I will be using the butterfly effect to great lengths to edit details; one of them was Usopp using guns, only as a last resort, but still. All these seemingly unrelated things changing is also a form of the butterfly effect, bigger things will change the further we get into the story, but do not worry too much despite all the changes we will still visit almost all the same islands till shabody, then the real changes are gonna happen. And even then, after the time skip, much will stay the same, yet different.
Finally: I will stay faithful to the things revealed in canon until this story is so different I cannot incorporate some things anymore without changing the whole story, once it does, I will change the description to say that its mostly AU post chapter …
the sunny= sunny as a ship
sunny= klabautermann manifestation sunny
Story start
Chapter 8: big fish, even bigger fish and a prelude to fishman
Second day at the Baratie: Sunny is being silent, knowing of the storm to come
"Well, that were a few weird days, for the east blue" Sunny thought as she thought of the last few days; they met box man and his weird animal friends, shot a rock, met a pair of bounty hunters, Johnny and Yosaku, that used to pair up with Zoro sometimes and proudly called themselves hopeless at bounty hunting, Yosaku even had scurvy, also proving their uselessness at sailing. After healing Yosaku, some talk and Nami mentioning they needed a cook and Johnny suggesting the home of the fighting cooks: the Baratie, Luffy happily agreed, and Zoro was persuaded once he heard that the man he was looking for was often at the restaurant, so after coming to an agreement, Yosaku stood up, despite being told not to do so, pointed in a random direction and shouted that they had to go north north west.
Despite Yosaku pointing in the wrong direction, the heading he told them was spot on and a few days later they arrived, there was a small scruffle with a marine who thought he was better than he actually was, which resulted in a cannon being fired by the marines, and Luffy deflecting the cannonball back into the ship. This also resulted in Nami freezing after seeing Arlong's wanted poster that Johnny dropped after seeing Luffy inflate like a balloon
Once they entered the restaurant they were met with a blindingly fake smile, and a few choice words, before being let to the table where they met Sanji, though not Sunny, she was retreated in her 'true' body since leaving the weird animal's island and decided she would remain there until Nami stole her, before confronting her. She spent her time with mini merry 2, talking to the newly sentient shopping boat and following the crew with her observation, which was how she knew these things. She also knew that Luffy's cannonball reflection destroyed part of a cage holding a guy named Gin, who used the opportunity to escape, he even got some food from Sanji before he left, full of gratitude
Sunny snapped out of her thoughts as she heard Luffy being rejected by Sanji again (apparently Sanji refused the refusal of his refusal, and Luffy refused to accept that that) before Luffy was asked if he knew about the all blue, and didn't even wait for the answer and began talking about it right away. Sunny smiled.
2 days later: at an undisclosed location with Gin and another figure
"So you escaped, and you found a floating restaurant?" the figure asked
"Yes, captain Don Krieg" Gin answered
"Color me intrigued, take me to this 'floating' restaurant" Krieg ordered
"Promise me you won't pull any of your trickery and I will, Don" Gin answered
Krieg promised he wouldn't do anything of the sort (with fingers crossed behind his back of course) and Gin gave orders to set sail to the Baratie and gave the heading they would be heading into.
At the same time: at the Baratie
"No Luffy, I won't pay for our meals longer than 7 days, especially with the way you eat" Nami answered
"But Nami-" Luffy whined
"No buts, or I will shorten it to 5 days and I will stop ordering any meat for you" Nami said
Luffy wisely shut up
'please hurry up, I need to find a way to sneak back within 10 days or Arlong will start to kill the villagers, one per day for each day I'm too late' Nami thought desperately
2 days later: still at the Baratie
It was a surprise when don Krieg arrived, half-starved, a pitiful shadow of a once great galleon being the means of transport he used to get here
It was an even greater surprise when he went on his knees begging for food
The greatest surprise was head cook Zeff, who despite the danger still fed Krieg and the 100 hungry men of his crew, together with Sanji, when asked why he did it he asked them if they ever were at the edge of starvation and that unlike the rest he and Sanji knew the feeling
It wasn't a surprise however that, once the man recovered, he declared he would steal the ship thinking it to be a good cover for his operations
What also surprised the group was how the 'great' Don Krieg was wiped out within a week of sailing the grand line, by a single man no less
The description was a shock, for the single man that wiped them out matched the description of none other than Dracule "Hawkeye" Mihawk, this caused Zoro to perk up
As if some god had decided to play a prank, Mihawk arrived not even a moment later
There was a great gust and the galleon split open, Nami used the moment to escape with the Sunny
Luffy was gaping at seeing the massive galleon being cut, not noticing that the sunny was stolen
Usopp did notice, but didn't think to tell Luffy until after Zoro's duel
Zoro was grinning in anticipation, having the feeling his skills as a swordsman will be tested, he knew thanks to the Sunny he couldn't win this if this was who he thought this was, but he could at least see how far he had to go, and test his limited skills with his recently unlocked skills in armament haki. And, if he was lucky, leave at least a scratch on the greatest swordsman in the world
Zoro's suspicions were confirmed when Zeff told him, and everyone present that this was Dracule 'Hawkeyes' Mihawk, the greatest swordsman in the world
So when one of Krieg's men shot Mihawk, asking why he followed them, he reacted lighting fast, drew his great black blade, and diverted the bullet, telling them he was bored, and the mook that shot him wondering how he missed
"you won't hit him like that, he will just divert the bullet with the tip of his blade, just like he did moments ago" Zoro told the mook, before turning to face Mihawk "That great blade, you used it to cut that ship with it, right?" that wasn't a question, but Mihawk nodded anyways "and you used that same blade to divert a bullet with the slightest of movements, right? " again it wasn't a question, but Zoro still got a nod in return "to have such power, yet still control it with such grace, so it's true, you really are the greatest" Zoro said, both anticipation and respect clearly in his voice
"A blade used without grace is just a steel rod, with a sharp edge" was Mihawk's reply
"I agree" Zoro agreed before changing the subject "You said you were bored, so how about a duel?"
