The Straw hat crew were not amazed, specially when the door refused to budge an inch and the irritating monotone voice continuing to deny them the permission to enter, as if they needed someone–someone who weren't better than the scums of the sea–'s permission for banging down the door and barging in.
Nami exhaled sharply through her nose, her hands clenching her staff tightly in anger and annoyance. "Of course it couldn't just be a normal fucking door!" she muttered. "But I am not letting those bitches get my money," she spoke with deathly silence.
Her irritation simmered into action before anyone could even answer or agree with her. She raised the ClimaTact above her head and brought it down against the metal. The clang rang through the corridor like a cannon firing in a cavern, vibrating against their ribs. Sparks leapt, the sound ricocheting until even Chopper flinched and covered his ears from the horrendous noise.
When the sharp screeching of metal against the staff finally died down, the door looked exactly as it had before: smooth, untouched, smug in its indifference. Even the grating, irritating voice was back, once again denying her the permission to enter.
Nami's eyes twitched. "Are you kidding me?"
"Maybe if you hit it another five hundred times it'll get to somewhere," Zoro said dryly, arms folded.
Nami spun on him with a sharp glare. "Do you want to try, moss-head, or are you just here to critique?"
Before Zoro could answer, Robin stepped forward with her usual calm. "Allow me." Her arms blossomed like a fan of petals along the seam of the door, sprouting from air and metal alike. Hands overlapped in pairs, fingers pressing, pulling, straining as though dozens of invisible people were heaving at once. The muscles of Robin's neck tensed slightly, but her face remained composed as the door groaned faintly under her effort.
For a fleeting second hope rose in the crew's eyes. Then the sound stopped, and Robin's hands broke apart like smoke, leaving petals behind to fall down. The door hadn't even budged.
Robin sighed softly, brushing stray strands of hair from her face. "It's stronger than I expected. It resists force in ways even my abilities cannot cheat." She had known that the 3P's made incredibly strong weapons and other equipment, but she had always wanted to try breaking it. But hadn't, not wanting to garner any attention on her being.
"Um, guys.." Usopp started, stopping his pacing as he rummaged through his bags to get an Impact dial from Skypiea. If it didn't work, then Usopp didn't know what else would. "Stand aside." He said, letting himself fill with confidence. "You're looking at the only man here with the firepower fit for this moment. Captain Usopp will deliver the finishing blow. Watch me!"
Luffy, who had been watching the crew's antics from the sidelines, immediately perked up. His eyes lit up instantly as he recognized the Skypeian technology. "Ooooh, do it, Usopp!"
With a theatrical flourish, Usopp pressed the Impact Dial to the door and released. A loud whomp echoed, followed by a puff of compressed air. Dust shook loose from the ceiling, and a small dent no larger than a thumbprint appeared in the steel surface.
The crew leaned in.
"That's it?" Sanji said flatly, trying hard to suppress the snort rising in his throat.
Usopp straightened his back, sweat dripping from his brow. "That's just the first strike! The warning strike! Next time, the door won't–"
"Save your wrists before you hurt yourself," Zoro cut in, knowing full well about the damage a single blast from the aforementioned dial can cause.
Usopp puffed his cheeks and retreated behind Chopper, who patted his arm sympathetically. "It… it was a nice dent," the reindeer offered gently.
Sanji flicked his lighter shut and rolled his shoulders. "Move aside. Time for a real man to show you how it's done." He squared himself against the door, one leg pulling back, muscles winding like springs. The flare of his cigarette lit his jawline as he launched forward with a spinning kick.
The impact thundered down the corridor. The floor shivered, bolts rattled loose from the torches, and the door received a dent. Larger than Usopp's, yes, but still laughably shallow compared to the sheer bulk of the thing.
Sanji landed on one foot, a grimace twisting across his face before he smoothed it away. "Hah. Easy." He said, before he wobbled. The grimace returned as pain shot up his shin, and Sanji immediately began hopping in a circle, clutching his leg. "Son of a—ow, ow, ow—!" He bit down on his cigarette, teeth clenched, trying to disguise the pain as his foot throbbed.
