Luffy twitched in agitation in the face of the situation he was currently in. He was trapped in a cell surrounded by seastone at all sides. He had considered using geppou to get out, but the ceiling was seastone was well. How troublesome. On the other side of the bars stood none other than Crocodile, and on the inside sat Smoker, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and himself. The fact that they were all in this cage again was extremely frustrating. From Zoro's annoyed expression, he could tell that they were both thinking the same thing. How the fuck are we here right now? It was ridiculous. The chances of them ending up in this situation again were lower than the chances of either one of them losing to Croc in a fight.
Usopp hummed thoughtfully. "A most cunning plan indeed," he said with his arms crossed.
"My ass," Luffy mumbled.
"I think you're hardly one to refute that claim Strawhat, seeing as you fell for it," Smoker pointed out. Luffy turned to him with an outraged expression.
"Like I give a shit what you think! You're the reason we're in this stupid situation, Smokey!"
"Stop calling me that!" Smoker shouted.
"No!" Luffy yelled stubbornly. "Go get high on your smoke somewhere else, you stupid cloud! Why do you even smoke two cigars!? It makes no sense! If you weren't a smoke logia your lungs would be tumors by now!" he ranted. "Fucking White Blunder!" He stopped and caught his breath.
"You done?" Smoker asked emotionlessly.
"Yea…" Luffy said, taking a deep breath and exhaling. "Yea, I'm done."
"Let's not fight amongst ourselves," came the smug voice of Crocodile. "As prisoners doomed to the same fate, you should make peace with each other. Hell, you could even-"
"And you!" Luffy shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Crocodile. "Stop being such a Croc! Always walking around with your I'm such a Croc attitude! It's annoying!" Crocodile looked extremely amused by the fact that his prisoner was shouting at him.
It was then that Robin walked in with a captive Vivi and set her down on the chair in the middle of the room. Crocodile welcomed her and finally explained his plan to her, smirking all the while, just to upset her. It was working. "Wipe that shit eating grin off your face, Sandman," Luffy said. "This was a complete and utter fluke! The chances of this plan of yours actually working were less than the chances of you actually getting a hit in on Whitebeard!" Crocodile was seething at this comment, but Robin spoke up before he could retaliate.
"Doesn't that just make you look even more foolish, Monkey-san?" she asked.
"And you," he said, pointing at her with a pout. "Stop being mean, Robin."
She sighed. "Will you stop calling me that?"
"No!" he yelled stubbornly.
"You know, I find it amusing how you go along with your antics as if the threat of death doesn't even concern you," she said. "Perhaps you're a little oblivious to the situation you're in? One could even say you're on the losing side of this game," she said with a smile. Luffy developed a tic over his eye at this comment, but then took a deep breath and sat down.
"Fifteen minutes," he said simply. They both looked at him in confusion. "I give you fifteen minutes at most, and then we're out of here." Zoro smirked at his wellfound confidence.
"What kind of nonsense are you spewing?" Crocodile asked with an annoyed expression. Evidently he was still irked about the Whitebeard comment. Luffy just looked at Robin.
"Fifteen minutes," he repeated. "Set your watch." Robin raised an eyebrow and checked the exact time just to humor him, smiling all the while. Crocodile seemed even more annoyed by this act, but then he just smiled as well.
"If you plan on getting out of here, I suppose you'll need this, now won't you," he said, holding up a gold key. Luffy looked at it indifferently, and Crocodile threw it into the water through a trap door. Vivi looked on in horror as a Bananadile swallowed it. She frantically relayed this news to the rest of them, and Crocodile laughed again. "I guess you'll have to choose, Princess. Your country, or these pirates." He pressed a switch, and water started flooding out from a larger trap door into the room, reminding them that they were underwater.
Soon, a Bananadile crawled out of the tank, baring it's fangs at Vivi. Vivi seemed to be getting ready to defend herself as it made her way towards it, but then it stopped. Vivi looked confused as the beast turned towards the cage with wide eyes, as if there was something there that had caught its attention. Crocodile and Robin of course noticed, and the former frowned at the lack of human consumption. But then he shrugged and started walking away, and Robin followed. Before they could leave however, the ringing of a transponder snail made itself known. Crocodile frowned again, not expecting a report, as Robin answered it.
"Hello?" she greeted.
"Hello? Hello," a voice which the Strawhats all recognized came. "Is this thing on? I've never used one of these mini ones before..."
"Yes, I can hear you just fine," Robin said. "Are you one of the Millions or Billions?"
