Greetings from Japan! I've still got a week left before I get back home but I could not resist updating another chapter before then. There is so much One Piece everywhere... It's great.
In other news, I have been trying to resist buying the Thousand Sunny figurine and ASL figurine and I am not sure I will win this battle... Tune in next week for the thrilling conclusion of my life choices lmao.
With that said, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think!
Chapter Three: Loguetown
Loguetown...
Due to a certain incident, this location had become a very popular tourist spot over the last twenty-two years. It was due to that very same incident that this place was now more commonly known as the town of the beginning and the end. Indeed, this town was the place where Gol D. Roger was born and executed—the town where the Great Age of Pirates began.
It was also as a town that, typically, had a very agreeable sort of weather, with moderately clear skies and the occasional but in no way constant, drizzle of rain. And yet… on this particular day, the clouds above Loguetown were as dark as the night sky. Thunder rumbled ominously as a downpour of heavy rain crashed across the entire island.
The cause behind this strange phenomenon was none other than the leader of the trio that had just arrived at this island.
"Sabo-kun… Are we still alive?" Koala asked weakly as she slumped to the ground on her hands and knees.
"Yeah…"
The young man that stood beside the cloaked woman looked just as worse for the wear, but despite the green tinge on his face, his lips were thinned with determination as he stood his ground.
"I don't… I don't want to go through that again," Koala groaned as she slowly got up to her feet. "Why did I agree to come along with you guys again?"
Sabo had no answer for her this time. He himself had yet to figure out why he had decided to accompany their leader to this island. He still wasn't even sure why Dragon had decided to come here. The older man hadn't bothered to share his reasons with them, and even now, they were no closer to deciphering what his purpose here was.
Currently, the man in question was standing in front of them silently. A closer look at his face showed that he had his eyes closed and was frowning.
Sabo and Koala exchanged a look.
"Um, Dragon-san?"
"We're early," the older man finally said as he opened his eyes.
Sabo's brow furrowed slightly. Koala, who was just as confused and curious, asked:
"Early? For what?"
Dragon turned to look at Koala with a thoughtful expression.
"Koala, will you need to return to Whiskey Peak today?" he asked.
"Err..." Koala was taken aback by the question. "Not really," she said, tilting her head. "It's not like they keep track of every single one of us at all times. As long as I show up by tomorrow, the mayor should be none the wiser."
Dragon contemplated these words briefly. "I see. In that case, I'm going to go book us a couple of rooms. You two don't have to come with me. We can regroup later."
"So we're staying?" Sabo said, surprised by this turn of events.
"Just for the night. Keep your heads down while you're here. There's a Marine Base in the city."
Dragon waited for long enough for them to nod at his instructions before he was walking off on his own again. The two of them stared at his back for a while as they silently wondered what they were supposed to do now.
"So... this is Loguetown," Koala finally said as she moved to peek over the corner of the building that they were hiding behind. Like Sabo, this was the first time she had been to this town. Her brown eyes lingered on the various shops that were lined up on both sides of the street, and then at the people walking alongside it. Unlike those who lived at Whiskey Peak, there were plenty of people here walking around outside despite the current weather, each equipped with an umbrella and many carrying their purchases in tightly-closed vinyl bags. Everyone was in a hurry to get behind closed doors though.
"Hmm. Somehow, I expected it to be more lively," Koala noted as she considered whether or not to purchase an umbrella. She regretted not bringing hers along now.
"Yes, well…" Sabo said dryly. Another bolt of lightning cracked loudly in the distance, and the people around them visibly picked up their pace.
Koala sighed.
"Think the weather will clear up any time soon?"
"Who knows…"
Several minutes later…
"Mmmmm, this town's the best...! They've got everything! This place alone has orange beef stew, crab cakes, bluefin tuna, and peacock—fried peacock! It's way better than chicken. You should try it, Koala!"
"...Ugh. Would it kill you to not think with your stomach for once?"
Koala, who was sitting several seats away from her companion with a generous serving of stew in front of her, gave Sabo a warning look. "You better have money to pay for all of that because I have enough to worry about as it is. I really should've checked how much damage the boss did before we left town…" Koala put a hand up to her face and grimaced. "God, we were short on food already… Well, at least you didn't stop by to eat too," she grumbled. "Honestly, I'm always amazed by how much the two of you consume in one sitting. Where do you guys even fit it in?!"
Sabo's only response to that was to pick up another leg of the fried peacock he was currently enjoying. He stuck the entire piece into his mouth, bone and all, and sucked it clean just as the man behind the bar placed another order of the same dish in front of him.
"Would you like a refill?" the server asked with the happy kind of grin one gives to a very wealthy benefactor. "Perhaps something else to drink?" he continued as he brought up an expensive-looking bottle of sake from under the counter.
