High there everybody, Nigris here! How did you enjoy my last chapter everybody! I hope you enjoyed it! If you didn't, kindly fuck off! Besides this, I would like to report that I shall deviate from canon at some points before straightening back to the original plot to keep it natural. On another note, once we reach the 'Loguetown Arc' things will start to kick up, I promise!

Also, I've gotten a few reviews saying that I'm being too hard on Nami. I apologize, but that is simply who Patrick is. Don't worry; things will be cleaned up between them in the 'Arlong Park' arc, so no worries.

I would like to know if I should give Patrick a second fullbring. If you do, then please tell me what you want it to be and what the object is so I can try and fit it into the story.

Ok then! Let's start!

Chapter 10: A Wacky wonderland

It had been two days since we left the last island and left behind the last arc. I had to say I was a little clueless on a few things. They never actually pointed out just how long they sailed when in between arcs, so I was going to be left blind for a certain amount of time until we reach the next arc.

I had also been spending this short amount of time reminiscing on 'Syrup Village Arc' and the 'Baratie Arc'. Ever since I realized that I was having problems remembering things because of my amnesia, I had become irritable and skittish. I was going to need this information to navigate everyone through each and every arc and stop the worse things from happening. I couldn't make to much deviation from the original plot, or I'd be blind; I did not want to be blind in this world.

So there I sat, on our little dingy with my fist under my chin. I had been like this these two days. Sometimes I would move around and sit in different positions on the ship, but after some time I just decided to settle myself on my usual spot, the left side of the ship.

Zoro hadn't done much really. We had some small talk but that was it. The rest of the time was spent with him just napping. Not that I minded it. Even if he was snoring, it was still rather peaceful outside, which helped me think.

We were on good terms, something that I was going to try and keep. Usually in most insert-fanfics that I've read, the main character got into fights with Zoro, something that I didn't plan on doing. I was going to be friendly, and try not to argue with him.

Nami…well I didn't have any contact with her really. She stayed on her ship and I stayed on mine. Once or twice our eyes would meet before we would look away. We did not like each other a single bit. And while I admit that I went a tad bit far yesterday in our argument, I was not going to apologize.

She was way too annoying and frankly, she got on my nerves. And yeah I know she's suffered a lot with Arlong and everything (Something that I planned to fix) but really, I just did not enjoy that moneygrubber's presence. Interaction was going to be kept to a minimum with her.

Luffy was doing what he was best at. Being annoying. So far, he has either complained about being hungry or board; sometimes he would sing. Usually, I wouldn't have had a problem with that, if it weren't for the fact that he was so off-key that it hurt my ears. Zoro would either wake up or yell at him to shut up or Nami would reach over from her ship and smack him.

Sadly, that did not deter him in the slightest. I had contemplated whether I should smack him with my fullbring (Oh so very tempting), but that could possibly cause more problems. So I just sat there on my side of the ship trying to block out the growing tumor that was Luffy.

Sadly. Peace could only last for so long before chaos rolled in.

"MY HAT! IT'S FIXED!"

I let out a soft growl beneath my breath as I looked up at Luffy. He was holding up his newly repaired hat high in the air while standing at the bow of the ship with a single foot resting on its railing. He was laughing loudly in his happiness, something that I was lacking at the moment.

Zoro was sleeping on the boats ground with his arms bent behind his head to form a makeshift pillow. His three swords were resting by his side. I was actually a little worried for Zoro. Luffy was so close to stepping on his head; one mishap from Luffy and that was it.

"I just mended the cuts was all." Nami commented with a sewing needle in hand. "I think that should do it." She told him. "Just try not to mess with it to much." Nami said to Luffy who was jabbing his hat with his finger.

"STOP THAT YOU MORON!" She yelled while throwing the needle at his head with surprisingly great marksmanship. The needle hit like a dart on a dartboard and Luffy fell over crying in pain clasping his forehead. I could see blood squirting from his head like a fountain.

Zoro yawned before sitting up. "You guys are too noisy! I can't sleep with all this noise." He complained while scratching his moss-colored hair. "What's with all the noise?" It's just Luffy being an idiot. Go back to sleep.

"Hey, I'm hungry!" Luffy called out while getting back up. Was someone going to tell him he still had a needle in his head? He seemed completely oblivious to it. I guess instead of 'Mind over matter.' it's 'Stomach over matter.'

