Cherreads

Chapter 33 - Chapter 15; Part 3

"As I said, you're one strange person, Luffy," Zoro said as they both stood atop a building, "First, you actually reprimand Marines and tell them to follow you into the Grand Line, and then you do the same thing to enemy pirates…"

"Shishishi Life's more fun with chaos!" he laughed, and Zoro sighed, accepting that Luffy was just that way.

"So what exactly are you looking for?"

"A launching point… Ah! That should do the trick," Luffy said, spotting two chimneys lined up perfectly for him to slingshot from. "Ready?"

"I guess?"

"Okay, stand there," he said, pointing right in the middle of two long and parallel chimneys. Zoro complied, feeling dread rising up for some reason.

Luffy then launched both his arms at the two chimneys, and Zoro watched in astonishment as they unnaturally stretched all the way and caught the two chimneys.

"Wha?" He gaped.

"Shishishishi I'm a rubber man!" he announced losing tension in his legs. Zoro didn't have time to process the statement as Luffy came barreling into him and before Zoro even realized, he was shooting through the air over the sea with a cackling Luffy holding onto him. It took a few seconds for him to calm his racing heart down and comprehend that Luffy was made of rubber and he had just slingshotted himself. "What the fuck?!"

Luffy aimed a couple of airwalk kicks to orient himself correctly towards the Merry and landed- no, fell into the ship. As soon as they crash-landed, Zoro held Luffy by the neck and started shaking him. "The hell bastard?! Never ever do that ever fucking again!" He shrieked while Luffy cackled like a madman.

Zoro sighed letting him go and looked at his crewmates' amused and curious faces.

"Heh Good job, Luffy! I want to see the Mosshead screaming in terror more!"

"I don't think I've ever seen Zoro lose his composure like that" Usopp chuckled.

"Yeah. And I thought only I had the right to choke and shake Luffy like that" Nami said in an accusatory tone.

"THE HELL KIND OF RIGHT IS THAT?!" Everyone except Sanji yelled while he just twirled around saying "Oh Nami-swan, I'll happily be choked to death by you!"

Luffy saw quite a few crates on deck and pointed at them, "What's that?"

"The stuff we ordered," Sanji answered, "Ship tools, appliances, cartography tools, weights. They were all delivered to the ship"

"Ah okay"

"Anyway, what happened?" Nami asked.

"Nothing much. We just fought them all off… To get to the ship though, Luffy finally showed me his devil fruit"

"Really?! What is it? What is it?" Nami and Usopp excitedly chirped.

Luffy was about to reveal his ability when someone else shot up from the sea and landed on deck startling everyone. It was Koala and Luffy realized that she had swam her way to the ship at an extremely fast speed. "I'm jealous"

"Hehe you shouldn't have eaten a devil fruit then!" she grinned while straining her hair.

"Oh, beautiful goddess of the sea! Thank you for blessing me with your presence on this auspicious day, sweet mermaid!" Sanji sang noodling towards her with hearts in his eyes and a glass of orange juice in hand.

"Oh. Thanks!" She smiled at Sanji taking the glass and he burst into a joyous twirl, "Anything for that beautiful smile of yours~"

"Forget something?" Luffy asked once Sanji was done with his charade.

"Yeah, nail clippings or hair"

"Oh! Sure"

Luffy started biting his nails off with his teeth causing her to smack him on the head, "Use a nail clipper dammit!"

"Who cares?"

"I do! I have to handle it. Go get nail clippers right now!"

"But I don't think we have nail clippers on board"

Nami smacked him this time, "Of course, we do, idiot! I'm here, aren't I? I don't act like you savages and bite my nails off!" She stomped to her room and came back in seconds with a nail clipper.

"Thanks" Luffy took it and started clipping his nails, much to everyone's confusion.

"Umm… hi?" Usopp said not knowing how the stranger had just suddenly shown up, demanded nail clippings of all things and started arguing about nail clippers without even introducing herself. "Did you swim all the way here?" Usopp added, "In such a fierce storm?"

