Only a couple of hours had passed by, and Luffy had already encountered his first obstacle. "Yup! That's a whirlpool!"
Just ahead of him was a massive swirling pool that had no right to be that big considering it was only the East Blue. And while Luffy didn't have the expertise to sail a tiny row boat out of a whirlpool, he did have a nifty devil fruit ability.
"Man I don't wanna ditch this boat, it was a gift from old man Rod". Luffy thought about it for a few more seconds and had a 'genius' idea. "Shishishi. I'll turn it into a submarine."
he emptied the two barrels on board and with his hand touching both the barrels and the boat he turned into a submarine… well more like a misshapen wooden egg. "Kay, now I'll coat in haki, just to be safe, and when I'm out I'll put the boat back to normal. I'M BRILLIANT!" he said while talking to himself in a haki-coated misshapen wooden egg heading straight towards a whirlpool.
-o-
Luffy didn't have motion sickness but being in that whirlpool made him think otherwise. 'Crap, I shouldn't have eaten such as big breakfast. Hold it in! If you throw up now you'll be stuck with it until you're out of this stupid whirlpool!". Luffy's stomach and willpower were tested for several more minutes until he was shot out and collided with something when he landed. Fortunately, he's quite tough so the impact of his head and wood didn't hurt. His stomach, however…
"*Bluuurgh, urp*... never again.." Thankfully Luffy was able to make an opening for himself to… relieve his insides. Afterward, he fixed the boat and restocked the barrels- the contents of which, 'attacked' him when he was in the spin cycle- before taking in his surroundings. He had hit a cruise ship, a busted up cruise ship but a cruise nonetheless. *gurgle gurgle*. Luffy looked down at his rumbling stomach, throwing up his breakfast made him very hungry. "Alright new mission, find some grub!" He looked at the barrels and then remembered Makino's scoldings before he left about rationing; "find some grub that ISN'T in those barrels". He tied a rope around the stem and fused the rope to the hull of the ship. "Alright stay right here," he told the boat. He used his powers to open up a hole in the ship and closed it right after he entered.
-o-
"Haah, why me?" a pink-haired boy groaned. 'Do I seriously look like I'm built for scouting! By myself! What if I find someone with a weapon?! What do I do then?!". It seems the young lad was tasked with finding any stragglers left on the ship and bringing them to the main hall.
'I'll just hole up somewhere for a little bit and return saying I couldn't find anyone" he continued walking and found a door to his right. 'Okay this place is far enough' he moved to open the door 'I'll stay here for the time-' he walked into the room, and it was, in fact, a kitchen but that wasn't what stopped him short. It was the presence of a boy with a straw hat absolutely "pigging out".
"W-w-what are you doing here?!" the pinkette asked. "Washit 'ook 'ike? Eashing." the straw hat boy answered back with food still in his mouth.
"Oi! Koby why are you just standing there?" a couple more pirates walk down the hall towards the kitchen. Another one of the pirates speaks up "ooh is this one of the kitchens? Finally! We've been looking-" they all stop for the same reason Koby did. "HEY SHITSTAIN! STOP EATING OUR FOOD! A giant pirate wearing blue and white stripes walks toward Luffy rearing back his fist. Only to be sent flying across the room.
"Hey! Didn'ch your muver teach you i'sh rude to bother people when dere eshing?" the boy responded with his fist up and food still in his mouth. He swallowed his food and turned around to continue eating.
"Don't you know who were are dammit!" "Damn kid" the two guys raise their swords to Luffy's back. "Hey watch out!" warned Koby while covering his eyes. "Die!". But the moment the swords swung down and came into contact with Luffy's back they both shattered. Everyone besides Luffy could only look in shock.
"W-what the hell are you?" is all the blonde one could get out. Luffy turned around and his face stretched in ways not humanly possible and smile so big it could bite a person in half. "DEATH" is all the in-human face said. They ran, they ran so fast they could run on water. Koby however was frozen in fear. He might have been looking at Luffy from his back but he could still see the way Luffy's face stretched. The fear was interrupted by an *snkrt* filling the air.
All of a sudden he saw Luffy collapse to the floor in laughter. He was laughing so hard he was crying. 'SHI SHI SHI SHI! DID YOU SEE HOW FAST THEY RAN?! SHI SHI SHI!". Koby was stunned that this was the same kid that made that face. "W-who are you?. The kid looked up at him "I'm M-Luffy, just Luffy. I'm the guy who's gonna surpass Roger".
-o-
Lady Alvida was having a marvelous day. Not only was the day beautiful but her very first haul was quite the catch. That was until… "AAAAAAHHH!". She heard screams getting closer and closer until the two sources of the scream broke down a door in their haste.
