Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece
Back to Louge Town
Luffy sat on top of Merry's sheep head as he looked forward. The boy sighed with happiness as he said, "Louge Town, it's been a while since I last saw you. Back then, I was young and didn't get to do much, but this time I'm going to declare to that world that I will become the pirate King." The boy shouted from the top of his lungs in absolute happiness.
Nami came to him, and said, "You seem excited today, Luffy. Did you read something in the paper?" the girl asked. She learned through the days that Luffy was smarter than he looked, and she didn't want to accidentally hurt his feelings anymore.
The boy gave a toothy smile, "Well, I came here once with my brother Ace when we were trying to run away from my grandpa. We kinda became stowaways on a ship, and then we boarded another ship that took us to the west blue. And then you knew what happened from there."
The girl blinked as she rubbed her forehead, "Why did you even try to run away from your grandpa? He's the hero of the marines for god's sake." She then noticed the boy shiver as if he was going through some war flashbacks. The girl worried asked him, "Luffy, why are shivering like that?"
The boy chuckled, "Well, my grandpa always wanted to become a marine, but I always wanted to become a pirate, so he threw me to live with mountain bandits in hopes that I change my mind and become a marine." The girl looked at him with a very blink look, so he snapped his finger in front of her face, "Nami, are you there? Why are sleeping with your eyes open?"
The girl shook her head, "I think that you might have it rough as I am." The boy began to laugh as he waved her off. She couldn't help it anymore as she joined him in laughing. The girl asked, "Have you ever told Robin how you actually came to her island in the first place?"
The boy remembered when he told Robin; the girl had her eyes shining with excitement as she bounced around from happiness even though back then she was still very shy when it came to other people. The boy laughed, "She had the biggest smile on her face when I told though after that she did reprimand me for doing something so stupid."
Nami chuckled as she said, "I imagine that she would do something like that, but, shockingly, you left the island, to begin with. So what did he threaten you with that caused you to leave the island." the girl chuckled in her mind as she thought that the man told the boy that he will take away meat from him. she was shocked by what she heard next.
The boy crossed his feet as he said, "Well, he said that he was going to take us to some place named Impel Down."
The girl took a moment to understand the new information as she choked out, "Really."
"Yeah," the boy replied with a goofy-looking smile before he reassured her, "but he didn't mean it. he just wanted to scare me and my brother so we stop wanting to become pirates, and we'd become marines instead." The boy began to laugh loudly as he remembered the man's expression when he found him on Ohara, though he cringed when he remembered the pain he experienced as punishment for his transgressions.
The girl shook her head in amusement as she walked away only to meet Robin who was drinking tea from a cup. The girl asked her, "Did you have fun listening to us?"
Robin lifted an eyebrow as she said, "I have no idea what you are talking about. Do you think that I have little faith in my boyfriend?" Nami tried to talk, but Robin cut her off as she smirked, "Or do you want to be in a relationship with both of us?" Nami's face turned red as she backed stuttering while Robin laughed at her.
The orange-haired girl frowned as she pulled something out of her pocket. Robin looked at the notebook Nami pulled and read through its contents. A huge blush made its way on her face as she said, "How do you know about this? I never told anyone about this."
Nami shook her head, "Robin, poor sweet innocent Robin, you went to a drinking contest with me. you should have known that I was planning to get some blackmail material out of you," Nami smirked as she said, "Now this little stunt of yours will cost you about 50,000 Bellis," the dark-haired lifted an eyebrow as Nami added, "with an interest rate of 500%"
Robin nearly fell forward as Nami went away laughing.
Robin quietly muttered, "She's ruthless when it comes to money." She was cut out of her musings as Luffy began to jump up and down yelling, "Louge Town, I can see it. we approaching it. the birthplace of the pirate king. I can't wait to walk in it again."
The girl walked over to him and asked him, "Ready for another adventure today." The boy flashed her a grin as both looked at the ever-approaching town. Once they were in the docks, Luffy said, "Alright, everyone knows what to do, so let's get moving and do what we want so we can leave and finish our stuff early so we can have some fun later on.
Zoro jumped off the ship and walked into the town looking for a swords shop. He knew that there might be one given the place was the breeding ground of pirates who tried to enter the grand line.
Usopp jumped down and walked to find a store where he can find some supplies for the ship and something for repairs if they ever needed it, though he doubted the Merry would need repairs.
Sanji jumped and began to run to the food market because he thought the sooner he finished the sooner he can hang out with Nami who went to buy clothes.
