I do not own One Piece
It is owned by Oda
I just own the OC's
Enjoy!
Loguetown opening: Silhouette - KANA-BOON, Naruto Shippuden OP 16
(The music starts as the camera pans to each of the Straw hats and shows them all lined up and ready for a race. As the beat picks up the Straw hats begin their race. Nami is leading with a smile, Zoro and Sanji started to fight each other for their place, Luffy somehow tripped Usopp causing both to fall into Jou who's falling with the two.)
Isse No Se De Fumikomu Gorain Bokura Wa
Nanimo Nanimo Mada Shiranu
Issen Koete Furikaeruto Mo Nai Bokura Wa
Nanimo Nanimo Mada Shiranu
(It transitions to the Going Merry sailing across the sea. Each of the crew smiles as they reach their next destination, Loguetown. Jou had his arms crossed and closed his eyes. The scene changes to Jou as a kid from a memory in his past when he met a friend of his: A girl with wine-colored red hair.)
Udatte Udatte Udatteku
Kirameku Ase Ga Koboreru No Sa
(It shifts to Buggy wielding a sword, preparing to chop off Luffy's head. The straw hat captain smiles as he spots his three crewmen moving toward the execution platform. Jou with his red chain over his shoulder, Zoro wielding all three katana's, and Sanji smoking a cigarette as they were on their way to save their captain.)
Oboetenai Koto Mo Takusan Atta Darou
Daremo Kare Mo Shiruetto
(It pans to Luffy battling Captain Smoker, his attacks not connecting thanks to Smoker's Devil Fruit. Zoro crossing blades with Tashigi, Zoro overpowering and shoving her away.)
Daiji Ni Shitai Mono Motte Otona Ni Naru nda
Don'na toki mo hanasazu ni tsudzu keyou
(Jou wielding both chains as he fights the girl from his past who's his age. She held a pair of kodachi in her hands and slashes at Jou as he evades the attacks. Jou leaps away from the girl as they stand across from each other, the rain falling around them.)
Mamori tsudzukeyō soshitara itsu no hi ni ka
Nanimo kamo o waraerusa
Hirari to hirari to matteru
Konoha ga tonde yuku
(It transitions to Jou and the girl as children, standing away from each other. The girl walks past Jou with their backs kept to each other. They shift into their older selves as the Marine logo and the Straw hat Jolly Rodger appear above them respectively, symbolizing their chosen paths.)
It's been some time since the crew sailed from the Conomi islands to continue their adventure. Up in the crow's nest, Jou peered through his telescope, keeping an eye out for anything 'cool' as Luffy simply put it. Jou kept his focus out at the ocean but found nothing of interest.
"You raised your prices again?" Jou brought his telescope to the front side and saw Nami in the scope. He removed the telescope from his eye and saw the navigator arguing with the News Coo, the bird that comes around to deliver newspapers across the ocean. Jou noticed Nami seemed upset by the pricing of the paper she's purchasing.
"That's a little steep!" Nami commented while handing a single berri coin. "Don't ya think?" she gave the coin to the bird who had a nervous expression on its face. "Raise your prices again and I'll stop paying!" with that, the News Coo cawed as it flew away.
"What's the big deal?" Usopp wondered while working on his ammunition. "It's just one paper."
"'Just one paper'?" Nami repeated. "I buy these every day."
"Yeah, but you don't need to save money so you can buy back your village from Arlong, you know?" Usopp added. "You can finally stop obsessing about money."
"You're so stupid!" Nami snapped causing the sniper to almost jump. "Now that all that stuff's over, I'm saving money for me now." Nami put her hands on her hips. "I'm not gonna be one of those poor pirates who can't afford to dress up!" Nami commented happily with a grin.
"Calm down!" Usopp chided. "I'm in the middle of developing my special Tabasco Star!"
Jou smiled from up in the crow's nest, his fist resting in his cheek. Jou honestly was happy to see Nami in high spirits. Now that she's free from Arlong, she can do what she wants to do. Jou figured there wasn't anything in sight, holstered his telescope, and started climbing out of the crow's nest. Jou heard plenty of different activities going on between the others. Luffy was trying to get a tangerine from Nami's orchard that was placed on top of the cabin but a certain cook was keeping guard of it. Sanji appeared to have kicked Luffy who was knocked into an unsuspecting Usopp which caused him to get Tabasco in his eyes.
The tabasco in the sniper's eyes caused flames to erupt. Jou who was currently making his way down Merry's shrouds saw the flames and became startled by them as the ship rocked.
"What in the world!" Jou exclaimed as he held tight on the shrouds. He saw Usopp running around the deck like a headless chicken with literal flames shooting out of his eyes as he screamed but his cries went ignored by the others.
"C'mon, I just want one of them!" Luffy complained.
"This is Nami's tangerine orchard!" Sanji stated with folded arms. "I won't let anyone lay a finger on it!" the cook went into 'swoon' mode. "Nami~! Can you see how well I'm protecting your trees~?"
"Yes, you're doing very well," Nami remarked sweetly. Jou rolled his eyes at the swooning cook. Jou approached Zoro who was laying about on the deck. The swordsman opened his eyes and noticed Jou.
"See anything exciting from up there, Jou?" Zoro wondered.
"Nah, just a whole lotta nothing," Jou shrugged. "Or I'm a terrible lookout." Jou saw Zoro bring his eyes over to Sanji who kept guard over the tangerines.
