Luffy had finally reached the execution platform, staring up at it in wonder.
"So this is where Gold Roger's story ended, but his legacy began." He grinned. "I wonder what he'd think of me for wanting to succeed him as King of the Pirates. There's so much I'd like to talk with him about."
"Well, now there's a familiar voice."
Luffy turned around and saw a woman he couldn't help but think was familiar.
"Do I know you?"
"I'm not surprised you don't recognize me. But we have met before; During a raid that my former crew was performing."
Luffy's jaw dropped. "Iron Mace Alvida?! Wow, you lost a lot of weight!"
"Tell me about it, and I've never felt better for it," Alvida smirked. "Funny enough, I have you to thank. When you sent me flying into the ocean, the island I washed up on happened to be hosting a Devil Fruit that took me on a crash diet for the ages."
Suddenly, a massive explosion hit the fountain, destroying it and scattering the crowd. Alvida just smiled as the pieces easily slipped off her body. Bella and Delphia heard the commotion and moved over to see what was going on, the former gasping when she saw Luffy.
"It also made my skin smooth enough that just about anything slips off it without issue. It's called the Slip-Slip Fruit for a reason." Alvida chuckled. "And Buggy, seriously, did you have to bomb the square?"
"Sorry, wanted to make sure the area was clear."
Hearing another familiar voice, Luffy spun around to see Buggy approaching, a grin on his face.
"Been a while, Straw Hat."
Luffy glared. "Is this about revenge or something?"
"Surprisingly, no. There's something more important on my mind." Buggy clarified. "You see, the last time we met I didn't know your full name. And when I heard it... Well, to be frank, I couldn't believe it."
Buggy then snapped his fingers and Luffy suddenly found himself dragged up to the platform by threads before having a pillory slammed on his body. Cabaji smirked as he leaned against the pillory.
"Even for a man with a rubber body, getting out of this should be impossible. The weight is more than most men can lift."
Luffy found himself unable to properly move inside the pillory. Buggy smirked as he made his way up to the platform with a sword in hand.
"This will test if you truly have the same will as Roger. If you do, then either you'll find some way to escape or fate will tip its hand in your favor. If not... You'll be flashily executed!"
"LUFFY!"
Luffy saw Bella and Delphia approaching and although he didn't know who they were, he could see the clear look of concern and admiration that Bella had and he could also tell that wherever she went, Delphia would go as well.
"You can't die yet! Not when I haven't even asked to join your crew!"
Luffy noticed storm clouds starting to close in. Deep inside, something told him he was going to come out alright.
Meanwhile, Smoker was informed of the situation.
"Iron Mace Alvida and Buggy the Clown?"
"The former looked completely different, but several people have confirmed her identity." The Lieutenant clarified. "And she claimed to have eaten a Devil Fruit that made her lose a lot of weight."
"Yeah, Devil Fruits can do a lot of strange things," Smoker agreed. "Regardless, we need to head out there and deal with the situation. Get your men out to the square and clear out any stragglers. I'll handle the pirates."
He and Tashigi headed for the square, where they saw Buggy doing some posturing. But Smoker noticed something.
"Luffy... He's smiling."
"When he knows he's likely to be executed?" Tashigi asked.
"Gold Roger was the same. The entire time he was being marched to his execution, he was smiling. And he never dropped even when the execution was being carried out." Smoker noted.
Smoker also couldn't help but notice the two girls watching the execution unfold. For some reason, the petite tomboyish-looking girl appeared very familiar to him.
Thunder and lightning were starting to close in as the storm kicked into high gear. Buggy started to raise his blade with the intent of decapitating Luffy, but the blade never came down. Instead, a lightning strike hit the platform, causing it to come apart. Buggy wound up stunned from the shock, but Luffy was able to leap clear as the pillory fell away from his body.
"He made it!" Bella cheered.
"So, you two wanted to join my crew?" Luffy asked the two girls.
"Yeah! My name is Shine D. Bella and this is my BFF, Delphia."
Delphia bowed. "It's an honor to meet you at last."
Luffy grinned. "Well, it's always nice to welcome new friends on board! I have a feeling you'll get along with the others well!"
As if on cue, the other Straw Hats came running over.
"Should have known you'd get yourself into trouble," Ferros joked.
"And who are these two?" Ariala asked.
"Bella and Delphia, they're gonna be joining our crew!" Luffy explained. "Think one of you could handle taking the role of Boatswain?"
