NOTES FROM AO3:
Hoo boy, lots to say here!
First, I'm taking this time to remind everyone that the story DOES have a TV Tropes page, so feel free to add to it at your leisure. Here's part of the link: Fanfic/TomorrowsRomanceDawn
Second, school will be starting up for me again soon. That being said, I'm going to try and update this at least once a month. We'll see how it goes.
Third, let's talk changes. One change was me removing Vivi's concerns about the crew in Alabasta during her talk with Usopp. I realized that, in the long run, that wasn't really where her concerns lay. Another change was leaving Zoro on the Merry- I thought it made sense to give the pair more back-up. Though why didn't Roronoa have Sanji- who's also not recognizable from his future self's current wanted poster- stay behind? Because Roronoa would rather risk his own younger self than the others. Zoro would agree.
You'll also notice I've been cutting down on the gratuitous Japanese. Though that's the manga's original language, it's not technically the language spoken in One Piece world in except maybe Wano. This makes things a little cleaner. I've replaced a certain someone's use of the honorific "-san" with the "Mr./Ms." equivalent in order to get the same effect.
I also changed up the fight with the Tattoos (such as giving him his name and giving him more personality). I'm much happier with this version.
Lastly, this chapter officially introduces Jan, a character original to the edited version. I created him due to the fact that, when I was planning match-ups for the final fights, things were a little uneven. Much like Erity, he was made so there would be more strong people to fight, but he'll get his development like everyone else.
Now read, review, and enjoy the next chapter!
三
Chapter 5: A Superstar Arrives! Dead Men Tell No Tales, But They Do Sing Songs!
"So that's how it is, huh?"
"Correct. Carrion was surprisingly enthusiastic about the idea,"Yari's voice said through the baby transponder snail. Its face looked vaguely irritated. "I am glad my brother already ran off. He is going to be insufferable for days."
"You're dealing with him," he said.
"Ignoring is more like it. And speaking of surprise, I am surprised Erity actually called in Runo's idea."
"Was there doubt she would?"
"Personally, I would not have put it past her to pretend and then watch the fur fly when Boss found out we went against orders. She claims to be all for hunting the Straw Hats, but I have my doubts. Aside from Vaughan and yourself, she is one of the most gung-ho about securing the Star."
"As they should be. The Carrion Bounty Hunters, despite our title, have the main objective of locating the Star. Now that we've finally found Kāla, we should put all our energy into getting it. The Straw Hats are an unwelcome distraction, and Boss should know that."
"… Killjoy."
He scoffed and leaned against the large rock he sat on. He paid no heed to the rustling bushes to his right.
"Don't get me wrong, I have my own, multiple reasons to want see Straw Hat heads roll. Someone needs to keep our men on task, is all. Hence why I'm now spearheading our remaining units' Star search while you lieutenants hunt pirates." He examined his nails airily. "Actually, I'll be generous- I'll send Theta Unit your direction to aid in the hunt. How does that sound?"
"I suspect you will do so even if I argue," Yari observed. "Do as you wish. I am going to collect Pirate Hunter's corpse, so send them southeast of camp."
"Understood. And do be careful- Observation Haki's reach seems to be somewhat limited here."
"I have noticed."
Fwoosh!
"GROAAAAAAAW!"
He didn't so much as blink as an enormous, snarling smilodon leapt into the air from the bushes, long canines bared in an attempt to clamp its jaws around its prey's neck.
Thus it was very dumbfounded when said prey's large hand shot up and wrapped entirely around one of its fangs, almost hiding it. It dangled in place, clawing the air for some purchase to escape.
"What was that?" Yari asked.
He didn't reply. He lightly squeezed the smilodon's fang, and the tooth burst into a thick fluid. The smilodon fell to the ground, yowling in pain and pawing its mouth. Finally, it scrambled to its feet and took off into the tree line.
"Hello? Anyone there?" If snails had eyebrows, it would be knitting them. "What happened? Jan, answer me you fool!"
"… THAT WAS SCAAAAARY!" Jan shouted suddenly and loudly into the snail. "A SABERTOOTH CAT NEARLY ATE MY HEEEEEAD!"
"… Jan, I sincerely doubt any type of reasonable creature could swallow your head."
"Don't mock me! My whole life just flashed before my eyes!" He paused. "Hey, Monty still owes me five thousand berries! I need to collect on that."
"… You know your duties," Yari said tonelessly. "Remember to report regularly. Yari out."
Click.
Jan scowled at the snail, who quickly slid into its shell.
"Bitch," he muttered. "Only one person tells me what to do, and you're not them."
He looked over shoulder at the rest of Omega Unit, who had waited patiently for him to finish his call. He chuckled breathlessly and stood, rising to his full height. The men and women before him had to crane their necks to meet his gaze.
"You heard her," he said. "Back to work."
"Yes sir!"
Jan watched as the group made towards the thick jungle. He began to follow them, but stopped when his hand caught his eye. It was still covered in liquefied bone.
He raised it to his mouth and slowly licked it clean.
"… It's not bad."
Now if only he could do that to a certain someone's teeth. Maybe it would shut her up for good.
三
"Bye, Carue! Bye, Vivi! Bye, Usopp! Bye, Zoro!" Luffy called out, walking backward as he waved the duck, princess, swordsman and sniper goodbye. "Take care of Merry while we're gone!"
"Aye-aye, Captain!" Usopp's anxious voice called back.
"Good luck, everyone!" Vivi added.
The rubberman assumed they were waving back to him. He could no longer see them from the semi-distant rocky reef they hid Merry behind.
"You too! We'll be back as soon as we find my robot shipwright!" Luffy said before jogging to the front of the group next to his navigator.
"Could you be any louder?" Nami hissed. "The point of this is to be discreet."
"We're leaving them behind, the least I can do is say goodbye," Luffy replied. He stooped down to pick up a long stick. "Don't be so rude, Nami."
"You're one to talk about rudeness!"
Behind the pair, Sanji, Roronoa, and Chopper- in Walk Point and acting as pack mule- followed as the entire group kept to the border where the jungle met the beach.
"I still don't like leaving Vivi behind alone," Sanji grumbled, arms crossed.
"She has Usopp, Zoro, and Carue, too," Chopper pointed out.
"Usopp didn't want to stay either, Carue gets Vivi's commands wrong half the time, and Zoro is self-explanatory."
"Screw you too, Cook," Roronoa commented. "It's what worked out best, so you'll just have to deal with it."
Earlier, once everyone had regrouped and completed last-minute prep, the remaining task was to divide into groups. And as promised, Roronoa did have a way to make it work despite the less-than-favorable circumstances.
"WHAT?!" Sanji hollered. "YOU WANT TO LEAVE VIVI BEHIND ALL BY HERSELF?!"
Roronoa glared at him and dug into his ear with his pinky. "I never said that. Usopp, Carue, and Zoro are staying too." He paused. "… That's not going to get any less weird, is it?"
"Doubtful," his younger self confirmed.
"I'm… okay with the decision," Vivi said. "But I assume you have reason for this particular match-up?"
"I'd like to know that too!" Usopp demanded. He clutched his stomach, "I think I'm coming down with I'll-die-if-I-stay-on-the-Merry-without-future-swordsman-protection disease."
"What?!" Chopper exclaimed. "I've never heard of that illness! Let me examine you right now!"
"Vivi and Carue don't have bounties," Roronoa said bluntly, ignoring the doctor and sniper. "And you wouldn't be able to recognize Usopp from his wanted poster. If they're spotted by the hunters, there's a chance they'll be ignored."
"I can feel the darkness closing- wait, I have a bounty?" Usopp questioned mid-hamming it up.
"Usopp has a bounty?" Sanji echoed.
"What do you mean by that?" the sniper snapped. He pointed his thumb at his chest, making a haughty face. "Clearly the government finally recognizes me for the brave warrior of the sea that I am!"
"It also means you're a target for vicious future bounty hunters," Nami teased.
Usopp slumped again. "Now I have can't-face-vicious-future-bounty-hunters disease…"
"Usopp!" Chopper wailed. "I'll try to help as best I can!"
Nami facepalmed with a groan.
"Why does Zoro have to stay then? You said you had a bounty too," Luffy asked. "It's bad enough we have leave Vivi and Usopp and Carue. I want us to all be together."
"I know, but he's their back-up," Roronoa explained. "On the likely chance they do get targeted, it's his job to get the ship or them out of here."
