LW: Now that Fishman Island is over, we move on to something else, a Filler Arc. Luckily it's only 1 chapter long. Enjoy!
Rubber King and Mirror Master - New World Chaos: Z's Ambition…
"God damn it, we've been in the New World for all of 5 seconds and the navy's already on top of us" Usopp frets as a veritable fleet appears directly in front of the Sunny, visible even through the harsh waves.
"Not only that, they've got us completely surrounded, all 360 degrees!" Brook shrieks.
"It does make an annoying amount of sense, this is the only way for anyone, pirate or marine to enter the New World, so parking a fleet here to take out any unwanted arrivals is a practical response" Robin muses with a frown.
"So what, we'll just have to carve and smash our way through, nothing else we can do" Zoro scoffs.
"Is a Coup De Burst viable?" Valentina calls from the steering wheel.
"Not right now, there's nowhere for us to fly without hitting another ship" Franky admits with a grimace.
"Then we'll just have to make a hole in the formation…. Wait a minute, shouldn't Luffy have said something by now?" Alvida hums, both her and Vivi checking the Sunny's figurehead to see that yes, Luffy was still there, grinning like a loon.
"Shishishi, don't back down!" Luffy orders "We're making a path straight through these Navy ships, they're not stopping us that easily!"
"You heard the man. Load the weapons, prep the cola tanks!" Franky shouts
"Leave the ones in front to me!" Luffy cries, readying his attack.
"Ranged options, this will be a little trickier than usual" Kaos sighs, as Hebi morphs into the Crescent Blade.
"Yeah, damn it, I might have to sit this one out, I don't want to test the range of this Recall seal in weather this bad" Alvida says with a pout.
"Locks and loads, it's hunting season" Artemis cackles as she pulls out her paintball rifle.
"Hold it, everyone hold your fire!" Nami shouts
BANG
"God damn idiots, the lot of you" she groans as the cannon fires on its own, though moments later the marine ships begin to fade away and the rain lightens before stopping entirely.
"I'm really confused," Kaya admits, wringing her hands nervously.
"Is this how all your fights end?" Shirahoshi asks.
"No, usually there's a lot more punch fighting. Nami, explain what the hell just happened, please?" Kaos requests.
"What we just witnessed was a form or mirage that only occurs in this portion of the Grand Line. Unfortunately, there's a lot more to this section of ocean than phantom battleships" she explains with a groan, pointing upwards, just as the immediate area begins to be pelted by giant, ship-sized raindrops " The Maubeugemour Sea is known for erratic, unpredictable weather phenomenon, it has every kind of bad weather you could think of, and probably half a dozen you couldn't even imagine"
"You couldn't have warned us on the way up!" Chopper and Carue shriek, just as the raindrops freeze into giant hailstones.
"Yeah, I can see where it got its name, it's like the sky itself is out to get us" Sanji scowls around his cigarette.
Luckily everyone had at least one way to deal with the giant ice balls, namely kicking, slicing, smashing, and just plain exploding, but much like everything it passed, and got even weirder.
"Sky avalanche!" Vivi cries, then groans "This sea will never make sense will it?"
"Mille Fleur: Giganto Mano" Robin shouts as she blooms giant hands to catch the avalanche and turn it into a snowball, which she tosses overboard.
"That's one less problem to deal with…. And now it's just raining, so at least it's weather I understand" Ussop grins, speaking too soon as the entire ship tilts backward, due to the MASSIVE HOLE IN THE OCEAN!
"Does this count as sinking, or just falling?" Chopper asks fearfully.
"We're about to go back into the deep sea"
"We can't do that, I just left" Shirahoshi frets.
"Relax princess, we'd much sooner hit a rock and die before we reached those depths" Robin states, not the most comforting moment, but she's probably not wrong.
"Robin being way too calm as usual… anyone got a plan?" Vivi asks.
"Val, pull the lever! Coup De Burst!" Franky shouts, the blond nods and grins as the Sunny launches into the air, granting them a moment of relief…. Until the ship gets struck by lightning!
Later
"Does good weather mean we're out of the Ill Tempered Sea?" Artemis asks as everyone hangs up their previous outfits to dry in the hot sun.
"Your 2 years on Lady Island has fried your brain, this isn't good, it's blistering heat!" Chopper cries, which as a winter inhabitant, is at least understandable.
"Agree to disagree, though the hot weather does mean I can't in good conscience put Medusa in the new Shark onesie I got her, even if she'd be just adorable" Robin coos, looking over at her daughter sprawled out on Kaos's bare chest, both sunning themselves in the sun, one for fun, and she suspects the other as a side effect of being a reptilian Zoan. As she turns to check on the others, she misses emerald eyes snap open in attention.
"Can we eat now? I'm hungry" Luffy whines, as he lays there panting like a dog "Sanji, cook up that fish we caught!"
"Most of it got wrecked in the storm, but lucky for you I did manage to harvest some before things got really bad. Give me a few minutes and I'll have our food ready to eat" the cook calls down before heading into the kitchen.
Little later
"Food's ready, come and get it!" Sanji bellows, setting out a tray and returning his attention to the stew he was applying the finishing touches to.
"Food!... Hey Sanji, there's no food" Alvida pouts as she looks at the empty plate.
"What are you talking about? I just laid out….. Luffy!"
"It wasn't me this time, I got here AFTER Alvida, and both Usopp and Chopper were behind me" the rubber boy defends.
"Well if you didn't, and she didn't, then who did?" Sanji asks.
"Oh no, don't tell me the Maubeugemour Sea is haunted, by hungry ghosts!" Chopper panics.
"Ghosts don't eat, they'd just pass through anything they tried to" Usopp attempts to assure and calm down the reindeer, not helped by the soup pot falling over, licked clean with no noticeable consumer.
"Hey, the ghost is eating all our food" Luffy scowls, then pauses "Is that a bug? That bug is eating all our food!"
"Let's kill it!" Alvida cries, hefting her warhammer, eyes blazing with righteous fury.
"Don't destroy the kitchen!" Sanji shouts
OM NOM NOM NOM
"It's eating things almost faster than my brain can follow" Chopper gasps
"Like a tiny piranha, don't let it touch you" Ussop screams
"I think it just ran outside!" Chopper yelps, causing the foursome to run out of the kitchen, Sanji nervously checks the pantry….. And yep, the 'ghost bug' had eaten EVERYTHING they had stocked up on back on Fishman Island.
