Well folks the chapter you have all been waiting for. This chapter marks the actual beginning of Shippuden. So enjoy and I hope to see plenty or reviews
The argument and a painful descision, the end of the Pirate King
The New World, proved to be living up to its reputation of being the world's strongest sea. The New World has had a reputation of only the strongest surviving and anyone weak would be cast into its waters. And it did not disappoint. After the straw hats left their most recent port, the crew was plagued by storm after storm. It was almost like the sea knew they were special pirates and it wanted to test them to their utmost limits. Or maybe Paradise and the New World were brothers and the New World felt that Paradise went too easy on the Straw Hats and it was the New World's job to make them miserable. The Straw Hats despite Paradise's violent reputation conquered it when they arrived at Sabody Archipelago. The New World would certainly not let itself be conquered by a rookie pirate crew especially one with freaks like a cyborg and skeleton. And it would especially not go easy on someone who is so similar to those two men, Gol D Roger who Luffy is said to be in many ways similar to and Red Hair Shanks who Luffy modeled himself after. Storm after storm came so suddenly that even Nami who studied New World weather for two years was reaching her limits. Franky himself was actually seeing if the Thousand Sunny was really the ship that can reach the end of the world for despite Nami and himself keeping it from sinking, the powerful storms were so strong that they continuously kept pushing the ship off course, even the paddles and coup de burst were not helping. Everytime time they were close to some island, a storm would hit and push them to some unknown destination. Eventually it reached the point were they were very low on Cola and they needed to conserve it for Franky himself. Food supplies were running dangerously low that even Luffy who was known for his enormous appetite was eating less than usual (still a lot though) in hopes that his crew would have more food to eat. Sanji being the guy who would never let anyone starve was actually secretly starving himself somewhat so that everyone especially his beautifies and reluctantly the grass head would have a decent meal. The New World was truly testing the rookie crew and physically they were coping but psychologically was another story.
The crew was finally having some peace after the barrage of storms hit but were so worn out that they were not their usual selves. Zoro was exhausted and sleepy to the point that he did not seem to train and only slept. Sanji was the same except he was ruder than usual to the guys being tired and spending a lot of energy on making stuff for Nami and Robin. Luffy, Ussop and Chopper played still but with less enthusiasm and goofing off. Nami was trying to do maps but was tired and exhausted from her twenty four hour job as navigator especially after the storms. Franky was also tired after having to repair constant small leaks which and repeated coup de burts and paddles along with a low cola supply. Robin was being herself and not showing much dishevelment but even she was showing signs of fatigue. Brooke was trying to raise everyone spirits first with skull jokes but when he saw it was either not helping or making some of the nastier members violent, he resorted to certain soothing tunes. The crew was not in a very good state. It seemed as how the events of Water 7 pushed the crew to their mental limits, the last few weeks having been pushing the crew physically even more so than Ennies Lobby. Ennies Lobby was a full day of blood, sweat and being near death but it paid off wonderfully. They regained a stolen nakama, one who left returned, a two new ones joined, one being a wonderful ship. Here however it was prolonged physical work and while at Ennies Lobby they had marines and CP9 to beat up, here it was storms and elements which had no end.
The idiot trio was playing and making noise as usual when all of a sudden.
Nami: Quiet !
Instantly like as if on automatic, Luffy froze, Ussop was pretending to be dead and Chopper was in guard point. All three had comical tears following down their cheeks.
Nami: Can you three be quiet for just one moment. Just one moment. I mean its been storm after storm and just when we finally get some peace. You three idiots are making noise.
Sanji, Zoro and the rest of the crew came to the deck to see what the commotion was about.
Sanji: Oye you three jack asses what did you do to my lovely Nami-swan.
Nami proceeded to give all three of them several bruises and lumps.
Nami: These three idiots were making noise and annoying the hell out of me.
Sanji: What are you sure. Don't worry Nami-swan I your knight in shining armor shall make these three pay for disturbing my Nami-swan.
Sanji then gave the three a beating. Luffy, Ussop and Chopper now had extra lumps and bruises. One from Nami and the other from Sanji.
