I don't own Naruto or One Piece, seriously how many times must I say this? Oh right, as many times as it takes so I don't end up in the slammer. I'm too pretty for jail!
"Talk"
'Think'
Authors Note: To my fans, God I'm so sorry. I really cannot express how bad I feel for making you all wait for an update. 2022 honestly kicked my ass worse than 2020 and 2021 combined. Between personal tragedies (RIP grandpa and Kevin Conroy), quitting my old job that was literally killing me (seriously, I spent six months busting my ass to lose 35 unneeded pounds that put me in the morbidly obese category), moving to a new city, new place (that sucks ass) getting a new job, working on my health (40 more pounds to go!) I've barely had time to sit down and write jack. Doesn't help I've been trying to become an extrovert instead of a recluse...this goes against my nature by the way.
Anyways, enough about my bullshit. I'll do my best to update again, not for only this story but the two others. You guys aren't getting rid of me that easily. But please be patient, I want to live in order to do this. I can't do that if my heart gives out because I'm so fat that bending down to tie my shoes knocks the wind out of me...which happened by the way. Fuck, I really can't wait to be fit again.
Meeting Ace again was a bit of a letdown. The jackass hit the shore and flew into a sand dune, it turned out he fell asleep after destroying those dozen ships. Seriously, how lame is that? I smacked him silly before he launched me into the sea with a sucker punch. No that did not count as a fight. But the two of us did not have a rematch, he refused because I was not exactly in the best condition to fight due to Alabasta messing with my gills. I was upset but went along with it. We would fight again and this time I would kick his butt!
After fixing up our ship as best as we could (or at least the people under me did) Ace left, and I seriously hope he doesn't fall asleep again, we all split up. Bashura, Gin, Shizune and I were going to head to Yuba if I recall correctly. Goldenweek, Kotetsu, Igaram, Carmen and those Idiot Brothers went to Nanohana.
Now I'm not going to lie. I fucking Hate the desert! There were giant scorpions, trap door spiders, ambushes from Baroque Works members. Honestly, I barely remember the trek to Yuba. We met the Straw Hats there. Talk about awkward when Vivi saw us again. Now what happened during the trek there and in Yuba itself is going to be between me and everyone else, I'm not putting it on paper. But let us just say...well, there was a little bit of drama between my group on the way there, and other things afterwards.
That honestly didn't matter after we left Yuba. "Sir" Crocodile, or should I say Mr. 0 the leader of Baroque Works met us. The smug bastard was one of the Shichibukai, Seven Warlords of the Sea or simply the Seven Warlords, whatever you want to call them. A pirate who had his bounty frozen and became a stooge for the World Government to become on to the Three Powers to keep the world in balance. I'll tell you one thing; Crocodile did not take the position for a noble reason like Jinbe. He used his Logia devil fruit the Sand-Sand Fruit to defeat Luffy and create a tornado to send us flying to what felt like the four corners of Alabasta.
No, I do not consider this a loss or even a fight either. Luffy fought against him, I was literally a bystander who got caught up in their squabble. But I'm not going to lie, I think I came close to death that time. My body was dried out, my gills filled with sand. I know I grabbed Vivi, Chopper and Nami of all people to keep them safe. And it was Nami herself who kept me cool with some odd staff she had until we were rescued.
Who we were rescued by though still shocks me to this day. The Revolutionary Army was in Alabasta.
Mariejois did not exactly inspire fond feelings within The Knight of the Sea. Not only did it remind him that his species failed to make their appearance due to Queen Otohime's tragic death, but it reminded him of his first time there as the newest member of the Shichibukai to watch after the Kings and Queens as they bickered and discussed what was going on in the world.
Approaching the doors to the meeting room Jinbe closed his eyes and imagined himself somewhere other than here. He had grown complacent by being in Fishman Island for long periods of time, seeing his crew on a daily basis, speaking to the King and easing his worries, and most importantly finding himself as a regular at the Mermaid Cafe.
It wasn't the food or drink that kept him coming, but it was the company. Each time he spoke with Madame Shyarly he felt lighter on his feet like a great burden was lifted off his shoulders. It caused a pit of guilt to form in his stomach, the fact he was feeling joyful around Arlong's sister, while he was responsible for his demise.
Perhaps when more time passed, he could sort out what was going on with him. But for now, had his duties to perform, so with some reluctance he opened the doors.
Immediately he was greeted by the form of an elderly woman. She was tall, thin, with gray hair tied in a bun. Her attire seemed to be less formal with her shirt untucked, the sleeves rolled up and a colorful tie around her neck, along with calf-length pants. The old woman had earrings made of beads and wore two bracelets on her right wrist. The epaulets on her Marine coat were golden for the outer and purple with two white dots for the inner.
He knew of this woman as Vice Admiral Tsuru, also known as the "Great Advisor" for her decades of experience and her sharp tactical mind. It didn't help that she had a remarkably useful devil fruit that literally allowed her to disable pirates and get their evil hearts to become fainter and cleaner.
The second was the largest person in the room. Standing nearly twenty-three feet tall reading a bible. His overall appearance was reminiscent of a bear. His hat featured a pair of rounded ears, and, along with the gray fabric of his pants, was covered in brown spots. His black jacket had a large white design reminiscent of a target crosshair or a coda sign on it along with several white paw prints lining the bottom hem of the coat. His chin was also rather large and protruding and his eyes appeared to be hidden behind reflective glasses.
He knew this man to be "Tyrant" Bartholomew Kuma, a former Revolutionary Officer and one of the most loyal members of the Shichibukai.
