Chapter IV
Nami stepped inside the small shop, leaving the bubbling confusion that were the streets of Rogue Town. The place was a major tourist trap ever since the world famous (or infamous) Pirate King Gold Roger had been executed for his crimes against the World Government in the main plaza of the small city. Nami had heard stories about Gold Roger. Everyone had. His execution was supposed to have been the ultimate confirmation of the World Government's superiority and instead ended up being the greatest shit-storm in the history of the Marines. Instead of intimidating the rebels and pirates with his death, the Pirate King somehow turned the tables on the politicians and sparked a Pirate Age of the likes no one had seen before. All because he had launched a challenge at the world for someone to find his legendary treasure, One Piece.
Well. That wasn't its name, of course. But Gold Roger had said all his riches were in one piece, in a single place and the name had stuck. Mentioning it in a conversation was enough to spark speculations that stretched for days and to ignite the imagination of the most apathetic of people. Even the name of the Island where it was supposed to be had a magic quality to it: Rough Tale, the last island of Grand Line, reputed to have been discovered by the Jolly Rogers themselves. No one knew where exactly it was. Not even the Marines. It told of adventures and obstacles surpassed. It was exciting. And now she was on a crew of pirates, looking for it. With a crazy, rubber man for captain.
Which needed something befitting of his position, Nami had decided. As a token of appreciation for his help. They still had most of the money they'd gotten from Buggy, even though the dummy had given his share to the village elders. But she had heeded his condition for letting her manage the finances and although she had given some to Sanji, Usopp and Zoro for their needs, she would not be paying her gift with the crew's money. This would come out of her own pocket, from the small change she had gotten from all the wallets she stole from the suckers back home.
The dummy had said he didn't need to buy anything.
The recently minted navigator of the Straw Hats made her way resolutely to the edge of the clothing shops and took a good look at the coats hanging on display. She had already visited two shops but had found nothing to her liking. This being a coastal town and the birthplace of the most infamous pirate ever, there were plenty of clothes alluding to the seafaring activities, but they all seemed fake to her. Too grandstanding, too... too eye-catching. She wanted something more befitting of a true captain, not something that screamed 'Hey, everyone! I've been to Rogue Town!'. Something serious, that would leave no room for doubt he was in charge. Something like Gold Rogers used.
Oh well... third time's the charm.
Luffy was bored out of his mind. And all because he wasn't allowed out of the ship. Wasn't that hilarious? The captain of the crew was prohibited from leaving his very ship! By his own crew! Or, to be precise, by his First Mate and his Navigator, specifically. He'd been looking forward to Rogue Town. There was some feeling of righteousness, to officially start their adventures into Grand Line from the hometown of the great Pirate King. But, of course, on par with what was to be expected form them, the Marines had to throw a wrench in the plans of everyone who was a pirate, even if they were not even aware how they had managed to screw with Luffy's plans. All because a few days earlier Nami had received her daily newspaper, and lo and behold in its pages lay Luffy's picture.
A part of him had been proud – he'd made it to the most wanted list! And he was quite sure he'd seen Zoro actually crack a smile at the poster. Nami, however, had completely flipped off, going into a horrified stance as she babbled about the dangers it would pose to him now that every marine base was aware of his existence. He'd tried to dismiss her fears but Usopp had joined the fray and by that time Zoro had apparently sobered enough to actually consider what Nami was saying. And of course when Zoro starts giving speeches that actually make sense, you have to start to consider them.
So he stayed on board while the rest of them went about their business in the town. Because they couldn't afford to cause a ruckus or be discovered right at the entrance of Grand Line in a place where the Navy's presence was particularly strong. This place had been where the Pirate Age had started, after all. The World Government had to save face, even if it was simply by taking absolute control of Gold Roger's hometown. And if he were to be honest... there really wasn't much interest for him here. Sure this was Gold Roger's hometown and sure this was where he last drew breath, but his death wasn't what interested him about the man. Neither were his beginnings. What he liked in the Pirate King was what he represented. What he had accomplished in life. And of that, there was nothing here. So maybe he'd thrown a smaller fit than he would usually have.
He'd left his trusty hat in his cabin, for a change. The port authorities tended to leave the crew of a ship alone, so long as they passed customs when disembarking or kept to themselves while on the vessel, but he didn't want someone to spot his figure on deck and get ideas about collecting the bounty so, whenever he went outside the castle, he made sure to let his hair go free.
The seaport was busting with activity. Ships left and arrived all the time, some simple fishing boat, others large merchant vessels that made business around East Blue. He remembered when one stopped by his village, every two months or so. There was even a monster ship from the Navy anchored a few ships away from them. Sailing on a boat without his pirate flag displayed had grated on his nerves but he could see Nami's and Zoro's wisdom on that particular point.
No one paid attention to him, which was good, since that was what they'd been aiming. Luffy had argued that they couldn't spend their lives fleeing in terror from the World Government and that their chosen lifestyles would inevitably see them all becoming wanted by the authorities, but Zoro had shot down that particular line of thought quickly simply by saying he agreed but that they weren't strong enough. With his defeat at the hands of that Mihawk guy, his position had been difficult to refute.
Haki.