"What are you idiots doing?" Nami asks as the 4 scour the deck, Vivi looking embarrassed, Shirahoshi confused and Robin just giggling behind her hand.
"There's a ghost bug, and it's a dirty little food thief" Luffy explains, like his statement would make sense anywhere but on the GrandLine.
"Food thief!" A disembodied voice huffs "If people didn't want their food to be eaten, they shouldn't have left it lying around"
"Given the fortified nature of the kitchen cabinet, I'm going to have to disagree with Little Lily there" Kaos sighs as he stands up, Medusa looking confused as she dangles in his arms.
"I'll get you, damn ghost bug!" Luffy bellows, running in the direction of the voice, catching Brook in his net… and then getting the food thief, perched on his nose "Hey… you're a person? Robin! Are bug people a thing, or is this Devil Fruit bullshit?"
"There have always been legends and rumours of fairies and pixies, that sort of thing, but given what Kaos called her, I'm leaning more on Devil Fruit issues more than magical beings" the archeologist answers with a shrug, as the food thief leaps off Luffy's face and dives into the grass, dodging hands, feet, and a hammer with surprising ease. Things began to get really weird when Franky tried to catch her, and was just thrown across the deck like he weighed nothing.
"She's tiny but she's tough if she can do that to Franky, no holding back guys!" Luffy orders, all those nearby preparing for a very strange, but most likely intense fight.
"Um, should I be trying to help, or prepping the infirmary?" Kaya asks Kaos, who chuckles.
"While your Devil fruit would be helpful, it won't matter in about 10 seconds. Shirahoshi, get your trident out!"
"Um, ok" the mermaid nods, confused but ready for whatever may come.
'Damn it, I'm surrounded' the 'ghost bug' grimaces "I'll just have to take you down with the Mini Mini Full Rebound!" she cries, before the tiny bug practically balloons out, until towering over the Straw Hats, still wielding a kitchen fork like a Trident, was a literal giant.
"Well, that wasn't what I expected to happen" Zoro mutters with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh Goda, we just found Kaos's dream fruit" Valentina whispers, getting a chuckle from Victor, until Robin blooms hands to slam both of their heads together
"Thanks for the food, no hard feelings right?" Lily winks, before raising her fork to skewer Luffy.
"Oh I got plenty of feelings!" Luffy scowls, managing to catch the central prong and in doing so, stop her attack dead
"WHAT!" the giantess shrieks
"Shirahoshi, now!"
Shing
A normal fork, no matter how large, stood no chance against the Legendary Abisaruhiru, meaning as it shattered, the giantess was unbalanced, making it a lot easier to trip her up, such as with a viscous, slimy, silver gloop…..
Splash
"Opps… well I can't account for lack of aim" Kaos sighs and facepalms, meanwhile Sanji leaps overboard to rescue the drawing, now doll-sized giantess, both of them getting fished out by Kaya's sticky syrup tendrils.
A little later
"Everyone quiet, she's coming to" Chopper hisses as Lily's eyes slowly open.
"You doing ok beautiful?" Sanji swoons, before getting a head chop from Nami.
"Hey you….. So you can make yourself bigger and smaller? That's pretty cool" Luffy grins as she crouches down to look the little giant more or less in the eye, confusing the girl, especially given she was defenceless now her fork had been destroyed.
"Well, I'm a giant by birth, but because I ate the mini mini no mi, this, is my new default size" she explains, waving her arms in her general direction.
"You're a giant!" Usopp gasps.
"Yep, but most of the time I'm around this size, my power lets me alter my size from 5mm to my original giant size, and anything in between"
"Neat! Our newest crewmate has to use a special bangle to do anything nearly that cool" Luffy agrees, confusing the mini giant.
"What?" Lily cries, to which Luffy points to the mermaid who broke her fork, at which point she notices the ornate-looking glove/gauntlet on her left hand.
"Yeah, Vegapunk stuff. But back to you, you're clearly super strong given you could knock Franky over while still the size of a flea" Luffy tangents back to the main topic.
"That's because I retain my strength even while miniature, just watch" Lily grins before grabbing Luffy by the ankle and throwing him up in the air, then proceeding to bounce him above her head like a ball to his amusement.
"You got any more interesting techniques to show off teeny?" Franky asks.
"Well I have 1. I can sneak inside someone while small, then grow back to normal and along the way they pop like Balloons" Lily giggles, as she continues to bounce Luffy.
"To be so carefree, he's already forgotten about the food" Robin coos.
"Well I haven't! Mini brat, you just emptied the entire ship, how the Hell are we supposed to make it to an island with no provisions?" Alvida yells, ruining the mood with reality
"Also, what do we call you, besides cutie?" Sanji adds, reminding the crew, they hadn't actually asked until now, too busy fighting and then rescuing the tiny food thief.
"Oh, my name's Lily Enstomach, but most people call me Lily the Glutton, on account of the amount of food I eat" Lily chuckles "As for food, I don't know, t dunno, you could try fishing or raid another ship, you are pirates after all" she admits with a shrug
"Speaking of, why are you even on our ship?" Nami asks.
"It just kind of happened really, I was waiting for someone, and then your ship just popped out of the water and I landed on it, knocking myself out" Lily answers with a shrug.
"You were waiting for someone, in that weather?" Vivi reiterates, now deeply concerned "What could possibly have been so important?"
"I was trying to see my Dad…. AHHHH WHY AM I WASTING MY TIME CHATTING WITH YOU PEOPLE!" Lily screams, her head getting Ivankov level massive as she screams, then begins fretting and panicking about never being able to reunite at this rate.
"Relax Missy, can you tell us about your Dad, might make finding him a little easier?" Franky suggests, actually managing to get Lily to stop and take a breath.
"I'll have you know, my Dad's the best pirate chef in the New World" Lily boasts.
"You're Dad's a pirate chef?"
"Sanji's your dad?"
"You idiot, that doesn't even make sense!" Nami shrieks, punching Luffy into the deck.
"That's right, my Dad's the legendary Panz Fry!"
"Damn, that is impressive, everyone's heard of him" Sanji nods.
"Have you ever heard of him?" Vivi stage whispers.
"Grima mentioned him once, said his food was decent, but it was about 20 years ago, so he's probably gotten even better since then" Kaos replies.
