Yibi the sailsmith worked diligently with Luffy's lack of artistic design, but every outlandish Jolly Roger Luffy sketched out in his book was worthless. "I'll never make such a monstrosity. You can do better, come on," Yibi said in half encouragement, half annoyance. He was taking up a bunch of sheets from the sketchbook. When Luffy drew out a Jolly Roger that was just pursing its lips in an ugly way, Yibi erupted a little more though, tearing the sheet apart and tossing it over his shoulder. "Are you even taking this seriously?! I could be locked up until I die if I get caught doing this for you."
"Hey, I'm sorry! I told you, I'm not really an artist," Luffy whined as he stuck the pencil in his mouth to think.
"Don't stick my pencil in your mouth!" Yibi cried, disgusted as he reached over and whipped the pencil from Luffy's mouth. It was covered in spit already, so he just handed it back by the dry eraser.
They continued to argue, and a passer by heard it from the street as she searched Conomi Town for Luffy specifically. Alvida turned her head and looked through the dusty picture window into Yibi's shop, spotting Luffy easily by his straw hat. She ignored the closed sign entirely and entered the shop. Yibi sprang up and shut the sketchbook, standing on his chair to look over Luffy as Luffy turned. "Hey, who are you? I thought I locked that door."
"Hello," Alvida said to Luffy, ignoring Yibi and slowly sauntering toward him with a strange but pleased look on her face.
"Hi?" Luffy replied, wondering who on earth this could be. I never met this woman, Luffy thought with one hundred percent confidence.
Alvida stopped and let out a single laugh. "You don't remember me?"
Any man'd remember this woman, Yibi thought, sitting back down as he checked her out. No one that pretty had been in here in years.
"Nope. No clue who you are," Luffy replied, and turned back to the sketchbook, opening it to the Jolly Roger he was just working on. Alvida looked at it, smiled, but thought, Wow. This is terrible, even for a Jolly Roger. Luffy truly sketched the wonky, bold, jagged lines with a look on his face that told Alvida he drew with total honesty.
Alvida reached a hand out but didn't take the pencil yet. "I like what you're going for, but can I take a stab at it?" She shrugged when Luffy and Yibi both cocked their eyes at her. "I'm something of an artist myself. When I was a pirate captain, I drew my own Jolly Roger."
Luffy's eyes lit up and he offered his pencil over quite willingly. "Wow! You were a pirate captain?! Please, draw me a Jolly Roger then! I'm no good at this, but I want a really good one for my crew. The Straw Hats!"
Alvida chuckled as she leaned over the sketchbook, doing up the skull and crossbones first before placing the personal touches on it. Luffy had just told her more than enough to go off of, though, and he prattled on as she worked. "So, you were a pirate captain. Who are ya, lady? Why aren't you a pirate captain anymore?"
She answered the last question. "I was castaway at sea, and another great pirate captain came upon me and took me in. I was separated from my crew, but it's not like they came to rescue me or anything, so I switched sides easily." She scoffed somewhat lovingly. "Lord knows my new captain needs as much guidance as he can get."
Yibi had switched focus from Alvida's body to her drawing, his eyes widening as he nodded approvingly. "Now that's a Jolly Roger. I can work with that." He nodded and pointed at it for Luffy to see. "That's how you draw, son."
Luffy's eyes lit up even more than they had before as he saw the design Alvida sketched out, He grinned wide and tapped the page at Yibi. "Yeah, I want that one. How fast can you do that one up for me?"
"It's charming, but it's simple. A flag shouldn't take me more than an hour," Yibi said as he hopped off the stool behind the counter and took the sketchbook to the back with him. He popped his head back around the corner of the door to the back and asked Luffy, "You want a sail, too?"
"Yes, please!" he replied enthusiastically as Alvida took the pencil and one of the scrapped designs still lying on the counter. She tore the corner off and started to write on it. Luffy turned to her and asked, "Thanks so much for your help! I never could have done something up like that."
"Don't sell yourself short, Straw Hat," Alvida told him, folding the paper once as she turned to face him.
"Hm. You're right! I know better than that," Luffy said. "But thanks all the same. My crew'd probably be mad at me if I wasted too much time here drawing."
