All right, next chapter. I really appreciate all the feedback I'm getting. I feel so loved TT_TT
Regarding this chapter...I debated whether or not to put this chapter in at all, but then decided it was the lesser of two evils.
Now let's get this show on the road!
Oh, and I don't own One Piece.
Enter: "Strawhat" Luffy
The sea was calm as a large passenger ship skirted the edge of a gigantic whirlpool, the passengers inside being calmed by the soothing words of the captain, who assured them that some "measly whirlpool" would not affect the ship in the slightest.
Up on deck, the crew was just fishing up a large barrel out of the water, remarking on how heavy it was and trying to decide what to do with whatever was inside.
The calm was broken however, by the terrified shout of the lookout in the crow's nest, who pointed out a horrendously bright pink ship that had just sailed from out of the cover of a small rocky outcrop.
"PIRATES!" he screamed, pointing to the black flag flying from the mast, the skull and crossbones painted in the middle grinning menacingly at them.
The crew immediately dropped what they were doing – including the barrel – and began to run about the ship in a panic. A couple members of the crew ran down to the ballroom to inform the captain of the incident. The news only served to send the passengers themselves into a frenzy, as they began to run about in fear.
One passenger though, a young woman in a dress with shoulder-length orange hair, was smirking at the opportunity this presented her, and began to sneak unnoticed out of the room.
The pirate ship had already begun to open fire on the defenseless ship, the cannonballs it fired causing the ship to rock uncontrollably.
Meanwhile, the pirate ship was pulling up alongside the passenger ship, the pirates on board laughing as they prepared to board.
The captain stood still though, and smiled to herself as she thought of all the plunder that could be found on the ship.
She shouted over her shoulder at a scrawny boy with light pink hair.
"COBY!"
The boy hurried to step forward, shaking as he wondered what she could want him for.
"Y-Yes?"
"Who is the most beautiful woman on all the seas?" she asked, her eyes still fixed on the ship in front of her.
He hesitated for only a second, then gulped and responded, "Why, that would be you of course Lady Alvida."
She turned around to look at him, grinning maliciously.
"Good answer," she said, hefting a large iron club studded with spikes effortlessly onto her shoulder.
Looking at her, one could only think that the only reason Coby had said that was to avoid being smashed to a pulp with that same club.
The woman was horrendously fat, her clothes strained already with the effort of staying on. Her face was pudgy, and dotted with freckles, and her fat fingers tightened and relaxed their grip on the club's handle, ready to swing it at any moment.
"So, is everyone ready for a little plunder?"
Her crew roared back in response, waving their cutlasses and running to board the ship.
Coby walked quietly through the halls of the ship, trying to make as little sound as possible. He rubbed his backside, still sore from where Alvida had decided to "help" him over to the ship through a swift kick in the pants.
Alvida herself, along with her crew, had headed straight towards the sound of the sound of the screaming passengers, and were likely terrorizing them right now, taking any valuables they had to offer.
Coby had made sure to get as far away as possible, going below deck when he was sure no one was watching.
He checked several rooms as he went along, figuring he should at least make a point of returning with something.
He finally came to the kitchen, and his eyes were immediately drawn to a large barrel sitting on it's side.
The barrel was wet, as if it had just come out of the ocean, and when he tried to move it, he noticed it was rather heavy.
He struggled to push it to the door, but was stopped by three of Alvida's crew, who likely had been ordered below decks to search for anymore loot.
They sneered at Coby in unison. "Well, well," one of them began. "If it isn't Coby."
"You trying to duck out of the fighting and hide down here you coward?", another asked.
Coby waved his hands in front of him. "No way! I was just rolling this big barrel over to you guys."
The larger of the three stepped forward. "Is that so. How's 'bout we help you lighten the load there? Maybe there's some good booze in that thing."
Coby freaked out at this. "But what if Alvida finds out?"
"She won't if you keep your mouth shut," one of the pirates spat.
The bigger pirate set the barrel upright, grunting at it's weight. He cracked his knuckles, "Stand back boys, I'll open her the old fashioned way."
