As Lucas walked away, streams of tears started to flow uncontrollably from his eyes.
On the ground, Luffy's face was covered with the straw hat, yet from the side, one can see tears flowing down to his cheeks…
"Dammit…!"
Going Merry.
On the ship, Zoro and Sanji carried Luffy back on the deck along with Chopper who still can't stop crying.
Seeing Luffy's condition, Nami immediately panicked!
She didn't think that of all people, Luffy would be the one so injured!
"Luffy! What happened!?"
Usopp also saw Luffy and tried to stand up with difficulty despite his own injuries.
"Luffy! Did those Frankies bastard do this to you!?"
Luffy didn't answer and simply walked towards Going Merry's head and sat there silently.
Since Luffy wasn't going to answer, Sanji sighed a puff of smoke and explained.
"It was Lucas."
"!!!"
Nami was shaken! She didn't think...that it would end up like this!
Usopp was also shocked! But more so confused! Why...what on earth just happened!?
"S-Sanji...you're kidding right? W-why would...Lucas do...he's our frie-"
"He's not our friend!"
Suddenly, Luffy shouted to interrupt Usopp.
Nami shook again. She knew how much Lucas had sacrificed for their crew! If their friendship were to be...she was too afraid to think about it!
How hurt would Lucas feel!?
"L-Luffy! Don't say such things! Lucas, he-"
"Shut up!"
Luffy shouted again.
"..."
"I don't need to hear the reason! This is his decision!...And that doesn't change anything!"
Nami, Zoro, and Sanji looked at each other and sighed.
All three of them knew why Lucas did this...but now that they can't tell it to the others, it was up to them to cooperate with the plan as best as they could…
The next day.
No one was able to sleep at all. Luffy just sat there the whole night, seemingly thinking of something.
At this time, Nami shouted.
"Hey! Did you guys hear? That Iceberg guy was shot last night!"
"Ice-ossan was?"
Luffy turned to ask, before finally standing up to leave. Maybe he just wanted a distraction after what just happened.
"I'll go take a look."
"Wait! Luffy, I'll come with you!"
Worried about Luffy, Nami took off as well.
On the other hand, Sanji looked at Zoro who just sat there with his eyes closed.
"Something about what Lucas said bothers me...I'll go and look for Robin, you coming?"
"...No. I'll wait and see what happens next…"
"?"
Though confused, Sanji didn't bother asking him anymore and left as he was worried about what happened to Robin.
Shift Station, north of Water 7. In the lighthouse that Luffy and the others had visited earlier.
Chimnie was playing around outside as the wind breeze felt cool.
Kokoro is still chugging on her wine.
"It's Karock, the south wind...the waves are rougher as well…"
As she felt the wind, she understood the situation pretty well.
"The sea train...is gonna have to stop tonight. Chimnie! Gonbe! Get ready to go back to the island!"
"Okay!"
Kokoro drank again and grinned.
"The Aqua Laguna...is comin'."
Back in Water 7, the speakers throughout the island had started to relay an announcement regarding the Aqua Laguna in order to warn the civilians to prepare.
Still, there were a lot of people still loitering about outside of Galley-la's headquarters as they were worried about what happened to Iceberg.
Nami and Luffy were also nearby.
"Wow...so many people…"
"We can't get into the shipyard either. We're gonna have to meet with Ice-ossan eventually for the new ship."
Nami also agreed with what Luffy said so she turned to ask the others.
"Hey, excuse me, do you know how to get to the headquarters by any chance?"
"Hm? Ah, yeah. But it's useless. You have to go through the Dock 1 door, but only selected reporters may enter. Everyone's here hoping to get any news firsthand. They're just so worried."
As he said, a lot of the people here respected Iceberg as their mayor, as such, they feel uneasy about what happened last night.
Since it was like that, the two of them decided to stay and wait as well.
Soon, the people in front started cheering.
When those from the back heard why, they also started to cheer!
"Hey! Iceberg-san woke up!"
"YAY!!!"
"Really!? Wow!"
