-At Night...
Night had arrived for the Going Merry and the majority of the Straw Hats were fast asleep in their respective rooms with the men in their quarters and the two women in their own. Luffy was fast asleep, a content smile showing alongside it, Usopp also had a smile, muttering about being a brave warrior in his sleep, Sanji having a perverted smile, dreaming of being alongside Nami, Vivi and Miss All Sunday and their well endowed bodies, while below him Zoro snored loudly, muttering Ero-Cook in his sleep.
All in all, everyone was sleeping peacefully with the exception of a certain Demi-Saiyan who was laying in his bed with eyes wide open. Gohan couldn't sleep mainly due to the fact that if he did, the young warrior was sure to experience another nightmare of that fateful day he lost everything.
He couldn't risk sleeping to be met with all the dead bodies of his friends...shuddering just thinking about it. Gohan's eyes drifted to the window and saw the moon was up high in the sky and knew that it was going to be a long night.
Thus the young Demi-Saiyan got out of his bed as quietly as he could to not awake the others and headed out towards the Main Deck of the Going Merry. The fresh air of the sea greeted him which he welcomed, heading towards where Zoro would normally sit.
Doing exactly as how the swordsman would, Gohan settled himself on the floor with his back on the rail sitting in a cross legged position and arms crossed together, closing his eyes at the same time. Taking a deep breath, Gohan began to clear his mind and began to meditate just as Piccolo had showed him when he was young.
During the time before the Androids had arrived, Gohan took the time to train alongside some of his friends whenever his mom allowed him to do so and would either do training with Vegeta, sometimes sparring as well or meditated alongside Piccolo, learning a few techniques from the Namekian.
Meditating helped clear his mind whenever it came to that day and it also allowed him to do image training in his head, another thing that Piccolo had taught him which had been back during the one year gap when Vegeta and Nappa were heading to Earth.
Thus Gohan meditate to calm his mind, his thoughts also going back to the conversation he and the others had about Baroque Works from Vivi...and having to say some things about himself.
-Flashback...
As Vivi had said, she explained everything for why she was doing this...going back to her past, how a man named Crocodile arrived at her home, the lack of rain, the discovery of Dance Powder inside the King's Royal Palace which led to her father being framed for why there was no rain, a rebellion formed because of it and to why she infiltrated Baroque Works to find out how this all happened.
"So...your father, the king was framed for the lack of rain because of this Dance Powder stuff and why the people hate him?" Usopp asked.
Vivi nodded, "Yes...many of my people wish to see him pay because of that, which is why I infiltrated Baroque Works alongside Igaram to find out the truth."
She gritted her teeth as she remembered seeing the evil smile that man had the moment she laid eyes on him, "And it's all thanks to...him...the moment he had arrived at Alabasta on that day."
Gohan could immediately see the discomfort and anger in her eyes, knowing she despised whoever this person was, "Who was it that arrived at your home?"
Vivi looked up to everyone, "Crocodile...one of the Shichibukai of the sea."
"Crocodile?" Gohan asked.
Vivi nodded again, "Yes...Crocodile...he's the sole reason why my home has gone into chaos and framing my father for the crime of the Dance Powder."
Nami chimed in, asking a question that came to her mind, "But why would this Crocodile want to do something like this?"
Vivi turned towards her, explaining exactly what he planned on doing, "I don't know the full details, but what I do know is that he wishes to find out about some kind of information from my father after he supposedly saves my country from his reign."
Hearing this, Gohan began to slowly get mad after hearing what this Crocodile guy has planned to do with her home. People like him disgusted the Hybrid-Saiyan, especially one's that cared only for their goals just as Frieza when all he cared for was getting his wish for immortality back on Namek.
He was intent to make sure that this guy payed for everything he did to Vivi and keep up his promise.
But then, Luffy spoke up as one thing had caught his attention, "Shichibukai? What is that?"
Vivi's attention went to him and she explained, "A Shichibukai are pirates that work under the Navy and the World Government. In total, there are seven and each of them are very strong people."
Hearing what a Shichibukai was, Usopp began trembling over this, "W-W-Wait...so this C-Crocodile guy is one of them!?"
Vivi nodded which made Usopp turn pale over this, including Nami who feared for her life that they had someone as powerful as that to deal with! Meanwhile, Luffy, Zoro and Sanji all had smirks, ready to face this Crocodile guy as they hadn't had a good challenge since Arlong Park, except for the Smoker guy Luffy tried fighting at Loguetown.
Gohan however wasn't fazed at all over how strong this guy was. He dealt with a tyrant who blew up planets and he was born from a race of Warriors who conquered planets...he was sure he could handle this Crocodile guy.
