One Piece - Tales of the Pirate King

Disclaimer: One Piece is property of Eiichiro Oda. I am not Eiichiro Oda

Chapter 5 - The Baratie Ark, Part 2

"What the hell now!?" - "'Don'! 'Don' Krieg! He followed us! The 'Hawk-Eyed Man' followed us!"

Eyes widened, Zoro's particularly, as they heard the call from the Dreadnaught Sabre, the ship split in two, falling down almost perfectly in two places

"Who?" - Luffy, of course, had no idea of who 'Hawk-Eyes' was

"Dracule Mihawk, 'the Hawk-Eyes', 'the Greatest Swordsman in the World'" - Answered Zoro, starting to sweat: - "And my objective"

The cooks shouted in surprise, at seeing the massive galleon being cut to pieces. Many wondered what sort of weapon could do that, then they realized, on the back of Dracule Mihawk, the massive sword in the shape of a cross

Luffy watched, as 'the Greatest Swordsman in the World' approached. Tall and lean, with a black coat with long sleeves coloured wine and with a flowery pattern, exposing his muscular chest with a crucifix necklace, alongside light purple pants tucked in a pair of boots; the most attention calling was perhaps the wide-brimmed hat, with a massive white plume affixed to it, and the golden, attention calling eyes under it

What was most notable for Luffy, however, was that he was on an itty-bitty raft, shaped like a coffin, and big enough for only one person, with two candles burning with green flames and a relatively large mast, shaped like a crucifix, with a black sail

"He sails the Grand Line in that?" - Muttered the boy, unheard by the crowd, who watched in awe as 'Hawk-Eyes' moved, swinging what turned out to be a massive sword from his back to deflect shots from a pirate amidst the debris

"Zoro, be care-… Zoro? Where did he go?" - "He's ahead of us, bro" - "Eh?" - Indeed, the swordsman of the 'Straw Hats' already had moved forward, standing on the biggest piece of debris, waiting for Mihawk to pass him

Zoro already had his swords in place, one in each hand, his white one in his mouth; yet, he somehow called over Mihawk: - "'Hawk-Eyes'! I challenge you to a duel!"

"Hm? And who might you be?" - The 'Hawk-Eyes' looked decidedly unimpressed, as if bored out of his mind

"I am Roronoa Zoro; one of many contending for your title"

Now Mihawk just looked exasperated, even as he exited his coffin boat: - "And what makes you different from everybody else?"

Zoro grinned wildly in answer: - "I'll win"

Mihawk, in spite of his stoic attitude, actually looked ready to yawn; so he did worse: - "What is the meaning of this!" - And drew, from his crucifix necklace, an itty-bitty dagger

"You don't use a cannon to hunt a rabbit, do you?" - Asked Mihawk, gaining only a growl from Zoro: - "I'd like to apologize, but I have no smaller blade with me"

"Grr~, then don't you dare regret your death for underestimating me!" - And Zoro, angered, charged: - "Demon Slash!"

"Hell yeah! Zoro-bro's signature attack!" - "It always, always wor~… ked?"

To the surprise of those watching, especially Johnny and Yosaku, Mihawk blocked the attack: - "W-what?"

Blocked and deflected it, his tiny dagger stopping the three blades, stabbing on the singular spot where all three blades met as they were about to cross over. Zoro tried to frantically attack, flipping over with a shout of: - "Wolf Blade Stream!"

That attack was also parried, and so was the next, and the next, Mihawk defending strikes wide and narrow and varied from the green-haired swordsman, much to his shock: - "I-it can't be~; the difference between us shouldn't be so big!"

"Learn, little frog on his little well, said difference" - Mihawk heard, and commented on the slowly despairing swordsman's own words: - "The weakest of the seas, against the greatest of all world"

"Tiger-" - The last attack was not to be

"Zoro!" - "Zoro-bro~!" - Mihawk's dagger, the minuscule dagger, more an eating utensil than an actual weapon… was stabbed hilt deep over Zoro's heart

A beat, a pause, a second of silence, which felt like an hour, passed

"Why not step back?" - Finally, Mihawk broke the silence

Zoro outright chuckled: - "S-step back… and admit defeat…?"

