-Thousand Sunny-
-Infirmary-
Keimi hadn't even awoken when the Den-Den Mushi in Pappug's hat began ringing. The familiar sound broke Sakura and Chopper out of their discussion and also woke the resting young woman from her sedated sleep. Sakura was halfway to the door so she could silence the starfish's noisy hallway ringing when the mermaid spoke up.
"Hacchin…?" she mumbled, sitting up groggily as she began to support herself with her fish-like lower torso. "Hacchin! The snail! Where is it?"
Sighing, Sakura opened the door, letting the starfish trundle inside at its maximum speed.
"Keimi!" he shouted. "Oh, thank goodness! You're alright!"
"Pappug! That's Hacchin's snail! He's trying to call us!"
The caller, however, hadn't been 'Hacchin' at all. From over the snail came the voices of several menacing men who claimed to have captured Keimi's friend and were planning to sell him into slavery unless she came to rescue him.
Predictably, the young lady was ready to jump in the water and head right there before Sakura stopped her.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," she said, blocking the doorway with a raised eyebrow. "I know we haven't really met properly yet, and I'm sorry to ask this, but can you even fight?"
"Umm... no?" asked the confused mermaid. "Why? Do you think that will be a problem?"
Sakura blinked.
"Yes. Yes, I think it will. Look... are mermaids especially valuable to a slave trader?"
"You bet they are," interrupted the starfish, sneering as if speaking down to an imbecile. "There's nothing in the entire world faster than a mermaid underwater, and that means it's really rare to catch one!"
Sakura looked between both of them for some measure of comprehension, but found none.
"So… in other words," she said, leading them along, "they're luring you into a trap so that they can capture you, and then the slavers will sell you both for lots of money…?"
Keimi's jaw dropped open wide, and her eyes bugged right out of her head.
"WHAAT?! ARE YOU PSYCHIC OR SOMETHING?!" she screamed.
"N-no, just… alright, look. Let's go upstairs and see what the others have to say. Maybe we can help you two."
There was no opposition to a rescue attempt, even though the mermaid's description of this so-called Hacchin as an octopus Fish-Man made Nami and Zoro in particular recall some unfortunate memories. His captors were known as the Flying-Fish Riders, and they had a floating ocean base five kilometers to the east of the Sabaody Archipelago. This normally useful information was nonetheless a problem, given that it was impossible for humans to tell east from west in this ocean and the Log Pose had decided to start pointing straight down all of a sudden.
Keimi, however, had a solution, calling out to the fish that inhabited the area and asking them to point the way there, and then they were off in pursuit. The sea was, for once, perfectly normal aside from one large wave that signaled a period of choppy water. The Thousand Sunny followed the fishy compass unerringly until their guides disappeared, which according to Keimi meant they were very close.
The only signs of human habitation in the area, however, were pieces of floating debris.
Keimi dashed underwater, swimming with an unbelievable speed as she scouted out the area where they had been led. When she returned without finding the base, she seemed distinctly puzzled.
"I… I thought it was around here, but all I'm seeing is broken pieces of wood. Did the fish get the wrong place?"
"Maybe it was destroyed before we even got here…" muttered Nami.
Keimi's mouth dropped open, eyes bugging out as she began screaming in surprise.
"EH? SOMEONE BLEW THEIR BASE UP?!"
"Shhh! Not so loud! If someone tore this place up in the last hour then they could still be nearby!"
"THEY'RE STILL NEARBY?!"
Nami winced, adding, "Quiet! Be quiet!"
"There's something in the water," interrupted Sasuke, focusing his red eyes beneath the waves. "It's coming this way… and it's not human."
Moments later, a head broke the surface of the water, looking somewhat uncertainly back and forth. Pink-skinned and with light-grey hair, he spun in place until he caught sight of Keimi, at which point his hugely-expressive trumpet-like mouth turned up in a grin. He rose slightly out of the water, and six sucker-covered arms waved excitedly in her direction, each one out of sync with the others.
"Nyuu! Keimi! You're safe! Good to see you!"
Keimi covered the distance in a blink of an eye, grabbing onto the octopus-man and crying with relief.
"Hacchin! I was so worried! I thought they'd got you for real this time!"
"Hacchin…?" muttered Zoro, recalling a life-or-death swordfight after his injuries at the hands of Mihawk. "No matter how you look at it, that's that damn octopus from Arlong Park, Hachi. What the hell's he doing here?"
"That's a damn good question," agreed Sanji. "More importantly, how the hell does he think he can get away with showing his face in front of us again after being a part of that shitty Fish-Man group… Want me to kick his head in, Nami?"
Nami was hanging back from the edge of the ship, looking a little annoyed at the situation. It hadn't even been a year since she'd been rescued from slavery at the hands of the Arlong Pirates, but…
She sighed.
"No, go easy on him for now. He wasn't bad to me. If any of those jerks could deserve a second chance, it was Hatchan. Don't tell him I'm here yet, though. I want to hear what he has to say."
"Does this have something to do with what you were telling Naruto and I the other week?" asked Sasuke, glancing sidelong at her. "About your home island?"
"...Yeah, yeah it does. I don't really want to talk about it, but he's part of the gang that made my life hell since I was a kid. Still, I mean, Hachi's not exactly…" struggling with the words, Nami made an indecipherable gesture with her arms before giving up. "Well, you'll see. He's the harmless one."
