I just couldn't have let this go! Now I'm on fire, I will finish this, hopefully. And please review. It will be at most a minute of your time, but believe me, that would make the author's day. Not just me, but any story you read, leave at least one review. Reviews are the fuel of authors. I can't count the good stories that stopped due to the lack of reviews!
Disclaimer : Who owns One Piece? Oda-sensei I guess?
Once again, set sails!
Fuusha village
Zoro and Luffy were prepared for everything, but this is not on their book. They saw a tall, horned, kanabo wielding woman and a blue, large, and oni-looking whaleshark fishman. Now that was the very last thing they did expect. Luffy did the one thing he did best when he saw his long missing friends : He glomped both of them after a good tackle.
"JINBE!YAMATO! IT'S BEEN A LIFETIME!" Luffy yelled at the top of his lungs as he almost squeezed both of them to death.
"Luuufffyyy!" Yamato replied as she was practically wheezing after the diamond-crushing hug of her captain, while Jinbe was faring better, if barely. Zoro sighed as he pulled Luffy's arms away barely for the both of them to gulp a copious amount of air lest the died by asphyxiation due to their Captain's own fault.
"Luffy, Zoro, it's been a very long time.." Jinbe said seldomnly. Yamato was grinning from ear to ear as she bearhugged Luffy... With Haki as a payback.
"We did miss you Captain! And Zoro.." Yamato replied before she released Luffy to handshake Zoro's and was smirking as his grip was as strong as hers, "You two did spend a lot of time training?" She stated more than asked as Jinbe smiled at them.
"Not enough time!" Both the captain and first mate replied in a very sad tone. "We won't be able to.."
"Yes you will. No, we will!" Jinbe answered in a very serious tone as both Luffy and Zoro smirked at him. "Anyways, Ace-san kinda knew what you told him, and was surprised.." Jinbe told Luffy who's eyes widened before he cracked a very wide grin, "And Nami.. Well, she's fine. Arlong's in jail.. I quitted being a Shichibukai, and Yamato was able to remove her handcuffs."
"Huh?" Luffy's reply was as simple as ever, yet, it was all the necessary for Yamato to burst into a booming laughter.
"I was YOUR crewmate, remember?" Yamato replied and Zoro frowned.
"About Nami.. Does she still hate pirates?" Zoro asked Jinbe very seriously.
"She said that I was the first decent pirate, but I told her that I was acting under the order of my captain." Jinbe replied and Luffy felt horrible as Zoro sighed. They did threw Nami under the bus only for Jinbe to save the day it seems. Some captain he was.. "She expressed her gratitude, and said that she'll wait for us in Orange town." At this Luffy sighed in a very sad tone before he decided that it wasn't worth the long face. "May sixth!" At this, Luffy smirked. Oh Buggy better watch his ass now! If he hurt a single hair of Nami's, he will pay it with a bucket of blood. Then again, Jinbe was the one who unleashed Arlong..
"Okay.. So, who did repent?" Zoro asked as Yamato smirked.
"Well, a lot? I mean, there were a lot of fishmen who decided that following Arlong was the worst mistake they did.. Although, the octopus one was the only one who bowed at everyone present and asked their forgiveness as he didn't have a choice.. And then he went away, Kami knows where." Yamato said in a serious tone. "What's the plan, captain?"
"We set sails." Luffy replied curtly. It never occured to him that he can just travel. Too late for changing his mind. "Johnny, Yusaku, we're leaving!" Luffy declared as he went inside, hugged Dadan, and told her something before he went, his crew following him, all the way to Happy bar. He got inside, hugged Makino, thanked her, and asked her to do him one last favour before they all went outside, only to find that Jinbe did them one amazing favour by getting a big enough barque for them.. At least this time they won't be stuck in a small vessel for a while... Then Luffy smirked. Merry would travel with them once again.
