I must beg forgiveness for the late chapter. These past few days have been SOOOO busy. Well, here it is, the fight between Luffy and Buggy! This chapter isn't one of my favorites but I am happy to have it posted because one of my top 3 favorite chapters is next!
Thank you for all the fantastic reviews! I really cherish them!
Thank you Shirani-Chan, Shizuka Taiyou, ZoLuFanGirl98, and VampireFreak4Eterity!
A special shout out to ChemGirl, who is one of the writers I have borrowed from. I am honored that you like what I have done and I hope I can live up to your expectations.
This is not completely my story. Some conversations and parts have been borrowed from other Fem!Luffy and LuffyxZoro fanfictions. However, most of this has been completely redone and rewritten by me.
The authors I have borrowed from are: Pen-Woman, ChemGirl, and Killjou. (If someone thinks I have added some of their story, I apologize for not listing you. PM me and I will add you)
Beta reader for Pen-Woman is TheBlackSeaReaper.
One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda
Devil Fruit Power Final Showdown
Follow your dream. Take one step at a time and don't settle for less, just continue to climb. Follow your dream. If you stumble, don't stop and lose sight of your goal press to the top. For only on top can we see the whole view, can we see what we've done and what we can do; can we then have the vision to seek something new, press on. Follow your dream….by Amanda Bradley.
The battle had already been going on for far longer than anyone could have ever guessed it would. Both combatants covered in scrapes and bruises and those watching the fight were amazed either of them could still stand. It was a tougher fight than either expected it would be and even captain Buggy could admit that his fight with Luffy was proving to be quite entertaining. But even though she was a good fighter he was still far too angry. This idiotic, tiny girl had somehow befriended the man he hated more than anything in the world, the man who had ruined his life…Red-Haired Shanks.
"In all my life, I've never met a man who pissed me off as much as he did. That bastard Shanks cost me countless riches." Even after all of these years Buggy was still furious at his one time comrade. "I don't know how you're related to him, but I can say whatever I want about that cocky bastard. I deserve that much," Luffy watched him impassively, curious as to what could have happened between Buggy and Shanks to make him hate her idol this much.
"Then tell me what happened!" she finally demanded, fed up with his whining.
"It all happened a long time ago, back when I was still a pirate apprentice and Shanks and I were crew-mates on the same ship." As Buggy began to explain, his frown deepened and he growled, remembering what Shanks had done to him in the past always made him furious.
*Flashback*
On the deck of a ship, a bunch of pirates gathered in a circle around two young teenagers, cheering them both on. The two had gotten into a fight over which place was coldest in the world. On one side was a young boy of about seventeen years, with short red hair. He was wearing a light blue and black striped shirt, dark blue pants, and a very familiar straw hat. On the other was another boy of approximately 17 years with blue hair. This one wore a white shirt with burgundy stripes on the shoulders, brown pants, and a knit hat. This was before either of them became famous, one as captain of the red-haired pirates, the other as the most notorious pirate of the East Blue, Buggy the Clown.
"The North pole," Buggy shouted.
"No, South pole!" Shanks shouted back.
"There you go again!"
"That's right and I can say it as many times as I want because I'm right, you clown!"
"Ho ho, you have lots of guts, let's fight to see who's right."
"Well come on then, let's fight."
"Bring it on! I'm going to beat the crap out of you." Both yelled and jumped at each other, their verbal argument devolving into punches and bites, both trying to determine who was better and smarter than the other. The crowd cheered and took bets on who was going to be the victor but their fun was cut short when a tall blond haired man stepped into the middle of the circle and smacked both teens upside the head.
"Enough of this, North Pole or the South Pole. Who cares which one is colder?! If you really want to know, why don't you go there and find out!" The tall man said, annoyed that the two idiots were fighting over something so ridiculous. The other pirates watched, laughing at the teen's idiocy. They had to admit that the fighting made a good show for them though.
Shanks and Buggy continued to glare at each other, both massaging their throbbing heads, almost feeling like their skull had split in two. All of sudden, a man from the Crow's Nest shouted a warning down to his crew mates, he had sighted an enemy ship and it was heading their way.
"Alright, prepare for launch, time to fight." The tall blonde man ordered and the crew replied with a chorus of "Hell, yeah!" Buggy began to smirk, he had been bored out of his mind and itching for a fight, not to mention he would get to steal their valuables.
"Alright, I'm going to grab everything I get my hands on!" said Buggy and Shanks noticed that his demeanor had changed into happy one. He too had been bored and was looking forward to a good fight.
"You look happy, Buggy," Shanks said, smiling.
"Of course! The enemy ship is like a treasure chest. A pirate takes from others, right?" Buggy exclaimed as he got up and drew out his two blades.
"Well, that is one of the reasons," spoke Shanks honestly.
"No, no, you and all the Pirates on this ship are too naïve! Taking treasure from people is what pirates do, you know nothing about being a Pirate!" Buggy sighed, taunting him a bit but Shanks still smiled and didn't appear affected by the insult. He and Buggy might seem like two completely different people but they did have one thing in common, they both loved to fight.
The two ships came alongside each other and opened fire, the sound of cannons and breaking wood filling the air. In terms of firepower Shanks, Buggy, and their crew-mates were winning and they sailed the ship closer so they could board. Shanks and Buggy were two of the first to leap to the enemy's deck and Buggy slashed at an enemy pirate who had dared to call him a bad word. As he turned to move on to the next enemy Buggy saw a piece of rolled paper sticking out of the pirates shirt. He quickly grabbed it and unrolled the paper, eyes widening as he took in what was on the stiff and ripped piece of parchment.
"This is...?! It's a treasure map, this is the first time I've ever seen one, incredible" Buggy's eyes quickly scanned the map and eventually zeroed in on an 'X' mark painted just south of an island, directly over the blue sea.
"So the treasure is buried beneath the sea." And then Buggy's thoughts turned to his crew. If they found out about the treasure map he had stolen then he'd have to share it... unless then never knew he had it. Then he could find the treasure and keep it all for himself. Glancing around nervously, he quickly hid the rolled parchment it under his shirt, smirking darkly.
'Alright, my life is going to be a lot more exciting from now on!'
