OK IMPORTANT NEWS… A personal friend of mine read through The Next King and asked me if I would let her re-write the story over. So basically, when she is ready, she will make a newer and better version of The Next King when she coems out with it and I will be working with her as much as I can but she knows the gist and she is also reading this story so she has characters and stuff to work with… With that said, once she is ready to upload, I will put a message on this story to go check it out as well as update my version of TNK and hopefully get yall to read and enjoy what she has in store. This of course will be her first story so please if you all wouldn't mind to check that out when she puts it up… So yea…

Alright folks… Last chapter was dark and rated M, which of course made me realize something… I enjoy writing a rated M One Piece story with the characters and story I have in mind. Of course the anime and manga aren't necessary kiddy but like it isn't as dark and bloody and violent, so why the hell not write a rated M one… This is a fanfic afterall lool.

Anyways, I hope you guys do not mind the sudden turn in violence and language and stuff. To me, a dark style of writing fits this story and since I kinda am the author of this, I am making the change… I hope you guys can stick around and read the chapters…

Mind you though, it's not like every chapter will have the violence and blood, but it will have the language.

So without further ado… Chapter 11?


Drum

"Oi Luffy!" shouts Lucifer, the 17th division commander for the Whitebeard Pirates, "You've slept too much already… Wake your ass up. It's almost breakfast and everyone's about to wake up soon." And the young Straw Hat captain wakes up and rushes to get out of the cellar he was stuck in for the night.

He felt different as he got up. He felt lighter and had a feeling which he was relieved of a very heavy burden on his back and he felt good. When he got to the deck he had seen his uncle moving very quietly from the kitchen into the room in which Nami was resting from her injury. "Well brat… Are you good now or do I have to cut your head off?" says the Uncle Davy D. Jones.

"No… I'm good. I was about to lose that fight if it weren't for Pops." He says quietly

"Oh did you now… Well, if something like that ever happens again I'll find you and cut your head off."

"Why?"

"You almost killed your first mate… Yelled at Mika who raised you for 17 damn years of your life and broke her heart EVEN though I told her you weren't in your normal mind. You don't realize how much you raising your voice hurt her. You called her useless… She cried Luffy. She cried for probably the first time since she became a Whitebeard pirate… So if you do that shit again, I'll kill you myself and I'll accept the punishment from the whole world." And he walks away, closing the door and made sure Luffy did not enter the room.

Saddened by what he had heard from his uncle, he tried to find Mika on the ship. But he figured he should wait until breakfast. But then he remembered what he said to Sanji as well, and he had to find Zoro. Actually, Luffy had to apologize to everyone. And he knew just where to start.


In the room where Nami was laying, Mika and Jones were in the room, talking to her.

"Don't you think you were too harsh on him?" Mika said, clearly hearing the conversation between uncle and nephew

"No. He needed it. That's not Luffy… he's not me."

"Well why can't he become you? You never really told anyone of your past, well the past before you became a Roger Pirate."

"After birth, my parents set me away… Now I'm not mad at them because they did it to protect me and my brothers and sisters. But when I was sent away, I got mixed up into slavery so ever since I was young, I was a slave… Hated every moment of it. I used to work numerous hours, of course without pay, or the stupid Celestial Dragon made me kill after he realizd I had a blood lust and a curse in which I could become the devil. So that went on for years. I loved to kill. And then Roger saw me. Well he and Rayleigh did. And then I finally killed the owner and asked Roger if I could sail with him and all he said was 'If you want to be on this ship, bring havoc and turn the world upside down with me'. And I agreed."

Continuing on "Luffy, he doesn't like to kill… But he doesn't mind killing. He'll kill when his crew is in danger. I killed no matter what… that's the difference."

"Well that makes sense. Anyways, I hope we make it to Drum soon… I don't know how long she has without any of my tools with me."

"Just so I'm clear, the only reason you never brought your tools with you was because the people you came with aren't fully human and don't get injured right…"

"Shut up demon." She says with a small smirk on her face "Help me keep her still, she's about to wake up."


Soon after a short while, everyone had started to wake up. Everyone got at the most 4 hours of sleep and the weather was starting to get cold. And by the time everyone got dressed and got to the kitchen, they saw breakfast already prepared for them. The kitchen was the warmest spot, so carefully Jones had to move Nmi from the room to the kictchen with the help from Mika and when they noticed that no one had sat down, Luffy was in front of everyone.

