Raphael: <>
System: []
******
"Shanks has an evil twin now... great. Just great," Luffy sighed, scrolling through the latest One Piece chapter on his phone. He lounged inside the captain's cabin, one arm draped over the back of his chair.
Just then, his Observation Haki flared—three unknown presences had slipped onto the ship.
"Tsk..." He clicked his tongue in annoyance. "And here I was hoping for some peace before we reached Beretta. Guess that's not happening."
Letting out a slow sigh, Luffy pushed himself up and stepped out of the cabin, arriving on deck just in time to witness the first intruder go flying through the air, crashing hard onto the deck. A second followed almost immediately, landing right on top of the first with a pained grunt. And then came Uta, dragging the last one by the hair, Headhunter in hand, her expression filled with nothing but boredom.
"I see you've got this handled," Luffy remarked, leaning casually against the railing as he took in the scene. The three intruders lay sprawled on the deck, groaning, surrounded by Uta and the rest of the crew.
"Please," Uta scoffed, flipping her hair back as she twirled Headhunter between her fingers. "If I couldn't handle small fry like these, I might as well quit being a pirate altogether."
Luffy chuckled, shaking his head. "Yeah, that'd be a real shame."
"Hey! Do you even know who you're messing with?!" the pink-haired thief barked, pushing himself up despite his injuries. He glared at them, his eyes full of misplaced arrogance. "We work for Eldoraggo-sama! If he finds out you messed with his men, you'll all be in for a world of hell!"
Luffy barely even spared him a glance, already turning to Uta. "So, Vice Captain, how are we dealing with these thieves?"
"Don't ignore me!" the pink-haired thief roared, face turning red with fury. In one swift motion, he pulled out a gun and pointed it at Kuina, who stood closest to him.
Before he could even squeeze the trigger, and a loud BANG echoed across the deck.
The thief's eyes went wide. Then, as if the strings holding him up had been cut, he crumpled to the ground. A small, perfectly clean hole marked the exact spot where his heart had been, blood slowly pooling beneath him.
A heavy, thick, and suffocating silence settled over the ship before a sharp gasp shattered it. Kaya stumbled toward the edge of the railing, barely making it before emptying her stomach into the ocean. Kuina sighed, stepping up beside her, and gently rubbed her back.
Meanwhile, the two remaining thieves collapsed onto their butts, eyes wide with horror. One moment, their comrade had been boasting; the next, he lay lifeless on the deck, blood pooling beneath him, leaving them completely at the mercy of their captors.
"Now..." Uta said as Headhunter vanished from her hand. Then the pattern on her left arm glowed as Tour de Force, her sniper rifle, materialized in her hand. She leveled the barrel at the two trembling thieves. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't send you to join your friend."
"W-Wait!" one of them stammered, frantically waving his hands. "If you let us live, we can lead you to a huge treasure!"
Uta arched a brow, pressing the rifle's cold barrel against his forehead. "A big treasure, huh?" Her voice was smooth, yet laced with menace. "Keep talking. If I like what I hear, I might consider sparing you."
"I... I didn't know Uta could be this scary..." Kaya murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. Her wings instinctively wrapped around her, as if to shield herself from the scene before her.
"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," Kuina said with a casual shrug. "People like them prey on the weak—until they run into something stronger and get wiped out."
"Still..." Kaya hesitated, unease flickering in her eyes.
Meanwhile, the thief with Uta's gun pressed to his face gulped audibly before blurting out, "Y-Yesterday! We overheard Eldoraggo-sama talking about a hidden treasure—a hoard left behind by the legendary Captain Woonan! It's somewhere on Gold Island!"
Uta narrowed her eyes, considering his words, before glancing over at Luffy. "What do you think?"
Luffy hummed, faintly recalling the plot of the first One Piece movie. "Sounds fun. We should check it out. But the problem is, we don't know where that island is. It's not marked on the map we got from Shells Town."
"That's a shame," Uta sighed, then turned back to the thieves with a cold expression. "Guess that means we've got two more bodies to get rid of."
"Wait! Wait! Eldoraggo-sama has a map of Gold Island!" the other thief blurted out, scrambling to pull a small, folded piece of paper from his pocket. "And—And this is Eldoraggo-sama's Vivre Card! It'll take you right to him!"
"Oh, how thoughtful..." Uta murmured, plucking the Vivre Card from his shaking hands. She twirled it between her fingers, amusement flickering in her crimson eyes. "Thanks for the help. In return, I'll make sure to give you a quick death."
"Wait! You said—"
BANG.
BANG.
Uta turned, smiling sweetly, and held up Eldoraggo's Vivre Card. "Well, Luffy, looks like we're making a little detour."
******
"We're here," Uta announced as she spotted the island in the distance. Her gaze sharpened as she took in the sight of the shoreline. "There's also a... rather giddy-looking ship docked on the coast."
"Giddy-looking?" Zoro raised an eyebrow.
"It's a massive ship, covered in gold plating from bow to stern," Uta clarified, her voice laced with undisguised disgust. "It's twinkling—too gaudy, too excessive. Utterly distasteful."
"Well," Kuina mused, crossing her arms with a sly grin, "we could always sink it... after we strip it of all that gold, of course."
