So...
Before we begin, I am so terribly sorry to all of the people who waited for the next update... I had a lot of things going on such as school, summer camps, etc. Also, I almost lost complete interest in the story at one point. Nevertheless, I got back into it in order to make all of you proud. The main thing that prevented me from continuing this is League of Legends XD. I play that thing every day and I lose track of time (I never get any better) :X. Add me if you want since I'm almost ALWAYS online and the most active there. Message me if you want for anything you want to happen in this story such as pairings. Since I'm keeping Luffy asexual here like in the anime/manga, I'll always have him oblivious to affection, but I guess I can make cute moments too. Idk I'll see about that. Anyways, I went back to my previous chapters and improved some things/took some things out. See if you can tell which :D As Always...
Fav, Follow, Review, and Enjoy! X3
Summoner name: Grand Celestia
"It's an island!" Luffy said.
Everyone glanced over to where the captain was pointing and, as if by magic, the fog began to slightly raise revealing a large, misshapen silhouette. As the Going Merry cruised closer, the Straw Hat crew, as well as their captives, could see that Luffy was telling the truth. The land was covered in abnormally sized cacti of various proportions.
"So this is Whiskey Peak…" Sanji murmured. "It's a really funny looking island."
'Wait till you meet their inhabitants.' Luffy thought.
He smiled a bit as he remembered his crewmates' interaction with the welcoming denizens and how they all slowly passed out from partying too hard. That glowing grin faltered a bit as Mr. 9's mocking voice spoke.
"Well then, we'll be leaving now." he said with a smirk.
When the crew looked over, Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday were crouching on the edge of their ship.
"Thanks for taking care of us, honeys."
"If we're linked by fate, we'll meet again!"
'You have no idea..' Luffy chuckled.
"Bye bye, baby!"
With those parting words, the two agents leapt backwards into a flip and plunged into the ocean only to quickly swim towards the island.
"They're gone…" Nami whispered.
"Who on earth were they?" Usopp asked.
'Better question is why no one stopped them…' Luffy thought. He glanced back at Whiskey Peak and saw that they were nearing at a rapid pace.
"It doesn't matter! We're landing!"
Once the Going Merry had finally landed, the crew, excluding the captain, were surprised to find that the inhabitants were incredibly welcoming instead of hostile towards the pirates. A tall man with three giant curls in his hair introduced himself as Igaram, the mayor of the little town. He approached them with a smile and offered to celebrate their arrival with a grand party. Despite knowing that it was a trap, Luffy accepted the proposal since his crewmates needed a break after everything they've been through. The crew drank, ate, and laughed to their heart's content until eventually they slowly passed out from exhaustion, one by one.
That night….
"So they wore themselves out partying and fell asleep.. Sleep tight, adventurers." Igaram mused. He slowly turned to look up at the moon. "Again, the Cactus Rocks look beautiful tonight, dancing under the moonlight."
"You're such a poet, Igaram, no, Mr. 8."
Said man kept gazing at the moon as Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday jumped off the roof of the house they were perched upon.
"What happened to them?" Miss Wednesday asked.
"They've fallen…" Mr. 8 turned to address them. "to hell."
Just then, the door to the room where the party was held opened to reveal the nun who drank against Nami.
"Jeez, since they were stubborn I added a little bit of alcohol to their drinks. If I hadn't, they would still be up and having a good time." She paused to remove her robe. "But was it really necessary to put up this act just for five weak looking brats?"
"Calm down, Miss Monday. Look at this, I checked them out beforehand." Mr. 8 pulled out a bounty poster for a certain straw hat wearing pirate.
"One hun-One hundred million berries?! Ehhh?!" The three agents gawked in disbelief.
"I'm afraid so. It's very foolish to judge a pirate based on their looks Miss Mon.. *cough* Ma-ma-ma.. Miss Monday." Igaram chided.
"S-Sorry." she said.
"But anyways," he continued. "We have already settled so now we can send a report to the boss. Confiscate all of their money and goods from their ship immediately. As for them…" Mr. 8 paused, leaving the agents in an ominous silence.
"Capture them, alive if you can!" he commanded.
"Hey, sorry but…" The three agents quickly looked behind them to see Roronoa Zoro sitting cross legged on the house near them. "Do you mind leaving them alone?They're all exhausted from the journey this afternoon." he finished.
"You bastard… I thought you were completely asleep!" Mr. 8 yelled with a sweatdrop of worry.
