Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece but, I do have 5 One Piece games on my game console
Chapter 24: Monkeys Be Scheming
Somewhere in Upper Yard,
A man was sitting on a throne eating an apple, listening to his musicians, watching the dancers with an air of arrogance and self-importance. For this man didn't think of himself as such. He believed he was higher and more important than that, more divine and of higher standing that he proclaimed himself as God. He knows all, hears all and controls all. He knew, deep down, that luck served him and blessed him with the lightning powers, but in his arrogance he made people bow before him and thought himself a ruler of mortals.
His full height stood at 266 cm, bare-chested and covering his blond hair with a white skull cap. He had earlobes that reached to his torso with gold earrings attached to them. Next to him was a golden staff.
He was just starting his day. Eating luxurious food, accepting tributes, dealing out punishment. Business as usual. Suddenly his mantra flared, no that's too weak, it exploded. He was also thinking about his arc, it was due to be finished any day now and he'll finally move to the domain of the gods, his rightful place. He jolted and stood up abruptly in his panic, completely disregarding his gasping subjects, trying to focus on what he was sensing. Eleven people on a ship that's what.
Eleven people on a ship were making their way towards Angel Beach, but that was normal. Rare as it was, it wasn't strange for people to come up from the blue sea, but the major problem with that fact was that they were strong. Of the eleven two were at the level of his priests, a match to them. The next five were even stronger, they had an even stronger aura that definitely outclasses that of the priests. The previous seven were not really a problem, he could deal with some strong mortals, he was God after all, but that wasn't the reason he panicked.
With them were four other suppressed auras that were so strong he couldn't even fathom how strong they were. His gut was telling him that only one of them is capable of defeating the other seven with ease. Possessing such spirit and having the control to do such a thing spoke to their power and experience.
As if realizing he was being monitored, one of the auras, the most heavily suppressed, stopped suppressing his aura and let it flare. The self-proclaimed god began to sweat. Strength so great that it was like a beacon, will so strong you could touch it and control it so fine that he managed to suppress it so much. The message was clear, 'Don't mess with me.' How could this be? How is someone that strong? Why was he panicking? Was he afraid? Could this person really be stronger than him?
No. No no no no NO! 'No one is stronger than GOD!' he told himself. 'I AM GOD, I know no fear and no one can stand against my might! How dare that mortal threaten me!', "How dare he!" he growled out loud.
"Assemble the priests! Inform the White Berets that the eleven intruders from the blue sea are not to be confronted until my orders!" he ordered.
'It doesn't matter who they are or how strong they are, no one survives the might of god and his wrath,' he smirked to himself as lightning crackled above him. The next few days ought to be fun.
….
(The Strawhats, Angel Beach)
"Is that an Angel?" Gin asked in confusion.
Sanji's eyes turned into hearts as he doodled his way towards Conis, who just stopped playing her harp, until he kneeled in front of her and said, "Oh my, angel-chan, may I state just how dazzling you are, it must be fate that we have met!" She blushed a bit.
Before Zoro could give a snarky remark, Luffy's aura flared suddenly, and all eyes were on him except the flustered angel, everything going over her head. He suppressed it just as suddenly and went over to Conis exclaiming, "Heya, I'm Luffy, who're you?"
As Sanji started to kick some manners into him, Zoro, Nami and Robin smirked, while Ussop was looking in Upper Yard's direction.
"W-w-what was that?" Nojiko breathed out. Even the people who don't possess Haki, couldn't help but feel powerless when faced with the presence of a being with immense strength based on basic survival instinct.
"Luffy's so strong, right?!" Chopper cheered as he, too, felt it due to his animal instinct, however Chopper didn't feel as though Luffy was just any predator or even one of the ones high on the food chain, no Chopper felt as though he was facing the king of the jungle, the one who has the most power and the commands most respect.
While Smoker didn't really care why he did that, he was staring at Luffy due to his show of power in awe and, dare he say, admiration.
Tashigi kept choking on her own words, Zoro replied to Nojiko's question, still smirking.
"Just sending a message." he started going to one of the hard as steel fruits and chopped off its top and started drinking.
"Now he's all agitated and angry and he'll start raining lightning from the sky!" whined Ussop, having noticed a couple of thunder clouds over Upper Yard.
