Episode 4: The Grand Line! Sail to Giygas Island!
Wealth, Fame, Power. Monkey D. Luffy, King of the Pirates had finally achieved it all, his discovery of the legendary treasure One Piece sent millions of men home from the sea as the treasure hunt for Gol D. Roger's fortune came to a close. However not all were spurred to return to land, as for one new group of pirates, now was the time to return to call of the sea. Luffy may be the Pirate King, but that doesn't mean he can't be overthrown, right?
Now it's time to set sail! For a mystery! Dunno where we will go! Or what we're gonna see!
ONE PIECE!
Gotta find a good crew, and I'll work 'em to the bone! Just no time to rest, it's all mine and mine alone!
I've always believed, this is my destiny! To be the greatest pirate the world has ever seen!
If you're NOT on our side, then you better run and hide! We'll defend 'till the end all of our friends! On that you can depend!
Now it's time to set sail! For a mystery! Dunno where we will go! Or what we're gonna see!
We will never give up! The ship or the hunt!
One Hope! One Dream! One Day!
ONE PIECE!
After a few days of sailing, it was finally time for the Buggy-Arlong alliance to reach the Grand Line as the Reverse Mountain and it's bizarre upwards stream came into view. Carefully holding the helm Hachi narrowed his eyes as he tries his best to hold the Sawtooth steady to ensure they didn't crash into the mountain.
"Take her in nice and slow octoboy, you slip up and we all die...no pressure!" Buggy laughed. "Pfft, don't worry I got it! I'm like, the best helmsman ever!" Hachi beamed, spinning the wheel and nearly causing the ship to slam against a big rock sticking out of the water.
"Now might not be the best time to show off Hachi" replied Arlong, standing next to the octopus, "We get one shot to make it through, make it count".
Hachi nodded, firmly holding the helm and narrowing his eyes again while giving a salute. Thankfully he managed to stay his course, as the Sawtooth gracefully sailed under the gate between the Red Line mountains and began to fly up the side of the Reverse Mountain. Standing at the bow and folding his arms, Bellamy adjusted his sunglasses as he looked at the sky and fast approaching clouds, keeping his eyes open the entire time as the clouds and wind whizzed by his face and through his hair, "Heh...Grand Line...here I come." he chuckled. He continued to stand unfazed as the Sawtooth continued to sail up the mountain, until eventually they reached the peak and were guided to sail back down the other side. After just a few minutes, the Buggy-Arlong alliance had finally made it to the Grand Line...their quest was truly beginning now.
"Pretty crazy, huh?" asked Kuroobi, walking over to Bellamy, "Y'know it's been a while since I've actually come back to this part of the world. After we had the whole Arlong Park thing set up we just never saw a reason to go back...aheh...but then we got arrested and locked up for a few years, even after got let out by Buggy it was me and Chew that had to stay back while Arlong went for Hachi...crazy for sure". Bellamy just nodded while still looking forward, replying with a simple "Mhm, crazy".
Having now officially entered the Grand Line by passing the lighthouse, things were calm for a while as the crew went about their usual business. For a few hours everything was calm, until Buggy noticed something while he was sitting in the crow's nest.
"OI! WE GOT SOME COMPANY BOYS, THERE'S A SHIP APPROACHING US OFF THE STARBOARD BOW!" he called out, as the other crew members came outside.
Arlong scoffed as he walked up to the bow, noticing the large ship sailing towards the Sawtooth. It was certainly bigger than the Sawtooth, with fancy mechanical wood carvings and massive sails bearing a flaming skull and crossbones with a pair of rockets instead of bones. "Heh, see boys? That's how we know we're in the Grand Line...not by getting over the Redline, but because it hasn't even been five hours and some jokers are already bearing down on us. Typical humans" he chuckled.
"We gonna go take them on, or are we just gonna try outrun 'em?" asked Bellamy, leaning against the mast. Buggy laughed as he flew down and assembled himself on the deck, "OF COURSE WE'RE GONNA TAKE 'EM ON, IN A FLASHY WAY!" he proudly declared, as Cabaji, Mohji and Richie cheered watching Buggy immediately start firing the cannons.
