One Piece - Tales of the Pirate King

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

Chapter 10 - The Nameless Kingdom

The panic of the crew with one of their own sick quickly faded. Gin gained an epithet after a type of demon for a good reason, and 'the Ogre' was soon helping the crew in spite of his fever reaching forty degrees on a good day

Still, that wasn't enough for Vivi; with spikes of forty-three degrees, it was obvious that whatever Gin caught was killing him, a cursory glance enough to see the big and black bite mark of some type of insect on his hand

Thus, after sailing around a legitimate Grand Line hurricane, which translates into a cataclysmic incident that appeared out of nowhere and which the crew only survive thanks to the sheer luck of having the best navigator in the world, she declared: - "We need to reach Alabasta as quickly as possible"

Getting nods from the crew, a 'duh', not spoken but not unheard, she masterfully ignored it to decide: - "And the Merry move the fastest when everyone of this crew is on top shape. So please, Luffy, let's find a doctor for Gin"

Luffy grinned, and the rest of the crew raised an eyebrow in surprise, with underlying approval; it was well known by now that at least half of her home's army had deserted and joined the rebels, and for her to willingly delay her trip for the sake of a bunch of pirates just because she saw them as friends was… it spoke of loyalty, and faith, both on her nation to hold on just a little longer and on the pirates' efficiency

A few days later, it was a cold and snowy afternoon, Gin abusing his fever to waddle around with only a white top and brown pants, his grey jacket wrapped around his waist, when Luffy, sitting on his throne and under a red winter cape, asked out loud: - "Hey, Eli! Are people walking on the surface of the ocean common on the Grand Line?"

Elijah, already used to the nickname and on the crow nest, and having traded his trench coat for a black one more appropriate to winter, didn't even need to look through his spyglass to find the man who was, indeed, standing on the surface of the ocean: - "It… isn't, captain"

"Oh, joy" - Said Usopp, wearing a brown coat over his shirt, muttered from his place pushing the snow out of the Merry, with help of Gin

Wearing a checkered green and blue hooded costume resembling a jester, under a winter white coat, all with purple fur linings, with dark green pants and blue shoes, and most importantly a recurve bow on his back alongside a quiver of arrows

Luffy, Elijah, Usopp and Gin, the rest of the crew inside to protect from the cold, stared at the… impossibility in front of them, said impossibility with a wavy mouth and a sad face

"It's a little cold, up here, eh?"

"It is quite a lot, actually" - Answered Luffy to the jester's question

"Hm? You're real?" - The jester's mutterings were directed, strangely enough, to himself. Then he tapped on some metal under him, drawing a noise of confusion from the quartet who heard the noise

Then, a metal platform rose, a massive sphere coming from the water, the Going Merry halting swiftly with the sudden obstacle in front of him, the gigantic metal orb spinning in place, then opening, revealing a massive ship inside, the sharp eyes of the present 'Straw Hats' noticing Chess on top of the mast

"Luffy, what is going on~… Luffy, are we being invaded?" - Sanji, wearing a furry coat quite similar to his typical suits, asked, exiting the warmth of the Merry's cabin, only to see that at least a battalion of uniformed soldiers, led by a fat man wearing plated armour, under what appeared to be a hooded cape made of a white hippo fur that covered violet hair, with short brown boots and gloves with white fur lining, and strangely enough for the cold weather, purple and orange woollen shorts, exposing his calves

"Hello, hello~, does this ship possess an Eternal Pose for Drum Island? I don't want any conflict boys, so just surrender, okay?" - He spoke, chewing on a piece of meat on a dagger. Then he started to chew the dagger itself, making the five gentlemen and the approaching Nami, dressed in a yellow and white checkered coat, flinch

She, and the rest of the crew, wanted to ask if he just had a strong jaw and digestive tract, or if it was the product of a Devil Fruit, but at the moment, she was just thankful that said gentlemen were too baffled to actually do so, the lass instead focusing on what mattered, having heard his question: - "N-no, we don't even know about such an island, eh, sir"

The stranger grunted, displeased, but not appearing to care: - "Well, then I think we'll just take all your treasure and the ship, too"

"I'll think I'll take a bite now, in fact" - And indeed he did, his mouth growing to a massive, grotesque size, the man taking a bite from the Merry's side

The reaction was instantaneous. No way in hell they were going to let this weirdo do whatever he wanted with their Merry, all together shouting exactly that: - "No way in hell~!" - As they attacked

