In this enormous, incredible world, there existed a countless number of oddities and fantastic sights that those who contented themselves with their small little corners would never be able to believe were they not able to look directly upon them. Men triple the size of elephants who were strong enough to lift them above their heads with one hand, oceans of clouds that sustained their own entire ecosystems all the way in the sky, a train that ran on the surface of the sea itself, and so many more bizarre little facets that it seemed as if the world- and the gigantic ocean that dominated its surface- was just begging each and every person who looked out at the watery horizon to come and explore it themselves.
And there was no other location in the world that could provide the same adventure as the vaunted Grand Line itself. The sea route that circled the entire globe, broken only by the looming majesty of the line of mountainous rock known as the Red Line, and which housed the greatest powers that the world had to offer. Pirates, who flew black flags in opposition to the laws and justice imposed by the World Government and enforced by their Marines.
Each island within the Grand Line was a microcosm of a larger world, with conflicting climates that fought to control the weather out on the sea, rendering it almost completely unpredictable. The magnetic poles of the islands played havoc with ordinary compasses, while the brutal ocean currents and eclectic weather battered the ships and the sailors who tried to brave them. Those that wished to brave such conditions and conquer the challenge of the Grand Line could rely on one instrument, and one instrument alone- the Log Pose, a special compass that could lock onto one island's magnetic field and stay locked on. A navigator couldn't trust the wind, the sky, the waves or even the clouds. Amidst the treachery of nature, they could trust only in the Log Pose.
It was for this reason that, for one particular orange-haired young woman with a dark blue tattoo of a pinwheel and a tangerine on her arm, the sight of her Log Pose's needle suddenly flipping ninety degrees to the right was a cause for mild alarm. Having been lounging about on the deck of her crew's caravel, a colourful and jolly vessel with a figurehead in the likeness of a sheep's head, she rose to her feet with a start. The action did not go unnoticed by one especially adoring blonde, swirly-eyebrowed chef.
"Is something the matter, Nami-dear~?" 'Black Leg' Sanji asked as he crossed the deck over to where Nami was standing, his every limb bending and flowing like liquid as his eyes seemed to transform into hearts before the navigator. Were it not for his lovesick antics, his impeccable black suit and the cigarette in his mouth might have given off an image of high-class.
"The Log Pose!" Nami exclaimed, "It's pointing somewhere completely different!"
That statement drew the attention of every other individual on the deck.
"Did you stop paying attention again?" Came the voice of a young man with curly black hair and a long, thin nose. The Great 'Captain' Usopp, clad in brown overalls with an olive-green plaid bandana and pair of goggles atop his head, raised an eyebrow at Nami from where he was sprawled out. The question had scarcely left his mouth before the underside of Sanji's leg connected with the top of his cranium, slamming him face-first down into the deck with a fresh goose egg formed on top of his head.
"AS IF NAMI WOULD EVER MAKE A MISTAKE LIKE THAT!" Sanji roared.
"Why not? She already did it when we arrived." Interjected a green-haired man with three swords bundled together at his hip. 'Pirate Hunter' Roronoa Zoro ducked his head under the furious kick his statement earned from the chef.
"WATCH WHAT YOU SAY, MOSSHEAD!" Sanji threatened, glowering at the swordsman, who rose to his feet to match the venomous glare with his own.
"MAKE ME, SHIT-COOK!" Zoro retorted. The two's hateful glares bore into each other as they gnashed their teeth and butted heads, both trying to push the other back in a show of strength. They were promptly both knocked off their feet by a pair of fists, courtesy of Nami, who stood over the two of them with a scowl on her face.
"For the record, no, I didn't stop paying attention." She said, looking back down at the Log Pose on her wrist and furrowing her brow, "It just changed direction out of nowhere."
"Maybe it locked onto a different island?" Usopp suggested as he rubbed his stinging scalp.
"No, I don't think so." The crew's one tagalong- distinctly not a member of their crew at the current moment- said. Princess Nefertari Vivi of Alabasta was a young woman with kindly brown eyes and vibrant blue hair that ran halfway down her back even while tied up, as it usually was. She was dressed casually, especially for a lady of her stature, wearing just a simple white and black-striped shirt with white shorts.
