It took some time to prepare the ships for a journey through the new world. The Sun Pirates worked tirelessly to ensure that they were more than prepared, especially to where they were going.
Luffy currently sat on a ledge across the port, waiting, thinking to himself.
'What does shanks want to do that he couldn't keep his words? I thought Whitebeard wanted to make a family, did I seriously fuck up everything so bad that this had to happen? I need some answers damn it!' He scratched his head, deep in thoughts. He continued to shake his arms as the stinging pain continued to bother him. 'That damned Whitebeard can really pack a punch.' But there was still the problem of this damned new timeline.
Even with his recent acquisition of some powerful allies, he still needed more, he still had to do something before he really needed to make his moves. How long did he need exactly?
His most powerful crew member in his original timeline was Zoro, at this moment he was a little squirt probably still training to master his three sword style.
Then there was Sanji who was being tortured by his family...fuck how did he know this...Sanji never told him. But if he makes a move for Sanji then Sanji won't be able to grow as a person like he previously did.
Nami is going to grow up with a mother since Arlong never becomes a tyrant.
Usopp is still lying his way through Syrup Island, he needs to get in contact with Kuro before he docks in syrup village.
Maybe he can save Chopper...but if he does then he never grows to love helping people and instead grows to resent them.
Franky would witness the death of his teacher, Tom and grow to become a criminal leader that mostly causes nuisance in water 7.
Robin...well Robin is on the run, with a bounty of 80 million beri. He will definitely look for her.
Then there was Brook, still floating aimlessly in the Florian Triangle. Moria will get a piece of his mind soon but he needed to get to Brook also.
Otherwise everyone needed to live their life as they were. Despite the loss and suffering that they will endure, it is necessary for their growth. Tough pill to swallow but it was the right thing to do...right?
"Captain, the Sun Pirates are ready for departure." Mihawk approached him, allowing him to snap out of his thoughts.
Finally it was time to set sail, but first he needed to make sure his friends were going to be taken care of.
Queen Otohime dismissed herself from the meeting and joined the group. She decided to bid Luffy farewell for his journey.
"Be careful out there Mugiwara-san, though I suppose you will be able to take care of yourself." She really was a genuinely kind person, he could just feel it in the way she spoke and the way she carried herself. "If you ever need our help for anything, here." The Queen handed him a small yet elongated messenger snail with a golden color. "This communication device allows you access to all of our messenger system within the Fishman kingdom. All you have to do is say call and the person's name." She eagerly awaited him to try out the device. "Go on then."
"Okay, call Fisher Tiger." The snail began to vibrate then within seconds, Fisher Tiger was being called by his crew members for a call.
"What you mean!" Fisher Tiger could be heard yelling aboard the pirate ship. "Anyone who knows my personal messenger snail is aboard this ship!"
"It's ringing Captain!" Replied Jinbe, they were probably across from each other on the ship, thus all the yelling.
Luffy and Queen Otohime looked at each other, snickering. Then Fisher Tiger picked up the call, "Hello who is this?" But Luffy hung up the call.
"What the hell? Who called me just now? Damn kids." Screamed Fisher Tiger aboard the ship causing both Luffy and the Queen to share a hearty laugh.
"Well be on your way then Mugiwara-san, we are truly grateful for everything you have done for us. This will go a long way in my mission to bring Fishman Island to the surface and finally join the world."
"Thank you Queen Otohime." Luffy began and then he had an idea. "Actually there is something I will need from you." He began to which the Queen actively listened to his request. "My friend, Brook is currently stuck in the Florian Triangle. Please bring him to Sabaody, there have him find a woman by the name of Shakky and he should be okay from there." Then he continued with a second request. "The second thing is a girl named Nico Robin, she is currently a fugitive with a bounty of 80 million beri. If any of your contacts manages to find her, please let me know."
"After all you have done for us, I will get someone on this as soon as I can." With a final wave, Luffy joined the members aboard the pirate ship. Their stop over at Fishman Island finally reached its momentary conclusion.
"Luffy, you mentioned how you have a way out of Totto land, how do you plan on doing it?" Fisher Tiger had joined Luffy in the dining quarter, every member of the Sun Pirates were filtering in and out, taking turns eating the usual grub that the ship's chef would muster.
