DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING, EXCEPT RAGNAR AND ALL VIKINGS AND OCs IN THIS STORY! ONE PIECE BELONGS TO EICHIRO ODA, VIZ MANGA, TOEI ANIMATION AND FUNIMATION ENTERTAINMENT/CRUNCHYROLL LLC
Chapter 50: Buggy's Revenge! The Boy who Smiles on the Execution Platform!
All those gathered at the main piazza couldn't believe their eyes at what they were seeing. A boy just climbed the execution platform! No one dared walk up that scaffolding unless it was with the exclusive authority of the government. It was federal property, and people couldn't just go up there willy nilly like some tourist attraction. But this boy just did!
"Whoa! Someone's on the execution platform!" One person muttered.
"Who the heck is that!?" Another asked.
"Wait, I think I've seen that guy's face," said the pink-haired girl in the crowd, "It can't be! Monkey D. Luffy!?"
"Wait, ain't that guy the same punk who beat Don Krieg and helped bring down Arlong Park?" The pompadour sporting man asked. Yet Luffy just didn't care about the crowd's reactions.
"That old man at the tavern said that this is the place where it all happened," Luffy muttered to himself, "Twenty-two years ago, the King of the Pirates was executed right here!" He truly couldn't believe his luck to stand in the very place where history was made. His pilgrimage was truly complete.
"Hey! You! Up there! Get down from that scaffold immediately!" A voice shouted out from below, and Luffy looked down to see a police officer with a loudspeaker in his hand. From the epaulettes on his jacket, he was definitely a high-ranking officer, but other than that, he wore the same uniform as Genzo did.
"But why should I?" Luffy asked, "I have important business here!"
"That execution platform you're standing on is property of the World Government! Get down from there right now!" The captain demanded.
"Fine! I'll come down!" Luffy replied, smiling back, "But first, you gotta say the magic word…and smile too!" It was evident that he intended to stay atop this platform unless someone asked him nicely.
"This isn't a game, kid!" The captain yelled, "If you don't come down this instant, then I'll place you under arrest for trespassing on…!" He didn't finish. As he approached the platform, he felt a sudden pain strike him in the head, followed by a loud THUD! The captain was dead, struck right in the head with an iron spiked mace wielded by a beautiful young woman wearing a wide-brimmed hat with a red plumage on the left side, with long wavy black hair and dark green eyes. On her body, she wore a pink cloak with red hearts emblazoned on it. As she lifted her mace to let it rest on her left shoulder, it was clear she was wearing a purple coat underneath, along with a pair of tight capri-length breeches.
"Now's not the time for such trifles," she said as she looked up at Luffy, "Long time no see, Straw Hat Luffy. I've been looking all over the East Blue for you."
"Huh? Do I know you?" Luffy asked, utterly confused by what this lady meant, "How do you know my name? I've never seen you before."
"Oh come now, that's just rude, isn't it?" The lady asked with a smile, "Don't tell me that you, of all people, have forgotten my gorgeous face?" As she kept eyeing Luffy, all the crowd gathered only smiled at her, infatuated by how absolutely gorgeous she was, both men and women.
"Wow! She's absolutely gorgeous!" One bystander exclaimed.
"I've never seen such pure beauty!"
"Her skin looks deliciously soft!"
"Forgot you? I'm pretty sure we've never met at all," Luffy explained, "You'll have to refresh my memory a bit. Who are you?" At this remark, the woman only smiled, knowing that it was only natural for Luffy to hardly recognize her.
"I'll never forget you," she replied, "You were the first man who ever truly struck me."
"What!? I never hit you!" Luffy retorted, defending himself, "The only woman I ever hit was… wait a minute." It was then that Luffy noticed the iron mace and the hat she wore. Instantly, his eyes widened in shock as he knew who it was, "IT'S THE ASS-FACED TART!"
That comment alone made that whole square collapse in shock. They were all just completely stunned that this boy had no sense of tact filter whatsoever! How could this guy call a woman something like that straight to her face!? It was just beyond all normal comprehension. Yet Luffy knew that despite her change in appearance, that woman was definitely Iron Mace Alvida – the first pirate he ever fought.
"I see that your words still have their bite," Alvida growled, trying to contain her anger, "When you struck me with your passionate fist, though…it felt so good~." She only placed her free hand on her cheek and smiled as she asked the crowd, "Now, listen, all of you! What would you ladies and gentlemen say is the most beautiful sight in the entire East Blue?"
"THAT WOULD BE YOU!" The crowd all shouted in unison, save for the pink haired young woman, and the green pompadour sporting Wildman.
