I'm back bitches ,I apologise for not uploading for so long.but yeah I'm back so enjoy the new chapter:)
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Sengoku sighed as he sifted through the pile of paperwork in front of him, taking care to scrutinize every bit of detail written on the paper before signing his approval on each of them. Satisfied with the one he was holding, he tossed it in a box to join the rest while his other hand reached out from the never ending stack on the other side of the table for the next piece.
Before he could start reading it, the door to his office was kicked open unceremoniously and a fuming Garp stormed in, a crumpled piece of newspaper in his hand. Other than raising an eyebrow at his sudden entrance, Sengoku had no other reaction from his unexpected entry.
"SENGOKU! What's the meaning of this?!" Garp yelled, slamming the newspaper on the table, causing the unfinished stack of paper to topple over on to the floor.
Sengoku sighed again, placing the document in his hands aside to open up the newspaper on the table, "What do you want, Garp?"
"What do I want?! I want an explanation of this!" Garp seethed, stabbing a finger on one of the articles.
Sengoku tilted his head as he read the article, a small smirk crossing his face when he saw what it was.
Of course the article was about Luffy, but unlike the previous one where he defeated Arlong which had hidden his identity, this one had all the details written down.
Sengoku cleared his throat and began reading the words out loud, "The newly promoted rising star of the Marine navy, Rear Admiral Monkey D. Luffy of the Straw Hat Marines has shown his prowess once again by subjugating the scheming Shichibukai, Crocodile…"
Garp slammed his palm on the table again, "Why the hell did you send Momonga for that damn ceremony?! IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME!"
Sengoku rolled his eyes, "Please Garp, we all know you'll definitely wreck the place if you were there. With that grandson of yours, you two will definitely do something so unbelievably stupid that the amount of paperwork that I have to do will guarantee my confinement in this office for the next few weeks!"
"That's not true!" Garp huffed indignantly, crossing his arms to emphasize his point.
"Remember his graduation parade?"
"What was wrong with that?! It was a perfectly fine one, the best ever even if I do say so myself!"
"It was a PARADE! Not some beatdown tournament that you and your grandson turned it into! We had to postpone it for two months because half of the graduates were hospitalized! And the amount of complaints I got from the guests was unbelievable! Having you two in the same room is a bomb waiting to go off!" Sengoku shook his fist at him.
"Bah! If those people were hospitalized just from that, then they need to train harder!"
"That's not the point Garp!"
Ignoring him, Garp stabbed his finger at another paragraph of the article, "Anyway, why the hell did you put that gag order on me and you let these newspaper guys tell them he's my GRANDSON?!"
The paragraph had clearly revealed the relationship between Luffy and Garp and even glorified the fact that Luffy was following his grandfather's footsteps. They had even called Luffy "The Young Hero of the Marines" and would definitely stand side by side with his grandfather in the near future as the "Hero Duo".
Sengoku sighed again, bending down to pick up the scattered pieces of paper, "He's gained too much attention for me to keep the lid on it anymore. It wouldn't be hard for people to connect the dots when they see how much his name resembles yours, Garp. It's best we reveal this now to at least deter away some of the potential threats to him in the immediate future."
Garp frowned, "And attract the bigger threats to him? That doesn't seem any better."
"That would eventually happen with or without our intervention, it makes no difference if it happens now anyway."
"You're using him," Garp stated suddenly, the shock in his eyes evident as he realized what his friend had done. "You're using my grandson… To get Dragon out…"
Sengoku's hand twitched.
"YOU'RE USING MY GRANDSON!" Garp slammed the table again, breaking it in half this time.
"Garp, calm down, it's not just that. With this he would be able to encounter and eliminate more threats and further his standing in the Marines. His promotion to Admiral would just be a matter of time. When that time comes, no one would be able to touch him either!"
"What if something happens to him BEFORE that happens?! WHAT IF I LOSE MY GRANDSON?!" Garp glared daggers at the Fleet Admiral.
"He's a capable Marine, there's nothing he can't handle. Besides, you trained him didn't you? If he can't even do this much, I doubt he'll-"
"SHUT UP! I TRUSTED YOU!" Garp swept his hand in front of him, silencing Sengoku.
Sengoku stared at Garp in stunned silence, he hadn't expected this much of a reaction from his old friend. Apparently he had underestimated the amount of concern he had for his grandson.
Garp turned his back to the Fleet Admiral and began storming out of the room.
"Garp! Where do you think you're going?! Garp!"
"To make sure my Luffy is fine," Garp growled.
"Stop it, Garp! You're only going to make things worse!"
"Like you already haven't!" Garp yelled, unintentionally pulling the door off its hinges when he tried to open it.
He tossed the door aside, turning around to glare at Sengoku, "I'm going out to find my grandson and don't you dare try to stop me. I'll beat down anyone who tries to get in my way, you hear me?"
"Garp! I'm ordering you to stop this instant!"
"If you dare to, I'll relinquish my position as a Marine."
Without a waiting for an answer, the Vice Admiral stormed out of the room.
Sengoku sighed as he surveyed the destruction of his office, "Perhaps I miscalculated a bit…"
Robin sipped the coffee Sanji had prepared for her as the rest of the crew busied with their usual activities.
A small dining table was laid on the deck for both her and Usopp to occupy with the sniper occupying the seat opposite her, scribbling away on several pieces of paper. Luffy stood behind him, watching him scribbling away over his shoulder.
"So… Nico Robin, what was your occupation before your incrimination?" Usopp eyed Robin carefully.
Robin placed the coffee cup down with feminine grace, "Hmm… I was an archaeologist before they placed those charges on me when I was eight years old."
"I see," Usopp scribbled a few words on his paper. "And after that, what happened to you?"
"Well, because of the change in my situation, I was forced to change my specialization a bit to survive you see. There wasn't a lot of things I could do as a child."
Usopp raised an eyebrow, "So what's your specialization now?"
Robin propped up her chin with an arm, giving the sniper the sweetest smile she could, "Assassination."
Usopp threw his pile of papers into the air, "LUFFY! This woman is too dangerous to be on our ship!"
Hearing no reply, Usopp glanced behind him to see both Luffy and Chopper now busy playing with the hands that Robin had sprouted on the deck of the ship.
Usopp bit back a curse as he tried looking at Nami for help.
Their navigator however, was busy counting away the satchel of jewels in a corner, ignoring everything else that was going on around her.
Usopp turned his head towards their chef, but of course the love-struck cook was already composing poems and songs about his love for Robin.
Before he could find other alternative means of help, Luffy had came up to him with two of Robin's hands waving around on his head.
"Hey Usopp! Look! I'm Chopper!"
The sniper joined his Rear Admiral and doctor in rolling around the deck while laughing their lungs out.
Zoro came up to the table, striking it with a fist, "I don't care much about whether you're actually innocent or not, but I'll say this first… I won't hesitate to cut you down at the first sign of betrayal, you understand?"
Robin just smiled at his threat, "I'll be sure to keep that in mind, Mr. Swordsman."
Zoro clucked his tongue in annoyance as he left the deck.
Robin watched the trio roll around for a while more before sighing in content, looking up at the sky.
That was also just the time she noticed a dark shape dropping down towards them. She squinted her eyes as the shape gradually got bigger and bigger, revealing itself to be a galleon headed straight towards them.
Robin sweat-dropped, "Mr. Rear Admiral… You might want to move your ship away from here as fast as you can…"
The rest of the crew turned their heads to follow the direction of her gaze, spotting the galleon that was right above them.
"Full speed ahead!" Nami yelled out, the rest of the crew scrambling to obey.
The Straw Hats weaved Merry through the ton of debris that kept falling out from the sky, dodging past broken off pieces of the galleon as they sailed as far as they could away from the wreck that threatened to bring them down to the ocean floor with it.
The galleon crashed into the water in a huge explosion of spray, rocking the small ship that barely escaped from certain doom in the huge waves it created.
"I thought we were done for…" Usopp gasped, gripping on to the ship's mast for dear life.
"The sky is scaryyyy…" Chopper cried, hugging Usopp's leg.
Nami was sobbing quietly in a corner, "I thought I was prepared for anything this stupid sea could throw at us… What else does it want with me…"
Robin squinted her eyes at the wreckage, "A ship falling from the sky… Interesting…"
"Nami chwaaan, Robin swaan! Are you alright? Your prince shall protect you!" Sanji danced around the deck.
"Hmmm… Could someone have thrown it up there?" Zoro frowned up at the sky.
"Cool! It's a galleon! Let's explore it!" Luffy yelled excitedly.
"And of course this doesn't faze our monster of a Rear Admiral at all… I don't care anymore, do whatever you want..." Nami sobbed, drawing small circles on the deck with her finger.
"Geppo!" Luffy leapt into the air, propelling himself towards the galleon wreck.
"Such a lively crew," Robin commented offhandedly, a small smile on her lips.
