Ch. 15- Meetings in the East Blue
One Piece © Oda
Blizzard, Monkey D. Aika, Kumi, Kovar, and Monkey D. Star © Me
"Well," Nami began, "we saw all of Luffy's childhood and the day he left home."
"Big Brother was so cool!" Aika exclaimed. "Did you see what he did to that Sea King?! He just stretched his arm and-"
"KAPOW!" Kumi shouted. "Like that, right?"
"Yeah! Just like that!" Aika answered.
"So...is that it?" Usopp asked.
"I doubt it," Robin replied. "Kovar says we could find Luffy, the REAL Luffy, by the end of all this...and clearly, we're not done here."
"Well...we saw him being born," Usopp said, "followed by his childhood, his mom's death, when he met Shanks and when Shanks saved him, when they made that promise, when Garp made him go live with the bandits, Luffy growing up with Ace and Sabo, when Sabo was...well...you know...then Ace leaving, and finally Luffy leaving home, too."
"What else could there be?" Franky asked.
"I think I might have an idea," Zoro replied.
"It's pretty obvious that this memory still takes place in the East Blue," Sanji said, "so where is he?"
"...There he is," Blizzard said as he pointed his paw to the familiar dinghy that Luffy was sitting in.
"Ahh," Luffy sighed in content as he held his oar. "What a day great day! The weather's so nice! Who'd have thought this voyage would end in disaster so soon?"
"What's he talking about?" Chopper asked.
"Umm...I believe that he's talking about that," Brook said as he pointed to an enormous whirlpool that Luffy was drifting right toward.
"EH?!" the Straw Hats questioned.
"How could that moron sail right toward a whirlpool?!" Nami asked.
"Jeez, and I thought he was stupid before!" Blizzard shouted.
"Hard to believe I'm getting sucked up into this huge whirlpool," Luffy said. "I guess I did get a little careless." He then looked out towards the empty horizon. "I could use some help but I don't see anybody around. Ah, well, can't be helped. Down I go."
"He's so calm, even though he knows he's about to go into the drink?!" Sanji asked. "How thickheaded can he get?!"
"Ah, it's too bad I can't swim, either," Luffy said before he smiled and pounded a fist into his palm. "Of course, what was I thinking? If you sail right toward a whirlpool, it won't matter if you know how to swim or not! I'd drown even if I can't swim!"
As the whirlpool began to pull Luffy's boat towards its center, the boy glanced over at the empty barrel he took with him. After about 5 seconds, a lightbulb seemed to appear over his head.
"Oh, boy," Nami muttered. "I think I know what he might be thinking."
Luffy took the lid off the barrel, then tossed the barrel itself off into the water. After that, Luffy stretched his arm, grabbed the barrel, and pulled himself inside, putting the barrel over his head. Upon seeing the inside of the barrel, the Straw Hats saw tiny crumbs at the bottom, so they assumed that there must have been food inside at one point, but knowing Luffy, they realized he must have eaten it all.
Luffy then took a peek outside the barrel as he watched his boat get crushed by the water pressure and sink.
"Poor little dinghy," said Franky, lowering his head sadness. "Never had a chance."
"Phew!" Luffy sighed. "That was close." He then sat down in the barrel. "Jeez...it's only been a day since I left, and already, things have taken a pretty harsh turn."
"This was the day after he left?!" Usopp questioned.
"You have GOT to be kidding!" Sanji exclaimed. "What kind of star was he born under to get this kind of luck?!"
Luffy sat in the barrel, silently at first, but then he sighed as he patted his knees and scratched his shoulder.
"...Well...now what do I do?" he asked.
"Wish we knew," Blizzard replied.
Luffy then yawned and stretched his arms.
"Hmm...I guess I'll reach land one way or another," Luffy said before he put his hat over his eyes. "Until then...maybe I'll take a little..." Before long, he conked out, snoring.
"Luffy sure knows how to fall asleep in the strangest of places," Nami mused.
The memory faded to black, and at first, the Straw Hats didn't know what was happening. However, they could hear Luffy snoring, still, so he was obviously still asleep. Then, all of a sudden, the Straw Hats could hear voices.
