Luffy was getting impatient when suddenly, someone casually slid up next to him, linked their arms together while at the same time, pressing something into his waist before he could even react.
"Hi! Feel this?" Koala cheerfully said pressing something into his waist, "That's a gun which fires a special bullet which will enter your body and explode. So don't try anything okay?"
She finally got to see the face under the hood and was first surprised to find out that it was a young man. His face split into a huge grin when she threatened him though which sent alarm bells ringing in her head. She become vigilant as she studied her surroundings trying to see if this was some sort of trap… while Luffy felt chills running down his spine. 'This is so AWESOME! I FEEL LIKE I'M IN A SPY MOVIE!'
"Move!" Koala said losing her cheeriness and deciding to change locations.
"Oh! Forgot to say hi. Hi!" Luffy greeted as he complied and both started walking with their arms linked on the crowded street. "So you gonna take me to a secluded area to interrogate me?! Or or! Knock me out and I'll wake up tied to a chair with the light of a single bulb beaming on me?!"
'What's wrong with this guy?' Koala sweat-dropped. "Umm, neither. We'll just walk and talk"
"Aww… Oh well, that's fine too"
"Right. First, what's in the bag?" Koala asked eyeing the bag he was holding in his other hand.
"Stuff. Is Sabo here?"
Koala was taken aback but kept a neutral face. "…who?"
"I know your name is Koala and you're in the Revolutionary Army," he said causing Koala's eyes to widen which then turned into a suspicious glare.
"Who are you? How do you know me?"
"Sabo's brother"
"Brother?"
"Yeah"
"Funny. He's never mentioned having any brother"
"He did lose his memories"
She froze midstep before her gaze on him turned icy cold. She then discreetly dragged him to a secluded alleyway before roughly shoving him up against a wall while choking him.
"I'm gonna have you spit out how you found out about Sabo," Koala hissed hatefully, "And after you give me everything, you will stop. You will never ever try to search for Sabo. You will never even think of getting in touch with Sabo. If I ever see you again, I'll personally rip your throat out!"
"…I don't understand the hostility…" Luffy said utterly confused.
"Sabo wants nothing to do with you or your disgusting family! So stay away from him!"
Things clicked in place and Luffy understood why she was suddenly so hostile. "Oh… you're thinking I'm from the noble family that raised him… Sabo remembers that?"
"He doesn't have to. Just the mention of going back there makes his whole body shiver in protest. Every fibre in his body is sure of not wanting to go back home to his stupid family or even wanting to remember that part of his life. We know he was a noble and I know about the shit families like yours that live in Goa, so I can understand what kind of scum you are!"
"Shit families like mine huh? That's gonna be hilarious in some time," Luffy said with a chuckle but then frowned with a deep sigh. "It's that bad huh?"
'He knows where he was picked up from, so if he really wanted, he could have easily come back to Dawn Island to jog his memories back…' Luffy thought with a sigh. Looked like the hate he had for his family and all the noble culture subconsciously made him not want to go back or even get his memories back.
"Well, you've got a few things wrong," Luffy began to clear things up, "I'm not Sabo's blood brother. He has two more brothers that he chose to make - Ace and me. The three of us lived in the Gray Terminal together… you know about the Gray Terminal and the Fire?"
Some of the hostility died down and she released some pressure off of his neck. "I've heard of it. Elaborate"
"Sabo ran away from home and came to live in the Gray Terminal. That's where he, Ace and I met. We spent pretty much every day together, hunting for food, sparring, playing pranks, dining and dashing… we even built treehouses and lived in it… All three of us wanted to become pirates but also wanted to be Captains, so we decided that we'll all set sail on our own pirate journeys when we turned 17"
"Sabo? A pirate?" Koala asked with disbelief.
"Shishishi once he gets his memories back, I'm gonna tease him, and Ace too, that only I'm a Pirate Captain now!"
"Oh no, he's gonna be so devastated," Koala said in a monotone.
"You're no fun…" Luffy said with a disappointed sigh causing Koala to grow a tick mark before he continued, "Anyway, we finally exchanged sake cups one day and became sworn brothers. Shortly after that, his sperm donor spotted him and came to get him back. Pirates were hired, we were threatened, and Sabo decided to go back to keep me and Ace safe… We let him and that's the biggest mistake of our lives…"
Koala slowly backed off hearing the absolute anguish in his voice and her face softened slightly.
"…We didn't know at the time. We knew he didn't like his family, but just didn't know how much… The Fire happened shortly after that and Sabo set sail the very next day. We got to know that his boat was shot at by the Celestial bastard and we learned he died. He had left a letter for us saying how he couldn't live with his family any more so he was leaving to become a pirate early. No new letter ever came from him, so a few weeks later, it finally set in that he had died"
"…And? How did you find out he's not dead now?"
"Well, a couple of years ago, I made another brother. He told me that Sabo was still alive and had just lost his memories…"
Koala sighed softly not knowing what to think. Nobody actually knew Sabo's life before he was picked up other than that he was a noble, so what the stranger was saying could actually be true. She was very inclined to believe him but there were still many suspicious things about him. Like who this other brother was, how and why he knew about Sabo and her too, so she decided to pry more.
"Hey! What's going on here?!" A shout interrupted them and they saw a Marine entering the alleyway. Both quickly ran out onto the street and were again walking side by side with arms linked and Koala still pressing a gun into his waist.
"You still don't trust me?"
"Let's assume everything you said is true. How do you know me?"
"Well, you and Sabo hang out a lot, right?"
"Again, how do-"
"Ugh, just tell me if Sabo is here first!" Luffy snapped getting impatient.
"…No, he's not here"
"Oh…" Luffy visibly deflated as his shoulders drooped down, his legs lost a bit of strength as he dragged his feet and a frown hung on his face. Koala actually felt bad imagining how he must be feeling if everything he said was true. Before she could do anything though, Luffy bounced back to his happy attitude so fast that it almost gave her whiplash. "Oh well, guess I'll meet him another time then"
"…Okay, now answer my questions. This new brother? Who is he? How does he know about Sabo and me?"
"Eh, that's a long story. I don't want to tell it again and ag-"
She poked the gun into him as she hissed "What makes you think you have a choice?!"
"Ooh, another cool line I always wanted to hear in real life!" Luffy cheered and Koala got ticked off. 'Well… he's similar to Sabo in irritating me at least…'
"Take this seriously, dammit!"
"Shishishishi"
Just then, Luffy spotted Zoro walking towards them from the other side of the street. Their eyes met and Zoro looked questioningly at the girl in Luffy's arms.
"Who is he?" Koala asked noticing the exchange, wondering if she was about to be ambushed.
"He's my crewmate. Relax, will you? Sheesh, how paranoid can you be?"
Koala again got ticked off and wanted to bash his skull in.
"Yo Zoro!"
"…It hasn't even been half an hour since we landed and you're already walking hand in hand with a new girl… You really are a playboy"
Caught off-guard, Luffy gaped at him, looked at the linked arms, and then looked up at Koala's face that now had a shit-eating grin. "Oh? You're a playboy? You play with the hearts of young women like me?" she said in a faux meek voice finally getting a chance to get back at him.
Luffy rolled his eyes in annoyance before his eyes fell on Zoro's waist which still only held Wado. "Still haven't found the Arms shop?"
"…I was on my way to it"
"It's right there" Luffy pointed at the Arms shop that was ahead of them. Which was behind Zoro. Which meant he had walked right past it.
"You were lost huh?"
"I wasn't lost!"
Luffy snickered as he turned to Koala, "You won't believe me but this guy can get lost on a straight road"
"I don't!" Zoro snapped.