"But you said we had no chance of defeating these guys," Sanji complained.
"He doesn't have to defeat them in this case. If he can protect the ship or the crew, that's all that matters," Roronoa said. He shrugged. "It'd be a victory in my book."
Zoro frowned sourly, but didn't argue. No one did after that.
"… I also still can't believeUsopp of all people has a bounty," Sanji commented after a few moments. "I mean, he's capable- he beat that fishman after all. But it's Usopp."
"Saying it over and over isn't going to make it any less true," Roronoa said irritably.
"Yeah, Sanji! Have a little faith in our sniper!" Luffy declared.
"What the heck did he even doto earn one?" Sanji asked, curious and now just a tad impressed. "Luffy had to take down every top pirate in the East Blue before the government issued his."
Roronoa smirked, as though remembering something with pride. "That would be telling."
"... I have a wanted poster, right?"
"Sanji!" Luffy scolded, turning to whack Sanji lightly on the head with his new walking stick. Which, considering it was Luffy, meant it still smarted.
"Ow! Come on, Luffy!" the chef complained. "The fact we're out here instead of back on the Going Merry means we all have recognizable wanted posters. You said so yourself; you expect us all to have one someday. It's not really a spoiler."
Nami hung her head. Why'd he have to bring it up? …No, I'm not going to think about it. I'll just keep moving forward.
Chopper's eyes shone with wonder. My own bounty…
Luffy crossed his arms and huffed. "It's the princess-able of the thing."
"I think you mean, 'principle.'" Sanji rolled his eyes and turned back to Roronoa. "Forget the how and why, then. Is the picture at least cool?"
The elder swordsman stopped walking and stared at Sanji for a several long seconds. Finally, he shook his head.
"Nope," Roronoa sighed to himself, walking on ahead. "Even I'm not that cruel."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Sanji shouted. "You know what? I bet my picture is freaking gorgeous and you're just jealous. I bet the ladies are lining up all over the world just meet me!"
Roronoa just snorted, sending Sanji into fit of unintelligible angrish.
The search party traveled in relative silence for a long while after that. Other than passing large jagged rocks that popped up along the beach at random, there wasn't much to see except the ocean, the rest of the beach, and the jungle to their left. Thankfully the weather was nice and the sun showed no signs of setting. However, this didn't change the fact just walking quietly was boring, and Luffy neither liked nor had the patience for boring quiet in the slightest.
"Oh, the island in the south are warm," Luffy started to sing off-key. "And their heads get really hot. They grow-a pineapples, they grow-a coconuts... and they're morons!"
The crew winced- Chopper even flattened his ears against his hat- at their captain's horrid singing.
"Next verse!" Luffy announced, waving his walking stick. "Oh, the islands in the north are snowy, and their heads get really cold..."
"Luffy!" Nami interrupted. "Forget discretion. If we talk about something quietly, will you promise not to sing?"
"Okay!" he agreed. "What do you want to talk about?"
"I have a topic," Roronoa jumped in. "What's this about you guys hearing voices in the fog? Is it true?"
The inquiry was entirely out of left field and it took a several seconds to register with the present Straw Hats.
"We did," Chopper said at last. "We thought they were ghosts, until Nami and Sanji heard voices of people they recognized."
"Why do you ask?" Nami asked. "Didn't your crew hear voices as well?"
"We didn't, unless you count the sound of Usopp hyperventilating," Roronoa replied. "But that's pretty normal."
"How did you know we heard voices if you didn't hear any yourself?" Sanji asked suspiciously. "We never talked about it in front of you."
"Zoro told me last night," he replied. He grimaced. "It's still weird."
Chopper looked between his friends, apprehensive. "Were we keeping that secret? If we were I didn't know. I'm sorry!"
To his credit, they weren't keeping it a secret. It was just most of the crew had been actively trying not to think about the voices- especially after hearing their own speak within the rainbow fog.
"Nah, you're fine, Chopper," Luffy said to the little reindeer's relief. He twirled his walking stick in his fingers. "The voices were really annoying at first. They said we were weak and powerless, and sand would bury us."
"The voice who said that last part sounded just like Crocodile," Sanji pointed out. "Like Chopper said, we thought he was a ghost for a minute there."
"Crocodile was still alive last I saw him," Roronoa recalled. "Beaten to hell, but alive. Who else did you hear?"
"After Crocodile, it was just a bunch of random phrases from people we didn't recognize," Nami answered. "It was like the fog was breaking into the middle of their sentences. But then we heard Hatchan's voice-"
"Hachi's voice too?" Roronoa asked, sounding surprised. "What was he saying?"
Nami's eyes widened and she stumbled mid-step before regaining her balance.
Did... did he just call him Hachi? Nami thought. Maybe I misheard him. There's no way he called him Hachi so casually.
It was Hatchan's nickname, true, but the only people he let call him that were his close friends. Why in the name of everything holy was one of her precious crewmates speaking of freaking Hatchan so amicably?
"Nami dear?" Sanji said. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay? You look a little pale."
"Nami's pale?" Luffy gasped. "Oh no! Is she sick again?!"
"You can't relapse from Kestia; it must be something else!" Chopper exclaimed. He shifted into Brain Point, dropping all the supplies he carried, and held up his medical bag, "Sit down and rest! Do you want me to take your temperature? Do we need to turn back?"
"Guys!" Nami broke in. "I'm not sick! I'm perfectly fine!"
"You sure?" Luffy asked. "Really sure? You said were fine before too."
Nami glanced over her shoulder toward Roronoa, who stood at the back of the group with a calm expression. However, there was something akin to an apology in his eye. She may not have the ability to have entire conversations with just eye contact like he seemed to do with Luffy, but even she could tell that much.
Zoro never apologized, not really. Not to her.
"… I'm sure," she confirmed. "If I were feeling sick, I'd tell you. I promise."
"We're holding you to that," Sanji said, uncharacteristically stern. "The first time around was scary enough."
Chopper slipped his bag back on and returned to Walk Point, allowing Sanji to put the dropped supplies back on his back. "Tell me if you start feeling ill again, alright?"
Nami nodded. "Alright. So, uh, where were we?"
"You were about to tell me what Hatchan's voice said in the fog," Roronoa reminded her.
If any of the Straw Hats noticed the change in name-use, they kept it to themselves as they began walking again.
Nami swallowed the lump in her throat. "Um, yeah. If I recall correctly, he talked about promising something if whoever he was talking to saw someone shot before their eyes."
She remembered the out-or-breath, pained tone Hatchan's voice used. If he hadn't been one of her tormentors for the last eight years, she might have felt sorry for him.
The navigator was so wrapped up in her thoughts she didn't notice Roronoa had once again stopped. Everyone else stopped too as soon as they noticed (though Sanji had to tap Nami on the shoulder get her attention).
"Zoro-pops? Why'd you stop?" Luffy asked.
"You know, we're not going to make much progress if we keep stopping like this," Sanji said, taking an annoyed drag of his cigarette.
"Nami, were Hatchan's exact words, 'you promised, that even if someone was shot before your eyes, you would not lay a hand on…'?" Roronoa trailed off, ignoring the others and focusing entirely on her.
"How did you know that?" Nami asked, incredulous.
"The octopus' voice said the first part, but where did that second part come from?" Sanji asked.
Roronoa didn't reply. "Tell me something else one of the voices said."
"Let's see," Nami thought back. "I think Vivi told me she heard a woman's voice cry out 'I want to live-'"
"-'take me with you, take me away from here,'" Roronoa finished along with her. He ran a hand through his hair, agitated. "Damn, even that?"
"Whoa, Zoro-pops! How do you keep doing that?" Luffy asked excitedly. "Why didn't you ever tell me you were psycho?"
"I thought that was a given," Sanji snickered despite himself.
Roronoa shot him an unusually fierce glare, which was enough to make the chef cough awkwardly into his hand and look away.
Chopper went up to his captain and said, "Luffy, I think you mean psychic, not psycho."
"Yeah, that," Luffy said as tapped his fist into his palm. He turned back to Roronoa. "Is that how you know what the voices said? It's really freaky."
"I'm not psychic, Luffy," Roronoa corrected. "I know what they said because I was there when their owners said them."
The past Straw Hats eyes all widened simultaneously. "WHAT?!"
