Ranger Station Charlie: I'm glad.
Thank you.
Yeah, I understand where you're coming from, but eh, what can ya do? I just decided to go that way with it, ya know?
Is that so? Could you give me a specific example, so I could scrutinize it to the best of my ability? Because if I see the same problem you do, I'd like to try and fix it, or at least make sure it doesn't happen again.
totalsolution: Okay, first off, you're just wrong. The overall chapter was eight thousand, five hundred and sixty words long. The Author's note was exactly two thousand, four hundred and eight words. Subtract that from the overall length, and you've still got six thousand, one hundred and fifty two words of content. That means the Author's note was not almost as long as the chapter, and was in fact just a little over one-fourth of it. The content within was a little over two and a half times as long as the author's note. Now that that's been established, onto your second point, the chapter being filler, I can't exactly argue with that. It was to start the Loguetown arc, so..yeah, I guess I'll just conceded to you on that, whatever.
Third, you don't know why I needed so long to update? I'm guessing you don't read my author's notes, since I've explained time and time, and yet time again as to why it can take me so long to update. And if you have, then I don't get what's so hard to understand. And as for it being my problem, sure, it is, whatever. It's my story though, I can update it whenever I feel like it. Yes, I do, at times, feel indebted to my readers to get out an update, but in the grand scheme of things, it is up to me, and only me, if the story even gets written at all. That ties in to your fourth point. That I should make sure every update carries some weight since I take so long, actually, no. You don't dictate how I write my story, nor could I do so for you. I can write it however the hell I want to, and so could you if this was your story, end of story.
Fifth, mean? I suppose you can see it that way, it's subjective after all. That said, I think that's going a little far, but...you know what, I digress. I'm done with this review. Thank you for your input. Believe it or not, I do appreciate it. I do hope you continue to read. Have a nice day! :)
midnightscar17: Thank you. And, yeah, I probably am.
I do have some thoughts on how the Straw Hats will be figuring out haki. That said, it'll still be some time before that happens. All I'll say further on the matter, is that it will be before Water 7.
Jash814: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Well, here's a bit more, and I'll do my best.
avatoa: Oh yeah, big time. Even more so in the next chapter. What do I mean by that? You shall see.
Johnny Spectre: That is a very good point my friend. That said, you got me, Mihawk is met in Loguetown, just as you had predicted. Originally I was split between him showing up there, or at Reverse Mountain after they met Laboon. As you can see, I'm going with the former. So...yeah, good job!
Tonlor: Thanks. Almost showdown time. Not just quite yet my friend.
Guest: Thank you. Is that so? Cool. Here ya go, a quick follow-up update. Hope you like it.
The second part of the Loguetown arc is here! Please read, review and enjoy.
As the trio of childhood friends arrived in the town square of Loguetown, they looked about, taking in the sight of all the bustling citizens as they moved about, a big old crowd present, before quickly spotting the object of their search, the execution platform.
"There it is!" Luffy exclaimed as he proceeded to rush over to it.
"Luffy wait! We can't have you go and attracting attention!" Nami chastised her boyfriend, running after him as she did.
Zoro just strolled over to them, completely unconcerned, as Luffy reached the scaffolding and began trying to climb the structure, while Nami grabbed ahold of him by the back of his vest and kept him from making any progress in such a task.
"Come on Nami, let me go! I just wanna see what the King of the Pirates saw before he died!" The raven haired teen told her, as he continued to try and make his way up, to no avail.
"Yeah, well, maybe you should try and employ a little more subtlety. Because, in case you hadn't noticed, you've got everyone staring at us now!" She yelled at him. "Which is exactly what we don't want!"
Everyone was, indeed, staring at them at this point, all of the citizens having stopped in their tracks to watch as this spectacle unfolded before their eyes.
"Oh yeah, well, your yelling isn't helping!" He contended, turning his head to look down at her, having finally gotten up a few steps.
"I'm only yelling because you're trying to do something stupid!" She shot back, trying to pull him back down to ground level.
"How is this stupid!? I just want to climb the platform and see what the view is like from the top!"
"Because Luffy, climbing a structure built for people to be executed on isn't normal! And the marines notice not normal! And we don't want to alert the marines to our presence!" The orange haired cartographer explained, as she was pulled off her feet by her boyfriend climbing a little higher, thanks to her refusal to let go of his vest.
"You're both causing a scene." Zoro informed them.