"Please, as if anyone is that directionally challenged" Koala scoffed.
"Bet you a thousand berries you're wrong"
"You're on"
"Hey!"
"Shishishishi"
Irritated, Zoro decided to shoot back and pointed at Koala with his chin, "Anyway, aren't you gonna introduce us? I need to know all the women in your life so that I can find out which one killed you out of jealousy"
Luffy groaned and Koala grinned knowing he didn't like it. "Oh mister, please tell me I'm not just another girl you've decided to toy with!" She drawled.
Luffy just stared blankly at her before turning to Zoro and grinned. "This is Koala. Because she's cute and cuddly like a koala bear!"
That brought her laughter to an abrupt stop and the atmosphere around them suddenly turned icy.
"The fuck did you just say?!" she growled feeling an intense need to pull the trigger and kill him right then and there. She thankfully controlled herself and kicked him hard on his shin instead. That only made Luffy grin wider and she vowed to kill him one day. Zoro promptly backed away not even saying a word lest the fury turn towards him.
She heavily sighed controlling her anger and hissed "Let's go" as she pulled him away.
"Okay okay. See ya later Zoro! The shop is right there!" Luffy reiterated pointing at the shop as he was being pulled away by her.
Zoro sweat dropped watching them go. He had seen that the woman was pressing something into Luffy's waist and thought he was in danger but seeing how carefree Luffy was, knew it wasn't anything dangerous. He shrugged making his way to the Arms shop.
"You call me that one more time and I'm ending you!" Koala hissed.
"Okay okay," Luffy chuckled before getting to the main point "Take me to Dragon"
Koala froze as she stared incredulously at him. "Are you seriously asking to meet the Leader of the Revolutionary Army? Who do you think he is? He's not gonna just mat-"
"Please don't make me do mental gymnastics. I know he's here on the island. Just tell him it's an old friend and take me to him"
"…An old friend? Didn't you just say you're Sabo's brother?"
"Why can't I be both?"
Koala gave him a long calculating stare before going to an alleyway again and scaling the side of the building to get to the roof while dragging Luffy along. She then pulled out a transponder snail and called Dragon.
"Sir?"
"Yes?" came Dragon's deep voice.
"Someone who says he's your old friend wants to meet you. He somehow already knew you were here"
"An old friend…?"
Koala waited silently, and a few seconds later, Dragon spoke up again. "Bring him there"
The snail disconnected and Luffy tilted his head in confusion. "Why are you guys so cryptic? You can speak in full sentences and explain clearly, can't you?"
"We don't have an encryptor transponder snail here…" Koala said as she faced him and patted him down, going through his clothes to check for any weapons.
"What?"
"Well, they don't usually do it here much but it's better to be cautious"
It took a moment for Luffy to understand what she was implying and when he did understand, he gulped. 'How the hell did this slip my mind?! Calls can be easily wiretapped by the Marines!'
He hurriedly thought back to all the calls he had made and tried to remember if he had said anything important…
Calls with Makino usually just included how she was, how Silk and the others were and what they were doing. They hadn't talked about any otherworldly stuff so he was safe. He had talked to Silk about his gramps once, but that wasn't anything too important.
Calls with Lizz and Ann usually just included banter so nothing incriminating there either.
Calls with Sengoku though? He had had only two calls with Sengoku where he had said lots of things that would get him in deep trouble but the calls were made using the transponder snails at Marine Bases. Also, Tsuru herself had badmouthed the Celestial Dragons on the call, so they were probably somehow encrypted.
And that was pretty much who all he called and he sighed in relief that he hadn't said anything he shouldn't have. 'Man, I really really want a phone…'
"Stuck with them?" Koala said bringing him out of his thoughts and he saw that she was pointing at his cuffs.
"Bracelets" Luffy answered clicking them off and back on.
"…Who the hell wears bracelets shaped like cuffs?"
"Yeah yeah, heard it so many times now…"
"Then don't wear them!"
"But I want to"
Koala rolled her eyes at him before eyeing the bag. "You need to show me what's in it"
"Around 175 million" Luffy said opening it and she gasped.
"From where did you get so much money?!"
"Not important. Let's go to Dragon now!"
"Right…" Koala sighed and after making sure that only cash was present in the bag, jumped down the building along with Luffy and led the way towards Dragon. They were going back towards the cafe where he had first seen Koala and before long, they felt a gust of wind sweep over them. Both knew what that meant and they looked around before they spotted a cloaked man standing atop a building and Luffy grinned as their eyes met.
Dragon was actually waiting for Luffy to show up in Loguetown. He had seen the bounty poster (he had let out a small chuckle at it) and knew he would be leaving East Blue soon, so would pass by Loguetown too. He was in the area, so it was perfect timing for him to see his son once at least. And when Koala called saying an old friend wanted to meet him, Luffy was the last person he had on his mind.
He had seen the hooded person next to Koala and only when he swept a gust of wind over them, did the person look up and Dragon was surprised to stare into his son's eyes. He pretty much knew next to nothing about Luffy, always kept a distance so that no one would ever suspect a connection, and now, his son had apparently been seeking him out of his own accord.
'Does he just know me or know that I'm his dad too? If so, how did he know I was on the island?' A million different questions passed through his mind as he saw Luffy and Koala discreetly make their way to an alleyway before scaling up the side of the building to get to the rooftop he was on and soon, his son was standing across from him.
Father and Son, arguably one of the most influential father-son duo in recent history, stared at each other as they simultaneously lifted their respective hoods up.
"Yo!" Luffy cheerfully waved.
Dragon's face showed more surprise than anything else as he stared at him for a couple of moments more before speaking. "You know me…" he stated rather than asking before sighing slightly, "The old man slip up and tell you?"
"Gramps? No, my brother told me about you"
"…You have a brother?"
"I got three," Luffy said raising three fingers before clarifying, "Sworn brothers"
"I see"
"Umm, sorry to interject but just who is this?" Koala piped up from the side.
There was an awkward silence which stretched on for more than necessary as Luffy didn't know if Dragon was okay with his subordinates knowing he was his son and Dragon didn't know Luffy's feelings regarding him or if he even acknowledged him as his father. So neither spoke and Koala looked awkwardly at the two of them wondering what kind of complicated relationship the two had.
"Can we go somewhere private? Have a lot to talk about" Luffy said breaking the silence and Dragon nodded before wordlessly leading the way with Luffy and Koala following behind.
"Where's Sabo?" Luffy asked as they leapt over rooftops.
"A mission in West Blue…" Dragon answered readily much to Koala's surprise, "How do you know him?"
"He's one of my brothers… you know, before the Fire"
"…Oh… oh…" Dragon's eyes widened at the coincidence, "I'm sorry, I didn't know… He was shot by a Cele-"
"Yeah, I know. It's fine, there's no way you could have known"
There was a lull before Dragon decided to ask about his other brothers. "So your other brothers? One of them told you about me? Who are they?"
"Ace and Leo. You might know Ace. He's the second division commander on Whitebeard's crew"
"You mean Fire-Fist Ace?" Koala asked in surprise.
"Yeah!"
"…And he knows about me?"
"No no, that would be Leo. He was a musician. I only met him two years ago so it was just me and him who became brothers. Ace and Sabo don't know about him"
"And how does he know about me?"
"You're just as suspicious as Koala huh?" Luffy chuckled causing Koala to gape at him at the audacity and Dragon to grin at him.
"Well, you know who I am, so you should understand"
"Yeah yeah. Just relax, I'll tell you everything in private"
Dragon nodded but Koala tsked audibly in disappointment and frustration causing Luffy to grin at her. He wanted to poke more fun at her, but they reached their destination then. It was a normal-looking residential building, just like all the others around it, and they entered through the roof. They then jumped all the way down to the lowest floor before going down to the basement. After going through a couple of locked doors and another hidden secret door, they came to a flight of stairs that led further down.
