Chapter 24: Fireworks
As time passed, Luffy was able to slowly get over the shock that had been Miss All Sunday. No one had bothered him during this time, everyone not knowing exactly what they could say to him at this time. They still had no idea what the facility even was, so they had no idea the significance of Miss All Sunday knowing about it.
While Luffy processed all of this, he sat on the Merry's figurehead while the crew went about their business. Usopp and Sanji were caught up on everything that had happened while they were sleeping, the two finally understanding that they were taking Vivi, a princess, to Alabasta, her kingdom. They also found out that Crocodile was at the head of Baroque Works and they were on the organization's hit list.
After that, their normal routine came into play. Sanji went to go make everyone some snacks seeing as breakfast had come and gone without anyone eating and Nami, Vivi and Karoo joined him, sitting at the table while he worked. Vivi told Nami about the surrounding waters and what they could expect while outside Usopp looked through his telescope, wondering what type of island Little Garden would be like. Zoro was sleeping against the railing, tired after everything they'd been through so far with so little sleep.
At the front of the ship, Luffy found that sitting alone on Merry's figurehead was as calming as it always was. The calmness of the ocean around them helped ease his tension as he worked through everything Miss All Sunday had said. It was obvious she knew about facilities, and maybe even what happened in them. How she knew this information though was unknown to Luffy. Did she work in facilities? Was she a nurse or doctor? Or did she work for the government? How else would she know about the horrible buildings?
Different scenarios ran through Luffys head, but he was no closer to any answers as he had been when he'd started. Because of this, and also because he smelled Sanji finishing cooking, Luffy hopped off the figurehead and began heading to the kitchen.
Walking in he saw that Usopp and Zoro had joined the group, all of them sitting at the table as Sanji served the snacks. Nami had a paper in her hand, the news coo most likely having come already.
"At any rate, I can't believe they deliver the morning paper at snack time..." Nami said, holding the newspaper in front of her face and not noticing Luffy's entrance.
"That can't be helped since we're traveling the Grand Line," Zoro said as he ate.
"We should feel lucky that we can still get the news," Vivi said as she fed Karoo from her hand.
"I guess you're right. Oh, hi Luffy." Nami greeted, drawing everyone's attention to the Captain.
"Food!" Luffy said happily, spotting the plate meant for him at the empty spot of the table.
"Of course the first thing you want is food," Nami said with a sigh and a roll of her eyes, the worry she'd had at seeing him fading. She turned her attention back to the news while everyone began eating, their worry for Luffy going away as they saw him eat with the same fervor as always.
As Nami skimmed through the news pages, she felt herself stiffen as she saw one of the articles. Luffy looked up at her when he noticed the change in her emotions, the worry, the anxiety, and the fear, but before he could question it, Vivi beat him to it.
"Did something catch your eye?" The princess asked, turning to look at Nami with a smile. She hadn't noticed the tension in the navigator, so Nami was able to put on a smile quickly, turning the pages away from whatever she'd just seen.
"What? Ah, no, not really..." The orange-haired woman said, scanning the news again to keep Vivi from asking more questions. Luffy noticed that Nami had definitely seen something, and when he went to question her himself, he saw something in the news that caught his own eye.
"Ah!" Luffy said, leaning over the table to get a better look at the paper.
"Wh-what is it?" Nami asked, jumping at the suddenness of Luffy being so close.
"Here! Zoro, look!" Luffy said, pointing to the picture he was looking at. Beside him, Zoro looked up from his drink in confusion.
"What? This is just a picture of the Navy." Nami said, not understanding why Luffy was so happy to see it. Usually, Luffy didn't like anything related to the Marines, so why was he so smiley about the picture?
"Yeah, but the guy in this picture isn't just anyone," Luffy said, Zoro leaning in beside him to get a good look too.
"Hm? Hey, it's Coby!" Zoro realized, seeing that in the picture Coby and Helmeppo were hugging each other in fear off to the side of a group of Marines who looked to be handling a storm.
"See?!" Luffy asked, Nami seeing the two now as well.
"Coby...? Whos that?" She asked, not having heard the name mentioned before. At first, she would have thought it was one of the many people Luffy seemed to know from the Whitebeards, but Zoro seemed to know this person as well.
"He's a friend of ours! So what does it say?" Luffy asked eagerly, wanting to know more about what he was up to.
"What does it say? Let's see... 'Vice-Admiral Garp's warship has arrived at Navy Headquarters. The picture was taken right after they crossed over Reverse Mountain. Just as expected, Vice-Admiral Garp had a relaxed, imposing look; however, there were some young marines whose faces froze with fear.'" Nami read aloud for everyone to hear.
"Woah... so Coby has entered Paradise," Luffy said wistfully. Not only had his friend joined him, but he was also with Garp, his Grandfather. That thought made Luffy shiver fearfully.
"It said Navy Headquarters. Not so bad." Zoro said from beside him.
"No matter what anyone says, he's gonna become a Navy mayor!" Luffy said firmly, confusing everyone listening.
"Why would he want to become a mayor? Officer! A Navy officer!" Zoro corrected.
"Yeah, that's the one," Luffy said, waving off the mistake.
The rest of the day after that passed with relative ease. The waters weren't any rougher than usual and despite the rough start, no one popped up to attack them. Night came and went with everyone getting a good rest, and when the sun was back up, Nami told them that they should be reaching Little Garden within the day according to Vivi's knowledge of the surrounding waters.
Excited as always about the prospect of a new Island, Luffy sat out on deck, Zoro sitting against the railing that Luffy was perched on while Vivi stood watching nearby.
"I wonder if it's gonna snow anymore," Luffy said. He always enjoyed the snow, so for it to happen again would be a welcome distraction after all the distressing news he'd gotten in the span of less than a week.
"There's no way it would." Zoro retorted.
"Does too. You don't know since you slept through it last time." Luffy said to the swordsman, referring back to when they were heading to Whiskey Peak. Zoro had no idea about this event though, only giving Luffy a look of confusion. Seeing that the swordsman wasn't going to be any help, Luffy turned to look at Vivi.
"Hey, do you think it'll snow again?" He asked her.
"It could snow, but the sea we were in first is special... since the seven magnetic forces from Reverse Mountain mess everything up. That doesn't mean you can relax here, though. It'd be rare for this sea to be wild like the first journey, but it's still true that this sea is a lot more difficult than ordinary ones. Never underestimate this sea. That's the iron-clad rule." Vivi told them, walking over to the railing as well to look at the water below.
"Hey, guys! Wanna have my special drink?" Sanji asked from where he was leaving the kitchen, a platter full of drinks in hand.
"Yeah!" Luffy cheered as he jumped off the railing and headed towards Sanji. Zoro got up as well to join, and even Karoo charged over.
"Thanks!" Luffy, Usopp, and Zoro said as they each grabbed one, sitting in a circle.
"Say, Usopp. Make a fishing tackle for me." Luffy said to the long nose man.
"Fishing, huh? That's a good idea!" Zoro agreed.