Nighttime came quickly, the moon shining high in the starry sky, a perfect night to host a celebration. The celebration of another victory and the claiming of a host of stolen items from the enemy ship. While the pirates were up and partying, Buggy had secluded himself on the foredeck, on the roof of the ship's kitchen, his legs crossed in front of him as he admired the treasure map. A vast treasure hidden under the sea. Buggy grinned eagerly, itching to go after the treasure now when a shout caused him to jump.
"Hey Buggy!" Buggy cringed when he recognized the voice and sure enough the red-haired idiot rounded the corner, holding his bottle of sake in one hand, face flushed as red as his hair.
"Aren't you going to celebrate with everyone? We managed to steal some pretty interesting loot this time." Shanks tilted his head in a confused manner, the movement causing him to stumble slightly as he tried to regain his balance. Buggy panicked, thinking he had been discovered and he quickly came up with an excuse as he slid the map quickly into his shirt.
"I-I never stole anything! I don't know anything about it!" Shanks looked at Buggy oddly, blinking his eyes as his inebriated brain tried to comprehend Buggy's words.
"Huh, what are you talking about?"
"Uh…nothing" Buggy sighed in relief, thinking that his clever response had managed to fool the red-haired pirate. Shanks shrugged his shoulder, brushing off the odd exchange as he took a seat next to his crew-mate, staring dazedly at the full moon. They enjoyed the silence for a bit before Buggy decided to strike up a conversation with the teen next to him.
"You said you would leave this ship one day, right? What do you plan to do after you leave?" Buggy asked, slightly curious.
"I want to get my own ship, gather a group of trustworthy crew members, and slowly travel around the world... as pirates of course!" Shanks quickly added the last past, grinning over at the clown. Buggy just laughed a bit and said.
"You're still too naïve"
"What did you say?"
"I do admire your combat skills, if you weren't so innocent, it'd be nice to have you as my first mate" Buggy sighed, shaking his head sadly.
"Me, as your first mate? You're kidding!" Buggy was a little baffled that Shanks had turned down his deal, thinking it was the deal of lifetime. Shanks just took another sip of his sake smiled up at the sky.
"We think so differently, its better if we go on our separate ways... as pirates of course." Buggy laughed again, part of it from Shanks' constant adding of the pirate line at the end of his sentences, and part of it from his crew-mate's naivety.
"Can you even become a pirate?" Buggy glanced at Shanks, his expression skeptical. "You do know though, that if we ever meet again on the sea, I'll have to kill you."
"Ah, pirates do those things too" said Shanks simply, a knowing smile on his face.
"I really don't understand you at all." Buggy scoffed. They settled back into a comfortable silence for a few more minutes before Buggy remembered something that Shanks had said earlier.
"Speaking of which, you said something about loot?"
"Ahhh~ I forgot about that!" Shanks exclaimed, grinning happily. "We found a devil fruit on the enemy ship."
"Devil Fruit?"
"Yeah, there's a rumor that says the fruit is the reincarnation of a sea devil. They say that if you eat it, you'll have the powers of a devil, but you won't be able to swim again." Shanks tried to explain what Raleigh had told him earlier when they had first uncovered the strange fruit. Buggy's eyebrows rose in surprise, that something like that even existed, a fruit that took away your ability to swim, it was just insane.
"Anyone who eats that must be an idiot." Buggy scoffed and turned back to the night sky again. When Shanks had started his explanation Buggy had considered using the fruit's power to make himself even stronger, but after hearing that it took away his ability to swim he quickly changed his mind.
'If I can't swim, then I won't be able to get the treasure at the bottom of the sea' Then Shanks began to talk again and Buggy tuned back in to the redhead's words in time to hear the end of his sentence.
"….can sell the fruit for a hundred million Berri!"
"Oh, I see"
…
…
…
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"
The next morning, Buggy stood before his crew on the kitchen roof, holding a large fruit in front of him. The devil fruit slightly resembled a pineapple with swirly patterns over the surface. The only think that proved that it wasn't a pineapple was the strange red color of the fruit.
"I, Buggy the Pirate, will now eat the Devil Fruit!" Buggy declared, one of the crew laughed enthusiastically, admiring the boy's spirit.
"I really admire you young ones," he chortled. "Never considering the consequences."
Buggy quickly shoved the entire fruit in his mouth, chewing it quickly, as the crew watched on with awe. They were curious to see if what the rumor has said was true, that the fruit would give you powers, but the seconds passed and nothing seemed to be happening. After a minute one of the crew asked.
"Well Buggy, feel anything strange?"
"Uh, no…nothing." Buggy said, examining his body, as if he was trying to find something strange, a slight tingle or anything really, but he felt fine, pretty normal really. The crew sighed in disappointment, the fruit had turned out to be a fake all along, those so called devil fruits were nothing but a myth after all, and the crew slowly dispersed, heading back to their own duties. None of them noticed Buggy's mischievous smile.
That night, Buggy had settled himself in a small wooden boat that he planned on using for escape. It was kind of an unexpected move for him but it was all part of his plan. That morning, Buggy had stolen the real devil fruit and replaced it with an exact replica that looked just like the real one. Then he pretended to eat the devil fruit to fool his crew-mates. Now Buggy had both the treasure map and the devil fruit, and he sat against the edge of the boat, thinking of how he would be the richest pirate in the world now.
"Yes, the plan went smoothly," He muttered happily. "Those guys would never think that the one that I ate this morning was a fake. To be on the safe side, I should leave the ship before they start to suspect anything. After I sell this devil fruit and find the treasure on the map, I'll have enough money to form my own pirate crew." Buggy had formulated his plan down to the last detail and was preparing to set it into motion when out of the blue, Shanks appeared.
"Hey Buggy!" Panicking, Buggy quickly did the first thing he thought of, he shoved the devil fruit into his mouth. It hid the fruit from Shanks but also made him look like a monkey with a long face.
"What are you grumbling about?" Shanks asked, leaning his head on his arms, tilting his head in curiosity.
"Oh, it's you." Buggy muttered in annoyance, the sound muffled by the devil fruit in his mouth. "Don't scare me like that."
Shanks just stared at Buggy oddly, wondering why his face looked so bloated, as if something large was shoved in his mouth. "What kind of an expression is that?"
