Breaking News: A bombing incident in the New World city destroys an apartment building.
As soon as Luffia saw this, her mind immediately remembers Sab who lives right in the middle of that city where the headquarters of the World Government is located.
Her phone vibrates. With eager hands, she opens it and it's a message from Sab to meet them in their hideout. Relief washes over Luffia's heart upon knowing that her sister is alright.
That night, they meet in their hideout. Luffia arrives late as usual. The moment she steps inside, Sab and Ann are already there with their eldest frowning.
"Sabbie! Annie! I heard the bombing!" She greets them, cheerful as always but underneath it is an observing look that is ready to take in any information that will come from the blond-haired woman.
"Hey, Lu. It's unexpected." Sab shakes her head. She thought that the button that Apoo pressed is nothing but a farce, but as it turns out, it is not.
"Is someone targeting you?" Luffia asks, seriousness dreading in her voice.
"It's Apoo. They must have placed a bomb in the apartment. I don't know how they got to do that, but they did."
"Fuck them!" Ann's mouth instantly curses when she hears this. "They won't get away with this. It's a good thing that you were not there, lest you would have died!"
Sab nods. It is true, had she been there, she would have been dead by now. Just the thought of her dying without taking revenge against the people who drove their family out of Grandline makes her angrier.
"Why did they place a bomb in your apartment? And how come you knew it was them?" Ann is raising her eyebrows right at Sab. "You were never in that apartment as well, were you on a mission? You always send us a text message if Dragon sends you away."
Sab bites her lips as soon as she hears the questions. Like always, when she's away on missions, she tells her sisters about it beforehand. Strictly speaking, the Revolutionary Army's affairs are only for their active members and the sensitive missions are only for the officers. The only reason Ann and Luffia are allowed to know about it is that they are honorary members, recognized as Dragon's foster children.
As much as possible, she wants to keep this info to herself and not let her sisters know about this recklessness. But it's inevitable.
"I was out."
"Out?" Ann queries.
"On a mission."
Even Luffia is now raising her eyebrows. It's not like they mind Sab going on missions, but they make it a point to always know where she is especially when it's dangerous. In case something happens, they know how to respond when she sends them SOS, same with each other.
"Meeting for a deal..." Sab says, weighing down how to break the news with them. "With Kidd."
Luffia's blinking a few times as if she heard her correctly.
"Kidd? Your ex-boyfriend?"
"Yes."
"Didn't he wanted you dead?"
"Don't tell me..." Ann narrows her eyes while looking at Sab. "You went as Blue, didn't you?"
"I did. Alright, I know you're all worried about this, but it's gonna be fine as long as he doesn't know who I am. I had information about a newly constructed building under World Government serving as a facility to house slaves. That's what I was after. Including the list of officers involved."
Ann only shakes her head in exasperation. She's not worried for anything, after all, they know full well how deep the grudge is between Sab and Kidd.
"Fine. But cut it off when you can and avoid him at all cost." Avoidance is all Sab can do because no matter what, they all know she does not have the heart to harm Kidd in any way. Besides, she's in this predicament because she chose her family over her lover.
One of the hardest choices she had to do.
"So, what do we do with Apoo? We know he's affiliated with Kaido. We cannot target them all at once. You're doing your job with World Government while I am keeping an eye on Big Mom and Whitebeard. We have to slowly chop down the wings of these emperors if we plan to take them down." Ann's been on the blacklist of the two Emperors because of what she's been doing for the past couple of months. She managed to fend off Kaido off her tail as Firefist as she laid low on targeting this Emperor. It's hard when two Emperors are on her neck.
"My group can take care of them." It's Luffia who suggests this, shrugging her shoulders.
"How are you going to do it when you're constantly tailed by that group hired by the World Government?" Sab pinpoints. "Don't think that I won't know. Have you forgotten what kind of work I do right now?"
"It's fine. Besides, Kaido's been on my neck anyway since we destroyed the factory that supplies him the weapons and drugs in Dressrosa."
"Are you okay with dealing with him when World Government is hunting you down?" Even if Sab knows that Luffia and her group are capable, after all, they won't be where they are today if they are not, still, as a sister, she worries for the youngest.
"Yes. It's fine. We will be keeping the hunters at bay. We will utilize Dressrosa as a base for now as we slowly move to the base of Kaido in Wano city."
"That's dangerous, Lu. Wano City is murky water to dive into."
"As dangerous as you going to Whitebeards." Sab inserts making Ann roll her eyes out. "Don't think no one saw you with Marco."
