Disclaimer: I Don't Own One Piece
Chapter 9: Big News & Arrival At Lougetown
(2 Hours Earlier)
"This is Captain Nezumi of the 16th Marine Branch calling Marine Headquarters! Code #00733." Nezumi shouted over the transponder snail.
"This is Marine Headquarters. Stop shouting already." said the marine on the other line.
"I'm calling to inform you all about a pirate named Monkey D. Luffy! He wears a straw hat, has a total of 6 people in his crew. There are also several men who are dangerous as him. The man who destroyed the Shell Town's Marine Base and took down "Ax Hand" Morgan, is named Roronoa Zoro. He is also known as the "Pirate Hunter". The man who assaulted my unit is named Sanji. And last but not least, the former Vice Captain of the Don Krieg Pirates, "Man Demon" Gin was seen within in his crew now. They've all effortlessly defeated the Arlong Pirates. highly dangerous, so I'm formally requesting a bounty be placed upon their heads! I'm sending the pictures now!"
"Alright, we're receiving it now." the marine said.
"Couldn't you take any better pictures?" Nezumi asked one of the marines.
"That was all we could get." said the marine. Several pictures were sent over to the headquarters. Luffy's picture was a picture of him looking up at the sky with his straw hat on. Zoro's picture was a picture of him holding his Wado Ichimonji over his chest with one hand. Sanji's picture was different than last time. The difference was... Sanji was holding a black mask over his face. Gin's picture was a picture of him holding his tonfas while glaring at the direction of the marines.
While Nezumi was complaining, the marine at HQ was looking at Luffy's picture before he remembered something.
'A Straw Hat?' he thought before his eyes widened in shock. 'Wait a minute! He couldn't be...'
"Alright. We'll inform the higher ups." he said before hanging up. He then grabbed the picture before running through HQ, sweat forming on his face as he ran. 'There's no mistaking it. He matches the description perfectly!' he thought before he came to a higher ranking officer.
"What is the meaning of this?" the officer grunted.
The marine was out of breath as he handed him Luffy's picture."Sir...I believe...he's one...of the deserters."
…...
(Present Day)
It's been 2 hours since Luffy and the crew left Cocoyashi Village. Luffy and Zoro was training Nojiko and Gin, Sanji was in the kitchen making lunch for everyone (well the ladies first), Usopp was tending to his Pop Green plants, Nami was once again arguing with the News Coo about the prices of newspapers. After she got done arguing with the bird, she walked over to her chair and sat down to read the paper. While she turned the page, she noticed several papers fell out of the paper and landed on the ground.
"DAMMIT YOU GUYS!" Nami yelled. Everyone came running to her.
"My angel, what's wrong?" Sanji said in a worried tone. The rest of the crew started to stare at what Nami was holding in her hand and gasped.
"Wow." Luffy smirked.
...
(1 Hour Before)
It was a peaceful day in Marineford…well, as peaceful as the Headquarters of the World Government's military branch could get, anyway. Mutterings broke out among the high-ranking Marines in the conference room before Brannew broke them off with a clearing of his throat.
"We apologize, Commodore," one marine said. "But do you really think that our Marine branches in East Blue will be unable to deal with this threat?"
Brannew nodded. "To be blunt, they won't even come close," he said regretfully. He turned to three bounty posters that hung on the wall. "Buggy the Clown, 15 million beris, Pirate Fleet Admiral Don Krieg, 17 million beris, and Saw-Tooth Arlong, 20 million beris. The average bounty in the East Blue is 3 million, the fact that his crew crushed them all can't be ignored. These three had the highest active bounties in the eastern seas. Also, Straw Hat Luffy is one of the pirates who was supposed to become a Marine. He was trained by Garp "The Hero" and possess all forms of the Six Powers."
Brannew's audience was trying to process all of this information as he continued, "It is not just their captain that has caught our attention, however. It was his first mate, former Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro, that ended Captain Morgan's…um…suspicious activity in Branch 153." A few Marines shifted uncomfortably at this. "There's also the man who wore a black mask when he took down Captain Nezumi and his unit. The last one is a man who was formerly known as the Co-Captain of the Don Krieg Pirates.
