"Mmh, the only thing better than good food is getting good food for free~"
Nami snickered to herself as she enjoyed a nice meal at a restaurant, Sabo sitting opposite of her with a rather annoyed expression.
"What a cheapskate…" he grumbled, crossing his arms.
"What? The owner offered this to me. I can't help it if people want to give pretty girls things~"
"And if they don't want to, you get mad and storm out. Like with the last two restaurants we checked out."
"That's not it at all!" Nami huffed indignantly. "I just thought their service was bad."
Sabo just rolled his eyes at this, clearly not falling for Nami's lies. Still, he knew arguing it was a lost cause. As they continued eating, Nami couldn't help but overhear a conversation a few tables away. Listening in on other people's conversations is a bad habit indeed, except for when it benefits your own personal gain. And in this case, it very much did.
"Hey, did you hear they were gonna execute that pirate tomorrow?" "Who hasn't? They're making a big deal out of it." "Yeah, apparently it's some kind of big-shot or something."
Nami smirked, a piece of sauce dribbling from the side of her mouth.
"Well, I know where I'm going next~" she said with a grin, confusing Sabo who had the politeness not to spy on people. But before he could ask her anything, their attention was drawn by a loud bang against the outside wall of the restaurant.
"What the heck was that?"
Nami, Sabo and a few other people stepped out of the restaurant to see what the source of the noise was. What met them was a rather odd sight: a dark-skinned young man dressed in a purple outfit, with black hair styled into multiple tufts pointing upwards. Notably, he also had a pair of white wings emerging from his back. However, his appearance wasn't the odd part. The weird thing was the fact that he had flattened his face and torso against the wall, and his legs were furiously pushing forwards as if he was trying to somehow walk through the wall.
"M-mister Gedatsu!" a random civilian witnessing the man's strange behaviour called out. "You have to walk in through the door!"
The man, Gedatsu, froze in shock as he heard this. His eyes bulged, and his jaw dropped. Of course, being that he was shoving his face into a wall at the time, his bulging eyes ended up directly touching the wall. Somehow he didn't seem to mind though.
"YOU DARE TELL ME I'M WRONG?!" he suddenly yelled, turning away from the wall and drawing a pistol from his jacket. He promptly shot the civilian who had explained the concept of doors to him, hitting him in the shoulder and scattering the gathered crowd. As screams rang out and people stampeded all over the place, Nami ducked back inside the restaurant and dragged Sabo along with her.
"What are you doing? Go knock that guy's teeth in!" Sabo half-yelled at Nami as she pulled him backwards by the arm.
"Look, I'm a pirate. I don't get involved unless it directly affects me. YOU were an exception. Besides, the Marines will take care of it."
"Doubt it" a waitress nearby sighed. "That guy's the son of one of the two Marine captains stationed here. They let him get away with anything. Not that the captains themselves are much better. Tyrants, both of them."
"What? No way the Marines would let something like that happen!" Sabo replied enraged. "They're supposed to be keeping the peace, not let madmen shoot people in the street!"
"Look, things are a little less black and white than you think they are" Nami sighed. "In any case, I'll probably end up kicking the crap out of those two when I free that captured pirate they had."
"That doesn't make it any better!"
"Uh… you know I heard that, right?" the waitress from before added. Several other people in the restaurant were also giving the two stares.
"Oh, right. Public place" Nami said as she stared blankly forwards. Suddenly she grabbed Sabo by the arm and ran off, dragging the blonde boy behind her.
"Ow! You're gonna rip my arm off!"
As they dashed out of the building they passed Gedatsu, who at the moment was busy forgetting to breathe.
"Ok, here's the plan. I'm gonna head back to my boat and grab my axe, while you head to the Marine base and scout it out" Nami said as they got a good distance between them and the restaurant. Slowing down, she released Sabo's arm.
"Wait, what? Look, I'm grateful for you saving me and all, but I'm not gonna help you break into a Marine base. I'm still gonna be a Marine some day" the boy declared, rubbing his aching arm.
"After you just learned they let that guy run around shooting people?"
"Well… someone's got to clean them up! I'm not gonna give up on my dream because of some rotten eggs."
Nami stared into Sabo's determined gaze for a little while before sighing with a smile.
"Ok, kid. Go to the Marine base and… I dunno, see if they'll take you in. I don't really know how this works" the orange-haired pirate shrugged, scratching the back of her head. "You'd better become a great Marine in one way or another, though. Or I'm gonna kick your ass."
Sabo grinned.
"Thanks, Nami" he chuckled, before running off towards the Marine base.
