BROTHER ON BOARD
Sarahgri99 - I think Sabo's presence on the crew and giving Usopp another 'shooter' to look up to, fight beside and sometimes hide behind is really going to benefit him in the long run. Hanging around Sabo and Bonnie could give Usopp that extra boost of confidence that he needs.
dancingjadedragon - I can't take much credit for that. But at least Luffy 'the Rubber Man' is advocating safe sex.
Fairy the Friz - No kid-friendly cork guns, water pistols, or shock bullets in this story. Sabo may come across as goofy when he calls his rifle is girlfriend but that doesn't change the fact that she's still a deadly weapon. Sabo's got an edge to him. But I think that should have been clear the moment he said his dream was to 'take down the Celestial Dragons'. As for Sabo's relationship with the other Straw Hats, I'm actually a couple chapters ahead and I've already written a few great scenes with Usopp and Sanji's reactions to Sabo and his 'relationship' with his rifle.
lostdog200 - I'm glad I made your morning. That's what I'm out to do with this story, spread some joy with the magic of One Piece combined with my own interesting additions. As for your question, Sabo is going to help Luffy to try and save Ace but he isn't going to Amazon Lily. That's going to stay a solo mission for Luffy. By the time I get to that point in this story, things are going to be a lot different so it won't happen in the same way as it did in canon.
dhampire712 & SoiSoi - You both brought up a really important point that I want to address here. Who is the main character: Luffy or Sabo?
In my eyes, One Piece is and always will be about Luffy journey to become King of the Pirates. My story won't change that. However, over the near two decades that the series have spanned certain patterns concerning Luffy have emerged that I'm keeping intact. 1. Luffy doesn't care about details. His noble heroic instincts will bring him to the strongest enemy of the opposing group so he can deliver a much-needed beatdown. And afterwards, he'll leave without any major concern for the mess that he's left in his wake. 2. Something almost always happens to detain Luffy until everyone else is done with their fights. Those patterns are what caused the brunt of the focus to go to Sabo in the last two chapters.
Sabo knows Luffy's strengths and weaknesses. In chapter 8, he knew that Luffy didn't have the attention span, patience or people skills to properly negotiate for a ship so he stepped up and did it for him. In chapter 9, Luffy got lost and was put to sleep by Jango - that's canon Luffy-detainment. While Luffy was detained, Sabo and Usopp took out the nameless grunts and Zoro fought the Nyabans with assistance from Nami. In this chapter, Luffy's gonna be back for the final fight with Kuro.
Keep in mind, this story is about the changes to the series that Sabo's presence on the crew causes. So that's where the focus is going to be. And because we've all seen/read the canon story so many times those changes are what our attention will be naturally drawn to. Luffy is still going to be Luffy. He's still the Captain and the face of the crew, he's still going to ignore the details, beat up the big baddie and leave the ensuing mess for someone else (usually Sabo) to clean up. If I skip one of Luffy or the other Straw Hats' scenes it's because we've all seen/read those scenes a dozen times. I'll keep in the parts that are important to the plot but I don't want to waste anyone's time by just rewriting a canon scene that we all already know by heart.
Kaya-
"How dare you mock me! This'll teach you to underestimate the son of a pirate!"
"USOPP DON'T!" Kaya woke with a scream and shivered. "KOFF! KOFF!" The nightmare had taken its toll on her already weakened condition. Now she was panting, sweating and coughing. "I don't understand why Usopp would say something like that…"
Kaya shakily slipped out of her bed and found a coat which she draped over her shoulders before she padded out of her room. She made her way down the silent hallway in search of her trusted caretaker and butler. She stopped at the door to his quarters.
Knock-knock!
"Klahadore? Are you there?"
But there was no answer. It was just passed dawn and the big house was silent.
Kaya twisted the knob and let herself in but then recoiled in horror at the sight that greeted her.
"MERRY!"
"UUGHH! CAPTAIN!" Buchi pushed himself up off of the ground and called out to Jango. "Please! HYPNOTIZE ME!"
"He's still alive!" Usopp realized.
"Damn," Zoro cursed, "All that blubber must've saved him."
KER-CHOW!
Buchi dropped back to the ground and went silent.
"You're getting sloppy sword-swinger," Sabo taunted as he casually walked up behind Zoro and lowered Bonnie Anne. "I had to fix your mistake so it didn't become a big mess."
"You ass-hat, I could've taken him!" Zoro insisted.
"How unfortunate for you Jango," Kuro remarked. "It looks like those were your last two men. Perhaps you'd like me to kill you now and save you any more trouble."
"I can still fix this!" Jango assured him. He lunged to the side and suddenly grabbed Nami.
Nami started to struggle but went still when the hypnotist held his chakrum to her throat. Zoro readied his swords and Sabo raised his rifle.
"Hold on!" Jango called out. "No sudden moves swordsman, rifle-guy! Lower your weapons or I'll use this to slice her throat!" Sabo and Zoro shared a look then complied and lowered their weapons. "Now! Look at this ring! When I say 'One, Two, Jango' you two will charge up the pass and kill long nose! Then, you'll make your way to the village and start roughing up the villagers. ONE! TWO! JANGO!"