Roronoa tiredly squeezed the bridge of his nose. "I don't know how, but I think the mist made you hear things that were said to you in the future."
"Are you serious?!" Chopper asked. "We heard our voices too! I heard myself say I was going to be a more reliable man."
"My voice called someone flighty and scolded them for not considering how others felt," Nami said.
"Usopp's fog voice said this place wasn't hell," Luffy added. "And my fog voice was asking somebody what made them a god. I sounded really pissed."
"I don't know about Nami's, but I do know Usopp's and Chopper's. And I can guess Luffy's by context," Roronoa said tensely. He had an odd look in his eye, like his mind was going a mile a minute.
As their conversation continued, clouds rolled across the sky and blocked out the sun, dimming the area considerably. It was also starting to get a bit foggy, though not the rainbow variety, thankfully.
"The first few voices we heard weren't too terrible, and ours were just kind of surreal," Sanji admitted. "After we heard our own though, it got disturbing- this one voice really stood out. The things it said were… troubling, to put it mildly."
"I'll say," Nami agreed. She looked at Luffy, who looked like he ate a lemon. "I know we've been trying not to think about it, but if these really are voices from the future, I have to wonder why Ace's voice said those things. Do you think he gets into some kind of-?"
"Hold it," Roronoa broke in. The strange look intensified. "Did you say 'Ace'?"
"Don't interrupt Nami, you uncouth-!" Sanji started to rant.
Roronoa shot him another glare and Sanji shut up, but not without grumbling churlishly to himself.
"Forget the fog voices for a minute," Roronoa continued. "Did I just hear you say 'Ace'?"
"Ace is the name of Luffy's big brother," Chopper explained. "We were all really-"
"I know who Ace is!" Roronoa snapped. "How do you all know that? You shouldn't yet."
Chopper flinched and darted behind Nami's leg. Nami soothingly patted his head and gave a glare of her own to Roronoa, who had the decency to look sheepish.
"Huh? Why not?" Luffy asked. "I told them about him before we went ashore."
"That wasn't how it happened for us," Roronoa explained. "We didn't learn you had a brother until you told us about him in Nanohana."
"That's the city Vivi said we'd visit first when we arrived in Alabasta," Nami remembered.
"That doesn't sound right," Chopper said, timid. "Luffy just told us. Why would you forget by the time we arrive in Alabasta?"
"Why would I also forget coming to a freaked-up island between Drum and Alabasta?" Roronoa countered.
"Okay, time travel and moving islands— at the end of the day, we can dismiss those as Grand Line weirdness," Sanji said. "But just forgetting everything that happens between coming here and leaving? It physically pains me to say this, but Mosshead was right- that's impossible. You have to remember something."
"I don't," Roronoa grit out.
"Has anything like this happened before?" Nami asked in an attempt to ease the situation. "Maybe there's a precedent."
"Not exactly. I guess there was this time the crew woke up on an island with no memory of how we got there. Except for Luffy- he knew but refused to tell us," he replied. "But this is different. Not only did that happen after Robin joined, but I'm clearly aware I have a block of time missing from then.
"I'm sure none of what's going on right ever happened. I shouldn't be on a time traveling island, and you guys shouldn't know who the hell Ace is."
Sanji eyed him warily. "You seem oddly fixated on Ace. Is it really that surprising?"
Roronoa scowled, then sighed- an action growing to be commonplace- and rubbed his wounded shoulder. The scowl faded into a tired expression.
"… No, I guess not," he said. "Forget it. Like Nami said before, fog voices and why things here are the way they are aren't important right now." He turned around and stepped forward- the right direction for once. "We need to keep-"
"Do we meet Ace in Alabasta?" Luffy asked suddenly. "Is that why I tell you guys about him?"
Luffy had been rather quiet for a few minutes, and the question was unexpected. The rubberman was almost completely expressionless as he spoke, save for his narrowed eyes.
Roronoa let his hand fall and faced his young captain, his own eye narrowed. "It's a spoiler, Captain."
"Just this once," Luffy replied.
"… I guess the information's harmless enough," Roronoa admitted. He crossed his arms. "We met Ace in Nanohana. He was headed in the same direction, so he traveled with us for a couple days before leaving. That's it."
"Luffy, what are you doing?" Nami scolded. "After all the flack you gave us about asking questions, you go ahead and ask some of your own? How is that fair?"
Luffy's brow furrowed as he ignored Nami. He thought back to his dream. It made sense why he didn't recall some like that happening, no matter how real it felt; it hadn't happened yet, but it was going to. His dream must have been about Ace's departure, however that worked.
It was real- and the things Ace's voice said in the rainbow fog were real too.
"Zoro," Luffy said in a serious tone. "Did Ace-"
"LUUUUUUUUUUFFFFFFFY!"
三
Earlier
Vivi was perfectly willing to admit she was a worrywart.
It was just in her nature when it came to the people she cared for. She worried at Whiskey Peak, she worried on Little Garden, and she worried heavily on Drum Island— though she'd hardly been alone in her concern then. This time was no different. She paced the deck alongside Carue, worrying about her friends who had gone off in search of Roronoa's ship.
"Would you stop that?" Usopp barked. He stood at the base of the mainmast, goggles down and aiming his slingshot in random directions. "You're going to make a rut in the deck and I don't want to have to fix it."
"Only if you stop swinging that thing around," she replied sharply. "I'm already nervous enough as is and you're not helping."
"I'm under the threat of bloodthirsty hunters from the New World! I'm within my rights to be ready for anything!"
"With the way your arms are shaking, you're more liable to shoot one of us than a hunter. Pacing keeps me calm, so let me do it for now!"
"How about both of you put a sock in it?" Zoro's voice demanded from the crow's nest. "I'm not any happier about the arrangement than you are, but you don't see me bellyaching over it. Now pipe down; you're getting on my nerves."
The sniper and princess both winced, shared a glance, then sighed simultaneously.
"I'm sorry," Vivi apologized and stopped pacing. "We're all on edge and my attitude isn't helping. I'm just worried about the search team- I hope they make it to Mr. Roronoa's ship safely."
Carue nuzzled her side comfortingly.
"You're worried about them? They have two thirds of our Monster Trio and Roronoa," Usopp pointed out as he slid his goggle lenses up. "You should be worried about us! If the bounty hunters decide to attack we're screwed!"
Vivi cocked an eyebrow up at him. "I thought you wanted to be a brave warrior of the sea."
"I do! I just want to live long enough to become one!"
Thump!
The longnosed young man yelped and jumped into Vivi's arms. Luckily for him, it was only Zoro jumping down to the deck.
Usopp, once he realized it wasn't an enemy attack, glared at him. "Would it kill you to climb down for once?!"
Zoro straightened out and shrugged. "It's faster."
"And you shouldn't be out in the open," Usopp lectured as Vivi set him down. He wagged his finger at the swordsman. "The bounty hunters may ignore us if only Vivi and I are spotted, but they'll definitely pounce if they see you, Mr. Second-Highest-Bounty!"
"Once they realize Merry is the Straw Hat ship, they'll probably pounce anyway," Zoro retorted.
"You don't know that!"
"If everyonedidn't know that, why bother leaving me behind as back-up to begin with?"
Usopp's jaw worked up and down for a few seconds before he turned on his heel and sat down, disgruntled. "Well, excuse me for wanting to hope for the best."
"There's nothing wrong with that, Usopp," Vivi assured him. "It's just in this case, we need to be realistic about the situation and its outcomes. And unfortunately, one outcome may be fighting or making a quick escape. It depends on what's necessary."
Usopp went rigid. "I'm not abandoning Merry- not if the enemy wants to destroy her like Sanji said! What's wrong with you?!"
"No one said anything about abandoning Merry," Zoro said bruskly. "Even if she weren't our only ride off the island, I doubt Luffy would forgive us if we did."
At the mention of their captain, Usopp seemed to wilt. He began to trace aimless circles in the deck planks with his finger. Zoro and Vivi shared a glance before the latter stepped over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Usopp, is everything okay?" she asked.
"Besides the obvious, you mean?" Usopp deadpanned.
He wasn't even trying to proclaim how the 'Great Captain Usopp' was mighty and always okay. Vivi took a deep breath, schooled her expression, and sat down next to him.
"Don't be like that." Vivi chided gently. "I couldn't help but notice you've been acting strange all morning. You and Luffy are usually as thick as thieves, but today…?"
