nod her head even though she was still confused as to what he was going to do with them. Luffy then walked over to Dalton''s bed and placed 7 of the flags on them before he spoke.


    "Hang these up around the country," he said causing everyone''s eyes to widen. "This will let other pirates know that this island and country is under my protection and is part of my territory," he added while everyone looked on in shock.


    "Wait for a second!" Dalton yelled from his position in the bed. "Even though we are grateful to you for taking care of Wapol for us, we cannot live under a pirate flag," he said while Luffy looked on with a bored look on his face. "This country is a part of the World Government. They would never all this to happen," he said causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "Being a part of the World Government doesn''t mean anything here," he said confusing all of them once more. "Fishman Island is also a member of the World Government and they are under the protection of Whitebeard. So, how is this different?" Luffy asked as he folded his arms and leaned back against the wall. "And the fact of the matter is, you were part of the World Government since before Wapol left this country to become a pirate and even though he left he was still technically your King," Luffy said causing an angry look to spread across the villagers face at the mention of Wapol''s name. "And when he returned he revolted against him, he who is a member of the World Government''s council of kings. That would be taken as you trying to start a revolution against the World Government, and I am sure you know how they would react," Luffy said causing Dalton to look down in contemplation while the other villagers were trying not to believe what Luffy is saying.


    "How do we know what you are saying is the truth?" one brave villager asked causing the captain of the straw hat pirates to chuckle before a grim look spread across his face.


    "If you don''t believe me then I could prove it," he said causing everyone to look at him with interest especially Vivi. "Have any of you here ever heard of a place called Ohara?" he asked causing Dalton and Dr. Kureha eyes to widen while a few older villagers looked confused.


    "What about Ohara? They were going to use forbidden knowledge to destroy the world," a woman in her mid to late forty''s said.


    "You shouldn''t believe everything you read," Luffy said with a sigh. "All those people were doing was trying to learn the history of the world and the World government killed every man woman and kill on that island whether they were actually part of the group who was studying the history or not," Luffy said causing his crew member''s eyes to widen in shock along with a few of the villagers. no one said a world after hearing that, the entire room fell into a silence as they all tried to contemplate what they just heard.


    "Hypothetically speaking," Dalton said breaking the silence. "If we do agree to your protection what do you have to gain from this?" he asked causing Luffy to smile widely.


    "Nothing much really," he said causing Dalton to raise his eyebrow. "Just when any of my sh.i.p.s dock on the island they get their stocks refilled for free and this island will be one of the hubs of the organization that I will be building," Luffy said causing some of his crew members to look at him with a puzzled look on their face at the mention of the organization.


    "What is this organization?" one of the villagers asked.


    "Think of it as a transport and distribution service of high-end artifacts and extremely rare products," Luffy said. As he said that he noticed Nami was practically foaming at the mouth at the thought of all the money. "In exchange for all that you will get my protection, any pirate, marine, or ANYONE for that matter comes here and causes any trouble all you have to do is give me a call and I will be here in a flash of lightning...literally," he said causing a few of the villagers to look around and nod slightly liking the idea of someone as strong as Luffy protecting them. "And I recall you saying that this island once produced the best medicine in the whole Grand Line, why don''t we return this country to its once great glory?" Luffy said sweetening the deal a bit giving the villagers the once finally push they needed.


    "And how exactly are you going to do that?" Dr. Kureha asked getting interested in the idea. "Well, this organization will be spread out throughout all four blues and the Grand Line. I am sure there are some herbs, equipment, and other medicines that you guys need that are hard to come by, and I''m talking about both the legal and illegal kind," he said causing her smirk to nod her head. "Well, I can get them and bring them to you. Another plus of all this is the medicine you produce here I can distribute them all over the world for you," he said causing the villagers to talk among themselves about multiple benefits to their country.


    "I see," the doctor said, "So you are going to be involved with the everyday normal market AND the black market," she said causing Luffy, Gem, Mikita, and Marianne to smirk.


    "That''s right," he replied. While some of the villagers didn''t like the fact that there was going to be some illegal dealings, they couldn''t deny the fact that it would benefit their country greatly.


    "I may not like the whole black market thing, I have to agree with Luffy that this will benefit your country greatly," Vivi added causing Luffy to look over her and smile.


    "Nice of you to come around, Princess," he said causing Dalton to look at Vivi with interest. "Now," Luffy spoke in a commanding tone getting everyone''s attention. "With there being no king here in this country that gives me some form of authority and power here," Luffy said causing the villagers and Dalton to narrow their eyes. Dalton was about to speak but before he could Luffy spoke again. "And with that power, I appoint you Dalton as the new King of this kingdom," Luffy said causing Dalton''s eyes to widen and his jaw to drop.


    "W-what? Meee?" Dalton stammered out in shock. "No, I cannot be the king. I am-" he was cut off from speaking Luffy once again.


    "Does anyone object to this ruling?" Luffy asked looking to the villagers while ignoring Dalton. No one of the villagers objected, instead they all smiled. "Well then Dalton, it looks like the people agree with me," he said with a chuckle causing Dalton to stare at Luffy with his mouth left hanging open. "Just hang those flags up at the port and in the towns around the country," he added causing Dalton to reluctantly nod his head.


    "Fine, we will hang them up," he replied causing Luffy to smile and nod his head. "Hopefully this may help us prevent another attack," he said causing Luffy to look at him with a confused look on his face.


    "Another attack?" Luffy asked as he tilted his head to the side and look at the newly named king with a puzzled look on his face.


    "Oh right Luffy you guys had already left to bring Nami to the doctor. So, you don''t know why Wapol left and became a pirate," Usopp said from his position on the floor near Nami''s bed.


    "Yeah, apparently a powerful pirate by the name of Blackbeard attack this country with his crew and instead of defending his country, Wapol took his army and left after seeing Blackbeard''s power," Gem said cooly as he leaned against the frame of the door.


    "Blackbeard?" Luffy asked with a confused looked on his face. "Never heard of a pirate by that name," he added before he began to think.


    ''Blackbeard, with a name like that it makes it sound like they are the opposing the old man,'' Luffy thought to himself. ''Wonder if that''s why Ace is in Paradise,'' he added in his head.


    "Dalton said that there were only five members, but all five of them were extremely powerful," said a scared Usopp.


    "Don''t worry about them, if they try something again I''ll take care of them," Luffy said calming everyone down. Luffy then looked over at Nami and spoke to her. "how are you feeling?" he asked. Nami looked up at him and smiled before she replied.


    "I''m feeling better, captain," she said in her usual voice not sounding sick what so ever. "We really need to leave and get Vivi home," she said causing Luffy to nod his head before he replied.


    "That''s true...but the very YOUNG doctor over here," he said while pointing at Dr. Kureha, "Scares the crap out of me," he said causing sigh and pull the covers over her head.


    "Young doctor?" Usopp asked causing Luffy to shake his head. "Where?" he asked. As he asked the question he received a kick to the back of his head by the good doctor herself causing everyone to chuckle lightly.


    "Brat," the doctor said before she turned to Dalton and speak. "Dalton, surely you would know where the key to the arsenal is," he said causing Dalton to look at her with a surprised look on his face before he replied.


    "The arsenal? Why do you need to get in there?" he asked from in position on the bed.


    "That''s really none of your business now is it," she said before drinking some more of her plum sake.


    "Wapol always carried that key with him, to keep it secured he said," Dalton replied, "And in this case, the key was likely blown into the sky with his body," he added causing Luffy to chuckle nervously before he spoke.


    "Oops," Luffy said with a slight smile.


    "Well, that''s a shame," Dr. Kureha said.


    "Zoro, go cut down the door," Luffy said to his vice-captain.


    "Umm captain," Zoro said causing Luffy to look at him. "I don''t have my swords," he said causing Luffy to sigh before he spoke.


    "Of course you don''t," Luffy said before he turned to Gem and spoke. "Gem, blow the door down," he said causing him to nod and looked to the doctor waiting for her to lead him to the door.


    "Good," the doctor replied before she turned to the group of villagers and spoke. "You guys come with me I have something I need you to do," she said scaring the villagers at first before they reluctantly agreed and followed her and Gem out the door of the room towards the arsenal. As the group exited the room Luffy turned to nami and spoke.


    "Nami, get ready to go," he said in a commanding tone getting everyone''s attention.


    "Luffy we can''t just leave now! She needs her rest!" Vivi yelled as she stood up from her stool.


    "I know but we are going to have a doctor on board," Luffy replied calmly ignoring the fact that she just yelled at him.


    "A doctor?" Zoro asked with a confused look on his face. "Who is our doctor?" he asked.


    "Our doctor is right there," he said while pointing to Chopper.


    "W-what?" Chopper said in surprised while looking up at Luffy. "I can''t join your crew," he said in a sad voice.


    "Sure you can, it''ll be a lot of fun Luffy replied with a smile.


    "I can''t...I''m not a human! I''m a reindeer with antlers and hooves!" Chopper screamed while Luffy looked on with the smile still present on his face. "Maybe I do want to be a pirate, but I cannot ever be one of you! I''m not human! I''m a monster and I can''t become a pirate or your friend and I can''t join your crew!" he yelled with tears in his eyes. Everyone in the room looked on at the little reindeer with a sad look on their face. The girls were resisting the urge to run and hug the poor little guy. "I just want to say thank you, I really appreciate you asking me to join your ship. That was really nice, so thank you but I am going to stay here for now and if you ever want you can stop by here again and-," Chopper couldn''t finish his sentence because he was interrupted by Luffy''s voice.


    "Oh shut up and let''s go," Luffy replied said with a grin on his face causing Chopper to start crying loudly before he ran out of the room.


    ''Most people don''t make friends by telling people to shut up,'' Zoro thought as he looked on with a smile.


    "Alright, let''s go wait outside," Luffy said before he jumped up on the window and hopped on the thundercloud that he had summoned earlier. He then reached into the cloud and pulled out a medium size c.h.e.s.t and opened it. When he opened it everyone saw it was filled with transponder snails of all sizes. He took one and tossed it to Dalton before he spoke. "If you ever need me just push the button with the straw hat," Luffy said causing Dalton to look down at the snail and see a number of buttons for dialing numbers before he finally spotted the button with a straw hat on it.


    "Thank you, for everything,'' Dalton said with a smile on his face as he watched as Luffy''s crew hopped out the window one by one.


    "Don''t mention it," Luffy replied. When everyone was on the cloud Luffy give it a mental command to lower itself to the ground before the thundercloud began to descend to the snow-covered ground below them.


    "Nami are you sure you are okay?" Asked a concerned Usopp.


    "I sure am," replied while giving him a thumbs up. "I feel great," she said with a wide smile causing his sister to smile as well. When the cloud got about 2 feet above the ground it hovered in place allowing everyone to hop off. Once everyone was off waiting on their little reindeer doctor Luffy kept the cloud hovering near them to take the crew back to the ship when they were ready. As they were waiting for Chopper, a few of Luffy''s crew members started building snowmen while Luffy and his vice-captain leaned against the thundercloud and were talking.


    "Are you sure it is a good idea to get this place involved in the Underworld?" Zoro asked with his arms folded as he leaned against the cloud.


    "Yeah," Luffy said as he looked u the sky. "If anything this place may be the most profitable," he added causing Zoro to look over at him with a confused look.


    "How?" he asked.


    "It''s simple really, the medicine produced here could be sold and distributed in both the regular market and the black market," Luffy replied.


    "But we are pirates," Zoro said while looking at Luffy. "We can''t just sell medicine to hospitals or where ever," he said causing Luffy to nod his head in agreement.


    "You''re right, that''s why this organization won''t be tied back to us," he said causing Zoro to look at him with a puzzled look on his face. He was about to voice his confusion but before he could speak Luffy spoke once more. "I will be leading this organization under an alias," he said causing Zoro to understand how things were going happen in the organization.


    "I see," he said before looking at the rest of the crew mainly the three new recruits from Little Garden. "And I take it those three are going to be acting as your officers in this organization?" Zoro asked while looking at the three former Baroque Works agents.


    "Yeah, and whoever else is powerful enough command a ship," Luffy said with a sigh. Zoro was about to say something else but before he could speak he was interrupted by a lot of screams coming from the castle.


    "What''s going on?" Nami asked as she looked at the doorway of the castle. "There is a lot of noise coming from the castle," she said. Luffy then pushed off from the cloud and looked to his crew before he spoke.


    "Quick everyone gets on the cloud!" he said with haste confusing all of them.


    "What? Why?" Vivi asked as she stood up.


    "We have a very angry doctor heading our way!" Luffy said causing Everyone to run and hop onto the thunder cloud. Luffy then stayed on the ground before he commanded the could to hover a bit higher in the air.


    "Luffy aren''t you getting on?" Marianne asked in a worried voice.


    "Don''t worry I''m just waiting on Chopper," he said as he looked up to the little girl with a smile. Luffy then turned back to the castle and saw Chopper running towards them full speed while pulling a sled with a very angry doctor chasing him.


    "Everyone hurry and..." Chopper trailed off when he saw everyone standing on a cloud.


    "Come one Chopper hurry!" Luffy said causing him to pick up the pace and run towards Luffy. Luffy then gave a mental command to the cloud to expand its size as he grabbed onto Chopper and the seld before turned his body into lightning and teleporting them onto the cloud safely away from the angry doctor. As they appeared on the cloud Luffy commanded the cloud to take off towards the ship and away from the angry doctor who was throwing spears at them.


    "A little help here guy," came the pained voice of Usopp as they were flying away causing everyone to look for him only to not see him anywhere.


    "Huh? Where are you Usopp?" Asked Sanji as he looked around.


    "Down here," came his pained voice once again causing everyone to look down and see their poor sniper being crushed under Chopper''s sled. Vivi and Mikita immediately went down and pulled Usopp off the sled while Luffy just chuckled and shook his head. He then turned towards his sh.i.p.s new doctor only to see the little blue nose reindeer standing on the cloud looking at the slowly shrinking castle in the distance with a sad expression on his face. Luffy then put his hand on Chopper''s head, causing the little reindeer to look up at him with tears building up in his eyes. Luffy then gave him a warm smile as the crew looked on with an equally warm smile. Suddenly everyone''s warm smiles turned a panic as the sound of cannon fire filled the air causing Luffy''s face to take on a serious look.


    "Are those cannon fire?" asked Gem as he looked around to see where they are coming from.


    "It''s coming from the castle," Usopp said while looking at the fading castle in the distance.


    "They''re not shooting at us are they?" Vivi asked in a scared voice.


    "No, we could have seen explosions if they were," Gem replied coolly. Luffy then slowed the cloud down before bringing it to a full stop as he tried to figure out what was going on.


    ''Are they under attack?'' Luffy asked himself. The country was now under his protection so if they were under attack he would need to go help. ''Or is that old coot attacking us?'' he thought to himself as he looked around. Then suddenly the cannon fire stopped and ten seconds later a bright pink light appeared in the skies above the castle causing everyone eyes to widen. The next thing everyone saw was a pink smoke light surround the Drum Rockies causing Luffy''s serious expression to change into a smirk before he looked over at Chopper and only to see the little reindeer staring up at the pink smoke with tears in his eyes.


    "A fitting send-off don''t you think?" Luffy said to the little reindeer as pink snow began to fill from the sky. Chopper couldn''t contain it anymore, he looked up at the pink snow and let out a cry.


    "DOCTORRRRRR!" he screamed with tears in his eyes.


    "It-it''s beautiful," Nojiko said as she stretched out her hand and caught a pink snowflake.


    "Indeed," Johnny said as he and Yosaku stared up at the sky.


    "It''s like a bunch of cherry blossoms," Zoro said from his position sitting on the cloud. Luffy then commanded the cloud to continue its way towards the ship. After flying for another five minutes the crew finally arrived above the ship docked in the waterway. The cloud lowered itself on the main deck of the ship allowing everyone to get off. Johnny and Yosaku helped Chopper take his sled off the cloud and detach it from him before the little reindeer walked to the side of the ship and stared up at the Drum Rockies admiring the beautiful scene before him.


    ''Your dream came true, Doctor,'' Chopper thought as he caught a snowflake. ''Now I am going to make my dream come through,'' he thought with conviction. Deciding the leave the little reindeer to himself for a while Luffy looked to his crew and gave out orders.


    "Prepare to set sail!" Luffy yelled out in a commanding tone as he walked up to the upper deck where his thundercloud was waiting for him transformed into a throne after everyone got off. He sat down on his throne and took out a glass and poured himself some whiskey before he gave out some more orders. "Hoist the anchor!" he yelled causing Johnny and Yosaku to run towards the front of the ship and raise the anchor. "Now, release the sails!" he said causing Usopp and Gem to untie the sails causing it to catch the wind. As the sails caught the wind the ship began moving forward sailing out of the waterway leaving the first island under Luffy''s control behind. As they were sailing away Sanji, Zoro, Vivi, and Nami came walking towards Luffy.


    "Should I beginning preparing dinner?" Sanji asked causing Luffy to nod his head before he spoke.


    "Prepare a feast, let''s welcome our little doctor the right way," Luffy said causing all of them to smile.


    "As you wish, captain," Sanji said before he walked off to the kitchen. Nami was about to speak next but a scream from Chopper interrupted her causing everyone to look in the direction of Chopper with a panic look on their face and causing Luffy to immediately teleport to Chopper location with a panic look on his face as well.


    "What''s wrong? Who I got to kill?" Luffy asked as he appeared next to Chopper while looking around for an enemy.


    "What? No, I was in such a hurry I left my medical bag behind," he said in a worried voice. Luffy heard that and relaxed his guard and was about to speak but Nami spoke before he could.


    "Your bag?" she asked while looking down at Chopper. "But isn''t this it?" she asked holding up a little blue bag pack.


    "Huh? That is my bag, how did you get it?" Chopper asked as he took the bag from Nami.


    "I found it in the back of the sled," Nami replied.


    "huh? how is that?" Chopper asked with a confused look on his face.


    "What do you mean?" Nami asked while looking at Chopper. "Weren''t you the one who packed the sled?" she asked. Chopper looked up at her and thought about it for a second before his eyes began to tear up causing Luffy to chuckle softly.


    "Guess the old lady doesn''t like long goodbyes," he said before he began walking back to the upper deck with a smile on his face.


    "Nami!" Luffy yelled while walking up the stairs getting her attention. "Set our course...to Alabasta!" he said before sitting down on his throne with a glass of whiskey in his hand and his vice-captain standing off to his right with his three swords strapped to his waist.


    "Aye aye, Captain!" Nami yelled before yelling out orders to the crew.


    ''Enjoy it while it last, cause your days are numbered...Crocodile,'' Luffy thought to himself as he stared off into the horizon.


    **CHAPTER END

 Chapter 20 - 20: Journey to Alabasta and Grand Line Pirates!

    It has been about three days since the crew left the Drum Kingdom. Luffy was currently sitting on the figurehead of the Going Merry with Chopper sitting beside him staring off into the horizon. The rest of Luffy''s crew were all at different parts of the ship doing their own thing. Nami, Nojiko, and Marianne were sitting on lawn chairs at the rear deck enjoying the nice weather that they were experiencing. Zoro, Sanji, Gem, and Usopp were on the main deck playing cards, Johnny was up in the crow''s nest looking out, Mikita and Yosaku were fishing, and Vivi and Karoo were sitting on the bow looking out at the sea with Luffy and Chopper. After they left the Drum Kingdom the entire crew partied all night celebrating their new crewmate. The two days that followed that was the crew showing Chopper around the ship and teaching him how things work but out of everything that Chopper was experiencing, the one thing that he couldn''t seem to get enough of was staring out into the ocean.


    "Wow, Luffy," Chopper said in an astonished voice. "The sea seems to go on forever!" he said as he brought his hand up above his eyes as he looked out into the horizon.


    "Yeah, the sea is pretty big," Luffy replied in a nonchalant tone as he poured himself a glass a whiskey. "And only pirates are the ones who get to have great adventures on it all the time," Luffy added with a small smile.


    "Incredible!" Chopper said with stars in his eyes. "Being a pirate must be really great!" he added causing Luffy to chuckle before he replied.


    "Indeed it is, Chopper," he said before he took a sip of his drink. "Indeed it is," he added once again. Luffy then got up and hopped over Chopper and landed on the deck of the bow next to Vivi all without spilling a single drop of his whiskey. Luffy then turned his crew and spoke. "Alright, listen up!" Luffy yelled out as he walked forward and looked down to the main deck getting everyone''s attention. "We are going to be arriving in Alabasta soon so this is no time to be slacking off," he said causing Chopped to hop of the figurehead and come stand beside him.


    "What''s Alabasta?" Chopper asked while looking up at Vivi.


    "Alabasta is the country that Vivi''s father rules over," Luffy said before he began making his way down to the main deck with Chopper, Karoo, and Vivi right behind him.


    "Yeah, except there is this guy name Crocodile trying to take over the country," Usopp added as him and the guys put down the cards and were paying attention to Luffy.


    "And to make matters worse he is a member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea," Nojiko added as she, Nami, and Marianne come down from the main deck.


    "Who are they?" Chopper asked with a confused look on his face.


    "They are pirates who were giving authority by the World Government," Luffy said as he leaned against the side of the ship.


    "The governments actually support pirates?" Chopper asked in a surprised voice.


    "It sounds weird but you see the Seven Warlords of the Sea are seven powerful pirates who go around defeating other pirates one by one and that''s by the government supports the warlords," Luffy said educating his crew on the Seven Warlords. "The idea is to have the pirates get rid of all the other pirates," he finished causing Chopper to nod his head showing he understood.


    "Crocodile is considered a hero back home," Vivi said causing everyone to look over at her. "He defeats all the pirates that attack Alabasta however, his good deeds only appear good on the surface but under that, he is an evil man," she said with an angry look on her face.


    "He''s a pirate," Luffy said in a deadpan tone.


    "In truth, he is manipulating the citizen of Alabasta to cause a civil war so he could take over the country," Vivi said ignoring Luffy.


    "Relax princess," Zoro said as he stood up and walked towards his captain. "I don''t care if this Crocodile is a Warlord, he isn''t beating my captain," Zoro said causing Luffy to chuckle while everyone but Chopper smile.


    "Don''t you think you guys are taking this too lightly!?" Vivi yelled with an angry look on her face. It absolutely pissed her off at how relaxed they all were. In her head, they didn''t truly understand the power of a warlord. Sure Luffy was powerful, but he was not warlord powerful in the eyes of Vivi. "Luffy may be powerful but this is a warlord we are talking about! These are pirates that the World Government deemed powerful enough to work for them! Don''t you all understand that!?" Vivi yelled/asked as she looked at them with an angry look on her face.


    "Calm down Vivi or you''ll give yourself a stroke," Nami said as she walked and stood beside Vivi. "And besides Luffy was a member of a Yonko''s crew. So this is pretty much a walk in the park for him," Nami said causing Luffy to nod his head in agreement with part of what she said. She was right it was a walk in the park for him but not because he was part of a Yonko''s crew, but because he was simply really powerful. There were a bunch of people who were part of an Emperor''s crew that couldn''t take on a warlord, so simply being a part of an Emperor''s crew doesn''t make you''re powerful you have to be powerful on your own.


    "You-you was a member of one of the Emperor''s crew?" Vivi asked while staring at Luffy with a disbelieving look on her face. Luffy simply sighs and nodded his head. He was starting to get really tired of this princess if it wasn''t for the fact that they had a deal he would have tossed her overboard a long time ago.


    "You keep on underestimating me princess," Luffy said with a sigh. He was about to say something else but before he could Chopper spoke up.


    "What''s a Yonko?" he asked while looking up at everyone. No one answered him instead they all looked to Luffy for him to explain it to him.


    "The Yonko or better known as The Four Emperors are the four most notorious and powerful pirate captains in the world," Luffy said causing Chopper''s eyes to widen. "These four individually reside within the second half of the Grand Line known as the New World, exerting impressive influence and control over dozens of other pirate crews and self-governing islands," he said causing Chopper to look on in awe while some of his crew also looked on with a surprised look on their face. Luffy then smirked and decided to blow their minds a bit further. "One thing that all four of these pirates have in common is...they all have a bounty that is over 1 billion berries," Luffy said with a satisfied smirk on his face.


    "O-over ONE BILLION BERRIES!" They all screamed in unison causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "That''s crazy," Sanji said while the others just nodded their heads in agreement.


    "The four of them make up part of the Three Great Powers," Luffy said causing some of the surprised faces to morph into a confused look.


    "Three Great Powers?" Vivi asked with a confused look on her face causing Luffy to nod his head. "What''s that?" she asked while looking at Luffy.


    "I''ve heard that term used before but I never knew what it means," Gem said from his position on the ground.


    "Yeah, I think I head it too during my bounty hunting days," Zoro added from his position beside Luffy.


    "The Three Great Powers are the three greatest military forces on the oceans. It is made up of the Navy, the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and The Four Emperors," Luffy said earning everyone''s full attention. "The three powers exist in a delicate balance of power in the world. If this balance gets disrupted, the world itself could descend into anarchy, and the balance itself very fragile as the loss of even one key member like an Emperor or a Warlord would throw the balance off," Luffy said causing everyone to nod their heads showing they were understanding what he was saying.


    "So let say one of the Emperors were to die, what would happen?" Nami asked with a curious look on her face.


    "You got to remember that each of the Emperors has multiple islands under their protection/control and the more territories you control the more influence and militarily strength you have," Luffy said pausing to see if she understood. "If one of Emperors were to die then all of his territories would be up for grabs," Luffy said causing her to a look of realization to flash across her face.


    "And from there they start fighting for the territories," she said causing Luffy to nod his head. "I understand now. Wow, that''s crazy," she said causing Luffy to chuckle. Luffy was about to say something else to the rest of the crew but a shout from the crow''s nest stopped him and got his and everyone else''s attention.


    "Captain!" Johnny shouted getting their attention. "Pirate ship coming our way!" he yelled while pointing off to the left of the ship causing Luffy to turned around and look while everyone else got up and waited for their orders.


    "All hands prepare for battle!" Luffy yelled out causing everyone to run and get ready for a fight while Zoro stood by his captain''s side as he tied his bandana around his head. Luffy then looked at Chopper who didn''t know what to do with himself and spoke. "You are about to experience the life of a pirate, Chopper," Luffy said with a smile before he hopped up onto the side of the ship and folded his arms as he watches the pirate ship approach them. As the ship got close it pulled up alongside the Going Merry a man who clearly the Captain of the ship spoke.


    "Surrender all your treasure or else you will fell the wrath of the Hell Hound Pirates!" the man yelled causing Luffy to raise his eyebrow. Luffy then looked around the ship and saw every person on the ship was wearing a shad shaped like a dog''s head.


    "And who might you be?" Luffy asked in a bored tone.


    "You don''t know who I am?" the man asked sound extremely surprised that Luffy didn''t know who he is. "I am Jiro Kurosawa, the bloodhound from hell!" Jiro said proudly. Jiro looked to be in his late thirties, he was shorter than Luffy only standing 6 feet tall with brown hair and blue eyes. He was well built with quite a bit of muscle on him with a tattoo of his jolly roger, a dog''s skull with two cross bones, on his left bicep. All in all, Luffy was anything but impressed.


    "Never heard of you," Luffy replied causing him to deject slightly.


    "You...I was going to let you keep your lives, but now I want you all dead!" Jiro said in a menacing tone. Luffy simply shook his head and turned his back to the pirate and hopped off the side of the ship back onto the deck.


    "You''re not worth my time," he said as he began walked away to the upper rear deck. "They''re all yours guys, just make sure you don''t kill any of them," Luffy said to his crew.


    "Aye aye, Captain!" they all replied before they leaped off from the Going Merry and onto the Hell Hound Pirate''s ship. Usopp stayed on board and was currently sniping people out with his slingshot from up in the crow''s nest. Luffy sat down on his throne and poured himself a glass a whiskey before he turned his attention over to the pirate ship to see how his crew were handling the situation. When he looked over he saw Zoro was fighting against the captain of the pirate ship while everyone else was handling the rest of his crew. Zoro had all three of his swords drawn while Jiro transformed into a rather big dog. Luffy assumed that the man ate a Zoan type devil fruit and judge from his moniker it was the Dog-Dog fruit: Model bloodhound. It was an okay devil fruit in Luffy''s opinion but it probably couldn''t do much in terms of combat. Deciding to find out whether he was right or wrong he decided to pay attention to Zoro''s fight.


    *Zoro vs Jiro*


    Zoro stood across from the pirate now transformed into a giant dog/man who was looking at him while slobber dripped from the side of his mouth.


    "When I''m done with you I''ll go pay that little captain of yours a visit and show him just happens to people who mess with the Bloodhound from Hell!" Jiro yelled before he dashed forward towards Zoro on all fours. He was running faster than what any ordinary person could track with their eyes but sadly for him, Zoro wasn''t any ordinary person. Jiro appeared off to Zoro''s right and tried to swipe at his midsection with his claws only to have Zoro block the slash with his Kitetsu with ease.


    "Is that all?" Zoro asked as he held off the man''s claws. "Because if this is it you honestly stand no chance against the captain," he added before he pushed the man off his sword.


    "Why you!" Jiro growled in frustration before he dashed forward once more this time trying to bite Zoro. The first mate of the straw hat crew saw the attack coming a mile away and sighed.


    "It''s useless, I''ll just end this," Zoro said before he took on a serious look on his face and got into battle stance.


    "Oni Giri!" Zoro shouted as he stepped forward slashed with all three of his swords while completely evading the bite from the giant bloodhound. Jiro stared off the ship into the open ocean with his eyes widen in shock at what just happened. He blinked a few time as he heard the sounds of swords being sheathed. It wasn''t until three simultaneous ''clicks'' of the hilts of the swords touching their scabbards was head that pain struck through his body and blood sprayed from three carefully place cuts causing him to fall face forward onto the deck of his ship. When he fell forward he realized there were a few things that felt off. First, he was still alive, barely but still, alive none the less. And secondly, he didn''t hear his crew''s cry of shock or rage that their captain had just been cut down. He used as much strength as he could muster at the moment to turn his head to the side and look for his crew and what he saw shocked him to the core. His entire crew was being decimated by the Straw Hat crew. Majority of his men were lying unconscious on the ground and the ones who were still standing weren''t doing so good.


    "W-what-what the hell is going on here!?" he yelled/asked in a horsed voice but no one answered. The straw hat crew didn''t as much as look in his direction even though they heard him. His own crew didn''t look in his direction, they were too scared that they would die if they took their eyes off their enemy. The thing Jiro heard was a chuckle coming from behind him causing him to strain his eyes off to the side in order to try and see who it was. He couldn''t see the person clearly but from their outline and the blurry colors, he was seeing he assumed it to be the man who defeated him.


    "A bunch of fools of think because they have a boat with a flag that they are pirates," Zoro said with a chuckle. "And Grand Line Pirates no less!" he said before he started laughing causing Jiro to growl. Zoro then looked behind him and saw his captain still sitting on his throne looking at what was going on.


    *With Luffy*


    Luffy was quite pleased with the way how Zoro handled his fight. In fact, he was quite pleased with the way his entire crew handled themselves in the situation. The one thing surprised Luffy however was how easily this pirate crew was disposed of, he was expecting them to put up more of a fight giving him a chance to truly see each of his crew member''s fighting capabilities but that wasn''t the case. Every member of his crew easily took down multiple enemies with Usopp covering them from the crow''s nest.


    ''I''m not even sure if these pirate can survive in the East Blue much less the Grand Line,'' Luffy thought to himself as he watched Nojiko dispose of the remaining pirates. As he was watching her skillfully wield her three section staff his eyes caught brief moments when the staff would turn pitch back for a few seconds before it disappears. Luffy narrowed his eyes as he watched Nojiko slam her staff on the last of the enemy before he began thinking to himself. ''Nojiko seems to be the only one who has awakened both observation and armament haki while the others only have their observation,'' Luffy thought before he sighed and took a sip of his drink. ''Guess they need some tougher opponents,'' he said with a sigh as he turned his attention away from the crew and looked up to the sky.


    "Hey, Captain!" Zoro shouted getting his attention. "What should we do with these guys?" he asked from over on the pirate ship.


    "Bring their captain here..." Luffy said while looking at Zoro. "...and have chopper come as well," he added causing the little reindeer to hop over back to the Going Merry and make his way towards Luffy. Johnny and Yosaku walked over to the downed pirate captain and picked up and dragged him to their captain. When they arrived on the upper rear deck of the Merry they threw him face first at Luffy''s feet while the rest of Luffy''s crew made their way over as well wanting to see what their captain was planning. Luffy looked at the downed man with an emotionless look on his face before he turned to Chopper and spoke. "Patch him up, Chopper," Luffy said surprising everyone and causing Jiro to growl.


    "I don''t need your pity!" Jiro lashed out at Luffy while scaring Chopper at the same time. Luffy just looked at the bleeding man with the same emotionless look on his before he kicked the downed man right in the face knocking him over onto his back.


    "I''m not someone who is known for letting my enemies live...but I am going to let you live," Luffy said before he took a sip of his drink. "So, you will take whatever pity I give you or I''ll just toss you into the sea to die a slow and painful death," Luffy added in a menacing tone scaring the crap out of Jiro.


    There''s the captain we all know and love,'' Zoro thought in his head as he walked and stood beside Luffy. The past few days since the crew left the Drum Kingdom the entire crew noticed their captain seem to have mellowed out a bit and was smiling more than usual. They had all knew it was just Luffy trying to ease Chopper into the life of a pirate but Zoro honestly preferred the more serious Luffy, in his mind that is how a captain of a ship should be.


    "Patch him up Chopper," Luffy said in a commanding voice causing the little reindeer to nod his head and cautiously walk over to Jiro with his little medical kit and began treating his wounds. After Chopper finished treating Jiro''s wounds, Jiro was now sitting in front of Luffy''s throne staring up at the Thunder Demon with a confused and angry look on his face. "Jiro, you and your crew are extremely weak," Luffy said causing the mad to growl and grit his teeth. "So, I am going to make you an offer," Luffy added surprising everyone.


    "W-what kind of offer?" Jiro asked in a shocked and slightly frightened voice.


    "Join my fleet and sail under my flag," Luffy said surprising everyone once more but none more than Jiro. "You may be weak, but you may have some use to me and my organization," Luffy said causing his crew to understand why he was doing what he was doing.


    "What organization?" Jiro asked with a confused look on his face.


    "An Underworld crime syndicate," Luffy said causing his eyes to widen and his jaw and hang open slightly. "All you have to do is work for me in the black market and I can make you famous and rich beyond your wildest imagination," Luffy said sweetening the deal for the man.


    "I don''t know," Jiro said sounding slightly apprehensive to the idea.


    "I see you are still a fool," Zoro said from his position next to Luffy.


    "What are you talking about!?" Jiro asked angrily while looking at the green haired swordsman.


    "You are thinking about this offer as though you have a choice whether you want to accept it or not," Zoro said causing Luffy to smile while Jiro looked confused.


    "W-what do you mean?" he asked sounding scared.


    "You fool," Sanji added as he lit a new cigarette. "Either you accept and join the fleet or we rob your ship of all the food and money before we break off your rudder and leaver you here in the Grand Line at the mercy of nature," Sanji said in a bored tone causing Jiro''s eyes to widen before he snapped his head back around to Luffy.


    "Is that true?" he asked while looking at Luffy causing him to chuckle.


    "More or less," Luffy replied nonchalantly. Jiro thought about the idea long and hard for five minutes before he gave Luffy his reply.


    "Very well, I''ll join your fleet," Jiro said causing Luffy to smirk.


    "Smart choice," Luffy replied before he got up from his throne and walked to the side of the ship and looked over at the Hell Hound Pirates'' ship. "Get your men ready and prepare to sail to Alabasta," Luffy said in a commanding tone before he turned and looked the three former Baroque Works agents and spoke. "You three go with him, you know what to do once you get to Alabasta," Luffy said before he walked back over to his throne and reached into the cloud. He then pulled out a transponder snail and handed it to Gem before he spoke again. "Contact me when everything is all set," he said as he handed the snail over of Gem.


    "Aye, Captain!" Gem replied before he hopped onto Jiro''s ship. Luffy looked at Jiro who was still trying to process everything that going on around him and spoke.


    "Jiro, you are still in command of your ship, however, you take order from them for now," Luffy said causing the man to nod his head slowly still trying to process everything. Marianne and Mikita walked over to Kiro and helped him over to his ship. As they were walking over to his ship Luffy spoke once more. "Those three will fill you in on what''s the plan once you reach Alabasta. After you guys finish that you will wait for my orders on how to proceed," Luffy said causing the four of them to nod their head. "Oh, and Jiro," Luffy said getting his attention. "Add a straw hat to that flag," he said while pointing at Jiro''s jolly roger. Jiro looked confused for a bit before he turned and looked up Luffy''s flag. He looked at it for a few seconds before he eyes widen in horror and he started to sweat slightly.


    "Y-you...you...you''re the Thunder Demon: Straw Hat Luffy!" Jiro screamed out in fear and shock causing his crew member who was unconscious to jump to their feet with their eyes the size of dinner plates.


    "You didn''t know that?" Nami asked in a surprised tone. Jiro shook his head saying no.


    "What a fool!" Zoro said as he started laughing causing a tick mark to appear on Jiro''s forehead.


    "Enough!" Luffy said causing everyone to go silent. "You four have your orders, carry them out," he said before he turned and walked back to his throne with his coat billowing in the wind.


    "Are we waiting for them to get ready and follow us?" Nojiko asked Luffy as she watched him sit down on his throne. "Or are we leaving them here?" she added. Luffy thought about it for a few seconds before he looked over at Jiro''s pirate ship and spoke.


    "Hey, Jiro!" Luffy called out getting his attention. "Do you know how to get to Alabasta?" he asked the first captain under his command. Jiro looked at Luffy before he spoke.


    "Yeah, we left there a few hours ago," Jiro said causing Vivi''s eyes to widen.


    "Good, we will go on ahead, you guys get your stuff together and start making your way there," Luffy replied before Vivi had a chance to start blurting out questions. Jiro didn''t reply he simply nodded his head. Luffy then looked to his navigator and spoke. "Nami, resume course to Alabasta," he said causing Nami to nod her head before she looked at Luffy with a confused look on her face.


    "Luffy," she said getting his attention. "If those guys just left Alabasta how are they going to get back there, I thought the log pose only points to the next island whose magnetic field it needs to record?" she asked causing Luffy to chuckle slightly.


    "You''re right, that is how it works, however, the log pose points in two directions," Luffy said surprising her. "It points to the next island we need to go to nd to the previous island we visited whose magnetic field is recorded," Luffy said causing her to look at her log pose strapped to her wrist trying to understand what Luffy was talking about. After studying it for a few minutes a look of realization flashed across her face.


    "I get it," she said in a cheerful voice. "The red half points to the next island while the bottom white half points to the previous island," she said while looking at the log pose.


    "Bingo," Luffy replied as he took a sip of his drink. "Now, get to work!" Luffy shouted causing all of his crew members to scramble to get the ship moving again.


    "Are you sure we can trust them," came the voice of Zoro off to Luffy''s right causing Luffy to look over his shoulder at him and see him staring at Jiro and his crew.


    "No, I don''t," Luffy replied in a serious voice as he looked at Jiro with narrowed eyes.


    "So why did you have him join the fleet?" Zoro asked as he turned and looked at Luffy. "They are extremely weak and won''t last a minute in this business that you are going to be involved in," Zoro added.


    "You may be right, but he has some use to me," Luffy said with a sigh. "It''s not like he is going to be one of the high ranking commanders in the organization. He is just an ordinary foot soldier," Luffy said causing Zoro to nod his head.


    "Makes sense," Zoro said as he walked over to the side and take a seat on the deck. As the ship began sailing away from Jiro and his crew and was heading full speed ahead to Alabasta Luffy got up from his throne and began making his way to the main deck.


    "Come on," Luffy said to Zoro who just got comfortable on the ground. "Now ain''t the time to relax," he said causing Zoro to grumble under his breath about not being able to sleep. When Luffy got to the main deck he saw every member of his crew was gathered there. "Okay Vivi, I want to know the exact structure of Baroque works and just how many people Crocodile has worked for him," Luffy said as he walked towards the group. Vivi took on a serious look on her face before she replied to Luffy.


    "The layout is quite simple actually," she said as she petted her duck. "First, at the very top of the organization is the boss, Crocodile. he''s known as Mr.0," she said causing everyone to nod their heads. "There are a total of 12 agents and one animal who receive orders from the boss directly. For the most part, these 12 mal agents operate in a pair with a female agent," she said before going through and listing all of the agents and their partners. "The agents with code names 1 through 5 are known as officers agents. They each possess one of the devil fruit powers are only sent on the most important missions," She said causing Luffy to nod his head understanding what she was saying.


    ''I''ll need to recruit some of these officer agents,'' Luffy thought to himself.


    "But there is more," She said knocking Luffy out of his thought. "Under the officer agents are 200 men called billions, and there are another 1800 men under them who are known as millions," she said causing Luffy to smile. He was already aware of those guys and had given Gem, Mikita, and Marianne the task of recruiting them.


    "Let''s see, 200 plus 1800 equals uhh..." Usopp said as he began calculating in his head.


    "They''re 2000 of them!" Chopper screamed out in shock.


    "2000 of them!?" Usopp screamed when he heard what Chopper said. Luffy started chuckling causing everyone to look at him with a confused look on their face.


    "Calm down," he said with a chuckle. "Don''t worry about those guys," she said confusing them more. "Gem and the girls are going to handle them," Luffy said causing his crew to finally understand what the order Luffy to those three.


    "I see, so you were thinking ahead all this time, captain," Nojiko said with a smile.


    "Why of course," Luffy replied with a smirk. "I like to be one step ahead of my enemy," Luffy added as he leaned against the railing of the stairs. He was about to say something else, but before he could a shout from Vivi interrupted him.


    "Luffy!" she shouted getting everyone''s attention. "What''s that!?" she asked/yelled while point to the front of the ship. Everyone turned and looked at where she was pointing and saw green smoke rising up from out of the ocean.


    "Hmm what is that?" Nojiko asked as she stared at the smoke.


    "Oh don''t worry about that," Nami said calmly while Luffy nodded his head agreeing with her. "It''s just steam from an underwater volcano," she said causing Usopp and Chopper''s eyes to widen.


    "There''s volcanos underwater?" Chopper asked in an astonished voice.


    "Yeah, it is said that there more volcanos underwater than above the surface," Nami said causing Chopper to stare at the smoke in awe.


    "I would try and hold your breath if I were you," Luffy said as he stared at the steam cloud they were approaching pretty fast. "That thing stinks," he added causing everyone including himself to take a deep breath just before the ship sailed into the green steam. At the speed at which they were traveling it didn''t take them long to come out of the other side of the steam cloud. When they exited the cloud Luffy to looked at Sanji and spoke. "Hey Sanji," Luffy said getting his attention.


    "Yea, captain?" Sanji asked as he released his breath and looked at Luffy.


    "Why don''t you go bring up some of that nice dinosaur meat that we got from Little Garden and get lunch started," Luffy said as he began walking towards the front of the ship to sit on the figurehead.


    "You got it, Captain!" Sanji replied with a salute before he began making his way down below deck. As Sanji began making his way down to the storage area Luffy was making his way to the figurehead of the Going Merry, but before he could reach there the voice of Zoro stopped him in his track.


    "Hey captain, there is a man on the side of the ship," Zoro said calmly as he leaned over the side of the ship and watched a strangely dressed man holding on to the side of the ship.


    "What do you mean there is a man on the side of the ship?" Luffy asked as he stopped and began walking back towards where Zoro and everyone else was standing. When he got there he leaned over to see this man that was hanging onto his ship. "Hmm, would you look at that, there actually is a man on the side of the ship," Luffy said as he stared at the strange men with a bewildered look on his face.


    "You have to help me please!" the man pleaded with the crew causing everyone to raise their eyebrow at him. "You can''t let me fall in the water! I ate a devil fruit so I can''t swim!" the man cried with a pleading look in his eye.


    "A devil fruit you say?" Luffy asked in a bored tone as he looked at the man.


    "Yes, that''s right, a devil fruit!" he said causing Luffy to nod his head before he looked at Johnny and Yosaku.


    "Pull him up," he said to the bounty hunting duo causing them to salute and pull the strange man aboard. When they pulled him up the man flopped down onto the deck of the ship and began breathing heavily while everyone moved away from the side of the ship and positioned themselves at different parts of the deck to be able to defend the ship effectively if necessary.


    "Man, I thought I was going to die there for a second," the man said between breaths as he sat on the ground. Luffy walked over to one of the barrels on the deck and sat down on top of it before turning his attention to the strangely dressed man. "Heyyyy, you saved me thanks!" the man said as he bowed slightly to Luffy and the crew. "I never imagined that my life would be saved by a group of complete strangers," he said in a relieved tone.


    "So what kind of devil fruit you ate?" Luffy asked as he placed his right leg up on the barrel that he was sitting on.


    "Well let''s see, seeing as how I can''t go anywhere until my ship picks me up I don''t see the harm in having some fun," the man said as he stood up. Everyone immediately placed their guard up and stared at the man. The man walked up to Johnny and smacked him in the face causing Johnny to fall back and everyone else spring ou their weapons and take up the battle positions. well, everyone except Luffy was still sitting on the barrel with an emotionless look on his face.


    "Why you!" Yosaku and Zoro said in anger as they got ready to attack the man.


    "Now now, there is no need for all of that," came the voice of Johnny from where the man was standing causing everyone including Luffy''s to widen in shock. "We''re just having fun!" the man said happily as he moved his hands away from his face only to reveal a perfect copy of not just Johnny''s face, but also his voice and his body.


    ''The Clone-Clone fruit!'' Luffy thought as he stared at the man with a surprised look on his face. ''Now he can prove to be useful,'' Luffy added in his head with a smirk on his face.


    "What the hell," Johnny said from his position on the ground. "It''s me!" Johnny said as he stared up at a perfect image of himself in every way except for the clothes that he was wearing.


    "And if I touch my face with my left hand," The man said in Johnny''s voice as he touched his face with his left hand. "I am back to normal," he said as he returned back to normal. "now that is the power of the Clone-Clone devil fruit you see," he added causing everyone to look at him with an astonished look on their face.


    "Interesting devil fruit you got there Mr...?" Luffy said as he trailed off waiting for the man to say his name.


    "Oh forgive me, where is my manners," the man said as he bowed slightly. "My name is Bon Clay!" he introduced himself.


    "Well then, you have an interesting power there Mr. Bon Clay," Luffy said as he watched the man go around and touch the side of each of his crew members face one by one.


    "Yes, I am quite proud of it," Bon Clay said as he walked up and touched the side of Luffy''s face. Honestly, Luffy still didn''t trust the man, but he didn''t see any harm in the man being able to impersonate him, it wasn''t like he could clone his devil fruit or his strength. Bon Clay then took a few steps back and began changing into each of Luffy''s crew member even Luffy himself, but when he reached Nami he stopped and spoke. "That''s not all, I can change bodies too!" the man said as he pulled open his clothes showing everyone the very n.a.k.e.d body of Luffy''s navigator. All the men on the ship except for Luffy and Zoro had their eyes widen and their jaws on the floor while Luffy just looked on with an unimpressed look on his face.


    "hmmm, I''ve seen better," Luffy said with a shrug causing Nojiko to chuckle while Nami punched Bon Clay right in the head.


    "Stop that!" Nami yelled as she punched him before she turned to Luffy. "And what do you mean you''ve seen better!?" she yelled/ asked. Luffy just shrugged his shoulder with the same unimpressed look on his face causing her to grumble under her breath.


    "I am terribly sorry, but I shouldn''t demonstrate my powers anymore," the man said as he got up from the ground and nursed his head.


    "No! Do more!" Usopp and Chopper cheered while Luffy looked on with a small smile.


    "Well if you insist," the man said before he started changing into a bunch of random people one after another as he twirled himself around in circles while Usopp, Chopper, and Johnny cheered on. After Bon Clay was finished further demonstrating his powers he began dancing around with Usopp and Chopper on the deck. It was then Luffy and Nami noticed a ship quickly approaching from the starboard side of the Going Merry. When Bon Clay saw the ship he stopped dancing and hopped up onto the side of the ship and turned his back towards the crew before he spoke. "It''s time to say goodbye already? What a shame," Bon Clay said in a sad voice causing Usopp and Chopper to become sad as well.


    "Noo, you can''t leave just yet!" Usopp said with some tears in his eyes.


    "Try not to be sad, journeys must always include farewells," Bon Clay said while Luffy nodded his head in agreement. Bon Clay then hopped off of the Going Merry and onto the side of his own ship. "Now then Let''s get going!" Bon Clay said to his crew.


    "Yes sir Mr.2 Mr. Bon Clay Sir!" one his crew members replied with a salute using the straw hats eyes to widen in shock and causing Luffy to spring off the barrel and onto his feet.


    "Did he just say...?" Luffy asked as he watches the paddle ship sail away at an impressive speed.


    "Mr. 2?" Zoro added to Luffy''s question.


    "That guy was Mr. 2?" Vivi asked in a shocked tone.


    "So, not only does our enemy knows what we look like, but he can also turn into us," Luffy said with a sigh.


    "That''s not all," came the distressed voice of Vivi. "I saw something in his memory of all the faces he had copied," she said causing Luffy to narrow his eyes. "One of them was...my father," she said causing their eyes to widen in shock.


    "Crocodile may be a bastard, but I have to give it to the man he knows how to take over a country," Luffy said as he folded his arms and leaned against the side of the ship.


    "Yeah, having to ability to impersonate a king that easily can cause a whole lot of trouble for a country," Zoro said with a serious look on his face.


    "We sure let a bad one get away, huh?" Usopp said as he shook his head.


    "To make matters worse when he finds out that we are the ones Baroque Works is after he can transform into any one of us and we won''t even be able to trust our own friends," Nami said with a serious voice as she walked to the middle of the deck. Luffy couldn''t help but agree with Nami, sure he trusts his crew but they have only been together a couple of weeks now and so far someone already committed treason on his ship. The last thing this crew need is someone impersonating one of them and causing even more trouble from the inside.


    "That''s true, however, this may be a good thing for us as well," Luffy said causing everyone to look at him with a puzzled look on his face. "With us knowing his ability we can beat him at his own game," Luffy added with a smirk on his face. "Okay everyone, gather round, Johnny go get Sanji!" Luffy said causing everyone to step forward in a circle with him in the center while Johnny raced into the kitchen to find Sanji. While Johnny was getting Sanji, Luffy began rummaging around his coat looking for something. After about a minute Luffy found what he was looking for and pulled it out for everyone to see. In Luffy''s hands was a plain old black marker. When everyone saw what it was they all sweat dropped.


    ''How are we going to beat Mr. 2 with a marker?'' They all thought in a deadpan tone. Just then Sanji and Johnny joined them on the deck and took a place in the circle around Luffy. Naturally, Sanji positioned himself between Nami and Vivi.


    "Okay, stick out our left arm...and wing," Luffy said adding the last part when he saw Vivi''s duck Karoo in the circle as well. He then went to each of his crew members one by one and drew an X on their left hand just above their wrist. "From this point on no matter what happens. This left arm is proof that you are members of my crew and more importantly, we''re all friends," Luffy said as he drew the mark on his own hand and stuck it out.


    "Aye, Captain!" they all replied with a smile on their face.


    "Oh and find something to hide the mark," Luffy said causing them to nod their heads. Zoro was about to say something to his captain but before he could the entire boat started to rock back and forth violently and the water around the boat began to get extremely rough. Suddenly something extremely big began to rise up from the water off the right side of the ship causing everyone to panic.


    "What the hell is going on!?" Yosaku screamed as he and Johnny pulled out their bisento.


    "Something is coming out of the water!" Nojiko screamed as she took out her three section staff and got ready for a fight.


    "It''s a Sea Cat!" Vivi yelled as the creature became more visible. Out of the water came a giant cat-like sea monster staring down at the ship.


    "It''s a sea monster!" Chopper and Usopp screamed as they hugged each other.


    "It looks like food to me!" Zoro yelled as he unsheathed all three of his swords getting ready to attack the thing.


    "No, can''t can''t eat it!" Vivi yelled at Zoro causing him to stop. "Sea cats are sacred animals in Alabasta, I cannot allow you to eat it," Vivi said with conviction causing Zoro to sigh and sheath his sword.


    "Fine, we will just have to scare it away," Luffy said in a bored tone. As he said that aloud thunderclap came from the clear blue sky scaring the giant sea cat away.


    "We must be getting close to Alabasta," Vivi said with a smile as she watched the sea cat swim away after being scared by the thunder Luffy caused.


    "Yeah, well those things you see behind us over there is all the proof I need that we are getting close," Nojiko said with a smirk as he stared out the back of the ship causing everyone to look at where she was looking.


    "That''s a lot of sh.i.p.s," Luffy said as he stared at about 50 sh.i.p.s.


    "Yeah, and they are all flying the Baroque Works symbol," Usopp said as he looked through a telescope.


    "It would seem all the agents have begun to gather," Luffy said in an excited tone.


    "These must be the billions, they are the subordinates directly under the officer agents," Vivi said as she stared at the ship.


    "Ignore them for now," Luffy said in a serious voice. "We''ve got to keep our eyes on the prize," Luffy said.


    ''Plus I don''t want to be killing my future employees,'' He thought as he stared at the sh.i.p.s with a smirk.


    "Hey, I see the island!" Johnny yelled causing all of them to stare at the front of the ship and see the desert island of Alabasta.


    "Let''s dock in the town of Nanohana, we need to hide the ship," Vivi said causing Luffy to nod his head in agreement. The entire crew began running around and getting ready to dock the ship while Vivi and Luffy made their way to the upper deck to oversee everything.


    "You must be happy to be home," Luffy said to Vivi who is standing to his right. "Do you have any plans on how to deal with the rebellion?" Luffy asked.


    "Yeah, I do have a plan but I don''t know how well it is going to work," Vivi said as she stared at the desert island. Luffy didn''t bother saying anything to her he knew whatever plan she had in mind involved her trying to save lives on both sides. Luffy been around the world and saw multiple conflicts, he knew that there was no way of ending this thing with no bloodshed. It took them another 15 minutes before the ship docked at the safe location near the town of Nanohana. When the ship was safely docked Luffy went down to the main deck and spoke to his crew.


    "Okay, remember from this point on the mark that is under here," he said as he held up his left arm showing a white bandage wrapped around his wrist. "is what separates us from our enemy," Luffy said causing them to nod their heads. he then reached into his coat and pulled out a small sack of money and tossed it to Sanji before he spoke again. "Use that to restock the kitchen with whatever you need," he said as he tossed him the bag.


    "Sure thing, Captain," Sanji replied.


    "And the rest of you keep your guard up," he said causing them to nod their heads before they all hopped off the Going Merry and made their way into the town. They all made their way through a small desert area before they arrived at the town. Usopp and Nami and given Vivi and Karoo hooded coats to wear so they won''t be recognizable by the public until they can buy clothes to blend in with the locals. As they entered the town they saw it was a busy market place and Luffy and his entire crew stuck out like a sore thumb. The group quickly found a deserted part of the town where there weren''t that many people around and hid there for a while.


    "This is bad," Nami said as they hid behind the broken down wall. "If we keep on walking around this we will definitely be noticed by Crocodile''s men," she said with a voice filled with distress.


    "Yeah you''re right but we can''t just go walking around out in the open and buy disguises," Luffy said as he leaned against the wall. "I have a bounty on my head, Vivi is the princess, and Mr. and who knows who else know what you all look like," Luffy said with a sigh.


    "They don''t know what I look like," Sanji said causing everyone to turn and look at him.


    "Yeah, he is right!" Usopp said before he turned and looked at Chopper. "And he isn''t the only one, Chopper as well!" he added with a grin. Luffy nodded his head and took out a much smaller bag filled with money and handed it to Sanji.


    "You two go buy disguises for everyone except for me," Luffy said causing everyone to look at him with a confused look on their face wondering why he didn''t need a disguise. "I''ll draw all of our enemy''s attention, that should give you guys the freedom to do what you need to do," Luffy said as he pushed off the wall.


    "So you are going to be walking around out in the open while we try and blend in with locals and operate from the shadows in a way?" Nojiko asked causing Luffy to nod his head.


    "Exactly," Luffy said as he adjusted his hat. "Zoro, you''re in charge of everything except navigation," Luffy said to Zoro causing him to nod his head before he looked at Luffy with a confused look on his face.


    "Wait, why not navigation as well?" Zoro asked causing everyone to look at him with a deadpan look on their face.


    "Cause you can get lost while walking on a straight road," Luffy replied with a sweat drop on his head while Zoro folded his arms and grumbled under his breath.


    "Fine," Zoro replied in an annoyed tone causing everyone to chuckle.


    "Good, we will meet up later," Luffy said before he turned and began making their way out of their hiding place.


    "Wait, how will we know when to meet up?" Nojiko asked as he watched Luffy walked away. Luffy turned his head and looked at them as he walked away before he spoke.


    "Oh you''ll know when it''s time to go," Luffy said with an all-knowing smirk on his face causing everyone to sweat drop at their captain. Luffy left his crew and began making his way back into the market place of the town. When he arrived there he saw the market was quite busy, there were people all over buying and selling products of all kinds.


    ''This may be a great place to get some information,'' Luffy thought to himself as he began walking through the market. As he was walking through the market he noticed a small stall with a short old man behind it selling shish kebabs. Luffy walked over to the stall and picked up one of the shish kebabs before he reached into his pocket and pulled out a couple of berries and handed it to the man. He then took a bite of his shish kebab and savored the taste.


    "Wow, this is pretty good, old man," he said as he chews on the meat.


    "Thank you, young man," the old man said with a smile as he placed the money away. "It''s been a while since I had a customer," he added with a grateful smile.


    "Reall?" Luffy asked with a confused look on his face. "With good tasting food like this, I would think people would be running you down for food," Luffy said as he took another bite of the shish kebab.


    "It used to be that way," the man said in a sad voice before his face took on a grim tone. "But that was before those stupid idiots started this stupid civil war over some stupid dance powder," the man said with anger clearly present in his voice.


    "Dance powder?" Luffy asked with a confused look on his face. He had never heard of anything called dance powder before so he was intrigued by it especially if it is the reason for this civil war. The man looked at Luffy with a bewildered look on his face before he spoke.


    "You''re not from around here are you?" the old man asked as he looks at Luffy with a calculating gaze.


    "No, I''m just passing through," Luffy replied as he finished his shish kebab and purposely turn around flashing the jolly roger on the back of his captain''s coat for the man to see.


    "You''re a pirate!" the man said in a whisper.


    "Yeah, I am but don''t worry I''m not here to cause trouble just waiting for my log pose to reset," he said causing the man to look at him for a while before he nodded his head. "Now, tell me about this dance powder," Luffy said as he picked up another shish kebab.


    "Dance powder is a green powder that is used to make artificial rain," The man said causing Luffy''s eyes to widen slightly.


    "Artificial rain?" Luffy asked in a surprised voice. He had never heard of something like that before in all the years he''s been in the Grand Line.


    "Yes, the dance power when burnt emit a mist-like vapor that would rise up in the air. It speeds up the creation of ice particles in sub-freezing temperature clouds and causes rainfall," the man explained amazing Luffy. "However, the powder, unfortunately, caused long periods of drought in other countries," the man said causing Luffy to understand what was going on.


    "I see," he said taking a bite of his second shish kebab. "And I take it the rebels wanted the king to use the dance power to create rain but the king refused due to the risk of starting a war with another country," Luffy said between bites.


    "Exactly," the old man said as he nodded his head. "These young people today have no patience what so ever," the man said causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "It''s not all bad though," Luffy said as he looked around. "This town seems to be doing pretty good," he noted as he watched people happily go about their day in the market.


    "That may be true but not everything is as it seems," the man said to Luffy. "People may look happy but deep down they''re all terrified of the war. The one thing that keeps them in high hopes is the fact that Crocodile comes to their rescue whenever there is trouble," he further elaborates causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow.


    "The warlord?" Luffy asked acting as though he wasn''t aware of Crocodile being here in Alabasta.


    "Yes him," the man said with a nod. "These people may trust him with their lives but I don''t," the man said.


    "Oh, and why is that?" Luffy asked as he bit down on the final piece of meat on the shish kebab. "I mean if he saves the people when they''re in danger why don''t you trust him?" he asked.


    "He is a priate...no offense," the man said causing Luffy to wave him off. "I''ve been around far too long to believe that he actually cares for these people," the man said causing Luffy to smile.


    "I take it that is also one of the reasons why your stall is so empty?" Luffy asked with a chuckle.


    "I''ve been told I''m a stubborn old man," the man said with a chuckle causing Luffy to chuckle as well before he reached into his coat and pulled out a small bag of money and tossed it to the man.


    "Thanks for the meat, old man," Luffy replied before he turned to leave. The man looked at the small bag and looked back at Luffy before he spoke.


    "Hey, this is too much!" the man yelled at Luffy trying to get him to take back some of the money. Luffy just raised his right hand in the air and waved goodbye to the man as he walked away. As he walked up the busy market street he couldn''t help but notice the stares of everyone locked onto him causing him to smirk internally.


    ''Only a matter of time now,'' Luffy thought as he placed an emotionless look on his face. ''News will soon reach you that I am here, Crocodile,'' Luffy thought as he walked through the busy street. Luffy kept on walking for about another 10 minutes around the market before he came to a sudden stop in the middle of the street and he turned his head to the right and looked at what appears to be a restaurant with a smirk on his face.


    "So, I guess Shanks was right, you are here in Paradise after all..." Luffy said to himself. "...Ace,"


    *CHAPTER END*


    **Author''s Note: Please leave suggestions for what you want Luffy''s organization to be called in the comments. Also If you guys would like to see more OC like Jiro in the story do let me know and if you have any ideas for an OC let me know and I''ll find some place to add them in.

 Chapter 21: A Brother?!

    Luffy changed his direction and began walking towards the restaurant with a small smile on his face. As he got closer to the restaurant a puzzled look appeared on his face because he could sense that there was some sort of confrontation going on in the restaurant. It puzzled him because he knew Ace wasn''t the type to start trouble especially in a public place like this. He was also sensing another familiar presence, but he couldn''t remember who or what it was. As he entered the restaurant, he saw a marine officer standing in the center of the restaurant looking at Ace while everyone else in the restaurant was off to the left trying to keep clear of the two powerhouses. Luffy looked at the marine for a few seconds before he recognized him as the marine captain from log town, Smoker. Luffy got an evil idea in his head and smirked before he quickly replied the smirk with an emotionless look and began walking towards Smoker. As he got closer Luffy spoke.


    "Hey, Smokey," Luffy said getting Smoker''s attention before he grabbed onto the collar of Smoker''s shirt. "Bye, Smokey," he causes causing Smoker''s eyes to widen just before Luffy took a big step forward and threw smoker through the wall behind the bar leaving a giant hole in its place. Everyone stared at the scene before them with eyes the size of dinner plates as they watched a kid just threw a marine captain through the wall. Luffy ignored the looks he was getting and began making his way to the bar where a shirtless man wearing a hat was sitting staring at Luffy with a large grin on his face.


    "Luffy!" Ace said happily as he stood up from his seat. Luffy smiled and walked towards the bar.


    "Yo," Luffy replied as he high fived Ace before sitting at the bar. "One glass of whiskey please," he said to the bartender who was trying to get over his shock at what he just witnessed.


    "Is that all you have to say to your big brother?" Ace said faking hurting. Luffy sighed before he spoke.


    "You really are milking this big brother thing, aren''t you?" Luffy asked as the bartender placed a glass half filled with whiskey. Just as Luffy was about to grab the whiskey Ace grabbed it and downed it before he replied.


    "That''s right," he said as he slammed the glass down on the bar.


    "Hey! That was my whiskey!" Luffy yelled out.


    "Oh, be quiet," Ace said waving Luffy off. "You drink too much anyway," he added causing Luffy''s head to drop before he looks back up at the bartender and signaled him to refill the glass which he did.


    "So, where is Sabo?" Luffy asked while looking at Ace. "You two are always together," he added. Ace nodded his head and smiled before he replied.


    "Sabo left the crew...and joined the Revolutionary Army," he said causing Luffy''s head to snap around to him and looked at him with a surprised look on his face.


    "When was that?" Luffy asked in a surprised voice.


    "About a month after you left," he replied in a somber tone. "He said he wanted to do some good on this planet before he dies," he added before he took a spoon full of the food in front of him and ate it. "and he thinks the only way to do the good that he has in mind is to join the Revolutionary Army," he finished causing Luffy to nod his head.


    "Well, when you think about it, it''s not all that surprising," Luffy said before he took a sip of his whiskey. "Considering his background and his history with THOSE PEOPLE, he makes a lot of sense he would join my dad," he said with a lot of disgust present in his voice when he mentioned ''THOSE PEOPLE.'' "I''ll ask my dad to look out for him," he added causing Ace to laugh.


    "Are you coming?" Luffy asked as he stood up. "Or are you going to fall asleep in your plate of food again?" he asked while looking over his shoulder at Ace.


    "I''m coming, just give me a sec," Ace said with a sigh as he got up and began gulping down the food on his plate. Luffy then reached into his coat and pulled out a small sack of money and tossed it at the bartender.


    "That should cover everything," he said before he began to walk out of the restaurant leaving Ace behind.


    "Heyy!" Ace shouted with a mouthful of food. "Wait for me!" he yelled before chasing after Luffy. As he stepped out of the restaurant and looked for Luffy he couldn''t find him anywhere. "Uhhhh! Where the hell did he go?" Ace yelled out in frustration. Luffy calmly walking down the busy streets of Alubarna suddenly stopped and looking behind him and spoke.


    "Where the hell is he?" Luffy asked himself as he saw there was no Ace standing behind him. Luffy then sighed before he continued walking. "He''ll have to catch up," he said as he walked away. He walked for about five minutes before he was suddenly stopped by the sound of his navigator yelling his name.


    "Luffy!" Nami yelled getting his attention. Luffy looked over in the direction of where the voice came from with a raised eyebrow and saw his entire crew along with the princess and her duck running towards him with a panicked look on their face.


    "Where''s the fire?" Luffy asked the group in a voice laced with curiosity.


    "Luffy, we have a big problem," Nami said while breathing heavily.


    "That marine captain from Louge Town-" Usopp said before Luffy interrupted him.


    "That''s not all," Vivi said getting his attention. "There is a pirate from the Whitebeard Pirates-"


    "Here looking for me, I know," Luffy interrupted her. His entire crew looked at him strangely for a while before Nami finally spoke.


    "How can you be this calm!?" she yelled/asked.


    "Well, you see the thing is-" Luffy said but was interrupted by someone else yelling for him.


    "Straw Hat!" Smoker yelled as he ran towards Luffy and the crew with a small group of marines. "I got you now!" he yelled before he stopped about 10ft away from Luffy. Luffy turned around and looked at the marine captain with a smirk on his face before he spoke.


    "Hey there, Smokey," Luffy said with a smirk. "Long time no see," he said mockingly causing Smoker to growl.


    "This is the end of the line for you, Straw Hat!" he said while pointing at Luffy while small amounts of smoke began to expel from his body.


    "Really?" Luffy asked as he took a step forward while small amounts of lightning began to surround his body. "How did that go for you the last time?" Luffy asked causing Smoker to growl once more. Smoker deciding to make the first move turned his left hand into smoke and sent his fist forward towards Luffy. Just as Luffy was about to launch his own attack, everyone present heard someone shout out.


    "Fire Fist!" the voice shouted out before a large vortex of fire came down from the sky and intercepted Smoker''s fist. The large vortex of fire caught everyone except Luffy by surprise. When the fire died down everyone saw Ace standing in the middle of the two groups with flames lacing his arms and shoulders. Luffy''s crew and the marines had their eyes widen at what they were seeing. The straw hats recognized the man in the middle of all the flames at the Whitebeard pirate they saw earlier and were beginning to get worried.


    "You''re the one who ran off without me!" Ace yelled back at Luffy ignoring Smoker.


    "Not my fault you''re so slow," Luffy retorted causing a tick mark to form on both Ace''s and Smoker''s head for two different reasons.


    "Hey!" the two of them yelled simultaneously. Ace and smoker paused and looked at each other before Ace spoke.


    "Oh right, you''re still here," he said causing Smoker to growl.


    "That''s it!" Smoker said in anger. "I am taking you both in!" he said causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "Oh yeah?" Luffy asked with a smirk on his face. "You and what? Those marines behind you?" Luffy asked while looking at the group of marines behind Smoker. He then aimed a strong wave of Conquers Haki at the marines causing all of them except for Tashigi to pass out foaming at the mouth. Tashigi fell to her knees staring at Luffy with nothing but fear in her eyes with her entire body covered in sweat. Luffy decided to have some fun with the female marine kept the wake of haki going and aimed at all at her before he spoke. "Look at them, they can''t even stay on their feet," Luffy said as he took one step forward causing Tashigi''s breath to hitch in her throat and her heart rate to increase as she struggled to breathe. "You should run along...little girl," he said while staring at her. "This is a fight for the grown-ups and I don''t exactly have the time of day to teach an infant how to breathe," Luffy said coldly as he increased the strength of his haki slightly causing the poor girl to pass out, not from the haki but from fear. As she passed out Luffy cut the haki off and chuckled.


    "That was mean, Lu," Ace said with a chuckle.


    "Yeah, but it was fun," Luffy replied before he turned to leave. " I''m sure you can handle this?" he asked causing Ace to chuckle before he replied.


    "Why, of course," he said before he turned and looked at Smoker with narrowed eyes.


    "Luffy, who was that?" Nojiko asked while walking.


    "That was my big brother," Luffy replied nonchalantly as they were walking.


    "YOU HAVE A BROTHER!?" Everyone yelled out in surprise.


    "And by the looks of it, Luffy''s brother is really strong too," Johnny said causing Luffy to chuckle before he replied.


    "You have no idea," he said with a chuckle. As they were walking the entire crew suddenly stopped and looked behind them and saw a large tornado of smoke and fire rising to the sky.


    "So, I take it your brother ate the Flame-Flame fruit Luffy?" Sanji asked while looking up at the tower of fire and smoke.


    "I guess so," Luffy replied as he stared at the two clashing elements. "He didn''t have it when I last saw him," Luffy commented.


    "Oh, and when was that?" Nojiko asked Luffy.


    "About 5 or 6 years ago," Luffy replied before he turned and continued walking towards the ship. The entire crew along with their captain walked for about five minutes before they reached the area where they docked the Going Merry. Everyone climbed on board the ship and raised the anchor before they started to sail away from the island. As they were sailing away Luffy finally noticed his crew new attire, they were all dressed like locals from Alabasta...well except for the girls.


    "Aye, Captain!" Sanji replied while looking up at Luffy.


    "Were you the one who picked out the girls'' outfits?" Luffy asked while staring at Nami, Vivi, and Nojiko.


    "Yes, Sir!" Sanji replied with a salute. Luffy smirked before he replied.


    "Nice job," Luffy said while nodding and staring at the three girls causing them to blush and look away. Just then, a shirtless man landed on the side of the ship in the crouched position. "Took you long enough," Luffy said to the man who then looked up at Luffy and smiled before he spoke.


    "Well forgive me for not having lightning speed," he said causing Luffy to smile and began making his way down to the main deck.


    "Everyone, I would like to introduce you all to Portgas D. Ace," Luffy said as he put his arm around Ace. "My quote on quote big brother," he said with a rare smile. "Ace, this is my crew," he added while waving at his crew.


    "It is a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to meet all of you," Ace said with a bow. "And thank you for taking care of my little brother, I know he can be a handful," Ace added earning a growl from Luffy.


    "No, no, no problem," Luffy''s crew replied with a smile.


    "Wow, I can''t believe Luffy has a brother," Usopp said while at Luffy and Ace.


    "We met 8 years ago when I spent some time on Whitebeard''s ship," Luffy said nonchalantly as he leaned against the side of the ship. "We became really good friends before we became brothers over a cup of sake," Luffy said while Ace nodded. When Luffy and Ace looked the crew they all saw everyone staring at Luffy with eyes the size of dinner plates causing Luffy to raise his eyebrow in confusion.


    "YOU WERE ON WHITEBEARD''S SHIP!" they all yelled out at the same time.


    "Yeah, three years to be exact," Luffy said calmly. "Shanks and his crew had to go somewhere to do something and it was apparently too dangerous for a 9-year-old and at the time I couldn''t properly control my logia powers, I was still electrocuting people when they touched me. So, Shanks called in a favor that the old man owed him and dropped me off on his ship to learn how to better control my powers while they were away," Luffy said before he looked at his crew with a curiosity written over his face and spoke. "Did I not mention this?" he asked.


    "NOOOO!" they yelled out causing him to shrug his shoulders before he looked at Ace.


    "So Ace," Luffy said in a serious voice getting his attention. "Mind telling me just what exactly you are doing here in Paradise?" Luffy asked with a raised eyebrow.


    "Well..."


    **CHAPTER END**

 Chapter 22 - Blackbeard?!

    **Previously**


    "So Ace," Luffy said in a serious voice getting his attention. "Mind telling me just what exactly you are doing here in Paradise?" Luffy asked with a raised eyebrow.


    "Well..."


    **Present**


    "Well... I''m hunting someone," Ace said causing Luffy to look at him with one of his eyebrows raised. "Not just someone, a pirate to be exact," he added causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "What, turning into a bounty hunter now?" Luffy asked with a chuckled as he jumped up and sat down on one of the barrels on the deck.


    "No, this isn''t about the money...it''s more about vengeance," Ace said with a serious tone causing Luffy to look at him strangely.


    "Who is this pirate?" Nami asked Ace.


    "His name is Blackbeard," Ace said with a lot of venom in his voice. This caused everyone''s eyes to widen in shock. It was the second time that this pirate''s name had come up with the first time being back in the Drum Kingdom.


    "Blackbeard?" Chopper asked causing Ace to nod his head. "That''s the pirate hat attack my home," he added in a slightly sad voice causing Nami and Nojiko to place their hands on his shoulder.


    "This is the second time I heard about this pirate named Blackbeard," Luffy said in a serious voice. "Who is he?" he asked while looking at Ace.


    "He may be going by Blackbeard now, but you name him by another name...Luffy," Ace said seriously while looking at Luffy. "Marshall D. Teach," Ace said causing Luffy''s eyes to widen the size of dinner plates.


    "Marshall D. Teach?" Vivi asked in a confused voice. "Who is he?"


    "He is a member of the Whitebeard pirates," Luffy said in a disbelieving voice. "Why the hell you want to kill that fat f.u.c.k?" Luffy asked in a confused tone while looking at Ace. "All that idiot knows how to do is eat pie," he added. Ace looked at Luffy with a grim look on his face before he spoke in a pained voice.


    ''Just how powerful is her?'' she asked herself while looking at Luffy.


    "I''m going to kill him in the slowest and most painful way possible," Luffy said in a cold whisper before a loud thunder boomed overhead sending vibrations for miles.


    "Oh no, you don''t!" Ace yelled before marching up to Luffy. "He is mine!" he yelled while looking Luffy dead in the eyes.


    Give me one good reason why I shouldn''t kill him the next time I see him!" Luffy replied equally as loud.


    "Teach was in my division, he was one of my men!" Ace shouted. "I''m responsible for dealing his punishment," he said causing Luffy to growl before nodded his head. "Good," Ace said before he walked back to his earlier position while the rest of Luffy''s crew remained silent as they watch the interaction between the two brothers while at the same time noticing the skies were beginning to clear up.


    "Why did he kill Thatch though?" Luffy asked causing Ace to growl as he leaned against the side of the ship.


    "He killed him over a devil fruit," Ace said with a growl causing everyone''s eyes to widen.


    "What kind of devil fruit?" Luffy asked in a curious voice.