"You have a crew now?" Alvida asked, obviously remembering the way he and Usopp had seemed so much smaller against the numbers of her crew way back when. She wondered how many men he had acquired for his crew. They're probably tough numbers like him! Except for that little long nosed kid, Alvida thought, and she said out loud, "Tell me, have you found a navigator?"
"Yep! I got the best navigator in the East Blue just the other day," Luffy bragged, boosting himself up to the counter to sit.
"Good. Then find your way to these coordinates," Alvida told Luffy, handing him the folded up piece of paper. He unfolded it, but the numbers and letters on it made no sense to him. "I'll be waiting for you there with my captain and his crew. I'd like you both to meet. You can bring your crew, too." Though they'll have to hold their own against the clowns, she thought, again thinking of long nosed Usopp and how he'd get killed by Buggy or any of his underlings.
"I can't read this. What's it say?" Luffy asked.
"Your navigator will be able to find his way there," Alvida said, but she had already turned on her heel to leave the sailsmith's shop. It was about time for her to leave and reunite with the Clown Pirates; they might already be at Gecko Island even now, where the coordinates would lead Luffy. The bell to the door jingled as she opened it and Luffy finally looked up, seeing he was now alone.
"His?" Luffy said, scrunching his face up. "My navigator's a girl." Luffy shook his head. "What a weird old biddy."
The rest of the Straw Hats finished buying what supplies they needed, cashed out together, and took the supplies back to the Going Merry. "Luffy's still gone," Yosaku said, scanning the dock and beyond.
"Yeah, I hope he hasn't gotten into any trouble," Usopp thought aloud as he came back outside. "Well, he wanted to go off and eat alone. Why don't we try the local food together?" he suggested, walking back down the gangplank once the chores were done.
Everyone was in agreement, leaving the Merry once again, and made their way through town to some joint above a store that sold glassware. It served delicious West Blue inspired food, a cuisine Sanji told the others all about as they enjoyed it. The specifics of his culinary talk went over the others' heads. What's a flambe? Nami thought as she enjoyed some risotto.
Their lunch was delicious, they paid up once more, and again made their way back to the Going Merry to wait for Luffy. "I'll give him an hour, then I'll head out to find him," Sanji told the others, enjoying an after meal cigarette as they arrived at the docks, making their way down the wharf toward where the Going Merry was tucked out of sight behind a larger ship. Only visible were its crow's nest that flew a new flag where once there was none.
Johnny stopped, noticing a ring of Marines in front of where the Going Merry ought to be. A crowd was formed around it, but the Marines aimed their guns directly at the Merry. "Son of a gun," Johnny said as he fingered the pommel of his sword. "Look alive."
"AHHHH! WHAT'S THAT DOING ON THE MERRY?!" Usopp cried, pointing at the crow's nest where on the flagstaff waved the new Jolly Roger: A smiling skull and crossbones with a straw hat like Luffy's on its head. The others looked at it as Usopp noticed, and their faces dropped, eyes wide with fear. Of course the Straw Hats were pirates, but to brazenly raise a Jolly Roger in port was a special crime in the East Blue. Luffy may not have known about this law, but the others did: When a pirate raises a flag in a town's port, the residing commanding officer of the Navy retained full rights to destroy that pirate in any totality.
They ran up to the edge of the line of Marines, with Usopp hysterical about the Marines causing more damage to the Merry after the repairs it needed from fighting the Arlong Pirates. They saw Luffy raising the sail that bore the same symbol on the Merry's new flag, heaving this way and that as the sail wanted to gather the wind and tear off out of port. What seemed strange to Usopp was the way the Merry smiled; the figurehead always smiled, yet it almost seemed like the ship had raised its chin in pride at finally having its mark.
"What do we do?" one of the Marines cried like a little boy. "Our bullets don't work on him!"
"Bullshit!" another gruffer Marine cried and raised his rifle at Luffy, shooting him right in the head - but his head just stretched out with the bullet and sent it whizzing back to clip the Marine in the thigh. He fell to his knee, clutching his fresh wound.
"Hey! Don't damage this flag! I just got it!" Luffy yelled at the Marine, but as he turned his head, he noticed his crew. "Hey, guys! Check it out!" As if they had no time to notice what had caused the disturbance, he stretched out and grabbed the lip of the crow's nest, flying up to it and holding the flagstaff proudly as the fresh Jolly Roger flapped in the wind beside him.
