Chapter 5: The Island of Darkness

Coby had taken the arrival of a new crewmate well. Maybe that was an understatement; he had literally sobbed in relief when Luffy parted to him that particular piece of information of Nami joining them, purposefully leaving out the temporary portion as he had every intention on convincing her to stay for good during their time together as a crew.

He had muttered something like, "My prayers have been answered," before crawling over to Nami like he was helplessly lost in a desert and she was the elusive oasis.

He watched quizzically as the pink-haired boy in question kneeled in front of Nami and poked her in the thigh tentatively at first before crying out and thanking her arrival profusely while kissing the back of her hand, much to her chagrin and stupefaction.

She shot him a questioning look, and Luffy shrugged in return.

Once the necessary introductions and niceties were out of the way, Nami was making the final preparations by stowing away her belongings into the compartment on what would be her new boat and taking stock of the items they had at hand, which was pretty much nothing. Luffy looked on with interest as her face turned a dark shade of beetroot red.

"Can someone explain to me," she said slowly, menacingly, her head swinging to the side to regard the two of them with a scowl that would have cowered lesser men, "why we have no fucking supplies at all?"

Coby suddenly found the tips of his boots to be highly fascinating.

Luffy, having no sense of self-preservation at all, answered brightly, "I can!"

Nami raised an eyebrow. "Please do."

"I ate it."

"You ate all the supplies?!"

"Not like there was much anyway."

Coby chimed in out of the blue, eager to lay the blame on his captain now that he finally had someone on board that could count past three. "And who's fault is that?"

Luffy's smile faltered slightly when he realised that the both of them were glaring in his direction. He scratched the back of his neck. "What?"

"Who's responsible for the lack of supplies, Luffy?" Nami prompted again.

He looked genuinely puzzled. "Why are the two of you looking at me like I know the answer to that?"

"Because you're the one who packed our supplies, Luffy," Coby clarified with a patience he didn't feel, appealing to his logic that he knew was lying dormant somewhere in that head of is. "Therefore, you are the one at fault for not packing enough."

But Luffy's eyes had already glazed over in the middle of his explanation. He stifled a yawn, then pulled his straw hat down low over his face. "Okay. I forgive you."

Then he was asleep to the world and snoring loud enough to wake the dead.

Coby took a deep breath and blew it out in small increments to control his rising temper. By the end of this journey - if they even managed to finish it by some miracle - he expected to be awarded a medal of sainthood for tolerating Luffy.

A glance at Nami told the same story, though she seemed to be much better at taking it in stride. Besides for the single furrowed brow, she appeared to be pretty well composed.

"How long have you been travelling with him again?" she asked when they made eye contact.

"It's only been a few hours actually." Coby rotated his stiff shoulders forward and backwards. "Feels like an eternity though."

The redhead shook her head with sympathy. "I'm so sorry."

There was definitely a maniacal edge to his smile when his lips curled. He wasn't feeling overtly sane. "Save it for yourself. You'll need it."

It didn't take long for there to be sight of land between Nami setting up a makeshift sail to catch the wind and her expert sense of direction, guiding them towards the nearest island from her memory. It was home to a small Marine base, and she was all too aware of the dangers looming ahead for the wannabe Pirates (she refused to acknowledge them as real Pirates or an actual crew; she couldn't even take their captain seriously, for Devils sake) which in turn meant trouble for her as well since she was tagging along.

Nami would have preferred to skip that town entirely, but their extreme lack of basic provisions and daily necessities - she gave her temporary captain a pointed look - was forcing her hand. She forced herself to run her dilemma by Luffy as there were unspoken rules on board a ship that she knew had to be followed for there to be order.

He, of course, proved to be of no help at all. Instead, the conversation just served to compound her indecision, bringing her back to square one and even more confused than before.

Coby actually thought it over with her like a normal human being would, and the two of them came to the decision that they had no choice but to dock right under the noses of their enemies and hope for the best. They were in dire straits and the next island was two or three more days' worth of sailing away, and that was with favourable wind.

