Chapter 14: The Downfall of Don Krieg
"No matter how incredible he was in the past, he's now a mere cook. It's easy to blow his brains out. You want to save this man, right, Sanji-san? Please, leave the ship without a fight. I don't want to kill you." Gin told Sanji, looking to the blonde as he held the gun to Zeff's head. Luffy frowned, because despite Gin's calm, confident exterior, Luffy could feel that the man was desperate in his attempts to get Sanji to leave- could feel the pirates desire to not harm Sanji.
"Leave the ship? No way!" Sanji said as he lit a new cigarette and put it in his mouth. Gin's eyes widened at the exclamation, obviously not having expected that response.
"Man, do you look stupid, you damn geezer. If you're like that, you can't set a good example for the fighting cooks." Sanji said nonchalantly, obviously not worried about the gun pointed at the owner.
"Hmph! I don't need a lecture from a little brat." Zeff replied, equally unfazed.
"Where do you get off calling me, 'little brat', you damn bastard?! Quit treating me like a kid already!" Sanji yelled out in anger, his previous calm demeanor gone now.
"Damn that Sanji..."
"He's not gonna forsake the Owner, is he?" The chefs murmured amongst themselves from where they watched with wide, worried eyes.
"Gin! Point that gun at me." Back was the calm as Sanji straightened, looking up to Gin rather than the owner as he spoke. Feeling his conviction, Luffys eyes widened in disbelief.
"Are you stupid? You'll die!" Luffy told him with wide eyes, wondering what Sanji hoped to gain out of this new plan of his.
"Maybe..." Sanji said with a small shrug.
"Sanji-san... why?!" Gin asked in disbelief, still holding the gun firmly towards Zeff's head.
"If you want to die so bad, I'll kill you in a refined way... Don't move if you don't want your Owner's head blown off." Pearl, who was now beginning to stand up again from behind Sanji and Luffy, spoke with a menacing glare. The murderous intent coming from the man was strong and Luffy knew that he had no hesitation in hurting Sanji like Gin had.
"The Absolutely Natural Pearl... Surprise!" Without moving an inch, Sanji stood still as Pearl swung his shield down into Sanjis face, knocking the chef back towards the railing.
"Sanji! Why aren't you dodging?!" Luffy asked in worry after watching the man go flying. He liked Sanji- he wanted him to be his chef- so to see him doing nothing to defend himself both confused and worried Luffy.
"If I did, that damn underling would pull the trigger," Sanji explained as he sat up, head hanging as he spoke. Realizing the blonde's reasoning, the tension in Luffy slackened, accepting the answer with a small grin of pride. Even though Luffy knew that Gin wouldn't hurt Zeff, Sanji didn't know that so it made sense now as to why the cook hadn't defended himself.
"Why? If you leave this restaurant, everyone's life will be saved. Its a no-brainer isn't it?!" Gin asked with wide eyes, still trying to understand Sanjis motives.
"This restaurant is that damn geezer's treasure!" Sanji all but growled as he looked up enough to glare at Gin, blood falling from the corner of his mouth.
"I took everything away from that damn geezer... His power... His dream... So... I don't want that damn geezer to lose anything else!" Sanji exclaimed as he stood back up.
"Sanji! Watch out!" Patty shouted, everyone noticing at once that Pearl was right behind the blonde again, arms outstretched in preparation for another attack.
"Pearl... Cymbals!" Pearl shouted, swinging both of his hand shields and smashing them on either side of Sanjis head. Blood spurted out as the blonde screamed out from getting hit by the attack, and when Pearl removed his hands, Sanji fell forward back onto the deck. There was a moment of silence as they all watched him fall, and a sudden wave of strong emotions from the chef surprised Luffy.
Despair, desperation, determination, and even anger and frustration, Sanji was being filled with one strong emotion after another. He lay unmoving for a second, but eventually his hand clenched into a fist and he spoke, face still on the deck.
"That damn geezer gave up his leg so that I could live." Sanji started, the chef's eyes bugging out at that new revelation, and based on their feelings and reactions, Luffy could tell they hadn't known that before.
"I... I can't repay the damn geezer for his kindness unless I risk my life for him too!" Struggling to stand up, Sanji screamed out the words with a strong conviction. Luffy was watching, standing beside Pearl with a blank face, taking in as much information as he could.
"Why do you get up... Sanji-san?" Gin asked, his surprise turning to shock.
"In order for this place to be a restaurant as long as possible..." He answered with a grin.
"That idiot... Is he trying to get killed?" Patty asked angrily, Luffy feeling that the anger stemmed from the man's worry.
Speaking of, Luffy could feel his own anger starting to rise again.
"You damn brat!" Zeff grumbled to Sanji.
"Ha! That's such a refined line! But this restaurant will be closed now and it will change into a pirate ship!" At Pearl's words, Luffy finally had enough, and in a split second he was stretching his leg high up into the air, surprising everyone once again.
"Stop it, you idiot! Keep your hands off of them!" Sanji shouted at Luffy, and like with Patty, despite the anger he showed on his face, Luffy could feel the worry welling inside of him.
"What's he trying to do?!" A chef asked in a mixture of worry and fear as they all watched Luffys foot fly so high into the air, they couldn't even see it anymore.
"Gum Gum... Battle Axe!" Luffy shouted, a look of rage on his face as he sent his foot flying back towards the ground. Without a hint of hesitation, Luffy let is foot smash the entire deck that they were standing on into pieces, a tower of water forming as a result and raining water down on everyone as they watched with dropped jaws.
"The fins been smashed!" Someone yelled in realization. The fin that had provided plenty of room for everyone to stand on was now splintered into multiple sections, some smaller than others. With a grin and his eyes shadowed by his hat, Luffy stood up straighter.
"Is he trying to destroy the ship?! Gin! Blow Zeff's brain out!" Krieg ordered angrily. At the order, Gin stiffened, not immediately moving to follow through with it, and once again, that unwillingness to cause both the owner and Sanji harm was back.
"Do it now!" Krieg demanded once he saw this.
"B-But he saved our lives by giving us 100 meals!" Obviously, this was not what Krieg wanted to hear, and his anger only worsened as a result.
"Gin, you son of a bitch!" Krieg roared.
"Hey." Luffy suddenly said, voice void of any emotion he was currently feeling.
"I didn't really attack you guys or anything... I only broke the fin." Luffy stated with a small frown as he turned to look over his shoulder at Krieg who was practically exploding with rage.
