Ch. 4- Hot Shell
One Piece © Oda
Blizzard, Monkey D. Aika, Kumi, and Kuro Diablo © Me
Concurrently, in a huge, extravagant room filled with slot machines, blackjack tables, craps, pachinko machines, and others, the Straw Hats gaped in awe as they got a good look at their surroundings.
"Wow~!" Luffy exclaimed. "So this is the casino, huh?! It's huge!"
"Indeed," said Baccarat. "We have several games and attractions here at the casino, so please, feel free to ask me about any of them. I'll be more than happy to guide you."
"Got it," Luffy answered. "Thanks a lot, Carrot Lady!"
"Big Brother," Aika said as she tugged at Luffy's pants. "Big Brother, I have to tell you something."
"Just a minute, Aika," Luffy replied.
That's when a man in a black suit and sunglasses opened up a metal briefcase filled with blue, black, and golden yellow poker chips.
"Now then," Baccarat began, "to start, we'll lend you 20,000 Berries worth of chips."
"20,000?!" Nami asked.
"Big Sis Nami!" Aika called as she tugged at Nami's arm. "I have to tell you something-"
"Not now, Aika," Nami answered. "Grownups are talking."
"But-" Aika started, only for the navigator to pet her on the head.
"Whatever you have to say, I'm sure it can wait," Nami said. "Anyway, are you guys really gonna lend these chips to us?"
"Of course," Baccarat answered. "Help yourself."
"Thank you!" Luffy said as he grabbed a handful of chips and ran off. "I'm gonna go try some games, now!"
"Us, too!" Usopp and Chopper added as they followed after the Captain, and Blizzard trailed along behind them.
"Hey!" Nami shouted. "Get back here!"
Soon, Luffy, Usopp, Chopper, and Blizzard arrived at a gate with a sign that said "HOT SHELL" at the top, and at the entrance are four women with black leotards and white rabbit ears and tails.
"Let's try this one!" Luffy suggested as he, Usopp, Chopper, and Blizzard ran in.
"Wait, you guys!" Nami called after them as she tried to keep up, but she was too late to stop them from entering. The fact that she was lugging around the rather heavy briefcase didn't help matters, either. "Dammit...those idiots just do whatever the hell they want, don't they?" That's when she finally noticed the sign. "Huh? What kind of game is this?"
"This is a free-for-all race with the Turtle Mobiles," said one of the rabbit-eared women.
"Huh?" Nami muttered. "A race?"
"That's right," answered the woman, "and the winner claims 100,000 Berries."
"WHAT?!" Nami questioned. "100,000?!"
"Oh, dear," Robin said, almost worriedly.
"Here she goes, again," Zoro muttered.
XXX
A moment later, another woman wearing the same kind of rabbit suit as her cohorts and the word "KAME" written on her...posterior, walked into the middle of a road, where 6 Turtle Mobiles wait at the starting line. In the blue car with the number 6, Luffy, Chopper, and Blizzard sat with Usopp at the wheel.
"And now, we begin our annual Turtle Race: Hot Shell!" exclaimed the announcer, causing the crowd to cheer. Not long after, Nami and the rest of the Straw Hats, followed by Baccarat, appeared as well.
"Boys!" Nami called. "You better not lose or else!"
"Yeah, just leave it to us!" Luffy waved. "You hear that, guys? We better win this thing!"
"Do we even have a choice?" asked Blizzard.
"Tonight, we have 6 participants!" said the announcer. "Preparations are ready to go! Whoever makes it back to the finish line first is the winner, and the winning bet receives ten times their investment! So, let's get things started!"
"Ready...GO!" shouted the blonde woman as she waved two flaming batons, and soon, the Turtle Mobiles sped off!
"And with that, the race begins!"
"Go, Big Brother, go!" Aika cheered as she watched the cars burn rubber...the wheels, so to speak, and not a certain rubber-man.
"Now, who will be the one to take the first corner?!" asked the announcer, and not long after, someone driving Turtle Mobile 5 sped out ahead of the pack. The driver was a man with a wrinkled face and long, dirty blonde hair. He wore a striped purple suit with a white collar, a pale orange scarf, and brown gloves and boots, with the gloves having the number 5 on them. He also had on a top hat and a pair of goggles.
"And it's Jimmy Myers, taking the lead! He has quite a reputation in these races! His personality changes once he's behind the wheel!"
As if on cue, Myers laughed maniacally, his hair waving around in an almost demonic manner.
"MOVE IT, BITCHES!" he shouted as the vehicles blitzed out into the open road, outside the Leoro.
"And Myers guns ahead of the group!"