Uta smirked. "Now that sounds like a plan."
"Your plans for grand larceny can wait," Luffy cut in, hopping off the balcony and landing on the deck with a light thud. "First, we need to take care of this Eldoraggo guy and find legendary Captain Woonan's treasure."
Then, his expression turned serious. "Before we head out, there's something I need to tell you all."
The shift in his tone made the crew straighten up, giving him their full attention.
"This is going to be our first battle as a crew," Luffy continued, his gaze sweeping over them. "And I've decided—aside from Eldoraggo himself, I won't be fighting anyone else."
"Finally," Zoro and Kuina said in unison, identical savage grins stretching across their faces.
Luffy chuckled at their eagerness before turning to Kaya. "Kaya, you'll be going with these two and handling the grunts. You've been making good progress in training, but nothing beats real combat experience." He watched her carefully, gauging her reaction.
Kaya swallowed but nodded firmly as their ship docked on the coast.
"Uta, you'll be providing support from a distance," Luffy went on. "Anyone who tries to run or escape them—you take them down. This will be good practice for all three of you before we head to the Grand Line, where the real monsters are. It'll also help you start unlocking Haki.""
His crew absorbed his words, their expressions shifting from anticipation to steely determination.
"Everyone clear?" Luffy asked.
A chorus of nods answered him.
"Good," he said, a grin creeping back onto his face. "Then let's go. We've got a legendary treasure to claim."--
******
"Damn it! Where is that damn treasure?!" Eldoraggo roared, his voice echoing through the dense jungle.
With a single punch, he sent a massive tree crashing to the ground, the splintered trunk shattering on impact. Birds scattered from the treetops, shrieking in alarm, while his men flinched at his outburst.
They had been scouring this wretched island for six hours, searching for any sign of Captain Woonan's legendary treasure. But no matter how many rocks they overturned, they hadn't found so much as a single gold coin.
"My lord, please calm yourself!" Gildor, Eldoraggo's right-hand man, pleaded, adjusting his sunglasses nervously. "Perhaps we overlooked something. There may be a hidden chamber or—"
"Silence!" Eldoraggo snapped, whirling on him with a glare so fierce that Gildor instinctively took a step back. "I've had enough of your pathetic excuses! Woonan's gold is here! I can smell it!" His golden armor gleamed under the sunlight, his fists trembling with frustration.
Just then, the underbrush rustled behind them.
"Captain! Movement in the trees!" Golass, one of Eldoraggo's men, called out, pointing toward the dense foliage.
A moment later, a figure stepped out from the shadows.
"Yo," Luffy greeted casually, hands tucked into his pockets as he emerged from the jungle. "Looking for something?"
Eldoraggo's eyes narrowed. "You…" His lips curled into a sneer. "I don't know who you are, but you've got a lot of nerve showing up here."
Luffy tilted his head, a playful grin on his face. "Huh. Thought you'd know me by now," he mused, then shrugged. "Eh, fair enough. I haven't done anything worth remembering yet."
Eldoraggo scowled. "Tch. Whatever. I don't care who you are—turn around and walk away before I break every bone in your body."
Luffy grinned. "That so? Y'see, that's kinda hard to do when you're makin' all this noise. We couldn't exactly ignore you."
Behind him, Zoro, Kuina, and Kaya emerged from the trees as well, while Uta remained perched in the branches above, her rifle already locked onto Eldoraggo's men, watching them like a hawk.
"You must be Eldoraggo," Zoro said, rolling his shoulder as he surveyed the man. "You don't look like much."
Eldoraggo's eye twitched. "You brat—!"
"Enough talking," Kuina interrupted, drawing her sai. The steel gleamed in the sunlight as she leveled it at the enemy crew. "Luffy already said he's leaving you to him. The rest of these guys? They're ours."
Eldoraggo's scowl deepened, but his sneer returned, cruel and mocking. "So... you think you can just waltz in here and challenge me?" His fists clenched, and an eerie, blue energy began swirling around his body. "Fine. I was looking for something to break, anyway."
Luffy cracked his knuckles, his grin widening. "Good. 'Cause I've been itching for a real fight," he said and rushed at Eldoraggo at blinding speed vanishing from his sight.
Eldoraggo barely had time to register his disappearance before—
BAM!
A fist crashed into his gut at blinding speed, the sheer force detonating the air around them. Eldoraggo's eyes bulged as he was launched through the jungle, trees snapping like twigs in his wake. The distant crash of his impact echoed through the island, shaking the ground beneath them.
Silence.
Then—
"C-Captain?!" One of Eldoraggo's men stammered, staring at the trail of destruction in shock.
Meanwhile, Zoro, Kuina, and Kaya took their battle stances, their expressions sharpening with focus.
"Alright," Zoro muttered, unsheathing his swords. "Time to clean up."
"Try not to slow me down," Kuina smirked, already moving forward.
Kaya took a deep breath, unfurling her wings with determination. "Let's do this."
Above them, Uta clicked her rifle into place, her gaze cold and focused as the Straw Hat Pirates readied themselves for the battle ahead.
To be continued...
******
Sorry for the short chapter :)