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CHAPTER 35: The Redtail Bandits (Part 1: Wanted Posters)
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It was a cold cloudy morning when Lacy woke up. She was freezing and discovered half the sheets had fallen off the bed, exposing her feet to the chilly air. She got up with the bed comforter wrapped tightly around her and walked upstairs. When she opened the door to the kitchen, Zoro and Sanji were in the middle of another bad argument.
"WHY THE HELL DOES IT MATTER TO YOU?!" Zoro shouted in Sanji's face.
"BECAUSE NOW WE HAVE TO BE EVEN MORE CAREFUL!!" Sanji shouted back. Their faces were so close to each other, their noses almost touched.
"SINCE WHEN DO YOU CALL HER WEAK?!"
"I DIDN'T SAY THAT!! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT SHE'S IN THIS SITUATION!!"
"MY FAULT?! IT'S THE DAMN MARINES FAULT, YOU WOMANIZING BASTARD!!"
"GREEN TEA HEADED ASSHOLE!!"
"QUESTION MARK BROW!!"
"SEA URCHIN!!"
"Anou..." Both of their heads turned and saw Lacy looking nervous in the doorway. "U-um... what are you two fighting about now?" She asked.
"AH~!! Morning, Lacy-chwa~!!"
Zoro sat down and turned his head away, crossing his arms. "It's nothing."
"The hell it's nothing!" Sanji snapped. He picked up a piece of paper from the table and showed it to Lacy. "This is what's were arguing about!"
"WHA?!?!" Lacy snatched the paper from his hand and scanned it thoroughly. Her eyes were wide and her jaw went slack. "WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?!?!"
"What's going on?" Yawned Luffy as he joined Zoro at the table.
"LOOK AT THIS!!" Lacy shoved the paper in front of Luffy's face. He leaned back, surprised at her assertiveness.
Luffy began to laugh. "Hahahaha!! That's great!!"
"GREAT?!" Sanji hit Luffy on the head hard. "There's nothing great about it, you dolt!!"
"Fighting this early?" Nami and the rest walked into the kitchen.
"Hee hee!! Lacy's wanted~!" Smiled Luffy.
"Huh?" Nami took the piece of paper out of Lacy's hand and took a moment to look at it. Like Lacy, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "YOU HAVE A WANTED POSTER NOW?!"
The poster showed Lacy smiling in a sneaky manner and a few blood trails running down her face. Her hair looked as if it was blowing in the wind, and there was gun smoke and trees in the background.
"When was that taken?" Asked Robin, now holding the poster.
"I DON'T KNOW!" Lacy shouted in a depressed tone.
"Wait a minute..." Robin paused. "I think this was when we encountered the Navy last time."
"That was about 3 months ago, wasn't it?" Guessed Chopper.
"More like 4." Corrected Usopp.
"It doesn't matter how long ago it was! They took her picture and now Lacy-chan's a wanted pirate!" Exclaimed Sanji.
"Well, she is a pirate." Commented Usopp.
"Did you see her reward?" Asked Robin, facing the poster towards the others.
Everyone looked at the bottom and their eyes bulged.
"$45,000,000 BERRIES?!?!"
"AAAAAH!!!!" Lacy screamed and slammed her head on the table.
Everyone paused and looked at Lacy, trying to give her sympathy. After a while, they stood closer to her shaking body and looked puzzled.
"Lacy...?" Chopper poked her in the shoulder. Her body still shook, but some odd muffling noises grew louder from her.
Nami took a step back. "No...!"
"S-s-s-she's not really...!" Stuttered Usopp.
"She's laughing!" Shouted Luffy, laughing along with her.
Lacy lifted up her head and rested it on her hands. "Hahahaha! I now have my own wanted poster! This is SO cool~!"
"You think this is cool?!" Questioned Nami.
"Aren't you upset?!" Asked Sanji.
"Hee hee! I was shocked at first, but the more I thought about it the more I realized that this is going to be fun~!"
"FUN?! OH MY GOD!!" Nami slapped her head and sat down as if her legs were going to give.
"Yeah! I mean, the marines think I'm dangerous! It's a compliment to me~! And my head's worth a lot! More than I would ever think. I'm almost in the middle of everyone else's bounties, so I'm about as dangerous as everyone here~!" She looked at Zoro and gave him a big pleasant smile.