"You call this a fierce storm?" Koala asked, genuinely confused.

"None of them have been to the Grand Line yet," Luffy answered, and she let out an "Ahh" in understanding, causing the others to gulp in fear.

"Anyway, I haven't introduced myself, huh?" Koala said, sending a sly smile at Luffy before she stood up, straightened out her wet clothes as much as possible and bowed towards the others.

"Hello! My name is Koala. I'm Luffy's seventh wife!" She cheerily introduced herself.

Nami and Sanji, who were drinking their own glasses of orange juice, spit out everything. Usopp gaped with his jaw falling on the floor while Zoro amusedly looked at Luffy, who glared at Koala.

"WIFE?!"

"SEVENTH?!"

"SHE'S OBVIOUSLY JOKING!" Luffy screamed while Koala giggled.

"Oh, what do you mean, Luffy? Are you gonna throw me away like you threw away your first six wives, too?" She whimpered in a faux-sad tone.

Sanji's leg came flying in at Luffy's head, but he dodged it. "Don't play with women like that, you shitty bastard!"

"She's joking, Sanji! Calm down… And you! Stop spouting bullshit already! Don't you have a thing for Sabo?"

Koala lightly blushed. "We just work together! We d- Wait! Do we in the sto-"

"Ah stop!" Luffy clamped her mouth shut, and she looked at him questioningly before understanding dawned on her. "You haven't told your crew?" She whispered when Luffy let go.

"Not yet."

"Oh…"

"Hello?" Nami said sternly, looking at them, and Luffy sighed, waving it off.

"It's just a joke. She's my friend and a Revolutionary."

"A Revolutionary?!" Nami, Usopp, and Sanji gasped while Zoro looked blank.

"Don't go telling people that," Koala grumbled. "It's a secret."

"Right right. Anyway, her name might be Koala but as your captain, I order you to call her Cute and Cudd-"

Luffy didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as Koala jumped on him and started banging his head on the deck. "HOW MANY TIMES SHOULD I TELL YOU NOT TO CALL ME CUTE AND CUDDLY?!"

She then glared at the rest of the crew and they instinctively took a step back, even Sanji. "AND NONE OF YOU TOO!" They nodded their heads vigorously at that.

"Anyway," Luffy got up like nothing had happened and handed the nail clippings to her. "I thought that that could only be made in the New World?"

"Not really. It can be created anywhere as long as you know the method," She answered sealing the nail clippings in a small plastic bag before pulling out a small piece of paper, "This is mine"

"Seems just like paper huh"

"Yep"

The crew also came forward looking at it curiously. "What is it?"

"It's called a Vivre card. Here watch," Luffy put the piece of paper on his palm and it started moving on its own towards Koala. "It'll always move towards a specific person no matter where they're in the world"

"Wow! Such things exist?!" Nami gasped taking and inspecting it. "How does it work?!"

"I don't know actually… you need a person's DNA to make it though"

"Ah that's why she took your nail clippings…" Usopp nodded sagely.

"Also, here's a thousand berries for the bet I lost," Koala said giving Luffy the cash while slightly glaring at Zoro. "How the hell do you get lost running in a straight line huh?"

Zoro blushed and grumbled under his breath while Usopp and Sanji burst out laughing. Nami also laughed but went to Luffy and snatched the cash out of his hands first.

"Anyway, need to talk a bit…" Koala waved with a smile at the others before dragging Luffy towards the bow of the ship, away from the others, and they understood that they wanted privacy.

"Hey! We're in the middle of a storm here! We need all hands on deck!" Nami snapped.

"Eh it's fine," Luffy waved it off, "This much is nothing and I'll jump in if it gets too out of hand"

The two walked off while the rest got to handling the ship.

"You told me about all those secrets but not your own crew? You don't trust them?" Koala asked in a low tone when they were out of earshot.