Before the crew could decide on whether to join Luffy in exploring the wreck, Nami let out a scream.
"What do we do?! The log pose is broken! It's stuck pointing upwards!"
"No Miss Navigator… That just means the log pose has locked on to a 'Sky Island'..." Robin clarified.
Nami gasped, "Sky island? You mean there's an island floating up there in the sky?"
"More accurately, there's another sea up there in the sky."
"That's so awesome!" Both Chopper and Usopp had their eyes bulging out in amazement.
Nami stared at the archaeologist incredulously, "How is that even possible?"
"Although I've said all this, I have never actually set foot on a sky island before," Robin shrugged her shoulders.
"This is absurd! The log pose must be broken! There's no way for another sea to be in the sky!" Nami protested.
"Incorrect, Miss Navigator… Here in the Grand Line, no matter what kind of impossible situation you experience, you must never doubt the log pose. For wherever that needle points, there's sure to be an island there."
"But… even if that's true, there's no way for us to get up there in the sky!"
"Can't Luffy fly there? He was flying in Alabasta..." Chopper glanced at the Rear Admiral still jumping around the steadily sinking wreckage.
"I don't suppose he could carry the ship on his back while he jumps up there, could he?" Zoro scratched his chin thoughtfully.
Sanji grimaced, "If he manages to do that, I won't ever be able to see him as a human being ever again."
"Hey guys! Look what I found!" Luffy jumped back on the ship, waving a piece of map happily in his hand.
Everyone huddled around the map that Luffy brought back. The edges were torn and the paper itself was obviously old from its brown coloring. But the word that caught their attention the most was still the name of the island on the map.
"Skypiea! That sounds like a cool island! We should go there, Nami!" Luffy grinned.
"Yeah, Luffy… We're wondering on how to do that right now, there's no way for us to make the ship fly up into the sky…" Sanji sighed.
"Oh, ok then! Let's make the ship fly up into the sky!"
"Luffy, there's no way we can do that…" Usopp face palmed.
"This isn't happening… Why do we even need to go to this sky island anyway? Can't we just request an eternal pose to another island from Headquarters and continue from there? We don't actually have to go up into the sky do we?" Nami begged.
"That's not fun! We should go up there! Onwards to sky island!" Luffy yelled, pointing his finger up at the sky.
Zoro sighed, "Luffy, unless you can lift this ship up with you into the sky, there's no way we're getting close to this Skypiea of yours."
Luffy took a look at the deck, then at each of his crew members in the eye, then finally up at the sky.
"Alright then," The Rear Admiral nodded before shrugging off his cloak and rolling up his sleeves.
"Wait, wait, wait… You're not serious are you, Luffy?" Usopp stopped Luffy from going any closer to the railing of the ship.
"Well, I never know if I can do it unless I try right?" Luffy tilted his head in confusion.
"OUR LIVES AREN'T FOR YOU TO PLAY WITH!" His crew smacked him on the head angrily.
"Oh come on, it'll be fine guys," Luffy laughed, scratching his head.
"NO IT WON'T!"
"Do you guys hear that?" Robin said suddenly.
The crew stopped beating Luffy and perked up their ears, the soft whisper of a song could be heard, increasing in volume with each passing second.
"Saaaalvaage~~ Saaalvaage~~~ Saaalvage!"
A huge ship with a monkey as its figurehead anchored near the where the galleon had sunk, its size easily dwarfing Merry.
"Pirates?" Zoro unclasped his sword.
"Hey boss! There's Marines here!" A voice shouted out from the pirate ship.
"Did you say Boss? That would be me! Salvage King Masira!" A figure jumped up onto the railings of the ship, striking a pose with his huge arms.
"Oh look, a monkey!" Luffy pointed.
Masira started scratching his head in embarrassment, "Oh? Did you say I look like a monkey? Aw shucks, you're making me blush!"
"Another weirdo…" Nami sighed.
"Boss! They're Marines!"
Masira finally noticed the Marine uniform and colors they were flying.
The salvage pirate rolled his eyes in annoyance, "Tch, and I just thought we could have a nice quiet salvage… Who are you?"
"Rear Admiral Monkey D. Luffy," Luffy crossed his arms with a grin. "Who are you?"
"Rear Admiral?!"
"All the way out here?!"
"We… What do we do?!"
Masira's crew started panicking.
Masira narrowed his eyes at the Marine, watching his movements closely, "I see… Have you come to arrest me then?"
"Arrest you? For what?" Luffy tilted his head in confusion.
Masira raised an eyebrow, "For being a pirate of course."
"Huh? Why would I arrest you just for being a pirate?"
"Isn't that what you Marines do?"
"Eh? I don't do that, that's both boring and troublesome. I only arrest bad people!" Luffy grinned proudly.
Everyone on his crew face palmed.
Luffy noticed the prolonged silence as he realized everyone was looking at him. He settled his sights on Masira, uncertainty in his eyes, "Are you a really bad pirate?"
"We're salvage pirates!" Masira thumped his chest proudly.
"Salvage pirates? So you guys are planning to salvage that sunken ship from earlier?" Nami pointed at the spot the ship had sunk a while ago.
Masira grinned proudly, "Of course! That's what we do!"
"Really? That's so cool! Can we watch?" Luffy yelled out excitedly.
Masira's crew gasped collectively when they heard Luffy's words.
"You… You want…. You want to watch us? Watch us salvage?" Masira stuttered.
"Yeah! It sounds like fun!" Luffy grinned.
"Alright boys! Let's show them what we're made of!" Masira yelled back to his men.
"Aye, aye boss!"
Luffy, Usopp and Chopper watched with sparkles in their eyes as Masira's crew continued with their salvage. The rest of the the Straw Hats who weren't as interested continued on with their own work, ignoring the pirates just beside their ship.
Their swordsman was already napping on the deck of the ship, snoring contentedly with his swords propped up beside him.
"Robin swaaan~~ I have your coffee ready~~" Sanji spun out of his kitchen, carefully balancing the tray that held the coffee in his hand as he made his way towards the seated archaeologist.
"Thank you Mr. chef," Robin smiled lightly at Sanji, putting away her book for the time being.
"Ah~~ Such grace! I shall make some refreshments for Nami too!" Sanji spun back towards the kitchen with hearts flowing out.
Robin glanced towards the room she shared with Nami, the navigator in question no doubt busy with her usual drawing of maps at this point of time. She switched her gaze back to the other three Marines who were still fixated on the whole salvage operation, smiling a bit as she saw their wondrous expressions.
"Hey, monkey guy!" Luffy suddenly yelled out.
"Awww… Stop it! You're embarrassing me!" Masira laughed, scratching his head.
Luffy ignored him, "You know anything about how to get us up into the sky?"
Masira jolted at his words, "Into the sky? Why would you want to go there?"
"To get to sky island of course!" Luffy grinned.
"Ha… Hahaha! A marine talking about going to sky island! Hahahaha! I never thought I would see this day!"
"What's so funny?" Luffy tilted his head.
"Hahaha! Sorry! Sorry! I just never thought I would hear a Marine talking about going to sky island ever. But if you're really serious about going to sky island, you should come and see my boss! If anyone knows about going there, it'll be my boss!"
"Well alright then! Guys! Let's follow them!"
"Luffy…. Aren't we heading into a den of pirates if that's the case?" Usopp bit his fingers nervously.
"Yeah! Wouldn't that be cool?!"
"Oh no, we already lost him…" Usopp cried, already resigning himself to his fate.
Merry sailed steadily behind the pirates' ship, leading the way towards their base. Masira himself was on Merry, laughing alongside Chopper as Usopp told him about his stories.
"Luffy, where exactly are we going?" Nami frowned, not really too comfortable that the pirates were technically leading them to their base.
"It's an island called Jaya or something," Luffy grinned back.
"Well… That's fine and all, but is there a town somewhere? That Robin girl is still wearing my clothes… I think we should stop by somewhere to let her buy some things…"
"Oh, there's a town on the island called Mock town, you can go there if you want to, but it's filled with pirates." Masira chipped in helpfully, having heard their conversation.
"A town filled with pirates?" Nami gasped in disbelief.
Masira grinned at her reaction, "Yep! It's a pirate paradise there, totally out of reach of any government which made pirates flock there!"
"I've read about that place before," Robin nodded. "It's a place of ridicule and mockery where people sing, laugh and kill each other. Otherwise known as Mock town."
"Well! I guess the shopping can wait!" Nami laughed nervously.
"Sounds like a fun place! Let's go there!" Luffy grinned, only causing Nami to cling to the mast in despair.
Masira dusted his pants as he stood up, "Well, I'll draw you guys a map of the island and you can go to my boss's place when you're done. I'll head back with my crew to tell him you're coming first!"
Nami turned to Luffy, tears in her eyes, "Luffy please don't make us go there… Please? It's not a place for us!"
