29 - The legend finally starts! Destination: Grand Line!
"We have to leave this island as fast as possible!" Zoro said as we were running.
"Let's hurry! I want to enter the Grand Line!" Luffy said, running cheerfully.
Still…
I couldn't stop thinking… just how on earth was he able to smile, despite knowing death was knocking on his door? Did he already know he was bound to be saved? Did he accept he was going to die? More importantly… this smile was exactly like Gold Roger's smile when he was executed!
Is it… is it a sign? Is the next conqueror of the seas right beside me all along? Am I seeing the next Pirate King right before my eyes?!
No, that's a pointless question! It's far away from being answered yet! I decided I would help Luffy become the King of Pirates… why am I doubting him?!
"Gold Roger was always a fearless pirate… He fought on par with this world's strongest men, my son!"
"Really, daddy?! Amazing!"
"Exactly! He was the best among the best! I didn't have the luck to meet him personally… I only heard stories about his execution…"
In an instant… a small fragment of the memories of my father's stories had just flashed through my mind and left a whole spectrum of questions in it.
"What the hell is with this storm?!"…huh?
"If we don't hurry, we'll end up losing our chance to get away from here! Nami-san wasn't kidding when she said that we should get back to our ship as quickly as possible!" Sanji's shout snapped me back to reality.
That's it. It's getting pretty serious. I definitely have to stop randomly spacing out like this. Now is NOT the time to keep thinking about that! We have a mission… leave this town and get to the Grand Line!
"Hey, Sanji-san… you mean you too didn't believe Nami-san when she warned us?" I said, teasing him.
"That's not it! It's just…" He tripped in his words.
"You doubted her…" I said, smiling menacingly. He didn't reply.
"Run, run, run!" Luffy bellowed.
"Guys, something's off. The marines surrounded us pretty quickly back at the square. If they're stationed here…" I reasoned.
"…and they saw everything that happened at the platform…" Zoro continued.
"Then our ship is in danger too!" Sanji concluded. "They'll definitely send out the infantry to sink the Merry and stop us from leaving!"
Fudgemuffins! At that moment I prayed for Sanji's assessment to be horribly inaccurate.
"Nami… Usopp-kun! We must hurry!" I screamed.
"Wait for me, Nami-san! Anyone who dares to lay a finger on you will pay with his life!" Sanji bellowed to the heavens.
"Anyone knows where are the docks?" Zoro asked.
Oh no, not again! Are we going to run in circles again?!
"They must be straight ahead! Nami-san must be readying the ship right now." Sanji mused.
"She'd better be doing so…" I hoped. "It seems the marines aren't going to leave us alone!" I only threw this out there at random, but once I turned my head back, I groaned at myself. "Aw hell no!"
"There they are!" Shouted a single voice among the dozens of marines chasing us.
"These guys sure are persistent!" Zoro glanced behind.
"Isn't it better for one of us to stay behind and try to halt them?" I suggested.
"No!" Sanji retorted forcefully. "We're out of time to keep distracting-huh? WHO'S THAT BEAUTIFUL LADY AHEAD OF US?!" He shouted with hearts in his eyes.
"Hold on… it's Tashigi-san! What is she doing here?!"
"Tashigi? That's her name?" Sanji asked.
"Yeah, she's a lady Zoro and I met at the arms store." I replied. "For some reason, Zoro doesn't want to talk to her properly…"
"Hey!" Zoro called.
Strangely, Tashigi wasn't in the mood to greet us. Instead, she held her sword tight in her hands and looked pretty angry.
"So you're a pirate… Roronoa Zoro! You… you tricked me, didn't you?"
We skidded to a halt about three feet from her.
"WHAT?! WHAT IN THE EARTH DID YOU DO TO THIS LADY?!" Sanji immediately shouted at a confused Zoro.
"Sanji-san, calm down! He didn't do anything wrong!" I tried to cool his head.
"You…!" Sanji growled, still intent on breaking Zoro in pieces…
"Sanji-san! Calm down! I mean it!"
Zoro walked a couple steps ahead and talked to her. "You never asked my name in the first place. There's no way I'd trick you!"
"See? Besides, this would happen sooner or later anyway." I said. Sanji still sported a deep frown, but calmed down. A little.
