Chapter 6: Captain Usopp's Grand Entrance!
Time passed by slowly, but Luffy didn't mind. Back when he was on the Moby, there were always so many people- so many things happening at once- that it was always chaotic; and sometimes even overwhelming. Now that he was on his own- only sailing with two other people- it was much calmer and more peaceful then it had ever been in all his time on the Moby.
Of course, there were pros and cons to both situations, and he loved both everyone on the Moby as well as his two new friends here equally. It was just different was all.
The two boats slowly sailed across the ocean, Nami telling them that they should reach the next island by tomorrow. This meant that Luffy had to entertain himself until then, though. Nami was still on Buggy's ship, not having come over to their smaller boat at all, and Luffy decided he wouldn't go bother her over there unless she wanted him to. Even though she'd agreed to come along with them, Luffy knew she was still apprehensive and cautious of them, so he would leave her alone.
However, that meant he was on a smaller boat with not much room for activities like he'd wanted. Zoro didn't seem to mind, the man napping against the railing in the sun, and Luffy decided that he wouldn't mind a nap either. He had had a long day after all, what with getting carried away by a bird, being thrown in a cage, fighting a lion, some pirates, and Buggy, and then finally running away from the citizens of the town.
It'd been a long, eventful day, so a nap would be a welcomed joy right now.
Jumping off the bow, Luffy moved to sit against the railing, tilting his hat over his eyes so that it would shield them from the sun, but then he was reminded of its tattered state when the sun leaked through the slashes on the top of it. He frowned, taking the hat off and looking at it carefully, feeling the edges of the torn straw.
"If... if you give me that, I can sew it back up for you," Nami said with a slight hesitance from her boat. Luffy turned to her in surprise, blinking as he took in the woman's emotions. Looking from his hat, then back to her, he grinned.
"Really?!" He asked excitedly, pleased with the idea that the hat could be fixed.
"Mm." Nami hummed, holding her hand out over the railing towards Luffy who handed over the hat.
"It's really that important to you?" She asked as she pulled out a needle and thread, sitting against her railing as she got to work.
"Yeah! It represents a promise I made a long time ago! It's my treasure!" Luffy said, beaming as he thought of Shanks. Nami looked over her shoulder at him and eyed his expression carefully before turning back to the hat.
"You should be more careful with it then." She said matter-of-factly. There was a silence as Luffy watched Nami work, leaning on his railing and watching the careful needlework as the redhead worked. It was nostalgic, reminding him of when he would watch Izo work on sewing up his ship brothers' clothing- sometimes even his own clothes.
Eventually, the navigator finished up, putting her supplies away and handing it over to Luffy who cheered.
"You fixed it!" He called out happily, holding the hat in the air and noting that there were no more tears in it.
"I only sewed it back together. If you're too rough with it it'll rip again, so be careful." Nami said, holding the needle in her mouth as she put the string in the bag.
"Thanks!" Luffy said to her, and Nami was about to tell him it was no problem- she did owe him after all- but then Luffy poked a hole through the recently patched up hat, looking to her as he sucked in his lips.
"Idiot!" She shouted, leaning over the railings and poking him in the forehead with the needle she'd yet to put away.
"Ow! You poked me with the needle!" Luffy cried, rubbing his forehead.
"I know! It's the only way I can hurt you!" She said as she took the hat back to fix again.
"Oh. You're right." Luffy agreed, understanding now why she'd done it. Nami sighed in irritation while Zoro peeked an eye open at them.
"Stop all that yelling, I'm trying to take a nap," Zoro told them, closing his eye again and resuming said nap. Luffy looked to him and laughed quietly to himself before settling against the railing as well, arms behind his head as he looked at the sky. It was quiet again, only the sound of the waves hitting their boat breaking the silence while Luffy waited patiently for his hat to once again be fixed.
A few minutes later his view of the sky was blocked as the hat was pushed over his eyes.
"There. If you rip it again, I'm not fixing it." Nami said, crossing her arms as she looked at Luffy with a stern look. The teen lifted the hat up from his eyes, noticing the hole he'd created was gone once more and beamed, nodding to Nami.