"Are you okay?!" Nami's voice shot with alarm, half scolding, half concerned.
Sanji froze mid-hop, catching sight of Nami and Robin watching. In an instant his face relaxed into a cool grin, his leg still tucked awkwardly behind him, in angles he knew it shouldn't be. "Oh, this? Just a… light stretch, Nami-swan! No problem at all."
Chopper tugged at his coat and forced him down to sit on the floor. "Don't be ridiculous! Let me see. You could have cracked a bone!"
Sanji reluctantly extended his leg, sighing dramatically. "Fine, fine. But only because you insist, Doctor."
From above, Zoro snorted, drawing one of his swords with a casual flick. "All that fuss for a bruise? Watch and learn, swirlybrows." He strode forward, blade flashing in the dim light as he leveled it at the metal. "This is how you cut steel."
Sanji perked up instantly, a smirk curling on his face. "You mean if you can. I remember you struggling against a certain steel man before."
"Shut it." Zoro pressed forward, blade sliding into a practiced strike. With a grunt and a flare of muscles, the sword's tip bit into the door. Metal screamed under the cut, sparks exploding in a shower of orange.
When the light faded, the mark stood. A line cut clean, maybe an inch or two deep at best. The door remained otherwise intact, looming and impenetrable.
The crew leaned closer again.
"…That's it?" Sanji echoed smugly, his earlier limp forgotten. "Mister 'I can cut anything,' defeated by a door."
Zoro sheathed his blade with a scowl. "At least I left more than a thumbprint."
Sanji jabbed a finger at him. "My dent was bigger!"
"Your kick was weaker."
The two squared off instantly, sparks flying in their glares, until Nami swung her staff down between them with a sharp crack. "Enough! Neither of you did anything useful, so stop wasting time!"
Usopp raised a tentative hand. "Uh, is it too late to suggest we try… knocking?"
The glare Nami shot at him was enough of an answer. Usopp swallowed his words and pressed his back to the wall, muttering something about "strategic retreat."
But as everyone was thinking of what to do next, letting the silence reign, it was interrupted by a faint hum which circulated through them. Luffy, who had been quiet and watching with that unfocused grin of his–the one that made it hard to tell if he was paying attention or daydreaming–tiltded his head, letting the shadows slip across his strawhat, and said in a voice far too casual, "Why don't you guys just use Haki together, if you all are so weak," he teased, wanting to encourage the crew to do better.
But the wands landed like a thrown stone in still water, rippling through each one of them. Zoro's eyebrow twitched, Sanji bristled, and even Nami's lips parted in surprise. Robin, ever composed, raised one hand to her chin but said nothing.
"Tch." Zoro's hand drifted to a hilt. "You make it sound so simple, captain," he uttered, knowing well enough that it is fucking simple for Luffy to crack open the door with a single punch or something. After all, he was a god and fucking Cyra, the one known to blast and crack the equipments of the 3P's with giddy maniacness.
Sanji clicked his lighter open and shut, jaw tightening. "As if we wouldn't have thought of that, you idiot."
Nami, still clutching her Clima-Tact, felt her cheeks heat with embarrassment. She wasn't half as polished as the boys, but she had learned enough to reinforce her strikes. And if Luffy was taunting them like this… then maybe it was worth trying.
Luffy rocked back on his heels, grinning wider. "So? Let's see it. Together."
The challenge lit something unspoken between them. Zoro drew his blades with a slow scrape, Sanji snuffed his cigarette under his heel, and Nami adjusted her stance, staff humming faintly as she focused.
Robin watched the members who could use Armanent Haki with her arms folded. She could see the hesitation in their posture–after all, even their Haki was still rough and unrefined–but in the way they all squared themselves, she also saw a flicker of determination.
"On three," Sanji muttered.
"Don't fall behind," Zoro shot back.
"Both of you shut up," Nami snapped, eyes fixed on the door.
They launched forward in unison. Sanji's leg blazed blue with force, Zoro's swords gleamed dark and sharp, and Nami's flickering blackened staff cracked with amplified weight. The strikes met the door in the same breath.
