51

Even Luffy nodded in appreciation. He was right… Coby did have a talent. Coby had a talent for adaptability. He was like a coal right now, with enough pressure he would able to shine like a diamond.

Luffy had actually taught him the basics about using a pitchfork last night. They mostly trained on his ability to dodge and some basic combat training. But it seemed that the boy had taken every lesson to the heart.

That and the fact that he had to run and hide from his former 'crewmates' helped him build a good physique.

But one of the pirates managed to destroy Coby's pitchfork so now he was fighting hand to hand, and the occasional swords he picked up with.

"He might be in trouble now," Zoro said, he and Kuina had already sheathed their swords as it seemed they weren't needed in handling that sort of pirate.

"Hey, why the fuck are we fighting with our swords, shoot the…" Jango was cut of as every pistol, guns, and riflery on the pirate's hands were snatched away by something. And it just so happened to be a six-armed monkey.

"I mean come on, who brings a gun to fist fight." Luffy mused. As Coby was getting exhausted right now, and a pirate found the chance to slash at his back, making the boy fall.

"Coby!" Nami and Usopp shouted as Coby fell.

"You are dead now, boy." The same pirate that hit him from the back held his sword up trying to stab him. But suddenly he winched in pain, as both of his hands exploded over his head. "Uh… my hands."

The pirate fell on the ground… crying and cursing.

"You should be glad that the wounds on my crewmate is only skin deep… if it was any more serious, I would have shot out your balls," Luffy said, grimly, while he had one of his hands in a handgun position.

He kind of felt bad for Coby, but he had to do this if he wanted to toughen the boy up.

Those words sent shivers down all the pirate's spine.

"Now, you lot play fair… and fight with just your hands." Luffy said crossing his arms, as all of them dropped their swords and knives. "Now, Coby get up… and fight em like the hero you want to be."

Zoro and Kuina were both surprised that Coby stood up with shaky legs, his eyes seemed to be foggy, and yet was determined. He had his hands held up high as he charged at a nearby pirate.

"Uh…" he screamed as he punched the first pirate, before blocking the second pirate's incoming jab. He head-butted the second as he went full street fights on the pirate thugs.

"He's unconscious isn't he…" Kuina said, and Zoro nodded. Nami was surprised what did she mean?

"Yes, he somehow in a semi-conscious state, and he entered the state of flow unknowingly." Luffy said grinning wide. "Now that's some super talent right there."

The state of flow, is something that's even not fully supernatural. As many athletes or even general workers could tap into the state of flow when concentrating on their work fully without any distractions.

It seems that the pink nerd can do some amazing stuff if he put his mind into it.

Luffy had entered this state multiple times before. It wasn't something like Observation Haki. But as important in its own right. Actually, this might be actually a sing of how talented Coby was in observation.

If by training one day, Coby was able to get at that state, he had no doubt about Coby's hidden potential. God! He wanted the boy in his crew.

But then again, the state of flow is easily more noticeable in hand-to-hand combat. Luffy remembered some of the UFC fights or boxing fights he saw back. Like for Muhammad Ali, and his amazing footwork and dodging might be considered being a flow state. Though other than fighting people who enjoy work —any work, even working on a boring business, if they find it interesting— then time becomes distorted and your focus reaches a level that makes thing easier.

Though, it seemed that while Coby had all the intentions, his body couldn't keep up. Still Coby had some amazing stamina for someone that didn't know how to fight. All the odd jobs in his earlier life in Alivida Pirates made him build up a good amount of stamina.

But the pink-haired boy lacked the muscle and soon dropped on the ground, as his body gave up. In total he had beaten almost half of Black Cat Pirates with the help of Usopp, now that was saying something.

All of the pirates that were still on their feet were actually scared to get near the fallen Coby right now. Anytime he might pop right up and start punching them again.

Coby looked bloodied right now, a big gash on his back. His left cheek swollen, and his glass broke. But most of them all, his fist was all mangled up. His once vibrant pink hair was now dyed red due to all his opponent's blood.

"Zoro clean off the canon folders," Luffy said.

"What am I cleaner to you." Zoro wasn't complaining though, as he had a bloodthirsty smirk on his face. He took his three swords out getting ready.

"Hey this isn't fair… we can't even use our guns." One of the pirates from the Black Cat Pirates complained.

"Eh, Sparky give them their guns back," Luffy said, amused. Were they actually waiting for his permission to attack them? "You lots can use any weapons you want… not that it will work against my badass green-cabaged swordsman."

Zoro snapped his head back to Luffy, narrowing his eyes. "Did you just call me a cabbage?"

"Eh? Me? Never." Luffy denied looking at Kuina. "Did I say anything about our swordsman looking like cabbage?"

Kuina looked amused and shook her head. "Nope, I'm sure he must be hearing things."

Zoro's eyes twitched but he sighed. They were messing with him. He took his three blades out, putting one on his mouth. It's time to cut some pirates.

52

"Don't fight him men." Jango said, "Shoot him."

Nami's eyes budged when she saw one of the pirates pick up their gun, but before he could shoot, the man was knocked out by a shot that hit his head.

Nami looked and it was Usopp, who was now a panting mess. Sweat all over him, his hands were shaking. Taking all of those shots had taken a toll on him. "I'm not done yet."

Zoro smirked. He liked the will of that boy.

Nami was awed by the outward skill of the wooden gun user. He didn't expect that. But it wasn't enough for the pirates to stop as many got the chance to shoot at the sportswoman.

Nami was horrified when he heard the first shot, and quickly looked at Zoro, who stood still as if nothing happened. She would have sighed in relief if not for what the boy spoke next.

"Really now? Bullets" Zoro said, as she deflected the shots without much difficulty. A small smile dawned his face. "You should have brought a Canon."

With that Zoro started to plow through the remaining pirates, giving them nasty wounds or knocking them out.

Nami's eyes were almost out of his socket by what he saw. How was he moving so fast… and with three swords no less. How was that even possible? But then again he was called the Pirate Hunter for nothing. Usopp had the same reaction and made a mental note to not piss him off.

Luffy whistled, "He doesn't hold back does he."

Nami smiled warily, and she thought that at least sword users were normal.

Zoro smiled at his own work as all of the pirates fell. Leaving only a handful behind.

Jango seemed frustrated and worried, almost all of his crew were down. He had to act fast or he would be the next one. He got out his hypnotic ring and turned towards their remaining forces, which were visibly cowering. "Don't you run on me, you dipshits! Look at me" he shouted. Even the fallen pirates looked Jango. "When I say 1, 2, Jango, your won't be able to fell your wounds and you will become stronger. 1…2…Jango!"

The men's eyes hardened and their muscles bulged. As if they had completely forgotten the slaughter that had just occurred, they let out a battle cry and charged forward with their fists in the air, "Aaaaaauuuugggghhhh!"

