One Piece: Truly Precious
So, I'm going to be trying to push this story forward towards its next few updates, as have big plans coming up in future arcs.
Question though, since the Strawhat crew is now bigger and has knowledge of the future, when they reach Water 7, should Franky simply upgrade the Merry, or convert it into a hybrid of it and the Sunny?
Also, do you want anyone from Skypeia to join the crew?
The answers to those questions will be of much help.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
The crew of the Going Merry huddled together in the kitchen as Sanji prepared a steaming dinner that would warm their cold bones. Their journey towards Drum Kingdom had led them into freezing weather, forcing them to bundle up in warm clothing as the ship sailed across the sea.
"S-s-so how m-much longer till we get to Drum Island, Aneki?" Johnny asked Nami as his teeth chattered despite his winter coat.
"We should be getting there soon," said Nami as she glanced at a map, "everyone make sure to bundle up. Things are going to get colder."
"I curious," said Gin as he walked up wearing a thick parka, "why is your doctor out this far on a winter island?"
"Oh he's working for the local Witch as a Doctor's assistant," said Luffy, "he's a really cool reindeer monster, but he looks kind of like a tanuki."
"Is anyone on this crew normal?" sighed Vivi as she sipped from a cup of steaming cocoa that Sanji had prepared for her.
"I take offense to that," said Zoro, "I'm normal."
The fact that the swordsman was practicing his forms, shirtless, in freezing cold weather, detracted from the credibility of his statement.
"Land ho!" yelled Usopp from the crow's nest, having been given the unpleasant job of manning it in the freezing weather due to his eagle eyes and sniper goggles, "Drum Island dead ahead!"
"Excellent," said Nami, "Zoro, get to the steering poll and adjust our…no wait, Gin, adjust our heading 25 degrees north by northwest."
"Oi!" protested Zoro, "Are you saying I can't steer a ship?"
"I'm saying you can't walk in a straight line without getting lost!" Nami shot back, "How many times have you gotten lost during our adventures again, hm?"
Zoro growled and chose to return to his training instead of answering.
"One thing though," said Nami seriously, "when we get to the island, I need all of you to follow out lead and remain calm. The people there are wary of pirates, so we need to handle our introduction carefully."
"Why is a pirate doctor on an island of pirate haters again?" asked Nojiko.
"Well he wasn't a pirate before he joined us," said Luffy from his spot on the figurehead, "he just wanted to be a doctor, but we helped him out."
"Oi Nami," said Zoro as he looked out over the sea, "I think we might need to be a little violent. Take a look at this."
Docked at the port of the island, was a large round ship with a white hippopotamus figurehead. The sight of the ship sent a feeling of dread through the veteran Strawhat Pirates.
Wapol was early.
xXsceneXx
The town of Bighorn on Drum Island was in bad shape. Several houses were on fire and others were missing large chunks as if somebody had torn huge pieces out with their teeth.
"Now then," said a man with a large black afro, "does anyone else have anything to say against King Wapol's rule?"
"Our lord will reclaim his cache of weapons in the castle and this kingdom will flourish again," said a man wearing a blue-fur outfit, wielding a bow and arrow.
"Not while I draw breath," growled a man wearing green armor and holding a spade pole-arm in his hand. He was covered in wounds that he had received trying to fight against the two leaders of Wapol's forces.
"Hm?" said the man in blue, "I'm surprised you are fighting so hard Dalton. As a member of his majesty's royal guard, I would expect you to welcome him back, as he plans to restore the kingdom to it's great strength."
"Under that man's rule, this was not a kingdom," said Dalton as he stood to his feet, "it was nothing but tyranny."
"Bold words," scoffed the afro man.
"But meaningless to a dead man," said the man in blue as he notched an arrow.
Dalton readied his weapon as the arrow was released and flew toward his heart, if he was to die, then he would die defending the true kingdom, but just as the arrow was closing in, it was knocked off course by a lead pellet, embedding itself into a concrete wall.
"Who dares?" growled the afro man.
"Chess-sama! Kuromarimo-sama!" called out one of the soldiers that had come with the two men, "A ship just pulled into the port."
"What?" yelled the two men as they turned to see that a ship with a ram's head figurehead was now docked in the port, a black pirate's flag waving from its mast.
"Well now," chuckled Usopp as he lowered his slingshot and adjusted his sniper goggles, "that was a good shot if I do say so myself."
"What business do pirates have here?" yelled Kuromarimo (the man with the afro.)
"Well," said Zoro as he tied his sash on, "we couldn't help but notice what was going on here as we were passing through."
"You see," said Sanji, "our captain hates to see people being trampled underfoot just because someone believes they have the right. Not to mention the things we've heard about your so called King Wapol."
"So we're gonna kick your asses and free this kingdom," said Luffy with a smile as he cracked his knuckles.
"Hmph," scoffed Chess (the man in blue) as he pulled out several arrows, "I doubt a few kids will prove much of a problem. Goodbye."
The archer cocked the three arrows and fired them at the Strawhats, confident that they would deal with them, but Usopp quickly aimed three exploding stars and fired them from his slingshot, easily destroying the three arrows.
"You'll have to do better to deal with a top sniper," said Usopp.
"Damn you!" yelled Kuromarimo as he made to punch the Strawhat Sniper, but a powerful kick to the face from Sanji sent him flying back.
"Your fight's with me," said Sanji, "I'd like to see how your fists measure up to my feet."
"Luffy," said Nami, "Wapol's probably headed to the castle. We'll take care of the guys here. Don't let that hippo king get to the armory."
"Right," said Luffy as he ran for the Drum Rockies.
"Grrr," growled Kuromarimo, "soldiers, deal with these pirates!"
Several armed men readied their weapons to attack the crew, causing the Strawhats to smirk as they brandished their own weapons.
"It's been a while since I had a good fight," said Gin.
"Save some for us too," said Johnny and Yosaku.
"Vivi and I will deal with the wounded," said Nojiko, "kick their butts sis."
"Ufufufu," chuckled Robin as she got into the stance she used when controlling her powers, "it's as amusing as ever with you lot."
"Don't worry," said Zoro as he placed Wado in his mouth, "this won't take a minute."
And so, the battle began.
Sorry for the shortness of the chapter. I wanted to be able to focus on the upcoming battles and stretch them out, so I'm going to cut this chapter a bit short. I hope you liked my deviations from canon so far.