"It's complicated with them…" Luffy sighed as he leaned against the railing, "And everything to do with trust. Imagine you are a person on whom life has shit upon again and again. Everyone you got close to has betrayed you causing you to build a wall around yourself and you no longer trust anyone… Now, I suddenly come up to you and say 'Hey, I know you from a story from another world. I save you there and you trusted me in the story, so trust me here too' How would you feel?"

Koala nodded in understanding. "I see… Even ignoring the fact that I would call you delusional and wouldn't believe you, it feels… forced huh?"

"Exactly. It's like I'm taking the choice away from them. It feels so icky. I want them to choose to sail with me. Want them to choose to rely on me and the crew… want them to wholeheartedly choose to become a Strawhat"

"Don't you have the same problem too? Don't you feel like you're being forced to choose the same crew as in the story?"

"Well… I won't say I'm not… But I honestly like them all. Very much. Even without the story, I would have picked these guys. I haven't yet come across a tough decision where they are present in the story but I didn't like them in reality…"

"I see. So all your crew members are like that?"

"That's just one example I gave. One person is like that. But there are other instances with others too which will feel like I'm forcing how they should feel if I told them what happens in the story… I could tell some members… but that'll just end up creating a rift between those who know and those who don't"

"And since you're the Captain, it'll be like saying 'I don't trust some of you' huh?"

"Yeah. And if the crewmate with massive trust issues ever thinks that the crew is keeping something from her, she'll run away. So, I decided not to tell any one of them until we reach a certain point"

"I get it… Man, this sure is complicated. Having future knowledge has issues of its own…"

"You have no idea…" Luffy sighed heavily.

"Well, cheer up," Koala said patting his back and giving him a small hug, "I'll come meet up whenever I get the chance and we can talk. Sabo too if he's free. Tell me your path"

"Thanks," Luffy said gratefully and told her all the islands they visit in order. "Things might be different and more islands might be in our path considering other factors, but I will visit all these islands… Friends are suffering on each one"

"I see. Alright then," she nodded making a note of all the island names. Once done, she got a bit fidgety and hesitantly looked at him. "Umm… One last thing…"

"Yeah?"

"Umm… well, you know… You know my past, don't you?"

"A bit, yeah"

"You know Tiger too then?"

"Yeah"

"His last moments?"

"Yeah"

"D-did he… did he blam-… what were his last moments like?"

Luffy was wondering why she was so hesitant to ask about that before gaining an understanding look in his eyes. "You think it's your fault he died? You think he blamed you?"

She flinched before sighing and nodding. "It is my fault he died… He died right after he left me on Foolshout. My mom didn't tell me then but a few weeks later, I finally learned that she and my village were the ones who had called the Marines and told them about Tiger in exchange for overlooking the fact that I had a brand"

"…Well, that's not wrong. But it's not your fault, Koala. Yo-"

Koala snarled as she grabbed him by the collar before screaming in his face "Don't give me that 'It's not your fault' bullshit! I get that the main reason was because he didn't get blood, but he was in that situation because he helped me in the first place, wasn't he?! He blamed me, didn't he?!"

The rest of the crew got alarmed at the sudden loud outburst and watched the two in apprehension, growing confused as to what they were talking about. Sanji, of course, came running in yelling "How dare you distress a woman?!" and kicked at Luffy's head, but Koala caught his leg and threw him out into the sea before grabbing Luffy again.

"Sanji!" Usopp and Nami yelled in unison watching their cook fly far in the sky in the middle of a storm and splash into the sea while Zoro burst out laughing in joy.

"Calm down," Luffy placated, grabbing her hands. "His death is a bit more complicated"

"What?! Is it not because humans refused to give him blood?!"

Luffy reached out and pulled down on both her ears making her wince in pain. "Ow… what was that for?"

"You were getting hysterical"

"So, you pull on ears to calm a person down? What kind of strange technique is that?"

"Nah, the point is the make the person confused by doing a totally random thing"

"That's strange"

"It made you calm now, didn't it?"

"…Touché"

"Do you even realize you threw Sanji off the ship?"

"I did? When?" She asked looking around, genuinely confused and saw that the rest had backed away not wanting her rage to turn towards them.

