The Thunder Demon Straw Hat Luffy (A One Piece Fanfiction) - Chapter 28
The sun was up bright in the sky over the country of Alabasta. The citizens of the country were all still at work trying to rebuild all the broken buildings that were damaged in a war. All their work, however, were interrupted by a flock of New Coo flying across the country carrying a bunch of freshly printed newspaper. The flock of bird then dumped all the newspaper at once over the country causing everyone to drop what they were doing and rush to grab one of the falling papers. They were all rushing because it was common for people to pay for the newspaper if they wanted one, but only on the rare occasion where something that may affect the entire world has happened then, the News Coo will deliver to the grand public in large quantities for free. Everyone one grabbed the paper and immediately looked front page. What they saw caused their eyes to bulge out of their head in shock. Around the world, people were having similar reactions to what they were seeing in the Newspaper.
At the docks of Alubarna were a few Navy sh.i.p.s docked there along with a large pirate ship with a crocodile figurehead. The Nay and confiscated Crocodile’s ship and were going to toe it back to Navy H.Q. On one of the Navy sh.i.p.s was the marine captain who tried to stop Luffy from entering the Grand Line, Smoker. He was sitting on the deck watching his marines restock the ship. Standing behind him was another Navy captain, a female captain with pink hair. She was the infamous ‘Black Cage’ Hina, the leader of the Black Cage Corp.
“Straw hat sure is causing a stir in the world,” she said as she lit a cigarette.
“Yeah well, that interview he did must have pissed off a lot of high-ranking people in the government,” Smoker replied as he blew out a puff of smoke.
“That he did, Hina impressed,” she said as he walked forward and stood beside Smoker.
“What are your orders?” Smoker asked as he looked up at Hina.
“They told Hina to stand down,” she said in a frustrated tone causing Smoker to raise an eyebrow. “Hina upset,” she added.
“Yeah, I figured as much,” Smoker said as he breathes out a large amount of smoke. “They are probably going to offer him a Warlord position,” he added.
“They were,” Hina said confusing him.
“What do mean were?” Smoker said as he turned and looked at her. “What changed?” he asked.
“Didn’t you read this morning’s paper?” Hina asked causing Smoker to shake his head. “Hina disappointed,” she said with a sigh before walking over to the side of the ship and yelling down at some marines. “You there!” she yelled at a random marine. “Get Hina today’s paper, now!” she yelled causing the marine to salute and run off to get a copy of the paper.
“Hina doesn’t want to spoil it for you,” she said as she looked behind her and saw the marine running towards them with a newspaper in his hand.
“Here you go, captain,” the marine said as he handed the paper to Hina who then handed it to Smoker. When Smoker got the paper and saw the headline on the front page his eyes nearly popped out of his skull. There on the paper were two large pictures of Luffy and Shanks side by side just under the headline that read; ‘THE THUNDER DEMON STRAW HAT LUFFY AND RED-HAIRED SHANKS FORMED AN ALLIANCE!’
“What the hell!?” Smoker shouted out.
“Hina told you,” Hina said as she took a puff of her cigarette. “The Navy intercepted a call between the two last night and during the call, they heard Red-hair offer an alliance between himself and the thunder demon. Hina nervous,” she said as she watches Smoker read through the article.
“You said Red Hair initiated the call AND the alliance?” he said putting emphasis on the ‘and.’
“Yeah, it took everyone by surprise when he of all people decided to ally up with someone. He is the only one of the four Emperors who doesn’t have a fleet behind him and is usually the most peaceful of the four,” Hina said as she walked over and sat down on a nearby chair.
“So, this is why the government didn’t bother sending him the invitation to the warlords,” Smoker stated as he continued to read through the article. “His bounty is going to go through the roof now,” he added.
“It was originally only to supposed to go up by 50 million,” Hina said getting Smoker’s attention.
“What changed?” he asked in a confused tone.
“This is going to cause an imbalance in the three powers,” Smoker said as she closed the paper and stood up.
“That is what the Navy and the Government fear. they are worried that the other Emperors will begin to act thinking that Red-Hair is trying something,” Hina said.
“But I don’t get it, why did they tell you to stand down if he isn’t going to join the warlords?” Smoker asked as he turned around and looked at Hina. The pink-haired marine captain remained silent for a while before she spoke in a low voice.
“Ten vice-admirals are on their way,” she said causing Smoker’s eyes to widen. Before smoker could reply to what Hina just said Tashigi, who had head last part of Smoker and Hina’s conversation spoke up.
“Ten Vice-Admirals, but that means…” she said getting their attention.
“That’s right,” Hina said in a low tone. “A Buster Call is on its way, and its target is Straw Hat Luffy,” she said before everyone who had been within hearing distance went quiet. None of them ever witnessed a buster call in person but they have all heard stories. It is said that the Buster Call is the ultimate form of military attack used by the Marines. It is a result of the Marine doctrine of Absolute Justice. The target of a Buster Call is usually to destroy anything from a criminal or group of criminals to an entire island that has proven to be extremely dangerous to the World Government.
“Who ordered it?” Smoker asked while looking at Hina. She took a drag of her cigarette and exhaled the smoke before she replied.