"That's correct," Alvida replied, "I am quite breathtaking, aren't I? There isn't a man alive who wouldn't crumble before my beauty~. But I prefer strong men, like you~. I'm gonna make you all mine, Luffy~. Just you wait~." Each word Alvida said only made Luffy shudder internally. He still remembered Alvida as the fussock she was before, when they first met. Plus, this was the same woman who pressed poor Coby into her services as a cabin boy. He kicked her ass before, and he would gladly do it again, all for the sake of his friend.
"Gross! No way!" Luffy replied, "Listen, I've already been promised to another woman, and she's much more my type than you are! Besides, I still have to pay you back for those years you abused poor Coby!"
At that moment, the rest of the city's police force arrived, armed with muskets and clubs, all ready to detain Alvida.
"This is the police! Drop your weapon and come quietly!" One officer yelled at Alvida, "You're under arrest for first degree murder and assaulting an officer!" Then he turned to Luffy and yelled, "As for you, up there! Get off that platform, or you will be placed under arrest for trespassing on government property!"
"Hold a moment. Who did you say you were going to arrest~?" Alvida asked with a seductive grin.
"We're arresting you, madam!" The officer replied, trying to control himself, but he and his subordinates were both suddenly locked in her gaze.
"Are you really going to arrest little ol' me~?" Alvida asked again, with such a sultry and heavenly tone, that the law officers were unable to help themselves but fall victim to her charm.
"We've got a big problem here, sir," one of the lower ranking officers told his superior, "This woman is just far too beautiful!"
"I…I really don't give a damn!" He replied, "J-Just arrest her at once!"
"D-Do we really have to? C-Can't we just stand here and look at her?" Another officer asked, but as he was speaking, Luffy noticed the sound of a cannon firing behind them.
"Oh no! BEHIND YOU! LOOK OUT!" Luffy called out, trying to get their attention, but it was too late.
"SURPRIIIISSEE!" A sinister voice cackled, and Luffy saw a dark red cast iron ball flying right towards the policemen. Yet what he immediately noticed was that emblazoned on that very projectile was a familiar jolly roger, a skull and crossed bones – but where the nasal cavity should have been on the skull was a big red nose. It smashed right into one of the fountains, sending granite, water and men flying.
"A terrorist bombing!" One officer cried.
"No…that was…a Buggy Ball!" Luffy muttered, remembering those exact weapons from Orange Town. He only watched on as the remains of the shattered fountain headed right for Alvida…then they slipped off of her, and crashed into the building behind the platform! "What the Hell was that!?" Luffy asked, only to notice several cloaked figures approaching Alvida.
"That little stunt was dangerous, you know," Alvida told the leader of the cloaked figures, who seemed to be wearing some sort of bicorne hat underneath his hood.
"I'm flashily sorry, but your smooth skin is unharmed, of course," the man said, "So, there's no need for trouble, fairest Alvida."
"Okay, Alvida, fess up!" Luffy demanded, "What was that you just pulled off!? I want some answers! How did you lose so much weight, and why did that masonry just slip right past you!?"
"I guess that I really did change after eating that Devil Fruit…" Alvida muttered, pulling off her cloak to reveal that she was totally different from when she raided the Lady Mary. She now was slim and very well endowed, wearing a pearl necklace and a bikini top underneath her purple coat that she wore open. On her feet were now two pairs of sandals as well. "…The Smooth-Smooth Fruit was its name. No attack can hurt my skin now, because it slides right off~. Unfortunately, a lowly Devil Fruit couldn't improve upon my already stunning good looks. One big change you may have noticed, though, was that I lost my freckles."
"Sure…that must be it…" Luffy replied sarcastically, knowing that the opposite was true all along. 'I see that she's still a vain narcissist as ever…' he thought.
"After becoming a whole new person, I decided to join forces with someone who shared my goal of finding you," said Alvida, pointing to the cloaked figures behind her. Just then, the cloaked men threw off their cloaks as their leader cackled, revealing himself to be none other than Buggy the Clown, surrounded by his crew of pirates!
"NOW THAT I'VE FLASHILY MADE MY ENTRANCE, BEHOLD THE REAL STAR OF THE SHOW!" Buggy cackled as he directed his attention to Luffy, who was just shocked to see the man he defeated alive and well. "Monkey D. Luffy! Ever since the day you sent me flying from Orange Town, I've been obsessed with exacting my revenge on you! That alone led me to finally finding my crew!" As he spoke, Buggy's crew began to cry as if mourning the loss of a companion, "My travels are an epic saga. I went through hell, found friendship, and even lost parts of my body! I call this tale 'Tiny Buggy's Great Adventure!' The first thing that happened was…WHY THE FUCK AM I TELLING YOU A STORY!?"
