Chapter 34- A Marine's Murmurs, A Pirate's Outbursts

One Piece © Eiichiro Oda

William Henley, G-13 Base, Beau-Père, Fixit, Seventy, Scorcher, and the Hermits of Virtue © HatOnFire/Me

The sky was clear and birds flew out of the white, puffy clouds, flapping their wings over the G-13 Base. There were a couple of holes in the stronghold walls and there were some craters in the dirt due to explosives and body slamming. Outside the base, a large ship with broken masts was docked at the shoreline, with a couple of men patrolling the place.

"That's right, sir," Stainless told Sengoku over the Transponder Snail aboard his ship, "In summary, Monkey D. Luffy and Saw-Tooth Arlong both escaped, as Beau-Père's men have said. The two were not working together, given their last altercation with each other."

"The Straw Hat Pirates have beaten the Commander's top three officers," Sengoku added, "Fixit, Seventy, and Scorcher. And aboard your ship, Straw Hat Luffy defeated Beau-Père in combat."

"Yes, sir," Stainless nodded, "And I do not know if he realized it himself, but the boy tapped into the power of Haki in that battle."

"I see," The Fleet Admiral whispered, "And we did have some casualties at the base, yes?"

"Among the list of deaths were the soldiers stationed in solitary confinement beneath the detention center. They were slaughtered by whoever freed Arlong. It was clearly someone other than the Straw Hats."

"Yes. That is all for now, Stainless. When Beau-Père is feeling better, tell him to call me."

"Will you demote him again, sir?"

"No," Sengoku replied, "He's too good a man. He has a strength that can't be defined through physical attributes or Devil Fruit powers."

"Yes, sir..."

Sengoku placed the receiver on the snail in his office, ending the call.

"My grandson escaped, right?" Garp was standing at the window, crossing his arms as his jacket fluttered a little.

"He did," Sengoku confirmed, looking at the paper that was faxed in. "And he appears to have gotten a little stronger from that. And on top of that, it would appear that one member of his crew, Cat Burglar Nami, has taken possession of a Devil Fruit."

"That's something worth noting..." The aged Vice Admiral nodded, sternly looking outside.

"...I know you're mad at me for keeping vital information from you..."

"You're desperate enough to send even a minor to his death," Garp hissed, "My grandson, no less. I'm surprised you have no shame in attempting to do that. So tell me, what good would that have accomplished?"

"It would've proven that the Marines don't need the Seven Warlords to handle a potential threat," Sengoku stated, "And I thought it would be best to-"

"You thought wrong," Garp growled, not once raising his voice. "Luffy doesn't care about the World Government or what it stands for. He's the kind of kid who'll take on anybody who gets in his way. You call it criminal of him to do so, but he's just trying to live his dream, even if I don't like it."

"Since your son is the equivalent to a terrorist, I suppose you would say that about your grandson."

"Don't flatter my boy when he isn't even in the room," Garp turned his head to glare at his superior, "You don't honestly think the system is perfect, do you?"

"We are Marines, Garp!" The Fleet Admiral bellowed, "We maintain order and protect and serve the people of the world!"

"I'm not sure we're serving anyone important besides our oversaturated egos and oversized aristocrats," Garp fired back, "You realize Akainu is taking the meaning of 'justice' and going overboard with it?"

"That talk is pure insolence," Sengoku simmered, "Yet I admit his methods are extreme at best and dangerous at worst."

"We couldn't do anything to handle Shiki, and he's in hiding after my grandson encountered him. You have to admit that Luffy is doing the world a favor by battling those who would seek to rule and destroy all that's good."

"But the fact that he's a pirate isn't something we should treat with a slap on the wrist. He could still turn out to be no different from the other pirates. Especially considering his father is Dragon."

"What happened to you, Sengoku?" Garp shook his head, proceeding to walk out of the office. "Back then, even you could see the good in some people. What happened?"