“The Buster Call was ordered by Admiral Akainu,” she said causing everyone’s eyes to widen while Smoker narrowed his. Smoker was not all that fond of Akainu and his ways of doing things. He believed that a person should be judged fairly in regard to the law. If someone broke the law, they should be punished and only them. Innocent people who did no wrong should not have to perish so justice can be achieved, but sadly that was not the way Akainu did things. He was a man who believed if you broke the law you and all those affiliated with you are to be punished regardless if they did anything wrong or not.
“What is it you need, Tashigi?” Smoker asked knocking everyone out of their thought.
WANTED!
Dead or Alive!
Roronoa Zoro
Moniker: The Pirate Hunter
Bounty: $80,000,000.
Smoker then looked at the second wanted poster, it was Luffy’s. It was the exact same poster from before, the only thing that change was his bounty.
WANTED!
Dead or Alive!
Monkey D. Luffy
Bounty: $200,000,000.
“Captain Smoker,” Tashigi said getting the marine captain’s attention. “Look over there,” she said while pointing at a flagpole that was by the docks. When Smoker and Hina looked over they saw two royal guards attaching a black flag to a flagpole getting ready to raise it. When they finished attaching the flag, they began raising it. All the marines on the docks along with a few citizens who were passing by stopped what they were doing and looked at the flag that was being raised. When the flag was at the top of the flagpole and the wind hit it, everyone present could see just what flag it was, it was the flag of the straw-hat pirates.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Smoker said as he stared at the flag.
“He did say that that this country was now his territory,” Tashigi said as she stared at the flag.
“It is happening all around us,” Hina said as she looked around and saw multiple flags with the straw hat’s symbol on it flying on multiple buildings.
“It doesn’t matter,” Smoker said as he placed the two wanted posters down. “After today straw hat Luffy will no longer exist,” he said as he sat back down. Before anyone could reply to what he said a random marine came running towards them while carrying a transponder snail.
“CAPTAIN SMOKER!” the marines yelled getting everyone’s attention.
“What is it?” Smoker asked in a slightly annoyed voice.
“It is Navy HQ, they wish to speak to you,” he said as he held the snail closer towards Smoker.
Luffy and the crew were on the bank of the Sandora River loading supplies onto the ship while the king and Vivi along with a few royal guards. They had left the palace early this morning before the sun was up. Luffy brought everyone over on his thundercloud along with a few members of the supersonic duck squad to take the king and the princess back to the palace. Luffy was currently standing beside the king looking on as Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji loaded the supplies on to the ship. Nami and Nojiko were off to Luffy’s right saying their goodbyes to Vivi while Robin was standing behind Luffy with Chopper standing next to her.
“It is a shame that you guys couldn’t stay for Vivi’s coming of age ceremony,” the King said as he looked over at Luffy.
“It’s like I said last night, the government won’t just sit back and let the alliance between Shanks and me stand. They will try and break it up early before it truly picks up steam,” Luffy said with a sigh as he began remembering the previous night.
**Flashback**
“To the alliance!” both said at the same time before tossing back their drinks.
“What just happened?” Nami asked out loud as she stared at the transponder snail Luffy was holding in his hand
“I think we just formed an alliance with one of the Four Emperors,” Usopp replied in a disbelieving tone. Everyone else int eh room was beyond stunned at what was happening. Robin was probably the most surprised out of everyone there. She had only been a part of the crew for a few days and in those days that she had been there Luffy defeated a warlord, claimed an entire nation as his territory, and now formed an alliance with one of the Four Emperors. It was a bizarre few days for her. The Red-Haired Pirates, on the other hand, were having a party on the other end of the line when the two captains sealed the deal. There were sounds of beer jugs hitting a wooden table along with shouts and cheers about their little Luffy all grown up.
“So, what does this alliance grant me?” Luffy asked as he ignored the astonished looks he was getting from his crew and the loud cheering coming from Shanks’ crew.
“Oh, you know, the usual,” Shanks said casually causing everyone to sweat drop as his laid-back behavior. “All the territories under my protection are now to a greater extent under your protection as well, meaning you reap the same benefits I do from them,” Shanks said causing Luffy to nod while he refilled his glass with whiskey.
“Yeah,” Shanks replied. “Oii Ben! Bring me more sake! Shanks shouted causing Luffy to chuckle and shake his head. “But the most important one out of all of them is the fact that if anyone messes with you, they mess with me,” he added in a serious and somehow sober voice.
“That goes both ways,” Luffy said in a low tone.
“Where are you headed next?” Shanks asked.
“Don’t know,” Luffy replied with a shrug. “Don’t really care to be quite honest, I go where the log pose points for me to go,” he said in a carefree manner.
“That’s the spirit!” Shanks said with a laugh as everyone there heard him slam a jug down. “By the way, that thing that you wanted me to look out for on the black market showed up,” Shanks said getting Luffy to perk up.
“Perfect, we are about two islands from Water 7,” Luffy said earning his crew’s attention.
“Alright, give me a call if you need anything,” Shanks said.
“And you give me a call if you need anything,” Luffy replied.
“I will need your help soon,” Shanks replied causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow in curiosity. “But that is a conversation for the other line,” he said letting Luffy know that he should expect a call from him on a more secure line.