"You're the one who started going off on a tangent," said Luffy, clearly angrier over Alvida than he was over a weakling like Buggy. "How are you even alive? Last I checked, we sent you flying, Buggy the Big-Nosed Buffoon." That one remark was all that was needed to send Buggy right over the edge.
"BIG-NOSED BUFFOON!?" Buggy roared at the top of his lungs, "YOU GOT SOME HEFTY BALLS, YOU RUBBER BASTARD! AND NOW, BUGGY THE CLOWN IS GONNA MAKE YOU FLASHILY PAY FOR THAT!" It was at that moment that the crowd all suddenly realized who it was they were looking at.
"Hey! That's Buggy the Clown!"
"Pirates!"
"IT'S THE BUGGY PIRATES!" The entire crowd all screamed in unison, and began running as fast as they could, eager to get away from these ruthless killers. Some managed to escape, but their panicking was only to no avail.
"YOU PEOPLE FLASHILY STAY WHERE YOU ARE!" Buggy bellowed, as his men all drew flintlock pistols, aimed directly at the crowd, as Buggy continued to speak, "YOU ARE ALL GOING TO WITNESS JUST HOW SCARY…I can be."
"Oh, trust me, Buggy," Luffy replied, smiling confidently as he cracked his knuckles, "This is just gonna be like last time. And for the record, I was just messing with ya!"
"YOU MEAN YOU WERE ONLY TOYING WITH ME!?" Buggy asked, enraged that Luffy was only just making a further imbecile out of him. Suddenly, without warning, Luffy was forced down to his front, as he was found imprisoned in the top half of a pillory, with his head and hands trapped on the execution platform, while Cabaji the Acrobat sat on it.
"What the- What the Hell is this!?" Luffy asked, trying to move from the pillory, but was unable to move.
"Long time, no see, rubber freak!" Cabaji sneered, "How's your old pal, Roronoa Zoro doing?"
"Ah, you finally captured him! Good job, Cabaji," said Buggy, praising his chief of staff as he cackled like a madman, "TO ALL OF MY FOLLOWERS, HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF THEM AROUND THE WORLD: WE WILL NOW FLASHILY BEGIN THE PUBLIC EXECUTION!" He declared, then turned his gaze to Luffy, who was still struggling to get loose, "You're trapped, Monkey D. Luffy! You can't move so much as an inch! Tell me, Straw Hat, do you feel honored? You're going to die in the same place as the King of the Pirates!" Then Buggy cackled once more, feeling victorious for having finally gotten his revenge against the boy who humiliated him at Orange Town…
Meanwhile, at the same time, storm clouds began to gather over the entire island. Nami checked her handheld barometer and noticed that it was dropping sharply.
"The barometric pressure is falling fast," she muttered, "I've never seen such a sharp drop before."
"Y'know, I thought I felt something strange," said Sanji, noticing the patterns of the clouds in the sky above acting bizarrely.
"There's a storm heading straight for the island!" Nami told her shipmates, "We'd better head back to the ship or we're in trouble."
"A storm!? Is it gonna be big?!" Usopp asked, worried about the Going Merry's condition and how she would fare in a storm of this magnitude.
"Pretty big, from the look of the clouds behind us!" A familiar voice called out, and Nami, Usopp and Sanji turned to see both Ragnar and Zoro in front of them, with Viðarr serving as the Viking quartermaster's mount.
"Where is he?" Zoro asked, scratching his head, "We can't find him anywhere, have you guys seen him around?"
"You mean Luffy?" Usopp asked.
"Yeah, we got separated, and I keep getting this feeling," Zoro explained, "It's not good either. It usually means that something bad's gonna happen."
At that moment, the sound of a horn was heard, and from the ports, dozens of armed Vikings were seen charging for the main piazza. Some wore fine armor, while others only wore their normal clothes and helmets, carrying shields.
"Quickly! Captain Smoker promised us a battle!" One of them bellowed.
"To glory or Valhalla!" cried a second man.
"Buggy the Clown's head will be mine!" Another shouted. Yet it was that last man who caught the Straw Hats' attention, particularly Zoro, Ragnar and Nami.
"What'd they say!?" Nami asked herself.
"I think they said Buggy!" replied Zoro.
"Buggy's back!?" Ragnar asked, utterly shocked, "I thought we defeated him back at Orange Town!"
Simultaneously, at the Marines' fort, Smoker was further informed of the situation developing in the piazza.
"What's your report?" He asked, "Any updates on the target?"
