One Piece - Tales of the Pirate King
Disclaimer: One Piece is property of Eiichiro Oda. I am not Eiichiro Oda
Chapter 2 - Papers, Please
It was finally over! The wait was over! If he was any less dignified, he'd be bouncing like a rubber ball!
As it was, everyone who saw Luffy could tell he was excited at finally departing, the boy literally trembling in place, his boat and supplies already waiting for him, the boat bought from a neighbouring village, the supplies a gift from Makino, containing lots of dried meat to last long through the journey
With a laugh, he waved goodbye to Makino, Woop Slap, the watching villages, even the visiting Dadan and her bandits. They waved in turn, celebrating the birth of another great pirate from little Foosha Village, through the celebration was silenced when the lord of the coast surged forth
A brownish-grey coloured ell-shaped beast with blue fins and bloodshot eyes, the sea king was a being that plagued the little Foosha Village, ever since the days of Shanks. The people believed it was actually a descendant of the original that 'Red-Haired' probably killed by accidently ramming it with his ship, but the myth stayed, of a legendary, undying beast that only the strongest could defeat
Ace and Sabo struck it down with a single blow, each, and so did Luffy, matching his brothers, jumping from his boat into the beast's head, spinning in the air to dodge a hasty bite, latching on the beast's fin, and delivering a single devastating punch, as strong as a direct cannonball impact, sinking the beast and almost taking its defeater with him, if not for another hasty jump
The celebrations started again
Luffy himself didn't join them, worried as he was with the map he had, trying to trace his route. All he knew was that his final destination before the Grand Line was Loguetown, 'The City of the Beginning and the End', but had no idea of where exactly to go, and only basic knowledge of navigation
Then the worries escaped him, as his hand met his face. Wasn't the mystery and unknown part of the reason he departed in the first place? The adventure was as big as the freedom that came with being a pirate
So, trusting the wind to guide him and the sea to not deviate him too much off course, Luffy guided his little dingy in the direction of the closest island, and took a nap
He'd wake up almost being swallowed by a whirlpool, hastily paddling his boat away from it and not being killed by sheer dumb luck as to have woken up a few seconds before it was too late
Close by was a massive cruiser ship, he noticed, and deciding there was nothing better to do, he approached it, signalling the crew, who agreed on securing his dingy alongside the emergency boats
Then cannon fire rained on them
Luffy watched the sailors aboard the ship panic, undoubtedly making the passengers panic too, in spite of the captain's attempts to reassure them, as the pirate flag hoisted by the pink and very girly ship approached
Frowning, for he disliked pirates who took things the easy way instead of the challenging way, he decided to deal with them. Who knows, perhaps the crew of the cruiser would reward him with meat
"Yosh" - With that, as the first pirate jumped over the railing of his ship into his target, he could only shout in surprise as the rope he was swinging from suddenly snapped: - "This shouldn't be too challenging"
"I mean, I've been doing more challenging jumps before Ace and Sabo departed" - Talking with himself to distract himself, the next two who reached the cruiser drew their swords, and practically kissed each other, Luffy slamming their heads together without missing a beat
As the corsairs noted their opposition, a young girl screamed in horror, making Luffy look around: - "Eh? What would a passenger be doing up here?" - He didn't saw her, but found a pink haired little boy rubbing his head after planting his face on a wall. The wall was promptly demolished by another corsair that followed, the kid scrambling to not be crushed by the person
Ducking suddenly, Luffy glared at the pirate who just swung his sword, and pointed out: - "That's not very nice"
Then he punched the man in the face. Hearing a roar of 'die' behind him, Luffy jumped forward and overboard, evading the flintlock shots, in a collision course with a tardy pirate, which he used as a stepping stone to jump even higher, reaching the mast of the ship, much to the surprise of the pirates, unaware someone could jump so high
"Come down here and face us like a man, brat!" - Jeered one of the pirates, and Luffy answered with a muttered 'ok', pounding him through the floor and into what appeared to be a fancy bedroom. Jumping up, through the hole he made, Luffy yawned as he faced the pirates, provoking them further into a frenzy
"You're not much of a challenge, did ya know that?" - He asked, rudely scratching his nose, and meeting the resulting charge head first, basically punting the pirates overboard, a single blow that sent them flying into the waters below
"Well, that was easy" - And as soon as he finished speaking, the captain of the pirate ship crushed him flat with a massive iron club. She was fat, very fat, with a white cowboy hat, a stretched pink plaid shirt under a blue coat, white pants held by a purple bejewelled sash, and brown shoes with buckles; she also carried a massive iron knobbed club, a frightening weapon that she wielded as if it weighed nothing at all
"Say that dealing with my crew was easy again, brat" - Challenged the woman, known around the East Blue as Alvida 'of the Iron Mace', in spite of wielding a club. Said club trembled after she finished speaking, and she grunted in shock and horror as she heard a mutter: - "What, it was!"
