An hour has passed since Cricket passed out. Mario and Chopper had moved him to the house bed and quarantined themselves to ensure nobody disrupted them, leaving the rest outside.
Enough time for another unknown individual to appear.
"Uhoo! A real-life gorilla!" Spoke a very inhumane being(but it is human) that resembled Masira, if only in body appearance. He had long lime-green hair and a beard, and wore a green captain's jacket and hat. "And such a marvelous tie! My brother is right; you do have good taste!"
"I know, right?!" Masira agreed with his brother-alike.
"Hehehehe!" DK scratched his head in embarrassment, having not been told for a long time how cool his tie was. ('Why thank you!')
"I am missing something." Vivi, looking at them with tired eyes, said. Carue next to her, patting her back with his wing. "There's a trend going on and I'm missing it. I don't know when it started, and I don't care to know."
Meanwhile, most of the crew were looking at the pile of collectibles that Mario and Luigi had brought back from the .
"Incredible." Robin said as she studied the small pile, remembering that it all came from Red Cap's brother's infinite bag. "To be able to put several items in a tiny bag." Such technology has several possibilities.
"Huh? What's this?" Luffy asked as he pulled some sort of transport vehicle.
"Oh! This looks like a jet-ski." Luigi said, inspecting it.
"Jet-Ski?" Nami asked, actually interested in this.
"Think of it as a bicycle that runs on the water."
"Cool!" Usopp began to draw. "Do you think you can fix it?"
"Hmm. Maybe." Luigi hummed as he inspected it. "I need to-a check how it works first."
*Creak!*
The door of the house opens up as Mario, Chopper, and a fully awake Cricket came out.
"Boss!" Masira and his brother went to Cricket with tears in their eyes.
"Masira. Shojo." Cricket spoke to them. "Sorry for the scare. Guess I came out a little too fast out of the ocean."
"You sure did." Chopper said in a serious tone. "You're lucky that it wasn't terrible! No diving into the ocean for a week! Doctor's orders!"
"Yeah, yeah. Heard ya' already, raccoon dog."
"Raccoon!? I'm not a raccoon! I'm a reindeer!"
"...So, Tanuki?"
"It's the same damn thing!"
"Okay. Let's calm down now." Mario quickly stepped in. "But it's-a true, Mister Cricket. Please-a try not to dive for a while."
"Meh. Don't worry little man, I have no interest in dying like that." Cricket sighs as he walks up to a chair and sits on it. "So…Going back to before; are you all serious about going to Sky Island?"
"Yes!" Luffy didn't hesitate, and most of the crew nodded.
"Well, if that's so, I do know of a way to get there." Cricket said as he took out a notebook. "But I must warn you all; the route is the most dangerous and only one I know that could work."
"Could?!" Nami, Usopp, and Chopper yelled in fear.
"Perfect! We'll take it!"
"Luffy!"
"Hah! Ballsy you are, kiddo. Can't say I hate it." Cricket said as he showed them the book. "Here. Read this."
Nami, being the closest, took the book and read it quickly, "...A Knock-Up Stream?" She asked.
"Knock-Up Stream!?" Vivi looked at her in horror before looking at Cricket. "You cannot be serious! You aren't suggesting we-"
"Ride on one of those puppies all the way to Sky Island?" Cricket finished her though, enjoying the princess' pale skin clips. "I sure am."
"Uh…What is a Knock-Up Stream?" Luigi asked.
"A very dangerous phenomenon." Robin answered, "Nobody has a proper explanation for it. The best theory is that the constant currents shift causes voids that pound enormous cavities into the sea floor. Cool seawater flows into the caverns, the geothermal heat of the earth turns the water into steam. It builds pressure for long until-"
"The pressure is-a expelled." Mario summarized, "It's-a like an underwater volcano."
"A very big one!" Nami yelled in horror. "And you want us to try to ride on it!?"
"Best offer I can give you all."
She turned to Mario, already on her knees, crying and begging. "Please! Please! Tell us YOU have a safe way to get us up there!"
Mario hummed. "Well…It's-a not like we can't lift Merry up-a into the sky with our Mega Mushroom and the Cape Feather or Cloud Flowers combined." He said, bringing joy for the crew and surprise looks from the Saruyama Alliance. "But the problem is that we-a don't know exactly how far-a this sky island is. Those power-ups have a time limit, I wouldn't know if we would make it in time." Sad faces on everyone.
"Shit. He's right." Sanji sighs, knowing that Mario's strongest arsenal is only time-limited.
"Oh! How about we just have Diddy carry DK, who will grab Merry through a rope, and carry us all the way to Sky Island with his barrel rockets?" Usopp suggested.
("Are you crazy!?") Diddy looked at him with his eyes popping out. ("I can't carry DK like that! That's too much weight for me! Besides, my Barrel Engines would run out of fuel before we even reach the clouds!")
"He said no dice."
"Shoot…Guess we have no choice then." Nami sighs in defeat. If Mario can't do anything like that, then she has no other choice.
"The best we-a can do is enforce Merry with thicker wood." Luigi said. "But I-a think we-a need more information."
"...Alright. Ignoring that," Cricket said, putting aside the ridiculous feat he just heard. "My boys and I are willing to modify your ship so that it can handle the power behind the stream. Also, I still need to inform you more about Sky Island." He stood up, Masira and Shojo, along with their respective crew, as they appeared out of nowhere and handed construction items in hand.
"Please, allow us to help," Mario said as he, Luigi, DK, and Diddy appeared with construction helmets and outfits for the brothers. "We-are good at fixing!"
"Really now?" Cricket looked intrigued. "Well, then, more hands are welcome-"
(Ten Minutes later)
"What the absolute shit just happened?" Cricket asked with his jaw dropped as he watched the Merry, already remodeled to resemble a flying ship in the image of a chicken.
