A.n I own Nothing
So I have received a total of 0 suggestions for the New World Arcs and what my readers would like to see in them...I am going to assume that this is because you like where the story is going and have no issues with the way it is being written. So I must be doing something right...good to know.
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Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, Robin and Connor stood atop of the outer ring of Navore looking down . After they had left the vault they had immediately fled the inner base as it was now on high alert. They had stooped so Robin could look at the map and determine what their next move should be or where the Marines had hidden there gold.
Robin Usopp and Zoro were standing while Luffy was sitting on the edge of the cliff and Connor was squatting next to him.
"Well that was a waste of time," Zoro said.
"Yeah I can't believe that they would trick us like that," Luffy said "There mean, this base is filled with mean people,"
"I can't believe we fell for that trick," Usopp added.
"To be fair we were the ones that assumed that the gold was in the vault. It was the best location to set a trap," Robin said as she observed the map.
"I can't believe how gullible Marine Commanders are," Connor said.
Connor then looked up as Usopp.
"By the way...who was that other guy...Conderano?" Connor asked.
"Oh just some Marine inspector from Hq that I stole his identity from," Robin said casually without looking up from the map.
Connor turned and looked at Robin.
"Then why did they think he was part of the crew?" He asked.
"He was mistaken as one of our crew, I just furthered that with a little lie," Usopp claimed.
"And they believed you?" Connor asked looking back at Usopp.
"Yeah well...the fact that they were on the lookout for unfamiliar faces and very suspicious of pretty much everyone they didn't recognise helped," Usopp smirked.
"Huh...that's really smart of you," Connor said.
"I know they don't call me Usopp the Genius for nothing," Usopp declared.
"Nobody calls you that," Zoro commented.
"EH...YOU'RE A GENIUS?!" Luffy shouted in surprise.
Connor and Zoro sighed.
"Looks like Marines aren't the only ones with gullible leaders," Zoro said.
Connor looked back over towards the base.
"Still how are we going to find the gold?" Connor asked.
"We could just wander round looking for it by searching every room," Luffy suggested.
"That wouldn't be a good idea, with the base on high alert we would have trouble searching. Plus we would miss our opportunity to escape," Robin claimed.
"So where do you think we should look?" Usopp asked "Are there any other vaults on the map?"
"Regrettably no, there are a few lager storage spaces but that is it," Robin said.
"Would the gold be there?" Connor asked.
"I doubt it," Robin answered "it would be unwise to look there anyway,"
"Why?" Zoro asked.
"If it wasn't in the vault than the Marines will now be focusing on those strage areas as that is the most likely place we would look next. If we were to go there we would likely find ourselves in another trap," Robin claimed.
"So where's our gold?" Luffy asked.
Before anyone could answer Zoro suddenly drew his sword.
"Someone's coming," Zoro said.
The rest of the crew listened and they heard a buzzing sound of and engine, it turned out that it was just Nami. After retrieving the wave she and Sanji had gone back to the dock where the Merry was hidden only to discover that the rest of the crew had not returned. Nami had headed out again to help them and along the way she had overheard some marines talk about the trap at the vault and how the crew had escaped.
After a quick explanation of what happened Nami, who was determined not to leave without the gold looked at the map with Robin; but the two could not figure out where else the gold was hidden.
"Aghh...this is so frustrating. Where did the marines hide my gold," Nami said annoyed.
"It's not all yours," Usopp claimed, but he was ignored.
"If we don't find it soon we'll miss our escape window," Nami claimed.
She then looked over at the crew.
"I don't suppose you lot have any idea where to look," she asked.
"We could try the kitchen," Luffy said.
"I don't think the gold is in the kitchen,"
"We really need to reorganise the Merry," Zoro commented.
"Didn't the ship come with a storage space?" Robin asked "For supplies and other things,"
"Yeah but we turned it into sleeping quarters," Connor claimed.
"Really why?" Robin asked.
"The Merry was originally made as a leisure ship for 1 per...you know like small day trips out to sea," Usopp claimed.
"Yeah when we got it there was an argument over who would get the only room," Zoro remembered "in the end we tuned the storage space below deck into a sleeping quarters for the men,"
"Then where did you put the rest of the supplies?" Robin asked.
"In with the helm, it's the reason that there are so many creates and barrels in there," Connor said "the food went in the kitchen...though until Sanji came along it was more like into Luffy,"
"Yeah but that is not much different from now," Zoro joked.