"If you say so…"
Hatchan and Keimi's tearful reunion was interrupted moments later when he finally turned to acknowledge the ship that had carried her here. His eyes passed over the people on deck and then the Straw-Hat flag before doing a double, triple, and then quadruple take with wide eyes and an astonished gaping mouth.
"S-Straw-Hats!" exclaimed Hatchan.
"Yeah, they helped rescue me from a sea serpent and then they came to get you free!" said Keimi. "They're wonderful people!"
"Nyuu! Nyuu! Oh no! No way! The Straw-Hats are here now?!"
"It's too late to run," growled Sanji, resting one foot on the railing as he glared down at the octopus. "I think you've got some apologizing to do, before I make you into takoyaki."
"Eh? Apologizing? Right… You're right. I have a lot to apologize for... But, uhhh… Roronoa, is that you? You look a lot blonder than I remember..."
"That's me, you idiot-pus!" shouted Zoro.
"Oh! Roronoa, there you are! See, I actually wanted to apologize to Nami, but if you insist then I guess I should tell you I'm sorry for cutting you to pieces the last time we fought..."
"You didn't land a single hit on me, asshole!"
"Nyuu? But, then why am I the one apologizing? Are you sure you aren't a bit confused?"
"Yes! No! Damnit, I am confused, alright?! Shut up and apologize to Nami already!"
From back beside Nami, Sasuke muttered, "Geez, I guess I can understand what you meant. This guy's a real piece of work."
Nami, saying nothing, was wincing painfully and rubbing her forehead as Hatchan continued to talk from the water below.
"Is… err… is Nami up there?" he asked.
"That depends. Whaddayou wanna tell her?" growled Sanji.
Interrupting this before it could start a fight, Nami stepped forward, reaching the railing of the ship and looking over the edge. Seeing Hatchan again brought back painful memories, even if he had been relatively harmless. Still, she had changed since leaving her home, and she'd learned a few things about the way former enemies could become friends.
But he still had to earn it.
"Hello Hachi. I'm here. What did you want to say to me?"
"Nami! Oh, crap! It's, umm… It's good to see you! How are you feeling today? Eh? Me? How am I feeling? I'm feeling well, thank you very much for asking."
"I didn't ask you that, Hachi," said Nami, patiently aware of Hatchan's conversational difficulties.
"Nyuu… Oh, right… Well, I wanted to say that I'm really sorry about the horrible things I did to you. I spent all that time listening to Arlong and never really thought too much about what we were doing. I know everyone calls me kind of dumb, and I guess they're probably right. I don't really have any good excuse, 'cause I know what I did was wrong, and I know that nothing I could ever do could make it up to you, but…"
He paused.
"Oh! I could give you some takoyaki! Would that make it up to you?"
"Yes," interrupted Luffy, a hungry look in his eyes before Sanji kicked him in the face and dragged him back towards the center of the deck.
During all of this, Keimi looked positively puzzled, glancing worriedly between her friend and her new rescuers. It was at this point that Nami's harsh glare began to crack, and something like a smile broke through.
"It's alright, Hachi. I know you're an alright guy. We came here to rescue you anyway, and there'd hardly be any point to us turning around now. What happened here, by the way? Surely it wasn't you who did all this, was it?"
Relieved, Hatchan shook his head and flailed his tentacle-like arms back and forth.
"Oh, no! The Flying-Fish Riders left back to the Sabaody Archipelago, 'cause their base was destroyed. It was incredible! But, uhh, it wasn't me who did all this, no… Look, I can tell you, but it's kind of a long story. Can I come up there?"
Before long, Hatchan and Keimi had been brought aboard, and the Straw-Hats who were interested listened to the octopus telling a rather unusual, but uncomfortably familiar, story.
-Thirty Minutes Earlier-
Hatchan had been tied up and caged for nearly a day on the Flying-Fish Rider's floating ocean base when he began to realize something was very wrong. There had been no motions made to bring him back to the Sabaody Archipelago for sale. Though Fish-Men weren't nearly as valuable a catch as a mermaid, they were still worth quite a large reward. The Flying-Fish Riders weren't normally known for their patience, and the masked figure of Duval had chuckled wickedly when Hatchan had asked if they were taking him back to the Human Market.
It hadn't been long after that when he realized he was here as bait. With Hatchan's portable Den-Den-Mushi, Duval would be able to call up Keimi and lead her straight to them. Poor, sweet Keimi would come to try and rescue him, without a doubt. Even after the things he'd done to her, she had forgiven him enough to become something like a little sister, and he squirmed in his bindings as he thought of her being captured and sold into slavery.
It wasn't as if it hadn't been tried before, but normally Hatchan was there to save her. Now, however…
His thoughts were interrupted when he heard one of the Flying-Fish Riders complaining that the Macro Pirates hadn't arrived on schedule. The gang of three had made a serious name for themselves by capturing and selling high-value targets, especially other Fish-Men, and they had quite a few contacts on the Human Market as well. Their absence was apparently a serious annoyance for his jailers.
Still, the news hardly even seemed unusual until something else broke the agonising monotony of Hatchan's imprisonment. The random motions of the swarming goons that populated the base caused a period when his cage was unobserved. In a blink, a figure appeared in front of him, supporting himself on a pillar of raised water.
