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Chapter Text

Luffy had just delivered Red Roc into Kaido's face when, suddenly, everything went dark. The next thing he knew, he blinked wearily and groggily sat up, only to be in a room that he didn't recognize and hadn't been in before. His head hurt. With a quick glance, he saw that the entirety of his crew was there with him, seemingly in the same stages as him. 

“You guys alright?” Luffy asked his friends.

“I think so?” Usopp replied. “I feel like I have been drinking.”

“You can say that again,” Sanji said, sounding very annoyed

"What the fuck is happening?"

"We don't have time for this..."

“But where are we? What is this place? Are we dead?” Chopper asked worriedly, with tears in his eyes. 

“I really don't know Chopper, but I don't sense anything bad here, so I think we're okay for now,” Zoro replied calmly. “What about you, Luffy?”

“Yeah, me neither, but I still think we should try to find a way out.”

"Haki still works, so nothing can be too wrong," the cook added, just to ease everyone's anxiety. "We are not dead... probably..."

“None of you are in danger, I can promise that,” a disembodied voice suddenly called out, causing everyone to go on the defensive.

The Haki users suddenly felt a new presence.

“Who's there? What do you want with us? Show yourself!” Luffy demanded from the entity, looking around the room hurriedly. The entity didn't seem hostile, but he could never be too careful.

“As I said, I'm not a danger to you, I promise. I'm just here to let you experience something,” the voice tried explaining calmly. Seconds after, a person appeared near them, and a second after that second, Zoro was already holding Wado Ichimonji to their neck. The person was around Usopp's height, with short light brown hair and piercing yellow eyes. He looked to be around his late teens to early twenties. He stayed completely calm, even with Zoro's sword near his throat and the rest of Straw Hats threatening him in a variety of ways, starting with a fist and ending with a skeleton also ready to swing a sword at his neck.

“How are we supposed to verify that? Are we supposed to trust you just because?” Franky questioned their new threat, aiming his hand at the guy.

“I guess so? If I wanted to hurt you, I would've done so already,” the man stated nonchalantly as if bored. To prove his point, he seemingly teleported away from Zoro's grasp, leaving behind a baffled swordsman. To emphasize his point, he raised his arm in the way Law would and forced everyone onto their knees.

“What? How?” multiple pirates gasped out. Several of them tried fighting back but to no avail.

“A devil fruit? No, that couldn't be it...” Robin wondered out loud. “If you're not a threat to us, could you at least stop doing that?”

“Yeah, and if you even hurt any of us, I'm kicking your ass!” Luffy shouted at the man. 'How though?'

“I, once again, promise that all of you will be safe during the duration of your stay here,” the brunette assured them, promptly letting his hand down and releasing everyone.

“Yohohoho, this situation is confusing my brain, but wait I don't have one, SKULL JOKE!” Brook exclaimed and got a fist to the head from Nami for inappropriate timing.

“Thank you, Brook, for that. But yeah, I will tell you everything when you stop trying to threaten me,” the dude offered to the Straw Hats while teleporting away from a reasonably pissed Zoro again.

“Okay, Zoro, stand down. I think we can trust him. I'm going to take a risk and trust him,” Luffy announced, getting a few sharp words from the members who weren't as trusting as their captain was. "I hate to say it, but I don't think we could take him on anyway..."

"If you can't do anything about it..." Chopper shuddered.

"There must be something you can do," Nami hit Luffy on the head, more or less as a reflex.

“If I may, I would still like to introduce what we have got going here,” their 'captor' continued. “If you ultimately don't want to do this, I will let you go back but I think all of you would be interested.”

“Well, I- I think we…we should at l- least listen to hi- him, dontcha thi- think?” Usopp stuttered. “As a b- brave warrior of the sea, I c- can take him down if…if he were to do something.” This speech would have been much more intimidating if Usopp hadn't been hiding behind Franky.

The only people that fell for it were, of course, Luffy and Chopper, before Zoro's glare calmed them down.

“I actually agree with Usopp, it's not going to take a piece out of us to just listen to him. I personally am very interested in this experience we have been promised,” Robin stated completely calmly with a smile on her face.

“Well, I have decided!” Luffy exclaimed. “We will listen to you and I will make my final decision at the end of your talk”

“But Luffy-san what about Kaido and his army? The battle has just started and if we're not there right now… the possibilities make my heart pound out of my chest — not that I have one Yohohoho!”

“That's a great question, Brook! The short answer is… time has stopped for all of you!”

“Stopped? How?” Nami inquired suspiciously. The rest of the Straw Hats were also incredibly taken aback by this revelation.

“Well, so, the place you are right now is a…pocket dimension of sorts. So basically you're everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Neat right? Time in your universe is currently stopped and when you return you can finish what you started with no problem. Also, I haven't introduced myself yet – my name is Ryo and I, actually, am from a different universe than you” Ryo started explaining, but got interrupted by the now even more baffled pirates.

“Honestly…this somehow doesn't surprise me even a little bit,” Zoro said, still holding his swords. “We have encountered weirder.”

"But this might be the weirdest," Usopp gulped.

“But I'm glad that we didn't leave the battlefield unattended, that would've been bad,” Chopper sighed in relief. The confusion about pocket dimensions could be left for another day.

“Putting the universes aside, what is the so-called “experience” you wanna give us bro,” Franky redirected the conversation.

Zoro was getting worried about everyone's sudden compliance with the situation.

“If everyone would stop interrupting me, we would've gotten there at this point,” Ryo grumbled, vaguely annoyed, but then continued with a smile. “I am here to show everything that has happened to you and the people around you. And please let me finish before asking questions. In one or even possibly many, your lives are being used as entertainment…”

The last statement got some people raising their eyebrows in confusion and interest, but they stayed quiet, so they could finally get to the point.

“This space between worlds is entirely under my control, and I intend to let you watch what those people watch as entertainment. But be warned, what you might be watching could reveal things you would normally want to keep to yourselves, but it could also bring you guys together more. I think everything would be a lot more understandable if you would try it, and if you decide you don't want to continue, I'll be happy to send you back to Onigashima,” Ryo stopped explaining and looked expectantly at the Straw Hats.

“If you would give us a moment to discuss it through, we would be grateful,” Nami said quickly and gathered the rest of the pirates to have a discussion huddle.

“I think it would be fun, but if no one else wants to, I will not force this,” Luffy said uncharacteristically. Usually, he would just drag everyone along to whatever his heart desired, but felt extremely generous that evening.

"I will go along with whatever the ladies pick, of course," the cook announced very helpfully, getting a few groans in response.

“I will go along with Luffy, even though the entire situation seems a bit on the suspicious side. And as he said, we can get out when we want to,” Zoro decided, even though no one was surprised at that. "But let's keep a keen eye on him."

One by one, every other Straw Hat concluded that the offer was worth a try, even though they didn't fully grasp what the offer meant or what Ryo even was. What else could they do?

“I have decided! We will go along with you!” Luffy practically shouted at their new guide through everything.

“Very well! Then let me set everything up,” Ryo clapped his hands and suddenly the previously empty room was decorated with a wide couch that could accommodate all of them, a coffee table in front of the couch, and a huge rectangle that no Straw Hats could identify. But they briefly put that aside, because the room wasn't the only one. Off to the side were multiple doors that were quickly identified as two bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen that got both Luffy and Sanji hyped, a library, and a gym.

Franky and Usopp were desperately trying to figure out what the rectangle was.

After a couple of minutes of the pirates looking around in excitement, they accumulated back into the original room and sat on the couch so that: Luffy sat in the leftmost seat, Zoro, Chopper, Robin, Usopp, Nami, Brook, Sanji, and Franky sitting down, in that order, after him

“Well…are we ready to start the journey?” Ryo asked his company. He got answered with hesitant nods and words of agreement. And with that, the giant rectangle turned on.

'Please let it be okay...'

Chapter Text

“Wealth, fame, power, Gold Roger, King of the pirates, attained everything this world had to offer. The words he uttered just before his death drove people to the seas. My treasure? If you want it you can have it! Find it! I left everything this world had to offer there!” the TV suddenly started speaking while seemingly showing pictures of Roger´s execution.

“This is most interesting, yohohoho!” Brook exclaimed.

“It sure is bro!” Franky agreed with the skeleton.

“But what’s with the voice? Is it someone we are supposed to know?” Chopper asked anxiously from Ryo.

“You don't have to worry about him, he just kinda shows up to give extra information, right now he’s just giving you a quick introduction to the show,” Ryo quickly explained and eased Chopper´s curiosity for a little while.

The rest of the Straw Hats also took note of that and filed it away into the “I’ll just take your word for it” drawer in their heads. Everything was still quite confusing.

“And so men head for the Grand Line in pursuit of their dreams! The world has truly entered the Great Pirate Era!” These were the last words of the narrator before music took the center stage and started showing the Early Straw Hats doing things to the music.

This also made Straw Hats erupt in questions as Ryo had anticipated.

“What is with this music? And what are we doing? I don't remember doing things like this. Didn't you say we were going to watch our lives?” Nami demanded from Ryo, who just smiled and shrugged.

“I did. Just usually shows like this have an opening, you know a small musical thing to get you into the mood to watch it. I know this makes sense close to none of you and while I would love to explain the concept of TV shows to you, we all know the only ones to even mildly get it is Robin and you Nami,” Ryo tried to explain, but quickly realized that it would lead to nowhere. “So I think, for time’s sake, all of you should just accept that this is happening. And also, I forgot to mention that Luffy is the main character here, so most of the things you are gonna see revolve around him. Not all the time but mostly.”

The last sentence got Luffy excited beyond measure and it took a bit for him to calm back down to a tolerable level. Regarding the rest of Ryo’s explanation, the small group of pirates decided to just tolerate the things that seem odd at first and just go with the flow, because no one had a particular interest in what a TV show is anyway (maybe except for Robin and Franky, but was to be expected)

The scene changed when the opening finished, to a shot of a blue sky with seagulls flying around. When the sea was shown, there was a giant whirlpool with a ship going past it. 2 sailors were draped over the railing lazily until they noticed a barrel close to the ship.

Luffy recognized the setting almost immediately.

“Okay, where are we?” Usopp asked.

“Oh, I think you'll see soon,” Luffy snickered getting a few odd looks from his friends

Suddenly a bunch of words showed up on the screen saying “I’m Luffy! The man who's gonna become king of the pirates!” while the voice of Luffy narrated the words.

Before anyone could even say anything, Ryo valiantly attempted to explain the new oddity that Straw Hats had encountered.

“Yeah this might be freaky, but your voice narrates the titles of the episodes, so you better get used to this because it’s going to keep happening,” Ryo said simply and while it clearly didn't explain almost anything to the Straw Hats, except for Robin, they decided it was easier to just keep watching and shut up.

The next scene showed what seemed to be a party on a ship, people were seemingly having fun. Suddenly a familiar girl with orange hair was shown to be staring out the window while a random guy asked her to dance.

“It’s Nami! Guys, it’s Nami!” Luffy hollered excitedly while stretching his hands over everyone to give the most awkward hug to the girl in question. Along with him, everyone was cheering for Nami’s sudden appearance, while the girl just rolled her eyes at the theatrics.

“Of course, it’s her, no one else could look like the Weather witch,” Zoro grumbled, immediately getting an angry cook to shout at him. They probably would've gotten into an actual fight if the scene hadn't changed (they also probably stopped from the glare Nami was giving them, but that’s neither here nor there.)

One of the sailors was now attempting to rope in the barrel but was having a hard time, causing the other one to laugh at him. When the men had heaved the barrel onto the board, another ship came into view. It was a pirate ship, considering the skull and crossbones on the Jolly Roger. This particular Jolly Roger had a heart on the skull.

“Hey, I know this flag! It's Alvida´s flag. I remember plundering it once,” Nami informed others.

At Alvida´s name, the original East Blue pirates cringed and left the rest of them confused. They didn't bother asking questions, for it probably would've been answered in a few minutes anyway.

'I guess we will be seeing Luffy soon. I remember him saying that he had a run-in with her at some point,' Zoro mused to himself

The original ship's outlook alerted the other two about the incoming pirate ship, causing the two to drop the barrel. At the same time, Alvidas' ship shot cannonballs at the original ship causing the people inside to panic. Nami just smirked at the chaos.

Real-life Nami tho slightly frowned because she was suddenly reminded why she was plundering the ships and who she used to be like back then. Luffy took notice of it but decided to leave her be. He knew what she was thinking but he also knew that Nami knew, she was safe and everything was forgiven.

Alvidas's ship kept shooting cannonballs and eventually the screen showed part of Alvida's face. She growled at a boy named Coby, who fearfully answered her. 

This caused everyone but Zoro, Luffy, and Brook to gasp in shock. They had never known this fact about Coby, they only knew that Luffy had helped Coby but that he was on a pirate ship. No. Brook didn't know who the boy was and so he kept quiet. There was no point in asking constant questions that had a very real chance to be answered soon.

“I forgot Coby used to be so small and weak, can you believe it Zoro?” Luffy asked Zoro with a weird sense of pride in his voice. Zoro huffed at it.

“Nope, he could give Alvida a pounding and a half at the rate he has grown, Captain.”

“Who's the most beautiful of all on these seas?” Alvida asked Coby. “This ship´s captain, Alvida-sama, of course!”

“Isn't she on an ego trip,” Franky muttered under his breath. Luckily Sanji didn't hear him or he would have an angry cook to deal with.

Alvida let out quite an evil-sounding laugh and punched the floor with her mace. Immediately after the camera showed her face. To say she was unattractive was an understatement.

“And that is the lady who was supposed to be beautiful? Has she ever seen a mirror?” Usopp choked out.

“I remember her looking more…slimmer,” Zoro added. He was confused as to how that drastic transformation happened.

“I think it had something to do with a devil fruit,” Nami attempted to explain. “But yeah she used to be like that. Luffy, you punched her out right?”

“Uh? Oh yeah, I did. She was annoying as hell. And, please, Sanji! I'm not keen on hitting women, but sometimes it has to be done,” Luffy confirmed to Nami while trying to keep down a rabid blond, who had basically been set on fire after hearing about Luffy punching Alvida.

“You shitty rubber –,” was all he got out until Robin had blown him a kiss, which made him go all limp from love. The now-safe Luffy gave her a thumbs up and they could continue.

“Shit cook.”

The Alvida pirates kept shooting cannonballs at the other ship, which made the barrel from before roll down to the ship's storage. Nami was trying to avoid all the chaos.

“Were you alright after all that Nami-san?” Brook asked with slight concern in his voice.

“Actually, yeah. I got off without a scratch. It was difficult, but I escaped fine.”

“Of course you did Nami-swan!” the love-sick cook flailed.

Alvida's ship parked near the cruise ship and her men started to climb on. She ordered that they show the other ship the terror of the woman pirate. On the other hand, there was Coby, who looked rightly terrified. He claimed that he was not good at that sort of thing when questioned about his lack of action. 

‘Poor Coby…’ Was the only thing in the Straw Hats´ minds.

Luffy looked impassive.

At that Alvida clubbed Coby toward the other ship, making the other pirates wince. Alvida tried to hit Coby again, but missed and went through a wall. It quite conveniently brought her to the dance hall where her men were already shaking people down. Nami did a quick change act.

“Why did you change clothes, Nami?” Chopper questioned.

“I had a ‘pirate style’ outfit on hand so if needed I could blend in with a pirate group, so I could rob them,” Nami shrugged with a smirk. “Girls gotta be prepared y’know.”

“That’s pretty smart there Nami,” Robin observed, earning Nami’s blushing.

While that commotion went down, Coby took a chance to peek into the storage room. He was relieved to see that there was no one there. Then he made his way to the huge barrel close to him.

Luffy was smirking to himself, Zoro was the only one to notice that and figured out what was going to happen soon.

Nami was ziplining to Alvidas' ship to presumably plunder her treasure. While looking around the ship she ran into one of Alvidas' people who got a swift kick to the balls when he got suspicious of her.

This got all the guys to wince and huff a breath.

Coby was now rolling the barrel when 3 guys showed up to chew him out for presumably hiding. Coby lied about wanting to haul the alcohol barrel, whilst everyone was shaking down people upstairs. The guys were more than happy to drink it instead.“

"Great, now I’M thirsty!” Zoro suddenly exclaimed, catching everyone off guard. As a one-time favor, Ryo summoned a sake bottle for him. Just so he would shut up about it.

Right when the pirate in a blue striped shirt was about to open the barrel, Luffy suddenly popped out of it, knocking the pirate clean out. He also claimed to have slept great.

“There I am! Shishishi,” Luffy laughed, throwing his hands in the air, mimicking his on-screen counterpart.

“Yohohoho! That's quite the entrance there Captain! I cannot believe my eyes, not that I have any, to begin with, YOHOHOHO!” Brook hollered, seemingly with the same amount of excitement.

“I agree with Brook on that one, you sure know how to make an entrance,” Sanji stated, taking a drag from his cigarette.

“I am already waiting for my entrance! It's going to be SUPER!!” Franky hollered.

'Are you sure about that?'

On-screen Luffy looked confused at the fallen pirate and in a very Luffy-like manner nonchalantly asked the rest of the guys who they were. “That guy's gonna catch a cold if he sleeps there y’know.”

This caused a few eye rolls at their captain's antics. How was he always so unaware of himself?

Continuing his Luffyness, he asked for food while the 2 pirates were threatening him with swords. But when they were actually about to stab him, Luffy broke their swords and they fell to their knees.

“That was so cool Luffy,” Chopper squealed, getting a head pat from a mildly flustered Luffy.

"What's the big idea?” “W-Who are you?” “I’m Monkey D. Luffy. Nice to meetcha!” All of the commotion caused the two pirates to run away, dragging their friend along.

“I might understand what his problem was now..."

"Different perspective on things, huh?"

Coby tried to convince Luffy to run away, but Luffy was too hungry for that kind of talk and he started to make his way toward the smell he caught, dragging a very terrified Coby with him. After finding the food storage he started to munch down on some apples.

‘This time I can’t blame him for being hungry I guess…” Sanji discussed it with himself.

Coby introduced himself. He had caught that his companion's name was Luffy, and asked about how he was able to do the things that he did. Luffy ignored the question and asked if Coby knew if there were any boats on the ship. His had gotten swallowed by a whirlpool.

“Of course, you would get caught in the whirlpool, why wouldn't you,” Nami grumbled. “How did you manage to even get to me without dying, huh?”

“Pure luck, I think,” Luffy answered while looking vaguely confused himself, which got a snort from Robin.

Luffy inquired about whether the boy was a pirate as well. This prompted Coby to tell Luffy the reason, why he was on Alvida's ship.

“That's unlucky as shit,” Zoro said.

“You don't say, Mosshead,” Sanji for once agreed with him.

"Not SUPER."

“Man, You're dumb and stupid!” Luffy said very helpfully. “You’re brutally honest…” “If you don't like it, then run away!”

“Only you, Luffy, only you.”

"It kinda makes sense though," Robin noticed.

Coby went into a terrified spiel about how Alvida terrifies him too much for him to run away. Luffy claimed to hate him for being a wimp.

“That's cruel Luffy! He's doing his best!” Chopper cried. He was immediately cut off by Luffy himself.

“It's not though. He just sat there and took it from the lady. He wasn't trying to help himself in any way. Just sat there…afraid,” Luffy explained seriously. “I hate people like that.”

“You don't hate me, do you?” the reindeer asked, now genuinely close to tears.

“Do you think you'd be on my crew if I hated you?” Luffy laughed and pulled Chopper onto his lap. That cheered Chopper up, but he made no move to go back to his spot. "You're willing to fight back, even if you're scared."

‘I sure picked the correct person to follow,” Zoro mused to himself.

The scene cuts back to Alvida ordering her men around and Nami in one of the rooms collecting what she could. 

“Keep hustling, sis!” Franky’s booming laugh echoed in the room.

The dudes from before notified Alvida that Luffy was on board, calling him a monster. Alvida misunderstood and clubbed them. Right after that, the eyecatchers flew onto the screen.

This of course confused everyone until Ryo briefly explained to them that these show up every episode and they might change every once in a while.

“Hey, it's me! Shishishi!”

“What compelled you to set out onto the sea, Luffy-san?” “I'm gonna be the King of the Pirates!”

“There it is! There's the catchphrase,” Usopp cheered along with Franky.

“That's still the plan,” Luffy shouted, making everyone nod along.

Coby was baffled by that statement and asked about Luffy's crew, of which he had none. Coby also unnecessarily explained to Luffy what being a Pirate King means. All that while genuinely freaking out.

“Are we sure it's the same Coby we met on Water 7?” Sanji asked.

“The same one. The Water 7 Coby just had Garp to set him straight, I guess,” Robin answered.

“That was quite surprising seeing him like that. He changed a lot during a short time,” Zoro said, while quietly adding. “That Helmeppo bastard too.”

"I would change too if Garp was training me."

Luffy hit Coby ‘just because' “It's not about whether I can or not. I'm gonna do it because I want to. I've decided to become the Pirate King, so if I die fighting for that, that's fine with me!”

“That's our Captain!”

“But please refrain from dying, that would ruin the fun of this trip.”

“I'm gonna do my best. I also would rather be alive.”

Luffy then went on about whether or not he would get a ship if he asked, leaving behind a baffled Coby. “Do you suppose I can do it too? If I'm prepared to die for it?” “Do what?” “Do you think…even I could join the navy?”

“He ended up becoming one so that should answer his question,” Usopp said.

“It's been my dream since I was little! Do you think I can do it?” Coby asked Luffy with hopeful eyes. “How should I know?” Luffy answered honestly.

“I honestly didn't,” Luffy explained, holding a piece of meat. “I couldn't see the future.”

‘Another one inspired by Luffy, how cute.’ Robin chuckled to herself.

Right then and there, Alvida fell through the ceiling, demanding to know who Coby was going to team up with. Even after Coby's initial wave of confidence, he was now cowering again. Luffy almost got stabbed by multiple swords piercing through the wall he was standing next to. Alvida looked at Luffy and stated: “You don't seem to be Zoro, the pirate hunter.” “Zoro?”

This exchange raised a few eyebrows, including Zoro’s.

“You seemed to be quite a menace even before you became a pirate, bro,” Franky smirked, getting a smirk back from the aforementioned pirate hunter.

“By the way, Luffy,” Nami started, getting Luffy's attention. “Did you really not know who Zoro was? I mean the rest of the East Blue gang had at least heard something about him.”

“The place I lived at had…limited information about the rest of the world, so to say,” Luffy tried to answer. “So no I had never heard of Zoro, but I'm glad that I heard about you when I did, otherwise I probably wouldn't have gotten you on the crew, am I right Zoro?"

The green-headed swordsman gave it a thought and did conclude that he probably wouldn't have joined if…fate? destiny? whatever it was, had not brought Luffy to him when it did. “Yeah you're right,” he said simply, putting an arm around Luffy's shoulder.

When Alvida, again, asked who the most beautiful lady was, Luffy just simply asked who that chunky lady was. That made absolutely everyone drop their mouths on the floor and stare at him.

Sanji had to fight himself to stay seated and quiet. This had already happened and might have been correct but you don't say that to a lady.

Alvida attempted to hit Luffy with her weapon, but Luffy dodged very easily and took Coby with him to the upper deck. The Strawhat-wearing boy took out multiple of Alvida's men without even breaking a sweat. He soon got outnumbered which made him run across the deck. He grabbed a mast, which made his arm stretch causing all the pirates to lose their minds.

“Is it that weird to see a Devil Fruit user out in the Blues?” Franky questioned, scratching his head.

“Honestly…yeah. I had been bounty hunting for years and I hadn't seen any Devil Fruit users and let me tell you seeing my first one was…interesting,” Zoro voiced. Luffy had been his first encounter with a Devil Fruit user. He had thought he had gone full coocoo.

Luffy Gum-Gum Rocketed himself through the horde of pirates, taking them out. Once again Coby was dumbfounded and asked Luffy about what he was. “I'm a rubber man!” Luffy answered simply. The much less dumbfounded Alvida asked whether or not Luffy was a bounty hunter. He was not. He was a pirate, going to have a crew sooner or later. While that was happening, Nami, done with her stealing, started to leave Alvida's ship.

“And there goes Nami!” Luffy observed

“There I am going indeed,” She chuckled. By now she had a feeling that she was going to meet Luffy sooner than she originally thought she did.

After a quick flashback to ten minutes ago, Coby found the courage to tell Alvida that she was ugly. Luffy, finding that hilarious, laughed loudly. Now enraged Alvida swung her club at the pink-haired boy, only to hit Luffy, which would have also been good and all if the small captain wasn't so bouncy.

“I must commend young Coby for his braveness. You sure were a good role model for him, Luffy-san,” Brook complimented both of the boys, with a strange grandfatherly air to him.

“I didn't do anything,” Luffy laughed. “Coby was the one to find his courage.”

“If you say so Captain If you say so.”

With a swift Gum-Gum Pistol, Alvida was knocked far off the ship, landing on the just-woken blue-striped pirate, causing a small geyser to erupt. Alvida pirates were terrified enough that Luffy managed to order them to give Coby a boat. Suddenly tho, more cannonballs came flying, from the nearby Marine ships. Luffy immediately jumped ship while telling Coby to go see them.

“Yeah, that would be bad. He would get captured,” Usopp shivered.

The boat that Luffy jumped in landed very close to the boat Nami was using to escape.

“Hey! Hey! Nami, we met before, how did we not notice each other?” Luffy very excitedly shouted.

“I mean we didn't get a good look at each other and we were both busy,” Nami tried to answer but was also kinda confused. You don't see hats like that very often. But, oh well, they met each other a bit later anyways.

Luffy and Coby got away on their small boat. Luffy, like always, found the entire situation fun. “Luffy-san. If you're heading for the One Piece, that means you're going to the Grand Line, yeah?”

“Where else? The moon? Give me a break,” Sanji exhaled annoyedly. That got a few chuckles from the crew.

“He's tried telling me things, like I hadn't heard about them before,” Luffy sighed. “I mean I know I'm dumb, but not that dumb.”

“There, there Captain,” Robin patted his head with one of her extra arms.

“I need a strong crew. What about that pirate hunter guy? What's he like?” On-screen Luffy asked.

That got Zoro to raise an eyebrow again. Did Luffy actually seek him out? It wasn't a pure coincidence that he found him. Interesting.

Coby claimed that he had heard that Zoro was being held at a Marine base.

“Why were you held prisoner?”

“Umm…I'm gonna guess we're gonna hear about it soon enough, but all I'll say is that it was more or less voluntary.”

“That doesn't clear anything up, but okay!”

"You and Luffy are so secretive constantly. We know nothing about you."

“Aw, He's a weakling?”

“Sure is, hah!” a certain Curly brow laughed, which got the attention of a certain Mosshead, which in turn turned into a full-blown brawl in front of the couch. It lasted multiple minutes until Nami had enough and punched both of them. They didn't feel like getting off of it instantly.

Coby refuted the weakling accusation...

which caused Zoro to smirk from his place on the floor.

...by claiming Zoro was as terrifying as a demon. “Why are you asking about him?” “Thought I might have him join my crew if he's a good guy!” That statement left Coby baffled, again.

“Right now Zoro is the only one I've looked for to get him on my crew. The rest of you, I just…kinda stumbled on,” Luffy said sheepishly, while Zoro looked strangely proud on the floor.

The two went back and forth on the topic of Zoro until Luffy bonked Coby on the head ‘just because'. Suddenly the scene changed to show an island. On the island was a courtyard of sorts. In the courtyard was a man, who could have looked better. The man had a black bandana and a green haramaki. He was tied to a post by his arms and middle section. He looked at the camera menacingly. That man was Roronoa Zoro. To be continued.

The Straw Hats were taken off guard by the sudden showing of Zoro. He had seen better days.

‘Seemed kinda thin…’ Sanji thought to himself.

“It's kinda weird seeing yourself like this,” Zoro chuckled awkwardly.

Nami nodded and added: “Yeah, it is, but I got used to it pretty quickly."

“So…that's the first episode. What do you think?” Ryo spoke for the first time in a while.

“It's so cool!” Both Luffy and Chopper yelled out.

“It's certainly interesting. I wouldn't mind watching more,” Robin spoke.

“Whatcha think Captain? Should we continue?”

“We definitely should. It's fun,” Luffy decided. “Any objections? No? Then let's continue!”

Chapter Text

After Luffy announced his decision of continuing, Zoro and Sanji got back up and sat back on the couch. The next episode started playing after the Straw Hats had finished discussing the first one.

While the opening was playing, Brook took out a paper and pen from somewhere in his suit and started to write down the notes and lyrics for the song.

The first scene opened with Luffy and Coby still on the boat. According to Coby, they were close to the Marine base that Zoro was held in. Luffy was impressed that they were actually going to reach their destination. Coby claimed that he was just using the most basic skills that all sailors were supposed to know. “

“And I'm once again asking, how did you survive without me?” Nami groaned. Some of them could get from one place to another, but others got lost on their way to the bathroom.

While Luffy was laughing about Coby's navigational skills, Coby started talking about Zoro. He described him as a bloodthirsty beast and a demon in human form. The pictures on the screen only helped along.

This caused Chopper to freak out, which in turn meant that Luffy had to pass him to Zoro, so he could see that Zoro wasn't so scary.

“Enter the Great Swordsman! Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro!”

“So, we are going to see you being recruited, huh?” 

“I guess so.”

The small boat made its way to the Marine base island and the two boys left the ship after docking it. They began walking through the lively street, while Coby tried to convince Luffy to leave Zoro alone. The rubberman hadn't decided whether he was going to recruit the swordsman or not. He needed to figure out if he was a good guy or not. 

“And he was, shishishi,” Luffy announced, causing Zoro to slightly blush and Sanji to quietly grumble under his breath.

The townspeople acted very scaredly after Luffy mentioned Zoro's name, making it seem his name was taboo.

“Jeez, dude, what did you do?"

“Not a lot…I think,” Zoro grumbled.

They continued walking until Coby mentioned Captain Morgan's name causing people to act the same way as before.

“WHAT DID HE DO??” 

"A lot."

The two continued walking, Luffy, again, finding the situation hilarious. Coby began to feel unease after the townspeople's reactions. Eventually, they reached the Marine gate. While Coby was busy thanking Luffy and crying, the straw-hat-wearing boy climbed the fence.

“Of course, you would…” Nami sighed, causing Luffy to snicker.

  The scene now showed Zoro tied up in the middle of the courtyard, seemingly asleep or passed out.

‘That can't be comfortable,'' multiple people thought.

Zoro looked and felt kind of uncomfortable at the sight. He didn't like looking weak, Luffy sensing his discomfort put a hand on his shoulder.

“To be honest, I understand why people were scared of you, you're looking quite intimidating there,” Robin observed. 

“I guess? Even though that was never my intention.”

Luffy suggested untying Zoro so he could get away, which Coby quickly shot down. “Hey, you guys!” The not-asleep swordsman called out. “You're an eyesore. Get lost!” Which of course didn't deter Luffy. Suddenly a ladder appeared next to the two and a little girl climbed up it.

“Aw, I remember her, she was nice,” Luffy smiled, getting an acknowledging nod from Zoro.

‘I wonder how she's doing right now,’ the swordsman thought. ‘I hope she's alright.’ 

The girl quietly made her way to Zoro. The girl revealed to Zoro that she had brought him onigiri.

“That’s so nice of her,” Nami cooed.

Zoro just told her to scram, very rudely to boot.

This made some Straw Hats angry, especially Sanji, but one look from Zoro and Luffy calmed them a bit as clearly there was more to the situation.

Suddenly a third voice joined the conversation and three figures were shown approaching from a gate. They were two Marines and a very snobby-looking man in the center. Luffy exclaimed that there was another weird guy, from his spot on the wall.

"Oh, it's that guy."

“You seem to always come in contact with weird people, Luffy,” Robin giggled.

“What does that say about us then?” Brook pointed out while also giggling. This observation caused a fit of giggles in the rest of the crew as well. 

The snobby-looking one noticed the rice ball and s natched one from the girl. After taking a bite from one, he caused a fit when the rice ball was too sweet. He trampled them to the ground.

This instantly infuriated Sanji, to the point that he stood up and sighed heavily a moment before yelling: “YOU DON’T DO THAT TO FOOD! IT WOULD’VE BEEN FINE AND SHE’S A LITTLE GIRL!”

He paced around for a moment to calm himself down and none of the Straw Hats interrupted as wasting food had always been a sore spot for Sanji.

The girl was distraught at the destruction of the rice balls, while the snobby bastard informed her that those who help the criminals will be executed and told one of the Marines to throw her out while mentioning that he’s the son of Captain Morgan.

While Sanji was about to throw another fit, he got kind of distracted by the mention of Morgan. The bastard wasn't forgiven tho.

“Son of Captain Morgan, huh? I wonder why he’s as feared as his father?” Usopp pondered quietly.

“I hate his guts with a passion,” Zoro said to absolutely no one in particular.

“He seemed to be a better person at Water 7 tho,” Chopper vocalized, only getting a grunt from Zoro as an answer

When the girl flew over the wall, Luffy immediately caught her. While Coby was fussing over the child, Morgan’s son was laughing at Zoro’s promise to survive the entire month, he had only ten days left after all.

“You’d been like that for twenty days already?! H-How? What?” Nami yelled out. How had he managed, because seemingly he was just living off vibes on that pole?

“Willpower,” was the only thing Zoro replied, making everyone quietly groan or even facepalm.

Sanji felt incredibly uncomfortable but did his best to hide it. He didn't really succeed, but no one wanted to suddenly invade his privacy.

The moment the Marines left, Luffy showed up in front of Zoro again, asking whether or not he was even strong, making Zoro lose his temper a little bit. He regained it quickly though and again promised to live through his ordeal. But then, when Luffy was about to leave, he asked the red-vested boy to pick up the trampled rice balls and feed them to him. Luffy smiled a bit more after what Zoro did.

‘He still ate it…’ Sanji thought with a newfound admiration for the crew’s swordsman. Not that he’d ever admit it. 

‘The decision has been made I see…’ Usopp smiled to himself.

“That had to be gross, that was more mud than rice,” Franky shuddered at the thought of eating it himself.

“Yeah, the mud and dirt were not the best but when you ignore that the rice ball wasn't that bad,” Zoro said casually, not realizing that it is very hard for most people to ignore the taste of mud on one's tongue.

The scene changed to an alleyway where Coby and Luffy told the girl that Zoro had eaten her rice balls. The girl also told the two boys why the swordsman was tied up Apparently he had thrown a chair at Helmeppo’s pet when it had terrorized Rika’s and her mother's bar. And subsequently punched Helmeppo in the face, like everyone had wanted to do. But instead of killing Helmeppo, he accepted a deal of being tied up for a month, if the mother and daughter are not harmed.

“Y-You're such a SUPER guy, Zoro-bro! Accepting that deal to save those two!” Franky bawled loudly, which in turn got Brook crying with him and attempting to start writing a new song in Zoro's honor.

“Shut up, you two! It was what anyone should've done in this situation!” Zoro yelled at them, his cheeks a bit red.

“You're right that everyone should have done this, but you're one of the rare people who would do it,” Robin expressed while Zoro's cheeks were getting redder.

Next thing they knew Helmeppo was again terrorizing Rika's mom's bar, this time asking for free food. The scene panned to show Nami of all people drinking at a table not far from Helmeppo. Luffy walked past her.

“So…Nami, we have somehow seen each other twice before actually meeting, huh?” Luffy laughed. How did they manage that and not recognize each other when they officially met?

“Seems so,” Nami also laughed while pondering the same question as Luffy. “One of us should have noticed this.”

“Oh, yes. I've been bored lately, so I've decided to execute Zoro tomorrow.”

“HE WAS GOING TO DO WHAT?!” Brook howled. “No real man would do this! Where's his honor?” 

“He was a slimy bastard for sure. And if Luffy had not been there I think I might have not been here right now,” Zoro admitted.

“Well, I'm glad I was there then, shishishi.”

"So am I, Captain, so am I."

The look Luffy had was terrifying and he ran up to Helmeppo and punched him. Hard. This prompted Helmeppo to try to use his privilege but that didn't deter Luffy one bit as he had already decided that Zoro was going to be in his crew.

Zoro just simply smiled.

The next scene they saw was of Captain Morgan, back facing the camera, saying that he's great. While he and one of his subordinates were discussing things, Helmeppo ran through the door to ask his dad to slaughter someone. And the eye-catchers, still only including Luffy, flew past the screen. Zoro was the focus again, but there was a distant sound of something hitting something.

“What's that sound?”

Zoro thought back to that day and suddenly his eye widened. He was thinking of Kuina. Was his past going to be shown? Ryo did say that some things may be shown that they were not keen on revealing. But there's no point in trying to stop this, his past isn't that bad. Yeah, it was going to be fine. Probably.

The scene faded and showed a pair of training swords going at it. It was a little Zoro and a girl sparring.

“Aw, you were so cute Zoro!” Nami squealed happily before realizing what they were watching. “Wait, is this…”

“We are apparently now watching my memories from childhood. Strap in 'cause this is going to be fun,” Zoro said unenthusiastically. Others gulped and thought about their pasts and realized that they had to become okay with a bunch of shit very quickly.

“It's going to be fine, I'm sure,” Luffy tried to ease the sudden discomfort in the air. “We'll be here for each other when it gets difficult.” He hoped that no one was too uncomfortable with this situation, because he wanted to keep watching the series.

The girl overpowered Zoro, making him fall over. “You're still as weak as ever, Zoro!” ‘I promised her…I can't afford to die in a place like this!’ After that short memory and Zoros monologue, he woke up from his nap.

'This wasn't long at all, but  don't think this will be the end of it'

The Straw Hats had questions but decided to keep them to themselves for the time being, when they saw the look on Zoro's face. It was a mix of quiet nostalgia and sorrow, but it disappeared as quickly as it came as Zoro attempted to calm himself. 

Luffy, again, was standing in front of Zoro who was starting to become annoyed by the child constantly appearing in front of him. “I'll untie you, so join my crew!”

“Just like that?! Never change Luffy, never change,” Usopp snickered.

“That was probably a weird thing to hear huh?” Chopper asked the swordsman, still in his lap. 

“Absolutely. Imagine if you will: You have been tied up for three weeks and suddenly one day this kid will come to talk to you constantly and on the third time he just asks you to become a pirate,” the green-haired swordsman brought up. It had been a weird day.

Zoro firmly denied Luffy's offer but Luffy had already decided that Zoro was going to join him so it was just a battle of who was more stubborn. Luffy offered that if he gets Zoro's swords back Zorod has to join the crew.

“So…the great Pirate Hunter Zoro, got blackmailed into joining the crew?” a perplexed Sanji asked before bursting into laughter with most of the crew.

“Shishishi, it turned out fine so who cares, Zoro didn't regret it,” Luffy attempted to make the situation less like blackmailing.

In a very un Zoro-like manner, he actually could tell that Luffy was going in the wrong direction. Luffy decided to go the other way by Gum-Gum Rocketing himself to the other side of the courtyard. Zoro looked like he had seen a ghost.

“I honestly thought I was hallucinating,” was the only thing the man in question said to that. Everyone was too busy laughing at his face to notice the direction thing.

"After twenty days of starvation, and such an uncomfortable living situation, I wouldn't put it past you," Chopper stated.

At that moment, the Marines were busy erecting a giant statue of Captain Morgan. He had an iron jaw and an axe hand. He looked scary.

Chopper whimpered at the sight of the Captain, getting a pat on the head from Zoro.

Morgan hit Helmeppo in the face after the latter had annoyed him, calling him too worthless to hit. Morgan then asked if Helmeppo had killed Rika for getting into the yard. His son then showed a fraction of humanity by claiming she was just a child. Morgan then ordered one of his subordinates to seek her out and exterminate her.

This caused everyone's blood to boil, but no one said anything because Morgan wasn't worth it and they knew he got what was coming to him in one way or the other.

The Marine said that he wasn't capable of killing a little girl and for that he got an axe to the head. It was the blunt side and it wasn't a killing blow, but he was going to have a killer headache when he woke up. They then got back to raising the statue and that got the attention of Luffy who was on the hunt for Helmeppo and Zoro's swords. He rocketed himself up to the tower where the Marines were but was slightly off and flew too far. In an attempt to stop himself, he broke the statue. After recognizing Helmeppo he grabbed him and went running off inside.

“And now he has a hostage, lovely.”

While that was happening, Coby ran towards Zoro to untie him. And again Nami showed up inside the base to presumably rob them.

“Are you kidding me? Again?” Luffy gasped. He started to feel like he was an accidental tool for Nami, by causing all of the commotions.

“I'm honestly confused about how you two hadn't met by this point,” Brook quietly pondered. Like c’mon.

Luffy was dragging Helmeppo across a corridor when Helmeppo revealed that Zoro's swords were in his room. While they were talking the Marines that were chasing them caught up to them and pointed their guns at Luffy, who in turn used Helmeppo as a human shield.

“Luffy…you can't just do that,” Sanji whimpered, his face in his hands. Luffy only cocked his head in confusion.

"A pirate gotta pirate."

Coby was untying Zoro while revealing to the swordsman that he is going to be executed tomorrow. “I won't ask you to be a pirate. But please help Luffy-san!” Zoro seemed to be considering Coby's plea.

“I sure hope you aren't in this crew just because Coby asked you to be,” Robin asked with an air of playfulness.

“Of course not.”

Suddenly a small army of Marines with Morgan in the back showed up, freaking out Coby, who already was having a hard time with the ropes. Luffy walked into Helmeppos' room, which didn't look like it belonged to an adult man. Luffy zoned in on the three swords in the corner of the room. Through a window, he saw the problem in the courtyard and swiftly grabbed the swords and flew through the window landing in front of the Marines. The Marines had just started shooting and Luffy caught all of the bullets which, of course, didn't hurt him. This though freaked out both Coby and Zoro.

“This was honestly freakier than the stretching. I was sure you were dead for a moment there,” Zoro said to Luffy.

“I didn't have time to warn you about it. And looking at it from not my view, it does look kinda freaky,” Luffy explained and observed.

Luffy bounced back the bullets, almost sending one through Morgan's face. Unfortunately,y he missed it. After Zoro asked him who he was, Luffy delivered his signature “I'm Monkey D. Luffy! The man who's gonna be King of the Pirates!” To be continued.

“There it is again!” Usopp and Chopper cheered. Usopp at some point had pulled out a paper and a pen. He had written ‘Pirate King counter’ with now two tally marks on it. 

“It's entertaining as hell. I would love to watch more,” the cyborg announced.

“I also say we continue but is everyone alright with the childhood memories and stuff?” Luffy asked. He didn't want to make anyone share things they didn't want to share.

“It's going to hurt a bit, but I have my Nakama here so I'll be fine,” Robin decided. After a little bit of thinking everyone agreed that they would like to keep watching.

“Well then. Let's continue!”

Chapter Text

“Wait, before we start, I have a proposal!” Nami suddenly stood up, getting everyone's attention.

“What is it, Nami-swan?”

“Haven't you noticed that we're missing someone important?” the navigator asked the room. When no one immediately answered, she answered for them. “Jinbei.”

“OH! RIGHT! How did we miss that he's not here?” Luffy suddenly panicked. “Ryo, can you bring him here as well? He's Nakama!”

“I mean sure, I kind of forgot he's in the crew, to be honest. But yeah, you guys are not too far into the series, so you can give him a quick recap.” Ryo said nonchalantly, ignoring Luffy's angry face after he heard that the man had forgotten that Jinbei was a Straw Hat. He quickly snapped his fingers and suddenly the giant Fishman was laying on the floor next to them and a new chair had appeared just for him. 

It took a moment until Jinbei awoke, but when he did, he sure was surprised. After a quick explanation of where he was, everyone quickly provided a secondary explanation for the rest of the situation. It took a bit, but eventually, Jinbei felt like he had been sufficiently caught up.

“We're not that far in the series, but I feel like we owe you a recap,” Luffy said and prompted Robin to give a quick but information-filled explanation of the episodes.

“Okay, I think I have somewhat understood everything, Robin-san,” Jinbei declared and took a seat in front of the TV.

“Morgan vs Luffy! Who’s the Mysterious Pretty girl?” Zoro was baffled that Luffy wanted to become the Pirate King, demanding to know whether Luffy knew what it meant. In a very Luffy-like manner, he responded: “King of the Pirates is King of the Pirates! Are there any other meanings?”

“At first I genuinely didn't believe that you could become one, sorry about that,” Zoro admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

“It’s alright, I admit that I don't look like I could, shishishi.”

Luffy presented three swords to Zoro and inquired which one was his. To this, the swordsman told Luffy that he uses Three-Sword Style. “You'll take them, right? If we fight together now, you'll be a government-defying villain! Would you prefer that, or getting killed by the Navy like this?” Luffy very expertly manipulated Zoro, too expertly.

“This is too good. Marimo got manipulated to join the crew!” Sanji cackled, genuinely irritating the Marimo in question. Luckily, they were too far apart for Zoro to punch him.

“What are you, the devil's son? Well, whatever, I'll be your pirate, if I'm just gonna die here instead.” 

“I can say that it was a good decision,” the still seething swordsman said and then pointed towards the cook, “If only you didn't recruit him onto the crew.”

“Now now, stop fighting, watch the show,” Nami answered instead of Luffy, kind of managing to calm the two.

Luffy, with no sense of timing, started to celebrate Zoro joining the crew, while the latter was still tied up and Marines were pointing at them. But luckily, the Marines were still shocked from seeing Luffy's Devil Fruit powers. Morgan then started to explain Devil Fruits to everyone. Simultaneously, Luffy was failing miserably at untying Zoro, which was also the time the soldiers got over their shock and charged at the trio.

Chopper shielded his eyes in fear. He knew the trio was alright, but seeing this seemingly hopeless situation got his fur to stand up.

Zoro demanded someone give him a sword and after getting it, sliced through the rope instantly and defended Coby from the Marines. “I'll be a pirate. I promise you that. I'm officially a criminal, now that I've fought the Navy. But I'll tell you this right now. I'm only going to fulfill my ambition! To be the world's greatest swordsman! If I wind up having to give that up, you'd better accept responsibility and apologize to me!”

‘That worldview went down the toilet quickly…’ Zoro sighed to himself

“I hope that you know I would willingly put my swords down for you, right?” He asked his Captain in full seriousness.

“Please don't do that,” Luffy complained.

‘He pretty much did at Thriller Bark,’ Sanji thought somberly.

“The world's greatest swordsman? That sounds great! The King of the Pirates would need no less than that on his crew!” Zoro also promised that his name will be spread throughout the world.

“You weren't kidding. I mean, everyone pretty much knows you Zoro-kun.”

“Yeah, but it's not enough yet. Haven't become the Greatest Swordsman yet.”

Luffy told Zoro to duck while he Gum-Gum Whipped the Marines, the future Strongest Swordsman was holding back. The Marines came to realize that they had no hope against those two, but Morgan was stubborn and wanted them gone. He ordered those who displayed weakness to shoot themselves.

This angered Brook once again, who despised the thought of wasting human lives. He was so angry that he couldn't even form words and only made exasperated noises. Sanji just put a hand on his Nakama’s bony shoulder. The rest of them were also angry at the pathetic excuse of a man.

Luffy ran past Zoro and the soldiers to give a nice punch to Morgan but got blocked by his axe-hand. Morgan then split the ground with said hand, and Luffy pretty much stepped on his face, sending him tumbling. Morgan, once again, tried to cut Luffy in half and only got a face full of Luffy's sandals. “And you call yourself a marine? You've destroyed Coby's dream!”

‘Of course, Coby's dream is the deciding factor in his anger. That's how you've always been, huh?” Nami thought fondly

Suddenly, Helmeppo called out, revealing that he had taken Coby hostage at gunpoint. Any word he said didn't carry any weight, because of the way he was shaking. Coby declared that he was willing to die if it meant he was not getting in Luffy's way. Luffy only smiled and told Helmeppo to release his friend, because he was willing to die.

“That was brave of the boy, I'll say,” Jinbei said.

“He grew a lot in a few days.”

Luffy aimed at Helmeppo while Morgan was raising his axe against Luffy, but right as Luffy punched and Morgan axed, Zoro moved quickly and sliced Morgan down. “Nice! Zoro.” “My pleasure, Captain!”

For some reason, this felt like a monumental moment and half the crew was suddenly cheering. Brook was already writing a song, and Franky was denying that he was crying.

Zoro felt a bit embarrassed by the sudden attention he was getting from everyone and was about to suffocate because Luffy was practically choking him from hugging him too hard.

Zoro sheathed his swords and issued a challenge to the rest of the Marines. But instead of readying themselves to fight, the soldiers threw their weapons and hats into the air to celebrate their defeat of Morgan. Suddenly, Zoro made a pained noise and fell over. “I'm…hungry…”

“Of course, you would be! You hadn't eaten in three weeks, Zoro!” Chopper exclaimed worriedly. “You were in no fighting condition!”

“I know that Chopper, but I had no choice here, I needed to fight to protect everyone,” Zoro attempted to soothe their little doctor.

‘That hunger had to have hurt…” Sanji thought sympathetically. He shuddered at the thought of that.

Nami had tied up two marines and was currently searching through a drawer. After a bit of looking, she found a safe behind some barrels. She easily opened it and thought she had found a map for the Grand Line. But it turned out the map had been stolen by Buggy the Clown. The eye-catchers had the addition of Zoro.

Zoro was very proud of his eye-catcher showing up, but Nami was busy hating Buggy.

“Goddammit Buggy!” Nami hissed.

“I would've gotten it back for you, Nami-swan!” Sanji declared with his signature heart eyes.

“Thank you, Sanji-kun. I appreciate that.”

The trio was now at a food place and Zoro had his first meal since he was captured. Luffy was somehow out-eating a starved Zoro as he does. “So, how many others have you gathered besides me? You said you were in the middle of gathering a crew. To be the King of the Pirates, you must have a good number gathered.” “Just you.”  This baffled Zoro and he asked about their ship. Luffy pointed out the window towards the little fishing boat that he and Coby arrived in.

“You sure picked a crew to join, huh?” Usopp snorted.

“I didn't pick the crew, the crew picked me if you remember.”

“This crew sure had an interesting beginning,” Jinbei mused.

Zoro wasn't amused by their ship, but Luffy promised that they'd have a huge ship before long. At that, Zoro laughed.

Everyone other than Luffy, Nami, and Usopp was slightly taken aback by this. They had rarely if ever genuinely seen Zoro laugh, he sometimes chuckled and so forth, but full-on laughing… no.

The three that had witnessed that just kind of smiled and took in that sight for the first time in a while.

“You should laugh more, Zoro,” Chopper suggested timidly. That made Zoro think. He hadn't even noticed that change in himself, but seeing himself like he used to be…made him kind of sad in a way. He had gotten serious in a way he hadn't meant to. He should work on that.

“Maybe you're right, Chopper, maybe you're right.

Luffy then imagined his future pirate ship, complete with him holding a sword. Their Jolly Roger looked exactly like the one they currently had.

“You can't use a sword, Luffy,” Usopp pointed out.

“I can dream, okay?”

“I think Luffy-san was born without any sense of planning.”

‘Isn't that the truth…’ literally everyone thought, other than Luffy.

After Rika asked where they were going to go, Luffy just simply answered - Grand Line. Coby freaked out because Luffy's crew only had two members. Coby then vaguely explained the One Piece geography and the reason why pirates set sail for the Grand Line, to the small child. Luffy just nonchalantly brushed off Coby's warnings.

“If I tell you honestly, the Grand Line was much more dangerous than I thought at first,” Luffy admitted guiltily. Him underestimating the sea was probably the reason Sabaody happened. Chopper moved from Zoro’s lap to his lap, to give comfort for the brief moment of guilt.

“I think all of us, who hadn't lived there, underestimated it. You hear all these stories, but they seem exaggerated, so you just don't believe them,” Usopp comforted his Captain.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Luffy-san and I haven't known each other for long, but we are friends! Right?” “Yeah! We're going to part ways, but we'll always be friends!

“Luffy-bro, casually making friends with future Marine Captains, y’know the usual,” Franky laughed and attempted to do his SUPER pose, but sitting down just made him hit Sanji on the head with his giant arms. 

Coby then admitted that he had never had friends or people who would fight for him and that Zoro and Luffy taught him to fight for his beliefs.

Now the Cyborg was crying and everyone, but a very concerned Jinbei, just attempted to ignore him.

Suddenly, the Marines from before came into the bar. They were very grateful to Luffy and Company for getting rid of Morgan, but they couldn't let them stay because they were pirates. Luffy and Zoro decided to honor that request and started leaving. Coby then had to worm his way out of being identified as a pirate. Luffy almost told the Marines about how Coby was on Alvida’s ship, but as the straw hat-wearing Captain had planned, Coby punched him, subsequently proving that they weren't friends. He and Luffy had a small fistfight until Zoro separated them.

“That was brutal, Luffy-kun,” Jinbei observed. It was necessary, but he thought Luffy went a bit too far.

“Might have gotten carried away, shishishi.”

‘But it was necessary,’ Zoro determined.

The two pirates left, leaving behind a thankful but frustrated Coby. He then very passionately asked the Marines to let him join him, one of the soldiers being against it. But the lieutenant after seeing the young boy’s passion decided to let him join. The scene changed to Nami getting ready to leave and the two pirates walking to their ship. Zoro scolded Luffy for his lame act, but Luffy laughed it off. Coby, the mom, and Rika came down to the pier to thank the two and so did the soldiers. With Luffy’s ship going into the sunset and the lieutenant gave the soldiers a punishment for sending them off. Zoro then asked for a reason why Luffy was obsessed with becoming the Pirate King. “I swore to a certain man that…someday I would gather a great crew, find the world's greatest treasure, and become the King of the Pirates!” While he was saying that, a still picture of a man and a child was on the screen, the man placing a straw hat on the boy's head. To be continued.

“Was that picture…” Sanji started asking before Luffy cut him off.

“Yup, that was Shanks and me. The moment that Shanks gave me the hat,” the Captain said with a hint of nostalgia in his voice.

“Oh, nice! Anyway, the fight with Morgan was pretty cool,” Usopp reflected.

“It was so nice seeing the formation of the crew,” Robin voiced for the first time in a while. She was too busy watching the screen to make adequate commentary all the time. “It's a good thing Zoro was so fast, otherwise both Luffy and Coby would be dead.”

“Robin! No!”

“Captain…give the order.”

“Yosh! Next episode!”

Chapter Text

The episode started with a close-up of Buggy’s Jolly Roger. Three of his men were looking at a chest full of treasure, talking about how Buggy won't be mad at them. To the left of them, they saw another boat. At a closer look, it was Nami’s boat. She seemed to have passed out.

“Before anyone says anything, I was fine,” Nami said quickly to stop the avalanche of questions that would've been inevitable otherwise.

“But Namiii…” Chopper cried, his doctor senses going into overdrive.

The pirates approached Nami, and she asked them for water. The navigator offered the three men a treasure chest that got them to go into her boat. The Buggy pirates managed to get the chest open, but only found a panda on a spring popping out. That was enough time for Nami to steal the bigger boat and sail away.

“Good thinking, Nami-san,” Brook complimented, suddenly getting a thought in his empty skull. “Such a smart woman would have incredible panties, can I-” Before that thought was finished, the pervy skeleton got double-teamed by both Nami and Sanji.

“Don't you dare, you perv,” Sanji hissed and then went all noodly and addressed Nami. “You were incredible, my dear!”

“Ignoring all that, you sure are clever, Nami,” Robin added and got a blush out of Nami.

Nami gave a weather forecast just as storm clouds were gathering. The smaller boat definitely wouldn't manage that. Nami watched from a distance as the boat sank. “Luffy’s past! Enter Red-Haired Shanks”

“Oh jeez! There we go,” Luffy sighed. He didn't know how much would be shown, as Zoro’s past wasn't shown that much. Were they only going to see the hat thing, or was it going to show Ace and Sabo as well? Just in case, he had to prepare himself for the worse. He wasn't ready to see Ace again just yet.

Zoro sensing his Captain's plight put a comforting hand on the younger man's shoulder, getting a grateful smile back.

Luffy was hungry, and Zoro seemed to be bored. Luffy was sure that everything was going to work out fine. “Isn't it kind of weird that someone tryin to be King of the Pirates, doesn't even have any navigational skills?” Zoro very rightfully questioned. “It's not weird. I just drifted around. But aren't you a Bounty hunter who wandered the high seas?” “I have no memory of even calling myself a bounty hunter. I set onto the sea in search of a certain man…”

“Marimo’s right Luffy, you should've had some navigational skills. It would've made everything much easier.”

“But I have Nami now! So it's fine.”

“But Zoro, why were you a bounty hunter if you didn't call yourself a bounty hunter?” Usopp inquired. 

“I just collected bounties to make sure I had the money for eating and having a place to sleep. I never had the intention of getting rid of pirates,” the green-headed man answered.

“…but then couldn't get back to my village. I had no choice, so I just went after pirate ships to earn a living.” “Oh. So you're just lost.”

Sanji and a few others burst out laughing at that, and it took a while to calm themselves down.

“How bad can your sense of direction be, Marimo?” Sanji wheezed, making Zoro huff angrily and slide his swords out of their sheaths. Luckily, before an actual fight happened, Luffy and Chopper, in between their giggling, managed to get the irate swordsman to sit back down again.

“Is his sense of direction really that bad?” Jinbei whispered to Franky.

“Yes.” was the simple answer Franky provided between his snickering. The fishman just sighed and contemplated how he managed to join this crew.

Zoro briefly got angry and rocked the boat, making Luffy’s hat fly off. This triggered a memory of Shanks, saying that the hat is very dear to him. Luckily, Zoro managed to catch it, before it flew too far. The action of Zoro catching it transitioned very smoothly into Shanks wearing the hat.

“Okay, that change looked kind of cool!” Luffy exclaimed.

“So that's one of the four Emperors…” Chopper uttered. He looked kind of dorky.

“He wasn't an emperor yet, when I met him,” Luffy explained to the reindeer.

“It's still SUPER that you know one of the Emperors.”

The Shanks transition began the flashback. The scene now showed a bar full of drinking pirates. After the camera slid a bit to the right, it revealed Shanks and a young Luffy. (With comically large feet for some reason)

“You're so tiny, Luffy-san!” 

“I mean, I am seven,” a mildly confused Luffy answered.

“Then take me on your next voyage, Shanks! I wanna be a pirate too!” Young Luffy asked. He didn't have his iconic scar on his face yet, otherwise, he looked pretty much the same as nineteen-year-old Luffy. “As if you could ever be a pirate!”

“That was rude!” Chopper squeaked.

“He was probably tired of me asking to go on an adventure with him, I don't think he was rude,” Luffy laughed, playfully squeezing Chopper for a second.

“Luffy. Just being a good swimmer doesn't mean you'd make a good pirate.” a scruffy-looking man with a headband with ‘Yasopp’ written on it, said.

“That's my dad, guys! That's him!” a now very excited Usopp yelled, jumping off the couch.

“That's him? Huh. He looks…reliable,” Sanji observed. He knew that Yasopp was powerful, but looking at that guy, he didn't look like it. And he abandoned his child. Why was Usopp so happy about it?

“He is fun to be around until he starts talking about Usopp,” Luffy whispered to Zoro who snorted. “Also now I miss swimming, I had almost forgotten that I could. Screw you Yasopp!” 

“Were you actually a good swimmer?” 

“For a seven-year-old? Yes. And I liked to do it as well.” Luffy sulked.

The Red-Haired pirates kept teasing Luffy, making the child more frustrated by the second. “Now, now. Don't get so mad. Here! Have some juice.” When Luffy accepted the drink, he once again got made fun of.

“Now those are some SUPER fun dudes to be around!”

“Not when you are a child with an extremely short temper,” Luffy added, feeling a bit embarrassed by how he was acting. He didn't remember having that much of a temper.

A lady with green hair was quietly enjoying the commotion while drying some dishes. She was probably the barmaid.

“Mellorine! Mellorine! I love her already!” Sanji proclaimed, before getting a fist to the head from his Captain. Who apparently was very protective of her,

“Huh?” a now bewildered cook asked. “You never do that.”

“I pretty much see her as an older sister, don't lust for her!” Luffy said simply and turned his attention back to the TV. Sanji and the rest were still kind of confused but stayed quiet about that.

Shadowed figures approached the bar door and kicked one of them off its hinges. Everyone other than Shanks stopped what they were doing and looked at the newcomers. One of them began making fun of the pirates and approached the bar counter. The leader of the mountain bandits introduced the group as such.

“Oh, how I hate this guy,” Luffy grumbled loud enough for the others to hear.

“I'm just going to assume that he's a bad guy.”

The bandit leader wanted 10 barrels of booze, but the barkeep admitted that she had just run out of alcohol. Shanks apologized for drinking all the alcohol and offered up one of his own bottles. The bandit, though, didn't like that offer and smashed the bottle pretty much into Shanks’ face and then bragged about his eight million berry bounty.

“That's a lame bounty.”

“The average bounty in East Blue is three million berries, so he's doing pretty good,” Zoro informed.

“It is the weakest sea after all,” Jinbei mused

Instead of getting angry, Shanks was busy being worried over the fact that the floor was now wet. He offered to clean everything up, but Makino, the barkeep, refused his offer. The bandit leader took that opportunity to slice a deep cut into the counter and made a bigger mess for Shanks to clean up. Then they left because they weren't going to get booze anyway. It was quiet for a moment, but then Shanks started laughing

“Why is he laughing?” Chopper questioned.

“You'll understand one day, I'm sure,” Zoro supplied comfortingly and patted his head.

Luffy shook in either rage or fear. Then Shanks’ crewmates started laughing along with their Captain, calling him lame. “Why are you laughing?! That was so uncool! Why didn't you fight them? No matter how many there are or how strong they seem, you're not men - or pirates - if you laugh after something like that!” “I understand how you feel, but he only spilled some booze on me. It's nothing worth getting mad over.”

‘That's why he did what he did at Jaya,’ Nami suddenly understood, he learned it from Shanks.

“That attitude would have gotten you killed, Luffy-kun.”

“I'm aware of that, but I eventually figured out what he meant by that, so it's fine.” After he got almost eaten by a Sea King. 

Luffy, being very frustrated, decided to stress eat and zoned in on a peculiar fruit inside a small treasure chest on the bar.

“Don't tell me Luffy…”

“It's exactly what you think it is, and it's going to happen exactly how you think it's going to.”

Shanks at first didn't realize that Luffy was eating the Devil Fruit and just ignored what Luffy was eating. But then he figured out that Luffy was not supposed to eat it and freaked out. He held the young boy upside down and attempted to shake the fruit out of him. It only made Luffy stretch down to the ground and face-planted onto the floor.

“I was so confused at first,” Luffy stated while chuckling a little bit. It had been a weird day.

“I think everyone would have been. Why did he keep the box open anyway? It was so easy for you to just take it.”

“Tactical plunder on his part, for sure,” Sanji seconded.

“But Luffy-bro got a Devil Fruit out of it, so it was to our favor.”

“Our favor? It's my Devil Fruit!”

Shanks informed the confused child that what he had eaten was the Gum-Gum Fruit and that he had now lost his ability to swim. This caused Luffy to freak out along with the Red-Haired pirates.

‘Poor dude.’

Someone was now running somewhere as Luffy got pushed into a water barrel. It seemed that Luffy had picked a fight with the mountain bandits. Luffy demanded that the bandits apologize for making fun of Shanks.

“Not my smartest moment, I admit.” This caused a few sighs and ‘No shit Sherlock's!’ thrown around.

It was revealed that Makino was running to see the mayor of the village, so he could somehow save Luffy. The mayor attempted to reason with the bandit leader, but the latter revealed that it was too late, and he was going to be killed. Luckily, at the right moment, the Red-Haired Pirates showed up. Shanks took his chance and made fun of Luffy again. One of the bandits pointed a gun at the pirate captain's head. “Put your life on the line. Now that you've drawn your pistol, put your life on the line—I'm saying those things aren't for threatening people.” The moment he finished talking, Lucky Roux had shot the bandit that was threatening Shanks.

“So you really did steal your speech from Shanks,” Usopp found out, while Chopper was briefly freaking out over the death.

“I mean, I intimidated you, didn't I?” Luffy shot back, not at all embarrassed by his plagiarism.

Shanks told the freaked-out bandits that they were pirates, not saints and that he was fine with someone mildly bullying him, but when his friends were threatened, then he was going to be angry.

‘This is so much like Luffy-san.’

The bandit's leader gave an order for his men to kill the pirates, but Beckmann was able to take everyone out by just hitting them with his rifle. Now cornered, the leader got desperate, pulled out a smoke bomb, and quickly got away with Luffy, leaving behind baffled pirates.

“So you got kidnapped,” Sanji concluded calmly.

“Yep, and it's only the first time this has happened,” Luffy stated just as calmly, unfortunately not elaborating further, even when questioned.

‘Lousy fucking bandits,’ Zoro quietly cursed.

The bandit had made it onto a boat and was quite a distance away from the shore. He was holding a struggling Luffy over the edge. After a quick conversation, he threw him into the ocean.

Luffy quietly prepared him for what was coming, he had never been necessarily fond of that memory. He was thankful, but still…

While Luffy was struggling to stay above the water, a huge Sea King showed up behind the boat and swiftly ate the bandit, boat and all.

‘That was quick…’ 

The Sea King though wasn't yet satisfied and set his sights on Luffy. But just as it attacked, Shanks showed up and pulled Luffy away from harm's way. The monster cowered and retreated when Shanks let out a burst of Conquerors Haki. Luffy started crying, not necessarily from fear, but to reveal that Shanks had lost his left arm. “It's only an arm. It's no big deal.”

Luffy kind of slumped after seeing that and cuddled Chopper a bit harder. Everyone else was just shocked. They had heard that Red-Haired Shanks was missing an arm, but none of them had expected this. 

“So that's how he lost it,” Jinbei said quietly.

Zoro put an arm around his friend's shoulder until he managed to collect himself again.

“It's not your fault, you know that, right?”

“That's what everyone has told me, yes, but I still feel guilty about it,” the straw hat-wearing boy admitted, but then slapped his cheeks in an attempt to bring his head back into the game. “Let's keep watching.”

Now Shanks’ crew seemed to be packing their things. Shanks informed Luffy that they were leaving after staying for a while. Luffy also stated that he wouldn't try to find a way into the crew again. “Someday, I'm gonna gather a crew as good as yours, and I'm gonna find the greatest treasure in the world, and I'm gonna be the King of the Pirates! I'll show you!” “You're gonna surpass us, huh? In that case… I'll leave this hat with you. It's dear to me. Take good care of it!” Shanks said while removing his hat from his head and placing it on Luffy's head. Luffy started to cry.

