Chapter 8

It's been two days' travel since Luffy and company picked up three more people: their resident swordsman,Roronoa Zoro,a pink-haired boy by the name of Coby and an orange-haired thief by the name of Nami. Since their departure from Shelltown,Nami has shown herself to quite a skilled navigator,which she frequently argued with Luffy over. Since neither he or Ussopp were too good at navigating,Luffy was quite hung up on having her join their crew, even when she clearly stated she wasn't interested. After all,as Luffy said: «We can't rely on Gramps further than to Logue town,and a skilled navigator is needed on the Grand Line to survive». Despite saying no,deep inside Nami knew she wanted to join them,but she wanted to see if they could help her first. She had resolved to ask Luffy after they had helped Garp reunite with a certain clown.

«So,you're going to meet with Buggy so that Luffy can steal his treasure and deliver him to his bounty?» Nami asked Garp,who nodded. «Aye. I'll be damned if the brat doesn't try to run once he sees me,knowing that can beat his ass,even with his devil fruit» he said with a slight chuckle. Nami looked godsmacked. «Devil fruits are just legends,though!There's no way they could actually exist!»she said with a slight frown,which was copied by Garp. «Legends,huh? Sure,there are legends and stories about them,but let me tell you this,girlie; they are very much real. I have three grandsons,and all three of them have devil fruits» he gestured to Luffy,who was fishing by the railing. «Sure,his brothers have logia fruits,and one of them have become quite famous in his own right,but Luffy's fruit was still worth more on the black market,despite being a zoan fruit. You know why?» he asked her in a whisper. Nami shook her head. Garp chuckled. «Because it's a mythical zoan fruit. While his brothers can become elements,our Luffy can be a litteral beast on the battlefield» Garp said with a big grin. Nami turned back to look at Luffy,who was still fishing. His eyes closed in a big grin,his ears twitched happily on the top of his head,his... «Wait,what?» She blurted out,earning a bellowing laughter from the old man. «Oi Luffy! Showing her your fruit already?» Garp asked. Luffy turned toward them with a big grin. «Hey Gramps! I was just trying to see if I could hear the fish in the water!» he said before he looked at Nami,who was staring at him with a mix of fascination and horror on her face, and his sadness was visible only on the fact that his ears dropped. He immediately turned away from her and went into the captain's quarters,slamming the door behind him.

Garp looked at Nami and sighed. «Listen here,Nami was it? Despite acting like a complete goofball at times,Luffy is actually quite smart. He was letting his ears show to test you to see if you would accept him. The expression you just showed him just proved that you don't. If that is your genuine feelings towards him, then you're not going further than the town,at least not with us. Considering we'll see Orange town sometime tomorrow,you either prepare your leave or you explain yourself to Luffy» he finished with a grim tone and a disappointed look on his face before he stood up,took one last glance at her and went into the crew quarters. Nami sat there in shocked silence. 'I hurt him that bad?I didn't even say anything! But then again,Garp-san said that he had a Zoan-fruit,meaning he can turn into some kind of animal,and animals are generally better at sensing emotions and danger. Oh no,I really hurt him that bad? I have to fix this! Besides,he looked kinda quite with those ears.' She thought to herself. She steeled her nerves,walked up to the door of the captain's quarters and knocked three times. «Luffy?It's Nami. Can I come in? I need to explain myself» she said. It took a little while before she heard a muffled: «Come in!». She walked into the Captain's quarters and looked around. There was a king-sized bed with dark orange bedcovers by one wall, a bookshelf full of books by another with a sitting area with three chairs and a small bar next to it. Next to the bookshelf was also windows big enough to easily see through.

