deant33: Well, as I'm sure everyone can tell by now, Ghin won't be joining the crew. However, there's a reason why I had it where he never inhaled the poison of the MH5. So I do plan on bringing him back...eventually.
Johnny Spectre: That's what you sense huh? I can neither confirm nor deny whether that will happen, what I can say is that your pretty good at sensing stuff. As you're almost right. Mwahahaha!
F-ckthesystem125: No, Zoro has not met Mihawk yet. Whether in a chapter or sometime along the course of his life not shown. He will meet him soon enough though, so don't worry.
midnightscar17: Thank you. As for how Zoro's going to need new swords, well, I'm in the middle of working that out. Also, on the subject of Gin and Ghin, well, like I said, I go by the English version, in which he is known as Ghin. At least in the anime anyways. So you're right, but I like to do things more in line with the English version, so I spelled it with the h.
Tonlor: I think Krieg was a decent enough villain for the East Blue, and what made him kind of stick out is that unlike most of the other enemies Luffy fights, most of whom are barely hanging onto their sanity by the time the final blow is dealt, Krieg actually snaps and goes crazy for a minute, even if it is after the battle. I liked that, which is why I made it happen sooner, since he was getting his ass kicked so much harder this time around. Believe you me, I don't think anyone is more excited about the Arlong Arc than I am, woohoo! As for Gin and Ghin, refer to my response above to midnightscar17 to see why I went with the h. Finally, I can promise you this, there will definitely be some big LuNa moments after Arlong is taken care of and in the future of the story after that.
Also Tonlor, have you any guesses as to who I might be adding to the crew? I gave you those two hints and I was wondering if you had thought of two people who met those parameters I set that you want to join the crew. If you guess right, I'll even tell you that you did, letting you know who'll be joining. I will tell you over PM though, that way no one else finds out. Same goes for if you get it wrong though. Again, I don't want anyone else knowing who'll be joining. Also, one guess each. Don't want you guessing a bunch of people and one of them by chance being right.
Aarik Wrath: Well, as far as I've seen, iron is easier to cut than steel, at least in One Piece that is. And Pearl's plates are made of iron, so...yeah. That was the only other good fight he had besides Mihawk? I'm not sure what you mean by that. Yes it will. And yes, what he said about them was true. And finally, you are correct, easy, shallow dreams aren't worth much.
Not much happens here, just wrapping the Baratie arc up. Hope you guys like it regardless though. Also, right after my longest chapter yet, here's my shortest chapter yet.
Onto the chapter. Please read, enjoy and review.
Everyone who was still conscious had their attention pulled to the galleon, as it's entire deck caved in, the half burned down mast coming along with it into the depths of the ship, said mast breaking through part of the bottom of the sea vessel, causing it to begin taking on water. All eyes then shifted to Luffy as he rocketed into the sky, those few consisting of Zoro, Usopp, Johnny, Yosaku, Patty, Carne, Sanji and Zeff. They watched as he stretched his arms out, grabbed onto the railing of the Baratie and came racing toward them, snapping towards his hands.
He hit the deck with his feet, landing up right, as he skid to a stop, just barely managing not to slam face first into the wall. Now down with the others, three calls were heard, Zoro and Usopp both calling his name, as they approached him, and a unified call of his name from Johnny and Yosaku, as they too came running over to him.
"Zoro, Usopp, Johnny, Yosaku, you guys alright?" He asked them, searching for injuries as he did.
"No problems Captain, everything's been handled on our end." Zoro told him.
"Yeah, we blew those Krieg Pirates away!" Usopp said, a large smile across his face as he did.
"There isn't even a single Krieg Pirate left standing!" Yosaku and Johnny said together. And true to their words, not a single person who called themselves a pirate besides Luffy, Zoro and Usopp were standing.
"That's good." Luffy nodded his head as he said this, sparing the blood on Usopp's arm a prolonged second glance, before the long nosed teen assured him it was fine.
"What about yo-" Usopp was cut off mid sentence, as the two cooks, plus a third one Zeff had sent after them, finally came around to the front of the Baratie in the boat they were supposed have gotten way earlier. "Sorry we're so late! We couldn't find the damn thing! And then, we nearly got our heads taken off when a marine ship came sailing past us, it's anchor not even fully pulled up yet! And then some Krieg Pirates tried to ambush us near the back fin, but we showed them!" His story was pretty believable, seeing as the marine vessel that used to be here was gone, and the fact that they were covered in bruises and were bleeding a decent amount also added credibility.
