Sanji stared at the waves, smoke lazily trailing towards the sky. So much had happened, and even though he'd watched it, he still couldn't believe it. He glanced to the side as Luffy sat next to him. "My crew and I are leaving here soon. Sure you don't wanna-"
"I ain't gonna be a pirate. I'm gonna stay here and be a cook. Until the day that damn geezer acknowledges my cooking." He sighed. "If you hadn't stepped in, who knows what would have happened. The cooks here are completely undependable, so this ship probably would have been taken over. I do wanna go to the grand line one of these days."
Luffy perked up. "Let's go now!"
"Not just yet though." He thought of the cruise ship he used to work on, grinning as he remembered the stories they used to tell him. "Hey…do you know about the all blue?"
The kid blinked. "No."
"What? You've never heard of the ocean of miracles? Well you see, the All Blue is every cooks dream! It's a place where fish from every ocean come together. Fish from the north blue, the south blue, the east blue, and the west blue!"
Luffy's eyes widened and he grinned, a bit of drool leaking out. "That sounds awesome!"
"It is! A sea like that has to be somewhere on the grand line! One day, I'm going to go out and find it!" He was going to keep going, but Patty's voice rang out from inside, telling them the food was ready. Standing, he tilted his head towards the door. "Let's go."
Jumping to his feet, Luffy followed. "Hey Sanji," He paused and turned back to look at the kid, finding a smile – just a bright as his normal ones yet somehow softer as well – directed at him. "Tell me more about the All Blue someday."
Sanji smiled and nodded. He opened the door to the dinning room and frowned. "Where's our seats?" He knew they had plenty of chairs for everyone, yet all the tables set up were full and there were no empty seats left.
Luffy poked his head in. "Where's the food?"
One of the cooks snorted as he ate. "Ain't no chairs for you."
The one next to him laughed. "Just eat on the floor!" He jerked a thumb to the side and Sanji looked over, finding the rest of Luffy's crew already there – even the green haired idiot, who should have been resting his injuries – sitting on the ground with some food.
He grit his teeth and glared at the rest of the cooks. "How dare you treat a lady like this!" The beautiful young woman shouldn't be forced to eat on the floor!
"It's fine Sanji!" His anger deflated at the sound of her voice, heart thumping loudly at the sight of her smile. He reluctantly took his tray and followed Luffy over to the others, joining their little circle.
He barely managed to take a bite before Patty stood up and demanded to know who was in charge of making the soup. Grinning, Sanji raised his hand. "That'd be me! Pretty good right? I made it especially g-"
"HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO EAT THIS CRAP?!" He smashed the bowl onto the ground, the soup splattering all over. "WHAT IS THIS, PIG FEED?!" Sanji felt his anger return full force and stood up. Not only had this bastard insulted his cooking, he'd also wasted some of it!
"Does proper human food not suit you, you dam racoon?"
"Ha! This is pure crap of the highest quality! Makes me wanna puke! Did you put actual shit in this or what?!"
"I'm perfectly confident about my soup. Maybe it's your damn tongue that's-" He was cut off as the rest of the cooks started gagging and spitting out mouthfuls of his soup, going as far as dumping what they had onto the ground. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE ALL DOING?!" His soup was delicious! How dare the waste it like this!
Patty crossed his arms and smirked at him. "You being the assistant head chef was always just a sham! It's only because you've been here the longest! I'm sick of your violent ways."
"If something tastes bad, then it's my right to say it's bad."
Sanji heard a crack as he clenched his jaw even tighter. "What did you-" The sound of a dish breaking had him turning. "Geezer!" The old man had tossed his bowl onto the ground.
"What's with this disgusting soup? Is it supposed to taste like sludge or what?! We'd go out of business if we served this to the customers!"
Sanji gripped the front of the old shit's coat. "Don't joke with me you damn geezer! How's this any different from the soup you make?! Well?! Speak up!"
"The soup I make?" Sanji grunted at the hit, crashing to the floor. "Don't get cocky! It's a hundred years too early for a lil' eggplant like you to be comparing my soup with yours! I've cooked all around the world!"