As Myers sped on ahead, a loud HONK-HONK reached his ears, followed by the RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT of a machine gun, which blew out one of the tires of Myers' Turtle Mobile!
"What the hell?!" questioned Myers before BOOM! A cannon was fired, which blew Myers right off the course!
"And Myers is out, allowing Turtle Mobile 3 to take the lead!"
In Turtle Mobile 3, there was a large, tanned-skinned, muscular man with scars all over his chest and stomach, a brown handlebar mustache, a chin with four clefts, and a brown beard that is arranged between each cleft. He also had on a Marine cap and a cape draped around his shoulders, as well as a pair of shorts. Driving the car was a shorter man with a large gut and a red nose, a standard Marine uniform, a Marine cap, and a pair of orange goggles.
"It's Marine Petty Officer Straight, who hates leaving it up to others!"
"NYAHAHAHA!" laughed Straight as he pointed his cannon at the racers behind him, including the 4 Straw Hats, who cried out in surprise as they tried to dodge.
"Luffy, do something!" Blizzard cried. "Use a Gum-Gum Balloon!"
"Okay!" Luffy said. "Gum-Gum Ba-"
"No, Luffy, wait!" Chopper cried. "If you leave the car in any way, we'll get disqualified!"
"What?!" Luffy questioned.
"You're saying we can't fight back?!" Usopp asked.
"Pretty much," Chopper replied, sheepishly.
"THAT MEANS WE'RE SITTING DUCKS!" Blizzard shouted.
Soon, the racers had made it out of the casino and were outside, right above pools of golden water, where pretty ladies frolicked about in their bathing suits.
"And now, our racers have reached the pool area!"
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
Straight kept trying to shoot at his competitors, just as they were beginning to reach a sharp turn in the track.
"And here comes the next turn!"
"Officer!" shouted the Marine driving Turtle Mobile 3, Curve. "We won't make it if we just keep driving straight, sir! We'd better turn!"
"Screw that!" Straight barked. "Turn doesn't exist in my vocabulary! Just keep driving!"
"Aye-aye, sir!" Curve saluted as he kept driving...right off the course.
"Oh, and they've fallen right off course! Only four competitors left in the race!"
SPLASH! Straight and curve ended up falling right into the pools, to the confusion of the girls playing in the water.
"And coming up from behind the pack, it's the Straw Hat Crew!"
XXX
Aika gasped as she watched Luffy, Usopp, Chopper, and Blizzard making their way up to the lead.
"They're just catching up to the mad doctor, Whitejack!"
"Look!" she exclaimed. "They're winning!"
"Go, guys, go!" Kumi cheered.
XXX
On the racetrack, Whitejack, a man with dark gray skin and light pink hair on the sides, his head wrapped up in bandages, a monocle over his left eye, a white shirt with a cross design over it, as well as a lab coat, a pink cape with a bow and high collar, a pair of pink pants, and brown shoes, smirked as he saw the four Straw Hats beginning to catch up.
"You're not gonna pass me!" shouted Whitejack. "Kiruko!"
"Right, doctor!" said a woman with blonde hair, red lipstick on her lips, a rather revealing pink nurse's outfit that showed her cleavage, long black stockings, white shoes and gloves, and a pink, heart-shaped nurse's hat with the number 4 on it, as she held up a giant syringe filled with liquid and squirted it out onto the track. "Pardon us!"
"Oh, crap!" Usopp cursed before their car uncontrollably skid around until it came to a stop, causing the other two racers to pass them!
"Oh, and they slipped up on the track, and two other racers are overtaking them!"
"Hurry up, Usopp!" Luffy shouted.
"Right!" Usopp answered as he pulled on the stick, shifting into drive and sped after the other racers, who were driving around a giant mountain with the sign "GRAN TESORO" on it.
"The current status of the race has our other participants desperately tailing after Whitejack and Kiruko!"
"GAHAHAHAHAHA!" Whitejack laughed, but then, BAM! He and Kiruko were suddenly knocked off course by a much larger Turtle Mobile, driven by a thickset man with dark skin, four clefts on his chin, a black mustache and beard, a pair of blue overalls, over a yellow and red plaid shirt, a red bandanna around his neck, a belt with a cow's head on the buckle, brown cowboy boots, and a raggedy straw hat with horns on it, and a pink tattoo that said "BEEF" on his left bicep.
"And Whitejack is out! What power that Kent Beef Jr. of South Blue's Baltic possesses!"
"YAHAHAHAHA!" laughed Beef, heaving his arm in triumph.
"But wait! What's this?!"
