Wishfull-star: Lots of mystery about that throughout the story! Look forward to it!
izzywolf22: Thanks!
When he woke up, he was in what smelled like an infirmary. He had a cloth over his eyes, and took it off. He was so tired, and turned to see Zoro in a bed next to him, his wound stitched up, snoring. Luffy felt something plastic next to his leg, and saw five blood bags. He looked around and triedly sat up.
He drank all of them, feeling infinitely better afterwards. "Hey, Luffy," Zoro said quietly. Luffy smiled tiredly. "Nice fight, huh?" Luffy nodded and laid back down, facing Zoro. "Sorry I can't give you any. I sort of my own blood problem." Luffy saw he had a transfusion in his left arm. "Nami gave you some sunglasses. On the table."
The half human looked to the side and saw some sunglasses. It would bring more attention to them, but he'd wear them anyways. "What happened? After I was out?" Luffy asked quietly.
"Those marines came and tried to claim this as their victory. We all beat the shit out of them. The main guy was the most pissed at you, even though you were unconscious. Nami forced them to arrest Arlong, and help fix the villages that were destroyed. All the money is back for the village. I think you'll get a bigger reputation than any of us, even if we were the ones to attack that loser captain.
"You really did a number on Arlong after you were inside the building," he commented. "Wish I could have seen it." Then he grinned. "It was hilarious seeing you just piss him off over and over."
"Shishishi, I wasn't exactly trying," Luffy said, smiling, too. Zoro asked if he felt any different. He held his hand and all. Luffy frowned, and Zoro looked momentarily upset. He started to apologize, but Luffy cut him off. "I was too harsh. And insecure. I was really upset about what you said, but I know you didn't mean it like that. I was afraid you would leave me, once your dream was fulfilled.
"Or when you lost, that you were going to leave, too. I'm sorry I closed you off." Zoro was up though, pulling the IV out, and walked the few feet to Luffy's bed, hugging him, even though his wound had to hurt. "I won't leave, Pirate King," he vowed. Luffy nodded, able to not cry in relief. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
-x-
"Nami!" Luffy called as he stuffed his face and ran all over the village. He followed the smell of the guy who knew her well. Pinwheel man. "Hey, where's Nami? Oh, is that a grave? Someone die?"
"Yes, a long time ago," Genzo said.
"Oh. I see. Well, she has my deepest c- hm? Condiments? Compliments? Conditon-?"
Genzo interrupted, "Condolences." Luffy nodded. That was the word. "Hey, kid. Nami said she'll join your crew and become a pirate. It'll be a dangerous journey." Luffy nodded, but knew he wasn't done. He stayed quiet and listened. "So if you ever do anything to steal her smile away, I'll personally come and kill you!"
Luffy was surprised. "Well, I'm never gonna do th-"
"UNDERSTAND?!"
"I understand," Luffy hurriedly said.
The party continued and they were to leave the next day. Nami got a new tattoo, a tangerine with a windmill. She also nabbed a ton of blood bags in the ice chest, good at stealing them, like usual. Luffy continued to wear the glasses around the villagers. He had to tell Sanji. He didn't want to wear the glasses, but he also knew the guy was probably not feeling that great about being left out. Especially with how much Usopp was bragging.
Jonny and Yosaku were going to go on their way. Wanted to resume their job. So, they were saying goodbye there. Zoro wasn't upset, he was just glad to meet them. They were waiting for Nami, now, though on the ship. She was taking forever.
"Where is she, anyways?" Usopp asked.
"Maybe she's not coming," Zoro said, not seriously, but Sanji freaked out about that. He and Zoro were already at each other's necks.
While they waited, Luffy knowing she was coming, since she already put clothes in her room and snuck the ice chest in her room again, Sanji finally asked if he could be in the loop now. "Then you can take off those stupid glasses, not hiding whatever is the problem. I'm sick of Usopp being a dick about it."
Usopp grinned. "You're just jealous."
"I'll tell you. I'm surprised you didn't connect any of the dots with what me and Arlong were arguing about. But yeah, I'll tell you. The Baratie is on the way to the Grand Line, if you want we can drop you back off," Luffy said lightly.
"Hah?! If Usopp can handle whatever it is, then I can, too!"
"Hey, I defeated a fishman on my own, too, you know!" Luffy laughed, saying he was proud. He knew he could do it. Zoro smiled, still leaning against the cabin wall. They all heard, "SET SAIL!" from Nami, as she ran to the cliff face where everyone was waiting to say goodbye. She was planning on not, and just started to run through the crowd.
