here's a new chapter enjoy:)
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"It's Mr. 0…"
Zoro grinned upon hearing that name.
"Ah, yes, of course, what did you want again?"
"Stop playing around Mr. 3, have you killed those Straw Hat Marines and princess Vivi?"
"Oh… Yes, of course I did, they were just a bunch of small fries, nothing to worry about." Zoro snickered.
"Good, I already sent the Unluckies to deliver an eternal pose to you. Set off for Alabasta with Miss Goldenweek once you receive it."
"Of course, Mr. 0, we'll be sure to—"
Zoro was cut off mid-sentence as an otter appeared from the corner of his eye and lunged at him, a pair of shells that had knives at the ends in its hands.
"Tch, what do you think you're doing?!" Zoro unsheathed his sword.
The otter turned to face him just as a vulture dove through the window, a pair of cannons on its back. The otter lunged again with the vulture behind it, shooting a pair of cannonballs at Zoro.
"You guys aren't even worth my time!"
Zoro ducked under the otter's lunge and sidestepped the cannonballs, slashing his sword at the vulture and sending it crashing into one of the wax tables.
The otter leapt at Zoro again, clearly mad at him for cutting its partner.
Spinning around, Zoro caught the shells with his blade, smirking at the otter before delivering a punch to its face and sending it crashing into the other end of the room.
Sheathing back his sword, he picked up the receiver again, "You still there?"
"Explain what happened, Mr. 3…" The voice seemed very displeased.
"Oh nothing, a bunch of weird animals attacked me, I already dealt with them." Zoro glanced at the unconscious duo.
"Tch… Just get here as soon as possible, I don't want to waste anymore time."
"Oh, before that, Mr. 0… Did you receive a message from those Marines?" Zoro grinned.
"No, why?"
"Because my Commodore sends his regards, we're coming to kick your ass, Mr. Warlord."
Zoro hung up before he could get a response. Glancing down at the otter and vulture again, he approached them with a sword drawn.
"Are these things the ones carrying the eternal pose?" Zoro poked the vulture with the tip of his sword.
Getting no response, he knelt down and turned the vulture over, just as an eternal pose rolled out from under it.
"Bingo," Zoro smirked.
The four officer agents of Baroque Works stood against the four Straw Hat Marines with Vivi alongside them, Carue had already hid himself somewhere.
"I'd say, I'm rather disappointed at you, Miss Wednesday," Mr. 3 smirked. "If you had just kept up your ruse, maybe you might have even gotten a place in the new Kingdom of Alabasta after Mr. 0 takes over."
"I would never have forgiven any of you for starting the civil war," Vivi furrowed her brows.
Mr. 3 shrugged, disappointed, "I guess we can't hold back then, we'll have to kill all of you here and now!"
Miss Valentine leapt into the air while Mr. 5 brandished a revolver from within his coat, breathing out his breath into the bullet chambers. Miss Goldenweek dipped her paint brush in one of her paints while Mr. 3 flung his hand towards them, directing trails of wax towards them.
On the other side, Usopp pulled back his slingshot with a bullet loaded in while Sanji lit his cigarette and made a dash towards them. Nami assembled her staff and spun it defensively in her hands, standing alongside Vivi who had already pulled out her Peacock Slashers as well. Luffy gritted his teeth as he covered his whole body with Armament Haki, charging in with his crew.
The two sides clashed, both sides intent on eliminating the other.
Mr. 5 aimed his pistol at Usopp and emptied all six rounds at him.
Usopp frowned, "Don't tell me your breath's explosive too?!"
He released all the explosive bullets that he had loaded in his slingshot simultaneously, exploding the breath bullets in between them and throwing up a cloud of smoke.
Sanji charged through the smoke as Mr.5 was reloading his gun.
"Don't get cocky! Candle Lock!"
A wax trail shot towards Sanji's legs, imprisoning them in a candle shaped restraint. Sanji stumbled on to the ground, cursing under his breath just as Miss Valentine hovered over him, leg outstretched.
"Ten Thousand Kilo Guillotine!"
"Not on our watch!" Both Nami and Vivi leapt towards the descending Miss Valentine, smacking her away before she landed on Sanji.
"To be saved by you girls, how extremely lucky!" Hearts fluttered out of Sanji while he blew kisses at them.
