191
"You are strong. One of the strongest men I have ever met, but I'll come out on top!" Mr 6 said, "I usually don't fight in this form, to reserve stamina. But it's time to start going all out from now on."
Now he was back to his full beastly from. A giant-sized Ankylosarus took form as it glared angrily at Gin. The giant monster looked terrifying in the moonlight, with the primitive spikes that layed on its back, covering his back to his tail. With a beastly roar, he charged forward, shaking the snowy ground beneath him.
Gin on the other hand, took his own fighting stance and waited for Mr. 6 to get near.
Mr 6 attacked with wild swipes that Gin either deflected or dodged. He knew even with tekkai, he wasn't going to come out unharmed from Mr. 6's attacks.
"Die!" With that Mr. 6 clamped his jaw at Gin. But the pirate moved away at the last second, smashing both his weighted tonfa (that had seastone spikes on it) over the beast's skull and rolling over the spikes.
Mr. 6 again felt his powers get drained but he was even more shocked when he felt someone pull his tail, before the world spun and he was smashed on the ground.
The wind was knocked out of him, and Gin took the chance to appear right over his chest with two tonfas facing upwards. He spun at a rapid pace as the mace portion of his weapons caught fire, the spikes glowing hot from fire before he delivered the blow right on the beast's chest. "Inferno Breaker!"
The giant creature caved forward from the strike and the flames destroyed a large portion of his scales, the ribs beneath the skin could be heard cracking and it created a large crater beneath the beast.
The attack created a large shockwave as the monster was pinned to the ground.
Gin jumped off the beast as he landed. He winced as his arms still vibrated from the strike. He panted as he wiped away his sweat, all the training with Sanji paid off. Though his new technique still needed work.
But suddenly he felt a shiver run down his spine as he heard a loud animalistic scream from his side. His neck snapped back only to see the beast's mace-like tail inches away from his body.
He quickly used tekkai, while it did protect him from any lethal damage, it didn't stop him from getting smacked like a fly as he skipped across the snowy ground like you would skip a stone across a lake when he got hit by the maddened beast's club-like tail.
Gin growled as he stood up, and to his irritation, Mr. 6 rolled over from the ground, and got up.
"That one hurt, you bitch!" Mr. 6's fully transformed zoan form, growled as some blood leaked out of his mouth and nose. "Luckily for me, I recover a few times faster in this form. If this was before I had my powers, you would have won, but now… you are only stopping the inevitable."
"Shut it, mutt!" Gin growled as he rose up from his fallen position, dusting off the snow. But he also noticed someone there, it was Bartolomeo, who was trying to sneak behind Mr. 6.
Gin narrowed his eyes and made eye contact, and shook his head, as if saying it was his fight. And to stay out of it.
Bartolomeo hesitated, but nodded, before again disappearing somewhere for cover with soru. Gin internally sighed, it wasn't that he didn't believe in Barto's strength, but now even he wasn't sure if he could take on the monster. Still, it was his fight, and he promised himself to never lose again. Not after what happened with Aramaki, on Sakura Island. Mr. 6 was about to look behind him, but Gin called out.
"The fight isn't over, ugly! I will take you down if it's the last thing I do!" Gin called out as he used the fastest soru he could do, creating a crater beneath him as he left. "Come at me." With that, his tonfa spun in his hands as the flames were generated on it before he himself started to spin, as if he was a flaming tornado.
The tornado grew in size as it smashed into the beastly form of Mr. 6, throwing him back several feet, before he charged forward.
Gin roared as both of them started fighting, no longer holding back. The clash of bones cracking, gushing wounds, and roars became common for the fight. The fight looked as if two unhinged animals were duking out.
The animals that lived near the area, even the prideful Lapahn, the giant beastly rabbits, knew better than to interfere in the fight of two monsters.
While Gin wasn't doing any lasting damage to Mr. 6, at the same time Mr. 6 had gotten slower due to his bigger form. Clearly not used to fighting in this state.
"You are slow!" Gin said as he smashed onto Mr. 6's side, sending him tumbling a few steps before he used his tail to attack Gin but Gin had already disappeared from there. "Now, you are a huge ass target for me to smash!" he again smashed him on the skull.
And while Gin's attacks weren't doing any sustainable damage, it wasn't the full picture. Gin's weapons had sea stone coating on the end of each spike. And due to him moving them around at such a fast speed, which nearly made them flammable, the spikes were getting damaged.