"Okay. Then I'll make an artistic fishing rod for you." Usopp said with a laugh, raising his glass in the air. Beside them, Karoo pulled the straw out of his own drink, trying to sip through it but raising it too high to the point that all he was drinking was air.
"Hey, it goes like this," Sanji said, grabbing the straw and putting it back into the liquid for the duck who drank the whole thing in one gulp. The group of four all watched in amazement as he did this.
"Wow, you sure can drink. Hey, is it good?" Sanji asked with a grin. When Karoo made a noise that sounded to be an agreement, Sanji switched the empty glass with a new full one, which Karoo drank just as fast. This process continued on and on, all of them watching the duck closely.
"Wow! Amazing!" Luffy said as he watched.
"Attaboy! Go, go, go, go...!" Usopp cheered. Eventually, Karoo drank too much and he stopped, falling on his back unconscious while everyone else laughed. From the upper deck where Vivi, and now Nami, were standing, Luffy felt that the two were just as amused as they were. Vivi had been a little frustrated before, but as was usual on the Going Merry, that tension was quick to turn into happiness.
With Karoo, their previous entertainment, gone, everyone moved to the railing to watch the ocean. Sanji was the first to notice that in the distance there was a dolphin, which he pointed out to everyone else.
"Hey, everyone, look! It's a dolphin!" He called out, everyone turning to look where he was looking. They quickly saw it as well, everyone's still smiling.
"Woah! He's cute!" Nami said, Vivi nodding in agreement from beside her. As they watched, the dolphin jumped out of the water again, high up in the air-
And towered over their ship.
The dolphin was so big, it cast a shadow over the entire Going Merry as it jumped over them.
"It's huge!" Luffy called out, still smiling while everyone else's smiles turned to looks of fear. They didn't need to worry though as the dolphin jumped gracefully over them and into the water on the other side.
However, they did need to worry when the waves from the dolphin were just as big as the creature itself.
"Get out of here!" Nami called, everyone immediately jumping into action. Usopp climbed up the rigging to the sails while Sanji ran to the rutter.
"Completely unfurl the sails!" Luffy called to Usopp who did just that. Vivi could only watch in stunned silence as the crew worked together to keep from capsizing. As this was all happening, the dolphin jumped out of the water again.
"Okay! Ride the wave and shake him off!" Luffy called, still smiling cheerfully as the dolphin landed just behind them, giving the Merry a boost from the large wave it made.
"Nami! Which direction should the ship take?" Luffy asked the navigator.
"Hold on a sec. Let me check. Turn to port, full!" She called back as she looked at the needle in her log pose. Sanji did just that, the ship turning as directed and sailing smoothly along. When all of the commotion was over and they were no longer at risk, they realized that Little Garden was now in sight, all of them moving to the front of the ship to get a better view.
"There's no mistake. That island and Cactus Island are pulling against each other. Our next stop is... that island!" Nami told them, pointing at the distant island.
"So that's the one! Our second island in the Grand Land!" Luffy said, climbing onto the figurehead to get as close a look as he could.
It didn't take much longer than that for them to reach the island. They drifted along the edge of it, looking for a good place to dock while they inspected what they could see of the island.
"So this is Little Garden!" Luffy said, taking in the tall, towering trees and foliage.
"What's 'little' about it?" Zoro asked.
"This place doesn't quite fit its cute name." Nami noticed.
"Ahh... It's like a terra incognita. It's a thick jungle!" Usopp said fearfully, backing away from the island as much as he could.
"We have to be careful. I'm worried about what Miss All Sunday was saying." Vivi said honestly, looking to Karoo with a look as worried as she said she was. At the mention of Miss All Sunday, Luffy frowned but didn't want the thought of that woman to ruin the excitement of a new island.
"A-a-are you saying a monster may appear?!" Usopp asked, eyes bulging as he sweated fearfully.
"Who knows?" Vivi said.
"Let's go to our next destination without going ashore on this one!" Usopp suggested.
"But the log can't be stored so quickly," Nami told him, her hands on her hip as she did.
"Also, we have to stock up on food soon. We didn't get anything in the last town we were in." Sanji told them.
"There's a river mouth there," Zoro called, having been watching the island carefully while everyone else spoke.
"What? Really?" Sanji asked, he and Nami moving to join Zoro at the railing to see. Usopp came over much more reluctantly, and once they determined that the river was perfect for going inland, Nami ordered they follow it.
"I hope there's a BBQ restaurant in here," Luffy said, drooling at the thought.
"As if there'd be one!" Sanji said.
"But you said we were going to stock up on food," Luffy said, wondering if Sanji knew where food came from.
"We'll collect food to cook later! Geez, what're you thinking?" The chef asked with a shake of his head.
"But it's dangerous to go ashore. Just take a look at the plants here to start with. I've never seen anything like them, even in encyclopedias." Nami said, pointing to the river's edge where there were different plants lined along it. Before anyone else could respond there was a loud screeched that made Usopp and Nami cover their ears.
"How cute!" Sanji cooed as he looked at Nami.
"You mean me?" Usopp asked, turning to look at Sanji with a smile.
"Obviously I meant Nami-san!" Sanji barked back in disgust.
"What was it I just heard?" Nami asked, ignoring the two.
"It's all right. It's just a bird. And this is just a jungle. Don't worry." Sanji said with a smile, pointing behind him. Unbeknownst to him, there was a large green bird with sharp talons diving right for him. Nami and Usopp however saw this, the two yelling out in fear and running away, leaving behind a confused Sanji.
"What's the matter?" He asked, turning just in time to see the bird only centimeters away from grabbing him. Diving out of the way, the bird swooped down right where he would have been before flying away, empty-handed.
"What was that for, you damn bird?!" Sanji asked as he stood back up.
"A lizard... I wonder if it tastes good." Luffy said from next to Sanji. Another roar stopped the conversation again, only scaring Nami and Usopp more.
"Is that a kind of noise you hear from just any jungle?" Nami asked.
"That sounded like a volcano erupted!" Usopp yelled, holding his head while his legs began shaking. Movement from the jungle beside them drew Usopp and Nami's attention just in time to see a large tiger spot them and roar.
"A tiger?!" They scream in unison.
"It's too huge!" Usopp cried, seconds from a heart attack at this point. He and Nami immediately bolted to the other side of the ship in a desperate attempt at getting away from it. It didn't matter though, because in seconds the tiger was coughing up blood, falling to the ground dead.
"What?! What happened?!" Nami asked, running back over to see.
"This isn't normal! This definitely is not normal! Why does a tiger, King of the Jungle, fall covered in blood?!" She asked in a mixture of frustration and fear. Usopp looked to be thinking hard about that question for a moment before seemingly having an idea, raising a finger in the air.
"Ah! It's decided that we're not gonna go ashore this island!" He announced loudly, shaking.
"We'll quietly wait on the ship until the log is stored and..." Nami started quietly.
"Right!" Usopp agreed weakly.
"...Leave this island as soon as possible." She continued.
"Right!" Usopp agreed again.
