Luffy sat on the deck, staring at the tangerine trees that Nami had insisted on bringing along. It took quite a while for them to transport all three of the trees with great care and plant them at the back of the ship.
"Nami, how do tangerines taste like?" Luffy tilted his head at her.
She looked up from the map she was holding, raising an eyebrow, "You've never eaten one before?"
Luffy shook his head.
Nami approached the trees and picked an especially big one and handed it to him, "Try it."
Luffy bit into the fruit without peeling it.
"You dummy!" Nami snatched the fruit back. "You're supposed to peel it first!"
"Shishishi, sorry," Luffy scratched his head in embarrassment, receiving the peeled tangerine back.
Luffy bit a mouthful of it, chewing it slowly. "It's really good!" he exclaimed, taking another bite.
"Of course! Now don't pick any of them when I'm not around, or you won't get any more from me!" Nami grinned, going back to her map.
"Okey dokey," Luffy grinned before finishing the tangerine in one last bite. "Sanji! I want meat!" Luffy rushed down to the kitchen.
Usopp watched Luffy disappear down the stairs before turning to Nami, frowning, "When I tried to take a tangerine, you beat me up..."
"Hehehe, he did assign me as his treasurer," Nami grinned smugly. "Now I'm in charge of all the money he has. And there's also the uncollected bounties for Buggy, Kuro, Krieg and Arlong!" Nami rubbed her hands together in glee, thinking about the amount of money they were about to receive.
Usopp sweat dropped, "should have figured it was because of money..."
A news coo descended on the ship with a loud caw. Nami fished out a few coins and deposited them in his bag, she frowned when the bird made no move to give her a newspaper.
"Another increase in price?!" Nami pinched the bird's beak, depositing another coin inside his bag before snatching the newspaper away. "You guys are the real thieves here!"
The news coo gave Nami an apologetic caw before flying away.
"I thought you didn't care that much about money anymore?" Usopp raised an eyebrow.
"Of course I care!" Nami snapped. "What makes this worse is that it's our Commodore's money! It'll make me look bad if I don't manage it properly! Daily expenses add up, you know?"
Usopp shrugged, turning back to the small table he had set up at the back of the ship to craft more of his special bullets.
Nami settled down on a lounge chair as she flipped through the newspaper, ignoring the scuffling sounds coming from the kitchen. The door was flung open as an enraged Sanji threw Luffy out by his collar.
"I told you to wait until I finish cooking! If you're gonna eat everything, we won't have any more food!"
Luffy stuck his tongue out at him, "Stingy!"
A tick appeared on Sanji's forehead, "Stay outside you stupid Commodore! Why won't you listen to me?!"
"I can't help it if your food taste this good…" Luffy pouted.
Sanji grinned hearing that, "Hmph, at least you know how to appreciate food, but wait until I finish cooking!"
Sanji turned away and slammed the door, not waiting for a reaction.
"Hey Luffy!" Nami shouted above the deck, waving the newspaper at him. "There's an article about you!"
"Really?! Where? Let me see!" Luffy rushed up to her, looking over her shoulder as she showed him the page.
"New promising Marine from the East Blue… Took down four notorious pirates… New unit called the Straw Hat Marines… Carrying the hammer of Justice… They didn't mention our names?" Luffy noted.
"You said your Grandpa didn't want too many people finding out your relations, right?" Nami glanced back at him.
Luffy nodded.
"He probably told them to withhold our names in case someone makes the connection, not that it matters once we do something big again..." Nami scratched her chin. "With this, people should at least know our unit's existence now." Nami tapped the newspaper.
"Hey! I see land ahead!" Zoro yelled from the crow's nest.
"That must be Loguetown then, everyone prepare to disembark!" Nami yelled.
Merry slowly pulled into the harbor as the Straw Hats prepared to leave the ship. Luffy had gathered everyone on the deck, a few bags full of berries beside him.
"Ok, first things first, I'll have to get my report from Smokey at the Marine base in this town and then sign you guys up as official Marines. I already made my request to Gramps before he left about your ranks and stations so I don't think there would be a problem. In the meantime, I want you guys to use this money to buy anything you might need before we head to the Grand Line." Luffy gestured to the pile of bags beside him, Nami's mouth was already watering.
"We can requisition any essential living supplies off the base so we won't need to spend on that, once you're all done, report back to the base, I'll have all of you outfitted in Marine attire. That is all," Luffy grinned.
"Can we really use all this to buy what we want?" Nami asked hopefully.
Luffy pretended to think for a while, "As long as you need it, I guess?"
"Thank you, Luffy!" Nami hugged him before grabbing a few bags of berries and running off.
"You're going to regret that, Luffy… That witch is going to spend everything…" Zoro grimaced.
"Don't call Nami a witch, marimo!" Sanji yelled at Zoro.
"Shishishi, just use it to buy what you need, I don't mind," Luffy grinned.
Sanji and Usopp each took a bag before leaving the ship while Zoro stared at the last bag left.