"Well, well, our favorite coward," a gruff voice said. "You trying to hide in her and duck out on all the action, again?"
"N-no way!" a meek voice stammered. "I was just trying to haul this big barrel of beer over to you guys!"
Almost instantly, Zoro's good eye went wide as he recognized the voice.
"Isn't that Coby?" he asked.
"Who?" Aika queried.
"Wait, that can't be Coby," Chopper spoke up.
"Yeah, Coby's voice is a little deeper than that, isn't it?" Franky asked.
"Who's Coby?" Aika asked, again.
"Yeah, how come I never heard of him?" Kumi inquired.
"I'm quite curious as to who this 'Coby' person is, as well," Brook spoke.
"Coby's an old friend of your brother's," Nami answered. "Luffy met him sometime after he first started sailing."
"Oh!" Aika exclaimed. "So he's one of Big Brother's friends! That's nice!"
The gruff voice from earlier was heard snickering.
"Why don't we help you lighten the load?" the person asked.
"I was just starting to get thirsty," said another voice.
"You can't!" Coby's voice shouted. "Lady Alvida will kill us if she ever found out!"
"She won't if you keep your trap shut," a third voice said in a warning tone. "Right, boy?"
"Uh...yeah, right," Coby replied, nervously.
"That doesn't sound like Coby," Sanji said. "He sounds like a real wimp, to me."
"Yeah, doesn't sound anything like the kid we saw in Water 7," Franky replied.
"A lot can happen in a short time," said Zoro. "Trust me, that's Coby."
Soon, the Straw Hats heard a thud, as well as the three earlier strangers snickering.
"This sucker's heavy," said the first voice.
"Perfect," said the second one.
"Hold on, boys. I'll open 'er the ol' fashion way."
"Oh, boy..." Zoro muttered. "Are they gonna be in for a surprise."
Before the Straw Hats even knew what happened, Luffy suddenly sprang up out of the barrel and punched a rather large man in the jaw: a pirate, obviously, and the boy gave a rather loud yawn while Coby and the other two pirates gaped in shock.
"I SLEPT SO GREEEEEAAAAT!" Luffy shouted.
"Whoa!" Kumi exclaimed.
"He popped right out of the barrel!" Chopper cried.
"Luffy was always known for big entrances," Nami muttered.
"Somehow, I'm not surprised about that," Usopp added.
"Wow~!" Aika cheered. "So cool! I wanna do that!"
"You most certainly are not, missy!" Nami scolded.
"Aww, why?" Aika pouted.
"Shh~!" Zoro shushed.
At that moment, Luffy finally noticed the pirate he accidentally knocked out.
"Who's that?" he asked before he noticed the other two pirates. "Who the hell are you guys?"
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" the pirates questioned.
"Your friend will catch cold sleeping on the floor like that," Luffy said nonchalantly as he pulled himself out of the barrel.
"BUT YOU'RE THE ONE WHO KNOCKED HIM OUT!" the pirates yelled.
The Straw Hats couldn't help but snicker at Luffy's oblivious nature.
"Hold up!" one pirate shouted as he held his sword in front of Luffy's face. "Are you trying to screw with us, knowing that we're vicious pirates?! HUH?!"
"I'm starving," Luffy said as he stood in front of the stunned Coby. "Got any food in here?"
"I'M TALKING TO YOU~!" the pirate roared.
"So that's what Coby used to like before we met him in Water 7," Sanji mused.
"Who knew?" asked Chopper. "He really does look a bit like a wimp."
"YOU DAMN KID!" his cohort shouted as they both prepared to strike Luffy down, causing Coby to shriek in fear. However, Luffy simply looked down before, quick as a flash, he threw the swords out of their hands, causing the blades to break and stick into the ceiling.
"Hmph!" Zoro scoffed. "What a couple of cheap blades. Steel shouldn't break so easily."
"Indeed," Brook concurred.
"What is wrong with you two?" Luffy asked the pirates in confused annoyance, while the two thugs shivered in fright.
"W...who ARE you?!" asked one of them.