Sabo shook his head. "Water's fine," he told him after pulling out the empty bone from his mouth.
"Excuse me!"
The tavern's doors slammed open as a group of men of towering heights staggered inside. The man at the front, a burly, mean-faced brute with a large tattoo of a snake on his arm, spoke in a booming voice as he walked into the establishment. He was obviously the group's leader.
"I don't want to cause any trouble here, but me and my buddies are real hungry."
The man gave a brief, careless glance around the room before walking up to the table nearest to him and pulling the chair out from the occupant sitting on it. The noise in the tavern dimmed down at once, broken only by the startled cry from the unfortunate victim and the jeering laughter of the newcomers, who proceeded to vacate several other seats in the same manner as their leader.
"Hey! Get me the most expensive bottle you have, and some more of whatever this guy was having," the tattooed man ordered as he sat down.
Koala let out a harried sigh under her breath. "Oh great… Just what we needed…"
Sabo glanced over his shoulder, his cheeks bulging with food, and quietly observed as one of the waitresses approached the man with a slightly nervous expression on her face.
"Excuse me, sir… I'm afraid these seats are already taken. If you would please follow me, we still have some empty seats over by the bar…"
"Huh?" The man didn't take well to that. "Didn't you hear what I said?" he growled. "Bring out the booze and don't keep us waiting!"
The waitress visibly hesitated. She glanced at the customers who had been pushed to the floor—a few shook their heads as they met her eyes, but the rest were clearly angry at the way they had been treated and were glaring at her as if it was her responsibility to fix this.
"Um…"
"Excuse me, miss. Please continue on your way, I'll take care of this."
The person who interrupted this tense scene was a short-haired woman carrying a sword at her side. At the firm sound of her voice, everyone who had been pretending to ignore what was going on turned their heads in curiosity. Sabo, for his part, decided to turn around completely to watch the scene, holding his plate of food in front of him as he continued to eat.
A snort of disbelief escaped the tattooed man. "You're going to take care of me?" he repeated. An ugly, mocking grin spread across his face as he glanced over to the rest of his companions, who snickered alongside him.
Sabo didn't need to see the woman's face to feel the icy glare she was giving the man. "Yes," she said curtly. "I suggest that you do as that young lady said and move to a different seat. Otherwise, leave this place immediately. Don't make any more trouble for these people. This will be your only warning."
"My only warning?" The man stared at the swordswoman with an incredulous expression before letting out a loud, bellowing laugh that shook his entire body. "GYAHAHAHA, that's funny, very funny! Thanks for the laugh, doll. Now why don't you go bother someone else before you get yourself hu-UURK!"
The man went flying across the room and out the door of the tavern as a thick, concentrated cloud of smoke slammed into him.
"Boss!"
"Captain!" The young woman immediately turned to her left with an annoyed scowl on her lips. A pair of glasses slid down the bridge of her thin nose. "I could've handled that!" she protested.
The person that the woman had turned to address was a buff, white-haired man wearing a white jacket that did little to cover his otherwise bare chest. It was from one of his arms that the thick smoke in the room had originated from.
A Devil Fruit user… Sabo noted with interest.
The man in question looked wholly unaffected by the woman's piercing glare. Once his arm had reformed, he waved a dismissive hand in the air and motioned for her to sit back down. "He was annoying me," he said gruffly by way of explanation.
Sabo held back a snort and watched as the group of men that had come in with the tattooed man rushed out to check up on their leader. However, just as they reached the door, they were pushed back by the arrival of several marines who hurried inside.
"Is everything alright in here?"
"Hey, you," the white-haired man barked immediately, and the marines straightened up at once and saluted him. "Take these punks into custody. Especially that buffon lying out there."
"Sir!"
Within a minute, the tavern had been cleared of the marines and with them went its recent batch of rude customers. A small silence lingered for several seconds before everyone returned to their meals as if nothing had happened.
Koala whistled quietly as she caught Sabo's eyes. "The boss was right," she whispered to him, then looked pointedly at the tall stack of plates besides Sabo. "We better keep our heads down while we're here. I really don't want to get on that guy's bad side."
Sabo, who seemed to have this incurable habit of pulling an eat-and-run despite not having any real need to, got out his wallet with a sigh.
"Oh, hey! The weather cleared up," Koala noted happily once they were back outside. She pulled back her hood and ran a hand through the damp red locks of her hair. They had mostly dried while they had been eating. "I think I'm gonna do some shopping. Hopefully there's still some shops open at this time. You wanna come along?"
"Nah," Sabo said, absently patting the much thinner wallet in his pocket. "I think I'm just gonna take a walk and see if I can find the boss."