    "I don''t know," Ace replied with a sigh. "Thatch didn''t know either but apparently Teach knew," he said in anger. Luffy didn''t say anything, instead, he hopped off the barrel that he was sitting on and began walking up to the upper deck towards his private quarters. Everyone watched Luffy enter his quarters and ten seconds later he came back out carrying a c.h.e.s.t. Nami, Zoro, and Usopp recognized it from when they got the Going Merry. The three of them saw Luffy take the c.h.e.s.t into his room but they never saw it after that. Luffy walked down the stairs with the c.h.e.s.t before walking up to the barrel that he was previously sitting on and placing the c.h.e.s.t on top of it. Everyone began to gather around Luffy wanting to see just what exactly was in that c.h.e.s.t. Luffy reached into his coat and pulled out a key before he opened the c.h.e.s.t causing everyone''s eyes to widen at what was inside. When Luffy opened the c.h.e.s.t, everyone saw the c.h.e.s.t filled with devil fruits of all shapes and colors and on top of them was a thick book with the picture of a devil fruit on the cover.


    "Yeah," Luffy replied before he grabbed the book that was on top of it all.


    "Where did you get...?" Nojiko asked in a similar voice to Johnny.


    "I have my ways," Luffy replied cryptically before he closed the c.h.e.s.t and began to open the book.


    "What''s that book, Luffy?" Zoro asked while looking at the book.


    "This is a book of all the known devil fruits," Luffy replied as he flipped the pages of the book allowing everyone to see on each page there was a different devil fruit''s name, pictures, and other information about the fruit. "Regardless of what we may think of Teach right now, he and Thatch were friends," Luffy said causing Ace to growl. "And there is only a handful of devil fruits out there that he would be willing to kill his friend for. Mine is one of them," Luffy said as he flipped through the pages.


    "The old man''s one is up there as well," Ace added as he looked at the pages Luffy was flipping through.


    "Big Mom and Kaido''s fruit being up there as well," Luffy added before he turned to Ace and spoke seriously. "However, seeing as how he calls himself Blackbeard and has this whole ''black'' thing going on...I can only guess that this is the fruit," Luffy said as he stopped on a page with a large, round, light purple fruit made up of many small teardrop-shaped components with swirl patterns, and green leaves sprouting from the top. Its overall shape and appearance closely resemble a pineapple or a bunch of oversized and teardrop shaped gr.a.p.es. "The Dark-Dark fruit," Luffy said.


    "That''s the fruit!" Ace yelled out in surprise as he stared at the picture.


    "It is one of the more powerful devil fruits out there," Luffy said getting everyone''s attention. "And also, a pretty stupid fruit if you ask me," he added confusing everyone. "It''s really powerful because one of its abilities allows the user to cancel another person''s devil fruit powers just by touching them," he said causing everyone''s eyes to widen.


    "I do not know," Luffy replied with a shrug. "So, when you find him, don''t make him grab a hold of you," Luffy said to Ace.


    "Why is it stupid though?" Vivi asked causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "It is stupid because of his weakness," he said vaguely "The Dark-Dark fruit is a logia class devil fruit. All logia class devil fruit allows their user to turn into a certain element and their bodies in a sense can become that element anytime the user wishes. Likewise, every element has a weakness and that weakness becomes the devil fruit user''s weakness, understand?" Luffy asked while looking at his crew and brother trying to see if they are following what he was saying. The all nodded their heads slowly letting Luffy know that they understood some of what he was saying. "Okay, let me give you an example. My element is lightning or in other words electricity. Rubber is an insulator meaning that it cannot conduct electricity making it my weakness. Meaning if you take a rubber bat and hit me with it, instead of it passing through me like everything else it will hit me," he said causing a look of realization to flash across all of their faces.


    "So, in Ace''s case, anything covered in water can do damage to him?" Usopp asked with a questioning look on his face.


    "Correct," Luffy replied.


    "I still don''t get how that makes the Dark-Dark fruit a stupid fruit to have," Nojiko said while looking at Luffy.


    "It is stupid because its element is darkness making its weakness light," Luffy said causing Sanji and Usopp to smile finally understanding what Luffy was getting at. "Meaning if Teach ate that fruit he can''t turn himself intangible like other logia users during the day because of the sunlight," Luffy said with a chuckling thinking about how stupid teach was. "Hell, I doubt he could even do it at night due to the moonlight," he said.


    "So, wait let me get this straight," Ace said getting everyone''s attention. "The only way for him to utilize that devil fruit to its full potential is by being in a pitch-dark room?" He asked causing Luffy to chuckle and nod his head.


    "You''re right that is stupid," Sanji said as he took a puff of his cigarette.


    "I''m going to get-" Sanji said but was interrupted by Luffy.


    "Shhhh! I heard something," Luffy said as he held his index finger up in front of him. Everyone became silent to try and listen for what Luffy heard. They could all hear something but couldn''t make out what it was.


    "What is that?" Vivi asked trying to make out what the sounds were. They were interrupted from their listening by Zoro''s voice.


    "Guys," Zoro said getting all their attention. "We''ve got company," he said while pointed to the front of the ship. Everyone snapped their heads around in the direction of where Zoro was pointing and saw about 7 sh.i.p.s with the Baroque Works symbol on it headed their way. Luffy narrowed his eyes and used his observation haki to try and sense for something on the sh.i.p.s.


    "Those are the Baroque Works Billions'' ship!" Vivi said in a panicked voice as she looked on at the incoming sh.i.p.s with fear written all over her face.


    "I''ll take care of them," Ace said with a smirk. Just as he was about to hop off the Going Merry, Luffy''s voice stopped him.


    "No, leave it," He said causing everyone to look at him with a puzzled look on their face.


    "Huh? Why!?" Vivi yelled/ask.


    "Just trust me," Luffy said as he walked to the left side of the deck. "Nojiko, take the helm and hold her steady," Luffy said causing her to nod before making her way to the rudder. Luffy''s entire crew was on guard and was ready to defend against any attack while Luffy was relaxed and not all that worried about a threat. As they sailed closer, they all began to recognize a ship in between all the Baroque Works'' sh.i.p.s that did not have their symbol on it, instead, it had a dog''s skull with two crossbones on it.


    "That it is," Luffy replied with a smirk.


    "But wasn''t he with...ohhhhhh!" Yosaku said as realization flashed across his face. The Going Merry sailed in between two of the Baroque Works sh.i.p.s and everyone saw all the sh.i.p.s were filled with bounty hunters. On the ship sailing by on the left side of the Going Merry Luffy''s and his crew all saw Gem, Mikita, and Marianne standing on the deck staring at their captain with smiles on their faces.


    "I take it everything is going according to plan?!" Luffy asked while looking at Gem.


    "It is, Captain!" Gem said while giving a salute to Luffy.


    "Good, call me when everything is set!" Luffy said before he turned and looked at his confused crew. "Princess, where are we going next?" Luffy said while looking at a confused Vivi.


    "Umm...right," the princess said getting over her shock. "We are going to Erumalu, the green city," she said causing Luffy to nod before looking at Nami.


    "Nami, you and Vivi plot our course," he said causing to nod their head before they made their ways to the upper deck. "Sanji, prepare lunch for everyone," he said to Sanji causing him to nod and head into the kitchen. "The rest of you follow Nami''s orders," he added causing Johnny, Yosaku, Usopp, and Chopper to salute before replying.


    "Aye, Aye, Captain!" they yelled. Luffy then looked at Ace and smirked before he spoke.


    "How about a drink for old time sakes?" he asked as he pulled out a bottle of whiskey.


    **CHAPTER END**

 Chapter 23: A Journey Through the Desert!

    The Going Merry was currently sailing calmly through the Sandora River on its way to Eremalu. Luffy was currently on the upper rear deck with Ace and Zoro looking out into the ocean. Johnny and Yosaku were currently up in the crow''s nest looking out, Nojiko was manning the helm, Nami and Vivi are on the rear deck with Luffy and the guys looking at a map, while Usopp, Chopper, and Vivi''s pet duck, Karoo were on the main deck drinking and laughing among themselves. Luffy turned and looked Vivi and began making his way to her before he spoke.


    "So, why are we going to Eremalu?" Luffy asked getting both Vivi and Nami''s attention.


    "We are currently on the Sandora River. We will take it to Eremalu where we will dock before we proceed to Yuba on foot," she said causing Luffy to nod.


    "You guys are going to Yuba?" Ace asked getting all their attention.


    "Yeah, why?" Luffy asked with a curious look on his face.


    "That''s where I''m headed as well. It is the last place where Teach was sighted," he said causing Luffy to smile and nod his head. "You don''t mind if I tag along now do you?" Ace asked with a smile causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "of course, you can tag along, dummy," Luffy said with a smirk before he turned and looked at Vivi before he spoke again. "By the way princess, what''s in Yuba?" he asked.


    "Yuba is the main base of the rebel army. I know the leader of the rebels, if we can get there and tell them about Crocodile, I am sure we can stop this war," she said with a hopeful look on her face. Luffy smile at her before he spoke again.


    "Don''t worry princess, we''ll end the war," he said with a smile causing her to smile. The ship sailed up the Sandora River for about an hour before Vivi walked up to Nami, who was standing in the front of the ship, and asked her a question.


    "Nami, can we stop the ship for a second?" she asked while holding some papers in her hands causing Nami to look at her strangely.


    "What for?" Nami asked while looking at Vivi.


    "I have a very important mission for the Karoo," she said as she turned and looked at the giant duck. Nami and Vivi then went and asked Luffy if it was okay to which he agreed and gave out orders to the rest of the crew to pull the ship over by the nearby bank for Vivi to do what she needed to do. When the ship docked at the bank Vivi, Karoo, Nami, Nojiko, and Sanji got off while everyone else looked down at them from the ship. "This is all the information Igaram and I gathered about Crocodile and Baroque Works. I need you to go to Alubarna palace and deliver this letter to my father," she said while looking at the giant duck. "It also lets him know that I have returned to Alabasta accompanied by brave friends willing to help us in our struggle," she added before tucking the papers into Karoo''s pouch. "No make sure to conserve your water and be safe," She added before patting the giant duck''s head. With a salute, the giant yellow duck took off running at amazing speed away from the ship.


    "Alright! Everyone, get back on board and set sail!" Luffy yelled out before he turned and walked back to his usual stop on the ship and sat down on his throne. It took another two hours before they reached Eremalu. As the ship docked the girls exited their rooms with a new set of clothes on covering up their entire body as opposed to their belly dancer outfit which exposed quite a lot of skin. Upon seeing this Sanji began to complain causing Luffy to chuckle at his antics. Nojiko then walked up to Luffy carrying two sets of folded clothes in her hands and handed them to Ace and Luffy.


    "You two should put this on," she said as she handed them clothes more suited for the dessert. "We don''t want you two to get sunburn now do we," she added with a smile. Ace took the clothes and put them on right on the spot while Luffy made his way to his private quarters. As Luffy entered his private quarters his thundercloud followed him into the room. Luffy threw the dessert cloths on his bed before he reached under his bed and pulled out the c.h.e.s.t containing all the devil fruits.


    "Let''s put you somewhere safe while I''m away," he said to himself as he left the c.h.e.s.t up and dropped it into the cloud. The c.h.e.s.t slowly sunk into the cloud before it disappeared in the cloud. He then took off his captain''s coat and placed it in the clouds as well before he threw on the clothes Nojiko gave to him over his already existing clothes. When Luffy exited his private quarters, he wore desert robes consisting of a dark red robe with three white rings decorated along both sleeves and a light blue wrap over his head. You could still see his black slim-fit shirt under the red dessert robe with his lightning bolt necklace showing. Upon exiting his room Luffy sent his thunder cloud high into the sky above the ship before he locked the door behind him and made his way down to the main deck.


    "We''re all set, Captain," Zoro said as he walked up to Luffy.


    "What the hell are those things?" Usopp asked as they all looked at the strange creatures. They were dugong-like creatures with turtle-like shells on their backs.


    "Those are the Kung-Fu Dugongs!" Vivi yelled out with a panicked look on her face. The small creatures then began to speak to the crew in its own language confusing everyone.


    "If you want to come ashore you are going to have to beat me first you spineless cowards!" Chopper said causing everyone to look at him in confusion. "That''s what it said," he added easing all their confusion. Luffy then sighed and spoke.


    "We don''t have time for this," he said before he snapped his fingers causing a bolt of lightning to come out of the rain cloudless sky and struck the Kung-Fu Dugongs causing them to pass out.


    "Well, that takes care of that," Zoro added before hopping off the ship. Everyone nodded agreeing with him before jumping off the ship as well. They began making their way through the desert with Vivi leading them with Luffy, Ace, and Sanji at the back and everyone else in the middle. The group walked through the desert for about 30 minutes before they came upon a deserted town covered in sand.


    "What happened here?" Nami asked as she looked around at the fallen buildings and dried up trees. It looked as though several sandstorms passed through here and s.u.c.k.e.d the life right out of the town.


    "Is this Yuba?" Chopper asked while looking at the desert wasteland.


    "No, this is Eremalu. It was once known as the City of Green," she said in a sad voice before turning and looking at the crew. "Take a good look around everyone, this is what Baroque Works has been doing to my country, this is what the people of Alabasta have to go through," She said causing everyone except Luffy and Ace to take on a sad expression on their face. Luffy and Ace showed no reaction because both have seen far worse in the world. The group then began making their way through the ghost town quietly while listening to Vivi explain the history of Eremalu and the use of dance powder which lead to the civil war. They walked for another thirty minutes before they made it out of the ghost town of Eremalu and were now well on their way to Yuba.


    The entire crew walked for an hour in the piping hot sun over numerous hills. The entire crew looked like they were about to drop dead on the sop. Out of all of them, Chopper had it worse due to him being a reindeer. He had already collapsed because of the heat causing Luffy to carry him on his shoulders.


    "Yeah, Luffy," Nami said while looking at their captain. "Can''t you summon your thundercloud to fly us there?" she asked causing Luffy to sigh.


    "No," he replied confusing all of them. "There isn''t enough moisture in the air to support a cloud, and if I did summon one it would just dissipate shortly after being summoned," he said causing all of them to groan. "Plus, even if I could summon one I wouldn''t," he said causing all of them to look at him with a betrayed look on their face.


    "But why?" Nojiko asked.


    "It''s your punishment," he said causing all of them to look at him with confusion written all over their faces. "This is your punishment for what happened by at Little Garden with all of you and Mr. 3," he said causing a look of realization to flash across all their faces.


    "I still don''t get why we are being punished because of that," Nami grumbled.


    "Maybe it is because I thought each of you Haki and there were 8 of you and two of them and yet you still got captured," Luffy added raising his voice slightly causing all of them to look down and remain silent. "Now stop all of your arguments and save your energy we still have a way to go and the sun won''t be setting anytime soon," he added before focusing on journey ahead of them. Ace just looked on at his little brother and smiled.


    **Night**


    They walked all day until nightfall where they found a nice place among some rocks to pitch a couple of tents and camp for the night. Johnny and Yosaku along with the girls helped pitched the tents while Zoro and Usopp got a fire going while Sanji got the food they were going to cook ready. Luffy, Ace, and Chopper were lying on the ground with their back braced against a rock looking up at the sky enjoying the cool desert atmosphere.


    "Wow, look at all those stars," Chopper said with a smile as he looked up at the countless stars in the night sky.


    "No, the skies above the Drum Kingdom is filled with snow clouds so I never get to see them before," he said in a happy voice.


    "How can you three just sit there," came to voice of Nojiko getting their attention. "Aren''t you cold," she said as she hugged herself.


    "Devil fruit," Ace said.


    "Devil fruit," Luffy said.


    "Fluffy fur," Chopper said. Nojiko looked at the three of them with a jealous look on her face before she walked to go sit next to the fire. Luffy then got up and spoke.


    "I got to go take a leak," he said before walking off to find a place to relieve himself. He found a spot some distance away from their campsite and went behind a rock and did his business. When he was finished, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small Transponder snail with a single button on its shell. He pushed the button causing the snail to wake up and began calling someone.


    *purupurupuru* *purupurupuru* *purupurupuru* *Chacak*


    "Hello?" came the voice of Gem over the transponder snail.


    "Yo," Luffy replied.


    "I want you to see if you can get your hands on that Dance Powder that Crocodile has," Luffy said.


    "Dance Powder? I heard some of our new recruits talking about it earlier today," Gem said through the snail.


    "Find out where it is and steal it," Luffy ordered. "It was made illegal by the World government, but it still fetches a hefty price on the black market," he added causing Gem to chuckle before he replied.


    "Looks like we got our first product to sell on the black market," he said causing Luffy to chuckle as well.


    "Indeed, I''ll be in touch, call me when everything is done," he said.


    "Aye, Captain,'' Gem replied before they both hung up the phone. Luffy then put the snail away and began making his way towards the campsite. When he got there Sanji spoke to him.


    "Dinner is ready, captain," Sanji said as he picked up a stick with dinosaur meat on it and handed it to Luffy.


    "Thank you," Luffy replied before he went and sat down next to Ace and Chopper and eat his dinner. After he finished eating, he gave a yawn and stretched before he laid against the rock and pulled his straw hat over his face and went to sleep. Ace and Chopper got up and went next to the fire with everyone else giving Luffy some space to sleep. As Ace sat down eating his dinosaur meet Vivi was the first to speak to him.


    "He looks so peaceful when he is asleep," Vivi said causing everyone to look over at the sleeping Luffy. "It''s hard to imagine he can be so cold when he is awake," she added causing Ace to chuckle.


    "Yeah, we''ve only been together now about a month or so," Nami said as she took a bite of her meat. "So, it is understandable that he won''t open to us just yet," she said while everyone nodded in agreement.


    "Yeah, and even then, there might be some things he probably won''t share," Ace said causing them to look at him in confusion. "From what I heard from Red-Hair Shanks, Luffy wasn''t always this serious and cold he used to be a lot happier and easy going, but apparently something happened when he was young that turned him into what he is now," Ace said before he picked up a cup of water and drank it. "Shanks wouldn''t say what and Luffy never told me about it so I didn''t try and pry," he said while looking at his sleeping brother.


    "I don''t really care what his attitude is," Zoro said getting their attention. "He saved my life when we first met so I''ll follow him to the ends of the earth and back," he said with conviction causing everyone else on the crew to agree with their vice-captain.


    "It''s nice to know my brother is in good hands with some good people," Ace said with a slight bow in his head causing all of them to blush slightly while over with Luffy a small smile could be seen forming on his face.


    **Next Day**


    At the break of dawn, the next day Luffy began to stir. He got up and stretched before he began dusting the sand from his clothes. He looked around and saw that he was the first one up. Wanting to get an early start he walked up to the two tents with an evil grin on his face before he extended both of his hands with all ten fingers pointed into the tent.


    "Electro Murder!" he called out causing ten bolts of lightning to come out of his fingers and shocked his entire crew. He made sure to lower to voltage so it would cause some pain but not enough to kill them.


    "AHHHHHHHH!" they all yelled as they were shocked.


    "Rise and shine," Luffy said before he walked away.


    "Time to wake up, I want to get an early start walking before the sun becomes too hot," he said. Nami was about to yell at him but stopped when she realized that it made sense to do that.


    "That made sense," she said before going bk into the tent to get ready. Luffy had to wait about thirty minutes before they got everything ready to go. Once everything was packed, they all set out one again for Yuba.


    **Evening**


    Luffy and the crew had been trudging through the desert all day and are currently on the final leg of their journey to Yuba. Nami and Vivi were currently riding on a camel that they saved from being eating alive by some sort of desert plant, Chopper was still riding on Luffy''s shoulder and everyone else was just walking along. The straw hats and Ace went their separate ways after Ace ran into a bounty hunter that he was looking for and got the information he needs on Blackbeard. Before he left, however, he left Luffy with a piece of paper which Luffy knew exactly what it was.


    "Luffy, what was that piece of paper that Ace gave to you?" Usopp asked as he dragged himself along with a walking stick.


    "It''s called a Vivre Card," he said confusing them. "A Vivre Card is made from part of a person''s fingernail which is then made into paper. It is completely water and fireproof but can be torn and given to a cared person that one would be separated from. The torn pieces will point to and move towards each other no matter where they are in the world, allowing one to always be able to tell in which direction the other person is," he explained causing everyone''s eyes to widen.


    "Wow, really?" Chopper asked from Luffy''s shoulder.


    "Yeah, it is only made in the New World," he said as he took out his bottle of whiskey and took of sip directly from the bottle. "I have a few sheets of them," he added.


    "That''s amazing, I never thought something like that could be made from a fingernail," Vivi said in an amazing voice. It was then something caught the young princess''s eye causing her to smile before she spoke to the others. "You guys," she said cheerfully getting everyone''s attention. "Yuba is just past those rocks there," she said while pointing off in the distance in front of them. "Just one more push and we''ll be there," she added with a smile causing everyone to perk up at the thought of this journey to be over. The crew walked through the last leg of their journey, it took them a while but after another 30 minutes of walking, they finally arrived at Yuba...or what was left of it.


    "Oh no!" Vivi yelled out in a panicked voice. "the entire city has been struck by a sandstorm!" she said as they stared at the sand covered city.


    "I don''t know princess," Luffy said as he walked forward and looked around. "This place looked like it was hit by quite a few sandstorms," he stated as he looked around at the dried-up trees, sand covered housed and piles of desert sand everywhere. What was even worse was the fact that there wasn''t a single person anywhere. It was as though everyone abandoned the city.


    "This place doesn''t look much different from that Eremalu we passed earlier," Zoro said as he walked forward and inspected the city.


    "Vivi, I thought this place was supposed to be some sort of Oasis," Sanji said as he looks around.


    "It looks like the oasis has disappeared. It has been swallowed up by all the sand," Vivi replied in a sad voice. Just she said that everyone heard some noise in front of them. When they all looked up, they saw an old man with a shovel digging in the ground.


    "I assume you are all travelers," the old man said while digging. "You must be exhausted from traveling in all that heat. Sorry, but this town is dried up too, so we don''t really have much relief to offer, but still you are free to rest here for a while," he added as he looked behind him at the crew. Upon seeing his face Vivi pulled the hood of her robe and hid her face from him causing Luffy to raise his eyebrow. "We may not have much water but there are plenty of inns here in the town. It is what we prided our self on," he said as he continued to dig.


    "Thank you, but we actually came here looking for the Rebel Army," Vivi said as he hopped off the camel. The old man turned and looked at the group with an angry look on his face before he spoke in an angry tone while throwing rocks at Luffy and his crew.


    "What business you have with the rebel army!" the man yelled while throwing rocks. "Curse you! If you came here to join the rebel army you can just go back to where you came from!" he yelled.


    "Well, that was interesting," Luffy said as he stood there perfectly unscathed.


    "If you are looking for those fools you can go look elsewhere, they''re no longer in this town," the old man said as he continued to dig.


    "They''re gone!?" Luffy''s entire crew yelled while he remained silent.


    "I''m sure you noticed the town was just hit by a sandstorm," he said as he struggles to dig. "That one certainly wasn''t the first. With no rain for three years, sandstorms became a common occurrence until little by little the oasis we used to know was slowly swallowed up and the town became what you see now, a dying wasteland," he explained to the crew. "With too little supplies the rebel army could no longer support themselves here, so they moved on. The rebel base is now located in Katorea," he said causing Vivi''s eyes to widen.


    "Katorea?" she asked in a whisper.


    "Where''s that? is it close by Vivi?" Nojiko asked while looking at the princess.


    "It is near Nanohana, back the way we came from," she said causing Luffy to slump down on a rock and let out a tired sigh.


    "Well great, coming all this way was just a waste of time," Johnny said as he sat down on the ground.


    "Vivi," the old man said with wide eyes as he began walking up to Vivi. "Princess Vivi, is that really you? You''re alive I can''t believe it," he said in a relieved voice. "It''s me don''t you recognized me?" the man asked he placed his hands on her shoulder.


    "Toto," Vivi replied with tears in her eyes


    "That''s right," the man replied with tears in his eyes as well. "For whatever it''s worth Vivi dear, I have faith in you and the king. He''s a good man, a through king who would never betray his country. I know it!" Toto said with tears streaming down his face. Everyone just stood there watching the interaction between the old man and the princess.


    ''Damn, we made this entire trip for nothing, and now we have to make it again,'' Luffy thought to himself as he looked up at the night sky. ''It seems I may have to cut their punishment short cause there is no way I''m walking through that dessert again,'' he added with a sigh.


    "I tried to stop them many times, so many times," the old man said getting Luffy''s attention. "But they won''t listen to anything I say. The rebellion isn''t stopping, and their strength, supplies, and men have reached the limit, however, their intention is to settle everything once and for all with the next attack. They''re stuck in a corner with their backs against the wall prepared for death," he said causing Vivi to gasp in shock. "Please Vivi, you have to stop them before these fools tear our country apart!" he begged the princess causing Luffy to sigh.


    ''Damn, as if the princess didn''t have enough things to worry about, he just went and added a shit load more for her to stress over,'' Luffy thought to himself.


    "Toto my old friend," Vivi said softly as she handed the old man a napkin. "Rest assured we will succeed," she said with a reassuring smile.


    "Alright listen up!" Luffy yelled out in a commanding tone. "We''ll rest here for tonight while I try and figure out just what the hell we''ll be doing tomorrow," he said before he took Chopper off his shoulders and placed him in and ground and began walking away from his crew.


    "Where is he going?" Usopp asked as he watched Luffy walk away.


    "Probably to clear his head," Zoro said getting all their attention. "If you all haven''t noticed by now, Luffy doesn''t do anything without a reason. In battle, not a single move is wasted. Everything he does has a reason for it, or it serves some purpose for the future. We just made a long trip through the desert for no reason whatsoever. So, he is probably pissed at himself for wasting all that energy that may have been better spent doing something else," Zoro said to the crew.


    "But we didn''t come here for no reason," Johnny said to Zoro. "We came here thinking the rebel army was going to be here," he added while everyone else nodded causing Zoro to sigh before he replied.


    "Yeah, but if we had spent some time in Nanohana and gather some intel on the Rebel Army we probably would have figured out that they were in Katorea and not Yuba," Zoro said with a sigh.


    "I''m sorry," Vivi apologized causing everyone to look at her. "This is all my fault," she said.


    "No, it isn''t," Zoro said before anyone else could say anything. "No one is at fault, we all just didn''t plan as well as we should have," he said to her before he turned and looked at the rest of the crew. "We should all go get some sleep, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow," he said before he walked off to find somewhere to sleep.


    **With Luffy**


    Luffy walked some distance away from the crew. He was currently on the edge of the town sitting down on top one of the buildings drinking a glass of whiskey. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the same transponder snail he used earlier to call Gem and pushed the button on the snail''s shell.


    *purupurupuru* *purupurupuru* *purupurupuru* *Chacak*


    "Hello?" Gem answered through the snail.


    "Tell me you got some good news for me," Luffy said.


    "Well, I got both good news and bad news," Gem replied.


    "Give me the good news," Luffy said.


    "We located the Dance Powder. Crocodile has it in his position. Once you take him out, we should be able to grab it," Gem said causing Luffy to smirk.


    "That is good news," Luffy replied sounding slightly happier. "And the bad news?" he asked.


    "We found out that Crocodile has Baroque Works agents posing as both rebel soldiers and royal guards," Gem said causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "What a devious man you are, Crocodile," Luffy said with a chuckle. "He is trying to cause conflict no matter what. Quite ingenious," he added.


    "Yeah, it is...anything else I can do for you?" Gem asked


    "Hmmm? No, that''s it for now," Luffy replied.


    "Okay," Gem said before both hung up the phone. Luffy then put the snail back into his pocket and then downed his glass of whiskey before he jumped off the building that he was sitting on and began making his way back to the rest of the crew. Luffy walked for a while until he arrived at the spot where he left his crew only to find that they were not there. He hypothesized that they found someplace to sleep and were catching up on their rest. The one person that was there was the old man named Toto. He was still digging a hole in the ground with his old worn out shovel.


    "I see you''re still digging, old man," Luffy said as he stood at the top of the hole looking down at the old man with an emotionless look on his face.


    "The water is still here," the old man replied without looking at Luffy. "The dream of Yuba is too strong to be beaten by some sand! The king left this land here to me, so I''ll dig out the sad as many times as it takes!" he said with conviction causing Luffy to smirk and grab a shovel on the side of the hole before jumping in with the old man.


    "Okay, that let''s dig," he said as he started digging the hold with the man. Luffy used armament haki on the shovel to strengthen it as he was digging. He then began to dig the hole a lot faster than what the old man was doing. In just 10 mins Luffy dug a hole 10ft deep causing the old man''s eyes to widen in shock.


    "You dug that deep in just this short amount of time?" the man asked as he looked around the hole.


    "It would have been deeper but I''m just too tired from walking all day," Luffy said as he wiped the sweat off his forehead.


    "Why don''t you go inside and rest I can handle the rest," the old man said with a smile.


    "Thanks, old man," Luffy said before he jumped out of the hold and headed to where he sensed his crew sleeping. He opened the door to the inn and saw each member of his crew on their own bed sound asleep. He looked around and found an empty bed and plopped himself down on it before closing his eyes and going to sleep.


    **Next Day**


    The entire crew was up bright and early. They were all standing in the stop where they first met Toto the previous day. Toto was standing there as well ready to see the straw hats off.


    "I am sorry that there isn''t anything more I can do for you, Princess Vivi," the old man said in a sad tone.


    "Please don''t worry about it," Vivi said with a smile. "Well, we should be off now, Toto," she added.


    "Oh wait, here you go Luffy," the old man said as he walked up to Luffy with a small jug with a straw in t. "Here, take this with you," he said as he handed it to Luffy.


    "You found water then?" Luffy asked as he took the jug from Toto.


    "Yes, I hit a moist level after you left last night," he said with a smile. "That water there is the moisture I was able to extract from the damp sand," he said.


    "Thank You! I''ll drink this with care," Luffy replied with a smile. The group then set out on their journey through the desert once again this time making their way to Katorea. Luffy had planned to summon a cloud to take them there in no time but there was something he needed to do first. As they were walking, they walked past a dried and shriveled up dessert tree. Deciding to put his plan into motion Luffy plopped himself down and leaned against the tree and folded his arms. His crew didn''t notice at first, so they continued walking. Usopp was the first to notice and quickly spun around and yelled at Luffy.


    "Luffy! What are you doing over there!?" he yelled/ asked while pointing at his captain getting everyone''s attention. Luffy didn''t say anything he just closed his eyes and pretend to ignore them.


    "Luffy?" Nojiko asked trying to see if he was okay.


    "Umm, is everything okay?" Vivi asked as she walked towards Luffy. He looked up and her and spoke.


    "I quit," he said confusing everyone.


    "What do you mean?" Nami asked while looking at Luffy.


    "What does that mean? Quit what, Luffy?" Vivi asked in a confused voice.


    "We need to get back to that Katorea place and stop this rebellion thing or else millions of Alabasta people will start fighting and things are going to get really ugly really quick!" Sanji yelled as he walked up to Luffy. "We are doing this for Vivi, so let''s go!" he said as he grabbed Luffy by his shirt. Not feeling threatened in any way Luffy simply grabbed Sanji''s hand and tossed off the side sending him face first into the sand.


    "Vivi," Luffy said getting her attention. "Right now, all I want to do is kick Crocodile''s a.s.s and make this country my territory. Do you understand?" he said as he refolded his arms. "Maybe we can keep the people from starting a rebellion, but that won''t stop Crocodile. Besides, we won''t be able to accomplish anything in Katorea," he said coldly.


    "No, that''s not true," Vivi said trying to make Luffy understand.


    "You want it to work out, so nobody dies in this fight, isn''t that right?" Luffy asked as he looked up at her with an emotionless look on his face. "We are up against one of the seven warlords of the sea and millions of your own people and you still want everyone to end up all safe and sound...you''ll never win that way," Luffy said coldly as he looked at her. Vivi stood there with an angry look on her face with tears forming in her eyes and his hands balled into a fist.


    "Come on Big Bro," Johnny said.


    "Can''t you show her some sympathy," Yosaku added.


    "hang on you two," Nojiko said while looking at Luffy and Vivi. The young princess threw her hood back and yelled at Luffy.


    "And what''s wrong with that huh?!" she asked/yelled. "What''s so wrong with not wanting to see people die or get hurt!?" she continued. Luffy just looked on with an indifferent look on his face.


    "Because people die that''s why," Luffy replied pushing Vivi over the edge causing her to take a swing at Luffy. Luffy saw it coming and did nothing. He simply allowed it to hit him.


    "Stop talking like that! I won''t listen to it!" she yelled as she watched Luffy''s face turn to the side. "If you keep talking like that, I really am going to hurt you!" she yelled causing Luffy to chuckle at what she just said.


    "And let me guess, you think it is only okay for you die huh?" Luffy asked as he turned and looked at the princess. "You think just putting your life on the line is enough to stop this from happening?" he asked as continued to look at her with an emotionless look on his face. Vivi now had tears streaming down her face as she looked at Luffy.


    "What else can I put on the line? I don''t exactly have anything else to give, Luffy," she croaked out between sobs.


    "And here I thought we were friends," Luffy said with a smile causing her eyes to widen. "You got our lives to put on the line," he added causing her to look around at the rest of Luffy''s crew and see them all smiling at nodding at her. Luffy then got up and dusted himself off, adjusted his straw hat, and spoke to the princess in a cold emotionless voice. "Now, tell me where I can find Crocodile," he said as he narrowed his eyes.


    "Lu-Luffy is right, that does seem to be the quickest way of ending all of this," Vivi said as he wiped the tear away from her eyes.


    "Yeah, and we can finally stop wandering around the desert. it was beginning to get old," Zoro said as he folded his arms.


    "So, where is he?" Sanji asked causing Vivi to pull out and map and unroll it in front of everyone.


    "This where Crocodile is, Rainbase," she said while pointing on the map. "It is a city north of our current location, and about a day''s journey from here," she said.


    "Good, now stand back!" Luffy said as he looked up to the sky. "I''m going to summon a thundercloud to take us there. As soon as it arrives, I want you all to hop on to it as quick as possible and hold on tight," he as he began to summon a cloud.


    "What why?" Nojiko asked.


    "Because I am going to need to get it as high as possible to a point where there is enough moisture in the air to sustain it," he explained. Everyone then looked up to the sky and saw a large thundercloud coming down from the sky. It bigger the ones the usually see from Luffy, much bigger. When the cloud was about 5 ft above the ground Luffy yelled out. "Everybody get one!" he yelled as he jumped on the cloud. Everyone else didn''t waste any time they quickly hopped onboard the cloud. As soon as everyone was on Luffy gave the mental command to the cloud to take off and so it did. The Cloud shot forward at blinding sleeping kicking up a trail of sand behind it. It then began to climb into the air at a rapid pace causing everyone to hold on for dear life. They were moving at about 100mph and after 1min of flying they were already at about 300ft above the ground but Luffy knew that it was still not high enough. He then increased the speed causing the cloud to climb faster.


    "Is it just me or has the cloud shrunk?" Usopp asked as he looked around the cloud.


    "No, it did shrink," Luffy replied as they continued to climb.


    "What!? How?" Usopp yelled/asked.


    "Loss of moisture," Nami replied for Luffy. Luffy simply smiled at her and continued focusing on getting high enough. When the cloud was about 5000ft in the air Luffy stopped it and let it hover there.


    "Let''s stops here for a bit to allow the cloud to gather some moisture," he said as he plopped himself down and let out a sigh of relief. After waiting for 30 minutes Luffy willed the cloud to move forwards and so it did. "I going to take us to just outside Rainbase," he said as the cloud flew in the direction of the city at about 80 mph.


    "Why outside?" Johnny asked as he looked back at Luffy.


    "Well, it might draw too much attention if a cloud carrying people suddenly land in the middle of the town," he said with a deadpan look on his face.


    "Oh, right," Johnny said while scratching the back of his head. The flew for about another 30 minutes before they came to stop mid-air.


    "Okay, we are going to have to go down at the same speed at which we came up with," He said causing everyone''s eyes to widen. Before any of them could say anything multiple bolts of lightning came out of the cloud and wrapped around everyone acting as seat belts. The cloud then took a deep dive and began to descend to the ground at about 150mph causing every member of Luffy''s crew to scream. When they were about 50ft above the ground the cloud began to level itself out and slowly began to slow down while at the same time descending at a slower pace than before. It took about 4 minutes for the cloud to completely slow down at about 3ft above the ground. "Okay, everyone off," Luffy said as the bolts of lightning disappeared from around everyone allowing them to get off. Usopp, Johnny, and Chopper were the first ones off. As their feet touched the ground, they immediately began kissing the sand.


    "Ohhh sweet ground how I missed you!" Usopp said as he kissed the ground causing Luffy to shake his head. As soon as everyone got off the cloud it dissipated into nothing.


    "So, that''s Rainbase," Luffy said while looking at the city in front of them.


    "Yes, that is where Crocodile is," Vivi said while pointing at a golden pyramid with a giant Banana Gators on top of it.


    "Well then, let''s go," Luffy said as he began walking towards the city. As the group entered the city and were walking through the streets Luffy and Zoro couldn''t shake the feeling that they were being watched.


    "Do you guys think that Baroque Works knows we are here?" Nami asked as they walked through the busy streets of Rainbase. It was then Zoro and Luffy caught sight of multiple people on the street holding pictures of all of them.


    "Yeah, they know we are here," Luffy replied.


    "You see them too?" Zoro asked while looking at Luffy.


    "Yeah...they''re everywhere," he replied as he looked around.


    "Luffy," Sanji said getting his attention. "We are running low on our water supply," he said causing Luffy to sigh before he replied.


    "Do you have any money left over from Nanohana?" he asked as he stopped in the middle of the street.


    "Yeah, I have enough," he said to Luffy.


    "Fine, take Chopper and buy as much as you can. We''ll head over and get things started with Crocodile and you can act as our wild card in the whole situation," Luffy said causing Chopper and Sanji to nod and walk off in the opposite direction. "Okay, let''s continue," Luffy said before they all began walking towards the pyramid again. Just the straw hats came at an intersection they heard yelled off to their right. When they looked over, they saw a group of Baroque Works agent running towards them.


    "Straw Hat!" was the next thing Luffy heard from an all too familiar voice coming from his left. When he looked over, he saw a group of marines being led by Smoker running after them.


    "How did they find us?" Luffy asked himself before he turned to his crew and spoke. "Split up!" he yelled out causing all to scatter in all different direction. Luffy then looked at Smoker and smiled before he spoke. "Hey, Smokey! Bet you can''t catch me!" he said as he stuck his tongue out at him before he took off running with Smoker following right behind him while his Marines went after everyone else. Luffy ran around the entire city with Smoker following closely behind him with both taking out random bounty hunters as they go along. After running around for about 10 minutes Luffy was finally approaching Crocodile''s main base of operation. He can see every one of his crew standing out in front of the casino except for Vivi, Sanji, and Chopper.


    "Luffy!?" Nami and Nojiko yelled when they saw him causing everyone to turn and look at him.


    "I think it''s time for us to go inside now," Luffy said while running towards them causing them to run towards the casino. When they entered the casino, they saw a lot of well-dressed people gambling completely ignoring Luffy and his crew''s presence. The group continued running even though they were in the casino with Smoker right behind them. As they were running, they were approaching the rear of the casino and a door with ''V.I. P'' written above it.


    "Welcome," a man dressed in a tux said.


    "The VIP room awaits you," another man said causing Luffy to raise his eyebrow. Luffy could tell it was a trap, but it was nothing he was all too worried about, so he went along with it.


    "Did he just say a V.I.P lounge?" Usopp asked while running.


    "Do you think it could be a trap?" Nami asked.


    "Maybe...only one way to find out," Luffy said as he kicked open the door. As the doors came open the group found themselves running down a long hallway.


    "Hey, captain," Zoro said while running. "the hallway splits up ahead," he said.


    "It says VIP''s go left and Pirates go right," Luffy read the two signs out long.


    "Let''s go left!" Nami and Usopp yelled out. Luffy doubts that sign really means anything. He was sure that both would lead to the same place...a trap.


    "Sorry, but we''re pirate so we are going right," he said causing all of them to groan while he smiled. As they made the turn they came upon a dead end.


    "Huh?" was the one thing they all said.


    "Straw Hat!" smoker said joining them. Just as smoker arrived the floor gave way revealing it to be a trap door causing all of them to fall through. Luffy and Smoker were the only ones to land on their feet while everyone else well laid out on the ground. Luffy decided to see where they were so he had a look around and saw that they were in a rather large prison cell.


    "Well, seems we''re caught," Luffy said nonchalantly.


    "The bars are made from Sea Prism stones as well," Smoker added as he touched the bars.


    "Guess we''re stuck here," Luffy said as he took a seat on the bench that was inside the cell.


    "Guess so," Smoker agreed as he too sat down on the bench but making sure there is some distance between him and Luffy.


    "HOW CAN YOU TWO BE SO CALM!" Luffy''s crew yelled.


    "Calm down...We have company..." Luffy said as he narrowed his eyes and looked out of the cell. Everyone looked out of the cell and saw a man sitting in a pretty large chair behind a desk staring at all of them with a smug smile on his face. "...Crocodile," Luffy said in a monotone voice.


    **CHAPTER END**

 Chapter 24: One of The Seven Warlords Of The Sea, Crocodile!

    Luffy and most of his crew were currently trapped in a prison cell made entirely of sea prism stone. Luffy was currently sitting on the bench inside the cell with the navy captain from Louge Town, Captain Smoker. Luffy''s crew, on the other hand, was having completely different reactions to being trapped in a cage when compared to their captain. Nami, Usopp, and Johnny were panicking while trying to pry the bars open with their b.a.r.e hands while Nojiko and Yosaku were sitting in the corner of the cell trusting that Luffy had a plan to get them out of there, while Zoro was sitting on the floor with his back leaned against the bars sleeping without a care in the world. While the crew were having their own reactions to being trapped in a cage, Luffy and Smoker were sitting on the bench with a 2 ft space between them staring out at the cell at the man sitting on a big armchair with a desk in front of him staring at all of them with a smug smile on his face.


    "Would all of you stop struggling," Crocodile said smugly while looking at the trapped pirates. "You''ll all die here together, so why don''t you stop struggling and accept your fate," he said before he started laughing maniacally. The three members of Luffy''s crew who were panicking earlier began to sweat slightly and immediately huddled together before they all yelled out at once.


    "I DON''T WANT TO DIE!" the three of them yelled out causing Luffy''s eyebrow to twitch ever so slightly.


    "Would you three put a sock in it!" Luffy yelled shutting them up and waking Zoro up in the process. "I told you earlier to calm down, didn''t I?" he added rhetorically.


    "Your pathetic screaming isn''t helping the situation one bit," Smoker added as he took a puff of the two cigars in his mouth.


    "Monkey D. Luffy," Crocodile said as he held up Luffy''s wanted poster. "To think the Navy gave you a 100 million berry bounty. It''s absolutely ridiculous!" he said before he started laughing. "You''re not even worth 1 million much less 100 million," he said arrogantly while laughing causing Luffy to smirk.


    "You''re every bit the lowly sea sc.u.m I imagined," Smoker said while looking at Crocodile.


    "My my, you''re every bit the wild dog I heard you were, Smoker," Crocodile replied while staring at Smoker. "Unlike your superiors, you never really believed I was on your side, did you?" he asked with a smug smile on his face. "And of course, you were right," he added as he got up from his chair and began walking towards the prison cell allowing the straw hat pirates to get a good look at him. He was a tall man with a wide c.h.e.s.t, broad shoulders, muscular arms and legs, and a thick neck. He has pale skin and nape-length black hair, which is kept neatly slicked back, though strands tend to fall in front of his face during battles. Crocodile has various battle wounds, most notably was a long-stitched scar at the bridge of his nose that stretches across his face and a large hook made from a tough gold alloy in place of his left hand. His eyes are deep-set and heavy-lidded, and his thin eyebrows are characteristically drawn upward in the middle. "I have a feeling that you''ll die honorably in the line of duty. I will be happy to inform the government that you died fighting valiantly against the vicious Straw Hat Pirates," Crocodile said causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "It''s a believable story I''ll give you that," Luffy added with a chuckle causing Smoker to growl.


    "I''ve been wanting to meet you for the longest time, Straw Hat," Crocodile said turning his attention over to Luffy.


    "Oh my, it would appear as though I have a fan," Luffy said calmly.


    "Even though your existence has just become known to the public, I heard you are causing quite a stir with the Navy, the government, and the grand public as well," Crocodile said causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow in curiosity while the rest of his crew looked on in confusion.


    "Huh?" Luffy said as he tilted his head to the side and looked at the warlord. "What are you talking about?" he asked in confusion. "I haven''t even done anything yet," Luffy said causing Smoker and Crocodile to look at him like he was crazy.


    "Wait, you mean to tell me you don''t know?" Smoker asked while looking at Luffy. The straw hats looked at the marine captain with confusion written all over their face.


    "Know what?" Luffy asked. Crocodile walked back over to his desk and grabbed a newspaper before walking back over to the cell and showed it to the group. When everyone saw the newspaper all their eyes except for Luffy widen in shock at what they were seeing. Luffy just smirked he saw the front page. On the front page of the newspaper was a picture of Luffy standing on the execution platform in Louge Town with his arms spread out wide while a beam of sunlight pierce through the thundercloud infested sky shining down upon him like a spotlight from heaven. As if the picture wasn''t shocking enough the headline just made the picture look even more shocking. The headline read: "THE NEXT KING OF THE PIRATES?" Zoro saw the picture and immediately remembered seeing that scene in person at Logue Town while the rest of Luffy''s crew were seeing it for the first time.


    "I take it you remember doing that?" Crocodile asked as he folded up the paper.


    "Well, since then at least every week there is a news story about you," Crocodile said to Luffy surprising him. "From you slaughtering an entire city of bounty hunters to you overthrowing a king in the Drum Kingdom," Crocodile enlightened causing Luffy to take on a serious look on his face and narrowed his eyes slightly.


    ''Which mean that someone has been following us,'' Luffy thought to himself. The idea of him being followed by someone all this time and he didn''t notice anything rubbed him the wrong way. He is going to need to find this person because he cannot run an underground crime syndicate and have someone following him like this. That is just asking for trouble. Luffy placed it at the back of his mind for now opting to deal with it later.


    "But enough about you, Straw Hat," Crocodile said knocking Luffy out of his thought. "It would appear that our guest of honor has arrived," he said causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow.


    "Guest of honor?" Nami asked with confusion written all over her face. Just as she asked that question the doors on top of the staircase behind Crocodile opened and in walked Vivi and Ms. All Sunday.


    "Crocodile!" Vivi shouted from at the top of the staircase.


    Vivi!?" Nami and Nojiko yelled out in surprise while Luffy just sat there with an emotionless look on his face.


    "My humble greetings, Vivi royal princess of Alabasta," Crocodile said as he walked over and sat back down on his armchair. "I compliment you on having evaded out assassins to get this far," he added smugly.


    "You have no idea how far I am willing to go to see you dead, Mr. 0," Vivi added with an angry look on her face. "I wish you died in your cradle you monster!" she yelled before she leaped forward to attack Crocodile with her peac.o.c.k slasher. Luffy saw this and sighed at the princess''s foolish attempt to kill the warlord. "This country would still be peaceful if it wasn''t for you!" she yelled.


    "Peac.o.c.k String Slasher!" she yelled as she thrust her peac.o.c.k slasher forward slicing clean through Crocodile''s head and the back of the armchair. Luffy''s crew saw this and had their eyes widen in shock while Luffy and smoker looked on with an unchanging looking on their face before they both spoke at the same time.


    "Feel better?" Crocodile asked from behind Vivi scaring her. "As a native of this country, you must surely know that I have the power of the Sand-Sand fruit," he said as his body reformed and he grabbed the princess and placed his hand right hand over her mouth and his left hand with the hook around her waist. "Want to become a mummy?" he asked with a smile on his face while Luffy''s crew began screaming at him to let the princess go. "Have a seat, Princess," Crocodile said ignoring the straw hat as he placed the princess down on an empty armchair opposite from his own with the princess''s arms bounded behind her. "The part if just about to begin. isn''t that right Ms. All Sunday?" he asked while looking over at the woman with the cowboy hat on.


    "Yes," she replied as she pulled out a pocket watch. "It is exactly noon right now. Time for operation Utopia," she said getting Luffy and Smoker''s attention.


    "Utopia?" Nojiko asked while looking at the woman.


    "What''s operation Utopia?" Usopp asked causing Crocodile to start laughing maniacally.


    "It will mean the demise of the kingdom of Alabasta, Ms. Wednesday,'' he said while looking at Vivi. "I''m going to wipe it off the face of the map as though it never was," he said causing the princess to gasp out in shock.


    "Damn you!" Vivi said while biting her lips. "Just what do you think you are going to do to Alabasta?" she asked in an annoyed tone.


    "Princess, would you like to know what kind of people I despise above all others?" Crocodile asked with a smirk. "Those hypocrites preach endlessly about the happiness of the people," he said.


    "You plan to kill my father?" the princess asked. "You''ll be dead before you can get close to him!" she screamed with a crazy look on her face.


    "You needed shout. I''m not going to touch a hair on his head," Crocodile said with a sinister smile on his face. "He is not even worth Killing. Instead, I will have him experience a humiliation worse than death," he said puzzling everyone except Luffy.


    "Have him live and watch all of his people die," Luffy said to Usopp as he pulled out his bottle of whiskey and two glasses. "As a king, that''s a faith worse than death," he added as he poured some whiskey in both glasses before sliding one glass over to Smoker. Smoker looked at the glass and then looked at Luffy before he growled and pushed it back towards Luffy causing him to chuckle at the marine captain''s sense of duty.


    "Monster," Nami whispered out as she stared at the warlord.


    "I demand that you tell me, what is this operation Utopia!" Vivi yelled out causing Luffy to chuckle at the princess getting everyone''s attention once again.


    "What so funny!" Nami yelled at Luffy.


    "It''s funny that the princess thinks that she is in a situation to make demands," he said with another chuckle causing Crocodile to chuckle along with him. "Another thing that''s funny is when she said Crocodile would be killed before he gets close enough to her father," he added before he took a sip of his drink. "Sorry to say this princess but he can get as close to your father as he wants to cause it is a simple fact that your father''s royal guard is made up of just regular human beings. People like me, Smoker, and Crocodile, we''re monsters in human skin," Luffy said coldly while looking at the princess. Vivi stared at Luffy with an angry look on her face. In her mind, he wasn''t helping the situation one bit. All he was doing was sitting there drinking without a care in the world and that really made her mad. Luffy''s crew were having multiple reactions to what Luffy just said. Nami and Usopp were wondering if Luffy had a once of sympathy in his system while Nojiko, Johnny, and Yosaku were trying to figure out what Luffy had planned to get them out of here. Zoro on the other and was wondering why he wasn''t on the list of monsters Luffy just named. Is it because he didn''t have a devil fruit? Smoker, however, agreed with everything Luffy just said even though he would never admit it.


    "Now isn''t that the truth," Crocodile said while looking at Luffy.


    "Hell, I wouldn''t be surprised if he doesn''t already have the king," Luffy said before he took another sip of his drink. When everyone heard that they all snapped their heads around at Crocodile to see his reaction. When Crocodile heard What Luffy said he started to laugh manically once more causing all their eyes to widen in shock while Vivi was pale as a sheet as she stared at Crocodile with a grief-stricken look on her face. "And the fact that we had to opportunity to meet Mr. 2 I can only hypothesize that you are going to have him impersonate the king," Luffy added in a monotone voice while staring at Crocodile.


    "Well aren''t you a smart on, Straw Hat," Crocodile replied smugly.


    "The only question that remains is what you are going to have Mr. 2 do while he impersonates the king. Is he going to kill his own men? Name you king? Or is he going to kill his own loyal subjects?" Luffy asked while looking at the warlord. "It doesn''t really matter which one he does really. All of them are going to bring out the same reaction out of people," he said before taking another sip of his whiskey.


    "Whatever Mr. 2 does as the king will spread throughout the entire country. Rebels from different towns and cities will mobilize and citizens who once had faith in the king will take up arms. Soon the entire country will rebel against the current king which would lead all of them to one place and one place only..." Luffy said as he narrowed his eyes and stared at Crocodile through the bars. "...Alubarna," he said in an emotionless voice.


    "Is that your plan!?" Vivi yelled at Crocodile. "Is that it? Have all the people in the country overthrow my father!?" she yelled out


    "No that''s not it, Princess," Luffy said getting her attention. "Earlier he said he wanted to wipe Alabasta off the face of the map. Him overthrowing the king does nothing of the sorts. This leads me to believe that he has something planned for everyone once they reach Alubarna," Luffy added as he looked at the Warlord before a smirk slowly crept on his face. "Isn''t that right, Scarface?" Luffy asked with a smug smirk on his face.


    "Looks like straw hat got you there, Mr. 0," Ms. All Sunday said causing Crocodile to growl and look at her.


    "Enough fooling around," he said before he turned and looked at Vivi. "It is time for us to head to Alubarna ourselves, Ms. Wednesday," he said before he reached into his coat and pulled out a small golden key. "If you would like to come with us then please do, or you can try and save them," he said as he held up the key from Vivi to see.


    "The key to the cell," Usopp said as he stared at the key. The warlord then stretched out his hand with key and held it over a hole in the floor that seems to lead to another room under the one that they were in. Vivi immediately began to struggle and try to break free from her bonds just as Crocodile let go of the key causing Luffy''s crew''s eyes to widen in shock. At the last moment, the princess finally broke free from her bonds but sadly it was too late. The key fell through the hole in the floor down to the lower level.


    "Oh no," Vivi said in a dejected tone.


    "It won''t be too long until the rebels and the royal army battle to the death in Alubarna. If you hurry you might just make it in time," Crocodile said in a condescending tone. "To stop the rebellion, you need to leave at once, Ms. Wednesday. Will you do that or try and save your friends instead?" he asked with a chuckle causing the princess to clench her fist in anger. "If you chose the latter it doesn''t help that I accidentally dropped the key in the banana gators den," Crocodile said smugly. Just then inside the den of the banana gators a rather large gator came up and ate the key.


    "Oh no! A banana gator ate the key!" Vivi yelled as she looked down the hole. Luffy''s crew began to give up hope of escaping while their captain just sat there as though everything was alright.


    "Now Crocodile," Luffy said getting the warlord''s attention. "You wouldn''t happen to mean that dried up old guy, do you?" Luffy asked in a dangerous tone of voice that cause Zoro to get up and move away from his captain.


    "Of course," he replied smugly to Luffy. "That old fool keeps pecking away all day at an oasis that''s long dead. Even as he is plagued by constant sandstorms he keeps digging away," Crocodile mocked causing Luffy to clench his fist and get up from his seat for the first time since they been there and stared at Crocodile with cold emotionless eyes.


    "You should quit will you''re ahead, Crocodile," Luffy said in clam yet menacing tone. "Or I''ll make what Whitebeard did you look like child''s play," he said causing the warlord to lose his smile and growl while unconsciously grabbing his golden hook before his face morphed into a smirk.


    "Let you ask you a question, Straw Hat," Crocodile said with a smug smirk. "Ever wondered how a sandstorm can hit a town perfectly every time?" he asked. Just as he asked the question a bolt of lightning shot out of the cage missing all of the sea prism stone bars int he process and hit Crocodile right in his left eye destroying the left quarter of his face causing bits of glass to fall towards the ground. It happened so fast people were still puzzled at what just happened. Even Crocodile himself didn''t know what just took place. All he saw was a bright flash of light before he suddenly lost sight in his left eye and the sounds of something hitting the floor filled the air. When he looked down at the ground next to his left foot her saw a bunch of glass flakes laying there puzzling him. He then brought his hand up to his face and felt a hole in the place where the upper left quarter of his head should be. The hole was slowly repairing itself due to him being a logia user, but it was repairing itself a lot slower than normal.


    "I warned you," Luffy said as he stared out of the prison cell. The Warlord looked at Luffy for a minute before he chuckled and turned around and began walking through the tunnel. As he was walking through the tunnel, he snapped his fingers causing a trap door to open in the floor and a huge gator to come out of it with its eyes set on Vivi. After that, a bunch of smaller trap doors opened and water from the lake surrounding Rain Dinners to gush out of the doors causing the room to slowly be filled with water.


    "Ahhhhh! We''re going to drown!" Usopp and Johnny yelled while hugging each other. Crocodile just laughed at the helpless pirates as he and Ms. All Sunday began walking away. The giant gator then began making its way towards the helpless princess to devour her. Luffy seeing that the princess doesn''t stand a chance unleashed a wave of conqueror''s haki aimed at the giant gator causing the giant beast''s eyes to roll back into its head and pass out onto the ground with a big thud. Luffy''s crew were somewhat surprised but not as much as they use to be. Smoker, on the other hand, was beyond surprise. He had no idea what just happened, one moment the gator is about to eat the princess and the next it just passes out on the floor. He didn''t see Straw Hat do anything, so it puzzled him just how the gator ended up unconscious without anyone moving a muscle. Crocodile and Ms. All Sunday heard the thud and decided to turn around to see what happened. When they looked behind them, they were expecting to see a dead princess but instead, they saw the giant beast that rivals a sea king in terms of power laying on its back unconscious. Just as they were about to walk back towards the room to deal with the princess themselves, a transponder snail in Ms. All Sunday''s position began to ring.


    *purupurupuru* *purupurupuru*


    "It would appear as though someone is calling," she said as she held up the snail in her right hand.


    *purupurupuru* *purupurupuru* *Clachak*


    "Hello? Hello?" A familiar male voice said through the transponder snail. "Can you hear me?" he asked causing Luffy to smirk once he recognized the voice.


    "Yes, we can hear you. You''re a million, right?" Ms. All Sunday asked.


    "Hurry up and state your business, what is it?" Crocodile asked getting a bit impatient.


    "Now I know I''ve heard that voice before," Sanji said through the phone puzzling the warlord. "Yeah hello there, you''ve reached the crap cafe," he said earning a chuckle from his captain.


    "Crap cafe?" Crocodile asked still puzzled just who it is on the other end of the line.


    "Yeah, if you still don''t remember maybe this will jog your memory. Little Garden..." Sanji said causing Crocodile to think about it for a while before a look of realization spread across his face.


    "Ah yes, mind telling me who you are," the warlord said.


    "Me? Just call me Mr. Prince," Sanji replied.


    "Well then, Mr. Prince, mind tell me where you are?" Crocodile asked. Before Sanji could reply to his Question Luffy yelled out to him from inside the prison cell.


    "Hey, Mr. Prince!" Luffy yelled loud enough to reach the transponder snail. "We got a lovely princess here who needs saving!" he yelled causing Zoro and Nojiko to chuckle. "Who knows, she might just give you a kiss if you manage to save her!" Luffy continued trying to sweeten the deal for his perverted chef.


    "VIVI-CHAWNNNNNN! I''M COMMINGGG!" Sanji yelled through the snail causing everyone to chuckle.


    "Oh and ...kill anyone who just in your way!" Luffy added loudly in a serious tone causing all the yelled on the other end of the transponder snail to suddenly stop before Sanji replied.


    "Aye, captain," Sanji replied in a serious tone before the sound of the transponder he was holding hit the ground and screams were suddenly heard coming out from it.


    "Helppppp!" a man yelled.


    "Please! Spare us!" another begged.


    "It''s a monster!" one screamed.


    "Stop them before they make inside the Rain Dinners!" the voice of Chopper said pretending to be one of the Baroque Works agents causing Luffy to smile.


    "Come on, Let''s go pay this Mr. Prince a visit seeing as how he is right outside," Crocodile said as he began walking away from the Straw hats. When he was far enough away Luffy spoke to his crew.


    "Okay, I think it''s time we get out of here," Luffy said as he walked over to the side of the prison wall.


    "Hey, straw hat," Smoker said getting Luffy''s attention. "That woman with Crocodile..." he said with narrowed eyes.


    "Is exactly who you think she is," Luffy said finishing Smoker''s sentence. "With her being here means one thing and one thing only. Crocodile wants the information that''s on the Poneglyph that the Nefertari have in their position," Luffy said before he turned to the wall and held up his right fist before coating it in armament haki. "When building a prison cell to hold devil fruit users you should put sea prism stones all over the cell, not just the bars in the front," Luffy said before he punched the concrete wall with his haki coated fist causing the entire cell to vibrate for a while before cracks slowly worked their way throughout the wall causing it to come crumbling down.


    "You mean you could have escaped here anytime you wanted?!" Nami, Vivi, and Usopp yelled at Luffy as they all exited the cage.


    "Well yeah," Luffy replied nonchalantly. Nami was about to shout something else at her captain but before she could, the entire build shook violently.


    "What the hell is going on up there?" Nojiko asked as he looked around.


    "I think we got bigger problems down here," Yosaku said. As she said that the sounds of glass breaking filled the air as the windows shattered causing even more water from the outside to pour in.


    "Damn, that shockwave coupled with the water pressure from the outside cause the windows to break," Luffy enlightened with a sigh. "And on top of that I can''t swim," he stated to himself but loud enough for everyone to hear. He was about to speak again but before he could the voice of his chef interrupted him.


    "Captain!" Sanji yelled as he ran down the staircase towards the crew.


    "Sanji, where is Chopper?" Luffy asked as he noticed Sanji was by himself.


    "He is running around town acting as Mr. Prince," he said causing Luffy to nod.


    "Come on, we need to get...out...of...here," Luffy said as he fell to his knees due to the water level rising.


    "CAPTAIN/LUFFY!" his crew yelled as they saw him fall to his knees. Luffy was still conscious and he can see and hear everything that was going on. The only thing was he didn''t have the energy to do anything about. He looked off to the side and saw Smoker was in no better shape than what he was. Zoro and Sanji being the closest to their captain grabbed onto him as the room began to fill with water.


    "Zoro...grab Smokey," Luffy said in a weakened voice.


    "What?! Why!?" Zoro yelled/ asked as everyone began to try and swim out of the room.


    "Just do it," Luffy replied before he and Sanji were submerge under the water. Zoro left Sanji to take care of Luffy while he dove under the water to find the marine captain. The entire crew swam out through one of the broken windows to the lake outside of Rain Dinners where they resurfaced dragging an extremely weaken Luffy and Smoker to shore. When they all resurfaced Sanji laid Luffy down on the ground causing him to spit out some water as Nami and Nojiko came up after him dragging an unconscious Usopp while Vivi, Yosaku, and Johnny came out just fine followed by Zoro dragging out a weakened Smoker.


    "Zoro, what the hell?" Nami said when she saw who Zoro pulled out of the water.


    "Don''t look at me," Zoro replied as he stood up. "Captain''s orders," he added as he turned and looked at Luffy. Smoker began to slowly get up while coughing trying to get some of the water out of his lungs before he looked over at Luffy after hearing what Zoro said.


    "Why did you save me?" he asked Luffy.


    "Come on now Smokey," Luffy said with a chuckle as he stood up. "Who''s going to chase after me if you die," he said before he clenched his fist and covered his entire body in lightning for two seconds before shutting it leaving steam surrounding his body as the water from his once wet cloths evaporated. Smoker just looked at Luffy for a while before he finally spoke.


    "Then you wouldn''t have any gripes of me carrying out my duty and arresting you, would you?" Smoker asked causing Luffy to smirk.


    "You''re going to have to put that off because we got bigger problems," Luffy said causing Smoker to raise his eyebrow. "Whether you want to admit it or not this country is going to hell cause of Crocodile and we are going to have to work together if we want to stop it," he said seriously.


    "Why do we need to do that?" Smoker asked as he lit the cigar he had in his mouth.


    "Cause, you don''t have nearly enough men here to deal with this alone and it would take too long for reinforcement to arrive here," Luffy said before smirking at the marine captain. "The only option you have is to team up with us," he said causing the marine to growl.


    "You make it sound like you have multiple options," Smoker noted earning a chuckle from Luffy.


    "I do," Luffy replied confidently. "My crew and I can do everything ourselves, however, I have some respect for you. So, instead of the papers reading Pirates save a country while the Navy did nothing, I''m giving you a chance to save face," Luffy said earning silence from both his crew and Smoker. Luffy and Smoker stared at each other for a few minutes before Smoker finally spoke breaking the silence.


    "Fine, but after this the next time we meet I''m taking you down," he said before taking a puff of his cigar.


    "You''re welcome to try," Luffy replied with a smirk.


    "And I want Crocodile alive at the end of all this so he can pay for his crimes," Smoker added earning a nod from Luffy.


    "That''s fine with me," he replied. "We know Crocodile has something planned for both armies in Alubarna, however, we do not know what," Luffy said earning nods from everyone. "Let me and my crew take care of Crocodile and stop the rebellion while you and your marines try and figure out what it is he has planned and stop it," Luffy said causing the marine captain to begrudgingly nod his head in agreement. Smoker was about to say something else but before he could they all heard shouts coming from behind him. When everyone looked behind the marine captain, they saw a group of marines being led by the swordswoman who is always with smoker running towards them.


    "Not her again!" Zoro said with a panicked looked his face. Before anyone could say or do anything, ropes of lightning came out from Luffy''s fingers and wrapped around his crew before he teleported himself and his crew away from their current location.


    On the outskirts of Rainbase, a bolt of lightning struck down onto the desert kicking up a dust cloud and turning the sand of the point of impact to glass. When the dust cloud cleared one could see Luffy standing there with all his crew members hunched over on the ground looking as though they are about to puke.


    "Hey Sanji," Luffy said getting his attention. "How are we going to find Chopper?" he asked causing all of them to realize that they were still missing Chopper.


    "Oh right," Sanji said before he turned to Nami. "Nami, could you spray that perfume that I bought for you," he stated causing Nami to shrug her shoulders before she pulled out a small bottle of perfume and sprayed it on herself.


    "Now all we have to do is wait for him to find us," Sanji said before he proceeded to swoon over Nami. Luffy ignored all of it and looked up to the sky and began to summon the thunder cloud that he normally uses as his throne. After waiting for about 2 minutes he could finally see the cloud descending from the sky at a high rate of speed. By now everyone else noticed it as well, however, they were all thinking that Luffy summoned it to give them a ride to Alubarna. When the cloud arrived Luffy quickly waked up to it and stuck his hand inside and pulled out his captain''s coat before giving the cloud the command to leave. As the coat exited the cloud it shot straight up back into the sky at a blinding speed puzzling everyone.


    "Isn''t that cloud going to take us to Alubarna?" Nojiko asked Luffy while looking at him with a puzzled look on his face.


    "Considering the fact that that cloud has all of our money and treasure stored inside it and us traveling through the dessert will only risk it being destroyed. I would say no, it''s not taking us to Alubarna," Luffy replied causing Nami to gasp out in shock.


    "I wholeheartedly agree!" Nami yelled out.


    "Of course, you do," Zoro and Usopp said lowly causing Nami to hit them in the head. Luffy then pulled off the blue wrap he had around his hat and face along with the dessert robes he had on over his clothes and threw them on the ground causing everyone to look at him with a serious expression on their faces.


    "Enough games," he said as he threw his captain''s coat on and adjusted his straw hat. "It''s time to get serious," he stated as the wind blew across the desert and the sounds of his coat billowing in the wind filled the air. "We''re ending this now, understood!?" he yelled out/asked.


    "Aye aye, Captain!" his crew replied.


    "Hey, look over there!" Yosaku said getting all their attention. When everyone looked at him, they saw him pointing to the right of their current location causing all of them to look in the direction that he was pointing. When they looked over, they saw something making its way towards them. As it got closer and closer the crew were finally able to see what it was. "It was Chopper and the camel that they saved riding on the back of a giant crab.


    "What the f.u.c.k?" Luffy, Zoro, and Nojiko said at the same time at the stared at the scene before them.


    "that''s a moving crap!" Vivi said with a smile.


    "All aboard!" Chopper yelled out as the giant crab came to a stop in front of them.


    "I guess Chopper found us a ride," Luffy said as he walked towards the crab. The giant crab lowered its claw allowing everyone to step on it before it raised it in the air allowing them to walk onto its back.


    "Time to move out!" Chopper said as he took the reins. "Hang on everyone! Let''s go!" he said before the crab took off in the direction of Alubarna. Everyone sat down as the giant crab was moving, everyone except Luffy that is. He was standing looking off in the direction of where they previously were with a smirk on his face.


    "Zoro," he said earning his vice-captain''s attention along with everyone else''s. "You''re in charge," he said before he reached into his coat and pulled out a transponder snail and threw it to Zoro who caught it and looked at his captain with a confused expression on his face.


    "Where are you going, Luffy?" Vivi asked while staring at him with a worried expression on her face.


    "To end this," he said. As she said that he stretched his hand forward and caught a golden hook, which everyone recognized as Crocodile''s before it could get to Vivi. Luffy held onto the hook tightly as it tried to wiggle its way out of his grip but sadly it had no luck. He then covered his hand and the hook in lightning giving Crocodile a shock of his life forcing him to pull his hook away after Luffy released it. "I''ll see you guys in Alubarna. Make sure to take care of your business," he said before turning his body into lightning and teleporting off the crab.


    "Luffy, nooo!" Vivi yelled out as she tried to jump off the crab to try and stop Luffy only to be stopped herself by Nami and Nojiko.


    "Relax Vivi," Nojiko said while holding the princess back.


    "Yeah, no one has ever faced Luffy and was able to walk alive when Luffy is like this," Nami said trying to calm the princess down. "Trust me on that," she added.


    "Crocodile will fail and Luffy will win. It''s that simple," Zoro added while everyone else nodded in agreement. "So, stop worrying about him and focus stopping the rebels," he added raising his voice slightly.


    **With Luffy**


    Lightning struck down in the middle of the desert in front of two people kicking up sand blinding their view of the point of impact. When the sand settled back down the two people saw none other the Thunder Demon himself standing there with his hands in his pocket staring at them with cold emotionless eyes.


    "I''m going to make you wish you never interfered in my business, Straw hat!" Crocodile yelled as he nursed his left hand.


    "And I''ll make you wish your mother swallowed you that night you were conceived," Luffy replied in an emotionless tone.


    **CHAPTER END**

 Chapter 25: The End of Crocodile and Nico Robin!

    The sun was setting over the deserts of Alabasta and standing in the middle of the desert outside of Rain base were Luffy, Crocodile, and Ms. All Sunday. Luffy and Crocodile were locked in a staring match with a serious look on both of their faces while Ms. All Sunday stood off to Crocodile''s right with a smile that was clearly fake staring at the two men.


    "It would seem as though the princess slipped through our fingers once again," She said breaking the tense silence between the group.


    "It doesn''t matter," Crocodile replied causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow. "The agents are still scheduled to meet in Alubarna. Contact them at once," he ordered while taking a glance at his subordinate. Luffy chuckled for a bit, getting both of their attention before he spoke in a calm tone.


    "It doesn''t matter where your agents are," he said calmly. "The is no way they are getting past my crew," he added confidently.


    "That is a lot of faith you are putting into a bunch of people you only known for about a month now," Ms. All Sunday said while looking at Luffy.


    "No one knows a crew better than the captain," Luffy replied as he turned his attention to the sole female there. Ms. All Sunday just looked at Luffy and chuckled. Luffy was about to say something else but before he could a blade of sand shot up from the ground off to his right and sliced his body in half. Luffy just looked down at the blade of sand that is currently separating the upper half of his body from the lower and sighed before he spoke to Ms. All Sunday once more. "It would seem as though I am going to have to cut our conversation short. Your boss is apparently getting jealous. We will continue once I am done, Ms. Robin," Luffy said using Ms. All Sunday''s real name surprising her a bit before she simply smiled and nodded before she replied.


    "I''ll give you boys some room to play," she said before she moved to stand a bit away from the duo. The warlord saw that he was still being ignored and growled before he raised his right in into the air and sand began to swirl around it, covering his entire wrist with sand.


    "So, I was right," Luffy said as the two halves of his body reattached itself. "You don''t know haki," he added in a slightly disappointed tone. "Guess it was wrong of me to assume that you would have been able to pose a challenge to me," Luffy said as he adjusted his straw hat.


    "You bastard!" Crocodile growled out in frustration. "Take this!" he yelled out letting his anger get the better of him as he raised his right hand and turned it into a spearhead made of sand before stabbing it into the ground while yelling out.


    "Desert Girasole!" he yelled. Luffy was expecting something to happen right away but nothing happened. He waited for a few seconds to see if anything was going to happen and just when he was about to ridicule Crocodile for his attack failure the sand beneath his feet collapsed a giant pit of quicksand about 30 ft wide formed causing Luffy to begin to sink into the ground while Crocodile stood on top of the giant pit staring at Luffy smugly. Luffy didn''t move a muscle or even showed an ounce of panic on his face. He just stood there staring at Crocodile with a bored expression on his face.


    "Ever heard of quicksand?" Crocodile asked arrogantly. "It makes for an easy dessert burial when you need to get rid of someone in a hurry," he said with a smirk. "With my Sand-Sand fruit, I am unbeatable when fighting in the dessert!" he added with a smug smile on his face causing Luffy to sigh.


    "Is that so?" Luffy asked from inside the sinking pit. "Well then, let''s just see about that," He added before his entire body turned into a bolt of lightning and shot straight out of the pit towards the direction of Crocodile. When the bolt of lightning was 2ft in front of the warlord it transformed back into Luffy with his fist reared back covered in Haki. Luffy then delivered a haki infused superman punch to Crocodile''s face sending him tumbling back about 15 ft. "Would you look at that. Guess you''re not that unbeatable," Luffy said in a bored tone as he adjusted his straw hat.


    "Why you!" Crocodile growled as he shakingly got began to try and stand up. When he stood up Luffy saw the Warlord staring at him with an angry look on his face as blood leaked out of his nose and the side of his mouth. "It''s time to die, vermin!" Crocodile said as he held his right hand in front of him.


    "Sables!" he yelled out causing a mini sand tornado to form in the palm of his hand before it began to grow until it was a giant sandstorm. Luffy saw the giant tornado of sand heading for him but he didn''t do anything. He simply stood there, narrowed his eyes and raised his left hand into the air and covered his palm in lightning.


    "Judgement!" he yelled out as he brought his hand down in a swift motion. As his hand reached his side a large bolt of lightning came out of the clear sunset sky and covered the entire sand tornado leaving behind a glass statue of a tornado.


    "Funny thing about lightning," Luffy said as he began walking towards the statue. "It is 5 times hotter than the surface of the sun," He added before he punched the glass statue causing it to shatter into millions of pieces. "I think I messed around enough. Don''t you think so?" Luffy asked rhetorically as he tilted his head to the side. "It''s time to get serious," he added in a cold emotionless tone. Now Crocodile was slightly scared when he heard that. He just saw Luffy take care of one of his most powerful attack like it was nothing and now he is saying that he wasn''t even serious, he was just messing around. That was absolutely ludicrous to Crocodile. Luffy narrowed his eyes at Crocodile before he kicked off from the ground and dashed forward towards Crocodile in a great show of natural speed. In a blink of an eye, Luffy appeared in front of the warlord and buried his knee into Crocodile''s gut knocking the wind out of him and causing him to cough up some blood. Luffy then raised his left hand into the air made a fist before he delivered a powerful haki infused punch to Crocodile''s back sending the arrogant warlord crashing into the ground while forming a small crater in the process.


    "Never...will...I... beg...you...for...anyth-" Crocodile said in a rasping voice before he was cut off by a haki infused kick to the face sending tumbling back into the sand.


    "I''m sorry, I didn''t quite catch that. My foot seems to have interrupted you," Luffy said mockingly before he looked down at his feet and saw a tooth stuck into the sand. "Huh, would you look at this," he said as he picked up the tooth. "It would appear as though you are missing a tooth," he added with a chuckle before he dropped it back into the sand and stepped on it. "Now beg!" he said as the amused smile on his face disappear and a cold emotionless look took its place. Luffy then released a strong wave of conquerors haki directed at the warlord alone. Luffy knew that Crocodile would not be knocked out by the haki but in his current state, it would mess with his mind and do the one thing that Luffy loved the most...insight fear. The wave of haki hit Crocodile full on and the moment the wave hit him a chill ran down his spine causing him to shiver slightly. He then raised his head from out of the sand and looked at Luffy with a small amount of fear present on his face. He saw Luffy began walking towards him causing him to avert his gaze to Luffy''s feet where he can hear footsteps in his head. He knew it was impossible but with every step Luffy took it sounded like someone walking across a wooden floor with metal boots and with menacing step Luffy took the sounds grew louder and louder in Crocodile''s head increasing his fear until Luffy came to a stop in front of his face. An extremely terrified Crocodile looked up at Luffy and saw he was staring right back at him with glowing red eyes that seem to stare right into his soul.