"Oi, 11097! What do you think you're doing?!" Sanji asked in a rage of his own. The blonde was standing up on the uneven rocky deck and glaring towards Luffy, despite knowing Luffy was a much stronger opponent.
"I'll sink it," Luffy said simply, face still void of emotion.
"What?!" Sanji asked almost breathlessly, his one visible eye widening at the words.
"I'll sink this ship." Everyone stared at Luffy in disbelief, chef and pirate alike.
"That ain't funny!" One of the Kriegs yelled. Sanji, meanwhile, had marched over to Luffy, having been on the same section of deck as him.
"I was wondering how you'd explain that... Are you crazy, you damn bastard?!" Sanji asked as he grabbed Luffy by the front of his vest, pulling him up slightly off the ground.
"If I destroy the ship, there'll be no reason for them to attack," Luffy told him, still unfazed by the roughness of Sanji pulling on his vest.
"What?!" Gin asked, still managing to have held the gun to Zeff this entire time.
"What do you know? What do you know about the significance of kindness I received?! What do you know about this restaurant?!" Sanji demanded as he got closer to Luffys face, not caring if Luffy was stronger then him or not.
"So you're gonna die for the restaurant? Are you stupid or something?" Luffy asked now, some irritation finally showing on his face as he asked the question.
"What'd you say?!" In one swift movement, Luffy slapped Sanjis hand off his vest and reached out, grabbing Sanji by the front of his suit now and pulling him close like the chef had done to him only seconds ago.
"Dying isn't something you should do to repay kindness! That's not what he saved you for! Being given life and yet dying... is something that a weakling would do!" Luffy yelled, irritation turning to full-blown anger as he glared at Sanji, the two practically touching foreheads with how close they were.
Luffy couldn't help but think of Whitebeard as he said his words, of Shanks and Garp, all of them having looked for Ace, Sabo, and Luffy when they were trapped in the facility. He knew for a fact that he would never disrespect them by dying after all the trouble they went through to save him, to free him from that horrible place. To die after all of that, would be like spitting in their faces.
"Then is there any other way to settle this matter?!" Sanji asked with a defiant glare. From the water, the chefs were watching in worry, wondering if Luffy was actually going to hurt Sanji.
"Now now, you guys... Stop fighting. It's simply disgraceful for you to fight among yourselves after all this. You can't do any more reckless things while the hostage is with us anyway." Pearl said with a smug look on his face, both Sanji and Luffy pausing in their yelling to look at the man.
"It was unfortunate for you guys to have the Krieg Pirates as your opponent." Pearl continued with a laugh as he lowered into another position.
"Burn to death with my Fire Pearls!" He shouted as he began running forward, fists on fire as he ran their way, still laughing. Luffy and Sanji didn't move, the former preparing to finish the annoying man right then and there, but his haki picked up on someone moving their way fast. He quickly pushed Sanji back to keep the blonde from getting run over and then jumped backward himself.
It was just in time too, because Gin was running right through where they'd been standing, his weapons in hand as he charged towards Pearl.
"Huh?" Pearl didn't even have time to defend himself as Gin attacked the man's chest shield with his tonfas, effectively breaking it apart with a single blow.
"Gin!" Sanji said, surprised to see the man fighting his own crewmate.
"Why... Gin-san?" Pearl asked, equally, if not more, surprised as he began falling forward.
"Sorry, Pearl. Out of my way..." With a crash, Pearl fell onto the deck, but Gin didn't look at him, instead facing forward with a frown.
"Gin! Are you going to betray us?!" Krieg asked furiously.
"I'm sorry, Don Krieg. He saved our lives. I don't want him to die this way. At least... At least... please let me bury him with my own hands." Gin asked as he turned, resting one of his tonfa on his shoulder as he looked to Sanji.
"Have you lost your mind, Pirate Fleet Chief Battle Commander?" Krieg asked, though some of his anger left him at the man's words.
"Are you alright owner?"
"Owner! Please hang in there!" Patty and Carne said worriedly as they helped Zeff sit up, having swum over to him once Gin had left.
"Chief Battle Commander?" Sanji asked once he saw Zeff was safe.
"Then he wasn't an underling?" Patty asked in worry and fear.
"To think that he cracked that shield guys shield... How powerful..." Carne murmured as he observed the tonfas that Gin wielded, two metal balls on the ends of them.
"See? It worked great... my plan to lure him out..." Luffy boasted, as if that had been his plan from the beginning, smiling as he looked at Gin.
"Liar! You were really going to break the ship, weren't you?!" Sanji yelled over at Luffy, having half the mind to go strangle him.
"Sanji-san!" Gin shouted.
"What?!" Sanji barked back, still frustrated.
"I wanted you to leave this ship unhurt, but it looks like that's not gonna happen." Gin said. He hadn't moved yet, so Sanji and Luffy weren't either, the two watching the Krieg pirate as he spoke.
"You got that right." The blonde answered.
"I can't let you have this restaurant even if it means risking my life." He explained.
"Then, at least burying you with my own hands is my way of settling this matter." Gin said.
"Hmph! Thanks. To hell with you!" Sanji said as he lit yet another cigarette. With breaking decks and water, Sanji had gone through more cigarettes than he normally did.
"You too, 11097." Gin said, now looking to Luffy who wasn't worried in the slightest.
"Well... I won't lose against a weakling like you." Luffy stated, knowing he was much stronger than Gin. Gin, along with the Krieg Pirates, all blanched at the words and Luffys complete lack of worry.
"You bastard!"
"What did you just say to our Chief Commander?!"
"'To hell with you'? 'Weaklings'? How dare you run your mouth like that!"
"We're the Krieg Pirates, the strongest pirates in the East Blue!" Luffy gave the yelling pirates a confused look, tilting his head slightly.
"Wasn't it just because you had the biggest number of pirates?" He asked. This only made the pirates even angrier.
"Oh, boy... You struck at the heart of the matter..." Sanji muttered as he blew out smoke, holding his cigarette between his fingers.
"So I was right..." Luffy said. He had only just learned about the Krieg Pirates today, so he was glad he seemed to have understood so far.
"You son of a bitch!"
"I'm gonna kill you!"
"Stop mocking us!" At once, a swarm of pirates swam out of the water and pulled themselves onto the deck Luffy, Sanji and Gin were standing on, weapons raised as they got ready to attack. Luffy smirked, equally excited to fight them because honestly, holding back was beginning to annoy him.
"Back off!" Luffy nearly groaned in annoyance at Krieg's words.