He had adequate shipwright skills, considering he was abandoned by his original crew, he had to take care of himself.
To his calculations, the Straw Hats' ship should have been remodeled in about two or three hours.
It barely became an hour once they finished.
"Boss! This is too perfect!" Masira said as he tapped the wood. "It's not metal, yet I can feel the hardness in it! It would take a giant cannonball to break it! A Big one!"
"You guys work way too fast!" Cricket shouted as he turned to Mario and the rest, already resting with the crew.
"Way too fast!" The Saruyama Alliance said.
"Meh, what can we say?" Mario shrugged.
"Well, now that our God and his Godly friends have blessed us once again with their skill, I have a few questions to ask." Nami spoke up, "Like, what exactly will happen once we are shot out of the Knock-Up Stream? And where exactly will this thing pop out?"
Having calmed down after a while, Cricket sat down and began to speak. "Well, since the ship is done. I guess I can focus on telling you all more. So listen up! The Knock-Up Stream will happen tomorrow morning around the South waters. If my calculations are correct," He brought his notebook out and flipped it around until reaching a page. "Right above it will be a special type of cloud, a Millennium Cumulonimbus."
"A what?" The majority asked.
"Is a dense mass of cloud high in the sky with no air or condensation." Cricket explained. "Think of it as a massive fossil cloud. In fact, that sudden day-to-night you all experienced was probably that."
"So you're saying that we need to find that again?" Vivi resumed. "And not just that, we needed it to be above the massive water eruption that you clearly have no idea if it will work on getting us there in the first place?"
"That's correct, little girl." Cricket nodded. "Worry not. With these designs over your ship, even if you fail, you will land safely from any fall death."
"B-But wait! Are you sure it will work?" Usopp asked, very concerned. "I-I mean, how do we know if those two things will be in the same position!?"
"Oh it will."
"...Actually," Mario suddenly spoke, catching everyone's attention. "I have-a just realized something." He looked at Cricket, "We need to reach the Knock-Up-a Stream before it is too late-a, right?" He got a nod. "But…how can we reach it if the Log Pose won't work?"
…
…
…
"...Shit!" Nami realized as she looked at her wrist, the Log Pose was still pointing at the sky. "It's true! The Log Pose point at the islands! How are we going to find the South?!"
"Damn! Good call, mustachio!" Cricket exclaimed in realization. "I almost forgot the most important thing; you guys need to find and capture a South Bird!"
"...A South Bird?"
"A special kind of bird. No matter what, even if you push his head to the side, it will always point to the South."
"...Wait." Sanji suddenly had an evil grin. "Are you saying there's a being who is Zoro's actual soul-compass-mate?" The question had everyone suddenly spitting out and laughing.
Except Zoro. "The fuck is that supposed to mean?!"
"Exactly what it means!" Sanji looked at him with a shit-eating grin. "You always go to where the North is because of your moss-brain and the bloody animals point South! Ergo, your natural mate in directions!" Everyone laughed even harder as Zoro's face turned red like an apple.
"Uhohohohohohoho!" DK screams out in laughter, hitting his palms on the ground, which causes (unknown to them) the island to shake.
"Hihihihihihi!" Kiddy imitates him unconsciously, his small palms hitting the rock he was sitting on…which then broke into pieces.
But by this point, everyone, except the Alliance, was used to it.
Once everyone calmed down, they asked how the bird looked and where it could be found. "Well, you all are in luck. As it turns out that they are native here. They should be in the forest; they have a peculiar way of speaking so you all should probably be able to find them." Cricket explained as he snapped his finger, and Shojo appeared next to him with a wrapped item. "As for their appearance, here it is!" He said as the lime-green human unclothed the item and showed it to everyone.
Gasps escape from mouths while staring at the golden statue.
"Gold!" Nami quickly went *ca-ching!* in her eyes.
"Yep…this here is the only proof that the City of Gold might exist." Cricket says. "Anyways, this here is the South Bird."
"It looks like-a exotic toucan," Luigi said. "So we-a just need to find one?"
"Yep. As long as you have one, it should be enough-"
"I'M SICK OF YOU!" *BANG!*
Everyone turned to the forest where they heard a female voice and something getting hit hard. In the blink of an eye, a blur came out of the forest and landed hard on the ground, taking everyone by surprise as the dust cleared.
Revealing an unconscious South Bird.
"...That's the bird."
"Yep."
"...Alright, fess up." Nami looked at everyone. "Is this one of Mario's luck, one of his team, or did someone secretly eat the Luck-Luck Fruit."
"That's a thing?" Usopp sarcastically asked.
"Stupid bird. Making a fool out of us for no reason."
"Tell me about it. And the way it laughs! Ugh!"
Mario's eyes widened when he heard two familiar voices.
Coming out of the forest were Goombario and Goombella, both looking pretty mad. "I don't want to see another bug for weeks!" Goombella groaned as she removed leaves off her.
"Meh. Those bugs were annoying, but it wasn't that bad." Goombario shrugged.
"Sure. Right." The female rolled her eyes. "I forgot that you are used to fighting in the woods. I'm sorry that researching is more valuable than fighting for me."
"Hey! Don't say that. There's nothing wrong with being smart!" Goombario glared at her. "You are literally one of the smartest of our kind! Like, really super smart!"
"Of course I am!" Goombella puffs her chest in pride, "Why do you think Mario had a high opinion of me?"
"Okay, calm down. I was saying that to stop any negativity though you were forming, not to raise your ego over my superior status." Goombario said, not wanting to ignore that last question.