Hatchan was so surprised he nearly shouted out loud, but he managed to restrain himself. A blue-shark type Fish-Man watched him intently from directly in front of his cage. Adorned in black robes decorated with crimson clouds, the man had a massive thickly-wrapped weapon of some sort at his back. His beady eyes roamed across Hatchan's octopus body as if searching for something, and it wasn't clear if he had found it even when his gaze returned to meet Hatchan's own astonished stare.
"Nyuu! What are you doing here?!" whispered Hatchan. "They'll be back any second! Get away before they capture you, too!"
The man's brow furrowed as if disappointed by something. This made sense. Shark-type Fish-Men were notoriously disapproving of weakness in their brethren, but that really didn't matter right now. The world's Fish-Man population was fairly small, and Hatchan knew of most of the powerful fighters in it. This guy wasn't one of them.
When the man spoke, however, a chill ran down Hatchan's body. The stranger's rough voice was viciously cold, and brimming with a quiet fury in a way that reminded him of the revolutionaries he'd met on Fish-Man Island.
"I heard news there were slavers operating out of this area," he said. "Selling... our kind on the black market. From the looks of things, I'm guessing that's the truth, huh."
Hatchan boggled both at the man's complete dismissal of the warning as well as his unusual question.
"Nyuu! Everyone knows about the slavers around the Archipelago! It's outlawed in most of the world, but the Celestial Dragons love to buy slaves! It's not just merfolk- lots of humans get bought and sold, too."
"I don't give a damn about that," said the shark-man. "But there's an island of… merfolk down underneath the Red Line here, right? That's why so many of us get captured?"
Hatchan's confused stare increased in intensity. The newcomer wasn't making a lot of sense.
"Whaaat?! I mean, that's true, but you're telling me you don't know about Fish-Man Island?! Seriously?! Where are you from, anyway?"
The shark-man shook his head.
"Not important. I just have one question. Why don't you all fight back?"
"Fight back?" asked Hatchan.
"Against the humans. I've been stronger than them all my life, and surely I'm not… alone in this."
"We- we do fight! And we are strong, but there's just so many of them! They have Devil Fruits too! Fighting has just made things worse!"
The man nodded, then stepped forward, grabbing the bars of Hatchan's cell and wrenching them apart. The thick steel bent under an unbelievably monstrous strength as if they had hardly been an obstacle at all. A moment later, the shark-man's hand passed over Hatchan's bindings and they too fell away as if cut. In less than a second he was free.
The noise had attracted some attention, and Hatchan looked around frantically to see guards scrambling out into the open. However, when he turned to look for the stranger, the shark-man had disappeared entirely.
There were guns pointed his way immediately, and Hatchan raised all six arms into the air, eyes wide. Honestly, he didn't even know what had just happened, but he couldn't imagine why the stranger would have gone out of his way to break him out when he was just going to disappear.
What kind of Fish-Man didn't know about Fish-Man Island, anyway?
The guards were in the process of herding him into a different cell when the screaming began. Hatchan looked up to see a tremendous wave, at least three-hundred feet tall, bearing down on them at terrifying speed. His captors abandoned him, grabbing their underwater gear and rushing to their steeds.
To Hachi, however, the wave was simply a godsend.
The wave struck the floating base like a mountain being dropped on their heads, and Hatchan disappeared peacefully into its embrace, easily dodging the debris that washed around him and diving down into the depths of the water. Now he was safe.
About ten minutes later he resurfaced some ways off, looking around at the devastation with a curious eye. He knew it was dangerous to stick around, but with the Macro Pirates gone the risk was minimal. The Flying-Fish Riders alone stood little chance of capturing him in the water, and they had more important things to worry about anyway. Off in the distance he could see them gathering their mounts and soaring off in the direction of the Sabaody Archipelago, Duval at their head.
Hatchan spun in place as he felt a disturbance in the water, and then he saw the stranger again, standing on the surface of the churning water as if it were solid ground.
Hurriedly, Hatchan swam over to meet him.
"Nyuuuu! That was amazing! Was that you who did that?! I thought I'd heard of all the Fish-Man Karate grandmasters before, but I guess I missed one! What's your name? Eh? My name? Thanks for asking! My name's Hatchan. My friends call me Hachi, so you can too!"
Furrowing his brow, the shark-man bent down on the balls of his feet and decided to answer the question in the spirit in which it was asked.
"The name's Kisame, and I don't want you to tell anyone I was here. I've got to know, though… How does one get down to Fish-Man Island… Hachi? I've heard it's supposed to be ten kilometers below the surface…"
"Eh? You don't know? Where are you from, anyway?"
"A long way away. Answer the question."
"Well, that's the easiest part!" exclaimed Hatchan. "You just swim!"
Kisame watched intently as each of Hatchan's three pairs of arms began doing a different swimming motion independent of the others.
"Really. Just swim? Ten kilometers seems rather deep, don't you think? Even if I've always been good at it, the… humans I've met always seemed to have problems after just a few tens of meters…"
"Oh, yeah, sure, but that's humans! Merfolk like you and me can just swim, no problem! I mean, if you need to get a ship down there that's another question, but I know a guy who can help with that! Want me to ask him for you?"
Kisame paused, then shook his head before straightening up. "No… No, thank you. Maybe some other time. I'm afraid I've spent enough time out here, and I need to get back to the Archipelago."
"Sure thing! Lemme know when you get to Fish-Man Island and I'll buy you a drink! Just ask around for Hachi! Eh? Hachi? That's my name. Why'd you say my name?"
