Chapter 29: Emergency Situation
On this day, the day the Straw Hat Pirates left the Conami Islands, another world shaking event had started to take place; one that could be considered the one of the worst things to ever happen in the East Blue.
It all began when the Silver Fang had finished their latest assignment; a sudden huge delivery order had them scrambling to get as many large ships on it as possible to fulfil it.
That left the less important orders in need of ships to deliver on them, thus the sudden influx of smaller vessels back to Temasek.
"What did you think the sudden order was?" Silvia asked.
"No clue." Lee replied with a shrug of his shoulders, "Tio just mentioned that it was huge and required large vessels."
"Too bad we weren't drafted for it. Bet we could get a lot of money from it."
"At least we have a huge influx of work now. Who knows, we might be able to earn more than what that huge order offered."
As they made their way back to their ship, that was when disaster struck.
All of a sudden, an explosion tore through the building next to where the two of them were walking through; Silvia and Lee were knocked to the floor by its shockwave as debris flew over them.
"W-What the hell!?"
"You okay, Silvia?"
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine."
Lee helped Silvia back onto her feet, just as several more explosions erupted across the island; before being drowned out by the sounds of people panicked screams as many started running for safety.
"W-What is happening…?"
As they wondered so, the gates guarding the entrance to the port were suddenly blown open by cannon fire, followed by ships hoisting the ever familiar black pirate flags entering through the now destroyed gates.
"Pirates!?" Lee cried out in shock, "How did the lookouts not notice them!?"
"We need to get back to the Silver Fang and fight them off!" Silvia stated in a hurry.
"Got it—look out!"
The quartermaster quickly pushed his blue haired captain down, just as a gun was fired and a lead bullet wheezed over them. They turned in the direction of the gunshot, the shooter snickering as he was joined with several more men armed with cutlasses and pistols.
"Who in the devil are you people!?" Silvia shouted.
"Oh, us? We're the East Blue Pirate Alliance!" He proclaimed, "We're here to take over this island joint!"
As he said so, the invading ships unloaded cannon fire into the island in quick succession; buildings destroyed within minutes under the onslaught.
The pirate then stepped forward to them, "Silvia of the Silver Fang, I presume? I've heard that you were a looker, but… damn, you are definitely quite a looker."
"You're looking for me?"
"That we are. I was ordered to bring you to the captain. Now, unless you want several bullets in you—guark!?"
"Like hell I will!"
Silvia stepped forward and landed a sucker punch into his gut hard. That prompt the rest of the pirates to fire their firearms at them; she and Lee barely managed to dodge the bullets being fired at them, knocking some of them back before ducking into the alleyway for cover.
"How did they sneak past the guards!?" Lee asked in worry.
"We can think about that after we get back on the Silver Fang!" Silvia stated.
Even if they were armed with their weapons, they were useless to stop any of it. The pirates had managed to sneak past their lookouts and prepared explosions that caused them to spread their forces too thin before launching their invasion.
And judging by how the gates was blown open, the invading ships was fully decked with armaments strong enough to bust them down; way too much for the small fleet of frigates currently docked in the port to handle.
The only chance they had of overturning this disaster was to return their ship, hopefully regroup with the ships that had left on the mysterious order and then retake their headquarters from them.
As such, even if Temasek descended into chaos around them, they had to keep on running.
"They went this way!"
"After them!"
"Don't kill the woman! The captain requested that she be taken alive!"
The two ran across the burning streets, gunfire quickly drowning out any cries for help and pleas for mercy. Several pirates tried to block their escape route, but they managed to knock them away before outmaneuvering them through their better understanding of the district''s layout.
After ducking and weaving through many alleyways, they finally made it to the port, where another hellish scene awaited them.
Several of the East Traders's larger ships docked in the port were either on fire or in the process of sinking into the watery depths, with the smaller vessels currently being hijacked by many pirates.
"Damn it, they planned to hijack our ships as well…!?" Silvia growled.
"Captain! Lee!"
Justin called out from the Silver Fang's deck as she and the crew struggled to keep the pirates from boarding their ship; the ship's doctor just barely managed to hold back a pirate's cutlass with her rifle.
"Sam! Toss me some pistols!" Lee called out.
"You got it!"
