The East Blue might have been known as the calmest sea in the world. It was rare for a matter to travel from there all the way to Marineford, but it still happened. Such as the case today when a gathering of sailors from lieutenant rank and up were gathered around a white-clothed meeting table for "urgent news."
At the head of the meeting was a tall man a black tropical shirt decorated with blue palm trees, sunglasses on his face and the typical white coat suspended over his shoulders. This was Lieutenant Commander Brannew, looking even more dour than usual.
"We have received multiple disturbing pieces of intel. In the span of six weeks, several of the East Blue's biggest pirates have been taken down."
He gestured to the corkboard behind him, several bounty posters lined up. "Buggy 'the Clown,' wanted for 15 million. 'Pirate Admiral' Don Krieg, wanted for 17 million. And, most recently, Arlong 'the Saw,' wanted for 20 million. Perhaps they are small priorities to us, but these marauders have claimed thousands of lives between them."
"So, some up and comers took them down? What's the hold up?" one of the younger attendees asked.
"Quite true, except there's one common trend here. All of these pirates? Defeated by one person."
Now that got everyone's attention. "Was it some bounty hunter?"
"Negative. We called into every bounty office in the sea, and all of them reported a negative on paying these three out. And, according to later eyewitness reports, the culprit was sailing under a new jolly roger."
The table started buzzing. Even several of the captains looked at each other. A brand-new pirate beat that many of the local heavy hitters so quickly? Just who could this renegade be? Brannew then produced the picture printed that day, and many of the Marines did a double take.
The sheet of paper showed a black-haired young man no older than twenty, a simple straw hat on his head. They could see he was decently muscular from the bit of his chest caught on camera, but the real surprise was his expression. A massive, beaming smile, winking as he gave a thumbs-up to anyone watching him.
"This is Monkey D. Luffy, and he may just be the most notorious criminal to come out of that sea since… him."
"What a minute, what?!" a female captain yelled, "Don't tell me you mean Gold Roger?! What could some snot-nosed punk like him be capable of?!"
"Even beyond this? Well…" Brannew then reached behind the notice board to pull out a fourth, much older poster. "Anyone remember Kuro 'of a Thousand Plans?'"
"The one who got executed a few years back? What about him?"
"Well, he's currently sitting in transit back to Marineford… Having turned himself in and delivered a full confession."
"WHAAAAAAAAT?!" Now the whole room was chaos. Kuro was alive?! How was that even possible?!
As it turned out, quite easily. The Belzan Black drifted into the nearest Marine base from Syrup Village and Kuro all but locked himself up, terrified out of his mind. He spilled every last detail about how he faked his own death, posed as a butler at a wealthy estate, and created an elaborate plot to craft a new identity only to have his entire operation and crew demolished by this Luffy person…
"By the gods… What the hell is this kid?"
"Well for one, he's exceptionally powerful. Physically, he could give almost any captain in the region a run for their money. He's also incredibly proficient in Haki, able to use all three forms. Impressive considering it's nonexistent in that sea, meaning he must have had someone tutoring him. We can also confirm he has the power of the Gum-Gum Fruit, granting his body a rubbery elasticity which he uses for all sorts of destructive attacks that further amplify his raw power."
"A Devil Fruit, hm? Those are quite rare in that region. Many civvies there assume they don't even exist…"
"Which makes the next bit of news even more disturbing. This Luffy has a crew of eight so far… And all of them have a Devil Fruit power."
Another uproar followed at that. Just… HOW?! How did this kid manage that?! Brannew didn't have an answer for that, just admitting that the intel they gathered confirmed that each of these ladies possessed some sort of unique power. And aside from Kuina the Pirate Huntress, all of the faces being passed around were strangers in the world of piracy.
"Wait a minute, this has to be a mistake! This is Queen Sally of Goa! What, did this scoundrel kidnap her?!"
"Worse," Brannew grunted, "He managed to convince her to join him. King Stelly wants this guy's head on a platter. Although, his requests for a personal meeting with Sengoku were denied and had to be told… several dozen times that the Admirals have higher-priority targets."
"This is… Insanity!" One of the older gents cried, "A total newcomer, completely trouncing every big name in the region, with powers he shouldn't possibly have, and a crew that includes a fucking royal?! What's next, he gets handed a mountain of gold?!"
"Um, does anyone else notice a peculiar trend?" someone else pointed out, "How many pirates crews have exactly one man on them compared to several young, attractive women? Is he…?"
"No, we haven't found any proof of prostitution or sex trafficking though God knows what this madman will pull next. He's even responsible for uncovering the two major Marine scandals that cropped up in the East Blue."
"What are the updates on those, sir?"