"Sanji's getting used," Zoro commented. "That poor bastard."
"Right?" Jou agreed with a smirk. "What a sap, huh?" That caused Zoro to snicker as Jou laughed with him.
"What's up with Usopp?" Zoro asked.
"From what I heard, he got Tabasco in his eyes," Jou mentioned. "I guess I'll give him a hand." Jou went into the kitchen and came out with a cup of water. He approached the screaming sniper and grabbed him. "Hold still, jackass!"
Jou threw the water in his face which doused the flames as Usopp fell on the deck. He landed on his back relieved and was out of breath from all the flailing.
"Thank you so much, Jou!" Usopp said with his voice filled with grateful relief.
"Just be careful making your ammunition," Jou suggested.
"It's not my fault!" Usopp added. "Luffy bumped into me!"
Jou sat on the railing as he looked out at the horizon. It was a beautiful day today. Nami read her newspaper in her lounge chair, Usopp was still recovering from the mishap with his Tabasco Star.
"I only want one tangerine," Luffy whined. "Just give it here! You're so mean!"
"No!" Sanji refused to let the captain have a tangerine. Luffy pouted as he put his head down as Jou scooted beside him and nudged Luffy's shoulder with a smirk.
"Don't sweat it, captain," Jou whispered. "He can't keep watch of those tangerines forever. Later we'll steal a few when he's not around." Luffy responded with a grin and nod.
"Jou...?" Nami called him.
"Yes...?" Jou answered.
"You aren't planning on touching my tangerines, are you?" Nami wondered as she kept her focus on the newspaper.
"Take one of your tangerines?" Jou wondered. "Why would I do that? I wouldn't even dream of touching something you take absolute pride in, Nami." Jou smirked as he moved to the side of her lounge chair.
"Sure, I believe you," Nami remarked with obvious sarcasm. Jou's eyes went to the tattoo on her left shoulder. Apparently, that was the surprise she talked about when they spoke the other night in her village. It was a simple tattoo shaped like a pinwheel with a tangerine dangling on top.
"By the way, I like the new tattoo," Jou commented. "Much better than that crap Arlong mark."
"Hm," Nami smiled at him and turned to look at her new ink. "Yeah, I like it, too. You should've talked to Nako about doing something like that for you."
"Huh, what for?" Jou rose his eyebrows.
"A tattoo to cover the bite marks in your shoulder," Nami recommended.
"Me, with a tattoo?" Jou wondered. "Not a chance." he dismissed shaking his head. "Tattoos aren't my thing. Besides, I don't mind scars. A lot of them tell a story. They happen to build character, don't you think?"
"Not really," Nami shook her head. "You might be okay with having a scar, but I'm not. Besides, a scar would ruin the image of my beautiful skin."
"If you say so," Jou shrugged and looked back at the horizon.
"The world is sure a turbulent place," Nami commented with her attention on the paper. "They just had another coup in Villa." It was at this time from out the newspaper, a single tan sheet of paper fell out.
"What's that?" Luffy asked.
Jou turned to see what the others were staring at. Jou's own eyes widened at what he and the others saw. Luffy, Usopp, Nami, and Sanji screamed in surprise as it caused Zoro to shoot awake from his sleep. Luffy gathered up the tan sheet of paper and laughed as it had a picture of himself.
"Alright, guys!" Luffy exclaimed happily. "We're wanted criminals!"
The sheet of paper had this written on it in bold print:
Wanted
Dead Or Alive
'Straw hat' Monkey D. Luffy
30,000,000
Jou thought the bounty was impressive for a starter. Even here in East Blue where the minimum is only 3 million. The picture showed Luffy looking as carefree as can be. It was a wide close-up of him grinning while waving in the photo.
"Wanted, Dead or Alive..." Usopp read the print on the poster. "30 million berri's!"
"That's a whole lot a berri's!" Luffy laughed victoriously.
"Check it out!" Usopp pointed at the photo. "I'll be seen all around the world!" the sniper grinned. "Girl's might even fall for me!"
"What!" Sanji exclaimed. "They put long nose in but left me out?" Sanji got a closer look at the poster, his eye scanning. "Where are you? I don't see you anywhere?"
Usopp pointed at where he was in the picture. He was in the background while facing away from the camera. Sanji sat on the deck and puffed his cheeks out like a sulking child.
"It's the back of your head," Sanji said. "That's not so great."
"Oh, don't be so glum," Usopp smirked. "You don't have to be a captain to get your picture on one of these things."
"Is that true?" Sanji smiled as he started to perk up again.
"Yeah," Usopp said. "Just work really hard."
"Yep, it's true," Jou added. "Don't even worry about it. I'm certain at some point, each of us will have bounties sooner or later."
"I'm hoping not," Nami stated. "I don't like the idea of being hunted by bounty hunters."
"I'm just saying it's inevitable," Jou remarked. "There's no stopping it."
"Yet again, you guys don't understand how grim our situation really is!" Nami exclaimed as she knelt on the ground. She dropped the newspaper on the deck earlier when they found Luffy's bounty. Jou noticed something to catch Nami's eye while gathering the paper.
"Oh, great," she groaned. "Another one."
"Someone else got a bounty?" Luffy questioned.
"Whose is it?" Usopp asked.
"Let me see!" Sanji said. "I bet it's mine!" Everyone but Jou and Zoro peered over the navigator's shoulder. Sanji fell on the deck in despair as the others stared at the lookout which made Jou raise his brows.
