Chapter 23: Not So Welcoming Whiskey Peak
"Welcome to the Grand Line! Welcome to our town! To the welcoming town, Whiskey Peak!" The cheering from the town confused the battle-ready crew. All of them, minus Luffy, were looking around with skepticism.
"I thought you said they weren't nice..." Usopp said, not seeing the angry mob he'd envisioned in the smiling town.
"They're pretending," Luffy said quietly, his eyes scanning over the deceptively friendly town. Despite their outward cheerfulness, Luffy could feel that they were faking it, that they had darker motives.
"Pretending?" Sanji asked, looking over the railing at the banners and confetti that were welcoming them. It was hard to believe Luffys words. Even though all of the crew- for the most part- believed Luffy wasn't lying about his abilities, it was still hard to believe that these people were just pretending.
"Are you sure your abilities aren't a little... I don't know... out of whack?" Usopp asked skeptically. Luffy only shook his head, face still set in a frown.
"No, they're faking." The confidence in Luffys voice was enough to convince the crew as they took another look at the welcoming town surrounding them. Even though it was still hard to believe, Luffy hadn't been wrong yet. Besides, it wouldn't hurt for them to be a little cautious. After all, how likely would it be for a town to welcome pirates?
"Pirates welcome to our town!"
"Hurray for the heroes on the sea!"
Trying to remember that they might be pretending, the crew slowly sailed by the cheering.
"Woah! There're a lot of cute girls!" Sanji swooned, eyes turning into hearts as he leaned over the railing to get a better look.
"Maybe pirates are people's heroes after all," Usopp said, blowing kisses to the crowds and forgetting that they could be acting. Nami face palmed from behind the two while Zoro only shook his head.
When they finally found a spot to dock, Luffy led the crew off the Merry. His eyes scanned the crowd in front of them. Despite the bad feelings coming from each and every one of them, there were only a handful that had grey colors. For the most part, the people of the town had a dark blue aura.
"Welco- ma-ma-ma... Welcome." The crew watched as a man with giant curls in his hair walked up to them. Taking in the man's emotions, Luffy found that they were the same as the rest of the town. Despite the welcoming air and smile on his face, the man did not have good intentions for them. Unlike the rest of the town, however, this man had a lighter blue than the rest. It wasn't the lightest blue he'd ever seen, but it was much nicer to look at than the darker blues surrounding him.
"My name is Igarappoi. I'm the Mayor of Whiskey Peak." Igarappoi greeted. Luffy felt that even the name 'Igarappoi' had given him was false, the man lying about it. Looking him up and down one more time though, Luffy only nodded to him instead of calling it out.
"Okay. I'm Luffy. Nice to meet you." Luffy said in response, his crew standing behind him.
"Whiskey Peak is a town that thrives on making liquor and music. Hospitality is the pride of our town. As for our liquor, it's as bountiful as the seawater. Would you allow us to throw a party for you so that we may hear your tales of... Ma-ma-ma... your tales of adventure?" Even though Luffy could feel Usopp and Sanji's interest piqued at the idea of a party, they didn't say anything, all of them still waiting for Luffys response.
With one more glance around the town, Luffy shrugged, smiling as well.
"Sure, why not?" At his words, Usopp and Sanji began dancing together about women and parties while Nami shook her head.
"By the way, how long will it take for the log of this island to be stored?" Nami asked, showing Igarappoi the log pose on her wrist.
"Log? Forget such boring stuff. Please just rest after such a long journey." As he spoke, he went over to wrap an arm around Nami's shoulder, and despite the light-heartedness in his tone and the smile on his face, Nami couldn't help but remember Luffy saying they were acting. Because of this she felt herself stiffen at the contact, but force a smile of her own.
If there was one good thing that came from Arlongs rule of terror, it was her ability to act under pressure.
"Now, everyone! Prepare for the party! Sing to entertain the adventurers!" Igarappoi announced, eliciting another round of cheering from the townspeople. Nami was reluctantly dragged along through the crowd, Usopp and Sanji following enthusiastically, leaving Luffy and Zoro watching after them.
"Be careful here Zoro," Luffy told his swordsman, keeping an eye on Nami to make sure Igarappoi didn't try anything.
"Right. But if you know they aren't nice, why'd you agree to a party?" Zoro asked curiously, eyeing the crowd suspiciously as he spoke. Because of this, it took a second to notice Luffy's wide grin.
"Because parties are fun!" With a laugh, Luffy ran off to catch up to the rest of his crew, leaving Zoro to scowl and shake his head.
"You really are an idiot, aren't you?"
"Party time!"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The crew, as well as as many townspeople that could fit, were all crammed inside the town's bar. Drinks were poured, drunk, and then poured again, people danced, people laughed, people sang. A band was playing music in the corner of the bar, just as jubilant as the crowd listening, but they were nearly overshadowed by how loud everyone else was. It was dark outside now, the party in full swing.
Usopp was sitting telling stories to a large crowd of people, all of them hanging on to his every word. Although they seemed to be awed by his words, Luffy could feel that, like everything else, they were acting.
Zoro and Nami were in the middle of a drinking competition, Nami demanding the swordsman join once she found out the winner would get 100 thousand berri. So far, Nami was on her 12th cup while Zoro was on his 10th.
Sanji was in heaven as he sat with a large group of woman, trying to hit on each and every one of them at the same time.
And finally, Luffy was eating all the food he could want. At one point, one of the chefs passed out, overworked at attempting to feed Luffys bottomless pit. This didn't stop the Captain though as he started nabbing pieces off of everyone else's plates.
And despite the crew's antics, the townspeople merely laughed and went along with it, though their true feelings told Luffy they were still up to something.
Slowly, as time went by, the crew began wearing themselves out. It started with Zoro who faceplanted on the table, then Usopp, Sanji, Nami, and finally Luffy as he fell out of his chair and onto the ground, stuffed.
Many of the townspeople fell asleep as well, but Luffy knew that many were still awake. Of course, knowing that they were all up to something, he didn't let himself truly fall asleep. Thanks to the facility, even when he was sleeping he was still on alert. There had been too many times before Sabo had gotten his enhanced hearing that the brothers had been startled out of their sleep by doctors dragging them to testing. Because of this, Luffy was an incredibly light sleeper and he knew the second there was even a slight peaking in the towns' malicious feelings, he would be wide awake and alert.
It was a while after he'd 'fallen asleep' that Luffy felt Zoro wake up fully. The swordsman hadn't been completely unconscious, staying on guard like Luffy was. Although there were still a lot of townspeople in the bar, Zoro managed to get up and leave the bar without any of them noticing, Luffy watching through a peeked open eye. The young Captain had to hold in his laughter as he watched every person in the bar narrowly avoid seeing Zoro walking out the side door.
It didn't take long for them to notice that he was gone though, a large group of them running out the door in an attempt to get Zoro back. Seeing this, Luffy decided to 'wake up' as well.
"Man, that was some good food." He said, stretching as he stood up off the ground. This surprised the remaining townspeople as they spun to look at him.
"Y-you're awake!" One of them said, trying to hide his surprise and nervousness with a smile. It failed to work on Luffy though as he could feel his true emotions.
"Yup," Luffy said, scanning his eyes over the rest of his crew that were still asleep. Like Zoro and Luffy however, he felt that Nami was only feigning sleep rather than actually being unconscious. Ignoring this for now, Luffy turned to look at the small group of people here, knowing he could take them down easily.