They did what she said, and started to sail away. The villagers wanted to say goodbye to her, but she said nothing before she jumped the distance between the ship and the cliff, landing gracefully. Luffy beamed. The crew was back together, and none were leaving. Luffy felt they had enough now to enter the Grand Line, of course after Zoro got two more swords from somewhere.
Nami widened her arms, and dozens of wallets dropped out of her shirt.
"My wallet is gone!"
"Mine, too!"
"She took mine!"
She smiled, and said, "Take care everyone!" holding a bill.
"YOU ROTTEN LITTLE THIEF!" they roared as the ship sailed away. Zoro and Usopp weren't happy about it, Luffy thought it was funny, and Sanji complimented her on it. They continued to shout for her to bring the money back. But then they turned into farewells, and kind goodbyes. Genzo yelled at Luffy about their promise, and Luffy simply smiled and put his thumb up.
He was glad Nami was smiling as she said goodbye to her home for the last time for a while. She wasn't returning anytime soon to add more money. That money was all gone. They were starting over with not much, but enough for now. When they made it to the Grand Line, he was sure there were lots of people to steal from!
Once they were out a bit, they all sat in a circle. Sanji's favorite cooking tools were now in the kitchen, with a ton of food in storage and the fridge. They were set for a while. "If you get upset, we'll kill you," Nami said sternly. Sanji nodded once, and Luffy took off his glasses, showing the red eyes. Sanji raised his brows. Luffy immediately explained the situation, as he'd told Zoro and Nami. Bluntly, not hiding anything. He even explained about the times he'd gone berserk. He didn't look bothered, until he looked furious.
"You were dying because you didn't have any blood?!"
"Well, yeah. And Zoro was not in any shape to give any-"
"You could have asked me!" The group was surprised. "I mean, not like how it is with Zoro, but I could have dripped it into your mouth or something." Luffy smiled.
He honestly said, "It wouldn't have mattered after the second day. I needed a lot. Last time I was out of blood like that, I almost drained someone dry. I don't know if I would have been able to stop," he said honestly, though there was a bit of shame. Usopp smiled.
"Then we'll just make sure that doesn't happen again, right?" Luffy nodded, and nobody pointed out that he should have shared. Or at least offered. Nami asked if he and Zoro were all better now. They nodded.
She turned on Zoro and glared at him. "You better watch what you say, you moron-!" Luffy cut her off. Usopp had already chewed him up pretty badly already. "Still! I can't believe you were so dumb!"
Zoro shot back, "Shut it! I've never done this before, I'm not good at it!" He was red in the face, and Nami smirked and said that it was cute. "I'm going to kill you, you witch."
"How dare you insult Nami-san! Say that one more time, jackass!" The other two sighed and Luffy laughed. The two who knew about Nami's preferences weren't going to say anything about it to anybody. Not Usopp or Sanji. It was her secret, just like Luffy's secret was his. He was happy, and gave Nami her sunglasses back.
"At the next island, we'll look for some colored contacts," she said brightly. Luffy smiled and nodded. He felt more comfortable with them in. Felt he was hiding things. He took his hat off, looking at it. He wouldn't see Shanks for a while, but they were getting closer. Though Luffy had to be much stronger before then! The Grand Linewould toughen him up even more! And he wanted to learn to control that strength he'd used to destroy Arlong. He wanted to be able to pull off long, hard fights without being so exhausted afterwards.
Well, he would. He knew that, he just needed practice is all. They would all get stronger. "Nami, how are you going to chart a map of the whole world?" Luffy asked. "We're going to the Grand Line."
She smiled. "Well, I don't expect our journey to end anytime soon. Right? Who says we can't leave the Grand Lineand explore other places. Shanks went to the East Blue after the Grand Line, didn't he?"
"That's right! I didn't even think of that! We can go to every sea!"
"Not the North Blue," Sanji said simply, abandoning his argument with Zoro. "I have some people there I never want to see again."
Luffy nodded. "Well, there are other seas," he said simply. "The Grand Lineis gonna be crazy exciting. I can't wait!" Nami said they were on their way. Not much longer now.
-x-
Luffy snuck behind Nami's new tangerine trees, determined to get at least one. But Sanji kicked him in the face and onto the middle deck. "C'mon, let me have one! We all protected them, right?!"
"No way! These are only Nami-san's trees! You don't get any without her permission." Zoro pointed out he was nothing special either. She wasn't sharing with any of them. He and Sanji were like fire and water. They hated one another, already. It had only been a week or so. Luffy had no hope for the both of them, so he didn't interfere or tell them to stop anymore.
