— No way. There's no FUCKING way!
Nami was... Screaming, to put it lightly. She burried her face in her palms and let out another scream of pure frustration after her previous stress fest, which left her head hot and throbbing.
— HOW THE HELL DOES THIS MORON HAVE A 1.5 BILLION BERRY BOUNTY?!!
As for Nami's dilemma, it's because Luffy was eh... Stuck.
In the mouth of a bird.
•••
So, after Nami tried to drown herself and screamed underwater to vent out her stress, she tried to relax to get her mind to focus on things.
"If you don't mind me asking, why exactly are we going to Orange Island ?" Robin questioned, leaning back while looking for an answer.
They had swapped boats and gotten onto Robin's boat, which was much bigger than their previous one. It had been a while since they were drifting and Robin finally felt the need to question exactly why they were hunting a famous pirate.
"We're gonna go beat up the... Eh..." Luffy forgot his name again. Nami didn't bother to correct him this time — she has already given up.
"Buggy." Uta said.
"Yeah, Buffoon!"
Robin smiled at him, clearly amused by his behaviour. She certainly did not expect such an infamous and scary man to be so laid-back, cheerful and more importantly, childish. He had the child-like wonder that she had long since lost.
"I know that, captain. But why are we going to attack the Buggy Pirates ?" Robin elaborated on her statement, and Luffy finally understood what she was asking about.
"Oh! Well, Nami wanted me to beat 'em up! So I'm gonna!" His reasoning for attacking them surprised her for a moment, even Nami was surprised by it.
"You're going to attack a pirate crew because your friend asked you to ?"
"Yeah! Nami wants some of their treasure, so we'll go after them!" Luffy explained, giggling as he did.
So far, his smile never dropped, and it was too damn contagious! Robin found herself unable to stop smiling back, even if it might have been a fake smile.
"Yeah, I'm looking for a map of the Grand Line. I heard the marines had it, so I went to Shell Town to get it. But apparently, some guy called Buggy stole it from them." Nami explained, but her explanation only stumped Robin and left her utterly puzzled.
"Why would...?" She looked at Uta and Luffy with a confused expression.
"Well, I have a map of the Grand Line too." Robin stated and pulled out said map, making Nami gawk. "So the attack wouldn't be necessary, right ?"
"Nah, it's more fun this way! Besides, I already promised Nami. I can't take it back now, even if we already have a map!"
"You're really bizarre, you know that ?" Robin giggled softly.
Luffy grinned. "Yeah, I've been called that before!"
He then gestured to Zoro with his thumb. "And I'm sure Zoro is itching for a good fight after three weeks. Right Zoro ?"
"You got that right, captain." Zoro responded with a smirk, his finger impatiently moving over his swords. It's been far too long since he's done anything productive, like cutting down pirates!
"And I still want their treasure." Nami also added another reason.
Although she no longer needed to attack them for the map, she still wanted the money. She was still terrified of being in the same boat as Luffy and Uta, but she figured they could allow her to get money a lot easier.
She momentarily thought of turning one of them in, but she immediately destroyed that thought. She can't win a fight against either of them, Zoro and Robin are on their side too. Not to mention, she'd rather not make an enemy out of an Emperor of the Sea.
She already has Arlong to deal with. She didn't want Shanks and Luffy to come after her, and by proxy, her village.
"Who exactly is Buggy ?" Uta questioned, not really knowing anything about Buggy. She remembered hearing his name come out of Shanks' mouth once or twice, but that's it.
"He's a pretty notorious pirate in the East Blue. Even I've heard of him." Zoro answered. Being a famed bounty hunter, he knew about the top ranked pirates in the East Blue.
Robin nodded her head. "Yes, he's wanted for 15 million berries, a relatively large bounty by East Blue standards."
"But, ignoring that. If you two don't mind me asking, don't you have a map of the Grand Line ?" Robin, who was still puzzled, looked at Luffy and Uta for answers.
"Eh ? No, of course not." Luffy answered.
"But... You're from the Grand Line."