“I’ll talk to you soon then,” Luffy said.
“Yeah, take care of yourself, Lu,” Shanks replied.
“You too, and say hello to the guys for me,” Luffy said with a smile.
“Will do,” Shanks replied before the line was cut off. Luffy put the snail back into his coat before he resumed eating his food without a care in the world. When he looked up, he saw everyone in the room was staring at him.
“What?” he asked as he looked at them.
“What do you mean what!?” Nami and Usopp yelled.
“You just formed an alliance with Red-Haired Shanks! Don’t you think we need to talk about that!” Nami said causing Luffy to chuckle.
“The alliance was always there just unofficial,” Luffy said as he took a sip of his drink. “This was just to make it official and announce it to the world,” he added before he took a few bites of his food.
“What do you mean announce it to the world?” Zoro asked as he looked at his captain. “The two of you were talking over the phone and the only ones who know are in this room,” he said causing Luffy and Robin to chuckle.
“So naive, Mr. Swordsman,” Robin said with a chuckle. “The government and the Navy intercepted that call without a shadow of a doubt,” she said while Luffy nodded.
“She’s right,” Luffy said agreeing with his newest recruit. “Due to that call being on an unsecured line it was likely intercepted. It will be front-page news tomorrow for sure,” he said causing all of their eyes to widen. “That, however, does cause a problem,” he added puzzling them.
“What problem?” Sanji asked.
“It means we aren’t going to be able to stay in this county as long as I would have liked,” he said casing Vivi to look at him with a slightly sad look on her face.
“What do you mean, Luffy,” Nojiko asked.
“The Navy isn’t going just sit back and let me and Shanks form an alliance. It will throw the three powers slightly off-balance,” he said causing the king to nod understand. “So, they will try to break this alliance up before it picks up steam and they are going to go after the weakest link in the alliance, which in this case is us,” he said scaring Usopp and Chopper.
“What are we going to do?” asked a very scared Usopp. Luffy’s expressing changed onto a serious once before he replied.
“All of you are going to get a good night sleep and tomorrow bright and early we are begin making our way towards the ship,” he said causing the princess to gasp.
“D-do you guys have to leave so soon?” Vivi asked as the water began to build up in her eyes.
“Yeah, this entire country will be crawling with marines by tomorrow morning,” Luffy said as he looked at the princess. “It will be better if we deal with them out at sea rather than drag this country into further conflict, especially after it just came out of one,” he said causing his crew to agree.
“But…my coming of age ceremony is in a couple of days,” Viv said with tears in her eyes. “I wanted you guys to be there,” she said causing everyone to look at her with a sympathetic look on their faces.
Sorry, princess,” Luffy said as he looked at the princess. “As much as we would like to stay, we simply can’t,” he said before taking a sip of his whiskey. “And you can come with us either,” he added causing everyone’s eyes to widen as he turned and looked at the princess.
“How did you…” he said as she looked down at her l.a.p and clenched her fist.
“Anyone who knows you could see you were thinking about,” Luffy said with a smirk. “The fact of the matter is, I don’t need a princess on my ship,” he said causing everyone to look at him with eyes the size of dinner plates. Everyone in the room had one thought in common.
‘How can you be so heartless?’ everyone thought as they stared at Luffy.
“I, however, do have the need for a princess to oversee my operations here in Alabasta,” he said with a smile causing Vivi to look up at him with hope shining bright in her eyes.
“You mean I will get to be a part of your crew?” she asked in an optimistic voice. Luffy looked at strangely with one eyebrow in the air before he replied.
“I was under the impression that you already were a part of my crew,” he said before he held up his hand and pulled up his sleeve slightly revealing an ‘X’. When Vivi saw it, her eyes widen before tears began streaming down her face. The entire crew looked at her with a smile on their face as they too raised up their arms showing off their marks of friendship. “All you get a good night sleep,” Luffy said as he brought his arm down. “We leave before sunrise,” he said causing them to nod their heads.
**End of Flashback**
“I understand,” Cobra said as he folded his arms. “When will that contractor be arriving?” he asked.
“I will contact him once we set sail,” Luffy replied as he looked over at the king. “It shouldn’t take him more than a few days to arrive here,” he added with a nod. Luffy then turned his attention to Zoro and the guys who were loading the last and final crate on to the ship.
“We are all set here, captain!” Zoro shouted down at Luffy causing him to nod his head in acknowledgment.
“Well then, I guess it is time to set sail,” Luffy said with a smile. Even though he was slightly disappointed that he had to leave Alabasta so soon, he was excited to see what the next island had in store for them.
“Alright, everybody!” Luffy said in a commanding tone getting everyone’s attention. “Prepare to set sail!” he said causing his entire crew to nod before the ones who were still on shore began making their way towards the ship. Luffy turned towards the king and extended his hand before he spoke again. “It was a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to meet you, Cobra,” Luffy said as the king took Luffy’s hand and shook it.
“I cannot thank you enough for what you and your crew did for our country,” the king said with a grateful smile as he shook Luffy’s hands. Luffy just smiled and nodded before he let go of the King’s hand and turned around to go to his ship. As he turned around, he came face to face with a smiling princess with tears in her eyes.