"W... We have to go to Alabasta quickly..." She finished.
With the plan set, the crew docked the ship a little further in, Nami and Usopp not wanting to land so close to where a giant tiger had died. Zoro threw down the anchor while Luffy stared at the jungle with excitement, his smile large.
"Sanji! Make lunch for me!" Luffy said, surprising the chef.
"Lunch?" He asked.
"Yeah! For replenishing energy! A pirate lunch with lots of meat and no veggies! I can smell adventure in the air!" Luffy said, his excitement as clear in his voice as it was on his face. Hearing his words, Nami rushed over in an instant.
"W-wait a second! Where're you going?!" She demanded to know, her hands on her hips.
"Adventure!" Luffy said with a laugh, waving his arms.
"Wanna come along? Adventure! Adventure!" Luffy chanted much to Namis disdain, tears flowing from her eyes. Behind her, Usopp was in a much similar state, staring at Luffy with a dropped jaw and tears falling fast.
"Sanji! Make me lunch!" Luffy said again, turning to look at the retreating chef.
"Okay. Hold on a bit." Sanji said with a small smile of his own.
"Say, can I come with you?" Vivi asked suddenly.
"What?!" Usopp screeched, even more surprised to hear that the princess wanted to go to the dangerous jungle.
"Sure! Come, come!" Luffy chanted.
"Not you too!" Nami barked, but Vivi only smiled at them, seemingly not worried about the island like they were.
"Yeah... If I just sit around here, I may start thinking about all sorts of things. I'll go out to take my mind off things until the Log is stored." She said to the navigator truthfully, already thinking of her home kingdom just by the brief mention of overthinking.
"No way! It may be okay for Luffy, but it's too dangerous for you!" Nami yelled, thinking about the fact that they were supposed to be keeping the princess safe and out of danger.
"I'll be fine since Karoo will be with me," Vivi said, looking to the bird who realized what he was being pulled into. The poor duck couldn't even come up with a response, its face pulled into a look of terror that matched Nami and Usopp's from earlier.
"He's too shocked to say a word, though," Nami noted.
"Then, I'll make a lunch of love for Vivi-chan," Sanji said from the kitchen door.
"Could you prepare something to drink for Karoo?" Vivi called over to the smiling chef.
"Of course! Please leave it to me!" Sanji responded before walking into the kitchen to get to work. It didn't take long for Sanji to make the required food which he put inside a large backpack. When he was done, he tied the bag closed and gave it to Luffy who put it on excitedly, ready to go. Karoo also got his new drink, and when everyone was all set, Sanji smiled, taking the cigarette out of his mouth.
"Alright. Now you're all set. Two pirate lunches and a special drink for Karoo." Hearing that there was nothing left to stop them, Luffy jumped off the ship to the jungle below, Karoo following with Vivi on his back.
"Well then, see you later!" Vivi called to Sanji, Usopp, and Nami who were watching them go.
"Alright! Let's go!" Luffy cheered, running off into the dense jungle. Karoo followed him while Vivi continued waving to those on the Merry.
"We'll be back in a little while!" The princess called out to them.
With that, Karoo and Luffy began running swiftly through the jungle, trees, and plants flying by them as they did. Luffy was laughing loudly the entire time, having the time of his life, while Vivi looked around at everything in interest. Like Nami had said earlier, the plants here were nothing like she'd ever seen before, and despite the name, everything was quite large.
"Oops!" Vivi was snapped from her observations as Luffy skidded to a halt, Karoo doing the same.
"What's the matter?" Vivi asked, looking to the young Captain who was stepping into ankle-deep water.
"Here, look at this! There's a shellfish like a squid." Luffy said, first pointing at the aforementioned fish before pulling it out to show Vivi.
"A squid shellfish!" Luffy decided with a grin.
"It looks a lot like the ammonite," Vivi noted in wonder, getting closer to see it better.
"It's a squid shellfish, right?" Luffy asked, but just as he did, there was a rumbling throughout the ground followed by a loud booming noise. Attention immediately drawn away from the mystery shellfish, Luffy ran off towards the booming noise with Karoo following dutifully behind him.
"Oh? What's a sea king doing on land?" Luffy asked, looking up where, peeking out of the treetops, was an animal with a long neck chewing on the trees leaves.
"A dinosaur!" Vivi shouted out in shock.
"A dinosaur?!" Luffy asked, his enthusiasm a sharp contrast to the shock, as well as fear, that Vivi was experiencing.
"Then, this is an ancient island!" Vivi exclaimed.
"Huh?" Luffy asked. He was confused as to how she'd come to that conclusion, even if he was staring at a dinosaur.
"The land here is stuck in the time of the dinosaurs! Since there were no exchanges among islands in the Grand Line due to the difficulties with sea travel, each one established its unique culture. There are islands that have an extremely sophisticated culture... and there're some others that remain in the same form without progressing for several thousand or tens of thousands years... The random climate in the Grand Line makes it possible. That's why this island exists in the dinosaur time." Vivi said. She barely got the last few words out of her mouth, though, when Luffy flung his arms out to the long-necked dinosaur.
"Amazing!" Luffy called as he rocketed over to the animal.
"Luffy!" Vivi called out in worry, only to see the teen reach the dinosaur and cling to its neck, the large animal not noticing.
"Don't jump on it!" Vivi screeched, both angry and concerned.
"Woah! What a great view! I want to have lunch up here!" Luffy said as he shielded his eyes from the sun, looking over the entire island from his perch on top of the dinosaur's head.
"This isn't time for idle chatter!" Vivi called up to him in a mixture of worry and fear.
"Ahh...oh? So there really are volcanoes. And there's a mountain with huge holes as well..." Luffy said, ignoring the princess in favor of taking in his surroundings.
"It's dangerous! Come down already!" Vivi continued shouting.
"Huh?" Luffy asked, seeming to finally realize that Vivi had been talking to him all this time.
"Even if it's well-behaved, it's still a dinosaur!" She yelled, a little of her anger seeping through now.
"This guy's no trouble! More importantly, there're huge holes over there! That's one weird landscape!" Luffy said, smiling widely regardless of the oddity he was looking at. He could feel the muted emotions of the dinosaur he was standing on and there was nothing about them that screamed danger. It was content in letting Luffy stand on its head as it ate the leaves from the treetops.
"Forget about the landscape! Just come down!" Vivi called, impatiently trying to get Luffy to leave the giant dinosaurs head.
"Say, I have a favor to ask. Will you take me over there?" Luffy asked, stretching his body so he could hang himself off the side of the dinosaur's head. He leveled himself so that he was looking right into the animal's giant eye, but it still paid him no mind.
"Hey, stop being so mean and take me there," Luffy said with a frown when the dinosaur didn't stop to do as asked.
"Over that way! That way!" Luffy called, pointing in the direction he wanted to head in. Once again he was ignored, but this time, as the dinosaur stretched its neck forward to grab some more leaves, Luffy wrapped his arms under its jaw.
"Not this way... Here! This way!" The young Captain corrected, turning the dinosaur's head forcefully to the side and making it choke.