"Gotcha. In that case… here."
Sabo's eyebrows lifted as he stared at the item that had been deposited into his hand. "A baby den den mushi? You had this with you?"
Koala grinned proudly. "It's always good to be prepared!" she chirped.
Sabo cracked a smile. "When did you become so dependable?" he teased. "Are you trying to take over Hack's job already? You're still ten years too early, you know!"
"I don't wanna hear that from you!" Koala huffed and took a swipe at him, but Sabo quickly hopped back and sped off in the opposite direction of the marketplace.
"I'll see you later then!" he called over his shoulder.
"You better pick up when I call!" she shouted back.
Sabo grinned at the warning. He placed the den den mushi in one of his coat's inner pockets then picked a random direction as he began his search. Now that his stomach had been filled with food, he felt a little at a loss of what to do. If he was being honest with himself, he had to admit that he still wasn't sure why exactly he had decided to accompany Dragon all the way here.
Being in the East Blue was an experience that Sabo normally avoided if possible. Every time he had a job here, a tension that he could not sate always lingered in his body until he was back home. This time was no different. Just looking at the people chattering around him made his stomach twist in an uncomfortable knot. The only saving grace that this town had was the lack of Nobles in the area. Well, that and one more thing.
Gol D. Roger…
Sabo's shoulders lost a small bit of tension up as he reminded himself that this was the Pirate King's hometown. If there was anything to be excited about in these parts of the sea, it was definitely that. Sabo wondered where exactly Roger had lived before he set sail. Had he been buried here, too? There were so many mysteries regarding the Pirate King's life and death. It made Sabo curious to know what kind of man he really was. What type of childhood had he had? Had he grown up with parents? What had inspired him to set sail and conquer the world…?
I wonder if there's still anyone living here that knew him…
Sabo dismissed the thought as quickly as it came. There was no way the World Government would have left alone a speaking witness in a town as famous as this one.
Well, it has only been, what, twenty-something years? Sabo reconsidered, unable to keep himself from growing excited by the possibilities. He took a slow look around the residential area he had wandered into. While he doubted there was anyone left in this town that could accurately claim that they knew the Pirate King, it was likely that he would be able to get some stories from the residents here that still held some truth to them. He knew quite well that the spread of information was hard to control. The only way the government could combat it was by providing the public with enough false information that it was hard to tell where the lies began and ended. That was exactly why he had decided to avoid the shopping district. That place was undoubtedly nothing more than a government-sanctioned tourist trap.
"Hey!" a loud voice barked several feet behind him. Sabo peered over his shoulder just as a group of mischievous children ran right past him.
"Get back here, you damn kids! How many times do I have to tell you to stay out of my garden!"
The group of kids did not lose any speed as they glanced back at the man that was chasing them. Sabo felt a burst of warmth blossom inside of him as he watched the tallest of the kids stick his tongue out defiantly.
"Shut up, old man!"
"Yeah, shut it!" the two other boys chorused, snickering, though their expressions quickly changed into panic as they realized how close their pursuer was.
"Crap, hurry up!" the taller boy hissed and the three boys soon disappeared from sight at the next corner.
"Tch." The man that had been chasing the kids finally slowed down a few feet ahead of him. He was a thin man, old too, probably around sixty. He was wearing a white sun hat and a red floral shirt that caught Sabo's attention. For some reason, he felt the urge to rub the top of his head.
"Those damn kids..." the old man grumbled. He turned around with an irritated huff, the wrinkles around his eyes twitching in displeasure.
Sabo couldn't hold back his grin. "What did they do?" he asked curiously.
The man stiffened in surprise. It was clear that he had not noticed Sabo's presence, or his proximity. His eyes quickly took in his shady appearance—Sabo was still wearing the dark brown raincoat he had donned for travel and his trusty pipe remained a visible threat strapped across his back-and then darted around to see if he could spot any other suspicious figures lurking in the dark. When the old man found none, his shoulders relaxed slightly, though his eyes were still guarded as he answered the question.
"Those kids," he said in a gruff voice, "they like to sneak into my garden from time to time. They like playing pirate, and so they keep digging into my garden when I'm not watching. Think they'll find treasure buried there for some reason."
The old man shook his head, scowling at his own explanation. Sabo, on the other hand, only grinned wider.
"They might stop once they actually find something," he suggested, his voice laced with amusement.
The man seemed to consider his words, then threw him a shrewd look.
"You a pirate?" he asked. Demanded, more like.
Sabo considered pulling his hood back, but he doubted the scars on his face would help him win the old man over. "No, I'm not," he said, keeping his tone friendly. The old man didn't seemed inclined to believe him. "But I once wanted to be," he offered, chuckling as the other grimaced.
