One Piece! Captain Spears D. John!
I will be using ship terms to describe the location of the crew members on the ship. I suggest you look up "ship terms" on google images.
Here are a few terms:
Backside of the ship = the stern
Front of the ship = the bow
Front deck of the ship = the forward
Back deck of the ship = the aft
Right side of the ship = starboard side
Left side of the ship = port side
Center deck of the ship = amid ship
Chapter 1: Loguetown adventure!
Straw hat pirates/going merry
The going merry was sailing across the open sea of the east blue. Zoro was sleeping on the forward deck of the ship. The squawking of seagulls above woke him from his nap and as he stood up and looked ahead towards the horizon he noticed something.
"Hey, I can kinda make out an island." He said aloud notifying the rest of the straw hat crew.
"Eh? Really?" Luffy said as his arms stretched, grabbing onto the railing of the ship and allowed the pull of his rubber arms to shoot him on top of the railing where he sat crossed legged, holding onto his straw hat. "What island is that?" he wondered.
"Didn't we go over that already?" Nami said as she walked up behind the two of them, followed by Sanji and Usopp. "Ah?" Luffy dumbly responded.
"So that's the island where Loguetown is." Usopp said while Sanji lit his cigarette. "It's a pretty big city." Sanji commented.
"Yes, I've heard that too." Nami said.
"They should have lots of good places to get fresh food." Sanji noted.
"I need to go to a weapon store." Zoro reminded himself. "Three sword style with only one sword just won't work." he continued.
"Yeah, I wanna check it out too." Usopp said.
"On that island, Gold Roger was born… and also executed." Luffy dreamily thought aloud.
"Oh? So you do remember." Nami teased as she leaned on top of the railing to get a look at her captain's face.
"The city where the Pirate King died." Luffy continued to think aloud, all the while holding onto his straw hat as the wind was trying to blow it away. "A place called, The Town of the Beginning and the End." Luffy spoke to himself in a rare moment of seriousness that made Nami laugh for a second.
On the deck of the Red Maiden/ship of Spears D. John
"Captain! Island ahead!" the man in the crow's nest yelled down to the deck where captain Spears D. John stood at the helm. "Acknowledged! Great job up there! Now why don't you come on down here?" captain John yelled up at the man. "Thanks! But no can do, captain! This crow's nest is my home!" the man yelled back with a smile.
'That guy is still as weird as ever!' John thought. Captain Spears D. John was a young man in his early twenties. He had spiky black hair and a matching goatee, connecting to his moustache, the sides of his face were kept shaved to a stubble. His eyes were black as was the sleeveless shirt he was wearing underneath a red and gold captain-coat. Red boots on his feet, black pants and a red sash holding them up. Captain John might be one of the youngest on the ship, seeing as he was 22 years old, but he was tall for his age and was sporting two muscular arms, a chiseled chest and sturdy legs.
"Captain? Did I just hear right? Did someone say that they spotted an island?" a voice asked behind the captain. John turned around, taking notice of his helmsman standing in the doorway that led to the mess hall where most of the crew spent their breaks and took their meals.
The Red Maiden was a galleon type ship made of red wood and flying red sails, capable of carrying a crew of 200 men, but it currently housed a mere 124. Being a galleon type ship, the Red Maiden had three masts each with their own set of sails. It held 2 mortar cannons on the forward(=front upper deck), 20 medium cannons on each side of the upper deck, 30 heavy cannons on each side of the gun deck just below the upper deck and another 4 light cannons at the front of the gun deck. In total, the red maiden possessed 106 cannons. At the stern of the gun deck was a room where all the weapons were stored. Pistols, rifles, swords, axes, cannonballs and gunpowder. Below the gun deck of the Red Maiden were the sleeping quarters filled with hammocks for the crew to sleep in. Below the sleeping quarters was the cargo hold, were all of the valuable goods got stored from spices to gold!
Built on the aft(=back upper deck) of the Red Maiden the mess hall which was filled with wooden tables. The kitchen was attached to the starboard side of the mess hall so the crew could easily be provided with their meals and move on to the table and sit down. The mess hall also provided the crew with cards, dice and instruments for entertainment and gambling. Above the mess hall were the captain's private quarters, where he slept and relaxed.
"Ah helmsman, great timing! Yes, we spotted the island where Loguetown is situated, take over the helm will you?!" John informed his helmsman. "Ayay, captain!" the helmsman said as he took over.
John walked to the side and down the stairs to the deck, stopping halfway down. "Listen up you scurvy dogs!" John yelled getting the crew's attention. "We're almost at our destination so hurry up and get ready to unload the cargo hold! Take down the black flag and put up the one for trading! Prepare to drop anchor! Put the weapons below deck and try not to look like a bunch of bloodthirsty pirates! We're docking pretending to be traders, you got that?!" Captain John yelled his orders.
"Ayay, captain!" the crew said before scrambling.
Loguetown/Marine base
At the marine base in Loguetown a message was coming through with information pertaining several pirates spotted in the area that might be heading for Loguetown. The marine soldier sitting at the desk took the piece of paper and rushed into the captain's office saying: "Captain smoker! A message from headquarters!" the room was filled with smoke and a silhouette, sitting on a couch, could only barely be made clear. "I've just received word that three notorious pirate crews are heading to Loguetown from the east blue!" the marine soldier continued.
"Which ones?" Smoker asked.
"First are the buggy pirates under buggy the clown, no change in their bounty since last time! The second is Monkey D. Luffy and his straw hat pirates, the bounty on his head has just been raised to 30 million berries! Lastly are the rumors of the spear pirates lead by Captain Spears D. John! Also known as the marine hunter! His bounty has gone up as well, it went up to 42 million!"
"That marine murdering scum dares to come to my town?!" Smoker yelled in anger, insult clear on his face. "Yes captain, but we still don't have any idea what he looks like! He never leaves any witnesses except for civilians, and from the descriptions given we can't make out a face, the details given are just too contradictory!" the marine soldier said.
"So his bounty increased again?! I take it he sank another marine ship?" Smoker asked. "Yes captain two in fact, during the same battle, however we finally got a description on the ship, captain!" the marine said excitedly. "Apparently it's a galleon type ship made of red wood with red sails! It was reported stolen from a dock located at one of the northern islands of the east blue!"
"Good, now about this straw-hat Luffy… 30 million heh? I guess I ought to congratulate him for his increased bounty then?" Smoker said sarcastically. "Sir this is the pirate that took down Don Krieg and destroyed Arlong Park!" the soldier said. "shut your mouth! All your whining is getting on my nerves." Smoker said as he walked towards the window, opening it and letting the smoke clear out of the room. "Ever since I've been stationed here not a single pirate has set foot on this island without being captured!" Smoker said as he walked back around the couch picking up his jacket and putting it on.
Suddenly another marine ran into the offer where he stopped and saluted, "Reporting sir! I have word that a pirate group has recently arrived, you're requested there at once!"