"Commodore Puding has been alerted! He's amassing all of 77!" came a recruit running from the dockside Marine station.
"Good! Now kill that fool with the Devil Fruit powers! Blast him into the sea if you must!" yelled the same gruff Marine who had been shot back by Luffy's head. The Marines raised their rifles up at Luffy and the Jolly Roger, hammers clicking back. Usopp watched them in motion, thinking of not only the Merry being pocked by gunshots, but also the new Jolly Roger being torn apart.
You are the First Mate, Usopp thought as he grabbed the slingshot from his belt and aimed a Lead Star at the gruff Marine who must have been the commanding officer, knocking him unconscious on his side. The Marines stopped their aim of Luffy to refocus on Usopp, who now stood apart from the other Straw Hats. "He's with the pirate!" one of the Marines cried, and the guns turned on Usopp.
He threw his hands in the air and screamed. "WAIT, WAIT, I SURRENDER!" Usopp looked over his shoulder. "SANJI! HELP!"
"So we're doing this, huh?" Yosaku said, and he began drawing his sword with Johnny.
"No!" Sanji said, throwing his hand up. "You're bounty hunters whose careers are tied to the Marines. Get Nami on board and get yourselves hidden." Without another word of instruction, he ran forward and bounded off of Usopp's shoulder to launch into the center of the circle of Marines with guns. They watched as he sailed through the air, landed on his palms, and began kicking out in every direction, slamming his feet into the Marines faces.
"Wait a minute, haven't we heard about these guys before?" the Marine who had alerted Puding and 77 said. He racked his memory long and hard, remembering recent events, but what was it? He watched his comrades fall to kicks from a well dressed man, and he looked at the Jolly Roger of the straw hat skull and crossbones - helmed by a man wearing a straw hat.
"You guys!" the same Marine cried out as it dawned on him. "These are the guys who took down Captain Morgan and Captain Kuro of the Black Cat Pirates! Remember, in the newspaper?" He pointed at Luffy and Sanji in particular, everyone having forgotten about Usopp's daring act now. Nami, Yosaku, and Johnny used the realization to slip onto the Merry unnoticed by the Marines.
In the confusion of Sanji's budding attack against the Marines, Usopp, the swordsmen, and Nami rushed up the gangplank to the Merry's deck. "Sanji's right! Let's get inside for this fight," Johnny reasoned, and the three of them made it inside the cabin.
Usopp collapsed on deck, huffing and puffing, panicked about what had just happened. How many places are the Navy gonna chase us out of?! he thought as Luffy came to land beside Usopp, leaning on his knees and smiling at Usopp's eye level. "Help me finish rigging the sail up and then let's get out of here!" Luffy said, and clapped Usopp under his arms to haul him up.
"Luffy! This is ludicrous! Do you know what a big crime it is to raise pirate colors in port?!" Usopp raged, still helping Luffy for their one ticket out of here.
"Well, duh. But we're pirates!" Luffy said, giggling gleefully. "The Going Merry is truly complete now! Don't you like the flag, Usopp?"
Usopp looked up at the Jolly Roger. Simple, yet it felt right. It wasn't a symbol of fear like other flags pirates flew. Usopp smiled and put his whole back into hauling the sail up into place. "You're right! A flag befitting the Going Merry. Good going! I didn't know you were such an artist!"
"I'm not!" Luffy said as they finished rigging. "Some lady did it for me." He ran over to starboard, where the Merry was tied up and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Sanji! Get on board! We're leaving!" He began untying the rigging, as Usopp did similarly near the bow. Sanji heard his captain and turned tail against the Marines that remained standing against him, ascending the gangplank. The Marines made to run onto the Merry after him, but Sanji kicked the edge of the plank, shooting the other end up into a Marine's chin, clocking him out cold. Sanji caught the gangplank and tossed it on deck as the Merry pushed off from dock.
"Don't let them get away!" the Marines called, but they only ran to the edge of the dock, barely firing their weapons at the vessel for fear of their bullets shooting back at them. In moments, Usopp stood at the helm and guided the Straw Hats past the throng of vessels behind them.
