One Piece: Sunshine Island - Ch. 1 Helping Angel Grove
A shady, old ship was docked with many bandits gathered in a circle within a secret bandit hideout. They were looking down on a pile of stolen goods such as gems, diamonds, sacks of gold coin berries, and other riches. The reason why is they've recently raided a small village called Angel Grove. They terrorized and pillaged the whole town, harming a few of the villagers, forcing the mayor who ran the place to allow them to take their entire stash of treasure.
"This raid we've pulled was quite rewarding, wouldn't you say?" One of the bandits asked, holding a handful of the treasure out of the chest.
"Yeah, we have never stolen so much." The other one replied as he held up a pearl necklace, looking it up more closely to see if they're legit genuine pearls.
"Indeed!" The third one spoke. "Didn't you see the look on the mayor's face as we pillaged down their village? He was like, 'No, I beg of you! Take as much as you like! Please don't hurt any more of my people and our lovely town!' HA! What an old fool!" He laughed while the others joined in
"Yeah, especially the large supplies of booze!"
"...And the food." an overweight man added, chomping down on meat leg.
"He would rather give up everything just to save the lives of his people and their lousy town?! How pathetic for him to care for that, rather with all their wealth!"
"What's better is the fact that they're no marines around to stop us. We're on easy street, boys!"
"YEAH!" They all cheered.
Little did they know that small shadowy figure peered from a palm tree as eyed on the stolen loot.
"Usopp, do you read?" The figure whispered in his mini transponder snail wrapped around on his wrist.
"Read ya loud and clear, Brook. What's the situation? Did you manage to find their hideout?"
"Indeed, I have," The skeleton answered. "And It looks like they've already gathered up the treasure that they've stolen from the village. They're about to load up the rest of them up to their ship real soon."
"Looks like we've come just in time." Another voice came up from the snail.
Standing by on a rocky cliffside was Straw Hat's cook, ''Black Leg'' Sanji, overseeing below as he puffed smoke out of his cigarette. "And judging by their numbers, there's only thirty-five of them."
"Thirty-five? Hmph! I would've expected fifty of them or more."
It was none other than the ''Pirate Hunter'', Roronoa Zoro, who hid behind some jagged rocks. He had his hand on the hilt of his Wado Ichimonji and lightly pushed the sword open with his thumb, itching to fight.
"This will be a walk in the park."
"Hey, Moss-head," Sanji rebuked. "Did you forget we're on a stealth mission? Nami had gone through this earlier? She told us not to engage until we sneak out all the treasure from their ship without being spotted. I can't bear to imagine that we would ruin our well-made plan, orchestrated by our beautiful navigator, Nami-swan~!" He exclaimed with hearts in his eyes.
"Oh please, Curly-brow," He grumbled in annoyance. "You forget that Luffy and Nami are still a thing. And aren't you forgetting your girlfriend-princess?" He questioned, mentioning Vivi, causing the cook to grit his teeth and growl.
"I know that fact, you moron!" Sanji countered.
"Yeah, right, like the fact you're still that same old pervy horn-dog, hitting on every girl you set sight on." Zoro teased, which irritates the chef.
"Look! J-Just stick to the plan, okay? You and Luffy will just go first ahead.
"Speaking of which," Zoro noticed someone was missing. "Where is Luffy anyway?"
"I dunno, Zoro," the sniper looked around while he was hiding under the brushes, using her zoom-in scope goggles. "Wasn't he with you?"
"Yeah, I thought he was with me a minute ago." He replied. "Besides, he's the one who kept me from wandering off into random places."
Soon they've got their answer when a loud belch roared out, alerting the thieves. They turn to look over a figure standing upon the fore of the ship. The infamous Monkey D. Luffy was the latter, chewing a chunk of meat leg on the bone.
"Oh, crap... of course, he had to be there..." They all said in an exasperated tone.
"Man, all that searching around for the hideout surely made me hungry." Luffy grinned. "Glad they'd have meat in their ship, even though it's a bit over-cooked, but oh well, whatcha gonna do?"