He concentrated for a second, then swung his fist down.
Right before he made contact though, he was interrupted by the barrel bursting open and a fist catching him under the chin, sending him sprawling to the floor.
Coby, along with the remaining two pirates, were surprised to see a boy standing in the barrel, stretching and yawning and shouting about what a good nap he had.
He opened his eyes and looked at the man on the floor, and the rest of the people still standing.
He blinked. "Who the hell are you guys?"
The pirates were in his face immediately screaming the same question back at him, but were ignored by the boy. He stepped out of the barrel and calmly said, "You're friends gonna catch a cold sleeping on the floor like that."
The pirates shouted at him that he was the reason he was out cold on the floor, but were ignored again. This apparently ticked them off, as they drew their cutlasses and blocked his path. "Are you trying to piss us off when you know full well we're cruel and vicious pirates!"
They were ignored a third time though, as the boy was already crouching in front of Coby and asking if he knew where any food was.
The pirates snapped at this, raising their swords above their heads and screaming in rage. "You damn kid!"
Coby gasped and covered his eyes, not wanting to watch what was coming next. He was surprised to hear what sounded like metal breaking and embedding itself in wood. What he saw when he opened his eyes though, shocked him even more.
The pirates were on their knees, shaking in fear. Their swords were broken at the middle, the missing halves stuck in the ceiling.
The boy on the other hand, was staring at them in confusion. "What is wrong with you guys?"
The pirates didn't answer his question, and stammered out their own question instead. "W-Who are you?"
The boy smiled cheekily and responded, "The name's Monkey D. Luffy."
The pirates fled then, screaming as they dragged their unconscious comrade between them.
Coby merely stared straight ahead dumbstruck, and, finally finding his voice, asked, "What just happened?"
Luffy simply shrugged. "Beats me."
Fear struck Coby then, and he leapt from his spot on the floor. "Quick, you need to get out of here! If those guys tell everyone what happened then they'll come find you and kill you!"
Luffy smiled and said, "I don't care about any of that, I'm hungry."
Shocked at his devil-may-care attitude, Coby tried to talk him into hiding, ultimately ending in him being dragged to the pantry with him. While Luffy immediately leapt down and begin devouring any food within reach, Coby was looking around outside, and deemed the place safe for now.
He clambered down to where Luffy was, and sat there, unsure of what to do next.
"Uh, I'm Coby," he began. "So,um, Luffy was it? That was pretty cool what you did back there in the barrel."
Luffy however, seemed to ignore his question, and instead commented on how good the apples were, his mouth still full of the fruit.
"So those guys said they were pirates. Is this a pirate ship, then?" Luffy asked.
Coby shook his head. "No, it's a passenger ship being raided by pirates under the command of Lady Alvida."
"Oh well," he shrugged. "None of that really matters to me anyway."
"By the way,do you know where I can get a boat?" he asked, speaking around the food in his mouth.
Coby thought about it for a second. "I think there are some on the top deck."
Luffy nodded, reaching for more apples as he did. "That's good. 'Cause my boat got destroyed by some whirlpool."
Coby almost fell over in astonishment. "You mean that huge whirlpool outside? No way!"
Luffy swallowed what was in his mouth and nodded, a wild grin on his face. "Yeah. It really surprised me, too!"
Coby was stunned into silence, and sat there for a moment, trying to process everything that had happened that day. "By the way..." said Luffy, snapping Coby out of his reverie. "What are you doing here? You don't really seem much like a pirate."
Coby's head drooped, and he thought back to how exactly he had ended up in this mess.
"I'm not. I went to go fishing one day, and ended up on one of the longboats for this pirate ship by mistake. In exchange for being allowed to remain alive, I've been working as their cabin boy for almost two years."
Luffy had been crouched next to Coby listening to his story, and decided to speak up at that moment, offering kind words of wisdom.
"You're kinda stupid, you know?"
Coby slumped, depressed at his candid answer. "Gee, thanks for being so honest."
Luffy frowned. "If you hate it here so much, why not just escape?"