"Well, sir, it isn't just Buggy the Clown," said the petty officer, "But it's also Iron Mace Alvida, and they've taken Monkey D. Luffy prisoner! They're all here – two of the most wanted pirates in the East Blue have overtaken the main piazza!"
"They'd dare to do all of this right under our noses!? Why, those arrogant scumbags!" Smoker growled, furious that Buggy and Alvida would dare try to pull the wool over his very eyes.
"Captain Smoker, what are your orders?" Tashigi asked, grasping her sword, Shigure. If Zoro was in town, she only hoped that he would show up as well. She desperately wanted the chance to fight him herself, but she was also more than eager to capture the most wanted pirates in the East Blue.
"Send Unit 1 out to sea, and have Unit 2 surround the pirates from the streets, as well as any Vikings who volunteered! The rest will standby within range of the piazza! See that it's done!" Smoker ordered his petty officer, "And give this additional order to Unit 1: They are to sink any pirate ships docked in the harbor. Any ship flying a jolly roger is to be scuttled! I don't want a single one of those wretched pirates to leave this island! Not a single one! But do not fire on any ship flying the Vikings' raven banner! Even if they have a jolly roger on their sails, spare any ship with the raven banner atop the mast!"
As the day wore on, the wind increased in its intensity, and the cloud front was approaching now with frightening rapidity. The sun itself was darkened by a wall of black clouds, but before it was totally swallowed up, it launched one last ray of light to illuminate the leaden, overcast City of the Beginning and End.
"It's time for the execution!" One pirate exclaimed.
"Buggy the Clown is gonna kill Straw Hat Luffy!" Another corsair cheered, enthused by this turn of events. Yet the Straw Hats were either shocked or miffed at what they heard.
"They're gonna execute Luffy!?" Usopp asked in shock.
"That freaking idiot!" Nami bemoaned.
"We'll have to split into two groups," said Ragnar, handing each of the Straw Hats an earpiece transponder snail, "Zoro, you and Sanji go to the main piazza. Find Luffy, and get the hell outta there!" He then turned to Nami and Usopp, "Nami, Usopp, you're with me! We'll secure the Going Merry and protect her, in case any of Buggy's crew decide to scuttle her. As long as we're flying those raven banners, we should be safe from getting in any trouble with the Marines!"
"Right! Let's go!" Zoro replied, and sped off, with Sanji close behind.
"Usopp, hold the tuna!" The chef shouted to the archer, letting him hold the elephant bluefin tuna, "AND TREAT IT LIKE A LADY! YOU GOT THAT!?" He added as he looked back before following Zoro to save Luffy.
"C'mon, we gotta hurry!" Nami shouted, as she dragged Usopp onto the back of the cart with the tuna, and had the oxen set off at a gallop, with Ragnar and Viðarr following beside her at the same speed. They had to move fast if they were to make it towards the Grand Line without any incident.
The sky was now completely covered by the dense bank of clouds. All around the piazza, the Marines that were with Smoker all had their muskets loaded and prepped, bayonets fixed and ready for a charge if necessary. Now, it was all just a matter of waiting it out until Smoker gave the order.
"Captain Smoker, look! Things are getting weird!" One Marine whispered, and Smoker came out from the colonnade of one of the buildings to take a look at the sight at the piazza. Smoker took a look through his binoculars and saw Buggy standing atop the execution platform with Luffy still bound in the demi-pillory.
"It's that kid!" Smoker muttered, remembering Luffy from earlier in the day, "What's he doing out there!?"
"Well, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that Monkey D. Luffy is about to be executed," said Tashigi, lamentingly, "A shame, really. The higher ups at Marineford highly recommended working with him given his reputation for exposing corruption in the ranks."
'That kid looks pathetic!' Smoker thought, recalling how Luffy took a grand interest in seeing where Gold Roger died when they first met, 'For some reason, he caught my attention…I thought he was different from the others…but it looks like he's nothing but pirate scum after all!'
"Captain, we're ready to open fire," one of the Marines whispered.
"Don't be hasty, soldier," Smoker whispered back, "I'm in command. You got it! One pirate is about to kill another. Let them fight it out first; that'll save us the trouble." Then he turned to address his men, "Listen carefully, boys. Once that Straw Hat's head falls, we surround Buggy, Alvida, and their minions, and rescue any civilians they're holding hostage! And do it fast!"
At that moment, the wall of black clouds shot through with continuous flashes of lightning, accompanied by the threatening roar of thunder. Yet the main piazza was in a seemingly festive mood, given how haughtily Buggy was cackling in triumph.