Casting one last bemused glance his way, the shark-man literally melted into the water, disappearing as if he had become one with the ocean itself. Even standing just feet away, Hatchan wasn't sure what he had just seen. He looked underneath the waves, but there was no one there.
"Nyuuuuuuu?" he asked.
That wasn't Fish-Man Karate… was it?
The assembled Straw-Hats listened to Hatchan's report with concern, occasionally glancing at each other as if to confirm shared suspicion.
"Akatsuki's made it to the next island, huh?" remarked Zoro.
"Yeah, and it looks like they're not afraid to make waves, either," said Usopp.
"Dude. Shitty pun, man," groaned Naruto.
"What pun? Oh, I get it!" said Keimi.
"I didn't realize the slave trade was that big of a deal out here," muttered Nami.
"I'm wondering why he didn't kill the slavers," mused Robin. "Perhaps there's more to this story than it seems…"
"What was that part in the middle?" asked Sasuke. "About… 'don't tell anyone I was here?'"
Everyone looked toward Hatchan, who grew increasingly puzzled by their stares. Finally, his confusion broke into an astonished shout.
"Nyuuu! Crap! I wasn't supposed to say all that!"
It took some time to calm things down before Hatchan was no longer distraught over his failure to keep his rescuer's secret. In the end, however, he began to focus on more immediate matters, such as what to do about Keimi and the Straw-Hats. Keimi herself made the matter quite clear.
"Hacchin, listen!" she pleaded, grabbing two of his hands in her excitement. "I have to repay Luffy and the others for what they did for me. Will you help me?"
"Sure thing! I've always been great friends with the Straw-Hats!" exclaimed Hatchan.
"While that's not… right at all," began Nami, "I'm not sure there's really anything you can do for us right now. Unless you… oh, hang on a second. Could you take a look at this?"
She raised her wrist to the pair of merfolk, showing them the delicate Log Pose. The spherical compass was now aimed almost directly downward. Hatchan and Keimi looked on quizzically.
"I'm assuming the Log Pose isn't telling us to go drown ourselves," said Nami, exposing her unrealistically naive hopes to the world, "-but I'm not completely sure what this is supposed to mean. I think the answer probably has something to do with this island that's supposedly nearby, but I'm wondering if you can clarify?"
Hatchan perked up.
"Oh, yes! That's pointing the way to Fish-Man Island! That's our home. Eh? My home? Fish-Man Island, yep. That's our home, alright. I take it you all are trying to get to the New World, huh?"
"I guess so," said Nami, steadfastly ignoring Sanji, who was in the background screaming about beautiful mermaids. "Is that what comes after Fish-Man Island?"
Hatchan blinked several times.
"Nyuu! You folk don't know where you are, do you?" he asked.
"Well… I'm sure Robin has a pretty good idea of where we are, but she likes 'preserving the mystery.'"
Off in the background, Robin waved a hand, not bothering to look up from her relaxation.
"Nyuu, well, you know what, it's easier to show you than tell you. Something like this a pirate has to see for themselves, you know? Why don't you follow me? It's not that far!"
"You're going to bring us somewhere?" asked Nami. "How will you know where to go without the Log Pose?"
Hatchan waved dismissively, which was quite the impressive gesture for the six-armed tentacled man.
"Oh, that? Whatever it is about the Grand Line that makes you need a Log Pose doesn't affect us merfolk as strongly as it does humans. Besides, this is the kind of thing you just can't miss!"
Hatchan led them away with Keimi swimming eagerly by his side. The Thousand Sunny proceeded onward into the ocean until the clouds began to gather and the sun began to set. It had seemed as though their journey was taking them longer than expected until someone thought to check a clock. It was barely three in the afternoon, and their journey had taken perhaps an hour. The reason for the dimming light became clear as their destination approached.
A mountain was starting to block out the sun.
The crew of the Thousand Sunny looked on in awe as the Red Line towered over them. A mountain range ten kilometers tall, it banded the entire world, cutting it into two equal halves, and now they sat at its foot, looking upwards with the reverence of pilgrims.
"Looks like we made it," said Zoro.
"Halfway around the world, and it didn't even take all that long," said Sanji.
"The Red Line," breathed Nami, looking up at the clouded mountain with anticipation. "This is the same mountain we crossed all those months ago."
"Yeah, we almost died then, too. I hope crossing this time isn't as harrowing…" muttered Usopp. "Crap, I shouldn't have said that."
"How did you cross that in the first place?" asked Chopper. "You didn't have to climb the whole thing did you?"
"Nope! We went up up and down on a big water ride before running into a giant whale!" exclaimed Luffy. "It was awesome!"
"Laboon…" muttered Brook. "I'm farther from you than I've ever been, but somehow you seem closer than ever before…"
"Heh… This is the kind of thing I know my brother would have loved to see," said Sasuke, staring up at the clouds. "This sure puts Hokage Mountain to shame."
"Hey, don't diss the mountain, man," said Naruto. "That place means something. It brings everyone together."
"This place might really mean something, too," suggested Hinata. "Do you think people live on it?"
Sakura shrugged. "Maybe, but it sure sounds like this place doesn't bring people together. Frankly it's weird enough that the world's split into four pieces by a perfectly straight mountain and ocean."
"What, you got something against straight lines?" asked Franky. "You ask me, if you're gonna have a super mountain then a straight line's the best shape there is. Unless you're suggesting something made them this way."