Besides, they have no bounty as of yet, so they were relatively safe as long as they stayed under the radar and remained inconspicuous while they replenished their stocks.

Which meant keeping a close eye on a particular raven haired troublemaker.

The person in question was still snoozing away peacefully, having slunk into a more comfortable position sometime during his sleep. Lying horizontally with his straw hat engulfing his entire face, his prized possession would be lifted up into the air with each of his exhale, and almost collapse inwards on the middle itself on every inhale.

Nami felt the side of her lips tug up into a faint smile.

Night had fallen, and the thick darkness provided good cover when the trio reached shore. The redhead was surprised when there wasn't an army of uniform clad marines waiting to apprehend them for being public nuisances considering the amount of noise required to wake their captain up.

"Wer ah eee?" Luffy asked in the middle of a huge yawn, so it came out of his mouth totally incoherent. He repeated the question a heartbeat later. "Where are we?"

Coby, who was securing their small craft to a tree along the beach, answered, "I'm not entirely sure, to be honest. I didn't know there was a Marine base so close to Foosha Village."

He looked to their navigator, who raised both hands up to deflect the question. "Don't look at me, I just map them. I don't name them."

Luffy squinted at the town in the distance. Well, what are we waiting for then? Let's go and have some fun! The moron then proceeded to waltz off, whistling like their every actions were being monitored by the Marines.

"Luffy," Nami hissed when she caught up to her maddeningly cheerful captain, "didn't you hear what Coby said? We are on an island with a Marine Base!"

"So?" His expression brightened. "Maybe I'll get to see gramps here!"

"Your grandpa? Why would you see him here?"

"He's a Marine."

"What?!" Nami's voice went unnaturally high.

"He's a vice-admiral, actually," Coby added helpfully from the side, carrying a small pack with whatever stuff they had left on his shoulders. "His name is Garp. You might have heard of him."

Luffy continued trotting on as if Coby hadn't just dropped the biggest bomb in the world. Nami, on the other hand, froze. She felt her world drop off its axis, felt it slowly spin out of control. The Garp? Monkey D. Garp? The one who single-handedly defeated Shiki the Golden Lion and cornered the original Pirate King numerous times during his reign?"

"I dunno." Luffy stacked his hands behind his head and resumed whistling.

"How can you not know what your grandpa did?!"

"He's just gramps to me," Luffy answered simply, "I don't care about anything else."

Coby sighed before addressing her unanswered query. Yes, the one and only Garp. The imbecile over there is actually Monkey D. Luffy, proof of his lineage." He shook his head wearily. "Though I cannot begin to conceive how a man as great as him can end up having a descendent like him."

Luffy didn't seem too bothered by what Coby said. He was more engrossed trying to snag a coconut just out of his reach, and was jumping up and down while flailing his arms about like a panicked turkey. Finally, after close to a minute, their panting and red-faced captain hollered out to them, bested by a high-lying fruit. "Oei, come and help me!"

Nami stared at him, then back at Coby. "Maybe he's adopted."

Trekking to the town was an uneventful affair, but Nami figured that it's for the best. She had enough excitement to last her a lifetime already, and the respite was much welcomed. In a corner of her mind however, there was a tingling sense of foreboding that warned her there was much, much more to come.

It was close to midnight when they arrived. The town, small and quaint, was still easily double the size of her own village. Most of the locals had retired back to their homes for the night, and those that were still on the streets hurried to return to the safety of their houses. The layout of the streets and alleyways were hard to navigate in the day due to the high walls and houses obscuring any view of adjacent areas, and it was virtually impossible at night. It didn't help that the darkness seemed all-encompassing, trapping them in and slowly closing in on them. Nami was starting to feel abnormally claustrophobic.