Sam kicked back the pirate he was facing and tossed a pair of pistols towards him; Lee leaping and catching them in the air before firing into the pirates crowding the boarding ramp.
His bullets hit true and the pirates bothering Justin and their crew fell to his watery grave. The ones at the base of the ramp quickly turned around and aimed their own firearms at him while those with cutlasses charged at him.
Unfortunately for them, the quartermaster was the better shooter and he quickly dispatched several of the pistol-wielding pirates before pistol whipping the ones charging at him.
"Now! Push them back!"
"OOOOOOHHHHHH!"
With a renewed vigor from their quartermaster's triumph, the crew of the Silver Fang managed to knock away all the pirates attempting to climb onto their ship, freeing up the boarding ramp for their captain and quartermaster.
After Silvia and Lee climbed on board the Silver Fang, the captain quickly gave the command, "Raise anchor! We are leaving post haste!"
"Aye aye!"
As the crew scrambled to raise the anchor and unfurl the sails, Silvia went over to Justin, "What's the status of the crew?"
"Bad. The surprise attack took out most of the men." The ship doctor told her, "We would have been overrun if you hadn't showed up."
"It's as bad as I feared…" The captain grimaced, and then noticed that Justin was favouring one foot, "Justin, you…"
"Just a bad sprain. I can manage."
"If you say so…" She sighed before turning to the navigator, "Lio, plot a course to-uoh!?"
The entire crew lurched forward as their ship was suddenly halted. Looking back, they saw several harpoons sticking into the hull; the rope connecting them originating from the port in the hands of some very determined pirates.
With a great heave, they were actually successfully pulling them back to port; a few around them were even preparing their weapons for another boarding attempt.
"Damn it, how desperate do they want this ship anyway!?" Sam growled as he tried to kick one of the harpoons loose while another crewmate was cutting into the ropes with his cutlass of another.
The crew members with firearms fired into the pirates to try and stop them, but some of them had pulled out portions of a wooden wall to use as shields against them.
Lee grimaced as his bullets hit the wooden shield, "At this rate, the ship would get hijacked for sure…"
"…Lio, set course for Meluya at once."
"C-Captain…?"
"Set course!"
"Y-Yes, ma'am!"
"Silvia, what are you—"
Before Justin could ask her captain, Silvia leaped off the ship with a cutlass at hand, much to the shock of her crew.
"Captain!?"
"Come back, captain!"
"Get back on board, Sivia!" Lee shouted out.
"Someone had to keep them back!" She shouted at them, "And they were after me from the get-go!"
"We can't leave you behind!"
"Captain's orders, Lee! Leave without me!"
Without another word, Silvia dashed towards the pirates; swordsmanship wasn't her forte, but she was decent enough with a blade to take on some unruly outlaws.
Lee could only watch helplessly as his captain descended on the pirates with a fury,; he was caught between his desire to help out his wife and bring her back to the ship, and his duty to the crew of this ship.
While he contemplated this, said crew finally managed to dislodge the harpoons holding their ship back.
"Alright! We're free!" Sam cheered, "Let's get out of here!"
"Wait, the captain is still at port!" One of the crew cried out, "We can't leave her behind!"
"Someone, drop anchor—!"
"Belay that order!" Lee shouted, fist clenched tightly as he struggled to give out the command, "…Unfurl the sail to full mast. We're leaving!"
"B-But sir, what about the captain!?"
"Captain's orders! We're leaving without her! Unfurl full mast, NOW!"
"A-Aye aye!"
"Are you sure about this, Lee?" Justin asked, "Silvia would be…"
"The pirates were told to bring Silvia in alive. They probably wouldn't kill her right away." He told her, "All we can do now is survive and regroup with the rest…"
The ship doctor grimaced at the heavy decision, but didn't argue with him.
"Sam, get us out of here!"
"On the double!"
The helmsman spun the wheel as the Silver Fang left port and headed towards the destroyed gate, manoeuvring past wrecks of the larger frigates that were no doubt targeted by the pirates first.
A few of them had managed to disembark with them but were being attacked by the same pirate ships, with one already getting sunk with the cannons.
The invading pirate ships fired at it in an attempt to stop them from escaping, but they were able to retaliate back with their own cannons and even managed to disarm one of them.
