One Piece Chapters have been so awesome these past few weeks – Oda-sensei, you are a genius!
The last episode of Legend of Korra was seriously bittersweet. I can't wait for next season.
A/N: It makes me so happy when I get notifications for this fic. I want to thank everyone who has faved, followed, and reviewed. Seriously, y'all – that's all kinds of awesome.
Now, onto the story!
Warnings: Violence and some language
Chapter 30: The Floating Islands Part Seven: Luffy vs. Vice-Admiral Rorrim Ijdel and his Funhouse of Mirrors
**Countdown: Two Months, 11 days left**
Luffy had separated himself from the others some time ago, not that he really minded, as they could easily take care of themselves. He ran down the winding corridors, calling, "CAARROOOTTTSSS! OI! CARROT-GUY!"
Of course, he received no answer, and that slightly annoyed him. Just then, the ground began to shake, and numerous vines and roots shot through the walls, ceiling, and floor. Luffy jumped around to dodge them, all while he held a hand to his precious straw hat.
"Whoa…" he looked around at the walls, taking in the now jungle-like appearance of his surroundings. Luffy glanced up as he could hear panicked yelling from up above.
"Oh, I wonder if Carrots is up there."
He broke through the ceiling with Gear Second, causing even more panic to ensue.
"Oi, is Carrots here?" he questioned one of the men, as he had wrapped a rubbery arm around him to keep him in place.
The man ceased his struggling and went wide-eyed. "C-carrots?! Are you asking about Vice-Admiral Rorrim?"
"Yeah, that's Carrots! Where is he?"
Luffy's response caused all of them to freeze in place. They all stared at Luffy as if he was insane, and they quickly shushed and berated him.
"Don't call him that!" one man shouted.
"Vice-Admiral Rorrim is very sensitive about his hair!" another said in a loud whisper.
"It's a death sentence if you point something like that out!" the man Luffy was holding onto shouted.
There was a whistling sound in the air, and Luffy and the Marines all looked up, wondering just what it was.
Franky Shogun shot through the ceiling, yelling out, "SSUUUPPPEEERRR!" leaving all the Marines and Luffy to marvel at the robot.
"Luffy-bro, go on ahead, I'll super-take care of these guys!" Franky called out, and Luffy nodded, "Okay!" (After marveling at Franky Shogun, of course)
Luffy climbed through the hole that Franky had made, and was soon climbing over vines that had wrapped themselves around unfortunate Marines. The men were tangled up in the mess, and the more they struggled, the more the vines wrapped themselves around. The Marines had to be thankful that none of them were being suffocated or crushed, and were merely inconvenienced. They stared in wide-eyed curiosity (which quickly turned to horror) as Luffy continually called out, "Carrots! Come out, Carrots!"
"Where's Carrots?" he asked one of the tangled up men, and even though the man was close to passing out from hanging upside-down with all the blood rushing to his head, he smirked.
"You'll find him if you go straight down this corridor, take your third right and it's the second-to-last hall on the left."
"Thanks!" Luffy said with a grin, and ran off. Luffy of course, went off in another completely different direction, but he finally found what he was looking for after wandering up and down the corridors for a good while. He could sense something down one the corridors. The vines slowly thinned out as Luffy neared the end, and he looked in curiosity as he saw reflections of Rorrim working away at the vines, keeping them at bay, preventing them from covering a large, metal door.
Luffy grinned, took a deep breath in anticipation, and running at full speed, he burst through the door, and yelled out as soon as he saw the man, "Carrots! I've found you! I'm gonna kick your ass!"
Rorrim, who had been sitting in a large chair, stood quickly, and shadows passed over his face. Through gritted teeth, he slowly asked, "What did you just say?"
"That I'm gonna kick your ass!" Luffy cracked his knuckles.
"No…" Rorrim's clenched fist was shaking, and his eyebrow was twitching. "Before that…what did you call me?"
"Oh, that. Carrots."