Not that Luffy cared at the moment, as he ran over to them, Zoro, Usopp, Yosaku and Johnny in tow. The chefs got out of the boat and went over to the others, as the bounty hunter duo, Zoro and Usopp all climbed into the boat. When they saw Luffy fail to do the same, they all looked to him with questioning gazes.
The straw hat wearing man was looking back at Sanji, who was squabbling with Zeff at the moment, watching them before turning his head back to meet his friends eyes. "Go on without me."
"H-huh!? What!?" Usopp asked disbelievingly.
"Big Bro Luffy!?" Johnny and Yosaku questioned.
"What's wrong?" Zoro inquired, his eyes narrowing just a tad.
Luffy locked eyes with his first mate then, the two seeming to exchange a silent conversation. "Alright then, understood Captain." The swordsman sat down then, no longer objecting to his younger friend, his brother, not getting on with them.
"Wait, what!? What just happened!? He didn't even say anything Zoro!" Usopp near shouted, complaining to his green haired crewmate.
"Big Bros...?"
Luffy then explained to them what Zoro had understood immediately. "I'll be following after you guys soon. I just have to try one last time to get Sanji to join our crew. If he won't come, or it drags on too long...then I have no choice, I have to leave him behind, even if it is only for a little while. We have to catch up to Nami, nothing is more important than that right now."
"You mean-" Usopp began, only to be cut off once more. "Yeah, I'm staying behind for now."
"But-" Luffy shook his head at that. "No buts, just go." He ordered.
"I-I...I understand." Usopp finally conceded, knowing how serious this was.
"Good. Thank you Usopp." He gave him a small smile then. "Now go, we can't afford to waste any more time than we already have."
The sniper nodded in understanding, picking up a paddle, getting ready to row out with Johnny's and Yosaku's help when, suddenly, the marksman remembered something. "Wait Luffy, there's no way we can catch up to her at this point, so we can't follow her. How are we supposed to find her?"
Luffy's eyes narrowed then, as he looked away from them and out towards the direction Nami had set sail in. He simply gazed in that direction for a few moments, before he finally spoke. "Cocoyashi."
"What was that?" Usopp questioned.
"Cocoyashi Village, that's where she's heading." Luffy clarified.
"Oh, we know where that is! That's located on the Conomi Islands!" Johnny and Yosaku stated a little excitedly.
"But why would she go there?" Usopp inquired.
"Because that's where the witch lives." Zoro answered. "No more questions, Luffy gave us an order, now let's follow it."
"R-right." Usopp agreed, nodding his head as he did. "Johnny, Yosaku, since you guys know the way, mind paddling?"
"Not at all Big Bro!" They replied, before taking up the paddles and getting to work.
As they went on their way, Luffy turned and made his way toward Sanji
Sanji and Zeff stood back as Zoro, Usopp, Yosaku and Johnny spoke with the rubber teen, Patty and Carne gathering up their fellow cooks to take them inside, while the two blonde men spoke to each other. "He beat him." The younger blonde stated evenly.
"Were you expecting any different?" Zeff asked.
"Honestly? No." Sanji answered.
"That's good. Then you see it too?"
"See what Old Man?"
"The type if man he is. When he's fighting, he isn't afraid of anything, even death. He'll fight until his dying breath, never willing to give up under any circumstances. No matter how many weapons Krieg had, even if they had been ones of mass destruction, there was no way he could have ever defeated Luffy. That young man's heart is something quite remarkable, and something people like Krieg will never have, let alone be able to grasp the concept of. He's truly something special."
"Can't argue with that." Sanji admitted.
"Then why won't you just join him already? He invited you into his crew almost three years ago, take him up on that offer and go out and see the world. Become a pirate, follow your dreams, find the All Blue."
Sanji sighed at that. "You know I want to, but I just can't, no matter how tempting it might be."
"And why not? There's nothing holding you back, nothing's keeping you here."
"You know exactly why Geezer."
"I've already told you a million times, you don't owe me anything brat. So just hurry up and leave already, I don't want you here anyway."
"Why you shitty-" The bleeding chef began, moving toward his mentor as he did, but in doing so accidentally aggravated his injuries, causing him to stumble, as he half yelped in pain. Coming to a stop, he began to breathe a little hard, "That hurts a lot more than it did earlier." He stated the obvious to himself.
"That's because the adrenaline has worn off, stupid kid."
"How many times do I have to tell you!? I'm not a kid anymore damn you!"
"Yeah well, you'll always be that snot nosed brat I met back in the North Blue to me."
"Argh! You have got to be the most frustrating old man in th-" Sanji didn't get to finish his sentence, as the sound of Luffy's voice went over his. "Hey, are you stupid or something!?"