That night…
Nami, having retrieved her axe, approached the east side of the compound. The entire base was surrounded by a wall, but it did little to deter the cat thief, who simply climbed over. She saw a couple of guards patrolling the area, as well as a larger gathering near a plaza in the front. From the looks of things, they were preparing the execution platform for tomorrow. But they also seemed to be adding a… second one?
One of the patrolling guards suddenly found himself slammed against the ground, a massive axe hovering over his face.
"Where do you hold the prisoners?"
In the Marine base's built-in prison...
Gunfire and cries of combat had echoed throughout the building for a while now. Suddenly the wooden door leading to the prisoner cells was cleaved in two, revealing a very pissed off girl with a robot arm and an axe as big as her. The few prison guards stationed there were caught in a struggle of their own survival instincts. On the one hand, trying to fight this madwoman seemed like an absolutely terrible idea. On the other, their superiors were sure to kill them for insubordination if they didn't. However, they had little time to debate that dilemma, as they were swiftly taken out by the blunt end of the axe slamming into them.
Having sent the guards flying, Nami began checking the cells to look for Sabo and the mysterious pirate. And sure enough, she soon found two figures in the same cell.
"Sabo! What the hell happened?!"
The blonde boy was chained to the wall, covered in bruises and his clothing left in tatters. He weakly looked up at Nami.
"I got mad at the captains… they abused the other Marines… forced the town to pay stupid high taxes... so I tried to beat them up… it didn't work out though…" he groaned.
"Well, I'll be sure to do a much better job at it" Nami said with a smile hiding her fury, as an anger vein throbbed on her forehead. Sabo couldn't help but feel a bit scared, even though her rage was born from concern about him and directed at the people who hurt him.
Taking a deep breath to calm down, Nami turned towards the other figure in the cell. The so-called "big shot" pirate. Like Sabo he had been chained to the wall, but looked much less beaten up than the kid. He was a toned, lightly tanned 19-year old with wooly black hair and thick lips, wearing brown overalls and an olive bandana. The most notable part about his appearance, however, was his incredibly long nose.
"So…" Nami said to draw his attention. "I hear you're some kind of big-shot pirate?"
"Yes, of course!" the chained pirate grinned proudly, puffing out his chest. "You must have heard stories of the great pirate, the warrior of the sea, the renowned Usopp 'The Hammer'?"
"No."
"'Hammer King' Usopp?"
"No."
"'God' Usopp'!"
"No."
"Usopp the Sexy?"
"Stop."
"Ok."
"You know, I figured a big-shot pirate would be more… intimidating" Sabo commented.
"Hey! I don't need to get that from a 12-year old!" Usopp shot back.
"I'm 16!"
"Both of you shut up. Listen, Usopp the Dumbass." "I don't remember that epitaph." "I'm looking for crewmembers, and the fact that they even bothered throwing you in jail proves you're at least slightly notorious."
"Ah, I see. You're hoping the great Usopp will be your new captain! Well, I-"
"No no" Nami interrupted him. She grabbed the bars of the cell and started slowly pulling them apart. Sabo didn't really raise an eyebrow at this, while Usopp seemed frightened by the girl's strength. "I'm the captain. You'll be first mate at best."
"Well, see about that…" Usopp replied. "It just so happened that while I was in here I contracted 'Can't-leave-this-cell disease', so if I step foot outside I'll die! So I think I'll just wait out my sentence and see if I'm cured by then."
"Uh… you do know they're gonna execute you tomorrow?" Nami said as she started pulling Sabo's chains apart.
"Well, that is… ahem, what did you say?" Usopp asked, a nervous smile forming on his face as sweat drops formed along his temples.
"They've already set up the execution platform. They're gonna chop your head off tomorrow" Sabo said as Nami helped him stand up.
"GYAAAAAH! THEY SAID THEY WERE ONLY JAILING ME FOR A COUPLE WEEKS!" Usopp suddenly screamed, thrashing about in a panic. He quickly pulled himself together, coughing a bit to clear his throat and pretending to be calm again. "Hey, would you look at that. My 'Can't-leave-this-cell disease' just got cured. Your offer is still standing, right Captain?"
"You're a sniveling worm" Nami sighed as she shook her head.
"Why are you so rude?" Usopp whined, collapsing as the words quite literally stabbed him in the chest.
"You'd better not make me regret this…" Nami said as she used her robotic arm's strength to destroy the chains.
"Not to worry!" Usopp grinned, standing up. "You just made the best decision of your life, captain… uh, what's your name?"
"Nami. Captain Nami, future Queen of the Pirates."
"Ambitious." "And foolish."