"Me?" Luffy asked before he smiled and crossed his arms with an air of confidence. "My name's Monkey D. Luffy! Hi!" He then gave his usual teeth-flashing, gum-showing grin, while the pirates stammered and dashed out in fear.
"Wusses," Sanji smirked.
"I think I saw one of 'em piss in their pants," said Usopp.
"Weenies," Aika added.
"Man, they were really outmatched," Zoro spoke up.
"W...what was that...?!" Coby asked in surprise before he gasped. "Hey, listen! You need to leave, right now! Once those two come with their buddies, you'll be in big trouble!"
"I don't care about that, I'm hungry," Luffy said, nonchalantly.
"When is he not hungry?" Sanji asked while Robin chuckled in amusement.
"How can you be so calm about this?!" Coby asked as Luffy's nose seemed to twitch, obviously picking up the scent of food. Though Coby tried to hold him back, Luffy managed to make his way into a storage room.
"Whoa! It's a gold mine!" Luffy exclaimed as he jumped down into the room and looked around. "Food, food, food, food!" Soon, he cracked open a box of apples and began to chow down.
"Uh...hey," Coby greeted, a bit sheepishly. "My name's Coby. That was pretty neat there, you jumping out of that barrel like that."
"These are awesome!" Luffy said as he kept eating the apples. "So, are we on a pirate ship or what?"
"No, we're on a passenger ship that's being raided by pirates," Coby said. "Pirates under the command of Lady Alvida!"
"Oh, wait, I think I remember this!" Nami exclaimed. "I was on the passenger ship, too!"
"Why?" Zoro asked. "To filch off the guests?"
"For your information," Nami began, "I was not filching off the guests...I was filching off the pirates while they were busy raiding the ship."
"Still filching," said Zoro.
Nami only side-eyed the swordsman at this.
"Ah, who cares?" Luffy asked with his usually carefree attitude. "What I wanna know is if there's a boat around here. Mine got sucked up by that whirlpool outside."
"No way!" Coby exclaimed in surprise. "Nobody could've survived."
"Nobody but Luffy," Usopp noted. "The boy with the Devil's Luck."
"Yeah!" Luffy grinned. "I gotta admit, it was a big surprise!" He then went back to eating. "So are you one of the pirates or one of the passengers?"
The Straw Hats noticed Coby's face pale upon being asked that, and after a moment's pause, he explained to Luffy how he ended up on Alvida's crew after he went out fishing for his dinner, and since then, he had been her cabin boy for 2 years.
"So he just go on board a pirate's dinghy, not even checking to see if it belonged to them?" asked Nami.
"What a moron," said Franky.
"You're pretty stupid, aren't you?" Luffy inquired, bluntly.
"Gee, thanks for your honesty," Coby said, hanging his head in shame.
"You could just run away, you know," Luffy answered.
"Yeah, why didn't he just run away?" Aika asked.
"I can't do that, no way!" Coby argued, shaking his head. "Just the thought of Alvida finding me makes me wanna throw up!"
"You're a moron and a coward!" Luffy laughed. "I hate people like you!"
Hearing that caused the cabin boy to comically cry in disappointment.
"And I thought Usopp was cowardly," Blizzard muttered.
"I'm right here, you know!" Usopp shouted.
"I still think you're cool, Usopp," Chopper spoke up.
"Aww, thanks, Chopper," Usopp smiled.
"...You're right," Coby spoke, getting the Straw Hats' attention. "If I had the courage, I could drift around in a barrel and be rid of these pirates. I actually have my own dreams! ...And someday, I'd like to live out all of them."
"What child doesn't have his own dreams?" Brook asked, almost whimsically.
"I'll say," Franky grinned with his arms crossed.
"What about you, Luffy?" Coby queried. "What got you to set sail on these seas?"
"Well, I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!" Luffy grinned, almost instantly, Coby's face paled, once again.
"A...a king...?!" he repeated.
"Yep!" Luffy affirmed.
"Are you serious?!" Coby questioned.
"Yeah!" Luffy replied, again.
"But...but that would mean that YOU'RE a pirate, too!" Coby stammered.