"Relax Nami, nothing's going to happen to us!" Luffy patted her shoulder reassuringly.
Nami groaned, knowing there's no stopping her Rear Admiral now.
The crew waved goodbye as Masira rejoins the rest of his crew, promising to meet up with them afterwards.
"Just promise me not to cause more trouble than necessary…" Nami begged, shaking Luffy's shoulders vigorously.
"Alright, alright. I won't arrest anyone nor fight anyone there unless provoked, happy?" Luffy groaned.
"Please," Nami sighed in relief.
"Mock town ahead!" Usopp shouted from the crow's nest, spotting the island appearing from the horizon.
It wasn't long before the various pirates in Mock town noticed the lone Marine ship that was heading towards the town, instigating many of them to gather at the dock to 'welcome' the newcomers.
"Luffy? I don't think it's such a good idea to come here after all…" Usopp ducked behind the ship rails, peeking to see the unfriendly faces of the pirates glaring straight at him.
Chopper was also gripping tightly to Usopp's leg, shivering in fear as he saw the number of pirates gathered at the dock.
"Luffy? Can we please turn back?" Nami asked hopefully, hiding behind Luffy's back.
"Heh, this looks like a fun place," Zoro grinned, his hand tapping on the pommel of his sword impatiently.
"Small fries, all of them," Sanji snorted at them.
"Interesting... To still survive without having a cohesive form of government while occupied by outlaws, what an interesting town," Robin nodded to herself.
The ship pulled into the dock painfully slowly, dropping anchor just as the pirates surged forwards with their weapons drawn. Before the could get within five meters of the ship, Luffy jumped in front of the pirates, stopping them in their tracks.
Luffy held up a palm, "Stop, we're not here to fight or arrest any of you. We're only here to buy some things and we'll leave right after we're done."
"Heheheh, listen to this guy, he thinks he can just do whatever he wants," a pirate with a heavily scarred face sneered.
"You think just because you're Marines we're scared of hurting you?" Another pirate who had a hook for a left hand spat.
The pirates surged forward again, intent on slaughtering the pompous Marine in front of them.
"I do not wish to fight unless you give me a reason to," Luffy said simply, unfazed by the huge number of pirates that were marching towards him.
"You're just scared of us, ain't ya?"
"He's just a weak little Marine that got lost at sea."
"Heheh, I see he has women on his crew too, we'll make sure to have fun with them after we kill you!"
The lead pirate suddenly stopped in his tracks, spotting the flag that flew proudly on Merry's mast, "Guys… Aren't they the Straw Hat Marines?"
"Straw Hat Marines?" Another pirate asked, also stopping beside the first one.
"I've heard of them! They took out all the big shots in East Blue! The commander is supposedly a Marine Captain!"
"I heard they took down the fishman pirate Arlong! He was worth twenty million berries!"
"There's no way this guy did that! He doesn't look strong at all!"
"Hey, hey… Maybe we should just let him go, he said he won't fight after all…"
"Why are you chickening out? We outnumber them!"
"Yeah! Even if he's strong, he can't defeat all of us by himself!"
"That's right! We'll become even more infamous if we take him down!"
With a loud yell, the pirates charged forwards with their weapons raised. Before, they had full confidence in taking out the Marine in front of them, but upon knowing his exploits, there was a slight fear in each of their eyes.
Luffy turned to look at his crew, shrugging his shoulders, "Well, I tried."
Luffy crossed his arms and glared at the incoming pirates, releasing a short, potent burst of Conqueror's haki that sent shivers down everyone's spines on the harbor. In mere moments, the mob of pirates that had been charging towards them all collapsed in a heap, foaming at the mouth with the whites of their eyes showing.
The other pirates who had chosen not to attack Luffy was spared of the blast, leaving them staring at Luffy with a mixture of shock and fear.
Luffy grinned as he backflipped back on to his ship, ignoring the fearful stares of the pirates gathered at the dock. Some of them had already wisely chosen to discreetly leave the scene.
"Nami, I want you to move the ship out to sea and wait for me. If any pirates try to come after the ship, sink them if you can, run if you can't, I'll come find you guys when I'm done. Sanji, Zoro, Chopper, protect the ship. Usopp, stay in the crow's nest, shoot a flare if you need my help. Robin, follow me ashore and we'll get your things."
"YES SIR!" The crew saluted in unison, giving Robin a slight surprise at the sudden change in demeanor in the crew.
Luffy lead Robin down the ship and into the town, the pirates that were gathered backed away from him the moment he came within five feet of them.
In another place in town, loud laughter reverberated in the hall of Tropical Hotel where a group of pirates gathered.
"I can't believe this, this place is a pirate haven! Why are we letting this Marine walk around like he owns the place? We should just crush him right now!" One of the pirates laughed.
"Hey, I heard he brought a girl along too, and she ain't bad looking either."
"Yeah, and they're here to shop of all things, picked the wrong place for a date yeah?"
"But I did hear he knocked out a big group of pirates at the harbor in an instant…"
"And I heard his crew took out the big shots in East Blue without a sweat."
"Their commander is a Captain after all, he definitely ain't a pushover like the other Marines."
"Hey… Maybe we should just leave him alone? He did say he's not here to fight after all."
"Hahahaha! You bunch of cowards!" An arrogant laugh resounded from a pirate with shoulder length blue hair.
The pirate had a white-furred coat thrown over his shoulders that revealed his bare chest that had a tattoo of a smiley with a cancel symbol underneath. He toyed with the giant curved knife that he casually flipped around in his hands, the purple-tinted visor barely hiding the sadistic glint in his eyes.
He ran his tongue along the side of his giant kukri, snickering as he did so, "That Marine probably cheated his way through the ranks, claiming credit for his underlings' work! You think any sane Marine would come to this town of all places?"
"But Sarkies… he did manage to take down that group of pirates at the harbor…"
"A trick! Nothing more! Probably some form of Devil Fruit power of his, if we can take him out before he has a chance to use it, he's done for!" Sarkies laughed.
A voice laughed from the entrance of the room, "Hahahh-haha! That's right! There's no need to fear this foolish Marine! He walked right into a pirates' haven! He's simply courting death!"
Everyone turned to see a tall man with short, unkempt blonde hair strut into the room. He had a navy blue pirate captain's coat carelessly worn on his shoulder that contrasted with his pink sleeveless shirt and white pants. A distinct scar marred the skin above his right eye and tattoos of eye-like design decorated his arms.
"Bellamy! About time you came here," Sarkies smirked.
Bellamy sat down heavily on one of the couches, grinning maniacally, "Heheheh, I saw that Marine with his little girlfriend in town... he looks utterly pathetic! There's no way he could be a Marine Captain of all things!"
"Haha! And he still dares to strut around this town? There's a reason no Marines ever dared to come here in the past!" The crew's doctor, Muret snickered.
"I bet that Marine is loaded too! He got all the bounties for those pirates of East Blue after all!" The navigator, Eddy rubbed his hands together in glee.
"What do you say, Bellamy? Wanna go teach that upstart Marine a lesson?" Sarkies slung his Kukri behind his back.
Bellamy licked his lips, "Hahahh-haha! Let's do it! We'll teach him a lesson he won't have a chance to remember!"
The pub that was usually filled with rambunctious laughter and curses was dead silent that day. All the pirates in the pub sat hunched over their food and drinks, eyes locked on the pair that sat by the bar counter.
Robin sipped her coffee appreciatively while Luffy devoured the plate full of food beside her, leaving the bags full of Robin's spoils littered on the ground around them. Only one pirate sat beside him, devouring a pie ravenously while ignoring the Marine.
"Mr. Marine… I don't mean to be rude but… I hope you don't start any trouble here… You see, even if this town is full of wanted men, they're still our source of income… It would really hurt us business owners if they don't visit here…" The bartender pleaded.
"Shishishi! Don't worry! I won't start any trouble here, I'm just going to eat this and we'll be off!"
"If you can do that, that will be a really big help Mr. Marine…"
"Ha! Typical of you spineless Marines to say those things!" The pirate that sat beside Luffy spat before continuing to stuff his mouth full of pie.
Every other pirate sucked in a lungful of breath, ready to bolt out of the pub at a moment's notice.
"Hey! That's not true! There's plenty of Marines who aren't spineless!" Luffy protested, waving a piece of meat at the pirate.
"Marines are just people with no ambition and desire in their lives! Easily contented with an uneventful and meaningless life! They have no dreams of their own!"
"Shishishi! That's where you're wrong mister! I have a dream myself!"
The pirate turned to look at the Marine, grinning widely to reveal a big mouth with several missing teeth. "Pirates dream of adventure and danger, placing their lives on the line to achieve what others merely brush off as fantasies! We sail where no one ever has and brave through storms that would break a mortal man! Those are the glorious dreams of pirates! Do tell, what kinda dreams do you have, boy?"