"So you're Dad's pretty famous, he must be one Hell of a cook then" Luffy grins, having recovered from Nami's headslam.
"He sure is, his specialty is Volcano cooking"
"I have no idea what that is, but it sounds yummy" Luffy grins, already starting to drool.
"Just thinking about it makes me hungry all over again. His specialty is Sea Animal Churrasco, Seaking meat skewers flavoured with rare herbs that only grow in volcanic soil and million year old rock salt crystals, then he roasts it within the volcano itself until the meat is just right, juicy and tender, oh I just want some so much" Lily purrs, her fantasy interrupted only by the literal downpour that is Alvida drooling high above her.
"If he feeds us after we reunite you two, all is forgiven" Alvdia announces, getting a nod from Luffy before anyone else can argue.
"Sanji's not the only person who's heard of Panz Fry. From what I've heard, he loves to cook, especially for starving people, known for stealing the ingredients from other pirates, marines and even the Government" Robin pipes in.
"So the apple didn't fall far from the tree then, in fact she ate it before it hit the ground" Valentina chuckles.
"Can we at least try to stick to the relevant information, like what was going on that lead to your waiting in the middle of this hellscape and ending up on our ship?" Zoro requests, getting tired of the side tangents.
"Right, so me and dad were just having fun, pirating around for a long time, but a couple weeks ago, he up and vanished. I heard a rumour he'd been captured by the marines, and they were shipping him off to Impel Down"
"Well, shit,he really pissed off the government for them to haul a giant into that place" Victor notes.
"It's probably also his 320 million beri bounty" Lily adds
"Wow, how'd it get that high?" Shirahoshi asks, given it took declaring war on the World Government at Enies Lobby for Luffy to get just shy of that amount.
"Well he was stealing from the government" Lily answers, and that honestly makes sense "It all started adding up before he knew it. After he disappeared, I managed to make it this far on my own, but the storm completely destroyed the ship I'd been stowing away on, if I hadn't run into your ship I'd probably be dead right now"
"Impel Down's pretty rough, I almost died when I went there" Luffy hums.
"Multiple times, at least according to Bentham and Iva" Kaos corrects.
"Oh I'm not going to Impel Down" Lily announces, surprising the entire crew "You see, I overheard a comm while I was hiding on that Warship, they're taking my dad through this stretch of ocean to get to Impel Down"
"Meaning you planned to intercept them on the way there, cutting out a trip for both of you to the unbreakable prison that was broken into and out of twice in 1 day" Kaos summarises "Decent plan, probably one Pops considered when he was figuring out how to rescue Ace"
"Except for the part where it means we're fighting the Marines" Brook adds "Any chance we can not do that part?"
"You mean somehow sneak a giant out of Marine custody? Sure, go right ahead" Nami mutters sarcastically.
"Listen, I've already taken up enough of your time, and licked your kitchen clean, I won't be any more of a bother, just pass me an empty bottle and i'll be on my way" the little giant offers with a melancholic look on her face.
"Yeah… we're not doing that" Luffy decides with a wide grin "We're gonna save your dad, how else will I get to eat any of that delicious food? Shishishi"
"Yeah, plus your dad sounds like a nice person he shouldn't have to suffer under the Navy's hands" Kaya nods, ejecting her guns from her forearms.
"But why, you're pirates, aren't you?" Lily squeaks in confusion.
"Because it's the right thing to do" Chopper answered.
"They just got done saving my homeland, it does seem to just be how the crew operate" Shirahoshi giggles.
"Uncle Strong, Uncle good, he makes bad people hurt" Medusa summarises as only a child could.
"Exactly sweetie, the Straw Hat MO is punch bad guy, then leave" Robin chuckles, getting nods from most of the crew.
"Ok, then I guess I'm sticking around for a little longer, until we can rescue my dad" Lily agrees, with a watery smile "And don't worry, he'll be more than happy to cook up a feast as thanks"
"YAY!" Luffy and Alvida cheer, already fantasising about all the food.
Not long after.
"Wind's picking up, everyone get ready for another storm of insanity" Victor calls out.
"Just fog this time, thankfully, though it will make finding the marines and Panz harder" Nami announces with a sigh.
"Or not. Hey guys, there's something straight ahead!" Usopp shouts from the crow's nest "I think it's the marines"
Sure enough, it was, a set of 4 marine battleships, as well as a raft tethered between them, with a massive, hooded figure chained to the deck.
"Yep, definitely a giant. Meaning we've found our target. Let's rescue ourselves a giant" Luffy grins as the crew begins putting a plan together.
"4 ships for just one guy, they really don't like your dad Lily" Franky hums as they survey the area.
"Something doesn't feel right, I don't mean the 4 ships, or at least not just that, but going about it this way, transporting a prisoner through these waters in particular, just to get to Impel Down, we're clearly missing something" Robin wonders aloud.
"So, does anyone have a plan then, because I'm fine with running in and punching everyone?" Luffy asks, getting smacked in the back of the head by Nami and Kaos, which was a good enough reason to wait and see.
"As this is a rescue mission, we'll need to handle this a little smoother and subtler, you get me Captain?" Victor suggests.
"Yeah, I get ya. Plan 1st, then beat up the navy"
Planning room
"Now, we'll need a diversion to draw the Marine's attention, so they won't realise we're rescuing Panz until it's too late and we're already on the way out" Nami explains as she lays out her plan on a rough map "This will allow an infiltration team to sneak in, do the deed and sneak out. The Distraction team will consist of Robin, Brook, Vivi, Chopper and Luffy"
"Distraction team, that means I get to kick ass, yeah!" Luffy cheers.
"No you idiot, that's what Brook and Robin are for, and with Chopper piloting the Mini Merry, you are to stay in the boat, be quiet, not draw attention to yourself and only come out IF everything else goes to shit, understand?"
"Fine" Luffy pouts, but nods.
"Thank you. Meanwhile, Lily, Ussop, Zoro, Sanji, and Kaos will slip through their guard in the Shark Sub, not allowing anyone to spot or become aware of them, and free Panz Fry" Nami continues, getting nods from the 4 in question "The hard part, will be getting Panz from over there to our side without being noticed"
"Yeah, kind of hard to miss a giant just vanishing, or trying to at least" Usopp nods.
