Chimera Luffy

by mellra

What if Luffy ate a different Devil's Fruit as a child? Not just any fruit, but the most powerful of the Zoan fruits, the Chimera-Chimera Fruit. It is a legendary Zoan fruit that allows the user to take on the forms of any Zoan fruit users, as well a true form as the mythical chimera. How will this change the course of the One Piece world? Pairing most likely Luffy/Boa Hancock, but

20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, I do however own this idea and RoseDragonWitch owns most of the original writing. (Important Notice at the end of the chapter!)

Chapter 20

It was much later in the afternoon after wreaking the Franky Family's house. Things were strangely peaceful, the ship was rocking gently, at the cape. The air was chilly, a cool and pleasant breeze was giving gentle touches to the crew as light falling like liquid amber on the vast deck and soaking it with its rich color. The Straw Hats were all scattered around the deck, they were all looking at the catalog, but no one seemed to have their hearts into it as they flipped silently through the pages. They kept glancing anxiously to the door that led to the galley, and they knew they must be waiting for news on Usopp.

Chopper came bursting through the door, yelling happily that Usopp was finally awake. All of them beaming, looking happier than they had for the last couple memories, they all got up and went into the galley to see that Usopp was lying on one of the mattresses they used for Luffy and Robin when they had been recovering from being frozen. He was sitting up, covered in bandages, but he couldn't seem to bring himself to look at any of them as they put the ship's catalog on the table and gathered around him.

"You know," Nami scolded him, "I should punch you for scaring us like that!"

"Yeah, no kidding," Sanji added, like a father would to a kid who had been trying to pull off a stupid and dangerous stunt. "Though it looks like you've taken enough punches already if you ask me. What were you thinking taking on those guys alone?"

Zoro scolded Usopp, telling him that he can't just run off and fight whoever he wanted. Sanji snorted. "Oh, that's a good one coming from you!" he said to Zoro as Luffy laughed at the two of them looking ready to fight. Already, it almost seemed like the money was forgotten—like nothing had happened.

But despite everyone's attitude, Usopp still sat there, looking close to breaking down completely. "This wouldn't have happened if I was strong like you guys," he mumbled to himself before he looked up, his eyes begging that they forgive him, letting them know how sorry he was. "I'm sorry! It's all my fault!" And with those words, he forced his wounded body to get up and flung his arms around the one standing closest to him, Zoro, and hugged his legs as he cried out, "I'm so ashamed of myself!

"I knew how important that money was!" he cried out, "And I… I just… just…" he trailed off, seemingly unable to go on any farther.

"Ok! I know you're sorry!" Zoro yelled out, "But you don't have to get so touchy, feely on me ok?!"

But the others were all smiling, even as Usopp yelled out, "But all our savings! All the trouble we went through! What about the Merry?!"

"Come on. Calm down, stop you're whining and listen to the doctor," Nami urged and after a few minutes, they were able to pry Usopp's hands from Zoro—who was looking greatly relieved—and got him to sit back on the mattress. It only took a few more minutes for him to regain control of his emotions and settle down as they informed him that they took care of the Franky Family, but their leader Franky had already left by the time they got there.

"Did you catch him?!" he asked hurriedly.

They all looked at each other grimly before Sanji came out and said, "No, none of his men seemed to have any idea to where he was. Apparently he went to go buy something on the black market so who knows where he is right now?"

"So, is there a chance we might get our money back after all?" Usopp asked, though from his tone, they could tell he must've guessed the answer.

"Well… maybe…" Luffy said, sounding encouraging, but they could all hear the doubt as well, "we won't know for sure until that Franky guy shows up."

"I see," memory Usopp whispered, sounding grim as he apologized, "I'm sorry."

"Hey!" Luffy went on cheerfully, "Even if we can't get the rest back, we still have a hundred million Beri's left over. Don't worry!" He began to laugh until Nami glared at him and snapped, "Yeah! But he lost twice as much!"

The others in the room were looking at Nami with hard expressions before she realized what she said and muttered a quick apology to Usopp. But Usopp didn't seem to blame her for that as he kept his eyes shadowed. "No, its fine," he said softly before he looked up and asked, "More importantly, is Merry… gonna be ok?"

Now things were getting tense all around them. The Straw Hats all felt a strong surge of sympathy for Usopp, and guilt over what they had to tell him. Luffy's eyes were sad but he forced on a smile as Usopp went on pleadingly, "I mean, can we get her repaired with the money we have left? We're lucky we have all these awesome shipwrights to work on her!" Usopp went on, "But I know that things are gonna get rough out there, so I want her to be stronger than ever before. We gotta do a lot more than just a little touch up! So… do you think those guys will still do a good job with only a hundred million left to pay with?"

The other Straw Hats were looking away and this time it was their turn to seem to be unable to look him directly in his eyes as he went on talking. Luffy was the only one who kept the smile up, but it seemed to be becoming hard work.

Usopp looked to them all, as he asked if they talked to the shipwrights about it.

"Ah… yeah…" Luffy finally said carefully, "But we aren't having her repair it." Still keeping that winning smile plastered on, he came out and told him, "We decided to get a new ship instead."

Usopp stared at Luffy as if he just couldn't believe what his own ears.

"I know that we probably should've asked you first," Luffy told him apologetically, "But we didn't have much choice! Either way I've made up my mind," Luffy finished. "The Going Merry has taken good care of us… but it looks like our journey with her has to end here.

"Anyway," Luffy went on, as he reached behind him to grab the catalog and flipped through it as he explained, "Ice-pop's gave us this awesome ship's catalog to flip through. There's all kinds of different ships we can pick from in here. And if we try to shop for a used model we can go bigger than the Merry and still keep our budget under a hundred million."

"Wait!" Usopp interrupted Luffy, holding up his hands at once before a rather rough smile came to his lips. "Just stop. I get it Luffy, but the joke's gone on long enough ok? See?" He looked down at Chopper, who was shaking a little, looking worried. "Chopper doesn't know you're kidding! Look at how upset it's making him. Jeez Captain, you know better than to treat your crew like that." He looked to Nami and added, "Come on Nami, back me up here."

When none of the other crewmates backed him up or even scolded Luffy, Usopp seemed to really realize that this wasn't a joke. That Luffy meant what he was saying. He stared around at them all in horror before he gasped out, "Hold up… does that mean… that we don't have enough for the repairs? It's because I lost the two-hundred million isn't it?!" He seemed convinced that was the cause, and under the situation, they supposed that would be the natural response wouldn't it? "And now we can't afford the work on the Merry! Is that what this is about?"

Luffy didn't say anything as he closed the catalog and looked at Usopp right in the eye, as if trying to figure out the best way to break the news to him. But Usopp wasn't done, telling them that had to be the reason… after all, a first-class shipyard was bound to cost a fortune, and was hardly even listening when Luffy tried to get him to stop talking and to listen to him.

The long nosed sniper was yelling now, almost desperately, he screamed out, "What is it!? TELL ME! DON'T TRY TO SUGARCOAT IT!"

"I'M NOT, OK?!" Luffy yelled back at him, his smile disappearing completely now, "I DON'T EVEN CARE THAT YOU LOST ALL THE MONEY! THAT'S OVER NOW!"

"IF THAT'S HOW YOU FEEL THEN WHAT'S ALL THIS CRAP ABOUT BUYING A NEW SHIP?!" Usopp screamed out, the redness in his eyes standing out violently as he did so.

Zoro stepped forward, "BOTH OF YOU STOP IT! FIGHTING ISN'T GONNA HELP!" Luffy and Usopp just glared at the other, none of them ever seeing each other look like that before. Zoro glanced at them both before he said firmly, "Just calm down for a sec!"

"I don't see what I'm doing wrong!?" Usopp yelled out, though his voice was softer. "He's the one saying all this dumb stuff!"

"I know how you feel!" Nami yelled as past Chopper stood between the two, trying to get them to stop fighting, looking more scared with every second, "But you shouldn't get so worked up now!"

"Listen to Nami, Usopp," Chopper said worriedly. "If you don't get any rest, you're not gonna get any better!"

"WHO CARES ABOUT ME?!" Usopp shouted, getting up. "How can you sit here as he's making jokes about getting a new ship?!" he demanded of them all.

But Luffy was yelling this time, "I'M NOT JOKING ABOUT ANYTHING! THIS WAS A HARD DECISION FOR ME TO MAKE TO!"

"OH YEAH! I FEEL REALLY SORRY FOR YOU!" Usopp shouted, hitting the catalog right out of his hands and knocked it to the floor before he screamed out, "ALREADY WINDOW SHOPPING FOR A NEW TOY!"

"You trying to pick a fight with me!?" Luffy demanded, his voice as cold as ice, almost daring Usopp to say yes.

"I don't want your pity, got it?!" Usopp yelled at him, as the others looked ready to force the two apart if this went on any longer. "If you tell me it doesn't matter that I lost the money then why are you talking about buying a new ship?! Just spit it out already!" Luffy was looking like he was doing something against his will as Usopp continued on his rant, "If we can't afford the repairs because I screwed up then tell me! Don't show me some stupid catalog and change the subject! I wanna know the truth!"

And finally Luffy came right out and said it, almost screaming it, "THE MERRY CAN'T BE REPAIRED!"