As the enemy ship grew closer and closer, Arlong, Chew and Kuroobi decided to use their swimming abilities to their advantage, as they merely jumped overboard and swam towards the ship as fast as they could. Leaping out of the water, the enemy crew gasped in surprise as Arlong came crashing onto the deck flexing his muscles. "PREPARE YOURSELF PATHETIC HUMANS! YOU DON'T A CHANCE AGAINST THE SUPERIORITY OF THE FISHMAN RACE!" he cackled.
"O-O-Oh yeah? W-Well that's what you think!" one of the crew members yelled, as he quickly ran over with a sword and slashed it across Arlong's chest...doing no damage to Arlong but breaking the sword. The young man blinked in surprise, "...huh...never mind.".
"SHAHAHA! YOU'LL HAVE TO DO BETTER THAN A PUNY SWORD!" Arlong laughed, as he and the other fishmen began to smash up the ship and pummel the crew to a bloody pulp, swiping any treasure they could find. "Heh, this'll teach you to go after tougher men for fun *chew*" chuckled Chew, as he kicked a sailor overboard. One of the men who was lying on the floor winced in pain as he picked himself off the ground, "...y-you...y-you bastards...won't get away with this! W-When our captain gets back...h-he'll take your heads AND all your gold too!" he spat, coughing up some blood.
Kuroobi scoffed as he stamped on the man's back, "Tough talk for a dude who's entire crew just got blitzed by three fishmen with karate skills". "Oi Kuroobi, go search the hold, would ya?" Arlong called out, "I'm gonna rummage around the captain's quarters and see what kinda loot they got locked up".
Kuroobi nodded and headed below the deck while Chew stood on the main deck overlooking the battered crew to ensure none of them tried to escape or fight back. "Heh, alrighty humans, let's see whatcha got" Kuroobi muttered to himself.
Entering the hold, there wasn't much gold but there was a lot of food and, surprisingly...one young boy locked up in a cell. Raising his eyebrow, Kuroobi walked over and stood outside the cell, grasping the door and casually ripping it off the frames before tossing the iron door aside into the crates of food. "A human boy...hmph..." he walked over and crouched down next to the kid, nudging his shoulder to make him wake up, "Hey you! Human! Look at me right now before I snap your spine in one go!".
The kid nervously looked up at the massive fishman crouching next to him and yelped in surprise as he scuttled into the corner and covered his face, "P-Please! D-Don't hurt me, I-I promise that I can't do anything! Y-You're the muscle man a-and I'm just a boy with nothing special!" he cried in fear. Kuroobi raised an eyebrow, a little surprised but also intrigued, "Hmph...you know I could crush your skull with one hand...but...I'm feelin' a little generous so I won't, for now." he nodded, "Tell me...what's your name kid?".
Baffled but relieved by the mercy he was being shown, the young boy sighed in relief and wiped his forehead, "A-Ah! T-THANK YOU! I-I promise that I can maybe help you i-if you let me outta this cage and take me with you! M-My name is Luca!" he exclaimed, "M-My big brother is a blacksmith on Giygas Island...i-if you can take me home t-then I can ask if he'll make you a cool sword!".
"Hmph...blacksmiths, eh? Giygas Island...hmm..." Kuroobi thought to himself as he stroked his chin, "Luca...hmph...your brother...if me and my crew were to take you this 'Giygas Island' would he hook us all up with free weapons, armour, stuff for our ship?". Luca nodded frantically, "Y-YES! M-My big bro loves pirates, he used to be a captain all by himself with a massive crew years ago before he retired! I-I promise that if you can just take me back home safely a-and not hurt me or anyone else, t-then my big brother will give you whatever you want!".
Kuroobi nodded as heard the poor boy's plea for help, to think that he was showing mercy for a human child like this. Any other time Kuroobi would have just laughed and stomped the life outta him...but...there was something about seeing this child so frightened and begging him for help...and yet his hope that Kuroobi would help him to go home...he found it oddly amusing, but not in the usual way. He felt as if, regardless of the reward, he did want to help this kid out. "Heh...fine! I'll have a talk with my boss and see if he wants to help ya out Kid, but you better not try anything funny, got it?". Luca gasped and immediately clung to the massive fishman by wrapping his arms and legs around his figure while repeatedly thanking him.