Nami used Sanji as a stepping stone to jump over the railing and slam her staff, repaired back in Cocoyashi, on the head of an invader, whacking away much to the surprise of the soldiers, not used to resistance. Not helped was Sanji, after punting away those aiming their guns at him in front of the cabin, jumped over the railing himself, joining the ginger

To make matters worse, they were swiftly joined by Usopp and Gin, the pair using their shovels to push away the pirates alongside the snow, or in the case of 'the Ogre', outright bashing open some heads, even if not quite as skilfully as if he had his tonfas

What made the soldiers truly miserable, however, was Luffy joining the fight, spinning in place and extending his leg with a call of: - "Candy Candy~ Scythe!" - And punting aside the majority of the soldiers on the caravel, the captain of the 'Straw Hats' then jumping forward to a distracted and chewing fat man, who didn't seem to realize his mooks were having their collective asses kicked

And Igaram… did nothing, just poking his head to check on the commotion. He did have a camera with himself, and, recognizing the man who struck his princess so long ago, took a discreet photo of the man and his flag. A king going rogue and turning into a pirate? The World Government would have a field day

"Hm?" - He seemed to notice the fact that eating a still occupied pirate ship wasn't quite a good idea only when Luffy jumped towards him with a roar. With a harrumph, the armoured man simply opened his maw, with half-chewed wood still inside, and promptly gobbled Luffy: - "Hm. Tasty, but chewy" - Muttered the man, as he indeed chewed on Luffy

Demonstrating again a case of lack of attention, he didn't realize that Luffy's hands were outside his mouth until one of them latched on his ear and pulled, drawing a grunt of pain and, amusingly enough, toppling him, the man rolling in the deck of the Merry and attempting to order his victim to stop trashing as he stopped on his back

Rather hard to talk when there's somebody trashing on one's mouth, as the man found out

"King Wapol, watch out!" - Then, came from high above the jester's voice, the man finally paying attention to his surroundings, an extremely annoyed Sanji and Gin each grabbing one of Luffy's hands, Sanji shoving one foot on Wapol's upper jaw, one on the lower, and then slowly forcing his mouth open, Luffy being pulled out by his friends, cursing everything he could think about Wapol

"Sanji! As far away as you can! So~ gross~!" - Outright ordered Luffy

Gin, hearing the order, helped by tipping Wapol on his side, and Sanji exploited the opening, literally kicking his ass with a shout of: - "Derrière Shot!" - And sending the armoured man flying with a girly scream of pain

"K-King Wapol! Wah~! His Devil Fruit will make him sink like an anchor! After him men!" - And with surprisingly great mobility for a crew beaten into almost unconsciousness, the entirety of it entered the strange ship, which swiftly paddled its way after their flying captain, the jester promising retribution to the 'Straw Hats', who completely ignored them as they sailed away

"Ya know, do you think this is Drum Island?" - Asked Luffy

Elijah stared blankly as Usopp, looking up, answered: - "Why do you think?"

"Ya know, because the mountains kinda look like really tall drums"

Looking again, Usopp had to agree: - "Yeah, makes sense, I suppose. Eli, you've been staring at me for the past hour"

"I'm sorry" - Deadpanned the bomb man: - "But you know, if something makes an inhabitant of the Grand Line pause, then maybe it might not be such a good idea"

Usopp grunted noncommittally, making sure the knot was firm and the rope securely tied to the railing; on the other end, Gin relaxed

What better way to reduce a forty-five degrees' fever than to go for a swim in an ocean that was so cold as to be almost solid? Many things, but Gin never heard any of them, and admittedly, they were rather limited in resources

The mood in the ship was as relaxed as 'the Ogre', truth be told. That the sudden stop had been caused by an attempt of attack rather than the freaky weather had the crew tranquil and peaceful, most of them circling the lit oven that Sanji carefully tended to in the cabin, only the captain, the arsonist, the sniper and the helmsman outside

The princess of the crew soon joined them, wearing a white fluffy coat, and more or less went bonkers at realizing what Gin was doing, demanding he return back into the Merry, fearing for his safety, her imagination dreaming of man-eating sharks to the man being dragged under the ship and drowning. Fortunately, for the blue-haired lass, 'the Ogre' was willing to listen to her, if only to make her shut up

By the time he climbed back, she had at least went back into the cabin and returned with a fluffy towel, an amused Valentine in tow, the blonde covered in a green parka and white pants, her ever present hat in place, and a much less amused Grace, who just wanted to go back to the kitchen and pester Sanji for hot tea, the redhead under a massive dark brown cloak

The good mood, in spite of the cold, soon evaporated, as the crew dropped the anchor, because as at the moment it dived underwater, a veritable army of peasants, armed with muskets and other ranged weaponry, took aim from a rocky cliff

Vivi squeaked, surprised with the hostile reaction, a tall black-haired man in a green coat armoured with leather pads and a weapon grip visible on his back amidst the snipers ordering: - "Pirates! Your kind is not welcome here! Leave at once!"