The search for an inn was proving to be quite futile as a result. Granted, they had only scoured a small portion of the town, but the redhead thought it to be highly peculiar for a settlement of this size to not have inns popping up at every corner. If her memory served her well, she recalled this island to be a bustling port and a prosperous hub for trading due to its relatively centralized position in East Blue as well as the ever-looming presence of the Marines.

This town was supposed to be safe. Shielded from harm. Untouchable.

"It's darker than usual," she commented casually, wondering if her eyes were playing tricks on her when her vision narrowed, blanketed by layers upon layers of swirling gloom.

Coby's voice was unsteady when he replied. "Yeah. This isn't normal." He turned to Luffy. "What do you think?"

Only at the mention of their captain's name did Nami glance at the raven-haired boy, and she was hit by a wave of panic at his creased brow, the deep frown and tense set of his shoulders. Luffy was never perturbed for no small reason. "There's lots of power in the air," he said quietly, "I don't like it. Let's get off the streets as soon as possible."

She and Coby agreed whole-heartedly, and they sped up, resuming their search for a place to spend the night. Nami unknowingly found herself sub-consciously withdrawing into herself, as if her survival instincts were kicking in and wanted to shrink away from her surroundings as much as possible. She stuck closer to Luffy, and Coby was doing the exact same on the other side. His presence was as steadying and calming as an anchor in the tumultuous sea. She felt infinitely better after just a minute of being literally pasted to his side.

During that time, Nami noticed several shady figures loitering in the flickering shadows the dark alleyways provided. Shivers crept down her spine when she felt their piercing stares on her and she hugged herself, feeling inexplicably cold and uncomfortable all of a sudden. "Can we get out of here, Luffy?" she pleaded to her captain. "Let's head back. I don't want to spend another minute here."

"There!" Coby jabbed a finger at a low-rise red stucco building with the words "Inn" on the wooden block hanging rather haphazardly from two strings above the front of the door. The interior was dimly lit up, and it looked modest enough though at that moment, even a run-down shack would do for Nami. She just wanted some sort of shelter to take refuge in before she becomes a permanent accessory at Luffy's side. With how she was clinging to him like a lifeline, it might not be too long.

They were at the door in an instant. Coby rapped against the solid double wooden doors, the deep sound stemming from it reverberating throughout the silence. They waited for a few seconds, and it was Nami who stepped forth to knock again, much more sharply and forcefully this time. "Hurry and open up, or I swear I'll – "

"Hold your horses lady," a low, rumbling voice groused out from inside, followed by heavy shuffling punctuated by curses every few seconds, and judging by the racket caused, he was probably bumping into furniture and knocking them over. "Don't break my bloody door. It costs a fortune to replace."

The doors opened once the sentence was finished, revealing a huge heavy-set man with a giant moustache staring down at them – literally – with narrowed eyes. He was easily triple Luffy's size, and almost double his height. His bulk, however, didn't look that solid. He was more meat than muscle, but his proportions alone was enough to intimidate. Nami's mouth dropped open and she took a step back, while Coby blinked disbelievingly up at the man.

Luffy's reaction was to clap his hands in unbridled glee. "You're a giant! How cool!" He strode over and poked the man in the side at his waist, as that was where he came up to at chest level. "SO COOOOL! You're bigger than even gramps!" the raven-haired boy gushed with adoration. "Can you teach me how to be as big as you?! Do you want to join my crew, giant sir? You have to say yes!"

"HE CAN'T FIT ON OUR BOAT, LUFFY!"

"HE'LL SINK THE BOAT, LUFFY!"

Coby and Nami protested in unison. The redhead strode over and grabbed her captain by the collar and pulled him off the immobile man, disregarding his whining. "I'm so sorry," Nami apologized sheepishly, "my captain has the tendency to speak his mind without thinking. Please don't take his words seriously."