"Right!" Luffy said, almost proudly at that.
"Your crew?!" Coby asked.
"Don't have one yet," Luffy admitted, "but I'm looking for 'em."
Coby just sat there, mouth agape, while Luffy blinked at him in confusion, even waving his hand in front of his eyes as if saying "Hello, anybody home?". That's when Coby stood straight up with a gasp.
"King of the Pirates is a title of one who gains EVERYTHING this world has to offer!" he exclaimed. "You're talking about seeking the great treasure of wealth, fame, and power!"
Luffy nodded his head in confirmation, still having that dopey smile on his face as if it were all casual.
"The treasure that you seek is the One Piece!" cried Coby.
"Yeah!" Luffy exclaimed.
"Yeah, that's it!" Coby shouted. "Pirates from all over the world are hunting that treasure, you know!"
"Yeah, so?" Luffy asked, casually.
"No way, it's impossible, impossible, impossible!" Coby cried. "There's no way someone like you could reach the pinnacle of this great pirate age! There's always gonna be someone who's meaner and better-"
All of a sudden, Luffy slammed his fist in the back of Coby's skull, knocking him to the floor.
"Ow...!" Coby moaned. "Why did you hit me?!"
"Because I felt like it," Luffy said, bluntly and with slight annoyance in his voice.
"About time somebody shut him up," Sanji muttered.
"That wasn't nice," Aika said, worriedly.
"Luffy just has his methods," Blizzard replied, "as...weird as they seem."
"If you say so," Kumi answered.
"That's okay," Coby spoke up. "I'm used to it. The pirates used to beat me around a lot...all the time, in fact."
"Poor Coby," Aika said, sadly.
"He must have been under a lot of abuse during his time with Alvida," Robin added.
"It's not about if I can," Luffy said as he put his hand on his hat. "I'm doing this because I want to."
Coby looked up at Luffy as he took the hat off his head.
"I decided long ago that I'm gonna be King of the Pirates," Luffy started, "and if I have to die fighting for that...then I die."
Coby stared at Luffy in awe at his words, while the Straw Hats grinned at their captain's conviction. In fact, Aika was trying her hardest to hold back a squeal as her eyes sparkled.
"Breathe, Aika," Kumi said, causing Aika to sigh.
"Sorry," Aika said. "It's just...!"
"We know, kid," Zoro replied.
"Your brother is just that great a guy," Usopp added with a proud smile. "Every time I see him be so confident, it gives me courage, too."
"Yeah, I know," Aika said. "Big Brother is so brave and cool and strong...that's why I wanna be like him when I become a pirate!"
At that moment, Luffy put his hat on his hand and began to walk out.
"All right," he said. "Now that my belly's full, I'm gonna go find me a brand new boat! They might even just give me one if I ask nice enough. Maybe they're generous people!"
"Why would he think a bunch of pirates like them are generous?" asked Sanji.
"Same old Luffy," Nami began. "A glass half-full kind of guy."
"But we still love him," Robin added.
"...Yeah, we do," Nami smiled.
"...Even if you die, huh...?" Coby murmured. "...Hey, Luffy."
"Hmm?" Luffy hummed as he turned to face Coby.
"...If...if I really put my mind to it," Coby said. "If I was I willing to put my life on the line...do you think I could do it?"
"Do what, exactly?" asked Luffy.
"...Do you think that...maybe I could join the Marines?" asked Coby.
"The Marines?" Luffy repeated.
"The Marines?" Aika asked in surprise.
"Yes!" Coby exclaimed with teary eyes. "Going out to sea and catching bad guys is all I ever wanted to do! It's been my dream since I was a child!"
"Isn't he still a kid here?" asked Usopp.
"Shh~!" Franky shushed, his eyes also tearing up. "Don't interrupt! A kid's declaring his dream, here!"
"Okay, okay! I understand!" Usopp replied. "Sorry."
"Do...do you really think that I could do it, Luffy?" asked Coby.
"How should I know?" Luffy asked with a chuckle, although the Straw Hats could tell he was being honest.
