My deepest apologies for the lateness of this chapter. I was at work on Thursday when I suddenly froze and thought, 'Oh man, it's Thursday and I didn't post up the next chapter last night. I haven't even edited it!' So I rushed home and started working.
I will say that I was re-watching Arlong's arc while editing and I saw so many cute ZoLu scenes that I couldn't help but start writing. I'm going to love getting to that arc.
Thank you for all the fantastic reviews! You guys make my day every time I read a review!
Thank you Shirani-Chan, AmaiOni, VampireFreak4Eternity, Vampchick2010, Shizuka Taiyou, and Autumnangin.
Autumnangin: I understand how you feel and if any of the authors I have borrowed from ask me to take down the story I will. My whole intention in this was to combine my favorite parts of every story I had ever read and then add my own twists to it. Soon, I will no longer be borrowing scenes. As most Fem!Luffy stories have been abandoned around the Arlong arc from there on I shall continue on my own.
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. When we get to the Baratie arc and the fight of Luffy vs Kreig it will no longer have bits of other fanfictions and be completely my writing.
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) Please read the original fanfictions as well. They are brilliantly done and I bow to the authors that wrote them!
Beta reader for Pen-Woman is TheBlackSeaReaper.
One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda
Battle the Black Cat Pirates! Battle on the Slope
With these hands I will defend you. With these arms I will hold you. With this heart I will love you. When the fear comes, I will shield you. When the pain comes, I will heal you. When the sadness comes, I will protect you.
I can see the sky-high walls you build; they are as clear as day even unbreakable, almost. For I shall not just stand at the base of these walls and watch as you seal yourself behind them.
No, I will not merely knock, try again, give up, and turn, never to see the real you again. I will break down those walls. Smash through them, and embrace your soul.
I shall not judge, mock, or exploit your soul; rather, I will provide comfort, and security - safe haven. A safe haven where you can be your true self without fear of ridicule. A safe haven for you and me….by John McClay.
Usopp and the others had managed to procure 3 barrels of an oil like substance that Usopp had personally created. The plan was to spill it on the slope, preventing the pirates from making it up the hill easily and giving them a chance to pick them off. They lined the three barrels up equally across the hill, making it so that they would, once spilled, cover every available surface. Zoro easily kicked over one barrel, watching with a bored expression as it slid down the hill, bathing one side of the walkway with oil. Usopp was on the other side, trying in vain to push his own barrel over, while Luffy stood in the middle with the third barrel, just staring at the dark gold liquid. She turned her head to watch as Zoro shoved past Usopp and kicked the second barrel over, leaving just Luffy's. Zoro turned to face her and she just grinned before sticking her hand into the barrel and splashing the oil at the swordsman. Zoro let out a shout of surprise and leaned back, trying futilely to avoid the sticky substance. Luffy just giggled at Zoro's annoyed expression before placing her foot against the side of her own barrel and kicking it down the slope. She clapped her hands together, watching the liquid splash between them, before letting out a sudden squeak of surprise when a wet hand landed on her head. A loud chuckle sounded from behind her and she turned to glare at a grinning Zoro.
"Turnabouts fair play Captain," He said, ruffling her now sticky hair.
Both Usopp and Nami rolled their eyes at the two before Usopp turned away to admire his handy work, a proud smile on his face.
"Good, it's perfect! Now they can't get up this slope; the oil covered all over should do the job. After they slip on the oil, we jump in and wipe them all out." He flashed Luffy a thumbs up while the others whistled, slightly impressed with the long nosed teen's plan. Luffy stuck her foot into the oil, testing the slickness of the slope, grinning brightly.
"I gotta hand to you Usopp; you sure know how to play dirty."
"Well, of course," then he crossed his arms and held his nose up high up, striking one of his hero poses.
"Shooting pinball and playing tricks is my main strength and I'm confident that it will work." Luffy smiled softly, if only Yasopp was here. The sniper would be so proud of Usopp, he was turning into such a great pirate. A gust of wind blew through the valley as the sun started to appear over the horizon.
"It's almost dawn, they'll be coming soon." Zoro muttered, settling himself onto the ground and leaning against one of the cliff walls.
Luffy just giggled, bouncing on the balls of her feet, her wide smile showing her excitement as she stared out at the ocean.
"I hope they hurry."
The sun rose slowly to welcome another new day…or perhaps to mark an end as this very day would determine the outcome of Syrup village's fate. Would it be saved or doomed forever by the bloodthirsty pirates known and feared throughout the East Blue, the Black Cat Pirates.
As the sun rose and the wind howled and the people continued to sleep, not aware of the danger that approached them, a giant Galleon with a smiling black cat figurehead and Jolly Roger with the shape of cat skull and bones crossed on the back appeared along the shore.
The Black Cats pirates had arrived, each pirates eyes filled with bloodlust, all armed and ready. In the middle of the group of pirates, Jango, who was now Captain Jango, watched the sun rise, arms crossed over his chest. Since his captain had been busy playing his part as a butler, he had placed Jango in charge of the Black Cat crew til the plan was ready to be set into motion. Now that the time was here, they could finally take what they had been patiently waiting 3 long years for.