"Jou, it's yours!" Nami said.
"Really?" Jou asked. He didn't think he'd get a bounty so soon.
"Yeah! Take a look!" Luffy grinned as he snatched the tan paper from Nami.
"Hey!" Nami exclaimed. "Don't just grab it out of my hands."
Luffy ran to Jou and showed him the poster with bold letters that read:
Wanted
Dead or Alive
'Dual-Chain' Kusari Jou
25,000,000
Jou grabbed the poster out of his captain's hold as Nami and Usopp were on either side of him. The picture was of Jou shortly after his fight with Arlong. He had scratches all over on his face, blood poured down the side of his head and dripped from the corner of his mouth. He held his red chain as it was wrapped around his forearm and displayed a cocky smirk on his face.
"25 million!" Usopp read. "Add both bounties together and it amounts to 55 million berri's in total!"
"Congrats, Jou!" Luffy laughed as he clapped Jou multiple times on his back. "We're both wanted Pirates now!" Jou stared at his poster and was not even fazed by the hard slaps from his captain.
"Yeah..." Jou said slowly. "I didn't think it would be this soon."
"Dammit!" Sanji cried as he pounded the deck. "How did he get a bounty? Why not me, dammit!"
"Probably because Jou was the one to beat Arlong," Nami reminded.
"You think so?" Jou questioned.
"That's the only explanation," Nami informed. "Arlong was one of the top pirates in the East Blue with a 20 million bounty on his head. There's no way the Marines would overlook you if you pulled something like that off."
"I guess you're right," Jou replied as he stared at his wanted poster.
Jou didn't think of the outcome if he defeated Arlong. Jou only fought him in order to free Nami but had no idea this would happen. But Jou was okay with it. According to his mom, she had a bounty on her head, too, even though she was in hiding in Bouy village since no one knew she and Vic were pirates. Despite his current thoughts, Jou belted out in laughter as he held out his poster with a grin.
"What do you think of the photo?" Jou asked everyone. "You guys think they should've chosen a different picture? I look like crap!" Jou chuckled once more. "But seriously, I guess this is how things stand now." Jou shrugged and turned to Luffy. "Well Captain, looks we're the highest bounties in East Blue."
"Yep, we sure are!" Luffy chuckled.
"People are gonna be gunnin' for us now," Jou grinned as he put up a hand toward his captain. "Let's make them work for it."
"You bet!" Luffy agreed as they shared a high-five. Jou looked at his poster again and wondered what the folks back home thought of it.
(Bouy village)
"Vic!" Vic heard his name from outside the bar. He was cleaning a recently used glass and set it down at the counter.
"Vic, we wanna show you something!" Dot's voice called.
"Yeah!" Nale said. "It's important!"
"Okay, okay," Vic sighed as he started making his way around the bar. He touched the shoulder of a young man. Ever since Jou went to leave the island to find the All Scope, he had to hire some more help around the bar. "Keep on things for me."
"Will do," the young man nodded as Vic pushed open the door.
Vic spotted Nale, Dot, and Ashe sitting outside the bar entrance. He noticed Ashe was looking rather happy, her tail wagging back and forth. Vic noticed Nale held something in his hands.
"So, what's all the ruckus about?" Vic wondered as he put a hand on his hip.
"Look, it's Jou!" Dot pointed a finger. Nale turned and showcased a wanted poster. Vic, being a former Pirate has seen his fair share of them. But this was something that brought a look of surprise and found the poster was of Jou.
"Oh Vic, can you pay the News Coo?" Nale pointed toward the bird that was waiting for the payment. Vic pulled out a berri coin and placed it in the Coo's container that hung from around its neck. The bird saluted in thanks as Ashe slowly approached the bird with a growl. Ashe barked and leaped at it as the News Coo quickly flew away.
"So, they're calling him 'Dual-Chain', huh?" Vic muttered as he took the poster from Nale. "Worth 25 million," Vic stated as he looked it over. "That's higher than the standard amount in this sea."
"Vic...?" Vic brought his attention to Dot who gave a set of big curious eyes. "Does this mean... Jou is in trouble?" Dot wondered as she tilted her head.
"Uh...?" Vic rubbed the back of his head. "In a... sense." Vic was going to try and explain things to make it easier for the kids to understand. Boy, does he miss when Jou was here to explain things to them. "You see, there are certain... people in the world who sort of control things. And they give certain other people who do things that the ones who are in control don't like and they give them these things right here." Vic pointed a finger at Jou's poster. "You guys understand?"
"So..." Nale drawled. "What your saying is that Jou's a Pirate?"
"Well, you see-" Vic went on to say more but sighed. "Yes. That's what this means. Jou is a Pirate and that's why he's got this now. Do the two of you think differently of him now? Do you think he's a bad person?" Vic noticed Nale and Dot stare at each other. The two children smiled and began to laugh. "Wha-What's so funny?"
"Vic..." Nale cupped a hand to his mouth to whisper. "It's okay. We already know you were a Pirate. You and Jou's mom."
"Huh?" Vic's breath caught in his mouth. "Hey, how did you hear about that?"
"Well..." Dot spoke as she took an interest at the ground, fiddling with the hem of her dress. "We heard you and Jou talking the night after we had his going away party. When we gave Jou his gifts."