"Shut up and start being of some use!" Nami yelled at him.
"Too late for that," Mr. 5 grinned, pointing his revolver at them.
"Exploding Star!" Usopp shot at Mr. 5.
"Futile," Mr. 5 smirked, catching the bullet in his mouth and swallowing it, the bullet exploded inside him harmlessly. "Explosives don't work on me."
He fired the gun at Nami.
"Don't look down on us!" Sanji flipped on his hands, throwing the candle restraint on his legs in the path of the gun.
The invisible bullets exploded on the candle, shattering it and freeing Sanji.
Luffy charged towards Mr. 3, his haki-infused fist clenched behind him, ready to strike.
"Candle Wall!"
Mr. 3 threw his hands on the ground, spilling wax on the floor that reformed into a hardened wall of wax.
"You won't be able to punch through this!" Mr. 3 smirked.
Luffy punched at the wall, shattering it with minimal effort and letting his momentum carry his punch straight into Mr. 3's face. The others watched with wide eyed awe as Mr. 3 was sent crashing back through the forest in a single punch.
"You filthy Marine!" Mr. 5 pointed his revolver at Luffy, firing all six rounds at him.
Luffy lowered his head as he swayed his body from left to right, dodging the invisible bullets effortlessly.
"You shouldn't turn away from me!" Sanji jumped at Mr. 5, kicking towards his head.
Mr. 5 raised his arm casually to block the kick before detonating his arm to fling Sanji away. Sanji cursed under his breath as he landed on his knee near the edge of the forest.
"It seems everyone forgot about me…"Miss Goldenweek pouted, dipping her paint brush in black paint before splashing it onto Sanji's back.
"Color Trap: Betrayal Black!"
Sanji felt his mind cloud over as the paint imprinted itself on his Marine cloak.
"Great job, Miss Goldenweek," Miss Valentine smirked, pushing herself up from where Nami and Vivi had hit her to. "Now, you stupid Marine! Get rid of those two girls!"
"I'm sorry, I can't hit girls…" Sanji deadpanned.
"What?" Miss Goldenweek gasped. "The hypnotism is perfect… Why?"
"Because he's a gentleman," Luffy smirked, charging towards Miss Goldenweek.
Sanji leapt in front of Luffy, kicking towards him. Luffy barely had time to kick himself away before Sanji's kick missed his head by inches.
"Looks like he doesn't have trouble fighting you, though," Miss Valentine smirked.
"Sanji! Snap out of it you idiot!" Nami yelled at him.
Mr. 5 pointed his revolver at her again, "You have other things to worry about, girl."
"Your opponent is me! Exploding Star!" Usopp shot three projectiles towards Mr. 5.
"Don't you learn?" Mr. 5 opened his mouth to swallow the bullets again.
Usopp let a grin cross his face, "Did I say exploding star? I meant Tabasco Star, oops!"
"You!" Mr. 5's face contorted in pain as he felt his body burn up from the Tabasco shots he had just swallowed. He fell to his knees, coughing and spitting in an attempt to get rid of the burn.
In the meantime, Luffy was busy swaying from left to right, dodging all of Sanji's kicks. He was still hesitant on raising his hand against his own crew.
"What's wrong with him, Vivi?" Nami cried.
"Miss Goldenweek is a hypnotist… she uses the colors of her paint to control her opponents' emotions…" Vivi gritted her teeth.
Nami watched as Luffy sidestepped another kick from Sanji that obliterated the tree trunk behind him, "Isn't there anything we can do?"
Vivi pointed at the black paint on Sanji's cloak, "If we can get rid of that, he should go back to normal…"
"Got it! Luffy! Keep him busy! We'll get rid of the paint!" Nami charged towards Sanji.
Miss Valentine stepped in front of her, "I don't think so!"
She leapt into the air, aiming herself at Nami before increasing her weight to ten thousand kilograms. Nami flung herself out of the way as Miss Valentine crashed down on where she had been.
"You meddlesome bitch…" Nami furrowed her brows.
"Kyahahaha! Just let those two fight among themselves!" Miss Valentine laughed, keeping herself in between Nami and Sanji.
"I don't suppose burning off his cloak would work?" Usopp aimed his slingshot at Sanji, a flame star bullet loaded and ready.