«Nice room» she said when she noticed Luffy,sitting in a chair by one of the windows,a glass of amber liquid in his hand. «Thanks. So,what did you want to say?» Luffy said without looking at her. Nami walked up to him,got down on her knees and bowed to him. «I'm sorry! I should've said something,but I was honestly shocked to see proof that devil fruits exist! I did not expect to see your ears on top of your head,which,to be honest,I think look really cute! Please forgive me,Luffy,I did not want to hurt you!» she said,freely crying at the end. Luffy looked at her,downed his glass,stood up and lifted Nami up,so she stood to face him. He looked her in the eyes and said: «I will not hide my devil fruit from my nakama. I understand you have problems with pirates, but considering where your home is,I can easily understand that Arlong the saw is the issue. Trust me when I say this,he will not live a day longer after we arrive at the Conomi islands» Luffy said with an intense voice. Nami was shook that Luffy had such confidence in himself and his crew,but then remembered that Luffy and Ussopp had been taught and trained by Garp himself. She once again steeled herself for what she was about to say.

«I need you to train me» she said as she looked him in the eyes. Luffy looked emotionless at her for a moment before he grinned. «Go outside and join Ussopp and the others. I'll be there shortly» he said. Nami nodded and left the room. She walked out on the deck,saw Ussopp and the others and joined them. When Ussopp saw her approach them,he smiled. «Well,hello there Nami-san?Want to watch me train these two greenhorns? Or do you want to join us?» he said with a smile. Nami smiled back and nodded. «Yes. I already asked Luffy to help train me,as I am not in any better condition than Coby here» she said and gestured to the pink-haired boy,who just sulked. «I'm trying to bulk up though» he said. Ussopp put a hand on the pinkette's shoulder. «Yeah,and for a greenhorn,you're doing great! Just you wait,a couple more weeks,and you'll bulk up to the unrecognizeable!» he said with a grin and a thumbs up towards Coby. Then Luffy appeared. His normal outfit was changed to a pair of loose sweatpants,a black tanktop and an orange bandana on his head.

«All of us needs to bulk up,in more ways than one. Now,I suggest we all warm up properly,and then we'll start training your haki» he said,getting a nod from Ussopp. «What's haki?» asked Zoro. Luffy grinned. «Haki is abilities that come in three different forms: Armament,Observation and Conqueror's. Two out of these three are available for anyone» Luffy said. He then pointed to Zoro. «Hit me as hard as you can» Zoro looked puzzled,but did as asked. He hit Luffy in the stomach as hard as he could,but all he felt was pain the next second. When he looked,Luffy's stomach was covered in a black-ish substance. «For your information,your haki is powered by your willpower. The harder your resolve,the harder your armament haki becomes! It's also the only way of beating logia-type devil fruits,besides seastone prism that is» Luffy explained. He then looked to Ussopp. «Ussopp,you take Coby and train him. I'll train Zoro and Nami» he said. Ussopp nodded. «Okay. Come on,kid. Let's buff you up!» he said as the pair walked over to the bridge.

Luffy then looked at Zoro and Nami. «Now then,to train you,I'll ask you: which form of haki would you like to know first?» Luffy asked the two. «What's Observation?» Asked Zoro. Luffy grinned. «Observation is the ability to read your opponents movement,and effectively counter attacks. With enough training you can actually see a little bit into the future!» Luffy said. «What about the other two? I mean,you've explained one,but what about the others?» Nami asked.

«Armament is the ability to cover yourself in that black substance you saw earlier,which is basically your willpower. As I said,it's the only natural way to beat a logia-type devil fruit without using seastone prism. Conqueror's is impossible to teach,since anyone who has it,must be born with it,and only one out of one million are born with it.» Luffy finished. «Do you have Conqueror's haki?» Zoro asked.