"Ah, well, you really should get some more rest! After all, you've had such a long hard journey reaching the Grand Line." Another said with an equally nervous smile as the last man.
"Paradise." Luffy corrected, confusing them.
"What?" The man asked, his smile slipping to a look of confusion.
"We're in Paradise. And it wasn't that hard to get here. I had fun." Luffy said honestly. The group shared a look, Luffy feeling that they were trying to figure out what they were going to do. There was a turmoil in all of them until one finally felt courageous enough, their hand moving to their side and alerting Luffy that they had some type of hidden weapon there.
"Regardless, we're going to have to insist that you sit back down." The man said, his smile falling into a determined look. The rest of the group backed this up by moving their hands to their sides as well, some even pulling swords out.
"Nah, I don't want to," Luffy said, still grinning.
"In that case, you asked for it!" In one fluid motion, the man pulled out his gun and fired, but like always, the bullet bounced harmlessly off of Luffy's shoulder, flying off to the bar's ceiling and lodging itself there. The group in front of Luffy gaped, obviously not expecting that.
"He's wanted alive!" One of them hissed.
"I aimed for the shoulder!" The one that shot said.
"Didn't matter anyway, it flew off 'im. He really is a monster." Another said fearfully.
"Monster or not, he's worth too much to pass up!" A fourth said, one holding a sword. After speaking, the man charged forward, intent on maiming or just injuring. The teen didn't wait to find out which it was, swaying to the right as the man attempted slicing his left arm. As quick as the man swung his sword, Luffy swung his fist down onto the man's head, knocking him out instantly.
"Ah shit, I didn't sign up for this..." Said a man from the group.
"We're bounty hunters, what did you think you were signing up for?!" The one beside him asked.
"Humans! I signed up for humans! That is not human!" Luffy frowned at the words but tried his best not to let them affect him. He'd heard plenty like this before after all, what was one more- and probably many more in the future- to the list.
"Gum Gum..."
"That doesn't sound good..."
"Whip!" Swinging his leg out, Luffy knocked down the group of about twelve, all of them crashing out of the bar's front doors.
"Nami, you can go get your money now," Luffy said, referring to the winnings Nami had yet to get from the Mayor. The orange-haired woman rose her head, blinking at Luffy in surprise for a second.
"How'd you know-"
"I felt it," Luffy answered, already knowing what she was going to ask.
"Right. I guess I'll leave it up to you then." She said, giving him a thumbs-up before further into the bar. Luffy took one more look at Usopp and Sanji who were still passed out, making sure they were still unharmed. Unlike Nami, Zoro, and Luffy, these two weren't faking their sleep. Luffy could feel that they were both deeply unconscious, their muted feelings blissfully unaware as to what was happening around them.
Turning his attention away from the two, Luffy walked out the front doors where he'd kicked the group out of. Walking out, he saw the aforementioned group scrambling to their feet, and another, much larger group of townspeople as well as the Mayor behind them.
"H-He's awake! The monster! 11097!" There were gasps and murmurs from the crowd as they looked at Luffy with wide eyes.
"It's no matter! There are about 100 of us he- ma-ma-ma... here right now. We can take him down." The mayor said from the front. Knowing that this fight would be nothing but a warm-up, Luffy turned to look towards Zoro who was standing on the bar's roof.
"You remembered who they were," Luffy said more than he asked. He could feel that the turmoil of trying to remember why he knew Miss. Wednesday and Mr. 9 had finally passed and instead, he was filled with recognition.
"That's right. They're called Baroque Works." Zoro responded, hopping down off the roof to join Luffy.
"You bastard! How is it that you know our company's name?!" Mr. 9, who Luffy hadn't realized was standing by the Mayor along with Miss Wednesday, asked. Everyone was even more shocked than they had been earlier, clearly in disbelief- and maybe even a little scared- over the fact that Zoro knew of them.
"When I used to be in a similar line of work, I was recruited by your company once. Naturally, I rejected it. Employees don't know each other's identity and are called by code names. Of course, the boss's whereabouts and his identity are also a mystery, even to them. Baroque Works is a criminal group that just faithfully carries out their orders. Hmph! Was it a secret?" Zoro asked with a menacing grin.
"Well, this is surprising... If you know our secrets, then we have no other choice but to kill you. Another gravestone will be added to the Cactus Rocks." Igarappoi said, Luffy feeling that he truly intended on killing them right now, blue aura or not.
"Kill them!" The Mayor yelled, pointing angrily in their direction. The effect was immediate as the crowd of 100 bounty hunters charged forward towards Luffy and Zoro. Both of them weren't worried in the slightest though, the two of them watching calmly as the crowd charged them.
"You got this?" Luffy asked, already turning around and walking back towards the bar. Zoro turned to look at him in confusion for a minute before grinning and nodding.
"This'll be easy," Zoro said confidently, pulling out his swords as he faced the crowd again. Luffy laughed at that, nodding.
"I'll leave it to you then," Luffy said, just as confident as Zoro was that the swordsman would be fine.
"Alright. Shall we?" Luffy heard Zoro ask before the sounds of a fight started. As much as Luffy wanted a good fight, he also knew he should probably get Usopp and Sanji back to the Merry, lest they get caught up in the fighting while they were unconscious.
Stepping in, Luffy immediately spotted his two crewmates, still just as passed out as when he'd left them. They both had smiles on their faces and drool coming from their mouths, blissfully unaware of what was happening outside.
Walking over to Usopp first since he was the closest, Luffy picked him up and slung him over his left shoulder. Moving to Sanji next, he slung the man over his right before turning to leave the bar again.
"Let me tell you Captain Usopps tale #731!" Usopp said in his sleep.
"Beautiful women everywhere!" Sanji cooed in his sleep as well. Luffy ignored the two he had in tow as he walked out of the bar, noticing that the fight had moved into the side alleys of the town and there was no one outside of the bar anymore. It made his job easier, but Luffy wouldn't lie and say he hadn't been hoping to fight someone himself.
The walk back to the Merry was peaceful despite the distant sounds of gunshots in the distance. Even though he was getting farther away, Luffy could still feel Zoro's emotions and because of that, he was keeping some attention on it to make sure Zoro didn't get into anything he couldn't handle. While he trusted that Zoro could handle everyone here, that didn't mean that the swordsman wouldn't run into any problems.
As expected, Zoro was fine. There was the occasional flare of pain, but it always subsided quickly, telling Luffy it was nothing serious.
When Luffy finally reached the Merry he put Sanji and Usopp into the men's room, and once they were safe he went back to join Zoro. It was at this point that there was a flare of pain in Zoro that didn't subside as easily as all the other flares. It wasn't anything serious, but it told Luffy that someone had gotten a semi-decent hit on the swordsman.
By the time Luffy was walking over to where Zoro was at, he saw that Igarappoi, Miss Wednesday, and Mr. 9 were standing amongst tens of bounty hunters that Zoro had taken down, only a handful still standing. Zoro was standing on the roof of a nearby home, his forehead bleeding and a body at his feet.
"It seems it's finally our turn to fight." Miss Wednesday said in determination.