"I see," Vic said. "Well, aren't you just a pair of little eavesdroppers?" Vic only gave an amused smirk. "Here I thought we put the two of you to bed. Now that you know..." Vic kept his smile. "You two think differently of me now that you know my past?"
"Nope," Dot smiled brightly.
"When Jou sailed away, I told him he'd always be our big brother," Nale remarked. "That means we don't think any less of you either, Vic." Vic couldn't help but smile at the two. Nale and Dot were good kids, smart ones too. He had a feeling Jou was the one who got through to them which caused them to have this kind of understanding.
"Glad to see you both get it," Vic smiled. Dot grabbed the poster from Vic and showed it to Ashe.
"Look, Ashe," Dot said. "It's Jou!" Ashe reacted with a happy bark and licked the poster with her tongue. "Eww! Ashe, you got it all wet!" Vic grinned at the scene as looked at the sky.
Jou... Vic thought. This means that you're getting stronger. And that's a good thing. It means the training from Becky really came through for you. But this also means you now have to watch your back. But I'm sure you can handle yourself. Because you're definitely Becky's son.
"Let's go to the Grand Line, men!" Luffy exclaimed with a boisterous laugh as Usopp and Sanji started a two-man line dance, each of them singing about going to the Grand Line. Jou sat on the rail and watched from the side with a grin and gave another look to his own wanted poster. Jou heard an irritated sigh from Nami who was seated beside him.
"Yet again, you guys don't understand how grim our situation really is!" Nami tried to get through to the cheering trio. She put a hand on her forehead, realizing that it was useless. "This means all of our lives will be in constant danger."
"But danger is fun," Jou went to explain. "This whole journey will be boring if there wasn't any."
"This isn't a game, Jou," Nami said folding her arms. "Who's telling what kind of trouble will be thrown our way with the bounties on you and that moron over there." Nami pointed toward Luffy who joined in the dancing with the sniper and cook. "Aren't you the least bit concerned?" she asked with a pointed look as Jou pondered that question while holding his chin.
"Maybe a little," Jou smirked. "But come on, cheer up. Whatever horrible situation comes our way, we'll handle it. We've beaten the odds so far. We'll just have to do it again."
"That doesn't reassure me," Nami sighed. "Those idiots clearly don't understand." Jou gave Nami a blank stare. "This is no time to be relaxing in the East Blue." Jou figured Nami was right about that. It was just about time to head into the Grand Line. It made Jou just as giddy as the others dancing in front of them. It was going to be dangerous but that didn't ruin the others' good time. Jou let out a quiet chuckle that went noticed by Nami who gave him a puzzled expression.
"Then I guess that makes me an idiot, too," Jou stated with a smile. He hopped off the railing and approached the group. "Hey, guys!" Jou got the celebrating trio's attention. "Who's ready to go to the Grand Line!" Jou exclaimed as he rose a fist in the air.
"We are!" Luffy, Usopp, and Sanji cheered.
"Hell yeah!" Jou shouted as he fist-pumped a second time. They each resounded in a collective cheer as the Grand Line celebration continued. The scene caused Nami to sigh once more in annoyance.
Zoro was napping at the front of the Going Merry having heard the news of bounties on his Captain and crewmate. Zoro had a feeling things were about to start escalating for their small crew.
30 million and 25 million berri's, Zoro thought. With amounts like those, Marine headquarters will take action. Not to mention there will bounty hunters to deal with and with bounties like those, they'll be good.
Marine Headquarters:
High-ranking Marine officials were gathered together in a room, each with grim expressions. They had important matters to discuss recent occurrences regarding rookie Pirates in the East Blue.
"So, even a conservative estimate of their power says they're too much for our branches to handle?"
"That's right," a green-haired Marine answered next to a bulletin board. "Even before forming his Pirate group, he defeated Marine Branch Captain 'Ax-hand' Morgan which he did single-handedly. And since then he showed no signs of slowing down." On the bulletin was a row of bounty posters of known Pirates in the East Blue. "Buggy 'The Clown': 15 million, 'Pirate Fleet Commodore' Don Krieg: 17 million. He took them down." He slapped Luffy's wanted poster on the board.
"Fishman Pirate 'Sawtooth' Arlong: 20 million was beaten by him," He placed Jou's wanted poster on the bulletin board. "These Pirates were big players and that had bounties of over 10 million berri's. By comparison, the average bounty is only 3 million berri's. It's true that 30 and 25 million berri's as starting bounties is globally unprecedented but in my opinion, it's necessary. It's best to destroy such seeds of villainy early on before they had a chance to get out of hand."
"Absolutely," a Marine officer agreed.
The pre-Grand Line celebration ended as the crew went to their own activities. Nami was lounging while reading the paper, and Sanji was cooking lunch. The crew sailed past a Marine ship. The ship itself appeared to be in bad condition, almost as if it could fall apart at any moment as it made a turn back to the Merry.
"That ship that we passed a second ago is back," Jou noticed.
"It looks like it just came out of battle," Luffy observed. "That thing barely floats."
"Looks like it's seen better days," Jou figured as his eyes scanned the ship. "Can you even call it a ship anymore?"
"That's a real shame," Usopp commented. "Floating scrap ships in the sea."
"This is not a scrap ship!" a voice called from the Marine vessel. "Are you guys blind? Have you forgotten the face of 'Iron-Fist' Fullbody!"
It took Jou a second to realize it was indeed the very same Marine officer that got his ass handed to him by Sanji at the Baratie. Jou wondered if the bastard got demoted for how things went at that restaurant.