That was what the supposed world's greatest swordsman had told them they lacked. Luffy had taken it with a grain of salt. There were only two things he believed fully in this world: his older brother was awesome. Luffy and his crew would eventually become the greatest of them all. Everything else could be a lie.
He'd asked Sanji, Usopp and Nami about it, after discussing the problem with Zoro, but no one knew anything about it. Usopp had started spouting some ethereal speech to convince him he actually knew what he was talking about, but the Pirate Hunter had given him a glare that had shut him up and eventually led him to acknowledge his own ignorance. Zoro had apparently taken upon himself to erase Usopp's less endearing traits. Why he didn't do the same with Sanji's womanizing, Luffy didn't know. Maybe the cook wasn't as easily intimidated.
He'd just returned to his quarters, hat once again on his head, seeking refuge from the storm that had been brewing since dawn, when he thought he heard noise from outside. Frowning, because by his estimations it was still too early for even Zoro, who usually got stuff done quicker than the rest of them, to return, he opened the door to the deck to be greeted to the sight of someone with a dark cape over them to protect them from the rain trying to pull the anchor of his ship free.
"The hell!" he murmured to himself, before shouting, "Oi! What the hell do you think you're doing?"
The man didn't even freeze slightly at the question. He turned around and instead of running away like a normal thief would have, he attacked.
Luffy barely had the time to dodge, baffled has he was by the idea that he was being attacked, right here on his own ship in broad day light. A part of him absently noted how ludicrous it was that this was happening even though the very reason he had remained aboard was to avoid getting in trouble in the first place.
Soon, he had no time for thoughts. The attacks of the man were singularly hurtful, and no matter what he did, whenever he did get the intruder, his own strikes seemed to merely... bounce off.
"This is very peculiar." the man commented, as if discussing the weather, while trading blows "I'd have expected a merchant vessel, even one small such as this, to be better guarded."
Luffy opened his mouth, likely to inform the idiot that this was no Merchant Ship, when a particularly vicious blow almost broke his jaw and sent him tumbling backwards against one of the walls. That was unexpected, but nothing in this fight was going as he was used to: his attacks had no visible effect and no matter what Luffy did, the other's blows always managed to hurt him more than they should. It was an aftereffect of having a body made of proverbial rubber, the fact that physical blows did something of a decreased damage to him. Usually, he required being hit with a considerably more powerful attack to suffer the same degree of damage a normal human would. But if anything, in this fight he was receiving more damage!
For the first time in a very long time, Luffy was seriously entertaining the notion that he might lose a fight.
At least until Zoro and Sanji arrived.
"Demon Slash!"
"Anti-Manner Kick Course!"
Luffy couldn't contain the elation that rose in his chest, as his crew-mates delivered some of their most powerful attacks to the side of the intruder. Zoro's slash traveled across the deck and through the disguised man, ending up smashing the opposite wall of the ship, while Sanji's leg drop caught the intruder right on the head, the force of impact cracking the floor and lifting a dust cloud that, for a moment, obscured the fighters.
Luffy got up just in time to see an arm lash out against the cook and deliver a back handed strike that sent the teen flying over the board of the Going Merry.
"Oi, oi." the masked intruder complained while the dust settled, "Don't go around destroying my ship – I need it."
"This is NOT YOUR SHIP!"
Zoro and Luffy attacked at the same time, their anger at the situation and the dismissal evident in the assaulter's eyes adding impact to their strikes. In one synchronized movement, the two most powerful individuals in the crew delivered their blows to their enemy, whose reaction was not as impassive as it had been the previous times. The intruder's feet lifted from the floor and the man was launched back a few feet, managing to roll on impact, absorbing the slam against the wood and getting to his feet almost immediately.
This didn't seem to drop Zoro's spirits, though.
"Finally!" the swordsman grinned ferociously, "I was starting to thing we'd never land a good blow. Now all we need is-"
The practitioner of the three swords style didn't get the chance to finish whatever he was about to say. An unbearable pressure suddenly made itself known and, immediately, the two companions were on their knees, struggling to keep conscious even as the mysterious man got up and spat a bit of blood out.
"Now that was better." the man commented, his voice barely above a whisper, before rising in volume for them to hear easily, "But still weak." he frowned, "You don't seem much like merchants to tell the truth. But you're not marines either, or you wouldn't have such a wimpy ship... that leaves adventurers, bounty hunters or pirates, all of which would indicate that you plan to go to Grand Line, probably."
The man squatted to bring his face to their level and whispered, mockingly, "You're awfully unprepared for that." this close, it was possible to see past the cowl. The man had an angular face, gaunt and almost harsh, as if he was used to spend large periods of time without food or under difficult conditions. He had patches of hair on his face as if he had shaved carelessly with a sharp rock instead of a razor. Across his face, on the left side, a blood-red tribal tattoo gave him an almost feral quality. "You have no strength. You have no skill." he continued – and each sentence was like barbed wire to Luffy, as the man kept criticizing their abilities, "You're overdependent of your usual powers, you can't adapt... You lack Will." and something in the way he said it made Zoro and Luffy imagine the word as if capitalized. "Your spirit, your... Haki, is lacking." he finished scathingly.