"Luffy, I'm going to need to buy two new swords, I don't think this much is gonna be enough…" Zoro gestured to the last bag.
"Oh, well then follow me to see Smokey, I'll get the bounty money from him as well!" Luffy tossed the bag at Zoro before leaping off the ship. "Let's go Zoro! I still want to go see the execution stand!"
"What are we, tourists now?" Zoro grinned, sprinting after his Commodore.
Inside the Marine base, a bare chested Captain was piling up a stack of pebbles dutifully. He had light blueish-green hair and a muscular chest, a pair of cigars smouldered in between his teeth.
He picked up the sixth pebble and hovered his hand over the pebble tower, concentrating on its position before gently lowering his hand to place the pebble at the top.
The sound of a door bursting open exploded through the base, "SMOKEEYYYY!"
Smoker jerked his hand and the tower fell to pieces. He cursed under his breath, tossing the last pebble away and pulling on his Marine jacket that had green fur lining the neck, wrists and hem.
"Shit… I thought he'd only reach tomorrow…" Smoker breathed, quickly extinguishing his two cigars in the ashtray and running towards the closet in the far end of the room.
The door to the room slammed open, "SMOKEEYY! There you are!" Luffy stepped in gingerly, spotting Smoker halfway into the closet.
Smoker cursed under his breath as he backed out of the closet, closing it as he did so. He stepped in front of Luffy, saluting stiffly, "Commodore Luffy."
"Oh? You already knew? Shishishi, I wanted to surprise you!" Luffy laughed, returning the salute.
"How could I not know? I'm pretty sure everyone at Headquarters knew about it already…" Smoker sighed, scratching his head.
"Shishishi! Hina says hi too!" Luffy grinned.
Smoker covered his face with a palm, "Please don't mention her… She already called me just yesterday and kept me up all night about your scuffle with Kuro..."
"Hehehe, and about our bet…" Luffy smirked uncontrollably.
"Fine! Fine! You win! Are you happy now? I won't smoke in front of you anymore!" Smoker raised his hands in surrender.
"Shishishi, thanks Smokey!"
"Tch… Just because I used to tease you with my smoke doesn't mean you have to hate all kinds of tobacco…" Smoker sighed.
Flashback
Luffy walked beside Hina in the corridors of Marineford. Hina seemed to be tense while Luffy skipped along, whistling a tune as though he was on a tour.
They stopped outside a room with a plaque "Smoker" nailed on the door.
"He's the other Captain that will be coming with us," Hina explained, rapping her knuckles on the door. Luffy noted the streams of smoke that seemed to be flowing out from under the door.
She pushed it open without waiting for an answer to find the room filled to the brim with smoke. Luffy coughed uncontrollably as he inhaled the smoke.
"Smoker, stop it, he can't take the smell," Hina admonished.
"The kid can suck it up then," Smoker stepped out from within the cloud. He stared at the coughing boy, seemingly unimpressed.
"Monkey D. Luffy, huh? Don't think I'll bow down to you just because you're Garp's grandson." Smoker grunted. He crossed his arms, raising his chin at the boy, "Unless you're my superior, you're going to just have to suck it up, understand?"
Luffy frowned, nodding while stifling another cough.
"Hmph, if you can't pull your weight around here, I'm going to just drop you in the sea," Smoker slammed the door without waiting for an answer.
"Sorry, Luffy, he's always like that." Hina frowned at the door.
"It's alright, I just have to be his superior right? I'm going to be an Admiral, after all!" Luffy grinned, unfazed by the exchange.
"Can't I at least have one?" Smoker groaned.
"You promised!"
"Yes, yes… If you got a promotion earlier than I did, I'll stop doing it in front of you." Smoker sighed deeper.
Zoro gave a slight cough behind Luffy, Smoker then noticed him for the first time.
"Who's this? One of your crewmates?" Smoker raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, Smokey, this is my first mate, Zoro. Zoro, this is Captain Smokey, I used to be attached to his unit along with Captain Hina's in the past."
Both men stuck out their hand and shook.
"Captain Smoker." Smoker grunted. "So you're Roronoa Zoro, the pirate hunter? Never thought you'll join as a Marine…"
"Luffy has his way with words," Zoro grinned.
"He's a handful isn't he?"
"Indeed, Captain Hina said the same thing," Zoro sighed.
"You'll get used to it," Smoker gave a knowing smile before turning back to Luffy. "Now, Commodore Luffy, I have your orders ready, if you want it now."
"Not yet, Zoro needs to buy his swords, I don't suppose you have my bounties ready?"
"Indeed I do," Smoker turned towards the still open door, "Tashigi!"
They waited for a few moments when no response came.
"TASHIGI!" Smoker yelled louder. Hurried footsteps approached the door and a marine guard entered the room, saluting.
"Captain Smoker, sir! Master Chief Petty Officer Tashigi has been out of the base since this morning!"
"That confounded girl…" Smoker pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. He waved the marine away and walked over to his desk, lifting up a chest from underneath the table.
