From Mafioso to Pirate

Chapter 7: Departure

XXX

"What? Pirate King? Do you have any idea what you're saying?!" Zoro shouted at him in disbelief.

"The Pirate King is the Pirate King," Luffy said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "What else would it mean?"

"I was surprised too, but Luffy-san really means it!" Coby said, smiling despite the pain his shoulder was giving him. "That's just the kind of person he is! He really wants to become Pirate King and find One Piece!"

Lambo sighed when he finally calmed down his Lightning Flames, which for some reason had been going crazy inside him. "One Piece? That's Gold Roger's treasure, isn't it?"

"Yeah! The ultimate treasure that represents wealth, fame, and power!" Coby continued excitedly.

Lambo was momentarily stunned by the amount of faith the wannabe Marine clearly had for the pirate. 'Then again, it's not like I can talk,' he thought to himself as he hurried over to Zoro and held out the three swords. "Which one's yours?"

"They're all mine," the swordsman responded, surprising him. "I use three-sword-style."

"Three-sword-style?" Lambo looked at the man's right arm, then his left arm, and finally back at his face. "How does that work?"

Zoro smirked. "Untie me and I'll give a demonstration."

"If you fight with us, the government will come after you," Luffy remarked, his everpresent grin still in full force. "Or would you rather get killed by the Marines here?"

Zoro stared at him in disbelief for a few seconds before his smirk returned, even broader than before. "You're the son of the devil! Fine! If it's between that and death, then I have no choice but to become a pirate!"

"Awesome! You'll be my nakama!" Luffy cheered, practically bouncing in delight. "This is so great!"

"I agreed, so untie me already!"

"What is he?!" One of the Marines shouted. "He bounced the bullets right back at us!"

"Straw Hat is no ordinary human!" Morgan stated, looking as surprised as the rest of them. "He must have eaten one of the legendary Devil's Fruits!"

"Devil's Fruits?"

"The treasures of the sea? They exist?"

"Devil's Fruits? What are those?"

"They're strange fruits that grant whoever eats them mysterious powers," Morgan explained. "There exist many rumors about them, but no concrete evidence until now. Their secrets are said to lie hidden within the Grand Line. Straw Hat undoubtebly has one of those powers!"

"Devil's Fruits? Is that true, Luffy?" Lambo asked the other boy as he watched him tug at the ropes.

Luffy paused for a moment and flashed him a smile. "Yeah, I ate the Gomu Gomu Fruit," he explained before going back to the ropes.

"The Gomu Gomu Fruit, huh?" Lambo mumbled. 'There sure are some strange things in this world...' He examined the ropes and frowned before looking at Zoro. "It'll take too long to untie these. I'll have to use one of your swords, is that okay?"

"That's fine, just hurry!"

"I don't care whether he's human or not! Anyone who opposes me will be executed without exception! If guns don't work, then chop him to bits!" Morgan shouted.

"Yes, sir!" His men shouted, unsheathing their swords and making a beeline towards the four boys.

"Crap!" Lambo cursed, realizing he only had enough time to cut free one of Zoro's arms.

"Just give me my swords, quick!"

The cow-boy wasted no time putting one sword in Zoro's left hand and one in his right. He lifted the final, white sword and looked at Zoro in confusion. Seeing the swordsman open his mouth in response, he could only think 'Seriously?!' before quickly placing it in.

Moments later, Zoro was standing between them and the Marines, each one of his swords stopping their own. Their hands were trembling, visibly trying to continue bringing their swords down on the man, but he was clearly overpowering them.

"Whoa! Cool!" Luffy cheered as he and the other two watched in awe.

'This guy is even cooler than Squalo...' Lambo thought with wide eyes.

Zoro shot a side-glare at the Marines. "Move and you're dead."

The men flinched before freezing. "S-Scary..."

Seeing that they weren't going to move, Zoro turned his attention back to Luffy. "I'll become a pirate, you have my word. But let me make one thing clear: I'll only pursue my own ambition!"

"Ambition?" Luffy asked.

Zoro looked him dead in the eyes. "I'm going to become the world's greatest swordsman! And if you ever get in the way of that goal, I'll have you apologize at the end of my sword!"

'Definitely cooler than Squalo,' Lambo thought again.