And then the King of the coast appeared. Luffy smirked at his crew before he unleashed a burst of his Haoshoko no Haki (Spirit of the conquerer king), leaving the beast of an eel unconscious. Zoro smiled at the display, Jinbe laughed, Yamato chuckled while Johnny and Yusaku were both dumbfounded, their minds almost shattered. They've seen the power of Zoro and Luffy, but this was their very first time seeing something like that.
And with nothing to worry about for now, they set sail to Shell town, even for nostalgia's sake and for a quick meal... Luffy and Zoro had both figured out that with Jinba quitting being a Shichibukai, they, Yamato and Johnny and Yusaku, who were their newest recruits, would definitely get a bit too violent... They absolutely hoped that it won't get down to that.
"Say Jinbe, did you plan anything ahead?" Luffy asked their giant friend who gave Yamato a knowing look and the Oni nodded. Zoro looked at the Oni with a critical eye and spotted a new pouch? Well, that would mean that she definitely did plan ahead...
"Yamato, would you be kind enough?" Jinbe asked the Oni who grinned mischiviously. Johnny and Yusaku were giving them a questioning look only for Luffy to hug the Oni tightly once he saw the names he found...
"You're the best Yamato..." Luffy said curtly as he saw something that would make Nami grin like a Chesire cat.
"That was kinda expected.. Not bad at all." Zoro said seldomnly, while his smile betrayed what he wanted to say. In Yamato's pouch there were not one, not two, but three Eternal Pose, two types of Log Pose, and finally, a map of East Blue. Luffy and Zoro saw a few marked places, and while Luffy recognized them to an extent, Zoro decided not to say anything about something he had not the slightest idea about...
"You even marked the towns we'll have to go?" Jinbe asked Yamato who nodded, "I have to give you credit, you do remember a lot, Yamato." The Oni princess blushed and rubbed the back of her head. "I think that I'll fill in for Nami until we meet her."
And then Luffy stopped eating and had a forlorn gleam in his eyes as he remembered.. He sighed in deject. Zoro just opened two sake bottles and gave one to Luffy who chugged it in one go. Yamato and Jinbe both looked at Zoro as if he grew a second head and the swordsman sighed.
"He started this ever since we came back. It does help with that.." Zoro replied cryptically, not missing Jinbe's and Yamato's confused look, "I'll explain this over a sake bottle at a bar or something." The swordsman looked at the blue sky with clouds originally making some shape. The shapes started to change and eventually, the swordsman took a nap.
Luffy, Jinbe and Yamato were thinking.. Well, the later two were. Luffy was wondering what to do, since playtime was over, and they needed to kinda... Well, get their lives in business. The straw hat wearer was trying to train his Haki, well, Kenboshuko at least by trying to increase the distance he feels the voices better known as auras. And he was trying his best to locate any familiar aura of his old friends... No, family! He reminded himself that he's got a family in his crew. He now hated himself when he felt that Jinbe had done the right thing where he, the captain, didn't.
'Screw it! I'm doing what's right, consequences be damned! If the world would burn for them, let it burn in a solar explosion!' Luffy thought as he gripped something hard enough to crush it to dust. When he opened his palm, he found nothing but a bunch of dust...
"You're not suited for swords!" Zoro said to Luffy who snorted. Jinbe and Yamato gave him a curious look.
"He did destroy each and every sword he used hence the reason he have nothing but the Wado!" Luffy replied and Zoro gaped at him while Johnny and Yusaku sighed. To grip a sword hard enough to dismantle it..
"You're the one who wanted me to train harder you moron! And what about you almost melting when you tried your awakening? Or when you almost died when you tried to use gear fourth? Or the time you used gear second and bumped into two hundred trees?" Zoro smirked as Luffy was about to throttle him..
"Okay, hold it you two!" Yamato yelled sternly when she saw Zoro gripping Wado harder than ever, Luffy meanwhile clenchig his fist, "No fighting in this small dinghy! I can't swim nor fly, remember?"
Luffy and Zoro looked at each other, and laughed their lungs out at the same time after muffling their laughter for ten melliseconds. The two then smirked at each other mischiviously before they had one thought they both shared : Sanji have no chance against Zoro, and that would be hilarious... Then again, both of them have matured a lot more than they should have..