"When we thread into this path, we know full well that we might perish and will be in countless dangerous situations. The deeper we dive into the Mafia world, the more we realize that what we've touches was just a surface. That's why using all means necessary is what I will do. Listen, you two. We've only been targeting the ones we think are enemies, but have not touched the ones that used to be part of Dad's group that betrayed him. We can't get hold of that information, hell, even uncle Rayleigh is not sure as to who snitched them. If we get the external enemies and somehow stumble upon the information of who the traitor is, we can get to the bottom of this. I am not afraid to use whatever means I have to." Ann explains.
Sab and Luffia are silent. They can understand Ann as they feel the same as well. The conviction built for years never vanished in them. Their hearts burn with a desire to kill anyone who drove their father to his death, inevitably killing their mother too.
Even if it means betraying someone, they must follow what they need to.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
Luffia is still in deep thoughts after that reunion with her sisters.
Use whatever means necessary.
Easier said than done. To be honest, if she's serious about doing that, she could have told Zoro of her identity as Strawhat. The chances of him being angry and hating her are nothing but close to zero, she knows his loyalty to their friendship. It's her identity as Roger's daughter is what she's afraid of him knowing.
What will he do?
This is why she will keep it a secret that she's part of the streets to avoid that complication. Call it overly cautious, but she's afraid of losing him. She's lost enough loved ones that she cannot bear to lose another one, especially not Zoro.
And to do so, she called the members of her group for a meeting.
"What?!" It is Nami who burst out in surprise. "Kaido?!"
"Yes. They will be on our tails sooner or later. Why not go for them slowly?"
"Luffia - "
"Think about it. We're going to build the city of Dressrosa, uprooting the spies they placed there. Are we going to just be limited to Dressrosa? They will come after us one way or another. While we're at it, we might as well implicate more damage than we already have. The grudge they hold against us is irreparable."
All members are looking at their leader, deep in their thoughts. Back when they were starting as the new group, they have been fighting recklessly over territories and influence, all because of the headstrong leadership
Luffia has. Now, she's proposing a harder circumstance that can get them all killed.
"It's too dangerous. Yes, we know that they hold a grudge against us, but they won't utterly focus on us because of the other enemies. If we initiate a big move against them, it will trigger a ticking bomb and it may as well be directed at us." Nami is always against taking risks. She knows it's not unavoidable, but if she can help it, she will.
"I am not suggesting we go to war against them right off the bat. I suggest we slowly cripple them and target the groups under Kaido's alliance." Luffia answers.
"Which group?" Robin asks.
"Apoo."
After hearing the name, everyone nods, thinking about the proposition.
"They are strong, but I think we can take them on." Brook is sipping on his tea as he calmly speaks. He rarely speaks his opinions, always going along with Luffia's decisions.
"Their group is quite far from Dressrosa which is where our base is." Sanji huffs a smoke. "Do we need to send a dispatch in their area?"
"We can target their operational bases to slowly cripple them. Sab gave me a list that can help us out." Luffia grins, tossing the paper on the table. Nami immediately takes it, nodding at the information. If it came from Blue of the Revolutionary Army, then there's no doubt that the intel is true.
The Strawhats met Sab on a few occasions in the past. At first, they are very shocked when they heard that Sab is Blue from the Revolutionary Army and that she grew up with Luffia in the orphanage along with Firefist.
None of them knew what their stories are and what made them want to do what they are doing now. The only piece of information they knew is that they came from an old orphanage. That was it.
Even Nami is doubtful why there was no information aside from that. Back in the day, when she was just a cat burglar in the streets and was in a temporary alliance with Luffia before joining, she investigated this woman but found herself in front of a wall of nothingness.
There was nothing that she can obtain. Of course, she stopped digging when the trust has been built.
"I think we can go along with this plan," Chopper says, smiling innocently as he looks at the others nodding in agreement.
"Luffia..." Robin calls out. "If we go with this, it is a must to split our forces. Most of us must stay on Dressrosa to keep guard in case someone attacks the city."
"Hmm, yeah!" She casually answers.
"But we have a group hunting us down." Robin reminds her.
For a moment, there's a deadly silence engulfing the room of their base. All eyes are on Luffia while waiting for her to answer. None of them ever voiced out that they already know who the leader of that group was and are only waiting for Luffia's words.
"I'll take care of the leader." This surprised them. "I will stall him as much as I can. The other members of that hunting group are from the World Government. If you encounter them, no need to show mercy."
It is a clear message to the members not to kill the leader of the vigilante group. They know how she values that man and they won't dare go against her wishes.
"Then, for the dispatch, Usopp and Brook are great in stealth missions. Sanji should go with them in case they encounter any mishaps while destroying the base." Nami says. "How do you want them to be destroyed?"
Luffia's eyes spark with a hint of a devil, a rarely seen look from her.
"Leave nothing behind. Our goal is to cripple them, not take their resources. I'll contact Bartolomeo and the others as well to be on the lookout. While we deal with Apoo, we will have them deal with the intermediaries to cut them off." Luffia is talking about the middlemen in illegal transactions.