"Let me try this time." Kuina said joining the party, as she moved away from Luffy's side.

The girl unsheathed her sword, Wado Ichimonji on her side, she took in a breath of air readying herself, "Tōboesuru Orochi (Howling serpent)"

With that she moved faster then before going with a white blur as she avoided the bullets, swords or anything with her amazing speed and took out any pirates that dared to be in her way.

Nami felt her world spin right now. The woman was even stronger then Zoro. But she was even more wide-eyed when Coby and Usopp screamed.

"Oh, you can't be serious." She said, it seemed both Coby and Usopp were also affected by their hypnosis and were prowling through the Black Cat Pirates.

Jango was wide-eyed and he called, "Sham! Buchi! Kill them. Stop that bitch!" This was not what he expected.

He said pointing at Kunia who stopped leaving only a dozen or so pirates. She was smiled at the challenge, "Bring it on, Sunglass."

Two pirates that were near Jango nodded with hard eyes. One was slim and one…not so slim. It was clear that both took the cat thing way too far, though. They looked at Kunia fearfully, then turned back to Jango, and fell to their knees groveling.

"What are you trying to do to us Jango?" the slim one sobbed.

"She just took down our whole crew! There's no way we can fight her." the larger one said miserably.

"Whatever," Jango replied, pulling out his hypnotic ring again. "When I say 1, 2, Jango, you will both stop groveling and get stronger. 1…2…Jango!"

The two men's muscles bulged considerably, but their sobbing only intensified. Jango developed a tic over his eye. "She's already…"

The two catlike men jumped forward barely blocking Kuina sword, while the other wanted to use the chance to hit her on the back.

But what they didn't expect was for their metal claws to get cut. And be defeated before they could spout any of their nonsense.

"Wait, you can already cut steel." It was Zoro who spoke. He couldn't believe Kuina figured out that alone, and he couldn't.

Kunia wiped her sweat from her forehead, "That was a good workout." She said, ignoring Zoro's comment. As she loooked at Jango who was barely keeping himself standing. "Oh, I forgot one."

"Jango!" A voice called out, "Didn't I tell you all to meet me at the mansion?" Jango didn't dare turn around to face his death, but he could tell that the man was walking closer. "Wait! What happened here?"

Jango now couldn't stand still so he fell on his butt… "Captain… I can explain…"

But Kuro didn't let him, as blood spilled as the hypnotic user fell. "You let my whole crew be defeated by a bunch of kids."

Kunia was wide-eyed, that was fast. Way faster then her. He crossed almost a hundred meters instantly.

Kunia raised her sword, this was going to be a hard opponent.

Kuro smiled sadistically as he brought his claws up, but before he could make his move a voice called out to him, "Klahadore!"

He turned to face Kaya, who looked like she'd been crying, which made sense. She'd probably woken up and found Merry in a bloody heap on the floor of the mansion. What surprised him was the gun she was pointing at him. "Please leave this village. I'll give you the sum of my wealth, but you can't hurt anyone! You must leave in peace," she said firmly.

"Kaya! What are you doing here!? Run or he'll kill you!" Usopp shouted, running towards his friend, as he tried to reload gun power to his gun. Reloading bullets was easy, but reloading gunpowder in the wooden revolver was a bit of a hassle.

Your usual revolver didn't have that problem. As the bullets would have gunpowder in them. But this was supposed be a gun, which Sparky was able to reconfigure as a gun, so there were some drawbacks. Usopp would need to look into the mechanics on the gun to be sure.

53

Kuro started at her for a few seconds. Then he broke out laughing. Kaya's eyes widened. "Sorry, Miss Kaya, but this isn't just about the money. I had plenty of it back when I was Captain Kuro." His eyes hardened as he relived the memories.

Kaya took a step back because of that look.

"What I couldn't stand was the lifestyle... The Marines constantly attacked my ship. Bounty hunters followed me wherever I went. It all got so damn annoying. What I want is a peaceful life. The villagers trust me. I have a good standing within the village. All I need now…" A feral grin broke out across his face as Kaya looked at him in horror, "is for you to die so I can inherit your wealth..."

"Stop your monologuing right there you villain, today is the day you feel justice." Luffy said, "No, I mean… you face justice?" He looked at Kuina, who nodded at her dumbly.

Only then did both Kuro and Kunia notice how the boy was in between them. He was just with the group a moment ago. How was he so fast?

He was fast as Kuro or even faster. Kuro seemed to jump a few meters back, he had to be serious if he wanted to face this boy, he didn't seem to be as weak as he let on.

"You know Gramps would probably punch me in the face if he hears those bad one-liners of justice," Luffy said to himself. The monkey on his shoulder nodded.

Wait, Sparky wasn't there a moment ago.

How… How did he get there…

Kunia, Zoro and Kuro both seemed to be frustrated, but for different reasons.

Luffy rubbed his shoulders with both of his hands, as if he felt cold, "He would punch me either way, knowing that I became a pirate." He said, scared, genuine fear. The monkey nodded again as if sympathizing with his rubber friend.

Almost all of them wondered who his so-called gramps was. But then some of them remembered who he was…

"Wait, aren't you the pirate hunter from Dawn Island? That naginata there's no doubt about it." Captain Kuro said, his eyes wide. Luffy had two of his naginata crossed behind his back, and the enemy captain had recognized Horn's Edge. "You… you are Monkey D. Mario. The grandson of the marine Hero… no wonder you are so strong."

Luffy actually felt a tick mark on his forehead, as he cocked his fist. "I'm going to find the fucker who made that newspaper and grill him… My name isn't Mario. It's Monkey D. Luffy."

Kuro almost seemed glad. "So, you aren't the same person."

"Sorry to burst your bubbles but he is the same person. The newspaper just got his name wrong." Nami said, making the black cat pirate worry again.

"Oh, come on." Kuro seemed frustrated, not like his usual calm and collected self. He almost seemed scared. Why wouldn't he be? From what he had gathered about the Bounty Hunters in east blue, all of the pirates were wary of the unknown hero of Dawn Island.

There he was a savage that took down a devil fruit user with one swing of his blade. And not the mention his affiliation with the marine hero. He had slim chance, but he couldn't let them live… or all his work for years would be for nothing.

"Enough!" Kuro moved trying to catch Luffy off guard, but he was stopped by Kunia's sword and jumped back when the green swordsman drew his blade.

"Aww… my new crew mate is worrying about me." Luffy said, "Okay then, one sword girl, I chose you." He said as pointing at Kuro.

"Hey, I wanted to fight him," Zoro said, before he frowned. "And we aren't your crewmates…"

"Yet." Luffy finished.

Kunia's brow twitched, but she ignored the rubber head, and the cabage head. She focused on her opponent "You are fighting me!" Kunia said, more so demanded. Sparks —not the monkey— flew as Kuro took some distance from the woman, "And don't interfere."