"Grand Line routes don't change idly." Vivi explained, "The only way for another island's magnetic field to have overpowered the one the Log Pose was already locked onto would be for it to spontaneously appear along the route."
"I'm guessing that islands don't just appear out of thin air in the Grand Line, do they?" Nami said.
"No." Vivi shook her head, "Not that I've heard of, at least."
"What do you think, Luffy?" Usopp said, looking over at the final member of their crew, their true captain. 'Straw Hat' Monkey D. Luffy, known as such for his signature straw hat that he wore atop his head, looked over at his navigator with a curiosity in his eyes.
"If the Log Pose moved, that means the island must have moved, doesn't it?" Luffy said bluntly.
"That's not-!" Vivi replied, but quickly cut her protest off as she stared down at the deck, "I want to say that's not possible, but neither is any other explanation I can think of."
"That Miss All-Sunday person said that we would never be able to leave Little Garden." Nami murmured, "What if it's because we can't even find it in the first place?" Her mind flashed back to the crew's meeting with the enigmatic, cowboy hat-wearing Miss All-Sunday and both the warning and gift she had given to them- an Eternal Pose that would allow them to skip the island of Little Garden altogether as they journeyed for Vivi's homeland of Alabasta. The gift that Luffy had crushed in his hands as soon as he found out what it did because he refused to let anyone dictate his journey for him. And with the predicament that they may have gotten themselves in as a result, she briefly felt a pang of irritation towards their captain.
"Nah, we'll be fine." Luffy said, his face breaking out into a D-shaped grin, "You'll find our way there, Nami. I trust you!"
A pang of irritation that promptly vanished as she smiled warmly at him, before snapping to attention and beginning to bark out directions to everyone else aboard.
"Alright everyone, we need to change course on the double!" She instructed, "Sanji, you take the whipstaff! Usopp, watch astern! Turn the ship ninety degrees to starboard!"
"YOU CAN COUNT ON ME, NAMI-DEAR~!" Sanji said enthusiastically as he rushed to follow her directions along with everyone else. Nami paid them half her attention, while the other half of her attention was directed solely at the Log Pose on her wrist, keeping an eye out for any more sudden changes like before. And in the back of her mind, she couldn't help but wonder just what kind of island they were going to find when they arrived at their destination.
As he followed Nami's instructions obediently and with more competence than he could approach a great many tasks with, Luffy wondered just what kind of adventures would be waiting for him and his friends when they arrived at their destination.
-O-
Elsewhere in the Grand Line, there was an island. It was moderately large, sporting a half-dozen different towns and villages dotted around its surface, and had a rough, rocky exterior that sloped upwards into a peak in the center. Standing atop that peak was a castle, once a respected and honourable establishment that had since decayed into a monument of tyranny under its new owner. That castle, though, was not yet important. Though most of the island was craggy and barren when it came to vegetation, there was a forest located near the western coastline of the island.
The forest stood out as a spot of green amidst a sea of orange, and it was a sanctuary for a great many creatures that were known by the name of 'Pokemon'. Technically, all of Iron Island was home to these Pokemon, but the animosity between human and Pokemon that had festered for years kept all but a handful of them away from the towns, while the caves of the island- once prosperous mines- were plagued by a pecking order where all the Pokemon present were forced into an unending battle with each other so that only the strongest could enjoy some semblance of peace.
Needless to say, far from a sanctuary.
Only the relative tranquility of the Eterna Grove allowed Pokemon to thrive and live in harmony with each other, all in their own compact ecosystem. The humans didn't bother the Pokemon, the Pokemon didn't bother the humans, and that was how the two groups were balanced on Iron Island. Save for one little outlier.