On the other hand though, his thoughts went back to that Saiyan once again...Turles...he was somewhat troubled, having no clue as to how a Saiyan like him was here. What still troubled him however was that he looked like his father...how was there another Saiyan that looked exactly like him?
Vivi happened to notice his worried expression, "Are you alright Gohan-kun?"
"Huh? Oh I'm fine just...I was thinking about that guy Turles," Gohan told the Princess.
Vivi's face showed worry, also remembering that strange man and how he had been able to keep up with Gohan back at Whiskey Peak. The power the two showed was far beyond anything she had ever seen before.
But Sanji's voice spoke up, catching everyone's attention, "Speaking of which...care to explain to us about yourself and who the heck that guy was?"
Gohan looked towards the cook and looked down to the ground...it was time...he was going to have to explain somethings about who he was.
"Alright...I guess it's time for me to explain exactly who I am," Gohan told everyone.
Now that Vivi finished explaining about her part of why she was here, it was Gohan's turn to discuss things about himself from whatever the others wanted to ask him.
"If you guys have any questions that you want to ask me, go right ahead and I'll explain it the best that I can," Gohan told everyone.
Nami was the first to ask a question, "To start off...what was it that guy Turles mentioned about...you being something called a Saiyan?"
Gohan took a breath...this wasn't going to be easy explaining to them, "Well...to what I am...I'm a race of people known as the Saiyans, they're a group of warriors who were known for conquering people and for their love of having a good fight."
"C-Conquering people!?" Usopp proclaimed in shock.
Gohan nodded, "That's right...from what I could tell...that man Turles is exactly what a Saiyan is like. Me on the other hand...I'm nothing like how an actual Saiyan should be...thanks to my father."
At the mention of his father, Zoro brought up his question, "That leads in to what I wanted to ask...your father...you said during that fight he looked like him."
Gohan's eyes showed pain a for second which Nami, Zoro and Vivi caught on, "T-That's right...he looked exactly like my father."
"What was your father like?" Usopp added in to Zoro's question.
"Where do I begin...my father was a lot of things...but he was always known for being cheerful, kind, caring and well...he always loved a good fight too," a nostalgic smile showed on Gohan's features, "But if there's one thing that about him that's always true...he always made sure to become strong to keep peace and to protect his friends from any enemy that hurt them or for disturbing the peace."
Vivi smiled, liking how his father sounded, "What's his name?"
"His name was Goku...he was given that name from his grandpa, but from his Saiyan side, he was given the name Kakarot," Gohan told her.
"Goku huh? I like that a lot more than...Kaka...whatever that name is," Usopp told Gohan, scratching his head at how to pronounce the other name.
"Names aside...there's one thing I am curious about which revolves around everything you told us...just how strong are you?" Nami asked him.
Gohan crossed his arms, not really knowing how he should explain it to them...but ultimately decided that he was going to have to say just how strong he is.
"Well...you guys remember seeing my attack, the Kamehameha right?" Gohan asked everyone.
Besides Sanji and Usopp, everyone nodded, remembering how his blast impacted with Turles's attack in the air.
"To put it simply...if I was at full power and fully rested...that attack would be strong enough to destroy a star like the sun," Gohan told everyone.
The reaction was priceless...everyone's jaw opened in shock over the announcement of how strong he was.
"YOU COULD DESTROY THE SUN WITH THAT ATTACK!?" Usopp proclaimed in shock.
Gohan simply nodded at what he said.
"J-Just how strong are you?!" Nami asked Gohan.
Zoro and Sanji just stared at him with wide eyes, not believing what they just heard. Zoro thought that Gohan's power could be on par with Mihawk from what he remembered...but he was sure now from what Gohan explained, the Greatest Swordsman might just be a spec compared to the Hybrid Saiyan's own power.
The only one who wasn't shocked over such feats was-
"REALLY!? THAT'S AWESOME!" Luffy yelled out, suddenly appearing right beside Gohan.
Luffy who was already standing beside him with stars in his eyes.
"WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO!? CAN YOU FIRE BEAMS FROM YOUR MOUTH ALSO!?" Luffy asks happily.
Gohan just looked on surprise towards the rubber man's care free attitude and well...he didn't expect that kind of reaction.
"W-Well...if...I-"
*SMACK!*
He didn't get the chance to finish as Nami appeared behind Luffy and smacked him, slamming him to the ground, "IDIOT! HE CAN DO SOME CRAZY STUFF BUT NOT THAT!"
Gohan just rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, Well...unless I was a Great Ape then I'd be firing beams from my mouth.