"What are you to clowns doing? I thought I ordered you to find all the Kitchens and raid them for supplies. And where's the third one?". "M-M-M-MONSTER!". Alvida quickly hit both of them with her club. "Stop playing games!" Alvida raised her club for another strike "W-we're not we swear!" "Y-yeah, we found the kitchen but the monster took out Butch with a single hit! And our swords shattered when we hit it. LOOK!". They rose the hilt of the swords revealing the sword indeed was shattered. "And its face stretched out, and said it was death, and it probably ate Koby and Poppokko!".
The crew around them grew uneasy. They might have brushed it off but their swords were concrete evidence for their claims. Alvida simply just took the information in. "Lead me to it".
-o-
"ROGER?! AS IN THE P-P-P-PIRATE K-K-KING?!" Koby was just shocked. This kid is strong but there's no way he's strong enough to rival the emperors and world government! Although the recipient of his comment had just walked away.
"Wait, wait, wait. Luffy was it?" Koby says while catching up to him. "That is I" "You can't be serious Luffy?" "Nope, I am" "Do you even realize how bold of a claim that is?! There are the four emperors, World Government, Marines, The Warlords, heck even other pirates! That's not even taking into account the grand line itself!". Luffy stops in his tracks. Koby was confused then suddenly super relieved. It seems like his words got through to this kid. He wasn't about to let someone get themselves killed, stranger or not.
"Shi shi shi! Found it!" He ran towards the door at the end of the hall and dropped kicked it causing it to fly off its hinges and reveal a massive food stockpile. And what did he do? He started eating.
Koby didn't move. Everything he just said was ignored because finding something else to stuff your face was more important than living. "DID YOU EVEN LISTEN TO A WORD I SAID?!" Koby was furious that someone would throw their life away so easily, especially since he kept clinging to his shitty life for the last two years. "Yeah, every single word." "Then why do you still want to pursue the one piece?! Is it for wealth?! The fame?! POWER?! What reason could be good enough for you to throw your life away?!" "Freedom."
If Luffy ignoring didn't reboot his brain this certainly did. "Being a pirate isn't about the gold, the glory, oppressing others, or anything else. And those that do are just lousy fakers. It's about having the freedom to explore and discover the world's wonders, and the adventure of it all. And being the king of pirates means being the freest of them all. That's why I wanna do it. There's also a promise linked to it as well. And if I die for my dreams, so be it. At least I won't regret it.".
Koby was silent. Having taken all that in he could one hundred percent see where Luffy was coming from. He had spent the last two years essentially being a slave. Freedom was all he could think about other than surviving. And after reflecting on the past two years and what Luffy had just said, he cried.
"Whoa, whoa. Hey, there why'd you start crying all of a sudden?" Luffy moved towards Koby. "M-my dream, *sniff* before I was forced to become *sniff* a pirate, was to be *sniff*a Marine. But these last two years all I dreamed about was freedom! Do you think *sniff* I can be free and become a Marine?".
"Course you can! I'm pretty sure when pirates get infamous enough they have an entire task force monitoring their every move." "Where are you going with this Luffy?". "WHEN, you achieve your goal" Luffy puts heavy emphasis on the 'when' "I want you to watch me, watch me achieve my dream after you… sorry if that seemed super narcis… something. That sounded a lot more inspirational in my head, hehe.". Luffy sheepishly laughs while rubbing the back of his head all embarrassed. But Koby has to disagree with that statement. "
No, that was just the motivation I need. Can you watch over me as well? I know that news coo even services pirates so I'll just get big enough that'll you'll see me in the news. And eventually, you'll read about how I became the new hero of marines!" Koby exclaims with determination and a new-found hope for the future. Luffy's signature smile grew across his face "Okay then it's a promise". They move to one another and shake hands both with big smiles on their faces. "In commemoration why don't we take down your boss? That's the first step to your dream innit?".
Fear and dread flashed across Koby's face. But that same face adopted a smile, a shaky one yes, but one filled with a drive and eyes looking toward the future. "Y-yeah! Today's the day when that stinkin' old hag goes-" *CR-SMASH*
A deafening sound filled the room in an instant. Luffy and Koby looked toward the source of the sound. The entire wall had been leveled, but the dust and debris only revealed the silhouette of the person responsible, but Koby instantly knew who it is. "L-L-LADY ALVIDA?! W-what are you doing here?!".