The great Galleon reached land and anchored, the crew gathering on deck, ready for their fun to begin. Jango began to shout his commands to his crew.
"My comrades, listen! This is the moment we've been waiting for, let's make our Captain Kuro proud!"
"Aye aye Captain Jango!" They called simultaneously, and then one of the pirates near the railing of the ship started to shout.
"Captain, there are two undefined ships over there."
"What?" they all gathered around and looked at the two small boats.
"Should we investigate, Captain?"
"Leave it alone. By the looks of them, they don't look like they have any treasure and we have a plan to focus on."
"Understood."
"Now then, arm yourselves and prepare to attack!" said Jango.
"AYE AYE~"
"When will they come already~" Luffy whined, leaning her head against Zoro's shoulder, pouting. It had been a long time since sunrise and there was still no sign of the pirates coming.
"And it's such nice day too," she exclaimed sweeping her arms out to gesture at the calm beach. "What do you think happened?"
"Maybe they overslept," Zoro replied, shrugging the shoulder not being used as Luffy's personal headrest.
"No way! They'll defiantly come, they're just a little late." Usopp nodded to himself, confident that Kuro's pirates would come. As they waited, Nami heard something from the distance and she put her hands behind her ears, trying to focus her hearing in an attempt to identify what it was.
"Listen, I'm not sure if I'm hearing things, but I can hear some shouting somewhere," said Nami. They all turned, trying to listen for the sounds where Nami indicated and true to what she said, they could hear the sounds of someone, or more likely, a large group shouting.
"Yes, that is defiantly shouting." Nami confirmed it and then realization dawned on Usopp's face followed quickly by panic.
"OH NO~"
"What's wrong?" Zoro asked.
"There's another slope just like this one to the north.."
"What?! We're at the wrong slope?" they all yelled at once.
"They had the meeting at this beach, I assumed that they'd come from this side." Usopp spoke, and the other three groaned. Luffy quickly recovered, rising to her feet and punching her fist into her other hand.
"Then we've got to hurry before they attack the village. What is the fastest way to get to the other coast?" She tilted her head as she stared at Usopp, hearing Zoro rise to his own feet behind her.
"Head straight north from here and it should take you about three minutes; the landscape will be the same as this one. We just need to stop them from climbing up the slope, but…"
"Don't worry, we'll make it somehow," she assured him, grinning, and then out of the blue, Nami started screaming.
"Now that you mention it, the north slope is where our ships are anchored; all of my treasure will be taken!"
"I'll be there in less than twenty seconds" Luffy yelled, taking off, sprinting down the path to the village, waving back at the others as she went.
"Damn! I came up such a great plan for nothing." And then Usopp ran off as well, following Luffy's quickly disappearing form.
"My treasure!" Nami whined, horrified that her treasure might be taken from her.
"Hey," Zoro snapped, bring the orangette out of her thoughts.
"What're you doing just standing there? We need to go after them." Then Zoro turned and started to walk away.
"Oh, right." Nami took a step, not noticing that she had stepped straight into a patch of oil. Her foot slipped and her arms began to windmill, quickly losing her balance. Before she could fall back, she her arm quickly shot out, almost out of instinct, grabbing the nearest object which happened to be one of Zoro's sword sheathes. The sudden weight threw Zoro off balance and he fell back, slamming into the ground, his shirt now completely covered in oil.
"Help me! I'm slipping." Nami shrieked, gripping the sheathe tightly and trying to pull herself up. Zoro was slowly being forced down the slope by Nami's weight, also trying to climb back up but unable to because of Nami's movements, the girl's struggling only causing him to slip down even further.
"You idiot, let go of me!" Zoro hissed, trying to climb again but he only continued to slip. Nami was still holding on Zoro's swords, looking around desperately for an idea before freezing, a small smirk coming to her face.
"In that case…I'll go on ahead." Before Zoro could ask how she planned to get out, Nami forced herself to her knees, letting go of Zoro's sword and pushing herself up before climbing on Zoro's back and jumping off him onto the clean slope. Her momentum pushed Zoro further down, though, and he continued to slide until he reached the bottom.
"Sorry about that, but my treasure is in danger. I hope you'll find your way back." She gave Zoro a semi apologetic wave and then she was off, leaving Zoro behind.
"That witch!" he ground his teeth together angrily. Once he manged to get up this stupid slippery slope, Nami would pay.
Usopp was running along the cliff side, looking almost like his life depended on how fast he could get to the slope. His lungs were burning and his legs felt numb but he wouldn't stop, no matter how many times his body begged him to. He refused to. Kaya and his beloved village was depending on him, it was his duty as liar to make sure that Kaya and the villagers had another peaceful, normal day with no pirates whatsoever.
"I hope I can reach the beach in time…but man," He let out an impressed whistle. "I can't even see Luffy anymore. That girl can sure run fast, she vanished in instant."
"Just head north, Just head north, Just head north." Luffy keep repeating, muttering the sentence under her breath as she ran, heading in the direction that felt the coldest. After all, north was cold, wasn't it?