Sanji held his cheek where he'd been punched. Punched. The geezer always kicked him. He'd never use his hands to fight before. Glaring at the old shit, he got up and stormed out the door. "DAMN IT!" He sat outside the door, lighting a new cigarette and clenching his head in his hands.
"The soups pretty good if you ask me!" He let go of his head at the sound of Luffy's voice. At least someone had good taste.
"It's delicious!" He knew the beautiful young woman had good taste.
"It's some of the best I've ever tasted!" Even the long-nosed guy knew what he was talking about.
There was a bit of silence before the shitty cooks started talking. "Yeah, we know."
"That was scary. He sure was mad."
"Everyone here knows how good Sanji's cooking is." The geezer actually sounded proud. "But if we didn't do that, that idiot would never listen to us. Hey kid, would you mind…taking that lil' eggplant with you? Take him to the grand line. It's his dream." Sanji's eyes widened and he brought his knees up, resting his forehead on them as the cooks all started yelling about how they wanted more of his soup.
"I can hear you…you bastards…"
"Take Sanji along?" He rested his head against the door. Just what Luffy wanted. "Don't wanna." He blinked in surprise. The kid had been begging him to join every day for the past four days! Why the hell was he resisting now?
"What's the meaning of this? Didn't you want a cook for your ship?! What, are you not satisfied with him?"
"No, it's not like I'm dissatisfied or anything. I do want him to come along with me, but he said he wants to stay here and be a cook." So the idiot did listen. "So even if you tell me to take him with me, I'm not gonna."
"So you won't accept unless he says it himself?"
"Yup. More soup."
"…Well, you do have a good point. But the problem is whether that rebellious brat will be honest with himself or not. It's impossible! He's too hard headed for his own good."
"More soup." Sanji slumped slightly. The stupid old geezer.
"Why don't you just tell him that?" The young woman's voice was music to his ears.
"You don't think I tried? That brat thinks he has to stay here because of what happened in the past. He has some misguided sense of debt. He's too stubborn to realize the best way to repay me is to go out and chase his dream." Sanji squeezed his eyes shut, holding back his tears.
"You can try telling him now. He's been waiting outside the door this whole time." Sanji jumped. How the hell had Luffy known he was there? He tilted his head back and looked up when the door opened, meeting the geezer's gaze.
"So…you wanted to kick me out that badly, huh? Is that right, you damn geezer?"
The geezer huffed. "That's exactly right, lil' eggplant. I've always hated brats. There hasn't been a single day when I didn't regret saying a brat like you."
"Ha…whatever you say, geezer. Enjoy the few years you have left." Standing up, he turned towards Luffy and his crew. "I give up. I'll be the cook for your ship."
Luffy stared at the destroyed village in silence as they passed by. "That was Gosa." He glanced towards Nami who was shaking, her right hand clutching he left shoulder so hard her knuckles were white. Sanji was next to her, with Zoro on his left and Usopp next to him. "This is what Arlong does when someone goes against him or can't pay their tribute."
"Tribute?" Usopp asked.
"It's money everyone is forced to pay every month. They have to buy their lives – adults, kids, doesn't matter. If even one person can't pay it, Arlong will destroy the entire village. He's going to use that money to turn the whole East Blue into the Arlong Empire."
"But that would include my hometown too!"
Zoro smacked the back of Usopp's head. "That would mean all our hometowns."
"So what's the plan?" Sanji took one last drag of his cigarette before flicking it into the ocean and pulling out a new one.
Nami folded her arms. "We'll dock at Cocoyashi and pick up all the beli I have saved. We'll bring it to Arlong Park and I'll buy back my village and cut ties with Arlong before heading to the grand line."
Zoro tapped the hilt of his sword. "Even if you buy back your village, what's to stop Arlong from destroying it or just taking it over again?"
Usopp frowned. "And what about the rest of our hometowns? If we don't do anything he'll take them over as well!"
"What else can we do?! Arlong is a fishman! His bounty is twenty million! That's three million more than Krieg!"
"Don't worry Nami-swan! I'll protect you!"
"Luffy?" He glanced towards Zoro. "You're the captain. What do you want to do?"
He put his hand on his hat, tilting it down over his eyes as he remembered the burning and the screams. He remembered the pain of watching the people he cared about die. Dadan and the bandits drowning in lava, their screams worse than anything he'd heard before. Makino crying as she tried to reach for him, falling to the ground of the boat as a bullet tore through her instead.