Likely taking this as a chance to flee, the rest of the ships followed after the Silver Fang as they made their way out into open waters.
Where a blockade of pirate ships awaited them.
"H-How many of them are there!?" Justin cried out.
"Wait, I recognised some of them!" Lio cried out, "The Black-Cat Pirates, the Yes Pirates; almost every known pirate of the East Blue is here!"
"Well, they did call themselves the East Blue Pirate Alliance…" Lee grimaced, 'There are also some unrecognizable flags among them too… newcomers that popped up recently…?'
His musings were put to a stop when several cannons from the pirate ships could be heard firing.
"Shit, evasive manoeuvres!"
Sam quickly spun the wheel as the Silver Fang turned away, just as plumes of water erupted dangerously close to them, with one shot managing to break the mast of one of the surviving frigates behind them.
Plumes after plumes of water soon erupted one after another as salvo after salvo of cannon balls were fired at them.
"We're like fish in a barrel…!" Justin grimaced.
"Fire back!"
"We can't! It's out of our range!"
"They're packing serious firepower…!"
"We need to break out of this blockade and fast!" Lee cried out in desperation.
"But how!? There's hardly any openings we can take!"
"Well, we have to do something! Otherwise, we all will be facing Davy Jones within the next minute!"
"…there might still be a way."
Lee turned to the Silver Fang's helmsman, Sam gave him a grim smile as he said, "I might be able to get us through that blockade. But I would need to command the crew for a moment."
"Are you certain?"
"…Absolutely."
Seeing the determination and confidence in his eyes, Lee decided to gamble on it and turned to his crew, "Everyone! I temporarily pass command over to Helmsman Sam!"
""Aye, sir!""
"I'll leave it to you, Sam."
"Aye aye! Now, let me show you why I'm one of the best helmsmen of the East Blue!"
He spun the wheel and had the Silver Fang swerved around while avoiding cannon fire. Despite having its sail at full-mast, he was able to get the ship to avoid almost all shots fired at it, albeit barely.
That, however, had the unfortunate side effect of getting the crew tossed back and forth both above and below deck; one of them nearly fell overboard if Justin hadn't grabbed him in time.
"Such haphazard sailing…!" The doctor muttered.
"At least none of the cannon shots are hitting us." Lee noted in surprise.
"Now, sails at half-mast!"
"Huh!? Why do you suddenly want to slow down!?"
"Just do it!"
Still confused at their helmsman's orders, they hesitantly raised the sails up to half-mast and slowed their ship. A few cannon shots landed close but none of them hit the ship.
Still, the pirates were getting better at their shots as a few managed to graze the hull, with one taking out the bow while another one of the ship's 'fangs'.
"The shots are hitting…!"
"Wait for it…"
"Lower the sails—!"
"Not yet!"
"What do you mean, 'Not yet'!?"
Lee held onto the railings for support as the ship shook from another missed shot, "Sam, what are you—"
"Now, sails full-mast!"
"Sails!? On it—"
"And drop the anchor!"
""WHAT!?""
The crew was shocked at the ludicrous command. After all, who in their right mind would drop anchor when being bombarded by cannons!? That was just asking to get sunk!
"Just do it! Drop anchor!"
The helmsman cried out his order once more, but now everyone was having doubts about them getting out of here.
"Drop anchor!"
Lee repeated the order for everyone to hear, much to the crew's surprise. "Trust in Sam! He is, after all, the best helmsman in the East Blue!"
"…he did call himself that, huh?"
"Well, he was pretty confident in that title of his."
"Ah, fuck it! Do as he says! Drop anchor!"
"If we ended up dead, I'm haunting you for life, Sam!"
The crew quickly moved to do as they were ordered, lowering the sails fully and dropping the anchor into the choppy seas below.
"Okay, now what—whoa!?"
Moments later, a sudden strong gust of wind blew on them and sped the ship up.
"T-The wind!?"
"I remember now!" Lio cried out, "During this time of year, a particularly strong gust would always blow around these waters at random intervals."
"It was a gamble, but it looks like it paid off!" Sam noted as the corners of his mouth raised into a wry grin, "Now, hang on tight!"