“This is so sweet! I would cry if I had tear ducts! Yohohoho!” Brook shouted, forgetting that he can in fact cry.

Luffy ignored him in favor of looking at his hat for a moment and suddenly felt teary-eyed. This hat had so many memories embedded into it.

Usopp, for some reason, walked in front of Luffy and practically sat on his lap (and Chopper) to give him the snottiest and most tearful hug possible. Luffy tried to return it as well as possible given the position they were in at the moment.

Nami, all of a sudden, came to the realization about how important giving her the hat was at Arlong Park and felt more important than ever.

The crew was now sailing away, cheers of the villagers being their exit music. “Bring it back to me someday! Once you've become a great pirate! That's our promise, Luffy!” And with that, the flashback ended. 

“Whenever you get the hat back to Shanks, are we going to be called the Hatless pirates?” was the question that was suddenly plagued with. This caused everyone to briefly quiet down and ponder that question.

“I think I'll worry about that when I have given the hat back,” Luffy eventually concluded. That would be a problem for the future, he didn't have the brain power right now to figure it out.

Zoro scolded Luffy for spacing out and then complained about being hungry. Conveniently, a giant bird was flying over their heads at that very moment. In his infinite wisdom, Luffy decided to Rocket himself to the bird to bring it down. But, he got caught in its beak, forcing Zoro to start fervently paddling to go rescue his new Captain. He also was paddling right toward the three Buggy pirates that Nami tricked earlier. The Pirate Hunter let the three onto the boat and scared the men into submission. “Knowing Luffy, he'll manage something once he spots land.”

“You already had so much faith in him? After knowing him only for a few days?” Jinbei questioned Zoro. That was rare in this world.

“Something just told me I can.” And he was absolutely correct, Luffy was the man he was destined to follow.

The Buggy pirates started talking about their captain, which in turn revealed that Zoro had no clue who Buggy was. The crewmates described him as a terrifying person.

All the Straw Hats who had met Buggy just sweatdropped.

Nami was shown to be running away from a bunch of pirates, yelling about a stolen map. Some of Buggy’s face was also shown as he ordered to shoot down the bird that was carrying Luffy. The rubberman landed harshly on the ground in front of Nami. The woman seemed shocked. To be continued.

“That's one way to meet your future captain.”

“No, yeah, it was an…unique experience,” Nami chuckled awkwardly, remembering what happened next.

“This episode was kind of intense, wasn't it?” Sanji said to no one in particular and got nods all around.

“So basically, Shanks lost his arm for Luffy and gave him his hat. Luffy got kidnapped by a bandit and a bird and landed in front of Nami. Am I getting all of that right?” Chopper recapped, there were a lot of things packed in a short time frame. 

“Yes, yes, and yes,” Luffy confirmed. 

“Do you guys want to continue, or do you want to have a break? Go have dinner or something, go to sleep, and carry on in the morning?” Their host offered.

“There's a day and night cycle?”

“No. But you can imagine there is.”

“I think to keep a resemblance of normality, we probably should eat meals and have a good night's sleep,” Jinbei advised.

“I am getting hungry…”

“You're always hungry.”

With that, Sanji got up, stretched, and made his way to the kitchen. The rest of the pirates got up as well, some staying together to discuss their experience and some looking for other ways of entertainment.

Everyone had a lot on their minds because of the four episodes they watched.

Chapter Text

Cooking for the crew was calming for Sanji, he knew everyone’s favorites by heart, and he had the opportunity to make food for the people he loved. This also gave him time to think, to sort out his thoughts. This was the time for himself.

Currently, he was fretting over his own past, because he didn't want to experience it again, even though he wasn't actually there anymore. And Totto Land was an entire bag of bullshit in itself. Another thing he was worried about was the Thriller Bark Incident, as he liked to call it. He was sure that the other 3 who were in on the secret were also concerned about it.

In a normal circumstance, he would casually suggest just going back to Onigashima, but he was still a human being and wanted to know what was going to happen next in the show. It was fascinating seeing the formation of the crew and the thing he wasn't there to witness. So he decided to leave it for now as it was still far away.

Everything came down to how Luffy viewed the whole situation… Oh god, Marineford. That's going to be a pain to deal with.

He opened the kitchen door to call his Nakama to dinner

¤¤¤¤¤¤

Somewhere else in that plane of existence, Luffy had thought the same thing. He had discovered that the Shanks thing wasn't too bad to witness again. And he had Nakama with him. Marineford is going to be a breeze. He hoped. “Oh, food!”

¤¤¤¤¤¤

Zoro had hidden in the gym to train, even though he wasn't sure if he could get stronger there. He also had a lot on his mind, like the Thriller Bark Incident. He first and foremost had Luffy’s well-being in mind, and he wasn't sure what would happen if his captain witnessed that event. But currently, it seemed that Luffy was fine with being here and Captain's decision was the final one.

The swordsman, like absolutely every crewmate, wasn't in the slightest excited about Marineford, but maybe it was a good opportunity to fully understand what Luffy experienced, and they could give him the appropriate support. 

He put down his weights when the cook's voice echoed through the space.

¤¤¤¤¤¤

Nami was reading a book with Robin and Chopper, while occasionally discussing things about the show. They were very much enjoying the experience, even with impending sad moments on the horizon. This could be good for the crew as a whole.

The trio put down their books and calmly walked towards the kitchen when Sanji called.

¤¤¤¤¤¤

Franky was napping and only to get woken when dinner was called.

¤¤¤¤¤¤

Usopp was anxiously thinking about everything they were going to experience. Would that be good for the crew, especially his stubbornness in Water 7?

Sanji’s call startled him out of his thoughts, and he joined the others in the kitchen.

¤¤¤¤¤¤

Brook and Jinbei were enjoying each other's company as the two oldest Straw Hats. They were also part of the minority that didn't fully trust that this was good for the crew, but they had no proof of that, so they decided to wait and see.

These two took their time to join their crewmates, annoying them slightly.

The dinner was as chaotic as usual, with the older members attempting to teach Jinbei how to evade Luffy when he tried to steal his food. Once again, the fishman was confused as to how he got to this point in his life. Who was he kidding? He would die for the rubberman.

“We're going to continue, right, Luffy?” Nami asked her captain.

Luffy looked up from his plate and, while still eating, gave a double thumbs up and muttered something unintelligible. 

“It has been SUPER this far! So I fully agree with the Captain.”

“But, Luffy, have you considered that this could bring up things we don't want to remember or thought we had buried?” Usopp suddenly brought up.

This time, Luffy took time to swallow, before he met Usopp's anxious gaze with a determined one.

“Yes, I have. I thought it all through and decided that we’ll fix any issues that come up in the process of being here. It's better to do it here than have those issues come up in the real world in the most inconvenient way. If something halfway buried comes up, we’ll bury it for real. With these things, we don't want to remember… I guess we’ll just be there for each other. We’re Nakama after all, and we’re strong.” This was one of the rear occasions where Luffy proved that he wasn't as stupid as people made him out to be. He could think ahead when it was needed and didn't always make uncalculated choices

“That is a good point, I guess I'm just overreacting-” “No, you're not. I get the fear, Usopp, but I promise, I’ll help fix anything that comes up.”

Usopp felt a bit less anxious after that. Luffy was reliable, and he would never let the crew fall apart.

After that, dinner resumed normally and when everyone had stuffed their stomachs full, they dispersed again. Some went straight to sleep, some stayed awake for a while longer to do their things and continue to digest the day's happenings.

Some odd hours later, Sanji started to prepare breakfast and snacks for their session. Slowly, but surely, the rest of the Straw Hats started to trickle out of the bedrooms and into the kitchen.

“So you guys ready for Day 2 of this?” Ryo suddenly asked. He had appeared from nowhere and scared the shit out of everyone.

When the jumpscare lost its effect, the multidimensional being got affirmation that they can start soon. Breakfast went smoothly, except for the scare, and before long they were back on the couch ready to start.

The new seating order: Robin, Chopper, Sanji, Usopp, Luffy, Franky, Nami, Zoro, Jinbei, Brook

Chapter Text

“A terrifying, mysterious power! Captain Buggy, the Clown Pirate!” After Luffy fell from the sky, it didn't take Nami much time to use the situation to her advantage. “B-Boss! You came to save me!” “Wha-? Who are you?” “Sorry, but they're all yours now!”

“You didn't…”

Nami blushed and hunched over in shame. “I'm sorry, Luffy…”

“It's alright. It has been for a while now,” Luffy soothed his navigator.

The Buggy pirates bought right into it, and one of them punched Luffy…in an angle that knocked off his hat.

“Now they've done it,” Sanji sighed.

That pissed Luffy off, and he punched the scarred pirate who punched him. “ Don't touch my treasure”. It didn't take long for Luffy to take them all out. After that, Nam approached him again. After Luffy revealed that he didn't remember her, Nami introduced herself as a thief who steals from pirates. “Hey, wanna team up with me?”

“A thief who steals from pirates and a pirate, what could go wrong,” Zoro chuckled sarcastically.

“Absolutely nothing…absolutely nothing,” Nami chuckled along, mildly confusing everyone else, but Luffy who also smiled.

“No. I don't feel like teaming up with you.”

“I didn't know her, okay? And she stole from pirates,” Luffy whined as Sanji crossed over Usopp to grab his Captain by his collar for rejecting a Lady.

“Not knowing someone hasn't stopped you before, just take Brook for example,” Usopp complained from under Sanji. 

“Yeah, but Brook is a walking skeleton with an afro,” Luffy said like that explained everything and finally pushed Sanji back to his seat, where he thankfully remained.

Luffy complained about being hungry, and Nami offered to treat him to food.

“Nothing is free in this world,” the navigator exclaimed before anyone had a chance to say anything.

The next scene showed Buggy asking about the progress of catching Nami and why the map was taken. After getting a less than ideal answer for the latter, in more ways than one. He went on about his nose not being funny.

“Was he born like that? It isn't a fake nose?” Chopper whispered. He hadn't taken into account that that was an actual nose. It was weird.

“It is real, and I wouldn't mention it to him if I were you,” Luffy lightheartedly warned Chopper.

Buggy then used his Devil Fruit power to raise the man in front of him, off the ground. After the man promised not to talk about his Captain's nose again, Buggy let him go. The scene cut back to Luffy, now eating a burger, while Nami was informing him that all the villagers left because they were terrified of Buggy.

“At this point, there's nothing that could convince me that Buggy is scary,” Luffy sighed, that guy was just lucky that things kept working out for him.

The navigator revealed her plan to collect 100 million berries. That was also when Luffy realized that Nami was a navigator, so he asked her to join his crew. She was excited until she found out he had a pirate crew. “There's nothing I hate more in this world than pirates!”

‘He's one of the good ones, you idiot,’ Nami mentally cursed herself

“There, there Nami-san,” Jinbei tried to comfort the woman, knowing that her plight was more or less his fault.

Despite the outright refusal, Luffy asked again, which got refused for the second time. Outside the house, the Buggy Pirates were still in search of Nami. She then had an idea. Seemingly, she was going to join if certain conditions were met. Luffy eagerly agreed to it. It being meeting Buggy the Clown while tied up.

“This can only go in one of two ways,” Franky said, trying hard to keep himself from laughing and getting a very terrifying stare from Robin and a very familiar hand motion from her, at the kind of suggestion he was making.

“Sorry…again,” Nami leaned past Franky to tell Luffy and got an affirming nod back.

After the three men, who Luffy knocked out, admitted to their failure to capture Nami, Buggy freaked out. That was cut short by one of his men announcing that Nami came back on her own. She walked in front of the clownman and pushed Luffy onto his face. She then declared that she had captured the map thief, that being his “Boss” who she had a fight with and now is fed up with.

“It's kind of funny that your fake boss would become your actual boss in a little while,” Brook yohohoho’d.

“It's certainly a weird thing to think about.”

Buggy permitted the orange-haired girl to join the crew, clearly playing into Nami’s hand. As a result, though, Luffy was put into a cage. And after that, the pirates threw a party.

“Ignoring the fact that Luffy is in a cage, these dudes know how to party,” Sanji determined.

“Don't ignore the fact that I'm in a cage.”

After a while, Buggy ordered his men to prepare a Special Buggy Ball. That Buggy Ball was shot by a cannon into the nearby houses, destroying them completely.

“That has some funk in it,” Franky almost admired. “If it wasn't used in this situation, I would applaud him.

This caught the attention of Zoro, who had just docked into the town's port, with his own three Buggy pirates. Back with Nami, Buggy declared that he was going to rule the Grand Line, to which Luffy replied: “I’m the one who's going to rule the Grand Line! I'm going to be the King of the Pirates”

This sent a wave of cheers through some Straw Hats as if they hadn't heard their Captain say that a million times.

This pissed off Buggy and after a bit of small talk with Nami, he gave her permission to use a Buggy Ball to blow Luffy away. Even though Nami attempted to save Luffy from it, she was forced to do it anyway. “What's the matter? Your hands are shaking! That's what happens when you take on pirates with half-assed resolve.”

‘Why is he so wise only in rare situations,’ Jinbei contemplated as he side-eyed Luffy. ‘Could there be more to him than I currently realize?’

“Resolve to do what? To kill people like It's nothing? Is that a pirate's resolve?” “No! The resolve to put your own life on the line!”

“You sure have adopted that philosophy of Shanks as your own, huh?” Robin chuckled.

“It's correct tho,” Luffy stated matter-of-factly.

While Nami was thinking about Luffy’s words, one of Buggy’s henchmen stole the box of matches, Buggy had given her. Just as he started to light the fuse for the cannon in front of the cage, Nami took out three sticks that reassembled into a bigger stick. And she whacked him with it.

“There you go, sis!”

“That took the breath out of my lungs, not that I have any, Yohohoho!”

Buggy was understandably pissed about that, and while the thief was aiming to calm down the clown and explain things to Luffy, she mentioned that pirates killed someone close to her.

Franky immediately, but carefully, put one of his huge hands around Nami’s small shoulders in an attempt to make things easier. She didn't think she needed it just yet, but she was grateful.

While that conversation was happening, the fuse still had been lit and the cannon was still aimed at Luffy, who was in a cage, unable to move. Buggy ordered his men to kill the navigator, but she managed to keep them off until she could get to the fuse.

“Gotta give it to you…that was kind of impressive, for you,” Zoro said dryly.

“What do you mean by ‘for me?” Nami said calmly. Too calmly for Zoro’s peace of mind. To top it all off, he now had two bumps on his head and an annoying cook was laughing at him.

Nami grabbed the fuse with her hands in an attempt to extinguish it.

Sanji automatically winced and clutched his own hands.

The Buggy pirates tried to kill her again, but a certain swordsman intercepted them this time. He asked Nami whether she was okay and immediately scolded Luffy for playing around. The people around them, and Nami herself, recognized the name Zoro, thus realizing they were looking at Pirate Hunter Zoro.

“You are a party pooper,” Usopp said jokingly, and luckily Zoro got the joke and the sniper didn't get his head cut off.

Buggy expressed an interest in killing Zoro, to which Zoro warned him about his death if he were to try so. And after it was clear Buggy wasn't going to give up, Zoro relented and fought him. It was over in seconds. Or so the Pirate Hunter thought. After a bit, Buggy was seen putting himself back together behind Zoro’s back. The swordsman didn't notice it, unfortunately, and got stabbed in his side by the ‘dead’ clown pirate.

“Ow!” Everyone, but Zoro, said in unison.

“It wasn't that bad,” Zoro tried to defend himself, but got plonked on the head by a now human-sized Chopper.

“GETTING STABBED IS ALWAYS BAD!!”

Zoro fell to his knees and immediately tried to figure out how he got stabbed. It was then that the very alive Buggy revealed that he has the Chop-Chop Fruit.

“So he's your natural enemy?” Brook asked.

“He would be if I didn't know Haki. I'm pretty sure that would stop him.” Zoro explained. “But other than that, yeah.”

Nami was very baffled by the new turn of events and Luffy called the other pirate a monster, while a text appeared under him saying ‘rubber person’

“That's a fair point,” the aforementioned rubber person admitted.

Luffy then called Buggy a Big Nose, which got his attention and made him throw a knife at the rubber boy. Luckily, he caught the knife in his teeth and bit it into pieces.

‘At the rate, he eats and what he eats, I'm not surprised,” Sanji sighed at the sight.

‘I really should give his teeth a look over after this is done,’ Chopper mentally noted.

Luffy laughed maniacally and declared that he refused to die. He then gave Zoro the order to run and gave him a smirk. Zoro seemed to understand something and smirked back. The swordsman then had a quick spar with Buggy until he got a chance to run towards the cannon and flipped it over. Nami lit the fuse while Buggy and his men were freaking out about the Special Buggy Ball that was still inside it. The cannon shot its Buggy Ball and To be continued.

“How did ‘Run Zoro’ and a smirk, translate into ‘Hey! Go flip that cannon over?” Usopp demanded of the two involved in the mind reading event.

“It just did.” Both of them answered.

“I give up!”

‘They do have a special bond with each other,’ Jinbei once again tried to explain the crew's dynamic to himself.

“Before we make ourselves crazy thinking about this, how about moving to the next episode,” Robin suggested.

“Yeah!!”

Chapter Text

The Buggy Ball seemingly blew up everything in its path, but that wasn't focused on. What was in focus was Zoro and his struggle with his stab wound, who decided to heave Luffy (and the cage) onto his back. At that, Nami asked who that guy is, more or less strength/wise, and Zoro asked the same question about her. Luffy just answered Zoro and told him she was their navigator.

“You were in the crew whether you wanted it or not, I guess,” Chopper giggled.

“If she genuinely would've told me she didn't want to, I would've left her alone.”

“But didn't she tell you that?”

“Yeah, but it was because she felt like her village would've been in danger if she had. And the whole pirates killing a person she loved, the thing. It wasn't because she wasn't interested.”

“Stop. Reading. Me. Like. A. Book!” Each pause was accented by a hit to the head. But after that, Luffy got a rare hug from Nami, leaving him confused but a bit satisfied.

“Desperate situation! Beast Tamer Mohji vs Luffy!” Zoro persisted and carried Luffy forward, while Nami wondered why a pirate would go this far for someone. At that moment Mohji showed up. Mohji was a man sitting on a giant lion. And he had hair that grew all around his face. He offered to take Zoro’s head.

“Was he strong?” Brook asked.

“I don't think anyone on his crew was strong,” Zoro scratched his head. “They were all just relying on tricks.”

Zoro kept dragging Luffy’s cage until he collapsed near a pet food store. In front of the store was a small white dog. Luffy very gleefully hopped his cage near the dog and made a face at it. Zoro collapsed again against the porch of the shop.

“Chopper, will you be able to translate what he says?” Zoro suddenly asked.

“I-uh, I mean, I would be able to…if he were real,” the reindeer tried to answer. In pursuit of an actual answer, he looked at Ryo, who in turn shrugged, because he didn't know either.

“We’ll see, I guess?” was the only thing provided, until he stayed quiet for when he was needed again.

“I guess?”

Luffy poked the dog, who in turn bit the boy's face. That made Zoro briefly freak out until he fell over from blood loss again.

“I've never seen you pass out that easily, Zoro-bro.”

“I was weak back then.”

“But you were feared throughout East Bl-”

“I was weak!”

Nami managed to find them and gave them the key to Luffy’s cage, in return for saving her. But before either of them could get the key, the dog ate it. This caused Luffy to almost kill the dog. But before that could happen, an old man showed up and ordered Luffy to stop killing the dog. He introduced himself as the town's mayor. He also noticed that Zoro needed to be taken to a doctor.

“At least someone has some sense in this world,” a vaguely pissed-off reindeer doctor grumbled.

“How’s Zoro?” “He needs to see a doctor, but he said he’d sleep it off and went to bed.” Zoro was then shown to be deep asleep.

“NOT LIKE THAT!”

After Luffy asked what Chou Chou was sitting there for, the mayor explained that the dog was guarding the shop to guard it in place of its late owner. 

“It's so sweet!” Franky cried, forgetting to deny the tears flowing from his eyes. Usopp and Chopper cried along with him.

The mayor claimed that Chou Chou was a smart dog and knew that his owner was dead. The store was probably a treasure in Chou Chou’s eyes, and apparently, the small dog refused to leave his spot.

“Oh, this brings a tear to my eye, not that I have any, yohohoho!! I need to write a song about it!”

Nobody stopped Brook, because that little dog was worth all of it.

All of a sudden, the ground started shaking and roars were heard. The mayor identified it as Beast Tamer Mohji. Luffy looked unbothered as Mohji and his lion were towering over him. He only commented on Mohji’s hair.

“That's what you're focusing on?” Zoro murmured

‘Sure sounds like the Captain,’ Robin decided.

Mohji claimed that there wasn't any animal he wouldn't be able to tame. It was easily disproven by the fact that Chou Chou bit him. After shaking that event off of him, he asked where Zoro was, which Luffy refused to answer.

"Should've told him where Marimo was."

Not satisfied by the answer, Mohji ordered Richie to attack the cage that Luffy was in, effectively freeing him, but also hitting him through some buildings. Richie then approached Chou Chou who was barking desperately.

“I feel terrible for him, but on a mildly related case… I cannot understand animals in this situation,” Chopper acknowledged dejectedly. He wanted to provide extra knowledge.

“It's alright! I think we can all imagine what he was saying,” Robin soothed their youngest crew member.

Luffy was completely alright and set on beating the Buggy pirates and making Nami his navigator. Nami on the other hand was surprised he was even alive. The mayor asked for a purpose for him being in his town. Luffy had just decided his purpose. It was to get the map for the Grand Line and to get a navigator.

“What else can a man want, I guess,” Usopp chortled.

“Not a lot,” Sanji retorted. “Just a map, a navigator, and the title of the Pirate King.”

Both of them tried to laugh as quietly as possible.

Chou Chou flashbacked to a time when he was just a puppy and his owner had just opened the shop. This motivated the dog to do his best against the lion. After a while, the Buggy Pirates duo had set the pet store aflame. Luffy found Chou Chou sitting in front of the scene, howling. 

“This is so sad…” Chopper and Usopp cried.

“But you got revenge for him, didn't you?” Zoro proclaimed proudly.

“I sure did!” Luffy affirmed.

Luffy quickly caught up to the man/lion duo and slammed Richie to the ground with a Gum-Gum Hammer. On top of having his only offense defeated, Mohji also learned that Luffy was a Devil Fruit user. And tried to grovel to him, but Luffy wasn't having it. Chou Chou’s treasure was already gone, and that's why he was going to beat the Beast Tamer’s ass.

“Beat him! Beat him! Beat him!”

Luffy’s fight with Mohji lasted just about as long as Luffy’s fight with Richie. The scene cut back to Chou Chou, with Nami looking on and saying that pirates are always the same. When Luffy emerged from his fight, she tried to attack him, as he was going to be the same kind of an asshole. But to her surprise, Luffy gently placed the only remaining pet food package in front of the white dog.

“This was the moment that I started to realize that not all pirates are bad,” Nami admitted in a quiet voice, but everyone still heard. Nobody made a big deal out of it, though, and she was grateful for that.

 Luffy told Chou Chou that all that was left was one bag of dog food. The dog grabbed the food and walked off, barking at Luffy once, to which Luffy responded: “Yeah! Good luck to you, too!”

“How did you understand him?”

“I didn't. I just kind of guessed. But I seemed to hit the point.”

Mohji had made it back to Buggy to inform his captain that Luffy had beaten him. Buggy was rightfully pissed and ordered his men to find all the Special Buggy Balls. He planned to blow the town to smithereens.

“Does he not have any shame?” Brook groaned into his hands.

“Nope.” answered any Straw Hat who had ever met the sad clown man.

Nami apologized to Luffy for attempting to attack him, which Luffy accepted. She had been through a lot. The mayor though felt humiliated that he didn't help in the process of fighting against Mohji. When Nami tried to calm him down, the mayor told them about the process of making the town they were in right now.

“This is so sweet!”

At the same time, Buggy was firing another Buggy Ball, blowing away another part of the town. This specific one hit the mayor’s house, which just happened to be the one Zoro was sleeping in. But the swordsman was all right, just slightly agitated that he had been woken up.

“How-You know what, I’m not even going to finish the question.”

Chopper had fully given up on Zoro.

The mayor had decided to fight Buggy himself because sometimes a man can't run from a fight. Luffy agreed to that full-heartedly, and Nami had to finally let him go because the old man wasn't going to give up. Zoro and Luffy both seemed excited. When Nami expressed concern, Luffy promised he wouldn't let the man die, and Zoro stated that an injury to his name was worse than an injury to his gut. So of course he was going to join the fight. Luffy offered Nami the position on his crew, but she counteroffered an allyship. The episode ended with the mayor confronting Buggy and the Straw Hats showing up to fight as well. To be continued.

“This was rather intense, one might say,” Brook said while wiping nonexistent sweat off his brow.

“I think it will get more intense, if we keep watching,” Nami assured…or threatened.

“Let's defeat Buggy!”

Chapter Text

“Epic Showdown! Swordsman Zoro vs Acrobat Cabaji!”

“Y’know? I still can't get used to my voice in this,” Luffy whispered to Usopp who nodded in agreement

“Oh god, it's that bastard,” Zoro groaned.

Luffy promised to keep his word on beating Buggy’s ass after he separated the clown's hand from the mayor's neck. Nami ensured everyone knew she was only in it to get the map and treasure. The mayor remained stubborn and told the three ‘young’uns’ to leave it to him. At that talk, Luffy decided to knock the old man out.

“THAT COULD'VE SERIOUSLY HURT HIM!”

“But it didn't!”

Nami was thinking the same thing, but Zoro and Luffy were on the same wavelength and agreed that knocking the mayor out was for the best. Luffy then approached Buggy and once again called him Big Nose. The angry clown then deployed another Buggy Ball, but Luffy refused to run, claiming that it wouldn’t work on him.

‘He's too reckless,’ Jinbei and multiple others thought. They needed to get through to him, that he needed to be alive to become the Pirate King.

Luffy demonstrated a move that he hadn't yet: the Gum-Gum Balloon. The Buggy Ball sank into his blown-up stomach and got flung back into the direction it came from. Buggy of course didn't expect that and failed to get out of the way.

“They had time to get out of the way, c’mon,” Nami rolled her eyes, forgetting that she was just as surprised the first time she saw that move.

“I'm glad that they didn't,” Usopp shivered. ‘They were alive after that, though.’

Nami claimed that Luffy wasn't human, but Luffy just gave her a vague answer that didn't explain anything. But before Nami had the time to grill Luffy further, Buggy showed back up, holding two of his men in front of him. They were burned and the clown seemed fine.

Brook once again groaned at the blatant disregard for life, but decided not to say anything.

Mohji woke up under a pile of rubbish and freaked out when he saw Luffy, quickly informing Buggy and Nami that Luffy was a rubberman. Luffy demonstrated his ability and scared the orange-haired girl next to him. 

“How dare you scare a girl, you shitty rubber!”

“Hey now! It's not his fault I had never seen a Devil Fruit user before.”

“You defending me is going to cost me, huh? Stop looking at me like that!”

Cabaji emerged from the rubble, holding Richie up with one hand after using him as a shield. This sparked a brief argument between Mohji and Cabaji. The latter kicked Mohji, sending him flying towards Luffy, who in turn also kicked him. He hit a wall head first.

“Ow!”

Cabaji asked Buggy to leave the situation to him, which the clown allowed. He then jumped into the air on his unicycle and charged at the Straw Hats. Just before he was able to stab Luffy, Zoro blocked Cabaji’s sword with his own. Zoro was going to take him on.

“Ohh Nice! A Zoro fight!”

Luffy recommended that Zoro rest, but the swordsman brushed him off. Then, unexpectedly, Cabaji breathed fire.

“That's great that the Captain has common sense for once, but why did the acrobat breathe fire?” Usopp requested from no one in particular.

While Zoro was distracted by the fire, Cabaji took advantage of that and kicked Zoro in the stab wound, clearly hurting him further.

“That's low.”

“Hurt like shit, let me tell you.”

The Acrobat then spun up a cloud of dust and attacked the other swordsman through that. And while Zoro did manage to block the sword attack, he couldn't block another kick at his side. The green-headed swordsman was moaning on the ground, while Cabaji was gloating on his unicycle.

“I cannot take any of his words seriously when he is on his unicycle,” Franky sighed.

“It does make him look stupid,” Luffy agreed.

Nami was surprised that Zoro could fight in the state that he was in, and gave Luffy an earful for not doing something to help his swordsman. Luffy kept watching. Cabaji attacked again, but Zoro stood still this time when the Buggy pirate attacked. He unsurprisingly got stabbed again.

“Zoro, I-what am I supposed to say to that?” Chopper squeaked from his place in between Robin and Sanji. “You do realize that wasn't a good move? I don't have to explain to you that getting stabbed is bad?”

“It was a matter of pride.”

“Is your pride worth getting stabbed over?” Nami intercepted the conversation

“Yes.”

“I will never understand you men and your stupid pride.”

Zoro, considering this enough of a handicap for himself, got ready to fight again. That was enough for Nami, and she went to loot the Buggy pirates’ treasure. Cabaji’s next move was to release a lot of spinning tops that only mildly inconvenienced Zoro. Nami found the supposed treasure room. Cabaji somehow rode his unicycle up a wall of a building and from midair aimed down at his opponent. Buggy at the same time sent one of his hands towards the aforementioned swordsman to hold him down, so his first mate could kill him easier.

“That's low,” Robin said with mild displeasure.

Before Buggy reached Zoro, Luffy’s foot stepped on the clown’s hand and Zoro could dodge. Luffy ordered Buggy to stay out of Zoro’s fight.

“Should’ve let them finish him off,” Sanji said nonchalantly, and barely dodged a well-aimed attack by a certain swordsman.

“C'mon, Sanji, be nice.”

Nami lit a lantern and found she was standing in front of an enormous pile of treasure. But before she could fully enjoy her newfound richness, a sword was placed near her neck. A Buggy pirate, who had been asleep when the thief entered the room, had woken up. Just as the dude was wondering about his empty alcohol bottle, Nami pretended to be hurt. When the pirate got distracted by that, Nami whacked him with her pole.

“That was clever, Nami,” Jinbei complimented the navigator.

“Thank you! I do try my best.”

Nami proceeded to unlock one of the chests in that room. It contained the map to the Grand Line. Back at the fight with Zoro and Cabaji, Zoro decided he was tired of the first mate’s acrobatics. Cabaji got angry at that and charged, but got a swift Oni Giri to the chest. He was done for the day and so was Zoro who passed out from exhaustion and probably blood loss. Not before telling Luffy outright that he was going to sleep.

“Somehow, I'm not surprised that you slept on the battlefield, Zoro-san,” the musician commented in a completely deadpan voice.

"I was tired, and I was done fighting for the moment, that’s all there is to it."

Luffy revealed that he was going to the Grand Line, to which Buggy responded that the younger pirate wouldn't be able to handle going there. The Straw Hats Captain then revealed that he would be the Pirate King. This thoroughly freaked out the Big Red Nose, and he stated that HE was going to be the Pirate King.

“He was on the Pirate King's ship, right? He probably knows how to become one, right?” Sanji put the thought out there.

“He’s an idiot, that's why.” was an answer the cook got, but it still bothered him a bit.

Buggy also was annoyed by the straw hat, because it brought back memories of someone. The someone turned out to be Shanks. This excited Luffy, and he demanded to know where the red-haired man was. Buggy, of course, refused to answer. Buggy let go of his foot, which had a knife sticking out of the shoe. The foot spun very fast, but Luffy dodged it with no problem. While Luffy was in midair, Buggy launched multiple knives at him, which he also dodged. But when the rubberman stretched at the clown, the clown in question fell apart enough that Luffy couldn't hit him.

“That was annoying, wasn't it?”

“You have no idea.”

Buggy sent one of his hands (full of knives) after Luffy, who initially stopped it but had to let it go when the hand broke into more pieces. The knives scratched the side of Luffy’s head. But that wasn't what mattered to him. His hat had a slice in it.

“Oh, now it’s happening!”

Luffy announced that the hat was his treasure and whoever damages it had to pay. Buggy didn't care one bit about the hat and sent another round of knives at it, this time stabbing right through Luffy’s treasure.

A slightly disgruntled Luffy took his hat off his head and held it close to his chest. It was like he was trying to protect it in hindsight. Buggy could really get on his nerves.

Luffy immediately thought of Shanks and when Buggy started to make fun of the hat, he dropped the info of the hat being Shanks’. The young captain also looked rightfully pissed. It surprised Buggy that the hat belonged to Shanks. In turn, the clown dropped the info that he and Shanks used to be on the same crew.

“How could two people from the same ship, turn out so different? Like goddammit, one is an emperor, the other is a captain of a traveling circus!” Usopp desperately wished to know. But instead of an answer, he got laughter at his comparison between the two.

Buggy, in anger directed more towards Shanks, stepped on the straw hat, causing Luffy to punch the clown in the gut. The Straw Hat Captain demanded to know what happened between the two older pirates. Buggy agreed to tell him, claiming that Shanks is the one person he absolutely cannot forgive. To be continued.

“The more I see of the dude, the less I like him,” Franky grumbled.

“At least you didn't have to deal with him in Impel Down and Marineford, dude,” Luffy vented tiredly. Even though he was helpful, he was still a pain in the ass to deal with at times.

“Yeah, I feel for you, bro.”

“But anyway! Next episode!”

Chapter Text

“Who is the victor? Devil Fruit Power Showdown!” Shanks supposedly stole enormous riches from Buggy. Then Buggy went into a flashback.  A young Shanks and a young Buggy were arguing about something to do with the North Pole and the South Pole. They continued a bit before they got plonked on the head, by a tall man with an interesting beard shape.

“Wait for a second!” Luffy exclaimed after seeing the man, fully ignoring the Shanks and Buggy fight.

“What is it?”

“I’m pretty sure that's Rayleigh, he WAS on Roger’s ship with those two.”

“It is Rayleigh,” Ryo spoke up from the corner of the room.

“Yay! I got it right!” Luffy grinned at seeing his mentor.

Rayleigh reprimanded the two boys for fighting, and a few moments later an enemy ship was spotted. Buggy set his aim at plundering the enemy ship, but Shanks didn't seem to care for that. After taking down a pirate, Buggy found a treasure map. Later at the victory celebration, the young clown was by himself looking at the map, before Shanks joined him. The two then discussed what they would do when they go their way and the fact that Shanks was too soft-hearted.

“This is quite wholesome, I wasn't expecting that,” Robin was surprised, not unpleasantly of course.

“Yeah, I cannot see why he would be angry at Shanks, they don't seem to have any bad blood,” Sanji added.

Buggy then asked about the loot that they got, and Shanks shared that a Devil Fruit had been found. At first, Buggy didn't seem interested, but when he found out that it could sell for a lot, then he was. The next day, Buggy put on a mock show and faked eating said Devil Fruit. He had convinced the crew that it had been a fake. After that, he sat in a row boat and made plans to jump the ship.

“He doesn't have any honor, does he?”

“I don't think you need to ask that question.”

But before any of it happened, Shanks snuck up on him and unintentionally scared him. Buggy hid the Devil Fruit in his mouth. Shanks then briefly walked away again, after scolding his friend for stealing from the kitchen. But he came back instantly, scaring Buggy again. This time he swallowed the Devil Fruit. He instantly got angry at his red-haired friend.

‘Oh…’ everyone sweatdropped at that, having gotten an explanation for Sanji’s statement from earlier.

“Honestly, I would also be angry at that,” Nami admitted.

At Buggy’s outburst, the treasure map had fallen overboard. To save it, the round-nosed boy jumped over the railing into the sea. But the moment he touched the water, he couldn't move. Shanks became concerned when Buggy didn't resurface for a while and jumped into the water as well. This ended the flashback. Luffy didn't seem to understand what the clown man’s problem was.

“That is an incredibly stupid reason to be mad at someone for years,” Jinbei stated. The clown was almost the same person as he was at Impel Down and Marineford.

“Also, I'm pretty sure he benefited from the Chop-Chop Fruit,” Chopper added his own two cents.

Buggy had decided to give up on the underwater treasure and focus on gathering all the treasure on land. After declaring that he won't forgive anyone that touches his treasure, he lunged at Nami who was dragging away a big bag of the clown’s beloved treasure.

“How dare he attack a woman! I’ll kill him!”

But he only lunged with his upper half, leaving his bottom half unguarded and full in Luffy’s control. The first thing he did was kick Buggy in the balls to halt his movements towards Nami.

“Oh god, Luffy! NO!” Usopp cried in phantom pain. 

“Luffy YES!” Luffy cackled at that, even though he also felt mildly bad. Only mildly though.

“I see a lot of things in this crew get solved by hurting a man’s balls,” Franky griped, confusing Brook and Jinbei.

Suddenly, a village-style camp was shown, where a man with glasses noted to a bunch of other people that the mayor had never been away for that long. They all decided that they were going to check out what was happening in town because they were worried about their mayor.

“Are these all the townspeople that Buggy scared away?”

“Yep!”

The eye-catchers now included Nami.

“Oh, Nami-swan! They finally acknowledged your beautiful self. They should’ve done that a while ago. Of course, they should add Robin-chwan as well!” Sanji twirled to many people’s annoyance, but they let him, for he had already been holding himself back with it.

Luffy told Nami to leave the treasure and get away from there. Nami outright refused and claimed that the treasure was hers, which got Buggy to raise his head again. Nami disclosed, again, that she was a thief who stole from pirates. Buggy was getting angrier and offhandedly asked to know what upbringing the girl had.

‘Less than perfect, I'll tell you that.’

Buggy used Chop-Chop Festival and broke apart into a lot of pieces, but Luffy noticed that his feet were still on the ground, quietly walking away. The young captain grabbed one of the feet and pulled it out of its shoe. Buggy burst out laughing as Luffy tickled the foot. It scared the crap out of Nami though. Luffy kept torturing poor Buggy’s foot, making him make various interesting noises and faces.

“So that is what was happening,” Nami finally pieced together the puzzle pieces.

“Luffy, you sure are a foul player,” Zoro teased his captain.

“I'm a pirate, shishishi,” Luffy answered cheerfully.

Buggy took a brief moment to scold Luffy, but in that brief moment, Nami whacked him with her bag of treasure. But Buggy was either prepared for that or he just got lucky, but he caught the bag. Now the pirate and thief were playing tug of war with the treasure. Just as the clown was about to harm Nami, Luffy came in clutch and stomped in his face.

“Thank you!”

“No problem, that's what I'm here for.”

Somewhere in that altercation, the bag holding all the goodies broke and sent its contents all over the street. Buggy was lying on the ground in pieces

“Looking at that still hurts,” Nami groaned at the sight.

“Rest in pieces, I guess,” the green-headed swordsman uttered, despite himself. Nami choked out a laugh, getting weird looks in the process.

“That was good,” she exclaimed in between her snickers, making a blush form on the usually stoic man’s cheeks.

Luffy decided that the finishing move was from the mayor. Nami thanked him and claimed to owe him one.

“You have already claimed all of what I have owned to you, so I am not in debt to you anymore.” ‘That’s a lie. I will always owe you one.’

“I am aware,” Luffy laughed at that.

During the time Nami and Luffy were talking, Buggy had woken up, baffling the hell out of the straw hat-wearing boy. Nami instantly bolted. But when Buggy attempted to reassemble himself, he found that only his feet and hands made it back to his head. 

This made everyone laugh out loud, or at least chuckle. He looked ridiculous.

It was revealed that the reason Nami ran was to tie up any loose body parts she could find. Luffy laughed and stretched his arms way behind him. With a Gum-Gum Bazooka, he launched Buggy so far into the air that he disappeared out of sight like Alvida did.

“He is going to feel that landing in the morning,” Usopp winced in almost pity.

“I hope he did,” Nami spat.

The few Buggy pirates that had been watching decided that it was safer to just act unconscious. Luffy slowly picked up his torn hat and put it on his head again. Nami, after seeing how much the hat meant to Luffy, promised to fix it later. But Luffy didn't hear it the first time, so Nami denied saying anything.

“Why did you deny it?” Chopper asked innocently.

“I wasn't ready to admit that I didn't hate him.”

“You came around eventually, so it's fine,” Sanji reassured her, and she gave her a grateful smile.

The thief girl had at some point split the treasure into two smaller bags and asked Luffy to carry one of them. She said that the treasure should measure up to around 10 million berries.

“Carrying that much money with me would make my heart pump out of my chest,” Brook admitted, before realizing that he didn't have a heart and thus made a Skull Joke.

To make it even with Luffy, Nami gave him the map for the Grand Line. Luffy was over the moon about that decision and decided to ask whether Nami was going to join his crew. Once more, the girl denied his request but decided to keep the alliance going. Luffy, making do with what he could, decided to wake up Zoro, who had been deeply sleeping through the entire commotion.

“That was a good nap, not gonna lie,” Zoro thought back with a satisfied grin.

“After battle naps do be hitting different,” Usopp agreed with a grin of his own.

The captain informed Zoro that they got the map and a navigator. At the word ‘navigator’ and seeing Nami, Zoro seemed not entirely happy. Nami gulped under the swordsman’s heavy gaze. After that, Zoro decided that he was out of blood and couldn’t walk.

“It would make sense that you wouldn't be able to walk with that injury,” Chopper stated, quietly pleased with the sense of self-preservation, their idiot swordsman showed for once. “Even though I've never seen you this…wimpy…” 

“Now that you mention it, for the entire time I’ve known you, you have never complained about something like this and have tried to immediately walk it off,” Robin observed with interest.

“I think sailing with Luffy has completely eaten away the part of his brain that knows when he is too injured,” Sanji offered and added quietly, he didn't feel like fighting again at that point “Not he had much of a brain, to begin with.”

“Do not blame me for that,” Luffy blurted out, annoyed.

Zoro just took in all of those observations and eventually did conclude that he had stopped whining about injuries and learned to just power through them until his task had been completed. But it was necessary. In the Grand Line, you couldn't get by, if you paid attention to every single injury. It was dangerous even in East Blue. 

“You really should try to stop not worrying about your injuries. I don't think I can become the Pirate King without you,” Luffy said in a serious tone.

“I will take that into account,” Zoro said, slightly taken aback by his captain’s words.

‘So we’re both necessary for his journey to become the Pirate King,’ Sanji deducted. He didn't know whether to be happy that everyone seemed to be declared important on this journey or jealous that he wasn't the only one that got to hear those words.

Nami expressed the need to help the mayor as he was still knocked out. Although before that the townspeople arrived and asked for details about what happened. Before long, the citizens noticed their mayor knocked out on the ground.  In a super smart move, Luffy admitted to being the one that knocked out the mayor. This got every person on Luffy’s case, and they demanded to know who they were. In another very intelligent move, Luffy confessed to being a pirate.

Usopp whacked Luffy on the head for that.

“Now that I see myself doing that, I can see that it was a stupid move. Genuinely seemed not that stupid at the time,” the dark-haired boy recognized timidly.

“Well, we're glad that you can see that.” 

This for some reason was hilarious to Zoro, and he laughed as the commotion was happening. Luffy crouched near him and heaved him partially on his back, as well as giving an order to run. They ran for a bit and then turned into an alleyway, jumping over Chou Chou in the process. Before the townspeople managed to catch up to the pirates plus one thief, the small dog barked at them, stopping the people in their tracks. No matter how relentless the crowd was, Chou Chou kept barking.

“Aw, he was protecting you,” Chopper squeaked happily.

“He’s a good dog, no doubt about it,” Jinbei agreed.

After running for a little while, the trio made it to Nami’s boat. To everyone's surprise, the three Buggy Pirates, that got swindled by Nami and picked up by Zoro, were on the boat.

“They were waiting the entire time? That's some dedication to capture you, Nami-swan.”

“Dedication to be stupid.”

One of the idiots, pat Zoro’s head and, got back a glare that made all three of them cry tears of fear. In the town, its mayor finally woke up. He was surprised by the surrounding destruction. He complained about getting treated roughly, but when the rest of the people started doing the same, he got angry. After hearing that the trio went towards the port, he hurriedly started making his way there too.

“So Luffy-kun and the rest of you, just keep befriending towns, huh?” Jinbei analyzed in a laid-back way.

“Seems so,” Zoro acknowledged with a smirk. 

The trio grabbed two boats, one for the boys, and one for Nami. When they were a little ways from the port, the mayor caught up with them. After taking a little breather, he thanked them for saving the town. Luffy told him not to worry about it and to take it easy. It was then that the mayor noticed one of the treasure bags that Nami had been carrying. That was also the moment Nami was notified of one of the bags being left behind. Luffy defended his decision by bringing forth that the town needed to be repaired. As a punishment, Nami attempted to drown her future captain, while Zoro laughed at their antics. “Well, for better or worse, looks like a navigator’s joined our journey” Zoro’s voice narrated for a moment.

“That was, definitely, my own thoughts, thank you,” Zoro almost whined. 

“Sorry, Nami, if I had known, what the treasure was for, I wouldn't have left it behind,” a very guilty-sounding Luffy apologized to his money-loving navigator.

“It's in the past now, don't worry about it,” Nami dismissed his worries. It had caused her panic at first, but now that everything is over, it was nothing to fret over.

After the camera panned into the sky, the scene changed to grass, with familiar boots walking into the frame. Usopp was shown in intimidating lighting. To be continued.

“That's me! The Great Captain Usopp!” Usopp hollered in pure joy, while Luffy and Chopper hyped him on.

“We’ll see you then, huh?” Franky mused with a laugh. He was excited to see how the dude could handle pirates for the first time.

“Before Usopp dies from excitement. Next episode!”

Chapter Text

The sea was tranquil and morning had just broken. A very specific village was peaceful until someone started screaming about pirates invading. The boy was wearing a satchel and brown overalls, with a bandana covering his curly hair. It was Usopp.

“You look so much younger,” Jinbei noted, honestly all of them did, it just hit him more with Usopp.

“Why is this how we're introduced to you,” Sanji playfully dug at their sniper, who blushed.

No one questioned why he was lying about pirates attacking in the first place.

“Liar of Justice? Captain Usopp” Nami, Zoro, and Luffy were still sailing on their two boats. Nami had just declared that going to the Grand Line in their state would have been reckless. Luffy agreed, but only because they didn't have any meat, and Zoro wanted booze.

“If you need to know their on-surface personalities, there you go,” Brook whispered to Jinbei.

“I will remember that.”

Nami explained that they need a better ship, and Luffy added the thought of needing more people. “We need a cook. And a musician.”

“Well, I have both of them now!” Luffy cheered happily. Sanji and Brook just glowed happily.

“We got Sanji not long after this, but we sailed for a while, whilst you pestered us about a musician,” Usopp whined. “Usually musicians come last in the list of priorities. Sorry, Brook.”

“No offense taken.”

Robin decided to be quiet to not draw attention to the fact she was an archeologist. This was probably the only pirate ship with an archeologist.

Nami brought attention to the fact that there was an island close by that had people on it and the possibility of getting an actual ship. The boys just focused on the fact that they could get meat and booze. Usopp ran through the village screaming until he ran out of breath. After a quick pause, he revealed that the pirate attack had been a lie. In response to his antics, he got a metal pot to the back of the head.

“That had to hurt.”

“Believe it or not, getting a metal pot smashed into your head, does hurt.”

The nearby villagers were angry at the boy and left their houses with a variety of usually non-lethal weapons. This got Usopp excited, and he turned it into a weird game of tag. The sniper hid away in a tree and the chase ended. He just relaxed until he heard a voice of a kid. Under the tree were two kids, named Pepper and Carrot, who were calling Usopp their captain.

“I’ve heard about you being a captain back at your hometown, but this is kind of sad, Usopp,” Sanji said sympathetically.

Just as Usopp asked about Onion’s whereabouts, he came running yelling about terrible news. He also had news about pirates, but his announcement was the truth. This unmistakably scared the long-nosed boy, and he attempted to dash, but the three boys shamed him into facing the incoming pirates. Usopp gave the order to protect the island's peace.

“You seem to have grown a bit, Usopp-san,” Brook perceived.

“Possibly. Honestly, I was just playing at being a pirate at that point,” Usopp blushed. He was playing at being a pirate for a while after that as well.

The Straw Hat trio made it to land and decided to take a look into the village. But before that plan went into action, a rustle in the bushes was heard. Zoro noticed it first and was ready to unsheathe his sword.

“To think I was about to use a sword for this threat,” Zoro teased the sniper, he probably could've taken out all four of them with a single hand.

Suddenly, Luffy had to dodge a barrage of bullets being shot at his feet. Up the hill, in the bushes, a bunch of small pirate flags were erected. Usopp stood in front and introduced him as the captain of the pirate crew, who protected the island they were standing on.

“That's so cool, Usopp!” Chopper squealed, somehow still buying into Usopp’s bravado after all these years.

At the name ‘Usopp’ Luffy suddenly became thoughtful, but got distracted by the sniper announcing that he has 80 million subordinates. 

“How can you be so dull sometimes?” Nami sighed quietly.

Nami then bluntly stated that Usopp was lying, and so his bravado crumbled.

“You lied…” Chopper murmured sadly.

“Sorry!”

Nami also identified that Usopp only has three men, scaring out the three kids and causing them to run. As a last resort, Usopp pulled out his slingshot and aimed it at Luffy. “Now that you’ve drawn your pistol, put your life on the line.” “Huh?” “I’m saying those aren't for threatening people.” Zoro caught his drift and once again unsheathed his sword and announced that they are real pirates. 

“I was about to piss my pants,” Usopp confessed and laughed.

“Trust me, I can tell,” Zoro said simply.

Zoro and Luffy looked incredibly intimidating, and eventually, Usopp gave up and dropped his ammo on the ground. The other two men looked very pleased with themselves and burst into laughter, after admitting that they stole the lines. A moment later, after Luffy admitted that it was Shanks who he stole from, he also asked whether Usopp was the son of Yasopp.

“How did you realize it that quick?” Jinbei questioned.

“If you can spend more than a day with Yasopp and come out of it not knowing every single detail about Usopp, you were spending a day with an imposter,” Luffy bluntly revealed, suddenly looking like he had too many days talking with Yasopp. “Honestly can't wait for you to meet him, Usopp, maybe he’ll shut up about you and do everyone a great service.”

“I am sorry that you have been subjected to that,” Usopp needlessly apologized. He was slightly amused, though, that his father is capable of thoroughly annoying a guy that is barely capable of feeling that emotion. 

Usopp fell down the cliff in excitement and asked how Luffy knew that Yasopp was his father. They continued talking in a small restaurant and while everyone, including him, was eating to their heart's content, Luffy told Usopp about Yasopp. When he mentioned sharpshooting, the scene went back to the time when Luffy was still a kid. 

“Oh! We’ll see more of the village,” Luffy said in surprise.

Yasopp was standing a little bit away from an apple and aiming at it with a gun. He managed to shoot it straight in the middle, making pieces of apple fly everywhere. A young, yet to stab himself in the face, Luffy was properly amazed by that. Yasopp claimed that he could shoot an ant between the eyes. The scene then switched to the inside of Party’s Bar, where a drunk Yasopp told Luffy about Usopp. Luffy, apparently having heard about him lots of times, got angry at the man, pushing him away. In retaliation, Yasopp stuck his empty beer mug on Luffy’s head and kept talking about his son.  

Luffy just looked at Usopp blankly and said: “That's what I had to deal with.”

The rest of the Straw Hats burst out laughing at their young captain practically being held hostage by Yasopp.

“No wonder you recognized him,” Franky gasped between his howling laughter.

“All that and he still didn't come to visit you,” Robin managed to ruin the mood.

Nami interrupted the two and asked Usopp if he knew someone who knew how to sail and anyone who could supply them with a ship. Usopp tried to tell them that the village is too small for that, but Zoro noticed the mansion up on a hill. When Nami attempted to convince Usopp to ask the mansion’s residents, whether it's possible they could help pay for a new ship, Usopp got defensive for a moment. After realizing that he did, the boy made up an excuse and left.

“Oh right, your girlfriend lives there,” Zoro remembered.

“SHE’S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!” Usopp exploded before Sanji could die from that revelation.

“If you say so,” Nami said with a smirk. Usopp only sat in his place and blushed furiously.

The mansion was shown. It had two guards at the front and a beautiful garden. A girl was seen through a window, she was sitting on a bed, hugging a pillow. A man in a black suit was pouring some water in a cup, seemingly having just found out the girl wanted to speak to Usopp.

“That's Kuro, just so everyone knows,” Nami said plainly.

“That's the guy? He doesn't seem anything special.”

“All he got going for him were his smarts, and even that didn't work out. Right, Luffy?”

“Shishishi, nope.”

While that conversation was happening, Chopper worked hard so Sanji wouldn't have another nosebleed after seeing the girl.

Kuro denied the girl’s request as it would be bad for her health. Usopp was just outside the mansion and climbed in through the foliage. He threw a rock at Kaya’s window after he had climbed the tree just outside her window. It quickly came clear that Usopp did this often and talked about his so-called adventures to cheer her up.

“This is so sweet!” Franky started bawling, while again denying that he was.

“C’mon now! Anyone would do that for a friend!”

“How could you, you long-nosed bastard, get such a cute girl,” Sanji sulked.

“Not you too!”

Back at the restaurant, the three Usopp Pirates were planning to save their Captain from the Straw Hat Pirates. But when they arrived, Usopp had already left, so they tried to figure out what happened to him. The still, kind of childish Zoro, decided to prank the trio and claimed that they had eaten Usopp.

“That's low, Zoro!” Chopper accused, while Usopp laughed.

Zoro just closed his eye and snickered for a moment. Luffy smiled at the Zoro that was peaking through the iron walls again.

After a bit, the children learned that their captain hadn't been eaten and led the other three to the mansion gates. The kids explained that Kaya had been depressed for a while after her parents died. 

“Poor girl,” Jinbei empathized.

Luffy decided that they should ask Kaya for a ship after all. But the trio of kids explained that it would be hard to get in as the mansion was guarded. However, that didn't deter Luffy as he climbed the fence and stretched himself down to the ground. Nami and Zoro realized at the last second what was going on and grabbed onto their captain, dragging the kids with them. The group landed in front of the window, where Kaya and Usopp were talking. Just as Luffy was going to ask for a ship, Kuro/Klahadore showed up and asked them to leave. A weird dude was walking backward through the village. To be continued.

“Luffy-san, that was quite a weird way to ask someone for a ship.”

“You think?”

“Is no one going to say anything about the backward walking dude?”

Chapter Text

The weird man continued walking through the village, “The weirdest guy ever! Jango the hypnotist!” Kuro ordered all the people to leave, but Luffy was determined to get a ship. After noticing Usopp, he called him a mere son of a filthy pirate.

“You're better than that, Usopp!” Luffy jumped on the opportunity to console his friend before he internalized the insult.

“I know. My dad may be a pirate, but he is still someone great. Even when he left me alone.” 

Luffy smiled at that, but internally mused, if the World Government were to find out what Usopp’s heritage was, would they be as hellbent on killing him, as they are towards him and Robin? Or like Ace was during his final moments.

Kuro then claimed that Kaya and Usopp are from different worlds, asking if Usopp was after Kaya’s money.

“You're one to talk.”

Kuro insulted Yasopp one last time before Usopp jumped down from the tree and stood face to face with the butler. The sniper got angry enough that he decked Kuro in the face, claiming that he was proud to be his father's son. Kuro decided to rile Usopp up even further to prove his claim, that the boy was violent like his father, was true.

“He is clever,” Robin admitted. “He knew exactly how to get under your skin.”

“Yeah…”

Kuro ordered Usopp to leave and never to come close to the mansion again. Usopp for the time being complied. His subordinates tried to protect his honor, but they got scared because of the look that Kuro gave them, and they ran behind the Straw Hats behind them. Luffy was stubbornly trying to fight the butler, while Zoro was holding him back. The rest of them were asked to leave too.

“You made the right decision, backing away the moment you did,” Sanji said. “It probably would've ended worse for you if you didn't.”

“But Usopp just tried to cheer up Kaya,” Chopper sniffled.

“You see, Kuro, or Klahadore as he was known there, was trying to kill Kaya to get her fortune. If Usopp was to constantly intervene, he was going to kill him as well. He probably didn't want anyone to get suspicious.”

“That's just mean.”

Kaya was coughing in her bed as Kuro was bringing her food, which he denied. Kaya asked why Kuro had acted by that and as a response, Kuro started thinking back to the day he came to the mansion, three years ago. He had been kicked off a ship, for a plunder he made. He was near death, but Kaya’s father allowed him inside. Kuro put on a very convincing show, stating that he was only protecting Kaya, so he could repay her parents.

“Actor of the year, everyone!” Usopp announced with disgust in his voice.

“So he infiltrated a mansion, so he could get the fortune?” Brook asked, with the same amount of disgust in his tone.

“He played butler for three years, might as well have continued,” Luffy made an offhand remark.

“He seemed decently good at it, so he really should’ve.”

The weird man was now walking through a forest, still backward. Nami, Zoro, and two of the kids were resting against a fence. Luffy had run off somewhere. As on queue, after Nami asked about him, Onion showed up crying about a weird, backward walking guy. The dude was getting closer and closer until he was in front of them.

“Wait, isn't it that guy we saw at Alabasta, on a Marine ship?” Sanji suddenly recognized that guy.

“Yeah, it is. It's the same dude,” Nami confirmed. “How did he even get there?”

“Hypnosis probably?” Usopp offered.

“Well, then he hypnotized himself quite deep, 'cause he managed to make it to Marineford,” Luffy added, getting Jinbei to back up his story.

“How? Why?” Zoro sweatdropped and only got a shrug from Luffy.

The dude also claimed to not be weird, saying that he was only a passing-by hypnotist. The boys wanted to see some hypnotist skills. The man at first denied their request but gave in quite easily. It turned out he could hypnotize people to sleep, but he wasn't smart enough to not fall for it himself.

Everyone sweatdropped.

Usopp was sitting on the edge of a cliff, thinking. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, Luffy turned up, hanging by his feet from a branch. The rubber boy sat down not far from Usopp, facing away from him. Both of them agreed that the butler was a jerk. Very conveniently, they saw the butler down by the shore walking with the hypnotist.

“Isn't that suspicious,” Sanji dragged on his cigarette.

Kuro scolded Jango for standing out in the village, by sleeping in the middle of the street. Jango seemed to still be in denial about the fact that he was weird and very much stood out. He also revealed that there was a ‘The Rich Girl Assassination Plan’.

“It was lucky that both of you were there, otherwise they would've killed Kaya,” Robin said nonchalantly.

“OI!”

The butler specified that Kaya needs to be killed in a way that would seem like an unfortunate accident. Jango clarified that on Kuro’s signal, Jango and the men storm the village and kill the girl. But he got it wrong, he was supposed to hypnotize Kaya, so she would sign her inheritance to Kuro.

“Can we stop trying to harm innocent ladies, please,” Sanji muttered into his hands. “The not so innocent ones should also be left untouched.”

Then Jango confirmed that Kuro used to be a captain of a pirate ship and three years ago decided to leave behind the life of a pirate. He had made a subordinate impersonate him and got him executed, just so he could have a peaceful life.

Very predictably this angered Brook, but he just huffed an angry breath, none of that was worth wasting words for.

Luffy looked angrily at Kuro for deserting his life as a pirate.

Jango said that the pirate crew had been near the island for a week now and were anticipating the signal Kuro was supposed to give. Hearing all of that, the only thing Luffy understood from that was that something bad was happening. Usopp established that Kuro was known as one of the smartest and most brutal pirate.

“That's quite a title, for a pirate I have never heard of,” Jinbei said, feeling kind of underwhelmed, by Usopp’s description of the pirate.

“He is definitely one of the smartest pirates and maybe even people to come out of the East Blue,” Nami adjusted the information that was given out.

“I mean, I was known for exaggerating things.”

As Usopp was lying on the ground, whining about how bad everything was, Luffy stood up and told the two pirates that they shouldn't do what they were going to.

Everyone, including Luffy himself, facepalmed. That couldn't have been more stupid.

Kuro of course noticed both of them and signaled something to Jango who took out his chakram and tried to put the two teens to sleep. It only worked on Luffy and Jango, Usopp managed to look away in time. Luffy fell off the cliff, and that convinced everyone that he was dead, as no one normal could've survived such a fall.

“So that's what happened.”

As Kuro believed that whatever Usopp did would be pointless, he gave Jango an order to attack the village at daybreak the next morning. Usopp ran through the forest to alert everyone, thinking about his times with Kaya that far. Back at the cliff, a pirate ship was seen far away. To be continued.

“Are we sure, Usopp doesn't have feelings for the girl?” Zoro quietly asked Nami.

“I have no clue at this point,” Nami whispered back.

“I wonder how they're doing,” Usopp speculated to himself about Kaya and the three boys. He was going to freak out at first when the episode started, but managed to calm himself down, by remembering that they were alive the last time he saw them.

Chapter Text

“Expose the plot! Pirate Butler Captain Kuro”

"Pirate butler sounds very weird as a combination."

Usopp Pirates were starting to get uneasy as their captain had been gone for a while now, and as Zoro noted so had Luffy. But just as they were discussing that, Usopp came running from over the hills. The swordsman was confused as he thought that Luffy had been with Usopp, but currently was nowhere to be seen. Usopp ignored everyone and ran straight past them.

“Now that I know why you were running, I don't mind that you did,” Nami acknowledged.

“Could've told us, though, that the Captain was ‘dead’,” Zoro added with no bite whatsoever.

“Probably should have, yeah.”

Zoro asked the boys how to get to the shore where Usopp came running from. Usopp, on his part, had run to the village and attempted to warn everybody, but no one believed him. He had lied too often about that sort of thing. 

“That is less than ideal,” Brook fretted nervously.

Back at the mansion, a man with white curly hair gave Kaya the glasses that she ordered, both none the wiser about Kuro’s plan. 

“That’s Merry!” Usopp announced joyfully.

“Merry? Wasn't she a ship?” Brook asked in absolute confusion.

“Going Merry was a ship made by this dude, whose name is also Merry,” Nami quickly explained.

“He made one hell of a ship,” Franky said with a bit of envy for the other shipwright.

“He sure did,” Luffy smiled nostalgically.

Jinbei, who hadn't even heard about the Going Merry yet, decided to sit tight and hopefully learn about the ship that filled the rest of the members with joy.

Kaya had ordered the glasses for Kuro because he had always taken good care of her. Back in the village, Usopp had to resort to running away because the villagers were just getting hostile at Usopp’s antics. The Straw Hats and the Usopp Pirates group had made it to the cliff, that Usopp liked to go to. At the bottom of it, was Luffy, still positively passed out. 

“That doesn't look comfortable.”

“I don't remember even sleeping, so I cannot say anything to that. But I don't get uncomfortable very easily, so it probably would've been fine if I remembered.”

At first, they thought Luffy was dead, but had to change their minds when they heard him snoring. Zoro’s plan to wake his captain up was simple: just poke his butt with a katana sheathe. And it worked.

‘It was that easy to reverse the hypnotism?’

Usopp made it back to the mansion and climbed the same tree as before, as well as throwing another rock at the window to alert Kaya. He tried to tell her that her butler was a pirate. But after a while of telling her what he heard at the cliff, she didn't believe him.

“Honestly, I can see where everyone is coming from. You were an infamous liar, so it would take a special kind of person to believe you this time,” Robin said as kindly as possible.

“I am aware of that, and I know that all of it was my fault, but it's in the past. And I have people who will believe me when I have something to say,” Usopp smiled affectionately.

“And that's all that matters, right?” Chopper said with warmth in his voice.

“Yeah, it is.”

Luffy had just informed his group that Kaya will be killed, and the village will be attacked. He also had no clue how he got down from the cliff. Hearing that, the three boys ran away. Additionally, Luffy came to the conclusion that they had to hurry and stock up on meat before the meat people run away.

“Meat is important, though, for my survival,” Luffy pouted after getting weird looks from his crewmates.

Usopp at Kaya’s window was recounting one of his stories that he had told Kaya at one point in time. Now he was banished from the mansion and Kaya didn't believe him. She looked like she was going to faint, but before that happened, Merry came into the room. Usopp did what any rational man would do and grabbed Kaya to evacuate her through the window. 

“Good job, even though I would've been the perfect man to do it!”

“I'm going to ignore everything but the compliment.”

At the commotion, three guards came to protect their master from getting kidnapped, however, Usopp held his ground well. Yet, when he tried to make Kaya come with him, she slapped him and called him pathetic.

“Okay, that was kind of, I repeat, kind of uncalled-for,” Sanji admitted despite usually feeling that women had to go to great lengths to do something wrong. “But also very understandable. I’m going to do something very out of character and side with neither.”

“If you are not siding with the lady, then it definitely is a bad situation,” Brook laughed.

Merry caught up with the two and aimed a gun at the sniper. Despite Kaya attempting to block her other butler from committing a murder, the gun still went off, nevertheless still grazing Usopp’s arm. Merry also told the angry crowd that was still looking for the boy to catch him.

“You couldn't catch a break that day, could you?” Zoro felt for the long-nosed man, while Chopper briefly squeaked at the gun wound.

“No…” Usopp chuckled darkly.

Usopp was chased far away, while Kaya fainted for real. Meanwhile, Kuro’s pirate ship had docked at the island and the Captain was giving his crew the final briefing. A bit later, when dusk arrived, Usopp was thinking about his and Kaya’s first meeting. He also thought about the pirate invasion that was supposed to happen the next morning. He started to cry.

Luffy, like the touchy-feely person he was, just wrapped his hands around Usopp, and just stayed there. He was leaning a bit behind Usopp, but that wasn't a problem, because the sniper could lean against him and no one would be uncomfortable.

One of Usopp’s hands found one of Luffy’s, and he just held it and took in his captain’s body warmth. He wasn't even feeling necessarily bad before the cuddling, but he wasn't going to say no to it.

The tiny Usopp Pirates had caught up with their captain, who quickly wiped his tears and to the best of his abilities hid his wound. The Straw Hats had also caught up, but when Usopp saw Luffy, he couldn't believe that he was alive.

“You cannot blame me for believing that he died. Barely anyone else could've been completely fine after a fall like that.”

“No, yeah, that is completely understandable,” Jinbei agreed with Usopp.