Zoro: Puff ero cook I think instead of it being knight in shining armor it should be ero cook with cancer sticks.
Sanji: Oye grass head better keep that mouth of yours shut before I decide to use my feet and give that grass lawn on your head a good fixing.
Zoro: Oh I like to see you try. I mean with crap kicking like yours like could even kick a girl disguised as a man out. And she's dressed as a guy so you cant use that chivalry crap.
Sanji: Ok that's it. Now that you've given a lady out there a bad name by having her dress as a guy I'm really going to fillet you..
Zoro: Come try it, I'll gut you.
Both some to have their bodies on fire and started one of their usual fights. Normally Luffy would be cheering and Ussop hiding somewhere with Chopper doing his usual reverse hiding but all three were indisposed at the moment.
Nami: Shut it you too.
Both were knocked out.
Brooke: Oh mymymymymymy. Nami is certainly in a bad mood. I would not want to end up like any of them. Oh but I'm a skeleton I…
Franky: You skeketon bro. You are a skeleton so you do not have skin. Skull joke.
Brooke went into a depressive state and it seemed his devil fruit powers would activate and his soul in sadness would leave his body.
Franky with angry eyes and shark teeth: Oye that's enough bone heard.
Brooke instantly got out of his depressive state.
Brooke: Yohohohoh bone head that's a good one. Oh an 45 degrees.
Franky was about to say something but an arm sprout out and convered both his and Brooke's. Both looked to see Robin.
Robin: I think that's enough. You don't want to get Navigator-san angry do you.
Both paled as both knew how dangerous the money loving Nami was when she was in a bad mood. So both wisely decided to back off.
Later that day as Luffy, Ussop and Chopper recovered from Nami's onslaught, both were playing. They were playing some sort of game when Luffy all of a sudden crashed into one of Nami's mikan trees. Nami who was on deck watching out for any more storms went to see what was the large crash when her eyes widened in horror. Ussop and Chopper who were playing also came to see what the loud noise was. Both had their eyes wide as saucers, they knew hell was upon us.
Nami with a dark look: Luffy how could you?
Luffy in a scared look: How could I what?
Luffy at first was confused by what Nami was saying looked around to see that he had crashed into one of Nami's orange trees. He knew he had went too far.
Luffy with a sad an guilty look: Nami I.
Nami: No Luffy, just no. You always do this. You always only think about yourself and only yourself. Everytime we go one of your adventures, we end up going because as the captain, your word is final. We have no say in it. Just as you give your nakama no choice. You force them.
Luffy looked at Nami in horror. He knew she was right. While the crew never exactly protested, in his choice of adventures, they have never said no. But he knew that when he made up his mind, there was no changing it and he would go through with it in the end. Unfortunately that meant that his nakama had to go along with it even when they themselves had no choice. Ussop and Chopper remained silent as they knew that despite it extrememly exaggerated and much harsher, there was some truth. The rest of the crew came out.
Nami: You are so selfish. When we go on adventures, you selfishly only think about yourself. You do not think about the others. You do not think about the danger you put your crew in, your nakama, your family. You know for a fact that there could be danger, hell we always warn you. But do you ever listen? No you do not. You just want to go on adventures. You don't care that your nakama don't want to go, you don't care that you put them in danger, hell for you it is always just a game for you. A selfish game where only you have fun and the rest of us have to pay.
Zoro in a low warning tone: Oye Nami.
Sanji: Yes, Nami-san, maybe you should calm down.
Robin: Nami
Franky and Brooke both had solemn faces: …
Luffy meanwhile had his hat over his face
Nami: Now you even go as far as destroying our personal treasures. You say you always respect your nakama treasures. You always rant about how your straw hat his your greatest treasure. Well what about our treasures. When you make me spend my money, I don't like it but I can tolerate it. But then you occasional destroy my maps. Unlike money and jewels those maps are an important part of my dream to draw a map of the world. You know this, you cannot tell me you don't. But you do not care. You selfishly are okay with destroying the things that are important for my dreams and you just laugh it off. Laugh at my dream.