As for Nami, her spirit was powered by a fiery determination and an anger at the invading pirates. If they even touched her treasure... she wouldn't let pirates take something she treasured away ever again.
"Whoever lays a finger on my treasure is unforgivable!"
On the north slope, the Black Cat pirates let out a roar as they charged up the slope, their swords held high and faces filled with glee at the thought of the coming raid. Just as they reached the top of the hill, making it out of the cliffs, a thousand pinballs suddenly came out of nowhere. The pirates were startled as one by one, they began to fall, knocked out by the small metal balls and left on the ground, groaning in pain.
"What the? There's someone up there!" one of them yelled. Jango growled, annoyed that someone was stupid enough to go up against the Black Cat pirates. He looked up to see who the fool was that dared to attack his crew and then snorted in derision when he recognized the long nosed boy from yesterday.
"It's you, what the hell are you doing here, boy?" Jango asked irritated. Usopp was standing at the end of the slope, panting hard after the long run, thanking the lord that he had made it on time. Otherwise, the pirates would've reached the village by now. He took a few gulp of air and stood straight, puffing out his chest as he spoke.
"I'm Captain Usopp, the brave warrior of the sea, and you've trespassed on my territory. I'm the one whose name is known throughout the East Blue, so I suggest you all leave before things turn ugly!" Usopp's lie was an attempt to frighten the pirates into leaving his village, but because of the way his legs were shaking like a leaf, none of the pirates believed him. In fact, his words only seemed to make them angrier.
Usopp gulped, sweating as he glanced at the pirate crew before him. This was not how it was supposed to happen. Wasn't Luffy supposed to be here before him? He had seen her take off, running like the speed of light, so why wasn't she here? Unfortunately for him, it seemed Luffy's sense of direction was almost as bad as Zoro's.
'I don't get it, she was supposed to be here first, not me… If she didn't get here first, then where did she go off to?'
"HOW THE HELL DID I END UP HERE?~" Luffy screamed in confusion, standing on the outskirts of Syrup Village, staring at a large rock wall in the middle of the forest, far away from the slope.
"He said head north, so I ran where it's cooler. Where do I go now?!"
Zoro was currently still struggling to get up the slope, his entire body drenched in the golden-black oil. His latest attempt involved running as fast as he could but it wasn't working. It left him almost running in place, struggling futilely but not moving an inch.
"Damn it! I can't get past this!"
Usopp was now shaking, gulping, and sweating all at once. He was bloody scared and seeing those angry sneers wasn't helping him too much.
'I'm going to die.'
"I know you. You're that boy from yesterday, the one who eavesdropped on our plan. What exactly are you doing here?" Jango asked in an almost mocking tone.
"I told you before, I'm Captain Usopp and you've trespassed on my territory. If you don't leave my land, my one hundred million men will dispose of all of you!" He used one of his usual lies in an attempt to scare the renegade pirates, but they just looked at him skeptically.
"One hundred million men, is he joking with us?"
"Who does he think we are? Even kids wouldn't fall for such a stupid lie."
"AMAZING! One hundred million men, that's so many~" Jango yelled, staring at Usopp wide-eyed, being one of the few people stupid enough to believe him. The pirates around him all sighed, shaking their heads at their captain's idiocy.
"He's lying, Captain."
"How can you fall for such a stupid trick?"
"Crap, they saw right through it," Usopp cursed under his breath.
"See, he even admitted it." one of them said.
"You, how dare you try to deceive me!" Jango hissed, then one of his crew started shouting, running towards Jango from where he had been examining the two abandoned boats.
"Captain, we found something!"
"What is it?"
"We found lots of treasure on one of those ships," he pointed to the two ships they had noticed earlier and another crew mate who had followed after him held up a bag filled with sparkling treasure.
"It's gotta be worth forty…no, fifty million Berri!" All of the pirates around Jango gasped at the amount of money coming from such a small dingy. Even Usopp was surprised, who would've thought Luffy, Zoro, and Nami would have so much money, and then he thought of an idea.
"Those treasures are mine!" He yelled and every pirate turned their heads back towards the boy.
"I'll give you all my treasure..." The pirates raised their eyebrows in surprise, but Usopp wasn't done yet.
"But in exchange…you must leave this island and never return here again!" Then he put on his brave man pose trying to show that he was serious. The pirates were baffled.
"Now he's bribing us with money?"
"Is this guy for real?" One of them spoke. Jango tipped his hat and said.
"Are you stupid? We are pirates, of course we'll accept these treasures…however, there's no reason for us to leave," he smirked, watching as Usopp sighed, seeing another one of his plans fail. Jango had had enough of this and he pulled out his ring, rocking it side to side.
"After I say 'One, two, Jango' you will move out of the way," he said. Usopp gasped as he made out the familiar weapon. 'That's the one he used on Luffy when he caused her to fall asleep!'
"One, two, Jan…"
Suddenly a wooden pole slammed into Usopp's head, saving him from Jango's hypnotism and sending him forward and down the slope, sprawled out on the ground. He quickly forced himself to his knees and turned back to glare at the person who had hit him, eyes taking in the sight of a furious Nami, glaring down at him. Her Bo staff was held lightly in one hand and the other was on her hip.