"Lightning?" Smoker questioned, also looking in the same direction.
"All in good time, Smokey!" Nami said cheerfully as she went over to the arriving Pagaya to ride his waver, leaving behind an agitated former Marine Vice Admiral and current Captain.
While everyone was watching Nami surfing, Luffy pulled Robin to the side, "Robin I need something from you," he started.
"Anything, Captain."
"I need you to go to the Shandians' tribe. I want you to negotiate with them, tell them we'll take care of Enel and his priests, we need them to help take out the enforcers. All they want is the city and bell, tell them we're going to make it possible for them to return home we just don't want to them too. If they ask for credibility, the small girl that has observation haki should have picked my aura just now. Take two people and make sure one can swim."
"Alright, I'll take Chopper and Zoro. Where are they?"
He pointed in a random direction somewhere not far from Upper Yard, "About 1.5 km away from the coast of Upper Yard, hidden in the clouds."
"How do we get there?"
Luffy thought for a second, and then he called out to Pagaya, "Old Guy, do you think you can lend us a boat for 3?"
"Uh-um-u," he started but Luffy asked him again more forcefully this time, "S-s-sure," he replied still under pressure and confused why they need such a thing.
After the trio left, Nami asked, "Can you show us around please?"
They went on a tour, after which Nojiko spotted a sign saying 'Charon's Hand', they decided to check it out as Tiramisu said. Pagaya wondered why there was no one behind him when he spotted them heading into Charon's Hand and immediately went after them, not to stop them, but because he remembered the shipment he asked for came a couple of days ago.
...
(Zoro's Side)
Chopper was steering the dial powered Karasu-maru toward the right direction, Zoro was concentrating on the auras in the village telling them how much distance left to cover and Robin was in her pose, popping out eyes trying to find the village and a way to enter. When she found she sprouted eyes everywhere looking upward to find the entrance, but she couldn't find it.
"Zoro, are we over the village?" asked Robin.
"We're a hundred meters out," he replied.
"Okay, stop Chopper," he obliged, then she smirked, "I can't find a way to enter, so you're up, Zoro." She only got a smirk in return.
…...
(Shandia Village)
Things weren't calm down in the village after the day's events. First the best warrior of Shandia 'Berserker' Wiper returned with a bruise on his face, angry and refusing to talk to anyone or explain what happened. Then Aisa informs everyone that strong blue sea dwellers arrived at Skypiea, claiming that some are even stronger than Enel. This caused unrest among the villagers, the warriors especially. Then she suddenly gasps goes into a daze after which she claimed that one unleashed his power and he's definitely a lot stronger than Enel. To top it all off she informed them of three of the blue sea dwellers heading in their direction. Now that caused an uproar as everyone began to prepare to defend themselves. After half an hour of preparation, suddenly, a strong gust of air came vertically down, blowing through the clouds above them about a hundred meters away from the village. Falling through the gap was a black boat carrying three people.
"They're here," Aisa said, conflicted. On one hand, they didn't feel like bad people and didn't seem to have bad intentions, on the other hand, fear of the unknown is in human nature, and really strong unknowns to boot.
Everyone turned to the intruders as they stepped off the boat. The warriors stood upfront, behind them the villagers that could protect themselves and women, children and the elderly at the end of the crowd.
As the three approached the war-ready village, the top warriors began assessing them. They couldn't believe that they were freaking out because of one strong man and a weak-looking woman, and is that- a rodent? What is that? Tanuki, maybe. They were about to relax and dismiss the idea of danger until they caught the gaze of the green-haired swordsman, the gaze of a predator, and went stiff again.
"Oh my? Looks like we have a welcoming party waiting for us." The woman said with a calm yet intimidating smile.
"Robin, I think they're scared." Chopper said cutely.
"That's because they are," Zoro stated in a bored tone.
An elderly man stepped forward, wearing a long robe, carrying a staff with a tribal mask on the top and white fur underneath it, on his head an animal's head as a helmet, decorated with feathers. They immediately acknowledged him as the leader of the tribe, the Chief.
"What business do you have here, blue sea dwellers?" he demanded with hostility.
"Relax. We come in peace." Zoro replied.
