SailorStar9: With Chapter 252 uploaded, I present Chapter 253 of this fic. For everyone who put this fic on your favorited and followed lists and/or story alerts, thank you, but remember everyone, a lot of authors (myself included) sustain on readers' reviews.
Pairings: Married!Ace/Sasha, Sibling!Luffy/Sasha, Sibling!Sabo/Sasha, Background Protector!Law/Sasha
Disclaimers: One Piece belongs to Oda Eiichirō-sensei. Me, on the other hand, own absolutely nothing, except my OC, the pairing and the fic idea.
Chapter 253: Arc 15: The Legendary Journey! The Dog and the Cat and the Pirate King!
"We're already allies." Luffy turned to the Wano group. "But there's a condition: one of our crew isn't with us right now."
"It's about Sanji, isn't it?" Cat Viper realized.
"Sanji?" Dogstorm echoed.
"Well, a lot has happened." Nami sighed.
"What?" Dogstorm gaped after Nami related what had occurred. "Big Mom? I haven't heard of this."
"I see." Kin'emon noted. "That's why we didn't see Sanji-dono."
"I'll go get him back." Luffy declared. "So, don't go off to fight until then."
"Is that the condition?" Raizo gaped. "If so, sure. We'll wait."
"Thanks." Luffy nodded. "In return, Sanji will be a great help. It's like getting help from a thousand people."
"I see." Dogstorm noted. "Sounds like he's pretty dependable. But will you be alright? You're talking about Yonkou Big Mom."
"I'm not going to fight her, so I'll be fine." Luffy assured. "I'll go with Lion Viper."
"He's referring to Pekoms." Sasha supplied, slamming a karate chop on her brother's head. "Remember other peoples' names properly, baka aniki!"
"It's Shanks." Luffy beamed, the group had exited the Whale Tree. "Don't tell me you knew him, Cat Viper?"
"Yes, I knew him." Cat Viper replied. "'Red-Haired Shanks', right? I see. No wonder that straw hat looks familiar."
"Dogstorm said it too." Luffy caught up with the two Minks. "Do you all know Shanks?"
"Yes, because the cat and I were once traveling on Roger's ship." Dogstorm confirmed.
"Were you guys the Pirate King's crew-members?" Luffy was shocked.
"Crew-members..." Dogstorm trailed. "Well, you could put it that way too, but we boarded many ships as Oden-sama's attendants; even when we were traveling aboard Whitebeard's Moby Dick. And when Oden-sama was recruited by Roger, we were always by his side."
"Whoa, wait!" Usopp cut in. "Whitebeard?" he dug out his notebook.
"Yes, we were still young." Dogstorm reminisced. "Just like the apprentices such as Shanks and Buggy."
"But the two of us didn't go to Raftel with him." Cat Viper interjected. "I remember! We were having so much fun at that time; the species, geographical features, and climates that I'd never seen. The sea of clouds in the sky. The island that floats undersea. The sunlight. Every day, I was very excited. Those good old adventurous days."
"Then, Kin'emon, were guys were traveling on Whitebeard's ship, too?" Luffy turned to the samurai.
"No, we stayed in the Land of Wano the whole time." Kin'emon replied.
"Instead, we were trying desperately to stop Oden-sama from getting on board a pirate ship." Kanjuro explained.
"As we mentioned earlier, the Land of Wano is closed off from the world and interacting with other countries is prohibited." Kin'emon commented.
"In the closed-off nation, even leaving the country is a crime." Kanjuro added. "On the other hand, Oden-sama was a heretic who had doubts about the law of the country."
"We became acquainted with Whitebeard, Roger, and the others when they landed on the Land of Wano." Kin'emon took over. "They were loyal to others, and we didn't think they were particularly bad people. But I'd never heard of a daimyo getting aboard a pirate ship so as his retainer."
""So anyway, you all know Shanks and Rayleigh as well?" Luffy was getting excited.
"Can I ask something?" Franky cut in on Dogstorm and Cat Viper's reminiscing. "If you got aboard Roger's ship, it must've been the Oro Jackson which was built by my shipwright teacher, Tom-san."
"What?" Dogstorm was surprised. "Are you the shipwright, Tom's pupil?"
"Aniki," Sasha looked at Luffy. "Should we tell them about Ace?" she asked, knowing that the topic on Roger was still a sore spot for her fire-wielding husband.
"Well..." Luffy was uncertain.
"Stop, Brook." Nami raised a hand to stop Brook from speaking. "Sorry to interrupt you. I'm gonna check something with them. You said the four Road Poneglyphs will show us the way to Raftel, right? I'm starting to worry about the route. Look." she showed the two Minks her Log Pose. "The needles of the Log Pose. Normally, we choose our next destination looking at where these three needles point, but we're not tracking them right now. Is it okay? We met Torao-kun and came to Zou following the Vivre Card by chance and found the Road Poneglyph which points to the location of Raftel by accident. But according to Crocus-san at the Twins Cape, if you track logs, every route will come to one in the end. I'd always imagined that's Raftel."
"Yes, I understand." Dogstorm answered. "If you're interested where logs will lead you, go see it for yourself. There is definitely a route on which all of those three needles point in the same direction – towards one specific place. However, you-gara people have already left on a journey which lies beyond that point. You're supposed to find out about something for the first time at the end of the route. Find out the truth about the Poneglyphs and the ancient script. Find out about the civilization that created those and the existence of the hidden last island, Raftel. When Roger got there, he had to do everything all over again. Crocus was also part of the Pirate King's crew. He was one of those who know everything. He wouldn't tell a lie unless he doesn't like you-gara guys."
"Beyond the end of the route..." Nami breathed. We're already on a journey beyond the end? "I got it." she nodded. "As Crocus-san said, the logs are leading us to Raftel, for sure. Leading us to the way to Raftel which lies beyond the end of the route. The logs weren't lying."
"But for now, we have so many things to do before fighting Kaido." Dogstorm stated, the two Minks leading the group down the Whale Tree.
"We need to prepare." Kin'emon agreed. "Like I told you before, we're trying to recruit samurai who will fight with us in the Land of Wano now."
"In the meantime, we've got someone we need to see." Cat Viper added. "It's always good to have more reinforcements."
"Who is it?" Luffy asked.
"He is the 1st Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates." Cat Viper replied. "Marco the Phoenix."
Sasha felt a chill down her spine, knowing that the subject about Roger's relation to Ace would eventually be mentioned. Sorry, honey. She gave Ace a mental apology.
SailorStar9: Any OOC-nes is regretted. *Sighs* Don't you just hate plot bunnies sometimes? Reviews are much appreciated.