"What did you just say!?" The blonde asked angrily, turning to face the raven haired pirate as he did.
"You heard me! I heard what you said to Ghin when you were fighting him! I know you owe Pops Zeff, but to die for some dumb old restaurant!? You've gotta be an idiot!" The dark haired teenager yelled right back.
"And what do you know huh!? What do you know of my debt to this place Luffy!? That damn shitty Geezer saved me! He gave up his leg so that I could live! He starved himself for almost two months so that I could survive! He could no longer be a pirate because of me! He gave up his dream! He gave up everything for me! This restaurant is all he has left! How can I not be willing to to die to make sure he keeps it!?" He screamed in his younger friend's face, having grabbed him by the front of his vest as he did.
Luffy forced the older teen's hands away from his vest, before grabbing him by his collar, and pulling him closer, so that he could shout in his face for a change. "Because it's not about death! You dying won't repay the debt you owe to Pops Zeff! To be his little worker for the rest of your life, to sacrifice yourself for some hunk of wood in the middle of the ocean, is that what you honestly think he expects of you!? That isn't why he put his life on the line for you! He saved you so that you would live, and yet you want to die!? By saying crap like that you spit in the face of his sacrifice! You think wanting to die makes you honorable!? Well it doesn't, it just makes you weak!"
"Why you shitty rubber bastard! You don't what it's like, you have no room to talk!" The bleeding cook shot back.
"I don't know!? You have no idea what I know and don't know Sanji! You don't know anything! And you wanna know why!? Because you've locked yourself away here in this restaurant! You hide away from the world, fearful that your ambitions and dreams will be stomped into dust like you think Zeff's were if you dare to leave your hiding place!"
Sanji's eyes widened to the max at that, revealing that the straw hat pirate was at least partially right. The blonde was stunned into silence for a few moments, before he manged to find his voice again. "T-th...tha-that's not true, that's not true at all! How dare you act like I'm doing this for myself! How dare you mock the old man's sacrifice! I don't care about that crap! No matter what you say, you won't get me to change my mind! Because...I WON'T LEAVE HERE UNTIL MY DEBT HAS BEEN REPAID!" He cried near the top of his lungs.
"Damn it, why don't you understand!? Zeff chose your life over his dream, he deemed your life worth more than his career as a pirate and his dream combined! He made his choice! And now it's time for you to make yours! He placed his faith in you, don't toss it aside like it's nothing by staying here for the rest of your life! As long as you're here...you mock him, you mock Pops Zeff! AS LONG AS YOU STAY HERE, WASTING AWAY YOUR LIFE, ALL YOU'RE DOING IS MOCKING ZEFF'S SACRIFICE YOURSELF! WHEN WILL YOU GET THAT THROUGH YOUR HEAD!?" Luffy threw his older friend to the ground then, the swirly browed cook hitting the deck ass first. "But screw it...I don't have the time to waste on this anymore. I'll be back eventually to see if you've changed your mind or not, but for now, I've got somewhere I need to be."
Sanji's eyes remained wide, as he watched his younger friend turn and begin walking away, looking like he was going to ask Zeff for another boat. With each step he took, his words echoed in his head, repeated themselves over and over and over again. This lasted for...well, the blonde wasn't sure how long his state of stillness and thought lasted, what he did know is that it eventually came to an end. And when it did, his eyes returned to normal and a sigh forced it's way out of his body, despite the pain in his abdomen from all the broken ribs. "Fine Luffy, you win, I'll join your crew."
Luffy stopped then, taking time to look back, a half smirk on his face as he did. "Good. Saves me the trouble of coming back and kicking your ass until you agreed to do so anyway."
"Is that so?" The well dressed chef asked, quirking his visible brow as he did, just a bit of mirth in his voice.
"Yeah, it is." The sixteen year old replied.
The straw hat pirate then turned to look at Zeff, who had backed up to the doorway of the Baratie as they had been arguing. "Pops Zeff, I'm gonna need another boat."
He let a large grin cross his face at that. Before he could say anything though, a certain pink haired marine stumbled out onto the deck of the Baratie, unintentionally bumping into Zeff as he did. "Where are they, where are the Krieg Pirates? Where is Don Krieg?"
Luffy, not knowing who this guy was, simply said, "Oh, that guy? He's over on that boat. I just got through kicking his ass a little bit ago."
Fullbody looked the teen up and down at that. "A no name scrawny brat like you beat the infamous Foul Play Krieg? Yeah, like I believe that."
The straw hat teen frowned at that.
Taking another look around, seeing the Krieg Pirates all defeated, he realized there might be some truth to what the black haired teen had said. "Did those cooks do all this? I really need to get out of here!"