"Like he said, we come in peace, Chief," Robin began. "You see, we're not normal 'blue sea dwellers' as you like to call us, we're pirates." They tightened their grips on their weapons. "And it just so happens that our Captain has a proposition for you."
Not really expecting that the elder contemplated for a moment, "And what would that be?"
"Well, we heard that you want to go back to your homeland where there is a golden bell, and we want to ring that same bell, so I'd say we have a common goal, which is to defeat the arrogant fool that calls himself god. So, interested in hearing our terms?"
To say the Shandians were caught off guard would be an understatement. They were prepared to die protecting their families and their honor against these strangers, but now they are being offered to accomplish their lifelong goal for generations. They were in a trance until Wiper stepped forward, a frown replacing his previous scowl.
"Why do you want to ring the bell? And how are you going to help us return to our homeland? More importantly, how do we know you won't steal it and run?" he growled.
"We want to ring it for Montblanc Cricket, the descendant of Montblanc Noland who is a friend of Calgara warrior of Shandia. You see, when Upper Yard was blasted here 400 years ago, Noland was labeled a liar for lying about the existence of the city of gold and thus executed. His descendant, our friend desires proof of the truth, hence ringing the bell. As for how we return you to Shandia, our crew will defeat Enel and his priests and make a deal with the former god Gan Fall, so he rules over Skypiea and your people rule Upper Yard while both people live in peace and harmony. Finally, if we wanted to steal the bell we could do it with or without your help, this way it's just easier, having two sides fight each other instead of three." Robin explained.
While Wiper was astonished by the mention of his ancestor and his promise to his friend, the Chief digested all that then asked, "What do you need from us if you are capable of defeating the priests by yourselves?"
"We want you to do the grunt work. Meaning defeat the enforcers, tie them up and bring them to Shandia. When this is over we'll rally everyone there, dictate the land as yours, and offer another proposition for all the people which you may or may not agree to. Also if I know him, my captain will probably try and recruit anyone he likes for the crew. He's the one that flared his aura if anyone felt it."
"I need to discuss this with our warriors," the Chief said finally after a minute of thinking.
"We'll wait here until you decide," Zoro said, sitting down, "Also, you may refuse but if in our battle you decide to attack us, we will retaliate," he warned dangerously.
A shiver ran down their spines after hearing that. Robin smiled sweetly at them sitting on a chair of hands, which seemed to intimidate them more. As the warriors and the chief were trying to come to an agreement, a slim, tall, black-haired woman pushed into the crowd. She was dressed the same as the other shandorians, but she was equipped with a high powered rifle on her back. One would automatically assume she is a warrior also.
"I'd say lets' hear them out more. It would definitely help to finally take that tyrant down for good and reclaim our homeland back." She spoke up as her porcelain face came into view.
"Shut it Laki! We don't need help from these weak blue sea dwellers!" Wiper hissed.
"And yet they easily dealt with you," Laki retorted. Wiper's anger only grew in response.
"Ouch. That had to hurt," Zoro slightly flinched as he was attempting to hold in a laugh.
…...
(Inside Charon's Hand)
When Sanji, Nami, Usopp, Gin, and Nojiko entered Charon's Hand, Nojiko was expecting a quaint weapons shop, not what looked like a machine parts store. Pagaya entered a minute later and immediately went to the front desk and rang the bell. Two minutes later a woman emerged from the garage door.
The woman in question was a staggering 275 cm with purple waist-length hair, folded down wings, and a figure that rivals Boa Hancock's. All-in-all she was very beautiful if it wasn't for the dirt and grime covering her and the coveralls she was wearing.
"Pierogi, it's good to see you," Pagaya said to the woman.
"That's Charlotte Pierogi?!" Sanji exclaimed while trying to hold a nosebleed
Unfortunately for Sanji, that was not the name to call her, and to bring that point across, threw a dial she picked up from behind the counter at Sanji. When it landed on him, the force of the dial resembled an Impact Dial and launched Sanji towards the wall. While that would normally put an ordinary man into a coma, Sanji immediately got up with a large bloody smile on his face, which disgusted Pierogi.
"Why?" he rasped, still smiling.
"It's VOLTA Pierogi," She exclaimed to the crew, "And yes before you ask, I am a Charlotte by blood, NOT NAME!" she screamed.
