I do not own One Piece
It is owned by Oda
I just own the OC's
Enjoy!
Reverse Mountain/Whiskey Peak opening: Gamushara - Miyuna(Black Clover OP 5
[Jou POV]
Igarappoi, Mr. 8 or Igaram was practically pleading for Jou, Luffy, and Zoro to save Miss Wednesday who just so happened to be a princess. Now, Jou wouldn't have thought of that and just wanted her and her partner gone the moment they reached their island. But with being the Grand Line, others must encounter people such as royalty. Jou had already told Igaram 'no', but a certain money-lover on their crew had other ideas.
"I say we hear him out..." Nami chuckled. "After all, he did say we'll be rewarded."
"Oh hey, it's Nami," Luffy stated nonchalantly.
"Nami...?" Zoro wondered.
"Wh-What did you say...?" Igaram coughed. "Ma~! Ma~ Ma~!"
"Right," Jou spoke bringing the attention to him. "While we were busy fighting these guys, I came across Nami during it all."
"Nami was awake, too, this whole time," Luffy blinked.
"Yeah, I thought you were asleep?" Zoro asked the navigator.
"Give me some credit," Nami commented hopping down from the building. "Who in their right mind would go to sleep in a town that welcomes pirates like Whiskey Peak? It was all an act, a charade, a pretense. 'Oh, I can't drink anymore but I have to win the contest'!" she exclaimed raising an imaginary cup to her mouth.
"Whatever," Zoro grumbled.
"Oh, well," Luffy said. "At least the food was tasty."
"Let me guess..." Jou interjected. "You're about to demand money for the girl's safety, right Nami?" Nami approached Jou, quickly smacking his shoulder all with the grin on her face and causing him to flinch.
"Oh, you know me so well, Jou!" Nami remarked.
"It was just a guess..." Jou murmured rubbing his shoulder.
"So, if we save your princess..." Nami grinned at Igaram. "You'll give us the reward you mentioned. How does a billion berri's sound? If we don't agree to help your precious princess..." Nami's voice became more devious the further she spoke. "She's probably going to die."
"I'm just a simple soldier..." Igaram said nervously. "I can't promise such an immense reward."
"Hmm?" Nami hummed kneeling in front of Igaram. "Surely you weren't suggesting your princess' life is worth less than that, right?"
"Doesn't really fight fair, does she?" Zoro stated folding his arms.
"Nope," Jou shook his head.
"I can't promise anything!" Igaram exclaimed. "But if you are willing to deliver the princess to Alabasta then you had best negotiate the terms with her!"
"Which I have to save her first, huh?" Nami wondered with a grin.
"Please understand...?" Igaram said gravely. "Her life is in danger!"
"Oh, alright..." Nami sighed as she stood up. "I'll go ahead and save your darling princess now." An overjoyed grin came over Igaram's face. He was just happy that his princess was going to be saved. Jou figured Nami wasn't going to do it herself once she turned to Zoro
"Zoro!" Nami called each of them. "Don't just stand there! Hurry up and go get her!"
"Of course, she'd get one of us to do it," Jou sighed and turned to find Luffy walking away. Knowing the captain, he probably wasn't interested at all in the slightest and didn't care about any of this.
"If you wanna make money, then fine!" Zoro claimed. "But you don't have to involve me in it!"
"Don't be stupid and stubborn!" Nami insisted. "The money that I make is certainly mine but the contracts that I land benefit all of us. Why can't you see that?"
"Do you seriously expect me to buy any of that crap!" Zoro shouted with shark teeth.
"What? All you have to do here is cut up a few guys." Nami mentioned.
"Don't try to boss me around like you do that idiot cook!" Zoro added.
"This'll be a perfect opportunity for you, Zoro..." Nami stated with her hands on her hips. "You still owe me some money from a while back."
"What?" Zoro questioned crossing his arms. "I don't owe you anything."
"Yeah! I lent you a hundred thousand berri's for swords in Loguetown!" Nami reminded.
"Here it goes..." Jou mumbled to himself. He told Zoro this would happen when he borrowed money from Nami and now she's using it against him.
"I gave you the 100 thousand back almost right away!" Zoro claimed. "The swords were given to me so I didn't even need your stupid berri's!"
"Maybe so..." Nami said. "But you agreed to pay me 300% bringing your total to 300 thousand berri's! And you agreed to it!" she wagged her finger. "You still owe interest!"
Jou couldn't believe they were just standing here while a supposed princess they were asked to save was in danger and Nami is trying to con money from Zoro which he obviously doesn't have which led to another low sigh to come from Jou. Just wasting time doing nothing wasn't helping anything so Jou came to a decision himself of what should've been done.
"But I-" Zoro started.
"Alright, enough!" Jou exclaimed as Nami, Zoro, and Igaram stared at him. "Fine! I'll do it! I'll save the girl! I'll save the princess!"
"Y-You will...?!" Igaram stammered with a clearing of his throat.
"We don't have time for this," Jou sighed. "The girl could be dead already for all we know."
"Now, wait a minute, Jou!" Nami interrupted. "You know Zoro owes me after Loguetown. So if anyone's going to help the princess, it should be him!"
"While we stay here, the girl could already be dead." Jou voiced. "I'm going. It won't take long either."
"But wait...?" Nami seemed to try and stop him. But Jou didn't listen and walked past her, rotating his neck a few times.
"Thank you!" Igaram said, his voice sounding grateful. "You have no idea what this means to me or our country of Alabasta!"
"Yeah, don't worry," Jou smiled at the man. "I'll bring her straight back here..." Jou gave a nod. "Safe and sound, I promise."
"Be careful," Zoro warned. "You don't know else those other two are really capable of."
"Well, I actually wasn't planning on going alone," Jou mentioned. He turned his head back to his captain who was laying on his side, resting his head on his palm. "Hey, Luffy! Wanna help me rescue a princess?"
"Nah," Luffy replied. "Not interested. Don't care."
"Hey, Luffy!" Nami shouted.
"Please, Straw hat!" Igaram pleaded. "I need your help!" Jou should've known Luffy wasn't really into helping someone he doesn't even know. Jou thought for a second and smirked realizing the only way to get Luffy to come along.
"I'll handle this," Jou said, strolling over to Luffy's side. "Captain, If what the tube-hair guy said is true, if the girl really is a princess then she'll reward us. I know you're not the type to care about money, but I'm certain there's something you'd rather have." Jou looked back at Igaram. "Hey, you're not pulling our leg, right? Is she really a princess?"