"Right! Thanks again Nami!" He told her, the girl only huffing and disappearing into the cabin of her boat, leaving Luffy with a sleeping Zoro.
Deciding to take the nap he'd planned on taking earlier, Luffy pushed the hat over his eyes again, smiling as no light peeked through this time.
It was some time later that the peaceful air took a quick turn.
With a start, Luffy woke up, his eyes wide and breathing slightly heavier. He had a moment of panic when he saw how dark it was, his mind telling him that he was back in the dark cells, back in the facility, back with the doctors, with Haru.
Before he could panic too much though, he felt his hat and realized that was what was blocking his vision. There were only two presences near him, both relatively calm in comparison to him, and when he felt that, he remembered where he was and what was happening.
Lifting his hat up, he saw Zoro lounging still, though now he was awake and looking to the sky. Nami was nowhere to be seen, so she was most likely inside her cabin still, but Luffy didn't mind. He'd had all the confirmation he needed to remind himself that he was out on the open ocean, free from the Marines, and free from the facility.
Taking a few calming deep breaths, Luffy stood and went to his bag, Zoro's eyes turning to watch him as he did. Ever since the swordsman had joined, he hadn't seen Luffy touch the bag once despite the fact that it'd been with them the entire time. It had merely sat at the end of their small boat untouched.
Luffy knelt down, opening the bag and searching through it, pushing aside the pirate fund from Ace and the folder of his medical history from Whiskey. Resting at the bottom of the bag was the mini den den to the Moby, as well as Luffy's latest journal. His many other ones were all left behind on the Moby seeing as they were full and he had no use for them. He grabbed the journal, but before he closed up the bag he saw a small tube with a cork on it. Looking at the tube for a minute Luffy finally reached into the bag and grabbed it, closing the bag afterwards and standing.
"What's that?" Zoro asked, eyeing the tube as he watched Luffy walk back over to where he'd been napping previously. Luffy looked to Zoro, then to the tube, and held it out to the swordsman.
"It's smelly stuff. If I go to sleep and don't wake up, open this and put it under my nose. Don't put it too close though or else I'll hit it and spill it when I wake up." Luffy told his swordsman, his face emotionless as he held out the tube to Zoro.
The swordsman raised an eyebrow at that, wondering what Luffy was talking about, but grabbed the tube regardless.
"If you don't wake up? What do you mean?" Zoro asked, because that sounded ominous, as if Luffy was going to die or something.
"Sometimes when I go to sleep I don't wake up. Whiskey- my doctor back on the Moby- she made that so people could wake me up when I couldn't." Luffy said as he sat down, opening his journal and beginning to write down his latest nightmare. Zoro watched Luffy another moment before shrugging and putting the tube in his pocket, careful to make sure that the cork stayed on.
Even though he was still confused, had more questions, and wanted to know what the heck made Luffy, 'not wake up', the look on Luffy's face told him that it would be better if he didn't ask.
So he didn't.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"It'd be reckless to go straight into the Grand Line now!" Nami said to Zoro and Luffy, the two lounging on their boat. Luffy turned to look at her from where he sat on the bow, an apple core in his mouth which he pulled out.
"Yeah, some meat would be nice to have first." Luffy agreed, before eating the apple core whole.
It was the next day now, the sun high in the sky, and Luffy was still amazed by how nice the weather was in the East Blue compared to the New World.
"Eating nothing but fruit every day is no good..." He continued as he looked at the barrel of apples that they had onboard.
"Need some booze, too!" Zoro added. Right after the last word left his mouth he was hit by an apple thrown at his head.
"What're you talking about?!" Nami asked. On the bow Luffy caught the apple that had bounced off of Zoro's head before it could fall into the water and ate it. Zoro in the meanwhile looked to the redhead who was tossing another apple in her hand, a look of annoyance on her face.
"That's not what I mean! The Grand Line is the most dangerous place in the world!" She told them, Zoro listening with a blank look while Luffy continued eating.
"Actually, I think the New World is the most dangerous place in the world." Luffy corrected, munching on the apple. Nami blinked, eyebrows furrowing in confusion as she looked to Luffy.
"The New World?" She asked.