She turned her attention to Pagaya, who was flushed at the display of anger from Pierogi, "I'm sure you're here for the shipment of Dials that came last week."
"Yes-yes I am," he stuttered
"Mom, I need that crate of Dials with 'Wave Rider' written on it," Pierogi said, "With that out of the way what can I do for you?"
"We were told you can modify weapons and vehicles," stated Nojiko.
"Why yes. Here at Charon's Hand, we have everything for your machine and weapon needs. What do you have in mind?"
Nojiko put her sword on the counter and Pierogi's smile widened further.
"Ah the infamous Metallum Serpens or as the Skypeians call Isa," Pierogi said performing a demonstration swing of said sword.
"I thought you were Skypeian," Nojiko asked with a tone of curiosity.
"Nope, I'm Birkan. Anyway, I can clean up a few of the synchronization runes and strengthen the steel, along with any modifications I can think of along the way. Be back in an hour."
"Before you go back, how are you Charlotte by blood?" Nami asked
"Through my father, Charlotte Cracker. Happy now?" Pierogi said disappearing into the workshop with Isa. Leaving quickly, she failed to notice Nami's horrified look as she remembered the wicked man.
With that, the crew paid for what they brought. Gin bought some new holsters for his daggers, Usopp brought some dials and vehicle designs, which included aircraft, as well as shipbuilding equipment. Even though he knows Merry won't survive after Water 7, he will still do his best to care for her. Nojiko bought some accessories that she could tailor into anyone's outfit.
Within the hour, Pagaya got his crate from a 180 cm, middle-aged woman with platinum blonde hair, folded down wings, and in attire that made her resemble Rosie the Riveter.
"Here's your package, Pagaya," she sang, for her voice was akin to a melody.
"Thank you, Hera," he replied with a slight blush.
"Pierogi will return with your sword shortly," Hera said to Nojiko as she returned to the workshop.
Two minutes later…..
Pierogi came out with Isa in one hand and a bag of custom Dials in the other.
"So, how did you know I was a Charlotte to begin with?" Pierogi asked with a tone of indifference.
"You know someone named Charlotte Tiramisu?" Nojiko asked
Pierogi scoffed at the mention of the name. She didn't say anything after that as she knew her name would come out of his mouth eventually, being the only Charlotte she talks to. With a small smile she handed Nojiko her sword and a small instruction manual and Usopp the bag of Dials and bid the crew farewell with a wave of her hand.
A while after they exited, they heard some noise at the docks, so they headed there. They found Zoro, Robin and Chopper in the dial boat, followed by all the Shandian warriors nearing the docks and the White Berets freaking out. Nojiko calmed them down saying they were not going to attack them, while Ussop blew Gan Fall's whistle before shooting a flare in the sky. Just as the Strawhats reunited at the docks, Gan Fall arrived, taken back by the gathering of all the people in the sky.
"What is happening here?" he questioned, getting off Pierre.
"Well, I gathered everyone here for a declaration. Tomorrow I am going to defeat Enel, and his execution will be tomorrow night!" Luffy declared loudly.
Everyone was shocked. Jaws on the floor, eyes two feet in front of their owners and silence. When they snapped out of their trance due to a beam starting above the crazy group of people willing to fight a god. They screamed and ran back to their homes as quickly as they could. After they heard the thunderclap, one by one they filed out of their houses to see the dead people who dared defy god, only to find them completely fine, with the one in a straw hat, the green-haired man and the blond all holding their hands up in an open palm in a triangle with their backs to each other and everyone around them unaffected by lightning.
"See? He's weak. He can't hurt us," Luffy picked off where he left. "Here is another demonstration, Nami!"
Sanji and Luffy put their hands down as thunder clouds came to life above them and electrocuted the three men. After the dust settled, the people could see Luffy and Zoro fine, and although charred, Sanji was still standing.
Luffy pointed to Sanji saying, "See, even without using his skills he can withstand it, Zoro demonstrated his skills, too, by not getting hurt, but me? I don't need to do anything, I will always be fine against lightning. So, tomorrow we will release a flare like today in Upper Yard before the execution by an hour, so come watch, after that I have an offer for everyone here. See ya tomorrow." he finished the speech, "Let's go to the Merry and head to Upper Yard, guys. Conis, I need you to blow that crab whistle thingy when we go to the ship, after we board the ship, do you understand?" he commanded.