"World's greatest swordsman?" Luffy repeated. "That's perfect! I'd expect nothing less from the Pirate King's nakama!"

"Now you're talking! I don't care if it's as a devil or a saint, my name will be known all across the world!"

"Quit lounging around and kill them already!" Morgan roared, finally having had enough.

"Get down, Zoro! Gomu Gomu no..."

Zoro's eyes widened when he saw Luffy's leg stretch out and he quickly followed his new captain's first order.

"WHIP!"

True to the attack's name, his leg took on the appearance of a whip as it rammed into the Marines that Zoro had been holding back moments before, sending them falling hard onto the ground.

"W-Wow! Amazing!" Coby shouted.

"I never expected having a body made of rubber to be so useful," Lambo muttered, nodding in agreement.

"So I'm guessing that that's the power of this Gomu Gomu Fruit you two were talking about?" Zoro asked, directing his question at Lambo.

The black-haired boy nodded again. "Apparently so."

"H-He's a rubberman!" One of the Marines shouted in panic. "Captain! We're no match for someone like that!"

"Zoro alone could defeat us! We're no match for both of them!"

Morgan's head was bowed, his fists shaking in barely witheld rage. "This is a direct order!" He boomed. "If you lack the guts to fight, shoot yourselves right here and now to save me the trouble! My division has no room for cowards!"

"What?" Lambo growled, disgusted. How could anyone order their own men to do something like that? His eyes widened in horror, however, when he saw that the Marines who had been speaking before started to slowly, and with obvious reluctance and terror, raise their guns to their heads.

"D-Don't tell me they're gonna actually do it?" Coby whispered in horror.

'If they don't do it, then Morgan will just kill them later,' Lambo realized. 'But even so, I can't just watch people kill themselves right in front of me!' He quickly raised his right hand and pointed it towards the enemy, letting his Lightning Flames ignite along it. Within a few seconds, a group of arrow-like shots of flames were lunged towards the Marines, hitting them head on and quickly knocking the guns out of their hands before they could pull the triggers.

"Huh?" Lambo said, stumbling slightly as he put out his flames. 'That was strange... My flames felt...not stronger, but easier to control than they did before.'

"What the hell was that? Don't tell me you ate one of those weird fruits, too," Zoro demanded.

"Uh, no, not exactly..."

"Great job, Lambo!" Luffy exclaimed. "Leave their stupid captain to me!" With that, he sped off towards Morgan with no warning, zooming past his shocked and panicked men.

"Luffy-san!" Coby shouted, just as disgusted by what he had witnessed as Lambo was. "Crush those Marines!"

Luffy brought his fist forward, ready to shove it right in Morgan's face, only to be blocked by his axe arm.

"You're not gonna help him?" Lambo asked Zoro, who took his third sword out of his mouth.

"I wanna see what my new captain can do."

Morgan shoved Luffy back before grabbing his Marine coat and throwing it off. "How dare a nameless punk like you defy me?! I am Marine Captain Axe-Hand Morgan!"

"I'm Luffy! Nice to meet you!"

Lambo almost had to physically stop himself from facepalming at that.

Morgan seemed even more enraged by his response, bringing his axe down on the boy. "DIE!"

Luffy quickly jumped away from the attack, which hit the ground and created a miniature fissure. The straw-hat boy then sent both of his feet slamming into the Marine Captain's face, sending him flying back a few meters.

"Y-You brat! Just die already!"

"No way!" Luffy shouted back at him before dodging yet another strike and sending another devastating kick to the side of the man's head.

"C-Captain Morgan's losing!" The Marines were shouting.

"He's no match for him!"

Luffy grabbed the axe-handed man by the front of his shirt and forced him to sit up. "Marine my ass! How dare you destroy Coby's dream like that?!" He shouted, repeatedly pounding his fist into the man's face.

"Hold it right there, Straw Hat! I have a hostage!"

At the sound of the familiar voice, Lambo and Zoro both turned around only for their eyes to widen when they were greeted with the sight of Helmeppo holding Coby at gunpoint.

'Shit!' Lambo thought to himself. 'I should have been paying more attention!'

Luffy, however, just ignored the call and continued punching the living daylights out of Morgan.

"H-Hey! Are you an idiot, or something?! I said I have a hostage!"

"Luffy, stop!" Lambo finally shouted. His call seemed to immediately snap Luffy's attention back to them as he let go of Morgan, letting him fall to the ground.

