Chapter 29: The Hunt for a Food Place!
The next morning, after the short party they'd thrown the night before and a quick incident with a giant bird, the Straw Hats were once again on their way to Alabasta, this time with a doctor on board. Seeing as he hadn't wanted to interrupt the party last night, Luffy had yet to give Chopper the medical history Whiskey had told him to give his doctor. Now that things were calmer though he decided now was as good a time as any.
Seeing as everyone was on the deck due to the fact that they would be nearing Alabasta soon, they all noticed when Luffy went to the men's room.
"Where are you going Luffy? We'll be reaching Alabasta soon." Nami said, knowing that Luffy liked to watch for islands.
"I gotta get something for Chopper!" Luffy called as he disappeared.
"For Chopper?" Zoro asked, but seeing as Luffy wasn't there anymore he couldn't answer.
"When did he have time to go pick out gifts?" Sanji asked in confusion. They'd been together the entire time and Sanji would have remembered if Luffy had stopped to go souvenir shopping.
Well, he had been unconscious for a while at one point, but there surely weren't any gift shops in the lapin-infested mountains.
"He got me something?" Chopper asked, just as confused as everyone else.
"Now I wouldn't get your hopes up too high Chopper. Luffy can be a bit, uh... dense." Usopp said, knowing that Luffy most likely would pick up a cool-looking rock and deem it a gift.
"Still, he never gave us gifts," Nami said, though there wasn't any bite to her words, just confusion.
"Maybe he just wants to make Chopper-san feel welcome is all," Vivi said with a shrug as she pet Karoos beak gently.
"I'm back!" Luffy called as he rejoined them, a large file under one arm and the mini den den to the Whitebeards in his other hand.
"What's this?" Usopp asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion and slight worry. After all, whenever Luffy used that den den, it was never for anything good that he could recall.
"Well, my doctor back on the Moby said that when I found a doctor for my crew I should give them this. It's my medical history I think." Luffy said, holding out the file to Chopper who took it with wide eyes.
"It's big. Were you with them a long time?" Chopper asked, never having read up on Luffy and his previous adventures before.
"A few years, yeah," Luffy said as he sat with the rest of his crew. Everyone was curious about the file and peeked over Choppers shoulder as the reindeer opened it up.
"A few years? But there's so much here..." Chopper murmured as he looked at the first page.
"Mm. It's cause I was really hurt and stuff when I joined." Luffy told them, his tone lowering as he thought back to the reasoning as to why he had been hurt.
"H-hurt? You were more than hurt Luffy!" Chopper said, his eyes widening as he comprehended just what he was reading.
"What? What's it say?" Nami asked in worry at the doctor's reaction. When Chopper looked to Luffy for permission the Captain nodded, not wanting to hide anything from his crew.
"Severe malnourishment, significant amounts of injections of unknown substances, cuts and bruises all over, burns, trauma... you were practically dead!" Chopper said as he read the pages over. The crew's eyes widened at this as well, none of them having heard about any of this before.
"W-what?! Luffy, what happened?!" Usopp asked in concern as everyone looked at him.
"The facility," Luffy told them seriously, any semblance of a good mood gone now as he looked to the deck with a frown. There were many gulps as they heard this answer, but Chopper was left confused.
"The facility?" The reindeer asked in confusion, not having heard of it.
"It's a bad place run by the government. I was taken there when I was seven and got out when I was fourteen. Whitebeard saved us and helped us and now the marines are after me because they don't want me telling people what happened." Luffy recited shortly for Chopper.
"Run by the government? What kind of place is this?" Chopper asked more to himself as he looked back to the pages.
"Wait, what's this mean?" Chopper asked, holding up a paper to Luffy who blinked in surprise before reading it over quickly. He saw that it was Whiskey's notes on his abilities and different things to avoid using so as to not harm him, but he didn't understand that part much since he wasn't a doctor.
"That's about my abilities. I have a heightened sense of smell, like you I think, and I can feel people's emotions and see colors and see memories." Luffy said, ticking the abilities off on his fingers.
"I got those in the facility too," Luffy said before Chopper could ask.
"In the facility..." Chopper said, slowly beginning to piece together the injuries with what he was hearing and coming up with an idea of just what might be happening in this facility.
"I think Whiskey might have put down everything about it in there. I can tell you more later, but Whiskey wants to talk to you." Luffy said, holding the snail up now to show Chopper.
"To me?" He asked timidly, not understanding completely due to the onslaught of information.
"Yup. I don't know what about, but she said she wanted to talk to my doctor whenever I found one." Luffy said as he stood.
"You can talk to her in the kitchen if you want," Luffy said next, nodding towards the room. Nodding hesitantly, Chopper gathered the file up and followed Luffy there, leaving a stunned crew on the deck.
"Nearly dead..." Vivi whispered in shock, still not quite over what she'd heard.
"Just what is this facility?" Usopp asked fearfully.
"Whatever it is, it's nothing good," Zoro said with a frown, not liking what he'd heard either.
"I think it's safe to say that that's an understatement," Sanji said as he lit a cigarette.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Purupurupurupuru... purupurupurupuru... purupurupur- gatcha. Who's this?"
"It's Luffy," Luffy answered with his characteristic grin.
"Ah, Luffy! Finally, I get to be the one to answer!" Thatch said cheerily in response. Luffy laughed at this, feeling the muted happiness coming through the den den.