Luffy completely ignored the order, naturally: - "Hey~! Do you have a doctor!? We have a sick person on board!"

"Do you honestly believe we'll fall for that, scum!?" - Was the answer from one of the soldiers

Luffy ignored him too: - "Also, is this place called Drum Island!? We met a guy called Wapol who wanted to come to this place!"

A pause. Then the dark-haired man again: - "What. What!?"

And so, Elijah, Valentine, Vivi, Igaram, Luffy, Usopp, and Gin, all moved into the village of Big Horn, where they and Dalton, the man in green, bartered for information and medicine

Or rather, Dalton promised to not have a mob running the 'Straw Hats' back into their ship, while informing that the sole doctor of the island was a witch that lived on the top of the tallest mountain, where the old king's castle rested. They also learned that Wapol was a cad and a coward, having ran away with the kingdom's army when a powerful pirate crew known as the 'Blackbeard' pirates appeared and laid waste to the Drum Kingdom

"Even since then, this kingdom has lived without a king for a long time. The elections for a new king have been coming up, and, to my shame, my name has been coming up" - Explained Dalton, much to the confusion of the crew, Vivi making to speak:

"B-but you seem a loyal man, mister Dalton; why-"

Dalton interrupted politely, raising a hand and explaining: - "I was one of the old king's chosen men, young lady, serving since his father reigned; his father was a good man, but Wapol… not so much. Still, I served faithfully as he ran our kingdom to the ground"

"It still seems to me you truly regret for your crimes, sir Dalton" - Spoke Igaram: - "That speaks to me of a man who does cares about his people and do deserve forgiveness"

Dalton, head down, just said: - "I believe we'll agree to disagree about that. You said you were in search of our witch, didn't you? Then make yourselves at home, I'll ask around if any information about her came up"

The 'Straw Hats' politely waited on Dalton's home… for five seconds, before Luffy came up with a 'plan': - "So, Gin, think you can climb that mountain?"

The crew, as one, stared at their captain, then at Gin, who was the exception, instead stroking his chin: - "I~ might"

"Then we have a plan" - Declared Luffy: - "Gin, I, Eli and Val will help you climb the mountain"

"What" - "While we're at it, Vivi, Igaram and Usopp will follow around Dalton after the witch, to try to convince her to go back as fast as possible"

Those who joined while at the Grand Line looked at Luffy like he had another head slowly growing from his shoulders. Usopp and Gin, on the other hand, just nodded

Dalton put only a token protest upon hearing the idea of the pirate captain. While he could tell that they were not bad people like the previous pirates, he was still rather distrustful of them

So, other than warning them about the Lapins, carnivorous and highly territorial giant snow rabbits, he let them go

Only to discover that the witch was in the neighbour village of Cocoa Weed, going there only to find out that, not only had the woman already saved a patient, she was also long gone, to who knows where

Who knows where turned out to be Gyasta, a village in the direction they just came from

However, they did not go there. A bleeding man had appeared just after it was announced where the witch had been seen, alerting Dalton of the return of Wapol, and the execution of most of the patrollers for daring to shoot 'their' king

Dalton revealed his Devil Fruit power, the Cow Cow Fruit, model Bison, and charged forward, leaving behind the 'Straw Hats', whose reindeer sled was simply too slow to catch up, not helped by an avalanche meeting them halfway through the journey, dragging, strangely enough, a shirtless Zoro alongside it, the young man saying he had gone for a swim, but then the ship moved and he got lost

Usopp had snarked: - "How does one move an anchored ship" - But was ultimately ignored, the crew finally reaching Big Horn to find it buried in the snow and occupied both by hapless citizens and soldiers of Wapol

Apparently, while Dalton reached in time to confront the rogue king, said king's first order was for his jester archer to fire at the crowd of civilians, the bison man selflessly blocking the arrows with his own body