"Yea, sure, let's go with that," the voice said, not indicating which one. Crocodile grew impatient.
"Do you have a report to make? Spit it out already," he said.
"Ah, now this voice I recognize," the voice said. "Hello, you've reached the shitty restaurant."
Crocodile immediately understood who he was talking too, and his expression darkened. "Who the hell are you," he growled.
"Oh, me? Well, I don't feel inclined to tell you my real name," the voice said. "But all things considered, I think I'll go with...Mr. Prince."
"Fine then, Mr. Prince, where are you right now?" Crocodile asked in a harsh tone.
"I don't feel inclined to tell you that either, now that you mention it."
"Yo Prince!" Luffy shouted. "We're in a bit of a bind! Mind getting your ass over here?"
"Hmm, that voice sounds familiar too. Alright Sir Crocodile, tell him I'll be there in a-"
Suddenly something that sounded like a gunshot came from the other end of the line. Everyone stiffened as the silence became oppressive. Then, another voice came over the transponder snail. "Hello, is this Mr. 0? Billions agent reporting in. I've just apprehended our attacker in front of Rain Dinner's. He was a tough bastard, but I finally got him."
Usopp and Nami went into full on panic mode at those words, but Luffy and Zoro just wore satisfied grins, leaving Smoker to look at them in suspicion. He kept silent though.
Crocodile strode out of the room followed by Robin, determined to satisfy his vindictive urge to impale something. Luffy watched until they were gone, then turned to Vivi. "Vivi, follow after them but stay in the casino. Sanji isn't the type to lose to cannon fodder." Vivi's eyes widened, realizing what he was implying. She glanced nervously at the Bananadiles that were accumulating in the room, but none of them made a move against her. They were all just staring at the cage hesitantly. She ran up the stairs and out of the room.
Crocodile and Robin looked at the scene before them, one in fury, and the other in wonder. Crocodile turned to one of the few Millions who was still awake. "Who the hell did this?" he asked quietly. "M-Mr-P-Prince…" he managed before passing out. Crocodile's expression turned murderous as he saw a tall, well built man watching them from afar. The man dashed away, and Crocodile glided after him in rage. Robin stared after them. Something about this just didn't feel right to her.
Back in the flooding room, Nami and Usopp were still panicking. They rounded on Luffy and Zoro. "Why the hell are you two so calm!?" Usopp shouted.
"In case you haven't noticed, we're all about to drown!" Nami added. Luffy ignored them, seemingly lost in his own world.
"First, I'll shove that cigar down his throat," he said to himself. "Then I'll rip that hook off his arm and hit him with it repeatedly. And then I'll…" He was interrupted by Smoker, who spoke up for the first time in a while.
"Strawhat. How much do you know about Crocodile's plan?" he asked slowly.
Luffy stared at him. "Enough," he said simply.
"That woman who was with him has been on the run from the government for 20 years," Smoker continued. "She has a bounty of 70 million, if I remember correctly."
"79 million," Luffy corrected. Nami and Usopp looked shocked at this.
"From the moment those two joined forces, this became something much bigger than a plot to overthrow a nation. If left alone, this situation could develop into a global catastrophe. That woman is dangerous," Smoker said.
Luffy stared at him for a long while before turning away. "Do you believe everything that stupid government of yours tells you?" he asked.
Smoker's eyes narrowed. "What does that mean?" he asked.
"I just meant that you seemed smarter than that," Luffy said. "Rather than just believing everything you're told, why don't you actually think for yourself?"
Smoker seemed to actually contemplate this before they heard a voice call out.
"Sorry guys. Did I keep you waiting?" Sanji asked as he stood in front of the cage and blew out a puff of smoke. Vivi strolled behind him, panting for breath.
"No, you're just in time," Zoro said with a satisfied smirk. Nami and Usopp looked like they were about to cry at the very sight of him.
"Sanji," Luffy said. "I need you to make that Banana throw up," he said as he pointed to the Bananadile on the far side of the room. Smoker turned to him.
"Is something wrong with your ears, Strawhat? That one's growl is wrong." Luffy shook his head.
"I doubt that was the real key Croc threw. He doesn't take any chances." Smoker nodded at the logic, but was unconvinced.
"So then how will going after a different one help?"
"Anti Manner Kick Course." The Bananadile on the far side of the room retched as it was thrown up into the air, and when it fell back down, it vomited a large white ball. The ball cracked before it opened up like an egg, and Mr. 3 hatched from it, breathing deeply.