Usopp was looking horrified at what he just stared at him, Luffy panting hard, trying to catch his breath. "What—what did you just say?" he gasped out.

Luffy's hands curled tightly. "Don't make me repeat myself" he hissed at him. "I told you. The Merry can't be repaired anymore." He lowered his head so that he was staring at the floor, "No matter what we do we… we can't fix her."

Usopp fell to his knees, looking as if Luffy really did strike him, though they doubted that any punch could've hurt worse than hearing the news about Merry. Everyone seemed to have trouble speaking at that, no one wanting to watch.

"Otherwise I wouldn't say something like that!" Luffy said sadly.

"You mean this ship?!" Usopp suddenly yelled, hitting the floor with his bandaged hands, "This ship we're all riding on right now is broken?!"

"That's right," Luffy said, in an oddly cold voice that didn't sound like him at all. "It's only a matter of time before she sinks."

Usopp turned away, snarling, "What are you talking about, Luffy? That's nuts."

"No, I'm serious," Luffy answered and told him what the shipwrights said about the ship after they had a look at it, how the Merry wouldn't even make it to the next island.

Usopp turned to glare at him as he demanded, "Then it's settled? That's it? A bunch of strangers tell you to scrap your ship and you don't even ask any questions?"

"That's enough," Luffy asked flatly, and this time it was an order. But he might as well have just said nothing at all for Usopp went on, "I understand these guys know what they're talking about but this is just wrong!"

With every word that Usopp said, Luffy seemed to be growing angrier and angrier, his pupils becoming slits as his powers started to show. If this kept up it was only going to be a matter of time before he slugged him.

"DON'T GIVE UP ON THE MERRY!" Usopp yelled. "WHAT ABOUT ALL THE ADVENTURES WE'VE GONE ON TOGETHER?! WHAT ABOUT ALL THE BATTLES WE'VE FOUGHT?! SHE'S OUR FRIEND!" he went on, "SHE'S ONE OF US! ARE YOU GONNA ABANDON HER FOR ANOTHER SHIP WITHOUT A SECOND THOUGHT?!"

The two glared at the other, both shaking with anger and what Usopp said next made them all feel like wincing. "After all we've been through… is that how little the Merry means to you Luffy?"

"I know you're upset, Usopp," Chopper pleaded, looking like he wanted to restrain him, "But you need to calm down."

"Sorry, but no," Usopp said impatiently, though he didn't sound sorry at all as he started to cough and gasp for air. "I'm not backing down until we settle this."

"What?" Luffy demanded harshly, "So you know better than the shipwrights? If we had someone on the crew who knew about this stuff, we wouldn't ask them in the first place!"

"Then forget them!" Usopp yelled defiantly. "We don't need those guys telling us what to do! I'll repair the Merry myself just like before! We made it this far, there's no reason why we can't go on that way!" He moved from the bed and actually began to crawl his wounded body across the floor. "Here, I'll get started right now! Come on guys! Help me out."

"That's not gonna work, Usopp," Sanji said as he continued to crawl to the door.

"That's right! We don't have enough lumber do we?" Usopp said, completely in denial about all this. "I better go buy some at the shipyard. We've got a lot of work to do…"

Luffy, who was shaking, finally snapped as he yelled out, "YOU'RE NOT A SHIPWRIGHT, USOPP! YOU HEAR ME?!"

The sudden tone that he used here shocked some of the Straw Hats—he sounded truly angry, the only one who seemed calm was Zoro. He just watched the whole scene with a dark look in his eye… it was impossible to know what was going on inside his head.

Nami was now trying to calm down Luffy down, to get him to stop; but Usopp was crushing the catalog when his hand found it. "Yeah, you're right I know!" he yelled out, sounding close to tears again, "But so what? I don't see why you're so hung up over what those stupid shipwrights said! If they knew what she'd gone through they wouldn't give up on the Merry so easy! THEY JUST WANT YOUR MONEY!"

Nami gasped out Usopp's name, unable to believe what he was saying, as he went on, "The Merry's our ship so it's our job to take care of her without someone else butting in! I'm not giving up. I'M NOT LETTING THEM TAKE THE MERRY AWAY FROM ME!" he screamed out finally.

"This is stupid! You all got by fooled by a bunch of salesmen trying to pawn off a used boat!" He stood up, "The Luffy I know wouldn't cave in to some sales pitch from a complete stranger! He'd believe in the strength of the Merry and the strength of his crew!" He stumbled over to him and grabbed him by his vest, but Usopp's speech next was what stunned everyone. "But here you are acting like you know everything while ignoring your friends! I can't believe that's the kind of captain you turned out to be! I thought you were better than that!"

Luffy's eyes were filled with rage now and his hands were shaking so violently it was only gonna be a matter of time.

Nami frowned at that as she stepped forward, "You're not being fair, Usopp!" she said angrily. "Luffy felt the same…?"

But this time Luffy held up a hand to cut her off as he warned her, "You, stay out of this!" But his full attention was back on Usopp as he said loudly and firmly, "It was my call and I stay by it! There's nothing you can do! We're getting a new ship whether you like it or not! This is the end of the road for the Merry!"

"I'M NOT LEAVING HER HERE! I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU SAY!" Usopp yelled, now shaking him like a ragdoll. "I KNOW YOU'RE ALWAYS TRYING TO THINK ABOUT THE FUTURE BUT NOT EVERYONE ON THIS CREW IS LIKE THAT! I SEE THE MERRY AS ONE OF OUR FRIENDS GOT IT?! AND I WON'T ABANDON HER WHILE SHE'S HURT!"

"Don't be stupid!" Luffy shouted out, "Even if she is a friend, that doesn't mean she's a person!" He then threw him off, but Usopp still kept going.

"Well, she is to me!" Usopp yelled angrily. "And she still has the strength to live! But you wouldn't appreciate that because all you care about is getting a new ship!"

Sanji stepped in, trying to tell them to stop fighting, but Usopp was yelling over his yells so that they couldn't hear him, "STOP BEING SO SELFISH AND THINK ABOUT YOUR CREW!"

Luffy finally knocked Usopp to the floor and held him down as he shouted out, "WOULD YOU LISTEN TO YOURSELF?"

"LUFFY!" Nami cried out in shock.

"DON'T ACT LIKE YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE TORN UP ABOUT THIS! WE ALL FEEL THE SAME WAY!" Luffy yelled right in his face.

"IF THAT WERE TRUE THEN YOU WOULDN'T BE LOOKING FOR A NEW SHIP!" Usopp yelled as he struggled in Luffy's hold.

"ALRIGHT FINE!" Luffy yelled out, finally losing all self-control he had and bellowed out, "IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE WAY YOU CAPTAIN DOES THINGS THEN WHY DON'T YOU GO AHEAD AND GET OFF…!"

Sanji stepped in before he could finish speaking, kicking him so hard that he was sent flying and smashed into the table, breaking it into pieces. But it was too late, they all knew exactly what he was about to say.

Sanji's face was full of rage and he was breathing hard as if he had run miles. "This is going way too far," he said to them both furiously, "What the hell is wrong with you?! If you don't watch it you're gonna say something you can't take back! So calm down!"

Luffy slowly pulled himself from the smashed table and put his hat back on. He was breathing hard, but he seemed to have calm down from that kick. "Yeah, I'm sorry," he said, "I don't know what I was thinking."

"You don't have to apologize," Usopp said, a feeble smile on his lips. He too seemed to have calmed down, and for a moment it seemed like things were gonna be alright, until he said, "Cause that's how you really feel, isn't it?"

"That's not true!" Luffy snapped, his anger already starting to rise again.

But Usopp ignored him as he rolled over and sat up. "Just get rid of any dead weight and move on before they can slow you down?" he taunted them. "If you're gonna throw away the Merry…" the two glared at the other, "might as well throw me away to!"

There was silence in the Merry's cabin as they looked to Usopp.

Sanji was the first to snap out of his shock as he said angrily, "I know you're ticked off, but don't say such stupid crap like that!"

"No, I'm serious," he answered back, his eyes filled with such anger that there was no doubt that he knew what he was saying. "I've been thinking about this for a while now. It isn't like what it was before… you guys are just too strong for me. I can't keep up anymore. I mean, look at what happened today! You can't even trust me with your money!

"There's no point in keeping me around if I'm just gonna cause you trouble," Usopp exclaimed as he got to his feet. "You don't want weak people on your crew do you?" He looked to Luffy. "Luffy?" he said, his voice sad but firm, "I still believe that you'll be King of the Pirates one day. But as for me? I'm just lucky to have made it this far. Even back when we first met and I was gonna set off alone… you probably just invited me on your ship outta pity! That's the only reason I'm here," he continued. "There's no sense in travelling together if we don't even have the same goal!"

Luffy just glared back at him, but he didn't move from where he was. Zoro just opened his eyes and watched without saying a word as Usopp walked to the door.

"Hey Usopp, where are you going!?" Sanji demanded harshly.

"Wherever I go, is my business," he responded with ice in his voice. "It has nothing to do with you anymore. Sorry guys… I'm leaving the crew! This is goodbye!" And as if they were watching it in slow motion, he walked right out, shutting the door behind him even as Sanji, Nami, and Chopper made to run towards it… however it shut and Nami fell to her knees as they stared at it, unable to believe that it really happened.

"No Usopp… why?" Chopper asked tearfully.