"Therefore, these several men's bounties shall set a new record in the East Blue. I'll have to alert the higher ups about this." Brannew said finishing the meeting.
...
(Present Day)
As the crew gathered around Nami, they saw several wanted posters on the floor. Nami began announcing the crew's bounty.
"Straw Hat", Monkey. : 62 Million Beri Bounty."
"Pirate Hunter", Roronoa Zoro: 32 Million Beri Bounty."
"Black Mask", Sanji: 15 Million Beri Bounty."
"Man Demon", Gin: 12 Million Beri Bounty."
After Nami got done listing the guy's bounty, she sighed in frustration. Luffy was thinking about something. Zoro was smirking at his bounty, but was also disappointed his bounty was lower than last time. Sanji took out a cigarette and flicked his lighter to light it. Gin was the most surprised one though. It was his previous bounty before he joined up with Krieg. Usopp finally noticed something while looking at Sanji's bounty.
"Hey Sanji, why were you wearing a mask?" Ussop asked curiously.
"I didn't want my former family to know about me being alive yet." Sanji said as he exhaled cigarette smoke out of his mouth. This perked Gin's and Nojiko's interests
"Who's your family?" Gin asked. Luffy came over to Gin and patted him on his shoulder.
"We'll tell you about it later." Luffy said lowly. Zoro gave Luffy and Sanji a sideways glance. It was an obvious one too because Luffy and Sanji noticed it. Gin felt the atmosphere become tense for a moment and decided to change the subject.
"So, what are we doing today?" Gin said smiling nervously.
"Well, you, Nojiko, and Nami are training with Zoro and I. Ussop, you're training with Sanji after he fixes us lunch." Luffy said walking away. Everyone noticed the change in Luffy's attitude.
"What's wrong with him?" Nojiko asked everyone.
"Nothing sis. Come on Zoro and Gin." Nami faked smiled as she started to walk down the stairs into the training room. Nojiko knew she wasn't smiling foreal.
"They are hiding something." Nojiko whispered into Gin's ear. Gin nodded as they made their way downstairs.
"Yeah. I can tell."
While Nami, Gin, Nojiko, and Zoro went to the training room, Sanji walked back into kitchen and was preparing lunch. Usopp went to the back of the ship and began practicing on his Observation.
…...
(Training Room)
"So, what are you planning on teach us Zoro?" Nami asked Zoro. they all wearing training outfits (well Zoro decided to pick some up while Luffy and Nami were battling Buggy's crew.)
"I'll be helping Gin and Nojiko improve their agility. I'll be teaching you how to unlock your Armament Haki." Zoro told them.
"Haki? What is Haki?" Nojiko and Gin asked.
"It's something we'll be teaching you guys later." Zoro replied.
"How are you going to help me unlock my Haki?" Nami asked Zoro.
"Well technically you'll have to unlock it yourself. You know what Armament Haki is right?" Zoro asked.
" It's the move that you guys use to fight logia users and other "New World" opponents." Nami said whispering the New World part. She didn't want Gin and Nojiko to know about the second half of the Grand Line yet.
"Well you can actually use this type of Haki on your weapons also. Armament Haki is like an invisible armor you can use. Many people can use this ability easily but you have to keep training to control it. In order for you to unlock it, you have to present a strong willpower to use it. I can help you practice unlocking it, but you have to find the willpower to use it." Zoro said explaining to her.
"The willpower huh?" Nami thought as she held her Clima Tact.
"Let's begin. I want you all to attack like I'm an enemy because I'm not going easy on you all." Zoro said grinning. Nami and the others started to gulp nervously.
"This is going to be a rough 2 days." Nami said to them.
...
(On A Certain Island)
A man was standing on a cliff looking around for enemies when he spotted someone.
"What the?" The man said cautiously. He adjusted his scope and saw a familiar man sitting in a boat. His blood froze when he saw who it was.
"GUYS! HAWKEYE IS HERE!" The man said yelling while running back to the camp.
(Moments later)
Hawkeye was walking through the forest and saw a group of pirates passed out. He then proceeded to walk towards a certain man who was trying his best to get over a hangover.
"Oh, Hawkeye? What a surprise. I'm not really in a good mood right now. Did you come to fight?" questioned Shanks, sitting around in the shade with his men.