"Well fine. I'm in a good mood, so I'll drop it." Nami and Usopp were arguing about the newspaper and money. Nami had the paper in her hands, and Luffy wondered if there was anything interesting.
"Not really anything new. Just some problems in far off islands, but they happen often. The East Blue Sea isn't crawling with pirates, after all. The islands have the most trouble with the people there themselves. The Don Krieg incident is in here. I can't believe you ended up giving him brain damage." Luffy drooped. "He was a violent enemy, don't feel sorry for ending his career," she said simply. The captain nodded silently. Then he went running with Usopp, cheering about the Grand Line!
"Now we gotta get a doctor and a musician! And a shipwright too, but doctor first!" Luffy cheered. "Shishishi, what if they're mad I take the blood bags?"
"Then they can go fuck themselves," Zoro said from his spot, and yawned before he took another nap. Luffy heard his stomach grumble, and so he silently went into the galley, not needing to hide the chest anymore, and took a bag out, drinking it like someone would drink a juice box.
When it was empty, he put it in the biohazard bin. Sanji walked in, and saw him. He tossed him a napkin. "I was thinking… have you ever tried blood on something else?" Luffy cocked his head. "Like, a sauce or something fancier? All you do is drink it plain." Sanji wasn't squeamish about it at all.
Though nobody mentioned or watched the rare times where he drank from Zoro. They both agreed to only do it sometimes. For Luffy's feelings mostly. Zoro didn't want to go too far again, and didn't want Luffy to ever feel he was just seducing Zoro. It had been only a week. They weren't moving fast anymore.
"No. I've always just had it from donors. Even if they didn't know they were," Luffy replied. "You want to cook with it?"
"Well, I'm in charge of nutrition, aren't I? And I want my food to taste good, too. I thought it would be nice for some variety," he explained casually. Luffy nodded, accepting that happily. "I'll be buying other pans and such for it for added precaution. I don't want any blood getting in the normal food, after all."
Luffy beamed. "Thanks! You're awesome!"
"Only Nami-san gets to compliment me like that! And don't think you're special because of this." Luffy laughed and nodded, hurrying out of the room. He was going to Zoro when he heard Nami and Usopp scream from the back deck. He and his swordsman were up in an instant, rushing there. Nami was holding up a flyer, eyes wide.
Luffy asked what was wrong. "A bounty!"
"Ehhh! Let me see!" Luffy snatched the page and beamed. "Ahahaha! We're wanted men, now! It says 30 million!" Luffy cheered, holding the page up for Zoro and Sanji to see. Zoro wasn't happy.
"I kicked his face, didn't I?! Why don't I get a bounty?"
"I mean, Luffy was the one to beat and mutilate Arlong, right? He seems like the most dangerous one to others. But dang! 30 million. Even Arlong had 20 million!"
"Shishishi! I'm awesome! Ahahaha!" Nami wasn't happy at all. People were going to come after them, now! How could they not be upset!
Zoro replied, "Well, what did you expect? You're a pirate, now, too, aren't you? You can't complain when you signed up for this. I'm going back to my nap," and he walked back to his spot. He was napping in that exact spot, each time. Luffy was in a wonderful mood.
"Oh! Look, I'm in it, too! The whole world gets to see, I'm famous!" Sanji was sour. It was only the back of his head, nothing special. He was frustrated, too, like Zoro was. Well, they'd be in the Grand Line soon, and then they could go wild and get huge bounties!
"Wait, I don't want a huge bounty!" Usopp hurriedly said. "Oh, do you think they'll know who I am if they see this?!"
Sanji smirked. "You could always just shave your head." Usopp scowled at him, and Luffy laughed. Nami moved on from this surprisingly quick. She sighed, though, looking at all of them.
"We need another girl on this crew. I can't deal with just men," she said in exasperation. "All disgusting, and loud, and vulgar. Ugh!" Luffy laughed. They would get a girl.
"Remember my promise before?" he asked, making Nami blush, remembering Luffy would help her find a girl she liked. Like he was with Zoro. Sanji and Usopp asked what it was about, and Nami hit both of them. It was none of their businesses.
"Okay, Nami-san~!" Sanji said, giving up easily. Usopp looked at him in disbelief. Luffy was so happy about this. And Ace could see he was a pirate now, too! He couldn't wait for the adventures they would be going on. He went to sit in Zoro's lap, even if he didn't nap with him. He was asleep, but still wrapped his arms around Luffy's waist. Zoro would definitely get a high bounty.