"Believe it or not, I'm actually doing you guys a favor." he chuckled. Then he delivered two brutal kicks that sent both Zoro and Luffy over the balustrade and into the docking bay. Just as Nami arrived at the scene.
The man approached the border of the ship and took notice of the girl, alternatively staring, slack jawed, at both her partners and the intruder on the ship, above them. With the corner of his eye, the masked enemy also spied another kid, with a ridiculously long nose, helping the blonde man back to the dock, pulling him from the water.
"What's this?" he asked aloud, catching the attention of not only the rightful owners of the ship but also the people going about their business in the docks. "Do you think this is some sort of joy trip? Hilarious! What would you do if you meet an overwhelming enemy? What if he disposed of you strong ones first and had the weak at their mercy? What if he did this?"
And, swift as a snake, he pulled a knife from his cloak and hurled it at the Straw Hat's Navigator, who had frozen on the spot, immobilized by the strange man's power.
Years later, after everything had been done and gone through, Luffy would still find it difficult to describe the emotions that assaulted him at that moment. He just remembered seeing everything as if in slow motion. The knife traveling through the air and Nami's face, her mouth opening in a soundless scream of incomprehension. Something inside him snapped. And suddenly, the pressure lifted. If asked about it later, he would say that maybe he could have moved, maybe he would have even managed to reach Nami before the knife. After all, she was right in front of him and to the side, just a few paces away. But he didn't do it and maybe that was for the best. Instead, something seemed to well up from deep inside him, a rage, a frustration, a need to take control of the situation, an assortment of feelings and emotions that coalesced into a single word.
"STOOOP!"
It wasn't a scream. It wasn't a request. It was an order. It started slow and low and rose, in fury and power, to a shout that deafened all the noises in the docks. The wind moved as if in answer, dust rose in response and the Straw Hat crew suddenly felt an enormous, if momentous isolated pressure added to the top of the one already over them. Which turned out to be the fortune that saved Nami. Unable to cope with the psychological assault, her mind shut down and she dropped, like a puppet with its strings cut, just in time for the knife to pass over her falling head and bury itself in a cart behind the girl. Zoro used his hands to steady himself against the ground, Usopp dropped Sanji and fell into the water right after him, forcing the cook to haul the now unconscious boy over the edge of the dock and onto the ground.
"Good!" the man's voice sounded strange. Approving. "Remember that! Remember that feeling of helplessness, remember the will, the force to overthrow it. And come find me. In the Grand Line!"
The pressure reasserted itself, stronger than before, and this time, even Zoro lost consciousness. And Luffy was forced to watch, helpless, as his ship, the Going Merry, was led out of the docks into the sea, stolen by a man who had defeated them all, the only evidence of its presence being his straw hat that the man had thrown overboard, like a piece of trash.
The oil burners left the nightly streets of Rogue Town bathed in a flickering orange light that sometimes gave the illusion of the whole small city being on fire. Rogue Town was a tourist spot and a merchant stop, situated at the very edge of East Blue, close to the Red Line, the world spanning continent that divided the globe in two hemispheres. But the great activity of daylight disappeared almost completely after dark and at night only the errant roamer could be seen, hurrying about their business and keeping their eyes on the ground, careful not to attract the attention of unsavory individuals. Because of this, none of the few people still on the street noticed as a svelte shadow darted across the roofs of the buildings, making fast way towards the center of the town.
Nami had not known what to do. This was a feeling she was ill prepared to deal with. She'd always been, especially when the situations evoking such feelings were in some way related to the situation her hometown had once been in. When the Straw Hats had made rough work of the fish-men controlling Arlong Park, Nami had thought she could finally put such worries behind. She had meanwhile started to learn that she hadn't really left them back home – she'd just transferred them to her crew and her captain.
Ever since their ship had gotten stolen, three days before, Luffy had been all but inapproachable. The captain of the Straw Hat crew had isolated himself in one of the small rooms they had managed to rent with what few money they had left, in a decrepit inn by the docks, and barely spoke a word to anyone. Instead he just stared vacantly at nothing, a terribly dark visage ever present on his face.
She had tried to strike a conversation before but her attempts had always been met with stony silent. Not exactly the brooding, insulting, dismissive silent, no. It was more as if he didn't even hear her. So when she tried again, she was not exactly putting much hope in success.
"Are- Are you alright, Luffy?"
Yes, Nami wasn't expecting an answer. However, that changed when he shifted in the chair he'd been sitting on for two days and turned to face her. The devastation present on his face surprised her. When he spoke, it was as if he had to fight, to drag the words out from a great depth, to speak.
"No, I don't think I am..."
Nami waited for a moment but it seemed she wasn't going to get anything more out of him without some prodding.
Fine.
"Is it... Is it because we lost?" Nami couldn't help but wince as she said it, the memory of that recent day still fresh on everyone's minds.
Luffy didn't say a word but the air got heavier and she could see the tightening of the muscles around his mouth, along with the deathly grip he'd started to enforce on the chair's arms. She knew she was treading on sensitive ground and the pressure she was feeling was eerily reminiscent of the overwhelming force that had been placed upon them on the docks. It stood around them, around Luffy, ever since that day, as if it was barely contained or as if Luffy himself didn't quite know how to control it.