"Yeah, the second half, right after the Grand Line. The New World is much worse than the Grand Line, which is why the Grand Line is nicknamed Paradise in comparison." Luffy said, having both of his companions' attention as he spoke.
"I almost forgot who I was traveling with..." Nami said, wilting slightly as her fear sparked up again. She still couldn't quite believe Luffy was a former Whitebeard Pirate in the East Blue and she was willingly traveling with him. Hopefully, he was enough of an idiot that- when the time inevitably came- she would be able to trick him and leave without issue.
"That reminds me, you said you left the Whitebeards crew, right?" Nami asked for clarification. Luffy nodded, eating the apple core of the apple he'd just finished.
"So does that mean you're not on good terms with them anymore? Are they gonna come after you or something?" Nami asked, having been wondering about that for a while now. She didn't think any pirate crew would take kindly to deserters, especially the strongest man in the world. Zoro looked to Luffy in curiosity as well now, interested in what the answer would be. He hadn't thought of that before- Luffy had made it sound like he was still on good terms with his previous crew, but he hadn't exactly asked him outright.
It would be nice to know whether they had to worry about the world's strongest crew coming after them so soon in their journey.
"Pops? Nah, they said they were gonna let me do this on my own. They're still my family, and Pops said he'll help out if I need anything, but I don't want him too." Luffy told them. Nami sighed in relief and Zoro nodded, smiling and feeling a slight relief himself.
"Well regardless, we need more people if we're going to be traveling the Grand Line. It may not be as bad as the New World, but that doesn't mean it'll be a walk in the park! The lack of crew members and equipment, not to mention we don't have a proper ship. There's no way we could survive like this!" She exclaimed as Luffy looked back to the ocean in front of him.
"Yeah, we need a cook. And a musician." Luffy said with a smile.
"A musician?!" Zoro laughed, wondering why that was one of Luffy's priorities.
"You're so stupid..." Nami said in defeat, wilting again. Looking out to the water she sighed.
"A little to the south of here is an island with people living on it. It'd be best if we can get ahold of a real ship there..." Nami said as she looked at her map.
"Alright! Time to eat some meat!" Luffy cheered, arms in the air as he smiled widely.
"Don't forget the booze!" Zoro added with a smile of his own.
"You idiots!"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Finally on dry land again..." Zoro said with a yawn, stretching his arm out over his head as he did. Luffy was looking around the beach excitedly while Nami examined it much more carefully.
"There's a village past here?!" Luffy asked Nami seeing as she had the map.
"Yeah. It looks like its a small one, though..." She said as she looked to her map.
"Wahoo! In that case, meat, meat! Meat, meat, meat!" Luffy cheered, running over to Nami to get a look at the map himself.
"There's a place to eat in this village, right?!" Luffy asked excitedly, mouth salivating at the thought of eating actual meat again rather than fruits.
"Forget about the meat for a minute, will you?!" Nami asked with a ticked-off expression on her face. She leaned her whole body away from Luffy, hugging the map closer in a poor attempt at getting him to back off. Zoro, who was still yawning and stretching behind them, suddenly perked up, eyebrow-raising as he looked to the forest.
"Huh? Careful, I think someone's nearby." He said, hand on his sword hilt as he pushed the sword out slightly. Luffy looked away from Nami now, stretching out his haki and realizing Zoro was right.
"Oh, yeah, there is! Hey, you, where can we get some meat?!" Luffy asked, surprising everyone as he looked to a section of the shrubbery up on the cliff. Instead of words, he was met with a barely audible shriek and then a barrage of pellets that came flying at his feet. Luffy was able to dodge all of them with ease while Zoro turned to watch in surprise and Nami ran for cover by the boats.
Once the barrage was over, one after another, pirate flags began raising in the shrubs, and even though Luffy knew there was no one holding them, it still amazed him.
"So cool!" He shouted out with a giant smile.
"Is this the time to be impressed?!" Nami shouted from the cover of the boat. From where Luffy had noticed a person earlier, a laugh came. Someone was standing there now rather than hiding, arms crossed over their chest as they stood confidently, but Luffy could feel that they were fairly nervous and scared.