Shanks rose back to his feet with a sigh. "If you're stealing food from the kitchen again, you'd better stop. You'll get scolded by the cook. He turned to walk away, waving at Buggy over his shoulder absently.
Buggy wiped his forehead in relief, feeling the sweat dripping down his face. 'That was too close' he thought. But before he could relax fully Shanks reappeared, leaning against the wooden lifeboat.
"Oh yeah, I just remembered! The captain…" Buggy was so startled by Shanks' sudden reappearance that he accidentally swallowed the devil fruit whole.
…
…
…
Buggy was frozen for a second, not really believing that he had actually done that, that Shanks had made him swallow the fruit. Now he wouldn't be able to swim, he couldn't get the treasure out of the ocean! He turned around quickly, his eyes darkening with rage, and grabbed the front of Shanks' shirt, shaking the red haired man.
"SHANKS! YOU… YOU! MY... MY... MY... DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU MADE ME DO!?" Shanks has no idea what gotten into his friend, and glanced over his shoulder, noticing a piece of paper slowly floating away from the ship.
"What's that paper over there?" he asked. Buggy quickly let go of Shanks and turned see his treasure map flying away, he screamed and, without thinking, leapt up onto the ship's railing and jumped off of the ship, intending to get his map back.
"Wha-?! Buggy!" Shanks yelled out, confused and a little worried.
As soon as he hit the water though, his body was suddenly paralyzed. He felt exhausted, his limbs heavy, and his body wouldn't seem to respond to his commands.
'What the? I can't move! The rumor about not being able to swim is true! No way! He continued to try and move his hands and legs but no matter how much he struggled, his limbs wouldn't move an inch. All he could do was watch helplessly as he sank deeper into the dark sea.
Up on the surface, Shanks just stood at the railing, staring at the ripples where Buggy had disappeared, waiting for his friend to resurface but as time passed he began to get more and more worried. "Buggy? What are you doing? Aren't you great at swimming?!" The ripples slowly became fainter and fainter until they finally disappeared but Buggy still hadn't returned. Shanks' eyes widened in panic as he realized that Buggy was actually in serious trouble.
"Buggy?!"
Under the water, Buggy's vision was starting to go dark as he lost the ability to hold his breath, and he was starting to think that he might actually die. 'Help... Help me...'
On the boat, Shanks had quickly taken off his hat and removed his shoes before climbing up onto the railing and diving into the dark water after his crew-mate and friend.
"Hold on, Buggy I'll save you"
*End Flashback*
Buggy finished his tale, the memories reminding him, once again, why he hated that carefree man. Shanks had ruined his life and he would never forgive him. In fact, he hadn't spoken to the red-haired pirate since Shanks rescued him from drowning. He would take his hatred of Shanks to the grave.
Luffy was silent for a few seconds, a small smile coming to her face. It was just how she remembered Shanks, carefree and yet still so serious when a friend was in danger. He would forever be a great pirate in her mind.
"So Shanks saved your life!" Luffy said, giggling behind her hand at the expression on Buggy's face. The clown pirate turned to her with a snarl, his teeth bared like an angry lion.
"THAT NOT THE POINT I'M TRYING TO MAKE! Because of him, my plan was delayed ten years!" Buggy calmed himself slightly, a sadistic grin still on his face. "But I have finally realized…if I can't get the treasure beneath the sea, I'll just grab all the treasures on land with my Chop-Chop power!" As if trying to prove his point Buggy split himself in half and began to float upwards, pulling his eight daggers out from under his coat. Luffy just continued to watch him a blank look on her face as she followed the pirate's accent with her eyes. In truth, she was starting to get a little tired of Buggy's whining and had been fighting the urge to just attack him in an attempt to shut him up. All he did was blame everything on Shanks and that kinda pissed her off. Still, she kept her guard up, just in case he came at her first. again.
"So if anyone dares to touch my treasure, no matter who they are, I won't let them live!" He yelled, sliding each of the daggers into position between his fingers and raising them up, preparing to attack. Luffy settled into her own fighting stance, ready to continue the fight whenever he was. She would have fun taking this guy down. Buggy launched his assault, a dark look settling onto his face, charging straight at Luffy, who held her ground, as fearless as ever. She was waiting calmly for the perfect moment to strike but was thrown off balance when Buggy shifted his direction slightly and shot straight past her.
"MY TREASURES, UNHAND THEM!" Buggy yelled at something, or someone, behind her. Luffy quickly swung her head around to see Nami standing at the edge of the plaza, a large sack thrown over one shoulder. The orangette had been trying to sneak past the two fighters, thinking that they were caught up in their talking.
"Oh crap! He saw me!" She tried to increase her speed, hoping she could beat Buggy to the buildings and then lose him in the alleys. However, the heavy sack slowed her down considerably and Buggy was slowly but surely gaining on her.
"No matter where you run, I'll find you, Nami!" Buggy shouted, crossing his arms across his chest as he neared her, forming an X and readying his attack. "I'll cut you up really well!" He was now mere feet from her and Nami knew she wouldn't be able to dodge his attack, even if she dropped the sack. Would this be how her life ended?
'No, no! I can't die right now. I-I made a promise! I refuse to die!' She screamed the words silently but no matter how many times she said it to herself, Buggy continued to gain on her, eyes crazed and laughing manically. Believing it all to be over, the orangette dropped down to one knee and squeezed her eyes closed, waiting for the feeling of Buggy's daggers piercing through her flesh.
But no pain ever came. 'What happened?' She thought, confused and still very scared, but a tiny little sliver of hope had wormed its way into her heart. She cracked one eye open cautiously to she what had happened and was greeted with Buggy's frozen face. Nami screamed in surprise and threw herself backwards, landing hard on her ass. Opening her eyes fully, she tried to piece together what had happened. Buggy's upper body was frozen, mid attack, a look of extreme pain written all over his face and as the seconds passed and he still didn't move Nami became even more confused. Maybe Luffy had done something? Tilting herself to the side to see past the frozen clown she scanned the plaza for a flash of bright red. When she finally saw Luffy her eyes widened in disbelief, her jaw dropping in shock. The raven haired girl had turned towards Buggy's lower half, which he had left unprotected, and kicked him square in the crotch. The Luffy smirked, fighting the urge to laugh, as both of Buggy's halves toppled over onto the ground, the man's eyes tearing up from the pain coursing through him.