"How vulgar! How crass!" Rorrim glared at Luffy in anger. "Pirates, have no class, whatsoever."
"Wha-whoa!" Luffy found himself being grabbed and shoved to the floor.
"I do not care that you are the grandson of Garp, as a Pirate, you will suffer the consequences." Rorrim grinned as he stroked his chin. "With my hands on Saoirse Eurynome and with your capture, Sakazuki won't be able to help but promote me to a much higher rank. My name will be heard throughout the World!"
Luffy twisted around in the invisible grips of Rorrim's reflections, and in his struggle, he glanced around as he saw numerous mirrors lining the walls and ceiling. Luckily, he happened to see the mirror where numerous reflections were holding him down. Luffy managed to twist one of his legs out, and he swung it around like a whip, and he saw that the reflections which were holding him down dissipated like smoke. He still felt hands holding him down, but that didn't stop him from stretching and trying to punch Rorrim.
Rorrim dodged, his eyes going wide as Luffy continued to try and attack from his position on the floor. Luffy took a deep breath in, expanding himself like a balloon, and forcing the hands which held him to let go. Rorrim went wide-eyed at the sight, and he prepared his defenses for Luffy's oncoming attack.
Luffy rapidly released the air he held in his lungs and used it as a speed boost, forcing himself to spin and twist around to attack Rorrim "Gear Second!" Steam rose from Luffy's body, and he pulled back a fist, "Gum-Gum…" Luffy covered his arms in Haki, and called out, "Jet Pistol!"
Rorrim gasped, and he had numerous reflections jump in the way of Luffy's reflection to block or at least slow down his attack. The reflections dissipated rapidly, and even though Luffy's fist had been slowed down, it wasn't enough for Rorrim to have time to dodge. He ended up taking the hit, and he flew across the room, and into the wall, shattering numerous mirrors on the wall and ceiling.
Rorrim staggered to his feet, and he grinned. Luffy paused momentarily to wonder why Rorrim did not seem to have a scratch on him. Rorrim looked at himself in one of the shards, and carefully put a few stray hairs back in place. He casually made sure that he had no scratches or bruises. This was bothersome; he had just dealt with Eurynome, and now he was dealing with Monkey D. Luffy, of all people.
"Why are you getting involved?" he inquired of the Straw Hat Captain, as he straightened his jacket collar.
"Hmm…They gave me food." Luffy answered honestly.
"WHAT?! THAT'S YOUR REASON?!" Rorrim was furious. "How can anyone possibly be so foolish!?"
Luffy looked quite serious as he readied another attack. "You also made Eurynome cry. And you tried to kill Ebony."
Luffy's simplistic manner put Rorrim off guard, but he readied his own attack, saying, "Just like you, they come from bad blood; therefore they have no right to exist. You shouldn't have gotten involved, Straw Hat." Rorrim smirked. "By doing so, you have brought about your own downfall.
"Mirror Knives," The mirror shards floated up from the ground, and Luffy stared in wonderment. A small number of Rorrim's reflections were picking up the shards, and they charged with incredible speed, slashing at Luffy, and Luffy winced as a few of them managed to successfully cut him.
"I ate the Mira-Mira Fruit," Rorrim grinned as he casually stood with his hands laced behind his back. "I don't even really have to lift a single finger to defeat someone. I can't even be harmed all that easily when someone tries to hit me. I can simply leave the dirty work to my reflections. There's a certain amount of skill behind utilizing this ability. Do you know what that is?"
Luffy managed to rid himself of the reflections by using Jet Gatling. Turning towards Rorrim in all seriousness, he replied, "I don't care."