"It's his/her fault!" They both shouted at the swordsman.
The green haired teen rolled his eyes at that. "You should have just let him climb the damn thing. It'd of been over by this point and we could have been on our way already." He said to the light brown, pink tinted, eyed girl. "It's not even a big deal. Let him do what he wants. He's done a lot crazier things than this."
"Yeah, but-" She attempted to counter, but stopped short, recognizing the fact that the swordsman was right. "-oh fine, whatever." She gave up with a sigh, letting go of her captain's vest, dropping about a foot or so as a result, landing on her feet. "Go ahead Luffy, I don't care."
"Thanks!" He said, before traversing the entirety of the scaffolding's height in a matter of a few moments.
"Even you usually aren't this uptight, what's the problem?" The dark green eyed eighteen year old inquired.
Ignoring the insinuation that she was uptight, Nami simply sighed once more, before giving her reason. "Now that Luffy's got a bounty on his head, it's like he's got a huge bullseye painted on his back. We'll never know when some marine or bounty hunter or even just some stab happy idiot will come around to try and take his life for even the chance of a chunk of change being thrown their way as compensation. The last thing we need is for him to go around causing a ruckus and attracting a whole bunch of unwanted attention to himself." Her concern shone through her tone completely, she was genuinely worried for his wellbeing.
"He isn't a kid anymore Nami." The swordsman stated.
"What's that supposed to mean?" She questioned, clearly confused by that statement.
"He can protect himself. He doesn't need you to look after him as if he was some helpless child." He elaborated, closing his eyes and crossing his arms as he did. "He's grown up a lot since we were kids, and I don't just mean physically. He chose this life, and he can handle the consequences that come with it. He has what it takes to be the captain. I know it, and so do you. So don't go losing your head worrying over something as trivial as a bounty on his." He continued. "Remember what he told you. As captain, his role is to carry the burdens of his crew. He's fully prepared for that. You saw it yourself first hand." He was, of course, referring to the incident in her hometown.
"So, what, we're just supposed to not care, not look after him? I don't care how strong he's become, that doesn't change the fact that he's Luffy! He always gets himself into trouble! What if one day he gets himself in too deep and can't get himself out of it? Are we supposed to just stand by and watch!?" Nami demanded, her ire flaring.
"That's not what I'm saying." Zoro refuted, opening his eyes as he did. "It's fine to look out for him, it's fine to be concerned, hell, you can even go so far as to baby him like you did when we were kids and he got hurt. But, what you absolutely cannot do, is treat him like a child. He is a grown man, and more importantly, your captain. To treat him otherwise, in any way, would be an insult to his authority as captain." The green haired swordsman's eyes were hard, as he locked gazes with his fellow crewmember.
Eyes widening, Nami realized the implications of what he was saying. "I would never disrespect Luffy's position as captain!" She asserted with vehemence.
"Haven't you already?" Zoro retorted, his tone still even.
"Wha-I, I mean-" Nami floundered for just a moment, taken back, but knowing exactly what he was referring to, just about everything she did before the truth was revealed. "-that was completely different, it won't ever happen again!" She disputed.
"Are you sure about that?" He queried sharply.
"Yes, of course I am!" Was her immediate response.
"Good."
The two stared each other down then, clearly neither feeling too fond of the other at the moment, but coming to an understanding regardless.
Their staring contest didn't last for too long though, as their eyes soon drifted upward to Luffy, where all the denizens of Loguetown around them had been focusing their attention, rather than the two bickering teens at the base of the execution platform, as he spoke, to himself, yet again. "So, this is what the King of the Pirates saw right before he died..."
"Hey, you!" A generic looking marine called through a megaphone, making everyone aware of his presence, said man having only just arrived a few short moments ago.
"Huh, me?" Luffy questioned, pointing to himself as he did, completely unsure as to why he was being called out.
Sanji and Usopp, both of whom were making their way to the town square, which was the spot Nami had indicated as the meeting spot, had just returned from the Merry, having dropped off everything they had purchased, after experiencing their own little adventures, or rather, misadventures, in Loguetown.