    "Beg," Luffy said in a menacing tone sending chills down the spine of an extremely terrified Crocodile. Crocodile tried to speak but his voice won''t come out and after seeing Crocodile not saying anything Luffy narrowed his eyes and looked at the badly beaten warlord with a dangerous look before he raised his right leg in the air and covered his foot from his shin down in lightning and proceeded to stomp the warlord''s head into the ground. "I said!" *Stomp* "Beg!" *Stomp* "Now beg!" *Stomp*


    "Please stop!" Crocodile yelled out finally in a hoarse voice causing Luffy to stop.


    "There, now that wasn''t so hard," Luffy said before he placed his right leg on Crocodile''s back.


    "Bind!" he said in a commanding tone causing ropes of lightning to sprout out from under his foot and bind the warlord in place.


    "That should hold you," Luffy said before he looked off to his right where Nico Robin was standing and signaled her to come. The second in command to Crocodile walked her to Luffy swaying her h.i.p.s ever so slightly causing Luffy to smile.


    "You continue to impress me, Straw hat," she said with a smile causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "I aim to please," he replied before he began looking around the desert.


    "Someplace to sit down," Luffy replied causing her smile.


    "I think I can be of assistance," she said before she brought her hand up to her lips and whistled loudly causing Luffy to see something running towards them from Rainbase. In a blink of an eye, the creature appeared in front of the duo surprising Luffy. It looked like a banana gator, but it was different, it was slightly smaller and had a saddle strapped to its back.


    "What is it?" Luffy asked as he examined the gator.


    "It''s an F-Wani, or better known as an Accellegator," she said as he walked up to the gator and hoped on before moving over for Luffy to hop on. "It is a sub-type of Banana gator, less ferocious than the usual breed, and capable of very high speeds in the Sandora Desert," she educated as Luffy hopped up onto the saddle with her.


    "This is quite comfy," Luffy said as he sat down. He then reached into his coat and pulled out a bottle of whiskey along with two glasses. He handed one to Robin before he poured both of them a drink. Robin took the glass of whiskey and drink it before immediately regretting that decision. She began coughing and eyes began to water causing Luffy to chuckle. "You''re supposed to sip it, not gulp it down," he said in an amused voice.


    "Thanks for the advice," she said sarcastically. "Why are you so relaxed?" she asked as she looked at Luffy. "Aren''t you going to go help your crew stop the war?" she asked in confusion.


    "I''ll stop the war," Luffy replied. "But my crew needs to fight their own battles," he added before taking a sip of his drink.


    "So, you are just going to leave them to fight the numbered agents?" she asked.


    "Yes, I can''t keep coming to their rescue all the time. They need to learn to fight on their own," he said causing her to nod her head. She was about to say something else but before she could someone landed on the ground between the gator and Crocodile taking everyone by surprise. When Luffy looked over he saw a man wearing a long white robe with brown star-like motifs on it and a matching hat. "Who are you and where the hell did you come from?" Luffy asked not liking the idea that he was so easily surprised.


    "Who are you and why are you with that woman?" Pell asked as he placed his hand on his sword causing Luffy to narrow his eyes.


    "I''m the one the princess hired to save this country," Luffy replied calmly.


    "If you are here to save the country what are you doing with that woman?!" he asked while pointing at Robin.


    "Didn''t your mother ever teach you that it is rude to point, and at a lady no less," Luffy said causing Robin to chuckle. "As for your question, she works for me," he said taking both Robin and Pell by surprise. "She was my spy inside Crocodile''s organization. Now that Crocodile is out of the picture, she has come back to rejoin my crew," Luffy lied smoothly.


    "Where is the princess?" Pell asked.


    "I sent her and the rest of my crew to Alubarna. If you hurry you can catch up to them," Luffy said while pointing off to the direction where the giant crab carrying everyone went. Pell looked off to where Luffy was pointing and was about to take off in that direction but stopped and looked at Luffy.


    "Aren''t you coming?" he asked causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "I''m a lot faster than you so you go on ahead," Luffy said before he turned and looked at the bounded Crocodile. "Plus, there is still something I have to do," he added in a cold voice sending chills down Pell''s spin. Pell nodded before he transformed into a falcon and flew away.


    "So, I work for you now?" Robin asked in a teasing voice causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "And why would I do that?" she asked.


    "You won''t have to be running anymore," Luffy replied causing the smile to disappear from her face. "You want to read the Poneglyph that the Nefertari family have in their position, right?" he asked surprising her.


    "How did you know?" she asked in a shocked voice.


    "Come on, it wasn''t that hard to guess," Luffy said before taking a sip. "At the end of all this Alabasta will become my territory. I can ask the king to take us to the Poneglyph for you to read," Luffy said causing her to look him for a few minutes before she chuckled.


    "Why is it that all of you D''s always cause so much trouble?" she asked not really expecting an answer only to be shocked when Luffy replied.


    "It is our will. It is the Will of D," Luffy replied causing her head to snap around and look at him with eyes the size of dinner plates.


    "You speak as though you know the meaning of the D," she said causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "I do," he replied surprising her even more. "Let''s just say two idiots who know the full history of what happened in the void century got drunk one night and deciding to spill their guts," he said causing poor Robin to literally start shaking with excitement. "I barely managed to run away before they could tell me everything," Luffy said with a chuckle.


    "Why did you run away!?" Robin asked raising her voice slightly.


    "I''m sure you don''t want me to tell you what I know right now. That would just take away the satisfaction of finding out on your own and it would make that which your people died for have no meaning," he said causing some tears to form in her eyes.


    "So, it does exist," she whispered to herself. "Rio Poneglyph does exist," she said as tears leaked out from her eyes. Luffy smiled and put his arm around her before pulling her in for a hug.


    "Yes, it does exist," he whispered back causing he began sobbing into his c.h.e.s.t.


    "I had given up hope," she said between sobs. "If this Poneglyph in Alabasta had turned up nothing I was going to give up but you...you just said you know someone who knows the full history, right?" she asked still not believing.


    "Yes, if you join my crew, I''ll let you meet him when we get to the Sabaody Archipelago," Luffy replied before he wiped away her tears. Robin let go of Luffy and began drying her tears before she spoke to Luffy in an excited tone.


    "I have to go," she said with haste. "If what you say is true, I need to begin searching for the rest of the Poneglyphs," she said as she adjusted her clothes.


    "Calm down," Luffy said as he grabbed her shoulders. "You need to slow down. Do not rush this, the Poneglyphs aren''t going anywhere you need to take this one step at a time," Luffy said calmly in a serious voice. "Ohara was too impatient, they were moving ahead too fast for a short amount of time and it led to their destruction," he said grimly causing her to flinch slightly at the mention of her hometown. "You need to take your time. Don''t rush to your death, take some time and stop and smell the roses, see the world. If you continue at the rate at which you are right now you will only attract the unwanted attention of those five bastards in the government," he said with a slight growl at the mention of the five elder stars.


    "How can I stop and smell the roses when everywhere I go people try to kill me?!" she yelled/asked.


    "That''s why I asked you to join my crew," Luffy replied calmly. "I can protect you anything the government throws at you...even an admiral," he said trying to calm her down.


    "Yeah right," she said not buying what Luffy was selling. "But seeing as how my current employer is out of business," she said as she looked past Luffy to the bounded body of Crocodile. "I think I''ll join your crew," she said with a smile causing Luffy to smile back.


    "Perfect, I''ll leave it up to you to try and convince the crew you won''t kill them," Luffy said jokingly.


    "Sounds easy enough," she replied confidently. "So, what are we going to do with him?" she asked while looking at Crocodile.


    "I promised Smoker he''ll get him when I''m done with him," Luffy replied before finishing his drink.


    "I''m actually surprised he hasn''t tried to escape as yet," she noted.


    "He can''t," Luffy replied confusing her. "The lightning is infused with haki and while it is binding him it is also sending small amounts of the same haki infused lighting through his nervous system," he said as he turned and looked at the badly beaten warlord.


    "That''s a bit overpowered," Robin said causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "Everything about me is overpowered," he replied causing her to laugh. Just as she was about to say something back at Luffy, his transponder snail began to ring.


    *purupurupuru* *purupurupuru* *purupurupuru* *Clachak*


    "Hello?" Luffy said into the snail.


    "We''re all set here, captain," Gem said through the phone getting Robin''s attention.


    "How many did you get?" Luffy asked.


    "We managed to get all the millions and the billions that were around the different towns in Alabasta. The only ones that remain are the one Crocodile has acting as rebels and royal guards," Gem said shocking Robin even further.


    "So, all that remains is for us to recruit the numbered agents," Luffy said with a smirk.


    "I''ll leave them up to you, captain," Gem replied causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "All the fun begins at daybreak, I''ll make my move on them then," he said before he turned to Robin and asked her a question. "Do you know of a secret location where I can hold a meeting?" he asked in a hushed tone.


    "Yeah, the Spider''s Cafe," she said in a hushed voice as well. "It is in the desert between Nanohana and Alubarna," she said causing Luffy to nod before he turned back to the snail.


    "Listen," he said getting Gem''s attention. "I want you, Mikita, Marianne, and Jiro to head for the Spider''s Cafe in the desert between Nanohana and Alubarna," he said in a commanding tone. "And wait for me there," he added.


    "Aye, sir," Gem replied "We''ll head over there now," he said.


    "Good, I''ll see you then," Luffy said before hanging up and tucking the transponder snail away in his coat.


    "Who was that?" Robin asked with a curious expression on her face.


    "You would know him as Mr. 5," Luffy replied with a smirk causing her eyes to widen slightly.


    "So that is a lot of our agents haven''t been responding," she said causing Luffy to chuckle. "So, what is the plan now?" she asked causing Luffy to sigh and look over at Crocodile before he spoke.


    "Now we wait for the fun to begin," he said before he turned and looked at her with a curious look on his face before he asked her a question. "You wouldn''t by chance know what he has planned in Alubarna, do you?" he asked.


    "He has a bomb set to go off in the plaza, but I do not know where he hid it," she said.


    "That''s helpful," Luffy said before he began to think. "Now only if there was a way to tell Smoker that," he said to himself loud enough for Robin to hear.


    "Are you two working together?" she asked in an amused tone.


    "It''s more like a temporary ceasefire," he said causing her to chuckle.


    "I''m sure he''ll figure it out somehow," Luffy said before he hopped from the gator. "It''s time we made our way to Alubarna," he said as he looked up to the sky and began trying to summon a thundercloud.


    "Well then, hop on and let''s go," she said causing to chuckle slightly.


    "I got my own ride," he said as a thundercloud began to slowly descend from the sky taking the former Baroque Works by surprise. "It''s a lot cooler at night and there is a lot more moisture present in the air. It should be enough to sustain a cloud," Luffy said before he walked over to the bounded Crocodile. He then picked the warlord up and threw him onto the cloud before he hopped on and looked at Robin. "Aren''t you coming?" he asked knocking her out of her shock.


    "Ummm, sure," she said slightly hesitant about the idea of sitting on a cloud. She hopped off the gator and walked over the cloud where Luffy stretched out his hands for her to grab on to. She grabbed Luffy''s hand before she was carefully pulled up onto the cloud. Luffy then gave a mental command to the cloud to make two chairs for them to sit on which it did, causing Luffy to lead Robin over to the seats. After they sat down three bolts of lightning shot out of the cloud and wrapped themselves around Crocodile''s body acting as safety belts.


    "Wouldn''t want him to fall," Luffy said in a joking manner. The cloud then shot off and began its ascent to the sky where it leveled out at about 3000 ft.


    "Wow, this is amazing," Robin said as she looked at the cloud and down at the world below.


    "Yeah, it is," Luffy replied as he looked around. They were currently traveling at about 40mph above the deserts of Alabasta. "The night is so calm," Luffy said as he leaned back and looked up at the stars. "It is such a shame the deserts will be dyed red with blood tomorrow," he added with a dark chuckle.


    "I thought you were going to stop the war before anyone could cast the first blow," Robin said as she looked at Luffy in confusion.


    "I was...but that princess is too much of a pacifist," he said in a serious tone. "I think it will do her some good to witness death," he added.


    "So, you are just going to let them kill each other just to teach the princess a lesson on death?" she asked raising her voice slightly.


    "Yes," Luffy said causing her eyes to widen. "If he is going to one day become the queen of this land it is something she needs to learn," he said as he adjusted his hat and looked down at the world below. "She spent her entire life at the beginning of the Grand Line, she has no idea just how evil and vile this world actually is," Luffy spat out in a disgusted tone. "The deeper in the Grand Line you go, the worse it gets," he added. "And it''s all ''THEIR'' fault," he growled out. Robin could tell he had a lot of hatred for whomever he was referring to, so she remained silent and didn''t say anything. Luffy was about to say something else but before he spoke something down below caught his eye. "Would you look at that," Luffy said as he leaned slightly over the edge of the cloud.


    "What is it?" Robin asked as he leaned across Luffy to take a look.


    "It''s my crew," he said with a slight smile. "And they''re riding on ducks," he added with a chuckle.


    "That must be Alabasta''s Supersonic Duck Squad," Robin said causing Luffy to look at her weirdly.


    "Supersonic Ducks?" he asked refusing to believe that something so ridiculous could exist.


    "Yeah, they are the fastest in all of Alabasta," she said before returning her attention down to Luffy''s crew. "Are we going down to meet them?" she asked.


    "No," Luffy replied getting her attention. "As I said earlier, this is their battle. If things are going sideways, I''ll step in," he said causing her to nod.


    *Daybreak*


    Luffy and Robin stayed with his crew the entire night, following them as they made their way through the desert on duck back. It was finally daybreak and the capital city of Alabasta, Alubarna was finally in sight. As they were approaching the capital Luffy saw every member of his crew put on matching robes covering their entire body.


    "Smart," Robin said with a smile as he looked down at her new crewmates. Luffy didn''t say anything he simply smirked at his crew decision. He looked up and took a glance off to the dire of his cloud where he saw a large dust cloud traveling through the desert making its way to Alubarna.


    "And that must be the rebel army," Luffy said as he stared at the dust cloud. "It would appear as though the party is about to begin," Luffy added before turning his attention back to his crew.


    "Your crew is about to have company," Robin said as she pointed towards the capital. Luffy looked at where she was pointing and squinted his eyes trying to make out what she saw. It took him a few seconds to make out what was there and even then, he still couldn''t be sure. From what he can see, it appears to be the outline of five individuals standing by the city walls.


    "I take those are the agents'' Crocodile sent here?" he asked while Looking at Robin.


    "Yes, that is Mr. 1 and his partner, Ms. Double Finger, Mr. 2, and Mr. 4 and his partner, Ms. Merry Christmas," she said causing Luffy to take a glance at his crew.


    "What are the nine of you going to do now?" Luffy asked himself as he stared at his crew through narrowed eyes. Just as the group was approaching Alubarna Luffy noticed three of them began to slow down before pulling away from the group and hiding behind some rocks. Luffy immediately stopped the cloud and had it hover in between the two groups. "Now what do we have here?" he asked himself as he stood up and began using his observation haki.


    "Why did those three stopped?" Robin asked as she stood up as well.


    "Those three are the princess along with Johnny and Yosaku," Luffy said before he turned and looked at the remaining members of his crew who began splitting up into groups one by one drawing a pair of Baroque Works agents to follow them. "That there is Nami, Nojiko, and Zoro," he said pointing at the three ducks heading for the West gate with Mr. 1 and Ms. Double Finger right on their tail. "That there are Usopp and Chopper," he said pointing to the two ducks heading for the South Gate with Mr. 4 and Ms. Merry Christmas following behind them. "And that is Sanji and... a camel," Luffy added in a deadpan tone with a sweat drop as he pointed to the pair of ducks running for the South-West gate after running over Mr. 2.


    "Quite the interesting crew you got there," Robin said with a chuckle.


    "You have no idea," Luffy replied before turning his attention back to the princess and the bounty hunting duo. The three of them then peeked out from behind the rock to check if the coast was clear. After making sure no one was around the three of them took off in the direction of where the large dust cloud was approaching the capital. "So, they are heading straight for the rebel army," Luffy observed.


    So, who are you going to follow?" Robin asked while looking at Luffy. "Are you going to check up on your crew, or the princess?" she asked causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "As much as I want to see what the princess does, I think I want to see how much my crew have grown since entering the Grand Line," Luffy said surprising Robin.


    "You know, you are really hard to figure out," she said causing Luffy to laugh.


    "Don''t feel bad," Luffy said with a smirk. "Sometimes I have a hard time figuring myself out," he added causing her to chuckle before he narrowed his eyes and took on a serious look. "Let''s go see if my crew''s training paid off," he said. "And for their sakes, I hope it did," he added before the cloud shot off in the direction following Zoro and Nami.


    **CHAPTER END!**


    Author''s Notes: **I would just like to apologize for this chapter being as short as it is. This chapter was originally supposed to be longer but I got writer''s block around where this chapter ends and tried for two weeks to get over it but sadly I still have it. Instead of making you guys wait even longer for the chapter I decided to upload what I already have. And instead of finishing the Alabasta Arc in this chapter I will end it in the next. Fair warning for the next chapter, the fights between the straw hats and the numbered agents won''t be that long. It will be in a way short and sweet. Again terribly sorry for the wait and for the short chapter.**

 Chapter 26: It All Ends!

    Luffy and Robin arrived just about the center of Alubarna while his crew members were scattered all around in the city of Alubarna and in the areas around it. When Luffy got to a position where he could sense every member of his crew, he stopped the cloud and sat back down on his throne. Robin looked at him with a slightly confused look on her face.


    "All of your crew members appear to be in completely different locations and all of their battles appear as though they are going to be taken place at the same time," she said while looking at Luffy who simply smiled back at her and crossed his legs. "How exactly are you going to observe all of their fights?" she asked with a confused look on her face causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "You will be surprised at the amazing things haki allows you to do," Luffy replied before he closed his eyes and began using his observation haki while Robin just looked out from the cloud down below to try and see what was going on. Luffy found each member of his crew along with their opponents. He then zeroed in on them and blocked out any other life force that was there. "Now then, let the games begin," he said as he observed his crew.


    **Zoro, Nami, and Nojiko vs Mr. 1 and Ms. Double Finger**


    Zoro was standing across from Mr. 1 and Ms. Double Finger with his hand on his swords while Nojiko stood off to his right with her three-section staff held diagonally behind her back with her right hand holding onto the top section and her left hand is on the bottom section. Nami was standing some distance behind the duo with three members of the Super Sonic Duck squad cheering them on.


    "Go get em, big sis!" She yelled while pumping her fist in the air. "You show em, Zoro!" she continued causing Zoro and Nojiko''s eyebrow to twitch.


    "We don''t need a cheering squad! Just go hide somewhere!" Zoro yelled back at her to which she ignored. The two Baroque Works agents then began walking forward with a calm look on their face as though they didn''t even feel threatened at the presence of the straw hats. As they began walking Zoro and Nojiko''s guard immediately went up, but much to their surprise the two Baroque Works agents simply walked right past them as though they didn''t even exist and began making their way to Nami.


    "The primary rule of assignation says all weaker targets are to be eliminated first," Mr. 1 said in a gruff voice.


    "We''ll show you how professionals handle these things," Ms. Double Finger said coolly as she swayed her h.i.p.s.


    "Yes, we know, it is fairly obvious," Ms. Double Finger said. "As we said, picking off the weak ones first is the fastest way to work," she added with a smirk causing Nami to panic before she ran away.


    "Ugg! That is exactly why I told her to shut up and hid somewhere," Zoro said as he looked at the retreating figure of Nami.


    "That''s my sister, always causing some kind of trouble," Nojiko said with a sigh before she turned and took off after the agents with Zoro right behind her.


    **Luffy and Robin**


    "That girl needs to grow up and learn that she isn''t in the East Blue anymore," Luffy said with a sigh as he opened his eyes.


    "She still has time," Robin said as she turned and looked at Luffy. "You just need to have a little patience," she added with a smile.


    "That is one thing I do not have," Luffy grumbled under his breath before closing his eyes again began focusing on the battle down below. Just as he was about to zero in on Usopp and Chopper''s fight his observation haki alerted to someone headed towards the city at amazing speed. "I''ll be right back," Luffy said to Robin before he turned his body to lightning and teleported from the cloud before she had a chance to question him.


    **The desert outside Alubarna**


    A bolt of lightning struck down in the desert kicking up a lot of dust. When the dust cleared Luffy could be seen standing there with an apathetic look on his face as he stared at a large dust cloud approaching him along with the sound of a motor getting louder and louder as the cloud got closer. When the dust cloud got closer Luffy could see Smoker riding on a motorcycle heading towards him. Upon seeing Luffy standing there, Smoker began to slow down before coming to a full stop about 15ft in front of Luffy.


    "I already took care of that," Luffy said surprising Smoker. "Besides, it''s usually the marines who tuck their tails between their legs and run," Luffy jibed causing Smoker''s eyes to twitch.


    "Still haven''t answered my question," Smoker said as he narrowed his eyes.


    "I just came here to let you know that Crocodile has a bomb set to go off somewhere near the plaza," Luffy said causing Smoker to raise an eyebrow.


    "And let me guess, you don''t know where in the plaza do you?" Smoker asked causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "Don''t you think that would have been a bit too easy," Luffy said causing the marine captain to sigh.


    "I guess," Smoker said.


    "I''ll let you get to your bomb hunting then," Luffy said before he turned his body into lightning and shot straight up into the sky before Smoker could ask any more questions.


    "Damn Pirates," Smoker growled out before he revved his engine and took off towards Alubarna.


    **Back on the cloud**


    "You did that on purpose didn''t you?" she asked causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "Don''t know what you''re talking about," Luffy replied before he sat back down on his throne and closed his eye. He then resumed his observation of his crew through his Observation haki.


    **Usopp and Chopper vs Mr. 4 and Ms. Merry Christmas**


    Usopp and Chopper were currently at the southeast Gate standing in front of Mr. 4 and his partner Ms. Merry Christmas and their extremely strange looking dog. Usopp had his slingshot out and his sharpshooter goggles down and Chopper was currently in his heavy point form. Both of them had an extremely serious look on their faces. From up above, Luffy was impressed by Usopp. He could sense nothing but determination coming from him. His confidence wasn''t where it needed to be but regardless, he was extremely determined.


    "Okay Chopper, let''s not do anything crazy. We still don''t know what crazy abilities these two have and not to mention that freaky looking dog," Usopp said as he stared at the two agents.


    "Right," Chopper replied. Ms. Merry Christmas looked at the two before she smirked before jumped into the air and began burrowing into the ground kicking up a lot of dust preventing Usopp and Chopper from seeing what was going on.


    "What the hell is she doing!?" Usopp yelled as he loaded his slingshot and aimed it at the dust cloud.


    "I don''t exactly want to wait and find out," Chopper said causing Usopp to nod his head before he pulled the rubber on his slingshot back and yelled out.


    "Special Attack: Exploding Star!" he yelled as he fired a pellet into the dust cloud. The small pellet went into the cloud of dust and exploded as it impacted the ground where the two agents were. The explosion kicked up even more dust, but it didn''t matter to Usopp and Chopper. Both knew they weren''t the best of fighters so a chance to end the fight before it even started was something they weren''t going to pass up. Once the smoker finally cleared Usopp and Chopper saw that there was no sign of the two Baroque Works agents anywhere. There was only a large hole in the ground in their place but Chopper and Usopp didn''t think much of the hole, they thought that hole was caused by Usopp''s Exploding Star.


    "I don''t know," Usopp replied. "I don''t see them anywhere so maybe we did get...MOVE!" Usopp yelled out as his observation Haki alerted him of danger coming up from below them. Chopper and Usopp quickly jumped away from the spot where they were standing with Usopp going to the right and Chopper to the left. A hole opened in the ground from the spot where they were previously standing. As Chopper landed about 10 ft away from the hole he was forced to jump away again as another hole opened from under him.


    "What the hell is going on!?" Chopper yelled mid-air.


    "They''re underground!" Usopp yelled before he jumped away from his current position. As soon as his feet left the ground a hole opened in the sand. When he landed, he heard laughing coming through the holes.


    "Hahahahah!" Ms. Merry Christmas laughed as she poked her head out of one of the holes. "I am Ms. Merry Christmas and I ate the Mole-Mole Fruit so I''m a mole human," she said rather quickly. "And now all me to introduce to our 4th batter!" she said while waving her hand and looking off in the distance in the direction of the southeast Gate. When Usopp and Chopper looked over they saw Mr. 4 slowly rising from underground through a hole holding a giant Baseball bat with the number 4 on it. "Mr. 4...come on hurry Mr. 4! Hurry up! Hurry up!" Ms. Merry said rather quickly. "And our star Pitcher...Lassoo!" she said as the weird-looking dog rose up from a hole behind Usopp.


    "The dog is a pitcher?" Usopp asked with a confused look on his face. The strange-looking dog then sneezed and fired a baseball at blinding speed causing Usopp and Chopper''s eyes to widen in shock. Usopp quickly dived to the ground causing the baseball to just miss him in the process. The ball traveled towards Mr. 4 who swung the giant bat and hit the ball with perfecting timing and power sending it flying back towards Usopp who was still on the ground. Chopper saw the ball''s trajectory and saw that Usopp wouldn''t be able to dodge in time. He immediately began sprinting towards Usopp trying to reach there before the ball could but sadly, he was not fast enough. Just as the ball was about 4 ft away from Usopp the strangest thing in the eyes of Ms. Merry Christmas and Mr. 4 happened. A random bolt of lightning came down from the sky and struck the ball causing it to explode. The explosion sent Usopp and Chopper tumbling a few feet away. The two Baroque Works agents were puzzled at what just happened but Usopp and Chopper knew exactly what happened. That bolt of Lightning means one thing and one thing only, Luffy was watching. Usopp and Chopper slowly got up from the ground covered in some small bruises and some burn marks in Usopp''s case.


    "Man, the two of you sure are lucky!" Ms. Merry Christmas said quickly. "But let''s see your luck save you again!" she said before she signaled Lassoo to fire another one. The dog sneezed once more sending another baseball at Usopp who took off running towards Chopper. Mr. 4 sunk into the hole that he previously was in and rose up out of a new one behind Usopp and Chopper in a batter''s position. Both Usopp and Chopper jumped out of the way making sure to land on their feet knowing that Mr. 4 is going to hit it back towards one of them. Just as they expected, the giant batter hit the ball back at them. The only difference was that this time, he was aiming for Chopper.


    "Look out!" Usopp yelled at Chopper who skillfully jumped high into the air dodging the baseball. The baseball hit some old ruins in the desert and exploded surprising Usopp and Chopper. They had thought that the first explosion was due to Luffy''s lightning, but it would appear as though the ball was like a cannonball. Usopp, deciding to think on about their plan of attack quickly before two agents attack them again began looking around trying to find something to work to their advantage.


    "Usopp, what do we do?" Chopper asked Usopp while keeping an eye on the enemy. Usopp didn''t reply right away, he thought about it for a few seconds before he had an idea.


    "I got a plan," Usopp said getting Chopper''s attention. "We are going to turn their biggest advantage into their downfall," he said confusing Chopper.


    "Listen, all I need you to do is keep the big guy busy," Usopp said as he reached into his pouch. Chopper nodded before he took running towards Mr. 4 with his fist reared back getting ready to punch him. Just as he swung his fist Mr. 4 sunk into the hole dodging Chopper''s punch. As Chopper''s punch missed the sounds of Ms. Merry Christmas''s laugh echoed through all the holes.


    "You guys are a bunch of fool! Fools I tell ya! Fools!" she said quickly.


    "No, you''re the fool!" Usopp replied with his slingshot pulled back.


    "Special Attack: Gas Star!" he yelled as he fired five small pellets that went into five different holes in the ground. As the pellets entered the holes, they broke open upon impacting releasing a gas into the underground tunnels.


    "CHOPPER! RUN!" Usopp yelled causing the reindeer to run away from the immediate area.


    "Special Attack: Gas Star!" Usopp yelled once more sending five more pellets into five different holes causing the same gas to be released. Usopp then took off running. As he was running, he loaded his slingshot with one more pellet and aimed it at one of the holes that had gas coming out of it.


    "Special Attack: Exploding Star!" he yelled out sending the pellet into the hole causing it to explode on impact. When the pellet exploded it ignite the gas, he previously filled the underground tunnels with causing a huge explosion and enveloped the Baroque Works agents along with everything in a 50 ft radius. Usopp was sent flying due to the explosion but before he could hit the ground Chopper jumped in front of him and caught him before the two of them hit the ground. A huge dust cloud enveloped the area preventing anyone from seeing anything. Chopper and Usopp looked up from their position on the ground to see if they had got the agents but they couldn''t see a thing. They waited a few minutes for the dust to settle before they saw a huge crater that was at least 100 ft wide in front of them and in the center of that crater was the two Baroque Works agents and their dog. Usopp and chopper looked at each other with a wide smile on their face before the two of them started laughing and celebrating.


    "We did it!" they yelled out simultaneously. The two of them then helped each other up before walking over to the edge of the crater. They stared down at the two unconscious agents with a proud smile on their faces. Just as Usopp was about to say something to Chopper a bolt of lightning came down from the sky and struck near the center of the crater kicking up some dust. When the dust settled the two straw hat pirates saw their captain standing there looking up at them with a smile on his face.


    "Luffy!" Chopper yelled out as he transformed back into his Brain Point.


    "Wasn''t Vivi able to talk to the rebels?" Usopp asked causing Luffy to shake his head.


    "No," Luffy replied causing Chopper and Usopp to look down. "Don''t worry about the past, focus on the future. Treat your wounds and go help Vivi," he said before he turned and walk back to the center of the crater. "I am going to see if the rest of the guys need any help with their fight," Luffy said before ropes of lightning came out from his hands and attached to the once that were binding the two agents. He then turned his body into lighting and shot up to the sky carrying the Baroque Works agents with him.


    **On the Cloud**


    Robin was once again startled by the sudden appearance of Luffy on the cloud, but the thing that surprised her, even more, was the fact that he appeared back on the cloud with Mr. 4 and Ms. Merry Christmas bounded similarly to Crocodile. He then threw the two agents and their dog next to Crocodile before he moved to sit on his throne.


    "And what exactly are you going to do with them?" Robin asked as she watched Luffy walk over to his throne.


    "Recruit them," Luffy said with a smirk causing her to raise an eyebrow.


    "Just like Mr. 5 and the rest?" she asked in a curious tone to which he nodded. "And may I ask just what you are recruiting them for?" she asked causing Luffy to chuckle before he replied.


    "All in due time," he said before he closed his eyes and began using his observation haki once more. "It''s getting heated down there," he said as he sensed the fighting that was going on between the rebels and the royal army.


    "Yes, it is," she said before she looked at Luffy with a serious look on her face. "And just when do you plan on putting a stop to it all?" she asked in a tone that let Luffy knew that she was not okay with what he was doing.


    "Calm down," Luffy said firmly. "I''m not just teaching the princess a lesson, I''m also giving her a chance to stop the war," he added before he opened his eyes and looked at her with a serious expression on his face. "Besides, I''m the captain. I do as I please," he added in an authoritative tone. Robin didn''t reply she just looked down at from the cloud at the battles that were going on.


    **Sanji vs Mr. 2**


    Sanji was currently standing opposite of Mr. 2 with a fresh cigarette in his mouth. Mr. 2 was still slightly out of breath from chasing after Sanji and the perverted camel that Nami named Eyelash. There was no one in this world who Mr. 2 wanted to kill more at the moment other than the blonde-haired cook that was standing in front of him.


    "So, I take it that you are the ever so famous, Mr. Prince," Mr. 2 stated between breaths. Sanji just looked at him and took a puff of his cigarette before he replied.


    "My name is Sanji, and I am the best cook in all the seven seas," Sanji said coolly as he placed one of his hand in his pocket.


    "Really?" Mr. 2 asked as he made a dramatic pose. "I''m quite the cook as well, but I choose to focus my talents elsewhere," he said as he did a twirl.


    "I don''t care," Sanji said as he narrowed his eyes. "I''m going to kick your a.s.s," he said before he spun on his left leg and attempted to deliver a roundhouse kick to Mr. 2.


    "I''d like to see you try!" Mr. 2 said as he did exactly what Sanji did and match his roundhouse kick. Both of their legs clashed in the middle and began trying to fight for dominance. To any onlookers, it would appear as though these two were clashing swords, only with their feet instead of swords. The two of them then pulled back the legs at the same time before trying to do the same thing only with a different leg this time. They once again retracted their legs before staring at each other. "You got quite good reflexes," Mr. 2 said.


    "You aren''t too bad yourself," Sanji replied as he took a puff of his cigarette.


    "But still, you are no match for my Okama Kenpo!" Mr. 2 said before he arched both hands over his hand and began to dance and twirl like a ballerina causing Sanji to raise an eyebrow. Mr. 2 then began to spin his way towards Sanji. When he was about 3 ft away from Sanji he extended his right hand to punch the cook causing Sanji to lean back and kick off from the ground to dodge the punch. The Baroque Works agent also kicks forward and followed Sanji before he opened his closed fist and tried to stab down into Sanji c.h.e.s.t. To dodge the oncoming attack, Sanji leaned his head back and stretch his hand back over his hand until they touched the ground and started to spin as his legs came up and wrapped around the torso of the agent while doing a handstand. Sanji spun Mr. 2 around for a while before he let him go mid-spin causing the agent to go crashing into the side of a building.


    "Would you look at that, I matched it," Sanji gloated causing Mr. 2 to kick some rubble off him and stared at Sanji with a look of pure hated.


    "Oh, you think you are so good huh?" Mr. 2 asked rhetorically. "Let''s see how you handle the powers of my devil fruit!" he yelled out as he brought his hands up to his face. "The true essence of Love and friendship lies in my devil fruit," he stated causing Sanji to smirk.


    "I know what you''re planning, and it is not going to work," Sanji said to which Mr. 2 ignored. The Baroque Works agents then touched his face and his face transformed into Usopp''s face.


    "Now let''s see you fight one of your own-" Mr. 2 was just off by a powerful spinning heel kick to the face sending him tumbling to the ground.


    "How could you do that!?" Mr. 2 yelled as he sat up and held the side of his face in pain. "You just attacked your little friend with the long nose. Clearly, you don''t value friendship, do you?!" he yelled/asked.


    "You''re a real idiot," Sanji said coolly. "No matter what you transform your face to look like you are still only you," Sanji said surprising Mr. 2. "Images don''t matter to me because a person is their soul," Sanji said strongly while pointing to his c.h.e.s.t. Mr. 2 back away and turned around with his back facing Sanji before he spoke in a depressed tone.


    "So, it doesn''t matter what I do to you," he said as he suddenly transformed into Nami causing Sanji to go crazy behind his back. "Even if I become her, for instance, it wouldn''t matter because images don''t matter," He said in Nami''s voice before transforming back into himself and in turn causing Sanji to stop acting like a lovesick puppy. Sanji didn''t manage to stop his act fast enough however because Mr. 2 caught a small glimpse of it causing him to stare at Sanji with a confused look on his face. He then narrowed his eyes and touched his face, transforming back into Nami causing Sanji to get hearts in his eyes before Mr. 2 undo the transformation and returned to normal with Sanji along with it.


    ''Well, he is easy to read,'' Mr. 2 thought as he transformed back and forth between Nami and himself a few times just to see the reaction from Sanji. He then ran up to Sanji while transformed as Nami getting ready to attack but even though he was preparing to attack, Sanji did nothing. He just stood there with hearts in his eyes mumbling about how cute Nami looked. When Mr. 2 was about 2 ft away from Sanji he transformed back into himself and delivered a powerful kick to Sanji''s face sending the lovesick cook airborne. Sanji crashed landed on his back and as he landed, Mr. 2 did and front flip and drove his heel into Sanji''s head.


    "Hahaha! I guess you are one of those all bark no bite kind of people," Mr. 2 mocked as he placed his foot on Sanji''s head. "I must say though, this girl as an amazing body," he added as he started to run his hand all over Nami''s body. At that moment Sanji saw red. He immediately stood straight up, knocking Mr. 2 over in the process. Sanji looked at Mr. 2 with a cold look in his eyes before he spoke in a cold tone.


    "How dare you lay a hand on Nami''s gorgeous body!?" he said as his right leg unconsciously became covered in Armament Haki, not that anyone could see due to his black shoes and pants. He then rushed forward at Mr. 2 before yelling out.


    "Mutton Shot!" Sanji yelled out as he jumps and delivered a haki infused kick to Mr. 2''s head causing a sickening crunch to be heard. Mr. 2 then fell back onto his back unconscious.


    "Freaky bastard," Sanji said as he wiped some of the blood off from the side of his mouth. He then walked over to the downed Mr. 2 and gave him one final kick to the head for good measure. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette. As he was lighting the cigarette a bolt of lightning struck down behind him causing him to spin around quickly with his guard up thinking that he was about to be attacked. When he turned around, he saw his captain standing there with a smirk on his face as his coat was billowing in the wind. Sanji immediately relaxed upon seeing his captain, he lit his cigarette and took a puff before he spoke. "Hey, captain," he said while looking at Luffy.


    "I see you took care of your business," Luffy said as he began walking over to the unconscious Mr. 2.


    "The freaky bastard put up a good fight, but I was able to handle it," Sanji said hoping Luffy won''t ask for details about his fight.


    "Oh, I know. I saw the whole thing," Luffy replied with a smile causing a shiver to run down Sanji''s spine. "You and I are going to have a little talk after this," Luffy said before he put his foot on Mr. 2''s back.


    "Bind!" he said causing five ropes of lightning to come out from the bottom of his foot and wrap their way around Mr. 2.


    "You should head for the palace," Luffy said before he bent down and picked up Mr. 2, "I think Vivi, Johnny, and Yosaku are that way," he added as he tossed the Baroque Works'' agent over his shoulder. "Go help them, Usopp and Chopper are also heading over there," He said while looking at his cook.


    "Aye, Captain," Sanji said before he turned around and began running in the direction of the palace. Luffy stood there watching him running for a few seconds before he looked up and his entire body turned into a bolt of lightning and shot straight up into the sky.


    **On the cloud**


    Luffy appeared in a flash of lightning on the cloud before he tossed the unconscious body of Mr. 2 next to the other Baroque Works agents before he sat down on his throne. Robin looked at him and folded her arms before she spoke in a calm tone.


    "Looks like there is only two more to go," she said causing Luffy to smirk before he replied.


    "Just two more before we can stop this damn war," Luffy said in an excited tone causing Robin to raise an eyebrow at her new captain. Luffy then closed his eyes and focused on three final members of his crew.


    **Zoro vs Mr. 1**


    Zoro was currently standing 15 ft away from the strongest agent in Crocodile''s organization. Zoro and Nojiko had intercepted Mr. 1 and his partner before they were able to catch up with Nami and they decided that Zoro should face Mr. 1 while Nojiko and Nami were going to handle Ms. Doublefinger together. Mr. 1 was just standing there staring at him with an apathetic look on his face as though he was not threatened by Zoro''s presence.


    "Let''s get this over with," Mr. 1 in a bored tone as he kicked off from the ground and launched himself at Zoro with his right hand extended. Zoro immediately unsheathed two of his sword and blocked Mr. 1 hand. Zoro had expected to cut right through the Baroque Works agent''s hand but instead of hearing and feeling his sword slice through the poor bastard''s hand he heard and felt his sword hit metal. When he looked at Mr. 1''s hand he saw the undersides of his fingers were steel blades. Zoro''s eyes widen the moment he saw them causing him to use his swords and push off from the agent and put some distance between the two of them. As he pushed off h knocked Mr. 1''s hand up away from him and as he did that the giant concrete pillar that was behind him exploded into five vertical strips.


    "You ate a devil fruit," Zoro said as he narrowed his eyes and stared at Mr. 1.


    "That''s right," Mr. 1 said in a gruff voice. "I ate the Dice-Dice fruit making blades for my entire body," he said causing Zoro to unsheathe his final sword and placed it in his mouth. "You''re one of them, aren''t you?" Mr. 1 asked causing Zoro to raise an eyebrow as he untired the green bandana he had wrapped around his bicep. "One of the three men who cut down over 100 agents at Whiskey Peak," Mr. 1 said causing Zoro to chuckle before he took on a cold look in his eyes.


    "Yeah, I was one of them. The idiots didn''t want to surrender so...we massacred them!" Zoro said with a sadistic look on his face. "Now I am going to ask you the same thing we asked them and if you don''t surrender...I will gladly dye the sands of this desert red with your blood!" Zoro said with an evil look in his eyes. On the thundercloud, Luffy couldn''t help but think that his bloodl.u.s.t was starting to rub off on some of his crew.


    "You think you can make a fool out of me!" Mr. 1 yelled with an angry look on his face as he turned both of his forearms into blades and rushed at Zoro. Zoro saw the attack coming and took a step forward and blocked both of Mr. 1''s arms/blades before he used the third blade that he had in his mouth to slash at Mr. 1''s neck while both of his arms were busy. Instead of dodging the incoming attack, Mr. 1 simply stood there and turned the side of his neck into a blade and blocked the slash. Zoro and Mr. 1 then simultaneously pushed off from each other before both of them stared at each other with a murderous glint in both of their eyes.


    "You know that face of yours looks kind of familiar," Zoro said as he stared at Mr. 1. "If I''m not mistaken you used to be an infamous bounty hunter from the West Blue and an assassin at that too," he stated as he stared at his opponent. "What happened? You used to be at the top of the pack. Now look at you, you''re Crocodile''s lapdog," Zoro said with a chuckle causing Mr. 1 to grow. "Allow me to show you the difference between you and me, and the difference in the pride in your swords versus mine," Zoro said in a serious voice.


    "Bull Needles!" he said as he held two swords like a bull''s horns and began charging towards Mr. 1. Mr. 1 saw Zoro running towards him and took up a defensive stance before he spoke.


    "Spider Defense!" he said as he banged both of his fists together causing the sound of two metal clashing to be heard. When Zoro got within 2 ft of Mr. 1 he executes a multi-hit running attack on Mr. 1 at amazing speed. He then ran right past Mr. 1 and sheathed two of his swords before he turned and looked at the Baroque Works agents and spoke.


    "So basically, your entire body is steel, and unless I can cut steel I can''t harm you," Zoro said as he stared at Mr. 1''s back.


    "That is correct. Cutting and smashing attacks don''t work on me," Mr. 1 said as he turned and looked at Zoro.


    "Well then, I guess I''m just going to have to learn how to cut steel," Zoro said with a smirk and he unsheathed his two swords again and placed the white one back in his mouth.


    "Oni Giri!" Zoro yelled out as he launched his signature attack attempting to slice through his opponent with a three-way slash. The attack impacted Mr. 1 knocking him off his feet. Zoro not wasting any time launched himself into the air just above Mr. 1 and yelled out.


    "Tiger Trap!" he yelled as he puts his hand swords over his mouth blade and swings forth a forward descending slash at Mr. 1. The slash impacted Mr. 1''s midsection sending him crashing into the ground with great force. Zoro land about 5 ft away from where Mr. 1 impacted and looked over his shoulder to see if he got him. Much to his surprise, he could see the silhouette of Mr. 1 standing upright inside of the dust cloud.


    "I told you, a weakling like you, could never dream of cutting me," Mr. 1 said before he kicked off the from the ground and rushed at Zoro. Zoro didn''t know why but something told him to duck and that was exactly what he did. Just as he ducks, he felt the wind blew over his head and when he looked up he saw Mr. 1 in above him with his right leg extended and the blade visible on his shin. Zoro''s eyes widen as the building off to his left his sliced in half thanks to Mr. 1''s kick.


    "Spar Claw!" Mr. 1 yelled out as he spun around mid-air and turned the underside of his fingers into blades and stabbed them down at Zoro who saw the attack coming and rolled out of the way just in time causing Mr. 1''s hand to dig deep into the ground. Zoro then quickly stood up and brought his swords up to defend against any oncoming attacks. Mr. 1 stood himself back up and turned and faced Zoro before he rushed at him once more.


    "Sparkling Daisy!" he yelled out as he places his hands together wrist-to-wrist before lunging at Zoro who blocked his hands with the two swords in his hands. As he blocked the Baroque Works agents'' hands, the two buildings behind him were split into five due to the sheer force behind the attack. Zoro was having trouble holding back Mr. 1, not only was the baroque Works agent strong with his devil fruit but it would also appear as though he had great physical strength as well.


    "Goodbye," Mr. 1 said as he took a step forward and gave one big push sending Zoro flying back into the two collapsing buildings. Mr. stood there and watched as the pieces of both buildings fell onto Zoro with an emotionless look on his face. "A couple of wannabe pirates like yourself could never even dream of defeating us," Mr. 1 one said as he stared into the rubble. "All of your friends are probably already dead, your captain was probably killed a long time ago by Crocodile," he said with a chuckle. "And I heard that fool wanted to be the King of the pirates, what a joke," he scoffed out. As he said that thunder boomed overhead but he simply ignored it. Zoro, on the other hand, heard it and knew that it was captain. Suddenly the rubble directly in front of Mr. 1 exploded out causing him to shield his eyes. When he removed his hand from in front of his eyes, he saw Zoro standing there with all three of his swords drawn all while bleeding from multiple parts of his body.


    "You can say what you want about me, but I wouldn''t exactly be a good vice-captain..." Zoro said as he got into his stance to launch his signature attack. "If I just laid there and let you insult my captain, now would I?" he added in a cold voice as he stared at Mr. 1 with a murderous look in his eyes. Zoro was so focused on Mr. 1 that he never noticed a pitch-black substance covered all his blades while a black and purple aura was coming from them. Mr. 1 saw this but didn''t think too much into it. He just thought it was another one of the swordsmen weak attack.


    "Oni Giri!" Zoro yelled out as he kicked off from the ground and dash forward towards Mr. 1. In the blink of an eye, Zoro was behind Mr. 1 with the two swords in his hands spread out wide. He then stood up straight and began sheathing his swords one by one. One by one the sounds of the guard of the swords touching the sheathe echoed through the empty buildings of Alubarna. When the ''click'' was heard blood gushed out from three slash wound on Mr. 1''s body causing him to fall onto his knees.


    "I-impossible..." he croaked out before spitting up a large amount of blood. His eyes then rolled back into his head before he collapsed face-first into the sand.


    "Luffy will be King of the pirates, and I''ll cut down anybody who gets in his way," Zoro said with conviction just as a bolt of lightning struck down between him and the downed Mr. 1. When the lightning vanished Zoro saw his captain standing there with a satisfied smirk on his face.


    "Well now, that''s reassuring," Luffy said commenting on Zoro''s previous statement before he turned and looked at Mr. 1 who had a large puddle of blood under him which was getting bigger and bigger by the second. "Damn, I wanted to recruit him but by the looks of things he might bleed out before I can get him first aid," Luffy said as he looked at the beaten agent.


    "Sorry about that," Zoro said with a nervous chuckle causing Luffy to look at him with a smile.


    "Don''t worry about it, I''m quite proud of you," he said to his first mate. "Not only did you handle yourself in the fight well, but you also awakened your armament haki," Luffy said causing Zoro to look at him in confusion.


    "What are you talking about?" Zoro asked as he tilted his head to the side.


    "Never mind, I''ll explain later. Here," Luffy said as he reached into his coat and pulled out a bottle of sake and tossed it to his vice-captain. "Head for the palace," Luffy said before he walked over to Mr. 1. "And Zoro, that is the palace that you are heading to," Luffy said as he stopped and pointed to the giant palace in the center of Alubarna. "You just keep staring at that building and head over there. DO NOT take your eyes off it!" Luffy said emphasizing on the ''do not''. "God knows you might end up on another island all together if you get lost," Luffy mumble to himself.


    "I''m not going to get lost," Zoro said after he heard what Luffy mumbled.


    "Yeah, and Nami hates money," Luffy replied causing his first mates'' eyebrow to twitch. "Just keep your eyes on that palace," he said with a sigh.


    "Thanks for this by the way," Zoro said as he took a drink from the bottle of sake. "What are you going to do with him," Zoro said while looking at Mr. 1.


    "I''m going to seal the wounds," he replied before he rolled the Baroque Works agent over and placed his index finger over one of the slash wounds before using his lightning to seal out the wounds and stop most of the bleeding. "For his sake, I hope he doesn''t have any internal bleeding," Luffy said before he placed his foot on the agent''s c.h.e.s.t and bind him his lightning-like he did the rest. He then reached down and grabbed onto Mr. 1 shirt and lift him up before he turned and looked at Zoro. "See you at the end of all this," Luffy said before he turned into lightning and shot up into the sky.


    "Okay then, time to stop a war," Zoro said before he began walking towards the palace with his sake in hand.


    **On the Cloud**


    Luffy appeared once again on the cloud carrying another unconscious Baroque Works agent. Robin looked at this one and saw that he was a bit bloodier than the rest and had three large burn marks over the slashes that Zoro gave him.


    "You know, this cloud is beginning to get a bit crowded," she said while looking at Luffy.


    "I know," Luffy replied as he tossed Mr. 1 onto the pile of unconscious agents. "Just one more to go before I drop them off at the Spider''s cafe," he said as he sat down on his throne.


    "And what are you going to do with me?" Robin asked as she folded her arms.


    "I''ll take you to see that Poneglyph," Luffy said causing her to get slightly excited. "The king is going to owe me for saving the country, so I''ll just ask him to show it to me," he added. Robin looked at him with a smile before her smile vanished and look of panic spread across her face.


    "Oh no!" she said suddenly causing Luffy to look at her in confusion. "I totally forgot. The king was kidnapped by Mr. 4 and Ms. Merry Christmas. It was all part of the plan to have Mr. 2 impersonate him," she said sounding slightly alarmed.


    "Relax, we''ll find him," Luffy said with a sigh as he rubbed his temple. "I''m starting to think I should have taken care of that bastard a long time ago," Luffy said while looking at Crocodile. "For now, let''s just focus on this last agent then worry about the king," he added with a sigh.


    "If you say so," Robin said as she watched Luffy closed his eyes once again.


    **Nami and Nojiko vs Mr. Doublefinger**


    Nojiko and Nami were currently standing across from Ms. Doublefinger with their weapons drawn. Nojiko was standing in front of her sister with her three-section staff held diagonally across her back, while Nami was behind her holding three blue metal rods between her fingers. It was her new weapon that she had Usopp made for her. She was tired of sitting back and letting Luffy and the rest of the crew do all the fighting. She wanted to do her part in all this and wanted to stop being a burden to all of them.


    "Give it up girls, it''s useless," Ms. Doublefinger said as she placed her hands on her rather small hip.


    "Well, from where I''m standing you should be the one giving up," Nojiko rebutted as she tightened her grip on the two ends of her staff. Ms. Double finger then stretched out her right hand with all five fingers pointing at the girls before she smirked


    "Your funeral," she said before all five of her fingers on her right hand turned into spiked and shot forward towards the girls. With Nojiko''s observation haki being slightly better than her sister''s she was able to dodge and weave through the spike and close the distance between the agent and herself. Nami, on the other hand, was not so Lucky. She managed to dodge most of the spike but one of them managed to stab into her shoulder causing her to drop the three metal rods that she was holding on to.


    "Take this!" Nojiko yelled out as she got within 3 ft of Ms. Double finger and swung her staff at her mid-section. The end of the three-section staff impacted Ms. Doublefinger''s side sending crashing into the side of one of the abandon buildings. Nojiko then turned and looked at her sister to see if she was okay. When she turned around, she saw her sister on her knees holding her bleeding shoulder while her three metal rods were scattered in front of her. Nojiko immediately ran towards her sister and helped her up.


    "Nami, are you okay," she asked as he helped her sister stood up.


    "Yeah, I''m fine," Nami replied as she stood back up to her feet. "She has devil fruit powers," she said while looking at the hole in the wall where the Baroque Works agent crashed into.


    "Right you are little girl," Ms. Doublefinger said getting Nami and Nojiko''s attention. When the two sisters focused on the source of the voice, they saw Ms. Doublefinger walking out of the hole in the wall slightly bruised. "I ate the Spike-Spike fruit allowing me to turn any part of my body into spikes," she said as she walked towards the girls.


    "Wow, s.e.x with you must be quite painful," Nojiko said with a smirk as she swung the sections of her staff around.


    "I don''t know about that," Ms. Doublefinger rebutted as she swayed her h.i.p.s. "The male populace finds me quite...enjoyable," she said with a smirk. Nojiko was about to say something else but before she could Nami screamed at the two of them.


    "Would you two perverts shut up already!" she yelled causing them to look at her. When they saw her face was completely red and she had a rather large blush on her face causing the two older women to chuckle.


    "I guess my little sister is right," Nojiko said as she stopped spinning her staff. "Time to get down to business," she added with a serious look on her face. Nami following her sister''s lead connected the three metal rods to form a long blue metal staff. Nojiko acted first and began charging Ms. Doublefinger with impressive speed. Ms. Doublefinger saw her approaching and pointed both of her hand at Nojiko before she yelled out an attack name.


    "Double Stinger!" she yelled as she turned her hands into spikes before attempting to stab Nojiko multiple times in rapid succession. Nojiko dodged and weaved through the spikes before he leaped into the air.


    "Lotus Shock!" Nojiko yelled as she brought the top two sections of her staff down onto Ms. Doublefinger who barely managed to jump out of the way of the attack. Just as she dodges the top end of the three-section staff impacted the ground and broke it back creating a decent size hole in the process. Ms. Doublefinger''s eyes widen in shock at the destruction causing by that one hit. She was knocked further into shock however by the voice of Nami coming from behind her.


    "Did you forget about me?" Nami asked causing Ms. Doublefinger''s eyes to widen even further as she turned her head slightly and looked behind her only to see Nami fading into existence like some sort of illusion.


    "When did you-" she said but was cut off by Nami swinging her staff at her head.


    "Cyclone Tempo!" Nami yelled out as she swung her staff. Upon hitting the face of the female Baroque Works agent, it generated a massive gust of wind that blew Ms. Double finger away sending her crashing into the side of another building.


    "Nicely done, sis," Nojiko said as she stood next to her sister. "Guess that weapon that Usopp made for you is coming in handy," she added she looked at her sister with a proud smile on my face.


    "Yeah, glad I got to practice with it a bit beforehand. Could you imagine what would have happened if I just had to learn it on the fly amid battle?" she asked causing her sister to chuckle. Nojiko was about to say something else to her sister but before she could, the sound of rubble being pushed out of the way could be heard. When they looked over, they saw Ms. Doublefinger standing in the middle of the rubble covered in bruises and with her clothes slightly torn as well.


    "You two are really...PISSING ME OFF!" she yelled before she leaped into the air.


    "Stinger Hedgehog!" she yelled before rolled her body into a ball and then sprouted spikes from all over her body giving her the appearance of a sea urchin. the giant spike ball then landed onto the ground before it began to spin rapidly before she began rolling along the ground and leveling everything in her path. The human spike ball then began making its way towards Nami and Nojiko who simply stood there without a care in the world. The giant spike ball rolled right through the two sisters as though they weren''t even there. Ms. Doublefinger stopped rolling and changed back to her normal form before she turned and looked at the spot where the girls were. When she looked over, she saw the image of the two sisters standing there fading away like an illusion.


    "Where are they?" she asked herself as he looked around.


    "We''re right here," Ms. Doublefinger heard the voice of Nojiko said from behind her. Before she could react Nojiko''s three-section staff wrapped around her neck as the illusion began to fade revealing Nojiko standing behind Ms. Doublefinger with both of their backs touching each other while holding on to the top and bottom sections of her staff while the third section was under Ms. Doublefinger''s neck choking her.


    "Mirage Tempo!" came the voice of Nami in front of Ms. Doublefinger getting her attention. When Ms. Doublefinger looked straight ahead of her, she saw Nami fading into existence with a satisfied smirk on her face. The Baroque Works agent was about to say something, but before she could Nojiko acted.


    "Seismic Toss!" Nojiko yelled as she took a step forward and used her three-section staff to lift Ms. Doublefinger over from behind her and slam her down into the ground in front of her. The power behind the impact alone was strong enough to create a small crater along with a miniature earthquake. Nojiko immediately pulled her staff out of the way before she put some distance between her and the agent.


    "Time to finish this," Nami said before she pulled out one of the metal rods and began blowing into it causing a bunch of red bubbles to come out. Once she had a decent amount of the red bubbles out, she took another rod and blew into it causing some blue bubbles to come out. The two groups of bubbles began mixing in the air causing a decent size raincloud to form. She then took the final rod and blew into it causing a few yellow bubbles to come out and go into the cloud. The rain cloud then began to give off some sparks causing Nami to smirk. "Now take this!" Nami yelled out.


    "Thunder Tempo!" she shouted causing lightning to burst down from the cloud and strike Ms. Doublefinger who was still lying in the middle of the crater. The two sisters high fived each other at a job well done and just as they were about to continue celebrating, they heard their supposed beaten enemy growl. When they looked in the small burned crater, they saw Ms. Doublefinger slowly getting up to her feet while covered in bruises and electrical burns.


    "You two have mocked me long enough," Ms. Doublefinger said in an angry tone. "This ends here," she said as she prepared to attack.


    "You''re right," Nojiko said as she stepped forward, "This does end here," she added as she let the two top sections of her staff fall to the ground while only holding onto the bottom section.


    "Snatch!" Nojiko yelled as she swung her arm forward in a whip-like motion. When the top section of the staff was about 1 ft away from Ms. Double finger the tip opened and a metal spike extended out getting ready to pierce right through the heart of the Baroque Works Agent. Just then a bolt of lightning came down directly in front of Ms. Doublefinge startling everyone. When the lightning disappeared, everyone saw Luffy standing there holding onto the hidden metal spike attached to Nojiko''s staff which was less than an inch away from the Baroque Works agent''s c.h.e.s.t.


    "Oh, my, beautiful and deadly," Luffy said as he let go of the spike and looked at his two female crew members. "You two make quite the fierce combination," he added with a smirk. Nojiko pulled back her staff and retracted the spike before looking at Luffy for an explanation. "Oh, I can''t have you kill her. She is more useful to me alive rather than dead," he added. Nojiko was about to say something to her captain before she could a bunch of spikes erupted from all over Luffy''s body compliments of Ms. Doublefinger causing Nami and Nojiko to look on in horror as their captain had spike sticking out all parts of his body. Luffy just sighed before he turned around and looked at Ms. Double finger and spoke.


    "That''s not going to work on me," he said before he backhanded the Baroque Works agent sending her crashing through 5 of the abandoned buildings. "Right, now, where was I?" he asked as he dusted off his hands while Nami and Nojiko just looked at him strangely.


    ''How do you just casually backhand someone through five buildings?!'' they all screamed in their head. Just Nami was about to speak the voice of Zoro drew all their attention.


    "Oh, hey guys," Zoro said getting their attention. "What''s wrong? Are you guys long?" he asked as he walked over to him. Nami and Nojiko looked at him with a sweat drop on the back of their heads while Luffy stared at him with a huge tick mark on his forehead.


    "What happened to not taking your eyes off the palace?!" Luffy yelled/asked.


    "Yeah, I''m heading there right now," Zoro said nonchalantly.


    "The palace is in the opposite direction!" Luffy yelled while the two girls looked on with an amused look on their face. Luffy then turned and looked at the girls before she spoke again. "You two take him to the palace," he said before he looked at the direction where he sent Ms. Doublefinger flying. "I''ll take care of things here," he added seriously before he began walking through the holes in the buildings that the agent crashed through. He had to walk through ten human-sized holes in the walls of five house before he could reach the location where Ms. Doublefinger stopped. When he got there, he saw her laying on the ground unconscious with some of the rubble on top of her. Luffy bent down and picked her up before he turned his body into lightning and shot straight up into the sky.


    **On the Cloud**


    Luffy appeared once again on the cloud carrying an unconscious Baroque Works agent. He tossed Ms. Doublefinger on the pile of unconscious agents before he sat down on his throne and spoke to Robin.


    "That''s everybody," Luffy said while looking at her.


    "I must say, your crew is very impressive," Robin said with a smile. "They are few in numbers but even so they make up for that in their strength," she added causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "What can I say, I have an eye to talent," Luffy said before he winked at her causing a slight blush to creep up on her face. "Now then, where is this Spider''s Cafe?" he asked.


    "It''s that way," she said while pointing off in the direction of where they came from. "It is in the desert between Nanohana and Alubarna," she said causing Luffy to nod.


    "Hold on," Luffy said just before the cloud sped off in the direction of the Spider''s cafe at about 120mph. It took them about 10 minutes to reach the skies above the Spider''s Cafe due to the speed at which the cloud had been moving. When the cloud came to a full stop Luffy got up from his throne and looked out the side of the cloud down to the surface to see if he could see the cafe. Much to his surprise, there was a cafe in the middle of the desert. "So, I take it that''s the place?" he asked as he turned and looked at Robin who was fixing her hair.


    "Yeah, that is," She said not paying attention.


    "Okay, you wait here. I''ll just drop them off there and be right back," he said before he held out both of his hand. As he held out his hands ten ropes made from lightning which connected to the binding around everyone except Crocodile. Luffy then turned his body into lightning and teleported himself and all the Baroque Works agents down to the cafe.


    **The Spider''s Cafe**


    Currently inside the cafe was Gem, Mikita, Marianne, and Jiro. The four of them were sitting at the counter drinking the beverages they found in the cafe. They had arrived there about an hour ago and were currently waiting for Luffy to arrive.


    "Where the hell is he!?" Jiro asked in a frustrated voice. Before anyone could reply they all heard something impacted the desert outside causing the entire cafe to shake as though it was an earthquake.


    "Ask and you shall receive," Mikita said with a chuckle. All four of them stared at the doors of the cafe in anticipation. Suddenly the doors to the cafe were kicked off their hinges starting all of them. The next thing they all saw was Luffy walking through the doors dragging five unconscious and bounded individuals. Luffy then threw the five agents further into the cafe before he spoke.


    "Gem," Luffy said getting Gem''s attention. "Treat their wounds," he said as he tossed him a first aid kit. "I''ll be back in a few hours," Luffy said before he turned and began to leave.


    "Wait!" Jiro yelled out stopping Luffy. "Where are you going?" he asked not liking the idea of waiting a couple of hours. Luffy turned and looked at him with cold eyes before he spoke.


    "I got a war to stop, dumbass," Luffy said before he narrowed his eye. "You don''t have somewhere you need to be, do you?" he asked dangerously.


    "N-no, sir," Jiro stuttered out.


    "Thought so," Luffy said before he left causing Jiro to let out a sigh of relief.


    **On the cloud**


    Luffy arrived on the cloud once more before he looked over and Robin and spoke.


    "Where is the king?" he asked her.


    "Crocodile told Mr. 4 and Ms. Merry Christmas to hid him in a cave just outside of Alubarna," she said causing Luffy to sigh.


    "We should have gone there first," he said causing her nod in agreement. The cloud then turned around and sped off back to Alubarna. It took them another 10 minutes to reach the capital of Alabasta. When they arrived over the city Luffy look at Robin and spoke once more. "Okay where?" he asked. She stood up and looked around for a few seconds before she replied.


    "Over there, near the eastern gate," she said causing Luffy to nod before the cloud made its way to the location. When they arrived Luffy once again teleported off the cloud and down to the surface. When Luffy reached the surface, he looked around and saw no one was around. In front of him, he saw a small opening in the rocks. He walked through the opened and found a cave just under the Alubarna. It was not that big a cave and it did not look to be a natural cave either. Luffy hypothesized that Ms. Merry Christmas made it with her devil fruit. Luffy looked around the cave checking if any Baroque Works agents were in the cave. Much to his enjoyment, there were none.


    "Who are you?" a man asked over in the corner of the cave. Luffy looked over his shoulder where the source of the voice came from and saw a man bounded to the walls of the cave.


    "I take it you''re Cobra?" Luffy asked as he walked over to the man.


    "Who are you?" he asked as he looked at Luffy with suspicion.


    "A friend of your daughters," Luffy replied before he pulled the King''s restraints off freeing him.


    "You''re with the group of pirates that helped my daughter?" Cobra asked as Luffy helped him to his feet.


    "I''m the captain to be exact," Luffy said as he began to lead the king out of the cave. "Come on, we got a war to stop," he said causing the king to nod his head and follow Luffy. When they arrived outside the cave Luffy looked at the king and spoke once more. "This may feel a bit weird," he said as he placed his hands on the king''s shoulders. Cobra looked at him in confusion, wondering what he meant. Before he could voice his confusion, Luffy turned his body into lightning and teleported himself and the king up to the cloud. When they arrived on the cloud the king immediately fell to his knees breathing heavily.


    "I think you broke him," Robin said causing Luffy to chuckle as he sat down on his throne.


    "If he is freaked out by that I wonder what will happen when he realizes where we are?" Luffy asked with a chuckle earning a laugh from Robin. The King looked up at Luffy and Robin with confusion on his face before he looked around at his surroundings and saw that there were in the sky.


    "WHAT THE HELL!" the king yelled causing the two occupants of the cloud to chuckle.


    "Relax would you," Luffy said casually. "Look behind you," he said causing the king to look at him in confusion before he turned around and looked behind him on the cloud where Crocodile was. The moment Cobra saw Crocodile his eyes widen in shock.


    "That''s," he said in shock barely able to speak. "Did you?" he asked as he turned and looked at Luffy.


    "I did," Luffy replied with a smirk. "Listen, your Majesty," Luffy said in a serious voice. "We still have a war to stop but before we can do that, I need something from you," he said with smirk puzzling the king.


    "What is it?" he asked while staring at Luffy.


    "I want to see the Poneglyph that the Nefertari family have in their possession," Luffy said causing the king''s eyes to widen in shock.


    "How do you know about that?" he asked.


    "Well, your family is one of the 20 kings who formed the World Government. It is only right that you have one in your possession," Luffy said while Robin looked on trying to hide the excitement on her face.


    "Very well," he said surprising Luffy. "I don''t see any harm in that," he said with a shrug.


    ''He agreed way too easy,'' Luffy thought to himself as he stared at the king.


    "Great, where is it?" He asked.


    "Head to the Royal palace," the king said to which Luffy nodded before the cloud took off in the direction of the palace. Cobra then walked over to the side of the cloud and pointed to an area just outside the palace. "Over there," he said causing Luffy to nod before he moved the cloud over to the location. Luffy and Robin then got up from their seats and walked next to Cobra. Luffy put his hand on both before the three of them teleported down to the surface leaving Crocodile behind. When they arrived down on the surface, they all saw that they were at the royal tomb.


    "The royal tomb, a place where generations of your kings lay in their eternal rest," Robin said as she looked around. Cobra then walked over to a statue of a Sea Cat and turned it horizontally. As he turned the statue a hidden stairway opened surprising Luffy.


    "The Poneglyph is kept down there, deep underground," Cobra said before he leads the duo down the stairs. "Most people aren''t even aware of the Poneglyph''s existence. How exactly do you two know of their existence?" he asked as they walked down the stairs.


    "Well, that''s Nico Robin," Luffy said causing Cobra''s eyes to widen. "She can read the ancient writings on the Poneglyph," he added surprising the king even further. "As for me, my mentors told me about them," Luffy said with a shrug.


    "I take it you can''t read them?" Cobra asked as he glanced at Luffy.


    "Technically, no," Luffy said confusing Cobra and causing Robin to narrow her eyes at him. When they reached the bottom of the stairs they arrived in a secret underground chamber.


    "The Poneglyph is just behind those doors," The king said while pointing at the door in the back. Luffy walked up to the door and pulled them open revealing the giant Poneglyph in the middle of the room. Robin''s face took on a huge smile as she walked into the room while Luffy and the king just stayed in the back and leaned against the door frame. While Robin was deciphering the Poneglyph, Luffy could be seen with his eyes closed and his forehead scrunched up as though he was focusing on something, but no one knew what.


    "Well," Cobra said getting their attention. "Can you read it?" he asked while looking at Robin.


    "Yes," she replied as she looked at the king and took a glance at Luffy only to see him standing there with his eyes closed. "History is all that is on this Poneglyph," she said surprising Cobra. "It tells the history of this country and its former kings. Also-" she was cut off from continuing by the voice of Luffy.


    "Cut the crap," Luffy said interrupting her. "I know it tells the location of Pluton," he said as he opened his eyes surprising both of them.


    "How did you..." she asked in a slightly scared voice.


    "You can relax, I have no interest in that weapon. I have all the power I need," Luffy said as he stared at her with a bored expression on his face.


    "I thought you said you couldn''t read the ancient language," Cobra said as he looked at Luffy.


    "I can''t," Luffy replied with a smirk. "It''s kind of hard to explain. I don''t even quite understand it myself. All I know is that I can hear the voice of all things," he said confusing the two of them. "If you think I asked you to join my crew just to find out what one the Poneglyphs you''re wrong. I don''t need you to tell me what''s on a Poneglyph, I can do that myself," Luffy said seriously. "Now this Poneglyph doesn''t have what you and I want so can we leave now?" he asked getting slightly tired of waiting around.


    "Forgive me for asking but exactly are the two of you looking for on these Poneglyphs?" Cobra asked while looking at the two of them.


    "The missing history of the world," Robin replied causing Cobra''s eyes to widen.


    "Missing history?" he asked to which she nodded.


    "A century-long gap in the recorded and archaeological history of our world. The World Government forbids any research into the topic and that is why they made reading the Poneglyphs illegal. The missing history is recorded on a few of these Poneglyphs, whatever the government did in that century-long gap allowed the World Government to take political control of the entire world," Luffy said in a serious voice as he looked at the king.


    "This is...something," Cobra said sounding a bit too overwhelmed.


    "Forget about it, for now, we can talk about it later," Luffy said while Robin nodded. "Let''s go stop this war," he said before he turned and began to leave. The and Robin soon followed Luffy back up the stairs after reclosing the doors to the chamber that held the Poneglyphs. When they got to the top Luffy looked at Robin and spoke. "What you want to do, Robin?" Luffy asked confusing her. "Do you want to go to my ship or the palace with me and the rest of my crew?" he asked with one eyebrow raised in the air.


    "Well I was going to just go to the ship and wait for you there, but that sounds too boring," she said causing Luffy to chuckle before he nodded.


    "Okay then," he said before he turned to the king. "Go with the king to palace and wait for me there," Luffy said before he turned to leave. He took a few steps forward before he turned around and spoke to Robin once more. "Oh, and I would stay away from the princess if I were you," he added with a smile causing Robin to chuckle.


    "Never intended on letting her see me," she replied causing Luffy to chuckle. He was about to say something else but before he could, a giant explosion shook the entire city of Alubarna causing Luffy to spin around and look in the direction of the explosion. When Luffy turned around he saw a giant ball of light in the middle of the sky.


    ''Right on, Smoker,'' Luffy thought with a smirk.


    "Well, I got a war to go stop," Luffy said with a smirk before he turned his body into lightning and shot up into the sky leaving Robin and the king behind. when Luffy appeared on the cloud he looked down at the bounded Crocodile and smirked before the cloud shot off towards the plaza where the Royal Army and Rebels were fighting. When Luffy arrived there, he saw the two armies weren''t fighting instead, they were all picking themselves up from the ground and looking up into the sky where the explosion took place.


    ''It would appear as though the shockwave knocked them all over,'' Luffy thought with an amused smile on his face. He then looked at Crocodile and snapped his fingers causing the lightning that was binding Crocodile in place to vanish freeing the Warlord. The moment the lightning disappeared Crocodile''s eyes snapped open.


    "Huh? Where am I?" he asked in a pained voice. Luffy didn''t answer instead he covered his hand in haki and grabbed the warlord by the neck and dangled him over the side of the cloud. Crocodile began struggling and gasping for air but Luffy just held him there with a smirk on his face.


    "You wanted to be king of this land," Luff said before he reared his other hand back with a closed fist covered in haki. "Well long... live...the...king," Luffy said before he delivered a power punch to Crocodile sending the warlord barreling towards the ground. Luffy then looked around and saw rain clouds were beginning to form in the skies above Alabasta. "Now would you look at that," he said with a smile before he stood on the edge of the loud and looked down. When he looked down, he saw Crocodile in the middle of a crater surrounded by both members of the Royal and Rebel armies. "Well then, time for me to make my grand entrance," he said before he turned his body into lightning and shot straight down to the ground.


    **Down on the Ground**


    Crocodile was currently laying face first unconscious in the middle of a crater about 20 ft wide while people from both armies surrounded him with a puzzled look on their faces.


    "Isn''t that Crocodile?" one of the rebels asked.


    "Yeah, but who could have done this to him?" another asked.


    "Who has the strength to beat a warlord?" they all asked. Before anyone else can speculate on what happened, they all heard the screams and pleads of a young woman.


    "STOP FIGHT!" they all heard the voice of Vivi said. When they turned and looked in the direction of where the voice came from, they saw Princess Vivi standing on top of a clock tower. But before Vivi or anyone from both armies could say anything a giant bolt of lightning struck down encasing the entire crater with Crocodile in it and knocked the people were standing around it off their feet. When the bold of Lightning vanished, everyone saw Luffy standing there with one of his foot on Crocodile''s back and his captain coat billowing in the wind staring at all of them with a serious look on his face.


    "This war is over," Luffy said a cold voice that sent chills down the spines of everyone there.


    "W-who are you?" one of the royal guards asked while shaking in his boots.


    "That''s the T-Thunder D-Demon, Straw Hat Luffy!" a random rebel shouted out causing a bunch of the rebels and a few royal guards to let out a gasp in shock. Luffy ignored all their surprised looks and proceeded to speak.


    "Crocodile here has been deceiving all of you all this," Luffy said confusing everyone. "Him and his organization, Baroque Works orc.h.e.s.trated this who war in hopes seizing control of the country," he said.


    "Lies! it is the Royal Families fault! We won''t rest until every member of the Royal family is-" a random rebel bearing the Baroque Works tattoo on his bicep said before he suddenly lost his head causing everyone around him to back away in fear.


    "What just happened?" A royal guard asked.


    "Anyone else wants to interrupt me?" Luffy asked in a dangerous tone causing all of them to sweat. "Good, now see that man that just died?" Luffy asked while pointing to the headless body. "Look at his right bicep, see that tattoo?'' he asked causing a few people to nod. "That is the symbol of Baroque Works. he was one of Crocodile''s people," he said causing everyone''s eyes to widen. Luffy then turned and look behind him and spoke to someone.


    "I take it you can take it from here...Igaram?" he asked with a smile as he stared at the supposed dead man carrying a small boy. Igaram and the small boy then began to explain to everyone what Crocodile''s true intentions were and how he used the people of the country to further his own gain. At the end of their explanation, every person there dropped their weapons. Just as all of them dropped their weapons, thunder boomed overhead and the skies were filled with rain clouds. A few seconds later it began to rain for the first time in three years. Everyone started cheering and singing praises at the fact that their suffering had come to an end. Luffy ignored all their cheering and began walking in the direction of where he sensed his crew. As he was walking, the crowd of royal guards and former rebels parted creating a straight path to Luffy''s crew all while thanking Luffy and cheering his name as he walked by. Luffy just ignored it and kept a stoic look on his face.


    As he was nearing the end, he saw a group of marines being led by the swordswoman who is always with Smoker enters the path and began making their way towards Luffy. Luffy didn''t stop nor did he look all that threatened by their presence he continued walking as though he didn''t have a care in the world. The people who were on either side of the path, however, were not as laid back as Luffy. They started hurling insults at the marines due to them thinking that the marines were there for Luffy. When Luffy came face to face with the swordswoman he stopped about 1 ft away from her and a bit to the right. Neither one of them looked each other in the eye instead they just looked straight over the other shoulder. There was a lot of tension present and the marines behind the swordswoman were extremely nervous.


    "I saw the explosion," Luffy said in a monotone voice. "Is Smoker alright?" he asked talking the marines behind the swordswoman by surprise.


    "He is slightly injured, but he''ll be fine," she replied somewhat strongly. Luffy could tell she feared him after what happened earlier when they met Ace.


    "Good, tell him I''m looking forward to our next meeting," Luffy said as he turned and looked at her with a slight smile.


    "R-right!" she stuttered out causing Luffy to chuckle before he continued walking. He took a few steps forward before he stopped and looked over his shoulder and spoke once more. "Swordswoman," he said getting her attention.


    "Y-yes?" she answered letting her nervousness show.


    "What is your name?" he asked causing her eyes to widen slightly.