Usopp froze as his two new friends turned to face him. Their eyes were blank. Both were clearly in a hypnotic trance.
"Kill… long nose…" Sabo and Zoro intoned as they started to stalk up the path.
"Not bad Jango," Kuro remarked. Now Usopp would be killed and when the two Straw Hats attacked the town they would be blamed for everything.
Usopp's legs started shaking. Kuro was behind him so there was no escaping as his hypnotized friends advanced on him with the intent to kill.
"Do you think the Captain's okay?" Onion asked as he, Pepper and Onion sat against a bush outside Kaya's mansion.
"Those other guys seemed strong," Carrot replied. He stifled a yawn. "But there're still only five of them. And they're going up against an entire pirate crew... and that strange hypnotist… and the evil butler."
"Did you guys notice that the guards never showed up?" Pepper asked as he looked away from the gate. "It's early but they're usually here by now."
"Maybe they're on vacation," Carrot suggested.
"The entire mansion looks like it's on vacation," Onion admitted.
The three boys were so engrossed in their discussion that they almost missed Kaya as she slipped out through the front gate and headed down the path into town. Almost.
"Hey it's Miss Kaya!"
"Where's she going?"
"Who cares!? After her!"
The three boys scrambled and chased after Kaya and caught up at the edge of town.
"MISS KAYA! STOP!" Onion called out.
Kaya looked back but didn't stop. "I can't. I have to get to the beach. There's… pirates are coming…"
"We know!" Carrot said.
"The Captain told us to guard you," Pepper added.
Kaya froze. "Your Captain… Usopp… He told you to… Even after I… Oh Usopp…" The fact that girl couldn't seem to form a coherent sentence showed how worried she was. "Wait… where is Usopp?"
"Where do you think?" Carrot asked gloomily.
"No one believed him about the pirates," Pepper stated, "So he's fighting them himself."
"HE'S FIGHTING THE PIRATES ALONE!?" Kaya shouted. At that the sick girl started running. "USOPP!"
"He's not alone! He's got those other pirates with him!" Onion told her as they chased after her.
"Other pirates?" Kaya repeated. "You mean the ones that wanted the ship?"
"Yeah, them," Carrot confirmed.
"But there's still only five of them," Kaya pointed out. "I've got to stop Klahadore. If he wants my money and my estate I'll give it to him. I won't…" Kaya was forced to stop as she doubled over and started coughing. "Koff… koff… He can't… koff koff… Not Usopp…"
Kaya finally got through her coughing fit and looked up to find the three boys standing in front of her like a four-foot barricade.
"We can't let you go to the beach," Carrot insisted. "The Captain gave us an order,"
"We've gotta protect you no matter what happens," Onion added.
"They're after you," Pepper said. "If you go to that beach, everything that the Captain fought for will be for nothing."
Kaya's eyes widened when she realized the three boys were crying.
"He sent us away… because he knew the situation was really bad," Pepper whimpered. "That he might not… make it…"
"If this was the Captain's last order…" Carrot sobbed.
"WE CAN'T AFFORD TO FAIL IT!" Onion cried.
"HEY! KNOCK IT OFF WITH THE SHOUTING!" Kaya and Usopp's crew stiffened as an angry merchant came out of a house with a rake. He stopped and stared at Kaya and the kids. "Hey… you're not Usopp. Figures. He at least waits until after dawn to cause his ruckus."
"But Mister! The pirates really are coming!" Pepper protested.
"Great, now that yahoo's got kids doing his dirty work," the angry man grumbled. "I thought we taught him a lesson yesterday."
"He was telling the truth," Kaya spoke up.
"Miss Kaya!" the man sputtered. "You can't believe anything that guy says. He must've realized it and put the kids up to it. Remember yesterday when he accused your butler of being a pirate?"
"HE WAS TELLING THE TRUTH!" Kaya shouted this time. "Klahadore… he attacked Merry… He… he really is a pirate. He's got a crew of pirates coming to attack the town. Usopp… he went to fight them off."
"You mean… he was actually telling the truth?" the man asked as he anger faded. "But… this is a small out-of-the-way village. Pirates would never come here!"
"He's after my estate," Kaya told him. "He wants to kill me an inherit everything."
The angry man was now a shocked man. "What… what do we do? He can't leave that boy to fight a crew of vicious pirates all alone!"
Usopp's crew shared a glance and each thought the same thing. "What would Usopp do?"
"PIRATES ARE COMING!" All three boys shouted as they ran through the streets. Usopp had proven day after day that it didn't take long for the villagers to form an angry mob.
"Kill long nose…" Sabo mumbled as he raised Bonnie Anne and aimed her at Usopp.
KER-CHOW!
Usopp flinched then winced as the bullet grazed his arm. His eyes widened as he watched Bonnie Anne recoil for the first time ever. The rifle reared up and smacked the entranced Sabo in the face.
WHAK!
"Wha? What happened?" Sabo grunted as he stopped in his tracks and rubbed his eyes.
