Sorry for the long wait, everyone! Life stuff happened, you know how it goes.
Beta-read by Pure Red Crane.
Lesson 2: Make a Friend Who is Happy to Give You a Ride to The Airport
2 years later:
"Take us up, koi!"
"Are you kidding meeee!?"
It had been a long two years. Years of adventures, battles, and arduous training have finally brought the Straw Hat crew to the New World. After meeting Kin'emon and Momonosuke, they allied together with Trafalgar Law with the shared goal of defeating Kaido and liberating the Land of Wano from his grasp. After temporarily splitting from the rest of the crew, Luffy and his team were finally arriving in Wano, using a pair of giant koi fish to climb the giant waterfall obstructing entrance to the country.
"Up we go!" Luffy cried out as they breached the top of the falls. Luffy was having the time of his life wrestling control over the fish, though his crew didn't seem to share those sentiments.
"What is up with this sea? It's so chaotic." Nami complained, catching her breath after the wild ride up.
"It really is difficult to enter this country," Brook noted, still hanging on to the ship's railings.
Carrot at least enjoyed it. "That was fun, wasn't it Chobro?"
The reindeer doctor looked like he was gonna have a heart attack. "I thought I was gonna die!"
Sanji looked out over the tumultuous sea. "Hey, there's the shore!"
"So that's Wano?" Nami finally regained her composure as she took in the sight with the others.
"We're finally here, huh?" Sanji said, lighting up a smoke.
As breathtaking as it was, they, unfortunately, didn't have time to take in the sights as the current suddenly picked up speed, dragging them right into…
"Hey look, it's a whirlpool! It's huge!" Luffy said excitedly, breaking out into a grin. The rest of the crew was less ecstatic about this.
"A WHIRLPOOL?!" The crew cried out as the koi continued to pull them further into the maelstrom.
"Luffy, let go of those fish!" Nami shouted at her captain as he continued to hold on for dear life.
"No, they're my dinner!" Luffy argued back before being knocked on the head by his navigator.
"Just do it, you idiot! Brook take the helm."
Brook rushed to the wheel, trying in vain to turn the ship away from the whirlpool. "It's no good, the current's too strong."
"Hang tough, Sunny!" Luffy egged on the ship.
"Looks like we gotta evacuate! Nami-chan, Carrot-chan, grab on to me, I'll jump us to shore!" Sanji shouted out as he grabbed onto Carrot and Nami.
"Wait, what about us?!" Brook cried.
"You guys are too heavy."
"Don't just abandon us!" Chopper begged.
"Sanji, use my belly and get everyone out of here! I'll follow behind you!" Luffy said, jumping down from the masthead and inflating his stomach. With everyone securely latched onto Sanji, he ran forward, kicking off Luffy like a springboard and launching everyone up with his Skywalk toward the shore.
"Alright, see you soon!"
Luffy quickly deflated, turning to give one last regard to his ship. "Alright, my turn! Sunny, I promise to come find you later!"
He lept up to the crow's nest, getting ready to launch himself out when suddenly he was grabbed from behind by the same giant octopus that snuck onto the ship earlier.
"Huh? Wait! Let go of me, you stupid octopus!" The scared cephalopod only gripped on tighter as the Thousand Sunny finally capsized, dragging it and its captain below the waves. As Luffy sunk lower into the dark depths, his mind thought about the rest of his crew that managed to get away.
I hope they find Zoro and the others soon…
"Hey, newbie! Was it you who did this part?" Minatomo, the head carpenter, yelled at his new hire.
"Yeah, it was! What's the problem?" Franky, currently disguised as carpenter Franosuke, shouted back.
"I'll tell you what the problem is! It's too perfect. Good job, you idiot!"
Momentarily confused by this paradox of compliment and insult, Franky answered back. "Of course it perfe… I mean, yeah! Thanks, boss, you old bastard!"
"Alright, you can take the rest of the day off, we got the rest covered from here."
"Oh, looks like I got here in time, then. Hey, Minatomo, mind if I borrow your apprentice again?" A new voice called out from behind.
Franky turned, breaking out into a grin at the sight of his friend, a stout man with a bushy grey beard, wearing welders goggles, and a beige engineers jumpsuit. The couple of missing teeth he had didn't deter his smile as he waved back, dragging a cart full of scrap behind him.