"You may know this, but in Baroque Works, the smaller the number, the higher his level, and destructive power are. The three of us, Mr. 9, Mr. 8, and Miss Wednesday, are agents with a single-digit number, which means we're powerful people who are beyond comparison to those you just beat." Mr. 9 said, raising a pinky in the air as he grinned devilishly, clearly thinking he was going to scare Zoro with his words.
"Zoro could take you all," Luffy said as he continued to casually walk up to the group. It was obvious that the members of Baroque Works had forgotten about him, all of them spinning around with wide eyes.
"11097!" Mr. 9 squeaked, his previous confidence gone at the sight of Luffy.
"You're back," Zoro said in lieu of a greeting.
"Yeah. Usopp and Sanji are still sleeping. Nami's... somewhere over there." Luffy said, gesturing vaguely in the direction he could both smell and sense the navigator. Turning his attention back to the three Baroque Works agents and the small handful of bounty hunters, Luffy grinned.
"Want help?" He asked, already knowing what Zoro's answer would be.
"No, I got this Captain." Smile widening at Zoro's predictable answer, Luffy sat down against one of the buildings.
"I'm gonna take a nap then," Luffy said with a yawn. It was late in the night, the moon high in the sky now. He hadn't gotten much sleep earlier, so it would be nice to rest a while longer while he could.
"Don't underestimate us!" The Baroque Works agents screeched. Luffy ignored them though, even when Igarappoi pulled out what looked to be an instrument but turned out to be a gun. Before the man could attempt to use it on Luffy, Zoro came down from the rooftop and stopped him, drawing the agents' attention to him.
"You're fighting me right now. Let's see how good you guys really are."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The feeling of someone using his stomach as a bounce pad woke Luffy up. Blinking and looking around in confusion, the young Captain tried to figure out where he was and what was happening. It didn't take long for him to remember though as a cry from above showed Zoro slicing Igarappoi across the chest, defeating the Mayor of the town. As the man fell, Luffy noticed that the rest of Baroque Works were down as well, Zoro having successfully beaten them all.
Standing up and stretching, Luffy grabbed onto the roof that Zoro was now sitting on, joining his swordsman up there as the man pulled out a bottle of alcohol.
"Nice work Zoro." Luffy complimented, sitting beside the man.
"Thanks. So are we leaving now?" The swordsman asked as he took a swig of his drink. Luffy shrugged, leaning back on his hands and looking at the sky.
"I don't know. Nami said before that we had to wait for the log to set, right?" Luffy asked.
"Ah, right. I forgot about that. Well, at least there's plenty of alcohol still around." Zoro said as he continued drinking. Luffy started to laugh at that when he felt two new people arrive, stronger than Mr. 9, Mr. 8, and Miss Wednesday had been. Seeing the shift in Luffys posture, Zoro looked off towards where his Captain was looking.
"What's up?" He asked, wanting to know what Luffy was feeling that he couldn't.
"Two more people just got here. They're stronger than the guys you just fought." Luffy said, turning to look forward again, clearly not worried by them. Seeing this, Zoro decided he wouldn't worry about it either, finishing off his drink instead.
It was only quiet for another second when an explosion sounded to their right, a flash of light signaling that something blew up.
"Nami's here," Luffy told Zoro, motioning down the street where the navigator was sneaking around.
"Oh, good, we can leave then," Zoro said, moving to stand. Before he could though, Luffy grabbed his wrist, pulling him back down.
"Hey, what're you doing?" He asked in confusion, only barely noticing the two new people walking along the road beside the building they were on top of. Nami was able to sidle up against the other side of the building to keep from being seen, which is why Luffy hadn't stopped or grabbed her.
Whoever these two new people were, they were the ones that had just arrived; the stronger ones. They were full of malice and determination, their auras a dark grey that Luffy hadn't seen from anyone else on the island thus far.
"They're not good people," Luffy said quietly to Zoro. The swordsman frowned but remained silent at that; Zoro, Luffy, and Nami all watching as the two new arrivals walked over to where Mr. 9, Mr. 8, and Miss Wednesday were sitting after Zoro had defeated them. There was also a duck there as well, but Luffy had no idea where it'd come from seeing as he'd been asleep.
The three straw hats remained silent, listening as the Baroque Agents spoke to each other. They found out the two new arrivals were Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine, two agents higher up than the three Zoro had taken down already which explained why they were stronger.
At first, it seemed that Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine were here to help the other agents with taking down Zoro, Luffy, and the rest of the crew, but it was quickly evident that that wasn't the case. They started talking about how someone found out the boss' secrets, whatever they were, and that they were there to take them down now.
They started to explain that the two that had done this were from the Alabastan Kingdom, somewhere Luffy had never heard of before, but before they could reveal just who it was, Igarappoi stood, guns coming from the giant rolls in his hair and firing.
"Die! Igarappappa!" There was a loud explosion as all of the guns fired at once, kicking up a dust cloud.
"I won't let you lay a finger on our princess! On my name as Squad Captain of Alabasta Kingdom Security!" The man yelled, holding his arms out at his sides to block Miss Wednesday from any harm.
"Igaram!" Miss Wednesday yelled, eyes wide.
"I thought his name was Igarama- Igarapa- Ipa- Igarappoi," Luffy said, struggling to get the name right.
"He was obviously lying," Zoro said, reminding Luffy that he had known that from the beginning.
"Oh, yeah, right." The Captain said, turning his attention back to the group below them.
"Igaram, the Squad Captain of Alabasta Kingdom Security. And it's Princess Nefertari Vivi. In the name of Baroque Works' boss, we'll eliminate you two." Mr. 5 said, holding up a picture of Miss Wednesday, now revealed to be named Vivi. The dust cleared, showing that the two were completely unaffected by the blast, but Igaram didn't stop, instead firing off more rounds in a vain attempt at stopping what was to come.
It seemed that this was all Igaram could do though as he fell forward, exhausted after his fight with Zoro and now this.
"Igaram!" Vivi called out in worry, rushing to the man's side.
"It's no use!" Miss Valentine called out from high up in the air, her umbrella open above her. Then, she was plummeting down fast towards Vivi, kicking out her leg towards the woman. Vivi was able to dodge, but her metal hairband holding her hair up was broken, showing the strength behind Miss Valentine's kick. Despite being at a clear disadvantage and already tired as well like Igaram, Vivi still attempted to fight back, hooking a ring on her finger that had a sharp disc on the end of a wire that looked like a peacock feather. Spinning it rapidly, she swung it out towards Miss Valentine but the woman dodged effortlessly, floating back to Mr. 5's side.
"You monsters!" Vivi yelled at the two agents, clearly distressed.
"V-Vivi, you're a princess?!" Mr. 9 asked from the ground, still in shock over that detail.
"This isn't time for joking Mr. 9!" Vivi yelled, turning her distress towards the man.
"Vivi-sama! Never mind me! Just please... escape from here! For our motherland..." Igaram said desperately from the ground, not able to look back towards Vivi.
"Without you, our kingdom of Alabasta will be... Please! Hurry!" Igaram continued to plead. Vivi didn't even have any time to decide what she wanted to do when Mr. 5 started digging up his nose.
"You think you can escape from us?" He asked, Luffy feeling that he was getting ready to attack, but not knowing what to expect.
"Don't mess with me!" Vivi roared, forgetting her worry momentarily as she pulled out a second ring that she put on her other hands pinky, spinning the two discs simultaneously. Before anyone could make a move to attack though, Mr. 9 stood up in front of both Igaram and Vivi, holding his bat out in front of Vivi.
