If there was anything that could be said about the Marines; it was that they worked quickly when it came to spreading word of pirates. By the time that Smoker gave the report that Morgan and the Straw Hat Crew had escaped from Loguetown into the Grand Line; Morgan D. Ford's Wanted Poster had been plastered everywhere on the East Blue to different effects.
In Windmill Village where Morgan and his brothers grew up; Makino kept his poster up alongside a Newspaper clipping that held a very large old Navy officer and an energetic looking recruit.
"Look at that…Who'd have thought that the cheeky lil brat would've made his name as a pirate, why couldn't he have been a Marine like Garp or Luffy?" The mayor grizzled as he complained about the notoriety that would come about with a pirate from their village.
Mayor Boodle kept his poster in his desk as both a reminder of the "Darn whippersnapper that bashed his face in" and as a warmhearted keepsake of the would-be hero that saved him and Orange Town from Buggy's pirates.
Syrup Village had it's fair share of suitors stopping by to try and win the heart of it's pride and joy; Kaya, however the combination of her ambition to become a doctor and Merry shooing them off with a stick had stopped that dead. She was happy to see that Morgan was getting on the map but she was happier to see that Usopp was in the poster too and living up to his dreams.
Hawkeye Mihawk had showed up on a random island to a bunch of very hungover looking pirates and Red Haired Shanks slumped in a hammock with a headache that threatened to split his head; "I figured that I would find you out here, you're a hard man to track down." Mihawk remarked as he watched Shanks crawl out of the hammock.
"Not now, Mihawk…This hangover is killing me so I'm in no mood for another fight with you." Shanks grumbled as he rubbed his temples, his crew keeping a watchful eye on Mihawk since he was still a Warlord.
"I've not come for a fight, but I did come to show you this." Mihawk mentioned as he reached into his coat and pulled out a rolled up parchment, lazily handing it to Lucky Roux who unfurled it for the others.
"Wait…"
"No way…"
"It's Morgan!"
"The little brat actually got himself a wanted poster! And it's a real big bounty too!"
Shanks grinned widely as this new information snapped him out of his hangover; "Go get the reserve booze! We got a party to celebrate!" He cheered as he then threw an arm around Mihawk; "And you get to join us!"
Mihawk rolled his eyes as he reluctantly accepted and joined the crew in their impromptu party; "So you've got yourself someone to take that straw hat after all? I thought it looked familiar when we last met."
Shanks nodded as he downed another mug of beer; "Yeah, when he and his brothers were little anklebiters…I gave my straw hat to Luffy but I think that spat with the Bandits and that Sea King must've changed something because Morgan showed up giving the hat back."
"He didn't want it?" Mihawk asked, he remembered Shanks talking about Luffy being his little buddy along with the others who hung around him that bugged him to join his crew; "I'd have thought that if he was trying to get on your crew, he would've wanted to keep it."
This seemed to sour Shanks's mood a little as he stared into his mug; "Yeah…Losing my arm did more than make Luffy feel guilty, Morgan told me that he thought that Vice Admiral was stronger now and went to go enlist…But Morgan's taken up the hat now, saying that he's gonna be more then just a Pirate King."
"A World Famous Martial Artist, if I remember his proclamation right…" Mihawk agreed as he sipped his drink; "He has a decent crew so far when I met him, that bounty Hunter; Roronoa Zoro seems to have taken up a spot in there."
Shanks looked over and saw Yasopp cheering out when he saw the back of Usopp's head in the wanted poster; "I don't doubt he's gonna make it far in the Grand Line, he's stubborn enough to fight for a spot on my crew so dealing with the Grand Line will be no problem for him...Though he does still have some stiff competition ahead."
——Meanwhile, Elsewhere in the Grand Line——
Morgan was coming to on the deck of the Going Merry, in the span of several minutes following their entry into the Grand Line; a giant whale swallowed them, the sudden jerk as they flew down the gullet had knocked the crew into the air and hit Morgan square in the head when he hit the mast but now they were sat in what looked like a green sea but with a blue sky and an island with a house. "Whu…What happened?" Morgan mumbled groggily as he sat up and rubbed the dark bruise on the side of his head.