"Oi, Gengai, you old fart! Don't go dragging off my workers for your crazy experiments." the carpenter berated the old man.
"Nah, it's fine Boss! I'll catch you all tomorrow!" Franky quickly said.
"Don't worry, I'll be sure to bring him back in one piece," Gengai shouted over his shoulder as the two walked off.
"I'm surprised to see you this far from Kuri, you old geezer," Franky commented.
"Eh, sometimes the Flower Capital will get some interesting stuff coming through, I was just following the rumors, you no-good cyberpunk." Gengai shot back jokingly.
After the Beast Pirates arrived, they brought in all sorts of metal and technology to help start up the factories. The locals wanted nothing to do with the new tech, considering it borderline cursed, but Gengai was always a curious man. He would collect up mountains of old tech and metal from the scrapyards, having spent the last 28 years tinkering away with it and learning all its secrets, coming up with all sorts of fantastic inventions in the process. In the three weeks since Franky and the others arrived and split off for their undercover jobs, he and Gengai were as thick as thieves.
Once they were out of earshot of the rest of the crowd, Gengai asked, "So, any luck with your other job?"
Franky just shook his head. "Nah, no luck with the blueprints yet. But I'll find them soon enough. Until then, we'll just keep working on the project for when the day comes to move out."
Gengai had found out that Franky was an outsider from the first day they met, recognizing the technology outfitted to him from a mile away. After chatting and marveling at all the machines he invented, Franky called Kin'emon and convinced him to let Gengai in on the plan, recognizing the old inventor to be an invaluable ally. Gengai, who had his own beef with the Beast Pirates and the Bakufu, agreed to help. The two of them have been working together on their own secret project ever since, getting ready for the day of the big battle.
"So, what's on today's schedule?"
"Same as usual, though before that I got a scooter I need to repair."
"Again? What's with that guy? You built him his own custom-made vehicle, you'd think he'd go one week without trashing it. One of these days I'm gonna meet this bum and give him a piece of my mind."
"Ah, don't worry about it. He may be a bum, but I owe that guy a lot. So the least I can do is patch up his ride. Besides, if anyone's gonna be ranting at him, it'll be me. And I'll be sure to include some "special modifications" so he doesn't get any ideas." Gengai grinned.
Franky just grins and concedes. "If you say so, old man."
Further in the city, a certain salesman was making his pitch to a growing crowd.
"Come one, come all, and witness my fine blade! See how cleanly it cuts through paper and skin alike!"
"EEK!" The women in the crowd shriek at the sight of blood.
"BUT! Witness now, a miracle! With just a dab of my specialty toad oil, the wound is sealed shut, not a drop of blood in sight!"
"Hey, I'll take an order of that!" one man shouts, holding up a bag of silver coins
"I'll take two!" a woman shouts.
"An excellent choice, my friends! Gather 'round!"
After selling off a good amount of his wares and the crowd dissipated, the merchant Usohachi, real name Usopp, began to gather his materials and move on for the day.
"Say, that stuff looked pretty impressive back there. You think it'd be any good for curing hemorrhoids?"
Usopp stops and sighs as he turns to face the voice belonging to the pain in the ass calling out to him. He looks around briefly before his eyes settle on the rooftop. Sitting there was a blue-clad ninja with a goatee, his scarf, and his mop of brown hair swaying in the wind.
"We've been over this, Hattori-san. My toad oil is only good for fresh cuts and wounds. And why do all of our conversations have to start with your hemorrhoids?"
"So you say." the ninja, Hattori Zenzou, replied dryly, choosing to ignore the last part.
"Honestly, if you doubt my oil works, why not say something to the crowd?"
"It's not my problem if they fall for someone else's scam."
"Please don't call my respectable business a scam."
Zenzou just shrugged his shoulders. "If you say so."
After looking around to see if anyone else was around, Usopp asked in a hushed tone, "Speaking of which, how's your job going? Find any more of your 'friends'?"
"Yeah, I found a few of them. How about you? We should all get together for drinks later."
Usopp grinned. "Sure, sounds good."
Zenzou and Usopp were currently working together to gather allies for the upcoming rebellion. The two of them have been coordinating with each other to round up as many people bearing a moon tattoo as possible, speaking in code so as not to attract attention. After learning that he was gonna be working together with a bonafide ninja, Usopp was understandably excited. But three weeks' worth of complaints about Zenzou's hemorrhoids and the current issues plaguing Jump have left the sniper a little disillusioned at this point. Regardless of the man and his quirks, however, Usopp couldn't deny his skills at espionage and intel-gathering.