And with each strike, some of the sea stone coatings would break off and get smashed into Mr. 6's flesh, getting stuck in his scales. And with it, Mr. 6 was getting weak as the fight continued.
So now all it came down to was a battle of endurance. Who could outlast each other?
Gin smashed, Mr. 6 clawed. Gin dodged, Mr 6 tanked the hit. It went on and on. Several minutes passed as both of the combatants glared at each other. Both of them had multiple wounds on their bodies, and yet they were still standing.
Because of Gin's attacks, Mr. 6 wasn't fully healing either, so he wasn't able to keep up his fully transformed state.
Both of them panted, neither looked better than the other.
"You give up yet?" Gin asked, panting. He spat blood on the snow, as he wiped away the blood from reaching his eyes. It was hard enough to fight in the moonlight as it is, fighting blind wouldn't do him any good.
"Only one of us will see the end here!" Mr. 6 said panting. Before a grin dawned his face. "This was the toughest battle I have ever fought… you have my respect. But let's end this… Either I will win or I will die, there's no in-between."
Gin snorted. "So you are one of 'em." He grunted before he flashed a smile. A smile that had no mockery. "Then I will make this quick!"
"Huh! I was gonna make the same offer for you, pal!"
With that, both of them moved, and clashed. Leaving a snowy dust cloud. For a while, the results remained unknown.
Before one of the figures emerged from it, it was Gin, who was bleeding extensively from the right side of his chest.
The last blow was a deadly one, at least three of his ribs were broken, and he could see them. Not a very pleasant sight, to see your own bone poking out through your skin. But he looked at his opponent, and he was in better condition… no he was dead. He made sure of that when he smashed two of his tonfa in from both sides of his head.
With his fast recovery, he needed to end him or he would again get up.
And he wouldn't ruin his defeat by not giving him death. The man wanted it, and even though Gin rarely respected his enemies Mr. 6 was an exception. The man was a warrior through and through.
With that Gin started walking away before he fell, but luckily someone was there to catch him. "You really overdid yourself, Big Bro." He heard the voice of Bartolomeo before he blanked out. At least now he was in the safe hands of his crewmates.
He smiled remembering that he was able to keep the promise he made to his captain. He wouldn't lose again.
192
With Coby, after he had successfully separated Mr. 3 from Miss Mother's Day, both of them left towards a forested area.
An area where Coby could use the terrain to his advantage. But it wasn't going as planned.
Coby internally growled as he popped out a few bullets from his leg, the wounds mending back together.
"Come out, little kitty cat. Your doom awaits!" Mr. 3 taunted.
"Really, where did you get those lines?" Coby snorted as he jumped away from one tree to another as Mr. 3 fired off his machine gun. "Don't answer that, it's a rhetorical question."
"Shut it, smart ass!" Mr. 3 called out as he fired off endless shots of bullets.
The fight wasn't going anywhere. He thought that after luring out Mr. 3 he could outlast him, but this fight had already been going on for half an hour. And he couldn't get damn near him.
Well, he could… but he risked the chance of getting shot multiple times in the process. There was another way… if only he could cut that wax… He shook his head. Zoro had taught him the concept of cutting steel. But… it hasn't even been two weeks. Can he really do it? He will only get this chance once.
And… several doubts crawled into his mind.
But that was when they heard a loud explosion, coming from right where Usopp was facing off against the Maple Syrup user. It was loud, and Coby's ears picked up Usopp's scream. He felt a pit in his stomach.
"Oh, ho ho… so that's Miss Mother's Day's Maple Bee explosion. Weird name I know, but it's effective." Mr. 3 said, loudly. Half trying to rile his opponent, and half because he spoke his mind. "Really nasty technique, I have heard. But a clumsy one. Unlike me, she's a logia, so she can turn her whole body into her element and explode like a grenade, creating thousands of maple needles that pierce her target and end them. That's a last move when she's cornered. Well, at least find peace in that the long nose was able to corner a logia user with his tricks."
"No…" Coby horrifyingly muttered.
As if hearing his words Mr. 3 spoke. "Don't worry, your friend has met a quick end. Not that you could have saved him of course…"
Coby wasted no time as he moved away from his hiding spot, right into the line of fire as Mr. 3 grinned and shot off several bullets.
Coby didn't care, he let his instincts drive him. His eyes became hazy as entered the state of flow. Two long bone blades came out from both of his arms as he cut the bullets at frightening speed, even scaring off Mr. 3.
Mr. 3 stumbled back when he saw his attacks weren't hitting him, so he quickly crossed his arms, the Candle Champion would protect him.