"It must be one of the three sir!" the first marine soldier said. "I'm going to check it out. Where is Tashigi?" Smoker asked. "She said she had something to do but that she would be back in time for practice!" the second marine replied making Smoker growl in discontent.
Loguetown/docks
Smoker arrived at the docks just in time to see a band of pirates breaking into a storehouse. "So you must be Monkey D. Luffy? I know what Buggy looks like, and I can tell just by looking at you that you're not Spears D. John! You lack the guts to be a marine hunter, no… you must be straw-hat Luffy, although I doubt you're worth 30 million berries."
"It's the marines! Come on boys! Attack!" Gally the crescent of the crescent moon pirates said to his crew. The pirates drew their weapons and charged.
Loguetown/Shopping district/Nami
"Captain Smoker?" she asked leaning on the register of the clothes shop, looking at the shopkeeper.
"He is definitely one of the toughest marines we've seen in this town. Loguetown used to be a hangout for pirates, who're heading for the grand-line. But not anymore, not since Smoker, ever since he arrived here every single pirate has been captured, incarcerated and executed. There are some who even say that he has devil-fruit powers!" the shopkeeper said.
'This might be bad.' Nami thought.
Loguetown/docks
The fight was already over, the Crescent moon pirates had all been beaten and tied up. "Incredible Captain Smoker! You've taken out the straw-hat pirates all by yourself!" a marine said impressed.
"You're a complete idiot. This isn't Luffy, anyone could tell that." Smoker said. "if this group is worth 30 million then I'll become a pirate." Smoker said sure of his case.
"Man this town is so big! I know I'm not lost, so where is the execution platform?!" Luffy thought out loud looking left and right until he spotted Smoker. "Hey! Can you help me?! Hi I need some help. Do you happen to know where they execute people around here?"
"The platform." Smoker stated drily. "Yeah I know, I just can't seem to find it!" Luffy said. Smoker was about to ask something when he got startled by the young man with the straw hat.
Luffy suddenly jumped up excitedly, startling Smoker. "Wow look at that! That's amazing it's so huge!" Luffy yelled with stars in his eyes as he gazed out over the ocean. Smoker calmed down and looked to his right and his eyes widened before narrowing as he was now looking at a red galleon with red sails and a trading flag, sailing into port. "Spears D. John." Smoker whispered, his teeth clenching, thereby breaking his cigars making them fall to the ground. Smoker walked away from Luffy, stepping on the two cigars, subsequently putting them out and pulling two new ones from his coat lighting them.
"Hey mister where are you going?! How do I get to the platform?" Luffy yelled after Smoker as the marine captain broke out into a mad dash. "Ahw man. How am I going to get there now?" Luffy asked. The marine soldier that had been with Smoker earlier answered Luffy's question "Just head into that alley over there, once you've gotten to the main road go right and follow it to the central plaza."
"Oh thanks!" Luffy said and started running into the alley.
Loguetown/Roronoa Zoro
"Dammit, these swords are all so expensive!" Zoro complained as he looked through the glass display outside a shop. He was distracted from his thoughts by a commotion, by the sound of it, a fight was about to break out. Heading for the crowd Zoro witnessed two very tall, very ugly pirates ganging up on a young woman. When the two men charged he was about to jump in, but stopped when he noticed the skill the woman possessed. She wouldn't need his help, not against those guys at least.
It happened really fast, he could follow it all, but could hardly believe it! While the people didn't seem to have any problem believing, even though they hadn't been able to follow at all. It was over in a moment. The two pirates collapsed and the woman ended her attack almost perfectly. She had talent but she was nowhere near his level. He could beat her easily, even with one sword.
The woman stepped away from the collapsed men but stumbled losing her glasses. The glasses had slid away until they came to a full stop in front of his feet. Zoro bent over to pick them up and hand them to her when he saw her face. She looked just like Kuina, this shocked him to the point where his hand twitched and thereby crushing the woman's glasses.
"Ah my glasses! Those were really expensive!" The woman yelled while Zoro apologized over and over.
Loguetown/docks
Spears D. John was sitting on a crate at the docks, watching as the dockworkers operated a giant crane. The crane was lowered through a hatch in the center of the Red Maiden's upper deck, all the way to the cargo hold where his men were loading the goods they had for sale onto a net, which was then hoisted up in the air and lowered again on the docks. There the crates and barrels were counted and then moved into the store house. Each time the crane dropped a new load of crates and barrels, the merchant buying his goods would hand over a stack of berries. Each crate and barrel was counted, the content checked and weighed, and finally the money required for that load would be counted and handed over after each load.
The merchant had found it quite annoying but the ship's captain had insisted and had made some very logical arguments. If he were to pay up front and they decided to stop unloading the goods into his store house he'd be robbed, but then again if he were to pay after everything had been unloaded, but something were to happen that damaged the goods while they were in his storehouse he might claim to not have bought them and that it was the loss of his clients. So it made sense to pay the appropriate amount of cash after each load had been moved into his storehouse. He was even thinking about adopting this way of trading with his other clients.
As the merchant handed over another stack of berries, Captain Smoker of the marines suddenly arrived. "Where can I find the captain of this ship?!" Smoker announced loudly. "Right here!" John said waving the stack of berries above his head drawing Smoker's attention. "Are you Captain Spears D. John? Captain of the spear pirates?" Smoker asked aggressively, making the merchant look at his business partner and quickly backing up a couple steps. "John grinned and turned around, looking Smoker in the eyes. "I'm afraid you have the wrong man… I'm sorry who are you?" John asked with a friendly smile on his face. "I'm captain Smoker of the marines. And any pirate that sets foot in my town gets a date with the gallows." Smoker growled.
"Ah that's good to know captain Smoker, I am Nathaniël Flint. Captain of the Crimson Crown, that's the name of my ship you see? And as you can see by our flag up there, WE are NOT pirates but PEACEFUL traders recognized and authorized by the WORLD GOVERNMENT to trade in every port under it's jurisdiction." John said with a smile.
"Yes I can see that. However this ship fits the description of a pirate vessel that was last seen heading for this island." Smoker said. "Well I'm sorry to disappoint you captain smoker but we aren't pirates. So if you don't mind… continue unloading the goods boys!"
"If you aren't pirates then you don't mind if I take a look inside your ship do you?" Smoker asked with a smug look on his face.
"Actually, I do mind." John said calmly. "So you're saying that you're unwilling to cooperate with the marines?" Smoker asked again smugly but this time a sweat was starting to form on his forehead.
"If by cooperate you mean allowing you and your marines on my ship then yes, I am unwilling to cooperate." John said, his smile having disappeared although he remained calm.
"Then you are obstructing in a marine investigation and will be taken into custody." Smoker said still looking and sounding smug, except for the sweat now dripping from his forehead. Smoker's backup had just arrived, a group of 50 marines ready at his command. Smoker stepped forward to take the man calling himself Nathaniël Flint into custody, but then stopped.
