"RIGHT NOW!" they all shouted.
"Guys!" Luffy said. He was glad to see them all as everyone looked at them. None of them noticing Smoker and the marines moving into position. "The moment Straw Hat dies, take all the other pirates down." he ordered.
"Yes sir!" the marines said quietly. As they were talking, Tashigi saw the man she met before through binoculars as a marine said that he was Zoro and a member of the Straw Hat Pirates.
"He's...Zoro?" she asked.
"Luffy, you moron." Zoro said with a smirk. "Guess goofing around finally caught up with ya."
"Is this really the time to make jokes big bro?" Johnny asked.
"Yeah." Yosaku agreed. "He's got Brother Captain up there ready to kill him!"
"Like he'd be killed by some side-show freak like that." Sanji said as he puffed on his cigarette.
"How'd he get trapped anyway?" Gin asked. "HAHAHAHA!" Buggy laughed. "Glad you could make it Zoro. Feel free to watch your friend die!" he said before raising his sword into the air. At that moment, all of them began charging towards the platform to stop that sword. Luffy watched, remembering that Zoro and Sanji took too long because of the numbers. This time, with Johnny, Yosaku, and Gin, they were plowing through the pirates like they were blades of grass.
'They're doing great!' Luffy thought before he sensed that Buggy was about to drop the sword onto his neck. He then felt the same way he did last time he was faced with death. "Zoro! Sanji! Usopp! Nami! Gin! Nojiko! Johnny! Yosaku!" he said before smiling at the crowd. "Sorry. I'm dead." The sword then came down towards his neck as his as the five Straw Hats and Smoker gasped for different reasons.
"NO!"
"DON'T SAY THAT!" "BIG BRO!"
"CAPTAIN!"
"He smiled?!"
All of them thought the worst before electricity sparked around Buggy's sword. Then, as if the Heaven's still said Luffy should live, a bolt came down, setting the platform ablaze as it twisted and fell. Everyone fell silent as they gapped at the scene, unable to figure out how that happened as Luffy's hat fluttered to the ground before his feet. He picked it up as he smiled before placing it on his head and laughing.
"LUCKY!" he said before walking towards his crew.
"What...how...?" Johnny stuttered as Yosaku fell on his ass in shock. Gin's tonfa fell from his hands as Sanji let his cigarette fall from his mouth. They weren't the only ones surprised as Smoker stared with wide eyes. 'Just like Gold Roger, he smiled just before he was killed. Why?' he thought before he ordered his men to capture them.
"Divine Intervention?" Sanji said.
"Stop talking nonsense!" Zoro said. "The marines are here! We gotta go!"
"He's right!" Yosaku said as he stood up before they started running.
"I'll catch up to you guys!" Luffy said before turning to Alvida. "Hey, you seem pretty strong." She just stared at him after coming out of her shock. "Wanna join my crew?" Luffy asked. Alvida just looked at him, baffled that he would ask.
"Did I hear you right?" she said as a marine tried hitting her with a sword, only for it to slide away before she hit him with her mace.
"Yeah. I want crewmembers." Luffy said before dodging a sword and punching another marine away. "How about it?" Alvida just looked at him before letting out a laugh.
"You're crazy kid." she said before she stopped laughing. "How about this? If you can manage to touch me, I'll join. Deal?"
"Deal." Luffy said before he walked up to her and grabbed her hand, shocking her that it didn't slip away. "Let's go!" he said before running away, still holding on to her hand.
'His hand didn't slip away? How is he able to hold onto my hand?' Alvida thought. She looked back at Luffy before smiling. 'Well, a deal's a deal." she thought before running at Luffy's pace and looking back at the fallen platform and seeing it and Buggy on the ground charred. 'If he can survive that, it might just be worth it to go with him.'
"Capture them!" a marine shouted as Buggy was now trying to deal with being in a sea-stone net. As they ran, it began to rain hard as Marines tried to stop them, only to be beaten easily by Luffy and his crew. While he did, Smoker was still stunned by what he saw.
'He smiled. Did he know he would survive?' he thought. 'No. He knew he was going to die and smiled.' He then heard that the rain rendered their gunpowder useless, so the squad at the Western Harbor left to resupply and that if they left, the tailwind would help them escape. 'It's as if Heaven itself wants that boy to live!'
()()()()
Moments before this happened, Mohji was riding Richie to the Straw Hat's ship, intending to burn it down. He had a match burning with a twisted smile only for it to be wiped off as a drop of rain fell on it, which was soon followed by a downpour.
"How can we start a fire now?!" Mohji yelled before Usopp shouted at him to get away from the ship. After dealing with him, distracting Richie with an egg, and fending off some marines, Usopp, Nami, and Nojiko boarded the ship and waited for the others to return.
()()()()
As the others were running, they came across Tashigi, who was angered that Zoro lied to her about who he was and that she would take his sword from him. Zoro stayed to fight her as the others kept running. After a quick duel, which Tashigi lost, Zoro resheated his swords.