"You got knocked out when the ship got pushed around; we ended up inside some giant…whale's stomach and now I don't know if we're gonna get out." Nami explained as she pulled an ice pack away from his head; it looked like she had been worried for a while and the seething look on Sanji's face seemed to confirm that since he wanted to be the one that Nami cared for if he got hurt.
"Stomach? but this is…..Wait…Did someone paint this on the inside?" Morgan was confused beyond belief as he got to his feet; "So is everyone else okay?"
"All good." Zoro shrugged off the situation as he either didn't seem to get that they were inside a giant whale or just past the point of caring.
"Define good." Usopp grimaced; already reaching the worst conclusion as he worried that they would become bones in the sea of stomach acid of said giant whale.
"I should've been the one Nami was looking after…" Sanji sulked as he kept his eye on the island near the ship, making more than abundantly clear that the only risk to him specifically was that Nami had not worried for him.
Morgan started to piece it together; he remembered going down the slope to the Grand Line and then entering the mouth of the whale, then a wave threw them up in the air and while Zoro and Sanji were able to grab Nami and Usopp but no one was able to stop their Captain from getting hit in the head.
"We should really find a way out of this…But it doesn't really look like we have any exits around." Sanji mentioned as he tried to search for a door.
"Well…It is a giant whale, I can think of two ways we can get out, the first ways is out the way we came." Morgan stated as he peered over the railing of the Merry.
"And then that leaves us going out through th-" Zoro mused as he had a good idea on where the alternative was but unfortunately so did Nami.
"NO! NO! NO! I absolutely REFUSE to leave out o-!" Nami yelled at both Morgan and Zoro for considering it; "I'd much rather stay in it's belly than doing that."
"Y'know, you could always ask and I'll let you out." An old man would say as he peered up from a newspaper, lounging on a garden chair; "Laboon's been somewhat modified so I can sedate him from the inside so I set up doors all over the place."
"Well, can you let us out?" Usopp would ask, jumping at the chance to not get trapped to slowly digest.
"On one condition." Crocus said as he put down his paper and then dragged two people out along with a pair of broken down grenade launchers; "You take these two little bastards with you! They've been trying to harvest this whale for food but all they've successfully tried is my last nerve!"
"You don't know who you're messing with, old fart!" The man who had a crown lodged on his head snarled at the older coot.
"We'll be back and we're going to get that whale too!" The girl snapped as she tried to wiggle free of her ropes but groaned in frustration as the two were taken onto the Merry by Morgan and Zoro.
The crew followed Crocus as he opened up doors and lead them out of the whale's side; "So why exactly is this whale thrashing around here?" Morgan asked Crocus as the elder man climbed on the shore.
"He's a Land Whale, he managed to imprint on another crew when he was a baby but now the crew's gone to another sea and never came back." Crocus explained; going into detail about the 50 years that Laboon was bashing his head against the Red Line to reunite with his friends.
"I can't believe that they would leave him here…The crew will come back, won't they?" Usopp asked as he was hopeful to find an answer that would help put Laboon at ease.
"I don't like to admit it, Usopp…But I don't think they are. If they left all those years ago then they may have died at sea or just left him here alone…" Morgan said with a frown, he didn't like hearing the Whale's sad howling but he knew that the Grand Line wasn't for every pirate.
"If he keeps going like this than he'll die…I've got enough sedatives to stop him for a few moments but he'll just get right back to it almost immediately." Crocus said before handing Nami a Log Pose and explaining it to her.
Morgan meanwhile came up with an idea as he ran past the others and tried to focus up all the Haki to his head; "STRONG STYLE KENPO!"
"The hell's he…"
"Please tell me he's not going to do what I think he's gonna do…."