Usopp had been suckered into buying a bunch of useless crap, before managing to pick out a somewhat decent item from the shady salesman at the so called 'trinket' shop. Said item? A pair of specialty goggles. Only problem was, his berri reserves were all but spent, so in the half a minute it took him retrieve what little he had left from his backpack, a little blonde girl had come in and purchased the goggles. He had tried to barter with her for them, being as nice as he could, but it got to the point where she was just being a brat, and he tried to use a little intimidation, in the form of his eight thousand men line, to try and get her to fork them over. Needless to say, it didn't work. And to make matters worse, as it turned out, her father was literally Daddy the Father, the most infamous bounty hunter in the entire East Blue. And he did not take kindly to men, pirates especially, as it turned out he had Luffy's bounty and picked out the back of Usopp's head, picking on his daughter.
In result of this, he ended up in a situation, through no fault of his own if you asked him, where he had to duel said bounty hunter. He had nearly ran for it, so scared he was. In fact, he tried to, thinking to himself there was no reason to even have the damn duel in the first place. Why should he go through with it for no freaking good reason!? He nearly got his head blown off for doing so, the bounty hunter stopping him in his tracks with a quickshot. He had fallen to his knees after that, trying to fight off his emotions, as he felt shame consume him. Perhaps the duel had been pointless, but he had just thrown what little honor he had away. In an attempt to soothe the teen, perhaps out of pity, the man disclosed how he had known the sniper's father, and how he had gotten the best of him way back when, and then had allowed him to live.
Usopp, humbled by the man's actions of putting himself beneath him by confessing such a thing, asked for another chance. So, he was given it. Daddy the Father challenged him to hit a weathervane that was way too far off to ever be hit with a simple slingshot, and yet, not only did the long nosed liar hit it, he broke through the crown of it with his superior accuracy. Genuinely impressed, the man complimented him, and even gave him a pair of flintlock pistols as a parting gift, before going on his way. His little girl also gave him the goggles. A semblance of honor restored, he returned to the Merry and dropped off his stuff, meeting up with Sanji as he did.
Sanji had simply went down a list of ingredients and bought them all, scoping out all the sexy ladies along the way, of course. During this, he ran into a strange, red haired woman, flamboyant in style, named Carmen, as well as her two attendants, that he didn't bother to remember the names of. She said something about having been searching for him for nearly a decade, and how she had traveled all over the East Blue, challenging every chef she could find to test her culinary skills, to prove herself the best cook in the whole East Blue, and that now, she just had to beat him. He was kind and courteous to her, he also flirted with her, but that went without saying, but declined her request for a cook-off regardless.
Going on his way, he eventually came across the fish market, where he spotted a Bluefin Elephant Tuna. He had read about such a fish, and was filled with excitement at the thought of getting to cook it. However, he was quickly informed that, it being the rarity it was in the East Blue, it wasn't for sale, and was, instead, the grand prize for a cooking contest that was just about to start. The blonde was determined to get his hands on it, so, he entered. Which worked out in the Carmen woman's favor, actually, as she had entered as well.
The two chefs whipped the entirety of their competition, none of the other cooks even close to a match for them. Because of this, all the other participants were eliminated rather quickly. Which left just the two of them for the final round, winner takes home the fish. So, they went at it. Carmen cooked with a fiery passion and all the flare one would expect from someone of her personality and appearance, while Sanji cooked with a calm and completely collected manor, in no rush once so ever, and no real flashy theatrics were employed. And yet, both cooks finished damn near at the same time. That said, one's meal far outpaced the others, and that was, of course, the swirly browed pirate's.
Carmen admitted defeat, but swore to challenge him again one day. Sanji agreed to the rematch, whenever she wanted it. He was then awarded the Bluefin Elephant Tuna, and proceeded to haul it, and all the other ingredients he had bought, to the ship, where he met up with Usopp.
And now, they drew close to the center of town, where the execution platform stood, as well as where they would meet up with the others.
"Are those storm clouds?" Usopp wondered aloud, having, by chance, looked up at the sky.
"Hmm?" Sanji looked up as well then, to see the dark clouds rolling in. "Yeah, I'd say so."
"Get down from there! That's government property you're standing on!" A shout, that was given through a megaphone judging by the volume of it, reached the ears of the two Straw Hats then.
"That's probably Luffy." Both teens stated then, before picking up the pace, so as to get to the execution platform faster.
Luffy, who was still being shouted at by the marine with a megaphone, had yet to even give the slightest inclination of acquiescing to the demand being made of him, to get down off of the platform. The threat of being arrested was thrown out more than once, but it still didn't do squat. All the rubberman had to say in turn was, 'What's the magic word?'. It need not be said that the marine was growing rather impatient and angry.