"M-m-my…balls…my b-b-balls!" Buggy choked out, barely able to talk as his lower half twitched on the ground in front of Luffy, his whole body shuddering in pain. Luffy turned away from Buggy's legs and glanced over to where his upper half lay before grinning one of her crazy grins.
"Your opponent is me!" She yelled, doubling over with a laugh after getting a good look at the expression on Buggy's face. She had accidentally used that attack on one of her brothers during a sparring match and, after he recovered, both had okayed her to use it on any male opponent she faced... except for them.
Nami watched Buggy twitching in pain, actually feeling a little sorry for the Clown Captain. She herself, had taken some drastic measures while facing pirates before, but this…this was just cruel. And the raven haired girl was giggling about it.
"Hey, Nami." Nami turned her gaze away from the pirate on the ground in front of her to stare at Luffy.
"You should probably let go of the treasure and run." She said, pointing at the bag of treasure still resting on Nami's shoulder, starting to sober slightly. Her fight still wasn't over, just... delayed. "He'll come after you again if you don't give it back." The orangette was already shaking her head before Luffy had even finished speaking.
"No! leave this treasure? Definitely not! This treasure is worth ten million Berri! Why should I throw away my treasure?"
"Your…treasure?!" Buggy forced his head up, still shaking slightly, and glared at the wretched girl. She thought his treasure was now hers?!
"Of course it is," she exclaimed, as if it should be obvious, sweeping her free arm in front of her.
"I'm thief who steals from pirates. Now that I've stolen yours, it belongs to me." With that said, her eyes narrowed, determination shining in her gaze and she placed her free hand on her hip. Luffy watched the orangette, impressed with the other girl's resolve, and smacked her fist lightly on the palm of her other hand, as if she was just now getting it.
"Ahh~ that makes sense." She nodded, grinning. Her navigator was smart!
"Bullshit! Those are my treasures!" Buggy snarled, furious, the pain from Luffy's attack fading as anger took it's place. "You think it's yours just because you stole it? How stupid are you?!" Nami glanced down at Buggy with a condescending look, unimpressed with his screaming.
"A thief lecturing another thief is…ridiculous." Then she smiled smugly, turning away from the clown pirate, with a confidence she knew she wouldn't have had if Buggy wasn't incapacitated.
"What did you say?!" Buggy was spitting mad, his blood boiling so hot that his face was as red as his nose.
"I will never bring myself down to the same level as you pirates!" Then she stuck her tongue out. Buggy had finally reached his limit, feeling like he was about to erupt like a volcano.
"You better prepare yourself, Nami! Chop-Chop Festival!" Buggy cried separating all of his body parts into tiny chunks. The parts of his lower body rushed past Luffy, forcing her to duck, one arm coming up to protect her head. The move startled both Nami and Luffy, both unaware that Buggy could split his body into tiny pieces like that, it would make things more difficult for Luffy. Buggy turned his head to grin sadistically at the raven-haired girl.
"HAHAHA! If you think you can help your friend little girl, you'd better do it now! "
"Damn him!" Luffy hissed, clenching her fists, that was cheating! She sprinted towards Buggy, hoping that Nami could hold the clown pirate off until she got there. Buggy's pieces swirled around the orangette, giving her nowhere to run.
"Return my treasures!"
"NO!"
Nami shoved past two floating pieces, moving the bag of treasure so she was holding it to her chest before sprinting away from the laughing clown.
"Get back here, you little bitch!" Buggy snarled, chasing after her, knowing it would be easy to catch her and the little raven-haired nuisance was still too far away to stop him.
"I'm not some weak little girl so don't UNDERESTIMATE ME!" Nami screamed, stopping mid run and swinging her body around, using the momentum to add speed to the sack as she slammed it into Buggy's head. Luffy cheered as she ran, about to compliment Nami on her quick thinking, but froze as she realized that the attack hadn't hit Buggy's head at all. Buggy had dropped most of his knives, now only holding one in each hand, and those floating hands had come between Buggy's head and the sack, stopping her attack. He smirked victoriously.
"Thank you so much for returning my treasure, Nami." His voice oozed sarcasm but before he could yank the bag out of her hands, Nami tried to tug it back. Buggy quickly responded in kind and a small match of tug of war broke out between them.
"Let go!"
"No, you let go!"
"This treasure is mine!"
"No, it's mine I stole it first!" Buggy was fed up with this and grinned evilly as he thought of a good idea. His hands let go of the sack, surprising Nami and throwing her back and off balance before moving to attack the pirate thief with the two daggers. Nami's eyes widened in surprise, unable to think of a way to block, her mind completely blank. A shout to her left surprised both combatants and they turned to stare at Luffy, who was standing there calmly, glaring at Buggy.
"Didn't I tell you that I'm your opponent?!" She yelled lifting her right leg up in a move reminiscent of the one she had used on the marines in Shells Town. "Gum-Gum whip!" She shouted, bringing the leg back and sending it stretching forward, her foot slamming into Buggy's face and sending his head flying into the sack, knocking the clown pirate out. The sack tore as the force of Luffy's kick ripped it out of Nami's hands, sending treasure everywhere. Luffy grinned and relaxed out of her fighting stance as Buggy's remaining limbs began to fall to the ground, lifeless, their owner now unconscious on top of a pile of gold and jewels.
"You can take that kick as a gift from the mayor!"
Nami stared at the clown captain in shock for a few seconds before turning to Luffy with a glare. "HOW LONG WERE YOU STANDING THERE?!" She screamed, storming up to the grinning girl.
"Since the beginning of the tug of war. I kinda wanted to join in..." She pouted, Luffy had always loved games, and their match had looked like fun.
"WHY DIDN"T YOU HELP ME?!" Nami couldn't understand what was going through the scatterbrained girl's head.
"I did help you," Luffy stated, confused. She had stopped Buggy so why was Nami mad at her?
Nami sighed in exasperation, grudgingly agreeing that Luffy had helped her when it counted.
"Thanks," the orangette finally said, smiling softly. "You saved my life."
"No problem," Luffy brushed aside her thanks, Nami was her friend. Trying to change the topic, Luffy glanced around the square before remembering. "Oh yeah, did you get the map?"