"Here's the half bounty from Buggy and full bounties for Kuro, Krieg and Arlong. The whole sixty and a half million berries. With the reimbursement for rooting out Morgan and Nezumi, the total would come to sixty-five million. You should have seen how much that Nezumi had embezzled," Smoker grinned, opening the chest to reveal the stacks of notes inside.
"Unless you're planning to build a fleet, I'd think you're set enough for Grand Line in the monetary department."
Zoro snickered, "You'd think so, huh? You have no idea who's in our crew."
Smoker frowned, "You're not really intending on building a fleet are you?"
"Nah, there's a girl in our group," Zoro grinned, Smoker could only nod in understanding.
"Nami isn't like that," Luffy chuckled, counting out half a million berries and handing them to Zoro. "Go get yourself something decent with this, Zoro."
"Thanks Luffy," Zoro pocketed the money carefully.
"You can get one of my guards to show you to the shop, there's one that's quite good around these parts," Smoker grinned.
Zoro nodded a thanks before exiting the room.
Smoker watched Zoro leave before turning back to Luffy, "Alright, I'll go through your orders, it's a bit unusual even for you."
Smoker pulled out the chair and sat at his desk, gesturing Luffy to do the same opposite him. He pulled out a stack of papers and a small wooden box from within the desk drawers and placed them on the table carefully.
He pulled out a cigar and placed it in his mouth.
"Just let me bite it, I feel weird without one," Smoker said quickly before Luffy could protest.
He pushed the papers towards Luffy, pulling out each one as he went through the details, "First thing is that you're being transferred to the Grand Line of course, you should know that by now. Next thing is that instead of having an 'area' to patrol, Headquarters wants you to be assigned to a 'route'."
"A route?" Luffy echoed, tilting his head.
"You know about the Log Pose, right?" Smoker raised an eyebrow at him.
"Of course! I stayed in the Grand Line for three years after all!" Luffy thumped his chest proudly.
Smoker opened the box, revealing a Log Pose within. "Pick a route using the Log Pose and that will be your station. You came here at just the right time too, there's been a whole new bunch of pirates entering the Grand Line just recently, Headquarters wants you to follow along one of the routes and clean out any criminals you come across. You are to stick to that route until you reach Headquarters, from there you'll receive new orders."
Smoker closed the box and handed it to Luffy, who had it stowed away inside his cloak.
"Your past orders apply here as well, capture any pirate with bounties and it's yours to claim; arrest any corrupt marines and Headquarters will reimburse you for the trouble."
Smoker pulled out four pieces of paper each with the details and photos of Luffy's crewmates.
"Headquarters approved of your requests for your crewmates, each of them granted a Commander rank for now. I hadn't tried to push for Captain since it might cause some resentment among the other Marine officers. There are already cases of marines claiming favouritism just because you're Garp's grandson."
Luffy nodded in understanding, not surprised by the news.
Smoker clipped the stack of papers and handed it to Luffy, standing from the table.
"I can have your ship's bottom coated with seastone and a battleship ready to get your ship across the Calm Belt by tomorrow."
"Thanks Smokey, you're a big help." Luffy stashed the papers in his cloak.
"Heh, in the meantime, just take it easy for now, I'll have your crew outfitted once they come in."
"Okey dokey, I wanna go take a look at the execution stand!" Luffy grinned, already making a dash out the door.
"You never changed huh, Luffy," Smoker grinned to himself.
Zoro looked up at the sign for the sword shop.
"Arms Shop…" Zoro mouthed. "So cliche…"
He turned to look at the Marine that guided him here, raising an eyebrow, "You sure this is the best shop?"
"Aye, sir. This shop has quite a long history in this town," The marine nodded dumbly.
Zoro waved him away and stepped into the shop, glancing around.
The shop was empty aside for a female customer and the shopkeeper, who seemed to be bickering about something. Rows of wicked looking weapons adorned the walls all around the shop with the odd armour sticking out at certain parts. Zoro approached the wall just as the shopkeeper tossed a sword at her, causing her to stumble backwards and crash into one of the displays, sending its contents spewing on to the floor.
"How did you even fall over there?! You better clean that mess up and leave!" The owner yelled at her.
Zoro cleared his throat to get his attention, the owner turned his glare to him, "What do you want Marine?"
Zoro tossed the six bundles of berry notes on the counter, "I have six hundred thousand berries, sell me two swords."
The owner's demeanor changed immediately, smiling at Zoro, "Why of course! I'm Ippon Matsu, the owner of this shop! We've been in business for two hundred years! I'm sure we can find something for you!"
"I want something that's about this quality," Zoro showed him his last remaining blade.
"No… Way…" Matsu received the sword from Zoro, unsheathing it with his mouth wide open and his eyes popping out of his skull.
"Ahhh! That sword! Could it be?!" The girl rushed forward and slammed herself into the counter, grasping the sword away from Matsu. "I can't believe it! It's Wadou Ichimonji! It's among the twenty-one Great-grade swords!"