"He'll swim back, don't worry. Now, back to Tiger…"

Luffy then went on a solemn explanation of how Tiger died and Koala was teary-eyed by the end of it.

"So, in the end, it wasn't just some single event. It was his life experiences of dealing with humans that drove him to his death… He understood in his head that he shouldn't hate all humans, but his heart just couldn't accept it. He refused the transfusion and died crying that he hated the fact that he hated humans"

"So that's what happened…" Koala breathed solemnly, wiping her tears away. She sat on the railing staring down into the sea for quite a while and Luffy stood next to her waiting for her to process everything.

"He also said that it's youngsters like you that will change the world for the better"

"Liar"

"He really did"

She just shrugged thinking that he was lying to make her feel better and eventually turned her head to stare at Luffy expectantly. "You gonna do something about it? Something to fix the whole Fishman-Human relations?"

"Yep!"

"I want in." she stated resolutely, "Anything related to this, I want in."

"Okay" Luffy nodded with a smile.

"Good… well," she sniffled, "I'll see you later"

She looked like she was going to cry herself to sleep after leaving, so Luffy stopped her. "Wait… Let me tell you something else. You know how I said Leo died died after I was pushed back to the land of the living?"

"Uh-huh"

"Well, turns out that sometime later, White kinda pulled him out of the Soul Plane. There are rules in place so he can't come back alive but he's hanging out in the Buffer space where he and I met"

"Like… purgatory?"

"There's a mansion there with robots that could build him anything he wants apparently, so definitely no"

"Oooh, that's amazing!"

"Yeah, and he's not the only one. In the story, lots of people had tragic pasts where loved ones or amazing people like Fisher and Otohime died. Leo can pull all of them out too"

Koala's eyes slowly widened with astonishment, "You mean-?!"

"Yep. I kinda met the spirit of Nami's dead mom recently - Yeah, I can do that. I'll tell you in detail later - She told me that many dead souls are up there with Leo. A sort of Dead Club with everyone reading the story and learning what happens to their loved ones after their deaths"

Koala just blinked in astonishment.

"And Leo cares a lot. He has cried like a baby so many times when reading certain people's tragic pasts and that was when we were just fictional characters to him. But now that he knows that they're all real and has been given the power to pull them out, he will let them -all of them - know what happens after their death and bring happiness to them"

"…wow…"

"Also!" Luffy continued excitedly, "I'm pretty sure he won't be satisfied with just showing them the comic book. He'll want to make them watch-" He grinned pointing at himself and Koala, "Watch us"

"TH-"

Luffy clamped her mouth when she was about to yell "Hush"

"They'll watch us?!" She whisper-hissed taking his hand off in excitement, "Like on a screen?!"

"I'm not sure how but something like that, yeah. They aren't yet but I know Leo will find a way to do it… So!" He said patting her shoulder with force and making her stiffen up, "All we have to do is show them that their deaths weren't in vain. Show Tiger that saving you-" he emphasized with a grin, "-was one of the best things he ever did!"

Koala teared up again, for the completely opposite reason this time, and her smile couldn't get any wider. "Y-You're being serious?!"

"Yeah," he grinned as he held a fist towards her. "So, let's wreck the current system together one day"

Luffy's hand almost broke with the force with which she fist-bumped him before she wrapped him in a bear hug and squeezed him tight while laughing joyously.

"Wow, you even give hugs like a bear"

"I'm so happy right now that I don't even care about that comment!"

"Oh really, Cuddly?"

"Don't push it!"

"Shishishishi alright alright, off you go, you cute, round-eyed, huggable bear" Luffy said peeling her off of him and pushing her into the sea, and she fell in without much of a fuss.

"I'LL LET THAT SLIDE THIS TIME!" She yelled laughing in joy before swimming away. Sanji was thrown onto the deck a few seconds later followed by "I'M SORRY I THREW YOU, SANJI!"