All of a sudden, another car sped right passed Beef, its driver being a man with a giant, red, beak-like nose, a thin, orange mustache that angles up to his ears, as well as a small bear that ends in a very sharp point. His orange hair was arranged into a plume in the back, a brown helmet over said hair with a red stripe going down the middle, a pair of goggles over his eyes, and a red collared shirt.
"And Times Count cuts passed Kent Beef Jr. and steals the lead!"
"Dammit!" Beef cursed before he turned and saw Luffy's team approaching.
"GO~!" they all shouted.
"Get 'em, Pork!" Beef shouted to a large, gray, humanoid bull with a yellow shirt that had the number 1 on the front, and a red helmet with goggles on his head.
"Take this~!" Pork bellowed as he held up a giant bale of hay and threw it at the Straw Hats, completely covering them in it!
"GAH!" Luffy cried.
"I can't see!" Usopp shouted.
"Me, neither!" Chopper added.
"There's hay in my nose!" Blizzard barked out.
Soon, they came out of a dark tunnel and approached a very sharp turn, but while Beef, Pork, and Times Count made the turn effortlessly, Luffy, Usopp, Chopper, and Blizzard couldn't see where they were going!
"They've emerged from the tunnel and enter the Dark Course! The Straw Hats better recover fast!"
Once the four Straw Hats recovered, they shrieked as they saw that they were about to drive right off a cliff!
"USOPP! TURN! TUUUUUUUUUUURN!" Luffy yelled.
"I CAN'T!" Usopp shouted.
Unable to turn in time, the Straw Hats were left to drive right off the track!
"Oh! Wipe out straight to the golf course!"
Down below, a man with broad shoulders, an angular jawline, thin eyes, a flat nose, a wide mouth, high cheekbones, thick eyebrows, a brown hat, a plaid coat, similar to a Marine coat, draped on his shoulder, a light blue shirt, and brown trousers, was seen playing golf, while his two caddies, a couple of women with visors, watched him.
"Nice shot!" said one of them, but as they looked up, they shrieked as they saw Luffy's team drop down on them and barely managed to get out of the way in time. However, the Turtle Mobile was spinning uncontrollably, despite Usopp's trying his hardest to get it going straight again.
"I THINK I'M GONNA PUKE!" Blizzard cried.
That's when Luffy stretched his arms out and grabbed the peak of the mountain, thus lifting the car into the air.
"Gum...GUUUUUUM...ROCKET~!" he shouted as the car went flying off the golf course and right over the mountain.
"Wait," said the golfer. "Wasn't that...?!"
"GO!" Luffy cheered as they went right over mountain and flew towards the amusement, and inside the Ferris wheel, there was a certain ramen-making Cipher Pol agent, kneeling before a woman with a bouquet of roses in his hands.
"Will you marry me?" asked Wanze.
"Eh?" the girl asked, but then, WHOOSH! Wanze saw the Straw Hats fly by, causing him to shriek in shock as he accidentally threw the roses in his date's face!
XXX
Back inside casino, Nami groaned as she held her head against the balcony.
"I knew this would happen...!" she muttered in frustration while Robin attempted to comfort her.
"Wait! What's this?!"
Aika gasped as she looked up at the monitors.
"Big Sis, look! Look!" she called, getting the navigator's attention, and they both saw that Luffy's team was heading right back on the course!
"LUFFY!" Nami exclaimed, happily.
XXX
KLANG! The Straw Hats' Turtle Mobile landed right in between Beef and Times Count!
"Unbelievable! The Straw Hats have somehow made a comeback!"
"No way!" Beef shouted.
"Not bad," Times Count mused.
"YEAH~!" the Straw Hats cheered.
"We might just win this thing, yet!" Blizzard said. "Look! The casino's dead ahead!"
Sure enough, there was the Leoro, and the racers were about to head right in!
"Here it is, folks! The home stretch! Only one will make it to the finish! Who...will take...the prize?!"
"Go, GOOOOOOOO~!" Nami cheered.
"COME ON, BIG BROTHER!" Aika shouted. "YOU CAN MAKE IT!"
Before too long, the racers made it...and short close-up revealed that Luffy's team had reached the finish line first, by a mere inch!
"And the winners are...THE STRAW HATS~!"
"WHOO~!" Nami hollered. "YES! OH, YES! YEAH, BABY!"
Soon, the Turtle Mobile stopped, and Luffy jumped out of the back seat, heaving his arms up into the air in victory!
"Shishishishi!" he laughed.
"Yay!" Aika cheered as she and the rest of the Straw Hats ran to congratulate their crewmates, with the former jumping into her older half-brother's arms. "Big Brother, you did it! You won!"