"Now who's raising their ego?" Goombella deadpanned.
Mario appeared next to them and placed his hands on each of their shoulders. "I-a think you're both wonderful-a. I couldn't have made it through many obstacles without either of you."
"Heh. Thanks Mario. Not to brag, but I was indeed an excellent partner." Goombella nodded.
"Yeah, I am just happy that my hero has a great view of me." Goombario grinned in pride.
…
…
…
…
…
…
"...!" It took a minute for them to widen their eyes in realization and snap their heads at Mario in joy. "MARIO!?"
"Hello, paisanos!" The plumber greeted them back with his iconic smile. "How have you both been?"
They leap into him and hug him tightly, which he returns. "Oh thank the Goddess we actually found you!" Goombella said.
"Yeah! You have no idea how crazy it has been!" Goombario said.
"Yeah. I think I-a can guess." Mario let them, looking up and down. "I'm just glad you both are okay, but wow! Look-a you two! What happened?"
Goombario scratched his cheek. "We don't exactly know for sure. I was accompaning Goombella to one of her expeditions when we suddenly got swallowed by a portal. When we woke up, we just looked like this."
"Yeah. Aside from that, it's been hard to find out where we are." Goombella said.
However, before she could speak more, "Uh, not to break the reunion." The three of them looked back at everyone, except the Nintendo crew, looking at them. "But a little introducion?" Zoro asked.
"Ah, yes, " Mario chuckled, embarrassed. "Sorry about that." He quickly brought forward the two goomba-turn-humans. "These two are previous partners of mine. Goombario and Goombella."
"Hi everyone!" Goombario waved at them.
"Greetings to you all." Goombella did the same.
"Hello!" Luffy eagerly appeared on Goomba's face, surprising them. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy! The man who's gonna be King of the Pirates!"
"Eh?! Pirates!?" They turned to Mario in horror, wanting an explanation.
"Oh boy. Have-a so much to say."
Time passed, and after explaining everything to the duo, as usual pirate tradition, a party was held. With everything already set, all that awaited was the next day to come.
While not against it, Mario and his friends asked if this was okay.
Luffy's answer?
"Yeah! As pirates, we have to always have a party when we can! Is a sacred rule!"
And so here we are.
"Wow! So you use three swords at once!?" Goombario asked Zoro, already fascinated by the swordsman's fighting style.
"Yep. My own technique." Zoro replied, drinking his mug.
"But where's you hold the third one?"
"With my mouth."
"...You use the third sword with your mouth!? Awesome!" Goombario, instead of being gross or surprised, was amazed as he began to write in his journal. "Your training regime must be hard! Especially your jaw!"
"Heh. That is true." Zoro felt nostalgic. "I practically spent my entire childhood pulling rocks."
"Ouch. What else have you done?"
"Well-"
As Zoro entertains his newest friend-
"Hahahahaha!" Usopp was laughing as he stared at the South Bird, who was chained down, and looking at South. "Guys, look at this!" Catching Chopper and the Kongs' attention as the sniper pushes the bird's beak away, leaving it still…before looking south again. "It was trying to look in a different direction to confuse us, but failed in a minute!"
"Hahahahahahaha!" The Kongs were already laughing, making the bird get mad even more.
"Joojoojoo! Joojoo!" It squawks out.
"He said that we all will pay for this." Chopper translated.
As he said that, a big praying mantis and several tall bugs leap forward, ready to hurt them.
"Huh!" *CLAP!*
Only to be sent flying away by DK Thunder Clap, crashing on top of a mountain of bugs in the forest.
"Yeah, we heard him the last ten times already." Usopp snickered. "As if any bug can beat millions of advanced experiences this guy has." His words made the South Bird whimper in despair.
Moving on, we see Masira narrowing his eyes at the table, his fingers ever so slowly moving a piece of block in a long stack. "Slowly….slowly." He muttered as the piece came out without tumbling down. "Fweh!"
"Very nice, brother!" Shojo said as Masira placed the block on top. "I would have assumed you failed in six turns."
"Hah! Just show what you know!" Masira said as he watched Luigi doing his turn. "But damn, this is stressful! And it's supposed to be a family game! What was it called again?"
"Jenga." Luigi answered as he was having difficulty with his piece. "It's-a very entertaining, but-also stressful."
"Ha! The exact opposite of 'family-friendly'." Cricket said, taking a sip from his drink.
Moving to the girls, they all found themselves talking with Goombella. "Wow! So you are a princess?" The girl asked in amazement.
"Technically, former." Vivi corrected. "It's a bit sad that the government has decided to punish me for showing the corruption of their Warlord."
"Oh yeah, you did mention that you had an idea why." Nami said, "So the government is behind this?"
"Not behind it, more like just doing what a bigger power wants." Vivi sighs as she places her mug down.
"Well, let's not talk about sad things." Robin, knowing what Vivi was referring to, moved to another topic. "So Goombella? Mario says that you're an archeologist?"
"Why yes!" Goombella glints in pride. "Graduated from University of Goom as an archeologist! Not to sound arrogant, but I am considered one of the greatest."
"University?" Nami asked.
"A highly advanced and hard school."
"Ah…so you're super good at reading history."
"Yep! Not to brag, but I had discovered a lot! Some even called them fairy tales. But that's just it! Archeologists and Historians have to search for the truth in those fairy tales!" Goombella state.
At that, Robin looked at her in surprise. She saw the determination in her eyes, a fire that cannot be swayed.
She has probably forgotten seeing anyone with that kind of passion. ('I see why you say we would get along.') "That's some pretty nice words, sweetheart. In all my life as an archeologist, nobody has said that before."
Goombella snaps her head at her with excitement in her eyes. "You're an archeologist too?!" She gloomp to her, "Please tell me everything you have done!? Are you searching for something right now!?"