"Luffy?" Usopp's voice was worried.
He remembered waking up and wishing he hadn't. He remembered the way the ground tore at his fingers as he slowly dug the graves. He let go of his hat and clutched at the wound on his chest as he remembered the pain tearing at him as he kept going – pushing himself when he should have been resting. He remembered the helpless feeling washing over him when he realized there was nothing he could do because he was too weak. He was always too weak. First with Sabo, then with Dadan and Makino. Too weak to save them.
"Luffy?" Sanji's voice was confused.
He wasn't weak anymore. He'd gotten stronger. Stronger, and stronger, and stronger, and stronger. Strong enough to protect the people he cared about. Nobody was ever going to take away one of him precious people again. He wasn't going to lose anyone else. He wouldn't let his friends go through the same pain of losing the people they loved as he had.
"Luffy?" Nami placed a hand on his arm, and he looked at her. She'd lost enough already.
Taking a deep breath, he forced the memories away and turned from the destroyed town. "If this Arlong guy wants to take over the East Blue, he's going to have to go through me first."
Nami felt like he world was crashing down around her. Just when she'd managed to collect all the money she needed, this happened. She fell to her knees and squeezed her eyes shut, hands balling into fists. "Genzo…" First Bellemere, and now Genzo. How many more people did Arlong need to take from her before he was satisfied? Why couldn't he have waited just a little longer? Just one more day and she would have been there with the money. One more day and they would have been free.
"He's not dead yet, right?" She looked up at Luffy, his face unreadable.
Nojiko wiped her eyes. "No, but his chances aren't good. Arlong practically broke his neck. The doctor is surprised he managed to survive in the first place."
Luffy reached up and took off his straw hat, placing it on Nami's head. "He hasn't given up his will to live yet. Wait until he's dead to mourn him."
Tears started falling from her eyes as she reached up and gripped the rim of the old hat. It was just an old hat, but it made her feel better. Like nothing bad was going to happen anymore. "Luffy…can you beat him?" He nodded. Her lower lip trembled. "I don't want him to hurt anyone else. Please…help me…"
He smiled gently and turned towards the others. "Let's go." Nami watched as they left, still clutching onto the strawhat she'd been entrusted with. Arlong was a fishman. No human could beat him. She'd always believed that. But watching Luffy and the others march away to confront him, she couldn't help but feel that they could do it. I'm strong. Luffy's words rang in her mind. Wiping her eyes, she forced herself to her feet and ran after them. She wasn't going to wallow in pity and grief while they went to fight the monster that had tormented her for the past eight years.
She was weak compared to Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji, but that didn't mean she was useless. She would confront her demons, and she would finally break free of her chains.
Zoro and the others stopped a few feet from the large doors, letting their captain walk the rest of the way on his own. Pulling back his fist, Luffy braced himself before throwing it forward as hard as he could, sending the doors crashing inside. Zoro silently raised an eyebrow. Luffy hadn't even used that haki stuff that made him stronger. That was pure strength right there. "Who's the one, called Arlong?"
A fishman sitting in a large chair answered. "Arlong? That would be my name…"
"I'm Luffy." His captain continued walking forward, heading straight for Arlong.
"Luffy? I see…and just what the hell are you?"
"A pirate." Two other fishmen tried to stop Luffy, but his captain just bashed their skulls together and kept going.
"What does a pirate want with me?"
Rather than answer, Luffy pulled back his fist and punched Arlong hard enough to send him crashing through the back wall. He glanced to his side when Nami's breath hitched, finding her eyes wide before a small smile came over her face. Zoro couldn't see Luffy's face, but he could feel his captain's anger rolling off him in waves. "Don't you dare, make my navigator cry!" Nami looked close to tears again, but she managed to hold them in and her smile widened.
Zoro turned away and rushed towards his captain along with the idiot cook as the rest of the fishmen charged, Usopp and Nami behind them. He wasn't as good at using a single sword, but he was good enough to stop these weaklings. He knocked his captain on the back of the head with his sword sheath. "What did I tell you about leaving some for me?"
"You're still hurt. I can take these guys."