"Yeah, Luffy can't really navigate. I can, but I'm not that great at it. Shanks dropped us off in Luffy's hometown a few days before we officially set sail. Then we ran into a whirlpool which destroyed our dinghy, so Luffy carried me as we flew through the air and crash landed into a ship. Then we met Koby, best Alvida and became stowaways on Nami's both. And the rest is history." Uta explained the entire situation, making Robin stare at them in genuine surprise.
"Huh ? What kind of pirates don't know how to navigate ?" Zoro asked, as if completely baffled by the ridiculousness of that statement.
Robin also nodded her head. After all, Zoro was an expert at navigation to be able to evade her for so long. Naturally, he was baffled by their incompetency in that department.
"Us, apparently. Also we came through the Calm Belt."
This shocked Robin and Nami, who both stared at them like they grew another set of limbs.
"The Calm Belt ? But that place is infested by Sea Kings!"
"What exactly, is the Calm Belt ?" Zoro asked.
Nami was sweating bullets.
"The Calm Belt is the area separating the Four Seas and the Grand Line! It has no wind, no currents, no weather and worst of all, it's a breeding ground for huge and powerful Sea Kings! It's impossible for a ship to get through the Calm Belt!" Nami exclaimed, explaining everything with horrified eyes.
Uta and Luffy shrugged. At first glance, she wasn't wrong.
"Yeah, you're not wrong Nami. But really strong people can easily go through the Calm Belt without worrying, especially if they have Conqueror's Haki." Uta explained, being able to come up with a multitude of examples of people that could easily cross the Calm Belt.
"Conqueror's Haki ?" Zoro asked, not knowing what that is.
Luffy immediately grinned when he heard that question.
"It's called haki. It's a special power that is absolutely required if you want to survive the New World — the second half of the Grand Line. Without it, you'll die for sure there." Uta explained, making them all look at them in surprise.
Robin herself has never heard of haki before. After all, she has never travelled to the New World, nor did she ever plan to. It's too dangerous and risky, she would die there for sure.
"Yeah! It's when you weaponize your soul and spirit to fight, making you a lot stronger! There are three different types. ArmamentHaki, Observation Haki and Conquerer's Haki. Anyone can learn the first two with enough training, but not the third one."
"Conqueror's Haki is something you must be born with. It's really rare, only one in a million people have it, and even less actually manage to awaken it. When used, you're basically using your own willpower to fight. You can overpower others with sheer will alone. If their will is too weak, they'll collapse beneath your haki. If you can master it to an advanced level, it's the strongest form of haki you can have. All the strongest people in the world, have this type of haki!"
"All the strong people, you say ?" Said Robin.
"That's right." Answered Uta, grinning as she spoke. "People that manage to climb their way to the top must have an unshakable will. Among those people, there are many that do have this type of haki. I mean, you can become extremely strong without it too."
"Luffy has it. Shanks did too." He said while pointing her thumb at Luffy.
"Conquerors Haki... Do you think I have it ?" Zoro asked, genuinely curious about it.
"Who knows! We'll find out eventually, after all you have to learn haki. You can't become the world's greatest swordsman without it!"
Hearing that, Zoro grinned and asked about the remaining two types of haki.
"You said the other two can be learned by anyone right ? So, what are they ?"
"Armament Haki is like invisible armour for defence or armament for offense, to make yourself stronger. This allows you to tank attacks that would normally kill you, and make your own attacks stronger. An advanced user can even project it outward to directly damage a person's insides! You can also coat it onto weapons too." Luffy explained.
"With Armament Haki, you'll be able to cut things that are too hard for your sword to cut normally, without worrying about it breaking." Uta continued, making Zoro grin excitedly.
"Oh yeah, can't wait to learn that."
"Yeah! Also Armament Haki is a must have! If you have it, you'll be able to touch logia users!" This made Robin stare at him in shock. She didn't know that!
For the longest time, Robin assumed that logia devil fruit users were the pinnacle of strength. Untouchable monsters that can only be beaten by the sea itself.
"Logia ?" Nami asked.
"Oh, that's about the devil fruit types. There are three types of devil fruits. Logia, Paramecia and Zoan types. Paramecia is the most common type and grants you some kind of power. Zoan type devil fruits give you a transformation, mostly modelled after some kind of animal or entity. Logia type devil fruits are considered the strongest because they embody an element. People that eat logia devil fruits are able to turn their body into said element, produce and even empower themselves with it. It also grants them natural intangibility, making them untouchable without Armament Haki." Uta gave a very quick and brief summary of all the devil fruit types.
