1. Sail ho!
Somewhere in a New World
Waves were wild, breaking the shores of the unknown island. The weather in the New World was always like this, unpredictable, wild. Literally, you could see the snow falling from the sky only to be replaced by sun in the next moment. Storms like this were actually time when the weather behaved like weather should.
Island itself wasn't a big one. It was a large forest with a silver shore all around it, and to somebody who watched it from outside nothing looked suspicious. Actually, many wanderers and pirates evaded the place, cause it looked deserted, and even while one of three Log Pose needles pointed towards it, many actually chose to risk and sail forward.
Now, one light was visible, shining through the thick trees. It moved fast, passing behind trees, a shining light which looked like it was playing hide and seek. A smile like ringing of bells was heard, and the song which sounded like laugh of a child. It was a fairy.
Bright and sunny day peacefully landed down the surface of the sea which was still, really still. Actually, it was too still. For some reason, water drift wasn't moving at all, and the sea was like a huge mirror, reflecting the skies and the clouds slowly rolling in the sky. One lonely ship was seen, floating in the middle of nowhere.
Thousand Sunny was floating, just like that, not budging a single inch from the place where it was. Yelling was heard from the ship, and obviously crew was in a terror.
„Franky, can't you use Coup the Burst to move from here?"
Nami was out of her mind in fear. Palms on the top of her head, she walked here and there over the grass in the middle of a ship.
„This peaceful weather is best for the tea, if I might say. Without the wind, I can feel incense of green tea leaves slowly filling up my nose. Altough I have no nose! Yohohohoo!"
„Brook, stop joking! This is serious!" Nami gave him a hard hit in the head, causing it to twist under weird angle.
„Nami, you're too cruel!"
„Oh, Nami, Cola canisters are super-empty! I can't fill them up before we move to the next island!"
Franky appeared from the lower deck, holding a screwdriver in his hand. His hair looked strange, forming two horns and he wore a yellow tank-top.
„Yo, guys! I can see the island in the distance!" Zoro's voice was heard over the speakers on the top of the mast, where he usually was when they traveled, training in the cabin.
„Ooooh, island!" Luffy suddenly awakened from his half-asleep state, jumping on the feet, and then stretching his arms to grab the top of the main mast, climbing up.
„Luffy, can you see something?" Usopp asked, putting the fishing rod down. He was just fishing with Chopper, who barely held the rod cause of his warmth sensitivity.
„There are lots, and lots of trees! Bet there are animals to hunt there! Sanji, will you cook me one?!"
„You will have to manage how to get there first, captain." Sanji appeared from the kitchen, still holding a pan in his hand.
„Easy as pie, sheesheeshee!"
Luffy jumped down, stretching his arms.
„Gomu gomu no paddle!" he yelled, turning his hands into giant paddles, moving in circular motion and Sunny-go started moving, but suddenly it stopped.
„Luffy, you idiot!" Nami hit him hard, cause now he was laying on his stomach in the middle of a ship, exhausted cause the sea water obviously never worked well with Devil's Fruit.
„As expected from Luffy." Robin smiled, raising her eyes from the book.
„Robin... can you turn your hands into paddles?" Luffy asked.
„Luffy, same thing would happen to me."
„Then what will we do? Will we stay like this forever?!" Usopp panicked.
„There's no point in moaning about it, Usopp. Nami-san, Robin-chan, I've made a tea~ ^_^ You louts came here, the dinner is ready! We will think about the plan with the full stomachs." Sanji said, joining them on the deck.
Sitting in the dining room, all of them were unusually quiet. Even Luffy, who never stopped talking, and Usopp who was rougly the same, taciturnly sat down, thinking about the situation and how to solve it. Food was already done, mostly by Luffy.
„We can only wait. Since our fuel is dried up, we can't even turn the paddles on." Zoro remarked on the hopeless situation.
„But we have to move! We still have to reach Whole Cake Island. What if Big Mom launches an attack on Fishman Island while we loither like this?!" Nami was really nervous, thinking about Jinbe, Hacchin and everybody else.
„Then I'm going to kick her ass!" Luffy clenched his fist, with his irises shrinking in an angry glare.