Bella nodded. "I can do that no problem!"
"And I'll provide my services as a Cabin Girl. You'll find I'm quite good at keeping things tidy." Delphia said.
Suddenly, a Marine unit moved in to surround the square. Bella noticed and smirked as magenta energy formed in her hands, surprising everyone.
"Whoa, you have a Devil Fruit?" Nami asked.
"Yup! It's called the Mana-Mana Fruit and it allows me to harness the life energy in all things!" Bella explained. "Show 'em what you can do, Delphia!"
Delphia nodded and out of nowhere, flowers seemed to bloom around her as her arms turned into solid wood with spikes on the knuckles.
"I ate the Woods-Woods Fruit. It was once eaten by my uncle, Aramaki...until he lost his life battling against a powerful pirate."
Meanwhile, the Marines were starting by dealing with the remaining Buggy Pirates as Smoker was contemplating what had just happened.
"Did Luffy know he'd be saved?" Tashigi wondered.
"No, I don't think so. He probably thought his life was going to end there and accepted it. Just like what happened with Gold Roger. Or rather... Gol D. Roger." Smoker said before turning to his lieutenant. "Where are the Straw Hat Pirates heading?"
"Out to the harbor, sir, likely to reach their ship. Unfortunately, Unit 1 had to quickly return for refitting since the sudden rain made the gunpowder useless."
"The wind's blowing towards the west. It's the perfect tailwind for sailing." Tashigi noted.
"Almost like fate is conspiring to let them leave the island and continue to the Grand Line, but I've yet to gauge how strong they are." Smoker said. "So for this one brief moment, I'll defy fate and stand in their way."
Meanwhile, Buggy pulled himself out of the rubble.
"Haven't had a headache like that since we broke the curse of the Ocean's Navel."
"That was just last week!" Cabaji pointed out.
"I'm aware, idiot! But at least this proves it beyond all doubt. Luffy truly is marked by the Will of D, just like Roger was."
"Then there's no doubt the Straw Hats will break through the Marines' barricade," Cabaji noted. "This might be our best time to vacate."
"Good idea, Make sure everyone gets back to the Big Top." Buggy then whistled. "Mohji! Ritchie! We need an escape route!"
The Marines were suddenly screaming in terror as the giant lion Ritchie rampaged through their encirclement. Alvida cackled as she joined in, sliding around and striking where she could with her mace.
Several more Marines were trying to chase down the Straw Hats as they raced for the Going Merry.
"This storm likely means they haven't burned down our ship," Nami noted.
"Romaz! Point me forward!" Grahambel called out.
Romaz nodded. "I hope you know what you're doing..."
Romaz turned around as Grahambel took a deep breath before letting out a ringing sonic blast from his mouth.
"RAPID RINGTONE!"
The sound blast left the Marines' heads ringing as Delphia shot out wooden tendril branches from her limbs to tie them up. Bella blasted the ones that weren't caught off-guard with bolts of mana from her hands.
"Damn, that's some power!" Kuishi whistled. "We've got the mightiest escargot and mother nature's favorite child on our side!"
They suddenly heard the sound of a motorbike as Smoker pulled up to them.
"You're not getting away so easily. I still haven't had the chance to properly evaluate you."
The Marine Captain's words were directed right at Luffy, Lithos, Merone, Ferros, and Ariala, who all stepped up.
"Marine Captain Smoker, I presume?" Lithos asked.
Smoker smirked as his body suddenly turned into smoke.
"Let's see how you handle my Plume-Plume Fruit. With it I've been able to capture many small-time pirates who tried to attack this town."
He shot a plume of smoke from both hands to try and entrap Luffy and the Children of Whitebeard. However, he was shocked when Ariala turned her arms into gales of wind that blew the smoke away.
Taking advantage of Smoker's shock, Ferros rushed in and pulled back his metal fist, which blackened as he successfully nailed the Marine Captain.
"I should have known...they were born in the Grand Line, so obviously they must know Haki..."
"Normally Logia types are immune to physical damage, but by training in Haki it's possible to bypass that intangibility." Merone noted.
Lithos chuckled. "And as we clearly demonstrated, we know quite a bit about it."
The Earth Logia User then rushed at Smoker, his arm turning into a giant fist of stone with magma lines, which turned black and red as he pulled back.
"TITANSTONE KNUCKLE!"