    "T-Tashigi," she said as he adjusted her glasses. Luffy didn''t say anything else, he just nodded before he walked away. Tashigi and her marines let out a sigh of relief before continuing towards Crocodile. When Luffy reached his crew, he saw all of them there with Vivi with a tired expression on their faces causing him to drop the stoic look on his face and smiled.


    "You look like you need a vacation," he said as he stopped in front of them.


    "You got that right," Nami said as she leaned against a wall.


    "Well, princess," Luffy said getting her attention. "Think you can find a place for my crew to relax?" he asked with a smile causing to smile at him widely with tears in her eyes.


    "Yes, I can," she said before she leads them away.


    **CHAPTER END**


    Okay, this chapter turned out to way long that I anticipated. I had wanted to do some stuff with Shanks in this chapter but I''ll just do it in the next one. Hope you enjoyed it!


    Next Chapter we will see Luffy organization beginning, Some stuff with Shanks, and Luffy shaking the world! See you next time!


    PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!

 Chapter 27: Shaking the World!

    Vivi led the Straw hats towards the palace through the numerous alleyways to try not to draw too much attention to them. When they reached the palace, they began walking up a huge staircase leading to the main doors of the castle. As they were walking up the stairs, they saw a figure standing on top of the stairs looking down at them. Luffy could tell who it was thanks to his observation haki, but everyone else was having a hard time making out the figure. As they got closer Vivi began to recognize who it was standing at the top of the stairs. A wide smile crept up on her face before she took off running up the stairs full sprint with tears leaking out of her eyes.


    "DADDY!" she yelled as she ran to her father causing the Straw Hats to smile at her reaction.


    "So that''s the king," Sanji said as he took a puff of his cigarette.


    "Yep," Luffy replied casually.


    "You don''t sound that surprised," Nojiko commented as she looked at Luffy.


    "I met him already so there isn''t really anything to be surprised about," he said with a shrugged. When they reached the top of the stairs, they saw the father and daughter sharing a warm hug after being away from each other for such a long time. When the two royals noticed the group standing behind them, they let go of each other and greeted them.


    "Dada, these are my friends," Vivi said with a smile as spoke to her father. "This is Nami, Nojiko, Zoro, Usopp, Johnny, Yosaku, Sanji, and this is their captain, Lu-" she said introducing the crew to her bather before he interrupted her.


    "Yes, I met him already," he said surprising her. "And it is a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to meet all of you. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for what you''ve done for my daughter," he said as he bowed his head.


    "It''s no problem," Nami said while slightly unnerved at the fact that a king was bowing his head to them.


    "Come on," the King said as he brought his head back up. "You all must be tired, come inside and rest while our doctors treat your wounds," he said before leading the group into the palace. When they got inside the two royals lead them into a room with numerous beds. Luffy hypothesized that this was the hospital wing of the castle. "Our doctors will treat your wounds and our chefs will prepare a grand feast as thanks for your services to our country," the king said.


    "What do you mean?" Vivi asked as she tilted her head to the side.


    "The Plaza with your people. Tell them what really happened here," he said causing a look of realization to flash across their faces.


    "You''re right," Vivi said with a smile. "And we can tell them all about you guys," she said with a smile.


    "Actually Vivi, that wouldn''t be a good idea," Sanji said while the other Straw Hat''s nodded.


    "Actually," Luffy said getting all their attention. "That would be a good idea," he said surprising his crew.


    "But Luffy, wouldn''t that draw too much attention to us?" Nojiko asked in a confused voice.


    "When I asked each of you to join my crew, I told you I was going to turn this world upside down," he said in a critical tone. "I have no intention of turning upside down from the shadows," he added causing Zoro and Nojiko to smile while Nami, Usopp, and Chopper sulked in the corner.


    "I''ll make sure everybody knows," Vivi said with a smile.


    "Good, now if you excuse me, I have some business to attend to he said before he turned and looked at his crew. "Johnny, Yosaku, come with me. I have a job for you," he said causing to nod and make their way over to him. "I''ll be back in an hour or so," he said to his crew causing them to nod at him before he turned and left with Johnny and Yosaku right behind him. The three of them exited the hospital wing and went outside where Luffy summoned a thundercloud for them to ride on. Thanks to the rain and abundant presence of moisture in the air he didn''t have to worry about the cloud shrinking or getting destroyed. When the cloud arrived Luffy looked at the bounty hunting duo and spoke. "Hop on," he said as he hopped on to the cloud.


    "Now I want the two of you to listen to what I have to say carefully," Luffy said in a serious tone getting their full attention. "I am going to make the two of you an offer, one which you can decline if you so please," he added puzzling the.


    "What kind of offer?" Johnny asked with a raised eyebrow.


    "A job offer," Luffy said surprising them. The two of them were really puzzled by this. They were under the impression that they already have a job on Luffy''s crew, to which they were right. "As you know I am going to be starting an underworld organization," he said to which they nodded. "Good, this organization is going to have a worldwide reach. Now as you know my entire crew is from the East Blue, including me," he said causing them to nod once more. "We got family there and the people who we care about. That is why I need someone who I can trust to oversee my operations in the East," he said causing them to realize what job he was offering them.


    "So, you want us to go back to the East Blue and run your operations there in that sea?" Yosaku asked.


    "That''s right," Luffy said. "Not only do I trust the two of you, but you guys are also from the East Blue. So, you are already familiar with the area," Luffy said causing them to nod. "Do you guys accept?" he asked while looking at them. The two of them looked at each other for a while and didn''t say anything. It was like they were having a silent conversation with each other. After two minutes of silence, both looked at Luffy and spoke.


    "We accept!" they said causing Luffy to smile widely.


    "Wonderful!" Luffy said before he pulled out three glasses and poured whiskey into them and handed two of them to the two former bounty hunters. "Here''s to new opportunities," Luffy said as he clicked glasses with Johnny and Yosaku. "Now let''s talk business," Luffy said seriously.


    "What exactly are we going to be doing there in the East?" Johnny asked as he took a sip of his whiskey.


    "I''m going to explain that one time in front of everybody else rather than having to do it twice," Luffy said causing to nod. "When you get to the East Blue you are going to need to find someplace to set up your main base of operation," he said causing to think.


    "Maybe go to Conomi Islands, where Nami is from," Luffy said confusing them.


    "I thought you wanted us to stay away from the homes of members of the crew?" Johnny asked in a confused voice.


    "I do, but as long as you do not meddle in the affairs of Cocoyasi Village, I don''t think anyone will mind," he said causing to nod slowly. "You can take over that spot where Arlong''s base was, it has a small port and everything. Plus, I think the villagers will welcome you guys back there with open arms," he said.


    "And we can also provide them with protection," Yosaku added to what Luffy was saying.


    "Exactly," he said with a smile. "However, should I hear any of your men causing any trouble...there will be hell to pay," he said coldly scaring the two former bounty hunters.


    "We''ll make sure they understand," Johnny replied in a slightly scared voice.


    "Good, but I want to make sure they all know that you two are in charge," Luffy said before taking a sip of his drink. "So, we are going to give you a power boost," he added causing them to raise an eyebrow.


    "And how exactly are we going to do that?" Yosaku asked.


    "Simple," Luffy replied with a smile. "With this," he said as he waved his hand in front of them causing something to rise from inside the cloud. When they looked down, they saw an all too familiar c.h.e.s.t rising from the cloud causing the two of them to realize how Luffy was going to give them a power boost. "Now then, who wants a devil fruit?" he asked with a smile. Johnny and Yosaku looked at each other for a few seconds before Johnny spoke first.


    "I''ll take one then," Yosaku said causing Luffy to reach into the c.h.e.s.t and dig around a bit before he pulled out a devil fruit. The fruit was grey with back swirls and shaped like an apple.


    "Here," Luffy said as he handed the fruit to Yosaku. "It is the Sickle-Sickle Fruit," Luffy said as Yosaku took the fruit from him.


    "What does it do?" Yosaku asked.


    "It is a Paramecia type devil fruit that gives the user long, sharp nails that they can use to create slicing air blades," Luffy said causing their eyes to widen. "It is said that the wind created by this devil fruit is as sharp as a meito. It can tear a person limb from limb like its child''s play," he said as he closed the c.h.e.s.t and lowered it back into the cloud.


    "Eat it," Johnny said sounding slightly excited to see what happens when a person eats a devil fruit. Yosaku looked at both Johnny and Luffy before he began to bring the devil fruit up to his mouth.


    "Be warned, devil fruits can have a..." Luffy said as he trailed off as he watches Yosaku bite down onto the fruit. "...bad taste," he finished. Just as he said that Yosaku''s face took on a sour look causing Johnny and Luffy to cringe slightly. He bared the horrible taste that was currently in his mouth and swallowed the fruit before letting out a breath of relief. Luffy quickly refilled his glass with whiskey before handing it to him so he can get the taste out of his mouth.


    "Well, how do you feel," Johnny asked as he didn''t see any changes in his partner.


    "No different actually," Yosaku said as he began to examine himself.


    "Maybe you should finish the entire fruit," Johnny suggested.


    "If you don''t mind me asking, why?" Yosaku asked cautiously.


    "We won''t we selling drugs to everyday civilians," he said surprising them. "We will be selling it to the rich and powerful. The nobles, the Kings and Queens of a country. They tend to buy a larger quantity than everyday people," he said causing them to nod their heads showing that they understood. "I do not want to risk selling it a nobleman in the East and have them distribute it to their people," he said.


    "Oh, I understand now," Johnny said while nodding.


    "Yeah, I do too," Yosaku added.


    "Good," Luffy said as he stood up and the cloud began to slow down. "We''re here," he said causing the two former bounty hunters to stand u as well. The cloud came to a full stop just above the cafe before it began to descend to the surface. When it was about 4 ft above the ground Luffy and his two new leaders of the East Blue operation hopped off the cloud and began making their way inside the cafe with Luffy leading the way. When they entered the spider''s cafe, they saw that everyone inside the cafe was split into two groups. On Luffy''s right was Gem and rest of the former Baroque Works agents who had already joined him. On the left were the former agents who Luffy''s crew took care of. The two groups didn''t even notice that Luffy had entered the cafe, they were too busy staring at each other.


    "There seems to be a lot of tension in here," Luffy said getting everyone''s attention. When everyone looked over and saw Luffy standing there with two of his crew members the group of now former Baroque Works agents immediately stood up and placed their guards up while the other group remained seated, but their posture could be visibly seen relaxed.


    "You!" Mr. 1 said in anger. "I thought the boss would have killed you!" he said causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "I''m sorry to disappoint you, but it is Crocodile who lost the fight," Luffy said as he began walking to the clear leader of the group. "But by all means, if you wish to avenge your boss, go right ahead," he said as he stared at Mr. 1. "I will gladly show an insignificant little insect-like you, your place in this world," he added coldly causing Mr. 1 to growl. Much to Luffy''s disappointment he backs off and went back over to the group. "That''s more like it," Luffy said coldly ad eyed the former Baroque Works agent.


    "Oh my," came the voice of Ms. Double finger as he walked over to Luffy with an extra sway in her h.i.p.s. "Such a strong man," he said as he rubbed up against Luffy''s arms. "Why don''t you and I go in the back and have some fun," she said seductively into Luffy''s ear.


    "What business?" Ms. Merry Christmas asked quickly.


    "I have a job offer for all of you," Luffy said with a smile as he looked at everyone. It was at that moment where he was looking at everyone, he noticed someone sitting amongst the former agents who his crew took care of. "Who are you?" he asked as his smiles disappeared from his face.


    "That''s Mr. 11," Gem answered getting Luffy''s attention. "Apparently he followed us here," he added causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow.


    "How come I didn''t see him here earlier?" Luffy asked.


    "He was hiding outside. He didn''t show himself to us till after you had already left," Gem said causing Luffy to sigh.


    "Whatever," Luffy said as he took a sip of his drink. "As I was saying, I have a job offer for all of you," he said as he placed the smile back on his face.


    "What makes you think we would want to work for you anyway?" Mr. 1 asked as he folded his arm.


    "Well, it''s either that or I hand you over to the marines," Luffy replied with a smirk.


    "What''s the job you''re offering?" Ms. Doublefinger asked changing the subject of the marines.


    "It''s quite similar to the ones you previously had," he said as he took a sip of his drink. "I am going to be creating an organization that operates in both the underworld and the legal one," he said piquing their curiosity.


    "What do you mean by both?" Mr. 2 asked with curiosity ever so present in his voice.


    "I mean the organization will produce, buy, and sell both legal and illegal items," Luffy said causing their eyes to widen slightly.


    "So, you are going to be dipping your hands in two pots instead of one," Ms. Doublefinger said with a chuckle. Before anyone else could ask any more questions Mr. 11 stood up and spoke.


    "No!" Mr. 11 yelled out getting everyone''s attention. "I''m not going to be a part of this," he said as he began walking towards the door


    "Why not?" Luffy asked genuine curious as to why he was refusing to do illegal dealing when he was already a criminal.


    "I''ve heard stories about the black market," he said in a voice filled with fear causing to Luffy to understand why he refused. "Those are people who I do not want to get involved in!" he said causing Luffy to nod.


    "Very well," Luff said before he took a sip of his drink. "You are free to leave," he added as the smile disappeared from his face. Mr. 11 then turned around and began walking towards the door. As he took three steps towards the door, two gunshots could be heard before Mr. 11 dropped face-first to the ground with two holes in the back of his knees. Everyone''s eyes widen in shock and quickly sprang to their feet thinking that they were under attack. When they looked over at Luffy they all saw him sitting there holding a smoking gun.


    "W-why did you shoot him?" Mr. 2 asked sounding slightly scared. Luffy just stood up and chuckled maniacally as he began walking towards the downed Mr. 11 with each of his footsteps echoing throughout the cafe.


    "You didn''t really expect me to tell you that I''m about to start a crime syndicate and then just let you walk out of here with your lives intact," Luffy said coldly before he stooped down in front of Mr. 11. He then grabbed a fist full of the crying man''s hair and raised his head up so he can look into his eye. "You should have never followed my people here," Luffy said coldly before letting go of his hair causing his head to fall back on the floor. Luffy then stood up and pointed his pistol down at Mr. 11''s head.


    "No! Please no!" Mr. 11 begged as he stared up at the gun.


    "Sorry," Luffy said in an emotionless tone. "It''s nothing personal. It''s just business," he said before he pulled the trigger two times sending two small bolts of lightning into Mr. 11''s head. He then holstered his gun and made his way back to the counter where he left his drink.


    "So, when you said you were going to hand us over to the marines you were lying," Mr. 2 said as he watched Luffy sit down.


    "No, that was just before I told you what I was going to do," Luffy said before he smirked. "Now that you all know what I am going to be doing there is no way you are turning down my offer and walking out of here alive," he said with a chuckle causing their eyes to widen while the agents who were already working for Luffy smirked.


    "So devious," Ms. Doublefinger said as she licked her lips. "Me like," she said as she winked at Luffy causing him to chuckle.


    "So, who''s in?" Luffy asked as he looked at them.


    "I''m in," Mr. 2 said as he did a twirl. "Plus, I quite like your crew. They''re a merry bunch," he added causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "We''re in, right Mr. 4? Right? Right?" Ms. Merry Christmas asked while looking at Mr. 4 and hopping up and down.


    "Sure," Mr. 4 said rather slowly.


    "Well, you already know I''m in, handsome," Ms. Doublefinger said with a wink. Luffy then turned and looked at Mr. 1 who was looking at him through narrowed eyes.


    "Fine, I''ll join you," he said causing Luffy smirk.


    "Good, now sit down let me explain to you al what we will be doing," he said as he stood up while everyone else took their seats. "The name of the organization is Hell''s Company. There will be two main branches in the company, the Hino Branch for information gathering and the Kiten Branch will be the black-market dealers," he said as he looked around at each of them.


    "What sort of information will the Hino branch be gathering?" Ms. Doublefinger asked liking that branch of the organization more.


    "All sorts of information like world news, shady deals, blackmailing information, and needs," he said confusing them with the last thing he listed.


    "Needs?" Marianne asked with a confused look on her face.


    "Yes needs," Luffy replied with a smirk. "Information on the needs of people, the things they need like weapons, jewels, drugs, anything that is in high demand," he said causing them to understand what he meant. "The Hino Branch will not only gather information but also distribute it. They will spread the word of our company to the low lives and the wealthy nobles of this world," he said before he walked over to Ms. Doublefinger. "And you Ms. Doublefinger," he said as he stroked her cheek.


    "Please, call me Paula," she said as she looked up at him.


    "And you, Paula," Luffy said with a smirk. "Are going to be in charge of the entire Hino Branch," he said causing everyone''s eyes to widen the size of dinner plates.


    "Me?" She asked with a bewildered look on her face. "Why me?" she asked.


    "Ms. All Sunday told me you have a knack for gathering Information," Luffy said causing her nod slowly. "You all work in pairs and each pair will be sent to a separate ocean. You will be temporarily in charge of my operations in that ocean. You will pick someone from your crews to be the head of the Hino Branch in that ocean. They will collect all the information from their subordinates and send it to Paula over here who will sort through it and send it to me, and I will tell her what to do with it from that point!" Luffy commanded as he raised his voice slightly.


    "What do you mean by temporarily in charge?" Mikita asked causing Luffy to look over at her.


    "Just as it sounds, you are only holding the position of boss in that ocean until I find someone stronger who can protect my people and my merchandise," Luffy said surprising them.


    "Who said we need protection?" Mr. 1 asked causing Luffy to chuckle and walk back over to the counter.


    "Trust me," he said with a smile. "You are nowhere near strong enough to deal with the people who we are going to be dealing with," he said as he took a sip of his drink. "The only exception to this is those two over there of course," he added while pointing at Johnny and Yosaku. "But that is mainly because they''re going to the East Blue," he finished.


    "If the Hino Branch is all about the gathering and distribution of information," Jiro said while looking at Luffy. "What is the other branch all about?" he asked.


    "The other branch is called The Kiten Branch. The people in this branch will be dealing with the buying and selling of merchandise the legal way and on the black market," Luffy said causing everyone to nod understanding the plan.


    "What are we selling exactly?" Ms. Merry Christmas asked earning a chuckle from Luffy.


    "We are going to be selling anything that can fetch a hefty price, like weapons, medicine, drugs, high-end artifacts like paintings, sculptures, and antiques," he said as he took a sip of his whiskey. "Along with some other hard to find merchandise like Devil Fruits," he added causing their eyes to widen in surprise.


    "We will be selling devil fruits?" Mr. 2 asked in a surprised voice.


    "That is right," Luffy said as he sat down. "I will have all the devil fruits of course. All you need to do is find a buyer and I''ll bring them to you," he said causing to nod their heads. "Now stuff like medicine and the high-end artifacts, those can be sold legally but everything else has to be sold on the black market," Luffy said in a serious voice. "For those of you who are going to be in the Kiten Branch, you are about to be introduced to a whole new world that you didn''t even know exist. A secret society with its own rules and customs that everyday people have no idea about," Luffy said piquing their curiosity.


    "How do we get into this society?" Paula asked.


    "When the Hino branch spread the word and the Kiten Branch make a few black markets transactions, they will be invited to certain events that only take place in the underworld, like auctions and special viewings. It is at those places where you see the underworld society," he said before looking around at their faces to see their reactions. He was surprised what saw that all of them even the stoic Mr. 1 had an excited gleam in their eyes.


    "That sounds fun," Jiro said with an excited smirk.


    "It is there that each of you will make new contacts and meet future clients," Luffy said before refilling his glass. "But there is only one rule in the underworld," he said seriously getting all their attention. "You NEVER reveal what see, do, or hear to anyone while you''re there," he said causing all of them to nod. "Well, except for me," he added.


    "I take it that is where my branch will be operating for the most part?" Paula asked.


    "Correct," Luffy replied with a nod. Luffy was about to continue explaining about the company but before he could Mr. 2 spoke up.


    "I have a question," he said earning everyone''s attention. "You said we will be selling all these things, but where are we going to get them from?" he asked causing everyone else to look at Luffy to hear the answer to the question that they too were wondering about.


    "Oh right," Luffy said before he stood up and walked over to the door before summoning his thundercloud. "I almost forgot," he said as the cloud arrived. Luffy then stuck his hand into the cloud and felt around. He then pulled out a black treasure c.h.e.s.t, one that Johnny and Yosaku never saw before. "Before I answer your question, I need to all of you your partners and your ocean of operation," he said as he flipped the c.h.e.s.t open and looked at everyone.


    "Sounds good to me," Gem said while everyone else agreed.\


    "Okay, Johnny and Yosaku you''re going to East Blue," Luffy said he looked at Gem and spoke. "Gem, give him the location of the sh.i.p.s that are set to head to the East," Luffy said causing Gem walk over to the two former bounty hunters and hand them a paper with a location written on it.


    "Got it, captain!" Johnny said with a salute.


    "Mr. 1 you will operate by yourself here in the Grand Line as part of the Kiten Branch," Luffy said causing Mr. 1 to nod while Gem walked over to him with a piece of paper "Paula, you and Marianne will also be here in the Grand Line but as part of the Hino Branch," Luffy said while looking at the two of them. The two women nodded before Marianne walk over and sat down with Paula while Gem took the paper with the location of their men to them.


    "Got it," Paula said.


    "Mr. 4 you and Ms. Merry Christmas will head to the North Blue," Luffy said causing them to nod and collect the paper from Gem.


    "Okay," Mr. 4 said slowly.


    "Mr. 2, you and Jiro over there will head to the West Blue," Luffy said before taking a sip of his drink.


    "Righty oh, Bossman!" Mr. 2 said as he twirled around while Jiro collected the paper from Gem and moved over to Mr. 2.


    "And finally Gem, you and Mikita will head to the South Blue," Luffy said causing the two of them to nod.


    "Got it," they said at the same time as they sat next to each other.


    "All of you are free to decide who does what for what branch or if both of you want to do everything together," Luffy said while they nodded in agreement. "Good, now the next thing that I need to give you are these," Luffy said as he reached into the c.h.e.s.t and pulled out a stack of address books all tied together. He untied the stack of books before he passed one out to each person there. "Inside of these books are the names and numbers of people who have sworn their loyalties to me," he said causing everyone to look at the names in the books with a lot of interest.


    "I don''t get it," Ms. Merry Christmas said getting Luffy''s attention. "What do these people have to do with us?" she asked.


    "As I said, these people swore their loyalties to me a few years ago. They''re the one who will be supplying you with a lot of the merchandises that you will be selling," he said surprising everyone there especially Johnny and Yosaku. "Inside of that book, you have the names of everyone from arms dealers to weapon manufacturers, from scientists to drug lords," he said as he took a seat. "Whatever it is you need; you get it from the people inside of that book. You call them and make an order for the product and they will tell you when and where to pick it up. Seeing as how all of them are in the Grand Line, you will need to send a ship here to collect it and take back to the client, understood?" he asked as he looked around making sure everyone was with the program.


    "How long have they been working for you?" Johnny asked being this is the first time he heard of this


    "About two and a half years now," Luffy replied before taking a sip of his drink. "All of them have been stockpiling product for the past two years. All they are waiting for is for you to place the order for the product," he said causing Johnny to nod his head.


    "I get it," Mr. 2 said as he flipped through the address book. "You are your own supplier and distributor," he said causing Luffy to nod his head in agreement.


    "There are names in here for everything," Mikita said in amazement as she flipped through the first three pages of the book.


    "As you may have noticed by now, only the first three pages of that book has contact information written there while the rest of the book is blank. It is your job to find new contacts and add them to that book, understood?" he asked causing all of them to nod their head in agreement. "Good, now for the next thing I have to give you," Luffy said as he reached in the c.h.e.s.t and pulled out multiple stacks of paper. "These are the company''s logo. You are to put this on every box, crate, and package that you ship," he said as he handed two stacks of the labels to each pair. When everyone got the stacks of labels the first, they did was look at it to see what their new logo would be. When they looked at it, they saw it was just a flaming skull.


    "Isn''t this too close to a pirate flag?" Paula asked as she held up one of the labels.


    "According to the Navy, as long as it does not have the crossbones it is not a pirate flag," Luffy said with a shrug.


    "Isn''t there already an organization like this one in the underworld?" Jiro asked while looking at Luffy.


    "There is, but like you said. It is only in the underworld," Luffy said as he took a sip of his drink. "There is no other organization that is double-dipping in both worlds," he added with a smirk.


    "How much money are we looking to make here?" Gem asked as he placed the stack of labels down on the table next to him.


    "A whole lot of money," Luffy replied vaguely. "Considering that a simple paramecia devil fruit can go for a minimum of 100 million berries depending on the fruit while logias can go from anywhere between 800 million to 1.5 billion berries," he added causing all their eyes to widen to the size of dinner plates.


    "That''s a lot of money," Paula whispered out casing Luffy to smirk.


    "That is nowhere close to what we are set to make," Luffy said once more surprising them even more. Mr. 2 and Jiro immediately jumped to their feet and shouted.


    "What the hell are we still doing here!?" both asked. "Let''s go make some money!" they yelled out.


    "Okay, slow down there, boys," Luffy said calming them down. "There is one more thing I need all explain to all of you," he said in a serious tone calming everyone down.


    "What is it?" Mr. 1 asked in a calm voice.


    "Rules," Luffy said confusing them. "There are some rules that each of you must follow. Break them and it will be the end your life as you know it," he said calmly scaring everyone in the cafe. "Rule #1, If it is alive, we do not touch it," he said as he looked around making sure they all heard him. "I am not getting involved in slavery. If you see a slave trader''s ship you are to kill everyone on board and set the slaves free, understood!?" He asked raising his voice slightly.


    "Aye!" everyone replied with a nod.


    "What if it''s dead?" Mr. 1 asked causing Luffy to sigh.


    "You mean like organs," Luffy said causing him to nod. "I''m on the fence about that. On one hand, they fetch a good amount of money, but on the other hand, it''s creepy as f.u.c.k," Luffy said with a sigh. "There is a name of an organ harvester in your address books. He doesn''t work for me; I just know him. Don''t call him. For now, we are not touching the dead," he said causing all of them to nod.


    "Cool," Mr. 1 replied with a nod.


    "Rule #2, You are to only sell drugs to the rich and powerful, like the nobles," Luffy said confusing all of them.


    "Why?" Paula asked. "Isn''t that reducing the amounts of money we make?" she asked causing Luffy to shake his head.


    "No, it''s not," he said as he picked up his glass. "The rich always buy large amounts of drugs and they always tend to overpay for it. As opposed to the poor who buy small amounts and who always know the exact price value for that which they are buying," he said causing all of them to understand.


    "That makes sense," Mr. 2 said with a nod. "But what about the drug we are going to be selling, aren''t there establish drug dealers who are going to see it cheaper?" he asked causing a smirk to creep up on Luffy''s face.


    "There are drug dealers selling drugs in the world, but not one of them is going to be selling the drugs you''re selling," he said surprising them. "The drug you guys are going to be selling is one originally created by a scientist who works for me and will only be sold by you," he added with a proud smile.


    "Man, you really thought of everything," Mikita said causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "Rule #3, you are to never use my real name when it comes to this organization. Like Crocodile, you will all call me by my code name which is Asura," he said causing them to nod.


    "Does that mean we too need code names?" Marianne asked causing Luffy to shake his head.


    "No, you can use your real names if you wish. I am the only one who is going to need a code name because I am a pirate and people tend to try and avoid doing business with pirates, especially the Navy and nobles," he said causing them to understand.


    "The mysterious Asura," Paula said seductively. "Sounds s.e.xy," she said in a whispered while winking at Luffy. Luffy just ignored her and spoke again.


    "That''s about it," Luffy said as he investigated the c.h.e.s.t once more before he reaches in and pulled out a set of transponder snails. "The number to these are all on a piece of paper taped to the snail, take one and exchange the numbers with each other before heading out to your turfs," Luffy said as he closed the c.h.e.s.t and placed it back into the cloud while everyone went over and picked up a transponder snail. "Okay then, if any of you run into any problems just give me a call," Luffy said.


    "But we don''t have your number," Mikita said causing Luffy to smirk.


    "It is the first number in your address books," Luffy said causing all of them to look inside their address books. When they looked in, they all saw the first number there wasn''t under ''Luffy'' but under Asura. "Now that we got that settled, I''ll be off," he said as he turned around and began walking out of the cafe with his thunder cloud following right behind him. He stepped over the dead body of Mr. 11 and walked outside into the pouring rain. As he was about to hop onto his cloud the deep voice of a man stopped him in his tracks.


    "You''re letting your guard down too easy, Lu," the man said causing Luffy''s eyes to widen. He slowly turned his head around and looked behind him to see who it was. When he turned around, he saw a tall man about the same height of Luffy with shoulder-length white hair and hazel eyes. He wore a black and white checkered dress shirt with only the bottom three buttons buttoned along with black cargo pants and a pair of black steel-tipped shoes with a red and gold captain''s coat dr.a.p.ed over his shoulders in a similar faction to Luffy''s. Strapped to his side was a claymore with a golden hilt and a pair of black angel wings acting as the guard.


    "Isaac," Luffy said as he turned and looked at the man through narrowed eyes. By now all the occupants who were inside the cafe came outside to see who Luffy was talking to. When they got outside, they saw Luffy standing 20 ft away from a man, who was obviously a pirate. "What are you doing in Paradise?" Luffy asked.


    "A lot of people are looking for you, Lu" the man named Isaac replied with a smile. "The stunt you pulled in Logue Town made world news and cause of that a lot of pirates are looking for you," he said causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow. "There are some who want to kill you and some who want to join you," he added causing an amused look to creep up onto Luffy''s face before he spoke.


    "And which are you here for exactly?" Luffy asked as he stared down Isaac.


    "Well, if you manage to still be alive after I''m done with you, I will have no problem whatsoever serving under your flag," Isaac said. As he said that black angel wings sprouted out from his back causing Luffy to smirk while the people watching on the sidelines to gape in shock. The wings were immense with a grey sheen. Along the bottom of the wings, one can see sharp metal blades in the place of feathers. "I can''t after all serve under someone weaker than me," he said his own smirk as he flexed his wings.


    "I thought we settled who was stronger two years ago," Luffy replied as the rain clouds overhead began to swirl.


    "A lot has changed since then," Isaac replied confidently. Luffy was about to say something but before he could, the voice of Yosaku interrupted him.


    "Big bro Luffy," Yosaku said getting Luffy''s attention. "Who is that?" he asked while pointing at Isaac.


    "That is the Angel of Death, Franklin D. Isaac," Luffy said with an excited smile. "He ate a mythical Zoan type devil fruit. The Human-Human Fruit, Model: Archangel," he said surprising them.


    "Are you done stalling for your damn clouds to form," Isaac said causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "Well, if It''s you I''m fighting I''m going to have to take this seriously," he said as lightning flashed across the sky causing Isaac to unsheathe his sword.


    "Second Gear!" Luffy shouted out.


    **Back at the Palace**


    The entire crew along with Vivi and a few servants were still in the medical wing of the palace. Vivi had offered them their own room but all of them declined, wanting to stay together. The king and Vivi had returned from addressing the people in the plaza a few minutes ago and were surprised to see that Luffy was still not back.


    "Are you guys sure Luffy is going to be fine?" Vivi asked in a worried voice.


    "Relax Vivi," Nami said with a smile as she laid down on one of the beds. "Luffy is more than okay. I doubt there is anyone in this world who can beat him," she said confidently.


    "Yeah, the guy is a monster in human flesh," Usopp added as he laid in a bed covered while covered in bandages.


    "Yeah, have a little faith in the captain. He is-" Nojiko said but before she could finish her sentence an extremely loud thunder boomed throughout the country of Alabasta causing an earthquake to rock the entire island. The straw hats along with everyone else in the country had to hold on for dear life to avoid falling over.


    "What the hell is going on!?" Vivi yelled/asked as she held onto one of the beds. After 30 seconds of shaking everything was once again still.


    "That was Luffy," Zoro said as he helped Chopper pick Usopp up from off the floor.


    "Wonder what he is doing," Vivi said as he looked out at the window at the rain.


    "It is either one of two things," Zoro said getting all their attention. "Either someone really pissed him off, or he is fighting someone much stronger than Crocodile," he said causing all of them to become slightly worried for their captain. Nami quickly shook the thoughts of her captain losing from her head before she spoke up.


    "No!" She said firmly as she raised her voice. "Regardless of how strong they may bey, Luffy would never lose!" she said causing the entire crew''s faith in their captain to strengthen.


    "Nami''s right," Sanji said as he lit up another cigarette. "We all know Luffy and he is not someone who will lose a fight," he said while everyone else just nodded along. Vivi along with her father and a few royal aids who were watching the crew from around the corner could not believe just how much faith this crew had in their captain.


    "They truly are loyal to their captain," the king whispered to himself.


    **Back with Luffy**


    Luffy currently had a satisfied smirk on his face as he looked at the scene before him. He was currently standing on the edge of a giant 30ft wide crate that was sliced right down the middle. It was honestly like someone supernatural deity took a knife and sliced a part of the desert. Standing on the sidelines were Luffy''s new subordinates trying to process what they just witnessed. The cafe that all of them were previously in was now a pile of wood behind them. It had collapsed into itself due to the earthquake Luffy caused.


    "It seems that you''re not the only one who learned some new tricks, Isaac," Luffy said as he stared at the person laying on their back on the other side of the crater on some blood-soaked sand. Isaac chuckled and coughed up some blood at the same time before he replied to Luffy.


    "Yeah, I guess I was getting ahead of myself...again," he said before he coughed up some blood. Luffy just chuckled and shook his head before he began making his way over to Isaac.


    "You always were a stubborn idiot," Luffy said jokingly as he walked over. When he reached Isaac, he stretched out his hand and Isaac grabbed on to it before he pulled him up to his feet. As he stood up, Isaac retracted his wings before he spoke to Luffy.


    "Damn, you''re still the monster I remember," he said causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "Do you need me to grab a first aid kit?" he asked as he looked at the deep cut across Isaac''s c.h.e.s.t.


    "No," Isaac replied before he held up his right palm over the wound. "I can handle it," he said as he palms glowed yellow and he waved it over his wound causing it to heal instantly not even leaving behind a scar. "One of the perks of being an angel I guess," he said as he ran his hand through his hair.


    "Very well then," Luffy said with a smile. The two of their faces then took on a serious look before they began speaking softly so that no one else could hear.


    "So, what exactly are you going to have me do," Isaac said low enough so only Luffy could hear.


    "I can have you be in charge of my operations in one of the Blues," Luffy replied in an equally low voice.


    "I like the sound of that," Isaac replied with a smile. "And what am I going to have to do while I''m there?" he asked.


    "Just be in charge of everything I have going on there and keep my people and my merchandise safe," Luffy replied with a shrug. "And recruit more people to work under you," he added with a smirk.


    "If I didn''t know any better, I would say your building an army to try and take over the world," Isaac said causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "One day we D''s are going to have to come out of hiding and when I find the one piece this world will be thrown into a war the likes of which they''ve never seen before," Luffy said grimily.


    "Sounds fun," the Angel of Death replied with an excited smirk.


    "You''ll be one of the commanders in my fleet," Luffy said changing the subject. "The only people who outrank you is my first mate and me," he said causing Isaac to nod his head. Luffy then turned to his new subordinates and spoke. "Jiro! Bon Clay!" Luffy yelled out getting their attention. "He is now in charge of the West Blue. The two of you answer to him and he answers to me. Understood?" he said causing the two of them to nod their heads.


    "Aye, Sir!" both shouted out.


    "Good, now just add a straw hat to your flag and lead your new subordinates to the West Blue," Luffy said to Isaac.


    "Sounds like a plan," he replied with a smirk.


    "Those two will fill you in on what I told them," Luffy said while pointing to Jiro and Bon Clay.


    "Cool," Isaac replied. Luffy then turned and began walking towards his thundercloud.


    "It was good seeing you again, Isaac," Luffy said with a wave of his right hand as he walked towards the cloud.


    "You''re only saying that because you won!" Isaac shouted back causing Luffy to chuckle. He then hopped on the cloud and gave one final wave before the cloud took off to the sky at blinding speed. The cloud ascended into the sky at a faster rate than when he was with Johnny and Yosaku due to Luffy alone being on the cloud. Right now, he didn''t have to worry about someone losing falling off the cloud or getting blown away, it was just him traveling at about 200mph at about 1000 ft in the air. It took him 5 minutes to reach Alubarna with the palace insight. When he entered Alubarna the cloud began to slow down before he finally came to a full stop just above the palace. Luffy then stood up and teleported down to the main doors of the palace where two royal guards were standing guards.


    The two guards were started when a bolt of lightning struck down in front of them suddenly. The bolt of lightning destroyed the concrete in front of them a bit and kicked some dust causing them to shield their eyes. When the dust settled, and they removed their hands from their eyes they saw the man who apparently defeated Crocodile and stopped the war. Of course, they didn''t know if it was him since they weren''t there when he stopped the war but from all the rumors that they heard the man standing before them fit the description.


    "Umm, my crew is inside the palace," Luffy said knocking them out of their thought. "Can I go in?" he asked while looking at the two guards with a bored expression on his face. "It''s kind of wet out here," he added as he held up his arms showing his soaking wet clothes.


    "Right, of course, sorry!" the guard on the right apologized as he bowed his head with the one on the left soon following him and bowing as well causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow at their reaction. The two guards then raised their heads and walked over to the giant door and pushed it open.


    "Thanks," Luffy said before walking through the door. As Luffy walked through the door he took his wet captain''s coat off and hung it across his left forearm before he began unbuttoned one of his top buttons showing off his lightning bolt-shaped necklace. As he was walking a royal aid came up to him and spoke.


    "Mr. Luffy!" the young woman said with a bow once again causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow. "Please follow me, I will lead you to your crew," she said.


    "Thanks," Luffy replied with a smile. "And it''s just Luffy," he added not really liking the sound of ''Mr. Luffy.''


    "Of course, my apologies!" the girl said with another bow before turning and walking towards the direction of the medical wing of the palace where Luffy''s crew was. The two of them walked there in silence, however, Luffy could tell the girl admired him in some sort of way by the way she kept on glancing at hi every couple of seconds with a small blush on her face. Luffy just ignored it and continued walking in silence. When they got to the medical wing the girl pushed open two huge doors earning the attention of all does inside. When the doors open Luffy''s entire crew saw one of the royal aids standing there with a slight blush on her face confusing all of them. She then stepped to the side and bowed her head as Luffy walked out of the corner with his coat hung over his hand and walked straight into the room.


    "Thank you," Luffy said to the girl as he walked into the room. Before the young woman could reply to Luffy, the screams of Nami, Nojiko, and Vivi interrupted her.


    "Luffy!" the three girls yelled out taking their captain by surprise before running towards him with a huge smile on their faces. Luffy was beyond confused at this point but before he had time to contemplate his confusion the three girls threw themselves at him and began hugging him.


    "Umm, what is going on?" Luffy asked as he hugged the girls back. "I was only gone for a couple of hours," he added. While they were hugging Luffy, Sanji was hunched over on all fours in the background cursing Luffy''s name and banging his fist into the ground.


    "We heard that massive thunder and felt that giant earthquake," Vivi said with a few tears in her eyes.


    "And then Zoro said you could be fighting someone stronger than Crocodile," Nojiko added.


    "So, we were just kind of worried about you,'' Nami added causing Luffy to nod his head slowly.


    "I see," Luffy said as he tried to break free of their grip. "Nice to know you three have the utmost faith in me," he said sarcastically.


    "They did a few moments ago," Zoro said as he walked up to his captain. "By the way, where are Johnny and Yosaku?" he asked causing the three girls to let go of him and looked behind him for the two former bounty hunters.


    "They are on their way back to the East Blue," Luffy said surprising them.


    "What do you mean heading back to the East Blue?" Usopp asked as he sat upon his bed.


    "I needed someone I can trust to be in charge of my operations the East Blue because that Is where all of us are from," Luffy said as he began walking over to one of the empty beds while unbuttoning his shirt completely. "I trust those two, that is why I chose them," he added as he took his shirt off and hung it on the headboard of the bed.


    "They could have at least said goodbye," Sanji said as he stood up. Luffy walked over to another empty bed and hung his captain''s coat out to dry before he spoke.


    "Relax," he said as he turned and looked at them. "It''s not like you''re never going to see them again. When I go to check up on things there, I''ll take a few of you every now and then," he said with a smile causing them to brighten up a bit.


    "So, who were you fighting?" Zoro asked as he folded his arms.


    "An old friend from the New World," Luffy replied with a smile. "He is now in charge of my operations in the West Blue," he added.


    "Ummm Luffy," Vivi said getting his attention. "Why are you shirtless," she said while looking down at her feet with a slight blush on her face trying not to stare at the shirtless Luffy.


    "Cause I''m soaking wet," Luffy replied with a shrugged not really paying any attention to the blushing Princess.


    "That''s a nice necklace, Luffy," Nojiko said causing Luffy to look down the lightning bolt pendant around his neck before he replied.


    "Yeah, it was a gift from a dear friend of mine," Luffy replied with a warm smile.


    "Who is it?" Usopp asked only to earn a fist to the head courtesy of Nami.


    "It is a girl from Amazon Lily. I met her 8 years ago on an island that no longer exists," Luffy said as he continued to stare at the necklace. "She gave me this necklace as a going-away present and I gave her a similar one," he said not taking his eyes off the necklace even once. He then realizes that he had been staring at it for a while and shook his head and looked up at his crew only to see all of them staring at him.


    "If I am not mistaken, Amazon Lily is the legendary island where only women live," said the King from behind Luffy getting everyone''s attention.


    "The very same," Luffy said as he looked over his shoulder at the king.


    "I must say Luffy, you continue to surprise me," The king said as he shook his head and walked towards Luffy.


    "I get that a lot," Luffy replied with a smile. "How is the kingdom doing?" Luffy asked as he turned and looked at the king.


    "There is a celebration going on nationwide," the king said with a joyful smile on his face. "News of you and your crew taking out Crocodile spread far and wide. A lot of reporters also want to interview you," he added causing Luffy to smirk.


    ''That sounds like it will piss the Navy off'' Luffy thought with a smirk on his face.


    "That sounds fun," Luffy said to the King with a smirk. "When can they be here?" he asked while his crew just looked on knowing very well Luffy was just doing the interview with an ulterior movement in mind.


    "Well, they''re already kind of here," the king said with a nervous chuckle.


    "That was fast," Luffy replied with a nod.


    "Well, there is a journalist in every city in Alabasta. So, the one for Alubarna is already here in the city, we only need to contact her," the king said causing Luffy to nod before he replied.


    "Can we do it today?" Luffy asked while looking at the king. "That way we can have that feast of yours tomorrow," he added causing the king to smile.


    "Of course, I will send someone to tell her," he said with a wide smile. Luffy nodded and walked over his shirt and picked it up to put it back on.


    "Umm, captain?" Nojiko said getting his attention. "I don''t think that your shirt has dried yet," she said causing Luffy to nod.


    "Yeah, your right" Luffy said as he placed his hands through his sleeves. "However, I keep on forgetting that I can dry them instantaneously," he said as he walked over to his coat and dr.a.p.ed it over his shoulders. After that, his entire body was encased in lightning for two seconds before returning to normal. When the lightning disappeared, everyone saw Luffy standing there with his clothes perfectly dry and with steam coming off him. "There, perfectly dry," he said before he started buttoning his shirt leaving the top two buttons undone. Luffy then walked over to one of the beds and laid down before looking at his crew.


    "So, what have all of you been up to while I was away?" he asked causing his crew to gather around him and began conversing with their captain.


    **Two hours later**


    It had been two hours since the King sent word to the reporter about the chance to interview Luffy. The entire crew had spent the past two hours lounging around with Vivi inside the medical wing telling stories of their adventure in the East Blue along with a few stories from Luffy about the New World. It was at this moment two hours later that a royal aid entered the medial wing and spoke to Luffy.


    "Umm, excuse me," a young man said with a bow to the straw hats. "The journalist is here in the palace for the interview with Mr. Luffy," he said causing Luffy to sigh.


    "Luffy, it''s just Luffy," he said with a sigh before he got up and placed his straw hat on his head. "I''ll be back," he said in a slightly tired voice as he followed the Royal aid out the room.


    "Give them an earth-shaking news story, Mr. Luffy!" Nami yelled out causing Luffy''s eyebrow to twitch while everyone else laughed as they watched their captain exit through the doors. Luffy followed the aid in silence the whole way there with an emotionless look on his face. The aid and Luffy ended up in front of another huge set of doors. When the aid pushed opened the doors Luffy saw a huge room with royal soldiers lining all four walls. In the center of the room were two chairs and in one of those chairs was a beautiful young woman sitting there with a notepad in her hand and her legs crossed.


    She was is a slim young woman of below-average height. She has long, white hair which curls slightly at the ends, with two bangs framing her face and reaching down to her c.h.e.s.t. She wore a sleeveless, ankle-length maroon dress with a pleated skirt. The c.h.e.s.t is adorned by a large, pink bow, and similarly colored trimmings frame the rather ample neckline, acting as straps, and circle around the waist. Luffy couldn''t help but admit it but she was beautiful.


    "Hello, my name is Mirajane and I am a reporter for the World Economy News Paper, it is nice to meet you," She said as he stood up when Luffy entered the room. Luffy smiles at her and extended his hand for her to shake before he replied.


    "It is indeed a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to meet you," Luffy replied with a smirk and looked her up and down causing her to blush while a few of the royal guards smirked.


    "Right, umm," she said slightly fl.u.s.tered. "Please, have a seat," she said as both her and Luffy sat down. "Thank you for doing this interview with me as well," she added.


    "It is no problem at all," he replied with a smile. "Shall we begin," he said causing her to nod and open her notepad.


    "So, tell me, Mr. Luffy, how does it feel being the hero of this country?" she asked.


    "Two things," Luffy said as he held up two fingers. "Number 1, it''s just Luffy. None of that ''mister'' business," he said causing her to smile. "And number 2, I am not a hero. I''m a pirate and a pirate will always be a pirate. The people of this country once called a pirate their hero and look where that got them," he finished.


    "Okay then," she said. "If you are not a hero, explain your selfless actions that helped save Alabasta and its people?" she asked causing Luffy to chuckle before he replied.


    "Selfless?" he asked with a chuckle. "I did not do this out of the goodness of my heart. I''m a pirate, I made a deal with the princess to save her country and I got paid for what I did," he answered surprising everyone who was there.


    "Princess Vivi?" Mirajane asked to which Luffy nodded. "How did a pirate and a princess meet?" she asked.


    "I met the princess when she was a spy inside of Crocodile''s organization Baroque Works," he said causing her to nod. "She tried to rob me and my crew while we were sleeping but failed. The Crocodile sent people to kill her because he found out she was a spy. I saved her and she asked me to help save her country and I named my price for my services," he finished.


    "And what was that prince?" Mirajane asked.


    "You''ll find out later," Luffy said cryptically.


    "Were you scared when fighting the former warlord?" she asked changing the subject. Luffy started laughing when he heard her question.


    "Please, as if a mere warlord like Crocodile can think of posing a threat to me," Luffy laughed out. "He didn''t land a single hit on me. By the end of the fight, he was on his knees begging for his life," Luffy said causing everyone''s eyes to widen at the thought of overpowering a warlord that easily.


    "You and your crew must bed really strong to have not only to defeat Crocodile but all of his subordinates," she complimented causing Luffy to smile.


    "My crew may be small in numbers but they more than make up for it with their power and battle prowess," he said praising his crew. "However, I cannot sit here and take all of the credit. The marine captain ''White Chase'' Smoker stopped a bomb from killing both the rebels and the royal army," he added.


    "Was that the explosion that occurred in the sky above the plaza?" Mirajane asked.


    "Yes," Luffy replied with a nod. "You see, Crocodile had planned on setting that bomb off in the plaza effectively wiping out both armies and making the country his, but before he could Smoker risked his life and saved all of them," he said surprising everyone.


    "It is strange to hear a pirate complement a marine," she said causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "Yeah well, Smoker is one Marine I can say earned my respect," Luffy said surprising them. "While the rest of the government and the Navy sat back and watched Crocodile tear this country apart, he acted and saved a lot of lives," he said before pulling out a glass and filling it with whiskey.


    "What do you mean by the Navy and the government sitting back and letting Crocodile tear the country apart?" she asked with a curious look on her face causing Luffy to smirk internally.


    "Oh, you don''t know?" Luffy asked causing her to shake her head saying no. "The Navy constantly monitors every one of the Seven Warlords. They know where they are and what they are doing at all times," he said surprising her and every single one of the royal guards. "They knew he was here, and they knew what he was doing, yet they did nothing to stop him," he said before taking a sip of his drink. "And yet people say pirates are the evil ones," he added with a shake of the head.


    "That''s horrible," the reporter said in a horrified tone.


    "Believe me, based off of some of the things I''ve seen the Navy done, this is nothing," Luffy said making everyone wonder what it is he saw. "But the people of this country can rest assured. Something like this will never happen again," Luffy said raising everyone''s curiosity.


    "What do you mean?" she asked while raising one of her eyebrows.


    "From today onwards, Alabasta is under my protection!" he said strongly causing all their eyes to widen. "If any man, woman, or child dare to mess with this country or any of my territory, they will feel my wrath," Luffy said menacingly effectively sending chills down the spines of everyone there.


    "And what are you getting in return for protection?" she asked with a curious look on her face.


    "The King and I haven''t worked out that part of the deal yet," he answered causing her to nod.


    "You mentioned that you have other territories, what other places do you have under your protection?" she asked as he wrote something down in her notepad.


    "The Drum Kingdom...or what was formerly known as the Drum Kingdom," he said causing her to raise an eyebrow. "They''re planning on changing the name," he added causing her nod.


    "Well then, Mr. Lu...sorry, Luffy," she corrected causing Luffy to smile. "That is all I wanted to ask you. Thank you for the opportunity of interviewing you and on behalf of the people of this country I thank you," she said as both stood up.


    "It was a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e being interviewed by someone as gorgeous as you," Luffy said with a smirk causing her to blush.


    "Well umm, thank you," she said as she wiped away a few strands of hair from her face. Luffy didn''t allow her to say anything else nor did he reply her thanks. He simply turned around and walked away leaving the reporter to stare at his menacing jolly roger on the back of his coat. As Luffy exited the door he saw the same aid who brought him here was there waiting for him. He gave a nod to the aid letting him know that he was ready to go back to the medical wing. The bowed and began leading Luffy back to where the rest of the crew was. The two walked in silence all the way there, it gave Luffy a chance to admire the castle from the inside. There were multiple paintings of the previous kings and royal families hanging on either side of the corridor. When they arrived at the doors of the medical wing the aid pushed open the giant doors for Luffy.


    Luffy gave the royal aid a slight nod before he walked through the giant doors of the medical wing. When he entered the medical wing, he looked around at each of his crew members who were scattered all over the room. Zoro was asleep in the corner with all three of his swords resting on his c.h.e.s.t, Usopp was laying down on one of the bed with Chopper checking his bandages, Nami, Nojiko, and Vivi was grouped together talking amongst themselves while Sanji was in another corner talking to someone wearing a chef''s hat. As Luffy entered the room everyone except Zoro took notice of his presence and smiled at him. He gave a slight nod of acknowledgment before making his way over to one of the spare beds and laying down. He took off his straw hat and placed it over his face before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.


    **The Next Day**


    Luffy slept through the entire night peacefully. When he woke up, he took his straw hat off his head and looked around only to find that the sun was bright in the sky and his entire crew was already awake. It slightly unnerved Luffy at the fact that he slept through the entire night and most of the day. If he didn''t know any better, he would have thought he had been drugged.


    "Morning, Luffy!" came the chipper voice of Vivi causing Luffy to look over to his left and see the princess standing beside his bed with a bright smile on her face.


    "It''s way too early for you to be that happy," Luffy replied in a groggy tone ad he rubbed his eyes. Vivi tilted her head to the side before he replied.


    "Early? It''s evening," she said causing Luffy''s eyes to widen.


    "What!" Luffy yelled as he jumped up to his feet. "I''ve never slept that long before," he said sounding slightly unnerved. "What did I miss while I was asleep?" he asked as he put the straw hat on his head.


    "Well, the newspaper arrived," Nami said as he handed him the paper. "It has your interview in it," she added. Luffy collected the paper and turned to the front page. The front page of the paper had a large picture of him standing on Crocodile''s back with both the rebels and royal army around him. Right above the picture was the headline in bold letters, it read: "Straw Hat Luffy Defeats Warlord and Saves Country!"


    "Damn, why couldn''t they add a more menacing headline," he complained. "Now people are going to be calling me a hero," he added with a sigh before flipping to the page with his interview, skipping over the article about Crocodile''s organization and the civil war he caused.


    "Why is that a bad thing?" Vivi asked not understanding what the big deal is.


    "It''s bad because I am not a hero, I''m a pirate," he said firmly before glancing down at the paper and saw that they indeed printed his full interview and didn''t cut anything out. "But at least I get to piss off the Navy and Government," he added with a smile. Before anyone could say anything the doors of the medical wing burst open and a woman who looks a lot like Igaram entered through the door.


    "I head the captain is awake!" she said with a smile causing everyone to look over at her. "Dinner will be prepared shortly, I hope you are all hungry," she said.


    "Ummm, Igaram?" Luffy said in a confused tone.


    "No Luffy," Vivi said as she shook her head. "That''s Terracotta, she is Igaram''s wife and head of the palace''s servers," she said causing Everyone''s eyes to widen.


    ''That is way too strange'' Luffy thought.


    "Thank you for helping Vivi and my husband," Terracotta said with her hand on her h.i.p.s. "I just came here to tell all of you that dinner will be served shortly. Vivi, will you be a dear and escort our guests to the dining room," she said to Vivi who smiled and nodded.


    "Come on everyone, follow me," she said as she began leading the way.


    "You guys go on ahead," Luffy said getting everyone'' attention. "I need to fresh air first. I''ll be there shortly," he said causing all of them to shrug their shoulders before nodding. As they began making their way to the dining room, Luffy began making his way to one of the doors that lead outside. When he got outside, he took a deep breath of fresh air before looking around. He could still see some leftover water from the rain that fell the previous day. The air was filled with the sounds of construction work as the people of the country began their repairs to their damaged homes.


    Luffy took a glass out from inside his pocket and pulled out a bottle of whiskey before pouring himself a drink. He took one big sip of the drink and downed the entire thing before putting the bottle and glass away and began making his way back inside. He did not know the way to the dining room with his crew went so instead of asking someone to take him there, he used his observation haki to locate his crew. When he arrived at the location of the room, he saw two royal guards outside holding bisentos. Upon seeing Luffy, the two guards pushed open the doors for him to walk through. As he entered the room, he saw there were royal guards lined up of both the left and right sides of the room with a long dining table in the center with Luffy''s entire crew along with Vivi and the King already there sitting down. The King was sitting at the head of the table with Luffy''s crew on either side. There were two empty chairs at the table, one directly opposite the king on the other side of the table, and one directly to the left of the other seat. Luffy walked over and sat down on the one that was directly opposite of the king before he looked at the King in his eyes and spoke.


    "Your majesty, I do not think we can begin until EVERY member of my crew is present," he said confusing his crew and causing the king to think.


    "What do you mean, Luffy?" Vivi asked as she looked around. "Everyone is here," she said. Luffy did not respond instead he continued to stare at the king.


    "Oh yes," the King said as realization flashed across his face. "I had already requested for her to be here," he said as he signaled one of the guards. The guard walked over to a door that was to the right of the table and opened it. As the doors opened Nico Robin walked through them dressed in the outfit she wore when she met the straw hats when they were leaving Whiskey Peak. When the Straw Hats saw who it was all of them sprang to their feet along with Vivi.


    "What are you doing here!?" Vivi yelled/asked.


    "Stand down," Luffy said in a commanding tone causing everyone to Look at him.


    "But Luffy she-" Nami said but was interrupted by Luffy.


    "I said, stand down," he said once more as he narrowed his eyes and looked at his crew causing all of them to slowly returned to their seat leaving only Vivi standing. Robin simply smiled and walked over to Luffy. "Have a seat, Robin," Luffy said as glanced at his new crew member.


    "Thank you, captain," she replied as she sat down on to Luffy''s left.


    "She is our new crew member?" Zoro asked from Luffy''s right.


    "Yes," Luffy said as he watches the servants bring out the food.


    "Luffy you cannot be serious!" Vivi yelled as she stared at Robin with pure hatred in her eyes.


    "I totally am," Luffy replied in a bored tone as he nodded to the server who placed some food in front of him.


    "How can you trust her after all she did!?" the princess yelled/ asked.


    "The last time I check, Princess," Luffy said sounding slightly angry. "She did nothing to me or my crew. And I could frankly care less about your feelings towards her, but I am the captain of my ship and I decide who joins my crew and who doesn''t," Luffy said coldly causing all of the royal guards in the room to look at Luffy with a disbelieving look on their face.


    "Are you sure they''re friends?" the king leaned over and whispered into Usopp''s ear.


    "Oh yea," Usopp replied in a whisper. "They''re like this all the time," he said causing the king to nod and turn his attention back to the duo.


    "But Luffy..." Vivi said as she slowly sat down.


    "No buts," Luffy replied strongly. "My decision is final," he added before he turned to the king. "Sorry about that," he apologized.


    "Oh no, it''s totally fine. Let us dig in," he said causing the tension to disperse and everyone to begin eating. Luffy and the King began eating first while everyone else followed them. Five minutes into their meal the King looked at Luffy and spoke.


    "So, Luffy," the king said getting the thunder demon''s attention. "Your interview with the World Economy New Paper sure is causing a stir in the world," he said with a slightly worried expression on his face.


    "That was the plan," Luffy said with a smile surprising the king.


    "Are you not worried about what the Navy will do?" the king asked as he took a sip of the wine that was beside him. "You did paint the Navy and the Government in a bad light," he added.


    "The Navy will probably send a few captains from headquarters to try and capture us, but I''m not all that worried about that," Luffy said with a shrug casually. "They did that to try and stop me from re-entering the Grand Line but look how that turned out," he added while his crew nodded along.


    "Well, as long as you are not worried, I guess I shouldn''t be," The king said causing Luffy to nod. "However, I cannot thank you enough for what you did for my country and for Vivi," he added causing Vivi to smile softly.


    "Speaking on all that," Luffy said seriously causing everyone to quiet down and look at him. "Did you speak to you daughter about my price for saving your country?" he asked as he stared at the king.


    "Yes, she told me about what you asked for in return for your assistance in stopping Crocodile," he said confusing the royal guards. They had read the papers this morning and knew Luffy didn''t save them for free, but they didn''t know what he had asked for.


    "Then I take it you will meet the demands?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.


    "As payment for you getting rid of Crocodile you wish for Alabasta to become your territory, correct?" the King asked to which Luffy nodded. "I don''t know how the World Government will look upon that," he said causing Luffy to sigh.


    "It doesn''t matter what they think," Luffy said causing Cobra''s eyes to widen slightly. "They''re a lot of countries who are a part of the World Government and under a pirates protection. Take Fishman Island, for example, it is under Whitebeard''s protection and they are still part of the World Government. So, this won''t be any different from that," he said.


    "I see," Cobra said as he rubbed his beard. "And what exactly are you getting in exchange for your protection?" he asked.


    "Nothing much," Luffy said before taking a sip of the wine in the glass beside him. "All I require is that all of my sh.i.p.s get their supplies restocked for free and I would like a spot to build my own private port," he said surprising the king.


    "That''s it?" he asked in a surprised voice.


    "Yeah," Luffy said with a nod.


    "What do you need your own port for?" Vivi asked in a curious voice.


    "I want to make Alabasta a hub for my organization," he said causing the King to raise an eyebrow.


    "Organization?" he asked.


    "Yeah, a shipping organization. If Alabasta has anything they wish to export my people can ship it," he said with a proud smile. "Also, you are going to get a chance to purchase what goods they bring into the country," he added.


    "Sounds like a good trade," the king said with a smile.


    "So, do we have a deal?" Luffy asked.


    "Yes, we do," the king replied as he raised his glass.


    "Great," Luffy said as he raised his glass as well. "Just hang my flag up around the country to ensure everyone knows not to mess with it," he added before both took a sip of their drink. Luffy was about to say something, but before he could a transponder snail inside his coat began to ring.


    *purupurupuru* *purupurupuru*


    Luffy reached into his pocket and pulled out a baby transponder snail with red hair and three scars over its left eye. Luffy smiled as he stared at the snail before his smile turned into a confused look as he realized what snail it was.


    *purupurupuru* *purupurupuru* Chack!


    "Yo," Luffy answered into the snail.


    "LUFFY!" came the joyful shouts of multiple men through the snail.


    "Well, nice to know all of you are drunk," Luffy replied with a smile as he took a sip of the wine.


    "AHHHH How could we not be drunk on a special occasion like this! Hahahahah!" the voice of Shanks said through the snail.


    "And what are you celebrating?" Luffy asked with a chuckle.


    "Well you see," Shanks started in a cheerful voice. "I have this little protege and he just started his own crew a couple of months ago and then today I opened the paper and saw that not only did he defeat a warlord, but he also has his first territory," Shanks said causing Luffy to chuckle and shake his head while everyone just looked on in amus.e.m.e.nt.


    "Whoever it is must be a total badass to do all that," Luffy added causing laughter to erupt on the other side of the line.


    "No, he is actually a cry baby," Shanks said causing Luffy''s eyes to widen in horror while his crew leaned in to hear where this conversation was going. "Oh, I can just remember how he used to cry for us to take him out to sea with us," Shanks said causing more laughter to erupt through the snail followed by laughs to erupt from Luffy''s crew.


    "Shut up, Shanks!" Luffy yelled into the snail in embarrassment.


    "Okay, okay, I''m done," Shanks said with a chuckle.


    "Where are you guys?" Luffy asked as the laughter died down in the dining room.


    "We''re on a winter island in the New World," he said in a casual tone. "I''m here waiting on Rockstar, I sent him with a message to Whitebeard," he said causing everyone in the room''s eyes to widen.


    "You know the old man is just going to tear that letter up," Luffy said as he leaned back in his chair.


    "I know," Shanks said with a laugh causing Luffy to chuckle and shake his head. "But that is not why I called," he said causing Luffy to narrow his eyes because he could feel Shanks get serious on the other side of the line.


    And what exactly did you call for?" Luffy said in a serious tone.


    "How''s that plan of yours coming along?" Shanks asked.


    "I put it into action yesterday," Luffy replied. "Speaking of which, I had a visitor yesterday," he added said.


    "Oh, who?" Shanks asked.


    "The Angel of Death," Luffy said confusing most of his crew but also causing the Zoro, Robin, and the King''s eye to widen at the mention of Isaac''s epithet.


    "Isaac?" Shanks said in a surprised tone. "What did he want?'' he asked.


    "He wanted to join me but didn''t want to serve under someone weaker than him," Luffy said causing Shanks to chuckle.


    "So long story short, you kick his a.s.s," he said causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "Yeah, now he sails under my flag," Luffy said surprising everyone.


    "Well then, I clearly am not drinking enough," Shanks said causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "But I seriously doubt you just called me to talk about my little plan," Luffy said causing Shanks to go silent for a minute before he replied.


    "You''re right, I did call for something else," he said in a serious voice. "How about we form an alliance," he said causing everyone including Luffy''s eyes to widen in surprise.


    "You don''t form alliances with anybody," Luffy stated.


    "You''re not just anybody," Shanks replied causing Luffy to smirk.


    "I recall me telling you before I left that I don''t plan on ever sailing under someone else flag," Luffy said.


    "I am not talking about an alliance where one party is superior to the other," Shanks said causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow. "I am talking about an alliance...between equals," he said causing a huge smirk to appear on Luffy''s face while his crew and everyone else in the room was in a state of shock. A few of the royal guards even dropped their weapons in shock as everyone had their eyes locked on Luffy.


    "You do know what line you called me on right?" Luffy asked.


    "I do," Shanks replied causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "The government isn''t going to just sit back and let us form an alliance," Luffy said.


    "The government is no threat to either you or me," Shanks replied causing Luffy to nod in agreement. "So, what is it going to be Luffy?" he asked.


    "You got your sake there?" Luffy asked with a smile causing cheering to erupt through the transponder snail.


    "Right here, got your whiskey?" Shanks asked causing Luffy to chuckle and pull out a sealed bottle of whiskey from his coat along with a glass that looked as if it was made from diamonds.


    "Right here," he said as he placed the glass in front of him and filled it with whiskey.


    "To the alliance!" both said at the same time before tossing back their drinks.


    **Chapter End!**


    Recap:


    Luffy''s organization''s name: Hells Company


    Luffy''s Alias: Asura


    Hino Branch: Information gathering and distributing. Leader: Paula... (Hino, the Thunder Bird, birds getting around everywhere, watching, but not really noticed.)


    Kiten Branch: Black market dealings. (Kiten, the Thunder Beast, dogs, wolves, fetching and bringing back various items to their masters.)


    East Blue: Johnny and Yosaku


    West Blue: Franklin D. Isaac (Leader), Mr. 2, Jiro.


    North Blue: Ms. Merry Christmas and Mr. 4.


    South Blue: Gem (Mr. 5) and Mikita (Ms. Valentine).


    Grand Line: Mr. 1 (Kiten Branch)...{Paula (Ms. Double finger) and Marianne (Ms. Goldenweek)}- Hino Branch.

 Chapter 28: The Navy Responds and Training!

    The sun was up bright in the sky over the country of Alabasta. The citizens of the country were all still at work trying to rebuild all the broken buildings that were damaged in a war. All their work, however, were interrupted by a flock of New Coo flying across the country carrying a bunch of freshly printed newspaper. The flock of bird then dumped all the newspaper at once over the country causing everyone to drop what they were doing and rush to grab one of the falling papers. They were all rushing because it was common for people to pay for the newspaper if they wanted one, but only on the rare occasion where something that may affect the entire world has happened then, the News Coo will deliver to the grand public in large quantities for free. Everyone one grabbed the paper and immediately looked front page. What they saw caused their eyes to bulge out of their head in shock. Around the world, people were having similar reactions to what they were seeing in the Newspaper.


    At the docks of Alubarna were a few Navy sh.i.p.s docked there along with a large pirate ship with a crocodile figurehead. The Nay and confiscated Crocodile''s ship and were going to toe it back to Navy H.Q. On one of the Navy sh.i.p.s was the marine captain who tried to stop Luffy from entering the Grand Line, Smoker. He was sitting on the deck watching his marines restock the ship. Standing behind him was another Navy captain, a female captain with pink hair. She was the infamous ''Black Cage'' Hina, the leader of the Black Cage Corp.


    "Straw hat sure is causing a stir in the world," she said as she lit a cigarette.


    "Yeah well, that interview he did must have pissed off a lot of high-ranking people in the government," Smoker replied as he blew out a puff of smoke.


    "That he did, Hina impressed," she said as he walked forward and stood beside Smoker.


    "What are your orders?" Smoker asked as he looked up at Hina.


    "They told Hina to stand down," she said in a frustrated tone causing Smoker to raise an eyebrow. "Hina upset," she added.


    "Yeah, I figured as much," Smoker said as he breathes out a large amount of smoke. "They are probably going to offer him a Warlord position," he added.


    "They were," Hina said confusing him.


    "What do mean were?" Smoker said as he turned and looked at her. "What changed?" he asked.


    "Didn''t you read this morning''s paper?" Hina asked causing Smoker to shake his head. "Hina disappointed," she said with a sigh before walking over to the side of the ship and yelling down at some marines. "You there!" she yelled at a random marine. "Get Hina today''s paper, now!" she yelled causing the marine to salute and run off to get a copy of the paper.


    "Hina doesn''t want to spoil it for you," she said as she looked behind her and saw the marine running towards them with a newspaper in his hand.


    "Here you go, captain," the marine said as he handed the paper to Hina who then handed it to Smoker. When Smoker got the paper and saw the headline on the front page his eyes nearly popped out of his skull. There on the paper were two large pictures of Luffy and Shanks side by side just under the headline that read; ''THE THUNDER DEMON STRAW HAT LUFFY AND RED-HAIRED SHANKS FORMED AN ALLIANCE!''


    "What the hell!?" Smoker shouted out.


    "Hina told you," Hina said as she took a puff of her cigarette. "The Navy intercepted a call between the two last night and during the call, they heard Red-hair offer an alliance between himself and the thunder demon. Hina nervous," she said as she watches Smoker read through the article.


    "You said Red Hair initiated the call AND the alliance?" he said putting emphasis on the ''and.''


    "Yeah, it took everyone by surprise when he of all people decided to ally up with someone. He is the only one of the four Emperors who doesn''t have a fleet behind him and is usually the most peaceful of the four," Hina said as she walked over and sat down on a nearby chair.


    "So, this is why the government didn''t bother sending him the invitation to the warlords," Smoker stated as he continued to read through the article. "His bounty is going to go through the roof now," he added.


    "It was originally only to supposed to go up by 50 million," Hina said getting Smoker''s attention.


    "What changed?" he asked in a confused tone.


    "This is going to cause an imbalance in the three powers," Smoker said as she closed the paper and stood up.


    "That is what the Navy and the Government fear. they are worried that the other Emperors will begin to act thinking that Red-Hair is trying something," Hina said.


    "But I don''t get it, why did they tell you to stand down if he isn''t going to join the warlords?" Smoker asked as he turned around and looked at Hina. The pink-haired marine captain remained silent for a while before she spoke in a low voice.


    "Ten vice-admirals are on their way," she said causing Smoker''s eyes to widen. Before smoker could reply to what Hina just said Tashigi, who had head last part of Smoker and Hina''s conversation spoke up.


    "Ten Vice-Admirals, but that means..." she said getting their attention.


    "That''s right," Hina said in a low tone. "A Buster Call is on its way, and its target is Straw Hat Luffy," she said before everyone who had been within hearing distance went quiet. None of them ever witnessed a buster call in person but they have all heard stories. It is said that the Buster Call is the ultimate form of military attack used by the Marines. It is a result of the Marine doctrine of Absolute Justice. The target of a Buster Call is usually to destroy anything from a criminal or group of criminals to an entire island that has proven to be extremely dangerous to the World Government.


    "Who ordered it?" Smoker asked while looking at Hina. She took a drag of her cigarette and exhaled the smoke before she replied.


    "The Buster Call was ordered by Admiral Akainu," she said causing everyone''s eyes to widen while Smoker narrowed his. Smoker was not all that fond of Akainu and his ways of doing things. He believed that a person should be judged fairly in regard to the law. If someone broke the law, they should be punished and only them. Innocent people who did no wrong should not have to perish so justice can be achieved, but sadly that was not the way Akainu did things. He was a man who believed if you broke the law you and all those affiliated with you are to be punished regardless if they did anything wrong or not.


    "What is it you need, Tashigi?" Smoker asked knocking everyone out of their thought.


    WANTED!


    Dead or Alive!


    Roronoa Zoro


    Moniker: The Pirate Hunter


    Bounty: $80,000,000.


    Smoker then looked at the second wanted poster, it was Luffy''s. It was the exact same poster from before, the only thing that change was his bounty.


    WANTED!


    Dead or Alive!


    Monkey D. Luffy


    Bounty: $200,000,000.


    "Captain Smoker," Tashigi said getting the marine captain''s attention. "Look over there," she said while pointing at a flagpole that was by the docks. When Smoker and Hina looked over they saw two royal guards attaching a black flag to a flagpole getting ready to raise it. When they finished attaching the flag, they began raising it. All the marines on the docks along with a few citizens who were passing by stopped what they were doing and looked at the flag that was being raised. When the flag was at the top of the flagpole and the wind hit it, everyone present could see just what flag it was, it was the flag of the straw-hat pirates.


    "Well, I''ll be damned," Smoker said as he stared at the flag.


    "He did say that that this country was now his territory," Tashigi said as she stared at the flag.


    "It is happening all around us," Hina said as she looked around and saw multiple flags with the straw hat''s symbol on it flying on multiple buildings.


    "It doesn''t matter," Smoker said as he placed the two wanted posters down. "After today straw hat Luffy will no longer exist," he said as he sat back down. Before anyone could reply to what he said a random marine came running towards them while carrying a transponder snail.


    "CAPTAIN SMOKER!" the marines yelled getting everyone''s attention.


    "What is it?" Smoker asked in a slightly annoyed voice.


    "It is Navy HQ, they wish to speak to you," he said as he held the snail closer towards Smoker.


    Luffy and the crew were on the bank of the Sandora River loading supplies onto the ship while the king and Vivi along with a few royal guards. They had left the palace early this morning before the sun was up. Luffy brought everyone over on his thundercloud along with a few members of the supersonic duck squad to take the king and the princess back to the palace. Luffy was currently standing beside the king looking on as Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji loaded the supplies on to the ship. Nami and Nojiko were off to Luffy''s right saying their goodbyes to Vivi while Robin was standing behind Luffy with Chopper standing next to her.


    "It is a shame that you guys couldn''t stay for Vivi''s coming of age ceremony," the King said as he looked over at Luffy.


    "It''s like I said last night, the government won''t just sit back and let the alliance between Shanks and me stand. They will try and break it up early before it truly picks up steam," Luffy said with a sigh as he began remembering the previous night.


    **Flashback**


    "To the alliance!" both said at the same time before tossing back their drinks.


    "What just happened?" Nami asked out loud as she stared at the transponder snail Luffy was holding in his hand


    "I think we just formed an alliance with one of the Four Emperors," Usopp replied in a disbelieving tone. Everyone else int eh room was beyond stunned at what was happening. Robin was probably the most surprised out of everyone there. She had only been a part of the crew for a few days and in those days that she had been there Luffy defeated a warlord, claimed an entire nation as his territory, and now formed an alliance with one of the Four Emperors. It was a bizarre few days for her. The Red-Haired Pirates, on the other hand, were having a party on the other end of the line when the two captains sealed the deal. There were sounds of beer jugs hitting a wooden table along with shouts and cheers about their little Luffy all grown up.


    "So, what does this alliance grant me?" Luffy asked as he ignored the astonished looks he was getting from his crew and the loud cheering coming from Shanks'' crew.


    "Oh, you know, the usual," Shanks said casually causing everyone to sweat drop as his laid-back behavior. "All the territories under my protection are now to a greater extent under your protection as well, meaning you reap the same benefits I do from them," Shanks said causing Luffy to nod while he refilled his glass with whiskey.


    "Yeah," Shanks replied. "Oii Ben! Bring me more sake! Shanks shouted causing Luffy to chuckle and shake his head. "But the most important one out of all of them is the fact that if anyone messes with you, they mess with me," he added in a serious and somehow sober voice.


    "That goes both ways," Luffy said in a low tone.


    "Where are you headed next?" Shanks asked.


    "Don''t know," Luffy replied with a shrug. "Don''t really care to be quite honest, I go where the log pose points for me to go," he said in a carefree manner.


    "That''s the spirit!" Shanks said with a laugh as everyone there heard him slam a jug down. "By the way, that thing that you wanted me to look out for on the black market showed up," Shanks said getting Luffy to perk up.


    "Perfect, we are about two islands from Water 7," Luffy said earning his crew''s attention.


    "Alright, give me a call if you need anything," Shanks said.


    "And you give me a call if you need anything," Luffy replied.


    "I will need your help soon," Shanks replied causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow in curiosity. "But that is a conversation for the other line," he said letting Luffy know that he should expect a call from him on a more secure line.


    "I''ll talk to you soon then," Luffy said.


    "Yeah, take care of yourself, Lu," Shanks replied.


    "You too, and say hello to the guys for me," Luffy said with a smile.


    "Will do," Shanks replied before the line was cut off. Luffy put the snail back into his coat before he resumed eating his food without a care in the world. When he looked up, he saw everyone in the room was staring at him.


    "What?" he asked as he looked at them.


    "What do you mean what!?" Nami and Usopp yelled.


    "You just formed an alliance with Red-Haired Shanks! Don''t you think we need to talk about that!" Nami said causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "The alliance was always there just unofficial," Luffy said as he took a sip of his drink. "This was just to make it official and announce it to the world," he added before he took a few bites of his food.


    "What do you mean announce it to the world?" Zoro asked as he looked at his captain. "The two of you were talking over the phone and the only ones who know are in this room," he said causing Luffy and Robin to chuckle.