"Don Krieg!"
"But..."
"If you get upset when called weak, that just proves that you are weak. The result will decide if you're strong or weak. You've got me. Don't get so worked up!" Krieg ordered as he sat down, looking to his men in the water.
"Y-Yes, sir!" They shouted back.
"Gin! Finishing off that cook is your responsibility. I'll take care of that naive 11097 over there..." Krieg said with a grin, and Luffy really hoped that meant he could finally get into a fight now.
"Understood, Don Krieg." Gin agreed as he looked back over to Sanji.
"Hey, brat!" Krieg shouted over to Luffy.
"I'll make you fully experience the true power that conquered the East Blue. I'll teach you that your devil fruit or whatever it is means nothing." Krieg told him menacingly, though the effect was lost on Luffy who wasn't intimidated in the slightest.
"All your griping's getting annoying... I'll kick your ass. It's as simple as that." He said with a frown that quickly turned into a smile.
"I'm coming over there now. You just wait over there!" Luffy said, beaming as he felt Krieg's irritation rise.
"What impudence..." The man muttered darkly.
"This is it for that cook."
"That's right. When Gin-san holds that weapon in his hands, it means he's serious." The pirates said amongst themselves, everyone watching as Gin began slowly spinning one of his tonfas at his side, the spinning increasing in speed until it was a blur.
"His nickname is... Demon..."
"It doesn't matter if his enemy is crying or screaming, he tortures him to death mercilessly."
"He's a demon who doesn't have a shred of sympathy..." Sanji, Luffy, and Gin all ignored the talking from the pirates floating in the sea, focused more on each other than them.
"I'm sorry Sanji-san, but you can't defeat me." Gin told the chef, his voice hard compared to the despair from before.
"Just keep saying that, you small fry." Sanji goaded. It did the trick because Gin's upper body lowered and he began running forward.
"Here I come!" He announced, tonfa spinning behind him now as he ran towards Sanji. The blonde lifted his left leg, kicking out to where Gin was running, however the man easily jumped back and out of the way, grinning as he flung his tonfa right towards where Sanji was standing. The chef managed to get out of the way, but only just barely, eyes widening as he realized how close the weapon had come to hitting his hand. Gin pulled the tonfa out of the hole he'd created in the deck, still grinning, and Sanji spun into a more balanced position, kicking out his leg again.
"You son of a..." Gin avoided this kick as well however, and before Sanji could catch himself, Gin was slamming the metal weapon across Sanjis neck, pushing him onto his back against the deck.
"Sanji!" Luffy called, turning to make sure the man was ok. Sanji was coughing, his breathing restricted as Gin held the tonfa in place, sitting cross-legged beside Sanjis head.
"I warned you... that you cant defeat me..." Gin muttered, expression shadowed as he looked to the deck. Luffy felt the despair though, the pirate not liking that he was hurting Sanji but feeling he had no other choice.
"See you... Just accept your defeat!" Gin said, looking at Sanji with a murderous grin despite his emotions. He began spinning his other tonfa behind him, still pinning Sanji to the ground with the first one.
"Yeah! Our Chief Commander is really incredible!"
"Crush him, Gin-san!" The pirates shouted, cheering Gin on with grins and raised fists.
"Sanji!"
"Sanji! Come on!" In contradiction to the pirates, the chefs were filled with worry as they cried out to Sanji with wide eyes, fear gripping their hearts as they watched what might possibly be Sanjis death. Not that Luffy would let that happen.
"Die!" Gin called out as he began swinging his tonfa down towards Sanjis head. Before it could reach him though, Sanji spit his cigarette out, right into Gin's forehead, and while the man was momentarily distracted by it, Sanji used the time to squeeze his head out from under the tonfa that'd been holding him down. The tonfa Gin had tried using to hit Sanji on the head hit the deck where Sanji had been, but now that he was gone, it merely smashed the deck. Free from restriction, Sanji spun around again, aiming yet another kick towards Gins head, and this time, he hit his mark.
Despite this, Gin retaliated by swinging his tonfa back and into Sanjis chest, knocking the chef back a few feet, the two laying on the deck in pain.
"That cook landed a blow on Gin-san..."
"Don't tell me Gin-san is gonna be defeated too..." The pirates murmured worriedly, they're eyes slowly widening at the realization that even one of their powerhouses might lose.
"You fools... What have you seen with your own eyes all this time? Gin is a cool-headed demon whom I put my trust in. That's exactly why I appointed him as the Chief Commander. He'll show his true colors soon." Krieg growled out. Back on the Baraties smashed deck, Sanji and Gin were both standing back up, Sanji gripping his abdomen and Gin gritting his teeth.
"Is Sanji really ok?" Patty asked in concern.
"Of course he isn't! Combining the attacks from that shield guy, he must have at least five to six broken ribs." Carne answered. In between the two chefs, Zeff was watching on wordlessly, expression unreadable.
"Those skewered dumplings... aren't as good... as I thought," Sanji said to Gin breathlessly with a grin, referring to the man's tonfas.
"Is that the best the Chief Commander can do?" Sanji goaded again.
"Hm? What's he doing? Is this any time to be paying attention to others? Ah-ha! Alright! I'll kick his ass now!" Luffy exclaimed, his attention back to Krieg. He was dying to fight someone already, and seeing as Krieg wasn't doing anything, now was the perfect opportunity. Running forward, Luffy jumped onto a fallen mast, running along it and straight towards Krieg who was still sitting.
"Don't overexert yourself," Krieg said with a smirk as he watched Luffy run. Before the rubber boy could reach the deck Krieg was sitting on, the man flicked something into the water.
"Huh?" Luffy asked, noticing the object make a small splash ahead of him. He didn't have time to think more about it, because the water suddenly exploded in front of him, blocking his view of Krieg. His haki told him that there was an attack aimed his way, but he knew it wouldn't hurt him, so he only stood still.
Gunfire rang out, and a single bullet aimed right at Luffys heart flew towards the teen, hitting its mark without issue. It didn't harm Luffy though, and the skin stretched far out behind him, Luffy bracing himself and flinging the bullet out harmlessly into the air. Taking off his hat and placing it safely on an empty section of deck, Luffy glared at Krieg.
"You bastard! Do you really intend to fight me?!" He yelled to the Pirate Captain. Luffy was already annoyed enough and Krieg's parlor tricks weren't doing anything to help that.