John watched as 50 marines suddenly appeared at the docks and formed up behind Smoker. John sighed as he knew what was going to happen next. The moment Smoker moved into his direction, John suddenly jumped up off of the crate and said "Pocket-Pocket Pistol!" John had pulled a pistol out of nowhere and was now aiming it directly at Smoker's face.
"Not a single step further!" John yelled causing Smoker and the marines behind him to stop. Then Smoker suddenly started laughing, saying "you think your gun is going to work on me? You may not know, but I ate the Smoke-Smoke fruit a logia type devil fruit. Your bullets won't do a thing."
"I know exactly who and what you are! I also know that a sea-prism stone bullet will work just fine!" John said, with a dead serious look on his face.
'Shit!' Smoker thought, 'He called every single one of my bluffs, I only have one left.' "You're threatening a marine officer. That's punishable offense, drop your weapon and let us inspect your ship or you're going to prison for a very long time!" Smoker threatened.
"I know my rights! And I know yours as well, unless I allow it or you come back here with a search warrant you can't set a single foot on my ship. And if you do then I'm well within my right to shoot you." John informed Smoker.
Smoker's nostrils flared and his eyes screamed murder but he put his jitte away on his back, saying "Stand down marines…" causing the 50 marines behind him to lower their rifles. "I'll be back with that warrant." Smoker growled. "And I'll be waiting for you." John said smugly, twirling the pistol around in his hand before saying "Pocket-Pocket deposit!" and the pistol disappeared again.
Smoker left with his marine squad to head for city hall where he would have to wait half an hour just to be able to meet with the mayor, then he would have to explain why he needed a search warrant AND convince the mayor of its importance. And then he would probably be waiting until tomorrow for the search warrant to be approved, signed and handed over to the marines.
Sometimes Smoker really hated being a government official.
"Okay boys! Once the cargo has been unloaded your all free to go into the city and drink until you drop! We won't be seeing that guy any time soon!" John said to his crew who broke out in cheers. "Hooray, hooray! Long live the captain!" they all yelled.
"Excuse me, captain Flint? You aren't really a pirate are you?" The merchant asked worriedly. "What? No of course not, you have nothing to worry about, trust me." John said grabbing the fat little man by the shoulder and pulling him closer into a one armed embrace, both looking at the next crane load being lowered on the docks. "I'm just an honest merchant trying to make an honest living." John said.
"Then why didn't you let him inspect your ship, surely you don't have anything to hide!" the merchant seemed a bit uneasy. "Listen friend, you're lucky getting to do business in a single town. But me and my crew go from place to place selling and buying our goods. Now, Smoker might be an honest man but trust me… there are just as many marine officers out there that are as rotten as a dead fish. I have to stand up to these guys or else they'll walk all over me and my crew. And before you know it, they either confiscate all of your cargo as so called protection taxes or they'll destroy it!" John said convincing the little fat merchant.
"Oh my! I never knew that trading oversea could be so dangerous!" The merchant said. "I completely understand, although I can assure you that Captain Smoker is not one of those men."
"Perhaps, but let's not talk about that anymore, instead let's have a drink to celebrate a successful business transaction between us." John proposed and then led the man back to the crate he was sitting on earlier and said "Pocket-Pocket champagne!" and out of nowhere John suddenly pulled a bottle of champagne, two glasses and a corkscrew.
"How did you…? what did you just… how?" the merchant stammered. "Ah yes, you see just like Captain Smoker I also ate a devil fruit. I ate the Pocket-Pocket fruit. It allows me to store away any item I want, in a place where I alone can reach it and then pull it out again when I need it. I did the same thing to that pistol earlier." John explained.
"Really now? That must come in handy." The merchant said having calmed down again. "It does, I don't have to carry anything heavy and if my ship can't store anymore cargo I simply store it away using my Pocket powers!" John said. "Now would you like a glass? It would seem they are unloading the last of it right now." John continued.
"Ah yes thank you very much!" the merchant said as he took his glass of champagne from [Captain Flint]. "To a successful business transaction and hopefully a new friendship." John said raising his glass. "To a successful business transaction…" The merchant clinked his glass against John's and then hesitated for a moment before making up his mind, smile and say "… and to a new friendship." The merchant finished. "Friendship!" John cheered and threw his glass back drinking it all at once. The merchant tried to do the same but the drink was too strong and he started coughing and John started laughing as he patted the man on the back.
Loguetown/alleyway café/Buggy
Sitting at a table in a dark café underneath the streets of the town, buggy the clown pirate was shuffling a pack of cards and started dealing them on the table. "With this I can tell the future." He said, snickering like a madman. When the cards were all placed on the table he turned the card that had been facing down up until now over, revealing ace of diamonds. "The cards, they never lie! They tell me the time for flashy revenge is close at hand!" he exclaimed as his grin widened. "That rubber bastard will finally get what's coming to him." the woman behind him, known as Iron Mace Alvida spoke up asking, "So, do those cards let you know if you kill the little twerp?"
"They're about to, heheh." Buggy replied as he turned the last card over saying "Voila!" the card revealed was the King, a picture of Richie the lion with a crown on his head and a royal red and white cape on his shoulders.
"Excellent! Today the straw-hat dies by my hands!" Buggy shouted in glee before he started to laugh maniacally. "Whatever." Alvida said, rolling her eyes. "I hope you haven't forgotten that we first have to find the little twerp." She said reminding him of their situation.
At that very moment Monkey D. Luffy ran by the café through the alleys past Mohji and his lion Richie. Mohji recognized him immediately and turned around peeking through the little barred window at the ground. "Captain! Quick! It's him!" Mohji informed Buggy, Alvida and Cabaji. "After him!" Buggy yelled out as they gave chase.
Loguetown/marine base/Zoro
Zoro was cleaning the floors at the marine base when he started complaining. "Dammit this is going to take the whole day! Unless.."
Because Zoro didn't have any money to pay Tashigi for the repairs of her glasses she had brought him to the marine base to work off his debt as a chore boy. Taking out trash and stuff like that.
Zoro opened the broom closet and took out two additional brooms. And by applying his three-sword style he was able to clean the floor in but a mere seconds. "Three-mop technique, works like a charm." He said to himself, distracted by several clacking noises he looked outside the window seeing the woman from earlier, Tashigi, training against four other marine soldiers. It would seem that both of them were mopping the floor with something, in her case with someone. (Hah I made a joke!) Tashigi beat all four marines with little effort.
Seeing her like that Zoro was once more reminded of Kuina. "Hey you! Just what do you think you're doing!" a marine behind him asked, his hand already of his sword. "Huh?" Zoro said turning around to look at the two marines dumb enough to threaten him.
"It's Zoro! The pirate hunter!" the second marine said. "Why are you cleaning?" the second asked. "Intel says that you joined up with Monkey D. Luffy's crew." The first said again.
Zoro sighed deeply as he wondered how he got himself in this situation. *sigh* "Drop the mop!" the second marine ordered. Without hesitating Zoro turned around and attacked the two marines, knocking both unconscious. "Well, guess I should leave." He said to himself.