"It's quite alright." Words uttered with a trace of amusement, though his face was still as stoic as ever. "We don't get many travellers as much as before, so we close earlier nowadays." He shook his head. "A real shame. Business has been on the decline ever since that group of vermins arrived. Even the Marines are reluctant to do anything about the activities they engage in. More like they're too afraid, those spineless bustard." His mouth tightened into a grim line momentarily before he smacked his forehead. "My, my, where are my manners? I apologize for my ranting. Come in, come in. I'm getting rusty, what with the lack of customers. Won't want you all getting petrified outside now, would we? My name is Hoof, and I own this humble abode. There's plenty of available rooms. How many nights are you intending to stay here?"

"My name's Nami." The redhead raised her hand. "Pinky's Coby and that idiot is our captain, Luffy."

Hoof nodded in acknowledgement before snaking one long arm around all three of their shoulders. "P-Petrified?" Coby piped up meekly as the three of them were ushered inside by the big man. "What do you mean by that?"

Hoof closed the door tightly before sliding a few locks in place. He took a few moments to ensure that they were secured in place before giving the pink haired boy a weird look. "You mean you guys aren't aware of what's going on in this town?"

"No," Nami replied, her tone worried, "we just got here."

"Ah, I guess that explains why you're still here. Most people who get here don't even stay for more than a few minutes before leaving. I assume you got here after dark?"

"Yeah. It was already after sunset when we reached here."

The innkeeper lumbered over to the wooden counter - not much of a surprise, seeing how almost everything in the inn was made of wood. Cheaper to replace if he broke any of them, Nami guessed, with the evidence of his clumsiness strewn over the floor.

Besides for the toppled over chairs and tables, the interior of the inn felt very homely despite being sparsely furnished. It was warm and cosy from the small fireplace at the corner beside a spiralling staircase leading up to the upper floor. The floor was carpeted, the color bland and thinly threaded from usage over the years, but still furry and comfortable beneath their feet. Luffy was already reclining in a padded armchair, totally at home.

Hoof knelt down next to the countertop, and he let loose another curse which accompanied a sound of solid contact. "Bloody drawers and cramped spaces," Nami heard him grumble to himself before he straightened with a thick book in his hands. There was a thin layer of dust on the page he flipped to and he blew it off, sending it all into the air. "You're the second group of travellers I've had this month. The first also came after dark, and they didn't see the sign."

Coby waved a hand in front of him as if it would make the dust particles disappear. "What sign?"

Setting the book onto the table with a resounding thud that echoed around the room, Hoof heaved out a sigh. Hanging his head, he appeared to have an internal conflict with himself for a long while before raising it with sorrowful eyes. "I guess there's no point withholding this information from you all. You all are stuck here indefinitely anyway." He motioned for Nami and Coby to keep their questions for later after seeing how they were on the verge of firing a stream his way. "Let me explain. This island was deemed unsafe for habitation by the World Government not long ago. I'm sure you've noticed by now that the night seems... For a lack of a better word, different? More vicious, more alive?"

Nami and Coby nodded vigorously. "It's like it has a mind of its own," the navigator said softly, irrationally afraid that if she spoke too loudly, the darkness will swallow her in retaliation.

"It's suspected to be a Devil Fruit ability."

Luffy who was dozing off beside the fireplace snapped to full attention. "Devil Fruit ability? What kind of power is this?"

Hoof lifted his massive shoulders in a sign of helplessness. "I'm in the dark on the matter as well - pardon the pun. It definitely has something to do with that pirate crew that recently set up camp here. The Marines have yet to release an official statement as well, though it seems that they're withholding it from us to keep the townspeople from panicking. Many people have fallen ill after being exposed to the darkness for too long and they're... Just not right anymore. It's like their very soul has been crushed, leaving behind a skeleton of their former self. The World Government is afraid it's contagious, so this is island is supposed to be totally cordoned off. Nobody is to leave this island after they arrive here for the time being."

Dread settled in the pit of Nami's stomach and made itself comfortable. "And how long have you people been quarantined so far?"

"Two months and counting."