The Hybrid-Saiyan shook his head before looking back to the others, "Does anyone else have any other questions about me?"
Besides Luffy, everyone shook their heads as the current questions they had were answered the best Gohan could.
"Well...if that's it then, let's get back to work!" Nami told everyone, "Come on, we have to make sure we're still heading the right way."
Everyone nodded, getting up from their seats as they all headed outside with Nami being the first to do so. Then Sanji and Zoro followed suit, bickering with each other as usual with Usopp slowly walking behind him to not get caught in between.
Finally Luffy who was now sporting a large bump on his head exiting with Gohan and Vivi being the only ones left in the room.
Before Gohan exited, he noticed that Vivi still showed worry on her features, clearly something was still bothering her right now.
As she walked by, the Demi-Saiyan settled a hand on her shoulder, startling her for a second, "Everything alright Vivi? You look like there's something wrong."
Vivi looked away, "It's nothing...just...thinking about something, that's all."
Gohan said nothing, not happy with the answer, but decided to let it be for now, taking his hand off her shoulder as Vivi left. The Demi-Saiyan thought for a moment for what it could be that bothered her.
He could tell something bothered her when she explained the situation about her home, especially when she mentioned about Crocodile being the person called Mr. 0, feeling the anger directed towards him.
Whoever this Crocodile is...I'll make sure he pays for everything he's done to make Vivi go through so much pain, Gohan thought to himself.
The Saiyan soon exited the room as well, his mind focused about Crocodile and Vivi's past from how she explained it.
-Present...
As Gohan returned back to reality having thought about the conversation, he heard the sounds of a door opening and looked to see Vivi exiting from the room she shared with Nami. Just like before, a worried expression was present on her features, walking towards the rail to look out towards the sea.
Something must really bother her if she didn't notice me here, Gohan thought to himself.
The Demi-Sayian got up from his seated position, heading towards the blue haired princess to see what was bothering her.
"You alright Vivi?" Gohan asked as he approached her.
Vivi jumped from his voice suddenly speaking, turning around to see him standing there, her hand on her chest, "G-Gohan-kun! You startled me!"
Gohan rubbed his head sheepishly, "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you like that."
The Demi-Saiyan stood beside her, sighing as she calmed down before smiling, "It's fine, I should've payed more attention to my surroundings."
Gohan simply nodded and stared out to the sea, Vivi doing the same thing again, looking at the glow of the moon reflecting on the calm sea. Nothing happened between the two, the only sounds that could be heard was the sea flowing around the ship and the cool air flowing around them.
But the silence didn't last long as Gohan spoke, "I noticed that something's bothering you Vivi."
Vivi looked towards Gohan with a surprised look, a little startled at the same time, "Y-You noticed?"
Gohan nodded, turning to look her in the eyes, "I have...and I want to know what it is that has you so worried."
Vivi looked down to the sea, she had hoped no one would notice her worry, "It's nothing to worry about Gohan-kun...it's something simple I'm thinking about."
Once again Gohan didn't like the answer, but was intent to know what was wrong, "Something simple? Vivi, I can feel how worried you are."
The young Demi-Saiyan settled his hand on her shoulder once more, surprising Vivi who had her full attention towards him, "Vivi...if you really are thankful for everything I've done so far, you'll stop hiding things to yourself and tell me what's wrong."
Vivi opened her mouth to try and say anything to not make Gohan worry about herself, but she couldn't mutter a word. She looked away for a moment, debating on if she should tell Gohan what has her bothered so much until coming to a conclusion that Vivi knew she had to stay truthful to Gohan.
He had done so much for her already so it was only the right thing to do.
The princess turned her head back to Gohan, seeing his eyes stare into her own and spoke, "'I've...I've been thinking about Crocodile."
"Crocodile? The leader of Baroque Works right?" Gohan asked her.
Vivi nodded, "Yes...I'm worried about him because...I know you're very strong Gohan-kun but...I'm scared that something could go wrong once we encounter him."
Gohan stayed silent, letting Vivi express herself as she again settled herself on the rail, "The only thing I know about Crocodile besides being the hero of my home, is that he's one of the Shichibukai from what I told you before and...I don't know how strong he'll be."
The young Demi-Saiyan settled his hand on her shoulder to try and reassure her, "Vivi...how strong Crocodile might be, we'll make sure that he's taken out before anything bad happens."
"I know that...but...what about that Turles person?" Vivi asked, turning to Gohan, "What if he's working alongside Crocodile?"
Gohan shook his head, "Whether Turles is or isn't working with Crocodile, no matter what happens...I'll make sure nothing happens to us if he shows up again."