Then the avalanche struck the village, and while everyone who could was able to escape, Dalton… well, he had three arrows sticking from his chest and was bleeding in the snow, and now was bleeding under it

"W-what do we do now?" - "We need to prepare a plan. Maybe if we can dig him from far enough away…" - And while Vivi and Igaram watched worried…

"Zoro, the guys in uniform are the bad guys who hurt the Merry" - "Got it" - Usopp just pointed, and let their monster swordsman wreak havoc

It started with a simple punch and, amusingly enough, the theft of a soldier's cosy uniform and his sabre: - "Not a katana, but will do" - Before diving head first in the crowd of soldiers, making them learn that firing in an enemy in the middle of them was a bad idea, their muskets striking their own men

Then, with a grin filled with malice, having acquired another sabre in the confusion, Zoro turned around and struck: - "Hawk Wave!" - Jumping and sending a gust of wind from his blades, Zoro searching for enemies still standing, but discovered that, without a hail of muskets to threaten the supposedly hapless civilians, they were more than willing to attack the soldiers who oppressed them for so long in the past

Zoro himself was extremely disappointed that the fight was so short and basically stolen from him, but while baffled with the sheer speed, Vivi and Igaram were just glad that they now could dig up Dalton, helped by the twenty doctors that Wapol had under his command, who revealed to despise the king as much as everyone else

They also revealed, to the 'Straw Hats' present, how despicable the rogue king was, having ordered the exile or execution of all but the twenty best doctors of what was once seen as a medicinal paradise in the Grand Line, the twenty only treating those who begged and grovelled under Wapol's feet enough to satisfy the king

And as Vivi watched the Medic-20 help Dalton, she turned to face the tallest mountain, worried for her friends, as Wapol now headed in the same direction

If she knew of the misadventures of the crew, she'd have worried sooner

For starters, the quartet had soon met a baby Lapin. Not a problem on its own, until Gin got annoyed enough with the distraction and punted him in a way that'd make Sanji proud

The problem came in the form of the baby's extended family, who stared down at them from their position above hill and proceeded to give chase

Nothing that the group would find troublesome, except Elijah refused to risk causing an avalanche with his explosions, thus stopping Valentine from simply stomping her enemies, and Gin, no matter how he might act, was still sick and weakened

Luffy was still a problem for them, and no bear-like rabbit could withstand a punch or kick from a limb weighting ten thousand kilograms, though at least for the beasts the blonde was simply not used to legitimately fighting

The quartet had a small reprieve, which they were more than thankful for, although the pair of ex-assassins soon realized that it only meant they were preparing something instead. Their predictions were soon proven true when, not much ahead, the Lapins stood, the bunnies jumping up and down

"Oh, for fucks sake!" - "What?" - "They're starting what I've been trying to not start!" - And soon, the snow gave in to the weight and bouncing, the avalanche rushing towards the crew, the bomb man sending one of his boogers at the rushing snow, the explosion doing not even noise as the snow ate the snot

A pull had Elijah finally running, Luffy's arm extended and forcing the living explosive to follow the group, who had already started to run, away from the mountain, much to their annoyance. The Lapins also gave chase, some running faster than the avalanche and slowly gaining on the group, others outright riding the snow wave in tree trunks

"Rock! Rock straight ahead! Climb up, up!" - Called out Gin, seeing their apparent salvation in front of them, a tall rock that the quartet clambered over, only to discover it wasn't tall enough, the wave of snow pushing them down from their perch

Blown high in the sky, Luffy called out: - "Candy Candy~ Fort!" - And the soft candy engulfed the crew, the trio sinking into the gum and being glued to it, Luffy thinking fast and following up with: - "And Spear!" - Launching one of his legs straight into the rock they were just launched from, striking and burying the limb on the snow right in front of it, the snow passing around and above the rock, thus hitting his leg far less strongly than it could

It wasn't enough; the massive ball disappeared, as Luffy couldn't hold his breath forever, and the improvised anchor slipped, not truly hooked into anything, and Luffy, holding a too scared crew to care about the fact their bodies were held in Luffy, tried to cry out his technique again

He was too late

Snow gobbled down the quartet of pirates, and carried them away

And Luffy, as the strongest, was the first to wake up. Admittedly, he only blacked out for a few seconds, but to black out at all, and to a natural disaster, was a shocking experience for the boy. His first real defeat, in a way, since departing from home

Then panic gripped his heart: - "Gin! Val! Elijah!"