"And why do you wish to duel me?" Mihawk asked
"For a promise" Zoro said "a promise to become the greatest, to honor the dream of my fallen friend"
"And you believe you can defeat me as you are now?" there was some barely noticeable respect in his voice
"no, not as I am now, but when the target of your ambition is standing right in front of you, what kind of ambition would it be, if you didn't take a shot?"
"That is true, foolish, but true" Mihawk said respect now clearly noticeable in his voice "very well then, I accept your challenge, and to honor your ambition I will use the greatest of all blades, the black blade, Yoru."
"Thank you, I won't hold back"
"Then neither will I" Mihawk replied "for the sake of your ambition, I will show you the difference between us, and the long road you have to walk to be able to truly challenge me. Impress me with your skills and you will live, if not, you will die" Zoro nodded, his face like stone
The two went to stand on a large piece of wreckage
Zoro was the first to attack
Mihawk wisely held back on attacking until the right moment to show the extent of his full strength and blocked all attacks with minimal effort
The battle between Zoro and Mihawk: the last attack, a few minutes later
Zoro was wounded, two large, parallel gashes on his chest and stomach were tiring him out, despite knowing he had lost at the first gash he kept on going this earned him a second gash on the stomach to add to the one on his chest, when he was asked about his stubbornness, he replied "I'd rather die than lose, for if I lose now, I have the feeling I will never have this chance again" this impressed Mihawk even more. The boy then got in a particular stance and started growing 2 extra heads and 4 extra arms; he was preparing his last attack.
Mihawk could sense it, this was the boy's strongest attack though he guessed that the extra arms and heads were a new feature, as evident by the boys slight surprise, he started spinning all 6 of the swords in his hands, he announced: "kyutoryu: Ashura:" and then started spinning himself,
Seeing an advanced armament haki technique used, very unskillful and rough around the edges but used none the less, he decided to use his own "manifestation of the inner demon": his eyes began to glow and his skin got a ghoulish white color, his fangs lengthened, and said in a silent, but haunting voice that somehow reached far past the horizon "demonic vampire"
At the same time: Zoro's old dojo in Shimotsuki Village with his old sensei
"Demonic vampire"
Koshiro looked up, and as if sensing the battle happening faraway said: "Zoro"
Back at the Baratie: at the exact same time
Zoro shouted"nine circles of hell"/"great revelation" was almost whispered by Mihawk at the same time in the same, haunting, voice
Nine blades met one, and despite a second of resistance 6 blades broke, and the last 3 seemed to phase through the great sword
"I lost" was all Zoro said after using his unexpected strongest attack, that broke 2 of his 3 blades
Mihawk also turned around, and raised his head, showing a small gash on his cheek "You did, but you also managed to impress me, tell me your name"
"Roronoa Zoro" Zoro said as he turned around arms spread, this action surprised Mihawk
"Scars on the back are the shame of a swordsman. You won, so you get to decide my fate"
"Well said" Mihawk said he then slashed Zoro from left shoulder to his right hip. Adding to the two gashes on his stomach and chest, all three would surely leave a scar, if he survived that is.
Luffy unleashed a wave of conquerors haki at Mihawk and went into gear second, intending to punch the living daylights out of him
"Calm down strawhat, your friend is alive" Mihawk said, as if Zoro heard that he groaned, and Luffy calmed down.