"I have no desire fight a one-armed man. I met some interesting pirates. They reminded me of a story you told me a long time ago. The one about that boy from the village," he said as he handed Shanks Luffy's wanted poster.
"So, you've finally come, Luffy," grinned Shanks. "Everyone! Let's party! It's a very happy day! Join us Hawkeye! I won't let you leave!"
...
(Luffy's Village)
Luffy's entire village was partying after they received the news of Luffy's bounty.
"Luffy's become so famous!"
"Maybe he'll become the famous pirate from our village!" cheered the villagers.
"Silence you fools! What's so good about a bad man coming from our village?" argued the Mayor.
"But look chief, Luffy looks so happy!" Makino said, gentle eyes alight with joy.
"A pirate is still a pirate!" Woop Slap barked. Could they not understand that if word got out this might ruin the village's reputation?
"But it's his dream," countered Makino.
"His dream, or his destiny?" the mayor wondered out loud while looking up at the sky.
...
(On the Moby Dick)
On a certain whale shaped ship in the New World, Marco the Phoenix, the first Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, was enjoying his morning flight. He spotted the News Coo flying in from a distance and decided to cut it short. That damned bird always flew away at top speed as soon as it saw him in his bird form. As if he was uncultured enough to eat a raw bird! Landing on the deck, he withdrew a coin and waited for the bird to swoop in. It dropped him the paper and flew off with its payoff. Marco flew up to the crow's (or as his crew liked to call it, the phoenix's) nest and started to read it. He always enjoyed reading out loud and the crew made fun of him if he did it in front of everyone.
"Man, what's up will all these rookies popping up? 'Surgeon of Death' Trafalgar Law stirs up North Blue. Eustass 'Captain' Kidd massacres another village. Sick bastard, there's better ways of getting attention. Dra- whoa! Looks like Drake finally left the marines. Looks like Jozu owes me a drink. Highest Bounty in East Blue, 'Straw Hat' Luffy."He paused.
"Hey hang on a sec, isn't Luffy the kid Ace always talks about?" He took a closer look at the poster and his eyes widened at that familiar grin. The two might not be blood brothers, but you wouldn't be able to tell that from their identical smiles.
"Oi! Ace! Come here!" yelled Marco as he glided down to the deck, grinning the whole way, careful not to burn the newspaper again in his anticipation. Ace was probably still finishing breakfast.
"Check this out!" he said, tossing the part of the paper about Luffy to Ace. Ace studied it for a moment, before his jaw opened and the piece of meat dropped out."Eehhhhh?! Luffy?! 62 million? What the hell did that idiot do this time? Wait, why does he look so different?"
Why are you freaking out so much?" asked Marco, feigning innocence while trying to hold back his smirk.
"He got a higher initial bounty than both me! No one in East Blue gets that kind of bounty!" Ace said shouting.
"Pops! Look, Pops! This is my bro!" said Ace as he started to run to Whitebeard, holding the paper up. Whitebeard took it between his huge hands and looked it over.
"So, this is the brat you never shut up about?"
"Well that was supposed to be my snot nosed brother but, something's looks different about him!" exclaimed Ace as he Whitebeard raised a questioning brow at him. Marco stared to laugh behind him.
"What?" demanded Ace.
"You said he was weak, but the papers say he took out all the big shots in East Blue without getting a scratch." grinned Marco.
"Wait, what?" screamed Ace.
"Gurararara!" Whitebeard laughed.
...
(2 Days Later)
"I think I got on the wrong ship. Don't he know what holding back means!?" Nojiko said panting for air.
"He was." Nami replied while holding onto her staff as a crutch.
"I can't even imagine how strong he is when he's serious." Gin said kneeling while trying to regain his balance.
"Quit complaining. At least you guys are improving." Zoro grunted. The past couple days schedule went as followed; eat, sleep, and train. While Zoro was training them, he noticed Gin was extremely agile and was an exceptional hand to hand combatant without weapons. Nojiko was skilled in long range with her snake sword. She was almost able to land hits on Zoro when she was fighting alongside Nami and Gin. Nami on the other hand, proved to be a good challenge recently. Her speed and agility were increasing greatly. While Nami, Gin, and Nojiko was preparing to take another battle stance, Usopp yelled from the top deck.