"Stand back, stand back!" came a domineering voice, and through the crowd of townsfolk watching the battle play out came the force of Navy Base 77, Puding Squad led by the Commodore himself. He was bolstered by Fullbody Squad; "Iron Fist" even commanded his left hand today. "What's the meaning of this? Explain yourselves, men! Pirates, raising flag in my port? I'll have none of that!" He spoke as if he chastised his men, but he turned to face the townsfolk in a flourish, as if he were in a stage play. Even Fullbody was fooled by the commodore's composure.
"Executive Officer Smithee, I want you to command 77 with a skeleton crew. The rest of you louts! Let's go catch us some pirate scum!" Puding declared, raising a hand on high. He walked toward the Navy's dockside quarters where three ships bobbed at bay, including Puding's warship. "Fullbody!" He waved over his shoulder.
"Yes, sir!" Fullbody said, trotting up to be right at his side.
"You're a fast riser, son. I'd like you to take command of one of my ships while we wipe these pirates out. What do ya say?" Puding grinned at Fullbody in a way that the lieutenant interpreted as fatherly. In truth, it was slimy, as the other Marines in Fullbody Squad noticed.
But Fullbody saluted at the request as they walked and said, "Point me to the vessel I'll be commandeering and I'll serve you well, sir!" Puding pointed at the ship nearest them as he made for the warship in the middle. Fullbody turned and stood fast at the gangplank leading up to his interim ship and called to the mass of Marines. "Fullbody Squad and ten more able bodied volunteers! I need you to commandeer this ship for me, in the name of the great Commodore Puding! We sail after pirates!"
"Hoorah!" the mass cried, and Fullbody's remaining men came forward with a few of Puding's men to bolster their numbers on the ship. The rest of Puding Squad divided in two, following 77's resident captain onto the last ship in the dock. The Going Merry was already growing distant on the horizon; they could no longer even make out the mocking straw hat wearing Jolly Roger.
"We must hurry, men!" Puding bellowed as the ships began drifting out from port finally within five minutes. It was their fastest departure yet. "We cannot let these fools get away! Down with pirates!" This was met with another deep "HOORAH!" from the men from all three ships as they departed in a small V after the Going Merry, waving back to the townsfolk they left behind who believed in them with their full confidence.
"What were you thinking?!" Nami blared as she stormed back outside once the Merry had grown clear from the island. Yosaku and Johnny walked out after her, already looking back from the edge of the Merry to see if they had pursuers. Usopp manned the helm, while Sanji stared up at the Jolly Roger now, a smoke in between his lips. "You could have gotten us all killed!"
Luffy scrunched his face up as Nami approached him. "We weren't gonna get -." He was interrupted as Nami punched him, her body heaving with every breath. Luffy fell to the deck, unhurt but quieted.
"Nami's got a point, Luffy," Sanji said, but he was smiling. "It is about time we had our pirate emblem, though. It's nice." He held his cigarette between two fingers and raised the same hand into the air. "My compliments to the chef."
"I knew you guys would like it!" Luffy said as he scrambled to his feet, already forgetting about Nami's punch as he stood next to Sanji and looked up at the flag, too. "A real pretty lady did up the design for me. You would have liked her, Sanji!"
Of course he would have, Nami thought, but she said, "Guys, can we take this a little more seriously?"
"The Navy is after us, but Nami," Yosaku butted in as he walked over to her, "you're a pirate now. You're playing by different rules."
"They're after us?!" Nami said as she rushed to the banister, looking at their wake and spotting the three Navy ships growing closer, their double sails easily gaining on them. "We've got to move fast. What are we doing just standing around?"
"Hey, Nami," Johnny said, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You're not just some bounty hunter anymore. It's not everyday you raise your pirate flag. Take a moment to appreciate it."
Nami just furrowed her brow at the bounty hunters, who now similarly admired the Jolly Roger. "What's gotten into you all?! Usopp, hopefully you can back me up?"
"Nami, as your First Mate, I order you to loosen up. If I can do it, I know you can," he said as he left the helm and entered the cabin. Within a few moments, he was coming out with a tied loop of rope with six mugs on it, and struggled but managed to carry a barrel of ale outside. He let it thump onto the deck before cracking the chisel into the top, popping it and dunking the mugs in.
He served the first two to Yosaku and Johnny, and then got two more ready for Luffy and Sanji, who walked over to get theres. Lastly, he filled his and Nami's, drinking deeply from his as he extended the other toward Nami. He brought the mug away from his lips, wiped his mouth with the back of his arm, and said, "Come get some ale, navigator. We've been through worse than this already."