"I see...have you thought about getting a bigger ship?" Robin asked.
"What no," Usopp said offended "Why would we ever do that?"
"It just occurred to me that the Merry may not be big enough. We barely all fit in it now," Robin claimed.
"So? It may be a bit tight but it's just cosy that's all," Usopp snapped back.
"I'm just saying that if Luffy wishes for more people to join his crew then he will need to accommodate them," Robin claimed "and it may very well come to a point where in order to do that a bigger ship would be required,"
"Then any new members will have to put up with being a bit cramped, because we are not changing ships," Usopp declared.
"I hope we don't change ships, i like the Merry," Connor claimed.
"Whether we change ships or not is entirely irreverent to our current situation," Nami said "we need to find the gold,"
"Oi Nami why don't we just as the bases commander?" Luffy asked.
"We can't do that," Nami snapped back.
"Why not?" Luffy asked.
"First off we don't know where he is and secondly he wouldn't tell us even if we did know where he was," Nami said "Plus he is more likely to catch us then help us,"
"I know where he is," Luffy claimed.
Nami stared at him in surprise.
"HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW THAT!" Nami yelled.
"Well he invited me into look around, he had medals and this really cool fishing rod and then we started talking about fishing," Luffy said with a smile.
"Let me get this straight….the Vice Admiral who is trying to capture us invited you into his office…AND YOU ACCEPTED!" Nami yelled.
"Well yeah," Luffy answered.
"Why…why would you do that?" Nami asked.
"Well he asked and I didn't want to be rude by saying no," Luffy said.
Nami groaned.
Suddenly Robin realised something.
"Luffy, did you just say the commander of this base had a fishing rod?" Robin asked.
"Yeah, he said he was a keen fisher and that it was his favourite hobby," Luffy claimed.
"I see….I think I just figured out where the Marines put the gold," Robin said as she rolled up the map.
"What do you mean?" Nami asked.
"Who wants to capture us?" Robin asked.
"The Marine commander and all his men," Connor answered.
"Right and in a base this big it would take to long for him to find us by searching it from top to bottom," Robin claimed.
"Well yeah it's not like we're going to stay in one place and let him catch us," Usopp agreed.
"So what would be the most efficient way for the commander to catch us?" Robin asked.
"Have us come to him," Nami answered.
"And since he's a keen fisherman what would be the perfect bait to lure out pirates?" Robin asked.
"Our gold," Zoro answered.
"Exactly, so if the gold was not in the vault then that mean it's most likely with the Commander," Robin theorised.
"Alright here's what we'll do," Nami started.
"Luffy and I will take the waver and go to the commanders office, the rest of you head back to the ship and get it out on the water," Nami ordered "the other ships have already started to dock so we shouldn't have much trouble,"
"Fine but if you take too long we'll leave without you," Zoro said.
Luffy and Nami got on the Waver and zoomed off while Robin, Zoro, Usopp and Connor headed back to where they hid the Merry. They walked along the top of the cliff to avoid being seen, they had to hide a few times to avoid the Marine patrols.
Eventually they got back to the dock and Chopper and Sanji were waiting for them.
"Your back," Chopper cried happily.
"Hey Chopper. Good job guarding the ship," Luffy greeted.
"Shut up, even though I was left alone in enemy territory I was not scared one bit," Chopper cried with tears running down his face "I'm a pirate too,"
"Then why are you crying?" Connor asked.
"I'm not crying….I just have something in my eye," Chopper shot back.
Sanji then came out with hearts in his eyes.
"Nami-Swannnnn are you ready to continue our date?" Sanji asked.
His face fell when he noticed Nami did not return with the others.
"Oh it's just you lot," Sanji said disappointingly "Where's Nami-Swan?"
"She ran off with Luffy, something about going on a starlight ride on the waver and then a midnight swim under the moon," Zoro responded casually.
"NOOOOOO WHYYY!" Sanji cried out as he broke down in tears "Why would the beautiful Nami-Swan leave me for an idiot like Luffy,"
"Zoro Nami didn't say anything about that," Connor pointed out.
"Yeah but it's fun to tease him," Zoro claimed.
"Isn't that mean…toying with Sanji's emotions?" Connor asked.
"Nah he's a big boy, he can handle it," Zoro said "Besides it's not my fault he's love sick,"
The crew boarded and the Merry and got here ready to set out, it was harder than normal due to the fact there was a very bad disguise over the top but they eventually got out of the dock and back out onto the lake.
