Pirates of the Grand Line

The Curse of the Thousand Sunny

Chapter 8

By Wakback

Unsettling fog shrouded the way as the El Dorado plowed its way through the final stretch to the island. The entire area had many wrecked ship parts jetting out from the surface in a wild manner that it looked pretty much like a Ship graveyard. Fittingly, Sherm's Parrot who was on one of the many ropes cawed out "Squawk! Dead men tell no tales." It was so; well… tensing that even Zoro himself was in a bit of unnerved. The only one not affected was Luffy as he looked on his compass, which was spinning around wildly, which was a sign that they had arrived. He closed it and tucked it back into one of his pockets and continued steering the ship.

As for the rest of the crew, they were all at the sides of the ship, unable to see much because of the fog. Zoro, who was with U.B. on one side, looked at the many ships and sighed.

"It's kinda unsettling to me how many people died here." They then left to prepare for what was to come. U.B. however, had something that was nagging at the back of his mind. "Zoro, how did Luffy get that compass?"

"Ah, nothing much is known about him. But all are sure that it involves the part of his life before showed up in Tortuga with a plan to go after the treasure of the Isla de Muerta. That was when I first met him back when he was the captain of the Thousand Sunny." Zoro then took out her flask and brought the rum to his lips. He then noticed two things: 1. U.B.'s look of surprise, and 2, that he spoke more than he should have. So he did the only thing he could do. He drank deeply.

"Hmm..." U.B. looked to Luffy still at the helm. "He forgot to mention that."

"Ah, that's the way Luffy is these days. Always playing things closer to the vest. And a hard-learned lesson it was. You see, three days out to sea his first mate comes up to him saying that if everything is to be an equal share, then that should mean the location as well. So Luffy gives it up. That night, they mutinied. Out manned more than he ever was he had no choice but to give up. They marooned him on an island, left him for dead. But not before he went mad with the heat."

"Oh! So that's what's with the whole," U.B. then performed the similar sway that a drunken man always acted.

"Reasons got nothing to do with. Now U.B., what you have to keep in mind is that when a pirate is marooned they leave him with only two things. A canteen of water, and a pistol with only one shot. Either an average bullet or a sea-stone bullet, depending on who's being marooned. Now, that one shot's not going to help with hunting or rescuing, but after weeks on end of starving and thirst," he then put his pointer finger to her head in a suicide gun fashion, "that pistol starts to look real friendly. But! Somehow, Luffy was able to get off that island and he still has that one shot. And he's only going to use that one shot for one thing alone. Doing in his mutinous first mate."

"Wakback."

"Aye."

Now, it's safe to say that U.B. has gotten real into the story. Now, he wants a loose end tied. "So, how'd he get off that island?"

"Well I'll tell ya. He went out into the water and stayed there for three days and nights. Somehow all kinds of sea animals came to him over that time, like a grace from God. On the fourth morning, he roped a couple of sea turtles, strapped them together and made a raft."

Now, U.B. was lost in belief. "Sea turtles?"

"Aye, Sea turtles."

"…What did he use for rope?"

Zoro opened his mouth to answer, but no answer came. They then looked up in shock to see Luffy standing over them. "…Human hair. But you don't want to know where. Anchors away!" A chorus of ayes came forth and all went to work. "As for U.B. and myself, we're going a shore."

Luffy then started to walk away till Zoro came before him. "Captain? …What if the worst happens?"

"…Keep to the code."

"...Aye aye sir!"

Orange was rushed through the torch lit cavern ways as the pass finally opened up to a large cave. She was shocked to see all the treasure. Gold, trinkets, clothes, chests, everything was just like how Wakback described it. And there, like the crown jewel Wakback said it was, was the stone chest that sat upon the largest pile of or and treasure. As she was shoved to the chest, all the pirates were cheering in excitement as they tossed more and more treasure onto the ever-growing piles.

"Ten years of holding swag!" Mage shouted holding up one end of an unlocked trunk.

"And we'll finally get to spend it!" Soge shouted back holding the other end.

They then dumped it, pouring out the women's clothes that were in the trunk onto the floor, Soge picking up a parasol that was among them.

"Once the curse is gone, we'll be rich men!" Mage said in appeased hope. "And we'll finally get you a new set of goggles and a new mask instead of that old broken one."

"This thing is starting to fall apart on me." Soge said in sadness as he fingered the cracks on his mask.