"If we weren't trying to be stealthy, maybe princess could come with and shrink him, then it would at least go from smuggling a giant to smuggling a gruff-looking man onto the Sunny" Franky wonders aloud.
"He's right, have her break the ships with the Abyssal Blade, then in the commotion snatch up Panz and swim back. Unfortunately, that leaves way too many openings for enemy counterattacks and discovery" Kaos hums before dismissing the idea, no offence to Shirahoshi, but she definitely wasn't ready for a solo mission like that a day into her pirate journey.
"Exactly, hence why our actual plan is detaching the raft and coupling it to us to slip away with a Coup De Burst, hence why Franky and Valentina are staying put on the ship, while trying to avoid drawing attention to themselves the entire time" Nami adds, getting the meeting back on track "Have the Coup de Burst primed and ready to go at a moment's notice, once we get Panz, we're out of here!"
"You got it Nami!"
"We'll get ready to go and out before they even notice us"
"One last thing to remember, this stretch of ocean is unpredictable, so be careful, anything could happen at any moment. And… let's move out!"
Distraction Squad
"I just noticed, everyone on this squad as Devil Fruit powers" Robin idly muses as the Mini Merry chugs along to it's intended destination "If any of us fall in we're basically fucked, as it's not like anyone else can dive in to rescue them"
"Must you be so morbid Robin?" Brook groans
"I'm officially scared!" Chopper shrieks.
"I was so sure being a mother would mellow you out, but you're the same, just bulkier" Vivi grumbles.
"I'm bustier, you're the one with an ass like a camel princess" Robin teases, then looks out to sea "So, when should we tell Nami that Luffy left with the infiltration team rather than the Distraction team?"
"Next time she passes by, no need to yell it and piss her off sooner than we half to" Vivi suggests, getting nods from the other 3 occupants.
Infiltration Team
"Yeah, he said the Distraction team sounded boring and that he was literally doing nothing, so decided to come with us instead" Usopp relays via the mirrors about 5 minutes later, due to an Irate Nami calling up to scream at them "It's Luffy, did you really expect him to sit still and not screw something up?"
"I, can't argue with that" Nami sighs "But Luffy, listen to me very closely, Do NOT get on the raft, under any circumstances, or you're mess up everything"
"In one ear and out the other" Kaos mutters, getting a nod from Zoro and a scoff from Sanji.
"Hey Lily" Usopp calls, once Nami had left them alone again "You and your Dad are from Elbaf, right?"
"Oh, I didn't know that your guys even knew about Elbaf Ussop" Lily responds with surprise and curiosity.
"Knew about it? We met a few 2 years ago, even made friends with Dorry and Broggy and helped save their sacred duel" Usoop explains.
"Really? But they're legendary heroes, you guys met them ,and even managed to become their friends? That's so awesome!" Lily gushes "Sure I've never personally met them, but my Dad's been friends with both of them since they were kids"
"Really?"
"Yeah, he used to tell me stories about them all the time. Are they still ultra-competitive and dramatic?"
"They're like Zoro and Sanji, but 30ft tall….. So yes" Kaos answers, his eyes closed and face blank "I have a very bad feeling"
"Devil fruit stuff?" Luffy asks
"Close, there's definitely something familiar on the ship just above us, but I don't know what" he scowls
"Maybe someone you met over the last 2 years is on that ship, and ate a Devil fruit since then, like how you said you pinged Alvida back in Loguetown even before knowing it was her who ate the Smooth fruit" Usopp suggests, but the researcher shakes his head.
"It's NOT a Devil fruit, but you're probably right on it being someone we've already met, my Observation haki has gotten broader and stronger since back then" Kaos muses.
"Everyone in Position?" Nami calls.
"Ready and waiting" Vivi relays.
"Awaiting your orders" Usoop responds
"Then let's do this… now!" Nami orders.
"Cien Fleur. Clutch!" Robin whispers as her blooms manifest and begin taking out marines left right and centre, unleashing panic on the deck of the battleships, made even worse as Brook unleashes his disembodied soul to scare and confuse people, finally Vivi snipes a few unobservent stranglers with sand blasts to the head.
With the marine's sufficiently distracted, Zoro and Sanji went to work, the former slicing the chains holding Panz to the cross he'd been tied to, while Sanji's kicks separated the giant's raft from his marine escort team.
"And I think we're done, all is well… LUFFY!" Nami screams as she catches her dumbass captain on the raft through her binoculars "Well, it was nice having a plan go right for more than 5 minutes. Everyone prepare to improvise, Luffy boarded the raft, shit's about to go down" she relays to the other teams "Franky, we're ditching the original plan, we'll just throw a rope around Panz and get the fuck out of here!".
"Ah, so that's who pinged, just my luck we ran into Momonga all the way out here" Kaos grimaces as Luffy removes Panz' mask, allowing him and Lily to finally reunite "Anyone else want to fight him or should I?"
"He's a swordsman right? I could use the exercise" Zoro volunteers, jumping between the Vice Admiral and Luffy before he could be skewered.
Unfortunately for everyone, Lily and Panz' heartfelt reunion, was interrupted…. By torpedoes.
"Oh come on, did everyone get a memo of where this prison transfer was taking place?" Nami groans as a new enemy makes their way into the fray, not just attacking Panz, but the marine ships too.
"Assess the damage, quickly!" Momonga orders, the tremors from the torpedo blocks having interrupted his fight with Zoro, as more artillery began to barrage them "So, these are the pirate raiders the reports spoke about, but then why are they attacking us?"
"You ok food guy?" Luffy asks during a lull in the attacks, running over with Lily on his shoulder.
"I'll be fine, where is my daughter?" Panz grunts as he pulls himself to a kneeling position.
"I'm right here dad, I'm fine" Lily cries, fidgeting as concern fills her features.
"Oh great another attack. Gum Gum Balloon!" Luffy shouts, Lily jumping down onto the raft as he leaps into the air and inflates, just in time to block, not another cannon blast, but an actual attacker, specifically a dark skinned, muscular long-arm tribesman, who's rapid barrage of punches manage to knock the wind from him, sending Luffy into the water, Zoro diving in after him to rescue his captain.
"Who the Hell was that brat?" The man wonders aloud "Oh well, he's dead"
"Shuzo, no" Momonga gasps, drawing the no named Shuzo's attention to himself.