Conis nodded silently, intimidated by the change of attitude, from goofy to commanding, and his presumably great power that rivals even god's own. Not to mention she was sweating vigorously because apparently he knew all along that she was going to betray them. With that in mind, she did as he ordered in fear for her life.
"Shandians and Old Knight Guy, you can meet us near the altar later tonight." Luffy called out to them while leaving.
(A Couple Hours Later)
The ship was atop the altar with the nine Strawhats and two marines on it. The ship took no damage on the way due to the passengers' efforts.
"What is this place?" Tashigi asked.
"Sacrificial Altar, don't worry Tashigi-swan I will protect you~" Sanji sing-songed.
"No thanks," she deadpanned.
"The string guy should come soon, who wants to fight him?" Chopper asked.
"He's not," Zoro replied, "All the priests are with Enel right now. He seemed to have calmed down a little," he motioned to the now clear-of-thunderclouds sky, "So, I'm going to take a walk." He walked over to a vine, pulled it free and swung over to the other side, "AH-AH AH-," he yelled Tarzan fashion.
"Wait for us!" Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper shouted, following him in the same Tarzan fashion.
"LUFFY! If you find Nola bring me the gold!" Nami shouted with berri eyes.
"ALRIGHT!" he shouted back.
"I'll be going as well," Robin said.
"Can I join you? I'd like to explore too." Tashigi asked Robin, watching Smoker leave in the opposite direction of the Strawhats with a grunt.
"Of course, Zoro's mistress." Robin teased.
"I-I, uh, we-" she kept choking on her words, face beet red. Robin ignored her and started swinging on the vine, waiting for her on the other side. She followed the older woman hurriedly.
Nojiko and Gin were going to follow them but felt a dark presence behind them. Turning around slowly, only to find Sanji standing with a sickly sweet smile, "Sorry Nojiko-chan. You, Nami-swan and the idiot ape here are going to be training with me, Captain's orders. Don't worry the others will have their fair share before the feast." he decreed. Gin and Nojiko's faces were drained of color and had fear-stricken expressions on them.
Ten minutes later, the four were standing in a clearing near the shore, the altar just in sight. Sanji started, "So right now, we're going to work on speed and some teamwork, so we're going to play tag." Sanji took in the deadpanned expressions in stride as he continued, "This was Luffy's idea actually, you three are a team and I'm on my own. In order to tag a person, you have to touch his back. Being 'it' will change every 10 minutes, if I touch anyone's back, that person loses a half a point, meaning two tags for one point for me, but if someone touches my back, everyone gains a point. We'll do that for an hour here, then another hour in the forest with obstacles and for adapting to such terrain with many obstacles. By the time we're done, the number of points you lost is the number of sets you'll get for strength training with the shitty marimo. I'm sorry ladies, but Luffy specifically ordered me not to target Gin and let you off easy, so please forgive me."
"Leave it to Luffy to make a game of tag a torturing exercise," muttered Nami.
"Also I will be using Observation Haki, so you need to tune up your senses and don't only use your eyes, listen to and feel your surroundings."
"Now that is just unfair, Sanji!" Nojiko objected.
"Sorry, Nojiko my dear, but fear not I will personally punish the rubber idiot for this, although I am more than happy to be with you lovely ladies."
"Let's go, I'm it!" he announced before disappearing in a blur.
Suffice it to say the next two hours were hell for the legs of the three straw hats. The monster trio taking it easy with sparring on purpose was excruciating, but trying to keep up with Sanji when he was deliberately using speed just above your level, and increasing it as you push your limit was much harsher on their muscles.
In the beginning, they were losing points left, right and center, and couldn't lay a hand on him, but that didn't last. They started moving together, with their movements getting better and better until they were like a well-oiled machine. Nami knowing how to perform shave helped their teamwork by leaps and bounds because Sanji was simply too fast. Nojiko and Gin also tried to get a handle on it too, but they weren't able to succeed every time, and when they did they couldn't control their speed. Not to mention the leg strain was a massive bitch. Sanji wasn't a complete gentleman apparently, because every time they gained a point he upped his speed a little, the only one noticing was Nami, but by then it was late in their training. By the last 30 minutes, Nami's legs started straining too. Of course, by that time Nojiko and Gin were ready to throw the towel but they all persevered till the end.