"HARPOON SHOT!" Morgan yelled out as he slammed the strongest headbutt he could into Laboon's scarred head, but even with the most focused Haki hit that he could muster; against a gargantuan whale like that only hurt about as much as a bee sting.
Roaring in annoyance and in anger, Laboon headbutt him back as the two got into a very weird looking fight. The two were making for a very strange scene but the anguish and rage that the Whale felt blocked the embarrassment out as it finally rammed it's head into Morgan and sent him hurtling into the rock face on land.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, YOU IDIOT! THAT'S A WHALE!" Nami screamed at him but stopped when she saw him gesturing to wait.
"Heh…Let's call this one a draw…." Morgan smirked up at Laboon; "Those guys left and now we're passing on by, we're fighting rivals now…so be patient and wait for us to come back, then the two of us can settle this for good." Morgan said and then placed a hand on Laboon's giant face.
As the crew set off with the pair of miscreants in tow, their next stop was going to be for the next island; "Let us go right now!" The crown wearing one would order at the others.
"If you know what's good for you, then you'll free us!" The girl would snap at them though found it hard to try and sound threatening while Sanji was fawning over her even when she was tied up. "And stop gawking at me like that!"
"Oh, the sweet sounds of a lady's reprimands are so beautiful~" Sanji let out a sigh of lovestruck bliss before going to make food for Nami.
Morgan had made his way over to Nami as she was trying to use the Log Pose; "So the next stop is where the Pose is pointing to, right?"
"Mhm, Crocus said that this thing will guide us to the next island and we can wait there until we can get the directions to the next island." Nami explained as she kept watch over a map; "But these currents and the wind keeps changing every time I blink!"
"You know, we can always guide you to the next island if you drop us off…Whiskey Peak, you do that and we'll be out of your hair." The woman would mention as she smirked up at the two but noticed Morgan walking over brusquely; "W-Wait a minute…if you lay a hand on me, I swear that you'll…huh?"
Rather then telling her straight out, Morgan untied the two and then stepped back; "We will let you go at this Whiskey Peak since we need to go there, but first you need to guide us there and until then…you pull your weight." He plainly ordered them.
"Wait a minute! Morgan, you can't just trust them to just do that without fighting back. What'll happen if they try to start something?" Nami protested as she and Usopp quickly got apprehensive of the idea that their two prisoners were walking around.
"Simple, They're on OUR boat, as far as I can see…we don't have anything that they can use plus if they do try anything then we can just knock them out." Morgan mentioned as he cracked his knuckles, making his threat clear to the both of them.
"Y-You're right! We'll guide you! Just help us get to the next Island and we'll be gone!"
"Mr.9!" The bluenette was the one to protest now though quickly clammed up when she realised that she outed his codename.
"It's either that or we swim there." Mr 9 would point out as he whispered to his cohort and then bowed his head; "Thank you for giving us a chance!"
"Just get to work and keep where everyone can see you!" Nami sighed as she relented, giving Mr 9 the orders to sweep the deck while she went back to navigating with some begrudging help from their other friend.
—A Couple of Days later—
"Such vile ruffians! Making us do all that grunt work just to get to Whiskey Peak! If it wasn't for Miss Wednesday's help in distracting that redhead and the idiot of a cook, I'd never be able to find something useful." Mr 9 had been running ragged with dodging the watchful eyes of the Straw Hat Crew and pretending to keep playing nice until their journey's end, however while the others were asleep and Nami was still awake trying to navigate the sea, the crown wearing man was rifling through Nami's things to find a way of recompense for his toils. "…Come on…There has to be treasure or a Transponder snail in here some-What's this?" He would think as he found a rather sturdy looking lockbox under her bed; pulling it out and checking it for an opening; "Locked…Oh well…Guess one of my bats to the lock outta do it." Mr 9 took his one of his hidden bats out to crack it open but froze when he heard a creak.
"You know, it's rather rude to sneak into a lady's room like this..." Morgan said as he stood by the door, walking in as he was ready to lay down some hurt. "Though the better question is what are you doing with that box? Because you lay a hand on her money and she'd kill you but lay a hand on that? I don't think we'd find a body." He joked.