"Perhaps they did," mused Robin. "Archaeological records suggest that once upon a time it was much easier to get from one sea to another. Ancient artifacts from civilizations on opposite sides of the Calm Belt are routinely found on each other's homelands, despite the fact that it's nearly impossible for people to cross it even now. It's a mystery that might never be solved."
Having given them time to see the greatest wonder of the world for themselves, Hatchan pulled himself up onto the deck.
"You see what I mean?" asked the grinning octopus. "There's two ways to get through the mountain. You either go up, or you go down. See, right now we're about fifty miles or so north of Sabaody Archipelago, which means we're right underneath the World Government Capital, Mariejois, which is where you'd go if you were a Marine. They've got a really crazy setup to get people over! But that's not how you or I would go."
"I really don't want to go that way," agreed Nami. "So how are we supposed to get across?"
"You go underneath! See, there's a hole deep under the ocean, and that's where Fish-Man Island is. You get down there and you can get right through."
"Ooh! I wanna see it!" exclaimed Luffy, interrupting Hatchan's explanation as well as Nami's confused questions about ships going under water.
That was when Franky stepped in.
"You wanna get a look underwater, I just so happen to know a guy," he said, grinning down at them as he jabbed his thumb at his own chest. "Just so we're on the same page here, that guy is me."
-Red Line - Paradise End-
-Three Kilometers Underwater-
-Shark Submerge III-
"This is, uhhh, your captain speaking," began Usopp, as the Franky-built submarine descended further and further into the ocean. "We're cruising at an altitude of about minus ten-thousand feet, and we're about to be serving snacks. In the meantime if you look out the left side you can see some freaky-ass fish that are glow-in-the-dark. Out the right side is pure abyssal blackness, and we've still got a long way to go."
"Usopp!" exclaimed Luffy, "Stop being stupid! I'm the captain, remember?"
"Uhhh… the captain would like to take this opportunity to remind all passengers that that's only true above water, and that everything's the opposite once you go under water... That's science."
"EHH?! B-but! But I don't wanna go to Fish-Man Island if I can't be the captain!"
"Hey, it's too late, man," snickered Naruto, the last member of the group to have stuffed himself into the small submersible. "You already said we were going down there, and Usopp gave the same order just now. That's two captains agreeing on the same thing. It's a done deal, so just enjoy your snacks."
"What?! No! Om-nom-nom-nom… That's not right! Om-nom-nom-nom… Hey, but you're only the captain of the submarine, right? I'm still captain of the real ship!"
Usopp winced and looked over at Naruto, who shrugged. Sometimes Luffy could tap into inner reserves of cleverness when it was least expected.
"Alright, Luffy, alright. But… uhh…. but you realize that still makes me captain if the ship goes underwater, right?"
Luffy glared in consternation at Usopp before deciding that was probably never going to happen. You could see the exact moment he stopped paying attention.
"Hey, when are we gonna get to Fish-Man Island anyway?" he asked.
"I'm not sure," admitted Usopp. "We're getting pretty deep right now, but I still don't see anything."
"Wait, you guys thought we were going to Fish-Man Island with this thing?" asked Naruto. "Hachi said it was, like, way deeper than this thing could go, right?"
"I admit that I wasn't actually paying attention at the time," said Usopp.
Interrupting them, Franky's voice came in over the Den-Den Mushi linkup to the Sunny.
"Hey, Luffy. Your brother, Ace, is back and he says he's looking for you about something."
"ACE!" exclaimed Luffy, already grabbing the controls and commanding the ship to ascend.
"Wait… Ace? Is that Luffy's brother's name?" asked Naruto. "Luffy's brother is here? Since when was that a thing?"
Usopp screwed up his eyes, clenched his jaw, and slapped a hand over Naruto's mouth.
"Shhh…." he whispered. "I realize you were gone for all of that, but we're done with that joke. Never again."
CLOOOOOONG
The submersible shook violently as they crashed into something on their ascent. All three of the passengers were tossed wildly around the tiny cabin before the wobbling vehicle figured out which way was up once more. There was a moment of groaning silence before Usopp raised one quivering hand to the control console and pressed a button with a single finger. Immediately, red light and the noise of a shrieking klaxon flooded the compartment.
"WE'RE HIT! WE'RE HIT! ABANDON SHIP!" shouted Usopp.
Naruto scrambled over Luffy to reach the console and shut off the alarms, cursing as he tried to get a look around outside the submersible.
"Shit, what the hell did we hit here? Sea-monster or something?"
As Luffy and Usopp screamed for entirely different reasons, the Den-Den Mushi responded.
"Hey, you guys alright down there?" asked Franky.
"Yeah, but we hit something," said Naruto. "Can't quite tell what it is yet."
"You're still more than two kilometers down, alright? Get up quick so I can take a look at her."
Naruto spun the vessel in circles, trying to get a look above them from their front-mounted screen. Abruptly, the lights of two massive eyes spun into view from the side.
"Whoa!" exclaimed Luffy, pulling his head up from the floor with both hands so he could see properly. "It's a sea-monster!"
Usopp screamed, and the noise was actually deafening in the confined space. Naruto winced in pain and tried his best to get a good look at the creature that could very well spell their doom. If a sea-creature decided they were food, it would be impossible to fight them off before the vessel could ascend to a safe depth. The two lights in front of them were round, with an odd cross pattern that divided them into four equal parts. The lights hovered before them, staring unblinkingly at the ship as if trying to decide whether they were predator or prey.
