A/N: Last chapter before Arlong. Also the only reason this chapter came out so early is because I'm on spring break at the moment and I don't have a social life. Good for you, sucks for me. Also based on the comments, everyone either likes the flashbacks or hates them. To the ones that hate them I want to apologize because there are two more full flashback chapters before the Grand Line.
pipi96: Luffy sees Nami as a sister right now. Maybe she could change his mind but probably not. Luffy is knowledgeable on a lot of things, but sadly females are not one of them. Most of the books he read were about fighting techniques.
Devlin Dracul: You're right about basically everything. But as for Delta X being friend or foe, only time will tell. And yes, the connection between Delta X, Doctor M, and Luffy runs deep.
Peanut Butter Rainbow: Thank you for telling me.
Selet: You're right about the bounty thing. It will be very high when the crew enters the Grand Line.
One more thing. I really hate Johnny and Yosaku, like with a passion. They are soooooo annoying to write dialogue for it isn't even funny. I wrote a whole chapter and was like "Shit I forgot those bounty hunters". Anyway, onward to the chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. Duh.
"The real question is what he will do next."
"He's a pirate. What do you think he'll do next?"
"I'm not sure. This one seems…different somehow," spoke a new voice hesitatingly.
One of the men slammed his fist against the marble table, cracking it in multiply places. Then, after taking a swig from his sake filled cup and lighting a new cigar, he began a rebuttal.
"It doesn't matter how smart or different the piece of scum is, pirates will still be pirates. It stands to reason that any pirate that is this strong will not, and cannot stay in the East Blue for long. I guarantee the next stop for his crew will be Loguetown and then the Grand Line."
"Your reasoning is good White Chase Smoker, but you are missing the pattern here. This guy has systematically taken down every big name in the East Blue except for one. Personally, I think he is going to kill Arlong the Saw before departing this sea for good. Maybe this guy wants to strengthen intimidation by proving he is the strongest. That's my two cents anyway."
There was a pause before anyone spoke again. Then the Den Den Mushi that had stayed dormant this entire time crackled to life. A voice transmitted directly from headquarters spoke to the assembly.
"Let him. Let him kill Arlong and come to Loguetown. But know this, he cannot, will not make it to the Grand Line."
Luffy bit down hard into his forearm, trying not to call out in pain. This was worse than remembered, incredibly so. The blood pumping through his veins felt like tiny daggers instead of life liquid. His heart was beating so rapidly that the captain entered gear second without arm or leg pump. Sweat poured off in waves as his personal heat rose to levels well past the highest fever.
Luffy leaned on the wall and slid to the floor. He started ripping at his hair, pulling large clumps out with each pull. As the serum coursed through his body, the rubber man's skin increasingly felt the sensation of fire ants underneath his skin. Bees, ants, hornets, anything with pinchers was all underneath his skin. Luffy had at this point bitten through the skin of his forearm, drawing copious amounts of blood.
When he looked down, Luffy noticed that an entire pool of blood had been made around where he sat. There shouldn't be that much. Looking at his other arm, he finally saw that the "sweat" was really blood being pushed above the skin. Also Hawkeyes wound seemed to have open up again, blood soaking his pants and floorboards. Blood started to leak from the sides of Luffy's eyes, his vision turning red. Every opening leaked plasma and gore.
"Luffy! Luffy I think we found a way out the mist," yelled Zoro from above deck.
The straw hat tried to give a response but found his mouth and throat full of fluid. Instead a weird gurgle noise came out and caused Luffy to break into a violent coughing fit. The whole room began to get hazy and woozy. The walls ripped open and through those holes came locust, which began swarming all around. Clearly this was a hallucination conjured up by Luffy's blood deprived body, however that made it no less real for him though.
Whether it be the blood clogging his ears or the sound of pounding like five million drums, Luffy didn't hear or notice Zoro when he walked down stairs and into the storage area. The first mate nearly died at the state his captain was in. He stumbled backwards and tripped over a small create, falling to the floor hard. His eyes were still glued to Luffy however, nearly frozen in shock. I took three seconds before he found his voice again.