The third was kicking his long legs back on the table. He was ten feet tall, light blond-haired, very lean and muscular with tan skin. His attire was certainly unique and flamboyant with a pair of curved, thin white sunglasses with rep lenses and a light pink feathered flamingo coat. Under it he wore an open white shirt with red stripes, a green belt, and orange pants with white stripes. He also wears black dress shoes that were somewhat pointed.
Jinbe had the unfortunate chance to meet "Heavenly Yaksha" Donquixote Doflamingo once in his life when he first became a member of the Shichibukai. That was one time too many, especially when he used his devil fruit to control two Marines and tried to have them kill each other for his sadistic enjoyment.
The next, and last most important person in the room, and one Jinbe knew to never cross. He was a tall, fair-skinned, and muscular man with a long, braided goatee and a mustache both matching the black color of his hair. His cap covered his hair, he had black-rimmed glasses and a white and gold full Marine Admiral uniform that was adorned with medals from his decades of service. The most distinctive features of his uniform were a life-size seagull on top of his cap, and his oversized Marine coat which he wore like a cape. His coat had the kanji for '"Justice", in blue, emblazoned on the back, and had uniquely colored cuffs, both being white.
This man was the Fleet Admiral of the Marines, Sengoku. The man was one of the living legends of the Marines, and one of the few who barely tolerated pirates working under the World Government.
Then of course he took the view of an imposing six foot six form of a human male who was lean, and muscular. He had black hair, a short beard, mustache and sideburns that pointed upwards and strangely colored yellow eyes, which resembled a hawk's eyes. He wore black and red ornate clothing with a crucifix pendant around his neck, a wide-brimmed black hat decorated with a large plume, and a long, open black coat with no shirt underneath, with red, flower-patterned sleeves and collar. He also wore white pants held up by a decorated belt and tucked inside overly large boots in comparison to his leg size.
But of course, what set the man apart from everyone in the room was the sword on his back. It was A Western-looking sword, that was a cruciform and well-ornate weapon with a curved, single-edged, black blade—resembling an oversized kriegsmesser. It was one of the Twelve Supreme Grade Blades, a sword that suited the man perfectly.
Jinbe would be a fool to not recognize Dracule "Hawk Eyes" Mihawk. The undisputed Strongest Swordsman in the World.
"Jinbe?" Sengoku looked over at the new arrival with surprise on his face. "Pardon my rudeness but I'm surprised you actually answered the summons."
"I ignored the last couple of summons due to my prior engagements. I intend to make up for it now, especially since recent events have even reached Fishman Island." Jinbe replied before he took a seat that was a respectful distance from them, but still close enough to be attentive.
"Ah yes, Fishman Island. A place you're very tied to, not to mention a lackey under Whitebeard." Doflamingo said, his tongue soon hanging from the side of his mouth. A sick demented grin soon formed on his face. "I would love to visit sometime…once the old coot kicks the bucket."
"Over my dead body." Jinbe glared at the flamboyant man.
"That's the plan, Knight of the Sea."
"That is quite enough Doflamingo. We are here to discuss the future of the Shichibukai, with "Sir" Crocodile's status being revoked we are in need of a new member." Tsuru stopped any sort of confrontation before it could start.
"The Vice Admiral is correct, there has already been a power vacuum in some areas of the Grand Line." Mihawk looked over at Jinbe from his position at the table. This was the first time they met in person, and so far, he didn't have anything good or bad to say about the whale shark fishman.
"That is an understatement. When Crocodile's crimes came to light many pirates became more emboldened." Sengoku gritted his teeth. "I've had several reports of up-and-coming pirates that have caused nothing but misery."
"We are aware, Fleet Admiral." Kuma said. "So far Eustass "Captain" Kid and "Massacre Soldier" Killer of the Kid Pirates have been causing carnage from the South Blue all the way up the Grand Line. We also have Capone "Gang" Bege of the Five Families of the West becoming a pirate. Then there is "Surgeon of Death" Trafalgar Law…even recently we lost one of our own Rear Admiral X Drake."
Doflamingo laughed uproariously. "Sususu! How the mighty have fallen, I wonder who's next? Perhaps a Vice Admiral?" He eyed Tsuru with a mocking grin.
"That is quite enough…now we were going to…" Sengoku looked like he was about to lose his lunch. "Continue discussing who is going to take his place. So far, we have only discussed one candidate. A man known as Teach."
"Teach?" Jinbe raised an eyebrow at the name.
"Yes, he's the Captain of the Blackbeard Pirates." Tsuru calmly replied.
"I have never heard of him." Jinbe frowned. This wasn't exactly true, the name was ringing a bell in his head, but he couldn't put a face to the name. "If he doesn't have a bounty or any notoriety, how can he possibly keep other pirates in check?"
"That was asked in the last summons, we made some minor discussions but didn't purposely diverge anything confidential." Mihawk said, almost as if he was bored. "I believe this meeting is to discuss real candidates Sengoku?"
"Yes, without an eavesdropper we can get to it. The first candidate should be some of the more recent pirates that have been causing havoc in the world." Sengoku pinched the bridge of his nose. "For starters, I am completely opposed to the Kid Pirates. I don't want them captured; I want every single one of them dead."
"Agreed." Tsuru seconded. "They have caused nothing but death and misery."
"I can assume that you are also crossing off the Fire Tank Pirates?" Jinbe asked.
"I'm glad you're keeping up with current events." Sengoku said. "That is correct, given Bege's violent past and equally violent present in how he obtains power and crew members I would rather he be taken down."
"How about "Surgeon of Death" Trafalgar Law?" Mihawk said. "His past is a mystery, but I hear he has made a huge name for himself, especially with his two-hundred million beli bounty in such a short time."