"I am Usopp, leader of the great pirates who reign over this village! People praise me- and then me more- as 'Captain Usopp'!" At the man's bold announcement, Luffy's awe disappeared and instead, a look of confusion took over his face as he felt the lies coming from the man.
"If you're thinking of attacking this village, then forget it! My 80 million subordinates won't sit by quietly!" Usopp shouted, arms outstretched beside him, gesturing to the many flags still waving around him. Even though he could still feel the lies, he couldn't help being drawn in by them, that awe quickly returning. Instead of calling the man out on his lies, Luffy instead pressed his hands to his face as his jaw dropped.
"Awesome!" He shouted out while Zoro raised an eyebrow at him and Nami sighed as she shook her head, not scared anymore.
"It's obvious he's lying." She said, leaning casually against the boat.
"Yikes! She saw through it!" Usopp shrieked out, Luffy's awe disappearing.
"See, I told you." She said with a mischievous grin, making Usopp squirm.
"I admitted it to her!" He cried to himself.
"Yeah, but it still sounded cool!" Luffy said, Zoro and Nami realizing now that the boy had known all along that the man was lying.
"Even he knew!" Usopp cried louder, falling to his knees.
"Curse you crafty tactician! 80 million may have been an exaggeration, but I do have great men under my command!" Usopp shouted, his false confidence back as he sprung back to his feet, gesturing to the now moving flags. Luffy didn't feel any lies this time, and that only caused his awe to return. Again, even though he could only feel three other people in the bushes.
"Yeah, maybe three people," Nami said, still grinning slyly, and Luffy briefly wondered if she had cool powers too, or even haki.
"She saw through it!" Three kids screamed as they stood from the bushes, each holding two of the flags in their hands.
"R-run!" They shouted, dropping the flags and turning tail as they ran off.
"H-hey you guys! Don't run away!" Usopp shrieked, eyes bulging in shock and beginning to sweat.
"I've never heard of pirates using slingshots before!" Nami said as she picked up one of the pellets from the sand, looking at it with a smile. Luffy laughed, turning to look at Usopp.
"You're neat!" He said before laughing some more. He meant it too, because even though he could feel the fear and nervousness in Usopp, the man was still putting a brave front on in front of them.
"Hey, you! Don't you insult me! I'm a very proud man! Because of my great pride, people call me, 'Proud Usopp'! You saw it yourself just now!" Usopp said as he took his slingshot out again and readied a shot. Up until the last part, Luffy hadn't felt any lies in Usopp, and again his smile left his face, watching the man with a blank look, hands on his hips.
"My slingshot skills are far greater than your average pistol!" Usopp continued, still pulling the band of his slingshot back, ready to fire at any moment. Luffy shadowed his eyes with his hat before speaking.
"Now that you've drawn your pistol, are you ready to put your life on the line?" Luffy asked, shocking Usopp and the others with his sudden seriousness.
"Eh?" Usopp asked, frowning a bit.
"I'm saying those aren't for threatening people," Luffy said. Zoro's face changed to a smirk as he turned from his Captain to look at Usopp, readying his sword again.
"What you're looking at now are real pirates!" Zoro called to Usopp, sending him a menacing look. There were a few moments where all Usopp did was hold his slingshot ready, staring at the two pirates in front of him that were far more intimidating then he had thought they'd be for only two people. Dropping the pebble he'd held to the ground and letting the now empty sling go, Usopp fell to his knees, sweating profusely.
"R-real pirates definitely have way more punch behind their words... Awesome..." Usopp muttered quietly. Zoro and Luffy looked at each other briefly after that before they both burst out laughing.
"We stole those lines!" Luffy told Usopp with a smile now.
"Eh?" Usopp asked in shock, leaning forward as if he hadn't heard them correctly.
"From Shanks, a pirate I respect!" Luffy continued, but could both feel and see Usopp's surprise grow.
"S-Shanks?! You know Red-Haired Shanks, the great pirate?!" Usopp asked incredulously, leaning back in shock.
"Yeah. Your dad's Yasopp, right?" Luffy asked, recognizing Usopp's name from the many stories Yasopp had told him.
"Eh? EH?!" Usopp shrieked, this time leaning too far forward in his surprise and tumbling down the cliff landing in front of Zoro and Luffy who looked down at him.