"What is Your dream, Strawhat?"
"Pirate King"
"That is even harder than surpassing me, I wish you luck" Mihawk said before turning to Zoro and raising his voice "Roronoa Zoro it is still too early for you to die, my name is Dracule Mihawk, go out and see the world, grow stronger and seek me out at the top, I shall wait as long as it takes, surpass this sword, surpass me, Roronoa Zoro"
Zeff was surprised at this statement, saying that Mihawk acknowledging Zoro is a sign of Zoro's and by extention the captain's potential and to a lesser degree his crew's potential
"Luffy, can you hear me?" Zoro groaned
"Yes" Luffy answered
Zoro raised his sword and said "From now on until I beat that man I will not lose, I swear to never lose again, until I am the world's greatest swordsman, do you have any problem with that, pirate king?"
"Shishishi, nope"
"Well, I've had my fun, I'm going back" Mihawk said
Krieg reacted to this badly and shot him with just about every gun hidden in his armor. Mihawk merely swiped with his sword generating a giant tornado that deflected the bullets and just after deflecting the last one, it vanished, together with Mihawk who vanished under the cover of the tornado
Krieg was made short work of, courtesy of Luffy's haki enhanced punch, knocking him into the sea and knocking him out in one blow, despite all his armor
The rest of the crew either fainted from the conquerors haki Luffy had unleashed or was busy fleeing from their lives
Sanji ended up joining the crew, after he overheard that they all wanted him to leave and live his dream, and only thrash talked his food for that reason. When in truth they found it delicious.
Well, Sanji joined after a tearful goodbye to Zeff and the cooks, of course.
Usopp finally remembered what he saw when Luffy asked where the Sunny was
It was at that moment that a small ship with a goat figurehead arrived and introduced herself as the Mini Merry II.
"A talking ship?!" Sanji asked, shocked
"Yep, this is Mini Merry II" Luffy said "she's our shopping boat, though her being able to talk is new" Luffy said, unknowingly showing the result of spending time with Sunny by thinking more
"Oh, okay… " Usopp said "Why are you more surprised about her being able to talk then it being able to sail here by itself!?"Usopp screamed after a short pause
"She's part of Sunny" Luffy said as if it explained everything, which it did… kinda, though it did confuse Sanji, a lot.
The group including Johnny, Yosaku and the new crewmember: Sanji got onto the Mini Merry, it was a tight fit but they managed to make it fit anyways
Mini Merry set sail after the Sunny, and the passengers began explaining about the Shichibukai, Jimbei, Arlong, their observations of Nami's reaction at seeing Arlong's wanted poster and their theories about it
With Nami: a few minutes after Nami stole the Sunny
"I'm sorry, everyone" Nami said as she sailed off with the Sunny
"You know I can just turn myself around and go back right?" the Sunny said
That surprised Nami; she had totally forgotten that the Sunny was a sentient, living being. Though it was not surprising, the Sunny had been silent since they left the island of strange animals, she hadn't even materialized her klabautermann since she explained haki to Usopp
"Why did you let me steal you?"
"Didn't you read the logbook I took from the future?"
Nami nearly facepalmed "I did this last time too, didn't I?
"Yes, that is why is sent mini merry II back to the Baratie"
"Mini Merry II?"
"Yes Mini Merry is normally used as the shopping boat, and is based on my predecessor, you met her: part of her spirit is one of the klabautermenn on kaya's ship"
"And is she sentient like you?"
"Yes, she contains a lot off the past and present Merry's spirit, and is the only one in the soldier dock capable of speech and thought besides me, though she doesn't have a klabautermann."
"The only one? Soldier dock? There's more?"
"Yes there is also the Shiro Mokuba I, Shark Submerge III, the Black Rhino FR-U IV and the
Brachiotank V they are capable of competing even complex instructions by themselves, but do not truly have sentience like me or Merry, it's more like they contain a part of my soul" The Sunny explained "they are stored in the soldier dock just below deck, those big numbers on my sides are the docks and the nombers on my steering wheel control the system, that, or you can ask me to do it, seeing as i'm the ship"
"Do you believe a shopping boat will be enough?" Nami asked, getting back on the subject
"Yes, she was designed for use on the grand line and this sea is not as rough by a long shot, Merry will do just fine"
Nami remained silent
"Don't worry, Luffy will beat Arlong" the Sunny reassured
'I hope so, because if he can't…' Nami thought
"he will" the Sunny said after seeing Nami's troubled face and feeling her emotions with haki
Nami nodded, still unsure
'Please protect them, Sunny… Bellemere'
To be continued
I hope I will be sooner next time, no promises though
Please review, constructive criticism is appreciated and encouraged
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