Luffy nodded and grinned, she didn't seem to negate his claim of being one of his crewmates, that was good. Nami, Usopp and Coby looked at the scean, they didn't know what to say. They were fighting a notorious pirate for God's sake.

Oh it seemed Jango's hypnotism, made Coby and Usopp still valid in the fight. Though their weak bodies were at their limits.

"Hmph, so you are the famous White Lady. I couldn't recognize you at first… but that sword, there's no doubt now." Kuro said, "Your quite famous for being a ghost. I thought you went to South Blue. No matter you will be a dead ghost soon enough." He said, due to Kuina's wearing of a white Kamono, white sword and her incredible speed, she was giving the nickname of 'White Lady'. A title that had quite a bit of rumor on it.

As Luffy walked away, he said something, "I can give you a hint…"

"No," Kunia said as she pushed the claw user off her. Kuro jumped back, landing a few meters away. "I want to see what's so special about the so-called Kuro of a Hundred Plans."

Luffy shrugged going towards his crewmates.

Kuro disappeared and appeared right in front of Kunia, with his claws coming down on her. Kunia was quick to deflect the blow, kicking the man on his leg, trying to break it. The blow landed, but Kuro retracted immediately with another slash, while reducing the blow from the kick.

While she could cut steel, but the speed was a problem for her.

Kunia wasn't a person to hold back and did a quick draw of her sword, "Tōboesuru Orochi (Howling serpent)"

Kuro had to use his incredible speed to barely avoid the blow. "Tch… it seems I can't hold back…" Kuro said jumping back, he started swaying left and right, "Nuki Ashi!"

And Kuro disappeared again but this time, Kunia was surprised to not see him. He was moving even faster than before. By pure instinct Kunia held her sword to the right to avoid a metal claw, she was about to hit back but Kuro was already gone.

Cold sweat ran down Kuina. That was by chance, she would be in deep trouble if she had taken that hit. It wasn't that Kuro was stronger than her... no he was just faster. But if the fight went on, she would be the obvious victor, but she didn't want that kind of victory.

54

Cold sweat ran down Kuina. That was by chance, she would be in deep trouble if she had taken that hit.

Second-time Kunia was a bit slow the react and a claw wound appeared on her leg. She winched and hit back, but Kuro was already gone.

Kuro appeared not far from her, and he was fixing his glass with his palms, "With that, you should be down to speed…" he said with a feral grin. But then he looked at his claw, the blood was less than expected. "So you avoided in the last second, no matter… I will make sure the next one leaves a scar."

Kuina had avoided a deep injury, and luckily the cuts weren't too deep to cut off her mobility. She had no use holding back anymore.

He disappeared again, but Kunia closed her eyes this time, letting her ki flow through her blade. A technique she picked up from a certain Blue-headed pirate. "Howling Serpent!"

And a gale of cold wind cut Kuro before he could even strike, a deep wound appeared on his left shoulder, and frost could also be seen on his body. It wasn't just him, the whole one meter around Kuina had deep cuts with frost on them. Howling Serpent was a wide-ranged attack. That attacks were so cold that it froze the water particles around and cut anything it touched.

"Ahaa…" Kuro grabbed his wound and fell back, "I will kill you, you bitch…" he said in anger in almost losing a limb.

Before he could do anything, he felt a deep pain coming out of his right side, he looked down and saw a deep wound on his gut before he knelled.

"Orochi no kiba (Serpent's fang)" Kunia muttered as she sheathed her sword.

The claw user held his stomach, making an effort to stop the bleeding, and he fell on the ground, barely conscious.

Kunia smiled a bit before she winched at the pain on her leg hit her. It wasn't deep, but it was sure was annoying.

Also, her shoulder had some pain. She didn't have the speed required to execute the move… except today, after seeing Kuro's unusual feet movements. And she was lucky to be able to use it in battle with getting barely a skin wound.

Kuro saw the straw hat walking towards him. The boy looked at Kunia, "You really outdid yourself, didn't you? That move is quite good, but be careful not to pop your shoulder out, accidentally. But I expect nothing less… miss. new crewmate." Luffy then smiled his odd laugh, "Shishishi…"

But first things first.

"Sparky tend to Coby's wounds. Give some bandages to Kuina as well, get those wrapped up, they won't need stitches, but be sure to check. Usopp get some rope, we need to tie them up. Zoro don't get lost, and Nami…" Luffy looked at her, ignoring the dirty look Zoro gave him, "We need to loot them blind, don't we?"

Nami grinned with delight, as her eyes turned to belly, and from nowhere he took out a bag, and started doing her. Everyone followed Luffy's order.

The straw-hat captain himself looked at Kuro, "You know," Luffy began as he looked at the fallen captain. "You suck as a fighter, but as a pirate you fail miserably."

"Neither of those things bother me," Kuro responded in between his sharp breaths. "I tried and failed. But that's what a pirate is…"

"You are wrong." Luffy shook his head. "You look down at the life of a pirate, but the fact remains that you couldn't handle it. You ran away with your tail between your legs. You are just a coward, that saw piracy as an escape."

Luffy then picked up a nearby gun, and crouched down in front of him, pointing it in on his head, "I should kill you… but Kaya won't like it." Luffy said, moving his head towards Kaya who gave a pleading look.

That girl was naive, and he didn't blame her. He wasn't the one to judge, situations change people.

"Kill me and be done with it."

Luffy raised an eyebrow, "The weak don't get to decide anything, not even how they die." He smiled, "So, I hope you survive level one." Luffy shrugged, no one knew what that meant. Well, Impale down info wasn't very common.

Usopp quickly came back with rope, and started tying the pirates up. Luffy asked Kaya, "Do you have a den den mushi?" Because he wouldn't use his to call the Marines.

Kaya nodded, "Merry had one…" her face quickly saddened, "I will ask him…"

"Miss Kaya…" it was Merry who came, and looked at Kaya, and he was surprised by what he saw, after a quick explanation he looked at Kunia with admiration, "I can help with that…" Merry wanted to help Kunia with her wounds but Coby was almost done.

Years on Alvida's crew got him skill in the basic medical department. And because of the hypnosis, he jsut couldn't feel the pain, so he also helped with First aid with Sparky.

Luffy was glad that Coby didn't need stitches, the wounds weren't deep on his body. So blood loss wasn't a thing to worry about right now.

"So, you do have a den den mushi?" Luffy asked.

Merry looked at him, and nodded, "It's quite old, but it can do the job."

"Then call the Marines, tell them to send help. Unknown pirates have attacked the island, don't say anything else." Luffy said.

Coby looked at Luffy confused. "But Luffy-san they are the black cat pirates… so then why?"

Luffy smiled before explaining.

55

"Then call the Marines, tell them to send help. Unknown pirates have attacked the island, don't say anything else. Make it seem like an emergency." Luffy said.