"Oh no," Nami whispered, before she rounded on Luffy. "Hey! Don't just sit there Luffy! Who knows what he's gonna do out there! Go say something to him! Stop him before it's too late!"

But Luffy didn't move a muscle as Zoro still didn't say anything as he glanced at him as if curious as to see how he would handle this. "We've come too far together!" Nami went on hurriedly, looking like if she reminded him of this, he'd find some way to stop this from happening. "We can't part ways like this! Usopp's not just a crewmember! He's one of our friends too isn't he?" she asked tearfully. "Get up and stop him!"

Nami asked, tears welling up, "Luffy? What's wrong? Please, you're the captain aren't you?"

Seeing Luffy wasn't moving, she turned to the door Usopp left out of. "Fine," Nami said to him darkly. "Have it your way." She then got up and ran outside with Sanji and Chopper, all of them yelling at Usopp to come back. After a few seconds, Luffy slowly got up as well and he and Zoro went out to join them, but they didn't say a word as they watched Usopp's retreating back in the distance.

Sanji was agreeing with Nami and Chopper, as Chopper cried next to them. Just then, Usopp stopped walking and stood there with his back to them—as if he could sense that Luffy was there right now and he addressed him.

"Luffy!" he called, his voice full of hardened determination. "I'm sorry I can't follow after you anymore! And I'm sorry I was a pain to the bitter end! I know that you're the captain of this ship! So the Merry belongs to you!" he added before he finally turned around to look at them, and they could hear Luffy almost growling like a wild animal about to attack. "That's why I want you to fight me! Monkey D. Luffy…" they glared at each other, "I CHALLENGE YOU DO A DUEL!"

"Whoa, wait!" Nami cried, staring between the two as they glared at the other. "What are you saying?

"At ten o'clock tonight!" Usopp yelled again, pointing a finger directly at him. "I'll be back! So you better be ready for a fight, captain! I can't stop you from destroying your own ship! But if I win, I'm taking the Merry and leaving! Either way, when we're done, the last bond between us will be broken!" The crew could only watch in stunned silence as their now former friend and crewmate walked off into the city.

Later in the men's room Luffy was laying in one of the hammocks and Nami was standing next to him. Luffy looked quite unlike himself… just sitting there calmly, indifferent… reminding them all of Zoro. It was actually kinda distorting to see how serious Luffy was acting here.

"What's with you?" Nami demanded harshly. "Would you just stop this nonsense already?! Usopp just got worked up because things were moving too fast right? That's no reason to fight with your own friend! Especially when he's hurt! If you give it some time I'm sure both of you will see how silly this is!"

Luffy glanced at her dully, before he looked back at the ceiling, and moved his hat up to cover his eyes. "We've gone too far to turn back now," he answered simply.

"That's not true!" she disagreed, "There's nothing stopping you from apologizing and talking it over one more time!"

Luffy finally answered Nami. "Like I said," he said coolly, "No, turning back."

"And why not?" she demanded, now sounding frustrated.

"Usopp is willing to risk his life to fight me," Luffy reminded her, "He's more than just angry. Besides, if talking it over was enough to make things right, it wouldn't have come to this in the first place." Luffy then rolled onto his side. "That's all I have to say so goodnight."

"Luffy…?" she asked quietly, but she didn't say anything else as she turned and left, she must've realized that she was fighting a losing battle.

Luffy laid there in silence as the minutes ticked by. Just then he could hear arguing coming from somewhere above him. He heard Sanji's voice echoing, "Think about it! You said the Franky Family came here this afternoon right?"

He heard Zoro's voice this time arguing with Sanji, "Yeah. So? What are you trying to say?"

"If you hadn't let them off so easy they wouldn't have stolen the money in the first place!" Sanji yelled, "It's your fault those guys attacked Usopp! He's just freaking out cause he feels guilty!"

"Hey! Don't go blaming me for not beating them hard enough!" Zoro yelled back at him, "You were the one who went running off to go shopping!"

"What am I supposed to cook if I don't have any food?!" Sanji yelled back.

Luffy rolled onto his other side so that his face was facing away, but the yelling soon died out from above him when Nami yelled at them to shut up, and that there had been enough fighting already.

"I know," Sanji said, sounding abashed for Nami yelling at him, "But this wouldn't be happening if it wasn't for him!"

Zoro said to someone in mild surprise, "Oh, hey. You're back. You were going after Usopp weren't you?"

"Even if he was mad, I still wanted to treat his wounds," Chopper's voice said, "But he turned me away. He found a place to stay in town, so at least he can get some rest. But do you know what he said to me?" past Chopper sounded close to tears, "He said we weren't friends now. So I should just leave him alone and go back to the ship!"

Luffy lay there for some time, clearly waiting for the time when he was to go up and get this fight over with. But after what felt like an hour, Luffy finally got up from his hammock and slowly made his way to the ladder onto the deck where the rest of the Straw Hats were already waiting for him. It was already dark out. Luffy didn't say a word to anyone as he went to shore and walked a decent distance away, close enough so that they could all watch what was going on, but far enough away so that they shouldn't be touched by the fight that was about to happen. The wind whipped across the land, sending an odd chill down their spines.

"It's ten o'clock," he muttered to himself. "Usopp will be showing up any second now." The dust picked up and swept around them. "Listen up!" he called to the others on the ship, "I don't want any of you leaving the ship! You got that?!"

They all looked upset at this, but they did what they were told and stayed where they were without saying a word.

Soon, through the cloud of dust, they could hear the sound of footsteps and a shadowy figure they all knew too well.

"Look!" Nami gasped.

"PLEASE DON'T FIGHT!" Chopper screamed desperately, as if hoping if he spoke up he could prevent it all from happening. But they both ignored him as they faced each other, the tension in the air around them was so heavy they could feel it. Everyone felt their resolve tighten at that as the wind picked up and blew through their hair and their clothes… the two never looked away from the other.

"So, you didn't lose your nerve after all," Luffy finally spoke up, his voice uncharacteristically cold to him. "No matter how this battle ends, you can't regret it. This is exactly what you asked for."

"That's perfect," Usopp answered, no trace of a smile or good-natured person they all knew. His face was fixed with sharp determination as he told him, "Don't go easy on me. I won't be the underdog this time. In fact, I've already figured out a way to defeat you."

Luffy unfolded his arms and looked ready for anything.

"Make no mistake, I'm not like any other opponent you faced before," Usopp said, as he pointed at him, "We've been friends a long time. I know all your powers. All your strengths and all of your weaknesses."

"But there's something you don't know about me," Usopp proclaimed as he raised his arms and shouted out, "I have… eight-thousand men on my side! If you don't surrender now, I'll order them to attack!"

Chopper screamed in shock at that. "WHAT?! WHY DIDN'T HE TELL ME?!"

Zoro looked annoyed at Chopper's reaction and said, "Seriously, just go inside."

Luffy however was looking angry now as he yelled out, "If you're gonna fight, then at least take this seriously!" But instead, Usopp was trying to use mind games to cause him pain—like how Luffy was supposed to imagine needles in his teeth.

"AAHHHH! IT HURTS JUST TO IMAGINE IT!" Chopper cried out, holding onto his mouth at the idea.

"I'm telling you just go inside," Zoro told him harshly.

Luffy seemed to have lost his temper once more and ran in, changing into a charging bull as he closed in. But as he neared him, calling out the attack, Usopp suddenly fell to his knees, blood bursting from his mouth and soaking the ground. Luffy was so startled by seeing this he stopped dead in his tracks, looking afraid as some of the others yelled in shock.

Usopp lowered his hand from his mouth and snarled, "Special Attack… Ketchup Star. Pity for your enemy?" Usopp mocked him as he got up, sounding angrier than ever as he snarled, "That's awful arrogant of you, don't you think?"

Luffy looked ticked off, ready to ram his horns right into the liar, but then Usopp held up a dial and the next thing they knew was that was such a bright flash of light all of them were momentary blinded.

While the other's couldn't see Usopp was now shooting rotten eggs at Luffy now. Luffy, now covered with the gunk, was still trying to get his eyes working again as they could all pick up the stink of the eggs. Luffy got it the worst, however, as his nose was as sharp as any animal's, and the pain from having two of his senses cut off caused him to go into a blind rage, charging and bashing his thickened skull into multiple objects but unable to come into contact with his former crewmate.

Usopp then threw a Breath Dial and now the entire field was being filled up with gas. He wasn't letting up either.

"AGAIN! AGAIN! AGAIN!" he cried, hitting him with even more eggs, Luffy was now coughing and yelling at the smell, going back into his human form to help dampen the stink.

Luffy was coughing worse than ever. "They stink! They're rotten!" he opened his bloodshot eyes and glared at Usopp, who had already pulled out another projectile from his bag. "Would you stop messing around already!?"

"You think this is a joke, huh?" Usopp demanded angrily. "Because I'm dead serious."

"Oh yeah?!" Luffy retorted, as he was now dripping with the rotten yoke.

"That's right! This is the way I fight!" he shouted back, his eyes looking angrier than ever. Usopp put the next projectile into his slingshot and warned Luffy to keep his mouth shut or else his mouth was gonna get burnt. He fired it directly to Luffy's mouth and when Luffy bit down on it, it turned out that it was one of Usopp's Tobacco Stars and Luffy's face turned red, fire spewing from his mouth and he yelled in pain.