Loguetown/main street/Spears D. John
"Thank you shopping at "Carter's Charts", please come again!" the owner of Carter's Charts said to his exiting customer. "Very unlikely but not impossible!" John replied as he put a small object away using his pocket-pocket ability.
"Okay, I've got what I needed now to get what I want!" John said out loud as he strolled down the middle of the street. His impressive appearance caused the regular citizens to step out of his path. He loved how people subconsciously seemed to recognize how in some way he was superior to them and that he wasn't going to go around them. It was like when two male animals met and wouldn't back down to prove themselves to be the alpha. Yeah! It was just like that, he was the alpha and he wouldn't back down just because some guy didn't get out of his way.
A sadistically grin appeared on his face when a perfect example was just in front of him. A drunk seemed to be having a hard time walking straight. John could already see that the drunk wouldn't be able to get out of his way in time. So when he was just a few inches away from colliding with the drunk, John stretched his left arm out and pushed the drunk to the side and out of his path. The people on the street stopped to watch, fearing that some kind of fight would break out.
"Watch where you're going old man!." John said with an annoyed look on his face. The drunk picked himself up off the ground and turned to look at the one who pushed him down to the ground, saying "What did you do that for?!"
"Do you have any idea what time of day it is?" John asked as he glared the man into silence. "It's half past twelve in the afternoon. What kind of idiot gets drunk at a time like this?!" John asked angrily. The man shied back a bit at seeing the angry look. "I did you favor here old man! You may not realize because you live in a peaceful little town like this, but in any other town if you had bumped into the wrong man you'd still be laying there on the side of the street with a bullet hole between your eyes!" John said scaring the drunk and the people around them. "I suggest you pick a better time to get drunk, or at least keep to the side of the road next time." John said before leaving and continuing ahead.
'Now where was I going again?' he thought. A moment later he noticed an weapons shop with two cutlasses crossing one another above it with the words "ARMS SHOP". 'Hmm, I wonder what kind of swords they carry? Perhaps I can get an upgrade? The best sword I have at the moment is the one that I took from that marine officer a week ago.' John decided to check it out.
Loguetown/arms shop/Zoro
Zoro walked into a weapons shop, ignoring the everything inside the shop he made his way straight to the register where an older man was sleeping, his head resting on his arm. Behind him was a display of armor and several swords.
"I'd like to pick up some swords." Zoro said, waking the man up. "Of course, of course, welcome. Have a look at anything you'd like. We have an extreme variety to choose from." The man said rubbing his hands together at the prospect of a customer. "I've got one-hundred-thousand berries for two swords. Can you do that?" Zoro asked.
"Two for a hundred-thousand?" the man asked. 'Great, this guy is broke.' He thought losing interest. "for a hundred thousand I can give you two dull blades." He said.
"I can make do with whatever, I just don't have the money right now."
'Ha, you can't make do with whatever unless you're an amateur. *?!* that sword could it be?!' he thought as he noticed the sword hanging from Zoro's hip.
"Hey, pal could I take a look at that sword you got there for a moment?" he asked nervously.
"Hey, are you okay there buddy?" Zoro asked. "Let me see!" the man said pushily. "Yeah, whatever." Zoro said as he handed over his white katana sword.
The man held the katana with extreme care and slowly slid it out of its scabbard. Confirming what he already assumed his eyes grew to five times their normal size before he tried to calm himself down thinking 'Stay cool, poker face, poker face, a complete amateur just walked in with a legendary sword. It's show-time!'
"well, that's a pretty nice sword you got. You wanna sell it? I'll give you two-hundred-thousand berries for it. what do you say? That will leave you with three-hundred-thousand, which should buy you some pretty good steel. At a hundred thousand a piece there are bound to be three swords you like in here."
"What?! Are you kidding me?!"
"Alright. I'll give you two-hundred-and-fifty-thousand berries! No wait! Three-hundred-thousand! Final offer five-hundred-thousand!"
"Just stop, I'm not selling. The sword is mine!"
"Tough guy! I'll buy it from you for six-hundred-and-fifty-thousand berries! *grrr* Fine! I give up! How does eight-hundred-thousand berries sound to ya?"
At that moment the young marine woman from before came running into the store with wrapped up katana, yelling "I'm ba~ack! Did you finish polishing my Shigure?" that's when she recognized the man standing beside her. "Aha, you're okay. I was worried about you! Some marines had been attacked earlier where you had been mopping the floor but you were gone so I thought you might have been kidnapped." She said.
'She's not very bright.' Zoro thought feeling embarrassed.
"By the way here's your money back. I can't accept money from a heartless ingrate, besides I already got some new glasses." Tashigi said as she put her glasses on. Now that her vision had improved she took notice of the katana that the shop owner was still holding in his hands.
"That sword looks just like the Wadou Ichimonji!" Tashigi exclaimed as she grabbed the sword from the shopkeeper's hands. "Is this really the sword?!"
'Wadou?' Zoro thought confused. 'Stop talking, stop talking…' the shopkeeper begged.
"It's beautiful! This has to be one of the twenty-one Oowaza-mono swords." She said, opening a small book and flipping through the pages until she finally stopped. "See, look at this. It says here that this swords is worth no less than twenty-million berries. But you're broke?! How do you have this legendary sword?" she asked confused.
"YOOOU! You told him everything! You're ruining my business!" the shopkeeper yelled at her.
"Eh? Did I say something I shouldn't have?"
"You came here for your Shigure, right? Here, it's been polished and sharpened, now take it and get out!" he said as he threw the sword that he pulled out from underneath the counter at her.
Tashigi had a hard time catching it and fumbled with it for a while, continuing to stumble back until she bumped into someone who caught her before she could fall down.
John had just entered the weapons shop and not a moment later a young woman bumped into him. He quickly planted his feet firmly and grabbed onto her, keeping both from falling to the ground. "Oh I'm terribly sorry about that." She apologized.
"That's alright, are you injured?" John asked white his most charming smile, seeing that the woman was about his age and quite attractive.
Tashigi blushed and averted her eyes saying "No, I'm alright. Uhm you can let go now…"
"huh? Oh right." John let go as he realized he still had his arms around her.
In the meantime Zoro had gone over to a couple of barrels that was filled with swords. As he was rummaging through them, Tashigi joined him "You really like swords, don't you? Since you carry three of them. It sounds like this one bounty hunter…"
"A bounty hunter, eh?
"He's very famous. His name is Roronoa."
"I hear the name a lot."
"Yes, he has a reputation throughout the East Blue as a great swordsman. But he's an evil man! Using a sword as a tool to acquire money is… unforgivable!" she said before turning sad.
"Why is it that this is an age where evil is so strong? The great swordsmen of the world are all pirates, or bounty hunters. All the great Meitou of the world are in their hands, you see? The swords are crying."
"Well, different people have different circumstances, don't they? People's occupations are determined by the needs of the age." Zoro countered her.