"Yeah, Yasopp is my old man... But how do you know that?" Usopp asked as he sat up, eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he frowned.
This is when their small group of four decided having this conversation, as much fun as it had been, would be easier if the newcomers were fed- namely Luffy. That's how they all ended up inside a small restaurant cleverly labeled Meshi.
Luffy happily ate yet another plate of meat while Zoro finally got all the drinks he wanted and Nami finished her normal human-sized plate of food. Usopp sat at the end of the table, eating his own food as they all smiled and enjoyed themselves.
"Good, huh?!" Usopp asked, his mouth full as he spoke. Following his example, Luffy didn't even bother swallowing as he spoke.
"I met him when I was a kid!" Luffy said, answering Usopp's earlier question of how he knew Yasopp.
"So my old man's on Shanks' ship?" Usopp asked with a smile, eager to hear more.
"Yep! You guys look the same, so when I first saw you, I wondered..." Luffy told him, finally swallowing the bite in his mouth, but promptly taking another.
"Really?! My old man's on such an awesome ship?!" Usopp asked, looking towards the ceiling dreamily at the thought.
"I saw him a couple of years ago too. He was still with Shanks then, so I bet he's still with him now. After all, your dad was a good sharpshooter!" Luffy said as he picked up an apple next, remembering back on Dawn Island when he'd watched Yasopp shoot an apple off of a barrel.
"Usopp, I heard enough about you to make my ears sore. Yasopp is a great pirate." Luffy admitted, still smiling as he spoke, apple in hand. The long nose man leaned in closer to Luffy, grinning ear to ear.
"Yeah, huh?! I'm proud of my old man, who leapt onto these possibly endless seas to live with his life on the line!" Usopp said, Luffy feeling every bit of pride coming from the man as he'd implied, making his own grin widen.
"Then that makes this easier!" Nami said with a smile from where she sat across from Luffy.
"Do you have any friends in this village who know how to sail and anyone who can supply a big ship?" She asked once she had Usopp's attention.
"As you can see, its just a tiny village... Sorry, but we can't live up to your hopes." Usopp said, resting his cheek against his head as he looked to the ground, smiling nervously as he spoke.
"On top of the hill," Zoro started, Usopp stiffening in surprise and looking to the man.
"There was a huge mansion." The swordsman continued, looking out the window towards where he knew the hill to be. Luffy ate his apple quietly, watching as he felt Usopp's nervousness increase.
"Say! Do you know them, Usopp?! Think you could ask them to help pay for one?" Nami asked hopefully, hands clasped together in front of her as she smiled. A sudden wave of protective anger came over Usopp, causing Luffy to falter in his next bite as he blocked the feeling from influencing him, surprised by the suddenness of it.
"You can't go there!" Usopp shouted, Nami and Zoro looking at him in surprise while Luffy finally calmed down, putting the apple down. Usopp seemed to realize his outburst and yelled out, sweating as he smiled and looked away.
"I-I just remembered something I hafta do! I have lots of influence here! Eat and drink as much as you want! Alright! Later!" Usopp told them hurriedly as he stood from the box he'd been sitting on at the end of the table. With that he grabbed his bag and quickly ran out the door. Nami leaned out of her seat and turned to watch him leave, but Luffy was unconcerned, picking his apple up and continuing to eat it as if everything that had just happened was normal. He'd felt Usopp's lies, but he'd also felt the fear too, and the fact that Usopp had been so protective over this hill house made him realize there was probably something important to him there.
Anyways, Usopp was an interesting person, and if Luffy wanted to talk to him again he'd just follow his scent and find him that way.
"Why is he in such a rush?" Nam asked in confusion. Seeing as she wasn't going to get any answers though, she merely shrugged before turning back to the table and grabbing an apple of her own to snack on as she waited for Luffy and Zoro to finish their meals.
Well, in Zoro's case it was mostly just drinks.
Some time passed as they sat there, chatting amongst themselves, when they were interrupted.
"The Usopp Pirates have arrived!" Luffy looked to the doors at the three children he recognized by a scent from earlier, each holding a tiny wooden sword pointed their way. Nami turned again to look at the door, confused as to what was happening.