Sanji didn't let them off in terms of speed, but he did make more noise, in general, to stimulate them in focusing more on their hearing a little. A louder than necessary step here, or using more movements than necessary there coupled with a not so graceful landing helped them react a second faster.
When they finished, Gin and Nojiko lost 23 points each, while Nami lost 18, mainly because she covered their blind spots but they were too exhausted to cover hers. They gained 13 points with Nami bringing in 6, Gin 4 and Nojiko 3. This left Nami with 5 sets of strength training and Gin and Nojiko both with 10.
After they rested for 30 minutes and had some of Sanji's refreshments, Sanji told Nojiko to do the drills and katas Zoro taught her, while he showed Gin some kicks and techniques that he could incorporate in his fighting style. After making sure Gin understood the basics and had the right idea and did a few trial runs slowly, Sanji went off to do his own armament haki training.
Earlier during the demonstration, when he repelled Enel's lightning beam, he got it right, the second level of armament haki, but he didn't have a 100% success rate like Zoro and Luffy. He had two hours before he needed to prep for the banquet.
(1 Hour 30 minutes before, with Robin and Tashigi)
As the three unfortunate souls were troubled with their hellish training, Tashigi was facing a completely different but still very uncomfortable trial.
She was suddenly thrown into the madness of the original timeline and it was already staggering, but now she was mysteriously sent back in time by the most intelligent lunatic in the history of the world, and she had to act as if everything was normal. Not to mention that she was on an island in the sky of all things. With pirates. With pirates. With pirates she had no intention of capturing. As if that's not enough, she's being teased by said pirates about being in a relationship with that green haired arrogant oaf. Her! An upstanding MARINE!
She immediately picked up on Zoro's aura which almost completely overwhelmed her. She was certain he was suppressing it, like in the previous timeline, only more heavily now. She was suddenly back on Punk Hazard, staring up that big mountain she wanted to climb so much but knew she couldn't. Oh, that one-eyed smug handsome face annoyed the shit out of her! The problem now is that she didn't see that vision anymore, now she was a helpless little girl and the mountain was buried in snow with spikes all over it.
She had some harsh training waiting for her if she wanted that beautiful white sword.
Her coming back from the future coupled with the training she went through with those people, she was able to unlock her Observation Haki again fairly quickly. She was able to tap into it while trying to find the Straw Hats at Jaya. Unfortunately, her Haki wasn't as strong as it was in the future so she was only able to hear everything that was in her vicinity.
'This strength… it's stronger than several Vice Admirals at once! What kind of training has that man been through and for how long?' She thought to herself, not for the first time and definitely not the last, both in admiration to a fellow swordsman and in irritation due to him being far stronger than her now. Thanks to her lack of concentration,they both bumped into each other. Tashigi's face flared up in a bright tomato red as she almost lost consciousness due to what Zoro was wearing. He, Luffy, Usopp and Chopper came into view with nothing but loincloths on.
"See Zoro? This is a man's romance! This is what life is all about." Luffy grinned as he laughed in triumph.
Robin had a smirk on her face as she admired her male crewmembers' physiques, mainly Luffy and Zoro, having no qualms in watching them shamelessly as opposed to her female companion. She also thought Chopper was cute.
….
Tashigi woke up confused. She was set aside with her back against a log with Shigure on the ground beside her. She tried to remember why she was sleeping in the forest, but turned red once again.
"You know you have to stop being flustered so easily right?" a gruff voice said next to her. Her neck snapped to it, hand reaching for her sword, only to see Zoro sitting on rock by her right, observing her with an unamused look after taking a swig of sake.
Tashigi stiffened, suddenly uncomfortable with his scrutiny and the intensity of his gaze. "Wh-what do you mean?"
"I mean I can't understand how you were an officer in the navy and faint after seeing a man in a loincloth. Or was it me?" he teased with a smirk.
"NO! I-I-I j-just, I mean I was, yes, I was blindsided with all you naked pirates all of a sudden!" she refuted with a much fainter blush.