Matsu stared at her dumbly, "Indeed it is… How did a Marine like you get your hands on that? It's worth at least a million berries!"
"It's a memento from a friend," Zoro crossed his arms, indicating he was not going to say more than that.
"I… I see... I'm sorry," the girl passed the sword back to Zoro. That was when Zoro had a good look at her face, he flinched and stumbled backwards, regaining his footing at the last second.
"Are you alright?" The girl looked at him, concerned.
"Yeah… Yeah… You… You looked like my friend…" Zoro stuttered, her resemblance to Kuina was uncanny, it almost seemed to him like she had returned to life before him.
Unconcerned, the girl noticed the clothes Zoro was wearing. "Oh! You're a Marine right? I'm Master Chief Petty Officer Tashigi! I'm currently stationed in this town! Are you new here?" She reached out a hand to shake.
Zoro grasped it lightly, raising an eyebrow, "No… I'm just stopping here for the meantime while my commander is receiving his report…"
"I see! You're looking for swords right? I can help you with that!" Tashigi gave him a bright smile.
Zoro was especially unnerved as she started looking around the shop for a sword befitting him. He went to the furthest corner away from her and began digging through a barrel full of swords.
"If you don't mind me saying, your three swords had reminded me of a certain bounty hunter around these parts," Tashigi said offhandedly, picking up a sword to examine it.
"Oh, who might that be?" Zoro glanced at her.
"Roronoa Zoro, he's rather infamous around these parts as a fearless killing machine."
Zoro sputtered as he stifled his laughter, turning away to dig through the barrel just as Tashigi approached him, digging through the barrel next to him.
"It's saddening to see swordsmen like him using swords only as a means of earning money, don't they all know the true value of the blade? The swords are crying, you know?" Tashigi frowned. "Why do the best blades all end up in the hands of criminals…"
"Heh, I wouldn't mind if there were a bit more criminals around, at least it gave me some business!" Matsu snorted from behind the counter. "Ever since your monster Captain showed up, it's already hard enough for me to get more customers!"
"Captain Smoker isn't a monster!" Tashigi protested.
"He's a Devil Fruit user! That qualifies him as a monster!" Matsu shot back.
Zoro grinned just as he grabbed onto a sword that felt different from the rest. He pulled it out of the stack and examined it, it was clearly of a higher quality than every other blade it was stored with.
"Ah! I remember that one! It's Sandai Kitetsu! What's it doing with all these cheap swords?" Tashigi gasped. "You sure you meant to put it here, mister?"
The owner seemed to be sweating buckets, "Ye… Yes…"
Zoro drew the sword slowly, holding it in front of him and scrutinizing the curve of the blade.
"It's cursed," he said simply.
Tashigi and Matsu stared at him in shock.
"You… You could tell?" Matsu gulped.
"I can feel it," Zoro lifted the blade up into the light, narrowing his eyes.
"It's as you said…" Matsu confessed. "The Kitetsu swords were known for their quality but they were also cursed. Many swordsmen who had chose to wield one ended up with tragic deaths, that's why you don't see anyone who would use a Kitetsu these days."
Tashigi gasped, looking at the sword in fear.
"I like it," Zoro grinned. "I think I'll take it!"
"Didn't you hear me?! It's cursed! If you get that sword, you're gonna end up with a horrible fate!" Matsu shook his fist at Zoro.
Zoro just grinned, "Then let's see which one is stronger: this sword's curse, or my will to overcome it?"
Zoro tossed the sword into the air, stretching out his arm into the path of the descending blade.
"Stop! You'll lose your arm!" Matsu screamed. Tashigi could only watch in horror as the sword spun towards Zoro's arm.
Zoro kept his eyes close as the blade descended upon his arm, the back of the blade spun along the outline of his arm before finally stabbing itself in the ground, leaving Zoro untouched.
"I'll take it!" Zoro grinned. Tashigi and Matsu had collapsed onto the ground in relief, Tashigi letting out the breath she had been unknowingly holding in.
"Owner! Get me another sword with that money!" Zoro grinned, already securing Sandai Kitetsu to his waist.
"Wait… Wait right here," Matsu disappeared into the back of the shop and returning quickly with a black sword clutched in his arms.
Matsu handed the sword to Zoro, "This is the best sword that my shop currently has, the Yubashiri."
"Ah! It's among the fifty Skillful-grade swords!" Tashigi gasped.
Matsu nodded, "It's been awhile since I've seen a swordsman like yourself… I'll give you both swords as a gift from me."
"Heh, you really won't take a single berry for these two swords?" Zoro grinned, attaching the third sword to his waist.
"Consider it as passing along one man's dream to another," Matsu smirked. "May I at least hear you name?"
Zoro glanced back at Tashigi, smirking, "Roronoa Zoro, I'm a Marine of the Straw Hat Marines."
"The pirate hunter? I'm honored," Matsu stuck out his hand and shook Zoro's hand.
"AHHHH! You! You! You!" Tashigi screamed, pointing her finger at Zoro.