Still basically carrying him, Kuroobi went back up to the top of ship and saw that Arlong and the others were already back on the ship, as Hachi had brought the Sawtooth around to the enemy ship in case they found anything. "Just stick with me kid, the others are little rowdy sometimes" he explained, as he hopped back onto the Sawtooth. Hachi spun the helm around as the Sawtooth began sailing off into the distance leaving the enemy ship behind. However as they got further and further away, nobody seemed to notice the faint black smoke trail high in the sky passing over the horizon and going in the direction of the enemy ship.
[Navigation Room - Sawtooth]
"So...uh...what now?" asked Chew, leaning against a wall and smacking his lips. Arlong tapped his chin, as Buggy and Alvida surveyed some of their maps. "As far as I know, none of us actually know where Strawhat is. We just know he's somewhere in the Grand Line" replied Arlong.
"Are we just gonna sail to every single island and hope to God we find him? Is that seriously the plan?" Bellamy scoffed, shaking his head. "No! That's not the plan you goober!" Arlong snapped, "We're just gonna...y'know...we'll...u-uhhhhhh...".
"Uh...guys? Did you all forget about the kid here?" asked Kuroobi, pointing at Luca who was still clinging to him and saying thank you, "I found him on that ship we literally just attacked like...twenty minutes ago".
"Hmm? Yeah yeah yeah, cool story Kuroobi" muttered Chew, who filing his finger nails.
"Y'know according to the map, it says we're near a place called Giygas Island, might be worth checking out since we're running low on supplies and we can dump the kid home too" mused Alvida, who was really just trying to make a suggestion of their first destination having realised Arlong had zero idea on where to actually go. "Giygas Island? Never heard of it...is...is it near Whiskey Peak?" asked Cabaji, hoping that it was so that he could get a chance to party.
Luca nervously shook his head, "I-It's not as far as Whiskey Peak, n-no. I-It's a blacksmithing town! I-I promised my new best friend Mr Fishman that m-my big bro would help you guys get loads of free weapons and stuff i-if you help me go home" he explained. Arlong raised an eyebrow at the suggestion, "Hmm...did you just say Kuroobi is your new best friend?". Bellamy laughed, "Friends with a child?
Arlong's ears perked up hearing this, "A blacksmith town, eh? You mean for things like swords or armour? Hmm...yes...maybe you're right human child, perhaps it could be a good use of our time to make a pitstop". "I'll be sure to take note of the coordinates once we arrive and put them into our log pose" added Alvida.
Luca gasped, "O-OH! Y-You guys really mean it? Y-You wanna help me get home?!" he asked excitedly. Bellamy nodded and ruffled Luca's hair, "Course we'll give ya a hand, despite every one of these guys and Alvida seeming big and scary, really they're just a bunch of idiots with no clue on where we're going". "Say that again double-tap, see what happens!" Alvida and Buggy snapped.
"So it's settled then! I'll go tell Hachi and give him the coordinates, I just hope it won't take us too long to get there" Arlong announced, as he walked out of the navigation room holding some maps.
[Navy Ship "Great Justice" - Grand Line]
Having finally entered the Grand Line, Smoker was working on trying to locate where the Buggy-Arlong alliance could have possibly gone. Though he knew where the Strawhats had set up their base, he assumed that the pirates he was chasing didn't and as such they could potentially be going anywhere. As he sat behind his desk, three light knocks were heard on his office door as Dan walked in and gave a salute.
"Admiral Smoker Sir, our lookouts and radio operators just picked up a sighting of an enemy ship that seems to be making it's way to the blacksmith town Giygas Island" Dan explained.
Smoker raised an eyebrow and took out his cigars, "Hmph...I see...is it Arlong and Buggy?". Dan shook his head, "Unfortunately not, our intel officers have identified the ship and confirmed it to be the "Crash N' Burn", the ship used by Runner Gunsten, Captain of the Jettison Pirates". "Really now? Hmm...interesting" Smoker mused.
Reaching into his desk, Smoker pulled out a file and started flipping through the pages until eventually landing on Gunsten's wanted poster, showing his menacing smirk. "He's a little far out from his usual stomping grounds, isn't he? What's a guy like Gunsten doing all the way out here near the entrance to the Grand Line...hmph...I wonder".