"Let me guess; Whiskey?" Thatch asked before Luffy could say anything more. With another laugh, Luffy nodded in response.
"Ah, I swear, there's no love for us anymore! It's all about Whiskey now." Thatch said with a mock dejected sigh. Luffy could feel the humor and knew Thatch didn't mind Luffys need for the nurse.
"Ah, but Thatch, guess what? I got a navigator, a swordsman, a sniper, a princess, a duck, and a doctor on my crew now!" Luffy listed cheerily, Chopper sitting quietly beside him as he said this.
"Wow, really?! The navigator, swordsman, and sniper I heard about, but the princess, duck, and doctor are new!" Thatch said, amazed Luffy had actually found himself a doctor.
"Yeah! Well, we're helping the princess now, and the ducks her friend, but my doctors a reindeer!" Luffy boasted proudly, making Chopper blush at the mention.
"A reindeer? Really? And I thought they were exaggerating when they said you were recruiting a strange bunch!" Thatch laughed, Luffy easily joining in.
"I've got Whiskey now so I'm gonna have to go, but you better call again soon, and this time for me! I want to have a nice, long conversation about everything you've done so far!" Thatch demanded, to which Luffy said he would. When the den den was handed over and Whiskey asked what he was calling about, Luffy told her proudly that he'd chosen a doctor as promised before handing the snail over to Chopper who looked flabbergasted on what to do next.
"I'm proud of you Luffy, now why don't you go have fun with your crew? I'll have a chat with Chopper about boring doctor stuff." Whiskey said warmly. Luffy nodded, saying a quick farewell and that when Chopper was done he should join them on deck.
This left the reindeer with the Whitebeard pirate nurse alone in the infirmary.
"So, Chopper. I hear you're a reindeer? Was that one of Luffys exaggerations, or are you actually a reindeer?" Whiskey asked, her tone still as warm and motherly as when she'd been speaking to Luffy. Being put at ease by this, Chopper tried relaxing before he answered.
"U-uh, I'm an actual reindeer. I ate the Human-Human Fruit which allows me to be more human-like." Chopper explained.
"I see. Well, in any case, as much as I'd love to take this time to get to know you, I'm afraid there are more important matters to discuss. I trust Luffy gave you his file?" She asked. At the mention of said file, Chopper frowned and nodded.
"He did. I only read through a little bit of it, but is it all true?" Chopper asked, hoping that it wasn't. After all, just the glimpse he'd seen was horrible.
"Sadly, it is. When we saved Luffy and all of the other children from the facility they were all in a much similar state to him and his brothers. Seeing as you've only read a little of it I take it you haven't gotten to my more detailed notes about what exactly happened in the facility?" Whiskey asked.
"No, I haven't. Luffy said he would answer questions about it though if I had any." Chopper said, itching to open the file back up right now and read it all.
"Good. He's definitely grown. Before that though, I need to explain Luffy's... triggers to you. I also have a detailed note in the file, but I feel it's better if I explain it to you verbally like this so you can ask me any questions you might have. Now, how much experience do you have with psychological issues?" She asked him, the snail frowning in response to the nurse's own frown.
"I know some things about it, but not much. I've only read up on it." Chopper admitted honestly.
"I would definitely get some more books in the future then. Luffy's had... a hard past to put it lightly. A past like his doesn't just leave without some form of mental trauma lingering along with it. You'll see that I've noted that he suffers from chronic nightmares along with severe PTSD and iatrophobia as well as trypanophobia." Whiskey listed off for him.
"The fear of doctors and the fear of medical procedures involving needles..." Chopper murmured, remembering when they'd first found Luffy and the teen had flinched away from Doctorine once he'd learned she was a doctor.
"That's right. You must be a good person- or reindeer I should say- if Luffy chose you to be his doctor. To say he has issues with them is an understatement. Although, the fact that you're a reindeer might actually be part of the reason why he chose you." Whiskey said, more to herself than to Chopper.
"In any case, all of this is to say that while Luffy may get hurt physically, there is still psychological trauma that you'll need to help treat as well. Not only that, but small tasks such as giving a vaccine will be a chore when it comes to Luffy due to his trypanophobia." The nurse told him. Chopper listened carefully, taking this all seriously seeing as Luffy was now going to be his patient while they sailed together. If he wanted to be a good doctor, Luffy would definitely be good practice.
"How can I help?" Chopper asked, his timidness gone as he spoke with the nurse.
"Well for starters, anything involving a needle is a big no-no for Luffy. He hates needles almost as much as he hates doctors. The only way we've managed to get him to take shots is by distracting him. You have to give him plenty of warning before pulling out a needle around him, you have to tell him what's in the needle, and you have to tell him exactly where the needles going and what it's going to do. If you don't, you risk facing a Luffy that will refuse adamantly whatever it is you're trying to give him, even if it is life-saving." Whiskey said sternly, Chopper understanding the weight of her words.
"This goes for any procedure really. If you need to give him stitches, you need to tell him exactly what it is you're doing and where you're doing it. Even bandages. Hopefully, as you two get to know each other more he'll relax more around you and you won't have to be so vocal about your procedures, but Luffy was with us for years and he was only just barely comfortable with getting shots without his brothers being in the same room with him." Whiskey said with a sigh.
