"See, humans are monsters!" Shit shit shit.

"Rayleigh, what happened to everything?"

"It seems you had a flashback. You were screaming. Are you alright?"

"I- yeah. But what happened to your face? You have blood on your cheek!"

"It's nothing. I want you to relax for today, okay?"

"Not train?"

"Not today. It's a break day."

"Okay…"

Luffy had had plenty of PTSD episodes. There was only once that he woke up and saw a mess. A huge alligator was ripped apart at his feet, and he hadn't remembered it. "Oi, Luffy? You back?!" Zoro called.

"Y-Yeah!"

"Luffy-kun," Jinbei said sadly. The teen wiped the blood off on his pants. There were bloody fishmen all around him. They weren't dead, but he'd really fucked up.

"I'm sorry, Jinbei. I ruined your plan," Luffy said in shame.

"You didn't do it on purpose. It seems untreated PTSD with some people isn't the best," Jinbei said, but his voice was very serious.

"Luffy-sama, are you okay?" Shirahoshi asked, not sounding afraid. "You were crying."

Luffy touched his cheeks. He'd been crying.

"Humans sure are mentally unstable. Look at him! He killed them even when they tried retreating!" Hordy shouted, gloating. The crowd was murmuring in worry. Well, it was worth it to tarnish his own name and reputation than to put hard work to waste. He didn't want to ruin Jinbei's desire. He'd tell the truth.

Luffy loudly said, "Then it's good I'm not human, huh?" Hordy's smirk fell off. He wasn't a human, maybe that made him more dangerous.

"He's not a human?!"

"He does have red eyes. And weird tattoos."

"Madame Sharley said he'd destroy the island, too!"

This couldn't be normal. People with PTSD, do they do that? Well, he was a monster. He knew that. But people of this scale knowing? Never had that happened. Even at the war, even after, nobody knew about it. The new kama's had, but there was a trigger there that could be seen: the seastone. But this was all him.

"Guys, ignore what happens with me!" Luffy said to his crew. "Yowahoshi, I'm sorry I scared you."

"No, you didn't scare me! Luffy-sama is a good person!" she insisted. He smiled, and turned to Hordy. He took a few steps forward towards him, and he backed up. Well, why not release that scary arua at Hordy himself? He could try and let it only focus on him, like he'd done before, not long ago.

He made to terrify him, and he backed away, naturally finding Luffy wrong, whatever he was. Whatever Hancock and Roger were. Hordy shoved a bunch of pill capsules in his mouth, his friends telling him not to take so much. Zoro and Sanji walked beside him, going to fight against his two closest fishmen.

Sanji asked if he was alright.

"Yeah. Flashback, I'm okay," Luffy said firmly. "Now I can be an open monster. My cover is blown." They nodded, and the three of them went after their targets, Luffy rushing towards Hordy, and slamming him in the face, hard. He bit down on his hand, but blood burnt his mouth. "That's how it went with Arlong! You may have strong teeth that can regrow, but what will you do when they're useless?!"

He gave off a jet gatling, and Hordy took it all. The drugs he took made his body even harder. He pulled up a hand, and released a burst from his hand, fishman karate but much weaker than Jinbei's. Luffy snapped his head back, and stretched it. He let it snap back, forehead covered in armament haki. "That's not gonna work on me! I'm a rubber monster."

His hardened forehead slammed into Hordy's, knocking him back. His mouth was still burnt, and it looked like it was painful to speak. The burn was bad, bubbly and red. Like Arlong's had been, the first time he found out his blood could be corrosive.

Hordy acted fast, and kicked him as hard as he could. Luffy held his left arm up, and covered it in haki. He only ever knew it was covered in haki by seeing it, since he didn't feel it form. At least he could use it there. The leg hit him, but his arm didn't bend at all, the haki hurt Hordy instead.

Luffy covered his leg in haki and slammed it into his chest. Nobody was trying to fight him anymore, too scared of Luffy. He wasn't letting up on that scary feeling. It was distracting everybody in the area but for the two strongest fishmen that Zoro and Sanji were both fighting individually. The main villain stood up and shot constant water bullets at him, with Luffy fluidly dodging each one. He held his injured arm to his chest so it didn't get hit without him noticing. He moved through the barrage and to his enemy and slammed his haki covered right hand into his gut, making him cough blood.