"I'm going to be a Marine Admiral!" Luffy thumped his chest proudly.
"Zehahaha! If that's your dream, then why are you in such a place like this town?!"
"I'm looking for a way to get to Sky Island! I don't suppose you know how?"
The pub suddenly exploded into laughter, releasing the tension that had been in the air moments before.
"Sky… Sky Island he says! Hahaha!"
"I can't believe it! A Marine would actually say that! Hahaha!"
"A Marine! Hahaha! Wants to go to Sky Island! Hahaha!"
Luffy tilted his head at the pirates who were currently rolling on the floor, laughing their lungs out, "What's so funny?"
A pirate wiped the tear that was coming out of his eye, "I can't believe I'm saying this to a Marine but, give up on that stupid idea! There's no Sky Island!"
"Even we pirates gave up on that dream long ago! It's nothing but lies made up by others!"
"A piece of advice Marine, go back to your Marine base! At least you're not wasting much of your life there!"
There was no signs of the pirates' ridicule ending any time soon, having already lost their recent fear of the Marine.
"Zehahaha!" The pirate beside Luffy laughed, slapping him on the back as he did so. "Impressive boy! You may be a Marine, but you have the heart of a true pirate! My opinion of you has changed! Zehahaha!"
Luffy raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about?"
"Zehahaha! Everyone in this world have dreams! In the past, we pirates used to dream of obtaining the legendary One Piece and becoming the Pirate King! Others dreamt of obtaining absolute power and some of obtaining the secrets of this world! But most of these people give up the moment they face a setback, these are not true dreamers!"
The pirate leaned forward in his seat, a lazy smile floated across his face, "In this current era, most are just satisfied with a simple dream, not willing to risk all they have for their ambitions.
He slammed a fist on the table suddenly, silencing the entire bar, "I say this to you! Your dreams ain't big enough if they don't scare you! Forget about those who laugh at you, forget about those who tell you it cannot be done! They are only afraid of witnessing you obtain what they could never grasp in their life! Sail forth boy, the age of dreams isn't over yet!"
The pirate laughed heartily as he got up from his seat, walking past the other stunned pirates to exit the bar.
"Shishishi, that pirate was rather interesting wasn't he?" Luffy grinned at Robin.
"Mmm… Indeed," Robin nodded in agreement, her thoughts still replaying back the words he had said about dreams.
At that point of time, the door was ruthlessly kicked open, revealing a group of unruly pirates that strutted in arrogantly.
"Bell… Bellamy!" One of the bar patrons croaked in fear.
"I heard a little Marine lost its way here," Bellamy licked his lips, eyes already locked on to Luffy.
Sarkies spotted Robin sitting beside Luffy, "Oh, the girl really isn't bad either, at least they were right about her."
Bellamy swaggered up to Luffy, a crooked smile on his face, "Heh heh heh, so what's a great Marine like yourself doing here, hm?"
Luffy furrowed his brows, "Bellamy the Hyena, bounty of fifty-five million berries…"
"Oh? So you know me? I'm flattered," Bellamy smirked, flexing his arms. "I don't suppose I could interest you to stay for a few rounds of drinks?"
Sarkies sneered, "Hahaha! Are you even old enough to drink? You look like you're still drinking milk from your mother!"
That instigated the rest of the pirates to start jeering at the Marine.
Robin tug the edge of his cloak, "Luffy, we should go, the rest are waiting."
Luffy nodded, ignoring the smirking Bellamy as he gathered their things and lead the way out the bar. Robin followed closely behind, walking past the pirates that still continued to shower them with insults.
Before she could take ten steps away, however, Sarkies had reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her towards him.
"Hold it a moment girl, why are you hanging out with someone boring like him? You're better off with us!"
Robin furrowed her brows, wondering if she should start this fight. She had thought about sprouting arms and crushing the pirate's manhood at first, but decided it might be a better idea to let the Marine handle this.
Luffy whirled around and glared hard at Sarkies, "Let her go."
"Hehehe, let her go or you'll what?" Sarkies grinned, pulling out his kukri with his free hand while maintaining his grip on Robin. A few pirates stepped in between with their weapons drawn as well, smirking at Luffy.
"I am not asking again, let her go or I'll break that arm."
"Hahaha! Do it if you think you can!"
"Robin, shut your eyes and hold your breath."
Robin tilted her head quizzically at his demand, but complied nevertheless.
"Hehehe, good idea, don't let her witness how we're going to break you apart you lousy-"
Without waiting for him to finish his words, Luffy vanished from the spot he was standing. A loud 'crack' resounded in the bar and both the Marine and woman disappeared without a trace.
"MY ARM!" Sarkies screamed, clutching at the arm that held Robin moments before, now bent in the opposite way of where it was supposed to.
Muret immediately went up to him, inspecting his arm. Her face paled as she realized the damage that had been done.
"Sarkies… He broke your arm in six different places… He even broke each of your fingers individually too…"
"THAT DAMN MARINE!" Bellamy pounded his fist on the counter. "HE'LL PAY FOR THIS!"
Robin exhaled sharply as she felt a sense of vertigo hit her, almost as if she was freefalling. Realizing that her feet were not touching the ground, she opened her eyes to see Luffy cradling her in his arms, carrying her bridal style.
Robin looked around her, noticing the difference in atmosphere, "Where are we?"
"The harbour," Luffy said simply. "Hold on tight, I'm jumping over to our ship."
Robin smiled slightly, clutching on to the Marine while having thoughts of how defenceless he was in this position. It would be so easy to just take out the knife hidden in her sleeve and stab hi-
Her thoughts were interrupted as Luffy kicked himself into the air, holding onto both Robin and their bags, eyes focused forwards on the single Marine ship in the horizon.
Robin swallowed the yelp that surfaced in her throat as she clung on to the Marine in surprise, watching the ground disappear beneath her.
Both landed on their ship without incident, the crew already preparing to sail when they saw Luffy's figure heading towards them.
"I hope you didn't cause any trouble?" Nami stood at the mast, pointedly staring at her Rear Admiral.
Luffy raised his arm in a swearing posture, "I did not arrest anyone nor started a fight unnecessarily."
"Good, good," Nami sighed in relief, completely missing out the hint on the 'unnecessarily'. "We're all prepared to leave at your command, Luffy."
"Alright! Let's go find that monkey guy!"
With the map as their guide, the Straw Hats guided the ship steadily towards their destination.
"Wow! That monkey guy lives in a castle!" Luffy pointed at the shoreline excitedly.
Nami shook her head, "It's fake, Luffy. It's just a board that's painted on."
"Awwww…" Luffy frowned, disappointed.
The crew stepped ashore to find Masira standing side by side with another pirate, grinning broadly at them. The pirate by his side looked at them with a hint of suspicion, a slight frown evident on his chimpanzee like face.
Sat on a stool in between them was a muscular, middle aged man with blonde hair, puffing on a single cigarette while regarding each of the Straw Hats that stood before him. A distinct chestnut sat prominently on his head.
"Hey guys! You made it! Boss! These are the Marines I was telling you about!" Masira gestured to the Straw Hats excitedly.
The man took a long drag of his cigarette, "So… Masira here tells me that you little Marines want to find yourself a Sky Island?"
Nami clamped a hand over Luffy's mouth before he could speak, "Indeed, I don't suppose you know how to get us there Mr?"
He cocked an eyebrow, "Montblanc Cricket, you might have heard of me?"
Luffy tore himself out of Nami's grasp, "Oh! You're that pirate that disappeared without a trace ten years ago! I think your crew was apprehended a few years ago but they said you had drowned at sea."
Cricket stood up and flexed his arms, "Hmph, so are you here to take me in too?"
"Nope! You're technically dead to the Marines so you're a free man, shishishi!"
"Hahaha! Never thought I'll hear a Marine say that ever! You're more interesting than I thought boy!" Cricket laughed as he slapped Luffy's back.
The other pirate frowned, "But boss… We're still pirates with a bounty on our heads…They might just be waiting for us to let our Guards down before attacking us!"
"Hey! Shoujou! Those are my friends! Stop threatening them!" Masira protested.
"Oh? They are? Then why didn't you say so earlier? We don't have anything to worry about if that's the case, hahaha!" Shoujou laughed, all traces of his previous anxiety disappearing.
'They're too trusting…' The Straw Hats sweat dropped.
"Well, so you're really looking for Sky Island?" Cricket grinned, sitting himself down on the stool again.
"Yeah! Do you know how to get there mister?" Luffy's eyes sparkled.
Cricket rested his chin on his palm, his eyes turning serious, "What if I told you I may know a way there, but I cannot guarantee any of you will come back using this way?"
"What do you mean?" Sanji frowned.
"I mean you guys might die trying to get up there."
"Luffy! Sky Island's too dangerous! Can we go somewhere else instead?" Usopp wailed.
But Luffy wasn't listening anymore, he sat starry-eyed in front of Cricket, already urging him to go on.