And yet when Coby went past him, Mr. 3 was surprised, but then pain assaulted his body. "Gah!" he fell as the Candle Champion fell to the ground in several pieces, leaving behind a bleeding Mr 3.
It was that day Coby had learned how to cut steel. But the pink haired pirate had other things in mind. He didn't wait to see his opponent's condition as he ran toward where Usopp was. He had more concerning matters.
.
On the side of Usopp,
He was panting with his body getting fully wet from the cold sea, but he was fine. Sadly, it couldn't be said the same for his opponent who was nowhere to be seen. Somewhere inside the cold sea waters, that's for sure.
Out of all the fights Usopp's fight was the most anti-climactic one. Usopp had tricked the bounty-hunting woman into chasing him through the frozen sea. With her so-called 'tentacle monster' form her weight was already heavy as it is.
Usopp just needed to throw a few explosion shots onto the Ice, before the ice collapsed on its weight.
The woman seeing herself get dragged into the sea panicked and used a technique called 'Maple Bee Explosion' at the last moment, trying to harm him. Shattering her whole body, thousands of needles of her element intended to pierce Usopp.
But honestly, that was a stupid move, both of them were on the sea, and with an explosive attack the whole sea that was covered in ice shattered, dumping them into the cruel sea.
Usopp had managed to save himself from the maple needles using the ice before it could hit him. The long-nosed sniper screamed as he was flung high up in the air, before falling back into the water. Only then did he remember that he could have technically used Geppo, but in the heat of the moment he forgot about that.
When Usopp got out of the water, he saw his enemy struggling.
Miss Mother's Day struggled as she tried to get out of the water, but Usopp knew better than to hold back. She had tried to kill them, his crewmates multiple times, and killed many of the soldiers that already had switched sides in her anger.
She might be a woman and a beautiful one at that, but as Coby said, he couldn't hold back.
As he quickly took out a round piece of sea stone and with his slingshot, shot right into her —screaming— open mouth. The woman choked on the sea stone and as she could feel her powers get drained.
She panicked, luckily she had caught a piece of floating ice, barely keeping herself afloat.
The woman then spat out the sea stone bullet, as she struggled to get out of water… and Usopp sighed, taking out his revolver and finishing the job quickly, before another fight emerged. He shot her several times, with sea stone bullets before her body let go of the floating ice, as it submerged into the sea.
He didn't like killing. Maybe he never will, but his encounter with pirates like Kuro made him aware that not all people deserved kindness. It might just bite him in the ass if he did.
Before he could hear more, he heard a voice. "Usopp!"
The long-nosed sniper looked back only to see Coby jumping to him, with bawling eyes. "You don't know how worried I was… wah!" he wailed. "I thought you were dead!?"
"Wait… what? Get off me! Gah, your snot's in my face now!
193
The fight between the remains of Wapol's army —with added help from Baroque Works agents— and the four crewmates of the Straw Hats made quite the commotion.
Even if they fought far from the town, the large explosions could still be heard from the town. Dalton had gathered a few of his men intending to investigate but Sanji stopped them, clearing out that other members of his crew had it handled.
Dalton was reluctant at first, but from the watchtower, one of Dalton's men called out and from there, all of them used the binoculars to watch the ongoing fight. The watchtower was only three stories high, but was enough to give a clear view, even with moonlight they were able to see the fight. Dalton, Sanji, Hatchan, and a few others used their binoculars to see the whole fight.
One soldier even narrated how the fight was going to the others that gathered around the staircase and bottom floors. Almost all the town people were gathering in or around the watchtower, eager to know how things were going.
And like the blond cook said, only four men were able to beat Wapol's army and then some. The town' people cheered, flying flags of their own along the Straw Hat's, children cheering, some crying out of joy and happiness. For them, the final stage of their nightmare was over.
For Dalton, it almost felt like Blackbeard all over again. With a few men by his side, the cruel pirate was able to destroy a lot of the towns, and scared Wapol into fleeing his own country.
But the Straw Hats were nothing like the Blackbeard Pirates. It was almost the opposite. While the other pirate group gave them horror and distress, the Straw Hats gave them happiness and joy. They gave them freedom.
Dalton still had a few doubts about the Straw Hat pirates, but now all of them were cleared. Monkey D. Luffy was a good man despite whatever the world government or Navy said.
"Huh, my crewmates are awesome, huh?" A cheerful voice said.
Dalton nodded. "That they are…" But his head snapped at the newcomer. "How did you get here?!"