"Shit… it sees us, alright," muttered Naruto.
"Get back up here! I'll try to get your girlfriend and see if she can help see what you guys are up against, alright? Just gimme a second."
"Alright, here's hoping she can help… It's not looking good unless… huh?"
The screaming stopped, and all three of them stared dumbfounded at the two lit-up eyes. From inside the rightmost one a white bear in an orange jumpsuit was staring at them suspiciously. They blinked slowly in surprise, and the bear blinked back. Finally, it turned to shout something to someone behind it. Moments later, more people clustered around the visible circles, shading their eyes to see out into the murky depths.
Usopp was the first to react.
"I-i-i-i-it's people!" he chattered. "It took a bunch of people and stuffed them into its eyeballs?! And a bear?!"
"No, shut up," growled Naruto. "It's not a monster. I think it's a ship!"
"A ship?!" exclaimed Luffy. "Like ours, only bigger!"
Across from them, the gathered people stepped out of the way, making way for one young man with black hair and a grim demeanor. He took one look at them and then shook his head, jerking his thumb upwards several times and then drawing it across his throat.
"H-h-h-he's saying we've gotta go up or he'll kill us?!" yelled Usopp.
Immediately after saying this, a bolt popped loose above them and a small jetof water sprayed in through the dented ceiling. Naruto blanched.
"Uhhh, I think he's saying we gotta go up or we're gonna drown. And I agree with him. We're going up!"
When the Sunny's sub surfaced it was already half-filled with seawater, which was a state of affairs that had rendered Luffy more or less useless on the way back up. Franky had watched in exasperation when the Shark Submerge III emerged showing clear damage on the top of the hull, but the evaluation was postponed once the other vessel arrived.
This ship was not like the tiny creation built by Franky. It was enormous, and it bulled the water out of the way, rocking both of the Straw-Hat vessels back and forth. On its side was visible a smiling emblem that was vaguely reminiscent of a Jolly Roger.
Five minutes later about a dozen of the unknown submariners emerged from the airlock, trying not to look too relieved about being out in the fresh air again. In the center of the pack stood a young man with a spotted white fur hat, yellow and black shirt, and carrying a long nodachi at his back. The fighting members of the Straw-Hat Pirates assembled on the deck, looking down at the new arrivals, and the opposing captain scanned their lineup with a discerning eye.
Until, that is, his gaze settled on Ace, who was leaning over the railing and looking somewhat bored as he greeted them with a wave. The captain's eyes widened somewhat at this unexpectedly notorious visitor, but he gave a respectful nod in return, apparently not willing to start a fight with Fire-Fist Ace in attendance. He seemed to be looking for someone else, and it soon became clear he wasn't going to find them.
"Hello," greeted the man, his voice low and carefully casual as he returned to looking vaguely in Zoro's direction. "Trafalgar Law, Captain of the Heart Pirates. I didn't expect to run into you lot out here, but perhaps we can make something of this after all... However, I don't see Straw-Hat Luffy."
Zoro gave him an odd look and pointed behind the assembled Heart Pirates.
"What, Luffy? He's over there."
Frowning, Law glanced over his shoulder to their submarine to see Luffy and Chopper being led into the open hatch by a large, two-legged polar bear.
"See, in here, this is the airlock," lectured the bear-man as they all disappeared inside. "It's how we get out of the ship. It's open right now so it doesn't look like much."
"Whoa, cool!" shouted Chopper.
"See, through there? That's a hallway, and-oh, I'm getting ahead of myself. We're not there yet."
"Hey, are you really a bear?" asked Luffy.
"I… um… no, not exactly… Well, I mean, I am kind of, but-"
"But you can talk! Why can you talk if you're a bear?! Are you like Chopper?"
There was a moment of tense silence before the not-quite-a-bear slumped in on himself, moaning, "I'm so sorry…"
"Luffy, stop bothering him. That's mean," said Chopper.
"But why is he sorry? Talking bears are cool!" exclaimed Luffy.
"Err, what? Have you ever met any other talking bears?" asked the sort-of-bear.
"Yeah, Chopper here!"
"I'm not a bear, asshole! You know I'm not!"
Law stared stone-faced back at the voices echoing from inside the open hatch. This was not going as planned.
"Bepo?" he asked, calmly restraining himself from raising his voice. "Why are you giving a pirate captain the guided tour of our ship?"
There was a clonk from inside the submarine as Bepo hit his head, and then he called back, "Uhhh… Because they asked nicely?"
Shaking his head, Law tossed a glance back towards Fire-Fire Ace before addressing Luffy directly.
"Straw-Hat Luffy! I'm not here to fight you, but I think you're taking all of this too lightly. You damaged my ship, and I could have destroyed you at any moment down there. Instead, I'd like to talk to you, and I think you owe me at least that much. Will you please leave my ship and come out to discuss matters?"
"Luffy, get out here right now or I'll make you pay!" yelled Nami. "I'm serious this time!"
Though it wasn't clear who it was in response to, Luffy poked his head back out of the submarine only moments after Chopper scrambled out of the hatch.
"Ehh? But it's cool in here!" he exclaimed.
From behind him came the growling of the not-bear as Bepo added his voice to the debate.