"Yes," Igaram nodded quickly. "Princess Vivi Nefertari of Alabasta Kingdom."
"Right," Jou replied. "Think about it, Luffy. She's a Princess, if we bring her back to her home then she might reward you... with food."
"Food..." Luffy repeated, popping an eye open.
"Right," Jou said. "Think about it? A kingdom's princess is bound to have plenty of chefs that'll cook us a royal feast for bringing back their princess safely. Once we find the girl, you can ask her about the food." Jou didn't know if that was all going to work. He'd be lying to himself if he said he wasn't surprised when Luffy stood from the ground, adjusting his straw hat.
"Then which way did she go?" Luffy wondered.
"Wow, that was quick..." Nami deadpanned.
"Luffy'll do just about anything if it means he can fill his stomach," Zoro retorted.
"She went that way," Jou pointed out. "Okay, we're off. If we're not back until then, come find us."
"Got it," Zoro nodded. "Have fun."
With that, Jou along with Luffy went to rescue a princess. It may have not been for any noble reason but they were on their way. But Jou still hoped that the princess wasn't going to be dead by the time they even found her.
[No POV]
"I'm so ashamed..." Igaram bemoaned. "If I have been stronger I could've protected Princess Vivi like she deserves."
"You've got nothing to worry about," Zoro mentioned. "Those two can handle anything. The girl will be just fine."
"If anything were to happen to Princess Vivi, the kingdom of Alabasta, it would be..." Igaram sighed. "It would be done for." Both Zoro and Nami stared at Igaram, noticing the dire look in his eyes as tears began to fall from them. "She must escape! She has to!"
[Vivi POV]
"Run quickly! Run, Carue!" Vivi called as her duck continued to sprint through Whiskey Peak's streets. Vivi had to get away. She knew it was only a matter of time before they finally figured out who she was. But that didn't matter, Vivi needed to escape or Igaram's or Mr. 9's sacrifices will be in vain. If Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine catch up to her, there will be nothing she can do for her kingdom.
"There's a ship docked behind the Cactus Rocks!" Vivi insisted. "We're going to take it and escape from this place! And then we'll be on our way to Alabasta!" They hurried through town until an explosion erupted from up ahead. "Carue, stop!" Vivi ordered her duck to come to a halt. Smoke billowed out from the previous detonation as the obvious source appeared in the form of a silhouette.
"Oh no!" Vivi cried. "It's Mr. 5! They found us! Hurry, Carue! Move!" Carue continued his sprint carrying Vivi to safety from the pursuing agents. Vivi and Carue scurried away and soon came across the familiar face of Miss Monday.
"Miss Monday?!" Vivi exclaimed.
"Go on!" Miss Monday declared. "You can reach the ships by traveling through here!" She gestured behind her, pointing in the opposite direction. "I'll stay here and hold off the others! After losing to 'Dual-Chain' and the green-haired swordsman, we're all going to be punished for failing our mission anyway." The muscled woman remarked, carrying a wooden support beam. "At least if I do that, I can go down while helping protect a friend."
Vivi was happy that Miss Monday still considered her a friend. She almost wanted to cry and didn't want her to sacrifice herself like this but she was giving the princess a chance.
"What're you waiting for?!" Miss Monday questioned. "If you get killed or captured, Mr. 8 and Mr. 9 will have sacrificed themselves for nothing! Now, get going!" Vivi held back her tears and knew Miss Monday was right and respected her demand.
"Thank you," Vivi nodded and continued past Miss Monday who was staying to buy her some time.
"First Mr. 9 defected and now you," Mr. 5 stated. "Tsk tsk... Miss Monday."
"I am not going to let you pass!" Miss Monday affirmed. "Because I made a promise to a friend!"
"Ahahahaha!" Miss Valentine cackled. "That's adorable!"
"You are an utter disgrace!" Mr. 5 exclaimed. "In the name of Baroque Works!" As Vivi was making her escape she halted Carue and turned around when she heard a loud boom behind her. Vivi found the defeated form of Miss Monday and Mr. 5 standing over her, shrouded in flames.
"No... Miss Monday..." Vivi gasped. "How could they?" Vivi's eyes narrowed in a glare. It tore her up to see the people she's worked with for a while be hurt like this.
"Haha..." Mr. 5 chuckled. "That's why they call me the 'Bomb Man'. You see, I can make any part of my body explode and thanks to my 'Bomb-Bomb' fruit power, there hasn't been a single mission that I have failed to complete."
"Hahahha!" Miss Valentine laughed while she drifted through the air. "And thanks to the 'Kilo-Kilo' fruit power that I possess, I can bury that traitor, Miss Monday, in the ground forever!" she exclaimed with a twirl of her umbrella. "I can change how much I weigh whenever I want! Right now I'm light enough to be lifted by a slight breeze! But I think it's time to start gaining weight!" From where she floated in the sky, the woman started to plummet at a great velocity. "5 kilograms! 50 kilograms! 100! 500! 1,000! 10,000 Kilogram press!" She came down on Miss Monday with so much force that it caused the ground to shake. Miss Valentine stood up, displaying a cocky grin. "So, do you really think you can escape us?"
"You don't have a chance of getting out of here in one piece," Mr. 5 smiled. Vivi didn't know what to do at this point. Could she fight them on her own? No, she would surely lose but Vivi knew she couldn't give up. She had to survive. For her kingdom.
"We'll survive," Vivi declared. "I will escape. I will make it back home. To Alabasta Kingdom." Vivi's proud claim did nothing as Mr. 5 only responded by digging a finger in his nose.
"Take this!" Mr. 5 aimed his arm toward her. "My Nose Fancy Cannon!"
Vivi almost felt her life flash the moment Mr. 5 sent his projectile at her. She felt time slow, feeling like this may be the end. All fear soon faded away, as, by chance, someone appeared in front of her. It wasn't just anyone, it happened to be one of the pirates. The one with the blue hat and a pair of chains on his wrists. He swung the red chain outward and seemed to knock away Mr. 5's projectile. Just moments ago, she tried to kill him? Why was he here now?
"It's... it's you!" Vivi exclaimed in astonishment. The projectile was sent off, Vivi feeling a rush wind from the swing of Jou's chain and an explosion had gone off behind them.