"Lu-Luffy?"
It was clear that he was still alive, just dying very quickly. Zoro found his nerve and ran over to Luffy, getting on his knees in front of him. He reached out for Luffy like one would a priceless vase.
"Captain?"
When a hand shot out and grabbed his own, the swordsman nearly shit himself. Luffy's grasp was firm and unyielding. In fact he was using so much force that he nearly broke his friend's wrist. Luffy then pulled him close so that they were only mere centimeters apart. Zoro had no choice but to look Luffy straight in the eyes.
"D-Don't…Tell…Anyone."
After these words were spoken, Luffy let go of his marimo haired friend and coughed violently into his arm. Zoro scrambled backwards, holding his bruised wrist. Although he wouldn't like it, that had been a direct order. Intent on obeying, Zoro left and went upstairs and didn't speak a word to anyone else. Sanji did raise an eyebrow when his crewmate washed blood off his wrist without even planning on giving an explanation.
"How is Lu-"
"He's fine."
Back in the storage room, Luffy was half way between awareness and oblivion. Blood had finally stopped leaking and pain had turned into a dull buzz. His body felt like it had been through a shredder, was boiled, and drowned. Moving wasn't even an option at the moment. But each second, added strength coursed through him once again. The serum had completely destroyed his body and now it was rebuilding it. After three minutes of sitting in his own body fluids, Luffy finally had enough power lift himself from the ground. Upon rising, he noticed that the wound in his torso was gone as well.
"I need a bath," spoke Luffy to himself. He walked through the bathroom door and started a bath. Shedding his pants and boots, the very tired man climb into the hot water and rested.
Meanwhile on the deck, Zoro was trying to navigate through this apparently eternal mist. In the same room, was a slightly troubled Sanji kept stirring a pot of beef soup that was sure to please all. The silence was tense to say the least and it was starting to get uncomfortable.
"Hey dart brow, I'm sorry that we might have to leave before you get to say goodbye. Captain's orders you know," spoke Zoro who continued to stare at the sea, hand still firmly on the rudder. Sanji was a little surprised at these words of condolences coming from Marimo, but didn't show it.
"It's fine. Luffy's logic is sound and I already resolved every conflict I needed to."
"I see."
Back to silence. Usopp climbed down from the mast and walked into the dining room.
"Hey guys, I think the mist is clearing up above us. Although it's kind of hard to tell because it's like 10 o'clock at night."
Zoro turned to his long nosed friend. "Thanks Usopp, it should thin out by the morning then." Usopp nodded and sat down at the table. It only took three minutes of silence for him to start up again.
"So that was some fight huh?" When nobody responded he kept going.
"I mean I could never in my wildest dreams think stuff like that was possible."
Sanji snorted, "That's saying a lot," he muttered; referring to Usopp's wild stories of grandeur. Once again, silence returned. Everyone had too much on the mine to have any sort of meaningful conversation anyway. Oddly it was the sniper himself that was thinking the most.
I've only know like 3 females ever and had only had one female friend, but I'm pretty sure Nami…thinks of Luffy as her best friend. Yea, that most likely explains her odd behavior. But what is with all those scars on Luffy's body. That isn't normal, but then again my captain isn't a normal guy. He can be…twisted sometimes. His strength is completely out of most people's league. Ever since he started training me, I've gotten stronger too. His way of training is Hell though.
Johnny and Yosaku walked into the room now, sitting down on the opposite side of Usopp at the table. Not even noticing the tense atmosphere they started loudly chatting away.
"So does anyone know where we are headed next?" This was Johnny who asked, wearing sunglasses inside like a douche bag.
Usopp responded, "Were going to the Conomi Islands. More specifically Cocoyashi Village."
Johnny fell over and Yosaku's eyes popped out his skull. "What," the two screamed in unison. Johnny stood back up and grabbed Usopp by the collar.