"PIRATE, MONKEY D. LUFFY…CAPTAIN OF THE STRAW HATS…WILL BE FLASHILY EXECUTED…FOR THE CRIME OF BEING STUCK UP AND MAKING ME ANGRY!" Buggy declared, and his men instantly began celebrating, firing their pistols into the sky, or even performing circus tricks like juggling, fire tricks, and even sword swallowing, "NOW GIVE IT UP FLASHILY!"
Luffy only looked down at the sight. This was by no means how pirates should be like. Buggy was the example of everything that Gold Roger was not. Callous, cruel, mercurial and petty. All the while, he continued to struggle to get himself free.
"You won't get away with this, Buggy! You hear me!?" He shouted up at the harlequin pirate, "My friends will come for me and kick your ass all over again!"
"Oh, they're certainly welcome to try their hand," said Buggy, grinning maniacally as he drew his cutlass, then addressed the hostage-held crowd, "ALL RIGHT! I HEREBY FLASHILY BEGIN THE FESTIVITIES OF THIS PUBLIC EXECUTION!" He cackled, laughing in seeming triumph. Now he was confident that nobody would come to save Luffy or stop him…or so he thought…
Meanwhile, Nami, Ragnar and Usopp were still racing as fast as they could towards the harbor at full gallop, with citizens making way for them to pass. Time was now of the utmost essence as they had to leave this island as soon as possible!
"Ægir's cauldron! The seas are uneasy today," said Ragnar, noticing that the waves were starting to get rough from the winds howling.
"I saw a massive cumulus cloud in the eastern sky! That means an unimaginably big storm is headed our way and it's coming in fast!" Nami replied, "If Buggy and Luffy have caused a scene, the Marines are sure to come out in full force, and if our ship is washed out to sea when we need to escape, then we're done for!"
"That is a big deal!" Usopp added, his face frozen with fear as he secured the tuna.
"As a matter of fact, I'll bet that the Marines have already started to take action!" Nami surmised, "If we weren't flying those raven banners, they'd certainly destroy the Going Merry if they'd find it!"
"Indeed, but that doesn't mean that she's safe," Ragnar countered, "It's more than likely that Buggy would've sent some of his crew to scuttle her as a failsafe in case Luffy managed to escape!"
"Hold on! So, you guys are both saying that regardless, the Going Merry is still in danger!?" Usopp asked, clearly terrified for the ship that Kaya gave them. "We have to get there as fast as possible, in that case!"
"Ragnar and I are going as fast as we can!" Nami told her archer shipmate, "Thankfully, we should be able to get to her faster now!"
Meanwhile, a host of Marines was racing down towards the harbor, led by a main officer, in command of a squadron of musketeers.
"Okay, men! Double time!" He ordered, "We have to get to the harbor immediately, and destroy every last pirate vessel! But do not sink any ship flying a raven banner! The last thing we need is a band of Vikings turning on us!"
"YESSIR!" The men shouted as they had their orders. No ship flying a jolly roger flag would be spared their wrath.
Down at the harbor, the Going Merry's raven banners fluttered high above the masts, as she remained anchored right where the Straw Hats left her when they first arrived to resupply. Yet, as Nami and Ragnar said, she was not out of danger just yet.
"Riding around on a Ritchie bike! Who's that man? Who's that man? Who? Who? Who's that man riding around on a Ritchie bike? OOOOHHH yes! It's me!" Mohji the Beast Tamer sang to himself, as he doffed his cloak for a helmet with rabbit ears sticking out of the tops as he and Ritchie investigated the Going Merry for the first time. "So, this is the rubber guy's ship, huh?" He asked Ritchie, "Would you look at that! He's got a bigger ship, but he won't need it where he's going, because it's almost time for Captain Buggy to flashily finish him off! However, just in case the rubber guy, who has absolutely no chance of escaping, happens to escape, we need to burn this ship down! After all, burning wood smells so good!" Ritchie only growled in an attempt to match his master's words, totally unaware that he was about to have a rematch with the same lion-man who defeated him before.
Back at the main piazza, the crowd watched in forced compliance as Buggy brandished his saber and had the tip pointed right at Luffy's neck. The Straw Hats' captain, at this point, had seemed to give up on his attempts to escape. Yet one could hardly tell whether it was just a ruse, or if he genuinely was dejected.
"I'm so sorry…really I am," said Luffy, his face completely dead of emotion, "Please, spare my life."
"WHY WOULD I SPARE YOUR LIFE!?" Buggy asked, "YOU, WHO SHAMELESSLY HUMILIATED ME BACK IN ORANGE TOWN!? WHO COLLABORATED WITH THAT TRAITOR, NAMI AND STOLE ALL MY TREASURE!? IF ONLY SHANKS COULD SEE YOU NOW!"