Coughing up blood, he demanded to know what Luffy was, even though he looked ill from all those drugs. "A nightmare," Luffy replied easily. Shishishi, that sounded like something somebody cool would say. A shadow covered the plaza, and everyone looked up.

The fishmen and merfolk started to freak out about the massive ship hovering over the bubble. It was old and damaged, but damn huge. Everyone was calling it the "Noah". How was it there? Would it pop the bubble? Their ship wasn't coated, if the bubble popped, they were dead. The fishmen spectators were evacuating everybody on the island. They could leave it and be safe, but the humans were stuck there.

Was there any way to stop it? It wasn't Hordy's plan, either, as he pulled himself from the rubble. A tough guy, but all from his drugs. He took another mouthful, and the stench of a fresh corpse thickened. He really was destroying his body for a few extra minutes of strength. What was he going to do when he ran out of pills? Was he strong enough to keep the coup d'etat up? His body was already being damaged in real time.

Something came falling into the plaza. A huge person that they saw before! Looking up, he fell off of the Noah. "Bohahahaha!" It was that Vander Decken pedophile! This wasn't going according his alliance with the New Fishman Pirates. "Sorry Wadatsume, I can't save you! I'll crush Fishman Island to kill Shirahoshi! She denied my proposal too many times, and the alternative is death! Bohahaha!"

"Heh, that's a huge ship. Huh, Yowahoshi, what are you doing?!" Luffy called as she swam up with a bubble to right under the Noah, the giant ship.

"I'm here! If it's me you want, don't hurt everyone else, too! Please stop this!" she begged, arms open wide to try and sacrifice herself. She was different than before. She wasn't crying over how scary it was. Desperation fueled improvement, after all. Maybe the stressful situations had forced her to grow up a bit! He was impressed. But Luffy was worried about her.

"Princess Shirahoshi!" the fishmen and merfolk shouted in worry and fear for her safety. She was adored by her people despite not being seen for the past ten years.

"So that crazy-ass bastard Decken. He planned to crush us along with the island! He betrayed us!" Shirahosi was swimming higher to get the ship away from the island, and Hordy jumped onto one of the chains hanging from it to go along with them. No doubt to take revenge on the pedophile fishman. But he had to defeat Hordy and he needed to protect Shirahoshi. He'd promised he would.

He shouted, "Sanji! Throw me up there!"

"There's water up there!" he argued. Jinbei tossed Luffy a bubble coral, which he put between his teeth and grabbed onto Sanji after he used his air walk thingy, and had him launch him up with the aid of a gomu gomu rocket. Below, Jinbei reminded him that there was a strength difference in the sea between him and his main enemy.

Sanji's kick and his rocket were hard enough to throw him through the first bubble layer and into the space between that one and the most outer layer that had water on the outside. He grabbed onto the chain, wrapping his arms around it. He looked down, seeing he was on the higher end of one of the chains.

When merfolk started to try and grab the chain to slow it down, it did nothing much but give Hordy targets to have fun with, shooting them with water bullets for fun. Disgusting. "That's what you get! You weaklings are what makes this whole kingdom fail!" Luffy looked up and saw Shirahoshi had made it out of the bubble and was now in the ocean. The Noah was following her.

The chain he was on finally started to rise out of the outer bubble layer, and Luffy put himself in a bubble he used the coral to create, managing to not drown or implode from the overwhelming pressure of the sea this deep. "Crap! The chain!" Luffy called. But he couldn't reach it before there was somebody behind him.

Crap. Hordy was now in the water, much stronger than Luffy was. He couldn't fight well in this, at all. He turned around and stared at him. He imagined he was standing in front of Blackbeard, channeling his hate and rage. He gave him the creepy smile, widening his eyes, showing his more elongated canines.

Hordy flinched at the look. "I will kill you like I've killed others before. I'll strangle you with a chain, maybe. Or blow your spine out while I gouge out your eyes. Maybe I'll bite a chunk out of your throat. You're not the only one with a strong jaw." The fishman looked like he was resisting fleeing. "Come a little closer. Now that I don't have to pretend to be human, I can kill you!"