"I swear, with this Shigure… I will be a swordsman and improve my skills! And then, I'm going to travel the world, and free the Meitou from the hands of scum! The legendary Saijou Oowaza-mono 12. The Oowaza-mono 21. The Ryou-Waza-mono 50. I'll risk my life for it!" Tashigi said with a determined look in her eyes.
Zoro turned around and was about to say something but was cut off as a roaring laughter resounded throughout the shop. Looking over to the register, Zoro and Tashigi both saw John leaning against the register, throwing his head back as he laughed loudly.
Wiping a tear from his eye, John looked at Tashigi and said "I can't believe how naïve you are! First of all, Roronoa Zoro is an evil man because he uses his swords to acquire money? You do realize that all the money he makes, he earns by doing the marines job? Killing and apprehending criminals of the world government! Every time he collects a bounty the world becomes a safer place for the people that you can see walking through these very streets! How does that make him evil?"
John got up and started moving towards Tashigi keeping his eyes locked with hers as he continued on saying "Secondly, If you think that all pirates are evil then I have news for you girl! For every evil pirate out on the open sea there are just as many marines that commit acts of unspeakable evil! Murdering the innocent, extortion, abuse of power! The marines aren't as pure as you might think girl!" John was now standing right in front of her, staring her down.
"And finally, the swords are crying? Bullshit! Swords have never been happier! When a sword is forged it is given a personality based on the feelings and emotions of the one who forged it! Later it can grow, learn and even change its personality based on the feelings and emotions of the one who wields it! But at its very core every sword is forged for only one purpose… to kill!" John finished saying. "You really don't know anything!" he almost spat.
Tashigi seemed about ready to break down into tears when his expression softened and he stepped back. Looking to the side he saw Zoro had gone back to rummaging in the barrel. "So what about you?" John asked. "What do you think?"
"I'd like not to get involved in this… *sigh* but if I had to, I'd say I would have to agree with you rather than her." Zoro said as his hand rested on the hilt of a katana and froze completely.
"No way!" Tashigi said defeated as she fell to her knees, holding her sword tight to her body.
"Any way good look with your swords I've got to talk to the shopkeeper about a sword of my own." John said to Zoro.
"Yeah thanks, you too." Zoro replied as Tashigi saw the sword he pulled out of the barrel and immediately recovered going into a detailed explanation.
John had arrived back at the registry where the shopkeeper had displayed the best swords he had available. None of them were the stuff of legend but all of them seemed to be pretty good quality. There were four swords laying in front of him.
The one on the utmost left was a katana of great quality, the scabbards and the hilt had a blue color, decorated with the image of a golden dragon. The guard was also made of gold and looked like a dragon that had wrapped itself around the sword and then continued to do so until its head rested against its body.
The one next to that was of lesser quality but was more unique as it didn't have a smooth edge instead it possessed teeth like a knife used for cutting steak, the hilt and scabbard were both black and it didn't have a guard, instead it had an evil looking eye separating the blade from the hilt.
The third katana drew his attention, something seemed to draw him to this sword. The scabbard was red as well as the handle. The blade itself seemed to be normal, though he thought that he saw it pulsating a crimson glow before fading to black and returning to its normal shining steel color.
John glanced at the last blade but almost immediately returned to the crimson katana. Picking it up and drawing it from its scabbard he thought he could hear or feel the katana breathe with satisfaction. Like when you take a deep breath of fresh air and then let it all out again.
"I'll take it." John said as he placed the blade upon the counter and pulled out a stack of money with his pocket-pocket ability. "Pocket-Pocket money!"
"Thank you, that will be five-hundred-thousand berries." The man said happily. John handed over the money and put the katana back into its scabbard before placing it between his sash. He could have just stored it away with his devil fruit powers but he wanted to have close to him for now.
"Sir, this is too much you gave me five-million berries. I'm selling it to you for only five-hundred-thousand!" the shopkeeper said as he finished counting the money. "You asked for the amount you wanted to sell it for…" John began, "…I gave you the amount that I believed it was worth." He explained with a smile. "Consider it to be a generous tip from a satisfied customer or a compliment to katana itself. This is a great katana and buying it for only 10% of what it's worth would be an insult to its greatness." John explained before turning around.
John was already heading for the door when Tashigi suddenly turned to the shopkeeper, "Sir, do you really want to sell this katana for only fifty-thousand berries? That's amazing! It's one of the legendary works of sword craft!" she asked and then turned to Zoro. "You should get! It's worth should be one-million berries. That's a great deal."
"No way! Not that sword! I won't sell it!" the shopkeeper said with a frightened expression.
"I thought so! That sword for fifty-thousand berries… I thought it seemed strange…!"
"No, it's not that-" the man began.
Zoro examined the sword closely, his expression serious as he could feel something radiating off of the katana. Holding it to the ground he made a statement "It's cursed."
"You knew?" the shopkeeper asked surprised.
"No, I feel it."
"Now this could be interesting." John said as he brought his full attention back to the green haired swordsman.
"The swordsmen who have used the Kitetsu over the years… All of them came to tragic fates, mysterious deaths. You won't find a single swordsman in the world nowadays who will use a Kitetsu. Because everyone who ever used the sword, is dead! I wanted to get rid of the damn thing, because of its curse…" the shopkeeper explained.
"I-I'm so sorry! I had no idea it was such a terrible thing! I-I shouldn't have intruded!" Tashigi said lowering her head and bowing in apology.
"I like it. I'll take it." Zoro said ignoring her.
"Eh?!" Tashigi.
"Are you stupid? If I sell it to you and you die, then won't it be like I killed you?" the man panicked before he was hit on the head by his wife who had come in without anyone noticing.
"You're the one who's being stupid!" she yelled. "Just sell it!"
"H-honey?!"
"How about this? My luck… and this thing's curse… Let's see which one is stronger!" Zoro said with a confident smile on his face. To the surprise of everyone in the room including John, he threw the sword straight up and making it spin.
"No way!" Tashigi said. silence filled the room, Zoro focused his gaze to the floor and stretched out his left arm.
"Stop! Its sharpness is the real thing! You'll lose your arm!" the man yelled.
Zoro simply ignored him and closed his eyes. Continuing to spin as it made its way back down, drawing ever closer to Zoro, it's path of descent clearly brought it to Zoro's arm. It was only a matter of time to see whether it would cut him or not. Everyone held their breath and time seemed to slow down as they witnessed the blade spinning AROUND Zoro's arm, leaving him unharmed and planting itself into the floor.
Zoro opened his eyes and gave a victorious grin, saying "I'll take it."
"Hahahahahaaaa, you know what? I like you dude! How about joining me on my ship? I'd love to have a man with your guts and skills!" John laughingly invited him.
"Thanks for the offer, but I'll have to decline." Zoro said.
"Hmm, to bad… in that case I wish you the best stranger." John said exiting the shop.
"Yeah, you too." Zoro replied.