"Law is a possibility, but he is notoriously hard to find." Tsuru looked over the few notes they had on him. "From what we've gathered he has no family, no home to call his own, his means of transportation is a submarine, and he is known to have a member of the Mink Tribe with him."
"Now that is interesting, those species are only found in the New World. I wonder how a wet behind the ears pirate got ahold of him?" Even though he was smiling, Doflamingo was inwardly trying to remember where he heard the name Trafalgar Law. It was beginning to grate his nerves.
"We do have another option, perhaps the one who defeated Crocodile in the first place. I believe his name was Monkey D. Luffy?" Tsuru mentioned the name of the one who caused them all this grief to begin with.
"That is out of the question!" Senkogu bellowed. "We cannot bring in the pirate that exposed how fragile the Seven Warlords of the Sea really are. No…we can't do it."
"There is the possibility of another one." Mihawk closed his eyes in thought before opening them again to settle them on Jinbe. "I believe he's well known by now in some circles. I believe he is known as "Sword of the Sea" Uzumaki Naruto."
"Sususu! Another Fishman? I think Jinbe might feel threatened." Doflamingo laughed.
"His record does present a good case." Tsuru brought up what they knew about the tiger shark fishman. "Obviously he's from Fishman Island and is well trained in the art of Fishman Karate. He's strong enough to take out the entirety of the Arlong Pirates who were the undisputed strongest crew in the East Blue."
"But he also killed Marines, Captains Nezumi and Stark were killed by him along with a great many Ensigns and Petty Officers and Seamen." Sengoku protested with narrowed eyes.
"He also revealed Nezumi's corruption by working with "Saw-Tooth" Arlong. He indirectly caused the deaths of many people in the Coami Islands for over eight years, one being a former Marine by the name of Belle-mere, a woman I personally had under my command once upon a time ago." Tsuru said with narrowed eyes. "From the interviews that I did myself with the villagers, Nezumi would have killed them all to cover up his disgraceful actions. Captain Stark was just plain unlucky, then again Unit Thirteen always was considered a cursed unit."
"Oh, but there is more." Doflamingo's grin turned absolutely malicious. "This Uzumaki kid, he has a decent crew with him. Former Ensign Kotetsu who massacred all of Iron Island, Don Krieg's former Combat Commander, some giant savage, a world famous chef, some doctor who uses poisons, and of course a former member of the Baroque Works who broke out all but four people from her former organization who went on a one-way trip to Impel Down."
"I even heard he killed the formerly thought to be dead Kuro of the Black Cat Pirates." Mihawk added in his two cents. "Of course, that was from the Marine grapevine when I was traveling."
"I will not confirm, nor deny this." Sengoku said with the straightest face he could muster. Inwardly he would have to send some sort of notification to all branches to remind the Marines to keep their mouths shut when it came to events like this.
"What do you think, Jinbe?" Tsuru turned towards the whale shark fishman. "I know this might be difficult for you, but-"
"No, he is a pirate and even if he is a member of my species, I do not condone what he has done." Closing his eyes, Jinbe mentally apologized to his student for what he was about to do. "Uzumaki Naruto would not be a good candidate. While powerful, given his atrocious acts of violence towards the populace he would be more of a liability than an asset."
"Even after everything he did in Alabasta?" Sengoku asked.
"One act of goodwill does not wash the blood off his hands. I read the same reports as all of you, and he was responsible for a great many casualties in that civil war. They might have been Baroque Works members, but blood is still blood."
Tsuru sighed and closed Uzumaki's file. "Then he is off the table and still wanted dead or alive. Now our next case, Sengoku, what is the progress regarding former Marine "Axe-Hand" Morgan?"
"Considering this is a mess Vice Admiral Garp caused, I had him and those two new apprentices of his clean up the mess and do a massive manhunt for the former Marine Captain." Sengoku mentally cursed Garp's carelessness for falling asleep on such an important mission. "He is ordered to capture him alive so he can be taken to Enes Lobby to be executed."
Jinbe soon tuned out the rest of the meeting. Lost in thought about what he did to his apprentice. 'I'm Sorry Naruto, this is cruel of me, but I don't want you to be a lapdog for the World Government like I am. They can never discover your secret…that I am your teacher, or the power that rests inside you…Queen Otohime will never forgive me. Stay safe and free my boy, and for the love of God please don't cause any more trouble.'
(Water 7)
'What in the world did I do in a past life to deserve this?' This was not the first time Naruto asked himself this question. In fact, he asked himself this question more times than what was necessary, perhaps it was because he was born under an unlucky star, perhaps it was what he did to Fukaboshi, or perhaps he was simply unlucky.
Out of all the hotels in Water 7 they had to run into the Straw Hat Pirates.
However, they weren't the happy go-lucky annoyances Naruto was somewhat used to. That was their calling card, and even his grumpy ass eventually warmed up to their antics after what they all went through in Alabasta. Instead, there was an aura of depression surrounding them.
"Oh, hey, it's you guys." Sanji greeted them with a tired wave.
That was an immediate red flag. Sanji was always full of energy and gleefully flirted with the females of their crew; with the exception of Marianne, apparently, she was not "well developed" like the other women.
"Hey." Naruto greeted them with a small wave of his hand. "So…you're the crew that arrived not too long ago."
"So, you met Monster Granny." Everyone developed a sweat-drop from Luffy's description of Kokoro. That was honestly rude, and Naruto really fought the urge to beam the Straw Hat Captain over the head.
"Yes, we met Kokoro." Bashura said, ignoring the rude remark of the homely woman. "She got us in here without too much trouble."