He gave her a surprised look at first, then smirked. "Hn. So this is amusing to you?" He finally said after a long time.
She nodded. "Well, yeah! I'm a little nervous now that I'm wanted, but like I said, it could be fun~!"
"I TOLD you, idiot!" Zoro smiled at Sanji.
"SHUT UP!!" Sanji snapped back.
"But why where you guys fighting?" Asked Lacy.
"Because the damn cook-" Sanji threw him an angry glance, "-thought you would be scared and that it was me who endangered you."
"Oh. Well, it was nice of you to think of me." She said to Sanji. "But I'm getting stronger, so I'm more confident in looking after myself."
"See?" Zoro said to Sanji, still smiling.
"Pssh! Whatever!" He spat.
"Besides, remember what happened back at the marine headquarters when Usopp and I were captured then escaped? I took care of Captain Hina's fleet with my abilities, so going against a great captain like Hina is a big deal to the Government. It was to be expected at some point."
"But what's this nickname they've given you here..." Nami pointed out at the bottom of the poster. "Looks like they're calling you 'Blue Siren Lacy'."
"'Blue Siren Lacy'? As in the mythological creatures of women singing songs to lure ships and their sailors to their death? Like I sort of did with my whirlpool technique when I trapped Hina's ships in the middle of the ocean?" She squealed with happiness. "This is awesome!! I even have a nickname for the marines! A hostorical nickname! I hope this catches on!"
"Ok... you are enjoying this WAY too much..." Usopp sweat dropped.
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The crew was caught in a rough storm later that afternoon. With high winds and thick fog, they were unable to sail very far. Instead, they found an island that came into view and decided to stop there til the storm lifted.
When they ported, they spotted a town about half a mile away from them. But on their way to the town, they were stopped by some bandits.
"Heh heh heh! Where do you think you're all going, eh?" One of the bandits sneered. All of them wore red bandanas and tattoos on their shoulders, revealing a red hawk. They ignored them and walked passed them.
"H-HEY! We're talking to you!!" Said another bandit. He reached out and grabbed Lacy by the shoulder and spun her around so she'd face him. "W-wait a minute!" Lacy just stared at him, unafraid. He took out a piece of torn paper and kept glancing at it then back at her a couple times.
Another bandit came behind him and stared at the paper. His face went pale. "You're that wanted pirate! Lacy Joseph!! It's Blue Siren Lacy!!" He exclaimed.
"Actually," Lacy responded with a smile, "it's Roronoa Lacy. But my maiden name works just as well." Zoro snickered.
"You're head is mine!" The bandit took at his sword and raised it to his head, and stopped to stare at the rest of the crew. "Y-y-you're Mugiwara Luffy! And Pirate Hunter Zoro! And Nico Robin!!" They looked at the rest of the crew and shook. "You're all here?!"
They smiled at them with evil grins; Luffy's grin, of course, was care-free.
"This is great! What luck!" Another bandit cheered. "All of the most wanted criminals are here at once!! With their deaths, we'll be too rich to stand it! We could retire!"
"Let's get 'em!" Another bandit yelled.
All of the bandits yelled and ran after them with their swords drawn. As the bandits came closer, Luffy took action.
"Gumo gumo no.... WHIP!!" He swung his stretched leg around and knocked some of the bandits. Some of them managed to jump over in time and split into 3 directions.
Some went after Zoro, who only drew 2 of his swords and swung in a circle. "Tsumaki!" He yelled, sending his opponents flying into the air.
The others went after Sanji, who merely break-danced as they got close enough, knocking them out. The rest of them tried to go after the rest of the crew, but Luffy stretched and punched them all out. The few who were conscious, cowered in fear and ran away.
"T-T-They're strong!!" A bandit screamed.
"What are we going to tell the boss?!" Another said.
"Boss?" Nami said out loud. By the time she spoke, the bandits disappeared over a hill.
"They weren't much of a challenge. How boring." Pouted Lacy.
"Just some bandits who think they're better than everyone else." Zoro marked.
"Let's just get going." Nami said.
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They finally arrived in town a few minutes later. It was empty with no one in sight. The wind blew through the bare streets as the crew walked down through the town.