"That's not the point dumbass." He glanced at the shitty cook. "We're your crew. Moss head might be too weak to fight, but I ain't. So don't try and hog all the glory to yourself."
"What was that you crappy cook?" Zoro's eyebrow twitched. Who the hell was he calling moss head?
Swirly brow glared at him. "I said you're useless here you cripple."
Pain suddenly blossomed on the back of his head and he turned to glare at Nami. "Both of you shut up!"
Arlong sat up from the rubble. "Pirates huh…I see…so that's how you're all related." He slowly stood up again. "So your goal from the very beginning, was only to get Nami, is that it?" He started laughing, and Zoro noticed Nami tensed at the sound. "Just what could you measly humans do?!"
The octopus guy glared at them all and put his hand around his long mouth. "You idiots! As if Arlong would fight the likes of you! I'll turn you all into fish food! Come out, beast!" He made a noise like a trumpet and Zoro turned towards the water along with the others as it started moving. "Come out, Mohmoo!"
A large sea monster that looked like a cow rose out of the water. Zoro readied his sword as the cow made to lunge at them, but Luffy held his hand out in a silent command for him to stop. His captain glared at the sea monster. "Get lost." His voice was quiet, but there was an undertone of steel that left no room for disagreement. The cow started sweating before it slowly backed up, turned around, and promptly fainted. All the fishmen were silent, their eyes disbelieving at what had just happened. "Zoro, take out the underlings and then protect Nami."
He frowned. He was fine. "Luffy-"
"You're hurt. Fighting someone strong could reopen your wound." Zoro grit his teeth but consented. His captain sent him a small smile. "I'll make sure to save you someone stronger to fight next time." He pulled out his staff and assembled it before holding it out to Nami. "Your wooden one won't do much here. Use mine for now."
She hesitated. "What about you?"
Luffy's grin didn't have a trace of it's normal warmth as he smile at her. "I'll be fine." Nami slowly nodded and let her wooden staff fall to the ground before she wrapped her hands around Luffy's. Her eyes widened and she nearly dropped it when he let go. Zoro could see her arms shaking slightly as she lifted it. "Is it too heavy?"
Nami grit her teeth and shook her head. "If it's only for a little bit, I can handle it." Luffy nodded and turned his attention back to Arlong.
Zoro took note of their surroundings and frowned. With enemies all around and only one sword, it'd be harder to protect Nami in their current position. He looked around for a better vantage point and quietly nudged their navigator. "When they attack, we'll make our way to the gates." It would make sure the fishmen couldn't attack from behind while also making sure they couldn't escape that way. Nami nodded just as the fishmen regained their bearings and charged.
Zoro fought them off as he and Nami made their way to the gates. The navigator was stumbling as she swung Luffy's staff, but she managed to stay on her feet. Those she hit either took a while to get up or stayed down. He was actually a little impressed. She was stronger than she looked. With the right amount of training, she could become a decent fighter.
It wasn't long, however, before she started to tire and her hits became sloppy and weak. He took down the opponent in front of him and blocked a strike aimed at her head. "Damn annoying pests. If I had my other two swords I could have finished them all by now."
"Zoro, cover me for a second!" He frowned but did as asked. He kept one eye on her as he fought and grinned when he saw her going for one of the downed fishman's swords. "Here!" He happily caught them and placed his Wado Ichimonji in his mouth. He prepared one of his three sword style techniques just as Usopp ran by screaming. One of the stronger fishmen was chasing him but paused as he caught sight of Nami. The fishman didn't get a chance to say anything before he was hit with a miniature explosion that did nothing but piss him off further, chasing after the long-nose and threatening murder.
He didn't have time to worry about that as the rest of the fishmen charged. He got back into his stance and readied his swords. "Tatsu…Maki!" The fishmen surrounding them were caught up in the whirlwind, cuts forming along their bodies as they were carried away. He stayed on guard in case any of them got back up but clicked his tongue in disappointment when they didn't so much as twitch. He dropped the two borrowed swords and sheathed the Wado Ichimonji as a new wave of pain from the wound Mihawk had given him rose up. His vision blurred slightly and he leaned his weight against the intact part of the wall, sliding down to sit for a while.