"Hey guys, we're here!"
Zoro and the others began walking up the stairs. Everyone started to walk towards the bow of the ship.
"So, this is the town where Gold Roger was both born and executed." Nojiko said.
"I'm off to go see the execution platform again. Everyone be on guard. it seems like we got some familiar enemies on this island." Luffy yelled before he jumped ship and ran into the town.
" Hold on Luffy. I'm coming too." Usopp said as he jumped down.
"Well I guess I'll go get some new clothes and meet everyone in the middle of town." Nami said with a sigh.
"Hold up sis. I'll come with you." Nojiko said following her.
"I'm gonna go pick up some food." Sanji said before he jumped from the ship.
"I need some new swords and clothes." Zoro mumbled.
"Since you've been helping me train, I'll lend you some money. Free of charge." Nami said with an innocent smile. Zoro instantly froze up. He couldn't tell if she was serious or this was all an act.
"I wouldn't do it if I were you." Nojiko thought with a knowing smirk.
"I got to get some new clothes also and some new weapons." Gin said as he jumped off the ship.
"Hey cook, do you sense some unfamiliar auras?" Zoro asked Sanji.
"Now that you mention it, I can sense them on top of the clock tower. They're suppressing their auras heavily." Sanji said eyeing the clock tower cautiously.
...
(With Zoro & Gin)
As Zoro walked through the streets, he caught wind of a familiar aura, as well as a familiar argument.
"Looks like that monster isn't with you today. This works out perfectly. We'll send you back to him in pieces!"
"Can't you just let it go?" a feminine voice asked. But the pirates confronting her completely ignored her. The crowd broke out in gasps and shouts as they pulled out their swords.
"Tell that boss of yours that this is what happens when he messes with our dream of getting to the Grand Line!"
Tashigi wondered how they wanted her to tell him that if they were planning on sending her back to him in pieces, but pulled out her sword. The crowd watched in awe as she cut them both down in one swift move. The crowd cheered and applauded before she stumbled and fell face first onto the ground, her glasses sliding across the pavement. One spectator commented that she was too strong for her own good as Zoro walked forward and handed her glasses, making sure not to break them this time. Zoro had long since gotten over his discomfort at seeing an exact face of his childhood friend. As Tashigi thanked him politely, Zoro just nodded and walked in the opposite direction. He soon ran into a problem. He couldn't for the life of him remember which shop he had gotten those two swords from last time. Loguetown was huge. He suddenly stopped in the middle of the road, though, as a familiar feeling hit him. He turned to the direction of an arms shop off to his right and smiled. As he made his way over to the store and walked in, the feeling became stronger. He was in the right place for sure.
"I'd like to buy two katana." he said to the familiar store clerk. The clerk rubbed his hands together in a poorly concealed gesture of greed.
"Of course, of course! Right this way, sir." he said happily. Suddenly though, he stopped as he caught sight of the sword on Zoro's hip. Zoro scoffed.
"Here we go." The man began stuttering nervously as he requested to get a good look at his sword. Zoro obliged and handed it over. The man's eyes widened as he unsheathed it before turning back to Zoro.
"Listen," he started. "I have a good eye for craftsmanship. What you've got here isn't the work of a master, but it's definitely an above average sword. What would you say to me giving you 300,000 Beris for it? If you want 3 swords that badly, then you could buy each for 100,000 without losing a single Beris."
"Nah." Zoro said blandly. It took a moment for it to register in the clerk's mind that his offer had been rejected before he started stuttering again.
"Then…how about 500,000 Beris?" he asked nervously.
"Nope."
"All right, you haggler! You've got me! I'll pay you 700,000 Beris, but that's my final offer!"
"Not for sale."Zoro said in a bored tone.
"Whoa! That sword!" the voice said in enthusiasm. The clerk's face looked even more nervous now. Tashigi flipped through a book on swords and stopped on a page that had an illustration of Zoro's exact sword.
"That's the Wado Ichimonji!" It's a famous Meito that sells for over 10,000,000 Beris! Where on earth did you get it?"
"Did you really have to open your mouth!? I should sue you for ruining my business!"
"Ruining your business?" Tashigi asked in an apologetic tone. "I'm sorry, did I say something? It's just I've never seen one of the 21 Superior Grade Swords before."