That was an outright lie, she did nothing besides give them a crappy map. No one wanted to correct him though.
Zoro opened one of his eyes and looked at the crew. "I see you got two new people."
"We sure did." Carmen stepped to the side and gestured towards the disguised Vivi and smiling Donovan. "The young woman here is Kujaku. We picked her up several days after leaving Alabasta. And this is Donovan, he-"
"I remember you!" Both Nami and Sanji pointed at the shipwright. "You belonged to that jerk Foxy!"
"Bwahaha!" Donovan laughed in glee. "You're not wrong, I used to be a shipwright under the Foxy Pirates. But Gin here got challenged to a Davy Back Fight, they won and recruited me!"
"He's loyal to a fault, a little odd, but he repaired our ship enough to get here without sinking." Naruto honestly didn't want to think about what could have happened without the man. He really didn't want to carry the ship all the way to Water 7.
"Aw Captain, you're making me blush!"
"So, what does Kujaku do? She doesn't exactly look tough." Luffy absently asked.
"Hold up, before you start demanding about members of our crew, where the hell is that long-nosed bastard?" Gin gestured to the one missing member of the Straw Hat Pirates.
If anything, the mood seemed to plummet until a rain cloud of depression hovered over each of their heads. It honestly caused Naruto and the others to snap their heads towards Gin in irritation.
"Usopp…he…he…" Chopper began sniffing, large tears falling from his eyes. "He got hurt when we got robbed by the Franky Family. And we also lost Robin somewhere and…and…wahhhh!"
Never in his entire life did Naruto ever think he would see a reindeer cry. He certainly didn't like it one bit. "Whoa easy, start from the beginning."
"We were robbed, two-hundred million beli was stolen in an instant. Members of the Franky Family targeted us from the start." Nami started off with one of the worst pieces of news that started their day of misery.
"Then we learned that the Merry couldn't be fixed. Her keel is damaged and won't be able to even get us to the next island." Sanji placed a fresh cigarette in his mouth and lit it.
"After that we found Usopp bloody and beaten. We found the Franky Family and kicked their asses." Zoro closed his eyes once again.
"But before that we lost…we lost Robin, I-I can't find out where she went!" Chopper began blubbering once again.
"And after we decided to buy a new ship Usopp completely freaked out." Luffy's straw hat covered his eyes. "I understand why…the Merry is our friend, but we can't continue without a ship. He demanded a fight at eleven o' clock for ownership of the Merry." He looked over at the clock in the lobby. "We got one more hour."
With their busy day the members of the Ocean Sword Pirates honestly lost track of time, they didn't even notice the time of day, or should it be night now? But that wasn't the main thing they even had questions about.
For one, how the hell did they have worse luck than them? The second one was who was this Robin person? Well, actually, several of them had a good idea who she was, but how or why Nico Robin joined them was a gigantic red flag.
Naruto looked over at Marianne and knew that he wasn't exactly one to talk. They took her in as a member of their crew after a little bit of complaint, but she proved her worth. Perhaps Nico Robin did the same thing? Looking over at Vivi, however, while she was covered head to toe, he could feel the anger rolling off of her.
Again, who could blame her? Robin was one of the reasons her country devolved into a civil war. She was openly hostile towards Zala and the others, and somewhat tolerated Marianne. Shaking those useless thoughts from his head Naruto focused his attention on Luffy, Captain to Captain.
"What are you going to do?" He bluntly asked Luffy. "Are you really going to fight him for control of a broken down ship?"
"I have no choice. As Captain I need to discipline my crew if the situation calls for it." Looking at the clock again the rubber man sighed. "It's time to go."
Without another word Luffy and his crew left the hotel lobby. The aura of gloom soon disappeared with them.
"Shit. I heard about a crew loving their ships, but this is beyond ridiculous." Gin broke the ice by stating the obvious. What he did not expect was Donovan slapping the back of his head.
"Hey! Don't you dare make fun of their feelings for their ship." Gone was his smile and was replaced with a frown. "When a crew spends months at sea, they call their ship home. They aren't losing a means of transportation, but their home Gin!" The shipwright turned on his heel and stormed towards the exit.
"Donovan, where are you going?" Carmen asked.
"I'm going to follow them and see this through. Their ship might not be mine, but I am going to see this through for them." The large shipwright barged through the doors and disappeared from sight.
"Naruto, what are you going to do about this?" Bashura asked.
"Not my circus, not my monkeys." Naruto replied. "Leave them be, I'm going to get us a few rooms to rest in."
"Naruto…that's heartless." Vivi frowned behind her mask.
"It's not our problem to interfere with another crew's business- Hey where are you going?" The blonde fishman demanded when Vivi started to follow after Donovan.
"After them of course, they're hurting. Even if I can't reveal myself to them, I won't let them suffer alone!"
"Aw hell, I might as well go after them as well." It came to a great surprise when Gin walked after Vivi. Turning to enjoy their stunned looks he only gave them a smirk. "I may be part of your crew Naruto, but that perverted chef of theirs saved my life way before I met you. I at least owe it to them to see this through for better or worse."
Carmen let out a sigh and followed after the First Mate. "I'll follow as well. Honestly, it's better than staying here."
The rest of the crew soon departed, leaving Naruto alone at the reception desk. It caused the tiger shark fishman no amount of frustration, he could understand Vivi wanting to see them, to even help them. But Gin, Carmen and the others? Seriously, was he really being the asshole here?
"Humans, just when I think I understand them I am dead wrong." The blonde turned towards the receptionist and reached into his hip pouch. "Hey, how much is a room here? I got four women and five guys. I'd like to have a room for myself, please."