"No! Don't you dare burn the cloak, Usopp!" Luffy yelled, blocking another kick from Sanji with an upraised arm. "I just have to get it off him right?!"
"Yep," Miss Goldenweek deadpanned.
"Don't tell him!" Miss Valentine yelled at her.
"Soru!"
Luffy dashed past Sanji, grabbing onto his cloak and pulling it off his shoulders. Sanji fell on his hunches the moment the cloak left his shoulders, looking around him in confusion. Luffy swiped the paint off with his hand before tossing the cloak back to Sanji, flicking his hand to get rid of the paint as well.
"You're not bad, for a Marine…" A voice called out from the forest. "This is the first time I'm forced to use this against a Marine, you should be proud of yourself!"
Mr. 3 emerged from the forest in a giant suit made of hardened wax. It had broad shoulders with spikes lining it and two giant boxing gloves for hands.
"This is my best piece of work! Candle Champion!" Mr.3 grinned proudly, only his head was visible on the suit's torso area.
"That's the one he used to defeat that pirate worth forty-two million berries…" Miss Valentine stared at the hulking suit.
"Miss Goldenweek! Paint the suit for me! With that I'll become invincible!" Mr. 3 laughed.
Nami and Vivi stared at the suit incredulously while Usopp and Luffy had sparkles in their eyes. Miss Goldenweek sighed as she painted Mr. 3's suit halfheartedly, muttering about doing unnecessary work all the time.
"Hahahaha! Now to crush you Marines!" Mr. 3 laughed with his new colored suit, advancing slowly towards the Marines. "This wax that I created is stronger than even steel! There's no way that any of you can stop me now!"
Luffy stepped in front of him, "Really?! That's so cool!"
"THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO BE ADMIRING IT!" Nami and Vivi shouted at him.
Mr. 3 raised a fist, aiming at the still stationary Luffy, "It's your end, you damn Marine!"
"Tch, you damn Commodore! What are you doing?!" Sanji leapt towards Mr. 3, kicking at his exposed head.
Mr .3 dropped the upraised fist to deflect Sanji's kick away, smirking at him.
"I already told you, I'm invincible! There's no way you can hurt me!"
Sanji landed on his feet, leaping up towards Mr. 3 again, leg poised to kick.
"Mouton Shot!"
Sanji kicked towards Mr. 3's torso, pushing the wax suit back a few steps.
Mr. 3 grunted, "Your kicks are strong, but not strong enough to destroy my suit!"
Mr. 3 charged towards Sanji, delivering a flurry of punches towards him. Sanji furrowed his brows as he leapt back from Mr. 3, avoiding the punches that left craters on the ground.
While Sanji was occupied, Nami and Vivi lunged towards Miss Valentine, aiming to take her out while she was distracted. She leapt back just as they swung their weapons at her, tutting at them, "Kyahahaha, you think I'm that easy?"
Miss Valentine leapt up at the air again, increasing her weight and dropping herself towards Nami and Vivi again. Both girls leapt away from her point of impact, grinning towards each other.
Nami gripped her staff, holding it over her shoulder with both hands, "If you keep on using the same attack…"
Vivi spun her Peacock Slashers on both her fingers, arms thrown back in preparation to strike, "We'll know just how to counter you!"
As Miss Valentine crashed into the ground, both Nami and Vivi swung their weapons at the same time. Nami's staff caught Miss Valentine across her face while Vivi struck her across her abdomen, sending her crashing away, leaving her unconscious on the ground.
Both girls high-fived each other victoriously, striking a victory pose.
"Don't *cough*… Don't get *cough* *cough* so cocky! *cough*" Mr. 5 finally stood up, his face blood red with saliva dripping past his swollen lips.
Usopp grinned uncontrollably, hands on his hips, "You should just stay down if you know what's good for you."
"You damn long nose… *cough* *cough* I'll get you first!" Mr. 5 raised his revolver with unsteady hands.
"Well, how about this? Pepper Bomb!" Usopp threw a small satchel at Mr. 5.
With his eyes still teary from the Tabasco he swallowed, Mr. 5 didn't notice the satchel thrown at him until it was too late. The satchel collided with his face, scattering its powdery contents all over him.
"You… You… Ah… Ah… Achoo!" Mr. 5 sneezed, his breath exploding on the ground near him, sending him flying back into the forest. A few moments later, another explosion blasted from within the forest, followed by another one further away.