"Kill long nose…" Zoro intoned as he closed in on Usopp.
"Right, I was hypnotized," Sabo realized then he rubbed the barrel of his rifle fondly. "Thanks Bonnie." Sabo quickly lunged forward and tackled Zoro to ground.
THUMP!
Usopp held his bleeding arm as Sabo's words from yesterday rang through his head.
"This is not just a rifle," Sabo insisted as he picked up Bonnie Anne and held her fondly. "Her name's Bonnie Anne and she's an Advanced Wheel-Lock Rifle with an added scope and custom revolving action. She's my partner and my girlfriend and if she wanted to take your head off… she would have."
Usopp didn't care what anyone said. Bonnie Anne had just saved his life.
"Oh crap!" Jango gasped as he saw his brilliant plan fall apart. Nami took advantage of his distraction and lashed out her leg.
THUNK!
"AH-HEEHEE!" Jango squeaked as he doubled over.
Nami spun around Jango and sprinted away. Her eyes were locked on the sleeping pirate in front of the Bezan Black. "Everyone's risking their lives… and you're taking a nap! WAKE UP YOU IDIOT!"
"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT, GIRL!" Jango shouted as he spun around and threw his chakrum at her. The deadly bladed ring whizzed through the air towards Nami.
"Oh no! I'll be split in two!" Nami yelped as she looked back at the blade.
SQUISH!
Looking back at the blade had caused Nami to miss her footing and step right on Luffy's face.
It all happened in an instant. Luffy woke up and knocked Nami on her back. He started to yell at her for stepping on him but was cut off when the chakram slammed into his open mouth. Luffy lurched backwards from the impact but then stood up straight and shattered the metal chakrum with his teeth.
Kresh!
"THAT HURT!" Luffy yelled, "NAMI! WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA?"
"IT WASN'T ME!" Nami shouted from the ground.
"Oh hey, that evil butler's here," Luffy noticed as he stared up the path.
"That boy from the beach… I thought he died," Kuro idly remarked.
Luffy looked lower and spotted the rest of his crew, "Hey! Zoro, Sabo! Why're you guys fighting?"
"HE'S HYPNOTIZED!" Sabo called back as he hung off of Zoro's back. The hypnotized swordsman completely ignored the barrel of the rifle that was choking him. "Snap out of it already!"
"Kill… long nose…" Zoro wheezed as he lumbered up the pass.
"That's it!" Sabo growled as he leaned back and planted his feet on the ground then hauled Zoro up and threw him into the rocky wall of the pass. He quickly lashed out and drove the barrel of his rifle into Zoro's chest. "Don't move."
Kuro glanced down at his watch. "Three minutes left. Then I kill everyone here."
"How could you do this?" Kuro looked up and stared at Usopp. "Kaya trusted you! Now you're trying to kill her! If its money you wanted, she would have gladly given you all you needed."
"I didn't devise this plan just so I could obtain Miss Kaya's fortune," Kuro told him. "I did it so I could gain peace of mind. For three years I catered to that girl's every whim. I, the once feared Captain Kuro, was reduced to a servant. I suffered in silence. I endured it all while cultivating my reputation here in town. All for today when I could kill that spoiled little brat and take everything from her."
Kuro grinned as he continued. "How does it feel Usopp? How does it feel to know that the peons that you've fought to defend trust me over you? I'm the one that's plotting to kill them and yet you're the one that the ignorant mob chases out of town. Even Miss Kaya trusts me over you."
"YOU BASTARD!" Usopp shouted as he charged and swung at the butler.
SWISH!
Kuro appeared behind Usopp. "That reminds me, I still owe you for hitting me yesterday." Usopp froze as Kuro closed his hand and caused the five sword-claws to close in around his face. "You used… all of your strength, right?"
POW!
A rubber fist slammed into Kuro's face and knocked him on his back. "If you don't like being hit… then I'll hit you another hundred times! I told ya I was gonna deck ya in the shnoz!"
"Captain! He did the same to me!" Jango called out to Kuro from the bottom of the pass. "I think he's got Devil Fruit Powers!"
"That's right, I ate the Gum Gum Fruit," Luffy informed them. "Now I'm a Rubber Man."
Kuro sat up. "A rubber man…" The shattered lenses in his glasses fell out of their frames as he stood up. "That would explain how he survived the fall back at the beach."
Kuro stalked forward and swung his arm to the side before Usopp even had a chance to dodge.
SLA-SLISH!
"AYYEE!" Usopp yelped as he dropped to the ground and rolled away. He clutched at the bloody claw marks on his side.
"NOOO! UUSOOPP!" Luffy shouted.
"Jango, forget the last two minutes," Kuro said. "I'm about to kill everyone here. If you don't want to be included, get up here now."
Jango quickly rushed up the pass. Sabo was still struggling to hold Zoro at a bay.
"Swordsman!" the hypnotist called out, "He's trying to stop you from achieving your goal. Kill him."
WHAK!
