After a few mere hours of sailing since you left Conomi Island, you were sleeping with your face mask off, leaning against the mast while Zoro is sleeping on your legs. That was a common thing when you trained back at the dojo with him. At first, he was hesitant but over time he got comfortable which then became a habit.
"You raised your prices again??"
You opened one-eyed to see Nami complaining to a News. Coo Medium-sized seagulls that deliver newspapers at sea and on other islands.
"That's a little steep, don't ya think??" The navigator reluctantly paid the fee. "Raise the prices again and I'll stop paying"
"What the big deal? It's just one paper" Usopp said, not taking his eyes away from whatever his tinkering with.
"Just one paper?? I buy these every day"
You closed your eyes back and drown out the conversations as you fall back asleep. Then the next thing you heard are screams which woke you and Zoro up from your nap.
"What the commotion??" you asked as you yawned.
Luffy holds up his wanted poster, laughing proudly. "Alright, guys. We're wanted criminals!!"
"Wanted: Dead or Alive. 30 million berries?!" Usopp read.
Luffy continued to laugh. "That's a whole lot of berries"
"That's pretty much the standard amount for rookie pirates," you said.
"Oh, wait. You said that you're a Shichibukai. Meaning that your bounty is frozen currently" Nami pointed out.
"Yep. I used to have a big bounty before I became a Shichibukai" you replied in nostalgia. It's been years since you had your bounty frozen.
"Then how much is your bounty before??" Zoro asked.
"Hmm. I became a Super Rookie right off the bat on my first wanted poster which is 650 million Berries"
Nami and Usopp's jaws dropped to the ground while Zoro and Ghin were not surprised since they had seen your strength before, and Luffy just laughed. "Shishishi!! As expected, you're strong!!"
"W-what about your current one before it froze??" Usopp is too scared to find out.
"Before I was offered the position of the Shichibukai, I think it hasn't increased since"
"Can you teach me how to become stronger?" Luffy asked excitedly.
You ignored him as punishment for destroying your ship. Luffy pouted that he'd been ignored but accepted it anyway.
"Let's go to the Grand Line, men!!" Luffy bellowed.
"Yet again, you guys don't understand how grim our situation is. This means all of our lives will be in constant danger" Nami bemoaned. "Okay . . .This is no time to be relaxing on the East Blue"
"No offense but our lives were in constant danger the moment any of us decided to become pirates" Ghin interrupted as he joined the group. "And pirates aren't just in danger on the seas, it can be just as hectic as any island we chose to dock at"
This doesn't make Nami feel any better. "I forget that you have experience in this kind of thing from your time with the Kreig Pirates"
You chuckled. "Leave them be, Namikan. You have a powerhouse right here but I don't want to disregard the rest since there's still room for growth not just them but you as well"
That made Nami feel a little bit better. "Thanks, (First Name). I don't know how you managed to deal with our troublesome captain"
______________________________________________________
Meanwhile~
On a remote island, Mihawk sails to meet with his rival, Shanks who is recovering from a hangover after a night of drunken partying. He showed off Luffy's wanted poster and Shanks became so ecstatic to see Luffy finally making it as a pirate that the once gloomy weather hanging over the island dissipates to a more bright and sunny one. And just like that, another party starts up.
"Man, I miss my hangover cure . . .I haven't seen her for years since we last met. The medication isn't as effective as her"
"Who are you talking about, Red Hair?" Mihawk questioned.
"I think you know that person since she's a Shichibukai like you" Shanks hinted.
Mihawk raised a brow. "And who might that be?"
"Why. (First Name), of course!! I knew her identity as 'that'"
Mihawk flinched and then glared. "You didn't do it with her, did you??"
Shanks laughed. "No, of course not!! Have you met her then??"
"I did. I first met her long before she became a Shichibukai"
"Oh? Same here. When was it?"
"9 years ago"
Shanks spat out the drink he was nursing. "What?! You met her before me?! I only first met her a year later than you!!"
Mihawk smirked and Shanks noticed it causing him to pout and become irritated. "Hey, it's not funny!! Don't hog her all to yourself!!"
He shook his head in irritation. Not because of Shanks's childish behavior but because he kept feeling like this when it came to that woman.
_____________________________________________________
Back at the Going Merry, the crew gathered at the stern deck of the ship, plotting their next course of action.
"We're getting closer," Nami said as she went over the map. "We've almost made it to the Grand Line. It looks like the only way into it is here: through Reverse Mountain" She pointed to a mountain formed from the Red Line.
"What a pain" Zoro grumbled. "There's gotta be some way around that thing"
"There's not" Sanji stated. "From the geezer told me, that's the only place to enter"
"Well, how come??" Usopp questioned.
"Because it's really dangerous"
"Yeah but how come?!" Usopp pressed.
"I told you everything I know!! Geez"
"See, the reason is . . ." Nami started to explain but was interrupted by the rubber boy.
"Hey!! I have an idea!! Why don't we just sail straight into it??" He suggested which is surprisingly correct but they didn't know that.
"Are you that clueless?!" Nami snapped.
"No, what Luffy said is correct. We have to get through the Reverse Mountain" you replied and they all looked at you in shock.
Luffy told you not to tell them about the Grand Line unless necessary but you decided to let out some information since you need to get back to the Grand Line as quickly as possible.
"Unless you want to go through different ways which are more treacherous than via Reverse Mountain" you suggested.
Usopp and Nami nervously waved their hands in a panic and said that they didn't want to.
"However I advise you that we should restock our supplies before we go to the Grand Line. Once we get there, common sense and logic are thrown out of the window as it is very unpredictable"
"Yeah, we also need meat" Luffy added.
Nami pointed at a small island that came just before the Grand Line. "There's a famous city on this island known as Loguetown"
"Loguetown . . .Why is it famous??" Luffy wondered aloud. "They got delicious meat??"
"No, Luffy. It's the place known where Gol D. Roger was born and executed" you stated.
"The city of the beginning and the end" Zoro added.
"That's where the King of the Pirates died??" Luffy asked in awe.
"Well . . .??" Nami smirked at their captain.
"Yeah . . . Let's do it. This was the man who had the One Piece. Everything the world has to offer. I need to see where he was born and executed" Luffy answered with seriousness.
Next stop, Loguetown . . .