Ten years had passed since the Monkey sisters, Draco, and Ben had come together.
During that time, Luffy and Sonson's grandfather Monkey D. Garp had sent the four kids to be trained by mountain bandit Curly Dadan and her crew along with two other boys named Ace and Sabo.
Garp had originally hoped the kids would become Marines but they were firmly set on being Pirates first and foremost. A siblinghood was formed between the six kids over sake cups and eventually, Garp relented and allowed them to follow their true calling...but he reserved the right to chase and capture them.
Ace and Sabo had both set off on their own and now, it was Luffy, Sonson, Draco, and Ben's turn. Right now, the four young future pirates were waving to Makino, Woop Slap, Dadan, and her cronies farewell as they set sail.
"BE SAFE!" Makino waved with tears of pride in her eyes.
"DON'T SHAME THIS ISLAND!" Woop Slap demanded in vain, but in the back of his head, he was already missing the four troublemakers.
"GOOD RIDDANCE, YA BRATS!" Dadan snapped, but one could easily see the tears in her eyes as well.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! TODAY WILL BE THE DAY YOU WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER AS THE DAY YOU ALMOST CAUGHT SPARROW D. BENJAMIN AND HIS MERRY BAND OF MISFITS!" Ben cried out.
-OP-
The four had been sailing for quite a while now but it wasn't long before they had hit a snag.
"Hey, Luffy..." Ben awkwardly spoke up.
"Yeah?" Luffy asked.
"I think we should have packed more food."
Sonson nodded, her tummy growling. "Some more fish, more meat, more veggies..."
"I don't know how you can stand vegetables..." Luffy muttered. "But more meat sounds good. I'll even take some large fish right about now..."
"We could always try fishing. Cooking them won't be a problem." Ben suggested.
Draco nodded. "That's always an option. It's not like we can count on food to just fall out of the sky."
Just then, they heard a whistling sound coming right at them. For a second they thought the impossible was happening and food really was falling out of the sky, only for a large cannon shell to impact the water near their boat.
"Whoa, nelly!" Ben exclaimed.
"Easy!" Sonson cried, clinging to Draco in panic. "We're gonna capsize at this rate!"
"Good thing we didn't go in a dinghy! But I doubt our ship is gonna last if this keeps up!" Luffy noted.
"Is there a naval battle nearby? I can't imagine anyone would want to fire on what looks like a simple fishing boat." Draco wondered before noticing a pair of red eyes and a black shape quickly rising up through the water.
"Uh, guys...I don't think we're out of the woods just yet!"
The giant shape breached, and the waves caused the boat to start to capsize. Luckily, the group of four was able to steer the boat to calmer water as the shape revealed itself to be a giant, long-necked reptilian creature. It was wearing a helmet with a Jolly Roger that had a crab with a skull shell, indicating it was part of a Pirate Clan.
"Looks like food came to us after all!" Luffy said.
"How is that food?!" Ben asked.
The beast slammed its neck into the boat, smashing it into firewood. It looked around and saw no sign of the quintet, so it swam off thinking its job was done. However, it didn't realize that the four young future pirates had clung to its back via its armor plating.
"Where do you think it's going?" Sonson asked.
"Who knows." Ben simply said.
They eventually got off at the shore of a nearby island the beast had swum towards. Sonson summoned a golden cloud she called the Somersault Cloud to ride on, carrying her sister and sworn brothers on it as well as they flew to shore and disembarked.
"This turned out to be a better idea. We can get more food, and probably a bigger ship." Luffy noted.
"We should try and find the locals, ask if they have anything that can help," Ben said.
"Hold it right there."
Hearing a curt voice, the five turned to see two thugs who appeared to be pirates. The short and fatter one was brandishing a dagger at them.
"This here's the domain of Captain Ganzack! Outsiders who don't get an invite need to swear fealty here and now!"
"Hey, we're not gonna stay here long, we just need to find someone who can lend us a boat for the five of us," Draco said, trying to play peacekeeper.
Suddenly, the short fat pirate yelped in pain as a small blade poked his posterior. Whirling around, he only saw a little kid dressed in armor and wielding a small naginata.
The taller pirate grabbed the kid's arm. "Just who the hell do you think you are?!"