With Luffy in pain from the tobacco, Usopp used this as a chance to fling out spikes and have Luffy surrounded. He wouldn't be able to move without stepping on one of them.

"I wouldn't jump around too if I were you!" Usopp yelled, "Cause the whole battlefield is kill drop hell!"

Luffy was able to make out what Usopp said and, sprouting dragonfly wings, started hovering out of the surrounding caltrops. However, before he was out of range he was pelted by a barrage of Lead Stars. Due to Usopp's accuracy, he was actually able to hit the animal man unlike other less skilled shooters, causing Luffy to cry out in pain as he landed right in the needle covered ground.

"Listen, Luffy! You can pity me if you want!" Usopp yelled threateningly, "But, I'm going to beat you and take the Merry with me! And I don't care what it takes!"

By the time that Luffy was able to get to his feet and get out of the field of spikes, Usopp had shot one of his Pepper Stars at him, once again blinding him and now he was coughing and sneezing. He fell back once more and was now thrashing on the ground and trying to get his lungs to breathe through the pepper.

"Like I said, I know you," called Usopp to him. "So, I know what attacks are going to work the best."

At last, Luffy recovered enough to get up, moaning and groaning about how much it hurt; how he couldn't breathe and this mouth was now burning. Usopp declared that he wasn't going to give him an inch, and here he used a new technique. He pulled out a string of Shurikens and launched them.

Luffy was forced to dodge and jump. Trying to avoid the Shurikens and the spikes on the ground—going from hopping on cricket legs to shrinking down to a mouse to avoid the deadly projectiles. But Luffy was almost flying without wings to get away, finally reaching a patch of ground that was free of spikes—panting hard.

It was then he could see the dial lying on the ground and there was a slight haze surrounding the battlefield. Luffy must've finally noticed it as well. "Smoke?" he asked in confusion.

Usopp glared at him. "I'm using a Breath Dial," he hissed at him, and the captain of the Straw Hats was startled to hear how distorted and deep it sounded—like it wasn't even him who was talking, "You didn't notice the smell because of the rotten eggs." He held up his slingshot as he said, "And now, you're completely surrounded by gas."

Luffy's eyes widen.

"Sorry!" Usopp said to him as he loaded another weapon into the slingshot. The two stared at each other in the eyes for only a moment before he fired it. It was one of his Flame Stars this time, and soon, the entire battlefield went up in flames. It was a massive fireball—the explosion was so great that the observers had to cover their faces like they did with the Flash Dial. They could hear the roar of the boom in their ears, the fire making the ground feel like it was shaking…

Nami was screaming the boy's names out anxiously, thinking that they were both hurt—this battle was getting out of hand. The fire engulfing the entire surrounding area soon turned to smoke and drifted up to the sky. They all stood there and watched with a feeling of horror going through them at what they were seeing.

The fire died down and there was smoke all around them, but they could see Luffy once more. He appeared a bit scuffed up from the blast but was largely unharmed thanks to the fact he was now a hybrid of human and salamander. He transformed back and lay there flat on his back and stared up at the sky. His expression was empty, full of self-hate and anger… and it was clear that Luffy had come to the decision that this had gone on long enough. And now he had to fulfill his last duty as Usopp's captain. He had to take him out.

The Straw Hats on the Merry were soaked from the waves created from the explosion, and maybe it was the salty water from the crashing tides, but the Merry's sheep head bow… it looked as if it had tears falling from her eyes.

"I'm no fool," Usopp said, "I know that it will take a lot more than that to beat you."

At those words, Luffy got up just as the smoke around them was beginning to clear and walked out towards Usopp once more, his face down and his eyes slit. He was now fighting seriously for this. But in his face, it was clear how much pain he was in, how much he felt sick with himself for what it was he had to do. The strength that he always seemed to have seemed to become fragile all of a sudden… the happy gentleness that was usually in his face was hiding behind a cold mask.

"I know you, Luffy," Usopp told him. "You fight every battle with all your strength. But, I'm ready for any technique you got!" And he proved that when Luffy charged with a rhino charge, but Usopp must've seen that coming. He shot a Blasting Cactus Star, and as soon as his horn collided with the ball, it seemed to burst apart into hundreds of needles and began to embed themselves into his thick skin. Luffy screamed in pain and had to avert his face to keep the needles striking there like slivers.

Usopp was now shooting Exploding Stars to keep Luffy on his toes. However, Luffy had anticipated this and shrunk down to a chinchilla before scampering over the darkened street, his black fur and small body providing the perfect camouflage. When he was close enough to the seemingly unaware Usopp, Luffy shot back up into human form and, transforming his arm into that of a gorilla, pulled back to strike.

"NOW! GORILLA…BRICK BREAK!" Luffy yelled and finally he hit Usopp, throwing him straight backwards. But no one was celebrating, each of them feeling sick to their stomach as Luffy charged in, ready to finish it. "IT'S TIME TO PUT AN END TO THIS!" he cried out, going to his Chimera form with both his powerful reptilian arms pulled back, "CHIMERA… BLITZ!"

But as Luffy threw his arms forward, Usopp held something up and the attack stopped dead.

It was then Luffy recognized the dial that he had this time. But because of the force from that last attack, Luffy couldn't pull himself back and was instead flung towards Usopp.

"Recognize this?" Usopp taunted as Luffy was flung towards him, "I bet that Blitz would have hurt. Let's find out! IMPACT!" Usopp screamed as he held up the dial and fired it once he hit Luffy's face. There was a boom that sent them both flying backwards, with blood splashing from Luffy's mouth and they could see the veins in Usopp's arm, hear the very muscles bursting.

Usopp fell to his knees, his face contorted in pain as he screamed out so loud that it sounded like he was going to tear his own throat out, "I WON'T LOSE TO YOOOOOUUUUU!"

Just then, Luffy, who was shot backwards through the air, was able to land on the ground lightly and stood to his full intimidating height. Usopp glared at him, gasping for breath, and silently daring Luffy to do his worse. They all knew that it was over… even as Usopp forced his hurt legs to get back up, to face him standing on his own.

Luffy didn't say a word to him as they looked at each other long and hard. Luffy glared at Usopp for only a moment longer before he gave a powerful flap of his wings and shot at the sniper with the force of a bullet. Usopp couldn't do anything here, he just stood there and waited for what was gonna come.

"CHIMERA…WING TACKLE!" Luffy shouted as he nailed Usopp right in the gut with his muscular shoulder; blood falling from the former Straw Hat's mouth as he was knocked to the ground several feet away, and he lay there—unable to get back up this time.

"USOPP!" Chopper scream from the ship behind them, but no one bothered to turn around and look at him. Their attention focused solely on what was happening in front of them. Everything around them seemed cold and empty as they watched Luffy breathing hard, but not in a tired way, more like he was trying hard not to be sick.

Luffy, shrinking down to human form, suddenly fell to his knees. He was holding onto his fist, but no matter how much he wanted to, it was as if he couldn't bring himself to let go of that hand that he griped so tightly. "You idiot!" he said, finally finding his voice and yelling harshly, "You knew you couldn't beat me! YOU KNEW YOU COULD NEVER BEAT ME!"

Even though Usopp didn't say anything to that, even he knew that he was right. Luffy knelt there for some time, before he seemed to realize that there was no longer any point to staying there and he slowly got back up and turned around to face the others. He walked back to where his hat had fallen and slowly put it back on his head, hiding his eyes from them all. And without a look back at Usopp he said, as if choking back tears, "Do whatever you want with Merry." They looked and saw that Usopp raised his head ever slightly at his words.

"I won't let anything hold us back. We're getting a new ship and sailing forward," Luffy went on as he walked on, not even once looking back as he said quietly, "So long, Usopp. It was fun… while it lasted."

"Chopper! Leave him alone!" Sanji yelled and they looked up in time to see that Chopper looked ready to jump down to help his wouldn't former crewmate.

"What are you saying?!" he demanded, trying to throw Sanji's arm off him, "He was already hurt before the fight, if I don't help him, who knows what'll happen?!"

Sanji was holding him back, saying, "He isn't part of our crew anymore!"

"SO WHAT?!" Chopper screamed out desperately, trying to fight his way to Usopp, "I'M A DOCTOR! IT'S MY JOB TO TREAT HIM!"

He then transformed, attempting to take Sanji out, the cook was forced to tackle him to the floor and hold him down as he told him that it was bad enough that Usopp lost the duel, but if they pitied him right now, then he'll end up hurting him more than any of those wounds. The best thing that they could do now was to give him dignity in defeat and to just let him be. Nami looked at him with tear-filled eyes, and seemed to be choking back sobs as Zoro turned away from them all when Luffy came back to them… his shoulders shaking and unable to show his eyes to them all.

Luffy then whispered out, "It's too much…"

The others were looking at Luffy in confusion, wondering who he was talking too when Zoro answered him, obviously having heard his words.

"This is what it means to be captain," he reminded him in a soft voice, without looking at him. "You can't doubt yourself. In times like these, if you lose your confidence… then who can we have faith in?"

Chopper however ran of the deck and towards Usopp. But he didn't touch him… rather, he left a bunch of medical supplies next to him before he went running back to the others, crying and looking miserable.

Zoro sighed as he said, "Let's pack our things and go. You know as well as me… that after tonight… we can never return to the ship again."