"You're acting like he's the one with a fatal disease," Zoro cut to the chase.
Vivi glared at him before turning back to Usopp. "We only want to know if you're alright. So what's up?"
Usopp looked between the pair, probably gauging their potential reactions. Finally, he groaned and rubbed his temple.
"You'll think I'm crazy," he muttered.
"We're on a time traveling island with my future self," Zoro deadpanned as he joined the other two on the ground. Carue followed suit, sitting next to Vivi.
"That's fair." The sniper sat up straight, resting his hands on his knees. "Did you guys have any weird dreams last night?"
"Weird dreams?" Vivi echoed. "I don't think so. Then again, I don't always remember my dreams. Mr. Bushido?"
"I dreamt I was in a gigantic forest last night," he recalled. He glowered. "A stupid-looking bird kept attacking me. Does that count?"
"Compared to the dream I had, I'd have preferred the bird," Usopp admitted. "It's the reason I'm avoiding Luffy."
With rapt attention, Vivi, Carue, and Zoro listened as Usopp described the dream.
It was nighttime. The dark sky was overcast, and Usopp was surrounded by rocky landscape and smoke. In the distance behind him- cityscape. To his side- the ocean and the Going Merry.
Oh, Merry, what happened to you? Usopp thought with a wince.
The Merry looked horrible. She was barely held together by metal plates and mismatched planks. He knew the Grand Line was rough on the poor girl, but he didn't think she'd end up in such a dismal condition.
Upon closer inspection, he noticed Sanji, Nami, Chopper, and Zoro were on board by the figurehead. Nami looked distraught, Zoro looked distant, Sanji was scowling, and Chopper looked on the verge of tears.
What's wrong with them? he thought. And where's-?
"Gum-Gum Pistol!"
Usopp turned in time to see Luffy… and Luffy's fist launched directly at him. He tried to call out his captain's name, but found he couldn't speak. He couldn't move at all and because of this he did nothing as the rubber fist rammed into his jaw and sent him flying.
Usopp had seen Luffy use this attack on many enemies before, but never had he ever been subject to it. And yet the actual hit itself didn't hurt as much as the fact he was being subjected to it.
Now that he thought about it, Usopp realized his entire body hurt. He had on so many bandages he looked like a mummy. Not that Luffy looked much better—there was little of the rubberman that didn't bear burns, scratches, and blood.
Why are we hurt this bad? Usopp thought. Is it because we're fighting? Why the hell are we fighting?
Luffy ran forward, stretching both of his arms behind him.
"It's time to put an end to this!" he growled. "Gum-Gum BAZOOKA!"
Usopp felt his body stand and take out a little pink shell. (Why was his body moving on its own?!) The attack hit the shell, and just like that all the force from it seemed to vanish. Usopp was surprised, and Luffy looked doubly so.
"Recognize this?" he heard himself say, his lips also moving on their own accord- he sounded angry. "I bet that bazooka would've hurt. Let's find out!"
Usopp surged forward and shoved the shell into Luffy's face.
"IMPACT!"
The pink shell seemed to release the force it absorbed from Luffy's attack. Luffy went tumbling backward, blood spraying from his mouth. It took all of Usopp's willpower not to scream, for he had now officially lost all feeling in his arm. He ended up screaming anyway.
He felt his body seize up as he hollered, "I WON'T LOSE TO YOU!"
Usopp was dumbfounded by his own words. Why? Why are we fighting? Luffy, talk to me! You're my best friend; why are we hurting each other like this?
Luffy wasn't down for long. He quickly got on his feet, though he was breathing very hard. Usopp got on his feet also, struggling with every movement. Luffy stretched his arm backward as far as it would go.
"Gum-Gum..." Luffy cried out. "BULLET!"
Luffy's fist plowed into Usopp's stomach. The sniper didn't go flying. He coughed up blood and fell forward.
L-Luffy... he thought hazily. D-Did I do something wrong…?
He landed on his face, and for a few moments the scene was silent save Luffy's heavy breathing.
"You idiot," he heard his captain whisper bitterly. "You knew it would end like this! You knew you could never beat me!"
Usopp didn't reply. Out of the corner of his rapidly-dimming vision, he saw Luffy stand and place his precious straw hat- which had fallen off at some point- back on his head.
"Do what you want with the Merry," he said without emotion.
Usopp felt the tears drip down his cheeks.
"So long, Usopp. It was fun… while it lasted."
Darkness.
"Gods above and below," Vivi swore. "That explains a lot. Usopp, I'm so sorry."
Zoro said nothing in response, only fixing a hard gaze on the sniper.
"You know, I was relieved when Roronoa said my future self was with Nami's. It meant I was still a member of the crew." Usopp took a shuddering breath. "I love this crew; meeting Luffy was the best thing that ever happened to me. And by the look of things, I was the one instigated the fight. And over the Merry?" He clenched his fists.
"Usopp, I can understand why you're upset, but you realize it's just a dream, right?" Vivi pointed out. "You and Luffy are some the closest friends I've ever met. There's no way you would ever fight like that."
"That's the problem. I've had crazy dreams before, but none have ever felt so real." He leveled a serious look at the princess. "I don't think it was one."
"Then, what, it was a memory?" she questioned. "Or a vision of the future? I know time seems to be the theme of the island, but you have to admit, even that seems a little-"
"Thousand Sunny."
Vivi and Usopp looked at Zoro, who wore a grim, thoughtful expression.
"When Roronoa woke up, he asked if he'd been brought to the 'Thousand Sunny,'" the swordsman continued. "He also kept looking at you and Luffy funny when you were gushing over the shipwright."
"… He did look like he couldn't believe where he was when he realized he was on Merry," Usopp remembered in a dead tone. "We have a different ship in the future, and that made me angry enough to challenge my best friend to a duel."
Zoro once again didn't respond, instead giving him the same hard gaze from before.
"That's enough!" Vivi snapped suddenly. She jumped to her feet and put her hands on her hips. "You have no idea if that's what happened! All you have is one scene from a dream with almost no other context! Do you think you have a strong bond with Luffy?"
"Yes," Usopp said without missing a beat.
"Then don't let an absurd nightmare let you doubt it! Besides, even if it does somehow happen…" Vivi swallowed thickly. "Mr. Roronoa said you're still with the crew. That has to mean something, right?"
She was entirely focused on Usopp, and thus didn't see Zoro quirk an eyebrow at her words. At the same time, Usopp didn't meet the princess' eyes but a wane smile did spread across his lips.
"Yeah, I guess it does," he admitted.
Carue gave a happy squawk and threw his wings around the longnosed man. Unfortunately, the duck was too forceful and knocked him over.
"ACK!" Usopp gasped. "Carue, take it easy!"
"Quaaaw!
"That's the spirit, Carue!" Vivi praised.
Vivi was glad she'd eased Usopp's conscience, if only for the moment. The crew had too much going on to add surreal nightmares into the mix. Still, she would have to bring it up to the others at a more appropriate time. If it grew to be a persisting issue, they could always consult the young local girl or a member of her people once they found them. Until that time came, however, she knew the sniper was going to let the nightmare gnaw away at his thoughts.
She needed to figure out a way to get his mind off it, though she wasn't sure where to start. If the impending danger of a chronologically-deficient island and the New World grade threats it carried weren't enough to occupy his mind, what could possibly-
"Yohohoho, Yohohoho, Yohohoho, Yohohoho..."
Vivi froze and Zoro stood, hand grasping his Wado Ichimonji.
"Anyone else hear that?" the swordsman asked.
"Hear what?" Usopp asked in return, finally shoving Carue off his person.
Vivi shushed the boys. "Listen."
All four grew quiet and a moment later the same ethereal voice returned, carrying eerily across the water.
"…all of the crew! It's time to ship out Bink's brew! Wave good-bye, but don't you cry, our memories remain…"
The voice faded. Its owner had moved too far away for the pirates to hear it.
"Was that singing?" Usopp asked. He started shaking. "You don't think it's the fog again, do you?"
Vivi and Zoro glanced around the sun-soaked deck of the Merry.
"No," Zoro said.
Vivi jogged over the railing facing the island's direction. "I can't be sure because of the rocks, but I think it came from ashore. The jungle, maybe?"
The trio and duck all met each other's eyes, and immediately Usopp threw up his arms in an 'x.'