"Who'd do something like that?!" Vivi screeched in fear from where she was watching. Having realized now that he was choking the dinosaur Luffy let go, sitting and rubbing his head.
"Oh... sorry. But, um..." Before Luffy could come up with anything more to say, movement around him made him look to see that there were many more dinosaurs of the same kind surrounding him.
"Amazing!" Luffy called as he stood up again, stars in his eyes.
"Luffy-san! Like I said, it's dangerous! Come down already!" Vivi tried again, hoping that the appearance of more dinosaurs would get Luffy to realize just how much danger he was in. It seemed that it had the opposite effect though as Luffy looked at the taller dinosaurs, grinning.
"And those dinosaurs are taller so it looks like I'll have a better view," Luffy said, looking at one dinosaur in particular that looked to be the tallest.
"That's not the point!" Vivi screeched, once again getting ignored as Luffy stretched his arm out to the taller dinosaur, flinging himself onto its head and looking around.
"As I thought, I can see the holes better." His haki warned him of incoming danger which made Luffy frown. All he wanted was to see those weird holes better, why was that so hard?
Turning around he saw that another long-necked dinosaur was stretching up to reach him, jaw open wide and anger in its eyes. Before it could bite him, Luffy jumped onto its head next, but one after another the new dinosaurs attempted to eat him.
"Watch out!" Vivi shouted fearfully, only able to watch with wide eyes as dinosaur after dinosaur got inches from eating Luffy whole. Luffy didn't seem to sense the danger he was in though as he smiled widely, hopping from head to head until he was sliding down one of the necks.
"Vivi! Wanna come over here?! It's fun!" He shouted, laughing as he was launched off the dinosaurs back. Flying in the sky, he grabbed onto another dinosaurs head, standing on it like he had the others.
"The view from here is especially good!" Luffy admired. There was a pause as no one, dinosaur, human or duck, moved. It was broken though when the dinosaur Luffy was standing on tipped its head up, launching Luffy into the air again before the teen landed right inside its mouth.
"Ah! He's been eaten!" Vivi screamed. Meanwhile, inside the dinosaur's mouth, Luffy looked around curiously.
"Huh? Where am I?" He asked, not having realized exactly what had happened. As he tried to stand the ground, which was wet and squishy seeing as it was a tongue, caused him to slip, sliding down the dinosaur's throat. It was pitch dark as he began falling until suddenly it wasn't, light shining at the end. With nowhere to go but down, Luffy found himself back outside and in the hand of a giant.
"Huh?" Luffy asked, looking around and seeing that the dinosaur that had swallowed him was now dead, its neck sliced which had allowed Luffy to fall out. Looking up he saw that the giant holding him was laughing loudly, his emotions nothing but cheerful which made Luffy smile in response.
"I was watching. What a lively human, grappling with long-necks in this jungle. You're the first guest in a long time." The giant said, grinning widely to Luffy.
"You're huge! Even bigger than Pops!" Luffy said in awe as he took in the size of the giant. At his words the giant laughed again, raising his sword to rest it over his shoulder.
"I'm Dorry, the Elbaf's strongest warrior!" Dorry said, laughing again. Luffy found himself laughing along, the joyous mood of the giant seemingly fitting his size as it washed over the teen.
"G... Giant!" Vivi stuttered, falling to her knees beside Karoo who was on the ground as well, stunned.
"I've heard of them, but this is my first time actually seeing one..." She said softly to herself, watching helplessly from the ground.
"I'm Luffy, I'm a pirate." Luffy introduced seeing as Dorry had given him his name.
"A pirate? Good for you!" Dorry said, falling into another fit of laughter that Luffy once again joined in on.
"Karoo! Wake up. We're getting out of here while we can!" Vivi said, shaking the ducks head in hopes of waking him.
"Oh yeah, the ones over there are Vivi and Karoo. Nice to meet you!" Luffy said as he pointed to the princess and the duck. Dorry looked down at where Luffy pointed, still grinning, and saw both the duck and the princess.
"Luffy-san had to open his big mouth...!" Vivi hissed quietly to herself, fear welling up inside her under the giant's gaze. Dorry let out yet another laugh, not seeming to realize the fear that Vivi was experiencing.
"I'll invite you guys to my home!" He exclaimed cheerfully, eyes closed due to how wide he was smiling. Luffy was quick to accept the invitation while Vivi was much more hesitant, yet found herself being dragged along regardless.
And by dragged along, it was more like carried as Dorry scooped both Karoo and herself into his other hand before depositing them on the hand Luffy was occupying. Vivi was only able to let out a brief squeak of fear before she was resting beside the standing Captain, her heart thumping wildly in her chest.
"Don't worry, Dorry's a good guy," Luffy told her with a beaming smile. Not believing the words, Vivi gave him a skeptical look, the fear still clear in her eyes.
"You couldn't possibly know that Luffy-san. After all, we just met him." She tried reasoning, keeping her voice low and quiet in hopes that the giant- who was now walking off towards his home presumably- wouldn't hear her.
"Sure I can. He's got the good colors and feelings, so he's a good guy. Don't worry Vivi." Luffy said, his smile never faltering for a second. At his words, the princess gave him a look of confusion, not understanding.
"His... colors and feelings?" She asked almost hesitantly, glancing to the giant that wasn't paying them any mind. It was now that she realized Dorry was also dragging along the dinosaur that he'd killed.
"Yeah- oh, right, you don't know about that," Luffy said, his smile falling to a more neutral look as he blinked at her. Looking to Karoo- who was still unconscious beside her- Vivi tried to understand what Luffy could possibly be talking about but came up empty.
"Luffy-san, what- uh... what exactly don't I know about?" She asked nervously. After all, Luffy and his crew were supposed to be taking her back to her home of Alabasta. She was being forced to place all of her trust in them, forced to believe that they would keep her safe. While she knew this didn't mean they had to tell her all of their secrets, it was still unsettling to know that there was clearly something being hidden from her.
While Vivi was stuck in her thoughts, Luffy examined her carefully. Even though the princess wasn't a part of his crew, he still liked her and her duck. She had probably the brightest, clearest blue that he had ever seen- even compared to Ace and Sabo. While he hadn't known her long, and at first she hadn't been a friend to him and his crew, Luffy still felt that she was someone that he would be able to trust.
That didn't mean he knew how she would react to the news of his abilities. After all, Usopp hadn't reacted well to them at first, and neither had Nami for that matter, but the princess was very obviously curious about his little slip earlier. The young Captain still wasn't used to people not knowing about his abilities after years of living with people who did.
Tilting his head back and forth in thought, Luffy debated whether he should tell Vivi about it. Glancing over to Dorry who still wasn't paying them any mind, he finally came to a decision, giving the princess a careful look.
"I can feel emotions and see colors around people. The brighter the blue, the better the person. The darker it is, the worse. Dorry's a good guy, and so are you. That guy you were with before wasn't that good a guy though, and the two that chased after us weren't either. Oh, and that woman. I don't like her. She wasn't a good person." Luffy said, remembering Miss All Sundays visit with a scowl. Vivi was reminded of when Miss All Sunday had left, Luffy uttering similar words that had only confused her.