"Wow, you guys have an underground lair?"
It was like underground floors, each floor being the size of two normal houses and looked like it went down at least three floors. "That Giant Army Commander make this?"
"You mean Morley?" Dragon said surprised that Luffy knew about them so much, "No, she's usually in West Blue. We have others with capabilities too"
Luffy hummed in acknowledgement before they came across a man in a bowler hat with a teal feather sticking out who was hauling two unconscious men.
"Ah hello sir," the man greeted Dragon before explaining the two other men who were being dragged, "The suspect finally acted. He was paying off this other man who is a known slaver"
"Oh c'mon really?!" Koala groaned. "I tail him for a week and he doesn't do anything, I go away for 20 minutes and he finally acts!"
"Well, it's because you went away that he dared to do something. Guess he noticed you but he didn't know about me"
"I see"
Luffy was staring at the man in the bowler hat knowing that he vaguely remembered him but couldn't pinpoint from where exactly.
"There are slaver groups acting on this island?" He asked.
"Not kidnappings from this island as far as we know," Dragon answered, "But mass village and town abductions are tied with these two and they perform transactions from here"
Mass abductions… That finally made Luffy remember where he knew the man in the bowler hat from. 'He's the man who Robin meets when she gets blasted away by Kuma and gets sent to Tequila Wolf.' "Are the towns and villages not affiliated to the World Government?"
Dragon's eyes widened with surprise and happiness. Did his son know about the tyranny of the World Government?
"Yes"
"So Tequila Wolf then" Luffy nodded in confirmation.
Three sets of eyes snapped at him. "What do you know about Tequila Wolf?!"
"Ah sorry, if you're asking where it is, I don't know either. If I did, I would have already gone and destroyed that fucking bridge"
"Bridge? What bridge?" The man in the bowler hat asked.
Luffy tilted his head. Do they not know that it's a bridge? Or was he remembering wrong from the story? 'Hmm… No, Robin definitely lands there and it was definitely a bridge. And the Revolutionary Army definitely frees them… Oh, that's a few months from now. Guess they don't know about it yet'
"Tequila Wolf is a bridge. A huge bridge"
"Looks like you know more about it than we do," Dragon said with a curious smile, "Let's go inside. Joe, hold off on the interrogation until we get more info"
"Yes sir" Joe nodded and dragged the two prisoners further down to a lower floor while Dragon walked towards what looked like an office. Koala also started following after Joe, but Luffy caught her. "You're included in private too"
Koala began sweating coming to all sorts of wrong conclusions. "Umm sir, I'm sorry for hitting and kicking you before"
"…what?"
"I'm sorry if my actions offended you, sir," She continued thinking that Luffy and Dragon were old friends since Dragon readily answered any question Luffy asked.
Luffy stared at her for a second before getting a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Okay, that's better. Don't do it next time, okay?" He said in a haughty tone before turning to Dragon. "What kind of subordinates do you have, Dragon? I'm disappointed. Tch tch tch… You almost lost me- your super duper important top secret informant you know…" He then circled around Koala. "Is it okay if I call you cute and cuddly from now on?"
Koala's eyes twitched and she internally struggled wanting to be professional for a possible old friend of Dragon and wanting to beat him up.
"Oh, you won't react?" He grinned poking her cheek, "Good, then I'll call you Cuddly!"
SMACK!
"You're so infuriating!"
"Shishi that's more like it," Luffy grinned as he came back to normal. "C'mon, I really meant it when I said you're included in private too"
"Oh…" Koala blinked before looking at Dragon for permission, who had just watched the whole thing in amusement. Dragon nodded at her before entering the office and soon, Luffy and Koala were sitting across from Dragon who sat behind a desk, the light from a lantern illumining the whole area.
"Let's first talk about Tequila Wolf. What do you know about it?" Dragon said starting the conversation.
"It's a huge bridge the World Government has been building for the past 7 centuries. Yeah, I said centuries. No clue what it connects or why it's being built. Maybe there's a reason or maybe it was just a whim of a Celestial bastard 7 centuries ago and they're just continuing with it for no reason"
'He calls them Celestial bastard?' Dragon noted with excitement.
"That sounds like something those bastards would do!" Koala growled.
"Yeah… They enslave criminals but also kidnap people from countries which are not affiliated with the World Government and put them to work building it. The bridge is big enough that the civilization has moved along as the bridge progresses, leaving plenty of abandoned camps. People have been born, worked on the bridge their whole lives and died on it too…"
Dragon had a composed look as he took in all the information while Koala looked horrified.
"Sorry I don't know where it is…" he trailed off but then perked up when he recalled something, "Ah! Buggy might know! When he was a child, I think he saw that bridge once"
"Buggy the Clown?" Dragon asked dubiously, his composed expression breaking for just a second.
"Yep! He's here in Loguetown right now, so you could try to see if he knows something. It's doubtful though… he was just a child when he saw it but you can try"
"No, this is more than enough. We had just heard the name Tequila Wolf previously and assumed it was an island where people were being taken. If it's a bridge that is being built for 700 years then it must be pretty big. Even if Buggy doesn't know, it's easier to find it now that we know what we're looking for"
"I see. That's good then"
"From where did you get this information?"
"Leo"
"Right. Let's get to the main topic. Who is Leo and how did he know?"
"Hmm well, the easiest way to explain is that Leo was psychic. He could see the future. He saw my future and shared it with me. In a few months from now, one of my crewmates ends up on Tequila Wolf and the Revolutionary Army shows up and helps her around the same time"
"…"
"You're kidding, right?" Koala asked incredulously.
"Nope"
Dragon still had a composed look as he stared at his son and took his words in stride. "And he knows about me because you find out about me in the future?"
"Yep. The whole world finds out"
Dragon let out a deep tired sigh. "I see… you said the easiest way to explain. I'm assuming there's more to the story?"
"Yeah. It's not the truth but the end result is the same. I saw my future for around three years from now"
"What's the truth?" Dragon pressed.
Luffy sighed, "You know the phrase 'New World bullshit' right?"
"Of course"
"Well, this will be weirder and crazier than New World bullshit"
Dragon just looked at him challengingly.
"Okay then, do you guys know the multiverse theory?"
"Ohhh booyy…" Koala gulped knowing she was in for one hell of a story and Dragon nodded with an expectant look.
"That makes things easier then. Okay, two years ago, I ended up dying. After that, comes the cra-"
"You died?" Dragon interrupted.
"Yeah, don't worry about it. Now comes the crazy part. Ready?" Luffy grinned, took a deep breath and continued. Dragon and Koala were gobsmacked, to say the least by what followed. Luffy began by narrating how he met Leo, how White showed up and the following explanation of how they were the same soul from different worlds.
Koala thought he was joking at first, then thought he was making up a story, and when it seemed like he was actually being completely serious, thought he was delusional. "Are you really being serious right now?!" She exclaimed. "You met someone from another world and also a higher power?! And you expect us to believe that?!"
"Wait wait, I haven't gotten to the really crazy part yet"
"That wasn't it?!"
"How did Leo recognize you if he's not from this world?" Dragon asked the correct question.
Luffy grinned, "That's the really crazy part. We kinda ended up exchanging memories and I saw his life. Saw his world. Turns out that there's a massively popular comic book titled 'One Piece' in his world. It tells the story of one 17-year-old boy called Monkey D. Luffy who sets out on a journey to chase his dream of becoming the Pirate King"
"You've gotta be kidding me!"