"I knew you weren't as healed as you made it seem!" Nami pulled back the top of his shirt and gently laid her hand against his chest. He grunted, but was thankful she didn't slap it. "I think that attack took them all out, so just stay here and rest for a bit. Sanji's dealing with Kuroobi, and Usopp lead Chuu somewhere. Hachi was taken out, but I didn't see who did it, and you took out everyone else."
"Where's Luffy?"
Nami turned her gaze towards the large tower. "Luffy threw him into the building earlier, and they're still inside. I don't know what's happening."
Zoro frowned as something came flying out of the top of the building. "The hell is that?" He squinted. "A desk?" He glanced at Nami. She was staring up at the falling desk with wide eyes.
"Luffy…?" There was another crash and more things came flying out of the tower. Broken furniture smashed into the ground or went crashing into the water while paper was blown all over by the wind. He didn't get it, but Nami fell to her knees and put one hand over her mouth, tears leaking from her eyes. There was a pause in the random things being thrown out of the room before something came flying out of the top of the tower, knocking the flag to the ground.
Zoro had a feeling of dread. "Oh crap." He struggled to his feet, grabbing Nami and hauling her up too. "We gotta get out of here." He ran for the exit, thankful he'd chosen a location close to it, just as the building cracked. When it started coming down, he shoved Nami to the ground and landed on top of her, shielding her from any debris. He grunted in pain as a large chunk landed on his lower back, but didn't move until the sound of the building collapsing stopped.
Pushing himself to his feet, he turned towards the destroyed building. For a moment, there was no movement, but eventually Luffy stood up from the wreckage. He was covered in a layer of dirt and dust, and his shirt was ripped a little around his left side, but other than that he didn't appear to be injured at all. "NAMI!" Zoro glanced at their navigator. "YOU'RE MY CREWMATE, GOT IT?!" She started crying, a large smile on her face, as she nodded.
Luffy couldn't help but laugh at the face Zoro was making. Even though he'd only let Zoro fight the weak members, he'd still managed to pull a few of his stitches. The doctor was lecturing him and telling him how lucky he was he hadn't caused more damage than he did. "Don't you all have a doctor on your ship?"
"A doctor? That's a good idea. But we need a musician first."
Nami groaned while Usopp sighed. Sanji just lit another cigarette. Zoro barked out a laugh. "Why's that?"
"Because pirates gotta sing, you know."
The doctor finished up with Zoro and turned to him. "Alright boy, don't think I didn't see those wounds of yours. Take your shirt off and let me see how bad it is."
Luffy blinked and tilted his head. Wounds? He thought back to his fight before smacking his fist onto his palm. "Oh yeah, that shark guy bit me." He forgot. "I'm okay. I just need some meat and I'll be good as new!"
The doctor frowned at him. "That's not how it works! Even if they don't need stitches you should at least bandage them so they don't get infected! Take off your shirt and let me see."
Luffy shrugged and started undoing the buttons on his vest. Makino had always told him to listen to what the doctor says. This one was ripped anyway. He tossed it on the back of the chair he was sitting on and turned to the doctor, frowning when he didn't move. "I thought you were gonna look at the bite mark."
Zoro let out a grunt. "And I thought my scar looked bad."
"How are you still alive?" Luffy looked down and absently traced the scar on his chest. It was a reminder of everything he'd lost, and a reminder of the promise he'd sworn. If he ever crossed paths with that magma bastard again, he'd pay him back for everything he did.
"Luffy?" Coming out of his thoughts, he looked up. His crewmates were staring at him and his scar with a mixture of worry and sadness. "What…what happened?"
Luffy put his right hand on top of his hat, sliding it forward enough to cover his eyes. "I told you. My village was destroyed. Everyone was killed." He stood up and grabbed his vest, shrugging it back on and redoing the buttons as he made his way towards the exit. He'd be fine even without the bandages. Besides, he could smell something delicious outside and he was starving.
Usopp stared at the flyer that had fallen out of the newspaper. He blinked and rubbed his still burning eyes, sure he was seeing things. Reopening them, he focused back on the flier. Still the same. Nami seemed to have shut down, her stare vacant and her mouth moving up and down with no words coming out.