“Captain,” Vivi said trying to hold back the sobs.
“Princess,” Luffy replied with a smirk. “As a member of my crew in this country, your first order of action is to oversee the building of my port and give me a call when it is finished,” Luffy said as he looked down at the princess.
“Aye!” Vivi replied with a salute as the tears began to stream down her face.
“Do take care of yourself prin-” Luffy began before he was cut off by Vivi throwing herself into Luffy and hugging him. Luffy froze the moment she latched onto him.
“I’m going to miss you guys,” the princess said between sobs.
“You do know I’m coming back here when the port is finished, right?” Luffy asked as he looked down at the princess. She peaked up at him with teary eyes before she spoke in a soft voice.
“You’re coming back?” she asked.
“Yeah, I need to see if the port is to my exact specifications,” Luffy said. Vivi was about to say something, but before she could Nami shouted at Luffy getting his attention.
“Luffy!” Nami shouted. “Marines!” she yelled while pointing up the Sandora River causing Luffy’s face to take on a serious look before he broke free of Vivi’s grasp.
“Raise the anchor and release the sails!” Luffy shouted before he turned his body to lightning and teleported on board the ship leaving a very worried Vivi behind. The sails of the ship came down and caught the wind the same time Luffy arrived on board the ship. Luffy immediately walked to the front of the ship to see who their enemy was and how many of them there were. When he got to the front of the ship, he saw two standard navy sh.i.p.s heading towards them causing him to narrow his eyes in suspicion.
“What are your orders, captain?” Zoro asked as he walked up and stood beside Luffy.
“Usopp head below deck and man the cannon in the front of the ship,” Luffy ordered causing Usopp and nod before running below deck. “Chopper, man the rudder, Nami and Robin, head below deck and man the cannons on the port and starboard sides of the ship!” ordered causing the three of them to nod and head to their stations. “Nojiko head to the rear and defend, Zoro port side, Sanji starboard, I’ll handle the front,” he said causing them to nod and began making their way towards their specified locations on the ship. Luffy then walked forward and stood on the figurehead of the Going Merry.
“Monkey D. Luffy!” a marine captain said through a transponder snail hooked up to speakers. “You are to surrender and come with quietly!” he said in a voice filled with arrogance. Luffy looked at the marine captain on the before he started to chuckle maniacally as he unsheathed his sword.
“I refuse,” Luffy said with a murderous look on his face sending shivers down the spines of the marines there except for the captain who was too arrogant.
“Then die!” the captain said before he gave a signal that was followed by the sound cannon fire. Six cannonballs were from the cannons located in the front of the marine sh.i.p.s heading straight for the Going Merry. Luffy covered his sword in lighting and gave one horizontal slash sending a horizontal wave of lightning right at the six incoming cannonballs. As the lightning wave encountered cannonballs, all six of them exploded mid-air.
“Was that it?” Luffy asked in an emotionless tone as he tilted his head to the side. The marine captain stared at Luffy with a shocked expression on his face. He had heard stories of the famed ‘Thunder Demon’ but he never believed any of them. He only chopped it up to people exaggerating the stories, like the story of Luffy making an entire marine base island disappear in the East Blue. He may be new to the Grand Line but there was no way a man can do something like that. “If that was it, allow me to show just what my crew is made of,” Luffy said in a deadly tone before looking over his shoulder at his crew. “Chopper, take us right between those two!” Luffy order causing the reindeer to nod and began steering the ship in the direction right between the two marine sh.i.p.s.
“Do you honestly think we will let you pass!” the arrogant captain yelled out at Luffy. “You will feel the wrath of Absolute justice!” he yelled out.
“I wasn’t asking for your permission,” Luffy replied coldly as the Going Merry sailed in between the two sh.i.p.s.
“Fire all cannons!” Luffy and the marine captain shouted at the same time cause all three sh.i.p.s to unload a volley of cannon balls aimed at each other. Even though the two marine sh.i.p.s had the straw hats outnumbered in terms of cannons and cannonballs, they were still the ones taking more damage than the straw hats. Thanks to efforts of Sanji, Zoro, and Nojiko, majority of the cannonballs that were headed for the Going Merry were either destroyed or sent back to the marine sh.i.p.s from which they came from. A few cannonballs did manage to get past the trio and hit the Merry but compared to the marine sh.i.p.s the damage was minuscule. Luffy didn’t move a muscle, he let his crew attack and defend the ship during the entire exchange of cannon fire while he just looked on. After about one minute of non-stop cannon fire exchange, the two marine sh.i.p.s ceased firing causing the straw hats to pause their assault.
The two marine sh.i.p.s were in shambles, their masts were broken and on fire, there were multiple holes in the sides of both sh.i.p.s, dead and injured marines scattered throughout the vessels, and a large amount of both sh.i.p.s was on fire. There were only a few marines left standing after the assault, those who were standing were bleeding and badly injured.
“Well, so much for absolute justice,” Luffy mocked with a chuckle as he looked at the two marine sh.i.p.s. “Any last words?” he asked as he pointed his swords at the badly injured marine captain on the ship to his right.
“F.u.c.k you!” the marine captain said before coughing up some blood.