"Who're they?" She asked as she observed them.
"The Captain is gone!"
"You don't think he-" The front-most child ran up to their table, wooden sword still raised in the air as he addressed them.
"H-hey pirates!" He started, his friends running up behind them while Luffy drank from his mug, smiling to himself.
"What'd you do with our Captain Usopp?!" The one in front asked them, the same protectiveness in him that had been in Usopp earlier, along with his fear and nervousness.
"What'd you do with him?!" The other two shouted in unison, the same feelings in them that were in the first child. Done with drinking, Luffy set the mug down, smiling widely as he leaned back and patted his stomach.
"That meat was yummy!" He said contentedly, ignoring the children.
"Meat?!"
"Don't tell me the Captain-"
"W-what?! What did you do?!" Nami laughed to herself as she realized what the children were thinking and beside her, Zoro grinned wickedly, cheek in hand as his elbow rested on the table.
"If you're lookin' for your Captain..." Zoro started, giving the children a menacing grin now.
"...we ate him." He said in a scary voice, the three children screaming in terror.
"Old hag!" They shouted, looking at Nami with wide bulging eyes as they did, making the navigator's anger flare.
"What're you looking at me for?!" She yelled back at them angrily. Luffy blinked in confusion, not understanding what was happening.
"You just had to say something stupid!" Nami yelled at Zoro next who only shrugged and drank from his mug again. After everything calmed down and was explained, the children relaxed, realizing it had been a joke. When they were told that Usopp had run off on them, they realized now where he must be, telling the three pirates- or in Nami's case, ally for the moment- as much. Seeing as they were curious as to where the long nose man had went, they went with the children to the giant house on the hill, Luffy's suspicions confirmed that Usopp had a connection to the place.
"Huge!" Luffy said in awe as he took in the size of the house.
"If our Captain ran off at this hour, he'd be here." One of the children, Onion, told them.
"Oh? What's he come here for?" Luffy asked curiously, wanting to know what was so important at this place. Did Usopp live here? That'd be cool! Maybe he would show them around and he could explore the inside of it!
"To lie!" One of the other children, Carrot, said as if it were obvious.
"That's a bad thing!" Nami scolded as she leaned towards the child.
"He's not bad! He's great! Right?!" Pepper asked in defense of his Captain making Nami look at him in surprise.
"Yeah! He's great!" Onion agreed.
"How's that work?" Zoro asked in confusion. Beside him Luffy was equally confused. He'd never known lying to be a good thing, but the three children weren't lying to him and that only confused him more.
"Kaya, the girl who lives here, is weak, and she's had depression ever since her parents died from an illness a year ago. Even though she has lots of money she's so sad. So our Captain tells his special made-up stories to make her laugh! 'Cause our Captains the best at telling lies!" Carrot said, Luffy understanding now.
"Oh, so he's great!" Luffy determined.
"Yeah!" The children agreed with smiles.
"I like the Captain's meddling side!" Carrot said.
"I like his bossy side!" Pepper said next.
"I like his exaggerating side!" Onion finished.
"So that's helped her feel a little better?" Nami asked, also more understanding now then she had been before.
"Yeah, a lot better!" Pepper said to her.
"Great! Let's ask her for a ship after all!" Luffy announced with a big smile.
"Its thanks to Usopp that she's gotten better," Zoro said, arms folded over his chest as he grinned too.
"It tough just to get in!" Onion said.
"There are way strong guards at the gate!" Pepper agreed, everyone looking towards said guards, not noticing that Luffy wasn't with them anymore.
"Huh?" The children asked as they looked back to find Luffy gone.
"Where'd Luffy go?" Nami asked, hands on her hips as she frowned at the empty spot beside her.
"I'll go ask!" Luffy told them from the top of the fence that he'd climbed, everyone shouting in surprise.
"Wait, you're not gonna-?!" Zoro started, watching as Luffy's grip tightened on the top of the fence, his Captain letting his body fall backward as his arms stretched.
"Gum Gum..." Luffy started, ignoring the fear from the children as they screamed, not knowing of Luffy's abilities.
"H-his arms stretched!"
"He's a monster!"