He looked down to see the bandits as they've quickly brandish out their rifles and cutlass swords.
"Who the hell are you?! Where do you come from?!" One of them demanded, aiming his rifle at the straw hat boy.
"Who me?" Luffy asked, tilting his head. "Can't you guys already figure out who I am from seeing the posters?"
One of the bandits held up a bounty poster and examined it with that response. Not long after, he made a double-take at Luffy, having their realization starts to hit them like a ton of bricks!
"I-It's Straw Hat Luffy! Captain of the notorious Straw Hat Pirates!" As he said that, everyone's mouths hung way down in shock, and their eyes bulged out of the sockets.
"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!" They've all cried out.
"You mean thee Straw Hat Luffy?!" One of the bandits cried out. "His bounty had increased to 500,000,000 berries since he took out Dofalmangio from Dressrosa!"
"WHAT?! You mean one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea?!"
"Yep," he said, taking another bite of the meat out of the bone, tossing it over his shoulder. "That's me, alright."
"Idiot." Zoro bemoaned, shaking his head in disgust.
"Dumbass!" Sanji hissed while he facepalmed his forehead. "Whenever we're not looking, he wanders off all because of his stomach, that glutton!"
"Well, so much for a stealth mission," Zoro smirked. "Time for some action."
With that, he drew his sword out of the sheath and slowly emerged out of his hiding spot.
"Oh well," Sanji sighed in defeat. "It can't be helped."
He leaped off the cliff and performed a somersault down until he used his Sky Walk to make a safe landing on the sandy beach floor. "Let's get this over with."
Not long after, Brook joins in the fight, brandishing his trademark Soul Solid cane sword.
"Shishishishi!" Luffy laughed. "Alright, time to kick some butts!" He pounded his fist to his palm as he was ready for a fight.
The bandits seem stunned to see both Zoro and Sanji side by side with their captain ready their fighting stance. All the bandit stared at them, shaking in fear, but retained their guns pointed at them.
"T-t-that's 'Pirate Hunter' Roronoa Zoro! He's has a bounty of 320,000,000!"
"Aaaahhhhhh! Is that a skeleton?!" One shrieked, terrified by the sight of him.
"Correct," Brook casually spoke. "I am a skeleton. Yohohoho!"
"And..." A pause. "Who's the other guy?"
"THIS AGAIN?! SERIOUSLY?!" Sanji shouted. "I'M BLACK LEG SANJI, YOU JACKASSES!"
"OHHHHH!"
"Enough of this! Let's just waste these bastards, already!" Zoro charged at them.
"Hey, save some for me, Zoro!" Luffy exclaim as he charges at them.
"Shoot them! SHOOT THEM DOWN!" One of them ordered.
They've started blasting at them, but Zoro, using his speed to dodge the bullets as he advances towards them.
"One Sword Style...Lion's Strike of Death!" He shouted as he cut several riflemen down in one swing.
"Gum-Gum...WHIP!" Luffy stretched his left leg and swung around in a circle, knocking four bandits down.
Five men charge at Sanji, but he takes off, using his Sky Walk to fly up in the air.
"Poele a Friere: Spectre!" Sanji sends barrages of flaming kicks downward on them. Pummeling down to the ground.
Brook easily took them out, using his 'Three-Verse Humming: Arrow Notch Slash.
While the chaos was going on, Usopp sneaked aboard the ship to collect the stolen goods.
"Good, while they're distracted, I'll start gathering up all this loot here."
The sniper proceeded to load them all up into his sack. Little did he know that two bandits were standing right behind the doorway.
"Well, well," the sniper jumped with a squeal, "Looks like we got a little rat in our ship!" He gave a wicked grin, pointing the sword close to the long-nose's face. "Alight long-nose, we have you cornered!"
"W-Wait, hold on a sec," Usopp panicked, waving both his hands in front. "I'm just a stowaway!"