He felt he was bad at it, but he was doing his best to unnerve the fishman. He was never good at acting, or lying. So this was hard, but he didn't need to look convincing, crazy would do. But Hordy looked up and swam off to target Shirahoshi. "Damn it! Coward! Yowahoshi! Crap!" He hoped for a blast, and felt one coming. Just a bit more, wait a bit more!

It was weak, but it was there. He turned his back to the Noah, and shoved his hands out of the bubble, shooting out force that propelled him onto the deck of the Noah, into the air bubble. "I made it! Yahoo!" he shouted, and clawed his way to the front of it. "Hordy you coward! I thought you weren't afraid of humans!"

"You've admitted you're not human. In the water, you're no match! You don't worry me at all!" Luffy couldn't get out. He got the bubble coral and pressed himself out of the Noah's air bubble and into another one. He had no way to advance, though. He had no blasts coming for a while. The island would be gone by then if he had to wait for the ship to sink. His crew was down there! He wouldn't let the island get destroyed.

"Yowahoshi!" Luffy shouted before somebody grabbed him and put the bubble on his back. "Fukaboshi! Thanks!" Luffy said, the bubble speeding along and after Hordy. Luffy shot an arm out, using the one he couldn't feel, as it didn't directly feel the discomfort of the water. It still was weak, but it wasn't completely uncomfortable. He grabbed onto Hordy's hair, and pulled hard, yanking his head backwards.

He had honed haki among other things in his training, but had grown in physical strength as well. Rayleigh told him to embrace every power he had, even those that came from the bloodstone. He pulled back, ripping hair out and making him grunt in pain. Luffy couldn't smell him through the water, but he could see ther small spots that were dying. What made that smell.

Under the armpits and back of the neck. "Fukaboshi, get closer!" Luffy shouted, but Hordy lashed out from behind. "Get me behind him!"

"You don't want to go after that side, monster!" Hordy said, and suddenly had a weapon - where was he hiding it? - and slid it over his shark fin. Fukaboshi wasn't as fast as Hordy was, probably because he took a drug. But that drug was his weakness. If Luffy could get to the damaged spots he didn't seem to notice yet, it might make a difference.

But getting behind him was tough. He kept trying to slice at the merman and Luffy. Fukaboshi was doing his best, regardless of being injured pretty badly. "You really teaming up with a monster that rips your own people apart? One that threatens to eat me!" Hordy mocked at the prince.

"I was just scaring you, and it seemed to work!"

Hordy looked irked at that and his left eyelid twitched. He launched at Fukaboshi with his trident. Luffy made his bubble come off of Fuboshis back, and grabbed onto his hair with his hands. He got on his back, wrapping his left hand into his hair as he pressed his finger into the spot underneath the shark fishman's arm, and the skin crumbled.

He pressed deeper until he was screaming in pain. "That's what happens when you take too much drugs! Your body decays!" He didn't know that, but assumed it was the same for a lot of bad drugs. Taking too much. "You rely on outside objects too much!" Luffy pressed deeper into it until his hand was deep into his arm, and Luffy yanked, ripping out muscle and making his limb useless.

The bubble was sliced in half instead of popping with that blade, forcing Luffy into an extremely tight area with limited oxygen. But he didn't let go of his hair. He reached diagonally and slammed his fingers into the other arm. This way he had a lot less power to swim. He got the bubble coral and made another one, but his now was popped.

Luffy's body started to hurt and his lungs caved as he put one last breath into the bubble coral. He hurt now, though. He caught blood, gasping before his body returned to normal, the rubber springing back to the original shape. He grasped at his chest. That was very painful, he did not want out of this bubble again!

Fukaboshi saw this and grabbed the bubble before Hordy could twist around and pop another one. Luffy thought of something. "Fukaboshi, get me to his packet of pills!" The prince saw it, it was a large sack, and Hordy couldn't defend it with his hands, and instead twisted around, Luffy stretching his arm again, only to get it sliced badly. Luckily or unluckily, he didn't feel it.

He grabbed the baggy of pills, and then grabbed onto Hordy's hair, which was starting to fall out, as if his body truly was decaying. Luffy opened his mouth, sticking his fist inside before shoving the whole pack of pills into it and forcing his mouth closed. It was way too many pills, and he started to seize, his useless arms going limp as his body deteriorated into that of an old man at a reasonably quick pace.