The impact was thunderous. Metal screamed, sparks showered, and the ground trembled under their combined force. For a heartbeat it seemed as though the door might endure again. Then, with a deafening groan, the surface split. The massive slab shuddered, fractured lines racing like lightning across its surface before the whole thing buckled inward. The door collapsed with a crash that rattled every wall of the corridor. Dust and fragments of twisted metal rolled across the floor.
Almost immediately, loud sirens blared overhead. Red lights flared along the ceiling as several voices shrieked through microphones, issuing protocols and warnings, bouncing off the stone like the wail of some furious beast.
Usopp's hands flew to his ears. "Oh no oh no oh no! We triggered something!"
Chopper's fur stood on end. "The whole base will know we're here!"
While almost everyone of the Strawhats were panicking or sounded alarmed too, Luffy threw his head back and cackled. The sound rang wild and bright against the sirens. "This is gonna be fun! My first crew base break-in!" His grin stretched ear to ear, pure mischief and pride.
The wind stirred unnaturally in the corridor, whipping up dust, muffling the shrieking sirens for a fleeting moment—as if the air itself was leaning close to hide his words. Luffy tilted his hat and declared, "We should do this 3C-style!"
The crew froze.
He jabbed a thumb at their faces. "And the good news is, we already got masks!"
He pointed the masks out one by one, eyes gleaming: his own sun-ray grin, Chopper's beaming smile, Sanji's ridiculous swan of love, Nami's elegant butterfly, Usopp's long-nosed tengu, Robin's ivory feathers, Zoro's sharp oni glare. Each mask, absurd and striking in the red light, turned the Strawhats into a carnival of shadows.
The effect on the crew was instantaneous. Robin's expression flickered for the briefest moment, her calm façade cracking in quiet shock. Zoro's eyes narrowed, unreadable, and Sanji stiffened as though he'd been doused in cold water.
Meanwhile, Nami and Usopp whipped around in alarm. "Luffy!" Nami hissed, smacking his arm. "Don't just throw their name around like that!"
"Are you crazy?!" Usopp's voice cracked as he flailed his arms. "Do you want every bounty hunter in the world to come down on us?! Or for the 3C's to come at you and us once again?!"
Chopper blinked rapidly, stunned. "W-wait, you mean the 3C's?"
"Huh?" Luffy's smile faltered into confusion. He tilted his head. "Why should I be scared of them? And what's wrong with using my tricks? I mean, sure, Ace-ni and Sabo-ni came up with them but they're pretty cool!" Luffy muttered with a pout, knowing he only caused chaos and ruckus and the planning was all Ace and Sabo, but well he is still good at what he does.
For a moment, silence smothered the alarms as the Strawhats who didn't know about Luffy's not-so-secret identity of being Cyra, while the others who knew finally came to the conclusion that Ace and Sabo were Cole and Cyane.
Nami's staff slipped in her grip. Robin's eyes sharpened, catching the others' reactions. Usopp let out a strangled gasp, nearly choking on his own breath.
"Y-you mean.. your brothers–" Usopp stammered. "They came up with all the pranks the 3C's committed?" Usopp asked, still living in the oh so sweet bliss of ignorance.
"Yeah, that's the case," Luffy answers nonchalantly. "But Ace-ni and Sabo-ni allowed me to wreak havoc, so all's good!" He beamed.
The Strawhats gasped.
"Don't tell me… y-you're Cyra..?" Nami spoke in disbelief, not even wanting to believe her words too. She could see Usopp sweating nervously and vigorously shaking his head at the reveal, as if he thought that as long as he denies Luffy being Cyra it won't happen.
"Yep!" Luffy finished simply, as though it were the most natural thing in the world. He shrugged, grin returning. "That's me."
Chopper's eyes widened as he blurted out in honest shock and childlike awe, "Y-you're one of them?!" Seeing his captain–his goofy, sweet captain–nod and grin, Chopper tried his best to process how it could be possible for him to be the same Cyra who terrified the world.