    "So naive, Mr. Swordsman," Robin said with a chuckle. "The government and the Navy intercepted that call without a shadow of a doubt," she said while Luffy nodded.


    "She''s right," Luffy said agreeing with his newest recruit. "Due to that call being on an unsecured line it was likely intercepted. It will be front-page news tomorrow for sure," he said causing all of their eyes to widen. "That, however, does cause a problem," he added puzzling them.


    "What problem?" Sanji asked.


    "It means we aren''t going to be able to stay in this county as long as I would have liked," he said casing Vivi to look at him with a slightly sad look on her face.


    "What do you mean, Luffy," Nojiko asked.


    "The Navy isn''t going just sit back and let me and Shanks form an alliance. It will throw the three powers slightly off-balance," he said causing the king to nod understand. "So, they will try to break this alliance up before it picks up steam and they are going to go after the weakest link in the alliance, which in this case is us," he said scaring Usopp and Chopper.


    "What are we going to do?" asked a very scared Usopp. Luffy''s expressing changed onto a serious once before he replied.


    "All of you are going to get a good night sleep and tomorrow bright and early we are begin making our way towards the ship," he said causing the princess to gasp.


    "D-do you guys have to leave so soon?" Vivi asked as the water began to build up in her eyes.


    "Yeah, this entire country will be crawling with marines by tomorrow morning," Luffy said as he looked at the princess. "It will be better if we deal with them out at sea rather than drag this country into further conflict, especially after it just came out of one," he said causing his crew to agree.


    "But...my coming of age ceremony is in a couple of days," Viv said with tears in her eyes. "I wanted you guys to be there," she said causing everyone to look at her with a sympathetic look on their faces.


    Sorry, princess," Luffy said as he looked at the princess. "As much as we would like to stay, we simply can''t," he said before taking a sip of his whiskey. "And you can come with us either," he added causing everyone''s eyes to widen as he turned and looked at the princess.


    "How did you..." he said as she looked down at her l.a.p and clenched her fist.


    "Anyone who knows you could see you were thinking about," Luffy said with a smirk. "The fact of the matter is, I don''t need a princess on my ship," he said causing everyone to look at him with eyes the size of dinner plates. Everyone in the room had one thought in common.


    ''How can you be so heartless?'' everyone thought as they stared at Luffy.


    "I, however, do have the need for a princess to oversee my operations here in Alabasta," he said with a smile causing Vivi to look up at him with hope shining bright in her eyes.


    "You mean I will get to be a part of your crew?" she asked in an optimistic voice. Luffy looked at strangely with one eyebrow in the air before he replied.


    "I was under the impression that you already were a part of my crew," he said before he held up his hand and pulled up his sleeve slightly revealing an ''X''. When Vivi saw it, her eyes widen before tears began streaming down her face. The entire crew looked at her with a smile on their face as they too raised up their arms showing off their marks of friendship. "All you get a good night sleep," Luffy said as he brought his arm down. "We leave before sunrise," he said causing them to nod their heads.


    **End of Flashback**


    "I understand," Cobra said as he folded his arms. "When will that contractor be arriving?" he asked.


    "I will contact him once we set sail," Luffy replied as he looked over at the king. "It shouldn''t take him more than a few days to arrive here," he added with a nod. Luffy then turned his attention to Zoro and the guys who were loading the last and final crate on to the ship.


    "We are all set here, captain!" Zoro shouted down at Luffy causing him to nod his head in acknowledgment.


    "Well then, I guess it is time to set sail," Luffy said with a smile. Even though he was slightly disappointed that he had to leave Alabasta so soon, he was excited to see what the next island had in store for them.


    "Alright, everybody!" Luffy said in a commanding tone getting everyone''s attention. "Prepare to set sail!" he said causing his entire crew to nod before the ones who were still on shore began making their way towards the ship. Luffy turned towards the king and extended his hand before he spoke again. "It was a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to meet you, Cobra," Luffy said as the king took Luffy''s hand and shook it.


    "I cannot thank you enough for what you and your crew did for our country," the king said with a grateful smile as he shook Luffy''s hands. Luffy just smiled and nodded before he let go of the King''s hand and turned around to go to his ship. As he turned around, he came face to face with a smiling princess with tears in her eyes.


    "Captain," Vivi said trying to hold back the sobs.


    "Princess," Luffy replied with a smirk. "As a member of my crew in this country, your first order of action is to oversee the building of my port and give me a call when it is finished," Luffy said as he looked down at the princess.


    "Aye!" Vivi replied with a salute as the tears began to stream down her face.


    "Do take care of yourself prin-" Luffy began before he was cut off by Vivi throwing herself into Luffy and hugging him. Luffy froze the moment she latched onto him.


    "I''m going to miss you guys," the princess said between sobs.


    "You do know I''m coming back here when the port is finished, right?" Luffy asked as he looked down at the princess. She peaked up at him with teary eyes before she spoke in a soft voice.


    "You''re coming back?" she asked.


    "Yeah, I need to see if the port is to my exact specifications," Luffy said. Vivi was about to say something, but before she could Nami shouted at Luffy getting his attention.


    "Luffy!" Nami shouted. "Marines!" she yelled while pointing up the Sandora River causing Luffy''s face to take on a serious look before he broke free of Vivi''s grasp.


    "Raise the anchor and release the sails!" Luffy shouted before he turned his body to lightning and teleported on board the ship leaving a very worried Vivi behind. The sails of the ship came down and caught the wind the same time Luffy arrived on board the ship. Luffy immediately walked to the front of the ship to see who their enemy was and how many of them there were. When he got to the front of the ship, he saw two standard navy sh.i.p.s heading towards them causing him to narrow his eyes in suspicion.


    "What are your orders, captain?" Zoro asked as he walked up and stood beside Luffy.


    "Usopp head below deck and man the cannon in the front of the ship," Luffy ordered causing Usopp and nod before running below deck. "Chopper, man the rudder, Nami and Robin, head below deck and man the cannons on the port and starboard sides of the ship!" ordered causing the three of them to nod and head to their stations. "Nojiko head to the rear and defend, Zoro port side, Sanji starboard, I''ll handle the front," he said causing them to nod and began making their way towards their specified locations on the ship. Luffy then walked forward and stood on the figurehead of the Going Merry.


    "Monkey D. Luffy!" a marine captain said through a transponder snail hooked up to speakers. "You are to surrender and come with quietly!" he said in a voice filled with arrogance. Luffy looked at the marine captain on the before he started to chuckle maniacally as he unsheathed his sword.


    "I refuse," Luffy said with a murderous look on his face sending shivers down the spines of the marines there except for the captain who was too arrogant.


    "Then die!" the captain said before he gave a signal that was followed by the sound cannon fire. Six cannonballs were from the cannons located in the front of the marine sh.i.p.s heading straight for the Going Merry. Luffy covered his sword in lighting and gave one horizontal slash sending a horizontal wave of lightning right at the six incoming cannonballs. As the lightning wave encountered cannonballs, all six of them exploded mid-air.


    "Was that it?" Luffy asked in an emotionless tone as he tilted his head to the side. The marine captain stared at Luffy with a shocked expression on his face. He had heard stories of the famed ''Thunder Demon'' but he never believed any of them. He only chopped it up to people exaggerating the stories, like the story of Luffy making an entire marine base island disappear in the East Blue. He may be new to the Grand Line but there was no way a man can do something like that. "If that was it, allow me to show just what my crew is made of," Luffy said in a deadly tone before looking over his shoulder at his crew. "Chopper, take us right between those two!" Luffy order causing the reindeer to nod and began steering the ship in the direction right between the two marine sh.i.p.s.


    "Do you honestly think we will let you pass!" the arrogant captain yelled out at Luffy. "You will feel the wrath of Absolute justice!" he yelled out.


    "I wasn''t asking for your permission," Luffy replied coldly as the Going Merry sailed in between the two sh.i.p.s.


    "Fire all cannons!" Luffy and the marine captain shouted at the same time cause all three sh.i.p.s to unload a volley of cannon balls aimed at each other. Even though the two marine sh.i.p.s had the straw hats outnumbered in terms of cannons and cannonballs, they were still the ones taking more damage than the straw hats. Thanks to efforts of Sanji, Zoro, and Nojiko, majority of the cannonballs that were headed for the Going Merry were either destroyed or sent back to the marine sh.i.p.s from which they came from. A few cannonballs did manage to get past the trio and hit the Merry but compared to the marine sh.i.p.s the damage was minuscule. Luffy didn''t move a muscle, he let his crew attack and defend the ship during the entire exchange of cannon fire while he just looked on. After about one minute of non-stop cannon fire exchange, the two marine sh.i.p.s ceased firing causing the straw hats to pause their assault.


    The two marine sh.i.p.s were in shambles, their masts were broken and on fire, there were multiple holes in the sides of both sh.i.p.s, dead and injured marines scattered throughout the vessels, and a large amount of both sh.i.p.s was on fire. There were only a few marines left standing after the assault, those who were standing were bleeding and badly injured.


    "Well, so much for absolute justice," Luffy mocked with a chuckle as he looked at the two marine sh.i.p.s. "Any last words?" he asked as he pointed his swords at the badly injured marine captain on the ship to his right.


    "F.u.c.k you!" the marine captain said before coughing up some blood.


    "How nice," Luffy said with a sadistic smirk before he raised his sword in the air and brought it down in one swift motion. As the sword came down every one of marine''s eyes on the other ship eyes widen in shock as the marine sh.i.p.s along with the arrogant marine captain was sliced right up the middle. The two halves of the sh.i.p.s crashed into the water and began to sink taking all down on board with it down to Davy Jones'' locker. Luffy then turned and looked at the marines on the other ship with cold emotionless eyes causing them to flinch at his glance. "Light them up," he said.


    "Aye!" came the voices of Usopp, Nami, and Robin before the sounds of multiple cannon fire filled the air. The marine ship along with marines on board was bombarded with even more cannonballs causing the already broken ship to finally give up and began its descent to the bottom of the Sandora River. The Going Merry then began sailing forwards up the Sandora River once more.


    "Yayyyy!" Nami yelled from below deck. "We did it!" she cheered.


    "Don''t start celebrating just yet!" Luffy yelled stopping all the cheering. "We are not out of the woods yet," he said as he stared up the Sandora River. "There is absolutely no way that was it. That was probably the prelude to the main event that is going to happen once we get out of the Sandora River," he said in a serious tone.


    "Do we continue going forward?" Chopper asked


    "Yeah, it''s going to happen either way, so it doesn''t really make any sense to delay to confrontation," Luffy replied before he turned and looked at his crew. "Reload all of the cannons and prepare for battle!" he ordered causing them to scramble around the decks. As the ship sailed up the Sandora River the tension on board continues to rise. Usopp and Nami were beyond scared at his point while everyone else was nervous about the upcoming confrontation. The skies above them were beginning to darken with thunderclouds compliments of Luffy. He wouldn''t admit it, but he too was slightly worried. He was not worried about himself or his crew because he knew they can take care of themselves, but he was worried about the ship that they were on. The Merry had sustained a fair amount of damage in their previous encounter with marines, he was not sure it would make it out of a second encounter with a stronger force.


    As the Merry exited the Sandora River Luffy looked around for their foe, but much to his surprise there was no one there. Instead of finding a fleet of marines there to kill him all he saw was the clear blue ocean.


    "Captain?" Zoro said with a confused look on his face as he looked around.


    "It quiet," Luffy said as he narrowed his eyes. "Too damn quiet," he added.


    "I don''t like this," Sanji said causing Luffy to nod.


    "Chopper, follow the log pose and steer us in that direction," Luffy ordered.


    "Aye!" Chopper replied before the ship began to turn and head for the next island. As they were sailing away from Alabasta everyone kept their guard up, waiting for the attack to happen. Just as everyone was about to let their guard down and relax a bit thinking that no attack was coming, Luffy shouted getting all their attention.


    "Stop the ship!" he yelled out causing Zoro to run to the front of the ship and drop the anchor. As the Anchor fell into the water the entire ship jerked forward before coming to a full stop.


    "Why did we stop?" Nojiko asked as she walked forward a bit.


    "That''s why," Luffy replied as he pointed off into the horizon. When everyone looked forward, they all saw multiple silhouettes of sh.i.p.s heading towards them. "Usopp! Line them up!" Luffy said.


    "Aye, captain!" Usopp replied before the sounds of the front cannon being aligned. Luffy stood on the figurehead staring out at the approaching sh.i.p.s with his captain''s coat billowing in the wind and lightning flashing over him.


    "Ten Navy battlesh.i.p.s," Luffy said to himself. "And from the looks of it, ten vice-admirals," Luffy said before he chuckled to himself. "It is a f.u.c.k.i.n.g Buster Call," he said before he pulled out a glass and poured himself a drink. "I think it time I teach you government dogs that I am someone who should not be f.u.c.k.e.d with," he said before tossing his drink back.


    "They''re close enough, Captain!" Usopp yelled from below deck.


    "Blow these bastards to thy kingdom come!" Luffy yelled back causing Usopp to fire the main cannon. As the cannon fired the entire ship jerked back but Luffy stood there, firm in place. The cannonball traveled from the Merry and hit one of the battlesh.i.p.s right on the three large cannons that it had on its bow destroying it.


    "Nice one, Usopp!" Nojiko shouted from the rear.


    "Yeah! Feel the might of Captain Usopp!" Usopp yelled as he fired the cannon some more. "Tonight, I shall bathe in the blood of my enemies!" Usopp yelled causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow and look over his shoulder at the rest of his crew only to find them looking back at him with the same expression on their faces. "Die you Motherf.u.c.kers!" Usopp yelled out as he fired some more. All the cannon balls he fired impacted the same sh.i.p.s causing it to go up in flames and sink to the bottom of the ocean.


    "I''m a bad influence," Luffy said with a sigh as he shook his head. "Okay, Usopp!" Luffy called out causing the cannon fire to cease. "I''ll handle the rest," he said. as he said that the sound of multiple cannon fire filled the air as all nine navy battlesh.i.p.s opened fire on the Going Merry. As the cannonballs drew closer and closer to the ship Zoro, Sanji and Nojiko appeared by Luffy''s side and began deflection cannonballs. Luffy then clasped his hands together as though he was praying with his elbows sticking out and began focusing on his devil fruit powered. As he did that electric blue sparks surrounded his body and the sky started to darken with thunder booming overhead. Luffy then looked at the Marine Fleet with narrowed eyes before he yelled out.


    "Thirteen Heavenly Pillars!" he yelled causing a loud thunderclap before nine pillars of lightning to come out of the sky and strike down all nine sh.i.p.s causing them to explode. Five seconds after the explosion four more pillars of lightning came down and struck down the water of the surrounding area of the explosion effectively killing any survivors who might have been in the water.


    "Isn''t that the same attack you used on Nelson before we entered the Grand Line?" Nojiko asked as she stood behind Luffy and looked out at the carnage.


    "Yeah," Luffy replied in a monotone voice before he turned around to head back to the deck. As he turned around, he saw Robin standing by the door of the cabin that leads down below deck with a shocked expression on her face. Luffy hopped off the figurehead began walking towards the rear deck where he usually sits on his throne. As he was walking there, he spoke. "Raise the Anchor!" he commanded causing Zoro to nod and began pulling up the anchor. As the anchor came up the ship began moving once more in the direction of where all the destroyed sh.i.p.s were. Just as Luffy was about to walk up the stairs to the rear deck he looked over to his left and saw Robin staring at him.


    "Y-you just..." She said in a voice filled with astonishment.


    "I told you I''ll protect you," Luffy said with a smile causing her eyes to start being filled with water. Luffy then continued up the stairs leaving a teary-eyed Robin behind. When he got to the rear deck his thundercloud came down from the sky and formed his throne causing him to smirk before he sat down and crossed his legs. he then turned his head to the side and looked out at the carnage they were sailing through. There were broken parts of the marine''s battlesh.i.p.s everywhere along with a lot of bodies and body parts just floating there.


    "You made that look so easy, captain," Zoro said as he sat down and leaned against the side the of the ship to Luffy''s right.


    "When I''m done with all of you, you''ll be able to make it look just as easy," Luffy said as he turned and looked over at Zoro.


    **Navy H.Q**


    Currently inside the office of the Fleet Admiral of the Navy was the fleet admiral himself along with all three admirals, vice-admiral Tsuru, and vice-admiral Garp. The six of them were sitting in the office discussing the now open position in the warlords. They had originally intended to offer the position to Luffy but seeing as how he went and formed an alliance with one of the four emperors.


    "This all your grandson''s fault, Garp!" Sengoku said as he slammed his fist down on his desk. "We could have easily covered all this up, but he had to go and do an interview with the media!" he shouted out with frustration present in his voice.


    "Buhahahaha!" Garp laughed from the couch. "That''s my boy!" he said with a laugh.


    "He is just like his grandfather," Tsuru said as she folded her arms next to Garp. "Always causing trouble," she added. Sengoku was about to add something to what she said, but before he could open his mouth to speak a marine officer came running through the doors shouting at the top of his lungs.


    "Fleet Admiral! Fleet Admiral!" the marine yelled as he burst through the door. "It''s bad!" he added with a dire look on his face.


    "What is it!?" Sengoku asked in with a worried look on his face. "Are we under attack?" he asked.


    "No, we just received word from the scout ship that was monitoring the Buster Call!" he said causing everyone in the room to get serious to listen to what he had to say. "It''s gone, the thunder demon and his crew destroyed all ten battlesh.i.p.s!" he said causing everyone else to widen while Garp had a slight smirk on his face.


    "What!?" Akainu yelled as he sprang to his feet. "Don''t be ridiculous! The Buster Call is the absolute embodiment of Absolute Justice, its cannot be destroyed by some lowlife pirate sc.u.m!" he stated with an angry expression on his face.


    "It''s true, sir," the marine said with a scared look on his face. "All that is left of the Buster Call is a bunch of broken pieces of the sh.i.p.s," he said.


    "How many survivors?" Sengoku asked as he narrowed his eyes. The marine officer looked up at Sengoku and gulped before he replied.


    "None, sir," he said in a grim tone causing Garp to lose his smirk.


    "What?" Tsuru asked with eyes the size of dinner plates.


    "There were no survivors," the marine said. "When the scout ship got to the wreckage all that was there were broken pieces of the battlesh.i.p.s along with dead bodies and body parts," he said grimily causing an uneasy silence to fall over the room.


    "I guess Red-Hair was right when he called him an equal," Aokiji said breaking the silence.


    "I am starting to believe that bounty we gave him isn''t nowhere near as close to where it should be," Kizaru said as he held up Luffy''s new wanted poster.


    "It where it needs to be," Sengoku said getting all their attention. "If he truly is in some way shape or form equals to Red-Hair then he needs a bounty the same as one of the emperors. However, he is not getting that," he said confusing everyone in the room.


    "I don''t get it," Aokiji said as he tilted his head to the side. "You just said that his bounty should be in line with the emperors, but still we are giving him a much smaller one," he said with a confused look on his face.


    "The last thing we need is a pirate with a bounty over a billion berries in Paradise. It may cause weaker pirates to flock towards him wanting to join his crew," He said causing them to understand why he was having Luffy keep the bounty they gave him. "If the reports are correct then the Angel of Death has already joined him. The last thing we need is for him to have a fleet under his control," Sengoku said as he sat down in his chair and let out a sigh.


    "You would think that after being raised by Red-Hair that he would be more like him," Tsuru said as she leaned back on the couch. "But he is nothing like him, he seeks out conflict and kills with no hesitation," she added.


    "Other than the fact that both of them like causing trouble, he is nothing like his grandfather either," Aokiji said while looking at Garp, who had on a straight face.


    "Regardless of all that, we have bigger problems to deal with," Sengoku said as he rubbed his temple. "We still have to find a replacement for Crocodile. The balance of power is no longer balanced, we need to fix this soon before all hell breaks loose," he said.


    "That alliance between Red-Hair and Straw Hat also disrupts the balance of the three powers," Kizaru stated causing the fleet admiral to let out a tired sigh.


    "Have the Warlords arrived yet?" Sengoku asked while looking at the Marine officer who brought the dire news.


    "Yes, Sir!" the marine replied.


    "Very well, let''s deal with hat first then handle everything else," he said as he got up and began walking out of the room with everyone else following behind him.


    **With Luffy**


    The straw hats had been sailing for about a day now since they encountered the Buster Call. Luffy was currently sitting on his throne with a glass of whiskey in his right hand and a transponder snail in his left. He was getting ready to call the contractor about the port that needs to be built in Alabasta. The rest of the crew were scattered all over the ship, Nami and Nojiko were sitting behind Luffy with Robin trying to get to know her better. Zoro was sitting off the right of Luffy taking a nap while Usopp and Chopper were sitting in the front of the ship with their backs against each other. Usopp was working on improving his slingshot while Chopper was making new medicine to use. Sanji was in the kitchen putting together Lunch for the crew. Luffy and told him to prepare a welcome feast for Robin, something at which the perverted cook had already planned on doing. The crew had been slightly hesitant towards Robin at first, but they all warmed up to her...well everyone except Zoro. He still didn''t trust her, even though Luffy told him that she was alright.


    Luffy took a sip of whiskey before he looked at the transponder snail and picked up the speaker end that was on the top. He then dialed a number and the snail began to ring.


    *purupurupuru**purupurupuru**purupurupuru* Chack*


    "Hello?" a deep male voice answered.


    "It''s Asura," Luffy replied in a bored tone.


    "Oh, hey boss," the man replied.


    "Grab your men and head over to Alabasta," Luffy said into the snail. "Go and meet the king directly, he is expecting you," he added.


    "The king?" the man asked through the line in a surprised voice. "Why do I need to meet a king?" he asked not really liking the idea of dealing with a bunch of royals.


    Because he is going to tell you where to build the port, jackass," Luffy said in a slightly annoyed voice. "You do still have the blueprints for my port, right?" he asked in a dangerous tone.


    "O-of course, boss," the man replied in a slightly scared voice. "The design is exactly the way you wanted it," he added.


    "Good, now get over to Alabasta and build it," Luffy ordered. "The princess of the country is part of my crew so she will be overseeing everything on my behalf," he said surprising the man once more.


    "You have a princess on your crew?" the man asked in a slightly impressed voice. "That''s new, but okay then, we will head over there now," he said.


    "Good," Luffy said before narrowing his eyes. "Oh, and Kevin," he said.


    "Yes?" the man now named Kevin replied.


    "If I hear that you or your men caused any trouble while you''re there...there will be hell to pay," Luffy said coldly sending shivers down Kevin''s spine.


    "Y-yes boss!" Kevin replied in a scared voice before Luffy hung up the phone. He then places the transponder snail in his coat and got up from his throne and began making his way towards the front of the ship. As he was about to walk down the stairs, but before he could something caught his attention slightly off to the right of the ship. It was an island, a small island but an island none the less.


    "An island," Luffy said loud enough for the girls to hear.


    "An Island?" Nami asked as he got up and walked towards Luffy. When she got there, she looked at her log pose and looked back and the island before she spoke again. "The log pose isn''t pointing to it though," she said.


    "It won''t," Luffy said as Nojiko and Robin came and joined him. "It is too small to have its own magnetic field," he said as he stared at the island. "That is just what I need," he whispered to himself but Nojiko heard him.


    "Huh?" she asked with a confused look on her face.


    "Never mind," Luffy said before he began walking down the stairs. "Change our course for that island!" He commanded getting everyone''s attention.


    "But wouldn''t that mess with the log?" Nami asked.


    "No, like I just said, it is too small to have its own magnetic field. So, it won''t have any effect on the log pose," he replied as he turned and looked at her. Usopp and Chopper came running from the front of the ship and headed straight to the cabin where the rudder was. The two of them then steered the ship in the direction to the small island. As they got closer to the island, they could see a small canal that went straight into the island. "Head for that canal!" Luffy shouted to Usopp and Chopper.


    "Aye!" they replied as they angled the ship to sail up the canal. By now Sanji and heard to the commotion and came outside to see what was going on.


    "What''s going on?" he asked as he walked over and stood next to the girls.


    "We are stopping at this island," Nojiko said causing him to look over at the island.


    "Sanji, wake up Zoro," Luffy said causing the cook to grin evilly as he began making his way up the stairs to the rear deck where Zoro was sleeping. Ten seconds later everyone heard a loud crash and cry of pain.


    "Wake up you ugly Moss Head!" Sanji yelled.


    "Shut up you twirly eyebrow freak!" Zoro shouted back.


    "What did you call me!" Sanji shouted.


    "You heard me!" Zoro replied.


    "Both of you shut up and get down here!" Nami yelled causing the two of them to grumble and walk down the stairs. As they were sailing down the canal, they couldn''t help but admire the beauty that was this island. On either side of the bank were sandy shores that led into a tropical forest. Beneath the ship was clear blue water where the crew could see fishes swimming below.


    "Woah," Nami said as she looked around. "This place is beautiful," she added.


    "I have to agree," Luffy said with a nod as he looked around at the scenery. "let''s anchor up ahead by that big palm tree," Luffy said while pointing at the giant palm tree that was hanging over the canal. Zoro nodded and walked to the front of the ship getting ready to drop the anchor. When the ship got just under the palm tree Zoro dropped the anchor into the water causing the ship to give a little jerk before it came to a stop. Usopp came out of the cabin along with Chopper and the two of them along with Sanji and Nojiko began raising the sail.


    "What are we going to do here Luffy?" Nojiko asked as she walked towards her captain.


    "We are going to spend just over a week here," he said surprising them. "We will use the time to repair the ship," he said causing them to look around at the damaged parts of the ship that was damaged that during their altercation with the marines.


    "I think I can patch her up pretty good," Usopp said with a smile as he rubbed his hand against the Going Merry causing Luffy to smile.


    "Good, and we can also use that time for a vacation," he added earning him a squeal from Nami. "But it will only last for one day," he added ending Nami''s celebration.


    "But why?" she asked with a pout.


    "For the never week or so you all will be training with me," he said with a sinister chuckle causing a shiver to run down all their spines. "But for now, let''s just relax," he said as he hopped up on to the side of the ship and jumped off to the shore.


    We can have our lunch out there on the shore," Sanji said as he headed to the kitchen.


    "That looks like a good place to catch up on some reading," Robin said as she too jumped off the ship with a book in her hand.


    "I''m looking to soaking in some vitamin D," Nami said while Nojiko nodded in agreement.


    "I''ll help Usopp fix the Merry," Chopper said as he transformed back into his tiny form.


    "I''ll probably just sleep," Zoro said with a shrug.


    **Next Day**


    All the straw hats were currently standing in front of Luffy waiting for him to explain what exactly they were going to be training in. They had all spent the previous day relaxing and enjoying the island that they were on and were really bonding together as a crew. It was nice for Robin, who was new, to see just how the crew gels together as well as getting to know them a lot better.


    "Alright, listen up!" Luffy said getting all their full attention. "You are going to be training in groups for the next weeks or so," he said causing them to nod. "One group will be training in armament haki, while the other will be training in observation haki," he said causing them to nod.


    "Umm," Robin said getting his attention. "I''ve heard you talk about haki before, but I don''t know what it is," she said as she looked at Luffy.


    "That''s fine," Luffy replied. "You are going to be in the observation group, just have one of them there explain the basics to you," he said causing her to nod.


    Okay," she replied with a smile.


    "Good," Luffy said as he adjusted his straw hat. "Zoro, Sanji, and Nojiko will be training with to better learn Armament seeing as how they are the only ones who unlocked it already," he said causing the three of them to nod their head in agreement. "The rest of you will train your observation haki together," he said causing the rest of the crew to nod their head.


    "Are still using the blindfolds?" Usopp asked as he rubbed his head.


    "Yes, until you have that part down you can''t move on to the next step," Luffy said causing them observation group to groan. "Don''t worry, that is only for half of the time we are here," he said causing them to perk up. "Halfway through the training, the two groups will switch. The ones now doing Armament will work on observation and the ones doing observation will work on unlocking their armament," he said causing them to nod.


    "How exactly are we going to be training our armament?" Zoro asked with a curious look on his face causing Luffy to grin.


    "The three of you are going to fight me," he said causing their eyes to widen. "Armament is only improved through battle. So instead of you three going to battle, you''re going to war instead," he said with a grin causing them to regret every life decision that led them to this point.


    "I got a question?" Nojiko asked causing Luffy to nod at her. "You had said that some people can train their observation haki so much that they could see slightly into the future, right?" she asked causing Luffy to nod once more. "Then what about armament, does it have some advance form?" she asked causing Luff to smile and walk over to a nearby tree.


    "It does," He said as he placed his hand on the tree. His hand turned back like it normally does when he uses armament haki. The next thing that happened intrigue the straw hats. Around his hand, a crimson aura began to form. The aura them began moving into the tree and a few seconds later the tree exploded from the inside out. "It allows you to use your Haki to reach inside the target''s body and destroy them from within," he said causing their eyes to widen.


    "Woah," Usopp said as he looked on in amazement.


    "So cool!" Chopper squealed with stars in his eyes causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "I had the exact reaction," he said as he walked towards them. "But do not focus on that now," he said getting their attention. "I will take a few years of training to reach that level," he said causing a few of them to look downcast while some had a determined look on their faces, like Zoro.


    "That sucks," Nami said with a pout causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "Well now, Let''s start training," he said with a grin.


    **CHAPTER END**

 Chapter 29: Mock Town and Marshall D. Teach!

    The Straw hats stayed on the tropical island for two weeks. They had been put through a hardcore training program compliments of Luffy. One once beautiful island that they were on two weeks ago now looked like a wasteland. There were clouds of smoke rising from different parts of the island and the once luscious tropical forest was now nothing but a pile of ash. The straw hats completely destroyed the island in the past two weeks, but if you asked Luffy he would say it was all worth it. The two weeks of training paid off nicely for the crew. He can now say that everyone on his crew has unlocked both observation and Armament haki, but only a handful of them can control it. Zoro, Sanji, and Nojiko are now aware that they possess armament haki and can summon it to some extent. Sometimes it can summon it when they wish and sometimes, they don''t. Zoro and Nojiko seem to favor armament over observation haki while Sanji seems to favor observation. He was quite disappointed when Luffy told him that he seems to be more talented with observation haki but Luffy reminded him that he can still learn both. Chopper also showed signs that Armament will be his specialty along with Robin, while Usopp and Nami seem to favor observation haki. It is still too early for Luffy to tell just how they are going to use their designated types of haki, but they were on the right track. Everyone was currently standing on the main deck of the ship staring at the wasteland that they were about to leave behind.


    "Man, I can''t believe that this place used to be a beautiful island two weeks ago," Nami said as he looked at the smoking island.


    "It''ll fix itself," Luffy said as he stared at the island. "Nature always finds a way," he added.


    "Captain is right," said Robin with a nod. "The ashes will rejuvenate the soil and the beauty will return even better than it once was," she added.


    "Anyway," Luffy said as he turned to leave. "Raise the anchor and release the sails. It is time we get on our way," he said causing all of them to nod head before they started scrambling around the ship. As the ship began to sail up the canal and away from the island, Luffy took a seat on his throne and poured himself a glass of whiskey before he let out a comforting sigh and lead back into the cloud.


    Once the ship was on its way the entire crew scattered themselves around the ship. Zoro and Nojiko were training themselves at the front of the ship, Nami was inside of her room drawing a map of the island that they were previously on, Sanji was in the kitchen packing away some supplies they had gathered from the island before they destroyed it, Usopp was sitting behind Luffy working with some form of explosives, while Chopper and Robin were on the main deck relaxing with a good book. Luffy found the relationship between Robin and Chopper very amusing, especially when Robin first tried to speak to the small reindeer doctor. It took some time for Chopper to warm up to her, but once he did the two of them were somewhat inseparable.


    "Hopefully nothing but smooth sailing from here on," Luffy said as he transformed his throne into a lawn chair and pulled his straw hat over his face. "Nami! You''re in charge!" he shouted as he closed his eyes. Nami, who was insides came outside to see why her captain put her in charge. When he went to the rear deck, she saw him laying on a lawn chair made of clouds with his hat over his face.


    "Aye," she said with a smile before checking the log pose on her wrist.


    **The Moby D.i.c.k**


    The Moby D.i.c.k, the flagship of the strongest man in the world Edward Newgate, or more commonly known as Whitebeard. Whitebeard was currently sitting on the rather large throne with a barrel of sake in his hand while hooked up to a bunch of medical equipment. He had his crew scattered all around the giant ship while most of them were mainly surrounding where he was sitting.


    "Oi Pops!" came the shout of someone walking towards the giant of a man.


    "Marco, you''re back," Whitebeard said as he looked at his second in command who was walking towards him holding two newspaper. "Did you get everything?" he asked.


    "No, the News Coo haven''t come this way yet," Whitebeard replied before he narrowed his eyes and look at Marco. "Why?" he asked.


    "That''s strange considering that some world-shaking news happened over the past two weeks," he said getting the entire crew''s attention. "Here, see for yourself," he said as he handed him the two newspaper. Whitebeard placed the barrel of sake down and grabbed the two newspaper before he began to read. The first one talked about Luffy defeating Crocodile and the interview he gave right after it.


    "That boy is already causing trouble," Whitebeard said with a chuckle.


    "Just wait till you see the second paper," Marco said with a smirk. The old man placed the first paper down after reading it and then picked up the second only to have his eyes widen at the headlines.


    "Just what are brats up to," Whitebeard said to himself.


    "What is it pops?" Asked a random crew member.


    "Red-Hair and Luffy formed an alliance," Marco said allowing the old man to continue to read. The older members of the crew like the commanders were surprised when the heard that while the newer members were puzzled.


    "What''s so bad about that?" one of them asked causing Marco to chuckle.


    "If you knew Luffy you would know that he can match one of the four emperors in terms of power," Marco said surprising them. "This alliance is basically an alliance between two emperors," he added.


    "Yeah, that''s the thing that is throwing everyone into a fit," Marco said with a sigh. "A lot of people in the government is nervous about this alliance," he added with a slightly worried look on his face.


    "They should be," the old man said ominously. "By the way, did you hear any news about that wayward son of mine?" he asked as he folded the paper.


    "Yeah, both of them are in Paradise," Marco replied.


    **Totto Land**


    "Mama! Big news!" shouted Mont-d''Or as he ran into the queen''s chambers with two newspaper in his hands.


    "Why are you shouting!?" Big Mom asked as she looked down at her son. Inside the chamber with Big Mom were the three sweet commanders, the first son of the Big Mom Pirates, Perospero, and the eighth daughter of the Charlotte Family, Brulee.


    "Yes, please stop shouting," The only female sweet commander, Smoothie said.


    "That is interesting news," Katakuri said coolly causing everyone to look over at him.


    "Would you cut that out!" the last of the three sweet commanders, Snack yelled.


    "It is about Red-hair," he replied earning everyone''s attention. "He formed an alliance," he said surprising everyone.


    "He did what!?" asked/yelled Big Mom. "With who!?" she screamed.


    "W-with a new rookie pirate," Mont-d''Or said in a scared voice. "The thunder demon, Straw Hat Luffy," he added.


    "Give me that!" Big Mom said before she snatched the paper from him. "I asked that brat to join me a long time ago and he turned me down and now he has the nerve to join someone else," she said angerly as she read through the paper.


    "You asked straw hat Luffy to join our crew?" Perospero asked as h looked at his mother.


    "Not that rookie!" she screamed. "I''m talking about Shanks," she said before continuing to read the paper. "Who is this rookie anyway?" she asked.


    "Apparently he is Red-hair''s apprentice," Smoothie said. She had heard stories of the new rookie that was causing trouble in Paradise, but she never thought that he would be stirring up this much trouble.


    "There are some rumors going around that the Navy sent a Buster Call to kill the rookie after the story broke about the alliance," Mont-d''Or said as he looked around at his siblings.


    "And?" asked Snack as he looked at Mont-d''Or waiting for him to continue.


    "His equal?" Big Mom said to herself as she read through the paper.


    "Yeah, apparently Shanks called the Rookie his equal," Mont-d''Or said causing a surprised reaction to spread across the room.


    "That''s...surprising," Smoothing said.


    "Mamamama!" Big Mom laughed as she folded the paper. "Let me know when this brat enters the New World. I''ll give him a nice welcome!" she said with a sadistic look on her face that made no one wanted to tell her that Luffy already spent time in the New World.


    **Wano Country**


    "Lord Kaido! Lord Kaido!" Yelled a random member of the Beast Pirates as he ran down the halls of Kaido''s mansion in Onigasima.


    "Why are you yelling?" asked a male voice off to the right. When the beast pirate looked over, he saw two men sitting by a wooden table staring at him. "L-lord King! Lord Queen!" the man said as he looked at two of Kaido''s second in command. " Where is Lord Kaido? There is major news," he said as he ran up to them and handed them a newspaper.


    "Let''s see," King said as he took the paper and read its contents. "The captain is drunk, and this doesn''t concern us," King said as he tossed the paper on the table.


    "That was quick," Queen said as he picked up the paper to see what was on it. When he saw the headline, he too discarded it. "I agree, this doesn''t concern us," he said while King nodded.


    **Back with Luffy**


    It had been two days since the Straw Hats left the island. It had been nothing but smooth sailing for the entire journey since. They had a few encounters with the marines and a few pirates which the crew easily took care of and helped themselves to their cargo. Other than that, the crew was enjoying their moment of relaxation. Luffy was currently standing on the rear deck of the Going Merry looking out at the clear blue sea. The rest of the crew were scattered throughout the ship doing their own thing. It was at this point in time where something fell from the sky and hit Luffy''s straw hat getting his attention.


    "Huh?" he said as he looked at where the object fell as saw that it was a piece of wood.


    "If that rain?" he heard Zoro asked as more pieces of wood began to fall.


    "No way, this isn''t rain," Sanji said before everyone decided to look up. When their all looked up, they all saw something that shocked them to their core.


    "Well, that is interesting," Luffy said as saw what looks to be parts of a ship falling from the sky. "It looks like a... oh shit," he said as he stared at the giant galleon falling from the sky.


    "Huh!?" the entire crew including said as they stared at the falling ship that was on a set course to fall pretty close to the Merry.


    "Ahhhhhh!" everyone yelled out as the ship got closer and closer to the surface of the water.


    "Luff do something!" Nojiko yelled as she dodges the falling debris.


    "Ahhhhhh!" They continued to yell a.s.s the galleon crashed into the water just behind the Going Merry causing really big waves to form. The going Merry began to be tossed in all different directions by the waves.


    "Hold on to something!" Zoro yelled as he held onto the rails of the rear deck. "And whatever you do not let go!" he added in a panicked voice.


    "Why are there sh.i.p.s falling out of the sky!?" Nami asked as she held onto the mast.


    "I have no idea," Luffy replied as he used his lightning to anchor himself to the ground.


    "Heads up, I don''t think the party is over yet!" Sanji yelled as he looked to the sky and saw that there was more debris falling. "It won''t stop falling!" he cried.


    "The rudder! Turn the rudder!" Nami yelled as he looked at Zoro.


    "They''ll never work in these waves!" Zoro yelled back. "Luffy, you have to protect the ship! She''s taking a beating!" He yelled as he looked at his captain.


    "Right," Luffy said with a nod before he turned and looked upwards with an emotionless look on his face. He then reared his right fist back and aimed it up at the sky before he shouted out.


    "El Thor!" he yelled as the punches straight up into the air at the falling debris. Out of his hand came a massive lightning stream that shot straight up into the sky burning away debris that would fall onto the ship. The giant stream of lightning produced a bright white light that could be seen from miles on the open ocean. It took about five minutes for the remaining debris to stop falling, but once it did the entire crew stood on the main deck trying to process what had just occurred.


    "Someone wants to explain to me why a freaking ship just fell out of the sky?" Nami asked as she looked around at everyone before her yes locked onto Luffy.


    "Don''t look at me," Luffy said as he held his hands up. "That''s strange even for the Grand Line," he added while Robin nodded in agreement. "However, I wonder..." he said as he trailed off and looked up at the sky.


    ''Could there be a sky island above us?'' he asked himself.


    "Oh no!" Nami yelled out in a panicked voice knocking Luffy out of his thought.


    "What''s wrong Nami?" Sanji asked as he looked over to their navigator.


    "the log pose is broken," she said as she looked at the log pose strapped to her wrist. When Luffy heard that his head snapped around at her at amazing speed with a worried expression on his face.


    "What?" he asked as he stared at her.


    "It''s broken," she said as she held it up for him to see. "It''s pointing up into the sky," she said causing Luffy to let out a sigh of relief.


    "Oh, thank god," Luffy said in a relieved voice causing Nami to look at him with an angry expression on her face.


    "Why the hell are you so relieved!?" she yelled as she looked at Luffy. "The log pose is broken and now we are stranded here in the middle of the Grand Line!" she yelled causing Luffy to look back at her with a cold expression on his face causing her to flinch slightly.


    "First off, the log pose isn''t broken," he said surprising her. "And secondly, if it was broken it would have been your fault seeing as how you are the navigator of this ship," he added coldly.


    "Mr. Captain is right," Robin said trying to take the attention away from Luffy and Nami. "The log pose isn''t broken, it is simply registering an island with a strong magnetic pull and its needle is reflecting that," she said causing all of them to look at her strangely. "If the needle is pointing towards the sky...then it must mean..." she trailed off as she looked up to the sky.


    "You''re right," Luffy said getting all their attention. "It''s pointing to a sky island," he said causing their eyes to widen.


    "They exist?" Robin asked to which Luffy replied with a nod. "I had only heard stories about them. I never thought they actually exist," she said in an astonished voice as she looked up to the sky.


    "Don''t be ridiculous," Nojiko said as she looked between Luffy and Robin. "There can''t be islands in the sky," she said causing Luffy and Robin to chuckle.


    "There you all go again trying to use logic to explain the Grand Line," Luffy said as he stared at his crew. "There isn''t just an island above us, but an entire ocean," he said surprising them.


    "No way," Nami said as she looked up.


    "I''m still confused," Sanji added causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "You all rode on my thundercloud before, I don''t see why this is so hard for you to believe," he said with a chuckle.


    "Do you know which sky island is above us?" Usopp asked.


    "No, they constantly move so it is impossible to tell," Luffy replied before a smile crept on his face. "It looks like our next stop is sky island!" he said as he raised his voice slightly.


    "Yeah!" Usopp and Chopper yelled out in excitement.


    "Ummm, how do we get there?" Chopper asked causing the smile to vanish from Luffy''s face.


    "There are two ways from what I remember," he said as he began to think. "One of them is going up the Summit of High West, but that will probably result in a few of us dying," he said casually causing all everyone on his crew go pale. "The other way is by the knock upstream, that way is much safer," he said causing them to let out a sigh of relief.


    "Where is this knock Up Stream?" Nami asked while looking at Luffy.


    "I have no idea," he replied with a shrug causing all of them to comically fall over.


    "How don''t you know?!" all of them yelled/asked at the same time causing to shrug his shoulders before he replied.


    "I usually just fly up to that level," he replied.


    "Then just fly us up there," Zoro said causing everyone to nod.


    "First off, that''s cheating," he said causing them to sweat drop. "Secondly, I can''t lift the whole damn ship. Who do I look like, Whitebeard?" he asked rhetorically.


    "So how are we going to get there?" Nami asked causing Luffy to place his finger on his chin as he began to think. His eyes darted around looking for something that will give a clue as to how they can find the Knock Up Stream.


    "I got it," he said as his eyes landed on the wreckage of the sinking ship that was slowly sinking to the bottom of the ocean. "We will search the wreckage as much as we can before it sunk to the bottom of the ocean for clues," he said while pointing to the sinking ship.


    "That makes sense," Robin said with a nod. "The ship doesn''t appear to be a pirate ship, so we should look for a captain''s log or so," she said while Luffy nodded his head in agreement.


    "Well, what are you waiting for?" Luffy asked as he looked at his crew. "If you didn''t eat a devil fruit get out there and look!" he ordered causing them to scramble to the sinking ship. Nami huffed and grumbled as she walked towards the edge of the Going Merry. "Who knows, there may even be some treasure on board," Luffy said with a smirk as he stared at Nami. As soon as she heard that he jumped off the ship and began swimming towards the wreckage. The only people left on board the ship was Luffy, Robin, and Chopper. The three of them stood on the bow of the ship looking at the rest of the crew run across the different parts of the broken ship trying to find something that will tell them how to get to Sky Island. After five minutes of searching, Usopp yelled out while holding up a piece of paper.


    "I found a map!" he shouted getting everyone''s attention.


    "Okay everyone, get back here now!" Luffy shouted to the crew. "The ship is starting to sink faster now, hurry up and get back on board before it pulls you down with it," he said causing everyone to begin making their way back to the ship. When everyone got back Usopp unrolled what appears to be a map for everyone to see.


    "Look," he said as he held it up. "It''s a map of the sky island," he said causing all of them to look at the map.


    "It''s called Skypiea," Nami said as she examined the map.


    "I''ve heard of it before," Luffy said getting all their attention. "I think Shanks once told me that they visited that island before, but I can''t remember much," he added with a sigh.


    "If a big ship like that one can make it up there then so can we," Nami said causing Luffy to nod his head in agreement. "We just need to find the records of that ship" she added confusing some of the crew.


    "But the ship is at the bottom of the ocean by now," Usopp said as he folded his arms. Luffy was going to reply, but before he could the sound of people cheering filled the air getting everyone''s attention.


    "Salvage! Salvage the Sea!" the crew heard followed by the sounds of cymbals crashing together. The entire crew paused their conversation and began looking around to see where the sound was coming from.


    "Look over there," Nojiko said as he pointed in the distance behind the ship. When everyone looked over, they saw a silhouette of a rather large ship approaching them.


    "Who the hell is that?" Usopp asked as he brought his goggles down to try and get a better look at who was approaching them. As the ship got closer the crew could see that it was a rather strange looking ship. The things that caught everyone''s attention was the two giant bananas on the side of the ship along with the giant monkey figurehead.


    "It''s a pirate ship," Nami said causing everyone to look up at the main mast of the new ship and saw that there was in fact a jolly roger on the flag. Luffy just narrowed his eyes and raised his eyebrow at the strange newcomers.


    "Is this the location where the ship sank!?" the voice of a man asked aboard the ship.


    ''How the hell did they know a ship sank here?'' Luffy asked himself.


    "Aye, aye, captain Sir!" the crew aboard the ship replied.


    "Prepare to raise the ship! Whatever lies on the bottom now belongs to me, the king of all salvagers and Captain of the Masira Pirates, Masira!" a man who looked a lot like a monkey said.


    "Great, a boat of unstable men led by an unstable monkey," Nami said with a sweat drop as she stared at the salvagers.


    "Hey," said Masira as he took notice of the Straw Hat Pirates. "What are all of you doing here?" he asked as he places his hands on his waist. "In case you didn''t know, all these waters belong to me," he said as he stared at the crew.


    "Careful monkey," Luffy said in a serious tone as he stared up at the monkey. "Don''t go raising your voice at me," he added dangerously.


    "Just who do you think you are to talk to the king of Salvagers like that?" Masira asked as he prepared to attack. Luffy was about to respond but before he could, someone on Masira''s crew spoke before he could.


    "S-sir, that...that''s the jolly roger of the Straw Hat Pirates," a random member of the monkey''s crew. "That''s the thunder demon''s ship!" he yelled out causing other members of the Masira Pirates to begin murmuring amongst themselves.


    "It''s really him, the one who defeated one of the seven warlords of the sea," Luffy heard someone say. When Masira realized who Luffy is he immediately took a step back and began to sweat slightly.


    "W-what are you doing here?" Masira asked in a scared voice.


    "Relax," Luffy said with a sigh. "We were just going to search the wreckage for any information about the Knock Up Stream," he said as he looked up at the monkey. "But seeing as you and your crew and professional salvagers, I''ll pay you for any information that you find down there," he added.


    "There is no need for that," Masira said as before reached into his pocket and pulled out an eternal pose. "I know someone who can tell you all about getting to Sky Island," he said as he held it up for Luffy to see.


    "And what do you want in return for that information?" Luffy asked as he narrowed his eyes.


    "You could buy the eternal pose off of me," Masira suggested.


    "Sounds good to me," Luffy said as he reached into his coat and pulled out a small bag of money. "5000 berries," he added as he held up the bag.


    "Works for me," Masira said before the two of them tossed their respective items to each other. Luffy caught it and looked at the pose and saw the name ''Jaya'' painted on at the bottom.


    "Jaya?" he asked as he looked back up at the monkey.


    "Yeah, just head over there and talk to a man name Mont Blanc Cricket," Masira said with a nod. "He is an expert on the subject," he added surprising Luffy.


    "Alright then," Luffy said before he handed the eternal pose over to Nami. "Set our course to Jaya," he commanded. The ship began sailing away from the salvagers in the direction of Jaya.


    "Luffy," Nami said getting her captain''s attention. "If we go to Jaya wouldn''t that mess with our log pose?" she asked as she held up her wrist for Luffy to see.


    "That''s how it normally works, but it shouldn''t register the islands magnetic field as soon as we get there," he said before he took a sip of his whiskey. "All we need to do is leave before it gets a chance to register it," he said causing her to nod.


    "Doesn''t sound that hard," Usopp said from behind Luffy.


    "Let''s hope so," Robin said as she leaned against the side of the ship. It had been five minutes since the crew left the salvagers when the sun suddenly disappeared from the sky and was replaced with darkness.


    "What the hell!?" Sanji yelled as darkness fell onto them.


    "Where did the sun go?" ask a scared Chopper.


    "Well, this is certainly strange," Luffy said calmly as he sipped his whiskey.


    "U-umm, captain?" Zoro said in a slightly scared voice as he looked behind Luffy.


    "What is it?" Luffy asked with a curious look on his face as he looked at his first mate. Zoro who was sweating a lot slowly raised his hand in the air and pointed up to the skies behind the Going Merry. Seeing his first mate so scared Luffy sprang to his feet dropping his glass of whiskey and looked behind him with the others following his lead. What they all saw absolutely terrified each of them. It even scared Luffy a bit. "What the actual f.u.c.k?" Luffy said in a whisper as he stared at the sight before him. Standing there in the distance behind the ship were three giant shadows that seemed to be taller than the skies itself.


    "S-sea monsters!" the entire crew yelled before all of them including Luffy ran to the main deck and grabbed the oars and began rowing as fast and hard as they could sending the Going Merry dashing forward at Blind speed away from the giant creatures. The Merry went dashing through the waves ignoring the wind direction and currents. The crew never stopped rowing until the Merry came flying out into the light once more. As soon as the slight hit the ship everyone stopped rowing and slumped over on the deck heavily sweating from the ordeal they just suffered.


    "What the hell was that?" Nami asked as she fell on all fours.


    "I have no explanation," Luffy said as he fell on his b.u.t.t and lean against the mast. "If those were giants, then they are clearly bigger than any giant I have ever seen," he said as he reached into his coat and pulled out a new glass and bottle of whiskey.


    "Those things were as big as the Red Line," Nojiko said as she too fell on her b.u.t.t.


    "They had wings," Usopp said getting all their attention.


    "What?" Zoro asked as he looked at Usopp.


    "They had wings on their back," Usopp replied getting Luffy''s attention.


    "Of course," Luffy said with a smile getting all their attention. "How could I not realize it earlier," he said before taking a sip of his drink.


    "Realize what?" Nojiko asked as she stared at her captain.


    "Those weren''t monsters," Luffy said surprising all of them. "Those were people on sky island," he said causing all their eyes to widen. "It is there shadows from that high up that makes it appears as monsters from below," he added.


    "That makes sense," Robin side as he stood up to her feet. "All would be required is a strong source of light and a surface large enough to cast the shadow," she said while Luffy nodded. "The clouds that high up should provide the surface needed to cast a shadow that big," she added.


    "So those weren''t any sea monster?" asked a still very scared Chopper.


    "No, just regular-sized people really high up," Luffy replied as he stood up and patted the little reindeer on the head. "For now, just forget about it," he said as he began making his way to the rear deck where he left his throne. "Continue our course to Jaya," he added before he disappeared into the rear deck.


    "I wonder what this Jaya place is like?" Chopper asked as he walked around the deck. "I hope it''s relaxing," he added.


    **Three hours Later**


    It had been three hours since the crew got the eternal pose to Jaya, it had been smooth sailing for them since then. Luffy was sitting on the figurehead of the ship with Chopper right behind him on the bow relaxing in the sun. Usopp was sitting up in the crow''s nest with a pair of binoculars looking out trying to spot Jaya.


    "Do you see anything Usopp," Chopper asked from the front of the ship.


    "No, I don''t see anything, just the sky, and the sea," Usopp replied as he looked through the binoculars.


    "I thought that Jaya island wasn''t too far from where we were," Zoro said as he looked around.


    "It isn''t," Nami replied as she too looked around. "We should have spotted the coastline of Jaya an hour ago," she said.


    "Don''t worry about it," Luffy said in a relaxed tone as he looked up to the sky. "Just relax and take in this beautiful weather we are having," he said.


    "Spring weather is the best," Chopper said agreeing with Luffy. "Even the seagulls are enjoying it," he said as he looked up at three seagulls flying overhead. Suddenly out of nowhere the three seagulls dropped on the deck in front of Chopper dead. "Ahhhh! They''ve been shot!" Chopper screamed getting everyone''s attention before he ran towards the seagulls.


    "I don''t think they could have been shot, Chopper," Usopp said from up in the crow''s nest. "I didn''t hear any gunfire," he added. Luffy stared at the three seagulls through narrowed eyes before he looked around into the distance surrounding the ship for an enemy.


    "I found a bullet!" Chopper yelled as he pulled a bullet out from on the birds. "And judging from the trajectory is came from over there," he said while pointing to the front of the ship.


    "You''re telling me someone shot those birds from an island we can''t even see as yet?" Nami asked rhetorically. "That''s impossible Chopper," she added.


    "But I saw it happen,'' Chopper w.h.i.n.ed. Luffy just narrowed his eyes and placed his guard up. They sailed for another hour before the island finally came into view.


    "Wow, this place looks like a resort," Usopp said as he stood next to Luffy and Chopper and stared at the approaching island.


    "It sure does," Chopper agreed in an excited tone. Luffy just stood there and narrowed his eyes at the multiple sh.i.p.s that were docked there.


    "Either I''m seeing things or the harbor over there is filled with pirate sh.i.p.s," He said causing all of them to look over at the harbor.


    "Don''t be silly captain," Nami said as he walked up to Luffy. "Pirates can''t dock their sh.i.p.s without being run out of town soon after," she said.


    "Nope, those are pirate sh.i.p.s," Nojiko said to her sister.


    "Sounds like this town is going to be a lot of fun," Zoro said with a smirk. As the Going Merry sailed closer and closer to the harbor for the island people on the docks and near the coast took notice the ship as well as the jolly roger painted on its sails.


    "Hey, look over there," a random person said while pointing out to the Merry. "Isn''t that the symbol of the Straw Hat Pirates," he said getting the attention of a lot more people.


    "It is," some else said as they stared at the approaching ship. "That''s the thunder demon''s ship!" he yelled. Luffy heard all this but kept a stoic expression on his face. As the ship docked at the harbor, there was a crowd there wanting to see the Thunder demon himself while some wanted to challenge the man who formed an alliance with one of the four emperors. Luffy turned around and began walking towards the main deck to disembark the ship. As he was walking, he yelled out orders to his crew.


    "Zoro and Robin come with me ashore," he said causing the two of them to nod their heads and follow him. "The rest of you stay on board and guard the ship," he said before he jumped up onto the side of the ship. "If any of these fools are stupid enough to attach my ship or my crew...send them and this harbor to the bottom of the ocean," he said coldly as he stared at the crowd that was waiting for them on the docks. Luffy, Zoro, and Robin then hopped off the Going Merry and landed in front of a crowd of pirates who were all looking at him with hungry eyes. Luffy just turned and stared at all of them with the cold eyes of a killer before he sent out a wave of conqueror''s haki knocking out everyone on that dock. He then adjusted his straw hat and started walking towards the town as the bodies of Pirates collapsed in front of him. he had Zoro on his right and Robin on his left and three of them had an emotionless look on their face as they walked through the piles of unconscious pirates laying at their feet.


    "He...he took them all out without even moving," a random pirate on the shoreline said in fear as he stared at the three straw hats that were approaching.


    "He''s a demon," another said. Luffy and his two crew members didn''t even bat an eye at the people who were still awake and saw the who ordeal, they just kept on walking. The trio continued walking through the town taking in the sight of pirates fighting and drinking everywhere they turn. All three of them came to a sudden stop in the middle of the road and looked to their left as though they were waiting for something. Sure enough, one second later a man came bursting through the walls of the building to their right and flying right past the trio. It was thanks to their observation haki that they avoided being hit by the flying man. As the man flew past them Luffy stuck out his left hand and caught a piece of wood that would have hit Robin in the head before he turned to his left and stared at a pirate who obviously sent the man flying in the first place.


    "You almost hit the pretty lady," Luffy said coldly as he stared at the man. The pirate stared at Luffy with eyes the size of dinner plates as he recognized who Luffy was.


    "y-you''re the-," he began but was cut off by Luffy throwing the piece of wood back at blinding speed sticking him right in the head like a dart. The pirate then fell face forward onto the ground sending the piece of wood further into his head until it stuck out of the back of his head.


    "Damn," Zoro said as he stared at the now dead man. Luffy didn''t say anything, he just continued walking. As they walked a little further, they found themselves stopping once more. This time it was an old man that fell in front of them.


    "Woah, he''s messed up," Robin said as she stared at the man.


    "Looks like he fell off his horse," Luffy said while pointing to the white horse standing next to the man.


    "That''s got to hurt," Zoro said as he stared down at the man.


    "Hey, sorry to bother you but could you help me up," the old man said in a sickly tone causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow.


    "What, not in the mood to help yourself up?" Zoro asked rhetorically. The old man just looked up at the three of them with a pained look on his face causing the swordsman to sigh. "Luffy, give me a hand," Zoro said with a sigh as he walked forward.


    "Sure," Luffy with a shrug as he walked up to the old man with Zoro. The two of them picked up the old man and tossed him back up onto his horse.


    "Hey, would you look at that, I''m back on my horse," the old man said with a smile. "I was a sickly child growing up and never got better," he said before he looked at his horse. "Now let''s go, Stronger," he said to the horse. The horse took one step forward before it too collapsed face first.


    "We should put these two out of their misery," Zoro suggested before him and Luffy picked the horse up.


    "Thanks again pal," the man said before he pulled out a basket of apple. "You know, I don''t have enough money these days for a reward. Would you care for an apple?" he asked as he held up the basket with a bunch of red apples.


    "Do we look like idiots to you," Luffy said as he stared at the man on the horse. As he said that one of the buildings behind them exploded getting all their attention.


    "What the hell happened?!" a random person on the streets asked.


    "One of the guys took a bite from an apple they got from that freak on the horse and then exploded!" A man replied in a scared voice causing Luffy, Zoro, and Robin to turn their attention back to the man on the horse.


    "Seems like we dodged a bullet there, captain," Robin said with a sweet smile on her face as she stared at her captain.


    "I guess we did," Luffy said with a chuckle before they walked past the old man and continued their way into town. After walking a bit further through the streets of this strange town Luffy came to a sudden stop startling Zoro and Robin. As he stopped a loud thunder rolled overhead and the skies began to darken. Robin and Zoro didn''t know what happened, but the two of them were sure of one thing...Luffy was pissed. Luffy then turned his head to the left and stared into a bar called ''Pub and Pies'' with cold eyes. Without saying anything, he turned and pushed open the saloon-style doors and entered the bar. A silence fell onto the bar as he entered and everyone took notice of his presence, however, he didn''t pay any attention to the people that were seated all over the bar. Instead, his gaze was locked on to a rather fat man sitting at the bar eating a pie. Luffy walked up the bar counter and looked at the bartender with a cold look on his face before he spoke.


    "Get me a glass of whiskey on the rocks," Luffy said in a monotone voice causing the fat man who was sitting to his right to freeze the moment he heard Luffy''s voice. "Also, get some sake for the swordsman and a glass of red wine for the lady," he said. Since he arrived at the bar counter, he hadn''t looked at the man to his left even once but his observation haki was telling him everything he needed to know.


    "Here you go," the bartender said as he placed the three drink down in front of them. They picked up their respective drinks and tossed it back. As Luffy tossed his whiskey back, the man who was sitting to his right easily got up and began to sneak away. Luffy placed his empty glass down onto the counter and spoke in a chilling voice.


    "Going somewhere...Teach," he said as he looked over his shoulder at the fat man trying to sneak away. The man now named Teach stopped mid-step and slowly turned around to face Luffy with a slightly worried expression on his face.


    "Lu, hey, how''s it going" Teach asked with a nervous chuckle as he began to sweat slightly.


    "I know what you did Teach," Luffy said as he turned around. "Oh, I''m sorry. I meant I know what you did...Blackbeard?" he said causing Zoro to realize who the man in front of them was while Robin was stilled puzzled. Before Teach could reply to Luffy, the doors of the bar were kicked open as a group of pirates.


    "I heard a big shot pirate came into down and put on some kind of spectacle at the harbor," said the obvious captain of that merry band of pirates. Luffy just ignored his presence and continued talking to Teach.


    "You broke the unwritten rule aboard every pirate ship," Luffy said to teach. "You kill your fellow crew member, your friend," he said as he took a few steps towards Teach. Zoro placed his hands on his swords and kept his eyes on the group that just entered the bar just in case they tried something while Robin chose this time to talk to the bartender to try and get some information from him. The group of pirates that just entered the bar didn''t take so kindly to being ignored by a bunch of rookies.


    "Hey!" Shouted the captain. "I''m talking to you," he said angrily causing Luffy and teach to look over at him with an eyebrow raised in the air.


    "Buzz off kid," Luffy said while looking at the man. "Can''t you see the grown-ups are talking. Why don''t you and your friends go play pirate somewhere else," he said before he turned his attention back to Teach. As Luffy said that, the people in the bar gasped in shock when they heard him dismiss that pirate so easily.


    "Don''t he know who that is," A random person said.


    "That''s Bellamy ''the Hyena,'' he has a 55 million berry bounty on his head," another said.


    "Well, it should be expected," a random woman said. "Straw Hat has a 200 million berry bounty on his head so he is obviously stronger," she said getting Zoro and Robin''s attention at the mention of Luffy''s bounty. Bellamy was starting to get really pissed off. First, he was ignored by the new rookie sensation, and now people are suddenly calling weak. That was the final straw, he reared his fist back causing everything from his wrist to his elbow to turn into spring. He then shot his spring-powered fist forward straight at Luffy who simply raised his hand and caught it with little effort.


    "I''m not going to warn you again, brat," Luffy said as he turned and looked at a very surprised Bellamy. "Beat it," he said before he let go of the fist and turned his attention back to Teach. "Out of respect for old man Whitebeard I promised not to kill you," he said to Teach causing him to relax slightly while everyone''s eyes inside the bar to widen at the mention of Whitebeard. "But I didn''t say anything about not kicking your a.s.s," he added in a cold tone causing a panicked expression crept up on to Teach''s face. Before he could react Luffy backhanded him sending him flying straight through the walls of the bar. Luffy then turned around and walked back to the bar and pulled out a small bag of money and tossed it to the bartender. "That''s should cover everything, including the damages," he said.


    "Hey, captain," Zoro said getting his attention. "Apparently you got a new bounty," he said as he pointed to the wall to the right of Luffy. When Luffy looked over he saw his new wanted poster along with Zoro''s.


    "Hmm, not as much as I had expected," Luffy said as he stared at the poster. "And would you look at that, you got a bounty as well. Nice," he commented before his hand suddenly shot up into the air and caught a familiar fist. "You don''t learn, do you?" Luffy asked as he turned and looked at an angry Bellamy. "Want to know a funny thing about springs," Luffy said as he stared at the pirate. "They work both ways," he said before pulling on Bellamy''s arm slightly causing the pirate to come flying towards him. Luffy just angled him arm slightly causing Bellamy''s face to crash right into Luffy''s elbow. As his face impacted Luffy''s elbow, he went into a slight daze. Luffy let go of his arm grabbed him by his head.


    "Next time I tell you to f.u.c.k off," he said as he turned his whiskey glass over on the counter. "You f.u.c.k off," he said before he slammed Bellamy''s face on to the glass and through the counter.


    "Bellamy!" yelled a man in a white coat and sunglasses before he pulled out two machetes and charged towards Luffy. Before he can get to Luffy, Zoro intercepted him and slashed him right across his face causing him to fall over to the ground screaming and bleeding heavily.


    "Sorry, the captain is off-limits to trash," Zoro said as he sheathes his swords.


    "Did you get the information we are after?" Luffy asked while looking at Robin.


    "Yes, the man named Cricket lives on the other side of the island," she said causing him to nod his head.


    "Okay then, I''ll just take care of Teach then we can go," Luffy said as he began walking towards the direction where he sent Teach. He walked through the hole in the wall and found a pile of rubble, but no Teach. Luffy growled in frustration causing Lighting and thunder to go crazy in the skies above Jaya. "He''s gone," he said in an angry voice.


    "Don''t worry Mr. Captain," said Robin trying to calm Luffy down. "We''ll catch up to him sooner or later, but for now we need to go find this Cricket guy before the log pose registers this island''s magnetic field," she said causing Luffy to nod his head and began walking away. When the trio arrived back at the ship Luffy didn''t speak to anyone instead, he walked straight to his throne and sat down before he poured himself a glass of whiskey.


    "What''s up with him?" Sanji asked while looking at Luffy.


    "Long story," Zoro said before he turned to Robin. "So, where are we going?" he asked.


    "Set our course for the other side of the island," she said to Nami. "Cricket lives there," she added causing the navigator to nod her head.


    ''It''s all that Bellamy kid''s fault,'' Luffy thought to himself. ''The next time I see him he''ll be sorry,'' Luffy thought as the Going Merry pulled out of port and began sailing around the island.


    **CHAPTER END**

 Chapter 30 - Update

    Hey guys, I know I haven''t uploaded a chapter in a while. I just recently restarted classes and that ha been taking up the majority of my time during the week and I am not having enough time to write a chapter. The next chapter is about halfway finish I will try and finish the chapter this weekend but I highly doubt that I will. I will try my best to get it done but with the amount of work that I have to for school, I doubt that I will. Do not worry, I am not dropping this story and I don''t think I ever will until One Piece ends.


    I hope you guys understand!


    -Aaron-Taichou.

 Chapter 30 - 30: Knock Up Stream and A Demon!

    The going Merry sailed around the coast of the island making their way to the home of the man named Cricket. Luffy sat on his throne in silence the whole way there with an emotionless look on his face but his crew could tell that he was very angry just from the look he had in his eyes. Another give away to his anger was the raging stop that was brewing over the Island of Jaya. there were random flashes of lightning that followed by extremely loud thunder. Zoro and Robin had explained what happened while they were docked in Jaya to the rest of the crew. They weren''t that much surprised by Luffy''s actions, however, the thing that surprised all of them was the fact that they encountered Blackbeard, the man who Ace is hunting and who also pillaged Chopper''s home. All of them stuck to the front of the ship leaving Luffy alone in the back. As for Luffy, he was doing his best to try and keep his anger under control. The thing that pissed him off was the fact that he left Teach escape before he could teach him a lesson. Thatch was one of the people who took care of Luffy while he on Whitebeard''s ship, he was already pissed off about the fact that he wasn''t allowed to kill Teach but now his chance to beat him an inch away from death slipped away.


    "Captain!" shouted Usopp knocking Luffy out of his brooding. We are approaching a pirate ship!" he shouted while pointing to the front of the ship. Luffy looked at the ship through narrowed eyes.


    "Is it those salvagers?" Luffy asked in a bored tone not caring about some random group of pirates.


    "No, but the sh.i.p.s are kind of similar," Sanji replied causing Luffy to sigh and get up from his throne and began making his way to the front of the ship. When he got the front of the ship, he saw a pretty large ship with a giant tree on board it is blocking their path.


    "I don''t have time for this just get them out of our way," Luffy said in a bored voice.


    "Hey, you guys!" someone shouted from the ship getting all their attention. "Stop what you are doing and pay attention!" they said. When Luffy and the crew looked up at the ship to see he spoke they saw a large man who looks like an orangutan with long green hair. "Could you believe I got all worked up wondering who you people were," the man said as he sat down on a throne of his own.


    "What an ugly creature," Luffy said in a low voice.


    "What did you say!?" the man screamed back down at Luffy. "Do you have any idea who I am!?" he asked.


    "No, I don''t, nor do I care who you are," Luffy replied. "I''m already in a bad mood and you''re in my way. If you don''t wish to die, I suggest you move that hunk of junk out of my way," he said in a dangerous tone.


    "Why you!" the man growled out. He was about to say something else, but before he could one of his crew members got his attention.


    "U-um, boss," a random member of his crew said getting his attention.


    "WHAT!?" the large man screamed at the man.


    "That''s...that''s...the Thunder Demon," he said while pointing at Luffy. "He...he...is the one who beat Crocodile and formed an alliance with one of the four emperors," the man said with fear laced in his voice. The large man who is the obvious captain who the crew snapped his head around to Luffy and started the sweat slightly as he stared at the pirate wearing the straw hat.


    "What are you all standing around for!" the man shouted to his crew. "Didn''t you hear him! We are in his way!" he yelled causing them to salute their captain before they all scrambled around getting ready to move the ship. The captain then looked back over to Luffy and spoke. "Terribly sorry for the inconvenience," he said with a large smile while scratching the back of his head. Luffy didn''t say anything, he just turns around and made his way back to his throne as the Going merry sailed past the group of pirates.


    "Well, that was easy," Nojiko said as they sailed past.


    "Guess allying with one of the four emperors means that there are more pirates who are afraid of us now," Sanji said as he lit a new cigarette.


    "I think Luffy is scary on his own," Chopper added causing everyone to chuckle. The Going Merry sailed around the northern coast of Jaya before the sight of what looks palace came into view.


    "Whoa! Amazing!" Usopp and Chopper yelled as they stared at the palace.


    "That''s where he lives!?" Usopp yelled/asked in amazement. "It''s a freaking palace!" he added.


    "I''ve never seen a house that big before," Nojiko commented as she stared up at the palace-like house. "This Mont Blanc Cricket guy must be load," she added. Zoro scoffed as he looked at the house.


    "Look closer," he said in a frustrated voice.


    "That''s really unattractive," Sanji said as he smoked his cigarette. "This guy must have some guts to build a house like that," he added. Luffy couldn''t help but agree with his cook. As the ship got closer and closer to the shore of the island the true appearance of the house began to reveal itself.


    "That''s no palace," Robin said as she folded her arms and walked out onto the deck.


    "It''s a facade, the actual house is only half that size," Zoro said as he walked up to the anchor, picked it up and dropped it into the water.


    "This guy is even vainer than I thought," Sanji said as he stared at the house.


    "Why exactly did Cricket leave his home to com live all the way out here," Luffy asked Robin as he walked to the front of the ship.


    "I don''t know all the details, but it has something to do with his belief that there rests a large amount of gold somewhere in the hills of Jaya," Robin replied as she leaned against the banister.


    "Gold!?" Nami and Usopp shouted out while Luffy and the rest of the raised their eyebrows in interest.


    "Do you think he is here searching for some form of buried treasure?" Nami asked in an excited voice.


    "I do not know," Robin replied with a shrug. An excited Nami leaped off the ship along with Chopper and Usopp to begin the search for the gold.


    "Well, let''s go see if he is home," Luffy said as he teleported off the ship in a flash of lightning. As everyone else was disembarking the ship Luffy walked up the door of the house and knocked a few times. "Hellooo!" Luffy called out as he knocked a few more times, but no one answered. "It doesn''t look like anyone is home he said as he grabbed the doorknob and turned it. Surprisingly it was unlocked.


    "What are you doing!?" yelled a scared Usopp. "You can''t just open people''s doors like that!" he said to Luffy who ignored him and walked inside the house. Luffy spent a few minutes in the house before he came back out and spoke to his crew. "It doesn''t look like anyone is home," he said as he walked up to them. "We''ll wait here in case he comes back," he added causing them to nod their heads.


    "Huh?" Nami said as something caught her attention. "What''s this?" she asked as she walked up to a tree stump with three chairs around it and picked up a book. "A book," she as she held it up. "Looks pretty old," she commented as she looked at the cover. "It''s called ''Nolan The Liar,''" she said getting Sanji and Luffy''s attention.


    "Did you say Nolan the Liar?" Sanji asked as he looked at Nami.


    "Yeah, have you heard of it?" she asked as she looked at the cover. "It says here that it was published in the North Blue," she added.


    "Yeah, I was born int he North Blue. I''m certain I must have told you guys that," Sanji said surprising everyone especially Luffy and Robin.


    "No, that''s news to me. I always thought you were born in the East," Usopp said while Luffy nodded his head in agreement.


    "I grew up there," Sanji added. "It is a famous story in the North Blue about the life of Nolan who supposedly lived in the North Blue a long time ago," Sanji said to explain what the book was about before Nami began to read it for everyone. While she was reading the story for everyone Luffy was staring at Sanji through narrowed eyes, still thinking about the fact that his cook was from the North Blue. Just as Nami finished the story and man jumped out of the ocean and landed on the island in a fighting stance getting everyone''s attention.


    "Who the hell are you?" the man asked as he stared at the Straw hats. "You all have some nerve relaxing at someone''s house without permission. This is my land and I suggest you leave," he said.


    "Sanji," Luffy said in a bored tone causing his cook to nod his head before he rushed forward at the man.


    "I know why you''re here," the man said as he prepared to fight Sanji. "You''re after my gold," he said as he ducked under Sanji''s kick. He immediately retaliated with a punch aimed at Sanji''s c.h.e.s.t forcing the cook to jump back in order to dodge the punch. The man then rushed forward with his right arm in the air preparing to chop Sanji who defended by raising his leg and blocking the chop. The man then reached behind his back and pulled out a pistol and aimed it at Sanji''s head before pulling the trigger.


    "SANJI!" Usopp, Nami, and Chopper yelled in fear for their crew members.


    "Relax," came the voice of Sanji causing them to relax. "He''s a terrible shot," he said before he is forced to dodge multiple shots compliments of the man.


    "Idiot," Zoro said as he unsheathed one of his swords. "Never underestimate your foe," he said berating Sanji before he dashed forward preparing to slice the man in two. Before he could get there, the man began to stagger, and the gun fell out of his hand fright before he collapsed on the ground confusing everyone.


    "Chopper," Luffy said with a sigh. "Go treat him," he ordered causing the little reindeer to rush forward with his little blue medical bag.


    "Hey! you two!" Luffy yelled out to Zoro and Sanji. "Take him in the house," he said before he turned around and begin walking towards the house with Usopp, Nami, and Nojiko following behind him. After Zoro and Sanji got the man inside the house, they placed him in the bed for Chopper to start treating him.


    "I don''t see why we need to treat him," Nami said as she folded her arms. "He attacked us," she added with a huff.


    "We are treating him because he is Mont Blanc Cricket," Luffy said getting their attention. "Didn''t you hear him call this place his home when he jumped out of the water?" he asked causing all of them to think back before only a few of them nodded their heads. "Well, it is obvious if we want to know about the knock-up stream, we need him to be alive," he finished causing them to nod their heads.


    "Okay, I need more towels," Chopper said to the crew. "He has Caisson disease," the little reindeer said.


    "What is the Caisson disease?" Nojiko asked while looking at Chopper.


    "It is something divers get, but it''s not long-lasting, but it can become fatal if the person exerts themselves too much. It is cost by a lack of decompression when surfacing from the seabed," Chopper explains causing a proud smile to form on Luffy''s face. "The nitrogen in the blood is released too quickly and causes gas bubbles to form in the circulatory system. When those bubbles expand, they can cause serious damage to the muscles and joints and seriously decrease blood flow," the doctor explained as he placed a wet cloth on top of Cricket''s forehead.


    "Think you can help hi, Chopper?" Nojiko asked. Chopper thought about it for a few seconds before he replied to Nojiko''s question.


    "I''m not sure," he replied in a low voice. "My guess is that he continued to dive every day without allowing his body to recover and it finally caught up to him," he said causing them to nod in understanding. "That''s why he passed out during the fight. If anything, he is lucky to be alive," he added grimly. Luffy was about to say something but before he could Masira and the pirate who they bumped into before reaching Jaya appeared in the doorway and yelled inside the house.