Nami knew she wasn't a brave person. She didn't consider herself a coward, it's just that, when confronted with an opponent stranger than herself, she preferred to do the sensible thing and beat a strategic retreat rather than stay and participate in grudge matches like some people would do. Luffy was much stronger than she was. Nami had no doubts that, if it ever came to it, he would beat her in seconds, probably without even breaking a sweat. And this "Dark Luffy" he'd had going the last few days definitely got her danger sense going off the charts. But something told her to stay, in this case: to not retreat but press on and see what lay beyond. And so she did.
"Did you think there was no one out there who could take you on?" she asked, boldly.
He actually seemed indignant at the question and, for a moment, the pressure lifted and he was back at being the captain of the days before Rogue Town.
"What?" he asked, turning his head to face her so quickly she was surprised it didn't snap. His mouth was slightly open, as if he were surprised at the question, "Of course not." he assured her, "My Grandpa regularly beat the crap out of me before I left my village. If that old coot can do it, there was bound to be someone else who could do it too!"
"Then what is the problem?!" she insisted, frustrated, "You know, for the last two days Zoro hasn't left the door to this room, waiting for his 'Captain to come up with a plan'. That's his words, do you hear? Sanji's got work on a restaurant with a ridiculous return so he could pay for our stay here until that 'plan' comes out." she didn't mean for the word to come out so acidic but it did and now she could only keep going, even if her heart squeezed every time Luffy winced at her words, "and Usopp's spend the days biting through so much of his nails it's a miracle he still has fingers. So what is the problem? Because we also lost a ship! We also took a beating! And all we are waiting for is for our captain to say the word and we'll get out of here and find the bastard and give him a trashing he'll never forget even if we have to steal a ship for that!"
She finished slightly out of breath.
Luffy ran his heads through his hair in a frustrated motion and seemed to reach a decision.
"You got it all wrong." he stated, "I don't care somebody beat us – well, I do," he amended, "but that's not the point. The point is whatever that guy did to us? I did it too."
He looked at her as if trying to will her to understand.
"But... that's a good thing, isn't it?" she blurted. From his face, apparently she didn't.
"You don't understand." he kept on, piteously, "Half a week ago I was spouting to you how being a Pirate was all about freedom. Then yesterday our freedom got checked by that bastard. He didn't just beat us up, he ordered us to to what he wanted, he told us to stay still and we did. We froze and let him take the ship. And then I went and did the same thing! It got so bad some of you actually lost consciousness. I butchered your freedom! And I was supposed to protect it!"
Nami stood there, aping his earlier expression, her mouth open in disbelief. This was what was bothering him?
"Bullshit!" she snapped and he actually recoiled, looking surprised at her reaction, "Luffy if it wasn't for you I'd have died in that dock. That knife would have gotten me right on the forehead. As far as I'm concerned you saved my life and if you don't like your ability knocking us out than either train us to resist it or train yourself to control it. Don't sit around mopping like a little noble girl whose crush won't return her letters!"
For a moment he just stood there, leaning back on the chair as if to try and get a little further away from the harshness of her words and Nami feared she'd gone too far this time. Then he spasmed, his face contorted and she feared he was having some kind of fit. And he was. Of laughter.
It was a slightly hysterical laughter, granted, but it was still better than his previous state of mind, in Nami's opinion.
Finally, Luffy looked back at her.
"Thanks, Nami. I needed that."
"What? The laughter or the kick in the ass?" she asked, only half joking.
"Both." he admitted.
They stood a moment in silence, grinning at each other like loonies, until she had to ask.
"What will we do, Captain?"
He smiled at her.
"Well... you said something about stealing a ship?"
And here she was. It was a crazy plan. It had Luffy's fingerprints all over it. She doubted anyone would come up with something as crazy as he had. But after he'd explained to them what he thought they could do, after Sanji had done some investigations of his own with the restaurant staff and after Usopp had returned to the apartment with the news on the festivities soon to come, it had actually gone from a crazy plan to a feasible plan. When they'd ironed out the finer details of the job everyone had a smile on their faces and Zoro looked as if all his faith in Luffy had been justified. She only wished he remembered she had been the one to get him out of the room.
Nami ran swiftly across the roof tops, unseen. Completely clad in black cloth, wrapped around her figure, arms, neck, head, torso, legs and part of her feet and hands, pieces of tissue flew in her wake, giving her the appearance of a macabre specter, like a black mummy whose wrappings had started to come loose. The only other thing not cover, aside from her fingers and toes, was her the eye line of her face, her orbs shining brightly in the night.
With a small, inaudible grunt, the Burglar Cat jumped, air zipping past her ears, and crossed the street in a single leap, landing neatly on the balcony where the workers sometimes liked to watch the activity of the town. Of course there were none there, at this hour of the night. The only people in the building were security guards: two at the entrance, down at ground level, and one at each entrance and exit of each flight of stairs, if Usopp's spying and Sanji's gossiping were anything to go by. She thought they were. With the continuous presence of one of the best Marine Captains in the entire East Blue, she didn't think the Navy expected anyone to try and break into their day quarters.
The arrogance and complacency from being stationed in one of the most peaceful oceans in the world suited the Straw Hats just fine.
And it was high time for someone to give a kick in the pants of the Marines, in Nami's personal opinion. That she'd be a part of it only made the event that much sweeter.
