CosmicSynopsis: I'm glad that you think the fights were well written. As for the next chapter, here it is! :)
Tonlor: Ain't that the truth. As for Luffy being jealous because of Sanji's flirting with Nami...well, just wait, you'll see what I have in store for when said blonde joins the crew. And I'm overjoyed you that you like my story so much!
partner555: You'll find that out in this chapter my friend.
Stabboy: I couldn't be happier that I'm making you happy! XD
thewittywhy: Thank you so much! As for your idea with Kuro, I was actually already thinking about something like that, and while I can't promise he'll use it against him, I can promise seeing Kuro use his technique will help inspire Second Gear...or something along those lines.
midnightscar17: Island wise? Hmm...I'd say roughly...four. That is subject to change however.
Conan in love: Of course I'm still writing for this story! I'll drop dead before I stop for good!
HP-DG-SB-NR-AG-HA-TD-KB-RR-AJ: I am proud of that chapter, thank you nevertheless though. Yeah, unfortunately that happens to me sometimes. My fingers are flying across the keyboard and I manage to forget a word that's vital, sometimes it just happens. I try my best to make sure no words are missing when I upload a chapter, but it happens regardless. Now when I say that, please don't take it as I don't care, or I'm being arrogant about my writing, I've just gotten used to it happening, seeing as I don't have a beta and I proofread it myself. And I'm not going to lie, usually I'm either too excited to post a chapter, or have spent too much time on it and just want it to be done with, and end up not proof reading it nearly as well as I should, just scanning for missing words in the end.
It's not like I wouldn't like a beta either, it's just...I don't know, I put some dark stuff in my stories, as well as a few questionable things at times, and I don't like being judged. Yes, I know posting my stories is putting them out there to be judged, but it's much easier for me to handle a negative reactions, flames and just plain old hate comments from the general population of than it is a single person, who I would be entrusting my story in it's rarest form to. To add to that, anything I deem not fit is taken out before I put the chapter out, which makes things easier on me in that regard. Although if you, or anyone else for that matter, knows someone who can help me out, I'll gladly have a chat with them over PM. But enough of that nonsense, thank you so much for your kind words.
Also, I forgot to tell you guys that certain events that happened before the current timeline have also been changed, if only slightly, so certain backstories, among other things, could be different in this story than in the Canon timeline. With that said, characters's strength levels are subject to change in this story as well, meaning certain characters might be stronger here than they were in the Anime/Manga. This is accredited to two things, first the Strawhats are stronger than they were before, and their future members will also become stronger than they were in Cannon pre-timeskip, and second is the fact that there is debate over how strong certain characters are, such as Mihawk for example, as some say he's a strong as an Admiral, some say he's stronger, I've even heard a couple say he's weaker, there is however no definitive proof of these claims, so I will determine strength levels myself for this story. Though I personally believe he's stronger than an admiral.
Kuma is one such character that will be receiving a strength boost, as well as a few others I don't feel like revealing.
One last thing before we begin, I've set up a poll on my profile that I'd like all of you to go vote on. It's for what One Piece movies you'd like to see me include in this story. The reason movies twelve, ten and and six are absent from list is because I have already decided to include them. Ten and twelve for obvious reasons, six because...well, I like dark stuff. As for why movie eight and nine are missing, they're just revisionings of arcs, so they're no go's. And movie eleven is missing because...well, just because. However, in the case of movies eight and nine, I might take a few things from them and add them into the real arcs, if I do what should I take and what should I leave? Give me your suggestions in the form of private message, PM, please.
Note that any movie not dubbed in English, which is all of them except for ten and twelve, eight as well but it's not being used, will be subject to alteration, not just the overall plot, but the characters, locations and events. They will be formed to fit my One Piece timeline, just like ten and twelve, but to a much higher degree, with a lot more changes. Such as character strength level, place in the timeline and villain motives for example.
If you guys are okay with that, then everything should go fine. So go ahead and vote on the movie you want to see included in this story. Depending on how many votes the movies get, I might add more than one, I'll decide on that eventually. If you don't wish to vote, than don't, it's completely up to you. I myself am just fine with doing only movies six, ten and twelve. I'm only putting this poll up so that you guys could vote for your favorite movie, out of the ones on the poll anyway. And if you don't want me to add anymore movies than those three, then don't vote, or better yet, put your vote in the no other movies option, as if that's the one that gets the most votes, then I won't do any of the other movies.