"Are you kidding me?! We cannot go there!" Usopp put a hand on the bounty hunters face and pushed him to the ground. Sanji and Zoro turned around, forgetting their activities for a moment.
"Why the hell not," screamed Usopp back, more pissed than worried.
Instead of answering that question, Johnny reached into his jacket and pulled out a stack of wanted papers. He let all but one fall to the floor in a heap. The one he had was of a clearly inhuman, blue –skinned creature with a nose like a saw.
"This is the reason! Arlong! The fishman that rules over this sea lives on the Conomi Islands!"
All but one of the Straw Hats present gave a confused look. Zoro turned away, remembering something Nami asked him at Syrup Village.
"Zoro, you use to be a bounty hunter right?"
"I never called myself a bounty hunter. All I did was collect bounties so I could eat and have shelter."
"Okay, ok. But did you ever consider going after Arlong's bounty?"
Zoro raised an eyebrow as he sipped his booze. "Of course not, I only needed enough to eat off, no reason to go for some big bounty when there were other easier and closer bounties."
"Good point…"
"So does that mean…" muttered Zoro to himself. No one heard his musing over Johnny's screaming. Speaking of, the irritating yelling was abruptly silenced when an extremely terrifying aura walked into the room.
"You know it's rude to yell when someone is sleeping."
Everyone turned around in fear to see Luffy at the door with his hat covering his eyes. What the hell? His aura was fucking red with rage. Luffy got mad sure, but this was unusually mad for just yelling.
"Now explain to me why we can't go to Nami's hometown."
Johnny shook his head in despair. "Don't you get it? Arlong lives there! An evil fishman that, after besting the Grand Line, came here to take over. He was turned loose by Jimble, a Warlord like Hawkeye! That's why we cannot go!"
Luffy didn't even acknowledge that. His captain's jacket ruffled despite there being no breeze. "Let me give you some context. Nami is currently trying to buy back her village from Arlong by being a thief. He asked for 100,000,000 berries, a pretty fucking big sum for an 8 year old. Not to mention this was after he killed her mother. The reason we are going is to beat the living daylight out of him."
Sanji, Zoro, and Usopp felt anger flare up. Yes, even Zoro. For such a thing to be done to a little girl, it was unforgivable. They hadn't even heard the half it though because Nami had not told Luffy about being a map making slave. Didn't matter, the Straw Hat crew was already ready to fight.
"Listen Big Bro, I know you're really strong, but this guy was on par with a Warlord. You saw what happened when you went up against one of them. Our best bet is-"
The bounty hunter was cut off because of a backhanded fist connecting with his face. The impact alone sent a shockwave through the whole room and crushed Johnny's entire face. But it didn't stop there. Luffy's back hand launched Johnny out the open door at careening speeds, right into the mast. His back hit first, making a loud snap, crackle, pop, and blood exploded out his mouth. Then after all the forward momentum was exhausted, he fell face first on the deck. Luffy hadn't even put a fraction of his power in that punch.
Before any could even think, the Captain spoke up again. "I swear to God I will fight anyone who goes help him." Yosaku sat back down. Then Luffy flipped the script completely. "Sanji, that soup smells delicious. Let's eat! And Nami is sleeping so try to keep it down."
Sanji started pouring bowls, barely effected by any of this. He was about to kick that guy to for his complete disregard for Nami and her islands struggle. Plus he disrespected the captain, a thing that shouldn't be allowed on any ship.
Zoro also knew perfectly well why Johnny had been punched, but it didn't mean he had to like it.
Usopp wasn't even thinking of Johnny anymore because of very familiar feeling. I've felt that aura before.
Yosaku was having an internal battle at the moment. He should help his friend right? That was the thing one friend should do for another right? But then again, fighting Luffy seemed like a really bad idea. How would he be able to help Johnny is they were both grasping for life. I'll wait for Luffy to eat and drink, then ask to help Johnny. He'll be more likely to say yes then.