"By walking on air?" Luffy said, "I'm still in the air, technically."
Dalton looked down, and saw that Luffy really was in the air, away from the platform. His jaw dropped. How was that even possible?!
Also then Dalton noticed a small figure on Luffy's shoulder.
"What is Chopper-san doing with you?" He asked, a bit curious. The doctor's assistant did a lot after Wapol forced the twenty doctors into not giving treatments to the civilians. Even though Kureha was stingy and rarely left the mountains, Chopper sought out patients and treated them.
Wapol tried many times to 'punish' the mink for what he was doing. But like any mink, fighting was their bread and butter. Each time Chopper would give Wapol's forces a run for their money.
The town's people adored the mink doctor, but Chopper was usually too shy to talk to others, keeping his distance. So, it was a suprise that Luffy was not only close to the mink, but said mink was on his shoulder.
"Oh, he's my future crewmate. Shishishi…" Luffy said.
This time Chopper didn't rebuke him, and only huffed. That made Luffy's smile grow a bit more.
"Then I wish you luck, Chopper-san." Dalton said, with a small smile. It seemed that their mink doctor might leave the island. For a moment he saw a sadness in his eyes, so he added. "We won't stop you from following your dreams. We are already grateful for all you did, and know that this kingdom will always be your home."
Chopper opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.
So Luffy spoke. "Is this your new declaration, King Dalton? He will be a pirate you know…"
Dalton blinked. "You can take it as is… even if Chopper-san becomes a pirate, know this. Him and his crew will always be welcomed here…" he said, "That is unless another Pirate group attacks us again…" he hesitantly chuckled. Being one of the first islands of the grand line meant a lot of trouble.
Luffy hummed, fixing Chopper's position on his shoulder. "About that…"
.
After the fight, the townspeople moved in on the fallen soldiers that had switched sides, many were dead but still, a good portion of them were alive. Four out of the twenty doctors were also caught by the giant tentacle construct, and couldn't make it. Still, it was a better outcome.
Though it seemed that whereever Mr. 3 or Miss Goldenweek were they were able to escape at the last minute. It scared the people of the island a bit, but they tightened their defenses and were on guard. Each town were keeping an eye out for any unknown people.
Gin had to take immediate medical attention after coming out from the fight. Luckily the witch doctor wasn't needed as the remaining sixteen doctors were able to patch him up really well.
Along with other things, even without orders, Sanji and Usopp took the extra steps on visiting the fruit markets or fruit trees around the areas to find the two devil fruits that should appear.
They found the zoan fruit —it looked exactly like the picture from the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, it helped to know what to look for— but the other fruit was not found.
But they should find it eventually.
Zoro was the first one to arrive from the top of the mountain. Seemingly getting lost in the large castle he said, and his crewmates believed it. No one doubted Zoro's sense of direction… or the lack thereof.
Still, after the rest of the Straw Hats came down from the mountain. With much difficulty as both Sabo and Luffy had busted out on them, doing their own thing. They were very impressed by what Coby, Usopp, Gin, and Barto were able to pull off.
They planned to spend the night here, and start their journey first thing in the morning. Chopper was now introduced to all of the Straw Hats and was now trying to actively convince Dr Kureha about leaving. Though it came with a lot of trouble. Shouting, throwing stuff, and all of that… But right at midnight.
The whole Island watched the bloom of a man-made explosion that looked like a beautiful Sakura tree. The people were cheerful, they were happy, and grateful for the new beginning.
In fact, Dalton and some of the town's people all wanted to change their Island's name. So it went from the Drum Kingdom to the Sakura Kingdom. Many cried tears of happiness that day, some for freedom, while others for the new future. Along with the flag of Sakura Kingdom, the flag of the Straw Hat pirates also flown.
It was a beautiful ending. Even Mr. 3 and Miss Goldenweek who were captured by Luffy and treated were happy that the Straw Hats didn't hand them over to the Sakura Kingdom. (Where they might get executed.) As a similar thing happened to the two of Wapol's loyal guards that survived.
Though, at the same time Mr. 3 and Miss Goldenweek weren't very thrilled at having a giant snake guard them. Also, the fact that they could hear a certain someone getting interrogated mercilessly by the Straw-Hat captain. And when they came to know that it was a Cipher Pol agent they were even more scared. They internally vowed to not do anything against the Straw Hats if they came out of this alive.
194
The Going Merry sailed through the sea, getting pulled by Momoo, with the newest member of the crew.
Chopper didn't know what to think of his crewmates other than the fact that all of them were weird. No wonder Luffy said all of them were abnormal.