"Oh, would you look at this? Hello Momonga, I didn't expect us to meet here, in this accursed sea. You've gone up in the world, what are you now a Commodore, Rear Admiral?"
"Vice Admiral, but more importantly… the one raiding all these pirates these past few months, was you?"
Shuzo laughs "That's correct, and the next one to fall to me, is this one"
"Leave him be!" Momonga demands
"Look around you Momonga!" Shuzo bellows, as more subs rise from the depths, surrounding the transport convoy "Either hand over the giant or we sink your ships, am I being clear enough for you Vice Admiral? The decision should be an easy one"
"But why? You were once one of the best the marines had, a shining example for the world, what happened to you?" Momonga asks, unable to understand what he was looking at.
Shuzo smirks, preparing his villainous monologue "Why you ask? I'll tell you why: Because NOW I'm a proud officer of the Neo Navy!" he declares, to the confusion of all within earshot "Our organisation exists to eradicate every pirate who dares to cross into the New World. The navy is foolish to allow that villain to rot away in prison, when he should have been put to death and executed where he was found. So, in the name of Master Z, I'll execute him personally, right here, right now!" Shuzo declares.
"Master Z?" Momonga parrots, his face turning a sickly grey 'This is all HIS doing? If that's the case, then no matter what happens now, this problem is far from over'
Shuzo stops laughing as he runs what he just said in his mind once again "Shit, shouldn't have mentioned the Boss. Oh well, not that it matters, I'll just have to kill the pirates and the witnesses Gahahaha!"
"Not on my watch! You'll pay for hurting my Dad, and my friend Luffy" Lily screams, returning to her original size before attempting to crush Shuzo under her fists or boots, the Longarm managing to evade her attacks at least for the moment.
"And who the hell are you?" Shuzo sneers as he leaps over another slap.
"Panz' daughter Lily Enstomache!"
"Another pirate, guess you get to die first" the Neo marine decides, leaping into the air with Gepo "Tekkai, 3 section lariat!" he declares, his hardened arm swinging like a flail, only to blocked by a taloned foot "Another one, where are you coming from? Who the hell… no, you can't be him" Shuzo's eyebrows shoot up.
"It's him Sir, Mirror Demon Kaos of the Straw Hats" One of his lackeys confirm, while his alpaca holds up the most recent bounty poster "420 million beri bounty"
"Seems I have a fan, care to tell me why you seem confused, before I gut you for trying to kill my brother?" Kaos hisses, his smile lacking even a hint of humour, only bloodlust.
"Master Z saw the attempted execution of Fire Fist, and learned of the true fate of his greatest pupil. You are her only offspring, a disappointment of untold proportions" Shuzo confesses.
"I'd have probably tried harder if I'd learned who she was more than 2 years ago" Kaos shrugs, not actually believing that simply knowing his mother had been a marine would have changed his fate that much.
"Either way, you are a pirate, and therefore must die. Men, take him out with extreme prejudice!"Shuzo commands, as all guns, and even the alpaca take aim at the cloaked pirate.
Lily, shrink down, we'll be out of here in no time" Kaos states with surprising calmness, unnerving the giantess.
BANG
SHING
The ballistics were fired, but before they could hit their targets, Momonga had leapt into the air and sliced them all in 1 fell swoop, causing them to explode harmlessly in the air.
"I don't make a habit of defending pirates, but this is still a marine vessel, and as long as I live I refuse to let you do as you please. We follow the law on my ship, and that includes not playing Judge Jury and Executioner!"
"Will as hard as steel, no wonder you could stand up to Boa Hancock's Devil fruit so easily" Kaos chuckles "I can respect a man with conviction" he hums, getting an unsure expression from the Vice Admiral.
"Playing nice are we? This is why the Navy fails, you've all gone spineless. How dare you….."
"Silence! Traitors don't get to speak on my ship!" Momonga sneers, his sword now pointed at Shuzo's heart.
Drip, drip.
"It's pirates this, navy that. I've had enough of this crap!" Luffy scowls as he walks between the 2 men, still dripping from when he'd been pulled from the sea "I will try that volcano cooking, and I'll kick anyone's ass who gets in my way!"
"That's Straw Hat Luffy, 450 million berri!"
"Impressive, and you survived my first attack, killing you might actually be fun" Shuzo laughs, his mirth contrasting with Luffy's anger.
"Gear 2nd: Jet Gatling!" Luffy shouts as he leaps into the air, before raining punches upon the Longarm man.
"Tekkai" Shuzo grunts, pushed back slightly, but otherwise there was no sign of battle, the clash even ending on his terms as he swung his arms out, causing Luffy to pause.
"Seems his Rokushiki is stronger than CP9's, if he can tank your hits that easily" Kaos notes, getting a nod from Luffy.
"It doesn't matter how high your bounty is or what Devil fruits you ate, nothing can break through my Iron Body!" Shuzo boasts, running at the brothers.
"I'm not letting you interrupt that fight, so how about we continue where we left off" Zoro says cheekily as he blocks Momonga's sword with his own.
"Anyone free to help out over here? There are a lot of enemies and even if it's our best fighters, numbers eventually win out" Nami calls over the snails.
"We have Lasoo, we'll provide cover fire" Artemis offers, before running off to get her paintball rifle from below deck.
"Take out the subs and the marine vessels, right?" Alvida asks, leading the Bazooka Dog to the side of the Sunny as Franky and Val get her into range.
"Mostly the subs, they seem to be the bigger threat" Victor argues "Especially if the Neo Marines are as strong as I've heard"
"You're a lot stronger than the last Longarm I clashed with" Kaos notes as he and Luffy dodge Shuzo's arms, the extra joints allowing him to use his arms like flails, moving too erratically for observation haki to be a sure fire thing "I'm quite sure it would be difficult to render you truly disarmed. Doesn't hurt to try though" he smirks before his tail uncoils from his waist and swings out "Rankyaku: Rasen!" the Neo marine's eyes widen before having to dive under the spiralling energy wave.
"Pirates with access to the Rokushiki, now that's just pitiful" he scoffs.
"Don't blame us, blame CP9 for failing to kill or even severely injure any of their targets" Luffy huffs, eyes focused on Shuzo, as any of the other neo marines were either ineffective due to their bullets, or being dealt with by Sanji's flurry of kicks on the other side of the raft.
