Foreword: Holy shit, this story blew up! I didn't think I could still get this kind of traction on this site in 2024. Thanks for the follows and favorites y'all! If you also wanna leave reviews I'm always open to feedback! I'm honestly so happy that my writing is something people seem to enjoy, but just to warn you all, updates will be a tad slower moving forward. I wanted to release the first few chapters at once to give y'all a good amount of reading material, especially since the first two are definitely the shortest ones. As we speak, I'm currently wrapping up Punk Hazard, so I have a lot written out ahead of where the story is at as of this chapter, but I want to be sure to pace myself so my updates don't suddenly catch all the way up to my writing. Expect once a week updates from here on out. With all that said, I hope y'all enjoy!
Nearly getting hit by the Sea Train was a stressful experience. If worse came to worse, Itachi could have used his Susano'o to dislodge the Merry from the tracks, but thankfully that wasn't necessary. From there, the voyage to Water 7 went fairly smoothly. Once they docked just outside the city, Luffy, Nami, and Usopp opted to head into the city to take care of some business. Itachi decided to stay behind. He'd been to Water 7 before and thought it would be more fun for them to let them explore the city on their own rather than have him as a tour guide. After a while, Robin and Chopper left to do some shopping, and Sanji did the same in order to buy groceries (Itachi asked politely if he could please pick up some more tea). That just left Itachi and Zoro to watch the Merry. Zoro was napping, so Itachi sat back down and continued reading. Water 7 was, overall ,a safe place for pirates, unless said pirates tried to mess with Galley La, so there shouldn't be any reason for him to get involved.
He tried to concentrate on the book, but there was too much on his mind to properly focus. First, Luffy asking him to become a Straw Hat, then Robin asking him to keep them safe in her stead. And the way she was talking, it was almost like she knew something was coming for her soon. If that was the case, he would simply have to join the crew and help them rescue her, no matter what it took.
Still, who'd ever heard of a pirate with a higher bounty than his captain? He had to admit the thought was amusing.
I'll tell Luffy when he gets back. I'll become-
His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden presence of several men in strange black overalls with stars on the front. The Franky Family, if he remembered right. They were preoccupied with Zoro and hadn't seemed to notice him yet. He stood up, moving faster than could be tracked, and positioned himself behind them.
"Excuse me gentlemen, but why are you attacking my crewmate? Has he done something to wrong you?" he asked in as polite of a tone as he could muster.
"Oh, we're gonna wrong him," began one of them, slowly turning around to face him. "Him and you and your whole sh-" he cut himself off once he saw Itachi's face and recognized him. He immediately dropped his sword and fell to his knees. "We weren't gonna do anything, honest! We were just joking around with our good buddy, uhhhh..."
"What's wrong, bro?" asked another. "Why are you all scared now? There's only two of 'em; we can take 'em."
"No, bro, this is Itachi Uchiha, former 4th Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates! But what's he doing hanging out with the Straw Hats?!"
"Hey, how are you gonna attack someone and then just ignore them like that?" asked Zoro with a cocky smirk on his face. "Sure, Itachi is strong, but don't forget who you picked a fight with in the first place."
The Franky Family never stood a chance. Zoro alone would have been enough to beat them back, but with Itachi there as well, it was just a wash. A flurry of sword slashes, rapid series of strikes to vulnerable spots and pressure points; every move one of the pair made immediately resulted in at least one member of the Franky Family's defeat. They were all unceremoniously ejected from the deck of the Merry in under a minute, and with little effort. Zoro sheathed his swords and turned towards Itachi.
"Well, that was disappointing," he said. "They wouldn't have been much of a challenge to begin with, but with you here, it was just sad."
"Yes, quite the weak little bunch of misfits." said Itachi.
"Oh, by the way, don't think I missed that little comment about me being your crewmate. I guess that means you decided to join up?"
"Yes, I have," confirmed Itachi. "I was planning on telling Luffy when he and the others returned later."
"Well, good to have you aboard. I've been hoping for someone strong to spar with."
"Is that so? In that case, I'll try not to disappoint."