"Oh yeah, you're that Marine guy I saw one time," Luffy seemed to remember the man as well. "Are you stranded? Need some help?" Luffy offered which caused Fullbody's face to redden with anger.
"Maybe some directions?" Jou gave a teasing smirk as Fullbody became even more upset by the second.
"Quit fooling around!" Fullbody demanded as he clenched a fist. "Our meeting spells the end for you, Monkey D. Luffy! Kusari Jou!" he held Luffy's and Jou's wanted posters in each of his hands. "You're under arrest!"
"Yep!" Luffy grinned. "That's us alright."
"It sure is," Jou smiled.
"And the back of my head!" Usopp chimed with a grin.
"It says dead or alive," Fullbody stated.
"Oh, really?" Jou said with mock wonder. "I couldn't tell. Thanks for letting us know you can read."
"Wha-I can too-!" Fullbody stammered. "Shut up! I won't be made a fool like this!"
"Too late," Jou replied. "You already made a fool of yourself. Remember, at the sea restaurant?" Jou smiled as he reminded Fullbody. The memory caused Fullbody's face to turn red in anger once again.
"MEN, TAKE AIM!" Fullbody ordered his Marines as they started to get the cannon ready to fire on their ship.
"What's all that noise?" Nami wondered as she looked from her newspaper.
"I guess they're gonna shoot." Luffy figured as he wasn't even a bit worried.
"I guess so," Jou agreed with arms folded across his chest. Jou himself wasn't concerned with Fullbody's cannon taking aim at them.
"This is bad!" Usopp screamed fearfully.
"You want me to do the honors, Captain?" Jou asked Luffy as he flicked his red chain from his wrist and took hold of it.
"Nah, I got this," Luffy said. "Just leave it to me!" he grinned as he winded his arm. Jou saw Zoro stand from his resting spot with his sword in his hand.
"Why don't you let me handle this, Luffy?" Zoro suggested.
"Yeah, relax," Usopp agreed as he grabbed the Captain and pulled him out of the way. "Trust him, all you'll do is mess this up." Jou took a few steps back to give Zoro room to do his thing.
"Your story ends here!" Fullbody exclaimed as he gave the signal for his men to fire. The cannon fired as the projectile flew toward the ship. Zoro unsheathed his sword and with a downward slice cut the cannonball right down the middle, splitting it in half. Both halves fell into the ocean with two separate splashes.
"Woah, that's cool," Luffy commented.
"That's impossible!" Fullbody exclaimed in shock.
"It can't be impossible if you just saw him do it," Jou remarked.
"I was trying to take a nap," Zoro glared.
"THERE'S LOT'S MORE WHERE THAT CAME FROM!" Fullbody shouted as he was obviously not having it. "FIRE!" They aimed their cannon once more. Looking closely, Jou noticed the tip of the cannon had a few cracks in it which was not good. Well, it wasn't good for the Marines, at least.
"This is bad," Luffy stated. "Real bad."
"What is?" Usopp questioned. "What's bad?"
"Just watch this," Jou noted. Their cannon backfired and a cloud of smoke billowed out. The smoke cleared and revealed a charred Fullbody and Marines.
"Too bad," Luffy said. "Their cannon had cracks in it."
"You're right," Usopp agreed. "That is bad."
"That right there is a perfect example," Jou explained. "Never fire from a broken cannon."
"Right!" The captain and sniper agreed with the lookout as the Marine ship rammed into the Going Merry.
"You wretched little brats!" Fullbody exclaimed. "Never mock a former Marine HQ Lieutenant! We'll just have to go hand-to-hand!" he leaped aboard the Going Merry. "Men, follow me!" The rest of Fullbody's Marines ran aboard with swords. Fullbody went straight for Luffy and reeled back his fist with the knuckle brace. "Your head is mine!" he punched Luffy which only caused Luffy's head to stretch backward as his hat fell off.
"Gum-Gum..." Luffy's head retracted and caught his hat before it could fall into the sea. "Bell!" Luffy slammed his head into Fullbody's. The former Lieutenant flew back onto the front rail of the Going Merry.
Jou with both chains in his hands sent all the Marines flying off the Going Merry. He had some help from Sanji who came out with a frying pan and wearing an apron with a panda. After Sanji kicked the Marines back to their ship, Fullbody screamed as he laid his eyes on the cook.
"You got a lot of balls, tough guy," Sanji commented. "Picking a fight during lunch. I should kill you. Unless you made a reservation, I'll have to ask you to leave." Fullbody once again screamed like a frightened wild animal and joined his fleeing Marines by jumping ship into the ocean.
"Well, I guess he's done," Luffy stated as he adjusted his straw hat on his head.
"He was all talk," Usopp stated with his arms folded. Even though, the sniper didn't even do anything to help.
"That was honestly disappointing," Jou frowned. "Here's to hoping we get someone stronger to come after us at some point."
"That guy is still nothing but a wimp," Sanji muttered.
"C'mon you guys, could you keep it down!" Nami complained. "Honestly, I can't even sit and read a paper!"
"Nami~!" Sanji swooned. "I finished preparing for you a delicious meal~!"
"Ooh! Yeah, let's eat!" Luffy cheered. "Food! Food! Food!"