"Yes, I'm the Roronoa Zoro you were talking about, and no, I'm no longer a bounty hunter," Zoro turned back to Tashigi.
"You! What's your motive?!" Tashigi demanded, storming in front of Zoro.
"Motive?" Zoro raised an eyebrow at her. "I have none, what kind of motive might I have?"
"Liar! There's no way a bounty hunter like you could have willingly joined the Marines!" Tashigi grabbed Zoro's collar and pulled him to face her.
"Tch! I joined already alright?! Your Captain himself was supposed to finalize it as well!" Zoro smacked her hand away. "Speaking of which, I need to report back to the base, you mind guiding me back?"
Tashigi glared at him, "You… I… ARGH! I won't accept this!"
Tashigi turned on her heels and walked out of the shop, not sparing a glance back.
"Jeez… This is why I don't get women…" Zoro sprinted out the shop after her.
"Wooow! So this is what the King of Pirates saw before his execution!" Luffy stood on top of the execution platform with his arms crossed.
"Hey you! Marine! Get down from there!" A voice shouted from among the crowd.
Luffy looked down to see a policeman waving his fist at him.
"Don't think just because you're a Marine we'll let you do whatever you want! Now get down before I-"
A mace smashed at the policeman's face, sending him tumbling on to the floor.
"I've finally found you, Luffy! It's been awhile," A woman stepped out from the crowd, hefting the mace on her shoulder.
She wore a white cowboy hat with a large red plume complimented with a revealing bikini top and tight pink pants that reached just past her knees.
Luffy raised an eyebrow, "Have I met you before?"
"Oh, how can you forget about me? I remember as though it was yesterday when you had handled me so roughly!" She squirmed as she hugged herself.
"You had me tied up so I couldn't resist, and then you left me there! How cruel of you, Luffy," She sighed, flicking her hair back with her hand.
"Er... I really don't remember you..." Luffy scratched his head.
"Gyahahaha! Even still, you should remember me right? You lousy Marine!" A cloaked figure stepped beside the woman.
"You…" Luffy gasped.
"Gyahahaha! Remember me now?!"
"Sorry, who are you?" Luffy laughed, scratching his head in embarrassment.
The cloaked figure cursed as he threw the cloak away, prompting a whole group behind him to do the same.
"Oh, it's just you, Buggy," Luffy grinned.
"So you remember me," Buggy sneered. "I have escaped and returned to take my revenge on you! You thought those pathetic ropes can hold me? I'll show you what happens when you underestimate me!"
"I still don't know who you are though," Luffy nodded to the woman.
"DON'T IGNORE ME!" Buggy screamed.
The woman sighed, "Don't you remember? You left me tied up alone on the beach and took Coby with you."
"Eh? I only remember tying up a really fat pirate there?" Luffy scratched his head.
"I am her you idiot! I'm Alvida!" Alvida screamed at him.
"EEEHHHH?!" Luffy's eyes popped out.
"Enough!" Buggy yelled. "We're both here to take our revenge on you! Prepare to die, Marine!"
Luffy crossed his arms, smirking at Buggy, "I've already beat you once, what makes you think I can't do it again?"
"Gyahahaha, do you see this crowd of people?" Buggy laughed, snapping his fingers. All of the pirates drew their weapons, herding the crowd towards the center of the town square. "Move from that platform and we'll kill everyone here."
"You! Leave them out of this! I'm the one you want!" Luffy clenched his fists.
"Gyahahaha! That's the reaction I wanted! Too bad for you Marine, I don't play fair! Cabaji!"
Cabaji appeared from behind Luffy, slamming down a block of wood on him.
Luffy had seen it with his Observation Haki and sidestepped Cabaji before kicking him off the platform.
"AHH! Cabaji!" Buggy screamed. "I said stay still Marine!"
"No, you told me to stay on the platform, I'm still on it aren't I?" Luffy stuck his tongue out at him.
"YOU BASTARD!"
"I still won't accept this!" Tashigi shook her head, leading Zoro towards Smoker's office.
"Well, it doesn't matter if you accept it or not, I'm a Marine now, so deal with it," Zoro smirked.
Tashigi clucked her tongue, knocking on the door before pushing it open.
"Captain Smoker! Master Chief Petty Officer Tashigi reporting for duty!"
"You're late, Tashigi!" Smoker puffed on his two cigars, beckoning her in. Tashigi noticed three other people standing in the room at attention.
"You're late, marimo," Sanji smirked.
"Shut up, stupid cook," Zoro fell in beside him.
Smoker stepped in front of the Straw Hats, crossing his arms, "I understand you guys are the crew Commodore Luffy has gathered for his unit. Effective immediately, all of you are to be given the ranks of Commander."
Zoro grinned uncontrollably at Tashigi. She caught his grin and turned away, pouting.
"We have already prepared your uniforms, so change into them when you can."
Nami raised her hand, "Sir, is it a necessity to wear the uniform?"