This was phase one of their plan and it was practically all on her. She knew Usopp was in one of the rooftops across the street, using his ridiculous home-made lens mechanism to search the windows of the Marine's administrative offices, and she was sure she'd spied Zoro down on the street, keeping an eye on the entrance hall and the guards stationed there, but if she failed here the entire plan would go down the drain. Never before had anyone else depended on the success of one of her heists so it was with slightly trembling fingers that she inserted the lock-pick in the door. It opened with a thankfully small click and, with precise, slow movements born from experience, Nami eased the door open and slipped in unnoticed.
Inside, the room was dark and there was a strong, persistent smell of tobacco hanging in the air. After letting her eyes get used to the darkness, she was able to make out the outline of the furniture. The moonless, cloudy sky had been a blessing when sneaking into the building but, once inside, she found herself wishing for a bit more illumination.
Keeping her back to the windows, in order to reduce the chance of someone outside noticing the glare from the flame, Nami rummaged through the pouch on her hip and extracted a small candle. Lighting it, she saw that the promising looking papers on the main table were nothing more than reports on the arrivals and departures of the ships on the dock. With a dismayed heart, she saw that the Going Merry was still only listed on the arrival list.
She was examining an interesting map that detailed the areas of East Blue the Marines considered particularly problematic when she caught a fleeting flash on one of the windows through the corner of her eye. Alerted, Nami approached the window and waited with trepidation. There it was again! Across the street: two consecutive flashes. With her heart in her throat, Nami started counting. 1... 2... 3... two more flashes. The signal from Usopp that someone was approaching from the side-rooms. Cursing herself for getting sidetracked, Nami suddenly became aware of the muffled sounds of footsteps and quiet conversation. With hurried movements, she exited to the balcony and vaulted over the alabaster balustrade, thanking her naked toes that helped her sticking to the wall, as she hanged precariously from the structure, hidden from the sight of anyone who entered the balcony.
She'd barely managed to steady herself when she heard the door open. With her heart in her throat, Nami waited, not even daring to breathe, as the Marines patrolled the room and confirmed everything was it should. One of them opened the windowed door of the veranda and she was able to hear the conversation.
"... in my throat."
"With the amount of smokes the Captain has, it's not surprising. Seriously, I've seen him go three at a time. Must be because of his Devil Fruit power."
"Probably. Last week he called me to this office and spoke to my face. I almost choked myself trying to keep from coughing. Personally..."
The words became unintelligible as the guards closed the door and moved away from her. A few instants later, three flashes from Usopp told her it was safe to continue again.
This time, she was much faster. The interruption had been unfortunate but not entirely unexpected. However, she couldn't risk being found out again. Silently tiptoeing to the desk, Nami lit the candle once again and practically launched herself at the chair in her hurry. The amount of papers on the desk alone made for a daunting task. This was going to take some time.
With a rising sense of panic, the Burglar Cat plunged through the reports and lists, trying to find the relevant documents. With some indignation and not a small amount of anger, she noticed that one of the reports detailed the situation on Arlong's Park, marked with a date older than a year before. Pushing the questions to the back of his mind (They'd known about it! Why hadn't they done anything?!) she returned her attention to the task at hand and barely contained a shout of triumph when she grabbed a two sheet document with the detailed procedure for the upcoming festival. This was it! This was what she'd been looking for!
Her sense of victory was short-lived, though, soon replaced by rushing feeling of worry, as Usopp's code once again flashed through the window. A one flash code this time, signaling she still had some time. With slightly panicked movements, Nami grabbed two sheets of clear paper and set down to copy the document as precisely as she could. She was almost finished when Usopp once again signaled the two flash code, which meant she was running out of time fast.
"Come on, come on..." she urged herself.
The last lines were probably unreadable to anyone but herself, but as Nami once again heard the footsteps of the approaching guards, she just didn't have any option other than hurriedly scratching down the last sentences.
Without having the opportunity to even being silent, Nami flew to the balcony, ignoring the papers that fell to the floor in her hurry and didn't have the time to close the door to the outside. As she once again tried to reclaim her previous spot under the structure, her feet slipped and she was left hanging from the ledge, right as the guards re-entered the room, three floors above ground level. It was a precarious position, even more so if one considered that she was not completely obscured by the floor of the balcony and that she was hanging from the tips of her fingers with one arm keeping a death grip on the copies she'd just made. Praying to all the gods she didn't believe, Nami held on to the best of her ability, while the Marines on patrol let out a gasp of surprise at the mess she'd left the room in.
"What the hell?! Has someone been here?"
"This place is a mess – Hey! The door to the balcony is open!"
The footsteps approached and, for a terrifying moment, Nami feared she'd be discovered. But the noise stopped just before the exit they reached outside.
"Are you sure you closed the door last time?"
"...Yes?"
There was a sound of frustration.
"Idiot. Come on, help me get this stuff back in place. If the Captain finds out we made this mess, he'll have our hides. I don't want to stay with the mercenaries on guard duty on the festival night."
"I'm moving..."