"Hahaha! I may not be a true great warrior of the sea yet, but I still have my ways to win my fights!" Usopp thumped his chest proudly.
"Yeah, a little help would be great here too!" Sanji yelled, dodging another punch from Mr. 3 before delivering another kick towards his torso, still unsuccessful in breaking the suit.
Luffy started running towards him, "Hold on Sanji! I'll be rig—"
"Color Trap: Betrayal Black" Miss Goldenweek splashed the black paint on Luffy's cloak.
"No! Luffy!" Nami screamed in horror.
Luffy could feel his mind clouding over as his vision darkened.
Flashback
Luffy stood in the room that belonged to the captain of the pirate ship. Instead of the Marine attire he usually wore, he wore a black suit with a red colored tie half hidden by his suit jacket. Right in front of him was the captain of the pirates.
The pirate himself was huddling in a small corner of the ship, staring up at Luffy in fear. He had his hands raised defensively hoping that it would help keep him alive.
Three figures stepped into the room behind Luffy.
One of them had an extraordinarily thin and long moustache that stretched down past his torso accompanied with a pointed goatee. His sleek black hair was braided to look like a scorpion's tail and a pair of pointed sunglasses rested on his head. He wore a black tangzhuang that was white down the middle and left open to expose his muscular chest. A black tie was hooped loosely around his neck that reached down to a red sash tied over his black pants.
The second man had a noticeably larger frame and a very obvious mane of long pinkish hair. He wore a normal black suit that was accompanied with a green tie at the collar. In his hands were two hand guards that covered the back of his hands while he wielded a staff that he slung loosely on his shoulders.
The last man was the strangest with his big round frame that was shaped like a balloon. His oddest feature was the zip that stretched across his mouth, one that he has to unzip if he wished to speak. Despite that, his green hair was well groomed and he wore his black suit and white tie smartly.
"Gyaaahahaha, so you found him eh, Luffy? You can do the honors then!" Jabra laughed, flipping his braided hair over his shoulder.
"Yoyoi! Such sadness! A life so fleeting, so fragile, like the petals of a flower blown by the storms!" Kumadori cried, wiping his tears with his long, pink hair.
"Chapapa, so this is the end for the infamous pirate that tried to expose the government's secrets?" Fukuro unzipped a part of his mouth, glancing at the cowering pirate,
Luffy said nothing as he continued to stare at the pirate, his hands relaxed by his sides.
Jabra walked up to him, putting a hand on Luffy's shoulder, "Go on, kid, you know what you have to do."
He leaned his head beside Luffy's ear, his wolfish grin still plastered on his face, "Once you're done with him, we can all go back home and you can have all the meat you want!"
Fukuro unzipped the zip across his mouth again, "Chapapa, Jabra's just jealous because Luffy's doriki is five hundred points higher than his."
"Shut up! No one needed to know that!" Jabra punched Fukuro out of the room.
"Oh! Forgive Fukuro's travesty! I shall commit seppuku in his stead!" Kumadori cried, stabbing himself with the end of his staff. Before the staff pierced his body, he instinctively used Tekkai and stopped the staff from causing any harm.
"Ahh! I failed again! Is my mother in heaven protecting me?"
"You too! Get out of here!" Jabra shouted, kicking him out of the room after Fukuro.
He turned back to the still stationary Luffy, grabbing him by the shoulders and turning him around to face him.
"Listen to me Luffy, we already talked about this before. We're here to do what needs to be done and none of us needs to like what we're doing. Even so, we have to do it because no one else would in order to protect what is precious to us."
Luffy glanced at the still cowering pirate before turning his gaze back to Jabra, "But… Isn't arresting him good enough? Even gramps told me—"
"Luffy! This is different! These kinds of people are too dangerous to be left alive!" Jabra pointed at the pirate, who was trying to make himself smaller in the corner.
"Listen well, Luffy. We are assassins... We are sent to eliminate anyone that threatens the safety of those that we care about. You care about your friends don't you?" Jabra stared hard at Luffy.
Luffy nodded dumbly.
Jabra turned him around to look at the pirate, "You see this guy? This is the kind of person that would kill anyone you cared about without a second thought! Do you think he's worth being kept alive?"