"No! In fact...I WILL do it!" Coby declared. "Yeah! They're nuts if they think I'm gonna spend the rest of my life as a cabin boy! I'll break outta here, and when I do, I'll put Alvida behind bars-"
Before he could speak any further, the ceiling suddenly burst open, and on instinct, the Straw Hats shielded themselves from the debris, even though it went flying through them. Once the dust settled, the Straw Hats, Luffy, and Coby all opened their eyes to see a very large, very fat woman wearing a white ten gallon hat and holding a giant spiked mace in her hand.
"Who's the fat lady?" Aika asked.
"I believe that's Iron Mace Alvida," Nami said. "She was a pirate in the East Blue, worth about 5 million...sheesh, I heard she was fat, but this is overdoing it a bit."
"I think I need to bleach my eyeballs," Blizzard muttered in disgust.
"I DEFINITELY have no interest in seeing her panties," Brook added.
"And just who are you planning to put behind bars, Coby?!" Alvida questioned, while the boy in question looked as if he was going to soil himself. "And you actually think this twig is going to help you?! Well?! Answer me!"
Coby still whimpered while Alvida looked to Luffy, who blinked in confusion.
"This boy wouldn't happen to be Pirate Hunter Zoro, now would he?!" she asked.
"Zoro?" Luffy repeated.
"So that's where he heard my name from," Zoro mused.
"Wow, Zoro!" Chopper exclaimed. "You must have been pretty famous back then, huh?"
"Well...not in a good way," Zoro replied.
"What do you mean?" Aika asked.
"You'll figure it out later, sweetie," Nami answered.
"Coby!" Alvida barked, causing Coby to yelp.
"Y-y-yes, ma'am!" he squeaked.
"Who is the most beautiful woman in these seas?" Alvida asked.
"She ain't no Boa Hancock..." Blizzard muttered, causing Usopp and Sanji to snicker a bit.
"The...the most beautiful woman?" Coby stammered. "W-well, of course...that would be-"
"Hey, Coby," Luffy spoke. "Who's this fat old lady?"
Coby's face, as well as the faces of the pirates who had come to ambush them, all paled while Alvida gaped in shock...and the Straw Hats were trying their hardest not to laugh, but in the end, they just couldn't hold back and went into full-blown guffaws.
"That's Luffy for ya!" Franky exclaimed. "He'll tell ya like it is! HAHAHAHAHA!"
"I know I shouldn't laugh," Aika began, "but...but it's so funny!"
"I haven't laughed this hard when we heard that stone guy's squeaky voice!" Kumi added, laughing along with her human.
"YOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!" Brook laughed. "Oh...oh, my ribs! YOHOHOHOHOHO-ACK-KOFF-KOFF! Ugh...choked on my spit."
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Chopper laughed as he leaned against Blizzard's leg, the wolf-dog himself laughing so hard that tears fell out of his eyes.
Sanji had laughed so hard, he was on the floor, clutching his sides, and Nami and Usopp were in complete hysterics. Even Zoro was doubling over in laughter, while Robin leaned against him, unable to cover her mouth in her laughing fit.
As for Alvida...well, she was very much pissed, judging by the various veins popping up on her face.
"YOU DAMN BRAAAAAAAAAAT~!" she bellowed as she swung her mace at Luffy, who easily jumped out of the way due to his smaller and leaner physique before he landed in front of Coby.
"Let's go!" he told him, causing cowering boy to gasp before Luffy grabbed his arm and jumped out of the hole that Alvida made. They found themselves surrounded by the pirates...and yet, Luffy simply had his hand on top of his hat as he gave a cocky grin.
"Here we go," Blizzard smirked.
"Oh, boy!" Aika exclaimed. "Big Brother's first fight as a pirate! This is gonna be so exciting!"
Soon, the fight began, but Luffy easily fought back, throwing punches and headbutts. The pirates tried to use dirty tactics like attacking him at once with swords, or jumping at him from behind, but Luffy was one step ahead of them, grabbing the one that tried to hit from above by the head and then hurling him at his crewmates like a rag doll. Then, the pirates tried to chase after him, and Luffy momentarily faked cowardice by running away...until they saw his stretching arm, that is.