That seemed to frighten Coby, though, who began to sweat and shake his head rapidly. "No way, nuh uh! Just the though of what Alvida would do if she caught me makes me sick!"
Luffy began to laugh. "Your're an idiot and a coward. I hate people like you."
Coby drooped once again, having nothing to say to what he knew was the truth. He straightened a moment later, though his eyes were still downcast.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. If I just just had the courage, I could leave this place and try and accomplish my own dreams."
Coby looked up at Luffy. "What about you Luffy? Do you have any dreams?"
Luffy smiled widely. "Well, I'm gonna be King of the Pirates."
Coby's jaw dropped. "K-King?" Luffy nodded. When Coby failed to respond, he waved a hand in front of his face, rapping him a few times on the forehead for good measure.
Coby suddenly jumped to his feet, a terrified look on his face. "Do you know what kind of dangers are waiting for you! To be the Pirate King, you'd have to make the whole world kneel at your feet. To become the King, you'd have to find the legendary One Piece!"
Luffy just continued to smile through Coby's rant. "Yeah!"
"Don't give me that 'Yeah'!" Coby shouted. "It would be downright impossible for you to become the Pirate King during this Age of Piracy! Impossible, impossible, imposs-!"
Coby was cut off when Luffy's fist sent him sprawling to the floor. He got up grimacing, holding his head.
"Why'd you hit me?", he whined.
Luffy shrugged. " 'Cause I felt like it."
Coby chuckled humorlessly. "Oh well. It doesn't matter. I'm used to the guys on the ship smacking me around a lot."
Luffy didn't seem to be listening, though, instead reaching for the straw-hat on his head. "It's not about whether I can or can't do it Coby," he began, removing the hat and staring at it affectionately. "I'm doing this because I want to, because it's my dream."
Coby was staring at Luffy intently, enraptured by what he was saying.
"I decided a long time ago that I would do whatever I could to accomplish this dream," he said, replacing the hat on his head. " If I die while doing that, than I die."
Coby was stunned by his determination. And here he was, cowering in fear, afraid to even try.
"Well," began Luffy. "Now that I've eaten my fill, I guess it's time to get myself a new boat. Maybe they'll just give me one if I ask nice enough? Maybe they're generous people?"
"I wonder," Coby muttered from his spot on the floor. Luffy stopped, already halfway up the stairs, and turned to listen. "I wonder... If I was willing to go that far, to risk even my life, could I really do it?"
Coby turned to look at Luffy. "Hey do you think I could become a Marine?"
Luffy's looked confused. "A Marine?"
Coby leapt to his feet, a fire burning in his eyes that hadn't been there before. "Yeah! Becoming a Marine has always been my dream! I want to become strong so I can protect people in trouble!"
Luffy smiled. "How the heck should I know?"
Coby walked towards him. "Well I'm gonna do it! I'll become a Marine, and I'll get stronger! Then I'll go and catch Alvida myself!"
The moment he said that, the ceiling collapsed, and a huge shadow fell to the floor with a tremendous 'thud', shaking the entire ship. Coby scrambled away from the falling debris, while Luffy was kept in place by multiple cutlasses being stabbed through the walls on either side of him.
A voice rang out of the dust. "And just WHO are you planning on capturing Coby? And you honestly think this twig is going to help you?"
Alvida stood up, the floorboards underneath her cracked and splintered by her monstrous weight. She relaxed her grip on the iron club in her hand, allowing it to hang at her side. "Well, you're obviously not Zoro the Pirate Hunter."
Luffy's head twisted sideways in confusion. "Zoro?"
"When my men told me that a frightening man in a barrel had been seen on the ship," began Alvida. "I figured it was him, but it appears I simply jumped to conclusions.
Alvida turned her attention to Coby then. "Well, Coby," Alvida said in a sickly-sweet voice. "I'll give you one last chance: Who is the most beautiful women on the seas?
Coby began to sweat, shaking in fear as he thought of what to say next.
He needn't have bothered though, since Luffy spoke up for him instead.
"Hey Coby, who's the fat lady?"