"I'm having a hard time swallowing what's going on here, but we've been a pair for a long time. I'll buy you some time! Get going, Miss Wednesday!" Mr. 9 said, smiling at Vivi.
"Mr. 9!"
"Pretty manly, wouldn't you say? Bye-bye, baby! Hot Blooded Bat..." At that, Mr. 9 began flipping towards Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine, determined to do as he'd said and hold them off. Luffy felt himself smile at the action, remembering something he'd learned a long time ago.
People with good colors could still do bad things and people with bad colors could still do good things.
"Come on Zoro, it's time for us to go," Luffy said, standing from where they'd been perched and moving to where Nami was hiding, grabbing her and pulling her up with them. She yelped at the sudden feeling of being pulled, but once she realized who it was, she didn't protest any further.
"What the hell! Warn me first!" She yelled, still irked at the surprise.
"Shishishi, sorry, but we gotta get going!" Luffy told her, he and Zoro turning to look where Mr. 9 was getting closer to Mr. 5.
"You're right about that. I'm not entirely sure what's going on here, but it's not something I think we should get ourselves caught up in." Nami said with a nod, getting ready to head to the Merry. She didn't have a chance to even start though when Luffy jumped off the roof, running towards Igaram and Vivi and grabbing the two under his arms.
"W-what?!" Vivi and Igaram asked simultaneously, the two not having expected this just as Nami hadn't expected being grabbed.
"Let's go, guys!" Luffy called to his crewmates, laughing as he continued running down the street.
"What's that idiot up to now?!" Zoro asked in irritation.
"Who knows with him!" Nami said, just as annoyed. Regardless, the two followed after him, ignoring the sounds of explosions coming from behind them.
"Sir Captain, I have a request of you, as unreasonable as that sounds!" Igaram said to Luffy. The teen stopped in his laughing, looking at Igaram in confusion while Zoro yelled from behind them.
"You were trying to kill us earlier and now you're asking for favors?!" The swordsman yelled in irritation but was ignored.
"Huh? What is it?" Luffy asked, wondering what the man wanted.
"Might I ask you to protect the princess in my place?! Those two back there are both devil fruit users, and I have no means of fighting them alone. Please, keep her safe in my steed!" Igaram began pleading again.
"Igaram!" Vivi called over to the man.
"If you can safely deliver the princess to the great kingdom of Alabasta far East of here... I promise that you will be rewarded immensely! I humbly beg of you! Please, keep the princess safe!" Igaram continued. Zoro and Nami were close enough behind them to hear the conversation and at the mention of a reward, Nami sped up beside them, greed in her eyes.
"Is this 'immense reward' for real?" She asked with a sly grin.
"I'll take up that offer! How does one billion berries sound?" She continued with a wink. Luffy blinked at her but didn't stop her either while Vivi and Igaram gaped at her.
"O-one billion be-?!" The two couldn't find their words anymore, too shocked by the demanded reward to speak.
"Will you promise us the one billion, Squad Captain? If you don't ask for our help, your princess probably will die..." Nami pushed deviously. Vivi blanched at that while Igaram looked to be struggling with an answer.
"A mere soldier like me can't promise such large sums of money..." He said, trying to get out of answering directly.
"You're not suggesting a princess is worth less than that, are you? Pay it." Nami said, smile growing larger.
"Now she's threatening him!" Zoro said in disbelief from behind them.
"Hey, they're chasing us," Luffy told everyone, feeling that Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine had taken down Mr. 9 and were now coming after them. At this news, Namis smile only seemed to grow if possible while Igaram and Vivi began squirming in fear.
"In that case, if you're willing to safely deliver the princess there, it would be best if you negotiate the terms with her directly!" Igaram said, Vivi sending him a look of betrayal at that answer.
"Oh? Is that so? Well then, Princess, what'll it be? One billion for keeping you safe?" Nami asked.
"I-I... that is... Uh... Why don't we work out the numbers after we're not in danger anymore?" Vivi asked weakly. The promise of there being money for sure seemed to be enough to appease Nami as she patted Luffy on the back.
"In that case, I leave it up to you Luffy!" She said, still grinning widely.
"Right!" Luffy replied, not realizing he was being used for Nami's money-making schemes. Besides, he'd already decided a while ago what he was going to do, regardless of if they were paid or not.
"I'm so ashamed! If only I'd been stronger, I could have protected the princess!" Igaram said pitifully.
"Don't worry about it! He's insanely strong!" Nami said, clearly not worried herself.
"If anything should happen to the princess- to Vivi-sama... the Kingdom of Alabasta will be finished... She must live!" He finished darkly. Namis smile fell at that, realizing that there was a lot more at stake here than she'd originally thought. Under Luffys other arm, Vivi looked to the ground, sharing Igarams feelings on the subject.
Luffy wanted to ask plenty of questions about what was happening- because he wasn't entirely following the conversation- but his haki warned him that they should stop running- now. Listening to this, he skidded to a halt, dropping Vivi and Igaram to the ground and stopping Nami from running forward with his now free arm. Zoro was behind them, so he was able to stop himself before he ran past them, wondering what was up.
Only seconds later, an explosion went off right where they would have been.
"Mr. 5..." Vivi whispered from the ground, her eyes wide.
"I'm a bomb man. I can make my entire body explode. Thanks to this Bomb-Bomb fruit power, there is no mission I've never completed!" Mr. 5 said confidently from behind them.
"Using my Kilo-Kilo fruit power, I'll bury Miss Wednesday into the ground!" A voice from the sky said. They looked up to see that Miss Valentine was floating in the air, twirling her umbrella in front of her as she grinned maliciously towards them.
"I'm able to change my body weight at will! Right now I'm light enough to be lifted by the wind! But now, it's time to get heavy! 2 kilograms... 3 kilograms..." They watched as Miss valentine slowly began picking up speed, plummeting towards them faster and faster.
"5 kilograms... 10 kilograms... 100 kilograms... 1000 kilograms! 10,000 kilograms!" Not wanting Igaram and Vivi to get crushed, Luffy looked over to Zoro, grabbing the two by the back of their shirts and tossing him in his direction.
"Zoro! Nami! Run!" Luffy called to them, wanting them to get out of the way while they could. They didn't hesitate to do just that, seeing what their future would be if they didn't. Zoro easily caught the two bodies thrown at him and ran off, Nami hot on his heels while Luffy remained motionless. He watched as Miss Valentine sped closer and closer, a manic grin on her face as she saw that Luffy was going to be an easy target.
Luffy let her plummet closer and closer until she was only inches away from him, at which point he used gear second to move out of the way. Since he moved so fast, Miss Valentine had no time to readjust her weight or turn course to Luffys new spot, and instead she barreled into the ground, creating a large crater around her. This didn't seem to faze the woman as she floated out of the hole, only mildly perturbed as she went back to Mr. 5's side.
"So you're 11097, otherwise known as Monkey D. Luffy." Mr. 5 said, he and Miss Valentine eyeing Luffy carefully.
"Why would you want to protect the princess of Alabasta?" He asked, glancing to where Vivi was now standing beside Zoro and Nami.
"Why not? She's a good person." Luffy said matter of factly, looking at the dark colors around Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine again, the colors contrasting Vivi's bright blue.