"What's the big idea?! What gives you the right to give them my treasure?!" She hollered, the sound like the cry of an ill-tempered Sea King. Usopp just grabbed his head where he had been hit.
"IT HURTS~!" he whined, moaning in pain.
"What the! Who is that woman?" one of the pirates asked in surprise.
"Captain! You hypnotized yourself again, you need to stop doing that!" One of them yelled when he saw his Captain moving himself to the side and gesturing at an invisible person to pass him. After a minute, Jango snapped out of it and Nami glared at the pirates that had dared to touch her treasure. Nobody took her treasure and lived to tell the tale.
"The treasures on that ship are all mine! I won't let you have a single Berri, and you'd better put everything back where it was!" She threatened them, growling. Then Usopp chose that time to yell at her.
"THAT REALLY HURT!"
"And you! What gives you the right to hand my treasure to them?!"
"I was trying to get them to leave the village! You should lock your stuff up better." He bellowed back, and then Nami sighed, turning back to the enemy pirates, putting her staff on her shoulder lazily and saying calmly.
"Stop acting like a crybaby, after all I saved your life…and one more thing; you should not look at the ring, that guy's a hypnotist."
"Hy-hypnotist."
"By the way, where's Luffy? Wasn't she the first one here?"
"Beat me." Usopp shrugged. "Either she's still on her way or she got lost somewhere." he replied as he got up, dusting off his overalls.
"She's probably lost then, geez, and at such a critical time too," Nami snorted as Usopp walked backward till he was at Nami's side.
"It doesn't matter now. We need to stop those pirates so here's the plan…you go attack, while I cover you."
"EHHH?! Why does have to be me? How can I fight such a large group? I'm just one girl." Nami could not believe that Usopp had beaten her at her own strategy. Usopp just crossed his arms and shook his head, as if he was amazed she could even think that.
"Nami Nami. If you're expecting me to fight those guys then…you're wrong." Usopp said the answer as if it was obvious. "I'm so scared that my legs are rattling, see?" and to prove his point he pointed down to show that his legs were indeed shaking and making a rattling noises.
"So what?! I'm so scared that I'm already in tears!"
"What are you talking about? Your eyes are completely dry. If you're gonna lie, at least make it one that's believable!"
"You have no right to say that!"
As they continued to argue about who was the most afraid, the pirates just watched them incredulously, not believing that they could be fighting over something so stupid. Jango watched the spectacle for a moment before finally saying.
"We have no time to fool around with them…kill them, NOW!" He commanded and the pirates complied with a roar of excitement, charging the slope once again. Both Nami and Usopp froze and stared down at the approaching pirates worriedly.
"What are we going to do?" Nami tensed at the look on their faces and Usopp was getting edgy as well until he finally thought of a plan.
"Wait! I got it, I have some caltrop!" He quickly rummaged through his bag and brought out a bunch of small, spiky caltrop.
"You've got some good stuff in there," Nami complimented, smiling as she let out a relieved breath. Usopp smirked and gave some to Nami and then they both turned towards the pirates, throwing their caltrop at the charging men.
Meanwhile, on the south slope, Zoro was lying sprawled on the ground, panting, after another failed attempt to get up the slope. He wiped some of the oil off of his face and groaned, turning his head to glare at the oil covered path.
"Damn it, Nami! That witch 'pant' unforgivable. If Luffy gets hurt because I was stuck here, she'll pay." He lay there for another minute, trying to catch his breath until he thought of an idea. After another second his eyes widened and he scrambled to his feet, pulling out two of his swords before beginning to climb the slope again. This time though, when he started to slip, he used his swords to pierce to the ground, using them as leverage to pull himself up. He kept going till he was finally out of the oily part of the slope and ready to kick some pirate's ass. With a sigh he flicked his swords, getting the bits of oil off of them before sheathing them.
"Now…where is that north coast?" He really needed to let off some steam.
"Now, where's the hell am I now?!" Luffy shouted, staring at the outskirts of Syrup Village, her hands on her hips and a pout on her face. She was completely lost now and it was starting to frustrate her. She wanted to go beat some pirates up.
"WHICH WAY'S NORTH?!"
Back at the north slope, the Black Cat pirates let out screams of agony as their feet touched the caltrop Usopp and Nami had thrown, not seeing them in their excitement to get up the slope. The metal spikes pierced through their shoes and into their feet, causing them to fall backwards onto the ground, more caltrop getting stuck in their back and arms. Nami and Usopp watched the pirates before turning their heads to grin at each other, proud of their accomplishment.
"Yes, it's working!" Nami cheered, pumping one fist in the air.
"Yeah, and now," Usopp pulled out his slingshot and quickly took aim.
"Shooting Star!" He fired his pinball, hitting one of the pirates directly in the center of his forehead showing off his amazing precision. The pirates were baffled at the random and almost childish attacks and appeared even angrier than before. Nami just patted Usopp on the back and said.
"Not bad…I think you'll be able to handle this so I'll leave them to you."
"HEY, you can't leave me with them?!" Before he could turn and say more, Nami screamed.