"Sounds like a plan."
And that plan came raining down a few days later, making Apoo's head almost explode from the attacks. His mind instantly thought it was Kidd, blaming him for everything along with that bigshot who he was with. Little did he know that it was Strawhats who were targetting them.
With the plans going as smoothly as it can, Luffia seems to be relaxed, doing her part-time job like usual. Around 8 PM, she's done with her shift and leaves the establishment. Not long before she reaches the bus station, she's encircled by three men.
"We need you to come with us." They say.
"Hm? Why?" She tilts her head, sensing danger from the three. Although she can defend herself, it will be troublesome.
"Pretty, there's something we'd like to ask you about. You know... about your friend. His name is Zoro." One man smirks at her, extending his hand to touch her delicate cheek that made Luffia step back a little, avoiding it.
"What do you want to know about him?"
"Anything." They close in on her. Her mind is still weighing if she should fight them or if she should just run but before she can decide, a shout from a woman halts the men approaching her.
"What are you all doing?" A woman wearing glasses frown at them. She's wearing a military uniform symbolizing her rank as a captain while staring at the three men approaching Luffia.
Seeing her rank, the three men back off. Tashigi is quite famous for sending a few notorious groups to prison. At the moment, they do not know if she has reinforcements or not, so they dare not to clash with her. Killing two women in a street buzzing with normal citizens will not do them any good either, so they back off, cursing under their breath.
"Bastards," Tashigi mutters then turns her attention to Luffia. "Are you alright?"
"Uh-huh! Thanks for that! They're bad guys. Ohh, you're that friend we met at the battle arena!" Luffia smiles at her so brightly that made her frown. In Tashigi's mind, she can't help but feel admiration for this beauty due to her resilience. She was almost forced to be in a predicament earlier on, but there is no trace of fear in her expression. Is she just a brave woman or a fool who doesn't know what the situation was like?
"What do they want from you?"
"They wanted to ask about Zoro." Tashigi's face immediately turns grim at what she heard. It doesn't help that Luffia's attitude is so nonchalant as if she's a woman who had never been to Grandline and doesn't know about the situation they are in.
"It's a very dangerous situation," Tashigi emphasizes. "Do you know who those men are?"
"No. Why would I know them?" She fires back, not even taking a hint about the true meaning of Tashigi's question.
"That's not what I meant." Tashigi sighs, a little exasperated to explain the question.
"Hmm? Then why didn't you ask a question base on what you meant?" Tashigi's eyes are widely staring at Luffia, a hint of irritation sparking in them. Is Luffia just feigning ignorance or is she genuinely asking her such a rhetorical question?
The more Tashigi stares at her beautifully innocent face, the more Tashigi feels irritated. She's usually not the type to be envious of people base on their looks but there's just something in Luffia that she cannot fathom. Her eyes are as dark as the night, the spark of innocence never left them, shining so brightly and more so when she smiles. Such qualities inevitably attract people towards her.
Calming her senses, she asks another question. "Do you know what Zoro does?"
"You mean his work? He fights bad guys!" Luffia smiles after giving a genuine answer.
"Bad guys... Right. Those people that approached you are one of them." Tashigi replies. "It's best if you refrain from being near Zoro again, lest his enemies will target you. Just like now. There are far more dangerous people who will not stop till they get Zoro's weakness."
For a while, Luffia is silent. Tashigi is hoping that the straightforward intention is going to be enough, but unfortunately, she underestimated Luffia.
"Why would I stop being with Zoro just because of them?" There's not a hint of sarcasm in her question, but it's asked seriously, taking Tashigi aback. And before she can reason out, Luffia speaks again. "And why would you ask such a thing when you don't have a right?"
Her tone turns darker with each word that she uttered, making Tashigi shiver at the depth of her eyes. It's as if she's looking at someone above her, someone more frightening than what she expected.
Years of being on the World Government forces honed Tashigi of instincts when she sees people in the streets. She had seen several powerful leaders- cruel, and merciless. Right this moment, Luffia exudes that kind of look in her eyes, someone who won't stop just because someone asks her to.
Without meaning to, Tashigi's hand instinctively reaches for her gun on her hips, ready to pull it any moment. It's an instinct whenever she's on a mission and facing someone from the dark streets of Grandline.
"Why are you holding your hips? Does it hurt?" The gun in Tashigi's hip is concealed using her jacket, so Luffia won't be able to see it immediately. Her question stuns Tashigi. If someone had asked her this, the tone would have been different, it would have been filled with sarcasm, but Luffia's tone is like a child asking an adult a weird pose that she's doing.
"It's - "
"Ah! It's time for me to leave! The bus will arrive. Bye-bye!" Without waiting for her to answer, Luffia waves her hand enthusiastically and smiles like the wonder innocent child, and left Tashigi who's still clutching onto her gun.