Zoro smashed Sabo's rifle away with one of his swords then swung another at him. But Sabo quickly blocked the strike with his rifle and started using it as a bow-staff to defend himself from Zoro's strikes.
Jango continued the rest of the way up the pass. Usopp was in no condition to stop him so the hypnotist was able to reach Kuro unhindered. Of the twenty five Black Cat Pirates that had landed on the beach, Jango had been the only one to make it passed the Straw Hats.
"These pests have nearly ruined my plan," Kuro said. "Go to the village, find the girl and make her write the will like we discussed. Then kill her."
"NOOO!" Usopp yelled from the ground.
THWAK!
Kuro seemingly teleported next to Usopp and kicked him in the side to knock him away.
"Kill anyone that tries to stop you," Kuro added. "I'll fix the damage that you've done here."
"Yes sir," Jango agreed as he ran off into the forest.
"No…" Usopp groaned as he pushed himself off the ground. "I won't… I WON'T LET YOU KILL ANYONE!"
"I'm actually impressed that you're still standing," Kuro admitted. He raised his claw. "Let's fix that!"
"GUM GUM PISTOL!"
SWISH!
Luffy's rubber fist sailed through empty space as Kuro used his speed to move out of the way. Luffy's arm kept going and grabbed onto a tree.
"GUM GUM ROCKET!"
WOING!
Luffy shot himself up the pass and he landed in between Kuro and Usopp. "GO USOPP! WE'LL HANDLE THINGS HERE!"
"Right," Usopp agreed. He started to run but dropped to his knees. "Ughh… I can… barely stand…"
Kuro looked over at Usopp and laughed, "HAHAHAHA! You're pathetic Usopp! Even if you manage to catch up with Jango. You'd still be no match for him."
"Even if I'm no match for him…" Usopp mumbled as he clutched at his bloody side. "I'LL STILL PROTECT THEM!" Usopp slowly staggered up to his feet. "I won't…. I WON'T LET THIS STOP ME!"
Usopp charged off into the woods. "That hypnotist has a head start. And I'm in no condition to race anyone… But no one knows this forest like I do. I can still get there in time!" "KAYA!"
"I have three years invested in this plan," Kuro said. "I won't let you ruin it!"
"Your plan's already ruined!" Sabo called out as he ducked under one of Zoro's swords and blocked another one with his rifle. "Your pirate attack has been thwarted. And Usopp's never going to let that hypnotist get within two feet of Miss Kaya. You think your reputation in town is going to survive this? There's no peaceful retirement in your future. Just a set of handcuffs."
KLANG!
Sabo blocked all three of Zoro's swords with his rifle.
"Yeah!" Luffy said, "My friends beat all of yours. You're all alone now."
"Friends?" Kuro repeated. "Those peons aren't my friends. They're pawns. Dangle a bit of treasure in front of them and they'd dance to any tune. I grew tired of making plans for a bunch of mindless drones. The only reward I got for all my efforts was more attention from bounty hunters and the marines. In truth, you actually saved me a bit of trouble. Now I don't have to kill those fools myself."
Luffy tilted his hat forward to hide his eyes. A scowl marred his face. "If you'd turn your back on your Nakama and run from the sea. THEN YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO CALL YOURSELF A PIRATE!"
"I've got one bullet left…" Sabo grunted as he used his rifle to hold Zoro's swords at bay, "AND I'M NOT WASTING IT ON YOUR SORRY ASS!" Sabo lashed out his leg and kicked Zoro away from him.
Zoro readied his swords and charged at Sabo. Sabo jammed the nozzle of his rifle into the ground and used his weapon to vault over the charging swordsman's head.
Zoro staggered to a stop but Sabo was already in motion as he spun around and drove Bonnie Anne into the back of the swordsman's head.
KRACK!
"UUGGHH!" Zoro grunted as he pitched forward and landed on his knees. "What the hell was that?" His eyes cleared as he was broken out of the hypnotic trance.
"You were hypnotized," Sabo explained. "I hit you on the head to snap you out of it. Unfortunately for you, there's only one pirate left for you to take it out on."
Kuro frowned and glared at Sabo and Zoro as they came up behind Luffy. "You put your faith in the wrong people. Just like with Usopp. He'll never be able to stop Jango. He'll only die in the attempt."
"You could never beat Usopp," Luffy insisted.
"Don't be a fool!" Kuro snapped at him. "How could I lose to a pretend pirate? I'm smarter, I have a bounty, I have a crew of pirates under my command! How could he possibly be better than me!?" Then he vanished.
SWISH!
"Your brain," Luffy answered simply. "YOU DON'T KNOW THE TRUE MEANING OF BEING A PIRATE!"
KLANG!
Luffy looked back over his shoulder and saw Zoro holding five of Kuro's claws at bay with them pinned between this three swords.
"So you're using your men as a shield," Kuro noted.
"No one uses me," Zoro growled. "I'm exactly where I want to be." Then he twisted his swords to the side and snapped Kuro's claws.
KRESH!
"Do you actually call those swords?" Zoro questioned as he tossed the fragments aside. "They're weak. Just like you."