"W-What are you doing here?! I thought you were asleep!" Mr 9 protested as he hid the box behind him; "B-But now you're here, you better tell me what's inside it! Or else I'll do more then steal it."
"Your guess is as good as mine…She's cagey about it, so put it back before you make it worse for you and your friend." Morgan admitted but then moved away as a staff strike missed his head by an inch.
"MORGAN! What are you doing in my…Wait, what are YOU doing with my stuff?!" Nami's anger turned when she saw the box in Mr 9's hands and then bashed him harder. "Jeez…I swear Sanji was going to be the first one to try sneaking in my room, I thought you were better then that." Nami reprimanded Morgan as he dragged the unconscious Mr 9 away from her room.
"Believe me, I'm not like that….I got up for a midnight snack and I heard noises coming from your room, I thought it was you looking for another map but it was this bat wielding weirdo sneaking under your bed with the box." Morgan explained with all honesty.
Nami kept a suspicious look on her face but then relented when she figured that a guy as up front as Morgan wouldn't take the sneaky approach. "Okay, I know you enough that you wouldn't try something pervy like that."
Morgan nodded; "I'd rather not risk your wrath…But if it's alright to ask…what IS in that box?" He asked as the question bugged him throughout the whole time she came back from Arlong Park.
Nami glared at him; "So why do you suddenly want to know?" She asked as she grabbed the box; "Besides, if you know what's inside it…Then I know you won't stop bugging me until you get it?"
Morgan was more confused then anything but decided to push it; "Okay, try me…What exactly is it? You know I'm not good enough with lock picking and I'm hardly the type of guy who can steal from friends." He pointed out as he crossed his arms, keeping his focused gaze on her.
Nami was about to comment about something but she bit her tongue and gave up; "Fine. But not a word about this to anyone…And lock the door." She demanded, setting the box down on a table next to her cartography gear.
Morgan rolled his eyes; "Whatever this was, it's really making her kick up a stink…" He thought as he walked over to her and waited to hear her out.
Nami hesitated for a moment and then pulled out a small key from under a groove she made in the door of a wardrobe she had; "I had intended on trying to get this straightened out before you found out but nothing turns up a profit." She explained as she opened the lock and then lifted the lid of the box.
Inside was something that explained a lot when Morgan saw how defensive Nami was being about the box; on top of a plush velvet pillow sat a bright yellow tangerine that was as big as Morgan's palm: but it was peculiar since it had black scrawls around the skin leading up towards the rind that coiled around in a spiral.
"A Devil Fruit…" Morgan put it together as he looked up at Nami; "No wonder you were so aggressive about it." He shrugged as he took a second look; "I'm surprised that you didn't eat it yourself, considering it looks like one of the fruits in that garden back in your village."
Nami scoffed as she shut the lid; "I…may have been tempted to try it but the risks outweigh the rewards, I came across it back at Shells town when I robbed that Marine Captain's office. I thought it was some gemstone he found but when I saw what was in it, I HAD to know what kind it was…But as luck would have it, no one has a book or any info on it…" She explained as she locked up the box and tucked it away under a floorboard.
"So kind of like why I don't wanna eat one…But if you're not going to have it yourself, why do you want to know what it is? I'm sure someone's willing to pay big money to roll the dice." Morgan asked with a surprisingly simple question.
"Because, if I gave it to a rando without knowing what it's worth, I'd get scammed…But some of the cheaper ones go for about half a million, some could range up in the hundreds of millions if it's a powerful one." Nami pointed out, proving her shrewdness once more as she tapped his chest.
"Oh yeah, the awe inspiring powers that could make you stretchy or turn you into an egg…" Morgan stated joking but Nami was hardly amused with his attitude.
"Or the power to turn into smoke. Need I remind you that you still lost that fight back in Loguetown?" Nami snarked back at him with a coy smirk.