Luffy looked at Robin, "Ready?" the girl nodded as he exclaimed remembering something, "Yeah, we might want to make a detour to a shop, because we're gonna need it for the long run."
Meanwhile, inside the marine base in Louge town, the man from earlier was sitting reading the reports as one of his men came tumbling in, "Sir, sir, I have a report to tell you."
The man had greenish-white hair. He was wearing a jacket that was opened leaving his chest exposed to the elements with some jeans. He was a bandolier that was filled to the brim with some kind of staff fitted to his back. The man was also smoking two cigars at the same time. He was the marine captain of Louge town who thanks to his efforts was able to reduce the number of pirates going to the grand line by a huge margin. He was the white hunter. He was Smoker. He looked at his subordinate, "What do you have for me?"
The men saluted him, "Smoker sir, we have reports saying that the straw hats were seen at the docks. Men are already at the port trying to search for the ship." Smoker nodded his head at the marine.
The white-haired man stood up as he walked outside the room, "I want patrols on the entire island to capture them, especially these two," he handed the marine the bounties of Luffy and Robin. The man looked around before rubbing his head, "And by the way, where is Tashigi?"
The marine told him, "Sir, she went to bring her sword back from the shop." The man facepalmed at how his subordinate was obsessed with swords and collecting them like some glorified knives.
The man then shrugged as he exited the shop, and went to search for straw hat Luffy himself. The man was now walking in the streets as he felt people's gaze on him as if he was some monster that was waiting to attack them.
He then felt someone bump into him. He looked down to see a girl holding an ice cream cone that was now all over her pants. The man looked at her as she squirmed in fear before he crouched down and told her, "I'm sorry that my pants ate your ice cream," he fished in his pockets and gave her some money, "Go buy a new one."
The girl smiled at him as she began to thank him. the man smiled knowing that not everyone on this island held that illogical fear of him. that lasted till the girl's mother came around and took her daughter away reprimanding her for talking with him in the first place.
The man looked at the retreating pair with a flat expression as he sighed before shuffling away.
He wondered what he ever did to have people this terrified of him before shrugging and carrying on with his path. Pirates aren't going to apprehend themselves, and he wasn't willing to allow his perfect record to be ruined because he allowed some rookie with a few victories under his belt to blindside him.
The man decided that he might go to his favorite bar to have a good cup of milk. The man chuckled as he remembered how the owner completely loathed him because he was destroying his business, and now he was his only customer, but in his mind, one customer is better than no customer.
He continued his walk never noticing a straw hat-wearing boy and a dark-haired girl moving past him.
Back with Zoro, the man was looking for a sword shop but was having a very hard time. It was like the shops were moving around. The streets were swerving and moving around to no end. He felt that he will never be able to a shop to buy his swords from, but he heard something coming from down the street he was in.
He looked and saw a girl being harassed by two men. One of them sneered, "Well, well if it ain't the monster's personal lap dog? What are you doing around these parts of town?" the other one carried on, "Where's the big old monster that you usually hide behind? You know maybe if we beat you up we will force him to let our boss out."
The girl calmly replied, "My boss has more important stuff to do. I still can't believe that you never learned your lesson till now, but rest assured I will teach you how good manners are, so I'll be your opponent."
The two men laughed at the girl telling her that she won't be able to do anything to them as they both attacked her. Zoro was about to go for his sword, but the girl suddenly reached for her own and cut the two men down shocking everyone who was watching the entire interaction.
Sadly, at the last possible moment, the girl tripped and fell to the ground causing her to lose her glasses and everyone around her to laugh at her. the girl began to search across the ground for her glasses, so Zoro knelt down and grabbed him for her.
The man handed her the glasses, "Here. I think those are yours."
The girl looked at him with a smile as she thanked him for the help, but the man couldn't reply as he was frozen. The girl's face reminded him too much of someone close to him. she reminded him of Kuina. He quickly walked away from her and nodded his head.
The man continued his walk till he finally landed in front of a sword shop by sheer luck. The man entered it and looked around, and he thought that the shop has some decent enough swords that he could use.
He looked at the owner who was about to fall over from boredom. Zoro then coughed into his fist startling the man who looked at him with a smile, "How can I help today sir? Here at my shop, we have the greatest swords that you can ever hope to come across."
The pirate hunter nodded his head skeptically as he looked around and said, "I don't want anything special. I have around 5 million, so I think I muster much."