"Pardon..." Luffy started shouting in advance to anyone who might be on the other side of the fence. Sabo taught him enough manners to know he shouldn't just barge in without announcing himself first.
"Hey!"
"Wait, Luffy!" Everyone yelled as they ran towards him, grabbing him in an attempt to stop him, but it was futile.
"... the intrusion!" Luffy finished as he flung himself- as well as everyone who'd grabbed him- into the air and over the fence.
"Yahoo!" Luffy yelled out as he began getting closer to the ground. Usopp was visible to him now, the man sitting on a tree branch beside a window. Spotting the rubber teen, Usopp began yelling in fear, eyes wide as he watched the straw-hatted teen grow quickly closer to him. Luckily, he- and everyone else- landed just a few feet beside him. Zoro and Luffy landed on the paved walkway, Nami in the grass, and the children in the bushes.
"That worked great!" Luffy said, his voice muffled due to his face being smushed into the now cracked and destroyed walkway.
"Did not!" Nami yelled to him, her adrenaline making her heart pump quickly and her legs feeling like jelly due to her fear.
"A-are you alright?!" A woman's voice asked in concern.
"Yeah! It's okay, it's okay!" Usopp reassured the woman with a nervous smile.
"They're new recruits who heard all about me and came from afar to join the Usopp Pirates!" Usopp told her as he sweat nervously. Luffy didn't need to feel it this time to know the man was lying. Finally, Luffy stood up, readjusting his straw hat on his head as he did.
"No, not me! I'm here to ask a favor!" Luffy said honestly to the woman who was leaning out of her window to look at him.
"A favor? Of me?" She asked curiously.
"Yeah! We want a big ship-" He stopped suddenly as he felt someone with darkness start heading their way, making him frown moments before he heard them speak.
"You, there!" They said. Luffy turned ever so slightly to see a man in a suit walking over to them with a frown.
"What are you doing?!" He asked them as he grew closer. Luffy shifted, stepping so that he was in front of his crew and the kids, not wanting to allow the man to get any closer to them than he already was. A quick check told Luffy that the man's aura was a darker grey then Morgans had been, and he wondered if he was just unlucky to find so many dark auraed people so soon.
"Klahadore..." Kaya said from her window.
"I don't appreciate you breaking in here without permission!" The man- Klahadore- told them as he adjusted his glasses with the palm of his hand rather than his fingers. Luffy continued to frown at the man as he assessed him. Kaya knew him, that much was obvious, but he wondered how someone as innocent as Kaya, a woman with a bright blue aura, knew a man with such a dark one like Klahadore. The man even had hints of the darkness inside of him, just barely there, but there none-the-less.
Things had just gotten interesting.
Whew! I don't know what it was about this chapter, but I couldn't stop editing bits and pieces of it! Every time I thought I was finally done with it I would spot more mistakes and confusing sentences that needed changing. Hopefully all of that editing was useful and I didn't go overboard with it to the point that this chapter isn't any good.
In any case, we're now at Syrup Village, we've met Usopp and the gang, and Klahadore has made his appearance. Not only that, but Zoro was entrusted with the smelling salts in case Luffy gets stuck. How that works out will be determined in the future.
Side note; Did you guys see that I accidentally added this chapter to The Devil Wears White? I'm still so used to adding chapters there that I didn't even realize until I looked at the list of chapters and saw that there were 101 rather than 6. Sometimes I'm too scatterbrained for my own good.
Anyway, I've been told that so far these chapters are basically just following canon word for word, which is true. At the moment we are following canon so closely, you may as well be watching the show. As we go on though, I will be drifting farther and farther away from canon until this story is just as The Devil Wears White had been and you all are reading completely new scenes and adventures. By the time we're going into the Grand Line, we'll already start seeing more of that, but as for right now, I will still be following canon closely, but hopefully not so close as to lose your guys' interest. Because of those comments though- which I thank you a billion for leaving by the way; it's comments like those that let me know how to grow as an author- I'm going to try and make this story feel brand new compared to canon.
Thank you so much once again for the reviews! Constructive criticism is extremely welcomed, and I thank those of you who wanted to help me grow by leaving such thoughtful reviews.
Until next time, everyone stay safe!