"If you want him to live, you'd better back off!" Helmeppo continued. "If you try anything, he's dead!"

Coby was clearly terrified, his entire body trembling, but he looked Luffy straight in the eyes and shouted, "Luffy-san! I don't want to get in the way of your dream! Do what you have to do!"

The other boy grinned in response. "Yeah, I know. Give it up, Purple Bowl-Head! Coby means what he says!"

Coby's eyes widened however, when he saw Morgan stand back up and get behind Luffy, axe poised to kill. "B-Behind you!"

"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!" Luffy ignored his warning and let his arm stretch, throwing a fist that caught Helmeppo right in the face, sending him flying back, gun clattering to the ground.

At the same time, Zoro ran behind Luffy and blocked Morgan's axe with his own swords, and Lambo threw a Lightning-Flame-covered punch to the man's back, electrocuting him and sending him crumbling to the ground.

Luffy looked back at them and grinned. "Good job, Zoro, Lambo!"

"Just doing my job, Captain," the swordsman responded while the other just sighed.

"Yare, yare... I'm just glad this is over with..." He muttered, but he couldn't help but smile as well.

"C-Captain Morgan lost!"

Luffy and Zoro turned their attention back to the Marines as Lambo walked over to Coby to take a look at the wound on his shoulder.

"If any of you still want to arrest us, step forward right now!"

There was a long moment of silence as the Marines looked at each other. Then, as one, they all let out nearly deafening cheers and threw their weapons into the air.

"It's over!"

"We're free!"

"It's finally over!"

"It feels like I'm dreaming! Somebody pinch me!"

"Why are they all so happy about their captain being defeated?" Luffy asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"It's because they all hated him!" Coby answered, smiling broadly. He then turned to Lambo, who was wrapping a piece of cloth he had ripped from the other boy's shirt tightly around his wound. "Lambo-san, h-how is it?"

"Luckily for you, the bullet didn't hit you head on," the cow-boy answered, giving a smile of reassurance. "It just grazed you, deep enough to draw blood, but there's no lasting damage."

"Thank goodness..." The pink-haired boy sighed in relief.

A loud thump caused their attention to turn to Zoro, who had fallen to the ground, eyes closed.

"Z-Zoro-san, what's wrong?"

There was a loud grumble. "I'm hungry..."

Coby just let out another relieved smile and Luffy gave yet another blinding grin.

'Ah, the start of a beautiful friendship,' Lambo thought half-sarcastically.

After that entire fiasco was over with, the three went back to Ririka's restaurant, where she immediately welcomed them, thanking them profusedly for finally ending Morgan's tyranny.

Currently, Luffy, Zoro, and Coby were downstairs, eating and celebrating their victory. Lambo was upstairs, wanting to be alone for a moment to get his thoughts together (which Luffy had verbally objected to, but was eventually persuaded with the help of Coby).

Sitting against a window sill, Lambo stared out at the town for a moment before turning his attention to his hand, watching as the emerald-colored Flames danced along it.

"It wasn't just my imagination, after all. It really is easier to control now... But why?" He frowned and stared at the fire harder, as if it were hiding the secret. He was taken out of his concentration, however, by another emerald glow. Putting out the Flames, his eyes widened when he realized that the glow was coming from his Vongola Ring.

And, suddenly, a torrent of Lightning Flames went ablaze in front of him, causing him to shield his eyes from the intense glow. Once it had faded, he looked at the spot once again to see something that he was most definitely not expecting.

"...Lampo?"

The green-haired Lambo-look-alike known as Lampo merely raised his hand in greeting. "Yo."

"What... What the heck are you doing here?" Lambo asked, not even trying to hide his surprise. "Shouldn't you be sleeping in the ring or something?"

"Yare, yare... As much as I'd like to, it seems you've gotten yourself in a bit of an interesting situation."

Lambo was seriously confused now. "Interesting situation? And you didn't really answer my question..."

"I really hate explaining things," Lampo sighed, causing Lambo's eye to twitch in irritation at how lazy the man was being. "Basically, the other First Generation Guardians and I are supposed to help out the current generation when something big happens. Usually when they're in a life threatening situation that they can't handle, or something," he said, shrugging. "So, here I am."