"What's wrong?" He followed her gaze, wanting to know what was causing her to scream like that and what he saw made his jaw drop. Caltrop had been dropped behind them, blocking both of them from escaping.
"I think I accidentally dropped the caltrop back here."
"ARE YOU A MORON?! Why did you throw them there?" While Usopp was yelling, he didn't notice a pirate come up from behind him, having avoided the caltrop, and raise his giant hammer.
"You're both a hindrance!" The pirate yelled as his hammer made contact with Usopp's head. Usopp could almost hear the sound of his skull cracking from the force of the blow and blood began to seep from wound and from his mouth. He crumpled to the ground with a thump and the pirate smirked down at him darkly. Nami stared at Usopp and the pirate standing above him, her eyes widening in horror.
"Did you really think you could stop us? C'mon, Captain Kuro is waiting!" The pirate yelled, moving to take a step forward when he felt something grab his ankle. He looked down to see that the long nosed boy was still awake and had grabbed one of his ankles. Usopp stared up at the pirate, his vision blurring around the edges but still willing to fight.
"What's up with this guy? Let go of me, you bastard!" The pirate tried to shake his foot to make Usopp let go and even stepped on his head a few times in an effort to get him to let go. But he stopped when he heard the teen start to speak, the sound barely louder than a mumble.
"This slope…I can't let you go through it." Usopp panted as he struggled get back on his feet, a trail of blood dripping down his forehead to his cheek.
"Because I'd like to keep lying as I've always done in the past…this village…will enjoy another peaceful day like any other day. That's why I can't let you pass."
"SHUT UP, YOU FOOL!" Another pirate with a sword came from behind his crew mate, having gotten tired of the teen's childish ranting. As he swung, about to kill the boy, Nami sprung into action, using her quick reflexes to hit the pirate on the side of his face using her staff, knocking him away. Another pirate saw her move and attacked Nami with his sword but she turned again and blocked him. The pirate was far too strong for her, being physically larger and with his momentum and anger fueling him, and he was easily able to knock her to the ground, causing Nami to let out a grunt of pain.
"Nami!" Usopp's eyes widened as he saw her fall but before he could even move to help her, the pirate with the hammer hit him again on the head and he landed face-first back in the dirt. The pirates laughed darkly, as if the whole thing was just a practical joke to them. The laughter halted when Captain Jango called out.
"This is no time to be fooling around with the children! Captain Kuro is waiting and if anything goes wrong with the plan…we'll all be killed, you imbeciles." The pirates shuddered as they remembered how bad Captain Kuro's temper could be. If his plan happened to fail because of them, their captain wouldn't hesitate to kill his own crew. Turning away from Usopp and Nami, the pirates quickly resumed their trek up the slope to the village, determined to finish Kuro's plan and get the girl's money.
"Stop…damn it…please, leave this village alone…leave my crew mates alone…leave Kaya alone. They don't deserve this…" Then, by some miracle, the pirates who had run ahead were now flying back, away from the top of the slope and down to where Captain Jango stood. Usopp just gawked at the sight of it.
Even Jango and Nami were shocked, their faces displaying matching expressions of 'What the fuck just happened?' The pirates who were knocked back groaned as they sat up, unsure themselves of how they had been stopped. Everyone's gaze was on the top of the slope where an out of breath Monkey D. Luffyko and her first mate Roronoa Zoro stood, glaring down at the pirates.
"It's about damn time," Nami mumbled, relieved that the two idiots had finally made it.
"What's all the ruckus?" Zoro asked, bandana already tied around his head and one sword resting lightly on his shoulder, looking for all the world like he had just woken up and wasn't facing down a group of pirates.
"How should I know?" Luffy replied, snorting. "But I'm still pissed off." Zoro glanced at Luffy and ruffled the part of her head visible under her hat, earning a small grin from her, before remembering why Luffy, and by extension, himself were annoyed.
"NAMI, HOW DARE YOU TRAMPLE ME DOWN THE SLOPE!"
"USOPP, YOU IDIOT! YOU DIDN'T TELL ME WHICH WAY WAS NORTH!" Both glared at Usopp and Nami respectively while Captain Jango just watched the four skeptically.
"Who in the world are they?"
Meanwhile, just outside of the front door to Kaya's mansion, Captain Kuro was sitting on the porch stairs, patiently waiting for his crew to show up. It had been over an hour since sunrise and not a single one of them had made their appearance yet.
"They're late, those bastards," he growled. "They should know by now what will happen if my plans are disturbed." Her rose gracefully from his sitting position, a wrathful looking glare on his face directed at his incompetent men.
"If they cause my plan to fail…I will kill them all." Once he decided he had waited long enough, he grabbed the bag that held his weapons and started to walk towards the north slope.
Unknown to Captain Kuro, he was being watched by one of Usopp's fateful crew, Onion, who was currently hiding behind a tree. The boy watched the scary butler walk away to wherever he was going and the look on the man's face suggested that something dreadful and bad was going to happen whenever he got to his destination. It was giving him the cold shivers.
"What's going on? I've never seen him look like this, this is really bad." Onion had no idea just how bad it was as he turned to go tell Pepper and carrot what he had seen, and it would soon be turning into something much worse.
