The Pirate King Is Dead - Long Live The Pirate King

Part 3 of a Four Part Saga

By Aoikami Sarah

Chapter Three - Bon Clay's Ultimate Sacrifice

Luffy looked over his shoulder until he couldn't see Bon Clay anymore. A platoon of Marines followed them down the crowded streets. The setting was surreal. Many of the revelers who had come to see the execution were wearing straw hats, sold as tourist items by street vendors.

"He'll catch up," Zoro assured his captain. "Where the hell is she!" he snarled. "We've got to lose these Marines!" They ducked into an alley which to their horror was a dead end. They turned and readied themselves for the fight.

"They went that way, men!" A woman's voice called from the mouth of the alley and the soldiers ran past.

"Please follow me, Mugiwara no Luffy!" the voice called. Its owner stepped into the alley and sheathed her sword.

"Tashigi!" Nami smiled. "I knew you'd come around!"

Tashigi gave them a small smile. "Around isn't the right word, I don't think. Please, we must hurry."

"It's cool," Zoro said. "She's on our side."

Luffy's eyes were shrouded by the cloak. He pursed his lips and nodded. They followed the Marine woman's lead.

Tashigi turned her head occasionally to be sure they were following. It was clear that she was familiar with the winding back-streets. They came out onto a busy avenue and ran into a phalanx of marines marching towards them. "This way!" she shouted and veered left onto a side street. The others followed. On rounding a corner and coming out onto another large thoroughfare, Tashigi stopped dead in her tracks. Zoro nearly collided with her. Not only were there even more marines on this street, in front of them there was an impossible adversary.

"Smoker-san…" Tashigi breathed. The older man stepped off of his specialized motorbike and folded his arms.

"What the…?" Zoro growled and unsheathed his favorite sword. "Tashigi! Is this a double cross!"

"N…no!" she cried.

Nami stretched out her arms protectively in front of Luffy. His shoulders shook with frustration. "Nami… let me go. Just let me go…" he muttered.

"Not in this lifetime," she hissed back. "We'll make it. I know we will."

"Tashigi," Smoker said around the two cigars he habitually smoked. "Have you made your decision, then?"

She unsheathed her own sword. "There is no other choice. What the government wanted to do might have been the law, but it was not just!"

Smoker lowered his head slightly. "Very well," he said and his body became nothing but thick, white smoke.

Tashigi backed up. Zoro pressed his back against hers. "I'm sorry, Smoker-san!" she cried. "This is my decision!" The smoke closed in on them, obscuring their vision.

"This is bad!" Nami shouted. "There's no defense against this!" She panicked and clung to Luffy. Shouts of confusion could be heard from the gang of marines ahead.

"White Out!" Smoker's rough voice called from all around. "Run, Tashigi," his voice whispered. "I won't be able to protect you if you're caught. Take Straw Hat and run."

"Thank you, Smoker-san!" she said and put her hand on Zoro's shoulder. "Roronoa! Grab your friends, please. We're making a run for it!"

"Got it," he replied and they sprinted out of the opaque cloud of smoke, down the street to the pier.

Luffy's brows arched as he saw Sanji take one last drag off his cigarette and crush it under his foot, flanked by two men he'd not seen in over five years. The Baratie looked incredibly out of place docked in the harbor, but nostalgic and welcome all the same. Carne and Patty helped Usopp and Chopper roll two huge barrels down the pier toward them. "Hurry! Get Zoro and Luffy inside!" Sanji barked. The men exchanged hurried greetings. Easily, Carne and Patty helped the wanted men fit inside the barrels. Usopp gently patted Luffy on the head before sealing him in. "Hang tight, Luffy. We're almost home free."

As the lid was fastened and darkness and silence swallowed him, Luffy put his head down on his folded knees. "You guys…" he whispered.

Usopp tacked the false lid to the inside of the barrels a half of a foot from the top and filled that space with apples. "Tada! Captain Usopp's Getaway Special!" he chimed proudly. "Now if anyone checks, all they'll see is apples!"

"Keep it down, Usopp!" Sanji snarled. "Get these 'apples' on board!"

"Yes sir!" Patty and Carne cried.

A group of three Marines caught sight of their hurried movements and ran toward the boat. "Wait right there!" one of them called.

"Shit…" Sanji hissed.

"Don't react yet," Chopper advised. "Usopp's plan will work."

"You bunch look suspicious!" a thin Marine shouted.

"Everything is fine here, Marine," Tashigi said calmly, looking over the top of her glasses at him.

"Lieutenant Tashigi!" He saluted. "The Pirate King has escaped."

"I understand that. I believe he was sighted here, but I've been unable to locate him. You men head toward downtown, make sure he doesn't double back."

"Yes Ma'am!" he saluted again and hurried away. Tashigi sighed and sat down next to the barrel that contained the legendary pirate hunter.

"I take it this means you're along for the ride, Miss Marine?" Sanji asked. Tashigi nodded shyly. "Alright, let's get out of here!" Sanji ordered and the Baratie slowly set out for the open sea. "We'll make it to Reverse Mountain in about a half an hour." They hadn't gone more than ten feet when a loud whining sound filled the air as a public address system came to life.

"Welcome, all witnesses, to the public execution of Pirate King Monkey D. Luffy…"

"Uh-oh…" Usopp groaned. "They're gonna announce he's escaped and this whole town will be after us!"

They could hear the cheers from the crowd over the PA and also echoing through the streets. "Monkey D. Luffy, you stand accused of the following crimes against the world government…" the deep authoritative voice droned.

"That's weird," Sanji looked to his friends. "It's like they're talking to him."

"The sentence is death. Do you have any last words?"

Panic raced across the deck. "Did we miss something?" Chopper cried.

Nami knocked on the barrel she stood next to and pressed her ear to it. "Luffy, are you in there!" He knocked back and Nami nodded. "He's here!"

"Then who's there?" Tashigi asked.

The PA whined with feedback. The crowd quieted, waiting for his words, hoping to get inspiration as they had with the last king. A rough voice, sounding like Luffy's but carrying a distinct accent came over the speakers. "The Pirate King is dead… Long live the Pirate King!"

"It's Bon Clay!" Nami cried. "I knew he was going to do something stupid, oh no!" She held her hands to her mouth. The other pirates exclaimed their grief and horror as a drum roll preceded silence over the PA. The crowd cheered with what must have been the executioner's ax and the Baratie wandered slowly out of the harbor.

To be continued…