Nami sighed in relief as well with the good news. They still needed Iceberg for their new ship after all.
But then, another piece of news arrived!
"Breaking news! Iceberg-san has discovered who the attackers are! Spread the word, and let's round up these criminals! We must not let them escape Water 7!"
"So, who are these people who attacked Iceberg-san!?"
"Pirates! The Straw Hat Pirates!!!"
Suddenly, the people around Nami and Luffy turned to them.
They stared at each other in silence for a few moments...before finally erupting!
"It's them!"
"They're the ones who tried to kill Iceberg-san!"
"Get them!!!"
Naturally, both Luffy and Nami have no idea what was going on either! Faced with a horde of civilians, Luffy grabbed Nami and stretched his arm to swing away!
"He has some kind of devil fruit ability!"
"Quickly tell the people from Galley-la! The Straw Hat Pirates are here!"
On the roof of a tall building on the opposite side of the Galley-la headquarters, Luffy landed Nami down.
"I'll need to talk to Ice-ossan and straighten things out."
"Let me remind you that we're being chased. So find Iceberg's room first, then enter when no one-..."
"See ya later."
"...What?"
Luffy didn't bother with Nami anymore and stretched his arms to the headquarter's building and...shot towards the window!
Nami just realized what he was up to and tried to stop him.
"Wait!"
*CRASH*
...Well, it was too late though, Luffy had already broken through the window of the headquarters…
Naturally, everyone noticed him and started to give chase!
Hearing all the commotion from the roof, Nami's palm touched her face in frustration.
"...This idiot Captain…"
Nami waited quietly while worrying about both Luffy and Lucas who she has no idea where is now…
After a few minutes, Luffy returned to her side.
"Luffy! Were you able to talk with Iceberg?"
"...He really did see Robin...he said that she was the one who shot him…!"
Hearing that, Nami was shocked and confused!
"But why would Robin do such a thing…"
Luffy held onto his straw hat and stood up.
"I wouldn't believe it!"
The events that happened next were the same as what happened in the original story.
That night, Luffy and the others infiltrated the headquarters again when they saw that some masked people had started to show up.
At the end, they had a fight with the members of CP9..and lost miserably!
Rewinding time for a bit, while all this was happening, Lucas had found a hotel and sat on the bed with a heavy sigh.
He laid there and stared at the ceiling for a while before picking up the denden mushi that Aokiji gave him.
After some hesitation...Lucas contacted Aokiji.
"...I agree."
"Arara, I know you'll agree. You sure made quite the spectacle last night. Well then-"
"On one condition."
"..."
"I don't want the CP9 to keep bothering Robin."
For a while, Aokiji was silent.
Finally, Lucas heard a sigh from the other side of the den den mushi.
"What is it with Luffy...that you and that Robin go through such lengths to protect them?"
"? What do you mean?"
Lucas frowned and can't help but think if he had forgotten something.
"...Nothing. Anyway, you don't seem to understand your situation."
"..."
"You're not the one making the deals here. Now that you've accepted, standby and await further instructions."
*Toot*
Seeing as the call had already disconnected, Lucas sighed.
*Bam*
Angered at his own weakness, Lucas punched the wall beside him.
Marines...World Government...just you wait!
You will regret ever inviting me to become a Shichibukai!
Lucas stayed in his room and simply meditated.
When it was night time, someone knocked on the door.
"Come in."
The door opened and blonde slim woman wearing thin glasses and a black dress.
This person must be one of the CP9 members working undercover as Iceberg's secretary, Kalifa.
Despite seeing a beauty, Lucas' expression was stone cold.
During this time as a Shichibukai, he would probably never smile again...
Kalifa looked at Lucas for a moment before speaking.
"You must be Lucas?"
"Don't ask if you already know the answer. Let's go."
"Wh-..."
Lucas was already pretty annoyed from this morning and couldn't be bothered with her. Anyway, if she's here, then his task should be to escort them out to Ennies Lobby along with Robin…
As for Kalifa, she glared at the cold man who just ignored her but didn't say anything and simply followed.