Nami's jaw dropped. "You–you're worth over a billion beri!" she screeched, voice echoing in panic, but remembered to keep it low at the last moment. "No wonder you didn't care about your new bounty!"
Robin, lowering her eyes with a tiny smile, noted softly to herself, "So the truth surfaces at last." Though it was gone unheard with the shriek Usopp let out.
Usopp clutched his head in both hands, knees knocking. "We're sailing with a monster! They'll hunt us down, skin us alive. Do you realize what this means?!"
"Means we're awesome," Luffy said cheerfully, noticing Zoro smirk faintly and Sanji rolling his eyes at him with a look that tells Luffy to be more careful, specially when in enemy base.
"No it means we're dead if anyone else finds out!" Nami snapped, grabbing fistfuls of her own hair. "Keep your mouth shut about this!"
But mid-panic, something clicked in her mind, a memory flaring like a fuse. Her eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Wait a second," she said slowly, voice dropping low. "When you got kidnapped back in Alabasta… you knew. You knew it was your brothers, didn't you?"
Luffy blinked in fake confusion and innocence.
"Didn't you?!" she shouted, swinging her staff to crack him lightly over the head. He yelped and ducked, hands flying up defensively.
"I just forgot to tell you–ow!" Luffy whined, pouting as he rubbed his head.
"Forgot?!" Nami's voice pitched into a shriek. "You disappeared without a word! Do you have any idea how terrified we were?!" Her words spilled like arrows, fueled by weeks of bottled worry. "You could've at least given us a hint, some sign, anything!"
Luffy's eyes widened, his mouth turned down in a pout that made him look more like a scolded child than a pirate captain. He stared at her with a wounded, puppy-eyed gaze, lips trembling ever so slightly.
Nami froze mid-swing.
Her fury faltered against the sheer, unfair adorableness of that look. She felt her heart lurch and cursed violently in her head. 'Why does he have to look so damn cute when he's the one in trouble? This isn't fair!'
She lowered her staff reluctantly, pressing her palm against her forehead. "You're going to be the death of me, Luffy," she muttered, though her voice had softened against her will. Belatedly she noticed Sanji and Zoro looking relatively calm, but the subtle glances they threw to each other told that they knew this and kept to themselves. Heck, even Robin looked like she knew!
Luffy grinned immediately, as though the scolding had rolled right off him. "So we're doing it 3C-style, right?"
Nami groaned, while Usopp nearly fainted, and the sirens howled on, but Luffy only grinned, adjusting the rim of his hat as if the noise were just background music to a game.
"Why not?" Finally, Zoro spoke with a shrug agreeing with Luffy, leading the others to hesitantly or reluctantly nod, knowing that they are in for a ride of lifetime.
Luffy grinned as the others braced for him to dash ahead with his usual noisy abandon for the surroundings. But instead to their surprise, he pressed a finger to his lips and slipped forward with uncanny lightness, his steps soft as whispers against the stone floor.
Nami blinked at the strangeness. "Wait… is Luffy actually being quiet?" she whispered.
Sanji rubbed at his temples. "Don't jinx it, Nami-swan."
Robin's eyes narrowed thoughtfully, her gaze following Luffy's movements. "Not unlike the tales of Cyra," she murmured, so softly most of the crew missed it. But Zoro caught her glance and gave the faintest nod, as if the oddity explained itself.
Usopp tugged nervously at his mask. "Since when does he sneak? He's supposed to be, well, you know.. loud." He gestured vaguely in frustration.
Chopper whispered, ears twitching with unease. "He's… different tonight."
Still, when Luffy motioned with an almost conspiratorial grin for them to follow, the crew obeyed without hesitation. His presence filled the corridor like a current of wind pulling them along.
They padded after him after downing their masks, the shriek of alarms weaving a steady pulse through the air. The further they went, the stranger the silence felt, like a hollow in the noise that formed around their captain, muffling their footsteps, shielding them in ways none could quite explain.
It was only after a minute or two of their walk, when the first figures appeared from the shadowed passage ahead: three armored Knights and one Dame, their crests glinting crimson under flashing lights. Weapons raised, their eyes blazed with the certainty of defenders meeting intruders.