"So long story short, you can beat a logia user without Armament Haki. You'll die." She stated nonchalantly, shrugging as she did.
"So, you used it to stop those bullets ?" Zoro asked, remembering how Uta blocked the bullets from hitting him.
"Oh, no. That was Tekkai. It's a Rokushiki technique that Luffy taught me. It's used by the marines in the Grand Line to combat pirates. Since Luffy was trained by Garp, he learnt how to use them and then taught me. I used Armament Haki to bash Morgan's face in."
"And then there's Observation Haki!" Luffy suddenly said, reminding everyone that they were going off track and almost missing a very essential skill.
"Like the name suggests, it lets you increase your senses. A trained user can sense movements before they're even made, notice a person's emotional state and see things from very far away. I actually used it to pinpoint your location when in Shell Town! If you manage to truly master it, you'll even be able to see a few seconds into the future! How cool is that!!?"
Zoro was shaking with excitement, to say the least. So many new things to learn. He definitely made the right choice to join these guys on their adventure. He already felt one step closer to his goal.
Robin also seemed quite pleased after learning this. To protect herself in the future, this would certainly come in handy.
Even Nami, who was still a little scared, was intrigued by this. She wondered, if she learnt these things, could she beat Arlong herself ?
— Actually, wouldn't Luffy be strong enough to do it himself ? Wouldn't Arlong shit his pants in fear when he sees Luffy's bounty ?
"Don't worry guys, I'll teach all of you. After all, you'll need to know haki to be strong in the Grand Line!" Luffy grinned confidently, his promise was solid. He'll make sure all his crewmates are strong enough to defend themselves!
"Too bad we can't do it now. The boat isn't big enough. We have to either train on land, or get a bigger boat." Luffy said, not really happy about it.
"I mean, we could just splash water on their faces, can't we ? We can train them in observation haki."
"True... BUT I'M HUNGRYYYY!!!" Luffy whined, suddenly losing all that drive and collapse on the boat.
"Oh my god, Luffy..." Uta held her own face, but her eyes showed nothing but endearment.
"What?! How are you hungry?! You just ate a huge feast a while back!!" Nami cried, completely baffled by Luffy's hunger. She knew he had an appetite, but this is beyond what she was expecting!
"Hey, Zoro. How did you become a known bounty hunter ?" Uta asked, looking at Zoro and asking for his story.
"Huh ? I didn't actually plan on being a bounty hunter. I followed a pirate I was after, out to sea. I wasn't able to find my way back to my village, so I made the best out of things. I started hunting pirates near me. I had to earn money somehow." Zoro explain, looking up at the sky while talking.
Robin was befuddled.
— Wait, what ?
""So you got lost ?"" Luffy and Uta said simultaneously.
"YOU DONT HAVE TO PUT IT LIKE THAT!!!" Zoro yelled at them, embarrassed about the fact that he did in fact, get lost.
"But what about those times were I was tracking you down ? You kept disappearing whenever I caught up to you." Robin suddenly questioned, her brain was throbbing. She was trying to make sense of this.
— I thought this man was a really good navigator, or a very unpredictable person! But this...
"Oh, I have no idea how I got there. I just got on a boat and drifted until I found something. Sometimes I was chasing after a guy for so long I ended up in a different city. When I asked the locals about it, the islands name that changed!" Zoro explained, putting his fingers on his chin and thinking about that past incident. "Honestly, why would they change the name of their island so suddenly ?"
"ARE YOU STUPID?!!" Nami snapped at him, making Zoro stare at her in anger.
"Huh?! Who are you calling an idiot, you witch!"
"You little—!!"
Robin felt her entire world crumble. She was staring at Zoro in shock. All the efforts, all her frustration, all the shit that she went through to finally track him down and talk to him...
And this whole time he was just LOST?!!!
For once, Robin felt genuinely irritated.
"How long until we reach Orange Town ?" Luffy asked.