That's when he finally realized his ship was gone. "M-my ship, where did it go!? Did it get sunk in the battle!?"
"Oh, that ship. Shortly after the date of yours climbed aboard it, that ship took off, so as to get out of the way, so they didn't get destroyed by the Krieg Pirates." Zeff explained.
"W-what!? You're telling me Moodie and my men just left me here!? Th-that can't be!" He said frantically.
"It is. They bailed on you punk." Zeff stated harshly.
"This...this, this is all your fault!" He shouted, pointing towards Sanji as he did.
"Excuse me?" The smoking blonde questioned.
"If you had just been a courteous waiter and did your job, then I wouldn't be stuck here right now!"
"Yeah, right, like I want you here." Sanji replied, rolling his eyes as he did.
"I will make you pay for this! No one does this to Marine Lieutenant Ironfist Fullbody! No one! You hear me!?"
"You're annoying." Luffy stated simply, before suddenly bringing his right fist down on top of Fullbody's head, the punch knocking him to the deck, as well as knocking him unconscious once more.
All three of the men looked down at the pink haired marine, before looking back up at each other, the youngest of them asking, "So, what about that boat?"
Zeff chuckled at that. "Sure thing kid."
By the time they had another boat out and ready to go, Ghin regained consciousness, climbing to his feet, stumbling as he did, wiping away all the blood covering his face as his eyes searched about for his crew. He could account for most of them with a single once over, but a few were missing, one in particular striking him, as he was the most important of the crew. "Don...where is he, where is Don Krieg!?" He asked to himself and to anyone who would answer it honestly.
Luffy and Sanji, both of whom were a few feet behind him, caught his attention, as they both spoke.
"He's out there." Sanji answered, pointing out to the drifting away galleon, which was partially submerged in the water, slowly sinking. "In that boat of his."
"I kicked his ass. In spite of all you said he was, it didn't take much to take him down." Luffy stated bluntly, no maliciousness in his words, only honesty.
Ghin whirled to face them at that, his eyes as wide as wide could be. "Don Krieg was defeated...? Impossible!"
Luffy shook his head at that. "No, you let him fool you into believing he was far more powerful than he was. He used all his toys against me, but they were no match for real strength. In the end, he was nothing more than an overconfident weakling with weapons. You could defeat him yourself if you really wanted to, judging by the way you worked over Sanji anyways. He was the wrong man for you to follow, as just like his power, his honor is nonexistent. He planned to kill you even after he told you that you had one last chance with so-"
"I know." Ghin admitted to the two, cutting the rubber teen off. "I knew he would kill me for disobeying his orders and questioning him, even if I complied in the end. I was waiting for it, because I deserved it. In his place I would have done the same." He lowered his head in shame at that.
"You're just as big an idiot as Sanji is, you know that?" Luffy asked rhetorically, a frown on his face as he did.
"What was that shithead!?" Sanji asked his dark haired captain angrily.
As Ghin's head shot back up, Luffy ignored his blonde friend, as he further explained what he was talking about. "You showed that guy undying loyalty, following his every order without question. You gave him all of your respect and admiration, and never asked for anything in return. What does he do to pay you back? He tries to kill you. I bet you guys never even considered becoming friends the whole time you sailed together, or at least he didn't. What kind of captain doesn't care for his crew? He has no honor, no morals, no real strength and doesn't care about anyone but himself, how could you ever come to respect and admire someone like him Ghin? Ask yourself that, because I can't come up with an answer."
Sanji scoffed at that, "That's because you don't ever think."
Ghin could only stare at the younger man, completely dumbfounded by his words, his thoughts racing at a million miles an hour, the severity of the mental and emotional blow dealt to him bringing him to his knees, as he realized what the rubber man was talking about.
"Come on Sanji, we've gotta get ready to catch up with Zoro and the others." Luffy told his friend, turning and walking back inside the Baratie, Sanji following after, leaving Ghin to his whirling thoughts.
The two came out a few minutes later, dressed a fresh set of clothes, both wearing the same outfit, just clean and undamaged versions of them, plus the bandages under Sanji's and the bandages wrapped around both of Luffy's hands. They were also carrying a big bag of food, so they had something to eat as they made their way to their destination.
As the two got to the boat, put the bag in and prepared to get in themselves, Ghin got to one foot, before getting to the other and proceeding to stand erect, shouting as he did, "To hell with Don Krieg!", catching both of their attention as he did.