"This is all to say that Luffy is going to be one hell of a patient, but you have to remain professional and not force anything on him. That's one surefire way of getting him to not allow any medical procedures ever. As for his PTSD and triggers, I've got everything about that written in the files. Luffy benefits from journaling as well as talking, so if you can try and be open with him, tell him you're willing to listen, that would really help him. If he's telling you something, don't judge whatever it is he's telling you. You have to remain calm even if the words may be infuriating. I don't know if Luffy told you, but he can feel emotions, and if you start to feel angry, it can end up influencing him into feeling angry as well." The nurse continued. While it was a lengthy talk with a lot of information, Chopper didn't let himself miss anything as he nodded along and took notes on spare sections of paper that were in Luffy's file.
"I think that's all I have to say for now. If you have any more questions for me, just ask Luffy and he can use this den den to get ahold of me. It's going to be a hard job, but I think you'll be able to handle it Doctor Chopper." Whiskey said with a smile. At those words, Chopper couldn't help but blush and wiggle in his seat.
"Calling me a doctor doesn't make me happy you bastard!" Chopper said despite the fact that this was a Whitebeard nurse. Whiskey didn't take any offense to the words though as she laughed and said a farewell, telling Chopper that he should get reading while he could.
When the den den was once again asleep, Chopper decided to do as Whiskey had suggested and begin reading the medical file that seemed to hold so much in it.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The crew were still sitting around on the deck while Chopper talked with Whiskey in the kitchen. Luffy had joined them after saying his goodbyes to Whiskey, and while they had many questions about what was in his medical file about the facility, they also didn't feel right asking about it.
They tried starting conversations to distract themselves, but they all felt awkward and forced when there was such a big elephant in the room. After all, they'd just heard that Luffy had been near death when he got out of the facility. That only left the crew to wonder just what in the world this government-run place was.
And on the other hand, they also really didn't want to know what the facility was.
Eventually, Nami and Vivi managed to strike up a conversation between themselves about how they were nearing Alabasta while Usopp started tinkering with a new invention nearby. Zoro was leaning against the railing, his eyes closed and body relaxed, but Luffy could feel that he was awake. Sanji was hovering around the girls, complimenting them or contributing to the conversation they were having as he asked about the different foods he could make with the ingredients native to Alabasta.
Luffy was alright with sitting against the railing, taking in the emotions of his crew. Even though they were still shocked and worried, they were also starting to relax once more which in turn began relaxing Luffy.
He hadn't really thought about it- in fact, he'd tried really hard to not think about it- when he gave Chopper his medical file, but knowing that it had notes about the facility made him antsy. On edge.
How would Chopper react to the information he was about to read? Would he turn on Luffy? Go get the marines? Send him to a facility himself?
The thoughts were irrational, he knew that, but he couldn't help them from happening. When it came to doctors, Luffy knew he had trust issues. To be putting as much faith in Chopper as he was so suddenly, after only just having met him, was a huge step for Luffy. He could see and feel that Chopper was good, that there was no darkness in his emotions or color, but he couldn't help but think back to all the doctors and nurses in the facility that had started good and slowly turned bad over time.
Shaking himself from these thoughts he decided to see what Chopper was feeling at the moment. Now would be the best time to do so while he was reading the file seeing as Luffy would feel his initial reactions to the things he read, and if he felt any darkness at that point he would know that Chopper might not be the best fit for him.
Which would really be a shame. Luffy was sure there weren't any other seven-transformation reindeer doctors out there like Chopper.
Focusing more on the doctor's emotions he found that Chopper was rather calm in the infirmary. Either he hadn't actually gotten to the file yet and was still talking to Whiskey or he hadn't gotten to the bad parts of it yet.
As Luffy waited he could feel the changes start to happen in the reindeer's emotions. While he could feel that Chopper was struggling to remain calm, there were hints of anger and sadness, as well as concern and worry all mingling inside of the doctor. While these emotions weren't pleasant, Luffy was relieved that they weren't the ones he'd been fearing.
As a half-hour passed by slowly, Luffy felt as Chopper's emotions gradually got stronger and stronger, but there was still no darkness. Finally, the doctor finished reading and emerged from the infirmary, his face set into a frown that showed his distaste for what he'd seen.
Knowing that he knew everything- or at least more than they did- about the facility, the crew found themselves looking to the doctor as if they would find the answers they needed on his face. This wasn't the case however as they saw that Choppers face only confirmed what they knew about the facility; that it was a horrible place.
He joined them on the deck as they all hesitantly went back to what they were doing earlier. At one point Sanji realized that Luffy had eaten their food supply during the party last night and ordered he go fishing for more food, and once that happened the tension lifted.
While they still had plenty of questions, they were willing to let them go for the time being.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Something smells," Luffy said as his nose scrunched in disgust. He was sitting on the railing with Usopp as they both did some fishing- Karoo being used as bait much to Vivi's chagrin.
"Smells? I don't smell anything... Is it me?" Usopp asked, smelling himself to see if that could be the case.
"Nah, I think it's that green misty stuff over there," Luffy said, head turning to said green mist in the distance.
"That doesn't look good. I'll go get Nami-san." Vivi said from nearby before heading to the kitchen where Nami, Chopper, and Sanji were. It didn't take long for them to come out onto the deck, but Nami reassured them that the mist was just steam from an underwater volcano, and in time it would even end up creating a brand new island. This amazed Chopper, and it would probably have done the same for Luffy had the smell not been so strong for him. While he'd thought before that his sense of smell might be similar to Choppers, he saw now that that wasn't the case as the sulfuric smell seemed to bother him from this distance, but not Chopper.