"Where is everyone?" Asked Chopper. Just then, they heard a woman gasp and shut the windows she was peeking out of.
"Looks like there are people here." Sanji pointed out.
"Must be another town that's afraid of pirates." Robin guessed.
Suddenly, a small child ran out into the streets, giggling. Then his mom came out and panicked as she grabbed him. "No, Marcus!" She shouted. "Not now!"
"Excuse me!" Shouted Luffy in a happy tone. The woman gasped and tried to restrain the excited child.
"There's nothing to be afraid of." Nami reassured the woman, but she just ran away. "Wait! We're not here to hurt anyone!"
Luffy stretched out his arms and grabbed the woman and the child at the same time and sprung them back. The woman shrieked.
"PLEASE! SPARE US!! MY SON DIDN'T KNOW ANY BETTER! PLEASE SPARE HIM!!"
"We're not going to hurt you!" Nami said again.
"Really! We're not bad!" Lacy backed her up.
Some men came out with guns pointed at them. There were too many of them.
"We're not here to cause trouble. "Sanji said in a cool voice. Usopp had already hidden behind him.
"Get out of here, Redtail Bandits!! Let her go!!" One of the men shouted.
"Redtail Bandits?" Robin repeated.
"We're not Redtail Bandits!" Chopper shouted.
"Do you think we're stupid? We're not falling for that!"
"WAIT!!"
The woman Luffy had grabbed ran out in front of the men and held out her arms. "They're not part of the Redtail Bandits!"
"Get over here, Mary! They're tricking us!" A man called out to her.
"They're really not! They don't have the marks! Or the bandanas!"
"Don't be silly, Mary! 3 of them have bandanas and one of them are dressed in red! Plus that one girl has a tattoo on her shoulder!"
The men were referring to Usopp, Zoro, and Lacy with the bandanas. Luffy examined his red shirt while Nami felt offended by her tattoo.
"Her tattoo isn't a red hawk! And their bandanas aren't red! All the the Redtail bandits expose their tattoos no matter what, remember?"
The men stared at her for a moment, then lowered their rifles. They ran over to her, putting up their guard and taking her and the child away from them.
"Who are you strangers?" One man snapped at them.
"Ore wa Luffy~!" Luffy smiled wide.
"We got caught in a storm and docked just outside of town. We needed a place to stay til the storm lifts. Is that alright?" Nami asked politely.
"You're Mugiwara Luffy!" A man exclaimed.
"You're pirates?!" Asked another man.
"But we're not bad! Honest!" Chopper explained.
"Filthy pirates!" The men held up their rifles again. "It's bad enough to have the Redtail Bandits terrorizing the town, but now the Straw-Hat pirates?! Get out of town or we'll shoot!"
Lacy took a step forward. "But we're–"
"Shut up, you no good pirate! Leave now!" A man cut her off.
"Hold it."
Everyone turned around and pointed their attention to an old man. He had a long white beard and hair with a bald spot on the top. He had bushy white eyebrows and walked hunched over with a cane.
"Let them be. They're not here to harm us."
"But Elder–!"
The old man held up his hand. "I can sense their good will. They have good intentions."
"Pirates?! With good intentions?!" A man exclaimed.
"Silence!" The old man shouted. He turned around and faced Luffy and the others. "I apologize for these men's behavior."
"I-It's ok. We're sort of use to this kind of reaction when we say we're pirates." Nami said in a shaky tone.
"Please, come with me to my home. You are welcome to stay there as long as you like."
He led them to an old hut near the end of town. Some of the men with guns followed closely behind them in case something bad happened. Once everyone was inside the hut, the old man offered them tea and seats.
"Please make yourself comfortable." He said, lighting a fire.
"Excuse me ojii-san, but who are you?" Asked Robin.
"I am Kunui, the town's high Elder. And who are you young people?"
"Ore wa Luffy~!" Luffy introduced himself again.
"Ore wa Usopp!!" Usopp said proudly.
"I'm Nami. And this is Sanji-kun, Zoro, Lacy, Chopper, and Robin."
"Who are the Redtail Bandits?" Lacy asked, curious from after all the bandit talk in the streets.