Lifting her weapon, she found it glued to the floor by a sticky red substance, and no matter how much she tried, she simply couldn't release her club from it; in fact, stepping on it just ensured her foot also glued on the thing, and while raising her club resulted in the substance slipping, it simply stopped being stuck to her weapon and instead got stuck on her hands
Then, to her horror, the red thing started taking the shape of a human being, his hands gripping hers, his legs a singular block of the thing that now trapped her right leg, and a frown barely discernible on his features, as he shouted the name of an attack: - "Candy Candy Pistol!"
Separating one of his hands from hers, Luffy pulled it back and made a fist, launching it forward at the jaw of Alvida, then traveling past it, forcing the woman to spin her entire bulk or have her neck give in; then, to her confusion, she spun back, at the same time a backhand from the stretched hand finally released her from the thing's grasp, sending her flying and on the ground, where she lifted herself tiredly with the help of her weapon
"W-what are you!?" - She demanded fearfully. Luffy, now having recovered fully his form and colour, answered solely with a glare, an eyebrow raised in confusion: - "How the hell did you snuck on me?"
"W-what!?" - "I mean, you're fat, really fat, so one'd expect you to be noisy as hell, since the wood would creak, and-" - Luffy's continued insult, which he was doing solely to piss her off, were interrupted by a demented roar, his still unknown to him opponent outright flinging her massive club at him
The club proceeded to stick to Luffy, who didn't even move from his position. Weaponless, the woman still charged at Luffy recklessly and causing the boy to frown, allowing her to grab her weapon, then pivoting in place to deliver a devastating heel kick to the side of her head as she got herself stuck to her weapon
Alvida didn't stood up again, defeated by the second blow, wondering just what the hell she fought. Luffy himself would proceed to glare at the corsairs still on the cruiser, who didn't hesitate to obey the unspoken command to get out of there, picking Alvida along the way and departing as fast as they could
Sighing and patting his belly, Luffy turned to one of the shocked member of the cruiser's crew, and asked: - "Hey, do ya have any food? I get hungry after a fight"
The impromptu party in, quote, 'the honour of our saviour', unquote, was a rather subdued affair, those willing to meet their unexpected hero a small number when compared to those who, after the adrenalin crash, just wanted to tuck in and sleep. So Luffy stood there, a smile on his face, greeting those willing to face him
Amongst his supplies was a set of formal clothing, basically a red fancy coat with golden borders and trimmings, actually making him look like a captain, if an extremely young one, thus allowing him to mingle alongside the posh folk, who were as fascinated with him as he was of them. They were so different from the people of Goa!
Luffy only realized they were rich merchants rather than actual nobles later
Soon, however, the party ended, Luffy alone with the snack table, the others going to join their fellow passengers in sleep's embrace, when the crew of the ship joined him for a somewhat serious talk, carrying no one other than the pink haired boy he believed had a very girly scream
The kid, who couldn't be older than fifteen, had a white shirt with blue details that resembled Luffy of the Marine's uniform, blue pants, and brown shoes, with glasses resting on his weeping, chubby face
"Sir Luffy" - Said the captain of the ship, making Luffy twitch at the honorific: - "This boy was with the pirates who attacked us. Could you take him with you when you depart?"
"Eh? Sure. Through, to where?"
One of the sailors approached with a sheet of parchment in hands, unfurling it to reveal a much more detailed map than his own: - "The closest city with a Marine base is here, in Shells Town at Yotsuba Island"
"I heard that Captain Morgan is quite severe, so the little pirate will surely be punished" - He declared with a mocking laugh, making the boy cry further, which made Luffy's eyebrows twitch in annoyance
"Okay. Can I keep the map? I only know the basics of navigation" - The sailor agreed, giving him the parchment later that night in a scroll case, much to Luffy's confusion, which lasted until the man showed how to open it
Shortly after, Luffy threw the boy, named Coby, from his shoulders, and watched whoever was on his boat squeal as the screaming boy fell right in front of her
"O-oh, sorry! Oh, sorry, I didn't knew this was your boat!"