When the Merry began sailing through the mist, they all began coughing at the smell and Luffy had to pinch his nose shut completely, getting a headache from the smell. With one hand on his nose and the other on his fishing pole, he waited for them to be in the fresh air again.
When they were finally out of it and the smell was more tolerable, Luffy let go of his nose only to realize that there was someone clinging to Karoo now, not having noticed earlier due to being more focused on the overpowering stench.
"Shoot! Why did I jump on the duck that I suddenly came across?!" The man said as he held on around the duck's neck.
"Is he a human?" Luffy asked Usopp, the two of them looking at each other with confused looks.
"Dunno..." Usopp answered, nervous about who this person was and where they'd come from.
"Oh?! Ahh!" With that, the man's grip around Karoo slipped and he fell to the ocean with a splash.
"Help me! Please! I can't swim-!" As the waves crashed, the weird-looking man sunk underneath the water, alarming those on the Merry. Zoro was quick to jump in to retrieve him, and when the two were back safe and sound on deck they all surrounded him to see what was going on.
"I thought I'd die... Well, I'm really swanny." The stranger said as he caught his breath, water dripping off of his eccentric clothing which featured two swan heads on his shoulders and their wings on his back.
"To think that I was saved by pirates who are total strangers... I will never forget your kindness for the rest of my life! Also, may I have a cup of warm soup?" He asked politely as he bowed multiple times.
"We don't have any!" They all shouted, remembering their lack of food due to Luffy's raid last night.
"Oh, hey you! What a cutie! You're my type! I wanna eat you! Smooch!" The man said as he looked up from his bowing to notice Vivi on the upper railing. She cringed at the attention, as well as the kiss that he blew her, and muttered to herself. It seemed he was harmless though, so she didn't worry about him, especially seeing as she was sailing under a flag where Luffy was the Captain.
"So you can't swim, huh?" Luffy asked, looking at the man's bright blue clear aura. It was relieving to see some more nice colors after quite a few dark ones that his enemies had been sporting lately.
"That's right. I ate a devil fruit." The man answered, wiggling in the place he was sitting.
"Really? What kind of fruit?" Usopp asked curiously.
"Well... since there's no need to rush until my ship comes to pick me up... In lieu of entertainment, I'll show you... This is my power!" He said as he stood up and reared his arm back. Luffy watched excitedly, wondering what this cool power could be, when the stranger smacked his open palm right in the middle of the rubber teen's face, sending him tumbling backward. This alarmed the rest of the crew as they all tensed up, and Zoro even took out his swords.
"What're you-?!"
"Wait! Wait! Wait! I just told you that this is entertainment! Gimme a break!" The man said, but instead of his make-up-filled face, they were looking at an exact replica of Luffys which only surprised them more.
"Ah. That's me!" Luffy exclaimed as he got back up.
"Surprised?! Surprised?! Surprised?! If I touch my face with my left hand..." He began, swiping his hand over his face as it changed back into his own.
"See?! I'm back to myself! This is the power of the Clone-Clone Fruit I ate!" He told them.
"The voice, too..." Nami said in awe as even the man's voice changed to accompany the face.
"The body was also the same..." Usopp said next.
"A...Amazing!" Luffy screamed, amazed by the power. The stranger started twirling in place and stretched his hand out, touching Usopp, Nami, Chopper, and Zoro's cheeks and surprising them yet again.
"What're-"
"Well, for that matter, I don't have to knock you down... All I have to do... Is touch faces with my right hand. As you can see, I can... mimic anyone! Bodies too!" They said as they changed one after another into the crew he'd touched, ending on Nami. He flashed them to show off the accuracies which infuriated the woman as she hit him over the head.
"Ouch!"
"Stop it!" Nami screeched, red with anger. She didn't feel sorry at all as the stranger fell to the ground in pain, Usopp, Luffy, and Chopper kneeling beside him.
"Hey, are you alright?" Luffy asked him, not all that concerned but feeling the pain radiating off of the man.
"Ow, ow, ow. Well... sorry, but I can't show any more of my power..." He said weakly as he slowly sat back up.
"You're amazing! Do it more!" Luffy started cheering, pumping his fist in the air as Usopp whistled loudly in encouragement and Chopper started yelling.
"Ahh... Well... if you insist... I guess I'll show more..." He said, standing again and leaning against the mast as he said this. The three straw hats began cheering happily at this, encouraging him to show them more faces while Nami and Zoro stood by the railing, watching with raised eyebrows.
"He's really into it..." Zoro said, his arms crossed as he looked at Luffy. It seemed that the Usopp, Luffy, and Chopper were happy to be amazed by the power as they watched the stranger switch from face to face. At one point, the cheer left Luffy as a heart-stopping dread filled the air, and when he turned to see where it was coming from he saw Vivi watching with wide, fearful eyes. He didn't know why she was feeling this way all of a sudden, but she was quickly trying to school her features which told the captain that she didn't want anyone to notice said fear.
As she did this though, she caught Luffys eye and quickly realized she'd been caught. Seeing that she didn't want him to bring it up, Luffy smiled and turned his attention back to the stranger, cheering him on once more. This time, however, he was keeping a closer eye on him. He wasn't sure what changed to make Vivi fear this guy, but whatever it was, he would keep an eye out for it as well.
Eventually, the show and tell ended as the stranger saw his ship approaching, telling them as much.