"No matter the good," Sengoku turned his head to the side, his eyes still not wavering. "The bad will still exist. And when the worst of man is apparent in one, it decides how the future could turn out with that kind of evil in the world."

"You still believe that crap," Garp sighed, walking out of the office. "But I guess that's why you're where you are. You're willing to execute the family of a friend for the greater good."

"Garp, wait-"

*SLAM!*

The door was shut by Garp, though with listening to his superior for the day. Now, Sengoku was alone.

"When did we go wrong?" Sengoku breathed out through his nose, shifting his glasses. "And where? Was this even the right choice?"

Sitting at his desk, the Fleet Admiral clasped his hands in thought. He would ponder this question for several days, at least until his attention was required elsewhere.

XXX

"What the hell happened?"

Luffy crossed his arms while shaking his head in disapproval and walking around the table. Just now, he learned that Robin spied on his conversation with Brook and Chopper, and he wasn't going to have it. And this was when he thought the streak of distrust had ended with his leave and return.

"Why, Robin?" The captain demanded an answer from her this instant, "Why did you spy on me, Chopper, and Brook just now?"

"I felt I needed to know what you planned on doing with us," Robin replied, "Now that you came back aboard."

"When I woke up, I was told that you wanted the crew to prioritize my rescue. For a second, I thought that you still had some sort of faith in me despite everything. But I guess it was another dumb thought for someone like me..."

"No, Luffy," She uttered with a sadder expression than before, "It's just another sore habit of mine."

"Habit?"

"I've..." Robin parted her gaze to her right side, "I've always spied on others, expecting a betrayal to come to me in some form. Before that inevitable point, I would prepare myself for the worst."

'Right,' Luffy thought, now more calmly than before. 'She was always like this, before and after we met. Still...'

"You weren't in any danger this time, Robin," He spoke up, still holding onto that tone of disappointment. "And you betrayed me! The last time didn't count, 'cause you didn't want to leave, but you don't have any excuse here!"

"I know," The archaeologist nodded, covering her face with her hand. "It must be a shame that the bullet Arlong shot me with didn't-"

"Do not finish that," Luffy commanded, pointing at her. "That 'I wish I died' shit's really getting old."

"We've got so much in common that it hurts," Henley sighed.

"Here, here," Nami sarcastically concurred, keeping her head down. She traced a digit around the outline of the medical eye patch Chopper had given her.

"Anyway," Luffy didn't want the topic to become a contest of who's sorrier to be alive, so he kept on with it. "The others didn't put you up to it?"

"No, it was all me," Robin started to admit, "But Usopp did ask me what I was hearing."

"And I'm sorry I even asked..." Usopp mumbled, planting his chin and arms on the table, feebly covering his mouth. Perhaps the contest was going to start, after all. "We shouldn't even be intruding on your privacy, Luffy."

"Well, it's too late for that, isn't it?!" Luffy snapped, slamming his balled fist on the table, startling the liar into falling off his seat and onto the floor.

"Luffy, calm down!" Nami pleaded, "None of us even knew what Robin heard, anyway!"

"Don't yell at her on this one, Luffy," Sanji calmly told, stepping on the cigarette he purposely dropped. "This time, it's the truth."

The straw hat boy cooled himself for a second, looking around him, seeing that the other members that were in the dining room were either nodding or confirming Nami and Sanji's statements. Then, he turned to Henley, lying on the sofa.

"Is this true, Henley?" He asked him, getting a thumbs up as a valid response.

"It was silent when I got in here, sir..." Henley added, "Nobody was shifting around or making odd gestures, but the tall miss did have a hand close to her ear."

"Now you trust whatever that runt says over anything we say?" Zoro bitterly spat, clutching his hands together.

"Oh, you wanna know?" Luffy hissed as Usopp returned to his seat, "He's been more honest with me in the past three days than you seem to have been in the past few weeks!"