With a gasp, feeling his heart beat and touch the sharp blade, he still laughed: - "I'd rather die"

Mihawk just raised an eyebrow, but even he admitted: - "Impressive"

"Such resolve is rare to see nowadays" - He continued, pulling his dagger, Zoro almost faltering without the extra weight: - "For that, I'll give you the highest honour to a swordsman"

"Heh, really?" - "For your great will, I, 'Hawk-Eyes' Mihawk, shall take you down with my black blade, Yoru!"

Zoro stared, glee filling his heart. Now or never

Both swordsmen standing in front of the other; Zoro finished the fight by holding his swords in front of himself, forming an upside-down triangle with the sword on his mouth, and spinning both swords on his hands, at high speed, the sword on his mouth also posing to cut:

"Three Swords Style, Ultimate Technique, Three Thousand Worlds!"

Mihawk finished the fight with a single nameless slash

Mihawk won

The blades on Zoro's hands shattered, and a great cut opened on his front: - "I lost"

Luffy blinked. His swordsman lost. He almost let Johnny and Yosaku slip from his grasp, having latched on the pair to stop them from interfering on the fight

Then, his white sword re-sheathed, and… his arms wide open, he turned to face Mihawk: - "What are you doing?"

"Wounds on the back are a shame to a swordsman, aren't they?" - Answered Zoro with an easy grin of acceptance

Mihawk, for once, actually grinned: - "Spoken like a true swordsman"

Even as he slashed forward, cleaving through Zoro's chest

"Zoro!" - This time, Luffy didn't held back Johnny and Yosaku. Mostly because he himself was already halfway towards Mihawk: - "You bastard! Candy Candy Cannonball!"

The ballistic teen didn't even faze Mihawk, who simply stepped aside, allowing Luffy to scar the wooden platform that was once one of Krieg ship's deck

"Your friend is not dead yet" - Commented 'Hawk-Eyes', actually making the boy with the straw hat pause, as he looked at where Zoro was being fished by Johnny and Yosaku: - "You're Shanks' protégée, aren't you? Say, what is your dream?"

Luffy eyebrows knotted together, confused by the question that came, apparently, out of nowhere: - "To be the Pirate King"

Mihawk outright snorted: - "That is more challenging than even my title, you know that?"

"So what?" - "Ku, kukukuku, I say, the young man found a respectable captain"

"Roronoa Zoro!" - Called out Mihawk, leaving Luffy baffled, wondering how he learned the name: - "It's still too early for you to die"

"My name is Dracule Mihawk! Discover your true self, the true world, become stronger! However long it may take, I shall await you at the top. Surpass this sword! Surpass me! Roronoa Zoro!"

Silence on the battlefield, as the declaration of 'the Greatest Swordsman in the World' washed over them

Then, a voice shouted, cracking with pain but still strong: - "L-Luffy!"

"Z-Zoro!?" - "Zoro-bro! Don't strain yourself!"

"I'm s-sorry!" - Shouted 'the East Blue Greatest Swordsman': - "I'm weak! B-But I'll get stronger!"

"I'll never be defeated, ever again! 'Till I surpass 'Hawk-Eyes'!" - His voice weakened, his wound great and painful even to look at, as he whispered: - "Is that okay, captain?"

His captain still heard the whisper, and grinned, almost laughing: - "Sure!"

And so, Mihawk turned his back on everyone, taking his coffin boat and sailing away in the chaos and confusion. He didn't do so unnoticed, however: - "Hey, 'Hawk-Eyes'!"

Krieg was standing, tall and proud, as he called for 'the Greatest Swordsman in the World': - "What about me? Didn't you come all the way to here for my head?"

"Actually, it was just to pass the time. I had my fill of fun today" - Replied Mihawk truthfully, making 'the Don' frown

"Well, I certainly hadn't mine!" - He shouted, once again opening the many hatches of his armour, revealing his hidden weapons. Ignoring the cries of warning of his crew, Krieg fired, and Mihawk just looked at him with disdain, before the swordsman cut the water, creating a huge wave between the two. By the time the waters calmed, Mihawk was already gone, the unspoken message clear: Krieg wasn't even worth killing

Angered, Krieg declared his plan to his crew out loud, declaring that Zeff had once sailed the Grand Line, and thus knew the secret to survive against monsters like Mihawk, and had them in store with him, in a journal. By taking the seemingly harmless Baratie as their own boat, and the weakness of the Devil Fruit users exposed, they'd be invincible! And soon, he, Krieg, would be the Pirate King!