"Why you!" Kuro growled as he raised his other hand Intent on using his other five claws.
POW!
Luffy's fist slammed into Kuro's face and sent him tumbling down the pass.
"Hey Luffy!" Sabo called out from the edge of the forest. No one, especially Kuro, saw him get there thanks to Zoro's distraction. "I'm gonna go help Usopp."
"Right," Luffy agreed. "We'll take the evil butler." Luffy stared down the pass at Kuro as he got up. "Maybe this'll show you why it's import to have Nakama that you can count on."
"No… I'm going to teach you fools how terrifying a real pirate can be!" Kuro growled. He hunched over and started to swing his arms from side to side.
"Bad posture," Zoro noted as he stood beside Luffy and readied his swords. "He's right. I'm terrified."
"Finally," Jango sighed. "It felt like I was in that forest forever. Now I just need to… find… the… girl…" The hypnotist trailed off as he came out of the forest only to be faced with an angry mob wielding rakes, shovels, bats and pans. At the center of the knot of villagers were three familiar boys and his target.
"Is that one of the pirates?"
"Yeah," Pepper confirmed. "He's the one that the butler met with on the beach. He must be in charge of the pirates."
"An actual pirate! Usopp really was telling the truth!"
"Hey, if he's the only pirate to make it to town do you think…" Carrot trailed off. "Could they have?"
"Hey pirate! If you think you can just attack our town, you've got another thing coming!"
"You fools have no idea who you're dealing with!" Jango exclaimed. He held up his spare chakrum. "Look at this ring! When I say 'One, Two, Jango' you'll all fall asleep! ONE… TWO… JANGO!"
FWUMP!
Everyone dropped to the ground fast asleep.
"Jango! You know what happens when you ruin my plans!"
"NO CAPTAIN! DON'T KILL ME!" Jango shrieked as he sat up. He blinked in surprise. "Oh right. A nightmare." He stood up and noticed that the mob was still asleep. So was Kaya. "Ah-ha! No one to save you now, girlie!"
Jango made his way through the sleeping crowd towards Kaya.
THUNK!
"AH-HEEHEE!" Jango squeaked and as he was hit in the nuts for the second time that day. Only this time it was with a bat.
As Jango doubled over his was smacked in the face with a frying pan.
KLANG!
Jango lurched backwards and was clubbed in the back with a shovel.
WHOMP!
The hypnotist dropped to the ground and Pepper, Carrot and Onion stood over him.
"You think we'd fall for the same trick twice?" Carrot taunted.
"We only pretended to be asleep!" Pepper added.
"We're gonna keep Miss Kaya Safe," Onion insisted, "Just like the Captain ordered!"
"You… damn… brats…" Jango grunted as he stood back up. His voice was a couple octaves higher. "You want to play with the big boys? I'll kill you three first!"
THWAK!
One spinning kick knocked all three boys on their back.
"SPECIAL ATTACK: LEAD STAR!"
THUNK-THUNK-THUNK!
The lead panchinko balls struck Jango in the back and he fell forward.
Usopp stood at the edge of the forest and held onto a tree for support. "HEY! HYPNOTIST! LEAVE THOSE KIDS ALONE!"
"Captain!" Usopp's crew cheered. But then they saw his condition. "CAPTAIN!" Half of Usopp's body was covered in blood from the wounds Kuro had given him.
"You guys! Get Kaya out of here!" Usopp called out as he raised his slingshot. "I'll hold him off as long as I can!"
SLISH!
A chakrum whizzed over to Usopp and slashed his side. But it also cut the strap to Usopp's arsenal bag and caused it to drop to the ground.
"You don't know who you're messing with, do you boy?" Jango snapped as he stood back up and caught his chakrum as it came back to him. He threw it again which forced Usopp to leap away from his dropped arsenal bag in order to avoid it. "I'll show you what a real pirate captain can do!"
With his arsenal gone, Usopp had nothing to fire with his slingshot. He was effectively disarmed.
"Miss Kaya! Wake up!" Carrot called out as Usopp's crew rushed over to Kaya and shook her awake.
"We've gotta get out of here!" Onion urged her.
"The Captain's got the hypnotist distracted," Pepper told her. "Let's go!"
"Captain?" Kaya groggily repeated. "USOPP!" Kaya sat up and stared in horror as the hypnotist backed an injured Usopp into a tree.
"You and your pesky friends almost ruined the Captain's plan!" Jango berated Usopp. "Now I've gotta fix everything if I don't wanna die. I'm not just gonna kill you. When I'm done here, no one in this village will even remember your name!"
"That was disappointing," Nami remarked as she crossed the deck of the Bezan Black with the Black Cat Pirates' meager stores of treasure. "For a notorious pirate crew I thought they'd have more money. There's not even a million berries here. I guess not every pirate crew has Buggy's eye for treasure."
Nami made it to the railing and peered down at the pass. She saw Luffy, Zoro and the fallen Black Cat Pirates but no one else.
"What happened down there?" she wondered. "Is the fight over?"
SLASH!
Five claw marks were suddenly slashed in the rocky wall of the pass.