"Hmph. Smartened up, did ya?"
"You could say that," Sabo answered with a slight smirk.
The old man said nothing for several seconds. He walked a few steps closer, then leaned on the fence of one of the houses and went through the motions of lighting up a cigarette. The silence that lingered in the air made Sabo wonder if this was his cue to move on, but it was just as he took his first step away that the old man spoke up again.
"This town sure has gone to hell, everyone here welcomes pirates with open arms. Once money comes into the picture, everyone quickly forgets the fact that they're consorting with criminals." The man let out a breath of smoke. Even though he was standing several feet away from him, Sabo's nose twitched at the heavy scent.
"I see you're not a big fan of pirates," he noted as he carefully moved a few steps closer. He leaned on the fence that was on the opposite side of the other and crossed his arms over his chest. "I was wondering what type of reaction would be more common in a town like this."
"Oh, it's about an even split," the old man grumbled. "Don't be fooled by what you see in the markets. Most people there might put on a pretty smile for that good-for-nothing rabble, but it's all business in the end, dirty as it is. Still, you'll find plenty of pirate lovers in town, despite all of the Marine's efforts to discourage that."
"From what I noticed, it seems the marines run a tight ship here," Sabo pointed out, thinking back on the scene at the restaurant.
"Met Captain Smoker, did you?" the old man said knowingly.
Smoker, huh? Is that a nickname? Sabo thought back on the two cigars hanging from the man's mouth and the way his arm had turned into smoke.
"He's a good man, Captain Smoker. I've known him since he was a boy. He was a little punk back then too." The old man chuckled. "Strong morals though, always did the right thing, even if he went about it in a rough way. You had better steer clear of him," the man warned, pointing his cigarette at him. "There's been plenty of suspicious characters lurking around lately. He might think you're the wrong sort."
Sabo couldn't help but to chuckle at the warning. "Maybe I am," he pointed out.
"Maybe you are," the old man agreed slowly, letting out another breath of smoke. "All the more reason to steer clear of him."
Sabo was surprised to hear the other say as much. "I thought you didn't like pirates, old man."
"I don't," the man answered sharply. Sabo watched him carefully. There was a heavy weight in his eyes that made him look even older. "They're all a bunch of troublemakers, even the ones that aren't just bloodthirsty, thieving brutes. There's something different about you though…" The man stared at him, and perhaps it was because Sabo's face wasn't visible, but he had the distinct impression that the old man was seeing someone else when he looked at him. "And if I'm wrong… Well, good riddance," he spat, before taking another deep breath of smoke. "Roger's curse will catch up to you one way or another."
"Roger's curse?" The blond could not help but to learn forward at those words.
The old man scowled deeply at his bold-faced interest. "Yes," he grunted, crushing the stem of his cigarette hard between his fingers. "That damn Roger cursed his era. He's poisoned the entire sea with his madness, tricked all kinds of people into chasing after a fool's dream that has caused nothing but death and destruction. The marines should have just killed him off when they had him rather than make a spectacle of the whole thing."
The old man's hatred was strong. His voice was nothing short of bitter; he was a man that had unmistakably lost someone.
Sabo frowned but let the topic drop. If this man had known anything of Roger's early years, it wasn't worth asking about it now and stirring the nest of resentment that had surely eroded those memories.
"What will you do about those kids?" he asked instead after another lingering silence. He was curious about his answer after everything he had heard.
Will you push them to join the marines? Be like that Smoky guy?
"Pray, I suppose," the man said bitterly. "And hope they smarten up too."
Sabo's lips twitched slightly. He pulled down the brim of his hood and wondered why he felt a strange sense of peace at those words. Without given it further thought, he straightened up and put all his weight back on his feet. "Thank you for taking the time to talk to me," he said with a slight bow. If the old man thought it weird that a cloaked, suspicious stranger was bowing to him, he didn't mention it. The blond walked towards the path he had been following earlier, only to stop within a few feet of doing so.
"Oh, by the way," Sabo craned his head back, "did you happen to see anyone else like me around?" he asked.
The old man took another long drag of his cigarette before answering. The tension in his body seemed to seep out of him with the action. "Plenty," he said dryly. "I doubt I can point you in the right direction. It's a big town. But if you haven't yet, you might want to try the execution stand. Everyone ends up there at some point or another."
"I'll check it out then. Thanks."
Just like before, the old man said nothing in the face of his gratitude. He merely pushed back to his feet and walked back to his home, leaving a trail of smoke in his wake.
TO BE CONTINUED
On the next chapter of Chasing the Remnants! "The Execution Platform" Sabo visits the execution platform, hoping it will shed some light into the mystery of his past.