"That could've... me..." Vivi murmured not even able to form a coherent sentence. She had almost died but Jou came just in time but Vivi still didn't know what he was doing here? For some reason, Jou's body was slightly shivering, and not even paying attention to anyone and only looking down at his chain.
"Wh-Why are you here?!" Vivi questioned him.
"I..." Jou finally spoke. "I... I..." he sounded like he wanted to cry. "I'm sorry, mom! I ruined your chain with someone's bugger!"
Vivi blinked her eyes at him. He just put himself in-between her and certain death and he was only concerned about his chain having touched a bugger? Vivi groaned softly, she didn't have time for this. She needed to get away now.
"Dammit!" Vivi shouted at him. "I don't have time to deal with you!" she spun her Peacock Slasher and swung it at Jou. Jou without turning around brought up his head and without turning it, smacked it away with a single wave of his chain.
"Calm down," he told her. "I'm not here to fight. I'm here to help."
"What...?" Vivi wondered. He was here to help her?
"How nice that you'd simply go out of your way to attack your rescuer, your 'highness'," Jou half-turned his head to her, giving a smirk. "Or is it 'milady'? I don't really know how to address a princess. Eh, oh well." He shrugged and swung his chain onto his shoulder. "Relax. We are here to help."
"We?" Vivi wondered. Appearing from around the corner was Luffy, who went to stand beside Jou. "Wait a minute? You're here, too? What's going on?" Luffy didn't say a word but finally turned his head to her with a blank expression. Vivi assumed he was about to say something to her.
"Are you really a princess?" Luffy questioned. "If we help you beat these guys up, you'll give me food, right?" A look of confusion went to Vivi's face again, her eyes blinking. The both of them apparently had come to help her and now the captain was demanding that she'd give him food? Weren't they pirates? You would think they would want money? Not like she'd be able to give them any? But instead, wanted food? What was going on?
[Jou POV]
Jou was lucky to have heard the commotion while he was searching for the girl as he and Luffy split up to cover more ground. The girl, the princess could've been killed if Jou didn't get there in time. Thanks to the exploding snot from one of the people after Vivi, its noise was what got Luffy to get over here. Now that Jou and Luffy were here, they can protect the girl but first, they had to deal with these guys.
"Okay, we should take them..." Jou stated. "Quickly."
"Yeah," Luffy agreed.
"Hey," Jou called the princess. "Don't move from that spot. Got it?"
"What...? But...?" Vivi wondered.
"Don't move," Jou said a bit more sternly this time. "Understand? We'll talk when this is done, alright?"
"O-Okay," Vivi nodded.
"It's settled then," Jou smirked and flicked his right wrist and grabbed his steel chain. With that in mind, Jou and Luffy made a run toward Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine.
"Kahahaha!" Miss Valentine laughed. "They really think they can take us!"
"Heh," Mr. 5 gave a short chuckle. "Pathetic." Jou and Luffy continued their advance, getting closer to the Princess's pursuers as Luffy made the first attack.
"Gum-Gum Pistol!" Luffy threw a punch at the two while Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine easily side-stepped the punch. Jou reached into his holster for a knife and hurled it at Miss Valentine. The woman grinned and bounded off the ground, her body seemed to float in the air.
"Hahaha!" Miss Valentine laughed. "That's the best you can do!" Luffy's arm pulled back toward him with a snap and with a spin and kicked out with his leg and swung out with it.
"Gum-Gum Whip!" Luffy's leg reached out at Mr. 5. The man ducked under Luffy's stretched limb. Jou made a dash at Mr. 5, twirling his chains and letting off an attack.
"Dual-Chain Cyclone!" Jou hurled a burst of wind at the exploding man. Mr. 5 was sent backward, skidding back on his feet. Jou was about to attack him again until he found a shadow looming over his head.
"Forgetting little 'ol me!" Miss Valentine announced. "Get ready for my 10,000 Kilogram Press!" The woman dropped down at a great rate.
"Fade-Step!" Jou vanished from sight and appeared at a safer distance to avoid Miss Valentine crashing on top of him. Jou had no idea there was a Devil Fruit that allows one to control their weight to basically lift them off the ground like they weigh nothing or drop like they weigh a ton. Luffy was still rushing to strike Mr. 5 but the man was getting ready for the charging captain and reaching into his nostril.
"Gum-Gum Battle Ax!" Luffy extended his leg above his head about to descend it down onto Mr. 5. The man directed his arm toward the airborne Luffy.
"Annoying Punk!" Mr. 5 exclaimed releasing his explosive. The boom impacted into Luffy causing him to be sent flying off.
"AAAAH!" screamed Luffy as he crashed into a building.
"Luffy!" Jou yelled for his captain.
"Miss Valentine!" Mr. 5 called his partner. "Take care of that one!" The man went in the direction of where Luffy was sent.
"On it, Mr. 5!" Miss Valentine chirped.
"You, jackass!" Jou started running after Mr. 5 but skidded to a halt once Miss Valentine landed in front of him.
"Kahahaha!" Miss Valentine chortled. "Did you honestly think it would be this easy against us? We're ranked much higher than the Mr. 8 and 9 pairs! I don't have a clue why you're even protecting her even after she tried to kill you? It doesn't matter anyway, after I kill you, she'll have no one else to-"
"Dual-Chain Cyclone!" Jou threw a gust of wind at the annoying woman. The gust hit her causing her to be sent backward. Miss Valentine shouted in alarm as she was thrown backward into a building, the structure collapsing on top of her. Jou took his chance to attack while she was busy giving her speech. He heard footsteps slowly easing away behind him.
"You better stay right there," Jou said. The princess on her duck halted in place as Jou didn't bother turning around to face them. "You still don't trust us, don't you? Listen, 'princess', we're the best chance you got staying alive. We promised the Igaram we'd help you."
"Igaram?" Vivi wondered. "He's okay?"
"Yeah, he's alright," Jou said.
"Your friend...?" Vivi questioned. "The captain on your crew? Is he okay? Mr. 5 is one of Baroque Work's best agents! There's no way he survived!"
"I'm sure he's fine," Jou shrugged. "Hey, Luffy! You good, right?" Jou found his captain walking back to meet them, dragging an unconscious Mr. 5 in his hand. "See that? I told you he'd be fine."
"He fought Mr. 5 and won?!" Vivi exclaimed.
"You sound surprised?" Jou smiled amusingly.