"Finally!" he gasped. "I thought I was really gonna die!" He took long gulps from the water until he was refreshed, and finally turned towards the cage. His eyes widened. "Aaaaahhh! Strawhat!" he shouted.
"Yo! What's up 3? I need you to make a key to this lock so we can escape." Mr. 3 slowly took in the situation they were in before smiling deviously. "Oh? And why should I do such a thing?" he asked in a low tone.
After Sanji explained to him through non-verbal means exactly why he should do such a thing, leaving out the boring parts, Mr. 3 relented and picked the lock using his powers. The cage door opened. "Oh, nice job wax guy," Sanji complimented. Mr. 3 rubbed his head sheepishly before he was knocked out by another one of Sanji's kicks.
"Thank you Sanji-kun! You're the best!" Nami shouted in relief. Sanji grinned widely.
"I'll bet you're falling in love with me all over again, huh?" he said.
"Sure, whatever."
Crocodile made his way back into the room with Robin in stride. "So all that was to lead me away from the room and buy them some time? As if it matters," he said in an annoyed tone. "Even if they managed to get that key, I have the real one with me."
"Oh, quite cunning," Robin commented. When they arrived back at the room, Crocodile was greeted with the most infuriating sight his eyes had ever been forced to perceive. The room was flooded, but the door to the seastone cage was wide open. Mr. 3 was floating unconscious in the middle of the room. Attached to his shirt was a piece of paper that read, See ya later, shitty gater. -Mr. Prince...p.s. What's our time? Robin looked down at her watch.
"14 minutes, 32 seconds," she said in a slightly awed tone. "And that's including the time interval between their departure and our arrival," she added analytically. Crocodile was barely listening though. The veins bulged in his forehead and the key in his hand dropped to the floor.
Chapter XL: Knocking on Heaven's Gates
On the way to find Cricket, the Strawhats and their guide had run into another monkey like man named Shoujou, who was introduced as Masira's brother. For obvious reasons, the Strawhats were not surprised by this, but a couple of them, namely Nami and Usopp, were wondering if they were just supposed to accept the existence of monkey human hybrids and move on. Not so surprisingly, that's what ended up happening.
When Masira and Shoujou led them to their destination, most of the Strawhats were taken aback by Cricket's house. That is, until they realized that it was a cardboard cutout of a mansion, at which point, they were even more baffled. The house seemed to be quite literally cut in half, with the other half being nowhere in sight. When asked why the house was like that, the Saruyama brothers replied that they honestly didn't know; it had been like that since they had arrived and they had never asked Cricket about it. At this point, Sanji was getting slightly frustrated. He could have sworn he'd heard the name Montblanc before, but he couldn't remember where. When he asked if this Cricket guy was famous, Masira and Shoujou's eyes lit up in recognition.
"You must be talking about Cricket's ancestor, Montblanc Norland! He was known by the world as a famous liar!" Hearing the description jogged Sanji's memory, and he recalled the tale of the man he had heard growing up in North Blue. The crew was surprised by this, seeing as they'd assumed he was born in East Blue. Sanji was not the suspicious type, but he couldn't help but sneak a subtle glance at Luffy and Zoro, and wasn't that surprised to see that neither of them had reacted to the revelation of his origins. Curious. Unknown to him, Robin, who was very much the suspicious type, had done much the same thing. The two didn't seem to notice, and the moment passed when attention shifted back to the Saruyama brothers, who explained the story of Montblanc Norland, and how he had died maintaining that the City of Gold must have sunken into the sea as a result of a severe earthquake.
"But I'm telling you, Norland wasn't a liar!" Masira shouted with passion once they finished recounting the tale. Shoujou quickly agreed with him, telling the Strawhats about everything that Cricket had found diving to the ocean floor. The two were very enthusiastic about proving the existence of the City of Gold.
"So is that why Cricket dives every day?" Usopp asked. "To prove his ancestor's innocence?"
"Actually, Cricket doesn't believe one way or another," Shoujou responded. "He says he does it because he wants to come to terms with his lineage. He says that whether or not Norland lied, he just wants to be sure one way or another."
"And we'll support him to the end no matter what happens!" Masira added. "I know it exists though! I can feel it in my bones!"
It was then that a figure emerged from the sea and climbed onto the island. Upon catching sight of the Strawhats, the man tensed up, but once he saw Masira and Shoujou, he visibly relaxed.
"What? You two brought guests? Who are these people?" the man who was presumably Cricket asked indifferently.