"Being wise sucks sometimes, no?" Zoro asked Luffy who drunk another bottle, Yamato and Jinbe didn't even seen him when he fetched it, much less Johnny and Yusaku, whome both Zoro and Luffy noticed had became stronger than ever, probably the strongest two in East blue after them, and probably can take down people such as Kuro and Krieg, but not even close to their standard.
"I guess? I mean I think that apart from meeting our Nakama? We should probably leave it completely to luck." Luffy said and Zoro cackled at this. He did say that last time when they asked his opinion about what to do in Enies Lobby raid to save Robin.
"I said that last time.." Zoro said to Luffy who tried to remember when.. Oh! When Ussop left them and came disguised as Sogeking.. Well, this time, they would need him to be strong enough.. Oh no! Brook and Carrot's locations are unknown!
"Brook and Carrot!" Luffy said in a panicked tone and Yamato sighed while Jinbe shook his head. That's problematic to say the least, but they have no doubts that they will find a way..
"Okay, we'll probably take another day to reach Shell town. Any ideas?" Jinbe said as he was the de facto navigator until they do meet Nami, where both he and Yamato would explain a bit about the navigation on the Grand line.
"We can't train.." Luffy said as Yamato gave him a surprised look and Jinbe nodded sadly. Zoro sighed dejectedly. They don't have much time, but they should have probably waited another month... Or they would just go and grab their Nakamas, and then go to.. Nah! Planning is too overrated. Maybe they can go to Orange town, save it from Buggy, then go grab Nami and probably someone else, before they just go to save Ussop, then finally get Sanji, go maybe to Loguetown...
"Luffy, what's your opinion about Smoker?" Zoro asked and Luffy lowered his head before he flared in anger.
"That moronic worthless jackass! I'm so gonna beat a hundred tons of dirt out of him! He could have saved Nami and her island, but noooo... He sits his ass in Loguetown, capturing any pirate wanting to get into Paradise, and then he preaches about Justice!" Luffy's words made both Johnny and Yusaku give him a surprised look. Yamato and Jinbe exchanged looks with Zoro who nodded sadly. It seems that hindsight is always twenty out of twenty after all...
Shells town
Jinbe, Yamato, Yusaku and Johnny followed Luffy and Zoro all the way to Ririka's restaurant. Luffy decided to go and eat there, even a single plate, for the sake of nostalgia, while Zoro had some money to pay, he told them that he couldn't probably afford more than one plate each, so they better choose wisely. At the end, they each decided on something.. Luffy and Zoro and Yamato decided on a dish of fish, and Jinbe on a bit of fruits, while Johnny and Yusaku decided to go with rice.
While people were giving them a wide birth, intimidated especially by Jinbe's bulk and Yamato's height, it was clear that they were just walking through. Johnny and Yusaku were both thinking about something in the lines of the monstrous power oozing from their crewmates, and how Luffy was accepting them that easily. Their thoughts were interrupted when Luffy greeted the woman and her daughter warmly and Zaro smilling at the kid a bit warmer than they thought he would.
"Yo!" Luffy said as he raised a hand in greeting, "What's the fish available?" Zoro snorted at his friend's straightforwardness.
"Hey Ma'am. I hope you have a great day. Can you tell me what booze you have, if you don't mind?" Zoro said before he put his hand on Luffy's shoulder, "There! That's how you talk to people!"
Jinbe and Yamato were astonished before they decided against sitting. And before they knew, an entire group of marines got inside. Jinbe sighed in annoyance. This was supposed to be a friendly visit, which was ruined...
"Hello gentlemen. What can I do for you?" Jinbe asked as their leader, Ripper gave him a serious look.
"Ex-Shichibukai Jinbe, why are you here?" Ripper asked to a completely nonchalant Jinbe who sighed.
"Just passing through!" The whale fishman replied calmly. Way too calmly...