The swordsman's eyes raised up a little until they closed in defeat. There was no way he could make a retort to that with logic, let alone anything illogical.

"Who betrayed who, Zoro?" Luffy continued, "Because I'm looking at you. ALL SIX OF YOU."

Throughout the room, no one dared to say another word at risk of interrupting the captain of the ship. Each member of the guilty party either anxiously moved a limb or their body, or calmly accepted the potential reality that was becoming very apparent.

"Do you know what a sign of a betrayal is?"

The pirate made his question, one he would promptly answer.

"IT'S A LIE."

He leaned on the kitchen counter, his eyes masked by his familiar straw hat.

"A betrayal is a sign of a lie. Betraying someone means you aren't an honest person or a true friend. And you can't be a true friend if you could do that to someone you know and feel some kind of accomplishment."

The conspirators from the Lovely Land incident couldn't feel any lower than right now. But they would be. They would be.

"Well, congrats. You betrayed me. You shattered my faith into a million pieces. The Jolly Roger doesn't say much about our crew, now does it?"

Luffy lifted his hat up, revealing his stern expression.

"So, was the lie worth it? Was it worth drowning all the trust I put in each of you?"

He walked to the head of the table, quietly dropping his hands and firmly placing them there.

"Zoro," He called the name of one, and proceeded to do the same to the others responsible for the lie he had damned. "Sanji. Robin. Franky. Usopp. Nami."

He couldn't help but admit how hard it was on him, unable to just say their names. He needed a moment in between to carry on, and all the courage to keep himself together.

"I allowed you to join my crew, and this is all you have to show for it? Lying, insulting me, the captain, spying on me, beating me with your fists, legs, and other weapons when I did anything wrong?"

While Chopper was never a conspirator, he still was told to keep quiet in all of this when he found out. And this scolding made him uncomfortable, he was glad he confessed to Luffy. Of course, he couldn't handle the pressure to begin with.

"I'm not simply upset. I'm angry. Furious. I would never lie about something this serious, and I can't even do that. I'm sorry this happened, and I know you're all sorry that your lie lead to what happened yesterday."

Henley sat up, assisted by Brook, with the two almost believing Luffy softened up. But they were wrong about that.

"BUT THAT DOESN'T CHANGE WHAT I FEEL ABOUT ANY OF YOU!"

The captain sent his fist back, stretching it out to loudly slam against the door behind him. He had frightened each of the crew into keeping their eyes on him, whether through words or through that scare tactic.

"You all know you shouldn't be forgiven, right?!" His hand snapped back into place with a meager tug, "Good! At least you admit that part!"

"In that case, just tell us we're out," Sanji sighed, burying his head in the table. "The sooner we're gone, the better you'll feel."

"No," Luffy shook his head, "You're not out. And I'm not finished."

"Not finished?" The navigator almost walked out of the room, planning on leaving when the question of who should go was brought up. "What else is there to say? We don't deserve your trust, your forgiveness, or any kind of camaraderie."

"You're right about that. You don't deserve any of that. How can you be my friends and still treat me like I'm from another world?"

"Are we done now?" Franky pondered, just tired of being on the receiving end of the pain. "You've made clear your stance. Just get it over with."

"No, I'm not entirely through," Luffy continued to say, "And neither are you. Until I personally tell each of you, you're still under my command, and you are banned from leaving the ship by yourselves."

"Luffy?" The musician questioned, "Where are you going with this?"

"They played me for a sucker, Brook," The captain pointed out, "And I shouldn't have a crew who treats their captain like dirt, bruising and abusing him at their leisure. But, I'm not playing like most captains would. We're going to the next island on our way, and we'll stop right there. When we do, I'll take all the time I want to come to a full conclusion."

"A full conclusion?" Chopper repeated, not quite getting what he meant.

"I need more than a day or a week to figure out what I want to do with these guys, Chopper. There's only so much crap I can take."