"Yeah, me too." Zoro said while looking at Nami. "Give us some food." That only seemed to make Nami even angrier.

"Geeze, you guys need to be more prepared!" I realized that on day one when Luffy ate the food Nami. "You guys don't bring any food or water and you guys set to see; are you morons!?" It was Luffy's fault. "You guys really underestimated the sea." Nami heaved a sigh.

"Hey, I see something!" Luffy commented while looking off into the distance. At the same time, He reached up to the needle in his head, easily plucked it out, and tossed it into the ocean. While that happened, I saw Nami walk into the indoor area of her ship. She quickly came out of it, a large loaf of bread in hand. She tossed it towards Zoro who easily caught it and took a big bight from it without hesitation.

"Heya' Zoro. Can I have some?" Seeing Zoro eat right in front of me, made my stomach clench a little. Zoro looked at me with annoyance as he tore into it. "Please?" I asked again. We stared at each other for a moment before Zoro tore off a nice sized chunk and gave it tossed it to me. I caught the breach chunk with both hands before looking to our Zoro. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." He said in a rather cool way before digging back into his food. Wow, Zoro was such a nice guy at times.

"That island is no good!" Nami declared, peering through a pair of binoculars. Where did she get those? "It's unpopulated, so it's practically useless! Let's keep going." She him. That's odd, why did I suddenly feel the boat suddenly lunge? And why was Luffy breathing so hardly? It took me a moment to realize that Luffy had taken both oars in hand and was now rowing towards the island.

"Let's if we can find someone who can join our crew their." Luffy said with his usual grin.

"We should look for food too." I said, getting a nod from Zoro. "Nami was right, we weren't prepared for this to happen."

"WOULD YOU MORONS WAIT FOR ME!?" Nami yelled from behind us.

It had taken some time but we had finally made it. Nami had decided to scream and yell at us like there was no tomorrow. And while I didn't exactly enjoy having my eardrums broken, Luffy and Zoro weren't even bothered by it. Well Zoro was asleep…but seriously, how does he do it? Any normal person would've woken up from her shrill shrieking! But Zoro was really the definition of normal now was he.

While I stared at the slumbering form of Zoro, I never even noticed that we had finally made it to the island's shores until I felt the bottom of the boat hit sand. Though the landing wasn't that pleasing since I was nearly thrown on my face, I was glad to be out of the boat. Sure, sailing out in the sea sounded fun, but being kept in such an enclosed space was not very pleasing. So when I saw the uninhabited island covered in a lush forest and large boulders, I could feel a sense of relief.

"There's nothing here but forest!" Luffy shouted out as he hopped off the boat. I stood up from my spot and, with a little work, I was able to make my way off the boat and began my walk to Luffy.

"Like I said, this is an unpopulated island." Nami chimed as she soon joined us. "It would be weird if you found someone for the crew here." Luffy didn't pay attention to her, and instead looked back to the slumbering Zoro.

"Hey Zoro! Get over here!" Zoro didn't even flinch at Luffy's calling.

"Hey you're sleeping!" Luffy said in a rather childishly angry way as he stormed towards the swordsman.

"Don't bother." I called out to him. "Seeing Zoro, it would probably take a bomb to wake him up." That got him to stop. "Let's just let him sleep; he isn't going anywhere." Well unless he woke up and decided to take a look around. We'd be here for a day if that happened since he somehow always got lost.

"Yeah, you're right Patrick!" Luffy said while turning on his and walked towards the forests. "Well let's go!" He cheered. Nami asked where, which he replied. "To the forest! You never know, there could be people inside there!" Luffy sure was an optimistic person, huh.

"There is nothing here!" Nami said trying to stop the idiot. I would've too, but I knew it would be a pointless action. "The only things here are poisonous snakes and wild animals!" True Nami. But Luffy won't stop until proven wrong or gets distracted by a large piece of meat.

"Pock-pock-PUCKACK!"

"Did you guys here that?" I questioned my crewmates why turning my head every which way. "It was weird, like some sorta bird." I commented while searching for the source of said strange sound.

"Yeah, but is sounded of sorta'." Nami agreed, something that we obviously weren't going to be doing often.