The children revealed that they had found out about the pirate's plan and suggested telling the village. At that, Usopp laughed and lied about lying about Kuro. This backfired, because the kids now thought less of him.

“The Luffy at the beginning should've introduced this as ‘Usopp’s not good, very bad day’, I feel like that would've encompassed this better,” Usopp grumbled. 

“That seems to fit very well, you're right,” Chopper went along to attempt to cheer his friend up.

It was now nighttime and The Straw Hats plus Usopp were back at the cliff, where Nami tried to clean Usopp’s gunshot wound. The long-nosed boy definitely wasn't being brave about it. When that was done, Luffy asked why Usopp had told his friends that, to which the sniper answered that he was a liar and no one was going to believe him anyway. It was then that Usopp decided that he was going to stop the pirates before they get into the village, so his truth could stay a lie.

“That's very honorable, Usopp-san.”

“Just doing what I feel needs to be done.”

Usopp started crying once again because he loved his village and wanted to protect it. Zoro commended him for being such a nice guy for attempting to do everything on his own. Luffy decided that the three of them were going to help out in getting rid of the pirates. Usopp was confused as to why they were so helpful and found out that Luffy just wanted to fight, and Zoro realized that the liar was scared. Usopp had misunderstood all of that as pity, when in reality the three thought he was honorable. “As if we'd risk our lives because of sympathy.” To be continued.

“Well said, Captain!”

Usopp squished Luffy a bit harder, to say ‘thanks for everything’. Luffy squeezed back, to say ‘you’re welcome’

Chapter Text

“Clash with the Black Cat Pirates! Great Battle on the Slope!” Kuro was walking through the village, briefly looking back at it. The Straw Hats and Usopp were walking back up the hill, while Usopp gave them an overview of Kuro’s plan. The cliff they were at was the only way into the village, so they needed to defend it to their best abilities.

“It's rather smart to have only one entrance to the village,” the Fishman considered.

‘If only I hadn't been an idiot and forgotten the other entrance.’

“What can you guys do?” “Cut.” “Stretch.” “Steal.” "I can hide." Usopp’s contribution got him an earful from the other three. Back at the mansion, Kuro had returned and was greeted by Merry. The sheep-headed butler was cleaning the chandelier, while Kuro examined his present. Kuro smashed the glasses, startling Merry.

“How dare he break a present from a lady!”

Kuro kept revealing his plan to the other butler. A claw came from each of his gloved fingers, and he sliced at Merry, leaving him laying on the floor.

“That injury could kill him-” Chopper panicked before getting cut off by Luffy.

“He’s alive, don't worry!”

“I'm a doctor. It's my job. I hate looking at injuries I can't heal,” the tiny doctor whined, Robin pat his head softly.

The pirate butler entered Kaya’s room, aiming his claws at her throat, but not doing anything. He left shortly and disappeared into the mansion. The Black Cat Pirates at the shore were starting to get ready. Jango was in a bad mood because it was still midnight, but his bad mood quickly turned around.

“He is so weird,” Sanji muttered.

“He would be SUPER if he wasn't plotting a murder,” Franky declared like it was a normal thing to say.

“Of course, you would like those types of people.”

The Cliffside Defense Squad had decided to slick the walkway with oil, so it would be difficult to get anywhere. Nami expressed concern about one of them falling down the slope, while Luffy was impressed that Usopp could come up with a plan like that.

‘I feel like almost anyone could come up with something like that.’

It was almost daybreak and the pirates would be arriving shortly. The Black Cat Pirates did arrive at a shore, but it wasn't the shore where Luffy and the others were. So the four of them were left wondering why anyone wasn't showing up. After Nami heard faint yelling coming from somewhere else, Usopp remember that there was another place to get onto the island.

“How you forgot that is beyond me,” Zoro sweatdropped.

“I have zero explanations for that.”

Kuro and Jango had had their meeting on that shore, so Usopp had thought that the invasion would have also happened there. The sniper explained that they could get there in three minutes if they were to run towards the north. That was all Luffy needed to hear, he turned around and ran straight.

“Let me guess, that didn't go well?”

When Zoro and Nami were ready to head the other way, Nami slipped on the oil. To make sure she didn't slide down, she grabbed onto Zoro and made sure he was the one sliding down.

“I will get you back for that eventually,” Zoro quietly mumbled into Nami’s ear.

“Sure you will.” Nami had a hard time believing that because Zoro was soft like a teddy bear when it came to the crew’s antics. 

Even after the commotion behind him happened, Usopp kept running, complaining that Luffy ran very fast. The Black Cat Pirates were already running towards the slope, but they got stopped by a multitude of slingshot bullets, giving away that Usopp had made it there first.

“Luffy! You started running first!”

“Shishishi, I know,” the man in question guiltily rubbed the back of his neck.

Usopp tried to intimidate the pirates, so they would leave without an actual fight. Zoro was desperately trying to get up the oil-covered slope. Luffy had somehow made his way into the village. “He said North, so I ran in a cold-ish direction.”

Luffy had barely time to react before his navigator's fist came in contact with his head. Allegedly that was not how cardinal directions work. With a bump on his head, they could continue.

The sniper continued his bluffing, but no one other than Jango bought into it. One of the pirates informed Jango that they had found treasure in the boats that were by the shore. Nami’s treasure to be exact. Usopp then tried to bribe the pirates, by giving up the treasure in exchange for them leaving.

Usopp had expected Nami’s attack and managed to shield himself from it, still hurt, though.

“You already did that…”

Jango explained that they were going to take the treasure anyway, and it wasn't a good enough reason to turn back to the way they came from. The hypnotist then tried to start hypnotizing Usopp, but before that plan worked, Nami came from nowhere and whacked Usopp on the head.

“You dare give away my treasure… You get the consequences!”

After Nami gave Usopp a stern talking, she also warned him about the chakram. When they realized that Luffy had gotten lost, Usopp told Nami to go and fight whilst he watched her back. That just turned into an argument, while Jango decided he didn't have time for that.

“So the teamwork doesn't exist yet, huh?” Brook pointed out.

“We had known each other for a day.”

“Luffy and Zoro had teamwork after they knew each other for an hour.”

“They are a special type of people.”

Jango gave his men the order to head to the village. In retaliation, Nami and Usopp threw caltrops at the pirates. Back at the other hill, Zoro was still struggling to get up.

“Aren't you going to be the Greatest Swordsman? Isn't this sort of obstacle supposed to be a breeze? Were you really getting bested by oil?” Sanji mocked the swordsman mercilessly. This resulted in another brawl.

“You ought to get used to this too, yohohoho,” Brook laughed as he warned their newest member, who once again was confused by the crew’s dynamic.

“Alright dudes, break it up,” Franky said calmly as he pulled the two powerhouses from each other and threw them in their respective seats when he had had enough of their rowdiness.

Luckily, the two were seated far enough from each other that another fight was unlikely to happen unless someone decided to say something again.

Zoro resorted to stabbing his swords into the ground to get himself up it. And finally, he was ready to head north… If he had any clue, which way north was. Luffy was faced with a similar problem. Nami and Usopp on the other hand were briefly doing decently well against the intruders until the liar got a sledgehammer to the head. It didn't stop him from grabbing onto a pirate's leg to try to stop him.

“How were you okay after that?” Jinbei was baffled by the sniper's durability.

“You're going to be surprised when we get to Alabasta then, if THIS confuses you,” Usopp laughed awkwardly. Jinbei just raised an eyebrow at that.

Usopp determinedly told the pirate that he couldn't let them past this slope, as the villagers still believed that he had lied to them about the attack. The village was supposed to have just another ordinary day.

Chopper started quietly weeping at the determination, this time getting a pat from Sanji, who was silently proud of their sniper. He could be courageous as hell when it counted.

Before another pirate could behead Usopp, Nami hit him with her stick. However, she couldn't hold back another attack and was sent to the ground. The invaders ran past both of them and as Usopp begged them to not kill everyone, the pirates were suddenly blown back by something. The something was Luffy and Zoro, who had finally figured out which way north was.

“Took your time.”

“Usopp didn't tell me which way north was!” “The witch left me in oil!”

“Fair enough to Zoro, but Luffy, your problem was definitely your own creation,” Usopp said.

Kuro sat in front of the mansion, waiting for something. He mentioned that his crewmates were late and knew full well what the consequences for that were. He was willing to slaughter them for that. After taking his bag, he started making his way toward the shore, only to be noticed by Onion, who was interested in the actions of the pirate butler. To be continued.

“It's about to get real.”

“Why is almost every pirate captain these days willing to kill their crewmates?” Brook whined into his bony hands. What had happened in the fifty years he was missing?

“It is what it is nowadays.”

“Okay, we should continue before Brook has a mental breakdown.”

Chapter Text

“The terrifying duo! Meowban Brothers vs. Zoro!” Usopp was baffled by the fact that Zoro and Luffy could so easily blow away all those pirates. Zoro was angry at Nami for abandoning him, and Luffy was angry at Usopp for not telling him where north was. At the bottom of the hill, Jango was starting to get anxious, because they were already late and Kuro had a short temper.

“The temper can't be that bad, right?” Chopper asked anxiously.

“It was pretty bad, unfortunately.”

Jango took out his chakram again and hypnotized his men to be stronger.

“Does hypnosis work like that?” Sanji questioned in disbelief.

“It sure did for them. Maybe something about the body forgetting its limits.” Nami answered to the best of her abilities.

“It can happen, but not usually that effectively. Usually, it's the adrenaline that gives instant super-strength. But Jango seems to have some special type of hypnosis, so I’m out of my depth here,” Chopper explained, but even he couldn't give sufficient information about that.

While the rest of the Cliffside Defense Squad were not looking straight at the chakram, Luffy was. The hypnosis worked, and the pirates were stronger than ever. When they started running again, it was revealed that Luffy had been affected too, and he charged into the oncoming wave of pirates.

“At least Jango had some use for us,” Nami admitted, hearing both Usopp and Zoro agreeing with her.

With a Gum-Gum Gatling, Luffy managed to take down everyone who had been running up the slope. Luffy ran straight past Jango and towards the Black Cat Pirates' ship. He grabbed onto the hull of the ship and with great effort, the young captain pulled it off the ship. To save his men from being crushed, Jango hypnotized Luffy to go to sleep. It backfired on him when the now asleep Luffy dropped the piece of the ship on the Black Cat pirates.

“Now it would be nice if I remembered all of this,” Luffy pouted like a child. He loved fighting, and it sucked that he couldn't remember all of this.

“But at least you can see it now,” Zoro tried fixing the situation, and luckily it worked.

Onion had gathered the other two Usopp Pirates to go try to figure out what Kuro was up to. They ran to the mansion and tried to sneak in through the fence. At the same time, Kaya was having a nightmare about Usopp killing her for making a fool of him.

“I would never do that,” Usopp said, dumbfounded. He felt guilty for scaring Kaya that bad.

“It’s alright Usopp, it has been fixed,” Luffy said, still hugging his friend.

“It's still kinda shocking to see.”

Kaya finally woke up and decided to leave her room in search of Kuro. When she opened the door to his room, she saw Merry unconscious on the floor. Merry regained his consciousness a bit after and tried to stand up, but could only turn over to his back. 

“He shouldn't be moving,” Chopper said apprehensively.

Merry confessed to having been attacked by Kuro and that took Kaya off guard, therefore realizing that Usopp had been telling the truth the day before. Both Merry and Kaya were crying after realizing their mistake. Kaya attempted to call for help, only to have silence in turn. All the other staff were on leave.

“He thought of everything,” Robin analyzed.

Merry advised Kaya to just give everything to Kuro, so she wouldn't have to die. Kaya decided that she needed to talk everything over with Kuro, so there wouldn't be so much carnage.

“Let me guess, that didn't work?” Sanji asked sarcastically. He so wanted to have Kuro’s face under his shoe.

The Usopp Pirates were trying to climb the gates, but were failing miserably. Without a warning, the mansion doors opened and Kaya emerged from the inside. She made her way towards the village, while the three kids were tailing her. Back at the cliff, a very injured Usopp was worried about the fact that Luffy was stuck under the big chunk of wood.

“It takes a while to come to terms with the fact that you can survive being squished,” Usopp laughed at his useless worrying.

“Can't blame ya, I also freaked out the first time I got squished,” Luffy laughed alongside him.

Jango was freaking out more and more each second that passed. Suddenly, two voices were coming from the ship and the hypnotist remembered that they still had a trump card, calling forth the Meowban Brothers. One of them was thin and with a serious hunchback, called Sham. The other one was bigger and derpier, called Buchi.

“Isn't that a ridiculous bunch,” Franky sweatdropped. Murmurs of agreement were heard from around him.

Sham and Buchi were tasked with taking down Zoro, who currently was the only obstacle in the way of Kuro’s plan. The Meowban brothers looked at the green-headed swordsman and decided he was too strong for them.

“Thank you?”

Jango just yelled at Sham, and the very terrified pirate ran toward Zoro. Just before he made it to the swordsman, he revealed that he was faking the terror he was feeling. That caught Zoro off guard, but he was still able to defend himself. He nimbly retreated slightly and, unbeknownst to Zoro, stole two of his swords.

“One of my biggest plunders, in my time as a swordsman,” the swordsman in question said bitterly.

“You learn from mistakes, so it's alright,” Chopper valiantly tried to calm the swordsman, but to no avail.

Zoro in a desperate attempt to get back his swords, that Sham threw behind him, sliced through the midsection of the cat-like pirate. It would've been gruesome if Sham wasn't as alive as he was when he attacked again.

“What is that dude made of?” Luffy exclaimed in surprise.

Sham explained that he could bend like a cat and that's why he wasn't cut. The thin cat restrained Zoro and called Buchi to finish him off. Zoro somehow managed to roll out from underneath the pirate and barely avoided Buchi’s attack. The currently One-Sword Style user revealed that he wasn't that good at only using one sword.

“How are you better at Three-Sword Style than One-Sword Style? Isn't using one sword easier?” Jinbei curiously asked.

“I learned the basics of using one sword, then two swords, and then spent all of my time figuring out how to use three. So basically, I have practiced with the Three-Sword Style much more than I have with any other number of swords,” Zoro explained to the fishman.

Despite complaining about not being used to only one sword, Zoro did well defending against both of the Meowban brothers. But he could only defend and couldn't attack. To help him out, Usopp aimed and shot a Lead Star. After he heard Usopp shout, Zoro seemed to move in the way of the projectile, which in turn made him open to attack from the front. Zoro called Usopp an idiot for wanting to die. Nami and Usopp realized that they would have been attacked if the bullet had hit the Brothers.

“I'm sorry you had to get hurt because I didn't think things through!” Usopp practically yelled when he stood up and bowed in front of Zoro. 

“Stand up straight! That's what Nakama do, right?” Zoro chuckled at the sniper's apology. It hadn't even left a scar. Usopp’s eyes started watering at that.

Zoro continued to defend against the two, while Nami chose to get his other swords. Just as she had grabbed one, Jango appeared right next to her and, with his chakram, sliced her in the shoulder.

Predictably this lit Sanji on fire, he didn't say anything but just stood up and was on fire.

Just moments after that happened, Jango spotted someone at the top of the hill. He immediately freaked when he realized that Kuro had made it to the shore. It was an understatement that he was angry. To be continued.

“Oh, he's mad!”

“Should we also write down every time Zoro gets hurt?” Usopp randomly brought up, as he waved around his piece of ‘Pirate King’ paper, with 8 tally marks on it.

“You crazy? You'd run out of space immediately.”

“You're right, you're right.”

Chapter Text

“Luffy, Back in Action! Miss Kaya’s Desperate Resistance!” No one was excited about the fact that Kuro had shown up. The butler’s anger was more or less directed at Jango very specifically, for allowing the Black Cat Pirates to fall from grace that badly. Jango, in a roundabout way, tried to shift the blame back onto his Captain, who in turn was having none of that. The Meowban Brothers became angry at their former Captain.

All the Straw Hats who hadn't been at Syrup village were watching with utmost interest how this multi-level conflict would turn out. 

Sham and Buchi were arguing that Kuro had an easy life for three years, while his pirate crew was wreaking havoc all around East Blue. Pretty much saying that he had done nothing for them in the last few years.

“That's a fair point they are making,” Robin decided.

The Meowban brothers quickly ran toward Kuro to kill him. But in an instant, Kuro had disappeared, after doing some complicated footwork, leaving behind the bag he was carrying. The pirate butler appeared behind them, surprising Zoro.

“He is so fast!” Chopper squeaked in surprise.

“It looks like he has made a similar technique as the CP9 guys had,” Luffy observed.

Kuro put on his claws and disappeared again, this time appearing right behind Meowban Brothers, hands over their shoulders, claws at their throats. Jango quietly explained that Kuro’s technique could kill fifty assassins before they realized anything.

“But he decided to make a spectacle out of it,” Usopp sighed.

Jango also explained that the way Kuro lifts his glasses is a habit to avoid cutting his own face. 

“Honestly, I didn't even pay attention to the glasses thing,” Sanji admitted. He had sat back down again after he got over the fact that Nami got injured.

Kuro decided to be good-natured and gave everyone five minutes to take care of the Straw Hats, or he was going to kill everyone.

“If that's being good-natured, I do not want to know what bad-natured is,” Franky pondered with a frown on his face.

Zoro, who was now the main target, had to take on the Meowban brothers again. Having taken his eyes off Nami for a minute, Jango accidentally let her walk past him and kick Zoro’s swords at him. The swordsman caught the remaining two swords with elegance and gave a thank you to the navigator.

“You did kinda save my ass there,” was the only thing the green-headed man said to the thief next to her, which she decided to interpret as another thank you.

With his three swords, Zoro had no problem with taking out the two brothers. He raised his sword towards Kuro and promised that he would crush all of his underlings before the five minutes were up. Kuro didn't seem to take the threat seriously.

“It's impressive what the difference three swords can do,” Jinbei recognized.

“It's not about the number of swords, it's about the skill,” said the swordsman simply.

“Aw, and here I thought I would be seeing you with a fourth sword eventually,” Usopp joked.

“And where should I hold it, huh?” Zoro asked, but only got giggling as an answer from the long-nosed sniper.

Buchi grabbed Jango’s leg and through labored breaths asked him to use hypnosis again, Jango complied. Zoro noticed a second too late that it was happening, and dropped his white-hilted sword at the monster Buchi had become. But he quickly fixed his mistakes and coolly threw his sword back into his mouth again.

“That was a cool trick, Zoro! Do it again!” Luffy excitedly ordered. Chopper and Usopp got the same amount of excitement on them.

“When this episode finishes, okay? I promise,” Zoro guaranteed to get the excited children to quiet down for a moment.

Nami took the opportunity to run towards the Black Cat Pirates’ ship, to wake up the sleeping Straw Hat Captain. Jango, deciding to be a bother, sent his chakram after the girl. Zoro seemed genuinely terrified for her safety. It barely missed her head, because she got tripped by an agitated Luffy, who wasn't too happy about being stepped on. But because he raised his head a second too early, the chakram was caught by his teeth.

“Just because you saved Nami-swan, I will forgive you for tripping her,” Sanji announced to their Captain, who just gave a thumbs-up back.

“That would've easily sliced your head in two, Nami,” Robin let one of her morbid thoughts out of her brain.

“Robin, please,” Nami complained dramatically.

“Also, I wouldn't have thought that you would've been so concerned about Nami’s safety, Zoro. She was just an ally at that point,” Usopp mentioned, attempting to get Robin’s remark out of his head.

Zoro only mumbled something incoherent into his knees at that. Something something Nakama. Luffy just grinned at that, seemingly to be the only one to understand what Zoro had said.

Everyone who didn't know Luffy was extremely surprised to see him alive again. Luffy on the other hand was worried about Nami who was in pain because of her shoulder. In her words, they couldn't afford to lose the fight because of the treasure. Luffy just decided to go with it. Jango decided to handle Luffy and gave the job of handling Zoro to Buchi.

“They are either stupid or underestimating those two.”

“I think they are just desperate to stay alive.”

Kuro had come to the realization that Luffy didn't die from falling off that cliff, and Luffy came to the realization that Kuro had appeared at some point during the time he was asleep. But before anyone started fighting again, Kaya came running from the forest. Just before Kuro sliced the girl in half, Usopp pulled her away. The two had a quick heart-to-heart before Kuro interrupted and Kaya attempted to make him stop his actions.

“Kaya-san has some guts to her, I’m sure she would have lovely panties as well,” Brook commended her actions and was creepy at the same time. For his effort, he got a flaming kick to the face.

“Thank you Sanji-kun,” Nami cooed.“Any time, my lady.”

Everyone at the shore was surprised to see the girl there, as she was the final part of the plan. Kaya offered Kuro all her riches for the favor that he and his men immediately leave. The former butler would've accepted if he hadn't wanted peace of mind. He had grown to like how the villagers treated him and his peace. But he needed the fortune and everyone dead.

“I think he is thinking a little bit backward,” Jinbei muttered in disbelief.

“He definitely is,” Brook agreed with him.

“Like I said before. Could've just stayed a butler!” Luffy said agitatedly. “Don't have to kill people!”

Kaya, in desperation, pulled out a gun from under her jacket. Being faced with a gun, Kuro tried to manipulate her to put it down, by reminding her of the times they had together and playing her butler again.

“That's dirty as shit!”

He got the gun away from her as he planned and dropped the act. He revealed that he had suffered every day just so he could kill the girl. All of that pissed off the nearby Luffy. Usopp stood up from the ground, picked up the gun, and shot at the cat captain. Kuro evaded the shot with his technique and managed to get behind the sniper.

“To some extent, I'm glad that the bullet missed, because I don't think I could live with an intentional kill,” Usopp revealed to his crewmates.

“Well, I positively hope you never have to intentionally kill someone,” Zoro honestly did hope that. Killing leaves marks.

Kuro had his claws all around the long-nosed boy’s head and reminded him that he had punched him in the face the previous day. The captain removed the band-aid that had been on his face the entire time to reveal a nasty bruise. Before Kuro managed to get back for his bruise, a fist came flying and hit him square in the face, probably hurting more than Usopp’s punch did. Luffy promised that he had more than one of these in store for the older pirate. To be continued.

“Okay, before we continue, Zoro promised to show us the trick,” Luffy immediately reminded everyone. He probably hadn't even paid attention to anything on the screen in anticipation.

“Alright, alright,” Zoro sighed and heaved himself up. It was probably good to stretch every once in a while.

Chapter Text

While Zoro was dropping and picking up his sword, Sanji went to make lunch for everyone. They had been having snacks the entire time, but he was a cook, dammit. He couldn't let his crewmates live on such an unbalanced diet. He made something simple: Garlicky fried rice with crispy pork. And it only took him thirty minutes.

By the time it was done, poor Zoro was still stuck entertaining the three youngest Straw Hats. Thus, in a rare moment of mercy for the swordsman, the cook announced the meal and everyone sat back down to eat. Somehow in the same order as before!

“Beat Kuro! Usopp the Man’s Tearful Resolve!” The Black Cat Pirates were shocked to see a Devil Fruit in real life and were scared of Luffy now. Nami was in the background, deciding to leave the fighting for the guys and go plunder some treasure.

“Priorities, I guess.”

“It's not like I would've been useful in the fight at the level I was, so I decided to be useful to myself.”

“Fair enough.”

Out of nowhere, the Usopp Pirates arrived, all brandishing a weapon. Weapon meaning a shovel, a pan, and a bat. All children sized. Amidst the confusion, they managed to collectively hit Kuro in the head with their selected weapons.

“Oh god, who let the kids into the fight?”

“It's not like we invited them to be there!”

The kids kept beating the former butler, while everyone told them to stop. When they decided that Kuro had had enough, the kids confronted their Captain about not telling them about the fight. While Usopp was hurriedly telling them to run away, Kuro regained the consciousness he had lost for a moment. Kuro entirely ignored the kids and went straight to Usopp.

“The little bros have some funk in them!” 

“The little bros almost got themselves killed,” Usopp argued with the ever-optimistic cyborg.

Usopp got a solid kick in the gut and was launched a few meters. The Black Cat Pirates’ Captain then determined that Luffy had Devil Fruit powers, which Luffy confirmed. Kuro decided he would be the one to defeat the rubberman and gave Jango the task of taking care of Kaya.

“I love how everyone Luffy meets early on is so surprised by the Devil Fruit, and now everyone we meet is just like ‘oh nice, a rubberman’,” Nami pointed out, completely ignoring the murder plan that was happening on the TV.

“I like it more when people don't make a big deal out of it, I have to explain less,” Luffy added.

“I also like when people just accept that I am a living skeleton.” “Or a reindeer.”

Zoro blocked Jango’s way with a sword, and the hypnotist sent Buchi after the swordsman. Zoro did well with holding off Buchi, but couldn't keep Jango from leaving.

The swordsman frowned. The way he was right now, he could've taken out Buchi with one move of a blade AND stopped Jango, but he was so weak. So very weak.

Usopp desperately wanted to stand up and stop Kuro and Jango, but just couldn't will his body to do it. Instead, he called for the Usopp Pirates and gave them the task to protect Kaya. The sniper mentioned that they formed the pirate crew to protect what was important to them, and right then Kaya was at the top of the list.

“You're a real man, Usopp-bro!” Franky cheered as he squished Luffy on his quest to hug Usopp.

“Okay, thank you! I cannot breathe!”

The three boys immediately tried to escort Kaya somewhere else, not realizing that Usopp had essentially told them to run away. Jango shortly started to spin his chakrams but was too late. Usopp had already shot a pellet at him. After getting yelled at by Kuro, he started actually going.

“He really is pathetic.”

Luffy was walking up the hill very calmly, while Zoro finally took down Buchi for the second time. As a finishing show, Zoro threw all three of his swords up in the sky and held out his sheaths. The three swords perfectly landed in their respective holders.

“I am not going to do that for half an hour, I will maximum do it twice,” Zoro almost held his ground, when the three youngest members looked at him with starry eyes. He really had grown soft.

“You used to be so much flashier than you are now,” Robin realized.

“Also thought I was ready to take on the Strongest Swordsman, so there's your explanation.”

“Big fish in a small pond.”

Abruptly, there was a gunshot-style sound coming from the forest. According to Kuro, it was probably Jango tearing up the forest in search of Kaya and the boys. Usopp wondered whether Kuro felt even a shred of pity for the girl he worked for so long. It turned out, no, he didn't. Luffy told the sniper to go after Kaya and the gang, as he and Zoro were going to take it from there.

“He is so cold-hearted,” Jinbei said with no surprise in his voice, he had seen plenty of people like that.

“All because, he wanted to…retire,” Luffy said in addition.

Usopp tried and tried to get up, but didn't seem to be able to. He laid on the ground while Kuro made fun of him and called him weak. Despite knowing, he would be no match for Kuro or Jango, the long-nosed boy was still determined to protect his friends. He made a tearful declaration that he would not let the other pirate captain lay a finger on the village.

Even though no one said anything, their respect for Usopp was through the roof. It's much harder to protect something when you're terrified, but there he was, unable to get up but still determined to protect Kaya and the village.

The rest of the pirates at the foot of the slope were all laughing at Usopp for crying, which clearly ticked off the straw hat-wearing boy who just grabbed a rock the size of a small hill and chucked it in their general direction.

“Sometimes your pure strength scares me.” Luffy just laughed.

Zoro picked up the injured sniper and asked whether his captain had any issues with both of them chasing Jango. Luffy had none, he also made sure the two got past Kuro who was playing king of the hill. When the rubberman used his Spear, the cat pirate disappeared.

“Ah, that always sucks.”

Kuro showed back up again and asked why an outsider would care about the village’s business. “Because there’s a man in this village, I don't wanna let die!”

The Straw Hats immediately figured out who the man was, and said man in question had tears streaming down his eyes.

‘Casually saves a village to save one person, sounds about right.’ Franky mused to himself. His captain was an enigma wrapped in mystery.

The two were fighting again and when Luffy threw out a Pistol, Kuro managed to stand on his outstretched arm. This was also the main reason, Luffy got punched in the face. Kuro took the time to explain to his men that after that fight he would be retiring because he was tired of the pirate life. As well as banning them from calling him ‘Captain Kuro’. 

“Who does that, you can't just decide not to be a pirate anymore? You either are one for life, or you are not one at all.”

Along with that, it was shown the exact moment the ex-pirate captain told his plan to Jango, back when he was still active. The captain boarded a Marine ship and killed everyone on board, everyone but one. The only one alive was no other than Captain Morgan, who had more limbs than at the beginning of the series. Jango was tasked with hypnotizing one of the Black Cat Pirates members to impersonate Kuro and to hypnotize Morgan to believe that he caught ‘Kuro’.

“So… Jango is the reason Morgan was like that?” Zoro tried to make sense of the situation.

“I'm more concerned about the fact, they sacrificed a random crewmate in Kuro’s stead,” Usopp protested about Zoro’s list of priorities.

“We all knew he was capable of that. But the fact Shells Town was oppressed was also, basically, Kuro’s fault,” the swordsman argued back. That topic was a little more personal to him.

“We can all agree that he was a jerk, so let's leave it at that.”

Kuro in the present made absolutely sure that everyone knew that all of his plans were dependent on the raid on the village succeeding. He attacked again, and Luffy reached for the boulder he threw earlier and used that to block the attack. Kuro’s claws got stuck in the rock, and the young pirate took advantage of that and moved the rock in a way that broke off one set of claws.

“Go Luffy! Go Luffy!”

"You're not fit to be a pirate if having a name on the seas scares you! My ambition is much greater than yours!" To be continued.

“No truer words have ever been spoken,” Usopp said dramatically, while Luffy laughed next to him.

“Kuro was a proper prick, wasn't he?” Nami sighed and heard an affirming grunt coming from Zoro.

Chapter Text

Zoro did more than two sword-sheathing tricks. Nami had to eventually drag everyone to sit down again.

“Protect Kaya! The Usopp Pirates’ Great Efforts!” The Usopp Pirates were leading Kaya through the woods at top speed, having seemingly lost the hypnotist. But turned out to be wrong when suddenly the surrounding trees were cleanly cut down with chakrams.

“Those are some sharp discs,” Zoro observed. “My swords are sharper, though.”

“Sure, sure.”

Despite mowing down the surrounding trees, Jango did not detect his four targets and somehow turned away just before looking behind a tree trunk where Kaya and the boys were hiding behind. 

“He is either blind or those four were just lucky as shit,” Franky said anxiously, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead.

“I think they were just lucky,” Brook chuckled nervously.

Usopp was telling Zoro to go East, even though Zoro didn't have any clue which way that was. The sniper then had to resort to using left or right to guide the swordsman. The Usopp Pirates were still running just as Kaya ran out of energy. She told the kids to go on ahead, but they strictly refused.

“These kids are more mature than I ever thought they were going to be,” Jinbei admitted.

“I hoped they didn't ever have to be in this situation,” Usopp sighed sadly.

Jango was getting closer, and they had to quickly figure something out. All they knew was that they had to fight, even when Kaya was desperately trying to stop them from doing so. “We're not gonna die. We're gonna fight to live! As our captain always said!”

“That sounds so like you, Usopp,” Robin chuckled lightheartedly.

“T-Thank you!”

Kuro was shaking on the ground after Luffy had broken his Cat Claws. His former crewmates were cheering him on until Kuro promised that after he had dealt with Luffy, they were next. Which effectively got them to shut up. The former butler revealed that he had never intended to let anyone, other than himself, leave the village alive.

“Why is he like that? Do people's lives mean nothing to him?” Chopper sniveled from the safety of Robin’s side. He hated seeing meaningless suffering and not being able to save people from that. Not very piratey of him, he was aware.

“Unfortunately, not everyone is like our crew, so we just have to deal with that,” Sanji tried to console the little reindeer. 

Luffy dubbed the Black Cat Pirates as an uncool pirate crew. Kuro in return called pirate crews a collection of social outcasts.

“He is not necessarily wrong with that statement, just how he delivered it,” Usopp remarked carefully.

In Kuro’s opinion, the crewmates were the pawns of the captain. They were supposed to live or die by the captain’s plans. That's what being a pirate was. Luffy just responded: “No matter how many hundreds or thousands of men follow you as their captain… you'll never be better than Usopp!”

This caught the sniper genuinely off-guard, and he choked on his own spit. The culprit for his temporary misery pat him on the back until Usopp felt like he could breathe again.

“I genuinely do mean it,” Luffy said once Usopp was back to normal.

“I for some reason do not doubt you,” Usopp responded, with a serious blush forming on his cheeks.  

‘He had known him for a day…’

This seriously ticked off Kuro, and he demanded to know how Usopp was better than him. The answer was character. When Kuro got close to attacking again, Luffy whipped him in the face, sending him face-first into the cliff. The ex-pirate captain then decided to show Luffy real terror and started swaying weirdly. According to the pirates, it was his ‘Out the back Attack’.

“Was this one hard to deal with?” Chopper asked his captain.

“Kind of,” Luffy answered after thinking about it for a moment.

The Black Cat Pirates were terrified of that attack and were begging their former captain to stop the attack. But Kuro predictably didn't comply and went on with it anyway. He disappeared instantly. Nami had just stolen what little treasure the pirates had, and just as she looked over the edge of the ship, Kuro had sliced one of his crewmates, without actually showing up.

“Oh, that's terrifying, I have goosebumps. But I don't have skin! Skull joke!” Brook joked, before shutting up when Nami gave her the ‘not the time or the place’ stare.

One after the other, the pirates at the bottom of the hill started falling with claw marks on their chests. But the attack seemed random, because one slice mark appeared right next to Luffy, on top of the hill. One of the pirates revealed that that specific maneuver of Kuro’s is completely random, and the dude didn't know what he was cutting either.

“Kinda pointless attack then, isn't it,” Zoro grumbled.

Luffy was watching from the hill how so many people were cut down by one man. He was watching so intently that he either didn't notice or didn't care that he was getting cut too.

“That has to hurt, bro!” 

“It did, but I also had to figure out where the butler was.”

Chopper was about to ask Luffy to be more careful in fights but quickly realized that was as pointless as telling Zoro that. Neither of them seemingly liked being alive.

“Who do you take your friends for?” That question surprised Nami, who had been witnessing the entire slaughter. After getting slashed across his chest, Luffy finally managed to grab hold of Kuro’s jacket and forcefully slammed him to the ground. Kuro informed the Straw Hat Captain that now that he wasn't doing his technique anymore, his men were suffering on the ground.

“And that's my fault because…?” Luffy asked unsympathetically. 

“I’ll never be a man like you.”

“I sure hope not!”

Kuro was once again pointing his claws at Luffy’s face as he was promising to kill him. He walked back a few steps and started swaying again. Luffy tried to stop him, but he was too late. Jango had gotten close enough to his targets that they waved a white flag. When the hypnotist walked toward it, he tripped on a rope the kids had prepared for him.

“Kuro and Jango, sure are an annoying bunch.”

“And determined at that.”

Just as Jango had fallen over, Onion shook some pepper in his face and Carrot hit him in the crotch with a pan. Those two together with Pepper pushed a huge log on his feet. While Jango was in incredible discomfort, the three kids tried to whack him again, but that time, the hypnotist dodged and caught Onion by the throat. He threw him and his two friends against a tree.

“They're just kids…”

Jango got Kaya to come out of hiding, by loudly announcing that he was going to execute the kids. Usopp and Zoro heard the boys yelling, but in a very Zoro-like fashion, he somehow thought the yelling came from an opposite direction.

“Zoro, h-how? What?” Nami sputtered. Zoro didn't answer. Even Sanji didn't know how to make fun of him.

Kaya very sneakily managed to steal one of Jango’s chakrams and held it to her own throat, threatening to ruin the entire plan.

“She got guts, I like her a lot.” Franky whistled, before adding. “Not that I would steal her from you, longnose-bro.”

Usopp almost choked on his spit, again.

Jango agreed to let the kids go in favor of getting Kaya to write her will. Which she did and was about to get killed after. However, Usopp and Zoro managed to find the group just in time, and Zoro ditched the sniper and dashed toward them. Back at the shore, Luffy got cut one more time. To be continued.

“Could've put me down more gently.”

“No, that would've wasted time.”

“I'm just surprised that you even made it there.”

“OI!”

Chapter Text

“Anger Explosion! Kuro vs. Luffy, How it Ends!” Kuro once again tried swiping at Luffy, but he moved away quickly enough to be safe. The seventeen-year-old got curious whether the ex-butler had become tired, which the latter denied in a round-about way. Kuro promised to give Luffy special treatment and let him taste pure terror, and then slowly kill him.

“How nice of him.”

The cat pirate started another barrage of attacks but got easily tripped by Luffy. The young pirate succeeded in wrapping himself around Kuro’s body, so the latter could use the technique again. The Black Cat Pirates at the bottom of the hill were now wondering if they could stay alive if Luffy took down the maniac.

“The other pirates were sure having a weird day,” Sanji laughed. “At first they were just going to pillage a village - hey, that rhymed - and then they found out they were going to die as well.”

“They probably had plans for the victory party,” Luffy said playfully, they were pretty much fine by the end of it, so he didn't have to be gloomy.

Before Zoro reached Jango, the three boys kicked him in the ass with their shovel, briefly distracting him from killing Kaya. According to Jango, Zoro was too late, to which Zoro responded by cutting off a tree branch that was in the way of Usopp’s shot. Usopp aimed.

“Oi! It keeps bouncing back and forth and not finishing what it started!” Nami complained.

“It is fairly annoying,” Jinbei agreed with the navigator.

The Black Cat Pirates were now cheering on Luffy and encouraging him to kick Kuro’s ass. Luffy headbutted the ex-butler and stretched his head toward the cheering pirates to let them know that they had no right to cheer him on. 

“They just cheered for me, because they were going to die if the cat won,” Luffy pouted. “And they were going to kill lots of people even if they weren't going to die.”

“They truly did not have any right to be cheering, you're right, Luffy-kun.”

The scene went back and forth between Usopp lining up the shot and Luffy preparing a move. “Special attack: Exploding Star!” “Gum-Gum Bell!” Usopp shot one of his Stars straight into Jango’s face, breaking his glasses. Luffy brought in his stretched-out neck at top speed and rammed his forehead right into Kuro’s forehead. Both of the Black Cat Pirate captains were knocked out.

“The irony of literally using his head against someone who intelligently uses his head,” Robin whispered into Sanji’s and Chopper’s ears before quietly laughing to herself. That observation made the other two laugh as well. The ones who did not hear the observation just looked at the trio weirdly.

“That was a fun way to defeat someone, am I right?” Franky asked Luffy.

“Yeah! I would do that more often, if that would still work,” Luffy chuckled while he rubbed his neck.

“You are fighting Kaido right now, right? You should try that, maybe it’ll work,” Sanji advised sarcastically.

Luffy snorted and just as sarcastically agreed to try it out.

The pirates were shocked to see that the kid managed to defeat their former captain, and demanded to know who he was. “I'm Monkey D. Luffy. I'd never lose to a pirate who ditches his name and runs from the sea. The only time a pirate should abandon his name is when he dies!” No one had heard of him, yet. Luffy also declared he was going to be the Pirate King.

“Kuro was just pathetic, nothing else.”

“They'll hear about him, sooner or later!”

The future Pirate King grabbed the disgraced pirate and threw him toward his former crew. The wounded and scared pirates collected their captain and scrambled to get to their ship.

“Actually, Luffy! I've been meaning to ask you something.”

“Mhm?”

“Why don't you kill the people you defeat?”

“Oh! I prefer them to live with the fact their dream got destroyed right in front of them.” the Straw Hat Captain said simply like he hadn't said something borderline psychopathic.

After a minute of silence, Usopp found his voice first: “And here I thought you were just nice.”

“He is a pirate, after all, you want him to hug his enemies and give them therapy?” Zoro slightly put Usopp through a test. He was as well the only crew member who had known about that side of Luffy, so he had been quiet because he didn't feel like talking.

“Of course not, I just hadn't expected that answer, is all.”

“As Zoro-san said, our Captain is a true pirate, yohohoho.”

Nami walked back to Luffy with her bag of treasure, just in time to catch the wounded boy, as his body decided it couldn't stay upright anymore. They had a quick talk about how friends should be treated before Nami gave Luffy back the hat that had fallen off at some point, and Luffy wanted some meat. 

“No surprises there.”

“Now I want meat,” said Luffy, but Ryo was not there that time, to make a one-time favor as he had done for Zoro.

"Wait until dinner."

"Goddammit."

Usopp asked Kaya and the boys to keep everything that happened a secret, so the villagers could continue with their daily lives. Back in the village, the people were starting to wonder where their daily ‘pirates are attacking’ spectacle was. Some were genuinely standing by doors, ready to chase the liar away.

That made Usopp’s tear ducts activate again, he never knew that his lies were appreciated.

“Everyone…” he whimpered and momentarily hid his face into Luffy’s shoulder who gave Usopp a quick squeeze until the sniper’s eyes stopped the waterworks. 

Usopp gave his thanks to Nami, Luffy, and Zoro, for helping with the protection of the village. He also announced that the incident helped him come to a decision. The sniper got his owe-catcher as well for his effort.

Luffy shook his sniper in excitement for the eye-catcher.

Usopp gathered all three of his tiny crewmates to tell them something. Firstly, he was proud of them for helping in the fight against the Black Cat Pirates. Secondly, Usopp had decided that he was setting out to sea on his own. The pirate flag was calling him!

“Careful, you're turning into Yasopp,” Luffy snickered, and Usopp playfully punched him in the shoulder.

The boys were almost convinced that their captain was lying and telling him that it was too soon to do that. Usopp reminded them that the place where they were standing was the place where they first met. The then four-year-old boys were approaching twelve-year-old Usopp, who tried to convince them to join his pirate crew.

“Okay, that's just adorable!” Brook melted in a grandfather-like manner.

Usopp remembered how he and the boys used to play pretend and chased away all sorts of monsters. The three kids were having none of that and begged their captain not to tell those stories because they didn't want him to leave. The long-nosed sniper asked what their ambitions in life were. “To run a pub!” “To be a master carpenter!” “To be a novel writer!”. He asked them to continue working towards those dreams.

“Why am I such a waterfall today?” Usopp whined after needing to wipe away another wave of tears. He missed his boys.

“You can be as much of a waterfall as you need to be,” Luffy encouraged him, there was nothing wrong with crying. He was sure he was going to cry at some point as well.

All four of them were crying now, and a very choked-up Usopp declared that the Usopp Pirates were, as of right then, disbanded.

Franky may or may not have been crying, but there's no proof of it. Not even the puddle by his feet. Brook definitely was crying, there was definite proof of that. Some other members might have even had misty eyes.

Luffy and company had eaten themselves full and were now starting to get ready to get going. But before they could start going, Kaya walked into the pub they were at. She had prepared a present for them. Usopp was at his house, packing absolutely everything he owned into a backpack.

“Isn't that too much stuff?” Robin asked.

“Possibly.”

The backpack was too big to fit through the door and when he finally got it through there, he happened to roll down a hill in a way that couldn't be stopped by himself. 

“Unfortunate.”

Back at the mansion, the Going Merry was shown in its full glory.

This made the more sensitive members shed some fat tears. Jinbei and Brook, who had never seen Merry with their own eyes, marveled at the little caravel. 

‘So that's what it looked like when it wasn't falling apart,’ Franky observed with slight amusement.

Kaya and the human Merry were giving it away for free to the Straw Hats, for saving the village. Merry was going to explain how the ship worked to Luffy before Nami interrupted to ask him to explain it to her. Just at that moment, Usopp came barreling toward the trio. Luffy and Zoro stopped him before he could collide with the ship.

“I was lucky to have been rolling out of control, otherwise I probably wouldn't have joined,” Usopp scratched his neck.

“Well, I'm glad you were rolling then!”

Usopp promised to tell Kaya even more unbelievable stories, once he returned from his adventure, which Kaya was looking forwards to. He then told the Straw Hats that he hoped that they would meet again, but Zoro just told him to get on the ship. Usopp processed the new information for a bit and then asked whether he was going to be the captain. The answer was of course no.

“I'm sorry about the captain thing,” Usopp quietly apologized to Luffy.

“Don't worry about it, you stopped doing it.”

They unfurled the sails and set sail, while the former Usopp Pirates were watching from behind some logs. Kaya and Merry were also watching from a cliff. Kaya revealed that she didn't want Usopp to go.

“I miss her!”

“Would you have stayed behind if she had asked you to?”

“No… I would've felt guilty, but I've always wanted to be a pirate. I couldn't just stay behind on that island forever.”

“I'm telling you, you're just like Yasopp!”

“Maybe I am.”

Merry told Kaya about a story he had heard about Usopp from the villagers. Shortly after Usopp’s father left the village, his mother passed away. A young Usopp was yelling about pirates attacking, running through the village and toward his house. In the house was a woman laying in a bed. She looked sick. Usopp lied about Yasopp coming back, but his mom didn't believe him, saying with conviction that her husband wouldn't be coming back.

“Hey, I'm forming a ‘my mom is dead club’. Does anyone want to join?” Usopp chuckled sadly, just so he wouldn't start crying again.

“Count me in!” Sanji, Nami, and Robin all said at the same time.

“Great. We start meeting every Thursday at 3 o’clock.”

Usopp lied about there being a legendary medicine that could cure every illness. His mom just told him he dreams too much.

Chopper’s ears perked up at that, he really should figure that one out sometime soon. 

His mom told him to grow up to be a brave man like his father and closed her eyes for good. That was where Merry stopped retelling the story, speculating that Usopp started habitually lying just so he could keep his hopes up about his father coming back for him.

“So you started lying as a coping mechanism,” Robin stated sadly and saw an unidentifiable emotion cross Usopp’s face, something that Luffy also noticed but didn't comment on.

“I guess so, yeah.”

‘That's incredibly sad,’ Zoro thought with a new view of the sniper. Every lie he tells is probably a wish that he could do it.

The Straw Hats cheered for their new crewmate, while the former Usopp Pirates were planning something. The something being, imitating Usopp in his daily ‘pirates are coming’ spectacle. “You know what, Merry? I'm going to be a doctor!” To be continued.

“Oh jeez, this was a ride and a half,” Usopp exhaled and melted onto the couch. He had probably felt every single emotion that day.

“You don't say, bro!”

“Hope Kaya has made progress with being a doctor,” Chopper wished. More doctors were always better.

“When I become the Pirate King, I promise we'll go see Kaya again,” Luffy told his currently exhausted-looking sniper, who gave him a simple thumbs up and smile.

“Sure hope, we get a small break from the drama,” Jinbei hoped.

Chapter Text

The Going Merry was quietly sailing on the sea, while her crew was doing their thing. Usopp was pretending to fight enemy pirates, Zoro was napping, Nami was reading her maps, and Luffy making their Jolly Roger. The sniper was just scolding everyone for ignoring him when Luffy declared that he was finished with their Jolly Roger.

“No offense, Captain, but… how do I say this? It sucks,” Sanji tried to inform him as gently as he was capable of.

“Is it really that bad?”

Usopp offered to redo the Jolly Roger, but not before he finished bragging about having done graffiti for fifty years. He of course got teased the hell out of. After he drew the Jolly Roger as he promised, he proudly showed it to the rest of the crew. The skull was of him.

“You were really arrogant at first, Usopp-kun,” Jinbei stated. The way Usopp in the present acted was similar, but the arrogance and entitlement had disappeared.

“I had been playing a pirate for five years. I didn't realize what being a pirate was at the beginning.” The sniper lowered his head in shame.

After he got a light scolding from Luffy, the liar finally made the Jolly Roger the Straw Hats had to this day. It was a skull and crossbones with a straw hat.

“That was a nice feeling,” Luffy mentioned. He had been dreaming of that day for pretty much a decade.

“I'm glad you like it,” Usopp awkwardly bowed and desperately tried to forget the fact that he used to be like that.

“A bit of a topic change, but Nami seems to be way too excited about the flag, for someone just doing an allyship for her benefit,” Zoro teased the navigator.

“Shut up,” Nami punched his shoulder very insincerely. 

“You're the Weird Creature! Gaimon and His Strange Friends!”

“Oh! Right, he also exists,” Usopp suddenly remembered their strange friends.

“Wonder how he’s doing.”

A little while after Usopp had painted the main sail, a storm started approaching the ship from the front. Right in the eye of the storm was an island, Nami dubbed the Treasure Island. She also told about a legend of god’s wrath if you were to get near the island.

“I've had enough of god’s wrath to last a lifetime,” Chopper muttered tiredly.

“So have I, so have I,” Sanji agreed with the reindeer.

To Usopp’s displeasure, Nami was determined to go on the island. Luffy full-heartedly approved of the adventure. The Treasure Island was fairly quiet, with only some bugs making noises.

“The place looks beautiful!”

Usopp immediately displays his courage by constantly hiding behind the green-headed swordsman. Nami told the other three all sorts of rumors that originated from that island, successfully freaking out the sniper. Zoro just decide he was hungry and fell asleep.

“And what kind of logic is that? You're hungry, so you go asleep?” Sanji attempted to understand the Marimo’s logic. The Marimo just growled at him.

Luffy was having a staring contest with a snake with a rabbit’s head, while Usopp got licked by a dog with a rooster’s features.

“Okay, something strange is happening,” Franky noticed very helpfully.

“You think?"

“It seems SUPER, though!”

After the three of them noticed all the creatures looking at them through the trees, a disembodied voice told them to leave, identifying itself as the island’s protective God. It made clear that stepping further into the forest would lead them to their doom.

“So gods exist, but one of them is protecting a random island in the East Blue? Got it!” Sanji unnecessarily calls out the person’s bluff.

“The island isn't necessarily random, but you are correct in calling it a bluff.”

All of the bizarre creatures came out from the shadows and showed themselves, and the disembodied voice claimed that all of them used to be humans who came to look for the treasure. The person destroyed their bluff when they accidentally mentioned having been a pirate once.

“That didn't last long.”

When the pirates refused to leave, ‘god’ activated a series of traps that ultimately didn't work the way he wanted to, as Luffy was completely unscathed. The very noticeably scared bush behind Luffy aimed a shotgun at the boy’s back and shot. It, again, didn't work the way he wanted it to.

“I love seeing the reactions of people who haven't seen Luffy get shot before,” Nami revealed, it was always a riot.

“It also works to his advantage for a few seconds, until they get over their shock,” Brook added wisely.

“But I don't like getting shot at.”

The bush took off running, but eventually, the three of them caught up to it. It turned out to be a person. In a treasure chest. He tried to run away again but got caught by Luffy. Even so, they somehow ricocheted off an edge of a cliff, Luffy, fortunately, grabbing hold of a small branch on the side of it.

“You sure have some insane luck.”

After Nami patched up the guy, he revealed that he is incapable of getting out of that box and that he had been alone on that island for twenty years. Zoro picked that particular moment to wake up from his nap and come looking for them, getting a slight scare from seeing Gaimon for the first time.

“That was a weird thing to see first thing after a nap,” Zoro said while shaking his head in disbelief. He still couldn't believe that Gaimon existed.

Zoro and Luffy both attempted to pull Gaimon out of that treasure chest, but to no avail. During the twenty years, his body had pretty much become one with the chest.

“Even if you got him out of there, he couldn't possibly live a normal life. His upper body probably would have no chance of having the strength to keep his head up and so forth. So from a medical perspective, it would be safer to leave him in a box,” Chopper explained to the best of his abilities. “Even though this has probably never happened to anyone else, so I'm just speculating.”

Luffy told Gaimon about his plans to go to the Grand Line and find One Piece. Gaimon responded with a brief story about pirates who escaped the Grand Line and were only a shadow of their former selves. He urged Luffy to rethink his decision.

“You could've told me as many horror stories about the Grand Line that you wanted, and I would've wanted to see it more and more.”

“That's just how you are, Captain.”

Gaimon discovered that Luffy was just like him when he was younger. He told them the story of how he came to the island. The pirate group, he was a part of, looked through the island for a month, but didn't find anything. In a last-ditch effort, Gaimon climbed a rock formation and found some unopened treasure chests. But he fell off the rock and right into a treasure chest, where the rest of the pirates left him.

“Talk about bad luck…”

The Straw Hats offered to get the treasure for Gaimon. Luffy Rocketed himself to the top of the rock formation to go check out the treasure chest. When he refused to throw down the treasure chests, a small commotion broke out until Gaimon figured out the reason. All of the chests were empty.

“Talk about even worse luck…”

“So he wasted twenty years of his life, guarding empty treasure chests?”

“It's not he could go anywhere.”

To cheer him up, Luffy offered Gaimon a spot on the crew, so he could go search for One Piece with him.

“So in an alternate universe, we would have had a bush in a box as a crewmate,” the cook almost choked.

“The bush in a box, unfortunately, refused,” the straw hat-wearing boy moped

Gaimon was thankful but refused because he decided that the animals on the island also needed protection. Luffy accepted his reasoning and made his crew set sail into the sunset. While the Going Merry was going further and further, Gaimon expressed his belief that Luffy was going to be the person to find the One Piece. To be continued.

“Okay, that was a bit of a palate cleanser,” Sanji said as he stretched and lit another cigarette.

“East Blue seems like such a nice place,” Jinbei said more or less to himself. He would like to visit that sea when Luffy becomes the Pirate King.

Chapter Text

It was peaceful until Luffy came from the storeroom with a crate of cannonballs he had found, thinking he could practice with the new cannons. Luffy asked Zoro whether he knew how to work a cannon, even though Usopp had volunteered to make a demonstration, but the swordsman was asleep. 

“No surprise there.”

While Nami was explaining that a little bit further away there was a great spot to practice shooting a cannon, Usopp complained about being left out. “The Three-Sword Style’s Past! Zoro and Kuina’s vow!

“Oh no… It's happening now,” Zoro whined and rubbed his hands over his face.

“Oh right, the last time was a fake-out,” Nami said sympathetically, she also wasn't keen on her past showing up, presumably soon.

“It's gonna be alright,” Luffy once again tried to ease his crewmate’s anxiety.

A small Zoro was overlooking a village from on top of a hill. In a little bit, he had determined where the resident dojo was and arrived at its doorstep to challenge it. He requested the strongest fighter they had.

“Feisty one weren't you?” Brook lightheartedly teased.

‘He looks so tiny!’

The master of the dojo accepted the child’s request, even when he hadn't fully thought out the conditions of the fight. The master called for Kuina and a girl, who called him father, emerged.

Zoro got a feeling in his chest he couldn't quite identify when he saw Kuina again after all those years. Realistically, he had gone through the grieving process, but seeing her again hurt.

Zoro got angry because the adult wouldn't fight him, but the man established that Kuina was stronger than the adults who were part of the dojo.

“Was she that strong?” Robin asked, not because she didn't believe the man's words, but because she wanted to hear Zoro’s opinions specifically.

“She was. If she was alive right now, she would probably beat me.” That last sentence caught off guard the crewmates, who hadn't yet concluded that the girl on the screen was dead.

The little swordsman got to pick a training sword he wanted, and for some reason picked nine.

“I see you got too excited,” Jinbei chuckled at the display of overzealousness. Zoro huffed a humored breath back at him.

Zoro got beat super easily and was sent flying, all of his swords soaring through the air. Even so, he got back up again, this time only picking up two swords. Through some questioning, he revealed that it was his first time holding a bamboo sword.

“Gotta get trained somehow,” Zoro merely shrugged.

“I mean, that is an option, Zoro-san.”

The green-headed boy tried to attack again, but this time didn't get back up to fight again when Kuina retaliated. As promised, Zoro became a student at the dojo and promised to become much stronger.

This exchange reminded Luffy how he had promised Ace that he was going to get stronger back on Mt. Colubo after Sabo died. He mentally shook his head to not get too distracted by thoughts of Ace and Sabo. Thoughts of Sabo were technically fine, but still.

“I'm going to train lots and lots and lots, and then I will beat you! Remember that!” “That day’ll never come.”

This sent a lump to Zoro’s throat. He wasn't usually an emotional person, but this was definitely getting to him.

Zoro trained relentlessly through heat, wind, and cold, just like he would in the future. All this time he was getting better and better at swordplay, gradually upgrading from One-Sword Style to Two-Sword Style. He was working harder than anyone else at the dojo.

“I'm impressed, Zoro-kun. Not a lot of people would put that much effort into something, especially at that age.”

“Guess I'm just built out of determination,” Zoro joked briefly with the fishman.

Even after all that effort, he still couldn't beat Kuina. Kuina had won two thousand times and Zoro had won zero times.

“TWO THOUSAND?” Luffy exclaimed, almost being the third person that day to choke on their spit. “Geez, you're determined! I mean, I knew that. Why am I surprised?”

“Needed to win.”

Kuina called Zoro a weakling. Even with his two swords, if they couldn't win, a weakling was still a weakling.

“That's me-”

“It wasn’t, she was correct,” Zoro interrupted Chopper, but refused to elaborate further.

When Zoro was washing his face, he cursed himself for losing again and decided to fight Kuina again that night. Both of the teachers were having a quiet conversation. When Kuina’s father mentioned not being able to let Kuina inherit the dojo, the way she was at that point. Kuina overheard and stated that she’d one day be the world’s greatest swordsman.

“She is better than Marimo, so why is he being like that,” Sanji spat with venom in his voice.

“He is more of a traditional kind of man, so make your own connections, Love Cook,” Zoro explained, for once without any malice towards the cook.

“Kuina. As a girl, you can never be the world’s strongest.” At those words, Kuina just left.

“How does that make any sense?” Luffy angrily asked.

“It doesn't, but he just is like that. I hate that too,” Zoro replied with the same kind of anger.

Sanji just dropped his head on his hands and sighed heavily.

Zoro accidentally bumped into Kuina while taking a walk, with his two swords. The boy grabbed the opportunity and challenged her to their 2001st fight, planning to make it their last. This time with real swords.

The swordsman was genuinely hoping that no one was sensing the dread that was slowly building up inside of him. He knew, too well, what this challenge lead to.

Of course, Luffy did, thanks to his haki, but to respect his swordsman’s privacy decided to be quiet for now.

Kuina agreed to the challenge and went to fetch her sword. It was one with a white hilt with a crisscross pattern down its side.

“That's…” Sanji started. He knew that sword, it was the one Zoro was the most protective over. The one that was usually in his mouth.

“Don't you dare finish that sentence!” Zoro looked at the cook, and the latter felt like if he made one wrong comment, the swordsman might just shed a tear. And he let the topic go.

Zoro had subconsciously taken Wado Ichimonji and rested it in his lap. It was strangely comforting.

The two kids decided that their battleground would be on the nearby field. Kuina had one sword and Zoro had two. They fought quite well and Zoro didn't immediately lose. But he started to get tired rather quickly because he wasn't used to real swords and their weight. This was also the reason the green-headed child eventually got defeated.

“She was a good fighter,” Brook said thoughtfully as if also mourning the girl with Zoro.

“She was,” Zoro acknowledged, nostalgia invading his tone.

Kuina declared her victory by stabbing the ground right next to Zoro’s head. If it had been a serious fight, he would've been dead. Zoro was frustrated enough that he started crying, eventually being interrupted by his friend, who was saying that she was supposed to be the one crying.

“But she won?"

Kuina explained that girls get weaker when they age. That she wanted to become the World's Greatest Swordsman, but her father told her she couldn't. And that Zoro was lucky to be born a boy.

“He was so full of bullshit,” Zoro argued quietly, cursing Kuina’s father for making her believe that.

“I want to punch her dad,” Nami said without any remorse and got a fist bump from an equally agitated Zoro.

“Don't be whining like that after you beat me! That's not fair! You're my goal! Boy this, girl that. Are you gonna say that stuff too when I beat you someday? You act like none of it is skill! You're insulting all the hard training I've been doing! Promise me! Someday, one of us will be the World’s Greatest Swordsman!” “You dummy. You're so weak…”

“Oh god, I'm gonna cry again,” Usopp fussed after the exchange.

“What do you think I fucking feel like then?” Zoro questioned the weepy sniper.

Luffy decided to take action and plopped himself on Zoro’s lap, hugging him from the front. The swordsman put on a show about being annoyed by that but gave up quickly because he did actually like that. He wasn't a touchy-feely person, but every once in a while, it wasn't bad.

The two swordsmen promised that one of them would take the title of the World's Greatest Swordsman. And that ended the night. In the morning Zoro went back to training. Zoro had decided to train to use three swords because two weren't enough to beat Kuina. But that day's training session was cut short when three boys from the dojo came looking for him. Kuina had died.

Luffy squeezed Zoro harder and vice versa. The swordsman was doing his best to keep the tears from leaking, but he knew he was fighting a losing battle. 

What he didn't know, was that Luffy was nearing the same battle. Too much of Kuina’s and Zoro’s situation reminded him of his and Ace’s situation. The younger one wanting to surpass the older one, but ultimately death got in the way.

“Life is cruel, unfortunately,” Brook said knowingly. The best died young.

Kuina had apparently slipped and fallen down the stair and broken her neck. Seemingly, she had been looking for a sharpening stone for her sword.
‘If I hadn’t asked her to duel, she would perhaps still be alive.’

A little while after a funeral, Zoro put extra effort into his training, almost like he was trying to prove something. One evening, Kuina’s father, approached him and called him to have a meeting. He was facing away from Zoro, Kuina’s sword next to him. He thanked Zoro, for giving Kuina a reason to practice. “People are such fragile beings, Zoro…”

“Sometimes too fragile…”

Zoro was crying when he begged to have Kuina’s sword. He wanted to have his name reach the heavens, and he was going to get stronger for her. He was going to become the World's Greatest Swordsman because he promised her. Her father agreed to let Zoro have the sword, leaving Kuina’s spirit and dreams with him. That was the last breaking point in the boy’s self-control, and he wailed.

By now a lot of the Straw Hats had shed some tears, some for Zoro’s sake, some for the sake of the girl gone too early.

Zoro himself was having trouble keeping all his feelings inside, so he allowed some tears to fall and some shuddering breaths to exit. Luffy just gripped him tighter.

“That's a heavy dream you have, bro. But you are more SUPER for it,” Franky tried to lighten the mood because he couldn't handle the heavy one.

“It is heavy, but it's mine to carry, and I wouldn't change it for the world,” Zoro admitted hoarsely.

“But we're all here as well, so we can help shoulder it,” Luffy offered gently. 

“You already are.

Eight years passed, and Zoro had grown a lot. Both in his skills as a swordsman and stature. He was giving his respect at Kuina’s grave when her father stated that Zoro was setting out to sea. Zoro guaranteed to fulfill his promise to Kuina and that’s where the story went back to the present, where Usopp and Luffy were having cannon practice.

“You're so strong, Zoro!” Chopper needlessly stated, but that got a chuckle out of the swordsman, so it did its job.

Usopp hit a big rock dead on and that concluded the cannon practice, so everyone went to the galley. That's where Luffy once again suggested that they need a musician.

“I feel so important!”

All of a sudden, there was a commotion on the deck, so they needed to check it out. On the deck was a fairly tall man with short black hair and a blue jacket. There was kanji for ‘sea’ tattooed on his face. He kept breaking the ship for attempting to kill his partner.

“When did you try that?” Sanji looked confused.

“I think when they hit that rock, that somehow hurt them,” Robin very accurately read the situation.

“You are right, actually.”

From the galley, Zoro recognized the voice and decided to check things out. The Pirate Hunter recognized the man as Johnny, who in turn called him Big Bro Zoro. To be continued.

“Was he another bounty hunter?” Jinbei asked curiously.

“Yeah, we used to hunt together for a while,” Zoro explained while trying inconspicuously as possible to get rid of the tear marks on his face.

“Are you good now, or should I stay here longer?" Luffy ignored the topic and quietly asked the swordsman. He had no problem with cuddling him a bit longer.

“I think I am alright for now, thanks though,” Zoro answered honestly.

“No problem.”

Chapter Text

“Famous Cook! Sanji of the Sea Restaurant”

“Famous my ass!” Zoro sneered at the cook. This made them break out in a fight before the episode had properly started.

“I'm glad to see he’s feeling better, but come on!” Nami groaned and prepared for her role as the official Zoro and Sanji separator. 

Sanji of course didn't mind a smack from his dear Nami-san, but Zoro was grumbling the entire way back to his seat.

Wine was being poured to a lady on a Marine ship, and the man pouring it promised to take her to the most wonderful restaurant in the world. The man had pink hair, a scar on his face, and bolts seemingly attached to his knuckles.

“Oh, it's that fucker,” Sanji said with disappointment. He had somewhat forgotten he existed. The lady was still beautiful, though.

“I wonder what her panties look like?” Brook whispered to himself, only being heard by Jinbei, who was more concerned for Brook than he had been.

Johnny was extremely surprised to see Zoro on a pirate ship, and Zoro was surprised to see Johnny without Yosaku. The bounty hunter had his friend right next to the Going Merry, and he looked awful. When they got Yosaku on the ship, Johnny explained that the other one was fainting and losing teeth, among other issues.

“That's just plain old scurvy,” Chopper identified. “It's easily curable these days.”

“That's what I said too,” Nami sighed.

It turned out that, Usopp had accidentally put both of the bounty hunters in danger by having his cannon practice. Luffy and the sniper both apologized, but Johnny didn't think that was enough and asked Big Bro Zoro if Yosaku was going to die.

“It's weird that he calls me Big Bro because I'm like four years younger than him,” Big Bro Zoro pointed out.

“Whatever you say, Big Bro,” Franky teased the swordsman.

Before Zoro could answer, Nami called all of them stupid and took a quick look at Yosaku. Usopp and Luffy were tasked to get the limes they had in the storage. She had correctly identified the problem as scurvy and gave a quick explanation of what it was.

“Without you, we would have died in a few days, I'm pretty sure,” Usopp acknowledged, making Nami blush.

“Without Nami-swan and Robin-chwan, all of you sad bastards would die in an instant,” Sanji added in a very mocking manner, that luckily Zoro either didn't hear or purposefully didn't notice.

“You should just nod and move on when he’s like that,” Brook instructed Jinbei.

The cannon practice boys had poured enough lime juice into Yosaku’s mouth, to last a lifetime. And in a miraculous recovery, the bounty hunter was up in an instant and was dancing around with his friend.

“I somehow cannot see you hanging around those two,” Nami said perplexedly.

“Why? They're perfectly fine.”

“I mean, you hang out with Luffy constantly, so I shouldn't be surprised.”

The swordsman just cocked his head in confusion, what was wrong with hanging out with those two? They were good company.

The bounty hunters introduced themselves properly, after which both they and Zoro expressed how they didn't think they would meet like this. Soon after, Yosaku collapsed again, because he did not miraculously recover.