Sanji took a drag of his cigarette, one eyebrow raised. Zoro wasn't around – probably off sleeping somewhere. Luffy was, of course, happy. He laughed as he held up the wanted poster. "We're wanted men now!" Usopp supposed it could be worse – the picture didn't really show Luffy's face. Just a side view of him laughing. It wasn't even the side with Luffy's scar under his eye. It could be anyone on that poster – so long as they had black hair, a large smile, and a strawhat. There was nothing – besides the hat – that was defining.
They didn't even have his name on the poster. It was just labeled strawhat.
Nami jerked a little as she came back to herself, snatching the poster from Luffy's hands and scanning it frantically. "It's real…" She fell back against the lounge chair she'd been resting in. "It's really real."
"All right! Let's head straight for the grand line!"
Usopp backed away as Nami shot to her feet and grasped Luffy's vest. "What did you do?" Luffy tilted his head in confusion. "What did you do?!" She waved her hand in the direction the wanted poster had fallen. "There's no way the marines would put a price that high on your head for defeating a few strong pirates! What did you do?!"
Luffy frowned in concentration as he thought. "I kicked that shark guy's ass…"
"You also beat Don Krieg," Usopp supplied.
"And Buggy," Nami added, letting Luffy go.
Zoro ambled over and sat against the railing, picking up the wanted poster and whistling slightly. "There was also that butler guy."
"But the marines thought he was dead." Nami held a fist to her forehead, thinking.
Usopp and the others looked to Luffy, whose face was starting to turn red. "There was that fat lady too…Coby said she was a pirate…"
Nami started ticking off her fingers. "Arlong, Krieg, Kuro, Buggy, and some other pirate."
"Don't forget about that marine base."
Usopp turned to Zoro. "What marine base?"
"There was a corrupt marine captain at a base, and Luffy kicked his ass and partly destroyed their base. May have killed the captain's bastard son too."
He paled. Luffy had killed someone? He knew the rubbery teen was a pirate, and his strength was terrifying, but Usopp couldn't see him actually killing anyone.
Sanji pulled out his cigarette and blew a stream of smoke. "What's the big deal? He took out basically every major player in the East Blue and got a high bounty for it."
Nami glared at him. "The average bounty for the East Blue is three million. Even taking out all the high-ranking pirates here wouldn't warrant a bounty this high! I've never heard of a starting bounty being so high!" She rounded on Luffy, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Tell me everything you did since you set out to be a pirate."
Luffy sat on the ground, arms folded over his chest. "I left my island and punched the Lord of the Coast before hiding in a barrel because my boat got sucked into a whirlpool." Usopp felt a headache coming on already. What was a Lord of the Coast and how did Luffy manage to get himself sucked into a whirlpool? "I woke up on another ship and found Coby and the fat lady. Coby and I took a small boat and found Zoro. I punched a marine and we left."
Zoro snorted but didn't say anything as Luffy continued. "I tried to eat a bird but the bird almost ate me. Someone shot me with a cannonball and I found Nami."
Nami held up her hand to stop him. "You then beat Buggy, and then Kuro, the Krieg, and then Arlong." She rubbed her temples.
Usopp propped his chin in his hand. "What about before you left?" Everyone turned to him. "Did you do anything before you left?"
Luffy paused for a second before he started sweating. He averted his eyes and laughed nervously. "Nope. Nothing. Not a thing." Usopp just stared for a bit, because really? He was so obviously lying that it hurt to watch.
"Luffy." Nami's voice was frosty and the rubber teen sucked his lips in, refusing to meet her eyes. "What did you do?"
Luffy squirmed under everyone's stares. He looked like a child in trouble with their parents. Finally he mumbled out, "I didn't mean to…"
Nami took a deep breath and held it for a moment before letting it out slowly. "Didn't mean to do what?"
Luffy played with his fingers. "I went to town to get some stuff I needed."
There was a moment of silence. "And?"
"I…overheard some of the nobles saying things about my village…"
Usopp's eyes drifted towards the terrible scar hidden under Luffy's shirt. Sanji took another drag of his cigarette. "So what happened?"
"I dumped all the trash they threw out into the streets when everyone went to sleep."
Zoro snorted and started laughing. "That's it? You dumped a bunch of trash in the street?"