A young man in body, and a young boy at heart, there was one human who dwelled within the Eterna Grove, disconnected from the other humans of the island. Standing at a wee height of only five and a half feet, with the kind of hardened build that could only come from braving it out in the wilderness for half his life, Magnus Spruce crouched near the edge of a cliff around the perimeter of the grove. Like his body, his garments were also a product of the years that he had spent in the grove, with the blue line running up the center of his white t-shirt having faded to such a degree one could easily miss that it was there at all, not to mention the dozen holes of varying sizes that he had either ripped or worn away all over it. Luckily for his modesty, his brown shorts had fared somewhat better, though it was clear they were on their way out as well. The closest thing to footwear that he had on was the layer of dirt caking the soles of his feet like a second skin. Fastened around his waist was the one clothing item that was in good condition, the black belt which had three red and white spherical objects with black lines running horizontally across their middle fastened to it.
Reaching up to brush away the locks of auburn hair that flapped around in defiance of gravity from his eyes, Magnus turned his curious hazel gaze out at the horizon as for the first time since he could remember- since anyone on the island would be able to remember- there was a ship. A great big ship with a figurehead in the likeness of a sheep, makings its way across the sea in the direction of Iron Island. Painted across the sails of the ship was a great big skull and crossbones wearing a straw hat, an emblem which matched the one on the black flag that the ship was flying. Even from such a distance, there was no mistaking what the emblem meant.
"Do you see that, Ria?" Spruce said, turning to his companion who was standing beside him, "That ship has a giant smile on it! That must mean they're friendly!"
Beside him, Ria- a short blue and grey canine Pokemon known as a Riolu- looked back at him with a sparkle in her eyes. Even squatting as he was, Spruce was still a whole head taller than his partner, though the discrepancy in their respective levels of strength was very much in reverse.
"Rio!" She nodded and turned back around to face the ocean, hopping up and down and throwing a few punches out against the air, "Riolu!"
"It would be rude if we barged up to them and demanded a battle before introducing ourselves, Ria." Spruce chastised her with a shake of his head, "We need to make a good first impression. And maybe if they're strong…" He trailed off, staring off into the distance for a second before shaking his head, "No, that's stupid of me."
"Lu." Ria said somberly, patting a hand against the side of his leg. He perked up at the touch and smiled back at her, patting her atop the head, before being distracted by the sudden shaking of one of the balls on his belt. Spruce looked down at the ball, and then he and Ria looked at each other and snickered together.
"I guess a certain someone wants to go make some friends." He said, reaching down to remove the ball from his belt and raise it up to his mouth, "Alright Whiskers, go out and say hi to them for us!"
-O-
As the Going Merry neared the island that they believed to be Little Garden, the atmosphere aboard was wildly varied. Usopp and Luffy both stood beside each other at the ship's bow, peering curiously at the sight of the rocky island they would be setting foot on soon enough. Sanji was below deck, checking the larder and running a mental inventory in preparation for stocking up once they dropped the anchor and headed inland. Nami was watching the Log Pose with such focus that one might think she expected it to grow legs and try running away, and Zoro had settled down for a nap. Vivi stood a distance behind Usopp and Luffy, staring up at the island with trepidation, and beside her stood a large, yellow-brown duck wearing a saddle along with a blue and white chullo and pink goggles. The duck's name was Carue.
"So, this is Little Garden…" Vivi said to herself, "It certainly doesn't look very welcoming."
"I wonder why it's called that." Usopp said, a spyglass raised up to his eye which he surveyed the coastline of the island through, "You'd think a garden would have more plants."
"If you could see the garden from here, then it wouldn't be little, Usopp." Luffy said bluntly, "Don't be stupid."
"YOU'RE THE LAST PERSON I WANNA HEAR THAT FROM!" Usopp raged, whirling around to glare at Luffy, who just plucked the spyglass from his grasp and raised it in front of his own eye. Just as he did, however, something broke the surface of the water in front of the Merry. Something big, red, and scary enough that it made Usopp's jaw drop in terror as the sniper shielded himself behind an oblivious Luffy.
"Huh? Why'd everything go red and yellow?" Luffy frowned, lowering the spyglass and staring at the creature in front of him.