"I appreciate that," Zoro yawned. "For now, though, I'm gonna get back to my nap." He sat back down and shut his eyes.
A short while later, another unfamiliar face touched down on deck. Zoro mistook the stranger for Usopp at first, and by the time he realized the mistake, Itachi was already casually conversing with the man.
"Oh, Zoro, you're awake. This man is Kaku from the Galley La company, here to assess the Merry's damages."
"Oh, okay. Guess I'll get back to sleep."
After a few minutes of poking around, Kaku finished his assessment, and delivered the news to Zoro and Itachi.
Zoro was shocked. "No, is that true?" he asked.
"I never lie about my work," answered Kaku. "I'm a professional."
"I see," said Itachi politely. "Please deliver the news to our captain, and thank you for your time."
"I'm off to do that now," said Kaku. "I just hope he doesn't take it too bad." He leapt off towards the city, easily clearing hundreds of feet per jump. It reminded Itachi of home.
Itachi waved him off, then turned to Zoro. "Are you alright? I imagine this must be difficult for you."
"I'm not sure. Merry has been with us since East Blue. She's just as much a part of the crew as any of us. If it's really true that she's beyond repair, then what happens next depends on how Luffy reacts. And even then, Luffy's reaction isn't the main one I'm worried about. Usopp is gonna take it especially hard."
"Usopp?" said Itachi. "Why is that?"
Zoro explained the circumstances around recruiting Usopp and acquiring the Merry. To say the revelation worried Itachi would be an understatement. In the end, though, there wasn't much he could do in his current position. Telling Usopp about the Merry, as well as what to do about it moving forward, was the captain's decision. Itachi had been in this new world roughly four years, but he took great pains to learn as much as he could about ships and ship maintenance, although his knowledge base was still limited, especially compared to a career shipwright like the ones working at Galley La. But he did know enough to know how serious a damaged keel was. If Kaku was right and the keel was on the verge of snapping, then the only real option was to get a new ship. From what little he knew of Luffy, though, he would try absolutely anything else before resorting to replacing a crewmate.
I think he'll make the right call in the end, Itachi thought. But Usopp might be too attached to the Merry to accept it.
Shortly after, Sanji and Chopper arrived back at the ship with groceries in tow.
"Welcome back, you two," said Itachi. "Chopper, I thought you went out with Robin?"
"We got separated; I'm not sure where she is," replied Chopper.
Itachi's mind immediately raced with questions. That last conversation sounded like she was expecting to be captured at some point, but has it really happened this soon? And if so, by whom? She obviously trusted me to not say anything to the others, but is that right? Should I break that trust for her own good?
His train of thought was interrupted by Sanji. Zoro had just told him and Chopper about the Merry's condition.
"What? Is that true?"
"Well, that's what the shipwright said," replied Zoro.
"The ship…" said Sanji grimly.
"It can't be fixed even if we have money?" asked Chopper with a more obvious sense of distress. "Then… then what's going to happen to the Merry?"
"Beats me," said Zoro frankly. "Honestly, it really just depends how Luffy and the others react to the assessment. Either way, I'm sure they'll get it sorted out while they're at the shipyard."
"It just seems so extreme," cried Sanji. "I mean, look at her! Same old Merry that she's always been! We've traveled together all the way from the East Blue to this place; why now?"
"Because ships aren't like people," replied Zoro. "When a person gets a broken bone, it eventually heals and the area of the break can even be made stronger. With ships, the breaks and wounds just keep piling up."
Exactly," agreed Itachi. "But in either case, a bad enough wound to a vital point can cause a person or a ship to stop working altogether. And according to the shipwright, the keel is fundamentally broken. Think of the keel as the backbone of the ship. When a person suffers a severe enough injury to the spine, it can result in permanent paralysis as the body can no longer function correctly due to the bone and nerve damage. It's a similar case for a ship's keel. It may look fine now, but no matter how we try to fix it, it will only be temporary, and eventually, the Merry's structure will fail completely."
"Damn," said Sanji. "The Merry's in trouble, and Robin's gone missing. What next?"
