Author's Notes
I'm back baby. You all thought this story was abandoned! But no! I shall never abandon any of my stories. But I am stupid in that I have posted Eight stories, so I have a lot to do. But don't worry. I will be rotating between three of my stories and every time one hits 100k words I take it out and swap it out for another. And to be clear I mean every 100k and not like I'm ending the story at 100k. oh hell no… this story will be at minimum 300k.
Luther stared up at the starry night sky. The day had gone… okay. Luffy's little band of friends were skeptical at first of Luther's intentions as well as his sudden appearance. Luffy was on board with the idea of Luther joining the second he name dropped his brother.
Luther was still having a hard time believing that bit of information. Just how in the hell did those two end up being brothers. Dragon had told he that Luffy and Ace had developed a brotherly bond early in their childhood but was reluctant explaining further. Which was fine.
The one called Usopp had held a impromptu interview with Luther. Having developed flawless manipulation and persuasion skills through his life, weather through hiding his true feelings in his childhood or through his many years doing undercover work. Luther was able to move through Usopp's question without revealing all most nothing about himself. All the crew got out was his name was Luther, he was an experience pirate, a decent fighter, and a good tactician. Beyond that they knew nothing.
The girl Nami… Luther could that she was hiding something. While she distanced herself from the crew, at the same time looked to be happy when they included her in their activities. Her skills as a navigator were something to be admired and would serve the crew well in the grand line once the crew acquired a proper Log Pose, a object he had yet to tell them about.
Zoro, Luther had heard rumors about the pirate hunter and they did not paint an accurate picture. The man was strong and held a well-built control over himself. It was only when Luffy and Usopp really got annoying that he reacted. But it was his strength that Luther knew was going to take him far. And Luther had yet to see his skills as swordsmen, a show he was looking forward to.
At the moment, Luther was laying back in a hammock he had set up in the main mask of the ship. He preferred to be outside when sleeping. Inward he hoped that he was looking up at the same stars Robin was looking up at. That was his goal, not dream but goal. Dreams were things one wished to happened, goals were things one made happen. He had learned the distention the hard way. He was going to find Robin and then… he hadn't figured that part out yet. Every time he thought about the after he found Robin he ended up depressed. So he made a point not to think about that.
He had decided to leave out the fact of his devil fruit to the crew. Luffy's Gum Gum Fruit was already a heavy edge against the weak competition in the east blue but Luther knew the danger of not allowing a crew to grow with a raising hardship. If he intended to travel with this crew then they would need to be able to take care of themselves and not rely on his superior power.
"They have potential… lots of it. Just need to make sure they don't slack off." Luther grinned as the wind began to gently rock his hammock back and forth helping him off to sleep.
The next morning Luther awoke to the sound of cannon fire, causing him to panic and fall from his precarious sleeping arrangements to the deck.
"They found us man! Everyone get to the…" Luther stopped panicking when he saw Luffy and Usopp standing over a smoking cannon staring at him. "Oh… it's just you guys messing around." Luther said composing himself… before smacking both Luffy and Usopp upside the head. "What the Hell were you two morons doing?!" Luther demanded with comical anger.
"Ow! We just found these cannon balls in the hull and wanted to test them out." Luffy defended as he rubbed the swelling growing on his head as Usopp did the same.
"They're cannon balls… hunks of metal… they don't need to be tested out." Luther said slightly sternly before looking over to the small peek of rock they had hit. "Who fired it?" Luffy and Usopp began fighting between themselves to who did it until Usopp reluctantly took credit. "Well that's a good shot, nice work." Luther said before walking off to the kitchen. "Anyone who wants grub come with me." Luther heard a stammering sound behind him as he entered the kitchen. He turned and saw Luffy with a face akin to a dog begging. "Go sit over there… food will be out shortly." Soon the rest of the crew ended up in the hold, with Zoro sleeping in the corner, Nami working on some paper, and Luffy and Usopp talking about their cannon firing. Luther was focused on cooking but he had head Luffy and Usopp say something along the lines of Usopp would be the crew Sniper… Usopp felt mock hurt that he wasn't captain but accepted the role on the stipulation that if Luffy did something cowardly he would become captain. That made Luther laugh as he placed the plate of food in front of the crew. The three awake members stared at his cooking and then him. "What?"
"Its inedible." Nami said bluntly. "The toast is burnt to a crisp, the bacon is practically raw, and the eggs… they shouldn't be that color."
"Why do people always think median rare is raw." Luther said before taking one of the very under done pieces of bacon and eating it much to the disgust of Nami and Usopp. Luffy was currently eating the meal anyways.