Jango was stunned to see that one puny girl and a teenage boy had managed to send his entire fleet of pirates right back to the shore with what appeared to be very little effort. He had never seen anyone that strong, it was just…inhuman. Usopp's body was shaking, partly from the pain in hid head and partly from relief. Luffy and Zoro had made it just in time and had managed to push back every pirate.
"You guys are that strong?" Usopp asked and Luffy nodded as a reply, still trying to catch her breath from all the running she had done.
"You guys are way too slow!" Nami hissed, irritated with the both of them and Zoro growled back.
"It's all thanks to you. You pushed me down that oil slick and then left me."
"That was an accident! I had no choice, rather than both of us fall, it was better if one of us made it through," she argued, her tone calm, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Zoro's glare deepened and he ground his teeth together before snapping at Nami's smug smile.
"THEN WHY NOT YOU?!"
"Just head north you told me. Just head north, and guess what?! I headed north and ended up running in circles! You never told me which way was north!" Luffy yelled at Usopp, pointing a finger accusingly at the long nosed boy.
"Hey, don't blame me! You're the one who ran off full of confidence!" Usopp shouted back, forcing himself off of his stomach and into a sitting position.
"That happened unconsciously…I was just excited." she said calmly, and Usopp gave her a disbelieving look, arms crossed over his chest. While they continued to argue with one another, Jango glanced up at the clear blue sky, knowing that they were already very late.
"We been here too long. Captain Kuro doesn't like waiting." He shuddered as he thought of how angry his captain was going to get if they didn't do things according to his plans. But before they could get to the village, they needed to get rid of these rodents.
"Men! Are you going to let these children make a mockery of us?" said Jango, and one by one his crew slowly got back on their feet, ready for another round, their pride injured at the fact that four teenagers, two of them girls, had managed to knock them down.
"Listen, we don't have the time to fool around here. If we don't complete the plan then Captain is going to take it out on all of us," he continued, pulling out his hypnotic ring from a pocket in his coat.
"They're strong, so we'll just have to be stronger, now stare into this ring." The pirates all turned to face Jango as he began to rock the ring back and forth, starting his hypnosis.
"With 'one, two, Jango' you'll become strong, your injuries will heal and you'll become very very very very strong!" Jango's words were already having an effect on the pirates, even without the hypnosis. Some of them had started to smirk again and the rest were rolling their shoulders and raising their weapons, getting ready for another go. The straw hat pirates just watched the scene unfold in front of them, three of them wearing expressions of disbelief, looking at the Black Cat pirates like they were stupid.
"Hypnosis?"Nami scoffed. "Making them believe that they're strong... that's just stupid!" Usopp and Zoro both nodded, silently agreeing with her.
"No, it's not," Luffy interrupted, a serious note in her voice that caused all three of them to stare at her in surprise. She glanced away from Jango to look at her crew and continued.
"He used that once on me to put me to sleep. That's why you guys found me on the shore. His hypno thingy is really powerful."
"Putting you to sleep isn't a big thing, but it's got to be impossible to hypnotize someone and actually make them stronger," Nami said, shaking her head. Luffy remained silent and continued to watch as Jango prepared to unleash the hypnosis.
"You'll become stronger... much stronger! One... two... JANGO!" Jango pulled his hat over his eyes right as he finished his chant and all around him, he could hear the pirates begin to roar. He grinned smugly as one broke away from the group and slammed his closed fist into the cliff wall, shattering an entire section and sending it crumbling down.
"Th-the cliff's totally destroyed! What power," Zoro said, shocked and a little impressed as the pirates began to cheer at their crew-mate's display of power
"They're really hypnotized... I don't believe it." Nami couldn't believe that the hypnosis Jango had been using had actually given his men an extra power boost.
"That's just one of them, and there's so many of them!" Usopp was sweating again, his eyes almost bugging out of his head.
"See, I told you, his hypno thingy works!" Luffy exclaimed, crossing her arms over her chest and nodding to herself.
"THIS IS NO TIME TO ARGUE ABOUT WHO WAS RIGHT! WE HAVE BIGGER PROBLEMS THAT NEED TO BE TAKEN CARE OF!" Nami screeched, turning to Luffy and smacking the girl upside the head.
"Go! break the necks of anyone that tries to stop us!" Jango ordered, striking an odd pose, and his men cheered, happy to comply, before charging the slope again. Their eyes were wild, the iris so small and dilated that they looked like their eyes had rolled back into their heads. Saliva dripped from the mouths of some as they got closer and closer to the Straw Hat pirates.
"Shit, here they come." Zoro hissed, taking a few steps forward. "Usopp, Nami, get out of the way, we'll take it from here." He drew out his second sword and adopted a fighting stance, a maniacal grin coming to his face. Both Nami and Usopp did what they were told and quickly scrambled off the path and onto the grass, Nami helping the injured Usopp to move, ,both willing to let Zoro and Luffy take care of things.
"So Lu, any ideas?" He asked, grinning down at his captain.