Like Nami had predicted most of the ships had already returned to their docks and so they were met with no resistance. Sanji however was in the corner squatted down upset with an air of depression around him; he had been no help what so ever in getting the ship ready to go.
Once they were out on the lake Connor walked up to him.
"Sanji…are you alright?" Connor asked.
"No, I can't believe Nami-swan would abandon me like that," Sanji sniffed in response.
Connor rolled his eyes and Zoro came over as he had overheard the cook's complaint.
"Well…it's not entirely out of character," Connor claimed.
"The Kid is right. Why would Nami go for a deadbeat cook like you when she can have the Pirate King, I mean once Luffy finds One Piece he will be the richest man in the world," Zoro said.
This seemed to make Sanji cry even harder.
"Is Luffy really going to be that rich?" Connor asked.
"Well they say no treasure in the world rivals that of Gold Rodgers," Zoro claimed "Luffy will be rich while pervo cook here will be destitute,"
This seemed to snap Sanji out of his depression.
"What was that?" He demanded.
"I said Luffy will be rich and you will be out of a job," Zoro responded.
"Why would I be out of a job?" Sanji demanded.
"Because you with all that money and fame he will be able to get a half way decent cook," Zoro snapped back.
"Maybe he will be able to get Mihawk to replace you," Sanji snapped back "after all the pirate king needs the best swordsmen and that is clearly not you,"
Neither Zoro or Sanji noticed that Connor had left and headed back to where Robin and Chopper were, Usopp had gone to steer the ship.
"THAT'S IT YOUR DEAD!" Zoro yelled.
"I'LL FILLET YOU WITH YOUR OWN SORRY EXESUSE FOR BLADES!" Sanji yelled back as the two began fighting again.
"Sanji's back to normal," Connor claimed as he approached Robin and Chopper.
"It is truly amazing on how they can turn on each other in a spilt second no matter what situation there in," Robin observed.
"I'm working on a cure for stupidity but so far nothing has turned up," Chopper claimed as he watched the fight "should we stop them?"
"Nah they won't hurt each other, just let them work it out of there system or wait until Nami comes back," Connor advised.
Unfortunately Zoro and Sanji didn't work it out of there system like Connor had hoped, instead Chopper shifted into his human form and broke up the fight himself. Though he did get a few scrapes from it. The doctor decided to let Nami deal with they're fights from now on.
As they were floating along the lake Usopp was keeping a look out for Luffy and Nami's return, Usopp spotted them coming across the lake and waved a lantern to signal them. Nami and Luffy climbed aboard the ship.
"Hey guys we got our gold back," Luffy said happily and showed them the huge bag he had.
"Great now we can finally get out of here," Usopp said in relief.
"Yep, though I will miss this place," Luffy said.
"Why? We're surrounded by marines, being hunted by a vice admiral that is super smart and most likely strong," Usopp pointed out.
"I know, it's been a lot fun right," Luffy agreed.
"We can have fun in a safer environment," Usopp muttered.
"Anyway we should leave while we have the chance," Nami said.
"Hey...Robin i thought you said there were no ships on the lake after 9pm," Connor said.
"There aren't there all recalled for some reason," Robin said.
"Well...what's that one doing out here then?" Connor asked and he pointed to the other side of the lake.
The crew looked out and saw a second ship, it was a marine battle ship and the only other ship on the lake. Nami grabbed Usopps binoculars and looked through them.
"It looks like it's heading to the sea gate," Nami observed.
"You think there trying to stop us?" Chopper asked.
"Myabe..."
"It's only one ship, we can take it," Zoro said confidently.
"No, we can use this," Nami said "we don't know where the currents are and i can't see them in the dark. If that ship is heading to the sea gate why not let it show us the way,"
"But Nami-swan, won't they try to stop us?" Sanji asked.
"The Merry is smaller and faster, once in the currents we'll have a head start and get out of their rage and once we're on the open sea they'll never catch us," Nami declared.
Chopper steered the ship so it was in lined with the marine battle ship and it wasn't long before the straw hats found the current and quickly caught up to the marine ship. On the battle ship the captain was looking for any sign of the straw hats but had yet to find any.
He looked over his men on deck who were all looking out vigilantly for the straw hats but so far no one had seen them.