Rorrim's eye twitched. "Well, of course someone as simple-minded as you would not appreciate the hard work and dedication that comes with acquiring and mastering said ability!" He spat out the words, losing his composer, but quickly regained it. Once again, Rorrim smirked, and he closed his eyes. "I can see that your first mate and your little friends are wondering around the Base…even though this place is covered by those vines, I still have access to a few of my mirrors…how about I have a little fun with them? Or what about that other group of friends…why, is that Cat Burglar Nami and the Devil's Child? That Nami has blossomed into a fine young woman, hasn't she? You really should start worrying about them…or should you be more worried about yourself? Decisions, decisions, decisions…"
Rorrim chuckled, but he frowned when Luffy only grinned. "I'm not worried about them at all! My nakama are strong, and I'm gonna kick your ass, so you better focus all of your attention on me! Shishishishi!"
This was getting to be irksome, as Rorrim prepared for another attack, and he combined fifteen of his reflections into a giant version of himself, towering an easy seventeen or more feet above Luffy's own reflection. Luffy focused on the giant Rorrim, and found he had no presence whatsoever. All he could sense of Rorrim was the one who was with him in the room. But it was odd, because although Luffy could see Rorrim directly in front of him, his presence was actually off to the side.
"Mirror Knives," Luffy was forced to dodge one attack from a few of the normal-sized Rorrim's and then a punch from the giant-Rorrim. Luffy continued to keep his focus on the mirrors, thus successfully dodging the attacks, but just barely. An idea crept its way into Luffy's head.
He had tried to punch the mirrors, and that only resulted in giving that stupid Carrot-guy more weapons. Luffy then wondered what it would be like if his own reflection could move as freely through the mirror as Carrot-guy's did. So, in giving his simple idea a try, Luffy turned so that his reflection faced that of Carrot-giant, and released a "Jet Bazooka."
The reflection dissipated in a matter of seconds.
"Whoa…it didn't even feel like I touched anything…"
Luffy then proceeded to focus on all of the extra Carrot-guys, and began to try and punch each and every one of them in succession. Luffy was not going to give Carrot-guy a chance to attack, and even though Rorrim tried to send in his reflections, he had never dealt with someone like Luffy before and thus was not prepared for his speed and innovative techniques. Luffy figured he would defeat all of the reflections sooner or later, when he was surprised to feel his fist come into contact with something, in spite of him simply punching thin air.
"Ack!" Rorrim coughed up blood, and he scowled at Luffy for managing to injure him. Luffy noticed one of Rorrim's reflections was injured, and it quickly staggered to try and get away. Luffy punched the mirror which housed the reflection, and Rorrim's eyes widened.
"Shit!"
"Huh?" Luffy turned towards Rorrim, as Rorrim's presence now matched that of his position in the room. With a grin, Luffy sprang from his spot across the room, and instantaneously appeared before Rorrim, who did not have time to react. Luffy grinned even wider. "Gum-Gum Jet Bullet!"
Rorrim went flying backwards again, and Luffy could tell just by how the Marine felt when he was hitting him that he had successfully struck and injured his target. Rorrim was hit hard enough that he crashed through the wall behind him, and he rolled across the floor and into another wall. Rorrim quickly spotted a mirror that reflected a few others, even though it was cracked and broken. He sent his reflection off into it, just as Luffy hit him again, and Luffy felt the full presence of Rorrim disappear.
"Don't think I only rely on my reflections to fight, you fool!"
Rorrim twisted around and kicked Luffy in the face, sending him crashing through a few vines. Luffy briefly rolled back and forth on the ground while he held his hands to his face, but he quickly stood up and charged at Rorrim.
Nami led her group through the corridors and over roots, looking for Rorrim's office, and when they finally reached it, she was on the brink of a whine as she cried out, "WHERE'S THE TREASURE?!"
"Geez, Cat Lady, do you want some cheese with that whine?" Toph crossed her arms and huffed.
"Toph, you don't understand, the treasure is gone!" Nami was furious at this, and she let everyone who was present know it. She would have continued complaining, with Robin smiling amusedly, Toph being annoyed, Katara trying to calm Nami down, and Aang and Chopper simply not knowing what to do. Toph suddenly turned, saying, "There are people coming!"