"Ok guys, you can go to bed after you're done eating. I'm sure the mist will clear by then." Everyone nodded in agreement.
"I'll take watch," said Sanji. Everyone looked at him funny until they realized he hadn't been on this ship for a night yet. Usopp decided to enlighten him.
"Luffy does watch every night. He said because of his Observation Haki, he was the best one for the job." What the sniper said was true, but it hid the real reason Usopp didn't want anyone else doing watch. It would almost for sure ruin his and Luffy's midnight training sessions, which had started to depend on.
Sanji fired back, a little upset at the knowledge that they had let Luffy go months without sleeping. Although the captain didn't like sleep so there was that, but still. "Well from what Zoro told me, your Haki is currently shot to hell from that fight. This is a perfect time for Luffy to finally slumber for the night."
Luffy scowled at his friend, knowing exactly what was going on. The cook had constantly insisted that Luffy get more sleep and now that he was on the Going Merry, Sanji would do his best to enforce it. "My Haki is actually half way restored already. I think it would be best for me to do it." That had been a lie. The rubber man was tired to an extreme degree at the moment, what with the fight then the serum. But then again, that serum was currently working some sort of magic because energy was being restore at an incredible rate.
This wasn't a time to argue, after all they should be asleep right now. "Ok, fine," said Sanji, walking out the room and towards the hatch that led to the men bedroom. On the way he walked past Johnny without so much as glancing his direction. Zoro and Usopp decided it was time to hit the hay and followed Sanji. Luffy shook his head and sat down at the table.
"Go help your friend Yosaku."
The bounty hunter, who had been sitting very anxiously, spirited out to the deck and began treating his friend. Within the next 20 minutes, everyone was asleep.
As midnight rolled around, Usopp walked onto the deck just like every night. The air had chilled a little, the sea had stopped bubbling about an hour ago. The sniper had slingshot in hand and a pouch full of projectile pellets. He stopped his walk when Luffy jumped down from the lookout post.
"We really don't have to train tonight if you're tired," spoke Usopp, voice full of concern. His captain's eyes were bloodshot to an extreme degree, it was at the point they were almost glowing. Of course Usopp had no way of knowing that this was a reaction to the Doctor's serum.
"I'll be fine. Did you make the new star I wanted you to?"
The sniper nodded and reached into his pack, pulling out a slightly larger than average pellet. "Thanks for the idea of making a shrapnel pellet. Easy to aim with a large spread."
Luffy nodded. "Did you use metal for the projectiles?"
"Yea, I broke down some used cans from the kitchen."
"Good. Put any thought into a new slingshot with more draw weight?"
"I've been drawing up some ideas, but nothing final. Probably will not be finished until we reach the Grand Line."
"That's really good progress. So do you think you're up for some Observation Haki training? Or do you want to work on some more hand to hand combat techniques?" Damn, Usopp was still sore from the last Observation Haki training session. The large bruise on his back punctuated that point. And last time they did hand to hand combat, Luffy accidently grazed him with a punch that sent him flying into the railing. Hard.
"Um, maybe some more strength training?" Yes, the sniper never thought that he would be choosing to lift weights and do countless crunches over anything, but here he was.
"Okay then, let's start." Luffy walked over two a three hundred pound dumbbell, picked it up like a child would a balloon, and tossed it to Usopp, much to the Straw Hat crew members destress.
"Wait, wait, wait-" Too late. The dumbbell crashed into Usopp, sending him off his feet and causing him to nearly fold in on himself. The poor man laid in a heap on the floor, struggling to stay conscious. Luffy scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.
"Whoops! Sorry Usopp. I forgot your lifting max is only 285 pounds. Shishishi, you forgive me?"
It was going to be a long night of training.