"Now I'm really annoyed!" Jou looked up to find Miss Valentine floating in the air. The woman was covered in scrapes, her teeth clenched. "I hope you're ready to experience my Kilo-Kilo Fruit power! Hahaha! Prepare to be smashed into pieces and buried a hundred meters into the ground!"
"Hey, you need to move!" Vivi warned.
"Hmm?" Jou wondered. "Why?"
"There's a reason why Miss Valentine is Mr. 5's partner..." Vivi explained.
"You are aware my captain just destroyed that exploding booger guy, right?" Jou reminded. "Don't worry about me." Jou gave the princess a wink. "She doesn't know it yet but I got an ace up my sleeve."
"Huh?" Vivi mouthed.
"10,000 Kilogram Press!" Miss Valentine dropped but Jou didn't move from his spot and started twirling his chains, garnering wind with them.
"She's going to kill you!" Vivi called in concern.
"Nope!" Jou replied. "Dual-Chain Whirlwind!" Jou flared out with his chains, a spiral of wind forming in front of him. This allows him to try something he's never done before, he jumped into it himself. Jou let the wind spin him into the air to meet the descending woman.
"Kahahaha!" Miss Valentine chortled. "You moron! Throwing yourself into your death so soon?!"
She seemed rather pleased as if she'd already won. Until Jou planted the sole of his boot on hers so she touched the Seastone laced on the bottom. It completely stopped her, causing a look of confusion to come to Miss Valentine's face.
"What the...?" she wondered causing Jou to smirk. He wrapped his chains around her ankles and pulled her down. Jou vaulted through the air, hoisting Miss Valentine over his head. The woman shrieked as Jou threw her toward a building, causing her to crash into it with the structure crumbling to pieces from the force of Jou's toss. Jou landed on the ground and watched the rest of the building fall apart.
"Huh... that might've been a bit overboard," Jou commented shrugging his shoulders. "But, ah well." Luffy made his way beside him as Jou gave his captain a nod and turned to look at Vivi. The princess's jaw was dropped, and even her duck was also dumbfounded, a matching expression similar to its owner. "Well... now that you're safe for the moment... let's say we have a chat."
Not long after, Nami and Zoro showed up to join the conversation. Nami brought the talk to the demand of payment for bringing the princess home. Jou should've known Nami would take a chance at trying to get money out of the girl. Although, despite the situation, Jou did admire Nami's enthusiasm when it came to her 'get rich' tricks still this was hardly the time. Maybe they could figure out what kind of trouble this princess is in.
"There you have it!" Nami chirped to Vivi. "You've seen how strong these guys are..." she pointed at Jou, Luffy, and Zoro. "We can get you home no problem. All I'm asking for is 1 billion berri's! If you ask me, it isn't a bad deal."
"No, I can't," said the princess. "But I appreciate the help so far."
"Why not?" Nami questioned. "You're a princess after all. So, aren't you rich?" Vivi didn't say anything, only taking an interest in the ground from where she sat. Jou wondered what the issue was between her and this Baroque Works.
"If you don't mind me asking..." Jou chimed in. "Those people? Why did they want to kill you? I get that you're princess and all but there must be another reason?" Vivi was quiet for a bit. Jou thought if maybe he's made her uncomfortable or maybe she's afraid to tell them any more than what she already knows.
"Do you know much about Alabasta Kingdom?" Vivi mentioned suddenly.
"No," Nami shook her head.
"Alabasta is a great nation..." Vivi started. "A peaceful kingdom... at least it used to be?"
"Okay, I'm sensing things have changed now," Jou wondered.
Yes, they have," Vivi nodded slowly. "We're in the middle of a civil war. In recent years, signs of discontent began to appear. Finally, the people revolted and the kingdom fell into utter chaos. Then one day I learned of a secret organization." The princess' fist clenched tight in anger. "Called Baroque Works! They found out our people were being manipulated by this organization but that was the only information I could gather about them. I didn't know what to do so I went to Igaram for help. You see, he's kept a close eye on me ever since I was a child."
"Old tube hair man?" Luffy spoke raising his hands around his head indicating who he was talking about.
"Tube?" Vivi questioned in confusion until realizing who Luffy meant. "Oh yes. I asked him if he would help me infiltrate Baroque Works so I could see who was pulling their strings behind the scenes and what exactly they were up to."
"You've got some guts considering you're a princess," Zoro grinned.
"I agree," Jou smiled. "It's honestly pretty brave of you to risk your life for your country."
"So, were you able to find out what their plan was?" Zoro wondered as Vivi nodded.
"To create an ideal nation," Nami brought up. "Anyway, that's what Igaram said it was. Is that what you found out?"
"It's not," Vivi replied. "That was only the cover story the boss was using. It's a lie to cover their tracks. Their true goal is to take over Alabasta Kingdom! I have to get back somehow to warn everybody to tell them the truth and stop the fighting. If I don't do something... if I don't tell them..." Jou saw the girl's lips start to tremble. She bit them to hold back the tears that threatened to leak out as this whole thing had to be tough on her.
"OK, I get it," Nami sighed. "I see how it is. Yeah, it's all starting to make sense now. I suppose you wouldn't have much money laying around during a civil war."
"Hey!" Luffy called excitedly to Vivi. "So did you find out who's in charge?" This question caused Vivi's eyes to widen.
"What?!" Vivi exclaimed. "The boss' identity?! You shouldn't ask that!"
"But you know, don't you?" Luffy asked.
"Ask me anything but that!" She frantically waved her arms in front of her. "If I tell you, your lives will be put in danger, too!"
"Yeah, I'll pass!" Nami smiled nervously. "This guy is trying to take over an entire country after all! I don't really want someone like that chasing after me thank you!"
"No, you don't!" Vivi declared. "I don't care how strong you people are! You wouldn't stand a chance against him! One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea! Against Crocodile!" Once she announced the name, everyone just became quiet.
"Who now...?" Luffy wondered. Vivi covered her mouth just now registering what she'd just blurted out.
"Ya had to say it?" Zoro commented.
"Guess we know who the guy is now," Jou sighed. He noticed a pair of animals sitting atop a building. An otter and a vulture, both oddly dressed and watching them until they flew away as Nami started to violently sway Vivi by her coat.
"WHY DID I JUST SEE A BIRD AND OTTER?!" Nami screamed. "WHERE DID THEY FLY OFF TO?!"