It wasn't long after that Usopp announced they were near an island. Nami took the telescope and looked at it. That island is proof we're near the Grand Line! On that island is a famous town called 'Loguetown'. It's also known as the town of beginning and the end. It's the birthplace of Gold Roger and where he was executed."
Luffy gasped, eyes bright. He wanted to see where the Pirate Kingdied. He couldn't exactly see where he was born, but he wanted to see where he said those last words that gave Luffy his dream.
When they docked and stepped foot on the island, they each had different tasks to do. Luffy wanted to go to the execution platform, Usopp get some new equipment for his weapons he made, Sanji wanted to get more food. Fresh food. Zoro needed new swords, and had to borrow money from Nami to do so.
"Luffy, go with me?" Zoro asked kind of awkwardly. "We can see the execution platform, too. I mean, we never got that date, y'know…" He glared at Nami calling them cute once again. Luffy smiled and accepted. He put on sunglasses, and was told to leave his hat off. He protested vehemently.
"Do you want to get nabbed by marines right outside the Grand Line? And besides, you want to go with Zoro and be uninterrupted, right?" Luffy pouted, but knew she had a point. She went inside and got him a beanie. "Here, wear this."
He looked surprised. She awkwardly said, "I've been hiding something I hated on my body for years. I understand how you feel about your hair." He grinned and thanked her, putting the green beanie on. He didn't care if it didn't match with his shirt or shorts.
He and Zoro set off to find some swords. Luffy would visit the execution platform later. While they walked, Luffy holding onto Zoro's arm, they almost immediately found something interesting happening. A fight. Two big men versus a woman with a sword. Apparently she worked with some "monster", and they were only comfortable attacking her with him not there. Zoro looked interested, too, and they slowed to watch.
Luffy watched, and they attacked. Zoro started pulling out his sword, but he could hear her get ready to attack, and Zoro didn't have time to do anything before she struck and sliced them. Then she kind of ruined that cool move by falling on her face and dropping her glasses. Luffy handed them back to her.
Zoro was surprised. Then she looked up, and his face went white. "Ah, thank you. Sorry for troubling you."
"Hey, you're pretty strong. That was cool," Luffy said, standing up. "But you're kind of clumsy, too, aren't you? Shishishi," he laughed. Zoro stayed silent. They walked away, Zoro pulling on Luffy's arm. He walked with him, wondering what was wrong.
"Nothing." Luffy frowned. "Okay, she looks like my old friend."
"Oh… Kuina?" Luffy asked. Zoro nodded. "Well, she's not. Just looks like her. It is kind of weird, though. But I think she's marine." The older one looked surprised. "I don't know how. Well, no, I do. She smelled like the other marines we saw at Nami's place. Maybe their jackets have some certain smell. She also smelled like cigarettes."
Zoro grinned. "You're so cool, Luffy." The captain giggled. They found a sword's shop easily. Luffy didn't know a thing about swords, so he let Zoro do the shopping while he looked around, managing not to break anything. Zoro only had 100,000 berrieses and the guy said it wasn't enough for anything of value.
"Well, that'll be good enough. I don't have much money right now," he said casually, not bothered at all. Luffy knew he would be strong even if he had crap swords. But the guy asked to see Zoro's sword, and Luffy started paying attention to the shop guy.
"Well, this sword isn't the best, but I'll buy it from you for 200,000 berries! Meaning you'll have 300,000 in total! With that amount, you could buy three pretty decent swords!" Luffy walked over.
He bluntly said, "His sword is worth a lot more. You're lying about it. And he's not gonna give it to you anyways." Zoro looked guarded, and the shop owner acted angry, like Luffy slandered him. Zoro casually said he wasn't going to sell it, no matter how much it was worth.
Luffy turned just to see the Kuina look-alike come over and get up in Zoro's space. "This sword, could it be?!" Zoro moved away in discomfort. Luffy frowned. He was really bothered by her. Well, he would be bothered if he'd been around someone that looked a lot like Sabo. He could understand, but he needed a sword and this was the only one they could find. "This is Wado Ichimonji, isn't it?!"
They already knew that. And they already knew the guy was lying when he said it wasn't very valuable. What Zoro didn't know was that it was extremely rare and valuable. And worth at least a million berries. She was more upset than Zoro about the guy swindiling him. But the shop owner got furious at the Kuina look-alike for obstructing business, and he threw her sword at her. Of course, in its scabbard.