"Yeah, yeah, wait, why are you on my boat in the first place?" - Luffy asked, realizing that a passenger, at least a normal one, wouldn't be sneaking away in the middle of the night: - "Are you a thief?"
Young lass revealing herself with a shout; she had orange hair under a blue bandana that reached her shoulders, a blue shirt with short sleeves, black pants, and blue shoes with small heels. Luffy had to admit she was kinda cute, but he preferred to focus on the fact she was on his boat
"No! I mean, not a normal thief, I only steal from pirates!" - She was sweating lightly, undoubtedly nervous about dealing with him. An awkward silence ensued, as Nami slapped her hands over her mouth before she blurted anything else, and Luffy wondered if he should reveal that, while heroic, he was a pirate
"Right, let us start from the beginning" - Declared Luffy, when the silence started to become unbearable, smiling his big smile and deciding that better to reveal his status now, when there was little risk of something horrible happened: - "I'm Luffy, I like meat and pirates, and want to become Pirate King; who are you?"
"I-I'm Nami, I like money and… wait, you're a pirate!?" - The ginger started, then it registered what he said, asking noisily his status, Coby raising his head from his position with a look of confusion
"Shishishi, yeah, sorry for deceiving everyone, but no one asked" - Deadpanned Luffy after laughing at her reaction: - "I'm in for the adventure mostly. And what about you? Why is a thief sneaking away from a cruiser ship filled with treasure?" - He asked, somewhat more serious, the question of why she chose his boat unneeded
"I only steal from dirty pirates" - Snarled Nami, glaring at him, the unspoken 'like you' still heard: - "I planned to steal the Alvida Pirates if they were to attack this ship, since it would pass on their territory, but someone defeated them so fast I couldn't even get on their ship!"
Laughing, Luffy weakly apologized, making the ginger turn away her cute nose with a frown, clearly not believing him. Not actually answering her question, though, Luffy asked again: - "That still doesn't explain why you're sneaking away. I'd expect someone in a cruiser to at least enjoy it"
Was it a trick of the low light, or was Nami… blushing? - "I… might not be an actual passenger-"
Luffy's laugher interrupted any further explanation
In the end, Nami actually agreed to sail away with him, with the condition that their partnership would last until they acquired their objective, and the reason of their destination: a map to the Grand Line
At least, they both expected the Marine base to have one leading towards the real entrance to the Grand Line. Stupid he might admit to be, even he knew of the Calm Belt and that it was a nest of sea kings
And Coby? Well, his backstory was both tragic and an hilarious example of bad luck, as the boy, just wanting to go fish, accidently got into the supply boat of Alvida, and was forced to be her cabin boy for two years; especially ironic and sad, when one considered his dream was to be a Marine
As Nami tried to comfort the weeping boy, Luffy wrote a letter to his grandfather, which would hopefully ensure Coby had a chance to be trained by one of the best Marine in the world, in Luffy's sincere opinion. And hopefully having someone to train would distract Garp enough for Luffy to evade capture. Not that Luffy expected to meet Garp before the Grand Line, but better safe than sorry
The man, wearing his bulldog hood, sneezed, feeling his cute grandson thinking about him. Perhaps he'd find some time for a visit?
Feeling a shiver going down his spine, and feeling like he somehow dodged falling in the ocean, Luffy felt himself being poked in the cheek, and turned to face Nami somewhat close
"So, what are you?" - She spoke, pulling back before her position could be misinterpreted: - "I remember quite distinctly you being crushed by Alvida's mace, yet you just… reformed after transforming into something red"
Wondering when she could have seen it, he remembered that Nami planned to sneak into Alvida's ship, and was probably just waiting for the pirates to exit the decks to do so, so she was probably close by to the fight. Shrugging, he answered: - "Devil Fruit"
Nami's eyebrow twitched, unsatisfied with the answer: - "And~?"