As her back is turned against Tashigi, the latter did not see how the innocent smile faded from her beautiful face, revealing an expressionless deep complexion that is rarely seen in Luffia's face, then she mutters. "Weird woman."
Although she finds Tashigi's actions to be weird, she decided not to bring it up to Zoro when she met him the next day.
"You're raiding my food storage again." Zoro sighs, exasperated but this is within his expectations whenever Luffia visits him.
Although rare, she visits him in his place to hang out. They just had their lunch and now, the glutton never stops searching for food.
"Hehe!" She only smiles at him. Zoro lets her do what she wants.
"I'll just get my wallet before we watch that movie that you've been pestering me about." He grumbles, almost complaining, but his eyes never stop shining with softness.
"Okay!" Luffia salutes at him, watching him go upstairs to his room. At this time, the cellphone on the table vibrates. In most cases, Luffia won't ever dare to open the message or even answer calls from this cellphone, but this time, looking at the message, she cannot help but turn serious.
The message is vague: 'They've started moving. We move tonight to hunt them'
She does not know who sent that message as the number is unknown but what she knows is that it coincides with the movements from her group. It seems like they underestimated the network of this group.
Hesitation swarms her heart, but thinking that her members may encounter more dangers, she shakes her head. It's unlike her to be indecisive about this.
With that in mind, she placed the cellphone back on the table before reaching for the glass of juice from the side. The glass of juice hovers on top of the device and with a sigh, she immediately lets it go.
The fragile object landed on the screen of the device, inevitably destroying it. The crashing sounds echo in the house which alarmed Zoro who instantly run downstairs to see how Luffia is doing.
"Luffia! What happened?!"
"Uhm... I, uh..." She stutters. In front of the people whom she deemed important to her, lying and making up stories had never been her forte. She cannot bear the fact to lie to them. Concealing the truth, yes, she can, but lying? No. Never.
Zoro, who was panicking earlier saw the mess that she made and sigh in relief.
"I thought something bad happened. It's just a glass. Ah, shit." He mutters while looking at his damaged device.
"I'm sorry. Zoro... Your phone." She mumbles an apology. And her apology means much more than what she lets on. Guilt surges in her heart for she knows this is intentional, albeit no explanation came from her on how the glass broke on top of the device.
"So clumsy." Zoro is shaking his head. Even though the device is of importance to him for he uses this to communicate with the people in the same line of work, he's not mad at all. He knows Luffia is clumsy and always ends up destroying something, heck, she almost set his house on fire some time ago. "You're not hurt, are you?"
"No. Sorry. Let me clean it up."
"No need. I'll do it. You might get hurt seeing how clumsy you are."
"What about your phone?"
"Well... I'll get a new one when we go to the cinema later on." He shrugs it off. He received nothing from the people he's in contact with anyway, so he figures nothing is going on today. As such, he's free to enjoy this hang-out with Luffia.
With her presence, he feels at ease, relaxed. He can forget the things that burden him.
After cleaning up the mess, Zoro placed the cellphone in his bag, temporarily forgetting it in favor of preparing to go to where Luffia wants to.
While Luffia is deliberately dragging Zoro around, someone is cursing him from the faraway place.
"Damn it! That useless moron!" The voice of the woman named Kalifa echoes in one of the deserted places in the Northern region of the city of Dressrosa, a few kilometers away from the borders of Zou City.
"He's supposed to lead this operation in hunting the Strawhats. Now that they started moving, we can't even contact him." Kaku voices his displeasure at this. Even though they won't admit it, subduing Strawhats is hard. As such, they need Zoro's brutal attacks against them.
They confronted the small group earlier on, firing bullets against them for a good while as they escape the base of Apoo. Although they could have chased after them, with the presence of some Apoo's men, they cannot be reckless in their chase. This region is full of Mafia members after all. If they wind up being discovered as World Government Agents, they might get killed in the process.
And besides, there's just three of them here. They are tasked to tail Strawhats and contact Zoro to attack them head-on. World Government specifically wanted the Mafia Hunter to deal with them rather than sacrifice their agents. If Zoro falls, it won't be a big loss to them.
But now that he's nowhere in sight, they can only move when they have certainty of winning and finishing off the Strawhats.
So, they can only curse at Zoro for not responding to them.
Unbeknownst to them, the said man is enjoying his time with Luffia. And as Zoro temporarily left his companion to buy ice cream near one of the stores that are still open, she receives a message from Sanji.
Mission Completed!
She nods, instantly closing the application before waiting for Zoro to return.
She may not be able to do all cruel means to achieve her goal, but she can do small things like this. At least she will get to keep both sides at bay.
For now, at least.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===