He pulled up the visor on the kid's helmet, revealing it to be a girl with pink hair.
"Gimme back my papa, you pirates!"
The taller pirate chuckled. "Just a native kid. Nothing to worry about."
"I dunno, she's got some spunk coming up to us with no fear," The short pirate admitted. "Maybe we outta make this little brat a subordinate."
"I am not a little brat! My name is Medaka!" The little girl retorted before slamming her armored foot into the taller pirate's groin. "And I hate Pirates!"
"Ooooh...!" Ben winced in sympathy.
"I like this girl!" Sonson giggled. "Those two jerks are right, she's definitely got some spunk!"
"Be that as it may, we shouldn't let them pick on her." Luffy pointed out as she pulled his fist back."GUM-GUM PISTOL!"
The two pirates turned around to see Luffy's fist stretching right at them from several feet away, striking both of them across the face and sending them sprawling.
"Nice shot." Ben chuckled before looking at Medaka. "Do you know where we can get some food?"
-OP-
Medaka brought the four to her small hovel, where she was able to get them some food. It was little more than soup, but at least there were plenty of fillings for it, so it wasn't just thin broth.
Medaka's grandfather finished his pipe before addressing the group.
"Once you've finished relieving your appetites, you should leave this island. Those men will return soon."
"We can't leave without a boat. Ours got smashed up." Draco pointed out. "We only arrived here by riding that giant beast that wrecked our only ride."
"We overheard Medaka when she was trying to confront those goons. Something about her dad?" Luffy said.
Medaka's Grandpa sighed. "It's quite the long tale. You see, up until a few weeks ago this island was peaceful. That all changed when the pirate Ganzack and his thugs arrived. And once they came, they immediately stole our freedom."
"That's terrible!" Sonson gasped.
"Only children and elders were allowed to keep their lives. Everyone else was conscripted into his service. Among them was my son, Medaka's father."
"Explains why she was confronting those goons from before," Ben noted. "So where are the villagers?"
"Up in the tower just behind you. It is called The Devil's Tower." Medaka's Grandpa explained.
Everyone turned around and indeed saw a giant tower through the window. Something suddenly exploded from the top of the tower, causing a small earthquake. Seconds later, a large impact was heard in the nearby water.
"So THAT'S what attacked our ship!" Draco realized.
"Is this all the food you had?" Luffy asked, having finished her soup.
"Yes. It's all we could afford to spare. The majority of the food was taken into the Devil's Tower." Medaka's Grandpa said sadly.
"Sounds like we have three reasons to scale that tower and give this Ganzack guy a beating; Saving the villagers, paying him pack for wrecking our ship, and getting more food. In that order." Luffy said, giving off a bold grin.
Draco nodded. "Our crew doesn't suffer humiliation lightly. And we don't appreciate those that take piracy too far."
"I'm going with you!" Medaka insisted.
"No, Medaka, that's foolish!" Her grandfather warned. "From what you've told me these five might be strong enough to stand up to Ganzack, but a child like you..."
"I have to do it! Because Papa's my treasure!" Medaka said.
Luffy smiled at that. "And just like that, we have a fourth reason. I can't help but admire someone who wants to protect their treasure, no matter what form it takes."
"You sure you want to work with us, though?" Sonson asked. "You said you hate pirates, and we happen to be pirates."
Medaka considered it but shook her head. "You made it clear you're nothing like Ganzack. Pirates or not, you're good people."
Ben smiled and ruffled her head. "Then that settles it. But you'll have to stick close to us. We can't risk having a kid get hurt on our watch."
"Yeah, that's not our style!" Luffy grinned.
-OP-
The Devil's Tower looked like four serpentine dragons lined up in a square, with a large fortress at the base. Inside, the villagers were being forced to carry large amounts of dynamite to specific locations. One man wound up tripping and dropping his crate.
"Careful, you scumbag!" One of the guards admonished. "If you can't work, we'll throw your kids into the sea!"
The man grimaced but got to work picking up the dynamite. And he wasn't the only one being pushed to work beyond his capability. Little did they know, the four heroes and their little charge had managed to sneak inside.
"Looks like they're making an industrial-grade cannon," Draco noted.
"So the explosions so far were just test fires," Luffy realized.