SLISH!
Five claw marks split the rocky ground midway up the pass.
SLA-SLISH!
"YAAH!" Luffy howled in pain and dropped to the ground as invisible claws raked his side.
"CAPTAIN NO!" one of the Black Cat Pirates screamed down in front of the ship. "NOT THE OUT-OF-THE-BAG ATTACK!"
SLA-SLISH!
The pirate was slashed across the chest and dropped to ground like a puppet with his strings cut.
"HOW COULD YOU ATTACK YOUR OWN CREW!?" Luffy hollered as he stood back up and held his side.
SLA-SLISH!
"ZORO!" Luffy shouted in horror as the swordsman dropped to the ground after taking an invisible attack that had Luffy's name on it.
"He's… moving too fast to see…" Zoro told him, "But… he can hear you…"
"I'll get him, Zoro," Luffy vowed then shouted, "COME OUT, YOU STUPID BUTLER!"
SLASH!
Kuro's invisible claws once again raked Luffy's side. But Luffy took the attack in stride and reached out so he could grab the invisible force that had attacked him then spun around threw Kuro to the ground.
WHAM!
"Gotcha!" Luffy taunted the prone butler.
"You fools…" Kuro growled as he stood back up. "You should have stood quietly and allow me to cut you to pieces. Now I'll only have to prolong your suffering." Luffy glared at Kuro. "Have something to say?"
"Yeah," Luffy answered. "I swear… I'm never gonna be a pirate like you."
"Of course you won't!" Kuro replied, "You won't be a pirate at all! You're going to die right here!"
CHUNK!
"AAUUGHH!" Kuro howled in pain and looked down to see a sword sticking out of his foot.
"Try your fancy footwork now," Zoro taunted as he used his sword to pin Kuro's foot to the ground. "NOW LUFFY!"
WHAP!
Luffy lunged at Kuro and wrapped his legs around Kuro's waist and his arms around his shoulders.
"Now your three year plan will fail!" Luffy told him.
SLISH!
Usopp dove out of the way to avoid Jango's chakram. The spinning blade kept going and cut down the tree he had been backed into.
KREK-KRASH!
The tree topped over behind him as Usopp felt through the blood soaked pockets of his overalls in search of anything that he could use against the hypnotist. Finally, he found something.
"Take this!" usopp called out as he stood back up, "UUUSOOOPP RUBBER BAND OF DOOOOOOM!"
Jango flinched and closed his eyes as he waited for Usopp to release the stretched rubber band.
THWAK!
For the third time that day Jango took a shot to the nuts. "AH-HEE-HEE…" he hypnotist squeaked before he raised his chakrum and took advantage of Usopp's close proximity to drive the bladed edge into Usopp's back.
SHUNK!
Usopp dropped to the ground.
"CAPTAIN!" "USOPP!" Usopp's crew and Kaya all screamed.
"That wasn't for the Captain," Jango grunted, "That wasn't for the plan. That wasn't even for me. THAT WAS FOR MY BALLS!" Jango turned around and advanced on Kaya.
"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!" The three boys charged to meet him.
THWAK!
One powerful spin kick sent the boys sprawling onto their backs.
"PLAYTIME'S OVER!" Jango snarled as he surged forward and grabbed Kaya by the throat. Kaya struggled but the sick girl was no match for the furious hypnotist. "Now… you're gonna write me a will that says you leave all your worldly possessions to your butler Klahadore. Then you're gonna die so it can be carried out. You can either cooperate… or I'll kill every single person here!"
"I… okay… just… please don't hurt anyone…" Kaya pleaded.
"K-kaya…" Usopp wheezed as he once again pushed his heavily injured body up off of the ground. "KAYA, NO! GET AWAY FROM HER YOU BASTARD!"
"Fine then," Jango decided as he turned away from Kaya. "You die first."
"USOPP, CATCH!"
Usopp turned and caught a familiar rifle. No time to think. Usopp pointed Bonnie Anne at the hypnotist and pulled her trigger.
KER-CHOW!
The recoil from the rifle launched Usopp backwards and caused him to land on his back.
But as usual, Usopp's aim rang true and the magnum round shot straight through the hole in Jango's chakram and struck his chest.
"Bullseye," Usopp groaned. "Thanks Bonnie."
"URK!" Jango clutched his chest and dropped to the ground.
KONK!
Luffy banged his head against Kuro's then stretched his neck and shot his head all the way up the pass.
"NO! MY PLAN!" Kuro shouted. "MY PLAN CANNOT FAIL!"
"GUM… GUM… BELL!" Luffy's head shot back down and smashed against Kuro's.
DONG!
Captain Kuro was knocked out cold.
Zoro removed his sword from Kuro's foot and Luffy dropped to the ground. "GET THIS GARBAGE OUTTA HERE!" Luffy threw Kuro down the pass so he landed on top of his fallen crew.
"I'd hate to be the guy that has to clean up that mess," Zoro muttered as he sheathed his swords and pulled off his bandana.
Luffy dropped onto his back just as Nami came running back up the path with her sack of treasure.