"A piece of scum like you wielding such a magnificent sword… I will never forgive you! Your famous sword, the Wadou Ichimonji… I will confiscate it!" She shouted, striking a battle stance.
Her sudden change of attitude annoyed me enough to make me lash out at her. It was my turn to step forward.
"Piece of scum?! Listen, lady! I won't tolerate anyone who calls a comrade of mine a piece of scuml! Whether it's a girl or not!" I screamed.
Who is she to jump out and call Zoro names all of a sudden? It's like he seriously hurt her or something! Which he most certainly didn't!
"If you hurt this lady in any way I'll…!"
"Sanji-san!" I shouted, glancing back at him. "Be quiet, please! Can you tolerate seeing someone insult your comrade without reason? Because I am certainly not going to!"
"Dan…" Zoro, still in control of his nerves, put a hand on my shoulder. "Calm down. You too stay out of this. This is an issue between me and her."
"But…"
"No buts. Just go with Sanji and Luffy and get to the ship. I will meet up with you guys as soon as I'm finished here."
I paused to think about the issue for a few seconds, ultimately conceding.
"Ok. Just don't hurt her much…"
"I won't promise anything." Zoro said. Then he turned to her. "You really want to take my sword, don't you?"
Slowly, he unsheathed his precious Wadou Ichimonji and launched the challenge.
"Bring it."
It didn't take too long until Tashigi unsheathed her sword and attacked Zoro. He defended with his sword. They kept static for moments, testing their strengths for a good while until separating. Soon, they were exchanging blows, stopped only by each other's swords…
"How you dare to fight a lady like this?!" Sanji, still angry.
"Don't interfere, please! This is an issue between Roronoa and me! Leave us alone!" Tashigi shouted.
"You heard the girl, right? Go ahead! I'll go later!" Zoro grunted, blocking another attack.
"Ok! Be careful, Zoro-san!" I nodded. "Sanji-san, Captain… let's go!"
"Ah… alright." Sanji said.
"Let's go!" Luffy agreed.
We sped past the duel, but not without Sanji still trying to make his stance known.
"Oi, Zoro! If you hurt her you're dead me-"
"Come on, Sanji! He knows what he's doing!" I interrupted him, practically dragging him out so Zoro and Tashigi could settle their issue.
Another stretch of desperate running later…
"The end of the street! The docks must be right ahead!" Sanji called.
"Hold on, guys… who's that man?"
Right ahead of us, in the middle of a crossing, I spotted a man with white and gray hair standing in front of a large quadricycle. He only wore a white, furry jacket with nothing underneath, showing his six-pack. Strapped to his back was a type of baton. The most striking thing was that he was smoking two cigars at the same time…
Honestly… when it comes to smoking, there're people even worse than Sanji!
"Finally… you're here. Straw Hat Luffy." The man said.
"That's right. I'm a really close friend of this city's Marine base Captain… the smoky uncle."
Smoky uncle… well, to smoke two cigars at once, he must be very smoky. Wait, smoky? Could he be…
"Captain Smoker?!" I said, surprised.
"Exactly." He heard me, replying accordingly.
"Smoker?" Sanji asked. "You know him?"
"Yes… or rather, not really. I was told about him by an old lady from a clothing store back when Nami and I went shopping. She said he's a monster that has Devil Fruit powers. No pirate ever escaped his clutches since he started working at Loguetown!"
"Eeeeeeh?!" Luffy, shocked.
"Boy… I'm surprised you know this much about me." Then he talked to Luffy. "Straw Hat… remember what I told you. If you can't defeat me, you'll never be able to enter the Grand Line."
Did they meet before?
"Ah! Now that you've mentioned it… I forgot about that!" Luffy said rather bluntly…
"You like to play the fool with me…" Smoker said.
"Oi, Luffy…" Sanji groaned.
"Now, what are we gonna do?" I asked.
"Sanji. Dan. Go ahead. I will take care of him. Don't worry, I'll meet up with you in a moment." Another one left behind…
"If I were you, I wouldn't be so sure of that. You don't know who you're dealing with." Smoker walked to us. "This will be the place where your story ends."
Is it me or there are too many people trying to defeat Luffy and end our trip once and for all?
"Go!" Luffy ordered.
"Be careful… we're waiting you at the Going Merry, Captain!" I said.