And she fell into the swords. "Shishishi, see, I knew she was clumsy. Is there any more swords you want to see here?" he asked. When Zoro was shouted at about the barrel of cheap swords, Zoro calmly went to them, unbothered by the shop owner at all. Luffy looked around more, trying to find the prettiest one.
"Hey, didn't we see one another on the street?"
"When you fell and lost your glasses," Zoro said in a tight voice and turned away. Luffy decided to keep her focused on him and not Zoro as he looked at the "cheap" swords.
"Hey, they said you had a monster friend. Who was it? What kind of monster lives here? Is it big? Where do you keep it?" Luffy asked in a bored voice. He heard Zoro snort quietly. She explained that it wasn't an actual monster, but her powerful partner. Captain Smoker. He protected Loguetown from pirates, since they were headed on their way to the Grand Line. "Hah, he must be really busy, then. This place has lots of pirates, after all," he replied casually.
So, he was right about her being a marine, and even the guy's name was Smoker. That made him chuckle. "So, you're like a sword nerd? You have a book and everything. He likes swords, but I don't really get anything about them. I'd just kill myself if I tried," he said. Zoro continued to dig in the barrel, pulling one out, then frowning and putting it in back for another.
"Oh, yeah, I really like swords and their history. They're so fascinating."
"Heeeeh," Luffy replied.
She turned back to Zoro, and commented that his three swords reminded her of a bounty hunter. I'm talking of Roronoa Zoro. Do you know him?" Luffy took the focus off of Zoro again.
"I know him! I saw him on an island one time. He was scary, but cool," Luffy said, and saw Zoro pursing his lips, but trying to hide a smile or laugh. Or both. He was kind of dumb, he knew that, but he felt he was good at helping his friends, even if it took some smarts! The Kuina look-alike nodded. She was interested in his sword style.
But then she started dissing him completely. "To think he treats his swords as purely a way of making money… it's simply unforgivable! Why is it that evil is so strong these days."
"You're saying Smoker is evil? Or are you saying he's weak because he's not evil?"
"Of course that's not what I meant! Smoker enforces justice! I was talking about swordsmen! All the famous swordsmen today are either pirates or bounty hunters! And they're the ones that possess most of the world's masterwork blades. The swords are crying, you know."
Luffy crossed his arms and cocked his head. "Wouldn't people who travel come across more swords than those staying in one place?" he wondered. He could hear Zoro gasp. He thought he was strange for saying something smart, didn't he?! Well… Luffy was kind of impressed with himself as well. "That was a smart thing to say, wasn't it? Shishishi."
"Very smart," Zoro said simply.
The shop owner was in a bad mood. He welcomed criminals, they made good business. But now that Smoker was there, he was keeping customers away. "Smoker is no monster!"
"Of course he is, he has a devil fruit!" Luffy wondered what fruit is was. So he asked. "A smoke logia. A logia is made of an element or substance. They're intangible. It's impossible to escape from that man." Kuina look-alike was very angry that her friend or superior was being insulted. They got into an argument that Luffy was bored with. Luffy smiled and asked if he found anything good.
"Not really. You try to find one. Maybe that'll work," Zoro said casually.
Luffy looked inside. "Hmm, how about this one?" he asked, pulling out a sword. "It seems interesting." Zoro took it and unsheathed it. The marine yanked it out of his hand.
"I've seen this before in my book. It's Sandai Kitetsu. You should definitely buy this one!" Luffy laughed, and Zoro smirked. But the shop guy shouted out that he refused to sell it. It was cursed. Zoro looked amused, and Luffy laughed. Of course he chose a cursed sword. He said he should buy it anyway, it was interesting.
Zoro looked at it closely. "How did I not notice it before? I can tell now. It feels strange. Like a burning sensation that doesn't hurt," he mused. The shop owner explained that there was a whole line of cursed swords. Renowned, but difficult to use. Even impossible.
"All of the swordsmen who have wielded them have died tragic deaths. You won't find anyone using them. I wish I could get rid of it, but I'm afraid to get cursed, too. Even if you're unaware, you'll end up dead from it." Luffy said he should get it anyway. It would be fun.
"D-Don't you care about him?"
"Of course I do!" Luffy said angrily. "I just know he'd have fun with it!" Luffy snapped. Zoro patted his head, telling him it was fine. Luffy crossed his arms, but she couldn't see he was glaring. Zoro declared he would buy it. Everyone in the room but Luffy thought he was crazy. Luffy laughed.