(Just outside Water 7 - 11PM)
The members of the Ocean Sword Pirates arrived just in time to see Luffy standing across the rocky field where a heavily bandaged Usopp was standing across from him. The city of Water 7 at his back while the Going Merry was at Luffy's back. They stood on the docks with the other members of the Straw Hat Pirates to watch the impending fight.
The wind blew causing dust to rise above the intended battlefield. Everyone held their breath as the Captain and the sniper of the crew faced off against each other.
"Tell me, why are they fighting over this ship?" Gin asked Zoro. It was common knowledge that the green-haired swordsman was the first to join up and was with Luffy the longest, he would know the full details.
"Mmm?" Zoro looked over at Gin before answering. "Long story short, after defeating Kuro this girl Kaya, a friend of Usopp's, gifted the Merry to us. We've been with the ship ever since, and after learning she was going to sink all this started to happen."
"Ah, I see…so basically the girl he loves or at least deeply cares for gave them a gift and doesn't want to part with it." Gin replied with a frown on his face.
"Not exactly…but pretty much."
Vivi knew this information as well, she had spent weeks on the Going Merry and was sad to see her in such a sorry state. The fact Usopp and Luffy were fighting made this so much worse. She just gripped the rails of the ship and prayed this would not end in a broken friendship.
"So, you didn't lose your nerve after all." Luffy simply stated. "No matter how this battle ends you can't regret it. This is exactly what you asked for!"
"That's perfect." Usopp glared at his Captain. "Don't go easy on me, I won't be the underdog this time. In fact, I already figured out a way to defeat you."
'Yeah right.' Bashura mentally said to himself. Ever since Cactus Island he developed a disliking for the long-nosed sniper. He was too full of himself and a liar to boot.
"Luffy we've been friends for a long time, I know all your strengths and all your weaknesses. I am not like any opponent you have ever faced. But most of all…" Usopp said in a serious voice before loudly exclaiming. "I have eight thousand men on my side! If you don't surrender, I will order them to attack!"
'Liar.' Everyone with a brain called out the outright lie.
"What! why didn't he tell me!?" Chopper screamed out in surprise. Apparently, he was the only one gullible enough to believe him.
"Go inside Chopper." Zoro dully said.
"If you're going to fight, take this seriously!" Luffy explained in anger. Running forward he wound up his right arm to attack. "Gum Gum Pistol!"
Usopp began coughing, covering his mouth with his right hand and began puking up blood. The amount was so massive that it spilled between his fingers and spurted onto the ground before collapsing onto one knee.
"Usopp please don't die!" Chopper hand to be held back by Zoro from running out onto the field.
"Kotetsu release me!" Shizune glared at their watchman who grabbed the back of her kimono.
"Interfere after the fight is over." The sandy-haired swordsman said.
Luffy stopped just in front of him, his attack coming to an end before it even started. Usopp smirked from behind his left hand and held out his right. "Special Attack: Ketchup Star. Having pity for your enemy, awfully arrogant don't you think?"
Growling Luffy reared up his right arm again, but Usopp pulled his left hand away from his mouth to reveal a seashell? "Flash Dial!" A blinding flash of light illuminated the area, and Luffy cried out in pain as his retinas were burned from the bright light.
"Now Special Attack: Egg Star!" Pulling out his signature slingshot, the Ginga Pachinko Usopp pulled back the string and released a total of five eggs that splattered Luffy's body.
"Gah this stinks! They're rotten!" The straw hat wearing Captain pounded his foot on the ground and yelled with sharp teeth. "Take this fight seriously! Stop messing around already"
"Oh, but I am. I am taking this dead serious." Usopp began digging around into his satchel. And pulled out something. "That big mouth of yours is always running. It will hurt you!"
He fired what looked like a packet into Luffy's open mouth and watched as he swallowed it. His entire body began to turn red and soon his mouth began spitting fire.
"Heh, Special Move: Tabasco Star!" Usopp shouted as Luffy began to jump around in pain. "I wouldn't jump around if I were you. Because this entire battlefield is caltrop hell!" To prove his point Luffy fell over and found his rubber body impaled by the caltrops littering the area they were fighting on.
"Holy crap. He's winning." Carmen couldn't help but find herself stunned.
"He's controlling the battlefield." Zoro commented.
"I see…he picked his fight well. Picking the battlefield to his advantage, blinding his opponent's eyes, harming his mouth, plugging his nose and finally setting a trap for his rubber body to be pierced." Gin watched the fight with an analytical mindset. The fighting was dirty as hell, and he liked it.
"Smells bad." Bashura commented. The rotten eggs were messing with his nose from here.
"Special Attack: Pepper Star!" Usopp fired a ball of pepper that hit Luffy right in the face. It caused the rubber man to cough and sneeze. He stumbled, impaling his hand on a caltrop, then his butt, he continued to hack and wheeze.
"Everything burns…stinks…" Luffy glared at him.
"I said I know you too well, so I'm not giving you an inch. Shuriken Star!" Usopp loaded up a bundle of shuriken on a string on his slingshot and fired it. It broke apart from the momentum and turned into dozens of deadly flying projectiles that Luffy barely dodged.
He fired his attack again, and again, forcing Luffy to jump, twist, and sometimes roll out of the way. He barely managed to climb up one of the larger rocks where the shuriken's embedded deep into the rock. Finally, when Usopp ran out of materials for his attack the two panted and glared at each other before the entire field began to fill up with smoke.
"Smoke?" Luffy asked in disbelief.