"Boss!" Masira shouted. "These guys are trying to get to Sky Island! Since they're good people, I thought we should help them!" This caused Cricket to raise an eyebrow as a ghost of a smile crossed his lips.
"Sky Island huh? What a bunch of fools...then again, I'm not really one to talk."
"So can you get us there?" Usopp asked hopefully. "We need to get there before our log adapts to this island."
"Well, I myself am not sure if it exists," Cricket replied. "But if it does, I know a way you can potentially get there." Cricket explained the natural disaster that was the knock-up stream, from its mechanics, to its frequency, to its tendency to occur in different parts of the ocean. "If you want to get to the sky, that's the way to do it. But if Sky Island really is just a legend, you will fall back to the sea and die," he said. "The key to this is timing. Above these seas there is a cloud called Millennium Cumulonimbus. It is, for all intents and purposes, a liquid cloud. The chemistry behind its formation is unknown since no one has been able to sample it, but what we do know is that it's a form of water less dense than air that retains the ability to support buoyant solids. This is the theory that accounts for the possibility of an island in the sky."
Luffy hummed. "So in other words, it's a-"
"Do not say mystery cloud," Nami interrupted.
"...I'm still gonna think it," Luffy said defiantly, before turning to Cricket. "Hey, Diamond-head-ossan, did you say this knock up stream happens in different parts of the sea?" Cricket nodded in confirmation, and Luffy leaned back against the ground, getting comfortable. "And how powerful is it?"
"Like I said, it's a natural disaster," Cricket said. "But it's more powerful than almost any earthquake. You'd be knocking on the door to the heavens if you actually plan on riding it."
Luffy smirked. "So let's say, one day, the knock up stream happened to occur underneath the island of Jaya…like, I don't know, maybe 400 years ago?"
Cricket's cigarette dropped from his mouth as he heard those words. His eyes were wide, and his entire body was tensed up. Around him, the entire room was silent as the rest of its occupants absorbed the implied meaning behind the words. Cricket himself was speechless. "Holy…" he trailed off, and raised a hand to his head. "That's...quite the theory kid." He paused for a moment. "For so long, I've been searching the ocean floor. All this time, I never even thought…and it explains so much. Why I never even found a trace of the other half of the island. Why the sky completely darkens under the Millennium Cumulonimbus. Even why this damn house that I found was cut in half!"
The Strawhats were looking at their captain in surprise. There it was, another of his amazing insights coming out of left field. Could what he was implying really be true?
"Wait a minute!" Nami yelled suddenly. "If Luffy's theory is true, that means there's a city full of gold where we're going!"
Luffy sweatdropped. "Well, yea…"
Nami's eyes morphed into beli symbols as the other Stawhats watched in exasperation.
"Why did Nami's eyes change?" Chopper asked innocently.
"Because the eyes reflect the soul, and Nami is really greedy," Usopp replied, only to get kicked by Sanji. Robin giggled in amusement as the two started bickering.
"Well this works out perfectly," Luffy said suddenly. "Diamond-head-ossan, if you show us the way to Sky Island, we'll find a way to signal you if we find the City of Gold."
Cricket's face now morphed into a wide grin. "Well aren't you the thoughtful one? Even after I already agreed to get you there. Fine, you've got a deal kid. Wait here." He walked into the house, and after a short while, came back out with a small gold ornament in his hand. It looked just like a bell made of pure gold. "This is one of the many pieces of evidence I found on my trips to the ocean floor. In Norland's log, he mentioned a giant golden bell, the ringing of which would echo throughout the seas. If you find the city of gold, ring that bell, and we should be able to hear it even from down here. That'll be all the proof I need."
"A golden bell huh?" Luffy said, reminiscing. "Sounds interesting. I'll be sure to ring it!" The two shook hands, and the agreement was set.
After that Cricket went through the details of the plan to get them to their destination. The knockup stream would connect the sea to the sky at noon the next day. Until then, they Saruyama brothers would work on remodeling their ship so it could reach the sky, and then at morning they'd set sail and position their ship above he knockup stream, directly south of Jaya. At that point, Zoro spoke up.
"How are we going to get there though?" he asked. "The log can't take us to a destination without a magnetic field." Cricket perked up in realization upon hearing this, and told them to wait while he ran into the house again. Meanwhile, the other Strawhats excluding Luffy and Robin were giving Zoro a wide berth. Zoro looked puzzled by their behavior.
"What?" he asked in a slightly annoyed tone.
"You...you're thinking ahead when it comes to navigation now?" Nami asked incredulously.