"So we're stuck here until the matter is solved?" Luffy looked way too casual and delighted for Nami's liking and she headed over to whack him over the head.

"At least sound a little concerned, would you?" she chided while grinding her knuckles against the top of her captain's head, nimbly dodging his swinging arms trying to extricate himself from her grasp. "We could be stuck here for months!" She didn't have that kind of time. Arlong was expecting her back soon, and if she didn't make an appearance...

Nami didn't want to follow that nauseating train of thought.

"Aww, let me go Nami!"

She did the opposite, applying more force and Luffy's struggling went up by a magnitude. "What's being done to find out about the cause of this problem? What are the Marines of World Government up to?"

"We don't know." The dismay was apparent in Hoof's tone. "Every week, the Marines promise it'll be resolved the next week. But from what I've seen, no progress is being made. I have heard rumors that an admiral has been dispatched here, but it'll take at least a week more for him to arrive."

"This is ridiculous. Are the Marines here so incompetent that they're unable to help their own fucking island?" Nami raged, and Luffy took advantage of the opportunity to slip out of her hold with a small bout of his power. He appeared on the other side of the room a split second later, and the redhead released a little exclamation from the minor jolt of energy that passed through her body.

The innkeeper's eyes widened. "You're a Devil Fruit user as well?"

Luffy, steadily avoiding his navigator's scorching glare, smiled at Hoof. "Yep! I'm an energy man."

"I've never heard of such a fruit before."

Luffy's smile widened. "Me neither."

"But you still ate it? Why would you do that?"

"You'll understand if you spend enough time with him," said Coby dryly.

Hoof's expression turned contemplative. He paced back and forth for close to a minute with Coby and Nami tracking his movement with their eyes tiredly. Luffy had taken up the responsibility of being the one to find something to snack on and was ransacking through the cupboards. His enthusiasm unparalleled, Luffy bounded from one cupboard to another and made quick work of anything edible he could find. It was all fine and dandy, and Hoof didn't seem to give a hoot about him turning his inn upside down, but the commotion he was causing grated against Nami's already frazzled nerves. "KEEP IT DOWN, WILL YOU, LUFFY?!"

Hoof startled at the sound of her voice, like he had forgotten that they were in the same room as him. He scrubbed a hand down his face and took a deep breath. "I tend to drift off; forgive my foolish tendency. You three are probably tired." He returned behind the counter and gestured for them to gather there. "I'll need some of your information as per standard procedure, and for the payment… we'll discuss that some other day." He tugged at the collar of his shirt uneasily. "There's a town meeting tomorrow morning. Would you come with me? We, ah, need someone of your calibre and skills, straw-hat boy. I might not know the full range of your abilities yet, but I'm sure you'll be a big help to us. What do you all say?"

Nami, all for helping the man solve the issue as soon as possible so they could get back on the road, hesitated in agreeing so readily. Something about his obvious discomfort put her off. "What kind of plans do this council have in mind?" she asked.

The innkeeper cleared his throat bashfully, striking her as a kid caught with his hand down the cookie jar. "A team is being assembled to strike back," he replied finally, and there was truth in his words. "But we are a small town after all, and traders or fishermen by trait. We don't have anybody remotely strong. Strong enough to stand a chance against the perpetrator, anyway." His wandering eyes landed on their captain. "Which is why we'll need you, Luffy. To be frank, I think the mayor knows very well that it's practically suicide to send men in without knowing what we're up against. The team is more likely expected to scout and report their findings. Information is key to victory and all that, you know."

Hoof grimaced. "But the men are fearful. They've lost their will to fight after seeing how some of their fellow friends can no longer be called humans after being exposed to the darkness for an extended period of time. Only a handful of volunteers are on board, and the numbers aren't enough."

"So you want me to rally the townspeople. Show them that all hope is not lost," Luffy deduced, playing with the frayed ends of his straw hat.