Cricket crossed his arms, "Have you heard of the Knock-up-stream?"
"Knock-up-stream?" Nami's ears perked up.
Cricket glanced at the navigator, "It's known as a natural disaster around these parts. A giant pillar of water blasting upwards into the air in the middle of the sea."
Nami frowned, "How can such a thing be possible? It doesn't make any sense!"
"Ha! If you still have the mentality of impossibility, you will never survive on the Grand Line girl. Besides, as impossible as it sounds, it's your only way up there."
The pirate reached behind him, pulling a worn out book and waving it at the Straw Hats.
"You guys aren't the first to think about going to Sky Island anyway, if you trust the words of a man condemned to death as a liar, you can believe it exists."
Sanji widened his eyes, "Condemned to death as a liar? You can't mean King of Liars Noland?"
"Oh? You're from North Blue aren't you? Most people from North Blue would know about him."
The rest of the crew turned to look at Sanji.
"Eh? I didn't tell you guys? I was born in North Blue."
"Besides that point, how would the King of Liars help us get to Sky Island?" Nami eyed the book Cricket still held in his hands.
Cricket grinned slightly, thrusting the book out to her, "Why don't you read it for yourself then?"
Nami gasped when she realized what the book was, "A Captain's log? Could that be Noland's?"
Cricket just nodded before Nami began flipping through the book, the rest of the crew crowding behind her.
"Year of the Sea 1120, June 21st, Clear weather. We left the town of Villa and sailed Northeast following the log pose. We encountered a merchant ship in the afternoon and bought quite an unusual snowboard-like object called a "Waver", it quickly became quite a popular toy among the crew. It seems the engine for this device only exists on Sky Island along with many other interesting things like the "sky fish". Though it may be impossible to get there with our ship, but I really wish to be able to go to the Sky Ocean someday, Montblanc Noland."
"WOAAAHH! So Sky Island does exist!" Luffy yelled.
"If we believe the words of a liar, that is…" Sanji frowned.
"The problem of getting there still exists though…" Zoro added.
"You were talking about the Knock-up stream earlier, Mr. pirate." Robin pointed out helpfully.
"Ah yes… That one…" Cricket took a whiff of his cigarette before standing up from his seat.
"There's a cloud around these parts that stack high up into the sky but doesn't give rise to any currents nor rain. Some say these clouds have been existence for millions of years and they have been continuing to float around like a "cloud fossil". If Sky Island exists, it'll be on that cloud."
"Alright! Let's set sail to that cloud! Thanks mister!" Luffy yelled, leading the way to the ship.
"Everyone man your positions! Turn the ship towards the cloud in the sky!" Usopp joined in.
Nami punched the two into the ground before they could get far, "We still don't know how to get there you morons!"
"I assume this Knock-up stream is the way up to the cloud then?" Robin glanced at the pirate.
Cricket nodded, turning to look out at the sea, "Indeed, it's a giant column of water that shoots itself upwards with explosive force. You'll need to have both your ship and the cloud at the exact place it happens or you'll just fall to your death. I'm telling you to consider this carefully, because even with all that I said, I cannot say for sure that all of you will make it even if Sky Island does exist."
"Then… Then we'll need an insane amount of luck for that to happen! If the two don't line up we'll just be shot into empty air! We don't even know when the two will line up!"Usopp gulped.
"it will happen tomorrow at noon… But I must still warn you. That cloud might just be a big empty cloud after all, so you better be absolutely sure before going." Cricket supplied.
"Lu… Luffy, I think we can just forget…" Usopp turned to his Rear Admiral, swallowing his words when he saw the rest of the crew staring at Luffy too. It goes without saying the final decision lay with their commander.
"So there's no guarantees we'll live through this?" Luffy tilted his head.
Cricket nodded, staring at the Rear Admiral's eyes intently.
The Rear Admiral turned to look at all of his crew slowly, his sights lingering on each of them as the silent question passed between them.
All of them grinned as one, though Usopp's grin was a rather shaky one.
"There's no success without taking any risks!" Luffy laughed.
"Hmph, I guess you could say that. Hey, you guys know about what actually happened in Noland's story?"
"If I remember correctly, he died saying the land with the gold sunk into the sea or something like that." Sanji scratched his chin.
That was when Shoujou and Masira jumped in.
"Let us tell you the amazing story of our boss's ancestor!"
"Shut up you two morons! There's barely any of his blood in me!" Cricket immediately chopped the two of them on the head.
"Eh? Noland was your ancestor?" Chopper gasped.
"Distantly related," Cricket sighed. He sat down on his stool again and proceeded to tell them of his ongoing 'duel' with his ancestor, spending his time diving deep into the sea trying to look for the city of gold. Although Nami's eyes had changed into berries halfway through the story, everyone was considerate enough to ignore it.
"Anyway, if you're all dead set on going to Sky Island, Shoujou and Masira can help outfit your ship for the trip. The stream's gonna come up tomorrow at noon, the cloud would be at the same position too. All we need is to get you there on time." Cricket nodded to the other two pirates.
Both Masira and Shoujou proudly flexed their muscles, "Leave it to us!"
"EH? Isn't this a bit too coincidental?! Why are you even going so far to help us? We're still Marines you know?!" Usopp shouted.
Cricket only grinned at his outburst, "Marine or pirate it doesn't matter. People with foolish dreams like us should help each other. You're welcome to stay the night at my place, friends."
"Ah before we forget," Masira placed a bag on the ground, opening it to reveal a golden statue of a bird.
Shoujou patted the statue fondly, "You guys are gonna have to find this bird before you set off. It's called a Southbird that exists on this island's forest and it's known for always pointing its head southwards no matter where it is."
"Ah! That's right, we can't use compasses on the Grand Line!" Nami gasped.
Masira grinned, "Yep! We'll start work on your ship first, but you guys will have to catch that Southbird or all our preparation will be wasted anyway!"
"Well what are you waiting for guys? Let's go!" Luffy yelled, leading the way to the forest.
"What an interesting bunch!" Shoujou laughed as he watched the rest of the crew trail after their Rear Admiral.
Masira slapped Shoujou's back happily, "I told you so didn't I? They're good people!"
"Haha, come on boys, we have a ship to outfit," Cricket tossed his cigarette away, eyes already set on the Straw Hats' ship.
The Straw Hats assembled outside the forest.
"So we're going to see who gets the bird first eh?" Sanji cracked his knuckles.
"We got time, loser teams get night watch tonight." Zoro smirked.
"Alright! You're all on! They used to call me the master of bird catching in the past!" Usopp thumped his chest proudly.
"Woaaaah! That's so cool Usopp!" Chopper's eyes sparkled.
Luffy pouted, sitting on the ground, "I want to go catch the bird too!"
"No! It'll be too easy for you! Just sit there and be quiet!" Nami pointed an accusing finger at him.
"But that's boring!" Luffy pouted.
Nami bent down and whispered something in his ear, causing Luffy to sigh and finally lay down on the grass, "Fine! But don't make me wait too long!"
"Alright! Let's go guys!" Nami pointed at the forest, leading the way with Sanji pirouetting behind her.
"I guess we should go too, Mr. Swordsman, the forest is this way," Robin turned, guiding the disgruntled Swordsman who was about to walk in the opposite direction of the forest.
"Let's go Usopp!" Chopper pranced into the forest with Usopp.
A few silent minutes passed before Luffy sits up again.
"Well… she did tell me not to compete with them, but it should be fine if I just take a walk in the forest right? Shishishi!" Luffy jumped on his feet and disappeared into the forest moments later.
"That's their ship! I knew it, they're here!" Sarkies bellowed, his broken arm in a cast that hung by his chest.
"We'll give those damn Marines the lesson they deserve! They think they can waltz here and do whatever they want?! We'll chop them up and crush them for what they did to us!" Bellamy roared, receiving loud cheer from his crew.
"Now let's show them what pirates are! Give these damnable Marines a lesson they'll never forget!" Bellamy pointed a finger towards the shore, a look of pure hatred on his face.
"Hey you hear something?" Shoujou frowned, pausing his hammer mid-swing.
Masira cocked his head to the side, concentrating for a few silent seconds before resuming his hammering of the nail, "I don't hear anything, probably those ears of yours are turning useless from all your shouting."
"You got a problem with my shouting?!" Shoujou fumed, rolling up his sleeves.
"You got a problem with that?!" Masira challenged, similarly rolling up his sleeves.
"STRAW HAT! GET OUT HERE!"
Both pirates paused and looked in the direction of the voice, an unknown pirate ship sat moored nearby beside the Going Merry.
"You're the Bellamy pirates… What do you guys want? The Straw Hats aren't here," Cricket stood at the bow, arms crossed.
Bellamy cracked his knuckles, "Ha! Don't lie to me! This is their ship isn't it? We have a bone to pick with them, if you're not related to them then scram before we make you!"