"Morgan has just had his trial, found guilty of rampant abuse of power, illegal taxation of civilians, multiple cases of unlawful imprisonment, murder and blatant nepotism in allowing his son to act like a tinpot tyrant in Shells Town for months on end. He is currently being escorted back to HQ to begin a life sentence without parole or bail. Helmeppo, since his crimes are mostly limited to extorting the locals for free commodities and disturbing the peace, is performing his indefinite community service as a chore boy at the East Blue's biggest base."
"And… the other one?"
"Nezumi was found guilty of even greater crimes. Accepting bribes, willing collusion with known pirates, forging inspection approvals, misappropriating government funds, extreme negligence, rampant abuse of power and even attempted murder of civilians to cover his tracks. He's a bona fide accomplice to Arlong the Saw, meaning he's partially responsible for hundreds of cases of murder, destruction of property, and running an extortion racket for close to a decade. That lowlife fishman sunk dozens of our vessels with no survivors. The colonel will thus be executed via drowning next week."
As much as nobody wanted to commend a pirate's actions, everyone but the most staunch followers of Absolute Justice hoped that rat bastard rotted in Hell. They had to tip their hats to this Luffy for at least doing something good.
"But now, back to the matter at hand. We need to quash this Luffy at all costs. He is a genuine menace to society. Intel suggests some black market connections given how he acquired so many Devil Fruits in so little time, plus he must have an impressive mentor to teach him Haki. I recommend not only giving Luffy a tremendous bounty, but every individual member of his crew. We cannot let this degenerate cause more mayhem! Who knows what other chaos he'd unleash?!"
The Marines present all nodded in agreement. The oldest among them could remember first hearing about Roger's explosive debut in the weakest sea. A few had even shrugged him off. Like some random man from Loguetown could possibly be such a threat! They were still paying off the bets they lost to this day. They would not be making the same mistake twice.
Luffy playfully opened his mouth, going "Aaaaah!" before chomping down on the bite of meat served to him. Carina just rolled her eyes as she forked another piece for him. "Behold, the big, bad pirate who defeated Arlong, everyone!"
"Oh, come on, let him have some fun!" Makino shushed her, refilling several flagons from nearby keg of ale, "He deserves a reward! And I heard how much fun you all were having last night, don't act like you're not getting anything out of this!"
The bluenette just pouted before continuing to feed her captain. They were both seated on a padded couch that had been brought out exclusively for the Straw Hats, a seat of honor for the heroes of Cocoyashi Village. All around them were hundreds of the islanders drinking, dancing, and rejoicing at having their first taste of freedom in far too long.
Elsewhere, Reiju was hard at work at an open kitchen preparing plate after plate of delectable food for the partygoers. Some insisted that she should get to have fun and enjoy herself but the pinkette chuckled and replied that seeing so many people overjoyed with her cooking was reward enough. She also kept a firm eye on Luffy, refilling his plate the instant it was empty.
Makino took up a similar role, managing her own little bar with the kegs and bottles provided by the villagers who were grateful at being able to celebrate instead of drowning their sorrows. Like with Reiju, the people implied that they could serve themselves with no issue. The greenette just chuckled, having clearly missed her little joint back in Foosha more than she thought and this was a great opportunity to remember her roots.
The rest of the crew had scattered throughout the town-wide festival and were busy enjoying themselves. Kuina was having some stiff competition trying to drink people under the tables and Carina was now amusing herself seeing her captain act like a spoiled child. On his other side was Moodie, sipping her wine and just drinking in the atmosphere. And Kaya and Sally both relished their new freedom after years cooped up, dancing until they dropped.
The only major absence was Nami, having spent the last two days going around each of the villages and splitting up her treasure trove. It may not have been the 100 million beris she promised Arlong, but she knew all of it would go to a good cause. The Conomi Islands were finally a free land once again. All of the money would go to rebuilding homes, launching new businesses so the economy wouldn't be entirely agrarian and establishing proper trading relations with other islands. The long-term goal was by making the islands less isolated, it'd be far harder for any pirate to repeat Arlong's stranglehold.
But now the others were all surprised to see her walk back through Cocoyashi. The other girls all noticed not only how much calmer she seemed, but her left shoulder was wrapped in gauze. The villagers all cheered and invited her to take a load off, but she had one place left to go. She stopped in front of Luffy.
"Hello, Captain."
"Hey, Nami! What's up with your arm?"
"I wanted you to be the first to see this…" She pulled on the end of the roll and unveiled her new tattoo. While still dark blue, the mark of the Arlong Pirates was gone. Now it was a stylized pinwheel with tangerines hanging off each of the fans.
"Nice! It looks way better on you," he complimented. Nami blushed, sitting in his lap and giving a deep, passionate kiss.
"I can't possibly thank you enough for everything, Luffy. I was convinced I would serve that monster for the rest of my life."
"Don't sweat it, Nami. I'd do anything for a member of my crew!"
Nami snuggled into his chest. "How did I ever get so lucky?"
"I could say the same thing," Moodie agreed, leaning into Luffy's right side, "I'd still be mooching off douchebags without him. I much prefer having a nice captain than a meal ticket."