"This is what happens when you mess with the Buggy Pirates," said Cabaji, as he watched from below, Alvida beside him.
"I guess this is it for the man I had my eye on," said Alvida, smiling as she too couldn't help but smile at the sight. Yet, by far, the one who was smiling the greatest of them all was Buggy.
"You've got quite a big audience today, Straw Hat!" Buggy exclaimed, noting the crowd gathered below, "You wanna say a few final words before you die? Or perhaps cat got your tongue? That's alright. Stay quiet, or say a few final words. It doesn't matter, you're still gonna die!" Yet as Buggy laughed, he was totally unprepared for what was going to happen next.
Luffy only glared defiantly at the crowd gathered down below, and screamed at the top of his lungs: "LISTEN UP! I'M THE MAN WHO'S GONNA BE KING OF THE PIRATES!" His words floated like the peak of a mountaintop, and everyone gathered below in the crowd all looked on in awe, particularly the wild man in the green pompadour and the pink-haired young woman in the short fur coat. While most people at the time thought what Luffy was saying was crazy talk, it would later be said that from that day forward, whenever Loguetown would suffer terrible storms, the echo of Luffy's declaration would be heard just before the first rainfall. Still, that mattered little to Buggy the Clown.
"We're finally getting to the best part of the show" Buggy declared happily, sneering at Luffy, "Bye-bye now, Straw Hat!" Yet Luffy continued once more to struggle free from his pillory, unaware that hope was seemingly on the horizon.
"STOP THE EXECUTION! NOW!" A voice shouted out from behind the crowd, and everyone turned to see both Sanji and Roronoa Zoro standing at the entrance to Main Street.
"SANJI! ZORO!" Luffy cried out, relieved and happy to see his two shipmates come to his rescue.
From afar, Tashigi looked on in shock. She didn't expect to see Zoro again, especially after that encounter at the weapons shop and earlier in the day. Yet she knew that he was here not for collecting bounties, but to save lives. After all, Ragnar did say he was a man of honor, but she still knew that she just had to fight him in combat. She just had to see what exactly her late cousin saw in him, and, if possible, to win the Wado Ichimonji from him. Smoker only watched on, intrigued that Roronoa Zoro would show up to save Luffy.
"Luffy, you idiot!" Zoro shouted to his captain with a smile, "Guess all that fooling around finally caught up with ya, huh?"
"Ya startin' a sideshow?" Sanji asked, "Or is that just how ya look? Pretty sad, now…what we gotta do is drive these goons away!" Yet the crowd only was shocked by Zoro's appearance, fearing all the rumors they heard about the greatest swordsman in the East Blue
"Holy crap! It's Pirate Hunter, Zoro!" One man shouted, and once more, the crowd panicked and cleared a path for the two men which led straight to the execution platform.
"Hey guys! It's great to see ya!" Luffy exclaimed, knowing that he'd probably be safe now that his shipmates were here to save him.
"You made it after all, Zoro! But I'm afraid that you're just a little bit too late!" Buggy told the pirate hunter, as he raised his sword high above his head, ready to deliver the killing blow. In a flash, both Sanji and Zoro rushed towards the scaffolding.
"C'mon! We have to bring down that platform!" Zoro told Sanji as he drew all of his swords, and rushed into the fray, he and Sanji charging straight at their opponents.
"Okay boys! Get him!" Alvida shouted, determined to help Buggy see Luffy lose his head. And with that, a host of swordsmen from Buggy's crew came charging straight at the two men. All the while, the crowd took to the streets, eager to get away from the violence that was to come.
Zoro proved his mastery of the three-sword-style and began slashing up Buggy's cronies left and right, while Sanji kept his hands close to his torso and began kicking any swordsmen who came at him with a fast flurry of foot based blows. Yet that did not seem to bother Buggy one bit as he cackled.
"Not even the great Zoro can stop me this time!" Buggy declared, "THERE'S NOTHING EITHER OF YOU CAN DO! IT'S THE END OF THE ROAD FOR YOUR PRECIOUS CAPTAIN!" And with that, Buggy began to bring the sword down upon Luffy's neck.
"Bastard!" Sanji shouted, kicking his way through, while Zoro cut his opponents to ribbons.
'If I can just cut down the platform, then we'll be able to get Luffy outta here!' Zoro thought, determined to save his captain's life.
From the area surrounding the piazza, the Marines and Vikings gathered waited onwards, ready to see blood spill. Marines held their muskets and cutlasses firm, while the Vikings readied themselves with their own arsenal of weapons.
"Listen, all of you!" One Marine officer told the combatants, "The moment Monkey D. Luffy's head rolls, we all attack together!"