"Well if Luther isn't going to be working the kitchen then I guess we should…" Usopp was interrupted by the sound of a man yelling outside.
"Get Out Here You Damn Pirates!" this was followed by the sound of destruction of private property. Everyone's head reached up at the sound. Luffy was the first to open the door.
"Hey what the hell? Who are you?" Luffy yelled down to the trespasser.
"Shut up, who I am means nothing. You stinking pirate!" The man said before attacking Luffy and damaging the Going Merry in the processes.
"So… what's happenin' out there?" Luther asked Nami and Usopp who both were looking outside through the door's porthole.
"So guy is going crazy out there." Nami answered.
"Just one guy… just let him handle it." Zoro said before trying to return to sleep.
"Over the years I've lost count of all the pirate heads we've taken. And now you guys think you can kill my partner!" The intruder yelled out loud enough for everyone to hear before taking another shot at Luffy only to miss as Luffy jumps into the air.
"I know that voice." Zoro said before getting up to see if it was who he thought it was. When Zoro looked over the railing he saw the owner of the familiar voice on his back defeated by Luffy. "Johnny, tell me that isn't you."
"Huh… who's saying my name like they know me or somethin'… the man looked up and saw Zoro looking down at him. "Big bro Zoro!"
"Johnny, it is you."
"What are you doing on a pirate ship?"
"Hey relax, where's Yosaku?"
From the inside of the cabin Nami and Usopp watched the events unfold though couldn't hear all that well as now the volume had dropped to normal speaking levels. Luther just continued to eat his food and listened in and watched the whole thing from the eyes and ears of his little Imps that he had spread through the ship. Little creatures that resembled a hunched over human, but with bone tight skin and big long ears. Luther had already figured out the situation from the data provided.
Luffy and Usopp in their eagerness to test out the cannon failed to check if their target was inhabited or not. It was, with two bounty hunters taking a rest there and were shocked to find their resting place suddenly blown up. Seeking revenge or justice depending on how you look at it, one of the bounty hunters climbed aboard and started smashing things. Was beaten by Luffy and now it comes out that Zoro has prior contact with bounty hunter.
Usopp and Nami left the cabin to investigate what was going on with the intruder leaving Luther alone. Knowing that those four could handle this problem decided on a more productive although admittedly annoying task. Luther moved to the back of the ship and removed his greatcoat and shirt, what he was going to do tended to cause his body temperature to reach to the point of setting his upper clothes on fire. He sat down in a meditative position and with a deep breath he let the darkness at the corners of his eyes overcome the rest of his vision.
Luther vision came back to him showing him a on a large brimstone pedestal, surrounding him were jagged trenches encircling him. Every now and then a flare of fire would erupt from the trenches. Above him were shards of stone which ended in flaming tips that lit up the entire cavern he was standing in.
"Lively… aren't they?" A silky smooth feminine voice echoed in the cavern. Luther looked over to one of the side caves, it was decorated in eastern rugs, pillow bed and silk curtains, the color stacked to green and small trims of red. This was the home of the soul of Lady Swala, one of the greatest users of the Hell Hell fruit. "I like the monkey boy… there's just something about him."
"Bah! They all looked weak to me, not nearly worthy to conquer anything." A rough cracked voice broke through. Luther didn't bother looking to its owner, Warlord Greth. In his cave he sat upon a bone and human skin throne. The cave was modeled after his war tent from when he lived, hanging leg bones and piles of gold.
There was feeling of irritation sent towards Greth. The man in the third cave rarely spoke but was certainly a master of channeling his feelings to others without words. The man called Noc stood still among the ruins of his dissolute city.
"I see we are still as opinionated as ever." Luther said, as the current user he word was always the last in any argument. "The crew looks green but that will change. It needs more people that is for sure. And everyone needs improvement… well expect for Luffy. From what Dragon told me I think Garp has done a good job in that regard."
"In actual parenting Dragon and Garp skill… they hold little to be desired." Lady Swala said though she was only stating a observation rather coming from a place of concern for Luffy. "But really why bother with this idea of yours, there's no guaranty that you will find your love in this crew."
"I still say that this quest to search for the girl is pointless." Greth mumbled to himself as he knew that the other three tenets didn't agree with that statement in any measure.
"Considering how uneventful the last few years have been, I think this is the best option. People like Robin are drawn to D.s… real D.s."
"Yes… your insult to the true. D.s is what caused your misfortune." Greth very loudly stated. "Do not think that helping a true D. will help you in that regard."