"It's like he's trying to piss the guy off." Nami said with a shake of her head.
"It's Luffy, what did you expect? He's never done well when it comes to authority figures." Zoro commented.
"Yeah, you're right. I just thought that, maybe, he had gotten over that."
"Nope." Was the simple reply Zoro gave.
"Guess it was too much to hope for." The cartographer remarked with a sigh.
"Yep." The swordsman affirmed.
"Oh my god, she's so beautiful!" Several of the gathered citizens of Loguetown exclaimed, a great number of them having congregated to the area, drawing attention to them, and the one they were speaking of.
Who they were referring to, as it turned out, was a rather attractive woman with light skin, green eyes and black hair, who wore a bikini-top, pink pants, a white cowboy hat and a long purple coat. Oh, and she also wielded a club, it resting against her shoulders, the woman holding the shaft with a single hand.
"I've been looking for you, Straw Hat. It's been a while, hasn't it?" The woman said, clearly speaking to Luffy, as she was looking right up at him.
"Huh? Are you talking to me?" Luffy queried, clearly confused.
"Oh, don't be so cold. Don't tell me you've forgotten my beautiful face." The woman responded with a smirk.
"Who's this chick?" Nami questioned with a quirked brow.
"Hell if I know." Zoro told her with a shrug.
"Yeah, sorry, I don't know you." The straw hat wearing teen bluntly informed her.
"You really don't remember me? Well, I could never forget you. You were the first man that ever truly hit me." The sensuality in her tone suggested that wasn't such a bad thing in her book.
At that, more of the denizens of the town having been enthralled by her looks, many of the men and women below, including the marine with the megaphone, audibly growled and began to glare daggers at the young rubberman.
"What!? I never hit you!" Luffy rebutted, a little incredulous of having been accused of something he had no memory of ever doing.
"When you struck me with your powerful fist..." The woman began, moving her free hand to her exposed stomach and giving it a rub. "It felt good." The lust that exuded from her at that had many of the people there in puddles.
"Luffy just attracts weirdos..." Zoro remarked with a shake of his head.
"I suddenly want him to hit her again. Only, a lot harder." Nami vocalized her thoughts aloud with a scowl. She did not appreciate the way that woman was eyeing Luffy, her Luffy.
Luffy's reaction was just to stare at her like she was crazy.
"You still don't remember?" She asked, a tad disappointed. "Perhaps this will help jog your memory. Answer me this, who is the most beautiful on all these seas?"
"Oh, that's easy. The answer is Nami." The raven haired teen proceeded to answer, completely straight faced.
Without hesitation, all the charmed people immediately cried, "YOU ARE!"
"That's correct." The woman said, her smirk widening, it having yet to register in her mind that the person she was most interested in here had said otherwise. "I am quite breathtaking, aren't I?" She held out her free arm, as if presenting herself. "There isn't a man alive who wouldn't crumble before my beauty. But I prefer strong men, like you. That's why I'm going to make you mi-wait..." She paused, as it finally sunk in what the straw hat wearing teen had said. "Di-did you just say another woman's name!?" She asked with incredulity.
"Uh, yeah, Nami." Luffy confirmed, not thinking much of it.
"NO! The answer to that question is me stupid, ALVIDA!" Alvida cried with exasperation.
Meanwhile, Nami was scratching her cheek bashfully, flushed red at her boyfriend's words. Though she'd be lying if she said she didn't like hearing him say them.
"I question Luffy's sanity sometimes." Zoro said then.
"Shut up." Nami spat at him quickly, quite aware that was a jab at her rather than their mutual friend. Not a moment afterward though, is when she realized something. 'Wait, Alvida?' Blinking her eyes three times in rapid succession, the orange haired teen was still faced with the slender, good looking woman. 'That's Alvida? What happened to the fat tub of lard I stole from a little over a month ago?' She wondered to herself.
"Alvida?" Luffy repeated the name, beginning to scan the area. "I don't see Alvida."
"You moron, I'm Alvida!" Alvida yelled at him, pointing at herself as she did. "The Smooth-Smooth Fruit I ate only got rid of my freckles, I can't possibly look much different than when you last saw me!" She insisted.
'Delusional much?' Nami thought to herself.