"Amen, sister!" Carina laughed, shuffling up to Luffy's left, "Now I can haul in the big bucks and feel good about it, knowing it's all going to my captain's coffers!"
"Aw, I love you girls!"
"We love you too, Captain!" All three kissed his face, making him giggle up a storm before Nami whispered in his ear.
"Come to my house tonight. I've got something special planned…"
Nami then got up and left to enjoy the good times herself, leaving Luffy in anticipation. The party had been going in Cocoyashi for its third day straight but there would be plenty of time to rest easy without Arlong Park. Even as the sun began to set, nobody was slowing down. Luffy walked past the reveling locals and his own crewmates, the latter of which all seemed to know what he was up to.
The noises of laughing and jolly music faded more and more as Luffy headed up the dirt path to the tangerine grove. He noticed the lights were on inside as dusk had just passed. He knocked and was immediately invited inside.
"Hello? Nami?"
"Come in, Luffy! Please have a seat!"
He did just that, parking himself on the only couch in the small living room while Nami moved to get a "surprise" for him. He didn't have to wait long as Nojiko stepped into the living room clad only in a bathrobe.
"Hello there, Luffy. Enjoying your stay on our islands?"
"Yeah, now that Arlong is gone! What's up?"
"Oh, I just heard my little sister talking all about you… The big, strong, handsome pirate who's treated her so well…"
Nojiko opened the bathrobe to reveal herself clad only in a lacy blue bra that matched her hair, with a tight pair of panties being the only thing that covered her nethers.
"…And, well, I'm just dying to see it for myself. Can you really treat one woman so well when you have so many?"
Luffy placed his hat on the couch next to him before standing up, looking down at Nojiko's sultry gaze. "Yeah, I can."
"Prove it."
(Cue Sex Scene)
Nojiko hungrily dived into Luffy's mouth, moaning on contact and only getting louder as the swarthy pirate lapped his tongue around her maw. The bluenette had years of pent-up stress and anger to burn off, her grip tightening around his chiseled waist and forced their bodies closer.
When they finally came up for air, Nojiko turned around and gestured to the latches holding her top up. Luffy undid them in a second before grabbing ahold of the blue-haired beauty's bosom.
"Oooh! Such big hands! Mmmmph, God I haven't done this myself in ages…!"
Luffy didn't respond, his mind too occupied by kneading the soft, bouncy funbags in his grip and admiring the feel of her supple thighs as his erection threatened to tear his shorts apart. Fortunately, he could sense someone walking up behind him to help.
"Enjoying yourself, Captain?" Nami teased, unbuttoning his shirt.
"Heh, yeah. How long have you been planning this?"
"Since the first night. My poor sister has been in this house all by herself for sooooo long, having to settle with just fingering herself."
"Namiiiiii!" her sister pouted through the pleasure, "Don't tell him thaaaaat! And like I was the only one…"
"Hey, don't fight," Luffy said, "I'll handle whatever's been bothering you… Including this!" He then reached down and yanked Nojiko's panties down in one fell swoop, revealing her gushing wet pussy. He then effortlessly lifted the busty farmer upside down by her knees, her feet dangling uselessly over his shoulders before giving her snatch a long, deep lick.
"AAAAAAAH!"
"Mmmm, that's a good boy…" Nami teased, "Go ahead and help my big sis release all her stress. Just be sure to save some of that cock for me!"
Luffy was all too happy to comply, eating out Nojiko as his erection grew by the minute. The bluenette arched her back in shock, waves of pleasure rushing up her spine and unleashing pleasure she had long since forgotten.
"Ooooh… GOOOOD! L-Luffy! Mmmm, deeper…"
"Even deeper? Okay!" Luffy carried Nojiko over to the couch, sat her down in his lap and let her rub her sopping wet slit over his rock-hard boner. Nojiko squealed to high heaven, quickly clamping her mouth around Luffy's so she didn't disturb the entire village.
"Hrrrgh, fuck yeah! You feel awesome, Nojiko!"
Nami looked on with total lust in her lidded eyes, shamelessly stripping her panties off and masturbating to her own sister getting boned. "Heh… Heh… That's it, Luffy. Just be sure to save enough cum in those big balls of yours for my pussy too!"
She knew her worries were unfounded, and now could fully embrace her new lifestyle. With Arlong and his threat looming over her home gone at last, she could completely cut loose and make love to her beloved captain alongside the rest of the crew to her heart's content. For tonight, her only concern was watching with delight as Nojiko was added to Luffy's collection…
"AAAAAH, HE'S CUMMING INSIIIIIIIDE! CUMMING SOOOOOOOO MUUUUUUUUUCH!" Nojiko broke completely as a flood white hot cum rushed into her pussy, leaving her a drooling mess as Luffy gently set her down on the couch. He turned around to see Nami fingering herself raw before getting on her hands and knees to crawl up to him.