"Yup, I have it," Nami sighed, placing her hands on her knees and taking a few deep breaths, thankful the fight was finally over.
"It's not over yet, you straw-hat bitch!" Nami and Luffy both turned, seeing Buggy's head rise from the pile of gold, emitting a very dark and menacing aura.
"What! You're still alive?!" Luffy grumbled, annoyed but grudgingly impressed at Buggy's tenacity. This guy didn't know when to quit.
"I'm far tougher than you think, little girl! No matter how much pain you inflict on me, nothing will keep me down. I will make you pay for challenging me!" Buggy exclaimed, his eyes crazed, promising pain and suffering to the girl who had ruined his plans. His expression said, without words, that he would take his time in killing the raven-haired girl, he would make her suffer.
Nami cringed as she watched the changing emotions cross Buggy's face, she needed to do something to stop this madness before it got out of hand. While she was somewhat confident that Luffy could beat him the girl could get seriously injured fighting the other pirate. She froze as she thought of a good idea and glanced at Luffy. The other girl slid her gaze to the side and nodded at Nami, giving the older girl permission before turning her gaze back to the fuming Buggy. Nami smiled, somewhat strained before turning and quickly darting away from the two combatants to commence her part of the plan. She was glad that Buggy was too focused on Luffy, too angry to notice her sudden disappearence.
"Now get ready to DIE~" Luffy frowned as she positioned herself, ready for another round and trusting Nami's plan. She didn't know what the other girl was planning but she would trust Nami.
"Reassemble! Chop-Chop parts!" Each and every one of Buggy's parts that lay scattered around the plaza rose into the air and began flying towards Buggy, attempting to reattach and reform his normal body. When all of the parts had returned Buggy glanced down at himself, eyes widening in shock. More than half of his parts were missing, leaving him with only his head, hands, and feet.
Luffy blinked a couple of times as she tried to take in the sight before her. Buggy was almost... cute looking. "Aaawwwwwww..." she muttered, eyes softening at the downright adorable sight. She couldn't help it, the clown pirate was absolutely tiny, practically chibi looking.
Buggy, however, was not amused. He didn't understand what had just happened. He had called all of his body parts and while he could still feel the missing pieces, they were not heading towards him like the others had. Where were they? A confident laugh sounded to his left and both he and Luffy turned to stare at the orange haired thief, Nami. What he saw made his jaw drop in shock. Nami had somehow managed to round up all of his missing parts before he could call them and had tied them together. Her foot now rested on top of the pile of parts, preventing them from making their way back to Buggy.
"Are you looking for these?"
"MY PARTS!" Luffy threw her head back, laughing loudly, what Nami had done, that girl really was one of a kind. Then she turned back to Buggy, smirking, still chuckling slightly.
"Nami, no wonder you are a thief, you're damn good at it." Luffy, threw her arms behind her, stretching them back as far as she could. "Hey Buggy, get ready~" She sing-songed, charging towards the chibi Buggy.
"Gum-Gum Bazooka!" She shot her hands forward and hit the screaming and cowering clown dead on with her open palms sending him flying into sky, watching his flight until he was out of sight. Once again, Nami was amazed at the girl's strength and odd devil fruit powers that she possessed. It really made her think, how strong was Luffy really? Then Luffy's arms snapped back into their normal position and she pumped both fists in the air, victoriously.
"I win!" She giggled, cheering happily. She continued to celebrate for another half minute before her eyes turned back to her straw-hat, still resting on the ground a few feet away. Her smile slowly fell as she took in the state of her precious hat. Sadly, Luffy made her way over to it and picked it up off of the ground, her eyes filling with tears. She had promised Shanks she would bring this hat back, what would he say now? It was completely ruined. Nami watched the younger girl, a pain in her heart as she watched her, feeling bad for the raven-haired girl. It was sad to see Luffy like this.
"I'm sorry about your straw hat."
"It's okay, I can still wear it. I'm not angry anymore since Buggy is beaten." Luffy placed the hat back on her head and turned to smile widely at Nami but the orangette could tell she was still very hurt inside.
"Don't worry," Nami mumbled quietly. "I'll help you patch it up later." The words were barely loud enough for Luffy to hear the girl perked up anyway.
"Eh? What?"
"Nothing at all." Nami turned her head away from the other girl, knowing Luffy had heard her, but wouldn't push the issue. Grabbing two empty sacks she had brought with her, just in case, Nami made her way over to the scattered treasure and began to divide it up. Within only a few minutes, she had divided the treasure equally into the two bags, and was now trying to lift them..
"Could you help me carry this Luffy? Cause the bag split I had to split it in two and it's heavy." The orangette held one of the bags out towards Luffy and the girl giggled before shaking her head in disbelief.
"You really don't give up, do you?"
"Hey, Buggy is really selective about his treasure, so everything here is high quality. Together, its all probably worth about ten million berri," Nami hugged the bags lovingly and Luffy smiled at her friend, silently congratulation the older girl. She was happy for her friend. Even though Luffy didn't know why Nami needed the money she knew it was important to the older girl and was proud of her success. However, she blinked in confusion when Nami suddenly held out her hand, the chart of the Grand Line in her palm.
"What are you doing?"
"You wanted it, right? So take it. If you want travel through the Grand Line, you'll need it." Luffy's face lit up with joy.
"You're really sure? I mean, you worked so hard to get it."
"It's okay," Nami smiled, enjoying Luffy's happiness. "After all, you saved my life."
"Thank you, Nami!" Luffy squealed, leaping forward and pulling Nami into a huge hug, spinning the girl around with her. Nami hadn't quite expected the girl to react like that but smiled nevertheless. She couldn't help but smile around Luffy, the girl was happiness personified. Then Luffy broke the hug and held onto Nami's shoulders, staring at her face.
"Hey, does that mean you're joining our crew?!" Nami's smile disappeared and was replaced with a frown.
"How many times do I have to tell you?! I'm not going to be a pirate!" She put her hands on her hips in exasperation, before shaking her head softly. "…but being with you guys, I'll probably earn lots of money so I guess I'll join you." Nami's grin returned and Luffy laughed cheerily, giving Nami another hug.