That's about it, now onto the next chapter. Please read, enjoy and review.
Nami, who Luffy still stood protectively in front of, was near tears as he had come to her rescue again, and she couldn't even... "Why Luffy? Why!? Why couldn't you have just waited a few more months!? Just a few more months!" Her thoughts were a whirl, as she was too choked up to audibly say any of this, not that she would have.
With the threat to Nami dealt with, Luffy lowered his heavily bleeding arm, before turning to her, and greeting her with the biggest smile he could manage, offering the piece of paper he had retrieved to her as he did. "Here ya go Nami."
The orange haired teen took it wordlessly, still doing her best to fight back tears as her mind continued to race. "What do I do, what do I do, what do I do!?"
"Luffy, yo-you ju-just, you-" Coby stuttered, before being interrupted by the remaining marines.
"You've just set this island free, thank you, thank you so much!" One marine said, the rest following with their own thank yous, all of them glad just to have seen that bastard taken down a peg.
The raven haired teen's smile would have grown bigger at that if it could have. "Hey there Coby, you alright?" As he asked his pink haired friend this, he removed his hat from his own head and placed it on Nami's, walking towards said friend after doing so.
The glasses wearing boy stuttered out an affirmative as his older friend came to a stop in front of him.
Helmeppo was still in a state of sheer disbelief, never even dreaming someone could do something like that to his father, let alone with only a single punch, his eyes glued to the one who had done this, said teen only a foot or so from him currently. Managing a bit of courage, though really it was stupidity brought about by anger, he wobbled to his feet, saying as he did so, "You stupid, damn pirate! You've-" Before he could even finish, the dark haired pirate knocked him to the ground with a punch to the top of the head, rendering him unconscious.
It showed that Luffy was rubbing off on Coby, as the younger boy didn't even acknowledge what his friend had just done to the blonde, however his own personality shone as well, seeing as he began to freak out once again, this time over the injuries the rubber man had collected from his fight with Buggy and his encounter with Morgan.
Nami couldn't hold her tears back anymore, they began to fall silently but steadily as she lamented over what to do. "I can't go with him, not now, I just can't! If I did, he'd find out, and when he did he'd charge in and get himself killed, and I couldn't handle that, I just couldn't! He can't die! But I can't not go with him, he'd just chase after me and it would end the same! So what do I do, what the hell do I do!?"
She continued to wrestle with her conundrum, until Zoro found his way onto the scene, the teenage sneak thief wiping her tears away as she came to the only solution she could think of. "I have no choice, I have to get him to let me leave the crew one way or the other. So...I'll have to make him angry, so angry he'll kick me out."
Her resolve in place, she turned to face the others, getting ready to be as bitchy as possible as she walked over to them.
Nami sat in the back of the diner that Rika's mother owned, looking quite irritable as she did, watching while Luffy and Zoro stuffed their faces at the counter, where they got the easiest and best access to food. In spite of their injuries, they were as rowdy as ever, razzing each other and goofing off as they devoured the free buffet.
Luffy had his left arm elbow on down covered in bandages, ending at the wrist, as well as bandages on the left side of his forehead and a few spread across the rest of his body. Only the wound he had on his arm needed stitches, he had refused to get them however. Nevertheless, the medical treatment he did receive was free of charge, just as Coby's and Zoro's was. Speaking of said green haired swordsman, besides the malnutrition, he only needed the wound in his side wrapped, which had been done as well the wrapping of his captain's injuries had been.
The entire upper half of Coby's head was wrapped up in bandages, like part of a mummy, like his two older friends though, he didn't seem to mind this much, as he too was happy.
After finishing what was currently left on his plate, Zoro leaned back in his chair as he patted his stomach, a big smile on his face. "Man, it's been so long since I've been full! I honestly forgot how good it feels! Then again, maybe that's just because I was tied up so long that I was ready to gnaw through my own damn bootstraps!"