"Prepare for battle," said Smoker, as he raised his hand, ready to give the order for the ground division to charge, while those on the rooftops would open fire with a volley of musket balls.
Down in the piazza, Buggy still continued to cackle maniacally, his heart soaring that this moment would come true for him, as he lowered the sword down closer, and closer, towards Luffy's neck, while Zoro and Sanji continued to fight below.
"Zoro! Sanji! Ragnar! Usopp! Nami!" Luffy shouted, keeping his gaze fixed down momentarily before lifting his head up towards his two shipmates, smiling in the face of his almost certain death, "Sorry…but…I'm dead!" He could already feel the edge of Buggy's sword coming down on the nape of his neck…
'You idiot!' Zoro thought as he slashed through an opponent
'Don't you dare say that now!' Sanji internally pleaded while he tried to kick his way out.
"He smiled…!" Smoker muttered, recalling the exact same look on Gold Roger's face when he was also executed all those years ago.
What happened next could only be described as miraculous. As the blade of Buggy's sword was about to lop off Luffy's neck, a few electrical sparks danced around the tip of the blade. Suddenly, a lightning bolt tore the sky asunder, and struck the execution platform, shattering into blinding streams of electricity, and unleashing a deafening crack of thunder. The flash of light was visible from even the harbor. Everyone gathered at the piazza was aghast at what they saw. The force of the lightning strike sent two of the bolts holding up the scaffolding bursting out like two rounds from a duck-foot pistol, causing a steel beam to fall loose. Then, as quickly as it came, the bolt dispersed, exiting into the ground. As everyone regained their vision, they saw a great blue light coming…from the executioner! Buggy the Clown was seemingly lifeless, and on fire! The steel beam only crashed to the ground, the blue tinged fire spread from Buggy to the scaffolding, and the whole execution platform went toppling over.
Then came the rain, in torrents. It drenched the whole piazza with unbelievable fury, dousing the flames and saving Buggy from being burnt to a total crisp. As the rain continued to pour downwards, Luffy's straw hat floated down to the ground…right at the boy's feet! The Buggy pirates and the crowd of onlookers gathered in utter shock. They could not believe what just happened: the boy who defeated Don Krieg and brought down Arlong Park…the boy who was mere seconds away from losing his head to Buggy the Clown…was totally unscathed! Luffy only placed his hat back upon his head and laughed like he was a kid in an amusement park.
"I'm still alive!" He laughed, "That's nice!" Luffy didn't even notice Buggy's unconscious body charred by the fire, and missing one of his teeth. While all of the Buggy Pirates were aghast at the scene, the wild man with the green pompadour and the pink-haired young lady in the fur coat were just stunned and awestruck. What they just saw seemed like more than just a miracle. This was how history was made!
"It was divine intervention…!" Sanji muttered, so shocked that he dropped the cigarette from his mouth.
"Stop talking nonsense!" Zoro reminded his shipmate as Luffy approached them, "We gotta get outta this town. Our troubles are far from over." Much to his credit, Zoro was right to be concerned.
From his position, Smoker knew that regardless of what happened, now was the time to make his move. He drew his jitte from his back and pointed it towards the piazza.
"ATTACK! SURROUND THE PIRATES, NOW!" He shouted, and with that, a series of horns sounded shrill and long, as the Marines and a host of Vikings charged the Buggy Pirates. The Norsemen formed up in a wedge formation, with one man armed with a long axe leading the charge, and more men following in behind him, armed with swords, spears, and axes, while the Marines charged into linear formations, armed with muskets tipped with bayonets – the rain having made their powder wet.
"Here they come!" Sanji yelled, looking on as the whole piazza was embroiled in a pitched battle – just the kind that Vikings loved.
"Whoa! This is so cool!" Luffy exclaimed as he avoided flying bodies left and right, "Everybody here went crazy so quickly!" Yet then he felt a familiar hand on his waistcoat, turning to see Zoro grab him.
"C'mon, Luffy!" Zoro told his captain, handing him a transponder snail earpiece for him, "We don't have time for this, we've gotta get outta here!"
"Zoro's right!" Sanji added, "We've gotta head back to the Going Merry, or else we'll never leave this island! And we sure as Hell won't get to the Grand Line, either!"
"Oh yeah! That's right!" Luffy muttered, remembering why they came here in the first place, "Well, looks like this pilgrimage is over! Let's head back immediately!" And with that, the three Straw Hats made a run for it through one of the openings in the streets.
"THE STRAW HATS ARE GETTING AWAY!" A Marine shouted.
"Let them go!" Another replied, "Those three have been commended by the Government!" So, the Marines only passed by the trio, as they ran as fast as they could back to their ship.