“How nice,” Luffy said with a sadistic smirk before he raised his sword in the air and brought it down in one swift motion. As the sword came down every one of marine’s eyes on the other ship eyes widen in shock as the marine sh.i.p.s along with the arrogant marine captain was sliced right up the middle. The two halves of the sh.i.p.s crashed into the water and began to sink taking all down on board with it down to Davy Jones’ locker. Luffy then turned and looked at the marines on the other ship with cold emotionless eyes causing them to flinch at his glance. “Light them up,” he said.
“Aye!” came the voices of Usopp, Nami, and Robin before the sounds of multiple cannon fire filled the air. The marine ship along with marines on board was bombarded with even more cannonballs causing the already broken ship to finally give up and began its descent to the bottom of the Sandora River. The Going Merry then began sailing forwards up the Sandora River once more.
“Yayyyy!” Nami yelled from below deck. “We did it!” she cheered.
“Don’t start celebrating just yet!” Luffy yelled stopping all the cheering. “We are not out of the woods yet,” he said as he stared up the Sandora River. “There is absolutely no way that was it. That was probably the prelude to the main event that is going to happen once we get out of the Sandora River,” he said in a serious tone.
“Do we continue going forward?” Chopper asked
“Yeah, it’s going to happen either way, so it doesn’t really make any sense to delay to confrontation,” Luffy replied before he turned and looked at his crew. “Reload all of the cannons and prepare for battle!” he ordered causing them to scramble around the decks. As the ship sailed up the Sandora River the tension on board continues to rise. Usopp and Nami were beyond scared at his point while everyone else was nervous about the upcoming confrontation. The skies above them were beginning to darken with thunderclouds compliments of Luffy. He wouldn’t admit it, but he too was slightly worried. He was not worried about himself or his crew because he knew they can take care of themselves, but he was worried about the ship that they were on. The Merry had sustained a fair amount of damage in their previous encounter with marines, he was not sure it would make it out of a second encounter with a stronger force.
As the Merry exited the Sandora River Luffy looked around for their foe, but much to his surprise there was no one there. Instead of finding a fleet of marines there to kill him all he saw was the clear blue ocean.
“Captain?” Zoro said with a confused look on his face as he looked around.
“It quiet,” Luffy said as he narrowed his eyes. “Too damn quiet,” he added.
“I don’t like this,” Sanji said causing Luffy to nod.
“Chopper, follow the log pose and steer us in that direction,” Luffy ordered.
“Aye!” Chopper replied before the ship began to turn and head for the next island. As they were sailing away from Alabasta everyone kept their guard up, waiting for the attack to happen. Just as everyone was about to let their guard down and relax a bit thinking that no attack was coming, Luffy shouted getting all their attention.
“Stop the ship!” he yelled out causing Zoro to run to the front of the ship and drop the anchor. As the Anchor fell into the water the entire ship jerked forward before coming to a full stop.
“Why did we stop?” Nojiko asked as she walked forward a bit.
“That’s why,” Luffy replied as he pointed off into the horizon. When everyone looked forward, they all saw multiple silhouettes of sh.i.p.s heading towards them. “Usopp! Line them up!” Luffy said.
“Aye, captain!” Usopp replied before the sounds of the front cannon being aligned. Luffy stood on the figurehead staring out at the approaching sh.i.p.s with his captain’s coat billowing in the wind and lightning flashing over him.
“Ten Navy battlesh.i.p.s,” Luffy said to himself. “And from the looks of it, ten vice-admirals,” Luffy said before he chuckled to himself. “It is a f.u.c.k.i.n.g Buster Call,” he said before he pulled out a glass and poured himself a drink. “I think it time I teach you government dogs that I am someone who should not be f.u.c.k.e.d with,” he said before tossing his drink back.
“They’re close enough, Captain!” Usopp yelled from below deck.
“Blow these bastards to thy kingdom come!” Luffy yelled back causing Usopp to fire the main cannon. As the cannon fired the entire ship jerked back but Luffy stood there, firm in place. The cannonball traveled from the Merry and hit one of the battlesh.i.p.s right on the three large cannons that it had on its bow destroying it.
“Nice one, Usopp!” Nojiko shouted from the rear.
“Yeah! Feel the might of Captain Usopp!” Usopp yelled as he fired the cannon some more. “Tonight, I shall bathe in the blood of my enemies!” Usopp yelled causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow and look over his shoulder at the rest of his crew only to find them looking back at him with the same expression on their faces. “Die you Motherf.u.c.kers!” Usopp yelled out as he fired some more. All the cannon balls he fired impacted the same sh.i.p.s causing it to go up in flames and sink to the bottom of the ocean.
“I’m a bad influence,” Luffy said with a sigh as he shook his head. “Okay, Usopp!” Luffy called out causing the cannon fire to cease. “I’ll handle the rest,” he said. as he said that the sound of multiple cannon fire filled the air as all nine navy battlesh.i.p.s opened fire on the Going Merry. As the cannonballs drew closer and closer to the ship Zoro, Sanji and Nojiko appeared by Luffy’s side and began deflection cannonballs. Luffy then clasped his hands together as though he was praying with his elbows sticking out and began focusing on his devil fruit powered. As he did that electric blue sparks surrounded his body and the sky started to darken with thunder booming overhead. Luffy then looked at the Marine Fleet with narrowed eyes before he yelled out.