"Hey, you can't be in Vice-Admiral Rorrim's office!" a man shouted, but he was cut off when a stone slab blocked the entrance, and while Katara was saying, "What now? We're trapped!" Toph simply led them to the secret entrance, and pulled the door off and threw it to the side with ease. She led the way up the stairs, and she flinched in slight pain and surprise as a hand grabbed her shoulder. "Toph, stop!" Katara held onto her, and everyone stopped to see numerous versions of Rorrim peering out from a vine-covered mirror in front of them.
"It's that Marine guy…" Aang said, preparing to attack, yet the mirror Rorrim only smiled, a cruel and amused smile.
"Why isn't he doing anything…?" Chopper questioned, as he also prepared himself for any attack.
They could see the versions of Rorrim silently conversing with one another, as if they were plotting something.
"We should go…" Katara said uneasily, as she took charge to lead the others away from the reflections. All of the reflections seemed to follow the group as they walked, and after walking for what seemed like a good while, Robin stared suspiciously at the reflections that could be seen around them. "Those reflections are not at all pleasant."
Before anyone else could answer, they heard commotion from around the corner from where they were. They recognized Luffy's shouting, and he yelled in obvious pain. "Luffy!"
Nami sounded somewhat worried as she called out, and they raced to where they had heard Luffy shouting. They rounded the corner and saw that Luffy was on the ground, glaring up at Rorrim. Katara started making her way towards Luffy intending to help him, and she prepared to defend herself against Rorrim.
"Katara, stop!" Luffy shouted, and Katara froze in place, her expression obviously questioning as to why, but a small smirk on Rorrim's face showed it was too late. "Just in time,"
Katara gasped as she felt something grab her, and she was lifted up into the air. Katara felt a slight panic rise within her chest, with thoughts of bloodbending haunting her.
"W-what's going on?" Katara asked, and Aang called out to her.
"Katara!" he was about to rush in and rescue her, when he was stopped by Robin.
"Wait, Monk-kun…" she looked very serious and mildly concerned. She carefully studied the mirrors, as she saw a few versions of Rorrim pass through them. She saw the few that were holding Katara, and she wondered how they would get Katara out of Rorrim's grip. Why would he be attacking them now, when he seemingly had the chance before?
"I do believe we should avoid those mirrors, otherwise our situation will become worse."
"LET HER GO." Luffy's face clearly showed he was not messing around.
"Then surrender," Rorrim said with a casual shrug.
"Why would we surrender to you when we've got you outnumbered?!" Aang demanded.
"Oh, dear boy…do you really believe that? I have more than enough mirrors here to easily outnumber you all."
Just then, a loud crashing sound came from the room Luffy and Rorrim were just in. A metal-clad figure appeared, and before Rorrim could register what he was seeing, it charged at him and was wrapped in a metal door courtesy of Toph.
"Take that!" Toph was proud of her handiwork.
As soon as Rorrim was blinded by the metal door, Katara fell to the floor. Rorrim was much stronger than Toph anticipated, because as soon as he was able to peek out, Rorrim called out, "Mirror Giant: Punch!"
"Toph-chan, move!" Robin called, and numerous hands grabbed Toph, pulling her out of Rorrim's reach. Robin also used the opportunity to grab a slightly shaken Katara as well, pulling her back towards their group.
The wall Rorrim had initially been thrown through burst, and numerous pieces of mirror scattered across the ground. The shards were lifted into the air. "Mirror Knives!"
The makeshift metal prison Rorrim had been wrapped in seemingly unwrapped itself as the giant reflection of Rorrim pulled the door apart. Mirror shards rose into the air, and Aang and Toph quickly rose a wall between them, to prevent Rorrim from attacking.
"Guys, get down!" Toph shouted, and Rorrim himself easily burst through their defenses.
"Why are you even here?!" Luffy asked accusingly, with a pouting expression. "I can take care of Carrot-guy myself!"
"We're here for the treasure," Nami answered honestly, and she continued, sounding disappointed, "but it's gone…"
The mirror shards shot towards them at an incredible speed, and Aang raised another wall that thankfully protected them from getting impaled.