"Guuuum...GUUUUUM...ROCKEEEEEEEET!"
With that one attack, the pirates were soon mowed down to nothing.
"WOW!" Aika cheered. "Did...did you see that?! That was so cool!"
"Luffy was so strong, even back then!" Chopper added.
"Who'd of thought that this was the same kid who couldn't even stand up to a bunch of bandits?" asked Zoro.
"That's our Luffy," Nami smiled.
Once the little scuffle was over, Coby approached Luffy in complete shock.
"Luffy...what ARE you?!" he asked.
"Oh, yeah!" Luffy answered as he hooked his finger in his mouth and stretched his cheek. "I'm a rubberman!"
"Shishishi!" Aika giggled. "It's always funny when Big Brother does that."
"So you're...made of rubber?" Coby asked before he suddenly gasped, sensing a dangerous presence behind him. He turned and gasped upon seeing Alvida, who glowered at him and Luffy, the former giving a shriek as he ran to the latter's side.
"So," Alvida began as she glanced at Luffy, "you've eaten one of the Devil Fruits."
"Yep!" Luffy answered as he let his cheek snap back into place. "I ate the Gum Gum Fruit!"
"Aha," Alvida realized. "I heard rumors that they existed, but I never thought I'd actually see one. You're far more skilled than your average deck-swabber. Are you a bounty hunter, boy?"
"Nope!" Luffy replied. "I'm a pirate!"
"A pirate?!" Alvida repeated. "Ha! Sailing by yourself in these waters?!"
"Today, it's just me," said Luffy, "but I'll find more tomorrow...or by next week or something. I'm thinking about having, like, ten guys."
"Well, there's more than ten of us, now," Nami mused with mild amusement as she scratched behind Blizzard's and Kumi's ears, causing them both to smile and wag his tail.
"Indeed," Robin said as she gently pet Aika on the head, causing her to giggle.
"Tell me, boy," Alvida spoke. "Since you and I are both pirates, and we're both under different flags...that would make us enemies, am I right?"
"L...Luffy...!" Coby whispered. "Let's go...!"
"Huh?" Luffy muttered. "Why?"
"Because," Coby started, "out of all the pirates in the East Blue...Alvida is..." He then gasped silently as his eyes went wide, to the Straw Hats' confusion.
"What is it you're going to say, Coby?" asked Alvida. "Out with it, boy!"
A pause...but then Coby gritted his teeth as he glared at Alvida and shouted "ALVIDA IS THE UGLIEST SWINE ON THE SEAS!"
Hearing that caused Alvida and her pirates to gape in shock, while the Straw Hats laughed once again. Even Luffy in the memory was laughing this time.
"Preach it, kid!" Franky exclaimed.
"She is indeed quite the gonk!" Brook added.
"Amen," Sanji nodded.
"What did you just say?!" Alvida questioned.
"You heard me!" Coby yelled. "I'm gonna be a Marine and fight pirates like you! And then, one day, I'll capture your fat, lousy ass and throw you in prison!"
"You...LITTLE BRAT!" Alvida roared as she prepared to squash Coby flat with her mace, causing him to scream in terror with tears coming out of his eyes.
"Jeez," said Usopp. "I see he still has a lot to work on in the courage department. Even I don't do that...well, not anymore."
"Just goes to show you how much Coby's grown," Nami said. "...I wonder how he's been doing, these days. We haven't really seen him much, lately."
"I'm sure we'll meet up with him in the New World, eventually," Zoro said.
Just then, Luffy stood in between Alvida and Coby, to the latter's surprise.
"Well said!" Luffy praised as he took the full brunt of Alvida's mace. However, it obviously wasn't sharp enough to puncture the boy, who grinned as he looked up at the fat pirate woman.
"That's not gonna work~!" he said. "I told you, I'm made of rubber!"
On that, he pushed the mace away before he started to stretch his arm way back.
"Gum...GUM...PISTOL~!" he shouted before he punched Alvida right in the gut and sent her flying off the ship and into the sea.
"Hmph!" Sanji scoffed. "She didn't have a chance to begin with."