“Thirteen Heavenly Pillars!” he yelled causing a loud thunderclap before nine pillars of lightning to come out of the sky and strike down all nine sh.i.p.s causing them to explode. Five seconds after the explosion four more pillars of lightning came down and struck down the water of the surrounding area of the explosion effectively killing any survivors who might have been in the water.
“Isn’t that the same attack you used on Nelson before we entered the Grand Line?” Nojiko asked as she stood behind Luffy and looked out at the carnage.
“Yeah,” Luffy replied in a monotone voice before he turned around to head back to the deck. As he turned around, he saw Robin standing by the door of the cabin that leads down below deck with a shocked expression on her face. Luffy hopped off the figurehead began walking towards the rear deck where he usually sits on his throne. As he was walking there, he spoke. “Raise the Anchor!” he commanded causing Zoro to nod and began pulling up the anchor. As the anchor came up the ship began moving once more in the direction of where all the destroyed sh.i.p.s were. Just as Luffy was about to walk up the stairs to the rear deck he looked over to his left and saw Robin staring at him.
“Y-you just…” She said in a voice filled with astonishment.
“I told you I’ll protect you,” Luffy said with a smile causing her eyes to start being filled with water. Luffy then continued up the stairs leaving a teary-eyed Robin behind. When he got to the rear deck his thundercloud came down from the sky and formed his throne causing him to smirk before he sat down and crossed his legs. he then turned his head to the side and looked out at the carnage they were sailing through. There were broken parts of the marine’s battlesh.i.p.s everywhere along with a lot of bodies and body parts just floating there.
“You made that look so easy, captain,” Zoro said as he sat down and leaned against the side the of the ship to Luffy’s right.
“When I’m done with all of you, you’ll be able to make it look just as easy,” Luffy said as he turned and looked over at Zoro.
**Navy H.Q**
Currently inside the office of the Fleet Admiral of the Navy was the fleet admiral himself along with all three admirals, vice-admiral Tsuru, and vice-admiral Garp. The six of them were sitting in the office discussing the now open position in the warlords. They had originally intended to offer the position to Luffy but seeing as how he went and formed an alliance with one of the four emperors.
“This all your grandson’s fault, Garp!” Sengoku said as he slammed his fist down on his desk. “We could have easily covered all this up, but he had to go and do an interview with the media!” he shouted out with frustration present in his voice.
“Buhahahaha!” Garp laughed from the couch. “That’s my boy!” he said with a laugh.
“He is just like his grandfather,” Tsuru said as she folded her arms next to Garp. “Always causing trouble,” she added. Sengoku was about to add something to what she said, but before he could open his mouth to speak a marine officer came running through the doors shouting at the top of his lungs.
“Fleet Admiral! Fleet Admiral!” the marine yelled as he burst through the door. “It’s bad!” he added with a dire look on his face.
“What is it!?” Sengoku asked in with a worried look on his face. “Are we under attack?” he asked.
“No, we just received word from the scout ship that was monitoring the Buster Call!” he said causing everyone in the room to get serious to listen to what he had to say. “It’s gone, the thunder demon and his crew destroyed all ten battlesh.i.p.s!” he said causing everyone else to widen while Garp had a slight smirk on his face.
“What!?” Akainu yelled as he sprang to his feet. “Don’t be ridiculous! The Buster Call is the absolute embodiment of Absolute Justice, its cannot be destroyed by some lowlife pirate sc.u.m!” he stated with an angry expression on his face.
“It’s true, sir,” the marine said with a scared look on his face. “All that is left of the Buster Call is a bunch of broken pieces of the sh.i.p.s,” he said.
“How many survivors?” Sengoku asked as he narrowed his eyes. The marine officer looked up at Sengoku and gulped before he replied.
“None, sir,” he said in a grim tone causing Garp to lose his smirk.
“What?” Tsuru asked with eyes the size of dinner plates.
“There were no survivors,” the marine said. “When the scout ship got to the wreckage all that was there were broken pieces of the battlesh.i.p.s along with dead bodies and body parts,” he said grimily causing an uneasy silence to fall over the room.
“I guess Red-Hair was right when he called him an equal,” Aokiji said breaking the silence.
“I am starting to believe that bounty we gave him isn’t nowhere near as close to where it should be,” Kizaru said as he held up Luffy’s new wanted poster.
“It where it needs to be,” Sengoku said getting all their attention. “If he truly is in some way shape or form equals to Red-Hair then he needs a bounty the same as one of the emperors. However, he is not getting that,” he said confusing everyone in the room.
“I don’t get it,” Aokiji said as he tilted his head to the side. “You just said that his bounty should be in line with the emperors, but still we are giving him a much smaller one,” he said with a confused look on his face.
“The last thing we need is a pirate with a bounty over a billion berries in Paradise. It may cause weaker pirates to flock towards him wanting to join his crew,” He said causing them to understand why he was having Luffy keep the bounty they gave him. “If the reports are correct then the Angel of Death has already joined him. The last thing we need is for him to have a fleet under his control,” Sengoku said as he sat down in his chair and let out a sigh.