But then a woman came in and punched the shop guy's head. They wanted it gone, so just sell it and get rid of it. "How about this? Why don't we test who's stronger? My luck, or its curse? If I lose, then that means I was never a man who'd amount to anything special." Luffy felt the sword was not going to hurt him. He had no reason to. It's not like it gave off emotion. He just truly felt it wouldn't hurt him. So he stood back to watch as Zoro tossed it in the air, and stuck his arm out.
The shop owner insisted he not do this. But he didn't stop. And it didn't slice him, but fell right around his arm and into the floor. "Wow, this is a thick floor, isn't it?" Luffy asked, picking it up. He was unsurprised. Zoro told him to pick another one for him. "M'kay," Luffy said, and went looking for another one.
But then the shop owner stopped him and pulled out another blade. "Wait! This is a black lacquered longsword with an unraveled edge. It's name is 'Yubashiri', one of the fifty skillful grade swords. I can personally attest to its sharpness! Although my store may not be much, this is the best sword I have."
When Zoro said he didn't have enough money, he was offered it for free. Then he said he wouldn't be charged for the other one, either! Nami would be amazed by this incredible bargain. The shop owner complimented him, and Luffy saw Kuina look-alike looking sad. Maybe ashamed that Zoro was being called an incredible swordsman and she wasn't.
They left, satisfied. "Lying is hard."
"You did a good job. And thanks for picking the sword. I got them both for free because of that. Now, let's go to the execution platform." Luffy smiled and nodded. "That woman was kind of annoying. Getting in my personal space too much," he commented casually. "Well, we learned about devil fruits and the guy who runs the island's security."
They found it after buying some ice cream, and Luffy immediately ran up to it. Zoro sat on a bench to admire his swords while Luffy climbed the execution platform excitedly. "So, this is the last thing the Pirate Kingsaw, huh?" he asked in awe. He could just picture the huge crowd that heard and spawned the age of pirates. What led him to this point and further. He grinned. "I'll find your treasure. Then I can be the Pirate King, and maybe Ace can forget all about your role. Shishishi…"
"Hey, you! Get down from there this instant!"
"Why?"
"That's a special stand that is owned by the World Government!"
"Hmmm, well, I'll only be here for a bit more."
"No, come down right now!" Luffy refused, and suddenly the guy was unconscious, being hit in the back of his head by a club. The woman who did it smelled familiar, but looked like nobody he'd ever seen before. She said she'd been looking all over for him. Luffy cocked his head. Zoro was watching in interest now, still not standing. "You haven't forgotten my face, have you?"
"AH! I don't recognize your face, but you smell that way! Hey, you were really fat, what happened to you?" Luffy wondered. He heard Zoro burst into laughter, but Alvida looked pretty unbothered. She wasn't angry at him like before. If it weren't for her scent, then he wouldn't know who she was at all.
Zoro looked angry when she started sort of... flirting with him? And saying gross things. He'd punched her in the face, but she was kind of looking… turned on? It made him shiver in horror. Zoro was furious.
"But you see, I only love strong men. I'll have you be mine at last, Luffy."
Luffy said, "I'm taken already! Besides, you're not my type. Shishishi!" he laughed. Zoro looked angry still, but didn't cause a scene and attack her like he clearly wanted to do. She was surprised by this. Maybe because Luffy acted dumb before? The crowd booed him for turning her down while also begging to take his place.
Alvida looked angry now, her eyes shadowed by her hat. Luffy went back to fight over the platform, looking all four ways. Then he smelled again. "Hey! Alvida, why do you smell like Buggy?!" he accused. The woman looked surprised. When Luffy met her before, he'd mentioned nothing of smell, as he hadn't recognized any of them on that ship. People were commenting on why he could smell her so well.
He smelled Buggy more, taking a deep breath. He smelled the same. Like booze and makeup. He knew what that smelled like from being in Nami's room. Alvida said nothing, but Buggy did come out, wearing a hood. The marines had heard of who he was, and heard his own name. He had a poster now, afterall.
Buggy was back in one piece again, which was kind of impressive. As he explained his journey of getting his body back, Luffy was uninterested and picked his nose before he heard someone behind him and moved out of the way. "What are you doing?" he asked. Buggy was now on the execution platform with him. The Buggy pirates flooded the plaza, pointing their guns at everyone.
What a mess this would probably turn into. Luffy watched in slight amusement as confusion gripped the pirates. Luffy hadn't needed to exactly use his senses when he dealt with them. "This is your execution!" Buggy shouted. Luffy cocked his head, and walked to the guy, shoving him off the platform. "No one gets executed here but the Pirate King! How rude! I'm not dying, by the way. At least not until after I become the Pirate King!"