"A bird! Hey, maybe we can catch it and eat it!?" Luffy commented with his usual grin as drool dripped from his mouth.

"Do you always have to think with your stomach?" Nami commented with an annoyed tone in it. "An wipe that drool from your mouth! It's disgusting!" At Nami's command, Luffy used his forearm to wipe away the accumulated saliva. Yuck.

"PUCKACK! Pock-pock-pock. PUCKACK!"

"There it is again." Nami said while looking around. "Just what is that?" It sounded a little like a bird but…off.

Suddenly, a bush to our right began to shake a little gaining our attention. And when it finally came out for our eyes to see, I could only raise an eyebrow at the chimera-like creature before me.

I thought I was in the One piece universe. Not that Avatar universe. I thought as I stared at the mashup of animals before me.

It was a fox…and a rooster. Well, more along the lines of a fox with rooster-like characteristics. In the place of its tail were feathers and atop its head was a large red comb and on its chin was a wattle.

"What in the name of god's creations is that supposed to be?" I questioned aloud with scrunched eyebrows and an accommodating frown.

"That thing is not natural." Nami stated while I nodded. I would've expected to see things like that in the grandline, not here.

"Hey, look! What a weird rabbit!" I heard Luffy comment. And I turned around to see Luffy holding the love child of a rabbit and snake, which was rather ironic. It was a snake covered in white fur with a scaly underbelly. Poking out of its head were two rabbit ears.

As I stared at it, I began to question Darwin's law of evolution. I'm pretty sure this thing would've died out in the first few years. Unless it was more like a mule, in which it was a crossbreed of a rabbit and a snake. That meant it would've been sterile because their chromosome numbers wouldn't match equally. Therefore they would've had trouble making sperm and eggs. Or something like that.

But this is the one piece universe, so that really didn't matter.

"It's weird alright! But I think it's more of a mutant snake than a rabbit!" Nami said rather freaked out.

"Than how about that pig over there?" Luffy questioned while pointing at a pig…with a lion's mane.

"That's a pig." I told him. "A weird, mutant pig." I wonder if there was nuclear waist in the water.

"Hehehehehehehe! This island is really weird!" Luffy said jollily while marching further into the forest. Sadly, we were stopped by a booming voice.

"DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!"

"Huh?" Luffy said while looking around for the voice that echoed everywhere. "What was that sound?" He asked confusedly.

This is suddenly starting to look very familiar. I commented inwardly while rubbing my chin. But what is this? I questioned as Nami asked who the voice was.

"ME? I AM THE GAURDIAN OF THE FOREST!" It proclaimed.

"The forest guardian?" Luffy questioned.

"THAT'S RIGHT! IF YOU STILL WANT TO LEAVE, THAN LEAVE AT ONCE!" It bellowed. There was a pause before it continued. "YOU'RE PIRATES AREN'T YOU!?" It questioned.

"Yes!" Luffy answered.

"Why did he ask that?" Nami labeled it as a 'he'…I feel like that's relevant.

"SO YOU ARE PIRATES!" It accused us.

"Why did it ask that?" Nami questioned.

"LISTEN WELL, DON'T TAKE A SINGLE STEP FURTHER INTO THE FOREST!" It commanded us. "OR ELSE YOU WILL FACE… THE FOREST JUDGEMENT!" The forest judgment, huh? That didn't sound that bad actually.

"Who cares!?" Luffy said while making a 'humph' sound. "What a weird guy." Luffy insulted.

"HEY, THE BRAT WITH THE STRAWHAT, WHAT DID YOU SAY!?" He yelled at Luffy angrily.

"Where are you, come out!" Nami yelled.

"It looks like that voice is coming from over there." I said while pointing at an area further in the forest. Luffy decided to check it out and began to walk towards it.

"HEY! I TOLD YOU NOT TO COME CLOSER!" The voice yelled at us. But Luffy didn't pay any attention to it and continued forward.

"FINE THEN! RECEIVE THE FOREST JUDGMENT!"

Just what the heck is 'Forest Judgment' anyway-.

-BANG-

"Ugh!"

I jumped at the sudden sound of gunfire and a cry of pain from Luffy and turned to look at my idiot captain. His vest had bin pierced by his heart, and judging by the way his skin was stretching around that area, I could only assume that he had been shot.