Once the hugging was done and Luffy had calmed down, both girl's walked back over to where Luffy had left the sleeping Zoro. Nami stayed just a few feet away, knowing that the swordsman wasn't too fond of her, while Luffy tried to wake him up.
"Zoro, time to wake up." She sang, shaking his shoulder. "Rise and shine." Her hands moved to run through his hair and after a dew seconds, the swordsman groaned, slowly shaking himself awake before moving to sit up. He crossed his legs and scratched at his head, eyes zeroing in on Luffy, assessing the girl for injuries. Since he had been asleep during her fight he had to make sure she hadn't been hurt.
"It's the fight over already?" He asked, yawning like a tired dog, reassured that Luffy hadn't been hurt based on her happy and carefree positioning. The raven-haired girl smiled down at her first mate, happy to see that he appeared to be looking a bit better. She had been worried about the amount of blood he had lost.
"Yep, and we got the map and a Navigator, isn't it great?!" said Luffy smiling happily, unable to resist the urge to hum under her breath. Zoro glanced away from his singing captain and glared over at Nami, who remained stiff, refusing to look away from him. An unspoken conversation passed between them, Zoro's promising pain and swift retribution if the orangette did anything to harm his captain, while the older girl silently tried to convey a sense of trustworthiness. Finally deciding that he was satisfied enough to let the woman travel with them, he turned to look back at Luffy, swaying a little, feeling lightheaded.
"Ugh, crap, I don't feel so good," He mumbled, fighting the urge to faint. He would not fall asleep again and leave Luffy unprotected.
"Of course you don't!," Nami sighed in exasperation. "If you try to move you'll only get worse! You two are not humans at all!" She couldn't believe how strong the pirate hunter swordsman was, not to mention the tiny raven-haired girl kneeling in front of him.
"Why was I included?" Luffy pouted, turning her head back towards Nami.
"YOU are the strangest of them all!" the orangette shouted, "Anyway, we should go check on the Mayor." All three of them turned to look at the unconscious mayor, still sleeping against the side of the brick building Luffy had slammed him into.
"Oh right, we should wake him up too." Luffy had completely forgotten about him, and she rubbed the back of her neck embarrassed. But before she could take a step towards the old man, a shout stopped her from moving. She turned around to see a large group of people that had appeared out of nowhere, gathered on the main street, clutching pitchforks and shovels. Luffy assumed that they were the townsfolk.
"You're not from around here, who are you?" One of them asked, stepping forward. Nami slowly relaxed, having tensed up when she heard the shout, at the sight of what she obviously assumed were the villagers. They were obviously not Buggy's crew, and she opened her mouth to reply when another member of the crowd yelled in surprise.
"Mayor Boodle!" The townsfolk all turned as one and stared in horror, in shock at the sight of their beloved mayor unconscious on the ground, a dark purple bruise forming on his face. A few of them rushed over to the old man, attempting to care for his injuries and trying to wake him up at the same time.
"Who did this to you, Mayor?" One yelled. "Did those Buggy Pirates do this?"
"Sorry, I had to knock him out," Luffy said, waving her hand dismissively. She had done it to protect the old man and she knew he would be fine after he woke up. Maybe a bit of a headache but... at least he would be alive. Nami gawked at the girl as the citizens turned to glare sharply at her.
"WHAT!?"
"What the hell are you doing!" Nami whispered harshly. "You're not supposed to tell them that!" Luffy just blinked in confusion, not understanding what the big deal was. The mayor was alive because she had knocked him out, it had been a good thing.
"But you saw it."
"Of course I did, but there's a good reason…" Nami froze when she realized what she had said but it was already too late. The townsfolk had heard her and were now reading their weapons, pointing towards the three teens, ready to attack.
"Why did you attack our mayor?!" One shouted stepping forward, the leader of the group of villagers.
"No excuses!" Another said, all of the villagers moving to crowd closer around Luffy. Zoro tensed a little bit at that, he didn't like the vibe that was building around them, but forced himself to relax when he turned to look at Luffy. His captain was still smiling brightly, rocking back and forth on her heels, and watching the villagers happily.
"So you guys are pirates, then?" The temperature dropped another few degrees as the villagers glares darkened and Nami shook her head slightly, fear in her eyes as she realized the dilemma they were in.
'Such a scary death vibe,' she thought, leaning back in an almost reflexive attempt to put more space between her and the villagers. 'This is seriously bad, if we're not careful and use the words thief or pirate we'll…' before she could even finish her thought, Luffy opened her mouth and said with a grin.
"We're Pirates."
…
…
…
'We're dead' Was the last thought that went through Nami's head before her mind just shut down, too shocked by the raven-haired girl's stupidity.
"WE THOUGHT SO!" The people snarled, veins appearing on their faces, as they readied their weapons.
Still sitting on the ground near Luffy, Zoro began to laugh loudly, as if the whole thing was a joke to him. He was clutching lightly at his stomach with one hand, the other over his eyes, and had nearly fallen over, he was laughing so hard. Luffy stared down at him, her own grin widening, loving the sound of Zoro's laugh and the carefree look on his face.
"YOU IDIOT! DO YOU HAVE A SCREW LOOSE IN YOUR BRAIN OR SOMETHING?!" Nami yelled, looking like an angry shark, even more upset that the two pirates didn't seem to be taking this seriously.
"But it's the truth."
"Pirates, how dare you harm our mayor and destroy our town!" one of them roared.
"We will make you pay for what you've done! We won't forgive you, even if you're just kids." Luffy ignored their yelling as she moved to stand in front of Zoro, kneeling down so she could talk face to face with him.
"What now, Lu? They won't listen to us anymore." Zoro muttered, keeping one eye on the fuming villagers. He kinda expected her to do something like this but it meant they were probably going to have to run and he wasn't sure if he could do that. As if she was thinking the same thing, Luffy frowned and glanced down at his wound before speaking.
"Zoro? You trust me?" She asked quietly.
"With my life, captain." Zoro grinned, mirroring the bright, happy smile that came to Luffy's face at his words. She nodded mostly to herself before taking a few deep breaths.
"We're gonna run!" Even as she said it, Luffy was already turning and lifting Zoro onto her back in a sort of piggyback ride. His legs weren't wrapped around her waist and kinda dragged on the floor but it was the best idea she had been able to come up with. She took off down the street, heading away from the town square, Nami stumbling slightly before falling into place behind her, as the towns-folk chased them.