"Stop! You've breached sacred ground!" one barked, voice distorted through his helm.
The Strawhats tightened formation. Sanji moved instinctively in front of Nami and Robin; Zoro's hand fell to his hilts. Even Usopp drew his slingshot with trembling hands, and Chopper shifted into Heavy Point, antlers scraping the ceiling. Everyone of them ready to make a move.
Luffy, however, only tilted his head.
A ripple passed through the air as his eyes flickered with a light not born of torches. The weight of his will slammed outward in an invisible wave. The Knights froze mid-step, their weapons clattering to the ground as their bodies crumpled in unison. Helmets rolled away with hollow clangs.
The Dame dropped last, her eyes wide with terror before unconsciousness claimed her.
For a heartbeat, stunned silence hung heavy save for the alarms. Then Luffy blinked, rubbing his cheek almost sheepishly. "Oops. That just slipped out."
Usopp gaped, arms slack at his sides. "Slipped out? Y-you just obliterated them without touching them!"
Chopper squeaked, eyes enormous. "That was Conqueror's Haki, wasn't it?!"
But the rest of the crew, though wide-eyed, didn't explode with the shock one might expect. They exchanged weary glances instead–tired of being startled, resigned to the new rhythm of their captain's revelations.
"Another day, another impossible thing," Robin said softly, folding her arms.
Sanji exhaled smoke. "'Just reflex,' he says. As if that makes it better."
Zoro cracked the faintest smirk. "He's our captain. Best get used to it."
Nami, however, pinched the bridge of her nose. "We're running out of room for surprises, Luffy. Try to save some for next week." But oh how she would regret jinxing herself soon enough.
Luffy only laughed, the sound bright against the wail of sirens, and gestured them onward.
.
They hurried through twisting corridors until the passage opened into a junction. Two paths yawned ahead: one sloping downward into shadow, the other stretching flat into a maze of pipes. The walls shook faintly with the rumble of machinery, and the crew hesitated, clustering together.
"Which way?" Nami questioned, scanning both routes as if sheer will could map them.
"We shouldn't split," Sanji said firmly, his gaze sharp. "Not in this place."
"Downward might take us closer to the center," Robin observed, fingers brushing a pipe's condensation. "But either way—"
"Someone's behind us," Luffy interrupted.
They turned. The corridor stretched empty behind them, but the hairs on their necks prickled. Robin's hands curled slightly, ready to bloom at the faintest signal.
Luffy's red eyes glowed faintly in the dark, catching something the others couldn't see. Then he turned, a smile curling mischievously on his face behind the mask. Without a word, he grabbed the iron bars of a massive vent embedded in the wall. With casual strength, he wrenched them free in a screech of metal.
"Vent goes down, right?" he grinned, and without hesitation, slid into the dark chute.
For a heartbeat, the others could only stare as his small, sunlit glow dwindled into the depths, a comet streaking into shadow.
"Luffy!" Nami shouted, half in fury, half in panic.
Usopp's voice cracked high. "He just–he just–slid down like it was a playground slide! In a fortress full of enemies!"
But hesitation didn't last. Zoro stepped forward, grabbed the vent edge, and dropped in without so much as a grunt. "If he's going, I'm going."
Sanji scowled but followed with a muttered curse. "Idiot captain's going to break his rubbery neck."
Chopper's eyes gleamed as he peered down, catching a last shimmer of Luffy's glow. "He's glowing," he whispered in awe. "He actually glows in the dark…"
Robin touched his shoulder gently. "And so the sun leads us forward." With that, she slipped gracefully into the chute.
Nami groaned, but the pounding of boots in the corridor behind decided her. "Fine! But if we die from this stunt, I'm haunting Luffy forever!" She swung her staff onto her back and dropped.
Usopp whimpered, gripping the edges. "Why is it always vents, why can't it ever be a door—" Then Chopper pushed him, and both tumbled in shrieking.