“I did think that was too quick,” Chopper sweatdropped at that.

“Just a bunch of idiots.”

At night everyone, minus Yosaku, was in the galley trying to figure out how to avoid scurvy on their voyage. That was the moment where Luffy came to the idea to find a seafaring cook.

“It was your idea?” a very surprised seafaring cook shouted out.

“He does have his moments,” Robin voiced calmly.

“Yeah, I have my moments!”

Johnny realized he knew the perfect place to get a cook like that. But that was close to the Grand Line and and there were rumors about a certain hawk-eyed man, Zoro’d been looking for. They were heading north-northeast.

“It's not often you see Zoro-san that excited,” Brook pointed out.

Their destination was the Sea Restaurant Baratie. That restaurant was a giant boat stylized to look like a fish.

“That's home,” Sanji said proudly and a little bit nostalgically. He considered Baratie as much of a home as he did the Thousand Sunny (or the Going Merry). So in short, he had two homes he loved.

“I want to eat there again,” Nami daydreamed briefly. “Not that I don't love your food Sanji, it's even better, just for the nostalgia.”

“I'm not mad at that, don't worry!”

Just as they arrived, the Marine ship from earlier pulled up next to them. The ship's lieutenant, Iron Fist Fullbody, demanded to see the pirate ship's captain. Usopp briefly tried to claim that spot again, which slightly pissed off Luffy.

“If you apologize again, I’ll punch you!” Luffy threatened before Usopp could even open his mouth. He already knew, that when they were done with the day, the sniper would come to apologize anyway.

“If he was on any other pirate ship, he would probably get executed,” Brook whispered to Jinbei, so the liar wouldn't hear him.

“You are completely right, but thank heaven's that he is on Luffy-kun’s ship.”

Fullbody made fun of the bounty hunter trio, and in retaliation, Johnny took out bounty posters of people they had captured and the ones they were trying to capture. One of those posters belonged to Arlong. Nami picked up the poster with shaking hands.

Zoro momentarily put his hand on Nami’s shoulder, to give her at least some amount of comfort. The navigator gave her a grateful smile.

The lieutenant gave an order to sink the small pirate ship and just as the first cannonball left the cannon, Luffy blocked the ball to defend the ship. But in a series of unfortunate events, instead of shooting the cannonball somewhere in the distance, Luffy shot it straight at Baratie. Sanji got his eye-catcher.

“So you weren't lying,” Sanji laughed at the spectacle. It really was a ‘you'll believe it only when you see it’ kind of moment.

“At least someone believes me now,” Luffy giggled along with his cook. He didn't blame anyone for not believing that.

“You just keep causing trouble anywhere you go, Luffy-kun,” Jinbei said cheerfully.

“Not on purpose… usually.”

Sanji was too busy laughing to notice his eye-catcher.

Because of the cannonball, the owner of the restaurant was hurt. He did say that he wasn't exactly alright, but everyone had to get back to work. He had a peg leg and an incredibly long chef’s hat.

“What is he compensating for?”

The cooks dragged Luffy to the room, and he got on his knees to apologize. He immediately freaked out when he saw the peg leg, thinking he caused it. It made the owner even angrier. He let Luffy know that he had a lot to pay for all of the damage he caused. Luffy let him know, that he didn't have any money. The owner allowed him to work unpaid for a year to pay everything off.

“I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you did something and got let go earlier,” Franky speculated.

“I worked for four days, and somewhat saved the restaurant, so I got let go.”

“You caused more trouble during those four days than with the cannonball,” Sanji reminded the rubberman and got a very mischievous grin as a reply. Did the bastard plan that?

A certain blond man poured wine for Fullbody, who decided to impersonate a wine expert and tried to guess the wine from its scent and taste. He guessed wrong, and Sanji in a passive-aggressive manner gave the lieutenant a spoon because his soup was getting cold.

“He was so goddamn pretentious.”

Sanji informed the pair that he was the Sous Chef and not the waiter, the waiters had run off the day before.

“I'm going to guess that it was a busy workday,” Robin chuckled.

“Luckily it was a decently slow day, so it was fine, but I think we would have died during the holidays though.”

Luffy tried to haggle his punishment down to one week, then two weeks, three weeks. All he got was a spinning kick from the owner for all that effort.

“Oh! So he is that kind of old man,” Chopper squeaked in surprise. He hadn't expected an injured old man to practically breakdance.

“He shouldn't be underestimated,” Sanji smiled. He should probably write the old man a letter if he survives Wano.

Luffy, who had been patient for ten years and didn't want to be patient for another year, promised that he’d get the owner to let him off the hook in a week. The old man didn't like that and suggested that the rubberman leave one of his legs behind.

“I would have rather worked for a year, than cut off one of my legs,” Luffy shuddered at the thought of cutting off his leg.

Zoro was about to say something but got quickly shut off by Nami.

“I don't need you to add anything here, Mr. I-Tried-To-Cut-My-Legs-Off.”

Fullbody, in an attempt to get back at Sanji, planted a bug in his soup and called the Sous Chef over to complain. But before giving him attention, Sanji flirted with Fullbody’s lady and then made a fool out of the lieutenant again. Fullbody smashed the table in rage.

“What a prick.”

“I would've eaten the soup with the bug.”

“We're all aware of that.”

Sanji pointed out that the soup was still edible if the bug was taken out. The soup had been in the making for three days. “Can money satisfy your hunger?”. Fullbody also pushed his date to the ground.

“Don't hurt a lady and don't waste food. Those two are my main principles, and he managed to go against them both in the span of a minute.”

Sanji kicked Fullbody in the face, and after it held him by the neck, just as the rest of the Straw Hats walked through the door.

“That's an interesting first impression,” Jinbei noted, amusement in his voice.

“I wasn't planning on making an impression on my future crewmates, so really didn't think about it,” Sanji took a drag of his cigarette while thinking of the weirdness of this situation. His crewmates walked in while he was beating up a guy, and his captain was upstairs getting beaten up by Zeff.

“Don't… waste food. At sea, provoking a cook is the same as committing a suicide, remember that.” To be continued.

“That is a hardcore restaurant. I wanna go,” Franky bellowed.

“I'm sure we will find a way back there eventually.”

Chapter Text

“Unwelcome Customer! Sanji’s food and Gin’s debt” A customer was heading toward the bathroom, but couldn't enter because one of the cooks was inside practicing his service skills.

“Goddammit, Patty!”

As Patty came out of the toilet, he encountered the mess that Sanji had found himself in. The older of the two tried to lecture the younger one because Sanji’s actions could get him in trouble. Sanji stood his ground because Fullbody wasted food and insulted cooks.

“So in your eyes, he's pretty much dead to you?” Jinbei tried to make sense of the cook's character a bit more.

“Yeah, pretty much. You accidentally waste food? Alright, I can look past that, but on purpose? That gets my blood boiling.”

Fullbody was enraged by how he had been treated and vowed to shut down the restaurant. This in turn enraged Sanji, and it took three other cooks to restrain him. But before the fight escalated even further, Zeff and Luffy fell through the ceiling. Which was lucky as it seemed Zeff was the only one who could calm Sanji down.

“This wasn't the first time you had fought with the customers, huh?” the doctor rhetorically asked Sanji.

“I may or may not have had a reputation of fighting customers.”

When Sanji argued back to the old man, he got a peg leg in the face, and just as Fullbody thought he got what he wanted, he was also treated with a peg leg in the face.

“He just loves kicking people, huh?”

One of Fullbody’s subordinates rushed to the restaurant to inform him that they were in trouble. Pirate Krieg’s underling had escaped.

“Krieg?”

“One of the pirates who ran East Blue.”

“Strong for East Blue standards.”

“So I could take him down?” Franky asked for clarification.

“Highly likely.”

Before the subordinate could apologize for his carelessness, he got shot from behind, by said Krieg’s underling. He slowly entered the restaurant and sat down at a table. The cooks seemed incredibly calm in the situation.

“I take, things like this used to happen often, Sanji-san?”

“I can't say murders happened terribly often, but people have gotten violent before, yes.”

“My kind of restaurant,” the cyborg bellowed excitedly. Having lived in the bad part of Water 7 for multiple years, he had been in many bars and restaurants like Baratie.

The underling had deep eye bags, piercings, and a striped bandana around his forehead. He demanded food of any kind. Patty inquired whether the pirate had any money, to which the answer was no. The cook just beat his head through the table.

“But he was hungry,” Chopper whimpered at the mistreatment.

“I was pretty much the only person there who was willing to feed anyone, whether they had money or not,” Sanji sighed thoughtfully.

“You're a good person, that's why, Sanji!” said Luffy, who had taken a break from ogling all the food on the screen, to compliment his chef. 

Sanji desperately tried to hide his furious blush from the compliment.

Zeff’s only complaint was that Patty broke a chair. Sanji quietly snuck away to the kitchen to start preparing a meal. The pirate was ungracefully thrown outside. Sanji came out shortly after and placed a plate of seafood risotto by the starving man’s head. Despite being incredibly hungry, the pirate tried to be stubborn and not eat it.

“Pride is a dangerous thing,” Brook mused casually.

“How large and cruel the ocean is. How scary it is to lose food and water on the ocean. How hard it is… I can understand how a hungry person feels, more than anyone. You can die for your pride if you want, but if you eat and survive, don't you think there’s a future for you?”

‘I wonder what he went through to be like that,’ Jinbei thought to himself.

‘I am not excited to see why I'm like this,’ Sanji internally whined to himself. It took a toll on the Marimo, and he’s tough as a rock emotionally. The cook was not.

After Sanji’s words, Krieg’s subordinate shoveled down the food, all while crying from the kindness Sanji had shown him. Luffy was up on a balcony overlooking the whole thing. “I found a good cook!”

Sanji blushed again and suddenly found himself having to deal with a hug from Luffy, who had climbed over Usopp.

“Why are we hugging?” Sanji sputtered out.

“Why not? Am I not allowed to be happy about having you as a cook?” Luffy laughed into his shoulder. Sanji allowed it for a few seconds, but then gently pushed the captain away again. He had a feeling he would be back soon enough.

“Could've taken someone else from there,” a certain mossball grumbled but stopped it immediately after he got smacked to the back of the head. Honestly, he wasn't sure who did it, but someone did. Probably Luffy though, and just for that, it was safer to just shut up.

Luffy then outright gave Sanji the invitation to join his pirate crew. Sanji just sidestepped the question and warned Luffy to not try to damage Baratie as the owner used to be a famous pirate.

“They’re just letting a pirate run a restaurant?”

“Honestly, he hasn't told me how the hell he doesn't get captured. I'm just guessing that they thought he died.”

Sanji explained that pirates often come and because of that fights break out just as often between the cooks and pirates. This is also why the waiters all quit.  Luffy asked once again that Sanji join his crew, but this time he outright turned down the invitation, as he had a reason to stay in the restaurant.

“Has anyone who joined this crew, accepted on the first try?” Usopp suddenly asked Luffy.

“Uhm… let me see…you technically did Usopp, Robin invited herself on the crew and I think that's it. Everyone needs some encouragement first,” Luffy chuckled awkwardly.

“Jinbei I guess as well, he just had to run some ‘errands’,” Nami added while doing air quotations.

“So Usopp is pretty much the only one who joined on the first offer,” Zoro concluded.

“No! I refuse!” “What do you mean?” “I refuse your refusal!”

‘Right…’ 

This caused a bit of a scuffle until the pirate on the ground interrupted them to introduce himself. His name was Gin, and he was a Krieg pirate. Gin asked Luffy what goals he had. Luffy replied with the usual: To find the One Piece.

“Only One Piece? What happened to the Pirate King?” Zoro teased.

“Took a vacation,” Luffy chuckled.

Gin warned Luffy to wait a little while before going to the Grand Line as he was still too young. He didn't understand anything about the Grand Line, and that's why he feared it.

“I'll give it to him that we probably should've been a little bit stronger before entering the Grand Line, but if we had, we would've missed important things,” Sanji rationalized. “Not that we were exactly weak, but…”

“No, I get what you mean. Things probably would have worked out a bit smoother,” Luffy agreed. “But there's no point thinking about that, we've made it this far already, the past means nothing.”

“Right on, Captain!”

The cooks were working at full speed to feed the customers, while Patty and another cook were discussing the Krieg Pirates when a third cook went into detail about them. Krieg was known for leading an armada of fifty pirate ships and more than five thousand members

“That is a lot of ships,” Chopper squeaked

“I'm quite sure our Grand Fleet has more ships than that and possibly more members,” Robin tried to remember the specific number, but at that moment couldn't find it in her brain.

“So we're officially better than Krieg, what an achievement.”

Patty stayed with his decision to throw out Gin and the other cook reminded him, that he was the reason all the waiters quit. Practically, it was Patty’s fault that all the cooks were super busy.

“Patty is so hard to deal with,” Sanji whined.

Zeff finally figured out that Luffy was skipping out on his chores. And Sanji threw Gin’s used plates and cutlery into the sea, so there would be no proof that he fed him, thus relieving Gin’s guilty conscience. Gin could now set sail.

‘He’s willing to go that far for a person he had never met.’

Zeff ordered the two, who were still outside, to get back to work. Luffy was the most ineffective chore boy that ever existed, he either just sat around doing nothing or if he was doing something, he did it very badly.

“And that’s the reason you don't have any chores around the ship anymore, either.”

“I'm the captain, I shouldn't have chores anyway.” 

When Luffy got tasked with taking orders, his crewmates were sitting at a table. They called him over to tease him for needing to work there. As revenge, Luffy planted a bugger into Zoro’s drink. At first, the swordsman pretended not to notice, but at the last second forced his captain to drink it.

Multiple Straw Hats gagged at that, but Zoro looked strangely proud of that prank.

The fuss attracted the attention of Sanji, who had been filling a lady’s glass. What his eyes were drawn to most was Nami, for whom he produced a flower from somewhere and got on his knees. After a bit of fussing over her, Zeff came over to ruin the cook’s fun. In the most aggressive way, he told Sanji to join the pirate crew, as he wasn't needed in the restaurant anymore.

“I cannot tell whether he wants the best for you or he genuinely wants you gone,” Brook sweatdropped.

“A little bit of both,” Sanji explained with a small smile. The old geezer was a little bit hard to understand sometimes.

The scene changed to a small island where Gin’s boat had landed. He had clearly explained to someone what had happened to him. The man Gin was talking to had light purple hair and an extravagant coat on him. “I never imagined the main ship was in this condition, Don Krieg! I’ll take you there… to the Sea Restaurant, Baratie.” To be continued

“So that's Don Krieg, huh? Looks like an extravagant prick.”

“After all of that, Gin betrayed you,” Robin pointed out.

“He did what he needed as a vice-captain, and he came through in the end, so it's all good.”

Chapter Text

“The Strongest Pirate Fleet! Commodore Don Krieg” Zeff’s reason for wanting to get rid of Sanji, was that he constantly picked fights with customers, he flirts with every girl he saw, and his food is no good, so he is a dead weight.

“If you say something Marimo, I'm going to make sure, you're never talking again!” The cook threatened because Zoro suddenly developed a shit-eating grin on his face

Sanji was fine with Zeff making fun of him in any other department than cooking. He was going to stay a cook at the Baratie whether Zeff liked it or not. For his words, the blond cook got flung into the Straw Hats table, who got the food out of the way before that happened.

‘Why does he want to stay at the restaurant that bad?’

Sanji promised to stay working at Baratie until the old man dies, and Zeff promised to live another hundred years. Luffy became excited by the fact Sanji had permission to leave the restaurant, but the cook still refused. As an apology to Nami, he gave her a free dessert. Usopp called him a love cook.

“Apparently I came up with the name,” Usopp realized in amusement. “I'm going to have to ask you for royalties, Zoro.”

“Trust me, you aren't the first one to call me that,” Sanji ruined the sniper’s money-making scheme.

“Dammit!”

Nami managed to finesse her way to free food, while the guys still had to pay. Luffy got reprimanded by Sanji because he was just sitting around and was dragged back to work.

“You could never survive in the workforce, Luffy.”

“Well, aren't I lucky to be a pirate, then?”

Four days later, when Luffy was taking out the trash, a ship was approaching Baratie through the fog. Don Krieg’s face flashed briefly. The customers immediately recognized the ship to be Krieg’s, because of the hourglasses on the Jolly Roger.

“It's happening, it's happening!” Luffy chanted, excited to see another fight.

Both the customers and cooks were freaking out, especially Patty, who had four days ago denied the fact that Krieg would seek out Baratie. The thing everyone noticed after their initial freak-out was that Krieg’s ship was practically torn to shred.

“As a shipwright, this hurts, not SUPER at all!”

Krieg slowly but surely made his way inside the restaurant and looked intimidating until he was in full lighting. He had seen better days. Gin was supporting him from one side and seemed weak. He very politely asked for food and water.

“Not what I was expecting from the king of the East Blue.”

Sanji started to make his way toward the kitchen, while Krieg collapsed from probably weeks' worth of hunger. Patty just laughed at Gin’s desperate attempts at begging for his captain and asked if anyone could contact the Marines.

“Gin genuinely respected his captain, so this is hard to watch. Even though Krieg was a massive prick,” Nami sighed at the sight.

“Patty seems as much of a prick as Krieg was,” Usopp said under his breath, in an attempt to hide the thought from Sanji. He probably should've just left it as a thought, because Sanji did hear him, but didn't say anything.

Krieg, having regained consciousness, promised he would leave quietly if he got some food. He was on his knees begging, while Gin tried to stop him from humiliating himself. Sanji emerged from the kitchen with a big bowl of food and a bottle of sake. 

“All this restaurant food makes me hungry…” Luffy whined once again.

“You haven't stopped eating since we arrived at this place, I think you’ll be fine!”

“I want sake…”

“And you haven't stopped drinking since we arrived here!”

Carne attempted to get through Sanji’s brain that feeding Krieg was a bad idea, and he should confiscate the food from him. Krieg was known as a foul player, having tricked people on uncountable occasions. Carne was right, after eating a decent portion of food, Krieg tackled Sanji.

Brook tried saying something about that, but could not find any words that were appropriate for the situation.

“Kindness is a double-ended sword,” Jinbei attempted to make a comment that fit the situation.

“It might be, but there will never be a day when I’ll leave a hungry person unfed.”

That was a final straw for the customer, and they all fled. Gin revealed that Krieg doing that wasn't part of their plan, as Krieg wasn't supposed to hurt the restaurant. The Pirate Fleet Admiral decided that he was going to use the Baratie as his ship.

“The design works for a restaurant, but I don't think you would be taken seriously as a pirate,” Zoro decided after thinking about Krieg’s plan.

“This is one of the few things I can agree with you on.”

The Baratie residents were to evacuate the ship but not before feeding one hundred of Krieg’s men, that were still alive. That wasn't a request, but an order. Gin assured Sanji that the situation wasn't meant to happen.

“Poor Gin…”

Sanji once again tried moseying his way to the kitchen, as he decided to comply with the order. But he got stopped by the other cooks holding various long cooking utensils at him. The blond cook motioned to them that they were free to stop him. He knew what Krieg was capable of, but his men were hungry, and Sanji couldn't overlook that.

“Sanji you are the best!” Chopper cheeped from beside the cook and gave him a side hug. He got a side hug back from a flustered Sanji. He really should get used to compliments.

“I second that! He really is the very best!” He REALLY should get used to compliments.

Patty took the invitation to stop Sanji and punched him in the back, knocking him to the floor. He then opened a small cubby and pulled out a bazooka designed to look like a lobster. It shot out a small cannonball, which hit Krieg right in the stomach.

“Oh, so that’s what happened!” Usopp hit the palm of his hand in understanding.

“Why does it look like a lobster?” Robin for once asked bewilderedly. Her tolerance to randomness sometimes had a limit. A restaurant having a bazooka that looked like a lobster hit that.

As it turned out, Krieg wasn't even a bit fazed by the cannonball and wanted confirmation that the food would be good, because the dessert sucked. And he revealed that the entirety of his armor was filled with weapons that he shot toward the cooks.

“He’s like you, Franky,” Jinbei noted.

“I’m better though!”

“I don't doubt that.”

Krieg claimed to be the strongest and bragged about his armor and his built-in weapons. In a sense, he was an evil Franky. During the time he was bragging, Zeff finally made an appearance, with a bag that was supposed to have one hundred meals worth of food inside. Krieg seemed to have recognized Zeff. To be continued.

“Oh dear, that Krieg makes my blood boil… But I don't have blood! SKULL JOKE! Yohohoho!”

Chapter Text

“Protect Baratie! The Great Pirate, Red Foot Zeff!” The other chefs were asking what the owner was doing, as that was a dangerous idea and the pirates could take over Baratie. “If they have the will to fight, that is… Right, defeated warrior of the Grand Line?” That revelation took everyone off guard, Krieg had five thousand men, and he couldn't survive in the Grand Line.

“Then we have a better track record than him! We have survived this far into the Grand Line!” Usopp puffed his chest as if being better than Don Krieg was a massive achievement for them.

“Why are you so proud of that? And remember, we got defeated at Sabaody. We were just luckier,” Luffy reminded his sniper, who immediately realized that he had said something stupid.

Krieg recognized the old man as Red Foot Zeff and was surprised that he was alive.

“Red Foot Zeff? That name sound fairly familiar…” Robin contemplated.

The Pirate Armada captain explained that Zeff used to be a captain and a cook at the same time. Zeff just brushed off the fact that he was alive and admitted to only being a cook. Looking at his leg, Krieg assumed that he was only a cook because he couldn't be a pirate anymore.

At that, Sanji felt a sudden pang of guilt in his chest. If only…

“Red Foot Zeff was a master of kicks who never used his hands in battle. I hear that his strong legs crushed bedrock and even left footprints on steel. And Red Foot referred to your shoes, which were covered in the blood that spattered as you kicked your enemies down…”

“Wow, he sounded strong!” Chopper looked at the screen, starry-eyed.

“He still is, Chopper.”

“But what happened to his leg,” Nami turned towards Sanji curiously, who subtly flinched at the question.

“I'm sure we’ll find out, Nami-san,” Sanji tried to answer as calmly as possible.

Krieg slightly mocked the former pirate for not being able to fight any more thanks to his missing leg. Zeff just pointed out that he didn't need his leg to cook, and he only needed his hands for that.

“He’s the one who told you that you shouldn't use your hands, right?” Luffy clarified and got a positive answer back.

Zeff finally got Krieg to reveal he was after the Red Leg’s logbook of his time on the Grand Line. Luffy, though currently on the sideline, was extremely amused by everything that was happening.

“Not a thought behind those eyes,” Nami whispered to the swordsman next to him, getting a quick chuckle out of him.

The old man refused to give the log book to Krieg. The latter promised to take it by force, because in his mind, even though he had the manpower to survive, he was missing the information about the Grand Line. Gin was still on his knees, regretting everything.

Once again, everyone felt a tinge of sympathy for the pirate. He wanted the best.

What made Luffy insert himself into the fight was Krieg’s ambition to seize the One Piece and stand on top of the Great Pirate Era. He pointed at Krieg and stated his ambition to become the Pirate King. This, of course, pissed Krieg off and concerned everyone around them. 

“Watch him!” Zoro announced to the chefs, who didn't have any faith in his captain. None of them could obviously hear him, but the declaration needed to be made. Luffy just laughed at that.

Krieg disclosed that his fleet was wiped out only seven days in on the Grand Line. But he ignored everyone’s surprise and offered to crush Luffy right then and there. The rubberman took a fighting stance, but Krieg got distracted by Zeff. Zoro and Usopp had at some point entered the restaurant, and the swordsman offered to help his captain.

“When did you two materialize there?”

“It's pretty easy when no one is paying attention to the surrounding area.”

Luffy denied the offer and turned his attention back to Krieg, who started making fun of his crew members. Although it seemed like a full-blown fight would break out, Krieg decided to lower his weapons and go feed his crew. And with a final threat, he was out the door.

“It really seemed like you were going to fight him.”

“Don't worry, I am going to do it.

“Oh good!”

Back at the Going Merry, the bounty hunter duo were discussing whether to go inside the Baratie to check on the situation. They asked Nami for advice, but she was occupied with Arlong’s bounty poster.

“What was going through your mind at that moment?” Brook asked Nami.

“I'm even sure myself. I had gotten distracted while hanging out with the crew and had briefly forgotten why I was even out at sea. So you could say I was disappointed that I had to go back to that reality soon,” the navigator tried to remember the feeling she had felt at the moment. She didn't want to remember it.

“You don't have to remember things you don't want to,” Luffy reminded Nami, which she was glad for. She still had time to ignore the Arlong issue for a couple of episodes, until she had to pull herself together.

“Who made you the comforter?”

“Kinda my job, isn't it?”

Gin once again apologized for Krieg’s behavior and got shot down by Zeff who reminded the vice-captain that each cook acted as they felt they should. The cooks got angry because it seemed that Zeff was taking Sanji’s side. “Shut up, you idiots! Have you felt it like to be on the brink of starvation? Losing food and water on this grand ocean… Do you know how scary it is? Do you know how hard it is?”

Sanji had to light another cigarette, even though he just finished one, just because of how hard his hands were shaking. 

No one who noticed the shaking commented on it, even if they wanted to give comfort.

Zeff in a roundabout way told the chefs, that Sanji had once almost starved to death. And then told them to leave through the back door, but none of them complied and decided to fight for the restaurant. Gin desperately tried to stop them, all the while Sanji kicked a table, so he could sit on it, and told Gin that he didn't regret feeding Krieg.

“You are very kind Sanji, but could you do the table trick for us after this?” a once again excited Luffy asked, both Chopper and Usopp in tow.

Sanji, now knowing how Zoro felt, tried to refuse, but fell for Chopper’s puppy eyes.

“Goddammit, you guys, alright! But only once!”

“That's what Zoro-san said too, yohohoho.”

Luffy was bragging about Sanji to his two crewmates, one of whom at that point couldn't care less and wanted to escape. The other wasn't too worried. Luffy asked Gin about the Grand Line once more. He revealed that the fleet had gotten wiped out by only one man. The man was shown to have golden eyes, a big sword, a tiny boat, and a vampire-like cape.

“That’s Mihawk, right?” Brook asked the general audience.

“That certainly is him, no doubt about it,” Jinbei answered.

Chopper gulped at the strength of that one man.

The Krieg Pirate’s main ship escaped Mihawk only because a storm took place. Gin no longer knew how many ships were left, and he didn't want to remember that day. When the pirate mentioned that the man had hawk-like eyes, Zoro suddenly grew very interested. Zeff confirmed that to be Hawk-Eyes Mihawk.

“You look too anxious to see the dude, Zoro-bro.”

“Believe it or not, I was.”

Sanji asked whether Mihawk had any deep grudge against Krieg Pirates, and Zeff implied that they could have disturbed the swordsman’s nap.

“The old man’s guess would have been the more correct one in that situation, I bet,” Zoro hypothesized.

“That's a weird reason to kill almost an entire crew.”

“He is a weird man.”

“Fair enough.”

Luffy was now more excited than ever to enter the Grand Line, and Zoro had his goal narrowed down to the Grand Line. Usopp was none too happy about any of that. Sanji called them stupid and Zoro explained that when he decided to become the strongest swordsman, it was his decision and he was the only one who could call himself stupid.

“And behold, one of the few times they have had a genuinely civil conversation,” Franky uncharacteristically whispered into Nami’s ear.

“Pfft, that will not last long.”

On Krieg’s ship, the crewmates had eaten all the food and were feeling much better. While they were celebrating that they had escaped the Grand Line, Krieg laid it on them that they would be going back there. The one person who complained got immediately shot.

“Well, that's cruel. Look how happy they were that they got out of there.”

“Why you would shoot your own crewmates is beyond me, but do what you have to do I guess,” Brook had apparently gotten tired of getting mad at bad captains.

From the distance, a vessel was approaching just as Krieg was giving orders to leave the ship behind. Only a single individual was on the vessel that could only be described as a fancy raft. Golden eyes flashed on the screen just as the Krieg main ship was cut into pieces.

“There he is,” Zoro gulped. He may have trained with the man in question, but even now the display of intense power made him sweat.

Zeff gave the order to raise Baratie’s ship, otherwise, the huge galleon would have brought them down with it. Luffy, Zoro, and, Usopp quickly ran outside as the other three were still on the Merry. There they found out that Nami had run off with the Merry and had left Johnny and Yosaku behind.

“I am incredibly sorry about that!” Nami took the chance to bow in front of the crew.

“Come sit back down, it's fine!” Luffy dragged her by the hand, so she would sit back down again.

“I see that problems are piling onto each other now.”

Soon after, everyone got a good look at the attacker. Zeff was surprised, Krieg cursed him out for following them, and Zoro was full-on shaking. Mihawk had arrived. To be continued.

“I'm going to guess that your fight is next, huh?” Sanji spoke to Zoro, who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there. He was not excited about Chopper’s reaction or seeing how badly he fucked up.

Chapter Text

Before they could start the episode, Sanji was stuck flipping a table for ten minutes, as he had promised. Thankfully, Nami eventually managed to get the boys to leave the cook alone-

“Hawk-Eye Mihawk! The Great Swordsman Zoro Falls on the Sea!” The Straw Hats were trying to process the fact that Nami had gone off with the Merry, and Yosaku tried explaining to them what exactly had happened. Nami had tricked the two, by pretending to change her clothes, so they would turn away. But as they were turned away, she pushed them off the edge of the ship and left with the ship.

“Same thing as I said to Usopp, Nami. If you are going to apologize right now, stop!” Luffy ordered just as Nami’s mouth opened. She quickly closed it again. The navigator felt guilty as hell, even when he knew she had been long forgiven. She was going to formally apologize to the crew anyway when the day was over. Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to sleep.

“Tell them if we're linked by fate, we’ll meet again.” Johnny and Yosaku barely survived Mihawk’s attack after that. While Usopp and Zoro were busy being angry at the navigator, Luffy could still see the Going Merry and ordered the sniper and the swordsman to take the bounty hunter’s boat and go after her.

‘Wait a goddamn minute…” Sanji realized something. Even though Luffy had ordered the two to go after Nami, they didn’t. Was it an unintentional mutiny?

After Zoro briefly attempted to convince Luffy to let go of Nami, he and Usopp started getting ready to leave. Mihawk was leisurely floating past the wreckage that he caused, and Zoro started getting fidgety, as he had been looking for that man.

“He looks so intimidating,” Franky shivered, even though he had only seen the man through a screen.

“Try seeing him up close then,” Zoro suggested.

“And try not to get your limbs cut off,” Luffy added, he was lucky to still have his.

Zoro realized that it was his moment to fulfill his promise to Kuina, while the Krieg Pirates were freaking out over the appearance of the World’s Greatest Swordsman. Mihawk revealed that he was just killing time.

“How bored can you be to start killing people to kill time?” Usopp sputter

“When you get to his level, that is as much entertainment you can get. Especially when only a few people can contend with you.” Robin explained.

“Zoro, when you reach that level, please don't start doing that!”

“I'm gonna try my best. No promises though.”

As a display of power, when one of the pirates shot a gun at Mihawk, the swordsman averted the bullets with the slightest movement of his wrist. This was all explained by Zoro who had somehow gotten on Krieg’s ship in that short amount of time.

“You sure are fast, Zoro-san.”

Zoro approached Mihawk, while the surrounding pirates noticed his three swords, and complimented the swordsman on his swordplay. The green-headed swordsman admitted to wanting to beat the other one and become the strongest. Mihawk called him foolish.

“Why are you foolish for that?” Chopper asked.

“He saw right through me and figured out I was too big for my boots. He knew I was going to fail.” The swordsman absentmindedly touched his scar.

Zoro challenged Mihawk to a duel, while everyone around him finally figured out that he was the Pirate Hunter Zoro. Even Sanji seemed to recognize his name.

“So you knew about me, you shitty cook?”

“I think most people had at least heard rumors about you, that doesn't make you any good.”

Nami had to hold back an angry swordsman, who she speculated to have been trying to distract himself from what was about to happen.

Mihawk jumped on one of the floating pieces of the ship, that was still intact enough to fight on. “If you are a competent enough swordsman, you should be able to see the disparity in our abilities even before we cross swords.”

“I really should've seen that…” But should've he had? If they didn't fight then, would have Mihawk trained him during the two years? The answer was probably no.

Luffy was just watching it go down, face void of emotion, while Johnny and Yosaku were convinced no one could take down their friend. Mihawk took off the cross necklace that he had around his neck to reveal a tiny knife, which confused Zoro. “I'm no beast that goes all out when hunting a rabbit. Even if you're a swordsman who's earned a bit of a name for himself, this sea, the East Blue, is the weakest among the four seas. Unfortunately, I don't carry any smaller sharp instrument than this one.”

“That had to hurt, huh?” Luffy said sympathetically.

“My pride definitely felt that one.”

That was the last straw for Zoro, and he charged at the other swordsman and his tiny knife. Zoro used Oni Giri to attempt to slash Mihawk, but to his surprise, he was held back only by that tiny knife. According to the bounty hunter duo, that attack had never been stopped.

“Only with that small knife? My skin is getting goosebumps at that power… I don't have any skin! SKULL JOKE! Yohohoho!”

“He is the strongest after all,” Jinbei said matter-of-factly.

“He was also using Haki, I'm pretty sure, and that is why I couldn't move my swords,” Zoro explained further, inwardly cringing at the fact that he was already losing his composure.

“Our abilities are this far apart? That can’t be right! There’s no way that it’s this far… The world’s strongest can't be this far!” Zoro’s technique was getting sloppier by the second, thanks to the fact that he was starting to realize Mihawk was too far from him in skill.

“As I said earlier, big fish in a small pond,” Franky stated again. “Just this time, the big fish is forced into a bigger pond, where he is now a small fish.”

“Thank you, Franky, very necessary.”

Zoro was briefly pushed off his feet and he landed on his side a few meters away. He got back up and continued to aggressively attack Mihawk, who defended himself with no effort. The green-headed swordsman continued to have an existential breakdown until he got momentarily distracted by a memory of Kuina and left himself wide open for Mihawk to chop him in the neck. That in turn triggered a flashback of Zoro’s and Kuina’s vow.

“That's rough, buddy,” Usopp said understandingly, whilst Chopper fussed about the chop to the neck.

“That neck chop could’ve killed you, Zoro! It could’ve damaged your blood vessels and your airway, it could've transmitted kinetic energy into your spinal column! That's all potentially lethal!” The tiny doctor rambled tearfully. He was really worried about Zoro’s habit of constantly getting hurt. He climbed on Zoro’s lap, more or less for his own comfort.

“I didn't understand half of that, but I’m still alive, aren't I?” Zoro hugged the upset reindeer, not having the heart to tell him, it was going to get much worse.

The younger swordsman, still dizzy from the chop, stumbled towards Mihawk to aimlessly swing a sword at him. He fell over again. Johnny and Yosaku, angry that Mihawk was toying with their friend, tried to leap in to help but got held back by Luffy. He seemed as anxious as the bounty hunters were but still did his best to hold them down.

“I wanted to stop you as well, but we have that promise, so I couldn't,” Luffy said sadly, he almost came close to losing his crewmate because of that.

Zoro contemplated whether this was the right time to tell him he had stopped giving a shit about the promise. He couldn't figure out how to start that conversation, so he decided to think about that some other time.

Zoro started preparing his special attack, while Luffy’s words from when they first met echoed around him. The swordsman launched Tiger Trap, but instantly got stabbed near the heart. Time seemed to have stopped temporarily. Mihawk asked why Zoro wasn't moving away from the knife, and Zoro replied that if he withdrew, all of his promises would shatter.

Chopper squeaked from Zoro’s lap. If the knife had been even slightly deeper, it would have pierced his heart.

“Zoro…”

“As I said, I’m still alive.”

To his surprise, Nami hugged him as well. She hadn't been there and didn't know how bad the duel really was.

“You are much tougher than I thought you were,” Jinbei said with an impressed tone. “I mean in the surviving injuries department, not physical power situation. The first sentence sounded worse than I meant it to be.”

Zoro almost laughed, the worst was yet to come, he was much tougher than Jinbei thought he was. 

“It's all good.”

Mihawk was inwardly impressed by Zoro’s resolve and withdrew his knife. “Kid! State your name!” “Roronoa Zoro.” “I’ll remember it. I haven’t seen anyone like you in a while, strong one! Thus, as a swordsman’s courtesy, I’ll sink you using the world’s strongest black sword.”

“He went from calling you weak to calling you strong in the span of a few minutes,” Robin reported with a smile. “Also, if you get cut with that, you will break in half.”

“He is calling you strong, but still wants to sink you,” Luffy laughed at the irony.

Both swordsmen attacked at the same time. The first moment after it, everything was still, until two of Zoro’s swords broke, leaving only Wado Ichimonji. He sheathed the sword and turned away to face the Strongest Swordsman, arms spread. “What are you…” “Scars on the back are a swordsman’s shame.” “Admirable!” With that, Mihawk sliced Zoro across the chest.

A few gasps were heard, right after the scene happened, and this time those who hadn't been at Baratie, realized what that scar was and who it was from.

Zoro once again touched the scar on his chest and had one hand on Chopper’s head, as he was full-on crying about the injuries now. If he had been any unluckier, he wouldn't be sitting with them right now.

“I want to punch you right now,” the reindeer said through tears.

“I know, I know.”

“That had to hurt,” said Sanji, who couldn't figure out what else to say, but felt like he had to say something.

Zoro’s friends were all screaming right as the swordsman was falling into the water. ‘Why? His opponent is the real world’s strongest! How it’d turn out was clear. He should give up on his ambition rather than die!’ “It should be easy… to give up your ambition, right?” Sanji yelled at the fallen swordsman.

“I'd like to formally take back that statement, I’ll admit, I was in the wrong there,” Sanji quickly amended himself.

Some of the Straw Hats secretly spared the cook a confused glance, but let it go for that moment.

Luffy, who was convinced that Zoro died, launched himself at Mihawk, who easily side-stepped him. The swordsman assured the boy that Zoro was still alive. And like he said, Johnny and Yosaku emerged with an injured but alive green-headed swordsman.

“I also briefly thought was dead, I cannot blame you for thinking the same,” Zoro chuckled at Luffy’s reaction. The rubberman chuckled back. If you don't want to cry, you should laugh.

Usopp helped get Zoro back on the ship and tried to find medicine to fix the wounds. “It's still too early for you to die! My name is Dracule Mihawk! Learn about yourself! Learn about the world! And become strong! No matter how many years it takes, I will hold this seat of the strongest and wait for you! Surpass this sword! Try to surpass me! Roronoa Zoro!”

“For Mihawk to say something like this… You sure impressed him, Zoro-kun!”

Zoro just mildly blushed at the implication. Now he just needs to beat him.

Mihawk asked Luffy what his goal was, and of course, he said the Pirate King. The swordsman dubbed it to be more difficult than Zoro’s ambition. At that moment, Zoro returned to consciousness. He raised Wado Ichimonji to the skies and asked for Luffy’s attention.

Zoro cringed at what was coming next, but also he wouldn't have changed anything about what he was going to do. Seeing it without any adrenaline running through him, and all of the crew being there, was just slightly embarrassing. 

“Luffy… Can you hear me? Did I worry you? You need no less than the World's Greatest Swordsman, right? I… I will not be defeated ever again!” Zoro was crying. “Until the day I defeat him and become a master swordsman… I’ll never be defeated! Got any problems with that… Pirate King?” Zoro was crying harder.

“Holy shit!” Franky exhaled at the declaration. Nothing could top that.

“You sure have some trust in me, huh?” Luffy said, kinda choked up from the scene. It for some reason hit stronger than it did two years ago.

“There’s no one else to put my trust in, so you have to do,” Zoro teased, trying to distract everyone from the fact that he was crying on-screen. 

“I can live with that.”

Mihawk expressed the wish to see the Straw Hats again sometime in the future and turned to go to his raft. Before he could get too far, Krieg interrupted him.

“He’s still there? Damn, I forgot about him.”

Krieg demanded whether Mihawk was going to take his life or not, and found out he wasn't because he had enough fun. He wanted to go home and rest. Krieg didn't like that answer and activated his weapons, but Mihawk disappeared before any of the bullets made it to him. Luffy gave Usopp the order to go after Nami and said that he’d catch up later. The conflict between the Krieg Pirates and Baratie was inevitable now. To be continued.

“Okay, this was intense!”

“And I was almost right about Zoro getting cut in half.”

“Do you think you could win against him if you were to fight him right now, Zoro-san?”

“I think I could give him a fair fight, right about now. But I think the odds are just about fifty-fifty.”

“So, not too bad!”

Chapter Text

“The Deadly Foot Technique Bursts Forth! Sanji vs. the Invincible Pearl!” Luffy was getting fired up at the likelihood of a fight and got permission from Zeff to leave the restaurant if he drives away Krieg. The two bantered for a moment, whilst Krieg was hyping up men to take Baratie as their own. One of his men brought up great points about why they shouldn't go back to the Grand Line again, but got a bullet to the chest for his attempt.

Brook just sighed deeply.

Krieg decided to believe that Mihawk was no ordinary human and had a Devil Fruit. Because in his mind, no one could've sliced up a ship without one.

“Nope!”

He also reiterated that they needed Zeff’s logbook because it had to contain secrets to dealing with the beasts of the Grand Line.

“Why can't we just believe that he was strong as hell? That's not an option?”

“I mean, Krieg thought that he was the strongest person, so… if Zeff could survive the Grand Line, then he should've definitely survived it. He just has a superiority complex.”

Krieg gave the order to attack and to defend themselves, Patty and Carne tried to operate a mechanism, but they forgot how to operate it. Sanji acknowledged that the restaurant will soon become a battleground, as images of a stormy sea, with little Sanji being thrown off the side, were shown. “I wish there was a restaurant in the middle of the sea… I was thinking that if I could leave this place alive, I’d build a restaurant as my final purpose in life.” Zeff’s voice narrated as a cliff with two individuals on it was shown.

Just as Sanji had lit another cigarette to hopefully calm his shaking hands, he felt someone else’s hand on one of his. It turned out Luffy had stretched one of his arms over Usopp, so he could hold his hand. Strangely, that worked better than the cigarette.

Sanji ordered one of the chefs to open up Baratie’s fins. Just as the Krieg pirates were charging, Luffy charged back and took out a lot of them with a Gum-Gum Giant Scythe. Zeff gave Sanji an order to watch how Luffy fought and not to take his eyes off him until the battle ended.

“So you were ordered to be slightly creepy?” Usopp joked.

“I guess so, yeah,” Sanji chuckled around his cigarette.

Luffy looked too comfortable to fight on open water, for someone who couldn't swim. The cook, who was tasked with opening up the fins, managed to get them going, and soon after Baratie’s underside moved apart, leaving the keel defenseless. The part that moved apart formed the fins of the ship.

“That a neat mechanism,” the resident shipwright noted. Maybe he should install something like that on the Sunny as well.

Now that the fins were up, there was enough room to fight so the restaurant itself wouldn't be damaged. Patty and Carne also got their mechanism to work. The fish head side of the ship unattached itself from the main ship and became a fun-sized artillery ship. 

“That's fun as well,” Franky commented again, even though Sunny had similar extensions. It was entertaining what other shipwrights could come up with.

The two cooks shot shot after shot at the remains of Krieg’s ship, while the rest of the cooks were cheering them on. But just as they shot at Krieg himself, the man deflected the shot like it was nothing and raised the ship out of the water. All while preaching about one day ruling the oceans, while Luffy tried to convince the man, that it was going to be him instead.

“What is that man made of?”

“And why doesn't he listen to me?”

After Krieg threw the small ship in the air, it was on a collision course with Baratie. Sanji decided to take that issue on his shoulders and jumped in the air to kick it back into the ocean. It surprised everyone other than the cooks.

“That was cool to see for the first time, shishishi.”

“Stop complimenting me, I'm nothing special,” Sanji said under his breath, but gave Luffy a thankful smile, so everything seemed normal. Luffy seemed to believe it.

Some of the Krieg Pirates had made it on the platform and easily took down some of the cooks and their huge kitchen utensils, with their actual weapons. Patty and Carne went into a flashback of how they joined Baratie. They had barged into the restaurant's kitchen, where there were only Zeff and a child-sized Sanji doing the cooking.

“Well, that's adorable!”

Zeff asked whether the two of them could handle serving all sorts of people in a restaurant, and when the two promised they could, the old man hired them. Back in the present, both of the chefs were willing to do anything to save the restaurant.

“What determination!”

Just as Patty and Carne were taking down pirates and the other chefs found their strength again, a curious-looking individual was swimming toward the platform. He had a pearl-like hat and several plates covering his body, all decorated with pearls in the middle.

“Who is that freak?”

“That's Pearl, and he was a straight nut-job.”

Pearl quickly asserted himself as the self-absorbed type of person, who thought they were invincible. He had also taken down Patty and Carne, which pissed Sanji and Zeff off immensely. The blond cook kicked down some pirate who was trying to steal Patty’s knife, which caused Luffy, who had thus far only been useful for side comments, to compliment his fighting skills again.

“How long are going to be sitting on that pole for?” Nami questioned the Straw Hat captain.

“Not for very long anymore, me and Weapons over there just got distracted for a bit,” Luffy laughed.

“Sounds about right.”

Sanji took down another wave of pirates who didn't like to be mocked, calling Sanji a mere cook. The comment got Sanji’s blood boiling, and he turned his attention to Pearl, who was still praising himself. According to him, he had never shed a drop of blood in battle.

“I sure hope you changed that,” Zoro demanded from his rival.

“I probably would have, if Luffy didn't do it first…”

“Knew you couldn't do that!”

“You bastard!”

¤BANG¤ “Shut up already!”

Krieg finally decided to get back in action and broke the pole Luffy had been sitting on and launched him back toward Baratie. Right at Pearl’s neck, the impact of which made the invincible man have a nosebleed. All the Krieg Pirates tried to calm Pearl down before he freaked out, but nothing worked, and he went berserk, going up in literal flames.

“Eh?”

“When Pearl-san gets upset, he catches fire!”

“Again, what?”

Pearl started to shoot pearls that were on fire and caught the surrounding area on fire as well. Sanji, in hopes, to save the restaurant, engaged in battle with Pearl. He wasn't afraid of flames, because what kind of cook is? The blond man got a good kick in, but after that, Pearl sent more fiery pearls at Baratie. Zeff extinguished them before the restaurant caught on fire.

“That's a cool old man!”

Krieg in an attempt to save the restaurant from burning decided to sink the fins before the fire spread too far. He failed however when Luffy bounced back his huge morning star, into a mast, that fell right on Pearl and took him out. Gin chose that time to kick over Zeff and point a gun at his head. To be continued.

“Why would he do that? He was sorry about everything earlier.”

“As we said earlier, Gin was extremely loyal to Krieg, so his instincts took over, I guess.”

“But the old man came out of that fine, so don't worry too much about it.”

“You should start worrying about things.”

Chapter Text

“Zeff’s and Sanji’s dream; The Illusory All Blue!” Gin was holding a gun to Zeff’s head, saying how the old man was now just a mere cook and that all of the cooks should leave without a fight. He didn't want to kill them. Sanji refused and just made fun of Zeff for looking weak. Zeff, according to himself, didn't need to be lectured.

“I would chitchat somewhere else, but that's just my opinion.”

“Your opinion is wrong.”

Sanji told Gin to point the gun at him instead, which prompted Pearl to offer to kill the cook himself. He also threatened that if Sanji were to move, Zeff would get killed. Taking that threat seriously, Sanji received one of Pearl’s attacks without moving. Gin was confused by the blond’s actions, as he didn't understand the meaning of the restaurant. It was Zeff’s treasure.

“You're the best, Sanji-bro!” Franky cried, literally.

“Can't get him killed, y’know?” Sanji said warmly, glad that he was far enough from the cyborg and his tears.

“I took everything away from that damn geezer… His power… His dream… So, I don't want that damn geezer to lose everything else!” While he spoke, Sanji momentarily sounded close to tears. Some vague pictures flashed

The Sanji that was watching, would've also cried if he felt like he deserved to. He had just started to fully forgive himself for the incident, but this was bringing back unwanted feelings.

“Are you alright, Sanji?”

“What? Oh yeah, I’m fine, Usopp. Don't worry!” He wasn't sure if the sniper believed him, but he was sure of the fact that Luffy didn't believe him. Sanji could feel him quietly observing him.

A short while after he finished talking, Sanji got attacked by Pearl again, this time the Krieg Pirate, hit him from both sides of the head with his pearl shields. Some nondescript and brief moments flashed through until it seemed the scene was fully in a flashback, a child's voice talking about All Blue.

“Oh no!” Sanji said before he could stop himself. He knew that ship.

Luffy finally had enough of seeing his cook try to hide his discomfort and hugged him like he hugged Zoro. Sanji put up significantly less of a fight than the swordsman did. He was going to need the hug.

Some cooks were telling a tiny Sanji that he was being silly with his dream, as the adults had already given up on it. Sanji promised to find it but got talked down to again. Every adult present wanted All Blue to exist but didn't believe in it one bit.

“You'll find it Sanji, I know you will!”

“Of course, I will, Captain! I'm on the future Pirate King’s crew! Anything is possible!”

“Even Zoro getting a sense of direction?”

“Maybe not everything…”

“OI!”

A little bit later, the cooks were eating the customers’  leftovers and Sanji was confused about why they were doing that. He had ditched some rotten-looking food, and according to the other cooks, that was why the child was still only halfway to being a cook.

“It's interesting to see how much you have changed, Sanji-kun,” Jinbei stated.

Sanji just laughed awkwardly.

“Why were you on a restaurant ship anyway, why weren't… you know what never mind,” Zoro started asking, before realizing continuing that sentence was all around a bad idea. He knew very well why he wasn't with his parents.

“Right! I'm going to choose to ignore that!”

All of a sudden, the entire ship was consumed by panic because pirates were attacking. It was the Cook Pirates, led by Red Foot Zeff.

“I'm sorry, but Cook Pirates sound kinda dumb,” Usopp carefully admitted, just in case he was going to invoke Sanji’s wrath.

“I have to agree with you on that one,” Sanji surprisingly admitted back, chuckling a bit into Luffy’s shoulder.

The normal ship’s crew and Zeff’s crew were both on the first ship's deck, while it was storming. Zeff simply just ordered his crew to plunder the ship. Sanji was hiding and overlooking the carnage that was happening before he decided to approach the pirates.

“The best idea you've ever had I see.”

“Shut up.”

The small cook got kicked through a wall by Zeff, for threatening to kill the pirates. Sanji however was persistent and crawled his way back to Zeff and bit his ankles, pledging to find All Blue someday. All but Zeff laughed at him, and he got thrown at another wall. 

“There are a lot of walls in the way of your dream, huh?”

“Brook…”

“I am so sorry!”

Sanji lightly chuckled at that. Even though the situation on the screen was less than funny, he, for once, appreciated one of Brook’s puns. It lightened up the mood.

The pirates were ready to leave, as the storm was getting worse. But before they could, a huge wave rolled over the deck, taking Sanji with it. Zeff noticed and immediately dived after the kid. Not before taking an entire sail with him.

“He was willing to save him…” Robin whispered in awe.

‘You shouldn't have…’

Zeff had to swim quickly because Sanji was sinking fast and one of the ships had sunk, coming straight at him. Eventually h,e caught up with the boy, and they made it to a small island. After Sanji woke up, Zeff briefly explained their situation to him. They were very high up, so fishing was not possible, and there were no animals or edible plants either. 

“Tough luck…”

“It gets worse.”

“Oh no.”

Sanji’s first instinct was to blame Zeff for their predicament. The older man just told him to keep complaining. They either were going to be rescued or they were going to dry up to be skeletons. Sanji got startled by the skeleton statement and briefly a horrifying image of Sanji as a skeleton breezed through.

The cook felt Chopper flinch next to him and heard some gasps further from the reindeer. He himself felt queasy at the mental image. Luffy rubbed his back.

Zeff had supposedly divided the food rations that he had gathered beforehand. To Sanji’s dismay, his bag was much smaller than the pirate’s. Zeff explained that he was an adult and needed more food, so he got the bigger bag. Eventually, the kid accepted the bag of food and went to the other side of the island.

No one said anything, because they could feel their friend’s distress and didn't think anything they could've said would've helped.

Luffy tightened his grip when he heard Sanji sniffling. He knew he couldn't take away his pain, but he wanted to do at least something. And taking into account that Sanji was starting to grip his shirt tighter each minute, at least he was giving some comfort.

Sanji was supposed to stay on his side of the island and only come back to Zeff if he spotted any ships. The boy had five days of food, which he felt would be enough. A ship would definitely pass by during those days. But just in case he divided the food for twenty days.

“Let me guess, no ships went by during those five days,” Nami said sadly.

As Sanji didn't trust his voice, he just shook his head dejectedly.

The scene focused back on Zeff who looked like he had just come to terms with something heavy. He reached for a nearby stick and clenched his teeth around it. “So this is where even my red leg will meet its end…” The pirate lifted a big pointed rock above his head and with a single, calming, breath brought it down on one of his legs. He cut off his leg completely.

“He didn't, did he?”

“He did.”

Sanji broke, and he sobbed into Luffy’s shirt, who just rubbed his back in turn. He was the reason Zeff had to give up being a pirate. He was the reason Zeff had to give up on his dream.

“He could’ve…” Chopper started, before realizing that saying anything right then, would have made Sanji feel even worse

‘Didn't he have food in the bag?’ Zoro asked the void. Zeff didn't cut off his own leg for no reason. It had to be for food. ‘Oh…’

They had to wait a few moments before continuing the episode, so the cook could calm down a little bit. Sanji got himself together after about ten minutes had passed

“Okay, I think we can continue,” he said quietly and a bit sniffly.

“Are you sure?” Luffy asked with genuine concern, they probably had to finish watching for the day after the episode finished. "We can take more of a break.”

“If I take another break, we're never going to get past this.”

“Okay, if you say so.” 

Sanji, none the wiser about what Zeff did, didn't lose hope after a day passed without seeing any ships. Eventually, twenty-six days passed, and the boy only had one piece of moldy bread left. Sanji clearly had seen better days, he had eye-bags had eye-bags no boy his age should have, and was very dirty

“How isolated is that rock?” 

The boy thought back to the time, the cooks on the ship were eating customers’ food, and he didn't want any. He started crying, because of how easily he disregarded food at the time.

When they finished, Sanji was going to make sure everyone felt as full as they could. Right then any hunger sounded like a nightmare to him.

By accident, Sanji dropped his half-eaten bread off the side of the rock. Another twenty-one days passed, making it forty-seven days since Sanji and Zeff had been stranded. The last twenty-one days were without any food. Sanji looked close to death.

Some needed to look away from the scene, they just couldn't watch anymore. Some others dutifully kept watching, if Sanji could go through that, they could at least watch it.

Sanji himself had once again buried his face into Luffy’s shirt.

‘Only a little bit longer, and he would have died,’ Chopper realized, he didn't even want to think about the physical and mental consequences Sanji had to endure after he was rescued, what he could still be facing currently.

The starved child wondered whether Zeff had died already and started to slowly make his way toward the other side. After he climbed a small hill, he saw that the older man was still alive and still had food. He got a knife from somewhere and decided to take Zeff’s food, no matter what.

“Hunger drives you insane. I probably would have killed the geezer, if I hadn't realized what he had done,” Sanji said joylessly.

Sanji crept closer as quietly as he could, but Zeff noticed the kid regardless. Not bothered by that, he approached the big bag and cut it open. There was no food inside, only treasure.

“Pirate through and through,” Nami chuckled wistfully.

“You would definitely do that,” Zoro whispered in the navigator's ear.

“You're probably right, but not the time, Zoro.”

Sanji demanded to know why Zeff only had a bag of treasure and what he had eaten throughout their problem. That was when he noticed Zeff’s missing leg, and he put the pieces together. The pirate explained that he saved Sanji because he had the same dream as him. The All Blue. And that Sanji should go and find it.

“He’s a SUPER guy,” Franky sobbed loudly, while Brook was talking about writing a song in Zeff’s honor.

“He sure is super,” Sanji laughed quietly. Luffy laughed along with him.

As if the stress finally got to him, Zeff collapsed on his back. “I wonder how many people died cursing the sea, the grandness of the sea. I've experienced crises like this where I couldn't eat. And each time I wish, that there was a restaurant in the middle of the sea. I was thinking if I could leave this place alive, I'd build a restaurant as my final purpose in life.”

“I promise, as long as I am your cook, you will never have to go through that pain,” Sanji declared determinedly.

“That's very nice, Sanji, but you have to remember that availability of food ingredients isn't always in your control. So don't put that much pressure on yourself.”

“Robin-chan…”

“Robin is right. I'm glad that you're this determined, but please… if anything related to this happens, don't blame yourself.”

“Luffy… I can’t ju-... you're probably right…”

“Shishishi, of course, I am.”

Sanji promised to help Zeff with his dream, as long as the old man didn't die immediately. And then a miracle happened. A ship was closing in on their rock island. While the small cook was yelling for help, the scene faded back to the Baratie fight, where the much bigger cook stated that he can't repay Zeff’s kindness, if he doesn't risk his life for the geezer. He stood up, causing panic for everyone that didn't want Sanji to be killed. Luffy got pissed at something and Gum-Gum Battle-Axed the platform everyone was standing on. To be continued.

“I don't even know what to say to that.”

“Okay, I think we should finish for the day,” Luffy made a decision, still perched on Sanji’s lap.

“Yeah, I’m sorry, but I don't think I can continue,” Sanji exhaled and slumped into Luffy. He was still figuring out if he wanted to cry more or not.

“Do you want me to get off?”

“Absolutely not!”

Chapter Text

After the episode ended, some Straw Hats didn't move from where they were sitting, just so they could process everything they had watched. Some did leave, but for the same reason. They had seen the fight against Buggy Pirates, the Black Cat Pirates, and a lot of what happened at Baratie. Two out of their three strongest had cried within a day.

“Are you alright Sanji?” Nami asked.

“Not right at this moment, but I will be,” Sanji answered honestly. He wiped the remaining of his tears and gently pushed Luffy off of him. Luffy hopped on his feet and softly ruffled Sanji’s hair.

“We’re all here, just remember that.”

Shortly after that conversation, everyone once again dispersed and started finding things to occupy the time. For Sanji that was making dinner, and this time it really was relaxing. No shortage of ingredients and he could make sure none of his crewmates felt hungry. He had decided to make garlic butter steak bites and herb butter mashed potatoes.

Just as the chef was mincing the garlic, the door to the kitchen opened. In a glance behind his back, Sanji determined that the “Intruder” was surprisingly Zoro.

“You have some booze?” the swordsman questioned.

“Already? Can't you ask Ryo?”

“I have zero clue where the bastard is, so you're my next source.”

“Alright fine. I'm sure I saw some around… Found it!” The cook shoved the bottle into Zoro’s hand and went back to cooking.

To his surprise though, Zoro didn't leave but sat down at the table, occasionally taking sips and staring off into space. It was clear something was bothering the green-headed man.

“You want to talk about it?” Sanji decided to take advantage of the rare calm moment between them.

“Same shit going on as you Curly,” Zoro answered relatively calmly.

“Seeing all of that again hurt, didn't it?”

“At first I didn't think it was going to hurt. I just wanted to keep those memories private, y’know?”

“Me too, but this is what we technically signed up for. Ryo did tell us that we could see private moments. But doesn't it feel like a small weight has been lifted off of you? Now that the others know?”

“When you put it like that…” Zoro quietened down in thought.

The two sat in silence until Sanji decided to bring up a thought that was bothering him.

“How is Luffy going to take the Thriller Bark incident? I'm only asking because my ass could also be on the line.”

“He is probably going to be furious, but we’ll deal with that when we get to it. And your ass may be on the line, but I will be the star of the show,” Zoro morbidly chuckled at the last point.

“I don't doubt that.”

¤¤¤¤¤

“Luffy, I’m fine, I promise!” Usopp whined.

“Doesn't mean I can't give you a hug though,” the rubberman said and continued hugging his sniper. It didn't matter whether Usopp felt bad or not, Luffy was not going to be able to sleep when he wasn't completely sure his friends were feeling good.

“Okay, fair enough,” the sniper sighed and melted into the hug. He had lied, he did want one.

“Do you still want to continue?” Luffy asked just in case. If one person genuinely refused to continue, he would stop the experience immediately.

“I'm fine with continuing, and think others are too, but ask them just in case.”

“Yeah, I will,” Luffy stated simply and bounced off to check up on the rest of his crew.

¤¤¤¤¤

Nami was quietly reading a book to distract herself from the fact that her business with Arlong was soon after Baratie. Robin was close by just reading for fun, she was not yet worried about her past, as it was probably quite far away. She didn't even know whether she was ever going to be worried about it, she had Nakama.

The navigator was just about to ask Robin something when Luffy barged in with Chopper right behind him. The reindeer had tagged along when he saw Luffy heading for the library. He was completely okay with continuing, as he needed to make sure to see how the others get injured so often. And maybe to give a lecture to the more reckless ones about the fact that blood is generally supposed to stay inside.

“I'm just here to ask if you two want to continue this thing. Just making sure!”

“Yeah, I'd say so.”

“Kind of nervous about it, but I think I'm okay with carrying on.”

“Okay good! Because everyone else said the same thing! I haven't asked Zoro and Sanji yet, but they're in the kitchen. And I'm not allowed in there.” Everyone else had also consented to go further with the episodes, and Luffy was excited about it. He had no idea what was waiting for them in the future, but it was intriguing.

“FOOD!” Sanji’s voice bellowed from the kitchen, making Luffy drop everything he was doing and planning to do, and ran at top speed towards the promise of food.

Chopper, Nami, and Robin just chuckled and made their way to the kitchen also.

Dinner went without a hitch if you don't count Luffy getting stabbed by a fork for attempting to steal a piece of steak from Franky. Once everyone had finished, Luffy hung back to talk with Sanji and Zoro.

“You two okay with carrying on?”

“Yeah.”

“If the ladies are continuing, so am I.”

“Well both of them agreed so…”

“Then I'm continuing.”

“Good.”

The kitchen fell back into a comfortable silence, while Sanji was washing the dishes and throwing any food scraps toward Luffy, who ate them without complaining. Eventually, Zoro left, and Luffy didn't pay any mind. He knew the swordsman was okay, he always was. Zoro knew that if he were weak he wouldn't be on the crew and that his emotions weren't a weakness. So Luffy let him go, without needing to have an additional talk with him. 

Sanji on the other hand was a lot more emotional. He held on to regrets and mistakes with an iron grip. It wasn't that the cook wasn't strong. It was the complete opposite. But sometimes he needed some emotional support, so he'd know that he belonged and was a good person.

“I will be okay, Captain. Cooking and feeding you lot already made me feel better,” Sanji said before Luffy had a chance to say anything. He wasn't lying either.

“I know you will be. You're my cook after all!” Luffy gave his cook another hug before he went looking for Usopp and Chopper to play a few rounds of tag before they all went to bed.

“You're right, I'm your cook,” Sanji answered the empty space, Luffy left behind, strangely comforted by those simple words.

¤¤¤¤¤

Eventually when everyone had gone to bed, each at their own time, Sanji woke up with a shuddering breath, drenched in sweat. He had had a nightmare, about the starvation. While he attempted to calm his racing heart, he felt something climb into the bed with him. The startled cook looked to the side, only to see a half-asleep Luffy cuddle into his side. This moment was the only one, where Sanji decided to let it slide and tried to go back to sleep. Surprisingly he fell asleep fairly easily, his nightmare almost forgotten.

¤¤¤¤¤

In the morning, Sanji awoke, Luffy still clinging to him. As gently as possible, Sanji escaped from his captain's grasp and began the process of making breakfast. For the second time, soon after everyone arrived in the kitchen and started enjoying breakfast. All worries were forgotten for the moment.

New seating order: Usopp, Jinbei, Nami, Luffy, Chopper, Robin, Zoro, Franky, Brook, Sanji

Chapter Text

“Coolheaded, Coldhearted Demon; Pirate Fleet Chief Commander Gin!” Everyone looked at the destroyed platform with utter confusion. They seriously hadn't been expecting it. Luffy however was proud of his handiwork. Thinking Luffy was trying to destroy the ship, Krieg gave Gin the order to shoot Zeff.

“Zeff is nice though, you can't do that!” Chopper squeaked. He fully knew that none of what he said to the TV would help, but it didn't hurt to try.

Gin was hesitant about shooting, as Zeff had given the fleet the food they needed. Luffy interrupted by saying that he only broke the fin, and it wasn't a direct attack against Krieg. But he did admit to trying to sink the ship. If he destroyed it, there was nothing to fight over.

“That sounds so much like you, but, please, Luffy, learn how to de-escalate conflict better,” Nami groaned into her hands.

“I’ll do my best,” Luffy replied absentmindedly, he was too absorbed in the show to fully figure out what he had just promised to do.

Sanji was full-on pissed off at Luffy for even thinking about destroying the restaurant. After all, it was the dream of a man who had saved him. “Dying isn't… Dying isn't something you should do to repay kindness! That's not what he saved you for! Being given life and yet dying… is something a weakling would do!” Luffy yelled at Sanji while holding him by his shirt.

“You were right about that, Luffy,” Sanji said thoughtfully. If Luffy hadn't been at Baratie, he would have died.

“Why is everyone so surprised when I'm right?”

Sanji tried to talk sense into his future captain but got interrupted by Pearl, who also tried talking sense into the two. But more sarcastically. When he tried to attack the two again, Gin dropped his gun and charged past Sanji and Luffy, to knock out the other Krieg Pirate.

“He is very unstable in his choices of sides,” Usopp noted.

“He just wants the most peaceful outcome, but that was hard to accomplish.”

One attack from Gin with his tonfas was enough to break Pearl’s armor. He apologized to Krieg but was adamant that Zeff didn't deserve to die that way. He wanted to bury him with his own hands. Krieg wasn't happy about it. Throughout the brief confusion, Luffy tried to convince everyone that everything was going according to his plan.

“I promise that was the plan…” Luffy sweated, still vaguely trying to uphold his lie.

“Sure it was,” Brook played along.

“Wow, you're smart Luffy!” Chopper exclaimed while everyone rolled their eyes at their youngest crew member’s innocence.

Sanji stated that he wasn't going to let anything happen to Baratie, whilst Gin promised to bury the cook with his own hands. Gin threatened Luffy the same way. The rubberman said he didn't lose to weaklings like Gin.

“Brutal.”

