The banquet of freedom lasted for three days. It was filled with laughter, singing, and dancing. Straw Hats enjoyed three days, especially Luffy and Zack who almost emptied the entire Cocoyasi Village's food stock.
On the fourth day,
Inside Nami's house,
Nami was packing her bags when the door opened and a figure walked in. This person was none other than Nojiko. She looked at Nami who had turned her head and smiled.
"So, you are going to leave today?"
Nami nodded her head and said, "Yeah, since our captain is soon going to get a bounty, it wouldn't be a good thing to stay here."
"Which captain are you talking about?" Nojiko asked with a trace of confusion in her eyes.
"I only have one captain now." Nami rolled her eyes and snorted.
Nojiko chuckled and said "I know. I know but I was wondering whether you talking about Luffy or Zack? Although Luffy is your captain, it seemed like Zack gives out the most orders."
Nami shook her head and said " While their isn't there is any official hierarchy in our crew. Luffy is the Captain in our hearts no matter who gives us the order. After all, if he wasn't capable enough to be a captain, would Zack, Zoro, Sanji, and even Usopp would have joined his crew?"
"Right! Right! It seems like I was worried for nothing. Anyway, how are things going on between you and Zack?" Nojiko asked.
Suddenly, Nami's face turned red as she shook her head.
"W-w-w-what do you mean? There is nothing going on between us."
Nojiko sighed and walked up to Nami who was literally trembling and patted her shoulder.
"The more you try to hide it inside your heart, the harder it will be to cooperate with your crew. The love between crew members isn't that uncommon but if you can't cooperate properly, your crew will suffer. Even though I am not a pirate, this isn't something I can't know."
Nami stopped trembling and her fist clenched. She bit her lip as she continued packing her clothes. Inside her heart, she was deciding on something.
After ten minutes, she finally came out of her house where Zack was waiting for her a bit far away from the house.
"So, is that all?" Zack looked at a large bag and turned at Nami.
Nami nodded her head and Zack picked it up.
"Alright, you finish saying goodbye." Zack left saying that.
He directly went to the ship. He saw Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp putting different stocks on the ship.
"Yo Zack, where have you been?" Luffy stretched his head from Merry's head and asked.
"I had something else to do." Zack answered while climbing the stairs. He looked at the sky and thought 'Our next destination is Logue Town. I need to find something important there.'
Zack put Nami's bag inside the cabin while the villagers were discussing about Nami. After all, Nami hadn't arrived on the ship.
"Oi Zack, You brought Nami's clothes, right?" Usopp asked.
"Don't worry, she will come but in her own way." Zack smirked and gave the command to his crew.
"Zoro, drop the anchor! Usopp, Sanji, drops the sails!"
"Aren't we going to wait for Nami?" Luffy looked at Zack and asked.
"Don't worry, she will arrive soon." Zack smiled as he slowly turned the rudder.
"Wait, wait, they are leaving too soon. Where is Nami? We haven't even properly said goodbye to her." Genzo looked around, searching for Nami, and eventually, he saw Nami behind them all.
"Nami, we haven't said goodbye properly." Genzo tried to stop her but Nami simply rushed into the crowd. She ran as she used her special move.
After she reached near the shore, she jumped. She directly landed on the deck and lifted her shirt. Dozens of wallets fell on the deck as she turned around and drop her shirt.
"Goodbye, everyone!"
A bright and big smile appeared on her face as she waved both of her hands.
"You little!!!" Genzo slowly smiled and waved his hand as well.
The entire village cheered as the crew drifted away.
"Hah! That was surely crazy." Usopp sat down and mumbled.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Luffy curiously looked at him and asked.
"What else? Fighting a crew whose Captain had a 20 million bounty. Not to mention, I didn't think I would fight someone whose strength was way above me so soon." Usopp spoke with an exhausted expression.
"They weren't that strong except for that Arlong." Zoro looked at Usopp and shook his head.
"That's easy for you to say. Don't forget how much trouble you were having without your three swords. If it wasn't for me getting two temporary swords for you, you would have been injured." Usopp rolled his eyes.
Zack who was listening to the conversation from the cabin also fell into deep thought.
In this battle, the person who had shown the most usefulness was definitely Usopp. After Luffy started the battle with his Battle Ax, his foot got stuck on the ground.
This time Zoro wasn't injured so he was taking down small Arlong Pirates with ease. But Hachi, one of the officers in Arlong's Pirates got in a battle with Zoro.
Sanji was also pushed into a serious battle as well as Usopp but the first one to finish the battle was Usopp. He not only finished the person he was fighting but also used different attacks to take down small pirates just like Zack.
Finally, he brought two swords for Zoro so that he could defeat Hachi. Only then did Zoro defeat Hachi. Zoro could have used his One Sword Style but Hachi's eight sword style made it harder for him.
Bang!
Suddenly, a cannon ball flew toward them and landed next to them.
"Luffy, it's marines." Sanji shouted as he was on the back.
"Marine? How did they come here so soon?" Zack mumbled with confusion. He hurriedly rushed to the back of the ship and took out the binoculars.