Luffy nodded. «I have» he said. «Basically it allows me to knock out or even kill those with a weaker will than I do,which is what I did to those soldiers in Shell town» Luffy said as he looked at Zoro,who understood what he meant. «So,which haki do you think would suit us best?» Zoro asked. Luffy raised an eyebrow. «Normally,I'd think that Nami would be better at Observation haki while you would be more suited for Armament, but personally I'd like to have both of you start Observation,so that you could easier evade any incoming attacks» Luffy said,getting a nod from both Zoro and Nami. «So how do we begin?» Zoro asked. Luffy grinned. «Wait here» he said as he went down to the storage and returned a moment later with two staffs. «What are those for?» asked Nami when Luffy had reached them. «Shishishishi! Those are for your training! I'm using the same method that was used on me by Shanks and Gramps! It's simple really. One of you are going to be blindfolded and the other one will attack you with one of these staffs. What you basically have to do is try to sense the area around you» Luffy said. Nami just looked at Zoro and said: «Don't you dare going full force on me!» Zoro just sweatdropped and looked at Luffy,who stood there with the staffs and somehow,he'd gotten a hold of two blindfolds as well without them noticing. «Here's your equipment. I'll be back soon,I'm gonna help Ussopp with Coby a little bit» he said as he gave them the equipment and walked away. «So,who goes first?» Zoro asked Nami. «I'll attack,you dodge!» she said,causing Zoro to sweatdrop again.

Meanwhile,with Ussopp and Coby:

«That's great,Coby! Just 50 pushups more,and we'll take a breather!» Ussopp said as he watched over Coby,who was currently on his 100th pushup when Luffy came up to them. «How's he doing?» Luffy asked. «He's doing great,he only has 50 more pushups to finish of the set I gave him» Ussopp said. Luffy nodded with a smile. «That's great! When your break is finished,send him to learn from Gramps,I'm going to need you to help me train Zoro and Nami» Luffy said,getting a nod from Ussopp. «Now I need to talk to Gramps and Makino» the black-haired man said as he walked inside to the kitchen,where Garp and Makino were sitting with a cup of coffee each. «Hey Gramps,neechan!» Luffy said as he walked in. «Luffy? I thought you were out training the others?» Garp said. «I was. I just came in to see if you could train Coby a little?» Luffy said as he made himself some coffee. «Oh? And what would I be teaching him that you couldn't do yourself?» Garp asked. Luffy shrugged. «Dunno. That would be up to you to decide» Luffy said as he took a sip of his coffee. «by the way, are we far from Orange town?» he asked. Garp took his mug and walked outside with Luffy following. Garp looked over the horizon. «Orange town is about 3-4 hours in that direction» Garp said as he pointed to the north-west. Luffy nodded. «In that case,I'll take over the helm,and leave the training of Zoro,Nami and Coby to you for the last bit. Ussopp will take the crow's nest» Luffy said,getting a nod from Garp. «Alright. Let me go down there and see how they are progressing» Garp said as he walked down. «Oi Ussopp!» yelled Luffy. «What's up Luffy?» the vice-captain asked. «I need you to get up into the crow's nest. According to Gramps,we're not too far from Orange Town,so I need you to be on the lookout. Gramps will handle the training until we arrive,so I'll handle the helm» Luffy explained. «Aye aye Captain!» Ussopp saluted before climbing up to the crow's nest.

The rest of the trip to Orange town was uneventful,aside from the many curses and insults from Zoro and Nami over their training. The results for both had been a lot of bruises on them both,moreso on Zoro than Nami,since she had threatened him with castration every time it looked like he was about to use more force than she wanted him to.

When they had arrived at Orange Town,Luffy called everyone onto the deck. «Alright. Zoro and Ussopp,you guys follow me. Nami and Coby,you guys deal with anyone guarding their treasure and bring every berry directly back here. Ussopp,keep Zoro close and stick to the cover of the rooftops until I give signal. Fuck knows he would end up walzing right into Buggy's camp without realizing it. We want to give them the element of surprise,and to them,it will just look like Gramps and I are taking a stroll through the village. After that,we'll just have to wing it» he said,getting a nod from everyone. «What will I be doing,Luffy?» asked Makino. Luffy smiled. «You got the gun Shanks gave you?» he asked. Makino smiled and nodded. « need you to guard the ship in case anyone tries to rob us while we're ashore. Can you do that,nee-chan?» he asked. She nodded again. «Aye captain!» she said with a salute,causing Luffy,Ussopp and Garp to laugh. Zoro and Nami just looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. After a moment,Luffy turned serious. «Alright! Everyone knows what they have to do?» he asked,getting a nod from everyone. «then let's move out!» he said.