"I ate the Candy Candy Fruit in my childhood, so when I felt I was about to be crushed, I turned into candy" - Not that it mattered much. Luffy was strong, so even if he hadn't, he would still be alright, the club having more chances of breaking than his bones; the transformation had been mostly instinctual, used as he was to evade and ensnare wild beasts during his childhood after eating it
Didn't stop his brothers from calling him their 'sweetheart', even as their inability to truly defeat him outside of outlasting him showed itself
"So Devil Fruits are real?" - Coby asked, speaking for the first time since he stopped explaining his story: - "But turning into candy… isn't that a little lame?"
"It is, until you remember that as long as I know you're going to attack me, I can just turn into candy and ignore it" - Explained Luffy, the pink haired boy humming in understanding. Even if the ability itself was indeed lame, its uses necessarily weren't
Nami raised an eyebrow, mouthing to herself 'candy' in a clearly questioning form, before shrugging her shoulders, deciding to not think about it and evade the headache of wondering how that worked: - "Good enough for me"
"It should be well~ past midnight now, so, who gets first watch?"
Shells Town was more accurately a city. It was massive, completely covering Yotsuba Island, with exception of a small area around the tall and imposing Marine base, the biggest building in sights
Speaking of Marines: - "Excuse me, how many on the boat?" - Asked one of them, holding a clipboard and accompanied by two more armed men
"There are… two… of us?" - Answered Luffy, looking around and realizing that indeed, only he and Coby were on the boat. Where did Nami go?
"Motive of visit?" - Asked again the Marine with the clipboard, looking distinctly bored out of his mind
"I'm in search of the best map possible" - Luffy answered again, this time fixing his gaze on Coby, who gulped, but nodded to no one in particular and said: - "A-and I want to be a-a Marine"
"Hm, Marine recruitment is done at the base itself. Shouldn't be hard to miss" - The Marine pointed to said base as he spoke. Indeed, it was practically a straight line: - "And about your boat, it is eight thousand Berrys for anchoring in the harbour"
Both Coby and Luffy eyebrows rose in surprise at the tax. Not wanting trouble yet, Luffy took his hat off, pulled out a small sack, and starting counting, lifting Coby's eyebrows further
It was actually sleight of hand, the sack hidden inside his own head, then forced out when he removed his hat, covered in a syrup made specifically to stick the sack and the straw hat. How said syrup got stuck between only the sack and the straw hat was blamed on Devil Fruit absurdity, as was most of Luffy's abilities
"Seven twenty-five, seven fifty, eight thousand Berrys" - Most of his money, but he still had enough to scrap by. Not that it mattered; he'd probably need to ransack the base to actually find the map to the Grand Line, unless Nami finds it first, as there was no way they'd give it away to a complete stranger: - "Here"
"Thank you, have a nice stay" - Picking the great quantity of notes and coins proved to be a little difficult without literal sticky fingers, but the Marine succeeded, throwing it into a massive sack nearby, Luffy and Coby going on their way
The trio, for Nami, her hair wet, and dressed in a white shirt with blue horizontal stripes, a tan skirt, and sandals, soon joined them, stopped into the closest eatery available, a rather busy place that was noisy enough that it wouldn't be quite so easy to overhear them. Luffy started, looking at Nami: - "So, had the time search the base?"
"We barely entered the town Luffy, give it some time and I'll have the map tonight through"
Nodding, and taking a bite of his meat slab, Luffy turned to Coby: - "And you, ready to join the Marines?"
"Yes, I-I a-actually feel ready" - He declared silently
Looking for a topic of conversation, Coby continued: - "D-did, you know, t-the captain of this base captured the infamous Roronoa Zoro for-"
The name was heard through the bustle and bumble of the crowd, and everyone flinched, looking at the trio as if they had horns and a forked tongue
"O-oh, okay… that was strange" - Muttered Nami, making Luffy shrug
"He must be really scary. Say, who's the captain of this base again?"