"Hey, a Warlord?" Luffy smiled. "That's cool!"
"Not too bad," Zoro agreed.
"Being chased by a Warlord of the Grand Line..." Jou wondered. Jou's heard a little about the Warlords: Pirates who have their bounties frozen and in return work for the Government. Crocodile just had to be one of them. The guy must be tough and he's brave or crazy enough to try and take control of an entire country. "I guess that's pretty impressive if you think about it a certain way."
"I DIDN'T REALLY MEAN TO! REALLY! IT JUST SLIPPED OUT!" Vivi cried as Nami continued throttling her. Nami released her, tears leaking from her eyes.
"Being hunted by a Warlord in the Grand Line!" Nami sobbed. "That's more than I can handle!"
"So when do we get to see this guy?" Zoro wondered.
"I wonder what he looks like?" Luffy questioned.
"He's a Warlord, so I imagine he's gotta be pretty strong," Jou pondered with a hand on his chin.
"SHUT UP!" Nami suddenly shouted as Jou found her trekking away from them.
"Hey, where do you think you're off to?" Jou wondered.
"It's been nice knowing, you idiots!" Nami growled. "Thanks for everything!"
"Where are you going?" Luffy asked.
"They don't know what I look like yet!" Nami claimed. "I'm leaving!" Nami didn't get very far. The same otter and vulture from earlier were in front of her. The otter was sketching on a pad and once finished, showed his drawings. The first was a sketch of Nami with a smile on her face, the second was Luffy with a bored expression, and the final remaining two were of Jou and Zoro, each of them with a blank face in their drawings.
"Wow! That's so lifelike!" Nami praised with a few claps, and the otter and vulture flew away. Nami likely realizing she couldn't leave now, begrudgingly went back to the group. "No use leaving now!"
"I'm sorry," Vivi apologized to her.
"She'll get over it," Luffy mentioned.
"Yep," Jou agreed. "She can't stay mad forever."
"Where was she planning on going anyway?" Zoro questioned. "Well then..." he grinned. "Looks like the four of us are gonna be sitting at the very top of Baroque Works hit-list."
"That sounds awesome!" Luffy chuckled. Nami's head was in her knees with Vivi at her side trying to comfort the distraught navigator.
"Um, I do have five-hundred thousand berri's in savings that I can give you," Vivi said.
"You have nothing to fear!" a voice called.
[No POV]
Everyone looked and found Igaram dressed in the princess's current outfit and carrying four dummies in each arm. "It's- Ahem! Ma~! Ma~! Ma~! It's going to be alright, princess. I've come up with a plan."
"Igaram?" Vivi wondered stepping up to him. "What are you..."
"That's a really funny outfit, old guy?" Luffy commented.
"Yeah, really..." Jou added dryly.
"My dear Princess Vivi..." Igaram said. "Please listen to me carefully; once Baroque Works intelligence network learns what happened here. Agents will be sent after you immediately and since they're aware that you've learned the boss' true identity. You must..."
"Yes," Vivi agreed. "Knowing them, they'll send a thousand agents after me." Nami looked at them with a dreadful look on her face.
"Thus my plan..." Igaram affirmed. "Disguised like this I will pretend to be you. I'll take these four dummies on board with me and I will sail a straight course to Alabasta."
"So these things are us?" Luffy wondered poking one of the dummies.
"A decoy," Jou and Zoro noted together.
"While Baroque Works is busy chasing after me, the rest of you will head with Vivi to Alabasta Kingdom," Igaram stated. "Following a less direct route."
"Hold on just a second!" Nami shouted. "Who said we were gonna take her with us?! We still haven't discussed the matter of payment!"
"Yeah!" Luffy surprisingly agreed. "If we bring her back home, she'll give us food."
"So, does that mean we're taking her with us?" Jou wondered.
"Yeah, why not," Luffy nodded.
"Crocodile may already be after us?!" Nami shouted with shark teeth.
"Is this Crocodile guy really that dangerous?" Luffy questioned.
"One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea's," Igaram mentioned. "He is a legally recognized pirate and because of that, there is no bounty on his head. However, long ago his bounty was worth 80 million berri's."
80 million?!" Nami screamed. "That's four times Arlong's bounty! There's no way!"
"Yeah, like seriously," Jou remarked folding his arms. "The amount on Crocodile makes Arlong's look like nothing more than pocket money."
"Will you do this for us?" Igaram asked Luffy.
"Sure," Luffy grinned. "It sounds like it'll be fun." That agreement caused an irritated groan to come from Nami.
"We are forever grateful," Igaram avowed.
[Jou POV]
With the Igaram's decoy plan, the man got his boat ready to set sail. He may have tried to kill them just to show he was loyal to Baroque Works but he was actually a very noble person to lead their eventual pursuers away from them which Jou felt was quite admirable of him.
"Now, I, Vivi will leave from here!" Igaram claimed with his voice in a much higher pitch.
"Great imitation, old guy," Luffy snickered.
"Imitation of who?" Zoro said aside to Luffy.
"Princess...?" Igaram said. "Please give me the Eternal Pose." Vivi pulled an unfamiliar object from her pocket. Jou didn't know what it was but it sorta resembled an hourglass but seemed to hold some kind of compass on the inside.
"What's an Eternal Pose?" Nami questioned.
"It's sorta like a permanent version of the Log Pose," Igaram explained. "Whereas a Log Pose will always lead sailors to the next island on the course, an Eternal Pose will forever remember the magnetic energy of the island that's stored inside it. So it will always point to that island and none other and this Eternal Pose is set to Alabasta Kingdom."
"And you're going to use this to set your course home?" Vivi questioned Igaram, staring at him with almost sad eyes.
"Princess Vivi..." Igaram spoke. "Please take the indirect island-hopping route to Alabasta. I have never gone that way myself but you should only have to pass two or three islands if you follow the log." Igaram looked to Jou, Luffy, and the others. "Please, take care of the Princess in my absence."
"Yeah!" Luffy agreed with a smile.
"Igaram...?" Vivi frowned at the older man.
"I expect that your journey is going to be a different one," Igaram mentioned. "Please, be careful." Vivi seemed as though she wanted to say more but instead decided to shake Igaram's hand.
"See you soon," Vivi promised. Igaram settled onto his boat with the dummies and had begun to sail away from Whiskey Peak.
"May we meet again safely in our homeland," Igaram said. Everyone watched him drift from the island, each of the four pirates smiling along with the princess.