"Alright, you! You're on our ship so that means you gotta follow the orders that the captain and I give you! Get out and start talking!"
Law watched them impassively as Luffy returned, sulking, to the Straw-Hat's lineup, at which point the discussion could continue as planned. Finally, things seemed a bit more fitting for a piratical parley.
"So, sorry for bumping into your ship or whatever," apologized Luffy. "Who the hell are you, anyway?"
Law frowned, but his displeasure was muted when Nami punched Luffy in the head. Sighing, Law restarted his introduction.
"Trafalgar Law. Captain of the Heart Pirates out of North Blue. We're already aware of most of your identities. Straw-Hat Luffy. One-Man Army Uzumaki Naruto. Pirate-Hunter Roronoa Zoro… Though I'm fairly unclear as to why Fire-Fist Ace is sitting up there with you…?"
"Ah, don't mind me," said Ace, waving lazily from up above. "This is just bad timing on everyone's part. I'm here to talk with my brother, Luffy, and I didn't expect him to bring friends. I don't want to get involved in his business, so please pretend that I'm not here."
Several sets of eyes bugged out at this casual information drop, but Law's posture relaxed slightly.
"I see. So Fire-Fist Ace has a brother, then… How surprising. So, Straw-Hat... I suppose from your underwater exploration that you're planning to enter the New World as soon as possible. That means we can expect to see you at the Sabaody Archipelago in the coming days?"
"Huh?" asked Luffy. "Shabomdee what? I'm not planning to go there."
"Nyuu!" called Hatchan, who had so far remained invisible from the rest of the confrontation. "That's what I was trying to tell you! You have to go to the Sabaody Archipelago if you wanna get to Fish-Man Island! That's the only way to do it!"
"Oh, okay, got it," said Luffy, before turning back to the Heart Pirates. "Like I said, yes, we're going straight to the Kablammo Whatchamacallit."
Law winced, and many others shared his pained expression. Up on deck they could barely hear Sasuke turn to Sakura and mutter, "Do you ever feel like life's a story and you ended up in the wrong genre?"
Sakura elbowed him in the side, but several others snickered. Surprisingly, even Law's mouth twitched slightly upwards.
"Alright then…" he said. "I'm willing and even eager to forget this matter entirely, but I would request a small favor from you in return. I think it's actually in both of our interests if you're willing to hear me out."
When Luffy just looked confused in response, Law continued.
"The Sabaody Archipelago is the Paradise End- the place where pirate crews from every route through the Grand Line arrive. All those wishing to enter the New World must gather there before proceeding onward. Two days from now at high noon there will be a meeting for those gathered crews- a Rookie Summit, if you will- to lay down some ground rules about behavior on the island. Given the number of high-bounty fighters you possess, I want you to make sure to be there."
"Eh? Rules? Why do we need to agree on rules?" asked Luffy.
Law frowned. "Haven't you heard the news? Didn't you just come through the Florian Triangle?"
"News?"
Law looked stunned. "Yes. Thriller Bark was destroyed with Geckoh Moria presumed dead. The Nobility are in an uproar after one of their own disappeared. An Admiral was dispatched to the scene, and it's already been leaked that he didn't come back. The Marines are mobilizing and all shore leave has been cancelled."
"So… what you're saying is a bunch of bad guys beat each other up?"
"...Are you seriously this dense?"
"Allow me," interrupted Robin, looking a bit concerned by the news. "Luffy, what this means is that there are going to be Marines watching the Archipelago for even the slightest sign of trouble, and if we get into a fight with another pirate crew it may bring their wrath down on all of us."
"Oh, okay. I got it," nodded Luffy.
"Err, wait," began Sakura, raising her hand. "Could we maybe get the unabridged explanation designed for people who don't know how things work out here? Or even for those of us who aren't Luffy?"
"Yeah, I'll answer that," said Ace, straightening up and joining the conversation. Law watched him warily, hand twitching at his side.
"Alright, so here's the deal. The people who rule this world are known as the Celestial Dragons- they're a bunch of truly horrible people, and half of them couldn't find their own ass every morning without the help of an army of trained butlers. Thing is, they're rich, powerful, legally omnipotent, and they take protecting their own skins very seriously. Because of that, any time one of them gets attacked, one of the three Marine Admirals is legally obligated to go in person to bring the pain. No exceptions, even if you're just defending yourself because some stuck-up asshole decided he wanted to shoot you to get you out of the way faster."
Those among the Straw-Hats who had not heard about the Nobility before listened silently as they tried to wrap their heads around this. Ace continued.
"Anyway, from the news it sounds like people are thinking one of the Shichibukai, Moria, did something to them that he shouldn't have which brought an Admiral down on him. Thing is, it sounds like the Admiral somehow bit off more than he could chew, which I'm not really buying."
"Do you think this is fake?" asked Sakura.
"Fake? Maybe… Most people hear 'Shichibukai' or 'Admiral' and they think they're both just really powerful people, but until you've seen them in action it's hard to realize just how wide the top levels of power really are. Moria wasn't strong at all compared to people like Mihawk or the Admirals. They're… well, monsters. There's really no other way to put it. The idea that Moria could take on an Admiral is the kind of thing we'd just laugh about. But there's two things that I don't doubt. First is that Moria's island sank, and the second is that there's a missing Admiral. Too hard to fake that kind of crap."