"I…He… Perhaps locking him up is enough?"
Jabra sighed in exasperation, "He possess information that can kill your friends if he chooses to spread it, in order to stop that, we have to kill him! Even if we lock him up somewhere, there will always be a chance that information will leak out somehow! If you wish to protect your friends, you have to kill him!"
Luffy hesitated, looking down at the pleading pirate who was begging for his life.
"Do it Luffy, for the sake of everyone you care about… You have to know when to put aside your emotions in order to protect everyone!" Jabra shoved him towards the pirate.
Luffy stumbled on one of the uneven planks on the floor, falling towards the pirate. Seeing his chance, the pirate fished out a knife he had kept hidden under his shirt, stabbing towards Luffy.
Jabra muttered a curse under his breath as he pushed Luffy away, letting the knife stab him in the side instead.
Luffy fell on the floor, staring up at Jabra's bleeding form in horror.
"You see… Luffy? What did I tell you? Scum… like him… deserve to be killed…" Jabra gasped.
The pirate pulled out the knife, turning to face Luffy with a triumphant grin. Jabra fell on his back, gasping at his bleeding wound.
A shadow crossed over Luffy's face as he stared at the pirate with half-lidded eyes.
The pirate lunged towards Luffy with the knife, gasping in shock as the knife shattered against Luffy's skin. He glanced up to see Luffy's entire body had turned a solid black color and even his eyes seemed to be an endless black pool of dread.
Luffy grabbed the pirate by the neck, throwing him against the far end of the room. The pirate screamed as he felt bones snap from the impact, coughing up blood. Luffy reappeared in front of him in an instant before he could fall towards the ground, grabbing the pirate's head with a hand before slamming him face-first into the ground.
He pulled the bloodied pirate up to face him, the pirate croaked with fear as he saw Luffy's face deceptively empty of all emotions, but his eyes held an unrestrained fury.
Luffy punched his fist into the pirate's abdomen, sending him crashing back into the wall again, this time he stayed there, hanging limply.
Luffy approached him slowly, his fists clenched. He stopped in front of the wall, staring at the pirate impassively before he let loose a flurry of unrestrained blows on the pirate, destroying him and the wall completely.
Fukuro and Kumadori walked back into the room, lifting Jabra off the floor.
"Chapapa, it isn't like you to let yourself get stabbed like that," Fukuro noted.
Jabra grinned wolfishly, "Hehehe, it was worth it, now we have awakened a side of Luffy that would not hesitate to kill."
"Yoyoi! Such anger! Such fury! As if the heavens themselves thunder upon the earth!" Kumadori cried, watching Luffy hammer into the already dead pirate with no signs of stopping.
A few tense minutes passed before Luffy finally stopped, breathing hard. His fists were thoroughly stained with the pirate's blood while he stood on the remains of the pirate that was now already crushed beyond recognition. He turned to look at Jabra, seeing him supported in between Fukuro and Kumadori.
He released his haki and took an unsteady step towards Jabra, his hands reaching out towards him with his usual smile on his face, "Jabra… You're alright… Thank gods… You're alright…"
Kumadori left Jabra's side and rushed forward to catch Luffy before he fainted on the floor.
"A true man amongst men! Such compassion for his friends! Oh so the heavens weep for him!" Kumadori cried again, his tears spilling down his cheeks.
"Gyaaahahaha! Let's take him back, I'm sure our missions will go much smoothly now with this," Jabra smirked.
"Chapapa, I'm sure his doriki will increase even further now," Fukuro laughed.
"SHUT UP!" Jabra yelled, punching Fukuro in the head.
"Hahaha! Great job Miss Goldenweek! Now, Mr. Luffy, kill those friends of yours!" Mr. 3 laughed, raising his arm to block another kick from Sanji before smashing him away with the other fist.
Luffy turned towards where Usopp, Nami and Vivi were standing, his eyes were glazed over. Before anyone could react, Luffy was already standing in front of Nami, both fists clenched.
"Luffy, wait!" Nami raised her hands, trying to get Luffy's attention.
She gasped when Luffy grabbed her by the collar and slammed her on the ground, his face devoid of emotion.
"Let go of her!" Vivi cried, slashing her Peacock Slashers at him only to have them bounce away from his hardened skin.