Dan tapped his chin, "Judging by the state of his ship when our lookouts spotted it, it appears that he must have gotten into a massive battle. Maybe he's trying to take a break and rebuild his strength and supplies up before heading back into the heart of the Grand Line. If I remember correctly, he was making a push to try and defeat Monkey D. Luffy but ran into trouble against the Strawhat Grand Fleet's highest ranked captain Bartolomeo the Cannibal". Smoker nodded, being sure to take down notes about all this information. "Hmm...well regardless of his reason for being here, Gunsten is still a highly wanted criminal with a high bounty. If we're quick, we can take him down and then get back to chasing after Arlong and Buggy". Dan nodded and gave a salute, "Yes Sir, Admiral Smoker Sir!".
[Two Days Later - Giygas Island]
The journey was much quicker than expected, as the Sawtooth came to a stop in the harbour of the Cast-Iron Village. Luca was standing excitedly by the railings while babbling about how grateful he was that the pirates had brought him home safely. Kuroobi stood next to him and laughed while ruffling Luca's hair, "Relax kid, or else I'll change my mind and send you back to those punks I rescued you from". Luca quickly shut up, not knowing that Kuroobi was just joking.
"SO...who's gonna go sort out the weapons and extra gear, eh?" asked Cabaji, as he pealed an apple with a knife. "I'll drop the kid home and sort out everything, no sweat" replied Kuroobi. "I'll go too, I could do with stretching my legs a little, y'know?" added Bellamy. "I too will join you, it would be nice to see if this village has any clothing stores for me to update my wardrobe" said Alvida.
Arlong rolled his eyes, "Wow, not even one of you mentioned the fact that I should go too? Hmph...rude" he muttered as he folded his arms.
Having left Buggy in charge of the ship with the remaining crew, Arlong, Bellamy, Alvida and Kuroobi followed Luca as he lead them through the village to his home. The town was small, being the only one on the island, yet all around were old stone houses and buildings full of fires and clanging metals as blacksmiths were working all around them. The heat especially was causing a bit of discomfort for Arlong and Kuroobi, since the constant fires all around made the island's temperature incredibly high and removed any moisture that might have been in the air.
"H-Here it is! Right here!" Luca exclaimed, as the group approached a large workshop. Walking around to the back, Luca gasped and ran towards a man who was hammering a sword on an anvil, "B-BIG BRO!". He quickly ran over and clung to the man who was working, making him yell in annoyance. However when he noticed that it was his little brother, he just laughed and shook his head.
"Luca? Heh...'bout time you came back, I was wonderin' where you ran off to" he chuckled. "You're the kid's brother, eh?" asked Kuroobi, folding his arms. The man turned around with a raised eyebrow and cocky expression, "Heh...you bet...name's Bill. Lemme guess...you guys rescued this little dingus from those pirates who took him, hmm?".
Arlong nodded, "That's correct, one of our crew members found the kid locked up in the hold of a ship we busted up...and if I remember correctly...the kid promised us that you would sort me and all my men out with free equipment if we got him home safe" he explained with a grin, "As you can clearly see, he's back home safe so...looks like it's time to pay the pipers".
Bill laughed and nodded, "Heh...really now? Well...aheh...I got a few orders to handle first...two guys who are looking to be pirates are stopping by any second now to pick those up" he explained, pointing at a massive set of golden armour and some gloves with long swords on each finger hanging up on the other side of the garage, "Think you can wait a while before I get to work?".
"Sure, we ain't in a rush" replied Bellamy, "After all, as a craftsman myself I know the importance of not rushing work y'know?". Bill smiled and gave Bellamy a thumbs up, "Heh...amen to that brother...us tradesmen gotta stick together after all, right?".
Alvida leaned against one of the wooden pillars in the garage that held up the roof, "Hmm...those gloves and armour...I feel like I've seen them from somewhere but...I can't seem to remember where..." she mused, "Bill, I don't suppose the men who had you make these things came from...the East Blue? Pirates perhaps?". Bill laughed, "Aheh! Yeah, they actually were!" he exclaimed, as two men appeared outside the driveway walking towards the house. Both were quite tall, with one being incredibly large and muscular while the other was deathly skinny and kept pushing up his glasses with the palm of his hand.