"Let me clean you off first, Captain…" Nami gleefully started swallowing her captain's shaft, making him groan in relief as his raging rod was trapped in the warm, tight embrace of her throat. As inch after inch slowly disappeared, the voluptuous redhead dutifully licked and sucked every last drop of cum of pussy juice and shivered at the flavor.
"Nami… Damn…"
Only when she reached the base did she look up, pulling her lips free with a pop and wink. "Now, Captain, remember what you promised!"
He didn't need to be told twice, effortlessly lifting Nami up and lining his boner up with her dripping snatch. Without any warning, the navigator squealed out an orgasm as she was speared by her captain's massive meat-shaft.
"GAAAAAAAH! FUUUUUUCK! EVEN BETTER THAN LAST TIIIIIME!"
Neither of them noticed that Nojiko was staring right at the point where Luffy's cock entered Nami's pussy, licking her lips even as cum slowly dribbled out of her own well-used hole. It would be several hours before Luffy had fully satisfied both sisters and happily feel asleep with one in each arm. It was the start of a new life for both of them…
(End Sex Scene)
After almost a week of straight partying, the people of Cocoyashi Village had finally settled down and were ready to rebuild. Thanks to Nami's stash, they had plenty of money to get new businesses built and get in touch with some neighboring islands to establish trade routes. The hope was for the Conomi Islands to have someone to call in case someone like Arlong ever tried to lay claim to the land again.
The end of the revelry also meant it was time for the Straw Hat Pirates to set sail once again. The Going Merry was happily floating in the now deserted Arlong Park, the gates already open. Luffy watched as his crewmates loaded up the provisions provided by the grateful islanders. He turned to the Merry's aft deck and smiled at the newest addition to the ship.
Kaya truly had planned for everything when having the ship built, even included a small farming plot on the starboard side. Luffy remembered Kuina's old partners running into scurvy so a place to grow fresh produce would prove invaluable. He had brought over several of the tangerine trees from Nami and Nojiko's orchard by hand and watched the sisters gingerly replant them. Now the Merry was outfitted with a trio of healthy green timbers already bearing succulent orange fruits for them to enjoy.
He then looked over the railing to see Nami squeezing Genzo in a hug, bidding her surrogate father goodbye.
"Nami, we can't possibly thank you for all you and that captain of your have done. Are you sure you won't stay? You've more than earned a break after all you've been through."
"Thanks, but I have something I've always wanted to do. Now that I'm finally free, I can get on with mapping the entire world!"
She then looked up and rolled her eyes. "And besides, that knucklehead wouldn't last a day without me to guide him."
Luffy just laughed, not offended at all. "Haha, yep! Nami's still my navigator, and always will be!"
"Well now, leaving without me?" Nami and Genzo both blinked as Nojiko walked up with duffel bags slung over her shoulders.
"Heh, Nojiko? Are you planning on leaving too?!"
"Genzo, I can't in good conscience let my little sister run off with some swarthy pirate! I have a duty to protect her!"
Nami put her hands on her hips. "Oh, please. You just want to have adventures now that the island is safe."
"What, can't it be both?"
Both sisters just laughed while Genzo shook his head and tried to hide the smile on his face. "Oh Belle-Mere, they're spitting images of you. Then again, you could've made just as bad a pirate as you did a captain…"
"Wait, she's coming with us?" Makino asked.
"Yep! She brought it up after our first night. She's gonna be looking after the trees as our groundskeeper!"
The bartender turned buccaneer just smiled. Leave it to Luffy to find some new reason to expand his crew. Once both of the sisters were on board, the gangplank was raised and the sails opened just as a strong tailwind came in. Nami and Nojiko waved goodbye to Cocoyashi Village, swearing that one day they would return with a map of the entire world. It was only when the little island chain was out of sight that both girls turned and assembled with the rest of the crew.
"Wow, hard to believe there's nine of us," Moodie said, "Didn't you just leave your home island with Makino."
"He's just really good at making friends," the greenette assured, "But most pirate crews are actually much larger. We're still quite small compared to even Shanks' crew."
Sally shook her head. "I still can't believe you actually know one of the Four Emperors… I never would have assumed one was kind enough to befriend a young boy."
"Almost as much as I can't believe Nami handed over one hundred million beri!"
Nami stared at Kuina for a second before shrugging. "There was just way too much baggage with that money. Better to let the people of the island have it so they can make something better."
"Wow, Nami, how selfless of you!" Kaya commended her, "I can't imagine that was an easy decision to make."
"Weeeeell, it might have helped that I snuck into that jackass's base as snatched up all of his bribe money!"
The whole crew just sighed save for Luffy who just laughed, Nojiko who actually looked proud and Carina who looked supremely offended.
"HUH?! You raided a base and didn't invite me?! I'm supposed to be the treasurer here!"