That didn't mean she took the news as easily as Sanji or Zoro did though.
Luffy could feel her skepticism rise- something that he had expected to happen. While everyone had different reactions to things based on their previous experiences and beliefs, the initial reaction to certain things was mostly the same in a lot of people. Telling them about strange abilities that no normal human should have usually elicited the same skeptical shock that Vivi was experiencing.
"Nami and Usopp are really scared right now. I think it's because of whoever they met, but it's fine cause whoever they're with doesn't have any bad feelings. They're happy, like Dorry. Sanji and Zoro aren't really feeling any strong emotions, but they are really worked up. Maybe they're having a competition. Ace used to feel like this whenever Sabo would bet him on something." Luffy said, reminiscing back to the days he was with his brothers.
Beside him, Vivi listened in quiet contemplation. While she didn't necessarily find herself believing him immediately, she did know that people on the Grand Line had some strange abilities thanks to devil fruits. While Luffy hadn't explicitly mentioned himself having any devil fruit abilities, that clearly had to be what was going on. Thanks to her logical thinking, she began calming down, her curiosity only rising again now.
"You've eaten a devil fruit then? What kind?" She eventually asked, snapping Luffy out of his reminiscing.
"Devil fruit? I ate the Gum-Gum fruit. I'm a rubber man, see!" Luffy said with a smile, right before hooking a finger in his cheek and pulling, stretching the skin an abnormal length. Seeing this, Vivi's eyes widened once more, her confusion doubling.
"R-rubber?! But Luffy-san, how can you feel emotions and see these colors?" She asked. While the logical part of her had gotten her to the point of thinking devil fruit, it was useless in figuring out how said devil fruit corresponded to the abilities previously mentioned.
"I didn't get them from my devil fruit. I got them... somewhere else." Luffy said, his expression falling again to the frown he'd worn when Miss All Sunday had shown up. Seeing this, the princess found herself weary to continue this line of questioning.
"Here we are, my guests! My home!" Vivi was saved from having to figure out what to say next by Dorry who was setting them down on the ground again. Luffys expression lit up again as he smiled to the giant, laughing loudly along with the man. This left Vivi to tend to Karoo, trying once again in vain to wake the duck. Her thoughts were running wild with all the new information Luffy had put upon her, but she did find she felt more at ease than she had when Dorry had first arrived. She wasn't completely comfortable in the giant's presence, but she wasn't as fearful as she had been.
Dorry went to work on making a fire which he used to cook the dinosaur he'd killed while Luffy chatted happily with him. The two were in a near-constant state of laughter, and Vivi could only watch with wide eyes as she saw how harmless this huge, menacing giant actually was.
Eventually, Karoo woke up and seeing as Vivi was in a much calmer state of mind she was able to calm her companion much easier than she had before. When the food was cooked, Dorry placed a large leg of it down for Vivi and Luffy to have, and while Vivi wasn't feeling very hungry, Luffy clearly had other ideas as he sat on the giant piece of food, eating it with a fervor that the princess had only seen in starving men. In thanks for the food, Luffy had offered up his own pirate lunch that Sanji had made him. Vivi and Karoo could only watch with a fascinated look as the giant held the tiny- in comparison to himself- box between two fingers.
"This is yummy, giant old guy!" Luffy said after another laugh was shared between Dorry and the young Captain.
"Your pirate lunch thing tastes good, too, although it's a little too small for me," Dorry said, his words followed by another laugh.
"Of course it's good! That's a special lunch the chef on my pirate ship made. If you say it's bad, I'll beat you up!" At Luffys words Vivi felt herself tense up.
"Beat me up, you said?" Beside her, Karoos bill hung open, the drink he'd been in the middle of taking falling from his mouth as he screeched.
"What a funny squirt you are!" Dorry laughed, slapping his knee as he did so. While the fear in both Karoo and Vivi didn't abate nearly as fast as before, they could see that a conflict wasn't about to take place.
"Th-they're becoming awfully friendly..." Vivi murmured softly. Karoo was still too shocked to even show that he heard her.
"By the way, why are you living here alone, old guy? Is there a village nearby?" Luffy asked as he took another bite of the meat. For probably the first time since they'd seen him, Dorry's smile fell as he blinked at Luffy.
"Hmm? There is a village. It's a warrior's village called Elbaf. It's somewhere in the Grand Line. But there're rules in the village." Dorry began explaining. Luffy, Vivi, and Karoo sat listening attentively, wanting to know more.
"Rules?" Luffy asked.
"For example, if we start a fight in the village and both sides can't back off, we are judged by the Elbaf's god. Elbaf's god always gives divine protection to the righteous one and lets the righteous one survive." Dorry said.
"I see... Elbaf's god, huh?" Luffy asked, not really understanding, but wanting to know more.
"I caused a disturbance and this island is currently the site for a duel between a certain man and myself. The righteous one will win the duel and survive. But we haven't been able to settle this for about 100 years." Dorry finished with another loud bout of laughter.
"You guys've been fighting for 100 years?!" Luffy exclaimed in a mixture of awe and surprise.
"It's nothing surprising since our life span is at least three times as long as yours." Dorry laughed again.
"Even if it's three times, your interest in fighting would wane in 100 years, wouldn't it? Is there any point continuing to fight? It's a duel to the death, right?!" Vivi asked, speaking to the giant for the first time since she'd seen him. Dorry didn't even have a chance to answer when a loud explosion went off, drawing all of their attention to an erupting volcano off in the distance.
"Woah! That's a huge volcano eruption!" Luffy exclaimed, his jaw hanging as he stared at it.
"Well, time to go..." Dorry said with a grin, standing to his full height.
"Hm?" Luffy asked, his attention turning back to the giant rather than the explosion. He could feel the giant's determination rise and Luffy felt himself being awed by how much emotion there was. It reminded him of Whitebeard and his warmth, how it overpowered everyone else's emotions without even trying.
"It became our routine before we realized it. The eruption of the central mountain is the signal for the duel." Dorry said, turning his head to look at the volcano again.
"What?! To have such hatred that you'd try killing each other for 100 years is... What on Earth caused this fight?!" Vivi asked. Luffy knew however that she was wrong about what she believed to be the reasoning for continuing this fight. It wasn't about hatred in the slightest. No, if it was about hatred, Luffy would know immediately.
"Stop it. It's not like that." Luffy said, holding his arm out in front of her as he looked up at Dorry's back, feeling all the emotions running through him, stronger than anyone he'd met before. Vivi blinked at Luffy in surprise, but the ground shaking stopped her from asking him what it was about.
"Right. It's because of our pride." Dorry told them, answering her unasked question before charging off into the jungle. Trees were knocked down as the taller giant ran through them, but they were ignored as a giant of equal size met him halfway, swords and axes meeting shields with a resounding clang. It sent reverberations throughout the air that Luffy could physically feel. Those coupled with two giants' intense pride and determination was enough to knock Luffy onto his back, Vivi and Karoo looking at him with wide eyes.