"Well, just one right now but you'll need to step back a little," She replied, fixing him with a grin of her own. Zoro just nodded and took a few steps back, sliding one of his swords back into his sheath. He wasn't going to put both away just in case he needed to step forward and assist his captain. Once Zoro was a little bit away from her, Luffy raised her hands above her head, interlacing her fingers and cracking her knuckles before shaking her hands to loosen them up. Grinning brightly, she stretched her arms behind her surprising both Usopp and Black Cat pirates.
Zoro smirked, liking where he thought Luffy was going with this. Luffy took her time stretching her arms before charging the approaching pirates who had decided to hold their ground against her.
"Gum-Gum Bazooka!" She shouted, launching her arms forward and catching the first wave of pirates and knocking them back into their crew mates. Luffy's arms snapped back into place, a satisfied smirk on her face while Usopp and Nami cheered her on from behind. But their victory was short lived. When the dust kicked up from the pirate's fall cleared, it revealed that every pirate was still standing, glaring up at the raven-haired girl darkly. Luffy and the others just gaped in shock.
"What the~! No way, there's no way they can still stand after that hit," said Usopp, eyes widening as they swept over the pirates.
"How could they survive the same attack that sent Captain Buggy flying? No normal human would stand a chance!" Nami exclaimed, scooting away from the cliff face a bit.
"Maybe…they are stronger than we anticipated." Zoro gritted his teeth in frustration, it looked like this battle might be harder than they thought. The pirates started to snicker, which caused his anger to double, taking slow steps forward as they made their way up the slope to where Luffy stood.
"Then…I just have to use a different move," Luffy said, grinning back at them before turning back to the pirates and taking a calming breath. She stepped back into her normal fighting stance and prepared to throw a punch.
"Gum-Gum Gatling Gun!" She threw her first punch, catching the lead pirate in the jaw and then her fist was gone. Another pirate down the line collapsed, a fist in his gut, and suddenly she was everywhere. Thousands of punches began to appear from nowhere, moving faster than the eye could see and hitting the Black Cat pirates head on. The pirates just stood there again, each shielding themselves as best as they could from her punches, but the force of the attack was pushing them back ever so slightly.
Nami and Usopp were amazed that Luffy managed to keep the attack going for more than a minute and while Zoro's face was blank, you could clearly tell that he was impressed from the way that he watched Luffy. Jango, however, didn't appear to be worried at all. In fact, there was a ghastly smirk beginning to form on his face.
Luffy's Gatling finally ended and she let out an exhausted sigh, having never kept up that attack for so long. He arms were starting to burn. She looked down at the pirates, who seemed to be shaking. At first she and the others thought that they were in pain from the assault…but then the pirates suddenly roared like they had never roared before, throwing their arms in the air and readying their weapons. Luffy and her crew just watched them, shocked that her attack hadn't seemed to have had any effect. In fact, it only seemed to have made them madder.
"Kuh, n-no way! They're still standing...," said Usopp.
"And there's not a single scratch on them." Nami continued, covering her mouth with her hands, shocked and now very afraid. If Luffy couldn't beat them, then none of them stood a chance. Zoro cursed under his breath, his hand tightening on the hilt of his sword. Not only were these pirates stronger than before, they were unbeatable. Luffy's fists were trembling at her sides, she was starting to get tired of this stupid hypnosis thing. As much as she liked knocking the pirates back time and again, she wouldn't be able to keep this up for much longer and she refused to let them get past her and to her crew. Suddenly Jango began to laugh, the sound almost mocking.
"Do you honestly think that your puny attacks would work on them? You're dealing with real pirates, girly. We are the Black Cat pirates, we are known as the most fearsome pirates to ever sail on the high seas of the East Blue. Other pirates and even marines wouldn't dare to come near us knowing the punishment that awaited them if they tried to stop us. As you can see, my crew is unstoppable and the only thing that your attacks have done is make them madder. Step aside before we decide to get serious. We will destroy all four of you!" Then Jango began to laugh harder and his crew quickly joined in.
Luffy's whole body had started to shake but her face was hidden by the brim of her hat. It was clear from her posture though, that she was angry. More than angry, she was furious. No one threatened her crew and walked away from it. Laugh at her, fine. But touch her friends and she wouldn't hesitate to fight back. Zoro was the only one who appeared to be angrier than Luffy, his eyes were slits and his knuckles were white against the hilt of his sword. He growled menacingly at the pirates who had had the nerve to laugh at her.
'Those fucking bastards. How dare they laugh at my Luffy… Hypnosis be damned, These morons need to pay and I will be the one to make them.' Zoro took a step forward eyes focused completely on the pirates, already moving to pull out his other two swords but froze when a small hand landed on his forearm. His expression cleared slightly and he turned his head to stare down at Luffy.
"Lu…?"
"Zoro, let me handle this. I can take them," she said softly, her eyes still shadowed by her hat.
"But Luffy! Your devil fruit powers didn't work on them, no matter how many times you hit them, they just keep getting back up, let's face it, we're doomed~" Usopp wailed. Luffy's hand tightened against Zoro's arm as Usopp spoke, the frown on her face deepening.