Everyone within earshot stopped, their mouths hanging open in a mixture of surprise and horror. Alvida meanwhile, was shaking in rage, a number of veins popping into existence on her forehead.
"YOU RUNT!" she screamed, bringing her club down to smash him.
But Luffy had already jumped out of the way, the club crushing the spot he had just been standing on into scrap wood and splinters.
He landed in front of Coby and grabbed his arm. "Let's go."
He leaped out of the hole Alvida had made, smiling at the pirates waiting for him on the top deck.
The first pirate to attack swung his sword, but was dodged and subsequently headbutted by Luffy. The next one attempted to attack from behind, but never even got to swing his blade, having been interrupted by Luffy's fist in his face. Four pirates tried to gang up on him, but Luffy jumped backwards out of their reach.
Luffy took a moment to gloat, but stopped when he heard a loud scream above his head. He moved to the side just as a pirate came falling to the deck, trying to cleave him in two. Luffy frowned and grabbed him by the head. "It's not fair to attack people from behind," he chastised, lobbing the man towards another group of pirates, knocking them out.
He was interrupted in his celebrating when he heard a large amount of growling behind him. He looked behind him and saw the rest of the crew, angry and ready to carve him to pieces. He grinned sheepishly and ran away, an almost comical look of terror on his face.
"It's even more not fair to gang up on a guy!" he cried over his shoulder.
Just then, his hand caught the main mast as he was running by, staying firmly in place while he continued on, seemingly unaware that his arm was stretching far past normal standards. The pirates chasing him stopped and stared at the stretched appendage, looking back and forth from hand to body and back again.
Luffy had stopped running meanwhile, and looked back with a cheeky grin. "Gotcha."
The pirates dropped their swords and ran, terrified of this man who simply could not be human.
"GUM-GUM...," Luffy began, his body shaking with the strain of keeping his arm stretched. "ROCKET!" he roared, lifting his legs and flying towards the fleeing pirates.
He plowed through everyone still standing, sending them crashing to the ground or flying through the air.
Coby, Alvida (who had spent several minutes trying to heave her considerable bulk onto the main deck), and all of the pirates still conscious were stunned, struggling to comprehend how what just happened was even possible.
Coby walked towards Luffy. "Luffy. Wh-What are you?"
Luffy smiled and grabbed the inside of his cheek, stretching it to the the side. "I'm a rubber-man."
Coby just gave Luffy a blank look. "So, you're...made of rubber?"
Coby straightened up when he felt a presence behind him, scrambling to hide behind Luffy when he noticed it was Alvida, who was staring at the now revealed rubber-man intensely.
"So," began Alvida. "You've eaten a Devil Fruit."
Luffy smiled and nodded the affirmative. "Yeah. I ate the Gum-Gum one."
Alvida smirked. "I heard those who've eaten a Devil Fruit lose their ability to swim and sink like stones in the sea."
"Yeah, but now, I'm rubber," defended Luffy, grinning impetuously.
Alivda glanced around her ship, taking note of the number of her crew that Luffy had KO'd. "You're rather skilled," Alvida mused. "Are you a bounty hunter?"
Luffy didn't seem to catch Alvida's grip tightening on the handle of her club, shifting it on her shoulder in order to swing it easier. Coby caught the motions and began to shake, fearing for Luffy should he answer in any way Alvida deemed unsatisfactory.
Luffy frowned. "I'm a pirate."
Whatever Alvida was expecting, this seemed to catch her off guard. She burst out laughing, shaking in mirth at the idea of this scrawny kid being a pirate.
"Well then, tell me," Alvida began, deciding to humor the boy. "If the two of us are pirates, and we're not in the same crew, doesn't that make us enemies?"
Coby was unnerved even further by Alvida's threatening smile, just as menacing as the skull grinning on her pirate flag.
Luffy seemed to be thinking of a response, but was interrupted by Coby. "Uh, Luffy?"
Luffy turned to Coby, humming to show he was listening. "We should get out of here."
Luffy looked confused. "Why?"