The man in front of him deflated hoping that he came across someone with good taste. He looked at the man scanning him up and down. But then his eyes landed on the sword that the man held on his waist, and he couldn't believe what he found.
He looked at Zoro and said eyeing the sword carefully, "C-Can I s-s-see t-t-the sword y-you have on y-your w-waist?" Zoro sweat-dropped at the man's sudden stutter but handed him the sword nonetheless seeing no problem in that.
The man surveyed the sword but was shocked to see someone like Zoro carrying it. he looked at the swordsman with greed in his eyes as thought of a way to scam the sword away from the man, "Look here buddy, your sword is no good."
Zoro tilted his head to the side as he said, "Excuse me, what did you say?"
The man cleared his throat once more, "well, you see the sword that you're carrying is a good sword, but still, it will be a hamper on your journey. It is not the best thing you want to use when you're going on a long trip, so about you sell it for me. you want two swords from 5 million Bellis. Well now, you'll have some extra cash to use. I'll take it for 300000 Bellis." The man expected the swordsman to drool at his offer but was shocked by his response.
Zoro gave him an unimpressed look, "Yeah, sorry, but it's not for sell."
The man falls over from his chair, but he jumps back up in an instant as he grinned, "So, I see that you're a tough customer, huh? Well then, let's make it 500000 Bellis." Zoro sighed dragging a hand across his face and begins to look around the store for something worthwhile. Sure, he wasn't looking for anything fancy, but he didn't want something that might break at first use.
The man bit his lip in anger as he yelled, "How about 650000 Bellis? I won't go any higher than that." the man looked at Zoro hoping that he managed to convince him, but the swordsman didn't seem to care. The man began to sweat heavily wondering how will he convince the man to let go of the sword he had his eyes on.
The man was thrusted out of his thoughts as someone entered the shop, and he paled; it was the swords freak, or nerd as he liked to call her. he hoped she won't notice the sword Zoro was carrying, or she was going to ruin his business today.
The girl looked at the shop before her eyes latched onto something. She squealed happily before tackling Zoro who shoved her off, "Hey, what the hell woman? Get off."
The girl stood in front of him and apologized, "I'm sorry, but I just wanted to see your sword." Zoro now getting a closer look at the girl froze up for a moment, before he regained his footing and handed her the sword as she practically drooled over it causing the man to yell, "Hey, drool on your own sword."
The girl looked at the sword as she said, "I can't believe it. I never thought I would be able to see it myself. It's the Wado Ichimonji. This is really exciting."
Zoro himself was baffled as he mouthed out, "Wado."
The man from the side smiled heavily as he said, "Yeah, I think I heard about it, but still I don't think it is an impressive sword." The man said hoping for the girl to get the message that she should shut up.
Sadly, the girl carried on, "are you insane? This is word is of a high caliber. It is one of the greatest pieces of art ever made. It's one of the 21 O Wazamono Great Grade Swords. It's technically priceless; anything under a million for it is a rip-off."
The man yelled at Tashigi, "And now thanks to your big mouth, I won't be able to buy it." he then grabbed something from under the counter, and said, "Here take your Shigure, and get out of here so I can conduct my business in my piece." The girl stumbled backward knocking some swords from their display causing the man to facepalm. He looked at Zoro, "And you, finish your shopping and get out already. We have from 50000 Bellis to 2.5 million Bellis."
The ex-pirate hunter looked at him and shrugged. He went to the 50000 Bellis as he felt something in this pile calling out to him. he then grabbed a sword and looked at it before grinning, "Not bad, I have to say that this sword has intrigued me."
He looked at the owner and said, "You said that this pile is for 50000 Bellis." The owner didn't have much time to speak as Tashigi was already examining the sword and identified it as 'Sandai Kitetsu', and told Zoro to take it since it was a great deal.
The owner then yelled, "No way in hell or heaven, I'm going to give you that sword. I take it back; that sword is not for sale."
Suddenly the man's wife appeared behind him, and smacks him over the head as she yelled, "No you're going to sell it or else." The man yelled back, "You don't get it. that sword is…"
"Cursed" Zoro finished for the man.
The man looked at him confused asking him, "Did you know about the curse?"
Zoro shook his head, but explained, "I can just tell by looking at it that it is cursed."
The owner nodded his head, "Yes, it's true. While it is very great and the craftsmanship is amazing, this sword is heavily cursed. Anyone who ever had the displeasure of wielding it met a horrible and bloody end." The man finished as he lowered his head in silence.