"It was all the way on the other side of the islands and I was already going that way to hand out the money. Besides, it was insultingly easy. What kind of moron hides over fifty million beris in cash behind a thrift store padlock?!"
"The kind of idiot that deserves to get robbed?"
"Thank you, Kaya! And besides, I noticed somebody had gone through the wreckage of Arlong Park…"
Carina just puffed out her chest. "Considering how that shark-freak was obsessed with cash, I figured he must have had a stash somewhere underground. With Luffy's help to clear away the rubble, we found a humungous safe beneath the ground floor!"
"How much money do we have now?" Reiju asked.
"Well, between the haul from Alvida's ship, the tax money stolen from Morgan's office, the loot from Buggy's camp, the stuff from Kuro's ship, the diamonds from Krieg's gauntlets and now what we pulled in from Cocoyashi, we have almost a quarter billion!"
"HOLY SHIT!" Kuina gaped, "What the hell are we going to do with that kind of money?!"
Nami then reached into her back pocket and pulled out the chart she snatched from Buggy, rolling it out on a nearby barrel for everyone to see. "We're going to use some of it at our last stop in the East Blue – Loguetown. It's a huge trading post where everybody going to Grand Line hits up."
"Ooh, you're right!" Moodie clapped, "They have some exquisite boutiques amidst all the bars and weapon stores. But it also has a Marine base stationed there…"
"…And rumor has it that it's manned by a captain who's super tough," Kuina added, "There's a good reason many pirates don't make it to the Grand Line in the first place."
"Yikes…" Nojiko gulped, "And, um, aren't there a ton of pirates there too?"
"Yeah but I doubt any of them will be on Arlong's level," Nami said, "It's probably just a bunch of nobodies who are in way over their heads."
Sally placed a hand to her chin. "I remember something else from when I stopped there on a pleasure cruise once. It's actually where the Pirate King was born… And where he died."
Luffy's eyes lit up. "Really?!"
"Oh yes, I even went to the execution platform where Roger made his announcement about the One Piece. It was a splendid yet macabre sight. I'll never, can't, won't forget it!"
As excited as he was, the captain calmed down. "Okay, so we leave the day we get there. We go, get the stuff we need, and then leave before anything happens with this captain. Sound good?"
The ladies all nodded. Now that they had a plan, there was another piece of business. Luffy walked up to Nojiko.
"Have you thought about it?"
The farmer nodded. "I have… But I still can't believe it. All this about Nika and some monster controlling the world…"
"It explains so much, though," Sally brought up, "The World Government's stance on squashing pirates at all cost. And how nobody truly knows what the Five Elder Stars do. In the few Reveries I attended, no one had even seen them once."
Nojiko soaked that in. "Yeah, I thought it couldn't get any worse than Arlong. But here on this ship, we're going to meet even stronger crews."
Luffy placed a hand on her bare shoulder. "Yeah, there are some tough pirates out there but we'll handle them together. That's what a crew does. You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us."
She then smiled. "Then I'll accept a Devil Fruit, Captain."
"Okay! Hold still…" One brief flash of gold in his eyes later and Luffy stepped back as Nojiko felt her power take hold. She looked down at the wooden deck and raised her hand. Her eyes scrunched in concentration and the others watched in amazement as a tiny root sprung up from the planks. The little green growth wriggled in place as it grew to several inches long. Nami reached down to observe only for it to snap at her face.
"Hey!"
"Sorry!" Nojiko cancelled her power and the tiny plant vanished. "The Grow-Grow Fruit… I guess this Nika really has a sense of humor."
Luffy just laughed, happy to have yet another capable crewmate. He then brought out the Six Powers book for Nojiko and started walking her through the concept of Haki. They had almost two weeks until they arrived at Loguetown. That meant plenty of time to train up, have fun and enjoy the journey.
As the days went by, the Straw Hat Pirates enjoyed the pleasant weather. The seas were calm, the sun was shining, and the ship headed on its course with hardly a delay aside from the occasional headwind. The ladies aboard the Going Merry had a chance to train and chat during the day and then stop by the Captain's Quarters at night.
The only real excitement came halfway to their destination. Nami was experimenting with her Nimbus-Nimbus Fruit to see if she could create a staff out of her clouds when a News Coo flew over to her.
"Oh, right. Here." She fished a ten-beri coin out of her pocket and happily took the newspaper from the bird's neck. She then noticed the gazette was much bigger than usual thanks to a stack of papers folded up inside. Nami opened them up and blanched. She ran up to Carina and held the papers in front of her once-partner in crime.
Carina jacked up her volume and yelled, "Everyone, on deck right now!"
The crew assembled in no time with some grumbling from Kuina and Moodie. That all changed when the bluenette held up the stack of wanted posters.
"ALRIGHT!" Luffy cheered, "We're officially pirates now!"
"This is a good thing?!" Kaya balked, "Won't we have to worry about bounty hunters now?!"