('She's so eager. It's kind of cute.') All three girls thought.
"Ladies~!" Sanji appeared, holding a plate with cake and tea. "Your dessert is ready."
"Thanks Sanji-kun~" Nami wink.
"Thank you, Sanji." Vivi smiled.
"Thank you, Chef." Robin smiled.
"Thanks…Sanji, right?" Goombella said, trying to familiarize herself with the new face.
"Ugh!" Sanji was suddenly jumping back with a red face and heart eyes. "Four beauties saying my name! This is a good day!"
"...What a weirdo." Goombella felt a bit creeped out.
That caused the trio to chuckle. "You'll get used to it. Sanji is harmless to girls."
Goombella looked at Sanji for a second, seeing him spin around like a fool. "...Well, he's cute, I'll give him that." She 'hmph' back to the girls. "But he ain't Mario."
*Crack!*
Sanji turned into stone with cracks.
"Oh my." Robin was surprised.
"What? I'm right." Goombella looked dreamy. "He's kind. Handsome. Strong. Selfless. The kind of guy who would help anyone that needs help, even if they didn't ask for it."
"...That is true." Vivi nodded. "Even after I tried to kill him, he saw into my mind and told me he would help me save my Kingdom."
"Same here with my village." Nami nodded.
"And he did save my life when I didn't ask for it." Robin also nodded. "See what I mean about him taking responsibility?"
"I mean…is not like he wants anything back." Vivi told her, "He just…wanted to help me."
"Is call being selfless…and not many people can do that." Nami said…suddenly feeling wrong about something.
"Well, I kind of…put him in harm's way when we first met." Goombella awkwardly blushes, earning their attention and interest. "I…was getting hunted by these brutes and wanted to probably kidnap me. So I quickly hid behind the first person I saw and taunted them that they couldn't beat him."
"...It was Mario, wasn't he?"
Goombella looks away, guilty. "Yeah…But at the time, I didn't know it was him. But you know what?" She perked up again, "Not only did he beat them quickly, he even helped me escape from them." She blushed again, holding her face like a maiden. "He was so sweet, I couldn't help but reward him with a kiss."
"...You know, I haven't properly thanked him for everything." Nami suddenly said. "I know that he saved my village and all that even before I knew it, but I should have done anything to show how appreciative I was for his effort."
"Like what? A kiss on the cheek?" Vivi asked, her eyebrow twitching.
"Yeah. Why not?"
"You do know he's supposedly in a relationship, right?"
"So? Is just a kiss of appreciation, nothing more. Besides, Starlow did say that multiple women have tried to get him." Nami grinned.
"And what makes you think he'll even be interested in you?"
"What? Are you calling me unfit to be a girlfriend material to a God? Look at me; I'm gorgeous!"
"Well, I am a former-Princess and have a decent figure myself."
"Oh! So now you want to listen to your father's suggestion!" Nami slammed her hands on the table.
"All I'm saying is that I'm also the same as you; beautiful!" Vivi mimics her.
"Honey, I don't deny that! I'm just saying that Mario deserves a big reward!"
"And it has to be a kiss!?"
"So what?!"
Both Robin and Goombella looked at the two girls, sending sparks of anger at each other.
"Oh God. Don't tell me these two have fallen for his charm as well." The Goomba human swallowed in discomfort.
"Fufufufufufufu! How cute that you two are fighting over a man in a relationship." Robin chuckled.
While neither girl spoke, that comment did make the glare less. "...Let's be clear of one thing; we are not homewreckers." Nami said.
"Never. Is clear his heart is already for someone." Vivi said. "We admired and respected him."
"This is just a stupid debate to deepen camaraderie."
"And acknowledge that Mario has done a lot in our lives and we both are thankful for him."
"Glad to see we both are on the same page, sister."
"Same here."
As the two of them chuckled, with Robin and Goombella joining in, behind them, Sanji was on the ground, knees hugging, while a depressed cloud hovered over him, crying. "So unfair! So unfair!"
Moving on, we focus on Mario and Luffy. The former kept his promise to teach the pirate captain how to drive a kart.
Granted, he was having him train in a virtual setup. There was no way he was putting the real thing in.
Anyways, Luffy's currently…hitting a lot of walls.
"You are putting too much pressure on the pedal." Mario said.
"Sorry!" Luffy exclaimed as he made a harsh left turn, "Is just that, this is so cool!"
"Understandable, given your current era."
"Don't forget, I want to go next!" Usopp appeared out of nowhere, excitement in his eyes. "And I promise you, I will be a better driver than Luffy! Why! I have had incredible driving skills since I was five!"
"Really?! That's so cool!" Chopper, guillabe as always, shouted in amazement at his 'accomplishment'.
"Why yes! In fact, I once battled and rode the deadly Cerberus! It was a long battle that lasted three days-"
*Crash!Boom!*
Before Usopp could continue his lie, the top part of the fake castle was smashed into a splitter, stopping the party entirely.
"What the hell?!" Cricket looked in shock at the destruction, Masira and Shojo already at his side and ready to protect him.
"Was that a cannonball!?"
"Where did it come from?!"
"Ship incoming!" Luigi shouted as he pointed to the side, where a ship was heading to their location.
"CRICKET!" A voice shouted.
Goombario and Goombella cringe at that voice. "Are you kidding me?!"
"That guy again?"
"You know him?" Mario asked.
"Just some moron that thought it was a good idea to insult us and flirt with me while speaking trash." Goombella said.
"And just for the record, we came in peace." Goombario said, "I was willing to let the insults go, but then he threatened to make us slaves and try to capture us."