Tashigi looked at Zoro, and wondered what he'll do as he smirked, "I'll take it."
The owner gasped as he stammered, "What? I just told you what happened…"
"To everyone who owned it? I don't care." Zoro looked at it, "I want it, so I'll take it." he unsheathed the sword as he said, "But if you're not convinced, let's test something out; my luck against its curse."
He then threw the sword in the air as he extended his arm.
The sword began to slowly rotate around as the owner screamed, "Don't the blade is too sharp. It will cut your arm off." Tashigi stood to the side too shocked to talk. The sword then began to make its way downward toward Zoro's arm.
Moments became hours as the sword neared Zoro's outstretched arm. The sword lazily rotated around the arm as it finally embedded itself inside the ground. Everyone was shell-shocked at what happened except Zoro who smiled, "It seems my luck wins out."
The owner backed away from the scene as Zoro sheathed the sword and looked at Tashigi saying, "Hey you, you know about swords. Help me pick something else." The girl nodded absentmindedly as she jumped on her feet and tried to help him only for the owner to yell at them to stop before running inside his house.
He came back with something covered inside a cloth. He then removed it showing to Zoro his family heirloom sword also known as 'Yubashiri '; a sword known for being one of the '50 Skillful Grade Swords'.
Zoro although impressed said, "As much as I want it, I don't think 5 million can afford it."
The man quickly shook his head, "Who said I want to sell it to you? I want you to take it for free. I apologize for trying to trick you earlier and consider this as my apology to you. Please take it, I was never going to use and it would have most probably collected dust in my attic till my death; at least now I know it's in good hands with you. In fact, you can take both swords for free." Zoro took the swords and walked out.
The owner's wife came to him and asked, "Never have I thought I'd see someone as cheap as you give something for free, what happened?"
The man smiled as he said, "They say that the sword chooses its master. When the young man tamed Sandai Kitetsu, I know he was meant for greatness, so I only wanted to aid him."
In the end, Zoro exited the shop with his new swords not even paying a penny. He looked to his side and saw that Tashigi was walking with him with a thoughtful expression on her face. He said, "If you have something to say, speak your mind."
The girl blushed as she fidgeted, "No nothing, it's just that you remind me of someone I read about."
Zoro arched an eyebrow, "Really, and who would be that person?" he wondered if there was someone he looked like to remind the girl of him. kinda like how he felt toward her and Kuina.
The girl shook her head, "It's that you're carrying three swords; you remind me of Zoro the pirate hunter." Zoro blinked as he sweat-dropped since somehow the girl hasn't noticed that she was talking to the man himself.
Zoro continued along with her, "What do you think of him?"
The girl balled her fists, "I really despise him. he's using beautiful swords for greedy purposes. I want to find to take away a sword worthwhile from him." Zoro hummed at her. he looked and saw two marines race up to her saying, "Ma'am, captain Smoker wants to know where you have been?"
Zoro panicked as he slowly walked away from them leaving the three to talk alone.
In another part of town, Nami was inside a shop trying on different pairs of clothes. She looked at the huge pile that she managed to gather. Of course, most of them were for her and Robin, and a few scrubs for the boys. Unlike the girls, they didn't need many clothes to work with.
The owner was beaming with happiness as he saw Nami walking toward the buying booth, and said, "Are you going to buy all those, young miss?"
Nami smiled, "Of course, what did you think I was going to do? Try them on for my own personal amusement, and then leave the store without buying any." Although on some level that was true, if she wasn't ordered directly by Luffy to buy clothes, she would've done that.
The man smiled, "Alright, let's see how much we have…" he was stopped by Nami who raised her hand and said, "Before that, I need a discount. I mean I bought all these clothes." The man looked and nodded at her logic.
He grinned, "Anything you say, miss." She then slipped him a paper. He looked at it and his eyes bulged out as he yelled, "WHAT? 90% DISCOUNT?" and with that began a huge argument, he ended up losing with Nami having an even higher discount as she left the store satisfied.
Nami walked to an infirmary looking for some medication to buy. She was thankful that Luffy gave her the extra money, so she can buy them. The crew needed to have some until they had a full-time doctor on their crew or they won't be able to make it far in the grand line if the stories she read from Robin's mother's journals are true.
Somewhere else, Sanji has just finished a cooking competition with the grand prize being a huge elephant tuna fish. He saw a beautiful lady walking by and whistled at her.