Coby looked terrified now, expecting Alvida to attack at any moment. She was strong, she was merciless. She would kill Luffy at the drop of a hat. "Lady Alvida is..."
Before he could convey his fears to Luffy though, he remembered what Luffy had told him.
"I decided a long time ago that I would do whatever I could to accomplish this dream. If I die while doing that, than I die."
I have...I have to be willing to put everything on the line, even risk my life, in order to accomplish my dream.
Alvida smirked contemptuously, expecting more words of praise to spill from his cowardly mouth. "Well, go on Coby."
Coby turned to face Alvida, his jaw set and his mind made up.
"Alvida is...the ugliest hag on all the seas!"
Not a sound was made, the remaining conscious pirates standing slack-jawed at Coby's declaration.
The silence was broken by Luffy laughing his head off, while Alvida steamed furiously, her head looking like it was about to burst in rage.
"What did you say you little brat?", Alvida fumed.
Coby stepped forward. "I'm leaving this ship, and I'm going to join the Marines. And there's not a thing you can do or say to stop me!"
Another vein popped into existence on Alvida's head. "Do you have any idea who you're talking to!"
"I don't care!" Coby screamed. "I'm not scared of you anymore! And when I do become a Marine, I'm gonna catch your lousy ass first!"
"Now you're dead!" Alvida roared, swinging her club high above her head.
Coby cowered, but managed to stand his ground. I WON'T TAKE IT BACK! I'M GONNA FOLLOW MY DREAM!
Luffy interrupted, stepping forward and pushing Coby backwards. "Well said," he smirked.
Alvida didn't bother to stop her swing, slamming it down on top of Luffy's head. The force of the attack cracked the wood under Luffy's sandaled feet, although miraculously, his legs did not buckle. Coby looked on in horror, while the member's of Alvida's crew who were still standing smiled triumphantly.
They were all shocked to see Luffy smile widely, despite the massive weight still resting on his head. "That won't work."
Alvida was the one surprised the most. "Impossible!" she screeched.
Luffy threw back his fist, knocking Alvida off balance while his hand stretched backwards. It finally came to a stop, far away from the ship.
Luffy began to reel his arm back. "GUM-GUM...," he shouted, his fist returning quickly.
"PISTOL!" Luffy roared, his fist slamming into Alvida's midsection, sending her flying off the ship.
Luffy turned to the remaining members of Alvida's crew, who were staring dumbstruck at the last spot in the sky that Alvida had been visible.
"HEY," he shouted, grabbing their attention. "Get Coby a boat. He's leaving your crew to join the Marines."
The pirates shook in fear, the look in Luffy's eyes daring them to challenge him. Coby gazed thankfully at Luffy, his eyes wet with unshed tears.
Before the cowed crew could finish preparing the boat, cannon fire was heard in the distance, and the boat began to rock uncontrollably side to side.
Luffy looked for the source of the attack, smiling when he saw Marine warships. He turned to Coby. "Lucky! There's the Marines, so go on and join them," he said, scanning the adjacent waters for a means of escape.
His eyes lit up when he spotted a small sailboat, a rather attractive girl with orange hair preparing it for departure and fussing over a large cloth sack as she did.
"But I can't stay, since I'm a pirate," Luffy explained as he vaulted over the side, heading straight for the tiny boat.
Coby came behind him. "Are you crazy? If I go over there now they'll just arrest me like I'm a pirate!"
He looked over the side, debating whether or not to follow Luffy. Seeing no other alternative, he began to climb over the bulwark, speeding up considerably when his foot slipped and he went plummeting towards the little dinghy.
Nami whistled happily to herself. She had made off quite handsomely thanks to the timely arrival of "Lady" Alvida. Pick-pocketing the guests had been thoroughly unsuccessful, but Alvida's ship was a literal treasure trove, and she met little resistance. The one guard she had met ended up on the ground cradling a rather sensitive area and cursing (in a rather high voice) her and any other person he could think of at the time.
She had just finished up making the boat she had "borrowed" ready to set sail, making sure to adequately secure her prodigious haul in the process.