There was a forceful click as the door to the room closed and Nami finally breathed a sigh of relief. Her arm hurt like hell and her fingers where getting bruised from the harshness of the floor of the balcony but she still held on for dear life. Never mind the fact that she'd probably not survive the fall, the marines would be made aware of her presence in the town. If their files on Luffy had been updated, they'd know she was part of her crew and they'd know they were there. Fortunately, Usopp didn't take too long to give her the all clear sign and she was able to make more focused efforts to regain her grip and footing. When she finally managed to climb back to safety, her finger and toes were bloodied from her efforts, leaving small smudges on the wall. It was probable they would notice anything but, even so, she made the effort to clean them. It didn't completely erase them but it did make them invisible unless you stuck your nose right next to them. With a trembling sigh and a final look inside, Nami used the corner of the balustrade as a vantage point and flung herself away from the building.
"Luffy, for the last time, I'm alright!"
Trying to come across as annoyed when one has a dummy endearingly trying to wrap ligatures on the tips of your fingers was hard but Nami still tried. The reason Luffy was capable of doing so was because Sanji was gagged and bound in the corner, having been knocked out by a relatively well used burst of whatever power Luffy could use. If he hadn't done that, Sanji would probably still be trying to wrestle the 'honor' of doing so out of his captain but Nami was just pleased Luffy was at least able to use his new-found power to at least make jokes.
She shook her finger away from his reach and started reading from her papers. Zoro had arrived right on her wake, but Usopp took a little more time to arrive. He did so huffing and puffing with sweat, his tools haphazardly over his shoulders and it had taken a while for him to take his breathing under control. Now that he had, she was trying to report on her findings.
"So next week there will be a festival to celebrating the capture of the Pirate King?" Zoro summed up.
Nami nodded.
"Yep. And with Marine Vice-Admiral Garp as a guest of honor."
Zoro's and Luffy's reactions where not quite what she expected. While Sanji and Usopp let out quiet exclamations of wonder at the future presence of a legend, Luffy cringed and Zoro scowled.
"Crap." both swore.
"What is it? Vice-Admiral Garp is a legend and he's pretty important, so I don't think he'll be interested in small fries like us..." she said, confused.
"Yeah, he wouldn't if he wasn't by Grandpa..." Luffy said, blowing his breath and making his face look like an inflated balloon.
"WHAT?!"
"Oh, it gets better..." Zoro hinted. Nami couldn't honestly think of how this could get any more messed up, but the swordsman didn't disappoint: "He hired me to bring Luffy back home and instead..."
"You joined him." Nami groaned.
With expert movements, Sanji jerked the frying pan and sent the vegetables flying into the air. With practiced movements, he gotten back in the utensil and reset it on the fire. The vapors in the cuisine made the room feel as if it was a forest during a monsoon, the way it formed a cloudy mist that obscured the ceiling. The restaurant was bustling with activity. With the upcoming festival, more tourists than ever were coming to Rogue Town and the business there answered by kicking their special features up a notch. In the case of restaurants that meant the Pirate's menus. Usually this would mean competition but today there was a joint effort. This was the most important celebration of Rogue Town, after all. Furthermore, they were responsible for providing to the main table, where Vice-admiral Garp himself would be dinning. The place was frenetic in preparation and all the restaurants in the city had gathered together under one banner and the Mayor's directions – the boss.
"Martin, give me Roger's Sauce."
"Sure thing."
"Mina, take care – look out! Whoa, that was close. Send it to table four."
It could be overwhelming to a new cook or apprentice, the way orders and banter were exchanged in the middle of all the activity in the kitchen, but Sanji was far from inexperienced and, in any case, he could hardly consider himself intimidated by his boss. Sure the man had presence but he was no Red Leg and frankly anyone who couldn't break the mast of a ship with a kick had no chance of inducing true fear on him.
"Sanji! Give your stuff to Chris and get to the boss' office."
"Of course, head cook!"
As he made his way to the office, Sanji felt slightly giddy in anticipation. He had a good inkling of what this was all about. All the other cooks had been summoned and all but two had been assigned jobs in the celebration itself. The other two would be taking the food to the Old Yeller and the Warship that had come with Garp's flagship. Which, from Nami-chan's notes, only left another ship.
Sanji knocked softly on the door and waited for the acknowledgment.
"Enter."
"You wanted to see me, boss?"
"Ah, yes. Sanji, wasn't it?"
"Yes, sir, boss. Is something wrong? Was there a problem with the Shrimp Gumbo?"
There was nothing wrong with the dish and Sanji knew it. However, the question served its purpose in making him appear as a fearful, subservient subordinate who really didn't want to lose his job.
"No! Of course not, my boy. I just wanted to talk to you about your assignment for the festival."
The Mayor of Rogue Town was a fat lumber of lard, whose only worry seemed to be how to milk the city of every penny he could. He'd seen the lots of him when they visited Baratie, always trying to show off their importance and wealth. It was hard for Sanji to be in the man's presence because he always felt the overwhelming urge to beat the crap out of him but he endured and plastered a pleased smile on his face.
"Great! I've been looking forward to the festival."
The boss' smile faltered a bit.
"Err... right. You've been assigned to the Intrepid. Be sure to take our special menu there for dinner."
It was curious how he just kept talking faster, as if he doing that would make the disappointment easier to bear.