I was proven right when with a shout his skin snapped back into place and something, most likely a bullet, was sent whizzing into the forest. Everything was really quiet for a moment before the 'Guardian of the forest' spoke again.

"Huh!?" It cried out. It suddenly had lost its loud, echoing force behind its words also.

"What a shock." Nami sighed out while gripping her chest. "That was a bullet right? So bullets don't affect you?" She questioned.

"No. But that sure did surprise me!" Luffy commented while he re-adjusted his hat.

"What…what kind of thing are you?" It questioned in shock.

"That's our line!" I fire back while walking in a certain direction. I think I could finally here the direction from where it was coming from. "The bullet came from over here." I told them. Nami and Luffy fallowed after me, probably to see just who this bastard was.

"Look there's a pistol!" Nami said while pointing at the flintlock-like pistol, lying on the ground, the end of the barrel still smoking. It was placed right next to…a chest with a ball of green fur growing out of it? What?

"What?" I voiced my confusion over the strange object before me. I crouched down next to it to get a better look. It smelled like sweat, fish, and crap. This thing was not sanitary.

"What the heck is this thing?" Luffy questioned while joining my side.

"It doesn't look very normal." Nami commented. I reached out with my right hand to poke at the giant fuzz ball sitting on top of the chest.

Sadly. It ran away

Two big feet popped out of the bottom of the chest and it zoomed away. While Nami and Luffy let out cries of surprise I was still frozen in the same exact position. I was not expecting that! Sadly, the running box didn't make far before it tripped and fell over.

We all looked at each other before walking over to the runaway chest. As we stood over it, it grunted and wobbled as it tried and failed to get up. Luffy, being the great guy he was put his foot on it, and rolled it over.

What we got was a chubby face with an unkempt black beard and big mouth. It had connected eyebrows and the large grin fuzz ball was actually a giant green afro.

"Why don't you guys lift me up!?" It- no he yelled at us as he struggled to get to his feet.

"Wow, it's a man." Nami said while staring down at him.

"What an interesting cauliflower head!" Of love how you can relate just about everything you see to food.

Oh wait a minute! Now I remember! I thought, pleased that my mind had offered up to me the information I was looking for.

"WOULD YOU LIFT ME UP ALREADY!"

We did lift him up. He was the only person here that could give us answers after all, so it seemed only right. While Gaimon (From what my memories told me) wasn't very trusting of us, Luffy was more than glad enough to try and befriend him. It didn't take long from there as Luffy's bright and jolly attitude grated against Gaimon. I guess he didn't see a threat in the jolly idiot. He quickly apologized to us after.

After gaining some of his trust, he said he would lead us out of the forest and to a different section of the island's shores. On the way, Gaimon asked how he stopped the bullet, which Luffy replied with 'I ate the Gum Gum fruit!'; Gaimon was rather shocked to say the least.

When we finally made it to the other shore, I could only make a comparison between them. The first one had sand, this one was full of large rock formations, and not a single grain of sand was in sight. At the moment we were all sitting on some of the many large rock formations. Gaimon just stood there, seeing as he was stuck in the chest.

"So you ate the Gum Gum fruit…" Gaimon began. "…it's one of those devil's fruit right?" he inquired. "I've heard about those before, but I've never actually met someone who ate that kind of fruit." He explained to us.

"Well this is the first time I've met someone who's stuck in a treasure chest." Luffy said with a grin. "You're just like a jack-in-a-box!"

"Yeah…my parents took care of me when I was still small-ARE YOU AN IDIOT!" Gaimon shouted at Luffy. "I got stuck in here and I can't get out!" Yep. That's how it went. And he's been-…"I've lived on this island like this for 20 years!" Yep. Gaimon has been on this island for 20 years.

"What!? 20 years! You've been living on this island alone for 20 years!?" She said with shock.

"Yes…20 years." He said with a sigh.

I really didn't like this episode. Not because it wasn't good, but because it was pretty sad. I mean, Gaimon has been stuck on this island, in a box, for 20 years; no other human life anywhere. And he can't even reach the treasure he's been trying to get because A) He's stuck in a box. And B) The treasure wasn't here anymore!

Poor guy. I thought with a soft sigh.