"Exactly. With you leading the team, I'm sure that there'll be more men willing to join it. After you show them a glimpse of what you're capable of." When he didn't get an immediate reply from the raven-haired boy, Hoof quickly back-pedalled. "I don't mean to impose, and if you don't want to, I guess we can – "

Her captain laughed. Fucking laughed. "Let's do it."

Coby was in agreement as well from how he gave Luffy a thumbs up, and Nami found herself being torn between doing what's right and what could possibly endanger all of their lives. All her life, she had always put herself first. It was a survival instinct ingrained in her from young. She would never help others if it meant putting her life at stake. But her captain… Luffy went in full speed ahead without caring about the repercussions, so long as he thought it was right.

Just like when he saved her from that Sea King.

She blew out a resigned breath. Maybe it's time to make a change. She would only be around for a short period of time anyway; might as well earn some good karma to offset whatever bad ones she had garnered so far. And the Sea Devil only knew that she had them in excess. "The captain's decision is final. We set out tomorrow."

Coby and Luffy shared a room, while Nami had one to herself for "reasons". She had refused to elaborate when Luffy tried to probe further for he, for the life of him, couldn't figure out why they couldn't all just stay in one room together. It'll be more convenient for communication as well as for him to keep an eye on his nakama. Because despite his assumed indifference to the situation, it was all an act to put Nami and Coby at ease. A facade to not stress them out any further than necessary. He was aware of how they relied on him to tell the severity of the problem more often than not; and Luffy knew with disconcerting clarity that the little predicament they had stumbled into unknowingly was going to blow up in their face very soon.

Shit was about to hit the proverbial fan.

His powers of energy manipulation allows him to detect the subtle changes in the flow of the matter around him in an area, and the air was saturated with a heavy suffocating magic. It was uncomfortable and choking in its thickness, and also intelligent in the way it constantly shifted and reformed itself. He had utilised his powers to push the surrounding air molecules outwards, creating a sort of barrier between them and the darkness, keeping it at bay, though he kept that a secret from his nakama too.

He had a niggling suspicion what the magic would do to them if it had enough time to wear them down mentally upon engulfing them, but he didn't want to ascertain them. It was too risky, and the safety of his crew members always preceded anything else.

He also managed to discover that darkness seemingly to come from all directions was in fact only present in a small, albeit highly concentrated quantity. He had sensed the gathering of a dark presence the moment they set foot in town, and it coalesced into the malevolent magic intent on sucking the very life out of them.

Luffy suspected that it to be a Logia-type Devil Fruit much like his, but one that allowed much more freedom and control of its basic element. The user had likely found another use for the Devil Fruit, and might be experimenting it on the unlucky townspeople for its effectiveness.

Some things still didn't add up, however, and Luffy hated not being able to put two and two together.

Staring up at the rotating fan attached to the ceiling, the raven-haired captain willed for sleep to claim him. Coby was already snoring quietly beside him, and Luffy was exhausted enough that it should have been easy to fall into a deep slumber, but it continued to evade him like the most frustrating of prey.

He was worried, he realised. For the well-being of his friends, for the journey ahead, and all the obstacles they would inevitably face. He hadn't expected to meet any resistance for a while, and to be presented one so early... It just served to remind him that things don't always go according to plan.

And more importantly, it's high time to invest some time into coming up with a plan B.

It wasn't until the wee hours of the morning did Luffy finally succumb to fatigue, the swirling darkness just beyond the walls a harsh memory that his problems were only just beginning.

A cloaked figure sat in the middle of an abandoned warehouse located at the outskirts of town, entrenched in complete darkness save for a small light cast by a lit lantern on the uneven cement ground. It was more for his lackeys' benefit than his own - the man was able to see perfectly well in the dark.

After all, he literally controlled it.