"You ate a Devil Fruit? That explains it, I guess." Luffy remarked with a shrug of his shoulders, thinking to himself as he did, 'I didn't think Devil Fruits could change someone so much.'
"I don't know what's going on, nor do I really care. But it's only a matter of time before the marines get here at this point." Zoro pointed out to Nami.
"Crap, you're right." Turning around, Nami called up to her boyfriend, "Luffy, we need to get going!"
"Huh? Oh, alright. I'm coming Nami." The straw hat wearing pirate agreed.
Before he could jump down from the execution platform though, a number of other people made an entrance.
"Everybody flashily stay where they are!" A cloaked man cried, before ripping it off and throwing it to the wind, revealing himself as Buggy the Clown. Though his appearance was slightly different than when Luffy had last saw him, as the crossbone motif of his face paint was gone, and he now bore a anchor like design on his face, colored a dark blue-green. Beside that though, he looked the same.
All the cloaked individuals behind Buggy went on to tear off their cloaks as well, revealing the rest of his crew, Cabaji, Richie and Mohji, now sporting his hair in a lion-like mane, there along with all the grunts.
"IT'S THE BUGGY PIRATES! EVERYBODY RUN!" One man screamed, setting off a chain reaction as the rest of them began to start screaming and running around, like chickens with their heads cut off, in an attempt to get away from the dreaded pirate crew. They didn't get far, however, as Buggy's men, seemingly having been prepared for this, all pulled out weapons, ranging from cutlasses to flintlock rifles and such, and stopped them all in their tracks, making it clear they would kill anyone who made a break for it. They were going to stay here, just like their captain had ordered them to.
"You mean people are actually afraid of this guy?" Zoro wondered aloud, having never seen someone actually be scared of the clown and his circus.
Cackling rather insanely, Buggy seemed to relish in the fear. "Now that I've made my entrance, it's time for the real flashy star of the show!" He exclaimed, before pointing up at his rubber enemy. "Monkey D. Luffy, ever since the day you foiled my plans to further my infamy, I've been obsessed with exacting my revenge on you! That alone led to me finding others like me that had been wronged by you, and forming an alliance with them, for the sole purpose of taking your head! It was no easy task mind you, there were more obstacles in my way than I could count! My travels to recruit these like minded people are an epic saga. I went to hell, found friendship, formed camaraderie with people I never thought I possibly could, witnessed a bloodbath, I even almost lost parts of my body! I call this tale 'Buggy's Big Adventure!' The first thing that happened was-wait, WHY THE HELL AM I TELLING YOU A STORY!?"
The absurdity of this was almost too much for Zoro and Nami, both teens proceeding to facepalm.
"Oh yeah, you're that clown guy." Luffy said in recognition. "Now, what was your name again? Buhhi, Baggy, Bonnie, ah, I know, it was Buffoon!"
"Buffoon!?" Buggy repeated with a snort of disbelief.
Zoro and Nami couldn't help but crack up at this, laughing rather hardily.
"You've gotta lotta nerve, you rubber bastard! And now Buggy the Clown is going to make you pay for that!"
"Eh, I still think Buffoon fits better." The dark haired teen said nonchalantly with a wave of his hand.
"Agreed." Both Nami and Zoro gave a thumbs up, showing their seal of approval regarding that, still snickering over it as they did.
"AARRGH! SUNUVA BITCH!" Buggy screamed with rage, as he dashed over to the scaffolding and proceeded to hurriedly climb to the top, where he stood atop the platform and went on to get in Luffy's face, so close, in fact, that their faces were only a mere five inches apart.
"Say something now, say something now, I dare you!" Buggy attempted to provoke the teen.
"You want me to say something!?" The younger man queried with a scowl, becoming more hostile now that his personal space was being invaded, by Buggy, of all people.
"Yeah, I do!" Buggy confirmed, slamming his forehead against the younger man's.
"Alright then, I'll say something!" Luffy replied, slamming his forehead against the older man's in turn, their noses now literally pressed up against each other. "Your nose is so freaking huge, that people can see it all the way from space!" The young pirate captain antagonized.
"Tsk." Three seconds of silence passed, before..."I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" Buggy squawked at the top of his lungs, as he shot his hands up and wrapped them around his adversary's throat, in an attempt to choke the life out of him.
"I'd like to see you try!" Was Luffy's comeback, as he, in turn, wrapped his hands around the clown's throat, in an attempt to choke him out, and the two proceeded to go back and forth in an attempt to get the better of the other.