"You really have been a big help with this, Hattori-san, thank you."
"It's no problem, so long as I'm being paid appropriately after this. Because it was a job offered by old man Raizo and Shinobu, I was at least gracious enough to offer them a discount."
"Yeah, yeah." Usopp was admittedly concerned by this fact about Zenzou. Unlike the others, he was a mercenary who had no real loyalty to the Kozuki clan, or anyone for that matter.
"If someone came to him with a better offer, there's the possibility he'll turn on us. And he's definitely not the kind of guy I'd want to fight." Usopp thought to himself. But he was vouched for by Raizo, so for now he chose to trust him.
"So, what do you feel like having tonight? Maybe some yakiniku?" Zenzou suggested.
"Sounds good, but don't expect me to foot the bill like last time." Usopp deadpanned.
"What, with your lucrative business? I bet you're swimming in cash right now." Zenzou said, throwing an arm over his shoulder.
"Yep, still a pain in the ass," Usopp thought.
BENGBENG
"That's it, lower your hips more! Your arms as well! Are you daydreaming? I want to see more effort girl!" The old crone playing the shamisen berated her new student, Orobi, also known as Nico Robin.
"At this rate, you'll never get called to the shogun's palace!"
"Yes, ma'am." Orobi panted, out of breath from all the dancing.
BENGBENG
This strict training continued for at least another hour well into the afternoon before her teacher finally called it.
"Alright, that's enough for today! You've improved a lot, but don't let that go to your head! Go home and get some rest."
"Thank you, ma'am. Until tomorrow." Robin bowed to her teacher as she closed the sliding door behind her.
As she made her way through town, Robin suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, baby, you free right now?" the man catcalled, his flushed face and breath indicating he has been drinking quite heavily.
"I'm afraid not, kind sir. If you'll excuse me." Robin tries to remove his hand, but the drunks grip only tightens.
"Ah come on, don't be like that. I bet we could have a real good time together."
Just as Robin began to fold her arms over herself to deal with the drunk the hard way, she was stopped short.
SHINK
"Gaah!" the man fell back as a kunai stuck itself in his hand. The clacking of high-heel boots grew louder with their approach.
"Good sir, you should know better than this by now, with or without the booze in you. So long as you walk the streets of Yoshiwara, the women here are under the protection of its guardians, the Hyakka." spoke the new arrival.
Standing with another kunai in her hand was a beautiful blonde-haired woman in a black kimono decorated with autumn leaves. Her most striking feature were her deep amethyst eyes and the pair of scars crisscrossing across her left cheek and the left side of her forehead.
"Tsukuyo-san!" Robin smiled. The drunk behind her struggled to get back on his feet until he found himself surrounded by several armed women with black masks covering the bottom halves of their faces.
"Eek!"
"You guys can handle him from here. Take him to the edge of the district and throw him out after you educate him a bit more." Tsukuyo ordered her subordinates.
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Orobi, you okay?" Tsukuyo turned her attention back to the geisha.
"I am now that you're here. Though after such a frightful ordeal, I could go for some tea. Care to join me?"
"Hmph, you don't seem that frightened to me." Tsukuyo sighed, though joined her regardless as by now she was used to this whimsical side of her.
Despite only knowing each other for a short time, the two women became fast friends, though there were times Tsukuyo felt there was more to the black-haired geisha than met the eye. The two women walked through the city chatting about their day as they arrived at a small tea shop, staffed by a beautiful woman in a wheelchair and her son.
"Tsukuyo, Orobi-san, good to see you two. Will you have the usual?" the woman greeted the two warmly.
"Yes, thank you, Hinowa-san," said Robin.
The young boy brought out some snacks. "Here you go."
"Thank you, Seita-kun. How was school?" Tsukuyo asks.
"It was alright. But our new teacher is weird. She's always talking about how great Orochi is and how evil the Akazaya Nine were. Though some of us don't really buy it."
Hinowa patted her son on the head as she brought out the tea. "You're right, of course, but remember what we talked about. You can't be found talking about such things out loud. You could get in a lot of trouble that way."
"Don't worry, Mom, I remember. I made sure to tell my friends that too."