"You know, I'm supposedly very mysterious." Luffy then smirked. "I'd like to keep it that way."
Meanwhile Arlong was laughing at something Jinbe said and Mihawk had a smirk while twirling around his wine glass. Aladine then punched Jinbe in the chest causing a brawl to occur. Despite punching each other, everyone just laughed it off and went about their day.
Luffy admired Fisher Tiger's crew, he wondered if he would ever get back to how it used to be.
The Strawhat Pirates…no...he needs to dream bigger...Strawhat Grand Armada.
Yes, that's it.
Marine HQ, Marineford
"I have summoned you here today because of some news. Take it as you like." The man sitting at the head of the office was very muscular with a wide chest. His spiky white hair gave off his mighty presence. He is the current Fleet Admiral of the entire Marine forces, his name is Kong.
In front of him was a tall, fair skinned muscular man with braided black goatee, his presence matched that of even the highest ranking military officer of the marine forces. He was known as the Golden Buddha.
"Please continue Fleet Admiral Kong." Began the man, as he crossed his legs and folded his arms.
"Now, now Admiral Sengoku, none of that formalities, it is just us." Replied the Fleet Admiral, who removed his coat. "This conversation is confidential to the highest of magnitude."
"Understood."
"I will be moving up to a non-combatant role in the coming year, and I wish to recommend you to the Gorosei as my successor." Kong then got up and looked outside his window, overlooking the entire Marine HQ.
"But I..." Sengoku tried to protest with the decision although Kong wouldn't have any of it.
"That's final Sengoku, there is no better man for the job than you."
"What about Garp?" Argued Sengoku as his friend would be the perfect choice to take such a high ranking role.
"Garp is simply not responsible enough for the job. You on the other hand have enough accolades under your belt and quite frankly, the balls to do what others can not!" Kong slammed his hands against the table. "You are my choice and that is finally!"
"Yes sir." Replied Sengoku although he still felt like it should go to someone else. Garp was the man who disbanded the Rock's pirates, took in Gol D. Roger. He was the Hero of the marines and Sengoku had always looked up to him despite the man insisting that they are equal. Though the man refused to attain the ranking of Admiral, content in remaining a Vice Admiral.
"Good on you Sengoku, now who might be some prime candidates to take your place as an Admiral?" The Fleet Admiral proceeded to take his seat.
"Three prime candidates in my mind." Four if he was counting Garp, but the man simply refused to be directly under the Gorosei.
"Go on then, I'm listening." Kong took out a cigar and began to take puffs of it.
"Vice Admiral Kuzan, Vice Admiral Borsalino, and from the reserve, Issho." Then he began to list their qualities in order to bolster their case to be the next marine admiral. "Admiral Z and Admiral Akainu are both very high on Kuzan. They think he has the making of the next great Admiral, his ice logia devil fruit is also one of the most powerful abilities known to us. Then there's Issho from the reserve, he is a very powerful asset who has yet to be mobilized, we have been keeping him on the shelf so that our enemies do not discover his existence, for he can change the tide of the battle in an instant. Finally, there is Borsalino, who is very passive about most things, but his light devil fruit is considered to be the deadliest in our ranking...although he never really put much effort into anything he does."
"I heard he got beaten by some strawhat brat, did red haired Shanks really put a number on him?" Asked the Fleet Admiral.
"No sir, it was a new pirate, not known by any of our sources. From Borsalino's report, this man couldn't be older than 20 years old, maybe younger. He was a master of armament, observation, and even conqueror's haki. He brings with him a crew of currently Arlong the Saw, and Dracule Mihawk. A headache, but shouldn't be an issue. Borsalino said that he underestimated them and got his ass handed to him."
"Hmm interesting choices, I wonder who this new person is. Let Spandine know that I need this kid to be taken care of right away. In the matter of your successor, we will bring it to the attention of Z and Akainu." He then stood up and indicated that the meeting was over. "You are dismissed Admiral Sengoku."
"Yes sir." The Admiral made his exit, doing as the Fleet Admiral instructed. First to tell Spandine of his new mission, marked urgent, and then to let his colleague know of the new changes in their rank
Florian Triangle
"Yohohoho! A record for yourself! Well done, well done!" A tall skeletal man began to play a game known as 'how far can he hit a rock with a plank'. Almost 40 years of mindlessly floating about the endless foggy sea has caused the former vice captain of the Rumbar Pirate to do anything and everything to keep himself entertained. For he was the man who ate the soul soul fruit and therefore as he died, his soul simply returned to his rotting corpse. Thus he was now a skeleton man, living an empty life of loneliness.