First came confusion, as Luffy couldn't understand what Devil Fruits had with anything, failing to understand that 'the Don' believed Mihawk had one. Then came, of all things, mirth, because there was no way anyone other than Luffy would be the Pirate King! Especially not a weakling that hid behind armour and weapons

And as one brave soul questioned whether it was a good idea to go back to the insane Grand Line, Luffy shouted: - "Yo, Krieg! I'm going to be the Pirate King!"

A beat. Luffy started to laugh at the stares, stretching himself and preparing for battle, since there was no other way; Krieg had to be stopped, or he might lose his cook! The man himself was speaking some inane babble, but Luffy ignored it in favour of checking his surroundings

Most of the pirates were either in the water going towards the Baratie, the rest about to dive, but all had stopped at his declaration. A bullet grazing his cloak reminded him of Krieg, who kept shouting something, but Luffy wasn't paying attention still, this time ignoring even the pirates to search for Sanji, finding him amidst the cooks' formation

"Oi! Sanji!" - "No!" - "You won't not join my crew? Great!" - Sanji palm just met his hand, the 'Straw Hats' captain laughing: - "Shishishi, kidding, kidding! Just keep guard of the Baratie, okay? This fight is mine!"

And as he spoke, Luffy grinned viciously at Krieg, who, in an admittedly impressive move, just glared back. The glare turned into pure fear, as Luffy became a blob of candy, stretching his arms and crying out: - "Candy Candy Cannonball!"

Laughing at the 'what the hell!' from the pirates, Luffy spun in mid-air until his legs were pointed towards Krieg, and followed up with a shout of: - "And Lance!" - And while the flying kick wasn't as long as when he fought Kuro, he had the added momentum of his flight behind it, almost sending Luffy through the floor of the wooden deck and into the waters below, the teen sticking himself to the point of impact and dragging himself up, ignoring the hail of bullets striking his amorphous form

The following up stakes were a little harder to ignore, mostly because they pierced through him and damaged the floor, but nothing that a run, in Krieg's direction, didn't solve. Krieg evaded the clothesline by ducking under it, swinging his fists at the mass of half-candied Luffy, and discovered that was a bad idea when one of his fists sunk into him, and he was unable to remove it

Luffy exploited the situation, punching once, twice, three times, each punch connecting with the ensnared pirate, who grunted with each punch, moving but snapping back in place. The 'Straw Hats' captain finally released his opponent, and spun in place to deliver a devastating kick, launching Krieg into a miraculously standing mast, which didn't survive the impact, falling straight into the extended fin of the Baratie

Meanwhile, both the cooks and the pirates of Krieg were too busy watching the fight to watch each other, not even realizing that they should be fighting each other. They only started to realize so when 'Foul-Play' drew one of his shoulder plates, pointing it down, at the same time he covered his face with a gas mask: - "M. H. 5"

"Holy shit! Captain just fired his poison bomb at himself!"

Sanji felt an unnatural shiver go down his spine, upon hearing the shout of the pirate. The cruel looking purple smoke screen hadn't moved at all after forming, covering completely both Luffy and Krieg

Without the big fight distracting them, the blond cook decided to start his own fight, punting aside a few pirates before they recovered. The fight began in earnest then, the marauders taking offense and turning at the cooks, who had seen Sanji in action and were expecting the charge

With Sanji leading, the cooks found themselves actually winning, even though the pirates were stronger than average; but with the blond sous-chef kicking aside anyone who faced his allies and were beating them, the fight turned around in favour of the harassed cooks; it helped that Patty and Carne soon appeared with the head of the Baratie, which was actually a boat

"Mackerel Head Number One, go!" - They called, bombarding the battlefield with cannonballs from the three cannons present on the mouth of the fish, whooping as the pirates were forced to retreat further. The Mackerel Head Number One charged forward, running over a few hapless pirates too close to the fin and in the path of the combat boat