"And off he goes," Luffy stated. "He's not so bad a guy. He was such a funny old man."
"What's more..." Vivi added. "He's a very reliable old man."
"He seems to really care about you a great deal," Jou mentioned to Vivi. "I'm sure you'll see him again once you reach your home."
"I'm certain of it," Vivi nodded with a grin.
Everything seemed to slow down yet happened so fast. Igaram's boat was cruising away from Whiskey Peak until it suddenly erupted in a burst of bright flames, its orange hue acting as a bonfire that was settled on the ocean. Smoke billowed out from what remained of the blazing vessel. For a while, no one uttered a word but the one who was the most taken away by this was the princess.
"Oh no..." Nami breathed. "They're already after us?! That's impossible!" The force of the eruption caused Luffy's hat to be knocked off, he picked it up and placed it on his head, a yell of anger and frustration came from the captain until he took off running. Vivi was silent watching the flames coming from Igaram's ship that spread across the water. Jou was quiet himself, not because of what happened but of something else. He heard someone shouting but could barely hear them as he was in his own thoughts.
"Nami, the log!" Zoro exclaimed.
"We're fine, it's all set!" Nami replied.
"Jou, let's get outta here!" Zoro called to him. "Jou?" No matter how much Zoro shouted his name, he didn't move an inch.
Zoro's voice became quiet as Jou's own focus was on the boat currently in embers. It was a memory. The very night those pirates arrived at his village. There was a burning ship, except Jou himself was on it. Him and his mother. It was something that stuck with Jou ever since he was a kid. The distant memory from what happened 10 years ago still played back in his mind, it almost made him feel like he was a 9-year-old again back on that ship. The Rasor pirates ship.
"Jou!" Zoro's voice finally got through to Jou and out of his trance.
"What...?!" Jou shook his head, turning to Zoro.
"Quit spacing out!" Zoro told him. "We need to go! Now!"
"Right," Jou agreed with a nod and followed the swordsman. Jou soon realized this must've been horrible for Vivi. She lost someone important to her. Jou turned to find Vivi on her knees, Nami kneeling at her side, her arms wrapped around the princess's shoulders attempting to comfort her.
"What about Vivi?" Jou wondered.
"Nami's got her," Zoro assured. "C'mon, let's hurry back to the ship!"
"Fine, right behind you," Jou agreed and rushed with Zoro to the Merry but Jou couldn't help but turn back to the upset princess.
"Vivi!" Nami called. "We have to leave! If they get us now it will all be for nothing! Don't worry, we are going to get you home! I know they don't look like much but they're strong! They saved the East Blue! Just the five of them! Baroque Works?! Give me a break! Crocodile?! Hah! Those guys are the ones who should be worried!"
[No POV]
It was time to finally leave Whiskey Peak for good now and get the Going Merry ready to set sail from the island.
"Zoro, give me a hand with the anchor," Jou told the swordsman.
"Yeah," Zoro complied as they lifted the anchor from the water.
"Hey!" Luffy called. "I got 'em!" The captain carried both an unconscious Usopp and Sanji in each of his arms.
"Bring 'em up!" Zoro said. "We're ready to go!"
"What?" Luffy looked between the sleeping sniper and cook. "They're still asleep?"
"We don't have time to look for him!" Nami exclaimed. Both Jou and Zoro turned their heads to find Nami in a discussion with the princess.
"I'm not going to just leave him here!" Vivi affirmed.
"What's her deal, Nami?" Jou wondered.
"Apparently her ducks gone missing!" Nami mentioned. "And now she's refusing to leave without him!"
"This duck," the lookout and swordsman pointed to Carue who was sitting on Merry's deck, letting out a quack and holding up a wing.
"He's here?!" Nami and Vivi questioned together.
"He was here when we showed up," Jou stated.
"There's a tributary just up the river," Vivi said while climbing the ladder that led onto Merry's deck. "If we take it we can get up to the sea faster." Jou made his way toward her to give the princess a hand aboard and did the same with Nami once she made her way up.
"Alright!" Luffy ordered when the sails lowered. "Let's go!" The ship started to sail toward where the tributary was located.
"Hey!" Zoro called Vivi.
"Mr. Bushido..." Vivi looked at him.
"How many people do you think Baroque Works will send after us?" he asked.
"I'm not sure," Vivi claimed. "I know that there are about two-thousand loyal employees in Baroque Works and I heard that there are several bases like this one that are set up in the area."
"They really might send a thousand people?!" Nami wondered in disbelief. Finally stirring from their sleep was a certain cook and sniper, each of them looking around confused.
"What?" spoke a now woken up Sanji.
"Hey!" Usopp voiced as he woke up. "The ship's leaving?!"
"Look who finally decided to join us," Jou commented.
"Hold on a second!" Sanji shouted. "Can't we stay one more night?!"
"One night!" Usopp agreed.
"This town is full of amazingly cute girls!" Sanji shouted.
"Who knows if we'll ever have this much fun again!" Usopp added.
"Even Pirates deserve a vacation!" Sanji insisted.
"Jackasses," Jou muttered. "Should we toss them overboard?"
"We should've just left them behind," Zoro remarked. "Geez." Nami dragged the whining sniper and cook to 'explain' what was going on.
"You tell them what's happening?" Jou asked.
"I did," Nami nodded. "They listened very carefully." What actually happened was that Nami had knocked the two unconscious rather than give a detailed explanation of what the situation was. "But I left out the complicated parts." The ship made its way through the canal while a fog set in around it.
"We should be reaching the sea soon," Vivi noted.
"Hey, cool," Luffy stated excitedly. "Look at all the fog."
"Finally!" Nami said with relief. "It's getting light out."
"I'm just glad we got away from the people chasing us," said an unfamiliar voice.
"True," Jou nodded. "We'll be long gone by the time anyone tries to chase us."
"With all this fog we need to be careful to avoid the rocks," the voice mentioned in its soothing tone.
"Good idea," Jou agreed but soon rose a brow. "Wait? Who said that? Were you answering me, Nami?"
"No," Nami shook her head. Jou turned his head and found who the voice belonged. "What the...?" Everyone else saw who was on the Merry. Seated on the top guard rail of the upper deck was a woman with dark hair, and piercing blue eyes, her skin was tanned and wore a two-piece purple Indian-style outfit with a matching hat and boots. She gazed at the crew and princess amusingly with a leg crossed over the other.