"So you're going to replace us?" Usopp mumbled as the crew looked at him, "The ones who lied to you?"

"No thanks to you," Luffy muttered, "I never wanted to think about that."

It took no time all for the sniper resign himself, realizing there was no reasoning with Luffy.

"I-I guess this was meant to happen..." He sighed, "I'll finally get what I deserve..."

"After telling Chopper I'd kill him if he didn't keep this lie a secret," Luffy snarled, "You deserve much worse."

Usopp felt crushed, and quietly wished he never planted such a thought in his friend's head.

"In case you traitors forgot," The captain voiced once more, "None of you are leaving my crew unless I say so at the next island. And whether before or after that time, whether or not you guys are out, it's all the same."

He approached the table, shooting all of them a death glare.

"I WILL NEVER TRUST YOU OR FORGIVE YOU ALL."

Having let it sink in, Luffy moved to the door leading to the deck outside. He opened it up, turning his head back to look at the people who betrayed him one more time.

"You guys let me down," He bitterly spat, his mind flashing back to several moments where he was on the verge of death. "The people who tried to kill me couldn't hurt me in the way you did. You destroyed something more important than my own life: trust, friendship, and my faith in you."

He slammed the door on the way out, rubbing salt on fresh wounds.

"Luffy..." Chopper stared at the door, shocked at what he said on the way out.

"We're..." Sanji choked, tearing up on the inside. "We're still here..."

"He won't let us leave..." The metal man picked himself up from his spot, "After everything..."

"Why...?!" Zoro clenched his fists in anger, "Why won't he just throw us out?!"

"We're just a burden to him now," Robin struggled to maintain her composure, "We shouldn't be here."

"I don't want to be here anymore..." Usopp covered his eyes, hiding his tears. "I don't belong here anymore...!"

"...I get what Luffy's doing," Nami rested her elbow on the table, holding her head over her hand in thought. "We never gave him the respect he deserved, so he refuses to give the punishment we deserve. And like he never got a choice when we lied to him, we don't have a choice here. There's no way to leave outside of disobeying him."

"Then you could prove him right by doing so right now," Brook sharply mumbled, "It won't be any skin off my nonexistent nose."

"But we won't do that," Nami replied, "We can't go anywhere ourselves, let alone home."

"Y-You're right," Robin got up and turned to the wall, almost attempting to hide her tears. "We have nowhere else to turn to. And if we run with our tails in between our legs, we'll be the traitors we always have been to Luffy."

"It's my fault!" The cook dropped his open palms on the table in agony, "It's my fault we hid everything about that incident from him! Sanji, you useless-!"

"He was my friend..." Usopp sobbed, "And I lied to him because I saw him as an idiot! I lied because I didn't want to face him!"

"You brought this on yourself," Chopper grumbled despite crying himself, going back to the sick bay. "I can't believe I was ever friends with you!"

"C-Chopper..." The liar pitifully called out, lifting an arm.

"I wish you died so I don't have to treat you ever again!" The doctor immediately closed the door, through with listening to his former friend.

"T-This isn't right..." Henley muttered to himself, "If only I never attacked the captain first..."

"Guess I'll just go downstairs..." Franky didn't even bother hiding his sadness this time, "I-If anyone needs me to fix the sail, I'll be down there."

"Maybe a drink..." Zoro calmly walked out of the room, despite having a gloomy disposition. "I need some fucking sake..."

"I pushed him too far..." Robin quietly murmured, leaving the room with watery eyes. "I truly am disgusting..."

"I didn't see this coming," The orange-haired girl got up, looking at Brook. "You must be pleased with yourself."

"What's there to be pleased about?" The musician shook his head, "The crew is still divided, even with the captain safe. Relationships are being fractured, and this issue he has with you remains unfulfilled."

"The issue with me is the same with everyone else," Nami crossed her arms woefully, "There's nothing else to it than that."