Placing Nami down on the makeshift bed that Lucifer (Kratos) made by the fire, everyone looked right at Luffy. All of them noticed that his eyes were normal but they showed pain. He was on the verge of tears as he looked at his family and Nakama and when he met the eyes of Mika, he jumped at her and gave her a massive and tight hug with tears streaming down as if it was a waterfall "SORRY! I NEVER MEANT TO SAY WHAT I SAID LAST NIGHT… PLEASE FORGIVE ME!"

She held Luffy tight as well and smiled, she was happy Luffy was back to his old self. "Of course I forgive you… But say sorry to your Nakama too. You hurt them as well." And Luffy got off Mika and looked right at Zoro, Sanji, Usopp and Robin "Guys, I appologize for everything that I said to you. Sanji you are a good fighter, Robin you were right and Zoro, If I ever do that again to you, you have my permission to leave the crew because I am too selfish. And Vivi, I know I hurt you too last night so please forgive me. If you think I am incapable of beating Crocodile for you, please go on with my family. They are more than enough to help your country."

"Luffy" they all say in a serious tone "You fucking idiot!" and they all attack him. Zoro punches, Sanji kicked him and of couse Usopp slapped him. Robin and Vivi just gave Luffy a smile, because as long as he was back to his normal self, they did not care. "Don't you ever say that shit again. As long as your back to normal we don't care." say the guys

And then breakfast was served. Everyone enjoyed the food as there were eggs, bacon, sausages, toast, tea and coffee, and pancakes enough for a breakfast meal for everyone.

"So Luffy… Are you sure you are back to normal?" asks his uncle

"Uh huh." He nods and says while having food in his mouth

"DON"T TALK WITH YOUR MOUTH FULL!" yells Sanji and Thatch at the same time as Sanji landed a kick on Luffy's head

"Thwey" (Sorry) says the young Straw Hat Captain

"Anyways… We need to hear from Ace soon. Nami isn't necessarily in the best of situations and we need to get there quick." and not a moment later, the den den mushi had rang

"Hello?" says Jones

"Yo it's me Ace… I just got to Drum… But you guys need to get here quick. One, apparently this country is run by that idiot who we beat up the day before and two, Blackbeard was definelty here which is why that idiot King left because Teach and his crew did quite some damage. Do we go after him?"

"Let's see. I'd rather wait for Pops and what he says first."

"Alright then… And how's Luffy by the way?"

"He's fine. Back to normal."

"Well that's good. I hope we never see that again…"

"And you won't… Well then, see you in a bit Ace. If you find Marco, tell him we will be about 4 hours away. We may make it in less that time though."

"Alright." And Ace ended the call

"Well then… We now know how far we are. All of us had breakfast… So I suggest we get ready. This dude might come back and this time, it'll be in his country so we don't know what he's done to it. So, I suggest you guys wear something warm, and prepare for a fight if it were to happen."


About 4 hours later when the group was nearing Drum, the weather had instantly gradually been changing from arm to cold and eventually there was now, which for some reason Thatch seemed to enjoy, and by the time they entered the border for Drum, Mika came out of the room she was in and had a troublesom look on her face. "Jones" she yells out

Hearing the voice of his crew mate, he rushes out to see Mika looked very worried. "Nami won't make in in another hours… Please tell me you have a hold on Marco."

"Shit, I haven't… Should I take her?"

"No, Your weird ass why of travelling will probably kill her. The bullet is in deep and I cannot get myself to pull it out with having much of my equipment and she can't take that much pain if you do that travelling through hell shit"

"So then what's the plan?"

"Try finding Kureha quickly is the best hope we have."

Luffy heard this conversation and interjects "I got her. I can fly."

"No Luffy you won't be able too. The cold weather will have a huge impact on your flight and your wings will be thrown off ad plus you're carrying Nami. As much as I hate to say this, we might have to wait for Kureha." Says Mika

"Well she may be close by… Let's just first get to land… Thatch, get ready, there may be a fight if need be. And where the hell is that useless 17th commander… I need him to do something." As Jones runs off

Luffy found his crew in winter attire but he himself wasn't wearing much and then he realized why he was so cold. Luffy, from what they could tell was alright because well it's Luffy. And thank God he was back to normal. Instead of having angry and bloodthirsty eyes, it was his normal calm and joyous eyes that he always had. And he just had an idiotic moment where he's on deck runing around with no jacket. And also receiving scolds from the other Whitebeard Pirates.

"Yosh guys… We gotta find this doctor person quick. And let me know if you find a candiate for a new nakama. Preferably a doctor or a musician but yea, find someone cool." he says with a smile


When the group got to land, they were first surrounded by a large group of people, as they thought the people who were coing in might be invaders, but among the group there was Ace and Marco standing by. When Marco said that this group is also with them, the peope were at ease.