Sadly, they're not buying it.
"Bullshit! We know your Straw Hat's sniper, God Usopp!" With that, he shows him his wanted poster, which made gave them a sheepish grin.
"Oh yeah," he nervously chuckled. "I guess you've already known."
"Yeah, now then, any last words before we gut you up like a fish?"
Usopp's nervous face soon swiftly turns to a confident grin.
"Yeah, just two," Before they could react, he held up his Black Kabuto as he shouted. "Certain Death: Green Star...SARGASSO!"
He shot a Pop Green, which released a large net of seaweeds that trapped the two bandits.
"What the- What's the hell is all this?!" Both exclaimed, struggling and squirming to get out of this tangled mess.
"You guys, just stay put while we take all this loot from ya." He said, taunting them by pulling his eyelid, sticking his tongue out. (Yelp, I did a classic Akanbe insult here LOL)
XXX
Meanwhile, back on the action, Luffy managed to knock out one who was welding a mace, charging at him. He countered with an uppercut, imbedded with Armament Haki for good measures, right into the jaw, shattering a few off his teeth before plummeting to the ground. Sanji, in the meantime, uses his Party Table Kick Course, sending a few of the thugs flying as Zoro and Brook sliced the other half, gushing blood from their cut wounds. (But made sure he didn't fatally cut their arteries) Soon another, they've managed to take them all out one by one until every last of them were on the floor, uncurious. Leaving only six remaining men who were cowardly shaking and huddling over the corner of their ship.
"P-please, n-no more, we yield, we yield!" They've begged. "Here, take all the treasure. We don't need it anymore!"
"We'll do just that, but even you think we're just be taking all that treasure for ourselves, you'd be dead wrong," he said while giving them a severe glare. "Sure, we may be pirates, but we Straw Hats aren't like the others depicted."
"It's shameful for a bunch of thugs like you to terrorize on a helpless village that can barely defend themselves, just to raid on their riches! And even the fact that I've heard you assholes threaten and harm innocent women and children is unforgivable!" Sanji hissed, his 'Hell Memories' went aflame, causing them to wet themselves from his fiery gaze. "Now take the rest of your punks, and get the hell off this island!"
"And before you all go, there's one last thing I need to announce," Luffy added, cracking his knuckles. "This island is now under the protection of the Straw Hats, and if I see any of you jerks set foot in here again, you'll be answering to us! NOW BEAT IT!"
Without hesitation, they all gathered up their injured colleagues and hurried into their ship and booked it, never to be seen again.
"Hmph!" Zoro scoffed, sheathed his sword back. "Go riddance."
"And I thought they never leave," Usopp added, carrying a large sack full of treasure over his left shoulder. "I sure hope they don't come back here again now that we've claimed this island under our protection."
"Ah, don't worry, Usopp," Luffy said with his usual toothy grin as he picked up another sack full of treasure. "They'd think twice on ever coming back to rob this here island again."
"Well said, captain, we better bring all this loot back to the village." The swordsman then carried up two heavy bags on his back with no problem.
"Right then!" Luffy nodded. "Onward crew! Next stop, Angel Grove!"
With that, the Straw Hats makes them back to the other side of the island, trekking to their destination.
"I sure hope everyone is doing alright back there." Brook quoted
XXX
On the other side of the island, located by the hillsides, is where Angel Grove resides. It was damaged due to the bandit's raid, houses half-burned, windows shattered, and some doctors and nurses tending to the wounded. Children were crying their eyes out for their loved ones while keeping their faith deep in their hearts, assuring themselves that things were going to be okay.
Every resident in town is aided by the other Straw Hat members, such as Nami, Robin, Franky, Brook, Blizzard, Luffy's half-sister Aika, and her little Akita pup Kumi.
The orange-haired navigator was helping out a middle-aged man trapped underneath a charred support beam. The other men helped her move the heavy beam away, freeing him. The man, who was half-burnt, was thankful for the woman's kindness.