"It's already time to say goodbye...? What a shame..." The stranger said mournfully as he jumped onto the Merry's railing to look at his ship.
"What?! Please don't go!" Usopp begged tears in his eyes.
"Don't be sad! Journeys are always accompanied by farewells... But don't ever forget this. Friendship... has nothing to do with how long we've known each other. Don't cry!" He said dramatically before leaping over to his ship that was now beside the Merry, crying tears of his own.
"See you again!" Luffy called, also having tears in his eyes. Beside him, Chopper and Usopp were crying loudly as they watched their newest friend go.
"Now, let's go!" The stranger told his crew.
"Yes sir, Mr. 2! Bon Clay, sir!" The crew shouted back before the ship sped off, leaving the surprised straw hats behind.
"Mr. 2?!" Usopp shouted as they all watched the ship grow farther away.
"So he is... Mr. 2, Bon Clay...!" Vivi said, reminding Luffy of the fear she'd felt earlier.
"You knew him? Why didn't you say so?!" Luffy asked, confused why she hadn't said it.
"I've never met Mr. 2 and Mr. 1 as well as his partner. I don't know their powers, either... though I've heard rumors..." She told them with a worried look.
"Mr. 2 is a ballerina with a large frame... who talks like a woman... He always wears a swan coat that has Bon Clay on the back..." Vivi told them somberly, only for Luffy, Usopp, and Zoro to give her unimpressed looks.
"You should've noticed!" They told her, their tones equally unimpressed. After all, Bon Clay wasn't exactly a normal-looking type of person. The description fit him perfectly and it wasn't as if there were many others who would look like that.
"But if you didn't know it was him, what was wrong earlier?" Luffy asked her, noticing that her mood was changing back to that dreaded fear once more.
"Earlier?" Nami asked in confusion, not having noticed Vivi in any distress.
"Among the faces that he showed from his past memory... from his memory... I saw my father's face... the face of Alabasta's King, Nefertari Cobra..." Vivi told them fearfully, all of them understanding her distress now.
"If, for example, you could mimic a king... you'd be able to do quite bad things, too..." Zoro said with a nod of understanding.
"We let a troublesome guy slip away, huh?" Usopp said, also realizing the gravity of the situation as he frowned.
"Then he's our enemy?" Chopper asked, still new to all of this.
"He's certainly quite a problem if he's on our enemies' side. If he realizes that we're his enemy... If he transforms into one of us using his memory from earlier..." Nami piped in as she walked over to the group.
"We won't be able to trust our own friends," Vivi said as she realized where Nami was going with her words.
"Really? Huh? But I would know who you guys are." Luffy said, not understanding the problem.
"What? How?" Usopp asked in confusion.
"Your smells. That guy could change his body to look like you and stuff, but he didn't smell like you. And his emotions still felt like his, not yours." Luffy told them.
"That's great and all, but we can't smell each other like you can Luffy," Zoro said with a shake of his head.
"Oh, right..." Luffy realized.
"Listen, Luffy..." Nami started, only for Zoro to cut her off as he had an idea.
"Now hold on, he's right about us not having to be scared of him. We should consider ourselves lucky that we got to see him now... because we can figure out counter-measures." Zoro said with a grin. Before he could get into those 'counter-measures the sea around them began to get rocky as something big seemed to be coming out of the water. From behind them, a giant cat appeared, surprising all of them.
With the commotion even getting Sanji to come out of the kitchen, Vivi stopped the trio from trying to attack the cat, telling them it was a sacred animal for Alabasta. She told them this was good though because it meant they were close, but Zoro realized that himself when he saw the swarm of ships behind them, pointing them out to everyone else.
"There're so many ships!" Luffy said in awe, realizing now the distant cloud of emotions from the ships. They were still far enough away that it was hard to feel them, but if he focused enough on it he could pick up the hints of emotion here and there.
"Hey...! They all have the Baroque Works' symbol!" Usopp told them as he looked through his goggles to get a better look.
"Its employees have started gathering... They're probably Billions... the Officer Agent's subordinates." Vivi informed them.
"Which means that our enemy is at least 200..." Nami said as she stood at the railing beside Luffy.
"On top of that, they are 200 elites of Baroque Works... They're far from those bounty hunters in Whiskey Peak." Vivi told them with a frown.
"Should we fire at them while we can?!" Usopp asked as he started cranking the cannon in preparation.
"Let's go already! It's quicker if we go there and beat them up!" Usopp shouted when no one responded and he had the cannon aimed perfectly.
"No, wait! We have to eat first!" Luffy said, holding a hand to his stomach which was rumbling.
"Idiot! Don't bother. They're small fries." Zoro said, knowing that Luffy would be the one to attempt attacking all of those ships. While he would most likely win, it was a fight they didn't need to get in right now, especially when they had bigger targets to be worried about.
"He's right. If we lose our real target, that'll be it. There're only 8 of us." Sanji said with a grin. With that, Zoro mentioned his earlier idea which they agreed was a good idea. After drawing X's on their forearms, they wrapped them in bandages to hide them.
"Knowing a guy like that is on the enemy's side, we can't carelessly act alone," Zoro told them.
"Hey, what should I do?" Chopper asked as he finished wrapping the bandage around Luffy's X. Seeing as he was still new and hadn't really participated in any fights yet, he wasn't exactly sure on what his place was.
"Ahh... Do what you can do. You don't have to do anything more. It's okay to run away from the enemy you can't defeat!" Usopp said in way of a pep talk.
