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 51: The Legend has Started! Head for the Grand Line!
As the man in the green cloak walked down the empty streets of Loguetown, the storm continued to rage all around him. The sky was lit up with flashes of lightning, and the city trembled with the sound of thunder. Rain poured down in torrents all the while, and yet the man still remembered that fateful day, years ago, when Gold Roger died, hearing the King of the Pirates' speech as he ascended the platform ringing in his head…
"Destiny, Fate, Dreams… these unstoppable ideals are held deep in the heart of man. As long as there are people who seek freedom in this life, these things shall not vanish from the earth…" As another flash of lightning lit up the sky, the man only smiled…
"The King of the Pirates, eh? Well, that's fine by me," he muttered. He knew exactly who he was here to see.
Meanwhile, down Main Street, Luffy, Zoro and Sanji all managed to mount three horses and set off at a gallop towards the harbor, grabbing some of the cloaks that Buggy's men had thrown off to act as ponchos.
"What the hell is up with all this rain!?" Zoro asked, shocked that it would pour so hard this time of day.
"Nami was right about this storm!" Sanji muttered, "If we don't get back to the ship and set sail soon, then we're gonna be stuck here for good!"
"C'mon! Just keep up the pace!" Luffy shouted, "We're lucky we can get there faster by horse! And don't look back! The Marines and Vikings can handle Buggy and Alvida!"
Back at the main piazza, it was quite the battle that was unfolding. While the Vikings were able to take care of Buggy's foot-soldiers, the Marines were having a hard time keeping up with the main officers. Cabaji managed to leap up into the air, sword in hand, and unleash an attack on a group of Marines.
"Carnival of Colors!" He shouted, and swung his sword to unleash waves of several colors all at once, which dealt with several musketeers at once. Alvida too was able to keep up the pace, battering away several marines with her gigantic mace, ensuring that her opponents received a happy death to die at the hands of someone so incredibly beautiful. One marine tried to grab her unsuspecting left arm, but because of Alvida's Devil Fruit powers, his hand slipped right off her skin, causing him to fall flat on his front before taking a spiked mace right to the head.
"You wasted your time, you silly little man," said Alvida, smiling at the corpse, "There isn't a man alive who can lay a hand on this perfectly smooth skin~." At that moment, Buggy the Clown's hand started to twitch, and he finally regained consciousness after nearly being burned alive. Yet his body was nearly completely charred, and he was even missing a tooth.
"That was weird," he muttered, still somewhat groggy from the fall, "For a moment, I thought I saw a field of flowers…"
"Captain Buggy! You're not fried to a crisp!" Cabaji exclaimed, relieved that his captain was alive and well.
"I don't die, remember?" Buggy asked, "I survived that Straw Hat's attempt to send me flying across Orange Town, after all."
"This isn't good, Buggy!" Alvida told her ally, "They're sending marines from the local base; they'll never stop!"
"I don't give a damn! They can stick their noses…" Buggy began, only to realize what he was saying mid-sentence, "Don't let me say noses!" He yelled, and punched one of his crewmen.
"What now!?" Alvida asked, "Once those Vikings are finished, they'll come after us next!"
"Fortunately, that won't even happen," said Buggy, "We're going after that little rubbery bastard! Mohji and Ritchie should've burned his ship by now, so he's got no place he can run to. All that's left for us to do is what Buggy Pirates do best: kick his ass!" Buggy's men all cheered as they threw a set of wheels and a bomb for a motor, while Buggy reconfigured his body to become a motorized carriage of sorts. "Chop-Chop Buggy! Bomb engine, ignite!" He shouted, and with a burst of gunpowder, the motor took off with a blaze of glory.
"Set the ramp, now!" Alvida shouted, and three of Buggy's men lifted a ramp for her while she removed her sandals. "No friction! Smooth-Smooth Tracks!" She shouted as she slid down the ramp with her bare feet and was sliding on the streets of Loguetown right beside Buggy, getting further and further away from the battle.
"They're getting away!" A Viking shouted as he noticed the two of them.
"Alvida's head is mine!" A shieldmaiden cried as she was about to ready two franciscas, only to notice the Marine lieutenant ordering her to stand down. Just as Buggy and Alvida were about to make their getaway, huge plumes of smoke surrounded them.
"Where did this smoke come from!?" Alvida asked as she found herself and Buggy both being dragged back to the piazza. Below them, the source of the smoke was clear: Smoker!