Smoker snorted, Nami had came into the base carrying a huge bag of new clothes, he knew Zoro had told him about the extraordinary expenses the girl might have, but he didn't think it would be this serious.
On the other hand, Nami hadn't brought any spare clothes with her when they departed and thus she had to purchase the huge bag of clothes for herself to replace what she had lost.
"As long as you wear something with the Marine insignia, we're not too picky about it." Smoker grunted. "Now, I already gave your Commodore his new orders so he'll brief you guys when he gets back, if you want to, you guys can change now."
"Captain Smoker?" Usopp raised his hand shakily.
"What is it?" Smoker grunted, nodding towards him.
"Is it true that Luffy's grandfather is the Marine Hero Garp?"
Smoker's eyes widened at him for a moment, before face palming, "Did Vice Admiral Garp himself tell you about this?"
"Well… Sort of?" Usopp hesitated, Luffy had been the one to shout towards the Vice Admiral but it was Garp himself that declared Luffy was his grandson.
Smoker gritted his teeth, "That damn old man, he threatened everyone at Headquarters to keep it shut about it, and yet he himself just can't help but to brag it to everyone…"
Smoker sighed, "I'll have you know that the only person that didn't seem to try to keep that information a secret was Garp himself… It makes the rest of us look like idiots for going with it..."
"So Garp wasn't the one who kept our names from the newspaper?" Nami raised an eyebrow.
"Hell no!" Smoker wrung his hands in frustration. "Knowing him, he would've already appeared in the papers with a picture of himself and Luffy smiling next to each other! He would've also insisted the headlines to be something like "My grandson's the best" or something!" Smoker pinched his nose in frustration.
Smoker gave a long sigh, "The only reason he actually told Luffy to keep it a secret was because the Fleet Admiral threatened him to..."
"Captain Smoker!" A Marine rushed into the room, giving a quick salute. "Pirates have been spotted in the town square! It seems they have taken the whole town square hostage, including Commodore Luffy!"
"What?!" All of the Straw Hats gasped.
"Tch…" Smoker clucked his tongue. "Ready up unit 1 to block the harbor, take unit two to set up a perimeter around the town square, the rest will be on standby within shooting distance as backup. The four of you, come with me, we'll get your Commodore out of there."
"Captain Smoker!" Nami raised her hand.
"What is it, girl?" Smoker turned back.
"There'll be a storm brewing soon, will our ship be safe?"
Smoker raised an eyebrow, "You can predict the weather?"
Nami shook her head, "I can read it well enough to know what's coming."
"I see, don't worry about it, our harbor's pretty sturdy, your ship will be safe from the storm. Now, we need to arrest some pirates!"
"Yes sir!" All four saluted.
Smoker pushed open the door and ushered the Straw Hats inside the room. By the window, a few Marines had their rifles ready and one of them was surveying the square with a pair of binoculars.
"What's the situation?" Smoker asked, taking the binoculars from the Marine.
"The pirates have taken all the civilians in the square hostage, they seem to want the head of Commodore Luffy in exchange for the lives of the civilians." The marine saluted.
"Tch, we have to move fast then, is everyone in position?" Smoker tossed the binoculars back to the Marine.
"Yes sir," the marine fumbled with the binoculars before catching it.
"Get them ready to move once I give the signal. You four," Smoker pointed to the Straw Hats. "I need you guys as my backup, once I have their attention, get Luffy down from there," Smoker grunted.
"Yes, sir!"
Luffy was on his knees with his hands tied behind his back, Buggy was standing over him, his foot on his shoulder.
"Now remember, move and everyone in the square will suffer," Buggy whispered in Luffy's ear. He drew out his sword, pointing it towards the sky.
"Everyone! Bear witness to this Marine's flashy execution! This is what happens to those that oppose us!"
All the pirates cheered and cursed at Luffy.
"Now is there any last words you would like to say? Mr. Marine?" Buggy smirked.
Luffy looked towards the crowd, all of their eyes watching him expectantly.
Buggy smirked, resting his sword on his shoulder, "Well, not that it matters, you're going to die any-"
"I AM THE ONE WHO SHALL STAND AT THE TOP OF THE MARINES!"
Everyone was taken aback by his sudden declaration.
"Tch, is that all you have to say you damn brat?!" Buggy's blade descended at Luffy's neck.
A scream of pain echoed through the square. Buggy looked up to see Smoker beating down his crew with his jitte, shielding the civilians from them. A few blocks away, Marines poured out of the alleys and surrounded the pirates, pushing them back into the square. Out of the corner of his eyes, both Sanji and Zoro were leaping up at him, fully intending on taking him down.
"Damn it! I'll at least take you with me, Straw Hat!" Buggy cut at Luffy's head again, knowing they won't reach him in time.
"LUFFY!" his crew cried.
Luffy noticed his hair standing just as he felt a prickle at the back of his neck. A flash of lightning struck the platform, setting it on fire and toppling it down towards the square. At the last second, Luffy had kicked himself off the platform and down into the crowd below, breaking free of his restraints at the same time.
"Straw Hat!"