It was serpentine in nature, with a long body that allowed it to tower over the ship while it still remained partially submerged beneath the water. Its scale-covered body was primarily red, with a pale-yellow underbelly and matching yellow spots running down its sides along with a set of four spiky white dorsal fins. At the top of the creature's body, it had a pair of white fins on the sides of its face, along with a single pair of red barbels, along with a dark red, three-pointed crest that sat above its red eyes to give off a permanent glaring expression. Its mouth was gaping wide, with yellow lips and four prominent, pointed teeth that seemed to glimmer in the sunlight.
Luffy, Usopp, Vivi and Carue all stared at the sea-serpent, with the latter three holding onto each other and shaking with fear, and the sea-serpent stared back with its furious demeanor and gaping mouth.
"GYARADOS!" The creature roared with such volume that it made the ocean tremble, bouncing the Going Merry from side to side.
"SEA MONSTER!" The three humans screamed in unison, along with Carue's own terrified quack. Though while Vivi and Usopp said it with terror, Luffy said it with a mixture of excitement as well as hunger.
"Sea monster…?" A groggy Zoro murmured, having been awoken from his nap. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he looked over towards the bow and saw the sea-serpent, the sight of which caused his eyes to light up as he reached down to the bundle of swords at his hip in order to unsheathe the one with the red and white sheath.
"A SEA MONSTER? I'LL PROTECT YOU, NAMI AND VIVI!" Came Sanji's yell from below as he hurried up onto the deck. Unfortunately, the chef's own momentum sent him barreling right into the path of Zoro as the swordsman was rising to his feet, eager for a fight, and he bowled right into him, sending the two of them tumbling across the deck in a tangled pile of limbs and blades.
"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING, SHIT-COOK!" Zoro exploded, quickly untangling himself from Sanji and rising to his feet to snarl at the chef, who was back on his own feet in an instant to snarl right back at him.
"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE STANDING, MOSSHEAD!" Sanji said, "I WAS JUST ABOUT TO SAVE NAMI AND VIVI-DEAREST FROM THAT HORRIBLE SEA-MONSTER AND SERVE IT UP ON A PLATTER FOR THEM!"
"AND I WAS JUST ABOUT TO SLICE THAT SEA-MONSTER DOWN IN ONE SLASH WHILE YOU WERE BUSY BEING A LOVESTRUCK IDIOT!" Zoro said, "YOU COULDN'T SERVE A KINGFISH!"
"YEAH? WELL YOU COULDN'T SLICE A MINNOW!" Sanji said.
"WORTHLESS SHIT-COOK!"
"USELESS MOSSHEAD!"
The shouting match had drawn everyone's attention away from the sea-serpent, with Usopp and Vivi both staring at the feuding crewmates with flat, unimpressed gazes and Nami rolling her eyes at their antics. Even the sea-serpent was put off by the sheer animosity between them, closing its mouth timidly and backing up away from the ship a bit. As soon as it moved, however, Luffy's head snapped right back around to stare it down firmly.
"You're not getting away that easy." Luffy said, tuning out the argument in the background and winding back a fist, "Because I'm hungry, AND YOU LOOK REALLY YUMMY! GUM-GUM…!"
As the captain spoke those words, the fist he had been winding back wound back further, as the arm it was attached to stretched like rubber. The sea-serpent's eyes widened at the sight of the anatomically impossible phenomenon before it, and it tried to dive back down into the water to avoid what was about to come.
"PISTOL!"
Just as it had stretched like rubber, so too did Luffy's arm snap forwards like an elastic band, sending his fist rocketing forwards straight into the sea-serpent. His knuckles struck the side of the monster's face, and struck it good, digging into its scales and knocking it upwards. Its great, long body flew several feet above the water's surface, before quickly crashing back down with a mighty SPLASH that sprayed the sides of Merry's hull while it sank beneath the waves. As the sound of seawater battering wood died down, there was nothing but silence left in its place, with Luffy's yell having cut Zoro and Sanji's argument off early. Of everyone currently aboard the ship, the other four members of the Straw Hat pirates were a mixture of bemused and relieved at Luffy's feat, while Vivi and Carue were staring at the space where the sea-serpent had been towering over them from a moment ago with an agape jaw and beak respectively.