"It was stormy, okay?!" Morgan snapped with some annoyance; even though he wouldn't say he lost but Nami wasn't exactly wrong. "The stones were slippy and I could barely focus enough to use Haki without worrying about everyone else around."
"Well, you don't have to worry about proving anything…Because I know exactly what you can do if you have the right mindset." Nami assured him as she inched closer; "Plus…I'll take any chance I can to see that shirt come off anytime~" She teased him and winked, causing her captain to blush a little at her comments.
"S-Sure…I could really tell with all that blood dripping down your nose." He tried to tease back; even though it was a weak retort, it still struck a nerve with Nami.
"THAT's NO-Well, all I'll say is watch your back…I've seen that blue haired harpy making eyes at you so I don't know if she's gonna try sleeping with you to get a pass on the ship or if she's gonna kill you when your back's turned." Nami warned him, partially joking because even though she had every reason to believe that Morgan could defend himself, he wasn't exactly invincible to charms.
"Aw, that almost sounded like you worry about me." Morgan grinned, getting a little smug about it but backed a little when he saw she wasn't laughing.
"I'm serious, you dimwit…Watch yourself around her, it might be our ship but it's still the Grand Line, who knows what people can do here?" Nami mentioned before leaning up on her tiptoes to sneak a brief and butterfly light kiss on his lips; "Besides, I'm not gonna let MY captain get pulled away from me that easy~"
Morgan looked stunned from what had just happened and even glancing at Nami; he could see she was trying her hardest not to flush from her actions. "Then maybe I should prove I can show control." He said with a sudden bout of confidence, earning him a look of confusion from Nami's face but that quickly turned into a burning crimson in her cheeks as he pulled her in and pressed his lips on her's, returning the favour of her little tease.
Nami was pretty shocked to say the least, she hadn't expected Morgan to have the guts to act on this but she was quickly becoming glad that he did. Her stomach did several flips, her legs felt like jelly and she could hear fireworks going off in her brain as she threw her arms around Morgan's neck and pulled him closer; all this time that she had wanted to do this and she was never wanting to let go.
Morgan felt goaded when Nami pulled herself closer to him and held on as their tongues made the graceful mix of wrestling and dancing with each other. his body tingled with the pleasure of feeling Nami's body against him and even though he was the one instigating, she was the one pushing him back onto the bed.
"We better make this quick~" Nami urged him with an almost manic glee as she climbed onto his waist and straddled him, tracing her fingers along his chest; "The fact that you have such an amazing body is so unfair…Making me watch you fight and never giving me the chance to get my hands on it up close…But now I'm gonna take it back with interest~" She cooed as she delicately traced her fingers along his washboard stomach and then reaching towards herself to start stripping off her shirt.
Morgan was wondering if this was a dream or if he somehow got hit in the head by Mr 9 but he prayed to whatever god that listened for what was happening to be real; his eyes gazed downward as he saw Nami's midriff come into view and as more skin exposed itself, he got more and more excited.
…Until there was a loud rapping at the door and the familiar sounds of a love struck chef.
"Nami~! We got land coming up~ We need you to come up and help us dock the ship with your impeccable skills~!" Sanji yelled gleefully, unaware that his beloved Nami was seconds away from taking a ride across a different kind of ship.
Nami groaned and muttered some very choice words as she halted her slow strip and pulled her shirt back down; "Coming Sanji!" She would call back to him as she climbed off Morgan.
"I'm glad we're making for land but there are no words to explain how pissed I am that this is cut short." Morgan grumbled as he adjusted his gi top and climbed off the bed.
"Believe me, I'm not exactly happy about stopping when the fun was about to start…But we do need to stay on the island until the Log Pose is done tracking the next one." Nami sighed as she unlocked the door; "Though you better believe that we're not done here yet…Captain~" Nami put that familiar flirtatious lilt in her voice as she left Morgan alone in her room so they didn't attract attention if they left at the same time.
"Well…Next stop…Whiskey Peak…"