"Well, that situation's already passed, so I guess you can leave," Lambo said, making a shooing gesture with his hand.

This, in turn, caused Lampo to become irritated. "Even when you're grown up, I still don't like you much..." He muttered. "But, no, I'm not here for that." His expression turned troubled. "I'm here because your bond with the current Vongola Sky seems to have...severed."

"Severed?" Lambo asked in worry. "What do you mean?"

Lampo bit his lip uncertainly. "This sort of thing rarely happens. But, sometimes, a Sky isn't able to properly bond with one of the other elements, which leads to their bond being weak. When that happens, the element's Flames will latch onto another Sky who they see as a better fit for them."

"I...still don't think I understand."

Lampo sighed. "Man, I'm really not good at explaining things... Basically, your Flames snapped their bond with the Vongola Decimo and attached themselves to another Sky, the one with the straw hat downstairs."

Lambo's eyes widened. "They can do that?!"

"Yeah... Like I said, this sort of thing rarely happens, since most Skies are accepting and open to those around them, able to make lasting bonds with pretty much anyone..."

"So...Tsuna isn't my Sky anymore?"

"So it would seem."

"I-I see..."

"...Can I ask you something?" Lampo suddenly said. The other boy looked at him in confusion but nodded. "Have you recently felt your Flames acting...weird? Easier to control? Anything like that?"

Lambo blinked. "Y-Yeah, a half hour ago..."

"I see," the green-haired boy sighed. At the younger's confused look, he elaborated. "That means that your bond with this new Sky has already solidified. Basically, you're pretty much hisLightning Guardian now. At least, that's one way to look at it."

"Ah, that explains a lot..." Lambo muttered before redirecting his gaze out the window. "I guess I really have no choice but to go with him now..."

"Never really expected a mafioso to turn into a pirate," Lampo admitted. "Seriously, though, it must be a hard decision for you... Leaving your entire family is a difficult thing to do. If you don't want to go, I might be able to find a way to make your Flames reattach themselves to the Decimo-"

"No."

"Huh?"

"To be honest, it's not really a hard decision..." Lambo muttered, staring unseeingly at the view outside. "After all..."

"Don't bother Juudaime, Stupid Cow!"

"I still don't understand how we haven't found a replacement for you yet..."

"I'm sorry, Lambo, I'll train you when you're a bit older, alright? Promise!"

"I-I don't think that we should be friends anymore Lambo... Everyone in school thinks you're a loser!"

"I give up on you!"

"What a pathetic herbivore..."

"Another dame and useless son..."

"Why the hell would I want to go back there?" There was a long silence after that confession. Hearing no response, Lambo turned back to the other and asked in a hesitant voice, "Does...that make me a bad person? I'm willing to leave my family just like that... Does this mean I'm a traitor?"

"...Nah," Lampo responded, prompting the other to look at him in surprise.

"Huh?"

"I'm not sure about the current generation, or even the first generation guardians, but I know for a fact that Primo would never force someone into the Vongola if they didn't want it," he explained, smiling in reassurance. "It's one of the many great things about him. He never intended for the Vongola to become a Mafia family, after all. It started out as a vigilante group. Besides, it's only natural for an element to want to follow his Sky, right?"

"...I guess so," Lambo responded after a while, smiling a bit. "You're not as annoying as I thought you were... But why are you helping me, anyway? I thought you hated me."

"I don't really like you that much, but I don't hate you," Lampo answered. "I hate kids, and you're not a kid anymore. Besides..." He rubbed the back of his head with a slightly embarrassed expression. "You're my descendant, so that kinda makes me your great grandfather or something, right?"

"...I never thought about it like that before." Lambo smiled a bit wider and looked back at his ring. "So, I guess I'm leaving then... Hey, do me a favor and don't tell your first generation buddies, okay?"

Lampo rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah... If you're going to leave, though, then you should find a way to give them back the Vongola Ring. It's really important if they ever want a replacement Lightning Guardian someday."

"A day ago, that would have been really insulting," Lambo sighed. "I can't believe it's really only been a day... So much has happened..."

"So, do you have any idea how you can give them back the ring?" Lampo asked curiously, tilting his head.

