Chapter 10: Clown's Defeat, Who's Marx?
"Come out you pirates, I'm going to beat you right here for destroying my town!"
The mayor was shouting these words with conviction, standing there confident, ready to meet his foes.
He could hear every step, of every pirate as they walked over to see what was causing the racket. They appeared, a circus of pirates, all funny looking, but ready to kill at a moments notice. The figure up front shouted, "Who are you? Leave now old man before you get hurt! Gye heh heh heh!"
The old mans eyes hardened, "I'm here to- oof."
He collapsed. Luffy stood behind the mayor's body, a fist where his head was.
"LUFFY! WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!"
Luffy looked behind him, "I was stopping him from getting hurt." He picked up the unconscious mayor, and brought him to the side.
"You! Your that straw brat! I have a bone to pick with you! You and that hat reminds me just like that red haired bastard."
Luffy looked up, "You know Shanks? I got this from him."
The clown looked down at Luffy. "OF COURSE I KNOW WHO SHANKS IT! THAT SOULESS RED HAIRED PRICK RUINED MY LIFE!" he started to hyperventilate. "I'M RIDDING OF THAT HAT! IT'S AN INSULST TO ME, THE FLASHY BUGGY!"
Buggy's hand holding three knives between his fingers, detached from his arm, launching towards Luffy's head.
Nami was the only one that was freaked out. 'Monster!'
Luffy's face was shadowed by the rim of the hat, and as the hand approached. He gripped the hand before they pierced that hat, and began to crush it.
Buggy began to scream, "OW! LET GO! LET GOOO!"
Luffy threw the hand back at Buggy, "Don't touch my treasure, this is important to me!"
Buggy scowled, and yelled, "MEN GET THE BUGGY BALL READY!"
Hearing this Luffy and Zoro showed no reaction, Nami on the other hand, was terrified. "We need to get out of here, that thing is going to kill us."
Zoro didn't say anything.
Luffy, staring at Buggy said, "No, I'm good."
Nami felt sweat drip down the side of her face. 'These idiots need to get out of the way, well it's not my life!.'
Nami ran to the side, and watched to two, as a cannon was dragged out, and aimed at Zoro and Luffy. Zoro looked too Luffy, who nodded. Zoro put one hand on a sword.
Nami wanted to scream for them to get out of the way. Time seemed to slow to her. She watched as the two stood there. It was all over now. Luffy couldn't survive this twice. They were going to be taken by it. The fuse already burned down… 3… 2… 1…
BANG
The cannon ball was about to hit Luffy. She watched as Zoro seemed to blur to her, then the cannon ball splitting in half exploding to either side of Luffy. Time caught back up to her.
'What happened?'
Buggy looked angry. "You, stop cutting my Buggy Bombs! Accept your flashy deaths!"
Luffy looked up, and suddenly both arms extended back as he rushed forward, surprising Nami.
GUM GUM
Luffy got right in front of Buggy, who was too surprised at the stretching limbs to move. The other pirates were too slow.
BAZOOOKA!
Buggy was launched off the Island itself.
"CAPTAIN BUGGY!"
Luffy looked at all of them, "Leave!"
And leave they did. Luffy walked back too Zoro and Nami. Nami, slack jawed and wide eyed, yelled, "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT! ARE YOU SOME SORT OF MONSTER?!"
Luffy looked confused, "No, I'm a rubber man, I ate the Gum Gum fruit. See." And he proceeded to stretch his mouth a good two feet.
Nami looked at him, her ears ringing. 'This… this is too much.'
She stood there for a while before she was brought back to reality with the question, "Did you get the map?"
Nami eyes widened. She ran off, leaving Zoro and Luffy behind.
"Oy, captain, I think you scared her off."
Luffy looked at him, scared, "WHAT, No! She's my navigator! Namiii! I'm SORRRY!"
Luffy ran off after her, leaving Zoro behind to shake his head. He looked too the sky. 'What the hell did I do to get to this point.' He looked back down to see Luffy trying to Hug the orange haired navigator as she was looking for the map.
'…and Zoro… take care of him…'
Zoro shook his head. 'Just who is Marx anyways?'
Marx rubbed his nose, trying to stop a sneeze from coming. Barely stopping a cannonball from hitting the small boat from the side. His armored companion yelling, "NOWS NOT THE TIME TO GET SICK!"
Marx looked over at the firing vessel. "Who knew news traveled around that noble household so quickly."
"SHUT UP, AND CONCENTRATE ON SURVIVING!"
Marx waved one hand and said, "I hear you, I hear you.", as he swung his great-axe, cutting a few more cannonballs.
Nami was counting gold, while having Zoro and Luffy prepare for them to set off. All of a sudden they heard hordes of footsteps approaching. It was the townspeople carrying pitchforks and the like.
A cannonball got past her defenses as she sneezed, luckily only going through the very top of the boat.
"What was that about concentrating."
"SHUT UP!"
Nami sighed, Luffy on the ground rubbing the top of his head. "Ow, why'd you do that?!"
"You left half of the gold on that Island! MY GOLD!"
"Eh?! But they need that to rebuild!"
Nami sighed, but got the point. She wanted to be selfish though, they could probably go on without the gold, but…
'No, just concentrate on getting the gold.'
Zoro was sitting at the side of the opposite ship with his eyes closed, thinking. He opened them and asked, "Luffy, who's Marx?"
Luffy looked over at him, "Marx, but you know him, you saw him!"
"I know that idiot! I was asking about who's he to you, and about him!"
"Oh! Marx is my brother."
Zoro's eyes widened as he stood up, "What?! That guy's your brother!"
Luffy got up on the side of the boat, putting a hand on his chin. "Well, we didn't take the oath of brotherhood, so technically no, but he is my brother at heart. We grew up together on the same Island, and trained together. He's really funny, sometimes he just decides to fall asleep. He's also strong, if we fought I think we'd tie."
Zoro's eyebrows rose. 'Interesting someone as strong as Luffy would make a great ally.'
Nami looked confused, "Wait, where is this Marx then?"
Zoro answered, "He split off looking for crew members himself, he's a pirate captain allied with us. We'll be meeting up with him though."
Luffy nodded, "Yeah, and then I'll show him the awesome crew I've gathered! And he'll be jealous!"
Zoro smirked, and Luffy started laughing. For just a second, Nami smiled, but she quickly lost it with her face contorting with guilt.
'I can't get too attached. If only they knew."