"Any sign of them...Has anyone of you spotted them yet?" The captain called out.
A chorus of "No's" and "Not yet" was his response.
"Damn where are they?" the captain asked.
Suddenly a Marine ran up to him.
"Captain we're being tailed...look," the marine said and pointed to the fake battle ship that was nearly on top of them.
"That's...an odd looking battle ship," the captain stated.
"Think it's one of Navores?" the marine asked.
"If it is then Commander Shepard was right about this place. They really are lazy," the captain said "have you tried to signal them?"
"Yes but...they're not responding," the marine claimed.
"What? Don't they even know basic navel communications here?" the captain asked.
"Uh...Captain...there catching up real fast," the Marine said with a hint of worry.
Before the captain could response the Merry burst out of the battle ships frame shocking the Marines; and thanks to its small size and the current it sailed past the marine ship.
"Thanks for showing us the currents, we would have had a hard time getting out," Nami said as the Merry sailed past.
The captain started at the straw hats in shock but quickly recovered from it.
"OPEN FIRE!" he ordered.
"Sir Look!" a marine yelled and pointed to the back of the ship.
The captain turned and saw what was left of the poorly made frame of the Merry's disguise collide with his ship and get tangled up in it.
"Huh...that worked surprisingly well," Robin commented as she had seen the whole thing.
Jonathan's Room
Up on the balcony Jonathan and Commander Shepard had seen the whole thing. They had originally come out here to watch Shepard's attempt to capture the straw hats. Jonathan had a suspicion that he would fail as these pirates were proving to have an insane amount of luck.
However after just seeing what had happened to the commanders latest strategy Jonathan could not help but laugh while the Marine Inspector stood there slack jawed and stunned at what he saw.
"T...T...That other ship...was a disguise?" Shepard exclaimed.
Jonathan turned to look at the commander still a bit giddy from his laughter.
"oh come now surly you didn't believe for on second that something like that was an actual battle ship," Jonathan said "much less one of ours,"
The commander glared at him but said nothing.
'Given this bases reputation for being lazy it wouldn't have surprised me,' Shepard thought.
Jonathan turned back to the lake and looked at the water, it was very very low. He pulled out a pocket watch and looked at it.
"Should be about time, i guess this time its check mate," Jonathan said.
"What are doing? There escaping...why aren't you opening fire?" Shepard demanded.
"Calm down the Straw Hats aren't going anywhere," Jonathan claimed.
Shepard's anger was replaced with confusion.
"There...not?" he asked.
"No, did you wonder why no other ship was on the lake?" Jonathan asked.
'Because you're all lazy and incompetent and sorry excuses for Marines,' Shepard thought.
"Actually yes," Shepard answered.
"It's because it is about this time the fangs on Navore show themselves," Jonathan claimed.
"Fangs of Navore...is that some kind of code for a secret weapon?" Shepard asked.
"In a way...just watch," Jonathan said.
Shepard and Jonathan watched the Merry as it sailed onwards, however just as the sea gate was in sight the merry suddenly ran aground as the water beneath it seemed to drain out. The ship got caught on the reef and caused a huge hole to be made in the hull.
The straw hats were thrown around a bit and since there was no more water the Merry would not sink but could no longer sail or escape.
"What the hell just happened?" Shepard asked.
"The water drains out at this time every night; normally we have the sea gate closed so there is some water left... obviously it's not that much. but since they destroyed the sea gate we can't keep what little water we would have had in...so the lake completely dries up," Jonathan explained "apart from one or two puddles of course,"
"This is why there are no ships on the lake at night," Shepard realised.
"Yep we recall all the ships before this happens. The lake bed is uneven so it's safer to have no ships out at all than a few smaller ones," Jonathan claimed.
Jonathan turned and walked into his office; he picked up his Den-Den Mushi and dialled a number.
"Hello, communications...I'm going to need the Den-Den Mushi connected to the bases speakers," Jonathan requested.
Going Merry
Down in the lake the straw hats were very much surprised when there ship had grounded itself, they had been escaping when they had hit the rocks on the lake floor and a huge hole had been made in the side hull. Naturally water had started to flow in but it quickly stopped, upon investigation the crew were very surprised to see the reason for that was because the lake had been drained of all but a few puddles.
Luffy had been thrown off his special seat and was attempting to swim and crying out for help; it didn't look like he had noticed the lack of water yet.