Soon he was shriveled, and his skin was splotchy. He was skinny, and his hair had fallen out. Was he defeated now? He looked unable to fight.

"I have an idea!" Luffy said suddenly. "It will put me out of commission, and you gotta get me blood right away!"

"Blood?"

"If I drink it, I'll heal! I don't care who it's from, but I'll need it or I might have long term damage!" Luffy explained.

"Understood!"

Luffy had him move them to the other side of the Noah, which was still sinking. If he could push it just a bit away, it might not hit the island. He pressed his hands to the ship, and forced a shockwave out, shoving the massive ship about a hundred feet to the side of the bubble. There was now a large hole in the side, but that was better than destroying it completely and raining debris all over the bubble. With the way it was now tilted, it fell, scraping the side of the bubble, bending the bubble where it touched. Luckily it was the hull that was dragging across the outer island bubble, but it was breaking apart on the way, the bottom pressure against the bubble, breaking the wood around the massive hole.

The princess shouted in fear as the spiked wood started to heavily press into the bubble, deep in it, deep enough to bend it. "No! The bubble!" she screamed. "Luffy-sama!" the mermaid cried. Luffy was laying down on the princes back, unable to move anymore, exhausted. His arm was still bleeding pretty badly.

Luffy looked to the side as a large group of sea kings appeared, and dragged the ship out of the way, stopping the bottom being damaged further. It would have been better if they came before. They seemed smart somehow, and unafraid of Luffy even though he wasn't focusing on keeping the scary aura on.

Shirahoshi was speaking to them, but Luffy heard nothing until one with fur and what looked like a bird face somehow said, "It seems he is still unaware. He will find out eventually." Then it swam away, and both royal siblings hurried back to the island, and brought Luffy to where his crew was. The palace had an infirmary, but they weren't able to enter the bubble at the moment.

Jinbei caught him when he was lowered down. "He needs blood!"

The other Straw Hats were nearly done with their enemies, and so Jinbei hurried inside the Sunny to find the blood bags had been thrown aside, and were leaking out of the bags but for two. He hurried to give it to Luffy, but it wasn't enough, and he was still lethargic and pale. Jinbei didn't hesitate to take a scalpel and cut himself, dripping his own blood into Luffy's mouth without hesitation.

It didn't take too long for enough to be there, and Luffy sat up, and grabbed his chest. He was okay, his arm was healed, no more cut. "Are you alright?" Luffy looked up, and nodded.

"Did you donate blood to me?" he asked. Jinbei nodded, and Luffy pointed out that fishmen were supposed to not give blood. He was smiling when he said he and Luffy were already allies. They'd done enough together already to not have some blood donated being a big deal. Luffy grinned and thanked him. "Neh, join my crew."

He refused, and Luffy got upset. But he said the reason was that he "had things to do", and would join them some day, sooner or later, if they'd still have him. Luffy beamed and nodded. "Well, I want you to join already, but I waited to see you for two years! I can wait just a bit more."

"You've grown much from the last time I saw you," Jinbei said, and Luffy giggled. He ran outside onto the deck and saw everyone was defeated, and his crew were now on the ship, on the deck. Luffy ran to Zoro, jumping him. Luffy saw Fukaboshi with the body of Hordy Jones. "You okay?" Zoro asked, hugging him. "It looks like you defeated Hordy and helped move the Noah."

"Yeah, I got sick again, but Jinbei gave me some of his blood." The others were surprised with this, since before, everybody was so reluctant. Jinbei just said he didn't care to let a friend be injured. He had needed blood right away, and they hadn't had enough on the ship. "Zoro still tastes best."

Robin asked how he had defeated Hordy in the water, where fishmen are much more powerful. "The drugs he had were already decaying his body, so I targeted those parts. Ended up making his arms useless. Then I force fed him the rest of his pills and he couldn't take it. Neh, can we go? I don't want to face the whole monster stuff."

"And I don't want any hero shit," Zoro added. Luffy casually mentioned Jinbei would join their crew after doing some stuff. They were happy to have him, a former warlord and a friend who helped Luffy so much. Jinbei was happy about being welcomed by everybody. Luffy was happy, too. Most of their crew were weirdos, so it would be interesting to have a different type of person.