"IT WAS MY HONOUR! I GOT TO SWIM BESIDE A BEAUTIFUL MERMAID LIKE YOU, MY SWEET KOALA-CHAN!" Sanji swooned before she swam away and Sanji then looked at the rest "What did I miss?"

"Well, he first made her angry, then made her cry, then said something that had her gaping in astonishment, and then somehow made her so happy that she squeezed the life out of him" Usopp summarized what it looked like to the rest of them.

"Die! You shitty captain!"

Luffy ducked down just as his leg swept past him with a chuckle. He was going to play around a bit more with him but felt a sudden intense gaze on him.

"Hmm…"

He caught Sanji's leg while looking around in all directions, not able to pinpoint the source as it felt like he was being watched from all directions. He wanted to think it was Leo and the others, but he had felt the same gaze on him before too and Bellemere had confirmed that they hadn't watched him up till that point.

"Luffy? What's wrong?" Sanji asked as he too looked around and Luffy saw that even Nami, Usopp and Zoro were looking around too.

"You feel someone watching us too?"

"…Not at all really. I'm only looking because you were"

"Me neither. You're acting strange, so thought someone was about to attack" Nami added and Usopp and Zoro also said the same.

"Someone trying to ambush us?"

"No, it's not hostile…" Luffy said growing confused. He was the only one feeling it…? The gaze suddenly left him just as fast as it had come and he sighed. "Forget it… I'm not sure if it's in my head or something…" he lied to reassure the rest but didn't know what to think of it himself.

"Well, get to work! We are still in the middle of a storm for god's sake!" Nami snapped and the rest go to work again.

———

Deep Undersea, Paradise

"KhrrKhrrKhrrKhrr" The fairy laughed as she heard Luffy making fun of this new person called Koala.

Ever since Luffy had gotten Merry, he had kept the chest of log poses that held her gold trinket on the ship and didn't carry it with him in his sling bag like before. Her range didn't extend for more than a few meters from the gold trinket, so she couldn't follow him everywhere anymore. She wished he would carry it with him because he seemed like a lot of fun, but she had no way of telling him that.

So whenever they went to any island, all she could see was the ship and at most the edge of the shore. Thankfully for her, Luffy spent many nights out on the figurehead telling Merry about what had happened and she listened in too. It wasn't as good as witnessing everything, but it was still better than nothing. Besides, the crew was plenty of fun on the ship too.

On their last island, Luffy and crew had defeated the Arlong pirates. The fairy had heard the whole conversation between Luffy and Nami, so she knew why they fought and also learned what kind of values Luffy and the crew had. And she really liked this crew. Reminded her of her own crew.

And now with this Koala person, it was really fun seeing her being teased. At least until Koala dragged him away and they began their secret conversation.

"…Now, I suddenly come up to you and say 'Hey, I know you from a story from another world. I save you there and you trusted me in the story, so trust me here too'…"

"Huh?"

"…where they are present in the story but I didn't like them in reality…"

"…Having future knowledge has problems of its own huh?"

"Holy Sea King shit! Is he an Oracle?!"

She was sure of it but phrases like 'in the story' and 'another world' didn't make sense to her. Before she could make more conclusions, the topic shifted to Fishmen and Tiger.

"That's one messed-up history… And Fishmen are not considered fish anymore huh?" When she was active a few centuries ago, Fishmen were still classified as fish as far as she remembered and she didn't even know they could talk, so this was all news to her.

"The world has moved on and changed so much while I was stuck here…" she said with a sigh.

And just as Koala was leaving, Luffy stopped her and her mind blew even more.

"…Leo died died after I was pushed back to the land of the living…"

"What?" The fairy said aloud confused.

"…White pulled him out of the Soul Plane… …in the story, lots of people had tragic pasts… …Leo can pull all of them out too… …met the spirit of Nami's dead mom recently… …many dead souls are up there… …Dead Club with everyone reading the story and learning what happens after their death… …They'll watch us?!… …So all we have to do is show them that their deaths weren't in vain…"

"…What in the name of Sea Kings are they talking about?!"