"That's really stupid." Luffy said bluntly.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!?" Gaimon yelled in anger. "I'M GONNA' KILL YOU!" After he led out a frustrated sigh and closed his eyes. "20 years…what a long time. My hair and mustache have already grown this long, and even my eyebrows have connected." Opening his eyes, he looked at all of us. "I haven't talked to anyone in 20 years." God that sounded depressing. Really depressing.

Luffy stared down at Gaimon soundlessly, something that I found to be a little foreboding. And I was right. Luffy went up behind him, gripped him by his upper jaw and began to pull. Our cauliflower-like friend began to cry and yell as Luffy yanked and tugged; every word was mangled.

IT HUWTS! IT HUWTS! WHAH DA HALL AR YOU 'OING!" He tried to yell over Luffy's constant tugging. "SHTAP! MY NACK ISH GONNA BREK!" I was curious as to why Nami or I hadn't even stopped Luffy yet. I'm sure that I, a good samaritan such as I, would have quickly tried to stop Luffy and his shenanigans. So what happened to me that would make not do this I wonder?

I blame One Piece. It was the only answer.

"Why can't I pull you out!" Luffy grunted out. Before letting go. With a sigh, he returned back to his original seat as Gaimon's stubby hands were reached up to his mouth as he groaned in pain. That groaning quickly gave way to anger as he turned to Luffy and began to yell, something he's been doing a lot since we've met him.

"You're crazy! I haven't moved in years!" Gaimon's rage-induced yelling had zero effect on Luffy, who was currently picking his nose. "My body and this Treasure chest have already become one! If you are going to forcefully pull me out, my body would be done for!" Well, I suppose being stuck in a treasure chest would do that to you. Though I'm pretty sure by that time the chest would've broken by now.

"But how did you get stuck on this island?" Nami asked.

Gaimon went on to explain how he was a pirate, something that caught Nami's and Luffy's interest. It soon lead to a discussion on the 'Red Line' and the 'Grand Line', as well as where it was located because Luffy and Gaimon couldn't read maps for shit. I decided to stay quiet through this because frankly, I knew all this information.

Talk quickly shifted as Gaimon explained why he was stuck on this island because that treasure (Which sadly wasn't there) which was atop that large rock-hill, how he had gotten stuck in the treasure chest, and how his crewmembers left him behind. Gaimon then told us how he was protecting this island this past 20 years from pirates who were also after the treasure with his 'Forest Judgment' thing.

"But I've been stuck in this chest for the past 20 years, protecting the treasure!" He yelled out loudly. "That treasure is all mine!" He proclaimed at the top of his lungs.

"Your right!" Luffy agreed. "That treasure is yours uncle cauliflower!" Did Luffy even remember his name?

"Okay Gaimon! We're going to help you bring those treasure chests down!" Nami said. I really wanted to say she wanted it for herself, but I knew in reality that she wasn't that bad of a person. She had morals.

"What? Is that true?" Gaimon questioned in shock. "That's very nice! I knew I hadn't misjudged you all!"

"Aren't you a professional thief that steals from pirates?" Stop trying to destroy my new, barely stable, outlook on Nami Luffy.

Nami voiced her thoughts on what Luffy said too. "Don't speak nonsense! I have principles too ya' know!"

"Well, if we're going to help you out, than you're going to have to show us just where it's at." I told him while getting up from me seated position. "So Gaimon, do you mind helping us out so we can help you out?" I asked him with a smile.

Gaimon smiled, showing of a missing tooth. "Yeah!" He said while waddling away in the forest's direction. "Follow me, I'll lead you there." When he said that, we all followed after his small form.

It didn't take long for us to reach the cliff structure he was talking about. I was able to spot it just as we re-entered the forest. And as we got closer to it found myself having to tilt my head higher every few steps. And when we finally reached it, I could finally get a better grasp on the sheer size of it. All in all, it had to have been twenty meters tall, give or take a foot.

You'd have to be insane to climb that thing without climbing gear. I thought with a frown before turning my eyes to the man we were doing this for. And Gaimon climbed this thing with his bare hands. Ok, that was awesome! It wasn't one piece awesome, but it was real world awesome!

"Here it is." Gaimon said. "It's been a long time…since I've been here." He said in a reminiscing tone. "I haven't trusted anyone who's come to this island; anyone who saw me like this probably wouldn't believe me anyways." A large grin spread on his face. "I've waited for this day for so long! Today is the happiest day of my life!"