"Stop touchin' it!" Mage said as he smacked Soge's hand with his. They then looked over at Jyabura who had stopped to growl at them with disgust at having to work with them.

With Luffy sitting at the front of the boat holding out a lit lantern and U.B. rowing, they made there way into the passageways into the cave.

"So what was that that you mentioned? The code."

"The pirate's code. Two of the greatest pirates of all of time created these rules for the pirate kind, for even the dishonorable have honor amongst themselves."

"And…what does the code say?"

"For these kind of situations, 'anyone who's falls behind,'" Luffy nodded his head to a skeleton laying on the side shore with an old sword going through it, "'is left behind.'"

"There's honor amongst thieves, but there isn't any heroes?"

"You know, for a man who isn't too happy about pirates, you're sure on your way to becoming one."

"What? What do you mean I'm becoming a pirate?"

"Well just look at what you've done lately. You sprung a man from prison." He counted each reason on his fingers as he mentioned them. "You've commandeered a ship of the Marines with said man, went out of the drinking capitol of the world with a rag-about crew from Tortuga and setoff to an unknown island," he then trailed his fingers over the water's surface pointing out the gold on the underwater grounds, "and your completely obsessed with treasure."

At that point they landed on the shore entrance that was about on the opposite end of the main entrance. Luffy went up to a hole that could serve as an entrance to the main cave. U.B. however, was still ticked.

"How am I obsessed with treasure? I could care less about gold coins or money."

Luffy then looked to him from his viewing point. "Not all treasure is silver and gold boy."

Luffy looked back through the hole as U.B. joined him. There before them, amongst the many treasures, were all the members of the crew. Wakback was on the biggest pile of treasure with the stone chest on top, and behind the chest, was Orange.

"Gentlemen! The time has come!"

"YEAH!"

"Our freedom is now!"

"YEAH!"

"Our punishment is near its end!"

"YEAH!"

"For Ten years we've been tested, and each one of us, has proven our worth a hundred times!"

"YEAH!"

"And a hundred times again!"

"YEAH!"

"Punished we were! A punishment, disproportional to our crime!"

"YEAH!"

"And here it is!" Wakback then kicked the lid off of the chest, revealing the hundreds of coins that he ran his fingers over. "The cursed treasure of Cortez himself! Every piece we took, we have returned. Safe for this!" he shouted pointing at the medallion hanging around Orange's neck. U.B. didn't take it easy. He was about to move when Luffy grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him down. "Not yet. Wait, wait until the opportune moment." He then walked off. U.B. stared before following.

"And when's that? When it's most profit to you?"

Luffy stopped, getting impatient, then came right up to his face. "Boy? Question. Have I given you a reason not to trust me? Now, I know this is hard for you, but stay here, and don't do anything stupid." He then ran off.

"And who amongst us has paid our debt?"

"US!"

"And who has yet to pay?"

"HER!"

Luffy went off to another entrance, ready to make his move. Then he heard footsteps that weren't his own. He turned around to have U.B. smack him in the face with an oar.

"Sorry Luffy," U.B. said to Luffy's unconscious form, "but I'm not going to be your leverage."

"You know the first thing I'm going to do when the curse is lifted?" Wakback asked the frightful Orange, "Eat a whole bunch of Green Apples."

He then shoved her head downward as he picked up a rusty knife from the chest and the crew chanted 'HO, HO, HO, HO, HO, HO…'

"Begun by blood, by blood undone."

He then tore off the medallion placing it in the open palm of Orange and sliced a long cut on that palm. Now, Orange was happy with the fact that she wasn't sliced on the neck like she expected, but the palm?

"That's it?" she asked after gasping from the pain.

Wakback surprisingly smiled. "Waste not, what not. You don't deserve to die."

He then held Orange fist over the chest and everything was quiet. He opened her palm, and the bloodied medallion fell into the chest.

Wakback lifted his head up with his eyes closed, waiting to feel again. After a moment of silence…

"Did it work?" Gin asked?

"I don't feel any different." Mr. 9 replied.

"How do we tell?" Soge asked.

Wakback rolled his eyes.

BANG!

Mage looked in shock at the new bullet hole in his chest from Wakback's smoking pistol.

"...You're not dead!" Gin said in shock.

"No." Mage agreed in relief and happiness, then disappointment and anger. "…He shot me!"

"The curse is still upon us!" Mr. 9 shouted in anger.