All of the Krieg pirates had a problem with their Chief Commander being called a weakling and started to curse Luffy out. They were the strongest pirates in East Blue. “Wasn't it just because you had the biggest number of pirates?” That shut the pirates up for a moment.

“It is true though. I think if Krieg had a smaller crew, he wouldn't have been that feared,” Jinbei pointed out.

“He is kind of like Zoro, in a sense.”

“Huh?”

“A big fish in a small pond. When he went to the Grand Line, he was almost immediately wiped out, which wouldn't have happened if he stayed in the East Blue. If we do not add Luffy in the equation,” Robin clarified further, making it much clearer to the almost-pissed swordsman.

“Okay, yeah, I can see what you mean.”

“Robin-chan is so smart!!”

“Zoro is still better than Krieg.”

“I sure hope so, Captain.”

When the pirates started attacking again, Krieg stopped them. “If you get upset when called weak, that just proves that you are weak.”

“Damn right!”

Gin was assigned the task of killing Sanji and Krieg took on the responsibility of killing Luffy.  The captain promised to make the rubberman understand the power that took over East Blue. Luffy just called him annoying and promised to kick his ass. When Gin started to spin his weapons, some Krieg pirates were discussing his cruel nature. He would torture his opponents mercilessly and didn't have any sympathy. And that's why he was called a demon.

“He didn't look capable of torturing people earlier. And he seems to have some sympathy.” 

“He isn't the right-hand man for no reason, and rumors usually don't start randomly. But you're right, some of those things were exaggerated.”

Gin dashed at Sanji, who moved out of the way enough, so he could kick at the weapons, but missed. Eventually, Gin pinned Sanji down with a tonfa and sat down next to the cook, spinning his other one. But before he could strike Sanji, the latter spat his cigarette at Gin and slipped away from his grasp.

“I take it back, he can be quite cruel.”

“He is a complex person, okay? Let's just leave it at that.”

Sanji got a kick at Gin’s head, which didn't knock him out. Instead, the cook got a tonfa right to the ribs. Both of them finally passed out.

“That could've cracked your ribs, Sanji!”

“I'm pretty sure it did, but I'm fine now!”

“ ‘I’m fine now’ that's great, not that it could've led to something more serious. Do I have to put you on my ‘stupid decisions' maker’ list, with Zoro and Luffy?”

“I'm not that bad!” With that Chopper decided to file away that conversation for later. otherwise, he was going to get a headache right then and there.

While the rest of the Krieg pirates were discussing the possibility that Gin was defeated like Pearl, Krieg spoke up and assured them that he didn't put his trust in Gin for no reason. Just as he was saying that Gin managed to stand up again, and so did Sanji.

“Some though bastards, both of you!”

“Thank you?”

“It was a compliment.”

“Okay. Then thank you!”

The cooks on the sideline determined that Sanji must have had at least five to six broken ribs and his stance proved it. He looked very pathetic standing hunched over trying to sound tough and challenging Gin to do better.

“You really shouldn't push your luck like that,” Nami said with slight anxiousness. Men and their pride.

“Nami-swan is worried about me! What a joy!”

“Shut up, Crap Cook.”

“You bastard!”

Krieg was watching the fight between the two men and Luffy took that opportunity to attack. The Fleet Captain had seemingly anticipated it and chucked at a small bomb in the water under the log, which Luffy was running on. And while Luffy was halted by the explosion, Krieg shot him with one of his shoulder cannons. That just pissed the rubberman off.

“I didn't think he was paying attention enough to fight me so quickly.”

“Foul-Play Krieg remember.”

“Yeah, should've remembered that.”

While the two were having a slight argument, Gin had once again struck Sanji, making him fall to the ground, spewing blood. According to the cooks, Sanji had taken ten hits from Gin’s weapon.

“TEN?”

"Calm down Chopper.”

“I'll calm down when we get out of here, survive Wano, and make it back to the Sunny so I can give all of you a full-body checkup!” That threat made even the toughest of men gulp in fear. Chopper in checkup mode was terrifying.

Gin was going for the finishing blow, but it lost most of its power mid-way through and gave Sanji the moment he needed to get out of the way. He also got another kick in, which just hurt him as much as it hurt Gin. He collapsed.

“Fighting with broken ribs is dangerous, but it's not that it matters here anymore,” Chopper sighed defeated. He was stuck in a crew full of maniacs. That reminded him: “Jinbei please say that you tend to keep your blood where It's supposed to be and aren't actively dying half of the time.”

“I do tend to try to keep myself alive as much as possible.”

“Good. I cannot handle much more people with no self-preservation skills. There's like Nami, Robin, and you. Even Usopp manages to constantly break his skull.”

"Break his skull?"

While Sanji was struggling with his broken ribs, Gin got up once again and grabbed the cook by his throat. A few moments went by before Gin started crying after realizing he can't kill Sanji. Krieg got pissed at that statement, but Gin continued by saying that Sanji was the first person that had treated him so kindly. During the time the pirate was talking a flashback to when Sanji fed Gin, was shown.

“It's sad that this is the kindest he has ever been treated,” Brook said sadly.

“Yeah, it's like the bare minimum, I think,” Sanji agreed.

“That's why you're the best, Sanji!” Luffy exclaimed cheerfully, making Sanji flustered again.

“I feel like you have a lot of bias, Luffy-bro.”

“You're all the best, but in different ways,” the rubberman disputed Franky’s claim, leaving no doubts behind him.

Gin tried to ask forgiveness from Krieg, as he didn't want to betray his captain and still had full belief in him. But he just couldn't kill that one person. He even tried to plead for the safety of the restaurant.

“So… just a swell guy overall.”

Krieg didn't like any of what Gin had just said and aimed one of his weapons at his Chief Commander. All of the Krieg pirates identified it as MH5, the deadliest poison gas weapon.

“Right… Gas weapons. Why not.”

The Krieg pirates started scrambling for gas masks and questioning whether Krieg had gone mad. Krieg not caring about the whining stated that winning was the only goal and it didn't matter whether he played unfairly. During his speech, Gin took out his gas mask, but Krieg ordered him to throw it away, he was no longer one of them. All of that pissed off Luffy, who ran across the log again, but got chased back by Krieg’s weapons.

“It would've been convenient to be poison-proof at that point,” Luffy proclaimed. Even though becoming poison-proof was hell, it was convenient down the line.

Luffy told Gin to not listen to Krieg, but no avail. Gin decided he deserved the punishment for not completing his assignment. He threw the mask in the water. Krieg was vaguely impressed, but still decided to deploy the gas bomb. The pirates were looking at it from the water and the cooks either jumped in the water or sought refuge in the restaurant. At the last second, Luffy stole some masks from nearby pirates and threw them at Gin and Sanji. He was too late to find one for himself. The bomb exploded. To be continued.

“How did you survive that without a mask?”

“You’ll see…” Luffy said dejectedly.

“Also that Gin is loyal to a fault and I can't help but feel bad for him.”

“There's nothing to feel bad for, he was as loyal as he could. You could hope nothing more from your first mate.”

“I feel like you're trying to praise yourself there dude.”

“No one has ever said that I'm the first mate.”

“Might as well be.”

“Alright, I'm making you my first mate, Zoro!”

“I'm down with that.”

“Does it mean I have to listen to Marimo now?”

Chapter Text

“I won't die! Fierce Battle, Luffy vs. Krieg” Just as the bomb made contact with the restaurant, a mask appeared next to Luffy. Light purple gas surrounded the area around Baratie, which Luffy managed to stay safe from thanks to the mask he had put on.

“You were lucky that the mask showed up when it did,” Chopper said with a smile. Luffy and Sanji cringed inwardly.

When the cloud was dispersing it was revealed that Gin was holding a gas mask to Sanji’s face despite the cook's protests. He didn't have one as he had thrown his to Luffy. Gin’s skin was purplish and he seemed to have problems breathing.

“What a man, giving his mask away!” Franky wailed.

“So that's how you got your mask,” Chopper realized and felt bad for being too optimistic a moment ago. He didn't even want to imagine how much pain Gin was in, that was definitely a lethal dose of that gas.

Brook was silent. Poisonings were a tough topic for him. Luffy who recognized the situation as that stretched an arm at Brook and grasped the skeleton’s shoulder. Sanji and Franky both slightly leaned into him to offer their share of support. Brook was very thankful for that.

Krieg had no remorse about killing one of his crewmates and only insulted Gin’s actions. Sanji held onto Gin’s collapsed body as he struggled to breathe and begged Don Krieg to do something. Sanji stated that Gin had chosen the wrong guy to follow.

“That he did, that he did.”

Even the Krieg pirates were shocked by Krieg’s brutality, especially as Gin had been his right-hand man. Even going as far as acting as a decoy to throw Fullbody off their trail, when they were escaping from the Grand Line. Sanji asked Patty whether they had any antidote, to which Patty replied that they did, but that was for food poisoning.

“It would help at least a little bit right?” Zoro asked Chopper.

“It could, but the possibility is very, very low.”

“But still worth trying, right?” Robin commented.

When Sanji ordered the antidote to be brought to him, Zeff interrupted and told him to put the mask on Gin, as it should've had some kind of detoxifying effect.

“That can also work, but again not a guaranteed life-saver.”

Patty and Carne carried the poisoned man to the second floor, so he could breathe better. Luffy, who had been silent for a little bit, ordered Gin to not die and promised once again to kick Krieg’s ass. Sanji grabbed Luffy’s hand and told him he would die if he attacked the Fleet Captain directly. “I won't die!” And with those words, the rubberman dashed at Krieg.

“Well you kept your promise,” Usopp tried to lighten the mood, it was getting kind of heavy.

“It would've been shitty of me to send you guys away and then die fighting that guy,” Luffy snickered at Usopp’s comment.

“Yeah, I wouldn't have forgiven you for that.”

Krieg threw more bombs in the water and then shot needle-like bullets at the water explosion. Luffy got hit in the shoulder, the side, and his thigh, but refused to drop and kept charging at Krieg.

“You either have a very high pain tolerance or very low bullshit tolerance.”

“Both?” Luffy answered.

“What made you think Luffy had a low pain tolerance?”

“You're right, my bad!”

During the time Luffy was gearing up for a Gum-Gum Pistol, Krieg pulled a spiky shield around himself in hopes of stopping the rubberman. Luffy however didn't seem bothered by the spiky apparatus and punched right through it, impaling his fist midst the attack.

Sanji violently shuddered at the sight, not only did it look painful as shit, but they were his hands goddammit. Brook put his bony hand on the cook’s shoulder to counter-offer some comfort.

Luffy himself also cringed a little bit. It was never nice to be impaled.

“Luufffyyyy…” a certain voice spoke from right next to the captain, making said captain gulp in dread.

“I know, Chopper,” Luffy said in an attempt to not get a scolding from the doctor. It worked… for a bit.

‘Why do I even bother?’

Krieg fell after the punch, leaving Luffy standing in his bleeding glory. One by one the Straw Hat Captain pulled out the needles in what looked like a very painful effort.

“I do not envy you Luffy,” Usopp shuddered at the thought of pulling those things out.

“Weren't you the one who broke most of his bones within a few months?” Zoro pointed out.

“For me at least, pulling stabby things out of myself is much worse than breaking a few bones here and there.”

‘What’s with Usopp-kun breaking his bones?'

“Just so we're clear if you ever get stabbed it would be better to keep the object where it is. Otherwise, the bleeding gets worse!”

“You see idiots like that every once in a while… ones who will fight to the death once they've set their eyes on a target,” Zeff commented after Sanji claimed that Luffy was crazy. . The older cook also mentioned that he liked guys like Luffy. That seemed to spark something in the blond

“I'm glad he likes me because I wouldn't like to be on his bad side, especially if he learns Haki,” Luffy sweatdropped.

“I don't think you have to worry about him learning it,” Sanji said as he dug into his pockets for another cigarette.

Up on the second floor, Patty and Carne were trying to keep Gin alive, who wasn't looking any better than when he was on the first floor. The two cooks then got distracted by Patty’s awful pudding. That was until Gin seemingly passed out and then woke up again asking about Krieg.

“Those two idiots,” Sanji groaned at the theatrics of his former coworkers.

“At least they're trying?” Brook supplied, still incredibly uncomfortable with the situation

Krieg regained consciousness and mocked Luffy’s belief that he wouldn't die at Baratie. He stood back up again and blasted one of his weapons right at Luffy’s chest, but got slammed right back down by the latter. The multiple defeats of Don Krieg left his men dumbfounded, as their captain had never been brought down.

“I think all of your enemies, Luffy, at first saw you as an ordinary boy, but then got their, excuse my wording, asses handed to them. And that is hilarious to me,” Robin observed with humor.

“Shishishi!”

‘Weren’t you technically one of them?’ Zoro noticed, but chose to not say anything out loud.

Patty and Carne were helping Gin, whose situation seemed to have improved slightly, stand upright. Krieg had once more stood back up and told his men to shut up. He assembled himself another weapon, this one more of a spear. It destroyed the platform both he and Luffy were standing on.

“If anything that weapon is cool,” Franky admired. Krieg was going to be taken down by Luffy anyway, might as well admire the weapons and armor.

“I’ll give you that,” Usopp agreed as the other weapon enthusiast on the crew.

“What's with you men, and your weapons and inventions?” Nami grumbled.

Krieg struck the platform again and sent Luffy almost into the water. He had grabbed hold of some other debris that was floating around. Additionally, he found that his knees were getting weak. Sanji observed that he had lost too much blood and fighting much longer was going to be difficult.

“It seems like you also had much less stamina and such when you were just starting,” Jinbei noted. He may have had less stamina, but plenty of willpower as he learned from accompanying his captain to Marineford.

“I'm plenty capable of fighting if I have plenty of blood. And the platforms aren't moving.”

“Don't lose half of your blood in fights then!”

Krieg kept swiping at Luffy while the rubberman kept dodging, until, through sheer luck, Luffy managed to grab onto the spear and coil around it like a sloth. Although one strike of the spear sent him flying again. And this time it made contact with Luffy when he was coming down. All of the cooks, including Sanji, were concerned for their chore boy.

“It sucks that Luffy got hit, but the fact that everyone is still calling him chore boy is comical,” Usopp burst out laughing at his observation.

“Honestly I'm not sure if I knew his name at the point, even if I did, everyone called him chore boy so I could've forgotten,” Sanji admitted sheepishly.

“It's alright, it was not like I formally introduced myself anyway.”

Krieg got another hit in, sending Luffy flying back again. But in a very Luffy-like fashion, he got back up again. “Life or death… In a pirate battle, if you fear death for even a moment, you'll fall to pieces. At least that kid doesn't have any hesitation.”

“As the old man said, hesitation is bad,” Luffy agreed with Zeff.

“I feel like me and him could get along,” Zoro randomly blurted out.

“You keep telling yourself that,” Sanji severely doubted Zoro’s feeling.

Luffy smiled when Krieg prepared another swing at him, getting exploded that time as well. Zeff mentioned something about Luffy having faith in himself, which got Sanji thinking again. Krieg was getting more and more agitated as the time went on and he struck again, claiming to be the strongest man. Luffy was fine.

“Has he not heard of Whitebeard?”

“The fleet Krieg gathered… His hundreds of weapons and poison… If they're all force… then that kid’s spear is also force…. The spear held in his heart… I know an idiot who's holding back that spear for a stupid reason.” Sanji seemed to have realized something, whilst Luffy had broken the spear Krieg had been attacking him with. Luffy told Krieg to prepare himself. To be continued.

“That idiot was you right? Sanji?” Jinbei asked for clarification.

“Yeah, it was me…” Sanji clarified while in thought.

“So you admit you're an idiot?” a smug voice, that sounded like a sentient mossball, mocked the cook.

“Now you're getting it!” Sanji had had enough, he stood up and aimed a kick right at the mossball in question. Unfortunately, this particular moss knew how to fight back, and thus a battle broke out between them.

Luffy just laughed.

Chapter Text

The cooks were impressed with Luffy’s skill, the Krieg Pirates were surprised that Krieg hadn't won yet and Sanji was worried that Luffy’s body wouldn't hold up from all those explosions. “The Conclusion Of The Deadly Battle! A Spear Of Blind Determination!”

“If I had known you better, I wouldn't have been that worried about you,” Sanji realized, his captain needed more than a few explosions to the face to go down.

“Thank you!”

‘Was that even a compliment?’

Luffy explained to Krieg that he can win now that he had a decent foothold and the exploding spear was broken, no more than a bomb on a stick. According to Krieg, that was more than enough to defeat the rubberman. The Fleet Commander charged again, but Luffy jumped out of the way and held onto a nearby mast. When Krieg struck at the mast, Luffy grabbed one part of it and started falling back down again. When he chucked the piece, Krieg used his inbuilt flamethrower to incinerate it.

“My flamethrower is much better.”

“You are going from admiring Krieg’s weapons to bragging about yours, way too easily my man.”

“I can do both. He has cool ideas, but does them inefficiently.”

‘Yours look a hundred percent weirder most of the time though…’

While in the air Luffy Gum-Gum Gatling’d Krieg who stayed unbothered thanks to his armor. When the attack finished, Krieg just laughed. Luffy tried a Pistol, which only pissed the older man off more. Whilst Luffy recovered from the counter-attack, Krieg managed to get on top of a very tall mast.

“Haki would've been very useful at that point,” Luffy whined. That fight would have ended so much quicker.

“You don't say.”

Luffy ran up that tall mast and delivered a Bazooka right into Krieg’s gut, throwing him off the mast, but allowing Krieg’s weapons to damage him. However, while Krieg was falling his armor cracked. Luffy looked close to passing out.

“Shows him what for,” Usopp cheered, while Chopper looked concerned.

Krieg tossed multiple bombs in the water causing most things to break. Luffy turned out fine as he stretched himself up higher and Bazooka’d Krieg in the stomach, completely breaking the armor. The Commander however wasn't done and he threw a net toward the rubberman. Both of them were plummeting to the ocean.

“Not good,” Brook said anxiously, as an anchor himself he knew how bad that situation was.

Luffy managed to get his limbs out of the net, thus making sure he still was in the fight. At the sight, Sanji was still wondering why Luffy would go that far. Luffy twirled his legs around Krieg’s head and when he untwirled, he smashed the older man straight into Baratie’s fin that was still intact. Krieg was out for good.

Most of the Straw Hats whooped at their Captain’s victory, they felt like they were going to do that every time someone wins a fight.

After the smash, Luffy didn't have time to get out of the net and he fell into the water and sunk rapidly. Up on the surface the cooks were celebrating, and the pirates were panicking.

“Your savior is currently drowning. ”

Gin chose that moment to wake up and was very surprised that his captain had lost. Zeff told Sanji that he should go rescue Luffy because he wouldn't come to the surface by himself. Sanji immediately got ready to dive when he learned that Devil Fruit users cannot swim. 

“Sorry I took so long,” Sanji chuckled with embarrassment.

“At least you came. And thank you.”

He swam quite far down before he caught a glimpse of the rubberman. When he was swimming back up he thought about both Luffy and Zoro and their determination. Suddenly he started imagining several groups of fish swimming by, just like in the All Blue. And then he surfaced.

“You started to realize something, huh?”

“Possibly.”

Gin was in denial about his captain’s defeat while Patty and Carne were trying to get that fact through his head. The right-hand man then took off his headband and stood up to walk away. The two cooks tried to get him to sit back down but to no avail. Back on the first floor, Sanji was trying to make sure Luffy didn't die. While still stubbornly calling him a chore boy.

“Really should've figured out your name at that point.”

“This is incredibly hard to take seriously when you're calling him that.”

“I'm going to start calling Luffy Chore Boy from now on.”

“Please don't.”

After a little bit of shaking and pleading, Sanji found out that Luffy had fallen asleep.

Groans echoed throughout the room.

All of a sudden, Krieg’s voice bellowed again as he stood up again.

“What does it take for him to stay down?”

“He is not even awake at that point, don't worry.”

The pirates realized that they should hold Krieg down so he wouldn't cause more damage. Although he was unconscious he was still strong enough to send all the men flying, who were previously holding him down. The only thing that managed to subdue him was Gin’s punch to the stomach. Gin gave the order to retreat gracefully, so they could start again.

“What a dude!”

Gin thanked Sanji for everything, to which Sanji told him to never come back. Nicely of course. The pirate also wanted the cook to tell the rubberman, that they’ll see each other on the Grand Line. Gin had realized that Krieg’s ambition had become his as well. “Maybe… I can live only a few more hours… It’s kind of stupid that I'm resolved because I don't have much time left, but this time, I want to do it with my own will… in my own way. Then there’ll be nowhere for me to escape, right?”

“I like to think he’s still alive somewhere,” Luffy said almost nonchalantly, but that didn't hide the note of sadness. 

“Me too,” Sanji said in the same tone.

Chopper, or anyone for that matter, did not have the heart to confirm what the two already knew.

“I love that dude!”

Gin had also realized that he had just been using Krieg’s name as a shield so he could run away. After his little speech, Sanji ordered Patty and Carne to give him a small boat. When everyone who needed to got on the small boat, both Sanji and Gin gave a grateful glance toward the Straw Hat Captain and Gin also got on the boat. With slightly aggressive banter, the pirates sailed away, and the scene panned to the Going Merry. Nami admitted that the Straw Hats had been nice people and wondered whether they would let her join the next time they met. She cried. “I wanna be free!” To be continued.

“Nami-san…”

“It's alright Jinbei.”

“I thought it was going to end on a bittersweet note, but now I'm fucking sad,” Usopp sniffled.

Chapter Text

“Set Sail! The Seafaring Cook Sets off with Luffy!” When Luffy woke up, he immediately panicked about his missing straw hat. It was on a shelf right next to a framed picture of child Sanji and Zeff.

“Aw, that's cute.”

Sanji relayed the message that Gin left Luffy, which resulted in Luffy thinking Gin left a message to Sanji instead. On a similar note, Luffy realized that because he drove the pirates away, it was his last day as a chore boy. And before Luffy could even ask, Sanji denied his offer to join the crew. Finally, Luffy decided to give up.

“You idiot, just say yes,” Sanji yelled at his younger self.

“I'm glad that you like being in this crew so much,” Luffy said contently.

“You rarely give up on a person,” Zoro noted.

“I can tell when they don't want to, or cannot come and when they do want to. So I just let him go,” the rubberman explained. “But it doesn't matter, Sanji changed his mind anyway!”

“Should've just left without him,” Zoro whispered.

The cook did, however, express the wish to someday go to the Grand Line, but that it wasn't the right time for him. He very excitedly asked whether Luffy knew about the All Blue. Luffy didn't. But Sanji didn't mind, and he explained it to the boy. It was a miracle sea, where fish from all seas existed together. All the while, Sanji looked like a kid again.

“It's uncommon to see you this excited about something that isn't women, Sanji,” Chopper teased lightheartedly.

“All Blue is just very special to me, okay?” Sanji admitted quietly, remembering the days spent in his prison cell, reading about the sea, hoping to one day get out of the room to go see it.

Zeff watched from the balcony as his Sous Chef talked about the sea, with an unidentifiable look on his face, as he noted that his boy was happily talking about it. Eventually, a bell was rung to signal meal time. Sanji and Luffy sat on the floor, due to the lack of chairs, and started eating.

Sanji may or may not have had a lump in his throat because of Zeff.

Patty stood up from the table to insult Sanji’s soup-making skills. Sanji also stood up to insult the patissier in his face. Carne also joined in with the soup slander. Then the rest of the cooks one by one.

“I mean your food sucks, but even I think this is going far,” Zoro sweatdropped.

“The hell are they doing, your soup tastes good,” Nami questioned.

“Thank you Nami-san, and they are just idiots, don't worry about it,” Sanji shrugged indifferently.

Zeff, however, ate every last drop of the soup while reminding others to not waste food. When he finished he threw the bowl on the floor and also insulted the soup. When Sanji grabbed the Owner's shirt, he got punched, which confused the rest of the cooks as the older chef usually kicks not punches. Sanji ran out of the kitchen in frustration.

“Everyone is so mean to you,” Chopper almost cried.

“As I said, don't worry about it, it was just a very weird plot to get me to become a pirate.”

“Usually people try to convince their children to not become ones,” Jinbei supposed.

At hearing Jinbei basically refer to him as Zeff’s child, a weird warm feeling ran through Sanji’s body.

Luffy stayed unbothered and claimed the soup to be good, which Zeff acknowledged. The rest of the chefs also confirmed that they liked Sanji’s cooking. “But that idiot won't listen unless we go that far…”

Sanji felt choked up again.

“So they were faking,” Zoro stated bluntly, getting an answer to his previous statement.

Sanji was debating whether to go back to the kitchen or not when the last sentence caught his attention. Zeff continued by asking if Luffy were okay with taking Sanji with him.

“That geezer.”

Patty and Carne started bickering over the question of whose acting was worse, while the rest of the cooks lined up to get another serving of the soup. Sanji had heard everything and sat in front of the door, fumbling with his lighter, quietly admitting that he had heard everything. 

“They genuinely love you, Sanji,” Luffy needlessly revealed.

“I know,” Sanji choked out, still managing to hold his tears in.

Luffy refused to take the blond cook with him, on the basis that Sanji had refused his offer on multiple occasions. Zeff understood his point but was concerned about Sanji’s stubborn nature. While Sanji was sitting and thinking, a shark-like shape swam toward Baratie. It turned out a shark had captured Yosaku.

“I almost forgot he and Johnny were also there,” Franky realized when he saw the bounty hunter.

“No kidding! They haven't been shown in a while,” Usopp agreed.

“Why is he in a shark’s mouth?”

Yosaku revealed that his group hadn't caught up with Nami, but they did roughly figure out where she was going and needed Luffy’s help. The latter agreed and got ready to leave. Before he got far though, Sanji stopped him and agreed to go with him on his journey to become the Pirate King. Luffy was over the moon and briefly danced with Yosaku to celebrate getting a cook.

‘Best decision I’ve made in a while.’

“Thank you for coming along Sanji! That goes for everyone else too, just in case you haven't heard that from me yet!”

“Wouldn't have it any other way, Captain!”

Sanji and Zeff had a quick mean-worded but well-meaning verbal fight before he followed Luffy to a boat. Before leaving, Luffy decided to rid Baratie’s inventory of most of its meat. Zeff found him and offered to give the boy his Grand Line record. Luffy of course denied it.

‘That would've been useful,’ Nami quietly complained to herself.

Sanji packed his essentials and stared at the picture on his shelf, before taking a final look at his home. He remembered when Zeff and he first got Baratie and Zeff stated that their efforts may have a point if hungry people find this restaurant, may they be whoever. Sanji also noticed a scar on his right thumb, that he got from peeling apples and got a peg leg to the head. Likewise, Zeff was also thinking back on the memories he had made with Sanji.

‘When did I become that sentimental?’

“Do you miss that place?” Brook asked quietly.

“You have no idea, but Sunny is where I belong and I would miss that ship even more,” Sanji answered just as quietly. 

“I thought so.”

Luffy and Yosaku were waiting for Sanji to board the boat and the cook was taking his sweet time. When he finally arrived, the cooks were lined up to send their youngest cook off to sea. Just as the blond stepped outside, Patty and Carne tried to attack him. It didn't work out at all as Sanji just kicked them down. Just as Sanji stepped on the boat, Zeff called out for him. “Don't catch a cold.” That simple sentence made Sanji tear up.

Watching it two years later still made Sanji tear up. 

The cook went from tearing up to full-on crying as he remembered what he and Zeff had gone through. He got on his hands and knees to thank Zeff for all that he had done for him. At the display of gratefulness, Zeff teared up as well. So did the rest of the chefs. Baratie became a tear fest very quickly. Finally, Sanji managed to get onto the ship, so they could set sail, still crying out his goodbyes.

By now Sanji definitely had tears streaming down his face. He missed those bastards.

“As long as you don't fear even death because you have faith in yourself, you'll find the All Blue… for sure.”

“Goddammit, you geezer.”

A flag waved in the wind. It had red swirly swordfish imagery over traditional crossbones. It was on top of a giant building that the Going Merry was sailing toward. To be continued.

Nami shivered at the sight, she hadn't seen that building in a while.

“Sanji, are you crying because you miss Baratie, or because you are angry at Arlong?” Usopp asked the chef after seeing the weird expression on his face.

“When I figure that out, I’ll let you know. That doesn't matter though, Nami-san are you alright?”

“Nothing I can't handle,” Nami forced a smile and gave a thumbs up.

“And you say I’m a bad liar,” Luffy sighed as he gave his navigator a sideways hug.

Chapter Text

“The Worst Man in the Eastern Seas! Fishman Pirate Arlong” Luffy woke up from a nap and was immediately excited about going to the Grand Line. He had acquired a cook and only needed to get Nami back. The mention of Nami made the previously annoyed Sanji smile creepily. Yosaku called both of them soft-minded.

“You two really were too relaxed for the situation,” Usopp huffed in mild annoyance.

“We didn't fully know the situation, so stop being annoyed Long Nose.”

Yosaku informed the two that they were heading for Arlong and that Nami was going to take down the fishman.

“I would have liked to, but that was a wrong guess.”

It turned out that Luffy and Sanji both ignored the bounty hunter, and decided that they should eat. Furthermore, neither of them knew who Arlong was. Yosaku explained to them that Arlong was a fishman who used to rampage throughout the Grand Line. Luffy interrupted by saying that he hadn't met a fishman yet and Sanji started fantasizing about the mermaids on Fishman Island.

“Priorities, as always . ”

Luffy had found a notepad and paper and drew what in his mind a fishman looked like. It was just a fish with four legs. Sanji just laughed. Yosaku tried explaining the situation once again. “The reason the Grand Line is called a pirate graveyard in the first place is because of the three powers that reign over it. One of which is the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Simply put, they're government-authorized pirates… So one of the Seven Warlords is Jinbei, a fishman pirate boss. And the fishman Arlong is a pirate right on par with him.”

“Oh,” Jinbei exclaimed in surprise over randomly hearing his name.

“I’m pretty sure Jinbei could give me a harder time than Arlong ever could,” Luffy confidently stated.

“Yeah, for sure. Arlong did you a little bit of a hard time if I remember correctly, but the way you are now… I think we can clump goddamn Alvida and Arlong into the same pile,” Zoro claimed confidently.

“I don't doubt that, I think I could one-shot him without using gears.”

“Is he really that weak,” Jinbei asked Nami. He remembered him being stronger.

“He is strong if he is not against super-humans like Luffy.”

Luffy had once again tried to illustrate what a fishman looked like. This one was a reverse mermaid, legs on the bottom and a fish head on the top. Yosaku told them that Arlong was much stronger than Don Krieg. Sanji questioned why Nami would go up against the fishman by herself. He didn't really listen to the answer, because the thought of Nami being a mermaid invaded his mind.

“If I were a mermaid, I would be over thirty,” Nami stated dryly. She did in fact have two legs.

“I would love you, even if you were thirty!”

“Even?” Robin interrupted. She was thirty and that statement sounded weird to her. She was also just teasing Sanji.

“I love both of you regardless of your age!” Sanji tried to fix his statement, flailing around pathetically. Both girls just laughed at his desperation.

Yosaku was getting increasingly more frustrating due to the two pirates not taking anything seriously. Luffy just told him to calm down and that they were going to figure things out when they got there. Sanji decided to make food.

“It all comes back to food somehow.”

“Food is awesome, that's why.”

At Arlong Park, a fishman who could only be Arlong was sliding a stack of cash over a table. It was supposed to be that month’s amount. The receiver of the cash was a marine with whiskers. The marine seemed to have no problem with taking bribes from a pirate. Arlong was convinced that money was the most powerful thing in the world.

“Why even have marines when they're like that?” Franky asked angrily. There were like only a few good ones, the rest were rotten to the core.

Arlong stated that he hated humans, but the ones like the marines were an exception. He invited the marine to have a drink with him sometime, to which he got a negative answer as patrol ships weren't supposed to stop at pirate islands. Arlong promised to kill anyone who reports the marine.

“How romantic,” Usopp blurted out before he could stop himself. For that, he got well-deserved weird looks from everyone. “I’m sorry!”

Arlong ordered that someone would take the colonel to his ship. At that, someone jumped out of the water. He was an octopus fishman, with six arms and a long mouth.

“Hatchan!” Chopper yelled excitedly.

“Don't be so excited yet, he is still a bad guy to us,” Zoro ruined the doctor's good time.

“Still! Hatchan!”

While Hatchan was getting the marines to their ship, the colonel revealed that he thought fishmen were creepy.

“Of course he is racist, why wouldn't he be,” Sanji grumbled. Most of the Arlong pirates were bad people, but racism was overboard.

Nami had landed and was making her way to the base. When she made it to the gate, a small boy came running stating that he was there to kill Arlong. The fishman had killed the boy’s father. Nami took out her stick and smacked the kid, telling him that Arlong didn't have time to deal with brats like him and that he should go home. She threw him a stack of cash so he could keep himself safe.

Nami hugged herself in shame, but let go when she felt Luffy lay his head on her shoulder. He wasn't going to sit on her as that would make her uncomfortable, he already knew that. So instead he was going to try to comfort her in any other way he could think of.

‘Nami-san,’ Jinbei was getting anxious, even though Nami was not mad at him anymore, it was still hard to witness.

Arlong seemed happy to see that Nami had returned with quite a haul. The fishman ordered that a party should be prepared. The rest of the fishmen, that had been under the water, rejoiced at Nami’s return.

“If I didn't know better I would think they cared about you,” Zoro accidentally added salt to a healing wound.

“Zoro!”

“Yeah, that was probably out of line, sorry about that.”

“Your debt has been raised.”

“Dammit.”

Zoro’s group was also approaching Arlong Park. Usopp and Johnny were terrified, while Zoro seemed unbothered. The terrified ones were planning on taking a look at the island first to see whether the Going Merry had been docked there. Zoro just decided that simply busting in was a better idea.

“Zoro, you need to learn how to do things the careful way.”

“Being careful wastes time and is less effective.”

Johnny and Usopp were not agreeing with Zoro’s plan and tried to convince him to craft a strategy. Zoro explained that Luffy had told him to bring Nami back, and he was going to do that regardless of who stood in his way.

“We brought you back and now I have a debt to my name.”

“If you keep complaining about that, I’m going to double it.”

To keep themselves from potentially dying because of Zoro’s recklessness, the other two smacked the swordsman with two hammers to knock him out. Next, they tied Zoro to the ship, so he could not do something stupid. With the swordsman out of the way, Usopp found the Going Merry docked at the island.

“I’m starting a hit list,” Zoro stated plainly, while also managing to produce a paper and pen from somewhere, simply writing both Usopp’s and Nami’s names on it.

“I'm terrified,” Usopp whimpered at the implications. What Usopp didn't know was that Zoro never planned on hurting either of them and just wanted to scare them a little bit.

Johnny determined that they were by the Cocoyashi village a little further away from Arlong Park. Zoro was continuously demanding to be untied. Usopp rationalized that Zoro was already half dead and he should leave all to the sniper. All the while putting his hand on his bandaged wound. Zoro internally promised to cut up the sniper one day.

“I’m so sorry about that!” Usopp shrieked when Zoro revealed a little bit of Wado Ichimonji with his terrifying grin.

Zoro didn't say anything and menacingly re-sheathed his sword while pointing two of his fingers at his eyes and the sniper’s eyes. Usopp almost pissed his pants.

Usopp was in high spirits when he knew that Arlong wasn't that close to them and put on his Captain Usopp persona again. He lost it very quickly when he saw three fishmen by the Going Merry. They let the boat just pass by the dock, which Zoro protested about. Johnny and Usopp decided that they were going to tell Luffy that they couldn't bring the navigator back.

Luffy just gave Usopp an unimpressed look. The sniper just mouthed a sorry. He was incredibly embarrassed about that.

Two of the fishmen dived into the water because the boat looked suspicious. Usopp and Johnny also dived in the water, in hopes to hide from the fishmen. They left Zoro tied to the boat.

“You dived in the water to escape fishmen, and left the person who could keep you safe, tied up on the boat,” Franky tried to make sense of the situation those two idiots had created.

“I don't know either,” Usopp admitted.

The fishmen didn't take Zoro as a huge threat and decided to take him to Arlong. The two idiots gave their respects to the swordsman and swam for dry land.

“Dear god I was annoying,” the sniper realized quietly.

“You grew out of it, it's alright,” Jinbei tried to get the sniper to cheer up.

When the two got on land, they were supposed to be in a town called Gosa, but the only thing they could see was destroyed buildings, that had been flipped over.

“Arlong truly had monstrous strength,” Robin acknowledged.

One fishman was quietly approaching the duo, but only Johnny noticed him and he hid without Usopp. The fishman and the sniper had a quick conversation until Usopp realized who he was talking to. Usopp dashed away, while Johnny hoped that the long-nosed boy could fend for himself, whilst the bounty hunter waited for Luffy and Yosaku.

“I see no one had any intentions to help each other,” Luffy accepted.

“Sorry…”

When Usopp was running, someone tripped him. It was the boy who got his ass kicked by Nami earlier. He had confused Usopp for a fishman. Before the kid could kill the sniper a woman with blue hair smacked him, so he would stop. She warned the boy that everyone in Gosa was killed because one villager defied the fishmen. Then she realized that Usopp wasn't a fishman even though he looked like one.

“I have no clue how I look like a fishman, but at least I wasn't killed.”

“Nojiko…” Nami sighed longingly. She missed her.

“Who is she?”

“My sister.”

“Oh, I wonder…” Brook couldn't finish that sentence, due to multiple limbs making contact with his skull.

“That scrambled my brain… oh wait I don't have one! Skull joke!”

The fishman was getting closer and Usopp decided that he could take that one on his own, but before he could, Nojiko smacked him with a hammer.

“Another hammer, interesting.”

Nojiko dragged the sniper to safety and then mislead the fishman. Back with Luffy’s group, Sanji was still cooking and something underwater smelled the food and turned to approach the ship. At the gate for Arlong Park, Hatchan had just finished grilling some meat for the beast, but he never showed up. Momoo was quickly nearing the small ship.

“Momoo? The cow thing we saw near Fishman Island?” 

“The same one!”

The gates to Arlong Park opened and the tied-up Zoro was brought in front of Arlong. The fishman asked why Zoro had come there, and the swordsman answered that he was looking for a girl while calling him a half-fish. Arlong was nice and excused that for once, and went on a tirade about how fishmen were a superior breed of humans.

“Sorry for the racism, I learned from that.” Zoro acknowledged and very specifically did a small bow for Jinbei in hopes that the fishman wasn't too mad at him.

“You learned so it's alright, Zoro-kun. Also, it seems that he has gotten even worse than when I last met him. He has gone full circle and become a racist himself.”

“I'll tell you that he was half-genocidal.”

“I'm sick of those ridiculous opinions of yours, Arlong,” Nami stated as she came out of the house. Arlong claimed that Nami was an exception to his hatred of humans, as she was his priced cartographer. Zoro looked flabbergasted. Nami revealed that Zoro had just been prey to her and that he was stupid for following her that far. Everything had been an act. She showed the swordsman her tattoo, which was Arlong’s mark. To be continued.

Nami grasped her tattoo, before remembering that she had it changed a while ago. She was starting to feel more and more anxious by the second.

“You okay with continuing?” Luffy asked after he sensed her anxiety.

“Yeah, yeah. Just feeling a bit down about all of this. I want to see what happens after this.”

Luffy pulled her head onto his shoulder and put one of his arms around her shoulder. She felt much safer like that.

Chapter Text

“Witch of Cocoyashi Village! Arlong’s Female Leader!” Luffy’s group was having a meal while they were traveling toward Arlong Park. The rubberman and Yosaku got into a small scuffle about what food was who’s. Momoo was still around their boat, looking for the source of the good smell. Sanji was the only one who noticed the sea cow's noise. Eventually, the beast surfaced and held still like he was expecting something. The only one freaking out was Yosaku.

“Poor Yosaku,” Chopper sympathized with the bounty hunter, he was well over his head in action.

The bounty hunter was the first one to figure out that Momoo was looking for their food. Not liking what he was hearing, Luffy punched the beast. The punch only made Momoo angry and when the Straw Hat Captain went for another punch, Sanji kicked him. He didn't want Luffy to punch someone hungry if there was no reason for it.

“Does your feed everyone policy expand to animals as well?”

“If I have anything I can give them, then yes.”

“Too kind for your own good.”

Sanji picked up one of the dishes and offered it to Momoo. The sea cow hesitated a bit before opening his mouth. All of a sudden, Sanji delivered a nasty kick to the monster's jaw. According to him, the beast had tried to eat him.

“And I will only feed them if they are not trying to eat me with the meal.”

“Sounds logical.”

Momoo was more pissed than ever and tried to attack the ship again. Luffy’s attempt to punch him was interrupted by Sanji who promised to do that on his own. The cook ran up the side of the ship and backflip kicked the beast. Luffy and Sanji went back to their meals as the beast had never approached them.

“Oh, that looked cool!”

“I'm not going to demonstrate that. No, not even when you puppy-eye me Chopper. I don't even have a ship to do that with.”

“The wall exists.”

“Do not encourage them, Franky."

Usopp woke in a house. Nojiko’s house to be exact. The woman explained to the sniper that she saved him not the other way around. She then disciplined the kid for attempting to hurt the fishmen as he knew what would happen if he did. The kid knew that but wanted to ensure the fishmen got what they deserved. However, when he made it to Arlong Park, a witch-like woman on Arlong’s side stopped him.

“Now I’m a witch, how lovely,” Nami rolled her eyes. She wasn't that bad, right?

“Now?”

“Zoro if you don't shut up I’m going to make sure you never talk again.”

The boy was adamant about avenging his father but Nojiko was as stubborn about making it clear that the kid was going to die if he did. Usopp felt like she had been too harsh with the boy. “Kid or not, if someone wants to die, then just let them die! He doesn't have the guts to live through hard times anyway! I know a kid who’s staring fixedly at the distant future, while she endures life more painful than death.”

“That is still mean,” Chopper stated.

“She just has been through some shit, give her a break,” Nami said gently. Yeah, it sounded mean, but with what was going on in town, there was no other mindset to have.

She desperately tried to believe that no one had made the connection between the kid in Nojiko’s statement and her. She already felt bad enough about seeing all of this again, if all of them started pitying her, the navigator might have just hurled. 

Everyone did make the connection, but they knew the girl well enough to not mention it. Luffy, however, kept Nami in a solid hug and didn't show signs of stopping.

The boy started crying because he didn't know what to do. Nojiko’s eyes softened and she asked him about his mother. When she found out the mom was still alive, she told the kid to go back to her. After the boy had left, Usopp realized that Nojiko was indeed nice, despite her tattoos.

“All encounters I had had with tattooed people were kinda shitty, so that's why I said that,” Usopp explained when he felt some eyes on him.

“Fair."

Usopp got back on track and revealed that he was looking for Nami. Nojiko then disclosed that Nami was a leader in Arlong’s crew. And that she had grown up in the house he was staying in. The woman held a picture of her and Nami as children, after telling the sniper that the two were adopted, siblings. She also revealed that both of them were orphans.

“You were handed the short end of the stick, huh?” Robin asked tenderly.

“This entire crew got the short stick if you think about it,” Nami chuckled darkly.

“Luffy-san is the secret condition to joining the crew that you have to be traumatized?” Brook suddenly blurted out.

“Seems so. The next person to join the crew better be a therapist.” the captain half-jokingly decided. Everyone in his crew was traumatized to hell and back, he included.

“You're going to need to get a therapist for that therapist then,” Nami laughed. Brook and Robin alone could drive one mad.

Usopp concluded that Nami had betrayed her village and parent to join Arlong’s crew. Nojiko practically confirmed that. While Usopp was whining about Nami betraying the crew, he remembered that Zoro had been captured.

“Thank you for giving a shit about me,” Zoro thanked the sniper sarcastically.

“You were strong enough to deal with them, I didn't need to worry about you!” Usopp gave a nervous thumbs up.

“He was also almost cut in half like a couple of hours ago,” Chopper mumbled.

Back with Nami, Arlong also called her a witch. A witch that will forget her own parent’s death for money. That comment clearly hurt the navigator, which Zoro caught on to. Nami told the swordsman to get out of Arlong Park to which he happily obliged and pushed himself into the water.

“You don't have any regard for your life do you?” Franky sweatdropped. The swordsman’s hands and feet were tied, he wasn't going to swim.

Zoro just shrugged in response.

When Zoro wasn't coming back up, Nami decided to jump after him. After a few moments, she reemerged, the swordsman safely on the ground. “What do you think you're doing?” “No, what do you think you're doing? You're just a small fry who can't even watch one guy die. Quit trying to act cool! Save me sooner next time, you idiot! I thought I was gonna die!”

“Zoro, buddy, I like the fact you test potential crew members, but can you do that without the possibility of dying?” Luffy asked earnestly. He even tried to sound as formal as possible, just so the point could get through.

“I didn't die, so it's alright.”

“I seriously considered not jumping after you y’know.”

“But you jumped.”

Nami stomped on the swordsman for saying what he did and promised that he would die if he messed with her. Zoro in no capacity took her seriously. After noticing the number of bandages he had, Nami punched him in the gut, making him double over.

“You genuinely cannot win against her, huh?” Franky teased the green-headed swordsman.

“Can anyone?”

Arlong asked his leader what they should do with the swordsman. Nami said to lock him up and that she would deal with him later. Just then, the fishman who had been chasing Usopp came to inform his captain of the sniper’s existence and the fact that he got away. The fishman suspected that Usopp went to Cocoyashi village, and Arlong was delighted as he had business there anyway.

“What’s the business?” Brook asked anxiously, not knowing whether he wanted the answer or not.

“I’m not going to explain it myself, just watch the screen!” Nami answered more heartlessly than she had intended. Old mannerisms were returning. “I’m sorry!”

“It's alright, Nami-san!”

In Cocoyashi village, the villagers were confused about Arlong’s visit as they had just paid him. One dude guessed that the visit was about the weapons that had been found in his possession. The man was called Gen-san. When the fishmen arrived, Gen admitted to having the weapons, because he enjoyed looking at him. The man was covered in scars.

“PINWHEEL!” Luffy shouted after he recognized the man. He had not meant to be that loud though.

“His name is Genzo, remember it!”

“I just recognized him by his pinwheel first.”

“Weapons breed nothing but evil thoughts and violence. They're the chief things that undermine peace.”

“Is he listening to himself? I think he is the one breeding the violence!” Chopper sputtered in disbelief.

Jinbei was having a worse time by the second. Why did he release him from Impel Down? All of this could've been avoided if he just left him there.

In the same vein, Nami was also having a bad time, that was likely to get worse. At least she had Nakama, and Luffy was going to make sure she didn't fall apart completely.

Usopp and Nojiko were spying on the exchange and the sniper was instantly terrified after seeing the fishmen. Arlong mentioned the tribute money, which Nojiko explained as the money villagers offer Arlong in turn for their lives being spared. The fishman revealed that he also wanted to rule East Blue with the money he got each month.

‘Why do I feel like this reminds me of something?’ Sanji thought absentmindedly.

“Why does everyone want to rule the East Blue? Go rule something else! It's the weakest sea, conquering it doesn't require much strength!” Usopp spat angrily. 

“Conquering a sea is hard work in any sea, but yeah I can see why you're angry,” Robin tried to reason with the sniper but decided it wasn't exactly worth it.

Zoro was sitting alone in an empty room until Nami showed up again. She had a knife with which she cut something. The angle made it look like she had stabbed Zoro. Instead, it turned out that she had cut the swordsman loose and ordered him to get lost before Arlong came back.

“For a moment I thought she stabbed you,” Franky sighed in relief.

“Like we found out earlier, she wouldn't have the guts to.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“Yes.”

Arlong had grabbed Genzo by the throat, because of his inherent rebellion for owning weapons. He was going to be killed as an example for the rest of the villagers. Nojiko ran out of her hiding spot to try to stop Arlong from committing a murder.

“Nojiko…” Nami said in mild fear for her sister’s safety. She knew she was fine so she could remain even a little bit calm.

“Brave girl,” was the only thing Jinbei contributed to the situation as he was too afraid to speak up, be it that Nami regains her disdain toward him.

The rest of the villagers joined in with Nojiko’s protests. Arlong kept his idea that having weapons, indicates the will to rebel and he was okay with destroying the village. Genzo told everyone to get inside, otherwise, the eight years they had endured Arlong’s rule was for nothing.

“I cannot even imagine obeying that bastard for eight years,” Sanji practically growled at that thought.

“But they did…” Nami said proudly. It might have been eight years of hell but at least it ended eventually.

Genzo got thrown to the ground for his speech and Arlong stated that not all living beings are equal. Despite what was happening to him, Genzo was adamant that no one should fight back, even if he died. Arlong picked him up again and started slamming him head-first into the pavement. But before that plan succeeded, an Exploding Star hit the fishman, making him drop Genzo.

“I forgot you were also there.”

“I get that a lot.”

“Now that's sad.”

The fishmen located the sniper, who had climbed up on a roof. He introduced himself as Captain Usopp, the Brave Warrior of the Sea. He tried to intimidate everyone, even though his legs were extremely shaky. The fishman from earlier recognized the liar. Arlong wasn't at all intimidated and instead scared the crap out of Usopp.

“How the turns have tabled,” Luffy said, seemingly very proud of himself.

“What?”

In response to Usopp’s attack, the fishman lifted the house the sniper was standing on. Arlong’s men tried to stop him from ruining the house, as that would bring in less income. And they wanted to rule East Blue, not destroy it. Arlong didn't listen and destroyed some nearby houses.

“He is so strong!” Chopper looked on in both fear and awe at the destroying capabilities.

Usopp miraculously survived the attack and fled when he was spotted again. Arlong gave the order to kill the sniper as his men were struggling to get him back to Arlong Park, so more houses wouldn't be lost. When the village’s doctor was dressing Genzo’s wounds, a familiar voice claimed that it was good to see them again. Nami had come to Cocoyashi. All of the villagers, other than Nojiko, the doctor, and Genzo, shut themselves in their houses.

Luffy briefly rubbed his navigator's shoulders , when he felt her subtly flinch.

The scene changed to Nami sitting in front of a small grave site. She mentioned that she only had seven million berries left to go. Nojiko mentioned how she had a horrible reputation, to which the navigator replied it was fine because she was a pirate. And that Arlong was a reasonable guy and that money would fix everything.

“You're going to eat your words soon enough,” Nami darkly chuckled to herself.

“Let me guess, he didn't keep his word?” Robin asked needlessly, she was good at reading the room after all.

“You think?”

Zoro had exited the room but realized that he had nowhere to go as Nami had told him to. So he stayed at Arlong Park and sat on the captain’s throne, with multiple slain fishmen on the ground. He had promised to bring Nami back to Luffy, so he couldn't go. Back with Luffy’s group, the trio had tied a rope to Momoo and were using him to get to Nami quicker. They were already seeing Arlong Park. To be continued.

“Zoro doesn't surprise me, and Luffy is still too excited for the situation.”

“Zoro looks cool, and I still had zero clue that things were this bad.”

“I do look cool, and everyone should give you a break.”

Chapter Text

“Usopp Dead? When Is Luffy Going to Make Landfall?”

“That’s sudden,” Sanji laughed. “Usopp did you really die?”

“Absolutely, can't you tell?” the sniper answered in a deadpan voice before bursting out in laughter also.

Momoo was going at top speed toward Arlong Park, making Luffy’s boat jump around haphazardly. On land, Arlong was still pissed about Usopp shooting at him. He didn't look that tough when he was being carried by four of his men. A few moments later he trashed, so his men would let him go.

“He’s like a toddler throwing a tantrum,” Zoro noted with humor.

The fishman complained about the inferior race defying the fishman race and then, on his own feet, began walking back to Arlong Park. Usopp was running through the nearby forest, with multiple fishmen at his tail. He hid in a bush, and asked: “Who thinks Usopp-sama is too important of a person to have die yet?” Furthermore, he made it seem like numerous people were defending his right to stay alive.

“You got so many people on your side Usopp?” Luffy exclaimed in awe, before getting smacked by Nami.

“Stop being an idiot!”

“No!”

The fishmen tackled one of the silhouettes that looked like Usopp but turned out to be a log, that the sniper had propped up in advance. During the confusion, Usopp fired an Egg Star at his chasers, which gave him a chance to slip away. That didn't last very long, however, as the fishmen almost tracked him down when they heard his voice. Usopp hid perfectly behind a tree.

“You are too lucky…”

“I think that's the only reason I have survived this far.”

“But Usopp’s strong as well and that's why he also survived!”

“Luffy, you're going to make me cry…”

Another fishman was at the bottom of the cliff Usopp was hiding near, and he was trying to extort information from a random villager. Just then, Usopp managed to fall down the cliff. The villager noticed Usopp and tried to warn him about the incoming fishman who had jumped in the water to get to the sniper quicker. 

“Chew is a good match for you, Usopp-kun,” Jinbei observed as both pirates used more long-range attacks.

“He did end up being my final Arlong Pirates opponent, so you are correct.”

Zoro was still sitting on Arlong’s throne, complaining about Luffy taking too long. At the same time, Hatchan, who had been fishing the entire time Zoro defeated all of his friends, made noise, which attracted Zoro’s attention. The octopus-fishman had accidentally caught himself. The swordsman approached the wall that the fishman was fishing behind and caught him off-guard a bit. Hatchan asked whether Zoro was a guest, which gave the swordsman an idea and he claimed to be a guest.

“How did the dude not hear you making a ruckus?”

“Hatchan is not always the sharpest tool in the shed…”

Zoro managed to make Hatchan tell him the whereabouts of Arlong as well as his intentions. Arlong had a long-nosed man to catch. Zoro recognized the man as Usopp and realized that he probably had to go and save his crewmate. The green-headed man asked for directions to Cocoyashi village to which Hatchan told him to get to the pot that brought people in and out of Arlong Park. 

“Casually getting a lift from an enemy,” Franky chuckled at the situation.

“You gotta do what you gotta do,” the swordsman simply stated.

Arlong made it back to the base and witnessed his men defeated on the floor. That enraged and confused him to hell and back. One of the fallen fishmen revealed that Roronoa Zoro was the one to do that to them. This confused the shark-fishman even further, especially when Zoro had been the one they captured and he didn't come to seek Arlong’s head.

“I love that nobody had gotten the memo yet that Zoro-san had switched sides,” Brook chuckled.

Some moments later, Chew entered Arlong Park, dragging Usopp with him. He was as surprised as Arlong when he saw the mess Zoro had made. The mentioned swordsman had just made it to Cocoyashi village thanks to Hatchan. Usopp was trying his best to make the fishmen let him go. Arlong asked whether the sniper was one of Zoro’s men.

“My men? Since when did I ever have men?” a dumbfounded Zoro asked.

“Whenever I heard about you, every time it was mentioned that you did it alone. Except for those times when it was clear you had briefly teamed up with someone, but never have I heard you had a crew,” Nami was just as puzzled.

“You have a crew now, Captain,” Usopp snickered as he stood up and bowed before the swordsman. He glanced at Luffy to make sure he wasn't crossing any lines. Luffy was giggling at the sniper’s shenanigans, so Usopp released the breath he had been holding for a moment.

“Sorry Luffy, it's a dual pirate crew now… You and the rest and me and Usopp,” Zoro struggled to keep a straight face to play along with Usopp’s antics.

“I’m down, shishishi.”

Chew determined that Usopp would die whether he was connected to Zoro or not as he went against Arlong. Usopp then switched tactics and claimed to be close to Zoro, and that if he was hurt the swordsman would come to seek revenge.

“I mean, I would seek revenge if you got killed.”

“That’s somehow the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me."

“I think Zoro promising payback for anyone's death, is the nicest he can be,” Robin added.

“I can be nice without promising murder.”

“Proof?”

Zoro became strangely quiet at that.

Kuroobi, who had been investigating the room Zoro had been held in, figured out that someone had cut him loose. He also proposed the idea, that Nami had let Zoro infiltrate so he could take Arlong’s head. The rest of the fishmen found that idea plausible since the navigator had been acting weird. Nami heard everything.

“It's scary how quickly they started blaming you, Nami,” Chopper expressed.

“Who else was it going to be? She was the one acting weird and the only one with a motive to go after Arlong’s head,” Zoro stated bluntly.

“Fair enough, I guess.”

Nami interrupted the discussion and stated that she had pledged loyalty to Arlong by getting a tattoo with his pirate symbol. Arlong claimed that he didn't suspect her one bit. Kuroobi broke into the conversation and mentioned that even Nami couldn't save Usopp now. The poor sniper had been cowering on the floor throughout the entire conversation.

“Not the scariest moment I've had in my life, but it certainly is up there.”

Kuroobi was still suspecting Nami, who promised that she almost had the promised amount that she and Arlong had agreed to. There was no reason to betray the crew. Usopp was confused by what the navigator meant by promised amount. The ray-fishman mentioned that she had to collect one hundred million berries to buy the village from Arlong.

“Eight years and he couldn't keep his word…” Nami was bordering on crying when she remembered the betrayal.

“It's over,” Luffy reminded her in an attempt to keep her from crying. He hated when his crewmates cried.

“I know, I know,” Nami breathed to make herself calm back down again.

The ray-fishman had found a specific map in Nami’s room, while Zoro found out that Usopp had been captured. The swordsman asked the sniper to stay alive as he rushed back to Arlong Park.

“While Luffy and I were cruising toward the place and Nami-san was suffering because of Arlong… Marimo and Usopp were playing a weird game of hide and seek…” Sanji concluded.

“If someone hadn't left me on that boat, we wouldn't have been playing it,” Zoro hissed in the general direction of his new underling.

Usopp found solace in hiding under Jinbei’s arm, so the Zoro’s bad vibes wouldn't get to him.

The map was a treasure map that depicted the Cocoyashi village. While that was playing out, Hatchan finally witnessed the mess situation that had befallen the Arlong Pirates. According to the octopus and the shark, Hatchan could have prevented the situation. After briefly recounting his recent memories the octopus-fishman realized he had given a lift for the culprit.

“Poor Hatchan…” Nami sighed.

“You duped him good, Zoro!”

Usopp realized if he could buy himself some more time, Zoro could manage to save him. Nami stopped him from firing his slingshot because the sniper was otherwise ruining everything. She repeated that she only trusted money and she didn't feel guilty for duping the Straw Hats.

“I’m sorry,” Nami said remorsefully before she got shushed by everyone. No one wanted to hear her apologize anymore. The way the crew reacted, made her smile a bit.

Nami reached for Kuroobi’s knife and hinted that she was going to kill Usopp. The latter took it as a joke until he realized it wasn't and shot one of his Smoke Stars. Admits the confusion the sniper tried to run, but Nami intercepted him and seemingly stabbed Usopp.

Chopper let out a squeal before Luffy could hug him as well.

“You didn't…”

“You're right, I didn't.”

Usopp stumbled toward the water and eventually fell in. Johnny was looking through a window just as Nami killed Usopp. Kuroobi apologized and gave Nami back her map, even though the navigator stayed cold toward the fishman. Her hand was covered in blood as she told Arlong to keep his promise. “But of course. I'd rather cut my belly open and die than break a promise concerning money.” 

“We should've made the bastard keep the promise,” Sanji growled. He hurt his dear Nami-swan, that's already a reason to commit seppuku.

“If we ever see him again, for whatever reason, I'm making sure he does,” Zoro agreed with the cook. Most crew members started to look for signs of the apocalypse.

Jinbei didn't say anything, because he didn't think he could've said anything like that toward his former crewmate.

Kuroobi looked at the bloody knife and called the girl creepy. Arlong just laughed. Johnny ran away, calling Nami a witch. Luffy’s group was just about to enter Arlong Park, but Momoo turned away.

“So many things are happening at once and I don't know what to focus on,” Luffy sighed. He wasn't made for quick scenery changes and too many perspectives.

Nami entered her room. It was full of drawn maps and equipment to make those said maps. She seemed down about that day's interferences and thought back to the day that room became hers. She was a little girl, looking as depressed as in the present. Adult Nami clutched her recently bandaged hand while thinking back to the past.

“Wait… did you stab your hand?”

“You just now noticed?”

“Yeah…”

“How did not notice that, I'm a doctor dammit! Also do not stab your hand, it could lead to bad things if you hit something vital. Paralysis in your fingers for example,” Chopper groaned at his inability to notice something so important.

“You don't have to notice every injury, Chopper. They're all in the past,” Luffy brought up to the distressed reindeer next to him.

“I don't have to, but it's nice to know such things, just in case problems related to those come up in the future.” He was going to make sure Nami’s hand was working fine later.

A sudden earthquake brought Nami out of her thoughts. The earthquake was caused by Momoo launching the boat toward the island as he slammed his head into a cliff. Luffy, once again, was having a time of his life, while the other two were close to being terrified. They flew quite a distance before slamming down on the ground, still sliding at breakneck speed. Zoro who had been running toward Arlong Park was unlucky enough to get in the way of the out-of-control boat and got slammed.

“I'm going to cut you up someday, you know that right.”

“Trust me I know.”

“So you're going to stop flinging me and slamming into me?”

“Nope.”

“Why do I bother?” Zoro murmured in a way that could've been affectionate. It wasn't.

Zoro scolded his captain for doing that. Luffy asked if Zoro’s group had retrieved Nami yet. The swordsman remembered that he was on a Usopp rescue mission and started running again. Before he could get far, Johnny found the group and informed them that the sniper was dead. Killed by Nami. Somewhere along the shore, a cloaked figure had emerged from the ocean not long ago. “Am I a ghost?” To be continued.

“Honestly wasn't sure if I was alive or not,” Usopp admitted.

“Adrenaline?”

“Probably.”

Chapter Text

“Everyone’s Gathered! Usopp Speaks the Truth About Nami” Johnny added that Nami had been gaining favors with Arlong, so she could get closer to the treasure that lies in Cocoyashi village. She supposedly was willing to kill to get that treasure.

“Holy shit that was a reach,” Nami chortled at Johnny’s accusations. Even though she could see why he thought that the accusation was still ridiculous.

After hearing what Johnny had to say, Luffy grabbed his collar and promised to kick the bounty hunter’s ass if he were to try saying that again. Zoro tried calming his captain down, but the argument between Luffy and Johnny went on. Luffy was adamant about Nami never killing Usopp and that they were friends.

This time Nami was the one hugging Luffy, in an attempt to show how grateful she was for him sticking up for her. She wasn't sure if she could say anything without her voice cracking.

Luffy gladly returned it, even though he had been hugging the navigator for a while.

Nami found the group and confronted Luffy about his friendship claim. They had never been friends and it was a problem they were on the island. She challenged Johnny to kill her if he was so sad about Usopp and informed the dudes that Arlong was looking for Zoro and his men and that they were no match for a monster like Arlong.

“No match, huh?” Zoro smirked at Nami, while the rest of the East Blue gang were giggling at Nami’s underestimation.

“I get it guys, I get it,” Nami blushed at the slight teasing.

While Zoro was looking at Nami in slight anger, Sanji was over the moon about seeing her again. Zoro confronted the chef about making things more complicated with his swooning, and Sanji just told him that love was always a hurricane. The swordsman just ignored him and asked Nami about the whereabouts of Usopp. The navigator claimed he was on the bottom of the sea.

“I mean, I was for a moment, while I figured out if I was dead or not.”

Zoro charged at her with his sword, but before he could get very far, Sanji swiped at him, making the swordsman halt his movements for a moment. “A swordsman would even strike a lady, Roronoa Zoro?”  

“Yeah,” the swordsman said simply. In his eyes all genders were equal.

Sanji for once didn't argue back and only huffed a breath. He could vaguely understand where Zoro was coming from after seeing his past with Kuina. Maybe two worldviews could exist together after all.

Zoro told Sanji to back off, but Sanji retaliated by mentioning his crushing defeat against Mihawk. They both were looking like they were going to start a fight before Yosaku reminded them that they had bigger problems to worry about. Nami agreed and told them to fight off the island and not to butt in on the island’s affairs anymore.

“But they could've helped…” Chopper stated meekly. He was smart in the terms of medicine, but when it came to the intricacies of human nature, even though he was half-human, he couldn't always understand.

“Yeah, but I was stubborn, I wanted to do everything myself,” Nami said sadly.

Nami promised to give them the Going Merry back just so they would leave. Because of the speech, Luffy decided to fall and go to sleep in the middle of the road.

‘Right.'

He didn't plan on leaving the island, nor did he care about what was happening on the island. And he was feeling sleepy so he decided to sleep. Nami lost her cool and yelled at them to die. She ran away.

“Please don't follow through with my statement.”

“Wasn't planning on doing that.”

“With the rate which you lose blood, I'm surprised that you aren't.”

Nojiko was led by the little boy from earlier, who was talking about the Marines being there. And indeed, at the shore, a big Marine ship was approaching. The captain of the vessel told his men that they would get the people of Gosa out of there and that they were going to annihilate Arlong and his crew.

“And how did that work out?”

“I mean, I took down Arlong so, as well as you think, I guess.”

Arlong had been notified of the Marine ship and ordered that someone went there and negotiated with the captain. If two million berries weren't enough, they could get rid of the marines. Before anyone could go to negotiate, the ship fired a cannonball, but Arlong stayed completely calm and bit the cannonball in pieces.

“I want to bite cannonballs in half!"

“Start training then, but I think that your jaw would shatter in pieces before the cannonball, leaving you to never eat anything solid again.”

“Roobiiiin!”

Kuroobi asked his captain about the negotiations and Arlong declared them canceled. Chew, Hatchan and Kuroobi volunteered to go, so that the lower-rank members didn't have to expend too much energy. Firstly, Chew shot a water bullet at one of the marines. When the rest of them were freaking out, Commodore Pudding Pudding had full confidence in himself and his crew and expressed that much. He was downed by Chew’s water bullet.

“So much for that. Not SUPER for them.”

“Who knew water could be so dangerous?”

“Brook, you're a Devil Fruit user. Water is always dangerous.”

“Yohohoho, you're right, Sanji-san.”

Before the marines could enact revenge, Kuroobi broke the rudder of the ship, and Chew told them that he did. Pudding was still alive and the smelt-whiting-fishman asked what would happen if a large reef were to be moved into a strong current. Hatchan was doing just that. A whirlpool appeared in front of a ship and the marines couldn't escape as Kuroobi had broken the rudder. The marines were annihilated.

“Not SUPER!”

“Noted, do not fuck with fishmen in the ocean.”

“We fought at Fishman Island though…”

“I’m sorry. Do not fuck with fishmen in the ocean unprepared.”