"Shishi so yeah, that's how I know. I saw myself and our world in the form of a comic book and an animated show…"
There was a long stretch of silence where the two processed his words before Dragon spoke up. "That's… an unbelievable experience you've been through"
"Yeah," Koala agreed, "So what? You're like the protagonist of this world?"
"Not really. In the story, I stay on my home island until I turn 17. But here, stuff happened and I ended up far away and died when I was 15. Multiverse, you know…"
"I see," Koala nodded, "And I was obviously in it too…"
"Yeah, but very late in the story though and not much to be honest. Plus, when Leo died, the story was still ongoing and a lot was left, so I don't know what happens entirely. The story mainly revolves around me and my crew so you guys aren't much in it. The Revolutionary Army only becomes relevant to our crew on a personal level much later when Sabo gets his memories back. There are a few glimpses here and there showing Dragon's reactions whenever I get new bounties but that's pretty much it"
"I see…" Dragon said with a small smile. "We never meet?"
"No. The closest we get is here in Loguetown. I get caught by Buggy on the execution platform with a sea stone collar. He's about to swing his sword to cut my neck off when a huge lighting bolt strikes the execution platform. It was epic!"
Dragon grinned while Koala tilted her head, "Umm…wouldn't you get hurt too?"
"Devil fruit. I'm a rubber man"
"Oh"
"Well, after that lighting strike, we're running to the shore when Smokey stops us. I'm fighting him when you show up. You say 'The world is waiting for our answer' and then fly me away towards my ship"
Dragon slightly averted his eyes at that.
'Yep, he definitely rehearsed that line' Luffy thought in amusement. "That's pretty much all the contact we have in the story. I only learn about you from Gramps later in the Grand Line but we never meet face to face… But it was coming I think"
Dragon nodded with a sad smile.
"Umm, could you please tell me who you are to each other," Koala asked awkwardly.
"You haven't figured it out yet?" Luffy said with amusement.
"Well yeah, but I don't want to assume"
"He's my son, Koala"
Koala nodded in affirmation. "That's really shocking… but given this whole situation, that's the least shocking thing I've learned today…"
"Now that that's out, Koala called you shit earlier you know"
"Wha?!" Koala gasped, "When did I say that?! Don't spout lies!"
"Well you said something like you know about shit families like mine and what kind of scum we all are… so you indirectly called Dragon shit and also grandpa"
Koala blushed in embarrassment as she hastily tried to defend herself to Dragon, "That's when I thought he was Sabo's blood-related family!"
Luffy laughed and Koala smacked him a few times again before suddenly pausing. "Wait, Grandpa? Dragon's dad? Who's that?"
"Garp"
Koala froze as she dumbly stared at Luffy, processing his words before slowly turning towards Dragon. "S-sir, y-you're father is G-Garp the Fist?"
Dragon nodded with a sigh causing Koala to just gape in astonishment.
"That's gonna come out too?"
"Oh yeah"
"How exactly?"
"There will be a huge war in a few months. It's a long story, and I might end up changing things so I'll tell you when the time comes. For now, I wanted to discuss some other things," Luffy said sitting up straighter and the whole atmosphere changed.
"I want to talk to the Supreme Commander of the Revolutionary Army now," Luffy said and Dragon sat up straighter too, his lips slowly stretching into an ecstatic smile before Luffy continued, "Let's form an alliance"
Dragon's heart rate elated in excitement. "You don't want to join us instead?"
"Nope. My dream is to become the freest man on the seas, the Pirate King. And nothing will ever change that"
"Freest man on the seas huh?" Dragon repeated with an approving smile. "Not bad"
"Yeah. But I do want to form an alliance. Stuff happens in the future and I think we can help each other"
"Like what?"
"Well, like we go to Enies Lobby and raze it to the ground in the future. Maybe I can steal whatever documents or other things I can get my hands on and pass them on to you. Or you can time some other revolution or something at the same time to fuck the World Government twice over"
"I'm sorry, did you just say you'll raze Enies Lobby to the ground?!" Koala asked incredulously, "Why?!"
"CP9 steals a crewmate of ours. We go to get her back and in the process, raze it to the ground. Well, technically, they do it themselves. They call a Buster Call on Enies Lobby to wipe us out but we escape and they end up destroying the place"
Koala looked like her birthday had come early and laughed with joy hearing that. Dragon's reaction was even more unexpected as he threw his head back and started guffawing.
"Shishishi yeah that's just one example. Not sure if it'll happen in this reality or not but I'll let you know. We'll keep in touch"
"Yes, of course," Dragon smiled standing up and holding out his hand. Luffy also stood up, happily took it and they shook creating an alliance between the Revolutionary Army and The Future Pirate King's crew which had massive repercussions for the entire world down the line.
"Okay, I need to leave soon. Let's rush things," Luffy said sitting back down and fished out a few files and a transponder snail number. "I stole this from a Marine Captain called Nezumi. All his wrongdoings with proof are in there and he's done a lot of bad things. This is a number for a woman called Moodie. She's a journalist who wants to join the Revolutionary Army. Call her first before you do anything with the file on Nezumi, she has a present for you guys and you guys can discuss what to do"
"Alright"
"And then, I need a favour," Luffy said getting to the main point of why he wanted to form an alliance this early in the journey. He originally wanted to gain some achievements, show Dragon that he was capable and then ask to form the alliance. Forming it now by just telling him that he would do crazy things in the future instead of doing it didn't sit well with him. He didn't want Dragon to agree to the alliance just because he told him about the otherworldly stuff… But he didn't have a choice here. Dragon was pretty much the only one he knew who could for sure help him in getting this favour and it was more important than anything else currently.
He put the bag of cash on the desk and opened it up for him to see before pushing it towards him. "There's around 175 million in here. I want a Zoan Devil Fruit"
"A Zoan?"
"Yes. A Zoan specifically. If this isn't enough, call me. I can get how much ever is needed"
"Sounds like this is very important?"
"Not important to the world or anything but to me, yeah. It's extremely important"
Dragon nodded. "Consider it done"
"Thanks!" Luffy sighed in relief taking the first step towards saving Merry. The Zoan was for Merry, not sure how exactly he would make a ship eat a devil fruit but he thought that Merry's Klaubauttermann could eat it. Devil fruits were pretty much the only thing that could break the physics of the world, so currently, this was the only way he could think of saving Merry.
Dragon then wrote down his and also Koala's number. "Koala will be your primary contact. Contact her if you need anything or have anything to say and she'll relay it to me"
"Okay," Luffy happily took it while Koala groaned, "I have to deal with this guy? I already know I'm gonna hate this"
"Shishi don't worry. I'm against animal cruelty. Especially cute and cuddly koala bears"
"Grrr" Koala growled, grabbed Luffy's head and banged it repeatedly on the desk uttering a single word for every smash. "Stop. Calling. Me. Cute. And. Cuddly!"
"Shishishishi" Luffy laughed totally unconcerned while Dragon looked on with amusement.
"Anyway," Koala continued after she was done, "Should I tell Sabo about you?"
"Well, ideally, I want to meet him and tell him myself"
"He's on an undercover mission in West Blue right now and we don't know when he'll be back. But once he does, let us know your path in the Grand Line and I'll put him in your path"
"Yeah, sounds good. I think I've spent enough time here. There's a storm coming, so I need to leave now. Koala, can you take me to that woodwork shop I stopped at earlier and then to the execution platform"
"Sure"
A minute later, the three had come out of the underground lair and were standing outside the building, the two men with their hoods up again. The skies were dark and cloudy, and looked like the storm was about to hit them with a slight drizzle already starting.
"Before you go," Dragon interjected, "How exactly did you die?"