"What?" Sanji answered, making sure to sound dismayed, "But..."
"Sanji, my boy. You're a good cook. You really are. All the other chefs agree. But you are the newest addition to the staff." the man answered in a reasonable tone, "there's seniority to take into account here. Just do your job well and you'll join the others in the festivities in no time."
Sanji made a point of staying silent for a moment before agreeing dejectedly, "Yeah, boss. Sure thing."
"Good boy. Now keep up the good work."
Turning to exit the room, Sanji couldn't help the smirk of victory that jumped to his face. Phase two successful.
Yes. The color was right. A deep green. Just as it should.
It was tricky keeping it liquid. It had to be kept on ice or else it would turn into vapor just from the ambient temperature. It made it difficult to mix with the strengthening solution. He had to keep the receiving reservoir on a block of ice and quickly pour the two contents into it and hope for the best. Sometimes it mixed well, other times it didn't. If it did, he would end up with enough soporific to make at least 30 doses. If it didn't, he would have to start over. It was quite a tedious process, as even the slightest mistake could send the entire endeavor to failure and force him to start anew.
Usopp lifted the recipient from the ice and, with trembling hands from the continuous effort, poured the last dose into the hollow ball that made up the bullets he used with his sling-shot. He'd reinforced the rubber bands on the weapon but he would surely have to refit it once they managed to leave town.
The appointed sharpshooter to the Straw Hat crew sighed heavily and started to place the bullets in the special holders he'd furnished for that purpose. He was sick of the this town. When they'd first decided to visit the hometown of Gold Roger, Usopp had been ecstatic to know he'd be able to visit the famous execution stand but after what happened he just couldn't muster the will to do it. Everyone had been affected, Luffy more than all the others, but their defeat hit Usopp especially hard because he felt he hadn't contributed anything to the cause. He hadn't even be able to pull Sanji out of the water and ended up being the first to lose consciousness. He'd been useless. Even now the others were doing important work and he was stuck making toy projectiles.
"Yo!"
"Gah!"
The whole glass apparatus he'd been using trembled precariously but Usopp managed to keep it from smashing into the ground. With his heart thumping in his ears, he turned around to Luffy's grinning face, a few inches from him.
"Luffy! You almost made me drop this whole stuff!"
"Oh, is it dangerous?"
"It would put us to sleep for more than ten hours!"
"At least we'd be well rested." he laughed, "Any chance we can use it on Nami?"
"No." Usopp answered flatly, "I value my own life. Luffy, shouldn't you be resting for tonight?"
"So should you, Usopp."
"But I had to finish this. And I won't have anything to do later." he finished, not managing to keep the disenchantment out of his voice.
Which Luffy apparently caught on to.
"Is there something wrong, Usopp?"
A part of Usopp, the part that still lived back in his village and ran around with the smaller kids raising trouble, wanted to boast that nothing was wrong, that there was nothing that could possibly bring him down. But a larger part of him couldn't shake the feeling of uselessness.
"No, I- It's just that... Luffy why did you let me join the crew?"
The other blinked as if he hadn't expected or understood the question.
"What are you talking about?" Luffy asked, "You asked to join."
"I know." Usopp pressed, feeling it was important to them, to him, to get to the bottom of this, "But what for? I mean I get Sanji, he's the cook and he handles himself well in a fight. And I get Nami, she's the navigator and did you see what she did three nights ago?!" he asked rhetorically, starting to ramble, "And of course Zoro's your go to man, your right hand and he's pretty powerful... But what about me? I'm useless!" he concluded, finally giving voice to his doubts.
Luffy stood a moment in silence watching him with a sharpness that sometimes showed in his mannerisms and that was often overlooked under his happy go lucky attitude.
"Usopp, don't be stupid."
"Wha-"
"I let you in on the crew because you wanted to join, it's as simple as that. You think I recruited each of us with a specific role in mind? No. If anything it was the complete opposite, with the exception of Sanji. I had decided to recruit each of you long before I knew what you were capable of. And don't give me that useless crap: you're our sharpshooter. You can bulls-eye a seagull almost a mile away with that overpowered slingshot of yours. None of the others can do that and I certainly can't. So what if you aren't suited to go into the fray like Zoro or Sanji? Your job will be to support us from a distance, keeping the enemies from overwhelming us, snipping them before they have a chance to get close, spreading panic among their lines. Yours is the role of the ghost, the silent hero that no one sees but everyone knows is there. And you know what? What if you aren't strong? What's stopping you from becoming strong? Train and train and train and train. Have you seen the crazy stuff Zoro does when he' training? You think he got strong overnight? No! It took time and effort. So if you want to get strong, train and get better. Tonight, you'll be stationed atop the houses next to the harbor. Your mission will be to snipe and put to sleep the guards outside once we get to the boat. Clear a way for Nami and join us. We are a crew, we are a team. Every member is important. Get that through your head. CAN YOU DO THAT CREWMAN?!"
"YES SIR!" Usopp yelped, surprised by the outburst.
"Great!" and all the seriousness was erased from Luffy's face, once again playful. "Now let's get some rest."