With this, Sanji and I were the only ones left to run back to the ship. Fortunately, it didn't take too long for us to arrive at the shore. We spotted the ship sailing away and tens of Marine shooters in hot pursuit.
"NAMI-SAN! WE'RE BACK!" Sanji shouted.
"Nami! Usopp-kun!" I shouted.
"Sanji-kun! Dan-kun!" Nami screamed back.
"Luffy and Zoro? Where are they?" Usopp asked.
"Let them take care of themselves!" Sanji replied.
"They're kinda busy now! Somehow, they will get here!" I explained.
"Sanji-kun! Dan-kun!"
"BEHIND YOU!"
We turned our heads, spotting the dozens of Marines chasing us…
"Again?!"
"Dan, go ahead! I'll try to stall them!" Sanji said, stopping and turning back to kick the marines one by one.
"Right!" I said, going ahead.
"Sanji-kun!"
Problem was: the ship was moving further away from the shore… this way, we'll end up being left behind!
I stopped running. Now I was left with two options. One: jump in the water and try to swim back to the ship. Not very likely, because the sea waves are too strong. The other: turn back and help Sanji get rid of the intruding marines… Did I mention that the ship is moving away from the shore? I have too little time to come up with a plan to get us back in!
I was completely lost right there. I scratched my head…
"What should I do?! WHAT SHOULD I DO?!"
"I'll cover Sanji! Dan, get onboard!" Usopp shouted back from the ship.
"It's impossible! The waves are too strong!"
"Do you have any better ideas?!"
It's too dangerous to risk trying to swim back to the ship. It's tough, but I have to risk it!
"Stay in the ship! I will help Sanji-san get rid of the marines! Don't worry, guys, we'll be there in a moment!"
"We're counting on you!" Nami quickly shouted. There was no time to mull it over.
"Enpitsu Bou!" I screamed.
My pencil quickly transformed into a staff.
"There's no end for this!" I heard Sanji, as I arrived at the scene.
I decided to jump to the marines and just hit them as hard as I could.
"Piss off! You're on our way!"
Some of them attacked me with their swords, I simply blocked them with my staff. Others tried to sneak behind me and catch me off guard. One of them almost cut me, I was lucky to have the slash only tear my jacket…
"Ah goddamnit! My jacket!" I kicked backwards as I tried to rid myself of those attacking by the front.
"You tore my jacket! It's my favorite!" That did upset me.
"You should thank him for not tearing your skin!" Good point there, Sanji…
I was about to unleash my angry retribution when…
"What's happening?!"
A green-tinted whirlwind came out of nowhere. Very powerful gusts of wind coursing through the harbor. Powerful enough to lift us from the ground and fling us far, far away. I crashed against the wall of a house at the shore… and then I felt something very heavy falling on me.
When I noticed it, I was trapped under a brick wall.
I tried to lift it up… punch it… but it was too heavy for me to do anything about it. Only my head was free.
"Anyone! Help me! I'm trapped under a concrete block! Is anyone there? Somebody help me!" I shouted.
"Dan? Is it you?" Sanji? Are you there?
"San… Sanji-san? Please, help me! I'm stuck down here!" I shouted.
Not long after that, I heard the sound of stones cracking. Sanji must have kicked the block from above and broke it in pieces! The force was such that it hurt even me…
After Sanji broke the wall, I cleaned the dust and the little stones off me and stood back up.
"Thanks, Sanji-san…" I said. "I seriously thought that brick wall was going to turn me into a bloody pancake!"
"Phew, it's a miracle it didn't! How come you're fine?"
"Don't ask me… I couldn't lift that thing!"
"You need to get stronger! If you want to survive in the Grand Line, being strong enough to break stone is the basic of the basic!"
As absurd as that sounds, he's got a point. I've trained enough to attain a level of strength above that of a normal human, but if I want to overcome the Grand Line, I have to enter the realm of the super-human!
What kind of crazy people and crazy powers might be hiding there?
"You have a point… but…" I said, looking at the sky. "What was that whirlwind? It was all so fast…"
"If I knew anything about it I would tell you…"
We saw another block lifting up… or rather being lifted.
"Zoro-san!" I saw Zoro recovering from the shock. He just grunted and took a few deep breaths.
"Ah… ow, ow… what the hell just happened?" I turned and saw Luffy lying over a pile of rubble…
"Luffy! LUFFY!" This voice… Nami!