Robin was helping a few kids who were separated from their parents during the raid. Luckily they've managed to find them as they rush towards them with open embraces. They thanked the archeologist for reuniting with their sons and daughters, which brought a pleasant smile to her face.
The White Wolf Blizzard gave each little tyke horseback riding as they cheered with fun and laughter. "Giddy up, white doggie!" They chanted
Cyborg Franky was too helping to cheer up the little rascals, turning their frowns upside down, striking his 'SUPER' pose as they praised and chanting, 'ROBOT! ROBOT! ROBOT! YAY!' This made him chuckle as they altogether strike the pose, all shout, 'SUPER!'
Chopper in the meantime was treating the wounded as a great doctor is truly is.
Aika and Kumi played tag with the other children.
You see, the Straw Hats decided to dock on the island to refill their supplies. However, they've noticed the many clouds of black smoke emerging from the other side of the island. They soon investigated only to find themselves shocked to their horrors to see the whole village in ruins. Each one of them pleaded and begged for the Straw Hats to help them out, not even caring about the fact they were pirates.
The mayor went over every detail of what had happened. Earlier this morning, the gang of bandits stormed in. They were merciless, attacking the defenseless town, torching down their general stores, inns, raiding their food and alcohol out of their restaurants and storage cellars. At this point, the mayor of Angel Grove was powerless to do anything to stop them, forced to let them take everything treasure they had to spare them. Even thinking back on it, he felt it was foolish to give in to their demands. Upon hearing this, the crew sympathized with the village. They were even a bit upset, including their captain, knowing how these bastards would just barge in without any warning and take everything as they please.
Thus, the crew split up with Luffy's group to find the bandit's hideout, while the rest stay behind to help the village recover.
It wasn't long for their captain and the other comrades to return, carrying all the bags full of stolen goods.
One little girl started pointing up towards hills while holding her mother's hand, tugging her excitedly.
It wasn't long for their captain and the other comrades to return, carrying all the bags full of stolen goods.
"Mommy, look! They're back!" A little girl exclaimed happily.
"She right, mother," Said a boy who was the older sibling. "They've returned!"
They all rejoiced for their saviors as they make their way through the town. They've soon got a warm welcoming with the rest of their friends, especially one who is the happiest to see him back.
"BIG BROTHER!" Aika cried as she threw herself up to him, unexpectedly knocking him down to the ground, spilling the treasure out of his sack in the process. "You're back!"
"Hey, sis," Luffy chuckled at his sister's energetic greeting. "You'd miss me already? We haven't been gone that long."
"I know," She chirped. "But I don't like when you and I are apart," She then hugs him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I'm just glad you're back."
Not long after, Kumi and Blizzard too joined in, giving him slobbering kisses on his face, causing the captain to burst out laughing.
"HAHAHAHA! Okay, okay, quit it!" Luffy laughed. "I've you miss you guys too!"
"Okay that's enough you three, give him a breather or else he'll suffocate." Nami giggled before she held out her to him. "Need a hand there, captain?"
"Hehe, you bet!" He takes her hand and hoists him back up to his feet.
"Well, I take it to you boys have taken out those bandits without any problems?" She asked.
"Nope," Shaking his head. "No problems at all. Plus we didn't have to go through with your stealth mission plan."
"Of course, you guys would've." Nami groaned with a deadpanned look on her face but gave a relieving smile. "But I'm just glad things went okay. I take you guys to manage to get all the treasure back, huh?"
"We sure have, "Sanji replied, placing the sack down and opening them up. "Got every last piece of it."
They soon empty all of them, causing everyone to gasp in awe, seeing all the riches piling up, along with the stolen goods as well. The mayor heads over to the captain, with a thankful glee on his wrinkled old face.
"Thank you all you Straw Hats, we're eternally grateful for all you have done for all of us here today," He bowing his head to them. "And as a token for our gratitude, we'll be willing to offer you half of the treasure as you want."
