Foreword: And we are back! Sorry it took longer than expected. Some life things came up in the interim that delayed me. This is going to be a shorter chapter, but Return to Sabaody isn't exactly a very long stretch of story, so trying to make a chapter or normal length out of it would have killed the pacing, and I'm not trying to pull a Toei here. With all that said, hope you guys enjoy, and thanks for your patience!
Luffy, having completed his two years of training, made preparations to leave the island of Ruskaina, retrieving his straw hat from the rock upon which he'd placed it when he began his training, hitching a ride on Boa Hancock's ship, and bidding farewell to the island's residents.
In a genuinely shocking twist, at Shakky's bar where Rayleigh awaited the return of the Straw Hats, Zoro was the first one to arrive.
In a little dive bar in Sabaody Archipelago, Nami was getting intel from the barkeep on the current events in the world. Fleet Admiral Sengoku had retired, and with Akainu dead and Kizaru wholly uninterested in the position, Aokiji was nominated as Sengoku's successor, and with no one else willing, he accepted the position.
A few patrons at a table behind her also mentioned that apparently the Straw Hats were recruiting new members. She ignored this and continued drinking, until the aforementioned "Straw Hats" happened to wander into the bar, demanding food and drink.
Meanwhile at Sabaody Park, "Soul King" was putting on his farewell performance, much to the anger of his manager, who decided that he wasn't gonna walk away from the stage so easily.
Sanji had just landed on the Archipelago, and to no one's surprise, immediately began simping over the women after two years of being with Iva and his crew.
Back at the bar, the "Straw Hats" were generally causing a scene, even going so far as to shoot one of the people who approached them to join the crew. "Luffy" then turned his attention to Nami, making an offer for her to drink with them, which she promptly shot down. When they tried to threaten her, Usopp arrived at the bar, using his special Pop Greens to unleash a giant carnivorous plant on them.
"Whoa, where did that plant come from?" wondered Nami.
"Hey there, beautiful. Can I buy you a drink?" asked Usopp with more than a little irony in his voice.
"Ohmygosh, look at you, Usopp!" cried Nami, pulling him into her arms and literally jumping for joy. "Those muscles, and that hair! You look so good!"
"Thanks! Your hair looks great too!"
They continued talking as they walked out of the bar, completely ignoring the "Straw Hats" as Nami casually summoned a lightning storm to add a little extra insult, prompting them to start scouring the town in a bid for revenge.
Robin was casually walking the streets while being tailed by an unknown pursuer. She mingled into the crowd, finding the chance to duck into an alley and lose her tail. She pulled out two posters, Soul King's concert ad and the Fake Straw Hat's recruitment ad.
"Seems like you've got some fans, eh?" came a voice above her. Robin looked up, and a familiar face sat on the edge of the roof of the building across from her, wearing a black sleeveless shirt with a v-neck collar, black pants that cut off just below the knee, a red sash across his waist which held a katana in a purple scabbard, a bandolier of various knives and weapons across his chest, a red sweatband on his right wrist, a metal plated headband with a scratched-through leaf symbol tied around his left bicep, a ring bearing the symbol of the Whitebeard Pirates on his right ring finger (a token of respect for the deceased Yonko), and simple black sandals on his feet. His hair was longer than she remembered, and the low ponytail he usually had it tied up in draped over his left shoulder, reaching down past his chest. He had bulked up slightly, his Haki training resulting in an increase in muscle mass. He looked down at her with red eyes and wore a smile on his face that could be described as 'bordering on goofy without quite crossing the line'.
"Itachi! It's you!" she gasped as he jumped down to meet her, not quite prepared for the hug she immediately wrapped him in. He hesitated at first, but then returned the hug warmly.
"I missed you too, Robin."
They held the embrace for several seconds, then backed away. Immediately, Itachi's attention was turned to the posters. "The Straw Hats are recruiting?"
"Apparently so," replied Robin. "First I'm hearing of it, though. Seems off to me."
"You're right. It isn't Luffy's style to put out ads for anyone off the streets to see."
"True," agreed Robin, holding up the other poster. "On the other hand, something like this is exactly Brook's style."
Itachi chuckled slightly. "You're not wrong. So, those people who were following you; what's their deal?"
"I'm not sure, honestly. They only started tailing me once I arrived here. I do hope the attention I'm getting isn't making you jealous," she teased with a wink.
Itachi blushed slightly, but remained otherwise composed. "At any rate, there only seemed to be one of them, and from what I saw, giving him the slip was child's play for you, so they can't be anything too serious." As he talked, he peeked around the corners of the buildings to keep an eye out for any other suspicious persons.
"You were watching? I'd guess that's why you were on the roof, so you could easily spot us if we came through here."
"Exactly. Though, I only arrived here yesterday, and you're the only one I've spotted so far, unless you count Brook's concert ad."
"Well, I'm sure the others will be along. They must be eager to come back together after two years apart. But, as far as the identity of my fan club, I'd guess they're human traffickers or bounty hunters. More likely the former, though. Bounty hunters tend not to care too much about doing things quietly."