I'm an assassin, who cares what this punk pirate thinks…
Kalifa tried to convince herself as they walked.
Soon, they met up with the other members of CP9.
The man with the rectangle Usopp nose, Kaku.
The huge guy with bull-like hairdo, Blueno.
And finally, the man with a top hat and a pigeon on his shoulder...Rob Lucci!
Besides them, there was Robin wearing a hooded robe.
Lucas only glanced at her for a moment before looking somewhere else.
Blueno was carrying two sacks with their heads out. Kaku was also carrying a smaller sack.
These two are...Franky and...Usopp? Chopper seems to be here as well?
...Why is Usopp here? Wasn't he only caught in the original story because he left the crew and was stuck with Franky?
But Usopp shouldn't have any reason to leave the crew now...so why is he with Franky?
Actually, why is Chopper even here as well?
What Lucas didn't know was that after he had left, earlier today, Usopp and Chopper still haven't given up on Lucas. They walked towards the area where Luffy and Lucas fought to see if they can find some sort of clue about why Lucas suddenly turned like that.
However, the two of them both forgot that Franky was also there. He just woke up and was very angry.
Once he saw Usopp and Chopper, he immediately captured them and dragged them to his secret base under the bridge to try and lure out Lucas.
Afterward...well, CP9 paid a visit after dealing with Luffy and Iceberg and captured all three of them…
"...Franky aside, why is there a need to bring two of the Strawhats as well?"
Usopp heard the familiar voice. He looked around until his sights landed on Lucas. Instantly, his expression turned into one full of hate!
"You! I heard what you did to Luffy you bastard!"
Chopper was different, when he saw Lucas again, he cried happily.
"Lucas! You're here! Help us!"
Still...Lucas' face didn't change and was still stone cold.
Lucci glanced at him calmly and said.
"They're insurance. So you don't think of double-crossing us."
Right after he said that, Lucas' wings opened as she shot towards him in full speed!
Lucci attempted to use Soru to dodge but it was as if Lucas also knew where he would dodge as he turned and caught Lucci anyway.
His hand turned into water as he held Lucci up while choking him!
The others also moved fast and tried to act. Kaku and Blueno both held Usopp and Chopper while pointing their fingers at the hearts, ready to use Shigan at any moment!
Of course, Lucas won't let them.
Streams of water shot out from his wings and knocked off Kaku and Blueno before they could do anything.
Then, the streams of water caught on to all CP9 members as he held them all up.
Only Robin, Franky, Usopp, and Chopper was spared!
Once Lucas feels that any of them would attempt to activate their fruits, he would control the water to go further down their throats to stop them!
"Listen up, I don't like being threatened. Aokiji is one thing, but none of you lot are capable of dealing with me...so don't act like you can."
Finished saying his piece, he threw them all down and looked back to Usopp and Chopper.
"Get out. And tell Luffy not to follow!"
"L-Lucas…"
"OUT!"
Usopp and Chopper bit their lips before finally leaving…
Once they were out of sight, Lucas looked back to the CP9 members.
"Any problem?"
"...No."
"Good, let's go."
Seeing Lucas' back, they all looked at each other before following.
What the hell!? What's up with this scary ability!?
None of them even got any fighting chance at all! And from what it looks like, he was also a logia user...how can any of them defeat him without sea stone or Haki!?
Thinking about this, Lucci and the others can only sigh and follow.
Blueno picked up Franky again as they walked.
Meanwhile, Kalifa's face blushed as a strange...new...feeling seemed to sprout inside her when she was held up before...
She has always been the one holding the whip and stepping on others, being on the receiving end feels…
No no no no!
Kalifa shook her head quickly to dispel the thought! It was too embarrassing!
…
Robin watched Lucas' back silently. It was unknown just what she was thinking…
Before they rode the Sea Train, Lucas looked around and stretched his Observation Haki.
Sanji...doesn't seem to be around?
It seems more of the main story has really changed…
Lucas became worried.
Luffy...you better not be stupid and follow! Just leave this to me!
No matter what...I'll get back Robin for you guys!