"O-oh? C-captain 'Axe-Hand' Morgan, why-"
The name was heard through the bustle and bumble of the crowd, again, and again everyone flinched
"This city is weird~" - Muttered Luffy
"B-b-but, I-I can u-under-stand the r-reaction to Zoro's n-n-name, b-but the c-captain?" - Coby focused on the more important facts: - "I-I d-don't like t-this"
Nami spoke nothing, already aware that the captain was corrupt, but not expecting such an extreme reaction. Humming thoughtfully, Luffy stood up, leaving the remnants of his little money pouch on the table, and spoke: - "Okay; Coby, you stay here and wait for a moment. Nami, you're with me; we have a map to collect"
The ginger snorted, but with a sarcastic 'aye, captain' that left Luffy giggling slightly, also stood up, following the boy with the straw hat. A few minutes later, they reached the Marine base, and were surprised by a little girl being thrown over the wall, the child in a turquoise and purple hooded dress crying out with the fall, definitively breaking something
Seeing Nami moving to tend the girl, Luffy jumped, and was able to spy four men: two Marines in uniform, a blond with the most ridiculous haircut imaginable, and a demon in human form. Luffy had a suspicious that the demon with green hair and bandana, white shirt, black pants held by a green haramaki, and black boots, was no one other than Zoro himself, the bounty hunter that had everyone flinching, and that was apparently tied up to the cross for three weeks, and would be until a month was up, with no food or water
Looking at what appeared to be stomped-on rice balls, on the ground and in front of the bounty hunter, Luffy decided perhaps he wasn't so bad, if a little girl was willing to break into a Marine base for him
Nami called for him, but Luffy ignored her, jumping into the grounds, approaching the pirate hunter after he was alone. The man, glaring at nothing in particular, soon started to glare at him, an eyebrow raised in silent question
The pair stared at each other, neither willing to give in and ask what the other was doing first. That didn't stop Luffy from talking about something else, the boy with the straw hat smiling: - "You're pretty strong, ya know? I doubt I'd survive a single day without food" - A little white lie. Glutton he might be, but he did survive such periods when he got lost trying to follow Ace or thanks to Garp's training
Zoro conceded defeat with a snort, feeling that the boy in front of him was ultimately friendly and finding their little dispute of wills meaningless, considering he was tied up and defenceless: - "So? What do you want, brat?"
"I want you to join my crew" - Zoro blinked at the blunt answer, then again at its content
Nami, having climbed the wall to observe, almost fell, gritting her teeth: - "It's almost like he doesn't have any self-preservation instinct" - She muttered, wondering when it became a good idea to invite a pirate hunter to be a pirate
Zoro's train of thoughts were roughly the same: - "You do know I'm a pirate hunter, right?"
"You are a bounty hunter, and it just so happens that most bounties are of pirates" - Luffy was, indeed, completely unconcerned: - "Besides, you're already seen as a criminal; why not just be one?"
"I don't care about how I'm seen; I have a dream, and I won't stop until I either fulfil it or die trying"
The declaration actually silenced Luffy, having heard similar declarations from himself enough to recognize them: - "Really, what it is?"
Zoro, however, wasn't feeling cooperative: - "Not yours"
"Come on~" - "Nope"
"Please~" - "Don't want to"
"Now you're just being childish" - "Don't care"
"Oh, for the love of Oda just stop you two!" - While mildly amused, Nami had more important things to do, like take care of the little girl and search for her map. The shout, however, just made Luffy laugh
"Oh, fine Nami!" - Luffy answered the tangerine-haired girl, but not before turning to the green-haired man: - "You know, that just makes me more curious, right?"
Zoro had the gall to laugh, in spite of his position: - "You just will have to find out, then, eh?"
"Shishishi, true enough, true enough"
"Wait, wait, before you go, can you pick that up for me?"
Luffy looked at the rice ball that Zoro pointed at with his eyes: - "You now, that's more a dirt ball than anything else now, right?"
"Don't matter. Gimme it!" - And Luffy did, patting the pile of rice in hopes of removing a little of the dirt and giving it for Zoro to eat
"Okay… and, Zoro?" - Chewing, the named man turned to face Luffy, who was already running and jumping over the wall, standing atop it: - "I'm going to be the Pirate King!"