"You guys did good," the thief commented. She sat down next to Luffy and looked down at him. "What got you so mad earlier?"
"I hate pirates like them," Luffy told her. "They're just… so wrong."
"I hate to break it to you," Nami replied, "But that's how most pirates are."
"Then I'm gonna change that," Luffy decided. "I'm gonna be King of the Pirates and change everything!"
"That would do it," Zoro admitted.
"I'm hungry," Luffy announced.
"Of course," Nami sighed.
Sabo walked out of the woods and stood over Usopp. "Nice shot."
"Thanks," Usopp said. He held Bonnie Anne up to Sabo. "Here, you can have her back. She's way too much rifle for me."
Sabo smiled as he took back his treasured rifle.
"USOPP!""CAPTAIN!" Kaya and Usopp's crew rushed over.
"Are you okay?"
"I can't believe you fought the pirates!"
"I knew you'd be fine all along!"
"I'm so sorry I didn't believe you."
Sabo stood back and watched Usopp's closest friends fuss over him then looked over and noticed that the townspeople were starting to stir.
"What… what happened?" It didn't take long for the crowd to wake up.
"I… I uh…" Usopp stammered as he found himself faced with the mob that chased him through the village every morning. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to forget this ever happened and pretend it was just another one of my lies?"
"No way! Usopp, you saved the village!"
"Forget being a pretend pirate! You're a real hero!"
Usopp flinched. He was clearly unaccustomed to receiving praise from his neighbors.
"Usopp… want me to handle this?" Sabo offered.
Usopp looked over at Sabo and quickly nodded.
Quartermaster Sabo stepped forward. "Attention everyone! I'm sure you're all anxious to know what transpired here this morning. Please, allow me to explain… Usopp was telling the truth. At dawn this morning pirates landed here intent on attacking your village. The pirate crew that I represent, the Straw Hat Pirates, aided Usopp in fighting them off. As you can see, Usopp was badly injured during the fight so I would like to ask if there is a doctor present that could provide Usopp with medical attention?"
"The only doctor in town is Doctor Mornin," one man admitted. "But he's not here."
"Miss Kaya, boys, would you mind escorting Captain Usopp to the doctor?" Sabo requested.
"Let's bring the Doctor to my house," Kaya suggested to Usopp's Crew. "Merry needs treatment too." Kaya, Pepper, Carrot and Onion quickly had Usopp carted off.
Sabo addressed the rest of the villagers, "Now, if someone wouldn't mind disarming that pirate and taking him into custody so he can be turned over to the marines. I'll take everyone else to the pass where the battle took place. My Captain and the rest of my crew should have finished off the last of the pirates by now. I'll explain everything along the way."
So while Jango was apprehended, Sabo led the rest of the townspeople to the pass and told the tale of Captain Kuro's final plan and how it was foiled thanks to the efforts of Usopp and the Straw Hat Pirates.
The afternoon sun had fully risen over the Gecko Islands. The surviving Black Cat Pirates, Kuro and Jango among them, had been tied and bound on board the Bezan Black. A number of villagers stood guard as they waited on the damaged vessel awaiting the arrival of the marine dispatch they had called.
"You guys do realize that this isn't how pirates are normally treated, right?" Nami asked.
The Straw Hat Pirates found themselves eating lunch in Kaya's mansion at the dining room table with Kaya, Usopp, Carrot, Pepper and Onion. Everyone's various injuries had been treated and Kaya's cook had happily returned from vacation to prepare a feast for the village's new heroes.
"Seems normal for us," Zoro stated as he slapped Luffy on the back to keep him from choking on a chicken bone.
"Thanks Zoro! I couldn't get it out!"
"You need to work on your technique," Zoro advised.
"You know, Usopp," Sabo said as he loaded some newly acquired ammunition into Bonnie Anne. "It's a pity you never learned to shoot a gun. It turns out the guy who gave me this ammo also used to provide your father with his stuff too. He had a bunch of stories about how great a shot your old man was. He was just waiting for the day when you came to visit."
"Really?" Usopp asked. He stood up. "Excuse me Kaya. There's a guy I've gotta see."
Usopp darted out of the room. His crew shared a glance and quickly ran after him.
"Excuse us, Miss Kaya!" Onion called back into the room.
"Wait for us Captain!" Carrot exclaimed.
"Yeah, we wanna hear about your awesome pirate father too!" Pepper added.
Kaya was left sitting alone at her end of the table across from the Straw Hats. "I actually wanted to speak with you about something. Merry?"
A bandaged but mostly recovered Merry entered the room with a slip of official-looking paper. "Everything has been taken care of, Miss Kaya." He handed the paper to Kaya and she signed it.
"I had Merry check and it turns out that I do have a ship that I can give you," Kaya announced. "It's not quite a gift because I have one condition that you have to agree to." Merry took the paper and brought it around the table to the Straw Hats.
Sabo took the paper and grinned, "Heh. That works for me. We were gonna do that anyway."
