"You want a ship of your own?" Doodad asks the shamans. "You mean you want a bigger ship to replace the old one…"
Luffy interrupts the mayor. "I thought you guys want to go with us! Now you said you want your own ship. Why?"
"We never said we're joining your pirate crew in the first place," Ren tells him.
"Why would you want to separate from us? We're a big family living together!"
Yoh pats Luffy on the shoulder. "Actually, the reason we want to separate from your crew is that we want to go back to our own world. We said we came here through a whirlpool, so we think that the only way back is through another whirlpool."
"We can just take you to a whirlpool! Why take another ship?" Luffy asks him.
"It can be dangerous if you take us near one. You can risk your life or end up at our world. That's why we rather have another ship and go to one ourselves."
Luffy lowers his head and kept silent for a moment while everyone looks at him. Soon, he spoke up again, "You're right… You don't live in this world and you want to go back to your home. What's the reason for me to stop you from doing so?" He lifts up his head and smiles. "But before you go, let's have a farewell party!"
-
That night, the Straw Hat Pirates and the shamans are invited by the mayor to dine in his house as special guests because they got rid of the evil pirates.
"Eat all you want!" says Mayor Doodad. "You have done a great thing for my village! As the mayor of this village, I should thank you all!"
Everyone is having a great time at the table. Luffy and Horohoro are eating until their stomachs become balloons. Usopp is talking about his great adventures, which are all lies. Zoro is gulping down his ninth glass of beer. Sanji is talking to the cook about the foods, like what the ingredients are and how they are made.
After everyone is satisfied, they spend a night at the house too. The mayor had prepared rooms for them to sleep in.
That night, in the boy's room, Yoh is sitting next to the window and looking outside, because he can't sleep due to the snoring… What else is new?
"I wonder if we'll ever get back home?" wonders Yoh. "But will we ever meet Luffy again after we go back?"
Amidamaru appears beside him. "Master Yoh, what's wrong? You can't sleep?"
"It's nothing. I'm just wondering about what sort of events will we face next."
"This world is mostly ocean than land, so we can face lots of dangers in the sea like hurricanes or even attacks from other pirates."
"Actually, I sort of like this place. Look up into the sky; there are lots of stars! You don't get to see many stars back in the modern days. Plus, I really like Luffy's personality. He reminds me a lot of myself, cheerful and easy to make friends! Lucky that he doesn't have anyone to boss him around… And seeing him changed what I used to think about pirates too!"
-
The next morning…
At the shore…
"I have did as you said and brought you a new ship!" says Mayor Doodad to the shamans, pointing to a boat a tad bit larger than Going Merry. The front head of the ship is in the form of the mayor himself.
"That should do," says Ren. "Thanks!"
"So you guys are going now?" Luffy asks the shamans.
"I'm sure we'll meet again!" Horo tells him.
"I'm sure we will too!"
Sanji, looking depressed, approaches Jun. "It's sad to have a beautiful lady like you leaving. But fear not, I will appear the day you encounter trouble!"
"You're such a kind gentleman. I appreciate it! But never mind, my brother and Pai-Long can protect me!"
Usopp hands a bag to Pirika. "Here you are! I got some of the useful ones for you!"
"Thanks, Usopp! These shells really fascinate me! You can't find these anywhere else, I guess."
Robin turns to Anna and tells her, "Be sure to take good care of your future husband."
"Of course I will. What can I do without him in the future? I really love that guy."
Hearing this made Robin smiles. "I hope he understands you!"
After they all shook hands and have their last talk with each other, they all went to their ships. As both ships travel in different direction, they wave good-bye to each other one last time.
"I hope to see you all again!" Luffy shouts to their ship.
"I'm sure we will!" Yoh shouts back.
"Good-bye, Nami and Robin! I'll miss you all!" calls Ryu with tears of sadness in his eyes.
"Lady Jun! I'll miss you!" Sanji calls out with tears of sadness in his eye too.
"Good-bye! I won't forget you, Manta! You're the only person as short as me!" calls out Chopper.
Soon, the ships went into a distance where they can't hear each other shouting anymore.
-
"Oh well… We're on our own now," says Horo with a rather depressed look. He notices Pirika carrying a bag with her. "What's in the bag?"
"It's Dial Shells I got from Usopp!" she replies as she takes out one to show him. "These shells are really unique!" She presses the button on the shell, and it releases a pleasing smell. "This is the fragrance shell!"
"I hope there are meats in those shells."