At the same time, Usopp also managed to gain something. He went into a sharpshooting contest with a man known as 'Big Daddy', and utterly failed. In the end, it turns out that the man knew his father Yassop, and respected him a lot after a fight that broke out between the two back when he was in the marines and ended up with Yassop winning and sparing his life when Yassop saw that the man had a small daughter.
In the end, the man handed him his goggles and Usopp was happy to have them since they helped increase his accuracy in fighting.
The boy then began to visit shops and buy supplies for 'Merry' in case she was damaged. He bought a bunch of wood, nails, paint, and some iron straps at a very cheap price.
A while back, Luffy and Robin just exited a store as they bought something very necessary for their trip to the grand line before Robin grabbed Luffy's hand and they began to stroll around together. The couple watched some fish swim in an aquarium, bought some food, and also had a very fun ride inside a carnival ride that the city had for celebratory occasions.
Luffy laughed, "That was really fun. We have to do it again. It was awesome." The girl beside him giggled. Even though this was the second time that Luffy visited the city he acted as if it was the first time he laid foot on it. she was tempted to know what he exactly did the first tie he came here.
The girl inquired, "Luffy what did you do the first time you actually came here?"
The boy blinked as he sat down in the middle of the road, "Ace mostly walked around dragging me. he didn't allow me to do anything, so I wouldn't be caught or forced to go back to gramps so he can train us. It was really scary running around like that, but it was a good thing because I met you." He jumped up as he hugged her making her blush at the public display of affection.
The girl hugged him back saying, "I wouldn't want it any other way."
The boy then saw something that caught his attention. it was an old bar that had a sign that said 'Gold Roger Bar' on the entrance. the boy smiled grabbing his girl as they walked inside, "I hope this place has stories about the pirate king."
Robin chuckled, "Well, it is his hometown. I bet that have multiple stories about him before he set sail." They both reached the bar which seemed old and worn down. The only person working here was an old man who looked at them and said with a frown on his face, "What do you people want?"
Luffy asked him, "Are you the owner of this bar." The man nodded as he answered, "Yeah, but this isn't a place for kids, so please leave. It's closed anyway, so get out."
Luffy tilted his head, "So you're out of business." The man replied a little bit frustrated, "I never said that. we're closed so please get out."
Robin being the piece maker quickly interjected, "We're sorry sir, but my boyfriend here is a big fan of Gold Roger. He wanted to see if there were any stories he can find here about the pirate king before he visited the execution stand where Roger took his last breath."
The man eyed them wearily as he was caught off guard when Luffy yelled, "What's that? is it a skull? It's really huge. And what happened to it, and why it's here?" the girl couldn't help but laugh at her boyfriend's silly nature.
The man laughed as he began explaining the story behind the head. He told Luffy how the head belonged to a giant killer who have killed hundreds of pirates. He told him how the man met Roger and met his end facing him. he carried on telling Luffy stories of different fearsome men who faced off against Roger only to meet their demise.
Luffy began to clap his hands as he said, "That's so cool and awesome." He looked down at the ground, "I wish I was around to see him."
The old man chuckled as he said, "I have to say that I'm a little bit happy that people your age still care about the old times."
Luffy laughed, "I really respect the pirate king. Pirates should be just like him. That's why I set sail to become the pirate king." The man across him for a moment swore he saw Roger causing him to speak in hidden amusement, "You can't just say something like that in here."
Luffy shrugged nonchalantly, "Well, I'm just saying the truth after all." The man laughed harder as he looked at Robin, "And what are you planning to be little missy? His pirate queen?"
The girl for all her calm demeanor began to blush different shades of red as she stammered for an answer, but Luffy replied on her behalf saying, "Of course, I mean what's a pirate king without his queen." The girl began to hit him in the shoulder as he laughed.
The old man chuckled as he moved to the bar, "Well, I have to say that you both made my day, so I'll shut a little later today." He then handed them drinks and guided them to the execution platform as they went out.
A moment later, he heard footsteps. He turned hoping to see the young kids he met but was met by someone else. He was the reason his business was failing in the first place. Smoker strolled in as he greeted the man, "Hey there old timer."
The man frowned at him, "Get out. haven't you destroying my business made you happy?"
Smoker chuckled, "You can't blame me if the pirates that come here are weak. I mean if they're good as they sound, they wouldn't be defeated so quickly." The marine shook his head, "Anyway, I want some rum."
The man yelled back, "I don't serve your kind here. Go drink somewhere else and let me have my peace. You already cause enough problems for me and my business."