"No way!" he hollered. "We are not going in there to check it out! We need to guard Merry! That's the whole reason we're here!"
"But Usopp, it could be one of Mr. Roronoa's crewmates!" Vivi reasoned. "Merry is well hidden; she'll be fine for a few minutes!"
"Or it could be one of the bounty hunters!" he argued.
"I don't think it is." Vivi held up a finger. "Remember what Mr. Roronoa said?"
"Um, excuse me? Mr. Roronoa?" Vivi asked. "Before you go, are there any other details you can give us about your crewmate? You know, to make it easier to identify them?"
"What, was what I gave not good enough?" he asked.
"NO!" came the resounding, unanimous reply.
"Fine, geez. If you hear a woman making morbid comments, or men either declaring how super they are or randomly singing Bink's Brew, it's them.
"THAT DOESN'T TELL US ANYTHING!"
"I've been on the sea long enough to know Bink's Brew when I hear it, so it must either be Franky or Brook," Vivi concluded. "It's at least worth checking out. We can take Carue to shore."
Usopp fell backward, grasping at his throat. "Crap, it's my I-can't-go-ashore-or-I'll-die-disease! I don't think I can make it!"
"Three diseases in one day? You should ask Tony for a checkup when he gets back." Vivi shrugged. She climbed onto Carue's back. "Fine, stay and guard the ship. I'll go. Mr. Bushido, are you coming?"
"While I appreciate the show of faith, I think Zoro is of more use staying with-"
SPLASH!
Usopp choked on his own words as he saw Zoro was already in the water and swimming towards the island. His swords were tied on top of his head and everything.
Vivi gave him a mischievous smile. "You were saying?"
Usopp whimpered.
"Stop smiling like that."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You just stay there on your duck. I didn't come along because I was scared; I came here to protect you should Zoro prove insufficient."
"I appreciate the sentiment."
In the time it took for the trio- and duck- to reach land and venture into the jungle, it had grown extremely dark as clouds covered the sun. Usopp walked closely next to the mounted duck, once again aiming his slingshot in random directions while Zoro took the (closely monitored) lead. So far, their little search wasn't proving fruitful.
"I'm sure this is where the singing came from," Vivi said. "Where is he?"
"We just started. Give it time," Zoro said.
They walked further. The jungle started to get a bit misty too, but thankfully it was a normal shade of gray.
"Hey, Vivi? Zoro?" Usopp piped up.
"Yes, Usopp?" Vivi responded.
"I just had a thought," he whispered nervously. "What if the reason we can't find who was singing... is because it was a ghost?"
Vivi ordered Carue to halt while Zoro gave Usopp a slightly exasperated look and stated, "You still think this island is haunted?"
"I'm just tossing around ideas!" Usopp insisted. "This island already has a backward sense of time; why shouldn't the living dead be a possibility?!"
"One has nothing to do with the other."
"You don't know that!"
"And neither do you." Vivi sighed. "And people call me a worrier. I think the worse we have to be concerned about on this island are the bounty hunters. There are no living dead -"
Rustle, rustle.
"Yohohoho! Mr. Usopp, Mr. Zoro! I thought I recognized your voices!"
The group turned to see a figure step out from within the abnormally large bushes.
"I'm happy I finally found some familiar faces!" the figure said jovially. "I'm afraid I got myself a little lost; this island is quite confusing. Have you noticed the odd sunsets and sunrises? When I saw that sunset so early in the day, my eyes nearly bugged right of my head! Then again, I don't have eyes so they couldn't have anyway! Yohohoho!"
The group said nothing, not that they were actually listening. Their minds were still trying to process the sight before them.
"Oh," the figure went on, directing its gaze to Vivi. "And who would this lovely young lady be?"
It was tall, standing at over nine feet. It wore a trim back coat, blue cravat, flashy orange feather boa, and floral-print pants. Resting on its head were fancy pink sunglasses and a white hat combined with a crown. It had hair- a large black afro- but that was the only thing remotely human about it. It already said it didn't have eyes... only empty sockets. It didn't have ears, a nose, or any flesh for that matter.
Vivi and Usopp stared up in horror. Zoro's eyes were wide and his teeth were grit to the point of near-cracking.
"Excuse me, miss," the tall skeleton before them said, leaning towards the princess. "Would you be so kind as to show me your panties?"
Zoro drew Yubashiri.
"AIIIIIEEEE!" Vivi and Usopp shrieked. "PERVERT ZOMBIE!"
"AHHHHH!" the skeleton shrieked back, looking from side to side. "WHERE?!"
三
Now
"LUUUUUUUUUUFFFFFFFY!"
There were still questions, of course- the revelation of the fog voices and Roronoa's uneasiness regarding Luffy's brother being chief among them. However, they all took a back seat the moment the search team saw Vivi and Usopp charging down the misty beach on Carue.
The pair and duck had identical terrified expressions on their faces, Usopp to the point that fearful tears streamed down his face.
"Vivi, Usopp!" Nami called out.
"Vivi-dear!" Sanji shouted, jogging over to meet them. Roronoa, Luffy, Nami, and Chopper followed after him.
Vivi yanked on Carue's reins and the duck skidded to a stop. Unfortunately, the sudden force caused Usopp to go flying off the saddle. Roronoa caught him and immediately set him back up on his feet, only for him to nearly fall over again. The swordsman caught him by the strap of his overalls.
"Time island scary, time island scary, time island scary…" Usopp chanted catatonically.
Roronoa just frowned in confusion.
Sanji helped Vivi dismount, for she was too shaky to do it on her own. The moment she was off, Carue collapsed onto his side, petrified with terror.
The blond cook took the princess' hand in his own. "Dearest Vivi, are you alright? Why aren't you still on the Merry?"
"Usopp's here too, you know," Roronoa pointed out.
Sanji, of course, ignored him and went on right trying to soothe Vivi. Roronoa growled and began trying to shake Usopp from his stupor. Chopper did the same for Carue.
"Where's Zoro?" Luffy asked, looking around as though the younger swordsman was hiding. "Is he still with the Going Merry?"
"He's not here? He was right next to us- didn't he run too?" Vivi's hands flew up to her face. "Oh no, we must have left him behind!"
"He has a better chance than we did," Usopp said woozily. "So scary..."
"What happened? Was it the bounty hunters?" Chopper gasped. "Did Zoro get captured by bounty hunters?"
"Where are they?!" Luffy demanded. "I'll kick their asses!"
He probably would have ran off that very moment if Roronoa hadn't grabbed him by the back of his shirt. "Luffy, no. Before you go on a rampage, how about we let Vivi and Usopp tell us what happened?"
Luffy stuck out his lip poutily, but pulled himself free of Roronoa's grasp and looked at his friends expectantly.
"It wasn't bounty hunters," Vivi explained in a frightened tone. "It was much, much worse."
"Did the Marines show up?" Sanji asked. He tightened his hold on Vivi's hand. "Or Baroque Works?"
"Even worse than that!" Usopp continued.
"What's worse than the Marines, Baroque Works, or New World bounty hunters?" Nami asked. "Was it worth abandoning Merry and Zoro?"
Vivi and Usopp looked at each other, then yelled, "A ZOMBIE!"
"A ZOMBIE?!" the Straw Hats yelled back.
"I told you this place was haunted! I told you!" Usopp said, his legs knocking together furiously. "But did you listen to me? Does anyone ever listen to me?!"
"We went into the jungle because we heard someone randomly singing Bink's Brew, but then it just appeared!" Vivi explained. "It was awful! I didn't think zombies existed, but now-!"
"A real live zombie?' Chopper asked. "I've read about reanimation as a concept, but I didn't think it was medically possible! This is an amazing discovery! Totally scary, but amazing!"
"A real live zombie?" Luffy repeated with a large grin. "Awesome! Was he a musician?"
Nami yanked Luffy's ear and shrieked, "A ZOMBIE IS NOT JOINING OUR CREW!"
"But Zoro said if the zombie was a musician, we could take him into consideration!" Luffy whined, rubbing his ear.
"If Mosshead said it was okay, then we're definitely not doing it!" Sanji shouted. He held Vivi close. "Besides, that zombie assaulted my precious Vivi! If I see it, I'm sending it back to the grave in pieces!"
Vivi looked up at Sanji, then gently pushed him away. He chose to remain standing close to her.
"It technically didn't attack us," Usopp admitted, calmer. "We made a break for it before it could. I promise, we thought Zoro was right behind us. We were just focused escaping."