"Since you were our ally, and a very noble man indeed, we'll overlook this. However, after you finish your meal, please, get out of this island without any trouble." The second in command, Rokkaku, told the gentle giant who shrugged.
"That was my plan. Heard that, Captain?" Jinbe asked Luffy who nodded.
"Captain?" Every marine blanched upon hearing this. Jinbe's latest bounty was easily in the four hundred millions, what kind of monsters can this tall woman be?
"Yeah." The straw hatted teenager replied and they all face faulted. This was Jinbe's new captain? Before the pendemonium starts, the restaurant owner arrived with food. Zoro immediately paid her, with a generous tip, while Yamato and Luffy started to eat with a vengeance, Zoro not far behind, Jinbe swallowed the few fruits, even the coconut! Only Johnny and Yusaku were not eating at the insane pace. After the very quick meal, they just helped the woman with the dishes, just to kill the time... And that made the marines blink before they decided that they were dreaming. As they bit their tongues, or pinched themselves, they realized that indeed, Jinbe the ex-shichibukai, was doing dishes!
As soon as Johnny and Yusaku finished their meals, Luffy gave the marines a flat look before he sighed dejectedly, "Ma'am, did we dine and dash or haven't paid in advance?" The woman shook her head, "Had seen? Not all pirates are bad, only the fake ones!" Luffy told the marines before he shrugged, "You can try to arrest us, or just ignore that we set foot in this island. It's up to you!"
"Alright guys, let's get out of here... They're not even worth our time!" Zoro said in a bored tone. And he knew that they weren't even worth using his Haki, much less Luffy who could probably knock them out in his sleep. "This battle isn't even close to be fair!"
"Agreed. I mean, unless they do have a good back up or a few Vice Admirals, we shouldn't even try.." Jinbe said and the marines hated that degradation, "Nonetheless, they're at least brave enough to try.." Yamato nodded as she jumped outside, and a blink of an eye later, they were all gone...
On the sea
Two minutes were enough for the crew to literally almost teleport all the way into the high sea. If Luffy wasn't focused on his indecision, he would have laughed. Problem was either he go to recruit Nami at her island, or go to Orange Town and wait for her there. Jinbe had done the right thing by saving her, and he was callous enough to leave her to suffer for another month something... Well, guess that his indecision had stopped by that thought process.
"Jinbe, how long would it take us to get to Nami's island?" Luffy asked and Zoro smirked. Well, at least the old Luffy is back again it seems...
"I'd say about a week if we're slow, and two to three days, why?" Jinbe asked Luffy who grinned at him.
"Say, do you think that a sea animal can help us this time?" Luffy asked Zoro who was thinking, or rather, trying to remember that particular... OH! That sea cow Luffy did swing around like a windmill... Zoro snorted before he gave Luffy a flat look.
"And how would you summon it? It can be anywhere on this ocean..." Zoro sighed as Yamato looked at Luffy curiously.
"Allow me.." Luffy replied before he pulled his lips into a trumpet, and started make some noise that Jinbe recognized before he chuckled.
"Aniki, that was weird!" Yusaku said while Johnny shrugged.
"Trumpet? You still want us to get a musician?" Johnny asked and Zoro snorted in chuckle.
"Nah, I know the musician, and I can't wait to see him again!" Luffy replied as Yamato smirked at this.
"Well, he's a very interesting and unique one, but his location is the one of two I couldn't find any way to get to.." Yamato told her captain who shrugged.
"I think that we will find it somehow?" Luffy replied as Jinbe smiled with nostalgia.
"Alright, I think that he's not far..." Zoro said as the water, true to his statement, begun to stir as if a gyser was about to errupt...
A burst of haki and a few ropes later, Moohmoo was tied up to the dinghy and was pulling it as if his life depends on it. Well, it does depand to an extent at least..
And at nightfall, Johnny and Yusaku were asleep. The four timetravellers had finally got some time in private, which was the greatest of blessings come to think about it. Luffy waited for anyone of them to break the silence. And it was the female of the group to speak first.