"Not around here, we won't…" Nami gulped, "These numbers are… I didn't know they could offer this much money, at least not in the East Blue!"
Once all of the papers were handed out, everyone took some time to come to terms with the fact that they were now wanted criminals. Kaya leaned against the mast, staring at the paper that showed her smiling face.
"'Sparkling' Kaya, 8,000,000 Dead or Alive… Oh my…" She wondered what her father would say of he saw this before her cheeks reddened. Usopp was sure to have one of these too. She summoned a gem in her hand, gripping it to steel her resolve.
"I already swore that I would help Luffy and I won't stop now!"
While the blonde came to terms with her new status, Nojiko had retreated to the ship's quarters so she could unleash her rage.
"THIS IS BULLSHIT!" Her poster was crumpled in her hands and she had half a mind to burn it. How the Hell did the government find out about her threatening that bastard colonel?!
She unfurled again and saw her own picture, bearing her blue tattoo and winking. "'Bonnet Blue' Nojiko, 14,000,000… 'Threatening an officer' my ASS! He's the criminal, not me!"
"Pardon me," Sally said through the door, "Am I interrupting?"
"Ugh, no, but I cannot believe they put a price on me! I only joined after all that stuff in Cocoyashi, and that rat Nezumi ought to be worth ten times this!"
"Hmm, it is a cruel twist of fate…" Nojiko then spotted the page the ex-royal was holding. The picture showed the blonde in a profile, her pointed nose quite prominent and her eyes set in a determined glare.
"'Hive Mind' Sally Isntoinette… 18,000,000 beris… ONLY ALIVE." That last part made Nojiko blink, "Wait, doesn't the government take a cut of the money if you bring them in dead?"
"Yes, thirty percent. The only reason they would make an exception is if somebody specifically ordered it… Like that rancid King Stelly."
"Wait… No… He didn't-!"
"Oh, I have no uncertainties that he did," Sally grimaced, "A royal marriage is an ironclad contract in the eyes of the World Government. To willingly abandon your spouse is tantamount to treason against the kingdom. I can only imagine that if I'm caught, they'll haul me back to Goa to make whatever reparations that depraved dimwit sees fit."
Nojiko swallowed a mouthful of bile. Now she didn't feel so upset considering the horrible punishment Sally would face if she got caught.
"You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us!"
Luffy's words put her at ease, letting Nojiko refocus. She stood up and offered Sally a hand. "Hey, can those bees you make pollenate? It'd be a huge help for the tangerine trees if they can."
The blonde smiled at the suggestion, following her newest crewmate up to the starboard deck to test that theory. They walked past Moodie on the stairs, idly gazing at the posted in front of her. Her own face stared back, her painted red lips in a charming grin.
"'Frigid' Moodie, 20,000,000," she read. She wasn't offended, honestly she saw this coming when she decided that her main means of survival would be others. She was surprised at just how high her bounty was. Was she really a threat on par with Arlong? Especially since she felt she did the least in the fight against the fishmen with her only successes being sneak attacks.
"Hmmmm, maybe I should look into a proper weapon…"
Not too far away down in the kitchen was Makino, who stared down at her poster. The picture showed her with a gentle smile at complete odds with the rest of the grave warning. "'Buckshot' Makino – 25,000,000." From the very first day she accepted Luffy's offer, she knew this would happen. But now it was written out in black and white, and she would most likely have to live with it for the next several years. Then she remembered Luffy's vow to protect them all and her worries melted away, standing up to help Reiju make lunch.
Beneath her, someone else was coming to terms with this new lot in life. While it was officially the storeroom, the massive sacks of gold and stacks of cash had made it into the Merry's coffers. And staring at all that money was Carina, who then looked down at the poster bearing her face.
"'Shrieking' Carina – 29,000,000." The bluenette then looked back at the huge amount of treasure and realized that someone else could earn just as much money, if not more, by bringing the Straw Hats into a bounty office or Marine base.
"Meh," she then threw the paper aside and started counting all of the loot to unwind. On the plus side, who cares how much she stole now? She was a pirate! Now she was supposed to rob people!
Her partner, however, was not quite so optimistic. Sitting in one of the deck chairs out on the Merry, Nami was frozen at the sight of her picture giving the okay sign with a wink and her tongue sticking out.
"'Meteorologist' Nami – 33,000,000…" she read aloud and still couldn't believe it after the fifth time. Eight years of being a pirate thief and she never once got the government's attention. Now, in the span of a few weeks, she became one of the most wanted criminals in the region.
She then looked down at her new tattoo and couldn't fight the smile that came. She may have had a price on her head but at least she was free. She would take a bounty ten times higher than that than ever going back under Arlong's thumb.
And that just left the three heaviest hitters on the crew. All were gathered around the front with different reactions. Reiju held up hers, impressed that they somehow managed to catch her in half-lion mode and chuckled. "'Pride Queen' Reiju – 45,000,000."