"It's gonna take two or three days. Be patient." Nami responded harshly.
"That's neat! Then we'll start training your observation haki right away!"
"Wait, what ? How are you gonna do that ?" Nami questioned, and Luffy smiled.
Before she could react, water was splashed on her face and her clothes got wet. Her eyes went red and she yelled at Luffy with shark teeth.
"YOU LITTLE RAT!! Why'd you do that!!??!"
"I'll be throwing some water at you guys, so try and dodge it. As for Robin, eh... I guess Uta can lightly bonk her on the head."
This made Robin raise a question. "And why am I getting hit while they get splashed?"
"You are a devil fruit, right ? If I splash you with seawater, you'll just get weakened!" Robin couldn't argue with that logic.
"Isn't there any other way to do this ?" Nami asked, not wanting to repeatedly get splashed.
"Our boat is too small, so it's either this or Uta wacks you guys in the head. Otherwise, we can only train after we make landfall."
"How about, I learn this stuff... Later ? Do I have to learn it now ?" Nami whined, not really wanting to go through with this, but Luffy laughed.
"Oh come on, Nami! Rayleigh used to blindfold me and smash my head in with a haki-coated iron bat! And gramps used to throw haki-coated cannonballs at me!" Nami looked horrified to learn that.
"Besides! We have nothing else to do anyways! You and Robin can take turns, if you want. But we'll train all day, until we get to Orange Town!" Luffy pumped his fist.
•••
That was two whole days ago.
Nami had shown exceptional promise in Observation Haki; she was actually quite gifted for it. Zoro was also able to grasp the concepts fairly quickly, and Robin took a while but she could do it too.
They were all still a far cry from actually learning the basics of haki, but Luffy was proud of them all. Haki was a complex power and it takes a long time to learn just the basics. Luffy has almost ten years of experience with his haki, while these guys were novices.
Whenever they felt down about not being able to properly grasp anything, Luffy reassured them by telling his own story. He told them to not be overwhelmed by his or Uta's haki, since they've been using haki for a while and had really good teachers.
Luffy was confident that they would get there eventually. It's impossible to master the basics of haki that quickly. Even a prodigy like Luffy took a long time to actually learn it.
And then, Luffy found himself stuck in the mouth of a bird, which is why Nami was screaming her frustrations out.
Luffy got really hungry, so when he saw a very big bird flying above him, he grinned and tried to grab it.
"Gum Gum... ROCKET!" He screamed, launching himself into the air to grab the bird that would be his meal. Unfortunately, as soon as he grabbed the bird, he was bitten.
If Uta had future sight, she might have stopped him, but she didn't. And Luffy ended up getting his head stuck in the bird's beak and was now being carried away by the bird, making the others panic.
"Oh, I got stuck!" He casually stated, making Zoro and Uta yell at him from below.
"YOU IDIOT!! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!!"
"DAMMIT, LUFFY!!!"
Zoro and Uta had already grabbed the oars and started paddling as fast as they could, making their little boat skip through the oceans. Luffy was laughing while being carried away, the others were cursing him.
"This is a pretty good haul!"
"Not bad for such a small boat."
"Maybe Captain Buggy will reward us for this!"
A group of pirates, three of them, were observing the treasure chest they had just looted. They all grinned happily when they realised they may get rewarded for this.
"Hey, what's that over there ?"
They noticed a boat speeding towards them, courtesy of Uta and Zoro.
"OUT OF THE WAY, IDIOTS!!"
They got bashed and were flung off their boat. The treasure chest was also launched into the sky, and Nami immediately noticed it.
Her eyes were wide but filled with a mixture of joy and despair. She didn't want that treasure to fall into the sea! So, she tried to grab it and fell off the side of the boat.
Luckily for Nami, a bunch of hands sprouted out of the boat and grabbed Nami, preventing her from falling.
Additionally, more sprouted in Nami and extended until they grabbed the treasure chest. They brought it back to the boat and Robin grabbed it.
With a smile on her face, she offered it to Nami. "Is this what you wanted, navigator ?"
"Thank you so much, big sister~!!!" Nami exclaimed and lovingly hugged Robin, who chuckled and patted her shoulder.