"Time to end this! White Out!" He shouted, and shot clouds of smoke from his arms, using them to engulf all the Buggy Pirates, then made the smoke dense to trap them inside. Almost every last one of the Buggy Pirates were trapped, and being dragged back towards the square. "I can't waste anymore time with you fools!" Then he turned to his soldiers and shouted, "Open fire!" And two marines armed with hand-mortars fired their rounds, which burst apart into two nets, capturing Buggy, Alvida and most of their crew.
From the alleys of Loguetown's main piazza, some of the citizens watched in awe at the sight of their protector in action.
"He's so strong!"
"So, that's the power of the Plume-Plume Fruit!"
"He took out Buggy's crew just like that!"
At the remnants of the execution platform, the Marines and Vikings looked over the prisoners, who were unable to move from their bindings, even for Devil Fruit users! Buggy himself was particularly none too happy at this new situation, having suffered most of his body being bound by Nami back in Orange Town, only this time, he wasn't restricted to being a dwarf anymore.
"Smoker…you bastard!" Buggy hissed as he struggled to move underneath the net.
"I can't break free of this horrible steel net!" Alvida whined, having not had to deal with such contraptions earlier before she ate the Smooth-Smooth Fruit. "Where'd they get hand mortars like those!?"
"It's a cage shot developed by the Marines to deal with Devil Fruit users," Buggy explained, grumbling incoherently as he looked up at Smoker. At the very least, Cabaji was able to escape. If he could just meet up with Mohji, then the Straw Hats would be stuck on the island forever.
"Sir! Unit 1 has reported one of the pirates is still at large!" A marine reported, clearly indicating Mohji. Yet by this point, Smoker was not listening at one bit. His mind was on another prize.
"I'll deal with that bastard," Smoker replied, "Get me my billower bike!" The Marines thought that Smoker was going to apprehend any stragglers that escaped, but they couldn't have been more mistaken. Luffy was still out there, and he wouldn't rest until he could fight that boy.
Back in the streets of Loguetown, Ragnar, Nami, and Usopp were able to smell the salty spray of the sea. They were getting closer to the harbor.
"We're close!" Usopp shouted, getting a glimpse of ships' masts getting closer and larger. "Not much further now!"
"Hold it!" Ragnar added, sniffing the air. A familiar scent caught his attention. As he sniffed again, he caught onto that scent. Instantly he knew what was going on, "It's him! It's Ritchie the Lion! If he's here, then it's likely that Beast Tamer Mohji must be nearby."
"They're probably after the Going Merry," Nami surmised, "In fact, those two might even already be there! We've gotta get back to the ship as soon as possible guys!" Without delay, she drove the oxen further on at a gallop, while Ragnar did the same with his horse.
"Let's hurry fast!" Usopp shouted, tying the fish down to the cart, "Hopefully, they haven't damaged her too badly!" He was going to make sure that ship suffered nary a scratch, and he would rather die before seeing her sink.
Meanwhile, back at the Merry, Mohji and Ritchie hadn't even gotten far with burning the caravel, as the sudden rain meant they couldn't even get a spark to ignite. Time and again, Mohji tried striking a flint and steel, hoping that it would ignite a torch he made with wood and cloth doused in pine pitch. Yet so far, he wasn't even able to get a spark, even as Ritchie provided cover for him.
"Dammit! Crap! Why did it have to start storming now!?" Mohji grumbled, concerned as to how Buggy would look upon this, "How am I supposed to burn down this ship when it's raining?!" Yet at that moment, a spark finally lit, and Mohji held his torch up successfully, only for the rain to douse it. His hopes dashed, Mohji threw the burned torch behind him, part of a pile he had going. "Aww man! Ritchie, we're gonna be in big trouble if we don't get a fire going in this rain! One more try!" He told his lion, but it was clear that Ritchie was far more focused on food than getting the fire going, especially given the look in his eyes. "Relax, Ritchie! I'll feed you in a minute!" Mohji told his pet, who was totally dejected at this point.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?" A voice shouted out, and Ritchie and Mohji turned to see Usopp and Nami behind them on an ox-cart, and on horseback nearby was Ragnar.
"Ragnar was right! I should've known you'd be here, Mohji!" Nami shouted, readying her spear and shield, determined to protect her goods. Ragnar only dismounted Viðarr, letting Usopp take the reins, so that he could fight afoot.
"Well, if it isn't the little thief and her leonine friend," said Mohji, sneering at the quartermaster and navigator of the Straw Hats. He remembered all too well what they were capable of , "Go Ritchie!" Mohji shouted, but as Ritchie charged towards Nami and Usopp, Ragnar transformed into his full lion form, and with an almighty roar, he pounced upon Ritchie. Once more, as they did at Orange Town, the two lions began their clash, circling one another, as if they were in the wild, fighting over the right to lead their pride.