His smirk grew a little. Roronoa Zoro was not a sadist, but he did take pleasure in embarrassing his late friend's doppelganger once he got over her looks. He did draw comparisons and understood that maybe she didn't act like his friend that much. Their dreams were different, not to mention Kuina was borderline cocky, while Tashigi had some serious confidence issues, always out to prove something.
"Why the sudden friendliness? You and Smoker used to take any and all chances to try and capture us, what, you think it's hopeless cause we're stronger than you? Never stopped you before."
Tashigi lost all traces of embarrassment, expression morphing to an uncharacteristically blank one. Zoro raised a questioning eyebrow, after not receiving a vehement reply about how she isn't or wasn't weaker than him and seeing the serious and careful expression on the normally descriptive face. He somehow knew she was choosing her next words carefully. "We are not on the same side," there was no malice in her voice, just stating a fact, "The last sighting of Strawhat Luffy and the Strawhat Pirates was after the attempt on Yonko Big Mom's life, so am I correct in assuming that Vegapunk managed to send you back in time around that time?" He nodded. "That is about time world affairs started going downhill." Zoro narrowed his eyes at the cryptic response.
"What do you mean, downhill?" he inquired.
"Let's just say that from what we've seen, your band of pirates are hardly on our danger list, in fact we might need your help in the future. That does not however change the fact that we are marines and you are pirates, opposite sides that are always meant to clash. And you bet your ass I'll catch you the next time I see you!"
Zoro smirked, liking the determined look on her face. He filed away that information for a talk with Luffy. Hopefully, they could come up with a plan to make Smoker spill the beans on the situation in the original timeline and possibly this one in the future.
He took another swig from his bottle and stood up. "Let's head back,"he said. Tashigi's face heated up again, finally noticing that he had put his green coat on his shoulders while his tanned, toned and muscular body was still in full view, loincloth included. She scrambled to stand up, looking everywhere but him making him laugh as he walked 'back' in a completely wrong direction.
(At the Sacrificial Altar)
an hour after sunset, the preparations were done. Food and drinks were being laid out on a large table that took up most of Merry's deck. The ship was packed with their guests, the Shandian warriors, Gan Fall, Conis, Pagaya, and Tashigi. Of course the crew members were present, though some were more worn out than others.
Nami and Ussop were exhausted but fine, bar the welts on Ussops body that suggested being hit by projectiles. Nojiko and Gin were ragged and energy depleted, so aside from muscle aches, body fatigue and the motionless limbs they were okay.
Chopper and Robin were in the worst state though. Their arms and legs were covered in bandages, shoulders slumped and glassed over eyes that wanted nothing but rest. There were a few stares accompanied with whispers from the Shandians that witnessed their private training session with Luffy. The warriors that were done being shocked that is.
Needless to say, the felt safer now, knowing these people were on their side.
"What's with the buffet?" one of the Shandians asked.
"We're having a pre-battle feast," Luffy said with a happy tone.
"Like a tailgate party?" another Shandian asked.
Sanji was finishing laying down the food while wondering how a Shandian knows about a tailgate party.
"Well, it isn't a game of Ullamaliztli, but I'm sure we can get some fun out of this," Braham said while carrying a few kegs of an unknown alcoholic drink to the feast table.
"Sanji! MEAT! Let's get this party started!" Luffy shouted, raising a bottle of rum in the air. He received approving cheers from his guests as the last of the food was served. Thus, the pre-battle feast was in full swing; well, as full swing as it was going to get without a proper musician, namely a perverted skeleton.
"Hey, Where's Smoker?" Tashigi asked.
"Oh don't worry about Smokey. He's having fun somewhere else. In the meantime, how about you go and cheer up your… rival." Luffy smirked as he pointed at Zoro who was seemingly about to lose a drinking contest to Nami. Nojiko was on Nami's right side trying to cheer her on while Gin and Usopp were chanting "Beat that witch" and surprisingly, Robin decided to join in the fray to encourage Nami. Sanji was busy trying to cook and flirt with Laki at the same time. As some time passed, Nojiko began to wander amongst the party and caught the attention of a fellow warrior.
"I didn't know this crew had so many beautiful women in their ranks." The woman known as Laki spoke as she stepped into Nojiko's personal space. Nojiko's face was beet red at this point.
"Thank y-you." Nojiko almost choked on her response due to the suddenness of Laki's statement.