Everyone grabbed on for dear life as their ship suddenly swerved sharply; what would normally be a slow process for frigates was made quick thanks to the anchor, swinging their ship like it was a pendulum as the iron chains holding the anchor creaked and groaned under the sudden stress.
"So this is why he wanted to lower the anchor…" Justin noted in surprise.
"I've heard of this trick used by racing boats when they want to make sharp turns quickly." Sam stated, "Never thought I would end up using it with a frigate of all things."
"Good work, Sam!" Lee told him in awe.
"Thanks. Now raise the anchor, quickly! Before we spun off course!"
"You heard him! Move, move, move!"
The crew rushed to the anchor lever and pulled as hard as they could; several of them had even taken to pulling the chain directly.
With great effort, they were able to pull the anchor back, just in time for them to get out of that swerve and shoot towards the blockade like a rock out of a sling.
"Wait, we're ramming into them!?" Justin cried out.
"I noticed that there was a smaller ship among them, small enough that we could easily ram right though." The helmsman noted with a wry grin, "Add on the increased speed…"
Without another word said, the crew braced themselves as the Silver Fang smashed in right through the smaller vessel, tearing into its hull and ripping the rudder clean off.
""We got through!""
They all cheered in victory while hearing the panicked cries of the pirates aboard the neighbouring vessels as they sped away into the horizon.
"It's not over yet!" Lee shouted at them, "Stay sharp till we get out of their line of sight!"
"Aye aye!"
"Those with no injuries, help out those who can't move! Someone go help Justin grab the first aid supplies from the medical bay!"
As the crew scrambled to follow his orders, the vice-captain looked back at Temasek with a grimace; smoke could be seen rising from behind the blockade.
'Silvia… I swear, I'll come back for you…!'
"And that's the whole story." Lee concluded for me, "A couple of days later, one of them somehow managed to track us down and nearly sink us; it would have if it weren't for Sen's timely save."
"Talk about a long story…" Sen noted.
After Sen had sunk the pirates pursuing the Silver Fang, the rest of our group had reunited with the crew as Lee had explained the tragic incident that had taken place while we were gone.
To think that Temasek would get invaded by pirates so easily… The place was built like a fort! How did they get past the defences so easily!?
"Well, with that being said…"
Lee turned to the elephant in the metaphorical room, the Straw Hat Pirates and Gin being held at gunpoint by the crew with blatant hostility; Luffy and Zoro weren't even fazed by them, Sanji simply lit another cigarette, Gin just looked rather worried, Usopp was shaking in his boots while hiding behind Nami who looked to be more annoyed than scared.
I wouldn't exactly blame their actions, considering that they had just fled from a pirate attack.
"The four unknowns aside, mind explaining why the Pirate Hunter Zoro and Demon Gin are with you on a pirate ship of all things?" He asked us.
"Haha… It's a pretty long story." I sheepishly laughed, "You see, after Mihawk appeared…"
I proceed to explain the events since our separation at the Baratie. Our fight with the Krieg Pirates, my offer to Gin to join the Silver Fang, the trip to the Conami Islands, the little scuffle with Major Nezumi, and the defeat of Arlong.
I try to be as detailed as possible of the events, and made sure to paint them in a brighter light than their less than dignified counterparts; at least the crew would be less hostile to them.
I had also kept out the fact that Kris was once part of the same crew as Arlong; it was his secret, not mine to reveal.
"Don Krieg and Arlong were brought down?" Lee noted in surprise, "And by that skinny kid, no less?"
"Appearances can be deceiving." Justin noted as she looked at Luffy.
I had to agree with her there. At first glance, you wouldn't think that Luffy was strong enough to take down two of the most notorious pirates of the East Blue.
"But Rein, you can't just recruit someone without asking us first." The doctor added on, "The final decision is still Silvia's, not yours."
"I know that, but I could at least give a recommendation, right?"
And it felt like a waste to just let Gin waste away in a jail cell, especially when he could do more on the Silver Fang. And besides, it would give him another career path besides piracy.
"That aside…" Lee turned to Gord, "I didn't expect you of all people to strike at a Marine officer like that."
"I don't blame him." Justin nodded as she glanced to Nami, "To allow such cruelty left unpunished for years just to earn some easy cash, such a bastard deserved a beating."
"As much as I agree with that notion, it still doesn't change the fact that Gord and Rein did in fact attack and possibly killed several marine soldiers. That's grounds for imprisonment at the very least."