The dust cleared, revealing a not-so-attractive face atop a not-so-attractive body and a group of Lackies behind said 'not-so-attractive' body. "I was investigating a 'monster' that had snuck on board but I think I found the true culprits.". She lifted her mace and pointed it at Koby "A dirty rat" then pointed it at Luffy "Conspiring with a… bounty hunter I presume, to take my head. Did I get everything right?".
"N–n-n-no o–of course not. I would never dream of-" as Koby was trying to think of was to save his skin his eyes looked over at Luffy. He stood with his arms crossed and a blank expression. It looked as though he was waiting for an answer.
"I would never dream of… I WOULD NEVER DREAM OF WORKING FOR YOU FOR ANOTHER SECOND!" his promise to Luffy gave him the courage he needed to finally stand up for himself. "MY FIRST ASSIGNMENT AS MARINE WILL BE CATCHING YOUR UGLY FAT-ASS AND LOCKING YOU IN THE PIG PEN WHERE YOU BELONG!".
"KOBY!" an infuriated Alvida swung her club up and with the force of a semi-truck swung it back down to Koby.
"EEEEK!" Koby's arms swung over his head. He did it. He may have died for it but at least he stood up for himself. But he still had so many things he wanted to do. What about his promise with-*CLANG*
The sound of metal hitting metal snapped him out of his thoughts. "Wha-?" he looked up to see Luffy. But his straw hat was no longer resting on his head. Rather, it lay against his back held by a string attached to it and around Luffy's neck. But the part that grabbed his attention the most was Luffy standing perfectly straight, and the part of Alvida's mace that hit Luffy dented in the shape of Luffy's head.
"Well done Koby!" Luffy exclaimed. He hit Alvida's mace off his head, causing it to fly out of Alvida's hands and into the ceiling. Then, faster than any could see knocked Alvida back, landing her on top of the goons behind her.
"W-w-wha-?" Koby knew Luffy was strong but he wouldn't believe what he just saw if it didn't happen right in front of him. "Even without turning around, I can tell that you're impressed," Luffy said out loud. It was also the same for Koby. Without seeing Luffy from the front he could tell that Luffy was super smug, and THOUGHT he just said something cool.
"Ok, I didn't hit her that hard, so she'll wake up any second now," Luffy said while turning around. "WHAT! You knocked her back! that wasn't even your full strength?!" "yeah, pretty much. If you really wanna see what I'm made of let's ditch this tiny room. I don't like fighting in cramped spaces. Here hold these." Luffy reached down to take his slippers off and handed them to Koby. "Alright now, hold on tight". He grabbed Koby and all of a sudden fire burst from his feet propelling Luffy and Koby through multiple flights before reaching the deck.
-o-
"Ugh, my head" Alvida felt the world spin around as she tried to stand up
After regaining her balance, she looked behind at the still passed-out goons. "That little chickenshit thinks he's so tough now that he's a got a fancy bounty hunter protecting him. I'll wring the life out of both their necks when I get my hands on them… Where the hell did they go?". She looked around for a second before focussing on the wreckage before her.
"Wha-?" She noticed light coming from above her. She looked up and saw the floors above her and saw the route her opposers used. "Fine.".
She jumped up with the agility her build had no right to possess. She jumped from one floor to another and grabbed the ledges to make it easier for her. But as she got closer to the deck the sounds of shouts and groans grew and grew.
'One last jump." she leaped from her floor, she reached the deck, but couldn't believe what she saw. All her men were either knocked out or running from something. "Guillotine whip!" she heard from behind.
Acting on reflex, she jumped as high as she could, dogging the stretched-out leg that was clotheslining those who weren't so lucky to have jumped in time.
She landed back down, rocking the entire boat as a result. "Dang! You're one heavy lady, you know that?". She looked at the one responsible for that insult and this whole mess. "Strawhat," she said as though she was trying to place a curse on him.
-o-
"You're also pretty fast for someone your size," Luffy commented. "Heh, that's only natural punk! My slim figure has graced me with these acrobatic gifts" Alvida retorted. "Are all the mirrors in your ship broken? Or do you have bad eyesight? Is it both?!" Luffy asked without missing a beat. 'I haven't known him for long, but I'm pretty sure that was genuine concern' Koby thought with a tired but accepting expression
"Grr" Alvida had no idea you could hate a person this much. "Stop focussing on the pointless crap! Besides, I wanna ask you a couple of questions." "Eh? Go ahead" "You've eaten a devil fruit haven't you" "Shi Shi Shi! Yup, I ate the Adol Adol fruit. It turned me into a flame and combinable human. But I also combined myself with other materials; so really, I'm a flame, combinable, Metal, Diamond, rubber human!" Luffy said. "I see" Alvida continued "Well how about this, you give me the diamond and Koby and I'll let you live." "No can do fat Lady, Koby here is gonna be the next hero of the marines".