"So, we'll meet Nami once again, and then Ussop then Sanji?" Yamato asked the crew who nodded, "Well, at least we'll set sails to Paradise earlier than expected." Yamato practically grinned in anticipation. Zoro was thinking about their adventure on Paradise, and he felt like he forgot.. Laboon!
"I can't wait until we land on Sake Mountain once again!" Luffy exclaimed in his excitement as Zoro sighed.
"Whiskey Peak Luffy, not Sake Mountain." Zoro replied as Luffy grinned at this.
"Well, it's like a cactus mountain, no?" Luffy countered as Jinbe cleared his throat, promoting the others to look at him. He was looking at Johnny and Yusaku which meant that he was wondering about their story. "Oh well, we figured that maybe we should have a bigger crew?"
"Nami's sister? Vivi? Who else?" Zoro asked Luffy who shrugged.
"I don't know? I mean anyone who'd fit in?" Luffy asked and Jinbe laughed at that.
"Well, that means practically anyone who's interested in travelling with us! But that also means that we'll have to.. You know! So we have to think a lot more than before, no?" At this, the group thought about it for a while. Yamato, once again broke the silence.
"Which means that we need to train and train them to reach their prime, no? Well, I don't think that it would be too hard, would it be?" Yamato asked Jinbe who frowned in thoughts.
"Not really, but I think that we would need time, time that we simply don't have! Like we'll have about two years at best.." Jinbe told them the harsh truth, "I myself didn't reach the level I was expecting."
"Me neither." Yamato added in a deflated tone.
"None of us did.." Luffy replied sadly.
"I still need a better gear!" Zoro said as he lamented how every sword that was cheaply made would break in his hands... Luffy attributed it to his insanely strong grip. Then, he had an idea about what to ask for next.
"Yamato, how did you escape this time?" Luffy asked the Oni Princess who grinned at him.
"I've spent the last year training my ass off. And I eventually reached that level of your Busoshoko when you freed me. But yeah, I'm almost as strong as ever..." Yamato replied before she sighed, "Let's hope that Ace does think this time.." And it was like a stab in the heart for both Jinbe and Luffy. Even Zoro felt bad about it, remembering how Luffy talks about him whenever he was drunk, or almost drunk as he does have a very high alcohol tolerance, by how many times he drunk... Come to think about it, he did drunk a lot himself, and Nami.. Oh they will ask her one day?
"I met him before I went off, and warned him of Blackbeard and told him to train. When he asked me, I told him that it's just a hunch... And he laughed at me, saying that you did warn him about the Hippo with less teeth than he should. But yeah, Aladdin is a good captain, and Oyaji-san understood, and I think that Ace did tell about you to his crew!" Jinbe told Luffy who smiled in sorrow. Ace was something else it seems.. No, he will be something else!
"I won't let him die no matter what!" Luffy said with utter resolve. "Which means, that I should probably tell them about him? Who knows?" Yamato snorted as Zoro shook his head. While they knew that Luffy is Luffy, he did became a fair bit smarter at least.
"Okay, so now what? We got get Nami, then help Orange town, then find Ussop and help defend Kaya, hope to meet Mihawk and recruit Ero-cook, and then where? Logue town or return Nami home?" Zoro asked Luffy who snorted in laughter.
"Since when did you get a brain implant and decided to think this far ahead?" Luffy asked Zoro who snorted.
"Since you became a heartless jerk who isn't as stupid as he looks!" Zoro said as he took another swing of the bottle. Yamato shook her head at their captain's and first mate's antics. That was not a good thing in such a small ship. Come to think about it, both she and Jinbe had never seen their first ship, did they?
"Luffy, how was the first ship?" Yamato asked and this time, Jinbe shot them a very curious look. That defused the situation.
"Merry was one brave ship, that's all I'm willing to say." Luffy said sadly as he remembered something, "Well, about that, I think that you two should see her yourself.."
"You're still sore about that thing between you and Ussop?" Zoro asked Luffy who sighed sadly.
