Pirates of the Grand Line

The Curse of the Thousand Sunny

Chapter 10

By Wakback

The nearby island that once served as a possible salvation, now only brought possible death as it was in the general direction of the plank now jetting out from the ship. On the plank was a very scared Orange as the rest of the crew was shouting at her with all their swords drawn. But that didn't mean U.B. couldn't shout despite being firmly held back by the numerous pirates.

"Wakback you lying Bastard! You said she'd go free!"

"Don't you dare challenge my honor boy!" Wakback shouted back. "We agreed that she would go free, and she is. You just failed to mention when or where." Wakback then turned his attention back to Orange. "Although it does seem a shame to lose something so fine, doesn't it boys?" The crew laughed in agreement before Wakback extended his hand out. "So I'll be taking that dress back thank you."

"...Perverts." she muttered as she chucked it into Wakback's bony face. He then held it to his cheek.

"Ooh, it's still warm."

Orange then stood at the plank and slowly edged her way out as she turned to face U.B. one last time. Jyabura was getting impatient looking at this lovely Dovey crap. "TOO LONG!" Jybura shouted as he stomped on the plank causing Orange to fall off. Everybody was laughing and Luffy faked laughed with them before he was shoved to the Plank where Wakback waited.

"I thought we were finished with all this!" Luffy stated with his voice cracking a bit.

"Luffy, my friend, can't you see I'm giving you a break here?"

"…Uh …whatdoyoumean?"

Wakback then put his arm around Luffy shoulders with a victorious smile. "Take a look out there Luffy. Does it look familiar? That's the very same island we made you king of last time."

"...I thought that spit of dirt looked familiar." Luffy mumbled.

"Look on the bright side Luffy. Perhaps you can summon up another miracle. But I doubt it. Now off you go." He then drew his blade as Luffy stepped back onto the plank.

"Before I go! Whenever you maroon a pirate, you give him a full flask and a pistol with a shot, yes?"

Wakback remained silent before he snapped his fingers and someone handed him Luffy's sword and pistol. It had to be confiscated before the parley to ensure Wakback's safety.

"Um," Luffy added, "might I just say something? Since there's going to be two of us, shouldn't I be getting two shots?"

"Luffy, the code applies only to pirates which Miss Kaino is not. So you get one shot and one shot alone." Wakback replied. "We'll let you be the gentleman and shoot the lady so you can starve to death."

He then Shoved Luffy's sword and pistol into his arms and pointed to the plank. Instead of just jumping off the plank, Luffy just jumped off the boat and before he hit the water, he used sunny left side as a base to launch himself right at the island.

Orange trudged upon the waters before she came onto shore. She was exhausted and tired. She turned to see the fog cloud and pirate ship disappearing into the sea and sky.

"You know?" Luffy stated, "That's the second time I've had to watch that Bastard sail away with my ship."

Shocked and surprised that Luffy was in front of he not in the least bit wet. Luffy checked his pistol to see if it was damaged or not as Orange came up to his right and stopped at the sight of her own footsteps from her walk just now.

"Not much, ain't it?" Luffy asked from the side.

"If you're going to shoot me, do it now please."

"There seems to be a problem in that now, isn't there?" Luffy asked as he finished his check. Orange however, wasn't amused.

"You were going to tell Wakback about U.B. just so you could get a ship."

Luffy laughed. "Miss Kaino, you don't much about bargaining with pirates, do you? What I planned to do was to leave that bonehead in the same situation we are now, with nothing but a name. As long as he didn't know that U.B, witch was the one he wanted, we'd have the perfect Bargaining chip. But now, thanks to your bold hearted friend's efforts, I've lost my chip, I've lost my ship, and now we have no chances of getting off of this bloody spit of land."

As Luffy stood up and went into the extremely small jungle that was barely a few trees, Orange's face changed from one of surprise and impressed, to one of slight anger and determination. "But, he still risked his life to save ours."

"Bah!" Luffy snorted, "A lot of good it did him!"

"So? We should do something to rescue him!"

"Well good luck with that then! Cause I'm having no part in it."

"But you've been stuck here before, haven't you? We can escape the same way you did before!"

Luffy then sharply turned to her as she stopped with how close she came to him. "To what point and purpose milady? The Sunny's gone, and unless you've got yourself a lot of sails and a rudder in that dress of yours, unlikely, U.B.'s going be long since dead before we even get there." He then turned back and continued his walk after knocking on a nearby tree and listening to it.

"But you're Captain Monkey D. Luffy! You came from nowhere, you disappear everywhere, and not a single soul, has ever caught you long enough to kill you. Are you the pirate I've heard of, or not?"

At this point, Luffy had stopped at a certain patch of dirt and jumped on it as she finished. He turned to her and drew his breath to answer. "...Last time, I was here a total of three days. No more, no less. Ok, happy now." He then reached down into the sand and pulled on a buried handle and drew up the door as I went down the stairs into the bottom. "Last time, I learned that the rum runners used this island as a checkpoint to keep some of their rum during trips. I was able to sneak my way aboard and came off at a random town and that was where I started to do my work. But from the looks of things down here, they've long been out of business for some time. Probably have your buddy Commodore Kaku to thank for that." He finished as he came up with a bottle of rum in each hand.

"So, that's it?" Orange asked angrily, "That's the secret and grand adventure of the infamous Captain Monkey D. Luffy? You spent three days, lying on the beach drinking rum?"

He then shrugged his shoulders. "...Welcome to the Grand Line Love!"