"W-what?! What is it?" Vivi asked in worry.
"Oh boy... What a huge duel!" Luffy exclaimed almost breathlessly. While he'd been overcome by other people's emotions before, he'd never been overwhelmed by them like this before.
The duel went on with such intensity that whole trees were flying by them. Every blow of sword to ax or ax to shield blew a gust of wind by them that nearly knock Vivi and Karoo off their feet. Luffy continued to watch with wide eyes from the ground, fully immersed in the fight before him.
The duel went on for a while longer until both giants were lying on their backs, the trees surrounding them fallen to the ground. Seeing that things were no longer as intense, Luffy was able to calm down as well, taking in the now peaceful and happy feelings from both giants.
While he'd yet to actually talk with the other giant, he could feel that they were just as good a person as Dorry was. A check told him his aura was just as blue as Dorry's as well which made Luffys smile grow.
With the duel over, Dorry joined them back around the fire they had made, barrels held between his fingers as he laughed joyously. He explained to them that the other giant, Brogy, had guests of his own that had given him alcohol, which he was now giving to Dorry. Hearing this, Luffy realized immediately who was with Brogy and laughed, telling Dorry that they were his crewmates.
"I see. His guests are your friends, huh? I saw a man with a long nose and a woman." Dorry said as he held up the two barrels.
"Yup! That's Usopp and Nami!" Luffy told him, grinning cheerily. Vivi was sitting beside Luffy on the ground and Karoo was sitting beside her, the two of them much calmer than when they'd first met Dorry.
"I'm surprised though, they said they wouldn't get off the ship, but they really do like adventure after all!" Luffy chirped happily, checking in on his crewmates' emotions and finding that they were no longer as petrified as they had been before.
"Then you could also say that I got this alcohol from you," Dorry said, laughing at the connection. There was a momentary pause as everyone looked to a pterodactyl flying overhead before Vivi spoke up.
"By the way, Dorry-san, does it really take a year for the log to be stored?" She asked, having asked Dorry about it when they were settling down after the duel.
"Didn't you notice the human skulls lying around? Those who come to this island die long before the log is stored in most cases. Some become dinosaurs' food. Some suffer from the heat and starvation. Some others are killed because they attack us. They all die... It seems that one year on this island is too long for humans." Dorry explained, his good mood only slightly diminishing at the topic. Beside him, Luffy felt Vivi's fear and worry increase, making him frown.
"What're we gonna do? Even if we could survive for a year, if that much time passes, I don't know what will happen to my country by then." She said, hiding her face in her hands at her distress. Feeling the contrasting negative emotions to Dorrys positive ones, Luffy wished- not for the first time- that he could make others feel emotions like he did. That way Vivi would know there was nothing to worry about and she would be able to feel how nice positive emotions were rather than negative ones.
"Isn't there a good-" Luffy paused as a stench hit his nose. Sniffing the air he noticed that Dorry had opened one of the barrels and that the smell in the air was alcohol, but there was something else with it that niggled Luffy's brain.
"Oi, old guy, don't drink that," Luffy said, his voice suddenly very serious and his face set into a frown. Dorry, Vivi, and Karoo were all surprised by Luffy's sudden change in both attitude and demeanor, all of them looking at him in confusion. Seeing that Dorry wasn't going to drink the barrel, Luffy stood, walking over to one of the other two that were resting in front of the giant and opening one himself.
Taking a big sniff of it he found that it had the same smell as the one still between Dorrys fingers. Confused, Luffy opened the third and last barrel, finding that it also smelled the same. Lifting the barrel and taking a big gulp for himself- grimacing at the taste of alcohol- he realized what it was he was smelling.
Although, the second he realized what it was was the second he felt a heat inside of his stomach and a bubbling- like a burp, but with much more intensity. Opening his mouth, he did end up burping, but when black smoke followed he could feel Vivi and Karoos surprise doubling.
"Someone put explosives in these," Luffy said, wiping the excess alcohol that had dribbled down his chin off.
"E-Explosives?! But- wait, Luffy-san, you drank that!" Vivi shrieked, jumping to her feet in fear for Luffy as she rushed over, her eyes scanning him for any changes in his health.
"Right." Luffy agreed. Vivi blinked in confusion at this but her worry and fear pushed that confusion quickly away.
"Luffy-san, we need to get you to a doctor right away!" She said, hovering beside him like she wanted to do something, but not knowing what.
"Nah, it's fine. Explosions don't hurt me. Anyway, who put explosives in this? It came from our ship, right?" Luffy asked, brushing off Vivi's worries for more important matters. Dorry had set the barrel he'd been holding back down beside the other two and was frowning for the first time since they'd met him.
"Who else but his opponent? He must have laid the explosives!" Vivi said, her eyes still wide with all the influx of information she was getting.
Not only had someone booby-trapped the alcohol, but Luffy had- seemingly- been able to smell it. Not to mention the fact that he drank it as well and was supposedly immune to explosions- which Vivi was finding to be the least surprising thing so far. When she thought back, she could clearly remember Mr. 5 attempting to use his explosives on him, but the young Captain had been unfazed by them.
"Weren't you watching? They've been fighting for 100 years! No way they'd do something like this!" Luffy told her, glaring at Vivi at even the thought that Dorry and Brogy would do something as underhanded as this after 100 years of fighting. Luffy knew for a fact their pride would never let them.
"Then who on Earth..." Vivi trailed off, surprised by Luffys suddenly visible distaste towards her. Luffy could feel Vivi's surprise, but he could also feel the rising anger in Dorry that was calling his attention.
"It wasn't us, my friends would never do something so stupid, and it wasn't the old guys. I smelled this before, that's why I knew something wasn't right." Luffy said, his glare leaving his face as he turned back to the alcohol and took another sniff.
"You... smelled the alcohol before? Of course, you have, it's yours." Vivi said, confused as to what he meant and how this was supposed to be helping them get any closer to the culprit.
"No, someone messed with the alcohol, that's what I smelled, and that's why-" Luffy suddenly stopped talking, blinking a few times and turning to look at Vivi blankly. With the sudden attention and no expression to figure out why Luffy was looking at her, Vivi felt herself grow uncomfortable.
"I forgot. I also have a heightened sense of smell." Luffy said bluntly, stunning Vivi. Again.
It seemed he didn't want to dwell on this though as he, once again, took a big whiff of the barrel.
"I've smelled this before... but where?" Luffy said, wracking his brain to match a scent to a face.
"Brogy would never do something like this, we're proud warriors of Elbaf, and if you had done it you would not have stopped me and drank the alcohol yourself. I can't think of anyone else on this island, but that only leaves us as the suspects." Dorry said. Luffy barely spared him a glance, knowing from the giant's accusatory and suspicious feelings that, despite his previous words, he clearly believed them to be the ones to have done this.