The Elder sighed and sat down near the fire. No one said a word and waited patiently for the old man to speak. "The Redtail Bandits are powerful men who have been massacring our town for about a year now."
"Why?" Sanji asked.
The Elder shook his head. "We're not sure. But they seem to be looking for something. Something hidden within this town."
"How do you know?" Usopp asked.
"Because they tear apart our homes and scurry around with wide eyes and scanning faces. They keep repeating over and over that we're hiding 'it' here."
"And they've been around for about a year?!" Nami said with a shock.
He nodded. "Yes. But they've become more powerful and their numbers in members keep increasing. Their trademarks are red bandanas and tattoos on their arms with a red tribal hawk. They're ruled under a terrible group of 3 men with incredible powers."
"What kind of powers?" Asked Luffy anxiously.
"Their strength is unimaginable and the leader out of the three of them has eaten the cursed Devil's Fruit. We cannot fight them, not with just guns alone. Too many men have been killed and injured in the hands of those 3 terrible men and bandits."
"That's horrible..." Lacy said in a low voice.
The Elder nodded again. "It is. But there's nothing we can do. We can only pray that they find what they're looking for as soon as possible and leave our once peaceful town."
"Hey! Maybe Robin can help you~!" Suggested Chopper.
"Robin?" Repeated the Elder.
"I'm an archeologist." Robin explained. "I might be able to help figure out what they're looking for. Are there any legends or ruins around here that may be of use?"
He pondered for a moment. "I believe we do. We have one set of ruins a couple miles Southeast of town. I can take you there and see what we can find."
"In the meantime we can deal with the lackeys while Luffy, Sanji, and Zoro can deal with the three other men!" Nami smiled.
Lacy glared at her. "Once again, you talk like only the man can handle the situation."
"What? Don't they always? Besides, they're the strongest in our crew. Isn't it better to just let them do all the work?"
"No. I think me and Robin are perfectly capable of dealing with the powerful baddies. Hell, even you can handle some."
"A-Anyways..." Zoro interrupted, "let's just find out what the hell the bandits want as soon as possible and get off this island."
"So we're really going to help these people?" Chopper asked.
"We have no choice even if we wanted to." He pointed at Luffy. "The captain wouldn't let us walk away from this."
Luffy smiled. "That's right! It's gonna be an adventure~!"
Elder Kunui bowed to the crew. "T-Thank you so much young ones! I didn't even ask for help and yet you are already willing to get rid of those nasty men. Thank you!"
Suddenly, the door swung and one of the villagers spoke in panic. "E-Elder! T-the Redtail Bandits are back!"
The old man stood up. "Already?! S-So soon?!"
Luffy cracked his knuckles. "Looks like they came to us! Lucky~!"
Everyone walked outside and saw a hoard of men wearing red bandanas running on horses to the village. The yelled out their cries of attack as they drew closer and closer with each moment. Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji walked in front of the village in battle ready position as if they were on automatic. Lacy couldn't help but feel a little left out. She walked up behind Zoro and tugged his haramaki.
"Ne... Zoro? Can't I help?"
"No need. We'll be done here in a few seconds."
She knelt her head. "You guys don't always have to 'take care' of things. i can help too."
"I know, but it's just easier if we just did it."
Anger began to take over her emotions. "What is that suppose to mean?"
Before he could answer the bandits were right outside of the village. Like millions of times before, the guys dealt the the bad guys; Luffy went along with his usual "Gum Gum Gatling Gun", while Sanji used his "Party Table Kick Course" whipping kick attacks, and Zoro with his usual "Hawk Wave" to send a wave of energy towards the enemy. Within in a matter of moments like always, the enemy was easily defeated.
While Luffy and the others went towards the defeated men to gather some information, Zoro noticed Lacy's sudden change in body language and was curious.
"What's wrong?"
She kept walking. "Nothing."
"The hell it's nothing. You're deliberately ignoring me now. Was it something I said?"
"Maybe."
"Lacy!"
"Hey guys! I found the location of the three men in charge!" Nami waved to everyone.
After some scary persuasion, Nami managed to not only make the man tell them where the three leaders were, but a vague description of what they were searching for.
Robin pondered for a moment. "Sangre Coral... the blood ruby, huh?"