„From Sunny?"
Luffy wanted to say something, but he just silently nodded, looking a bit down.
„Cheer up, minna-san! I have just the right thing to get the atmosphere up!" Brook mused, taking his violin out.
Near the Calm zone
„All hands hoay! Get up here, you landlubbers! There's a boat inbound!"
Black Rose yelled, standing in front of her ship, Black Zeira. It was a huge pirate warship, with a dragon skull decoration in the front. Cannons were visible all around the haul, with a largest one protruding from the opened dragon mouth. Three masts, with the main being largest, had a big sails with Jolly Roger. It had a long, blond wavy hair and a black rose eyepatch over one eye. Pirate flag with same Jolly Roger flew on the air. It looked like her, cause she also wore a black dress, with a black rose eyepatch and long, blond wavy hair.
„Ooh, Rose, you're right!"
There, beneath the Jolly Roger, stood a man in a long, black trenchoat, having a long black hair with a black top-hat and aloof look in his eyes, fixed on something afar. After yelling he hugged the mast and sliding down, he hit the deck with a butt and let a loud yell.
„Far Horizon, you're the same klutz as ever."
Two girls appeared now. One had a long, red hair with a navy blue coat over her naked body and tight pants with a knee high boots. On her waist there was a long scimitar, and she sported a small scar over one of the eyes. Other one had a pair of glasses, long blond hair tied in a ponytail, pants and a dark untucked smart shirt, and she stood close to the first one.
„Cutting Queen, Blood Rum, you two're here! Good!"
„Maybe it's better for Rum to be at home, helping her mother. Hmph." Old man appeared, with a tired look on his face, grabbing a mast with both of his muscular hands.
„Maybe it's better if you stop telling me what to do." One with the blond hair, Rum, said.
„Hmph, do as you want."
Black Rose jumped down from the dragon decoration, standing between them to stop the fight which was obviously very close.
„Blood Rum, Dead Helm, please stop fighting. We're soon getting to the island. Who knows how much treasure we can find there?! Isn't it exciting?"
Her eye glimmered, and she looked at one and the other, moving her head fast.
„And there's a ship there, too. If we can loot it, we can maybe get rich even before the island." Far Horizon said, leaning to the mast.
„Oi, let's not jump to the conclusions. We do not know how strong they are." Queen said, going through her hair with the fingers.
„I say we kill them and pillage their ship. Why not?" Blood Rum suddenly got a sadistic look in her eyes.
„Rum-chan!" Queen got horrified, like always, by her sadistic, careless nature.
„I'm just joking!"
„No, you're not." Horizon, Queen and Helm said at the same time.
„Those bucaneers are just standing there. Let me check something."
Black Rose jumped back to the dragon head, and then her eye widened in disbelief as she noticed something, and she let a loud sigh of surprise.
„Shiver me timbers! It's a Calm Zone! Cockswain, turn the helm around, double time!"
Cockswain, which is a term for a helmsman, turned the helm around and the ship started steering.
„Captain, I'm terribly sorry for being impudent, but somebody is waving to us from the ship. It looks like they need a help." Far Horizon said, standing next to Rose.
„Horizon, what can you see?"
For a moment, it looked like his pupils and irises started changing as he stared to the distance, almost as if something moved inside of them.
„They are definitively waving. There's a guy with a green hair standing next to them, looking unsatisfied, and there's a guy with a funny white hat and a pants with suspenders. Also, there is a orange haired girl and a guy with a straw hat."
„Blimey! Straw hat? Are you sure?"
„Hundred percent."
„Rum, bring me those wanted posters from the interrogation room!"
„Yeah, there is no mistake. He is one of the rookies from the eleven supernovas, one of the Worst Generation, one who took Joker down and threw the New World underground into chaos. Straw Hat Luffy. Mateys, man the oars! We will help them!"
Straw Hat Crew is stuck in the Calm zone, with nary a whisper of wind to get them moving.
Now, mysterious crew led by a young girl with a codename Black Rose decides to help them. Who is she?
And what's the strange island seen in the distance?
Next Chapter: Bucaneers collide