After hearing what Gohan told her, Vivi smiled, "Thank you Gohan-kun...I feel a lot better now."
The Demi-Saiyan smiled, "Glad to hear it."
The two looked back to the sea, both at ease now that Vivi was able to express herself to Gohan and Gohan knew what it was that had troubled her still. But then to Gohan's surprise, the blue haired princess wrapped her arms around his left, laying her head on his shoulder.
"Vivi?" Gohan asked, unsure of what she was doing.
Vivi looked up to him, smile never leaving, "Is it...alright if I spend the rest of the night with you? I don't think I can go back to sleep."
The Demi-Saiyan just looked at her, before chuckling and smiling once again, "Of course Vivi. I don't mind at all."
Vivi nodded, resting her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes as the two settled themselves together. Gohan couldn't help but once again admire how beautiful she looked, her hair flowing from the calm wind of the sea.
Don't you worry Vivi...I promise that nothing will happen to you...and to save your home from Crocodile, Gohan thought to himself staring at Vivi's calm and beautiful face.
For what felt like a very long time to him, Gohan for the first time felt at peace which he hadn't felt such a thing since...that day. No...tonight he wouldn't think about that...Gohan wanted to enjoy this moment for as long as he could till the time came when he would have to act.
Right now, he simply stared out towards the sea, with Vivi using his shoulder like a pillow staring out alongside Gohan. Little did the two know...Gohan's promise to keep her safe would be at risk once more with the next island they were heading to.
To Be Continued...
-Omake: Turles's Empire Part #2
Miss Valentine looked on confused as she witnessed the five people arrive that stood in front of her and Turles. While she had no idea who these people were, she saw her new master had the most biggest smirk she had ever seen on someone before.
Said master began to laugh all of a sudden which sounded like...joy?
"I never imagined that when Fu meant another present...I never expected it to be my old crew!" Turles mentioned with a smirk.
The five people walked forward and as they got closer, Miss Valentine was able to get a better look at all the members and well...she wondered what in the world some of them were supposed to be.
Three of the five people looked like some kind of creature with two of them being small fat purple lizard creatures and the third one looking like it wore a bright silver like armor and the fact that it had no mouth at all.
The only people that weren't creature like were the last two members, both being men that towered her, one having a muscular bulky body with an X scar on the left side of his chin and had his hair in a ponytail, while the other man was smaller but had a similar muscular bulky look with his long hair also in a ponytail as well.
She had no clue who in the world these people were, but Turles on the other hand knew exactly who these people were.
"It's great to see you all again...Crusher Corps," Turles told his men.
All of them smirked (minus the metal man) who felt elated to be in the presence of their leader once again.
Especially the giant bulky muscular man, who chuckled in delight, "It's always an honor to be alongside the "Mighty Turles" once again!"
Confusion showed itself from hearing the man call her new master "Mighty Turles", Wait...do these guys know him? Just who in the world is this Turles guy from?
She was suddenly brought out of her thoughts when the other normal looking man came walking up to her, whistling at the sight he witnessed, "Well, well, well...looks like our cap's got himself quite the looker."
The man smirked which caused Miss Valentine to back up, disgust showing as she knew he was looking at her with lecherous eyes, I knew one of them was going to be a pervert...
Turles just looked at his partner as he slowly got closer to the blonde woman, "Indeed...she's my new slave after giving herself up to me."
Miss Valentine looked to Turles with a hidden annoyance showing in her eyes, More like you forced me to be your slave with that power of yours.
The man chuckled again, "Slave huh? Ohoho...I think we're all gonna enjoy having some...fun...with her."
As he mentioned the word fun, his hand began to trail for the blonde woman's chest, trying to get away from the man's reach.
Surprisingly however, Turles's hand grabbed his wrist, causing the man to yelp in pain, clearly showing that the Saiyan had a tight grip on his wrist, "Did you not hear what I just said? She's MY slave...that means none of you will do anything to her or try anything funny, got it?"
The man nodded quickly, not wanting to get on his boss's bad side, "R-Right! I apologize b-boss!"
Turles held his hand for a moment, before finally letting go, the man rubbing his sore wrist from the tight grip. Meanwhile, Miss Valentine stood behind Turles with a surprised expression from what just occurred.
All her life...she had never seen someone actually defend her like that before...maybe things were going to be a bit better compared to Baroque Works, I don't think anyone in Baroque Works would've done that for me...not even Mr. 5 would do that...or...could have.
The Saiyan looked towards his slave, noticing the surprised expression and mistook it at the sight of his crew, "Oh, where are my manners...let me introduce you to my crew, my slave."