"Gin~! Val~! Eli~!" - Called out again Luffy; a tuff of yellow was found and pulled and, to Luffy's horror, Valentine was not with her hat, and the piece of cloth had a spot tainted a bloody red. Understandable, considering the avalanche, but still nightmare inducing

"Here~!" - Came the voice of the dark-skinned man, a dull boom launching snow high in the sky, followed by a noise of pain: - "Gah!"

"Elijah! I'm coming" - And Luffy practically teleported to the spot the arsonist was, digging the rest of him out; he had only sneezed, not wanting to risk using anything stronger and start another avalanche

"Are you alright!? Did you see the others?" - "I'm fine, just- there's a rock in my back and it's poking my spine"

Naturally, Luffy extracted Elijah from his spot, pleased to see that said poking had only shredded his coat rather than his back, the dark-skinned man pointing out at the mountain: - "I also think that Gin got himself stuck in a tree"

And indeed, the 'Straw Hat' captain found his helmsman knocked out in a tree: - "Now we just need to find Val" - He declared, carrying Gin on his shoulders

Unfortunately, she was even further down below, also unconscious, and to make matters worse, with quite a lot of blood on the back of her head, confirming Luffy's fear, who quickly put the hat on her head, in an attempt to close the wound, the boy having no knowledge of first aid

With solemn silence, Elijah carried his partner, just like Luffy did, the pair walking forward in the snow-covered plains

On the way, they met no one other than the baby Lapin that started it all. Elijah, furious with the state of his partner, almost punted the creature with his powers, consequences be damned, but a hand on Valentine's hip, which rested on his shoulder, had him pausing

They had a mission now. One more important than any he ever had as Mister Five

Elijah snorted at the irony, that he, who preached about sentiments between partners being a recipe for disaster, caring so much for his friend

To his surprise, while the creature cowered at their approach, Luffy, showing that being a warrior didn't stop him from having a big heart, picked the massive paw poking from the snow, one of the adult Lapins that didn't escape the avalanche in time. With a grunt, Luffy effortlessly pulled the buried beast free

And with the Lapin silently watching them as they went, the pair and their wounded partners walked back towards the mountain just as quietly

"Halt! 'Straw Hat'!"

It came without warning. One moment, the quartet was walking towards the tallest of peaks, the other, a massive woolly hippo with really long legs stood in front of them, Wapol, his jester and a third man, a dark-skinned person with an afro, on top of it

The two didn't halt. In fact, they outright ignored the three, walking around it and going their way

They vaguely heard: - "Chess! I have a new law. From now on, anyone who ignores the king shall be executed! And we'll start with these four!"

Elijah released a sigh; before he could deposit Valentine on Luffy's shoulder, however, blurs of white stood between the rogue king and the 'Straw Hats'. The Lapins, much to the bomb man's amazement, now stood on their side

The rogue king and his bookends would deal with them, unfortunately, but by them, not only were they tired and lightly wounded, they were also far behind the group

"Luffy, I don't think I can climb that mountain" - Pointed out Elijah, as he tied up Gin to Luffy's back with Luffy's own coat, Valentine tied to his front with Elijah's, as they had no rope with them. They had, even some climbing gear, but it had all been lost in the snow flow

"You can Eli. Think you can cause a very weak blast? That way you can dig some footholds" - And floored by the absolute trust from someone he had been trying to kill not long ago, Elijah could only look up. It was at least five thousand metres, in a straight vertical

And Monkey D. Luffy trusted him, the ex-Mister Five, with his life and the life of both his crewmembers. It put things into perspective, for the criminal, as a bomb man simply doesn't have many opportunities of work, and all his life Elijah was either an arsonist or a terrorist, never given an opportunity by others, who couldn't see a good side of such powers; Baroque Works had been, in theory, his last job, before finally retiring in the 'utopia' of Mister Zero and leave it all behind

Only to be defeated by a mere child. Twice, even, both times the boy barely trying. That had been a death sentence, and probably the only reason Mister Three hadn't outright executed them was indeed because he wanted fodder, as Grace had mentioned

It seemed, however, that his defeat had been a blessing in disguise. Sure, he was a pirate, but Luffy and his crew were easily the kindest, most trustworthy people that Elijah had ever met

Maybe he still might be seen as a criminal. But you know? He didn't mind at all

"Sure thing, captain" - And he punched, and a weak explosion echoed, the loose rocks were removed, and a small crater was created on the rocky surface