"Well then… I guess I'm the most wanted woman in the East Blue!" Kuina announced, flashing her poster which showed her determined glare. "'Steel Tide' Shimotsuki Kuina – 50,000,000!"
And then there was the captain. Luffy turned his poster over for both of them to see and making them both pale. "Holy shit…"
"'Chaos' Monkey D. Luffy – 75,000,000!" he cheered, "AWESOME! I've got the highest bounty in the East Blue!"
Once they were all back together, Carina added up the numbers and realized that the Straw Hat Pirates were worth 317 million beris altogether. They were far and away the most notorious crew in the region. Luffy's reaction?
"LET'S PARTY!"
Nobody else could argue, as they spent the rest of the day drinking and dancing before huddling together for a very long, intimate night. It was now official. The Straw Hat Pirates were a force to be reckoned with.
"Oooooowwwww…"
That was all he could think of for the past several hours of slowly coming to consciousness. Arlong the Saw sat in a hospital cot, halfway to being mummified with how his arms, chest, legs and even face had to be in gauze and casts. But more than that, everything hurts. The gaping cut on his arm that had to be stitched shut, the massive chunk of exposed nerves from where his nose was ripped off, and both of his legs were atrophying by the minute.
"Oh good, you're finally awake…"
Arlong could only bare to move his eyes and balked. Along one wall as a massive mermaid, more than twice his height from her black hair to the fins ending her navy blue tail. While normally a calm presence, her purple eyes were glaring in anger.
"S-Shyarly?!"
"Good to see you again, brother of mine. Tell me, how were things in the East Blue?"
Arlong looked at the walls and saw the brightly-colored walls carved out of coral, and realized he was breathing through his gills. "T-This is the Ryugu Kingdom?! How?!"
"A patrol of King Neptune's spotted something crashing down on the outskirts of the island. They had to recognize you by your tattoo considering your famous nose was gone. And to think, that part of the fortune was so literal…"
Arlong bared his teeth only to almost howl in pain from the waves of agony from his jaw. While his teeth could rapidly regrow from any breakage, the bones underneath were a different story.
"Do you remember when you first started calling me?" Shyarly said, heedless of his suffering, "Demanding I give you good tidings about your little 'excursion' in that sea? And I how kept warning you that one day a young soul would cast you down? I remember the last thing you said to me was, 'Fine! Keep siding with the humans then!' So, I'm ready for an apology whenever you're ready."
"Ghrk…"
"Oh dear, you seem quite out of it. Don't rest, though, as another visitor is here for you. I'll just go and let him in. Stop by the café if you're feeling well, you no doubt need a proper job now…"
And with that, Shyarly floated out of the room and left Arlong to his sulking. As the pain died down from excruciating to miserable, he was filled with something else, regret. A deep, longing desire to get down on his knees and beg for forgiveness. That Straw Hat was right… He really was no better than those rancid slavers who hunted his people down… If he ever saw Nami again, he swore he would find some way to make it up to her…
"Hello there, Arlong."
The shark-man then turned a sickly shade of green as a wide, tall blue whale-shark fishman walk in. Though dressed in a colorful kimono, his attitude chilled Arlong to his core.
"J-J-Jinbei?!"
"Your sister was nice enough to let me know you returned. So, why don't have a little chat about what you've been doing since you went off on your own…"
The Warlord of the Sea closed the door, leaving Arlong to make a new prayer. He would beg on his knees for forgiveness… Assuming he was still alive tomorrow.
The only sounds in the cave were the steady drip-drip-drip of water from the stalactites above… The ones that hadn't been sliced clean through. An errant beam of sunlight poked through the cavern ceiling, hitting the glowing green blade thrumming with demonic energy. The Shichiseiken was gripped tightly in the hands of its wielder, currently looking for his next catch.
He leafed through the stack of the latest bounty posters, throwing any of the ones below twenty million aside. Weaklings wouldn't satisfy him or his mission, after all. But then he stopped, eyes widening at one blue-haired woman.
"Well, well, well… Looks like you're finally ready…" he chuckled. He sheathed the infamous cursed sword and strolled out of the cave that he was training in, looking up at the sky with an eager, malicious grin.
His green hair ruffled in the breeze, a dark green haramaki around his waist. His black boots strode forward, eager to warm up with some fresh targets before he settled his old score.
After all, he was Roronoa Zoro, one of the most feared bounty hunters on the Grand Line. Like he would lose to Kuina again after all this time.
Dracule Mihawk was a man who never wavered in his goals, even for something as simple as this. As his little barge sailed ahead to the tiny little deserted island in Paradise, his face was a stony and impassive as ever.
His boat stopped on the shore as he traipsed down the shoddily made path into the jungle where, sure enough, a gaggle of pirates were laughing and downing flagons of ale.