"The fucker fired on unassuming civilians!" Gord shouted angrily, "If anyone is deserving punishment, it's him!"
"Even then—oh, forget it…! We can think about that later." Lee sighed, "For now, we have to regroup with the rest of the survivors and plan a counter attack."
"We can ponder on who the traitor is after we push those bastards off our island." Lee stated, "For now, we have to regroup with the rest and plan a counter attack."
"Where are we heading?" I asked.
"The emergency safe house on the island of Melayu."
I remembered reading about that island before in the guide book and hearing it at a safety briefing. The island itself was mostly uninhabited with dense forests, with the exception of a villa the East Traders had built there to act as a safe house.
In the event of an attack on Temasek, the ships that managed to escape or were away during the attack were to gather there immediately.
"Word of the attack has to reach the others out on that job already." Lee stated, "Most of them were large vessels that were better armed than us. They and Sen would be key to taking Temasek back from those pirates."
"I wouldn't get your hopes up too much, Lee."
"Huh?"
"The pirates had managed to snuck past our defences and set up explosives, then they managed to get close and blow up the gates without any of the lookouts noticing." Sen noted, "No matter how you look at it, it was obvious that it was an inside job."
"I also think the same." Justin nodded, "The way everything happened feels too planned out for a sudden attack; not to mention how fast the pirates had act once the gates was blown opened."
"Then… one of our own betrayed us?" Kris stated furiously, "Damn it! Who!? Who's the bastard that sold their dignity to the pirates!?"
"Calm down, Kris." Gord told him, "We don't know if they did it willingly. For all we know, the pirates could be blackmailing him."
"Regardless of the reason, it raised the possibility that the large delivery order was also planted by them." Sen added on, "And if whoever orchestrated this whole thing was smart enough…"
"They would have the ships ambushed and possibly destroyed before they could be used to attack them." Lee finished with a grim note, "This is bad. If that's the case, our fighting strength would be greatly affected. And we don't even know if the others managed to escape unscathed, if at all…"
"Then, we would also have to consider that they had hostages to prevent the survivors from striking back." Justin noted with a grimace, "And that… Melayu could possibly been compromised."
"That… would be a bad situation." Gord noted.
I agreed with him. It meant that Melayu might be a trap waiting to be sprung on any of the initial attack's survivors; and if the Silver Fang's current state was anything to go by, it would be a death sentence to all of them.
"…Then we have no other choice but to jump right in," Lee stated, "and hope we are wrong about that…"
"It might be our only option." Justin nodded grimly.
"…No, not necessarily."
Everyone turned to me as I made a suggestion, pointing at the pirates the crew currently being held at gunpoint, "We could ask them for help."
"Wait, them!? You want us to get help from pirates!?" Lee cried out, "Are you crazy!?"
"We need every strength we can possibly get, and they are the strongest we could possibly get right now."
"Even so, to ask pirates for help is…"
"Lee, I have to agree with Rein, here." Justin noted, "They are strong enough to take down both Don Krieg and Arlong. With them on our side, we might stand a chance against them."
"Still…"
"I understand your grievances with pirates, but we are out of options here. At least with their help, we can take back Temasek and save Silvia."
"…Hah, do you have to put it like that…?" Lee sighed, "Fine, might as well. But I'm still not going to like it."
"You don't have to."
The quartermaster then walked towards the Straw Hats, gesturing the crew to lower their guns; Luffy staring blankly at him as he asked, "Are you the captain of this pirate crew?"
"That's right." Luffy nodded, "I'm Luffy."
"Well, Mr. Luffy, first allow me thank you for escorting members of my crew back to us."
"It's–"
"It was of no problem at all!" Nami interjected with a rather professional smile, "Now, about our payment for the job, I was thinking of about…"
"Sorry, but you are?" Lee asked.
"Oh, I'm Nami, the crew's Treasurer!"
Judging by how confused the rest of the crew were on her proclamation, it wasn't her actual position on the crew; though with how she was with their expenses later down the line, she might as well be.
"You see, your crew mates had promised us that we would receive payment for escorting them back."
"Ah, I see, I see. That's fair. A job well-done is a job well-paid, after all."