Luffy was bummed he and Zoro never got to go on their date. Now nobody wanted to be around the citizens. Both because of being heroes and being a monster. "I'm sorry I went off without you. We never got to go on the date."

"Luffy-sama is with Zoro-sama?"

"Yup!" Luffy said brightly. Shirahoshi looked momentarily sad, but then smiled. Sanji was glaring daggers at Luffy, and Zoro snickered at his face. Zoro asked if his ear was okay, seeing the crusty blood from before. He took the ear plugs out, and said the injured one was okay.

"What about your arm?"

"Same old, same old." Luffy lifted it and said it was lucky he couldn't feel it in the water. "I still can't believe they took drugs like that. I wonder where the drugs were made, though?" he mused. Nami said it was smart of him to use the drug's destructive side effects to his advantage. "It was the only thing I could think of. Even with his arms not of use, well, he was still dangerous."

Luffy turned to Zoro, and touched his chest scar. "When and how is Zoro gonna make it up to me?" he asked, tracing the scar. "He was mean to leave me alone."

"We can take the bathhouse later. I'll show you just how much I've missed you," he murmured in Luffy's ear, nipping at the lobe. Luffy shivered. Nami snapped at them to not act like that in front of a child. Shirahoshi was watching with a bright red face.

"Yeah, don't do such vulgar things in front of the princess!" Sanji raged. Shirahoshi looked away with her hands in front of her steaming red face. Luffy giggled. Zoro asked if they were going to the New World now. After all, they didn't want to be hailed. And it wasn't fair for Luffy to be the target in another way.

Luffy said, "I don't want to ruin it for you all. Hehe, at least it wasn't me that ruined our visit," he added.

"Why did we need to come on the day this happened?" Nami asked with her arms crossed. "Well, at least we got to use our new skills in a fight," she added reasonably. Luffy was bummed he didn't get to watch closer. "We'll have another time to show off. Probably lots of times," the navigator waved it off.

They all saw the eel coming up behind the ship being carried by the bubble, with a guard with a den den mushi. "Luffy-kun, we still owe you a feast!" Neptune said. He was inviting him despite things? Well, he wouldn't say no to free food! And the food Shirahoshi had gotten was really yummy. Food for them all? Hell yeah!

"Yay! Food!" When they got to the palace bubble, Luffy was chilling in Zoro's lap, ready for a lot of food. Jinbei got along with Zoro well, even if they were very different. Jinbei was a contrast for all of them but maybe Robin. When they got into the palace itself, they were transferred from the ship and onto flounders with bubbles on them to use as transportation.

"Wow! It's dark in here. It makes me uncomfortable," Usopp said.

"Where's my meat?" Luffy asked, drooling at the thought of the banquet that was long overdue. From below, they heard cheers of them being heroes, which Zoro said to shut up about. Luffy demanded again where the meat was. When he would get to it.

Sanji asked what he'd been eating for the last two years, annoyed. "Meat. But nothing special, just meat."

"Then you should be excited for more food than that!" Sanji replied. "Oh, you probably could have had the best food from the beauties of Amazon Lily!" Luffy replied that their food was yummy, too. "Shut up!"

Zoro sighed and Chopper said, "It's not his fault he was sent there. Besides, wasn't it good it was there? That way he saved Ace!" Sanji's face fell out of anger and love for women, but one of thoughtfulness. Nami smiled knowingly. They dropped the issue to look ahead at the stage when Shirahoshi told them to, swimming behind the bubble flounders.

A fishwoman named Maria Napole, and singer that the island was very proud of, came out. Mermaid cafe dancers also arrived to the straight guys' happiness. The music started louder, and everyone danced to it, the party starting out loudly immediately. Luffy hadn't heard any music in two years, so hearing any was awesome!

He was so happy to be with his friends. Only a few minutes after the party started, booze and food started to flow out of the kitchen. Luffy fell quiet as he slowed eating to a stop, just sitting there and looking at the table with a content look. "Luffy?" Chopper asked beside him, tapping his good arm. "You okay?"