Smoker was sent flying back and tumbled a good distance away, picking himself up as he rubbed his jaw.
"Not bad. But I do have several years more experience than you in combat. This fight isn't..."
Just then, a powerful wind hit the entire town, blowing everyone in several directions. Luckily, the Straw Hats all wound up near their ship.
"Was that you, Ariala?" Zoro asked.
"I don't think so!"
"I dunno what just happened, but let's hurry and set sail before something else happens!" Luffy said urgently.
Within minutes the Merry had left the harbor and was sailing off. Meanwhile, Smoker got up thanks to his subordinates, and looked around before his eyes widened when they laid upon a cloaked man standing on a roof, his face very familiar with a distinctive tattoo.
"Dragon the Revolutionary. What are you doing helping pirates? What happened to acting all covert in your operations?"
"I have my reasons. And the world is still waiting for our answer."
Tashigi blinked. "What does that even mean?"
"He's being deliberately vague. It means he's not ready to set the World Government on fire." Smoker sighed as Dragon vanished from the roof. "For now we report the incident to HQ. What we do from there is up to them."
As the storm started to subside, the Straw Hats saw a nearby lighthouse.
"There it is. Beyond that lighthouse is the entrance to the Grand Line." Nami said.
Luffy nodded. "I say it's only fair to hold a launching ceremony. Everyone, let's shout our dreams to the world!"
One by one the crew yelled out their dreams.
"To broadcast my voice to the world!" Grahambel declared.
"To bring peace between humans and fishmen!" Kuishi and Romaz declared.
"To grow strong enough to defeat any villain!" Johnny and Yosaku declared.
"To help out all those suffering from injustice!" Bella and Delphia declared.
"To find the All Blue!" Sanji declared.
"To become a master swordsman!" Zoro declared.
"To draw a map of the world!" Nami declared.
"To become a brave warrior of the sea!" Usopp declared.
"To vindicate our father!" Lithos, Merone, Ferros, and Ariala declared.
"To become the richest man in the world!" Eddy declared.
"To uncover all the world's hidden knowledge!" Double-D declared.
"To help out my friends and save the day!" Ed declared.
"To become the King of the Pirates!" Luffy declared.
They each joined hands in the center of their group, one by one.
"LET'S SET SAIL...TO THE GRAND LINE!"
Meanwhile, on a small boat heading in from the West Blue, four individuals were sitting together.
The first was a girl with short brown hair, a golden headband, a yellow ascot, a red collar shirt with a white sarashi underneath, brown pants, white socks, red slip-on shoes, a fur corset, and a brown-furred monkey tail protruding from her backside.
The second was a bald young man wearing a Buddhist hat, white facepaint with red marks around his eyes, a red circle symbol on his forehead, greyish-blue robes that left his bare chest exposed, a white sarashi, blue pants, white socks, and black shoes.
The third was a young man with tanned skin and dark unkempt hair. He wore a striped vest on top of a sleeveless shirt, armbands, pants, shoes, and a drape. He also wore a headband and two hoop earrings. The most unique thing about him was that his eyes were perpetually closed.
The fourth and final individual was a young girl with black hair that reached her shoulders, a pair of dragon horns protruding from her head, mischievous dragon-like eyes, and clad in a white and cyan kimono with white socks and obi sandals.
Their names were Akira D. Sonson, Tonton Choi, N'Doul, and Hsiao Long-nu. Sonson was a rambunctious girl whose training under her mentor inspired her to set out on a pilgrimage to the Grand Line, where she picked up her three companions along the way.
"Alright, it's time for our journey to the east across the Grand Line as pirates!" Sonson cheered.
"Are you sure we'll be able to make it past Reverse Mountain, though?" Choi asked, drinking some fresh water from a gourd he carried.
"Let's just hope luck is on our side, then. I don't want my folks to have to know I died before I could even start my journey." Hsiao said.
"Fear not, my friends...I sense that fortune will smile upon us before we even arrive at Reverse Mountain." N'Doul assured, his eyes briefly opening to show they were blank, indicating he was blind.
"I'll know it when I see it!" Sonson beamed as she looked ahead, a single thought running through her head.
"I'll make you proud...Master Tang D. Sanzang."
Bella and Delphia have joined the Straw Hat Pirates and it seems that we have four unique individuals traveling along to the Grand Line as well. Seems that paths are about to cross next chapter...