"My, what an interesting ability…" Robin said, and she quickly formed a few hands that slapped Rorrim across the face. He glared at Robin, and he charged at her, clearly intending to deliver a deadly blow. Luffy grabbed Rorrim and tossed him into the ground.
"Oi, the fight's between us, don't involve them!" Luffy angrily reprimanded Rorrim.
"Let's get out of here, we're in Luffy's way," Robin said, and they quickly turned back the way they had come.
"Will he be alright against that guy?" Toph asked, to which Robin smiled.
"Of course, Luffy can handle anything."
After exchanging a few more blows back and forth, Rorrim smirked. "You obviously can't win this one, Straw Hat."
"Who says I have to stop trying?"
Luffy ran the opposite direction from Rorrim, and he cocked an eyebrow, wondering what the Pirate could possibly have up his sleeve. It didn't take long for him to find out as a giant pair of hands came at him with Luffy shouting, "Gum-Gum Jet Spear!"
Luffy figured if he was destroying mirrors that supplied Rorrim with projectiles, along with hiding places for that one strange reflection of his, than why not destroy it all? Rorrim's presence appeared once again where Rorrim himself was standing after numerous mirrors were broken, and Luffy attacked, unwilling to give Carrot-guy a break. "Gum-Gum…Red Hawk!"
Luffy's fist caught on fire, and he punched a surprised Rorrim in the stomach, sending him flying down the hall they were in. Luffy grinned, as he brushed himself off. He paused when he heard a loud crash followed by shouting.
Luffy grinned even wider, as he recognized the voices of his friends.
Zoro and his group were currently fighting off a small number of the Marines who had managed to escape being captured by the trees' roots. Zoro easily managed to balance carrying Eurynome's extra weight over his shoulder and fight using two of his swords. Eurynome clung tightly to him with one hand, and with the other wielded her machete, preventing anyone from attacking them from behind.
"How many of these guys are there?!" Sokka complained. "They're just like oversized chicken-roaches!"
"Quit complaining and hold them off!" Zuko snapped.
They sharply turned a corner, and ended up nearly crashing into Law and his team. The Marines that had been pursuing Zoro and the others stopped in their tracks.
"I-it's the Surgeon of Death!"
"Men, hold your positions!" One man said, trying to boost morale, but a nervous sweat rolled down his brow. Attempting to face off against Pirate Hunter was one thing, facing off against the likes of Pirate Hunter and the Surgeon of Death was another matter entirely. A few members of their group were obviously injured, but that didn't stop them from dealing out a multitude of damage. He was wondering if they should stay and fight, or retreat. He mentally debated with himself as he tried to save face before both his men and his opponents. Zoro straightened himself waiting for the Marines to make the next move, while Law was getting ready to unleash his "Room".
Just then, they heard a loud mix of shouting and crashing, and the Marines curiously looked down the corridor from where the noise had originated, while there were those of the Pirates to have reason to celebrate.
"That's Luffy!" Usopp cheered, he stopped and squinted for a moment, and he went wide-eyed. "There's something coming towards us!"
"What?" Sokka asked dumbly as he looked, and he was quickly pulled out of the way by Law, narrowly avoiding being crushed by the body of one Vice-Admiral Rorrim Ijdel, although the front half of the Marines who were fighting them weren't so lucky. The Marines who hadn't been knocked unconscious stared wide-eyed at Rorrim.
"Vice-Admiral?" one man squeaked out.
"Where the heck did he come from?" Sokka inquired, looking thoroughly amazed at the banged-up body.
"Straw Hat-san did it!" Eurynome cheered.
"Well, now that that's done, I suppose we should go find the others and get out of here," Zuko said. "We're rather short on time…"
Ebony grinned. "Wow, Straw Hat Luffy-san is amazing!"