"That's right, I'm using a breath dial. You didn't notice the smell because of the rotten eggs." Pulling back his slingshot, Usopp prepared the next attack. "Now you're surrounded by gas!"
"Gas? Wait a second…" Marianne's dull eyes began to widen a bit.
"I know what's going to happen. This is not good." Kotetsu backed away from the rails.
"This is going to hurt…like, really bad." Donovan said.
"Usopp, don't do it!" Nami shouted.
"I'm sorry…Flame Star!" Usopp released his attack. Upon impacting Luffy the gas ignited, and a fiery explosion engulfed the area. It caused the Going Merry to rock violently from it, waves splashed over her deck. It caused members of both crews to hold on for dear life.
When the smoke cleared away it showed Luffy flat on his back, his signature straw hat knocked off his head. He was charred, soot coating his body and Usopp himself was pushed against a rock from the concussive force of the blast.
"This is so wrong…" Vivi muttered to herself. Underneath her mask tears were freely falling from her eyes.
Both fighters rose to their feet and Luffy ran at the sniper with everything he had. "Gum Gum Gatling!"
"Special Attack: Blasting Cactus Star!" Releasing another ball, this one green in color, it struck against one of Luffy's flying fists that were too fast for the naked eye to see. It exploded and out flew hundreds of sharp quills that cut and pierced his rubber body, causing him to scream out in pain.
"Now Triple Exploding Stars!" Taking three pellets Usopp shot them from his slingshot and hit the ground around Luffy who barely dodged. They exploded violently and sent the rubber man flying forward. He loaded them up twice, three times, each time hitting around Luffy who rolled forward.
"Gum Gum Pistol!" His right arm stretching outwards, Luffy finally landed a solid hit on the sniper of his crew. His knuckles struck across his jaw and a mouthful of real blood flew past his lips. He tumbled away and crashed into the unforgiving ground.
"Now it's time to end this! Gum Gum Bazooka!" Running at high speeds, Luffy threw his arms back as far as they could stretch and blasted them forward with the intent of putting Usopp out of the fight for the count. What he did not expect was the long-nosed liar to hop to his feet and black his double palm attack with another shell.
"I bet that bazooka would really hurt…" Usopp panted. Blood running down the sides of his mouth he watched as Luffy flew towards him from the momentum and was unable to stop. "Let's find out! Impact!"
The shell struck Luffy right in the forehead and snapped his body back. If he wasn't made of rubber the unnatural angle would have broken his spine. Even still he spat up a mouthful of blood and landed on his back.
"I won't lose to you!" Usopp cried out, panting as he looked at the downed form of his now former Captain. "Hah…hah…I won…"
The feeling of victory soon became bile in his mouth. Usopp watched in every growing horror as Luffy slowly stood to his feet and looked right at him. He used every trick in the book, every attack pattern, every advantage he could think of. But Luffy didn't go down.
Wordlessly, his mind full of memories of the good times he and Usopp had together, Luffy threw his right arm back until it reached the Going Merry. "Gum…Gum…Bullet!"
The attack hit Usopp right in the torso. The long-nosed pirate's eyes went blank before falling to his knees and onto his side. The fight was over now, there was no getting up from that. The two crews were in a state of disbelief.
Moving over to his fallen straw hat Luffy picked it up. "Do whatever you want with the Merry. We're getting a new ship and going forward…goodbye Usopp. It was fun while it lasted." He said, sorry lacing his voice before heading back to the ship to retrieve his things.
"Usopp! Hang on, I'm coming!" Chopper cried out to his friend. Grabbing his small backpack, he tried to jump over the railing but was stopped by Sanji.
"He isn't a part of our crew anymore; he isn't your responsibility anymore." He spoke. It was cold, but that was the reality of their situation. Usopp came into this fight knowing that he could have lost, and that is what happened.
"I don't care if he isn't! I'm a doctor. I'm going to treat him whether you like it or not!"
"You're going to hurt his pride more if you help him right now. The best thing you can do is just leave him with his dignity intact."
"There is no dignity in a defeat like this."
Everyone looked up towards the crow's nest to see Naruto sitting on the edge of the nest itself. He had his arms crossed with a frown on his face.
"What the…when did you get here!?" Nami demanded.
"Just a little bit after the fight started." It was easy to sneak onto the ship from behind when everyone was focused on the fight. And with all the rocking going on they never noticed him jumping into the crow's nest to watch the fight from a better view without anyone being the wiser.
"N-Captain, why did you decide to come?" Vivi asked. Her voice was muffled enough to make it sound deeper than it already was.
"Because I wasn't going to be in my room alone while you guys were out here. I'm your Captain and responsible for you all." Turning his blue eyes towards Shizune he said something she knew she wanted to hear. "Shizune, go tend to him. He isn't a part of our crew so there is no need to hurt his pride."
"Thank you, Naruto." Without another word Shizune jumped off the ship to go and tend to the wounded sniper.
"The rest of you, give the Straw Hats a hand moving their stuff out of this ship and back to the hotel."
"We actually rented a storage unit." Nami said, it didn't escape anyone's notice that there was intense sadness lacing her words.
"Fine, their storage unit. After that head to the hotel, I already got the rooms prepared." He soon looked down at Luffy and saw the tears running down his eyes. "You did what you needed to do. That's the reality of a Captain…but if it means anything, I'm sorry you had to go through that."
"It had to be done…" Luffy pulled the hat over the top of his face to hide his eyes. "I just wish it didn't hurt so much."
'Don't I know it.' Naruto mentally sighed. He never faced this kind of decision Luffy had to just deal with, but he understood the pain of losing someone. His parents, Queen Otohime, and the terrible circumstances where he departed Fishman Island. He probably lost his second family after attacking his brothers.