"Don't blame her," Zoro said in annoyance. "I wasn't gonna sell it anyway." The clerk just scoffed.
"You came for your Shigure right? Here, it's been polished," he said as he tossed the sword at Tashigi. Tashigi caught it, but failed to catch herself, and stumbled right into a shelf of swords, causing them to all clatter to the floor.
"Why the hell did you fall that way!? Pick those up now!" the clerk yelled. Tashigi scrambled to do that as he turned back to Zoro.
"Fine, you've got a famous Meito. Enjoy it. Now find two swords and get out," he said grudgingly. Zoro rolled his eyes and walked over to a barrel of mostly cheap swords.
"You seem to really love swords," Tashigi said as she walked up to him. "You're carrying three of them after all. It reminds me of this one bounty hunter named Roronoa Zoro."
"I hear the name a lot," Zoro said truthfully, before quickly pulling out the sword that had long since caught his attention. Tashigi stilled at the sight of it before pulling out her book again. "That sword…Kitetsu III? That should sell for at least 1,000,000 Beris. I would buy it if I were you,"
She turned to the clerk.
"Are you really selling this for 50,000 Beris?" she asked.
"Yeah…" the clerk replied reluctantly. Tashigi quickly went into a history of the three Kitetsu swords, commenting that the 1st Kitetsu was one of the 12 unrivaled works of craftsmanship in the world, before the clerk changed his mind and shouted that he wouldn't sell it. Tashigi looked surprised and asked why.
"It's cursed," Zoro said simply. "I could feel it before I even walked in here."
The clerk's eyes widened. "It takes a great swordsman to recognize a cursed blade. Who is this guy?" The clerk thought to himself.
Zoro hummed, taking in the familiar sight and feel of the blade. "You know, I like it. Actually, I really want it," he said with a nostalgic grin.
"What!? No way! You idiot, if I sold it to you and you died, wouldn't it be like I killed you!?" he shouted. Tashigi looked shocked at this revelation. Zoro just continued smirking.
"Let's test it out, then. If this sword doesn't accept me as its master, we'll know here and now," he said, before throwing the blade up in the air and holding his arm out.
"Idiot! Its sharpness is the real thing! You'll lose an arm!" the clerk shouted. Tashigi gasped and placed a hand over her mouth. As the sword came down, Zoro's reflexes screamed at him to coat his arm in Armament Haki, but he ignored them and closed his eyes. The sword fell down and the blade hit his arm dead center before it fell to the ground and imbedded itself hilt deep into the floor. Zoro's audience stared in shock as he rolled his arm around in its socket. There wasn't a scratch on him.
"Good sword," he said, still grinning. The clerk fell to the ground as the tension left his body. He quickly got up and told Zoro to wait for him as he stumbled into the back of the shop. He came back with another familiar sword with a black hilt and sheath. "This is the best sword I have. It's one of the 50 Skillful Grade Swords, Yubashiri. Please take it free of charge, along with Kitetsu III." Zoro nodded at the man gratefully.
"Thanks," he said with sincerity. The man just waved his hand dismissively.
"Don't worry about it. It's not every day I see a true swordsman walk in here. They say the sword chooses the swordsman. Consider this a gift."
As Zoro was about to exit the store, he saw Gin walk into the store. Gin's attire was entirely different than before. He wore a long slim black and red vest that had no sleeves and cut off at his waist. He had black and red arm guards that black straps around each wrist. He had long black slim pants on that also had black straps going around his left leg. He also wore knee high slim black steampunk boots. Zoro was impressed. Gin's face features had improved also. Since he's been eating and getting more sleep, he no longer had dark rings under his eyes. Gin walked in the store saw Zoro holding onto his new swords.
"Hey Zoro, nice swords." Gin said while walking to the counter.
"Thanks. You here looking for your new weapons?" Zoro asked.
"Yeah."
"Good luck. The owner is kind of shady." Zoro said as he walked out of the shop. Gin chuckled a little bit at that comment. The store clerk came out and greeted Gin.
"Welcome sir. How can I help you?"
"Hi. I was wondering if you sell any bladed tonfas?" Gin asked him. The clerk eyes widened.