However, Rorrim moved stiffly, forcing himself to get up. He was obviously in a daze, and he was mumbling, "No…I won't…I can't…lose…"
Ebony glared at Rorrim. "Why can't you just stay down…?"
Zoro quickly used the handle of his sword to hit Rorrim in the stomach (freaking out the Marines) ensuring that he wouldn't be bothering them for the rest of their time here on Bháite. They ran until they saw Luffy, who, when he saw them in turn, spread his arms out wide with a grin to match.
"Straw Hat Luffy-san…" Eurynome started, and she smiled. "Thank you."
"Of course! We're friends, aren't we?"
"Luffy, another Vice-Admiral is on his way here," Zoro said, getting right down to business. "We need to leave as quickly as possible."
"Wait, what?" both Law and Usopp asked, but they were ignored as everyone was paying attention to Luffy.
"Alright, let's get everyone to the Sunny!" Luffy started. Zoro called up the rest of the crew, and informed them of the situation, and let them know that Rorrim had been defeated. A panicked Nami sounded on the other end though, when Zoro told her what was going on.
"But I haven't found the Base's treasure yet!"
"That's because it's gone, of course you aren't going to find it." Zoro responded casually, to which Nami cried, "How do you know it's gone?! Where is it?!"
Not wanting to deal with Nami and her treasure hunt, Zoro simply said, "Let's get out of the Base and to the far west island. We'll deal with things from there."
Once outside of the Base, everyone looked a little worse for wear, but other than that, all of them had made it out safely. Upon seeing Zoro holding Eurynome, Sanji flew into a tirade. "What do you think you're doing to Eury-chan, you shitty-swordsman?!"
"What's the big deal?" both Zoro and Eurynome asked at the same time.
"Why is a Marine vessel headed here right now?" Law asked, as he adjusted his nodachi, ignoring the bickering pair.
"That's because I called it here," Ebony answered honestly.
"Why would you do something like that?!" Usopp screamed through sobs as he grabbed Ebony's collar and shook him furiously.
"HOW COULD YOU CALL ANOTHER VICE-ADMIRAL HERE?!" Nami fumed at Ebony, who only smiled.
"It's all part of the plan," Ebony said. "Nothing to worry about. Please stop shaking me, Sogeking Usopp-san. It hurts."
"I think we'll have plenty to worry about when that guy gets here!" Usopp shouted. He stopped shaking Ebony and pointed to the horizon, saying, "That's him right now, isn't it! We're gonna go to jail! We're gonna die!"
Ebony commented, "Wow, they got here faster than I anticipated. They must've had a decent tailwind."
Usopp started yelling about getting arrested and executed, causing both Chopper and Brook to panic as well, along with Brook cracking one of his "Skull Jokes". The group followed close behind Aang and Katara, who created ice bridges for them to cross the ocean, creating easy shortcuts for them, all while getting directions from Ebony on where they needed to go.
They finally reached the far west island, where Orin and Dacho were waiting. Upon seeing the group, Orin began to tear up, and even though Zoro had put Eurynome down, he got pulled into a bone-crushing hug that involved him, Eurynome, Ebony, and Dacho. Dacho blushed heavily as she was awkwardly pushed up against both Ebony and Zoro's chests.
"I'm so glad you're alright!" Orin said through his sobs.
"We're glad too…" Eurynome said breathlessly. Ebony had to ink his body slightly so that he wasn't being as easily crushed. After releasing them from his grip, Orin smiled, and held a large bag up. "Here're your things, you two. I even grabbed those Soul King records."
"Thank you, Orin!" Eurynome said gratefully.
"Here, catch," Orin was ready to toss the bag to Ebony, but Usopp stepped up, "I'll take it. Ebony's injured."
Orin paused, for a moment. "Are you sure, Usopp-kun…? It's rather heavy…"
"I'm sure I can handle it." Usopp smirked confidently and flexed slightly, showing his strength.
"If you say so," Orin sounded unsure as he tossed the bag to Usopp, who immediately fell flat to the ground under its weight.