"We have a problem…" Kaos frowns as he puts his finger to his ear, adjusting the com snail.
"What now?"
"There's about to be another weather shift, the Thrust Up Stream is forming as we speak" Nami shouts
"Given the name, it's like the Knock Up stream from Jaya isn't it?" Vivi grimaces.
"Basically, though it's not as large or powerful, so no danger of being launched to a Sky island, but it could still blow one of those navy ships away no problem"
"This day just keeps getting worse doesn't it?" Usopp groans, while Chopper looks ready to pass out.
"It will, because until it happens, we have no way of knowing where it will erupt. You guys need to get back to the Sunny pronto, we'll pick up the guys when we grab Panz!" Nami orders, getting quick affirmatives from both drivers.
"One Sword Style: 360 calibre Phoenix!" Zoro declares before sending out the pressure wave, pushing Momonga back and forcing the Vice Admiral to use Gepo to avoid slamming into his own ship.
"Damn it, you brats can use haki" Shuzo sneers as Luffy's Jet Bazooka managed to push him a LOT further than the Long Armed man expected it to.
"We're in range, Franky fire!" Nami commands, as the Sunny's 'paws' shoot forward on cables, before slamming into the raft and latching on "Are the Anchors secure?"
"As good as they'll get, this isn't the most stable vessel I've seen" Sanji responds, the snail in one hand and Lily in the other.
"Then get back to the Sunny, we don't know where or when the Thrust Up Stream will hit, so the sooner we get out of here the better!" Just as she says this one of the marine ships is taken out by the pillar of water shooting into the air.
"Um, Nami, we got a problem" Franky grimaces as all but the 4 on the raft get back to the Sunny "The raft's too big for the plan to work, we might not even get off the water surface with a Coup De Burst with that thing dragging us down"
"Fuck! Usopp was right it is just one thing after another" Nami mutters, pinching the bridge of her nose "Think Nami think, there has to be something… oh, that might just work, if we're lucky"
"YOU WANT TO USE THE THRUST UP STEAM TO SHOOT US AWAY TO SAFETY! ARE YOU INSANE?" Was the collective response to her suggestion.
"Do any of you have a better idea then?" Nami asks through clenched teeth "Didn't think so" she sighs before pulling out the snail once more "Sanji, hold on tight and make sure the others do the same, you're going to be riding the raft to freedom, and it's not going to be smooth sailing"
"You got it Nami, I'll tell the idiots" Sanji nods, before stopping Luffy from flying off the raft by kicking him back into the centre "Watch out, the raft is going skyward!"
"Not on my watch!" Momonga declares.
"Wait for it…. Wait for it…. Now!"
"Chicken Boyage" Franky shouts, activating Sunny's reverse function, pulling the raft into position directly on top of the erupting Stream "And…. Coup De Burst!"
Sunny surges forward, flying over the raft even with the elevation the Thrust up Stream gave it, though the raft itself didn't survive the rush of water, forcing Sanji and Panz to cling to one of the logs that were secured to the anchors, Luffy, Zoro and Kaos rushing to latch onto those same logs before they fell into the water, Luffy catching Zoro with one hand the clinging with the other, while Kaos used Hebi to catch the anchor and reel himself in.
"Volcano cooking here we come" Luffy giggles as the Sunny skips across the water like a stone.
Later
"Ok, we're finally out of the Maubeugemour Sea, the waters should be relatively calm and peaceful, at least for a while" Nami states, most of the crew breathing a sigh of relief at the news.
"Helps that the Stream gave us a boost, that was like a SUPER Coup De Burst, nobody could follow us after that exit!" Franky cheers.
"Which means we can hopefully take a breath, and stop panicking for a few minutes, or even a couple hours" Vivi sighs.
"Essentially yes. Speaking of breaks, how's your patient doing?" Robin calls over to the outcrop Chopper and Kaya had been treating Panz on.
"The Headwound looks deep, but it might be a scale issue. I think a few days rest at the very least will be needed, but honestly, besides that torpedo fire, he's in remarkably good condition" Chopper calls back as he drops from the giant's face into his hands and is set down alongside Kaya.
"It could have been a lot worse, but luckily only the 1 barrage actually managed to hit him, the rest were aimed at the Marine ships, and us of course" Kaya agrees, getting a nod from Panz and a tearful smile from Lily
"Well now that everyone's safe. Volcano cooking!" Luffy cheers, as he and Alvida already start drooling.
"IDIOTS!" Sanji bellows, kicking Luffy into the dirt, only for him to spring back up a moment later "They just said he needs rest, plus we have no food to cook!"
"Nor a volcano to cook them in/over" Victor adds, as he feels that is kind of an important part of this plan.
"Oh we have food" Lily reveals out of the blue "while all those ships were being wrecked i snagged as much as I could, so it wouldn't go to waste" she explains, pointing to the massive sacks on the rocks beside them.
"You know, we could have used a hand back there, another giant would have potentially turned the tide against the Vice Admiral and that long armed weirdo" Zoro grouses.
"You're right!" Lilty screams, then pauses "I also stole all their booze"
"Never mind, good call Lily" Zoro nods, getting an eye roll from the others, and a laugh from Luffy and Artemis.
"So once more, we've got food and he's not dead, therefore volcano cooking"
"NO!"
CRASH
"Hold it, you're still injured, you need to rest" Kaya frets as the giant slumps/pushes himself forward onto his hands and knees.
"Please listen to them Dad, you need to slow down" Lily pleads "Just until you're feeling better"
"Your name is Luffy, correct?" Panz asks, getting a nod from the rubber boy, before he turns to the little giant "Lily, this boy here greatly desires some Volcano cooking, and we both know that is something only I can provide, as well as for a cook like myself there's no greater honour"
"Yeah" Lily sighs, knowing everything he just said was true "I understand, but if you're not feeling well…"
"Besides, you and I might have both died out there if not for Luffy and his friends, the least I can do is cook for him, kindness of that quality should be repaid however I can, it's in my nature as a cook" Panz argues with a light chuckle "Now if someone could bring those ingredients over to me, I can get started"
"Really, just like that, thank you so much Panz Fry!" Alvida grins, eyes already starting to sparkle.
"No, I should be thanking you, if not for your interference, I'd either be dead or in Impel Down by now"
"We'll get the food, you stay right there" Luffy calls, before leading the gang on the reef to the bags Lily collected.