Loguetown/main street/Usopp
"Are you the gentleman that's been bothering my adorable little daughter?" Daddy Masterson a.k.a. Daddy the parent asked to Usopp after his daughter gave him a pair of goggles for his birthday and accusing Usopp of trying to steal them from her.
"No… I just…" Usopp stammered.
Carol Masterson pulled on her father's cloak, saying "There's something else…" and continued to whisper in her father's ear. "there's a bounty of thirty-million berries."
"A bounty worth thirty-million huh? Let's take a look." Daddy said.
"oh are those the new bad guys?" Carol asked looking at the stack of wanted posters in her father's hands. "Yeah I just picked them up today. Six-hundred, one-point-three-million, seven-hundred, huh, thirty-million, Monkey D. Luffy. For a first bounty that's impressive." Daddy said while Usopp had started to back away trying to escape unnoticed, without success.
"Where are you going?" Daddy asked. "Okay, that's not me. I'm not the guy in the poster. I was just trying to pretend to be a bad guy, bye-bye now! I'm out of here! Bye! See ya!" Usopp said as he made ready to leave.
Daddy just showed the wanted poster of Luffy and put his finger on the spot where the back of Usopp's head could be seen, saying "That's you."
Usopp immediately stopped and walked over towards Daddy "Okay you caught me again, but just try and lay a hand on me and you'll see what happens. My captain, Luffy, won't sit idly by when one of his crew is in danger! He is a cold blooded, soulless demon from the pits of hell itself. You can't even imagine the pain he can inflict. You've got your daughter to worry about, why risk your life over it?" Usopp bragged and lied, trying to get out of trouble.
"You're right. It's not worth it. Anyone worth thirty-million berries is no ordinary man and that's for sure." Daddy said.
"Papa! You can beat him, you're the strongest man ever and you're not afraid of anyone!" Carol said.
"Darling I don't have to prove anything, I just need enough to get by to keep us happy. So long as you think I'm the greatest that's all that matters to me. Understand?" "Papa?" Carol looked at her father with sad eyes.
'I scared him off just like that? I guess I don't know how truly terrifying I am. Time to flex' Usopp thought.
"I'm glad you came to your senses fool! Now give me my goggles and maybe I'll let you escape with your life." Usopp said.
"Huh?!" Carol glared at Usopp.
"Don't worry, I'm gonna pay for them, I'm a killer not a thief. Now give 'em here!" Usopp bragged.
"My daddy's letting you go old man! If I were you I'd be running for my life!" Carol said but was stopped by her father from saying anything further. "papa?"
"Okay, fine, if that's how you want it, then let's settle this dispute like gentlemen."
"Gentlemen?" "Here." Daddy said as he tossed Usopp a pistol."
"A duel? Huh, I think I can manage that!" Usopp said as sweat poured down his face.
"if you win the goggles are yours." Daddy said, spreading out his cloak revealing a bunch of pistols underneath.
Loguetown/Graveyard/Usopp, Nami, John
Nami was walking down the street when a bunch of people ran past saying things like "it's daddy!" "there's gonna be a duel." "Who could be that stupid?"
"Daddy the father?" Nami thought out loud. "Everybody knows that daddy the father is the greatest gunslinger of bounty hunter history! Not to mention he's never lost a duel before." As she pushed her way to the crowd she began to say "What kind of idiot…" only to see her crewmate Usopp standing back to back with Daddy. "…Oh that kind." She said.
'What the hell just happened? Why am I dueling this guy?' Usopp thought.
"Simple rules…" Daddy said. "Walk ten paces and fire." "O-okay." Usopp replied, sweat pouring down his face and his legs trembling with the fear he couldn't hide.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Nami called out. "Nami?" "It looks like you're facing Daddy the father in a duel. Are you nuts!" Nami yelled.
"You're not helping! You never have anything nice to say!" Usopp yelled back, temporarily forgetting the situation he was in.
"You get one shot are you ready?" Carol stated.
"One. Two. Three. Four. Five." 'What am I doing? This sucks! I'm so stupid, there's no way I can beat him.' Usopp thought between Carol counting. "And six." 'I'm gonna die now. This can't be happening!' "Seven." 'I can't believe it, my adventure is just beginning and I'm already gonna die! Who'd have thought it would come to this?!' "Eight."
*BANG!*
the sound of a gunshot rang through the graveyard. Seeing as everyone had kept their eyes on Daddy rather than Usopp the crowd and Carol turned to look at Usopp expecting to see him standing there turned around with a smoking pistol aimed at Daddy the father. Instead what they all saw was Usopp lying down on the ground in a puddle of blood.
Daddy turned around in shock, seeing his opponent lying face down in a puddle of blood.
"Aaaaah! Daddy!" Carol screams before she starts to cry.
"Usoooopp! Nooooo!" Nami called out.
"Carol! Sweetheart come here quick!" Daddy said as he protected his daughter from any possible shooter, by hiding her within his cloak.
"What just happened? Who shot him? Where did that shot come from?" the crowd started saying.
"I'm sorry to cause such a commotion. I heard there was a man worth thirty-million berries dueling against Daddy the father, and I thought, how easy would it be to shoot this man while he's too busy focusing on Daddy to watch out for a third shooter?" John said, standing a couple of feet away from Usopp's body with a smoking pistol in his hand.
"This was a gentlemen's duel!" Daddy yelled out in anger. "How dare you interfere!" Daddy said as he raised his pistol to bring justice to the young man who had just been killed.
*BANG!*
Another shot was fired by John, hitting Daddy's hand, injuring him and sending his pistol flying. Daddy hurried to try and grab another pistol but stopped when another shot was fired. This time the bullet went right by Carol's face, making her freeze before screaming. "Nah-ah-aaah!" John said wiggling his finger from left to right. "If you try that again… I'll put the next one through her heart!" John said with an evil smirk.
"You wouldn't?!" Daddy yelled. "Oh you bet I would!" John replied seriously as he bent down and grabbed Usopp by the two straps on his back. "Now I'll take my leave and collect my bounty if you don't mind." and with that said, John dragged the body away until he turned into an alleyway.
"You can get up now!" John said as he dropped the body. Usopp twitched for a moment before getting up and saying "Thank you! for a moment there I thought I was a goner." Usopp said. "No problem, but tell me… how did you do the blood thing? I was starting to think you actually got shot!" John asked.
"Oh that? That was easy you see…" "Hey you stop! Drop him now!" Nami said as she came rushing into the alleyway. "Nami?!" Usopp asked surprised. "Usopp?! But I thought… I saw you… and the blood…" "Just what is going on here?!" Nami demanded to know.
"Hi, my name is John. When I heard about the duel I rushed over in the hopes of seeing something entertaining. But when I got there all I saw was an idiot who had never held a pistol before in his life, about to throw his life away for something he regretted doing in the first place. So, I pulled out my own pistol, signaled to your friend here what I was about to do and I fired a shot into the air. Your friend dropped to the ground, and the rest you saw for yourself." John explained.
"But where did all that blood come from?!" Nami asked.