“You would think that after being raised by Red-Hair that he would be more like him,” Tsuru said as she leaned back on the couch. “But he is nothing like him, he seeks out conflict and kills with no hesitation,” she added.
“Other than the fact that both of them like causing trouble, he is nothing like his grandfather either,” Aokiji said while looking at Garp, who had on a straight face.
“Regardless of all that, we have bigger problems to deal with,” Sengoku said as he rubbed his temple. “We still have to find a replacement for Crocodile. The balance of power is no longer balanced, we need to fix this soon before all hell breaks loose,” he said.
“That alliance between Red-Hair and Straw Hat also disrupts the balance of the three powers,” Kizaru stated causing the fleet admiral to let out a tired sigh.
“Have the Warlords arrived yet?” Sengoku asked while looking at the Marine officer who brought the dire news.
“Yes, Sir!” the marine replied.
“Very well, let’s deal with hat first then handle everything else,” he said as he got up and began walking out of the room with everyone else following behind him.
**With Luffy**
The straw hats had been sailing for about a day now since they encountered the Buster Call. Luffy was currently sitting on his throne with a glass of whiskey in his right hand and a transponder snail in his left. He was getting ready to call the contractor about the port that needs to be built in Alabasta. The rest of the crew were scattered all over the ship, Nami and Nojiko were sitting behind Luffy with Robin trying to get to know her better. Zoro was sitting off the right of Luffy taking a nap while Usopp and Chopper were sitting in the front of the ship with their backs against each other. Usopp was working on improving his slingshot while Chopper was making new medicine to use. Sanji was in the kitchen putting together Lunch for the crew. Luffy and told him to prepare a welcome feast for Robin, something at which the perverted cook had already planned on doing. The crew had been slightly hesitant towards Robin at first, but they all warmed up to her…well everyone except Zoro. He still didn’t trust her, even though Luffy told him that she was alright.
Luffy took a sip of whiskey before he looked at the transponder snail and picked up the speaker end that was on the top. He then dialed a number and the snail began to ring.
*purupurupuru**purupurupuru**purupurupuru* Chack*
“Hello?” a deep male voice answered.
“It’s Asura,” Luffy replied in a bored tone.
“Oh, hey boss,” the man replied.
“Grab your men and head over to Alabasta,” Luffy said into the snail. “Go and meet the king directly, he is expecting you,” he added.
“The king?” the man asked through the line in a surprised voice. “Why do I need to meet a king?” he asked not really liking the idea of dealing with a bunch of royals.
Because he is going to tell you where to build the port, jackass,” Luffy said in a slightly annoyed voice. “You do still have the blueprints for my port, right?” he asked in a dangerous tone.
“O-of course, boss,” the man replied in a slightly scared voice. “The design is exactly the way you wanted it,” he added.
“Good, now get over to Alabasta and build it,” Luffy ordered. “The princess of the country is part of my crew so she will be overseeing everything on my behalf,” he said surprising the man once more.
“You have a princess on your crew?” the man asked in a slightly impressed voice. “That’s new, but okay then, we will head over there now,” he said.
“Good,” Luffy said before narrowing his eyes. “Oh, and Kevin,” he said.
“Yes?” the man now named Kevin replied.
“If I hear that you or your men caused any trouble while you’re there…there will be hell to pay,” Luffy said coldly sending shivers down Kevin’s spine.
“Y-yes boss!” Kevin replied in a scared voice before Luffy hung up the phone. He then places the transponder snail in his coat and got up from his throne and began making his way towards the front of the ship. As he was about to walk down the stairs, but before he could something caught his attention slightly off to the right of the ship. It was an island, a small island but an island none the less.
“An island,” Luffy said loud enough for the girls to hear.
“An Island?” Nami asked as he got up and walked towards Luffy. When she got there, she looked at her log pose and looked back and the island before she spoke again. “The log pose isn’t pointing to it though,” she said.
“It won’t,” Luffy said as Nojiko and Robin came and joined him. “It is too small to have its own magnetic field,” he said as he stared at the island. “That is just what I need,” he whispered to himself but Nojiko heard him.
“Huh?” she asked with a confused look on her face.
“Never mind,” Luffy said before he began walking down the stairs. “Change our course for that island!” He commanded getting everyone’s attention.
“But wouldn’t that mess with the log?” Nami asked.
“No, like I just said, it is too small to have its own magnetic field. So, it won’t have any effect on the log pose,” he replied as he turned and looked at her. Usopp and Chopper came running from the front of the ship and headed straight to the cabin where the rudder was. The two of them then steered the ship in the direction to the small island. As they got closer to the island, they could see a small canal that went straight into the island. “Head for that canal!” Luffy shouted to Usopp and Chopper.
“Aye!” they replied as they angled the ship to sail up the canal. By now Sanji and heard to the commotion and came outside to see what was going on.
“What’s going on?” he asked as he walked over and stood next to the girls.
“We are stopping at this island,” Nojiko said causing him to look over at the island.
“Sanji, wake up Zoro,” Luffy said causing the cook to grin evilly as he began making his way up the stairs to the rear deck where Zoro was sleeping. Ten seconds later everyone heard a loud crash and cry of pain.
“Wake up you ugly Moss Head!” Sanji yelled.