"Yeah, sorry, I got distracted. It happens sometimes," Luffy said, and went back to eating. He daydreamed sometimes out of nowhere, but he didn't think it was anything to be concerned about. As long as he didn't zone out for too long or at a bad time, which had never happened before.

A bit later, with everyone but Luffy stuffed, the crew sans Robin left the banquet hall and went out onto the steps of the palace in a bubble. Jinbei dropped the bomb that Akainu and Aokiji had had a fight over who would succeed Sengoku, he retired after the war. Luffy was annoyed by how much in the world he'd missed in that time. Aokiji was nominated with a lot of support by many important people.

"Aokiji doesn't show that much will power usually. But he was very against Akainu becoming fleet admiral. So they had a duel. Dead men tell no tales. The loser would not fight the outcome and complain again. So, after ten days, with the duel being the talk of the world, the fight was closely matched, but it was settled. Akainu became the victor and leader of the marines."

Luffy scowled, looking down. He turned to the side when he saw something. He held his tongue about the sudden hallucination standing there, holes in his body and staying tall. "Luffy?" He hadn't realized he'd been ignoring the conversation.

"Sorry, I got distracted," Luffy said with a laugh, Whitebeard gone. This was a pain, but now that he had a doctor, he could fix him! But he hadn't ever seen a hallucination not in a flashback. That might be really annoying and troublesome.

Nami asked if Aokiji died. "Both were heavily wounded, but even Akainu had some sympathy and didn't kill him. However, Aokiji left the marines, refusing to work under his former colleague."

"Heh… so he's not a marine anymore," Luffy said.

"No, and the marines lost a heavy asset after losing him. Nobody really knows what he's doing at the moment. Staying out of the public eye. But there's something else you should know! In the last two years, under fleet admiral Sakazuki, the marines have become an even stronger force of justice. That could be bad for you. Luffy-kun especially.

"After the war, Akainu was much angrier at Luffy-kun than Ace-san, even though Ace-san was the prisoner," Jinbei said firmly.

Luffy rubbed the back of his head. "I did steal their prisoner away from them and help take out some big guys, shishishi," he said. "I have a question, though! Whitebeard was one of the four yonkos. And the crew without him aren't a yonko crew anymore. What happened to the fourth spot?"

With one of the four gone, was it off balance? "Nobody has filled the spot," Jinbei said darkly.

"But doesn't that mess up the balance? Garp told me they were important to keep the balance, like the warlords and marines are," Luffy said with a tilted head. Zoro was napping off the obscene amount of alcohol he'd ingested.

"Before, the yonkos had never really interacted with one another. Shanks and Whitebeard were on friendly terms, but the other two aren't. After the war, Big Mom seized as many islands that were under Whitebeard as she could, while Shanks made up the difference. He was the one to stop the war."

Luffy's jaw dropped. "Shanks was there?!"

"You didn't know?!" Jinbei asked in shock. Luffy shook his head. "Well, he came and managed to declare the war over. He took Whitebeard's body and made a funeral. Ace-kun didn't attend it, as you know, until weeks later." Luffy still felt guilty for keeping him both from saying goodbye and having him not go to the funeral.

Ace had always told him it was his choice to stay with him while he was injured and recovering in his coma. Luffy knew he spoke the truth, though.

He was bummed Shanks was there and he didn't know. Well, the state he was in at the time wasn't the version of himself he swore he'd become to defeat Shanks' crew. Maybe it was best he didn't see him. Luffy looked down at his arm. It wasn't cut off, and he still had use of it, so he couldn't compare it to Shanks' wound to protect him.

"Anyways, the sea is less safe and balanced than before, but with Big Mom and Kaido sticking to their territories, it isn't as bad as it could be if those two formed an alliance. Shanks has no positive relationship with them," Jinbei finished. "It doesn't help that Kaido doesn't want another yonko. It might deter the powerful from seizing the name for themselves. Kaido and Big Mom have killed off any potential new yonko."

Luffy frowned. Whitebeard had been a large force of the New World, it was too bad none of his underlings could take up the post. "Neh, has Ace been in the news at all? He left a letter on the ship, but not much else."

"His bounty also climbed 100 million, but along with the rest of the crew right now, he hasn't been in the news as much. The novelty of both of your blood has worn out for most of the public, after two years." Luffy turned back to his food while Jinbei spoke of the Blackbeard crew being after him, even without the captain at their head. They want revenge on what he did.