"I was about to explain that, it's one of my inventions you see. I call it the ketchup star! It's basically a plastic ball filled with ketchup." Usopp explained.
*relieved sigh* "Well I'm glad you're okay Usopp. But what were you thinking going up against Daddy the father like that?!" Nami screamed. "It doesn't matter." John said, "All that matters is that he's alive. A coward perhaps, but most definitely alive."
"Hey don't call him a coward! Running away from a fight like that isn't cowardly! He never stood a chance in the first place! Wanting to live isn't cowardly, so don't you dare call him that!" Nami yelled at John.
"No. He's right!" Usopp said as he stood up, determination in his eyes. "Usopp?" Nami asked surprised.
"I was afraid and a coward. But not anymore… I'm going back there and apologize to daddy and ask for a do over." Usopp said. "Are you crazy?!" Nami asked angrily.
"I just saved your life and now you want to throw it away?!" John asked surprised.
"I'm sorry, I'm indebted to you for saving my life. But it's not worth living if I have to go through it as a coward. I'll say it once more, thank you. But I have to do this!" Usopp said and then turned around and started sprinting back.
The crowd had already disappeared, but Daddy and Carol were still there. Carol was bandaging her father's injured hand with a piece of cloth torn from her own dress when Usopp suddenly came running from the streets. "Old man you're alive!" Carol yelled happily. "What happened?" Daddy asked. "I thought you were dead?!"
"I'm sorry!" Usopp cried as he fell to his knees in front of the two. "I was afraid and a coward! The man you saw earlier, he helped me to get out of our duel. But I've come back to ask your forgiveness and for a second chance! I couldn't live with myself if I ran away from this!" Usopp begged.
"Usopp! Stop, you don't have to do this! it isn't worth your life! Like I said before, there's no shame in what you did. If you hadn't run away you'd be dead right now!" Nami tried to talk some sense into her friend the moment she caught up with him.
"Usopp? Young man, your name's Usopp?" Daddy asked clutching his injured hand.
"Y-yeah." "Could it be…" Daddy wondered. "Do you know a man called Yasopp, of the Red-Hair Pirates?" "Yasopp? That's my father's name… Have you met him?" Usopp asked. "I see… his son…" Daddy said to himself.
"Papa?" Carol asked looking up at her father.
"Not a single word… I have never said a single word about that day to anyone. But for you, it'll be different. It all happened in a hot sweltering port town like this one…" Daddy said.
Daddy then went on to explain about his encounter with Yasopp. How they had dueled with pistols, how Yasopp had won the duel and refused to take his life. About how Yasopp told him he had a son himself, named Usopp.
"A marine elite who turns into a bounty hunter. So that's why…" Nami said.
"Papa… Papa losing against a pirate, and having to live? It's all a lie, right? Right, Papa?" Carol desperately asked her father.
"But, isn't it amazing? Your father is an amazing guy, huh? He beat Daddy! Plus, he didn't forget you! There's even a small chance that we'll meet him on our adventures!" Nami said to Usopp but was stopped when Usopp started to cry, trying to hide his tears.
"Oh… I understand how you feel." "No! That's not why… That's not why I'm crying! Is this normal? Telling the story of how you almost died? Telling such a story to a coward like me? You told it to encourage me! A story that normal people would hide! Even though I'm so cowardly, you told it to me… How my father leads his life… Isn't that right? I can't stand being weak or cowardly!" Usopp cried out swallowing the tears he felt pricking his eyes.
"Carol…" Usopp turned to the little girl. "Your Papa is a great warrior. A strong person can be found anywhere! But, I've never seen a man who is strong and kind like your Papa… I… I can't lose like this. If I don't gather up my courage… It'll be embarrassing for your Papa." Usopp said before turning towards Daddy again.
"Daddy, give me another chance for a duel, to put my life on the line! I won't try to back out this time!" Usopp begged.
"Very well! But I can't duel with my injury… instead I'll give you a challenge. Choose the weapon you're most comfortable with." Daddy said.
Usopp searched in his bag until he found and pulled out his green slingshot.
"Good. With that… Let's see…" Daddy said as he looked around until he spotted something. "Show me you can hit that weather vane."
"Weather vane… That?" Usopp said but was startled when Daddy pulled out a gun and aimed it at his head. "If you miss…" Daddy said leaving the threat open.
"Yeah, you'll blow off my head, that's fine." Usopp replied. "This is a duel, where a man risks his life!" Usopp adjusted the grip on his slingshot and pulled back. "No way!" Carol said, the fear in her eyes clearly visible. "There's no way you can hit that far with that thing!"
Having put his old goggles over his eyes, he fully pulled the slingshot back. Grinding his teeth together as he focused on his target, being careful not to accidently let go. The bell tower started to chime, like a countdown. Before the last chime could be heard Usopp fired his slingshot. The metal ball went flying with a whistling sound.
Carol put her hands together in prayer.
"He missed!" Nami said after the last chime had rang. "Stop Papa! Don't shoot, Papa!" Carol hurried to grab her father's cloak.
"How can I? Usopp hit his target!" Daddy said.
Nami had taken out a spyglass and was looking at the weather vane that was shaped like a whale wearing a crown, and indeed… there was a small hole in the center of the crown. "He's right! He hit the jeweled crown!" Nami cheered before Usopp crashed to his knees.
"Superb skill, as expected from Yasopp's son. If you don't forget that courage, I'm sure one day… You can become like your father. Go to the Grand Line. Yasopp will definitely be there." Daddy smiled.
"Pretty good, old man!" Carol said as she handed Usopp the goggles and left with her father.
"Even after falling from grace, he fights to protect his loved ones, eh?" Nami said, watching the two leave.
"I too will become a courageous man like Daddy. I will become a real warrior someday… And come face to face with my father! Someday!" Usopp said, smiling at the horizon.
Loguetown/fish market/Sanji, John
Sanji was looking around the fish-market near the docks. He'd already bought all of the supplies he'd need and more as he found the best ingredients at the best prices. He still had a little bit of money left, so he decided to buy some fish.
Stopping at one of the stalls he took notice of some of the fish, saying "This is incredible!"
The stall owner looked up and said "you got good eyes there, boy. Those are some inshore fish we caught only this morning."
"Inshore?" Sanji said confused. "This fish is quite fresh… But I've never seen a fish like this." Sanji said as he pulled one up by its tailfin. "Did you really catch it here in the East Blue?"
"Boy, you're a sharp one. Just as you thought, this is a fish that can only be caught naturally in the West Blue. Most people in the East Blue don't notice it, so we don't tell 'em." The stall owner explained.
"West Blue? How can you call that inshore?" Sanji asked.
"Boy, you've never been to our town before, have you? Loguetown is the closest place to the Grand Line, Meaning you can catch fish not only from the East Blue, but from all the other seas as well."
"Other seas?" Sanji asked. "You got it. They must've gotten here by the ocean currents. Happens all the time." The stall owner said before the sound of an excited crowd could be heard behind him. "Looks like something's up. Let's check it out, boy!" he said and went to over. "Hey, what's all the fuss? Ah, that's-!"