Cricket looked over his shoulders, smiling when he saw Shoujou and Masira already rolling up their sleeves with anger evident on their faces.
"I'm afraid I can't do that, this ship is currently under our protection," Cricket grinned fearlessly.
"Ha… Hahaha! Why are you risking your lives in protecting the ship of a Marine?!"
"Whether they're Marines or not, we all have our own dreams to chase… What's wrong with helping a fellow dreamer? Enough talk, if you want this ship you'll have to get through us first!"
Bellamy smiled devilishly, "As you wish."
Meanwhile, Zoro grunted discontentedly as he sheathed his sword for the upteenth time, watching the giant centipede he had just cut fall with disinterest.
"You don't have to cut down everything we come across you know?" Robin frowned, placing a hand on her hip.
Zoro snorted, "Hey, this thing came at me first so mind your own business. Besides," Zoro pointed a finger at the archaeologist, "Even though our Rear Admiral might have put you under our wing, but I still don't trust you, got that?"
"Yes, yes. All very professional Mr. Swordsman. But you do know you're walking in the direction we just came from right?"
"Ugh! I'm… I'm just searching this area again!"
"As you say, the bird cry we heard earlier came from this direction, so let's not waste time anymore, shall we?" Robin pointed with a finger, already walking away without a glance back.
"Tch… This damn woman…" Zoro grimaced, following after her.
Meanwhile, both Usopp and Chopper were running for their lives.
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THIS FOREST!" Usopp screamed, running from the giant cloud of wasps that was chasing them.
"The bird is commanding them! He does not want us here!" Chopper yelled, glaring at the South Bird that flew over them, mockery clear in its eyes.
"What's the big idea you damn bird?!" Usopp turned to shake his fist angrily at the South Bird.
"Chopper! Duck!" Chopper yelled suddenly.
"Where?" Usopp turned back, just in time to run straight into an overhanging branch, smacking him straight across the face.
Chopper wasted no time in changing to his human form and tossing the unconscious Usopp over his shoulder, dodging through the trees and gaining distance from his pursuers.
"This is going to be harder than we thought…" Chopper huffed.
On the other hand, Sanji was having the time of his life.
"Nami swaaan~~~ The call came from this way~~" Sanji pointed cheerfully.
Nami shivered, and it wasn't from the cold either, "Yes, yes, I heard it too…"
Nami was beginning to wonder if it would have been a better idea to have gone with Robin instead, maybe find out more about her personality and circumstances rather than the pervert cook she was stuck with now.
She sighed a bit as she stepped over a root, straight into an unseen mud puddle behind it.
"Eww! Now my shoes are ruined…" Nami groaned, looking down pitifully at her muddied shoes.
"Fear not mademoiselle! Your prince is here~~" Sanji flung himself towards Nami, a prepared handkerchief in hand.
"Would you just concentrate on looking for that damn bird?!" Nami yelled, kicking him away. "At the rate we're going, we'll never find it!"
"JOEEEE~~"
Nami looked towards the direction the cry came from, catching sight of the South Bird just before it flew off from its perch.
"Come on! What are you lying around for? It's right there! Let's go!" Nami pulled Sanji back up and sprinted after the bird.
Both the cook and the navigator arrived at a clearing, finding the rest of their crew resting there as well.
"Oh, hey Nami," Usopp waved, bruises all over his face.
Nami frowned, "What happened to you guys?"
Zoro spat, "The damn South Bird that's what, it's commanding the whole forest to go against us. Everything we've come across so far was out to kill us!"
"Ah," Sanji slapped his forehead in realization, "no wonder everything seemed so hostile to us!"
"JOEEE~~"
"Look out! He just gave out the command to charge!" Chopper yelled, turning his head towards the forest.
"Cloud formation! Robin, in the centre!" Nami yelled, it was her turn to take the lead today.
Sanji, Zoro and Chopper immediately moved to surround Nami and Robin, staying a short distance away from them. Usopp donned on his goggles and moved within the encirclement, head darting around in search of the enemy.
Usopp snapped his head towards his right, "On the right! Chopper!"
"I see them!" Chopper acknowledged, turning into his human form.
He braced himself just as a giant ladybug rammed itself against him, trying to throw him off balance. Chopper huffed as he threw the ladybug away, just in time to deflect another one that rolled towards him.
Usopp aimed his slingshot to his left, "Left now! Zoro!"
"Bring it!" Zoro grinned, eyeing the giant praying mantis that flew towards him with its arms extended.
The mantis slashed its left arm towards Zoro, aiming for his neck.
Zoro sneered at the attack as he ducked under it, sidestepping the follow up slash from its left arm before closing in to smash the handle of his sword on the mantis's head, stunning it. Zoro spun on his heel, kicking the mantis away to crash into another one that was flying towards him, eyes already set on his next target.
"Sanji!" Usopp released his slingshot, the projectile flying past the chef to land squarely between the eyes of a mole cricket.
"Thought you could sneak up on me?" Sanji raised his leg high into the air.
The mole cricket barely had time to recover from Usopp's projectile before Sanji brought his heel down on top of the creature, slamming it into the ground with a satisfying crunch.
Robin glanced up, "There's some coming from above too…"
A group of giant wasps dove down from the forest canopy towards their formation. Nami wasted no time in swinging the sections of her Clima tact together, forming a small cloud that floated upwards slowly into the air.
The wasps only sneered at the cloud without slowing down their descent, intending to dive through the cloud to reach the Straw Hats.
"Gotcha," Nami grinned, throwing her last host of bubbles into the cloud.
The previously fluffy white cloud turned into a sinister black colour almost immediately, shocking everything inside it with impunity.
A few seconds passed before a few charred remains of the wasps fell out of the cloud, crashing into the ground near the Straw Hats.
"Joeeee Joeee Joee~~"
Chopper glanced towards the South Bird perched a few meters away.
"He said that even though we repelled this attack, he's going to find more comrades to hunt us down as soon as he leaves. As if losers like us can catch it."
"That lousy bird…" Zoro spat, glaring at the bird with hate.
Before the South Bird could fulfill its promise, arms sprouted from the branch it was standing at and slapped the bird onto the forest floor. As it tried to untangle itself from the ground, more arms appeared around its body and held it down firmly.
"As long as I can see it, I can subdue it," Robin smiled wryly, shrugging her shoulders.
"Get a rope and tie that damn thing!" Sanji yelled, rolling up his sleeves.
"Laugh at us would you? Let's see you laugh now!" Nami sneered, pulling the rope taut in her hands.
The South Bird squawked in alarm at the approaching Straw Hats, struggling to get out of the submission hold Robin had it held in.
"Oh, don't need to struggle so much," Zoro grinned, tapping one of his unsheathed katanas meaningfully on his shoulder. "We'll be really gentle with you…"
Nami grabbed the Bird by the neck, bringing up to her smiling face. It gulped nervously when it realized Nami's smile didn't reach her eyes.
"It's only fair right? After what you've put us through?"
The Straw Hats' eyes all had a very similar glint in them as they each advanced on the South Bird.
"Hey, so this means it's my win right? My team got the South Bird after all." Zoro shook the South Bird that was wrapped up like a mummy in his arms at the other Straw Hats.
"Ha? Please, if it's anybody's win, it would be Robin-chan's win! You barely did anything at all!" Sanji pointed an accusing finger.
Zoro glared at the cook, "She's part of my team right?! And I did fight those damn animals that this stupid bird sent at us!"
"I could've done the same too! There's no way this can be your win!"
"Oh, you want to go in and try again? Ero-cook?!"
"I'll take you on then you damn marimo!"
"QUIET!" Nami smacked them both on the head, snatching the bird away from Zoro's hands. "We already got the bird, I just want to get out of this stupid forest already. If you two want to fight go back in there and fight!"
""He started it…"" both Sanji and Zoro pointed at each other.
Usopp pushed his way out of the forest, spotting the familiar Rear Admiral sitting on the field, his back facing them.
"Hey Luffy! We're back!"
Luffy turned his head to see his crew members emerging with a broad grin on his face.
"Hey guys! Welcome back! Look what I found!" Luffy shifted his body aside, proudly showing the five South Birds that stood at rapt attention in front of him.
All of Straw Hats jaws hit the floor simultaneously.
"What… how?" Nami muttered.
"I took a walk inside the forest, then some bugs attacked me so I beat them all up. Then these guys started making a lot of noise so I beat them up too! Anyway! Look! Look! Their heads all point in one direction no matter what I do to them!"
To prove his point, Luffy turned each of their heads in different directions and laughed as they all turned back to face towards the south.
"What were we trying so hard for?" Sanji collapsed on to the floor crying.
"That's so awesome Luffy!" Chopper's eyes were sparkling.
"All the trouble and we could only get one…" Zoro sighed.
Robin stared at the Rear Admiral with renewed interest.