Zoro almost choked. Gulping down the remnants of the rice balls, Zoro attempted to glare at the boy with the straw hat, but he had already departed; grungily, the green-haired man nodded to himself, understanding it for what it was
Recognition, for they had similar dreams, approval, and a challenge to fulfil it or indeed, die trying
"You know, I just realized I didn't ask his name…" - Muttering to himself, he soon went to sleep. Tied up, there was nothing else to do, really
"So Zoro is one of the good guys?" - Nami asked, searching for confirmation, getting a nod from the little girl, named Rika, who smiled in spite of her arm being in a cast; the little girl had fallen on her shoulder, and broke the bone, her mother calling for the doctor who ensured everything was in place, before departing
After that, little Rika finally introduced herself and her mother, Ririka, the girl thanking Luffy for offering the meal to Zoro, who, they discovered, wasn't such a bad guy
Morgan, on the other hand…
He ruled the city like his own personal kingdom, and his son walked around like he was god's gift to mankind, including letting a wild and very likely rabid 'pet' wolf wreak havoc through the city, almost eating Rika if not killed by a precise blow from Zoro, the man, according to the little girl, simply punting a stool with enough strength to snap the wolf in half
Coby was devastated, that his dream of catching bad guys might never come true, since he refused to serve under a corrupt officer. Luffy consoled him with his letter, explaining that the 'Monkey D.' name an influence with the Marines, and that, if needed, Coby should send the letter to Garp
The two remaining members of the trio could only gape, as they made the connection between Monkey D. Luffy, dreamer and pirate, with Monkey D. Garp, hero of the Marines
Interrupting the staring, was no one other than Helmeppo, son of Morgan. Almost breaking the door with a kick, the laughing boy demanded to be served for free, threatening to call his father about any possible 'mistreatment'.
Then he opened his mouth again: - "And while we're at it, what about Zoro? Do you believe that he's been almost four weeks without food and water? Ha! As if I'd let him go! Everyone is invited for his execution in three days! Anyone who doesn't appear will join him!" - And he laughed and laughed
Then he stopped, and looked around, and saw a young tangerine-haired lass comforting an almost crying child while glaring at him, a pink haired boy standing up to hold back another boy, and he second boy's arm transforming into a red… something: - "Candy Candy Pistol!"
Said red something proceeded to extend and punch Helmeppo's face, sending him tumbling until he struck the wall, leaving everyone on the building gaping. Whether it was that someone dared punch the son of captain Morgan or how he was punched, no one could truly decide
"Y-you p-punched me! Y-you struck me! Not even dad struck me before!" - Panicked the brat, attempting to scramble backwards through the wall: - "Y-yo-you'll pay for this! My daddy will learn about this!"
"Your daddy!? Call him! I'll kick his ass too!" - Luffy didn't care, in fact wanting the fight. Tended and half-dragged by his Marine bodyguards, Helmeppo kept cursing, promising Luffy would pay, which was all ignored by the boy with the straw hat
Luffy turned to face Nami, and declared: - "Well, at least Zoro will join me now"
The comment made the ginger blink at the apparent non-sequitur: - "What?"
"I'm going to rescue Zoro. He doesn't deserve to die like a dog" - Explained further Luffy, putting his hands on her shoulders: - "You'll use the distraction I'll make to try and steal the map, okay?"
"E-eh!? Right" - "Good"
"And Nami, sorry, but welcome to the crew, shishishishi" - And before the lass could deny the request, Luffy already skipped away, taking the time to use Helmeppo as a stepping stone, and running towards the Marine base, the young man snorting in amusement at finding the stairs Rika used to climb the wall still present
"Oh, hey. What the hell?"
"The brat is not going to keep his promise"
Zoro stared at the panting boy, Luffy swiftly recovering from his race: - "Explain"
"He was just back there, on the same bar, gloating about having you executed in three days"
In spite of being tied up, and practically starving for more than half a month, his growl still sent an animalistic shiver down Luffy's spine, the teen smiling in excitement as he sat in front of the bounty hunter: - "So, seeing that I'll break you out, and you'll probably be seen as a criminal anyway, what about joining my crew now?"
Zoro snorted: - "Smart little asshole, aren't you?"
"Fine, I'll join your crew" - Luffy whooped, and even Zoro cracked a smirk: - "But remember, I have a dream"
"And you'll finally tell me?"
"I aim to be the greatest swordsman in the world" - Told Zoro with a nod: - "And if you in anyway get in my way, I won't hesitate to gut you like a fish"
This time, the shiver was one of admittedly, fear, for Zoro was scary as hell. Nevertheless, the smile on Luffy's face didn't diminish a bit, the boy in fact laughing: - "Well, nothing less than the best for the crew of the Pirate King, right?"