And the last thing they saw before they left was seeing tears. The silent tears that were falling from Luffy's eyes, though they couldn't see them because of his hat. But one thing they did know… was that he was crying almost as much as the pool of tears around Usopp's face.

It was early in the morning the next day, the sun had just risen up into the sky and there was a cold wind blowing around them. They all knew the feeling, it was as if the weather was reflecting their gloomy emotions. They watched dully as they glanced around the roof. Zoro and Chopper were both there, and after a little bit of looking, they spotted Luffy on the roof of another building, just a little bit away from them.

He had his back to them, but they didn't need to see his face to know what expression he had on. Luffy was like an open book, you could read his mood on his expression. He still had some slight burns on his skin and a few bandages, but otherwise seemed to have recovered completely from his fight with Usopp already.

Suddenly, the door behind them opened up and Sanji came up. He was looking tired and worn-out as he glanced around at them all.

"So this is where you've been," he said as he looked around. He sighed before he walked forward and shut the door behind him and added, "We went through all the trouble of renting a room and no one's using it. I guess no one could sleep huh?" He stopped in front of Chopper and asked where Luffy was, before he pointed a hoof up at the building.

He walked over to lean against the railing and pulled out another cigarette. "I kept lookout on the rocky cape all night," he answered. "I wanted to be there in case Robin came back." He paused for a moment as he breathed in deeply and let out some smoke, finishing up, "She never said anything about leaving. I wonder where she went."

Chopper was looking down at the ground before he mumbled, "Ever since we got to this island… it's been one bad thing after another. Our money was stolen, and then there's everything that happened to poor Usopp. He's injured," Chopper went on anxiously. "He could barely even stand up… and by now, on top of everything else, he's probably got a fever…" he looked like he was about to go on, but Zoro, who was leaning against a wall, interrupted him.

"Chopper," he said in a firm voice, yet at the same time it was soft and sounded a tint of sadness. "That's enough," he said, looking up at Luffy, "Ok? Don't talk about him anymore."

Sanji merely gazed out at the city before he muttered something about going to try and look for Robin around town.

"Do you think we're gonna find her?" Chopper asked him worriedly.

"Who knows?" he asked. "It's not like I have any place specific in mind to check out. I just feel certain she's still here… somewhere."

Sanji glanced down at Chopper and told him, "If anything should happen we should use this inn as our meet-up point."

"I wanna help! I'm gonna come to!" Chopper insisted. He hated feeling so helpless, not able to do anything to stop Usopp from leaving. He didn't want it to be like that with Robin. He was worried about her and needed something to take his mind off Usopp and the Merry anyway.

"Alright then, come on," Sanji said calmly as he pushed himself off. But just as he had turned to the door, it had burst open and Nami came running out, calling Luffy's name.

"Nami! What's wrong?" Sanji asked, looking up at her as she gasped for air, beads of sweat don her forehead.

"It's awful!" Nami called out, "The whole city's talking about it!" When Luffy didn't turn to look at her, she then yelled out to him, "Luffy, listen to me! Last night, something terrible happened to Iceberg!"

Luffy finally looked back at her and there was a flash of worry in his eyes at her words. "Ice-Pops from the shipyard?" he asked her.

"Yes," Nami called nervously, "I heard he's still unconscious."

Luffy looked away again. "I thought everybody in this entire city loved that guy. Why him?" he asked, and they could hear the frown in his tone as Sanji asked Nami who they were talking about.

"He's the nice man who helped us out so much yesterday," she answered quickly, "The president of the ship building company as well as the mayor of Water 7."

"Hmm, sounds like an important guy," he muttered back.

"Yeah," Nami agreed, "It's pretty much the worst thing that could've happened to this town."

Luffy got up and offered to go check in on him. And as he jumped down from the building, they could hear Nami calling after him to wait and that she'll go with him.

Soon the two were sailing up the canal—Nami and Luffy in a Yagara, and when they arrived at Dock 1, they could see an enormous crowd right outside the giant doors, all of them trying to get in and ask what was going on. They could hear some of them calling out to get some answers.

"Can't you tell us anything?"

"Hey! Iceberg!

"What happened here?"

"What's going on?!"

"Can't go that way," Luffy muttered while frowning in worry as he was looking up and trying to see passed all the heads. "Man, we're never gonna find out what's going on unless we find some way to get to Ice-pops."

Nami nodded as she pulled their Yagara up to the nearest person and asked if he could tell them where the main office was.

"Yeah, it's at Dock 1," the man said in trepidation, "But I don't think you'll have any luck getting in. with everything that's going on here, they're only allowing authorized personal to get through. You're not alone. Everyone wants in. We're all so worried about him."

Nami looked disappointed, but didn't seem surprised as she thanked the man and pulled their Yagara away. But before they could get far, they heard a loud beat sounding off with a great rhythm to add to it. As soon as the gathered people heard the music, they were all freaking out and staring around wildly for the source of it all. Just then, at that moment, they heard a voice calling down from above…

"Hey guys! Question! Did you just say my name?!"

"No, we didn't! Just go away!" someone yelled in the crowd.

"Where is he?! Where's it coming from?!"

Up above them, they could see a large curtain being held up, and the forms of three people behind it.

"Come on everybody no need to be shy!" yelled the voice, "Say my name!"

Naturally, no one in town wanted to, instead they were screaming up insults and threats up at the man's voice. They could hear him sigh as he said, "What a bunch of noisy flies." He then threw the curtain away as he began to dance and sing…

"I'm Water 7's Super guy!

I'm the face of the underworld and you know why!

I'm the man with the plan, power, and fame,

And people everywhere call out my name!"

And by striking a pose where his two forearms connected and he bent his body to the side he called out, "WOW! FRANKY!"

And standing there was none other than Franky. A powerfully built—literally—man with his huge forearms and his biceps looked puny. His bright blue hair was sticking up like a large pompadour, and the blue star tattoos on his arms were shining proudly. He was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and speedos with a golden chain around his neck.

As for the townspeople? They freaked out and began to leave the area in droves. So that the only people that were left were Luffy and Nami, looking up in bafflement to what was going on. Franky wasn't alone either. There were two women with him—they both had long, pointed noses, one had straight-edged hair, a white fur collar, and dressed with yellow goggles, bikini-top, slacks and high-heels. While the other one had curly-edged hair, a lilac pearl necklace, pink cropped top, bikini-bottom, gloves, and high-heels. These two were Kiwi and Mozu of the Franky family.

Franky moved his sunglasses up so that they could see his eyes, which were red and filled with anger.

"COME OUT AND SHOW YOURSELF STRAW HAT!" Franky yelled out in a challenge, if looks could kill… "Come on Straw Hat you can't hide from me! Stop being such a pansy! Come out and fight me!"

Luffy said, sounding completely lost, "I don't know how that weirdo figured out my name. I've never seen him before in my life."

"Didn't you hear what those people called him?" Nami asked, a hint of anger in her tone. "I think that guy might be Franky!"

At those words, Luffy's confusion was quickly replaced with anger. He glared up at Franky, and they were all aware of a battle here. His hands were curled up into fists, as if longing to throw a punch, and his eyes were just as red and angry as Franky's were.

"Then we found him!" Luffy hissed, his voice sounding almost like a growl as he glared up at Franky.

"Luffy?" Nami whispered in worry, but he ignored her.

"Hey, Bikini Guy!" Luffy roared up at him, even as Nami tried to quiet him down.

Franky glared down at Luffy when he heard that. "Huh?" he called down.

"That me!" Luffy yelled up at him. "I'm Straw Hat!"

"SO YOU'RE LUFFY HUH?!" Franky screamed. "DIDN'T EXPECT YOU TO LOOK SO SHRIMPY!"

Luffy didn't say anything as he readied himself for a fight.

"I gotta bone to pick with you, kid," Franky said as he cracked his neck. "It seems you and your gang had a little party at my place while I was gone."

At those words, Franky started to dance with the two square-haired sisters on either side.

"When I came home now what did I see?

My house was in shreds and my gang was on its knees!

And it's all thanks to Luffy!

I'll make this as plain as can be…

When you mess with my boys you mess with Franky!" he declared as he finished his song and crossed his arms in front of him. "I hate to be you right now!" he threatened, "Cause I'm on one hell of a roll this week and ain't nobody gonna stop me! Now you can cry if you like! But either way, I'm gonna pound you so hard even your own mother won't recognize you when I'm done!"

"SHUT UP!" Nami suddenly yelled up, sounding like she wanted to give him a beating of her own. "YOU JERK! GIVE US OUR TWO-HUNDRED MILLION BERI'S BACK ALREADY! YA HEAR ME?!"

Franky put a hand up to his ear as if he couldn't hear her. "Huh? You want your money back you say? Well, that's a shame! Cause I already spent it all!"

Nami, with the image of the Grim Reaper behind her, looked ready to fight him as well. Franky smirked. "You pirates are all a bunch of sore losers! Don't act so high and mighty when you probably just stole the money from someone else!"

"Money doesn't matter!" Luffy shouted.

"Maybe not to you! But it is to me!" Nami snapped at him.

But again, Luffy ignored her as he exclaimed, "All I care about is getting revenge! So money or no money I'm gonna make you pay!"

"You're stealing my line you punk!" Franky shouted down, "Are you trying to make me mad?!"