Ben nodded. "They weren't even aiming at us, just making sure the cannon could fire."
"Talk about rotten luck that we had to be in the crosshairs!" Sonson said.
"Papa!" Medaka called out when she recognized the man who dropped the dynamite.
"Shhhh!" Draco shushed, covering her mouth.
"Who's there?!"
Hearing the familiar voice, the five noticed the two pirates from earlier. The short fat one forced Medaka's Dad to finish picking up the dynamite with a sword at his back. Medaka squirmed in Draco's hold and the four could see the sheer distress in her eyes.
"Well, guess we're going in loud and dumb..." Ben sighed.
The five leaped down with Draco having Medaka hold on to his back. The two pirates freaked out when they recognized them as the taller one grabbed Medaka's Dad and aimed his sword at his neck.
"Stay back, or I swear this guy's gonna get it!"
"You're the one who's gonna get it! For messing with innocent people!" Luffy smirked as she whirled around with her leg out."GUM-GUM WHIP!"
Her leg stretched out long enough to catch both of the goons and spin them around. Freaking out, some of the other guards went to warn Ganzack. The others went to surround the five. Draco smirked but then noticed another guard sneak up and grab Medaka off his back, carrying her off using a winch.
"Medaka!" Sonson cried.
"Luffy, you and Ben deal with the goons down here. Draco and I will go after Medaka." Sonson said.
Sonson jumped on her Somersault Cloud and flew upward while Draco used the power of hisKaiju-Kaiju Fruitto transform into a large majestic moth-like creature as he flapped his wings, flying up after Sonson.
"Don't let them follow her!" One of the guards called out as he and his mates started to fire their muskets.
Luffy cracked her knuckles. "If these creeps are anything like those two losers, this'll be a cakewalk!"
"A Captain has to look out for their crew, after all," Ben smirked.
"Hey, I thought I was the Captain!" Luffy whined.
"And I believe I beat you and the others fair and square in that title match."
Meanwhile, the masked pirate was about to make it out to sea with Medaka before suddenly being stopped by several flaming pillars.
"I think you've gotten far enough!" Draco called out as he turned back to normal.
"Hey relax, I'm not here to hurt the kid!" the pirate called out in a surprisingly female voice.
"Wait, that voice...are you a girl?" Sonson asked in slight surprise.
The masked pirate nodded before removing their mask to reveal they were a beautiful young woman with orange hair.
"Who are you?" Draco asked.
"The name's Nami. I came here hoping to rob Ganzack of his valuables when I noticed a kid was in trouble. So I decided to help, but I didn't want anyone knowing my face."
Just then, the large beast from before appeared on the shore. Standing atop it was a large, grizzled man wearing a power suit with crab legs and claws on his shoulder. He regarded the group before speaking.
"I am the Great General—"
"Crab Leg Ganzack?!" Draco asked in surprise as he recognized the man. "I haven't seen you since I was bounding on Pops' knee. And it's a pretty big knee."
"Wait, you know this guy?" Nami asked.
Draco nodded. "He used to be a big shot on the Grand Line but he was routed by my father, Whitebeard. A little surprised he decided to head out to the Blues instead of starting over in Paradise, but I guess Pops has that effect on people."
Nami's jaw dropped. "Wait, you're Dad is WHITEBEARD?! Tell me you're joking!"
"Surprisingly, he isn't. Now that I get a good look at you I do remember your face." Ganzack said before smirking. "You may be the son of one of the legendary Yonko. But on this island... This sea... I am the supreme ruler!"
"I see your ego hasn't deflated since we last met." Draco dryly noted. "Still nothing but an overly steamed crab."
Ganzack snarled. "I am not a crab, I am Great General Ganzack! And I am going to strike a terrible blow against my old nemesis! I can't wait to see the look on his face when I deliver him your head!"
"You seem to have forgotten something after all these years..." Draco scoffed as Ganzack flew down to strike with one of his claws. "I ate THREE Devil Fruits!"
Ganzack's eyes widened in shock as Draco's body turned into burning ash and flames, his claws phasing right through him. Nami was also surprised by what Draco had said.
"He ate THREE Devil Fruits?! How is he not dead?!"
