"Hey, are you even listening to me?" the guy asked, noticing their glassy eyes fixed on Nami.
"Y-yes…"
"Really?"
"Yes, Luffy-senpai!!!"
"Now that you're definitely listening, I'll repeat again: tell Bartie that he did a good job and should find himself a successor quickly… It's not right for such a person to rot in a backwater like East Blue."
"Luffy-senpai!!!" the pair of main porters began to cry, instantly forgetting about Nami.
After waiting through their enthusiastic cheers, snot, and tears, Luffy sent both of them back to Bartie. Then, with the combined efforts of almost the entire crew, the 'Going Merry' set sail into the open sea. And not a single shot was fired in their direction — Luffy's Royal Haki took care of all possible threats to their ship… well, almost all. About twenty minutes after leaving Loguetown's port, the 'Going Merry' found its path blocked by ten Marine ships. A full-sized battleship surrounded by nine smaller ships, carrying over two thousand men. Tons of free fun were ruthlessly cast aside when Luffy decided not to waste time with them.
Sanji was in the process of preparing a grand feast, so any shooting at the ship could jeopardize their royal dinner. The guys would have protected the ship without any problems, but avoiding the swaying was impossible even for monsters like Luffy and Zoro. Moreover, despite all the showiness — yes, we're sailing to the Grand Line, so what? — everyone wanted to see the most mysterious and dangerous sea in the world as soon as possible, so no one wanted to waste time on the stupid Marine soldiers. Besides, in the future, Marine soldiers threatened to become unbearably annoying. That's why not only Zoro but also Luffy personally joined in, borrowing Sandai Kitetsu from his first mate. The cursed katana, in the hands of the guy, practically purred with pleasure, and the threads of its curse remained still — two natural killers had found each other.
Against the Marines, whom a single Johnny could have defeated, both Luffy and Zoro came out immediately. And they had no intention of dragging out the fight. In fact, there wasn't much of a fight. First, Luffy, grabbing Zoro by the collar of his cloak, launched the swordsman with such force that the sound of breaking the sound barrier was heard. Then Johnny, using partial transformation to significantly increase his strength, launched Luffy in the same manner that Luffy had launched Zoro. It was noticeably weaker, but Luffy still reached the closest ship to them. After that, it was a matter of technique. Although Luffy didn't consider himself a swordsman, he cut ships in half just as well as Zoro. The 'idiot-marines' - Zakari 'Two Swords' and Void 'Lightning.' - were also caught in the crossfire. The lieutenants were literally burning with the desire to get back at Zoro for their previous defeat, but they didn't even have time to see him before they were knocked out by a random blow from Luffy. Working together, it took the guys less than ten minutes to sink all the Marine ships, including the massive battleship, which they tore to pieces with their combined efforts. After waiting for Nami to bring the 'Going Merry' to the wreckage of the sinking battleship, Luffy and Zoro jumped back onto their ship's deck. Leaving behind a completely destroyed ambush, the 'Going Merry' once again set course for Reverse Mountain — the entrance to the Grand Line.
"So, before we leave East Blue, I'd like to give a gift to my first mate" when Sanji finished cooking, Luffy gathered all the crew members on the upper deck, next to a large box wrapped in gift paper and tied with a huge red bow.
None of those present thought to protest why only Zoro was getting a gift — there were no fools in the family. Gifts from Luffy were much more pleasant NOT to receive than to receive. Zoro's face froze in a resigned expression. He would have gladly hidden somewhere, but he knew perfectly well that delaying the inevitable was pointless — the gift would be given to him one way or another.
"Nami, read it out!" Luffy said, handing the girl the gift card, taken from under the bow.
Nami took the card with some trepidation. And then, with even more trepidation, as if dealing with a bomb that could explode right in her hands, she slowly opened it. Contrary to all fears, the card, which looked like a congratulatory card, turned out to be an ordinary congratulatory card. The girl immediately recognized Luffy's handwriting. Still plagued by doubts — something was definitely not right here — she began to read the contents of the card aloud:
"To my dear first mate, the best swordsman of East Blue, a reliable companion, and a best friend, Roronoa Zoro! I would like to sincerely thank you for everything you do for me and our family. There is no better first mate and friend in the whole world than you. I wish you health, money, strength, and happiness in your personal life…"
As she read, the faces of the surrounding people turned greener and greener. Nami herself held her hand to her mouth as if she were about to vomit. In the end, she simply couldn't finish reading and, unable to endure, exclaimed:
"Luffy, this is just disgusting!"
"What?!" the mentioned guy looked as if he had been struck by lightning. "I did it from the heart!!!"
"No one doubts that!" the girl nodded confidently. "You wanted to mock from the heart, and you succeeded… I can't remember the last time I experienced something more disgusting than reading your card."
"Ungrateful… Zoro, open the gift!" Luffy urged, nearly bouncing with impatience.
For someone who had just moments ago looked unjustly offended, he displayed an excessive amount of enthusiasm and radiated too much joy. Without a doubt, whatever he was planning to give, Zoro could expect nothing good. In fact, he wasn't expecting anything good. Nevertheless, resigning himself to the inevitable, he began to unwrap his 'gift.' Under the wrapping paper was a huge white box, seemingly from nowhere. Actually, he understood that the box was from Bartie, but how did he manage to get it? You can't buy such a box in a store: they are made only to order.
Another strange thing was the small air holes in the cardboard lid, as if there was someone alive inside. Zoro found this odd because he hadn't heard any 'voice' from within. But before he could think about it properly, he lifted the lid and peeked inside. For a few moments, the swordsman stared at the contents of the box, then abruptly slammed the lid shut, and the rest of the crew saw him go pale. Large beads of sweat streamed down his face, and his glazed eyes stared into the void. Now literally glowing with joy, Luffy approached the petrified Zoro and patted him on the back.
"This is from the bottom of my heart, use it until you get tired of it!" he generously poured fuel on the fire.
As the rest of the crew mustered the courage to look inside the box, Reverse Mountain — the entrance to the Grand Line — came into view. The whole crew was instantly thrilled, and Zoro's gift was temporarily forgotten. Compared to the upcoming entry into the 'Big World,' Luffy's latest prank didn't seem worthy of their attention — how many such pranks had there been, and how many more would there be? Only the heavily sweating swordsman remained standing still, unaffected by the commotion starting on the ship. Luffy's gift had been a success. However, having thoroughly enjoyed Zoro's reaction, he hurried to join the rest of the crew at the bow of the ship.
The Grand Line awaited the 'Pirate Slayers'.
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(the Loguetown arc is finished in there, and next one will start soon explaining part of Luffy's past...)