Wakback looked at the bloodied blade. The did it exactly like he was supposed to, they had gathered all the rest of the coins, they even made sure not to steal any of them again. So what went wrong? Then it clicked. He turned to Orange. And grabbed her by the shoulders.

"You! Your father! What was his name? Was you father Marlo Burner?"

"No." she bluntly answered.

"Then where's his child?" He then picked up the same medallion for emphasis, "The child who went from the East Blue ten years ago? The child whose veins run the blood of Marlo Burner?"

When Orange didn't answer, he just smacked her causing her face and she fell to the water's edge, the medallion landing just a hand's reach from her head.

"You two!" Jyabura barked getting the attention of Mage and Soge. "You've brought us the wrong person!"

"W-w-wait!" Soge stammered, "She had the medallion, she's of proper age!"

As they began to argue, U.B. breached the water's surface quietly, covered Orange's mouth with his hand, startling her, and silently motioned her to come. Orange quickly grabbed the medallion and followed suit.

"You brought us here for nothing!" Mr. 9 shouted at Wakback.

"I won't be taking accusations from anyone Mr. 9!"

"Then who's to blame?" Gin shouted, "Every decision you've made has led us from bad, to worse!"

"It was you who sent Metal to the depths!" an anonymous pirate added.

"And it was you who brought us here in the first place!" Jyabura added while drawing his cocked pistols causing everyone to ready any weapon they had as well. Wakback went and drew his own sword.

"If anyone really wants to challenge me, then by all means, come forth." Not surprisingly, no one did.

"…I say we cut her throat, and spill all her blood. Just in case" Gin suggested.

Wakback then heard a howl. He turned his head to his pet Monkey that was crying out and pointing towards the entrance. He widened his eyes and turned. There was no girl, but more importantly…

"SHE'S TAKEN THE MEDALLION! AFTER HER! I WANT THAT MEDALLION!"

Every one of them raced through the cavern ways and to the boats, but to their surprise, "There are no oars here!"

Wakback was still at the chest thinking how close he was. "Now, she deserves to die."

Meanwhile, coming from a different passage, was a bewildered and dazed Luffy holding the oar that hit him like a walking stick. He went along and stopped at the faces of a surprised Soge and Mage.

"You!" Mage said in disbelief, "You're supposed to be dead!"

"You mean I'm not?" Luffy asked in amazement, he then turned to see cocked pistols pointing at him. He turned again to see the same thing. "...Oh Crap."

"…Parliament." Luffy shouted. They all just stared confusingly. "Uh…party?" still nothing. "Oh, damnit, what was that bloody word? Parsnip, parsley, parting…"

"Parley?" Soge offered.

"Parley! That's the one! Parley! Parrrrrrleeeeeeey!"

"Parley?" Mage asked Soge through gritted teeth, "Damn to the blazes the man who thought up parley!"

Luffy lowered Mage's pistol a bit, "That would be the people of Water 7."

The oars that made up an emergency line back to the El Dorado done by U.B. and Luffy served their purpose quite well. With Orange coming on board first, she looked to her dismay…

"Not more Pirates."

"Welcome aboard Miss Kaino."

"…Mr. Roronoa?"

Orange looked at her welcomer as U.B. came up behind her. Zoro was the only one who noticed.

"Where's Luffy?"

"Luffy? As in Monkey D. Luffy?" Orange asked in disbelief that U.B. would team up with that Pirate Bastard.

"He fell behind."

"…Keep to the code." Zoro reminded them. "Raise anchors and set sail!"

Wakback made his way through the crowd to see that indeed, Luffy was there alive and well. Luffy waved his fingers as a hello.

"How the Bloody hell did you get off that island?"

"When you left me alone on that god forsaken spit of land, you made a terrible mistake. A mistake that many have made before, and that hundreds more shall make later."

"And just what mistake was that?"

"Simple Rocko. I'm Captain Monkey D. Luffy!"

"Well," he said with a smile, "rest assured that I won't be making that mistake again." He turned to his eager crew. "Gentlemen, you all remember Captain Monkey D. Luffy? …Kill him."

As pistols were being raised and cocked, "The girl's blood didn't work, did it?"

At once all of them stopped, Wakback stopping in mid step as he battled in his mind for a couple of seconds. "Hold your Fire!" All of the men lowered their guns in disgust and anger. Wakback wasn't any happier as he turned to Luffy. "You know whose blood we need?"

Luffy smiled. "I know whose blood you need."