Zoro commented on how dumb he was. Meanwhile Nami was panicking, they couldn't move without water and now there only escape root had dried up, plus it wouldn't be long before the marines came to arrest them all.
"Well...this is troubling," Robin said "But it does explain why there are no ships out on the lake at night,"
Connor looked down at the base of the lake bed from the deck of the ship.
"I don't get it...where did the water go?" Connor asked "Can the ocean dry up?
"No Connor it can't," Robin answered
"But…then where did the water go?" Connor asked looking up at her.
"It drained out," Robin claimed.
"Drained out?" Connor asked confused.
"Yes, you remember that big metal Sea gate?" Robin asked.
Connor nodded in response.
"That is the reason the lake is dry. You see the oceans tide is governed by the moon, during the day the tide flows towards land, but at night it reverses," Robin explained "because this island has a lake connected to the sea at night the water flows out of the lake draining it,"
"It is likely that they used the Sea Gate to minimise the water that gets drained out by the evening tide," Robin theorised "This way they always have water in the lake...but since we destroyed the sea gate there was no way to stop the tide from draining the lake,"
"I think I get it...But that doesn't seem very efficient for a Marine Base," Connor said.
"Perhaps not but it can be used strategically, after all they caught us," Robin claimed "Using the natural forces of the work to your advantage is a very clever tactic...everyone on this earth relies on the tide...both pirates and Marines. However to harness and use it against threats is truly remarkable,"
"So if we wait till morning...will the lake fill up again?" Connor asked.
"Oh yes, most defiantly. But I doubt the Marines will give us that long and even if they did we will not be going anywhere with that large hole in Merry's hull," Robin claimed.
Suddenly Luffy shot up and looked around.
"Land...I"M ALIVE!" he cried out.
"Did he just notice he wasn't drowning?" Usopps voice shouted annoyed.
Luffy looked around confused.
"Huh...where did the water go?" Luffy asked.
Connor sighed and Robin chuckled. Suddenly several search lights flashed on and they all were aimed directly at the Merry. The crew looked up at them and had to wince as the lights were too bright.
"Attention Straw Hat Luffy," Jonathan's voice echoed out through the bases outer speakers "You and your crew have done well to survive here at Navore. But unfortunately our game is at an end,"
"As of now you no longer have anywhere left to run, my marines are on the cliffs and my bases cannons are all pointed at your ship. Since only you and Roannoa Zoro have bounties, since that is the case if you surrender now I promise you that the rest of your crew will go free,"
"Wait...what's he mean by that?" Nami asked.
"I see...the Marines are really on interested in Pirates with Bounties," Robin said.
'That's a good thing right...maybe we should take them up on that,' Nami thought. She did not want to leave Luffy but at the same time it was the best offer they had.
"You and your gold will be taken back to Marine Hq to face judgement," Jonathan said.
"LIKE HELL!" Nami screamed.
"You have one hour to decide otherwise I will open fire, destroy your ship and everyone on it. If you attempt to run the result will be the same," Johnathon said before a click was herd indicating the end of his speech.
The crew began discussing what to do, Jonathan's offer was tempting especially if it meant that only Luffy and Zoro would be taken into custardy. None of the Straw hats wanted that to happen but when the alternative was to be blown up by all the bases cannons...there really was not much choice.
"So...what do we do?" Usopp asked.
"We're not surrendering," Nami said fireclay.
"Yeah but...i don't want to be blown up," Usopp said.
"Suck it up, you'll be fine," Nami said uncaringly.
"I WILL NOT!" Usopp yelled back.
"Nami's right we shouldn't surrender," Luffy agreed "No self-respecting pirate would do that, we have our pride after all,"
"So what do we do? We are stuck with no water and a huge hole in the ship with every single cannon and marine in this fortress pointing at us," Robin stated.
Usopp looked over at Robin.
"Surrendering suddenly just got more appealing," Usopp muttered.
"NO!" Nami said and slammed her fist on the deck getting everyone's attention.
"We have been in worse situations than this, we have always fought our way out and that is not going to change now. We took on a Shichibukai and came out on top, if we can beat Crocodile who controlled sand in the deserts of Alabasta where he had the advantage than we can beat some upstart marine in a jump suit," Nami said determinedly.
"We are The Straw Hat Pirates and we will let these Marines know exactly who they are dealing with and why we should be feared," Nami declared.
"YEAH LET'S SHOW THEM!" Luffy cheered.