"What?" Zoro wondered. "Who's that?!"
"It's... it's you...?!" Vivi exclaimed. The woman only smiled and gave a soft chuckle in response.
"I just happened to run into your dear Mr. 8 little ways back..." the woman mentioned. "He didn't look so good."
"So you killed Igaram?" Vivi questioned with a glare.
"You?!" Luffy jabbed a finger at the woman. "What're you doing on my ship? And how did you get here?!"
"Answer him?!" Vivi added. "What are you doing here?! Miss All Sunday!"
"Miss All Sunday?" Jou questioned.
"So you know who she is?" Nami asked. "Which of the numbered guys is she partnered with?!"
"Her partner is Mr. 0," Vivi stated. "The boss."
"Crocodile's her partner?!" Nami shouted in surprise.
"She's a bad guy," Luffy said.
"She was the only one who knew the boss's identity," Vivi claimed. "That's how we found out who he actually is. By following her back to him."
"To be accurate, I allowed it," Miss All Sunday declared casually.
"So she's a good guy then," Luffy remarked.
"I know you knew we were there!" Vivi affirmed. "You were the one who told the boss what we knew! Weren't you?!"
"That's right," Miss All Sunday replied.
"Alright, then she is bad," Luffy mentioned with a glare.
"Luffy, would you cut it out already." Zoro insisted.
"You still haven't told us what it is you're doing here?!" Vivi yelled.
"Oh, right..." Miss All Sunday frowned. "You were just so serious about the whole thing that I couldn't help myself. A Princess doing whatever it would take to help her country. Or making herself an enemy of Baroque Works. The idea was just so..." her smile returned. "Ridiculous."
"YOU KILLED HIM!" Vivi shouted at the top of her lungs. Sanji appeared aiming a pistol while Usopp pointed his slingshot, both on either side of Miss All Sunday. Zoro unsheathed a sword, Jou flicked both his wrists and grabbed both his chains, Nami pulled out her staff. Each of them looked ready to attack the woman all at once.
"Sanji, uh...?" Usopp wondered. "You do realize what you're doing here, right?"
"Nope. Not a clue." Sanji answered. "I just know that the beautiful Miss Wednesday needs me."
"I would really appreciate it if you would..." Miss All Sunday's smile lowered. "Stop pointing those at me." Sanji and Usopp were each flipped over the railing and sent falling on the deck. Nami's staff was suddenly knocked out of her hands.
"You mean...?" Zoro said.
"Does she have a..." Jou said as he flinched as his chains were somehow smacked out of each of his hands.
"She's eaten..." Vivi said as Zoro's sword had fallen from his grasp.
"A Devil Fruit." Zoro figured.
"Which one?" Nami asked no one in particular. "What's her power?"
"Beats me," Jou answered. " But she can touch us without even moving." Sanji leaned up from the deck and the moment he saw Miss All Sunday his eye turned into a heart.
"Wow!" Sanji swooned. "Now that I get a look! You're beautiful!"
"There's no need to get so excited," Miss All Sunday smiled. "You can all calm down I haven't been given any orders to follow you here. I have no reason to fight you." Luffy's straw hat was lifted from his head and found its way to Miss All Sunday, the woman catching it in her hand and twirling it. "So you're the captain? I've heard so much about you. Monkey D. Luffy."
"GIMME MY HAT BACK!" Luffy shouted angrily. "YOU WANT ME TO COME UP THERE AND TAKE IT!"
"You are a bad person!" Usopp said from behind the mast. "I demand you leave this instant!"
"Bad luck," Miss All Sunday mentioned placing the straw hat atop her own. "Picking up a Princess who Baroque Works has already made up their mind to see eliminated. Protected by a mere handful of Pirates. But your luck gets even worse, because of the direction your Log Pose is indicating. You see...?" Nami looked at the Log Pose. "The name of the next island is 'Little Garden'. We won't even need to lift a finger. You'll all be dead long before you reach Alabasta."
"MY HAT!" Luffy shouted. "GIVE IT TO ME!"
"I-I told you to leave now evil... doer," Usopp said still behind the mast.
"Evil doer...?" Zoro rose an eyebrow. "Seriously?" Looking around, Zoro was first to notice that one of them was missing from where they were previously standing. "Uh, anyone seen where Jou went?"
"Huh?" Nami looked around. "I don't know? He was here a second ago?"
[Jou POV]
While everyone was keeping their attention on Miss All Sunday. Jou took this time to get behind her. He didn't bother gathering his chains off the deck, leaving them where they were sent from his hands. He had no clue if Miss All Sunday noticed him sneak away from where was and wondered if she already realized he was behind her. Jou lifted one of his knives, the blade almost touching her throat. The woman made no movement at all and instead kept her amused smirk giving Jou a side-glance.
"Kusari Jou..." Miss All Sunday mentioned giving out a quiet chuckle.
"What's so funny?" Jou wondered.
"You just look different from your wanted poster," she said curiously. "Not as bloody as it depicts."
"What can I say?" Jou replied. "I clean up alright."
"Obviously," Miss All Sunday smiled.
"Hey, bastard!" Sanji shouted at Jou. "Just what do you think you're doing!?" Jou ignored the cook keeping the knife close to Miss All Sunday. The woman started to raise her hand causing Jou to ease the blade to her throat.
"Don't move," Jou warned. "Or else."
"'Or else' what?" Miss All Sunday asked. "You'll kill me? You don't seem the type to kill anyone."
"You wanna bet?" Jou claimed. "Talk. You got five minutes to tell us what you want?"
"I don't want a thing," she mentioned. "I've just come to give you a word of warning..."
"Oh, how nice of you," Jou retorted.
"You don't think it's a little foolish...?" Miss All Sunday questioned. "Allowing yourselves to be wiped out." She raised her arm to toss Luffy's hat back to him. Afterward, she lifted her other arm, an object in the palm of her hand. Jou blinked his eyes realizing she was held.
"Wait, that's a-" Jou started.
"An Eternal Pose?" Vivi finished.
"Using that you can skip right past Little Garden without stopping," Miss All Sunday stated. "Straight to an island near Alabasta. The pose points to a place known as 'Naninonaishima'. None of our agents know that course so you won't be followed."