BOOM
"Ahh" Panz groans as the shockwaves manage to even send him tumbling forwards.
"Food-guy!"
"Dad!"
"Not again!"
"What was that?" Nami cries as the Sunny is rocked by the explosion.
"So much for breathing room, seems the Neo Navy found us a lot sooner than we expected" Kaos grimaces "It also seems they've still got some artillery to throw at us… themselves"
The few who heard him were confused until some of the subs shot out of the water, Zoro slicing through one of them while Victor blew the other off course so it landed on the reef.
"They're….. Ramming us?" Vivi gasps.
"Kamikaze submersibles, they must be getting desperate to kill Panz and now us" Valentina hums as more subs shoot out of the water and explode against the reef.
"For our cause we will die!"
"Great, we have fanatics with nothing to lose" Zoro grumbles as he slices through another couple subs "And they just keep coming"
And come they do, as a much larger ship flies through the air, though this one just lands on the reef rather than explode against it. The hatch in the top opens up as Shuzo leaps out and spins before coming to a stop on the roof of the sub.
"Hahahaha, long time no see pirate scum" Shuzo greets with a smirk "Time to die!"
"Him again, but how?" Shirahoshi gasps.
"With this" Shuzo reveals a Vivre card "When you made your escape I threw a piece of it onto your raft, allowing me to track you wherever you went" he answers, the Straw Hats noticing another piece pinned to the log with a dagger. "They sacrificed their lives for this, they won't die in vain" he monologues as more of his ships batter the reef.
"This guy's gone nuts, throwing his own men at us, not even the Sunny but just the island itself" Franky shouts.
"It's because of pirates like you the New World is in such a state…" Shuzo bellows.
"I'd blame scum like Blackbeard, but you're a marine you can't tell the difference" Kaos mutters.
"...and that's why we can't stop. We will eliminate the pirate threat even at the cost of our lives!"
Panz tries to smash Shuzo and his sub, but the Neo-Marine's Tekkai causes the attack to rebound, knocking the giant off his feet, then as Lily rushes in at full size to skewer him, he leaps onto her new fork, then tackles her with a spin slam to the gut, throwing her back onto the Sunny. Luckily Lily was able to shrink back to her doll form before hitting the ship, being caught in a syrup puddle by Kaya and set down on a seat.
"You may have gotten lucky the 1st time Panz Fry, but you won't escape me twice" Shuzo declares as he starts spinning his arms erratically, preparing to land the fatal hit on the downed giant, he leaps….
…which just leaves him open to a counterattack, as a Gear 2nd Luffy kicks him in the chest, sending him flying into some of the still standing reef.
"You're not killing anyone today!" Luffy shouts as he lands, watching Shuzo pull himself out of the reef.
"That was close" Lily frets from the Sunny, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Kick his ass, we'll handle the kamikazes!" Usopp shouts encouragingly.
"I guess I'm killing you first then rubber boy, not that it matters I was going to kill all of you eventually, I just don't like to leave a job unfinished" Shuzo grunts, before crossing his arms to block a 'Jet gatling' "Shiga…"
"Jet Whip!" Luff cries, breaking his concentration and halting his attack by kicking him in the hand, though the Neo-Marine manages to avoid another 'Jet Bazooka' as it cracks the stone outcrop beneath them.
"Gepo" Shuzo snarls, shooting upwards before slamming Luffy into the ground, breaking the already damaged outcrop with the impact.
"Armament hardening: Gum Gum Pistol!" Luffy shouts as a jet black fist flies straight for Shuzo, shocking everyone, when the man blocks it with his own punch
"Tekkai" he says, almost smugly "Your haki's not half bad kid, but it's not good enough to stop mine" he laughs
"Baaaa!"
BOOM
CLANG
"I didn't need you to save me, rubber body remember" Luffy rolls his eyes as Kaos's coils unwind and Hebi's Buster Sword form is pulled from the reef.
"I saw something I didn't like, decided to correct it" the researcher hisses "Hm, I think i've found a reason to put Devil fruits in weapons, only living things generate haki"
"Indeed, bet you never seen a bombshell wrapped in haki before now punk? That's the bonus of having a Bazooka that ate the Alpaca zone Devil fruit" Shuzo boasts with a boisterous laugh, to which Alpacacino baa's in seeming agreement.
"Wait a minute! That means Lasoo could learn Armament haki too!" Alvida gasps.
"And Nellie" Artemis adds, now wondering if that would make her a Black Blade.
"I'll deal with the cannon and the small fry, think you can handle noodle arms?" Kaos asks, reverting to his human form, Hebi already spinning.
"I'm not backing down if that's what you mean" Luffy huffs, as Kaos zips over to the Sub with a burst of Sonido.
"Shigan 5" Shuzo cries as he uses the distraction to impale Luffy on his hand, catching the rubber boy square in the gut "If this is the best you can do, I'll be done before dinner Ah hahahahaha!"
"Usopp!" Lily hisses as she jumps onto his shoulder "Quick, you need to fire me into that guy's mouth, that way I can grow and blow him up from the inside. There's no way any amount of hardening can contain a giant"
"Are you sure, this plan sounds insane?" Usopp argues quietly, before sighing as they probably didn't have any better ideas with Panz still down and Kaos dealing with the sub and the bazooka alpaca.
BOOM
Eh, work in progress.
"Fine. Let's do this" Ussop mutters, pulling back the Black Kabuto as Lily shrinks to her smallest in the pouch "Ready, aim, fire!" the sniper whispers, sending the mini giant flying, only for Shuzo to block her arc with Luffy's passed out form. "Shit, that wasn't part of the plan" Usopp yelps as the mini giant is accidentally swallowed.
"You really think i hadn't cottoned on to your plan, at least give me some credit" Shuzo scoffs, before tossing Luffy aside "Now, to go retrieve my pet from unworthy hands"
"You may want to take a rain check on that one"
Shuzo pauses and looks down "What?" he gasps as Luffy pulls himself to his feet.
"You're not going anywhere, until I'm done kicking your ass" Luffy scowls, turning to face Shuzo
"You stupid punk, why won't you die?" Shuzo growls
" 2 things. 1st, I'm going to kick your ass, 2nd I'm going to eat this guy's delicious food!" Luffy announces, Shuzo having no actual way to respond to that.