'So this is the strength of a pirate who can beat an Officer Agent that easily?' She thought to herself.
"Haha, good job Luffy!" Usopp laughed, puffing his chest out and steadying himself, "If you hadn't beaten that giant sea-monster, I would have been forced to deal with it myself! Just like the time I fought off a school of Sea Kings in the Calm Belt using nothing but a rubber band and a bag of frozen peas!"
"Dang." Luffy said, pulling his fist back and looking at where the serpent had fallen into the sea, "I really wanted to eat it. HEY SANJI, CAN YOU GO GRAB THE FISHING-!"
"STARAVIA!"
"RIOLU!"
The request was cut short by a pair of shouts that came from above. Looking up, Luffy barely had enough time to duck as a white and black-feathered bird with an orange, black-tipped beak, and a curved tuft of feathers above its head, swooped down as if to ram right into him. Riding on the back of the bird was a short, bipedal canine with blue and black fur, which jumped off the back of the bird as it swooped back up. The canine glared furiously at Luffy, who stood up and stared blankly right back at it until it suddenly leaped forwards and reared its fist back.
"Wha-!" Luffy said, ducking back down as the canine's fist struck the air where his face had been just a moment ago. Its momentum carried it forward, and it landed on the edge of the bow and whirled right back around to jump at him again.
"Little pest!" Sanji scowled, running forwards across the deck as Luffy once again weaved out of the way of the canine's attack. After just a couple of steps, however, he skidded to a stop as the bird dove down once again, this time flying into his face and flapping its wings incessantly. The chef bit back a curse as he swatted at the bird with a hand, before switching to swinging a leg up towards it from the side which it flew upwards to avoid.
"Tch. Of course the swirly-brow can't even handle a damn bird." Zoro scoffed. Behind him, the crimson sea-serpent rose back out of the water, with a vein popping on the side of its head.
"WHISKERS, USE BRINE! PEX, USE DOUBLE TEAM INTO TAKE DOWN! RIA, GET IN WITH A QUICK ATTACK AND THEN TAKE HIM DOWN WITH ROCK SMASH!"
The crew barely had any time to process the sudden addition of yet another voice- this one belonging to a human- as the sea-serpent, apparently named Whiskers of all things, opened his mouth up wide and released a powerful jet of water like an oversized firehose. Everyone on deck, save for Zoro whose back was to the creature, were able to hit the deck as the creature turned its head, running the jet over half the ship and thoroughly drenching the mast. Zoro was struck dead-on by the water, the force of which was enough to catapult him off the deck entirely, casting him into the sea.
Once the water had subsided, it was the two other creatures that were first to attack again. Looking up at the bird, Pex, which had flown above the jet rather than duck beneath it, Sanji's eyes widened as he saw the bird begin to move itself side-to-side in the air, creating a hazy afterimage that almost instantly evolved into a dozen clones of the bird, all spread out in the air. And together, the clones all dove down as one, shooting straight towards him from all angles.
Sanji planted his hands flat against the deck and swung himself up into a handstand as he began spinning around rapidly, extending both legs out to kick all the clones as they neared him. Each kick passed through the clone as if it were thin air, as each clone promptly vanished into as soon as it was struck. But while the clones all attacked from above, the real Pex dove under his circle of kicks and slammed straight into his chest with such force that it lifted him off the deck and carried him forwards, slamming him into the ship's mast. Pex, for its part, bounced off of him and tumbled back across the deck, having taken a bit of recoil from the attack as well.
As for Luffy, he hopped back onto his feet with an eager grin, raising his hands to crack his knuckles, only for the canine to suddenly blur as it leaped off the Merry's taffrail and rammed into him hard enough that it caused his body to stretch, his back bulging out momentarily. But then the moment passed, and his body snapped back to normal with the canine being shot back the way it had come to smash through the taffrail, only being saved from falling into the sea by its own quick reflexes allowing it to grab the side of the Merry's figurehead with one hand and pull itself back up.