Coby looked at Luffy confused. "But Luffy they are the black cat pirates… so then why?"

Luffy looked at Coby, "Well, the Marines think that the catman is dead. So if we call them, they would try to cover up the incident, by not coming. Marines and the world government have a way to cover things up. They might act all high and mighty, but they are just a bunch of scum." Luffy said, "So if we say that they are unknown, we have better chances of getting help. Why do you think no powerful Marine ships attacked pirates like Alvida? They don't have good fighters here in the weak sea… its also that most of the islands don't give world nobles there Heavenly Tributes, so they just send weak guys here."

Coby nodded slowly, processing the information, his guts told him Luffy wasn't lying… but it was still hard for him to believe that. Maybe he was being biased towards marines… and he didn't know what the whole Heavenly Tribute was, he didn't ask. Just kept his mouth shut for now. Nami was also on the same boat but for different reasons.

That afternoon, after Coby, Kunia, and Marry had been bandaged up and briefed about the situation to the whole village, the villagers were very happy. And they even volunteered to look over the pirates.

And when the Marines came with two ships, they were very much surprised to find the whole thing done by two youths. Coby and Usopp.

Well, Zoro and Kuina did help, but they were already blacklisted from the Marine Bounty hunting operation. They didn't have any bounty, but they wouldn't be able to cash in bounties either, and was considered criminal. That's why they didn't show up when collecting the bounties.

Some found it hard to believe, but Coby's wounds made them believe the story. And just like Luffy predicted, Coby and Usopp were offered triple the price for Captain Kuro, if they kept the incident under the wrap.

They didn't want to lose their reputation… just like Luffy said. Coby again was torn apart from what he saw, was every Marine that way? The boy clenched his fist. And he made a decision…

Usopp of course took the money, and gave it back to the village. The village idiot was now celebrated as their hero now. Usopp also took the chance to overexaggerate his victory, but the villagers knew of the long nose's quirks and took every word with a grain of salt. Though they were very grateful for the money Usopp left them.

Even though Usopp was always causing problems in the village, the villagers were quite good towards the professional lier. Almost all of them gave a helping hand when Usopp's mother died, so in a way, Usopp was trying to repay the favor.

Poor Nami was almost crying blood seeing so much money and not getting their hands on them. But she didn't try to steal it either. So after everything, all of them except Luffy made their way to the beach.

After that, they arrived at the beach, only to see a dumb situation unfolding.

Luffy was carrying a ship on his shoulder. A whole freaking ship! A ship that was humongous for the straw hat boy. But he carried it with ease and drooped it in the sea, and gently pushed it onto the waters.

Coby's mouth was on the floor from what he saw, and Usopp having the same reaction. Kunia and Zoro seemed impressed, and they both looked at each other and nodded.

A silent agreement.

Nami on the other hand, looked over at Luffy's amazing physique. So all those muscles weren't just for show. She felt a light blush on her face.

"It's called the Going Merry," Merry said. "It's an older model, but it should be helpful to you. Consider it a thank you gift." It was still a relatively small ship, but it was much more spacious than what they'd been using up until now.

Luffy and Sparky looked at the ship. This was going to be their new home.

Usopp was looking at the ship fondly as Coby, Luffy, and Nami boarded, but he also looked a bit uncomfortable. He looked from Luffy, to the ship, and back to Luffy.

Before he could say anything though. Zoro spoke, "I think it's time we settle this Luffy." He said as he tied his green bandana.

"Yes, it's a good time as any." Kuina agreed.

Luffy smiled amusedly. "Let's make it quick. I will knock you guys out but don't worry, next time you wake you, you will be on the ship. Are you ready?"

"Of course we are." Zoro snorted putting all three swords in effect.

"Aren't you being cocky here," Kuina said as she made herself ready with her own blade.

"Am I?" Luffy's sound came from behind. She was wide-eyed as she jumped forward, but she felt a thud on her neck, and she was knocked out.

"Oni Giri…" He slashed Luffy appearing behind him. But he was wide-eyed when he saw that all there of his blades were tied by Luffy's chain. A chain that came from the nameless naginata on his shoulder. Before Zoro could do anything he was also hit in the back of his neck.

The green swordsman walked forward, his losing consciousness fast. But had to say something. "We will be in your care… Captain." With that, he fell. But Luffy was already near him as he grabbed Zoro before he could fall. Kuina over his shoulder.

"Well, that ended fast," Luffy said as he again jumped to the ship.

"Are you serious?" Nami was wide-eyed and bamboozled right now.

Coby chuckled warily, he knew Luffy would win. But not this fast. He didn't even use his rubber body nor his blades. Just how powerful was the new captain of the straw hat pirates?

"Eh, we have a journey to make. Washing time won't do us any good." Throwing one body to Sparky, the other to Nami. "Give them some time to rest in their beds."

All of them were so shocked that they didn't comment any further and followed their orders.

"Um…" Usopp began awkwardly, but he had a shine in his eyes. Luffy was strong, and that was the type of person he wanted to follow. "I was wondering if your offer to join your crew was still was still in effect." Luffy looked at him confusedly.

"Huh?" was all he said.

Usopp looked down. "Well, it's OK if it's not. I'm sure we'll meet on the sea someday," he said. Already feeling down.

"What are you talking about?" Luffy asked, confused. "You already joined, remember? Now get on."

Usopp's eyes widened before a wide grin spread across his face. "I'm…I'm the Captain!" he shouted, jumping into the air with his fist raised.

"Not a chance," Luffy said as Usopp climbed aboard. "But if you want you can be one of my Sniper or Gunsmen… or both. Tell you what, you can be one of my main Officers."

"Then I will be the Sniper King Usopp. One of the main Officers of Strawhat pirates." The long-nosed boy said, as he got up the ship.

"Ata boy!"

And so their journey started.

56

The Going Merry sailed the oceans with the new crewmate of Luffy on board. Luffy jumped onto his feet from the dock where a dripping paint bucket lay and held up a flag with a pirate flag excitedly. "It's done!"

His crewmates looked at the flag and nodded. "Well, not bad I'll say," Usopp said. "I would have made the nose a bit more pointy, but… I have to say, you really thought this through…"

On the flag was the iconic symbol of the straw hat pirate.

"So the straw hat pirates… because of the straw hat… kinda simple? No?" Nami asked curiously.

Kuina and Zoro had woken up quite a few hours ago, and taken to the role of piracy by practicing their blades against each other. Training that is. On the deck, they were constantly practicing their swordsmanship to overcome their weakness… their loss was in a way eye-opening for them. Now they were taking a bit more rest.

Luffy actually felt glad that their sudden loss didn't make them spiral into desperation. Though they were a bit too eager to challenge him again. Now he kinda got how his grandpa felt when all the times he just threw challenges at his face.

Anyway back to the conversation at hand.