"I wouldn't have guessed that you knew how a regular compass works, much less a log pose," Usopp mused.
"What have you done with that shitty swordsman?" Sanji mumbled.
"Give Zoro back you asshole!" Chopper shouted.
Zoro began sputtering indignantly. "Of course I...I'm not...I mean I am...!"
Sanji peered at Zoro closely. "His aura feels like the shitty marimo. Then again, I'm still pretty new at this…"
"I'm not the shitty marimo!" Zoro shouted, annoyed that his nickname from his previous life seemed to be catching on again somehow.
Usopp pointed at Zoro in accusation. "Aha! A confession! So you really aren't Zoro!"
Zoro turned to Usopp menacingly, causing him to gulp in fear. "Usopp," he said in a low tone. "One more word, and I'm going to cut off your defining appendage." The other male Strawhats paled upon hearing this, but none more than the sniper himself, who fell back onto the grass and covered his face with his hands.
"No! Not the nose! Anything but that!" Now the crew looked at Usopp in equal parts bewilderment and amusement.
"Usopp," Sanji said carefully, his lips quirking into a barely restrained smile. "I don't think that's what he-"
"Zoro!" Chopper shouted in interruption. "How could you threaten to cut off Usopp's nose! Are you really an imposter!?"
Zoro groaned, while Nami and Robin failed to suppress their laughter, and Luffy didn't even try.
Cricket, who had already gotten back, cleared his throat. "If you're done…" The laughter slowly died down and Luffy nodded at Cricket. "Alright then. This is what's called a southbird," the man said, holding up a golden model of a rather odd bird. "They have the ingrained instinctual habit of always pointing their heads to the south. You need to capture one of these so it can guide you to the knock up stream. They can be found in the forests of Jaya."
With a plan finally in mind, the Strawhats made their way into the forest to find a southbird while Masira and Shoujou got to work on the Going Merry. This time tomorrow, they'd be knocking on heaven's gates one way or another.
Ace twitched in agitation as another haki imbued sword slash assaulted him, only to phase through his body again as the injured vice admiral's armaments was cancelled out by his own. "Like I said..." he muttered in annoyance in between swipes. "I'm not here..." he charged up a fire first in less than a second, and unleashed it onto the outmatched marine. "To pick a fight!" His actions seemed to contradict his words in that moment as the charred form of Vice Admiral Comil crashed through the walls of the marine branch that Ace had infiltrated. He didn't get up this time. "What an annoying bastard," Ace muttered. "Then again, I'm not much better. Go to the G2 branch I said. They could have intel on the revolutionaries I said. They might not even recognize me I said. Seriously, when did I start acting like Luffy?"
He sat down on the floor to think for a minute, wondering how he was going to find who he was looking for, and what he was going to do when he did. He thought back to what Luffy had told him in Alabasta. He won't remember you right away. You'll have to jog his memories. Well, how was he supposed to do that? He doubted it would be as simple as saying, 'Hey, it's me Ace, your long lost brother. Hurry up and remember!' He sighed. This was all becoming very troublesome. At least Luffy's journey was going well, highest bounty among the rookies of his generation and all...
Suddenly, Ace's head perked up as he felt a powerful aura approaching. It was much stronger than the vice admiral's. In fact...it rivaled his own. Who did the marines send? He could have sworn he cut off their communications once they caught wind of his infiltration. He slowly got up and made his way out of the ruined building, ignoring the unconscious marines everywhere, and prepared himself for a fight. When he got outside, what he saw surprised him. There was a lone man in a hooded black cloak walking towards him, but his intentions didn't seem to be hostile. In fact, he seemed...curious? Relaxing his guard slightly, Ace met him halfway. "If you're here to harass the marines, I'm afraid I may have beaten you to it, revolutionary."
The man under the hood chuckled in good nature. "No...that's not why I'm here. I just heard you were looking for us, and my curiosity got the better of me."
Ace raised an eyebrow. "You're well informed. I actually have a connection to someone in your ranks, and I was hoping to find them."
"Usually we'd know if one of our members was acquainted with a Whitebeard commander, but I suppose I'll give you the benefit of the doubt," the revolutionary said.
Ace grinned sheepishly. "So you know who I am. At least introduce yourself then. Or should I just call you Hood-and-cloak guy?"
"Ah, my apologies." He removed his hood, and Ace's eyes widened to epic proportions. "I am Sabo, the Revolutionary Army's Chief of Staff."
Ace's mind went blank for a moment, then...
What the actual fuck?