Sanji had a hard time but managed to make his way through the closely packed crowd only to lay eyes on a fish that seemed familiar to him somehow.
"Amazing! That's a blue-finned elephant tuna, ain't it?" the stall owner from earlier asked.
"Right you are! Must've washed in from the south seas. We got it with just one fishing pole!" The fisherman who caught it said.
"Just one?"
It was at this moment that Sanji thought back to a moment during his childhood, when he was still a kitchen help aboard a ship. He remembered his seniors talking about the fish, where it came from and that he'd probably only ever see one if he would come across the All Blue.
"All Blue…" Sanji whispered.
"Alright, let's get this outta here." The fisherman said. "P-Please wait! How much is it? Please sell it to me!" Sanji yelled out.
"What?" "I have the money. Let me have it! Please!" "No can do. This guy ain't for sale. I just decided to make it a prize. Sorry 'bout that." The fisherman said.
"Prize?" Sanji wondered. "Yeah. We're about to start the All East Cooking Contest. Cooks from all over the East Blue gather for this competition. The winner will get this as a prize." The stall owner from earlier said.
"It's a blue-finned elephant tuna we're talking about here after all. It'll be a perfect prize for the champion." The fisherman supported the stall owner.
"If you want it that badly, why don't you enter? You're a cook ain't ya, boy?" the stall owner asked.
"Yeah…" Sanji replied. "Registration's over there. Go ahead and enter, if you want. If you don't hurry, they won't let you in, boy. Later! Oh before I forget, there's an entrance fee you have to pay!" the stall owner said and disappeared with the fishermen who carried the fish away.
"Cooking Contest, eh?" Sanji smiled as he could already taste the fish. "Alright then." He said and turned around to register, but then stopped. "Huh? Wait a sec…" he said, remembering the challenge Carmen had issued to him earlier that day. "Ah well." he said to himself.
Sanji arrived at the registration booth, where an old lady was sitting. "Hello I'd like to register for the cooking contest." Sanji told the elderly lady. "Oh that's just wonderful my dear. Can I have your name please?" the old lady asked.
"Sanji" "Okay, S-a-n-j-I" she wrote down the name. "Where did you learn to cook? And in which culinary establishments have you cooked before now?" "I learned most in the Baratïé, but I spent some time in the kitchens on a ship as a kitchen aide." Sanji answered. "Okay dear, now all I need from you is five-hundred berries entrance fee and you can go ahead and take a seat over there." the old lady said.
"Five-hundred berries?! What am I supposed to do now? I don't have that kind of money left." Sanji complained.
"Don't worry about it." a voice suddenly spoke up from behind him. Sanji turned around and saw a man with black hair, a moustache attached to a goatee, and dressed in black with a red captain's coat, red boots and a red sash holding a red katana.
"Hi, my name's John. I don't mind sponsoring for you, if you'd be willing to do me a favor in return." Joh said.
"Sanji... What kind of favor?" Sanji asked. "When they caught that Blue-finned elephant tuna… I heard you saying something about the All Blue, are you trying to find it?" John asked.
Sanji hesitated for a moment but then said "Yes, it's my dream to go to the grand line and find the All Blue." Sanji answered making John smile.
"Well then, here's my offer to you… I'll sponsor you in this contest right here and in return, if you ever find it, the All Blue, you come and find me and tell me where it is! Do we have a deal?" John asked extending his hand and giving the blond cook an honest smile. Sanji smiled back and shook his hand eagerly. "Deal!" Sanji said.
After that John paid the five-hundred berries entrance fee and Sanji went and took a seat with the other contestants and had a smoke. John went over to stand in the audience.
The cooking contest began and to his satisfaction, the man called Sanji breezed through the competition. And the young man with the long nose and the girl with the orange hair from earlier arrived and seemed to know him very well.
"Hey, wait a sec! Look! Over there!" Nami said as she spotted Sanji.
"Hey, isn't that Sanji?" Usopp asked. "Yeah?"
"Oy! Sanji! Over here!" Usopp yelled. "Sanji!" Nami yelled.
"Nami! You've come to cheer me on?!" Sanji asked.
"Not really. I was just passing by." Nami said.
"But Sanji, why are you in this contest?" Usopp asked. "Oh Usopp, you're here too?" "I WAS THE ONE WHO CALLED YOU FIRST!" Usopp yelled.
"Well, that doesn't matter, I found this beautiful fish that would make for an excellent ingredient and I just had to buy it. But it wasn't for sale because it would be given as a prize to the champion of this cooking contest. So I decided to enter…" Sanji explained becoming a bit shy at the end. "…there was a slight problem though, I didn't have enough money to pay the entrance fee and I couldn't risk being too late to register by going out and looking for you Nami. Luckily I met this guy who wanted to sponsor me in exchange for the location of the All Blue once I've found it." Sanji said.
"Wow that was awfully nice of him!" Usopp said. "I find it kind of suspicious…" Nami said.
After that Sanji competed, winning the entire contest and with it the Blue-finned elephant tuna.
Loguetown/central plaza/Luffy
Luffy had been running around town the entire day. He'd asked for direction from several people but had gotten lost every single time. *heavy bored sigh* "Haaaaaah, where am I? Where is the executioner's platform? I'm hungry! I'm thirsty! I wonder where the others are? I'm sooooo hungry! I wonder if they've all gotten lost? I'm soooo hungryyyy!" Luffy complained as he dragged his feet across the ground as well as his arms which had stretched out to the point where they dragged behind him. Luffy's tongue was hanging out of his mouth as he groaned a final time, looking up to the sky.
Then out of nowhere a gust of wind pulled his straw hat from his head and carried it into a side alley. "Ah my hat! Come back hat!" Luffy yelled as he gave chase. It took a while but Luffy's hat finally settled down on the ground in the central plaza, opposite of the executioners platform.
"I'm so glad. Hat." Luffy said picking up his hat. Looking up, Luffy noticed where he was and said "I've found it. Lucky." With a big smile.
In one of the alleyways connecting to the central plaza Cabaji and Buggy where standing. "I saw him! Over this way!" Cabaji said. "What? You sure?" Buggy asked.
"Straw hat Luffy has been spotted?" Smoker asked as he returned from city hall with a search warrant for the Crimson Crown. "Sir. Just as you anticipated… a man fitting the description has just been seen at the plaza." A marine soldier reported.
"Good." Smoker said.
"Move out flashily." Buggy whispered to his crew.
'So he's shown himself. I'll deal with Spears D. John later, for now I can't waste this chance to capture Monkey D. Luffy.' Smoker thought.
Iron Mace Alvida was making her way towards the plaza as well.
Standing on top of the executioner's platform, Luffy said "Woohoo! So this is the view the Pirate King saw! Then… He died!"
TO BE
CONTINUED
End chapter 1: Loguetown adventure!
Holy hell! It took me a long time to write this thing. it's the longest chapter I've ever written by far!
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