"Whatever! Just come down here and fight!" Luffy yelled, back up at him—and the few people that were in the area went even farther away, crying out that Franky was going to start destroying the town.

Franky suddenly started to breathe in deeply, looking like he was starting to inflate himself.

"Is he holding his breath or something? That's weird?" Nami asked in confusion. But before Luffy could think of a way to answer, a giant fireball burst from Franky's mouth and went striking down towards them. Freaking out, the bull they were riding was forced to back away and almost jetted across the water to avoid it.

"He just… spit fire!" Luffy yelled out.

"YEAH I CAN SEE THAT MUCH! BUT HOW!?" Nami screamed at him as Franky smirked at their fear.

"Oh?" he teased, "Are you scared? Having second thoughts?"

Nami warned Luffy to be careful, that he must have Devil Fruit powers if he was able to do that.

"Ok, but that doesn't really help?" Luffy asked her quickly.

But Franky only laughed again. "So far off the mark," he said, and then he jumped right off the building and straight for the water—landing with a giant splashing, and shocking the other two in the boat.

"If that guy did eat a Devil Fruit he wouldn't jump into the water for no reason?" Luffy reasoned at once, "Would he? Maybe nobody told him if you try to swim you die?!"

"That would be pretty pathetic," Nami said, sounding cautiously hopeful, "But it would save us the trouble of fighting that weirdo."

But meanwhile, the Yagara stuck its head under the water to see for itself. Soon though it tore its head from the water and was making strange sounds in its throat. Franky suddenly jumped out of the water with such force that their boat was broken clean apart, the Yagara streaked away as fast as it could as Luffy and Nami were sent flying.

"I GUESS HE CAN SWIM!?" Luffy yelled. "LUCKY HE DIDN'T DROWN?"

Nami however could seem to care less as she screamed when they began falling back to the water.

"I didn't eat no Devil Fruit!" Franky yelled as he floated in the water next to the destroyed boat, "Ya think I'm crazy?!"

Luffy spun around in the air and, sprouting wings, tried to attack as Franky pulled himself up to part of the destroyed wreckage. But Franky seemed prepared as he shocked them all, he used what he called his Strong Right technique… launching his right fist forward with the chain—much like a wrecking ball.

Luffy didn't even have time to react as he was hit with Franky's fist and was sent flying back into the giant steel doorway of Dock 1, leaving a deep impression there. Nami was gasping in shock as she tried to pull herself outta the water, and when Franky pulled his arm back, Luffy fell limply from the door and hit the ground like a doll.

"Luffy!" Nami gasped out desperately, "Hey, are you ok?" She then glared at Franky as he got outta the water and starting walking towards them. She then demanded to know that if he didn't have Devil Fruit powers, then what was he? He looked too happy to explain it.

"Oh, you poor saps don't know anything do ya?" he asked in a teasing way, as if he knew a big secret that no one else did. "Alright then, I'll tell ya." He then pulled his right arm off so that no one could hope to miss to see the chain and how his arm was attached. "I'm just a normal guy with some extra parts. A cyborg you might say!"

Normally, Luffy probably be all bright-eyed and excited over the thought of meeting a cyborg, but now he was looking ticked off as he pushed himself back up. With a roar, Luffy turned into a full lion and leapt at the perverted cyborg, who responded in kind by punching him with a literal fist of steel, sending Luffy reeling. However, Luffy was quick to recover and, with some quick changes, turned into a Boa Constrictor and wrapped his body around Franky like a lasso. Franky's face turned red from the pressure, but his metallic body prevented his organs from being damaged. He then blew another, smaller fireball into Luffy's face making him let go and the two quickly went on to exchanging blows; Luffy going from animal to animal to tear Franky apart while the underworld boss showed that he was a lot tougher than the common thug and literally armed to the teeth. Then there was their cheer section:

"LUFFY!" Nami yelled out, "TEAR HIM TO PIECES AND THEN MAKE HIM PUT SOME PANTS ON!"

"Hey bro!" Mozu cheered on, striking a pose with her sister.

"You gotta put on a good show!" Kiwi added.

The two were now out of breath as they continued to glare at the other.

"You're a lot tougher than I thought you'd be," Luffy said, "But I'm still gonna beat you Bikini Guy!"

Franky laughed at that. "If you say so! But it's gonna take a long time with those weeny attacks of yours!"

The fight looked ready to go into round two, with Franky using his Weapon's Left now, just as Luffy got ready to change into another beast—however before the fighting could really get underway—the shipwrights of Water 7 appeared, knocking Luffy to the ground. Paulie, Lucci, Kaku, Lulu, and another shipwright that they didn't recognize. A large man with thick muscles with a tattoo going from his chest to his shoulder and arm, as well as having brown hair tied in a ponytail on the back and a light-colored beard whose name was Tilestone.

"Who just punched me!?" Luffy demanded after he got up from the ground and was glaring around to see the shipwrights there. However, unlike yesterday, they didn't seem to be looking friendly—in fact, they all looked downright murderous.

"This is too easy. If you knew what was good for ya you would've skipped town a long time ago," Paulie said, giving Luffy an unusually cold look. "You're in for it now!"

The shipwrights were all looking ready to fight themselves, the crowd behind them cheering them on for breaking up the fight. But that didn't last too long…

"Galley-La?" Franky demanded, looking annoyed, his sunglasses flashing in the fading light, "Great. That's just what I need."

"Wow, lucky break," Nami sighed. "Finally, somebody can put a stop to this nonsense. I bet they hate Franky too."

"I'd butt outta of this if I were you!" Franky warned them all, "Once these fists start rockin' and rollin' they don't discriminate against pirates and shipwrights."

"And that goes for other people's property to!" Kaku answered, no longer sounding like the polite man they met the day before, he was all business, "Surly you don't expect us to stand here gob smacked while you wreak our entire shipyard!"

"I'm warning you here Franky!" Tilestone yelled out loudly. "If you don't pay for these repairs in beri's you'll pay in blood!"

"Alright, Tilestone," Paulie said, giving him a hard look, silently telling him to calm down before he told him that they would take care of Franky another time since they had more important things to deal with right now. Paulie then turned back to Luffy, looking menacing as he said, "Yeah, I'm looking at you Straw Hat, you know exactly what I'm talking about. I don't know if you're brave or stupid, but either way, you're dead."

"Wait, what?" Luffy asked, clearly not understanding what they were talking about. "We just came here cause we heard the news about Ice-pops…"

At the mention of Iceberg, Paulie began to growl at him and Luffy stopped talking, now looking even more lost than usual.

"Wasn't enough for you to wreck my house and beat up my boys huh?" Franky asked. "What's wrong? Don't feel like a man unless you're pounding the crap outta shipwrights too? I know that puberty can make you do some really crazy stuff but wow…"

"I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON SO QUIT MAKING FUN OF ME!" Luffy yelled at him as he was starting to pull himself up.

"Play innocent all ya like!" Paulie yelled out furiously, and it was clear that he wasn't playing around anymore as he pulled out rope from his sleeves. "I won't go easy on ya! Rope Action! HALF KNOT!"

Before Luffy could register what was going on, Paulie wrapped the rope around his neck and made it look like that his head was inflating. Starting to turn blue he was choking out, gasping desperately, clawing at the rope, "Can't… breathe…! Can't breathe…!"

"AIR DIVE!" Paulie yelled as lifted Luffy up high, the same move he used on Lucci in their tiny scuffle the day before, before he slammed him right onto some of the destroyed pieces of wood. Luffy himself was so stunned by the suddenness and source of the attack he couldn't escape in time.

"JUST GO AWAY!" Franky screamed out at them all. "I TOLD YOU SHIPWRIGHTS TO STAY OUTTA THIS DIDN'T I?! I'M THE ONE WHO OWES THIS GUY A BEATING! NOT YOOOOUUUU!"

Nami was looking stunned, crying out in panic at seeing Luffy forced to fight everyone off.

Luffy picked himself off the ground and stared the shipwrights in confusion. "What are you doing?! I don't have any reason to fight you guys! Just hold on!" Luffy yelled out, but there was no reasoning with these guys. Lulu took a shot at Luffy with a double barrel gun—which Luffy was able to dodge without too much trouble. But that didn't stop Lulu from attacking—and kicked him hard in the face and sent him flying back.

Franky was looking seriously ticked off. "Hey stupid!" he yelled at them all, "How many times do I have to tell you bozo's?! For the last time…" he then began to fire at the shipwrights as well, "Straw Hat is mine morons!"

As Franky fired at Paulie—he jumped out of the way and Kaku jumped up, soaring overhead.

"Sorry Franky!" he shouted down at him, "But we don't have time for your shenanigans today!"

"Get the hell outta my way you flying monkey!" he yelled back, ready to start firing up at him.

"You're the one who's in the way! FRANKY!" Tilestone suddenly yelled and hit him with a large log like a baseball bat and sent him flying this time and Kaku—still in the air—grabbed him by his shirt before he threw him back into the ground.

At this point, Luffy was trying to get up, but as soon as he did, Lucci used this chance to jump in and began to fight him hand to hand. Already tired, Luffy was struggling to keep up with him, but then Lucci finally hit him so hard that he went crashing once again.