Smoker laughed even harder as the smoke from his cigars grabbed a bottle of rum, and directed it toward him. he opened the bottle and drank it in one go. he then noticed three cups on the bar and said, "well, it seems today you had some customers. That's new."
The old man frowned, "What so now I'll be persecuted if I made ends mean? You marine brats are truly becoming a handful."
He walked outside the bar as he began to remember when he was just a young kid, and saw the execution of Gold Roger. Until this day, he couldn't forget the man's last moments; even when the blades were about to skewer him, he went out with a huge smile on his face.
Meanwhile, Luffy and Robin had finally made their way to the execution stand with the former being excited to no end to go on it and sit where the pirate king had his last moments without being interrupted by someone.
The boy looked at Robin and smiled a toothy grin, "Look at me, Robin. I'll make history today." The boy quickly walked to the platform, scaled it, and sat where the pirate sat at his last moment. He looked around admiring the view as he said whimsically, "So that's what the pirate king saw before he died." He jumped up as he yelled, "That's so cool."
He remembered something he wanted to do once he came here, but Ace for the first time stopped him so they attract attention, he wasn't there, so the boy declared as loudly as he can, "I'm going to become the pirate king." The boy immediately began to laugh with his girlfriend chuckling down beside the platform.
He was knocked from his musings as a police officer came and yelled, "Hey kid, come down from here. This is world government property."
The boy smiled cheekily as he said, "I don't think so, but thanks for the warning. I'll come down when I feel like it. now let me enjoy the view." The police officer was about to yell back, but he was knocked out when a giant mace smashed him in the head knocking him into blissful unconsciousness.
The hooded figure who knocked him out, looked at the boy and said with a smile, "Do you remember me, Luffy?" Both the boy and Robin looked at her and tilted their heads in confusion not having the slightest clue who this person might be.
Luffy replied, "Lady, do I know who you are?" he looked at the woman as he tried to remember her, but he couldn't.
The woman touched her face, "You seem you forgot me, but how can I forget you? The first man who ever punched me." the woman smirked at him. she then removed her hood revealing a beautiful young woman as she said, "Don't you remember me, the beautiful Alvida."
The boy looked around, "But I don't see any whales around. Let alone jumbo-sized whales." A huge tick mark formed on Alvida's forehead, "I was never a whale, to begin with."
The woman then said, "When your hands touched me sending me flying, I landed on an island where I ate the slip-slip fruit which made me a slippery human. This caused all of my fat to go off my body, but that also cost me my freckles as you can see." She then pointed at him saying, "but now I came here to claim you as my man."
The boy frowned, "But I already love someone."
Alvida frowned as she looked hatefully at Robin, "I see that your heart is already occupied, so why don't I make it vacant." She said as she raced toward Robin.
The girl tried to grab her with her powers, but with Alivda's new powers, she managed to free herself as the woman smirked, "I'm just too slippery to be grabbed, sweetheart." The girl jumped away as Alvida swung her mace down striking the ground.
Luffy panicked as he tried to jump, but he was suddenly strapped down to the execution platform as another figure down there made himself present. He walked forward as he said, "Do you remember me, straw hat?"
Luffy's reply came as blunt as ever, "Should I know who you are?"
The figure down there began to jump down and up yelling, "How can you forget about me, Buggy the clown? The flashiest pirate to ever roam the seas."
Luffy shrugged a little as he tried to remove the shackles that were holding him down to help Robin, but he began to feel his energy being drained. He looked up and saw Cabji who said, "Hey there, how's life treating you?"
Luffy yelled at him, "Hey, let me go. I have to go down there and help Robin. And then I have to go and beat that big red-nosed idiot down there…" Luffy then recollected something as he looked at Buggy saying, "I remember you. You're that Biggy the mime."
This caused Buggy to slam head first into the ground at the insult to his nose, and his name, "It's Buggy, and today is your last day on earth." He looked around and yelled, "Men, we sure no one leaves the area. Today, we'll have a flashy execution of straw hat Luffy."
Smoker was now strolling the shops of Louge town when one of his men came up running to him, "Sir, there's been a huge pirate activity at the execution platform." The man nodded his head, "And one of them is straw hat Luffy and Buggy the clown. The reports say that Buggy the clown has surrounded the people to make them watch him execute straw hat Luffy."
This caused the man to spin around, "I want every available unit to make its way toward the town center quickly." The man wasn't about to allow someone to die, even if he was a pirate.