“That's better, I guess?”

Nojiko claimed that that was reality and they were going to have to live with that. Arlong apologized for making the three work so hard and got brushed off for saying that. Hatchan mentioned that he could move the reef thanks to Nami’s sea charts.

“Glad that I’m so helpful,” Nami spat sarcastically. In reality, she could feel worse about that. She indirectly caused a lot of people to die.

“Not your fault,” Luffy told her like he had read her mind. She was occasionally convinced he could do that.

Arlong sighed at the thought that he had to let the navigator go soon as he had promised eight years ago. Once again, he was a man that would've rather died than break a money-related promise.

‘Then what happened?’

“I'm gonna kick him to pieces,” Sanji chewed his cigarette in anger.

‘Please do not let me be there when you do,’ Jinbei silently begged.

Yosaku and Johnny were questioning Zoro about a choice he had made. There was no reason to stay on the island according to those two. In Zoro’s mind, it was worth it to stay put just because Luffy was staying.

“Like a loyal guard dog,” Usopp whispered in admiration. Not everyone would do that

“That's so touching!” Franky hollered in a louder voice than a whisper could ever be. Zoro just elbowed him in the side, even though that didn't do anything.

Furthermore, the swordsman voiced that he had nothing to do with who Luffy chose as a navigator. The bounty hunter duo understood their friend’s logic and decided that they would stop being the guides. They didn't want to deliberately get themselves killed. The duo walked away.

“And in the end, they still didn't leave,” Zoro said in mild confusion about his friends' decisions.

It was quiet for a while until Sanji asked Zoro why Nami was crying inside her heart. Zoro offered that they weren't tears of guilt over killing Usopp. The chef questioned whether the swordsman really believed that the navigator had killed the sniper. At the same time, the sniper in question was running at the group, thinking about how Nami had stabbed her hand to save him.

“So you realized that you weren't dead?” Robin snickered at the change of demeanor from earlier.

“Took a bit, but yeah.”

Sanji and Zoro were still talking about the possibility that Nami had not killed the sniper. The swordsman did make her out to be a small fry who couldn't watch a guy die. Sanji having misinterpreted Zoro’s meaning of a small fry to mean small-chested attacked the green-headed man, who stood up quickly to protect himself. Just as their weapons of choice were about to collide, Usopp ran in between them and got smashed. “He's alive!” “No, I think he's dead now…”

“Ow.”

“Ignoring the dead sniper, congratulations that was your first fight!” Nami congratulated the chef and the swordsman.

“Didn't they fight when you were there?”

“I wouldn't consider that much of a fight, Sanji just blocked him from attacking me.”

“That’s fair.”

“Please do not ignore the dead sniper,” Luffy laughed at the hurt-looking Usopp.

“That probably sucked.”

“Is that all I’m getting for getting hit by two powerhouses at the same time?”

Luffy woke up to see the beaten Usopp, to which Sanji admitted to. The chef seemed to be pleased to work with the sniper, while Usopp promised to kill him one day. A bit later, Usopp revealed that Nami had saved him.

“Oh, right no one witnessed Sanji-kun’s recruitment,” Jinbei realized.

“Yeah, now imagine you and your crew are somewhere else as your captain and suddenly he comes back with a new crew member.”

“Isn't that how most of the crew got hired?”

“Hired? I don't pay you. And if I think about it, Nami is the only one who gets paid.”

“Suck it up.”

Nojiko walked through her tangerine farm, just as she heard the telltale sign of glass breaking. When she looked inside her house, Nami was sitting at a table surrounded by a mess. The navigator told her sister that she was just there to rest while the older sister noted that thrashing a place just to rest was a little bit too much.

“You think?” 

“Leave Nami-swan alone, she had a rough day.”

Nojiko confronted Nami about what Usopp had said a while ago, about her being able to smile happily while she traveled with the Straw Hats. Nami eventually relented and told her sister that she had planned to forget about the pirates and had thought she succeeded. But the more she tried to forget the more she remembered.

“I’m glad I didn't forget,” Nami admitted.

“We’re also glad that you didn't,” Sanji said warmly, without his usual over-the-top personality.

Nami remembered all the times she spent with the boys and mentioned that she could briefly forget what was laying on her shoulders and that she would have wanted to stay with them forever. Nojiko mentioned that something like that would have been hard to digest for the first time in a while and was surprised that someone came for her.

“You're going to stay here forever whether you like it or not,” Luffy threatened lightheartedly.

“Wouldn't have it any other way, Captain.”

Usopp finished explaining what happened at Arlong Park and considered that there was a reason why she was in Arlong’s pirate crew. Zoro immediately considered storming Arlong Park, which got immediately shut down by Usopp, who thought it was smarter to get Nami’s perspective on everything first. Nojiko showed up and told them it was useless to try as Arlong’s rule wasn't going to end.

“Someone please believe in us!”

“What can she do? We look like a bunch of kids,” Sanji stated.

“If I remember right, all of us were still in our teens, so we were kids.”

“Wait. All of you were so young?” Jinbei questioned. He hadn't been on the crew long enough to figure out the details like age yet.

“Luffy and Usopp were seventeen, I and Swirly were nineteen, and Nami was eighteen I think.”

“So you were just kids, trying to topple goddamn overlords,” Franky summarized. “And you succeeded somehow.”

Usopp explained that Nojiko was Nami’s older sister, which immediately activated Sanji’s heart eyes. Zoro skipped right to the point and asked why it was useless. Nojiko asked the group to not get involved further with the island, but she was going to explain the circumstances. Luffy decided to pass on the explanation since he didn't care about Nami’s past and claimed that he was going on a walk. The other three decided to hear the story. Even though he said he was going to listen, Zoro fell asleep instantly

“I accidentally took the position I usually take a nap with and fell asleep.”

“I'll just take your word for it.”

Another Marine ship was spotted at the shore. This time it was the ship of Colonel Nezumi, the one that was getting bribed by Arlong. He wanted that Genzo brings him to Nami’s house. Back with Nojiko, she said that the situation started eight years ago. The screen showed two young girls that were Nojiko and Nami, showing their tangerines to a woman named Bellemere. She had a pink Chelsea hawk and a cigarette between her teeth. To be continued.

“Nami, you okay with hearing the story?”

“I’m okay with it. Might cry though.”

“Cry as much as you need to.”

Chapter Text

“Untold past! Female Warrior Bellemere” The three officers of Arlong Pirates were checking out the wreckage of Luffy’s group’s boat accident. When they were discussing the fact that some interesting people were on the island, Hatchan noticed Luffy, who was out on his walk. The Straw Hat Captain walked right past the three, even though they had stood right in the way of him.

“Casually disrespects the pirates that rule the island. Sounds just like him.”

“Did you expect anything else from him?”

“No. Not really.”

Hatchan was the first to address the boy. He demanded to know who Luffy was and why he was on the island. “What does it matter to you?” “Yeah. You have a point.” “I’m Luffy. I'm taking a walk.” Hatchan believed him and told him to have fun. Kuroobi called Luffy a mysterious guy.

“I wasn't lying. I was on a walk.”

“Was it fun?”

“Kind of.”

“Luffy and mysterious? Give me a break.”

“Can you fully figure out how his brain works? No? Then he is mysterious,” Chopper counter counteracted Nami’s claim.

“Do not talk about me like I’m not here.”

Nami woke up at her house and stared at a basket of tangerines while remembering her adoptive mother. She turned back to the map that was on the table, and that shifted the narrative to eight years ago. A much younger Nami was sketching the map that the older Nami had held. 

“How cute!”

“Are you going to say that about every child you see, Robin?”

“Let me live.”

The tiny navigator was at a bookshop and was looking at a very specific book she wanted to check out. She climbed up onto a ladder so she could get it and stuffed it in her dress. While she was doing that, an older lady stepped out from behind the corner and asked the child what she was doing. Genzo who had just stepped into the shop noticed she was about to steal a book and yelled at her.

“Do not yell at a young lady!” Sanji fumed enough that Brook flinched away from the irate cook.

“The young lady just stole a book. He is the sheriff of the village. Was he supposed to just let her?” Zoro bickered. And that was the reason Franky had to hold down a strong ass swordsman and had to lean over Brook so he could hold down an equally strong cook. 

“I’m so sorry Skeleton-bro,” the cyborg apologized when he realized he was pretty much blocking ninety percent of Brook’s vision by leaning over him.

“I can survive until they calm down. It's not that I have any eyes to see with anyway, yohohoho.”

Genzo held Nami by the backside of the dress while he carried her through the village, where it was clear that it wasn't the first instance of the girl trying to steal something. The sheriff was understandably pissed, but seemingly had allowed Nami to hold on to the book. The navigator argued that it wasn't her fault she was poor.

‘There are so many reasons why she loves money…’ Usopp realized. She was poor in the beginning and then eight years of her life were dedicated to collecting money. Maybe they should just turn a blind eye to her current money hoarding. It was a coping mechanism after all.

The sheriff knocked on the door of Nami’s house, demanding the attention of Bellemere. The woman in question didn't even seem to care about the shoplifting incident as a whole. She realized that Genzo had paid for the book, but she didn't have any money and insinuated that she would be paying back with her body later.

“Okay that made me uncomfortable,” Nami shuddered as she watched her mother basically offer to fuck her father figure. She had been too young to understand what Bellemere had meant by that when it was happening. So much for being happy about seeing her face again.

“Oh, Bellemere-san! I would let you p-” Sanji flailed before realizing what he was about to say. “Sorry, Nami-swan, a habit…”

“At least you caught yourself, this small scene doesn't have to be more uncomfortable than it already is.”

“Thank you for your forgiveness,” the cook said so formally that it made everyone laugh. They had never seen him apologize for flailing around like that.

It turned out Bellemere did care about the shoplifting and slapped Nami upside the head, promising one hundred spankings if she did that again.

“Correct.”

“Zoro-san, you are a pirate, you can't offer your opinions about shoplifting punishments.”

Bellemere mentioned that she would've bought the girl the book if she had asked for it, but Nami voiced that their tangerines wouldn't sell too well that year, so the money would be tight. Nojiko approached the pair and announced that she would've stolen the book way better. She also got slapped upside the head.

“I could steal that book twice as fast now!” Nami bragged, just so she could get her mind to go somewhere else for a minute.

“Prove it,” Luffy challenged with a grin on his face.

“Alright, when we get out of here, I am going to steal something from Wano that no one will notice is gone until it's too late.”

“You're on!”

“That challenge is…weird, right?” Brook asked Franky and Sanji. Both of them nodded before Sanji concluded. "Maybe he is trying to get her mind off things?”

“Not useful as the things are coming anyway.”

“Let's just keep watching, there is no use discussing it.”

Bellemere changed the subject by complimenting Nami’s maps and the girl revealed that she started studying navigation too. “I'm gonna use my navigation skills to travel to all the world’s oceans. And then I'm gonna make a world map of everything I see!”

“I'm going to make sure you make it,” Luffy declared. He'd rather die than let any crew member's dreams go unachieved.

“And I'm going to keep Sunny SUPER until you do!”

“Thanks you two, that means a lot. Might even take some off your debt.”

“My swords will certainly help!”

“Pandering doesn't count. Five percent increase.”

A little while later, the trio was eating dinner and Nami commented on Bellemere not eating recently. The adult said that she had been eating tangerines and that she was on a diet. Nojiko called her out for lying. She wasn't eating because they didn't have any money. Bellemere kept lying and said she was eating tangerines so she could stay youthful.

Sanji ached at the thought of Bellemere not eating, he knew the feeling of starvation. And while the lady probably wasn't fully starving, she had to be hungry. He probably couldn't have done what she had done.

Nami felt guilty, even though it was so far in the past and she had been a child who needed food for growth.

Bellemere finally finished what she had been doing throughout mealtime and showed Nami a dress she had made. Nami wasn't excited about it and complained about always getting hand-me-downs from Nojiko. This caused an argument between the two girls and Nami finally said that the older girl wasn't her real sister. Bellemere slapped her for that statement.

“Don't hit your kids…”

“Even when they're seriously out of line?” Nami questioned humorlessly.

“Even then,” Brook held his ground.

The woman asked Nami to never say something that stupid again. Nami persisted and said that Bellemere wasn't their real mother either and that she would be better off without the two kids so she could eat.

“Don't say that,” Nami sniffled.

“You were a kid, Nami. Kids say stupid shit,” Zoro tried to rationalize before the navigator slipped into a deeper pit of sadness.

“That doesn't mean I wasn't a piece of shit!”

“Breathe, Nami,” Luffy reminded her before she could hyperventilate.

“I wish someone richer had adopted me instead!” Bellemere’s tolerance hit its limit and she told Nami to go somewhere else if she hated it so much.

Nami swallowed heavily so she, under any circumstances wouldn't start crying. She had parted from Luffy’s grasp as physical touch was a bit too much at the moment.

Luffy sighed internally and just looked sadly at his crewmate. If she shied away from touch and probably didn't respond to any vocal encouragement, he wasn't exactly sure what he was supposed to do. But he had to figure it out soon because he felt like something big was supposed to happen soon.

Nami ran out into the pouring rain and disappeared. Nojiko scolded Bellemere and stated that the three of them were family. The woman admitted to being immature and told the kid to bring her sister back. Nami had run to the village, where Genzo was drying her off. He thought it was hilarious that the tiny navigator had considered running away as coming to the outskirts of the village.

“At least you didn't run far,” Robin tried to find any silver lining in the situation.

“Yeah.”

Nami repeated that Bellemere would've been happier if the kids were gone. Two kids cost a lot and everyone in the village hated the woman because of her. Genzo revealed that Bellemere used to be the same kind of brat Nami was and that the villagers were very surprised when that brat decided to become a marine.

“So Bellemere-san was a marine, huh?”

“I never told you about that?” Nami was surprised out of her self-deprecating mood, which made everyone else happy.

“No, you haven't. At least not to those who didn't listen to Nojiko-san.”

“Huh. I thought I had, but I guess not.” the navigator shrugged.

“What rank was she?”

“Captain? I think? She retired after she adopted me, so she didn't talk about her career.”

Genzo went into his own flashback that showed Bellemere as a marine fighting with pirates. After the fight, Bellemere laid still, after clearly losing her fight. She had decided to die on the battlefield, but then Nojiko came into view holding a baby Nami in her hands. Everyone other than Nami was crying about the faithful meeting.

“You're so tiny!”

“Why is everyone obsessed with the tininess of children?” Zoro asked perplexedly. Yeah, the baby was cute, but nothing to fawn over.

“They're small. Small is cute. Like Chopper.” Luffy said honestly

“I'm not cute you bastard!” In retaliation, Chopper shifted into his human form and refused to change out of it. To be fair, he was much less cute in that form.

Bellemere and the two girls were in a small boat, while it was storming badly. She had sailed to Cocoyashi village, where she begged for a doctor because the two kids had developed fevers during their trip. A while later Bellemere disclosed that she wanted to adopt Nami and Nojiko. Genzo and the doctor were panicking because of her past. But the marine had made her decision.

“What a SUPER woman!"

“If this weren't the situation that it is, I would want to know what her panties looked like.”

“She would probably show them to you by herself.”

“Brook and Zoro, please,” Nami said meekly. She had been kind of enjoying seeing her adoption in person, but those two had to ruin it.

“You know it's true.”

When Genzo finished his flashback, Nami seemed guilty for saying what she had. That moment was consequentially the moment when Nojiko found her sister. The orange-headed child immediately cheered up and followed Nojiko back to their house. The villagers watched the two kids run and collectively agreed that watching them had been a joy.

Nami suddenly felt a tear fall down her eye as she remembered that no villager hated her in the present either, even if they had a reason to. 

Arlong’s Jolly Roger flashed between shots of the villagers being happy. They were happy until one of them notified the others of a pirate attack. Arlong’s ship reached the coast and Genzo told the children to hide in the woods. The Cocoyashi residents were discovering that the Grand Line fishman pirate crew indeed had split.

Jinbei felt sick that it was soon after he had released Arlong from Impel Down. He should've just left him there, but could he have? He knew the terrors of the prison.

“Jinbei stop blaming yourself, you wouldn't have known. You just wanted your friend to not suffer,” Nami had seen how tense the fishman was during the entire time Arlong had been the main issue. She decided to put a stop to it once and for all.

“But I knew he was violent and had a deep hatred for humans,” Jinbei defended his self-hatred.

“You knew yes, but it would be like me letting Zoro out into the world and then feeling guilty about him killing a person,” Luffy decided to add. He knew it wasn't a quite an accurate rate comparison, but he needed to get to Jinbei somehow.

“And he is a pirate and most of them are violent as hell. Also, take Buggy for example. He was on the Pirate King crew, but I doubt Rayleigh and Shanks are crying themselves to sleep at night on how he turned out.”

“But-”

“No buts. I’ll admit I was bitter at you for a while, but I’ve let go of it and you should as well. And you've already apologized.”

“Alright, I’ll try.”

“That’s all I want from you, Jinbei. You do not need to feel absolute hatred toward him like I do, just mentioning.”

“I do not think I could, even when I think that his actions are deplorable.”

“That’s good too.”

The fishmen waltzed right into the village and declared that the island was now under Arlong’s control. The villagers were supposed to buy their lives from him. One hundred thousand berries per adult and fifty thousand berries per kid. Those who couldn't pay were going to die.

“That is kind of a lot.”

Nojiko and Nami were watching from the woods and realized that they could not pay that much money, but they had hope that no one could notice their house. The villagers were paying all of their money and Kuroobi estimated that they had around twenty-five million berries. The residents were not happy about giving away almost all of their money every month.

“Like an average person cannot supply that much,” Franky frowned.

“But they managed somehow,” Nami said bitterly, ut was also glad that they did.

Genzo was just glad that they hadn't noticed Bellemere’s house as there was no way she could pay up two hundred thousand berries each month. The fishmen were about to leave when one of the fishmen noticed smoke coming from outside the village. Bellemere was in the process of cooking a meal and the fishmen were on their way to collect one last payment. Nami and Nojiko were running to warn their mother. To be continued.

Nami was shaking and finally allowed Luffy to touch her again. At the opportunity, he pulled her head onto his lap, because, again, she wasn't okay with him sitting on her and vice versa. And just a side hug seemed too little for Luffy. Nami grabbed one of his hands and held it close to her, so there would be something to hold her in the present.

Chapter Text

“Survive! Mother Bellemere and Nami’s bond!” Arlong knocked on Bellemere’s door, and at first, the woman thought he were her girls, but soon realized that wasn't the case. She called them in and Arlong complied happily. However, when he entered, he saw no one in the house, until Bellemere kicked him in the jaw. The blow knocked the fishman off his feet, allowing the former marine to point a shotgun in Arlong’s mouth.

“Go Bellemere! Go Bellemere!” Usopp and Franky cheered, ultimately they knew her attempt was not going to work, but she was still badass.

“She was so cool!” Luffy exclaimed excitedly.

“Yeah… she was,” Nami agreed from her place on Luffy’s lap.

Despite knowing that Bellemere was a former marine, none of the Arlong Pirates, including Arlong, were not one bit phased. They started laughing and Arlong bit the end of the shotgun to pieces.

“Goddamn Arlong and his shark teeth.”

Nami and Nojiko were nearing the house and decided that they should help Bellemere escape through the backdoor. But the village doctor stopped them in their tracks before they could get far with that plan. He decided to tell the girls a cruel story, so the kids could understand why they couldn't go back home. Just then Arlong smashed Bellemere’s arm and she let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Usopp had to briefly cover his mouth with his hand so he wouldn't barf. Sanji was shaking from what Arlong was doing to a lady. Luffy grasped Nami’s hand tighter as she started shaking worse than she had before.

As Arlong kept stepping onto the marine’s already mangled arm, the only thing she was worried about was her two girls. The thing that stopped the fishman from breaking the arm even further, was Genzo, who showed up to talk some sense into the woman. Some issues could be solved with money. But Bellemere revealed that she only had about one hundred thousand berries, not enough for the whole family.

“Oh dear, oh dear,” Brook anxiously muttered.

“Nami. You know you don't have to watch, right?” Luffy asked the navigator. There was no shame in turning away.

“I feel like I’m Zoro right now. If I turn away I lose something. I don't know what the something is, but I’ll lose it,” Nami shakily explained why her eyes were glued to the screen.

“Please do not imitate me during such sad occasions,” Zoro said quietly.

Hatchan informed everyone that there was a meal prepared for three in the house, which made Genzo lie about having to join Bellemere and another friend for dinner. Kuroobi confirmed that the village register has no trace of her having children, so Genzo’s lie was believable. The village doctor said the same thing to Nami and Nojiko, who were shocked to hear that. They were told to leave the island immediately.

“Why didn't we go?” Nami cried. If they had, Bellemere might have been alive still.

“Do not blame yourself for that!” Robin said sternly but kindly. Nami did no wrong.

“But-”

“No buts."

The navigator was very much feeling like shit, but at least Robin didn't allow her to feel guilty. She knew what feeling guilty did to a person.

Nami tearfully refused to leave and asked whether it was because her family was poor, that she couldn't be Bellemere’s kid anymore. After thinking about it, Nojiko agreed to leave and took a course toward the shore. Arlong was about to leave with the money when Bellemere announced that the money wasn't for herself, it was for her two girls.

“Mother’s love…” Chopper sniffled.

“What a lady…”

“SUPER, one might even say,” Franky added uncharacteristically quietly.

Nami was very close to hyperventilating and kept seeing flashes of Bellemere falling to the ground every couple of moments.

Luffy caught onto that and did his best to keep the woman calm. He never managed to calm her down completely but did manage to keep her from going into a full panic attack.

Every non-fishman and non-Bellemere in the area was taken aback by the statement and despite the doctor’s best efforts, Nami and Nojiko ran toward their mother. The small navigator kept yelling that she was lying when she said that she didn't want Bellemere to be her mother.

“You always realize too late what you have…”

The two girls hugged the woman, who tried her best to give them a two-handed hug. She apologized for never having enough money, which the girls didn't care about anymore. They just wanted her to not die. The touching moment was ruined, by Arlong who towered over the trio.

“Go away, you bastard,” Zoro gritted his teeth. Oh, how he wanted to slice the dude in half.

Arlong promised to not touch the girls as long as the mother dies. In a desperate attempt to save the trio, Genzo fired both of his guns at the fishmen but got blocked by Kuroobi. The fishman in question sliced the man across the chest in retaliation. At the same time, all of the villagers approached the house in a mess of angry people and deadly weapons.

“Blindly attacking is never good,” Sanji anxiously bounced his leg.

‘Genzo got Zoro’d. Or did Zoro get Genzo’d?’ Franky very inappropriately thought to himself. He had never been good at dealing with a traumatic situation, whether they be his or anyone else’s.

The pirate captain ordered his men to silence the crowd without killing them. He approached Bellemere again as she pushed her children away from her. He was going to make an example out of her and pointed a gun at her. “Nojiko! Nami! I love you!” Those were her last words before she got shot at point-blank range with a flint-lock pistol.

“You can't survive that…” Chopper stated professionally to himself, just so he could keep his sanity.

“That’s… brutal as shit,” Zoro gulped. He couldn’t even imagine having to see that in person, let alone watch it again.

That was the final straw in Nami’s cup of emotions and she sobbed. Hard. Her tears were soaking Luffy’s pants thoroughly, but he didn't mind and only told her to cry it out.

“Why, why, why, why…?”

Some of the more sensitive members were also crying because their navigator had gone through some shit and it was heartbreaking seeing the usually head-strong woman break down like that.

Luffy wanted to cry too, but he had to be strong, Captain’s had to be strong for their crewmates.

It took a while for Nami to calm back down to a manageable level, but she was still shuddering and quietly weeping.

“I think we can continue,” she said meekly.

“You don't have to force yourself, Nami-san,” Sanji said delicately.

“I just… want to get it over with.” 

“Okay.”

Nami and Nojiko screamed and Arlong laughed. Hatchan reached into Bellemere’s pocket and pulled out a sea chart, that Nami admitted to making. That piqued Arlong’s interest, and after looking at the chart, he decided that it was impressive. He ordered that his men would take the little girl with them so she could be a valuable asset to them.

“You don't do that to little girls,” Usopp growled. One Green Star: Devil and the fishman would be done for. 

Jinbei felt tears leaking out of his eyes. He wasn't sure if they were pity tears directed toward the navigator, or the tears of resentment that were creeping up inside him, for his former crewmate.

Genzo took out his sword and looked like he was about to attack, but Arlong told Kuroobi to take care of him. The sheriff looked awful but still insisted on protecting the girls. The ray-fishman had enough and knocked him out.

“Kudos to Genzo, goddamn.”

“He could take Kaido on with that toughness.”

“Let's not send middle-aged, average East Blue men to fight Kaido, okay?”

The fishmen trashed the village and sunk all of the village’s ships. Genzo was alive but severely wounded. Bellemere had been buried on a cliff and Nojiko was mourning in front of it and asking for advice for their shitty situation. A little while later, all of the villagers capable of fighting, were assembling to go wreck the newly founded Arlong Park.

“I admire the dedication, but the stupidity of them is overwhelming,” Sanji sighed around his cigarette.

“You can't say you wouldn't do the same.”

“I'm also stronger than the average citizen, so there’s a difference.”

“I'm much stronger than usual!”

“Now you've done it!”

Zoro and Sanji started fighting again, and this time, despite feeling like shit, Nami laughed. She rarely understood how comforting it was when they fought. It meant that everything was alright.

Everyone could breathe better, now that Nami had shown improvement in her mood. Zoro even snorted during the fight and got a kick to the face for his momentary attention slip. To be fair, the kick was so light it wouldn't have hurt a fly, considering that Sanji’s brain couldn't figure out whether to go noodle mode or keep fighting the swordsman.

Eventually, Robin dragged both of them to the couch again.

While the crowd was hyping themselves up, Nami approached them from behind. Everyone quickly surrounded the small girl to see if she was alright. What shocked the villagers was that the tiny navigator revealed that she was joining the Arlong Pirates. Genzo tried to figure out how or why the girl had joined the group but became silent when he spotted Arlong’s Jolly Roger that had been tattooed on her body.

“You didn't betray them, it's alright! You didn't betray them, it's alright! You didn't betray them, it's alright!” Nami repeated so she would believe it. She almost did.

“Keep repeating it and you’ll believe what everyone else already knows,” Robin said so resolutely that Nami wanted to cry again.

Nami tried to convince herself and others that everything was alright by mentioning the wad of cash that she was holding and the promise that the pirates would buy her whatever she wanted.

“That was such a tempting claim,” the navigator reminisced sadly.

“That would tempt any child.”

Nojiko called Nami’s actions unforgivable as she tackled her. “So what? If I'm gonna get killed a proper life like Bellemere-san, then I don't wanna live properly!”  

“No child should have to think about things like this…” Brook whispered sternly. Why did half the crew need to think about the possibility of death at such a young age? If he could've gifted them his own, relatively peaceful childhood, he would've done that in a heartbeat.

Nojiko would have continued to berate Nami if Genzo hadn't stepped in and told the girl to leave the village and never return. Nami listened and ran back the way she came. Genzo was left to debate how the child could've been so foolish and whether she saw Bellemere as her parent.

“Of course I did,” Nami clarified needlessly.

Nami had found her way to Bellemere’s grave and was sitting in front of it, not saying a word, until she figured out that Nojiko had followed her. The younger one brought up that Bellemere had said that a lot of fun things would happen if they stayed alive. And that there was no chance that the Marines would come to help the island, so she realized that she had to do something herself. Arlong agreed to let the island go if Nami managed to scrape together one hundred million berries.

“It took you eight years to get that amount right?”

“Pretty much yeah. I was a little bit short, before Luffy took care of my problem in another way,” In a more comical fashion, Nami turned around to give Luffy a crooked fist bump. She had cried herself into a tired headspace and decided that that was the best option to thank her captain.

Luffy, of course, returned the fist bump.

Nojiko brought up that staying with their mother’s murderer will hurt the navigator, but Nami already knew that and decided to just put a smile on her face, even if she sees the fishmen. She was going to fight on her own. Nojiko cried.

“You don't have to fight alone anymore,” Luffy made sure that the money-loving navigator knew that. And he would tell her that a thousand times in a row, do not test him.

“I know that much,” Nami tried to be snarky, and almost succeeded.

That’s where the flashback ended, and the Straw Hats that had been listening looked shocked. Sanji promised to make people who hurt Nami suffer, but got smacked down by Nojiko, who reminded them that they were supposed to leave the island. If Arlong heard about Nami having friends, he would grow suspicious and potentially ruin eight years of progress.

“I can see where she is coming from, but Luffy is monster enough to deal with everyone’s oppressors.”

“Thanks, I guess?”

Yosaku and Johnny, even though they had left earlier, had heard the entire story and were crying while hiding in the nearby forest. Nojiko thought back to the times when Nami came back from treasure hunting and was constantly injured. She had promised that she’d have the money soon. The adult Nami only had seven million berries left and waited for the time when she could smile freely. Luffy was still on his walk and had made it to Cocoyashi, where Genzo was leading Nezumi toward Nami’s house. Luffy’s only concern was that Genzo had a pinwheel on his head. 

“Again, priorities.”

The Marines made it to Nami’s house and Nezumi revealed that they were there for the treasure the navigator had collected over the years. Because the treasure had been stolen from pirates, he wasn't going to condemn Nami, but the government was still going to seize all of it. Nami looked like her world had collapsed. To be continued .

“There’s like seven non-corrupt marines,” Sanji rubbed his face in annoyance.

“I think even that is a high number.”

“Still okay with continuing Nami?”

“I think I would like to have a small break. We can continue after it, but I need to clear my head. And possibly wash my face.”

“It's time for lunch anyway. How about I make us lunch, Nami-swan washes her face, we all eat and then we get back to it. Sound good?”

No one was against that idea.

Chapter Text

After Nami had washed herself clean of her breakdown, she joined the others in the kitchen, where Sanji had served spinach-stuffed chicken breasts. The lunch was relatively quiet aside from Luffy for the umpteenth time trying to steal everyone's meal.

When the meal was finished, the crew headed back toward the TV and sat back down again, Nami denying the fact that she was still kind of feeling like crap mentally.

The fishmen sunk another Marine vessel like it was nothing. A small Nami was standing by Arlong, clearly wanting to say something. The fishman understood that the girl wanted to go back to the village, but as he couldn’t let that happen, he promised to make an agreement. If Nami managed to gather one hundred million berries and deliver all of it to Arlong, the village would become free. He would've rather died than break a promise concerning money.  

“I guess Nezumi’s shit overrode your promise…”

“It didn't. He hadn't broken his end of the deal. I hadn't brought him the money yet, and so I had to keep working for him,” Nami explained the sad reality that had taken place.

“Still. I will cut him to pieces the next time I see him.”

“Luffy rises! Result of the Broken Promise” Nami was back-talking the marines that had come looking for her treasure, calling them only superb for not having the guts to arrest pirates and having to look for thieves instead. She told them that she was one of Arlong’s leaders and he wouldn't sit quietly if she was harmed. Nezumi was not phased.

“Wouldn't sit quietly, my ass!”

Nami attacked the marines just as Nezumi gave the order to search the premises. She took down two of them, before asking whether that was what the Marines were supposed to be doing at a time when the Arlong Pirates are spreading their terror across the East Blue.

“The only thing I’ve gathered from seeing the East Blue adventures is that the marines there aren't very good at their job,” Brook noted.

“Yeah, like, the Grand Line ones, generally, just do what they’re supposed to do. East Blue ones just fuck around,” Usopp agreed. “Except for Smoker, he’s determined.”

“At least he’s worth his salt. Even when he usually just fails.”

One of the marines decided that the tangerine orchard looked suspicious and Nezumi told him to dig it up. That sprung Nami into action again and she took down the marines assigned to the job.

“You aren't half bad with that stick of yours,” Zoro vaguely complimented the navigator.

“And you aren't half bad with those three sticks of yours either,” Nami complimented back.

Genzo interrupted everything to shout about the money being collected to keep Cocoyashi village safe. Nami, who had just taken down another marine, was surprised that Genzo knew about the money. The sheriff revealed that he had always known and so had the village. They’d kept quiet so she would've had a choice to run away from Arlong if she ever wanted to. Their hopes would have become a burden.

“I wouldn't have run away regardless,” Nami whispered, dangerously close to tears again.

“No shit, Sherlock.”

“Zoro, stop acting like you know everything about everyone’s personality.”

Nezumi twisted Genzo’s words and asked whether he should arrest the entire village for being thieves. Nojiko interrupted him to claim that his words meant every villager is fighting for their lives. And that the marines should just leave if they were not going to be any help to the village. The Captain called Arlong Mr. Arlong and something clicked in Nami’s head. Especially when he mentioned that the treasure was worth one hundred million berries.

“So obvious.”

Nami blamed Nezumi for the obvious, which the marine intentionally not smoothly sidestepped. The treasure was finally found and Nezumi marveled at the mountain of riches. One of the marines mentioned that the money was all ragged and bloodied. Nezumi couldn't have cared less.

“It literally shows her hard work! He should try that sometime!” Luffy spat angrily. He didn't become angry often, but some things genuinely pissed him off.

Like in a trance, Nami closed in on Nezumi, but before she could hurt him, the latter pulled out a pistol and opened fire. But the shot never reached Nami as Nojiko, who ran to try to stop her sister, appeared in the line of fire instead. She collapsed where she was standing.

“Don't worry, she is alive.”

“Oh, thank god,” a certain, anxiety-prone reindeer sighed a sigh of relief.

Luffy was sitting on the ground, still pondering the pinwheel he had seen on Genzo’s hat. He proclaimed that he had thought of a new move.

“And how well did that turn out?”

“Good enough that we are not going to talk about it.”

Genzo had run to the village to get the doctor to take a look at Nojiko. Additionally, he told everyone that Arlong had betrayed Nami and was working with the navy. Luffy approached the commotion and invoked the anger of Nami, who realized the rubberman had not left the island yet.

“Aren't you glad that I didn't?”

“Let's not get cocky now.”

The navigator ran off, continuously cursing Arlong’s name. She arrived at Arlong Park and confronted the fishman captain about him breaking their promise. The fishman in question challenged Nami to give him an example of him doing that. In tears, she realized that she had nothing to give as an example. Arlong told her to just collect the money again.

“He is fucking clever, isn't he?”

“Clever or not, he hurt a lady! In multiple ways!”

“He has no honor!”

‘Where did you go so wrong, Arlong-kun?’

Arlong promised to kill everyone in Cocoyashi village if Nami were to run away from the crew. In turn, Nami bolted back toward Cocoyashi. The fishmen were ordered to stay put as the girl wouldn't have the guts to betray them. Arlong claimed that if Nami surveyed every sea in the world, she would earn her freedom.

“How kind of him!”

“That would take, what, a hundred years?”

“I’ll let you know that is pretty much what my dream is, so I hope not.”

“So you were either going to achieve your dream in captivity or being free?”

“That's very accurate.”

Usopp came to the decision that they should go find Luffy, while Sanji was appreciating happiness. Nami had suffered more than any normal person and he was going to take away her suffering.

“You certainly did help!”

“Nami-swan!!” Sanji activated his noodle form.

Usopp argued that the point of attacking Arlong wasn't only for Nami, but for the entire village. Sanji just told him to shut up. Zoro got both of them back on track and they started heading for Cocoyashi. At the village, the citizens were preparing to charge the Arlong Park, Genzo leading the arrangements.

“They’re so stupid but so brave,” Franky commended the villagers.

“At least they’re fighting for what they believe. Even if that would end in absolute disaster,” Chopper expressed in an impressed manner.

The sheriff was hyping the others up, even though they had been hyped up from the beginning. Just then, Nami arrived and told them to wait. She promised that she would gather the money again and that it would be easy the second time. Genzo pulled the girl into a hug and promised she could stop now. He knew that the experience was extremely painful for her.

“I’m proud of you,” Luffy said as sincerely as he could. He couldn't fully empathize with what she had gone through, but he knew that it was a nightmare.

“Stop, you're going to make me cry again.”

“But that’s the truth,” Robin said gently. Nami may or may not have had tears streaming down her face again.

Genzo and the rest told the navigator to leave the village and achieve her dream. Nami refused and pulled a knife on them, trying desperately to keep them from doing something stupid. The sheriff grabbed the sharp end of the knife, which made the girl instinctively lower it. He then ordered her to get out of their way. They all knew that they wouldn't win that fight, but wanted to show the fishmen what they were made out of.

“Going out with a bang is an awesome way to go,” Zoro asserted his opinion. He hoped he would go out spectacularly one day. Dying of old age was boring.

Nami was left dumbfounded, standing in the middle of Cocoyashi, after its residents decided to either meet their maker or achieve freedom. She dropped to her knees and clawed at her tattoo hard enough to leave bloody marks. All the while, the sound of Arlong laughing echoed around her.

“Chopper, before you see anything further, I want you to know that I am alright, and please do not yell at me.”

“No promises, but now that I know that something big is coming, I can take a deep breath beforehand.”

“The hell did you do, sis?”

“I'm going to hear that laugh in my nightmares.”

“You and me both buddy.”

While cursing the fishman’s name, she grabbed the knife that she had dropped and plunged it into her shoulder. She kept doing it, even when blood had covered most of her arm, and there wasn't much left of the tattoo.

“If anyone needs advice for a breakdown including a knife, do not do it! Nerve damage is a real thing and I’m surprised that none of you have that. There is a large artery in the shoulder, and even though Nami seemed to have missed it, it probably only luck-based survival,” Chopper explained after taking one look at Nami’s injuries.

“Can't say that I especially cared about nerve damage at that point, but I’ll keep that in mind next time I break down with a knife near me,” Nami chuckled morbidly. 

Luffy was observing the navigator until he decided that she had done enough damage and grabbed her hand mid-swing. She dropped the knife and asked why he was still there as he didn't know anything about what had been happening for the last eight years. Luffy confirmed that he didn't know. Nami threw sand behind her, approximately where she knew Luffy was, constantly telling him to go away. That was until she tired herself out. “Luffy… Help me…”

‘Sometimes the braves thing someone can do is ask for help.’ Robin reflected, thinking of her own display of strength. 

Luffy reached for his hat and took it off. To Nami’s surprise, he plopped it onto her head. He walked forward a few steps and yelled: “Of course, I will!”

Suddenly Nami felt something on her head that hadn't been there before. After a few quick touches, she determined that Luffy had given her the hat again. This time she fully started crying again and latched herself onto Luffy’s shirt. That hat meant a lot and wearing it was a burden and a relief at the same time. She wouldn't change it for the world.

“You're my navigator, got it? I will let no one hurt you if I can do something about it!”

“What about the rest of us?” Usopp ruined the mood a little bit.

“Shut up, Usopp. I’m special right now,” the very special navigator, stuck her tongue out at the sniper. It would've looked funny if she wasn't so teary.

Luffy walked up to Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp, who had found their way to their captain and were patiently waiting for his orders. A simple ‘Let’s go.’ was all Luffy provided and the three of them complied immediately. 

“This is so hyped!”

“I shall write a song about it!”

“Aren't you writing like a hundred songs at once?”

“I have already finished some of them.”

The villagers had made it to the entrance of Arlong Park only to be blocked by Johnny and Yosaku, who looked more beat up than they did the last time they were on the screen. They refused to let anyone past them as they were waiting for very special men. The four Straw Hats were walking side by side, not saying a word. Their only objective was to get to Arlong. Luffy told everyone to move aside and punched a giant hole in the wall, much to Arlong’s surprise. “Which one of you is Arlong?” To be continued.

“Get ready, it's happening! A SUPER fight is happening.”

“Franky calm down before you punch someone out of excitement.”

“He shouldn't calm down, it's a good fight.”

“And since when are you that cocky, Luffy?”

Chapter Text

Nami was sitting on the streets of a now completely empty village. “Luffy in Big Trouble! Fishmen vs. the Luffy Pirates” Luffy punched his way through the wall of Arlong Park and demanded the identity of Arlong. The fishman in question made himself known and Luffy introduced himself as well. Hatchan recognized Luffy as the dude who liked to take walks.

“A fun way to be remembered.”

Luffy marched in a straight line toward Arlong and took out two fishmen who tried to block his way. The fishman captain asked what the rubberman wanted with him and in turn, Luffy punched him in the face hard enough that he flew across the yard. No fishman was left unsurprised after the show of power.

“That's how you greet an abuser!”

“He deserved much more than that.”

“Well, aren't you glad that he got much more than that?”

The Straw Hat Captain dared the other captain to ever make his navigator cry again. Some of Arlong’s men attacked Luffy for insulting their captain, but Sanji got to them first and didn't let them touch his captain.

“Sanji! Sanji! Sanji!”

“The cook did the bare minimum.”

“I got there first!"

“Please no fighting!”

Luffy casually dismissed Sanji’s well-hidden worry, as the latter also claimed he didn't want the captain hogging all the prey. Usopp approached them and allowed them to hog all the prey. Zoro showed up as well and the three officers instantly recognized him as the Pirate Hunter.

“I’m surprised that you found the way bro. Very SUPER!”  

“I’m going to slice you one day.”

Because Usopp was alive, the fishmen deducted that Nami had indeed betrayed them. Outside the gates, the two bounty hunters were keeping out the incredibly baffled villagers, who were dumbfounded that someone could send Arlong flying. Genzo wished to know why four strangers would fight a fight that wasn't theirs. Johnny just said that Nami was crying because of Arlong, and that was a reason enough.

“I’ll beat up everyone that makes my crew cry!”

“Very noble of you Luffy-kun."

“Will you beat up my insecurities?”

“Yes.”

Arlong laughed arrogantly, even though he was still sitting on the ground where Luffy had sent him. Hatchan laughed as well and proceeded to call for Momoo. When the Sea Beast arrived, he was crying and still had a bump from the time he smashed into the shore. He took one look at Sanji and Luffy, remembered what happened a little while ago, and turned around.

“Oh no. You traumatized him.”

The shark-fishman wished to know what the beast was doing. Although he wasn't going to stop him if he wanted to run away. The tone in which it was said, made Momoo gather his courage again and he charged the pirates. The Straw Hats, minus Usopp, remained calm. Luffy decided that it was a waste of time and promised to take care of the beast himself. He stuck his feet into the ground.

“Here it is! The very well-thought-out Gum-Gum Pinwheel!” Sanji announced mockingly.

“Sanji… I'm going to punch you.” Luffy replied too calmly. This move might of the few things in life he came close to regretting.

“The start of the move doesn't look good,” Chopper sweatdropped.

“Is no one going to question that he was already strong enough to stomp his foot through concrete, without any actual force?”

Luffy started to twist his torso and when he felt like that was sufficient, he grabbed onto Momoo’s horns. That was the first time the fishmen had seen the boy use his Devil Fruit powers so they were momentarily stunned. Zoro suddenly realized that something bad was going to happen and ordered Sanji and Usopp to run away from Luffy.

“Aw… Sanji you listened to Zoro for once!”

“I didn't listen to him! I knew to run by myself.”

Luffy finally untwisted and managed to take out most of the fishmen that were approaching him, just by twirling Momoo around. Eventually, the spinning stopped, and the Sea Beast flew outside the Arlong Park. Luffy was annoyed by the unnecessary fighting as he only wanted to fight Arlong.

“It's rare to see you not wanting to fight more than necessary,” Robin said thoughtfully.

“I just wanted to punch Arlong for making Nami cry. I didn't give a shit about the random fodder,” the rubberman explained again.

“I also feel so important,” Nami continued the thought of Brook from a few days ago.

"You are!"

The three Straw Hats gave Luffy an earful for putting them in danger, but the fourth member did not care. He was more concerned with the factor that he was incredibly stuck in the ground. The three officers realized that they were going to have to fight too, which excited Zoro.

Zoro just avoided questions about his lust for battle

The three officers pleaded that Arlong would stay where Luffy left him, otherwise he would go on a rampage that would destroy Arlong Park.  Hatchan declared that the three of them would take care of the intruders. Luffy tried to explain something to the others before the octopus-fishman tried something. Sanji was way too excited to prepare a meal containing an octopus.

“Sanji-kun, please do not cook octopus-fishmen.”

“Unless they try to do something to the ladies, I will not.”

Throughout all of this Luffy was trying to tell everyone that he was stuck in the concrete, and as such he got sprayed with Hatchan’s ink. To finish the rubberman off Hatchan picked up a big piece of rubber and squished it onto Luffy. But Sanji was faster and blocked the rock that was descending on his captain.

“Good job,” Zoro said instinctively and immediately tried to revise his compliment for the cook.

“Thank you for recognizing that I am the superior!” Sanji retorted.

This resorted to a full-out fight, that the newly recovered Nami had to resolve.

Sanji claimed that he had followed one hell of an idiot captain and the other three confirmed that sentiment.

“I’m not that much of an idiot,” Luffy tried to protest

“Good decisions in a not-so-desperate decision help?” Nami pointed out.

“Let me run this crew like I’m running it,” Luffy answered annoyed. He knew that no one was genuinely questioning his authority, but sometimes it bothered him.

Sanji dared Kuroobi to insult Nami once more, and the fishman dodged the question by complimenting the cook’s skills. Nonetheless, Kuroobi promised to let Sanji know the level of where fishmen fight. 

“I did beat him so…”

“We all know that you are stronger than the average person/fishman, so sush on that topic.”

“I am sorry Nami-swan!”

Usopp was trying to pull Luffy out of the ground, but failing the entire time. The sniper dashed when Hatchan was genuinely threatening the duo. Before the octopus could try something though, Zoro challenged him to a fight. He explained that the Arlong Pirates weren't trying to destroy the Straw Hat Pirates, it was the other way around. 

“Poor Hatchan…”

“He is not poor anything, he is still an accomplice.”

Usopp, who was at that moment praising Zoro, let go of Luffy, who smacked Chew into the nearest wall. Chew in turn tried to chase Usopp out of Arlong Park. But before the fishman could get too far, he got an Exploding Star in the face. The fishman got over it quickly and continued to chase after the sniper.

“You have much more guts in the present moment,” Sanji commented absentmindedly.

“I do try y’know!”

Arlong got close to the group of different pirates and decided that he had thought of a game. Luffy ignored that and just sent a fist flying at the fishman. He asked whether the quartet of pirates thought they could defeat the pirates from the Grand Line. All four of them proclaimed that they could.

“And we did!” Usopp announced proudly.

“Yeah, we did!” Luffy announced after the sniper. He had meant to say it first, but Usopp got to it first

Arlong plunged his hand into the ground and lifted a piece of concrete, with Luffy still stuck in it. He implied that he would send Luffy to the bottom of the ocean. That caused panic all around the Straw Hats, and the rubberman tried to punch Arlong but the only thing he accomplished was getting bitten in the arm.

“Ouch!”

“I’m the one that got bitten, you don't get to say ouch.”

“Sorry. Sorry. That's fair enough.”

Arlong threw Luffy into the water and the Straw Hats panicked until Zoro stopped Sanji from diving into the water. According to him, the fishmen wanted the two of them to get into the water. The fishmen enjoyed discussing the survival rate of Luffy, while Zoro and Sanji tried to figure out how to save their Captain and win the fight. Sanji agreed to fight Kuroobi and Zoro agreed to fight Hatchan. Meanwhile, Luffy was struggling to hold his breath and Usopp was running for his life. To be continued.

“I promise I’m okay!” Luffy swore to his doctor.

“I, in turn, promise that I'm going to give all of you a full check-up when we get back to the Sunny.

Chapter Text

“Luffy submerged! Zoro vs. Hatchan the Octopus” Arlong was proud of what he had done to the rubberman and asked whether the others were strong enough to survive the fishmen. Zoro promised to defeat Hatchan in five seconds, so Luffy could be rescued as soon as possible.

“I'm sorry that I didn't finish him in five seconds…” Zoro said guiltily.

“Don't be. You were injured, Arlong was pretty strong, and I got out anyway. No harm done,” Luffy put it simply. Why was everyone so apologetic about things that never mattered?

“Yeah…” Zoro felt relieved that his Captain was like that, he could somehow make worries like that disappear in an instant.

Zoro only managed to cut off the tips of Hatchan’s hair, which briefly made the octopus-fishman angry but he forgave the swordsman quickly after that. He then declared that Zoro couldn't cut him due to him having six arms.

“He is a confusing dude,” Franky sweatdropped.

“Try fighting him. That was an experience,” Zoro chuckled dryly.

“It's so weird seeing you two fight. I see Hatchan as a friend,” Chopper confessed. “I don't know whether to like him or not.”

“In my eyes, he has redeemed himself, but only you can make that decision for yourself,” Nami told the reindeer and the latter fell into his thoughts.

When the swordsman went for the strike, Hatchan tried to catch the swords, but missed and got cut. Zoro started to become increasingly frustrated at the buffoonery. Sanji noticed that the swordsman wasn't performing his best, but couldn't spare any attention toward him, as Kuroobi tried to take advantage of the fleeting moment of distractedness. 

“Aw you care about him,” Nami instantly took the opportunity to tease the pervy chef.

Sanji was now faced with a dilemma. On one hand, he worshiped the navigator and usually agreed with everything she said, but agreeing with her in this situation would mean agreeing that he cares about the Mosshead. He didn't, thank you very much! On the other hand, disagreeing with the goddess would just feel bad on his tongue.

His brain shut down instead and he stared blankly at the screen while Nami was laughing her guts out. 

“Does it hurt that much to admit that you're friends with Zoro?” Usopp whispered to himself.

‘Huh?’ Jinbei was just confused by the cook.

Zoro was becoming more and more frustrated because of Hatchan and the situation that Luffy had gotten himself into. To top it off, his injuries prevented him from fighting at full power. Johnny and Yosaku noticed that and decided to go save Luffy themselves, but got stopped by Genzo who promised to go help the rubberman himself.

“I'm fucking pathetic!” Zoro quietly cursed himself, so Luffy wouldn't hear him, and preferably no one else either.

“You are not.” Robin did hear him but thankfully didn't alert Luffy about the swordsman’s low self-esteem issues.

A lot of villagers also agreed to go rescue the boy, but Genzo denied their advances. However, he allowed Nojiko to accompany him. Luffy finally couldn't hold his breath any longer.

Luffy shook his head, to get rid of the discomfort when he got reminded about the feeling of drowning. He did that quite often, but the feeling sucked. The burning of his lungs was enough to make him scared of the water. He knew it was ironic that he was a pirate, who most of the time decided to hang over water in precarious positions.

The other three Devil Fruit users also shuddered at the thought of being in the water for so long.

Even though the non-Devil Fruit users had experienced drowning to some extent throughout their time on the sea, they stayed quiet as they would never be able to relate to the struggle of being an ability user underwater.

While Hatchan was out of reach for the green-headed swordsman and gave no indication of fighting fairly, Zoro admitted to himself that he was in too much pain to fight properly and that his fever was getting worse. He stumbled for a moment and almost lost consciousness. 

“You shouldn't even be fighting, let alone standing,” Chopper said defeatedly, momentarily putting aside his debate over Hatchan.

“And I don't think I've heard you ever admit that something was wrong,” Jinbei noted.

“I don't have the luxury to do that anymore. All my opponents are way too motivated for that. That's not a bad thing, but I definitely cannot show any weakness anymore.”

“I think all of us are at that stage now,” Brook added. None of them could give any openings to enemies, it was a hundred percent fatal. It was even worse for the monster trio.

“Luffy, if possible, can we go on a vacation for at least a month, after we are done with Wano?” Nami asked, even though she knew the answer.

“As much as I know all of you would like that, I ask that you keep going for a little while longer. The… race… to become the Pirate King is getting kinda hectic now, and I need to speed this thing up,” Luffy rubbed the back of his neck, while he tried to explain why vacations were a no-go.

“Fair enough, letting someone else become the Pirate King would be bad. You don't want that would you?”

“I don't mind taking the title from someone else, I just think it would be safer for all of us if I take it first. I probably still need to fight the competition. But fighting Blackbeard or whoever has already found the One Piece, would probably be…bad, something tells me.”

“Yeah, I also wouldn't want to fight the Pirate King Blackbeard.”

Hatchan ran inside the safe house, while Zoro was struggling to stand. The octopus reemerged with six swords and the human swordsman fully collapsed. The two bounty hunters on the sidelines mentioned that normal people would have died from the injuries Zoro had or at least would have been bedridden for a while. The Cocoyashi doctor definitely did not like those words.

“Roronoa ‘Pirate Hunter’ Zoro: Every doctor’s worst nightmare.”

“Don't even mention it. I think I will go gray when I reach twenty from all the stress he causes me.”

Zoro felt a pang of guilt after hearing the youngest crew member’s words. He knew he should be more careful, but he had already explained that being careful would get you killed in the Grand Line.

Sanji once again turned to look at the struggling swordsman, which got him a punch to the stomach. The force of that flung him through the fall of Arlong Park. Arlong told his men to throw the injured swordsman into the sea. He had expected someone stronger and was now incredibly disappointed.

“To be fair, none of you were really impressive.”

“Says the one that ran away at the first possibility.”

“Hey, I won my fight. And no one expects me to look cool, so I have nothing to live up to,” the sniper gave everyone a proud thumbs up.

“Cook. In any fight in the future, concentrate on your own goddamn fight. It's no use worrying about others.”

“Well excuse me for giving a shit about people. Nothing you are familiar with,” Sanji spat out with more venom than he planned to. He regretted those words instantly but was too prideful to apologize. The swordsman probably cared more than he did, especially when he thought back to Thriller Bark. He pretended he didn't see the expression that flashed over the swordsman’s face.

“I don't care, huh? Last I checked you are constantly drooling over any rack in the vicinity and could not give less of a shit about anything else.” Why did he say that? Everyone knew that wasn't true, he just had issues about being openly kind toward men, but he still gave a shit about them. 

“At least I appreciate women. You would off them if that was more convenient for you. Hell, you would off anyone for your own personal benefit!”

“You… little… fucking…shit!” No one could deny the shake in Zoro’s tone.

Just as they were about to tear themselves into pieces, Luffy stepped between them and grabbed them by their collars. He wasn't happy or angry. He wore that face that was impossible to read, and everyone hated it. It was so unlike what Luffy usually was.

“Both of you calm down. I usually do not care if you fight, but right now, both of you are going over the line. And that's a fight I'm not allowing. Fight for stupid reasons for all I care, but not like this.” 

Luffy’s voice revealed nothing. It was calculated and practiced. Even the people who weren't in trouble, were completely quiet and still as if the Captain would tell them off next. When Luffy sounded like that, his existence demanded absolute loyalty.

“Right… yeah,” Zoro panted and stepped back from the cook. He knew he was probably supposed to apologize, but he physically couldn't.

Sanji did the same and lit a cigarette and hoped that no one noticed how bad his hands were shaking. Why did he do that?

“Go sit back down again.”

“Yes.” Both of the men said quietly and did what they were told.

Luffy hoped that the two of them would talk it out at the end of the day. There was no point in trying to make them talk in front of a crowd, they most effectively talked things out by themselves. If needed he would supervise.

He mentally slapped himself so he would get out of the ‘Serious Captain Mode’. That was not fun.

The rest of the Straw Hats could breathe again as well when they sensed that Luffy calmed back down as well.

‘Wait does he exude Haki when he is like that?’

Hatchan was angry that he got to fight no one, so he conjured up a small tornado with his swords. He stopped when Kuroobi told him to. After the octopus had mentioned that he uses Six Swords Style, Zoro got back up again to tell him that he could not die before he could defeat a certain man.

“So you just… survive on pure willpower, Zoro-san?”

“Guess so,” Zoro answered dully. He still hadn't processed enough of the incident three minutes ago to answer properly.

Usopp was still running from Chew and the fishman was kind of struggling to keep up with the sniper. Eventually, the teenager stopped running, when he felt that he had shaken the fishman off. While he was loudly making fun of Chew for being slow, the latter showed up behind him. The chasing resumed.

“So he can teleport now. How fun!”

“Probably took a shortcut.”

Genzo and Nojiko were under the water with Luffy. The sheriff was trying to use a sledgehammer to break the concrete that Luffy’s feet were lodged into, but soon realized that doing that underwater was pointless. Both of them came to an idea at the same time.

“They did something clever,” Luffy laughed but forgot to elaborate further. The crew also forgot to ask for an explanation or just didn't care enough. Two of them also were afraid of speaking to the Captain.

Sanji was still lying on his back but decided that that moment was the perfect moment to grab another cigarette.

‘This is going to be a problem,’ the cook thought, as the sight of someone smoking in the show, made him want one himself. He had just finished one, so he had to fight himself to not light another one. Also, Chopper was staring at him from the corner of his eye. He didn't feel like getting two lectures on the same day.

The Cocoyashi doctor was again surprised when he saw the cook stand up after receiving such a forceful punch. Sanji said that Zeff’s kicks were a lot stronger than Kuroobi’s so that's why he was fine. Zoro tied a bandana around his head while Hatchan was still bullying him.

“Zoro’s bandana! Zoro’s bandana! Zoro’s bandana! Zoro’s bandana!” Usopp, Chopper and Franky chanted.

Zoro snorted despite himself.

The swordsman demanded that the bounty hunters gave him their swords so he could show the octopus the power of the Three Swords Style. He caught the two swords just as Hatchan struck. He expertly avoided the six swords and made it past his opponent, while Hatchan started bleeding from his chest.

“Good job!”

‘This is getting increasingly more hard to watch,’ Jinbei once again realized. All three of the officers and the captain himself were once his crew members that he spent plenty of time with. He could tell still remember who snored like what.

The octopus-fishman however wasn't defeated, he was more or less just pissed off. Hatchan was confused about how Zoro was capable of contending with him when he had more swords. “Whether it’s three swords or six swords, it doesn't matter! Your sword and my sword carry different weights!” That was right after he remembered what he was fighting for.

“So…you can win with fewer swords because swordsmanship means more to you than to Hatchan?” Nami clarified.

“Yeah. That’s exactly how that is.”

“I think that even makes sense.”

“Another sign of the apocalypse! Nami can understand Zoro’s motivations!”

“Hide!”

“Everyone who leaves the couch will have a five percent debt increase.” No one moved more than they had. Luffy very subtly slid back onto the couch. His hands were still on the couch, so he was still in the same amount of debt as he was five minutes ago.

Zoro blocked one of Hatchan’s attacks, but the octopus caught him off guard just after it and headbutted the Three Sword Style user right into his chest injury. Before he could land, Hatchan spun his swords under him, like a makeshift meat grinder. Zoro, however, managed to avoid becoming minced meat.

“If this went wrong, you would've been a pile of guts on the floor.”

“Robin. Usually, I don't give a shit about what's going on inside your head, but ew,” Zoro lightly shuddered at the thought.

“If Zoro’s bothered, then it really was weird Robin.”

Robin just giggled.

The green-headed swordsman had managed to hurt the octopus swordsman’s hands, but again, that did not take down his opponent. It just made him angrier. And the effort of that attack made Zoro wobble again, but he corrected himself, by reminding him that he absolutely could not afford to fall.

“Please let yourself rest one day, okay?”

“I’ll rest when I have achieved my dream and no one is in danger.”

The last part made Sanji ache for another cigarette.

After telling himself that he couldn't be ordinary if he wanted to defeat the extraordinary, Zoro broke every single sword that Hatchan had. The octopus-fishmen fell to the ground and Zoro was victorious.

‘It took me too long,’ the swordsman thought, still in a weird mental space.

Nami had gone back to her house to bandage her shoulder that she had stabbed. She finished crying and told herself that she had whined enough. She gathered her courage and ran toward Arlong Park to fight alongside everyone. 

“Nami, I'm SUPER sorry for what I'm about to say… You look like a farmer with Luffy’s hat on. I do not know if it's just the hat or if it's the clothes. But you look like you would tell me that the harvest has been good this year.”

“I don't even know what to say to that.”

“What's wrong with Nami-swan being a farmer, eh?” Sanji said coolly

“I'm not saying anything is wrong with that, I just can't get that thought out of my mind.”

“You know what. I'm not even angry at that. Now that I look at myself, I do look like a farmer.”

“And surprisingly, Luffy-san does not.”

Zoro had sat down to catch his breath, but Kuroobi had decided to get revenge for his friend’s defeat. Sanji made it back just at the right time to save the swordsman. The swordsman in question was trying to get into the water to go save his Captain. To make sure that Zoro would stop killing himself more than he already was, Sanji jumped into the water instead. Kuroobi followed, leaving Zoro on the surface to fight his pain.

“That was really reckless. Sanji-kun.”

“I know, but I didn't know that Nojiko-chan was already down there, and I wanted to make sure that Luffy goddamn made it.”

The last part made Zoro hurt.

“I’m sorry that I caused that much trouble,” Luffy sighed out an apology.

“It turned out fine, stop apologizing.”

When the cook swam deep enough he noticed Genzo was doing chest compressions and that Luffy’s head had been stretched out of the water. Nojiko sat on the surface with Luffy’s head on her lap, asking him to breathe. Before he could go and help, Kuroobi kicked Sanji. The situation seemed helpless. To be continued.

‘Why is he the one that could lay-’ Sanji cursed to himself, before realizing he is quietly proving Zoro right. He didn't want to prove that bastard right.

“I really hope I thanked those two. I’m bad at remembering those sorts of things.”

“I'm sure you did. You may forget things easily, but usually not gratitude.”

"Was that the clever thing those two came up with?"

Chapter Text

“Proud Warriors! Sanji and Usopp’s Fierce Battles” 

“I wouldn't call mine fierce, but if you say so Luffy.”

“Again. Last I checked I did not narrate anything. Also, I do not know what your battle was like.”

“Maybe you're lying and you're a god who sees everything.”

“Yes, Franky, I'm an all-seeing god."

Kuroobi noticed Genzo trying to save Luffy and charged at the man. However, Sanji grabbed onto his hair and stopped the fishman in his tracks. He had to let go when Kuroobi started pulling his hair out of his grasp. To retaliate, Kuroobi grabbed Sanji’s waist and swiftly pulled the cook deeper into the water. Sanji tried to kick, but the power had lessened dramatically, while the fishman noted that fishman karate gets stronger in the water.

“If I did not know you were still alive, I would be planning your funeral right about now,” Jinbei chuckled morbidly, which wasn't exactly like him. How did the cook get out of that?

“Thank you for believing in me!”

“It's not about believing, it's about the genuine disadvantage. Like a lion fighting a mouse.”

The ray-fishman kicked the cook in his stomach and then in the head. Repeatedly. At that moment it seemed like Kuroobi had won. But while he turned his attention toward Genzo, he heard Sanji desperately trying to swim to the surface, as he needed air. Within a second, Kuroobi blocked his way.

“I hate fighting in water.”

“Don't worry, I'm here now. I can do the water fighting,” Jinbei gave the crew a thumbs-up.

“And the Anchor Rescue,” Usopp whispered. They will explain Jinbei his additional duties some other time.

Kuroobi told Sanji that the situation they were in was because of the cook’s cheap chivalry, while the said cook was actively running out of air.  The fishman promised that every non-fishman in the village would be killed and Nami would be punished. The Straw Hats could not protect anyone, including the navigator. That seemed to spark something in the cook, but before he could do anything, he got grabbed and Kuroobi plunged both of them deeper down.

“Oh no! Not good, not good.”

“Do you want to tell me how that could've killed me, so you can think about something else again?” Sanji gave the weird option to Chopper. 

“Yep. So. Y our ears, sinuses, dental roots, and lungs can be damaged. When you ascend air sacs in your lungs can rupture and make it hard for you to breathe. If air bubbles get into an artery, they can cause a blockage that affects your organs. This could lead to a heart attack or a stroke. That's called barotrauma. Deep dives can cause so much nitrogen to build up in the brain that you can become confused and act as though you've been drinking alcohol. And the way Kuroobi was plunging you… you could've gotten serious injuries to your intestines and other organs. You are lucky that you are alive.”

“How lovely…”

Sanji’s stomach was caving in rapidly as he was going deeper and deeper. When the duo reached the sea floor, Sanji coughed up a lot of blood, while Kuroobi laughed.

“Like that,” Chopper added to his previous medical talk.

The fishman stopped laughing when the cook pointed at him like he was saying that he couldn't die yet. The Arlong Pirate started ascending again, just as the Straw Hat Pirate figured out how fishman breathed. When in water their breathing worked just like a regular fish’s did. And fish died when air is shot into their branchia, which was what Sanji did.

“I'm impressed that you could still think coherently,” Brook complimented the chef.

“Barely Brook, barely,” Sanji admitted. His memory of the fight was fuzzy, so he also did not know how he remembered that very specific fish fact.

Jinbei briefly shuddered at the thought of someone doing that to him.

Sanji blew air into Kuroobi’s gills, that made him cry out in pain, which made bubbles form on the surface. The bubbles alerted Zoro to the fact that Sanji was able to surface again. He dragged himself onto the ground again and let Zoro know that Luffy was sort of alright. He then told Kuroobi to come out to settle their fight.

“Also you should consider quitting cigarettes, which would come in handy when faced with nonbreathing-based issues."

Sanji knew that he should, but that would mean that he would get hungry easier and that was not an option. Not yet. He should probably work on that as well.

He did not answer Robin.

Kuroobi was pissed and promised to kill the cook with his ultimate attack. But before the fish could do anything, Sanji kicked him in the face. He kept kicking while he answered all of the statements Kuroobi had made in the water. With a final Mouton Shot, the fishman was sent flying through Arlong Park. He did not get up, as Zoro looked kind of proud of what the cook had accomplished.

“If we ignore the swimming, you took him out pretty easily,” Luffy told his cook.

“He was over-confident.”

Zoro looked at his on-screen expression and contemplated the fact that he had not remembered that he and the cook kind of used to get along. Where did that insulting start? Did he miss the moments he did not remember?

Sanji had missed the expression Zoro had made on the screen.

Arlong finally stood up from his throne after two of his officers had been beaten. Zoro wanted clarification for Luffy being sort of alright. Sanji told him that he had to go back into the water to help their captain out, but there was no way that Arlong was going to let him. Genzo no longer could hold his breath and had to surface. Nojiko told him that she finally had hope that Arlong could be beaten.

“Isn't it weird that Arlong just sat back and did not help his so-called brothers? Only when two of them had been beaten did he think about joining the fight. He was so distraught when he first saw what Zoro had done to Arlong Park,” Robin mused.

“I think it was because he did not want to seem like he did not believe in them. Because believe it or not, Arlong was incredibly nice and supportive toward his crew, that wasn't me. And he did seem sad that Hatchan was defeated, but I don't fully know, he was a weird dude.”