"Whatever… I don't care anymore…" Nami cried, drawing circles on the floor.
The group slowly made their way back to Cricket's place, most of them more exhausted then they had been moments before.
"What happened here?" Sanji gasped.
The Straw Hats returned only to find Cricket, Shoujou, Masira and all of their underlings beaten and sprawled all around the place.
"AAAHHH! MERRY!" Usopp cried.
The Straw Hat's ship had her main mast broken into two with the top half hanging across half the deck. Various holes littered along the sides of the ship as though someone had smashed through the hull repeatedly. The Marine insignia that once proudly decorated the sail had also been vandalised with a crudely drawn pirate symbol.
Chopper ran up towards Cricket, his medical bag already at his side with the rest of the Straw Hats trailing behind him.
"Mr. Cricket! Hang in there!" Chopper clasped onto the pirate captain.
Cricket coughed, opening his eyes slowly to see the Marines standing around him, worry evident on their faces.
Cricket wheezed, eyes locked onto the Rear Admiral, "Straw… Hat… I'm sorry…"
"Who did this?" Luffy asked simply.
Cricket pushed himself up, ignoring the protests of Chopper.
"No need to worry... we still have time to fix your ship… I see you already have the South Bird… You only need one of them though, six is a bit too many…"
Cricket tottered towards the Going Merry weakly, nudging the prone figures of Masira and Shoujou, "Hey, nap time's over… We have work to do."
"Who did this, Cricket?" Luffy fumed.
Cricket glanced over his shoulder at Luffy, the Rear Admiral's fists were clenched and he could clearly see the barely contained fury hidden behind the youth's eyes. Cricket sighed, turning his head and nodded at the pirate symbol that was crudely drawn on Merry's sail.
"That's the mark of the Bellamy pirates," Robin supplied helpfully.
"Bellamy…" Luffy whispered under his breath.
Nami glanced at her Rear Admiral, seeing the shadow cloud over his eyes. She stepped up and placed a hand on his shoulder softly.
"Don't worry, we'll wait for you."
Luffy tilted his head, seeing the understanding in her eyes. Behind her stood the rest of the crew, all bearing the same set of eyes as her.
"Don't worry about it Luffy, we'll take care of these guys," Zoro grinned.
"Yeah, with my help, we'll fix up Merry in no time!" Usopp pumped his chest proudly.
"Make sure to give them an ass kicking they'll never forget you hear?" Sanji waved with a lazy smile.
"I'll make sure all of them are treated by the time you come back!" Chopper saluted proudly.
Away from the crew, Robin watched the crew with mild interest, not showing any reaction to the scene before her.
Luffy grinned slightly, cracking his knuckles, "I'll be right back."
The Rear Admiral leapt into the air, taking a second to orientate himself towards the town's direction before blasting himself off towards it.
"Alright! Let's get to work you guys! We have a ship to fix and patients to treat!" Nami yelled.
The crew gave her a mock salute, "yes ma'am!"
Back at the bar in Mocktown, the Bellamy pirates were throwing a lavish party for themselves. The bar that was usually rowdy and chaotic became even more so with the Bellamy pirates drinking, singing and hurling insults at one another.
"Hey! Remember the old guy we saw? I found out he's actually a pirate! I can't believe a pirate will try to protect a Marine ship!"
"Bwahaha! He kept on talking about dreamers protecting each others' dreams! I think he's gone loco!"
"Hahahaha! And did you see the look on his face when Bellamy hit him? Hilarious!"
"Oh! I think his face looked way better when we wrecked that Straw Hat's ship!"
"Right! Right! Old fart kept screaming at us not to touch that ship! Hahahaha!"
"Hey Bellamy! Was the haul from those guys even worth it?"
Bellamy knocked his head back as he downed the last of his beer, slamming the empty glass on the bar counter and wiping his mouth his the back of his free hand in satisfaction.
"Heh, it's not about the haul. It's about sending those meddling Marines a message to not mess with us. And this isn't an island they can just strut about as if they owned the damn place!"
The bar erupted in a roar of cheers, all the pirates raising their mug with Bellamy's declaration.
That was also the exact time a pirate rushed into the bar, flailing his arms about with a newspaper clutched in his hands.
"Bellamy! Bad news! Bad news! We best get out of here! We shouldn't have went after the Marine after all!"
The rowdy bar was instantly silenced as all eyes gathered on that pirate.
"What are you talking about?" Bellamy frowned.
"That Straw Hat Marine! He wasn't a Captain like we thought! He's a Rear Admiral! A damn Rear Admiral!"
"Ha! That pipsqueak a Rear Admiral? If he's such a big shot, we would at least have heard of him and what he's done before! He probably cheated his way up the ranks!"
"No Bellamy… He got promoted quite recently a few days ago… After he defeated the Shichibukai, Crocodile single handedly!"
There was a collective gulp as the rest of the pirates heard what he said. A Marine that could equal a Shichibukai, that was not an existence they wished to piss off.
"That's not all! It says here that he's actually the grandson of Garp the Fist!"
The grandson of the Marine hero Garp, that was definitely not someone they want to piss off.
"Cheh, the newspaper probably exaggerated things to make the Marines look better. If he's the grandson of that Garp, he probably got credit for taking down that Shichibukai even when he didn't do anything. Not that hard when you have a Vice Admiral backing you." Bellamy waved his hand dismissively.
"But… Garp might set his sights on us for antagonizing his grandson!" One of the pirates protested.
"Hahahaha! The seas are vast! I hardly think a Vice Admiral has the time to sail all the way here to settle his grandson's squabble!"
Before the rest of the pirates could agree with him, the door of the bar was roughly shoved open, revealing a youth with a straw hat slung behind his Marine cloak.
The Rear Admiral glared hard at the seated pirate captain, "Bellamy…"
"Ah! We were just talking about you boy! How nice of you to drop by!" Bellamy grinned, raising his glass towards the Marine.
Luffy stepped towards the pirate, only to have Sarkies step in between them.
"Remember me boy? I haven't paid you back for my arm you know?!"
The pirate unsheathed the kukri behind his back with his free hand and slammed it down hard on Luffy's head. Instead of the blood that everyone was expecting to erupt, the blade shattered into a million pieces.
While Sarkies was still comprehending what has happened, Luffy had already raised his arm and backhanded the pirate across the face, sending him crashing through the wall and out onto the street.
"Bartender," Luffy glanced at the cowering man behind the counter. "I apologise in advance for wrecking your place."
Luffy tossed a bag of berries towards the bartender who caught it with both hands. He then looked at the pirates in the bar, "All of you will pay for hurting my friends."
"You insolent Marine!" Bellamy sprung himself from his seat, reducing the seat and the counter behind him into splinters.
The pirate captain leapt towards the Rear Admiral with his right fist clenched and aimed at his adversary's face.
The Rear Admiral swayed to the left and raised his hand to catch Bellamy by his face, instantly stopping his momentum that should've broken a normal person's arm in trying to stop him.
"Wha-" Bellamy gasped before he was flung back towards the bar, smashing him into the shelf behind the counter and shattering the wine bottles that lined the shelf.
"Get him!" The pirates leapt to their feet, drawing their weapons and attacking the lone Marine simultaneously.
"Rankyaku"
The Marine brought his right hand up and swung it down quickly in a chopping motion towards the pirates.
Moments later, screams reverberated throughout the bar as the group of pirates that was lunging towards the Marine all had their hands severed.
"Mon.. Monster!"
The Rear Admiral looked towards the pirate that had called him that, sending shivers down the pirate's spine. He realised the Rear Admiral's eyes were clouded over, almost like he was dead inside, or rather, he had killed his own emotions.
The Marine disappeared from his sight before a sharp pain blossomed from his abdomen. The pirate looked down to see a hand embedded in his belly, his sight travelled along the arm to once again stare into the lifeless eyes of the Marine.
"Kuh… Mon… ster…" The pirate gulped before collapsing.
"Curse you!" Another pirate slashed at him from behind.
The Marine back stepped nimbly, slashing his arm upwards as the sword came down towards his left. Blood and steel mixed as the sword was cut in half and the pirate had a deep slash wound across his chest.
"Cheh! Take this!"
Several pirates drew their guns and fired at the Marine
"Soru"
The Rear Admiral disappeared and rematerialised directly in front of the pirates, passing through the bullets' paths without harm and with both his arms crossed in front of his chest. He slashed his arms outwards, sending compressed air blades that utterly destroyed the guns and leaving deep slash marks across the pirates' chests, several of them losing their arms in the process.
"Aiieee!" Seeing the gruesome spectacle before them, it was hard not for some pirates not to scream.
A few decided they had enough and made a run towards the exit.
He appeared in front of them with his leg poised in the air, swinging it down and smashing the wooden floor.
The pirates were immediately sent flying back with various slash wounds across their body, crashing into the furniture littered across the room.