"Oi, Luffy! We should get going!" Zoro shouted.
"Roronoa Zoro!" Buggy shrieked angrily. Luffy launched off the platform and landed on Buggy, slamming him into the ground. "Shishishi! Let's go, then," Luffy said. They pummeled the shocked pirates as they ran off.
Luffy was laughing it all off, his hat long gone. Nami would be mad. So, his black and white hair was showing. He had his sunglasses on, though. It had started to rain and hard to see through the glasses. Zoro said he should just take them off. Luffy took them and stuffed them in his pocket. "Oh no! We never got contacts!"
"Shit," Zoro swore. They could see marines after them, as well as pirates. "Well, you'll be even more intimidating if people see them, right?" Luffy wasn't happy, but knew they had to leave now. Sanji met up with them in the downpour.
"Hey, idiots, Nami-san said we have to leave! Wha- why are there pirates and marines following you?!" Luffy said a lady wanted to be his girlfriend and then her companions wanted to kill him. "What?! Who was this woman?!"
"You don't gotta be jealous, Luffy isn't exactly into women!" Zoro shouted as they ran. Then Kuina look-alike was there. She was furious at Zoro, even though Luffy was the one to lie. Maybe because Zoro was a pirate and had said nothing. Sanji demanded to know what he did to that lady. "I didn't do anything worth getting so angry about." His voice was casual.
"How could you pretend to be anything but a pirate! And you, Straw Hat Luffy! You played me! For this, I will take Wado Ichimonji! You don't deserve such a blade!" she shouted, holding her own sword. Zoro grinned, and dared her to.
"Make sure you come back, soon!" Luffy called as they left Zoro behind to battle the woman. Sanji was upset with this, but Luffy dragged him along. Then they saw someone up ahead. "Who's that?" Luffy wondered.
"Ugh, another one?" Sanji said in annoyance. They were yelling everything now because the downpour was so violent. Even without the glasses on, it was hard to see, and scents were being dimmed a bit. So he couldn't smell anything familiar about this man.
He just glared at them. "So, you've come, Straw Hat Luffy."
"Who the heck are you?" Luffy asked.
"The name's Smoker. I'm a captain of marine headquarters. And I won't let you set sail from here!" A cloud of smoke wrapped around him, and he felt stupid! He should have known! He was lifted into the air, and he thrashed around but couldn't get out. Sanji attempted to help, but he was caught, too and then thrown into the wall.
Luffy shouted his name in worry, and then tried to punch Smoker, but he was suddenly behind him. "What the-?" Smoker rudely asked if he was really worth his bounty value. He looked at Luffy, and said he had strange eyes.
"Well you have stupid hair! And you smell bad, too!" Luffy said defensively. This is why he didn't like showing his eyes! People think he's weird or scary! But then he was slammed down into the ground.
Smoker wasn't provoked by his petty insult. "Looks like your luck has come to an end-"
Then Luffy smelled Garp. "Garp?!" he shouted, struggling to get out of Smoker's grip, but he couldn't see who it was. "Hey! What are you doing?!" he thrashed around, but Smoker seemed to recognize him. Well, they were both marines. But Garp didn't completely smell like Garp. Maybe it was someone he was around a lot and so smelled like him.
He was annoyed with being pinned down. They were having a conversation and ignoring him. "The World Government is after your head." So, it definitely wasn't Garp. Unless he betrayed! But, no… that was stupid, there was no way. Now he was sure it wasn't him, but who was it then?! He wanted an answer!
"The world awaits our answer!" and then suddenly there was a huge gust of wind, taking everyone around up off the ground it was so strong. Zoro caught him, and he and Sanji bailed, running as fast as they could back to the ship. When they got to where they docked it, Usopp and Nami were already there. They had to leave now, the storm was really bad.
He launched the three of them onto the ship, and they sailed away through the violent storm. But it was exciting! "Yahoo! It feels like the ship might tip over!"
They were nearing the entrance to the Grand Line! They could see a light just up ahead, the lighthouse in front of the entrance! Luffy's hat was back on, where it should be. He was holding it to his head in the wind, though. "So, what shall we do?" Nami asked with a smile.
Usopp protested entering the Grand Lineduring a violent storm, but was ignored. Sanji spoke, "So we're about to enter the Grand Line, huh? This calls for a celebration!" He pulled out a barrel, and they all walked up to it. Without even having to say anything, they all stated their dreams. Entering the Grand Line was that real start of fulfilling them.