"Ever heard of it, Robin?" Nami asked.
She shook her head. "Not much. all I know about it is that it is a cursed ruby that has the ability to absorb the power of the World and add it to its owner possessed by the ruby."
Nami's eyes glittered. "I just want the gem to add to my collection~! I must have it~!"
"So lets go to their location already!"
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Everyone except Robin and Chopper went to the location the bandit had told where the leaders were hiding. Robin and Chopper went off with Elder Kunui to some ruins that could maybe help them find the location of the blood ruby. The hideout was on the side of a mountain, not too far away from the village itself. Of course being a hideout, bandits were guarding the entrance and the inside, which Luffy and the others took care of instantly as they made their way inside. With a little bit of help gathering directions from the beaten bandits, the crew ran to the room where they found two men waiting for them in a long narrow room.
The man to the left was tall with long, bang less straight blonde hair that fell nearly to his knees. He had dark narrow eyes with triangular marks running down the side of his face. He dressed a lot like a traditional French nobleman with the boots, gloves, tight pants, and fruity red jacket with the ruffled shirt. He didn't have the big fancy hat with the feather in it, but he did carry a rapier tied around his waist. The other man was large and built like a tank; and square like one too. He was fairly tall with large black eyes, pouty lips, and hair like a sumo wrestler. He was wearing a short brown leather jacket that was too small for his body and shape. He wore a blue sash around his waist, loose tan pants with ankle high boots to complete his look. His look was intimidating compared to the calm serene look of the other slender man.
"Who are you?" The blonde man asked.
"How did you get in here?!" The large man asked in an offensive tone.
"Get off this island!" Nami ordered them.
Usopp hid behind Zoro, but tried to sound brave. "O-O-Or at least m-m-move f-far away from that v-village nearby!!"
"I'm afraid we can't do that."
"Yeah! We're looking for something very important, so beat it chumps!"
"And who exactly are you?" Sanji asked, lighting himself a fresh cigarette.
The blonde man bowed. "I am Furonto. And that is Bakku."
"Get the hell out of here or we'll pumble ya!"
Bakku's corny insults was starting make Lacy reminisce the lingo from the early 90s. "Look, just get lost, ok?"
Foronto eyed the short woman. "Ah. I thought I recognized you. You have the newest bounty released from the World Government. You're Blue Siren Lacy."
She couldn't help but smile, happy to see her new pirate name was becoming known. "Well, anyways, get lost."
Nami glared at her crew mate's gleaming face and sighed. "You're really enjoying this aren't you?" Lacy just playfully stuck her tongue out.
"Let's just kick their asses and get it over with." Zoro said, unsheathing his swords.
Foronto clenched his sword and in a flash, both him and Zoro clashed swords together. "Pirate Hunter Zoro. I have been wondering what your santoryuu style looked like in person. Let's see how skillful you really are."
"Enough!" A voice called from the shadows.
Foronto backed off and placed his rapier back in his sheath. He turned his attention toward the back of the room and bowed. "As you wish."
"Huh?" Luffy squinted in the darkness, trying to find a shape or figure. "I think someone's sitting in a throne or something."
"Show yourself!" Sanji ordered.
The chair turned around, revealing the face to the voice.
Lacy's eyes went wide. "O-Oh my God... It's you!"
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"This way."
Elder Kunui lead Chopper and Robin down into some underground ruins on the other side of the village. The walls were covered in pictographs and an ancient language. Robin went right to work examining and deciphering the ruins while Chopper and the Elder stood back. Many minutes went by and chopper couldn't help but get a little bit bored. He walked around the ruins and looked in awe at all the pictures. He stopped at one particular picture that looked vaguely like a storyboard. The more he stared at it, the more it seemed to catch his interest.
"Ne, Robin. I think I found something interesting."
She walked over and knelt down by him, placing her hand over the frail clay. "I think you're right, sensei."
"Really?" The little deer seemed pleased to have unintentionally help.
Robin scanned the storyboard and tried piecing together the story it was telling about the ruby. Suddenly her eyes went wide with fear and her jaw dropped. "This... This is...!"
"W-What is it Robin?"
She quickly glanced over at Elder Kunui and swallowed. "The Sangre Coral's location... it's...!"