"This is so stupid." Nami opined as she facepalmed yet again.
"Can't argue with that." Zoro agreed.
"Men." Alvida said with a shake of her head.
This stupid little spectacle was quickly turned on it's head, as, without warning, someone dropped down from the rooftop closest to the execution platform, and knocked Luffy down and pinned him to the platform with a wooden stockade. "That's enough of that foolishness." Remarked the man who had just trapped the young teen.
All three Straw Hats quickly recognized him as Kuro, though he wore glasses once more, a new pair, he sported different clothing, in the form of a long sleeve, white button up shirt and just plain black slacks, he had also retained his original shoes. Beside that, a noticeable difference was that his broken cat claw had been jerry rigged, giving him two weapons once more.
"Kuro!" Zoro and Nami spoke the man's name in tandem, before quickly jumping back to avoid a double attack by two other persons. They forced them nearly a dozen feet back before coming to a stop, the two quickly recognizing them as they did.
The first was Morgan, his metal jaw brace had been reattached, he had a new axe-hand, and he now wore a pair of black trousers, nondescript boots and a sleeveless black shirt.
The second was Krieg, who had moderate stubble across his face, second degree burns running down the left side of his body from his face to his waist, and his right arm in a sling. His attire consisted of a grey, short sleeved shirt, dark brown trousers, and a pair of steel toed black boots. He also carried a large sword in his good hand.
"I'll be taking all three of your heads!" Morgan snarled.
"You won't survive this time!" Krieg growled.
At the same time, more of Buggy's grunts, some of whom Alvida had recruited, she, Krieg and Kuro having recruited more grunts to the alliance overall, flooded the town square, in an attempt to block off the path to the execution platform. Mohji riding atop Richie, as well as Cabaji and Alvida all came forward to do the same.
"Oh well, looks like the man I had my eye on is about to lose his head. Them's the breaks, I suppose." Alvida said, as she dropped the club from her shoulders, in preparation for battle.
"They're trying to keep us from Luffy!" Nami hurriedly observed.
"They can try, but like hell will they succeed!" Zoro exclaimed, as he unsheathed his swords.
Above, Luffy attempted to the best of his ability to wriggle, fight and thrash, so as to get out of the stockade. Unfortunately, he found himself without any real energy to do so, reducing his movements to sluggish jerks of his body. "Wh-Why d-do I f-feel s-so we-weak!? Why can-can't I m-move!?" He wondered aloud to himself with frustration.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You stupid rubber headed retard! That thing's lined, no, more like jampacked with Sea-Prism Stone! No Devil Fruit user could possibly hope to escape it!" Buggy elucidated.
Eyes widening to the size of dinner plates, Luffy realized just how dire his situation was. 'Sea-Prism Stone!? That's that stuff Gramps once used to take away my ability during training! Not good!'
Sitting atop the stockade, Kuro gazed down at his enemy, his loathing and contempt all too clear in his eyes. "Did you think I would simply forget that you ruined nearly three years of planning?" He questioned rhetorically. "It's time for you to pay for dashing my chances at ever having the peaceful life I had yearned so long for. Today, you will die."
"Good job Kuro." Buggy praised, not that the bespectacled man paid him any mind. "To all of my followers, hundred of billions of them around the world...!" The clown pirate started, turning to face his, literally, captive audience below. "We will now begin the most flashy public execution to ever take place!" He continued, as he looked down at Luffy. "Tell me Straw Hat, feel honored? You'll die in the same spot as the King of the Pirates!"
"Shit! Th-This is b-bad!" Luffy vocalized his most forefront thought on the matter, as he continued to try and free himself from the stockade, regardless of the knowledge that it was chock full of Seastone.
...
As Sanji and Usopp finally reached their destination of the town square, they immediately recognized something was very wrong.
"Is the circus in town or something?" Sanji wondered aloud, noticing the motif of the Buggy Pirates.
"Oh c-crap, it's Kuro!" Usopp exclaimed with anxiousness and little bit of fear, pointing out the man atop the scaffolding. "And he's got Luffy trapped!"