"I guess it's really no matter. You're our enemy, one way or the other. You're in our way." Mr. 5 continued. Beside him, Miss Valentine's grin grew again.
"Yeah! He is!" She agreed with a laugh. With that said, Mr. 5 began picking his nose again, Nami cringing in disgust while Zoro and Luffy watched without expression. He didn't even say anything as he flicked the booger he picked towards Luffy. Like before, Luffy didn't move, letting what was now a bomb come hurtling his way, knowing it wouldn't affect him in the slightest.
As expected, there was a loud explosion, but when the dust settled, Luffy was still standing, as unaffected as he'd predicted.
"Why does everyone always use explosives?" The young Captain asked with a small pout. Time and time again, he would fight enemies who always thought explosives were going to work on Luffy. While normally explosives would be extremely useful against normal people, Luffy was not a normal person and all explosives did were briefly make the air hot.
Miss Valentine and Mr. 5 were both surprised to see Luffy unharmed, and even though Mr. 5 didn't show his surprise on his face, Luffy could still feel it in him.
"I'm taking Vivi back to her home. If you want to stop me you're going to have to be a lot stronger than that." Luffy said, already knowing who was going to win this fight. His words did nothing but rile the two up though, their anger rising.
"Don't mock us! We're Baroque Officer Agents!" Miss Valentine spat out with a glare.
"Mr. 5, let's show him what we can do!" She said, the bomb man nodding in agreement. The two ran forward, ready to attack Luffy, but there wasn't much they were going to be able to do against Luffy. Their two devil fruits were useless against Luffy who was immune to both explosions as well as being crushed. Because of that, Luffy knew that this fight was going to be no fun, and so as to avoid drawing this out any longer than necessary, he waited until they were close enough before hitting the two over the head. The hit was strong enough that the two immediately fell unconscious, crumpling to the ground like Luffy expected they would.
"Alright, they're out," Luffy said, turning to look at his crew, as well as their two new companions. Vivi and Igaram were staring at him with wide eyes, shocked by this show of strength, while Nami and Zoro were unfazed by it by now.
"He took out two Baroque Agents?!" Vivi and Igaram asked incredulously. Beside them, Nami grinned mischievously again.
"That's right. I told you he was insanely strong, remember? Now, about that payment. One billion? It's a pretty good offer if you ask me." The navigator said, both Igaram and Vivi blanching at the mention of payment.
"N-now hold on, before we start discussing payment, we have to worry about how you'll be leaving this island, correct?" Igaram asked, trying to steer the conversation away from money.
"What are you talking about? We've got our own ship we can use." Zoro said in confusion.
"While yes, you have a ship and log pose that you can follow, that doesn't stop the whole of Baroque Works that is now going to be after you," Igaram explained, sitting up the best he could.
"Don't worry, I can fight 'em all!" Luffy said, grabbing his bicep with a grin.
"I don't doubt that, but we don't want them to know where the princess truly is. If they do, it will give them time to prepare once they see how close to Alabasta she is." The man continued.
"So what are we supposed to do about that?" Zoro asked, though like Luffy, he wasn't seeing how this was a big deal.
"I have a plan for that. You four stay here, I'll be right back." With that the man stood, hobbling back into town. They watched him go, the straw hats in confusion while Vivi watched in concern, but no one stopped him.
"Now, about that payment?" Nami pestered again, Vivi sighing in defeat.
"I do appreciate your saving me. Thank you. And I know I mislead you before into saving me, but I can't." Vivi said, looking down in shame.
"What do you mean you cant? You're a princess. One billion shouldn't be much..." Nami said in confusion.
"Do you know of the kingdom known as Alabasta?" Vivi asked, looking up at Nami with a frown.
"No," Nami said, wondering what that had to do with anything. Behind her, Luffy and Zoro shared a look before shaking their heads as well, none of them knowing about the kingdom. Looking down again, Vivi's frown deepened.
"It's a peaceful kingdom known as a great civilization and nation. Well, it used to be." She said, her emotions growing sadder and sadder as she spoke.
"Used to be? What about now?" Nami asked in concern. Even if she'd never heard of the place herself, it was still someone's home, and to hear it wasn't doing so well made Nami concerned for the people that lived there.
"It's in the middle of a civil war. For years now, signs of a revolution have begun to appear. The people revolted, and the kingdom fell into total chaos... Then, one day, I heard the name of an organization... Baroque Works!" At those words, Vivi rose her head to show the rage on her face, a hatred burning inside her that nearly influenced Luffy.
"I learned that the populace was being manipulated by this group. But there was a tight lid on any other information than that, and there was nothing more I could do. That's when I asked Igaram, who always meddled in my business since childhood, for help. I asked him if there was a way I could infiltrate Baroque Works. Because that would let us see who was pulling the strings and what their goal was." Vivi admitted. At her words, Zoro found himself grinning, holding on to his swords at his side.
"You're a pretty high-spirited princess. So? Did you figure out this goal of theirs?" The swordsman asked curiously. Vivi nodded in confirmation.
"The founding of an ideal nation. Those who work for Mr. 0 are guaranteed a high standing in this new nation. The stronger you are, the lower your number, and the higher the standing you'll have. The boss says this is all to create an ideal nation, but it's an enormous lie! The true goal is to take over Alabasta Kingdom! I have to hurry back, tell everyone the truth, and stop the fighting! If I don't do something... If I don't do something..." Vivi couldn't even finish her sentence, her fists clenched so tightly in her lap that they were shaking.
"I see. So that's the deal. Now everything finally connects. There'd be no money during a civil war, huh..." Nami asked, because even though she felt bad for the kingdom itself, she also felt bad that there wasn't a one billion beli reward in her future.
"Hey, who is pulling the strings?" Luffy asked curiously, wanting to know if it was someone strong. Surely it had to be if they had such a large organization following them, but Luffy knew that it wasn't always the case that the head of something would be strong.
"T-the boss' identity?!" Vivi asked, eyes widening in surprise that he'd asked.
"Y-you shouldn't ask that!" She warned worriedly.
"You know who it is, right?" Luffy continued asking in confusion, wondering what the big deal was. Vivi's fear only grew at this though, the princess waving her hands rapidly in front of herself.
"Don't ask me! Anything but that! Your lives will be put in danger too!" Vivi said fearfully.
"I think I'll pass on that. After all, these guys are trying to take over an entire country! They're obviously insanely dangerous people!" Nami said with a nervous laugh, sweating at the thought.
"Yes! They are! As strong as you people maybe, you'd never stand a chance against one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Crocodile!" There was a beat of silence as everyone realized what Vivi had just said, and once they did, Vivi and Nami both paled, jaws dropped and eyes wide.
"Who now?!" Nami screeched fearfully.
"You just said it..." Zoro deadpanned, not knowing exactly how he felt about that. As they were recovering from the shock of Vivi outing the boss' identity to them, they noticed that beside them there was a vulture and sea otter staring at them. Like when Vivi spilled the beans, no one spoke as they processed what they were seeing. When the two flew off, Nami turned to Vivi, shaking her furiously, tears falling.
"What was that bird and sea otter?!" She demanded, shaking the princess harshly.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Vivi repeated over and over, tears falling down her face as well.
"Are they going to tell someone?!" Nami continued to demand, fearing for her life. Despite all of this though, Luffy only felt himself growing excited.
"Hey, a warlord!" He cheered to Zoro who grinned back.