"Nami! Usopp! Head for the Merry!" Ragnar ordered, "I'll take care of the lion!" Nami immediately complied, and grabbed her belongings, rushing past Mohji until she was on the gangplank, while Usopp had Viðarr trot aboard.
"Ragnar, catch these!" The archer shouted, as he threw a white bag towards the quartermaster, but the sack only fell right in front of the two lions, causing the eggs within to crack all over the stony ground. "Damn rain! It made my hand slip!" Usopp bemoaned, but as soon as Ritchie saw all those delicious eggs, he stopped and began to happily lap up the eggs as if they'd been laid by an ostrich, much Mohji's anger.
"RITCHIE! I'LL FEED YOU LATER!" Mohji yelled, furious that his lion would take this moment to focus on food rather than a fight. Yet then his attention turned back to Ragnar, who now turned into his hybrid form and grabbed the elephant bluefin tuna over his shoulder. "N-No! Not you again!" Mohji stuttered, terrified as he remembered what happened the last time he faced Ragnar back in Orange Town. Apparently, he now had a minor fear of Zoan type Devil Fruit users, especially those who could turn into big cats.
"You know I can knock you out easily with this fish, right?" Ragnar asked, sneering at the beast tamer, who quite understandably gave up without a fight, allowing Ragnar to simply walk up the gangplank with the fish, while Mohji fled with Ritchie as fast as he could. "What a big coward," Ragnar muttered as he lay the fish down on the deck, his eyes widened with excitement. "Whoa! Sanji really scored us a whopper, didn't he?" He asked his two crewmates, "Usopp, we'd better get this on ice and into the hold."
"Okay, just as long as I don't get stuck carrying the head again," said Usopp as he grabbed the tail of the fish while Ragnar grabbed it by the head, and the two young men made their way towards the aft gundeck and storage, with Ragnar opening the door, while Nami only looked out at town.
'Luffy, you'd better hurry up…' she thought, worriedly and unaware that there was still a looming danger that they had to yet face…
Smoker was now atop his billower bike - a specialized three-wheel motorbike. The front half of the bike was mostly akin to a conventional motorcycle, with curved handlebars, headlight, and a single front wheel. Its back half, however, more closely resembled an off-road buggy, with a backed seat and two rear wheels. The entire bike itself was powered by Smoker's Devil Fruit powers through a pair of cruciform pedals that his smoke-converted feet could turn with minimal effort. The captain had one goal in mind now: face Straw Hat Luffy in battle, if he could find him.
'Damn this storm,' Smoker thought, 'That kid could be anywhere by now…' Yet he knew ultimately where Luffy was heading towards. Either way, he would meet that boy again.
Meanwhile, down Main Street, Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji were still at a gallop, as they rushed towards the harbor. The rain continued in its intensity, and was showing no sign of stopping any time soon.
"Which way is the harbor?!" Zoro asked.
"I dunno!" Luffy replied, "The rain makes it hard to tell where we're going, and without Ragnar's sense of smell, it's near impossible!"
"Damn, any of you guys wanna call him for directions?" Zoro asked again.
"There's no time for that!" Sanji reprimanded, but then noticed something ahead – a woman with a sword at her side. "Oh wow! Who is that!?" He asked, lovestricken. Yet instantly, Zoro knew the identity of that female – it was Tashigi! And she did not look too happy.
"Roronoa Zoro! Stay right where you are!" She bellowed out, glaring at him, "You know there's no way I'm gonna let you leave this island with such a legendary sword! Give it to me! The Wado Ichimonji! Right now!" Zoro had a good idea of what Tashigi was doing, though, given that he was a pirate and she a Marine. This was a duel between both of them.
"Come and get it!" Zoro replied, smugly grinning as he drew Kuina's sword. Tashigi only glared at him, drew Shigure and charged straight at him. The two then clashed their blades against each other, with Zoro dismounting to even the odds. As their blades interlocked, Zoro somehow felt that this was going to be like a rematch against Kuina…and this time, he only got better!
"What a jerk! You can't fight a girl!" Sanji growled at Zoro, his chivalrous nature interfering with his reasoning.
"I can handle myself!" Tashigi barked back, causing Sanji to be shocked by her words, "This is a fight between the two of us! I don't need any help, so back off!"
"You heard her, get outta here!" Zoro told them both, "I'll see you back aboard the Merry."
"Well, let's go Sanji!" Luffy ordered, and the two galloped away towards the harbor.