"What?" Nami wondered. "So she's good after all." Jou hasn't decided that yet. The woman was still a complete unknown. All Sunday had to be trying to pull something but here she was pretty much giving them a safe passage across the ocean away from her subordinates. It could mean one or two things. She is either actually allowing them to reach Alabasta, giving them and Vivi a chance, or Miss All Sunday is leading them into a trap. Jou didn't move his knife away from the woman's neck yet while she made no attempt to move.
"I have to know something..." Jou said. "Something I want to ask you if you don't mind."
"I don't mind at all," Miss All Sunday replied gazing at Jou. "But you must know I have done nothing to any of you so if you would be so kind as to move that knife away from me. I'm giving you chance, the least you can do is give me one. " Honestly, Jou was never going to try anything at all. Miss All Sunday was right, Jou wasn't the killing type and was not going to start now. It was only a threat on his part. Jou slowly moved away his throwing knife and sheathed it in its pocket. The woman gave a hint of a smile likely pleased already knowing Jou wasn't a killer.
"Why would you give us this anyway," Jou questioned pointing at the Eternal Pose. "Clearly we're enemies and for all we know you're sending us into a nest of your cronies. Now tell me, is this a setup?"
"That's simply for you to decide is it not," Miss All Sunday remarked. A vague response. Jou still wasn't sure if they could trust this woman but reached for the Eternal Pose she held with the name of the island she talked about. So far the crew made no objections to going to this island until Jou felt something snatch the Pose from his palm. Jou looked down to find his captain's arm pull back to him, holding the device in his hand.
"Forget your thingy!" Luffy affirmed. "We don't need it!" He crushes the Eternal Pose causing to break into pieces. Nami in a fit of anger swung up with her leg and kicked Luffy in the face.
"You jerk!" Nami cried with shark teeth. "She just went out of her way to show us an easier course to follow! Maybe she actually is trying to help us get away!"
"You aren't the one who decides where this ship goes," Luffy claimed to Miss All Sunday.
"Well, that's too bad," she frowned.
"She blew up the old tube-hair man and now I hate her," Luffy declared placing his hat on his head.
"I'm sorry to hear that and I'm sorry you didn't accept my offer," Miss All Sunday smiled again. "If you survive, I hope that we'll meet again."
"No!" Luffy barked at her.
"Looks like we're finding our own way to Alabasta," Jou stated with a small smile. Miss All Sunday looked at him, returning the smile. It was hard to tell if she was disappointed or amused with Luffy's choice.
"Evidently so," Miss All Sunday remarked with a short sigh. She stood up and went to the side of the ship and leaped from it. "Let's go, Banchi!" Jou and the others followed her to find Miss All Sunday seated on a huge turtle which was obviously her transportation across the sea.
"Woah?!" Luffy and Usopp mouthed together. "A turtle!" Vivi collapsed down onto her knees.
"That woman..." the princess murmured. "I don't even have the slightest idea what's going through her head."
"Then there's no point in thinking about it, is there?" Nami added.
"There's someone on this boat who's just like that," Zoro commented about a certain captain on their crew.
"Still, Miss All Sunday...?" Jou pondered with his arms crossed. "She's Crocodile's partner? I guess it's obvious we'll see her again."
"Okay, what's going on?!" Usopp exclaimed. "None of this makes sense!"
[No POV]
Everyone finally clued Usopp and Sanji in on what was going on and everything that happened after the Whiskey Peak party.
"I see," Sanji said smoking a cigarette. "It's too bad I missed out on all the fun. But it sounds as if there will be plenty of demand for my skills. No need to worry now that your sleeping prince is awoken, my sweet." he noted to Vivi. "You will be safe."
"Woah?!" Usopp remarked after the story was done. "Glad that wasn't me!"
"My dear..." Sanji smiled at Nami. "Are you jealous?"
"No," Nami affirmed quickly in a non-caring way.
"Excuse me?" Vivi questioned timidly.
"Is something wrong?" Jou asked her.
"Is it really alright that I'm on your ship?" the princess wondered nervously. "I'm just causing you all a lot of trouble."
"It's a little late for apologies, don't ya think?" Nami asked forcefully poking Vivi's forehead with her index finger. "If you didn't wanna cause us trouble you shouldn't have told us who you were."
"Isn't that right, Luffy?" Nami said.
"Yeah!" Luffy shouted. "I'm hungry, too!"
"That one worries me little," Vivi frowned at the captain.
"Well, for now at least we know where we're headed to," Zoro said.
"Little Garden, huh?" Sanji mentioned.
"Wonder what that place is like," Jou commented. "I guess we'll find out."
"Remember what she said," Usopp voiced fearfully. "Are we gonna die?"
"Haha!" Luffy chuckled. "Who knows?! Let's go, pirates!"
"Right!" Everyone replied in unison.
The next start of the crew's journey in the Grand Line had begun to take a princess home to her kingdom but before that, they had to make a stop before they reach it. Neither of the crew knows what's in store for them or what enemies lie in wait but being a Straw Hat pirate meant they'll figure it out as they go along.
Sorry this took so long. I've been busy at work. Funny thing, I work part-time but there are days I have to work on my days off. But other than that, this story is still going, and plus the manga has been pretty awesome as of late especially since it's now in its final saga and Film Red coming out.
Now let's get to finally answering some reviews.
Reviews...
FunkoHero15: I appreciate you saying that. There's plenty of this adventure to go.
FunkoHero135: Early concepts of Jou consisted of him being a swordsman. He would've been a good one but not on Zoro's level until I decided on the chain-fighting idea.
Jou: My author wanted me to have my own unique fighting style within the crew.
LockieBoy1819: Thanks, dude. I hope you're looking forward to the next one.
NoMaidens: Thanks, appreciate it.
searge: I just wanted to try something new and fresh instead of writing the exact same thing that happened in canon. Hence Jou brings Luffy into the mix.
pokemonking0924:
Jou: I mean, I didn't take down all of them...
Yeah, the bounty hunters still went after Zoro, too.
Clank 2662: I hope you enjoyed this one!
Drakedragon297: Yep, and we're almost back to where the previous one stopped.
ethan0bastian:
Jou: We sure are and we have some new ideas this time around.
firefist02: Thank you!
Okay, next time we'll start Little Garden. I got some changes I'd like to try, assuming things work out. I just want this story to stand out a little rather than just being OC is a part of the Straw hat crew and nothing really changes aside from them being there. We'll see how things go.
I'll see you guys next time!
Later!