"Not quite," Brook sighed, "There's tension between you two, and it must be resolved."

"L-Luffy's just better off without someone like me, that's all," Nami slightly stammered, repressing a certain feeling. "It's better that I just stay out of his way or something worse will happen."

"What could be worse than what's happening now?" Brook walked to the door, deciding on going outside. "If you wish to be silent, that's your business. But you'll be sorry if you don't tell him how you truly feel."

"It won't matter," The navigator opened the door for him, allowing him to leave. "I've lost the right to any form of happiness."

Upon speaking her mind, Nami closed the door. Brook went down the stairs to the green deck, then up to the helm, fully expecting Luffy to be at the figurehead.

[BGM: Recollection ~ The Bitter Taste of Truth, Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations]

"Mr. Luffy?" He called, looking out to see him on the lion.

"What do you want, Brook?" The captain forlornly questioned, "I want to be alone right now."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Luffy," Brook apologized, "I know how hard this is on you and that you didn't ask for this."

"I hated saying those things to them," Luffy admitted, "But what else was I supposed to do? Deny the truth? If I forgave them, they'd just do something like that again. But it wouldn't have happened if I weren't stupid in the first place."

"Please, Luffy. Don't think that way."

"Brook, I caused them to feel like they had to lie to me. For all my talk on how I hate people who betray their friends, I'm no different. I betrayed them as they did. I can't justify breaking their hearts because they broke mine first."

"Please stop it..." The undead man pleaded, "You were only acting in a manner a captain had to. You needed to show them you wouldn't tolerate their behavior."

"B-But still..." The captain stuttered, "I don't think I should've done that. Nami said that she felt punished from seeing me in that cell back there. I know the crew felt bad for everything when I left."

"They were pained by your words when we were contacted by Commander Beau-Père, too... I suppose you were harder on them in person than you were over the Transponder Snail."

"I gave them a speech just like when I got taken away," Luffy closed his eyes sighing, "And it was worse. But I can't take it back now. It had to be said, and I don't want them to forget it, even if it hurts me to say those things."

"I'm so sorry, Luffy. The role of a leader is sometimes too heavy to handle."

"You didn't do anything, Brook... It's all me... Now I have to carry on with it... If I don't, how can I expect any honesty in the future?"

"Luffy..." Brook sadly watched the poor lad lower his head.

"I-It's all fine..." Luffy tried smiling despite himself, but he already betrayed himself with his emotions. "I can only blame myself for this. I-I'll deal with it, and we'll go to the next island. I'll figure it all out..."

"Will you... actually decide to replace them?"

Luffy quivered from the thought of discarding the crew he formed. He recalled some good and bad times with them, some moments of them in hard times. He was hesitant to confirm or deny the notion...

"I'll leave you alone," Brook instantly regretted asking such a question, walking off. But he still did one thing... He pulled out his violin and played a small tune to soothe not only the captain's sad soul, but also his own.

"I-I have to keep going..." Luffy quietly sobbed, clenching his fists and letting his suppressed tears out. "I have to... I'm going to be... the Pirate King...!"

XXX

"T-This is too hard to watch..." The large hermit in the purple cloak averted his line of sight from the portal on the wall, unable to bear with what he and the other hermits saw.

"It looks like it wouldn't matter if he threw his crew out or not," The fiery-colored hermit who always grinned sighed, frowning for the first time in a while. "The Straw Hat Pirates are divided, and unless something changes, the world may not stand a chance against the brewing storm."

"But why am I still here?" Belle-Mère wondered, "I can't give advice on relationships. It's not what I do."

"Everyone is affected by this," The beautiful seer in her golden robe surmised, "What they can't tell is that there's more to the captain's actions than the lack of faith he expressed in his crew. I don't believe they have seen the hidden truth of his words."

"Hidden truth?" The green hermit with his unusual instrument repeated in confusion, "I never thought Monkey D. Luffy had something complex interwoven with his words."