"Well, this straw hat holds significance," Luffy stated, grabbing the hat that was on his head. Everyone looked curiously at Luffy, even Sparky.

"Oh, really?" Usopp said, holding his own flag with It had a long nose, a brown hat with a crossed stripe pattern, and a slingshot in place of one of the crossbones and a wooden gun as another. "Does the hat also have a story?"

Zoro and Kuina who were resting from a recent sparring session also curiously joined the conversation.

"That it does…" Luffy said as he spun the straw hat. "This one was passed down from Roger to Shanks… and now to me. So, I value it dearly… it's kinda like a crown passed down from one king to another… so I don't have any choice to be the strongest pirate king ever."

Coby, Usopp, and the rest of the crew didn't know what to say. That had their doubts, but… Luffy was no ordinary guy, was he?

Kuina and Zoro were both surprised and awed by their captain. They knew about Red-haired Shanks, anyone with a passion for swords would.

Usopp was the one to break the silence. "But wait… didn't you say your grandpa was the marine hero… how did that hat not raise flags."

Luffy blinked, not expecting that question. He shrugged, "Eh… who knows. The moment gramps heard that Shanks gave me his hat and told me be a great pirate Grandpa kinda made the whole pirate crew flee to the grandline… He was all angry and bitter back then. And even if he is a marine… he won't stop me from pursuing my dream. Perusing what I deem justice… I mean even my dad isn't a marine and is a constant pain in their ass and Grandpa does nothing. Well, he won't do anything… unless you do something unreasonable and go full evil, then you are good as dead. The old man is kinda scary in that sense."

Luffy shivered at the last part. Sparky who jumped on his shoulder nodded.

"Anyway, let's not droll too much on my past, and let's focus on our journey. The pirate ship Going Merry is ready for action! Let's get this journey started."

Usopp and Sparky cheered while the others also went on with their activities. Coby was on his part, fully enjoining the journey, and he had already decided that he would join Luffy… seeing the Marine's trying to hide Kuro was the last straw that broke the camel's back. However there was some hesitance, and he didn't want to rush it. So for now he was good as it is.

Also now that the hypnosis had run off, Coby was fully feeling the pain of his overworked muscles and wounds. The boy also wanted to join the training, but Luffy reprimanded him until he was a bit more stable.

"So, now that we have our ship, what's next, Luffy?" Nami asked. Luffy thought for a moment and turned his attention to the positions that needed to be filled.

"Well, we'll need a chef," he began. "As well as a doctor, Sparky isn't that well trained enough for the grandline and eventually, a carpenter. We should also recruit someone once we get into the Grand Line who has practical knowledge and experience from traveling the area." Luffy said.

Nami nodded at each suggestion, genuinely impressed. Luffy had really thought this through.

"And of course, we'll need a musician at some point. Can't go without that."

Nami sweatdropped.

"Uh, right." Luffy looked at her innocently. Before remembering something, "Oh, yeah, we also need a belly dancer… but I think you are multi-talented enough to do the job. You might be lacking up there, but your hips are broad enough for an enjoyable performance."

"Why you!" Nami screamed come here, with that Nami was chasing of Luffy around the ship.

Coby and the rest sweatdropped at the scene. Luffy wasn't a pervert, but he seemed to find some sick pleasure in teasing the orange-haired girl.

Soon things went on as it is. And Usopp was trying to figure out the cannon of the ships. He was already done with today's training, Luffy didn't push him hard as this was basically his first day.

Suddenly they heard the sound of cannon fire and turned to see Usopp standing in front of one of their few cannons with a shocked expression on his face. In the distance, they could see the shattered remains of what looked to be a strange rock formation.

"I hit it," Usopp whispered in shock.

"Nice, Usopp! Try to hit a flying pinata next time." Luffy chuckled, before he frowned as he sensed two auras at the rock formation. One was frantic and desperate, while the other was extremely faint. But both of them were relatively strong to be picked up by Luffy's haki.

Shit. He almost forgot about that part. "Nami, can you take us over to that rock?"

Nami looked confused but did as she was asked.

57

"Nami, can you take us over to that rock?"

Nami looked confused but did as she was asked.

As they pulled up next to the rock formation, someone jumped onto their ship. "Damn pirates! First, you attack us while we're vulnerable, and now you show up to finish the job! It won't be that easy," he shouted angrily before catching sight of Zoro. "Big Bro Zoro? Big sis Kuina?" Johnny questioned, pushing himself into a sitting position. "What are you guys doing here? Why are you all on a pirate ship?" then he looked at the odd six-armed monkey. "And who's the monkey."

"Relax, that's Sparky. One of my crewmates." Zoro said boringly. "but first where's Yosaku?"

"I... He's..." Johnny started crying and rushed to the side of the ship where another, smaller boat was hooked to the Going Merry. On the boat was a man whose skin was a sickly, unhealthy white. He had a shaved head covered with a red helmet and he was dressed in a black shirt under a green trench coat. The man also wore yellow and red plaid shorts and brown boots. A bloody bandage was wrapped around his waist and his head was bleeding slowly, a puddle already pooling below him. This was Yosaku, Johnny's bounty-hunting partner.

"He looks bad!" Coby fretted, and Usopp gaped at his sides.

"We were just minding our own business!" Johnny explained, "Yosaku has been getting sick lately and old injuries started opening again for no reason. He collapsed last night and hasn't gotten any better since!"

"Give it to me straight, Big Bro," Johnny cried as he fell to his knees beside his friend. "Is Yosaku gonna die?"

"Now don't think that," Zoro tried to reason. Nami made herself known to the rest of the group, walking up to and examining the injured man.

"You're all a bunch of morons," she announced. "You." She pointed at the youngest of the crew. "We've got a bunch of limes in the storage room. Bring some up. You. Johnny, right? Your partner has scurvy."

"Scurvy?" Johnny blinked. "Will he be ok, Big Sis?"

"For One, he hasn't been eating right, so he doesn't have enough vitamin C in his bloodstream and should be fine if we get fruit into him soon enough. For Two don't call me Sis."

"Yeah, call her a babe." Luffy retorted with arms crossed and nodding. "She likes it."

Nami tried to hit Luffy, but like paper blowing in the wind, it was dodged. She clicked her tongue. "Also three: Don't listen to anything Luffy says. Definitely not calling me babe."

"We're back, Nami!" Coby announced, he and Usopp emerging from the storage room. He carried with him, limes falling from the basket in his hands on account of his shaking arms. Under Nami's guidance, Usopp and Coby began squeezing juice from the limes into Yosaku's mouth.

"How long will this take?" Coby asked. "Scurvy could be a death sentence on a ship. I've had it before and was lucky to survive." Yosaku below him sprung to his feet, startling a scream out of Coby and Usopp, both of whom jumped behind Luffy.

"Yosaku!" Johnny yelled.