The chute swallowed them, echoing with voices, laughter, and complaints, the crew scrambling after the glow of their captain.
The vent narrowed the deeper they crawled, its metallic walls pressing closer until every shuffle of knees and elbows echoed like thunder in the hollow shaft. Sweat clung to their brows; Chopper's antlers scraped against the ceiling, and even Usopp's nose kept bumping the side with every wriggle.
"Whose brilliant idea was this again?" Usopp whined, his voice muffled.
"Yours," Sanji muttered from up ahead, his voice clipped with irritation.
"It was not! It was–"
"Shh!" Robin's calm voice threaded through the grumbles. "We're close to something," she said, looking through her eyes.
That is also when the vent abruptly ended in a barred panel, the steel woven so tightly it looked immovable. But some of them, namely Robin and Luffy, can feel that there was something beyond it.
Luffy tilted his head, closing his eyes briefly. His presence spread outward like a ripple in a still water, brushing against the edges of the room beyond them. Slowly, a grin curled across his face. "Five knights. And they're panicking," Luffy cackled gleefully, leading a shiver to run down the crew's spines at his tone.
Without waiting for a word, Luffy pulled back his leg. And with a crack like cannon fire, he drove his heel into the grate. Metal screamed for mercy, snapping from its hinges, and the panel slammed onto the floor below. The knights whirled in shock, only to catch a blur of Luffy, who vanished from their sight, up ahead, not wanting to deal with weaklings. Because his crew can.
"Wha–?!" Usopp's jaw dropped at the impressive speed demonstrated by his captain.
"Soru," Zoro muttered grimly, as he dropped down from the vent, realizing what their captain wanted from them.
"Let's give them hell," Sanji uttered, falling down from the vent in grace.
.
Steel clashed almost instantly. Zoro, with his swords already bared, caught the strike of a knight who lunged at him after a moment's confusion, with his blade gleaming. Zoro caught the strike, sparks spitting, and pushed back with raw force. His grin was sharp and feral. "You're in my way."
He pivoted, three blades flashing, and drove through with a clean Oni Giri. The knight slammed into the wall, his armor splitting, and consciousness vanishing in a single stroke. "Tch. Weak."
Sanji spun into the fray on the opposite side, with his leg ignited with the heat of Diable Jambe–a move he learned when dealing with Luffy's monstrous training session a few days back, it's inspired by his cooking and the Sun. The flames painted the room in wild shadows as he attacked a knight. "Out of my way, tin-can." His kick crashed against his opponent's chestplate, the sheer force folding the metal as though it were cloth. The knight hit the ground smoking, gasping once before falling still.
Robin, poised between them, pressed her hands together delicately. Dozens of arms blossomed across the floor and walls, twining around the third knight before he could raise his weapon. A colossal hand formed from the petals of countless smaller ones, seizing him like a doll and slamming him into the ground with bone-shattering force. He did not rise again.
The remaining two knights advanced on the others–Usopp, Chopper and Nami.
Nami whipped her forward, lighting crackling from her Clima-Tact as she struck at the first. He staggered but didn't fall, retaliating with a swing that nearly clipped her shoulder. She barely ducked, her breath sharp, but his gauntlet came back faster than she could move.
"Don't touch her!" Usopp's voice cracked harshly as he fired, the bullet smacking into the knight's helm with a ringing clang. The distraction bought Nami enough time to slam her staff into his ribs, sparks crackling across his armor.
Chopper roared in Heavy Point, charging at the same knight with surprising ferocity. His fist collided with the knight's stomach, sending him reeling backward.
The three of them exchanged a breathless glance. No words were needed, just the silent vow to watch each other's backs.
The second knight bore down on Usopp, his blade gleaming. Usopp scrambled back, panic sharp in his chest, until Chopper barreled into the knight's side. "You okay, Usopp?"
"Thanks, Chopper!" Usopp yelped, rolling aside and loading another shot. He fired at the knight's leg, the impact making the armored man stumble.
Nami darted in, staff sweeping low to trip him, and Chopper delivered the final strike with a hammering punch to the helm. The knight crashed onto the floor, unconscious.