Coby, Rika and her Mother laughed at the green haired man's words. As they did so, Luffy continued to eat, commenting on the fact that his first mate was finished already as he did. "I can't believe you're still such a lightweight Zoro."
"Luffy, you could eat an entire herd of cattle and not be full." The swordsman responded.
Taking a big bite of meat, the younger man proceeded to shoot back, "Yeah, so?"
This remark caused Coby, Rika and her Mother to laugh some more, Zoro chuckling a little as well.
Nami's response to the situation on the other hand, was to roll her eyes and groan in annoyance.
"So Luffy, now that you've found your friends, where do you guys plan on going next?" The only one in the room with pink hair asked.
"To the Grand Line of course!" He exclaimed happily, as he finished what was on his plate.
"I figured as much." Zoro stated evenly, not giving away whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.
"Frickin dumbass." Nami whispered just loud enough for everyone to hear, causing Zoro to shoot her a look of irritation.
"What!? The Grand Line!? No way, NO WAY! How could a crew of only three ever hope to survive the treacherous waters of the Grand Line, let alone conquer them!?"
Luffy raised a fist at that, Coby instantly calmed down because of said action, as he learned he was stepping on his older friend's toes again. Nevertheless, he wasn't just going to drop the subject. "But Luffy, you guys don't even have a map of the Grand Line. How are you all gonna make it?"
The rubber teen shrugged at that, "Don't know what we'll do about getting a map, but we'll manage."
"Hey genius, we already have a chart of the Grand Line." The orange haired teen interjected, her exasperation with her captain obvious.
The dark haired pirate captain gave her an inquisitive look, his confusion apparent as he asked, "We do?"
"Yeah. we do. That rolled up piece of paper you gave me, the one you got off Buggy, that was it."
"Oh, didn't know that. There's our map problem solved then."
"Why'd you give it to me if you didn't know what it was?"
"Because you wanted it."
That took the young woman off guard, all the forced foulness that was in her tone before disappearing then, causing her to ask dumbly, "What?"
"I saw you trying to snatch it from Buggy, figured you wanted it, so after I kicked his ass I took it from him and gave it to you, that simple."
"Oh." Was the navigator's only response, too shocked to say anything else or keep up her act of annoyance.
Just then everyone's attention was pulled to the front door of the restaurant, as the remainder of the marines on the island entered the establishment. The highest ranking of them was the one to step forward and speak, doing so once it was appropriate. "We are extremely grateful that you not only freed the town from Morgan's tyranny, but also saved it from the pirate attack it was under. However, in spite of such things, you're pirates yourselves, and therefore I must ask you to leave."
Vehement protests were given by Rika and her Mother, and the rest of the village would undoubtedly voice their own protests as well once they found out, the citizens too busy rebuilding to be with their heroes at the current moment. Nevertheless, the new CO of the island continued, "Seeing as you saved this town twice over today, we won't pursue you, neither will we report what you've done here, but you must depart. As we are marines, we cannot allow you stay, despite what you've done. I'm sorry about this, I am, but it's how it has to be."
Luffy stood at that, Zoro and Nami doing the same, as their captain said, "We understand, let's go guys."
As the three were about to exit the building, the CO spoke once more, "Isn't he with you?" gesturing towards Coby as he did.
Looking back at the pink haired boy, Luffy responded with, "Him? No, though we did pick him up from this other group of pira-"
The glasses wearing boy's eyes widened a great deal as he realized what his friend was about to, seemingly, unwittingly do. "Luffy, NO!" Seeing as how he wasn't stopping, Coby lunged at the straw hat teen, socking him in the face so as to shut him up, keeping him from ruining his dream forever.
The raven haired sixteen year old retaliated immediately, slugging him back, knocking him straight to the floor. Before it could go any further than that though, the head marine officer intervened, "Hey, break it up! It's obvious he isn't one of you, so be on your way already!"
Luffy did just that, taking only a moment to glance back at the younger boy, winking at him as he did, before turning and leaving, Nami and Zoro following suit.
And as they left, Coby's eyes widened once more, it dawning on him what his friend had just done for him. Deciding now was the time, he shot to his feet, and poured his heart out the the commanding officer, in hopes that he would heed his plea, and allow him to enlist in the marines.