"I hate to admit it but he's right. We stood no chance against them, they're too powerful," Nami sighed. Zoro growled, turning to glare at Usopp and Nami. They needed to keep their mouths shut. They were making Luffy unhappy and he hated seeing that frown on her face, the same look she had worn when he was injured. Before he could say anything to them though, Luffy's hand slid down his forearm, small hand slipping into his own calloused one before squeezing it softly. Zoro fought down a blush at the sudden contact, squeezing her hand back and causing the raven-haired girl to look up at him with a serious look, her mouth set into a firm line.
"Zoro... I KNOW I can do this… This is my fight so please... please, trust me." Zoro continued to stare down at the she-pirate, her soft spoken words circling through his head. They sounded so familiar to him but he couldn't... Zoro blinked and his eyes widened in sudden realization. He had said almost those exact same words to Luffy back in Orange Town when he had fought Cabaji. He had asked his captain to put her faith in him, to trust him, step back and let him defend his title as a swordsman. Her eyes now were the same as his were back then, and just she had done for him, he nodded, squeezing her hand one last time, before taking a few steps back. Luffy gave him a bright smile that silently said 'thank you' before turning back to the waiting group of pirates. Jango snickered some more at the sight of that little girl stepping forward, still thinking that she could beat his men.
"You're not a quitter, girly, I'll give you that but play time is over. We've wasted too much time already. MEN! FINISH HER OFF NOW AND LEAVE THE OTHERS TO ME!" His men complied with another cry, charging the slope for the fourth time.
Usopp and Nami sat off to the side of the cliff, hugging each other in fear while Zoro just stood in front of them, his expression calm. He knew his captain could beat them, he had seen how strong she was in their fight against Morgan, and had heard stories about her fight against Buggy. She could beat them but... if those pirates left even a scratch on her... his jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed. There wouldn't be enough left to fit in a shoebox.
Luffy gazed at the stampeding pirates for a moment, her expression blank, before grinning. She had the perfect idea for an attack. It was one she had never used before, hell she had just thought of it a few days ago when they were still sailing and Nami pointed out a cyclone in the distance. It would probably take the last of her energy though. She really wished she had thought to get some meat before all this. She was hungry. The pirates were getting closer and closer making Usopp and Nami even more nervous and they started yelling at her to hurry it up before she got trampled Zoro was the only one who looked even remotely calm but if you looked at the hand gripping the hilt of his Wado Ichimonji you could see the white knuckles and tight grip.
As the enemy drew closer, Luffy's concentration deepened and she held her hands out in front of her, silently hoping this worked, and crossed one arm over the other, making a horizontal X. Her arms began to stretch and twist more, wrapping together like a licorice vine. Jango saw it as another one of her useless 'gum-gum' attacks and he chuckled lightly.
"Just give up little girl, your power won't work on them!" But Luffy ignored him as she shot her arms forward as fast as she could, reaching the pirates and grabbing onto the shirts of the two closest, one in each hand.
"Gum-Gum Colossus Twister!" She shouted, lifting the pirates off of the ground and letting the momentum from her twisted arms begin to spin them. The two men spun faster and faster, kicking up dirt and rocks and forming what almost looked like a...
"A TORNADO!" The other pirates yelled as their eyes popped out in disbelief. Zoro just smirked knowingly. Luffy had been fascinated by the cyclone they saw on the ocean, it made sense she would incorporate it into an attack. The large whirlwind took on a life of its own as Luffy's arms continued to spin and the pirates stopped in their tracks when they saw the freakishly scary tornado and actually began to fidget. Luffy took their distraction as an opportunity to strike again. With a huff, she unleashed the second part of her attack on them.
"Twister Gatling Rifle!" Then to the Black Cats utter horror, her previous attack resumed, this time fueled by the still spinning cyclone. It forced Luffy's hands to spin as she attacked, creating thousands of mini cyclone punches with the force of rifle bullets. It was too late for them to back out now though, because either the rocks in the cyclone or one of Luffy's punches had caught every last one of the pirates.
As the cyclone slowly dispersed and Luffy's attacks eased, Jango stared at the remains of his crew in shock. Not a single person was left standing and most were either unconscious or on the ground moaning in pain. Those who weren't were staring at the small, unassuming girl in utter shock, having no thoughts about getting back up and going another round against her.
Zoro's eyes widened in slight surprise and even a little bit of pride, he had expected something good from his captain but that... that was one hell of an attack she had created. Nami and Usopp's expressions were priceless, mouths open in shock because she had taken down those pirates like they were nothing, like she hadn't already gone two rounds against them and failed.
Jango's mouth was open in shock, unable to comprehend the scene in front of him. "Captain Kuro made a big miscalculation; these kids are not your ordinary brats," he muttered as he eyed the panting girl.
So Zoro's fight starts next chapter. I'm excited! I was actually going to end this chapter right after Luffy and Zoro arrived at the hill but because I'm posting this late I thought that might be mean. So I added in Luffy's ass kicking as an apology.
One cute thing: even though Luffy's full name is Luffyko, most people call her Luffy. Zoro is the only one who calls her Lu and that will play a big role later. The only other person who calls her that is her brother Ace and he will pick up on the fact that Zoro calls her that. I'm looking forward to their confrontation.
Til next chapter!