For a moment, only the alarms and the crew's ragged breathing filling the air could be heard, because all of them had used their most powerful attacks till now to finish the fight as quickly as possible to follow their captain.
Zoro wiped his blade clean and sheathed it, glancing at the others. "Not bad."
Sanji exhaled smoke, giving a sidelong smirk. "The weaklings are finally pulling their weight.," he teased, impressed by their skills.
"Shut up!" Usopp snapped, though his chest swelled with reluctant pride.
Nami rested on her staff, catching her breath. Her arms trembled faintly, but she smiled despite it. "We handled it… together."
Chopper nodded, eyes shining. "Yeah. We really did it."
The Strawhats gathered themselves quickly, masks askew but spirits steadied. The path forward was open, and though Luffy's laughter still drifted faintly down the distant halls, it sounded far too giddy as if he could see them fighting against the knights all by themselves.
That made them realize that they weren't helpless passengers in the wake of their captain. Not anymore. And so, with renewed fire, they chased their Sun God into the depths of the fortress.
The fortress seemed endless, with the corridors of steel and stone twisting like veins beneath the earth, though the Strawhats pressed on, drawn forward by Luffy's laughter and his glow. Wherever he passed, chaos followed in the form of knights, who were now strewn unconscious against the walls, with doors hanging from bent hinges, and alarms screeching in impotent fury.
They caught up to him at last in a wide corridor, their captain bouncing on the balls of his feet, grinning as if this were a game rather than a break-in. "You guys are slow," he teased, brushing dust from his hat, but his red eyes shone with pride for the crew.
Sanji scowled, "Maybe don't sprint ahead like a lunatic."
Zoro snorted, clearly seeing the pure pride hidden in Luffy's enchanting eyes. "Better than waiting for you to flirt with women again," he jabbed at Sanji.
"Shut it, mosshead!"
Their bickering was drowned by the clang of boots soon enough. More knights were surging from the side passages, only to be met head-on. Zoro carved through them with clean arcs of steel, Sanji's burning kicks hurled bodies into the walls, and Robin's hands blossomed like shadows, snapping weapons and limbs alike.
Behind them, Nami, Usopp and Chopper moved as one–clumsy at first but gaining rhythm fast. Nami struck with her staff, Usopp's shots covering her, and Chopper charged whenever a knight slipped through. Together they were working as one, fending off for themselves but also for the other two. Together they built a strange but sturdy shield, knocking opponents aside until the hall lay quiet again.
Exhilarated, the crew pushed forward until the corridor opened into a cavernous junction. Three tunnels yawned ahead, each plunging into deeper darkness.
Luffy tilted his head, his eyes half-lidded, his Haki still stretching outward like invisible air. "Knight," he murmured, warning his crew. "A whole group of them at the end of each path."
Nami frowned, clutching her Clima-Tact tighter. "So no matter where we go, it's a fight waiting for us."
"And splitting up means we'll be weaker.." Chopper mumbled.
Usopp paled. "Wait! You're saying we have to pick which way to get pummeled?"
"Give yourself some credit Usopp," Luffy uttered softly, but before he could say more, at the sound of footsteps echoed from behind them. Luffy raised an eyebrow at the people who were following them. His Haki had already altered him since the very beginning.
But the other Strawhats tensed, their hands already going to their weapons, ready to fight.. Only for the noise to suddenly crescendo into a cacophonous crash, as if every pursuer had tripped over something. The crew looked at Luffy, wondering if he had something to do, but seeing their captain snort gave them the idea that he wasn't involved in whatever had happened.
The alarms wailed on, the dust drifted from the ceiling and then from the shadows, a chorus of familiar voices rang out.
"YOOOOSSHA! The Franky Family's finally here!"
The crew groaned.
From the tunnel behind, the ragtag mob of dismantlers and shipwreckers tumbled into their view, all wearing.. eccentric clothes with ridiculous hair and sunglasses glinting under the flashing red lights. They scrambled upright in a pile, looking bruised and puffing, each trying to strike a dramatic pose despite their tumble.