In the mall, Zoro managed to meet with Nami, Usopp, and Sanji. Zoro looked around and said, "I thought we'd meet the lovebirds by now. Where could they be?"
Sanji who was hefting a huge fish and large bags of food said, "I bet they're inside a restaurant eating something. They were the only ones who weren't assigned to bring anything." Usopp nodded as he struggled to carry the ship's supplies and Nami's shopping bags.
The orange-haired girl was about to say something when they heard someone talk to another, "Did you hear what are they saying? Someone is trying to execute the new rookie in the town square."
This made the four's eyes widen as they ran toward the town square to save their captain.
In the town center, Smoker was already positioned as he asked his men, "What are the field reports?"
One of his men who was looking through binoculars said, "Sir, the troops are beginning to arrive."
The man then growled, "Where's Tashigi when you need…" he was cut off when the woman made herself known as she said, "Smoker sir, what's happening in the town center?"
The man shook his head, he wanted to berate his subordinate, but said, "Buggy the clown has taken the people, hostage, as he wants him to watch as he executes the new rookie straw hat Luffy." He then yelled in anger, "And where the hell have you been where hell was being raised on earth?"
The girl began to stamper as she tried to find an excuse, but Smoker lifted his hand silencing her as he continued to watch what was happening.
Back at the execution platform, Buggy now had his foot on Luffy's head as the boy said, "Look, I'm sorry, but can you let me go." Buggy for a moment said, "Yeah, sure why not? I'll let…." He then backpedaled, "LIKE HELL, I'LL LET YOU GO."
The clown man took a deep breath as he said, "If I let you go, you won't be able to see the execution."
The boy smiled, "Who is being executed?" Buggy laughed, "You are being executed, you moron."
Down in the streets, Robin was still facing Alvida. The iron mace-holding woman said, "It looks like this is the end of the road for you, sweetheart."
Robin smiled as she crossed her, "I don't think so." Many arms sprouted from Alvida's body as they began to hold onto each other. The arms began to slowly, but surely bend Alvida's back till a deafening crack was heard. Robin looked up to see Luffy struggling to get free with Buggy standing above with a sword.
She tried to go to help him, but she ducked as a blade went above her managing to cut some hair. She looked and saw Cabji who smirked, "I'm sorry darling, but I can't allow you to interfere. Perhaps after this, we can get to know each other."
Robin went into a fighting position as she heard fighting coming from the end of the street. She looked only to see Sanji and Zoro making their way through as Zoro shouted, "This execution is over."
On the platform, Luffy struggled to escape from the chuckles that were draining his energy as he yelled, "Let me go."
Buggy replied, "Never. Now, prepare, to be executed flashily."
Luffy looked down to see his friends arrive. This filled him with so much confidence that he yelled, "I'm going to become the pirate king."
Buggy then lifted the sword as he said, "Any last words?"
Luffy only grinned, "Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, Nami, and Robin," his smile grew wider as he finished, "I guess I'm going to die now." The clown man then lowered his blade shocking everyone as Luffy's crew cried out to him, as a storm began to happen above their heads.
Smoker watched the scene unfold as he muttered quietly, "He's smiling."
Suddenly before the blade can make contact with Luffy's neck, lighting struck the platform burning it to a crisp to shock of everyone. Beside the rubble of the platform, Luffy retrieved his straw hat smiling like a loon, "I guess I live." He was tackled by a hug from Robin
The girl looked at him as she demanded, "Never worry me like that ever again, got it?"
The boy nodded as he pecked her lips, but Zoro came and said, "I respect that you like each other, but the marines are onto us." Both of them looked and joined the others as they began to run toward the ship, while other pirates were being captured as Smoker arrived on the scene.
On their way, they were stopped by a blue-haired girl who was holding a sword as she glared at Zoro. The girl yelled, "So you're a pirate now, aren't Rorona Zoro?"
Zoro calmly unsheathed his sword and readied himself to fight, "Get going, I'll deal with this myself." Sanji tried to say something, but Zoro stopped him, "This is a thing between swordsmen."
The others then left as Tashigi said, "Hand them over." The swordsman lifted an eyebrow as she explained, "Your swords; you're not worthy of them. Hand over Wadou, Sandai, and Yubashiri."
The man frowned, "In your wildest dreams perhaps, but this is the real world." This caused Tashigi to unsheathe her own sword.
The two began to exchange blows, till Zoro finally managed to end defeat her, but instead of dealing the finishing blow, he chose to walk away from her.