"Not too shabby!" The swordsman said.
"I-I'm very sorry! It just slipped out!" Vivi continued, still being thrown around by Nami in the background.
"Like that really fixes things now! Why did you have to drag us down with you?!" Nami barked back, all while Luffy continued laughing.
"Being hunted by a warlord the moment we enter the Grand Line is too much for me!" Nami said, finally dropping Vivi on the ground and crying into her hands.
"We're lucky we can see him so soon!" Zoro said to Luffy, the two still unfazed by Nami and Vivi's distress, too focused on what they knew would be a much more interesting fight than all the ones they'd had so far.
"I wonder what he's like!" Luffy agreed.
"Shut up you two!" Nami barked again before she began walking off in anger.
"It's been a short acquaintance, but I thank you for everything!" She called, not turning back as she marched off down the street.
"Where are you going?" Luffy asked in confusion.
"They don't know what we look like yet! I'm running away!" Nami stated, only to walk up to the otter and vulture from before. The otter was scribbling something on a piece of paper, which they turned to show were three portraits of Nami, Luffy, and Zoro.
"Wow! That's so good!" Nami complimented right before realizing what she was seeing. Turning around in a rage, she yelled back to the three who were watching.
"I guess this means there's nowhere to run now, huh?!" The navigator yelled furiously.
"I'm sorry!" Vivi called back.
"She's funny!" Luffy laughed.
"Where was she planning to run to, anyway?" Zoro asked before grinning.
"Guess this means all three of us are on Baroque Work's hit list now." The swordsman said, eliciting more laughter from Luffy.
"That's exciting!" Luffy said, thinking of all the fun to come. Nami, however, was sitting on the ground, arms holding her legs tightly to her chest as a wave of depression rolled off of her.
"I-I do have 500,000 Berries in savings..." Vivi said in an attempt to comfort the other woman, still feeling bad that she'd dragged them all into this unwillingly.
"Fear not! Its- ma-ma-ma... It's all right! As I said earlier, I have a plan!" The group- sans Nami- turned to see Igaram who was now dressed in the same clothing as Vivi, his giant hair now tamed into a ponytail that matched how Vivi's had looked earlier, save for the curls at the bottom of it. In his arms he held three stuffed dummies with crude drawings for faces.
"Igaram! What are those clothes?!" Vivi asked, turning her attention away from Nami who was still sitting depressingly on the ground.
"You look hilarious in those, old guy!" Luffy said, walking over to the man and getting a closer look at the strange get-up.
"It's idiot after idiot..." Nami muttered weakly, her back still to Igaram and the rest.
"Vivi-sama, please listen to me carefully. Once Baroque Works' intelligence network learns of something, pursuers will come after you almost immediately. On top of that, if you know the boss' secrets... You know what happens." Igaram said to the princess who listened carefully.
"A thousand or so people will come after you." She answered, only causing Namis fear to grow rapidly.
"Therefore, I will pretend to be you, like so, and sail straight to Alabasta with three dummies onboard." Igaram continued while Luffy poked said dummies.
"These are supposed to be us?" The teen asked.
"A decoy, huh..." Zoro said, also eyeing the dummies.
"While the pursuers are busy with me, all of you will head to Alabasta via the normal route," Igaram said, ignoring the two.
"Hold it! Who said we were gonna take the princess there?! We still haven't come to an agreement you know!" Nami said weakly, standing up finally.
"Don't worry, we'll take her," Luffy assured, much to Namis disliking.
"Crocodile is gonna come after us, you know!" She screeched, holding a fist in the air as she did.
"Is Crocodile really that strong?" Luffy asked, wondering why Nami was getting so worked up over this. Sure, the man was a warlord, and Luffy knew warlords were supposed to be strong, but how strong?
"He's one of the seven warlords of the sea. He's a legally recognized pirate, and thus has no bounty on his head. However, the bounty he did have long ago was 80 million berries." Igaram told the Captain.
"80 million?! That's four times Arlong's bounty! Say no!" Nami demanded, the tears falling again.
"Will you do it?" Igaram asked Luffy seriously, all of them ignoring Namis yelling.
"Yeah! It sounds like fun!" At Luffys response, Nami put her head in her hand, wilting.
"I am ever grateful!" Igaram said, Luffy feeling the man's gratitude was real.
Even though Nami was still extremely opposed to this idea, she still followed when they all began heading to Igarams ship, but that didn't mean she was happy about it in the slightest. The entire way, Luffy could feel her fear and nervousness, though she had stopped showing it as expressly as she had before. Zoro, like Luffy, was nothing but excited while Vivi and Igaram were much more subdued and tense. The mixture of emotions was strange, but Luffy tried focusing more on what was to come rather than the strange amalgamation of emotions he could feel now.
When they finally reached the ship, Igaram turned to face them, Vivi walking over to him as she sensed a farewell.
"Now, then. I, Vivi, will leave from here." Igaram said, imitating Vivi's voice.
"That's a perfect imitation, old guy!" Luffy praised.
"Imitation of who?!" Nami asked, knowing that no one in their right mind would believe that was Vivi's voice.
"Now then, Princess. Please give me the Eternal Pose." Igaram requested, his voice back to normal as he held his hand out for the object. With a heavy heart, Vivi did as told and pulled the pose out, handing it over.
"Eternal Pose?" Nami questioned, her fear momentarily forgotten.
"You've never heard of it? I suppose you could say it's a permanent version of a log pose. Whereas a log pose always leads ships to the next island, an eternal pose will never forget the magnetic energy of the island that is stored in it. Meaning it will forever point to that island alone. And this one is set to Alabasta." Igaram explained, holing up the Eternal Pose Vivi had given him, the word Alabasta etched in the top.
"You're going to use this to go to Alabasta?" Vivi asked, looking up at Igaram.
"Vivi-sama. Please take the indirect island-hopping route to Alabasta. I've not taken the path myself, but it should only be two or three islands if you follow the Log." As Igaram and Vivi spoke, the straw hats watched on silently, not interrupting the two.
"Please take good care of the princess." Igaram requested, Luffy nodding his agreement. He already said he would, and he planned on upholding his word.
"Igaram..." Looking to Vivi as she spoke, the man saw that the princess looked to be holding back tears.
"I expect it will be a harsh journey. Be careful on your way." He said in lieu of comforting her.
"Iga-!" Vivi stopped herself, another rapid mixture of emotions flowing through her as she fought back the sadness. Instead, she put on a smile, holding out a hand that Igaram grabbed without question.
"You too!" With that, the man boarded his ship, dummies at his side while the rest stayed back and watched. For once, the fear in Nami was gone as she watched with a smile that the rest shared.
"There he goes! He was a funny old guy, to the very end!" Luffy said cheerfully, happy that Igaram hadn't turned out to be as bad a guy as his first impression had made him out to be.
"He really is reliable." Vivi agreed, turning to watch the ship sail further and further away. They were about ready to leave, the ship far in the distance, when Luffy felt a spike in darkness that made his skin crawl. Before he could warn anyone, there was a loud explosion that lit up the sky, a blast of heat blowing past them.
"No!" Nami cried out, everyone's smiles gone as they watched Igarams ship explode right in front of them.
"That's impossible! They're already after us?!" Vivi asked in disbelief. Luffy put his hat on his head since it had fallen off during the blast and frowned. He could feel that Igaram was still alive, but there wasn't anything they could do right now to go help him, not when there was someone with the darkness nearby, clearly ready to hurt, or even kill, if necessary.