Luffy concentrated. He always had a hard time making this, since it just didn't felt right, his hand turning into syrup and hardening. It resulted in his hand, but made of rock solid candy
"Again, what the hell" - "Shishishi, I ate a Devil Fruit, Zoro; I ate the Candy Candy Fruit, so I can turn into candy" - And with his new hand, Luffy moved behind Zoro, aimed, and stabbed with his hardened limb
"Ouch!" - Right into Zoro's spine, too weak to wound the man but strong enough to annoy, and coincidently going through the centre of the cross holding him in place, the entire structure falling apart and releasing him: - "Thanks, I think"
"No problem! Now-"
"I'm going to recover my swords"
"Now we are going to cause a distraction while the last member of our crew steals the map" - Corrected Luffy: - "That such distraction is recovering your swords, well, what a coincidence!"
Zoro's answering laugher had a very obvious mocking tone to it
"So, jump up" - The laugher stopped, as Zoro noticed Luffy jumping towards the wall, gluing himself to it: - "I'll carry you to the top, and from there we'll destroy everything in our path"
"… Why? Wouldn't be better to start from the ground?" - And Zoro didn't exactly trusted Luffy enough to carry him all the way
"Because it is at the top that there is any movement" - Pointed out the boy with the straw hat, also pointing out at what appeared to be a massive statue at the top of the marine fortress
"Did I tell you-" - "Yes, at least three times"
"W-what the hell!?"
Luffy climbed the side of the fort, by making his feet into sticky gum. Zoro, clearly disturbed, was lodged halfway through his captain. The two finally arrived to the top of the building, where a stone statue of a tall man with a metal jaw and an axe in place of the right hand was being lifted, much to the surprise of the marines rising said statue
"Can you release me now?" - "Sure"
"Who the hell are you!?" - Exclaimed a man much like the statue, tall, with the metal jaw and the axe for hand, which both invaders quickly deduced was no one other than 'Axe-Hand' Morgan. Behind him, was his son, his face a bruise, who quickly pointed at Luffy: - "Dad! That's the bastard who hit me! Kill him daddy, kill him!"
"I bet the bastard has my swords" - Muttered Zoro, making Luffy nod: - "As a trophy, right. Go get them, I'll cause the distraction"
Luffy proceeded to jump at the ropes being used to lift the statue, snapping some and making others slip from the grasp of the marines, the entire structure falling and breaking upon hitting the edge of the fort
"… Welp, that's a distraction" - And in the chaos of the monument falling apart, no one noticed Zoro shutting up Helmeppo and dragging him away
The boy with the straw hat felt a gust of wind striking him, as he twisted aside from his landing zone, evading a crushing blow from Morgan, the man roaring in rage and foaming at the mouth. Still spinning, Luffy lashed out with his foot, catching a protrusion at his elbow that easily gave way to his kick, the man flinching back but not backing out
With a roar and a curse, Morgan kept on the offensive, uncaring of his apparent wound, lashing out with wide blows of his axe. Unfortunately, the heavy weapon was simply too slow to actually hit his agile opponent, who danced around the blows, until he was right at the edge of the building
The Marine captain watched baffled, as the next blow was evaded by jumping off the building, the bafflement mixing with horror and confusion as the arms of his target grew and latched on the captain himself
Luffy then declared: - "Candy Candy Cannonball!" - And launched himself forward, running over Morgan with his strike, the man sent flying through the debris of the statue that hadn't fallen off the building, and almost falling from the fort himself. As the boy with the straw hat landed back on the building, the remaining Marines started organizing themselves, the men aiming their muskets and rifles at Luffy
"Fire! Kill him!" - Bellowed Morgan, and the Marines did just that, firing their weapons; they proceeded to watch with horror as they did nothing on Luffy, the boy turning into a red blob and absorbing the bullets, before turning back into a human with a massive grin on his face
"Nope, weapons don't work on me~" - Boasted Luffy, stretching his arm and hardening solely the fist at the tip: - "Candy Candy Pistol!"
Launching his attack forward, it went through Morgan's axe, hastily raised in his defence, breaking it and punching Morgan in his iron jaw, breaking it too. He'd be sent flying towards the ground, if not for a swift transition between solid candy and gluey one, Luffy holding the man and stopping him from flying away
"Now that's dealt with… eh, I wonder if Nami and Zoro already found their things…" - Luffy admitted he didn't thought it enough, and had no idea of what to do next. So, turning his back to the gaping Marines, he just walked away, in search of his friends
He still snickered as he heard one of the Marines ask what just happened
Luffy did found his friends. Zoro had a total of three katana on his hips, at his right side, one with a white sheath and hilt, and the other with black sheaths and nondescript hilts. Nami had a frown on her face, and a fistful of paper tightly grasped
"Didn't find the map?"