Nami made a snide remark once she saw their boat, it barely being big enough for all three of them to fit in. Luffy didn't pay it any mind, and Zoro brushed her words off, still the swordsman couldn't help but want to tell her to shut it, he refrained from doing so of course though. Silence followed after that, as they began drifting away from the docks.
Before they could get too far however, something on the shore caught their attention. There, where they had been docked only minutes ago, were the remaining marines all lined up in a formation, Coby with them, as they all assumed the customary stance and saluted them. And they held their positions until the three's boat was out of sight. "You've got some great friends there kid."
Coby had to hold his tears back as he agreed with his new CO's words, "Yeah, I do."
As all the marines fell back into the regular formation, dropping their arms as they did, exiting their salute, their CO said this, "We've broken code men, saluting pirates like we did. As punishment, no food for three days!"
"Sir yes Sir!" Was the unanimous response.
Several hours later...
Not five minutes after the island Shells Town was on had faded from their line of sight, Nami made another derogatory statement about their mode of transportation, and continued to do so for almost half an hour. From there she found anything and everything she could pick at about the two, and did so, seemingly almost deliberately trying to be aggravating, and finally Zoro decided he just couldn't take it anymore. "Okay, what is up your ass!?"
"Excuse me!?"
"You heard what I said! Ever since the three of us got back together, it's been nothing but non-stop bitching with you! So just spit it out already, what the hell is your problem!?"
"You wanna know what my problem is!? My problem is you two idiots! I mean, do you really think I want to be here, stuck is this tiny ass boat with you guys!?" So angry was the young orange haired woman, she actually leaned into her growing in volume words.
"Could've fooled me! After all, you were the one who promised to join the crew as Navigator when we were kids! You decided that for yourself, no one forced you!" The green haired swordsman did the same, as his anger grew along with hers.
"Oh yeah!? Well you know what, you're right! When I was a kid I made some stupid promise, guess that means I'm bound to you two for all eternity right!? Newsflash, I. Was. A. Child! I have more important things to do than follow you two around!"
"Nami, you don't really mean that, do you?" Luffy asked, finally interrupting the two's argument, catching both of their attention and getting their eyes on him.
"Yes! Yes I do! I don't have time to waste on your stupid dream Luffy! Just face it, I've outgrown you!" She was suddenly on her feet as she screamed this at the raven haired sixteen year old, tears falling from her eyes once more, all the while she mentally cursed what she was doing.
Luffy's eyes widened a good deal in shock at those words, the pain they caused him all too evident in his big eyes. The young woman who had caused the pain to be there looked away at the sight of it.
Zoro shot to his feet then, the small boat shaking quite violently from how sudden and fast the green haired teen stood, the wooden thing almost tipping over in fact. "How dare you-!"
"Don't."
Once more the swordsman's eyes went to his captain, as he spoke. He still looked hurt, hell the shock hadn't faded yet, and still he told him to not to do what he wanted so bad to do
"Just don't."
As much as Zoro didn't want to, he sat back down, gritting his teeth as he did, so as to keep himself from saying a few choice words towards the only female in the boat.
"I see. Alright then, just tell me where you want to go."
Slightly surprised by his words, Nami couldn't help but look back at him, only to not even be able to see his face, as his hat covered his eyes and his head was lowered. "We'll drop you off at any island you want, just name it and we'll go there."
"You will?" She asked.
"If that's what you want."
Silence filled the air then, no one saying a word for a long while, before it was broken by Nami, "Thank you. I need to leave as soon as possible, however you guys need a ship, as well as a navigator, lacking that, anyone with a decent sense of direction and passable knowledge of the sea will have to do. So before I leave, I'll help you two find these things. After that though, I have to go."
Luffy merely nodded his head in acceptance at her words, while Zoro didn't give more than a grunt, his anger showing through as he did.
"It's settled then." Wiping her tears away for the second time that day, Nami sat back down, checking their heading as she did, so as to make sure they hadn't knocked themselves off course with that little spat of theirs.