    "Hey, old-timer are you alright!" they yelled as they stuck their head through the door. Everyone inside just stared at the two ape-like men and blinked a few times while the two men did the exact same. About ten seconds past before the two men screamed at the straw hats. "What the hell are you monster doing to the old man!?" they yelled/asked.


    "We are trying to help him," Nojiko said as he folder her arms under her b.r.e.a.s.t. "So, you can either help us or get the hell out," she said in a stern tone. The two men stared at her for about five seconds before tears started streaming down their faces and they began to weep uncontrollably.


    "Thank you, guys!" they said between sobs. Causing everyone to stare at them strangely.


    ''Are they crying?'' Luffy asked himself as she stared at the two strange men. After the Masira and his friend stopped crying, everyone except Chopper and Nami went outside and sat down by the tree stump where they found the book about Noland. Luffy and the two men began conversing while waiting for Cricket to regain consciousness. They talked four about a half an hour before Chopper came running out of the house.


    "Luffy!" hopper yelled getting all their attention. "He''s awake," he said causing Luffy and the two monkeys to get up began walking towards the house. When they got there, they say Cricket sitting on the bed smoking a cigarette.


    "I am sorry I attacked you," Cricket said. "I thought you were here to steal my gold," he said. Luffy walked in and sat down on one of the chairs before he pulled out a glass and poured himself a whiskey before he spoke.


    "It''s all good," Luffy said as he poured the whiskey. "We are only here for information on how to get to sky island," he said causing Cricket to raise an eyebrow at him before he started laughing nonstop causing Luffy to this time raise an eyebrow.


    "Sky Island?" he asked while laughing. "That place doesn''t exist," he said before started laughing once more. While he was laughing, he noticed that neither Luffy nor none of his crew members were laughing with him instead, they all had a serious look on their faces as they stared at him causing him to stop laughing. "There has ever only been one man who claimed to have been to the sky island and he is somewhat of a notorious liar," he said causing Zoro and Chopper to turn and look at Usopp.


    "IT''S NOT ME YOU IDIOTS!" Usopp yelled at the two of them causing Luffy to chuckle. Cricket then began to explain the true tale of Noland and the fact that he was a descendant of Noland himself. After he finished telling them about his destiny to restore his family name he reached onto a bookshelf and pulled out an old book and handed it to Nami. It was the logbook of Noland which had the details of his journey. Luffy and Robin''s interest piqued at the sight of the book since the book in Nami''s hand was over 400 years old. Nami then began to read from Noland''s logbook about his adventure and how they saw sky fish causing Usopp, Chopper, and Nami to get even more excited.


    "That''s all nice and all, old man," Luffy said in a calm tone getting everyone''s attention. "But you still haven''t told me what I wanted to hear," he said as he stared at the man on the bed.


    "Captain," Robin said getting his attention. "Maybe you should be a bit more specific about what you are asking for," she suggested with a smile on her face. Luffy thought about it for a few seconds before he spoke again.


    "You''re right," he said agreeing with Robin before he turned back towards Cricket. "Tell me where I can find the knock up-stream," he said in a serious tone causing Cricket and the monkey brothers'' eyes to widen in shock.


    "Y-you know of the knock up-stream?" Cricket asked in a surprised tone as he stared at the boy with the straw hat. Luffy nodded his head before he took a sip of his drink. "Why risk your lives for a place that you don''t even know exists?" Cricket asked Luffy causing him to chuckle.


    "Adventure," Luffy replied with a smirk causing his crew to smile as well. "And as for whether or not sky island exists...it does," Luffy said in a confident tone. "I''ve been to numerous sky islands in the New World, and I know someone who been to the one where we are going," he added causing Cricket and the monkey brother''s eyes to widen even further.


    "Y-you''ve been to a sky island?" Masira asked in an astonished voice to which Luffy nodded.


    "Y-you know someone who been to the sky island that Noland went to?" Cricket asked causing Luffy to nod his head again. "Who?" Cricket asked.


    "Red-Haired Shanks," Luffy replied before taking a sip of his whiskey. "20 years ago, the now named King of the Pirates Gol D. Roger went to Skypiea on his journey to conquer to Grand Line. Shanks was a member of that crew and I was a member of Shanks''s crew," Luffy explained nonchalantly stunning everyone in the room including his crew. They all stared at him with an astonished look on their faces.


    "Amazing," said the monkey brother simultaneously as they stared at Luffy with nothing but admiration in their eyes.


    "So, how can I find the knock up-stream?" Luffy asked once more knocking everyone out their astonishment. Cricket then got up from his bed and began walking outside.


    "Follow me," he said causing Luffy and everyone else to get up and follow him outside. They all stood in a circle around the tree stump and stared at Cricket who had his hands on his waist. "Now listen up, the knock-up-stream is the only way to get to sky island. It shoots straight up into the so, it can theoretically take you up into the sky if you are lucky," he said while looking at them.


    "Wait, so you are telling me that this current can actually send sh.i.p.s flying?" Nojiko asked sounding a bit skeptical about the whole thing. "Wouldn''t that just cause us to fall back down to the ocean and smash into pieces?" she asked.


    "Usually that is true unless you can get the timing just right," Cricket replied as he folded his arms. "It is one thing to sit here all comfy and think that it is easy to ride the knock-up-stream however, you are in for a rude awakening. The Knock-up-stream is as dangerous as any hurricane and should be avoided at all cost," he said scaring Chopper and Usopp. Cricket then began to explain what causes the knock-up-stream scaring Chopper and Usopp even more along with Nami and Nojiko. They all slowly turned their heads to Luffy hoping to see their captain having some second thought about going but what they saw absolutely terrified them. He had an excited smirk on his face.


    "Sounds fun," Luffy said in an excited tone.


    "But Luffy," Usopp said getting his captain''s attention. "I don''t think the going Merry will make it through something like that," Usopp said while pointing to their ship causing Luffy to sigh. He couldn''t help but agree with his sniper, the Merry just wasn''t made to handle the perils of the Grand Line.


    "The boy is right," Cricket said. "That ship even brand new will be blown to pieces by the knock-up-stream," he said.


    "See Luffy," Usopp said. "It''s best we don''t go," suggested a very scared Usopp.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll have Masira and Shoujou refit your ship to withstand it," Cricket said causing Luffy to smile while Usopp''s head dropped.


    "Luffy, what about the log pose," Nami said deciding to help Usopp. "We can only stay here one more day before the log pose resets," she said while holding up the log pose.


    "That''s right," Usopp said with a large smile on his face. "We don''t even know when this knock up-stream will happen," he said.


    "The next knock-up-stream should be tomorrow around noon," Cricket said causing Luffy to chuckle while Nami and Usopp sweat dropped. "Now, let''s go have lunch," he said as he began walking back into the house with Luffy following right behind him.


    **Night**


    Luffy, his crew and Saruyama Alliance were all sitting around in Cricket''s house drinking and having a good time. Somehow the lunch that they all came inside to have turned into a party with Cricket tell stories from Noland''s logbook. Right now, everyone was staring Cricket who was showing them the gold that found on the seafloor. It wasn''t until he brought out a pretty big golden statue of a bird that Cricket and the monkey brother''s face sobered up almost immediately.


    "Shit!" the three of them cursed puzzling the straw hats.


    "What''s wrong you guys?" Nojiko asked while looking at them with a confused look on her face.


    "You guys need to go to the south shores of this island and capture a south bird," Cricket said with urgency in his voice.


    "Why do we need to do something like that?" Zoro asked as he downed some sake.


    "At noon tomorrow, the knock up-stream will appear directly south of here. Seeing as how you are in the Grand Line and compasses don''t work here you need something to tell you where to sail and that is where the South bird comes in," he explained causing Luffy to nod his head seeing where he was going with this. "Certain animals have a very accurate internal sense of direction as if they are born with a natural compass. This bird is a perfect example of this type of animal. No matter what this bird always faces South," he said causing them to nod their heads.


    "Alright," Luffy said getting their attention. "Usopp you stay here and help get the ship ready," Luffy ordered causing Usopp to nod his head. "The rest of you begin making your way to the southern shore and catch this bird," he added puzzling a few of how crew members.


    "What about you, captain?" Zoro asked.


    "I''m going to go make a few calls and check in on my little organization. Besides, you guys have Robin with you so it should be easy to catch one of these things with her devil fruit," he added with a reassuring smile.


    "Aye captain!" they all yelled before they ran out of the house. Luffy then walked out of the house and called his thunder cloud. When it arrived, he hopped on and sat down on his throne before he spoke to Usopp and Cricket.


    "You lot should get started on the refitting. I''ll be back soon," Luffy said before the thundercloud took off leaving behind three stunned faces.


    Luffy ascended into the air before coming to a stop at about 5000 feet in the air. He then reached into the cloud and pulled out a small c.h.e.s.t and opened it. Inside of the c.h.e.s.t were multiple transponder snails. he looked around and carefully pulled out six specific snails and laid then in two rows on the cloud before he pulled out two more snails which were a bit bigger than the ones he previously pulled out. One of them was pure white while the other man was purple with a larger shell, on the shell were multiple holes for wires to be plugged in. Luffy then plugged six cables into seven different holes on the snail''s shell. He then connected one of the seven cables into the white transponder snail and the remaining six into the smaller ones. When done he picked up the microphone on the purple snail with multiple holes on hits shell and pushed the red button on top of the shell causing all the other snails to wake up and begin to ring.


    *purupurupuru**purupurupuru**purupurupuru**purupurupuru**Clachak*


    "Hello?"


    "Hello,"


    "Lu?"


    "Captain?"


    "What?"


    "Yes?"


    All Luffy''s subordinates answered his call causing him to smile before he spoke in a commanding voice.


    "Yes, it''s me," he said as he spoke into the microphone. "Give me a status update on what you all been doing since," he ordered.


    "Well, we just arrived back in the East Blue," Said Johnny causing Luffy to nod his head. "We are now making our way to the Baratie to tell the old man about your organization and drop off a few guys from the Hino branch there to work as waiters before we head to Cocoyasi Village," he said causing Luffy to smirk.


    "Sounds like a good plan," he replied. The idea of leaving a few guys at the Baratie to work as waiters was a brilliant idea, they could work in the floating restaurant and pick up information from the customers. "Give me a call if you need someone to build the base on Cocoyasi Village," Luffy said to Johnny and Yosaku.


    "Aye, Captain!" both Johnny and Yosaku said through the phone.


    "Isaac, what do you got to report," Luffy asked.


    "Ummm...well, I got good news and bad news," Isaac said causing Luffy to narrow his eye. "Which one do you want first?" he asked causing Luffy sigh before he replied.


    "Give me the bad news," he said as he leaned back into his throne.


    "You remember that Mr. 2 guy?'' Isaac asked.


    "Yeah, the one with the Clone-Clone fruit," Luffy replied.


    "Well, he kind of got captured by the marines when we left Alabasta and is likely in Impel Down," he said causing Luffy to growl through the hone.


    "Explain!" Luffy yelled out.


    "Well, the three of us were on our own sh.i.p.s heading for the West Blue when Black Cage Hina showed up with her fleet alone the White hunter himself," Isaac explained causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow at that.


    "Smoker?" Luffy asked in surprise.


    "Yeah, he and I danced around a for a while Jiro and Bon Clay kept Hina back. I was able to handle Smoker thanks to my haki, but Bon Clay and his crew sacrificed himself so the rest of us could escape," he said causing Luffy to once again sigh.


    "If you had Smoker beat why did he need to sacrifice himself?" Luffy questioned.


    "What was I supposed to do?" Isaac asked. "The motherf.u.c.ker already sacrificed himself before I got done with Smoker," he said in a frustrated voice.


    "Fine," Luffy said before a serious look crept onto his face as he spoke again. "But Isaac," he said in a deadly tone. "Should something like this ever happen again...I''ll personally pay you a visit and rip those angle wings right off your back," he said into phone sending chills down Isaac''s back.


    "R-right," he replied with a slight stutter.


    "Now, what''s the good news?" Luffy asked.


    "We found a town that was occupied by a group of weak pirates. We beat them into submission and added them to Hell''s Company before we set up shop on the island," he said causing a smirk to creep up on to Luffy''s face.


    "Good, very good," Luffy said. "Ms. Merry Christmas, how re things in the North?" he asked.


    "Good, good, good" the woman said very fast. "We just reach the North Blue and haven''t found a place to set up a base yet but once we do, I''ll use my Mole-Mole fruit to make an underground base," she said a lot slower and how he normally speaks.


    "That sounds pretty good," Luffy said while nodding his head. "Gem, have you reach he South Blue yet?" he asked.


    "Yeah, we arrived a few days ago and set up shop on Karate Island," he said causing Luffy to nod his head. "We already began spreading out the Hino Branch to spread the word and to begin gathering information," he added causing Luffy to smile.


    "Nicely done," Luffy said with a satisfied look on his face. "Paula, what do you have to report?" Luffy asked.


    "Well we found an abandoned island not far from Alabasta and are setting up shop here," she said.


    "Good, I have someone building a private shipping port for in Alabasta. Send someone there and look the man in charge of building the port, his name is Paul, tell him Asura sent you," he said through the phone. "He has the blueprints of how I want the headquarters of the Hino Branch to look like. So, don''t fret about building a base, he will do it for you," Luffy explained.


    "Very well, I have to send a few ppl to Alabasta anyway to act as spies. I''ll just have one of them go see this person," she said while Luffy nodded his head in agreement.


    "Now, Daz, what do you have to report?" he asked.


    "We haven''t found a base yet but some of the guys from the Kiten Branch already began spreading out looking for things to sell," he said causing Luffy to nod his head.


    "If you are looking for a base you can go to the island of Jaya, there is a town there called Mock town. It is littered with pirates and the sc.u.m of the world," he suggested.


    "Sounds like a good idea, I''ll see if I can find out how to get there," he said while Luffy nodded his head.


    "Alright, let me know about any developments," he said.


    "Aye, Sir!" they all replied before hanging up. When they hung up Luffy leaned back in his throne and looked up at the stars.


    ''Hmmm, I wonder If they caught that bird yet?'' he asked himself before he decided it was time to head back. The thundercloud heeded its master''s wishes and turned around before it began making its way back to Cricket''s house. It about ten minutes to reach there because Luffy was cruising on his way back enjoying the calm night. When the house came into view Luffy''s eyes widen the size of dinner plates at what he saw. There was nothing but destruction everywhere with evidence that a battle took place. ditching the cloud, he turned his body into lightning and teleported off the cloud and onto the ground near a badly wounded Masira and Cricket.


    "Old man," Luffy said to a barely conscious Cricket. "What happened here?" he asked as he looked around at the carnage. There was a giant hole in Cricket''s house, the ground was wrecked in multiple places, and to top it all off, the bow of the Going Merry was broken off from the ship.


    "It...it was Bellamy," the old man said in a weak voice. "He came for my gold," he said to Luffy. "He beat us, took the gold and... took your long nose friend as well," Cricket said causing a blank, emotionless look to appear on Luffy''s face as thunder clouds began to fill the skies. "I''m sorry," Cricket said to Luffy.


    "It''s not your fault," Luffy said in a monotone voice as he turned and looked in the direction where his crew went to look for the south bird. "I''ll be back," he said before he turned into lightning and shot up into the sky.


    **With the Crew**


    The entire crew was all standing in a circle sweating bad and breathing heavily. Since they started looking for the south bird, they were met with opposition from everything direction. It was like the birds knew that they were there to catch one of them and they were turning the animals of the forest against the straw hats. They had been attacked by all sorts of bugs and animals; it was very frustrating. All their frustrated thoughts were interrupted however were interrupted by lightning and thunder in the sky.


    "What''s going on?" asked Nojiko as she looked up and see thunder clouds fill the sky. Before anyone could answer her a bolt of lightning struck down in the center of the group startling every one of them. When the bolt disappeared, they saw Luffy standing there with an emotionless look on his face but from his eyes, they could all tell he was very pissed.


    "Chopper, come with me. The old man and the monkey brothers need some medical assistance," he said surprising them.


    "What happened?" Sanji asked.


    "They were attacked by that fool from Mock Town and Usopp was kidnapped," Luffy explained and as he was explaining the lightning and the thunder in the sky was getting worse showing that the more he talked about it the more upset he was getting. The crew was shell shocked when they heard Usopp was kidnapped. "Come on Chopper, I need you to heal the guys while I go get Usopp back," Luffy said causing Chopper to walk towards him.


    "Right," Chopper replied as Luffy places his hand on his shoulder.


    "As for the rest of you," Luffy said while looking at his crew. "hurry up and catch that damn bird!" he said before turning into lightning and shooting up into the sky with Chopper.


    "Well, it going to be a bloodbath," Zoro said while everyone else nodded their heads in agreement.


    **At Cricket''s house**


    Luffy and Chopper arrived right next to Masira. As soon as they touched down Chopper sprang into doctor mode and began treating Masira who had a deep slash down his back. Luffy turned his hand into lightning and stretched it all the way into the water where Shoujou was floating unconscious and pull him back onto the land for Chopper to treat. After that, without saying he turned to lightning and teleported to Mock Town.


    **Mock Town**


    A bolt of lightning struck down in front of the bar that Luffy encountered Teach earlier in the day. When the bolt of lightning disappeared, Luffy was standing there with his arms in his pocket staring at the bar where there seems to be a party going on. It was so loud in there that the people on the inside probably couldn''t hear the loud thunder in the sky or the lightning striking down. Luffy used his observation haki to sense the people inside the bar and much to his relief, Usopp was still alive. He then began walking forward toward the doors of the bar. He pushed open the saloon-style doors and took a step inside the bar. As he stepped inside, the entire bar fell silent and he narrowed his gaze at Bellamy who was sitting at the bar with his back to Luffy while Usopp was tied up on a chair with Bellamy''s crew. Hearing the entire bar falling silent, Bellamy turned around to see what was going on. When he turned around, he saw a very pissed off Luffy staring directly at him with the cold eyes of a killer.


    "You f.u.c.k up...big time," Luffy said in a cold chilling voice as he stared at Bellamy.


    "Luffy!" Usopp yelled out with joy in seeing his captain.


    "Sit tight Usopp," Luffy said putting his sniper at ease. "I''ll be there in a second, but first I have to slaughter some people," he added coldly as his gaze moved from Bellamy to the rest of the patrons of the bar causing them to flinch at his gaze. "Outside, now!" Luffy said as he turned his gaze back to Bellamy before turning around walking back out the bar. Bellamy smirked confidently before turning to his crew and spoke.


    "Come on guys," he said as he stood up. "let''s go teach this rookie a lesson, bring our hostage too. I''ll like to see him fight us while we have his friend hostage," he said c.o.c.kily as he began heading outside to confront Luffy. The entire bar followed him outside wanting to see how Bellamy was going to handle the new rookie. When they got outside their attention was immediately drawn to the sky which was filled with thunderclouds and lightning. They then turned their attention to Luffy, who was standing there staring at Bellamy.


    "Let me explain how this is going to go, Bellamy," Luffy said getting all their attention. "You''re going to let my crew member go and hand over all of Cricket''s gold," he said in a cold emotionless tone. "And then one by one I''m going to kill you," he added causing a shiver to run all their spines. Bellamy just stood there and smiled before he started laughing.


    "Hahaha! You? Kill me?" Bellamy asked in a mocking tone. "I''ll admit you took by surprise this afternoon, but now I''m prepared for you," he said arrogantly. "If you even think about fighting back, we''ll kill your friend. Bahahaha!" he said while pointing to Usopp who was standing between two of Bellamy crew members with guns in each hand. The two men began raising their gun to point at Usopp''s head. Before the guns could ready his head, the heads of the two men suddenly fell off their bodies and unto the ground causing blood to spray out like a fountain from the neck wound, covering Usopp and those around the two men in blood before their bodies fell over. Everyone stared at the scene with eyes the size of dinner plates. None of them saw a thing, one moment the men were raising their guns and the next their heads fell on the ground.


    "Who''s going to him?" Luffy asked getting everyone''s attention away from the body. When they looked over, they saw he was standing there with his palm covered in blood. It was then made clear who killed those two men.


    "H-he killed them," a random spectator said with fear in his voice.


    "I-I told Bellamy not to mess with him, but he wouldn''t listen," a drunk man said.


    "You''ll pay for that!?" Bellamy yelled out in anger as he stared at Luffy with a look of pure hatred.


    "Boy, you still don''t get it, don''t you?" Luffy asked as he stared at the arrogant pirate. "Even Doflamingo knows I am not someone who you f.u.c.k with, but you think you can f.u.c.k with me and my crew and get away with it!?" Luffy said letting some of his anger show. "You are nothing more than an insignificant little shit who sucks Doflamingo''s d.i.c.k every chance you get, and you have the audacity to f.u.c.k with me," he said pissing Bellamy off and causing everyone''s eyes to widen. "You''re going to see just why people call me...a demon," he added in a menacing tone before he raises up his right hand and grabbed the left shoulder of his captain''s coat and pulled it off and tossed it to the side. Bellamy turned to his crew and spoke.


    "Get him!" he yelled causing two of his crew members to rush at Luffy. The two men rushed at Luffy with swords in hand with the intention of killing Luffy to avenge their fallen crew members. One of the men raised his sword to slash at Luffy. Luffy dodges the slash and uppercuts the man sending them airborne before he spun on his left heel and delivered a roundhouse kick the back of the other man''s head causing a sickening crunch to be heard. Luffy then covered his palm in lightning before he slashed the air above.


    "Lightning Cutter!" he yelled out as he slashed the air above him causing a crescent-shaped arc of lightning to leave his palm and slice the man who was falling back down in half. Luffy then turned his attention back to Bellamy as the two halves of the man fell on either side of him. Bellamy and everyone around were staring at Luffy as though he was the devil himself.


    "Y-you bastard!" yelled Bellamy''s vice-captain as he rushed at Luffy with a pretty big knife. He had a bandage wrapped around his face from the wound that Zoro gave him this afternoon. Luffy just stared at and shook his head.


    "You fools never learn," he said with a sigh as he dodges the slashed and kneed the man in the stomach causing him to cough up some blood before he hunched over on the ground. Luffy then raised his right foot in the air before he slammed it down on the man''s back sending him crashing into the ground face first. With his foot still on the man''s back, Luffy reached down and grabbed both of his arms and began pulling the back causing the man to scream out in pain. "You seem to like these arms quite a lot," Luffy said as he pulled the arms back. "You know what, I like them too. You don''t mind if I have them, do you?" he asked as he tilted his head to the side.


    "W-what!?" Bellamy''s vice-captain yelled/asked. "NOOOO! stop! Please!" he begged as Luffy began pulling back further and further. However, all his begging fell on deaf ears causing Luffy didn''t stop, instead, he gave one final pull and ripped both of the man arms off his body. "AHHHHHHH!" the man yelled as blood gushed out from both wounds. Luffy then looked up at Bellamy while holding onto the man''s arms and stared at him as he removed his foot from the man''s back and placed it onto his head.


    "You shouldn''t have f.u.c.k.e.d with me," he said coldly before he covered his foot in lightning and crushed the man''s head causing blood the splatter on the ground.


    "S-Sarquiss..." Bellamy whispered out as he stared at the dead body of his first mate.


    "Sarquiss!" a blonde-haired woman yelled out as she and a blonde-haired man with a log pose strapped to his wrist rushed at Luffy with his b.a.r.e hands. Luffy just stared at them rushing towards him before he dropped one of the severed arms he is holding while covering the other haki. He then swung the haki covered arm at the man hitting him square in the c.h.e.s.t causing him to get knocked back into the woman sending the two of them crashing into the ground with one on top of the other. Luffy then walked over to the two of them, flipped the severed over so he was holding it by the bicep instead of the wrist, and covered it armament haki before he plunged the severed arm into both the man and the woman. It pierced right through them like a hot knife through butter.


    "You know something, Bellamy," Luffy said as he looked back up at the pirate captain. "I really that you were going to jump in at some point during all this but instead, you just stood there and watch me slaughter your crew," Luffy pointed out as he stared at the once arrogant pirate. Bellamy for his part wanted to jump in, but he couldn''t move from the spot that he was standing. He was frozen in fear. After the gruesome death of his first mate, he realized that he shouldn''t have messed with Luffy. "But don''t worry, I''m not going to kill you," Luffy said surprising Bellamy and everyone there. Before Bellamy could contemplate what Luffy was talking about, Luffy disappeared and appeared in front of him. Before he could react Luffy uppercuts him sending him about 50ft in the air. Luffy then disappeared once before he appeared above Bellamy with his right leg extended out and raised in the air.


    "Storm Breaker!" Luffy yelled out as he covered his leg in lightning and slammed his heel down onto Bellamy''s c.h.e.s.t sending him flying towards the ground at blinding speed. When Bellamy impacted the ground, the impact caused a giant crater to from with Bellamy in the center. Luffy then landed on the edge of the crater and stared down at the broken and eaten Bellamy.


    "As I said," Luffy began, "I won''t kill you. Instead, I''ll let you live. That way you will never forget what happened here today," he said coldly. "For as long as you live, every time you close your eyes you will see the faces of your dead crew whose deaths are on no one but yourself," Luffy finished before he turned around and walked up to Usopp. "You alright?" he asked.


    "Yeah," Usopp replied in a sad voice causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow. "Captain, I''m sorry I got captured," he apologized causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "Don''t worry about it," Luffy replied. "besides, I see you got some good shots in," he said while pointing to the dead bodies that had burn marks on their clothes. "Come one, let''s head back," he said before he walked over to the side and picked up his coat and put it back on. "Now, who wants to tell me where Cricket''s gold is?" he asked as he looked at all the spectators. Not wanting to die, every single person that was there pointed to the bar where Bellamy was drinking. Luffy chuckled before he walked inside, grabbed the gold and then walked back out. He then waked up to Usopp placed his hand on his shoulder before the two of them turned into lightning and shot up into the sky leaving behind a stunned audience who were all staring at the battered and broken form of Bellamy.


    **Cricket''s House**


    The crew along with the entire Saruyama Alliance were working on the repairs for the ship. It had been one hour since Luffy left and they had only two more hours to get the ship ready to set sail.


    "Man, these guys sure can work," Nojiko said as she paused and look at the monkey brothers hauling huge amounts of lumber.


    "Yeah, they are pretty strong," Sanji said with a nod. Before anyone else could say anything else however lightning struck down not too far away from where they were working leaving behind Luffy and Usopp.


    "Usopp!" the Straw hats yelled as they dropped what they were doing and ran towards their captain and sniper. Luffy had a small smile on his face as he watches his crew check on Usopp. He then turned around and walked up to Cricket and handed him a small bag which contained his gold.


    "Here''s your gold old man," he said as he placed it down on a tree stump. "how are the repairs coming along?" he asked


    "Everything is on schedule," Cricket replied as he smoked his cigarette.


    "Well then, no reason to slow down now," Luffy said before he turned to his crew. "What are all of you standing around for!?" he yelled/asked at his crew who were still talking to Usopp. "Get to work! We got a schedule we have to stick to!" he yelled causing to run back to their stations.


    **2 Hours Later**


    After two hours of hard work, the ship was finally done. Luffy had made the mistake of leaving the design of the refitting up to Usopp, Masira, and Shoujou. In simple terms, those three made the Going Merry look like a chicken. Luffy was hoping no one from Shanks or Whitebeard''s crew sees him on board the "Going Merry: Flying Mode" as they were calling it.


    "I don''t know why they made it into a chicken," Zoro said as he stood next to Luffy staring at the new Merry. "Chickens don''t even fly. they should have made it into a pigeon instead," he said causing Luffy eyebrow to twitch.


    "Alright, enough!" Luffy yelled out getting everyone''s attention. "grab the south Bird and prepare to set sail!" he yelled out causing his crew to nod his head and began making their way to the ship. Luffy walked over to Cricket and stood in front of him before he spoke again. "Thanks for refitting our ship, old man," Luffy said.


    "Don''t thank me," he said as he smoked a cigarette. "Thank them," he said while pointing at Masira and Shoujou who were on their respected sh.i.p.s. Luffy then took a few steps in their direction before he spoke again.


    "Thanks, fellas!" he shouted to them.


    "Don''t mention it, Straw hat!" Masira yelled back.


    "Yeah, don''t mention it!" Shoujou said as well. Luffy just smiled before he teleported to his ship.


    "Is everything set?" he asked his crew as he stood on the upper deck with Nami beside him.


    "Aye, captain!" they replied.


    "Good, then raise anchor!" he yelled out causing Zoro to walk to the front of the ship and pull up the Anchor.


    "You guys just follow us," Masira said as their ship pulled up alongside the Going Merry. Luffy nodded his head before he turned and nodded to Nojiko signaling her to take the helm. The Going Merry then pushed off from the Shore and began sailing South with Masira and Shoujou''s sh.i.p.s on either side of them. "Okay, it is currently 7 A.M, we need to arrive at our destination no later than 11. Cricket already told us the location of the Knock Up Stream changes every single time. We need to get there as early as possible to pinpoint its exact location!" Masira yelled from his ship over to Luffy''s.


    "Got it!" Luffy replied before walking to the rear deck and sitting on his throne. "If everything goes according to plan then we should arrive on schedule," he added as he sat down and poured himself a drink. Everyone sat around relaxing for the next three hours mainly causing there was nothing else they could do. It wasn''t until a member of Masira''s crew shouted out in panic that knocked everyone out of their relaxation.


    "Boss! The C.u.muloregalis has appeared to the South West!" he yelled causing Luffy to stand up and walked the font of the rear deck. It was there he saw a pretty large dark cloud some distance away.


    "What time is it!?" Masira yelled/ asked.


    "It''s only 10''o clock! It''s a full hour early!" the man said in a panic. By now the rest of the straw hats came out to see what was going on.


    "Is that the C.u.muloregalis?" Nami asked to which Luffy nodded his head.


    "Yeah, it''s early," he replied before he turned to Masira and spoke. "Do you think we can make it!?" he asked.


    "I don''t know," Masira replied before he looked over to Shoujou. "Shoujou, do you think we can make it?" he asked. Shoujou didn''t reply, instead, he barked out orders to his crew.


    "Dispatch the divers!" he yelled causing three men wet suits to climb up onto the side of his ship getting ready to dive into the water. "Find me those currents!" he ordered before the men dived into the water. A few seconds later Shoujou got onto the microphone and let out one of his sonar screams. One minute after than the three divers surfaced and yelled out their findings.


    "Sonar waved detected! There is a large current at 12''O clock!" Diver #1 said.


    "Lage creature detected at 9''O clock! it could be a sea king!" diver #2 said.


    "There is wave activity detected at 10''O clock going against the current! I believe it is a giant whirlpool, Sir!" diver #3 said. By now Luffy was beyond impressed at their skill set.


    "That''s the one! Head for 10''O clock!" Masira yelled out. "that''s where the knock upstream is going to erupt. I''m sure!" he said causing Nami and Nojiko to adjust their course. as they were sailing towards the direction of where the knock upstream should be, the waves began to get bigger and bigger forcing everyone to hold onto something.


    "Hold her steady!" Luffy yelled out as he anchored himself in place with lightning.


    "it is a pre-eruption tremor!" Masira pointed out before clamps from both his and Shoujou''s ship shot out and latch onto the Going Merry. "We will lead you to the outer edge of the whirlpool! Position yourselves on the flow and head towards the center! Then you''ll be fine," he said causing Luffy to nod his head. As the Going Merry came out of the giant waves the whirlpool came into sight, and it was a big one. When they were on the outer side of the whirlpool the clamps came off and the two sh.i.p.s sat some distance away from the merry as the two captains and their crews waved goodbye.


    "Alright, take us in!" Luffy yelled out causing everyone to look at like he was crazy. "What?" he asked after seeing how they were looking at him. They all just sweat dropped before Nojiko adjusted the rudder and steered the ship into the giant whirlpool.


    "Come on, Luffy!" Usopp said with a terrified look on his face. "It''s not too late to turn back," he said causing Luffy to smirk.


    "Okay then," Luffy said causing all of them to fall silent and stare at him. "I mean I will just have to tell kaya how the great captain Usopp chickened out," he said with a smirk as he saw Usopp froze.


    "You hear him, men! Take us in!" Usopp yelled while pointing towards the whirlpool causing everyone to chuckle. As the ship hit the currents of the whirlpool it went airborne and began to wall directly towards the center. After falling for a few seconds, it suddenly landed on calm water as the giant whirlpool and turbulent seas turn calm so much that there wasn''t a single wave in sight.


    "What happened to the whirlpool?" Zoro asked as he looked around. it was then Luffy felt small vibrations at the bottom of his feet.


    "Everyone, hold onto something! It''s going erupt anytime now!" he yelled as he walked forward and held onto the rails of the balcony. Everyone else began scrambling around trying to find something that they could hold on to. Suddenly the ship was being raised into the air by the water below it. it looked like a giant bubble that was about to burst anyone minute now. After being raised in the air for a few seconds, the water finally erupted sending a powerful stream of pressurized water straight into the sky. after being shaken for a few seconds, the crew got their bearings and realized that the Going Merry was sailing up a huge pillar of water.


    "This is amazing!" Chopper yelled out in excitement.


    "How are we doing this!?" Usopp yelled/asked.


    "We''re going to Skypiea!" Chopper yelled.


    "I don''t think it''s going to be that easy," Sanji said getting all their attention. "The hull is starting to float and if we don''t stop it, we are going to fall back down to the ocean," he said as the front of the ship began to rise into the air.


    "Well, Ms. Navigator," Luffy said with a smirk as he stared at Nami. "What do we do?" he asked calmly.


    "Release the sails! and catch the starboard current!" she replied immediately causing Luffy to smile.


    "You heard her! Release the sails!" Luffy yelled out causing Zoro and Sanji to release them. "Nojiko! Catch that current!" he added. Soon the sails the caught the wind the ship began to rise in the air.


    "We''re still rising!" Chopper yelled out in panic.


    "Relax, that''s supposed to happen!" Luffy said putting everyone at ease. The ship then completely lifted off the water pillar and began flying towards the clouds.


    "We''re flying!" Usopp and Chopper yelled out in amazement. Luffy just smirked as he stood on the door of his private quarters staring up at the sky.


    "As long as the wind keeps up, we can sail as high as we want!" Nami said with a huge smile on his face.


    "I told you!" Luffy said while looking at Nami. "This ocean defies all logic," he said as they flew up to the sky.


    "Are we close to Skypiea?" Robin asked while looking at Luffy.


    "No," he replied with a smile. "but we are close to White White Sea!" he yelled out for all of them to hear.


    "What''s that?" Nojiko asked from inside the kitchen where the rudder was.


    "You''ll see," Luffy said before turning his attention back to the front. After flying upwards for a few more minutes, the ship finally entered the clouds. the crew except for Luffy had to shield their eyes from the high winds and water vapors that were hitting their faces. Soon the Going Merry broke through the clouds breaking off the wings that Cricket the guys installed in the process and landed on what seems to be an ocean. Everyone except Luffy was laying on the floor gasping for air.


    "Are we dead?" Nami asked while laying on her while being soaking wet.


    "Welcome! To the White White Sea!" Luffy said loudly with the arms spread out wide.


    **Chapter End!**

 Chapter 31 - 31: The Sky Knight and Skypiea!

    **Navy HQ**


    Fleet Admiral Sengoku was currently sitting behind his desk inside his office with his arms folded. He was looking at his two long-time friends, Garp, and Tsuru who were sitting on couches on the opposite sides of the room. The three of them were discussing what they should do about the open spot at the warlord position. They had just come from the meeting where they were supposed to choose the next person to take the place of Crocodile, but sadly they couldn''t choose anyone. The meeting wasn''t a total loss however, just as it began, they were interrupted by a man named Laffitte who recommended his captain Blackbeard for the warlord position. No one had ever heard of anyone by the name of Blackbeard before and were extremely puzzled when this man infiltrated the Holy Land to nominate a no named pirate. Sengoku didn''t toss out the idea of letting him join the warlords completely, he would just wait and see if this Blackbeard was worth his time.


    "Well, that was a waste," Garp said knocking Sengoku out of thought.


    "I agree," Tsuru said with a nod as she crossed her legs.


    "It''s not like we expected to come up with a solution there at the meeting," Sengoku added as he got up from behind his desk and walked to the center of the room. "It was a meeting with pirates, can''t really expect them to come up with a logical plan of action," he said.


    "Another thing I didn''t like was how easily that man Laffitte infiltrated Mariejois," Tsuru said causing Garp and Sengoku to nod their heads in agreement.


    "Yeah, the last thing we want is another Fisher Tiger incident," Garp said adding to what Tsuru was talking about.


    "We are going to have to increase security around here," Sengoku said before he turned and walked back to this desk. As he reached his desk a knock came on his door. "Enter!" he said loudly in a commanding voice. just he said that the doors to his office pushed open and in walked a female marine officer. She was a slender woman with red lipstick, long curly black hair that is tied back and a mole on the right side of her face below her mouth. She wore her Marine coat on her shoulders like a cape, and her sleeves have pink cuffs and the epaulets are pink. Underneath, she sports a short-sleeved pink shirt, with a frilled collar and an open neckline that exposes her cleavage. She wore dark brown shorts and black heels exposing a black spider tattoo on her left t.h.i.g.h.


    "Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Vice-Admiral Tsuru..." she said addressing each of them except Garp. "The scouting division has something to report," she added.


    "Hey!" Garb yelled out getting everyone''s attention. "How come I don''t get a hello!?" Garp asked as he crossed his arms


    "Oh, you''re here to Vice-Admiral Garb?" she asked with sarcasm present in her voice. "Didn''t notice you," she added causing Garp''s mouth to hand open.


    "Ignore him Gion-chan," Tsuru said with a smirk causing Garp to go sulk in the corner of the room.


    "Of course, Ma''am," Gion said before she began telling them about what scouting division has to report. "There isn''t anything too major to report just the usual up and coming rookie pirates causing trouble on the Grand Line," she said in a bored tone showing that she was uninterested in the rookie pirates. "However, there was something that caught the attention of the scouting division," she said in a serious tone getting all of their attention including Garp.


    "Well, what is it?" Garp asked as he got up from the corner and rejoined the group.


    "Recently, there seems to be a certain organization that caught our attention," she said as she passed the reports to each of them. "An organization called Hell''s Company first caught our attention in the South Blue, but at the time we didn''t think too much of it, we passed it off as some fool trying to get rich. It wasn''t until reports of the very same organization appearing in the West Blue and the Grand Line," she said surprisingly them.


    "How many people do they have in each ocean?" Tsuru asked as she looked at Gion.


    "From what we can tell, there are about 200 members in each ocean however there are some reports that there are much more than that," she said surprising them even more. [Just so we are clear, there are 400 baroque works agents in each ocean.]


    "This isn''t anything small-time," Sengoku commented as he read through the report. "This seems to be something big in the works," he added while everyone else nodded.


    "Judging from where they already have people stationed it is safe to say that they likely have people in the remaining oceans as well," Garp said in a serious. "We''re talking about close to 2000 personnel in total," he added in an amazed tone.


    "Yes, we are operating under that assumption," Gion said with a nod.


    "What do we know about them?" Sengoku asked.


    "Not much," she said with a sigh. "From what we gathered, Hell''s Company is a supplier of a variety of goods, both the legal and illegal kind," she said causing Tsuru to chuckle.


    "My, my, they sure are a smart one," she said while everyone nodded in agreement. "They are cashing cheques from both markets," she added.


    "What are they selling?" Garp asked as he looked at Gion.


    "Everything," she replied causing them to raise their eyebrow. "They''re selling, weapons, drugs, antiques, medicine, rare collectibles, jewelry, information, and if the rumors are true...devil fruits," she said causing all their eyes to widen in shock.


    "Devil fruits?" Sengoku asked causing Gion to nod her head. "But that would mean that they have a lot to be sold," he said.


    "We do not know for sure, Sir," Gion replied. "But as of right now we believe the information to be true," he said causing Sengoku to sigh and rub his beard. "From what we gathered; they do not care what it is. As long as it could be sold, they are selling it," she said.


    "Do we know who is running this business?" Garp asked causing Gion to let out a frustrated sigh.


    "No Sir," she replied causing them to raise an eyebrow. "All we know is that there seems to be one person in charge of the company. We do not know what he or she looks like, where they are from, or even where they''re headquarters is located. All we know is that this person goes by the name Asura," she said.


    "Asura?" Garp said as he placed his hand to his chin and began to think. "I never heard of anyone with that name before," he said.


    "It may not even be their name," Tsuru said getting their attention. "It may be an alias," she said causing them to nod in agreement.


    "Let us gather more information about this Asura before we act," Sengoku suggested.


    "Yes, Sir," Gion replied. "Cipher Po has already been dispatched every ocean with orders to infiltrate this organization and gain information for us," she said.


    "This good work, Captain Momousagi," Sengoku said as he looked at his marine.


    "Thank you, Sir!" Gion replied with a small blush.


    "Dismissed," Sengoku said causing Gion to nod and began making her way out of the room. "It is always one problem after the next," Sengoku said before letting out a tired sigh.


    "I have a bad feeling about this Hell''s Company," Tsuru said while looking at Sengoku.


    "Me too," Garp said with a nod. "The fact that they are selling devil fruits means that whoever is running this organization is powerful in their own right," he added as he sat back down on the couch.


    "I agree," Said Tsuru as she crossed her legs. "Usually people who have more than one devil fruits try to give it to their subordinates to strengthen their forces, but this person is selling them instead," she said as she narrowed her eyes. "Either they are too obsessed with greed or they are someone to be reckoned with," she added in a serious tone.


    "Or both," Sengoku added as he sat down behind his desk. "For now, all we can do is wait for Cipher Pol to gather some valuable information," he said while the other two nodded their heads in agreement.


    **The Straw Hats**


    "Welcome, the White Sea," Luffy said with his arms spread out wide as he looked out at the sea of clouds before him. When he down on the main deck at the crew, he saw all of them laying on their backs coughing up water while their clothes were soaking wet. "What happened to all of you?" he asked as he stared at them strangely.


    "That''s a good question," Zoro said while coughing. "What happened to us?" he asked as he stared at his fellow crew members who were in no better condition than himself.


    "Would all of you pull yourselves together and look at where we are," Luffy said while looking down at his crew. They all got u to their feet and looked out from the ship and had their eyes widen the size of dinner plates at what they saw. There was nothing but fluffy white clouds as far as the eye can see.


    "What in the world..." Sanji said as his mouth hung open slightly.


    "It''s clouds!" Chopper said in an excited voice.


    "But how?" Nami asked in a bewildered voice. "Why aren''t we falling?" she asked.


    "Clouds float, boats float, it''s the same thing," Zoro said with a shrug causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "It is basically an ocean in the sky," Luffy said as he walked down from the upper rear deck and made his way towards the bow.


    "No way, Really?" Usopp asked in an astonished tone.


    "Umm, Luffy," Nami said getting Luffy''s attention. "The log pose is still pointing up," she said as she held up her wrist and showed him.


    "Yeah, we are only about 7 thousand meters up. All-sky islands are 10 thousand meters up," he said surprising them.


    "So that means we have to travel even higher?'' Chopper asked cutely.


    "Yeah," Luffy said before something at the corner of his eye caught his attention. When he looked over, he saw Usopp standing on the side of the ship getting ready to dive into the clouds.


    "Cloud swimming champion Usopp!" he yelled before he jumped off the side of the ship in a diving position. Just as his skin was about to touch the clouds, a rope of lightning wrapped around his torso and pulled him back onto the ship.


    "What the hell do you think you are doing, idiot!" Luffy yelled as the rope of lightning dissipated.


    "I just wanted to see how far the bottom was," Usopp said while looking at Luffy wondering what he did wrong.


    "The bottom is 7000 meters back down where we came from!" Luffy yelled causing his long-nosed sniper to go pale. Before anyone could say anything else, three giant sea kings came up from under the clouds getting ready to attack the ship Zoro, Sanji, and Nojiko sprang into action easily defeating the three monsters.


    "I don''t understand," Nami said as she stared at the now-dead sea creatures. "How can there be fish up here in the clouds?" she asked.


    "As I said earlier," Luffy said as he walked down to the main deck. "It is basically a big ocean in the sky and those creatures are sky fish. They are fishes that evolved in order to live up here," he said amazing them.


    "That could explain why they are so thin and balloon-like," Robin commented as she stared at the fishes.


    "Guys, there is a ship out there!" Chopper said in an excited tone as he looked through a pair of binoculars. "AHHHH!" Chopper yelled getting everyone''s attention.


    "Chopper what''s wrong?" Asked Nojiko.


    "There was a ship and then it split in two!" Chopper said in a panicked voice. "And there was a man and he is coming to kill us!" he said dramatically causing everyone to sweat drop as they stare at the little reindeer.


    "I think the thin air up here is getting to him," Nojiko said while everyone else nodded in agreement.


    "No, I think he is right," Luffy said getting everyone''s attention. When they looked over at him, they saw staring off the side of the boat. "There is a man out there and he is headed our way," he said while pointing off the starboard side of the ship. When everyone looked over, they saw a man wearing a mask with a rocket launcher in one hand and a shield in the other racing towards them. The man then leaped into the air and poised himself to attack the straw hats.


    "Hey, Stop!" Sanji said. "What do you want?" he asked.


    "To destroy you!" the man said causing everyone to raise their eyebrow at him.


    "Oh, is that all," Sanji asked sarcastically as he prepared to defend an attack.


    "He''s all yours," Luffy said Sanji, Zoro, and Nojiko as he turned and made his way to the rear deck. As the man entered the vicinity of the ship, all three of them predicted the man''s attack with observation haki and acted. Zoro pulled out two of his swords and blocked the kick from the man while Sanji did a handstand and kicked the man in the air where Nojiko pulled out her three-section staff and coated it with Haki as she spun it around her body before delivering a major blow to the man''s torso knocking the air out of him and sending him flying off in the direction he came from. "Nice job you three," Luffy said as he sat down on his throne. "But he is coming back," he said as he poured himself a glass of whiskey. The three of them turned around they saw the man once again speeding towards them. The three of them prepared to defend the ship but instead of the man attacking them like he previously did. When he was just in front of the ship he leaped into the air and jumped right over the trio and made his way towards the rear deck where Luffy was.


    "How foolish," Luffy said as he shook his head and sipped his whiskey paying his attacker no mind. Just before the man could hit Luffy, another man wearing a knight''s outfit and wielding a lance. The knight struck his lance onto the attacker''s shield and pushed him off of the ship.


    "Cease your attack!" the knight yelled as he pushed the other man away. The man did a flip in the air before he landed on the sea of clouds and stared at the knight in surprise.


    "You''re..." he said in shock before he trailed off.


    "You will cease this attack!" the knight said strongly, and he landed on a large pink bird with a red polka dot pattern on his body. The crew was completely dumbfounded at what they were seeing. It was hard enough to wrap their heads around the fact that their ship was floating on clouds, but now there were knights in the sky and rode on some strange bird.


    ''The Grand Line never seems to disappoint'' Luffy thought as he stared at the knight on the strange bird. The attacker then ceased his attack and growled before he sped off on the clouds in the same direction which he came from.


    "Who the hell are you?" Nami asked bluntly.


    "Miss, you may call me the Sky Knight," the old man in a knight''s armor said confidently to the crew.


    "Who the hell was that guy anyway?" Nami asked. Before the knight could reply to her question the sound of something hitting the deck got everyone''s attention. When everyone looked over in the direction of where the sound came from, they say Sanji, Zoro, and Nojiko laying on their back breathing heavily.


    "AHHH! what happened to you guys!?" Chopper yelled/asked in a panic.


    "Relax Chopper," Luffy said calmly from his throne getting all of their attention. "The air is pretty thin up here. It is why they feel so tired," he said causing them to understand.


    "Oh yeah," Nojiko said between breaths. "I forgot about that," she added as she tried to get her breathing under control.


    "You all must be Blue Sea people," the sky knight said getting all of their attention as he walked up the stairs towards the upper deck.


    "Blue Sea people?" Robin asked in a curious voice. "What''s that?" she asked as she tilted her head to the side.


    "Blue Sea people are what we call those who live beneath the clouds," the knight replied. "You are currently 7000 meters up on the White Sea. The White-White Sea where I assume you are heading is still further up, about 10,000 meters," the knight said as he hopped up and sat down on the rails of the second decking and looked down at the crew.


    "Yeah, we are heading to Skypiea," Chopper said happily causing the knight to flinch slightly at the mention of the island in the sky. He tried to hide his reaction as soon as it happened, but Luffy, Zoro and, Robin caught it.


    "That''s all fun and whatnot, but we have some business to discuss," the knight said changing the subject.


    "Business?" Sanji asked in a confused voice.


    "Ordinary Blue Sea people like yourself cannot survive up here where there are gorillas like the one you just encountered around every corner," he said scaring Chopper and Usopp while causing Luffy''s eyebrow to raise. "I am a soldier for hire, I can protect you from these attackers for just a small price of 5 million extols," he said proudly causing Luffy to chuckle while the rest of the crew looked onto the man with a confused look on their faces.


    "Huh?" they all said out loud as they tiled their heads to the side.


    "Now, now, I can assure you that it is a reasonable price," The knight said as he waved his arms around. "I have to make a living too you know; I cannot lower the price even a single extol," he said to them confusing them further.


    "What the hell is an extol?" Zoro asked as he stared up at the man. When the knight heard the question, a surprising look crept up onto his face.


    "You don''t know?" the man asked in a surprised tone of voice. "You came here from the Summit of High West, didn''t you?" he asked. "Surely you must have passed an island or two," he added as he looked down at them.


    "Oh yeah, Luffy told us about that summit them back on Jaya," Usopp said causing the rest of them to nod their heads.


    "We came up via the Knock-up-Stream," Luffy said from behind the man on his throne, speaking for the first time since the knight appeared.


    "That monstrous current!?" the asked in a surprised voice. "So, there are souls still brave enough to ride upon them thing," he said in an astonished tone of voice.


    "Did you lose any of your crew along the way?" the knight suddenly asked.


    "No, we all made it," Nojiko replied.


    "Then you can consider yourself fortunate," he said as he looked down at them. "If you had taken a different route only a few of you would have survived while the other would have surely perished," he added causing them to nod their heads remembering Luffy telling them the same thing. "By way of the knock-up stream either everyone survives, or everyone dies. Those are the only two outcomes," he said grimly. "Not many are willing to accept these odds, especially these days. If nothing else, I can see now that you are navigators of exceptional bravery and skill," he said causing Nami to blush.


    "Ohhh stop!" Nami said with a blush on her face. The knight then stood up and took out a whistle before he spoke. "This is the one whistle, you are free to use it as you see fit," he said as he dropped the whistle down onto the main deck where the crew was standing. "Should you find yourself in danger you just have to blow it and I will come to your aid," he said before he turned around preparing to hop onto his strange bird to depart.


    "Wait," Nami said stopping him. "We still don''t know your name," she said causing the old man to turn around and spoke.


    "My name is...Gan Fall," he said as the weird bird/horse landed next to him. "And this is my partner, Pierre," he said causing the bird/horse to screech. Gan Fall then hopped onto Pierre and rode off into the clouds. "May luck be with you, brave warriors!" he yelled as he rode off.


    "That was...interesting," Luffy commented while the rest of his crew nodded their head in agreement.


    "In the end, he really didn''t tell us anything, did he?" Robin said with a sigh.


    "No, he didn''t," Usopp replied with a sigh.


    "Which way do we go from here?" Zoro asked as they looked around.


    "Hey, look over there!" Chopper called out as he pointed to off the port side of the ship. "Is it a cloud?" he asked


    "It kind of looks like a waterfall," Nojiko said as he stood next to Chopper.


    "That settles it then," Zoro said. "We go that way," he said while pointing towards the waterfall. They all then looked to Luffy for the okay. Luffy turned and looked at the waterfall before looking back at his crew and nodding his head. Once they got the okay from their captain the crew adjusted the sails to catch the wind before the ship began to sail in the direction of the waterfall. Luffy and the rest of the crew then moved to the front of the ship to take in the beautiful scenery of the ship sailing across the clouds. It was quite the sight to behold for the rest of the crew. Never in their wildest imagination could any of them had ever dreamed up that they will be on a ship sailing on a sea of clouds in the sky.


    "Wow, it is absolutely beautiful," Nojiko said as she looked down at the white clouds hitting against the ship.


    "Yeah," Chopper said in agreement. While everyone was taking in the scenery, Nami had a worried look on her face as she kept taking glances at the log pose.


    "Stop the ship!" she suddenly yelled out causing Zoro to drop the anchor. The ship slowly came to a halt some distance away from the waterfall. "Those clouds are blocking our path," she said as she pointed forward.


    "Those big clouds look like they are floating on top of the ocean, sort of like icebergs," Sanji said as he placed his hands in his pocket.


    "I wonder if I can grab a piece," Luffy said before his hand turned to lightning and stretched forward. As his hand was about to reach the cloud, the tip of the lightning bolt transformed back into Luffy''s palm before he tried to grab a piece of the cloud only to have his hand bounce right off. "Well that''s new," he said before he turned to Usopp and spoke. "Come here Usopp," he confusing his sniper. When Usopp arrived before he could ask what Luffy wanted with him. Luffy grabbed his shirt and threw him off the ship in the direction of the cloud.


    "AHHHHHHHHH!" Usopp yelled as he sailed through the air. The rest of the crew had their eyes widen in shock at Luffy''s action. Much to their surprise, Usopp didn''t fall through the cloud, instead, he landed on top of it. "I''m alive?" Usopp asked himself before he stood up on the cloud and started bouncing up and down like he was on a trampoline. "You guys have to try this!" Usopp yelled out happily as he bounced around the giant cloud.


    "How does this work?" Nami asked as she stood between Robin and Nojiko staring at Usopp in disbelief.


    "It''s a mystery," Robin replied.


    "We obviously can''t sail through those clouds," Nami said as she began to think. "Usopp, try and look around and see if there is a route the ship can take," she suddenly shouted to Usopp.


    "Right!" Usopp replied before he began looking around as he jumped. "I see a giant gate!" he shouted back after looking around for a bit.


    "A gate?" Nojiko questioned.


    "Yeah, it is up ahead just under that waterfall," Usopp replied before jumping back onto the ship. The ship then began sailing in between the giant clouds with Usopp giving directions to Nojiko, was manning the rudder. After weaving between the clouds for about five minutes, the gate that Usopp spotted came into view.


    "We''re here," Nami said as the ship sailed towards a giant gate with a sign above it which reads ''Heaven''s Gate.''


    "Heaven''s gate?" Usopp asked in a scared voice. "that sounds like a place you go to when you''re dead," he said in a scared voice.


    "Maybe we are dead, ever thought about that," Zoro suggested.


    "That would go a long way in explaining this strange place," Sanji added only to have Nami smack both of them in the head.


    "Would both of you shut up!" she yelled as she hit them.


    "Hey, look!" Nojiko said getting their attention. "There is someone coming out over there," she while pointing over to the platform of the gate. When they all looked over, they saw a little old lady with wings on her back taking pictures of them.


    "L-look, she''s got wings!" Chopper said in a disbelieving tone.


    "Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that the sky races all have angel wings on their backs," Luffy said with a nod. The ship then came to a halt by the platform in front of the only lady. No one said anything for a few seconds, they just stared at each other until Nami decided to break the silence.


    "Umm, hello," she called out.


    "I am Amazon, heaven''s gate inspector," she said introducing herself. "Please state your business, sightseeing, warmongering, or other," she said.


    "Sightseeing," Luffy said choosing the peaceful option. "We need to get to Skypiea," he added.


    "It makes little difference," she said as she stared at them. "However, if you wish to proceed you must pay the entrance fee of 1 billion extols per person. It is the law," she added surprising them.


    "1 billion!" Usopp and Chopper yelled out in surprise.


    "What is the exchange rate to beli?" Luffy asked the old woman.


    "1 beli is equivalent to 10,000 extols," she said surprising them.


    "Hmm, if I did the math right then it should be 100,000 beli per person," Luffy suddenly said. "And they are 8 of us for 800,000 beli," he added with a nod before he walked over to his throne and reached in and pulled out the large bag that housed all of their cash. He then took out an empty bag and began putting stacks of money inside of it. When he had the amount he needed, he placed the large bag back into the cloud and took the smaller one back with him to the front of the ship. "Here, that should cover it for the eight of us," he said before he tossed the bag to the old lady. The bag landed in front of her on the platform.


    "Very well," she said. "You may enter," she added. As she finished speaking two large claws rose up from under the ship grabbed onto the side of the Going Merry.


    "AHHHH! What is going on!?" Chopper yelled/asked.


    "It is the White Sea''s famous express lobster," the old lady said. The lobster then raised up and placed the Merry on its back before it took off through the gate and began climbing up the waterfall.


    "Everyone! Hang on tight!" Nojiko yelled out as she held onto the rails. As the giant lobster began climbing what turns out to be some sort of road that went further up into the clouds Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji just leaned against the rails staring up at tunnel of clouds they were speeding through. After about ten minutes of a terrifying ride, the crew could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.


    "Look, it''s the exit!" Nami yelled out as they got closer to the light. As they got closer, they saw a sign on the side of one of the clouds that read ''Godland Skypiea.''


    "What is Godland Skypiea?" Robin asked as she read the sign.


    "It''s not an exit," Luffy said with a smirk. "It''s the entrance," he said causing them to grin in excitement. The Going Merry and the giant lobster then went airborne as they exited the road of clouds before the Going Merry landed on the White-White Sea and the lobster landing back on the road.


    "Well, there it is," Luffy said as he walked forward and stared at the beautiful sight that was in front of him. "Sky Island," he said with a smile as his crew walked forward and stood behind him taking in the sight that was before them as well.


    "It''s beautiful," Robin commented as she stared at the magnificent island in front of her.


    "I think it would better to admire from the shore rather than the ship," Luffy said before he turned to his crew. "Take us to the shore," he ordered causing them to angle the sails to catch wind one more before the ship began sailing forward.


    "Luffy," Zoro said getting his captain''s attention. "There is no seabed, how are we going to drop anchor?" he asked as he walked over to the anchor.


    "Just drop it, the clouds should be able to hold it in place," he said causing Zoro to drop the anchor into the clouds only for part of it to sink down.


    "It''s pretty shallow down there," Zoro warned causing them to nod. As the ship came to a stop Luffy hopped onto the rails and spoke to his crew.


    "Well, what are you waiting for, let''s go!" he said before hopping off the ship and began making his way to shore.


    **Chapter End**


    WELL, THAT''S ANOTHER CHAPTER FOR YOU GUYS! SORRY, IT''S BEEN SO LONG.


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 Chapter 32 - 32: Angels and God!

    Luffy was the first to leap from the ship to go explore the island of clouds. As he landed on the shallow sea of clouds the rest of his crew also leaped from the ship and followed him. Usopp and Chopper began playing in the shallow water like-cloud while everyone else began making their way to shore. As Luffy''s feet touched the shores of the beach he froze along with Zoro, Sanji, and Nojiko. It was this feeling washed over the four of them causing them to stop in their tracks.


    "What''s wrong with you guys?" Nami asked as she and the rest of the crew stopped when the four of them stopped. Before Sanji, Zoro, or Nojiko to respond to Nami, Luffy spoke up.


    "Nothing just surprised at how big this Sky Island is," he said in a calm tone before shooting a look at the other three causing them to nod their head slightly in understanding. "The Sky Islands I have seen are much smaller compared to this," he added as he turned his attention back to his crew.


    "Yeah, this place is something to behold," Nojiko said as she walked up and stood next to Luffy.


    "Well, what are we just standing around here for?" Usopp suddenly said with a large smile on his face. "Let the relaxation begin!" he yelled as he pumped his fist in the air before he took off running onto the beach with Chopper and everyone else except the four who sensed something earlier. The four who stayed behind looked at each other and didn''t say anything aloud but were all thinking the same thing.


    ''Someone is using haki to watch us,'' was the common thought among the four.


    "Stay on your toes," Luffy said cryptically to the three causing them to nod. "And watch out for one another," he said while staring at the other four members of his crew. The three of them nodded their heads understanding the message that Luffy sending. The four of them then way to join the rest of the crew. As they were walking, they heard a strange bird call over their heads. When they looked up, they saw the South bird they caught on Jaya fly over their head while shooting them a dirty look.


    "I wonder how he got free?" Sanji wondered aloud as he lit a cigarette.


    "Who cares," Zoro said as he resumed walking. "We don''t need him anymore," he added. The rest of them just shrugged their shoulders before continuing their way. When they arrived at the spot on the beach where the rest of the crew were, they saw Usopp building a sandcastle in the clouds while Chopper was rolling around on the ground taking in the softness of the clouds. Robin was laying against a palm tree reading a book while Nami, who took her shirt off in favor of a bikini top instead, was laying on a chair made of clouds in a nearby cabana. As they arrived Sanji took off in the direction of some flowers he saw growing by the beach, Luffy went and leaned against the same palm tree that Robin was leaning against and pulled his straw hat over his eyes, Nojiko followed her sister and also took her shirt off revealing a blue bikini top before making her way to the cabana to be with he sister, while Zoro, on the other hand, decided to go investigate something he saw on the beach. He bent down and picked up something fluffy that was on the beach.


    "What''s this?" he asked he pick up the object. As he held it up to inspect it, the object started to move, startling him. He quickly released the creature causing it to fall onto the ground. The creature landed on all fours before looking back up at Zoro. Upon careful inspection, Zoro could see that the creature was a little white fox, but at the same time, it wasn''t like any fox Zoro had ever seen before. "Huh, what do we have here, some kind of fox?" Zoro asked as he stooped down to inspect the creature. Just as he was inspecting it the beautiful sounds music filled the air getting everyone''s attention.


    "Huh? Is that music?" Luffy asked as he raised his hat from his face.


    "Look!" Zoro said while pointing off in the distance of the beach. "There is someone over there on that cloud," he said causing everyone to look down the beach where he was pointing. When they looked, they saw a figure standing on top a tall could looking out to the White-White Sea.


    "Oh great, it''s another monster," Usopp said in a scared voice. By now, Luffy had already gotten up from his position under the palm tree and went to stand where Zoro was standing with Robin following behind him and the rest of the crew joining them as well.


    "It''s not a monster," Sanji said in a disbelieving voice. "I-its...it''s an angel," he said in an astonished voice as he stared at the silhouette of a beautiful woman with wings playing the harp.


    "An angle?" Usopp replied in a disbelieving voice as he turned his attention to the woman. The girl then finished the harp and turned and looked at the crew with a smile before she spoke.


    "Heso," she said warmly confusing everyone.


    "Heso?" Nojiko asked with an eyebrow raised. "What''s heso?" she asked.


    "Do you think she is trying to say hello?" Chopper asked.


    "It does sound like hello," Zoro suggested. Before anyone else could say anything, the girl spoke once more, this time to the fox instead of the crew.


    "Su, come here," she said to the fox who began trotting over to her when she called it. "Did you come from the Blue Sea world?" the girl asked the crew as she started walking towards them.


    "Yeah," Luffy replied to the girl.


    "Then I would like to welcome you to Skypiea''s Angel Beach," she said warmly. "My name is Conis and this little one is Su, she is a cloud fox," she said as she bent down to pick up the little white fox. "If you need anything at all please let me know how I can be of service," she added with a smile. Even though her words seem genuine, Luffy could sense that something was off about her.


    "Actually, we have tons of questions," Nami said as she stepped forward. "Most of us have never been to a place like this before," she said as she walked up to Conis.


    "Guys," Zoro suddenly said getting their attention. "Something is coming," he said as he looked out to the White-White sea.


    "Oh, that''s just my father," Conis said with a smile. When they looked out the man heading towards them, they saw that he was riding on a strange contraption on top of the clouds.


    "Conis," Nojiko said getting her attention. "What is that thing that your father is riding on?" she asked as she stared at the strange machine.


    "Oh, that is my father''s sky waver," she said amazing them.


    "That''s so cool," Usopp and Chopper said simultaneously.


    "Get out of the way!" Conis''s father yelled out as he approaches the beach. "Stopping this thing is kind of tricky!" he yelled as the waver started to wobble on the clouds. "AHHHHH!" he yelled as the waver skid on to the beach and crashed into a palm tree. "Is everyone okay?" the man asked as he shakily stood up.


    "You''re the one who crashed!" Nami and Zoro yelled back at the man.


    "That must be the boat we read about in the Nolan the liar book," Nami said as she stared at the waver. "A boat that can sail with no wind," she added in a surprised voice.


    "Did you make some new friends, Conis my dear?" the man asked his daughter as he began to pick up the waver.


    "Yes, they arrived only a few moments ago from the blue sea world," she said causing the old man to chuckle a bit before he spoke.


    "Oh, still adjusting," he said with a chuckle. "There must be a lot of things that puzzle you about the White-White Sea, I''m sorry," he said.


    "No need to apologize," Usopp replied to the old man.


    "Forgive me for not introducing myself, my name is Pagaya," he said.


    "So, father, how was the fishing today?" Conis asked her father.


    "Oh, quite a successful venture," he replied as he saw Nami walking towards while staring at his waver. "I have an idea; you all should come over for dinner. We will fill your bellies with the tastes of the island," he suggested causing the Straw hats to get excited.


    "Sounds good to me," Luffy replied with a nod. He was skeptical about these people, there was something off about them. So, he decided to go along with whatever they were planning for now until he can figure out what''s going on. Besides, if they were stupid enough to harm a member of his crew then he would slaughter every living soul on this sky island. It was then Nami''s voice broke him out of his thought.


    "This boat," she said as she bent down to examine the waver. "It doesn''t have any sails to catch the wind, and just now you weren''t rowing it. So how did you get it to move?" she asked Pagaya.


    "Oh, that''s right, you people from the blue sea world don''t have dials," Conis said while looking at Nami.


    "What are dials?" Chopper asked. Conis and her father then began explaining what dials were and the different kinds of dials to the crew. After they finished explaining it to them Nami decided that she wanted to try and ride the waver. Much to the surprise of Pagaya and Conis''s surprise, Nami was actually pretty good at riding the waver.


    "Is it okay if I stay out here and ride some more?" Nami asked.


    "It is fine, just be careful!" Pagaya yelled back at her.


    "And don''t cause any trouble!" Luffy added. After that everyone began following Pagaya and Conis back to their house for dinner. They began walking up a giant set of stairs made of clouds that seem to lead into the island from the beach. As they were walking up the giant stairs Pagaya began explaining to the different types of clouds they had on Skypiea. It was fascinating to hear about how they differ from the normal clouds that the crew is used to. Even Luffy found this knowledge interesting, he had no idea that the island clouds that were made from special particles that are in sea prism stones. When the group got to the top of the stairs Nojiko pointed out the amazing view causing everyone to stop and look back down at the beach where they came. They could all see a small silhouette of Nami riding around on the waver. Everyone then went into Pagaya and Conis''s home. Sanji followed Pagaya into the kitchen while the rest of the crew made themselves comfortable in the living room. As they were all relaxing in the living room Robin decided to ask Conis a variety of different questions about Skypiea. After conversing with each other for about 30 minutes, Sanji and Pagaya finally came into the living room with the food.


    "Ladies and gentlemen, I present you sky lobster with special sauce and a side of island fruit that I can''t pronounce," Sanji said as he placed the delicious-looking food on the table.


    "That looks so good!" Usopp said as he started to drool slightly.


    "Let''s dig in," Chopper added. While everyone else is eating Sanji walked out to the balcony to smoke. While there he looked out to the White-White Sea for a few seconds before to turned and spoke to the crew.


    "Hey, do you guys know where Nami is?" he asked.


    "She''s out there riding on the waver," Usopp said while gulping down the food.


    "I can''t see her anywhere," Sanji replied as he continued looking out.


    "She probably just went out too far," Zoro suggested. Luffy, on the other hand, could see that both Conis and Pagaya look more worried than his crew.


    "Do you think she is okay?" Conis asked her father in a slightly worried tone.


    "I have my concerns," Pagaya replied. By now Luffy had placed his plate down and was staring at the two citizens of Skypiea.


    "Why are you two so worried?" Luffy asked in a calm voice as he stared at the father and daughter.


    "On the clouds, there is a place called Upper Yard," Conis explain with a worried look on her face. "No one is ever allowed to go there, and it is not too far away. It would only be a short trip by waver from here. I am afraid your friend Nami might have set ashore there out of curiosity," she explained. By now Nojiko had begun to worry about her little sister.


    "What''s so special about this island that no one is allowed to go there?" Robin asked as she took a bite of her meal.


    "It is a sacred land," Conis said surprising them. "But more importantly...it is the island where God lives," she said causing everyone except Luffy''s eyes to widen in shock. Luffy did not look shocked by that information, he had a look as though he had just remembered something.


    "I knew I forgot something!" Luffy suddenly said getting everyone''s attention. "On Skypiea, you Skypieans call the ruler of this place God, correct?" he asked.


    "Yes, how did you know that?" Pagaya asked Luffy.


    "Some friends of mine came here about 20 years ago," Luffy said surprising the father and daughter. "I had heard their stories about this place and its people," he said with a small smile.


    "I''m sure you all saw the sign when you came here, ''God land Skypiea''" Conis said still sounding a bit worried for Nami. "This land is ruled over by the almighty God Enel," she said causing Luffy''s eyes to narrow slightly.


    ''Could it be this Enel guy who knows haki?'' Luffy thought to himself.


    "He knows and sees everything," Conis continued in a slightly scared voice. "He is truly omniscient. He keeps his all-seeing eyes focus on everyone, always," she said as she looked down slightly.


    "So, what you are saying is...he is watching us right now," Zoro said as he narrowed his eyes along with Sanji and Nojiko.


    "Yes," Conis replied as he turned and looked at the swordsman.


    "So Conis, if this god is really named Enel and this Upper Yard is so close to here, you must have seen what he looks like. Right?"


    "Oh no!" Conis replied in a slight panic as she raised both of her hands up in the air. "Upper Yard is sacred ground and a place only for our god to rest. We are not allowed to go there," she said quickly as though she was hoping not to anger this god.


    "Do you know the punishment of going to this forbidden place?" Robin asked as she looked over to the duo.


    "It is our belief that if you break the rules and go to the Upper Yard then you won''t return back alive," Pagaya said grimly causing the crew to narrow their eyes. "It is why I am just as worried about Nami as the rest of you," he added.


    "Luffy," Sanji said as he looked at his captain.


    "I know," he replied as he stood up and placed his plate down. "Let''s go," he said causing the rest of his crew to stand up as well. The entire crew then began making their way back to the beach where their ship was docked. When they arrived on the beach, they all got onto the Going Merry except for Pagaya who stayed on the beach. "Let''s set sail for this Upper Yard," Luffy commanded.


    "I think that is going to be a problem," Pagaya suddenly said getting their attention. When they looked over at him, they saw he had his finger in the air as though he was checking the wind. "There seems to be no headwind blowing. If you were to set sail at this time you would spend an extraordinary amount of time getting to the Upper Yard," he in an apologetic tone.


    "And how long exactly is that?" Nojiko asked.


    "It is exponentially longer than it would take if your ship was powered using our dial energy," Pagaya replied from the beach causing Luffy to sigh in frustration as he looked at the old man.


    "Luffy, can''t you just fly over there?" Nojiko asked as she looked at her captain.


    "I could, but before I do that I need to know where ''there'' is," he replied before he turned his attention back to the old man. "In which direction is this Upper Yard, old man?" he asked. The old man thought about it for a few seconds as though he was contemplating whether it was a good idea to tell Luffy. However, just as he was about to give Luffy an answer someone shouted from the giant stair getting everyone''s attention.


    "YOU THERE!" someone shouted getting the crew''s attention. "STAY RIGHT THERE!" they ordered. When everyone looked up at the stairs in the distance, they saw a group of men marching towards them.


    "Are they talking to us?" Sanji asked as he lit a new cigarette. When the group of men got to the beach, they laid flat on their stomach and started to crawl towards the crew.


    "What''s up with them?" Zoro asked as he stared at the group of men crawling towards them.


    "Are they soldiers?" Nojiko asked with a bewildered look on her face.


    "Whoever they are they are strange," Usopp added. When the men got in front of Pagaya and Conis, who hopped off of the ship when she saw the men, they held up the index and pinky fingers of their left hand and placed in front of their forehead before they spoke.


    "Heso!" all of them said in unison.


    "Heso, gentlemen!" Pagaya and Conis replied.


    "Well look what we have here!" a man in front of the group who clearly was their leader said. "You must be the Blue Sea dwellers who have been breaking the rules of the sovereignty that is Skypiea! Prepare to have the weight of heaven''s judgment brought down upon you!" he yelled as he looked at the Straw hats. Luffy just raised his eyebrow and stared at the soldiers before hopping off the ship along with the rest of the crew.


    "Oh, and what rules have we broken?" Luffy asked as he walked up and stood right in front of the man.


    "You have illegally docked you ship on angel beach, that is a class 8th offense!" the leader said.


    "Seriously?" Luffy asked while looking at the man. "No one said that we couldn''t dock here," he added.


    "What''s the punishment for this crime?" Robin asked.


    "Ten Nights in the local jail," the man replied causing everyone to start laughing.


    "He thinks we are going to spend ten nights in jail!" Nojiko said while laughing.


    "Let''s forget these idiots and go find Nami," Sanji suggested while Luffy nodded his head in agreement and began walking away from the soldiers.


    "We still have the problem with the wind thing," Chopper said as the crew huddled together trying to come up with a plan.


    "Are we even sure she is at this upper yard place?" Zoro asked.


    "Yeah, what if she just taking a joy ride somewhere. If we leave now and she comes back we might miss her," Usopp said. The crew continued to discuss their current problem with Nami in detail while ignoring the soldiers causing their leader to become very angry.


    "IGNORING THE WHITE BERETS!" the leaders suddenly shouted. "That is a 9th class crime!" he yelled out causing Conis and Pagaya to gasp in shock while the entire crew just turned and narrowed their eyes at the men.


    "Why don''t you shut up over there," Nojiko said to the leader.


    "Before we come over there and shut you up!" Zoro added as he placed his hand on his sword.


    "Threatening the white berets! That is the 7th class crime," the leader said. Luffy was about to say something, but before he could the voice of Nami got everyone''s attention.


    "Hey!" Nami yelled out. "I''m back!" she said as she rode closer and closer to the beach. She rode onto the beach and carefully placed the waver in front of Pagaya. "Thanks for letting me use it, it rides great!" she said with a grateful smile before he walked up and stand with the rest of the crew. "Who are these guys?" she asked.


    "A couple of idiots who are trying to charge us with a bunch of bogus crimes," Nojiko replied.


    "How dare you!" the man said very angrily. "We are part of god''s guards. We answer directly to God Enel''s priest," he said causing Luffy to chuckle slightly before he walked up and stood directly in front of the man before he spoke.


    "You make it sound as though I am supposed to be afraid of you god," Luffy said in a menacing tone. As he said that a loud thunder boomed overhead causing everyone to pause. The Skypieans had a fearful look on their faces while the Straw hats had a confused look on theirs. "Was that thunder?" Luffy asked as he turned and looked back at his crew who nodded their head and looked at him as though to asked if it wasn''t his.


    "It''s God Enel!" Conis said in a fearful voice.


    "Well, well, that is interesting," Luffy said with an excited smirk. "Okay God Enel, now I''m intrigued," he said before he released a wave of conqueror''s haki knocking the White Berets out cold.


    **CHAPTER END**


    That''s the end of another chapter! It is a lot shorter than normal but I hope you enjoyed it none the less.


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 Chapter 33 - 33: A Battle on Angel Beach!

    "Was that such a good idea, Luffy?" Nami asked with a slightly fearful look on her face. While she was out on the waver on the water, she saw what this God Enel can do, and it terrified her.


    "Normally I would say no, but this is far too interesting for me not to," he replied as he turned around and looked at his crew.


    "Was that you just now, captain?" Robin asked as she looked at Luffy questioning him about the thunder they just heard rumbled in the sky.


    "No, that wasn''t me," he replied surprising them while confusing the two Skypieans.


    "Is it possible for two of the same-" Sanji began to ask before he was cut off.


    "No, it is not possible," Luffy replied cutting Sanji off. He didn''t want this Enel guy to know he had a lightning devil fruit. He wanted it to be a surprise. "It is likely similar but not the same, hence why I''m interested," Luffy said with a smirk. He was about to say something else but before he could Conis spoke up in a panic tone getting all their attention.