The three stood up straight as they heard two new voices. They quickly stepped out of the cell to see a group of Marines standing at the door leading out of the prison, armed with rifles and swords. Out of the group two in particular stood out: the Marine captains. Both tall, had sheathed swords at their hips, and wearing the typical Marine coat draped over their shoulders. The shorter of the two had light skin and two purple lines painted down the sides of his face. The taller one had dark skin and neatly cut black hair. Marine Captains Pell and Chaka.
"Hm… that kid… going on about how we treat those below us…" Chaka frowned.
"While cohorting with pirates himself" Pell continued, crossing his arms. "The timetable has changed. Execute them all immediately."
"Uh… even the kid, sirs?" one of the Marine soldiers asked, ignoring Sabo once more insisting he's not as young as he looks.
Not long after, the Marine had collapsed, a fresh sword wound across his back. Chaka slowly sheathed his sword as he glared down at him.
"I thought we had made the punishments for insubordination quite clear… if nobody else has any objections, fire immedi-"
Before he could finish his order, he was forced to draw his sword once more as Nami leaped forth with surprising speed, attempting to cleave him with her massive axe. Chaka slid backwards, as the Marine troops were scattered from the impact. Pell grit his teeth and reached for his sword… only to find it wasn't there. Usopp laughed maniacally as he ran down the hallway leading away from the prison, Pell's sword in hand.
"After him! Get my blade back!" Pell ordered, the Marine soldiers obeying and running after Usopp as Chaka pushed Nami back. The orange-haired pirate growled.
"That damn coward ran away… at least he disarmed one of them" she said, gripping her axe tightly. Only she, Sabo, Pell and Chaka remained in the room. Luckily Sabo had already had the foresight to have run and hid.
"Seems we can't afford to play around" Chaka stated. Pell nodded and the two Marine Captains began to change shape. Pell's face sharpened into a beak as brown feathers covered his skin, and two huge wings unfurled from his back. Chaka meanwhile was covered in black fur, his ears and nose elongating into a canine form.
"Devil Fruit users…" Nami muttered, witnessing her opponents transform into a humanoid falcon and jackal, respectively.
"Luckily, I am not completely defenseless without my sword" Pell stated as he reached into his cloak, pulling out two small gatling guns.
"Oh you have got to be kidding me" Nami groaned as Pell opened fire. She quickly brought her axe in front of her, embedding it into the stone floor and allowing the massive blade to block the bullets. Chaka, using the enhanced speed from his Devil Fruit, ran to the side to circle around and attack Nami while she was pinned down from Pell's barrage.
"Howling Fang" Chaka called out as he put the hilt of his sword in his mouth, before rushing towards Nami at an incredible speed. Unable to move from her cover behind the axe due to Pell's continued gunfire, Nami was forced to deal with this attack head-on. Once more relying on her durability of her metal arm, she clutched the sword's blade as it flew towards her. Her other hand shot upwards, punching Chaka in the face and allowing Nami to wrest the sword from his mouth. Finally, she kicked upwards with both legs, hitting Chaka in the stomach and knocking him backwards.
Pell's eyes widened in shock at seeing his fellow Captain be disarmed and knocked away so quickly. He stretched out his wings before flapping them down with great strength, sending Pell soaring into the air. Flying overhead, he could easily fire at Nami behind her axe. However, what he did not anticipate was Chaka's sword flying straight up at him. Nami had thrown it upwards with such force that the blade embedded itself into the roof, nearly hitting Pell in the process. Nami grabbed the hilt of her axe and lifted it over her, once more using it as a shield as Pell's gunfire rained upon her.
Seeing an opportunity, Sabo quickly rushed out from his hiding spot and ran out of the prison, realizing he was way out of his depth.
"Urgh… gonna need to deal with the bird…" Nami groaned. Taking a deep breath, she moved into action. She grabbed the axe's handle with both hands, dashing towards Chaka as she spun around and slammed the axe into him. Using the momentum of her spin, she quickly threw it up towards Pell, forcing the flying captain to evade the incoming axe. With the gunfire temporarily halted, Nami ran towards one of the prison cells. In addition to the vertical bars making up the cell there were also horizontal bars, and Nami leaped into the air to use one of these as a stepping stone. She leaped off with all her might, soaring up towards Pell, who had only just realized where she was after having his attention drawn to the axe.
Before he could start shooting again Nami slammed into him, making him drop both of his gatling guns. The cyborg pirate quickly scampered over to Pell's back, wrapping her arms around him in order to pin his wings down.