"Oh, got caught by slavers and ended up in the death pit in Mariejois during the Rev-"
CRACK!
The pavement they were standing on cracked, with Dragon's feet being the epicentre, and Luffy didn't miss the look of horror that passed through his face and also Koala's. People around them also backed away in fear instinctively sensing the anger that spilled out of Dragon.
"I feel like I shouldn't have said that…" Luffy said with a sweat drop before pulling Dragon and walking away from the area.
Dragon deeply sighed massaging his temple as he tried to compose himself, "When you disappeared two years ago… you… you were in Mariejois…"
"They had me for just six months, don't worry too much"
"…"
Dragon had only come to learn that Luffy had disappeared when he saw the missing posters the Marines were passing around. And by that time, Luffy had already been missing for more than two months already. He hadn't done much at the time thinking that Garp would search and find him… But his son was in Mariejois the whole time? "…I'm sor-"
"Yeah yeah," Luffy waved it off, "I don't blame you for not searching nor do I care. It's not like you could have found me anyway. Besides, I gained a lot from that trip, so I see it as a win"
"So if you didn't have the astronomical and divine luck of running into Leo in the uh…"
"Buffer space"
"-right, Buffer space, you would have died for real…"
"Pretty much yeah"
Dragon stared at the ground solemnly for a few seconds before raising his head and looking at his son, "…Luffy… Do you hate me for abandoning you? Not just when you disappeared but also your life…"
"Not at all," Luffy said with a smile, "Before Leo, I didn't even know or care if I had parents. I'm not much for blood-related families, so had never even given it a thought. But after Leo, I know you a bit. I understand why you couldn't raise me, I have first-hand experience with your enemies and they're my enemies too, I know what you're trying to do… This Revolutionary Army you've created is nothing short of amazing. I admire you and even see you as a hero… As a father though, we haven't spent any time together, so let's spend some time in the future when we get a chance and we'll see what happens"
Dragon swallowed hard as he stared at his son before patting him on the shoulder. "Thanks for saying that… And yes, we'll spend time together in the future"
"Okay then. See you!" Luffy waved and was about to grab Koala and go but suddenly paused when he had another thought and looked back at him hesitantly.
"Umm… just one last thing…" Luffy said awkwardly looking at Dragon.
Now, Dragon had heard about earth-shattering, existential crisis inducing secrets that day and yet, he had managed to maintain a composed air around him. Nothing, except the Luffy being enslaved part, had fazed him and he had taken all the unbelievable information in stride. But! When he heard what Luffy asked next, his brain utterly and completely crashed.
"You uh… didn't concei…umm… like… you didn't… umm you and Crocodile were never a thing, were you?"
"WHAT?!" Koala squawked in shock alerting the surrounding people.
Dragon blinked completely dumbfounded, his brain having a hard time processing Luffy's words and only after two whole seconds did he find his mouth working. "…I'm sorry?"
Luffy sighed in relief seeing his reaction. It was a joke headcanon in Leo's world that Crocodile was his mother and he just wanted to clarify that that wasn't the case. (And maybe also fuck with Dragon a bit.)
"Never mind. Anyway, bye!"
"No wait!" Dragon yelled agitated when Luffy turned to leave. "What does that mean?! Do you mean the Warlord?! Why do you think that?!"
"Forget it," Luffy grinned, "It's a joke"
"What kind of jo-"
Luffy just laughed as he ran away dragging a just as shocked Koala with him, leaving Dragon with unanswered questions. 'Crocodile and… me?' He shuddered just thinking about it before completely erasing that conversation from his mind. The people around him looked at him weirdly, having heard what he yelled, so he quickly left the area.
He stared at the sky as he walked, thinking about everything that his son had just told him and his fists clenched. The winds suddenly picked up speed which caused the storm to become faster and fiercer before it soon started raining. 'He was enslaved by them… and ended up dying because of them… If it wasn't for a divine miracle, he would have died with no one knowing where he was and no one would have found out either…' He grit his teeth in frustration wanting an outlet for all the rage he was feeling. Rage at himself for not looking into Luffy's disappearance himself… and also at a certain old man.
———
"So what kind of relationship do we have in the story?" Koala asked as they both ran with her leading the way.
"Hmm I don't think we ever met in the story"
"Really?"
"Yeah, you're there with Sabo when he comes to meet me… but you and I aren't ever in the same space"
"Then who calls me cuddly and all?"
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"I meant… like why did you call me cute and cuddly? No one calls me that in the story?"
"Oh shishi not really. I just looked at you and thought you were cuddly that's all"
SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!
"Shishishishi"
"Grrrrr!"
SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!
They soon reached the woodwork shop and entered, Luffy took the custom-designed item he had ordered before heading towards the execution platform with Koala leading the way again.
"Hachi asked about you by the way"
"Hachi?" Koala perked up happily, "You met him? How is he?"
Luffy gave her a look. "You don't come to East Blue often huh?"
"First time I've been here actually. Why?"
"Well, if you did, I think you would have done something about Arlong"
"Arlong?" Her face scowled, "What about him?!"
"He was terrorizing people here"
Koala froze before she lunged and grabbed him. "Where?!"
"I said was. I already took care of him, don't worry"
Koala sighed before letting him go and they started running again. "What did he do?"
"Long story, I'll tell you some other time"
"Alright… Sooo…" she trailed off looking expectantly at him.
"You want to hear about the other world…" Luffy deadpanned.
"Of course, I want to!" She exclaimed excitedly.
"Okay okay, when we meet the next time, we'll have a long talk and I'll answer anything and everything you want, okay?"
"Good" she nodded but again started throwing more questions at him, "Hey, hey, is the One Piece real then? Do you know what it is?"
"Yes, it's real and no, I don't. I know you have loads of questions, but some other time when we have privacy okay?" He said pointedly looking at all the people they were passing by. The crowds had thinned out a bit as people took shelter from the soon-to-hit storm, but there were still plenty of them around.
"Okay okay, I'll calm down…"
They soon came across an intersection where Luffy spotted all four of his crewmates standing and discussing something heatedly. Nami had her huge bag of clothes, Usopp and Sanji were carrying the large blue-trunk tuna fish that he couldn't wait to eat, Zoro had his new swords and Usopp had the new goggles too.
"Hey, guys!" He yelled as he ran towards them.
"Luffy!" Nami looked relieved, "Where the hell were you?! We've been looking everywhere!"
"You could have just called me…" Luffy said and Nami's mouth which was opening to protest immediately shut up again.
"You forgot to use transponder snails huh? Did you even bring it with you?"
"D-Doesn't matter!"
"I did have it" Usopp interjected.
"Idiot! You should have said so earlier!"
"You could have just asked. It's not like you remembered to use it either!"
"Ah, who cares?!" Nami snapped, "The storm suddenly picked up just now! We need to leave!"
"Yeah, give me a few minutes. Just need to go to the execution platform," he said and ran without waiting for an answer. Koala also followed running after him while just giving a courtesy smile to them.
"Luffy! No, stop! We don't have time!" Nami yelled but he was already running away from her. The four just stood there not knowing what to do.
"Couldn't he have gone there earlier?!" Nami huffed in irritation, "What was he doing this whole time?!"
"A date I think," Zoro answered making the others snap their heads at him.
"With that girl following him?" Usopp asked.
"He was on a date?!" Sanji hissed gritting his teeth.
"I'm gonna teach him a lesson when he gets back!" Nami growled.
And the four stood watching their captain run to the execution platform in the distance.
Luffy finally reached the execution platform, removed and put the cuffs into his bag and thanked Koala before climbing it.