This caused the girl to yell, "Hey, what do you think you're doing turning your back on me before cutting me down?" she clenched her fists, "Is it because I'm a woman?"
She gripped her chest as she explained, "My entire life I've been looked down on for being a woman who holds a sword, but for you to not take me seriously is beyond any form of disrespect."
Zoro then turned around and yelled, "I don't care you're a woman. Your existence is the reason that I'm bothered with you." The man looked her in the face as he shouted, "Your face is just like a friend of mine who died years ago, and now you're spewing the same things she used to say, so stop that you copycat."
This caused Tashigi to yell back at him starting a back-and-forth shouting match much to the marine's confusion as they couldn't tell what was happening.
Back in the town square, a man stood alone in a hood. He smiled as he looked at the sky, "So you chose to be a pirate, good choice."
Back with Luffy and the others, the boy was running with the others till a back landed in front of them. Smoker then disembarked from it as he looked at both Luffy and Robin, "Straw hat, Bone breaker, I suggest you come quietly with me. the name's Smoker and that's the last name you'll hear before you're taken to prison."
The man then turned his hands into smoke a sit raced toward Luffy and Robin managing to capture them both. Sanji tried to attack him, but his leg passed through him.
Luffy looked at Robin and used his hands to free her. the boy threw her away only to be captured again by Smoker who said, "Resistance is futile. I ate the smoke-smoke fruit. It made me a smoke human." Luffy tried to punch him, but Smoker simply turned into smoke before dragging Luffy and pinning him face down reaching for his staff, "It appears both of your luck ends here." He said dragging Robin closer to Luffy.
As he touched his staff, someone grabbed his hand saying, "Maybe not…"
Smoker looked behind him, and was shocked, "You, what are you doing here? The entire government is hunting you."
Robin looked at the figure with wide eyes not understanding why he was helping them, but she wasn't about to look a horse gift in the mouth, while Luffy was confused.
The man ignored Smoker as he said, "The world awaits your answer…" he lifted his hand and a huge gust of wind blasted through the area carrying Luffy and his crew to the ship.
Smoker looked at the mysterious individual, "Why did you help him?"
The figure asked him, "Is there a reason for a man not to set sail?" Lighting flashed above both of them, but when it went away the man wasn't there anymore.
On the ship, Zoro, Sanji, Luffy, and Robin landed as Nami said, "What took you so long?"
Luffy shook his head as he yelled, "Never mind that, let's set sail quickly." Everyone then jumped and began to sail away from Louge town.
The crew looked at the black sky as they sailed further away from Louge town. They knew that they had a couple of days till they reached the entrance to the grand line, but they could wait.
Nami then asked, "So, what do we do now?"
Sanji snapped his fingers as he brought a barrel, "This a tradition among sailors. They put their feet on the barrel and they declare their dreams before smashing it."
Luffy nodded his head as he was the first one to say putting his foot, "To become Pirate King"
He was followed by Robin who said, "To find the Void Century."
Then Zoro slammed his foot down, "To become the World's Greatest Swordsman."
Sanji then put down his own foot saying, "To find the All Blue."
Nami smiled happily, "To draw the World's Map."
Usopp finally put his foot as he squeaked out, "To become a Brave Warrior of the Sea."
They all then lifted their feet and smashed the barrel, "To the Grand Line."
Buggy looked with a smile at his ship. The winds that blew through Louge town have managed to free him too. He looked at his crew and shouted, "After straw hat Luffy"
Back at Louge Town, Smoker looked at were the straw hats sailed, and said, "We're going after them." One of his subordinates tried to stop him, but he backed down. Tashigi silently glared at where the ship went only thinking about how Zoro insulted her honor as a swordsman or swordswoman in her case.
Smoker ordered one of his men, "Ready my ship. I'm going to the grand line after him."
Author's notes:
Hey guys, and welcome back to a new chapter of my story. In this chapter, we saw the straw hats' arrival at Louge town and their adventures from Zoro gaining his swords to Luffy and Robin hearing stories about Roger. We also had Smoker make his appearance along with Tashigi. Some old faces also appeared here, and with that, the east blue saga is over. The next chapter will focus on a certain whale, and the appearance of certain organization members marking the beginning of the Arabasata saga, and my question still stands; do you want my original character to take Robin's place, or do you want to see the domino effect of her not being there.
As always please take care of yourselves, write a review expressing your opinion about the current chapter, and tell us which arc you are most excited for.
And finally, I hope you all enjoy reading my work, and see you next time with a brand new chapter.