Bellamy noticed them out of the corner of his eyes, standing out of the way as the two men casually pushed past Arlong, Kuroobi and Alvida. The large man smirked and raised an eyebrow as he looked at the fabulous gold armour, "Bill...from a first impression, this looks to be high quality...I assume you only used Wootz steel as I requested, and got all my gear to fit inside?" he asked, knocking his knuckles against the chest plate.
"Heh...you bet I did, not a problem my man...no job is too big or too complicated for me" Bill chuckled, as he picked up a chunk of iron ore and...took a massive bite out of it, causing his abs and stomach to glow a warm orange hue as steam vented from his body.
"A part of me wonders" began the tall skinny man with glasses, "Why are you still working in the middle of nowhere, Bill? Surely such a powerful man who used to be such a powerful pirate would be a wonderful ally for us". Bill chuckled and shook his head, "Not a chance, I finished with piracy years ago...this...this is just so much better if you ask me, at least with blacksmithing I'm making my own cash and living peacefully".
Arlong, Kuroobi, Alvida and Bellamy watched the interaction between the three men in confusion, unsure of who they were exactly but they were surprised at Bill's strange snack choice and the mention of him being a retired pirate. As the two men suited up however, Arlong and Alvida began to realise who they were...and of course, the two men recognised them.
The large man glanced at Arlong with a smirk, "Well well well...looks like the fishman real estate agent is back out in the free world...interesting". Arlong scoffed and folded his arms, "You...never thought I'd run into your punk ass again...what's an old man like you doing with such fancy armour again? Have you forgotten that your prime was long ago in the past?". "You say that like you were the King of Success, Arlong" snarked the man with glasses, as he twiddled the massive swords attached the fingers of his gloves.
"Maybe...or maybe not...my prime is when I decide it is..." the large man smirked, "Because even though I'm older than I once was...and even though I've been out of action for a couple of decades...I decided I'm heading back to the sea! After all...have you forgotten that the world's strongest man...is none other than ME?!" he laughed. [Former East Blue Pirate - Don Krieg/ Former Bounty - 17,000,000] [Former East Blue Pirate - Kuro of a Hundred Plans/ Former Bounty - 16,000,000]
Bellamy raised his eyebrow as he watched the tension rise between Arlong, Krieg and Kuro, as Alvida was also shooting the two former pirates dirty looks as well. "Arlong, you know these two?" he asked, taking off his sunglasses. Alvida nodded, "We both do...these two used to be some of the most infamous pirates in the East Blue a few decades ago. If my memory serves me correctly, they were some of the first pirates Monkey D. Luffy ever managed to defeat when he first began his quest to become King of the Pirates" she explained.
Bellamy nodded, looking Krieg and Kuro up and down, "Ah, riiight...uh...hmph...so you guys musta been weak as hell if you were only big in the East Blue. What sorta bounties were you rocking? 500 berris or 1,000?!" he laughed. In an instant, Kuro swiped one of his massive sword gloves, holding his blades inches away from Bellamy's neck. "I'll have you know...I was worth 16,000,000 in my heyday...and was known as the smartest man in the entire East Blue, only one plan I've made in my life has ever failed" Kuro spat.
"Only 16,000,000?" Bellamy scoffed, "Well I'll have you know that my first bounty was 55 million! And before I retired, I was worth 195,000,000!".
"He's not lying" added Bill, who was casually watching the interaction unfold in front of him while he munched on some iron ore, "In fact...Kuro...Krieg...heh...these guys are worth waaay more than the both of you used to be y'know..." he chuckled, as he glanced at Bellamy, Arlong, Alvida and Kuroobi, "I take you all saw your recent bounties that came out a few days ago, right?".
Of course, the group hadn't. So Bill walked inside his home and came back out with a newspaper which he handed to Arlong. Crowding around the paper, the pirates all flipped through until they reached the section for wanted posters. As expected the Buggy-Arlong alliance members were all in awe at their recent bounty increases.