"Well, unfortunately, beautiful women are a big target for the slave trade. I'm sure traffickers would get quite the payday if they captured you, especially considering the power of your Devil Fruit."
"So you're saying you find me beautiful?" she teased.
Itachi was a lot of things. Dumb was not one of them. Rather than let Robin continue to tease him, he opted to simply give a direct answer.
"Obviously, yes. Now, if we could focus on your predicament, I promise you can do all the flirting you want later. Who knows, I might even flirt back."
Robin had a little laugh at the blunt nature of his response. She hadn't seen that one coming. Normally, men crumbled immediately when she turned on the charm even a little bit. Especially Sanji. But, that was Sanji. All she had to do was glance in his direction to drive him up the wall.
"Fair enough," she replied. "I take it from your tone you have a plan?"
"Well, they're after you. I say we give you to them." Itachi created a Shadow Clone, then had the clone transform into Robin. The clone stepped out of the alley and into the main thoroughfare. They waited a few seconds, watching in the shadows of the alley, and eventually spotted the suit and tie man who had initially been tailing Robin pass by.
"Hopefully that clone vanishes before they can capture her and subject her to the horrors of the slave trade. I'd hate for her to be drugged and tortured before being auctioned off to someone else who'll also drug and torture her."
Itachi couldn't help but chuckle at the sheer absurdity of her voicing that thought so casually.
"Don't worry," said Itachi. "I set her to vanish after three minutes, not enough time for her to actually get caught. Now that you're clear, let's head to the Sunny. We can stop for coffee on the way; my treat."
Meanwhile, Chopper ran into the fake Zoro, Sanji, Robin, and himself, and somehow managed to mistake them for his actual friends. Thinking he must have been abandoned and figuring having him around would make them look more legitimate, they allowed him to follow them back to the rest of the Fake Straw Hats. This turned out to be worse than one would initially think, because his presence did exactly that, and it was the Navy who fell for it, calling in reinforcements as a result.
Luffy ran into the fake Luffy, who took offense to being knocked over by his enormous backpack and held a gun to his head, but was instantly knocked out by a small flex of Conqueror's Haki.
Sanji arrived at Shakky's bar, thanking Rayleigh and Duval for making sure the Sunny stayed safe while they were gone. After hanging out for a few minutes, he stepped out to get groceries to restock the ship's kitchen. Itachi and Robin were approaching the bar with coffees in their hands (black with one sugar for Robin, and sweet cream with two sugars for Itachi), having a conversation about Sanji's cooking.
"I'm excited to get back and eat one of his dishes again," said Itachi. "I wonder if he ever actually came up with a recipe for steak I'll actually enjoy."
"To be honest, it came as a bit of a shock to me back when you said you weren't a fan of steak, but I think it surprised him even more," replied Robin. Then they noticed Sanji taking off down the hill towards the town.
"Well, speak of the devil," said Robin.
"I thought you were the devil here," joked Itachi.
"I can be, if you want," she joked back. "Come on, let's have a word with Shakky, then head over to the Sunny."
The pair stepped into the bar, and were greeted by Shakky and Rayleigh.
"Hello, you two! Good to see you again!" said Shakky.
"Good to see you, too!" replied Robin cheerfully.
"Yeah, good to be back after all this time," said Itachi.
"Well, if it isn't the Devil Child and Red Eyes," smiled Rayleigh. "Let's see, I think you guys are the eighth and ninth one of your crew to make it back to Sabaody."
"Oh? Who all has made it?" asked Itachi.
"Let me think. Zoro, Franky, Usopp, Nami, Chopper, and Brook have all made it. Oh, Sanji, too. He just stepped out."
"We were just talking about being able to enjoy his cooking again when we saw him run out of here and into town," said Robin. "So with us here, that means Luffy is the only one left."
"Yep. He'll be along soon, though. Boa will make sure of it," confirmed Rayleigh.
"Boa Hancock, the Warlord?" asked Itachi. "She was a big help to us at Marineford. I saw her slip Luffy the key to Ace's cuffs, and even though she was supposed to be there to fight the Whitebeard Pirates, she attacked indiscriminately, taking down both pirates and Marines alike. What's her deal?"
"Well, it seems as though she's developed a pretty strong romantic inclination towards your captain." explained Rayleigh. "It's kinda cute, really."
Itachi raised one physical eyebrow, and several metaphorical ones. "Hancock fell for Luffy? Of all the possible explanations, I wasn't expecting that one."
A few minutes later, they both arrived at the ship.
"Hi, Sunny," said Robin with a wide grin on her face. "Sorry we kept you waiting; I hope you weren't lonely."
"It has been a long time," said Itachi, also smiling. "It's good to see her again."
"YEOW!" came a voice from on deck. Franky poked his head over the rails. "Now who's this lovely lady?! Nico Robin, or course! Our SUPERRRRR Archaeologist! And who's this handsome fella with her?! Her SUPERRRRR assistant, the Admiral Slayer himself, Itachi Uchiha!"