"Intend to fight you? I don't need to do such a thing. What's needed is a means to kill. That's all. And that's the force that humans have. Remember it, you damn monkey!" Krieg shouted back, his overconfidence irritating Luffy further. He knew all too well the power humans could hold over someone else's mortality, and he also knew that there was no way in hell Krieg would ever hold that kind of power over him.
"What?! If you take a monkey lightly, it'll scratch you!" Luffy mocked, hooking his fingers on either side of his mouth and stretching them out. A thump behind him and a spike in pain from Sanji turned his attention back to the chef's fight.
"Sanji!" He called, his irritation fading into worry as he saw Sanji in a heap on the ground, blood falling from his mouth into a puddle beneath him. Holding his throat, the chef started coughing, more blood coming out as a result. Gin stood behind him, holding two bloody tonfas and looking the same as he had before, only a little roughed up compared to Sanji.
"All right! His bones are shattered by now!"
"Get him!" The pirates encouraged.
"Dammit! If only I hadn't taken the damage from the shield guy..."
"He's taken at least ten hits of those iron balls by now..." The chefs said fearfully.
"You really do whatever you want... you small fry!" Despite how confident Sanji was trying to sound, Luffy noticed that the chef was realizing just how strong Gin was, worry, and fear starting to fill the blonde as he watched Gin begin spinning his tonfa again.
"I'll finish you off now! Don't struggle anymore..." Gin said, swinging his weapon at Sanji. The chef, despite his pain and injuries, was able to cartwheel out of the way, a look of annoyance on his face.
"What was that?! Pity?" He asked angrily, still standing on his hands. Before Gin could turn his way, Sanji kicked his foot down on the pirates back, knocking him onto the deck.
"Don't underestimate me!" He shouted. Even though he'd been able to do all of this, Sanji realized quickly that the adrenaline that had enabled him to do it without worrying about the pain was wearing off, and with a gasp, he fell to his knees, wrapping his arms around his middle and curling in on himself in pain.
"Sanji!" Luffy called out, not liking how much pain he could feel coming from the man, knowing that the other chefs were probably right about how bad Sanjis insides had to be.
"Ah! Sanji!"
"Oh no! He can no longer bear even the shock from his own attacks..." Patty and Carne said from where they were watching.
Gin, seeing that Sanji was down again, stood back up, gritting his teeth and frowning as he walked over to the blonde and grabbed him around the neck, pushing him against the deck again.
"You... damn... bastard..." Sanji managed to growl out in between breaths, glaring up at Gin whose eyes were shadowed.
There was a tense silence, no one moving as they all thought this was finally going to be it for Sanji, but Luffy could feel otherwise. Even though, throughout the whole fight, Gin had been pushing away his feelings of unwillingness, they were suddenly coming back full force in the man. The pirate truly didn't want to harm Sanji, and with a frown, Luffy already knew the man didn't have the conviction to kill the chef like he made it seem.
Sanji realized this as well, his eyes widening as he realized that Gin was crying above him.
"I can't... I can't Don Krieg..." Gin uttered, voice choked as tears spilled from his eyes. Behind him, Luffy felt Krieg's surprise.
"I can't... I can't do it, Don Krieg!" Gin cried out loudly, letting go of Sanjis neck and raising his head.
"I can't... kill this man..." He cried.
"What'd you say?!" Krieg roared ferociously, looking like he was about to explode in anger.
"It was... it was the first time for me... No one had treated me so kindly before... So I can't... kill this man! I know... I don't intend to betray you. I don't think what we've done up until now is wrong or anything, either... I still respect your power and I appreciate you as well. I was really happy when you put your trust in my strength and appointed me as the Chief Commander. So I've followed your orders and I will from here on as well... But... But... I can't kill... just this one person! Don Krieg... If circumstances allow... is there any way... is there any way you'd let this ship... this restaurant off the hook..." Gin asked, almost pleaded, with a hopeful smile Krieg's way. Luffy, who had been watching with a blank expression, frowned when he felt Krieg's anger peak.
"You son of a bitch! As if defying my orders wasn't enough, now you're giving me a lecture?! What's the meaning of this craziness?! How disappointing. Morality. Sympathy. I hate those kinds of things the most. Didn't I always say that?!" Krieg asked, taking off one of his shoulder plates and attaching it to his fist, aiming in towards where Gin, Luffy, and Sanji were.
"Move away, guys..." Krieg growled to the rest of his crew, the skull on the golden plate opening its mouth and revealing a hole.
"Don! That's..." Gin cried out in shock, jaw-dropping, and eyes widening as he stared down the weapon.
"M... MH5! That's the strongest poison gas weapon!" He finished, Sanji looking over the best he could seeing as he was still being pinned to the ground.
"What?!" He asked, a frown on his face as he grit his teeth.
"Poison gas?" Luffy asked with a frown of his own.
"Ah! Mask!"
"Put the mask on!"
"Hurry up!"
"We'll be killed too!"
"To use a weapon like that..."
"That's despicable you bastard!"
"Do you know what's gonna happen when you use that?!" The pirates shouted as they all hurried to pull out masks.
"Stop whining about stupid stuff, you fools! This is a battle! Winning is the only goal. Foul play? Dirty? What's wrong with that?! Might makes right. No matter what means we take, the result is everything. Using poisonous gas or whatever... winning is all that matters. That's power." Krieg said with a smirk, the pirates all holding masks to their faces as they looked to their Captain. Luffy was glaring at him, feeling the slimy greed coming from him. Krieg was one of the worst pirates, the kind without honor, and Luffy knew he would enjoy taking him down.
"What a horrible bastard..." Sanji muttered, turning the best he could onto his side. Above him, Gin pulled out his own gas mask but didn't move to put it on.
"Throw that gas mask away! You're no longer one of us. Die!" Krieg ordered, his smirk falling and turning into a hateful glare. Feeling Gins despair, Luffy began running across the mast towards Krieg again.
"I won't let you shoot poisonous gas!" He yelled because even though he would, most likely, be fine, he knew that everyone else wouldn't.
"Stop scampering about, anchor boy!" Krieg shouted, hitting the mast that Luffy was running on and pushing it down, throwing Luffy off balance long enough to ready another weapon. Without a seconds hesitation, Krieg began firing tiny spikes at Luffy, something that would definitely hurt the rubber teen should they hit him. Thanks to his haki, Luffy was able to dodge most of them with ease, but without much room on the mast, he was forced to move back toward Gin and Sanji to avoid being hit completely.
"Dammit!" He growled in anger, realizing he was back where he started.