And Nami laughed, slowly as she stepped toward Usopp, but once she looked up at the Jolly Roger along with the other Straw Hats and heard Luffy's giddy laughs, she couldn't help but join in. Within a few minutes, the crew were enjoying themselves, getting well and drunk fast and singing a pirate's song Luffy started. "What is this? I've never heard it," Usopp said, the only one apparently beside Nami who didn't know it.
"Bink's Brew! I learned it from Shanks a long time ago," Luffy explained before getting back into the verse.
The evening wore along, but before the sun sank and their party was over, it was wrecked. A deep boom rang out over the ocean and sea spray shot up from just behind the Merry, spraying the deck and crew with water. The ship rocked slightly and lost some momentum as everyone dropped their ale and ran to the helm deck to look astern. "They gained on us fast," Yosaku grimaced, as the six of them looked at the three Navy ships quickly closing in on them. They had the full wind behind them, but the Navy ships' dual sails changed the game for them.
"We've got to man the oars for a time and really make some gains. That was too close for comfort," Nami ordered. "Everyone, below deck! I'll take the helm and keep us on course!"
"What even is our course?" Johnny wondered as Usopp led them all into the cabin to make it to the oar-floor, except for Luffy, who stayed behind and watched the three Navy ships as Nami rushed to man the helm.
"Nami, by the way," Luffy said as he took the folded up piece of paper from his shirt pocket. He showed it to her, letting her take it, and continued with, "can you make this out? The lady that designed our Jolly Roger gave me that and said to meet her there. Is it an island?"
Nami read the coordinates twice before replying, "They're coordinates. I don't know to what, but I have maps of the East Blue. We're going here?" she said incredulously as she registered that Luffy was interested in going.
"Yeah! It seems like fun, and she left before I could properly thank her," Luffy said.
Nami sighed, pocketing the piece of paper herself now as she returned to the helm. "You're the captain, I guess, but don't forget about Buggy and Zoro! First, let's just escape from the Navy. Head below deck and help the guys!"
"You got it, navigator," Luffy said with a grin, lightly punching her on the shoulder like a comrade, and ran into the Merry's underbelly to the oar floor. Usopp and Yosaku had one side while Sanji and Johnny took the other. They rowed with all their might, but there was a third row still unoccupied. "Don't worry, guys, I'm here to help!" Luffy said as he made it to the aisle between the third rows, stretching his arms out to take both oars and began paddling. It was awkward on the inside, but translated to greater strokes on the outside.
"What, have they got giants on their crew?" Fullbody thought from his ship as the distance began growing in between the pirates and the Marines once again. The huge strokes from the rear oars were strange to all of Puding Squad.
"Don't stop now, men! Continue firing!" Puding ordered from the forward ship, pointing at the retreating pirates. If I let them get away, who will have confidence I can take down Buggy the Clown? It was small but it was some resolve. Yet the day was already lengthening, and the cannon fire from the Navy only fell more and more short as the Straw Hats and the Going Merry put all their might into creating more distance.
By midnight, well past dark, Alvida still sailed on the water, but her waiver was Grand Line tech and cleared distances in half the time it took even full sized flagships. She spotted the lights from a town on the horizon and figured that must be Gecko Island. She scoured the coastline and eventually confirmed what she believed, finding a small inlet mostly guarded from sight from the island unless one got up close as she was. In the small bay of water, the Big Top was sanded, and more light from a beachfront party wore on. She sighed, preparing herself for the smell of liquor that would hit her as she reunited with her crew.
The Clown Pirates didn't even notice as Alvida sanded her waiver, disembarking from it and walking across the shore to the party. She noticed Cabaji was on his unicycle, breathing fire into the night air for roars of applause from his underlings. Mohji and Richie lounged nearby, both drinking heavily through straws. And Buggy occupied the great seat taken from his quarters, drunk as he had been when Alvida had left days ago. "I hope you've sobered up at some point," Alvida said as she got near him.
Buggy jolted in his seat but then sat up straight and gestured toward Alvida. "Everyone! Three cheers for the return of Iron Mace! Let's hear it!" The crew listened and gave cheers for Alvida heartily, a crowd forming around her to try and earn her favor through their drunkenness. Alvida ignored them; she did notice how Mohji and Cabaji were none so thrilled to see her return, drinking more heartily than the others.