"A second viewing would make things more clear," The aged man in brown replied, "But it's glaring that he doesn't want to be rid of the crew that lied to him, despite everything that happened. In fact, he doesn't even want to confirm that as a valid or necessary option."

"I-Is that so?" That hermit with exposed teeth questioned, "Does that mean he can forgive them if he tried?"

"He won't," The big figure interjected, "He can't bring himself to do so, out of fear the incidents will repeat. And he still blames himself for their actions."

"In other words, he has to forgive himself before any kind of healing can start," The green-robed one summarized, "But it doesn't appear he will come to that conclusion on his own."

"So you want me to talk to him?" Belle-Mère looked at the five who brought her spirit back to the mortal coil, "I don't know anything about this kid."

"No, but you know someone who can accomplish that for you," The grey-bearded hermit smiled under his hood, "You have to get your daughter, Nami, to bring the boy to his senses."

"But will he listen to her?" The formerly living Marine got more concerned, "I know he said that he wasn't going to forgive her for what she pulled-"

"In his mind, he will be resented by the crew," The usually grinning man whispered with a thoughtful and stoic expression, "He needs to realize that there's no ill will towards him for his actions, as they were justified."

"It's as I have said yesterday..." With a wave of his staff, the old hermit changed the view of the portal from the figurehead to the library, showing Nami at her desk, adding the locations this crew has visited on her map. "To repair the damage that was dealt, it must start with her."

"Alright," Belle-Mère nodded, approaching the swirling stream of mist on the cavern walls. "I'll do what I can. Nothing went wrong from your advice yet..."

In one instant, a vacuum-like breeze pulled her into the portal, and she was no longer in the cave.

"The power to traverse though present time," The purple-robed hermit mumbled, "And we can't even stop certain events from happening without outside help."

"You know our powers weakened when their bodies were destroyed," The blonde hermit sighed, looking back on the past. "We were lucky enough to preserve their souls and put them through a rebirth cycle so we would still keep some of our abilities."

"Our poor friends," The instrument bearer strummed a tune on his lyre, "Their sacrifices are not forgotten, yet they no longer remember us in their new bodies."

"If only we could reclaim our sky island," The orange hermit made a small smile, vainly attempting to reassure himself. "Then we wouldn't need to worry about moving on without having a new generation of our kind take our place."

"We can last only for two or three years until we cannot sustain ourselves," The hermit with his grey beard noted, "Before our time ends, we must see to it our home is liberated, and be reassured that the world will be free from the World Government. We need those pirates..."

The portal continued to remain in place, showing the Thousand Sunny in the sea of large and small cherry blossoms. Before this day would end, at least one problem will be resolved, and a catalyst will be set off.

Monkey D. Luffy's shattered faith will be fixed for the days that would follow, one piece at a time.

TO BE CONTINUED...

CHAPTERS REMAINING: 1

Yep. One more left. I'll admit, this story has been going on for too long. Just because this was my first fanfic, that doesn't really excuse the length it took, never mind how long it took for me to update the story. So, some chapters were long to make up however long it took for a new chapter to be uploaded.

You likely noticed that there are some loose ends and plot holes, but trust me, if they're not covered in Chapter 35, the last chapter, they'll be more explained in the next fanfic, however long it may take. I've put some thought in my rendition, and I won't quit it here. I will NEVER be half the genius storyteller Oda is, but I'm still going to go for it!

Of course, I think I'll hold off on uploading some chapters when I DO have them written. That way, this fiasco involving me taking 2 BLEEDING YEARS to make a story doesn't happen again. Plus, I've got another fanfic series cooking, just because I can.

I'm hoping you actually got some enjoyment from this, in spite of me dragging my feet here. Clearly, this is still the beginning. The journey is long, but the experience is part of what makes it grand.

The next story in this One Piece rendition will be revealed in the last chapter of Shattered Faith! Stay Tuned!