After finishing the meal the crew had, Jou sat on the side of the cabin with arms rested behind in his head. Jou was brought to thinking about a friend he made back when he was a kid. She was a girl, the same age as he was and she was his first-ever friend when he lived in Bouy village. She left a few years before he did to become a marine.
We're close to the Grand Line, Jou thought. I can feel it. My dream. I wonder if she made her dream come true to become a marine? Assuming I come across her, I shouldn't tell her I'm a pirate. That may be a bad idea considering what happened 10 years ago. But I still want to take a chance and see her. I wonder if she's any different from the last time I saw her.
Jou closed his eyes and let his mind drift to days long passed. Thinking of his old friend and the day they first met.
Rana...
12 years ago...
Kusari Jou age: 7
Jou was on his way into the Sunset island forest. He came here regularly to train with his mom and hunt animals as part of the training, too. He stepped through the forest and admired the different trees of varying sizes. But while Jou was walking through, he had the faintest idea something was behind him.
Jou quickly turned and saw a small-hoodied person climbing down a nearby tree. One of the smaller trees, too. The person in question wore a purple sweatshirt with the hood obscuring their face, a pair of jean short shorts, and white boots. The person didn't notice Jou as they leaped off the tree and somehow knocked him on his backside.
"What the...?" a high-pitched voice came from the person.
A girl...? Jou thought. The person removed their hood as a good amount of wine-colored shoulder-length hair spilled out.
"Who are you?" the girl asked as she turned revealing her features. She had a pair of green eyes, and her skin was a light tone.
Jou didn't meet a lot of girls his age in the village. He couldn't help but think she was pretty for someone who looked as old as he was. Jou was too busy staring at her until he noticed the hand from the girl.
"C'mon, gimme your hand," the girl said as Jou took the offered hand and was pulled.
"Um, sorry about that," Jou apologized.
"Why are you sorry?" the girl wondered. "I knocked you down, remember?"
"Right," Jou said as he rubbed the back of his head. "So, why were you climbing a tree?"
"Isn't it obvious?" the girl questioned as Jou rose a brow. "I was training."
"Training?" Jou wondered.
"Yep, I was strengthening my arms to make them stronger," the girl mentioned.
"I see," Jou agreed as according to his mom, tree-climbing or climbing, in general, was a great way to build muscle strength.
"I'm training because when I grow up..." the girl continued. "I'm gonna become a marine."
"A marine?" Jou questioned.
"That's right," the girl replied.
Jou's face almost paled when he heard the girl's goal to become a marine. Likely not a good idea to mention that both Jou's mom and Vic used to be Pirates back then. Jou decided to change to a different subject.
"Do you live in the village?" Jou asked. "I don't think I've seen you here before?"
"I do," the girl answered. "Moved to the island recently. I'm staying with my Grandma."
"Where are your parents?" Jou wondered.
"They are..." the girl seemed hesitant to answer right away which Jou took note of but wasn't going to pry. "On duty. They're both marines. And I'm gonna follow in their footsteps when I grow up."
"Really?" Jou pondered. Jou doesn't see him ever joining the marines. That would make things awkward with his mother's previous Pirate life. But it was cool to hear that someone else his age had a dream and goal to work toward. Like him wanting to find the All Scope.
"Welp, nice talking to ya!" the girl waved as she started stretching. "I got more training to do."
"So, what kind of training are you doing now?" Jou asked.
"I'm gonna climb another tree," the girl stated. "But this time one of the taller ones."
"I see," Jou said. He thought about leaving this girl alone to her training but wanted to talk with her more and came up with an idea. "How about I climb one with you?"
"Why?" the girl wondered with a risen brow.
"I train, too," Jou mentioned. "I may not look it but I'm actually pretty strong."
"You don't say...?" the girl seemed to be observing him. Jou was kinda nervous as she gave him an intense stare from head to toe. The girl shrugged her own shoulders in a none-caring way.
"Don't seem like it," she said. "But if you are as strong as you say..." she said with a snap of her fingers. "How about a challenge? We'll both climb tall trees, whoever reaches to the highest point wins." the girl pointed to a pair of trees side-by-side. "Those two will do."
"Well, okay," Jou nodded.
"Nice," the girl grinned. "Glad to see you're not a chicken." Jou and the girl took their places in front of their respective trees. Jou decided to do a few stretches to ready himself, the girl did the same.
"Ready..." the girl began as she and Jou got into ready stances. "Set... Go!" The challenge was on.
Jou leaped on the tree and pulled up with all the might he had. He shuffled up the tree and leaped to grab a branch whenever he saw one within reach. Jou saw the girl was steadily making her way up as well. He did catch a sweat pouring from her head, but Jou felt sweat coming from him, too but knew he had to pull through and prove he was strong. Jou noticed the girl managed to get up the tree rather quickly, but Jou had good strength. Jou managed to reach the highest point before the girl did. He sat on a branch and waited for her to finish her own climb. The girl reached a branch equal to Jou's own tree branch.
"I reached the highest point first," Jou smirked. "I guess I win."
"Yeah, I guess you proved you are strong," the girl commented. "So, what's your name?"
"My name is Jou," Jou introduced.
"Jou?" the girl repeated. "Short and simple. Nice."
"What's your name?" Jou wondered.
"Ask me when we get down," the girl winked. Jou and the girl did just that. Jou was careful as he clambered down the tree and reached the ground.
"Okay, I made it," Jou said as he looked around. "Uh, hello? Where'd you go?" Jou didn't expect it but someone appeared to have jumped from somewhere high and landed on his head. "Ah! What the-!"