Luffy then shoved her aside as he went to rest on the beach, Orange following not far behind. "So, is there any truth to the stories?" she asked.

"Truth?" He asked back incredibly. He then pulled up his Sweat bans to show his pirate brand mark and the straw-hat Jolly Roger pirate Tatoo symbol. He then removed his red vest to show her the X Scar on his chest, the claw scars on his rib-cage, and two spear scars that was on his right shoulder. Finally he pulled unwrapped his left arm that was covered in bandages to reveal many burn scars that were not really that nice to look at. Orange's face was surprised and believing to say the least. "Even with the marks to prove it, Pirates are never to be described as truth."

Time remained quiet as Luffy took a swig of the rum. "Then what are we going to do about U.B.?" Orange asked with all hope lost from her voice.

"Only one thing to do now" Luffy spoke just as hopelessly as he rolled the bottle he had to Orange's feet. He then opened up another bottle and raised it to the air. "Here's luck to ya U.B.." Luffy stated then drunk deeply as Orange picked up her bottle and looked at it.

The bonfire crackled wildly as two figures danced around it singing. Both were drunk.

"We're devils, black sheep, and really bad eggs! Drink up me hearties Yo Ho! Yo Ho, Yo Ho! A pirate's life for me!"

"I love this song!" Luffy shouted as they finished. They both landed next to each other, both holding rum bottles. "Once I get the Sunny back, I'll teach it to the entire crew. And we'll sing it all the time!"

"You are positively the most fearsome pirate of all the Grand Line!"

"…Not just the Grand Line love; but the world! After all, wherever we want to go, we'll go! That's what a ship is you know. I'm mean sure, you get the wood, the sails and the rudders, but that's just what a ship needs. What the ship is, however… what the Thousand Sunny is, is freedom."

There was a moment of pause between them as Orange laid back holding her bottle in the air, getting awfully comfy with Luffy.

"Luffy, it must be terrible; getting stuck back here again after all you went through."

Luffy then draped his arm around her. "...Ah, yes. Yes it is. But the company is definitely better than last time for sure. Scenery's improved a bit…"

"Captain Luffy," Orange interrupted tossing his arm away, "I don't think I've had enough rum to allow that sort of action yet."

"Ah, your right." Luffy turned his face and then reappeared with his Hair over his Left eye, his right eyebrow curled in an odd fashion and a tooth-pick held between his two figures as if he was holding a cigarette. He then spoke in a French manner "Are you ready for your ordeal of Love?"

Orange just smirked and lifted her bottle. "To freedom."

"…To the Thousand Sunny." He joined clanging his bottle against hers. Luffy drank deeply as Orange set her bottle down and watched Luffy pass out.

Luffy was woken up be the smell of smoke. '...That can't be good.' He though as he jumped up to see Orange toss another barrel of rum into the flaming pile that caused some nearby trees to catch fire also. "…No! Not good! What have you done woman? You've burnt all the rum! The food! …The rum!"

"Yes. The rum is gone."

"Why is rum gone?"

"Because one, it's a vile drink that can change even the most respectable of men into complete scoundrels, two: that signal is over a thousand feet high. The entire Royal Marine fleet is looking for me. Do really think that there is even a slight chance they won't see it?"

"...But why is the rum gone?"

"AAGH!" she screamed as she sat down. "Just wait Luffy. Give it one hour, maybe two, and you'll see white sails coming soon."

Meanwhile she didn't see how he had his cocked pistol in his trembling hand pointing at her before he calmed down and placed it back in its holster and stormed off. It was only two minutes since he walked and he was pissed. " 'It must've been terrible getting stuck back here again.' 'It must've been terrible getting stuck back here again.' WELL IT BLOODY IS NOW!" He shouted as he suddenly stopped.

There, ahead of him was a large ship with white sails, and a small rowboat approaching the shore. "…Aw Crap. There'll be no living with her now."

"But we have to save U.B.!" Orange protested against her father Matt Kaino on the deck of the Dragoon with Luffy not too far behind held firm by the two guards he met earlier, known as Full-body and Jango, again.

"No. You're safe now and we will return to Port Royal. Not go chasing after pirates!" Matt replied.

"Then we condemn him to death."

"… His fate is regrettable Orange. But then again, so was his choice to act in piracy."

"To save me! To prevent anything to happen to me!"

"Ah, if I may," Luffy spoke directing his voice to the nearby Commodore Kaku, "I'd like to put in my say in this. You see, the Sunny was barely holding together after the battle. They're weakened. They can't move up to speed as they could. Think about it, The Thousand Sunny. The only true remaining threat, in all of the Grand Line. And you, as the spearhead of their death, why resist?"

"… By remembering that I serve others, Mr. Luffy, not myself."

Orange decided that she might as well as help in this. And there was only one final bargaining chip she had left. "Kaku, I beg you, please do this… for me… as a wedding gift."

At this, all eyes were open wide and Matt could barely grasp breath. "Orange, are you accepting the commodore's proposal?"

"Yes. …Yes I am."

"…A wedding? I love weddings! Drinks all around!" Luffy shouted to the heavens, but instantly fell silent at the sight of Kaku.

"…Mr. Monkey D. Luffy," Kaku addressed him while coming down the stairs, "You shall accompany these men to the helm where you'll give us a heading to Isla de Muerta. You will then spend the rest of the journey contemplating all possible meanings of the phrase 'Silent as the grave'. Do I make myself clear?"

"…Inescapably." Luffy stated before he was shoved along.