Gasping for air, Luffy pushed himself up and glared at Lucci. "Crap! You guys are strong," he said, "But I still don't know why we're fighting!"

Paulie stepped forward so that he was standing right next to Lucci, only a few feet away from Luffy before he said deadly serious, "Straw Hat, I think we're the ones who deserve an explanation not you."

Luffy gave him an annoyed, but confused look, clearly wondering just what he was talking about before Paulie explained, his eyes full of the same anger that both Luffy and Franky had before their fight, "Someone broke into Iceberg's house last night. They shot him twice in the front and three times in the back before they left."

Then Paulie pointed an accusing finger at them before he yelled out, "THEY WERE FROM YOUR CREW!"

Luffy's eyes were wide with shock as he stared at him, unable to believe it.

"Iceberg was shot?" Franky repeated, sounding surprise. "That's news to me."

"That can't be!?" Nami gasped, her eyes wide in shock, looking completely stunned.

Luffy stared at him before he yelled out, "NO WAY! WE DIDN'T SHOOT ICE-POPS! THAT'S JUST CRAZY!"

But Paulie didn't look swayed as he looked deeply angered now. "Listen kid you might as well fess up."

"I'm telling you we didn't do it!" Luffy insisted.

"Iceberg said it himself," Paulie snapped. "There were two people who broke into his room and attacked him," he held up two fingers as he went on, "He may have been hurt but that doesn't mean that he didn't get a good look at them first. One of them was a big guy with a mask on, the other was a tall woman with black hair. Iceberg said that he recognized her and the government confirms she one of your crew!" Paulie went on furiously, "The archeologist… Nico Robin."

"You're lying!" Luffy insisted.

"I won't ask you why," Paulie went on darkly, "Maybe you came to Water 7 to kill Iceberg. Or maybe you did want your ship repaired and attacked him on a whim after we turned ya down. I don't know how you pirates think, and I don't care," Paulie said. "Point is you tried to kill my boss so I'm gonna have to take you down."

The crowd was now thirsty for a fight, they were cheering the shipwrights on, ready for them to win over the 'evil pirates' and save Iceberg.

Franky was asking about Iceberg, and though most of them couldn't tell, he sounded worried.

"Don't look so surprised, that guy's tough as nails!" Paulie scoffed, but he wasn't the least bit interested in Franky anymore. "But if they tried it once, then these scumbags might go after Iceberg a second time too. So we're gonna settle this now."

But then Kaku had thrown one of the tools he had at Luffy's face, Luffy moved in time to miss the weapon, but it still ended up cutting his cheek and was now deeply embedded in the wood behind him.

"Dead or alive. The government doesn't care either way," Kaku said softly. "That's what it means to have a bounty on your head, therefore you can't complain. No matter how terrible your fate may be. You've broken the law, and now the law has turned its back on you."

"That's right," said Luffy's voice and he was speaking again. "We chose to live this way…" and as he wiped up some of the blood off his cheek with his thumb, he added, "We're all outlaws but I don't care." He glared at them all as he screamed out, "YOU'RE WRONG! IF YOU KNEW ANYTHING ABOUT ROBIN YOU WOULDN'T SAY THAT! SO TAKE THAT BACK!"

"Luffy," Nami whispered as Luffy pleaded with them to let him talk to Iceberg about this, sure that there had to be some kind of mistake.

"We'd be fools to let you anywhere near him!" Lulu retorted coldly. "You criminals have no right to make demands."

The crowd cheered behind them, even grabbing hold of Nami, all of them practically yelling out for blood, no matter how much she yelled that they didn't do anything.

"This doesn't make any sense!" Luffy yelled desperately, "There's no reason that Robin would attack him!"

"Yeah!" Nami in agreement, clinging desperately to that little bit of truth, "Not only that, but we never even heard of the guy before we met him yesterday!"

"You brats just keep saying that all you want," Paulie said, "It's over. Fact is, you've picked on the wrong guy. The moral of this story is… you make an enemy outta Iceberg, then you make an enemy outta the entire Galley-La Company. And that's not the half of it. You also man enemy outta everyone in this entire city. You understand?"

"Listen!" Luffy yelled, "I don't wanna fight any of you! We can still talk about all this ok?"

But it was too late. Paulie flipped out as he yelled, "I DON'T GIVE A CRAP WHAT YOU WANT! Word like this is gonna spread like wildfire. There's no place to run and no place to hide." He punched his fists together. "It's the end of the road! You pirates are going down!"

Luffy, no longer affording to hold back, was forced to fight them all though he tried not to hurt the shipwrights too badly, though that itself wasn't the problem as it became apparent why pirates don't plunder the city more: the shipwrights were as strong as most pirates. Things were looking grim until Franky lost his temper and hit them all with a little Coup De Vent attack and in the confusion two Straw Hats were able to escape. Luffy, determined to prove their innocence, told Nami to hide while he took to the skies, searching for the entrance to Iceberg's home.

However, this method soon caught the townspeople's attention and soon Luffy was running around a large building with people attacking and shooting at him from all sides. Luffy wanted to see Iceberg no matter what, and was right outside Galley-La's headquarters before he just went smashing right through the window and began looking around for him. Luffy dodged several dozen more shipwrights and began running down a seemingly empty hallway before he heard someone call out his name. Stopping dead, he looked up in time to see that it was Kalifa up there.

"It's you?" he gasped, and he seemed to recognize her.

She pushed her glasses up and said, "This way. Apparently Mr. Iceberg wants to see you." They suddenly heard the yelling behind them, and it was growing louder. It was only going to be a matter of time before they were caught.

"Right," Luffy said, "Thanks."

He gave a cheetah speed enhanced leap and quickly followed her to the end of a long hallway to a pair of double doors. She let him inside before she turned in time to see the mob coming down towards them. The Straw Hat captain walked through the doors as they heard her telling the shipwrights that no one had come this way and that they were to get out of here since Iceberg needed his rest.

Iceberg himself was covered with thick bandages and looked tired. Nonetheless he was sitting up in bed as he petted his pet mouse. He didn't seem too concerned that an infamous pirate was standing right in front of them—the captain of one of the people who did attack him.

He didn't even bother opening his eyes as he said casually, "Well, hello there pirate boy. Were you looking for me?"

"Sure was," Luffy said once he caught his breath. "Thanks for saving me from those guys."

"Considering the angry mob," Iceberg went on calmly, "I'm assuming you didn't go bursting in here to murder me?"

"All I want is to hear your side of the story!" Luffy exclaimed.

Iceberg didn't seem worried at all as he finally looked at him and answered, "Last night, I saw Nico Robin here without a doubt." Luffy's eyes widen, looking like he wasn't able to believe him. "And mind you," Iceberg went on, looking at him fully in the face. "I have nothing against any of you. I have no reason to lie."

"Are you sure it wasn't someone who looked like her!?" Luffy asked, starting to come forward, but Iceberg suddenly pulled a gun out from under his covers.

"Shut up and listen boy," he hissed, sounding as cold as his name. "I didn't call you in here to bicker about who did what."

Luffy stopped in his tracks.

"I have a favor to ask, and it's in your best interest to grant it," Iceberg said. "No matter what it takes, I have to see Nico Robin again.

"I'll say it once again," Iceberg repeated, as he cocked his gun, "Let me see Nico Robin."

"Sorry," Luffy said after a moment of silence, "That's not possible. We have no idea where she is."

Iceberg didn't seem to like the answer. He fired, however, Luffy didn't even have to dodge it as Iceberg missed him completely and the bullet hit the floor. They glared at each other for only a second longer before Luffy went to the window, jumping from the wall to the rooftops to where Nami was waiting for him. Luffy landed on the roof next to Nami, who turned to him at once, asking what he knew.

"Yeah," Luffy answered her as he stood up, his eyes hidden by his hat, "He said that it was Robin, no doubt about it."

She looked horrified at what she was hearing. "No way," she gasped. "Why would… why would she do something like that?"

But Luffy just looked up, his expression still serious and a touch of anger. "I refuse to believe it!" he proclaimed. In order to find the rest of the crew, Luffy became a monkey man and grabbed the navigator before taking to the rooftops. Luffy swinging over, holding onto Nami, who seemed to be out of her mind with fear. They swung over and landed rather clumsily on the roof.

"Phew, good! Safe and sound!" he said, looking a little bit more cheerful than he had been all day as he glanced around. At his words, Nami slowly stood up, her face hidden by her hair. Luffy was just going on about how worn out that was before she hit him so hard over the head that she knocked him to the floor.

"SAFE AND SOUND MY BUTT!" her screamed at him, "I THOUGHT I WAS GONNA DIE!"

Luffy looked back up at her angrily, nursing the sore spot on his head and the large lump. "WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO?!" he demanded, "YOU WERE THE ONE WHO SAID THAT WE COULDN'T USE THE ELEVATOR BECAUSE WE'D GET CAUGHT! I DIDN'T HAVE A CHOICE!"

Nami grabbed Luffy by the front of his vest, and he became limp… it was his only defense to try and protect himself from her wrath.

"I DIDN'T MEAN 'HEY LET'S JUMP DOWN' IDIOT!" she screamed as she shook him. "YOU CAN'T JUMP AROUND LIKE THAT SQUARE NOSE SHIPWRIGHT GOT IT?!"

"Right," he croaked out feebly, his eyes spinning, "Sorry about that."