"It seems you forgot that I was raised in the Grand Line, Ganzack. Or did you forget the last time we scuffled?" Draco smirked at Ganzack's stunned expression.
Suddenly the dragon beast struck with its jaws, trying to swallow Draco. It managed to get him in his mouth, only to start gagging two seconds later.
"Careful! You might choke!" Draco taunted, having turned his body into white-hot sand.
Ganzack quickly launched a set of sticky globs from the crab legs on his suit, sticking to Draco before he could react. He smirked when it looked like Draco was completely engulfed.
"Draco!" Sonson called out.
"By now my men should have convinced those brats down below to surrender."
-OP-
Draco was kept locked in an airtight box to prevent him from trying to break out. Luffy, Sonson, Ben, Nami, and Medaka were all chained to a nearby wall.
"The only other way to keep a Logia user contained is using Seastone. Unfortunately, we don't have access to that." Ganzack noted before smirking at Nami. "The famous thief who only steals from pirates and a bunch of Devil Fruit users. I wonder how much you'll sell for."
"Okay, that's not creepy at all. And we don't even have bounties yet!" Ben said.
"I'm not selling you for THAT!" Ganzack clarified. "Even I'm not that cruel! Rather it's an auction to buy up individuals with special talents to crews looking for extra hands."
"You won't get away with this, ya dumb crab!" Luffy snapped.
Ganzack growled. "I am not a crab! I am the Great General Ganzack! The man who holds the strongest ship in all of history! The one who shall become the King of the Pirates!"
"Fat chance!" Sonson laughed. "There's only gonna be one King of the Pirates and that's Luffy!"
"Really? But she's a girl!" Ganzack pointed out. "That doesn't even make any sense!"
"Girls can be Kings too, jerk!"
Ganzack scoffed, only to lose his footing when a sudden explosion rocked the tower.
"What was that!? Get me a status report! Figure out what happened!"
"It's the villagers! They're attempting a revolt! Some of our men were already taken out!" One of the pirates reported.
"Damn! They must have been planning this for some time!" Ganzack cursed. "Regroup and form up behind me! I'll give them a taste of my full power!"
As the pirates all headed off, Nami carefully pulled something out of the sleeve of her overcoat. It turned out to be the keys to the cuffs. She unlocked her own cuffs first, then got everyone else free. Luffy quickly smashed open the crate holding Draco, letting him get out as well.
"You know we could have gotten out at any point, right?" Ben pointed out.
"I had a feeling he might try something with the villagers. That's why I pretended his little goop trick was working." Draco explained.
"And besides, if we took the easy way, we wouldn't have much of a story." Sonson shrugged.
Medaka grabbed her naginata and ran out, despite the others' attempts to stop her.
"Medaka, wait!"
"My father's out there! I have to help him!"
Outside, Ganzack was already flexing his power by shooting at the crowd with pistols.
"I'm not like other pirates who only steal fortunes. I prefer to ripen a fortune first. And for that, I obviously need livestock, which is why I need to work all of you!"
"Even livestock needs to rest and eat, bastard!" Medaka's Dad called out. "You're not treating us like anything living! Just machines and cogs!"
Ganzack scoffed dismissively. "Call it whatever you want, but I have no use for things that run wild."
He fired his pistol at the man, only for Medaka to leap in the way and use her armor to reflect the bullet.
"You're nothing but a bully!"
"How in the heck did you get those locks undone? I had the keys the entire time!" Ganzack asked in disbelief before activating his claws. "Doesn't matter. You've just made the biggest mistake of your life! That armor of yours may be capable of deflecting bullets and blades, but I think you'll find my pincers are made of stronger stuff!"
Before he could close in, he was forced to dodge a stretchy punch from Luffy.
"You've committed a number of unspeakable acts. Both against us and against these peaceful islanders." Luffy said.
"You've gone way past the line of being a pirate. You're no better than the World Government at this point." Draco declared.
"And we're gonna kick your sorry crustaceous ass off this island and restore peace to the villagers!" Sonson finished as she swung a red and gold staff at Ganzack, who just barely dodged.
"Fools! No one can defy the Great General Ganzack!" The villain called out angrily. "Open the underwater cavern!"