Nami looked up at Luffy in fear as he raised a fist, fully intent on bringing it down on her. She shut her eyes tightly just as the fist descended, both Usopp and Vivi flinched back.
The ground shook from the punch, a small crater formed at where Luffy's fist had landed. Nami slowly opened her eyes to see Luffy gritting his teeth with his fist implanted into the ground beside her head.
"Must… Protect… Everyone…" Luffy gasped through gritted teeth.
He slowly got up from Nami and stepped away from her, his whole body quaking from overcoming the hypnotism with sheer willpower.
"I WILL NOT HURT MY FRIENDS!" Luffy yelled, encasing himself in his haki again before smashing a fist into the ground.
This time, the whole island shook from the punch as a crack formed from the point of impact, spreading itself towards both ends of the island.
With a yell, he reached up a hand and tore off the cloak on his shoulders, tossing it to one side.
"Luffy…" Nami gasped, watching the raw display of power Luffy was showing.
Usopp's legs were quaking in fear while Vivi had her hands covering her mouth, eyes wide open in shock. Sanji stood extremely still, both his mouth and eyes wide open as he let his cigarette fall out of his mouth.
His haki was rolling off of him in waves, the air around them noticeably vibrating. The island continued to shake while all the volcanoes on the island erupted simultaneously, every living creature on the island instinctively ran as far away as they could from where Luffy was standing.
Miss Goldenweek had already escaped into the forest, every fiber of her being screaming at her to run from the monstrosity that had awakened. Mr. 3 himself stood frozen in fear, even he understood how little chance he stood against him right now.
Luffy took a step towards him, the island seemed to groan and shake at that single step.
"Wai… Wait! I'll let you all go! There's no need to fight anymore!" Mr. 3 raised his hands defensively, taking four steps back for every step Luffy took.
The ground beneath Luffy exploded as he leapt towards Mr. 3, his face contorted with rage. With a yell, he punched towards Mr. 3 who had the suit's hands raised in defense.
A shockwave exploded out from the impact of the punch, blasting Mr. 3 away while shattering the suit into millions of pieces. The shockwave itself blasted a huge crater in the ground beneath Luffy, spewing a cloud of dust into the air.
As the dust settled, everyone found Luffy standing still in the center of the crater, staring at his feet.
A few tense seconds passed before Luffy collapsed on his knees, falling on to the ground.
"Luffy!" Nami cried, sliding down the crater towards him.
"Wait! Nami! What if he's still berserk?!" Usopp shouted after her, peering into the crater with Vivi.
Sanji leapt in after Nami, running towards the prone Commodore.
Nami held Luffy up in her arms, shaking him awake.
"Nami?" Luffy gasped. "I didn't hurt you did I?"
"No you idiot," Nami cried, still holding on to him.
"Ah… That's good… I was afraid I might have done something I would never forgive myself…" Luffy grinned sheepishly, closing his eyes. "I'm tired now… Let me sleep for a while…"
"You stupid Commodore… What would we do with you?" Sanji grinned at the already fast asleep Luffy.
"What monstrous strength… It seems I may have underestimated you humans a little," Dorry knelt down beside the crater, sporting new bruises on his face.
"Gabababa! Indeed! I would have mistaken all this destruction to be done by a rampaging giants if I didn't witness all this with my own eyes!" Brogy laughed heartily despite the bruises that marred his face as well.
Dorry reached out a hand into the crater, picking up Nami, Sanji and the sleeping Luffy and brought them back onto flat ground.
"Gegyagyagya! With that strength, he truly is a warrior worthy of recognition!" Dorry laughed, surveying the damage Luffy had dealt to the island alone.
"Gabababa! Indeed Dorry! I've never seen such a display of strength in all my life!" Brogy laughed as well.
That was the moment Zoro chose to enter the clearing.
Zoro looked at the destruction of the clearing with wide eyes, "Heh? What happened here?"
"WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?!" The others shouted at him.
"Woah, are you guys giants?!" Zoro gasped at Brogy and Dorry.
"ANSWER THE QUESTION!"
"Calm down guys… I was just training in the forest… I did come across this weird looking wax house that's supposed to belong to Mr. 3." Zoro dug his ear, grimacing. "There was a den den mushi inside and I got in contact with Mr. 0 too, though he mistook me for Mr. 3 at first."