At that, everyone narrows their eyes as the ship docks a few meters away. Coming out of it was the same Hyena-grin man, covered in patches, along with his right-hand partner and twenty other people.
"Ha! See!? I told you guys they would be here!" Bellamy said.
"Yeah, and look at that!" The blue-haired guy said as he looked at the crew. "We have more people in there! And look at those girls!" He said with a sick grin and a tongue lick in his lips at seeing the girls.
"Heh! If they are here, it means that they are just some dreamless fools with useless and pathetic ambitions."
Bellamy stood in front, as Luffy, with a serious glare, did the same. "Alright! Who are you all?"
"I'm Monkey D. Luffy!" Luffy introduced himself.
"Heh? Never heard of you. New to the Grand Line?" Bellamy crossed his arms. "Nevermind that! I'm Bellamy 'the Hyena', and I'm here for the old man's gold! And that you relinquish those two over there!" He said while motioning to Goombario and Goombella.
"Why?"
"Those two have the audacity to attack me and my crew, and leave as if I will let that slide!" Bellamy said. "And that gold would be more useful for us rather than this old foolish moron and his stupid dream!"
"...And what's so wrong about having dreams?" Luffy spoke in a very dangerous tone. Something the others pick up as they ready themselves.
"Ha! What's wrong?! What's WRONG?!" Bellamy laughed hard, something his crew shared. "Is stupid! Dreams don't do shit to anyone! They make you ridiculous, even when there is REAL gold treasure under their feet! Wake-up already! This is reality! The Age of Dreams!? That age is long dead!" He declared, laughing hard with his crew.
"...What a sad man."
You could hear the wind go quiet after the Bellamy Pirates shut up.
"...What?" Bellamy turned to the owner of the voice with anger in his eyes.
"You heard me." Mario said as he walked up to Luffy's side. "Dreams are useless? They make you ridiculous? Boy, you are quite the sad man."
"Oh yeah!?"
"But of course. After all, dreams are what inspired us to move forward. They are what drives us into making our goals come true." Mario explained, Luigi, DK, Diddy, and Goombario joined him. "Without dreams, how can we face the unknown with determination? Ain't that right, Luffy?"
The Straw Hat Captain grinned as Zoro, Sanji, (a reluctant) Usopp, and Chopper joined his side. "Shishishishi! Right you are, Mario!" He punched his fist on his palm, "Listen up, morons! You don't get to mock someone's dream just because you fail to achieve yours!"
That made Bellamy and his crew growl as they got ready. "Fail?! And pray tell, what makes you think I failed at anything!?"
"You must have to. I mean, didn't you set sail in this treacherous sea with dreams?" Mario asked
!
Bellamy, for a second, flinched. In a way, he was right…but he was also wrong! "Ha! Nice try! I did achieve what I wanted!"
"Sure." Goombario rolled his eyes, "And the reason you are here on this island, which is considered the worst place for pirates, is because you achieved it. Let's be honest, you're a bully! A bad one with a score of -1 out of 100."
That did it.
"You shut up, shit-head!" Bellamy bent down as his leg suddenly began to tense, the sound of a spring echoing out.
"What the hell?!" Usopp exclaimed in shock. "He has a Devil Fruit!?"
"A what?" The Goomba boy looked shocked at the information.
"B-Basically, it's a power-up." Luigi explained. "And given what I'm seeing, it seems to be some sort of…spring?"
"Hold up!" Goombario suddenly took out a book and began to flip around. Moments later, he grinned. "Ah! Here we go! Bellamy the Hyena. He ate the Spring-Spring Devil Fruit, granting him the ability to change his body parts into a spring!"
"Eh?!" Almost everyone looked at her in surprise. "How did you know?! He didn't use it when he attacked you before!" Saraquiss shouted.
Goombario simply blew a raspberry. "Wouldn't you like to know?"
"Tch! Well, whatever!" The blue swordsman scoffed as he grinned. "Bellamy was going easy before, but not anymore! He's a pirate worth 55 Million Berries!"
"Get ready, Straw Hat!" Bellamy finished preparing and shot at blinding speed at Luffy, his arm extended to hit his face. "Have this! Death Knock-"
*WAPOW!*
…
…
…
Bellamy's fist was dodged by Luffy without effort and was promptly fisted down into the ground by the rubber man's fist.
"...Huh?" Any mockery or grin in Sarquiss and the pirates vanished. "H-Hey! Bellamy, this isn't the time to fool around!" He said to his captain, refusing to acknowledge the scene in front of him.
Bellamy was still unconscious.
"Oy!" Now the guy was sweating, "Come on! Get up already and kill these guys! Stop making a fool out of yourself! You're a Super Rookie with a bounty of 55 Million-Ow!" Before he could speak more, a News-Coo decided to fly by and drop a Newspaper, hitting Sarquiss in the head, making him mad as a poster came out of it.
One of them floated in his face, which he took notice of…and immediately paled.
"A…A…A…" Words couldn't come out of his mouth as he stared at the paper and at the Straw Hats.
WANTED
Dead or Alive
"Straw Hat" Luffy
100.000.000
Sarquiss was turning white, an action that the entire crew behind them was mimicking as they began to step back.
"Hey, what are you looking at?" Luffy had stretched his arm and grabbed the paper from Sarquiss, who immediately screamed and fell back as the poster reached Luffy.
As he witnessed, his grin formed on his face. "Hahahahaha! Guys! Check it out!" He showed it to the crew, "My bounty rose! I'm now 100 million!"
"A hundred million?!" Goombario popped his eyes as he went close to inspect it. "...Wow! It's true!"
"Congratulations, Luffy!" Mario began to clap at him, followed by most of the crew. "Not that I want to say is a good thing, but you wanted this."