"Back in Impel Down, they survived somehow. After Luffy caused their captain's brutal death and their damage, it doesn't look good for you- are you even listening?!"

"Neh, this taffy's really good," Luffy said, holding up a huge chunk of the chewy sweet. Jinbei was unimpressed by Luffy not listening to something so serious. Sanji told him it was the usual. As long as they heard it, it was fine.

Chopper innocently asked, "Hmm? Isn't the job of the captain not to listen to anything?"

"A captain is entrusted with the lives of his crew, isn't he?!" Jinbei demanded, glaring at Luffy who laughed it off. He took another huge bite of the taffy only to get it stuck in his throat and choke him. He spit it back out.

"Don't you even think about putting that back in your mouth," Nami growled. Luffy frowned at the waste and took another bite. Nami turned to Jinbei and said, "As long as we've heard, it'll be fine."

"Yeah, chill out, Jinbei! We like taking things to chance!" Luffy said with a bright smile. When Nami wasn't looking, he ate the spitty taffy glob again, and didn't choke on it.

"You must have it hard," Jinebi said in sympathy. The four who were awake nodded solemnly.

Luffy said Caimie, and asked her where the mermaid princess was. "She said her head was spinning from alcohol, so she retired for a bit."

"Heh…" Luffy said in disappointment. Then he felt something really big upstairs. "Zoro, Sanji. I wonder if there's some giant animal in the castle?" he wondered, cheeks full of taffy.

Sanji and Zoro noticed it, too, now that Luffy brought attention to it. Though Zoro had been sleeping before. They headed upstairs and found that slime guy all over the huge mermaid! Gross. So, he was alive. Luffy honestly forgot all about him after everything that happened. It looked like he got out of the barrel somehow.

The slime guy looked shocked. Luffy kicked him in the face with a haki covered foot, tossing him out so hard he went through the other buble. Shirahoshi grabbed onto him in her hands and cried in relief. "Whaaa! I was so scared, Luffy-sama!"

"Shhhh!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. But thanks for s-saving me," she cried, no longer wailing but still gripping onto him as he ate his food. Luffy wondered what the slime guy had been doing the whole time.

"You have it so good, Luffy! If only I was the one to kick him!" Sanji lamented, face to the ground as he banged his fist like a kid.

"Even gay, Luffy's more desirable to women than you are," Zoro taunted, not feeling at all bothered about Shirahoshi's actions with Luffy. Sanji attacked him and Zoro sliced. Luffy asked them to not fight. Zoro already broke the castle before. The right minister guy hurried in, and was shocked the treasure was still around. "Well, he did smell like metal and mermaids."

"Why didn't you say that earlier?!" Sanji yelled. Shirahoshi was still holding Luffy, which was getting annoying. He climbed out of her hands.

Luffy shrugged. If it wasn't them, then maybe it was that guy. He was trying to eat the princess, after all. "Wait, treasure?! He stole the castle's treasure?!" Nami asked the king. The three men backed up a step. Was she mad at them for not keeping him there? Luffy wouldn't be surprised.

"Well, after everything that's happened, I can't place much value in objects like that," Neptune said honestly.

Nami's eyes sparkled. "Then if we get it all back?"

"Then you can keep the treasure. But I'm also worried about the chance he was the mermaid kidnapper all along and we were unjustly placing the blame on you all," the king said in shame.

Luffy nodded. "That was really rude of you, yeah." The king lowered his head and apologized again. The navigator turned on them furiously for not stopping him. Luffy smelled treasure, didn't he? "Well, yeah, but-!"

"GO FIND HIM!" and all three of them were sent flying out of the castle and into the lower bubble. Luffy crossed his arms as they fell. Nami was a jerk sometimes. But having treasure would be useful, and if he was the mermaid thief, then saving them was important. They were nice earlier. Though seeing so many mermaids at once might hurt Sanji again.

Zoro was scowling and said, "That bitch," loud enough for Sanji to hear, and they got into a fight. Luffy turned into a balloon so they didn't die upon impact, and they all stood up and dusted their pants off.

I changed up Jinbei giving Luffy blood since it wouldn't make much sense for a transfusion.