"LUFFY! GUYS! GET HERE QUICK!" Usopp!
"Nami! Usopp-kun! Ah… what are we going to do?!" I shouted, verging on the desperation… How are we going to reach them?! They're already far away from the shore!
"We have to get to them, somehow! Or else, the ship will be swept away by the waves!" Sanji said.
"Aaand we'll be left behind!" I completed.
I spotted Luffy running around, then grabbing a sturdy handrail. "Gomu Gomu no~~~~…" Without any kind of warning, he started to stretch backwards, like the elastic band of a slingshot.
Sanji, Zoro and I looked at him in utter confusion… what is he going to… hold on, a slingshot?!
"Say he's not going to…!" Sanji…
"I think he is…" Zoro…
"Luffy! What yo-", me…
"ROCKET!" We tried to run but Luffy self-propelled himself and hit us dead on. The impact transferred his energy, propelling us far away from Loguetown's shore… to land right in our ship! Luckily, though, we landed hitting the back sail… and the crash was, I mean… wasn't nearly as painful as it could've been.
"Guys! You made it!" I heard Nami say.
I could only give her a thumbs up, resting on the top of a pile of bodies crashed down in the lower deck. I tried to stand back up, not without a bit of a struggle… but I did it. The other three were quickly back up in their feet too.
I went to the railing to see Loguetown's shore moving further and further away and I couldn't stop thinking about what happened. What was with all that mysterious whirlwind? Who caused it?
"I guess these questions will never be answered…" I thought to myself.
Two events which can be attributed to divine intervention in the same afternoon… First, the bolt that came out of nowhere at the exact time to save Luffy's head… and then, the holy wind that protected us from the Marine onslaught…
"Dan…"
Huh?
I turned to see Sanji next to me.
"What's with you? Fazing out like this…" He asked.
Another question still rang in my mind.
"Why…"
"Huh?"
"Why do you think Luffy would face death with a grin?"
Sanji silently processed the question for a few moments.
"I don't know. Maybe he simply accepted the fate that, miraculously, didn't fall on his head. He's ready to make his dream come true… or die trying. I can only explain that like this."
I couldn't find the proper words to reply. He faced his own demise just like Gold Roger did it…
"Guys! Come see this!" Huh?
"Dan, let's go." Sanji said. "Nami-swaaan! What's up?"
"Look at that light! It's the island's lighthouse!" We heard her call as we got back to the front deck.
"The island's lighthouse?" Usopp asked, still tugged to the main mast.
"It's our guiding light. The light that points to the entrance of the Grand Line!" Nami watched from the railing, near the sheep figurehead, pointing to the lighthouse a few hundred feet away.
"This light… beyond it is the Grand Line?" Luffy asked, sitting on the handrail.
"It is. What are your plans, Captain?" Nami asked with a grin.
"But… Luffy, are you really willing to go now? In the middle of this storm?" Usopp questioned.
Words weren't needed to answer this question. Readiness and determination are written in our faces. Each one of us has a dream. And it's beyond that lighthouse!
"Right, guys… now, to mark this milestone in our trip, how about a little ceremonial?" Sanji immediately brought a barrel to the front deck.
"Good idea! Guys, are you in?" I happily agreed.
"Alright! That's cool!" Luffy too.
"Let's do it!" Then Nami.
With everyone's acceptance, Sanji then put his foot on a barrel and asked the poignant question:
"Why are we going to the Grand Line?"
Then, he replied…
"Well… I'm sailing to find the All Blue!"
"I'm gonna be the King of Pirates!"
"I will be the best swordsman in the world!"
"I will draw a world map!"
"I, uh… I-I-I will b-become the bravest warrior of the seas!"
"And I… I will live the Ultimate Adventure!"
With a final shout, Luffy then led the honors.
"LET'S HEAD… TO THE GRAND LINE!"
We lifted our legs…
"O~~~U!"
…and shattered the barrel.
Finally… the true adventure's about to start! We're heading to the legendary ocean!
THE GRAND LINE!
Success! The great escape from Loguetown will mark the start of the journey through Grand Line for our heroes! But there's still a long way to go... and in the meantime, Dan will discover a few things about himself. Through it all, a mysterious character will appear, being the crew's "guest" for the time being. Who is she?
Check out in the next chapter!