She pulled the map she had brought with her out of her shirt, planning the route she would take next.
She was interrupted by raucous laughter and fearful shrieking, as a lanky boy with raven hair and a strawhat crash-landed in her boat, albeit on his feet, causing the boat to pitch back and forth violently.
Her first reaction was to move to protect her treasure, and no sooner had she done so than a second boy, this one small with pink hair and glasses, came careening out of who-knows-where and landed face-first in the boat, causing it to lurch again.
When the boat stopped moving, she was quickly in the older boy's face, since the other didn't seem to be moving at the moment, his face embedded in the deck. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, IDIOT!", she screamed, beyond pissed at the moment.
The boy didn't respond right away, opting to continue laughing instead, sitting down against the side. "Sorry, sorry," he breathed, "but we needed to make a quick getaway."
"FROM WHAT!", Nami screeched.
Her answer came in the form of a cannonball exploding against the side of one of the ships, showering them with water and splintered wood.
The boy gave a cheeky smile and pointed at the hole Nami was now staring at. "That."
Nami whirled around to glare at him, but thought better of it and opened the boat's sail. The sail caught the wind and began to sail away from the fight. They received unexpected aid when another explosion caused a gust of air that sent them skipping across the water, far away from the destruction.
Nami held onto her bag tightly, while the older boy whooped and cheered while holding onto his hat, and the smaller boy continued to become one with the boat.
When Coby woke up, he immediately tried to take stock of his surroundings. He first realized it was far later, since what sky he could see was orange and yellow, with some purple thrown in for good measure. He figured they were on some kind of boat, by the calm rocking motion he felt, along with the constant pressure of wood on the side of his face.
He got up and looked around, immediately spotting Luffy, as well as girl with orange hair that was currently talking to the rubber-man.
The girl noticed him first, Luffy following her gaze and smiling when he saw Coby. " 'Bout time you woke up, come over and I'll introduce you."
Coby shuffled forward cautiously, the annoyed expression the girl was making scaring him just a little bit.
She wore a tight shirt and an extremely short mini-skirt, an obvious attempt to show off her pronounced hourglass figure.
Luffy turned to the girl. "This is Coby. And I'm Luffy. Now will you tell us your name?"
The girl looked at the two of them and sighed. "I'm Nami," she replied grudgingly.
Luffy's smile widened. "So where are you going? Think we can tag along?"
Nami glared at him. "I suppose I can't exactly just drop you off in the middle of the ocean, as much as I want too."
She sighed again and reached down her shirt, causing Coby to blush and look away muttering an apology. He was ignored though as Nami appeared confused. She looked around the boat, her expression growing more frantic by the second.
She finally stopped searching and turned to look at Luffy and Coby. "Oh crap! I've lost the map!"
Coby was the only one who seemed to be affected by this, while Luffy just frowned and tilted his head in confusion.
"Let's see...," Nami began, trying to remember what happened.
"So you lost your map? That's kinda stupid."
It clicked in Nami's head then. The reason she had lost the map was...
"It's your fault dumbass!", she screeched, leaping forward and smashing Luffy's head into the deck.
She stood over her victim, her fist still smoking. "I probably lost it when you decided to come falling into my boat!"
Luffy struggled to pull his head from the deck, with Coby looking between Luffy and Nami and shaking in fear.
"Well," Nami sighed. "I guess we need to find an island or something where we can get some information."
Luffy, who had given up temporarily on freeing his head, raised his hand.
Nami sighed again, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Yes," she pointed to Luffy. "You. Idiot. What do you have to share with the class?"
"I saw land earlier," came his muffled answer.
No sooner had the words left his mouth then Nami had grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and hauled him up to eye level. "What?", she growled.
"Over there." Nami followed his finger to an island, no that far from them really.
"Right. You," she stared Luffy in the eye. "Stay put and stay out of trouble."
She threw him, the impact cushioned by her cherished cloth sack. The noise it made intrigued Luffy, and he crouched in front of it, staring at it as if doing so would yield answers.
Nami looked down on Coby. "Can you steer the boat?"