"Hey Zoro, if you hurt her, I'm gonna kick your ass!" Sanji yelled as he galloped away.
The duel was exactly how Zoro and Tashigi preferred it to be: no witnesses, no interlopers – a duel between two warriors. For the son of a samurai and the master of the three-sword-style, it was too easy. Zoro only let go of the Wado Ichimonji with one hand, and then used it to draw Yubashiri. Instantly, he began slashing at the Sergeant Major with lightning speed, so fast that she could barely keep up! Then he pinned her against the wall, and knocked her sword right out of her hands, pointing the tip of the Wado Ichimonji's blade at her throat.
"Enough! I yield!" Tashigi pleaded, knowing when she obviously was outmatched. Although the shame of defeat was humiliating, she obviously still had a lot to learn. At the very least, nobody was there to see the duel happen – some consolation.
"I hate to disappoint, but you will never get this sword from me," said Zoro with a confident and victorious grin. He finally felt that, in a way, he'd finally defeated Kuina in a duel! Yet still, he had to know what her goal was. What drove her to demand Kuina's sword. "Why the sudden change of heart?" He asked, "You knew who I was and about the sword I carried, so why attack me for it?"
"I had to…" Tashigi replied, "…I had to see what my cousin saw in you." Those words shocked Zoro to his core. Instantly, he had a hauntingly good idea as to what she meant. "I heard you explain your story to Ragnar back at the base while I was training…the girl who constantly beat you as a kid…she was my cousin."
"So then…you…" Zoro uttered out, nearly speechless by this revelation. It definitely explained the stunning resemblance to Kuina. "Your cousin was more than just my rival. In a way, she was also my role model. The night before she died, she berated herself as to how weak she saw herself. I found it unacceptable the way she spoke, how she wished to be born a boy, it wasn't fair to me seeing that beating her was my ultimate goal back then. When she died…I felt as if she'd broken our promise."
Tashigi could sense the anger and regret in Zoro's voice as he spoke about her cousin's death. Yet also, there was a sort of reminiscence…he was more than just Kuina's rival – in a way, they were also the best of friends.
"My uncle gave you that sword, didn't he?" Tashigi asked, Zoro didn't even answer, but she knew he was confirming her suspicions, "When Kuina died, I thought someone killed her and stole the Wado Ichimonji…I swore to the Gods that I would take up the sword to avenge her death and take back all the legendary swords so that no other clan would suffer as her clan did…" Zoro understood exactly what drove Tashigi, and his mind flashed back to when he asked his sensei to give him the Wado Ichimonji that fateful day. It was the same drive that pushed him to become the World's Greatest Swordsman: honor.
"YOU'RE MINE NOW, ZORO!" A sinister voice suddenly bellowed, and Zoro and Tashigi both turned to see Cabaji coming at them on his unicycle, cutlass drawn. Yet before the acrobat could finally exact his revenge against the pirate hunter, Tashigi suddenly dashed aside, grabbed Shigure, and ran back in front of Zoro, clashing swords against the acrobat.
"Tashigi's finally got one!" Another voice shouted, as the Marines who were pursuing Cabaji finally caught up with him. They were all excited to see Tashigi show this circus performer what she was made of.
"Get going! I'll hold him off!" Tashigi told an obviously shocked Zoro, who couldn't even process what just happened now. "I SAID, GO!" Tashigi roared, finally causing Zoro to snap out of his funk. The pirate hunter only nodded, sheathed his swords, then mounted his horse, and set off at a gallop.
All the Marines watched as, despite the advantage Cabaji had on his unicycle, Tashigi was able to still keep up with him, ultimately slashing the unicycle's tire with the tip of Shigure's blade. That alone sent Cabaji tumbling, though he managed to catch himself from falling flat on his face, the duel soon turned into a classic sword duel: Tashigi's katana against Cabaji's cutlass. Despite the acrobat's skill with a single-handed sword, Tashigi clearly had the advantage over him. Cabaji tried to come at her with a downward slash for the head, but Tashigi responded with an awesome uppercut, and the acrobat's blade fell to the ground…shorn in two, as if it had been made of wood! All the Marines were awestruck by the duel – once again Tashigi had blown their expectations right out of the water, unaware that she had previously been bested by Zoro.
Meanwhile, Luffy and Sanji were finally able to see the sign that marked the entrance to Loguetown, and they could see the Merry's mast with her raven banners still fluttering in the wind as they galloped.