Chew was convinced that Usopp had died from one shot of his squirt gun, as the sniper was lying down on the ground in what seemed to be blood. Usopp however, was still very much alive.

“If someone cannot tell the difference between blood and ketchup, they should not be a fighter,” Usopp said confidently.

“I mean… yeah sure.”

When Chew turned around to go back to base, Usopp laid on the ground quietly giggling to himself. He started to get up but made a little too much noise which alerted the fishman. Luckily the sniper quickly laid back down again. He also tried to figure out a way to seem like he had had a genuine fight when he showed back up again. His choice was to make himself muddy.

“I'm sorry for not having my shit together!”

“Why is everyone apologizing for shit that has been resolved?” Luffy groaned

“You may have been playing at being a pirate, but I would say you did have your shit together,” Zoro reassured the sniper

The sniper was sitting on the ground, rubbing mud onto himself, figuring out what to say to the crew about his loss to Chew. One by one he remembered how hard everyone else was fighting for Cocoyashi’s and Nami’s freedom. He realized how shameful he was acting and told Chew to halt.

“There you go, Usopp-kun.”

“I have my moments.”

“The moment I left my village, I gave up on things like peace and safety. Because they live risking their lives every day, they laugh so happily! That's why I decided to set out to sea. I wanted to laugh from the bottom of my heart, too! If I don't fight with all my might here, I won't have the right to be on board the same ship as them! I won't have the right to laugh from the bottom of my heart with them!” Usopp shot an Exploding Star into Chew’s face.

Luffy just smiled at the display. His sniper was so cool.

“See? You did have your shit together.”

“It's just frustrating to watch sometimes.”

“If it's so frustrating to watch, you have grown. And that's good.”

“Y-yeah!”

Maybe, just maybe, Usopp could eventually fully believe that he was worth his salt.

Chew seemed unbothered by the attack and punched Usopp right in the face. When the fishman was kicking the downed sniper, Usopp pulled out his hammer and struck his opponent's leg and while Chew was in pain from that, Usopp took his rubber band and threatened the other. Chew instinctively closed his eyes and allowed Usopp to hide.

“I wish I could fight like that, it seems fun,” Luffy admitted. He was too dumb for a battle of tricks. And most of his opponents were too strong to just trick.

“It can be yeah, I could teach you some tricks, but not all of them. That's my trademark.”  

An alcohol bottle came flying from the woods, and during the time Chew contemplated the bottle, Usopp shot the bottle into pieces, coating the fishman with alcohol. Chew stumbled into the pond behind him and armed himself with plenty of water. He shot all of it in the general direction of where Usopp was. The attack was strong enough to level a good bit of the forest.

“That could've blown you to pieces,” Chopper analyzed calmly.

“Chopper please do not become Robin.”

“I don't think there actually would've been anything left.”

“And Robin please do not become any more of yourself.”

Chew noticed where Usopp was hiding and fired his machine gun. Usopp was panicking behind the tree that he was hiding behind. He eventually promised to become a real warrior of the sea and that he had had enough of pretending to be a pirate.

“It just takes a dangerous situation to bring the man out of you, huh?"

“Near-death situations are, for some reason, the best places to figure out what you want from life. I recommend.”

“I would rather figure that out calmly, thank you very much.”

Chew lifted the tree and within a millisecond, Usopp took out his Fire Star to light the alcohol that was coating the fishman. The latter ran toward the water, which the sniper realized was bad. He ran after him with the hammer and repeatedly smashed his opponent in the head. He collapsed into the hammer and yelled into the air that he did it and that he could defeat people.

“Was he alive after that?”

“Did not check, did not care.”

Nojiko had taken Genzo’s place in doing chest compressions, while the sheriff pleaded that the rubberman would wake up soon as Sanji and Zoro were failing at holding back Arlong. Johnny remarked that Arlong had shot water at the duo, which made them both vomit blood. Zoro looked much worse than Sanji.

“It felt like getting hit with a cannonball to the stomach, so excuse me for vomiting blood again,” Sanji took a drag of his cigarette.

“If I remember correctly I was about to vomit blood anyway, so that did not help,” Zoro explained his own experience.

“I'm once again sorry, for making you two tire yourselves out like that!” Luffy apologized to the two, missing the irony of doing the same thing he was groaning about earlier.

“It's still alright, get that through your head.”

‘Can no one in this crew forgive themselves for anything?’ Brook brooded, as seemingly the only member who close to zero guilt over things in the past. Dying before meeting Laboon again wasn't the nicest of moves, but it was quite easily fixable these days.

Arlong bragged about being able to kill anyone if he had water near him. Sanji tried to attack again but got another spray of water on him. He thought to himself how a water shooting game to the fishman was like a shotgun shot to the two of them. Nami had finally arrived as well and told Arlong that she was going to kill him. To be continued.

“I did not kill Arlong. I just kinda stood on the sidelines while Luffy beat the crap out of him,” Nami recapped quickly.

“I'm glad that you didn't kill him. No matter how much you hate him, that would've been weighing on your conscience,” Robin told the navigator and an agreeing mumbling came from Zoro’s direction.

“Are either of you alright?”

Both of them just looked anywhere else than Nami.

Chapter Text

“Luffy at Full Power! Nami’s Determination and the Straw Hat” Arlong laughed at the thought of Nami killing him. During the eight years Nami had tried to kill the fishman countless times but never succeeded. He chalked it up to the fact that Nami was a human.

“I think the reason I never succeeded was that I was a child, not because I was a human. Children often do not have achievements in killing.”

“That is a great point. Children do not kill very well.”

Arlong was not going to kill her, but he was also never going to let her go either. Being the good-natured man he was, he offered that he would not kill anyone from Cocoyashi if she continued being a leader without a fuss.

“How nice of him!”

She had to choose whether she sided with the Straw Hats and let everyone die or sided with Arlong and only let the other pirates die. Nami was trying to figure out what the best plan was and eventually asked the villagers to die with her. She had to hope that Luffy was going to keep his word.

“That was probably the hardest choice I have ever made, but at least you managed to keep your promise.”

“I’m sorry you even had to decide between those options,” Luffy just generally apologized for the universe's behavior. She was lucky he had gotten out of the water at the time that he did.

“Everything turned out okay, so let's not stay stuck on anything,” Franky reminded everyone. Everything was getting too gloomy for his liking.

“Yeah, yeah! I defeated the bastard, and no one died. Sanji I want some meat.”

"No."

The villagers had zero problems with dying with their Nami and promised that they would fight. Back in the water, Luffy finally responded to Genzo’s and Nojiko’s efforts and let out a giant fountain of water from his stomach.

“Why did it take so long to get you to be alive again? Usually, you respond much quicker.”

“Most of me was in the water which made me weaker. Mostly when you guys try to wake me up again, you take me full out of the water. Here they left a huge part of me under the water,” the rubberman made clear.

“Oh okay. That does make some sense. And your neck was long as hell, so maybe the water just didn't get to the surface that quickly?”

“That was probably part of it as well.”

The water spout alerted everyone to the location where Luffy was, and the injured duo was relieved that their captain was finally almost ready to fight. Zoro and Sanji both lifted themselves, and the swordsman gave the cook thirty seconds to get Luffy. He wouldn't be able to last more than that.

“Only thirty seconds? Man, Zoro-bro you need to get your endurance up,” Franky laughed loudly.

“What? Oh. Franky you're going to be a pile of scrap in a minute if you keep going.”

It took the Straw Hats a second to fully digest what Franky had just implied and they laughed out in various degrees as well. Brook, Jinbei, and Robin tried to stay classy and not pay attention to the joke but slightly failed anyway.

Luffy had to quickly explain to Chopper what they were laughing about, but the reindeer didn't find it funny. Finishing too quickly-

Sanji determined that thirty seconds were enough and dived into the water. Arlong was about to go check out the location where the water sprayed from, but Zoro distracted him by cutting his cheek. The fishman did not like the fact that Luffy was still in the game. Luffy was now awake, and his first concern was that Genzo’s pinwheel was missing.

“I have also grown. I find this very annoying.”

“Good.”

Arlong ordered Zoro to get out of the way, but he didn't budge. Out of nowhere, Usopp fired an Egg Star at the fishman, which distracted Arlong, and Zoro, for a moment. Everyone was disappointed when they realized that Usopp was too scared to go inside the Arlong Park, so he shot the projectile from the outside.

“I'm not complaining, inside that place was too dangerous for you anyway,” Zoro told the sniper.

“Also I figure, you would be able to take down Arlong right now,” Luffy realized when he looked at the present Usopp.

“Of course, I would, I’m God Usopp after all!”

“Shishishi, that you are.”

It was up to Zoro to stall Arlong for as long as possible and while Usopp prepared to help his friend, Hatchan woke up. Usopp was trying to scare the fishmen with rubber bands again, but Arlong ignored him. Zoro struck the fishman’s nose to break it, but it didn't work and now he had to defend himself against the nose.

“Probably the weirdest thing someone has fought me with.”

“It would be weird if that wasn't the weirdest.”

Johnny and Yosaku noticed that the octopus-fishman had woken up, but were confused by the fact that the dude seemed to have fallen for Usopp’s rubber band tactic.

“At least someone fell for that.”

“You were threatening people with rubber bands. What were you expecting?”

Hatchan dived into the water to stop Sanji from freeing Luffy. In a moment of divided attention, Arlong could stab Zoro. Sanji had almost reached his captain and told Nojiko to leave everything to him. She was about to comply when she noticed Hatchan speeding toward them. Nojiko swam behind Sanji so she could act like a shield for the cook. 

“She is still fine,” Nami reassured her crewmates for the second time about her sister. Jeez, Nojiko was reckless.

Arlong had Zoro lifted by the throat. In a moment of curiousness, the shark wanted to see why the swordsman was wearing the bandages. He pulled them off to reveal the full extent of the damage Mihawk had done to the young swordsman. Half of his torso was covered in blood thanks to the fact that fighting Arlong opened up most of the wound. The fishman and everyone who was close enough wondered how Zoro could still fight. How he was still alive.

Some Straw Hats shuddered at the sight.

“Can you share some of your will to live with the rest of us? You clearly have an overabundance of it!” Nami demanded of the swordsman.

“Get your own will to live, I’m not sharing mine. You need less of it. You don't fight that strong opponents this often.”

“I'm still surprised you're alive,” Chopper said for the umpteenth time. He needed to measure the amount of blood the swordsman had in his body. There had to be more than 5 liters of it.

Zoro, despite his pain and severe blood loss, still managed to glare at Arlong. The entire situation was somewhat freaking the latter out. He decided that it was necessary to kill that man right there and then. Zoro laughed at the situation, which confused the fishman further. The swordsman revealed that he wasn't laughing at his own situation, but at the octopuses. The Straw Hats were going to win the game.

“Only Zoro-san would find such dire situations funny.”

"I'm a hundred percent sure that Luffy-bro would easily laugh too.”

“Of course, how could I forget about his disregard for death? Even though I do not care about death as well. I’m already dead! Yohohoho!”

“Are you sure you didn't pull something reaching that far? And no I will not accept a skull joke about no muscles.”

Everyone could swear that Brook pouted at that.

Hatchan never reached Nojiko as his wounds did not react well to the water pressure. When he got over his initial surprise, Sanji finally smashed the rock that had been holding Luffy back. His body was unstretched so quickly that it spent the rubberman flying into the air. In mid-air, he corrected himself and grabbed onto Zoro. He pulled him out of Arlong’s grasp and sent him flying instead.

“I’m sorry!” Luffy yelled at Zoro, while he tried to coax Chopper to turn into his human form, so he would have adequate hiding space.

Zoro’s forehead vein was pulsing hard enough that it was giving him a headache.

“You. Me. Fight. After the episode,” the swordsman gritted through his teeth. That landing had hurt.

Jinbei and Nami decided to make it their momentary life goal to ensure that the fight never happened.

After he sent his friend flying, Luffy banged his head against Arlong’s and immediately Whipped the not-prepared fishman in the side. The rubberman switched to Pistol and Gatling Gun and did not give Arlong time to breathe as he pummeled the other into the house.

“Now I’m guessing that that wasn't the end of it?” Jinbei asked apprehensively.

“Nope.”

The fishman got buried under rubble, but immediately got back up again. He asked whether the rubberman had done something and found out that the attacks were only the warm-up. Arlong tried to talk some sense into the boy, but Luffy was just preparing himself for the real fight. Zoro had luckily landed not in the water, but Sanji’s matches had gotten wet and did not work. Usopp promised to watch Luffy’s back while Nami was convinced the sniper did not have to do that. The bounty hunters were more concerned about Zoro’s well-being.

“At least someone was worried about me!”

“I knew you would survive that, my friend,” Usopp quickly tried to make amends with the disgruntled swordsman.

“I saw you getting stabbed by Buggy and Company, and you survived that so it's all good!” Nami tried the same. 

Luffy just hid behind Chopper who had relented and was in human point for the time being.

Sanji casually told Genzo and Nojiko that if Luffy should lose, everyone in Cocoyashi would die. Nojiko added that probably the entire East Blue would be in danger. “What's the terrifying difference between you and me?” “Nose. Jaw? Webs!” “Species!” Arlong tried to bite the rubberman for making fun of me, but only bit air as the boy evaded. They did that for a few seconds until the shark-fishman grabbed Luffy by the throat and bit again. This time he only got the pillar that was behind him. To the terror of everyone else, the shark bit the pillar into pieces.

“That would do some damage.”

“You think?”

Arlong once again said that he was going to show what the difference between the two species was. Luffy dared him to do that as he was not going to lose to a fish, and that he was going to be the Pirate King. To be continued.

“So… Zoro… you will sit back down again. You are not going to duel with Luffy.”

“Yeah. I’m not going to. I just lost my cool for a second. I’m…sorry.”

“It's fine. You sometimes do that,” Luffy smiled at him and Zoro smirked back.

“We can still fight though at some point. For the fun of it.”

“That sounds good!”

“No, it doesn't!”

Chapter Text

“Explosion! Fishman Arlong’s Fierce Assault From the Sea” Arlong laughed at Luffy’s dream because a mere human like him had no way of accomplishing it. 

“Did he forget that Roger was a human? Or does he live in his own timeline, where a fishman became a Pirate King?”

“I think he got so submerged into his own fantasy that he did forget.”

On the sideline, Sanji noted that Arlong’s teeth wouldn't leave a scar if he were to bite someone, and an image of Luffy with a piece of him bitten off flashed on the screen.

“Thank you Sanji-san for that image, I will not have nightmares about that today!”

“That was my imagination! I wasn't going to share it!”

“Arlong did bite me, but I didn't get cut in half. I have some small scars though.”

“Biting through rubber probably is harder than biting through normal skin, at least I would imagine that.”

“Two separate conversations are going on, and I don't know which one to follow,” Franky told Zoro because they and Robin were right between Chopper’s conversation with Luffy and Brook’s conversation with Sanji.

“I have gotten bitten before!”

“I do not fantasize about Luffy getting eaten!”

“I would rather follow neither, thank you very much.”

To prove that Arlong’s teeth meant nothing, Luffy casually punched a small piece of wall into pieces, with his bare hands. He didn't have to bite a pillar to break it. Arlong was starting to lose his cool and lunged at Luffy to try to bite him again. Luffy reached for Hatchan’s swords that were on the floor near the two of them. He haphazardly sliced them toward the fishman, successfully making him back away.

“I should teach you how to wield a sword. Because you will accidentally hurt yourself like that,” Zoro decided. “You can contribute, Brook.”

“I would love to Zoro-san.”

“I see you two decided that without me, huh?”

“You still have an option to not do that, but if you keep trying to use swords, then you should at least know the basics. You did the same thing against the straw dude’s men, and almost hurt yourself, and me multiple times.”

“You got a point there.”

“I can teach you when we finish for the day, or I can do it when we defeat Kaido. I don't care when.”

“We can do both?”

“Yeah, we can do both.”

Arlong blocked one of the swords and sent it flying, leaving Luffy with only one sword. He bit the other sword into pieces. Despite that, the rubberman managed to punch the other in the face, which broke the shark’s teeth.

“OW! My teeth felt that!”

“Of course, I don't know a damn thing about swords, you dumbass! I don't know how to navigate either. I can’t cook. I can’t even lie. I know that I need others to HELP me if I want to keep on living! 

“That’s just how it is,” Luffy smiled at the crew.

“I'm still pissed that my main quality is that I can lie.”

“You can do so much more Usopp, I promise. I just already said something about fighting, so I had to use something else for you.”

“You get off the hook for another day.”

‘We should do something about Captain-bro’s self-esteem.’

“And such a pathetic guy is their captain? They must really resent you. Why should they risk their lives to save someone like you? Someone they can't be proud of, why should you be their captain? What can you do?” “I can beat the crap out of ya!”

Luffy mentally shook away the creeping feeling that Arlong was right and tried to continue watching. He screwed up a lot. No. No thinking like that.

“You beat the crap out of people very well, Captain!”

“Of course I do!” Was that the only thing he was good for?

Everyone around Arlong Park, cheered Luffy on, in hopes that the eight-year-long nightmare would finally end. Arlong told them to shut up just as a new set of teeth grew in.

“That's goddamn useful! I should install that feature on myself!”

“If you can somehow figure that out, go for it. I would have one less person to be a dentist for.”

Arlong pulled his teeth twice more, so he’d have one set for each of his hands.

“Okay, now it's disturbing.”

The shark bit toward Luffy and eventually backed him into a corner. There he seemingly kept biting the rubberman, while the villagers and the pirates looked on in horror at what wasn't a pretty sight. It turned out that the fishman had been attacking one of his own men, that Luffy had hid pulled in front of himself.

“What is with you and human shields? Or fishman shields in this case,” Nami asked her captain. First Helmeppo and now the fishman.

“I do it when it's more convenient. What do you want from me?” Luffy looked at the navigator in vague annoyance. He was a pirate for crying out loud.

“It's a war crime.”

“My existence is a war crime at this point.”

All of that pissed the fishman further and he prepared for another attack, which gave the rubberman time to come up with an idea. When he had an opening, he kicked the shark in the jaw, due to which another set of teeth fell out. The boy picked them up and put them into his own mouth.

“LUFFY! They were in his mouth! You don't know what he has done with that mouth!”

“It's fine,” Luffy laughed it off like it wasn't one of the grossest things he had done.

“Yeah, sure, it's fine.”

Arlong kept attacking and Luffy dodging until the shark-fishman finally got a bite in. But in turn, Luffy bit him back. Arlong was barely phased by it and bit Luffy’s elbow. That however turned out to be a bad idea, as the rubberman positioned the fishman’s head so he could shove his head toward the ground. That made Arlong let go.

“I think that was one of the bites that left a scar,” Luffy said and looked at his elbow. And true to his memory, a row of small scars were around his elbow. They weren't very big, but still noticeable if you looked hard enough.

“But your bone?” Chopper inquired in interest.

“I can't break bones, so those are fine,” the rubberman answered simply.

“Lucky,” Usopp spat in fake anger. Breaking bones was literally all he was doing in fights.

Both of them took a small moment to gather themselves, but by the time Luffy managed to get himself up, Arlong had disappeared. Nami warned him to be aware of the water, and the boy noticed that the fishman was swimming around there. The fishman declared to himself that no one was able to surpass his speed in the water.

“Y’know what? If water wasn't an issue for me as a Devil Fruit user, I would have him beat with only Gear 2. Maybe even with no gears”

“Absolutely, but water is an issue, so we will never know.”

Arlong torpedoed out of the water, forcing Luffy to dodge and sending himself into the house. He did it again, still not piercing the rubberman. After two more torpedoes, he jumped back in the water. Despite everyone, mostly Usopp, telling him to run or hide, Luffy refused to do either.

“If I hide, I can't win against someone.”

“No, yeah, that's fair enough, but I was also a full-on coward trying to make others into cowards as well.”

The rubberman had a goal of breaking the shark’s nose, so that was the reason he refused to move from where he was. He prepared a Gum-Gum Shield right in time for another attack. Arlong’s nose did not stab him as his fingers held back the shark’s head. 

“That's a clever tactic, honestly,” Robin noticed. With Luffy’s powers at the time, that was pretty much the only thing he could've done to prevent a stabbing.

“Next time you need to fight a fishman, make sure to lead them as far away from water as you can,” Jinbei gave advice just in case.

“I would rather fight them in the water. There is more of a challenge to it,” Zoro settled on that option instead.

Jinbei sweatdropped.

“You do that, I will lead them into the desert.”

The force of the attack sent Luffy flying, while Arlong briefly disappeared out of sight. When he showed back up again, Luffy was knocked off the wall he was perched on and fell back toward the water. But before he could get too close, he used a Gum-Gum Net to catch the falling fishman. Next, he used a Gum-Gum Spear to smash the fishman into the concrete, all the while correcting his own direction.

“Is it just me, or does everyone get creeped out when Luffy stretches his fingers?” Sanji suddenly confessed.

“You're not the only one,” a few other members admitted.

Luffy, being the gremlin he was, stretched his fingers near the members that were freaked out by that. He found their reactions hilarious, so he was laughing the entire time.

Zoro found it as hilarious, so he was quietly snickering to himself.

Arlong was not knocked out though and opened his eyes again. Sanji noted that the fishman’s eyes had changed to match the look the Sea Kings had when they were about to attack. Nami mentioned that she had never seen her former captain with eyes like that.

“Jinbei, clarification. Will every fishman’s eyes change like that or is that just a shark-fishman characteristic?”

“I think it is just a shark-fishman characteristic because I don't think I've seen anyone else’s eyes do that. I also do not know if my eyes do that. I'm not one to get enraged.”

“Maybe because whale sharks are docile in general?”

“Could be.”

Arlong grabbed Luffy by his hair and spun him around like a toy, eventually throwing him on the ground. He was not hurt, but he was slightly shaken up. He didn't have any time to think things through as the fishman was attacking again. While he was doing that, Arlong stuck his hand through a wall and pulled out a weapon.

“I wouldn't want to get stabbed by that, for sure.”

“And you want to get stabbed by everything else?”

“You know what I mean.”

Nami identified the weapon as Kiribachi. It was a giant black pole with six shark tooth-shaped black blades on one side, resembling half of a saw shark's snou t. Arlong kept swinging the blade at Luffy, destroying his house piece by piece. The villagers kept yelling at the rubberman to run. 

“The way he is going, I would say he doesn't care what happens to Arlong Park,” Chopper noted.

“He was beyond that point. He just wanted to get rid of Luffy.”

“Why does everyone want to get rid of me? I'm a joy to be around.”

“Not when you are trying to wreck everything someone stands for.”

Eventually, the duo disappeared inside the house, away from everyone’s sight. Nami recognized the room’s position. Luffy was wondering where he had landed and noticed all the paper that was lying around. Arlong pointed out that it was the map room, the room where Nami worked in. The shark was proud of how many maps Nami had drawn over the years. His treasure. Luffy seemed to grasp the situation and with controlled anger declared that Nami was his navigator and not Arlong’s. To be continued.

“Your work is his treasure?” Zoro tried to make sense of the fishman. “The work you put eight years into because he couldn't figure out how to make maps, is HIS treasure.” The swordsman was becoming more agitated the more he spoke.

“It’s in the past, you don't need to become angry at this anymore,” Nami tried to calm her crewmate down before he popped a blood vessel or something.

“I need a fucking beer.” He got a beer.

“You're our navigator Nami,” Chopper said innocently

“Even though half of you are sometimes unmanageable, I wouldn't have it any other way.”

Chapter Text

“The End of the Merman Empire! Nami is My Nakama” Arlong was certain that Nami’s talent would be wasted on Luffy’s crappy ship. To him, the girl was a genius.

“He is technically complimenting me, but I feel so insulted,” Nami grumbled.

A pen fell off a desk that was in the room. It was covered in blood. Luffy took note of that, while Arlong went on about how he needed Nami to take over the world and put his Kiribachi against the rubberman’s neck.

“If you needed her this bad and her maps are the key to ruling the world. Why haven't you succeeded in eight years, mh?” Luffy mocked the fishman that was on-screen. He was already tired of hearing that speech when it happened two years ago and it was as infuriating in the present.

“How could you possibly use her better than I can?” Luffy calmly put the pen back down again and grabbed one of Kiribachi’s blades. Arlong quietly noted that he couldn't use his weapon. A few seconds passed and Luffy broke the blade he was gripping. He was pissed. “USE? What do you take her for?” “Inferior race, but still a smart woman. If the rest of the human race are little rats, she is a cunning cat. And she is a cute one to boot.”

Nami gagged at the last sentence. If she stayed with him longer, what would’ve happened?

“I’m going to filet him,” Sanji shook in his seat.

“You can fucking filet him with one of my swords, I’d like to make him hurt as well.”

Luffy, still incredibly pissed at Arlong, smiled at the swordsman and the cook that were unintentionally talking to each other again. He was sure neither of them noticed that they had gotten along, albeit over wanting to kill someone. They were going to be fine. Arlong was not going to be fine.

“Putting aside that Arlong is a creep, is it a possibility that you might have used Haki to stop the blade? You were sitting and I doubt that you could've just stopped it while everything was stationary like that,” Brook asked Luffy, even when he was sure he wouldn't get an actual answer out of the boy.

Like the skeleton predicted, Luffy just shrugged because he really did not know. He had awakened Conquerors and Observation during Marineford, but as far as he knew, Rayleigh helped with Armament.

Suddenly Luffy kicked the table through the wall and subsequently continued trashing the room further. While Johnny and Yosaku were glad that the table was not Luffy, Nami just stared at the desk in confusion.

“Thank you for trashing the room,” Nami quietly thanked Luffy.

“No problem, anything to save a friend.”

Nami thought back to the time she first moved into the room. Supposedly everything she needed was in the room. Luffy tricked the fishman to cut up some of the maps that were in the room. “My sea maps!”

“Yours? If I weren't raised better, I would be saying things that are very against my nature,” Brook seethed. He felt like some memories they were going to watch were going to make him curse. And he did not curse.

“Any bets on when the skeleton is going to curse for the first time?” Franky asked Zoro.

“I’m gonna say the Enies Lobby thing, that has the potential.”

“Then I’ll say Marineford. What are we betting?”

“The one who loses will have to eat the hottest pepper there is. If neither are correct, both are going to eat. Deal?”

“Deal!”

“What have you two been whispering about?”

Nami continued the flashback by remembering how Arlong caught her trying to create a fake map and backhanded her onto the floor.

Sanji demonstrated his language skills. Everyone else just agreed with him.

Arlong had Luffy by the throat again, still pissed about the destroyed maps. Despite that Luffy continued on his quest to destroy the room. Nami cried while she whispered her thank-yous. Back inside Arlong had managed to bite Luffy’s neck.

“OW! Not SUPER!”

“I think I have scars from that as well… Yup I see a few.”

“It's a wonder you aren't a massive scar tissue. You too Zoro.”

“I’m just thick-skinned.”

“If that's what you call magical, go for it.”

While he was struggling to pull the fishman off of him, the rubberman broke the nose the older man was so proud of. That made Arlong let go instantly. With a really serious expression, Luffy once and for all declared that he will destroy that room.

‘That’s a scary look…’ everyone prayed to whoever listened that they would never be on the receiving end of that look.

“Congratulations on breaking his nose!”

“Thank you, one of my proudest achievements.”

“Really?”

“No… I honestly forgot I did that.”

Luffy sent one of his legs through the ceiling while Arlong latched onto his side. With a Gum-Gum Axe, Luffy smashed Arlong’s head through multiple stories, bringing the entire Arlong Park with him. The surrounding people decided they were better off running further away so they would not get caught in the rubber. Nami was very hesitant to go.

“Took him down! Took him down! Took him down!” Franky and Usopp chanted excitedly.

“I see the fight was for your liking, Franky,” Luffy laughed along with the duo’s chanting.

“Very much so Captain-bro!”

Jinbei quietly looked away and tried to keep his emotions in check.

“All I’ve learned with the Arlong Park moments is that the Weather Witch doesn't have a bad bone in her body,” Zoro teased the navigator and subsequently got punched on the head. That sentiment confused him as much as everybody else. He was getting too soft again. Was that bad?

“You are one to talk!”

“Why are you two arguing about which one of you is the better person? In reverse.”

“SHUT UP!” 

The rumbling of the Arlong Park shook loose a piece of a gate that Zoro had fallen asleep under. That piece fell on him, which in turn woke up the now confused swordsman.

“Usually I would be mad at you for falling asleep at such a crucial moment, but since you were seriously injured and probably needed the nap, I will let you go without raising your debt.”

“Thanks? I'm not a hundred percent sure whether my sentiment from earlier carries its weight anymore.”

It took a bit for Luffy to get himself out of the rubbish. When he did, he took a second and then yelled that Nami was his Nakama. That was the queue to everyone that the battle had been won. The villagers were overjoyed by the change their lives were about to have and jumped around in joy. They threw their savior into the air while he seemed as happy about his deeds as anyone else. Usopp praised his captain, but desperately tried to hog some attention as well.

“You are very appreciated, Usopp,” Robin patted the sniper's head with one of her extra arms. Luffy stretched his arm to do the same. Usopp felt really appreciated.

Nami gave Luffy back his hat and gave him an awkward smile, followed by a high five.

Nami took the straw hat she had still been wearing and plonked it back where it belonged. Luffy gave her a smile and a hug, hoping that she felt better about life at that point.

She was their Nakama.

Right after that Nezumi showed back up again. He had enjoyed the show and was thankful that someone had defeated the fishmen, as now he could get the pirates’ bounties and Arlong’s riches. While he was talking, Zoro had made it back to the main area and grabbed the marine by his coat. The Straw Hats beat up Nezumi and his cronies.

“Scumbag.”

“Me or the marine?”

“Marine of course! Sorry for saying it at a weird time.”

Nami got her punch in as well and instructed Nezumi to clean up the Arlong Pirates and to help reconstruct Gosa village. Furthermore, he was to give back Nami’s money and not to touch Arlong’s money as that belonged to the villagers. While the Captain was fleeing, he promised that after messing with him, Luffy’s name was going to be big.

“Isn't that a good thing?”

Genzo thought back to how the entire mess with Arlong started and laughed about how they were saved from pirates by pirates. Nezumi was at his base and was calling the Marine Headquarters. He reported that Luffy’s pirate crew was able to take down Arlong and the other fishmen. He wished to place a heavy bounty on “Straw Hat Luffy”. Furthermore, he sent a picture of the rubberman to the guy on the other side of the den den mushi. It was a picture of him smiling innocently toward the camera with Usopp in the background. To be continued.

“Is this the first time someone called you your epithet?”

“People called him Straw Hat before, but I think that was the first time it actually became official.”

“Is your name Luffy?”

“It's OUR bounty poster.”

“I can lend you like… one million berries from my bounty if you really need it.”

Chapter Text

“Setting off with a smile! Farewell My Hometown, Cocoyashi Village!” The news of the fall of Arlong spread like a wildfire and the preparations for a party were started almost immediately. 

“Now that's my kind of place,” Franky hollered. He loved a good party, possibly as much as his captain.

“Oh dear lord, please do not let Luffy bother me with his food wishes,” Sanji quietly to anyone who would listen. Don't get him wrong, he loved to cook, but when Luffy sees a massive amount of food he cannot eat, the cook was suffering as a consequence.

Nami may have shed a tear at the fond memories. Usopp and Chopper cried because they were emotional people.

Nojiko was sitting on the sidelines, enjoying a nice mug of beer, when the boy that Usopp and her were talking with a while ago, showed up. Chabo had checked out the remainder of Arlong Park. The boy wanted to know who managed to defeat the fishman and Nojiko directed him toward Luffy, who was stuffing his face a little bit further away. Chabo did not seem too impressed.

“I really should work on my image or something. I'm getting tired of everyone not believing I did some awesome shit,” the rubberman grumbled.

“I think you should stay the way you are, seeing the understanding on enemies' faces is worth it, isn't it?” Jinbei counter-offered to the grumbling man.

“I guess so, yeah!” As fast as the bad mood came the good mood took its place, and the Straw Hats were glad that Luffy still had that simple-mindedness in him.

Sanji and Usopp were sitting outside the doctor’s house, where Zoro’s agonized screams came from. The doctor was correctly patching up the swordsman’s injuries, seemingly without any anesthetics. Johnny and Yosaku were already sound asleep. 

“How can they sleep through that?” Brook cringed. Inwardly of course.

“Those two could sleep through a war if necessary,” Zoro explained.

The doctor was angry that the pirates did not have a doctor on board. Luffy seemed to like the idea of having a doctor, but he was still more fixated on getting a musician. Through pain and confusion, Zoro tried to figure out why having a musician was more important than a doctor. Luffy simply explained that pirates loved to sing.

“Luffy-san, I’m glad that my job is that important, but doctors generally do come first,” the skeleton purposefully neglected the fact that Rumbar Pirates also did not have a doctor for a while and were just a boat full of musicians.

“We got Chopper first anyway, so no harm done.”

“By the time you got to me, there were several harms done!”

“But you fixed them…”

“Not the point.”

Luffy turned his attention to the whereabouts of Nami. The navigator was at the edge of the cliff where Bellemere’s grave was. Both Genzo and Nojiko found her, and Nami asked them whether her mother would stop her from becoming a pirate. Genzo decided that the former marine would stop her in a heartbeat.

“Never been one to listen to rules, so…” Nami chuckled.

“I don't think any of us have been,” Zoro added.

Nami confirmed that she would not have listened to Bellemere anyway, which made Genzo laugh and state that the two girls were definitely Bellemere’s kids. A second later he wanted confirmation that Nami had made up her mind about joining the Straw Hats. The sheriff just told the girl what she felt was correct.

“I don't think I could've made a better decision,” the navigator smiled.

“I’m glad.”

The festival was still going and did not give any signs of stopping. Zoro and Sanji had found a quiet corner to sit down at. The cook expressed interest in the swordsman’s wounds, to which the latter just mentioned that getting a good night's sleep would fix him right up. Zoro complained about the party continuing after three days.

“Three days? Where was I when this was happening?” Franky pouted.

‘We used to get along, huh?’ Sanji stared at the screen with an unidentifiable feeling creeping up inside him.

“Don't worry Franky, we will have a bigger party when I manage to kick Kaido’s and Big Mom’s ass.”

“I’ll hold you to it, Captain!”

Luffy snuck up on the two and demanded to know what kind of melon Sanji had eaten earlier. Sanji told him that it was the Namu-Hamu Melon and that he did not remember where he found it. By the time the cook finished talking, Luffy had already run off.

“I never found that melon,” Luffy pouted

“I can make it for you later, so stop pouting.”

“Yay!”

Sanji decided that he felt full and went to pick up girls. Zoro noticed that his mug was empty and went to sleep. Usopp had climbed on several tables and was orchestrating a singing event about his many achievements. 

“Somehow this is the most ‘you’ thing you have done yet.”

“Don't say that, I’m embarrassed!”

“At least you're embarrassed,” Zoro pointed out, silently being glad that Usopp had grown up.

Nojiko was teasing Chabo for not being overdramatic about his dad not living to see the festivities. The boy admitted to thinking about that but decided to think about his future instead. Nojiko pinched him for being too mature.

“Kids shouldn't be so mature,” Robin mentioned offhandedly.

“They really shouldn’t,” Brook agreed with the archeologist. 

Nami was in the doctor’s house, where the latter tried to remove the Arlong Pirate’s tattoo that was still on the girl’s shoulder. She thought back to the time she sobbed to Nojiko about having the tattoo when she wasn't Arlong’s Nakama. A few years later the older of the two had gotten tattoos of her own so Nami wouldn't feel so alone.

“I am very sorry for calling her names earlier,” Usopp called out.

“Trust me she did not take that to heart,” Nami assured the sniper. She dragged her hand over the tattoo, thankful that it could be removed.

“Y’know, Luffy, I have a kind of weird idea,” the navigator continued speaking.

“I’m listening.”

“What if we all get a tattoo with our Jolly Roger on it? Like Jinbei has from his Sun Pirate days, or like Whitebeard’s crew had the tattoos.

“I’m not against it, if everyone else is on board, then why not. We just have to find Usopp a thing to make tattoos with.”

“We have already given me the tattoo artist job? I’m down though.”

The rest of the crew followed suit by agreeing to the tattooing. Even Brook, who had no clue how tattooing him would even work. 

“Well that's settled then! We win Wano and get tattoos,” Luffy gave the decision on the subject.

“We win Wano?”

Nami presented the doctor with the design for her new tattoo. Back outside, Usopp was on his one-hundred-and-eighty-fifth song. 

“Goddamn, dude!”

Genzo was still standing by Bellemere’s grave pouring alcohol on the gravestone. He told the dead woman that her daughters had grown into fine people. He also promised to live his life to the fullest. The serene moment was ruined by Luffy, still on his quest to find the Namu-Hamu Melon. Luffy failed at giving sympathy, but Genzo had other business with the boy. “If you ever take Nami’s smile away, I’m gonna hunt you down and kill you.”

“I’ve been trying to keep that promise. Because I feel like he would succeed with his end of the deal,” Luffy chuckled nervously.

“Gen-san…” Nami sighed at the sheriff’s overprotectiveness.

“It's been two years and you're still alive, so I would say that you are succeeding.”

“I would like to add to Genzo’s sentiment.”

“Sanji. Sush.”

The village had partied itself to sleep, including Usopp, who had fallen asleep on the tower of tables that he had been singing on. The island was calm. In the dead of night, Nami was dragging a huge bag into her house. It had a note that announced that the treasure would be for the villagers.

“You and giving away money. Unheard of one might say,” Robin teased.

“Don't worry I got my share of it,” Nami replied mischievously.

The navigator picked up a picture and remembered a day when the three of them celebrated the day when Bellemere found the two kids. After a few more memories Nami took one last look at the house she grew up in. When she turned back around, Bellemere was sitting on one of the chairs. Nami told her mother that the ordeal was finally over. She was going to leave the island and was going to be okay. She was going to draw maps only for herself. Basically, she explained everything to the memory of her mother. Eventually, Bellemere disappeared.

“That was so sweet,” Franky cried.

“For a second I thought she was actually there,” Chopper admitted timidly.

“I sure wished she was, but no, that was just my imagination wanting closure.”

“Did you get it? The closure?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Good.”

When the navigator was about to leave the house, she felt someone push her. When she looked back, there was no one there. She however did not freak out but found it comforting.

Luffy smiled softly. He had experienced something similar back on Rusukaina when he was getting ready to go back to Sabaody again. And it felt good.

“Ghosts, I guess,” Zoro tried to find a reasonable explanation for that. Perona was able to make ghosts, so why not.

In the morning the Straw Hats were making sure that the Going Merry was ready for another voyage. Johnny and Yosaku were on the pier saying their thank-yous and goodbyes. They were going to continue their bounty-hunting career but hoped that they would cross paths again. 

“Goddammit, I actually miss them now,” Zoro whined very uncharacteristically.

“When we finish this, you should write them a letter.”

“I just might.”

“But the mail might be tracked-”

“Screw that, I’ll get it through to them somehow.”

Sanji noticed that Nami wasn't on board yet, and Zoro said that she wasn't coming. That ignited a small fight between the two of them, as Sanji’s biggest reason to be onboard was the navigator. Usopp found it logical, as Nami did not have an actual reason to be a pirate anymore.

“You do have a point Usopp, but I wanted to try the different flavor of piracy.”

Nojiko had found the treasure Nami had left in the house, which freaked Genzo out momentarily. The girl in question arrived at the shore just in time for leaving. She gave the order to start the ship and started sprinting through the crowd. She weaved through the people who were trying to stop her from leaving before anyone could thank her. Not only that, but she leaped an impressive distance to Going Merry. Nami lifted her shirt to reveal a ton of wallets she had stolen from the villagers.

“That's more like you!”

“That felt more like me as well. Ahh, I haven't had a chance to pickpocket someone in a while. My skills are going to rust like that.”

“Please don't pickpocket any of us, we are already broke.”

The need to thank the girl turned into rage about their missing wallets, but Nami seemed more content than ever. Usopp and Zoro were discussing whether she was going to turn on them again since her behavior hadn't changed. Genzo reminded Luffy about their promise and got a thumbs up in return.

“Do not imply I will betray any of you again!”

“Sorry.”

The doctor gave Genzo Nami’s new tattoo design to look at. While he was looking at it, Nojiko noticed that Genzo’s pinwheel was missing. He no longer needed it and had planted it on Bellemere’s grave. His thoughts revealed that he had started wearing it because that was the only way Nami wouldn't cry when seeing his face. To be continued.

“I need to figure out how to do Gum-Gum Pinwheel again, so it wouldn't work out like…that. I disrespected the meaning of the pinwheel,” Luffy quietly muttered to himself.

“I don't know how you will fix it, but please do.”

“Also I like your tattoo design, Nami-san,” Jinbei redirected the conversation away from Luffy’s muttering.

“Thank you! I designed it.”

Chapter Text

Nami was arguing with the mail bird about the increased price of the newspaper and threatened to not buy the next one if the price was too high. Usopp asked why she was even worried about money if she did not need to save her village from Arlong anymore. In her mind, it was exactly the reason why. She could have the money for herself.

“And maybe it's a coping mechanism,” Nami admitted when some members looked at her with disbelieving looks. “Not the worst one I could have all things considered.”

“Us being in debt is a part of it?”

“Yes. If you're in debt, you can't leave me, because every single one of you has a stupidly strong sense of duty,” the navigator said nonchalantly, before realizing how sad that statement sounded.

“I promise we will still be here without the debt,” Chopper said carefully, just so he wouldn't stir the dense atmosphere too much.

“I think we can save that conversation for later,” Luffy said quickly, he was not equipped for a spur-of-the-moment therapy session, so he rather pushed it further away. He needed to spend time with Nami anyway, after all the Arlong stuff.

“Yeah, let's talk about it later,” Nami agreed. She had not meant to reveal any of that and she definitely did not want to dissect that right away.

Luffy was trying to steal one of the tangerines, that was now growing on the Merry, but failed and fell onto Usopp. The sniper had been working on his Tabasco Stars, which like the name implied needed Tabasco sauce. When Luffy fell, he got the hot sauce in his eye.

“That must have hurt!”

“No shit,” Usopp spat. He was about to threaten Luffy with payback, but then remembered he technically got it during Water 7. Now he was sad.

Sanji was revealed as the person guarding the tangerine groves and Zoro realized that Nami was using the cook as her personal tool.

“She does not use me as a tool, I am very purposefully her servant.”

“Kinky.”

“I will kick you through space."

A piece of paper fell out of the newspaper and turned out to be a wanted poster. It turned out to be Luffy’s “Bounty! Straw Hat Luffy Becomes World Famous”

“It will be a little bit until you're world-famous, but you were getting there.”

A sōzu was shown in front of a building. Several Marine men were inside the building listening to a green-headed man discuss the downfall of Arlong, Krieg, and Buggy. The man slapped Luffy’s bounty poster on top of the posters of the mentioned three. All in all the rubberman had a much higher bounty than any of them.

“Oh so that's how they assign bounties,” Zoro realized.

“It's interesting to see both sides of the story, to be quite honest,” Brook mused, and multiple people agreed with him.

“Jinbei, how big is your bounty?”

“Four hundred and thirty-eight million, why?”

“Arlong’s bounty was twenty million, what the hell went wrong?”

“That's the price you pay if you want to do things easily.”

One of the marines went outside to address the hundreds of troops standing outside. He told the ones that wanted to run to do so as there was no room for weakness in the fortress of peace. They were there to exterminate evil, in the name of absolute justice.

“Absolute justice is the worst one of them,” Luffy said nervously. He had had enough of that.  

Jinbei sighed at the small tremble in the rubber-man's voice that no one else picked up on. That topic still seemed to be a delicate one.

Suddenly the scene switched to the house of Kaya, where Merry presented his master with the poster of Luffy. Rather than noticing Luffy, the girl noticed the back of Usopp’s head.

“Kaya!” Usopp announced happily. 

“Contain yourself, don't rub your relationship in our faces,” Sanji said without any malice just to tease the sniper. 

“I DON'T HAVE FEELINGS FOR HER NOR AM I IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH HER!” Usopp had a furious blush on his face while he was yelling that and definitely did not fool anyone. Sanji just chuckled.

“She seems to be doing much better,” Chopper noticed happily.

“I'm studying to become a doctor so that I can help people. My dream and Usopp-san’s dream… The day when they’ll meet again and become one will arrive someday. I'm sure of it.”

“You may not have feelings for her, but I can't say the same thing about her,” Zoro told the now catatonic sniper at the end of the couch.

“I think he is already as dead as I am, yohohoho!”

On a marine base, Coby and Helmeppo were washing the floors. Coby noticed the new wanted poster and was over the moon that his friend had taken a step toward his dream. One marine went downstairs to show the poster to a prisoned Axe-Hand Morgan. He was not too happy about that.

“Shishishi, Coby advanced so quickly,” Luffy laughed proudly.

“I forgot Morgan existed…again.”

“He is the dude that was about to execute you! How can you forget him? He has a metal jaw!”

“He was weak.”

“Of course, that’s your answer.”

The scene advanced to a ship with a cat head on the bow.  Captain Kuro sat in a dark room, with Luffy’s poster next to him. He seemed to not like the news or hate the news.

“So we did genuinely force him back to the life of piracy.”

“You do not run away from being a pirate. You can only quit when you're too old or injured to continue,” Luffy voiced at that.

“True, true.”

At Baratie the cooks had hung up the picture onto the centerpiece. Zeff stared off into the distance on the balcony and remembered moments of his little brat.

Luffy kind of wanted to see Dadan’s reaction to his first bounty but determined that it was not going to happen. They hadn't even seen her on screen yet.

“Why is that geezer so sentimental?”

“Why are you?”

“Keep your trap shut!”

Luffy was overjoyed about his first bounty and kept cheerfully laughing about it. Usopp pointed out that his back was also on the poster, which made Sanji infinitely jealous. The sniper cheered the cook up by promising that he would have a bounty soon too.

“And mine was bigger than Luffy’s first, so suck it!”

“Why are you fighting with me? Zoro is your bounty rival, isn't he?”

“Well, don't want to… fight him… right now…”

“Okay, okay, you had a bigger starter bounty than me, but I’ll always have the current biggest,” Luffy played along and stuck his tongue out at the cook.

Zoro felt mildly weirded out, as his sitting place was between the two, and Sanji outright said that he didn't want to fight the swordsman. They needed to figure this out soon, or he was going to go insane.

The guys, minus Zoro, were excited about going to the Grand Line, as they finally had everything they needed. Nami however thought they were too excited for the danger of their journey. She noted that they would not be able to lounge around East Blue with that kind of bounty.

“And the Grand Line is much more exciting,” Robin said because the constant opportunity for death was exciting for her.

Zoro thought to himself that thirty million berries was a huge bounty and even top Marines would be looking for them, not to mention tough bounty hunters. The crew was going to be in a different league.

“Oh the times, when thirty million was a big bounty,” Sanji sighed with fake longing. He rather had the big bounties and actual competition.

“And here I am with a bounty that could buy us a day’s worth of food.”

“They’ll acknowledge you eventually, Chopper-kun.”

A beat-up Marine vessel was floating around until one of the mail birds descended on it. It was Fullbody’s ship, and he was very drunk at that moment. He was still angry about the way Sanji had acted with him. One of his underlings barged in with the new bounty poster. The marine recognized him and decided on a plan to get himself promoted.

“He just never gives up, does he?”

“At least he is motivated. He has that going for him.”

Fullbody gathered his men, who were a pathetic bunch, and told them that they were setting off. He decided that the pirates were still around Baratie, which got the marines excited for food. At that moment the marine ship sailed past the Going Merry.

“Talk about coincidences,” Chopper remarked casually.

Fullbody confronted the small group of pirates and only got offered pity by Luffy who thought their run-down ship meant that they required help. The marine showed the boy his wanted poster and declared that he was now under arrest.

“I would be extremely pathetic if I got captured by him.”

“Absolutely. No doubt about it. Like a vice admiral or someone I would understand, but him, nuh-uh.”

The marines were readying their cannons, and Zoro agreed to take care of that. He sliced one cannonball that was heading for him, clean in half. Sanji, who was cooking, complained about all the noise outside but continued cooking. The marines tried to shoot one more time, but their busted cannons couldn't take anymore and exploded.

“I've always liked how you slice cannonballs, it always looks so smooth,” Chopper squeaked in awe. And now he could see it happen in slow motion and from a better angle than he usually gets. Luffy agreed with him.

Zoro reached over Robin to pat the reindeer’s head and dismissed everyone who called him biased.

Fullbody and his men boarded the Merry and the first punched Luffy in the face. That backfired as the stretching of the rubberman’s head gave the boy a chance to use a Gum-Gum Bell on the marine. The rest of the marines were quickly taken out by Sanji in a pink apron. The sight of the cook freaked the marine out and he fled back to his ship.

“Yes, Sanji! Kick their ass in your pink apron!”

“You got something to say, you cyborg bastard?”

“Only that it is slightly funny,” the cyborg in question explained as he got a swift kick to the face.

Sanji then announced that the food was ready. On a nondescript island, a couple of guys were keeping watch until one of them spotted Mihawk approaching. The Greatest Swordsman landed and demanded that the men would take him to their captain. One of them ran through the woods until he reached his captain. The captain ended up being Shanks.

“OOOH! Shanks!” Luffy vibrated from the excitement of seeing his role model again.

“I know Mihawk and Shanks used to be rivals, but what does Hawk-Eyes want from him?”

Shanks greeted the swordsman and revealed that he wasn’t feeling too good at that current moment. After the Red Haired asked whether the other was there for a match, the swordsman revealed that he had no interest in battling a one-handed man.

Luffy cringed at that.

However, Mihawk had come across some interesting pirates and pulled out Luffy’s wanted poster. It had reminded him of stories Shanks used to tell about an amusing kid in a small village. When the poster was unrolled, the Red-Haired Pirates who knew who Luffy was, looked shocked. Shanks looked proud.

“So, Red-Haired Shanks has been telling stories to Hawk-Eyed Mihawk, about you, Luffy-bro. So does that mean Mihawk is your uncle?”

“Shouldn't Shanks be his dad, for that to work?”

“He might as well be.”

“I didn't even know that they were genuinely friends. You learn something new every day.”

Throughout all of this, Luffy smiled at the thought of Shanks telling people about him the same way he had told people about Shanks. He wanted to him soon. He missed him.

Shanks decided that he couldn't let Mihawk go that quickly and gave him a mug of alcohol. The swordsman relented and took a drink, while Shanks was getting drunker, even though he had been nursing a hangover five minutes ago. The red-haired man declared a party.

“For some reason, this is kind of wholesome.” 

“The contrast between them is so big. It's hard to believe that they are friends.

“Why is it hard? Luffy is friends with Zoro.”

“Now that you say that, Zoro is like a budget Mihawk and Luffy is a budget, Shanks. It's all connected!”

“You sound like a conspiracy theorist, Usopp.”

“I'd rather not be a budget anyone,” Zoro grumbled.

“I didn't think you would hear me over your alcohol bottle.”

Both Lucky Roux and Benn gave Shanks reasons why he shouldn't start drinking again, but the captain did not budge. Back in Windmill village, people were discussing the bounty on Luffy’s head. Most of the villagers seemed to be proud that their village might have produced an infamous pirate. Only Woop Slap was not happy about the situation. In Party’s bar, people were toasting Luffy’s newfound success. The mayor complained to Makino about pirates. “Dream or…fate”

“Mayor… Makino…” Luffy cried over dramatically. 

Robin did find the scene touching but was more stuck on the mayor’s words about fate. She did not say anything to the captain as she knew fate would not work in his worldview. But could fate have a big role in Luffy’s life? Now that was something to ponder about.

Back on the Going Merry, four of them were standing around Nami who was studying a map. She explained how they needed to go over the Reverse Mountain to get to the Grand Line. Zoro complained about how complicated that was and inquired whether there was a straight path in. Sanji was the one to say that there wasn't and that trying to go any other way would be extremely dangerous. Luffy opted for the most interesting way to get in.

“For once I want you to choose the safest option, is that too much to ask?”

“Yes,” the problem in question answered. He was too much of an adrenaline junkie to go the safe way.

Nami recommended that they stopped at an island that was close to the Grand Line, so they could replenish what they needed. Zoro recognized the place as The Town of Beginning and The End. Nami added that that was the place Gold Roger was born and executed at. That got Luffy’s attention and he decided that he wanted to witness the place where the previous Pirate King met his end. A small person on a small raft and a person on a small-sized boat were both looking at Luffy’s wanted poster. To be continued.

“It was cool to see,” Luffy sighed ignoring the two people in the end. He still wished he could've seen the execution platform for longer.

“I think I might know who those people were, but we’ll see them soon I’m going to guess.”

“Given the clothes, it's pretty obvious.”

Chapter Text

Luffy yelled at himself to raise the anchor, which he did and Zoro got it on board. Sanji and Usopp unfurled the sails, and then the first went to make breakfast. Luffy tried to get Zoro to play tag, but Usopp got convinced instead. Due to some teasing, the swordsman was eventually part of the game of tag.

“It's so easy to rile you up man,” Usopp told the swordsman.

“I wouldn't get riled up if everyone wasn't so annoying!”

“Whatever makes you feel better dude.”

Nami thought back to the time when she met her childish captain of hers, but before she could get far with that Sanji announced that the meal was ready. The navigator brought up Buggy at the table and wondered what happened to the clown man. Luffy proposed that he was at the bottom of the ocean. Zoro wasn't so sure about that and claimed that pirates were extremely stubborn.

“That was very morbid of you, Luffy-kun.”

“Whaaattt? I sent him flying in a random direction! He might have fallen into the ocean. It's as simple as that,” Luffy explained. Was it really that morbid? 

After that conversation, a map was shown and the focus jumped around multiple islands until it landed on one and the real island was shown. Buggy was shown to have finished a raft.

“Definitely not at the bottom of the ocean,” Sanji complained.

Luffy, despite everyone being sad that the clown man hadn't died, was happy to some extent that Buggy had survived. Without him Impel Down and Marineford would've been slightly harder to deal with. He was an ass at the best of times, but he could come through if need be.

The clown declared that as the great pirate that he was, would get revenge against Luffy, for sending him flying. The rest of him was shown finally and he looked ridiculous. The only parts that were left of him were his feet, his head, his arms, and a tiny piece of his torso.

“Holy shit!” Usopp wheezed out, while Franky choked on his spit from laughing.

Some members couldn't even see through the tears because they were laughing that hard.

“Okay, okay. Let's calm down before we die,” Sanji gasped when the laugh attack subsided a bit.

“Good idea!” Luffy agreed in tears.

“Laughter is a good medicine,” Nami discovered. She had still been feeling the effects of her earlier breakdown, but now she was feeling much better. Not the best she could, but still good enough.

“Is everyone still alive? Can we continue?” Luffy asked the crew and got mostly positive answers. Brook was dead, so he couldn't be alive. Skull joke!

The tiny clown got on his raft and immediately got attacked by piranhas. “Chase Straw Hat! Little Buggy’s Big Adventure” Buggy managed to get to the next island and saw a bird chick right away. They had a small staring contest until he decided to eat the bird. Eventually, the clown sent his arms ahead himself and pinned the chick to the ground.

“That’s just mean you, tiny clown!”

“Yeah, he is going for the baby, while he had perfectly good fish by his raft.”

However, before Buggy managed to hurt the baby, a much bigger bird showed up behind him, indicating that he wanted to eat him. It didn't take long for Buggy to run away in fear. The parent bird noticed a trap that Buggy had built and very easily broke it. The bird captured the pirate with ease.

“It doesn’t happen every day that a bird is smarter than you,” Robin pointed out.

“Yeah, that is rare.”

The big bird put Buggy on a plate and attempted to eat him, but had to eventually spit him out. The force of the spitting out sent the clown flying into the atmosphere. Back on the Going Merry, Luffy was watching a hermit crab do its thing. While he was looking at the creature, Buggy flew over the ship, yelling while he did.

“So it wasn't my imagination,” Luffy exclaimed. “It was just Buggy.”

“Coincidences do happen, huh?”

The next one Buggy landed on looked familiar. The man heard some rustling and demanded to know whether someone was there. A voice declared that it was the island’s protective god and that buggy should leave if he values his life.

“Gaimon!”

“Why is he subjected to Buggy? What did he do to deserve that?”

Buggy was faced with the hybrid animals Gaimon had been protecting. The clown was not scared by them and tried approaching them, but was stopped in his tracks by a shotgun shot. He sent his arms to grab the offender from the bushes. Gaimon looked the same as he did when the Straw Hats were on the island, which freaked the clown out.

“That dude sure is a sight to behold.”

“Funky.”

Buggy and Gaimon both declared war on each other and in a moment they were attacking. Buggy grabbed the other and Gaimon took out a pistol and shot it at the clown. Eventually, Gaimon got the upper hand and had a gun to Buggy’s head, who was lying down.

“Fight of the century.”

“Tell me about it.”

The clown did not understand how animals could be treasure, as in his head that word refers to gold and silver. That indicated to Gaimon that the man was not there to poach the animals and after hearing that he was a pirate, the boxed man revealed that he used to be one too. After that, the two of them drank well into the night.

“Friendship can happen in unlikely places to unlikely people,” Robin chuckled.

“Surely one of the weirder friendships on this planet, but who am I to judge? I'm friends with a skeleton,” Franky observed.

“The skeleton is mildly offended by that statement,” the skeleton theoretically pouted.

The two bonded when they were talking about their experiences as pirates and eventually Buggy offered that Gaimon could join his crew. The latter was happy about the invite but refused as the animals needed protecting, and he had grown fond of them in the twenty years he had lived on the island.

“What a SUPER guy!”

“Franky stop crying. You are going to run out of liquid.”

Gaimon noted that someone else had asked him to join their crew a little while ago, and that Buggy would've gotten along with him. Buggy was surprised that there were still youngsters out there. He had run into a horrible kid and that's how he wound up wandering around searching for body parts.

“There are two types of people who have met Luffy,” Sanji chuckled at the difference.

“Also I and Buggy can actually get along if it's needed, so the situation is not that bad,” Luffy pointed out casually.

“Buggy-kun can be self-centered most of the time, but he has that nice side to him. He is just not used to using it,” Jinbei supplied further.

“Im sorry either of you had to spend that much time with him, that you can explain his character to us,” Nami said sympathetically.

In the morning, Gaimon helped Buggy in the making of another raft. The two said their tearful goodbyes and Buggy boarded his raft. He couldn't make it too far from the island though as a giant crab broke his raft. The clown was barely holding on when a ship appeared near him and took out the crab. On the boat was a beautiful lady who picked Buggy out of the water.

“Mellorine, Mellorine! Oh, she is so pretty,” Sanji practically melted onto the floor, before doing a full one-eighty“Why is the clown bastard the one talking to her!”

Buggy thanked Alvida and she denied the gratitude. She revealed that she was looking for a certain man and took out a poster of Luffy. Buggy immediately cursed the rubberman out. The woman offered to team up with the clown so they could hunt Luffy down together. Buggy accepted. The Straw Hats were safely asleep on Going Merry. To be continued.

“Why are grown-ass adults going after a child?” Franky asked before turning toward Sanji. “Even though I wouldn't mind if Alvida came after me if you know what I’m saying.”

“I know what you are saying,” Sanji nodded, while Brook was quietly wondering about Alvida’s panties.

“Who allowed all the perverts to sit together? Someone is going to die from a nosebleed.”

“At least they're doing it quietly?” Luffy tried to find the bright side of the situation. Why did he have to think about the least chaotic sitting arrangements constantly? He couldn't let Sanji sit next to any women, and couldn't let the cook and Zoro sit together. Now he had to worry about the perverted trio sitting together. Good grief.

Chapter Text

“The Wait is Over! The Return of Captain Buggy” The first thing Alvida and Buggy had to do, was to find the clown’s crew. During Luffy’s win over Buggy, the rest of his crew had run with their tail between their legs toward their ship and set sail. One of the crew members noticed that they only had some parts of their captain on the ship.

“What a crew! They did not notice that the most vital parts of the captain were not on board,” Zoro complained. A crew like that could accomplish nothing.

Mohji and Cabaji were discussing where Buggy could've blasted off to. They were worried about their future and Mohji blamed their situation on Nami, while Cabaji seemed to have his own grudge against Zoro.

“Do not blame me for that! I barely had anything to do with it.”

“As if that bastard could take my head, I was almost passed out and I took care of him.”

“Calm down you two, they are just Buggy Pirates.”

Zoro sneezed when Cabaji mentioned him and Luffy questioned whether the swordsman was getting sick. The latter mentioned that he had never gotten sick and Luffy said that he hadn't either. Nami had the same sneezing issue and wondered whether someone was talking about how hot she was. That comment made Usopp blow up one of his experiments, which in turn almost sent Luffy into the water.

“All I got from this is that sneezes might just mean the people are talking about you.”

“This has to be a breakthrough on some subject right?”

“Also what is with you guys and your impenetrable immune systems?”

“Willpower.”

“That is not an answer to that!”

The Buggy pirates had landed on an island and were holding a memorial to their missing captain. Absolutely everyone was crying. In passing, Cabaji promised to take up the mantle of a captain, which did not sound good to Mohji. To figure out which one was going to lead the crew, everyone set up a fighting ring to let the two duke it out.

“That is definitely a way to figure that problem out.”

“I'm just in case going to make something sure. If needed, Zoro is the next one in charge, right?” Usopp asked. It was better to prepare for different situations. 

“I guess so? I did make him my vice-captain a few days ago, so probably yeah,” Luffy decided.

“I'd rather you stay the captain because I don't like the implications of me being the captain.”

“I agree, I would also have Luffy as a Captain. I do not want to follow Marimo’s orders. That would not work out well.”

“I'm glad that I’m liked that much.”

‘Why did Zoro not argue with Sanji?’

Richie gave the sign for the two to start and neither of them managed to gain the edge. At first, they fought with their special weapons and special styles but eventually had to resort to pure fist fighting. The fight went on for an entire day and ultimately got stopped by Richie, who in his sleep had been punching people anyway. The lion became the captain.

“I'm sure he did a better job than the other two idiots.”

“Gotta give those two props, they managed to fight for quite a while.”

“But in the end, still got beaten up by a lion.”

It turned out that the Buggy Pirates had been setting up camp on an already inhabited island and the natives were not happy about the intrusion. It was up to Richie to protect the crew and he attacked the tribe’s leader. Even so, he got beaten very easily and so did the entire crew.

“So much for that.”

Buggy and Alvida were closing in on that specific island and the clown noticed his ship docked near it. When they landed, they noticed the grave that the pirates had made for their captain. Near the grave were both Mohji and Cabaji, still laying where Richie knocked them to. Buggy seemed concerned for his crewmates and the latter was overjoyed from seeing their captain again.

“At least he cares for his crew? That's redeeming quality.”

“Why are you trying to redeem the asshole clown man?”

“I don't know! I just like to see the good in people,” Chopper defended himself.

All three of them huddled together and cried in joy. Buggy got himself together and demanded to know who had hurt his crewmates. Neither of the two could answer that, but Alvida found a spear of the tribe that had attacked the crew. She recognized the symbol as the Bear Claw tribe’s who were famous for being food connoisseurs. And like Alvida predicted the rest of the crew were in a large pot with vegetables.

“Human meat has been said to taste like pork or veal so that soup could be quite good,” Sanji said before realizing what he had just said. His dear Robin-chan had infected him.

“Great! Shut up!”

“Should we be worried Sanji-san?”

“No. No. It was just a very weird observation and even I don't know where it came from. I'm also disgusted with myself!” The cook fumbled his way out of the very awkward situation. 

“Robin says weird things all the time, so let the poor dude be,” Luffy tried to defuse the situation. As a victim of random thoughts leaving his mouth constantly, he knew the struggle.

The crew was desperately trying to convince the tribemates that they taste bad. Some of the people found the parts that Buggy was missing and tried to figure out whether to eat those too. The clown however was not far away and flashily assembled his parts. With the reassembled parts, he could take out a few members of the tribe with just martial arts.

“He can fight without tricks as well? Color me surprised.”

The newly rescued Buggy Pirates noticed their captain and the other three people standing up on a hill not far from the pot. Buggy called his parts to him and finally looked like a real human being. Mohji acquired a cannon from somewhere and the clown ordered that he shot a Buggy Ball at the tribe. The four of them slid down the mountain. Mohji called for Richie and rode him to battle.

“Again, this would be cool, if it wasn't the fucking Buggy Pirates!”

“They really can ruin anything cool, huh?”

The four of them took out the remainder of the tribe and ultimately impressed the other pirates. The clown’s crewmates cried tears of joy for their Captain’s return, while he once again cursed Luffy’s name. One of the pirates asked who the lady was and while Buggy was trying to introduce her, he forgot her name.

“You don't just forget a lady’s name, you idiot!”

All of them got back on the ship and one of them asked what their new goal was. Buggy decided that they were going to claim the head of Monkey D. Luffy. No one had any problems with that.

“I personally have issues with that goal,” Zoro claimed. There was no way in hell Buggy could succeed with taking Luffy’s head, but the idea still sucked.

“It would be weird if you didn’t have problems with it.”

Back on the Going Merry, Zoro noticed an island. Nami confirmed it to be the island where Loguetown was. Sanji was looking forward to finding fresh ingredients, Zoro needed to go to a weapon store, and Usopp decided to take a look at equipment shops, Luffy was generally excited about seeing the place where the previous Pirate King lived and died. To be continued.

“You seemed very obsessed with that town,” Chopper stated while looking at Luffy.

“As I said: that's where the Pirate king was born and where he died. If I didn't see the place, it felt like I would be the imposter when I eventually claim the throne,” Luffy explained with a dreamy look on his face.

“Would you like to have Windmill village to have the same kind of infamy, when you eventually go?”

“Who knows? I don't think it's my time to start thinking about where I would like to die yet. I’m nineteen for crying out loud.”

“That is a fantastic point.”

“Take it from an old man, you really are too young to think about it.”

“That's why I'm not thinking about it.”

Chapter Text

The episode started with a new opening, so Brook was obligated to find another piece of paper and start writing that one down as well. He had completed the first opening throughout the first forty-seven episodes and believed it to be a masterpiece.

The Straw Hats had made it to Loguetown and the captain was impressed by how big the town was. Everyone had the things that they needed to buy, and Luffy instantly ran off to find the execution platform. Even though the crew hadn't figured out where the meet-up place was going to be.

“We didn't lose anyone, so it was alright,” Luffy defended himself before anyone could yell at him.