"Yeah.. And Zoro, it will be much, much, much, much tougher this time than last time..." Luffy said sadly while Zoro shook his head. He understood exactly what Luffy meant. He meant Zoro's fight with Mihawk..
"I don't think that I can give him a proper duel this time.." Zoro replied and Luffy snorted.
"If you do falter now, who can we rely upon?" Luffy repeated the words Zoro told him what felt like a lifetime ago, but was barely four years and ten months ago..
"Yeah." Zoro said somberly. He now hated how he would have to fight his sensei, but then again, it won't be a battle to the death. Screw that! Mihawk was something that he felt that, had his dream been different, he would easily have decided to just let that be left alone, to just be his friend.. But noo.. He remembered something and felt his heart clench. Kami bless him and Perona. "Luffy? Do you think that they will join us earlier?" This was unexpected.
"Well, seeing how I and Jinbe did so, in what order do you count?" Yamato asked as the whale shark fishman was just enjoying the silence of the sea.
"In the order they joined, from last time!" Luffy replied as the other two, not counting Zoro who already knew, shook their heads. "Hey, it's the truth. Death is NOT included to remove them. They never left!"
"Damn straight they didn't!" Jinbe agreed enthusiastically, tears welled in his eyes.
"Since when did you learn to lie? Please tell me any lie?" Yamato asked Luffy who twisted his lips to the left, and looked at the same time.
"You're not my friend and I hate you!" Luffy said uncomfortably, and now the other three laughed at him. Well, that cements it about Luffy...
"Okay, hide a truth!" Yamato found herself interested in her captain way more than she should.
"..." Luffy didn't say a word.
"Argh, twist the truth!" Yamato ordered.
"I planned to save Nami all along!" Luffy said and this caught Jinbe's and Yamato's ears.
"When?" Jinbe asked and Luffy sighed.
"Like last time!" Luffy replied. He was met by two pairs of shocked eyes, "Look, if anything bad happened to her, I would have done something about it! It's just that.. I knew that she hates pirates, ALL pirates. I was never happier when Jinbe came to save her. But face it! Johnny and Yusaku wouldn't have been able to survive, and neither me nor Zoro could have been able to reach it on our own!"
Okay, that was very callous, yet, his inability to do anything was the biggest problem.. His lack of navigation skills is worse than anything which meant...
"Don't blame yourself! Would you have been able to change anything last time?" Jinbe asked Luffy who replied by shaking his head, "Believe me, I do understand... I.. I absolutely regretted setting Arlong free, and I did what I should have done. It was my mistake to rectify, not yours, Captain!" Jinbe said before Zoro nodded at him thankfully.
"You don't rely on yourself on much of everything, do you? I mean, you can't use swords, nor navigate, nor lie, nor cook, nor heal, nor read old language, nor repair, nor play music, nor steer the ship rightfully, nor draw, nor write. That's why you're the captain, the one with the best decisions... And beating anyone who mess with us!" Zoro said as Luffy grinned. "Besides, there's one thing about you.. You can make anyone into your ally."
"I am NOT a hero, I mean, I don't share my meat!" Luffy replied as Zoro snorted.
"For the last time, no one needs for you to share your meat with!" Jinbe smacked his captain as he had enough.. And his patience was being tested by how many times Luffy does not understand what being a hero is all about...
"And what about Marines Captain?" Yamato asked Luffy who sighed. That's not a good thing at all. He wanted to avoid the subject, and on the other hand..
"Jinbe, what did you do about that Marine who kept silent?" Luffy asked his helmsman who palmed his face.
"I knew I forgot something!" Jinbe replied. And it took three second for the other three original Strawhats to unhinge their jaws, bulge out their eyes and yell at the top of their lungs...
"EEEEEEEEEHHHHHH?"
And that's a wrap! Well, next time we'll see where this will go. Hopefully somewhere good? Anyways, please review! Oh, and this is written by the seat of my pants. I will update each and every time the chapter is done, and once we'll hit Paradise, we'll see. Take care and see you soon.