"Gin! You don't have to listen to what that weakling says! I'm gonna kick his ass now!" Luffy told the pirate, having noticed the turmoil coming from the pirate as he struggled with the option of listening to Krieg or not.
"Don't mock Don Krieg! He's the strongest man. You can't defeat him." Gin said in defense of his (former?) Captain.
"Come to your senses, you idiot! That man is trying to kill you!" Sanji yelled, not understanding why Gin was still defending Krieg.
"I deserve it... since I couldn't fulfill my role, shamelessly losing to emotion... This is... This is a well-deserved punishment!" Gin reasoned to himself, throwing his mask away and into the water.
"Gin!" Luffy called with wide eyes.
"Why... why?" Sanji asked, struggling just to get that much out.
"You're wrong!" Luffy shouted, everyone looking at him with wide eyes due to just how much anger seeped in the teen's words. None of them had heard him that infuriated before, and looking at him now, he looked just as enraged as he sounded.
"Wha-?"
"I said you're wrong! Losing to emotion?! Deserving to die for doing what was right?! You're wrong! Krieg might be the strongest in the East Blue, but Pops, Whitebeard, he's the strongest in the world! He didn't care if we disobeyed so long as there was a good reason. If I refused to hurt someone because I thought it was right, Pops wouldn't be mad, he would be happy that I did what I thought was right!" Luffy shouted, everyone staring in awe as they listened to Luffy talk about Whitebeard.
"Enough! It's too late. Die together with that cook! Deadly poisonous Gas Bomb... M... H... 5!" Krieg yelled in irritation, everyone remembering the predicament they were in. With a loud boom, Krieg fired off the weapon, a red ball flying out and into the air.
"Into the sea!"
"Owner! Get inside the restaurant!" The chefs all scrambled while Patty and Carne dragged Zeff into the restaurant as quickly as they could, shutting the doors behind them. Realizing there wasn't much time left at all, Luffy quickly stretched his arms out towards two nearby pirates, stealing the masks off their faces.
"Sanji! Gin! Use these!" Luffy shouted as he threw them in their direction.
"11097!" They shouted with wide eyes.
"Now for mine!" Luffy said, turning back towards where the pirates had been, only to realize they weren't there anymore.
"Ah! Everyone dived into the sea!" He said, though he wasn't concerned. Ok, maybe he was a little, but that was only because he didn't know how deadly a poison had to be until it affected him. They had said this poison was pretty deadly, but they also thought Krieg was strong, so there was a possibility it wasn't as strong as they were making it sound.
Sighing, Luffy glanced over his shoulder to make sure Gin and Sanji were wearing their masks and realized Gin was still watching him with wide eyes, holding his mask in his hand rather than on his face.
"Gin, put it on!" Luffy yelled, noticing the poison gas was close to hitting the deck now.
"B-but what about-" Luffy didn't let him finish his sentence as he ran over and slammed the mask onto Gins face, ignoring the muffled protests as he held it in place. He looked up from Gin with a glare as he watched the gas bomb finally hit the deck and explode, a cloud of pink making it impossible to see anything. Luffys strong sense of smell was assaulted with the bitter smell of the poison, and for a brief moment Luffy felt his lungs burn, but other than that, he was completely unaffected.
When the mist finally dissipated, Sanji took his mask off, eyes wide as he looked at Luffy.
"Let go! Let go of the mask!" Gins muffled yells cried out as he gripped at Luffys hands.
"Oi, 11097!" Sanji asked worriedly, eyes wide as he looked over the teen. Finally, Luffy deemed it safe for Gin to take the mask off, not smelling anymore of the poison in the air.
"H-How... What?!" Gin asked with equally large eyes as he sat up, looking over Luffy.
"Are you two alright?" Luffy asked, ignoring their worry as he stood up off of Gin.
"Us?! What about you?! That was deadly gas!" Gin shouted.
"Yeah, and now I'm gonna have to call Whiskey too! Ah, but my den den was on the Merry... She won't be too happy that I'm gonna call her so late after inhaling poison..." Luffy said, talking more to himself now rather than the two concerned people staring at him.
"Why aren't you, I don't know, dying?!" Sanji asked incredulously, eyes bugging out.
"Oh, poison doesn't hurt me," Luffy said nonchalantly, as if that was normal.
"Doesn't..." Sanji started, eyebrows furrowing.
"Hurt you?" Gin finished, also looking confused.
"Mm. Only really really strong poison hurts me. Ah, that NZ7 stuff kind of burned a little and it smelled, but other than that, I'm fine." Luffy told them.
"You should have let Gin die there, you little demon brat. Now I'm gonna have to resort to more bloodier methods." Krieg growled out in annoyance, still not understanding quite how Luffy hadn't been affected by his poison, but realizing that he'd have to do something else to kill him.
"Gin... it seems you picked the wrong man to follow..." Sanji said as he glared in Krieg's direction. Even after Gin had attempted throwing his own mask away, Krieg was still determined to kill the man based purely on his morality.
"So you actually decided to side with that idiot scum?" Krieg asked Sanji which caused the blonde's glare to harden.
"Scum?" The blonde growled. He may not have known Gin long, but he knew that if Gin was scum, then Krieg was the scum on scum.
"That's right. An idiot who loses sight of our goal and can't follow my orders no longer holds value to me. There's no guarantee that he won't betray me again. It's only out of love that I kill him right here and now." Krieg said with a grin as the pirates gawked in the water.
"I-I never imagined that Don would actually kill the Chief Commander..."
"C-Can't be true... There's no way he would!"
"Gin-san is his right-hand man!"
"That's right. No one has been more faithful to Don than Gin-san! That time too, when Fullbody's ship came after us right after we escaped the Grand Line..."
"Yeah... He acted as a decoy all by himself, pretending to be Don... He always risked his life fighting for Don Krieg..."
"I never imagined... that Don would actually try to kill him..." The pirates said to each other, their faith in Krieg wavering slightly at the man's display.
"Gin," Luffy said, his voice dropping from the cheery, bright tone it had been moments ago and turning into a hard, low voice that grabbed everyone's attention.
"Huh?" Gin asked, eyes still wide as he looked to Luffy, whose back was to him now.
"Don't you dare die," Luffy demanded, shocking the pirate.
"W-what? But you saw what I did! I deserve-"
"You deserve to live! I already told you that you were wrong! Greed over there is wrong too! You did what was right, and if that means you have to die, then I should be dead then too!" Luffy shouted in a no-nonsense tone that left Gin speechless.