It was not the first time he started questioning himself over the choices he made over the years since joining Hody Jones. He only hoped that when he returned home, he could start repairing the bridges he started to burn.
(Fishman Island, Hard-Shell Tower - Meanwhile)
"Izumo, Kotetsu, I'm surprised to see you here again today." Madam Shyarly greeted the guards of the tower.
"I'm not. It seems like we're here every single day now." Kotetsu sighed out. A cloud of depression hung over his head and began to rain down upon it. "I wonder what we did to deserve this punishment."
"It's because we're good at our jobs, it isn't a punishment but a reward for our conviction to duty." Izumo said to his friend. "Don't be so dramatic."
Shyarly only giggled from their antics. They did give her a good distraction from the dull drab of owning the Mermaid Cafe, it was a safe place, especially with Jinbe coming by on a daily basis. She placed her right hand over her chest thinking about the whale shark fishman, he was a gentleman to his very being, polite to all her employees, and scared off ruffians before they started something.
It was quite often that she found herself anticipating his visits. The man still felt guilty over what happened to her brother; something she repeatedly assured him that Arlong chose his path, a path that started and ended in violence was the only outcome. So, when he told her that he was going to answer a summons from the World Government she found herself missing the man and awaited his return.
Shaking the thoughts from her head she looked at the two, as some of her girls dubbed "The Eternal Guards" she cleared her throat. "Is it possible for me to enter the tower? Princess Shirahoshi has a letter from her brother."
"Ah, the one traveling the world." Izumo said. He kicked Kotetsu in the shin before he could say the truth.
King Neptune tried his best to bury the news of his adopted son's wanted status. But try as he might, the news eventually got out about "Sword of the Sea" Uzumaki Naruto and his forty-five million beli bounty and what he had done to earn it. The people were shocked, many appalled, and the last thing he wanted was for the news to reach his only daughter. A lie was soon created, one he hoped Shirahoshi would believe until something could be done about his wanted status.
No one had any real idea how he was going to do that. The man had no authority in the World Government, and wanted men and women stayed that way until they died, or rarely, pardoned.
Both Izumo and Kotetsu made a quick check for any flying axes from the deranged Vander Decken IX before opening the large doors that allowed access to Princess Shirahoshi. Shyarly didn't waste a single second entering before the doors closed behind her.
"Princess are you awake?" She called out into the darkness.
A small groan greeted her before the lights turned on to reveal the large body of Princess Shirahoshi. Rubbing her sleepy eyes with one hand, and hugging Megalo with the other she perked up seeing one of her favorite people. "Madam Shyarly!"
"Hello child." Shyarly greeted the Princess with a smile. Using the bubble chair, she moved over to her and gave her giant right hand a friendly pat, it was unfortunately the closest thing she could give regarding a hug to the younger girl. "I hope I'm not disturbing you."
"I was just napping. I don't know why, but I just have been feeling really tired lately." Shirahoshi let out a cute yawn that was followed by her pet shark.
"You're a growing girl, it doesn't surprise me that you're so tired." Shyarly remembered her own developing years, and the young girl in front of her would grow to become a beautiful young woman in a few short years. Queen Otohime would be proud, she just hoped she wasn't going to be the one who explained the fish and the sea horses to her.
"I guess so…" Yawning again the young Princess tried to perk herself up. "Did I get a letter from big brother Naruto?"
"Indeed. I came right away when it arrived." Fishing the letter out of her cleavage, Shyarly opened the envelope and fished the letter out. She read it over to proofread it, after all the last letter was very vulgar and inappropriate for a young woman to read. Quirking an eyebrow, she saw that the letter was much cleaner than the last time.
"Ahem, dear Shira-chan. I'm sorry it has been a while since my last letter, but I have found myself busy managing the people under me. I'm their Captain, but I don't feel like I deserve that position, is that weird to say? Because I think so.
Recently I found myself in Alabasta. The place is a desert kingdom and honestly it isn't my most favorite place in the world. I know fishmen and merfolk can breathe on dry land, but the desert is terribly dry and hard on the gills. Though, I think you might find it hot but fine since you don't have gills. Anyways, there was trouble in the kingdom due to a man-made drought used by a very bad person who shall remain nameless. He split the county in half, and it was only thanks to their very own Princess who risked her life to stop it, along with a crew of pirates and yours truly helping her along the way.
Don't you worry I am fine, no one really got hurt, and the very bad man was arrested for his misdeeds. We left the country not too long ago and we gained three new members of the crew, one is Kujaku who is the Staff Officer, Marianne who became our Cabin Girl. After we left, we went on a treasure hunt! Can you believe it? I know I couldn't, but we got a map that led to an actual buried treasure. But the problem was we really didn't know where it was, so we went to a place called Mock Town. Trust me when I say you don't want to visit that place. The people who live there are fine, but the visitors are the worst because it's filled to the brim with pirates.
Don't worry they didn't dare mess with your big brother or his crew. We were too strong for them to even pick on, and we didn't stay too long, it was just long enough to find a man called Mont Blanc Cricket and a couple of monkey people (don't ask about them). We all set out and found the place and found some trouble on the way.
It was another crew of people who tried to take what was ours. But we did a "Finder's keepers" sort of rule on them and got the treasure instead. He split the fortune with Cricket because he helped us find it, and it was enough, more than enough actually to get our ship repaired. Trust me I do not want to regale you with the horror stories of our ship, what could go wrong did go wrong with it…well minus sinking of course.