"Right never give up, Never Surrender," Usopp agreed, gaining his confidence back.
The rest of the crew agreed, having there spirts rallied and lifted by Nami's passionate speech.
"Especially when it comes to my gold," Nami said.
The crews faces all fell.
"Wait...that's why you don't want to surrender?" Connor asked.
"Of course those marines are not taking a single ounce of my gold, you lot will fight them to the death before I let that happen," Nami said.
"Fight you own battles," Zoro said.
Nami hit him on the head for that.
"Should have known," Usopp sighed "she doesn't care about Pirate pride or weather we survive or not...she just cares about the gold,"
"That's not true, I care about you lot," Nami said.
"Really?" Sanji asked hopefully.
"Of course who would carry my gold for me if you lot weren't here?" Nami asked.
"WE ARE NOT YOUR PORTERS!" Zoro, Usopp, Chopper and Luffy yelled at the same time.
"Nami-Swaaannnnn. I'll carry you to the ends of the earth," Sanji sang with hearts in his eyes.
"Thanks but I think I'll walk," Nami commented.
"You do realise unless we think of something we're not going anywhere and the Maries will get our gold as well as our lives," Robin pointed out.
The crew sat down on the deck and thought about their situation and anything they could do but nothing came to mind.
"Oh I know...why don't we go out the same way we came in," Luffy suggested.
"You mean fall from the sky?" Connor asked.
"Yeah we fly out," Luffy agreed with a big smile.
Nami sighed; Luffy's stupidity knew no bounds.
"Yeah sure...lets fly out," Nami said sacristy "and how do we do that?"
"We use that big octopus balloon thing," Luffy claimed "it held our ship once so it should be able to do it again,"
"That's...not an entirely bad idea," Sanji admitted.
"Except we don't have that octopus anymore," Zoro claimed.
"I have it," Luffy claimed.
"You do...where?" Usopp asked.
Luffy reached into his pants and filled around in them for a moment before pulling out the Balloon Octopus.
"Right here," Luffy said with a smile.
"WHY THE HELL WERE YOU KEEPING IT IN THERE?!" Sanji yelled.
"Huh...what are you angry about?" Luffy asked innocently.
He then turned to Nami and held the squid out.
"Here you go," he said.
"I AM NOT TOUCHING THAT!" Nami yelled.
"Umm...I have a question..." Connor spoke up.
"What?" Zoro asked.
"How are we going to make that octopus fly?" Connor asked.
The crew looked at him and realised that they had no idea how to re-inflate the octopus. They let out collective disappointing sigh.
"Well...there goes that plan," Sanji sighed.
"Maybe not..." Nami said seriously.
"You mean...we can use this squid to escape?" Chopper asked.
"Well...in they we could...Balloons float with hot air right," Nami stated "if we could get enough hot air to fill the octopus up and somehow launch ourselves into the air again...it should float,"
"But where are we going to do that?" Chopper asked.
"Oh...I have some flame dials and the wind dials are still on the bottom of the ship," Usopp said helpfully.
"But we still need to launch the merry, it won't work without the launch," Nami claimed.
"Hey Usopp...back in the cells when we were rescuing you and Zoro...didn't you say you had an Impact dial?" Sanji asked.
"Huh...yeah I do," Usopp said.
"Could we use that?" Sanji asked.
"Of Course...if it had enough energy," Nami nodded.
"I used it to take some hits from the marine's earlier but...maybe we should have Luffy punch it just encase," Usopp said.
"Okay so we have a plan," Nami said triumphantly "get to work everyone,"
The crew immediately began preparations, Sanji, Zoro, and Chopper with the help of robin's devil fruit power managed to stretch the Octopus and tie it down so it would carry the ship.
Usopp collected the Wind Dials from the base of the merry and handed them and some flame dials out to the rest of the crew, Luffy gave the impact dials a few punches as well just to make sure they would have enough lift.
Robin set up several hands to hold all the wind dials and use them while she herself Connor and Nami used the flame dials to inflate the octopus, slowly the balloon began to take shape.
"It's working...its actually working," Nami said happily.
Usopp had been dragged down to the huge hole in the merry and was forced to be the one to activate the impact dial. He was not happy about it but he could fight against the combined strength of Luffy, Zoro, Sanji and Chopper and they were waiting for Nami to let them know when to launch the ship.
"I don't want to do this," Usopp cried.