"Oh shut up you old savage… enough with your…"
"Someone is calling." Noc said in his impossibly low voice. Luther sighed and opened his eyes to the real world. He found Luffy poking his head trying to figure out what Luther was doing. Luther responded by grabbing Luffy's hand and throwing him in the air. Luther smiled a bit at the laughter coming from his new captain. Luther also noticed that it was nighttime.
"Damn… I hate the way time moves when I do that."
"Haha do it again!" Luffy happily yelled as he stretched back to the ship.
"After you tell me what happened with the bounty hunter?"
"Oh Johnny… it's all good. Zoro knows he from before and he's really cool. He told us about this place where we're getting a cook. So then we can have all the yummy food we want…" Luffy said before he started to drool a little bit at the thought of food.
"Having a cook on a ship is vital… good job Luffy." Luther said as he pulled out a sheet of paper that he had prepared for this moment last night. "Luffy look at this paper." Luffy stared very intently at the paper. It had his name at the top and a small grid pattern on it. "For your good job in deciding to get a cook you will get… a gold star!" Luther said before dramatically stamping a gold sticker star on one of the grid blocks.
"WOW REALLY?!" Luffy said with far to much excitement someone his age should have for a gold sticker star. Luther had thought up this idea when he went over the information Dragon had provided him about his son. Though Luffy was strong and had a will of steel he was emotionally stunted and could easily be distracted with false importance.
"Yeah, if you get ten gold stars then you get a pirate smiley. And if you get ten of those, you get this…" Luther held out his hand and formed a Gold Roger bobble head out of his brimstone, correctly coloring the stone was taxing on Luther but it was worth it if it meant that he could encourage Luffy in the right direction. Luther personally didn't like manipulative tricks like this as he felt that was something his family would try to do but it was necessary in some cases. And from the sheer awe coming off Luffy at the moment told Luther it was working.
"I can have that?" Luffy said as he started to reach for the bobble head only for Luther to bring the brimstone back into him.
"You will get it once you get ten pirate smileys on your chart." Luther said as he stood back up and grabbed his shirt and began putting it back on. "So how far we from the cook?"
"Johnny says we'll be there in the morning out from the sea restaurant. Isn't that cool, it's a restaurant at sea."
"Yeah, so Luffy… tell about the crew. What do you think about them?" Luther also didn't like talk about people behind their back but he was taking Luffy's carefree nature in to the equation so he knew that it was unlikely that it would turn negative.
"Zoro is really cool, he's all like strong and stuff. Usopp is really funny. Nami can be scary at times but she's also cool." Luffy said half absent mindedly still thinking about the Gold Roger bobble head. It really wasn't what Luther wanted but it was what he was expecting. Luther returned to the front of the ship with his greatcoat over his shoulder.
"So I hear that that we are heading to a floating saloon on the sea." Luther said joking as he approached Nami as she kept an eye on the weather before heading in to sleep.
"Well maybe if you had been with the rest of the crew then you would have heard first hand." Luther looked at the girl with mock shock and hurt at the sass. "But yes. Could you help the crew in getting the sails ready for the night?"
"You don't like me all that much…" Luther before leaning in. "At least I actually want to be here." He said leaving a slightly annoyed Nami. By the time morning came the sea restaurant Baratie. "Its… a giant fish." Luther mumbled to himself as the crew all awed over the fishy ship. Luther glanced over to the side and his eyes widened at what he saw. "Umm… guys." Luther said as he pointed the Marine ship passing by them. They all turned to the small Marine ship.
"A marine ship… all the way out here?" Yosaku exclaimed as he watched the ship move closer from behind the door to the lower cabin of the Gong Marry.
"Hey Luffy… they aren't going to starting firing on us are they?" Usopp said as he worried about the possibility of a fight.
"Just my luck for the Marines to show up." Zoro grumbled. Luther meanwhile hide behind the mast, not wanting the Marines to see him with the crew. That would bring the attention of people far above the power level of Luffy's crew. They soon saw a man with a white striped suit walk to railing and slam his hand on the said railing.
"I am Iron Fist Fullbody… but you can call me sir." Luther peered around the mast and saw this Marine… he looked completely unremarkable. Exactly the kind of weakling that he expected in the East Blue that thought far too much of themselves just because they did well in the weakest Blue. "You there, who's the Captain here?!"
"My name is Luffy!" Luffy yelled out to the Marine.
"My name is Usopp, got it!" Usopp said much to Luther's confusion… the Marine did ask for the captain.
"We only made our flag the day before yesterday." Luther had a strained look on his face at that bit of news. He didn't realize just how freshly green these kids were.
"That's right and I drew it!" Usopp said with far too much pride.