Luffy in a shaky voice: No Nami that is not true.
Nami: You know it is.
Zoro, Sanji, Ussop, Chooper, Robin, Franky and Brooke all had silent looks on their faces. They were looks that did not want to hurt their captain but agreed with Nami.
Nami: Now you take it too far. Those trees are the only memories I have of my home. They are irreplaceable to me. You know this. Yet you try and destroy it knowing how much it would hurt me. You were always selfish but you have taken it to a new level. God Luffy.
Luffy looked to the rest of his crew for support but when he looked at them, they were all silent. Some looked down and others looked away. It was a silent agreement with Nami. Agreement that he was selfish and he put his nakama in danger and did not care about them or their treasures. That hurt more than anything. It hurt because a part of him knew it was true but also a strangely it hurt because those words came from Nami of all people.
Nami with finality in her voice: And Luffy, you know what, forget. I'll just go fix them. But do not speak to me for the rest of the day.
Luffy the got up and was going to leave but was stopped by Sanji.
Sanji: Luffy, you know I would always side with Nami-swan and this is no different. I agree with her. However not just because she is an angel but because what she said is true. It may not be your attention but you do put you crew in danger and not think about what is going to happen. Unlike you, Nami is not a strong fighter and your recklessness do put her in danger. Also you made her angry. And in my opinion anyone who makes a lady angry is shit. But do nearly destroyed her most precious things. That crosses the line. You nearly destroyed the things that Nami-san cherishes the most, above money. And I can't forgive you for that. To say I am mad at you is an understatement.
Luffy with a sad look: I know Sanji.
Luffy then proceeded to leave. He looked and Franky who had his shades up and a neutral look and despite Brooke being a skeleton he could tell that he had a similar look. Luffy did not go to Zoro because Luffy knew that after the Ussop incident, that Zoro would only speak the truth even if it did hurt. And right now it would hurt a lot. Ussop and Chopper stared at Luffy.
Ussop: Luffy, well it was not your fault that Nami's mikan trees got destroyed, and the New World has been really harsh on her since she is the navigator but she did bring up some good points.
Luffy looked down. Even Ussop agreed Chopper was crying and this made Luffy feel worse since he made his nakama cry.
Ussop: Not all of us are strong like you. We believe in your strength and have faith that you can save us but you do drag us into danger Luffy. It is okay for you to be in danger since you are practically invincible but some of us are not. Some of us may really die on one of you adventures.
Ussop then left and Chopper followed and Luffy was left alone with Robin.
Robin: Captain-san maybe you should give the crew time. They have all been under a lot of stress. Same with me. And maybe you should think about what they said to you.
Luffy: Okay Robin
Robin then gave Luffy a motherly hug and left. Dinner was a quiet affair. While it was usually festive and chaotic, now it was quiet and solemn. At first Luffy tried to steal food but he saw that his nakama were not protesting and he knew what it was. While the lack of food, the New World were contributors, it was because they agreed with Nami and as such treated him differently. Indeed it was a painful blow to the rubber captain he valued his nakama above all else. He asked for food in a very low voice and Sanji would give it to him without protesting though his share was less than usual. When Luffy looked at him, Sanji had a neutral look and simply turned away. Nami had her eyes shadowed by her hair and Luffy knew she had not forgiven him. Perhaps he did not even deserve forgiveness. Even Robin who was known to always have a smile on her face, either elegant or charming had a frown on her face. He knew he was responsible for this. He took away his nakama, his family's happiness. He had failed them as a captain and as a friend.