A few moments later,Luffy and Garp was walking through the abandoned village. «Man,looks like people are afraid of old clown-face» Luffy said. «Yeah. Apparently,he's been bullying his way through the East Blue,the coward» Garp said with a grim tone. Just then they saw 15 or so pirates come running towards them. «Who the hell are you calling a coward? Don't you dare besmirch the name of the great Captain Buggy!» one of them yelled before an explosion went off in the middle of the bunch. Luffy looked up to see Ussopp give him a brief thumbs up before he disappeared once more over the rooftops. Luffy looked at his grandpa. «Shall we?» he asked as he gestured for Garp to lead the way,as Garp could easily recognize Buggy's signature with his haki. Garp smirked and led Luffy further until they were standing in front of a bar. «Well,if this isn't a stereotypical pirate hangout,at a bar» Luffy said with a small laugh.

«Call him,Luffy» Garp said in a grave tone. Luffy smirked. «Gotcha!» he said as he inhaled and shouted out: «OI! BIG NOSE!» on the top of his lungs. «Who dares to flashily insult me like that?» came a grumpy tone from the rooftop as a clown-lookalike showed his face over the Bannister,before rapidly growing pale. «G-G-Garp-san?! What the hell are you doing here?!» he asked nervously. «I could ask you the same question,you damn clown! Last I remember you were from the South Blue,not the East,so why the hell are you and your wandering circus bothering people in my home sea?!» Garp bellowed. Behind Buggy,his crew was freaking out over the fact that the legendary Garp of the Roger Pirates was yelling at their captain. «Why the hell is Captain Buggy being yelled at by him of all people?!» one of them shouted,which Garp heard. «So,you're ashamed of your former crew? Or is it that you're afraid the marines will find out?» Garp growled. Buggy was shaking . 'Crap! None of us will survive if he wants to take us down! Maybe I can persuade him to leave us be? No,he has no doubt heard of my deeds since the crew disbanded. But why is he here of all places?»he thought before asking: «Wait-Wait a minute! I'll admit I haven't been that open about that part of my past,but that's no reason to hunt me down! Why are you here,on this island specifically?!» Buggy shouted/asked. Garp smirked. «Oh,that?Well,my grandson is setting out as a pirate,and needs some starting up money,so I'm helping him cashing in some bounties» he said as he gestured to the straw hat wearing teen, who waved up at Buggy. «Yo!» This made Buggy hopping mad. «So,you're helping this brat turn in your old comrades,is that it?! Fire the Buggy Ball!» he barked to his men,who immediately scrambled to obey his orders.

With Zoro and Ussopp:

«What the hell are they doing?!» Zoro almost yelled out. Ussopp smirked. «The Buggy ball is reportedly a massive cannonball with ten times the explosive force of a regular doing this,they're going to throw it back at Buggy,literately!» he said. Zoro looked questioning at Ussopp. «What do you mean?» Ussopp sighed. «He might be more remembered for his ability to throw a punch,but old man Garp has the ability to throw cannonballs faster and harder than a regular canon!» he said. Zoro's eyes widened. «You're serious?!» he asked. Ussopp nodded. «I've lived with Luffy and Garp for the past 9 years. During those times I've seen both of them do things that shouldn't be physically possible. Of course,Luffy's more due to his devil-fruit,but Garp is all about pure strength» Ussopp finished in a serious tone before he looked over to see a horde of Buggy's minions rush through the town to the harbor. «Shit! Get your ass down on the ground!They're trying to get to our ship!» Ussopp said as he pushed Zoro over the ledge. «AAAAAHH!» THUD «Ow! Warn a guy next time,will you?» he yelled up at Ussopp before he noticed the minions stampeding towards him. «Trying to take our ship,eh?Good luck» he said as he prepared his swords,placing his Wado Ichimonji in his mouth. «Ittoryu...Shishi Sonson!» he exclaimed as he started plowing his way through the crowd. The pirates barely understood that someone was attacking them before they were all strewn around the street.