He waited for a response from Luffy and his fellow crew, but instead, he replied to something that was something they weren't expecting to hear.
"Nope!"
All gasped in shock over what they have heard from the straw hat.
"Huh? W-Whatever do mean?" The mayor asked in confusion. "You're saying you won't take this generous offer?"
"Your offer is quite generous no doubt, and we appreciate it, but I'd think it's better if you all keep it," Luffy said, grinning.
"I-I don't understand, you're pirates? Surely you would've wanted this for all for your troubles."
"Yeah, we are pirates, and we do love treasure, but we would prefer free restocking of supplies for our ship instead."
He then pulled out a small flag that has the Straw Hats Jolly Roger on it, and toss it to him.
"However, I am willing to give you all this offer myself, because now, this island of yours is under the protection of Straw Hats! No bandits or other pirates wouldn't dare try to attack and raid here! And if they do, I and my crew will be there!" He said as he held a thumbs up to him while showing his toothy grin. "That's my gratitude!"
All the villagers were stunned by this, lost of words. Did they hear him right? He's giving them protection to them?
"I-I-I," The mayor's words stuttered, his eyes started to well up in tears. "I don't what else to say, but thank you! Thank you!" He cried, collapsing on his hands and knees. "Thank you with all of our hearts!"
Luffy and the others smiled upon them, while they all villagers started crying for joy, as well as cheering for knowing that their village is now safe under their protection.
"Well, looks like everyone here is happy now," Sanji said, lighting his cigarette.
"Indeed, they're very relieved knowing now that their village will be safe within our protection against other dangerous bandits and pirates," Robin said, watching with amusement over the villagers' happiness and joy.
"Luffy sure is the most selfless captain we ever had, huh?" Chopper added, munching on cotton candy that he received from one of the kids offer to after tending their parent's injuries.
"That's why my, Big Brother is one of the best, isn't that right, Big Sis Nami?"
Nami smiled down at her while holding her hand. "He sure is, Little Sis, he sure is."
XXX
The next morning, after staying for celebrating party last night, everyone all loaded up their freshly new supplies on the Thousand Sunny and were ready to set off. Waving goodbye to all villagers as they sailed off.
Luffy sitting on top of the lion's figurehead, letting the morning air and ocean breeze blow across his face while he watches over the horizon.
Somehow, he was wearing a rather sneaky expression on his face. Why? Well somehow he got a little surprise that he'd hidden from his crew, namely his beloved navigator, Nami, and he was so anxious to show them!
"Hehehe," he snickered "Wait and see the look on their faces once I show what I have here!"
''-Flashback-''
After everyone had passed out from the festivities, Luffy and the mayor were sitting alone together by the hillside, watching the shorelines while the night was still young.
"Straw Hat Luffy, before you and your crew set off in the morning, I wanted to give you something."
He handed him an eternal pose that has the inscription that said, 'Sunshine Island' on it.
"Huh? An eternal pose?" Luffy tilts his head in confusion. "Whatever for, old man?"
"As I said before, we're eternally grateful for what you and Straw Hats had done for us. So I'm still willing to return the favor by your gratitude." He said with a smile. "Consider this as true payment for your troubles."
"Ah, you don't have to" But the mayor cuts him off by saying.
"No, I assist you to take it, This log pose of this island leads a treasure buried within there," He said while pulling out an old treasure map. "...And this will guide you and your crew to it. So please accept this offer as a returning favor of mine, Straw Hat."
"Whoa?!" His eyes sparkled. "There's a treasure on that island?!"
"Yes, indeed," the old man chuckled at Luffy's energetic reaction. "I take this satisfy you as an alternative to our previous offer?" He asked.
Luffy answered with a nod, taking the log pose and the map.
"You, old man!" He smiled with glee. "I bet my crew is so surprised once I'd show these to them!"
-End of Flashback-
"Shihihihi!" He laughed. "I got a good feeling that there's a whole new adventure waiting for us!"
TO BE CONTINUED