I really wanted to do something, I really did. But what exactly could I do? Sure I know that in most insert fanfics that main character would try and change things for the better. Sure, I planned on doing that, but there wasn't really anything I could do here. So no matter how depressing I found it I would have to live with it. The only thing I could do was feel good that it ended on a happier note at least.

"Okay, go for it!" Nami said while putting her hand on Luffy's shoulder. He looked back at her with a raised eyebrow.

"You want me to go up there?" He asked.

"Of course! Do you think I could climb that!?" She told him in that bossy manner of hers.

"We're counting on you strawhat kid!" Gaimon cheered.

"Yep. Go for it Luffy! Get the treasure Luffy!" I encouraged…well tried to sound encouraging. It wasn't really fun knowing how this was going to end; there was no anticipation like in the anime and manga. On top of that, how can I sound happy and cheerful when I know this is going to end badly? I may be good at lying and faking a smile, but there was no way I was doing it here.

"Ok! Up we go!" He yelled before swinging his right arm forward. I was able to here Gaimon gasp in shock when Luffy's arm stretched, shot up, and grasped the ledge of the cliff. The rest of Luffy quickly followed by as he was shot up into the air and landed on top. He quickly disappeared from peripheral view when he backed away from the edge.

As this ensued, I kept my face blank except for a frown. I was almost trying not to sigh. This was like reading Oedipus Rex for the second time; you knew it would end badly.

Luffy came back to the edge, holding one of the empty treasure chests, his face was completely shadowed over by the shadow his hat was casting. "There really are treasure chests up here!" He called down. "There are five of them!" Yeah, five empty ones.

I huffed as Gaimon and Nami grinned with elation. "That's great!" He called back, cupping his stubby arms around his mouth. "Quickly, drop them here! Just don't hit me! Wahahahaha!"

"No way!" The next words Luffy yelled caused a slight silence as the others tried to cognize what he just said. After a moment, Gaimon let out a soft, confused 'Huh?'. It was the kind that you make when you've worked so hard towards a goal for so long, only to have what you wanted taken away right in front of you.

Nami wasn't as quiet as the man next to her. "Stop joking around already! Just drop the treasure chests!" Oh Nami, only if you knew… "Hurry up and drop them to me!" She yelled up with agitation.

"No way!" He yelled back, only inciting more of Nami's rage.

"Fine then! Don't you ever come down here again!" She yelled as hard as her lungs would let her. Gaimon was oddly silent. His eyes were casted downward and were shadowed by a combination of his afro and the position of the sun. I could see pinpricks of tears in the corners of his eyes.

"Don't worry about the treasure!" His voice was slightly strained. "It's ok…if he doesn't want to drop them here." He finished.

Nami's head snapped down to stare at Gaimon in shock. "How can you say that!? That's your treasure!" She yelled at him with disbelief. He didn't answer as his lower lip quivered a little. Mine was too. Instead he decided to look up at Luffy with a big smile.

"Strawhat kid…you…you are a good person." He said with joy as his tears grew and quickly began to trail down his eyes. Luffy had sat down, the treasure chest placed next to him.

"W-what!? What are you saying!?" Nami yelled in a small fit of hysteria.

"Actually…I've thought about it before." Gaimon finally said before he took in a deep inhale of breath. "It might've been a possibility…but I've never tried to think on it." He tried to say as tears flowed down his cheeks in waves.

"The treasure chests…are empty aren't they?" He questioned while wiping away his pouring tears.

God damnit. I thought as a loan tear dripped down my eye. God fucking damnit all! I was a tough guy, physically and mentally. I'm not one to cry and I sure as hell am not going to do it anytime soon. But this was…really heart wrenching! This guy, Gaimon, spent 20 years of his life trying to get that treasure! Twenty years! I want someone to look me dead in the eye and tell me that wasn't depressing! It was always the depressing sad stuff that tugged at my heartstrings!

I was always told that I was big softy on the inside. I thought with a sniff while gazing at the crying Gaimon. And they were right; I was a big softy on the inside. Not that I would admit that. The day that happened was the day Zoro gained a sense of direction and Sanji swung the other way. So never.

"They're all empty!" Luffy yelled back down.