Elsewhere, Smoker was still perplexed by the whole situation. He couldn't help to understand why Luffy did what he did back on the platform.
'Why did he smile!? Did he know he'd be saved!?' Smoker thought, only shaking his head in reason, 'No. At that moment, he was certain that his life was about to end. He simply accepted death and smiled after preparing himself…just like Gold Roger!'
"Captain Smoker! Some of Buggy's crew have been spotted down at the harbor! We have to pursue them!" Another officer requested, but Smoker only gave him a momentary silence.
"Lieutenant, think back," Smoker finally told his subordinate, "Have you ever seen any pirate smile on the execution platform?"
"No sir," the lieutenant replied, "It doesn't matter how tough the guy is, at their moment of death, they all turn pale and die with despair."
"That Straw Hat kid smiled," Smoker noted, "I saw it with my own eyes. He smiled just like Gold Roger, twenty-two years ago, just like the old King of the Pirates did, on that exact execution platform." Smoker still could remember that fateful day vividly. He was only still twelve, but it was a key moment in turning him into the Marine officer that he was now. "Where's the Straw Hat kid now?" He asked his lieutenant.
"Sir, he slipped past us and is heading towards the harbor," the lieutenant replied.
"Unit 1 should have destroyed all pirate ships by now!" Smoker commented, "Why haven't they done so already?"
"Well, sir, they had to return to port for a refitting," the lieutenant revealed, "See, they couldn't light their powder due to the sudden rain. But a reserve unit is currently preparing to attack all pirate ships anchored in the harbor instead."
"Captain Smoker, if we let any of those pirates slip now, they'll be able to get to the Grand Line before we can capture them!" Tashigi noted, her desire to fight against Zoro driving her.
"The wind is blowing towards the west; It's a tailwind for that ship," said Smoker, realizing the gravity of the situation, "Is this just pure coincidence!? It's almost as if the Gods themselves have special plans for that young pirate!" Smoker had to stop that boy right here and right now. He didn't care if this was the boy with government backing – a pirate was still a pirate in his book, and he would rather be court martialed than make a mistake. "I am White Hunter Smoker! And on my honor as Marine Captain, I will not let that boy leave this island!
Elsewhere, however, in the streets of Loguetown, a tall figure in a green hooded cloak walked the empty streets of the city during the torrential downpour, at a time when most people should have been cooped up in their homes. This was a special and momentous day, and he was not going to miss it.
"Blow winds," he muttered, "The storm of fate…has arrived!" As lightning flashed throughout the blackened sky, the imposing figure of a man smiled...
A/N: Woo-hoo! What an epic chapter! Now that the filler chapters are uploaded, I was glad to finally be able to get back to the main meat of the canon story. Just to reiterate, I will only be doing filler chapters if they show flashbacks to the Straw Hats' backstories, or if they provide room for character development. So, I'm not going to be doing the whole Warship Island Arc, or some of the other filler arcs from the anime, but I will definitely be doing the Post-Alabasta and Spa Island Arcs for sure. Not only do they allow the Straw Hats some time to rest and relax, but also allow for what I hope to build. And yes, I had Luffy call Alvida "ass-faced tart" again. I felt that it was too good of an opportunity not to pass up. Sorry, not sorry.
Now, you'll may have noticed that some of the Vikings charged in a wedge formation. This was traditionally known as the Svinfylking, or "Boar Snout". This was used by many Germanic peoples, but it was notably also used in Scandinavia during the Roman Iron Age and Vendel periods, and especially during the Viking Age. This was used in battle largely to break up an enemy's shield wall, and you would have the strongest warriors in the front. By placing one of the biggest and fiercest opponents in the lead position, and then charging at an enemy's shield wall, sheer weight and momentum would not only penetrate the enemy ranks, but it would also spread terror and fear. So, if you ran in with Dane axes, cutting through enemy ranks, you would create an opening. Later, the Anglo Saxons would also adopt this tactic, especially in the 9th and 11th centuries, after England was occupied by the Vikings, first by the Great Heathen Army/Danelaw, and later as a province of the North Sea Empire of Cnut the Great. This tactic would later be a staple of Anglo-Saxon warfare under the reigns of Edward the Confessor and Harold Godwinson, and didn't really get phased out until after the Norman Conquest of 1066, when the old ways of Viking and Anglo-Saxon warfare were replaced with the feudal Norman armies from the continent, complete with archers, men-at-arms and mounted knights on horseback. Although, the English would later place emphasis on infantry armies after the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this penultimate chapter of the East Blue Saga, and stay tuned because soon, the Straw Hats will leave the East Blue far behind them and enter the mother of all seas!