"Why do you always speak without using your brain?!" Nami whined, clutching the two large bags of treasure to her chest. She was already starting to regret joining Luffy's pirate crew.
"This is a good town," Luffy said, sighing happily. Nami glanced at her in confusion.
"For the sake of their mayor, everyone's doing their best to fight! Even if we had told them the why we did what we did, they wouldn't have listened to us because they're too angry." Nami glanced back at the villagers still chasing them, her eyes softening slightly as she realized that Luffy was right. She was shocked by Luffy's understanding and good sense, maybe the she-pirate was smarter than she appeared.
"Quickly let's turn here," Nami was snapped out of her thoughts when she saw Luffy turn into an alley just as she herself passed it. The orangette quickly slid to a stop and turned back into the alley before she lost the other girl.
"Wa-wa-wait, don't give directions at the last second!"
As they ran down the long passage, both girls spotted Chouchou sitting on the ground near the end of the alley. The two girls jumped over him as they passed, Luffy making sure that Zoro's feet wouldn't hit the white dog, before continuing on their way. The townsfolk that had followed them attempted to run past Chouchou as well the dog began to snarl and bark, forcing them back.
"Chouchou? Get out of the way, they're bad pirates! Chouchou!" The townspeople were shocked and confused at the little dog that was, for some reason, protecting the pirates.
Both Nami and Luffy stopped to watch at the exit, a little stunned that Chouchou was blocking his own people to help them escape. Luffy smiled, knowing Chouchou's reason and she smiled.
"Thanks Doggy~" She shouted, turning to run after Nami who had taken off, throwing a wave over her shoulder. Chouchou smirked; now they were even.
At the port, Luffy and Nami had finally managed to lose their angry pursuers and were taking a few deep breaths, both grinning happily. They made their way over to their small boats, which coincidentally happened to be moored right next to each other.
"Thank goodness, we somehow escaped thanks to Chouchou." Nami sighed, setting down her treasure to wipe at her sweaty brow. "Why do we have to be in this situation?" Luffy just shrugged and gave Nami an 'I don't know' look before adjusting Zoro on her back. The green-haired swordsman had fallen asleep again while they were running, which was of great amusement to Luffy. Apparently, he could sleep through angry villagers with pitchforks but not her asking him to play a game.
"It wasn't that bad; we got what we wanted and now it's time for us to head off."
"I guess you're right..."
"Hey, this is your boat?" Luffy interrupted, eying the ship Nami had stolen from the Buggy pirates.
"Oh that? Eh, it's ok." The orangette brushed off the girl's enthusiasm, not overly impressed with the small dingy. "I stole that boat from bunch of stupid pirates."
"How dare you say that!" Nami jumped in surprise as the three pirates she had managed to trick appeared on the other side of the boat.
"We've been waiting for you, thief." They smirked, cracking their knuckles in anticipation.
"Who knew we would meet again on this beach?" One asked, the question rhetorical, as he stepped around the front of the boat to have better access to the two girls. Nami took an involuntary step back, laughing nervously as she tried to come up with a plan. Luffy watched the three pirates, knowing that they were not good news, before turning to ask Nami.
"Hey, do you know them, Nami?"
"Yeah…well, a little," Nami answered, trying to sound nonchalant, as one of them stepped forward, moving to stand in front of Luffy.
"Not just a little. We go back a long ways." He gave Luffy a quick once over that the girl didn't catch, before looking over at Nami. "So you have friends? We'll have to teach all of you a lesson then. About how its bad to steal from other people." The other pirates stepped a little closer as well, the one in front of Luffy finally noticing that there was a guy sleeping on the girl's back.
"Hey you, wake up! Don't pretend to sleep." He said, patting the green head hard in an attempt to get the guy to look up. "It's time for your punishment!" Zoro raised his head, the man's hand still on top of it , and glared darkly at the three pirates. He had just woken up and he was not in the best mood. He wondered who was stupid enough, besides Luffy, to disturb him when he slept. The three pirates quickly recognized Zoro from when he had unintentionally saved them and then beaten them with just his fists. Eyes widening in horror and knowing that they didn't want to tangle with the green-haired swordsman again, the three quickly turned tail and ran, leaving the girls staring after them, baffled.
Back with the townsfolk, the mayor had finally started to wake up and when he opened his eyes, he was met with the familiar faces of his people.
"Mayor, you're awake!" One man cheered, alerting the others and causing them to crowd around the disoriented old man.
"Thank goodness that you're ok," another sighed in relief.
"What in the world happened?" Boodle ignored the questions, eyes scanning his friends and neighbors, and taking in his surroundings, stunned to see the great big mess that the square had become.
"What happened?" He muttered, more to himself than to the villagers.
"It's been like this since we arrived," the leader of the group answered, following the mayor's gaze. "The rest of the pirates have all disappeared without a trace." As Boodle continued to stare at the rubble he suddenly remembered why he was there in the first place. Buggy had been here and then the kids... wait, the kids!
"The kids?! Where are those brats?" he asked, making eye contact with every villager, hoping to see the spark of recognition that would indicate they had seen them. The townsfolk only gave him puzzled looks and he sighed, a little worried.
"Kids? Wait, are you talking about those three?" one of them finally said, tilting his head thoughtfully.
"Then they're still alive?! Those damn kids. That little girl actually had the heart to do such an awful thing to an old man like me," he muttered, throat choking up with relief as he remembered that smiling black-haired girl who had knocked him unconscious to protect him.
"Don't worry mayor, we chased those three bastards away." The leader said, clenching his fists. As if a dam had been opened, more of the villagers began to speak, cursing the three teens, wanting to go after them again and drag them back to the town square. For what they had done to their town, those kids deserved to be punished.
Boodle remained silent, growing angrier and angrier as he listened to the comments of his people. They were just spouting nonsense about the three kids who had risked their necks to protect the town and him. After another minute he finally couldn't take it any longer.
"SHUT UP!" Boodle shouted, surprising the townsfolk and causing them all to fall silent, shock on their faces. He glared at them, causing many of them to cringe. They had never seen Mayor Boodle this angry before. What had gotten into him?