"The treasure actually did exist." He said between sniffles. "But by the time we found it other people had taken it already." Another tear ran down my check so eye wiped it away. Damn it! I would not cry! Get back in there tear! Get the fuck in there!

"That can't be. The treasure you've guarded for 20 years…were just a bunch of empty chests." She mumbled out in shock of the entire situation.

"I guess that makes sense." I finally said after so long of keeping silent. "The east blue is a big place; massive really. It's not really surprising that something like happened once you think about it." I spoke with a solemn tone as I explained.

"WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!"

And of course only Luffy would, and could, laugh in a moment like this. He was too jolly of an idiot to do anything else but laugh and giggle. Geeze, sometimes I wished I had the mentality to do that, laughing off every little problem.

"Don't be disappointed uncle cauliflower!" Luffy told him with his usual grin. "You meeting us after 20 years is a really good thing too!" He yelled down. "'Cause if it had been 30 years you might've already been dead!" I could see tears still falling from Gaimon's face. But judging from the smile now blemishing his face, they were probably tears of joy.

"Don't worry, there's still the great treasure the one piece!" Luffy told him. "It's waiting for us out there; will you join us uncle!?" He asked.

Gaimon was stunned with the question. He gulped before speaking. "You…you…you're inviting me?" He questioned with shock and joy.

From what I remember, Luffy did try and recruit Gaimon. Well that was true. But he also tried to get a zombie tree man and a unicorn to join also. Actually, he's pretty much asked everything unnatural (By one piece standards) to join his crew. So I guess that's why he's asking him to join too. I really wanted to think it was for some deeper reason but…this was Luffy.

Oh well, not like it matters to me. Even if he did join, something that was not in canon, it's not like I could complain about it. I'm the first-mate after all, not the captain. On top of that, it doesn't matter if he is canon or not. As long as I don't deviate from the plot too much, I should be ok.

"So let's see what happens." I mumbled quietly beneath my breath while staring at Gaimon.

The rhythmic crashing of the waves gave an almost peaceful feeling at the shores. Though I thought that it would've been better without the smell of salt water and Zoro's deafening snores, it was rather nice in my opinion.

We had headed back to the shore where Zoro and our ship were soon after Gaimon gave us his answer. The answer: No.

"Uncle…are you sure you want to stay on this island?" Luffy asked Gaimon.

"I'm sure." He said with a smile. "I thank you for inviting me on your journey, but I still want to be the forest guardian." He told him.

"Why's that?" Nami asked.

"Because there are so many rare animals on this island." Rare he says. More like freak accidents. "There were many people who've come to this island for them, and they've grown precious to me in these 20 years. I can't leave them behind!" He explained with enthusiasm.

"You're a rare an precious animal too, uncle!" Was that Luffy's way of giving a compliment?

"I'm gonna' kill you!" Gaimon yelled before giving a sigh. It seems he's learning the antics of Luffy. "Now that I know the treasure is gone, I feel somewhat relieved. I can live on this island peacefully." He told him.

"It's a shame you can't come with us. You're an interesting person uncle!" Luffy told him.

"I'm sure you'll find good companions for your journey!" Yeah, we will. One's a cyborg and another's a skeleton musician. "And find the one piece. Then by the whole world!" Not the words I'd use, but ok.

"That's right, I can do it!" Luffy said while hopping onto our ship. Me an Nami soon followed after. "See ya!" He said while waving to Gaimon.

Gaimon flashed a large grin and said back. "Goodbye! And good Luck!"

As our ships sailed away from the islands, I was seated in what I had dubbed my seat on the small ship: the left side. The sun was currently setting, turning the ocean into shining sea of fire. While I stared at the disappearing island we had just left, and the interesting man we had met, I could only think one thing.

Though it wasn't the best episode, it sure was interesting.

Makes you think what other crazy things I'm gonna' see. I told myself while shutting my eyes, preparing to hunker down and sleep.

Oh well, I'll find out tomorrow. For now, I'll sleep.

Finally done! Though some people don't really enjoy this episode/chapter, this one is one of my favorites that is not in any of the arcs. It's really hard to explain actually; I just enjoy it. The story behind it is short and sweet, there are funny parts, sad parts; overall it's good! Anyways, until the (Hopefully soon) next chapter, goodbye!

Nigris Out…