Before heading to Water 7 and stopping at Little 7 where I mailed this letter we got another crew member, an odd man called Donovan who became our shipwright. Trust me the last one came as a surprise to me. I was literally fishing in the ocean because our refrigerator broke and spoiled our food and because I can breathe underwater it was my job to get some fresh fish.
The story I got from Gin and the rest was that when I was away, they were cornered by Foxy "The Silver Fox", some pirate who challenged them to something called a Davy Back Fight. Apparently, it's a game pirates play in order to get new crew members and their Jolly Rogers, don't ask me why they chose us though because I'm guessing we were just unlucky.
Anyways they played three games with him. We lost one and lost Kotetsu, but won him back after winning the second game. Gin fought against Foxy himself in some sort of boxing match and won against him. I wasn't there during it, but Gin did his duties as a First Mate well, and frankly I find myself proud of him for doing everything he could to keep the crew together. The fact he got us a shipwright was just a bonus, he's odd, loud and honestly can never keep a smile off his face, but you would like his inventions, I think.
Well, I see Little 7 on the horizon, I'll end this letter for now and send you another one after we get our ship fixed. Hopefully I can send you some pictures!
Your loving brother, Uzumaki Naruto."
Folding the piece of paper back into the envelope, Shyarly watched as Shirahoshi teared up in happiness. It honestly did her heart some good seeing the Princess in a good mood given her less than ideal situation.
But the letter was giving Shyarly some major red flags. She was not ignorant to some of the stuff that was said in the letter, Jinbe explained everything that happened in Alabasta, about how "Sir" Crocodile nearly destroyed the kingdom in order to get an ancient weapon that he didn't tell her about for her safety. There was a lot of blood that was absorbed by the desert sands and Naruto and his crew were the cause for several of them when it came to the Baroque Works members.
She knew about "Flag-Bearer of Freedom" Marianne and what she did to break out several members of her former organization from heading to Impel Down. But she knew nothing of his Kujaku person, whoever they were must have been competent to be a Staff Officer. The so-called treasure hunt also wasn't so simple, a fight was involved between him and the crew that tried to take the treasure from them.
She had to assume it was another pirate crew or treasure hunter. It wouldn't be something the World Government would worry about, after all if a tree fell in the forest and no one was around to hear it, who would care? But mentioning Water 7…
Shyarly closed her eyes as images assaulted her mind. Figures assaulting an island in the middle of endless waterfalls. Gates blown open. Figures in black fighting with superhuman abilities. A dozen large battleships sailing towards the island, the stench of death hanging over all of them. Figures fighting to the death. Screams and cries of agony. Carnage. Thousands of bodies. And finally, a dark figure with the evilest red eyes standing on the ocean controlling the water itself like a God of the Sea itself.
Snapping her eyes open, Shyarly felt sweat pouring down her face. In the upcoming days the world itself was going to change.
But for better or for worse, she honestly did not know.
(Omake)
"Dale, I'm not going to ask you to behave again. If you make Bill cry in front of the customers again, I'm going to kick your ass." Hank threatened his co-worker, and one of his oldest friends.
"It's not my fault I'm telling the truth." Dale replied before lighting up another cigarette.
Pinching the bridge of his nose Hank barely noticed the door opening and both Shizune and Carmen along with Marianne walked in. They looked at the four men with all business on their faces. Well, the two older women were, Marianne looked bored.
"Alright boys, Gin insisted on see you first. We allowed him because of all those blueprints, but now it's our turn." Carmen said to them.
"Ohdangol' 'gettogetherforagrandol'dinnerman,andafter..."
Shizune was immediately at Boomhauer's side and stuck a thermometer in his mouth to check his temperature, felt his forehead and pulse. "Hmm...he doesn't seem to be having a stroke. Tell me is there some sort of speech impediment in his family, or any other medical condition?"
"No. He and his entire family have been talking like that ever since we met him." Bill replied, absolutely gob smacked that two very pretty ladies were in front of him. "Ah, now what can we do for you ladies?"
"I need a kitchen-"
"Done! You'll have the biggest, grandest kitchen we can make!" Bill exclaimed.
"Shut up, Bill. Let the lady talk." Hank chastised his overweight friend.
"As I was saying..." Carmen looked at the four of them, the womanizing sleezebag still being prodded over by Shizune. She didn't know if this was an act or if it was for real, hopefully it was the former. "I want a kitchen. A very big kitchen with a top-of-the-line oven, two refrigerators and freezers. I also want modern cabinets to put my new kitchenware in. I don't know if Gin even mentioned this, but the water and sewer lines, I want all new ones in the ship the last time I used it I swear it ruined the dishes with sludge."
"Don't forget about the electricity. The ship has none of it." Marianne bordly intoned.
"With the exception of the medical wing. But even that is holding on by a thread." Shizune said with a long-suffering sigh. After finishing her impromptu checkup, she turned back toward the members of her crew. "Speaking of which, if you are going to be breaking down walls or whatever you plan on doing, expand it. I am going to need more than three beds. I also have a list of items that I knew we are going to need for our future travels."
Shizune wasn't going to kid herself. With how much trouble Naruto and everyone else got themselves into they would get injured, and she would have to treat them.
"Ma'am, we can do that without a problem, if we can find it, we can order and install it. Now Miss Carmen was it, how about I interest you in a propane oven. Perhaps a grill even?" Hank asked, about ready to go on a sales pitch.
"No! Not another word about propane. It's gone Hank get over it!" Dale shrieked in horror.
'Are we the only sane ones around here?' Both Carmen and Shizune thought to themselves when Hank began to yell at the skinny chain-smoker and then proceeded to literally kick his ass.
Marianne just wanted to eat some crackers. This was boring for her.