"We sure did, Aika!" Luffy exclaimed, before Nami ran up, wrapped her arms around Luffy's neck, and captured his lips in a kiss. Luffy was a bit taken back at first, but then he smiled as he returned it, much to Aika's delight.
"You okay, Usopp?" Zoro asked as he helped Usopp out of the driver's seat.
"Just dandy," Usopp answered, "that is, as long as we don't do it again. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to take a little nap."
With that, he outright fainted.
"I can't believe we just won 100,000 Berries," Robin mused.
"Who says we have to stop there?" Nami asked with a grin. "C'mon, guys! Let's keep up this winning streak!"
"YEAH!" the Straw Hats agreed.
On that, the Straw Hats went around the casino with their winnings. Nami and Franky stopped at a giant roulette table, betting on red, and sure enough, the ball landed right on a red space with the number 25.
"WHOO!" Nami cheered as she and Franky high-fived.
"Congratulations!" Baccarat said, clapping her hands.
Then, Zoro tried his hand at the giant slot machines, and the slots all landed on 7, which caused huge, golden coins to come falling out!
"YEAH!" Usopp and Chopper cheered. "BIG MONEY~!"
Next, Robin and Brook went to play some blackjack, and Robin got 21 on the first try!
"And that's that," the archaeologist smirked, causing the dealer to cry out in anger.
"DAMMIT!" he cursed. "That's more to my debt!"
"Yohohohoho!" Brook laughed. "Well done, Miss Robin!"
Finally, Luffy and Sanji went to bet on a boxing match. Since Luffy never really gambled before, Sanji decided to bet on the blue boxer, who, after a long 15-minute bout, managed to defeat the red boxer with a strong uppercut.
"Yes! He got him!" Sanji exclaimed.
"Way to go!" Luffy cheered.
After many winnings, the Straw Hats had gained quite a large amount of money...nearly 300,000 Berries, to be exact.
"This is great!" Nami said as she and the other Straw Hats walked around the casino. "We haven't lost once!"
"Yeah!" Usopp answered. "It's almost to good to be true!"
"Don't you think we should stop and head back to the Sunny with all our earnings?" Brook asked.
"Oh, no, no, no!" Nami answered. "Who says we have to stop here?! We can win TONS more!"
"Oh, boy," Zoro groaned. "Nami's going crazy, again."
"You're free to try as many games as you like," Baccarat smiled. "It does our hearts good to see our guests enjoy themselves so much."
"See?" Nami asked. "She knows what I'm talking about!"
But then, she heard a faint thud behind her, followed by the panicked clamoring of the other Straw Hats.
"Luffy!" Robin cried.
"Luffy, you okay?!" Usopp questioned.
"What just happened?!" Sanji asked.
Nami turned around, only to gasp upon seeing Luffy, collapsed on the floor with a look of discomfort on his face.
"Oh, my god!" cried the navigator as she ran to his aid and gently picked his head up. "Luffy, are you okay?! Can you hear me?! What's wrong?!"
"...I'm..." Luffy murmured.
"Yes?" Nami asked.
"...I'm hungry...!"
Grrrrrrrrlllllggh!
Upon hearing their captain's rumbling stomach, the Straw Hats groaned.
"It figures," Sanji grumbled.
"Well...I guess we have been walking around a lot, huh?" Nami asked. "I'm not surprised Luffy's hungry by now."
"Big Sis," Aika spoke up. "Kumi and I are hungry, too."
Kumi whimpered in agreement at this.
"If you're hungry," Baccarat started, "you could go to our grand buffet, here in the Leoro!"
"Buffet?!" Luffy asked, excitedly.
"Oh, yes," Baccarat answered. "It's open almost 24 hours a day, and has all sorts of dishes...including all-you-can-eat prime rib!"
"Where is it?!" Luffy asked, drooling buckets. "Where?! WHERE?!"
"It's that way," Baccarat replied, pointing behind Zoro. "And since you're a V.I.P guest, that means you get to eat for free!"
"FREE?!" Luffy asked. "WHOO-HOO! C'MON, AIKA! KUMI! WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR?!"
"Yeah!" Aika cheered as they ran off to go eat.
"Luffy!" Nami called. "We'll be hanging out in the casino a bit more, okay?!"
"Got it!" Luffy replied.
"And please keep an eye on the girls! You know how they tend to wander off!"
"Don't worry, Nami, I got this! What could go wrong?!"
"...That's what I'm afraid of," Nami muttered...and she didn't realize how right she would be.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Anyone else laugh when Wanze appeared? XD
Review, please!