"W-wait! You'll make us faaaa-" Pell cried out as his wings were held down, thus no longer able to support the large bird man. As they dropped to the ground, Nami threw her body in such a way so as to make Pell fall head first. Before either Marine captain had the chance to say or do anything else, Pell slammed into the floor with tremendous force. Nami calmly stood up and dusted herself off as the unconscious falcon morphed back into his human form.
But an ominous click warned Nami that she wasn't safe just yet. Chaka, clutching his ribs and panting heavily, had picked up one of Pell's dropped guns and aimed it at Nami. After a few tense seconds of the two staring at each other, a loud TWACK echoed through the prison and Chaka fell to the floor. Standing behind him was Usopp holding a hammer.
"To be honest, I didn't really expect you to come back" Nami smirked.
"I just had to go get my weapon" Usopp grinned proudly, spinning his hammer in his hand. "I may be a liar and a coward, but… wait, let me start over again."
Before they could continue their conversation, the click of another firearm drew their attention. They slowly turned to see Sabo having returned… as well as Gedatsu. Gedatsu was holding Sabo roughly by the arm, leaving the younger boy to whine about "Why is it always the arm?"
"Hold it! Both of you had better surrender right now, or I'll shoot!" the dark-skinned male yelled, as he held a gun to… his own head.
"I think he's forgotten how taking hostages work…" Nami whispered under her breath.
"Do NOT tell him…" Sabo whispered through grit teeth.
"You don't respect my threats? Then take that!" Gedatsu yelled, as nothing happened. As it became clear he had forgotten that you need to pull the trigger to shoot a gun, Sabo simply reached up, grabbed the gun from his hand and knocked him unconscious with a pistol whip.
Not long after, nervous-looking Marines entered the prison and started dragging Pell, Chaka and Gedatsu into various cells, completely ignoring Nami and Usopp.
"Wait, what are you doing? I thought they were on your side" Nami said with a raised eyebrow, as she walked to pick up her axe.
"Well… we couldn't refuse any of their orders under threat of death. But now that they're defeated, we can put them on trail for abuse of power" one of the Marines stated as they locked their former captains in. "Speaking of… you three should probably leave the island as soon as possible. After the defeat of our captains, we were in disarray and unable to capture the ones responsible as they fled in the chaos. That is what we'll tell our superiors."
"W-wait" Sabo spoked up. "I… I'm not a pirate! I want to join the Marines!"
"Huh? But you arrived here alongside the girl with the axe, didn't you?" one of the Marines asked.
"No. We have absolutely nothing connecting the boy with pirates. In fact, this kid heroically saved the life of one of the troops at the base, and thus has proven himself to be worthy of a position despite his young age."
"Wait, when did that happen?" "Shut up."
That morning, at the Shells Town docks…
Some of the locals grateful for the tyrannical Marine captains' defeat had "accidentally" left a bunch of supplies in a barrel near the docks and "unfortunately" that information slipped to the two pirates leaving town, and so they had "sadly" "stolen" the barrel.
"You know, I really expected you to have a bigger ship" Usopp said as he hopped aboard Nami's boat.
"It was the best I could get for free" Nami shrugged as they set off, just her, Usopp and a barrel with supplies.
"You're pretty stingy, you know that?"
"Well, a Pirate Queen needs to have a fortune, right?" Nami smirked as she rested against the mast.
As they sailed away, they suddenly spotted Sabo standing at the docks, along with the Marines from the base. The two pirates were confused at first, until Sabo and all the other Marines saluted them.
"Remember: we are NOT saluting the pirates. This is simply a bizarre one-time training exercise that happens to resemble a salute that coincidentally is aimed at pirates."
Author's notes:
So I figured I might as well explain a few things about how Shuffle Piece works. Better late than never, right?
By now I'm assuming you've all understood the basic concept of the story. But that concept means a lot of pre-planning before I can start writing, specifically in where each character goes. I took around 200 characters from throughout One Piece and manually gave them all new positions, doing my best to make the replacement have enough of a different personality from the original to make it fresh. That pre-planning also means I won't be able to incorporate new characters in the manga. While I do incorporate some Wano characters, anybody from the Flying Six's introduction and beyond will NOT be making an appearance.
By that same token, the story will only run until the timeskip at most, and I will only be including the pre-timeskip Straw Hats. However, I do incorporate post-timeskip characters (around 40) which means that there's a bunch of pre-timeskip characters that won't be appearing either. Mainly because I just felt it'd be more interesting to have characters like Big Mom, Bartolomeo, Caesar Clown and Queen than Higuma, Nezumi, Woop Slap and Sarquiss.
Also, the choices I made for Nami's fighting style will make more sense if you know about the unused concept for Nami from the fourth One Piece databook. Google "Nami battle axe"