"Here we go Luffy" Lily shouts, unsure if he can even hear her, before using Mini Mini Full Rebound, expanding inside Luffy and as expected his rubber body was able to contain it by stretching to accommodate the growing giantess. Also, for the sake of everyone but Vivi and Alvida's sanity, so did his clothes, to a certain extent.
"HOLY SHIT!"
"He's Massive!"
"I'd call that Supersize!"
"I, think I could reach that size, but it would take a lot of food to power the seal"
"This is weird, oh I have horns now" Luffy hums, poking the horns from Lily's helmet as they push out and stretch his head to accommodate themselves like the rest of her "Pretty badass right, Shishishi" he laughs.
"Glad you're having fun Luffy" Kaos cackles, before pulling Alpacacino into his reflection hammerspace "Now kick his ass!"
"Right… wait a minute you guys are so tiny, did you try to use the Mini mini fruit while horny already?" Luffy asks with an eye roll.
"As usual, TMI Luffy" Nami whines, hiding her face in her hands while Artemis hides her face in the bosom of a cackling Robin.
"We're not small you bozo you're huge! You ate Lily like a dumbass and now you stretched when she grew back to normal!" Sanji explains/ scolds his now giant captain.
"Told you I could do it" Lily preens.
"Oh, that's why I can hear Lily, I thought it was my stomach from not eating any of the food she made me think about…. Wait a minute. I'M A GIANT! THAT'S SO COOL! LOOK AND ME I'M A MEGA PIRATE SHISHISHI!" Luffy laughs and wiggles around, completely forgetting what was going on for a moment.
"FOCUS!" Nami, Usopp and Vivi scream.
"Oh right, almost forgot about that guy. I need to kick his ass so we can eat" Luffy hums, a light bulb going off above his head "Now where'd he go… ah there he is" the giant rubber boy cries as he swings his fist, missing due to a burst of Gepo on Shuzo's part.
"Nice try kid, but now you're a giant you can't move as quickly" Shuzo taunts.
"Oh really, well then Gear 2nd" Luffy shouts, crouching down and pumping his legs, steam billowing off him like a geyser, the air pressure shaking the sub and the Sunny, and that was before he even actually did anything.
"We're gonna be cooked alive" Ussop shrieks, clutching Kaya and Chopper close to him.
"This is very strange, but actually kind of nice" Shirahoshi hums, not knowing what everyone was panicking over.
"Can we not get steam-dried for a day, is that too much to ask?" Valentina sighs, 1st the Princess with Steam release and now Mega Luffy's heated blood, it was not a great week for them.
"Fuck. No, I won't let it end this way. Shigan 10!" Shuzo shouts, going all in as Luffy leaps into the air.
"Gum Gum Giant Jet Spear!" Luffy counters, smacking the marine out of the air with a high-speed spear kick, shattering the ground as he lands and sending the Sunny on a loop de loop before bobbing safely once more on the ocean surface.
"Little overkill there moron, do you know how many of the ladies could have died in that attack!" Sanji angrily yells, also beginning to steam up.
"Maybe a little, but they always say no better kill, than Overkill, yeah!" Franky chuckles, while they do a headcount and everyone seems to be ok, just a little dizzy or queasy.
Better off were Luffy and Lily, who separated after the attack and landed safely on the railing of the Sunny, while Shuzo ended up in the water, out for the count.
"That was fun, thanks for the assist Lily" Luffy grins as he holds the little giant securely in his hands.
"No, thank you, I'm just happy to have gotten to help in whatever way I could" Lily waves off with a light blush.
"And now we're done, we can get that volcano food just like you promised" Luffy grins, getting happy cheers from Lily and Alvida, but also a fair few of the others, just because after the day they've had, they could eat.
Bad news, the food got wrecked during Shuzo's attack and Luffy's giant rampage, so that plan was scrapped, at least for the moment.
"Relax Luffy, we can get more food, we still need to find a volcano anyway in order to have Panz Fry do his famous dishes" Vivi attempts to assure and comfort her partners, who both look saddened by the lack of food 'I had to marry 2 gluttons, didn't I? It's a good thing they're adorable'
"If we are, we can't be hauling that raft the whole way; it'll slow us down to a crawl" Sanji argues.
"I wouldn't worry about that" Zoro interrupts, pointing behind him "Vic and Franky got to work while the Captain was crying, and they tricked it out. Looks pretty nice actually" the swordsman admits with a shrug, and bomber and cyborg used material from Shuzo's ship to make a decent raft for the giant chef.
And so began the hunt for a volcano, during which Luffy, Ussop, Chopper and Lily tried their hands at fishing, and made a decent haul in the process.
Once a suitable spot was found, Panz got to work, cooking up a seafood special, with a side of SeaKing Steaks, the likes of which the Straw Hats had never seen, in size or quality. A wonderful feast and party was had by all, eating, boozing and laughter shared among friends and family. But of course, it couldn't last forever, eventually the Straw Hats, Lily and Panz had to part ways, though Kaos made the little giant a com mirror, just in case she was even in need of their assistance again.
"Bye you guys, thanks for everything!" Lily shouts as she waves back at the crew, her and Panz' raft drifting away from the Sunny "Be safe out there, we'll never forget what you did for me and my dad. Good luck in the New World!"
"No big, we're always happy to help friends!" Luffy calls back with a wide grin, hugging a food-coma'd Vivi and alvida, his own eyes beginning to droop.
"Thanks for the food, it was awesome!" Usopp shouts
"Rest up, you should be fine in about a week!" Chopper adds, still in full doctor mode
"I will, you're the best doctor around little fluff ball" Panz chuckles, waving at the reindeer, who starts flailing and floundering on deck.
"Bye Lily, it was fun being a giant, we should do it again sometime!"
"Sure thing, you were the strongest giant I've ever met it was awesome" Lily laughs, then as the Sunny fades wonders something aloud "So, think we'll get to Elbaf before they do?"
"Pahahahaha! Well, neither of us is going there directly, so I give it even odds" Panz chuckles, pulling Lily into a hug "It's time for some father-daughter adventuring once again"
"YEAH!"
TBC
LW: And that concludes the Z's Ambition Arc, as you might have guessed, this means the next chapter won't be here, but will be in Drop in the Ocean, because I'm doing the One Piece Movie: Film Z!
Bye everyone, see you soon.