"Found… something else" - Nami showed the paper, which as he read, he realized was a taunting letter
Someone got the map first
"Buggy 'the Clown', eh?" - Noticed Zoro the name at the bottom of the paper: - "So we'll have to track him for the map?"
"Yeah; any idea where he is?" - Asked Luffy, turning towards the ginger, who forlornly shrugged her shoulders
"None whatsoever"
Humming to himself, Luffy put a hand on her shoulder, making the lass blink her brown eyes: - "Don't worry, we'll find him and then we can go our own ways"
Still blinking, Nami smiled softly, asking: - "What about I now being part of the crew, back at Rika's place?"
"You're a friend Nami; while I'd like having you as my navigator, I recognize that you have your own life" - Laughed Luffy: - "You're my friend Nami, and I'd never force you to do something you don't want"
Blinking again, the orange-haired lass smirked, and raised a hand: - "Thank you, partner. Until we find the map?"
"Sure, 'till we find the map" - A high-five later, and the two smirked together, feeling the bond between growing further
The moment was interrupted by a growl. Zoro scratched his head: - "Hate to interrupt, but I have been starving for three weeks now"
"Shishishishi, yeah, we should find something for you to eat; let's go to Rika's place and talk to-" - "Luffy!"
Well, just who he was going to look for: - "Coby! Just kicked Morgan's ass. Are you going to stay or what?"
"I'll probably stay" - Remarked the pink-haired boy, with no stutter, much to Luffy's approval: - "And you, found what you wanted?"
"Nah, somebody stole it first. Say, any clue where Buggy 'the Clown' might be?'
"W-well…" - And there goes Luffy's approval: - "B-Buggy? B-be careful Luffy, h-he's said-" - "To have a Devil Fruit"
"Y-you know?" - "Yeah, the Chop Chop Fruit, which allows the eater to divide his own body into many parts. Zoro, this fight's mine"
"O-oh, that's half the fight then" - Noted Coby, blinking: - "I did hear rumours that… do you still have the map we got from the cruiser?"
"Nami?" - "Here" - The lass presented the map, but was again interrupted by a growling noise. Looking at the mildly blushing Zoro, the quartet decided to go Rika's place, the Food Foo
There, a veritable feast was prepared for them, as word spread that Morgan was finally defeated and, according to rumours, arrested for his crimes and corruption, which was driving the city to ruins
Coby pointed the group, through the map, towards the region surrounding Organ Island, which was the last known position of Buggy's crew, making Luffy declare: - "Yosh, now we just have to find him and we're good"
Full of food and with their supplies gathered, the trio said their goodbyes to Coby, Rika, and the enthusiastic population wanting to thanks them, departing towards Organ Island, on the hunt for Buggy and his valuable map
AN: And, that's the chapter
I really have no idea why I kept that name for it. Really don't
Before we go to the differences from canon, allow me to thank you four:
livetheLuffy and sudhush:Thank you for the review and the encouraging words! Hope you'll like this chapter
aidansidhe and our mysterious guest: Thank you for the review! And about pairings, unfortunately, the story just might have pairings. They're a tricky beast that should be handled with care
On to the differences from canon! The first, and one that should be on the previous chapter, was Shanks' arm. Which wasn't lost. Somewhat surprised no one remarked on that
Number two, Luffy, with basic knowledge of navigation, successfully evades the whirlpool; that changes his meeting with Alvida, from baffling good luck of Luffy to a simply coincidence that she'd attack the ship that Luffy was on
Third, Nami joins earlier, thanks to the previous point; with Alvida defeated so fast, she didn't had the time to steal from her; she still would run away, as her real target is the map for the Grand Line. By sheer coincidence, again, she chooses Luffy's boat
Fourth, the second meeting between Zoro and Luffy. Before, Luffy let Zoro tied up; this time, Luffy released the ex-bounty hunter, making the process of recovering his swords much faster and the overall combat be much swifter
The last, was Luffy declaring his family name to Nami and Coby, helping them make the connection between him and his grandfather. Doesn't that explains a lot about him?