"My condition," Kaya said, "Is that you take Usopp with you, look after him and help him achieve his dream. Merry told me why Usopp starts every morning by shouting about pirates coming. It was his deepest desire that a pirate ship with his father on it would come to this island and take him out to sea. He wants to become a Brave Warrior of the Sea like his father. I know that he'll be safe if he sets sail with brave pirates like you."
"I already decided that Usopp's gonna join our crew," Luffy said.
"Once Luffy decides that he wants you to join his crew he won't take 'no' for an answer," Zoro said.
"This is a contract Luffy," Sabo informed his brother as he slid the paper over to him. "You just have to sign this and we'll have a ship."
Luffy took the pen and scribbled his name on the contract.
"Now that it's official," Kaya announced as she stood up, "Would you like to see your new ship?"
"You know guys," Usopp said as he stood on a stack of logs. "Hearing all those stories about my old man reminded me of my dream. I think it's time that I set out to sea. I'm gonna follow my dream and become a Brave Warrior of the Sea like my father."
"But Captain!" Onion protested.
"You can't!" Carrot exclaimed.
"You're a hero now!" Pepper added.
"Yeah but after being the bane of the village for so long it makes me uncomfortable," Usopp confessed. "Tell me men, what are your dreams?"
"To be an innkeeper."
"A wanna be a carpenter like my father."
"A novelist!"
"Those are great dreams," Usopp told them. "Swear to me that you'll pursue them and never let them die out! Because as of today… I hereby declare the Usopp Pirates… DISBANDED!"
The Straw Hats had been admiring their new caravel the Going Merry which had been brought around to the pass next to the Bezan Black and the captive pirates. Usopp had come rolling down the pass with an overstuffed backpack but Luffy and Zoro acted quickly and managed to stop him.
"So you're really doing it," Kaya said. "You're really going out to sea."
"Yup, I'm gonna go now before I change my mind," Usopp replied. "Don't be sad and don't miss me too much. When I come back I'll have all sorts of stories to tell you! And this time they'll be true!"
"I'll look forward to it," Kaya told him.
Usopp turned to the Straw Hats. "Thanks for everything. I'll see you around maybe."
"Why?" Luffy asked.
"Wow, that's rude," Usopp remarked. "We're bound to run into each other eventually."
"What're you talking about?" Zoro asked.
"You're coming with us," Sabo told him.
"We're Nakama aren't we?" Luffy reminded him.
Usopp's eyes widened, "YEAH! Hey, can I be the Captain?"
"NO! I'M CAPTAIN!" Luffy argued.
"HEY!" one of the villagers guarding the Bezan Black called out, "THE MARINES ARE COMING!"
Everyone turned and to see a marine ship appear off the horizon.
Usopp squinted, "Is that a dog they've got for a figurehead?"
Luffy started sweating and Sabo went pale.
"EVERYONE ON THE SHIP!" Sabo screamed, "LET'S GO! LET'S GO! RUN FOR IT!"
"You guys are heroes," Kaya pointed out. "You don't need to run from the Marines."
"RUUUUUUN!" Luffy screamed as he wrapped his rubber arms around his entire crew, plus Usopp's stuffed bag and carried them all up the gangplank onto the Going Merry.
"We're not running from the marines," Sabo called over Luffy's shoulder. "We're running from this marine."
"What the hell is your problem?" Nami complained, annoyed at being manhandled.
"HE'S COMING!" Luffy shouted. "HE'S COMING AND HE'LL KICK ALL OUR ASSES!"
"ZORO, RAISE THE ANCHOR!" Sabo barked, "LUFFY, LOOK, I FOUND PADDLES!"
The Going Merry took off like the hounds of hell were after it. The unmarked caravel gave the approaching marine ship as wide a berth as possible and managed to escape into the open sea.
"I wonder what all that was about," Merry remarked as the marine ship pulled onto the shore.
A large, powerfully built man in a dog mask stepped off this ship. A pink haired boy with glasses and a lanky blonde man peaked over the railing of the marine ship to watch the officer.
"What's this I hear about a pirate with a straw hat beating a bunch of cats?"
"I'm afraid you just missed them officer," Merry replied.
The large marine turned around and glared at the tiny speck that the Going Merry had become.
"DAMN YOU LUFFY! YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH MAKING ME CLEAN UP YOUR MESSES!"
An awkward reunion followed where former Marine Captain Morgan found himself sharing a cell with Kuro, the pirate he had gotten famous for apprehending and executing.
Is it hypocritical that I had Sabo refuse to get involved with Zoro's fight against the Nyabans but then turned around and had Zoro help Luffy against Kuro? Not in my eyes. Kuro's philosophy was that his crew was simply a bunch of expendable peons. He abandoned them for three years and planned to kill them even if they did manage to carry out his plan. I thought that there was no better way to prove him wrong than to have one of Luffy's loyal Nakama standing by his side helping him face the evil butler. Plus, the idea of Zoro and Kuro's swords clashing seemed really cool.
Next up is the Baratie Arc where we'll meet Johnny, Yosaku, Don Krieg, Hawk Eye Mihawk and of course, Sanji
Silver signing off