"Aw, Hawky, there you are!" Shanks cheered, double-fisting frothy mugs, "Come on, let's have a drink!"
"What is the cause of celebration?"
"Wha? We don't need one! The weather's great, good company, why not celebrate?!"
"I see… I wondered if you had already heard about your little protégé from that hamlet in the east…" Mihawk fished the poster from the inside of his jacket, showing the grinning mug of Monkey D. Luffy and his astronomical bounty.
"Well damn! The fuck did he do?!" Shanks howled with laughter as Benn read off the list of crimes. The only real catch was "kidnapping royalty" which Hawkeye explained was just the World Government covering up that the Queen of Goa had willingly joined his crew.
"Damn, he's really something! Swinging a royal under his flag, beating all the big names, and he's quite the lady-killer if all these other posters are to be believed! This calls for an extra-big shindig! Somebody roll out the REALLY good booze!"
As the Red-Haired Pirates prepared to dance and drink until dawn, nobody noticed their younger members picking up one poster in particular. A tall, well-built young man with a full-body tan and a slingshot stored in both of his trouser pockets, he scratched his inches-long nose in thought before smiling at the sight of the blonde girl pictured in front of him.
"So, finally got out of the big ol' house, huh? Good for you!"
"Hey, Usopp! Come on, let your old man show ya how to shoot!" Yasopp goaded. The young man just chuckled, readying his own arms to tie up the score between his father and him once again.
On the stark white island of Baltigo, the Revolutionaries were hard at work like always. Inside their fortress, agents went to and fro exchanging info and keeping tabs on any operations. But one man strode past everyone else, a paper clutched tightly in his hands.
He barely blinked when he passed a cute redhead in a ruffled pink shirt. "Hm? Sabo?"
She quickly followed after him, noticing the scowl across his face. "What's the matter?"
"It's nothing, Koala. Go back to helping Hack with the classes." She pouted at his brushing off but followed behind him. He knew full well that her next lesson wasn't scheduled for another hour.
The young rebel lady kept a close eye on the chief of staff as he headed down to meet a woman in bright red.
"Betty, is this true? A brand-new pirate in the East Blue has a bounty of 75 million?!"
"Hard to believe, huh?" the commander shrugged, "I triple-checked to make sure I wasn't seeing things but it's true. Not only did he beat all the biggest names in that sea, but he's got one kingdom in a tizzy by recruiting their queen!"
"WHAT?! That's…"
"Crazy, right? I think that's why Dragon was so eager to head out after him. This kid could make an excellent Revolutionary!"
Sabo paused as Belo Betty went on her way. He looked at the smiling pirate and felt something tingle in the back of his mind.
"Monkey D. Luffy… Why do you seem so familiar?"
The New World, the most perilous waters in the world. The battleground between the biggest names in the pirate world. Few dare to tread its waves without either an entire Marine fleet or tremendous power to rival the strongest of enemies.
That was not the case for the massive whale-headed ship floating along without a care in the world. While peaceful at a glance, the dozen cannons lining each side were enough a tip-off to steer away all but the most foolhardy of buccaneers. And the second they realized who was captain of this ship, they would sooner jump into the nearest whirlpool.
Whitebeard himself sat in his usual seat, perusing the latest issue of the World News Gazette and getting a laugh and a half. Someone had seriously been stirring up trouble, in the East Blue of all places. A fond chuckle escaped from under his famous curved moustache as he remembered his old rival, remembering how he hailed from that same sea.
"Hey, Pops. What's so funny, huh?" A shirtless young man in an orange hat and a massive tattoo of Whitebeard's logo covering his back walked up to the legendary pirate without missing a beat.
"Oh, nothing, you brat. Just found out that you're brother is finally out on his own…" Whitebeard then handed Ace the wanted poster, making the older brother break out in laughter.
"Hot damn, that's an even higher bounty than I started with! Marco, guys, you've gotta see this!"
And so the Whitebeard Pirates ended up having a round of drinks in celebration of Fire Fist's little brother finally making a name for himself. Now they all had one question on their minds: how long until he ended up crossing paths with Edward Newgate?
Thousands of people crowded into the Corrida Colosseum of Dressrosa but today it was not for any gladiator fights. It was to see a concert held by one of the most prolific singers in the world! While the fighters themselves were still locked in their cells, the break from the constant combat was a welcome break.
In a small tent just outside the venue, the idol herself was getting ready. Two aides were brushing her hair, one on the red side and another on the white, to get the style right. As she went over the set list one more time, she noticed something sticking out of the newspaper. She pulled the wanted poster free and gasped at the sight.
"Miss Uta?! What's the matter?"
"Oh, nothing… I just can't believe he's finally a pirate…"
She remembered all the good times she had with Luffy, ecstatic to hear that he's finally made his dream come true. The hat on his head gave her some pause but she could sort through that later. She had a show to put on. It wasn't every day you got to perform for King Doflamingo, after all!