"Don't you dare insult those three. I am the only one who is allowed to scold them and I won't forgive anyone who speaks ill of them!" Nobody understood what the mayor was talking about, those kids had said they were pirates and had admitted to injuring the mayor as well.
"I don't understand, why are you defending those pirates?" Many of them asked. Boodle didn't answer, just rose to his feet slowly, still a little dizzy, before starting to unhook his armored chest plate.
"They think they can just leave like that?! Those brats." He turned to look at one of the villagers. "Tell me, where are they?" He asked, tossing his armor to the side before starting to work on the gauntlets.
"Um I think they headed to the port." Once Boodle removed his gauntlets, he started to walk, ignoring his people's protests and unhooking the shin guards as he moved.
"You better not have left yet! I still have a lot of things to say to you brats!"
At the port, two boats had slowly begun to sail away from the port, sails just starting to catch the wind that would take them off to a new adventure.
"Your boat has Buggy's flag on it, don't you want to take it down?" Zoro asked, lounging at the head of the small rowboat he and Luffy used, one arm resting against the top of the side.
"I thought about it, but it'll keep away any unwanted attention." Nami replied, shrugging. "I'll remove it later." Zoro nodded in understanding and moved to doze off again when a shout caused him to open his eyes again. All three turned to look back at the shore, seeing Boodle standing at the edge of the pier, hands clenched angrily.
"It's the mayor," Luffy exclaimed, relieved that he was awake. She had been a little worried about the old man.
"You brats!" Boodle ducked his head, panting as he tried to catch his breath. After a minute he raised his head and screamed. "THANK YOU! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I PROMISE I'LL REPAY YOU SOMEDAY!" Happy tears were running down his cheeks and the three smiled as Luffy turned to wave goodbye.
"Don't worry about it old man! Take care of yourself!" She yelled, laughing happily. Boodle just smiled at the retreating pirates, the three brats who were now heroes for saving his town.
"You brats," he whispered softly. "Thank you Luffy, Zoro, and Nami." Wiping at his eyes as the two ships finally disappeared from view, Boodle turned to head back to the town square where the townsfolk waited but froze when he took notice of a large sack that had been left on the deck. Approaching it, he carefully opened the bag and gasped, seeing the pile of treasure resting within and feeling the tears coming back. 'you brats.'
"YOU DID WHAT?"
Luffy had quickly explained to Nami that she had left one of the bags of treasure behind when the orange haired girl had started asking for it. She wanted the townsfolk to be able to rebuild their town the way it used to be.
"You mean you gave them five million Berri?!"
"Yes, that way they can rebuild their home, right?"
"But that was MY treasure!" Nami screeched. "Do you know how hard it was to steal that?!"
"Ah that's true," Luffy conceded, tipping her hat back slightly. "But you joined my crew, which mean that the treasure YOU stole now belongs to ALL of us and since I'm the Captain I can do whatever I want with OUR treasure!" after Luffy finished her explanation she smiled softly, and Nami realized that she had no comebacks to the shockingly wise answer. Zoro just watched the two from the end of the small dingy, bemused.
"You know, she has point there, Nami. I guess you better live with it," Zoro agreed, shrugging slightly before putting his hands behind his head, laying back on the boat, ready to take his long deserved nap.
"THAT'S NOT THE POINT! THOSE ARE MY TREASURES!"
"Take it easy, Nami," Luffy soothed, trying to calm her new crew-mate/friend down, but it wasn't working.
"DON'T YOU KNOW HOW HARD I WORKED TO STEAL THOSE PRICELESS TREASURES FROM BUGGY'S PIRATES!"
"WHAT ARE YOU YELLING AT ME FOR?! I DID IT BECAUSE I WANTED TO! BESIDES, THEY NEEDED THE TREASURE MORE THAN YOU DO!" Now Luffy was yelling too, fed up with Nami shouting at her. She had done what any person should have done. Some of the damage to the town had been caused by her and she wanted to pay the old man back for it.
"I NEEDED THOSE TREASURES EVEN MORE BECAUSE THEY WERE MINE! I HOPE YOU'RE READY TO REPAY ME TWICE THE AMOUNT OF TREASURE YOU GAVE THEM!"
"EH~ ARE YOU CRAZY?! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO PAY YOU BACK TEN MILLION BERRI?!"
"I DON'T CARE BUT YOU BETTER PAY UP!" Luffy and Nami continued to bicker, leaning over the sides of their respective boats in their attempt to get right up in the other person's face. Zoro just watched the exchange, chuckling slightly. It was times like this that reminded Zoro of how normal Luffy could be, compared to her normal hyperactive self, and even though they were screaming, which prevented him from getting any sleep, he was content to just watch Luffy argue. As if knowing that her first mate was watching her, Luffy turned her head to Zoro and smiled brightly at him. Her eyes seemed to say, 'we got another crew-mate! Isn't this great?' and he nodded back to her, before gesturing back to Nami, who was still shouting at the distracted girl.
"IF YOU DON'T PAY UP NOW, I'LL INCREASE YOUR DEBT WITH A THREE HUNDRED PRECENT LATE FEE!"
"EHH! NO WAY!" Luffy shouted, head whipping back to stare at Nami in shock. "THAT'S WAY TOO MUCH, NAMI, YOU… YOU GREEDY WITCH!"
"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME YOU…BRAINLESS SCAMP!"
'Well, for better or worse, it looks like we added a navigator,' Zoro thought, settling back and closing his eyes, content to just rest his eyes for now.
Meanwhile, on an island far away from the small ramshackle crew, a man stood on the edge of a cliff watching the waves dance against the rocks. His expression was dazed, his mind far away, not knowing that very soon, his everyday life would change forever.
Another chapter down! Leaving the Buggy arc behind we shall start moving on to Usopp and syrup village! Next chapter be prepared for a cavity inducing ZoLu moment before they hit town and a continuation of Zoro's protectiveness heading into Syrup Village. He's only going to get worse until he finally figures out how to rein it in.
I may not be able to continue posting a chapter every day but I will NOT abandon this story. So if it takes me 2 days or so to post a chapter know that I have not forgotten, I am just trying to make it as perfect as I can. Hope you enjoyed and I'll see you next chapter!
Til Tomorrow!