"Aren't you just saying that to yourself?" Sanji asked in amusement.
"What I can do, huh? I got it!" Chopper said with a big smile, already having an idea of what he could do. With that, they noticed that there was land visible and Nami asked Vivi where they should go.
"Let's stop at a town called Nanohana. We can hide the ship there." Vivi told the navigator.
"Alright! At any rate, this thing on our left arm is the sign of our friendship!" Luffy exclaimed before they could begin getting ready to land. He put his arm out, and everyone else joined, their fists forming a circle as they all smiled confidently.
"Well then, we'll land!" Luffy said with a large smile.
"To a restaurant! Oh, and to Alabasta." Luffy said, stomach growling again.
"Alabastas a side note?!" The crew shouted in annoyance.
"Anyway, Luffy. The enemy this time is an assassination gang." Nami started, trying to make sure Luffy understood everything clearly.
"Yeah, it is." Luffy agreed.
"Be careful about acting on instinct, okay?" She continued.
"You're right. I got it. Yeah! That's right! Yeah! Got it!" Luffy affirmed, only for Nami to facepalm as she realized it was useless trying to get Luffy to understand the gravity of the situation.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"So this is an Alabasta city?" Usopp asked as they finished docking. The city that they could see was a few minutes walk away, but seeing as this was a dessert, there was nothing to block the sight of the nearby city.
"Food!" Luffy cheered.
"Listen, guys! Use self-control and try not to act on instinct too much!" Nami said, repeating the words she'd said earlier to Luffy.
"Yes, Nami-san!" Sanji agreed easily, smiling broadly to her as he did.
"The guy who needs to hear that the most is already gone." Zoro piped in as he watched Luffy running away from the Merry.
"Food place!" The yell was loud enough for them all to hear, and this time it wasn't just Nami that facepalmed.
"Get back here!" Nami shouted, but Luffy didn't listen in the slightest as he continued running, following his nose. While it should have been a straight run to the city, Luffy was too focused on running in general that he didn't actually look where he was running. After all, it was straight. How hard would it be to get there?
Apparently, more difficult than he realized.
He'd completely overshot the city and had instead veered off into the open desert. Seeing the error and realizing the city was behind him, Luffy turned to head back only to realize that there was a building nearby with smoke coming out of its chimney. Deciding to check it out, he ran over to see what it was about.
"Hey! Hey, person inside! Can I come in?!" Luffy yelled as he knocked on the door. He could feel that there was someone inside, someone who was now nervous at Luffys banging on the door, but they didn't answer. Pouting at that, Luffy was once again about to leave when he saw a barrel with a spicket. Thinking it would have water- which was desperately needed after all the running around in the heat- Luffy attempted to turn the handle only for nothing to come out.
"Stingy. You could have given me a little." Luffy muttered with a pout to the spicket. As he stood he saw burlap bags piled on top of each other and decided to check those out for food. When he opened them though he found a green powder instead that smelled rather bitter. Tasting it wasn't any better.
"Yuck! Yuck! What is this stuff?! Blech, yuck!" Luffy said as he tried spitting the taste out. Beside the bags was a furnace which Luffy quickly poured the powder in in retribution, wondering why anyone would try eating the horrible tasting stuff.
When it burned, the smoke turned green, but Luffy paid it no mind as he started marching towards the city in the distance.
"What a waste of time that was. Now to find me a food place..." Luffy muttered as he stomped off. He didn't get far as the sky darkened and he looked up to see a giant grey cloud above him, the green smoke intermingling with the cloud.
"What is that?!" Luffy asked in awe. Rain started to fall, and Luffy was quick to stretch his mouth open to collect the water, happy that something was able to quench his thirst.
"Wh-what is this?! Aah! All the bags are gone!" The person that was inside the house shouted as he came out to see the destruction Luffy had caused.
"What the hell did you do?!" They asked as they looked to Luffy, pointing a sword at him.
"Who are you?" The rubber teen asked as he stared blankly at the man.
"Shut up! I'm asking what you did with that powder!" The man shouted angrily.
"Powder? I burned it all!" Luffy said with a smile, pointing to the flames.
"Burned it?! My Dance Powder! My treasure!" The man cried as he fell to the ground.
"What's with you, old guy? Why're you so sad?" Luffy asked, immediately jumping over the man's attempt at hitting him with the sword.
"Shut up! How dare you waste my prized powder! Do you know how much I spent for it?!" He asked, his anger back as he glared at Luffy.
"I don't care! Why would you want that poison anyway?!" Luffy asked, thinking that's what the powder was based on its taste.
"That's none of your business, you bastard! Give me my dream back!" The man yelled as he began attacking with a flurry of swipes that Luffy expertly avoided.
"That stuff was your dream?!" Luffy asked as the attacks stopped.
"That's right! It was a big step towards my main achievement!" He told the teen. Realizing the sudden gravity of the situation, Luffy bowed deeply.
"I'm very sorry." The captain apologized sincerely.
"Apologizing won't fix things! Pay me for it!" He barked in response.
"I can't. I don't have any money." Luffy said simply.
"Don't say that proudly!" With that, the man fell to the ground in defeat as he failed once more to hit Luffy.
Luffy asked why he couldn't just buy more powder, but the man said it was outlawed which made Luffy frown, asking if he was a bad guy. Fight renewed, the man began trying to hit Luffy again to keep him from telling anyone about him, but again, Luffy avoided all of his attacks.