"Meh. It was supposed to happen after the stunt we did in Alabasta against Crocodile." Zoro said, making the Bellamy Pirates have their souls leave their bodies.
"Shishishishi! Thanks guys!" The Straw Hat said before having a thought, "But wait…" He looked back where the newspaper was, seeing Bellamy's crew had somehow gotten to their unconscious captain and were getting ready to run away. Stretching his arm to get it, he snapped back and quickly shook it, several more posters coming out.
"Wait…you don't think-" Usopp began to speak as Luffy gasped in joy.
"Zoro! There's one for you!" The declaration made the swordsman perk up. "Look!" He showed it to him.
WANTED
Dead or Alive
"Pirate Hunter" Roronoa Zoro
60.000.000
Zoro grinned. "Only sixty million? I'm disappointed."
"Only a moron would think this worth is disappointing. And unfortunately, we have a few of them." Nami sighs.
"Hey! Is there one for me!?" Sanji asked, eager to finally have a bounty for himself.
Luffy looked around the posters, seeing some pirates who had their bounty of almost a million. "Hmm…Ah! I found one!" He took it out, "It's DK!"
"Ehhhhhh?!" The Kongs shot their eyes forward as Luffy revealed the poster.
WANTED
Alive Only
"Simian King" DK
79.000.000
"Seventy and Nine Millions!?" Everyone yelled out in shock.
"Alive Only!? Like Vivi!?"
"But why?" Vivi asked, "He hasn't done anything that would warrant this much, right?"
"...Oh no." Mario suddenly went pale. "I think I-a know why." Everyone looked at him, but he paid attention to DK. "Do you…remember when-a we fell into that trap Crocodile-a did for us and the marine fellow?"
"Uhu?"
"And we all knew-and plan ahead except for him?" DK nodded again. "Well…I did notice his shock expression when he saw you punch the cage door open."
Robin, who was enjoying her tea, widened her eyes and spat out her drink before looking at the Gorilla. "You punch a Sea Stone Prison open?!"
"Uhu!" DK nodded.
"I…guess he shouldn't be able to do that?"
"Shouldn't?!" Robin, for the first time in her life, abruptly stood up and screamed. "Sea Stone is impossible to destroy! There's nothing nor nobody who could do it! Not even the Four Emperors or the Five Elders!"
"I have no idea who those guys are, but that means that DK is stronger than those guys, right?" Luffy said.
Robin promptly sat down, holding her head. "A creature capable of destroying the strongest stone that can stop Devil Fruit users in a snap. Of course the Navy would want to capture him, they would do everything to study him." She can't even imagine what they'll do to him.
("...And?") DK narrowed his eyes as he stood on two legs. ("What does it matter if they come after me? They think they can beat me? Try to study me?!") He beat on his chest hard, one could confuse it for drums. ("They can try!) Uhooooooooooooh!"
Unknown to him, and everyone else, a burst of air shot out from him unconsciously, having passed them all and traveled to Bellamy's crew, who had aboard their ship, when they suddenly felt fear in their hearts as their eyes rolled back in their head.
("And he's not alone!") Diddy and Kidd jump on DK's shoulder, both flexing their muscles. ("They're gonna have to go through us first!")
("Nobody is going to beat the Kong Family!") Kiddy declared.
"Shishishi! Yeah!" Luffy laughs out, "If they think they can just try to take me nakamas away, they are idiots to even think I would let them!"
"S-Same here!" Usopp join in
"And me too!" Chopper said.
"YEAH!" For some reason, all six of them proceeded to do a team pose from a familiar and memorable(embarrassing) Force.
"Yeah!" The Saruyama Alliance cheered for them, clapping around while screaming how awesome they were, with Cricket laughing hard.
"...What in the Seven Stars am I looking at?" Goombella asked.
"Boys being Boys." Nami answers with a sigh as he looks at the posters that she took off Luffy's hand. "So Luffy's bounty went up, Vivi, Zoro and DK have bounties now." She flipped around, "The only one left is-"
*Intensify Heartbeat with Exclamation Mark sound effect*
Nami froze.
She froze like the temperature around the world reached low levels.
"Nami?" Noticing her sudden expression, Vivi spoke. "Are you okay?" She got no response.
Instead, Nami's grip of the poster slipped out, fluttering down onto the ground. Everyone looked down at it-
And immediately understood why the navigator had frozen.
"EEEEEEEEEH?!"
"WHAAAAAAT!?"
"MAMA MIA!"
The Wanted Poster had Mario in it, holding the Power Star in his hand while smiling.
WANTED
Dead or Alive
"Red Cap" Mario
1.000.000.000
"O-One…One…One Billion Bellies?!" Everyone shouted.
"One Billion!?" Cricket and his two (sons) lieutenants stare at Mario in shock. "Holy shit, mustachio! I'm both horrified and amazed!"
"No fair! Why is Mario's bounty bigger than mine?!" Luffy pouted.
"That's what you are focusing on!" Sanji kicks his head away. "Why did he suddenly jump from a million to a billion!?
"B-B-Bro!? What do we do?!" Luigi began to panic and rush to his older brother. "This is awful! Now we will have more bad guys and Marines after us!"
"Calm down-a, brother." Mario, in all his calmness, grabbed his little brother's shoulder. "Everything is going to be okay. Besides, it's-a not that bad if I think about it."
"How can you say that?!"
"Rather me than you, right?"
"That's not the point!" Luigi exclaimed. "Is Delfino Plaza all over again!"
"Don't remind me."
"I agree with Luigi!" Goombario spoke his piece. "You haven't done anything aside from joining the crew and even save this Alabasta place! Why do they give you this bounty?!"