Marco stood by Dalton and Ace, and by the time the group stepped foot on land the first question Luffy had asked was "Where is the doctor. Our crew mate got shot and we cannot treat her nor take the bullet out. So I've come to you guys for some help. I wouldn't be a bother if this had been any other situation." as Luffy goes to the groud and bows down to Dalton and the rest.

"Shit about that…" says a large man by the name of Dalton "Right now, she is in her castle on top of that hill… We haven't been able to climb up because those stupid Blackbeard folks attacked us and did quite some damage to this island."

"Marco why haven't you flown to get her?"

"I could have yoi… But trust me… Teach did some crazy shit here. He's stronger than what we expected."

"Well that's what I'm here for…" says Lucifer… "My reason to come here was because I want to shut this Blackbeard guy up."

"True but anyways… We have to figure out a way to get Kurhea… Luffy why don't you try finding a... He's gone isn't he?"

"The moment we pointed at the mountain, he took her and left." Said Ace

"Shit… That mountain is dangerous." Says Dalton

"So is Luffy… He's fine." Says Zoro

In her mind Mika was really worried. But when she saw Luffy carry Nami out of the room and carefully held her in place, Mika had faith in her once again. She knew Luffy would always do the impossible and leaving things in the hands of Luffy isn't a bad situation. He knows what to do.


As the group had dispersed, the main thing that was the concern for the group was hopefully Nami doesn't give up before she and Luffy make it to the mountain. They went off with the Whitebeard Pirates to see what was going on this island and if any help was needed.

Luffy was going at a fast but careful pace to get to the top of the mountain. He knew he had to be very careful because this climb would be painful for Nami, but it wouldn't cause damage to her unlike flying. Luffy could have easily flown, but knowing it would cause more damage and pain to Nami, Luffy decided to climb this very mountain. But before he got to the bottom of it, he had to go through a whole area covered in snow. And then there were bunnies or at least they resembled bunnies. Instead of normal bunnies, these animals were large and looked very dangerous. So by the time Luffy saw them, he needed a way to get passed them.

Knowing tthat fighting would not work, he just tried to avoid them, but as he was walking, he heard a small and innocent voice coming from something below him.

When he looked down, he noticed that there was a smaller bunny like creature and it seemed to be lost. So picking it up, he tired to show the direction of which the larger animals were and one the the giant creatures gave out a yell that was more so dangerous than anything. So Luffy was screwed as a group of bunnies ran towards him.

He knew he couldn't fight but he needde a way to get past them. He didn't think of using his powers as he realized why the animals had started to run towards him that it was probably the mother that thought her "cub" was in danger.

So, Luffy decided that he should take in the hits, absorb them as much as he could and just hope to move on. And as he was being chased, he had noticed that there was an avalanche fast approaching and since he could not fly due to Nami holding onto Luffy's back, he needed to to just make sure Nami would not get hurt. Seeign as he could not do anything, he then carried Nami bridal style and got out his wings to fly and just as he had elevated enough to not get hit from the avalanche that was coming towards him, he noticed that it hit the group of large bunnies and he did notice the little cub get hit hard by the snow and it just by using his Observation Haki, Luffy could tell that the cub was even more separated from his mother once again.


Looking at the mountain, Vivi's face was worried because there was an avalanche that was happening and Sanji had noticed the look on Vivi's distressed face.

"What's the matter Vivi-chan, why do you look so worried" as Sanji turns around to see the avalanche on the mountain. Dropping his cigerette, he gand Vivi go running towards any of the Whitebeard pirates and the first person the saw was Mika and both Sanji and Vivi looked at each other and ran past her. This kind of worried Mika but then she turned around once they past her and she saw the avalanche on the mountain and then she started running towards Sanji and Vivi.

The next person they saw was Zoro and Marco helping out an old man, doing some heavy lifting for the man and when Marco had noticed that the three of the were running towards him, he tells them to stop running and catch their breath

"What the hell happened yoi?"

"Theres an avalanche at the mountain." Say the trio

"Oh fuck you gotta be kidding me." and Marco changes his arms into the blue firey Pheonix wings. And just as he was about to fly out, Ace and the rest has rushed to Marco telling him to stop and not go toawrds the mountain. Still Marco would not listen to the plea of his family and it wwas only when Dalton, the large man that was well known around Drum had told him that the mountain would be dangerous even for the first division commander.

Wanting to go even more, he would have went until a few of the guards at the sea came runnign towards Dalton saying something that he did not want to hear.

"Dalton-sama!"

"What's wrong?"

"Wapol is back!" says a woman "We need to do something quick."