The area was suddenly surrounded by dust as a sudden explosion went off, followed by a large cave being blown open near the edge of the island as a large metal ship suddenly emerged from underground, with the dragon beast acting as a figurehead and the Devil's Tower as one of the masts.
"Holy Oda, he has a whole friggin' battleship!" Luffy exclaimed.
"He's obviously compensating for something!" Sonson noted with a cheeky grin.
"So, this is what he was forcing the villagers to make..." Ben realized.
Ganzack cackled as he stood on the deck of the ship. "Now all those who defied me shall sink to the bottom of the sea!"
He started firing the main cannon, which turned out to be the Devil's Tower itself, launching shells that started to bombard the island.
"We gotta stop him before he sinks the whole island!" Draco exclaimed.
"We're on it!" Ben said.
"I'll go too!" Medaka declared but was stopped by her dad.
"No, Medaka. Where they're going is no place for kids. If something happened to you, I couldn't..."
"We need to move, mates!" Ben said as another explosion went off.
Luffy stretched out her arm long enough to reach the ship and Sonson rode on her Somersault Cloud while Draco grew giant colorful moth wings to fly after them, followed by Ben sprouting blood-red bat wings out of his arms thanks to the power of the third Devil Fruit he ate, theBat-Bat Fruit: Model Higher Vampire, only to realize that he was carrying extra weight courtesy of Medaka having grabbed onto him at the last second.
"You really are a spunky lass!" Ben noted as the four friends landed in front of Ganzack.
"Get ready to be boiled and served with garlic butter, you damn crab!" Sonson grinned.
"I keep telling you! I am Great General Ganzack!"
"You literally have a crab motif! You were called Crab Leg Gonzack in the New World!" Draco pointed out. "You even bragged to dad that crabs are the hardiest and most adaptable creatures in the sea! WHY DO YOU HATE BEING CALLED CRAB SO MUCH!?"
"Yeah, seems to me like you had a decent motif going," Ben added.
Ganzack actually slumped. "The first time I bragged about my name to a Marine... He just laughed at it. Not even your damn father laughed at my connection with crabs! I had to rebrand myself just to get some respect!"
"So what are the words of a single Marine?" Luffy pointed out simply. "You shouldn't have that dictate your entire decision."
Medaka started charging at Ganzack with her naginata, only for Luffy to pull her back.
"Leave this to the adults, Medaka! We can handle this!"
"Like so!" Sonson said as she thrust her staff at Ganzack, which extended a great length as he quickly jumped out of the way.
"For a guy in such bulky armor, he moves surprisingly fast," Ben said before taking out a custom-made revolver hand cannon and firing at Ganzack.
Ganzack quickly used his claws as shields to block the bullets and started firing blasts from his leg cannons but Luffy and Sonson reflected them. He tried firing his special goop again but Draco erected a shield of jagged ice to block it.
"You should call it quits, Ganzack! There are four of us and only one of you left!" Sonson said, slinging her staff over her shoulders.
Ganzack landed below before righting himself. He then fired a grappling chain to wrap up Luffy and pull the straw-hatted girl toward him.
"Then try this!" Ganzack laughed. "Let's see if you can survive having your head off! Unlike your friends, you don't have a Logia power!"
"The way you're going about just talking, there's no way you're enough to beat me, crab man!" Luffy said.
Ganzack felt his eye twitch. "I'm going to enjoy this far more than I should. I'll slice you to pieces and dump you in the ocean!"
He prepared to strike Luffy with his claws but Medaka got in the way, the slash knocking her helmet off, and flew toward Draco, who caught her and panicked briefly before relaxing when he saw that her helmet had protected her.
"Medaka!" Sonson cried before growling at Ganzack. "That does it! You don't piss off a monkey!"
Luffy was just as angry as Sonson and sucked in as much air as she could, using her rubber lungs to expand her body to the point where she easily broke the chains binding her.
"The world doesn't revolve around you! Sooner or later, you'll find people who can easily whoop your ass!" Luffy declared. "It's strength that determines whether you win or lose, not fate!"
"And you think you're strong enough to take on me!?" Ganzack retorted. "Then just try it!"
He tried to strike with his claws again but Luffy was ready, twisting her arms into a spiral drill and easily smashing through Ganzack's metal claw.