"It could be because of how powerful he is?" Cricket suggested, "I mean, from what I'm hearing, this fellow is very strong. So much that I'm surprised he's following the young man, rather than being the captain."
"And I don't think anyone has snitched about his mission." Nami said, knowing nobody here has spoken about the Power Stars in the open.
"...It doesn't matter."
Everyone turned to Robin, who sported a serious expression, her arms crossed. "The reason why it has risen is of no importance; but rather what that means." She looked at Mario, "The Navy and the Government have decided that you, dear plumber, are a threat equal to the Four Emperors and powerful as the Three Admirals."
"Who the heck are these guys?" Goombella asked.
"The Three Admirals are the Navy's most powerful officers in their ranks, and the Four Emperors are the Strongest Pirates in this world." Vivi explained, shadow images of the Admirals and the Four Emperors appearing behind her. "They all are powerful enough to shake the Government into a full battalion. Ace's captain, Whitebeard, is one of them and considered the Strongest Man in the world."
"Well duh! He's literally God in this world!" Nami exasperated after a long silence. "Now we will have everyone going after us!"
"Can you guys not start." Mario sighs.
"You literally take the 'IM' from 'impossible' out of it!"
"Enough!"
Now, everyone flinched when Luffy, of all people, spoke in authority. "While I'm mad that he has a bounty bigger than me-"
"For obvious reasons!" Sanji commented.
"This changes nothing!" Luffy clenched both of his fists and placed them at each side of his waist. "This doesn't matter to him, he has stated this multiple times! And if we have people after him or us? Then we'll just kick their butts!"
…
…
…
"...He's right." Mario spoke, smiling at this. "I already know how corrupt the Navy is. So their reasons for my bounty means nothing." He turned to his brother, who was still worried. "Don't worry-a, Lu. Their opinions, while it will hurt, won't change what's important to me." He then winked at him. "Besides, with a skillful brother as you at my side? What do I have to worry about?"
Luigi calmed down a bit with a smile before hugging Mario, one he gladly returned.
The scene made the crew smile, already seeing the deep bond that they both share was unquestionable, making everyone remember their own.
Luffy remembers his connection with his brother Ace, their older brother Sabo, and his first friend(stepsister), Uta. All have made promises to fulfill their dream.
Zoro, while having no siblings, remembers his rival, Kuina. Remembering the oath he promised to her long-dead friend or becoming the Greatest Swordsman in the world.
Nami fondly remembers his sister, Nojiko. The only person who was there for her in her darkest hours, despite not being blood-related.
Usopp didn't have any siblings, but he did have his former crewmates(children who follow him around) and Kaya.
Sanji, however, was looking at the brothers with a bit of…jealousy. While feeling touched at their moment, he could see that they both care for each other deeply. A bond that seems to be unbreakable. Something he never had with his…siblings.
Vivi didn't have siblings either, and what little connection she had was the moments she spent with Kozah when they were young.
Chopper's own family practically abandoned him when he was born, so it hurt him a bit to see what it could have been if he had been born normally.
Robin didn't have siblings or anyone she would consider one. Nobody wanted to be close to her because of her Devil Fruit at such a young age. The only things she had were her dear Giant friend, Saul, the researchers of her homeland, and…her mother, who sacrificed herself so that she could live.
"And we are here too!" Goombario said as he and Goombella joined in the hug. "Nobody is going to beat Super Mario and Super Luigi. They'll have to go through me first!"
"I second that." Goombella agreed.
("Us too!") DK, Diddy, and Kiddy suddenly appeared, and the big gorilla wrapped everyone in a big hug.
"Ugh!" They all grunt at his strength, but nonetheless, still smile.
"Yeah! Group Hug!" Luffy declared as he joined in, wrapping his arms around everyone who was left, except for Robin, who ducked down.
"Luffy, don't you dare-!" Nami's warning came too late as she and everyone were sent flying into DK, who welcomed them and gave the biggest group hug ever!
"Waaaaaaaaaaah!~" Both Masira and Shojo were crying, their crew as well. "You guys are awesome!"
Even Cricket shed a tear down at how much love and bond he can sense in all of them. "This generation is something else." He grinned as he wiped his eyes.
Meanwhile, Robin smiles at this. ('It seems that I might truly gotten lucky…') While painting a big target on their backs, in some strange way, this outcome was something she couldn't even phantom to make real. But she won't reject it.
After all, she's technically under the protection of an Emperor Candidate, and the (upcoming)most powerful people in the World.
Perhaps Mario does deserve the title of God.
(The next day)
The next day, the crew, with the new addition of the Goomba-human duo and both ships of Masira and Shojo, were sailing south, the exotic bird pointing in the direction from his cage.
"Keep your eyes peeled when you see the shadow looming somewhere!" Nami informed everyone as they kept an eye out at the sea.
"On it!" Everyone shouted.
"Oh man! Sky Island! I can't wait!" Luffy was already eager.
"I know!" Goombario shares his enthusiasm. "I've been to the clouds before, but never to a sky island! This is going to be awesome!"
"I wonder what kind of stories are up there." Goombella shares her interest while writing in her journal. "Oh man! I might become the first archeologist to discover ancient texts and relics of another world!"
"I-If we can get there first." Luigi said, still feeling very unsure of all this. "I-I just hope we go all the way there and…n-not fall down immediately."
"Ahhhh! Don't say that!" Usopp and Chopper yelled out, their earlier excitement replaced by anxiety and fear.
"Don't worry one bit!" Masira shouted from his ship. "Bad or not, our designs are 100% to save you all! I mean, your mustachio friends and apes help us improve it way~ better than our original results!"
"They sure did!" Usopp yelled before raising his arms. "All hail our wonderful God and his Godly Friends!"