"I see the Merry!" Luffy exclaimed, "The harbor is up ahead!" It was not much further now! As soon as Zoro caught up with them, then they could finally set sail out towards the Grand Line at last! Yet as the captain and the chef pressed their horses onwards, they found that the entrance to the harbor was blocked…and there stood Captain Smoker himself, waiting for Luffy.
"Great, now what?" Sanji asked as he saw Smoker standing at the harbor's entrance, his billower bike behind him. Weren't the Marines supposed to be helping them!? It seems this guy didn't get the message from Commodore Purin, didn't he? Either that, or he just didn't seem to care.
"Straw Hat Luffy. You're finally here," Smoker told the boy, "I told you before back at the piazza, you couldn't make it to the Grand Line without beating me first, didn't I?"
"That's right, we still haven't finished our little test yet!" Luffy replied with a grin as he dismounted his horse. "Ragnar said you're only testing my fighting potential. If I can stand up to you, then I can stand up to whatever the Grand Line has to offer."
"Y'know, for the pirate who defeated the big players of the East Blue, you're really stupid," Smoker muttered, still unable to comprehend how this idiotic boy was able to have a speculated bounty of 30 million berries. Even if he wasn't wanted by the Marines, that alone was just unbelievable for him.
"Luffy, c'mon, let's go!" Sanji insisted, knowing that they didn't have time for these antics. He was also worried that the elephant bluefin tuna would also spoil if Ragnar and Usopp hadn't properly kept it on ice.
"Sanji, go on ahead, I'll be right there," said Luffy, confident in his ability to fight against Smoker head on.
"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Smoker replied as he stepped forward, "This will be the end for you, boy." Now, the real test began: would Luffy be worthy of Smoker's judgment? Or would the White Hunter finally take down yet another prey?
Back at the Merry, Ragnar made his way up to the crow's nest to get a better vantage, using the binoculars to keep an eye out for the rest of the crew. As he scanned the streets, he blew his horn four times, hoping that the sound would help direct Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji towards the Merry. The storm's ferocity, however, was only increasing. Rocked by the waves, the Merry began to pitch, rearing up onto liquid slopes of water that ebbed and flowed against the rocks.
"Ragnar, any sight of them yet?" Nami asked from below.
"Not yet!" Ragnar shouted back, "But I can hear their voices. Hopefully they will have heard the horn as well."
"Keep trying and make it quick!" She replied, "If we stay here much longer, the Going Merry will be done for!"
"NAMIIIII~!" A familiar voice cried out, and the three Straw Hats looked to see that their blonde chef was coming in at a gallop on horseback.
"Sanji!" Nami and Usopp exclaimed in unison, glad to see that at least one of them made it back safely.
"Welcome aboard, Sanji!" Ragnar exclaimed, relieved to see the chef returning alive and unscathed, but concerned to see him only turning up alone, "Where are Luffy and Zoro?"
"Zoro's not too far behind us, but Luffy's fighting some Marine captain," Sanji replied, "The guy was smoking two cigars, and had some kinda weapon strapped to his back."
"It's him! It's Smoker!" Ragnar replied, "If Luffy can't beat him, then we may be stuck here until he can actually defeat him somehow."
Back at the entrance to the city harbor, Luffy and Smoker only stood there, each one confident about the other's skills as a fighter. All the while, the runoff water came cascading down from the rooftops and flowing into the sewer grates, even flowing off of Luffy's straw hat.
"I am gonna enter the Grand Line, Smoker!" Luffy declared, smiling at his opponent, "And once I do, I'll become King of the Pirates!"
"I'm bored of this prattle, enough talk!" Smoker growled as his fists suddenly turned into clouds of smoke, and shot them out at Luffy, "White-Out!" He shouted, as a smokescreen surrounded Luffy, before finally grasping him like a gigantic hand. Luffy tried to grab at Smoker, but only got a handful of smoke as he was lifted in the air.
"W-WHAT'S HAPPENING!?" He shouted, frightened as he left the ground.
"I ate the Plume-Plume Fruit, so my body can turn into smoke whenever I want!" Smoker explained, as he then pulled Luffy down, sending him hurdling towards the ground, causing the boy to lay flat on his front while Smoker's arms returned to normal. "What's wrong? Had enough already?" Smoker asked, wondering if Luffy really was the most powerful pirate in the East Blue. Yet not even this was enough to keep the boy down, and he only got to his feet, glaring at his opponent.
"Gum-Gum Gatling!" Luffy shouted as he unleashed a flurry of punches at Smoker, determined to send his opponent onto his back, but only stopping to realize that his punches had no effect, seeing that Smoker could turn his body into smoke, which was made evident as his fist was right in the area where Smoker's left eye should have been. "Aw crap! That's really gross!" Luffy remarked with disgust, withdrawing his fist, and letting his arm snap back to normal.