"What did you say to him?" Vivi stared wide eyed at Zoro.
He smirked, "I told him we're coming to kick his ass of course!"
"You idiot!" Nami smacked him on the head. "Couldn't you have just told him we were already dead?! That would save us so much trouble!"
Zoro clutched at his head where a lump had formed, "Shut it witch! Our Commodore said so himself, didn't he? We're all going to kick his ass anyway!"
"Don't shout at Nami you ungrateful brute!" Sanji kicked towards Zoro.
Zoro parried away the kick with a sword, "Shut it ero-cook! I'll do whatever I want!"
"Gabababa! You humans are so interesting!" Brogy laughed, smacking his tummy.
Nami sighed, propping Luffy's snoring head on her lap, "This still doesn't solve the problem of being stuck on this island for the next year…"
Vivi nodded sadly, "If only we had an eternal pose to Alabasta…"
"Oh, apparently I found this pose inside the house too, it does have the word 'Alabasta' written on it though…" Zoro fished out the eternal pose from within his cloak.
"That's it!" Vivi rushed up to grasp the eternal pose with both hands, a huge smile on her face. "Thanks Mr. Swordsman!"
She pulled the stunned Zoro into a hug.
Sanji cried, hammering the floor with a fist, crying, "Why can't I be the one to find it instead of that brute?!"
"Well, we shouldn't stay here any longer than we should then!" Nami grinned.
"That's a shame, but we won't keep you here," Dorry grinned down at them.
"I hope you reach home safe, girl," Brogy gave a thumbs up to Vivi.
Zoro reached down and slung the still sleeping Luffy over his shoulders while Nami picked up Luffy's cloak, making sure to get rid of the black paint on it first.
"Mr. Giants! I'll train myself to be proud warriors like you guys someday! And when I do, I'll visit Elbaf to see you guys!" Usopp waved at the grinning Dorry and Brogy.
"Gabababa! We'll be waiting!" Brogy waved back at the departing Marines.
As the figures of the Marines disappeared into the forest, Dorry turned to Brogy with an uncertain frown, "Brogy, you don't suppose that after all these years of fighting without a victor… God Elbaf might have bestowed his divine protection on the both of us?"
Brogy scratched his chin, "Now that you mention it… I never heard of any other duels lasting over a century before…"
"Gegyagyagya! Indeed! Perhaps it's a sign that both of us were right in our argument!" Brogy laughed.
"Gabababa! But we've already forgotten what the argument was about!"
"Putting that aside, we have more important matters right now," Dorry stood up, grasping his sword.
"Indeed, our friends are setting sail, we should at least make sure they make it through!" Brogy got to his feet as well, hefting his axe.
"I guess this is it for both our sword and axe eh?" Dorry glanced at his friend.
"Heh, that human has shown me the things he could achieve with just his fists, I have no regrets!" Brogy nodded back.
Nami gave the call to set sail as Zoro dumped his sleeping Commodore inside the cabin unceremoniously, joining the rest of the crew in readying Merry.
As the ship neared the mouth of the river, the crew found the two giants standing on either side of the river, weapons held ready.
"It's been so long since we last saw such a display of strength," Dorry grinned.
"Such conviction and will, truly the mark of a great warrior," Brogy hefted his axe on his shoulder.
"As a mark of respect from one warrior to another…"
"Allow us to ensure your safe passage!"
The two giants turned to look down at the gaping Straw Hats.
"The reason why most of the little ones never make it past this island lies straight ahead." Dorry pointed with his sword.
"Trust in us and sail straight ahead no matter what happens!" Brogy pointed with his axe.
Usopp gazed at the giants in awe, "Understood! Let's sail straight ahead, guys!"
"Are you sure we can trust them?" Zoro raised an eyebrow.
"Doesn't look like we have much choice…" Sanji pointed to a giant figure rising out from beneath the sea.
"May we all meet again one day!" the two giants shouted, settling into a stance.
Nami and Vivi screamed as a giant goldfish exploded out of the water, mouth wide enough to swallow both giants with room to spare.
"Usopp! Turn the wheel!" Nami shouted up at him.
Usopp's legs were shaking, but he held on to the railing firmly, "No! We're sailing straight ahead!"
"We're going to be swallowed up by that thing! Turn the wheel!" Nami shouted.