His eyes almost popped out when he saw three marine ships with a lot of marines on them.
'What the hell is going on? Why did so many marines appear here?' Zack almost freaked out.
'Calm down! It's just Pudding Pudding. This guy was defeated by Arlong with ease but why are there three ships? Did he get back up after I defeated the Nezumi's base?'
"What should we do, Zack? Run or fight?" Sanji turned his head at Zack and asked. He noticed Zack's unnatural behavior as well.
"Normally, I wouldn't hesitate to fight them but recently, I encountered a marine captain from HQ. Although the same thing might not happen again, nothing is certain at this moment."
"But, one thing bothers me the most. Where did this guy get so many marines under him?"
"Straw Hat Luffy! Surrender or we will blast your ship!" Using a loudspeaker, Pudding Pudding shouted from the main marine ship.
"Where did this guy get his guts? Wasn't he sunk into the sea by Arlong? He knows Luffy which means he should know about Luffy defeating Arlong." Nami spoke with confusion.
At this moment, Zack's eyes widened.
"Everyone, we are running right now. Luffy, Sanji, Zoro, start paddling the ship as fast as you. Usopp, follow Nami's direction. Nami, we need to run as fast as we can."
Zack immediately rushed to the paddles and started paddling with all of his strength. Luffy and others didn't hesitate to follow his command and immediately started paddling.
"Running away so soon?" Suddenly, a voice rang from the top of the ship which startled everyone. They slowly raised their heads and saw a man at the top of the ship.
He was wearing greens and a normal outfit. It wasn't a marine's outfit. He had a flower coming out of his body that looked like a helicopter's wing.
Thud!
"Why? Why is he here?" Zack fell on his butt as he looked at the man in front of him with horror in his eyes.
"Oh! It seems like someone from this small crew knows me. Although you guys are very weak right now, it wouldn't be wise for a marine to ignore the pirates. So, I am going to kill all of you right now."
"Gomu-Gomu No- Rubber Fist!"
Luffy immediately compressed his hand and stretched it out simultaneously. His face was basically screaming with pain but seeing Zack's expression like that, he immediately understood the danger they were in.
Splash!
But, the man in front of them instantly blocked his fist. It didn't even faze him. He extended his finger and it turned into a branch piercing Luffy's stomach.
"Luffy!" Everyone screamed when the blood fell from Luffy's stomach but before they could make any move. That man instantly released his other fingers that stabbed everyone except Nami.
Zack fell to the ground as his eyes turned black.
'Why? Why did he appear here? He wasn't even supposed to be here.'
The man in front of him wasn't someone who should have appeared here but suddenly, his eyes widened.
'Green Island'
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a figure rushed toward Ryokugyu and landed a powerful fist on his cheek. Ryokugyu saw it coming but he couldn't dodge it. He could only use the haki to block it.
But, it wasn't the end. At the same time, another fist came from another side. While the first fist was fast, this was overwhelmingly strong. Because Ryokugyu wasn't able to move properly, he could only use the power of his devil fruit wood wood fruit and haki to block it.
Bang!
But those fists were too strong. Ryokugyu immediately retreated backward and looked at the two men in front of him. He adjusted his dislocated mouth and spoke.
"Vice Admiral Garp, why are you helping a pirate?"
"You shouldn't have got involved." The man wearing a green cloak spoke while standing next to the old man with thin legs and a massive upper body.
"Shut up, you brat!" Garp turned to the side and shouted to the man who was wearing a green cloak. Then, he looked at Ryokugyu and asked.
"Where did you see me helping a pirate?"
Not just Ryokugyu but even the Dragon was stunned. At this moment, Zack's eyes widened when he saw this group. But, he didn't try to wait. He immediately tore up his clothes and blocked the wound.
He went to others. Usopp was in desperate condition so he helped Usopp while others quickly followed Zack's action. Without any hesitation, they immediately started paddling the ship.
Ryokugyu also saw that but this time, he couldn't do anything. Garp looked at him and clicked his tongue.
"Zephyr was right. All of the new marines are being overly reliant on their devil fruits. Your Haki is weak."
But before Garp could say more, the man with the green cloak suddenly moved. The climate became unstable and storm appeared . He punched forward with his fist, releasing a powerful gust of wind that smashed Ryokugyu out of the ship while increasing the speed of the ship by several folds.
Garp and he quickly stepped into the air while Ryokugyu did the same. The Straw Hat Ship was already several miles away from them.
"Vice Admiral Garp, do you know what your action represents? You are colluding with the revolutionary." Ryokugyu's expression turned ugly as he looked at Garp and spoke.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, the man with the green cloak rushed toward him extremely fast. Garp looked at them and turned around. He knew he had already stepped outside his boundary.
The only reason why he did that was because of Ryokugyu's action. Although he hated pirates, he didn't want his grandson to die.
Few Minutes After, a battle between two of the strongest people in the world ushered in East Blue, shaking it to the very core. The result of the battle only came out after two days.
The man with the green cloak disappeared while Ryokugyu fell into the sea with dozens of injuries on his body. Marines found him quickly but his situation was quite bad.
On other hand, what happened to the man with the green cloak, no one knows.