Tired of being attacked and seeing as this was a bad guy, Luffy punched the man until he gave up on attacking altogether. The rain slowly stopped and the giant cloud above them disappeared as well as the man offered to explain what the Dance Powder was. Luffy did his best to listen carefully and follow along with the explanation, but in the end, all that he could wrap his mind around was that it was a mystery powder that made it rain. The man went on to explain that Alabasta was struggling with drought and they desperately needed water, but the powder was outlawed which was said to be the reasoning for why the revolution started in the first place.
In the end, Luffy was able to get a small meal in exchange for not telling anyone about the fact that he'd met the man out there, and then he was off to Nanohana again for an actual restaurant.
Meanwhile, back to the crew who were now searching for Luffy after having gotten everything they needed, the group that was made up of Zoro, Nami, Chopper, and Usopp noticed something.
"Excuse me, but have you seen this guy?" The crew had noticed their Captains wanted poster in the man's hand as he showed it to one of the vendors, piquing their interest as they listened in.
"11097? No, I can't say I've seen that guy anywhere around these parts. I've heard some crazy things about him though!" The vendor said as they took a look at the poster, their eyes widening once they saw who was being asked about.
"Oh yeah?" The man who had the poster asked.
"Yeah! Like he was kicked out of the Whitebeards! Man, imagine having the strongest man in the world coming after you..." The vendor shivered at the thought while the stranger laughed, tucking the poster into his pocket. The conversation moved on to where the stranger could find a restaurant, but the crew was more focused on trying to figure out just who they were.
"Who is that? And why's he looking for Luffy?" Usopp asked his companions from the safe distance they were watching.
"Maybe they know each other? Or he's a bounty hunter?" Nami suggested, but as the man turned to head towards the restaurant, they saw the mark on his back.
"A Whitebeard," Zoro said as they realized who he was.
"So he does know Luffy then. Should we stop him?" Chopper asked, in his larger form at the moment.
"Why not? It's not like we know where Luffy's at either, but at least we can all look together." Nami said with a shrug.
"Hey-!" Zoro's shout to the man was cut off as he noticed someone else nearby, his eyes widening in surprise at the sight of her. He quickly dragged the rest of the group behind a large pot as Smoker came out to join Tashigi, the two of them talking amongst each other.
"Smokers here too?! We have to find Luffy and get out of here!" Usopp said, sweating nervously as he peeked around the pot to spy on the two marines.
"How can we not find him? Where did he even run off to?" Nami asked with a groan.
Back to Luffy, who was making good progress to the city, the captain had his tongue lolling out of his mouth as he panted, the sun beating harshly on him as he trekked through the sand.
"Food place..." He groaned, just as the city was coming back into his view. A cursory sniff wafted the scent of food his way and he immediately perked up, his energy renewed.
"Meat! Food! Food place!" With that, he began running as fast as he could to the city, stomach rumbling all the while.
When he was finally running through the town, he sniffed again to double-check he was heading the right way only to recognize a few more smells along with it.
"Smoker? And..." His eyes widened as a wide smile spread across his face. Stopping in his run, Luffy grabbed onto buildings, stretching them as he walked backward. Stepping off the ground, his body flung forward towards the restaurant, his smile growing.
"Rocket!" Luffy called as he did this.
Of course, due to his speed, he couldn't exactly stop himself. Luckily he didn't have to worry about it as he crashed into something- or rather someone- which stopped his momentum altogether. However, this meant that the person he crashed into went flying into the wall and out of the restaurant.
"Alright! Food! Food! I'm starving!" Luffy cheered as he ran over to the counter and sat down.
"Old guy! Food! On the double!" Luffy said with his bright smile, unworried over the fact that there was a large hole and rubble right in front of him. Although in a state of shock, the man behind the counter went and got Luffy food which the teen immediately dug into.
"Yum! This food is amazing!" Luffy said in between bites.
"Y-yeah, thanks, but... Uhh, you should probably run while you can..." The man said worriedly.
"How come?" Luffy asked dumbly as he shoveled as much food into his mouth as he possibly could.
"That guy that got sent flying... do you know who he is?" The man asked, to which Luffy paused, smelling the air again before smiling widely once more.
"Ah, right! Ace is here! And Smoker too." Luffy said, adding the last part as a side note. Leaning over- but not stopping in his eating- Luffy saw the many holes that the two had crashed through, but Luffy only laughed.
"Whoops." He said as, laughing some more.
"Whoops?!" The crowd behind him shouted, all of them having stopped in their own eating to ogle at Luffy. The crowd that was watching- along with the man behind the counter- all screamed once they noticed Ace walking back into the restaurant. At the sight, they all ran out of sight while Luffy stayed sitting and eating.
"Luffy! Hey, Lu-" Smoker pushed Ace into the ground, determination filling him at the sight of the rubber teen.
"Straw hat!" Luffy looked up at the shouting but still didn't stop eating.
"I've been looking for you Straw Hat. So you did come to Alabasta!" Luffy didn't answer the marine as he continued eating.
"Stop eating!" Smoker yelled in annoyance as they stared each other down.
"Ne, Ace, you ok?" Luffy asked, ignoring the man altogether as he leaned over in his chair to look at his brother who was still on the ground. While he could feel that he was fine, he also wasn't making any moves to get up.
"Geez, I finally find you and you rocket me through the walls with a marine." Ace grumbled though he was smiling as he stood back up. Luffy shoveled all of the rest of the food into his mouth, swallowing before he smiled widely as well.