"What's in here? Rocks?!" Usopp gasped out, as he struggled to stand back up.
Ebony smiled, and easily lifted the bag with his left hand. "Thanks for trying, Sogeking Usopp-san."
Usopp's eyes widened. "Just how strong are you?"
"Whoa…" Chopper and Momonosuke looked up at Ebony in wonder.
His question was ignored as Orin asked the twins, "So what are your plans now?"
"We're going to sail with the Straw Hats for a while," Eurynome answered without skipping a beat. "They're helping us out and I told them that once they were done helping us, I would pay them," she looked directly at Nami with an evident smirk, "the treasure from the Marine Base will certainly help with that."
"You have the treasure?" Nami asked, and there were those who could have sworn that they saw sparks flare up between the two.
Ebony, on the other hand, looked the Straw Hats with admiration. "Really? We're going with you guys? Wow. First, you sign the wanted posters I have of you guys, then you save the lives of me and my family, and now, we'll be traveling with you. You guys are seriously climbing up the list of my top favorite people in the world."
"You should get going then, and be safe." Orin said, and he smiled at the twins. "Take care and I'll see you again."
"Bye! It was so great meeting you guys!" Dacho waved.
Orin lifted her onto his back, told the girl to hold her breath, and he dove into the water and swiftly swam away. There were those in Team Avatar who stared in awe for a moment as they watched Orin swim, as they had never seen the sheer speed of a Fishman.
Everyone crossed to the Sunny via an ice bridge, and as soon as they boarded, the Marine vessel clearly came into view.
The Marines rushed back and forth on the vessel, preparing their rifles and cannons to fire.
"Sir, we're waiting for your orders, Sir!" one of the Marines addressed an older looking man who looked to be half asleep. He yawned lazily, and mumbled, "You're far too serious, Jack…just call me by my name, Snuzu…"
"Uh…Snuzu…sir, uh it's the Straw Hats! And the Surgeon of Death is with them! What should we do?"
Snuzu proceeded to casually pull out a pad of paper and he scribbled something on it, and strolled over to the railing. He pointed a finger skyward, and with a loud voice, called out, "MEN! Prepare to…" and in a calmer voice, as he thrust a pointed finger at the Pirates, he continued, "not fire."
The men practically fell over themselves. "WHAT?!"
"Look at that; they have children on their vessel! Children! For all we know, they could be hostages!" Snuzu reasoned. "We don't want to hurt innocent civilians."
"True, Snuzu-san," another Marine spoke up. "You have a good point."
"Should we try and rescue them?" another asked.
"Well…they aren't calling out for help…so…" Snuzu mumbled lazily before falling asleep on his feet, while his men sighed heavily.
Back on the Sunny, everyone rushed back and forth to prepare the Sunny for a Coup-de-burst. Luffy paused as something hit him on the brim of his hat, and fell onto the Sunny's deck. "Hmm? What's this?"
Luffy unrumpled the paper, and saw scrawled hand-writing that simply read,
Tell Garp my debt has been paid.
Vice-Admiral Snuzu
Once everyone had found something to hold onto, the Sunny shot off, and the Marine vessel went to dock. The newly arrived Marines stared in awe at the vines and stalks sticking out of the G-24 Base. Snuzu yawned, and stuffed his hands into his pockets.
"Well, I'm sure there's definitely an interesting story behind this, and I for one, would love to hear it. Wouldn't you agree, men?"
"Yes, sir, Snuzu…sir…"
Next Time: G-24 is in chaos, and things only get worse as Snuzu investigates Rorrim's office.
A/N: Queasy test: I had to look up dislocated ankles…seriously; it's a good thing that Eurynome has two Doctors and a skilled Healer available.
If there is some concern about Eurynome and Ebony being in the story for a bit longer, worry not, dear readers! They do have a role to play, and will only be around for a few or more chapters. They are only going to serve as allies, and aren't going to become part of anything permanent with the Straw Hats/Heart Pirates/Gaang