"Rio… LU!" It dashed towards Luffy once again, with the pirate's grin widening at its approach, and jumped upwards, rearing a fist back to strike him with an uppercut to the chin.
Monkey D. Luffy's body did not stretch this time.
It was far from the strongest blow that he had taken, even before he'd acquired his stretchy body, but the mere fact that he was taking it in the first place was enough for Luffy's eyes to widen as his surprise kept him from immediately retaliating as he easily could have. Usopp's jaw dropped at the sight of Luffy's head jerking up and his body lurching back like an ordinary man's would, and Sanji's eyes widened as he sat up against the mast and witnessed it for himself as well.
"N-No way!" Usopp gasped.
"But how?" Sanji muttered.
Had she been paying attention to Luffy's fight, Nami no doubt would have been astonished by what had just happened, but her focus was elsewhere. Namely, it was directed towards the source of the human voice that had yelled out directions for the three creatures just moments ago. Crouching on the taffrail right beside where she was standing was a young man with hazel eyes and messy auburn hair, wearing clothes with such wear and tear that one could easily assume he had been marooned here on Little Garden.
"WAY TO GO WHISKERS!" The teen cheered, pumping a fist enthusiastically, "PEX, FOLLOW UP WITH AN AERIAL ACE! RIA, HIT HIM WITH A METAL CLAW! YOU GOT THIS GUYS, YOU- Oh, hello there." Noticing that Nami's attention was now on him, he looked at her and lowered his raised fist to give her a wave. The two of them stared at each other silently for a second.
"GET OFF OUR SHIP!" Nami roared, punching him in the face and knocking him onto the deck, where she began kicking him in the side without restraint while he curled himself up to try and protect himself.
"WHISKERS, GET- OUCH- HER OFF OF- ARGH- ME WITH- OOF- BRINE!" He commanded amidst cries of pain.
"DOOOOOS!" Whiskers bellowed, turning its head to align its open mouth with Nami while building up water inside of it.
"I don't think so!" Sanji interjected, leaping to his feet and narrowing his eyes at the sea-serpent. Taking off into a sprint, he hopped up onto the taffrail and bent his knees in preparation for leaping up and striking the monster with a furious kick, but just before he could, he was stopped in his tracks by the sound of a woman's voice.
"EVERYBODY STOP FIGHTING!"
Vivi's shrill scream halted both the crew and the monsters they were fighting in an instant. Ria lowered its hands to her sides, with the glowing silver claws that had been forming on its hands quickly disappearing, while Luffy mirrored the action. Pex perched itself on the taffrail beside Sanji, who stood back up, and Nami stopped kicking the teen so that everyone could turn their direction over to Vivi, who had a steely look in her eyes. Whiskers closed his mouth and stared at her, narrowing his eyes at the sight of her vibrant blue hair.
Zoro was nowhere to be found.
"All of you, stop fighting this instant!" Vivi snapped in a tone that oozed authority, "You're trading blows for nothing! This is all meaningless, and-!"
"DOS!" Whiskers interrupted her as it descended upon the ship, rapidly lowering its head towards where she was standing. The eyes of the crew members all widened at once as they watched the sea-serpent approach her, with Sanji dashing towards her and Usopp- who was standing next to Vivi- beginning to foam at the mouth with terror, while Vivi simply stood there and stared the serpent down as its face stopped just a few inches in front of her.
"Careful Vivi, that thing's dangerous!" Luffy warned, with his comment seeming to incense the teen who Nami had been kicking.
"LIAR!" He screamed, shooting to his feet and pointing an accusatory finger at Luffy, "YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A BIG, FAT, JERK-FACE LIAR WITH A STUPID LIAR FLAG!"
"He thinks I'm you, Usopp." Luffy deadpanned to the long-nosed sniper of the crew, before his eyes widened as the last part of the teen's accusation sank in, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN MY FLAG IS A STUPID LIAR?!"