"I'm your assistant? When was this decided?"
"Probably when you started spending hours each day doing research with me," laughed Robin.
"Yeah, that probably did it," sighed Itachi, stepping onto the deck of the ship with Robin. She immediately started examining the coat of film on the ship.
"So this is the coating that'll let us go to Fishman Island? It feels like jelly!" she laughed.
"That's right!" said Franky, taking a seat and popping open a cola. "Old Rayleigh got it all done! Undersea, here we come!"
"Speaking of, we just came from seeing Rayleigh," replied Robin.
"Oh yeah? What number were you guys?"
"Eight and nine," said Itachi. "Luffy is the only one left."
Meanwhile, Sanji stopped at a stall to pick up some fish, only to find out that the vendor had just seen Zoro come by earlier that day, and when he asked the man to go fishing, he laid down on the rails of a pirate ship to nap while waiting for the boat to be ready, only for the boat to dive underwater en route to Fishman Island. Sanji was about to purchase some fish from the old man when suddenly, the ship in question resurfaced, having been sliced clean in two by Zoro.
Chopper, having run away from the Fake Straw Hats when they acted indifferent towards "Robin" being kidnapped, eventually ran into Usopp and Nami, and they traveled to the Sunny together. Nami had to burst Chopper's bubble about the Fake Straw Hats, though.
Chopper and Usopp were busy being starstruck at Franky's new cybernetics, much to Itachi and Robin's amusement. Nami, who lagged slightly behind due to the clothes she bought, caught up eventually, waving them down.
"Nami!" exclaimed Robin. "You look so good!"
Once Nami got on deck, the girls hugged it out.
"Robin! I missed you so much! You look amazing!"
"You've changed a lot too, Nami! I love your hair, it's so pretty!"
"And you," said Nami, turning towards Itachi. "Looking good there, Mister Admiral Slayer. Gotta say, I never expected you to go with the sleeveless look, but you're totally rocking it! Looks like Usopp isn't the only one who put on some extra muscle. Trying to impress a girl or something?"
Itachi saw his chance to get back at Robin for those earlier jabs. "Depends," he said with a coy grin, making eye contact with her. "Is it working?"
Robin grinned, unfazed. "I'd say it is, yeah."
Nami, realizing what was going on, went a little red in the face and opted to change the subject. "So, this is the coating for the ship, huh?"
"Indeed it is!" called a voice from the cliffside. "Hello, Straw Hats!"
"Rayleigh! And Shakky!" exclaimed Nami.
"The situation on the island has changed," explained Rayleigh. "Something has created quite a bit of chaos."
"The Navy?" asked Itachi.
"Yeah, I tapped their line," said Shakky. "They seem to think the impostors are the real Straw Hats, and have mobilized. I already warned Brook via Transponder Snail, so he should be on his way soon."
"Well, good to hear he hasn't given up on being a pirate after achieving stardom," said Itachi.
"Hell yeah, that skeleton's got true grit!" exclaimed Franky.
"Nami, you're the navigator, right?" asked Rayleigh. "Come with me; I need to teach you how to control a coated ship. It wouldn't do for you all to come all the way back here just to end up crushed under the sea."
"Oh, yeah, sure."
"Wait, are we getting ready to set sail? Is Luffy even here yet?" asked Usopp.
"Yeah, Luffy will be fine," said Rayleigh. "He's already here on the island."
"I gave Sanji a Transponder Snail when he came here earlier," said Franky. "Right now he's got Zoro with him. I'll tell him to come on back."
"Good," said Shakky, "but the Navy is getting close, so they'd better hurry. Luffy is the only one left, so here, take his Vivre Card so you can find him."
"Grove Forty Two would probably be the best place to drop anchor for now, since it's on the outskirts," explained Rayleigh. "Have everyone else gather there, so you can all set sail and start anew!"
Meanwhile, Brook was rescued from the Navy by Duval's crew, who transported him to Grove Forty Two. Zoro and Sanji, on the other hand, had their fight broken up by the call from Franky. They were taking notice of how rowdy and restless the area was getting. Something was about to go down.
Something did, indeed, go down. As the Fake Straw Hats were rallying their crew (with the real Luffy somehow ending up in the middle of it all), they suddenly found themselves surrounded by the Navy and a skirmish quickly ensued. Before long, two Pacifistas and Sentomaru showed up to reinforce the Navy effort, and the latter quickly took down the Fake Luffy before revealing to the crowd that he was just a low-level pirate only worth twenty six million berries. In the chaos, Luffy lost his "disguise" and was forced to act, easily taking down one of the Pacifistas. Zoro and Sanji, who had followed the commotion to arrive on the scene, took down the other one within seconds. The trio made a break for the ship, still being pursued by the Navy. They ran into Perona on the way, who used her Horo Horo powers to run interference for them. Eventually, they made it onto the deck of the Sunny after a farewell from Rayleigh, and dove into the water, officially beginning their journey towards Fishman Island, the first stop of the New World.