"Nami, what's the log say?" Zoro asked, an air of franticness rising at the new danger.
"We're okay! It's stored up!" She called back, checking the Pose to be sure.
"Bring her with us! We're setting sail!" Zoro said, referring to Vivi who was still standing motionlessly at the water's edge, watching the explosion that had yet to die down.
"Vivi! Vivi!" Nami called, running up to the woman.
"Hurry! If they find us, it'll all be for nothing!" Nami said, trying to reason with the princess. As she got up beside her though and saw her face, she saw that Vivi was biting her lip so hard it was starting to bleed. Even though they had to hurry, Nami couldn't help but hug the woman, trying to comfort her the best she could under the circumstances.
"Don't worry! We will get you there! I know they don't look like it..." Nami started, feeling the tears from Vivi falling on her shoulder.
"Luffy, where're Sanji and Usopp?!" Zoro called from the distance, he and the Captain running off.
"I brought them to the Merry! They were still sleeping!" Luffy called back.
"Let's wake them up and get ready to set sail!" Zoro said, Luffy nodding in agreement.
"Just the four of them! Baroque Works?! Crocodile?! Ha! The seven warlords are nothing at all!" Nami said with a grin despite the fact that she was sweating nervously. Even though only moments ago she had been worried for her life, Nami knew that right now they needed Vivi to trust them and go back to the Merry.
With Namis comfort, Vivi finally nodded, the two women turning to follow after Zoro and Luffy. The two guys had a head start, and because of that Nami and Vivi had to run as fast as they could to catch up. Nami, well versed in the art of running away, was faster than Vivi which she noticed quickly.
"Hurry up, Vivi!" She called back, the princess doing her best to catch up.
"R-right!" Vivi called back, looking around as she ran.
By now, Zoro and Luffy had reached the Merry, Zoro lifting the anchor while Luffy attempted to wake up Sanji and Usopp.
"They're still sleeping!" Luffy called up to Zoro.
"Leave them then!" Zoro called back, noticing that Vivi and Nami were finally catching up.
"I can't leave him!" Vivi said to Nami who was trying to get her to board.
"Hey! What's the problem?!" Zoro asked, wondering if the two knew the situation they were in.
"She says her duck is missing!" Nami called, clearly at the end of her patience.
"He won't come when I whistle for him!" Vivi said. Zoro turned slowly to look at the duck sitting beside him, the swordsman crossing his arms over his chest.
"This him?" He asked in a deadpanned voice, the duck raising a wing in greeting.
"You're there?!"
"He was here even before me." Nami and Vivi yelled in irritation. Seeing that everyone was here, Vivi and Nami began climbing the rope ladder to get onto the Merry, nothing holding them back now.
"There's a tributary just up the river! We can use it to get out to sea a little faster!" Vivi called to Nami as the navigator rushed on deck.
"Alright! Let's go!" Nami called when everything was ready. At her words, Zoro and Luffy set the sails, letting Nami handle the rest.
"Hey." Vivi was surprised to hear Zoros voice, jumping as she turned to look at him.
"Mr. Bushido..." The princess said, her duck turning to look at the swordsman as well.
"Just how many people are gonna be chasing us down?" Zoro asked, wanting to know for the future.
"I don't know. There are about 2,000 people in Baroque Works, and I've heard there are several town like bases like this one nearby." Vivi informed them. Hearing this, Nami leaned over the railing of the upper deck, worry on her face.
"They really might send 1,000 people?!" Nami asked incredulously. From the mast, Usopp and Sanji both poked their heads up, rubbing them groggily.
"H-huh?" Sanji muttered, looking around.
"The ships leaving?!" Usopp asked, blinking in confusion.
"Finally awake, I see," Nami said in a bored tone, annoyed that they had managed to sleep through the whole thing.
"Wait! Let's just stay one more night!" Sanji cried, he and Usopp rushing to the railing to look at the town that was growing smaller in the distance.
"Yeah!" Usopp shouted in agreement.
"This town is great! And the girls are cute!" Sanji continued.
"There's no telling when we'll have this much fun again!" Usopp added.
"Let's take it easy! We are pirates!"
"Plus, it's not even morning yet!"
"They have some nerve. They don't even know anything..." Zoro muttered in annoyance.
"Hey! Explain to them!" Zoro called over to Nami who was walking over to them. When she reached them, she hit the two over the head to shut them up while Luffy watched on, not saying anything.
"Yep! I just did!" Nami called back with a smile.
"That was fast..." Zoro said, not having seen her hit them.
"Yeah, I left out the complicated parts. We should be able to leave the island soon." Nami said, looking around them to make sure they were headed the right way.
"Cool! There's fog now!" Luffy called, looking around as well to see the thick blanket of fog covering them.
"It's almost morning..." Zoro noted. Realizing they were getting close to escaping, Vivi and Karoo went to join Nami and Luffy on the upper deck, all of them watching the fog in front of them.
Even though they were all distracted with watching the fog, that didn't stop Luffy from picking up on the darkness behind them. It was the same as before when Igarams ship blew up, and because of that, Luffy was even more on edge when he turned to see who it was. Those with him noticed his sudden tension, wondering what was happening, only to see what Luffy had sensed.
Sitting on their railing was a woman with black hair and a purple cowgirl hat that matched her purple outfit. Seeing that they noticed her, the woman grinned, her chin in her hands as she tapped her fingers on her cheek.
"This is a nice ship." She told them calmly. Luffy already didn't like her because of the darkness he could feel in her, but looking at her closer, he could see that her aura was a black as well, though there was something off about it that he couldn't quite pinpoint. It wasn't the blackest aura he'd ever seen, but there was something about its edges that seemed wrong, something not right. Seeing as he wasn't able to figure it out at the moment, Luffy put the thought on the back burner in favor of what was happening but keeping a close eye on the new arrival all the same.
"Who're you?!" Zoro asked, hand moving to his swords instinctively.
"Y-you're...!" Vivi stuttered, unable to speak clearly. Noticing this, the woman's smile widened and she tilted her head further into her hand.
"I ran into Mr. 8 a short while ago, Miss Wednesday." She said, showing her teeth now as she smiled.
"You killed Igaram!" Vivi all but growled. Luffy didn't correct her, deciding he would do that later, and decided to address this new person himself. He wanted nothing to do with her, and if they had to fight that was fine with him, as long as she got off his ship.
"Who are you? What're you doing on this ship?" Luffy asked with a dangerous look.
"What are you doing here, Miss All Sunday?!" Vivi asked, revealing that the woman was apart of Baroque Works.
"Miss All Sunday?! What number is she partner to?!" Nami asked fearfully.
"She's the partner of Mr. 0... the boss!" Vivi told them, her voice low and serious.
"The bo- Crocodile?!" Nami screeched.
"She was the only one who knew the boss' identity. We found out who he is by following her!" Vivi said, turning to glare at Miss All Sunday.
"More accurately... I allowed you to follow me." Miss All Sunday said, Luffy feeling that she was telling the truth.
"I know that! You're also the one who told him we discovered his identity, right?!" Vivi yelled, fists clenched at her sides.
"That's right." Miss All Sunday confirmed.
"What exactly is it you're trying to do?!" Vivi demanded to know.