From a distance,Buggy noticed the slaughter of his men and noticed the appearance of the newcomer. «Roronoa Zoro?The pirate Hunter? Are you here for my head?» the clown yelled. «Nope,not interested» Zoro replied lazily. «Oh,but I am. Killing you would bolster my reputation greatly,so DIE!» Buggy said as he sent off his hand with a dagger in it towards Zoro,however... «HEY!BIG NOSE! Your fight is with me!» Luffy yelled with a pissed expression on his face,which suddenly unnerved Buggy. «Cabaji! Deal with the pirate hunter while I take care of this brat! Mohji! Go into town and see if there's anyone else there and kill them!» Buggy yelled as he sent out a guy on a unicycle and another guy riding a huge lion. Garp put his hand on Luffy's shoulder. «I'll deal with the guy and the lion,you deal with Buggy. Do not play around Luffy,he's already pissing me off» the old pirate said as he ran off after the lion. Luffy glared at Buggy. «Any last words before I cave your head in,clown?» Luffy said. Buggy glared back as he noticed the straw hat currently resting on Luffy's head. «That straw hat of yours is pissing me off,it keeps reminding me of that damnable red hair» Buggy said,causing Luffy to smirk. «I heard the story, how Shanks saved you from drowning after you ate the Bara-Bara no mi. I gotta say Buggy,you seem pretty ungrateful towards the guy that saved your life» Luffy said. Buggy gritted his teeth as he jumped down towards the pavement in front of Luffy. «You sure have a death wish,brat. Even if you are old man Garp's grandson,you are nothing compared to me!» he yelled as he stomped his shoes on the ground,making small blades appear on them. «BARA BARA ..SENBEI!» the clown yelled as his lower half suddenly was sent cartwheeling towards Luffy,who stood still. When the detached part of Buggy came close to him,he unconsciously activated his armament haki,causing Buggy to yell out in pain when he connected. Luffy grabbed one of the legs and tossed it casually back to Buggy. «I hope you had fun Buggy. This is the end of the line for you» Luffy said as before Buggy's eyes,six clones of the same straw-hatted bastard appeared. Buggy grinned. «I don't think so brat! Bara Bara Festival!» Buggy yelled as he split into several tiny pieces and attacked all the straw hats he could see. To his dismay, Buggy became so preoccupied with his attack,he never noticed that one of the Luffys had taken the opportunity to sneak up behind his head and gave it a Haki-infused punch,causing the clown to pass out. Luffy then dispelled his clones and started to tie him up,parts and all. He then walked down to where he last saw Garp and Zoro. Zoro was the first one he reached. The green-haired swordsman stood over the bloodied body of Cabaji,the man on the unicycle. «Is he dead?» Luffy asked. Zoro nodded. «he was a tough bastard,kept using fire and tricks to attack. I admit,I got carried away» Zoro admitted with a lowered head. Luffy put a hand on Zoro's shoulder. «Don't worry about it,he was just one more obstacle for us. After all,we're going to fight much stronger opponents later on» Luffy said. Just then Ussopp jumped down from the rooftops. «Hey Ussopp,everything okay?» Luffy asked. «Yeah,everything went just as planned. Every single of the weaklings are gone. I see you got the clown» the sniper said,gesturing to the pile on Luffy's back. «Shishishishi,yeah,he was weaker than expected» Luffy said with a grin. «Come on,let's find gramps!» he said as he lead the two towards where Garp was.

They found Garp in a back alley,in front of a store of pet food, a bloody body laying face down further down the road,and the lion nowhere to be found. «Hey gramps! Where's the lion?» Luffy asked as he looked around. Garp sighed. «Nevermind that,you got the clown?» he asked,getting a nod from the raven-haired teen. «Good. The sooner we cash in this asshole's bounty,the better» Garp said as he started walking towards the ship,the three young men following.

As soon as they got on to the ship,they stowed Buggy under deck after giving him another haki-infused punch.

As they were preparing to set sail,Nami came up to Luffy and asked: «So,where to next,Captain?» Luffy smiled as he shared a glance with Ussopp. «Syrup Village at the Gecko Islands» Luffy replied. «Yeah!» said Ussopp as he looked out to sea. «My home» he said quietly.