"Hey, everyone!" called Nami. She was rushing up the road towards the ship. Chopper and Sanji leaned over the ship's railing.
"Look!" said Chopper. "It's Nami and she's alone!"
"Strange," said Sanji. "I wonder what happened to Luffy and Usopp?" He waved towards Nami. "Hi, Nami! Is everything alright?"
Itachi could swear he felt his blood pressure rise a little bit. If she's coming back alone, it probably means bad news, given everything else that's happening right now.
He didn't realize just how right he was. Nami explained everything that happened after they had gone into town, from two hundred million berries being stolen by the Franky Family and Usopp getting beaten up, to Kaku's assessment of the ship.
A short while later, Itachi was walking through the streets of Water 7. He, Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Chopper had all gone to find Usopp, and once they found him in a bloody, crumpled heap outside the Franky House, he left the others to dish out revenge and get their stolen money back, with Nami staying behind to look after the ship in case they moved on it again. Itachi left behind a Shadow Clone as backup. He decided it would be best to focus his own efforts on tracking down Robin. The Franky Family seemed to mainly be composed of small fries, so his presence was unnecessary on that front. The others were more than capable of beating down that lot.
He also took this time to think about his joining of the Straw Hats. My decision is final, but I think it would be best to wait until after all these other matters are settled. Between the feud with Franky, the state of the Merry, and Robin's disappearance, this doesn't seem like the best time to bring it up.
He spent several hours searching and asking around, even creating Shadow Clones in order to cover more ground, but hardly anyone knew anything, and those that had seen Robin had no idea where she had gone. Every possible lead had been a dead end. Even using his Sharingan to force people to divulge the whole truth had turned up nothing. The sun was beginning to set. Figuring that this was more than enough time for the others to get Usopp and take down the Franky Family, he set off back towards the Merry, disappointed that his search had turned up nothing. Robin seemed to have just disappeared into the aether.
Itachi opened the door and stepped into the deckhouse of the Merry. He almost immediately regretted it, given the conversation that was currently taking place.
"No, it's fine," said Usopp. "More importantly, is Merry gonna be okay? I mean, can we get her fixed with the money we have left?" The tension in the room kept ratcheting up as he continued to speak. "We're lucky we have all these awesome shipwrights to work on her, but I know things are gonna get rougher out there, so I want her to be stronger than ever before! We gotta do a lot more than just a little touch-up, so do you think they'll still do a good job with just a hundred million berries? You talked to them about it, right?"
"Uhhh, yeah," said Luffy in an uneasy tone. "But we're not gonna have them repair it. We're gonna get a new ship instead."
Itachi grimaced. Oh, I really wish you had handled that more delicately. To just come out and say it so bluntly is definitely gonna send the wrong message in this situation.
Luffy continued, and Usopp's face fell more and more at each word. "I know we probably shoulda asked you first, but we don't have much of a choice. Either way, I've made up my mind. Merry has taken good care of us, but it looks like our journey with her has to end here."
Itachi scanned the room. Everyone else was obviously uncomfortable with this situation, especially Chopper.
"Anyway," continued Luffy, picking up a small book with a blue cover. "Ice Pops gave us this awesome ship catalog to flip through! There's all kinds of ships we can pick from in here, and if we shop for a used model, we could go even bigger than the Merry and still keep our budget under a hundred million!"
"Wait," said Usopp. "I get it, Luffy, but the joke's gone on long enough, okay? See, Chopper doesn't even realize you're kidding! Look how upset this is making him. Jeez, captain, you should know better than to treat your crew like that." He turned towards Itachi. "Come on, Itachi, back me up here! You used to be a Commander on Whitebeard's crew, right? Tell Luffy it's not funny to joke like that to his crew!"
Itachi really wished Usopp hadn't singled him out in this, but he had to respond. "It's not funny because Luffy isn't joking."
Usopp looked stunned for a second, but then he rounded on Luffy once again. "No, does that mean we don't have enough money for the repairs?! It's because I lost the two hundred million, isn't it! And now we can't afford the work on the Merry, is that what this is about?! After all, a first-class shipyard must cost a lot, right?!"