"Shit… I didn't want this to happen… I hate to ask but could you guys lend me a hand in this?"

And Marco had calmed down slightly and knew that he would take his frustration and worry out on some idiots that need a beating.


Waiting for the avalanche to fully pass, the first of the large bunnies came out of the ground and it was making a worrysom sound. Luffy could understand that it was the mother of the cub, as she was trying to call out for the cub and looking worried from what Luffy was able to read.

Realizig that Mika was right and his flight abilities were being reduced to barely nothing, he looked at Nami's face and saw a lot of pain. Knowing that this was his mistake but this was something that he needed to so he quicly said "Sorry about that Nami" and descended to the groud, where he could sense the little cub.

Placing Nami on his back, he dug up the snow from where the cub was and the mother would have easily killed Luffy just by the way she was standing but when Luffy returned the cub to her, she calmed down and let Luffy pass. And so did the rest of the pack.

Quickly hurrying to the bottom of the mountain, Luffy thought of flying but he noticed how much pain Nami was in when Luffy flew. He then noticed that it was quite cold and climbing the mountain wouldn't be an easy task, so he placed her on his back once again, took off his coat and made a comforting gap between her and his back so that she could be holding onto to him without being in much pain.

Being in his sleeveless vest, Luffy had thought that the fire from within him (due to his devil fruit) would help him for this cold. But he was wrong. It wasn't like Ace's logia where he ould become fire at any moment, he was just able to breathe fire when he wanted to, but he wouldn't take the risk if it meant burning the coat that Nami was wearing.

And so he climbed. Looking at the top point, he looked at this lke a training exercise. If he wasn't able to climb this mountain, he would lose a Nakama and if that Nakama is Nami, Luffy would be devestated with the loss. So he climbed. One step at a time, he knew he had to do this.

With the snow fall becoming even heavier, the cold getting to him, Luffy then realized that he could change is feet into dragon feet with massive talons for better grip. But his hands he kept normal. But slowly even the youngest son of Whitebeard was having difficult climbing this mountain. His body was getting cold, his hands were starting to bleed, his lost feelings to some of his body parts, but he made sure Nami would not fall. Slowly climbing this mountain, Luffy thought that he might die, but for some reason he felt content that if he died, his family would take in his crew for the time being, get them stronger and get them to fulfil their journey. And at that thought Luffy smiled. And that smile gave him motivation. Because he suddenly remembered that horrible nightmare he had, he knew he would see his Nakama accomplish what they set out before Luffy could ever become Pirate King. And once they accomplished what their goals were, only then would Luffy become Pirate King.

He thought about Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, and Robin. But there was something he saw in his dream and he already made his mind. Seeing a raindeer like creature, Luffy wanted it on his crew. The giant blue haired cyborg/robot, Luffy wanted him to join and there was this afro skeleton and Luffy also wanted it to join his crew.

And as he was thinking, he forgot all about the painful climb to the top. All he could see was a bright future a head of him and the crew and so he climbed with a smile.

Getting towards the halfway point, it was at this moment, the rock in where he placed his hand on had slipped and he had lost his grip, causing Nami to start slipping off his back. Quickly using his arm to adjust her back into place, Lufy gained his balance once again and had started climbing towards the top.

Slowly starting to feel as if his life was cutting down shorter and shorter as he ascended, Luffy felt even more motivation for at least Nami to make it to the top.

The climb now almost killing the young captain, he realizes he is almost close enough to the top and jst as he put his hand forward to bring his body up, the rock that his foot was on now broke off and Luffy lost his balance once again. But this time, Nami almost fell quicker. Only holding onto one arm of Nami, he quickly used his talons to grab and dig onto another rock and he regained his balance and had used one arm to fix Nami's grip on himself. Placing both of her arms firmly on his neck and chest, Luffy started climbing once more and finally reached the top.

Reaching the top he yells "DOCTOR!" with as much strength he had left in him and he kept Nami close to him and he had finally passed out with his already unconscuious navigator.


And that's it folks. Now this chapter was a lot smaller than I had originally though, but I wanted to upload this one so I can start working on the next few chapters. I've been busy with school and other life suff so I haven't had much time to write anyways but I do hope you guys have enjoyed this chapter.

And about this chapter, this was a weird chapter I wrote because I needed to incorporate my ideas in this chapter and it was all over the place (well to me) and if you guys do have any questions and stuff, everything will clear up within the next few chapters and stuff because now you'll get arcs that are longer than one chapter now.

And as always , I'll see you guys in the next chapter and leave a follow, favourite or review and stuff and again I hope you enjoyed this chapter so yea… Have a good day