"My turn now! White Blow!" Smoker shouted, then shot a cloud of dense smoke from his arms to blast Luffy, who was directly hit in the upper body and pinned against a pillar of a nearby colonnade.
"Okay! So that's how you wanna play it?! Fine!" Luffy snapped, then shouted, "GUM-GUM PISTOOOOOLLL!" He shouted as he struck Smoker right in the abdomen, but as before, the punch had no effect, as Smoker's abdomen turned to smoke, causing Luffy's fist to slip by harmlessly.
"Don't you understand yet!? You have to get through me in order to get to the Grand Line!" Smoker reminded, grabbing Luffy by the head and reappearing behind him, "Didn't I make myself clear!?" Then he jumped up and pinned Luffy to the ground by his feet. "You wouldn't be worth 30 million berries! And now, your luck's run out!" Yet as Smoker was about to reach for his jitte, a hand stopped him.
"I wouldn't be too sure about that!" A gruff voice spoke out, and Smoker turned to see a green cloaked man standing behind him.
"It's you! Dragon!" He uttered out in shock, instantly recognizing the man from the tattoo on the left side of his face. "How nice, now the Government can finally have your head!"
"Hey! What's going on!?" Luffy asked as he tried to get up, "Who's there!?"
"The world is still waiting for our answer!" Dragon replied, knocking Smoker aside with his own jitte, knocking him out cold. As Luffy got to his feet, Dragon only removed his hood and smiled, revealing a head of shaggy raven black hair. "My boy…my dear Luffy," the man replied, but at that moment, Luffy unleashed a Gum-Gum Pistol, only for Dragon to catch him by the arm. "Hold on, son! Why the sour face? After all these years, is this the kind of hello you give your father?" Those words only caused Luffy to have the most confused look on his face. What was this guy talking about?!
"Wha?! You're my dad!?" Luffy asked, utterly perplexed by this revelation. He never even knew that he had a father before now.
"Didn't know you had such a strong father, didn't you?" Dragon asked, only to let Luffy's arm snap back as he got a good look at his son. "You've grown so fast since I last saw you. You've got your mother's beautiful eyes, and my raven black hair!"
"If you're really my dad…then why did you leave me with Grandpa?" Luffy asked, now wanting answers that were kept from him for so long, "Didn't you want me?"
"Of course, we did," Dragon explained, a look of parental concern on his face, "Your mother and I loved you with all our hearts, but I'm currently in pretty hot water with the World Government. If they learned that you were my son, you would've been in grave danger. I couldn't let that happen to you. But I still couldn't sit by without seeing you off." Dragon only smiled again as he embraced his son proudly, "Go, son. Go sail the Grand Line with your friends. Follow your dream. Make me proud!"
"You know I will! Count on it! I'm your son, after all!" Luffy happily exclaimed, "I'll sail the Grand Line, find the One Piece, and become King of the Pirates!"
"That's the spirit!" Dragon exclaimed, glad to know that his boy took after him in more ways than one. Then he handed his son a white transponder snail, "In case you need to speak with me directly."
"I won't let you down, Dad!" Luffy replied, smiling that characteristic idiotic grin as he accepted the snail.
At that moment, the sky suddenly turned green as a massive gale swept across the entire island, sending debris everywhere, strong enough to break glass. Luffy held onto the snail tightly, looking back at his father as he was blown away by the gust.
At the piazza, the gale was so strong that it managed to blow off the steel nets that kept Buggy and his crew trapped.
Down on Main Street, Cabaji, Tashigi and the Marines were caught up in the blast, while it only sped Zoro along as he heard the call of Ragnar's horn.
At the coast, two massive artillery batteries were destroyed, while Nami, Ragnar, Sanji, and Usopp all clung to either the rigging or railings of the Going Merry. Ragnar himself turned into his hybrid form and sunk his claws on his hands and feet into the mast, as if it were a tree trunk. The wind carried on for five whole minutes, then it subsided as quickly as it came.
When the gale died down, and the wind returned to normal speed, the rain came down again in torrential downpours, but the damage was evident from the fact that shingles were torn off rooves, and even doors were torn off their hinges, while some windows were broken as well.
"Can someone tell me what just happened?" Luffy asked himself as he got to his feet, realizing that he was back at the harbor, and right in front of the Merry.
"Luffy! Where have you been!?" Ragnar asked, "We were about to send out another search party for you!"