Coby nodded. "Sure."
"Alright." Nami looked at the island, then at the setting sun. "If we're lucky, we can get there before sundown."
She moved to the front of the boat, while Coby moved to the back, gripping the rudder and moving the ship so that it began to head for the island.
The ride was rather uneventful, Nami occasionally calling out orders for Coby, and Coby adjusting the ship's course accordingly.
Luffy meanwhile kept himself busy staring at the cloth sack, poking it when the mood struck him. He never shifted his position, staying crouched in front of it.
It was when they almost to the island that Luffy decided to look inside. He peered at Nami, but she was busy guiding Coby towards a small cove.
He began to untie the string at the top. Right when he got the knot untied, he felt a chill go up his spine. He looked behind him to see Nami, pure killing intent pouring out of every pore in her body.
She grabbed Luffy by the neck and threw him to the ground, hoping to capture him by falling on top of him. He stopped her though, and a furious wrestling match ensued. Luffy held back, but Nami had no such restraints and quickly gained the upper hand.
She pinned Luffy's arms to the ground, holding the rest of him down with by sitting on him. She hovered over him, both of them breathing heavily.
Luffy spoke up. "If you hadn't been so nice to us and given us a ride, I would've hit you."
Nami growled in response and bent her head down so she was talking directly in his ear. "Stay out of my stuff."
A cough alerted the two to Coby's existence, where he was blushing furiously. He pointed at the two of them, as if that explained enough.
Confused, Nami looked down, and, realizing the position they were in, quickly scrambled to her feet, smoothing out her clothes and breathing deeply.
Luffy contented himself with remaining on the floor, tilting his head in confusion at Nami's 180-degree change of temperament.
The scene was interrupted though, when the boat shuddered and lurched uncontrollably, throwing everyone (not already down) to the deck.
Nami looked up, her eyes widening at what she saw. The boat had drifted into a current, which in turn had led them to a whole nest of whirlpools.
She leapt to her feet, running back to the rudder and straining against it. She shouted at Coby and Luffy, "Don't just sit there, help me!"
Coby rushed to aid her, struggling against the rudder along with her.
Nami looked pointedly at Luffy. "Raise the sail!"
Luffy did as she asked, tying the sail-cloth into place. As he finished though, he noticed Nami's bag, unguarded, not a foot from him.
He looked back at Nami, who was still fighting against the current, her eyes shut tight in concentration.
Luffy moved silently towards the bag, an endless number of ideas running through his head as to what could be inside.
He opened the bag, and immediately frowned in disappointment. He lifted a jewel-encrusted golden crown out of the bag.
"What the hell?", he exclaimed. "It's all treasure."
Nami's eyes snapped open the second he finished saying that. She leapt at Luffy, her screech of 'Don't touch my things', drowned out by the roaring of the whirlpools. Coby, unable to steer the boat himself, was thrown to the floor.
The boat was tossed about, colliding against rocks that jutted up out of the water. Nami saw a huge rock coming up, and braced herself for the inevitable.
Sure enough, the boat shattered upon impact, throwing its three passengers through the air. Nami saw yet another rock in her path, and closed her eyes, expecting the pain to come.
Instead she felt a pair of arms wrap around her, and she swore that she literally bounced off the stone.
She hit the water then, all the air being driven from her lungs.
Before she passed out, the last things she saw were a cloud of red, a limp hand, and a shadow she couldn't make out getting closer to them.
Moves
Gum-Gum Rocket: A move where Luffy stretches his arm(s), pulling back and firing himself like a human slingshot, allowing him to cover great distances or body slam his enemies with tremendous force.
Gum-Gum Pistol: Luffy stretches his arm back, reeling it back in (or forcing it out) for a devastating punch.
Ugh, that took way longer than I planned.
Had some people complain about this before, so I was kinda loathe to do it, but I thought it would be easier than trying to reference back to these events in a different chapter.
Next chapter (if you decide to stick with this) is gonna be all new, so you can look forward to that.
Constructive criticism and reviews are cherished and welcome.