"It wasn't us old guy. I like you. And that other giant guy. Someone else must be on the island." Luffy said but knew it wouldn't have much effect until he could figure out who had really done this.
With one more whiff, like a light bulb turning on, Luffy suddenly remembered.
"Ah! That bomb guy!" Luffy exclaimed quite loudly, making Vivi jump at the suddenness of it.
"Bomb guy?" Dorry asked, already reaching for his large sword in preparation to get back at whoever had done this.
"Vivi! Who was that guy back on the cactus island? With the explosives?" Luffy asked, spinning to look at the princess. She blinked slowly, much like Luffy had done moments ago before she realized who Luffy was talking about.
"Mr. 5? Wait, you think he's the one who did this?" She asked, her worry growing. Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine had been incapacitated by Luffy almost immediately. They'd had no time to follow them back to the Merry, which meant they couldn't have contaminated the alcohol at the time and only left the option that the two Baroque Works agents had followed them here.
"Yeah! Mr. 5! I knew I smelled this before." Luffy said, happy to have figured out who did this. He'd only briefly smelled Miss Valentine and Mr. 5's scent, so it was no surprise to him that it had taken him this long to figure it out despite having only smelled them a couple of days ago.
"He must have used his devil fruit on this. I'm angry! He tried messing with the old guys' duel!" Luffy said another glare forming on his face, this one much more malicious than the one he'd given Vivi earlier.
A loud explosion drew their attention to the erupting volcano.
"The signal," Dorry said, already standing on instinct to go meet his opponent for their seemingly never-ending duel.
"You go on ahead old guy. I'll go beat up the guys who tried messing with your fight." Luffy said seriously, a hand pushing his hat securely onto his head as he continued glaring into the jungle, already picking up a faint smell that he knew would lead him to Mr. 5. Vivi watched him in surprise for a completely different reason.
She'd heard all about 11097 and his demonic brothers- who hadn't? Everything the news said about them though was that they were ruthless, bloodthirsty monsters and so it came as a surprise to her that he was willing to go so far for this giant that he had just met. He had nothing to gain from it, so why was he doing it?
"You have my thanks," Dorry said as he began walking off to where the duel was to take place. Vivi watched him go, still thoroughly confused, but was snapped out of it as Luffy turned to address her.
"You should go to Nami and Usopp. They're not too far from here." Luffy told her, looking off in a direction that Vivi guessed was where the two were at.
"I-... Luffy-san..." Vivi didn't really know what she wanted to say, her thoughts still trying to catch up with everything. Shaking herself from this, she nodded, looking to her side where Karoo was.
Or at least, where Karoo should have been.
"Karoo?" She asked, looking around the clearing for him, but not seeing him anywhere. Worry filled her as she called out his name again but got no response.
"Karoo?! Where are you?!" Vivi shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth in an attempt at making her voice louder. Karoo missing wasn't good, especially on an island filled with actual dinosaurs that would find the duck to be a suitable snack.
"He's over here!" Luffy called, already running off into the jungle. Vivi didn't hesitate to follow after him, no longer fearing the danger they were in on this prehistoric island.
They had only just gotten into the thick of the jungle when Luffys head spun towards the direction Nami and Usopp were in. Vivi nearly missed this, her worry for Karoo holding most all of her attention, but the look on his face caught her attention.
"Luffy-san? What's wrong?" She asked, not liking the dangerous look.
"Nami and Usopp are in tro-" He didn't even finish his sentence when he stopped running, looking off in a different direction. Seeing as he was the one leading her to Karoo, Vivi stopped as well, her fear and concern increasing.
"Nami and Usopp are in trouble. Zoro too. Sanji's safe, no one's near him. Dorry and Brogy are still dueling." Luffy recited, his head darting around different directions of the jungle as he took in all the familiar feelings. It was like fireworks going off, lighting up with danger one after another as Karoo, then Nami and Usopp, and finally Zoro flared brightly at him. With all of them in drastically different locations, Luffy was forced to pick and choose who to go after which didn't sit right with him.
"Let's go get Karoo," Luffy said finally after a moment's deliberation. While everything in him was screaming to get his crew to safety, he knew that Karoo was completely defenseless and would need their help the most. Zoro was strong, and Usopp and Nami were together which gave them a better fighting chance.
"But what about-"
"Karoo cant fight. The others can. Once we get Karoo I'll go get everyone else." Luffy said, cutting her off. Vivi hesitated only for a second before nodding, following after him as he began charging off into the jungle once more.
It turned out they hadn't been all that far from Karoo. Only a few seconds after they had started running again, Vivi spotted the duck just ahead of them, eyes widened in panic and waving his wings as if warning them. Vivi, too relieved to sense the danger, started running faster over to him.
"Karoo- Ah!" Just as she was about to cross the small distance to the duck, Vivi was yanked back by Luffy, quite harshly. She was just about to yell at him, more than a little annoyed by the harsh pull but was silenced as a blur caught her attention and a loud crash occurred exactly where she would have been had Luffy not stopped her.
Words dying on her tongue, Vivi felt immense gratitude towards the Captain, feeling bad that she had gotten mad at him seeing as he had only been saving her life.
"11097, so you're still with the princess after all." A man's voice, one Vivi easily recognized as Mr. 5, said as he stepped out from the tree beside Karoo. From the hole that the blur had created, Miss Valentine floated out, her umbrella out and open above her and a grin on her face.
"That's right," Luffy said, his voice a dangerous tone Vivi had only heard once before when he'd talked to Miss All Sunday. Mr. 5 frowned at this, and with a quick glance to Miss Valentine, the woman floated off, heading towards where Luffy could feel Nami and someone else, someone new. He hadn't even realized that she and Usopp had gotten separated, but he could now feel the long-nosed liar running aimlessly through the jungle in a panic.
"Shame. This does make my job rather difficult. No matter." Mr. 5 said, picking his nose and holding a booger on the tip of it.
"While my powers have no effect on you, the same can't be said about everyone else, can it?" He asked, flicking the booger off into a seemingly aimless direction. It was nowhere near where Luffy and Vivi were standing, which confused the princess. It wasn't even heading towards Karoo; it was going into a random section of trees where it would safely avoid harming everyone present.
Luffy, however, knew this direction was anything but random. Running off towards the explosive booger, Luffy felt Vivi's momentary panic before she remembered it wouldn't harm him. That didn't stop her from being confused though.
Why was he running after the bomb?
"Oi! Usopp! Move!" Luffy shouted. Vivi's eyes widened in shock, realizing now what was happening just as Usopp broke through the tree line. He only had a split second to take in everything, from Vivi staring at him with wide, fearful eyes, to Karoo- with equally wide eyes- standing beside some guy he had never seen before.
And then Luffy was ramming into him, pushing him to the ground just as a loud explosion went off. With Luffy on top of him, Usopp was safely shielded from the blast, much to his relief.
"W-what?!" Usopp squeaked out, adrenaline still pumping through his veins.