That night, Luffy decided to take late night watch since he was not in the mood to sleep. The crew agreed understanding that their captain needed some time to himself. Luffy was staring at the stars thinking of the days events and what Nami said. He normally would not bother with any of the crew's usual complaints but this was different, this did not feel like the usual argument with Nami. This sounded far more. He could not help but think about all the points she made and realize that they were true. Anytime he thought his nakama were in danger or hurt, he would go to the ends of the earth to either rescue or avenge them. He truly loved his nakama and would do anything for them. But what should he do when the one he endanger his nakama, who hurt his nakama was himself. Before Arlong hurt Nami, so he kicked his ass. Before CP9 took Robin so he could rescue her from CP9. But the one who endanger his crew, who almost destroyed one of her most precious treasure was himself. So what should he do? Its not like he could beat himself up or rescue his nakama from himself. Did he really put his crew in danger? Did he selfishly for the sake of adventures put their lives and dreams at risk just for himself? Was he so careless? Thinking about it, he realized it was true. When they went to Skypia, they nearly got killed several times, by the Knock Up Stream, by the priests and Enel himself because he wanted to have an adventure in the sky. He wanted to have adventures and he knew it could be dangerous and his crew could die but he did it anyway, not to help anyone but for himself only. At Thriller Bark, he was warned that the ghost island was dangerous. Several of his crewmates were nearly doomed to spend life in the darkness because he wanted to explore a ghost island. His crewmates could die, but he didn't care. All he wanted was fun and adventure. Truly what Nami said was right. His thoughts were interrupted when he saw Nami outside. He wondered what she was doing up so late at night. So he quietly went down. He knew that he needed to speak to Nami and now was the perfect time. It was peaceful and tranquil and the rest of the crew were asleep. The usual chaos was gone so maybe now they could speak on better terms. So he decided to talk to her.
Luffy: Nami.
Nami turned around and had a clearly annoyed look.
Nami: Oh hey Luffy.
Silence, that was all there was.
Luffy: So what are you doing up so late?
Nami: Nothing just woke up for something to drink and though I might get some fresh air.
Silence again. It was all there was. Before he would be chatting away but, now he was could not say much, afraid he might say the wrong thing and destroy their already fragile relationship.
Luffy: Nami I, I really sorry about your trees and making you mad. And I'm sorry for being selfish and endangering the crew and …
Nami: Stop Luffy.
Luffy: W-W-W-Wah.
Nami: I said stop. You think an apology is going to be enough. You think and apology would make up for everything you have done. Everything you have ever screwed up. God you're so naïve.
Luffy: Nami what do you mean? How is an apology not enough?
Nami: An apology may be enough for just damaging my trees though that's debatable. An apology may be enough when you spend our money on meat. An apology might even be enough when you put the crew in danger. But tell me, honestly tell me, how would an apology fix one of us dieing.
Luffy in a shocked voice: Nami, what do you mean. I would never let one of my nakama die. You know that.
Nami: You would never let it happen but it could still happen. Your recklessness has endangered us so many times and put our lives and our dreams at risk on so many occasions that it is not funny. We let it go because the crew is strong and so are you and we believed that you could always pull through for us. Then we could accept your apology. But even you cannot.
Luffy: Nami what are you getting at.
Nami: Sabody Archipelago, Marineford.
Those two words, rendered Luffy silent. Those two places were actually hell for him. They represent two of his greatest failures and painful moments ever. But why would she bring this up? She knows how painful those two moments were for her so why bring them up?
Nami: You say that you would never let anything happen to us. But just because you wouldn't let it happen doesn't mean you can stop it. You could try as much as you could but in the end, it changes nothing. You said you would never let anything happen to your crew. Then Sabody Archipelago happened. Despite your rambling that you would protect your crew, we were still separated. You tried hard, I'm not denying that but despite that, you could not stop it. It was not you who saved us. It was that Shichibukai Kuma. He saved us not you. If he didn't save us. All of us would have died. That time you did not save us. And you cannot say that I'm lying because you know its true. It shows that even you cannot protect your nakama all the time.
Luffy: …
Nami: You also would have done everything you could to save Ace. Just like how you say you would do anything for your nakama, that time you would do anything for Ace. Yet despite trying, despite all your conviction, it was not enough to save your brother. I know you wanted to save us just as much as you wanted to save us but in the end you could. Despite your determination, despite your strength despite having the Whitebeard Pirates and Whitebeard himself on your side, it was not enough. My point is that there are things which are even above you. There are times when even you would reach your limits and Sabody Archipelago and Marineford showed that even you are not invincible. That there are things which even you cannot do despite all the help and power you have.