"Swordsmen never make the mistake of letting their guard down too much…" Zoro smirked. He looked down at the arriving, armed citizens. "So, let me get this straight. This is a nest of bounty hunters. You fool pirates who are in high spirits after entering the Grand Line." He slowly got up and examined his opponents.
"A hundred of you, huh? I'll fight you all… Baroque Works."
"H-How do you know our company's name?!" Mr. 8 demanded. By now, all of the present Baroque agents were quaking in fear at the demon glaring down at them.
"When I used to be a bounty hunter myself, I was recruited by your company once." he spoke. "Naturally, I rejected it."
"Humph. I see… We can't leave you alive then." Mr. 8 said slowly. "Kill him!" He commanded while pointing at Zoro. Suddenly, the swordsman disappeared…
...only to reappear in the midst of the shocked crowd.
"Heheh.. Shall we?" he said with a menacing grin.
"Uhhh… Where am I?" Luffy murmured. He yawned and blinked repeatedly to adjust his vision as he stood up. Which wasn't an easy feat considering how bloated his belly was. He looked down at his body and sighed.
'Shoot, I overslept and ate too much like last time. I guess some things are out of my control.' Luffy thought. He needed to digest the food he ate quickly or it would greatly hinder his performance in battle. An explosion cut off his train of thought.
"Augh! I cut his booger!" Zoro screamed in disgust. Luffy smiled and ran towards the origin of the yell.
"Zoro!" At once, everyone glanced towards the Straw Hat captain. Luffy slowed down to observe the scene before him: Vivi was on her giant pet duck, Carue, behind Zoro and in front of them were the two Baroque agents Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine.
'Booger flicker and lemon lady.' Luffy sighed. They needed to beat the two Baroque agents quickly before Vivi gets even more injured. He looked at Zoro.
"Oi, Zoro. You ready?" Luffy said while taking a fighting stance. His first mate smirked and mirrored his stance.
"Che, I didn't need your help. But this will be easier." Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine glanced between the two in confusion. Suddenly, Luffy disappeared and reappeared in front of Mr. 5, catching him off-guard. He then pulled back a fist and let loose a merciless Gum Gum Pistol onto the bomb-man's stomach. The force sent the agent hurling into a stack of crates as a reddish blur. Miss Valentine could only watch in horror as her colleague lay unmoving with a bloody face and a blank-eyed gaze.
"He's not dead by the way, he's just knocked out." Luffy said quickly.
"Shame." Zoro scoffed. He began to run towards the petrified Miss Valentine until she snapped out of her stupor before he could get too close. Panicked, the Kilo Kilo human jumped high into the air and began to gradually drift higher using her devil fruit ability as well as her parasol.
"Grrr, I'll teach you not to mess with me! Take this! 10,000 Kilogram Press!" she exclaimed before rapidly plummeting down towards Zoro. He simply turned and let her plunge straight into the ground next to him, creating a crater.
"Hey Luffy, next time let me handle these battles on my own." Zoro said as he stared at Miss Valentine with a deadpan expression. "These guys are embarrassments." He couldn't bear to look anymore when she began to struggle to get unstuck out of the ground.
"Luffy! Zoro!" They turned to look at an approaching Nami. "Oh! Princess Vivi, you're alright!"
"Thanks to these two." Vivi gestured towards the captain and his first mate.
"Let's get you somewhere safe." Nami said. Eventually, the four hid behind a couple houses and discussed what to do from there. Luffy grinned as his belly finally digested and returned his body to normal size.
"Ahh, feels good to be fit again!" he said while stretching out his arms. Nami rolled her eyes.
"Just don't eat as much, idiot!"
Vivi sighed after revealing Baroque Works' plan to take over the Alabasta Kingdom. She looked up at the pirates.
"Guys, I'm grateful for your help, but your lives will be put in danger as well. As strong as you may be, you'd never stand a chance against one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Crocodile!"
Silence.
"Who?" Zoro asked. Nami stared in horror at Vivi and then violently began to shake her.
"Why would you say that?! Now we are all going to be killed!" She yelled while crying in a comedic fashion. Nami abruptly stopped once she heard the sound of something landing on the roof near them. She slowly turned to see that there was an otter and a vulture wearing shades, looking down at them. Nami began to walk out.
"Well, it was nice knowing you guys, but I value my life! You're on your own!" she said. The otter stopped her in her tracks with well-drawn sketched portraits of the three present Straw Hat members.
"Wow! That's so good!" Nami clapped while the otter bowed in return. Immediately as she turned to her friends, she regained her crying expression.
"Now there is nowhere to run!" Vivi tried to comfort her, but the damage had been done.