Turles walked forward, pulling Miss Valentine with her, promptly breaking her out of her surprised state and a scowl now replaced it, Aaaand it's back to being pulled forward...I hope I get used to this.
Turles's smirk showed once more, ready to introduce his crew to Miss Valentine, "First off...I'd like you to meet one of the two commanders, Amond."
The giant man named Amond bowed in respect of Turles, "At your service till the end."
Miss Valentine looked on surprise once again, That's a surprise...I would've thought the big boy would be a pervert also like...that guy.
Turles looked at her and smirked, "Don't worry...Amond here is a respectable man, so you have nothing to fear about from him...unless you get on his bad side."
The Saiyan pulled again much to Miss Valentine's annoyance, stood in front of the metal man and now having a better look of it up close...she was rather startled by how lifeless it looked.
"This here is Cacao, my weapon specialist," Turles explained to her, "He has the right weapon for any kind of situation."
Said thing named Cacao just stared at Miss Valentine, quickly unnerved with the thing having no expression, OK...first a pervert I have to worry about and now there's this thing with no expression at all.
Turles chuckled, "He's not one to talk...I'm sure you're going to love him."
I don't know about th-
She was once again interrupted from her thoughts from another tug from Turles, grunting and sighing in annoyance from the gesture. Turles couldn't help but chuckle again at the annoyed expression's she showed.
"Next we have my two favorite members with perfect teamwork...Rasin and Lakasei," Turles introduced the two.
On cue, the two smirked and did their own pose's proclaiming the fact to be true, Rasin the first to speak, "No matter the opponent or situation-"
"We'll always come out on top!" Lakasei proclaimed, finishing the sentence.
For what felt like the first time in a long time, Miss Valentine tear dropped at the sight, How can you tell which is which?
As the two small creatures finished, Turles turned his attention to the other man who finished rubbing his wrist, simply holding it now, "And you've already met Daiz, my other commander and...a bit of pervert."
The man simply rolled his eyes, Miss Valentine looking at him in disgust again, "I can clearly see that."
Turles chuckled again, "Indeed, but now that we have introductions out of the way...care to tell us all what your name is, my slave?"
Miss Valentine looked to the saiyan, a little bit of worry showing, "I...I can't say my name."
Turles just smiled, "Come now...don't be shy...if this is about your old group, you'll have nothing to worry about at all of them finding out about you."
Miss Valentine just looked away, before muttering her name out, "Mi...Mikita."
Turles smirked, "Well Mikita...I would like to tell you from here on out, you are now apart of my Crusher Corps as my slave."
Mikita who knew she could no longer go by her code name from Baroque Works sighed, "It's...an honor...to be alongside your Crusher Corps...master."
Turles grinned, happy to see his new slave being an obedient one, before Amond got his attention, "Captain, now that introductions are out of the way...we have something special to show you."
The Saiyan raised an eyebrow at that announcement, "Something special?"
Amond nodded, before heading towards a pathway into the castle, "That's right...follow me."
Turles nodded and followed the man, pulling Mikita along with the other members following behind.
-Storage Room...
It took a few minutes, but Amond led everyone to what Turles could tell to be a storage room which was filled with wooden crates that were filled with food, drinks, gold and other useful items as well.
Turles couldn't help but whistle at the sight, "Well...Fu didn't disappoint in finding me quite the island."
Daiz chuckled from behind, "You ain't kidding boss, but that's not what that purple fella wanted you to see from us."
Once again, Turles raised an eyebrow, before Amond got his attention again, "He's right captain, the special item...is right here."
The Saiyan's attention went to a wooden crate like all the others, except that it hadn't been open yet which made him curious as to what it was.
"Go ahead and open it...you're going to love the surprise," Amond told him.
Turles nodded, walking up to the crate and opened it up to see exactly what this item was. The moment however he saw the familiar red of a certain fruit reveal itself as the crate was fully open...Turles had a giant smirk like before show once again, picking up one of the many items in it.
Mikita noticed that he held some kind of fruit which looked rather spiky which she had never seen, W-What kind of fruit is that? It kinda looks like a Devil Fruit.
Little did the blonde woman know that the fruit Turles held in his hand...was the all powerful Fruit from the Tree of Might.
Next Time
A Saiyan's Journey
Chapter 7
Hey Guys! I aplogize for the slow updates again, family and my job have had me busy so I've had no time to get to work on this again. But now I can finally get back into the story business once again!
Anyway, with that said, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, hope it wasn't too short and if you can, leave a review down below and I'll see you all for the next chapter!