"I'm sorry for startling you. I was amazed by the new beauty that presented itself to us. Unknown blue sea dwellers who appeared out of nowhere proclaiming to take down God Eneru and 3 of your strongest members aren't damaged by any of God's attacks?! Your crew is pretty amazing. Is there something special you can do?" Laki asked genuinely with much curiosity in her eyes.
"How about I show you in battle how good I am? Rumor has it there's a tough guy who likes hurting women on this island and I'm dying to get my hands on him." Nojiko brimmed with determination and anger.
"Well then. I simply can't ignore that offer." Laki smirked seductively at Nojiko. As the two women were conversing with each other, Wiper sat on a stump and looked on in slight amusement. It's been a while since he saw his people sprout general views of Joy and tranquility.
"I got money on those two hooking up in a couple months." Luffy pointed as he sat down next to Wiper but he wasn't fast enough to avoid a punch from Nami.
"Idiot." Nami gritted her teeth as her face with embarrassment
"You know for someone who is supposed to be weak, you sure hit harder than my grandpa." Luffy groaned as he rubbed his face. Wiper was completely confused about what just happened, but for some odd reason, he enjoyed this little spectacle.
"You know…. I'm looking for the best of the best to sail on my ship. You look like you have that look or ambition. How about joining my crew?" Luffy asked with the look of "No! I don't accept that answer!" evident on his face.
"Here we go adding more hoodlums into our group. Well I guess it won't hurt having some skypeians as our family." Nami smiled at the thought
…...
(With Smoker)
Several hours as the party died down, there was one person who didn't attend the party. Smoker was in deep contemplation going through the Upper Yard when he encountered a wrecked glider-like craft hanging from a web of strings. He went over to examine it, turning to smoke whenever a string made contact, as hard as iron he noted to himself. When he reached it he lit his lighter to have a little more light in the dark forest, it was just enough to see the aircraft and evaluate its condition.
It was a one-seater, half-metal, half-wood monoplane, with a missing engine. It had scratches all over, from the strings he realized, and a stab or pierce mark on the right wing at the center of what he can only assume was damage due to overheating, but it wasn't from a live flame like he assumed the soot on the hood was. No, whatever damaged that wing was something hot and it wasn't cooling down at all.
Now, Smoker wasn't a mechanic per se, but he liked to think of himself as an enthusiast when it came to moving vehicles. Not an expert in any way, but he learned some basics to keep his Billower Bike well maintained and functional. It was mainly in the East Blue that he actually used it. When he ventured into the Grandline, ignoring orders and chasing after the Strawhats, he didn't have time, space or need to use it in the open seas. Even at dockings, it became scarce, although he still took care of it from time to time, it wasn't a whole lot. What with his 'screw-up' in Alabasta and his promotion, he got swamped and the guys at the top brass were on his ass more than before. Psh, stuck up assholes. By the time he entered the New World, he couldn't use it anymore.
But this aircraft. If he could fix this, understand the whole dial thing and implement a kind of motor that's powered by his smoke fruit, like his bike, then he would have one self-sufficient, smoke powered aircraft that was very usable and possibly battle-friendly vehicle on his hands. It would be faster than the Billower Bike, with more mobility.
Just as a semblance of a smile graced his grouchy features upon his discovery and the initialization of his flying plans, Smoker's Haki picked up two presences approaching him, fast. He turned around as he dissolved to smoke just in time to see a pretty big bird and it's rider holding lance aimed to skewer his back.
He materialized a few meters back, as the bird took to the air again, when it reached about 10 meters up, it stayed in its spot and kept on flapping its wings.
"Get ready for god's judgment, ignorant blue sea dweller."
…
So how do you guys like the arc so far? Trust me when I say I'm overwhelmed with excitement. When i tell you guys i didn't think this type of story wouldn't work out but i sat back and said "I might as well give this a try"
Now here come more fight scenes and let's say the conversation will be heating up a little bit more. XD
Thanks to both of my Co-Authors Richy-senpai & Sokka-senpai for their superb writing. Their ideas and mine are always in sync. We will Sabody with time travel fic before the summer.
Hell here's another idea…. Still looking for another Co Author if you want to contribute to the story also. Let's make this one of the best One Piece time travel fanfic!