'Ah…The view Roger saw…' Luffy smiled ecstatically as he stood on the platform, recalling the scenes from the story where the whole square was filled with people as history was made.
The place that began the Pirate Era.
The place where Roger died with a massive smile on his face.
The place that had basically set his path in life.
…Also, the place where he would've gotten stupidly caught and almost died.
He looked around to see if Buggy or Alvida would show up but no one came. 'Since I was cooped up in a room, they didn't spot me I guess…' he sighed and let go of the plan to get almost executed. Not like it would have been genuine anyway. A small crowd soon formed below him and he heard officers yelling at him to come down, but he ignored them all.
He spotted Koala looking curiously at him, saw his crewmates in the far distance no doubt mumbling things like 'The hell is he thinking? He has a bounty on his head!' before spotting Dragon in the distance too. He was looking right at him as a soft gust of wind blew over his face and at the same time, a few swords seemingly moved by themselves right behind the platform but were actually being moved by wind. Luffy's lips curled up into an ecstatic grin as he got the message Dragon was sending.
Luffy took a deep breath as he closed his eyes, the wind around him picking up even more speed and blowing his hood off of him, revealing his face to the world. Lightning flashed in the sky illuminating his face and causing a few Marines below to gasp in recognition before they called Smoker.
The downpour of rain increased and Luffy removed and threw his jacket away before picking up his hat that was dangling on his nape and settled it on his head. The rain pelted his skin as he adjusted his vocal cords to amplify his voice and lifted his hands up to the sky.
WHOOSH!
Everyone in the area felt a change in atmosphere as all sounds suddenly died out as if heaven itself was waiting to hear what Luffy had to say, and many eyes turned towards the man standing on the execution platform.
"I AM…"
Eyes that weren't on him yet snapped towards him as the loud voice bellowed through the town.
"…THE MAN WHO IS GOING TO BECOME…"
Smoker, Tashigi, Buggy and Alvida were all in different parts of the town, but hearing the voice, they recognized it immediately and instantly got to a high vantage point to see where the voice was coming from and spotted Luffy at the execution platform.
"…THE KING OF THE PIRATES!"
BOOMCRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
The declaration was immediately followed by an ear-deafening series of not one, not two, but six lightning strikes all striking behind the man who had just declared his dream to the world.
Luffy smelled the ozone in the air and felt chills running up his spine. 'YEP! THAT SURE WAS EPIC!'
The reaction from the others was very varied-
Disbelief from Smoker, Tashigi and many Marines.
Bewildered awe from his crew.
Shocked expressions with their jaws hanging open from Buggy, Alvida and a majority of the crowd.
Unbridled excitement and an almost divine worship-like feeling from a certain green-haired man who was in tears.
Excitement and reverence from two more men - a black-haired man wearing a black hat with a golden ribbon around it, and a green-haired man who absentmindedly pickpocketed someone in front of him while still looking reverentially at Luffy.
A wide grin from Dragon, and a roll of the eyes from Koala who was shaking her head thinking 'Drama Queen'
———
Luffy jumped down from the platform after he had had enough of taking in the view and started running through the square. All eyes were on him and the crowds parted as he ran letting him pass, either afraid of him or in reverence.
Just as he ran, he spotted a head of wild green spiky hair sticking out in the crowd and recognized the man as Bartolomeo.
'Oh yeah! Barty's here! He was inspired to become a pirate and became my fan because he saw me face death with a smile in the story, didn't he? Wonder if his motivations will change now that that didn't happen?' He thought and looked at his face as he passed him by. His eyes were glistening with tears as if he was seeing god, his face was flushed, and his lips were twitching as if he was about to sob. '…He's definitely going to become my fan…'
Luffy thought he should say something to Bartolomeo and so as he passed him, he turned his head towards him, looked into his wide eyes and said "Chase your dream, buddy" before turning his gaze forwards and continued running.
For Bartolomeo, that had happened in slow motion. Luffy turning his head towards him, his eyes fluttering towards him making him gasp and go 'He's looking at me!', his eyes that looked like deep black holes that sucked in everything locking with his own, his lips moving in slow motion uttering four simple words which seemed like gospel to him, his smile as he turned away, and only then did his world return to normal again.
"Chase your dream… buddy" he breathed reverentially. So simple and yet so profound. He burst into tears as if he had found his god. The man with a black hat and the pickpocketing green-haired man both hurriedly came up to Bartolomeo and asked in unison "What did he say?!"
"Chase your dream, buddy…" Bartolomeo cried and the two men also repeated those words reverentially.
Luffy, having no idea what his four simple words had done to Bartolomeo and two more, stopped right at the edge of the square before pulling out his transponder snail and called Usopp.
"You guys done gawking and standing around doing nothing? The Marines are already mobilizing and surrounding the area. We need to leave now"
That brought the four out of their stupor as they simultaneously yelled "Idiot! It's your fault!"
Right on cue, everyone who had business with Luffy arrived at the square.
"STOP STRAWHAT!" Buggy yelled just as he came in his Bara Bara car form from the right side.
"LUFFY~" Alvida drawled as she slid over the ground coming towards him from the left side.
"STRAWHAT LUFFY!" Smoker bellowed riding his billower bike from the front while holding his jutte out.
"Buggy! Alvida! Smoky!" Luffy cheered waving at all three who all noticed each other too and came to a stop. "Nice to see you all!"
"SMOKER?!"
"Buggy the Clown?! And… Iron-Mace Alvida? Where?"
"Wait, where's Alvida?"
"Oh! You recognized me~ You know me so well!"
"That's Alvida?" / "THAT'S ALVIDA?!" / "That's Alvida?" Smoker, Buggy and Nami (through the snail) said in unison.
"Shishi you lost your freckles, Alvida"
"Ahh~ you noticed! You pay so much attention to me!"
"THAT'S THE THING YOU NOTICE?! THAT WOMAN WAS A WHALE THE LAST TIME I SAW HER!"
"Don't call a woman a whale, you asshole!" Sanji yelled through the snail but no one but Luffy could hear the conversation with his crew.
"No, she really was one." Nami interjected, "Wow, what a transformation. How the hell did she get so thin?!"
"Devil fruit" Luffy answered just as new people arrived.
"STOP! ALL OF YOU!" Tashigi and a platoon of Marines entered the scene. "BUGGY! ALVIDA! STRAWHAT! ALL OF YOU ARE UNDER ARREST!"
"Hey, Tash!"
"Strawhat Luffy! You tricked us the last time! Was making us laugh and getting punished by Captain Smoker part of your plan?!"
"Ah no, that's just your fault for laughing at your superior," Luffy said with a grin as he waved at all the Marines behind her, "Hey guys! How ya been? I hope you're all doing Smoker's impressions like I taught you"
A few of them snickered but quickly put on a stoic face back while Smoker glared at him.
"You did Smoker's impression?!" Buggy asked with a laugh. "Gahahaha!"
"Enough!" / "Enough!" Luffy(in Smoker's voice) and Smoker said at the same time, which caused Buggy and crew to laugh hysterically while the Marines struggled hard not to laugh.
"Luffy is certifiably insane huh?" The snail on Luffy's shoulder said taking on Usopp's appearance.
"Ahh chaos…" Luffy grinned happily as he stared at the overlapping conversations and confusion going all around. "I love it so much"
"YOU HAVE A SCREW LOOSE!" the snail yelled taking on Nami's angry appearance.
Smoker who was still glaring at Luffy for imitating him lightly smirked as he said "Remind me what your bounty poster looks like again"
Luffy facepalmed and that opened the floodgates to pretty much everyone present there laughing.
"GAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA THAT'S RIGHT! WHAT'S UP WITH THAT PICTURE, STRAWHAT? I ALMOST DON'T FEEL LIKE KILLING YOU NOW THINKING YOU'RE A CHILD!" Buggy laughed.
"Fufufufu… it is quite cute~" Alvida drawled teasingly.
His crew's laughter also reached his ears and he saw Tashigi and the rest of the Marines also pointing and laughing at him.
Koala who was enjoying watching the chaos unfold while standing next to Dragon on a roof, tilted her head in confusion. "His bounty poster? What's wrong with it?"
Dragon wordlessly fished out a poster from his coat and handed it to her. Aand she fell on her back laughing.
Luffy sighed as he kneaded his forehead. "I'm never gonna live this down huh?"
Smoker, after having had his dose of joy by watching Luffy suffer, became serious again and barked out his next orders. "TASHIGI! SET UP A BLOCKADE! NO PIRATE IS ESCAPING HERE! MEN, CATCH THEM ALL!"
"YESSIR!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Buggy continued laughing while secretly setting up his fist holding knives to launch at Luffy.
"Alright, once you're done laughing," Luffy said quietly and sternly into the snail, "You guys head to the ship and set off. I'll hold them off here and join you once you're out at sea"
"That's the first smart thing you've said today!" Nami said as she and the others began running out of the area along with the rest of the crowd that was being ushered away by the Marines… well, everyone except for Zoro.
"I want in on this chaos!" He said with a smirk before he separated from the others and ran towards Luffy and the blockade being set up by the Marines.
"Suicidal bastards…" Nami said with a sigh while Sanji could be heard saying "Don't worry, Nami-swan! I, your knight of love, shall protect you!" and Usopp snapping "Hold the damn fish properly, you idiot!"
Luffy disconnected the call just as he dodged Buggy's floating fist coming at him from the side. "Shishi not gonna make the same mistake and let you damage my hat!" He said and Buggy swallowed down an involuntary bout of fear that came across him when he remembered how exactly and quickly Luffy had dispatched him the last time they fought.
While other Marines started attacking Alvida and Buggy and his crew, Smoker's smoke hands came at Luffy, who jumped out of the way as he stared challengingly at Smoker. "How ya been, Smokey?"
"I told you last time that if I found out that you're a criminal, I'll personally hunt you down. And now you show your true colours! Everything you said was a lie!" He scowled as his smoke hands followed him.
"Everything I said is invalid just because I'm a pirate now?"
"Yes! You were tricking me!"
"Do you truly believe that?"
"Yes!" Smoker grit his teeth in annoyance as he kept trying to grab Luffy with his smoke hands but Luffy kept parkouring out of the way.
"Well, sounds like you want me to be a liar. Can't handle it yet, huh? Oh well, whatever" Luffy sighed sending a disappointed look at Smoker, which annoyed him way more than he let on, before landing next to Buggy, who was fighting off other Marines who were attacking him. "Yo, man, how ya been?"
"I'm doing well thank yo-WHY THE HELL AM I TELLING YOU?!"
"Shishi still screechy as ever huh?" Luffy said as he jumped and Smoker's smoke hands caught Buggy's torso.
"GYAAAH! YOU TRICKED ME?!"
"LUFFY~" Alvida came charging in next, "Ever since you hit me, I've always thought about you! No man had ever hit me like you did. And now I won't be satisfied until I make you mine!"
"Surrender, Alvida!" A Marine shouted with a platoon of them pointing their rifles at her causing her to stop.
"Oh? You wouldn't hurt me, would you?" Alvida drawled seductively.
"No, we won't!" The Marines lowered their rifles with hearts in their eyes.
"Idiots! Capture her!" Smoker bellowed.
"Sir! Someone else is attacking us from behind!" Another Marine yelled and Smoker, Tashigi and Luffy turned in the direction of the yell to see Zoro slashing and taking down Marines.
"It's you! What the hell are you doing?!" Tashigi yelled.
"That's Roronoa Zoro!" a Marine pointed out.
"You're Roronoa Zoro?!" Tashigi gasped before scowling and unsheathing her Shigure, "Were you tricking me earlier?!"
Zoro actually became uncomfortable seeing her "You never asked for my name…"
Before their battle could get underway, Buggy yelled "BARA BARA FESTIVAL!" and split up into pieces, essentially getting out of Smoker's smoke, before charging at Luffy. At the same time, Alvida came sliding towards Luffy with her mace aimed at him while drawling his name.
"WHITE OUT!" Smoker, tired of the chaotic fight, spread his smoke hands throughout the area and soon every single pirate, except Luffy who easily dodged, was engulfed in smoke. Buggy's different body parts were also held strongly by the smoke and he couldn't get free either.
"FIRE!" he ordered next just as he moved all the pirates together and a few Marine wearing special guns that looked like hand cannons stepped forward and fired nets at the pirates. The whole Buggy crew plus Alvida were caught in a net in one fell swoop.
"What the hell is with this annoying net?!" Alvida grumbled, "And what kind of weird weapon was that?"
"That's a special weapon created by the Marines to capture devil fruit users called Cage Shot…" Buggy mumbled glaring at Smoker.
"Ooh, good going, Smokey"
"Now for you…" Smoker growled staring at Luffy but his attention was grabbed by Zoro who was taking down his men at the back.
"You, Roronoa Zoro! You are a bounty hunter, aren't you? Why are you attacking the Marines?!"
"I'm a pirate now. He's my captain," he said pointing at Luffy and Tashigi's eyes widened.
"You're a pirate?!" She screeched as she stood across from him. "That's worse than being a bounty hunter! You were toying with me all along!"
"What? You're gonna take my sword now?"
"I'll liberate those swords from their awful fates of being used by you!"
"Let's see you try…" Zoro grinned but Luffy suddenly appeared next to him and pushed him away just as a net flew where he was an instant earlier.
"You! Playing dirty?!" glared Zoro.
"I didn't order that!" Tashigi snapped back, slightly flustered.
"That was by my order," Smoker growled just as many Marines began encircling them from all directions, all holding the net launching hand cannons.
"Ah, we need to relocate" Zoro said eyeing them all and Luffy agreed. Soon, he just kicked and launched a couple of Marines in the air before running away.
"Stop, Roronoa Zoro!" Tashigi yelled.
Smoker immediately ordered his men to take care of the captured pirates before he got on his billower bike and chased after them with Tashigi jumping onto its back with a determined expression to hunt Zoro down. Luffy and Zoro only managed to go about two blocks away before Smoker caught up.
"White blow!" Smoker launched his smoke hands from on top of the bike and Luffy grabbed Zoro as he flipped over the smoke. He then threw Zoro, much to his ire, right across from Tashigi who gasped when she saw him, jumped down from the bike and held her sword up challengingly.
"You're not running away this time! I'll be taking away Wado and the other swords away from you!"
Zoro grumbled curses at Luffy for throwing him as he got up before staring at Tashigi, "Let's see you try"
The two lunged at each other and clashed their swords. Meanwhile, Luffy was again dodging Smoker's smoke hands.
"Why don't you fight back?!" Smoker growled realizing that all Luffy did was dodge.
"Because it's no fun to take down weaklings…" Luffy said nonchalantly and properly pissing Smoker off.
"Is that so? Let's see how you handle this! White Fist!"
His smoky fist came at Luffy and he didn't bother moving. The smoky fist landed on his chest, pushing him back and pinning him to a wall. Smoker thought that he had finally caught him but Luffy looked unconcerned and was looking in another direction. He followed his gaze only to see the fight between Zoro and Tashigi, which was just about over as Tashigi's sword fell out of her hand and Zoro pinned her against a wall holding his sword against her neck. The fight hadn't even lasted for 30 seconds.