"Sorry! I got caught up," Luffy explained, smiling like an idiot, "My dad came to see me off is all."
"Your father!?" Sanji and Ragnar both asked in unison, shocked to know that Luffy even knew who his own father was.
"That'll have to wait for another time!" Nami interjected, "Quickly! Set sail! We can use the wind to our advantage!"
"Nami's right! We gotta go!" Sanji added, "We'll be stuck if we don't get out to sea soon!"
"Right!" Luffy and Zoro both said in unison, but Zoro couldn't help to notice that Luffy was running in the opposite direction.
"What's he doing!?" Usopp asked, perplexed by his captain's actions, but Ragnar and Zoro seemed to get the general idea.
"Okay, here we go!" Luffy exclaimed, shoving the white transponder snail in his pocket and then stretched his arm out to grab the railing of a nearby staircase. "Gum-Gum…ROCKEEEETTT!" He exclaimed, stretching his arms back as he grabbed the railing, and let them snap back as he flung himself right for Zoro.
"Oh, I'm not gonna like this at all…" Zoro muttered, as he found himself running as fast as he could before Luffy flung at him, and the two managed to board the Merry, landing on the lateen sail and then onto the stern.
"You guys, you made it!" Nami exclaimed, relieved that everyone was safe and sound.
"This voyage has begun!" Ragnar exclaimed, before once again barking orders, "Raise the gangplank! Let go forward line! Let go aft line! Luffy, weigh anchor! Zoro, Sanji, strike her to full sail! Ride the wind, for all she's worth!" With those orders, the Straw Hats burst into action, and before long, the Going Merry slid out of port with a mighty gust filling her mainsail, and no one was even able to stop them now!
As they sailed out of sight, Captain Smoker and his regiment only looked on at the harbor, as the rain continued to pour down on them. He recognized Dragon instantly from when he was only a twelve-year-old boy, on that fateful day the Great Pirate Era began…
"I'm sure he brought that wind with him," Smoker muttered, recalling Luffy's father with clarity, "I knew it was him! From the day Gold Roger was executed, he appeared like a flash a lightning, then disappeared. It's him!"
From high atop one of Loguetown's many rooftops, Dragon couldn't help but laugh as his son's ship sailed out of sight.
"Go! Fulfill your desire!" He shouted towards the Going Merry, "If that's what you want, then make your dream happen!"
"Why did you help that boy escape…?" Smoker asked, but the man only gave him silence, "Answer me, Dragon!"
"It is not our place to interfere with that boy and his chosen path, Smoker," said Dragon, smiling happily at the direction of the Going Merry as she became smaller and smaller on the horizon. As he looked on from afar, pride swelled in his heart. "Good luck, son."
"Captain Smoker, sir!" A Marine suddenly shouted, "Buggy the Clown and Iron Mace Alvida are getting away!"
"Set sail, we're going after them!" Smoker ordered, clearly thinking not of them, but of the other major pirate he was hoping to face again, "We're going to enter the Grand Line."
"But…Captain Smoker! You can't abandon your post on this island!" The petty officer insisted, "What would Fleet Admiral Sengoku say!?"
"Tell him that I don't give a crap about orders," Smoker replied.
"I'm coming with you!" Tashigi insisted, "We just received word about trouble in those waters! If those pirates are heading there, then so are we!" Tashigi knew exactly who Smoker was referring to, though, and it definitely wasn't Buggy's crew.
True to the Marines' intel, Buggy the Clown's ship slid out of port as soon as they were able to, with all of the crew and Alvida aboard safely.
"That was certainly a flashy gust of wind for all of us," said Buggy, who was still somewhat dismayed by the thought of his revenge against Luffy slipping away from his grasp, "I have never been one to turn down luck if it's in my favor."
"So, where are we headed now?" Alvida asked.
"The Grand Line!" Buggy replied, "I'm going to settle this score once and for all! That boy will face me! There is nowhere he can run. We won't stop until we reach the Grand Line!"
Meanwhile, aboard the Going Merry, the wind was causing the entire caravel to list sideways with a groan.
"It feels like she wants to capsize!" Shouted Luffy.
"Then we best do all in our power to ensure that doesn't happen!" Ragnar shouted back. At that moment, a lighthouse could be seen flashing its lights towards the southwest.
"Hey, look! A light!" Nami exclaimed, relieved to see it.
"Is that a lighthouse!?" Usopp asked, "What's a lighthouse doing all the way out on that isolated rock?"
"It's one of the guideposts!" Nami explained, "The entrance to the Grand Line is somewhere ahead!"