"Hah! Now that's the funniest joke I've ever heard of! Oi Koby!". Koby's spine went ramrod straight as he turned to Alvida. "You are the sorriest sack of cowardly shit I've ever seen. DO only reason why I let you live so far was out of pity. Do you seriously think you can become the next Garp? The Rival of Gold Roger? The right-hand man of the Buddha himself?".
Koby looked down "N-no…" Alvida smiled in satisfaction and Luffy went to open his mouth to Koby "I'm gonna be even greater than him!" interrupting the smugness of Alvida and Luffy. "I'm gonna be 'Koby Champion of the Marines and Justice'! 'Head of Marines! And!-" he looked at Luffy and then at Alvida. "Rival of Luffy! The pirate who surpassed Roger!".
Alvida was speechless, and then "HAH! HAH! HAH! HAAA!" She laughed so hard it looked like her already bulging stomach was about to pop. "Koby if what you say is true then your stupidity must be infectious. 'Luffy' was it? Do you really think you can compete with the powers that reach for that throne". Luffy only responded with "I don't think so, I know so.". "That makes me feel a lot better". Koby was extremely confused at Alvida's comment
"That means even if I don't kill you now someone else will eventually" her smug smile returned. Koby was about to open his mouth but Luffy stopped him "You haven't even seen me at my strongest, how can you even judge me?".
"Fine then" she dropped her club "I'll take your strongest hit head on and if I'm still standing I get to kill you and Koby" "What you can't be-" "Ok" "serious?…WHAT!" an incredulous Koby looked at Luffy. "Trust me" is all Luffy said to Koby. "If you say so"
"Ha Ha Ha! So be it! I'll enjoy-" Alvida was monologuing when Luffy just disappeared. Where to? Right in front of Alvida with his arm already stretched out. "Buster!" only when he spoke up Koby and Alvida notice where he was. "Strike!" and not a second later Alvida felt her entire body bending and stretching around her solar plexus and was promptly sent flying due to the force of the impact.
Koby had lost track of how many times Luffy had defied his expectations. "Spoilers Koby" he was snapped out of his thoughts when Luffy started talking. "That still wasn't my strongest," he said with a smug grin" "Really?!" "Yeah! If I did go all out she would've been sent flying in MULTIPLE directions!". Both Koby and Luffy thought about what was just said and their faces both went green. "Maybe I shouldn't have eaten so much," said Luffy holding his hands over his stomach and mouth. Thankfully they were interrupted by the whistling and explosions of cannonballs.
They both looked over to see three marine ships. "Oh snap, it's the navy! Alright Koby this is perfect timing for you. You should go over and meet them. I'm getting out of here 'cause I'm a pirate and all." Luffy ran to the other side of the deck and jumped off. "Wait! Take me with you!" Koby ran after Luffy "I can't join the navy like this! They'll arrest me instead!". Koby saw Luffy's stretched-out arm in front of him and his hand grabbing his shirt. "I didn't think this through," said Koby to himself.
-o-
Nami was ecstatic. She had found twenty-seven million berries worth of treasures in the hull of the 'Miss Love Duck'. Her only regret was not bringing a bigger boat. It felt like it was about to sink with all this weight. It didn't matter though. What she was confused about was this boat tied to a rope that was literally attached to the side of the cruise ship. Well, she got what she needed and she didn't need to stick around for answers.
*KER-SPLAH!*
A massive impact caused the water to shoot up around her almost capsizing her boat. She looked at the cause and saw a boy with a straw hat had landed in the boat beside her. "Hey-!" she was about to yell at him but heard screaming from above. "Wait! Take me with you! I can't join the navy like this! They'll arrest me instead!".
"Uuugh fine!" the boy in the straw hat said in the tone of someone whose mom just asked him to take out the trash. And like it was nothing his arm freaking stretched like rubber! And it grabbed the poor boy and dragged him down into the boat causing him to crash as well. "OWIE!" is all the pink-haired boy said.
"Hehe, sorry 'bout that but I'm kind of in a rush." the straw hat boy bowed and apologized. "Now, hold on tight Koby!" he turned to the back of the boat and shot fire from his hands propelling the boat away with incredible speed. Leaving behind a very confused oranged haired woman behind.
That concludes this chapter. I wanted to write a little more after this point that explained how Luffy got those specific materials but decided to stop it here. This chapter is long enough already so I'll add it to chapter 3. That's all for now and remember, "work hard and study well. Eat and sleep plenty". Until next time this has been BillyBobGoat, signing out.