Lambo frowned. "I guess I could wait until this vacation is over...but I doubt Luffy will be willing to wait three entire weeks... Ah! Wait!" He shoved his hand inside a pocket and searched for a moment before pulling out a piece of paper. "I can use this address Fuuta gave me! It's for mailing letters, but I think it'd work for packages, too..."

Lampo smiled. "You've got a plan then! You're smarter than I thought... I guess this is goodbye then."

Lambo nodded. "For now. I'll be sure to come back someday. Maybe not permanently, though. The others will probably want to kick my ass for this decision if I ever see them again," he laughed.

Lampo couldn't help but laugh as well. "Probably. Goodbye, then..."

"Yeah, goodbye..." Lambo muttered, watching as the other was engulfed in the emerald flames before being re-absorbed into the ring. "Yare, yare...who knew a stupid vacation could lead to something like this?"

A few minutes later, Lambo, using a pen and paper that Easton had been kind enough to give him, smiled as he finished his letter to Tsuna. "Finally done," he muttered, glancing back at the other letters he had wrote, which he had crumpled up and thrown away soon afterwards. He put the note inside an envelope, wrote the address, and attached a small white box that he had put the ring into. He also added a small note on the box instructing Tsuna to open it only after the three weeks were over with.

Taking the items, he hurried back downstairs only to find Luffy, Zoro, and Coby gone. Gordy, who was cleaning up a table, turned to him as he came downstairs. "Gordy? Where are the others?"

"Ah, Lambo-san! The Marines came here a few moments ago and forced them to leave..."

Lambo's eyes widened. "What?! Why didn't you come and tell me?!"

"W-Well, we asked if you were part of his crew, and Luffy-san said that you hadn't agreed yet, so we thought-"

Lambo put up a hand to stop his rambling. "Forget about that. Where are they now?"

"A-At the docks. If you hurry, you can still catch them!"

"Alright, thanks!" Lambo hurried to the door, but quickly stopped and turned back around. "Actually, can you do me a favor?"

Gordy smiled and nodded. "After all you've done for us? Of course!"

"Can you deliver these for me?" He asked, giving the note and box to Gordy, who took them and nodded.

"I'll deliver them right away. Now hurry, before you miss them!"

"Right! Thank you!"

"What a way to leave," Zoro remarked, smirking. "Everyone must hate us now... Such is the life of a pirate."

Luffy laughed in response as he and the swordsman got into their small boat. "Guess so!"

"By the way..." Zoro frowned. "What about Lambo? Isn't he part of your crew?"

Luffy's smile disappeared at that. Before he could say anything in response, however, a familiar voice raing out.

"Luffy!"

Both turned towards the source and couldn't help but smile when they saw the very same person they had been talking about running towards them. "Lambo! Did you finally decide to join my crew?!"

Lambo sighed as he stopped in front of him, but a smile was present on his features. "Against my better judgement," he joked.

"Alright!" Luffy cheered, jumping in joy. "Two nakama at the same time! This is the best day ever!" He grabbed onto Lambo's arm, causing the other to yelp in surprise, and pulled him into the boat. "We'll become the strongest pirate crew ever, Lambo!"

Lambo stared at him in shock for a moment before a genuine smile made its way onto his face. "Yeah!"

"Luffy-san! Lambo-san! Zoro-san!"

The sudden shout caused all three to turn around and see Coby standing at the dock, giving them a Marine-style salute. "Thank you all so much! I'll never forget what you've done for me!"

Zoro smirked. "I've never heard of a Marine thanking a pirate."

Luffy laughed at his statement and waved vigorously with both arms. "We'll see each other again, Coby!"

"Luffy-san..." Coby mumbled, tearing up.

"All hands, salute!"

Coby blinked and turned around only for his eyes to widen in surprise when he saw every Marine from the base behind him, all saluting the departing pirates as well. The higher-ranking Marine looked down at him and smiled. "You have some fine friends."

"Yes, sir!" Coby shouted before turning back and watching the small boat disappear into the distance.

"What we're doing is strictly against Marine code! As punishment, no rations for three days! Understood?!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Alright, our first voyage as a real pirate crew!" Luffy cheered.

"It's still kind of hard to believe how someone's life can change so quickly..." Lambo mumbled to himself as he watched the town get farther and farther away.

"I'll say," Zoro replied, having heard him. "Looks like it's gonna be one hell of an adventure."

"Yeah! I'll definitely...become King of the Pirates!"