"You did… is that so." The Marine said with a mocking smile before noticing Johnny and Yosaku trying to hide behind a door. "Hey you two… I've seen you before. You're that bounty hunter deo that goes after the small fish. So you've finally been caught by pirates." Johnny and Yosaku tried to say something in their defense. "That's a laugh." The Marine was then distracted by a woman pulling him back, the Marine ordered the crew to skink the Going Marry as he walked away.
"You think small time bounty hunters go after these guys!" Johnny said before throwing out sevreal Wanted Posters. The papers scattered across the floor. "Hey… he ignored us."
"Next time he sees us he should have a bit more respect for us." Yosaku said as Nami started picking up one of the Wanted Posters. Luther looked over to see just who it was she was staring so intently at while Johnny explained the business of Bounty Hunters but turned back to watch Luffy catch the fired cannon ball… only to accidently launch at the restaurant.
Soon the Going Marry was invaded by a few cooks from the restaurant, the crew was happy to let them drag Luffy off to explain him self to the head chief who was the owner as well. Luther followed the cooks, he was the Vice Captain and as such needed to be with his captain in times like this.
Luffy and Luther were brought up to the head chief's room were the rough looking man was waiting on his bed. Luther instantly recognized the man as Red Foot Zeff… only he was missing one of his legs. When Luffy noticed the lack of leg he freaked out think he was responsible.
"AGGGGGG Your leg!"
"Idiot!" Zeff said before kicking Luffy in the face. "Don't worry, you didn't do this."
"Oh I see good… to know…"
"Sir, we apologize for the inconvenienced we have put you through, exactly what is it going to take to make things right?" Luther said ignoring Luffy being sent back by a kick. Zeff looked Luther over for a moment, for a second Zeff reacted to who he was but for only for a second a did so so lightly that no one noticed.
"Well…it won't be cheap. I'm all banged up and the repair cost will be high."
"I sure that we can…" Luther started but then realized that he had yet to go over crew finances. Luther then backtracked to Luffy. "Um… Luffy…"
"Yeah?" chastity
"How much money does the crew have?"
"We're flat broke." Luther had to hide all the shock and disappointment that had filled him at that statement. But then an evil idea that had no doubt come from Greth popped into his head.
"It seems that we have reached an impasse but maybe if we can not pay for damages in cash… maybe hard labor?" Zeff smirked at that.
"Yes I think that could work. That boy…" Zeff pointed to Luffy. "Will work, unpaid… for a year." Both Luffy and Luther went in to shock at that price. "Then we will be even."
"Did he just say a year… a whole year?!" Luffy yelled out in shock while Luther was silently going over their crew's chances of skipping out, Zeff maybe older and have lost one of his legs but he still was a Grand Line class fighter.
"Uh… no?" Luther said not liking the situation he was currently in at all.
Flashback: Eight Years since the dawn of the Pirate Age.
Three months after Luther and Robin meet
Luther stood as still as he could… the paint on his body was still to wet to move around. The Marines in front of him had no clue he was there. Granted if they would turn around they would see a pair of red eyes plastered on the wall. He glared up at Robin who was laughing on the top of the building across the street.
"It's my damn fault… I never should have taken the dare in the first place… but the prize! The prize!" Luther thought with glee. He would finally find out something that had been on his mind since he met Robin. And all he had to do was one dare… that involved him naked. It wasn't like this was the first time he had been naked in full view in public… his powers sometimes flared up and burned his clothes off.
"Hey you hear the news?" One of the Marines said to the other. "Apparently Don is having a son."
"Really that's good news, Captain giving him some time off?"
"He wishes, nah the captain is saying we need every man we can get."
"Because of the…"
"Yeah." Luther listened with interest at that point, he was wishing they would continue. It would make this so much more worth it if he got some insider info. The Marines had been getting smarter to Luther and Robin's spying tactics. But he doubted that they expected him to paint himself the same color as their base and then slam himself into the wall.
A few hours later Luther was getting increasingly bored… but he would get through this. A full day like this and he would have an answer. And it will be glorious. But then… he had an itch… and it wouldn't go away. Luther looked down to where it was itching… it was getting worse. He looked around, wondering if it was safe to itch. But just as he was about to fix this issue he heard something that sent a shiver down his spine.
"Are you naked?" Luther looked up and crouching just a few feet above on the edge of the wall was a Marine. He was dressed like a normal grunt but with a line of knives around his boots, a blue leather vest, and a white bandana instead of a Marine cap. Luther quickly closed his eyes in attempt to hide completely. "I know your there! You can't hide anymore!" The man jumped back form the inferno that Luther had shot up in response. When the Marine looked back over the wall he watched Luther reform his normal clothes over his body. "Neat." The Marine mumbled to himself before Luther turned around and ran off. "No wait!" The Marine yelled as he jumped over the wall to chase after Luther.