Luffy turned to see Alvida grinning in front of him, just as rain started to fall.
"It's too bad you're on the side of the Marines, or we might've joined as a team," Alvida hefted her mace.
"Alvida, the team may have failed to catch you, but not with me here!" Luffy lunged towards Alvida, aiming for a punch at her abdomen. Alvida smirked and closed her eyes, letting Luffy's fist hit her, only for his fist to slip past her body without an impact.
"What?" Luffy turned back to look at Alvida.
"I ate the Sube Sube fruit, now my skin is flawlessly smooth, there's no way you can leave a mark on-"
"Sorry, teacher... Armament!"
Luffy punched again, his fist coated black. This time with a successful impact and sending her flying away.
"Oh crap, I used too much strength… I hope she's alright…" Luffy scratched his head, remembering Aokiji's words.
"Grrr… You damn Straw Hat!" Buggy pushed himself up from among the remains of the platform, charred but still alive.
"I'll get you for this! Bara Bara Festival!"
Just as he split himself, white smoke appeared from all around him. Buggy tried to punch through the smoke only to find out the smoke was restraining him from moving.
"What? What's this smoke?!" Buggy looked around in panic.
"I'd appreciate it if you don't put my friend in any more danger, filthy pirate." Smoker growled, smoke billowing out from his sleeves and spreading out to the town square.
"You! You're Smoker the White Hunter! Damn you Marines!" Buggy cried as the smoke covered him.
"Smokey! Thanks for the help!" Luffy grinned, giving him a thumbs up.
"Heh, it's no big deal," Smoker grinned. "Men! Let's round up all these pirates!" Smoker yelled, slamming an unconscious Buggy on the ground.
"Captain Smoker!" A marine ran up to Smoker, saluting. "Some of the pirates managed to break through the encirclement! They're spreading themselves out to avoid capture!"
Smoker clucked his tongue, "Have units 2 and 3 move in on the square, try to get as many of them as you can, we already have their captain here." Smoker gestured to Buggy.
The marine saluted and dashed off back into the crowd.
"Luffy!"
Luffy turned to see his crewmates running towards him.
"You bastard! Getting yourself caught like that!" Sanji smacked him on the head.
"You should have just beat them all down!" Zoro frowned.
"Do you know how worried we were?!" Nami shook his shoulders.
"I... I knew all along he would be fine!" Usopp crossed his arms.
"Shishishi, sorry guys, I'm fine now!" Luffy scratched his head in embarrassment.
"Heh, it seems you were right about the storm, girlie," Smoker looked up at the rain.
"Of course, I'm the best navigator you can get!" Nami thumped her chest proudly.
"I guess we're grounded until the storm lifts," Smoker frowned. "You guys better get back to base while I clear these pirates out. TASHIGI!"
Tashigi ran up to Smoker and saluted, "Captain! We've got most of them cornered, some of the pirate lieutenants and Alvida herself managed to escape, however."
"That matters not, they won't go anywhere in this storm, tell the men to continue searching!"
"Yes, sir!" Tashigi turned to leave.
"Wait, I'll go with the men. I want you to guide them back to base, they're still not outfitted yet." Smoker grunted.
"Captain…" Tashigi glared at Zoro, who returned it with a smirk. "Do I have to?"
"Of course! I need to rally the men, so hop to it!"
"Aye… Sir…" Tashigi sighed, watching Smoker run back into the crowd.
"So… Chief Petty Officer Tashigi, we're in your care," Zoro grinned.
"Ugh… Follow me…" Tashigi heaved another sigh, leading the Straw Hats out of the town square.
Nami noticed Luffy staring off into one of the alleys, not following them.
"Luffy?" Nami tapped his shoulder.
He glanced at her before turning back to the alley, "You guys go ahead first, I'll catch up."
She looked in the direction of the alley but didn't see anything. Shrugging her shoulders, she ran to join the rest.
Luffy stepped into the alley slowly, his Marine cloak already drenched from the rain.
"Luffy," A cloaked man stepped out from the darkness, a tattoo was visible on the left side of his face.
"Dad…" Luffy narrowed his eyes.
"So you've chosen to follow Gramp's footsteps…" Dragon seemed to have a disapproving look in his eyes.
"I won't be a pawn of the World Government, if that's what you're worried about," Luffy crossed his arms.
"I'm not worried about that, Luffy. You can do whatever you want with your life, you're already an adult." Dragon sighed. "I know gramps wanted to protect you by bringing you into the Marines, knowing what would happen if the world found out you're my son. He hoped that you could be strong enough so that the Government would see you as an invaluable asset against me."
"I won't let them use me against you, dad." Luffy frowned.
"Heh, thanks for that, Luffy." Dragon smirked. "But things are much more complicated than you think. They'll find ways to make you do what they want even if you don't want to, that's why I've been fighting them."
Luffy furrowed his brows, "I became a Marine to protect innocents, they can't make me do anything outside of it."