Silly boys, Alvida thought as she pushed past the little throng and went to the small drinks station, which was not so much station as it was drinks, making herself a tall glass of rum. "How've things been since last I saw you?" she asked Buggy as the Clown Pirates read Alvida's disinterest and returned to their normal revelry.
"Good. The voyage here was peaceful. We plundered a trading vessel, earned some good loot," Buggy replied as he put the mug of ale to his lips. Alcohol pushed past the corners of his mouth and dribbled onto the collar of his cape as he did. "Ahhh. Made it here, and posted up to wait for you. We'll move ahead with the plan tomorrow." He was about to take another sip before he remembered that Alvida had been absent, and reached his mug out to toast her. "Find your man?"
She bumped their mugs and she grinned, folding her arms. "Yes I did." She took a massive swig from her ale.
Buggy cackled and threw the rest of his drink back. "Well, good! I'm a bit of a romantic at heart. It's so comforting to know you found your love." He leaned forward, cocking an eyebrow. "So is he gonna join up? Where is the lad?"
"I gave him our coordinates, but he's in a little caravel. It's gonna take him more time than me to get here," Alvida explained, having stalked Luffy to the dock to inspect his ship and crew. However, when the Marines had arrived, she'd taken off, not wanting the chance to be recognize by the world just yet. That Commodore Puding isn't much, but I still prefer this anonymity, alvida thought, recalling the days where he had pursued her as a younger First Lieutenant.
"Well, good," Buggy said blithely, growing uninterested with the conversation.
"He does have a crew with him, though, apparently," Alvida said, remembering now the silly looking long nosed fellow who stared at her like prime rib at the market. She chuckled, wondering what Luffy was doing still tagged up with a weakling like him. "Will that be a problem?" she asked before a long sip, not caring how Buggy responded.
"No!" Buggy said warmly, detaching his free hand to wave back and forth. "They're all welcome to join up with the Clown Pirates."
Alvida smiled, glad Luffy would be safe to join and be by her side, but she still did not care much for his crew, whoever they were. Buggy can kill them all for all I care, she thought.
Right before Buggy added, "They're just gonna have to prove they're strong enough to join up. If they can take me on for five minutes, they'll be in the crew." He wasn't smiling as he said it, but through his drunkenness, there was a very serious code behind what he had just told Alvida. It made her blood freeze.
Powerful as Luffy was to best her, she had a mere 3 million beri bounty. Buggy had one far higher than that, and by the accounts of his travels since becoming a pirate, Alvida truly believed it should have been higher, even aside from his boasts saying the same thing. He can kill however many Luffy's got under him, but surely I can talk him out of this, she thought as she kept drinking, too intimidated to do so now. Surely this will be fine. She doubted she could last five minutes against Captain Buggy, even with her new Devil Fruit.
The Going Merry continued on steadily, with the Navy ships now kept at a good bay through continuous rowing from at least two of the crew. They slept in shifts of three; even though Luffy did not fully comprehend the urgency and made to sleep through his shift, so urgent was it to the others that they were persistent in waking him up. Much of the next day passed the same way, with the crew taking naps as well to help their fatigue from the constant plod.
But eventually, following the coordinates the mysterious woman had given Luffy, they saw an island in the distance that matched where Nami's maps pointed toward a Gecko Island. On it was a single town called Gecko similarly, and as they grew ever closer, they saw it with greater detail. It was small scale but also quite ornate; an old town of the East for sure.
"Well, if we're gearing up for a fight, let's not bring it down on some innocent townsfolk," Yosaku had to say, but the others quickly agreed. They made to move around the island counter clockwise, heading for some clearer stretch of beach they could land on to make some stand against the persistent Navy men.
Around the same time, Commodore Puding and the commanders of the other two ships were getting the intel about the island. Their navigators accurately named it Gecko, as well, they wondered about a strategy Puding wanted to employ. He scowled to himself, alone in his quarters over his Den Den Mushi. He hadn't expected this to already be such a failure. He cursed himself. No use not playing now, he thought, and spoke into the Transponder, "First Lieutenant, you'll guard the town from any marauding. The rest of us will continue to give chase after the pirates."