"If it didn't attack you, why did you run?" Luffy asked. "Maybe it just wanted to be friends."
"We don't want to be friends with a zombie!" Usopp and Vivi shouted together.
Luffy pouted again. Meanwhile off to the side, Roronoa watched the entire exchange with a sweatdrop.
They can't seriously be this oblivious, can they? Then again, this is Vivi I'm thinking about, he thought. Out loud he said, "Usopp, Vivi. Can I ask you something?"
Vivi and Usopp both looked at the time traveler, the latter saying, "Sure, I guess?"
"The zombie you met," he continued. "By any chance did he have an afro?"
"He did!" Vivi exclaimed. "A really big one!"
"The zombie has an afro too?" Luffy asked. He chuckled gleefully. "Shishishi, that's so cool! Now I really want it to join the crew!"
"What does a stupid afro have to do with anything?!" Nami shouted.
"Hey, never disrespect an afro!" Usopp declared. "It's a widely known fact afros hold untold power. This zombie will be quite the adversary indeed."
"Really?" Chopper asked. "I've never heard of afro power! Can you teach me about it?"
"Why of course, young Chopper! I happen to have a PhD in afrotology."
"Wow!"
"Second question," Roronoa interrupted loudly on purpose. His eye focused on Vivi. "Vivi, when he saw you…"
"Yes?" Vivi prompted.
The swordsman grimaced. "… Did he ask to see your panties?"
The instant after he said that, Roronoa's hand flew up and caught Sanji's foot.
"Damn it, Roronoa!" Sanji ground out, nearly biting his cigarette in half. "Let me kick you for crying out loud!"
"I second that demand!" Nami agreed, face beet-red.
"If he stops being so predictable, maybe I'll let him," Roronoa replied, only the slightest bit smug. He pushed the offending foot away.
Sanji stumbled but quickly regained his footing. "Apologize for saying such a crude thing to Vivi, you clod!"
"Hey, I wasn't the one who originally said it," the elder swordsman said with a half-shrug. He turned back to Vivi. "Well? Did he ask that or not?"
Vivi and Usopp stared at Roronoa, gaping like fish.
"I'll take that as a yes," he said wearily. "You guys are morons."
"Oi, don't call Vivi a-!" Sanji started to protest.
"You went into the jungle chasing after someone randomly singing Bink's Brew," the swordsman continued, ignoring the cook. "And the person you found had an afro and was a pervert."
Sanji's protest died in his mouth. The rest of the group's collective jaws dropped as they too made the connection. The only one who didn't was Luffy, who practically vibrated in place from excitement instead.
"He's a little off-putting, but I guarantee Zoro's not in any danger from him. Not unless he brings it on himself," Roronoa assured them. "I can't believe you didn't-"
He froze mid-sentence— anyone watching closely would have seen his pupil shrink to a pinprick. Without a moment of further hesitation he drew Shusui and the slashed backward.
The Straw Hats were shocked to see a freaking cannonball that had come of nowhere get sliced in half, pieces soaring into the woods on either side behind them.
KABOOM!
The explosion rocked the ground, making the pirates stumble save Usopp and Nami, who fell on their rears.
"What the hell was-?!" Nami started to ask as Sanji helped her up.
"Everyone, move!" Roronoa drew Kitetsu and ran towards the shoreline. "Luffy, with me!"
Luffy followed. "Right!"
As the two pirates approached the water, the group could now hear faint booming sounds coming from within the foggy waters. The booms were accompanied by dozens cannonballs shooting into view. Sanji and his group immediately scrambled out of the line of fire.
"Gum-Gum Balloon!" Luffy shouted, inflating his body until it was indeed as fat and round as a balloon.
Roronoa effortlessly sliced his share of the enemy projectiles in two, the remaining halves exploding harmlessly in the trees. The cannonballs that hit Luffy bounced back in the direction they came, though the fog made it impossible to tell if they actually hit anything.
"Where are these coming from?!" Sanji shouted. He was shielding Nami with his body. Carue had Vivi and Chopper- who'd morphed back into Brain Point- covered, and Usopp hid behind one of the massive tree roots.
Usopp stood up as far as he dared and lowered one of his goggles' lenses. After a moment, he thrust a finger forward towards the water. "Here they come!"
Like a phantom, a ship emerged from the mists and approached the beach, cannon fire ceasing as it sailed closer.
The ship was an enormous galleon. The upper exterior of the ship had thick steel plates, most likely for protection, and the figurehead resembled a snarling ape. Dozens of gun ports were visible in the exterior and just as many nasty-looking cannons were along the rails— there was even one with three barrels under the figurehead. And if the weapons were nasty, the people manning them looked downright sadistic. On the sails and flag, there was a jolly roger of a grinning monkey skull with two rifles crossed behind it.
The rest of crew ran up to join Roronoa and Luffy, the latter having already deflated.
Roronoa snarled. "I recognize the flag. That's the ship that attacked my crew before we got stuck here."
"T-They're bounty h-hunters?" Usopp stuttered. "From t-the New W-World?"
"Zoro-pops," Luffy said, a grin creeping on to his face. He cracked his knuckles. "We can fight these guys, right?"
"Absolutely not," Roronoa replied. He kept his eye on the ship, his voice baring a dangerous edge. "You and the others just stay back, okay?"
Luffy frowned but, remembering his earlier promise, didn't argue. He and the others took a few steps back, though those that had weapons drew them just to be safe.
As the ship drew nearer, gigantic grappling hooks suddenly fired from the figurehead's mouth, latching high onto the trees. A loud cranking sound filled the air as the ship was dragged closer to the beach. Soon the galleon stopped, the keel just touching the pink sand. The crew could see someone standing on top of the figurehead who then jumped down to the beach and nimbly landed on his feet.
It was an extremely muscular man with a thick torso and thin legs. He had a shaved head and there wasn't a single patch of visible skin that didn't bear an elaborate tattoo. He had a huge broadaxe slung across his back and brass knuckles on each hand. He smiled smugly at the pirates as more people started climbing the down the sides of the ship on rope ladders to join the tattooed man.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" he asked with a sneer. "We were given orders to sink a pirate ship, and instead we come across the actual pirates. Aren't we lucky?"
Looks like we were right on the money then, Roronoa thought, eye narrowed. They are looking for a Straw Hat ship, though going off that jab they haven't found Sunny yet.
"Whooooooa!" Luffy crowed. "Look at that guy! He's so colorful; I didn't know people came in that many! So cool!"
The entirety of the rubberman's crew present face-palmed, except Chopper, who was also marveling at the man's tattoos, and Roronoa, who now looked like he'd bitten into something bitter.
"Thank you! My tattoos are my pride and joy; they took years to complete," the man boasted. "My name is Oakes, leader of the Silverback's Protection Unit, and I- WHY THE HELL AM I HAVING A FRIENDLY CONVERSATION WITH YOU?! YOU'RE A FILTHY PIRATE!"
Luffy burst into laughter while his friends stopped facepalming and started sweatdropping at the hunter's reaction. Chopper joined them this time.
This is a New World Bounty Hunter? they all thought.
One of the lackeys who joined Oakes on the beach walked up next to him with a stack of yellowed papers. "We've identified most of them, sir."
"Good," Oakes said tersely. "Read them off."
The lackey nodded and started by pointing at Luffy. "We have 'Straw Hat' Monkey D. Luffy..."
Luffy's grin threatened to split his face.
"...'Pirate Hunter' Roronoa Zoro..."
Roronoa gave him the evil eye.
"...'Cat Burglar' Nami..."
The navigator's hands flew to her face. "No!"
"...'Cotton Candy Loving' Chopper, their pet..."
Chopper's jaw dropped. "Pet?"
Sanji and Usopp snickered at the cutesy epithet. At the same time, Oakes' cocked an eyebrow at the last two names, but didn't comment.
The lackey gestured towards Vivi and Carue. "… These two are unidentified..."
Vivi breathed a sigh of relief. She already knew she didn't have a bounty, but it was still nice to hear it.
Usopp was pointed at next, and the sniper stiffened. The lackey stared hard at the piece of paper (presumably a wanted poster) he held. "...I'm not entirely sure who that guy is, but going off the nose, I'm guessing he's 'King of the Snipers' Sniper King without his mask on."