Luffy sweatdropped. 'I will never understand women.'
Vivi could only stare blankly at the flaming remains of the ship her companion was on just a moment ago. She chewed on her lip hard enough to draw blood. The straw hat covered Luffy's eyes as he ran to wake Usopp and Sanji. He already knew Igaram would survive. This could only mean one thing…
'Robin...welcome back.'
After searching for Carue and getting everyone on board, the Going Merry set sail. Luffy waited expectantly for Robin to show up on their ship.
"It's good we finally managed to escape the people chasing us!" said a smooth voice.
"That's for sure!" Nami said. 'Right on time!' Luffy smirked.
"We need to make sure we don't crash the ship into the rocks." continued the voice.
"Just leave it to me!" Nami boasted.
More silence ensued…
"Hey, Luffy.. Is that you speaking?" she asked. "Nope." came the reply. Nami slowly turned around with growing dread.
"This is a nice ship."
Everyone immediately turned around towards the stranger. Vivi gasped.
"Miss All Sunday?!" she exclaimed. Nami looked at the princess.
"What number is she partnered to?" she asked. Vivi gulped before responding.
"She's the partner of Mr. 0... the boss of Baroque Works!"
"Eh?! Crocodile?!"
Luffy stared at Robin as she smiled back at him. Suddenly, she grabbed his hat using her devil fruit powers.
"So you're the infamous captain of the Straw Hat pirates. Monkey D. Luffy…" she said putting an emphasis on D. Luffy frowned in annoyance.
"Oi, gimme my hat back!" he demanded. Robin merely continued smiling and put the straw hat on top of her own.
"How unlucky. A wanted princess being protected by a mere handful of pirates... But what's even unluckier is the course your Log Pose indicates. The name of the next island is Little Garden." she said in a patient tone. "You will be wiped out before you can reach Alabasta. Don't you think letting your adventure end so soon is a bit foolish?" she said while throwing an Eternal Log Pose to Vivi and returning Luffy's trademark straw hat. Vivi looked at the item in suspicion.
"With that, you will be able to skip past Little Garden. It is the safest way to reach Alabasta-" Luffy cut off Robin abruptly by grabbing the gift and crushing it in his left hand. He looked up at her while dodging a swift kick from Nami.
"There's no need. No matter what you throw at us, we'll be ready to fight back." he said.
'Besides I need to revisit Dorry and Broggy and prevent their fight from being interrupted.'
Robin's calculating gaze seemed to see right through the captain. Finally, she spoke.
"I see. That's too bad." she said as she got up. "I don't hate high-spirited people." Robin looked back and smiled for the final time at Luffy.
"If you survive, let's meet again." He grinned widely.
"I look forward to it, Robin!" Luffy immediately froze and covered his mouth. He glanced up at Robin to see she was staring at him even more intently in shock and confusion. With a sweat drop, the captain turned around.
"Till we meet again…" he said as he walked away. 'I'll explain the next time we meet.' As if reading Luffy's thoughts, Robin nodded, jumped onto her giant turtle, and rode away. The remaining members of the Going Merry stared in bewilderment at the interaction. Zoro gazed at his captain with a suspicious look, but chose to say nothing. Meanwhile, Luffy was nearly having a heart attack at his crucial mistake. 'How could I say that?! I had one job and I screwed it up!' he kept repeating in his mind. The crew eventually dropped the subject in order to lessen the tension in the air.
"For now, it looks like our destination is set." Zoro said as he got ready to take a nap. Sanji puffed a wisp of smoke. "Little Garden, huh?" he said.
"W-Will we really be alright there?" Usopp asked with worry. Luffy looked back at his crew and grinned slightly, trepidation dissipating.
"Who knows! I can't wait!"
Next Time:
The Straw Hat crew make their way to Little Garden, where the two giants Dorry and Broggy lurk. More Baroque agents show up as well as the return of two recently beaten up ones. Will Luffy's crew be put in danger of becoming candle statues? Or will Luffy fall victim to Miss Goldenweek's power? Also, how long will the pirate king's secret last? Not long if he keeps making slip-ups...
TO BE CONTINUED...
This chapter took me around 8 hours in total... I had to go back to check for any errors and look at moments from the anime. I made it long in hopes that you guys forgive me for the 2.. year.. hiatus... Eheh... :F Don't give up hope on me yet! Throughout those years, I have always been reading your reviews and I jumped with joy whenever I got a new Favorite or Follow! I love every single one of you guys! Thank you for being with me up until now!
Fav, Follow, Review, and Enjoy! X3