"Oh, I definitely agree! So, I was thinking about–"
"But before we could discuss that, there was something I wish to ask of your captain." Lee stopped her and turned to Luffy, "I was hoping to hire your crew to help us take back our headquarters from pirates."
"Eh!? The East Traders wants our help!?" Usopp cried.
"Oh? That's surprising." Zoro noted, "I've heard the East Traders' headquarters was one of the most well-guarded places in the East Blue."
"It was, until a few days ago. We were caught off-guard by them and nearly got wiped out. This ship was one of the many that barely escaped."
"The East Traders' fleet was supposed to be one of the largest fleets in the East Blue, one that could rival Krieg's." Sanji noted in shock, "For them to nearly get wiped out by some unknown pirate is…"
"I-If even them can't take them, t-then what use could w-we be!?" Usopp asked worriedly.
"That's right! This is ludicrous!" Nami cried out, "Reject it, Luffy! Ah, but you guys still have to pay us for the escort–"
"We'll be willingly to double the escort payment if you help us."
"Take it, Luffy! Think of the money we can earn!"
"How big of a money grubber are you!?"
Well, Nami sure change her mind fast; though it was pretty obvious what would persuade her.
"…I'll be willing to help."
Gin surprised everyone by being the first to offer his assistance to us. He then elaborated, "Rein saved my life, so I have a debt to pay to her. So, if she requires my help, she will have it."
"That was… surprising." Justin noted in awe, "I've heard that Demon Gin was supposed to be heartless and ruthless like his namesake, not someone of honour and dignity."
"Appearance can be deceiving, rumours even more so." I told her.
"…Then, I thank you for the help, Gin." Lee shook his hand in agreement, "Well, Luffy. What about you? Do I have your crew's help?"
"Reject it, Luffy!" Usopp cried out, "Such a dangerous job couldn't be worth it!"
"…"
Luffy's silence was pretty weird, especially since he had been quiet since he boarded the ship.
"Oi, Luffy?" Zoro poked his captain in the head with his sword's hilt, "You okay–?"
*GRRROOOOWWWWLLL*
"Ah, I'm so hungry…!" He groaned, "Do you guys have something to eat?"
"…"
"…"
"…"
Everyone just looked at the pirate captain in silence at the sudden stomach growling and the lack of attention he had given us.
"Wait, did you even hear anything I had said?" Lee asked.
"Huh? What?"
"…You got to be kidding me…" The quartermaster groaned, "Did you not hear a single word at all!?"
"God damn it, Luffy." Nami groaned.
"I guess it's kind of expected, coming from him." Usopp sighed.
"…Look, if I give you something to eat, will you help us take back our island?" Lee asked.
"Sure!"
"""LUFFY!?"""
I let loose a sigh at the sheer stupidity of this exchange. Honestly, I should have expected this from the beginning. What else was I expecting from the rubber idiot?
"Then it is settled. I look forward to working with you all." Lee smiled at the remaining Straw Hats who could only bemoaned their captain's dumbness.
"You better make sure we are paid well…" Nami glared at him.
"Oh, don't worry. A merchant never runs from a deal."
"We are going to die…" Usopp moaned.
"Guess I better start cooking." Gord noted.
"Allow me to help you." Sanji told him, "Sure hope our food stocks is enough for him…"
Knowing Luffy, I highly doubt it. Guess now's a good time to pick up fishing.
"Alright, everyone! Raise anchor and unfurl the sails!" Lee turned the crew, "We set sail for Melayu! And be ready for anything!"
""Aye, aye!""
The anchor was raised and the sails were unfurled as we made our way to the emergency rendezvous, and a potential death trap.
…
To be continued…
Happy new year, everyone!
Finally done! Good god, this chapter took forever to finished! For those that waited long, I'm sorry. I had trouble on how to write the Straw Hats without them getting OOC and just ruined their characters. Hopefully, this is good enough.
Real life also kicked me in the ass for the past couple of weeks. My grandfather got cancer and passed away just before the year's end, so it had been hectic. So, I had not been in the best headspace to write this.
As a heads up, expect slow updates for this fic. I had prioritized my newer fics and at least clear up their first few chapters before coming back to this. For those who enjoy this, I thank you for your patience.
With that, I thank you all for reading this!