"Would you stop and listen to me?" barked Luffy.
"Just tell me already! Don't sugarcoat it!"
"I'm not! I don't even care that you lost the money, that's all over now!
"If that's how you feel, then why are you talking all this crap about buying a new ship?!"
"Both of you, stop it!" shouted Zoro. "Fighting isn't gonna help, so just calm down for a second!"
"I don't see what I'm doing wrong," said Usopp. "He's the one saying all this dumb stuff!"
"I know how you feel," said Nami. "But you shouldn't get so worked up right now!"
"She's right, Usopp," confirmed Chopper. "If you don't get any rest, you won't be able to get better!"
"Who cares about me?!" yelled Usopp, getting angrier by the second. "How can you all just sit here when he's making jokes about buying a new ship?!"
Unfortunately, Luffy was also getting angrier. "I'm not joking about anything! This was a hard decision for me, too!"
"Oh, yeah, I feel real sorry for you!" shouted Usopp as he smacked the ship catalog out of Luffy's hands. "Already window shopping for a new toy!"
"Are you trying to pick a fight with me?"
"I don't want your damn pity! If we can't afford the repairs 'cause I screwed up then just say it! Don't show me some stupid catalog and change the subject, I wanna know the truth!"
"THE TRUTH IS THE MERRY CAN'T BE FIXED!"
The color drained from Usopp's face as he stood there in shock. "What… what did you just say?"
"Don't make me repeat myself. No matter what we do, the Merry can't be repaired anymore. We can't fix her, otherwise I wouldn't be saying any of this."
Usopp's shock quickly turned back into anger. "You mean this ship?! This ship we're riding on right now is broken?"
"Yeah," confirmed Luffy. "It's only a matter of time before she sinks."
"Do you have any idea how nuts that sounds?"
"I'm serious. The shipwrights took a look at her themselves. They say there's no chance she even makes it to the next island."
"So that's it, then? A bunch of strangers tell you to scrap your ship and you don't even question it?"
"That's enough."
"No, I understand these guys know what they're talking about, but this is just wrong! Don't you dare give up on the Merry! What about all the adventures we've been on?! What about all the battles we've fought?! She's one of us, and you're going to abandon her without a second thought?! After all we've been through, is that how little she means to you, Luffy?!"
"I know you're upset, Usopp," said Chopper, "but you need to calm down."
"No, I'm not backing down until we settle this."
"Usopp, please…" pleaded Nami.
Itachi was regretting his decision to postpone accepting Luffy's offer. Since he wasn't actually part of the crew yet, it simply wasn't his place to weigh in on the matter.
"What, so you know better than the shipwrights?" asked Luffy. "If we had someone on the crew who knew about this stuff, we wouldn't have asked them in the first place!"
"Then forget them! We don't need those guys telling us what to do! I'll just fix the Merry myself! We've made it this far, so there's no reason we can't keep going like this! Come on guys, give me a hand!"
"That's not going to work," said Sanji.
"You're right; we don't have enough lumber. I'll go buy some from the shipyard."
"You're not a shipwright, Usopp!" yelled Luffy.
"That's enough, Luffy!" yelled Nami.
"Yeah, I know, but so what?! I don't see why you're so hung up on what those stupid shipwrights say! If they knew what the Merry's been through, they wouldn't give up on her so easily! They just want your money! The Merry's our ship, so it's our job to take care of her without someone else butting in! I'm not giving up! I won't let them take the Merry from me!"
Whether or not it was his place, even Itachi was beginning to get frustrated.
"This is stupid! You got fooled by a bunch of salesmen trying to pawn off a used boat! The Luffy I know wouldn't cave to some sales pitch from a stranger! He'd believe in the strength of the Merry and the strength of his crew, but here you are, acting like you know everything and ignoring your friends!" Usopp stood and grabbed Luffy by the collar of his shirt. "I can't believe that's the kind of captain you turned out to be! I thought you were better than that!"