"We hail!" The crew, aside from Robin and the Nintendo crew, shouted with arms in the air.
Mario facepalm.
"Heh! Talk about dedication." Spoke…Cricket as he adjusted his shirt. "I heard of trying to be God, but I'm sure this is the first time I heard someone deny it."
"Please, Mr. Cricket. Don't start too." Mario massages his forehead.
"Heh. Of course. I am going to be your guest, so the least I can do is respect my sponsor." Cricket said. "I just still can't believe that I've been wasting my time swimming. I must thank you for helping me with this."
Now, for those who are wondering why Montblanc Cricket has joined the crew, the answer is very simple.
You see, Goombella, hearing his story, got curious about the legend of the City of Gold. She inspected the last relic of the City and found a curious thing.
She then asked Mario to inspect something for her, and once he confirmed it to her, she declared her findings: the City of Gold didn't drown.
The old man's mouth and his crew fell hard.
The young girl/Goomba explained that the rock point of the cliffside seems to be going up, not down. And after hearing about the Knock-Up Stream, she suggested that perhaps the island was shot into the sky by it.
To further her hypothesis, she took the map of Jaya and the Sky Island Map and united them to find her expected result.
Jaya was a jaw formation, while the rest of the sky island was the top of a face. Putting them together, and you get Skull Island.
Montblanc Cricket had never in his life laughed so hard at his stupidity for not thinking of the possibility.
Unfortunately, because of his need to rest to recover air in his lungs, he couldn't go because of the lack of minimum air as the Knock-Up Stream would do bad for him…normally.
Hearing this, Mario offered him an opportunity, putting him inside his personal Warp Pipe and having him rest there for a while, as time inside his Training Space can be modified a bit.
Cricket was left shocked by such technology, nevertheless, he had nothing to lose in trying, so he accepted. So he, along with Mario, Luigi, Chopper(to make sure his health was okay), Masira, and Shojo(because they were curious and willing to be there for their boss), entered it. A week later, inside it, the five of them came out with Cricket healthy and ready to go!
"Oh don't thank me." Mario shook his head as he motioned to Goombella, who was talking with Robin. "It's-a her who discovered it."
"That I will."
"Everyone!" Zoro, who had taken the crow nest, shouted out. "I see a massive shadow at 10 o'clock!" Rushing to the side railing, everyone saw a massive shadow in the sky far away.
"Yep. There it is!" Cricket grinned in excitement. "The Millennium Cumulonimbus! We have to hurry!"
At that, Shoji sent his men underwater and, using his sonar scream, got the information he wanted. "There's a wave coming at 10 o'clock coming against the current! It's a whirlpool!"
"Shit! Is already starting!" Cricket said in panic. "We need to go now!"
The Going Merry sailed as fast as it could; it wasn't long until it suddenly appeared floating out of the ocean.
"What the?! Are we going the right way!?"
"Yeah!" Nami answered whoever asked. "The needle is pointing up! We are going to get sucked into the maelstrom!"
"That's correct! This is where the Knock-Up Stream will come! We need to be in the center of the whirlpool!" Cricket exclaimed as he held onto the railing.
"WHAT?! YOU DIDN'T TELL US THAT!"
"I mean-"
"MARIO! KEEP YOUR MOUTH, SHUT!"
"Masira! Shojo!" Cricket shouted to his two lieutenants, who had stayed behind. "Once, and IF, we reach safe and sound, our Red Plumber friend will come and get you all! Prepare everything!"
"Aye! Aye! Captain!" Both man-apes saluted. "Straw Hats! We leave Boss's health and care in your hands for now!"
"You got it!" Luffy shouted. "Sky Island and Gold City! Here we come!"
"Aaaaah! We are going to die!" Usopp, Nami, Chopper, Luigi, and Diddy started to have second thoughts about this.
*PLOP!*
Only for the whirlpool to suddenly vanish and let the Merry float in the sea in calm.
"...What? That's it?" Zoro, one of the eager ones, asked.
"No!" Nami gasped in horror. "The subterranean cave had finished sucking up the ocean! BRACE FOR IMPACT!"
At the shout, the sea beneath them suddenly began to expand like a balloon before a massive water eruption shot up into the sky.
"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Everyone shouted as they felt the air, holding hard as the Merry was getting dragged into it high up.
In seconds, the Merry began to float off the flying water…and began to fly on its own.
"We're flying!"
"Awesome!"
"Hahaha! Now this is Romanticized!"
Shouts came out, and everyone sported their reaction with a grin on their face.
Mario, holding to the railing next to the figurehead where Luffy was seated, looked back, seeing Luigi holding the mast with Usopp and Chopper. DK holding Diddy and Kiddy while plaster on the wall with Zoro, Sanji, and Cricket. Goombella and Goombario were holding on to the railings with Nami and Vivi. Robin was using her Devil Fruit to help herself down.
The Plumber felt the usual thrill of adventure, the lust for the unknown, and the joy of having friends with you.
It still amazes him how far he and his little brother have come, from wanting to be a simple Brooklyn Plumber, to a traveler of the Universe and Hero of the Mushroom Kingdom.
Honestly, the harsh path he went through might have been the best outcome he never expected.
"Shishishishi! Look out, Sky Island!" He heard Luffy shout, his usual grin and excitement plastered on his face. "Because we are coming!"
"Let's-a Go!" Mario couldn't help but shout while pumping his fist up, as the small caravel flew high past the clouds.
AND CUT! Few! That's a lot to write. Anyways, I'm pretty sure most of you have questions regarding Mario's bounty going up by that much. All I can say is...
IS ALL ACCORDING TO PLAN. STAY TUNED~