"Raa!" The squawk from Karoo was enough to tell Usopp something bad was happening, but Luffy didn't need the sound to know that. Again, like fireworks, one after another he could feel the feeling of being in danger spike in not only Vivi but Brogy and Dorry as well. Gritting his teeth in anger, Luffy jumped to his feet and spun just in time to see Vivi being grabbed from the air by Miss Valentine.
"Kyahaha, look who's got the princess now!" Miss Valentine laughed gleefully, floating over the treetops while Vivi struggled.
"Vivi!" Usopp and Luffy shouted, Karoo cawing in fear.
"You guys have really pissed me off now!" Luffy roared, making Usopp jump back from him in surprise at the raw anger on his Captains face. Mr. 5 seemed to realize the depths of that anger- which was directed at him- as well because he took a step back, blinking. Miss Valentine, who was safely in the air, didn't seem as worried, but she did know that her partner wasn't going to have a good time from the looks of it.
"Vivi, hold on! I'm gonna beat this guy up again and then I'll get you!" Luffy called into the air, making Miss Valentine huff in mocking laughter once more.
"Oh? And how do you plan on doing that? Thanks to my kilo fruit, I'll be too far up for you to get anyone! Maybe I'll just go and drop her into the ocean! Kyahahaha!" The Baroque Works agent laughed, only proving to further anger Luffy. Mr. 5 took the time that Luffy was distracted to pick his nose, but knowing it would do nothing to stop Luffy, he flung it back in Usopp's direction, the sniper a few steps away from Luffy still after the Captain's outburst.
Noticing, but not knowing that the booger was explosive, Usopp watched as the booger got closer, looking as if it was going to land just in front of his feet.
"Stop doing that!" Luffy roared, stretching an arm to grab Usopp and pulling him away from the projectile, seconds before another explosion sounded. Seeing that this looked to be an effective way to distract the enraged Luffy, Mr. 5 started to pick his nose again.
"Miss Valentine, I believe you should go and deliver the princess to Mr. 3," Mr. 5 said to his companion, wanting to give her a head start. The woman blinked as if she had forgotten all about the original plan before a smile widened on her face.
"Right!" She laughed, floating away with a protesting Vivi.
"Ah! She's getting away!" Usopp shouted, watching Miss Valentine float off.
"We'll follow them in a second!" Luffy shouted, glaring daggers at Mr. 5. Usopp shivered at the look, never wanting to be on the other side of it.
"You put the explosives in the giant guy's alcohol. You tried to mess up the duel they've been having for 100 years." Luffy growled out to Mr. 5 who, despite clearly being on the losing side of this fight, found himself smiling smugly.
"Yes, I did do that, didn't I?" He asked, suddenly regretting this as Luffy ran towards him. He only had a moment to feel the intense terror that was being trapped under Luffys menacing glare when he was knocked out once more, the world turning black.
Luffy, wishing that meant this was all over, knew that wasn't the case. Everyone- sans Sanji and Usopp- was still in danger and needed his help. Turning around, he saw Usopps wide eyes, but for once it wasn't because he was scared.
"He put explosives in the alcohol?" Usopp asked, remembering the alcohol they'd given Brogy, and then Brogy to Dorry.
"Yeah. I hate people like him." Luffy said, glaring at Mr. 5 who was crumpled on the ground, bleeding from the nose and mouth, unconscious. Karoo, who was still beside Mr. 5, sighed in relief at no longer being in danger while Usopp blinked a few times to process Luffys words, frowning.
"Alright, Luffy! I dunno who we're dealing with, but I'll help take care of them!" He announced proudly, hands on his hips and back straight as he said so. He nearly pulled off the look of a determined warrior, ready to go into battle, except his legs were shaking and he was sweating profusely. Seeing this, and feeling the sniper's fear competing with his courage, Luffy smiled despite the cloud of danger in the air from everyone else.
"Good. Come on Usopp, Karoo! We have to go help Vivi and the others!" Luffy called over his shoulder as he began running towards where the others were.
"Ah! That's right! Luffy, Nami was eaten by a dinosaur!" Usopp shrieked in a mixture of new terror and despair. Luffy furrowed his eyebrows at that but didn't falter in his running, Usopp and Karoo close behind.
"No, she didn't. Someone took her." Luffy said, wondering how Usopp had gotten that mixed up.
"Huh?" Usopp asked, not having expected that.
"Yeah. You guys were all scared and stuff cause someone was following you. They're not a good person, and they took Nami." Luffy explained, having felt it all happen. Usopp's mouth opened and closed a few times as he thought back to everything, but he couldn't remember ever seeing anyone else except Nami.
"They got Zoro too. And Dorry and Brogy. I guess that means they're strong." Luffy said, turning to face forward with another frown. Behind him, Karoo let out another squawk of surprise while Usopp did the same.
"What?! This person took down the giants?!" Usopp asked, both his anger and fear increasing as he wondered who they were about to go up against that they took down not only half their crew but two giants.
"Yeah, at least, Dorry and Brogy aren't happy at all and they feel like they're in danger. They're not really hurt though, well, they are from their duel, but this person hasn't done anything to hurt them. Nami either. She's fine too. And Zoro." Luffy said, wondering what this new person had done to incapacitate everyone, yet not hurt them.
"They're not hurt? That's a relief." Usopp said with a sigh, but he could still feel his determination to fight rising. After everything he'd seen and heard about the giants and their duel, he had come to highly respect and look up to them. To hear that they were being targeted made him as angry as when Kaya was targeted for assassination, but he was relieved that they were unharmed.
So far at least.
The three ran in silence after that, Luffy stewing in not only his own but Karoo and Usopp's anger as well. This may be why, when they finally reached the break in the trees that Luffy knew held Miss Valentine, the new people,- Luffy realized now that there were two- his crew, and Vivi, he yelled louder than he had intended to.
"Alright! Now that I'm here, I'm gonna kick all of your asses!"
I'm back once again! I've missed you all so much!
I'm finally getting a handle on things this semester so I'll be returning to my regularly scheduled bi-weekly Thursday updates. I'm glad I took the break because things were definitely hectic there for a minute and I couldn't imagine trying to add in updating these chapters on top of that, but everything has settled now and I've got a good routine going.
And so, the return of this story is the beginning of Little Garden! I don't plan on Little Garden taking any more than one more chapter to get through, but I had a lot of fun with the second half of this chapter. The next arc will be Drum Island, and that, along with Alabasta, are two arcs that I cannot wait to get to. I have many many plans that I can't wait to put into action, but first, we must finish up with Little Garden.
Thank you all as always for your amazing support, even when I take these long breaks sometimes. I just want you all to know, every day I'm thinking and working on this story, and I will always do everything within my power to get these chapters out. It may take me a month or two, but I will always come back. I know the pain of falling in love with a fanfiction, only for the author to drop it for one reason or another, and I don't want to leave anyone feeling that way because of me. This story is basically my baby and I can't wait to see how it will grow and evolve as I continue it. I hope you're all willing to join me for that ride!
So again, thank you all! I would be nothing without all of your fantastic support! I'll see you all in two weeks time with the next chapter!