"Johnny!" Yosaku answered, the men locking arms.

The two cheered, dancing together. "Hooray, hooray!"

"You can't be that healthy instantly!" Nami yelled, flabbergasted. "That's not how biology works!"

Luffy would have laughed at the scene. If not for the fact that Yosaku has some real talent in the Kami-e Seimei Kikan department. His body was unconsciously able to take the medicine to full effect. That would even take Kami-e practitioner some bit of effort, more so when you were at that stage of Scurvy. Now wasn't that interesting?

Maybe the two of them would be up for a carrier change.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves," Johnny said, either ignoring or not hearing the orange-haired navigator. "I'm Johnny."

"And I'm Yosaku!" his partner added, before they locked arms around each other's shoulders.

"And together, we are the best bounty-hunting duo in the universe!"

"Big Bro Zoro used to be one of us, too. And Big Sis Kuina also helped us a few times when we got stuck in some situations…" Johnny continued after their announcement, him and Yosaku disentangling from each other. Johnny continued, "Never thought we'd find you guys on a pirate ship, though."

"Thank you." Johnny and Yosaku said at the same time as they turned back to Zoro and Kuina. Both of them seemed to be training, and after both of them explained how Luffy had made them join his crew. And it made both bounty hunter see the straw hat boy in new light.

Luffy was sitting at the head of the ship, while his weapons were wrapped around his back in a cross formation. "We need a cook!" Suddenly the boy called out, spinning around and looking at Johnny.

"A cook?" Johnny said. "In that case, I know the perfect place. It's a little hard to track down since it moves around on the sea, but it's said to be one of the best restaurants in the world. It's supposed to be near the Grand Line right now, and there have also been rumors that a certain hawk-eyed man is in the general area."

Zoro's eyes widened. "Which way?" he demanded.

"Come on, why would he be in these waters." Kuina found the rumor skeptical. She had gone to four blues, Hawkeye would rarely leave the grandline.

"Still, we have to get there." Zoro said.

"Well, lucky for you. I know the place." Nami interrupted. "One of the best restaurants in the world? The only one I've heard about in the East Blue that moves is called the Baratié, right?"

"That's it," Johnny nodded. "Yosaku and I have been there a few times and it's never disappointed. Last we heard it was anchored to the north of here. It's a restaurant at sea."

"A restaurant at sea?" Usopp asked curiously. There certainly were a lot of strange things in the world.

"Shishishi! We are going there anyway, one of nakama's there. So Let's go," Luffy said punching the air.

"But… Big bro Luffy, haven't you heard the rumors?" Yosaku asked. That grabbed there attention.

"Rumors other then Mihawk being there?" Now Luffy was interested.

The bounty hunter nodded. "There's a rumor that they relocated their restaurant a bit towards the calm belt… cause the area ran out of sea-kings." He finished.

"S-Sea Kings!" Coby and Usopp said in unison. "But why?"

Johnny nodded, "Apparently, they cook them there." He said, shivering while holding his arms.

"They cook them?!" Coby said.

"They ran out of it?!" Usopp said, even paler.

"And we are going there?!" Nami added.

Nami, Coby and Usopp looked at Luffy, who just grinned, "Can we please not go there?"

"Of course not!" Luffy said, placing his feet on to the railing of the ship, "Set sail, mates… we are going on an adventure." He said, grandly, before looking at his three warry crewmates, "Also, if we are scared of some big fish, then how will you be able to conquer our dreams? And trust me we will be fine..." Oh, Luffy was internally laughing at his own statement.

And the three of his crewmates felt assured. Poor them, falling for Luffy's smooth talk.

Anyway, it wouldn't be his first time eating Sea King. They tasted great. Sparky also seemed be drolling like Luffy.

"You should be able to get there in a couple of days," Johnny said warily, while some of them gave him a dirty look. "But you have to be careful. This place is kind of close to the Grand Line, so there is no shortage of dangerous adversaries."

58

It was just another day at the Going Marry. They were making their way to Baratie. Luffy was the last one to wake up, usually, he didn't sleep that late, but today Sparky was cooking so he decided to get some more shut-eye.

Other than Luffy and Sparky the rest of the crew knew shit about cooking. So it fell on their shoulder. Even though they weren't any professionals in that art, they were far better than the others.

Both Luffy and Sparky were quite the eater and eventually, they had to learn to cook themselves, and Makino was kind enough in the learning process.

When Luffy got out of the room, he heard a murmur almost all the people on his ship except him were discussing something.

"What happened guys?" Luffy said as he walked towards them yawning, he was bringing along the nameless naginata on his shoulder. The plan was to get some workout done, he was strong already, and without any challenges, he wouldn't get any stronger. But it felt just wrong, skipping a good day of exercise.

"Look, Luffy they are calling us a hero." Usopp said excitedly pushing a newspaper on Luffy's face.

The captain grumbled still feeling a bit sleepy as he looked at the newspaper.

Monkey D. Mario strikes again in two locations.

The Hero of the Dawn Island is gathering strong people under him,

Underneath that, it showed pictures of Zoro, Kuina, Coby, and Usopp. Well, except Coby's face was covered with his mask.

And after that there was information and picture about Luffy and the team, beating the heck out of the Buggy Pirates and the Black Cat Pirates. Well, they had the picture of actually Luffy beating Buggy, and the other picture was the tied-up pirates that were left back at Usopp's village and the picture might have been taken when Usopp and Coby were collecting the bounties.

Now, almost all of them were regarded as heroes. The paper even made sure to add Zoro and Kuina's former epithet.

Pirate Hunter Zoro and White Lady Kuina joins the Hero Mario!

The newspaper quickly crumbled under Luffy's hands. Before he held it up high and with one palm used Rokuogan to destroy any traces of the newspaper, only leaving some white pieces behind.

"Hey! Why did do that?" Usopp said franticly picking up the newspaper, only to cry silently as the newspaper was gone. Sparky seemed to be laughing his ass off while others seemed confused for the most part.

Well, except Coby. "Are you angry cause they got your name wrong?" the boy asked.

"It's much worse." Luffy sourly said. "I am pirate now, and they still call me by that stupid name…"

And that was when a sound started coming out of Sparky's bag, drawing the attention of everyone in the ship. "Perepereper… Perepereper…"

Sparky quickly took off his bag pack and took out the transponder snail. It was black in color and had a cool metal finish to it.

"Is that a transponder snail?" Johnny asked.

"I haven't seen that model before?" Yosaku said.

Only Nami had. It was one of those high tech ones, that costed a pretty penny, but granted a secure line to whoever talked from the other side.

This model was the same one that Makino used.

Luffy groaned upon hearing the call. "Don't answer that."

Sparky rolled his eyes, and started tapping on the side, securing their connection, before picking it up. A small holographic screen popped up on the snail.