When the captain of the ship wasn't either training or eating. He was most likely trying to outswim the sea king Momo, and he was a devil fruit user. How did that even make sense? Chopper didn't know devil fruit users could do that.
But then Luffy's explanation did make sense… only a little bit.
He called it sea-resistance, a made-up term, but the theory was that after getting exposed to the sea for a long period of time, either by swimming or by sea-prism stone, your body should be able to adapt. Chopper didn't know if it was possible for others, but accepted Luffy's explanation.
Another fact, Luffy seemed to also be an adrenaline junkie. He loved danger for some odd reason. Others might have been horrified but Chopper found a thrill in watching what Luffy did.
Fighting off giant waves in the storm with his naginata, cutting the waves in half with pure wind pressure. Using the chain part of his nameless naginata to catch giant fish or birds… and these were just to name a few. He was so strong!
And as a Mink, who were generally gifted with fighting abilities, Chopper really respected that strength.
Similar to Luffy was Zoro, who also loved training either by sparring with the other crewmates or trying to copy his captain and fight sea kings in water. But that was only the commonality between them.
Where Luffy loved to eat, Zoro liked to sleep, like a lot. He used to be a pretty heavy drinker, before joining the crew, but by Captain's orders he quit it. Now mostly he tried to out-drink Luffy on milk or other non-alcoholic drinks. Which was a losing challenge, since no one could out eat or drink Luffy. He could beat a sea king in a food contest. Luffy was just weird… but in a good way.
Also, back to Zoro. The man loved a challenge, always seemingly trying to get a fight from either Sanji or Kuina. And for some odd reason, if you take your eyes off him for a second, he would get lost somewhere in the ship.
Chopper had asked others about it, but they seemed to accept it as common for Zoro. Luffy, on the other hand, explained that Zoro had an incurable disease that took away his sense of direction, and now the green-haired swordsman was handicapped.
Chopper felt really bad that he couldn't cure him. Maybe in the future he would be able to do it. One of his dreams was to find one cure, but even then finding a cure for one's sense of direction might be as challenging as finding a cure for cancer. But Chopper would take it.
The other sword user of the ship was a woman named Kuina. Where Zoro was brash and blunt, Kuina was elegant and sweet.
The first time Chopper met her, the White Lady even made an effort to give him ice cream. The flavor was good, but that might have been the coldest ice cream he had ever eaten, and Chopper lived on an island of snow, but even for him, the ice-cream was too cold. It might have something to do with her powers.
Speaking of food, most of the dishes and food were cooked by Sanji. Hatchan helped as well, but it was mostly Sanji. And the food he made was out of this world. Literally, as Luffy would bring out weird recipes and Sanji would make them, it wasn't only him. Most of the crew didn't know what the food items were, most of the time.
Like others, he also trained, but his training was a bit odd. As Sanji was tasked to hand out food and do all the work blindfolded for some reason. A weird technique, and yet Chopper was awed by how flawlessly Sanji did his job even with this drawback.
Though outside of food work, Sanji seemed clueless and would oftentimes hit walls or doors being blindfolded. Though he seemed to be improving.
Chopper still remembered how chaotic Breakfast was over Sanji's food. One time only he and Sparky were sitting, while the others were downright fighting for a bigger portion of Sanji's food. Sanji had made more than plenty for all, but still.
Speaking of Sparky, he might have been the most not-so-weird member of the crew. The first mate of Luffy, a six-armed monkey, for Chopper it made him even weirder.
Then there was Nami… she was also not that weird. Other than when she saw gold, or cash, that's when she started acting all weirdly, as if reuniting with her long-lost lover.
Like Nami, Vivi was also good. But very forgetful… forgetting general things, in general. But she was also cool, especially with that weird weapon she used for training, the peacock slasher she called it. She looked very cool using that weapon.
And her duck, Karoo, was also cool. Though a bit cowardly.
Speaking of cowards, Chopper's thoughts brought him back to Usopp. The mink doctor didn't know why he acted so cowardly, seemingly scared of his own shadow.
And yet he was brave enough to face powerful devil fruit users with nothing but his wits. Chopper didn't see the whole fight from above —when Luffy was carrying Chopper on his shoulder and observing the battle from the sky— but Usopp was a really good fighter, the thing he could do with a gun or slingshot was amazing. He could curve bullets… How was that possible?! But Usopp was just as awesome.
And that's not even mentioning all the weird gadgets he was trying to develop to go along his slingshot or gun.