"GUM-GUM DRILL!"
"My turn!" Sonson shouted as she suddenly transformed into an Ozaru, roaring like a beast as she grabbed Ganzack by the leg and slammed him into the deck.
"GET DUNKED ON!" Ben said as he swiped his hand and sent a wave of bones that knocked Ganzack's crew into the air, screaming.
Draco set his sights on the dragon, roaring as he transformed into a giant lizard-like creature with a glowing blue dorsal fin and jagged teeth. As he and the dragon squared off, the villagers sailed in on what few boats they could spare, throwing dynamite at the dragon.
"HERE! GIVE ME THAT!"The transformed Draco called out as Medaka's Dad nodded and lit up an entire crate before the boat was evacuated.
Picking it up in his claws, Draco slammed the fire boat into the dragon's face with all his might, the explosion shattering its armor and leaving the beast dead in the water. Unfortunately, this also caused the boat to start sinking.
"HOP ON!"Draco called out, the water he was standing in was shallow enough at his size to not be weakened too much.
"Got it!" Luffy said as she gently picked up Medaka and the rest of the crew climbed up Draco.
Meanwhile, Ganzack was getting to his feet. "Not yet... I can't be beaten yet... I'm no ordinary pirate... With this ship, I conquer the sea... I will conquer the sea! I will become the King of the Pirates!"
He cackled as he fired off one final shell from the tower cannon.
"Still won't give up, you shitty crab? There's one thing you don't seem to understand." Luffy said. "You don't become King of the Pirates by just conquering. Only the one who finds One Piece will be King of the Pirates. And that someone... Is going to be me!"
"And we'll be with her every step of the way!" Ben, Draco, and Sonson all declared.
"GUM-GUM PISTOL!"
The punch sent Ganzack flying off the ship and right in the path of the shell he had just fired, causing him to impact it and make it explode in midair. The four and Medaka looked on as Ganzack fell unceremoniously into the sea.
-OP-
"Well, Ganzack won't be a threat to anyone now. He was too injured to keep fighting when the villagers hauled him out of the ocean." Draco noted as the four friends were now sailing off on a new ship provided by the villagers, including plenty of food from Ganzack's ship.
"This should last us until we reach a new island. Lucky break us getting to this place." Ben said.
Sonson had tearfully hugged Medaka goodbye before they set off. They didn't spend much time together, but the monkey girl treasured every moment still.
"Whoever Medaka decides to marry when she grows up will definitely have their hands full." Ben chuckled.
"Speaking of which, I wonder if we'll see that girl Nami again. She was actually kinda cute." Luffy said.
Draco shrugged. "Who knows? Besides, I thought you were focusing on finding One Piece first."
"You're the one who pointed out I need to have a plan for after that," Luffy pointed out. "And a Pirate King is going to need a Pirate Queen."
The other three paused midstep and almost dropped their precious provisions, slowly, almost mechanically, looking at the rubber girl as if she'd somehow grown a second head.
"…What?" Luffy asked.
"…Oh, my Oda. It's finally happening." Sonson smiled as Draco and Ben begrudgingly tossed some Berri to her.
"Huh?" Luffy asked, still confused.
"We made a bet and you just made me…well, I got Berri in my pocket!" Sonson laughed at Draco and Ben, the latter of whom took Luffy aside.
"Alright. You and I need to have a talk about the birds and the bees."
"What's to know about?" Luffy asked. "They both fly, birds are tasty meat, bees make honey and sting."
"….Well, you're not wrong there." Ben mused.
Draco, an amused and slightly grimacing grin on his face, pulled the two apart
"How about we wait til we get a little further on our journey before we worry about that?"
"Now let's go! Off to the Grand Line!" Sonson declared as she pointed forward.
As the four friends set out for the next adventure on their journey, Luffy let out a mighty cry into the skies above.
"MY NAME IS MONKEY D. LUFFY AND I'M GONNA BE KING OF THE PIRATES!"
Knightmare Lord A/N:
Sadly, we had to cut out Bamia since she wasn't really getting a lot of interaction in the story. I'll try and see if she can be included in another story at some point. I hope you all liked the refurbishments. Anything on your end, Mrotrax?
Mrotrax A/N:
Nada on my end!