Smoker was about to intervene but Zoro just backed off saying "You'll never take Wado away from me" and sheathed his swords before turning away to a direction completely opposite to where Luffy was. "Well… I'm in a hurry, so I'm leaving…"
And that pissed Tashigi more than losing as she grit her teeth in frustration and roared "Why aren't you killing me?!"
"…" Zoro paused, glaring back at her.
"Is it because I'm a woman?! You dare go easy on me in a serious duel just because of the fact that women aren't as physically strong as men?!" She yelled infuriating Zoro as she was saying the same things Kuina did.
"Of course, I shouldn't expect someone like you to ever understand what wishing to be born a male feels like!" She scoffed before stating resolutely, "But know this! I didn't pick up the sword for pleasure!"
Aand that broke the seal on Zoro's tolerance "IT'S YOUR DAMN EXISTENCE THAT BOTHERS ME, NOT YOUR GENDER!" He snapped reeling on her.
"Wh-What?!"
"Your face!" He yelled pointing at her face, "It looks exactly like my friend who died years ago! And now you're saying the same bullshit she did! Stop copying her, you damn copycat!"
"What?! I've never heard something so childish in my life!" She yelled getting right in his face, "I've always lived as myself! I have no idea who this friend of yours even is! I should be the one complaining here, not you! Maybe she's the one who copied me!"
"What did you say?!" Zoro shrieked.
A cough brought them out of their little spat and turned to see Smoker and Luffy looking at them with amusement-well, at least Luffy was while Smoker was stoic as always. They were totally lost in their own world and only now realized what kind of conversation they were having. They immediately backed away blushing in embarrassment.
"Ehem!" Zoro cleared his throat trying to compose himself and only then noticed that Luffy was pinned to a wall by smoke. "Uhh need help, Luffy?"
"Nah. I was just watching the show," he said grinning and Zoro blushed more.
Smoker became extra vigilant as soon as Luffy said that and watched him like a hawk. Having witnessed the spat, Luffy was just going to escape but had another idea as he stared at Smoker and Tashigi.
"Smokey, can you do me a favour?" Luffy asked rhetorically still pinned to a wall before continuing, "Can you send some investigators from Marine HQ to look into the Marine base on Conomi Islands? It's the 16th branch led by Nezumi… The entire island was under the rule of Arlong Pirates for 8 years. All the people there had to pay tribute to them. 100,000 for an adult and 50,000 for a child every month. If any one person from a village didn't manage to pay that amount, Arlong would kill all the villagers"
Smoker and Tashigi's eyes widened at that.
"Bullsh-" Tashigi began but Luffy cut her off. "Nezumi there took bribes from them and kept it all under wraps. For. Eight. Fucking. Years. So many villages were wiped out and all he did was just watch. Last week when I was there, I saw him tormenting the villagers with sadistic glee so he wasn't doing it because he was scared of Arlong or anything… He did it because he's a sick bastard who takes pleasure in tormenting others…"
"And why the hell would I believe the words of a damn pirate?!" Smoker said with a scowl.
"I'm not asking you to believe me. All I'm asking is you send some investigators there, that's all. If I'm lying, then no harm done. If I'm telling the truth, then that sick fuck will get what he deserves… Can you do that?"
Smoker kept up the glare but slightly nodded. "Yes, I can do that. When it turns out to be a lie, I can interrogate you further when you're locked up in my cell"
"Okay, thanks! That's all, I guess. Come follow us to the Grand Line, guys. It's gonna be so much fun!"
"What makes you th-"
Luffy kicked off the wall he was pinned against with more force than Smoker was ready for and popped right out of the smoke. In less than two seconds after that, he pulled out the sea stone cuffs from his sling bag, put them on like knuckle bracers, lunged directly at Smoker and punched him in the face. Smoker saw the attack coming but thinking it would pass through him, didn't do anything and when the attack did land, he heard a sickening crunch and blacked out. When he came to his senses again, he found himself staring up into the dark cloudy sky with his head buzzing and his face hurting.
"What… happened?" He muttered trying to make sense but he couldn't think clearly. 'Am I… having a concussion?' It was only a minute later when he felt hands lifting him up and looked up at a worried Tashigi's face and his surroundings did he realize that he had crashed a long way away from where he was fighting with Strawhat and blood was flowing down his nose and head.
———
"I know it's way too late to say this, but you're one strange person, Luffy," Zoro said as they ran towards the shore.
"…"
Zoro eyed him when he didn't respond and found Luffy staring at him in wonder. "What?"
"I'm just astonished… I know I laugh and all but right here, it's a straight road to the shore with absolutely no need for any turns… and yet, you keep managing to go down the wrong road when I take my eyes off of you for a second. Honestly, how can one mess up that bad?"
Zoro blushed in embarrassment, "It's the streets and buildings' fault! They keep moving around!"
"This is East Blue. We won't see stuff like moving buildings until we get to the New World!"
"A-HA! So buildings do move around! I knew it!"
"Wow! You strayed off again! It's this way!"
Zoro ran back to Luffy's side. "…Again, the buildings moved!"
"…You know, Zoro, there are places in the world which cannot be found unless one is properly and utterly lost, like the entrance to Davy Jones Locker for example. You will be the perfect navigator if we ever face such a situation"
"…Is that something from your stories or is Davy Jones Locker an actual thing?"
"Who knows? Shishishi… who knows?"
"…"
"…Again?! Zoro, this way!"
"…The building moved again!"
Luffy and Zoro playfully bantered until they reached the shore and found that Merry was already far. Zoro sighed as he got ready to be carried again. "How long will it take me to learn airwalk?"
"Honestly, no idea. I'm pretty sure Sanji will learn it first though"
"What?!"
"Yeah, his fighting style is mainly based on using his legs, so he should pick up airwalk and Soru faster than you"
"Like hell that ero-cook will! I will master them first!"
"Don't worry, Rankyaku, Haki and all, I'm sure you'll learn it first"
"I'll learn everything before that perverted cook does!"
"Shishi okay okay"
"STRAWHAT!" Buggy suddenly showed up running towards them along with his crew and Alvida.
"Oh good, you guys escaped"
"Ah yes, thank y-WAIT! IT'S YOUR FAULT!"
"Luffy! You're min-" Alvida again drawled.
"Sorry, but I'm not interested," Luffy cut her off before turning to Buggy again. "And you!" He pointed and Buggy stiffened up, "Stop terrorizing innocent civilians! Do you really think your old captain would have liked to see that? Just shut up and go to the Grand Line already!"
"GAH! WHAT ALL DID THAT RED-HAIRED BASTARD TELL YOU?!"
"Doesn't matter…" Luffy said while looking at rooftops and found a perfect spot. He then turned to Zoro with a grin, "I think it's about time I show you my devil fruit"
"Oh"
"And you guys, see you on the Grand Line!" He waved and then disappeared along with Zoro.
"Strawhat!" / "Luffy!"
"…Gah! Bastard knows the Rokushiki!" Buggy cursed giving up on chasing him.
"The what?" Alvida asked.
"Eh don't want to tell you"
"That's fair…"
"Captain, what was that about your old captain?" Mohji asked curiously.
"It's something from a long time ago, don't worry about it" Buggy dodged the question before glaring at no one. 'That damned Shanks…' "Alright men! This is a great opportunity! Let's head to the Grand Line!"
"Got room for one more!" Alvida asked.
"Didn't you keep saying at you wanted to make that strawhat bastard yours?"
"Mine as in under my foot"
"Oh… Gahahahaha! Sure, let's team up to take down that bastard!"
It was late, but Buggy and Alvida joined up.
———