Robin could only frown at this. She hated the idea of this country's history was being warped in such a way, but for now, there was nothing she could do about it. Though she was certainly glad to see that not everyone completely bought the lies being handed out by the bakufu.
"Enough about such depressing topics. Orobi-san, how was your day?" Hinowa asked.
"Fairly good, though Madam Tsugaru certainly can be a difficult instructor."
Hinowa smiled. "True, but she only has the best interests of her students in mind, so don't be too hard on her."
"Of course," Robin said, returning her smile. It was no wonder the residents called her the Sun of Yoshiwara, even after her retirement.
"I'm still not sure why you're so desperate to want to be invited to the Shogun's palace to begin with," Tsukuyo questioned.
"Why would I not? Being invited to such an event is a great honor, one that could really help my career." Robin answered. She didn't like lying to her new friends, but this was the best way she could keep them safe in case the worst happened.
"Well if you say so, just remember when you do get invited, be careful. There are a lot of people who go to that party that you don't want to make enemies out of, not just Orochi. Honestly, I'd feel better if I could go with you."
"I appreciate it, Tsukuyo-san, but I promise I will be fine."
Hinowa cut in. "Not to mention if you did go, you'd be the most likely to get in trouble, considering all the alcohol passed around there."
A shiver ran down Robin's spine. There were very few things in life that could scare the Demon Child, but witnessing the horrors she's seen Tsukuyo commit during the Night of the Accidental Whiskey Bonbon would be forever etched in her memory.
"I thought I asked you to stop bringing that up. It wasn't that bad." Tsukuyo said curtly.
"Tell that to that one guy. I heard he's still recovering, mentally and physically." Seita said. Tsukuyo just turned away, sipping her tea.
"Honestly, Tsukuyo, you really should learn to better handle your drinks. Otherwise, how could you expect to enjoy yourself with Gin-san in the future?" Hinowa lamented, causing Tsukuyo to choke on her drink.
"Why the hell would you bring up that jackass?!" Tsukuyo yelled, blushing furiously.
Robin just giggled at the sight of her friend's sudden shift. She had heard some of the stories of how this strange samurai had saved Yoshiwara several times but had yet to meet him in person.
"One of these days you're really going to have to introduce me to this Gin-san you're always mentioning."
Tsukuyo turned to Robin, "Why would you want to do that?"
"How could I not be interested in the man who could make the infamous Courtesan of Death act so cute?" Robin answered with a smile.
"Who are you calling cute?!" Tsukuyo's face grew even redder as Robin and Hinowa continued to laugh at her expense.
"The populace has been shaken to its core by you, slasher Zorojuro. Not only are you a killer, but a grave robber as well. To think you of all people would have the legendary blade Shusui!"
As the magistrate continued to blather on about killers and swords, Zoro could only think about getting back at that damned sadist who got him in this mess.
He was walking the streets of the Flower Capital, trying to remember where their base was (for some reason it kept moving). The moon was full and bright tonight, perfect for flower viewing. He was interrupted from his drifting thoughts when a voice called out from behind him.
"Yo, mister. What brings you out this late at night? Curfew was over an hour ago."
Zoro turned and saw a young man in a black outfit with a sword strapped to his side.
"Sorry about that. I'm on my way home now. Just had a little too much to drink tonight."
A momentary look of surprise flashed across the young man's face before it settled back to his usual stoic appearance.
"That so? You know that with the sword ban, only government officials are allowed to carry swords. And yet you're carrying three of them. Which makes you either a circus performer," the youngster placed his hand on the hilt of his blade, "or a rebel. So, which one is it?" He finished with a certain edge in his voice. Zoro's single eye narrowed.
"Something tells me no matter how I answer, the result is gonna end up the same," he answered, also placing a hand on one of his swords.
"Yep."
He stepped forward, and in a burst of speed, appeared in front of Zoro, sword drawn and aimed at his torso in an upward slash. Zoro managed to block in time but was surprised to find himself struggling slightly. The young man was a lot stronger than his small frame initially implied. The two exchanged a flurry of attacks too fast for the eye to track, neither one being able to land a proper hit. Eventually, they separated to catch their breath.
He's strong, both men thought simultaneously.
"Truth be told, for some reason, you remind me of this really annoying bastard I know, so I think I'll use you as practice for when I go after his neck later," he said with a sadistic smirk.