Manta flips through his newly bought book and came to a page with important information. "Hey guys!"
Anna glares at him. "I'm a girl."
"Okay… Everyone, I just found an important thing in this book! It says that when sailing in the Grand Line, you need a Log Dial!"
"Why's that?" Ryu asks him.
"Because of the magnetic forces in the Grand Line, normal compasses will not work. Log Dials are compasses specially made for traveling the Grand Line. Without the Log Dial, you will surely get lost in the Grand Line's sea. That is the only thing you can depend on, as it guides you from island to island."
"We're not aiming for any island anyway," Ren tells him. "We're just sailing around and hoping to find a whirlpool, so who needs one?"
"Well, you're right. But I still worry about this…"
-
Somewhere out on the sea...
"How long have we been out on the open ocean…?"
"As long as we can see the sea."
"Be serious, would you?"
"I'm trying to build up some happy atmosphere! Laughing and happiness is what makes the world goes around!"
"We're out in the middle of the sea with nobody around to rescue us or are there any islands in sight! What's worse is our food supply is pretty much empty! How can you still be happy!"
"I can!"
"Argh! Forget it!"
And there was silence…
"Hey wait, my pendulum is reacting! There must be something near here!"
"Really! Where?"
A giant black eel-like monster emerges from the sea and roars.
"Ah…"
"What is that!"
-
Yoh felt a chill run down his spine. "Hey! I got the feeling that a friend of ours is in danger!"
"I feel it too!" says Horo. "Who can that be?"
Amidamaru flies down to the ship and says, "Master Yoh! I see two people over there and they are attacked by a monster!"
"Really! We must help them!"
"I see them!" shouts Ryu from the crow's nest. "They're flailing around on water and a giant eel is about to eat them!"
"I see it too! It's not really far from us, so I can handle this!" says Horo. He over souls Kororo into his skateboard and fires large icicles at the monster. When the icicles hit, the monster instantly turns to ice.
"Phew! I thought I was a goner! Who did this?"
"You know? The only person I know who fights with ice is none other than…"
"Hey guys!" a voice from the ship shouts out to them.
"See! I was right after all! It's Boroboro!"
-
And those two unknown people are hauled onto the ship.
"Yoh! What a surprise to see you all here!"
"Lyserg! Chocolove! Am I surprised to see you two!" says Yoh.
"How did you guys get here?" Horo asks them.
"Well… It all began when I was sent by X-Laws to find the whereabouts of Hao, because there have been rumors that he's still alive," explains Lyserg. "My pendulum pointed towards the sea."
"And at that time, I was thinking of sailing around the sea for a little relaxation," continues Chocolove. "That's when Lyserg bumped into me."
"Right. I asked him if I can ride with him out to the sea, thinking that Hao may be out there somewhere."
"So we sailed out to the open ocean. We were very far from the coast of Japan and I insisted that we sail back, but Lyserg doesn't want to stop until he finds Hao and gets his hands on him. And then a terrible hurricane struck us!"
"It's all my fault… My urge to find and kill Hao led us deeper in the hurricane. We eventually came face to face with a giant whirlpool, and we can't escape…"
"And the next thing we knew is we were out on a calm sea again! We turned back towards Japan, but the coast is gone! That's our story in a nutshell."
"Well, good thing we are here!" says Yoh. "You could've been in heaven if we didn't spot your earlier."
"And how on earth did you guys get here anyway?" Chocolove asks him.
"The same way as you both got here. Right now, we're trying to look for another whirlpool that might take us back to our own world."
"By the way, where are we?" asks Lyserg.
"We're in a place called the Grand Line," Manta tells him. "It's a place where there are lots of pirates and some other strange stuff."
"Pirates! They are evil! How can pirates still exist?"
"This isn't our world, so anything can happen!" Yoh tells him. "Plus, we made friend with some pirates, who are unlike any pirates you heard of!" He tells them about Luffy's crew and his body of rubber.
"Rubber man? Cool!" exclaims Chocolove. "I read comics about Fantastic 4 and never imagined that someone like Mr. Fantastic can exist!"
"Good pirates...? That sounds ridiculous…" says Lyserg with doubt. "I just can't believe it."
And so, the shamans began their adventure back home! What sort of events will they run into and will they ever meet the Straw Hat Pirates again?
TO BE CONTINUED…
Well, so Lyserg did make it into the story after all, so did Chocolove. How they got into this world might be a bit too random, but what else can I do? The story is still far from finished, so be happy!