"Well, she did only have 5 million Berries on her head," Brook pointed.
"She could have provided a more decent challenge," Franky said. "Ah...beggars can't be choosers, though."
Kumi looked over at Aika, who was gaping with twinkling eyes.
"You okay, Aika?" asked Kumi.
"...So...awesome...!" Aika whispered.
"Yeah, you're okay," Chopper said with a giggle.
"Hey!" Luffy called to Alvida's crew, which made them yelp in fright. "Get Coby a dinghy! He's leaving to join the Marines, right now!"
"Y-yes, sir!" the pirates cried as they ran to get a boat. Not long after, the Marines had soon appeared and began to open fire on the two ships. Luffy and Coby quickly got on the dinghy the pirates gave them and landed in the water with it. As they did, though, Luffy's eyes momentarily locked with the tawny brown eyes of a familiar young woman with short, orange hair...and not long after, the Straw Hats gasped.
"Oh, my god...!" Nami whispered. "That's me!"
"Big Sis...you cut your hair?!" Aika asked.
"Actually, Aika," Sanji began, "your big sister used to have short hair, but then she grew it out."
"Oh," Aika realized.
Not long after, the Straw Hats heard a loud thumping sound, and the memory seemed to turn a light pink.
"Is that...Luffy's heartbeat?" Chopper asked.
Nami gasped as she put her hands on her cheeks, realizing what this meant, while Robin chuckled.
"It seems to me," Robin began, "that this is the moment when Luffy fell in love with you, Nami."
"...He...he only caught one glimpse at me...!" Nami said. "When he said he fell in love with me the moment he saw me...I thought he meant back when we met in Orange Town! I didn't think he meant this!"
Aika was trying her hardest not to squeal at this fact, but unfortunately, her joy was short-lived, for a cannonball hit the water, creating a large wave. Once it dissipated, Past Nami had vanished while Luffy and Coby drifted on.
"Well, looks like we managed to get away," Coby said while Luffy.
"Man, that sure was fun!" said Luffy.
"Of course he would find it fun," Usopp mumbled. "He narrowly escaped from a life-or-death situation, as always!"
"That's Big Brother for you!" Aika exclaimed.
"So, Luffy?" Coby asked. "Since you're looking for the One Piece and all, that means you're heading for the Grand Line, right?"
"Yeah, that's right," Luffy answered.
"They say that place is a pirate's graveyard, you know," Coby said, worriedly.
"Well, he's not wrong," Franky muttered.
"Indeed," Brook said. "Many a pirate has lost his or her life in the Grand Line AND the New World."
"That's why I need a strong crew," Luffy said before he paused for a moment. "So...this Pirate Hunter guy...what's he like?"
"Huh?" Coby asked. "You mean Roronoa Zoro? Well, lately, I heard he had been captured by the Marines."
"Really?" Luffy asked, sounding a bit disappointed. "Huh...guess he's pretty weak, then."
Hearing that caused Zoro to sneer while some of the Straw Hats seemed to snicker.
"I wonder how the Marines caught Zoro," Kumi said.
"He might've been dead drunk and fell asleep," Blizzard quipped.
"That's a possibility," Sanji smirked.
"Shut up!" Zoro barked. "Like any of you know!"
"Calm down, Tiger," Robin said as she put her hand on his shoulder.
"He's far from weak!" Coby exclaimed. "That guy's a total monster! They say he's like a living, breathing demon in human form! ...Wait a minute...why are you asking?"
"Because," Luffy began, "I think I might make him part of my crew!"
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHH?!" Coby questioned, and the memory soon faded to black.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Next time on One Piece: The Fire Within!
Coby: So here we are in Shell Town! There's supposed to be a Marine base here!
Luffy: Where's this demon guy?
Past Zoro: *tied up to a post* You're an eyesore...get lost.
Chopper: Zoro looks terrible.
Helmeppo: As if I'd actually let that idiot Zoro go! I actually plan on killing him, tomorrow!
Luffy: I decided...Zoro's gonna join my crew!
Coby: HUH?!
Next time: The First.
Sorry I took so long updating this, but it's finally here!
Review, please!