Chapter 30
The execution platform loomed ahead, its weathered frame silhouetted against a crimson sky. And there, right at its base, was their captain—grinning like a lunatic and throwing punches like it was a festival.
The Straw Hats emerged from the east side of the square, cutting through alleyways and side streets to avoid the densest crowds. They arrived just as the fight hit its peak.
Luffy ducked under a sword swing, laughing as his rubber fist sent the attacker flying.
"Gum-Gum Pistol!"
A pirate crashed into a fruit cart. Oranges rolled like cannonballs.
Buggy the Clown's red nose gleamed as he barked orders from a safe distance, his body parts floating like balloons. Iron Mace Alvida swung lazily, her massive weapon smashing cobblestones with every step.
"This is exactly what I expected," Silas muttered, red hair whipping in the wind.
"Our captain finds the most historically significant spot in town and starts a street brawl."
Zoro cracked his neck, hand drifting to his new swords.
"At least he's having fun."
---
The square was chaos incarnate.
Vendors fled. Pirates crashed through stalls.
Spectators screamed, cheered, or just stared.
"Buggy and Alvida," Sanji said, scanning the battlefield.
"Thirty crew members. Not exactly fair odds."
"For them," Zoro added with a smirk.
"STRAW HAT!" Buggy's voice boomed.
"You're surrounded! My magnificent crew and Alvida's warriors have you completely outnumbered! There's no escape!"
His detached hands gestured wildly. His head bobbed like a demented parade float.
Alvida smashed her club into the ground.
"Fifty against one, rubber boy. Even you can't stretch your way out of this math."
Luffy pole-vaulted over three attackers.
"Gum-Gum Bazooka!"
A double-fisted blast sent a whole group flying.
But more kept coming.
A closing circle of steel and malice.
Dozens of pirates. Weapons gleaming. Greed in their eyes.
The crowd held its breath.
Buggy reassembled, floating above the chaos.
"ANY LAST WORDS, STRAW HAT?!"
---
Luffy paused.
Blood trickled from his cheek.
His grin never wavered.
He looked at the enemies.
At the platform where Gold Roger had died.
At the crowd watching his every move.
Then he straightened, tilted his hat back, and shouted:
"I'M THE MAN WHO'S GONNA BECOME THE PIRATE KING!"
The words hit like a cannon blast.
The same words Roger had spoken here twenty years ago.
The spark that lit the Great Pirate Era.
Buggy's jaw dropped.
"WHAT?! You dare speak those words here?! In this place of—"
CRACK!
Lightning split the sky.
A bolt of pure white energy lanced down from the storm clouds, striking both Luffy and Buggy.
For one impossible moment, the square was bathed in blinding light.
Thunder shook buildings. Windows rattled three blocks away.
When the light faded—
Luffy stood unharmed.
Rubber body crackling faintly.
He brushed dust off his vest.
"Huh," he said.
"That tickled."
Buggy lay twitching, body parts scattered like broken toys.
Smoke curled from his famous nose.
Silence.
Then someone whispered:
"The sky… it's protecting him…"
---
"LUFFY!"
Sanji's voice cut through the stunned crowd.
Luffy's head snapped toward the sound. His eyes lit up.
"ZORO! SANJI! SILAS!" he shouted, waving like he was at a picnic.
"You guys made it!"
"Of course we did!" Zoro shouted back.
"Now stop playing and let's go!"
The Marines arrived like a tidal wave.
"THERE HE IS!"
A sergeant's voice boomed.
"STRAW HAT LUFFY! SURRENDER NOW!"
White uniforms flooded the square.
Weapons drawn. Orders flying.
"ATTACK THE PIRATES!"
"PROTECT THE CIVILIANS!"
"CAPTURE STRAW HAT ALIVE!"
Steel clashed.
Three factions collided.
Pirates vs. Marines vs. Straw Hat chaos.
"Gum-Gum Gatling!"
Luffy's fists blurred, punching through Buggy's men.
---
"CLEAR THE PATH!" Silas shouted, flintlock in hand.
"LET'S RUN FOR IT! ABSOLUTE PRIORITY!"
The Straw Hats bolted.
Weaving through chaos.
No unnecessary fighting—just escape.
But of course, some idiots got in the way.
BANG!
A Marine sergeant stumbled, clutching his thigh.
Silas's bullet—precise, non-lethal, effective.
BANG!
Another Marine dropped.
Same result.
Zoro's swords cracked skulls with the flat.
Sanji's kicks sent fools flying.
No killing. Just clearing the way.
"COME ON!" Silas grabbed Luffy's arm.
"WE'RE LEAVING!"
---
Rain hit like a wall.
SPLASH!
Everyone soaked instantly.
Cobblestones turned to ice.
The battle became a slapstick mess of slipping and sliding.
"SHIT! IT'S RAINING!" Sanji cursed.
"WHY IS EVERYONE ALWAYS CHASING US?!"
Zoro somehow looked dignified while sprinting.
"Maybe because our captain just declared war on the World Government?"
"IT'S NOT A DECLARATION OF WAR!" Luffy protested, swinging from streetlamps.
"IT'S JUST MY DREAM!"
"THAT'S THE SAME THING!" the three shouted in unison.
Silas wiped rain from his eyes, red hair streaming water.
His flintlock stayed ready.
BANG! BANG!
Two more Marines dropped.
Clean shots. Non-lethal.
"Stay down!" he called.
"You'll live if you don't chase us!"
---
Behind them, the battle raged.
Crashes. Gunshots. Explosions.
The storm howled. The streets ran with water and chaos.
And the Straw Hats ran—toward the edge of town, toward their escape, toward whatever came next.
Just another perfectly normal day.