“Shut up you twirly eyebrow freak!” Zoro shouted back.
“What did you call me!” Sanji shouted.
“You heard me!” Zoro replied.
“Both of you shut up and get down here!” Nami yelled causing the two of them to grumble and walk down the stairs. As they were sailing down the canal, they couldn’t help but admire the beauty that was this island. On either side of the bank were sandy shores that led into a tropical forest. Beneath the ship was clear blue water where the crew could see fishes swimming below.
“Woah,” Nami said as she looked around. “This place is beautiful,” she added.
“I have to agree,” Luffy said with a nod as he looked around at the scenery. “let’s anchor up ahead by that big palm tree,” Luffy said while pointing at the giant palm tree that was hanging over the canal. Zoro nodded and walked to the front of the ship getting ready to drop the anchor. When the ship got just under the palm tree Zoro dropped the anchor into the water causing the ship to give a little jerk before it came to a stop. Usopp came out of the cabin along with Chopper and the two of them along with Sanji and Nojiko began raising the sail.
“What are we going to do here Luffy?” Nojiko asked as she walked towards her captain.
“We are going to spend just over a week here,” he said surprising them. “We will use the time to repair the ship,” he said causing them to look around at the damaged parts of the ship that was damaged that during their altercation with the marines.
“I think I can patch her up pretty good,” Usopp said with a smile as he rubbed his hand against the Going Merry causing Luffy to smile.
“Good, and we can also use that time for a vacation,” he added earning him a squeal from Nami. “But it will only last for one day,” he added ending Nami’s celebration.
“But why?” she asked with a pout.
“For the never week or so you all will be training with me,” he said with a sinister chuckle causing a shiver to run down all their spines. “But for now, let’s just relax,” he said as he hopped up on to the side of the ship and jumped off to the shore.
We can have our lunch out there on the shore,” Sanji said as he headed to the kitchen.
“That looks like a good place to catch up on some reading,” Robin said as she too jumped off the ship with a book in her hand.
“I’m looking to soaking in some vitamin D,” Nami said while Nojiko nodded in agreement.
“I’ll help Usopp fix the Merry,” Chopper said as he transformed back into his tiny form.
“I’ll probably just sleep,” Zoro said with a shrug.
**Next Day**
All the straw hats were currently standing in front of Luffy waiting for him to explain what exactly they were going to be training in. They had all spent the previous day relaxing and enjoying the island that they were on and were really bonding together as a crew. It was nice for Robin, who was new, to see just how the crew gels together as well as getting to know them a lot better.
“Alright, listen up!” Luffy said getting all their full attention. “You are going to be training in groups for the next weeks or so,” he said causing them to nod. “One group will be training in armament haki, while the other will be training in observation haki,” he said causing them to nod.
“Umm,” Robin said getting his attention. “I’ve heard you talk about haki before, but I don’t know what it is,” she said as she looked at Luffy.
“That’s fine,” Luffy replied. “You are going to be in the observation group, just have one of them there explain the basics to you,” he said causing her to nod.
Okay,” she replied with a smile.
“Good,” Luffy said as he adjusted his straw hat. “Zoro, Sanji, and Nojiko will be training with to better learn Armament seeing as how they are the only ones who unlocked it already,” he said causing the three of them to nod their head in agreement. “The rest of you will train your observation haki together,” he said causing the rest of the crew to nod their head.
“Are still using the blindfolds?” Usopp asked as he rubbed his head.
“Yes, until you have that part down you can’t move on to the next step,” Luffy said causing them observation group to groan. “Don’t worry, that is only for half of the time we are here,” he said causing them to perk up. “Halfway through the training, the two groups will switch. The ones now doing Armament will work on observation and the ones doing observation will work on unlocking their armament,” he said causing them to nod.
“How exactly are we going to be training our armament?” Zoro asked with a curious look on his face causing Luffy to grin.
“The three of you are going to fight me,” he said causing their eyes to widen. “Armament is only improved through battle. So instead of you three going to battle, you’re going to war instead,” he said with a grin causing them to regret every life decision that led them to this point.
“I got a question?” Nojiko asked causing Luffy to nod at her. “You had said that some people can train their observation haki so much that they could see slightly into the future, right?” she asked causing Luffy to nod once more. “Then what about armament, does it have some advance form?” she asked causing Luff to smile and walk over to a nearby tree.
“It does,” He said as he placed his hand on the tree. His hand turned back like it normally does when he uses armament haki. The next thing that happened intrigue the straw hats. Around his hand, a crimson aura began to form. The aura them began moving into the tree and a few seconds later the tree exploded from the inside out. “It allows you to use your Haki to reach inside the target’s body and destroy them from within,” he said causing their eyes to widen.
“Woah,” Usopp said as he looked on in amazement.
“So cool!” Chopper squealed with stars in his eyes causing Luffy to chuckle.
“I had the exact reaction,” he said as he walked towards them. “But do not focus on that now,” he said getting their attention. “I will take a few years of training to reach that level,” he said causing a few of them to look downcast while some had a determined look on their faces, like Zoro.
“That sucks,” Nami said with a pout causing Luffy to chuckle.
“Well now, Let’s start training,” he said with a grin.
**CHAPTER END**