Luffy laughed as well, but there was still the undertone of nervousness to it. "Yeah…"
Usopp crossed his arms and frowned. "So what else happened?"
Luffy stared at the deck and muttered, "It caught fire."
There was silence. "It caught fire," Nami repeated, voice devoid of emotion. Luffy nodded. "How?"
"I don't know! I didn't mean for it to destroy everything! I tried to put it out but it just got bigger and bigger! I had to run before the guards caught me!"
Nami put her head into her hands while Zoro and Sanji both started laughing. Usopp was torn between laughing and crying. One stupid mistake and now the rubbery teen jumped to the top of the East Blue's most wanted list. Bounty hunters from all over would be coming for his head. Strong ones too.
He copied Nami and let his head fall into his hands. They were going to die.
Ace stared at the wanted poster. He set it on the table, closed his eyes, and rubbed his temples. Obviously there was some kind of mistake. Taking a deep breath, he cracked an eye open and looked back down at the poster. Nothing had changed.
He couldn't even entertain the thought of it being someone else. While it didn't show his entire face, that was definitely Luffy. Or Strawhat as the government was calling him. He was proud that his little brother was finally making it as a pirate, but it had barely been two months since he'd have set sail. What the hell had he done to warrant such a high bounty?
He glanced up when people sat around him, not moving his hands from his temples. Thatch leaned over his left shoulder and whistled. "I'm impressed."
Marco shook his head. "Everyone'll be after him." Ace let his head fall onto the table. Of course Luffy would manage to get himself into this level of trouble in only a few months. It was Luffy.
"What's the matter Ace," Haruta was grinning at him, "Upset someone beat your starting bounty?"
He let out a strangled laugh. No, he wasn't upset. Proud, shocked, curious, and disbelieving yes, but not upset. He grinned up at the others. "I really shouldn't be surprised. It's Luffy."
Marco raised an eyebrow. "You know him?"
Sitting up straight, he grabbed the wanted poster again and held it up proudly, grin widening. "He's my little brother."
Shanks laughed in disbelief. Anchor sure had done it now. He couldn't wait to see how much he'd grown! "This calls for a celebration!" His crew cheered and broke out the booze, ignoring the fact most of them were still hungover from last night party. It wasn't every day their little Anchor got his first bounty after all.
Rayleigh laughed when Shakky showed him the wanted poster. That boy sure knew how to shake things up! Shakky leaned against the bar, smiling down at the piece of paper. "It's impressive. A starting bounty of one hundred million. I don't think anyone's managed that in quite some time."
Rayleigh grinned and downed his drink. "The closest I can recall is Boa Hancock, and hers was only eighty million."
Shakky took a sip of her own drink before lighting a cigarette. "He's going to shake the world."
"That he is." Rayleigh recalled the boy he'd trained, and the growth he'd witnessed. "That he is."
Okay, so Nami and Sanji have officially joined the crew.
Now, with Luffy's reaction to the scar. It's not the scar itself but the memories attached to it. In canon, when Ace died, Ace was at peace and accepted his death because it protected Luffy. Luffy also knew that being a pirate meant there was always a chance of death and being killed. With his hometown though, they were innocent people. They didn't deserve it. It was ruthless and there was no sense to it. Luffy couldn't do anything. So while he seems all fine and okay, the memories still torment him when something happens that reminds him of it.
And as for the wanted poster. In canon, Luffy keeps screaming his name at the top of his lungs and his desire to be the pirate king. In here, he hasn't really done that. He still states his desire, but he doesn't go screaming his name for everyone to hear while he does so. His opponents are weak enough that he can beat them easily. They'll correct it with his name really soon, but the rat of a marine who was in Arlong's pocket didn't know it. As for the picture...it was a spur of the moment decision. Think Luffy's normal bounty picture, but a profile view instead of head on.
With the burning of High Town. I wanted Luffy to do something, and originally it wasn't going to be anything really destructive, but at the same time Luffy manages to cause chaos and destruction wherever he goes without even trying. So him destroying High Town caused the bounty to be even higher even though it was an accident.
Can you tell that nothing in this story winds up going the way I originally planned it to?
Anyway, thanks for reading and don't forget to let me know what you thought!
~Akirafanatic