As the skeleton man looked around him, emptiness, with his only company being the fog which covered everything. "Fog fog always just fog!" He yelled out before cutting a horizontal line across the thick fog. He managed to split the air, but it just returned to how it was before. "GAHH!" He burst out, once more falling into despair. His situation was hopeless, he was hopeless. As he closed his eyes thinking one day he could be saved, a vision of a man with a strawhat passed through his mind, then emptiness. That was new...but he took no heed to the vision as he just wanted to dream again, to be back to how it used to be...
Brook fell asleep, once again drifting into his usual dream of his crew happily singing and laughing. With that, a single tear fell from his empty eye socket.
How it used to be...
Nanohana, Alabasta
Her Jet black hair shined against the son, as the young woman clinged to the wall behind her. She was gasping heavily as her pursuer was finally hot on her tail.
Time is a fickle. Events happen in chronological order due to events lining up as they were intended. But once a time traveler interferes with the timeline, things will change from how it was before.
A primary example was Nico Robin, who was supposed to be traveling the West Blue along with the organization she joined in the year 1514. Although things change, for the intrusion of one, Strawhat Luffy, created a shift in events where Robin's group were supposed to be diverted by Dracule Mihawk, the original path was somewhere in the Grand Line but with the presence such a powerful warlord they had to shift course to the West Blue. But that couldn't happen and Robin ended up continuing and meeting a terrible storm which separated her from her group.
Now she was in a kingdom known as Alabasta where her pass has finally caught up with her.
Her name was Nico Robin, then the demon child of Ohara, and today might be her last, as the men of Spandine was finally closing in on her. 'What did I ever do to deserve this…my home, my family...' She kept asking this to herself for years, ever since she began her run from the law. For over a decade she had been on the run and now Spandine, Cp9 leader and the orchestrator of annihilating her people, had finally found her.
"Look there men, she must be here somewhere!" Exclaimed Spandine, he was confidently smirking to himself, finally catching his most evasive fugitive yet. "Come out come out wherever you are DEMON!"
She panted heavily as the sound of soldier's footsteps became closer and closer...then nothing. Her ears perked up, trying to listen in on their conversation, but she could not hear anything. It was so frustrating, if only she could hear them somehow...one second she couldn't hear them and the next she could hear them clear as day. She took in the opportunity to listen in on the conversation of the Marines.
"Damn it! I am so close to cracking this case! Don't take this away from me" Screamed Spandine to which case the transponder snail replied something and Spandine toned down in his response. "No sir..I understand sir, yes sir...right away." He hung up the snail and grabbed the first thing he could find and tossed it against the wall. The gun he picked up collapsed against the wall, metallic pieces flew all over the place. "Men, head back, we've been reassigned to a Mug..something stupid about a straw hat..." He then grabbed one of his finest soldiers and pulled him on the side.
"Listen here Lucci. You find this bastard and you kill him before we make it halfway through the Grand Line. As soon as the hit is over on this straw hat bastard, we can head back here and hunt the demon brat."
"Yes sir." The man known as Rob Lucci answered, adjusting his top hat. He then disappeared in a blur. The man was the best in CP9, and in terms of search and destroy, it was his favorite mission.
Nico Robin collapsed on the floor, finally sighing in relief for even a moment. She was finally free, for now. As she was about to get up a man hovered over her, he wore a thick overcoat for the dessert weather, a cigar in his mouth and a golden hook on his left hand.
"Say, you wouldn't happen to know how to read poneglyph would you?"
Several Days later Sun Pirates…
"Land ho Captain." Screamed Aladine.
"Mugiwara, this is Totto Land...are you sure you don't wish for us to wait for your escape?" Fisher Tiger asked.
"Aye, we'll be alright." Luffy jumped aboard a small dingy, Arlong and Mihawk were already aboard, comfortably positioning themselves to the best that they can.
"Safe travels Mugiwara."
"Goodbye Fisher Tiger." The two men waved at each other and off they went. The Strawhat Grand Armada could only grow from there, or they would die trying.