"First it was that green haired guy, now it's this guy? Who are these people?" The clerk thought to himself.
"Um, is anyone there?" Gin said waving his hand back and forth in the clerk's face. The clerk snapped out of his daydream.
"I'm so sorry for that. Right this way sir." The clerk said nervously. As they walked over the left side of the store, the store clerk pulled a box out from the counter. Gin eyed the box curiously.
"I just received these special set of daggers from the South Blue. Rumors has it an unknown pirate crew found these weapons while salvaging the ocean's floor." The clerk said. He then proceeded to open the box. Inside the box was a pair of unusual daggers. The dagger had a short dragon carved hilt and had black straps on it for grip support. Gin was confused at this point.
"Um I asked if you sell any bladed tonfas." Gin told the clerk.
"I'm so sorry sir but, to be honest... we haven't sold any bladed tonfas since this town was founded. I highly doubt they will any bladed tonfas anywhere." The store clerk confessed.
"Well why did you say you had some in the first place?" Gin said in a annoyed tone.
"Because I was hoping that you would take these instead of the tonfas." The clerk said nervously.
"How do you even know I know how to use these?" Gin asked while holding one of the daggers in his hand.
"I can tell by the look in your eyes when you saw the daggers." The clerk grinned. Gin eyes widened after he said that.
Gin sighed. " Looks like I'll just use these until I find something in the Grand Line." He said to himself.
"How much are they? Gin asked the clerk.
"Just give me 15,000 beris."
"Ok thanks." Gin said as he handed to the money to the clerk.
"Thank you, sir. Have a nice day." The clerk said waving at Gin as he walked out of the store.
...
(With Nami & Nojiko)
"You're done yet sis?" Nami asked Nojiko. They were in a clothing store picking out new outfits. Nami was currently wearing a kimono that had orange on her right side and red on the other side of it. The kimono was short and only came to her pelvis area. She also wore some slim black knee-high heel boots. She was wearing her eternal pose also.
"Yeah. Give me a second." Nojiko said as she out of the changing room wearing a small dark blue tube top shirt that came to her belly button. She was wearing a black coat that had a collar and straps to lace up over her tube top. She also wearing a short mini skirt and long slim dark blue high heel boots.
"Wow sis. Nice pirate outfit." Nami smiled.
"Thanks. I wanted to just wear something simple." Nojiko said with a sigh. To be honest, she had other outfits she wanted to try on but couldn't decide which one to put on. After they rang up their purchases, they left the store to find everyone else. As they were walking through the town, they met up with Zoro, Gin, and Sanji.
"Nami! Nojik-" Sanji stopped in mid-sentence when he noticed what they were wearing. Gin who was walking with Zoro, saw Sanji froze in mid place.
"Uhh, what's wrong with him?" Gin asked.
"He's in one of his perv modes." Zoro replied in a dull tone.
"Oh."
"Sanji dear, would you please run these bags to the ship?" Nami asked Sanji. All of a sudden, the bags were snatched out of Nami and Nojiko's hands and were seen in the sky flying away from them. Less than 2 minutes later, Sanji came back to his same spot.
"Oh, thank you so much Sanji." Nami said while patting Sanji's head.
"Why does he let her do that to him?" Gin whispered into Zoro's ear.
" Because he's a love sick idiot." Zoro grunted.
"All right guys, now let's go find Luffy and Usopp." Nami said to them.
"Well you don't have to look far. I can already sense people crying and running for their lives towards this way." Zoro said while looking towards the direction where he sensed the people were running from.
"Great. Let's go get him." Nami sighed as they started walking to where everyone was running from.
"Um, what is going on?" Nojiko asked.
"You'll see when we get there." Zoro replied.
God I Hated This Chapter. I Had Writer's Block At Least 5 Times And I Borrowed Alot Dialogue From Second Wind. Plus I Had Changed The Idea To Giving Gin Some Bladed Tonfas But Couldn't Find Any Good Ones To His Character Development I Had Set Up. Plus, I Had Alot Of Grammar Problems. Anyways, The Next Chapter Will Be The Climax Of The East Blue Saga. The Fight Scenes Will Be Good. Get Ready To Expect Some Major Changes In The Story. You Guys May Think You Know One Piece, I'm About To Take It Up The Next Level.