"I've never once killed someone! No matter if I was told to or not! If not killing someone is wrong, then I should have died years ago! Don't let someone like him kill you!" Luffy continued, still not looking at Gin as he spoke.
"You were apart of his crew and you were loyal, but I have to kick his ass now before he can kill you or take this restaurant. You're a good guy Gin, so you better not die!" Luffy finished, giving Gin a stern look.
"D-don't. You can't... you can't defeat him..." Gin muttered weakly, stunned by Luffys words.
"Cool down! Attacking him head-on would be playing right into his hands! You'll die!" Sanji exclaimed, grabbing Luffys wrist in an attempt to stop the teen from doing something reckless.
"I won't die," Luffy said, and the conviction in his voice made Sanjis grip loosen, eyes widening again. Luffy took that opportunity to run forward, a new fury burning in him as he honed in solely on Krieg.
"Oi!" Sanji yelled, though it was useless as he watched Luffy run off.
"Go ahead and shoot as much as you want!" The young Captain shouted to the man, enraged.
"Such a fool... The easiest enemy to kill is one whose in a frenzy. The sea is your hell, anchor boy. You're heading towards..." As he spoke, Krieg threw a few more bombs into the water in front of him.
"... your graveyard!" He announced.
"My graveyard?!" Luffy asked, running along the mast yet again in an attempt at finally reaching Krieg, only for the water to explode around him like last time, blocking his view. Another round of gunfire went off and the chefs watched with wide eyes.
"Oh no, get out of there 11097!" No one could see what was happening due to the water masking everyone's vision, but the pirates were grinning victoriously already, watching as Krieg's spiked bullets shot towards where Luffy had been.
"He's dead." One of them said confidently, grinning viciously. They were proven wrong however when the water cleared and Luffy was still running, not a single scratch on him.
"He... didn't get hit?" Gin asked in disbelief, not having expected that. After all, with that much water, it should have been impossible for Luffy to see the bullets, much less dodge them.
"You little..." Krieg growled, his confident grin falling into a scowl as he saw the unharmed Luffy still running his way.
"Gum Gum..." Luffy called, jumping into the air and swinging his fist out.
"Hit me... if you can!" Krieg shouted as he pulled his cape around him, revealing it to be covered in spikes.
"How dirty! That's..." Sanji trailed off, equal parts angry and worried as he watched beside Gin.
"Pistol!" Luffy called, covering his fist in a light coating of armament haki before slamming his fist into Krieg's face.
"What?!" The pirates cried unanimously. Everyone, even Zeff was watching with dropped jaws. The spikes underneath Luffys fist broke off, leaving the teen unharmed yet again, whereas Krieg now had blood covering his face as he fell to the deck.
"Don Krieg was beaten!"
"He hit him and the spikes!"
"How isn't he hurt?!" The chefs were all clamoring loudly to each other, trying to make sense of what they'd just seen, while the pirates sat in stunned silence.
"Holy shit..."
"We've never even seen Don brought to his knees..."
"He hit Don in his face! And he did it through that Porcupine Cape!"
"C... Can you believe that?!" The pirates asked softly.
"Don..." Gin muttered just as quietly. He was torn, because he still highly respected the man, even if he had ordered him to die, so to see Krieg being beaten made him want to help.
"Is this my graveyard? Or yours? Don't think you can send me to my grave with stuff like this. I'm not gonna die here." Luffy said to the downed Krieg, grinning wickedly.
"He's crazy..." Sanji muttered, Zeff eyeing him out of the corner of his eye.
"You see idiots like that every once in a while... ones who will fight to the death once they've set their eyes on a target..." Zeff told him, turning his view back to Luffy.
"Fight... to the death..." Sanji repeated, not understanding why someone would do that.
"You're in trouble if someone like that becomes your enemy. But you know, win or lose, I like guys like him..." Zeff continued. Gin sat nearby, in a state of shock as he watched Krieg's unmoving body, blood pooling beside the man's mouth. Never, in all of his time as a Krieg Pirate, had he seen the Don pushed to this limit- with one hit no less.
"Wh-What's gonna become of this fight?!"
"You idiot, that was just dumb luck! There's no way Don would be defeated by a stupid brat like that! Don't worry!" The pirates tried reasoning, not wanting to believe what they were seeing.
Finally, Krieg twitched.
"'I'm not gonna die here,' you said?" Krieg managed to get out, struggling onto his hands and knees.
"If you won't die here... then... who the hell will?!" Krieg asked, suddenly springing to his feet and pushing his shoulder plate into Luffys chest. The young Captain jumped upwards as the plate exploded, moving towards Krieg.
"You will!" Luffy yelled, hooking his foot on Krieg's shoulder as he jumped over the man's shoulder, pulling him back onto the ground.
"Don't get beaten again!"
"What the hell is going on?!"
"E-Enemies are supposed to die without even touching Don Krieg!"
"Dons supposed to be invincible... What the..."
"What the hell is that brat?!"
"The Marines were right! He and his brothers, they're from Hell itself!"
"Demons!"
"Devils!" The pirates roared in fear, but their words didn't faze Luffy, and all he did was grin, eyes shadowed by his hair and giving him an even more menacing aura then he'd already had.
"He's really good..."
"Yeah... I'm blown away..." Patty and Carne said to each other.
"It's a good thing he's on our side..." Sanji muttered, finally realizing just how strong Luffy was as he watched him fight.
"He's amazing!"
"Get Krieg!"
"Yeah, he can do it!" The chefs cheered, their moral rising at this new development.
"That kid is fighting Don at his level, without getting hurt..."
"This isn't a dream, right? Dons getting beaten by the Grand Line Demon..."
"Dons supposed to be invincible..."
"As it stands, the legend of Don Krieg the strongest will-"
"Stop talking nonsense!" Krieg roared, cutting off the pirate's doubts as he stood, taking off his other shoulder plate and connecting it with the first. With them connected, he pulled on a piece of wood sticking out, creating a long pole that he grabbed with both hands. Out of the two plates came a sharp spear, and with another roar, Krieg swung the new weapon at Luffy.
Luffy was able to jump backward, out of the way, but when the spear hit the ground, there was an explosion, shaking the piece of deck they were standing on.
"What the..." Sanji asked with wide eyes.
"F... Finally, Don Krieg's strongest weapon..." One pirate said in relief.
"The Mighty Battle Spear..." Gin mumbled, leaning forward as he watched with wide eyes.