Nami tried to intervene. "You're not being fair, Usopp! Luffy felt that-"
"Stay out of it!" ordered Luffy before turning back towards Usopp. "It was my call and I stand by it! There's nothing you can do! We're getting a new ship whether you like it or not! This is the end of the road for Merry!"
"I'm not leaving her here no matter what you say! I know you're always trying to think of the future, but not everyone on this crew is like that! I see Merry as a friend, you understand? I won't abandon her when she's hurt!"
"Even if she is a friend, that doesn't mean she's a person!"
"Well, she is to me, and she still has the will to live, but you wouldn't appreciate that because all you care about is getting a new ship! Stop being selfish and think about your crew!"
Sanji tried to intervene, but before he could say much, Luffy tackled Usopp to the ground.
"Would you listen to yourself?! Don't act like you're the only one who's torn up about this! We all feel the same way!"
"If that were true, you wouldn't be talking about replacing Merry in the first place!"
"Fine, then! If you don't like the way your captain does things, then why don't you go ahead and-"
Luffy was cut off by a swift kick from Sanji, sending him careening into a stack of wooden boxes.
"This is going way too far!" he shouted. "If you don't watch it, you're gonna say something you can't take back, so calm down!"
The rest of the crew stood in stunned silence. Itachi fought back the urge to say something.
Luffy sat up slowly and put his hat back on his head. "You're right, I'm sorry. I dunno what I was thinking."
"You don't have to apologize," said Usopp, still lying on the floor. "'Cause that's how you really feel, isn't it?"
"No, that's not true!" retorted Luffy.
Usopp rolled over slowly to sit back up. "Just get rid of your dead weight before it can slow you down, right? If you're gonna get rid of the Merry, you might as well get rid of me, too."
Itachi couldn't stand to remain silent. "No one is getting rid of you, Usopp. The Merry is simply beyond repair and it's better for the safety of the crew to get a new ship. That doesn't mean you can't still come with us."
"You have no right to try and tell me anything!" screamed Usopp, getting to his feet and facing down Itachi. "What's with you using 'us' like that?! It's not like you're part of this crew or anything! But I bet this is what you've been waiting for, right?! Waiting for Luffy to get rid of me so you can be my replacement!"
Sanji stepped between Usopp and Itachi. "I know you're pissed off, but don't say stupid crap like that, Usopp!"
"It's not stupid if it's true! We all know how strong Itachi is! He held off that Admiral guy on his own back when he was attacking Robin! Right now, he's probably the strongest person in the room! Compared to him, I'm dead weight, so you might as well throw me out and get an upgraded crew member along with an upgraded ship, right?! Between the guy who can't even keep a bunch of thugs from stealing our money and the guy who can go toe-to-toe with an Admiral, it's an easy choice! No point in keeping me around when Itachi is so much more reliable than I could ever be!"
"No one here said anything about choosing between you two," said Sanji. "I know Itachi isn't officially a member, but think about it; if he thought you didn't belong with us, he wouldn't have said anything to begin with."
"I have been thinking about it, and that's why I'm saying what I'm saying!" said Usopp, turning to Luffy. "Luffy, I still think you'll be King of the Pirates one day, but as for me, I'm just lucky to have made it this far. Even back when we first met and I was gonna sail off on my own, you probably just let me on here out of pity, and that's the only reason I'm here." He turned to leave the deckhouse and opened the door. "There's no sense traveling together if we don't even have the same goals."
"Usopp, wait," said Sanji. "Where are you going?"
"Where I go isn't your concern anymore. It's my business and mine alone. Sorry guys, but I'm leaving the crew. This is goodbye." Then just like that, he left, closing the door behind him.
For several seconds, the entire group was in stunned silence, aside from Luffy and Itachi. Itachi had seen many arguments like this before, in his previous life. Heated debates between members of his clan, infighting among Konoha elders, things of that nature. He wasn't in the least bit surprised that this is how it had turned out. He knew what he had to do now, though.
Finally, Nami spoke up. "Hey, Luffy, don't just sit there! Who knows what he's gonna do out there! Go stop him before it's too late! We've come too far together; we can't part ways like this! Usopp's not just a crew member, he's our friend, right?! Get out there and stop him!"