Usopp's felt like his heart was going to stop. Crap, the whole point of me being on the Merry was so I wouldn't be recognized! He still knew who I was! I'm gonna- did he just call me 'Sniper King?'
The lackey finally got to Sanji, who actually looked excited to hear what his epithet was. However, the lackey gave the cook a blank stare.
"Something wrong?" Oakes asked.
"...I have no idea who this dude is," he admitted.
Sanji's excited smile changed into the face of someone who'd been punched in the stomach. The stooge knew who everyone else was- even the reindeer! He knew he had a bounty in the future, so why wasn't he recognized?
Oakes took the paper from his colleague and examined it. "Hmm… he could be 'Black Leg' Sanji. They have the same curly eyebrow."
The lackey raised an eyebrow at the paper. "If that's true, then the Navy really needs to update his photo. Or hire a better sketch artist."
Roronoa made a quick grunt that sounded like a poor attempt to hold back a laugh.
That's it, Sanji thought. Orders or no orders, I'm going to see my poster.
Oakes shrugged and hefted his axe off his back. "Whatever, I'm sure we can get something for him. Anyway, I don't see Devil Child, Cyborg, or Humming Swordsman here, but there is still a good 643,000,050 berries in bounty before me. It's still lucky for us."
"Good for you; you know public information," Roronoa said dryly. "So what's this all about? I heard that red-eyed bastard say my crew wasn't a priority anymore. You trying to multitask?"
"Ah, you did come across Mr. Vaughan then? I'd gotten a report he killed you, but I guess they were greatly exaggerated. I should've known; it just didn't sound like his style." Oakes shrugged again. "As for your crew being a priority or not, things have changed. I'm under explicit orders to locate and capture your crew. With this many of you here, I'm bound to get nice promotion out this." His eyes scanned the crew critically. "… Especially if I bring in, as it would appear, Runo's escapees."
"Escapees?" Roronoa echoed.
Oakes ignored Roronoa this time and brandished his broadaxe at Luffy. "What do you say, Straw Hat? Come quietly and I promise I'll make this as painless as possible. I guarantee you won't get such an offer from my superiors."
"No way in hell, Tattoos!" Luffy shouted, taking a fighting stance. "I'll beat you into the ground before you can even come near my crew! We'd like to see you try it!"
"No, we wouldn't!" Usopp, Nami, and Vivi argued.
"I'll protect you, Nami-swan and Vivi-darling!" Sanji cooed.
"What about the rest of us?!" Usopp shouted at him.
"Eh, you'll be fine."
"Pet?" Chopper moaned. He was still on that.
"Oi!" Roronoa interrupted. "Settle down! You promised no fighting unless I said so, remember?"
"Come on, Zoro-pops! I just want one punch!" Luffy complained. "Then he's all yours!"
"No means no, Luffy!"
"Hey, who's the captain here?!"
Oakes laughed at the exchange. "Tattattatta! Good for you, Straw Hat! I like my targets to have attitude and guts! I promised everyone on this boat free reign with your crew, so you're getting a fight whether your first mate wants it or not- not that you'll win.
He raised his axe in the air. "I don't care what you're famous for; Kāla will be the island of your defeat!"
A loud gasp came from within the Straw Hat group. Everyone turned to Vivi, who looked stricken. Carue was hugging her shoulders in an attempt to calm her.
"Kāla?" Vivi asked. "Is that where we are?!"
"You know it, Vivi?" Luffy asked.
"I do, but now is hardly the time to explain," she replied.
"Tell us if we get of this alive?" Usopp offered weakly.
"Relax, Usopp," Luffy told him. "It's like I said, I'm strong. I can protect us if I have to."
"You? That's adorable!" the wanted poster lackey mocked.
Luffy turned back forward and tilted his head. "What's that supposed to mean?"
The lackey smirked conceitedly. "Our boss used to be a marine, you know. He said he saw you at Marineford and let me tell you, he was not impressed."
Luffy had no idea what Marineford was, but going off how the rest of his friends were now staring him in horrified astonishment, it had to be important. That being said, since everyone was now paying attention to that lowly bounty hunter, they failed to notice a steely gleam appear in Roronoa's eye.
"I think you kind of missed the point of being there, dude!" the wanted poster lackey went on, visibly holding back laughter. "Good effort, though!"
For some reason this sent many of the bounty hunters on the beach into spiels of laughter, as well some of the ones listening from the ship's sides. Luffy didn't get it beyond it being a mystery future thing. And thus he didn't want to know what it meant. The whole point of his gag order on Roronoa was to prevent himself from learning about his upcoming adventures. It was bad enough these guys spoiled his crew's future epithets for them— after all, to Luffy seeing what name you got on the wanted poster was half the fun.
SHING!
He would have told the bounty too, if their galleon hadn't abruptly split in half.
三
The pair looked in the direction of the sudden noise- like something big and heavy crashing into the ocean.
"How much want you wanna bet Luffy's that way?"
"Now, now, that's a sucker's bet. Our captain is quite the rambunctious fellow."
"Yeah, don't I know it. Let's go."
"Of course… but you're going the wrong way."
"SHUT UP!"
三
Aside from the shing, there was no warning.
One second, the ship was in one piece and the bounty hunters were laughing. The next, it was in two pieces and the crew was screaming, especially those who got cut up along with their vessel. The back half dipped backwards into the ocean, causing many hunters who'd been on deck to fall off. The front half fell towards the beach, forcing Oakes and the men with him to dive of out the way. The front half was big enough that the figurehead got snagged on one of the trees.
The pirates and princess stared at the scene in shock and awe.
"… What just happened?" Usopp said, vocalizing what everyone was surely thinking.
"Good question," Nami said slowly, recovering from slack-jaw.
Chopper somehow recovered from his own shock and pointed his hoof at where the ship split. "Look at that- you see how smooth it is? It's like someone cut it with a giant knife!"
Sanji couldn't stop staring at the shipwreck as memories flooded into his mind. "It's like that one time..."
"What one time?" Vivi asked numbly.
"I once saw Hawkeye Mihawk cut a galleon just like this one in half with only a sword," the chef explained. "They look exactly the same."
"But... how?! Not only is it humongous, it has steel plates reinforcing it! Who can cut steel that easily?" She turned to Luffy. "Luffy, what do you- Luffy?"
The rubberman had stars in his eyes shining so brightly it was actually hard to look at him. He was completely overwhelmed by the coolness of the moment.
"That… was… AMAZING!" Luffy hollered. He waved to the side. "Zoro-pops, did you do this?! You're just like that Hawkeye guy; you're AWESOME!"
The Straw Hats followed his line of sight to the left where Roronoa now stood. He had somehow run over there without the others noticing, feet planted into the sand in disciplined stance. He had also sheathed Kitetsu and now only held Shusui out in front of him.
The corners of his mouth were upturned in satisfaction.
"HE CUT THE SHIIIIIP?!" the Weakling Trio hollered together.
Vivi and Carue could only continue to stare in wonderment.
He's really grown that much stronger… Sanji thought, sweat coating the back of his neck. Like Luffy said, he did the same thing Mihawk did-
A charge ran up the chef's spine. Holy crap, he did something Mihawk did. I know he's only from two years in the future, but is it possible he's already-?!
"WHAT THE IN HOLY BLUE HELL WAS THAT?!" Oakes shouted suddenly, pulling himself out of the sand. His men followed suit. He jabbed his finger towards Roronoa. "You! You did this! Why?!"
Roronoa gave Shusui a twirl before sheathing it and giving the bounty hunters a bored look.
"It was an eyesore," he said.
"Oh, I see," Oakes agreed. "I never liked it myself. The figurehead's hideous and I always thought the- WHY THE HELL AM I AGREEING WITH YOU?! THAT'S NOT A GOOD REASON!"
Luffy started to guffaw, and the rest of group once again sweatdropped.
"Why are you so surprised? I am a pirate." The swordsman smirked. "Besides, you want to turn in my crew to the government. You can't do that if you can't leave the island."
Oakes sputtered as his face flushed with rage. Roronoa had just turned their own strategy against them.
"Very clever," the tattooed man seethed. "Unfortunately for you, nobody screws with the Carrion Bounty Hunters and gets away with it!" He pointed his axe at the swordsman. "Forget the others and kill him!"
Roronoa rolled his eye as the hunters roared and charged, weapons drawn. Quick as wink, he drew all three swords, placing Wado in his mouth. He waited until the enemy was just close enough, then struck.