"Yes, sir!" Fullbody replied accordingly, the standard response he'd been able to give Puding since being rescued. I guess I appreciate the subservience, Puding thought, sensing displeasure from his other executive officer about the state of their mission. He agreed as well, and the ships split off from one another. Puding made directly after the Going Merry, Fullbody toward Gecko Town, and the rest of Puding Squad around the island clockwise.
"We're down to just one," Sanji reported, keeping an eye on the helm for the Navy ships. "What do we think that means?"
"It's an opportunity for us," Johnny said. "Strategically, we can just pick 'em off if need be now. Or, I guess, you guys can," he added when he realized he and Yosaku ought not to fight their cash cows.
"It's all cliffs this way," Nami said at the helm unpleasantly. "We need to find somewhere to land first." So the Merry continued on around the island with Puding on their tail. They rounded a corner of the island and caught full wind again, making greater time on the Navy vessel.
"Where have they gone? Why can't we speed up?!" Puding blared at his crew.
"The winds gone for them at the moment, sir. We'll catch up here in a few moments," one of his sailers responded dutifully as they struggled with the sails.
Usopp stood up in the crow's nest, keeping an eye out for viable land - but instead spotted a flagstaff waving a flag from above the treeline. It was just barely visible, but its emblem was mostly shielded from his view, even through the goggles on his head. There must be some sort of a bay there, though, he realized and called down to the others, "Keep an eye on our left! There's a ship there."
"It must be that lady's!" Luffy said as he came outside, hearing the report and stretching up to join Usopp on the crow's nest, though he chose to cling to the side and dangle over. "Oh, yeah, I see it, too. She must have a big ship!"
Soon enough, indeed, the Going Merry found its way into the inlet and the Straw Hats all gasped as they looked ahead, shocked at how events turned out on that day. It was stupidity that had seemed to steer Luffy after this random woman's coordinates, for reasons most other men wouldn't even have; but it led them to their destination far faster than they could have guessed it would. For there was the entire mass of the Clown Pirates beneath the shade of their Big Top, enjoying lunch for the day as drinks began to flow once more.
"What are the odds of this?" Sanji had to wonder as Luffy fell back to the deck to stand with the others. "And why've they got such a big crew?" Indeed, their numbers were at least double what the fishmen had, and likely four times what the Black Cat Pirates had. They swarmed against the sand from this distance, but they were forming up together to face the Merry. The Straw Hats had already been noticed.
"Maybe she knew we were after him and wanted to help us out!" Luffy said as he cracked his knuckles, his face itching for a fight. He tore the rest of the bandages from his body he had kept on since Cocoyashi, his wounds fully healed and barely scars at this point. The others on deck with him stared at him in astonishment at his response to those numbers. Even Sanji had faced off against that at the Baratie. But we had numbers at our backs, too! he remembered, wishing Zeff, Patty, Bonnet, and everyone else could be here now.
In the crow's nest, Usopp was chattering, looking at the Clown Pirates through his goggles most unpleasantly. He found them to be scary looking with their circus theme, and was especially struck by the massive purple-maned lion they had with them, atop who strode a strange furry man who couldn't have been human. That guy's scarier than the fishmen! Usopp thought, wondering why on earth they'd gotten themselves into bad trouble like this again.
On shore, the Funan Brothers made it to Buggy's tent on the sand, waking him from his deep hangover slumber. "Captain!" they all shouted together. He sprang up in a frenzy, snarling at them and squinting from the harsh sun streaming in. "Forgive us!" they said at his glare that sent shivers down their spines.
"What is it?!" Buggy growled, throwing his legs over the bed and attaching them to his feet on the ground.
"There's a ship heading right for us!" Ed said.
"It's Alvida's little lover boy," Nino said with a creepy chuckle.
Buggy yawned and stood, stretching all his limbs. Here we go. Let's see who this clown is, Buggy thought, having not truly expected this man to chase after Alvida. Beautiful as she was, this was a massive gamble. Yet as he came outside, musings about Alvida's love life and the futility of love as a pirate totally vanished, spotting the approaching Going Merry and in particular, the emblem on the Jolly Roger and the sail. His hangover went away. His mood swiftly changed to something indecipherable to himself. All he could recall was the captain, the straw hat that looked an awful lot like the one on the flag approaching him now, and Shanks all those years ago.