Bellamy now stared at the Rear Admiral with fear. He never knew he could feel that fear from someone that wasn't Doflamingo. In fact, even that Shichibukai had never instilled this much fear in him before. The one standing before him could not be described as human, not with those lifeless eyes that surveyed the people around him as nothing but targets.
At least the Shichibukai still retained his sense of reason.
At this point of time, all the pirates knew instinctively they could not win nor could they escape this monstrosity before them.
"Get… Get him!" On of them shouted through gritted teeth.
The pirates roared and charged, some of them shooting their guns while others slashed at him with their blades.
"Soru"
That was the word the ones closest to him heard before their visions were dyed red. The pirates that had attempted to close in with swords collapsed in a spray of their own blood. Gunshots rang out as the surviving pirates opened fire on the Marine in a panic, not even considering they might hit one of their own.
The Rear Admiral weaved through the hail of bullets and spun in a circle, slashing his arms outwards as he did so.
All of the pirates in the bar had collapsed with slash wounds over their bodies. The Marine now advanced towards the collapsed captain.
Bellamy was staring at him with a mixture of fear and awe now. Even with all of the blood splaying around, not a drop of it had landed on the Marine. Bellamy had now realised how truly foolish he was to challenge such an absurd being, he had been too arrogant to see the world was much more vast than he had imagined.
The Rear Admiral stared down at the pirate captain without a shred of emotion in his eyes. The cowering bartender could only see the word 'Justice' emblazoned across the Marine's back as he stood unmoving in front of the once feared pirate captain, struck down with impunity like his own pride.
Luffy raised his fist and Bellamy closed his eyes, already accepting his fate.
There was a loud crash when the Rear Admiral brought his fist down, shaking the very foundations of the bar.
"Consider this a warning," Luffy whispered as he retracted his fist.
Bellamy opened his eyes and watched the Marine walk out of the bar, stepping over his unconscious subordinates. He glanced to his left at the fist imprint the Rear Admiral had made in the wall, still smoking from the impact of his punch.
"What have I been doing all this while?" Bellamy whispered to no one in particular.
Luffy landed in the clearing in front of Cricket's house with a small sack slung behind him, his crew already helping to put the finishing touches on the ship.
The caravel had been reinforced with steel plating along its sides and two giant wings attached on top of them. The figurehead of Merry had also underwent a revamp with the crown of a rooster attached in between its horns.
"It looks like a turkey!" Luffy exclaimed with sparkles in his eyes.
"Right? I thought so too!" Usopp gave a thumbs up proudly.
"Somehow, my faith in all this is dropping by the minute…" Nami sighed sadly.
Robin could only sympathize with her at the side.
"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go to Sky Island already!" Luffy declared.
"Set sail!" Chopper yelled enthusiastically.
Luffy's watched as his crew boarded their ship enthusiastically, beginning their preparations to set sail. He stood in front of Cricket, the bandaged pirate captain was seated on a chair just outside his house, staring at the sack that Luffy had unceremoniously dumped at his feet. The mouth of the sack was untied and several gold ornaments and piles of berry notes spilled out of it.
"That's Bellamy's isn't it?" Cricket raised an inquisitive eyebrow.
Luffy just smiled at the question, not showing any signs of answering.
"I don't need it, you can keep them," Cricket sighed, tossing the smouldering cigarette he held in his hand aside.
"My superiors might see it as my acceptance of a bribe from a pirate to allow him to escape." Luffy grinned.
Cricket glanced at the Rear Admiral, rolling his eyes when he saw the grin that plastered Luffy's face.
"Consider it payment for the ship."
"Well I still don't want it, toss it in the sea or something."
Luffy made no move to reclaim the sack, Cricket didn't show any signs of claiming it either.
Luffy's shrugged, "You wanna come with us?"
"Ha?"
"To Sky Island, you want to see it for yourself too right?"
"Hahaha, I'm crazy boy, crazy enough to keep chasing this ghost of my ancestor but still not crazy enough to. Follow you up that stream. No, I'll be satisfied with just seeing you guys off to chase your own dreams."
Luffy grinned as though he already expected that answer, "Then keep the gold safe for us, we might lose it up there after all."
"You little scoundrel, then you better come back safely you hear?" Cricket returned his grin with one of his own. "Now get out of my sight, you have a stream to catch."
The Strawhats were led to the estimated location without an incident ahead of schedule, all they had to do now was to wait for the appointed time.
"You guys better come back and visit you here?!" Shoujou cried.
"And we'll have a big party for it! You have to tell us what you guys saw up there!" Masira cried as well.
"Yeah! There better be lots of food!" Luffy yelled enthusiastically.
Just as the crew were contemplating Beating up Luffy for his insensitivity, the sky darkened without warning.
"It's here! Right on time too!" Shoujou yelled, pointing at the huge mass of cloud currently drifting towards their position.
As if on cue, the waves started rocking back and forth, as if a plug had been released beneath the surface.
"What's going on now?!" Sanji stared at the waves.
"This can't be possible…" Nami gasped, Recognising the patterns of the waves. "Release the sails! We're getting out of here! A whirlpool is forming right under us!"
"No! You're exactly where you need to be! You'll be in danger if you move out now!" Masira protested.
"We'll be in danger if we don't move out now!" Nami shouted back.
"Too late," Zoro pointed at the sea.
The ship was already within the whirlpool, slowly edging closer and closer towards the center.
"We're all going to die!" Usopp screamed, running head first into the mast and knocking himself out.
"Ahhh! Usopp's down! We need a doctor!" Chopper yelled.
"You're the doctor," Robin pointed out helpfully.
"Ahhh! You're right!"
"Man the rudder! Turn the ship with the waves! We'll ride along it!" Nami yelled as the rest scrambled to obey.
Despite their best efforts, Merry continued to edge closer and closer to the center, the roaring of the waves never seemed so deafening to the crew.
But as sudden as it came, the waves settled and the whirlpool vanished without a trace.
Nami blinked in surprise, "Wha-"
Her words were cut short as a huge pillar of water blasted from underneath their ship, hurling both the ship and the crew into the sky.
Masira, Shoujou and their crew saluted as they watch the Marine ship disappear into the sky with a tear in their eyes.
"AAARRGHHHH!" The crew screamed collectively.
"Yay! We're flying!" Luffy laughed as he clung onto the railing of the ship.
The crew couldn't even find the will to rebuke him anymore.
"Everyone hold on to something!" Sanji yelled, tying a rope around his waist while holding on to the still unconscious Usopp under his arm.
"We have a problem though," Robin glanced over the the ship with an uncharacteristic worry in her eyes.
Nami followed her gaze and gasped in horror.
"We're losing grip on the stream! At this rate we'll fall back down!"
"What do we do?!" Chopper cried, clinging on to the mast for dear life.
"Full sails! We'll use the updraft as our ride!"
Luffy lunged towards the rope that held down the sails, pulling it free to unfurl the sails fully. The ship jerked as the sails caught the wind, throwing the crew around the deck.
"Shit! Usopp!" Sanji yelled as he lost his grip on their sniper, sending him tumbling off the deck into open air.
"Zoro!" Luffy leapt towards the swordsman who had already unsheathed his sword.
"Better make it back with him!" Zoro slashed out with the flat side of his blade just as Luffy stepped on it, propelling him towards Usopp.
At this point of time, Usopp had already regained consciousness and was now screaming out his lungs and flailing about, trying and failing to fly.
Luffy grabbed his crewmate's hand, pulling him towards him.
"Hold on! Freestyle Armament: Tekkai Sai!"
Usopp held on for dear life as they both accelerated towards their ship. He felt something spill on his face and initially dismissed it for water from the spray, only realising it was blood when he saw the gaping wounds that marred Luffy's legs.
"Luffy! You're bleeding!"
Luffy only smiled lightly, watching the ship gradually gaining distance away from him.
Still so weak…
Luffy thought those words to himself bitterly.
"Soru!"
He just managed to reach the back end of the ship, his fingertips barely brushing against the railing.
"Freestyle Armament: Tek-"
An intense pain flooded through Luffy's body and a feeling of vertigo assaulted his senses, his wounds might have healed over the last few days, but he still lost a lot of blood that has not been fully replaced. Now he could feel his vision fading again from his blood loss. He looked back at Usopp who still clung to him with hope in his eyes, believing everything was ok.
"Sorry Usopp," Luffy smiled sadly.
He gritted his teeth and threw Usopp overhead, smiling when he saw Usopp landing safely at the back of the ship.
"Well… That's that…" Luffy sighed.
He closed his eyes as he hurtled back towards the sea below, a smile on his face, even he couldn't survive a fall of this height after all.
"Sorry guys, I couldn't keep my promises after all…"
Luffy thought bitterly as darkness took him in its embrace.
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And cut. so that is it for this chapter hope you guys enjoyed and see you in the next chapter.bye
chapter 24: Heads In The Clouds