As it turned around for another charge, it struck something and stopped, much to the confusion of the drivers, who shouted in panic as their weapon was tipped over, flipped upside-down, as a fat man in a heavy looking circular metal plates decorating his body, with pink pearl-like objects in the middle, and another pearl used as a helmet, rose from the ocean, standing at the wooden fin

"Pahaha, are you really having troubles with a bunch of cooks? Then let me, 'Iron Wall' Pearl, deal with them! Pahahaha" - He said, charging at the lines of cooks, being intercepted by Sanji, who kicked at the armour. Pearl released a surprised grunt, as he was actually forced back by it: - "What? You think you stand a chance?"

The blond didn't deign to give him an answer, instead delivering a high kick that was blocked, following it up with a spinning high heel kick that struck Pearl's face, then had the young man hand-standing, spinning in place as he delivered a series of kicks: - "Party Table Kick Course!"

The strikes weren't strong enough to dent the metal armour, but didn't need to, as Pearl, dizzy with the successful head shot, was easily pushed back, tripping on his own legs and falling backwards - "W-w-what!?" - "We're not just cooks, shitty bastard"

Hastily standing up, Pearl moved a finger under his nose, and was shocked and horrified to find blood, turning to face Sanji: - "We are the cooks of the Baratie! Now stand up! I haven't finished kicking your ass!"

"D-d-dangerous" - Muttered the massive man: - "D-a-a-angerous! I'm in danger! I'm in danger!" - He then started to shout, repeating himself over and over and banging the shields on his hands like cymbals, finishing with a scream of: - "Fire Pearl 'Lucky You'!"

Then he exploded. Not literally, thank goodness, but his pearls were now on fire, pale blue flames of great intensity, as he launched various small pearls coated in flames, most striking the fin deck and his own comrades, but also some hitting the cooks and flying towards the Baratie. Silence then reigned, as Zeff, peg-leg Zeff, kicked out with said peg-leg, and the pure wind of the kick was enough to snuff the flames

Pearl himself wasn't stopped, still panicking at the blood loss, even if it was a relatively tiny injury, banging his shields as he cried out: - "Fire Pearl Surprise!" - And punched with all his might at Sanji, who simply ducked and grunted at the heat, before simply extending his leg

Pearl, his heavy armour, and hefty shields, were sent flying, as the perfect vertical split revealed its power as a kick: - "Anti-Manners Kick Course!"

Then Sanji dashed aside, as Gin, of all people, proceeded to smash the back of his flying fellow Krieg's man, crushing the shield on his back and sending him face-first into the extended deck

"He was going to end burning down the ship" - Explained the once starving man, shrugging his shoulders, facing his captain, who finally revealed himself from the poisonous smog, making Krieg grunt in grudgingly given approval

Sanji lighted a cigarette, took a deep drag, and glared: - "So, you are going to side with your captain"

"Of course, we just want the ship, Sanji; this can be solved just by standing aside"

Sanji's answer was only a snort. Taking the initiative, the smoker punt was met by the same weapon that practically broke Pearl in half, a tonfa with a heavy weight similar to a cannonball at the tip, said cannonball making Sanji grit his teeth at the resistance, but using it as a platform to launch himself backwards and away from a second tonfa, the weights of both weapons colliding with a lethal 'clang'

No more words were exchanged, no more words were needed, the pair starting their deadly dance, a kick blocked here, a weapon evaded with ease, the two equally matched in their different fighting styles, unable to find weaknesses on each other, at least at the beginning. As a matter of fact, Gin was just barely recovering from starvation

At least, so thought Sanji: - "Poitrine Shoot!" - The kick, aimed at the chest, connected, but Gin didn't even register the strong attack, only barely pushed back and already moving to counter, having purposefully taken the attack to complete his own nameless one, smashing his tonfas together much like Pearl with his shields, and almost crushing Sanji's still extended leg

As it stood, Sanji still cussed out loud at the pain, the glancing hit still hurting a lot. An attempt to slam Gin's face into the ground was foiled by his weapons, and the blond found himself on the defensive, as 'the Ogre' started going for his legs, his crushing blows smashing the floor and destroying Sanji's footing, as he backpedalled hastily

The cooks could only watch, horrified, as the pirates jeered and mocked them, as Gin 'the Ogre', right hand of Krieg and not a mere underling as they believed so long ago, slowly but surely demolished their sous-chef and strongest fighter. A lucky blow had Sanji tripping and on the ground, pinned under a tonfa as the other was spun on masterful hands, to deliver a blow that would surely kill a common man, but Sanji also saw something else

Gin was… hesitating?