"Spa Ke!" the monkey said, trying very hard to pronounce his name. The six-armed monkey was quite young, and he needed some time to fully develop his vocal cords. Sparky informed Luffy in a few months he might be able to speak. So he seemed to be able to pick up a few words…

"Wait? Is that you Sparky?" An image of a shirtless man popped up, he had a lean build, much like Luffy maybe a bit more leaner. And wore a cowboy hat and a pair of jeans. He looked at the monkey. "Oh, it is. How are you?"

The monkey shrugged and made a few sounds telling him he was good. And Sparky then pointed the snail towards Luffy who was standing still with a grumbled impression.

"And if it isn't my younger brother… eh, making a name for yourself as a hero. Your sure making gramps proud…" Ace said, trying his best not to laugh, as he held the newspaper high for Luffy and everyone around him to see. "I can already hear the screams of pirates… 'Run, Mario is coming!'" With that, he barked laughing.

"Why you… take that back, I fought them as pirates. I'm sure whoever is doing this, is doing it on purpose…" Luffy cocked his fist with a tick mark on his forhead. "I'm so going to roast the newspaper bird next time."

Ace was coming out of his fit of laughter, "Well, at least one of us has to follow Grandpa's route. The grandson of Marine Hero, well at least one of us needs to be a hero… keeping the family tradition and all."

"I fuking hate you."

"Uh… my lil bro's angry. What are you going to complain to the marines, about your big..." Ace flexed his biceps that had a tattoo on it, "…strong big brother, who also happens to be a successful pirate, unlike a certain someone."

The others in Luffy's crew recognized who that was. Ace was quite famous and the tattoo gave it away. It was none other than the recent second commander of Whitebeard pirates. Fire Fist Ace. A man with a bounty of 700 million. Of course, their rubber-headed captain would be related to this guy… logic didn't seem to work in regards to Luffy's family line.

Luffy rose his eyebrow before he crossed his arms smuggling. "Well, I hear that a certain old man beat some humility into my so-called big brother."

That brought Ace's face down with narrowed eyes.

"What's with you and old guys, first Gramps, then Rayleigh, and now Newgate… you sure have a losing streak with old people. You are still a kid if you get beat up by old-timers like them." Luffy said with a cocky grin.

"Heh, I would like you to try and beat any one of them." Ace said, but he still looked a bit sour.

The rest of the people who were hearing the conversation didn't know if that was an embarrassing feat when all of the people that Ace lost to were such legendary figures. That was some bragging rights, right there…

"Yes, yes, be a sour loser." Luffy said, "Anyway, I officially made my crew, wanna met em."

"Oh, I would love to!" that cheered Ace up. But suddenly Ace's holograph distorted, it seems that something was happening on the other side. "Hey, keep it down at this hour…" Ace seemed to frown and looked towards a certain direction. "Luffy, I will speak another time, there's something going on the ship." He said seriously before cutting the call.

Luffy also frowned but didn't pay much attention as the rest of the members on the ship was looking at the straw hat pirate captain with an awe expression.

"Um… did something happen?" Luffy asked as he picked his nose with a boring expression.

"You… you are related to Fire Fist Ace?" Coby was the one to speak.

"Yeah, he's my brother. Good guy really. You should meet him…" Luffy said, "Anyway, we should go do some training."

"What do you mean, he's your brother?" Nami asked almost screaming the question. "I thought you were the grandson of Garp the marine hero. How does that even add up…"

"Eh… well, I am. Gramps adopted him before my mother and father decided to get freeky in bed. And had me." Luffy said shrugging. "And he's following his dreams, like I said, gramps won't stop you unless you do something shitty…"

"Luffy before we get any more sudden shocks? Are there any other families that are knows famous figure?" Nami asked as she rubbed her forehead.

"Yeah, my father's a dragon."

"Eh…" A collective dumbfounded expression. Now that didn't even make sense.

"Well, he's not a dragon. He's the Revolutionary Dragon, the most wanted man alive." Luffy said nonchalantly, still picking his nose.

"That's even worse than freaking dragon." Usopp screamed, "And I thought my family was bad..."

"Well, your father did run of to go milk." Luffy snickered.

Usopp deeadpanned, "And yours was cuddling you at my age." Usopp knew a bit about Luffy, and this was the first time he had mentioned his father. So he knew Luffy had grown up with only Garp.

Luffy was about to say something but didn't. "Yeah, you make a point there."

A/N: Now riddle me this, if Luffy's and Makino's snail are of the same model, why didn't she reveal it to Luffy?

Or more importantly, what would Makino and Shanks use the video function for? 😏

59

A few days later, the excited voices of Johnny and Yosaku echoed across the ship. "Big Bro Zoro! Big Bro Luffy! Big Sis Nami! Big Sis Kunia! Lil bro Usopp! Lil bro Coby! We've arrived!"

"Why am I Big Sis?" Nami grumbled.

"Why am I lil bro?" Usopp grumbled.

"So, what do you think?" Johnny asked once they made their way out. He observed their reactions. Zoro kept a blank face. Nami smiled and let out a low whistle. Usopp looked on in awe. Luffy wore a wide grin.

"It's a huge fish! So cool! I'm getting psyched," he said enthusiastically.

"When you guys are done, we've got company," Kuina commented.

A Marine ship made pulled up next the Going Merry. Nami, Usopp, and the bounty hunter duo all stiffened as someone walked out onto the deck of the by default enemy ship. Coby was quick enough to hide and keep himself not visible. Where did he put his mask again.

"Hey, you pirates! I've never seen your flag before. I am Marine Lieutenant Ironfist Fullbody. Who's your captain? Identify yourselves."

"I am Straw Hat Luffy!" Luffy shouted as he stepped forward. He almost wished that the marine would recognize him as Mario, so he could sink his ship and officially be labled as a pirate.

"I am Honorable Liar Usopp!" Usopp shouted, stepping up beside him.

Luffy shot him an annoyed look, but turned his attention back to Fullbody. "Our mark was just made a couple of days ago!" Luffy shouted back.

"I was the one who saw him make it!" Usopp added, crossing his arms and nodding.

"So… a bunch of kids playing pirates… how typical. Nothing new. Well, I'm just here to eat at the restaurant. Consider yourselves lucky. But the next time we meet, consider your lives forfeit," Fullbody shouted. "Come on darling, our food is waiting for us."

Coby sighed in relief, so not all of the marines he met were bad. But then…

As their ship pulled up towards the entrance to the restaurant, Fullbody turned to the Marine on duty and pointed his thumb down. "Their ship is an eyesore. Sink it." The man didn't even hide his voice.

Coby gapped.

"Hey, the bastards are firing at us!" Yosaku yelled frantically, making Coby frustrated if not angry, what was that marine doing, doesn't he have any honor? Where was the justice in shooting some random people who had a jolly roger? Okay, they might not be just random, but the point still stands… And here he was… dreaming to be one. Well, dreamt of… now he wasn't. He was in with Luffy now, even though he didn't officially declare it.