"Surprise attack!" it was the girl's voice. Jou's own instincts kicked in as he pulled the girl from him and flipped her off his head causing her to let out a yelp as he pinned her to the ground flat on her back.
"What was that about!?" Jou shouted in disbelief. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"
"Just testing you!" the girl answered. "You weren't kidding? You are strong." Jou sighed as he released the girl and sat on the ground to stop his beating heart. The girl stood and dusted herself and laughed in her hand.
"Rana," she said.
"What did you say?" Jou asked.
"That's my name," the girl said as she pointed at herself. "Rana."
"Rana, huh?" Jou repeated as he thought for a second. "That's a nice name. I think... that's a pretty name." Jou noticed Rana's cheeks turn red which caused him to wonder if he made her uncomfortable. "Oops, sorry. I don't know why I even said-" Rana lightly shoved him causing Jou to stop babbling.
"Relax," Rana smiled. "Thanks though. No one's ever said that before. So, Jou? You seem alright. Wanna be friends?"
"Friends?" Jou questioned. He was astonished, to say the least. Jou's never had a friend his own age in the village before. Not to mention he didn't think his first friend to be a girl, though that shouldn't matter. Jou was only surprised Rana wanted to be his friend.
"Why would you wanna be my friend?" Jou asked.
"Hmm?" Rana hummed as she tilted her head in a confused way. "Why do you say that?" she seemed almost disappointed. "Do you not want to be friends?"
"I didn't mean it like that..." Jou stated as he adjusted his hat. "It's just, I never had a friend. And never made friends with the other kids. The other boys pick on and make fun of me. It's just a bit surprising, that's all." Jou took a sudden interest in the ground as he was met with a fist punching his shoulder. He grimaced as he looked at Rana while rubbing his arm.
"For starters, I don't like those boys as much as you do," Rana mentioned. "You know, they see and make fun of me and call me 'strawberry'." Rana gently touched the locks of her own hair. "My hair is darker than a strawberry. What do you think, Jou? About my hair? Does it remind you of a strawberry?"
"No," Jou answered quickly. "You're right, it's too dark for a strawberry."
"Ha!" Rana gave a short laugh. "I knew there was a reason I liked ya. Definitely smarter than the village boys. Plus, you're cooler than them. You got something you want to do when you grow up? You know, a goal or something or other?" Jou figured he could tell her about his dream.
"Promise you won't laugh?" Jou asked.
"Promise," Rana said as she rose a hand. Jou wasn't sure he believed but here it goes.
"I want to find the All Scope," Jou stated.
"All Scope?" Rana repeated.
"It's a telescope," Jou explained. "But not just any telescope. It's one that lets you see all around the world." Jou's eyes brightened as he explained his dream. "When I grow up, I'm gonna go on a big journey into the Grand Line to find it." Jou saw Rana just giving him a stare with confused, blinking eyes. "At least, that's what I want to do." Jou seemed to sink into himself.
"You got a dream," Rana smiled. "I got a dream. They're different but I think we can make them come true. So let's make a promise. A promise that we'll complete our dreams." Jou's eyes widened as he looked at Rana. "So, how about?" Rana rose a hand. "Are we friends or what?"
Jou was hesitant but knows it would be nice to have a friend his age. A grin spread across Jou's face as he clasped hands with Rana and gave his answer.
"Friends."
The two kids talked all the way back to the village. Jou saw his mom who waved at him as she saw him. Jou waved back at his mom and noticed Rana's puzzled look.
"Who's that?" Rana asked.
"That's just my mom," Jou answered.
"Really?" Rana wondered. "Let's go meet her."
"Okay," Jou shrugged. Jou led Rana to his mom as they approached her.
"Hey, Jou," Becky greeted. "And who might this be?" Before Jou could say anything, Rana stepped toward his mom.
"Nice to meet you," Rana smiled. "I'm Rana."
"Same to you, Rana," Becky replied. "I'm Becky, Jou's mom. I honestly haven't seen you in the village before."
"I moved here with my grandma," Rana explained.
"Well, welcome to the village," Becky smiled.
"Excuse me?" a new voice cleared their throat. An elderly woman with white hair in a bun, wearing a sweater and a long skirt came out of the house.
"Grandma," Rana said.
"Oh, there you are, Rana," Rana's grandmother said. "Where have you been?"
"I was playing with..." Rana looked at Jou and grinned. "My friend."
Your friend?" Rana's grandmother saw Jou standing beside his mother. "I see. And what's your name?"
"My name is Jou," Jou introduced with a smile. "It's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, too," Rana's grandmother smiled and looked at Becky. "And you must be his mother? My name is Erin."
"Kusari Becky," Becky introduced. "Becky." Becky shared a handshake with Erin.
"I actually came looking for Rana," Erin said. "It's time to head home now." It was getting late, the sun was starting to set. "Good night," Erin called with a wave.
"Night," Becky smiled and returned a wave.
"See you tomorrow, Jou," Rana said as she left with her grandmother
"Yep, tomorrow," Jou agreed as he and his mom left for their own home. On the way back, Becky gave Jou a knowing smile.
"You've made a good friend today, huh Jou?" Becky asked. Jou grinned at his mom in response.
"Yeah, I think I did,"
Jou's daydreaming was interrupted when he felt someone literally shaking out of it. Whoever was doing it, grasped his shoulders and rocked him back and forth.