The cigarette on Sanji's lips was sent flying, right into Gin's eyes, who blinked and flinched back, giving enough space for Sanji to dance out of the way of the hasty club and kick Gin, propelling himself further from his opponent, watching as 'the Ogre' just… stood there, on his knees

"Captain! I'm sorry~!" - Then, he cried out: - "I can't kill the man who saved my life!"

The best way Luffy could describe being wounded, was a horrid taste, that just so happened to be felt… not on his tongue. Venoms and poisons, on the other hand, reacted with his syrup body, turning it into something else and spreading that taste all over his body, as he experienced with a venomous viper he once had the very bad luck to meet; he also discovered he could 'shove' said toxic candy to the 'edges' of his body and basically sweat it, leaving a core of healthy syrup that was Luffy's body safely in the centre

So, under the cover of the smoke, he rolled away in a sphere of candy inside a ball of ruined syrup, tuckering himself in a nook of the fallen ship, resigning himself to hear the battle from his cover, until he had shed the toxic syrup that infected him. It left him mildly annoyed that he had to do so, as it made him appear to have lost the fight, as if a dirty trick like poisonous gas could defeat him

Then again, against anyone without a Devil Fruit that gave poison immunity or resistance, a point-blank poison gas bomb would give practically an instant victory. Then again, that just reinforced to Luffy what he already thought of Krieg, that he was someone that depended too much from his weaponry and armour, and even with his admittedly impressive physical strength, anyone able to bypass his many toys would win

Then he heard Gin's cry, and he allowed himself to poke his head from its shell, discovering pleasantly surprised the poison had faded from the air, and that no one was paying attention to him

Through, instead of taking the opportunity to knock out Krieg, he decided to hear Gin out. The man might be an enemy, but Luffy liked him, as he seemed honourable and he did thank Sanji for the meal

"I-I'm sorry, captain, but I can't kill this man! P-please, please, let's… let's just let them be" - He spoke, nay, begged, for his captain to be merciful, tears on his eyes and still on his knees. Krieg didn't like that, at all

"Gin! Have you gone mad!? Has the hunger gotten to you!? Stop that nonsense and kill the bloody cook!"

"I can't, 'Don' Krieg! I-I want to obey, but I can't kill the first person outside of you to show me kindness!" - Wait, what? - "P-please, show mercy and spare the Baratie!"

"Enough Gin! If I knew a little mercy was all it took to subvert you I'd never have recruited you" - Now, that's just harsh: - "Cease your nonsense at once, or I'll kill you myself!"

Gin 'the Ogre', grown man and famed murderer with a bounty of five hundred thousand Belly, wept, face on the deck, clearly unable to do so, Krieg having enough: - "Men! Treat Gin as if he was any other enemy! From now on that emotional weakling is not part of our crew anymore! Am. I. Clear!?"

"Yes! Captain!" - "Now, that's just peachy"

Krieg turned around, his face a picture of horror, the pirates gaped in sheer shock alongside the cooks, as Luffy continued, singsongingly: - "Candy~ Candy~ Devil~!" - He hadn't exactly sweated all the toxins, but he didn't quite need to; all he needed was to grow large arms and legs from his sphere, and turn himself into a four-limbed blob monster

"And Candy Candy Pistol!" - Continued the bubble, the eyes seeing everything with a tinge of red, the arm launched forward, too weak to wound as there was little momentum, instead sticking on Krieg, who hastily had covered himself with a cloak of ineffective spikes: - "Followed by Cannonball!"