    "Don''t you guys understand what you have just done?!" she asked in a slightly scared voice. "This is a crime of the fifth degree," she said trying to make them understand. "Once you are found guilty of committing a fifth-degree crime, Almighty Enel will banish you to the land of the drifting clouds," she said in a soft but scared voice.


    "That doesn''t sound so bad," Sanji said as he smoked his cigarette.


    "It''s a death sentence! You die!" she yelled back in a worried voice. "they will put you and your ship on a drifting cloud and leave you there with no chance of escape and you will eventually die a slow and painful death," she said starting Nami, Usopp, and Chopper. "I''ve known you guys for only a short time, and I know you are not bad people so you should take this chance that you got and get out of here!" Conis screamed before running off.


    "I must get these men to a doctor now," Pagaya said as he walked over to the unconscious soldiers.


    "I think we would take her advice," Nami said as she turned and looked at Luffy and the crew. "While I was out on the waver, I saw it for myself, an island filled with monsters!" she said scaring Usopp and Chopper.


    "Great, you did the one thing everyone expected you not to do," Zoro said as he folded his arms.


    "You mean the island where God lives and we are not supposed to set foot on or go anywhere near," Luffy said with a smirk.


    "This isn''t anything to be getting excited about, Luffy" Nami scolded. "If we stay here any longer, we could get Pagaya and Conis in trouble," she added.


    "What difference does it make if we stay or leave," Luffy said in a serious voice. "There is no guarantee that if we leave, they still won''t be charged for a crime. Hell, they may even be charged with facilitating our escape," he said causing a few of his crew members to nod their head in understanding.


    "The world isn''t a black and white place, Ms. Navigator," Robin said while Looking at Nami. "This God doesn''t appear to be someone of fairness and reason. Just look at all the crimes we were charged with, a lot of them were bogus and made no sense," she added.


    "It is almost as if they were doing everything in their power to charge us with a crime," Nojiko said adding onto Robin.


    "So, there is a chance that if we leave all the crimes we are accused of will be transferred onto Conis and Pagaya," Luffy said causing Nami to look down slightly. "Besides, I want to have a little chat with their so-called god," he added lowly. The crew stayed on the beach discussing it amongst themselves for a few more minutes before they made their way towards the ship leaving Luffy, Zoro, and Nojiko standing on the beach.


    "So much for a nice relaxing vacation," Nojiko said with a sigh causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "Don''t worry about it," he said as he turned and patter her on the shoulder. "This shouldn''t take that long, we should be done with their so-called god before the log pose resets giving you guys enough time to relax," he said before he began walking towards the ship.


    "Don''t jinx us now, captain," Zoro said as he too turned to leave with Nojiko following behind. As they were making their way towards the ship the voice of the captain of the soldiers, they encountered not so long ago got their attention.


    "Trying to escape, criminals!" he yelled getting the attention of the three of them along with the rest of the crew who were already on the ship. When everyone looked over, they saw the very same group of soldiers standing on the beach along with Conis and Pagaya. "I don''t know what it was you did earlier to knock us all out but I can assure you that it will not happen again," the captain said quite confidently causing an amused smirk to appear on Luffy''s face.


    "For someone who doesn''t even know what happened to them, you sure are confident," Luffy said in an amused tone causing the captain to growl lowly.


    "I nearby find you guilty of committing a crime of the 5th degree, in the name of almighty Enel you are banished to drift in the clouds for all eternity!" he yelled out.


    "I''m so scared," Luffy mocked in a bored tone causing the man to grid his teeth before he gave out an order to his soldiers.


    "Men! Arrest them!" he ordered out causing the group of soldiers to step forward with arrows and bows. Luffy raised his eyebrow at this while Nojiko and Zoro stepped in front of him with both of their weapons drawn. "Fire the milky arrow!" the Captain commanded causing all the soldiers to release the arrows from their bows. As the arrow sailed towards the three straw hats it left a trail of milky white smoke behind it as if it was a missile. Nojiko and Zoro leaped forward and skillfully dodge the incoming arrows while Luffy simply took a step to the side allowing all of them to miss him completely. As the arrows sailed past the three, they immediately realized that there was something wrong with the smoke left behind from the arrows. it wasn''t until Nojiko and Zoro landed on top of the supposed smoke did they realized what it was.


    "It''s clouds!" Nojiko said as she and Zoro tried to get their balance on top of the stream of clouds.


    "That''s interesting," Luffy said in a bored tone as he continued to stand on the beach. Right after he said that the second group of soldiers wielding a variety of swords and knives along with the strange skates similar to the ones the masked man was wearing that allowed him to skate on the clouds, leaped up from the beach and landed on the streams of milky white clouds and began skating towards Zoro and Nojiko. The two of them were about to attack the oncoming soldiers, but before they could the voice of their captain stopped them. "Hang on you two," Luffy said before he leaped forward and landed on an unoccupied stream of clouds between the two of them. Luffy then thrust his right palm forward at the incoming soldiers. The soldiers saw him do this and paid it no mind because they didn''t see any sign of an attack heading towards them. Then suddenly an invisible force struck the oncoming group knocking them all back and off the streams of clouds that they were taking on. The captain, Conis, Pagaya, and Luffy''s entire crew were bewildered by this point.


    "What the hell was that?" Nojiko asked.


    "That''s a more advance form of armament," Luffy replied as he turned and looked at the two of them. "That''s beside the point, however, you''re not ready for that," he said before he reached into his coat and pulled out two blindfolds causing Nojiko and his first-mate to stare at him as if he was crazy as they already figured out what he was about to tell them. "here, put these on," Luffy said as he handed them the blindfolds while at the same time completely ignoring the looks on their faces.


    "You can''t be serious?" Zoro asked as he stared at his captain. Luffy just looked at him and held out the two blindfold with an unreadable expression on his face.


    "We could die!" Nojiko yelled.


    "Then don''t die," Luffy replied with a shrug causing everyone''s jaws to drop. "You all need to get stronger at a faster pace. I plan to conquer the Grand Line, bring the four emperors to their knees, and become the king of the pirates," Luffy said in a serious tone. "For me to do that I need the strongest people on my crew," he added. causing the two of them to stare at him for a while before Zoro shrugged his shoulders and took the blindfold.


    "You can''t be seriously thinking about trying this?!" Nojiko yelled/asked as he turned her attention to Zoro who was in the process of tying the blindfold around his eyes.


    "If this is going to help me become the strongest swordsman in the world, then I''ll do it," Zoro said strongly. "If this kills me then it wasn''t mean to be," he added as the tightened the blindfold.


    "I''m surrounded by crazy people," Nojiko grumbled to herself before taking the blindfold from Luffy. "Just so you know, if I die here today, I''m going to haunt your a.s.s," she said causing Luffy to chuckle before returning to his position on the beach. As he landed, he turned his attention to his crew who were all staring at Zoro and Nojiko with a worried expression on their faces. "The rest of you don''t worry," Luffy said getting their attention. "Your time will come," he said with a smirk causing a shiver to travel down all their spines.


    ''Robin might prove the be most difficult to train this way with her being able to spawn eyeballs wherever she wants to,'' Luffy thought to himself before returning his attention to the upcoming fight. Contrary to what his crew may believe in this situation, he won''t allow any of them to die. After hearing the rumbling of thunder in the sky, it made it aware to Luffy that the so-called god of Skypiea had a lightning-based devil fruit. He had been purposely not using his devil fruit because he wanted to see the look on the poor bastard''s face, he saw Luffy''s Logia fruit. Giving the fact that this Enel''s fruit seems to have a lightning element it was either a paramecia or a Mythical-Zoan type, neither of which actually posed a threat to Luffy but they could fetch a pretty high price on the open market and sometimes an even higher one on the black market. Luffy smirked to himself at that thought before his face turned serious once again and looked on as the fight was about to begin again.


    The captain of the White Berets stared at his men climbing back onto the streams of clouds getting ready to attack once again. He had no idea what had just happened to his men. One moment they were attacking, getting ready to deliver almighty Enel''s scared judgment and then the leader of this group of criminals leaped forward and just trusted his palm forward. At first, it looked as though nothing had happened but not even two seconds later all his men were sent flying back as though they were hit by some invisible force. The leader of the White Berets just didn''t understand what was happening.


    ''Blue Sea dwellers are supposed to be weaker when they first arrive at a sky island due to them not being accustomed to the thin oxygen present here at this altitude,'' the captain thought to himself as he stared at Luffy through narrowed eyes. ''Just how powerful you have to be down there to come all this way up and still be a force to be reckoned with,'' he wondered.


    "Doesn''t matter though, they''re all ants in the eyes of almighty Enel," the captain whispered to himself before focusing his attention back to the fight that was about to take place.


    Nojiko and Zoro each stood on a different stream of clouds with their blindfolds on and a large group of soldiers rushing towards them once more. Nojiko had her three-section staff held behind her back as she tried to use her remaining four senses along with her observation haki to try and tell the attacks would be coming from. Zoro on the other had only had two of his swords drawn instead of his usual three. In his eyes, these soldiers weren''t worth all that effort and with him being an experienced swordsman he was confident he would be able to avoid any attacks that came his way along with replying with a suitable counterattack. That''s not to say that he wouldn''t be using his observation khaki, he absolutely will be using it was just that he was confident that he would be able to survive even without it. Both him and Nojiko calmed their nerves and began trying to fell out their enemies with observation haki. When the soldiers were about 50 ft from the two of them both of them dashed forwards at an amazing speed to meet their enemy. Nojiko swung her three-section staff diagonally from right to left across her body effectively slamming the top section of her staff onto the head of one of the soldiers who were wielding two knives. She then flipped forward and landed a stream different stream of cloud in which caused her to become surrounded on all sides by soldiers. Nojiko then began spinning her three-section staff around her body like a pair of nunchucks before he jumped and twisted her body around in the air and started spinning mid-air before she shouted out.


    "Demonic Whirlwind!" she yelled out. As soon as she yelled out her attack, numerous wind blades shot out in all direction hitting the soldiers who had previously surrounded her. There were more wind blades than there were soldiers causing a lot of those blades of pressurized wind to hit unsuspecting soldiers who weren''t anywhere near her.


    ''That was quite a powerful attack,'' Luffy thought to himself as he saw Nojiko''s attack. ''but it lacks control,'' he added as he turned and looked at a slash mark that was in the clouds beside him. Some of Nojiko''s wind blades had made their way towards him and the surrounding area around her, it was clear that it was a new attack of hers and she didn''t have that much control over it. Thankfully, none of the blades reached the crew who were all on the ship looking on in awe, especially Nami. She couldn''t believe that her sister had gotten that powerful, it made her want to get stronger too that way she won''t be left behind by her sister.


    The remaining soldiers charged towards Zoro who was running on the stream of clouds to meet them with both of hid swords drawn. As he was running, Zoro held both swords in front of him pointing up, like rhinoceros'' horns before he began to spin, slashing the air around him.


    "Two Sword Style: Rhino Cycle!" Zoro yelled out causing wind blades to fire out in the direction of the incoming soldiers knocking them all into the air and onto the beach. Both Nojiko and Zoro then stood still for a few seconds before taking their blindfolds off to see unconscious white berets scattered out all over Angel Beach.


    "What''s the point of even blindfolding them if they''re just going to use such wide-range attacks," Luffy said to himself with a sigh as he shook his head. "Good job you two," he then said getting their attention. Before any of them had a chance to speak the voice of the leader of the White Beret got all their attention.


    "Sorry criminals," he said loudly getting everyone''s attention. "You should have done what I told you to do. Of all the upholders of the law here on Skypiea, we of the White Berets are the most lenient, however, THEY are not nearly as forgiving," he said causing Nami to gasp and a fearful look to appear on her face. "hahaha! Congratulations, you are now considered 2nd-degree criminals. You can try to cry for mercy, but you will all be judge, by the priest of Upper Yard!" he said while pointing at Luffy and the crew. Luffy just shrugged his shoulder before ignoring the man completely.


    "Haven''t these people realized by now that we don''t really care," Luffy said as he walked up to Zoro and Nojiko. "For what it''s worth, I''m really looking forward to experiencing God''s judgment," he added with a chuckle as an exciting look crept up onto his face.


    **CHAPTER END!**


    **AUTHOR''S NOTE: Hey all, it''s been a while. First things first I would like to apologize for the long wait. I know it has been a few months since I last uploaded, but the thing is that every time I sat down to write this chapter I can only seem to write about 100 words before writer''s block sets in. I think my writer''s block is coming from the fact that the Skypiea Arc was never really my favorite as I always felt as though it dragged on longer than it should and I think because of the fact that it is one of my least favorite arcs that I am having trouble writing through it. So as a result, I will be rushing through this particular arc of the story. I hope you don''t mind but I really need to just get it behind me that way my old writing style can resume. I would like to apologize in advance if the quality of the chapters in the arc diminishes and I can promise you that once we get through Skypiea those long exciting chapters that you all enjoy will return. If you have any suggestion on how to get over my writer''s block faster please let me know.**

 Chapter 34 - 34: Upper Yard, The Beginning of The End!

    Luffy, Zoro, and Nojiko began walking towards their ship to join the rest of their crew leaving a beach scattered with unconscious soldiers behind them. When they arrived on the ship everyone gathered around to plan their next move.


    "Luffy, is it really such a good idea to anger this Enel guy?" Nami asked in a slightly scared voice.


    "Something got you worried, Nami?" Luffy asked as he leaned against the banister of the ship and looked at his navigator with a curious expression on his face.


    "It''s just that I saw what this Enel guy could do, and his power seems to be the real deal," she said in a scared voice. "He made a giant beam of light come down from the sky and kill a man who was there looking for gold," she said causing Usopp and Chopper to become scared.


    "It kind of sounds like what you did Luffy when you made that marine base island disappear back in the East," Sanji said causing Zoro to nod his head recalling what Luffy had done.


    "It does sound similar but at the same time, it sounds like a weaker version," Luffy replied with a nod causing Chopper to look at him with stars in the eyes.


    "Luffy you''re so cool!" Chopper said as he stared at Luffy with stars in his eyes causing Luffy to chuckle and pat the little reindeer''s head.


    "Don''t worry Nami," Luffy said as he turned and looked at her. "I won''t let anything happen to any of you," he said with a smile causing all of them to smile as well. "Besides, this sounds like it could be a good training exercise for all of you he added causing them to go pale and the smiles to disappear from their faces. Luffy was about to continue speaking, but before he could the voice of Conis got everyone''s attention.


    "I feel the need to tell all of you something," Conis said getting everyone''s attention. When everyone looked out from the ship, they saw her standing beside the ship looking up at them with an unreadable expression on her face. "There is a cloud current that I can lead you to which will take you directly to the White sea and from there to cloud end where you can safely return home," she said surprising everyone while at the same time causing Luffy and Robin to narrow their eyes in suspicion. "Once you get onto the current, no one will be able to chase you," she added.


    "That sounds amazing!" Nami said excitedly. Luffy plastered a fake smile on his face before he too spoke to Conis.


    "That does sound great, thank you Conis," Luffy said with a fake smile as he looked down at her causing some of his crew members to look at him strangely. "Tell you what, we need to supplies to repair our ship and we need some food for the journey do you think you can help us with getting these things?" he asked with the fake smile still plastered on his face.


    "Of, course," she replied without hesitation.


    "Great!" Luffy replied happily causing his crew to become slightly scared due to face that they have never seen their captain like this before. "Why don''t you go getting everything prepared and some of the guys will come to help you bring everything back to the ship," he suggested.


    "Okay," she replied before began making her way back to town. As she was walking way Robin spoke up to Luffy.


    "Captain..." she said.


    "I know," Luffy replied as he turned to look at his crew dropping the fake smile in the process. "She is setting us up for a trap," he said surprising the remain members of the crew.


    "What!?" the remaining straw hats yelled out in shock.


    "Don''t be ridiculous Luffy," Nami said not wanting to believe that the sweet, innocent girl that had been helping them up until this point was setting them up for a trap. "Conis did nothing but help us until now. Why would she set us up for a trap?" she asked as she stared at her captain.


    "Yeah! captain," Nojiko said agreeing with her sister. "Don''t you think you are being a bit too paranoid," she added causing Luffy to raise his eyebrow at her.


    "I have to say, Luffy," Usopp said getting his captain''s attention. "She''s been nothing but nice to us all this time. I find it hard to believe that she would try to set us up," he said causing Luffy to sigh while in the corner of his eye he could see Sanji getting ready to burst.


    "Yeah! Conis is too beautiful to be bad!" the cook yelled while pointing at Luffy. "However, bad could be good," he added with a perverted giggle causing Nami and Zoro to smack him over his head.


    "Perverted cook," Zoro mumbled causing Luffy to shake his head.


    "You guys are too naive," Robin suddenly said causing everyone to look over to her. "When comparing her speech patterns and behaviors before when she first met us to her interaction with the captain just now, one could clearly see a major difference in her behavior," she explains while Luffy nodded in agreement. "Her words lacked the usual emotion and you can tell she was extremely nervous to speak to us," she continued to explain. "She was clearly lying about leading us to the current," she finished.


    "But why would she do that?" Nojiko asked as she looks at Luffy and Robin.


    "I don''t think she is doing it because she wants to, but is doing it cause she was told to," Luffy said while Robin nodded her head in agreement.


    "What do you mean?" Usopp asked.


    "Well, let me ask you this," Luffy said before he turned and looked back at the shores of Angel Beach. "If your God gave you an order, would you refuse to follow it?" he asked causing a few of them to understand what he meant. "Anyway, it doesn''t matter," he said with a sigh before turning back around. "We''ll play along for now," he said causing them to nod.


    "So, who is going to meet up with her?" Zoro asked.


    "Sanji and Usopp will come with me," Luffy replied as he looked over to his sharpshooter and cook. The two of them nodded their heads before stepping forward. "The rest of you wait here and if this god of theirs decides to attack defend yourself at all cost. I do not care whose blood you have to spill and how much of it you have to spill, just make sure you don''t die. Nami you''re in charge until I get back" he said seriously getting a firm nod from his crew. Luffy, Sanji, and Usopp then hopped off the Going Merry and began making their way towards Conis''s house.


    When they arrived at Conis''s house, they saw Pagaya and Conis preparing mini lunch boxes for everyone along with some other supplies that they thought the crew might need.


    "Here, let me help you with that," Sanji said as he moved over to help Pagaya with the lunch boxes. Usopp went over to inspect the other supplies that were prepared while Luffy simply sat down on the couch and poured himself a drink. Conis and Sanji kept chatting while Usopp and Pagaya were discussing the supplies that were prepared. Luffy, on the other hand, had his observation haki stretched to the max to cover the great distance that was between the beach and house. Everything was going on fine for about 30 minutes when Luffy suddenly sprang to his feet alarming the rest of the occupants in the room. He did not say anything instead, he walked swiftly out to the balcony and looked out in the direction of his ship.


    "Luffy, what''s wrong?" Usopp asked as he walked and stood next to Luffy.


    "It has begun," Luffy replied as he continued to stare at the ship. Sanji and Usopp both looked in the direction of the Going Merry and saw that the ship was rocking back and forth as if it was in turbulent waters.


    "What''s going on with the ship?" Sanji asked as he pulled out a mini telescope to get a better look.


    "There is something under it," Luffy answered due to his observation haki already tell him what was under the ship. "it seems to be a giant lobster," he added nonchalantly. While the three Straw hats were discussing what was going on Conis and her father had a slightly worried look on their faces.


    "It is the super express lobster," Pagaya said lowly to the crew getting their attention. "It is a messenger of Enel," he added with a grim look on his face. Before he could say anything further on the matter Luffy''s voice interrupted him.


    "The ship is sailing away," he said casually causing everyone to turn their attention back to the ship. When they looked over, they saw that the ship was sailing backward while the sails had not even been released yet. The only conclusion that everyone could come to was that the lobster was pulling the ship. "That thing must have been sitting there waiting for us to weigh anchor," Luffy said.


    "What are we going to do now?" Usopp asked in a slightly panicked voice.


    "Where is the lobster taking them?" Luffy asked as he looked over at Pagaya.


    "It must be taking your friends as a sacrificial offering," Pagaya replied in a slightly worried voice causing Luffy to narrow his eyes. "If that is the case then it will be taking them to the sacrificial altar located at the North East of Upper Yard," he said with a grim look on his face. The old man then began explaining to the three of them that their ship and friends were now hostages and the ones who must face heavens judgment were the three of them to get them back. He then began explaining the layout of the Upper Yard and what they need to do to get there. Even though Luffy was listening, he had no intention of following along with the rules of this game, after all, he doesn''t play by anyone''s rules but his own.


    "Where can we find a boat to get to this Milky Road?" Luffy suddenly asked with a smirk startling the father and daughter duo while Sanji just chuckled.


    "Conis could lead you to the Angel beach docks where you can acquire a suitable vessel to make the journey," Pagaya replied causing Luffy and his two crew members to stand up and look at Conis. "Well Conis, we''ll be in your care," Luffy said with the fake smile back on his face.


    "Wow, people are really trying to avoid us," Usopp commented.


    "What do you expect," Sanji replied. "Word probably spread by now that we are wanted criminals," he said.


    "So, nothing new really," Luffy said causing his two crew members to chuckle.


    "You guys do know that you could die, right?" Conis asked as she looked over her shoulder at them.


    "Everybody has to go sometime," Luffy said with a chuckle surprising her. The group walked for about another five minutes before they arrived at the docks of Angel beach and by now Luffy understood they were being followed by the leader of the White Berets. Conis led the three of them to the end of the dock where they saw a small boat in the ship of a crow docked.


    "This is your ship, the Crow," she said with a smile causing Luffy to raise his eyebrow slightly at her. "Your exit is gate number 2, it will lead to the milky road," she said as she began to tremble slightly.


    "So..." Luffy said a bit loudly. "Is this where the second part of your little trap is sprouted?" Luffy asked causing the girl''s eyes to widen in shock along with the others who were looking on.


    "You...you knew?" she asked in a slightly scared voice.


    "Of course, you are not that convincing as a bad guy," Luffy said while Sanji and Usopp nodded their head. She then dropped to her knees and began to sob before she spoke again.


    "It was me who called the super express Lobster on your friends," she admitted between sobs. "Once we know someone is a criminal, we must lead them to Upper Yard or else the penalty is death," she added.


    "What do you think you are doing girl!" a random person yelled from some distance away.


    "Are you trying to get us all killed!?" another said. Luffy just looked at her with an emotionless look on his face not saying anything. Suddenly a bright light in the sky got everyone''s attention. The surrounding patrons started backing away in fear of what was about to happen. Luffy narrowed his eyes and stepped next to Conis before he pulled her to him and held her close just a beam of white light began to come down from the heavens getting ready to swallow both Luffy and Conis. Luffy simply wrapped one of his arms around Conis and held her close before he raised the other in the air. His palm which was in the air turned black for a split second with a strange aura around it before the beam of light impacted his palm. The onlookers had their eyes widen the size of a dinner plate at the sight before them. Never had they ever imagined that they would be alive to witness such a sight. As the beam of light came in contact Luffy''s palm, it parted at the point of contact going around Luffy and never touching Conis. It lasted for five minutes before the beam of light disappeared from the sky leaving Luffy and Conis standing on an island in between a giant hole in the ground.


    "H-he just withstood Almighty Enel''s judgment!" one of the onlookers said in shock.


    "W-what is he!?" Another asked in shock.


    "Just how powerful is he?" the captain of the white berets asked himself. Conis who had her eyes closed the entire time finally opened her eyes to see that she was standing on an island in the middle of a giant hole causing her eyes to widen in shock. Before she could say anything else, she felt herself being picked up by the waist causing her to let out an ''eep'' before she was thrown into the air causing her to scream as loud as she could. Once again, before she could process what was going on, she felt someone grab her mid-air, when she looked to see who it was, she saw that it was the sky knight.


    "Keep her safe, old man," she heard Luffy said.


    "This one is on the house, young man," the sky knight replied. Luffy nodded his head before leaping out from the small island and landing next to Sanji and Usopp. "I knew you were powerful, but I didn''t know you were powerful enough to stop one of Enel''s attack," Gan fall said with astonishment ever so present in his voice as he stared at Luffy. Luffy just gave a small smile and looked up to him.


    "You Skypieans need to stop looking down on us Blue Sea dwellers," he said loudly for Gan Fall and the onlookers to hear. "As powerful as I am, there are still people out there who are more powerful than me," he said causing Gan Fall to nod his head in understanding while the onlookers looked on in shock.


    ''There are people more powerful than him!?'' they all thought to themselves.


    "Now, if you''ll excuse me, Sky Knight," Luffy said before he walked over to the small ship that Conis had previously prepared for them. "I got a god to go kill," Luffy said before he hopped into the small boat with Sanji and Usopp behind him. Three of them hopped into the boat and began sailing towards gate number 2. The trio sailed up the milky white stream of clouds for about 5 minutes before a giant forest came into view.


    "Woah!" Usopp said as he stared at the upcoming forest. "Is that giant forest the Upper Yard?" he asked as he stared on in astonishment. "Just look at the size of those trees!" he added as he stared at the gigantic trees. Luffy had to admit, even he had never seen trees this big before. As they got closer and closer to the forest, they began to see the entrance. It was decorated with torches and spears with animal skulls stuck into them.


    "This must be the entrance," Luffy noted as the small ship sailed through the milky road that led to the forest. As they got further through the entrance, they saw what appears to be multiple shipwrecks, but the only difference was that these sh.i.p.s were all sliced in half.


    "What could have sliced these sh.i.p.s like that?" Sanji asked as he stared at the numerous destroyed sh.i.p.s. As he said that a giant sickle came swinging in, poised to slice the tiny ship in half.


    "Watch out!" Usopp yelled as he stared at the approaching sickle. Luffy just unsheathed his sword and swung it in front of him horizontally effectively slicing the giant sickle in half causing the bottom half to fall into the cloud sea while the top half to miss the ship completely.


    "We''re safe," Usopp said as he released a sigh of relief.


    "We''re not out of the woods just yet," Luffy replied as he pointed in front of them at the multiple giant sickles swinging across the stream. "They must have set up multiple traps to kill off the weaklings," Luffy suggested as both he and Sanji walked to the front of the ship.


    "I''m kind of insulted that they think so little of us," Sanji said as he held up his right leg while adding armament Haki to it from the shin down.


    "You and me both," Luffy replied as he held his sword up to his eye line.


    **An annoying set of Traps later**


    The trio avoided all the traps and deadly sky fishes that tried to stop them advancing and now they were sailing towards a giant statue with 4 entrances.


    "Which entrance should we take?" Usopp asked as he steered the boat. "Ordeal of balls, Ordeal of the swamp, Ordeal of string, and Ordeal of iron. Which should we choose?" he asked.


    "Is it just me or do none of these things actually sound like much of an ordeal," Sanji said as he stared at the upcoming entrances.


    "Let''s go with balls," Luffy said as he sat down at the back of the boat. "It sounds the least threatening," he added. Usopp nodded his head before he began to turn the boat in the direction of the entrance that had ''balls'' written above it. The small boat then said down the pitch-black tunnel.


    "I can''t see a thing," Sanji said as he squinted his eyes to try and get a better view.


    "What if this is like one of those games," Luffy said getting Sanji and Usopp''s attention. "You know like you pick the right door and you get a prize," he said casually.


    "And what if you pick the wring door!?" Usopp yelled/ asked.


    "Well it could be something like if you picked the wrong door you fall off the island," Luffy said casually causing his two shipmates to go pale. Soon a light at the end of the dark tunnel began to shine through the darkness. When the ship said out of the tunnel, they saw that at the end of the tunnel was indeed a drop off that showed no bottom.


    ''Damn,'' Luffy thought as his eyes widen slightly. The small boat then proceeded to fall out of the sky causing Everyone to hold on for dear life. They fell for about ten seconds before the boat landed back onto what seems to be the milky road.


    "That was intense," Luffy said calmly. He wasn''t too worried about falling off the island because he could easily have summoned up a thunder cloud to catch their fall and bring them back up to the island.


    "I thought I was going to die," Usopp said as he laid flat on the floor with tears streaming down his face. When everyone claimed themselves and looked at their surroundings, they saw that they were in a forest with floating balls of clouds everywhere. The milky road seems to go through the entire forest, twisting and turning in between the trees.


    "Well then, let''s get on with it," Luffy said causing Sanji to nod and began driving the small boat. As they were sailing forward Usopp saw on the balls of clouds were coming close to the ship. He then reached up to push the ball away. As soon as he touched the ball a snake popped out of it ready to bite Usopp''s head off. Luffy immediately sprang to his feet and trapped the snake by the head as it was about an inch away from Usopp''s nose.


    "Ahhh!" Usopp said before he fainted back. Luffy then tossed the snake into the stream before he turned his attention to the right side of the forest where his observation haki alerted him of someone being there.


    "You might as well come out!" Luffy yelled out. "I know you''re there," he added.


    "Ho, ho hoo!" someone laughed. "Listen, well children, these are mystery clouds. You never know what will come out of them," A man said as he came floating in on a giant sphere of clouds. "I am so glad you chose my ordeal, the ordeal of balls," he said happily as he stared at the trio. The man then started dancing around on the large ball in happiness while laughing to himself. He was a round-shaped man with fair skin and long, dark red hair. He was wearing a white, full-body jumpsuit, which has a vertical line of golden rings that run from front to back, an orange hat similar in style to a Capello Romano, orange gloves, shoes, and large, yellow sunglasses that completely obscure his eyes.


    "Stop dancing and tell us who you are!" Sanji yelled out in frustration. "Nami and the others better be okay or else I''m going to rip you apart limb by limb!" Sanji added darkly causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow at him.


    ''It is official, I am a bad influence on people,'' Luffy thought to himself as he sighed.


    "Ohh, the sacrifices," the rather large man said with a jolly smile. "If they escape, they will die and if they are sacrificed, they will also die! Ho, ho, hoo!" he said happily causing Sanji to growl. "If you wish to get to them you first need to defeat me first, which is something I don''t see happening! Ho, ho, hoo!" the man mocked before he leaped from the large ball in which he was standing and began floating in the direction the small boat which the three straw hats were on.


    "He is heading this way!" Usopp yelled out. "Quick, Sanji, Luffy, do something!" he said in a panic. Sanji stepped forwards and raised his left leg preparing to kick the large man.


    "Oh ho, a left kick," the man said as he got closer. Sanji did not pay him any mind, he simply aimed a kick at the man expecting to hit him right in the midsection. Much to his surprise, the man''s body moved just enough mid-air to dodge Sanji''s kick completely. Even though he dodged Sanji''s kick, the man did not notice Luffy appearing right next to him. As his head turned slightly and he saw the straw hat-wearing pirate standing to his left, his eyes widen in shock before he was sent flying back in the direction from which he came in courtesy of a backhand from Luffy.


    "He knows observation haki," Luffy said as he watched the man collided with one of the giant trees. "You should be able to handle him giving the training you had," Luffy added as he turned his attention and looked at his two crew members.


    "What do you mean us two?" Usopp asked not really liking the sound of Luffy''s previous statement.


    "I''m going to leave him the two of you to handle while I go look for the others," Luffy said with a smirk sending shivers down Sanji and Usopp''s back. "Think of it as a little training exercise," he added.


    "Is now really a good time to have a training exercise?" Usopp asked causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "Of course, no time like the present," Luffy said with a smile as he began calling his thunder cloud. "It should be a good experience for the two of you. You finally get to fight someone who is somewhat proficient with observation haki. This will help you improve your own haki along with your battle prowess," Luffy finished just as his thunder cloud pulled up right beside the boat. "Good luck," he said before stepping onto the thunder cloud.


    "What if we die?!" Usopp asked in a panic.


    "I don''t know," Luffy said with a shrug. "Walk it off," he said a smirk causing Usopp to go pale.


    "Relax, Usopp," Sanji said as he lit a cigarette. "It two of us and one of him. We''ll be fine," Sanji said causing Luffy to nod his head.


    "Yeah, and both of you know haki. You''ll be fine," Luffy said trying to encourage Usopp. "Just imagine how Kaya will react when he hears how the bear warrior of the sea Usopp defeats one of god''s priests on an island in the sky," Luffy said using Usopp''s weakness to push him further.


    ''That''s just dirty,'' Sanji thought to himself as he stared at his captain and shook his head.


    "Yosh! have to fear Luffy! Captain Usopp will defeat all of his foes!" Usopp yelled out as he pointed up to his heavens and struck a pose causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "That''s the spirit," Luffy said before he walked to the back of his thunder cloud and sat down on the throne made of clouds. "Good luck you two," he said causing them to nod at him before his clouds sped off into the skies above Upper Yard.


    "Where do you think you are going!?" came the voice of the priest who Luffy previously sent flying. The large priest leaped off from the ground hoping to stop Luffy, but before he could reach the cloud something hit him in the gut and exploded upon impact.


    "Exploding Star!" was the last thing Luffy heard before the cloud ascended to the skies above the Upper Yard.


    When the thunder cloud was about a few hundred feet above the giant forest Luffy gave it an order to hover at that level for a bit. He then sat back in his throne and closed his eyes, allowing his observation to activate at maximum capability. He sensed everything that was going on the island. He knew where everyone was, how many people there were on the island, and what they were doing. Zoro, Robin, and Nami were currently walking through the forest no doubt to try and find the rest of the crew, while Nojiko and Chopper were back on the ship doing some repairs. Luffy could sense that someone was approaching the two of them, but he was not worried because Nojiko would be enough to handle whoever it was by herself; Chopper being there only added to their advantage. Everything was under control, even Sanji and Usopp were having the upper hand in their fight. Luffy was incredibly pleased with the progress of his crew. He could just sit back and pour himself a drink while his crew takes care of these priests. He decided to focus on Zoro, Nami, and Robin because it seems as though they discovered something remarkably interesting. Thanks to his observation haki Luffy heard everything they were talking about. Luffy found it interesting that this upper yard was once part of Jaya and it got knocked up into the sky the knock-up-stream.


    ''Must have been one hell of a knock up-stream,'' Luffy thought to himself as he herds their conversation. He then poured himself a drink and looked off towards the center of the island and smirked. ''I know you''re watching...Enel,'' he thought with a chuckle. Luffy then sensed a large group of people heading towards the Upper yard at high speed causing him to narrow his eyes.


    "Looks like a lot of people want to have an audience with this god," Luffy said to himself before taking a sip of his whiskey. "Too bad he won''t be alive much longer," he added. He then sensed that Sanji and Usopp had defeated that priest and was starting to make their way towards the shrine where Nojiko and Chopper were. Speaking of, it seems as though Nojiko and Chopper managed to kill the priest who they were facing causing Luffy to smile. He then willed the Cloud to go to their direction. Everyone was already heading in this direction so it would be the best place for him to be at. When the cloud was directly over the shrine Luffy stepped off it and began falling towards the ship. He was worried about the act that he was a few hundred feet in the air, he had a calm look on his face while holding onto a glass of whiskey. Like a cat, he then landed softly onto one of the banisters of the upper deck surprising Chopper and Nojiko. When he landed there, and he looked at the ship his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.


    "What the hell happened to my ship!" he yelled out as he saw there were multiple holes in the hull and the ship was missing its mainmast.


    "Luffy!" Nojiko and Chopper cried out in happiness. He had tears in his eyes as he ran towards his captain before leaping up into Luffy''s arms.


    "Luffy! I''m sorry!" Chopper cried into Luffy''s c.h.e.s.t. "That priest''s spear lit the mast on fire and I tried to put it out, but it wouldn''t go out. So, I had to break it off and throw it into the water!" said a crying Chopper. Luffy just sighed and smiled before patting the little reindeer on the head before he spoke.


    "All that matters is that you''re okay," Luffy said with a warm smile causing the little reindeer to wipe away some of his tears. Luffy then placed Chopper down before he made his way towards Nojiko. "What about you, are you okay?" he asked as he stood in front of her.


    "Yeah, I''m fine," she said sounding a bit tired. "That guy a was a bit more troublesome than I had first imagined with his strange javelin and strings," she said while pointing over to the dead body of a man lying on the main deck with a hole in his c.h.e.s.t. Luffy walked over to him and looked at his dead body before chuckling.


    "My my, you sure know how to steal a man''s heart," Luffy said a chuckle as he pointed out that the priest was missing his heart. He then walked over the man''s weapon and picked it up to examine it. After looking at it for a few seconds he crushed the javelin causing a small red seashell to fall out.


    "Is that one of those dials that Conis told us about?" Nojiko asked as she walked up and stood next to him. Luffy bend down and picked up the shell before he replied.


    "It would appear so," he said to her as he examined the shell. "Interesting, very interesting," he added before he turned his attention back to the ship.


    ''I''m starting to regret not paying closer attention to what was going on here on the ship,'' Luffy thought with a sigh.


    "Sani and Usopp should be here by nightfall assuming they don''t run into any more priests," Luffy suddenly said to Nojiko and Chopper. "And Robin, Zoro, and Nami should be back at about the same time," he added.


    "How do you know that?" Nojiko asked as she stared at Luffy with an eyebrow raised in the air.


    "I was up there watching all of you," he said while pointing to the thunder cloud that was a few hundred feet above the ship. "Kind of regretting not paying closer attention to you two," he added while looking at the mainmast. "While we wait Chopper and I will start repairing the holes in the hull," he said as he looked over to the little reindeer. "Go grab some of the supplies from down below deck," he ordered causing the little reindeer to transform into his heavy point and go fetch the materials they would need. While Nojiko and Luffy were waiting for Chopper to return they heard a series of explosions coming from a different part of the forest causing both to narrow their eyes.


    "Sounds like a party," Nojiko said as she walked over the dead priest and pick him up.


    "I had sensed a small army heading towards the island," Luffy said as he looked off in the direction of the explosions. "It was been led by that gorilla that attacked us earlier," he added.


    "Seems we are not the only ones who have a problem with this Enel," Nojiko said before she tossed the priest body off the ship and into the sea of clouds for the sea sharks to have.


    "Yeah, well they''re problem is not ours," Luffy said before he took off his captain''s coat and hung it on the side of the ship. He then walked over and picked up a toolbox that was on the main deck before hopping off the ship to access the damage to the hull. "Damn," Luffy said as he stared at the medium-sized hole in the hull. "I don''t know how much more of this you can take, Merry," Luffy said with a sigh as he placed his hand on the hull.


    "Here are some supplies I found, Luffy," Said Chopper as he hopped off the ship carrying some wood. Luffy looked over at him and smiled slightly before he began repairing the holes in the hull with Chopper''s assistance. The two of them worked on it for about an hour when the sun just started to set. Luffy wiped the sweat off his forehead before he looked off to the left of the shrine where he sensed three individuals coming. Out from the forest walked Zoro, Robin, and Nami. The three of them looked slightly relieved to see their captain, but that relief turned to shock once they noticed the condition of the ship.


    "What happened to the ship!?" the three of them yelled out.


    "Is everyone alright?" Robin asked.


    "Everyone is fine," Luffy replied as he placed the hammer back into the toolbox and closed it. "You guys stay over there," he added confusing everyone. "It''s getting late, we''ll set up camp over there," he said causing them to nod. Just as he finished speaking the sound of something hitting the water got everyone''s attention. When they all looked over, they saw Sanji and Usopp sailing in on the Crow. After a short reunion with everyone, they all gathered some supplies and made their way into the forest not that far from the shrine and set up their camp for the night. Sanji began preparing the food while Usopp and Zoro got a large bond fire going. As they were setting up everything Luffy''s observation haki alerted him of someone approaching their current location at an incredibly high speed. As the person got closer Luffy realized that it was the sky knight. The old man arrived on his weird bird with a worried look on his face. His worried look later turned into a look of surprise when he saw all the straw hats sitting around without a care in the world.


    "You are all alive?" the old man in surprise.


    "Sounds like you were expecting us to die," Luffy said as he said down on a giant tree trunk.


    "I knew you were powerful, but I didn''t expect the rest of your crew to be just as powerful as well," he said clearly stating that he had expected some of them to die.


    "What are you doing here, old man," Luffy asked knocking the man out of his shock. "We didn''t blow that whistle," he added.


    "Yes well, I heard that the Shandorians launched an attack against Enel, I thought you all would have been in trouble," he said causing some of the straw hats to smile at him.


    "Well why don''t you join us tonight," Nojiko said as she popped open a bottle of booze.


    "I cannot," the old man said as he waved his hand in front of him.


    "Come on, old man," Luffy said as he poured two glass of whiskey and handed one to the old man. "Enel is going to die tomorrow, let''s have a drink to celebrate that," he added.


    "shouldn''t we drink after he is dead?" Gan Fall asked.


    "We can do that too," Luffy replied causing the old man to chuckle before taking the glass of whiskey and sitting down beside Luffy.


    "You lot sure are confident," he said as he sipped his drink.


    "This so-called god isn''t all that powerful," Luffy said before taking a sip of his drink. "He is nothing more than an ant pretending to be a dragon," he said seriously as Sanji began serving the food. Gan Fall looked at Luffy for a few seconds before he smiled.


    ''The Blue Sea world sure is an interesting place,'' he thought to himself before taking another sip of the whiskey.


    The crew then all sat around the fire and began recalling the events of the day. Sanji and Usopp started to recount their encounter with the priest who was apparently named Satori. Nojiko and Chopper then followed with their fight against the priest named Shura. To say Gan Fall was surprised would be an understatement. He could not believe that this group of kids not only killed one priest but two. It sounded ludicrous to him. Nami and Robin then began telling everyone about what they discovered about this island and its connection to Jaya. Everyone was surprised to find out that the city of gold did not sink into the ocean like they believed but instead it shot up into the sky. To say everyone was excited about finding all the gold would be another understatement. As the night went on the crew began drinking and celebrating at the thought of being filthy rich when they find the gold. Gan Fall then decided to tell everyone about him being the former God of Skypiea which in turn surprised everyone including Luffy. He then explains how this Upper yard came to be and the legend passed down from generation to generation. The entire crew was captivated by the story he was telling, it was only when Luffy heard him talk about the island singing did Luffy remember about the golden bell that Cricket told them about.


    "That song you are talking about must be the bell that old man Cricket told us about," Luffy said causing some of his crew members to nod their head remembering what Cricket had said. "Well then, old man," Luffy said getting Gan Fall''s attention. "Lucky for you I was already planning on ringing that bell," Luffy said causing old man''s eyes to widen before he chuckled and shook his head.


    "You know, you guys remind me of another group of pirates that came up from the blue sea world about 20 years ago," he said surprising Luffy''s crew while causing Luffy to smile slightly.


    "That pirate that you are talking about," Luffy said before taking a sip of his whiskey. "His name was Gold Roger, wasn''t it?" he asked causing everyone to go silent and stare at Gan Fall waiting for him to confirm what Luffy just said.


    "Yes, do you know of him?" Gan Fall asked causing Luffy to chuckle while the others look on in awe.


    "The king of the pirates came to Skypiea..." Usopp said in an astonished voice.


    "We made it here just like Gold Roger..." Nami added in an equally astonishing voice causing Luffy to chuckle at their reaction.


    "I know some people who were on his crew," Luffy said to Gan Fall causing him to nod his head. The crew continued to tell stories and drink for the rest of the night until all of them fell asleep.


    **Next Day**


    The next morning the few woke up to the startling discovery of their ship being repaired completely by a mysterious person who Usopp claimed to have seen late last night. It was puzzling to everyone especially Usopp.


    "Who could it be?" he asked as he walked around the deck of the ship. "And how did they know what the Merry looked like before we equipped the flying gear to her?" he continued to question.


    "Does it really matter, the ship is fixed," Nami said as she folded her arms. Luffy stood on the upper deck starting at the figurehead of the Merry with narrowed eyes.


    ''It can''t be...'' he thought to himself as he stared at Merry. He stared on for a few more seconds before shaking his head clear.


    "Luffy," Robin said getting his attention. "There are some ruins located just South of here, where the city of gold is believed to be. I would like to go examine them," she said causing Luffy to nod his head.


    "Take Zoro and Nojiko with you, I sense those Shandorians are back on the island," Luffy said before he walked down from the main deck. "The rest of us are going to try and get the Merry off this shrine before I go take care of Enel. We will all meet back up at the ruins," he said causing her to nod. Robin, Zoro, and Nojiko then set out for the lost city of gold. Luffy, Gan Fall, Nami, Sanji, Usopp, and Chopper then began trying to come up with a good way to get the ship off the alter. Usopp and Chopper tried to pull it off using the small boat that Conis loaned them, but sadly the small boat did not have enough power. After exhausting a bunch of different and creative ways to get the ship off the alter for about an hour, Luffy finally decided to do the one thing he was trying to avoid doing since he came to the island, use his devil fruit.


    ''Looks like I got no choice,'' he thought to himself before he looked at the rest of the crew.


    "All of you get on the ship," he ordered as he took off his captain''s coat puzzling them.


    "What are you going to do Luffy?" Chopper asked in curiosity.


    "I''m going to pull it off," he said causing everyone to raise an eyebrow at him.


    "But we already tried that, the Crow doesn''t have enough power to pull it off of the alter," Nami said.


    "Wasn''t planning on using the Crow," Luffy said as he began unbuttoning the top couple of buttons of his shirt. He then turned his body into lightning and teleported onto the bank directly in front of the stairs of the altar causing Gan Fall''s eyes to widen in shock. Luffy then stretched out his hands causing two bolts of lightning to fire out of the palm of his hands and wrap themselves around the figurehead of the Going Merry. Luffy then grabbed a hold on the bolts of lightning and planted his feet firmly on the ground before he began to pull.


    "He''s not really planning on pulling the entire ship all by himself, is he?" Sanji asked as he stared at his captain.


    "I think he is," Nami said in disbelief.


    "So cool!" Chopper said with stars in his eyes as he stared at Luffy. Luffy''s feet were beginning to dig into the ground as he tried to pull the ship. His plan was not to pull the ship directly off the alter but only to turn the ship around so it was facing the stairs that way they could easily slide it off. All it needed to do was rotate the ship.


    "AHHHH!" he yelled as he began to pull harder causing his muscles to bulge slightly along with some sweat to appear on his face. Much to the surprise of his crew and Gan Fall, the ship began to rotate.


    "Yeah! You''re doing it, Luffy!" Yelled Usopp as he felt the ship starting to turn. With a great show of brute strength, Luffy turned the entire ship 90 degrees so that it was down facing the flight of stairs.


    "Okay, all of you go stand at the front of the ship," Luffy orders as he wiped the sweat from his brow. When everyone stood at the front of the ship the Going Merry began to tilt downwards a bit, but it still was not enough for it to slide down the stairs. So, while it was still tilting Luffy gave one final pull causing it to slide down the stairs of the altar and into the cloud sea. Luffy then let out a sigh of relief before letting go of the two bolts of lightning causing them to disperse. Luffy took two-steps forward before he was stopped when a bring light flashed across the sky. He immediately extended his observation haki to see if the three members of his crew were okay. He saw that Zoro and Nojiko were fighting the remaining two priests with Nojiko already killing her opponent in the same way she killed the last one, stealing his heart. Zoro was shaking a bit of a hard time with his opponent mainly because he was outnumbered by the number of Shandorians there as well. But it was Robin who made his eyes widen slightly. Apparently, God had paid her a visit while she was exploring the ruins. Without warning, Luffy turned his body into lightning and shot up in the sky to get to Robin. Nami and the crew on the ship stared at the spot from which Luffy disappeared from with a worried look on their face.


    "Where is Luffy going?" Chopper asked as he hopped up on to the rails.


    "Something must have happened," Sanji said as he lit a cigarette.


    "That bright flash...it was Enel," Gan Fall said causing them to worry even further.


    **With Robin**


    Robin was currently sitting on the ground with her back against one of the ruins. Her eyes were barely open, and her entire body was covered in nurses and electrical burns. Enel had shown up a few minutes ago and spoke to her about the ruins in which they were in and told her about the gold that was once here before he moved it. When she had mentioned the golden bell it was quite clear that he didn''t know where it was and when she lied about not knowing what was written on the ruins he attacked her before leaving claiming not liking lying women. she was currently staring up at the sky through her half-opened eyes when she saw a bright light forming in the sky before it began to descend looking as if it will strike her. Thinking that it is Enel coming to finish the job, she closed her eyes and accepted her fate. She waited a few seconds expecting death to arrive, but it never came. Instead of pain, she felt something soft touch her cheek causing her to slowly open her eyes. When he opened them, she saw a blurry figure dressed in black and wearing a straw hat kneeling beside her.


    "Hey there, gorgeous," she heard the voice of her captain say causing her to open her eyes a bit more allowing her to see Luffy kneeling down beside her with a warm smile on his face and one hand rubbing her cheek.


    "C-captain," Robin whispered out weakly.


    "Shhhh," Luffy said as he placed his index finger over her lips. "Save your strength," he said softly before he examined the wounds all over her body. "Don''t you worry, Robin," he said as he looked at her. "No one is ever going to hurt you again! I promise!" he said strongly with conviction causing tears to well up in her eyes. Luffy then carefully picked her up bridal style and held her close to him before turning into lightning and teleporting back to the ship.


    "Thank You," Robin whispered just before Luffy teleported the two of them away. Luffy and Robin arrived with a lightning strike on the main deck startling everyone on board.


    "CHOPPER!" Luffy bellowed for his doctor causing the little reindeer to run down to the main deck.


    "Robin!" Chopper yelled when he saw Luffy carrying Robin in his arms. He quickly ran down the stairs with his little doctor''s bag to treat Robin. The rest of the crew followed behind him rushing to the side of their fellow cremated. Luffy laid her down on the main deck for Chopper to treat before walked over to the side of the ship and picked up his captain''s coat.


    "What happens to her?" Chopper asked as he examined all her wounds. "She is covered in electrical burns," he noted.


    "Apparently she had a run with god," Luffy said in a low tone as he swung his captain''s coat around allowing it to only rest on his shoulder before he turned and looked at his crew with anger ever so present on his face. "This so-called ''GOD'' has the audacity to harm a member of my crew," Luffy said in a chilling tone as sparks of lightning began phase int and out around his body and the once milky white sky to darken with thunder clouds. The thunder clouds completely blocked out the sun making night appear during the day. Lighting flashed across the sky periodically striking around the forest of Upper Yard and each bolt of lightning was followed by its own deafening thunder that shook the entire island and was even heard by those down in the Blue Sea world.


    ''I''ve never seen him this pissed,'' was the thoughts of the straw hats who were staring at Luffy.


    "Well then, let the slaughter begin," Luffy said in a cold emotionless tone as he clenched his fist causing sparks of black lightning to surround his body.


    **CHAPTER END**


    There ends another Chapter! I hope you enjoyed it. Judging by the way I chose to close off this chapter I can already sense that there will be numerous reviews asking me to make this a Luffy x Robin story instead of Luffy x Hanc.o.c.k. Sorry to disappoint you but it WILL always remain a Luffy x Hanc.o.c.k story so don''t bother asking!

 Chapter 35 - 35: A God vs A Demon!

    Gan Fall and the remaining of Luffy''s crew were currently staring up into the thunder cloud infested sky where Luffy disappeared into. Gan Fall had a bewildered look on his face because he had never seen anything like this before.


    "I have never seen the heavens this angry before," he said in a whisper loud enough for everyone to hear him.


    "It''s not the heavens," Sanji replied before he lit a new cigarette.


    "It''s just our captain who is angry," Nami said. All of them were still standing around Robin and Chopper, who was still treating Robin''s wounds.


    "What should we do now, Nami?" Usopp asked as he turned his attention to their navigator. Nami thought about it for a while before she gave him her response.


    "For now, we need to get the ship away from the Upper Yard," she said. Just as she said that a bolt of lightning came down from the sky and struck the sacrificial alter destroying it completely. Chunks from the destroyed alter were blown everywhere with some of them even heading in the direction of the ship. Sanji, Usopp, and Gan Fall immediately sprang into action to defend the ship with Sanji kicking away some of the debris from hitting the ship, Usopp using his slingshot to shoot some of them out of the air, and Gan Fall using his javelin to stop a few of them.


    "Nami''s right," Sanji said as he kicked another giant rock away. "We need to get out of here. heaven knows how much of is power Luffy is going to release," he said causing everyone to nod their heads in agreement.


    "Chopper, you should take Robin inside," Nami said as he looked over to the little reindeer who was treating Robin''s wounds.


    "Aye!" Chopper replied before he transformed into his heavy point and pick Robin up bridal style and carried her inside. Sanji then walked over to the anchor and pulled it up from the cloud sea while Nami and Usopp untied the sails.


    "We are going to have to use the Crow to push us because there is no wind around here," Usopp said before he walked over to the side and hopped onto the Crow. He rigged the small boat that Conis loaned to them to the back the Going Merry before turning on the dials causing the small ship to act as a propeller for the Going Merry. The crew then began sailing out of the Upper yard the same they came in. On their way out they were all startled when someone landed on the main deck. Thinking that it is an enemy they all quickly turned their attention to the spot where they heard the land with all their weapons drawn. However, they all relaxed when they saw that it was only Nojiko who was standing in the center of the main deck with her three-section stall around her neck.


    "You all weren''t planning on leaving me, here were you?" Nojiko asked with a smile. "Where is the rest of the guys?" she asked as she looked around and did not see Luffy, Zoro, Robin, or Chopper.


    "That Enel guy attacked Robin; Chopper is treating her inside. Zoro hasn''t returned yet and Luffy went to kill Enel," Nami explained.


    "Is Robin alright?" Nojiko asked with a worried look on her face.


    "She has some burns, but look to be good for the most part," Nami replied causing her sister to nod her head while getting out a sigh of relief at the same time. Nojiko then looked up at the sky before she chuckled.


    "I take it Luffy is beyond angry," she said.


    "That''s putting it lightly," Nami, Sanji, and Usopp replied simultaneously. The Merry then began its journey to exit the Upper Yard with the help of Gan Fall directing them.


    **With Zoro**


    Zoro was currently standing inside of a dome made of barbed wire like clouds along with 5 Shandorians, one of Enel''s priests, 4 weird goat guys who work for Enel, a giant dog, and a giant snake. It had been a strange fight, to say the least. Every time Zoro was making headway against the priest he was either attacked by one of the Shandorians or by the dog. The only reason he is not heavily wounded is because of his observation haki. To be fair, he was not exactly taking things all that seriously after all he only had two of his swords drawn and he had not used his armament Haki yet. Currently, all the fighting had ceased due to that sky turning black with thunder and lightning flashing across the sky.


    "You all should just give up," the priest said as he rests his sword against his shoulder. "There is no escaping almighty Enel''s prophecy! And It seems as though he has grown impatient with all of you and is ready to bestow his divine Judgement!" The priest said causing Zoro to chuckle.


    "I don''t know about your god, but it looks like my captain is very pissed off," Zoro said getting everyone''s attention.


    "You''re captain just like the rest of you Blue Sea dwellers, he is we-" the priest began before he was abruptly cut off by a bolt of black lightning coming down the sky breaking through the dome cage as if it was made of paper and striking him down. When the bolt of lightning dissipated everyone there was shocked to see the priest lying flat on his back with Luffy standing above him with his right foot on the priest''s head pressing it down into the ground.


    "I''m going to ask a question one time and one time only and if you want to live you are going to answer me," Luffy said with a murderous look on his face as he stared down at the priest who was beneath his foot. "Where is Enel?" he asked he increase pressure on the priest''s head. His foot was covering the man''s mouth so the priest couldn''t even answer him. "Not going to answer huh, well that''s too bad," Luffy said before he increased the pressure on the man''s head exponentially crushing it like a gr.a.p.e under his boot. The onlooker had their eyes widen in shock at what they just witnessed. That man was one of Enel''s priests, one of the strongest warriors in all the Upper Yard and yet he was killed so easily.


    "How dare you!" the goat guys dressed in white robes yelled before they all rushed at Luffy trying to take him from behind. Luffy, however, did not move a single muscle he just stood there. "Take this!" they yelled as all of them pointed an open palm at Luffy.


    "Axe Dial!" they all yelled as they activated their dials sending four pressurized wind blades at Luffy who just stared at his four attackers with a bored expression on his face. The wind blades sliced right through Luffy cutting his torso into three pieces and separating his neck from his body. What happened next surprised everyone there except Zoro. Luffy''s body just turned into lightning and placed itself back together again as if nothing had happened to begin with.


    "A logia user," whispered the leader of the Shandorians.


    "That was a big mistake," Luffy, before he raised his right hand and pointed an open palm at his four attackers as electric blue lightning surrounds his palm.


    "El Thor!" Luffy said lowly. As he said that a giant cylindrical beam about 10 ft wide shot out from his hand and engulfed the four attackers incinerating them along with everything that was behind them. When the beam disappeared and Luffy lowed his hand, the four men were nowhere to be seen nor was any of the ruins that were behind them.


    "Umm, is everything alright Captain?" Zoro asked while looking at his captain.


    "God paid Robina visit," Luffy said in a cold emotionless voice.


    "Is she alright?" Zoro asked.


    "She''s fine. She is with Chopper now," Luffy replied as he looked around.


    "I think he is up there," Zoro said while pointing at the giant beanstalk. Luffy looked over at the beanstalk which seems to go all the way up to the heavens, which is saying something considering that they were already pretty high up, to begin with.


    "Well then, by all means, let us bring almighty god down from his golden throne," Luffy said with anger ever so press in his voice. He then walked to the edge of the dome where the beanstalk is. He held his right hand in front of him before clenching his fist causing pitch-black lightning to surround his body.


    "Second Gear!" he said causing the black lightning around the body to intensify along with the thunder and lightning flashing in the sky. Luffy then pointed his index and middle finger just away from the giant beanstalk before he spoke again.


    "Heaven''s Sword!" he said in a menacing voice as he slashed his two fingers horizontally across the air leaving a small trail of black lightning following his fingertips. Two seconds after the slash was complete the deafening sound of a thunderclap shook the entire island and at the same time, the giant beanstalk was cut into two.


    "H-he...he just cut Giant Jack down with his finger," one of the Shandorians whispered in awe and fear.


    "What is he?" another asked. Even Zoro was somewhat surprised by this. He had thought that there was nothing Luffy could do to surprise him anymore, but he was wrong. The man just sliced a giant beanstalk with a finger, not a sword but his finger. The other thing that surprised Zoro was the black lightning, he had never seen Luffy used such an ability before. It made him realized that there were a lot of things about his captain''s power that they did not know about. The beanstalk which was apparently named Giant Jack began to fall towards the West of the island.


    **Angel Island**


    "Everyone, look!" a Skypiean yelled out while pointing in the direction of the Upper Yard. "Giant Jack is falling!" the man yelled out causing everyone to look to the see the giant beanstalk tilting more and more with every passing second.


    "What is going on over there!?" asked the leader of the White Berets. "First the heavens tuned black and now Giant Jack is falling. Just what is Enel doing over there?" he asked.


    "Is this all because of those Blue Sea dwellers?" a person asked in fear.


    "Do you think it is them who did this?" another asked in fear.


    "People, please be at ease!" yelled out the captain of the White Berets trying to calm the public down. "We of the White Berets shall protect you!" he said.


    **On the Going Merry**


    "Father, look," Conis said while pointing to Giant Jack. "Giant Jack is falling," she said as she stared at the falling beanstalk.


    "Oh my, you''re right," said Pagaya as he too stared up at the falling beanstalk.


    "Just what could have cut a tree as mighty of Giant Jack down!?" Asked Gan Fall.


    "Luffy," replied the straw hats casually.


    **With Luffy**


    As the beanstalk was Falling Luffy spread his arms out wide and spoke while looking up to the heavens.


    "What''s the matter, God?!" he shouted out knowing very well that Enel was on an island cloud just above them. "Afraid to show your face?" he mockingly asked trying to get under the so-called god''s skin. "I guess you''re not so much of a god after all if you too scared to face me, a lowly human!" Luffy said with a mocking chuckle. Just as he uttered those words a bold of electric blue lightning struck down 20 ft behind him reveling a man standing there holding a staff made of gold.


    "How dare you speak to me, a god in such a manner," the man who was clearly Enel said with a cold look on his face. "You should be on your knees begging me to show you mercy," he added arrogantly causing Luffy to raise his eyebrow at him. Luffy was not exactly paying attention to anything he was saying. He was instead more focused on the so-called god''s appearance. He was a pale-skinned man with a well-toned yet somewhat wiry build. Very distinctly, Enel''s earlobes stretch all the way to his c.h.e.s.t, being weighed down by gold earrings with diamond-shaped pendants. Upon his back, stuck centrally into his shoulder blades, is a large, gray ring and attached to it four wooden shime-daiko drums set next to and above his head, each with cream-colored drum skin depicting a black mitsudomoe on the front and back. Luffy had to admit, he had seen some strange people in his time on the grand Lin but this sure takes the cake. Apparently, while Luffy was focusing on the man''s appearance, Enel had continued talking. When Luffy realized this, he shook his head clear before speaking.


    "I''m sorry, I wasn''t paying attention. Could you repeat all of that?" He asked with a slight smirk knowing very well he was pissing the god off.


    "You scoundrel!" Enel yelled before he pointed his staff at Luffy.


    "Sango!" he bellowed releasing a massive charge of electricity from his hand which traveled through the golden staff before blasting out of the staff in the direction of Luffy who just stood there and did nothing. The blast engulfed his entire upper body and lasted for three seconds. When it disappeared, it revealed the entire top half of Luffy''s body gone along with it leaving only his lower half still standing there. Enel smirked in satisfaction for a few seconds before his smirk disappeared when particles of lightning from all over began gathering around Luffy''s missing upper body rebuilding it. The process did not take more than a second before his entire body was back to normal as if nothing happened to begin with.


    "Were you not paying attention?" Luffy asked with a bored expression on his face. "I am lightning itself. Your attacks mean nothing to me," he said with a smirk before he wiped the smirk off his own face and spoke in a chilling tone. "You are either a paramecia type user or a Zoan type user, either way," he said before he disappeared and then reappearing in front of Enel with his fist buried in his gut causing the god to cough up some blood before blasting off into some of the ruins due to the force behind the punches. "You have a physical form!" Luffy said emotionlessly as he watched the god breakthrough multiple ruins before coming to a stop 40 ft away.


    "He just sent Enel flying like it was nothing," said a Shandorian warrior wielding two pistols.


    "This is unreal," said another as they stared between Luffy and the downed Enel in awe.


    "Hey! Blue Sea dweller!" yelled a Shandorian, who was obviously the leader. "Enel is mine to kill and right now you''re in my way!" he said as he began walking towards Luffy.


    "Hmm?" Luffy said looking over to the warrior walking towards him. "You are that gorilla that attacked my crew down on the White Sea," he noted as he stared at the man. "You couldn''t even handle my crew and you think you got what it takes to fight me?" Luffy asked as he raised an eyebrow. "What arrogance," he stated coldly.


    "This is none of you blue sea monkeys business," the warrior said. "Stop meddling in the affairs of our people!" the man yelled as he continued to walk towards Luffy.


    "I could care less about you and your people," Luffy said coldly causing the warriors to growl before acting the dials on his shoes and charged after Luffy.


    "Wyper no!" the other Shandorian warriors yelled. Luffy just looked on as the warrior named Wyper got closer and closer to him. Wyper then leaped up aiming both of his legs to kick Luffy in the c.h.e.s.t.


    ''Fool,'' Luffy thought as he stared at the oncoming attack. When Wyper''s shoes impacted Luffy''s c.h.e.s.t everyone was surprised to see that it hit Luffy and did not faze through him as they all had expected. Even Luffy was surprised by this. ''Sea prism stone!'' he thought to himself as he realized what was going on. Luffy then suddenly dropped to hos back feeling incredibly weak. Wyper did not let up he quickly planted both feet on Luffy''s c.h.e.s.t and stood there causing Luffy to lose a lot of strength to fight.


    "Being from the blue sea world I am sure you are familiar with the mineral known as sea prism stone," Wyper said c.o.c.kily.


    "Is that it?" Luffy asked weakly while staring up at the warrior causing him to growl. "Sure, sea prism stones weaken devil fruit users however, it does not take their powers away," he said before suddenly grabbing the legs of the Shandorian surprising him. "It just makes us feel incredibly weak which in turn causes us to not be able to control our powers," he said enlightening the Shandorian. "But when you have the power of lightning-like I do. Who needs control," he said before he released a great surge of electricity from his body with no desirable target. Because he was holding onto Wyper''s legs when the discharge occurred, the Shandorian warrior was electrocuted him causing his eyes to roll back into his head and him to fall over unconscious. Luffy then got up and dusted himself off and looked in the direction of where he sent Enel off to.


    "Wyper is down," said one of the Shandoriands.


    "What should we do?" another asked.


    "I would advise your take your leader and leave here," Zoro suddenly said to them. "If the captain is going to cut lose you don''t want to be around here when it happens," he said warning the Shandorians. Not even a second later they all grabbed their leader and ran. They had seen Enel''s power firsthand and that was frightening, but Luffy''s power was on an entirely different level from his.


    "How dare you do this me, you insufferable little brat!" growled Enel as he began to pick himself up. "I am a god!" he yelled out before wiping some blood from the side of his mouth. "I''ve had just enough of you!" he said before lightning surrounds his body and he grew a few feet in height. His appearance changed slightly as well. His hair grew slightly and stood up straight as if it were defying gravity, his muscles became more defined, and his face became fiercer. "Allow me to give you a glimpse into the godly powered of my Human-Human Fruit: Model Amaru!" he said arrogantly with a smirk on his face while spinning his golden staff.


    "Arrogant as ever," Luffy said with a sigh as he shook his head before he turned to Zoro. "Get out of here, Zoro," he said causing his vice-captain to nod his head before running and jumping off the island cloud that they were on. Luffy then held up his right hand and surrounded his palm with lightning before adding armament haki to the lightning causing his to turn into black lightning.


    "Second Gear!" he said before clenching his fist and absorbing the black lightning into his body. Not even a second after doing that sparks of black lightning appeared all around his body.


    "You made a big mistake messing with a member of my crew," Luffy said coldly as he narrowed his eyes. "Now you are going to die a slow and painful death," he said in a chilling tone before he kicked off the ground and dashed forward towards the god at top speed destroying the ground he once stood on in the process. Even though Enel knew what attack Luffy was going to do thanks to him knowing observation haki, he could not block the attack in time. Luffy appeared in front of him at speeds faster than lightning itself and delivered an uppercut to the false god sending him airborne at the speed of lightning. Luffy then bent his knees slightly and looked up with narrowed eyes at the so-called god ascending into the thundercloud infested sky. He then kicked off from the ground traveled straight-up breaking the sound barrier on the process. Enel, who regained some of his senses, looked down and saw Luffy flying towards him at blinding speed. He gritted his teeth before he tapped two of the drums on his back with his golden staff causing them to glow electric blue before, he pointed his staff at the incoming Luffy and yelled out.


    "God''s Judgement!" He bellowed out as lightning traveled from his hands through the staff and a large beam of lightning shot out of the tip of his staff heading directly to Luffy. With Luffy being in the air, Enel had expected that he had no way to dodge the oncoming attack. Luffy just smirked as the beam of lightning got closer and closer. he then turned his body into a bolt of black lightning just as Enel''s beam of blue lightning impacted him. Enel smirked victoriously when he saw that his attack hit its target, but the smirk vanished from his face when he saw his previously blue beam of lightning began turning black from the bottom up. When the entire beam of lightning turned completely black the beam disappeared revealing Luffy floating directly in front of Enel.


    "Thanks for the ride," Luffy said coldly causing Enel''s eyes to widen in horror. Luffy caught a glint in the corner of his eyes of something shinning off to their left. Deciding to investigate it, he did the only thing he could do in a situation like this. He covered his fist in lightning infused haki punched Enel in the direction of the glint that the saw.


    "Gungnir!" Luffy said as he punched the false god in the face. As his fist impacted the Enel''s face a loud thunderclap was heard throughout Skypiea. Enel once again blasted off in the direction of the glint that Luffy saw breaking the sound barrier in the process. As Luffy what Enel fly towards the island cloud that he saw the glint on, he turned his body into a bolt of black lightning and shot up into the thunder clouds using the electricity particles inside of them to travel faster. When Enel was directly above the island cloud a bolt of black lightning came out of the struck him right in the c.h.e.s.t sending him barreling down towards the cloud. As soon as he impacted the cloud, his body bounced back up about 3 feet off the surface of the cloud. It was then Luffy appeared once more and slammed his foot into Enel''s stomach, stomping him back down into the cloud causing him to cough up a large amount of blood. In the process of coughing up all that blood Enel''s body shifted back to his original state and all the lightning around him faded away.


    "Would you look at that," Luffy said as he looked off to his right at the giant golden bell that was sitting on the cloud. "That must be the bell that Noland talked about in his journal," he noted as he admired the bell. he also took note of the Poneglyph that was attached to the base of the bell.


    "Robin is going to want to see that,'' he thought as he stared at the Poneglyph.


    "That...is...mine!" Enel growled out weakly getting Luffy''s attention. "It will be a great addition to the Ark Maxim," he said in a weak voice causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow at him.


    "What the hell is an Ark Maxim?" Luffy asked while staring at the god.


    "It is the ship I''ve been building for the past six years...*Cough**Cough*" he replied in a hoarse voice. "After I kill you, I am going destroy this sky island and send it back to the blue sea word before taking that bell and sailing on to Endless Vearth!" he said causing Luffy to look at him a though he was crazy.


    "I got news for you, God," Luffy said as he bent down and whispered into Enel''s ears. "You are going to live past the next ten minutes," he said in a chilling tone sending shivers down Enel''s spine.


    "I-I can''t die," Enel said as he stared at Luffy with wide eyes. "I am a god," he said causing Luffy to shake his head.


    "For the last time!" Luffy said coldly as he raised his leg off Enel only to slam it back down into his midsection causing him to cough up more blood. "You are not a god!" Luffy yelled out as he stomped on Enel some more causing him to let go of the golden staff he had. Luffy eyed the golden staff a bit before picking it up and twirling it around in his hand and spinning it around his body. "hmmm, I never did see myself as a swordsman," he said as he places his other hand on the sword strapped his side. "But this staff feels right in my hand," he said before looked back at Enel. "I think I''ll keep it," he said with a chuckle.


    Luffy then summoned his thundercloud that had all his stuff inside of it. The cloud came up beside Luffy and hovered there in place before something began rising from inside the cloud. It was a big fruit basket containing a variety of fruits. Luffy then looked back at Enel and spoke with a smirk on his face.


    "You have such a rare devil fruit," he said with a smile while looking at Enel. "You mind if I take it, would you?" he asked in a chilling voice causing the beaten god''s eyes to widen in horror. Luff then laughed coldly before looking at Enel and speaking in a menacing tone. "Well, you don''t really have a choice in the matter," he said causing the already pale man to go even paler. Luffy then turned Enel over onto his stomach before grabbing both god''s arms and pulling them back towards him.


    "Wait! No stop!" Enel begged as he began feeling the pain of his arms about to break. "Have mercy! please!" he begged Luffy whose eyes just took on a cold emotionless look before he spoke in an emotionless tone.


    "Did you show my crew member mercy when you electrocuted her," he said menacingly before shaping both of Enel''s arms back causing the sickening sound of Enel''s shoulders popping out of its socket to be heard.


    "Ahhhhhhh!" Enel screamed out in pain. Luffy then let go of his arms before walking over to his legs. He then covered his right foot in haki before stomping on Enel''s left foot breaking it.


    "Did you even think of showing her mercy?" Luffy asked before he walked around to the other foot. "Or was she just an insect for you to crush under your boot?" he asked before breaking the left foot in the same manner or the right.


    "AHHHh!" Enel continued to scream loudly. Luffy then turned him back over placed the bottom of his newly owned golden staff on Enel''s c.h.e.s.t.


    "This is going to hurt, a lot," Luffy said in a cold tone before black lightning traveled from his hand through the golden staff and into Enel''s body. As soon as the black lightning entered his body Enel let out a blood-curling scream which echoed though out Skypiea. The people of the sky were already frightened when they saw the heavens turned black and when Giant jack fell, but that screamed scared them even more than anything else. "Hurts doesn''t it?" Luffy asked with a sadistic smirk on his face.


    "Noo, please! No more!" Enel begged but Luffy paid him no mine.


    "That is 1000 volts, let''s try 10,000," Luffy said he increased the voltage. "100,000," he said once again increasing the voltage. "1 million!" he said he pushed it even further. Enel opened his mouth to scream but no sound came out. Luffy stopped after ten seconds and stared down at Enel who was foaming at the mouth. Luffy then placed the golden staff on the thunder cloud with the fruit basket before walking towards the giant golden bell. He stopped once he was about halfway there and looked back at Enel who was currently unconscious. "Why don''t you help me ring this bell," Luffy said before he pointed his open palm at the fallen god causing a bolt of black lightning to fire out and wrap itself around Enel''s neck. Luffy then grabbed a hold of the rope made of lightning before he started to swing Enel''s body around like a windmill. With every cycle that Enel went around Luffy increased the speed at which he was spinning him until finally Luffy made a step forward and slammed the into the giant bell with such force that it knocked the bell back and off the island cloud causing it to fall down towards the upper yard. As Enel impacted the bell Luffy increased the temperature of the bolt of lightning that wrapped around his neck to such a degree where it sliced right through Enel''s neck decapitating him. Enel''s head rolled on the surface of the island cloud while his body went over the side of the cloud with the bell. Luffy then quickly turned and looked at the fruit basket and a red apple turning electric blue before swirl patterns appeared on it. When Luffy saw that he smirked victoriously.


    Luffy walked over the Enel''s head and picked it up by his hair before walking back to the thundercloud. He was about to hop onto the cloud but stopped when the sounds of the beautiful sounds of the bell ringing filled his ears causing him to smile. He then picked up his staff and the newly made devil fruit before hopping onto the cloud and flying off to the location of the golden bell. He arrived almost at the edge of the Upper yard where Bell had landed. When he got there, he saw that it was still swinging back and forth playing its sweet song for all to hear. He then turned his attention to the Poneglyph and closed his eyes as if he were trying to hear something. after a few seconds, he opened his eyes and smiled.


    "A weapon huh," he said with a chuckle before hopping back on the cloud and head in the direction where he sensed Zoro being. After picking up a lost Zoro the two of them made their way to the ship which was currently sailing towards the Upper yard along with multiple other sh.i.p.s that had both Skypieans and Shandorians. The thundercloud stopped just in front of all the sh.i.p.s causing all of them to stop as well. Luffy walked forward with his golden staff in one hand the Enel''s head in the next. "Guess he wasn''t that much of a god," Luffy said as he held up Enel''s head for all to see. he then tossed the head into the White White sea before hopping onto the Going Merry.


    "He killed Enel..."A Shandorian said in awe as he stared at the sinking head.


    "Unbelievable, he killed god," a random Skypiean said causing Luffy to sigh and shake his head before looking around his ship. He saw that there were more people on board his ship than he had left. There was his crew along with Gan Fall, Conis and her father, a little Shandorian girl, and those Shandorians and their leader that was fighting with Zoro. Before he could say anything to all of them Gan fall stepped forward and spoke.


    "You have killed Enel and freed the people of the sky from his tyrannical rule," he said in a voice filled with gratitude. "How can we ever repay you, young man?" he asked while looking at Luffy. Luffy looked around and saw that the other Skypieans were all nodding their heads in approval of what Gan Fall was doing along with a few Shandorians.


    "Well, I am kind of hungry," Luffy said as he rubbed his belly. "And we would appreciate some of the gold that Enel stole," he added causing his crew to smile especially Nami.


    "That can be done," Gan fall said with a smile. "We sky people have no uses for gold really, a lot of us don''t even know what it is," he said causing Luffy to nod in understanding.


    "Hey! Straw Hat!" yelled out someone getting Luffy''s attention. When Luffy looked over to the side of his ship he saw the leader of the Shandorians who he electrocuted sitting against the main mast of his ship. "How dare you ring the Golden Bell. Only a Shandorian may ring it!" he yelled causing Luffy to narrow his eyes before a loud thunderclap sounded overhead frightening some people. "I suggest you check your attitude while you are on MY ship before I finish what I started earlier," Luffy said coldly causing Wyper to growl. "As for why I rang the bell, I got a friend who is a descendant of this guy named Noland so I rang it for him," he added with a shrug causing the chief of the Shandorians eyes to widen along with Wyper''s. Luffy paid them no mind instead he walked up to the Upper deck where Nami was and spoke to her.