It didn't take long for an unclear picture to form in her mind and she just gaped at Luffy. There wasn't just one thing that baffled her. Luffy had died and had been pushed back to life somehow, dead people were apparently hanging out in the afterlife and they were all reading the 'story'

Before she could think, her beautiful wings sprouted from her back, her eyes shone brightly and in East Blue, Luffy became aware of her stare.

'Do you recognize me? Am I in that supposed story? Am I in your future?'

She kept up the gaze for a few seconds and when it looked like Luffy had no idea what or who was gazing at him, she stopped using her powers and her wings drooped down, and she even stopped looking at him.

'He doesn't know me…'

She didn't know what she was expecting honestly but she understood that she wasn't a part of Luffy's future…

The fairy kneaded her forehead. "I'm destined to rot at the bottom of this sea for the rest of time, completely forgotten by everyone… and I deserve to experience every torturous second of this for what I did…"

She stayed silent with her head down for a long time… but eventually, she couldn't help but resume looking at Luffy and the rest again.

"Shishishishi! It feels like the ship's about to capsize!"

"You should say that in fear, not joy, you idiot!"

The fairy couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.

———

GOING MERRY, EAST BLUE

"Shishishishi! It feels like the ship's about to capsize!" Luffy yelled over the raging storm they were in.

"You should say that in fear, not joy, you idiot!" Usopp rebuked holding on tight to the main mast.

"Ah, Nami! I can see the light!"

"Yes! That's the guiding lighthouse! Also called the 'Light of Guidance' The entrance of the Grand Line is just past that…" Nami yelled before looking at Luffy and the others, "So what's it gonna be?"

"Woohoo! Let's gooo!"

"Hey hey, is it really alright to enter in such a bad storm?!" Usopp whimpered in fear. "We should wait a bit!"

"Nope. This is perfect!"

"Alright! Let's mark the occasion with a small ceremony!" Sanji said as he rolled a barrel over. He smiled as he placed one foot on the barrel, "To find the All Blue!"

Luffy excitedly walked up and planted his foot next. "To become the Pirate King!"

Zoro was next. "To become the World's Greatest Swordsman!"

Nami followed. "To draw a Map of the World!"

Usopp hesitantly thought about what to say before planting his foot. "T-To become a Brave Warrior of the Sea!"

Everyone grinned, taking a moment to think about their dreams, before they raised their legs high up and brought it down on the barrel smashing it into pieces. "GRAND LINE! HERE WE COME!"

———

One Month later, Unknown Island in East Blue

"Shit! Fine! You're the captain!" The black-haired man wearing a black hat with a golden ribbon around it grumbled as he holstered his revolver.

"Hehahaha! Of course, I am! Nothing can get through my barriers!" Bartolomeo gloated with a grin as he casually stood on the railing of his ship where he had just defeated the black-haired man in a fight.

"But I am the first mate! I'm not settling for anything less. I'm the best sharpshooter in the whole of East Blue barring Daddy Masterson… and some guy called Usopp who apparently beat Daddy…" he grumbled the last part in annoyance.

"Gill Bastar, I recognize your skill in sharpshooting but being a First Mate isn't just about that," Bartolomeo said sternly, "If you want to become First Mate, then you'll have to earn it"

Gill grumbled some more but ultimately nodded in acceptance. "Alright then, I'll earn it"

"Good!"

"Captain!" One of his crewmates yelled from the shore, "We need to pay these guys who helped transport goods to our ship"

"Starting as a pirate is way more expensive than I thought…" Bartolomeo grumbled with a sigh as he went to pay them. He reached for his wallet but it wasn't in his usual pocket. He searched around all over his body in a panic but couldn't find it. "Where the hell is my damn wallet!"

"Ah sorry, I stole it," a green-haired man stepped up with his wallet in hand and an apologetic look on his face.

"You bastard!" Bartolomeo yelled snatching it away.

"You have a real problem, Bran," Gill said with a grin as he patted the green-haired man.

"Yeah…" Bran sighed as he fished out more wallets and Gill realized his own wallet had been pickpocketed too.