The two couldn't know that he had known what had happened all along, where Krieg was and how he had been beat, as he had seen the end of his defeat with his own eyes, though they were hazy when it happened, as he was fading in and out of consciousness. Which is why he had thought it not real, only a delusion. "You're right Luffy. My devotion to him was just an escape from forging my own destiny. Once your heart is set and you pursue all your dreams with every last fiber of what you are, you will never feel lost or hopeless or afraid again. You've taught me that." He managed to form a grin after he said this, showing the rubber pirate he truly meant what he said.
Luffy grinned right back at him. "Good!" He chuckled a bit after saying this.
"Sanji, Luffy, thank you for everything." He bowed his head in gratitude at that.
"No problem!" Luffy responded with a laugh.
"Hmph. What he said." Sanji, said, gesturing to his captain as he did.
"I know you're about to leave, so I've only got one last thing to say to you two."
Both of them showed they were listening, so that he would go on.
"I'll see you two on the Grand Line." Ghin stated, his grin widening a bit.
Luffy's grin turned into a smile, as Sanji grinned as well, both pleased by the former Krieg Pirate's words. "Yeah, you bet!" Luffy replied, agreeing with him to see each other again on the Grand Line.
That's when Zeff, Patty, Carne and all the other chefs came out onto what was left of the front fin of the Baratie. They kept a good ten feet of distance from Luffy and Sanji though.
Ghin could tell this was going to be something emotional, so as to keep it a private matter, he headed inside the Baratie, where he would wait until Zeff returned. From there he would negotiate a deal with him, so he could have a boat that he and the rest of the Krieg Pirates could use to leave.
"Sanji...take care of yourself, okay?" Zeff said suddenly.
Sanji, who had been facing the other way, prepared to get on the boat, froze then, his eyes widening. Tears began to well up in his eyes, as bit his tongue to keep from sobbing, though to no avail, as the tears began to stream down his face. Taking his teeth off his tongue, the thing almost bleeding because of how hard he had bit, he whirled to face all the other cooks. "CHEF ZEFF!" He cried, getting the old man's attention.
He got on his hands and knees and touched his head to the floor, tears still running down his face, as he spoke, "Thanks you geezer, I'll never forget your kindness! I owe my life to you old man, so thank you!" After having said what he needed to say, Sanji could no longer keep his sobs at bay as he cried.
All the other cooks began to tear up then, even Patty and Carne, but Zeff remained stone faced. Not for long though, as even he couldn't help, as tears welled up in his eyes and began to fall soon after.
"I'm gonna miss you so much!" Patty shouted through tears.
"I'm gonna miss you too!" Carne echoed his best friend's sentiment.
Sanji raised his head then, to look at all his fellow chefs in gratitude. They had been the closest thing to a family that he had ever had, and he would miss the dearly. Knowing that setting out was what he wanted more than anything kept him from saying he would stay, but seeing that they would all miss him just as much he would them made him smile in spite of the fact that he was still crying.
"You wusses, real men should depart without a word, let alone tears." Zeff told them all, and yet, as he did, he had to wipe away his very own tears.
Getting to his feet then, Sanji turned and got onto the boat they had been given, this one actually having a small cabin it it with a kitchen unlike the boat that had been given to Zoro, Usopp, Johnny and Yosaku.
As Luffy and Sanji set sail, the latter of the two turned to look back at the Baratie and all it's chefs. "I will see you again! I'll come back someday!" He told them, his tears still fresh, as he waved farewell to them with both arms.
And in turn, all the chefs, with the sole exception of Zeff, waved back at him, all still crying as well, wishing him farewell.
Zeff stood a few feet behind the others, thinking to himself as the one he saw as his son sailed away. "As long as you sail with enough faith in yourself, that you have no fear, not even of death, you will find the All Blue, I'm sure of it."
"Alright men, customers'll be here soon, get to work already!" He barked at the rest of the cooks.
Nami had set the course for where she was going, and seeing as the weather was calm, she was able to leave the deck, not having to worry about suddenly changing course.
She lie on the bed in the cabin that she had been using since she had stepped foot on the Merry, her wounded hand wrapped up in bandages. The young orange haired girl was curled into a ball, as she cried her eyes out. All the agony, the sorrow, the guilt and the anger she had inside her...she was drowning in it all. She had no one to turn to and nowhere to go...because no one could take on her demons. They were far too great for anyone to fight. Which left her all alone in the dark depth that was her existence, always struggling, always fighting, but never getting anywhere. "Luffy..." She whimpered desperately, her tears ever falling.
To Be Continued...
Alright, that wraps up the Baratie arc. Now then, you guys know what comes next. Next time I update, the Arlong Arc will begin, yay! I've been waiting to write these next few chapters since the very beginning. I cannot wait! See you guys then!