"Battle Spear?" Sanji asked, only glancing at Gin for a second before looking back to Luffy who was now clinging to where the mast had broken off from to keep from falling in the water.
"What's that? It exploded." Luffy asked himself.
"Now... I'll see how long you can keep avoiding this... It'll be a sight, 11097! Those puny spears earlier didn't hit you, but this Mighty Battle Spear is different. As soon as you touch it, you'll be blown to pieces!" Krieg screamed, eyes bulging in raw anger. Swinging his spear again, he hit the deck again with it, exploding the surrounding area and sending Luffy flying away with the blast.
"I'll fall, I'll fall, I'll fall!" Luffy cried as he desperately looked for footing he could land on. Seeing a small piece of deck with a railing, he shot his hand out, grabbing it and pulling himself to it.
"Phew, that was close! What's with that spear? It explodes every time he strikes it down." Luffy said, trying to make sense of the new weapon he was up against. The small piece of deck that he was standing on was moving harshly under his feet due to the waves and he frowned.
"Damn! With the foothold rocking like this, I can't fight with full power." Luffy grumbled, trying to figure out a solution to this problem, but coming up empty.
A flood of murderous intent heading his way had him snapping his head up to see Krieg diving his way, the spear pointed right at Luffys face, but before it made contact, Luffy shuffled backward. Annoyed, Krieg began swinging the spear at Luffy rapidly, but the monkey merely jumped and flipped over or under every attempt. One of his flips had him dangerously close to the edge of the deck, water lapping up the sides of his sandals.
"Whoa whoa whoa..." Luffy muttered, trying to stop his momentum before he fell.
"Take this!" Krieg yelled, aiming his spear at Luffy and swinging once more.
"Phew! That was close!" Luffy said, wiping his forehead from where he was now clinging onto the wooden stick of the spear, everyone sweat dropping at his position.
"You... damn caterpillar!" Krieg roared, swinging the spear into the deck and causing yet another explosion that sent Luffy high into the air. Upside down, Luffy watched as the infuriated Krieg got ready to attack again.
While Luffy was still falling from the sky, Krieg stabbed his spear towards him. With a grin, Luffy coated his fists again and used them to punch onto either side of the pointy sharp metal. At the contact, another explosion went off, worrying the chefs and pleasing the pirates.
"11097!" Sanji called out, thinking that had been the end of it. As the light and smoke from the explosion cleared, they saw a charred Luffy fall onto the deck, but within the seconds that he'd hit the deck, he stood back up.
"Ha! I'm not done yet... You made me angry. I won't let you die so easily." Krieg laughed, not caring that Luffy wasn't down for good yet.
"Dammit! That bastard Krieg brings out weapons one after another... There's no way 11097 can-"
"Even if hundreds of weapons are built-in, he can't be defeated by someone with a spear of blind determination," Zeff said, cutting Sanji off. The two of them, as well as Gin, watched as Krieg swung the spear again, to which Luffy punched, setting off another explosion and charring him. Despite having exploded twice now, Luffy still stood back up, further angering Krieg when he only grinned at him.
"Now that makes you worth crushing..." Krieg growled, any amusement from earlier gone now.
"Life or death... In a pirate battle, if you fear death for even a moment, you'll fall to pieces." Zeff continued.
"What're you talking about?" Sanji asked, and even Gin was listening on.
"At least... that kid doesn't have any hesitation!" Another few explosions going off as Zeff spoke, Luffy standing again and grinning after each one.
"Is it a survival instinct? Or does he not fear death because he has faith in himself?" Zeff asked with a grin of his own.
"Faith..." Sanji murmured softly, eyes wide as he looked over to the fight again. Luffy was a little wobbly this time as he stood, but he was still grinning, still standing.
"Y... You son of a bitch! I told you that this is where you die! I am the strongest man!" Krieg screamed, charging Luffy and causing another explosion.
"The fleet Krieg gathered... His hundreds of weapons and poison... If they're all force... then that kid's spear is also force... The spear held in his heart... I know an idiot whose holding back that spear for a stupid reason..." Zeff said fondly. Beside him, Sanjis eyes widened further in realization while Gin listened in confusion.
"M-my Might Battle Spear is... What the hell did you do?!" Krieg's shout of surprised anger drew everyone back to the fight to see the sharp metal end of the spear crumbling away, Krieg looking at it with bulging eyes.
"I gave it five punches. I guess that's it for your spear." Luffy said with a smirk, feeling the shock overcoming Krieg's anger. Around him, the pirates were just as shocked, fear taking hold stronger than before, and the chefs were becoming confident again.
"H-he destroyed the battle-ax..." Gin uttered, feeling the same way as when he saw Mihawk destroy their ships.
"But he's taken that many explosions. His body couldn't possibly keep up..." Sanji said in concern, gripping his chest where he had his own injuries.
"Prepare yourself..." Luffy warned, lowering his body.
"Huh?!" Krieg asked incredulously, his shock morphing back to anger as he looked at Luffy.
"This is a big enough foothold. With this much space, I can kick your ass just like I said I would." Luffy told him, his smirk widening and fists clenching.
"What?" Krieg continued asking, as if not understanding what he was hearing.
"With the spear blade broken, that's just a bomb on a stick. The power is cut in half." Luffy observed, eyes flickering momentarily to the bomb Krieg held.
"You think so?"
"Yeah, I do," Luffy replied easily.
"A bomb on a stick? So what of it? It's still more than enough force to blow you away. Whatever you say sounds like just a bluff." Krieg said, his confidence returning now as well.
"It's not a bluff. Mihawk showed you the power of the Grand Line, but I can show you the power of the New World." Luffy said menacingly.
"Just give it up! The moment you defied me, you signed your death warrant!" Krieg said, not wanting to listen to anything Luffy was saying. Running forward, Krieg readied himself to hit Luffy again.
"I won't die! Bleah!" Luffy mocked, sticking out his tongue at Krieg, finger hooked around the corners of his mouth and pulling. This only aggravated Krieg more, and finally, he swung again. Luffy, however, jumped right over the attack, grabbing onto a wooden beam above them.
"Hey! I'm over here!" He teased, enjoying himself immensely.
"That monkey!" Krieg growled, swinging the bomb stick at the mast, knocking it down along with the beam Luffy was holding onto.
"Ooh ooh ah!" Luffy called, imitating the monkey Krieg was calling him as he swung around the falling wood.
"He keeps hopping around!" Krieg noticed, only to realize that Luffy was using a broken piece of wood like a javelin, throwing it right toward Krieg.