There was still a part of him, that hoped that in his short journey a marine, a true Marine would come and show the justice that Coby shot after.

Kunia held her sword, preparing to cut the canon ball, but Zoro held her back. He moved his head towards Luffy.

Luffy picked his nose, taking out a booger and coating it with Haki, before flinging it towards the upcoming canon ball. It exploded when it hit the water, but their ship was unharmed.

Honestly, his armament Haki was lacking. He actually planned to blow the whole ship with that one. Well, who could blame him. It's only been a few months since he was able to figure out the last Haki.

His Armament Haki wasn't strong, but his technique was on point. Mainly because he learned to cut steel first, he could coat other things with haki easily. And even was close to Ryo.

But his main problem was that his haki wasn't strong. And even coating something outside other than his fist drained a lot out of him.

"Did you just throw your booger at that thing!?" Yosaku asked.

"I did," Luffy said as if it was obvious.

"How's that even possible!" Johnny and Coby shouted.

"Armament!" Kunia said, "Why am I not surprised… so you even know haki." Zoro was confused as the others.

"Shishishi," Luffy just smiled looking at her, much to his amusement. "Don't worry, when you guys build enough strength, I will teach you how to use Haki."

The enemy Marines, who had been ordered to sink their ship,, scrambled for the second cannonball that they didn't think they'd need, and tried to fire it.

"Huf… This is boring." Luffy whined, before taking out Horn's edge from his back. "Nami speed it up, or we might get wet because of some waves."

Sparky rolled his eyes and shot the canon ball down with one of guns, if Luffy wanted to show of he was going to help him.

Nami and Coby had seen what Luffy had done before and she scrambled to the steering wheel of the ship. Now Coby was actually feeling bad for the marines… only a little bit.

And with one swing, all of the crewmates saw the ship get cut in half. The sea waves after that were huge.

But it seemed that Nami was still not fast and the chopped-ship, brought some rainwater on deck making them wet.

Luffy looked a little, "And now we are all wet." He grumbled before he looked towards Nami. Her clothes had been the wettest, and gave a good view on things that a man could imagine. Well, she did wear something underneath, still. Even though Luffy teased Nami, she was packing well there. But what was the fun of admitting that? "We should all get more wet!" he declared.

If Nami did hear what Luffy said, she might have ignored it for the halved-marine-ship. A few days ago, she would have not believed people would be able to do that. And now, here she was.

60

She didn't have any more doubts left that Luffy wouldn't be able to handle Arlong. Zoro was a bounty hunter that was quite famous in the east blue, but Kuina was someone who even managed to take down a pirate crew of forty million alone. And Luffy was able to beat them like it was nothing.

So she had no doubt that Luffy would be able to handle him. But asking him was another issue. Why didn't she take up on the offer of joining the pirate crew when Luffy asked.

Now she was only a temporary member. Not to mention. She touched her shoulder, where a mark was set. Like a slave mark. She was already a member of Arlong's crew… she doubted it would change things with Luffy's character… but she didn't know what to do now.

Zoro had a murderous grin on his face, and he was excited. This was the man he was following. It seems he didn't choose wrong.

Zoro snuck a glance at Kunia, who was eyeing Luffy. She also seemed a bit proud of their captain. Though she might challenge him now for another dual.

"What happened just now? Did big bro Luffy just cut the marine ship in half?" Johnny asked, shakily.

"Yeah, he did. Didn't he?" Yosaku repeated.

Coby sighed. "Luffy also did the same thing to Alvida's ship." He said almost a whisper, but others could hear it just fine.

"How's that even possible." Usopp gulped, before he jumped in excitement. "Hey, can I do that too?"

"Ah, sorry. You want to learn swordman-ship or learn how to sink a ship with one move?," Luffy asked.

"The later one…" Usopp said.

"Well, that would take time… but not impossible?"

"Really?" Before Usopp could talk even further, a giant serpent rose from the sea.

"A-A sea king?" Nami screamed. This one was bigger than the cow sea-king that Arlong had. And it was two times the size of Going Marry, not enough to eat it, but big enough to crush it. They were doomed.

But suddenly… the whole area suddenly felt as if it was dark. A dreadful feeling came out… it's source… was Luffy.

And suddenly the giant sea-king was scared. Scared enough to crawl back into the sea. And not come back. But it wasn't the only one that was affected.

"What just happened?" Kuina asked. She seemed shaky, not from the sea king, but from what Luffy just did.

"Oh, I took care of the pesky little worm." Luffy said casually grinning.

"What do you mean it was you!? What did you even do!?" Nami asked, her chest was beating too fast, first Luffy, then a SeaKing, then Luffy. "And why did you do it to us?" Everyone in the crew was panting with cold sweat on their foreheads.

"Aw, come on Nami, it was just to prepare you. And it builds character," he said rubbing his head.

Kunia didn't know how to react to the sudden change, one moment he was dangerous, and the next moment he was… he was Luffy.

"You still haven't told us what it was," Usopp said now that the whole ordeal was over.

"It's called Conqueror's Haki."

"What?" Kunia said, blinking "But I thought there were only two types of Haki."

Luffy spoke, "There is a third one. It allows you to forcefully overpower the minds of those with weak wills. Like producing your aura outwards and pushing it down on others. Traits like self-confidence and mental discipline help one resist it, but the most important factor is willpower. A person with an unbendable will won't even bat an eye in the face of the most powerful Conqueror."

Kunia didn't speak. She and Zoro were the only one that was left standing after what Luffy did. Sparky as well, but he didn't count. The others were on the ground when Luffy used that.

Luffy added, "Some say, One in a million people in the world are born with it." Luffy saw Kunia's reaction who gripped her sword tightly, "I call that bullshit! Anyone with high enough ambition have a chance of unlocking it. Shanks said himself. People who are willing to bet there everything on their dreams. That's the people who can unlock the power of a king."

Kunia didn't say anything, before she looked at Zoro, "That means, Mihawke and Shanks have it."

Luffy just gave a wide grin. "Like I said… high enough ambition. And after a certain point, Conquer's Haki will become a bit common… more so when we enter the second part of the grand line."

Johnny and Yosaku looked at Luffy with awe, they had much to catch up. But could they even catch up… no. It was all about ambition.

All of them took in the explanation with thoughtful expressions. Who knew that such a thing existed? The world truly was vast.

Coby felt dejected, was his ambition weak? Because as he saw so far, the marines didn't follow up with the justice that they promised. But wait… was his ambition to join the Marines, or serve justice. It was to serve what was right.

But could he serve justice while he was a pirate… could he make that possible? No, he would make that possible, and show the world the true picture of the Marines. A bead of hope was sowed in his heart as he looked at the now-sinking marine vessel.