"Bran! You can't just keep pickpocketing me!" Gill snapped.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I just can't help it! I'm trying to stop that bad habit…" he muttered sadly even as his hands reached out and stole the wallet of an unsuspecting crew member who happened to pass by.

"That's some real talent though," Bartolomeo said impressed, "Just… use it on anyone other than our crew, okay?"

"I'll try…" Bran sighed but a second later, had pickpocketed another crew member and Gill just hung his head low knowing his wallet would never be safe around Bran.

A few minutes later, payments were done, supplies were loaded and all preparations were done for them to head to the Grand Line.

"ALRIGHT MEN!" Bartolomeo yelled standing on the bow of their pirate ship, "I know this is sudden, but from now, we're Pirates! Dedicated to the Future Pirate King, Luffy-senpai!"

"YEAHHH!"

"What is Our motto, Our creed, Our gospel that Luffy-senpai has bestowed upon us?!"

"CHASE YOUR DREAM, BUDDY!"

"SAY IT AGAIN!"

"CHASE YOUR DREAM, BUDDY!"

"THAT'S RIGHT!" Bartolomeo cheered, "FROM TODAY ONWARD, WE ARE THE BARTO CLUB! WE ARE GOING TO MAKE LUFFY-SENPAI THE PIRATE KING!"

"YEAAHHHH!"

"WE'LL BE HEADING TO THE GRAND LINE TOMORROW, SO PARTY NOW!"

"YEAHHH!"

Bran wanted to protest about the whole thing but stayed silent not really getting a chance to intervene. 'They're missing the whole point of what Luffy said…' he thought with a worried look and his eyes met Gill's who also seemed to have realized the same.

"I tried talking to him about it," Gill said as he passed a bottle of alcohol, "But he didn't seem to understand. They're too fanatical right now, so I'll have a talk again once he calms down. So for now, just drink"

Bran sighed but nodded as he grabbed the bottle.

"Why exactly did you join Barty?" Gill asked.

"Well, I thought Luffy was great. Not just the declaration and lightning… but also his bravado. Did you see the way he danced around Smoker's attacks?"

"Yeah! And the way his smile only grew the more enemies came at him?! Amazing!"

"Yes! And did you see how he took out Smoker in a single punch?! My jaw was hanging open!"

"Mine too!"

They both suddenly stopped and sheepishly grinned. "Guess we're fanatics too huh?"

"We fit right in… and Barty's a good dude. Strong and a good leader too"

"Yeah, he's great"

"What about you?"

"Well, the same reasons actually… Plus, I want to try to pickpocket Luffy"

"Bahahaha! Sure, that would be great!"

"Hehahaha! Gill! Bran!" Bartolomeo interrupted as he put an arm around the both of them, "I know you're new but don't feel shy! Drink, eat and party to your heart's content!"

"We don't have the money for this kin-" Bran began but Bartolomeo waved his concerns off as he drank and partied.

"You're too uptight, Bran!" One of the Barto club pirates said with a laugh before dragging him into the party and Gill jumped in too.

Sometime later when the party was waning, Gambia, one of Bartolomeo's close friends, came up to him with a worried look. "Barty, are you sure you want to leave without resolving things with Desire?"

Bartolomeo's face scrunched up. "We made our choices, Gambia. She's gonna go her way and I'm gonna my way"

Gambia nodded with a sad look on his face.

"Don't bring the mood down now! Go sleep. Tomorrow morning, we'll be going to the Grand Line and starting the next chapter of our lives!"

"Yeah…" Gambia smiled. "You take rest too, Captain"

The next day, the Barto Club left for the Grand Line.

A week after that, on the same island, another ship was getting loaded with supplies and its destination was the Grand Line too. A woman with red hair that was styled very similar to Bartolomeo's hair stood at the bow with a checklist in hand to make sure they loaded up with everything they needed while she ate candy. Once the last of the battle boats were loaded onto her ship, the Sweet Pirates led by Captain Desire also left for the Grand Line.

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