"To be the Pirate King!"
"To find the All Blue."
"To be the greatest swordsman."
"To draw a map of the world."
"T… t-to become a brave warrior of the sea!"
They smashed the empty barrel with their raised feet together. "Off to the Grand Linewe go!"
Luffy felt something heavy in his pocket, just noticing it. He pulled it out, and it was a paper wrapped around a rock. "What's this?" he wondered. He didn't put this in his pocket. He opened it, and read, "Search for pon-" but then it flew away in the rain. "No! Come back!" he ran after it, but it was gone in the rain.
He felt annoyed, and bothered. What if it had been really important! Someone went through the trouble of putting it directly in his pocket. He didn't read enough to know what "pon" was. Luffy huffed, trying not to let his frustration build, and went where Nami was talking to them about what was gonna happen next, all of them inside.
"What's your problem?" Sanji asked.
"I'll tell you later," Luffy said, a frown on.
Nami moved on. "The entrance to the Grand Lineis a mountain." Luffy was amazed, Usopp scared, and Zoro and Sanji just looked annoyed about it. "Exactly. I had a hard time believing it myself when I looked at this map, but look! The lighthouse - the light of guidance was directly pointing at Reverse Mountain location, right here on the Red Line," she explained.
"Does that mean we have to crash through the mountain?" Luffy wondered.
"No, there's a water way right here," she said, pointing to the map. The Red Line, with one side with an entrance from all of the Blues. On the other side was the beginning of the Grand Line.
Usopp said what they were all thinking: that was crazy. Even if there was a water way, how the hell would they climb the mountain? "But that's what the map says," Nami said a bit defensively. Sanji backed her and Zoro pointed out that this was the map Buggy got. It might not be accurate.
It was too late to go back, though. Luffy trusted the map. And it was so cool! "Are we really going up the mountain? That's so cool! So it's a magic mountain, huh?"
They argued about what to do, nobody but Luffy believing that they could actually go up the mountain, before the storm stopped suddenly. They went out, confused, and seeing the storm just seemed to have disappeared, but was still close and still raging. "What the…?" Sanji asked.
"Oh no! We've entered the Calm Belt!" Nami screamed in horror.
"Huh? Calm Belt? What's that?" Luffy asked. "The storm is right over there. Isn't it a good thing we're out, then? Though it looked borin-" he got punched by Nami.
"This is bad! It's not cool! Get the oars, we have to leave right now! This place doesn't move, there's no currents, no wind, and it's infested with sea kings! Hurry! We'd be better off in the storm!"
"It's in the Grand Line?" Zoro asked. Nami was angry they weren't hurrying. Usopp was freaked out, but Luffy was amazed. The ocean really was a huge adventure!
"No! It's not the Grand Line. Listen, the Grand Lineis sandwiched between two belts of ocean, which is exactly where you don't want to be. I just told you why!" The crew finally started to get out the oars and hurry back into the storm when there was a huge creak and shake of the boat. It wasn't an earthquake, but a giant sea king lifting their ship up.
They screamed, while Luffy was amazed. "They're so big! Hey, why don't we just ask them to take us out?"
"Idiot, sea kings aren't friends!"
"Then what do we do?!"
"Hey, sea kings, let us out and I won't kill you!" Luffy shouted with a growl at the end. The sea kings that weren't holding their ship bailed, while the massive one they were on dumped them and ditched with the others. "No, come back and take it out!" Luffy called, but they were all gone. Nami didn't miss a beat before ordering they get the oars and leave.
Luffy pouted and they made their way back to the sea. Zoro got behind Luffy. "That commanding tone was really hot."
"Not now!" the other three shouted, Luffy laughing loudly.
They made it back to the storm easily, though it would have been cooler to have had the sea king take them out. But, they were safe from one danger and back in another. "See why we need to enter through Reverse Mountain!" Nami called. They all sighed, and Luffy was excited to climb up the mountain, which Nami said with finality was the only way in. "It probably has to do with the sea currents. If strong currents from each of the four seas were to all head for that mountain, then they would drive the water up. Once we're up the mountain will bring us back down into the Grand Line. We only have to navigate there."
"Awww, that's not magic!" Luffy complained.
"Of course it's not! Magic doesn't exist!"
"Then what are devil fruits?" Usopp wondered.
"It's science, you morons!" She was growing angrier so they dropped their philosophical argument.