"That's only if you reach my neck, brat," Zoro replied in kind with his own feral grin, drawing his second sword.
"Okita Sougo."
"Roronoa Zorojuro."
The two bloodthirsty swordsmen continued to exchange blows, both evenly matched. Zoro had the advantage in physical strength, but Okita proved to be much faster and seemed to be learning his tells at a much quicker pace.
"Looks like we got a real prodigy on our hands. Guess I'll have to get a little more serious." Zoro jumped back, drawing his third sword and placing it in his mouth.
"That's new. Bet it'll be even more interesting once I take that sword and shove it up your ass."
"Just try."
The two rushed each other for one final exchange, flashing forward and appearing behind each other. Okita was cut badly across his shoulder and forced to take a knee. Zoro wasn't unscathed either, a deep cut appearing on his own shoulder. He was pretty winded too, but in better condition than Okita who was unable to block his third sword.
"This is over," Zoro said, removing the Wado Ichimonji from his mouth.
"Yeah, for you. While I would've preferred beating you myself, I just had to buy time for backup to arrive."
Being so absorbed in the fight, Zoro never noticed he was surrounded by a squadron of men, all wearing the same outfit as Okita and swords pointed right at him.
"You are under arrest for the alleged murder of fifteen people. Come quietly." A man with V-shaped bangs smoking a cigarette cooly said.
"We have witnesses and evidence! Rejoice, this is more of an honorable death than someone like you deserves. Be grateful for it." The magistrate smirked.
As Zoro raised the blade to strike his stomach, he stopped short as he caught a familiar scent in the air.
"I smell blood. You're the real killer, aren't you?"
The magistrate flinched in fear at being caught. Zoro coated the blade in haki, launching a flying slash attack, cutting both the magistrate and the building behind him, shocking the entire courtyard.
"GAAAHH!"
"Magistrate-sama!"
"I'm sorry, Kin'emon," Zoro muttered under his breath.
"You bastard!" one of the attendants finally snapped out of his stupor, moving to attack. Zoro fended him off with the seppuku blade, snapping his opponent's sword in two. He tossed aside the knife before making his way to the stage, grabbing his three other swords.
"So you won't admit your guilt then, huh? Very well. Don't be daunted, men! Get him!" The lead attendant shouted out as he and his men rushed the stage.
Zoro raised his blades ready to fight back, when suddenly a small silver ball dropped between them. The courtyard fell silent again, wondering where it came from. Their confusion quickly turned to panic when the ball rolled over to reveal a countdown timer.
3
2
1
BOOOOM!
The bomb detonated, launching the samurai back as the courtyard erupted in a cloud of fire and smoke. Zoro was able to shield himself enough to witness a pair of figures drop down from the roof in front of him.
"Very impressive, Santoryu-dono. You truly have an incredible amount of talent with a blade. Tell me, have you ever considered using that talent to become a proper joui rebel?"
The smoke cleared to reveal a long-haired man wearing a blue kimono and light blue haori. The way he carried himself and his sword radiated dignity and refinement. Standing by his side was…a duck? A penguin? A duckguin? Whatever the hell it was, it kinda creeped Zoro out with its blank stare.
"Who are you?" Zoro raised his swords, still unsure if the two were friends or foes. The duckguin pulled out a placard from behind its back.
[Don't worry, we're allies. We heard a slasher was arrested by the Shinsemgumi, and came to investigate.]
The long-haired man nodded. "Indeed, we arrived to deliver divine punishment down on the real slasher, though it seems as though you've done the deed for us. Truly commendable."
As the rest of the smoke cleared, the remaining guards regained their composure. "Th-there! It's him, the head of the Jouishishi!"
"What?! Arrest him! He's working together with slasher Zorojuro!"
"Why is he wearing a wig (zura)?"
This particular question caused the man to quickly round on the young guard, who declared in a loud voice for all the world to hear.
"It's not Zura, it's Katsura!"
Luffy was having the most wonderful dream right now. He was in a wide-open field surrounded by meat, already roasted and ready to eat. As he was diving into the piles of meat, he turned his attention to two large pieces of meat standing on a hilltop over his head. What made the dream even weirder was that they could walk and talk.
"Hey, Sadaharu, look. A dead body. Don't try to eat it though, you may get sick-aru." one of the meat pieces told its friend.
Wait, -aru?