“According to you, everything is alright if it works out in the end.”

“Yeah? Isn't that how it works?”

While Luffy ran, he was very excited about running on the street that the Pirate King might have walked on.   “The Town of the Beginning and End! Landfall at Loguetown”   Nami was trying on outfits and after dozens of them, decided that she didn't want any of them and left the store, leaving behind a confused store clerk.

“Don't be mean to store clerks, they already have a tough job.”

“Sometimes I like messing with people. Give me a break.”

Sanji was looking for ingredients but was mostly distracted by all the surrounding women. The woman who caught his eye the most was Alvida that was standing against a wall near him. 

“Can we somehow train the dude to not fall for suspicious-looking women?” Zoro asked Robin like the woman could do something about that.

“I honestly can not help you with that problem,” the archeologist sighed. “It would certainly be more convenient if he didn't though.”

“I’ll let you know when I make the cure for stupidity,” Chopper chimed in.

Usopp had found an equipment store, that sold things that used to belong to pirates that returned alive from the Grand Line. At least that was according to the clerk. The clerk tried to sell the sniper a gun that allegedly was the favorite gun of Gold Roger. Usopp fell right for it.

“Ah yes! Roger’s favorite gun was what seemed to be a water gun,” Nami mocked the sniper that had gone red from embarrassment. The rest of the crew just laughed.

The sniper didn't even try to defend himself and just deeply sighed into his hands. 

In the local marine base, one of the marines got faxed a paper containing news that was important enough to inform Captain Smoker, who was in charge of the place. Marine headquarters had received news that Luffy had been spotted in town.

“Smokey!”

“Why are we excited about the appearance of a marine?” Jinbei quietly asked for an explanation from Usopp. He was still too new to know everything.

“Oh. We are on slightly friendly terms with him. He will try to catch us, but might feel bad about it later type of situation,” Usopp told the fishman.

“Of course. Why didn't I think of that?” Jinbei sweatdropped. Why were Luffy friends with multiple marines?

The fodder marine called Luffy an evil villain that managed to defeat multiple strong pirates in the East Blue.

“Evil? This dude doesn't have an evil bone in his body!” Franky laughed at the marine’s idea of his captain.

Luffy just looked at him and quirked an eyebrow. He wasn't goddamn innocent either. He was sure that he had killed at least a few people and did not feel guilty about that at all. What's with the completely non-evil crap?

The rubberman caught Zoro’s gaze and the swordsman got the message and chuckled darkly. Franky sure was living in a fantasy world.

Smoker was confused by the nervousness the other marine was displaying. None of the other pirates that had stepped foot in that town had ever escaped him. He hoped that the pirate would put up a good fight to show that he deserved that high of a bounty.

Luffy whistled at that. His fight with him was less than perfect.

The rest of the crew figured out instantly how the fight went and some wondered how he got out of it.

One of the two marines kept pestering Smoker to give the units some orders so they could help with catching Straw Hat, but the Captain wanted to do it by himself. He then asked about the whereabouts of Tashigi.

Zoro gulped.

Suddenly a small girl came running, extremely happy about getting three scoops of ice cream. Distracted by the ice cream, the girl ran straight into Smoker. The ice cream did not survive the encounter. Instead of getting mad though, Smoker gave the girl some money so she could get herself another ice cream.

“How noble of him!” Brook stated happily. There was kindness left in the world.

“He is one of the seven good marines,” Sanji continued one of his earlier statements.

A pirate called Gally was looting warehouses for their food supplies, so his journey to become the Pirate King would be easier. Smoker confused the pirate for Luffy, as he never took a look at the bounty poster.

“Now I’m just offended.”

Nami had just learned about Captain Smoker from another clothes store clerk. Before the marine came into town the place was a hangout spot for pirates but at that point, there were none that weren't in prison. According to the clerk the Captain might have even had a Devil Fruit.

“Might have? How many other people do you know who can turn into smoke?”

“As we have said, the Blues barely have any knowledge or even belief in the weirder things in life.”

“They will only believe if they see it with their own eyes and even then it's a gamble whether they accept you or not,” Luffy added and got a few concerned looks that he just ignored.

Robin and Chopper backed their captain up. Brook was too old to care whether people accepted him for his weirdness or not, so he never paid attention to it.

Smoker took care of the pirate crew in no time and told his underling that that definitely wasn’t Luffy, as thirty million berries wouldn't be that weak. As a coincidence, that was the moment Luffy decided to make himself known by loudly wondering how he got to the port.

“Whenever Luffy is around, everyone else gets a boost of luck it seems,” Nami observed tiredly. “How can you always be in the most convenient places for other people?”

“I just happened to get there! I didn't want to run into the hands of a marine,” the rubberman argued.

“No point fighting about it. Like Luffy-san always says: It worked out fine.”

Luffy walked right up to Smoker to ask him about where the execution platform was. Luckily for him, the Marine Captain didn't recognize him, as he still hadn't seen the bounty poster, so he didn't immediately arrest the boy. He did note that he had never seen the pirate around town before and the boy confirmed that. Smoker was willing to show him the way with the smoke that was coming from his cigar.

“That's a convenient ability.”

“It sure is and do you wanna bet that Luffy got lost regardless?” Sanji asked Brook.

“We do not need to bet for that. It would happen regardless and one of us would lose needlessly,” The skeleton rationalized with the cook.

“Yeah, you're probably right.”

Zoro was staring at swords and complaining that they were too expensive. His thoughts revealed that he had borrowed money from Nami, but had to pay it back with three hundred percent interest. 

“And that's why have seemingly decided to get swords from several dead men,” Zoro laughed at the realization he had just had. 

“Oh right, both Ryuma and Oden are dead right?” Robin clarified just in case.

“And a dead child. ”

“You did not need to go there.”

“Jinbei, you don't have a debt yet, right?” Usopp quietly asked the fishman, while the other conversation was going on.

“I do not believe that I do.”

“Good. Keep it that way. You are smart and can probably somehow avoid Nami’s prices.2

“I will certainly do my best to act smartly.”

“That still might not save you.”

While Zoro was pissed about his financial situation, his ears caught an argument between two pirates and a woman. The pirates were angry about their boss being in jail, so they decide to bring the woman’s corpse for him to see. Just while they started attacking, Zoro got ready to defend her.

“You do have a brain, huh, Marimo?” Sanji tested out the teasing again, to have some normalcy again.

“More than you,” the swordsman argued back, but both of the men were still hesitant about fighting again, especially with Luffy keeping an eye on them, so they just opted for growling at each other.

Zoro however did not need to do that as the woman took out her sword and took down the pirates by herself. She however negated that awesomeness by tripping over her own feet and flinging her glasses by Zoro’s feet. The swordsman picked up the glasses but accidentally crushed them when he saw her face for the first time. She looked exactly like Kuina.

Nobody said anything for a bit until the swordsman gathered his thoughts again.

“I felt really sorry about her glasses.”

“I don't think that's the main problem here.”

“So the reason you look so uncomfortable around her is because she looks like Kuina,” that was not a question and Zoro felt weirded out by how easily people could dissect his behavior thanks to the show.

“She is a constant reminder of… what I have lost. And it doesn't help that she wants Wado,” Zoro said as calmly as he could muster. He did not know why his hands were shaking the way they did. He should really figure out how to let go of grief or something.

“That must suck,” Chopper said sympathetically.

“It really does, yeah.”

“Next time we see her in person, I’m going to try to make it so that you hang out with her as little as you can.”

“Thanks, Captain, but I need to get over it eventually.”

“By exposing yourself to her? I dunno, but if you think that would work, go for it. I don't know how your trauma works,” Luffy shrugged and decided to let his crewmates figure those things out on their own. He himself was on the ignoring the problem as much as he could train. Whether it worked was an entire can of worms by itself.

“I’ll figure myself out eventually.”

“I know you will.”

Luffy had made it to the inner streets of Loguetown, which did not look entirely safe. He eventually came across a bar named “Gold Roger”. Curiosity got the better of him and he decided to enter the bar. The rubber boy descended the winding staircase that had old and not even recognizable wanted posters on the walls.

“I wouldn't recommend going in there, but I guess it turned out alright,” Franky observed. He had had enough dealings with shady people in shady bars to know what could be dangerous.

“I know that it could've been, but the old man there was very nice!”

“I’m glad that someone here has good experiences with shady bars.”

In the bar, there was an old man who was drinking while facing a skull. The man told Luffy to scram as it wasn't a place for kids and it was going down for good anyway. Luffy however sat down on a stool and told the man that he was curious about the place’s name and was lost anyway.

“Told you, he got lost.”

“Do you get distracted by anything that has the Pirate King’s name printed on it?”

“Yes. You get by anything money related so you cannot judge me on this.”

“I hate when you are right.”

The boy finally noticed the skull on the table and the old man identified it as a skull of a person named Killer Giant. He sent hundreds of people into the underworld, but Gold Roger killed him with only one blow. Luffy was over the moon by the story of Roger’s strength.

“I just hope I can get half as strong as he was,” Luffy said hopefully.

‘Do you not realize you probably already are? You just might get as strong as him sooner than you think,’ Jinbei mused.

“Let's shoot for the stars, my friend. Hope to become twice-no three times as strong as him” Usopp hyped up his friend. And it worked. Too well.

“Let's shoot for the clouds instead. A person three times Roger’s strength might be too strong for this world,” Nami tried to calm both of the boys down because they got too excited and tried to upstage each other by inventing numbers for how strong they wanted each other to become.

The man offered to tell more stories about Roger’s feats and Luffy was more than happy to listen. Back in his days, the Grand Line was an unknown area, from which no one returned. A flashback showed the old man as a younger man when his bar was still full like it should be. Roger was sitting behind the counter, ordering an entire bottle of rum. The not-so-pirate-king Roger revealed that he was going to take a look at the Grand Line. The bartender was nervous about the news.

Luffy was practically vibrating in his seat about seeing the Pirate King in action. It wasn't that stories about him weren't exciting, it was just that actually seeing him do stuff was infinitely more…something that he couldn't exactly put his excited finger on.

“We can see so far into the past? Now that's what I’m talking about,” Robin tried to contain her excitement, even though she was one slight slip of self-control away from vibrating like Luffy.

“This is actually fascinating,” Brook decided as he was missing during those important years of development of the Pirate age.

The bartender tried to gently persuade Roger to not go as no one had ever come back from there, but Roger smiled and told him that that was the reason he was going. After that, the future Pirate King drank the place dry and set sail the next morning.

“Now that's my kind of dude! I feel like I would've gotten along with him,” Zoro declared coolly.

“Roger is like if you fused Luffy and Zoro. Or am I going crazy?” Nami asked Jinbei.

“You are not going insane, I can see it too,” the fishman assured the navigator with a smile. What an interesting man he had decided to follow.

Some amount of years later Roger had conquered the Grand Line and the man was more excited than he should've been. In the present, it had been twenty-two years since Roger had been executed, and that sparked everyone who had a dream to give a chance to the pirate life. But in the present, the town was only full of cowards and scum.

“That is true. Back in my day, most of the pirates were different. There was still honor but in a more…pirate fashion. Murder and all such still happened, but no one was a coward. The difference is hard to explain, but I hope all of you understood what I meant.”

“I think we got the general meaning.”

“Good.”

Luffy revealed that he was also going to the Grand Line and that he set out to see to be like the pirate that Gold Roger was. After the boy had declared that he was going to find the One Piece and become the Pirate King, the barkeep saw Roger instead of the boy.

Luffy for once in his life was left speechless by that. He might have cried if his brain had been working.

“That surely means something, right?” Nami continued gossiping with Jinbei.

“Fate might just be at play here,” he replied. “It sure is interesting, how similar the two are.”

Luffy finally started functioning again and pulled his down far enough so it covered half his face and giggled to himself.

“Something good happen, Captain?” Robin lightheartedly teased the young man.

“Nope. Not at all,” Luffy managed to squeak out. He never wanted to know how Roger had found the One Piece or even how he managed to conquer the Grand Line, but being compared to him was a pleasant feeling.

Those words, made the man want to keep the bar open for a little longer if there was a chance that there were still people out there who thought like the Straw Hat Captain. Luffy got offered a free drink but declined as he didn't like alcohol. He got served milk instead.

“Hasn't that changed? I swear I have seen you drink in recent times,” Franky pointed out.

“Yeah, I kind of started liking the taste of it.”

“When?”

“At some point. I can't exactly remember when.”

“Well, it doesn't matter that much anyway.”

Luffy had sounded slightly awkward answering the question. Nobody else seemed to notice it except for certain swordsman and helmsman. Zoro met Jinbei’s eyes and as inconspicuously as he could, tried to get the answers out of the fishman.

Jinbei, unfortunately, did not have any answers to the question so he could only slightly shrug but was thinking the same thing. Luffy seemingly did not drink before Marineford and two years later he did.

The implication tasted bad on their tongues.

The two toasted to the Eternal Pirate King. At some point, Luffy left and Smoker replaced him. It was clear that the bartender and the marine knew each other. Smoker casually dropped that he was a regular customer and it was implied that he was the one running the bar out of business by catching the pirates.

“Okay, I can see both sides of this predicament.”

“And neither of them is in the wrong.”

Smoker tried to order rum but got the cold shoulder. He got one himself and mentioned the day to have been special. That got the old man's attention. Smoker chugged the rum and said that he still remembered how Roger looked at the end of his journey.

“For a marine, someone is too melancholic about Roger’s death,” Sanji chuckled. Smoker really wasn’t a bad dude.

Smoker also went into a flashback, where he was still a kid. He was running to see Roger before he was executed. He still remembered how even though his hands were in cuffs, Roger held himself with pride. The boy struggled to get in the front of the crowd that was watching the Pirate King walk to his death. To say that Roger looked like a true pirate was an understatement.  “Wealth, fame, power… Gold Roger had attained everything the world has to offer. Even though he was walking to his death, he was literally a king of great pride.”

Luffy and Robin were once again oozing excitement, one more strongly than the other, but it was clear as day that this scene was important to them.

“If I were to get captured with no way out, I hope I go out that gloriously,” Luffy suddenly said with utter admiration in his voice.

“Am I allowed to second that?” Zoro asked. Because damn that was cool.

“You are required to have a cool death. Uncool death are not allowed in this crew… But please avoid dying until you can…”

“Inherited will… The tide of times… People’s dreams… As long as people seek the answer of freedom, these things will never cease to be.”

Everyone was too entranced by Roger’s existence to make any commentary.

Roger made it to the top of the platform and jokingly asked whether anyone could take off his handcuffs. They itched. The Pirate King sat down and waited for his fate. Before the two marines, that were supposed to execute him could do their job, a voice sounded from the audience.  “Hey, Pirate King! Where did you hide all the treasure you found? Is it in the Grand Line? You got it, didn’t you? That legendary treasure! The One Piece!”  Roger laughed .  “My treasure? If you want it, you can have it! Find it! I left everything this world has to offer there!”  The marines had enough and drove their weapons through the proud man’s chest.

“Holy shit…” was the only thing Luffy could utter. That was awesome beyond measure. It even made him forget that the execution looked a bit too familiar.

“Luffy for the love of everything holy, please prepare a speech for when you are about to die. You cannot mess it up,” Nami said half-jokingly, before quickly adding: “You shouldn't hurry with dying though. That would mess up my mood.”

“Someone should give the dude who asked the question a bounty as well. He just might be the reason the Great Pirate Age started,” Sanji pointed out after he had recovered from the scene.

“You just might be right there Sanji,” Usopp agreed.

Smoker got distracted from his thoughts by a marine who was distributing new bounty posters so they could be put up. The Captain was surprised to learn that the boy he had helped earlier was the infamous Monkey D. Luffy. The pirate in question had finally found the execution platform and was looking at it with awe.  To be continued.

“That was so cool!”

“I might just have to agree to that.”

“Might? Robin, you were just as excited as Luffy was. I don't think I’ve ever seen you like that,” Zoro noted and found it hilarious that the woman was trying to deny the excitement to try to keep her calm and collected persona.

“I don't know what you're talking about.”

Chapter Text

“Sandai Kitetsu and Yubashiri! Zoro’s New Swords and the Woman Sergeant Major” Smoker decided to head to the execution platform because he knew that Luffy would be there. He once again refused to have the rest of the marines help him, as he was certain that he was enough on his own. Luffy was in the process of climbing the platform.

“What made it seem like a good idea to climb that?”

“Do not question why I do things. I do not know why I do things so I don’t have an answer for you.”

“Right…”

Smoker confronted the pirate and the boy basically confirmed that he was the pirate he was looking for. The marine declared that Luffy was under arrest, but the latter couldn't care less and claimed that he was going to be the Pirate King.

“Smart. Just tell the marine that you are the future Pirate King, why not.”

Smoker challenged Luffy to a fight, as that was the only way anyone could get into the Grand Line if they decided to visit Loguetown first. Luffy was confident that he was strong enough to beat the marine. However, his first attack failed because he had gotten himself tangled between the steel bars that made up the platform.

“Good first fighting impression there, Captain!”

“Stop making fun of me!”

“Stop doing weird things then!”

When the rubberman got himself unstuck, he tried to punch the marine once more, but got kicked and punched multiple times. Smoker compared the boy to the deceased Pirate King and found it laugh-worthy that the boy dreamed of the same title. Luffy tried to attack again, but this time sent himself flying very high up.

“Luffy, come on! What the fuck was that?”

“I’ll tell you honestly, I also don't know why I was fucking up that badly,” Luffy desperately tried to get everyone off his back about his incapability to fight.

“Either way you couldn't have fought him, as he was a logia and you didn't know Haki. You could easily take him out now,” Nami shrugged. The others were bullying him too hard, so she tried to ease it a bit.

“Thank you, Nami,” the rubberman thanked her quietly.

“No problem.”

Sanji was trying to seduce a lady that he had mistaken for Alvida and was disappointed when he figured that fact out. He heard something and looked up. Past Usopp, who was still shopping, saw Luffy, who had sent himself flying.

“It's always weird when you're doing your thing and suddenly Luffy comes flying through and disappears again,” Sanji voiced what the others were thinking.

“At least it spices up your day?” Luffy jokingly offered an upside to that.

“I mean you're not wrong…”

Mohji and Richie had set up camp in front of the "Gold Roger” bar and had fallen asleep. Buggy and Cabaji were inside the bar playing cards. Luffy kept flying and alerted Mohji to tell his captain that he saw their target. The rubberman finally landed and decided to take a nap.

“If it would've been me, I would've figured out where I was, but taking a nap is also… an option…”

“Taking a nap helps me make decisions.”

“Now that’s where I can agree with you!” Zoro reached over to give Luffy a fist bump. 

‘Idiots,’ Nami sighed. They were her idiots, but still.

Zoro was following Tashigi, even though he didn't know where she was going. The marine stated that he had to pay for her glasses, but had no money. She then started guessing why he didn't have money. He either had a sick mother or his wife ran out of him and he had to raise five kids by himself.

“Those are some theories that chick has, damn.”

“I also don't know where she pulled those out from,” Zoro sighed defeatedly. That woman was a handful at the best of times.

Tashigi led him to the marine base and handed him a bucket and a mop. The previous cleaning man had just quit, so Zoro could work until he paid back the money. She also implied that working for the marines would be a stable income. Zoro did not like the sound of working for his enemies but got guilted into staying.

“So at least two of our crew have worked at an establishment because they broke something? That sure is something,” Franky laughed and got a kick to the shin from the pissy swordsman.

“It wasn't my fault I didn't have any money!”

“It kinda was.”

Nami was walking on the street with her haul when she noticed Zoro doing his new job. She pretended not to see anything, as the swordsman could've possibly been in the marines, and bringing attention to that would have been dangerous. To make his work quicker Zoro picked up two more mops and used Three Sword Style on the floor.

“I’m sorry for assuming something like that,” Nami apologized just in case.

“No need. I get it, it was a logical conclusion. I used to kind of work for the marines and now you saw me in a marine base. Completely understandable,” the swordsman settled the navigator’s anxiety.

“I should try to use Three Mop Style as well when it's my turn to sweep the deck,” Usopp decided.

“I wanna see that,” Zoro chuckled.

The swordsman took a break to look out the window to see Tashigi training. She took out all the other marines who were ordered to attack her. Zoro once again saw Kuina in Tashigi.

“The only thing different about them is their personality. And Tashigi is worse at swordsmanship, but that is not that hard to improve with hard work” Zoro said absentmindedly, having very quickly lost the cheery attitude he had a few moments ago.

“Maybe, and don't take this too seriously but, you could take her similarities as a good thing. Possibly then you could have more than one memento of her,” Luffy proposed carefully. 

Losing someone was a difficult thing to go through and advice like that could be taken one way or the other. He would kill to have any positive memento of Ace, because the only one he currently had was a huge scar across his chest.

“When you put it like that… I have to think about it, but that is not the worst idea you have ever come up with.”

“I’m glad that it isn't, but don't strain yourself over it.”

Zoro felt like embracing that Tashigi looked like Kuina could possibly slightly repair the wound that would never heal. But that theory had to be tested first. There was a possibility that it would hurt worse.

Some marines found Zoro and immediately recognized him as the Pirate Hunter. They had intel that he had teamed up with Luffy and were confused about why he was cleaning their floors.

“I just felt like cleaning some random ass floors. Ever think about that?” Zoro exclaimed at the TV, just so he could get out of the Kuina thoughts.

“Imagine finding a pirate just cleaning your floors,” Usopp laughed.

Zoro took out the two marines effortlessly. That was also his cue to get out of there. Tashigi found the knocked out marines with a small amount of money for her glasses. The swordsman found a swords shop and asked for swords. He put one hundred thousand berries on the table and requested two swords. The shopkeep told him that would only get him two dull blades.

“Well I can see why stealing dead people’s blades is the better move,” Sanji snickered and for once Zoro snickered along, before catching himself and quieting down again. They weren't fighting, but that didn't mean they needed to get along. 

Sanji also quietened down after that. Why was their relationship so fucking weird? Clearly, they could get along if they wanted, but why was it easier to be at each other’s throats?

“If there is ever a time when I need a new sword, I’m going grave robbing,” Brook sighed. “During the two years, I haven't had a chance to look at the prices of swords and might I say, that they are ridiculously pricey.”

“Sucks for you sword users, fists are free,” Luffy said triumphantly.

The clerk took notice of the sword on the other’s waist and stuttered out a request to see it from closer.  After one look at it, the man was blown away, as the “Amateur” had waltzed in with a legendary sword and he wanted to buy it for cheap. When Zoro wasn't budging the clerk raised the price, because he really wanted it.

“There are close to zero situations where I’m willing to give this sword away.”

“Close to zero? Any examples of when you would?” Jinbei asked in curiosity.

“I cannot come up with any on the spot, but I’ll tell you when such a situation comes up.”

Zoro knew exactly that he would give the sword up in situations where the crew’s wellbeing was threatened and nothing else would fix the situation. But he couldn't reveal that, because that might lead the smarter members of the crew to figure out what happened at Thriller Bark too early.

Sanji, Brook, and Robin figured it out anyway. Not that they notified the swordsman of it.

Before the clerk could get any more desperate, Tashigi came into the shop to get her sword back from polishing. It didn't take long for her to notice Zoro, but nothing serious happened, because she thought that someone else took out the marines from earlier.

“Kind of slow isn't she?”’

“She is a lady, goddammit!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

She then noticed Wado on the table and recognized it in an instant. Seemingly Zoro did not even know that the sword had a name. Tashigi noted that it was one of the  21 Great Grade swords and that it was worth ten million berries.

Nami’s eyes almost popped out of her head when she heard the number. If she had no emotional intelligence she would've immediately tried to convince Zoro to sell it. But due to the vague amount of respect she had for the swordsman, she did her very best to not say anything,

“You can say something, Nami. I’m not going to budge, but you are allowed to pester me for the sword,” Zoro said to her like he had read her mind. He was well and truly aware of her money-loving nature, and it hurt her that such a valuable thing was just used for violence.

“Why couldn't you receive a random ass sword? Why is it worth ten million berries? Why do you have a deep emotional connection to it?” Nami whimpered dramatically. 

“Luffy. Pat her head for me. I’m too far and I can't be bothered to get up.”

Luffy complied with his first mate’s request and Nami just smiled at the gesture. The green-headed idiot’s go-to physical affection was head patting and it was kind of cute.

‘Wait. He has multiple famous swords on him. How much would all of them together be?’

The clerk went off on the woman for saying the price out loud and crudely threw her sword at her. Having given up on swindling Zoro out of the sword, he pointed him at barrels that had swords that only cost fifty thousand berries. Tashigi approached the swordsman again, commenting on his habit of carrying three swords and finding similarities to a bounty hunter that did the same.

“How hard is it to make the connection?” Usopp cringed in secondhand embarrassment.

Zoro played along while Tashigi recounted his own persona to him. She mentioned that almost all famous swords were in the hands of bounty hunters and pirates, which was a shame to swords. The ex-bounty hunter just smirked and offered his own explanation to that as inconspicuously as possible. The marine claimed that she was one day going to gather all the legendary swords that were in the wrong hands.

“A noble mission, but a difficult one for sure,” Brook recognized the woman’s goals.

“With the way her swordsmanship is now, she is going to be at it for a while,” Zoro said knowingly. “Because I think that would include Mihawk’s and I think that fits in the criteria but he never told me what grade his sword was.”

“Yeah, that's going to be a tough one,” Luffy agreed with both of his crewmates.

The green-headed swordsman was rustling through the barrels until one specific sword caught his eye. Tashigi identified it as Sandai Kitetsu and strongly advised him to buy it as it should in reality go for one million berries, but only cost fifty thousand at that shop.

‘Eleven million.’

The clerk didn't want to sell it because it was a cursed sword. Zoro said it first though because he felt it. Many swordsmen have died tragic deaths while they had Kitetsu in their possession.  That however did not deter Zoro and he was more than willing to buy it.

“Do you really feel that it is cursed? Haki?” Chopper was curious.

“Could be early Haki, but who kno-” Zoro cut himself off. “Do you want to touch it Chopper?” He as a general rule didn't let anyone touch it just in case, but right then it seemed like it could be safe.

“Me? Is it going to hurt me?”

“It shouldn't. You'll maybe feel something weird.”

“Alright, I’ll try.”

Chopper walked in front of Zoro, who had taken out Kitetsu and laid it on his knees. The reindeer hesitated for a moment before making up his mind and laying a hoof on the blade. Immediately he felt something weird in the back of his mind that he couldn't really identify and that terrified him. As quickly as he touched, he also pulled away.

“I take it as you felt something.” The swordsman stated. He wasn't surprised honestly, it was a cursed sword. He himself had gotten used to the feeling and barely noticed it anymore.

But now he was faced with a different problem. Everyone else wanted to touch it as well. And because he had let Chopper do it, it was only fair the others had a go. A little over five minutes later when absolutely everyone had come to the conclusion that touching it made your brain feel weird in a way they couldn't exactly explain, he could put the sword away again and continue watching the show.

The clerk freaked out over the fact that Zoro wanted to buy it, because it would be vaguely his fault if the swordsman died because of it. To test his luck, Zoro decided to throw the sword into the air and stuck his hand out under it. When the sword got close to his arm, it miraculously spun in a way where it missed his arm by a fraction.

“I know I’m not usually allowed to comment on stupid decisions, but that was stupid,” Luffy chimed in and looked at his swordsman.

“I turned out alright,” Zoro said cheekily and was super close to sticking his tongue out.

“I now understand how that can be annoying,” the rubberman sighed to himself, but then laughed because things did usually turn out alright for this crew.

Both of the onlookers fell over at the result of the bizarre test of luck. Zoro however was not phased and asked Tashigi to choose another sword for him. But before she could, the clerk ran into the back room and emerged with a sword. It was called Yubashiri and it was the finest blade that the shop had. And Zoro could get it for free, Kitetsu included. The swordsman was not going to argue with that.

“Also rest in peace Yubashiri,” Zoro said softly. It was a good sword.

“I need to start performing miracles to get my stuff for free,” Franky gently complained. Engineering tools and stuff like that cost a fortune.

“Same,” Nami and Chopper unanimously agreed.

Luffy finally decided to wake up from his nap and once again tried to find his way to the execution platform. What he didn't know was that Buggy and his associates were still looking for him. They were dressed in cloaks and looked very suspicious. After running for a bit, Luffy managed to bump into the clown, but neither of them recognized the other instantly. Instead, they both asked each other for directions for their personal goals.

“How? What?” Nami was out of words and brain cells to process what was happening.

“There, there Nami,” Usopp offered comforting words in those hard times.

Luffy ran off in the direction that Buggy pointed at and it took a bit for the clown to notice that who he had just been talking to. In the marine base, a unit was sent to capture the rubberman. That was also the moment when Tashigi showed up and was questioned by Smoker for disappearing for a while. The marines that Zoro knocked out showed up as well to inform everyone that they were attacked by the Pirate Hunter. Luffy was nearing the platform again. To be continued.

“Can he stop attracting trouble,” Sanji ran his hand through his hair while complaining.

“It just is what it is.”

“But Nami-san-”

“It is what it is,” whether Nami believed herself was a question for another day.

“I’m not doing it on purpose,” the rubberman in question moaned in protest.

Chapter Text

“Usopp vs. Daddy the Parent; Showdown at High Noon” Tashigi was desperately trying to get Smoker to put more effort into catching Luffy, but before she could get results for her efforts, someone barged into the office. It was a man dressed more or less like a cowboy, and he was carrying three men on his shoulders.

“Oh! It’s him!”

“You have met him before?” 

“Yeah, I had a sniping battle against him.”

“I look forward to seeing it! Not that I can see, I have no eyes! Yohohoho!”

“Also, I love that Smoker just doesn't give a shit and Tashigi gives too much of a shit. They balance each other out perfectly,” Usopp laughed.

“Fuse them together, and you get an appropriate amount of shits given,” Franky continued the sniper’s observation.

Smoker referred to the man as Daddy, and the cowboy identified the three men on his shoulders as criminals. He had dropped one criminal off at the morgue as well. Generally, he was at the marine base to get his bounty money and needed Smoker’s signature to collect it.

“So that’s how it works, huh?” Chopper looked thoughtfully at the screen.

“It’s a pretty simple process, if you don't count the capturing of the pirate,” Zoro answered knowingly. After all, he did that for years.

The Captain sounded disappointed that Daddy was only going after lowlife scum, despite being one of the best snipers the marines had. Daddy replied that he did not want to risk his life because he had a small daughter that he couldn't leave alone. When Daddy was out of sight, Tashigi asked for confirmation that the man was indeed Daddy Masterson the bounty hunter.

“He is so SUPER!” Franky sobbed at the father’s love. 

“And sometimes people are good,” Robin noted more to herself than anything.

Zoro was sitting on some stairs in town and admiring his new sword when Luffy scared the shit out of him. The rubberman asked why the swordsman was doing there and got the same question back. Luffy very proudly admitted that he was lost.

“Why are you proud of that?”

Luffy just laughed.

At that moment, Daddy was walking near them and got surrounded by five thugs. The two Straw Hats opted to just watch how the situation was going to unfold. Before any of the five could open fire, the bounty hunter killed four out of five of them. The fifth was still a child, so Daddy let him run away.

“At least he didn't kill the child,” Brook sighed in relief. He had been worrying about that the moment the thugs showed up.

Luffy was very impressed by the showdown, while Zoro recognized the man as Daddy the Parent. Usopp was walking with a bag full of gadgets that he needed to become a brave warrior of the sea.

‘Right. Carry around a bunch of toys to become a warrior. Great plan me!’ Usopp realized that he had been making a face of disappointment and quickly tried to get rid of it to not be suspicious.

It was too late. Luffy had noticed but left the sniper alone for the moment. There was a moment he had to talk some sense to him anyway.

The sniper had realized that he had forgotten to buy goggles and very loudly discussed with himself that a top-class sniper needed to have top-glass goggles. He was watched by everyone around him. He finally found a pair that he liked, but realized that he had left his money in his backpack that he left outside. While he was going to get the money, a little girl wanted to buy them instead.

“But you had them before we separated?”

“I did. You’ll see how I got them, though,” Usopp said proudly. He had earned them and that felt good.

“You stole them from a little girl, didn't you?” Sanji growled at the sniper, which did not look very intimidating as they were on opposite sides of the couch.

“I did not, thank you very much,” The sniper pouted at the accusation. “I have morals, you idiot.”

Sanji looked away in what he thought was shame. He needed to fight with the Marimo again, he was accumulating too much energy that could only leave in insults, apparently. He usually did not feel like mindlessly accusing people of stealing from children.

The girl left with the goggles and made Usopp run after her, so he could somehow convince her to let him have the goggles. She promised to call the marines if the sniper kept bothering her, but the boy decided to brag about his exaggerated feats as a pirate. When he mentioned that he had thirty million berries on his head, the girl got an idea.

“Just in case, I’m going to say sorry. Again, I have changed… kinda. I do not use Luffy’s accomplishments as my own anymore, is what I’m trying to say.”

“And once again, I say that you have already apologized, so you do not have to do that after every moment where you are like that,” a very annoyed rubberman tried to get that idea through the sniper’s head.

“I know, I just…”

“Feel guilty? I get it, but stop apologizing and accept the fact that everyone knows that you are sorry, and you have been forgiven.”

“I’ll try to work on that.”

“That’s good,” Luffy smiled at him in a way that made Usopp feel like everything actually was alright. Maybe he could figure out a way to forgive himself.

“One apology per person policy?” Franky offered as a solution. Even though he wasn't sure if he could go follow that rule when Water 7 happens. He wasn't sure if one apology would stop anyone from hating him again. But at the moment, he wanted Usopp to be quiet.

“We’ll see about that policy,” Luffy filed that idea away for the time being.

Daddy was behind Usopp, and it was revealed that the girl was his daughter, Carol, and she wanted the goggles for his birthday. The cowboy’s tough exterior crumbled, and he turned into the stereotypical doting dad.

“For some reason, I figure that’s how Zoro would be if he became a dad one day,” Nami observed and simultaneously teased the rough-looking swordsman, that might as well have been a marshmallow in the right circumstances.

Zoro opened and closed his mouth multiple times as he did not know how to respond to that. He couldn't deny it as he was not a father, and he could not agree to it as it would do some damage to his pride and image. So he just shot a murderous look at the navigator and kept watching the show.

Nami’s giggling was distracting, though.

Daddy’s behavior did a full one-eighty when he heard that Usopp had tried to get the goggles from Carol and that he had a huge bounty. However, when he looked through the new wanted posters, the only one that had that bounty was Luffy’s. For a second, Usopp thought that he was safe, but Daddy noticed the sniper in the background of the poster.

“He is one of like two people who have noticed it right away,” Usopp complained. Either no one should notice or everyone should notice. Not that no one but a bounty hunter and his friend.

“At least someone does.”

As a last resort, Usopp tried to convince Daddy that Luffy is an evil, cold-blooded, and devilish man who would come after the bounty hunter if he should hurt the sniper. That threat was accompanied by a picture of Luffy looking like a wild animal.

“That is pretty accurate to how you are when you are seeking revenge for a hurt Nakama, so…”

“If you say so?”

“Minus the claws and things, of course, but you do reek of cold-bloodedness when you are on a revenge journey.”

“Well, I ain't going to go easy on people who hurt my friends.”

“And that's one reason why I respect you, Luffy-kun.” He had seen the determination and cold-bloodedness when he accompanied the young captain to Marineford.

“But I will say this just in case! I will not try to help you if you are just trying to get a pair of glasses back from a kid.”

“That's absolutely fair.”

Usopp doubled down and demanded the goggles, so Daddy wouldn't have to deal with Luffy’s wrath. But the bounty hunter had a better plan and challenged him to a fair fight for the goggles. He handed the sniper a gun.

“Guns are kind of scary,” Usopp admitted quietly.

“Because they are sure to kill?” Jinbei tried to understand the liar’s point of view.

“Yeah… And I don't want to use something that kills for sure. People have a chance to survive my pop greens, so I will not have anything on my conscience.”

“You are an honorable man, Usopp-kun.”

When Daddy revealed his impressive gun collection under his cape, Usopp recognized him for who he was. The townspeople were all running toward the place the two were having their duel, and that alerted Nami about the fight as well. She went to check it out to see who the poor soul was that challenged the best sniper in the East Blue.

“It was kind of out of my control,” the sniper grumbled.

“I know, but all in all, you are the better sniper out of the both of you.”

“The Weather Witch is complimenting people!” Zoro warned everyone else. That had to have an ulterior motive.

“Can't I be nice for a change?”

“Not when nobody can figure out whether it is money-based niceness or not.”

Daddy and Usopp were supposed to walk ten steps, all the while the latter was panicking about his chances of winning. On the eighth step, Usopp threw a smoke bomb and tried to run away, but Daddy shot the gun out of his hand, effectively stunning the sniper in fear.

“So, which one of you is going to tell me that I’m pathetic?” Usopp looked at each of his crewmates, but none of them said anything.

“We could tell you that, but there is no point. As the person you are right now, you wouldn't have run, and you probably would have won the fight. Stop thinking that we are thinking that you are the little run from the start of the journey.”

“Zoro…” the sniper felt like crying.

“So. Get your head up and laugh at your mistakes. You are so much greater than what the screen is showing. Don't worry, I had the same problem at first, but realized that I could easily beat my own ass,” The swordsman chuckled lazily because he knew that he had gotten through to the sniper. At least a little bit.

“Yeah. Yeah! I could beat my ass, and I’m not the person I used to be,” the confession was quiet but more confident than he had been a minute ago.

Luffy gave a quiet thank you to Zoro because he did something in a few minutes that he couldn't figure out in days. The swordsman gave him a proud thumbs up and smirked cockily.

Usopp was still a long way from figuring himself out but had a better foundation for becoming the bravest warrior. He had a chance.

Usopp was groveling at Daddy’s feet and trying to convince him that he was not worth shooting. He briefly hid behind Nami, until Daddy called him out on that. Nami was also the one who let the bounty hunter know what the sniper’s name was, and he recognized it as the name of Yasopp’s son.

“I’m like piecing together what my dad is like from separate people’s encounters with him,” Usopp chuckled.

“And what? He is a good sniper and that he is also a deadbeat dad? Because that's all I’m getting.”

“I more or less focus on the fact that he is brave and a good sniper. Your last trait, will make me cry if I think about it too much.”

Daddy remembered a day when he had a similar duel with Yasopp. They had done the ten steps and both fired at the same time. Yasopp seemed to get grazed by a bullet, but Daddy got a genuine gun wound. The surrounding Red-Hair Pirates encouraged the sniper to finish the marine off as a sign of kindness. 

“I don't think I will ever fully understand the point of that specific rule of a duel, but all you snipers and stuff, do what you want,” Nami criticized. Pride was a weird thing. 

Yasopp was about to do that before he noticed the locket that Daddy had with him. Inside it was a picture of Carol and due to that Yasopp left him alive. The latter liked the idea of a family but claimed to be bad at it. He told Daddy about his situation with Usopp and told the future bounty hunter to always be there for his daughter, as there were already too many hopeless parents like him. Daddy once again tried to get himself killed, but Yasopp just walked away.

Usopp was quietly crying. What about? He wasn't sure himself. It could've been because his dad was almost bragging about him, or because his dad knew that he was feeling lonely. Maybe because Yasopp seemed so uncaring that he left Usopp. Whatever it was, he felt kind of bittersweet.

“He might be a bastard, but he sure has a sense of honor,” Sanji tried to find any good parts to that flashback.

“He is willing to leave everything behind to do what calls him, and that’s why I’m willing to forgive him,” Usopp said as steadily as he could, not sure if he was believing himself, but he did not want to break the fantasy he had had for years about his father.

Luffy looked at Usopp and felt sad for his friend. The dude had lived years with one specific idea in mind of how his dad was, and it was crumbling in front of him. It was probably hard to find out that your dad cares about you, but does not even try to keep in contact, just because he feels like having a family would be too difficult.

In the present, Usopp was crying because he realized that Daddy was telling him that story to give him courage. The bounty hunter had willingly shared a story that was a shame to him, and Usopp told Carol that her father was the bravest man alive. The young sniper had to be brave, so he wouldn't shame the older sniper.

“And I hope I haven't.”

“Definitely not.”

Usopp asked for another duel and Daddy agreed, allowing the younger man to pick a weapon he was most comfortable with. Usopp’s task was to hit a weathervane that was quite a distance away. If he missed, he would die.

Chopper, who realistically knew that Usopp was alive and a fantastic sniper, yelped at the gun being pointed at the sniper.

“Don't do that, Chopper, it is a real man’s punishment.”

“No need to go that extreme, Usopp-san.”

The sniper aimed and, after careful consideration, shot. At first, it seemed like he missed, but Daddy noticed that the boy had made such an accurate shot that it was hard to notice. 

“That was awesome, Usopp! I knew that you were, but watching you shoot is incredible!” Luffy complimented his friend, who was turning all shades of red from the praise.

“I’m the future Pirate King’s sniper, after all, nothing less is acceptable,” the sniper had regained most of his confidence and laughed his proud laugh. The Straw Hats were glad that he got out of his self-hate pit.

“Of course!”

Daddy told the young sniper that he should go to the Grand Line and find Yasopp, while his daughter gave her goggles to Usopp. The liar was left standing dumbfounded in the middle of the street, with Nami by his side. Sanji was approached by someone. To be continued.

“You were lucky that you are such a great shot, otherwise I wouldn't have ever met you.”

“Robin! You have been quiet for so long and this is what you say?”

The archeologist giggled like the situation was the funniest thing in the world.

“Okay, let's see who Sanji was approached by before Robin says anything else.”

Chapter Text

“I think that this will be the last episode for the day,” Luffy stretched. They had been watching for a while and gone from Baratie to Loguetown in a single day. He loved watching the show, but there had been too much information. And Nami definitely needed to fully clear her head.

“Sounds good. I will start dinner when we finish.”

“WOO! Dinner!”

The woman who had approached the blond cook announced that she had been looking for him for ten years. From behind her emerged two men who introduced the woman as Carmen, the number one cook in the East Blue. She considered herself to be a woman of passion and called herself Fiery Carmen.

“She sure is fiery! Hey, Sanji-san did you see her panties?”

“No…”

“Ten years? Wasn't he like nine?” Jinbei decided to ignore the perverts on the other side of the couch were discussing.

“Fiery Cooking Battle! Sanji vs. The Beautiful Chef” Sanji needed a moment to fully process the situation and predictably fell on his knees praising the woman’s beauty. He moved forward and grasped Carmen’s hand, but got hit by a pan for trying.

“A small price to pay to be with a lady!” The cook was practically melting off the couch again.

“I understand that she is beautiful, but get your head checked,” Franky grumbled quietly. How the hell is the cook still alive?

“I sure hope we never have to fight a group of women,” Luffy whispered to his navigator. He’d instantly have one less fighter.

“That would be a nightmare.”

Carmen ordered her two companions to explain why she had been looking for the chef. They presented him with a deck of cards, all having a picture of different chefs on them. Every single one of them had once lost to Carmen. She thought that she no longer had any rivals until she saw a feature on Baratie in a newspaper, that had his picture in it.

“So you’ve been in the newspaper before you became infamous. That’s pretty good,” Usopp admired the cook.

“I guess so. I still would rather be in there for infamy,” the cook smirked. Now if the ladies would be impressed by any of this, that would just make his day. Neither of them commented on it.

The lady had been looking at every nook and cranny for ten years just for an opportunity to battle Sanji. Her companions revealed that Carmen liked to exaggerate, and she had actually only been looking for him for ten days.

“I thought it was weird that she had been looking for ten years.”

“Yeah, honestly I was confused as well, since at the start of the journey of hers. I was still working on the Orbit and no one should've known about me,” Sanji agreed.

“Well, looking for you for ten days does sound… more pathetic than ten years.”

Carmen challenged Sanji to a cooking competition and told him to come to the Cooking Championship on that afternoon. Having done what she had meant to do, she spun so fast that she made it look like she became a tornado and rose to the sky. In reality, she stayed on the ground and fell over from how dizzy she was. None of that phased Sanji as he was still head over heals for her. When Carmen left, Sanji decided that he would not participate in the competition.

“So she is just coocoo?”

“That might be correct, but don't you dare say it like it's a bad thing,” Sanji defended the woman.

“I’m not saying it's a bad thing. Sometimes a crazy woman is all you need.”

“Correct as always, Franky-san. They give you the-”

“Okay, I’m definitely not letting them sit together anymore,” Luffy came to the decision.

“By themselves they are manageable, but after a whole day of sitting together, they definitely rub off on each other,” Jinbei said with concern.

“Good luck, Luffy,” Nami said tiredly and stood up to attempt to derail the conversation of the pervert community that had quietly been formed. “I’ll give all of you crazy!”

“Nami-swan is the perfect example,” Sanji muttered from his new place on the floor. Brook and Franky had half the mind to stay quiet.

“Huh. Usually, I end up on the floor with him,” Zoro realized when he looked at the cook on the floor. It sure was a new experience.

Inside a restaurant, a pissed-off Buggy was eating with Mohji, while complaining about Luffy’s existence. At a table near them, both Luffy and Zoro were finishing their meal. Zoro revealed that he had been hungry before Luffy found him, but didn't have any money. It turned out that Luffy didn't have any money either.

“Why am I not surprised?”

“I don't remember if I even had money when I got to Loguetown.”

“You didn't have any before going into town, and ran off before I could lend you any.”

“Oh.”

While Buggy was banging on his table in anger, he accidentally flung his bag of money right at Luffy. The rubberman took some money from the bag and returned it to the clown. Buggy noticed who he had treated after the duo had left.

“He is so slow!”

“What kind of pirate gives the money back?” Nami lightheartedly kicked Luffy’s shin.

“Luffy is a special pirate, let him live.”

Mohji was tasked with hunting the duo down, but he left his lion behind and ran off in the wrong direction. Sanji had found a market by the pier and decided to give it a look. He noticed one fish that wasn't an East Blue species, and the vendor noted that as the city was so close to the Grand Line, the fishermen could sometimes catch fish from other seas as well.

“That sounds like All Blue, but it isn't. It's just fish getting caught in the wrong ocean currents. All Blue would just have the fish. Probably. It's a miracle sea, I don't exactly know the rules,” the cook explained before anyone could show their connection-making skills.

“Figured it wouldn't be so easy,” Zoro replied civilly. 

“Otherwise it would be all over the news that All Blue is real.”

“Yeah. And I wouldn't be the one finding it,” Sanji had to fight himself, so he wouldn't start rambling about the miracle sea to the others in the middle of an episode. Maybe he could do that during the dinner if anyone wanted to listen.

“I can't wait until you find it!” Chopper said excitedly.

“I don't anyone can,” Robin added, and Sanji could've almost gone noodly again, if he wasn't so stuck on All Blue thoughts.

“Well, I can't wait until the rest of you complete your dreams either,” the cook smiled his kindest smile, which was quite rare to come by. Despite the popular belief, that statement included the Marimo swordsman.

Due to the wholesome conversation, Nami sighed a sigh of relief, that Sanji had been temporarily freed from pervy thoughts.

A little further away, someone had caught an elephant bluefin tuna that had probably gotten mixed in from the South Blue. Sanji remembered learning about that fish when he was a little boy and hearing it being called the gem of the ocean. The cook wanted to buy it and asked for the price.

“If I remember correctly, I helped you carry it to the Merry.”

Sanji flashed Usopp the victory sign.

His request to buy got denied, as that fish was going to be a prize at the Cooking Championships. To get that fish, Sanji signed up for the competition. Later that afternoon, the vendor from earlier announced the start of it. Nami was also drawn to that, this time with Usopp in tow.

“You were just everywhere, Nami-san.”

“A lot of interesting stuff was happening, and somehow the boys were in the center of every single thing. I’m legally required to be around.”

“Ah… Nami-san watched me cook…”

“Can you go back to being wholesome? I miss you from five minutes ago.”

Sanji heard the voice of Carmen and instantly was on his knees again. And once again got a pan to the face. The vendor was announcing the judges, who were all chefs, besides the one dude who had been on his way home from a wedding and was probably black-out drunk.

“He was having fun at that wedding! I haven't been that messed up in months,” Franky said longingly.

“No matter how you try, you just can't let go of that party instinct, huh?” Zoro grinned. As the resident drinker, he could sympathize with the cyborg. He couldn't drink until he figured out Haki when he was training with Mihawk. The first sip of alcohol after months of training was the best thing he had ever tasted.

“When Kaido gets defeated, I will in fact go on a week-long bender.”

“I’ll come with you,” Zoro fist-bumped the shipwright.

“Don't forget me,” Nami faked her annoyance and joined in on the fist-bump.

“At this point, let's just all of us drink until we goddamn drop,” Luffy added himself into the conversation.

“Sounds like a plan.”

“A bad plan, but who cares,” Chopper sighed.

Sanji eventually fought his way to the final round and was pitched against Carmen. The latter went at it in a more unhinged matter than the first one. Sanji was keeping his own pace and did not let Carmen or his companions distract him. Possibly because his mind was stuck on the All Blue.

“I’m hungry now!” Luffy complained suddenly.

“Just a little bit more, and we can eat dinner, okay?” Sanji promised and managed to somehow keep Luffy from complaining any further.

Eventually, both of the contenders finished. After the judges had tasted both of the dishes, they decided on the winner. One of them was about to call out Sanji’s name, but Carmen interrupted him, to say that she couldn't forgive herself for being stupid enough to think she could defeat him. Her thoughts revealed that she had overheard young Sanji declare his dream.

“Or she did know me as a child, I take back my statement from before,” the cook threw his hands up in defeat.

“The world is small, indeed.”

Sanji tried to show her how grateful he was that she thought that but got a pan to the face.

“Three times the charm.”

Carmen promised to return to him stronger, so they could fight again, and Sanji accepted the challenge. Usopp helped the cook with the transport of the fish, while Nami was satisfied by the day’s events. Suddenly, Nami stopped and stated that the air had changed, and predicted that it was going to rain. Luffy was forced to run after his hat that had been taken by a burst of wind. Zoro got lost. The hat landed near the execution platform. Buggy and Smoker both got notified about the rubberman’s reappearance at the town square, just as the boy had successfully climbed the tower. To be continued.

Sanji stood up with a huff and stretched.

“Alright, I’m going to go make food. Find something to entertain yourself in the meantime. Ladies, you can always come to see me.” And with that, the cook left for the kitchen.

“I’m tired,” Nami yawned and slumped against Luffy. She had seen so many things, and re-experienced her trauma, so her mind was ready to shut down.

“I wouldn't doubt that,” Luffy replied, and everyone else agreed. Now then, he had to have a talk with Nami, just in case, and somehow make Zoro and Sanji have a conversation. Everything after dinner, though.

Chapter Text

Dinner consisted of a creamy salmon traybake and oven-baked pork chops, with brownies for dessert. The last episode had made Sanji hungry for fish, and because he was in charge of cooking, he decided to fulfill his own cravings. And of course, the ladies had specially made smoothies. There absolutely wasn't enough for the guys. Don’t look in the fridge.

However, the cook was feeling nervous, despite the calmness that usually accompanies cooking. He knew exactly why. His fight with the swordsman was earlier in the day. Luffy was definitely going to talk to him about it, and Marimo was probably going to be involved. But first, the dinner needed to be eaten. Worrying could come later.

When he felt that everything was perfect, he called the ladies for dinner. The rest could join if they wanted to.

“It’s crazy that we went from Baratie to Loguetown in one day,” Usopp sighed during the meal.

“Yeah! In real life, it took like a week.”

“But it is nice seeing all those things happen again if we don't count the traumatic parts,” Nami added because she was that day’s tortured person.

“Other than that it is nice, I agree,” Zoro chimed in, surprising everyone because he hadn't said anything since the episode ended. Partially because he just sometimes forgets to speak, and partially because he didn’t want Luffy’s attention.

Both Sanji and Zoro knew they were not going to escape Luffy’s attention unless something very weird or dramatic happens. Their Captain just was like that, and that was a good thing.

Eventually, the dinner ended and everyone trickled out, leaving only Sanji to wash dishes even though he didn't need to. Ryo could've magically done them, but the cook wanted some normalcy. And they hadn't seen him in a while. He stayed, waiting for his inevitable future.

Luffy had led Nami back to the living room, so he could check up on her, out of everyone else’s hearing radius. Robin and Chopper might have been listening, but that was neither here nor there.

“So. How are you feeling?” Luffy asked when the two of them had sat down on the couch.

“Are you the therapist we talked about getting?” Luffy sure had sounded like it.

“For the moment, yes,” the boy chuckled.

“Well… I’m doing… okay. Better than this afternoon, but still… on edge,” the navigator tried to explain the complicated mess that was her emotions.

“You wanna talk about it?”

“Maybe a little bit. I don't want to burden you with my trauma on top of yours.” The statement caught the captain off guard, as he hadn't ever mentioned that he had any. He knew that from a logical view, anyone could figure out that he had some. He just didn't expect it to come up so soon.

“Don’t worry about that. I can handle anything!” Could he?

After confirming multiple times that he was alright with her talking about what the Arlong Park episodes made her feel, she started talking.

She recounted how seeing Bellemere die again, in such gruesome detail, made her almost feel like she was a little kid again, running to save her. And how mad she felt toward herself for effectively betraying the Straw Hats, even when she knew that she had been forgiven.

While she was talking, Luffy didn't say a single word, only occasionally nodding and wiping her tears. When she had finished, he hugged her, and she felt those feelings melt away, that's how powerful the rubberman’s hugs were.

“Thank you…”

“No need to thank me, you're my Nakama, I need you to be happy!”

“Just let us do the same,” she looked into his eyes like he had done dozens of times to all the crewmates, to get the message across. “Now! I believe that you have to help Sanji and Zoro figure out why they’re like that.” She stood up and pat Luffy on his cheek.

“R-Right. I just have to find one of them,” Luffy stuttered because suddenly Nami was the one dissecting others' inner selves. He stood up as well and went to search for the swordsman.

Very predictably, the swordsman was in the gym as usual. Upon hearing Luffy enter, he set down the weights he was using and looked at the captain.

“I suppose you aren't here just to chat, huh?”

“I wish I was,” The rubberman sighed and motioned for the swordsman to follow him. He led the man to the kitchen, where the cook had just lit a cigarette and was in the middle of reading a cookbook.

He put the book down and faced both of them.

“You know what I want you to do. Do you want me to be here, or do you want me to go away?”

“You can stay.”

“Okay.”

The swordsman and the cook, the wings of the pirate king, and two of the three main fighters. It was very important that they could at least get along, otherwise, the crew could fall apart. Both of them knew that.

Zoro decided to remain standing, Sanji opted to remain sitting. Neither of them spoke for what felt like an hour, trying to figure out who should open the discussion. Sanji spoke first after five minutes of silence.

“I’m sorry. I started this fight, I shouldn't have said what I said. I know that you do care, and it was wrong of me to claim otherwise.”

“I shouldn’t have said that either, so for that I also apologize. I went over the line.”

That was the start of the conversation Luffy ultimately wanted the two to have.

“I’m going to guess, Captain, that you are not going to let us go yet.”

“It’s good that you both were brave enough to apologize, and if this doesn't go further than this, then It's alright too. But could you two figure out why you fight so much? Most of the time you can do it without actually insulting each other, but situations like these make me somewhat worried.”

The two of them took in their captain’s words and then looked at each other. Some things definitely needed to be changed.

“We can try,” Zoro started and looked at his rival for confirmation.

“Cannot promise anything, though.”

“Trying is good enough. I don't need you two to be conjoined at the hip every second of the day. But if you fail, that’s alright too. At least you aren't having an active fight anymore.”

“But this time, you should probably leave. It might get personal.”

“Of course! Just let me know what you guys came up with!”

“Will do.”

After the rubberman left, the two of them sat in silence again, trying to figure out how to start the conversation again.

“I don't hate you,” Zoro confessed abruptly.

“I don't hate you either,” Sanji replied. 

Silence took over the room again, as they tried to find words for what they thought about the situation. Sanji chuckled, to at least fill the room with something. And awkwardness and actual feelings were not his strong suit.

“We should… perhaps… figure out why… we don't get along,” the cook proposed eventually.

“I mean yeah. I think that is the main reason why we are sitting here,” the swordsman snarked back, then cringed. Being sarcastic was not going to get them anywhere.

“We should just tell each other what we feel about one another. No filters and only the truth. No trying to needlessly insult the other,” Sanji suggested, to finally get to the root of the problem. He didn't want to leave the kitchen without any results.

Both of them allowed themselves time to fully dissect their feelings. It turned out to be difficult.

“As said earlier: I don't hate you. Never have. You and your woman-obsession get on my nerves a lot. I can respect your ‘no lady hitting’ policy, but sometimes you try to push it onto others, and that doesn't sit right with me,” Zoro finally spoke, putting together a string of vaguely connected thoughts. At least that was a start.

“I indeed push that policy toward others, but I have never done it with malicious intent. It's just…” the blond took a moment to dive deeper. “That has been pretty much beaten into me by Zeff. The moment I start striking a lady, I freeze. Unintentionally. And something in me pushes me to stop others. I never fully realize that I had tried to stop someone until I have already done it.”

“So It's just so deeply ingrained in you that you, that you can't fight against it. Like primal instinct.”

“I guess so. And I’m sorry that it is-”

“Don’t apologize for that. It is annoying, but clearly I, just have to suck it up. It would be the same as trying to stop Luffy from subconsciously stretching or Franky from saying super. You could, but what’s the point.”

“... Thank you for understanding it. And when it comes to the ‘woman-obsession’, I don't know where that came from. That wasn't Zeff, it wasn't Germa, so I just don't know. Also, something I have trouble controlling.”

“You have issues man.”

“Like you don't,” the cook laughed.

“Name one.” the swordsman challenged lightheartedly.

“Didn't you cry when you saw Kuina again, and literally cannot get along with a woman that looks like her? And you can't tell me that you have no issues from Thriller Bark or Kuma in general.”

The swordsman looked down and closed his eyes for a second. Sanji for a moment thought that he had gone too far again, but then the other chuckled.

“Can you people stop figuring out I have trauma, I’m trying to uphold a reputation. And of course, I have Kuma issues. Who doesn't?” he sighed before addressing Sanji again. “We are straying too far from the original topic. I think it’s your turn to say what about me annoys you.”

He may or may not have changed the topic, because the familiarity with the cook was getting overwhelming. They did have a heart-to-heart last night, but they were both emotionally tired, and they had always gotten along better in the evenings.

“Hmm. Usually your brutishness and disregard for everything. You’re like Luffy in that aspect, but a lot less… charismatic? And I don't remember you ever saying that my food tastes good. I know that it is a petty thing to be mad about, but for me, food is important. People’s opinions of it are important. You always brush it off as either being edible or just insult it entirely.”

“I always knew that food was important to you, but I didn't realize that my opinion on it mattered that hard. Of course, it's fucking good, I just thought you did not need someone to tell you that,” Zoro acknowledged awkwardly. “And I really don't know what to do about the brutishness. I don't know how to change that.”

“Like I can't change some of my aspects.”

“Exactly.”

The bits of silence were becoming much more bearable. They were not exactly best friends, but they could one day get along like a house on fire.

“I like sparring with you. Can we keep that?”

“If Luffy’s okay with it. The fights are a nice exercise.”

“So you acknowledge that I’m strong.”

“I did not say that!”

Some things never change, though.

Sanji however, did not notice that most of the conversation was about him, and he barely heard any explanations for Zoro’s behaviors. 

While the boys were discussing their differences, Luffy took the chance to check up on everyone else as well. Usopp and Jinbei, for sure. One was in the middle of figuring out how to combat self-hate, and the other had to learn to hate his brother. The rest of the crew were supposed to be fine, but it never hurt to double-check.

It took him two hours to talk to everyone, and he felt exhausted afterward. Jinbei also needed to vent about Arlong, but in a different context and Usopp was desperately trying to apologize one last time, before he stops thanks to the tip Zoro gave him. All in all, Luffy felt like his emotions had been boiled in soup. He wasn't exactly sure what that meant either, but it sure felt like it.

He managed to catch up with Sanji and Zoro who had somewhat gotten closer to understanding each other and permitted them to keep fighting in the name of exercise. On one condition, though, no name-calling or bullying before that. They were going to formally ask each other whether they wanted to fight. Robin helped come up with the rules.

Exhausted from the day, everyone slept like a baby. Nami only managed that because she shared a bed with Robin, so she did not feel alone in the middle of the night, should she wake.

In the morning, everything went, as usual, other than Luffy and Nami were as secretly as possible trying to keep the pervert trio away from each other and Sanji away from the girls. As an experiment, they directed Zoro next to the cook.

New seating order: Franky, Jinbei, Sanji, Zoro, Luffy, Brook, Chopper, Usopp, Nami, Robin

Chapter Text

“Buggy’s Revenge! The Man Who Smiles on the Execution Platform” Luffy’s antics were drawing a crowd and a sheriff demanded him to get down, but before the latter could get to punishing the rubberman, Alvida came and clubbed him. She told Luffy that she had been looking for him, but he did not recognize her. Apparently, the hit that she received from Luffy back on her ship, felt good.

“I cannot tell if that woman is in love with Luffy, or if she wants to kill him,” Franky sweatdropped.

“I would like the last one more. I don't want to deal with love,” Luffy replied casually. He had never desired to be in love or have someone be in love with him. Sounds too complicated. “If we don't count the fact that I love all of you guys!”

“That’s so sweet of you!”

“We don’t mind you…” Zoro tried to respond to his captain’s sweetness but failed. Words of affection were never his strong suit. “You know what I mean!”

“We know, Zoro, we know.”

The woman asked the crowd what the most beautiful thing in East Blue was. Everyone unanimously decided that it was her.

“Ahh… Alvida-chan!”

“She is very pretty,” Nami observed. “I want what she had to become like that.”

“Nami-swan! You are always a goddess! Robin-chan too!”

“You are too kind, Sanji!”

The police arrived to capture Alvida for taking down an officer but gave up when they fell for her beauty. While they were distracted, Buggy fired a bomb toward the nearby fountain. Some of the debris from that flew into Alvida, but it slid away from her. The clown apologized to her and revealed her name to everyone around them. That was when Luffy recognized her.

“Let me tell you, that that was a… bizarre discovery,” Luffy laughed awkwardly.

“I don’t doubt that.”

Alvida revealed that she had eaten the Smooth-Smooth Fruit, and that allowed her to deflect any attacks. According to her, only her freckles had disappeared. Luffy did not seem convinced that that was the only change she had gone through.

“Someone get me that fruit!”

“Nami. You are the same size as my arm. I don't think you need the fruit’s aftereffects,” Zoro opposed the navigator’s thought process.

“I could hoard it until I need it.”

“You’d have to kill Alvida first, though.”

“That’s a murder you can live with.”

“Excuse me?”

“Okay, too far, you two.”

Buggy and his crew finally uncloaked themselves, and the captain also expressed his need for revenge on the Straw Hat pirate. Luffy recognized him but did not remember his name. After a few moments of agonizing over it, he came up with Buffoon.

“He told you his name multiple times,” Sanji pointed out as calmly as he could.

“I noticed it right now yeah, but when it was happening, he was so far down I didn’t hear half of what he said,” Luffy shrugged and Sanji decided to leave it at that. You can't fight against your hearing distance.

The crowd realized that they were standing near a bunch of pirates and tried to flee, but were forced to stop when Buggy’s men threatened them with guns. Cabaji had managed to get up on the platform and forced a pillory on Luffy’s hands and head. Buggy announced the opening of the execution ceremony and mentioned that the rubberman had the chance to die like the previous Pirate King.

Zoro and Sanji gulped. They had failed to save their captain, even though he was ultimately fine.

The others felt uncomfortable at the sight.

Luffy just sighed at his incompetence.

“He seems to be so nonchalant about using the place of death of his former captain,” Robin noted with intrigue. Did that clown not care about Roger? Or was he trying to run from the memories, because they hurt?

During that, the sky started to get more cloudy and Nami pointed out that the atmospheric pressure was dropping abnormally. Sanji added that he sensed a weird wind. The navigator was sure about a storm happening on the island and decided that it was for the best if everyone returned to the ship.

“Your weather prediction skills are brilliant,” Jinbei recognized Nami’s extraordinary skill. He hadn't been with the navigator long enough to see the talent in action enough.

Zoro approached Nami’s group to ask about the whereabouts of Luffy, as they had gotten separated and the swordsman had a feeling that something bad was going to happen. At that moment, they received the news that Buggy the Clown was in town. Smoker also received the news that Buggy and Alvida had joined Luffy in the square.

“So… everything is going wrong?” Chopper summarized.

“Pretty much. For us and the marines.”

“I feel bad for Smoker. He only had to deal with Luffy, and now he has a dozen more pirates on his hands.”

“He in general gets the short stick in life.”

Smoker gave the order to let any pirate ships leave or approach the island. Sanji and Zoro ran off immediately when they heard that Buggy was going to execute Luffy, while Usopp and Nami started making their way toward the harbor. Smoker had arrived in the town square and noted Luffy looked pathetic, he had thought that he was something special, but was starting to doubt that observation.

“There he goes, impressing everyone he comes across,” Usopp remarked merrily.

“That sure is an impressive skill that guy has,” Nami agreed from next to him.

“Smokey sure is an interesting guy!”

As the storm worsened, Buggy took his place as the executioner. However, it hadn't occurred to Luffy yet that his execution was happening, and he was very surprised when Buggy told him.

Zoro kicked Luffy in the shin for his stupidity. He didn't add Haki, so it did not hurt, but the message was clear.

“I know, I know. I’m just slow sometimes, I can't help it!”

“Now you're making me feel bad for kicking you.”

“You should feel bad for kicking me,” Luffy scolded his swordsman playfully.

Nami was worried that the marines would go looking for their ship if the pirates in the town square did something crazy. And they needed to make sure the ship was staying still, in case the storm washes it away, which made Usopp dash faster to make sure Going Merry was still okay. At the same time, the unit that Smoker sent out, was nearing the harbor, where Mohji and Richie were planning to set the ship on fire.

“Those fuckers!” Franky bellowed. He had a soft spot for ships and hated seeing them get hurt unnecessarily.

Usopp shared his sentiment and cursed the beast tamer. Merry was an innocent ship.

“She didn't get hurt, so calm down, you two. I hate seeing our ships in danger as well, but she was fine at that point,” Nami tried to calm the two ship enthusiasts down. Well, one was an enthusiast, and the other just had a soft spot for one specific ship.

Both men grumbled.