"It's your dial," Zoro pointed out.
"But my arm could be blown off," Usopp argued.
"You don't know that," Sanji said.
"Yes I do," Usopp responded.
"That's okay Usopp, if that happen chopper is here and he can just fix your arm for you," Luffy smiled "Right Chopper,"
"Um...yeah...sure," Chopper agreed hesitantly.
"Okay launch the ship now!" Nami voice cried out.
"NOOO!" Usopp cried as he was forced to press his hand against the ground.
The moment he did a huge explosion occurred and the merry shot off the ground soaring into the air.
Jonathans Balcony
Jonathan was watching from his balcony of his office, he had suspected the straw hats would try something but he had not expected them to launch there ship straight up into the sky. He like all the other marines were incredibly shocked at what they had seen.
"H...H...H...How..." Shepard stuttered.
"Huh...so there ship really dose fly with a giant octopus...looks I owe Roanna Zoro an apology," Jonathan said.
"YOU KNEW!" Shepard yelled.
"Well...Roanona Zoro and Luffy did say they're ship flew with a giant octopus. I thought they were on some kind of hallucinogenic," Jonathan admitted sheepishly "I should retract that from my report,"
"THE PIRATES ARE ESCAPING AND YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT PAPER WORK!" Shepard yelled.
"Well I can't very well file a faulty report now can I?" Jonathan said "that would make me look bad,"
"Fine if you won't stop them then i will," Shepard snapped.
He ran into Jonathan's office and then came back out with his Bazooka; he took aim at the Merry.
"Um...Commander I don't think you should..." Jonathan started.
But Sharped fired and the missile flew through the air towards the merry, unfortunately Shepard was aiming where the merry was and not where it was going to be and it ended up hitting one of the higher cannons. An unexpected side effect was the force from the explosion gave the Merry a boost and it flew over the outer wall and further up into the sky leaving the marine base behind.
In a manner of seconds the pirates were out of range.
"I was going to say not to worry because they weren't going to make it over the outer wall...but you just gave them the extra boost they needed," Jonathan sighed.
Anger flashed across Shepard's face, he had had enough of the Vice Admirals attitude and threw his Bazooka on the ground in rage.
"I am reporting this to Hq when i am done none of you will ever serve in any base again, you'll all be dishonourably dismissed," Sharped claimed.
"Okay you do that…just be sure to mention how you interfered with capturing the pirates and that it was your missile that allowed them to escape," Jonathan said casually "oh and let's not forget you ordered my marines to not do their jobs under threat of court martial,"
"How dare you, I am a marine inspector and you will show me the respect I deserve," Shepard demanded.
"Oh you mean you don't like our Base?" Jonathan asked.
"No I do not, I will go up to the Admirals and declare that I am Commander Shepard and this is my least favourite Marine base on the Grand Line(1)," Shepard declared.
Just then Jessica came up behind him and hit the commander on the back of the head with a frying pan knocking the annoying Marine inspector out. She was holding a serving tray with cover over the top.
"Well...you defiantly deserved that," Jonathon commented.
He then looked to his wife.
"What are you doing up here?" Jonathan asked.
"I came to bring you a snack," Jessica claimed and put the tray down on the table. She lifted the cover to reveal a bowl of hot mixed vegetables with lots of Broccoli.
Jonathan groaned.
"Now don't be like that, veggies are good for you," Jessica claimed.
"I know," Jonathan sighed. He then turned to look back out on the horizon in the direction that the straw hats had gone.
Jessica walked over and stood next to him.
"You weren't actually trying to catch those pirates were you," Jessica asked.
"Not really, I like peace and it was clear that they didn't come here intentionally. I was just putting on a show for those who wanted us shut down," Jonathan said.
"I thought so; won't the Admirals be upset that they got away?"
"Well technically it was Shepard's interference that let them escape, besides my captains and Drake have been keeping constant records and reports of how we handled the situation, not to mention we have the security footage to back us up," Jonathan said "if anyone's going to be in trouble it will be Shepard for his meddling,"
"Well as long as he gets what he deserves," Jessica said.
"Hmm...speaking of...please don't tell Drake I was not really trying to capture them...you know how he gets," Jonathan begged.
"I won't...if you eat your broccoli without complaint for the next month," Jessica smiled.
"I suppose I have no choice," Jonathan sighed.
(1) A famous line from the Mass Effect series that I just had to put in.