"YOUR FLAG HAS A GIANT SMILE ON IT!" The teen said, "IT LOOKS LIKE A BIG FRIEND, BUT YOU'RE ALL NOTHING BUT A BUNCH OF JERKS!"
Every member of the crew was stunned into silence by what he had just said.
'He's as dumb as Luffy…' was the thought going through all their minds in unison.
"THAT FLAG IS OUR SUPER AWESOME PIRATE FLAG!" Luffy said, "IT'S NOT A LIAR OR STUPID!"
"WELL IF IT'S A PIRATE FLAG, THEN PIRATES MUST BE A BUNCH OF JERKS!" The teen yelled back at him.
'He's even dumber than Luffy!'
"PIRATES AREN'T JERKS, PIRATES ARE THE COOLEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD!" Luffy said.
"STOP SHOUTING AT EACH OTHER!" Vivi interjected angrily, "Shouting, fighting, it's all the same! Nothing is being accomplished, so just stop it already!"
"He started it." Luffy said, pointing at the teen.
"No, he started it!" The teen countered, pointing at Luffy in return.
"I don't care who started it, I'm ending it." Vivi hissed. She let out a heavy sigh, and addressed the teen, "Please, sir, why did you and your pets attack us like that?"
"Why did we attack you? The one who threw the first punch was him," The teen pointed at Luffy with his other hand as well, "Whiskers just came to say hello to you all, and you attacked him! Like a bunch of jerks!"
"Came to… say hello?" Vivi tilted her head and looked at Whiskers, only to gasp as she saw that his lower lip was quivering, and his eyes were tearing up.
"DOS…" Whiskers said.
"Oh dear, you just came to greet us and we attacked you?" She said apologetically, reaching out to rub her hand up and down his cheek, "I'm terribly sorry in that case."
"RADOS! GYARADOS." Whiskers perked up in an instant, leaning into her touch with a goofy smile on his face.
"And for the record, they're not my pets." The teen huffed, "Whiskers, Pex and Ria are my friends!"
"Your… friends?" Usopp, Nami and Sanji said together, looking from him, to Whiskers, to Pex, and then to Ria.
"Oh, so the big red fish is your friend?" Luffy nodded, "Okay then, I'm sorry for punching him!"
'JUST LIKE THAT?' The three thought together.
"If someone punched my friends, I'd get super mad at them as well." Luffy continued, "I'm Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm gonna be the King of the Pirates!"
While Luffy was busy making introductions, Usopp looked around at everyone who was gathered on the deck, human and monster alike, and tilted his head as he took note of one pointed absence.
"Huh… I wonder where Zoro went?" the sniper said to himself.
-O-
Unbeknownst to his comrades, the green-haired swordsman had washed ashore on the opposite end of the island from where their ship was. Dragging his thoroughly soaked self out of the water and onto the shores, he sat himself down on the sand and reached down to peel off his white shirt, exposing the gnarly scar that ran across his chest as he bundled the shirt up and began wringing the water from it.
"Damn. I can't believe I let my guard down like that." Zoro muttered to himself, taking a cursory glance at the rest of the shore around him. It was almost entirely barren, save for what appeared to be an angular, blue rock with a bright red arrow attached to it, almost like a nose. The stone was spinning rapidly in place on the sand, kicking up a small cloud of it around it.
"Still, I meant to swim back to the ship." The swordsman continued, paying no mind to the weird rock, "Luffy must have been right about the island moving, that's how I ended up here instead. This is Little Garden, then? That woman made it out like this place was dangerous."
A predatory gleam shone in his eyes as he reached down to unsheathe one of the swords that were bundled together at his hip.
"Good. I'll need to kill something twice as big as that sea-serpent to bring back to the ship and put the swirly-brow in his place." Zoro said sinisterly, completely ignorant to the presence that was approaching him from behind. Something big, getting closer one step after the other, with a shadow that fell over Zoro. Finally realising that he wasn't as alone as he had first assumed, Zoro scrambled to stand and face this new presence, but it was already too late.
"YEARRRRRRGH!"