The impact of the heavier and denser Luffy sent Krieg flying, going over the ocean and hitting the edge of the fin of the Baratie with a grunt, from where he smirked, pointing his hand at the mast that Luffy's form was using to reach Krieg back. From the wrist of 'the Don' came fire, a long-ranged flamethrower that engulfed the fallen mast, Luffy bouncing up and over the flames, but falling right on the burnt structure

"Ouch! Hot hot hot hot!" - Jumping again, this time Luffy moved to deliver a proper punch, his shout of: - "Candy Candy Pistol!" - Delivering a much stronger punch, launching him through the deck and under it, Luffy retracting his hand and bouncing as he struck the deck, launching himself as far up as he could while his hands glued to the deck

Krieg broke through the deck, and met his downfall: - "Candy Candy Press!" As Luffy let go, the captain of the 'Straw Hats' ploughing through the recently opened hole, striking Krieg's head, which sunk on his shoulders. As 'the Don' gurgled in agony, he sunk, his neck broken, no one hearing his drowned screams of denial and pain as he went to the depths of the East Blue

After killing Krieg, all he needed was to viciously glare at the pirates with one of his wide grins, and they were sent packing, rowing the debris of the Dreadnaught Sabre away from the cooks and of the Merry, much to the celebration of said cooks

Said celebration died out swiftly when Luffy had to eat, to recover the energies used to sweat away the toxins of Krieg's MH5, and practically emptied the ladder of the Baratie. By the time his crew, Johnny and Yosaku returned, he had barely started, and by the time a cook with medical training finished stitching Zoro together, Luffy still had halfway to go, eating all food put in front of him

It wasn't much of a problem, though. The Mackerel Head Number One was not only an emergency battle station, it also was a fishing trawler, so the restaurant ladders could be spared, as long as Luffy accepted to eat only seafood. Considering he wasn't even bothering to taste the food, just recovering from the poisoning, he didn't mind much

So busy he was with filling his gut, he almost didn't notice Usopp's question: "Hey, Luffy; what do we do now?"

A fork stabbed down, stopping the 'Straw Hats' captain from stealing from Usopp plate, even as the boy answered. It was untranslatable, however, as he spoke with his mouth full, earning himself a slap from Nami: - "Don't speak with your mouth full"

Gulping down the food on his mouth, Luffy answered properly: - "Sorry, Nami. Well, the plan is the same: convince Sanji to come with us. Which reminds me; hey, Gin! Want to join!?"

The group of 'what?'s that followed rather amused the boy, none more than the one from 'the Ogre' himself, who was sullenly squatting on a windowsill, from which he fell, looking at Luffy upside down with a comically baffled expression

All expressed their confusion, except Nami, who looked at the fallen man as he righted himself up, and asked: - "Isn't he one of Krieg's? Why would we want him to join us?"

So Luffy told him of Gin's mercy towards Sanji and why, revealing the now blushing 'Ogre' that he was an honourable man, in spite of his captain's disdain for such things. He further explained that he stomped, literally, Krieg's head, and the man had sunk and hadn't come back: - "Either he's the champion at holding his breath, or he's dead" - He jested

Much to Gin's surprise, Nami just nodded, looking at him with a smile that practically said 'welcome aboard', as if that was enough: - "… That's it? He invites me and everyone accepts? What if I don't want to go?"

"Do you not? Oh~, is that Salmon?"

Feeling sweat drop from his head, Gin had to agree; he actually felt tempted by the offer. But they were going to the Grand Line, and that place frightened him; the weather was… tolerable, if completely utter bonkers, but the people…

He had to think about it: - "Excuse me" - He said, as he exited the establishment, taking a deep breath of fresh ocean air

"He's something else, isn't he?" - "You can say that again!" - Soon, Sanji joined him, offering a cigarette that Gin gladly accepted, the pair destroying their lungs as the nicotine did its magic

Gin looked at the blond beside him, and identified him, not as the one that he fought, but: - "He wants you to go with him too, right?"

"Yup" - Sanji answered with a snort: - "If I hadn't said no, we'd be gone and the Baratie would've been easy pickings, did you know?"