Meanwhile, Luffy was laughing as he got carried away by the bird and eventually, reached land. During this flight, the bird got shot by a powerful cannon, an explosion killing the bird and making it drop Luffy, who laughed as he fell.
"Aw, man! That was fun! I wanna go again!" He said.
•••
"Luffy!" Uta cried and brought Luffy in for a huge, happy that he was okay.
Not that she was doubting him. No. The reason she was worried, was because she thought the bird might drop him into the sea and leave him to drown.
"What were you up to ?" Zoro questioned, before staring at the dog that stood in front of a store.
"I was talking to Chouchou!" He exclaimed, introducing the dog to everyone.
"Apparently, this store is his treasure and he's guarding it fiercely!" Luffy exclaimed happily while also patting the dog in the head.
The mayor, Boodle, was surprised at how easily Chouchou got friendly with Luffy.
"Arf!"
"Yeah, I understand. Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to your treasure!"
"Is he talking... To the dog ?" Nami asked in an unsure tone.
"Seems like he can understand Chouchou." Robin hypothesised.
"You're right, Robin. It's an aspect of Luffy's observation haki. It's called the Voice of AllThings and it's extremely rare. Luffy's the only person I've seen that has it!" Uta exclaimed proudly while looking at Luffy.
"The only other person that I know had it was the Pirate King, Gold Roger. Shanks told me about that."
"The more time I spend with you, the more special this boy becomes." Robin stated, making Uta giggle and blush with pride.
"Yeah, that's true!"
"Yes, that's right." Said Boodle. "I've tried to tell him to leave, I even offered him a stay at my home, but he won't listen. Ever since his master passed from an illness three months ago, he's never left this place. His master was a friend of mine."
"He regards this pet food store as his treasure." Boodle states.
"Yeah, I understand him. This hat is my treasure too!" Luffy stated, which made Nami confused.
"What ? Why ? Is there some kind of treasure map inside it ?"
"What? No! I don't have anything underneath my hat!" Luffy quickly defended himself, but Nami just couldn't understand. Why would he view a straw hat as his treasure. Robin was curious too.
"It became my greatest treasure ten years ago, when Shanks entrusted it to me. That was the day I decided to become a pirate and get a free of mine own. That was the day I wanted to be the King of the Pirates!" This surprised them, once more. That hat belonged to Shanks?!
'How many more surprises...? My heart can't take anymore...' Nami whined.
"Shanks told me he cherished this hat a lot. And he gave his treasure to me just like that. Now it's my treasure, and I will not forgive anyone that touches it!" As he spoke, Luffy unconsciously let out some haki.
Nami and Robin involuntarily gulped, feeling goosebumps all over them. They also made a mental note to never touch Luffy's hat.
Nami wanted to stop thinking about this, so she turned to Boodle.
"So, he's waiting for his master to return ?" Asked Nami, feeling bad for the dog that had to wait for someone that wasn't coming back.
"I don't think so. Chouchou is a smart dog, I know he's already realised that his master died. Yet, he keeps guarding it in memory of his master."
"Yeah, that's right. It's the only thing he has left, after all." Said Luffy smiling as he parted Chouchou softly.
"I understand him well. When we loose someone dear to us, all we have left of them are our memories. And we want to hold onto those memories for as long as possible, to keep them alive in our heart." Luffy suddenly said in a very sentimental tone. He knew what this dog was feeling. His mind drifted to his brother, Sabo, who was killed by a Celestial Dragon.
"Luffy..." Uta looked at him sadly, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Luffy looked at Uta and smiled, before putting his own hand on hers to reassure her that he was fine.
He didn't realise how much his words had an effect on his new crew members.
Nami's breath hitched, the memories of her late mother resurfacing once more. She felt the quivering of her body.
Zoro remembered Kuina, the girl he made a promise to. His promise to be the world's greatest swordsman.
And Robin, she remembered her mother, and Saul. Robin closed her eyes and looked away for a moment, knowing all too well what Luffy was talking about.
"I know very well how that feels. I lost someone important to me many years ago." Luffy said as he squatted down and started playing with Chouchou. He was still smiling, but it wasn't a cheerful one, but rather a more tranquil smile. As if he had long since accepted what had happened.