"Jou, wake up!"
The violent shaking caused Jou's head to spin. He regained focus by blinking his eyes. Jou saw the culprit that throttled him was his own Captain who grinned once Jou noticed him.
"Good, you're awake now," Luffy laughed.
"Of course, I've been awake this whole time," Jou stated as he pushed Luffy's hands away. "Jackass, you can't just shake people like that."
"How else was I gonna get you to snap out of it?" Luffy wondered as Jou sighed at him and adjusted his own hat on his head. "Anyway, now that you're up, come on! Nami wants to have a meeting to discuss how we're gonna get into the Grand Line."
"Really? Wouldn't want to miss that." Jou said. "Why didn't you start with that to begin with." Jou hopped to his feet and followed Luffy toward the front of the ship. Everyone gathered around as Nami sat on the deck with a map in front of her.
"Finally, it's about time," Sanji remarked as he saw Jou. "Nami's about to give us a wonderful explanation and we had to wait for your lazy ass."
"My mistake," Jou shrugged. "I just had some things on my mind, that's all."
"Okay, now that Jou's finally joined us..." Nami started. "I just want to start off by saying we're getting closer. We've almost made it to the Grand Line and it looks like the only way into it is here..." Nami pointed out a spot on the map. "Through 'Reverse Mountain'."
"What a pain," Zoro commented with arms behind his head. "There's gotta be somewhere around that thing."
The way into the Grand Line is into a mountain? Jou wondered himself how were they were gonna be able to get through or around it as Zoro figured. Jou couldn't help but think how his own mom who's been to the Grand Line got past the mountain to reach it.
"There's not," Sanji replied. "From what the geezer told me, that's the only place to enter."
"Well, how come?" Usopp questioned.
"Because, it's really dangerous," Sanji answered.
"Yeah, but how come?!" Usopp wondered again with hands on his hips.
"I just told you everything I know!" Sanji snapped. "Geez!"
"You wouldn't happen to know, would you?" Jou asked Nami.
"Actually, I do," Nami nodded. "See the reason..."
"Hey!" Luffy interrupted. "I got an idea! Why don't we just sail straight into it!" Nami's face just became irritated which went noticed by Jou.
"Uh oh, there's the angry Nami face," Jou said. "Careful Nami, your gonna give yourself wrinkles." Nami's angered glare went to him.
"Would you just shut up!" Nami shouted at him. Jou's only response was raising both his hands in surrender.
"Hey, I'm just giving helpful advice," Jou stated. "I'm not joking about the wrinkles, it's true."
"No, you're just getting on my nerves," Nami retorted. "You and Luffy." She looked toward the captain. "And are you really that clueless!"
"My way sounds a lot funner!" Luffy remarked with a grin. "Plus, it'd feel way better to just dive into it, ya know?" Nami looked as if she were about to rampage until Jou cleared his throat beside her.
"So, about those wrinkles..." Jou brought it up once more. Nami glared daggers at Jou but only sighed and put a hand on her head in frustration.
"You both drive me completely insane!" Nami exclaimed. Jou snickered as he put a hand on her shoulder.
"Alright, I've had my fun..." Jou smiled. "I'm actually about to make a suggestion to help us out here. We're about to head into the Grand Line, right? How about we stop somewhere for supplies?"
"Great idea, Jou!" Luffy smiled. "We need to stop at a place that sells meat! Lot's of meat!"
"Well, sure," Jou shrugged. "Food would be nice great, too." Nami pointed a finger to a little spot on the map.
"There's a famous city on this island," Nami explained. "Known as 'Loguetown'." That name of that city was familiar to Jou as he's heard about it before from his mom.
"Loguetown?" Luffy questioned. "Why is it famous? Do they got delicious meat?"
"Loguetown is a place with all sorts of stuff," Jou interjected.
"Like what?" Luffy asked. "Have you been there?"
"No, but I knew someone who has," Jou explained. "I hear it's a big city with all sorts of shops, too. As I mentioned, Loguetown is the perfect place to pick up whatever we need. But the city of Loguetown is known as something other than its given name."
"It's also the city of 'The Beginning and the End," Zoro mentioned.
"It's the town where the old King of the Pirates, Gold Roger, was both born and executed," Nami remarked solemnly as everyone went silent once she gave that info. Luffy was looking at the map with a serious expression.
"That's where the King of the Pirates died?" Luffy asked.
"Well...?" Nami said with a smile.
"Yeah, let's do it," Luffy decided. "This was the man who had the One Piece. Everything the world has to offer, I need to see where he was born and executed." The crew's destination has been decided. Loguetown, the city of the Beginning and the End. Gold Roger's hometown where he was executed.
Next chapter we'll actually be in Loguetown. This is a setup chapter but it did reveal some new info. A rule I follow is that Jou will never have a higher bounty than Luffy, he's captain so it makes sense he's higher.
Jou may have defeated Arlong but Luffy still beat more pirates than Jou did. Sure, Jou fought that OC pirate captain in the first chapter but that guy was small fry compared to Arlong.
I also hope that the backstory for Jou and Rana was okay. I mean, I want it to be different than the one from the previous story. It was initially going to be longer but I felt it kinda dragged. Also, writing dialogue for children is tough(not sure how it feels for other writers, but writing children gets harder as you get older).
Well, that'll be it for this chapter.
I'll see you guys next time.
Later!