"Thank you for the meal," Luffy told the bar man who was standing with the other restaurant patrons in the corner.
"Wait, Lu-" Knowing what the teen was about to do, Ace hurried to fully stand but was still too late as Luffy ran from the building, laughing loudly as he did.
Smoker and Ace wasted no time in running after the teen, Smoker yelling for Tashigi while Ace muttered under his breath about how much trouble Luffy was.
Luffy didn't pause in his running even as Tashigi appeared and attempted to stop him with her sword. He jumped over her attack and grabbed onto a building, running along the rooftops. Smoker was still close behind as he turned into smoke to follow him, but Ace stayed on the ground, muttering even more as his annoyance grew.
"Straw Hat! Why did you come to this kingdom?! What are you after?! And why is Fire Fist here as well?!" Smoker yelled as they ran.
"What am I after? I'm here to beat up a guy named Crocodile!" Luffy yelled back, still smiling even as the marine's smoke reached out to grab him.
"What?! Crocodile?! How are you and Crocodile connected?! And what about Fire Fist?!" Smoker yelled again, but it was useless as Luffy fell in a gap between buildings. Unharmed, he got up and started running towards where he could smell his crew, in an extremely good mood.
"Hey, Zoro!" Luffy shouted as he saw the man, as well as the rest of his crew, hiding behind a wall. They all blanched as Luffy outed their hiding spot, but their Captain didn't care as he started running their way, a horde of Marines behind him as he did.
"You idiot! Get rid of them first!" They shouted to him.
"There's the Straw Hat crew! Over there!" One of the marines shouted as they pointed toward the group. The crew started hurriedly grabbing their things as Luffy ran by, not even bothering to wait for them.
"Straw Hat is mine!" Smoker yelled. Seeing that the man was still on his tail, the teen decided he should stop now before he tried attacking his crew who wouldn't be able to fight him. Seeing him stop, the crew stopped as well, not wanting to get separated from their Captain again.
"So we're fighting then? Cause it sure seemed like we were running." Sanji said in confusion, wondering why Luffy would run if he was going to fight.
"White Blow!" Luffy didn't answer as a cloud of smoke started heading their way, a grin forming as he lowered in a stance to fight, but he found that that wouldn't be necessary as a familiar smell filled his nose.
"Heat Haze!" Fire met the smoke head-on, stopping it from advancing any further.
"You, huh?" Smoker asked lowly as he looked at Ace who was grinning in much the same way Luffy was.
"Give it up. You may be smoke, but I'm fire. A fight between your power and mine would never end." Ace said as his flames continued licking his fingertips.
"Hey, it's the Whitebeard guy again!" Usopp said as they all stared in awe.
"Ace!" Luffy cheered happily.
"I see you're still getting yourself into all sorts of trouble, Luffy." Ace said as he looked over his shoulder to his brother.
"Shishishi! What are you doing here?" Luffy asked casually despite the marines that were moving to secure the perimeter.
"Ah, that's right. We have to talk, but we can do that later. For right now you should go get your ship ready while I hold these guys off." Ace said, turning his attention back to the marines as he grinned darkly.
"Right! Let's go!" Luffy told his crew as he started running again.
"Yeah! But Luffy, who was that?" Nami asked as they knew that was a Whitebeard, they weren't quite sure who exactly they were.
"That's Ace, my oldest brother!" Luffy called back gleefully.
"Ace... As in 11062, Fire Fist Ace?" Vivi asked as she started to sweat nervously.
"Yeah! I wonder what he's doing here though. I heard he wasn't on the Moby anymore." Luffy said, more to himself as he turned to watch the flames in the distance, running backward.
"Did he leave them too?" Zoro asked.
"I don't think so. Ah, that's right..." Luffy said, trailing off with a frown as he remembered the circumstances around Ace leaving. He'd been so caught up in Namis sickness and getting to Alabasta that he'd nearly forgotten about Haru possibly being in the Grand Line.
"What? What is it?" Usopp asked nervously at the look on Luffy's face. Hearing the sniper's voice, Luffy shook himself from his thoughts.
"It's nothing. Anyway, where's the Merry at?" Luffy asked, turning his attention to the crew as they ran.
"This way!" Nami called as she turned left at the split ahead. Everyone followed her as she did this, and while they were concerned about Luffys previous look, they didn't mention it as they reached the Merry and boarded, getting her ready to sail as fast as they could. Vivi explained that their next destination was Emeralu, the City of Green, and Nami did her best to make sure they were on course for it.
When the Merry was sailing away, no marines in sight, the crew let out a sigh of relief. Luffy laughed, not having been worried in the slightest seeing as, not only could he have taken on the marines alone, but with Ace, it would have been no problem.
Ace returns! I know that, with Teach's death, many of you were wondering if Ace would make a return in Alabasta or not, so I hope it was a nice surprise that he did in fact make an appearance! Though, what he's doing is still a mystery.
I have so much to say and not enough time to say it. Seeing as its the end of the semester I've been absolutely swamped, but the end is on the horizon! I can't wait for the few months of no college until the next semester starts to put more of my focus on this story, but until then I'm gonna have to leave you all with just this short authors note. I have a lot of plans for Alabasta and I can't wait to show you all whats in store.
Until then however, I hope you all have a wonderful day! Stay safe everyone, and I'll see you in two weeks with the next chapter!