Luffy remained seated in the wreckage of the boxes, unmoving. Tears began to well up in Nami's eyes.
"Luffy, what's wrong? Please, you're the captain, aren't you?"
Luffy remained where he was, and said nothing.
"Fine," said Nami. "Have it your way." She, Sanji, and Chopper ran out the door to catch Usopp, leaving Luffy, Zoro, and Itachi inside.
"Usopp!" Nami shouted desperately as he walked away from the ship. "Come on, get back inside! It shouldn't be like this so let's talk!"
"Yeah, come back!" shouted Sanji.
"I want you to stay!" wailed Chopper. "Don't leave! Usopp, please!"
Luffy finally stood and walked out onto the deck with the others. Nami turned to him.
"Luffy, please, say something."
But Luffy remained silent, his frustration written all over his face.
Usopp was the one who called out to him. "Luffy, I'm sorry I can't follow you anymore. And I'm sorry I was a nuisance 'till the bitter end. I know you're the captain of this ship, so the Merry belongs to you. That's why I want you to fight me, Monkey D. Luffy!" He turned around to face his former captain. "I challenge you to a duel!"
"Wait, hold on!" cried Nami. "What are you saying?"
Usopp pointed a finger at Luffy. "At ten o'clock tonight, I'll be back, so you'd better be ready for a fight, captain! I can't stop you from destroying your own ship, but if I win, I'm taking the Merry and leaving! Either way, when we're done, the last bond between us will be broken!" With those parting words, Usopp turned and left.
A little while later, Itachi was in the deckhouse with Zoro and Sanji, and the two were arguing over the day's events.
"Think about it," said Sanji. "You said the Franky Family came here this afternoon, right?"
"Yeah, so?" asked Zoro, audibly and visibly irritated. "What are you trying to say?"
"If you hadn't let them off so easy, they wouldn't have stolen the money in the first place! It's your fault they attacked Usopp, and now he's just freaked out because he feels bad about it."
Zoro turned to face Sanji. "Hey, don't go blaming me because I didn't kick their asses hard enough! Besides, Itachi was here, too, and I don't see you getting on his ass about it!"
"Itachi isn't part of the crew, so he's not actually obligated to help us out!"
"Both of you, shut up!" yelled Nami as she emerged from the berth down below. "There's been enough fighting already. Whatever happened, it's over now."
"Yeah, I know," replied Sanji. "But this wouldn't be happening if it wasn't for him."
The deckhouse door opened and Chopper walked in, looking dejected.
"You went after Usopp, right?" asked Zoro.
"Even if he was hurt, I still wanted to treat his wounds, but he turned me away." He sat down on the floor. "He found a place to stay, so at least he can get some rest."
Chopper turned to the others, tears welling up in his eyes. "Do you know what he said to me? He said we aren't friends anymore, so I should just go back to the ship."
Nami sat down on a nearby crate. "Just this morning, we were all so happy, and now what? We lost Usopp, and Robin's still missing. I feel like if we don't do something, the whole crew will fall apart."
Itachi moved towards the door. "You're right, Nami. We need to do something, so I think perhaps I should take my leave until tomorrow."
"What? Why?" asked Nami.
"Usopp has equated himself to the Merry, and by extension equated me to the idea of a new ship, which is why he named me as his replacement. While I do intend on officially accepting Luffy's offer and joining this crew, I can't do so in good conscience until Usopp returns. If I did, he would see it as validation of all his claims, and then he would be truly lost to all of you forever. I think that even seeing me present to witness the duel between him and Luffy would lend credence to his beliefs that I'm meant to replace him, so I'm leaving for now. I'll continue my search for Robin overnight and come back here in the morning, after the dust has settled from the fight."
"But you won't get any sleep if you go out searching," said Chopper. "You'll be exhausted."
"Not to worry," replied Itachi with a smile. "I'm very much used to sleepless nights. I'll be back tomorrow, I promise. I know Luffy is down below resting before the fight, so please be sure to inform him for me." He left, closing the door behind him.