Sanji's focus was pulled from the silly appearance of all the men to the severity of the situation at Usopp's exclamation. "And that Krieg asshole is here too. As well as a bunch of other losers. Shit." He cursed, quickly recognizing that every available body was blocking the way to the platform, meaning it'd take a little time to get to it if you were in the middle of all the mess. For them, who weren't even in the thick of it, there was no possible way they could make it in time. Still, it wasn't like they couldn't try. "Come on Usopp, we have to hurry." The blonde told him, breaking into a run toward the scaffolding as he did.
"R-Right!" Usopp agreed without hesitation, rushing after him, as he wouldn't just sit idly by when his best friend needed help
"Pirate Monkey D. Luffy of the Straw Hats, shall be flashily executed for the crime of being stuck up and making me angry!" Buggy yelled from his place on the platform, throwing his arms out as he did. At his words, all the grunts below roared in celebration. "Now live it up, flashily!"
The wind began to pick up then, as the dark clouds that signalled a storm reached the square and shrouded it in shadow.
Smoker and Tashigi, leading a squadron of marines, had taken cover inside a building, to conceal their presence. They had arrived just moments prior, and now lie in wait for the right moment to strike.
"Just give the order Captain." One of the grunts said, tightening his grip on his rifle, ready to storm the square despite his anxiousness.
"Hold your positions." Smoker commanded, to the grunt and his fellows confusion.
"Sir?" Several of them queried.
"They've got hostages, it won't do us any good to go charging in needlessly, it'll just put the civilians lives in danger." He explained his reasoning. "Right now, two pirate groups are at each other's throats. We use that to our advantage. We wait until Straw Hat's head rolls, that's when we move in. The chaos that ensues should give us just enough time to get the civilians to safety without having to worry about them being attacked. After that is when we attack."
"Understood sir." The first grunt said with a nod of his head, the others doing the same.
'Buggy the Clown, Iron Club Alvida, Foul Play Krieg, Kuro the Man of a Thousand Plans, and Axe-Hand Morgan, all together in one location...what kind of alliance is this?' Smoker wondered to himself. 'Kuro is supposed to be dead, Morgan, last I heard, was on his way to headquarters for a court-martial, Krieg is clearly badly injured and yet comes to do battle with the biggest pirate currently in the East Blue, not to mention the lack of his five thousand men...just what is going on here?' The white haired man pondered. 'Could it be that Straw Hat caused such problems for them, that they would actually go so far as to band together just to take him out? But if that were the case, then that would mean Straw Hat was the one to break Morgan's hold on Shells Town...which would also dictate that he was the one to stop Buggy's mayhem in the same town...but why would a pirate ever do such a thing? This just doesn't make sense.' The cigar smoking man struggled to find a reasonable conclusion, a scowl forming across his face.
Meanwhile, Tashigi's mind was on only one thing. 'That man...is Roronoa Zoro. He lied to me. He's a pirate...and he has one of the legendary blades.' Her eyes visibly narrowed behind her glasses.
"ALRIGHT!" Buggy cried out for all to hear. "I HEREBY FLASHILY BEGIN THE FESTIVITIES OF THIS PUBLIC EXECUTION!"
"You've got quite a big audience here today, Straw Hat. You want to say a few words before you die? Best get'em out now, cause they'll be your last!" Buggy jeered the rubberman.
Luffy seemed to contemplate that, as if he should say anything or not, and considering he couldn't exactly escape on his own, there wasn't really a point not to. He may not be able to get out of this, but that didn't mean anything, he wasn't going to die here. Zoro would save him, or maybe Sanji would, perhaps even Nami or Usopp...but one thing was for sure to the teen, he was not going to die. He wasn't just going to admit defeat like that. So, taking in a deep breath, the straw hat wearing pirate proceeded to bellow out, just as a great wind swept over the area, "LISTEN! I'M THE MAN WHO'LL BE KING OF THE PIRATES!" Those words, so filled with fire and passion and certainty and undying determination, seemed to echo across the island.
The response to these words, was just all the people below to gawk at him like he was insane.
Detaching one of his hands, Buggy sent it floating down to retrieve a cutlass, before returning to him and reattaching itself, arming him with the blade. "Boast and bluster all you want kid, it won't matter when you're dead!" The clown told him with a chuckle. "Now, it's time for the best part of the show!"
"STOP THE EXECUTION!" Usopp and Sanji shouted in tandem.
"JUST HANG ON LUFFY, WE'RE COMING!" Nami called out.
"DROP THE SWORD OR DIE CLOWN!" Zoro demanded.