    "What is it, Captain?" she asked.


    "Has the log pose reset?" he asked while looking at her. Nami looked at the log pose on her wrist before she replied.


    "No, not yet," she said causing him to smile.


    "Well then, let that vacation we were all expecting when we got her to begin," he said before he walked into his captain''s quarter leaving his crew smiling behind him.


    "Luffy!" he heard the voice of Robin yelled out stopping him as he was about to enter his quarters. When he turned around, he saw Robin who had bandages all over her body looking up at him causing him to smile knowing what she was about to ask.


    "The golden bell is located at the South-Western part of the island," he said before she could speak. "I was previously on an island could to the west of Giant Jack, but I knocked out off of there when I kill Enel," he said causing her to smile along with every other Skypiean. He then walked into his quarters and closed the door behind him. Luffy sat down on his bed and braced his golden staff against the wall before he reached under the bed and pulled out a c.h.e.s.t. He then reached into his coat and pulled out a key before unlocking the c.h.e.s.t and opening it revealing a chat filled with devil fruits.


    ''Thanks for the fruit, Enel,'' he thought with a chuckle before closing the c.h.e.s.t and sliding it back under his bed.


    **CHAPTER END**


    I hope you enjoyed this chapter even though I am not that happy with how it came out.


    Next chapter we wrap up the Skypiea and we will see some of the reactions of the people on Jaya along with the Navy talking about some stuff. So until then see ya!


    Please leave a review.

 Chapter 36 - 36: Hells Company and The Return to the Blue Sea!

    Luffy was currently standing on the rear deck with a glass of whiskey in his hand. One day had passed since he killed Enel. The straw hats, Shandorians, and the Skypieans had thrown a large feast in celebration of Enel''s defeat. The previous evening was filled with loud singing, dancing, and a whole lot of drinking. A lot of the participants of the party were currently still sleeping while some of them were already awake and exploring the upper Yard for the first time. As for the Straw hats, most of them were awake with the only ones who were still asleep was Usopp and Chopper. Sanji was in the kitchen with Nami and Robin making breakfast, Zoro was off to the side of the Going Merry training, and Nojiko sitting on the main deck with Conis and her father talking. After eating a delicious breakfast that Sanji prepared the crew and the now awaken Skypieans and Shandorians all decided to go exploring the island in their own way.


    Usopp went to a group of Skypieans and Shandorians and began trying to trade them all sorts of items from the Blue Sea world for the dials found here on a sky island, Nami, Nojiko, and Chopper went off to search for gold along with Conis, Pagaya, and a few Skypieans, Zoro went off to continue his training alone, and Sanji went off to find some cooks from Skypiea to exchange some recipe with. With everyone gone their own separate ways, only Luffy and Robin remained on board the ship. The two of them were currently standing on the main deck look off into the giant forest.


    "Shall we go see this bell?" Luffy asked as he looked over at Robin casing her to smile before she nodded. The two of them then hopped off the Going Merry and began walking through the forest in the direction of where the bell was. The two of them walked for about 20 minutes before arriving at the location of the giant bell only find that there was a large crowd of people there, both Shandorians and Skypieans. At the head of the crowd was Gan Fall and the chief of the Shandorians, they were all staring at the Poneglyph attached to the bell.


    "Chief, what does it say?" a Shandorian warrior asked as Luffy and Robin made their way through the crowd.


    "It is an ancient text," The chief replied as he stared at the Poneglyph. "It is impossible to read," he added in an apologetic voice. As soon as he uttered those words Robin spoke up and began reading the words etched into the stone.


    "We shall know the true meaning and utter it to no one," Robin said as she and Luffy walked out of the crowd and made their way to the Poneglyph. The chief''s eyes widen in shock as he heard what Robin was saying. "It is our legacy to be the inheritors of history and our duty to protect it with the sounding of the Grand Belfry," Robin continued while Luffy just smiled.


    "Those words..." the chief said in a shocked voice. "How do you know them?" the chief asked as he stared at Robin.


    "Those words were described on a wall in one of the ruins of Shandora," she replied as she and Luffy stopped in front of the Poneglyph. "Long ago, your people were entrusted to be its guardian, correct?" she asked as she continued to stare at the giant stone.


    "You can actually read those texts?" the chief asked but he got no reply. Luffy stared up at the giant Poneglyph as he began to hear a small voice inside of his head.


    "It talks about one of the ancient weapons doesn''t it?" Luffy suddenly asked taking Robin and everyone else by surprise.


    "Ancient weapon?" a Shandorian asked in surprise.


    "Why would it have that on there?" another asked.


    "You can read what it says?" Robin asked as she turned her attention to her captain.


    "Not exactly," Luffy replied as he took off his straw hat and ran his hand through his hair. "More like I heard it tell me what was on there," he said confusing everyone who was there. "It''s hard to explain. All I know is that it talks about a great weapon," he said with a sigh.


    "It talks about the ancient weapon Poseidon, a weapon named after a god," Robin said as she read through the Poneglyph. "It even tells its location," she said.


    "I already know where Poseidon is," Luffy said surprising her once more. "You could even say I''ve seen it already," he added casually causing her eyes to widen in shock.


    "Hey look," a Shandorian warrior said while pointing off to the side of the Poneglyph. "There is some more stuff engraved on the side," he said causing everyone to look over.


    "Gol. D Roger," Robin whispered out in surprise getting Luffy''s attention. The two of them walked over to the side and cleared some of the vines that were around it before robin began reading what the writings said. "''I have come here and will lead this passage to the farthest ends of the world.''" she recited in a surprised voice. "What did the pirate king mean by that and how could he write the ancient text?" Robin asked herself.


    "He couldn''t write it," Luffy suddenly said as he places his hat back on his head. "He had someone on his crew who could," he added causing Robin''s eyes to widen.


    "Who?" Robin asked as she stood up and stared at Luffy with hopeful eyes of finding someone else like her who could read the ancient text.


    "A man named Kozuki Oden," he said surprising her. "He''s dead now but he was the one who wrote that statement," he said as he stared at her before he started chuckling. "Don''t worry," he said as he patted her head. "When we get to the New World, I''ll take you to Wano Country...the land where the Poneglyphs was made," he said causing her eyes to widen to the size of dinner plates.


    "The land where Poneglyphs are made..." Robin said in an astonished voice causing Luffy to chuckle at her reaction. She looked like a kid who just heard that they are going to be taking a tour of the place where they make all the chocolate in the world. Before anyone could say anything else Nojiko came running out of the forest looking for Luffy.


    "Luffy!" she yelled out getting everyone''s attention.


    "What is it?" Luffy asked in a serious voice. "Is something wrong?" he asked slightly worried that something happened to one of them.


    "No, nothing like that," Nojiko replied as she tried to catch her breath. "We found Enel''s ship," she said causing Luffy to raise his eyebrow at her wondering why the hell a ship was so important. "It''s made of gold," he added causing his eyes to widen.


    "This I got to see," he said before he turned to Robin. "You going to be okay here?" he asked to which she nodded. He then walked off towards Nojiko while at the same time summoning his thundercloud. When the cloud arrived the two of them hopped onto it and flew off in the direction where Nojiko and the gang found the ship. They arrived outside of a cave with a curtain with the kanji for ''GOD'' written on it. the duo walked through the curtain and into the cave where they saw a giant ark with large oars on the side along with propellers. The thing that caught Luffy''s attention however was the giant face made of gold on the main deck. There were both Shandorians and Skypians there as well staring up at the behemoth of a ship.


    "Luffy, look at all that gold!" Said an overly excited Nami as she ran towards Luffy with Chopper following behind. "Can we take it?" she asked.


    "I don''t see why not," Luffy replied before walked out and stood directly in front of the ark. "Is there anyone on the ship?" he asked to which they all shook their heads. Luffy then smiled before his entire right hand was covered in lightning.


    "El Thor!" Luffy yelled out as he punched his hand forward causing a giant beam of lightning to fire out and engulfed the ark. Luffy held the beam of lightning there for about thirty seconds before the beam vanished and the ark along with it. Those looking on had a surprised look on their faces when they saw that the giant ship that was previously there was gone and replaced with 20 square blocks of gold. Each block was about 5 ft wide and 5 ft high.


    "Find some way to get them on the ship and we''ll take them with us," Luffy said as he dusted off his hand before walking back towards them.


    "How are we supposed to take all of them back to the ship?" Nojiko asked as he looked between the gold and Luffy.


    "Get the Skypieans and the Shandorians to help," Luffy said with a shrug. "Tell Zoro that it will make him stronger to carry them back," he suggested. "Ask Sanji, I''m sure he''ll go crazy if the two of you ask him," Luffy said giving them multiple options on how to deal with the problem of getting the gold to the ship. "Has the log reset?" he asked his navigator.


    "No, not yet," Nami replied as she glanced down at her log pose.


    "Well then, I''m headed to Angel Beach," Luffy said as he began walking towards the exit of the cave. "I didn''t come to Sky island to stay on dry land the entire time. I came here to relax on a cloud," he said as he walked out of the cave. "You know where to find me if you need me," he added before he left the cave.


    "He has the right idea," Nami said as she watched Luffy walk out of the cave.


    **One Day Later**


    *purupurupuru* *purupurupuru* *purupurupuru*


    Luffy''s eyebrow twitched as the sound of his transponder snail ringing.


    "How the hell am I even getting a signal all the way up here," he asked himself in a frustrated voice before he looked over to his left where his trusty thundercloud was. He reached in and pulled out a small c.h.e.s.t where the sound of the ringing was coming from. Luffy opened the rest reveling it filled with transponder snails before he stuck his hand in and image around trying to find the snail that if ringing. He then pulled out a small transponder snail with an eyepatch over its left eye. When Luffy saw the which snail, it was he smiled slightly before he answered it.


    "Paul my old friend," He said into the microphone of the snail. "To what do I owe the p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e of this call?" he asked as he closed the c.h.e.s.t and took the snail that he was using over to his right and sat it down next to the bottle of wine.


    "Asura," a deep voice sounded out through the snail. "I''m just calling to confirm from requests I received recently," the man named Paul said.


    "What kind of requests?" Luffy asked before taking a sip of his wine.


    "I received multiple requests from individuals in the four seas and one from here in the Grand Line to build bases," he said causing Luffy to nod when he heard that. "They all claimed that Asura told them to call me. One group here in the Grand Line came to tell me in person even," he added.


    "Names and location," Luffy said in a serious voice.


    "Ms. Valentine in the South?" Paul asked.


    "One of mine," Luff replied.


    "Ms. Merry Christmas in the North?" he asked.


    "Mine," Luffy replied.


    "The Bounty duo in the East?" he asked causing Luffy to raise his eyebrow at the codenames that Johnny and Yosaku chose.


    "Mine," Luffy replied.


    "And a woman named Paula came to see me personally a couple of days ago," he said.


    "Yeah, I sent her to you. She is going to be running the Hino Branch," Luffy said into the snail. "She said she found an uninhabited island to set up base. I want you to check it out and see if it meets our requirements for the plans, we have for the head of the Hino branch," Luffy said.


    "Same plan we came up with?" Paul asked.


    "Yeah, the very same," Luffy said before finishing his glass of wine and began pouring himself a new glass.


    "Very well, I will contact my people in those oceans and have them begin construction," Paul said causing Luffy to nod. "Hell''s Company already has rooted itself in al the world''s ocean in such a short amount of time. Don''t you think you are moving a bit too fast, Asura?" Paul asked in a curious tone.


    "No, I know the Navy are probably already aware of Hell''s Company''s existence, but they can never truly grasp the true size and magnitude of Hell''s reach. By the time they try to do something about it, I would have already sunk my claws so deep into this world that it would be impossible for them to take me out," Luffy said in a serious tone before he finished with a deep chuckle.


    "Nice to know Paradise hasn''t mellowed you out," Paul said with a chuckle.


    "How are things in Alabasta?" he asked.


    "Things are progressing pretty smoothly here. We finished with the second level of the bas.e.m.e.nt a couple of days ago and are currently working on the first level which should be done in three days. After that, we just need to start building the main floor and the docking ports. I got about 150 people working here so it should take another two weeks to finish everything," Paul said causing Luffy to smile.


    "That is wonderful news," Luffy said before taking a sip of his drink.


    "Yeah, the princess comes by every couple of days to check how things are going and I hired a few of the locals to help with construction. I might hire some more to speed things up but if we continue at this current pace, we will be finished in two weeks," Paul said proudly. Luffy smiled when he heard Vivi was checking in regularly.


    "What about the marines?" Luff suddenly asked. "Any trouble?" he asked.


    "There was a marine captain that showed up here with his ship demanding to know what we were building and who we are building it for but the king got rid of him right before I was about to send him and his ship down to the seafloor," Paul said causing Luffy chuckle. "But other than that, there has been no trouble," he said causing Luffy to nod.


    "Make sure to give me a call after you inspect the island that Paula found," Luffy said.


    "Will do boss," Paul replied before the two of them hung up the phone. Luffy then put the transponder snail back into the c.h.e.s.t and was about to close it but as he was closing it he sighed and pulled out a different snail and pushed the button that was on top of it.


    "Asura," came the voice of Isaac through the transponder.


    "Isaac, how are things there in the West?" Luffy asked with a smirk.


    "Everything is great, business is starting to pick up. Made our first big weapon sale a couple of days ago to a group of rebels fighting a civil war," Isaac said causing Luffy to smile.


    "Did you try selling to the kingdom they are fighting against as well?" Luffy asked.


    "I already sent some people to go talk to the king," Isaac said causing both him and Luffy to start laughing.


    "We truly are the sc.u.m of the earth," Luffy said with a chuckle.


    "We wouldn''t be pirates if we were anything else," Isaac replied with a laugh.


    "True, anything else you have to report?" Luffy asked before taking another sip of his wine.


    "Well, a few hospitals here in the West Blue who we spread the word to that the famous Drum Kingdom medicines can only be acquired through has started putting in requests for the medicine. I sent a ship back into the Grand Line to go deliver the requests to the Kingdom and bring it back but I received word that the kingdom only now began medical production again," he said causing Luffy to nod his head.


    "I''ll give the king a call after I''m done talking to you to see what''s going on," Luffy said into the snail.


    "Why did you call me anyway?" Isaac asked reminding Luffy of the reason he called one his generals.


    "That''s right, I called to tell you to distance yourself from Hell''s Company," Luffy said confusing Isaac.


    "Why?" Isaac asked.


    Because you are already known for sailing under my flag. I don''t want people to find out that I am Asura so soon," Luffy said causing Isaac to understand. "Let Jiro be the face of things there in the West Blue while you oversee everything from the shadows," Luffy said.


    "Roger that, captain!" Isaac said. "Anything, in particular, you want me to do from the shadows here in the West?" he asked in an excited voice causing Luffy to smirk.


    "I want you to build up my fleet there in the West," Luffy said with a smirk. "Bring more pirates under my flag, promise new up and coming rookies and weaklings my protection if they sail under my flag," Luffy said causing Isaac to chuckle.


    "Tell them that you can grantee their safety if they ever decide to enter the Grand Line," Isaac said in an excited tone causing both him and Luffy to chuckle deeply.


    "That''s it," Luffy said with a chuckle.


    "I''ll get right on that, see you later boss!" Isaac said before he hung up the phone causing Luffy to shake his head and put the transponder snail back into the c.h.e.s.t.


    "Might as well get all of this out of the way now so I can relax," Luffy said before he reached back into the c.h.e.s.t and pulled out a larger transponder snail. He dialed a number into it and waited for the other party to pick up.


    *purupurupuru* *purupurupuru* *purupurupuru**Cachack*


    "Hello," a man answered politely.


    "Hello, Dalton, how are you?" Luffy asked the new King of the Drum Kingdom.


    "Luffy?" Dalton asked.


    "The one and only," Luffy replied as he swirled the wine in his glass around. "How are things in the kingdom?" he asked.


    "Everything has been going great. The people are finally happy, and things seem to be picking up," Dalton replied happily. "Also, we renamed the kingdom. It is no longer called the Drum Kingdom, but the Sakura Kingdom now," he informed Luffy causing him to nod.


    "That is good to know," Luffy replied through the snail. "Make sure to let all of my people who come there know to tell their customers," he added.


    "We are already doing that," Dalton said as Luffy heard began rummage around some papers. "We are getting a lot of requests from all over the world for medicines, we can''t seem to keep up the orders," Dalton said in an apologetic voice.


    "Don''t sweat it, Dalton," Luffy said with a smile. "Whatever it is you need just ask my people and they will get it for you. If you need more workers, I am sure they can find some for you. If you need facilities built just tell one of my people to send a message to Paula and she will put in touch with my personal architect," Luffy explained causing the new king to relax slightly.


    "Thanks, Luffy," he said in a grateful voice. "You have been a real help to the people of this country," he added.


    "The Sakura Kingdom is one of my territories, it is only right for me to tack care of it and its people," Luffy said before taking a sip of his wine.


    "We will forever be grateful to you and your crew," Dalton said through the transponder snail. "By the way, how is that little reindeer that you took with you?" he asked causing Luffy to smile.


    "He is just great," Luffy replied with a slight smile. "He is a great doctor and one hell of a pirate," he said with a chuckle.


    "I''m sure Dr. Kureha will be happy to hear that," Dalton said causing Luffy to nod his head.


    "Give me a call if you ever need me, Dalton," Luffy said.


    "Will do," Dalton replied before the two of them hung up. Luffy placed the transponder snail back into the c.h.e.s.t before staring at the transponder snails in the c.h.e.s.t as if trying to decide whether to call someone else. he ultimately decided not to and closed the c.h.e.s.t causing it to sink back into the cloud.


    "That''s enough work for one day," he said with a smirk before he poured himself another glass of this exquisite Skypiean wine and leaned back in the comfortable lounge chair.


    **One Week Later**


    An entire week had passed since Luffy spoke to his subordinates in Hell''s Company. He was currently standing on the rear deck of the Going Merry wearing a pair of black beach shorts and an unbuttoned red-flowered shirt showing off his necklace with a lightning bolt, his chiseled abs and well-toned muscles along with the tattoo of the jolly roger of the Red-Haired pirates in the left side of his abdomen. The log pose had finally reset, and the crew was getting ready to set sail. Usopp, Sanji, and Chopper were loading some supplies onto the ship, Nami and Nojiko were talking to Conis and her father about how they were going to get back down to the Blue Sea, Robin was sitting on the main deck reading a book, and Zoro was standing next to Luffy looking out at the island. A large group of the Skypieans had come to see the crew off. They were all waving and cheering at Luffy who for the most part ignored all of them.


    "Do you know the next island that the log pose is pointing to?" Zoro asked getting Luffy''s attention.


    "Not a clue," Luffy replied before he turned and walked over to his throne. "It wouldn''t be fun knowing where we are going all the time," he added as he sat down. He then looked over to the main deck to see Sanji, Usopp, and Chopper loading the last of the supplies on the ship. "Go get Nami and Nojiko," Luffy said to Zoro causing him to nod his head before he walked to the side of the ship and yelled for them. While he was doing that Luffy turned and spoke to Sanji. "Are we all set, Sanji?" he asked.


    "Aye, Captain," Sanji replied as he looked up at Luffy. "It was a tight fit considering all the gold that is stored below deck, but we got everything," he said causing Luffy to nod.


    "Alright then," Luffy said as he saw Nami and Nojiko walk onto the ship. "Raise the anchor and prepare to set sail for Cloud End!" he ordered. causing Chopper to walk over to the front of the ship and pull up the anchor while Usopp and Sanji released the sails. Nojiko made her way to the rudder to take charge of steering while Nami and Zoro moved to stand on either side of Luffy.


    "Conis and her father will be escorting us to Cloud End," Nami said causing Luffy to nod his head. Soon the sails of the ship caught a little bit of wind but thanks to the extra weight on board it was not enough to move the ship.


    "It would appear as though we have a problem," Luffy said as he raised one eyebrow and stared at the sails.


    "Don''t worry!" Usopp shouted out getting everyone''s attention. "Captain Usopp shall save the day!" he declared before rummaging around in his bag for a bit before pulling out two dials that he got from the people here on Skypiea. He then walked up the upper deck and stood directly behind the main mast and pointed the two dials at the sails. He then pushed the button that was on the backs of both dials causing a gust of wind to blow out of the shells. As soon as the wind hit the sails the ship jerked forward and began sailing out of the port at Angel Island.


    "So cool!" Chopper yelled out with stars in his eyes.


    "Nice one, Usopp," Nami said with a smile.


    "I''m impressed," Luffy said with a smirk. Usopp started to laugh proudly with all the compliments he was getting. As the ship was sailing away the people of Skypiea waved goodbye and shouted praises to their heroes as they watch them sail away. Off to the side of the Going Merry traveling in a waver were Conis and her father scoring Luffy and the crew towards Cloud End. The straw hats said on the White-White Sea for about one hour before the place known as Cloud End came into view.


    "That''s Cloud End!" Conis shouted while pointing at the upcoming structure. It was a gate like the one they saw when they entered Skypiea. The only difference was that this one lacked the golden gates and was not as big as the one at the entrance of Skypiea. It did have a beautiful rainbow forming a large arch just above the gate. Conis and her father increased their speed and got ahead of the Going Merry to dock their waver off to the side at one of the walkways at the gate. As they Merry sailed through the gate the father-daughter duo began running beside the ship shouting their goodbyes.


    "This as far as we can go!" Pagaya shouted.


    "Take care, you guys!" Conis yelled as she waved goodbye.


    "Thanks for everything!" Nami shouted back as she waved.


    "We''ll miss you!" Nojiko yelled as they sailed further through the gate.


    "Conis! Don''t forget me, angel!" Sanji yelled with hearts in his eyes.


    "Now take care of yourselves and hold on tight!" Pagaya shouted to the crew. "You''re in for a bumpy ride!" he said causing them to nod. The ship then said through a tunnel with an obvious downslope at the end of it. The crew all held onto the ship preparing for just an equally rough ride down as it was getting up here.


    "Hold on and do try not to fall off the ship," Luffy said calmly as he crossed his legs on his throne and sat there without a care in the world. She then said down the slide and began picking up speed.


    "You guys hold on tight! the free fall is about to begin!" Conis shouted just as the Going Merry sailed off the slide and began falling towards the blue sea.


    ''Freefall?'' the straw hats all thought to themselves with a horrified look on each of their faces. Even Luffy''s eyes widened slightly when the ship began falling from 10 thousand meters up. The ship fell about 500 ft in about 10 seconds before a giant octopus shot out from the cloud and wrapped itself around the shop.


    "What the hell?" Zoro said as he prepared to cut the octopus but was stopped when the ship stopped descending so fast and began slowing down dramatically to a point where it was as if it was floating.


    "Well, this is new," Luffy said as he looked up at the giant octopus that acted like a balloon.


    "It''s a balloon," Chopper said in amazement as he stared at up at the creature.


    "We''re not falling," Nami commented. Before anyone else could say something else the entire straw hat crew heard the beautiful sound of the giant golden bell tolling.


    "At this speed, it is probably going to take us a while to get back down to the Blue Sea," Luffy said as he stood up from his throne. "I suggest you all get comfortable," he added before he walked towards his personal quarters.


    **Navy H.Q.**


    Currently, inside of the office of the Fleet Admiral of the Navy, there was a small meeting taking place between a few of the high-ranking officers in the Marines. Sitting inside of the rather large room was Vice-Admiral Garp, Vice-Admiral Tsuru, and of course, there was the Fleet Admiral himself, Sengoku. It was a regular meeting scheduled to discuss the current affairs in the world.


    "When will this great pirate era end?" Sengoku said as he let out a tired sigh from behind his desk.


    "Who says it has an end?" Garp asked as he munches on rice crackers. "Sooner or later someone will find that treasure then they will die, and the cycle will start all over again," he added between bites.


    "You just had to go and make my day even worse didn''t you, Garp," Sengoku said.


    "Bahahaha!" Garp laughed out. "yes, I did!" he added happily causing the fleet admiral to groan.


    "What are we waiting for anyway?" Tsuru asked as she looked at her two oldest friends bickering with each other.


    "We''re waiting for Gion to bring the scouting reports for this week," Sengoku replied as he leaned back in his chair. Just as he finished speaking there was a knock on the door. "Enter!" Sengoku said loudly. Soon the doors to the office were pushed open and in walked marine captain Gion carrying a clipboard.


    "Good morning, Fleet Admiral, Vice-Admiral Tsuru, and Vice-Admiral Garp," Gion said respectfully with a slight bow. "This week''s scouting reports are in from the scouting division," she said as she handed the clipboard to Sengoku who looked at the papers on the clipboard before passing some of them to Tsuru and Garp and some back to Gion.


    "Anything major to report?" Tsuru asked as she looked at the young marine captain.


    "Nothing too major," Gion said as she looked at the papers. "A civil war has broken out in the Black Raven kingdom in the West Blue," she said causing the three marine officers to nod their heads.


    "The world sure is a turbulent place," Garp commented as he read through the report. "One conflict after the next," he added before hitting down on a rice cracker.


    "The Drum Kingdom has a new king and has decided to change the name of the kingdom to the Sakura Kingdom," Gion said causing them to raise an eyebrow.


    "Who is the new king?" Tsuru asked.


    "A man named Dalton," Gion said as she turned her attention to the female vice-admiral. "He was a former royal guard under the old king," she added.


    "Is the old king dead?" Sengoku asked.


    "We don''t know," Gion replied in an apologetic tone. "We do know that Vice-Admiral Garp''s grandson, the Thunder Demon was responsible for the demise of the old king," she said surprising everyone in the room. "The new Sakura Kingdom is now also flying the Thunder Demon''s Flag around their country signifying that they are under his protection," she said causing Garp to choke on his rice cracker.


    "What!?" the three of them yelled out in surprise.


    "When did this happen and why weren''t we informed of it sooner?" Sengoku asked he stood up from behind his desk.


    "Apparently, this had happened long before the Straw Hats had even arrived in Alabasta. We''re only finding out about it now because in the past couple of weeks the kingdom has been quite active," Gion explained.


    "Active by doing what exactly?" Garp asked as he narrowed his eyes wondering what kind of trouble his grandson was causing now.


    "It doesn''t seem to be anything bad," Gion said calming everyone down. "They have just been ordering a lot of supplies to produce medicine once again," she said causing them to raise an eyebrow.


    "They are world-famous for their doctors and medicine production," Tsuru noted with a nod. "And there hasn''t been that much being produced from the old Drum Kingdom in recent years so this may be a good sign," she said causing everyone else to nod their heads.


    "So, the Thunder Demon already has two countries under his control," Sengoku commented as he sat back down in his chair.


    "That is correct, Sir," Gion said with a nod. "It was also reported that there was an incident between the Thunder Demon and Bellamy the Hyena back on Jaya a week ago," she added getting all their attention.


    "What was the incident?" Sengoku asked as he raised an eyebrow.


    "From what we gathered, Bellamy took one of the members of the Thunder Demon''s crew hostage as a way to get back at him for an earlier beating," he explained causing the three officers to nod their heads. "What followed next was the complete slaughtering of Bellamy''s crew with Bellamy being the only survivor," she said causing their eyes to widen slightly. "There is a detailed eye-witnessed report on page 7," she added causing all of them to turn to page 7 and read through the eye-witnessed report.


    "There is no way Bellamy is powerful enough to survive Luffy," Garp noted as he read through the report.


    "Oh no, it wasn''t that he survived. It was more like your grandson left him alive as punishment," Gion said causing the three of them to understand.


    "Do we know why he was there on Jaya?" Tsuru asked with a curious look on her face.


    "Reports say he was there to gather information on a Sky island," she said surprising everyone in the room.


    "Do we know where he is now?" Garp asked.


    "There have been no sightings of the Thunder Demon for the past week," She said causing the vice-admiral to chuckle.


    "Guess he found the information he was looking for," Garp said while the other two officers nodded in agreement.


    "While we are talking about the Vice-Admiral''s grandson," Gion suddenly said getting all their attention once more. "It should be noted that the Angle of Death, Franklin D. Isaac has been spotted in the West Blue. I only bring it up because it was reported recently that Isaac now sails under the Thunder Demon''s flag," she said causing a puzzled look to appear on all of their faces.


    "Why would a powerful pirate from the New World suddenly go to one of the four blues?" Tsuru asked with a curious expression on her face.


    "We don''t know," Gion said with a sigh. "All we know is that he was spotted there," she added.


    "Keep an eye on that," Sengoku said seriously. "I doubt he is there on his own accord. It more like he was sent there," he noted as he narrowed his eyes.


    "Yes, sir!" Gion said as she made a note to tell the scouting division to keep up on this.


    "Anything else to report?" Tsuru asked.


    "What about that organization you told us about last time?" Garp suddenly asked causing the other two officers to remember.


    "Yes, Hell''s Company," Gion said as she flipped through a few pages to find the report on it.


    "Some Cipher Pol agents managed to infiltrate their operations in the North Blue," She said causing a slightly excited look to appear on the faces of the two vice-admirals and Fleet Admiral. "However, they were unable to gather any information on who their leader, the mysterious Asura, truly is," she said with a sigh causing a disappointed look to take the place of the previously excited faces of the occupants of the room.


    "You said the North Blue, what about the other Blues and the Grand Line?" Tsuru asked.


    "Agents were not able to join," Gion said causing everyone to raise an eyebrow. "The branches in the other oceans don''t seem to be taking in anyone who offers their services. It''s more like they scout out who they want to hire and then offer them a job," she said causing everyone to sigh.


    "Do we know anything new about this organization?" Sengoku asked.


    "Well, it seems as though they secured a deal with the new Sakura Kingdom to be the only distributors of their medicines," Gion said surprising the three older marine officers. "There are reports that hospitals from all four blues are placing orders through this organization for the world-renowned medicine from the Sakura Kingdom," she said causing everyone to nod their heads.


    "That''s all well and fine, however, is there any intel on the illegal smuggling done by this organization?" Sengoku asked.


    "Only rumors, Sir," Gion replied with another sigh. "Nothing concrete," she added.


    "Let''s hear these rumors then," Garp said as he sat up straight. Gion nodded before she read through the papers for a few seconds before she spoke again.


    "It is rumored that that Hell''s Company is the one who supplied weapons to the rebels in the Black Raven Kingdom which kick-started the civil war," she said before she looked up at the fleet admiral. "However, this is yet to be confirmed whether or not it is true," she added causing them to nod.


    "I don''t like this," Sengoku said with a sigh.


    "Neither do I," Tsuru added as she placed the papers down and folded her arms. "It is already known to the government that the Underworld is well established in the New World, but was always the thought that their reach didn''t extend to Paradise and if it did, it wasn''t as elaborate as the New World," she said causing the two men in the room to nod in agreement.


    "I think we all start preparing to deal with an all-out war," Garp suddenly said getting everyone''s attention.


    "And why the hell should we do that, you old fool," Tsuru barked out at Garp.


    "There are no signs of a war about to happen," Sengoku said as he stood up from behind his desk.


    "Think about it," Garp said in a serious voice. "The Underworld is already well established, and the people who run the Underworld are all likely very powerful in their own right," he said as he narrowed his eyes. "This Asura is new and he is expanding at an extremely fast rate. I don''t think people are going to like the fact that he is taking business away from them," Garp said causing everyone to understand why he suggested they should prepare for war.


    "It will be a war for control over certain parts of the Underworld if not the entire Underworld giving the number of pots this Asura has his hand in," Tsuru said as a thoughtful look appeared on her face.


    "And a war like that is not one that can be contained," Sengoku said with a sigh.


    "We could also use this to our advantage," Tsuru said getting everyone''s attention. "We can use the war to infiltrate the Underworld in order to get a better understanding of it," she said.


    "Let''s not get too ahead of ourselves," Sengoku said as he sat back down. "For now, we should just gather more information," he said causing everyone to nod. "Anything else to report, Gion?" he asked as he turned his attention to the marine captain standing in the middle of the room.


    "No, sir!" Gion said.


    "Very well, dismissed!" Sengoku said causing Gion to bow salute before making her way out of the room. "Why can''t this job ever be easy," he said as he let out a tired sigh and leaned back into his chair.


    "What are you talking about?" Garp asked with a large smile on his face. "It is easy! Bahahaha!" he said loudly causing Sengoku and Tsuru to groan.


    "That''s because you don''t do anything!" the two of them yelled.


    **With the Straw Hats**


    The sun had already set, and the straw hats were all lounging around on deck bored out of their minds. Luffy had transformed his throne into a lounge chair and was laying back staring up at the octopus balloon. Even he had to admit that it bores just sitting there waiting for the ship to reach the bottom.


    "I did not think it would take this long," Robin said from her position on the ground.


    "Can''t this thing go any faster?" Nami asked as she let out a frustrated sigh.


    "Is it just me or does the balloon look smaller?" Sanji suddenly asked as he stared up at the octopus. Luffy narrowed his eyes and looked at the octopus before his eyes widen slightly.


    "The balloon is shrinking!" he said loudly for everyone to hear before he got up from his throne.


    "I guess it does look smaller than before," Nojiko noted.


    "Why do I have a bad feeling about this," Usopp said in a scared voice. Just as he said that the octopus balloon deflated some more causing the ship decent faster.


    "We are going too fast!" Nami yelled out as she and everyone else held on to something. Luffy anchored himself down before he spread his arms out wide causing sparks of lightning to dance around his fingertips. Soon an extremely large thunder cloud came down from the sky faster than the ship was defending and position itself directly under the Going Merry. The Going Merry impacted the cloud but continued to defend just as fast as before. Luffy then clenched his tightly and proceeded to take up a lifting motion with his body as though he was trying to lift the ship.


    "AHHHHHHHHHH!" Luffy yelled as he began to feel the weight of the ship. The ship started to slow down, but it was still going too fast.


    "We''re slowing down!" Chopper said in excitement.


    "But we are stilling going too fast," Nami said in a panic as she leaned over the side of the ship and stared down. "At this rate, we will hit the sea so hard we will sink to the bottom!" she yelled.


    "That is if the ship doesn''t shatter first," Robin said causing Usopp''s head to shoot up.


    "Not on my watch," Usopp said as he pulled out the grappling hook from his belt and attach it to the side of the ship before jumping off surprising everyone. Usopp then went under the giant thunder cloud and attached some wind dials onto it. The wind dials activated and slowed the ship down drastically. However, do the extra weight they were carrying the speed at which they were defending was still too great.


    "Everyone, hold onto something!" Luffy yelled out as he began pushing him further while the crew pulled Usopp back in and braced themself for an impact. The going Merry impacted the water hard, destroying the thundercloud Luffy had made while at the same time creating huge waves that splashed over the side of the ship. As the ship impacted the water sound of stuff breaking on the ship could be heard by everyone, but they were all too caught up in trying to stay alive to really pay attention. The ship rocked back and forth in the now rough water while the crew tried to pick themselves up off the ground.


    "Is everyone alright?" Nojiko asked as she held her head and slowly stood up.


    "Yeah, just a bit shook up," Nami replied as she stood up. When everyone got up and looked at Luffy, they all saw him still breathing heavily while kneeling on the ground with sweat dripping from his face.


    "You okay there, captain?" Zoro asked to which he only received a nod. Luffy then uses the little strength he had left to stand himself up before reaching into his coat and pulled out a bottle of whiskey and took a drank straight from the bottle until it was empty.


    "I''m fine," Luffy said as he tossed the bottle aside. "Usopp, Chopper, you two check below deck for damage to the ship," he ordered in a tired voice.


    "Aye Captain!" Usopp yelled back with a salute.


    "You can count on us!" Chopper said while in his little reindeer form.


    "Nami," Luffy said getting her attention.


    "Take us to the next island," he said causing her to nod. Luffy then walked back to his throne and plopped himself down on his throne. "I really need to get a ship that could fly," he said with a sigh as he landed on his throne and closed his eyes.


    **Chapter End**


    That''s another chapter for you! I hope you guys enjoyed it.


    **Author''s note: I WILL NOT BE DOING THE DAVY BACK FIGHT ARC!***


    Please leave a review!

 Chapter 37 - Update

    Hey Everyone! It''s been a while, hasn''t it? I know all of you are waiting for the next chapter in The Thunder Demon Strawhat Luffy so I decided to give you guys an update on what is going on.


    First off I want to start off by saying that I am healthy and safe and I am grateful to a lot of you guys who reached out to check up on me. The reason why I haven''t uploaded a new chapter s not due to health reasons or anything of the sort but is mainly because my writer''s block has taken a turn for the worse. Originally I had thought that I was experiencing writer''s block because of the Skypiea Arc and me not being much fond of it. I had thought that once I got Skypiea out of the way I would be back to my old self, writing with enthusiasm but sadly that wasn''t the case. I started writing the next chapter then already wrote Luffy an the crew''s interaction with Foxy but then I suddenly found myself unable to write further. I tried rewatching the Anime hoping to reinvest myself into the story, but I think that did more bad than good. The next chapter is halfway finished, I just need to find the inspiration to write Luffy''s interaction with Aokiji and the crew arriving at Water 7 and it will be complete. Hopefully, I can get my mojo back and start writing again.


    I WILL NOT BE DROPPING THIS STORY! It is like my baby, I love it too much to drop it. I don''t know how long my writer''s block will last but I do know that it won''t be forever. All I ask is that my readers don''t give up on the story, because I sure as hell ain''t giving up on it. Any help in getting over my writer''s block is most welcome, just send me a Private message here on.


    Please be safe out there in these crazy times that we are living in and be assured that everyone''s favorite Thunder Demon will make his return in spectacular fashion soon. Until then!


    -Aaron Taichou

 Chapter 37 - 37: The Admiral!

    The crew had been sailing for about three days now since they arrived back on the Blue Sea. Luffy was currently standing in the front of the ship wearing a black slim fit dress suit pants with a pair of pretty expensive looking dress shoes which looked to be made from some kind of animal skin which allowed it to shine in the sunlight. He also had on a black form-fitting silk button-up shirt with the two buttons undone exposing his lightning bolt necklace and hanging from his shoulders was his captain''s coat billowing in the wind. The most notable difference about Luffy was the fact that he did not have his sword strapped to his waist like he normally does but instead he had a golden staff in his right hand which he got from Enel.


    The crew was currently scattered all over the ship doing their own thing. Sanji was in the kitchen preparing lunch, Robin was in the kitchen with him, but she was reading a book. Usopp was on the rear deck sitting on the floor with his tools and some dials trying to incorporate them into Nami''s clima tact, Chopper was sitting not that far from Usopp making medicine to restock his supply. Zoro was also on the rear deck with the two of them but he was training by swinging around a large weight. Nami was sitting on the main deck on a lawn chair reading a newspaper while Nojiko was up in the crow''s nest keeping a lookout.


    "Land Hoo!" Nojiko yelled up from the crow''s nest while holding up a pair of binoculars. Her voice got the attention of everyone on board the ship who all stopped what they were doing to come and see the island.


    "It''s still pretty far away," Luffy said as he leaned against his staff. "I can barely see it," he added as some of the crew joined him at the front of the ship.


    "There seems to be fog surrounding it," Nojiko said causing her sister to worry slightly.


    "Chopper! Go man the rudder just in case we come across trouble," Nami said to the little reindeer causing him to transform into his heavy point and run off to the rudder.


    "It''s still pretty far and it will take us a while to get there with this wind," Luffy said as he turned and looked at the sails. The Going Merry sailed forward slowly for about two and a half hours before they arrived at the edge of the fog surrounding the island. As they sailed through the fog the entire crew was slightly on edge due to a strange ship, they came across earlier that had no sails or flag and only had five people on board. When the Merry finally made it through the fog and arrived at the island there was nothing but grass and trees as far as the eye can see.


    "It seems to be uninhabited," Robin commented as she looked out at the island.


    "It''s nothing but grass and trees as far as the eye can see," Luffy noted as he stared out at the beautiful sight. "It''s like a blank slate, completely untouched by man," he added.


    "What are we standing around for?" Usopp asked as he got up onto the side of the ship. "Let''s go!" he yelled before leaping off the ship with Chopper following behind him.


    "Hey! Don''t just jump off like that!" Nami scolded but the duo paid no attention to her. "They have no sense of danger," she said with a sigh as she shook her head.


    "You worry too much, Ms. Navigator," Robin said before she hopped off. Luffy just chuckled before he too hopped off the Merry. When Luffy landed on the island his attention was immediately drawn to his right where he saw a white bear walking upright, but the only difference was this bear was extremely long.


    "What the hell?" Luffy asked himself as he stared at the bear walk across the meadow.


    "Hey, Luffy!" Usopp yelled while holding up a red fruit with a bite taken out of it. "Check out how long this apple is," he said surprising his captain.


    "What a strange place," Luffy commented before he walked forward to one of the trees and used a small bolt of lightning to knock an apple off the long trees. Chopper, Usopp, and Nojiko went off in the distance to examine a house they saw leaving Luffy, Nami, Zoro, Sanji, and Robin behind. Luffy just knocked a few apples off the tree again before sitting down at the base of the tree eating them while staring at the strange animals that were on this island.


    "This is truly a bizarre place," Nami commented as she Sanji hopped off the Merry followed by Zoro.


    "How long are we going to stay here, Captain?" Nami asked as she walked towards Luffy.


    "Don''t know," Luffy replied calmly as he continued to eat the long apples. "We''ll figure it out," he added with a chuckle causing Nami to growl.


    "Captain, we have company," Robin suddenly said causing Luffy to look over at her. When he looked over, he saw a large galleon sailing up behind the Merry with a large jolly roger on its mast. The ship stopped directly behind the Merry and shot off two large claws which acted as anchors allowing it to completely box the Merry in.


    "Seems like they are looking for a fight," Zoro said as he places his hands on his swords.


    "We are the notorious Foxy Pirates!" someone on board the ship yelled out. "We want more than just a fight from you! We want a showdown!" they said causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow at them.


    "Why must idiots throw their lives away so foolishly," Luffy said with a sigh as he continued to sit under the tree with a bored expression on his face.


    "Fuehfehfehfeh!" someone laughed off to Luffy''s left getting his attention. "I Foxy, captain of the Foxy Pirates hereby challenge you pirate to a Davy Back Fight!" a short man with a weird hairstyle said causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow.


    "Who the hell are you?" Luffy asked as he looked at the man.


    "Y-you don''t know who I am?" the man asked sounding slightly hurt to which Luffy shook his head.


    "Not a clue," Luffy replied while shaking his head causing the man to drop down on his hands and knees and start to sulk.


    "He doesn''t know who I am," he said in a disturbed voice while the three crew members standing beside him trying to comfort him.


    "What is this Davy back fight?" Nami asked with a confused look on her face.


    "It is basically a sporting competition between pirate crews where pirates poach desirable members from other pirate crews," Robin said enlightening those who did not know.


    "A pirate crew with only 8 members," Foxy said as he stood up. "What a bunch of weaklings," he said smugly causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow at him before he stood up from his sitting position.


    "Umm, captain!" a member of Foxy crew yelled out getting his captain''s attention. "That''s the Thunder Demon!" the man shouted causing a lot of people to gasp out in shock. "He is the guy who beat Crocodile!" he continued. After hearing this a slightly scared look appeared on Foxy''s face.


    "Doesn''t matter!" Foxy said as he cleared his throat trying to hide the fact that he was intimated by Luffy. "I will still claim victor over you and your pitiful crew!" he declared causing Luffy to sigh and shake his head. Before anyone could say anything else Nojiko''s voice got everyone''s attention.


    "Hey! Captain!" she called out getting all of their attention. When they looked over, they saw Nojiko, Usopp, and Chopper walking towards them, but the thing that caught everyone''s attention was what Nojiko had in her hands. She was holding two severed heads which judging from the strange mask they had around their eyes they belonged to the Foxy Pirates. "These guys attacked a nice old man who we just met so we kill them," she said nonchalantly as she tossed the two heads forward.


    "T-they killed Capote and Pickles!" the crew onboard the ship yelled out in horror as they stared at the severed heads of their comrades. Luffy just looked back at Foxy and channeled some lightning to his golden staff changing its shape into a trident before he spoke.


    "Well, that is a shame," Luffy said in a bored tone as he turned his attention to Foxy. Panicking, the captain of the Foxy pirates launched an attack at Luffy before he had a chance to attack him.


    "Slow Slow Beam!" Foxy shouted firing a purple beam of energy towards Luffy who just stood there and let the beam engulfed him.


    "Was that it?" Luffy asked feeling neither pain nor missing any body parts. "Time to die I guess," he said as he took a step forward only to see that his normal movements have been slowed down dramatically.


    "Ha! that is the power of my Slow-Slow fruit!" Foxy declared proudly. Luffy just smirked before he turned his body into lightning and dashed forward at blinding speed surprising Foxy and his entire crew. Luffy then appeared in front of Foxy and stepped his golden trident into the pirate''s c.h.e.s.t while looking directly into his eyes with a cold stare.


    "Some advice," Luffy said in a chilling whisper. "Lightning is still pretty fast even when you slow it down," he said before shoving the trident further into Foxy''s c.h.e.s.t until it came out his back.


    "Captain!" Foxy''s crew yelled out in horror. The three crew members who were standing next to Foxy immediately tried to attack Luffy in anger, but before they had a chance to, they were all intercepted by Nojiko, Zoro, and Sanji.


    "Snatch!" Nojiko yelled as she appeared behind Foxy with her three-section staff reared back intercepting the girl who was about to attack Luffy. She then swung her arm forward in a whip-like motion. When the top section of the staff was about 1 ft away from the girl, the tip opened, and a metal spike extended out and pierced right through the girl''s heart. Nojiko then pulled back on her staff ripping the girl''s heart right out of her c.h.e.s.t causing her to fall forward with a lifeless look on her face.


    "Oni Giri!" Zoro yelled as he appeared to Luffy''s right intercepting another one of Foxy''s crew who was about to attack Luffy. He swung all three of his swords simultaneously across his c.h.e.s.t resulting in two deep slashes to appear on the man''s c.h.e.s.t and one across his throat. The man then took two steps forward before blood gushed out from his wounds like a fountain and he fell back into a pool of his own blood staring up to the sky as he felt his life leave his body.


    "Collier!" Sanji yelled as he appeared to Luffy''s left intercepting another poor soul who tried to attack Luffy. He pivoted on his left leg and delivered a roundhouse kick to the man''s neck causing the sickening sound of the man''s neck being broken to be heard before he too fell face first with a lifeless look on his face.


    "Nicely handled," Luffy said with a nod as he stared at the four dead bodies around him. He then turned his attention to the large ship filled with the Foxy Pirates who were all staring at Luffy with a look of absolute terror on their face.


    "They''re all demons!" A random member of the Foxy Pirates yelled out causing Luffy to smirk.


    "Now why would you say something like that," Luffy said before he snapped his fingers. *Snap* Just as the sound of his fingers clicked a beam of lightning came down from the sky and engulfed the pirate ship. The beam lasted for five seconds before it vanished and the pirate ship with it.


    "Judgement!" Luffy said lowly as the beam disappeared. He then summoned his thundercloud and pulled out a fruit basket from inside of it. The crew watched on in surprise and confusion as multiple fruits in the basket began changing into weirdly shaped and colored fruits with swirls on them.


    "Did they just become devil fruits?" Nami asked as she stared at the newly formed devil fruits in the basket.


    "It is one of the things that is only known by a handful of the people in the world," Luffy replied as he picked up one of the devil fruits from the basket. "When a devil fruit user dies, their devil fruit regenerates into a fruit similar it," he explained as he tossed the fruit up and down in his right hand.


    "Wow, I never heard about anything like that in all the years that I''ve been on the sea," Robin commented as she stared at Luffy.


    "It''s kept on the down-low by the government and some pretty powerful people," Luffy said as he began tucking all the new devil fruits into the thundercloud. "It may cause a lot of chaos if a lot of people discover that little fact," he added causing everyone to nod in agreement. "Anyway, there is nothing for us to do on this island," he said everything sank back into the cloud. "Let''s move on," he said causing everyone to nod before making their way back to the ship. The crew then raised anchor and began sailing away from the island. They sailed for a couple of hours before another island came into view.


    "I see an island!" Nami yelled out as she looked through a telescope. "It seems to be uninhabited," she added as she examined the island from afar.


    "Let''s head over there and check it out," Luffy commented causing Nami and Nojiko to nod before making their way to the rudder. "Sanji how do we stand on supplies?" Luffy asked as he looked at his cook.


    "We are not low on supplies, but I would like to have more than what we currently got," Sanji replied causing Luffy to nod his head.


    "Hopefully we can find some on that island," Luffy said as he stared at the island they were quickly approaching. It took about another thirty minutes for the Going Merry to reach the island. Once it reached the shore, they dropped anchor and proceeded to explore the island. The crew walked into the jungle that was on the island gathering supplies as they went.


    "Chopper, did you manage to find any new herbs?" Usopp asked while holding on to a bag filled with supplies.


    "Yeah, this place has a lot of rare herbs that I can use to make medicine," Chopper replied while also holding on to a bag with herbs. "I got a good stock, but I am still looking in case I missed something," he added with a smile while looking around. "Which reminds me, I noticed something weird a second ago," Chopper said as he looked down at the ground. "There is a little grove along the trail here. I wonder what it is?" he asked while looking down at the ground. Everyone looked down at the ground at the grove in the ground as they continued to walk.


    "Hmm, you''re right, that is weird," Usopp said while looking at the grove in the trail. "It looks as though a bicycle came through here," he added causing Luffy and Robin''s eyes to narrow.


    "Come on, that doesn''t make any sense," Sanji commented as he turned to look at Usopp. "There isn''t anyone else on the island, why would there be a bicycle," he said causing Usopp to chuckle.


    "I guess you''re right," Usopp chuckled out. Luffy then suddenly stopped and bent down to examine the grove causing everyone to stop as well. He ran his finger across it before looking at Robin who was at the back of the group looking at Luffy.


    ''He couldn''t possibly be here on the island,'' Luffy thought to himself while looking at Robin. From the look on her face, Luffy could tell that she was thinking about the same thing he was.


    "Problem, captain?" Zoro asked as he sensed Luffy''s guard go up.


    "Problem right now? No," Luffy replied as he stood up. "In the near future? Probably," he said confusing his crew. He did not say anything else inside he continued walking. As the group exited the jungle, they all let out a disappointed sigh.


    "There is nothing here but a whole lot of nothing," Nojiko commented as she looked around. At that exact moment, Chopper took off running in the direction of a big rock that seems to have a big mushroom growing out of it.


    "Woah! I''ve never seen a mushroom this big before!" Chopper said excitedly as he ran towards the giant rock. Luffy looked at the so-called mushroom and narrowed his eyes slightly in suspicion.


    "I don''t think that is a mushroom," Luffy said lowly. Before anyone could ask what, he meant, they all saw Chopper get thrown back from behind the rock causing the little reindeer to fall flat on his backside.


    "Chopper!" Zoro and Usopp called out simultaneously as they saw their friend get thrown back.


    "There seems to be something behind the rock," Nojiko noted as he took out her three-section staff.


    "Let''s go!" Sanji said before him and the rest of the crew took off running leaving Luffy standing in the same position looking at his crew charging towards the rock before he let out a sigh.


    "So much for a relaxing journey to the next island," Luffy said to himself while shaking his head. He then walking towards his crew who already confronted the individual that was standing behind the rock. When Luffy arrived, he saw Robin on the ground with a terrified look on her face and sweat pouring off her as she stared at the man behind the rock. Luffy looked at her with a slightly sympathetic look on his face before he moved and stood in front of his crew blocking Robin''s view of the man.


    "Luffy, this guy is an admiral!" Nami said in a slightly panicked voice. "he has Robin scared out of her mind," she added as she stared at her captain''s back. The fact that this guy could scare Robin this much really scared her as well because Robin was one of the more strong-willed crew members who never seem to fear anything. If everyone was being honest at this moment, they were all slightly scared due to Robin''s reaction to the admiral, or in Usopp''s case terrified.


    "What re your orders, captain?" Zoro asked while standing to Luffy''s right with two of his swords drawn. Robin''s reaction may have slightly disturbed him, but he was still ready to jump headfirst into battle at his captain''s orders. To Luffy''s left was Sanji and Nojiko who were both ready to attack like Zoro. Luffy was slightly impressed by the three of them but at the same time, he found it somewhat amusing.


    "Stand down," Luffy said surprising his crew.


    "Huh?" they all asked simultaneously with a confused look on their faces.


    "Don''t be so eager to rush to your death," Luffy said as he stared at the admiral. "He is way out your league," he added surprising them. "Even if all of you attacked him at the same time with all your might, the most you could probably do is force him back two steps," he said causing his crew to stare at the giant of a man with a look of fear on their faces.


    "Aren''t you flattering me a bit too much, Luffy," the man said in a lazy voice causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "You''re a long way from Navy H.Q... Kuzan," Luffy said as he narrowed his eyes. Just as he spoke thunderclouds began forming overhead and the wind began to pick up causing Luffy''s coat to flutter in the wind.


    "And you''re a long way from the New World," Kuzan replied calmly as he stared at the Luffy.


    "I''m making my way back there now," Luffy said calmly before a slightly excited smirk appears on his face. "You plan on stopping me?" he asked in a dangerous/excited tone as lightning flashed overhead followed by deafening thunder.


    **CHAPTER END**


    **Author''s Note: Hello all, I am back...kinda. I still have writer''s block but it is getting better these days. I would like to apologize for the long wait and also thank all of you who stayed and supported me through my struggles with writer''s block. I hope you will all continue to support the story as we move forward and hopefully, my writer''s block will be fully cured soon. I would like to thank everyone who PM me with suggestions on how to get over my writer''s block. I read all of it and am grateful for all the support. **


    Please leave a review!

 Chapter 38 - 38: When Gods Battle!

    **Previously**


    "You''re a long way from Navy H.Q... Kuzan," Luffy said as he narrowed his eyes. Just as he spoke thunderclouds began forming overhead and the wind began to pick up causing Luffy''s coat to flutter in the wind.


    "And you''re a long way from the New World," Kuzan replied calmly as he stared at the Luffy.


    "I''m making my way back there now," Luffy said calmly before a slightly excited smirk appears on his face. "You plan on stopping me?" he asked in a dangerous/excited tone as lightning flashed overhead followed by deafening thunder.


    **Now**


    "Would you calm down," Kuzan said with a sigh as he saw Luffy gearing up for a fight. "Like I told your crew, I''m just here on a stroll. I was not ordered here to capture you," he added before a yawn escaped his mouth. Luffy did not buy that explanation for one second. There was no way someone of Kuzan''s status and power just happened to take a stroll and ended up crossing paths with Luffy and his crew. "Besides Luffy," Kuzan said getting Luffy''s attention. "You know the motto of justice believe in," he said causing Luffy to look at him for a few seconds before he sighed in disappointment and began to cancel off his power.


    "Why are you relaxing Luffy?" Nojiko asked as she stared at Luffy with a puzzled look on her face.


    "What is his sense of justice?" Usopp asked seeing that it made Luffy relax.


    "Lazy Justice," Luffy replied with a sigh causing his crew to sweat drop. Robin was still on the ground staring at the Navy Admiral. She did not believe that man would just leave them alone because he was lazy or was not feeling up to it. She had witnessed his power firsthand and knew just what he was capable of, so she was not going to just lower her guard. She also knew even though Luffy appeared as though he was relaxing, she can tell his guard was still up. Speaking of Luffy, Robin was seriously puzzled at the strange relationship that her captain and the admiral seem to have. Even though they were gearing up for a fight she can tell that the two of them appear to be friends in some weird way. It was an absolutely bizarre idea to think about.


    "Anyway, what I was saying was..." Kuzan said knocking Robin out of her thought. "...hold on a minute," he said before he began lying down on the ground. "Being on my feet too long makes me tired," he said in a lethargic voice as he laid down on the grass. Luffy stared at the lazy admiral and shook his head while the rest of his crew sweat dropped.


    "Then maybe you shouldn''t sleep standing up," Usopp said as he folded his arms.


    "As I was saying, I have no intention of capturing you," Kuzan said ignoring Usopp and surprising everyone. "So, you can all just relax," he added from his position on the ground. "I am only here to confirm the location of Nico Robin, who had not been seen since the Alabasta incident and as suspected she has been with you," he said causing Luffy to narrow his eyes. "I''ll come up with some report for headquarters. Now that you added another crew member with a price on their heads your overall bounty is going to go up as well," Kuzan said as he held up his right hand as though he was about to start counting. "Let us see, 200 million," he said while pointing at Luffy, "plus 80 million," he said as he pointed to Zoro, "and now 79 million," he added as he moved his hand in Robin''s direction before he spoke again. "That brings your overall bounty up to...um...Ah screw it, some big a.s.s number," he said lazily as he gave up on the math.


    "Just do the math," Zoro said as he stared down at the man.


    "Cut the bullshit Kuzan," Luffy said in a serious tone as he narrowed his eyes. "You and I both know the marines have people for that kind of work, they are not going to send an Admiral just to check up on the bounty of a pirate crew," he added as he looked down at the lazy admiral.


    "You make it sound as though you are just any ordinary pirate," Kuzan replied as he stared up at Luffy with a slightly serious expression on his face as opposed to his usual dull expression. Luffy was about to reply to him but before he could he sensed a group of people coming up behind them. When he turned around, he saw a small group of people exiting the tree line. They had all looked like they went through hell and came back.


    "Is it really true, are you really a marine?" one of the men among the group asked while looking at Kuzan.


    "Who the hell are all these people?" Nojiko asked as she stared at the newcomers.


    "Well, they are probably castaways who washed ashore," Kuzan said getting everyone''s attention. "There was a passenger liner that was reported missing sometime about a month ago. last seen somewhere in this area," he said as he propped his head upon his hand. "I''m guessing it sank and these are the survivors," he added causing a few of Luffy''s crew to look at the people in pity. Before Luffy could even give his crew orders they all sprang into action acting on their own accord. Chopper began examining the people and treating any wounds that he could with Nami and Nojiko helping him. Sanji and Usopp went in search of food for the people to eat. Luffy, Robin, and Zoro were the only ones who stood right where they were watching on, or in Luffy''s case staying close to Kuzan just in case, the admiral decides to try something.


    "So, what happened to you guys?" Sanji asked as he prepared some food on the grill.


    "We were on our way back from a gourmet tour when a giant frog doing the front crawl crashed into the side of our boat shattering it," one of the survivors said causing Luffy to smirk.


    "Come on, everyone knows frogs can only do the b.r.e.a.s.tstroke," Usopp replied not buying the story.


    "That''s Yokozuna," Luffy said getting their attention. "He is kind of famous in these parts," he added with a chuckle. After everyone finished eating Kuzan suddenly stood up causing Luffy to narrow his eyes.


    "All you gather your stuff," he said to the passengers of the shipwreck. "I happen to know of an inhabited island not too far from here. You go there and ask them to help you out," he said causing the people to rejoice. The crew helped the people load their cargo into a small kart, once done Kuzan walked over to the edge of the island and stuck one of his hands into the water for a few seconds. While his hands were in the water a giant sea king launched out of the water sending everyone except Luffy and Robin into a panic.


    "Hey! Get out of there!" Usopp yelled to Kuzan but the admiral did not move an inch.


    "Watch out!" Nami and Nojiko yelled at the same time as they saw the sea king was moving towards the admiral.


    "Ice Age!" Kuzan called out. No less than a second after he said that the entire ocean in front of him was frozen over. There was nothing but solid ice as far as the eye can see. Even the sea king which was about to attack him was frozen to the core. Everyone barring Luffy and robin had their jaws hanging loosely from their mouths and their eyes bulging out of their heads. Luffy had to admit that it was impressive, but he had seen far more impressive things in the New World.


    "H-he just froze the ocean," Nami said in an utterly shocked voice.


    "I-I can''t believe what I''m seeing," her sister said as she dropped her three-section staff.


    "To think that there were more monsters like Luffy out there," Usopp said in a low whisper but Luffy heard him.


    "It''ll stay like that for a week," Kuzan said as he stood up and walked back up to the group of stunned stowaways and pirates. "Head out to see in that direction," he said while pointing off in the distance. "And take your time, you should reach the island in four days. Do be sure to dress warm, it''ll be a bit on the cold side," he added before he bent down and picked up his coat before he began walking away.


    "Am I dreaming?" asked one of the castaways. "The sea is as solid as the ground. We can finally cross it and get off this island!" he said with tears of happiness streaming down his face. Luffy''s crew helped the people get their cart with their cargo down to the ice before waving them goodbye. The crew was down on the ice with them while only Luffy and Zoro stayed up top. While all of them relaxed thinking Kuzan was gone, Luffy knew he was not that far from where they were standing. The crew then began making their way back up from the ice while Luffy and Zoro watched on. When they got to the top, they all began walking back inland with plans to head to their ship, but Luffy knew they were not going to get the ship so easily. As they walked about ten feet away from the shore, they all saw Kuzan sitting on the grass staring at them with a conflicted look on his face.


    "What''s wrong Kuzan, too tired to get back to Navy H.Q?" Luffy asked in an uncaring tone.


    "You are as troublesome as your grandfather, Monkey D. Luffy," Kuzan said causing Luffy to flinch slightly at the mention of his eccentric grandfather. "Both of you are so hard to figure out," he said causing Luffy to chuckle with a slightly nervous tone.


    "Luffy''s grandfather?" Nami asked in a curious tone.


    "Come to think about it, we don''t really know anything about Luffy''s family," Nojiko said as they all started at their captain.


    "Your captain has a very complicated family tree," Kuzan said with a sigh. "Especially when it comes to his mother," he said increasing the curiosity of Luffy''s crew. As he mentioned the Luffy''s mother a loud thunderclap reverberated overhead, and thunder clouds began forming in the sky.


    "Don''t step out of bounds, Kuzan," Luffy said in a dangerous tone.


    "Anyway, as I was saying," Kuzan said ignoring Luffy. "Your grandfather helped me out once, a long time ago. It is why I am here," he said before looking up and making eye contact with Luffy. "I wanted to see you and Nico Robin together with my own eyes," he said before a serious look came on his face as he stared at Luffy. "On second thought, maybe I should just kill you," he added causing Luffy''s crew to place their guards up.


    "Now come on, is that any way to treat the grandson of the man who helped you out?" Luffy asked mockingly as the wind began to intensify with the storm that was brewing overhead.


    "The government may not think much of your crew, but they do consider you a threat in the same league as the Four Emperors," he said causing Luffy''s crew to feel insulted. "But I know better than that. You may be few in numbers but with the assembly of rouges you have gathered here, this crew will likely be a serious problem in the future especially with you as their captain," he said earning an excited smirk from Luffy. "Considering the circ.u.mstances regarding your initial bounty, the numerous actions you have taken, and the speed of your overall progress; I''ve fought outlaws all of my life but thinking about how you bunch will turn out scares the hell out of me," Kuzan admitted as he continues to stare down Luffy.


    "Nice to know we can put the fear of God into the heart of an admiral," Luffy said clearly not taking Kuzan seriously.


    "You do know who she is, don''t you Luffy?" Kuzan asked as he turned his attention to Robin.


    "I am well aware of who she is and what she has done," Luffy replied as he tightens his grip on his golden staff. "She is a member of my crew and she''s a friend. So, if you want to get to her you are going to have to kill me," Luffy said causing his crew to smile.


    "She has lied, cheat, and betrayed every single organization she has been a member of," Kuzan said as he slowly stood up to his feet. "Not one single solitary member has ever escaped except for her," he added as he cracked his neck. "What makes you think that she won''t do the same to you?" he asked. It was a valid question in his mind but Luffy did not care.


    "Cause with me she doesn''t have to be afraid of you or the government," Luffy said with a smirk. "I already showed her that I can destroy a buster call and I am guessing that I am about to show her that I can protect her from an admiral too," he said before a loud thunderclap echoed throughout the sky and lightning flash overhead.


    "You know I can''t just let you leave the island," the admiral said as he narrowed his eyes.


    "And you know I can''t let you touch my crew," Luffy countered before he reached up with the right hand grabbed his captain''s coat and pulled it off. He then walked up behind Robin and placed it over her shoulders. He then walked by Nami and placed his straw hat on her head. "You all get back to the ship and get as far away from the island as possible!" Luffy ordered as he walked up and stood a short distance away from Kuzan.


    "But Luffy..." Nami began in a worried voice.


    "You all are strong yes," Luffy said with a sigh. "But you are not on this level as yet," Luffy said honestly causing them to look down at the ground. Zoro clenched his fist in frustration over the fact that he was still too weak to stand by his captain''s side. "The log pose should be pointing to Water 7, head there. I''ll catch u!" Luffy said as he motioned to leave. The crew then took off in the direction of the ship.


    "You don''t really think I am just going to let them go, do you?" Kuzan said before holding up his right hand. Five arrows made of ice began to form in front of him. Before he could fire it out, however, a bolt of lightning came down from the sky and struck him in the middle of his head with enough power to destroy the upper half of his body. The entire upper half of Kuzan''s body burst apart in a shower of ice causing the five arrows to break apart as well.


    "I''m your opponent," Luffy said in a cold voice as he watches Kuzan reform from the waist up. Thanks to his observation Haki Luffy could tell his crew was running through the forest almost making it to the ship. When Kuzan was fully reformed the right half of his hair and body were covered in frost and Luffy could see his breath every time he exhaled.


    "That hurt a bit," Kuzan commented as both he and Luffy stared each other down for a few minutes all the while the temperature in the surrounding area began to drop, and the lightning storm overhead only intensified causing lightning to strike down randomly all over the island and parts of the frozen ocean. Kuzan then bent down and grabbed a hand full of grass from the ground before throwing it out to the side and blowing a breath of cold air on it freezing the blades of grass into a long sword.


    "Ice Saber!" he called out as he held the saber in one hand. His hand then turned black with armament haki along with the sword. Seeing this, Luffy held his staff out in front of him and channeled his armament haki into it turning the golden staff black as well. Without any warning, the two of them then dashed towards each other at moderate speed with their respected weapons drawn back. When they were about five feet apart from each other they swung their weapons at each other. When the black staff contacted the black saber, a loud explosion occurred which created a powerful shockwave that shook the entire island. Luffy and Kuzan stared at each other as they engaged in a battle of strength. Seeing that it was going nowhere, they both pushed off each other and put some distance between themselves. Stopping about twenty-five feet away from each other, Kuzan dropped the saber and held his right hand out towards Luffy.


    "Ice Block: Pheasant Beak!" He called out causing a massive wave of ice in the shape of a pheasant to emerge from his hand and rushed towards Luffy. The pheasant had to be at least fifty feet wide and twenty feet tall. Raising his staff and pointing it towards the incoming ice bird, Luffy began channeling a large around of Lightning into his staff.


    "100,000,000 Volt Thunder Dragon!" Luffy called out casing a massive serpentine dragon-shaped blast of lightning emerges from the tip of the staff and rushes towards the oncoming ice bird. The giant dragon made of lighting broke the ground apart as it rushed towards the pheasant while Kuzan''s ice bird froze the ground as it rushed towards the dragon. When the two attacks collided, a giant explosion occurred that sent tremors well beyond the island.


    **With the Crew**


    The crew had made it back to the ship safely, but they were forced to dodge multiple lightning strikes. They were all currently standing on the deck staring at the island as the ship sailed away from the island in the direction the log pose was pointing. The waters around the island were extremely rough and violent causing the ship to be tossed around like a rag doll on the water. They were some ways away from the island but could still experience the effects of the clash that was taken place.


    "I hope Luffy is okay," a worried Chopper said. Before anyone could say anything to reassure the little reindeer, they all saw a giant bird made of ice and a giant serpentine dragon made of lighting charging towards each other. When the two creatures collided, it created a large tower of ice and lighting seemingly battling for dominance. Then suddenly the entire ocean around them shook as the shockwave from the clash had reached them.


    "Just what is this!?" Usopp asked as he felt the ocean tremble.


    "When gods do battle the world itself trembles with fear," Robin said as she stared at the tower of lighting and Ice.


    **With Luffy**


    Luffy watched as his lightning dragon slowly overpowered Kuzan''s pheasant and made its way towards the admirals who easily jumped to his left dodging out of the way. As soon as Kuzan moved out of the way allowing the dragon to crash and explode into the ground, he turned his attention to where Luffy was standing. When he looked over however he saw that Luffy was gone.


    "Looking for me?" Luffy asked from behind Kuzan. Turning his head slightly, Kuzan saw Luffy standing behind him with his haki covered fist drawn back. Faster than he could react, Luffy punched the admiral squared in the jaw sending him rocking away towards the trees. Teleporting and appearing above Kuzan as he was flying towards the tree line, Luffy covered his foot in haki and brought his heel down onto the admiral''s midsection.


    "Storm Breaker!" Luffy called out as he slammed his heel into Kuzan''s stomach at lightning speed sending the admiral crashing into the ground with such force that it created a small crater on impact. Landing on the ground beside the crater, Luffy looked down and saw Kuzan lying there staring up at him.


    "You added haki at the very last second before I hit you," Luffy noted as he stared down at the admiral laying on the ground.


    "Well, that last attack would have broken a few ribs if I hadn''t," Kuzan said in a lazy tone while remaining on the ground. "But even so, you shouldn''t let your head down," Kuzan said while narrowing his eyes.


    "Ice Time Capsule!" He called causing a wave of rush from his body along the ground towards Luffy. Widening his eyes slightly, Luffy did not react in time as the wave of ice reached the bottom of his feet. The ice froze the bottom of his feet over and quickly began working itself way up Luffy''s body until he was completely frozen in a block of ice. Letting out a sigh, Kuzan slowly stood up and cracked his joints.


    "I doubt that would be enough to actually kill you," he said as he stared at the frozen Luffy only to see the block of ice smoking and slowly melting away causing him to raise an eyebrow in slight confusion. It did not take more than three seconds for the ice to completely melt away revealing Luffy standing there perfectly fine, with a bored look on his face.


    "That was cold," he commented as he stared at Kuzan. The two stared at each other for a few minutes before Kuzan made the first move.


    "Ice Spike!" Kuzan called out as he raised one foot in the air and stopped the ground causing multiple ice spikes to burst out from the ground around Luffy stabbing him in all directions. Luffy just stood there perfectly fine, completely unbothered by the fact that he had about six ice spikes stagging into his midsection. He then calmly walked through the ice spikes as though they were not even there.


    "Fighting a logia user is always a pain," Kuzan said with a sigh while scratching his head causing Luffy to chuckle at him.


    "I think it''s time we get a bit more serious," Luffy said as lightning began sparking around his body.


    "It''ll be a pain but okay," Kuzan said in a lethargic tone as the temperature in the area dropped come more and the ground around him began to turn to ice. Luffy then raised his hand up to the sky and spoke.


    "Judgement!" He called out causing a giant pillar of lightning to come down from the sky in the direction of where Kuzan was standing. Seeing that he was in danger the admiral jumped back about twenty feet allowing the giant pillar to strike down the ground where he was standing. The moment the pillar of lighting touched down it destroyed everything in the immediate area around it while at the same time piercing a ten feet wide hole in the ground. When the pillar disappeared, Kuzan saw a ten-foot-wide hole that seemed to go right through the island with molten rocks along the inside of the hole. Turning his attention to Luffy, the admiral kneeled down and pressed both of his palms on the ground and smoke.


    "Arctic Freeze!" Kuzan called out dropping the temperature even further causing the ground itself on the entire island to free along with tress and pants on the island. He then stood up and held both of his arms up towards Luffy.


    "Falling Glacier!" he yelled freezing the water moisture in the air above Luffy creating a massive block of ice that began falling towards Luffy. Making a fist, Luffy reared his arm back covered it with lighting before punching the air above him.


    "El Thor!" he yelled as he punched the air releasing all the lighting, he built up in his arms causing a giant beam of lighting to shoot out of his arm and enveloped the entire block of ice that was falling towards him causing it to evaporate in an instant. Luffy was prepared to turn and say something smug to Kuzan but his observation haki alerted him to danger behind him. Turning his head slighting to look behind him, he saw Kuzan rising up from the frozen island with a cold look on his face and his haki infused fist already making its way to Luffy. Similar to what Luffy did to him, Kuzan delivered a haki infused punch to Luffy''s face sending the captain tumbling along the ice.


    Stopping himself from tumbling further, Luffy positioned himself right way up and stabbed his staff into the ice to stop himself. Once he came to a stop, he narrowed his eyes and stared at Kuzan before he pulled the staff out of the ice and turned his body into lighting and dashed towards Kuzan at lighting speed. Kuzan covered both of his hands with Haki and held it up in front of his face in time to block a haki infused kick from Luffy but the kick had too much power behind it. It sent the admiral skidding back fifty feet along the ice. When the admiral looked up at his opponent the only thing, he saw was a black bolt of lightning coming towards him. Knowing that it was too close to fully dodge, he turned his body slightly to the right allowing the bolt to pierce through the side of his abdomen. Blood sprayed out from the wound and fell on the ice. Placing one hand over the wound, he froze it in ice stopping the bleeding temporarily.


    "Haki infused lightning," Kuzan said as he looked up at Luffy who was calmly walking towards him. "Quite a deadly combo," he added.


    "I am a deadly pirate," Luffy said while walking towards the injured admiral.


    "It would have been a big problem for me if you were serious about killing me," Kuzan said with a sigh causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "I would have been in some trouble if you were serious about capturing me as well," Luffy said with a chuckle as he stopped in front of the admiral. "I think it''s best we end this now before one of us does end up dead," he added as he ran his hand through his hair.


    "I agree," Kuzan said lazily as he looked around at the storm clouds. "You feel it don''t you?" he suddenly asked in a serious voice while looking at Luffy.


    "Yeah, a big storm is coming," Luffy replied as he narrowed his eyes and looked out at sea. "The effects will be felt in all corners of the world," he added causing Kuzan to nod. "The peace that the Government is trying so hard to protect is about to come to an end," he said with a sigh.


    "It has only been four years since THAT incident and we are already heading towards another," Kuzan said with a sigh while Luffy smirked thinking back to the incident. "And I got a feeling that like four years ago you are going to be in the center of all this trouble," he added causing Luffy to chuckle.


    "As nice as it is to reminisce about the good old days," Luffy said as he summed a thundercloud down from the sky. "I have to get to my crew. I''ll be seeing you," he said as he hopped onto the thundercloud.


    "I''ll be seeing you a lot sooner than you think," Kuzan replied causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow. Putting it off to the side, Luffy and the thundercloud took off into the sky leaving the admiral back on the island. Luffy then reach his pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper, it was his own Vivre card. He had the large piece to his card on the ship inside his thundercloud throne so the small piece he had in his hand was pointing in the direction of the larger piece on the ship. Following the card''s direction, Luffy found his ship and his crew in little to no time. Turning his body into lightning he teleported himself down to the deck of the ship scaring his crew.


    "Did you miss me?" he asked with a smirk on his face as he appeared on the deck.


    "LUFFY!" yelled most of his crew except Zoro and Robin who smiled when they saw their captain. Chopper was the first to launch himself into Luffy with tears streaming down his face. Soon everyone else ran towards their captain.


    "Did you win, Luffy?" Usopp asked while looking at Luffy.


    "There was no winner or loser as neither of us was serious about killing each other," Luffy replied as he reached up and grabbed his hat off Nami''s head and placed it back on his.


    "So Aokiji is still alive?!" Nami asked sounding slightly scared.


    "Yeah, I like Kuzan," Luffy said before prying himself off Chopper and walked towards Robin who was wearing his captain''s coat. "You don''t have to worry about him," he said as he took his coat off her.


    "Yes, captain!" Robin said with a small smile.


    "Well then, let''s get going to Water 7!" Luffy ordered before making his way to his throne.


    "AYE, CAPTAIN!" His crew yelled back.


    **Chapter End!**


    Author''s Note: Hello all! I am kind of back! I hope! My writer''s block is not fully gone I don''t why I just lose all the will to write whenever I sit down to write a chapter for this story. I wrote part of this chapter a few months ago and another part couple of weeks ago and finally finished it today. So please be advised that part of it may be good while part of it may suck.


    In trying to get rid of my writer''s block I decided to try and write a new story. It''s a Naruto Fanfiction for anyone who is interested. Naruto has the First Hokage''s wood release and was raised by Tsunade and Shizune. Check it out on my profile if you are interested.


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