Luther jumped over the outer wall of the Marine base and then up to the top of the building where Robin was waiting and currently laughing at Luther's expense. His eyebrow ticked upward in annoyance at her laughing.
"It wasn't my fault I was caught!" Luther said as he tried to defend his failure.
"Oh… oh no… sure…" Robin laughed as she tried to catch her breath. "But no… you lost the bet. And now you'll never know." Robin said teasingly, it was a question that had slightly disgusted her for a few reasons but it was something only Luther would dare to ask and she knew he mostly asked out of curiosity than anything else.
"Damn it! But but but… but?"
"Nope."
"AGRRRR'ga… fine… let's go steal us some…"
"Wait!" They both turned to the Marine jumping up on to the ledge of the roof they were standing on. It was the same one that had caught Luther. "Why was he naked and painted on the wall." There was no anger or disgust, just childlike curiosity, the tone of the question threw both Luther and Robin off a bit.
"Uh… I made a bet with her that if I could spend a whole day like that and not get caught then she'll tell me if she can use her Flower Flower Devil Fruit power on her breasts." Luther was promptly slap upside his head. "Ow… he asked… slap him!" Robin also did so with a sprouted arm from the Marine's back. "That's better… who are you and we don't care!" Luther yelled out before he and Robin began their escape jumping to the next roof. The Marine just blankly stared at the escaping duo thinking over what they were doing.
"Wait!" The Marine called out as he followed the pair. Soon a sorta chase ensued with Luther and Robin jumping from roof to roof as the Marine followed them. The two thought the rest of the Marines would join him but he made no call to his allies nor did any sirens blare out at the fact they were missing one of their own. Luther eventually got irritated enough to send a few wraiths off to their pursuer.
To both Luther and Robin's shock the Marine easily moved between the flying skeletal constructs. And then finished them both off with a strong throw of knives to the wraiths' skulls, crushing them upon impact. The Marine tactfully landed back onto the next roof and continued his pursuit with a renewed smile of determination. Robin tried tripping him up with her arms but to no effect as the Marine just rolled into the trip and continued on. Even when Luther left behind a gas cloud of Sulfur he just pulled the bandana down over his lower face and continued on.
"Who the fuck is this guy?!" Luther growled out as they began to tire of running. They had yet to eat that day and had to push themselves to stay out of the Marine's reach. "Should we just fight 'em?"
"Better than running until we're dead tired." The two skidded to a stop and the Marine did the same. Before the Marine could even have a hope to react Luther swung down on him with an obsidian blade formed out of his own body. Luther was even more shocked to find that it wasn't the Marine that blocked the strike but someone dress clearly as a pirate. Black coat, red and white shirt, captain hat with a pirate mark on it. Luther backed off but glared down the new comer. "And just who are you?"
"What are you doing to my crew member/" The man said as he readied himself another attack from Luther.
"Crew member… looks a lot like a Marine to me." That seemed to confuse both the pirate and the Marine. The pirate looked back at the supposed Marine and facepalmed.
"Marcus… what did I say about wearing that outfit." The older pirate said as he sheathed his sword. "I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. Marcus is a former Marine and… he has a few issues that include stubbornness on fashion." He said as Luther looked over his shoulder to see Marcus kicking some dust and mumbling about how cool he thinks he looks.
"No problem…" Luther said as he held out his hand. "I'm Draken D. Luther." The pirate clearly had heard about Luther, and by the smile growing on his face… he was already figuring out how he could benefit from this meeting.
"I am Captain Grosen of the Red Horn Pirates." Grosen said as he shook the hand. "What's the Hell Walker doing on nothing island like this? I thought you were heading a Pirate fleet to Enies Lobby to burn it to the ground." Luther chuckled at that.
"Could you please discourage those rumors. I'm not particularly keen on attracting the World Government's attention at the moment."
"At the moment? Well what your future plans are make no difference to me. But… maybe you and your friend would be interested in a little scheme I have been planning?"
Author's notes
Sorry for the dry chapter for my return. But it needed to be done. Hopfully the flashback helps. Things in the present time will start to pick up once they get on the Grand Line and Luther can let loose a little bit more. But right now… he's way too OP for the Straw Hats.
Reviews
Snoolzloz – thank you, and I will now.
Wrathofdementer – thank you and I will now… heh
Jster1983 – he has two bounties, one as Hell Walker Luther – 43 million. Avatar of the Devil – 38 billion. I hope that answers that for you.
Re dell'Inferno -thank you and today is the day.