Luffy, realizing none of his friends were close enough to help him, rapidly came to the realization that they weren't going to be able to save him. As he came to grips with this, desperation filled him to the brim and he tried to force himself out of his constraints for the umpteenth time.
"Sorry kids, but you're just a little too late!" Buggy sneered down at them. "There's nothing you can do to stop me now! THIS IS THE END FOR YOUR CAPTAIN!" The clown cried with sadistic glee, as he lifted the blade high, preparing to bring it down and behead his most hated enemy.
Looking up at Buggy and the sword he held, Luffy's mind registered the fact that he was about to meet his demise, and that there was nothing he could possibly do about it. Despite how sure he had been that it just wasn't going to happen, he truly would die today. Knowing this, the apprehension he felt faded, as did his desperation, and his struggles ceased once and for all. Looking down at his crew, as they fought tooth and nail to reach him, in hopes of saving his life. They truly cared for him. They really were his family. And that truth brought him serenity, even in the face of death. "Sanji! Usopp! Zoro! Nami!" He called their names to get their eyes on him, before giving them a genuine smile, filled with all the cheer and happiness they had brought to his life. "Sorry...but, I'm dead."
Below, as the other four Straw Hats desperately carved paths to their captain through the pirates as fast as they could possibly manage, his words reached their ears.
"SHUT UP YOU IDIOT!" Sanji berated.
"DON'T SAY THAT!" Usopp yelled.
"LUFFY, NOOOOOOOOOO!" Nami screamed, tears manifesting in her eyes.
"I WON'T LET YOU DIE!" Zoro proclaimed with all the vehemence he could muster, trying to force himself to move even faster, to no avail. He was still just a little too far from the platform, having been pushed back even farther than before by Alvida and her devil fruit ability, not to mention having to assist Nami when she was overwhelmed by Krieg or Cabaji, Mohji and Richie. So there was absolutely no possible way for him to reach Luffy in time. He couldn't save Luffy. 'Unless...!'
Coming to a sudden halt, Zoro knocked the men most in his way to the side, sheathed his two new blades and proceeded to take a step back, bending his knees just a tad as he did. Raising his Wado above his head, positioned horizontally over his left shoulder, he grabbed ahold of his left arm just below the elbow, the one using the blade, with his right hand. 'I've never tested this technique before, but there's no time to worry about that now!' He thought to himself.
With no more than a single second of time left, Zoro acted. "One Sword Style: Thirty Six Caliber Phoenix!" Performing a circular swing of his Wado Ichimonji with all of his might, the swordsman unleashed a projectile created of pure compressed air spiralling toward the execution platform, the attack leaving streaks of white-tinted blue in it's wake.
The blast of wind traveled faster than a speeding bullet, cutting through anyone who got in it's way, killing at least a few of the pirate grunts, before reaching the scaffolding just as the blade was to touch the rubber teen's neck, crashing into it and near obliterating the structure.
Metal shrapnel created from the collision of the attack and the scaffolding was spat out in several directions, as the structure proceeded to collapse in on itself, the sudden loss of footing knocking Buggy off balance, preventing him from rending Luffy's head from his shoulders, and almost causing him to fall off. The sudden loss of stability was all the warning Kuro needed, as he stood and lept off the platform. As it turned out, he chose the exact right moment to, as lightning suddenly erupted from the sky at the same time, rain bursting from the clouds without warning as well, and struck the sword the clown pirate held up, as he tried to regain his footing, igniting what was left of the execution platform, setting it ablaze as it crashed into the ground, kicking up a large cloud of dirt and dust in the process.
This miraculous and damn near impossible rapid series of events, that had transpired in a matter of a few short seconds, left just about all present completely flabbergasted and speechless beyond belief.
To Be Continued...
End Note: Spoiler, the alliance has a backup plan. After all, Kuro is a part of the alliance this time around...and he came prepared. Find out what it is in the next chapter! Oh, and one more thing. I've seen more than a few stories write attacks, when someone says the names of their attacks, in bold or italics, both on one or two stories. What do you guys think? Do you like it, do you not? Basically, I want to know your opinions as to whether I should do the same or not. I tried it out during this chapter, but since there was only one actual attack, it wasn't much of a taste. Personally, I like it and I think I'll continue to do it like that. But, just perhaps, you guys can convince me otherwise, as to just use bold and not italics, or even neither at all. If you even want to, that is. Anyway, enough rambling. See you next chapter!