"Three Sword Style," he said around the hilt of his katana. He raised his blades and swung. "Black Rope: Tatsumaki!"
The name of the attack sounded familiar to the Straw Hats, and some had even seen their own Zoro use it before— but never on this scale. The spinning motion accompanied with Roronoa's swing actually created a twister. Hunters screamed and bled as they were sent flying into the air, their weapons shattering from the cyclone of slashes.
And it wasn't stopping.
"AWESOOOOOOOME!" Luffy declared, joined by Usopp and Chopper who couldn't help themselves.
"There has to be at least twenty of those guys," Nami observed in disbelief. "And he took them out in one move."
"That's our Mosshead- reckless to a fault," Sanji commented with an almost nervous tone.
"… Does he look okay to you guys?" Vivi asked.
There were some blinks of confusion, but now that princess pointed it out, Roronoa didn't look okay. He walked away from the twister as stoic and badass as ever, but his normally tanned skin was ghastly pale and even from a distance they could tell he was panting.
"His injuries, maybe?" Nami theorized.
"They weren't that bad!" Chopper said. He shifted to Heavy Point and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Roronoa, are you alright?!"
"Don't distract him, idiot!" Sanji scolded him.
Whether Chopper distracted him or not, Roronoa was still able to get his swords up in time to block Oakes' axe from splitting him down the middle. For the moment they were at a stalemate as their respective blades scraped against each other.
"Looking tired there, Pirate Hunter!" Oakes taunted. "Need a break?"
"You wish," Roronoa retorted.
Oakes studied the swordsman closely, and when he briefly glanced down he caught a glimpse of glowing pink veins creeping up the right side of his neck from under his clothes.
"Ah, Ms. Yari. That makes sense," he noted in sotto voce. "How can you fight in your condition?"
Roronoa let a sadistic shark grin grace his lips. And with that, the time traveler's muscles bulged as he exerted the force needed to slice Oakes' axe blade to pieces.
"What the-?!" Oakes started to curse as he reeled back.
He didn't get a chance to finish because Roronoa jumped into the air using his face a launching point. Once up, he glared down at the bounty hunter and raised his swords over his head.
"Ultra Tiger Trap!"
As the blades came down and Roronoa along with them, streams of blood sprayed from Oakes' chest. The hunter's eyes rolled into the back of his head and his mouth opened in a soundless scream.
"My condition's not the one you should be worried about," the Pirate Hunter said coldly.
Oakes fell backward just as the Tatsumaki vanished and bodies dropped onto the beach and into the sea.
Roronoa gave the body one last glare, resheathed his swords, and walked over to his friends.
"That was incredible!" Luffy cheered, wildly gesturing his arms. "You were all whoosh and they were gaaaah and it was totally epic!"
Roronoa snorted at the display. "I aim to please, Captain."
Luffy placed his hand on his hip and pointed behind the swordsman. "You gonna take those guys down too, or can we have a turn now?"
Roronoa looked over his shoulder to see over a dozen more bounty hunters crawling out of the water and from the shipwreck. It appeared his earlier destruction of the ship hadn't been enough to take them all out.
"You'll pay for that, bastard!" one of the guys in front shouted as the group stalked towards the pirates.
Roronoa exhaled loudly and moved to draw Shusui. "Hold on."
Chopper clapped a furry hand over Roronoa's, leaning down to look him in the eye. "Don't even think about it, Roronoa! Sit down and let me treat you!"
"I'm fine, Chopper!" Roronoa argued, hitching the collar of his coat up. "I can still beat these guys."
"Or maybe you could let someone else take a shot," Sanji said, trying (and mostly succeeding) to keep the quiver from his words. "Plenty of offense, Mosshead, but you look ready to keel over."
"Yeah, he's right!" Luffy added. "You beat them really easily, so I think that means we're about even with them. Let us try!"
Roronoa was ready to argue the point, but suddenly he stopped. His eye widened a fraction and he smirked.
"No need, Luffy," he said, turning toward the approaching hunters. "It's about to be taken care of."
The Straw Hats looked at each other and were about to ask what he meant by that when-
"Yohohoho! Mr. Zoro!"
-Vivi and Usopp went rigid. They knew that voice.
The bounty hunters were just as surprised as the parted and turned to look at the mystery speaker. The crew could clearly see the flashily-dressed skeleton standing behind their opponents.
"That's it!" Usopp shouted, pointing. "That's the zombie!"
"He found us already?!" Vivi cried out. She chewed her lip. "And it's actually…?"
Nami's eyes were wide with fear. "It's real? That thing is really real and on our…?"
The medical side of Chopper's mind immediately began to label all the bones visible to him, although outwardly he was shaking like a leaf.
Sanji's expression was halfway between terrified and pissed. Terrified of the walking, talking skeleton, and pissed that this was the same crappy pervert who asked to see Vivi's underwear.
"He really does have an afro!" Luffy said with zeal. "He's a real skeleton with a real afro! Shishishi, this is the best day ever!"
"I beg to differ," Zoro commented dryly.
"I'm with Zoro, it's- ZORO?!" Usopp shouted, pointing at the younger swordsman.
Somehow, Zoro was now standing behind the group and wearing a tired, slightly bewildered expression on his face.
"Where did you come from?!" Nami snapped, gesturing furiously at him.
"Where the skeleton was," Zoro replied.
"THAT'S NOT AN ANSWER!"
"Yohohoho, I'm glad to see everyone so lively!" the skeleton spoke up, garnering everyone's attention as it began to strut forward through the hunters. "I was starting to get worried!"
As it moved, spinning its purple cane with all the whimsy of person who wasn't walking through a crowd of vicious enemies, the hunters talked among themselves about this new creature.
"Is that a skeleton?"
"No way, it has to be a mask."
"Skeletons can't walk. They're dead."
"Hey, isn't that Soul King? My sister has all his tone dials!"
"I'm so glad to have found you, Mr. Zoro," the skeleton continued conversationally, ignoring the bounty hunters. "Imagine my surprise earlier when I turned and you had simply vanished. It was a shock to my old heart... well, not that I have a heart anymore. Yohohoho!"
Roronoa rolled his eye, annoyed, and called over, "You're the one who got lost, not me. Where have you been all this time? Is anyone else with you?"
"I've been wandering the jungle looking for Mr. Lion, and no one besides that young man I arrived with," it replied, coming to a stop in front of the crowd. "I did see Mr. Usopp, but he ran for some reason."
The skeleton chuckled, glancing at the gathered crew. "I don't see Ms. Robin or Mr. Franky anywhere, but it looks like you managed to collect everyone! That's great! Now, when were you going to tell us you had a younger brother?"
Roronoa's eye twitched. "It's more complicated than that."
"You don't say?"
"Um, Zoro-pops?" Luffy piped up. "Can we fight now? Just standing here is boring."
"There's no need to," Roronoa reminded him. "I already said it's taken care of."
"What do you mean there's no need to?!" the lackey in front shouted. "We still here and we're ready to slaughter every last one of you!"
"There's no need to because you gentleman have already been defeated," the skeleton answered simply.
"Eh?"
The mist coating the beach started to grow colder, gaining an odd blue hue to it. It sunk into everyone's pores, chilling them from the inside out.
"This chill," Nami shivered. "I didn't sense a change in atmosphere. It isn't natural."
The skeleton held up a sword and a section of its cane; they were one and the same, and yet the crew couldn't place the moment he'd drawn it.
Roronoa shook his head. "He always has to be the showman."
The skeleton began re-sheathing his blade, speaking to the hunters. "You've lost because I've already cut you. Song of Scratches..."
All of the bounty hunters stiffened. Frost spread across their bodies.
He slammed his sword into its sheathe. "...Blizzard Slice!"
Long cuts appeared out of nowhere on the hunters' bodies, but they released no blood. Only thick ice came bursting from these wounds, and all at once, the hunters fell to the sandy ground. The skeleton spun his cane one last time and planted the bottom of it into the ground.
"The cold you feel is the chill of the underworld," he said icily. "Remember it well the next time you contemplate threatening my crew."
That last word echoed in the Straw Hats' ears.
His crew.
"Nicely done, Brook," Roronoa congratulated. He beckoned the Straw Hat musician over. "Now, come on. You have a lot to catch up on."
三
TO BE CONTINUED