The mercenaries guarding the Old Yeller waited, while they spied the figure awkwardly making its way to them. With the festival ongoing, most of the troops were sequestered at the towns main plaza, right where the execution stand stood, to listen to a speech from Vice-admiral Garp. Because there was so many people, the Navy didn't have enough people to guard all the areas and so the ships were left in the care of mercenaries and a few guards. The guards stayed inside, the mercenaries outside. It was a simple arrangement but it worked relatively well. And it wasn't as if anyone was dumb enough to try and steal a marine ship, anyway.
The figure turned out to be a cook carrying a ridiculously large saucepot that almost made the blond youth carrying it look as if he were a wizard with his large cauldron. The pot was closed and the young man held it with the help of pieces of cloth to protect him from the heat. It must have been really well sealed too, as they couldn't see the tiniest bit of vapor coming out of it. Which wasn't really surprising, considering the bad lighting of the place. He turned once he got to the clearing that preceded the docks, something they were expecting, since their ship had already been provided with food. The present 'shipment' was probably designated for the poor saps guarding the Intrepid.
The Intrepid was an interceptor class ship. It was easily the fastest of the three marine ships currently stationed at Rogue Town, but it wasn't particularly outstanding. There were rumors of true marvels of technology built by some mad genius called Vegapunk that put ships like the Intrepid to shame. Those were reserved for the Grand Line though. The most important of all ships was undoubtedly the flagship of the vice-admiral, followed by the warship. So the meager Intrepid had been left with a rather skeleton guard, relegated to second class ship.
The cook was met halfway by another mercenary, a dreary, grumpy fellow that fancied himself a swordsman. No one truly knew each other, all of them having signed in during the recruiting stage, three days before, but that fellow hadn't even graced them with a name. He didn't talk much and he was somewhat hostile, so most of the others left him to his own devices, more worried about their beers and rum than the bad mood of a stranger. His mood would no doubt be hellish right about know, given how much more time he and his mates had had to wait for the food than the others. It was-
Whatever thoughts the guards stationed outside the ships were entertaining remained unfinished as a few pops announced the rupture of balls of sleeping drug near their feet. As they lost consciousness, their last thoughts were a confused "What the hell?"
It was a good ship, Sanji decided as he walked across the deck into the castle of the Intrepid, where Zoro had told him the marines were. Usopp would have taken care of the other guards by now so the swordsman was likely binding and gagging the sleeping hapless mercenaries outside, probably dumping them into the garbage cans. Knocking on the door he waited for the acknowledgment of those inside.
"What is it?" the voice was gruff and seemed in a bad mood.
"Dinner!" Sanji announced cheerfully, "With compliments from the chefs at Roger's Feast!"
There were some shouts of "Finally!" and "About time!" and the door opened to reveal a small kitchen with a table where the four guards had been waiting for the meal. Rather unprofessional of them, in Sanji' opinion, but that only made it much easier.
"Come on in, put it on the table." invited one of the marines.
Sanji did just that then backed down a few steps, as the hungry marines gathered around the large pot.
"Now let's see..."
The impatient marines found themselves more than a meal, that night, as they opened the pot and, instead of a nice stew, they were met with a fist to the face, while Luffy unleashed a Rubber Gatling Gun on them. Along with Sanji's leg, the last guards were down in less than two minutes.
"So far, so good." Luffy commented as they bound the guards.
"Don't jinx it!" Sanji jokingly cautioned.
They returned to the deck, each carrying two guards and were met with the rest of the crew, Nami and Usopp having just joined them. On the distance, Sanji could still see the mercenaries sleeping, next to the other ships.
"You make good sleeping pills, Usopp!" Luffy commented to the sharpshooter.
"Come on, I'll take them." Zoro urged Luffy, "Shitty Cook, here, come along. Captain, with your permission, we have to raise the anchor and set the sails. We need to leave quickly."
Sanji, for once, ignored the jibe and hurried down the ramp to deposit the unconscious guards in a dark corner of the docks. Luffy turned to Nami and Usopp.
"You heard the man: let's move!"
Nami was already in movement, checking the rudder and the sails.
"Usopp, raise the anchor; Luffy, the sails." As Sanji and Zoro returned she issued them their commands as well, "Zoro, help the Captain, Sanji cover the lights, we don't want to be seen heading out."
"Roger!"
"Anything for my Nami-chan!"
"There is a good wind. Let's make the most of it. And somebody take down that World Government flag!" Luffy ordered.
Slowly at first, but with increasing speed, the Intrepid moved away from the docks and set sail to the deep waters, all but unnoticed. When the marines returned the following day, the only thing left besides the empty space was a note, left in provocative style, left surreptitiously by Luffy, while Nami wasn't seeing.
Thanks for the ship. So long, suckers!
Sincerely, the Straw Hat crew.
"Dragon? Is everything alright?"
Monkey D. Dragon, still clad in his ever present cloak, turned away from the sight of the burning ship he had stolen from his own son to stare at his subordinate.
"Everything is fine." he replied dryly. 'I hope you can forgive me, Luffy. Perhaps one day you'll understand...'
A/N.: Another chapter done. First Major deviation from cannon, in my opinion. The idea for introducing Haki early comes from Capito Celcior. Where ever he is, I hope he's still reading, although I don't think this was quite what he had in mind.
Review, if you think it worth the time and effort. As always I apologize for the mistakes.