"Yeah, we got to experience an Admiral's power first-hand the other week," muttered Sasuke. "Not something I'd want to go through again. I wonder if this is the same one."
"Pardon me?" asked Ace. Law looked a bit confused as well.
"A little ways back we met one of the Admirals," clarified Sasuke. "An ice-man named Aokiji. We only managed to hurt him once before he captured us. That state of affairs didn't last long, though."
Ace glared around at all of them before he settled on Luffy.
"What the hell, little bro? That's NOT the kind of guy you wanna piss off! Geez, if it was anyone besides Aokiji you'd have been dead right now, dumbass! How the hell did you even hurt him, anyway?"
Luffy stared back blankly as Naruto shifted uncomfortably in place.
"Uhh, yeah," said Naruto, rubbing the back of his head. "That was me. It's kind of a long story, but I can get a bit dangerous when I get really mad."
Law's crew looked warily in Naruto's direction. Though anyone who had seen the bounty posters knew that Naruto's bounty had somehow grown higher than Roronoa Zoro's, they had had no particular reason to fear him. Zoro had a reputation, after all. Now, it seemed, Uzumaki Naruto was developing one, too.
Ace just laughed.
"Okay, for the record you almost got everyone there killed, but I like your guts. If you get those instincts under control you'd fit in just fine with our crew. Not that I'm trying to steal you or anything," added Ace, right after Luffy began to bristle.
"No offense," interrupted Law, "But this is exactly why we need the Rookie Summit. We can't afford the attention that will come down on us if posturing or aggression gets out of hand, and we're all going to have to stay on the island for a while."
He turned to Ace, adding, "Fire-Fist Ace. While I'm well aware you're not a Rookie, I think your presence would be invaluable for quelling unrest. Would you be willing to join the Summit?"
Ace frowned, looking like he'd rather do anything but that, but he sighed and nodded a moment later.
"Alright, personally I don't think this is any of my business, but I've got something to get done on the island as well and I'd rather not have the Marines breathing down my neck. But in return I want you to keep an ear out for a group called Akatsuki. Rumor has it they killed a traitor I've been hunting down and I want to know if I should be thanking them for it or not."
"That reminds me," said Sasuke. "It sounds like Akatsuki is somewhere on the island after all. They just took down some slavers and tried to pass it off as an accident."
Law nodded. "I'd heard they were in the area. Haven't had a chance to speak to them, though."
"Don't," warned Sasuke, shaking his head. "Stay out of their way. They're not Rookies either, no matter how new they may seem. Each one of them belongs on the world stage, but it's much easier for them to solve their problems by killing people. On the plus side, they aren't going to draw attention to themselves in this kind of atmosphere. If you see them, the best thing to do is back down so that you don't become their problem."
"Fair enough…"
"Hold on," began Nami. "So I get how you've heard some of this news, Captain Law, but you seem way more connected than any other pirate we've met out here. I honestly don't even know where to begin when it comes to catching up. How did you hear about this Rookie Summit business?"
"Oh, that? That's simple. I'm the one setting it all up. Don't be mistaken- the outcome of this meeting may determine who lives and who dies in the week ahead. Not just pirates, either, but many people on that island could be in danger if certain Rookie crews are forced to fight. Straw-Hat Luffy, I'll send information on the location later, but can I trust you and your first-mate to be there?"
Almost uncharacteristically solemn, Luffy nodded, glancing over to Zoro as he did so.
"Yeah. I'll be there. Two days at noon. Count on it."
Law smirked, turning his back on them all and heading to his submarine, his crew falling in behind him in unison. Then, all of a sudden, he seemed to pause, his crew pausing with him as he looked over his shoulder.
"Straw-Hats… I'm not sure I need to say this, but I'll say it anyway. The Marines here are at high readiness. They're looking for victories, even to the point of disturbing the status quo. You won't be able to get into the port looking like that."
That said, he left, walking inside the top hatch as his crew followed him. In moments they were gone below the surface of the water, and it was as if they had never been there at all.
"Okay, I'll admit it," said Sakura a minute later, her tone grudging, "He was pretty cool."
"You think so?" asked Luffy. "That Traffy guy seemed kinda stuffy to me."
Nami shook her head. "No way, definitely at least a seven out of ten. I know a certain pirate captain who could stand to learn a few things from someone like him."
"Eh? Who's that?"
"You, dumbass."
"Do you think he was being honest about his motivations?" asked Sasuke, arms crossed in front of him.
"I think so," interrupted Robin. "I put a few ears inside his submarine and it sounds like they meant what they said back there."
"So, where does that leave us?" asked Sanji.
"I say we turn right around and wait for this all to blow over," insisted Usopp.
Luffy laughed. "No way! I already said I was gonna be there, so I'm gonna be there! You're gonna be there too, right, Ace?"
"Sure, little bro. I'll be there."
"Okay," said Sanji. "But how are we gonna get into the port and keep the ship safe? I mean, the Marines might not recognize the snazzy new ship, but…"
Everyone looked up at the Jolly Roger emblazoned on the sails with a thoughtful expression. Moments later Luffy started yelling.
"No way! We're not taking the flag down! Not gonna happen!"
This prompted another round of careful thought, which was interrupted by Naruto's gleeful snickering. Most of the crew looked uncertainly his way, not sure if they wanted to hear his idea. Eventually, though, he decided that for them.
"Hey… I think I know just how to get us and our ship accepted on the island, no problem."