"WOAH! 210,000,000?!" Bellamy exclaimed, "AHAHA-HAHA! THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN' ABOUT!". Arlong smirked, "80,000,000 eh? Hmph, not bad for my first bounty after getting outta Impel Down...but it could always be higher".
Kuro and Krieg both looked at each other and rolled their eyes. "Hmph...whatever, we're only getting back into the swing of things. We'll both have the world's highest bounties before you know it" Krieg declared, smacking a fist against his Wootz armour chest plate, "After all, I'M DON KRIEG! THE WORLD'S STRONGEST MAN BY FAR!". "When the strongest man joins forces with the smartest man, losing is a factor that never has to be considered because it'll never happen" Kuro smirked.
"Heh, such idiocy from such weak humans, having to really purely on cheap trinkets and accessories in order to appear strong" Arlong scoffed. "HEY! I'll have you know my products are top of the line!" Bill snapped.
"Are you guys gonna try and fight us?" asked Bellamy, putting his sunglasses back on.
Kuro shook his head, "Of course not. We're hardly going to scuff up our new equipment before even having them for an hour...especially against pirates with such vastly higher bounties than anything we've ever had" he explained, as Krieg paid Bill for their order. As the two men started walking away, Krieg glanced back with a smirk, "Whether you punks like it or not, we will meet again and fight for real to truly determine who has the strongest will and strongest power of man".
As Krieg and Kuro departed, the crew was left in a more moody vibe. "Hmph, those guys were assholes! What's their deal?" Bellamy asked. Arlong shook his head, "Nothing but ego, those two will never be anything more than talk. They don't even have devil fruits, they only have dumb weapons and armour to rely on".
Bill smacked Arlong over the back of the head, "Insult my craft ONE MORE TIME and our deal is off, sushi boy!" he yelled, eating another chunk of iron ore as his abs steamed and radiated intense heat.
"Bill dude...why...uh...why are you eating stuff?" Bellamy asked, scratching his head. "Hmm? Oh...heh...I ate the Smelt-Smelt Fruit a few years ago, so I'm a Blast Furnace human...heh...when I eat stuff like iron ore, I can melt it down...and do this!" he explained, as he plunged a hand straight into his melting abs and pulled out a gigantic flaming sword made entirely of iron, with the flames vanishing in an instant as he dipped the blade into a barrel of water. Bill grinned as he held up the sword he'd made, "Pretty neat, huh?".
Arlong, Bellamy and Alvida were all in awe at the display. It was certainly a unique devil fruit when compared to Bellamy and Alvida's abilities, and certainly seemed to be perfect for Bill's job as a blacksmith. "Y-Yeah! Yeah it's really cool man!" Bellamy exclaimed, "Can...can you do that again? What other stuff can you make?". Bill laughed and shook his head, eating some more iron ore and digging around in his abs as he pulled out different spears, swords and axes made entirely of molten iron and steel.
[Meanwhile inside the House]
"C'mon Kuroobi! Make your move already!" Luca whined. He had dragged Kuroobi away from the group as soon as Arlong started talking to Bill earlier, and now the two were sitting at the kitchen table playing chess. Kuroobi rubbed his chin, "Hmm...is...uh...i-is it this piece?" he asked, lifting up the king. Luca shook his head, "No! You gotta move a pawn first!". "Hmph...why is this so confusing..." Kuroobi muttered to himself.
[Giygas Island Bay - Approaching the Port]
As the waves crashed against the rocks, a battered ship lurched along as it approached the harbour of the village. A battered crew member noticed the Sawtooth sitting in the port and called out to the men below on the deck. One of the men ran into the captain's quarters yelling, "C-Captain! W-We found them! The lookouts spotted the ship those bastards were using in the port!".
The captain was sitting in this big chair facing away from the door as he sat behind his desk. He took a long drag from his cigarette and laughed, while sipping a black murky liquid from his mug, "Ahh...excellent...that's very good to hear...have no fear, tell the rest of the crew that I'll see to it that we pummel those motherfuckers into oblivion. After all...like the wind generated by the roaring blades of a jet engine, this'll be a breeze" he mused ominously in his cocky yet deep and commanding voice. [Captain of the Jettison Pirates - Runner Gunsten/ Current Bounty - 600,000,000]
{TO BE CONTINUED}