"Good question. You were all so intent and serious that I found myself helping out. The idea of a princess trying her hardest to save her kingdom while making herself an enemy of Baroque Works... It was just so ridiculous, you see..." She said, her posture and expression never changing as she spoke.
"Don't mock us!" Vivi screamed angrily as the crew moved at once. Sanji and Usopp, who had finally woken up from Namis hit, both pulled out weapons; Usopp aimed his slingshot at the woman while Sanji held a gun to her head. Zoro pulled out his sword and Nami her bo staff, but Luffy didn't move, still ready for anything. He could feel the calm confidence in Miss All Sunday, telling him that she was either strong enough that she felt she could take them all easily, or she had something else up her sleeve. Whatever it was, Luffy wasn't going to do anything until he knew more, especially seeing as this woman had both bad feelings and a bad color.
"Hey! Sanji! You do realize what you're doing?!" Usopp asked as he pulled the sling of his slingshot back, holding it there.
"No, not really. I just sensed that my beloved Miss Wednesday was in danger..." Sanji admitted. For once, Miss All Sunday frowned, though was still calm about the situation she was in as she closed her eyes.
"I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't point such dangerous objects at me." She said, and just as fast as everyone had pulled out their weapons, they were disarmed. Namis bo staff was smacked out of her hands while Usopp and Sanji were flung away from her.
"You don't mean-!" Zoro started with wide eyes.
"A devil-" Vivi was cut off as Zoros sword was also knocked out of his hands despite there being no one there to do it.
"A devil fruit?!" The swordsman asked.
"Which one?! What's her power?!" Vivi asked desperately, watching as Usopp and Sanji landed nearby.
"Ow... Uwah! Upon closer look, you're actually a beautiful lady!" Sanji said, his eyes turning to hearts immediately as he looked up at Miss All Sunday.
"Now, now. Don't be so hasty. I haven't been given any orders. I have no reason to fight." She said honestly. As she said this though, Luffy felt the straw hat on his head fly off, watching as it flew into the woman's waiting hand. She spun it around, looking to Luffy now as she did.
"So you're the infamous 11097, the straw hat Captain I've heard so much about... Monkey D. Luffy." There was a strange feeling in the woman now, like she was interested despite her outward appearance suggesting otherwise. Luffy only felt himself tense up though, his anger growing at the fact that this woman with dark colors and feelings had just stolen his hat, something that was extremely precious to him.
"Give me my hat back," Luffy demanded, his voice quiet and low, yet threatening. His face only backed the tone of voice as he glared dangerously at Miss All Sunday. The tension was palpable for the crew as they looked between Luffy and Miss All Sunday. It wasn't often they saw Luffy anything but happy, so for him to be so angry was a little jarring.
Miss All Sunday remained silent a moment, anything she had ready to say gone as she looked Luffy in the eye. Despite her expression remaining unchanged, Luffy could feel her emotions shift. She suddenly felt much more cautious than she had earlier, and maybe even a small bit nervous.
"My, what an angry tone. I'm assuming this is important to you then?" She asked, smiling despite her inner feelings as she put the hat on top of her own.
"How unlucky you are..." She started, her words sounding like there was a meaning behind them that they weren't understanding. She looked Luffy in the eye for another minute before she tossed the straw hat back to him, the Captain catching it easily and placing it on his head.
"You people who picked up a princess Baroque Works is out to kill... And a princess being protected by a mere handful of pirates... But what's even unluckier is the course your log Pose indicates." Miss All Sunday began, her smile returning as wide as ever. Nami checked her Log Pose in worry, wondering what was so bad about its destination.
"The name of the next island is... Little Garden. We don't even need to do anything, you'll be wiped out long before you can even reach Alabasta." She told them confidently, her eyes scanning over all of them.
"We won't," Luffy told her calmly, but just as confident as she had been.
"Hm. Perhaps not. Fate favors a D after all. However, fate hasn't seemed to favor you and your brothers all that much, has it?" She asked, making Luffy bristle, his heart pounding faster.
"What's that supposed to mean?" His tone was just as dangerous as it'd been when he'd demanded his hat back. Nami and Usopp gulped nervously as the conversation progressed, all of them knowing that Luffy's past was not something the teen enjoyed talking about. Zoro shared in that worry, watching Luffy and the woman carefully, but not saying anything, while Sanji continued gawking at Miss All Sundays beauty. Vivi, being new to the crew, had no idea what the significance behind the woman's words were and so she listened on in lost confusion.
"To get caught up in such a place as the facility? Surely that wasn't the luck of a D that allowed that to happen." Miss All Sunday answered.
"And what do you know about facilities?" Luffy asked, trying to keep calm but feeling his self-control slipping away faster and faster.
"More than I'm supposed to. More than your own crew it seems. In any case, maybe it was that same luck of a D that helped you and your brothers get out. The first children to escape a facility." She said, standing finally and turning to face the ocean.
"Perhaps Little Garden will be peaceful in comparison to such a place as the facility. If you do happen to survive... let's meet again." Miss All Sunday finished, turning to look at them over her shoulder.
"No, I don't think so," Luffy told her, never wanting to see this woman again. She nodded at his words, still smiling, before jumping over the railing.
"Let's go, Bunchi!" She said as she landed on top of a large turtle beside the Merry.
"W-what is that?!" Zoro asked as he and Usopp went to look over the railing.
"Don't tell me it's a sea king!" Usopp yelled fearfully.
"No! A turtle!" Usopp realized, watching it slowly swim away from them. Luffy had yet to move though, still staring at the spot where Miss All Sunday had been sitting, his mind racing with a thousand different thoughts. Behind him, Nami was watching in worry, noticing that he'd yet to move.
"Luffy?" She asked cautiously, not wanting him to lash out at her. When he still didn't respond, everyone else turned to look as well.
"I don't like her. She's not a good person." Luffy eventually said, his voice still hard and low. Everyone was silent, not sure how to respond to that, but then Usopp piped up nervously from beside Zoro.
"Hey, uh, can someone explain what's going on?"
Dun dun duuun! Robin has made her big appearance! And she knows about facilities somehow! Things are steadily progressing and before you know it we'll be at Alabasta fighting Warlords.
Lets not get ahead of ourselves though. I really enjoyed writing this chapter, and even though it didn't have a showdown between Luffy and Zoro like it originally did in canon, I will tell you all that I do plan to rectify that loss in a future chapter. I have big plans for Alabasta and more of this stories plot will be revealed during that arc. I really don't want to get ahead of myself, but I can't tell you all how excited I am for Alabasta.
In other news, my next semester is beginning and as I did before, I'm going to take a month off so that I can adjust to my new class schedule and get ahead on some writing. I plan to come back around the end of February, possibly early March at the latest. I love you all and I thank you all for the constant encouragement and well wishes and I hope everyone can hang in there until I come back with more chapters.
As always, thank you all so much for your love and support. I never dreamed I would get this much attention on my stories, and to see all the notifications come in whenever I post new chapters truly makes my day. This series wasn't originally meant to go on for this long; I'd only ever planned on doing a short 20 chapter story for The Devil Wears White, but here we are after a full 100 chapters of the original story and now 23 chapters of a sequel.
I'm rambling, but all of this is to say that you guys are amazing and have been such a large driving force behind my inspiration. Thank you all so so soooo much! I'll see you all after my short break!