And slowly and steadily, Elijah guided Luffy up the mountain

It was troublesome. It was cold; winds buffeted them at high speed, more than once they slipped, more than once Gin or Valentine slipped, in spite of being tied and Luffy using his powers to stick the three together

Frostbite settled, Elijah having to explode every once in a while, or risk freezing in place, Luffy's body becoming brittle and losing its gluing properties thanks to the negative temperatures

But they persevered

A small boom, dig out the loose pebbles, a new handhold for support

And on and on it went

Until they reached the top, and a massive human stood in front of them

"T-they're my-my c-crew" - Muttered Luffy, once the man kneeled at his side: - "T-ta-take c-care of t-them"

Elijah heard, and decided that, if his captain trusted the man, so would he, and finally, darkness claimed him

Elijah woke up, and laid still

He was on a bed. A really comfortable one, too

On his left, a soft snore revealed the presence of his captain, so Elijah relaxed, as he stood up and surveyed the room; mostly bare, with only two beds, one which he occupied, and two doors, one leading into another room where Gin slept and with tables filled with papers and what he suspected where medicine, the other to a bigger room with a large window and Valentine sleeping, her head bandaged, and a smile on her face

Probably dreaming of chocolate. Or crushing someone. Or even both, somehow

A squeak called Elijah's attention, and he looked down

Looking up to him, was a child with dark skin and… wait… a child with brown fur with… antlers and a small muzzle with a blue nose, the child hiding a massive pink hat behind the wall with a shocked expression on his face, as if trying to peek on him but having gotten the position inverted…

He ignored that, focusing on the important question - "How is she?" - "Eh~! E-e-e-eh~"

Elijah's palm met his face. Goddamned 'Straw Hats'

Before he could curse his ridiculous luck, the child(?) recovered enough to answer, fortunately: - "Oh! T-the lady? She had a heavy concussion, and the blood loss also needs time to recover, but nothing that some bed rest won't solve"

The child then proceeded to demonstrate the gall to poke his belly with a hoofed hand: - "For that matter, you and the guy with the straw hat should still be resting; it is a miracle I didn't need to amputate any finger"

"Strong guys recover faster" - Why, he didn't know: - "And the third man? Gin?"

Here, the boy looked contrite: - "He's on the room beside yours… he's down with kestia. It will take at least nine more days to heal him completely, to ensure no return of the disease and-"

"That's enough for me… thanks, kiddo" - The boy then did a silly dance

"I'm not happy just because you thanked me, you bastard!" - He actually looked quite happy, but Elijah decided not to comment, instead yawning and shivering

His coat was lost somewhere, and it was too damn cold at the moment to even think, so instead, he just warned the brat: - "I'll go back to bed, then. Call me if anything important happens" - And then, as he moved to go back to the room, a sleepy Luffy appeared at the door

A sleepy Luffy staring straight at the reindeer boy

Goddamned 'Straw Hats'

And so, Valentine woke up, hearing Luffy shout of meat as Elijah desperately called for his captain, trying to stop him from eating the witch, apparently. Baffled and a little disgruntled, the blonde simply turned on the bed and closed her eyes. Maybe she'd dream back of her statue of candy?

AN: *Groans in the black tongue*

Dear god I sometimes just outright hate my university

It didn't help that in Brazil we just had our infamous Carnival, and I more or less ran away to the interior to a camp with the youth of my church. Unfortunately, I couldn't take my notebook with me, so I could "enjoy" the camp; I actually did, so at least there's that

It still annoys me that this should be up on the twenty-sixth, instead is going to be the first update of March

Anyway, on to our typical reviews and canon differences

To the reviewers arapyanime and Bobboky, thank you for the review, and to sudhush, yeah, Little Garden was solved quite easily. Logia's are bullshit when used by someone who knows how to do so; also, thank you for the continuous reviews!

And on to canon differences, the only noteworthy one is that the ones who stay in the Merry, and the ones who go climb the Drum Rockies are completely different; Zoro still manages to miss an anchored ship, though

Also, Mister Five has some expanded backstory. Nothing much is revealed about him, other than his dream of being a firefighter, so I could give a little of the spotlight to him. Expect similar experiments with Valentine and Grace

And~ that's it. Chopper is introduced, and soon he'll be able to beat the crap of the ghosts of his past, join the crew, and, hopefully, all that this month

Peace!