"The Grand Line is somewhere just ahead," Luffy muttered, smiling as he got a good look at the horizon, in spite of the stormy weather.
"So, what now, Captain?" Nami asked, smiling at the boy she came to love.
"Do we have to go there in the middle of a freaking hurricane like this!?" Usopp asked, clinging onto the mainmast for dear life.
"As long as we don't suffer damage from any rogue waves or waterspouts, we should be fine!" Ragnar told the archer, "Besides, it shouldn't be all that bad from here on out." Sanji only gave a thumbs up, while Zoro only silently nodded.
"Okay then, I think we should say something to mark the occasion," said Sanji as he took an empty barrel out onto deck.
"Right!" Usopp remarked as he got down from the mast.
"Way ahead of you!" Ragnar exclaimed.
"Yeah, totally!" said Luffy.
"I agree, let's do it!" Nami added. Each of the Straw Hats then placed a foot on the lid of the barrel.
"I'm going to the Grand Line to find the All Blue!" Sanji declared.
"I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!" Luffy stated proudly.
"To be the World's Greatest Swordsman!" Zoro added.
"I'm going so that I can draw a map of the entire world!" Nami professed happily
"I guess I'm going… to be a Brave Warrior of the Sea!" Usopp sheepishly declared.
"I'm going to be the first Viking to explore the whole Grand Line, and to bring glory and honor to the Lion Clan!" Ragnar concluded.
"AND NOW, TO THE GRAND LINE!" Luffy shouted, as they all kicked the barrel, causing it to splinter into pieces.
"TO THE GRAND LINE, OR VALHALLA!" Ragnar shouted in. And with that, a new legend was born! The Straw Hats' Voyage to the Grand Line had finally begun!
未来だけ信じてる
誰かが嘲ってもかまわない
走ってる情熱が
あなたをキラめかせる
眩し過ぎ でも見つめていたい
どっか「美学」感じてる
I'm really, really stuck on you
誰にも似てない夢の背中を
追いかけて 追いかけてく
ドラマティック 手に入れるまで
Believe in Wonderland!
誰にも見えない夢のカタチを
つかまえて つかまえてく
わたしはついて行くから
熱いキモチ
ツジツマ合わせ 別にいらない
ありふれた日常よりも
パラダイス 目指して走れ
Believe in Wonderland!
A/N: And here we go! What an epic conclusion to the first stretch of the journey! Now, the Straw Hats are set to leave the East Blue behind them and onwards to the Grand Line! I hope you guys are all hyped for the further adventures I am! Already, we have seen a bit of foreshadowing throughout Loguetown with mention of Alabasta and trouble in the Grand Line that Tashigi mentioned. And also, it seems as if Luffy finally met his father!
When I found out that Luffy was Dragon's son, I wanted to rewrite the scene for this story, since while I know that Luffy sees Shanks as his father figure, I was hugely inspired by the scene in Naruto Shippuden when Naruto finally learns that he's the son of the Fourth Hokage. I wanted to do something similar with Luffy, but in tune with Norse familial customs. Among the Vikings, familial ties were extremely important, and fathers often held authority over their children, while the mothers would be the primary caregivers. Though given Dragon's absence in Luffy's childhood, this was not only for Luffy's safety, but it also was an integral part of childhood in the Viking Age. During that time in Scandinavian history, adults were usually hands off and let their children play on their own. Now, we may think that would be awful parenting now, but at the time, it was seen as a way for children to learn from experience how to act independently, work as a team, manage quarrels and stand up for themselves. However, children also had many chores around the home. As children reached their adolescence, they began to learn more specialized skills, and boys would usually be mentored under the guidance of their fathers. This also gives reason as to why Ragnar has such a high opinion of his own father.
Now, you may ask yourself, how could Ragnar hear the voices of Zoro, Luffy and Sanji from so far away? Well, perhaps I should take a moment to explain the senses of cats. All cats are the most highly evolved of all carnivorous mammals, from Russian Blues to lions, they all share such senses. One of these is their sense of smell. Cats are able to smell better than humans, though their sense of smell is nowhere near as powerful as a dog's. Still, they can definitely distinguish between similar scents. Yet by far, they also have excellent vision, which allow them to see six times better than humans, even in the dark. Now, let's go onto their sense of hearing. All cats can hear sounds up to three times higher than humans, so a bat fluttering its wings would sound like a drum roll, but this also allows them to detect the exact location of their prey.
Anyway, with that, our time in the East Blue has come to an end, so join us next time when the Straw Hats finally begin their epic voyage to the Grand Line!