Only a little while later and they were docked, Nami tying up the boat so it wouldn't drift away. "Okay, if I remember correctly, this lovely little place is known as Orange Town. We should be able to find someone here who can help us out, if not then hopefully they can at least point us in the right direction of where we can get you guys a boat, or a Navigator, or hopefully even both."
Having finished tying the boat to the dock, she began leading the way into town, Luffy and Zoro following along as she did, both lagging a good twenty paces behind, both silent, and both in less than happy moods.
As the straw hat pirate followed along, he couldn't help but let his eyes drift to Kuina's sword, safely sheathed and strapped to Zoro's right hip. The name of said blade slowly coming to him...Wado, the Wado Ichimonji. "Zoro, you never told me, why do you have Kuina's sword? It's her treasure. Did she give it you?" The sixteen year old's voice was quiet, calm and even, showing that while he was still upset, he was still curious, though judging by the fact he was being quiet he already knew it was going to be a touchy subject.
Zoro made no real perceptible show that he was listening to his best friend and captain, only his eyes going to the form of his brother. The two made eye contact and no move was made to break it for several long moments, even as they continued to follow their female friend, before Zoro did just that, as he began to explain why he had come to posses the blade. "It's a part of the promise I made to her, as well as the last semblance of her will." His voice would give nothing away to a stranger, or even most of the people he had known in his life, Luffy was not most people however, therefore he sensed the underlying emotion in his words, causing his eyes to widen a good deal once more. "Zoro, I-"
"No need to apologize Captain. I was going to tell you anyway, just not until we were alone."
Silence filled the air then, as even though they were in town, no one was around, and none of the three were making more than the slight noise that was caused by their footsteps.
"Zoro...how?" The silence was broken with the whispered question, though only the one who asked it and had been asked it could hear it.
Zoro understood what his best friend was asking him, so wasted no time in answering. "It was an accident. She had fetched a sharpening block and was on her way upstairs, back into the dojo, when she tripped. She tried to catch herself, but...her right arm was severely injured, and was of no real use to her. Because of that, there was no way to save herself, so she fell down the stairs...and snapped her neck by the time she hit bottom."
The green haired swordsman stopped then, but looked like he wanted to keep going. Before his brother could prod him into doing so, he did it himself. "It was my fault. Her arm got messed up in our last duel, when, like an idiot, I challenged her with a real sword. It was the first time I beat her, but even so, it showed that my control was awful, seeing as I nearly severed her arm in the process. Because of my stupidity she died, I killed her."
"Zoro, don't say that! It wasn't your fault! You couldn't have known that was going to happen!" The raven haired teen's harsh whispers were filled with conviction, which actually made the older teen feel better. While he still felt it was his fault, to hear his best friend say that it wasn't was helpful. "Thanks Luffy, I appreciate that."
Despite the small smile his swordsman friend offered with his words, Luffy still looked displeased, as he could see it in the older man's eyes, he still believed it was his fault. Now was not the time to push the subject however, that didn't mean the straw hat teen would just forget about it though.
"I promised her, the day before she died, that one of us would become the world's greatest swordsman one day. I carry the Wado Ichimonji not only to remind me of that promise, but also as a representation of her will. That is why I carry her blade."
"I see." Such a response from Luffy was unusual, but there wasn't any other appropriate response, not that either he or Zoro ever cared about being appropriate.
Before the two could converse any further, Nami came to a stop, they doing as she did, as they had realized the same thing she had, all three of them looking around at the seemingly abandoned town. Nami was the one to voice what they were all thinking, "Where is everyone? This place looks deserted."
While no answer came, the three's attention was caught by shouting in the distance, it just starting a moment ago. Seeing as whoever was shouting was probably the only person still here, they went to check it out.
The scene the three old friends came upon was that of a group of men, fifteen to be exact, having a shouting match with an old man wearing glasses, dressed in a plaid yellow shirt, black shorts, and some makeshift brown armor, a chestplate and gauntlets to be more specific. As they drew closer, the shouting increased in volume, and as it did, a small white dog made itself known, beginning to bark up a storm. The men, who appeared to be pirates from their clothing and weapons, didn't take kindly to the dog, if the change in their postures and the expressions on their face meant anything that is.