"It's useless!" Krieg yelled as he shot a red smoke from his wrist.
"Just how many built-in weapons does he have?" Sanji asked in disbelief. As the smoke disappeared, it showed that there was no more wooden pole heading his way. All that was left was a grinning Luffy.
"Gum Gum... Gatling!" With a flurry of punches, Luffy continuously hit Krieg's armor. All the while, Krieg smiled and took them, his confidence practically oozing off of him. When he was done, Luffy landed in front Krieg, his own grin never faltering.
"Weak! Your punches are powerless again this Woots Steel Armor! You cant even make a dent in it, New World pirate or not. This armor won't break, even with hundreds of monkey punches!" Krieg boasted proudly.
"Are you sure about that?" Luffy asked with a raised eyebrow, glancing at Krieg's shiny gold armor. Krieg's smile faltered, and when he looked down, he realized there was a crack.
"W-what?!" He roared, watching as the crack webbed out across his chest.
"Dons strongest armor! It's breaking!" A pirate cried in astonishment. In the second that Luffy turned his head to look at the speaking pirate, he realized with his haki that Krieg was moving. Looking back, he saw the man standing high in the air on the crooked, broken mast.
"So you cracked my armor, that means nothing! I'm the strongest, and with my weapons, I'll take you down too. Just because this armor cracked, doesn't mean its broken! The strong one is the one who survives." Even though Luffy could feel that Krieg wasn't as confident as before, he still looked it as he smirked down at Luffy.
"Then, that'll be me! Gum Gum..." Running up to where Krieg was standing, he threw both arms out behind him.
"Useless! Useless! It's useless! Even pride will only get you so far!" Swinging his bomb on a stick towards Luffy, Krieg was surprised when Luffy ran right through the explosion, unaffected.
"Bazooka!" Luffy called, bringing his fists forward and hitting Krieg right in the chest where the webbing was. Flying backward over the water, Krieg laughed as he dropped bombs from his hands into the water below.
"No good! This is all you can do." Krieg laughed, only to hear the cracking again. Looking down with wide eyes as he sailed through the air, he watched as the armor broke off of his body.
"But its too late! You're done for 11097!" Krieg laughed again, clearly thinking that he was going to be the victor regardless. Everyone watched as the bombs splashed gently into the water, Luffy frowning as they did.
"Its a trap! Get out!" Sanji cried, only a half-second before there were multiple loud explosions.
"11097!" Sanji yelled loudly, eyes wide as the wind from the explosions blew past him and the water rose, raining down on them.
"Gum Gum..." Yelling, Luffy surprised everyone, especially Krieg, as he pulled his arms back once again and jumped into the air.
"What?!" Krieg screamed, his fear rising again.
"Bazooka!" Now that the armor was gone, there was nothing to protect Krieg from the blow and the man cried out in pain, falling even faster towards the water. Everyone's jaws dropped, and then the chefs were cheering.
"All right!"
"Good job!"
"You're the best 11097!" Luffy knew better than to start celebrating now however, feeling that Krieg wasn't quite unconscious yet. He was proven right when he saw Krieg move.
"Not so fast!" He growled out painfully, blood dribbling down his chin. Luffy knew what was coming but was unable to redirect himself fast enough. Due to the bombs, Krieg had used earlier, anything Luffy could have grabbed onto was now gone, leaving him open. A net flew towards him and Luffy frowned, realizing it wasn't a normal net.
"Can you escape?! Its a steel net! Below us is the ocean. The game is over, 11097! I'm the one whose getting the last laugh!" Krieg cried, voice so desperate it was nearly insane. Luffy only smiled, pushing his arms and legs out.
"If I can get my arms and legs out, the game is mine!" Luffy told him, twisting his legs around the net towards where Krieg was holding onto it. Back on the Baraties deck, Sanji and Gin were watching with awed expressions.
"What?!" Krieg yelled as Luffys feet grabbed on to either side of his face.
"This is gonna end it for sure!" Luffy yelled, immediately letting his legs unwind, spinning Krieg rapidly through the air.
"Gum Gum Giant Gavel!" Luffy called out as he directed Krieg to hit the Baraties deck, smashing the man directly into it, and after a spike of fear, Krieg's emotions muffled. Still in the net however, Luffy fell right into the ocean.
Everyone, sans the pirates, cheered as they saw the bloodied, unconscious Krieg laying on the deck nearby Zeff, Sanji, and Gin. Sanji could only stare at the spot Luffy had fallen in awe.
"If you have time to daydream, go save that kid already!" Zeff told the blonde, confusing him.
"He won't be floating up to the surface! Those with the Devil Fruit power are hated by the sea and lose the ability to swim." Zeff informed him, turning his back to him.
"What'd you say, you damn geezer?! You should have told me that sooner! What're you gonna do if it's too late?!" Sanji shouted as he quickly threw off his shoes and jacket, Gin watching in a state of shock, unable to do more than blink and breathe at the moment.
Meanwhile, Luffy was trying his best to wrangle himself out of the net Krieg had him trapped in. Thanks to his sea resistance, he was able to move enough to attempt saving himself, however, the net was long and tangled, making it difficult for him to get it off. It was actually starting to frustrate him a bit, and he could feel the oceans curse trying to take effect on him, weakening him.
He felt another presence in the water with him, barely recognizing it as Sanji before he felt his resistance fail, and his body paralyzed, still tangled in the net as he lay at the bottom of the sea. Unable to hold his breath anymore, bubbles flew out of his mouth and he inhaled water.
Right before his eyes closed, though, he saw Sanji swimming his way.
And we're back! The Baratie Arc will be wrapped up in the next chapter and we'll be moving right on to Arlong Park! It feels a little strange to jump back into this world after focusing all of my attention on school for the past few weeks. I'm so happy to be back though and I can't wait to share with you all the next few chapters of this adventure!
I have some exciting news to share as well! I got an amazing offer from runswithcats42 who wants to make an audio version of The Devil Wears White! To do so however, they need volunteers to voice the different characters, so if anyone is interested in doing voices for characters such as the narrator, Luffy, Sabo, Ace or the four slavers that are in chapter one, then just give them a PM and let them know!
In other news, my first few weeks of school have gone really well! I enjoy the classes I'm taking, and even though I'm extra busy now, I'm still excited to learn some new things! I will be moving back to my regular bi-weekly updates of this story and will be managing my time so that I can handle both school and writing, so don't worry, this stories not going anywhere.
With that, I'll leave you all until the next update. See you all with the next chapter!