The murk looked to be eating away at the solitary light source, battling with it for supremacy. The stream of illumination flickered threateningly as the flame within the lantern performed a slow dance to its increasingly imminent death, much to the panic of the men circling it. There was an outcast among the men, someone who sat a distance away from the rest. His hair was a hue of green, and on his right hip resided three swords bundled up with a green haramaki. He didn't seem as bothered as the rest by the gloominess of it all, or maybe it was because of the alcohol he was chugging down at an astonishing rate that dulled his senses.

Hushed, agitated whispers filled the silence as trembling hands around the lantern fumbled with a lighter to feed the disappearing flame. Some part of them knew that without that light, they would lose their very sanity.

"I've gathered all of you here tonight for a very specific reason, gentlemen." The cloaked figure began to speak, rising from his folded position in a strange manner, like deformed limbs struggling to work in unison and succeeding only partially. His voice was calm - eerily so. "The one we've been waiting for has finally arrived. And he is strong. Oh, he is so strong. He might even be strong enough to be the final ingredient the Mozaru Hantas need." An inhumane cackle that had their hair all on end, though the mere mention of the legendary group of barbaric Pirates would already have sufficed. "Capture him. Bring him to me."

A gust of wind snagged the hood of the man shrouded in shadows, and pulled it back to reveal their boss that had hired them. The bounty hunters only saw his visage for a split second before darkness descended over him once again, but it was an image that would forever haunt them in their sleep.

"His name is Luffy D. Monkey. I want him alive."

A/N: Hola! I'm back, and with an even longer chapter this time. Jesus, this was hard to write.

So, who do you think the new character is? No reward for guessing his identity - it's kind of obvious, no? So anyway, since the Marine is pretty much inactive in this arc, unlike in canon, I suppose that Zoro wouldn't have been caught and imprisoned in the first place, so Luffy will meet the swordsman in a less desirable way. heheheh

The action is heating up! There'll be a huge fight scene coming soon, and following that, a grand reveal of the antagonists for the first part of this story, the Devil Fruit hunters. I won't spoil y'all too much, but all in good time!

Now, the reviews... (Thanks for all the support, guys! If you're liking the story, do tell me! If you're not, you can tell me which part I should improve on as well :)

Iitrnr: Thanks so much, you don't know how much that means. That chapter took me crazy long to write because it was hard to envision how Nami would react to Luffy on their first meeting. Given the circumstances, and his personality... yeah it wasn't fun to write, but I'm glad you enjoyed it!

BigMasetheDon: Two thumbs and two toes up for the compliment! Thanks alot :)

Devlin Dracul: Heh, I didn't want to overdo it with the attraction, but there's just something about Luffy that causes people to gravitate towards him. You just can't not like him, and that's how I want to portray him in this story. Yeah, and she appeared very vulnerable in that chapter because of the whole emotional rollercoaster she had been through. You can hardly blame her, being at death's door twice in a row, and being saved by a boy younger than you who doesn't seem to have enough intelligence to fill a matchbox... I'll be a mental wreck as well! Well, that finger move was supposed to be really cool and show how much damage Luffy could do with so little effort, but yes, now that you mention it, it does remind me of DBZ quite abit :P ah, sweet childhood.

MakubeDaKiddX: Hello! Thanks for the review. Good to hear that from you :) I'm not 100% sure as of right now, but with the inclusion of new crew members that weren't in canon, I already have four in mind. You'll see in future chapters how that goes!

Jonseyv2.0: Nami and Luffy will be the main pairing for awhile, since there's no more girls being added until the next few arcs XD

Von Remington: Great! Yeah, the timeline will be quite different from canon in this story, with additional of original characters to support my main storyline. Hope you'll enjoy it!

Treeplethreat: Thanks for the compliment ;) The reindeer joke just kind of came to me and I had to add that in.

F-ckthesystem125: Probably not! I like to keep the crew as close to canon as possible, but like I mentioned before, some things happen that I can't stop, and the story has a way of killing off characters it doesn't like... Thanks for reviewing! :)

So that's it! Once again, read and review and tell me what you guys think of this chapter!

Till next time, ciao!