The comment made Gin laugh, as he could see it; without the blond cook or the captain with the Devil Fruit, they would indeed be easy targets for the remnants of the Krieg's pirates. Though, seeing their luck had them meet one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea right as they started their journey into the Grand Line, there was a very good possibility that Zeff, crippled and once-pirate Zeff, would send them packing too

Pointing out such a fact also had Sanji laughing, the blond admitting such theory was probably true, as Zeff never really lost his touch, in spite of losing his leg, and was still as strong as he had seen during his childhood; it ended with Sanji sharing his meeting with Zeff and their dreams, and Gin in turn sharing his own past, being an orphan abandoned by all, with no prospects of life, whose only talent was to beat the crap out of people

A talent only Krieg recognized; Gin had been one of his first men, joining the marines and deserting alongside the marauder, serving faithfully as his right-hand man and as commander of the first division of Krieg's pirates. And to just be thrown aside…

"You know, I'm thinking about accepting the offer"

Sanji just snorted: - "So what? Do I need to sign something? You're a shitty grown man" - He jested

"Nah, but it would be nice if you'd come with us" - "Not you too!"

This time, Gin was the one to snort: - "Do tell then, when are you going to search for the All-Blue?" - For that was Sanji's dream. The All-Blue was a miraculous sea, where the waters and fishes of all oceans of the world would meet, making it a paradise for sea cooks like Sanji and Zeff

Sanji spoke nothing. He, truth be told, did want to go with Luffy, his charisma attracting and warm to those he liked, almost as much a siren's call as Nami's beauty; but he also had a debt with Zeff, for saving his life when the pirate didn't need to

Perhaps it was time for a serious talk between the blond and his father figure

Nami was a patient woman. She had basically lived inside the world's biggest gilded cage since she was ten, a few more days wouldn't make a difference

That didn't stop her from looking at Luffy with the biggest kicked puppy eyes she could muster, as his negotiations to gain the crew a chef was simply taking too bloody long

So, hearing that Zeff and Sanji had a 'talk', which resulted in the demolition of the roof of the establishment and the pair hugging and weeping as they said goodbyes, the blond sous-chef finally agreeing to go with Luffy as the cook of the Going Merry, had the tangerine-haired girl bouncing in joy. Finally, it was her turn!

Nami lived a fairly normal life, an orphan adopted alongside her also adopted sister Nojiko by the ex-marine Belle-mère. It was… a content life, if particularly poor, the life of a farmer never agreeing with Belle-mère, in spite of her best efforts

Then Arlong 'the Saw', a sawshark fishman came along, and Belle-mère was killed in front of her, and she had to work for eight years as the cartographer of that bastard. No more, now; she had attempted poison, assassins, sabotage, and now she found the perfect 'assassin'. Though, Luffy might protest the term used, even if that was the function he was going to perform

Of the marines, the closest was the bastard Nezumi, who would more likely release Arlong to continue his reign of terror, thanks to hefty bribes, rather than actually arrest the fishman; easier to just get rid of Arlong permanently and if possible the corrupt marine than risk any of them causing more chaos and pain to her beloved home

And so, with Sanji waving goodbye to the Baratie cooks and Gin helping Usopp man the sails, Luffy looked at the suddenly solemn Nami, put a hand on her shoulder, and just nodded

They had a deal, and it was time for Luffy to do his part

AN: The second, is that my muse insisted that was a good point to stop the chapter. I already had given you all less than five thousand before, so I buckled down to sneak more, and here is the result, almost five dot five thousand words, added to the roughly over four thousand for almost ten thousand words of One Piece goodness

:)

We also had one review, from sudhush. Thanks for the message, and don't worry, there's plenty of Luffy fighting on this part of the chapter

And the differences from canon are twofold: With a different Devil Fruit, the fight between Luffy and Krieg was solved very different, being basically a stomp in Luffy's favour, even with the poisonous gas, which Luffy, while suffering a delay, is mostly imune to

That will make his meeting with Magelan... interesting~

And second, Gin joins the crew! With his captain dead and his crew abandoning him, 'the Ogre' didn't had much of a choice; he's a pirate first and foremost, and a boss who is more likely to agree with him is just peachy

And to finish, also a little of Nami's backstory, and their plans to deal with them

That's it. Review and leave your comments, have fun, and hopefully you're still on vacation like me!

Peace!