"I swore to myself to become strong, so I never experience that again." He said, making his new crew members stare at his shadowed face with complicated expression.
"But now, I can confidently say that I'm strong enough to defend my friends and family from anyone!" His expression turned cheerful again, looking back at them. "So, if you ever need my help, just ask and I'll help! If you want me to beat someone up for you, just say the word and I'll do it!"
"Shishishishishi!!" Luffy started to giggle, making Robin freeze up.
His laugh was... so familiar. So nostalgic. It made Robin almost tremble, but she kept herself together. She stared at Luffy, her eyes showed a multitude of emotions.
Even Nami was taken back by his words. Despite him being a pirate, she could relate to the feeling of loosing someone you loved. And when he promised to protect them, it made Nami's body tremble, some weird feeling bubbling within her.
Would he really...? He's a pirate, though. One does not receive a bounty that high for no reason. He MUST have done something horrible! All pirates are the same. They just take what's not theirs and destroy the hopes of the weak.
"Richie! Come on, I know a pet food store for you to eat from!" The group turned around and noticed a massive lion walking towards them, with a man on top of it.
"What a weird looking fur suit. Why's he wearing that ?" Luffy questioned, while Boodle panicked.
"T-that's the Beast Tamer, Mohji! He's one of Buggy's best!"
"Go ahead, Richie! Eat to your hearts content!" Mohji laughed as Richie advanced towards the story, making Uta scowl.
Luffy stared at the approaching lion with a blank face.
Chouchou growled at the lion, who did not stop at all. He approached the lion, barking and growling at him in an effort to defend his treasure.
"Chouchou, no!" Boodle exclaimed.
"Eh ? Who's the mangy mutt ? Is it trying to guard the story ?" Mohji commented, not really caring about it in the slightest.
Chouchou barked and lunged at Richie, biting the lion's foot. This action made Richie swat him across the road, but Chouchou just got back up and tried to attack again.
Luffy was not pleased.
"What's with the hat ?" Zoro asked loudly, making Mohji glare at him.
"How rude! This is natural!" He said, pointing at the white hair that looked like animal ears.
"What a weird look." Robin said.
"Oi, furry guy!" Luffy called out to Mohji, who stared at him in confusion.
"What is it ?"
"That store is Chouchou's treasure. Are you actually going to destroy it ?" He asked in a passive, almost casual tone, but his face was fully blank.
"So what if I am?! Richie is hungry!"
Luffy glared at him.
"If you don't want to die, move out of the way."
Richie swatted Chouchou again, growling at Luffy, who refused to budge.
"I refuse. This store is that dog's treasure. I will not let you destroy it!" Luffy declared, making the lion roar at him and lunge forward to try and eat him.
Richie was stopped by Zoro, who blocked his claws and teeth were a sheathe. "Leave this to me, captain."
Luffy stood there with his arms folded.
Before he could even react, Zoro quickly unsheathed his swords and slashed Richie, making him roar in pain and fall to the ground.
"Richie! NO!" Mohji cried, before glaring at Zoro.
He noticed the three swords and the haramaki. "You... Are you, Pirate Hunter Zoro?!"
"I quit pirate hunting. I'm a pirate now." Zoro nonchalantly answer, before continuing with, "My captain has some words to speak with him."
Luffy grabbed Mohji by the collar and held him up in the air.
"People like you, who trample on the dreams and memories of others. I hate people like you." Although Luffy said that, his tone held no actual hate. Instead, it was neutral, calm and emotionless.
"You don't know the first thing about being a pirate! A pirate is someone who's free to do whatever they want, go on adventures and have fun! Not someone who has fun tormenting others." As he said this, Luffy slammed his fist into Mohji's gut, making his eyes go completely white. He let out a silent scream of pain as his consciousness faded. She spat out blood and his body went limp.
Luffy dragged his limp body to Richie and stuffed him inside Richie's mouth.
"I'll sent you back where you came from!"
He grabbed Richie by the tail, his arm stretching and curving, before he threw the lion into the air so hard it became a small dot in the sky. Mohji and Richie then went and crashed into a group of partying pirates far from where they were standing.