Just as it looked like it was going to turn violent however, Luffy recognized the men, calling out to them as he did. "Hey, it's you guys!"
The pirates turned to look at the one who had just called to them, as he was less than ten feet away at this point, they recognized him immediately, paling as they did. "I-it's y-you!" Several of them near screamed in fright.
Luffy began laughing as he and his friends came to a stop, "Yeah, nice to see you guys again. Oh, Zoro, Nami, these guys are the ones I told you about."
Zoro didn't look too happy to see them. "You mean the ones who offered you food, before you mysteriously fell overboard?"
"Yeah, those guys. Hey, do you think I can have that food now?"
The captain of the crew chuckled nervously before answering, "Of course, just, uh, just let us finish up here, and then we'll give you everything we have, I promise."
Luffy on the other hand chuckled genuinely, his smile growing just a fraction, "Really? That's really cool of you guys, thanks a lot."
"Heh heh heh, n-no, uh, no problem."
With the old man and the dog both still looking like they were ready to fight, Nami couldn't help but ask, "Just what is going on here anyway?"
"Well, uh, you see, we-"
Before the pirates could try and explain, the old man started to speak, going into a long explanation slash speech about how this was his and his people's town, and that they were scum for ransacking them, and for what they were trying to do to Chouchou, the dog, and his deceased owner's pet shop. Revealing why the place was so special to the little dog in doing so, as well as revealing the dog's name, and his own name.
The cruelest, as well as the stupidest, member of the crew spoke up once Boodle was done. "You're stupid if you think any of us care about that crap old man. These guys are pirates too, meaning that they give about as much of a shit as we do."
With that piece of info, the two looked backed into a corner, not sure what to do, Boodle sweating and Chouchou growing even more ferocious, lunging out and sinking his teeth into the hands of the captain, causing him to cry out and begin trying to shake the dog off. This continued for several moments, before he managed to pry him off, before kicking him as hard as he could, knocking him into the wall of the pet food shop he defended so vigorously, whining in pain as he hit it. "Stupid fucking dog!"
As the captain turned to look back at the other three, he saw Luffy wasn't smiling anymore, in fact he didn't look happy in the slightest. Before he could ask why, before he even knew what happened really, the rubber teen had grabbed him by the back of the head, and proceeded to slam his face down into the ground, knocking several teeth out of his mouth and rendering him unconscious.
Cries of surprise came from the other fourteen men as this happened, though they were shut up only a moment later, as the same teen proceeded to knock them all out.
Both Boodle and Chouchou looked quite flabbergasted at what had just happened before them, in less than in ten seconds to boot. The shock wore off after Luffy came over to Chouchou and began to pet him, asking the dog if he was alright as he did.
Tears began to flow from Boodle's eyes, as the largest smile he had worn in his life crossed his face. "Thank you, thank you so much! The townsfolk are never going to believe this! Ho-how, how can I ever repay you!? If I have it I'll give it, I swear!"
Nami was the one to speak then, "Actually, there might just be something you can help us out with..."
By the time the next day rolled around, the three were still in Orange Town. Seeing as they were being treated to a small feast, and were promised by Boodle that he could help them out though, it made sense for them to stick around.
It was a little after noon that the three were pulled away from the rest of the townsfolk by Boodle, the old man taking them to the dock, where a pretty decent sized ship awaited them. The four came to a stop, as the eldest of them began to explain. "I don't have the money nor the resources to give you three a boat, however, I am the mayor of this town, and by calling in a few favors I managed to get you guys a chance to meet someone who can definitely help you out."
None of the three got to respond, as the sounds of footsteps caught their attention, their eyes going to the man stepping off the boat.
He was a slim man with slicked back black hair, black eyes and round black framed glasses. He wore a black suit with two golden markings on it over a white shirt with a curious collar, with spiral-like protrusions on the edges, and a standard black tie. He also sported striped shoes.
Once off the boat, he shared pleasantries with Boodle, before turning to the other three, offering his hand for a handshake, which Luffy took, as he introduced himself to them, doing so with a most charming smile. "It's a pleasure to meet such brave young people like you, to put yourselves at risk to help this town, quite admirable of you. My name is Klahadore, and I just might be able to help you three out."
To Be Continued...