Around two in the morning was when Usopp called it a night. Sore and aching as if he had gotten into a fight with life and lost. Somehow his captain had coxed him into more hand to hand combat training with the promise of a new technique. Luffy had also promised to teach him some ninja art if he ever landed a punch. Fat chance of that. It wasn't all bad though. The sniper now knew every, or close to every pressure point and how to attack those points.
Luffy had also taught him a few martial arts moves, but not that many. His Observation was going nowhere quick. He had dodged one of Luffy's strikes with the blindfold on, but it must have been a fluke because that action was never repeated. The newest thing that happened just this night was that Luffy gave him a Karambit knife for quick strikes to weak points. Usopp didn't think he would need it but that wouldn't stop his captain from teaching it.
With only enough strength to get in his hammock, Usopp fell asleep the moment he laid his head down.
When morning came, everyone woke up with energy renewed fully. Zoro still felt a little stiff around the torso region, but some good training would fix that real quick. Sanji had awakened an hour earlier to start breakfast. Nami woke up some time after Zoro to check the position of the ship, now that mist had cleared almost entirely. Johnny and Yosaku slept in pretty late but were not far off from Nami. Usopp was last to rise like always, sleeping for maybe two hours after everyone else.
So when the sniper walked in the kitchen breakfast had already started. Everyone was having idle chitchat about their next stop after Cocoyashi Village over a meal. When Zoro had asked Nami how strong Arlong was, things got a little silent. Nami knew that her crew would eventually find out about Arlong from Luffy, but didn't make it any easier. Once she began relaying the story, tears threated to come loose.
"Arlong…is a true monster. He once got so angry at one village that couldn't pay him that he completely turned the place inside out. Anyone that challenged him hasn't lasted more than five blows before dying. Once a pirate crew was docking on one of the outer isles of Arlong's territory without permission. The captain had a bounty of 8 million and thought he was greatest thing walking on Earth, so when Arlong asked for payment in return for staying on the island, he refused. The man was dead within two blows. The crew was ripped to shreds in an instant."
Everyone was silent. She continued.
"Arlong has no pity for anything except for other fishmen. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact I'm good at drawing maps, I would probably be dead to. Every day and night I was forced to draw until my hands bleed because if not he would kill everyone in my village. I was very important to his future "empire" so he rarely let anything happen to me. But sometimes if I wasn't working hard enough, I would get tossed around a bit for good measure. A-a-and once…some of the fishmen had been drinking a bit too much a-and n-noticed h-h-how much my b-body had matured…"
"…"
Silent wasn't even right. It was as if the Going Merry entered a vacuum were sound couldn't be transferred. So this only served to make Nami's sobbing even louder. Sanji had broken the wooden spoon in his hand, his eyes full of fire. Zoro's eyes were shadowed from view and his hand clutched Wando until his knuckles were white. Usopp's gaze of anger was aimed at the floor and the bounty hunting pair similarly looked down. Luffy…was completely engulfed in a demon aura. Even Luffy's sword, which was sheathed in the corner, was glowing a dull emerald.
"…Nami," spoke Luffy, trying amazingly hard to keep his voice even because his whole body was shaking in anger. "How close is A-Arlong P-Park?"
The young girl sniffed a bit and wiped her tears away. "About three hours from our current position." Luffy looked at Sanji, still quaking.
"You cool with skipping goodbyes with old man Zeff?"
"Definitely. I'll make sure to wave on my wanted poster."
"Good. Zoro, get on the rudder. Usopp, open the sail to full mast. Sanji, raise anchor. Nami, direct Zoro. Full speed to Arlong Park!" Everyone jumped up and ran to their stations. Luffy rose slowly and walked onto the deck, looking directly at the sun filled sky. Arlong was going to be dead within the day.
A/N: Luffy sounds kind of pissed. Yes, Usopp is already much stronger then he was in canon. You'll see when they fight the fishmen. That serum sure did rip Luffy a new one.
Next up is the Arlong Arc. It will only last two chapters by the way.
Also, I'm half and half on Vivi joining the crew. Tell me what you think in the comments.