Dragon grinned at his son's confidence, "Listen, Luffy, the Marines are good as a whole, but the Government itself is corrupted which is why corrupt Marines like Nezumi exists. As long as the Government doesn't change, people like him will always be there."
"How did you know?" Luffy gasped.
"It wouldn't do if I didn't at least take note of what my son's doing now, would I?" Dragon grinned at him. "I have contacts everywhere, after all."
Dragon raised his head to look at the sky, just as a lightning struck nearby, "I need to go now, Luffy. Think about what I said, though you don't need to do anything right now. Go out into the world and see how it's like yourself."
Dragon raised his arm and a gust of wind blew past him, blowing Luffy away towards the Marine base.
"Oh, and say hi to gramps for me," Dragon grinned as Luffy disappeared into the sky.
When the winds died down, Luffy found himself sitting in front of his crew, all looking at him with shocked expressions.
"Luffy? How did you get here?" Sanji raised his eyebrow.
"Oh, er… The wind blew me here! Shishishi!" Luffy chuckled, rubbing his head.
Everyone looked at him incredulously.
"This will be your rooms for tonight, your outfits are already prepared in your rooms." Tashigi gestured to the two doors facing each other in the corridor. "The left one is for Nami, you guys will use the right room."
"Nami-swaan, would you like me to warm the bed for you?" Sanji spun towards her.
"No thanks, and don't you dare come here!" Nami slammed the door in Sanji's face.
Luffy burst into their room and immediately slumped on to the bed, "Waaaaahh… It's so long since I've bunked in a Marine base, I almost forgotten how great the beds were!"
Sanji walked over and picked up the white Marine cloak that was left folded on the bed, he looked down at his black suit, tugging at it to compare.
"Ugh… I guess I'll need to change my suit's color…"
Usopp grasped the cloak with trembling hands, "I'd never have thought… I could become a Marine… And a Commander at that…"
Zoro went over to his cloak and shed off his Marine jacket without hesitation before donning on the cloak over his undershirt.
"Commander Zoro!" Tashigi yelled from the corridor.
Zoro turned, narrowing his eyes, "What do you want?"
"I formally request a duel with you!" Tashigi stared straight at Zoro.
"Huh, why?" Zoro grinned, folding his arms across his chest.
"If I win this duel, you'll pass Wadou Ichimonji to me!"
Zoro walked up to her, pulling out Wadou Ichimonji from his waist with its sheath. He held it in front of him to show her the sword, smirking, "I refuse."
"WHY?!" Tashigi yelled at him.
Zoro tilted his head at her, "I already told you this was a memento from a friend and I made a promise to her with this sword. To lose this sword to anyone would mean that I'm trampling on that promise to her."
He unsheathed the sword, holding it in front of him and pointing it towards the ground, "If you want to take this sword from me, you'll have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands."
Zoro slammed the sword back in its sheath before turning back to a fuming Sanji, "Oi! You stupid marimo! How dare you talk like that to a lady!"
"Tch, shut it shitty cook, this is none of your business!" Zoro turned back to point a finger at Tashigi, "And you! Stop bugging me already! The fact that you look like my friend is already a huge problem for me!"
"What? I… I look like your friend? The one you made the promise with?" Tashigi gasped.
"YES! So stop bugging me about the sword!" Zoro slammed the door, shutting Tashigi out of the room.
"Stupid marimo…" Sanji muttered, glaring at Zoro.
"Shut up, shitty cook," Zoro stormed back to his bed.
"Hey guys! What do you think?" Usopp turned around and stuck his chest out, oblivious to the atmosphere. He had already changed out of his overalls into full Marine gear.
He had replaced his bandana with a white Marine cap and switched his overalls for a white Marine t-shirt with a blue sash tied around his waist. He had a pair of baggy cargo pants with many pockets lining it that held his multitude of special bullets and His Marine cloak draped over his shoulders to finish his look.
"Huh, you don't actually look bad," Zoro grinned.
"I'll just look weird with this over my shoulders…" Sanji groaned. "I'll look for new outfits in the morning."
"So we're finally heading to the Grand Line tomorrow…" Luffy grinned from the bed. "That's where our real mission begins."
"Real mission?" Zoro raised an eyebrow.
"Yep! The people there are much, much stronger than the ones here, we'll all have to get stronger if we want to beat them!" Luffy grinned.
"So what are our orders? That Smoker guy said you'll brief us," Sanji placed his cloak carefully on the hanger by his bed.
"Eh, I'll tell you guys in the morning, Nami's not here anyway." Luffy rolled over on the bed.
"Nami-swaaan! I'll go bring her some snacks!" Sanji pirouetted his way out of the room.
"That damn pervert cook…" Zoro sighed.
"So we're really headed for the Grand Line…" Usopp clenched his fists. "To become as great as my dad, I won't back down!"
"Shishishi! Let's all do our best then! We're setting off tomorrow!" Luffy beamed at his crewmates.
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And cut.so that is it for this chapter hope you guys enjoyed see you in the next chapter
Chapter 11:once again, grand line