The navigator let go of him and sighed that it was fine since they were safe now.

"Then stop hitting me!" he snapped at her.

"However," she said worriedly, a breeze came over and blew her hair and her skirt around. "We might not be safe for long."

"We won't?" Luffy asked in confusion, "Why not? What's wrong?"

"This island's topography and climate…" she answered, and she told him that the weather was becoming unstable and that there would most likely be a typhoon here tonight. And if the City of Water's biggest weakness was water, then there was bound to be some flooding.

"Ok, so it floods," Luffy said looking down, "So what?"

"Well, it worries me that's all," she said, the wind still blowing, "We'll check into it later." She turned back to him and told him that they should head back to the inn for now.

Plans quickly changed as Luffy and Nami were soon running again with Zoro right behind them and an angry mob behind him. The mob behind them were all screaming furiously, brandishing long saws and looking like they meant business.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!"

"DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY!"

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT ZORO!" Nami screamed back at him.

"THE WHOLE TOWN IS OUT LOOKING FOR US!" Zoro retorted angrily, "IT WAS GONNA HAPPEN SOONER OR LATER WASN'T IT?!"

"YOU CAN'T RUN FOREVER!" someone shouted behind them and they knew they couldn't keep running forever.

Suddenly, Luffy spotted a side street and yelled out, "This way!"

"Right!" Nami called and the two turned down the path. Naturally, Zoro went running right past them despite Luffy's orders, and Luffy had to quickly grab him so that they wouldn't lose him—practically strangling him along the way.

As the three pirates ran, with Nami scolding Zoro for running off in the wrong direction, they quickly came to a bridge and she told them all about her plan. It was only gonna be a matter of time before they were caught and they needed time to stop and talk about what it was they were gonna do. But in order to do that, they needed to lose the mob.

That was when Nami gave them her idea. And so, once they reached the bridge, Luffy in monkey form swung out underneath it, gripping the sides with his hands as his hand like feet grabbed onto both Zoro and Nami underneath him. The mob soon caught up with the bridge, but were baffled as to where they went.

They could hear the mob above them, asking each other what they should do before they all decided that they must be hiding in one of the buildings or even on the roofs. They could hear them breaking off into groups to go and look.

"Is it ok now?" Luffy croaked out, looking like he was in pain from holding on.

"Hold on a sec," Zoro whispered back seriously as they all waited, wanting to make sure that everyone was gone before they felt it was safe to come out. They listened as they heard the footsteps and all their voices die down.

"Just a little longer," Nami encouraged him softly. Soon, the voices and the sounds of the mob disappeared and all they could hear was the sound of the river below them. They sighed in relief, glad to see that was over with. But just then, as Luffy was now sweating with the effort of holding on, Chopper's face leaned over the edge and spotted them. Luffy was so shocked at seeing him there and accidently let go so that they all fell into the river.

After fishing the trio out, they found themselves on a rooftop with all four of them gathered around each other. Each one of them was looking around worriedly, as if thinking that they were going to be spotted at any moment.

Zoro then spoke up, "Looks like the crowd cleared out."

Nami glared at him fiercely. "Yeah!" she snapped. "No thanks to you! I'll have you know that Luffy and I had a perfectly good hiding place until you lead that angry mob straight to us!"

"Wouldn't have mattered," Zoro shot back. "The whole town is after us. We can't hide out here forever."

Luffy suddenly looked at Chopper and asked him how he knew they were all down there, which Chopper answered him that he tracked them using their smell.

"Oh, should've known," Luffy said in understanding to Chopper before he seemed to notice something. "But wait, wasn't Sanji with you?"

Chopper was looking upset as he looked down. "Well, he… was," he answered quietly before he told them that he and Sanji went looking for Robin. It was right after they heard about Robin attacking Iceberg did they find her. He told them what she said… how she said that inside her there was a darkness that none of them knew about and that one day that darkness will be the end of them all. That was why she was leaving. She said that they would take the fall for what happened last night as she escaped and they would never see each other again.

The Straw Hats and they were staring at Chopper, dumbstruck at what they were hearing—except for Zoro who merely looked at Chopper with an unreadable expression on his face.

"NO WAY!" Luffy's voice yelled out furiously and they all looked up at him as he glared at Chopper, "THAT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE! DID ROBIN REALLY SAY THAT TO YOU!?"

Chopper could only nod at that, looking ready to start crying while Zoro put his hand to his swords. "We were prepared for this, weren't we?" he asked them all as they all looked at him. He held out one of his swords in front of them before he reminded them that Robin had been their enemy before they let her join up with them. This could be their only chance to find out the truth so they shouldn't run away.

"There's still a lot of things we don't know about Robin," Zoro went on grimly, "Is that woman our enemy or our friend?" He then looked directly at Chopper and asked, just making sure he heard him right, "She said the situation will only get worse and we won't see her again after today, correct?"

"Yes," Chopper nodded, not liking where this was going.

Zoro frowned a little further at the confirmation before he said thoughtfully, "From that statement we can infer that something is going to happen today. Now it's time to decide if she's a friend or a foe." The others looked at him, Chopper and Nami looked shocked and horrified at his words, but Luffy's face was still empty of emotion—it was really starting to worry all of them how he just continued to look dully on ahead.

"She says that she won't see us after today and things are gonna get worse," Zoro went on seriously, "Maybe that means the attack on Iceberg was just a warm up and she has something even bigger planned for tonight."

Luffy just looked at him as Zoro went on, "I don't know why Robin's doing any of this. But it's hard to make a guess as to what's she's planning. But seeing how much of a commotion her first attack on the mayor was, there's only one way to make things worse."

"In other words, she'll murder him," Nami answered, getting what he was trying to say and they all looked on in worry.

Zoro frowned a little as he seemed to think it over. "I think that's what she's trying to tell us at least," he muttered. "Also, since she told Chopper she'll be pinning the crime on us, it could be that she's feeding us all these little hints to try and lure us out to the crime scene tonight."

"Think so?" Chopper asked him.

"If that is her plan it would be convenient for her if we did happen to show up seeing how it would put us at the scene of the crime," he answered grimly.

"You say you don't know what she's thinking, but it sound like to me you've already decided that she's our enemy!" Nami responded angrily.

He looked back at her, his face showing her how grave this all was. "I'm talking about possibilities here that's all. You should always be prepared for the worst case scenario. Understand?" he asked them all.

"If I get locked into a single line of thinking it'll only slow me down," Zoro informed them.

"If she's my friend, I have to be ready to forgive…" Zoro went on as he flicked his sword out just so that they could see the blade, "But if she's my enemy, I have to be ready to fight." He re-sheathed the blade and added, "Our best chance to settle this is tonight."

Now looking like it was the eve before a great battle, he looked over at Luffy and asked if they were going to go.

He didn't even have to ask that. Luffy looked over at him and said, "Of course!"

They all looked to each other long and hard, knowing that none of them were ever gonna find any peace until they got to the bottom of this and heard it straight from Robin's mouth. They were readying themselves for a fight…

Nami sighed, a frown on her face, not looking the least bit happy about what she was hearing. "It's not that I object to the plan," she said, closing her eyes for only a moment, "But still we're forgetting something." She looked to Luffy and reminded him, "Sanji said he saw Robin walking with someone in a mask, remember? Obviously that wasn't one of us, but Iceberg said exactly the same thing. That he was attacked by Robin and a large man in a mask that he didn't recognize."

Nami finished up, "Whoever he is, I bet he's the reason that Robin's doing all this stuff!"

At her words, Chopper blinked and realized that she was right. "Yeah!" he cried out in new conviction. "That means it isn't her fault and we just need to beat the real bad guy right!?" he looked at once to Zoro, as if hoping that he would agree.

"That's the ideal situation," Zoro agreed, "But on the other hand it's also possible that he's one of Robin's friends."

"The problem is," Nami said thoughtfully, "We don't have much to go on other than 'a big man in a mask'. So where do we even start? I mean, what is our goal here?"

"We find Robin and capture her," Luffy said without a hesitation, lowering his head so they couldn't see his eyes as they looked at him in surprise. "That's the only way we'll ever know the truth." He put a hand to his hat as he stood up.

Zoro seemed to agree with what Luffy was saying. "You're right," he said, "We're wasting time here trying to figure it out. Just one thing, Robin won't be easy to catch. After all, the World Government's been trying for twenty years and it still hasn't happened."

"Like he said, it's the only way we'll really know for sure," Nami finally agreed as they all stood up with Luffy.

"Yeah, let's settle this right now!" Chopper answered, sounding unlike himself. He sounded ready to fight as well.

"Right," Luffy said and they all looked into the distance to where Galley-La's headquarters were. "Come on. Galley-La is waiting."

Important: Alright listen, I'm not planning on abandoning this story but I'm starting to feel a little out of favor with this story. This doesn't mean I don't like the plot itself but I just am not feeling like I'm really cut out to give this story the writing style it deserves as there are writers out there who are able to come up with completely unique dialogue and fighting scenes while mine are so close to canon. So while I don't quite plan to abandon this story, I am asking if anyone would like to adopt this story from me? It could either contain the original plot elements of Luffy having Chimera powers or of him having an equally powerful Zoan Devil's Fruit. If this happens, I will let my readers know in an author's note but until then I will continue to write out this story to the best of my meager abilities. Till next time!