Two Days Later, Luffy and his crew were already near Logue Town. But, they were barely recovering. Their spirit and core were shaken. If it wasn't for the arrival of those two, they would've died for sure.
Zack was lying on the deck while looking at the blue sky.
'Even Ryokugyu appeared. That Green Island must be the result of his awakening, right? From the conversation of Garp and him, it seems like he has already joined the Marines but he wasn't active during the marine ford arc for some reason.'
'Or maybe, he hasn't joined the marine but is waiting for the position of Marine Admiral to get vacant and working as bounty hunter for them. This is troublesome. We haven't even started the journey properly and we have encountered one of the strongest people in the world.'
'I need to get prepared. No, we need to get prepared. We have to train. Thankfully, Dragon was already at the East Blue. And, if I am not wrong, Garp was supposed to come here to arrest Ax-Hand Morgan. No wonder, they suddenly appeared.'
'That Dragon? He didn't make a move in the original but it seems like this situation forced him to make a move. This is getting more and more troublesome.'
Suddenly, a few shadows appeared above him. Zack looked at the shadow of Zoro, Sanji, and Luffy. Their expression was filled with frustration and helplessness.
"Come on, don't show me such expressions. There was nothing we could do against that man. Be glad that we were able to escape." Zack sighed and spoke.
"B-but, we almost died." Luffy clenched his teeth and spoke. He also recognized his Grandpa. Although his grandpa greatly opposed him being a pirate, he still saved him.
And, this frustrates Luffy more than anything else. He understood that his grandpa is a marine and he is a pirate. Luffy isn't a complete idiot.
"Oi, oi Captain, what's with such expression. Don't worry, one day, we will be strong enough to fight those people. Until then, we need to do our best to live and enjoy the adventure."
"Besides, we can't get strong in a single day. Look at me! I have been training so hard, putting my life on the line in every battle but I still haven't reached closer to your strength." Zack was surprised by Luffy's reaction so he tried to calm him down.
"L-l-l-Luffy, are we really going to the Grandline? There are monsters like that in every corner of the Grandline." Nami walked toward them and bit her lips as she asked. She wasn't hurt but terrified by Ryokugyu.
Zack also looked at Luffy. He was wondering what would Luffy's reply be. After all, the only time Luffy has ever wavered like this was during Sabody and after the death of his brother.
Luffy clenched his fist and raised his head.
"We'll go. When I decided to become a pirate, I put my life at the risk. If I die, then I die."
Zack slowly cracked a smile and slowly got up. He patted Luffy's shoulder and spoke.
"Captain is right. We became pirates by putting our life on the line. If we die, then we die. There is nothing we can do. Let's continue our journey to the Grandline and conquer it."
"On the way, let's get as stronger as we can."
Zoro, Sanji, and Luffy nodded their heads simultaneously. Nami sighed but she also expected that answer from Luffy.
"By the way, how is Usopp?" Zack turned to Nami and asked.
"He is recovering but it will still take some time." Nami replied.
"We should be near Logue Town, right?" Zack asked.
Nami nodded her head and said, "We need to stock our kitchen and buy some other things before we leave for Grandline."
"Alright! Let's wait for Usopp to recover and then enter Logue Town. Remember, this time, we need to go flee as soon as possible." Zack spoke with a serious expression.
"By the way Luffy, this town is the place where the Pirate King was born and died."
Hearing his words, Luffy's expression widened.
"A town where the pirate king was born and died."
Zack saw his expression slowly returning to normal. He breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't want Luffy to feel frustrated. Luffy actually never got overwhelmed by an enemy that truly wanted to kill him.
Yes, Crocodile was certainly amazing and he did almost kill Luffy but he wasn't ruthless like Akainu and Ryokugyu.
Of course, Luffy's survival has a lot to do with his luck and it was the second main reason why Zack joined Luffy instead of waiting and creating his own crew.
In this world, luck is a very important factor. In fact, finding a powerful devil fruit depends on luck itself.
After some small discussion, the crew finally set their sails toward Logue Town. It would take another day to reach there and until then, Usopp also woke up.
He hadn't recovered completely but he could still move. While they were enjoying their time on the deck, the bird from World News arrived. Nami started shouting at the bird for increasing the price of the newspaper.
Two papers slide down to the deck as she was reading the newspaper. Zack, Luffy, Sanji, and Nami's eyes fell on those two papers. The next moment, their eyes widened.
It was a bounty paper. In the first paper, there was a picture of a kid smiling.
....
[MONKEY D. LUFFY!
Dead or Alive!
B120,000,000]
.....
[ZACK !
Dead or Alive!
B100,000,000]
....
Seeing these bounty posters, Zack narrowed his eyes.
'What the hell? I told them my name was Zack D Snyder. Although it is not my real name, it is still the name I told them. Why did they remove D and surname? Was it because they forgot or did they try to hide the truth?'
"Zack, we finally have the bounty." Just when Zack was drowned in his own thoughts, Luffy shook him and woke him up from his thoughts.
Zack cracked a smile and nodded his head.
"We are officially pirates now but the bounties are ridiculously high."
....