Luffy: …
Nami: So what if an event like Sabody Archipelago or Marineford happens again?
Luffy: …
Nami: So what if, instead of us disappearing, one or more of us die.
Luffy with his eyes shadowed by his hat: …
Nami: Would you just say I'm sorry. Would a simple apology be enough to make up for one of us dieing. Would an apology be enough to make up for the pain we would go through if something happens to us simple because of your recklessness or your I wanna go on an adventure attitude and that consequences be damned attitude. Then it would truly be your fault. This time you would be responsible for one of you nakama dieing.
Luffy after a long pause: Alright Nami, sorry I disturbed you. Goodnight.
Nami: Whatever, I'm going back to sleep.
When Nami was out Luffy went back to take watch. There in the sanctuary of the watch tower, in the middle of the night with no one awake, the tears fell. The tears filled with sorrow. The horrible memories of those two moments came flooding back. He though he got over them after the two years but he didn't. Maybe it was the fact that his nakama were the ones to remind him. He trained for two years to avoid those horrible moments. Also for some reason the fact that Nami was the one who grilled and scrutinized him hurt more than anything. He didn't know why but there was a pain in his chest. The days events came back to him has he began to reminisce. He put his nakama in danger, his family in danger. He put them in danger not for some righteous sake like saving a country or another crewmate but for his own sake. As a captain, this should never be, yet he did it. Also he was able to pull through most of the time but Sabody Archipelago and Marineford showed that he cannot come through all the time. What if during his next selfish adventure, what if those events are repeated? How can he justify that. How can anything justify his nakama dieing? What if they die because he wants to be the selfish adventurer that he is? That is not acceptable. Nothing absolutely nothing is worth his nakama. Looking up to the stars he thinks of his idol Shanks. Shanks was to him the perfect captain. Strong and cool and he cared for his nakama. In fact Luffy modeled himself after Shanks. Would Shanks put his crew in danger? No he wouldn't. Would Shanks put his nakama lives at risk for his own reasons? No he wouldn't. Would Shanks ever let them be killed? No he wouldn't. Shanks would never do any of those things and yet he realized that all those things Shanks would never have done, he did. He has failed Shanks. With this sinking realization he realizes that he is not worthy of the hat. Shanks entrusted him with his hat that he would become a great pirate like him, maybe even greater but his has failed. He has broken the promise to his idol. He has failed Shanks. He does not deserve that hat. And he does not deserve to be Pirate King. Also if he stays with the crew, he would continue to put them in danger. If he stays, one of that might be killed. He cannot let his nakama be killed. If him leaving and giving up his dream is what it takes to keep them safe, then so be it. He took off his hat and examined it. It meant so much to him. He knew what he would have to do. He would do it, the Pirate King is no more. He would leave the crew.
Well there it is folks. The chapter a lot of you have been looking forward to. This was a very difficult chapter to write. Not only was it very long but I had to really think of a terrible argument that would make Luffy leave. So far the only really extreme argument we had in One Piece was with one where Ussop left because of Merry. I really had to do some extreme thinking and planning to get this to work.
As for the argument itself well just wanted to clarify some things. First Nami nor the crew were exactly in there right minds They were all exhausted and fatigued. Secondly normal comedy arguments would have all the crew members jumping in but this was such an intense one that everyone remained silent. Third I had to think of something that could really make Luffy leave the crew. He loves the crew so much that the only thing that I could think of that could make him leave is either the crew hates and kicks him off or if he realizes him leaving would save or protect them. Also I decided to choose things that were somewhat true. If I had Nami just say lies in anger, the crew would naturally side with Luffy and he would not leave. But by saying things that were true, they have to agree with her. Forth the last argument was the breaking point. Normally Sabody Archipelago and Marineford would be taboo topics but Nami still stressed brought them up. And since everyone was asleep, no one could say that she was out of line. So that was my reasoning behind the argument.
Like I said, a lot of people wanted this so I hope to get a ton of reviews. Now with Luffy gone, his descent into darkness has began.