"Too late…" Vivi cried as the jaws closed in around their ship.
"Straight ahead! Straight ahead!" Usopp shouted, tears spilling past his cheeks.
"Stop shouting! It's already too late to do anything!" Nami yelled back at him.
A large explosion rocked the ship as a hole was blasted through the Goldfish's mouth, sending the ship and the crew flying back out from the back of its head.
The ship landed back onto the sea with a loud splash, the crew clinging onto the railings for dear life.
"So this… Is the strength of Elbaf's warriors… Absolutely stunning!" Usopp shouted in between his tears. "I'll definitely visit there one day!"
"To be able to cut the ocean itself… I have to become even stronger…" Zoro grinned.
"You guys are all crazy…" Nami sighed, though a smile still crept onto her face.
"Go my friends!" Dorry shouted, tossing his shattered sword towards the sea.
"Chase your dreams!" Brogy tossed his similarly broken axe as well.
Both of them watched the ship sail towards the horizon steadily with pride.
"Doesn't it make you want to sail the seas again, Brogy?" Dorry crossed his arms, grinning widely.
"Indeed, perhaps we might not be pirates this time," Brogy laughed, watching the sea with determined eyes.
"We'll gather a crew again, and let's sail the seas one more time." Dorry reached a fist towards Brogy.
"Gabababa! Just like old times!" Brogy fist bumped Dorry.
Somewhere else, a Marine battleship was making its way towards the Calm Belt from the Grand Line.
"Captain Smoker, sir! We intercepted a highly suspicious call!" A Marine soldier called out from the deck.
Smoker grunted, walking up to the soldier with Tashigi beside him.
"Play it, marine."
The marine fumbled with the black den den mushi, replaying the conversation it had intercepted.
"Tsss… crrk… Mr. 3… krr… Staw Hat Marines and princess Vivi.. Tsss.. Set off… Alabasta… Krrr… Mr. 0… Already dealt with them… clak…"
Smoker frowned, "Was that the best you could get?"
"Aye, sir… The call was too far away to intercept clearly…" The Marine nodded.
"What does this mean, Captain Smoker?" Tashigi glanced at her Captain worriedly.
Smoker took a drag of his cigars, "We don't know for sure… But we can at least piece together what we already heard."
"The Straw Hats…" Tashigi muttered.
Smoker nodded, "It seems Commodore Luffy might have gotten himself involved in some sort of trouble… Especially that princess Vivi that was mentioned…"
"You mean Nefertari Vivi? The princess of the kingdom of Alabasta that has been missing for some time?" Tashigi gasped.
"Indeed… And with all that Mr. 3 and Mr. 0 going on, we can only assume those are code names for some sort of organization… I don't like how he had said 'already dealt with them' either…" Smoker frowned.
He dug out Luffy's Vivre card, breathing a sigh of relief to see it was still in good condition, albeit with slight burns in the corner. He fished out a den den mushi from within his jacket and dialed Luffy's number, frowning when he realized the call could not connect.
Tashigi noticed his frown, "What's wrong Captain?"
"I can't reach him…" Smoker furrowed his brows, stowing the den den mushi back in his jacket. He scratched his chin as he thought about his next course of action.
He pointed at the Marine that had intercepted the call, "Call Headquarters and request for an eternal pose to Alabasta, tell them we intercepted that call and we'll be assisting the Straw Hats. I'm assuming they managed to save the princess from the organization and might be on the run trying to get her to safety."
"Yes sir!" The Marine scurried off.
"Tashigi, set a course to where this Vivre card is pointing to, we'll join up with them."
Tashigi raised an eyebrow, "If we're going to follow them, why do we still need the eternal pose?"
Smoker rolled his eyes, "If I can't contact Commodore Luffy, it probably means his den den mushi was destroyed. He wouldn't have any way to request for an eternal pose from Headquarters in that state, so we'll have to guide him there."
"I see!" Tashigi widened her eyes in realization. She grasped the Vivre card from Smoker before dashing off to the bridge, turning the ship around to face where the Vivre card was pointing to.
Smoker looked out towards the sea, heaving a sigh, "It seems like whether I like it or not, he's still going to keep me here for a while…"
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That is it for this chapter hope you guys enjoyed and see you in the next chapter.bye
chapter 15:Changing Course