Johnny, Yosaku and Bartolomeo were a trio, always getting into trouble with either Nami or Gin, or getting their ass kicked by Zoro while training. Chopper had dubbed them 'the Fun-loving trio,' usually doing fun stuff like singing, getting into trouble or fighting each other for stupid reasons. Though others dubbed them 'the Annoying Trio'.
White Fury was also very cool and a very strong snake. And she had wings… that was just wow. She was still mostly keeping to herself as the weather was still cold as the Going Merry sailed. They would get out of the cold zone soon, so the snake should be able to get out of the storage.
For now, though, she was looking after the two prisoners that were in the Going Merry's storage room.
195
Chopper had seen another guy the previous day when he first went on the Going Merry, but he wasn't here. Did he escape? He didn't know.
He didn't ask either… he had better things to do. Like taking care of Gin, one of his crewmates. Though, now he was back to full health. Gin had a lot of injuries from his fight against the savage Mr. 6 but his body recovered fast, due to a marine technique that he and a few others had. It was called Life Return.
With it one could make their bodies do extreme things. Something similar to how Chopper had two forms. Though Chopper could only turn into his small form and a bigger more muscular form, that was excluding the monster form he took when looking at the moon. Chopper suspected the Life Return technique had some connection to Bio-feedback.
And Luffy encouraged Chopper to learn it, and gave him the book needed to learn the said technique. It could help him get stronger, Luffy had said. So as a Mink he was thrilled to learn it.
And Chopper had a knack for the technique. Coby, along with him, was also trying to learn that technique, so both of them helped each other with what they figured out.
Coby was also cool, had cool powers, and a very moral sense of justice. He was also one of the least weird crewmates. But that was until he saw him fight. The boy was literally suicidal in how he fought.
But that was him trying to grow in mastery over his devil fruit power. Devil fruits came with all sorts of weird abilities, and so he iust accepted it.
Speaking of Devil Fruits, once Gin was completely healed and patched up, ready for training, Luffy had approached him with a particular devil fruit and asked him if he was willing to eat it.
Gin didn't even question and ate it with one bite. That was another thing, Gin was very loyal to the captain. When Luffy had asked him a question, the man had mistaken it for an order and ate the fruit immediately. But no matter, now the man was trying to get used to his new Zoan abilities.
Dragon Dragon fruit: Model Ankylosaurus
Quite Ironic since, just a day ago Gin fought the same devil fruit user, the previous owner of it. Still, Chopper was really curious about its ability.
Mainly when Luffy had tasked him to look into the Zoan type devil fruit research, as with medicine, one could technically boost its powers. It was kind of like doping but not at the same time, as most Zoans had a better immune system to flush out any negative effects from drugs. So Chopper was also trying to figure out how Gin's powers worked along with him.
Which was quite tough, as before doing his research on Zoans, he always thought that it gave the user the ability to transform into animals or other creatures. But now, he knew it wasn't the case. Chopper felt himself stupid for thinking that as genetically you still remain full human even when you 'transform' so to speak.
Zoan fruits were much more like armor, encased the user and gave them abilities. Gin said it himself, it felt like wearing animal hide over your clothes. That might also be the reason why clothes remained mostly unaffected even when the user of the fruit grew in size. The better you are with using the said armor, the more powerful you become and gain new abilities.
Like Gin, Luffy offered another devil fruit to Usopp. The Size Size fruit. But the man was doing some research before he would take it, as Wapol's Munch Munch fruit was also an option.
Miss Mother's Day, or Honey Bee's fruit seemed to have been lost on the island as even after tirelessly searching the whole Island Luffy and his crewmates weren't able to get that.
Chopper felt quite sad when it happened. That was a logia fruit, whoever got that fruit would gain a lot of abilities. And yet it seemed to be lost.
Chopper was also very impressed by Luffy and the crew, as having powerful devil fruits could help one survive the cruel sea. Chopper didn't want to think back to his past, but the one who took him away from his parents, that man also had a powerful devil fruit which he used to keep him and the other children in check.
Still, Devil Fruits weren't the only way to gain strength. The strongest man on the ship had no devil fruit at all. And that was Sabo. He wasn't a part of the crew, but he was Luffy's older brother from the revolutionary army.
He was pretty strong, stronger than Luffy, and yet was quite the bookworm, reading old books that they had in storage.
Chopper didn't know the language, the books used the language of old, which was lost a few centuries ago. But Sabo was kind enough to give him notes and pointers in learning the techniques, along with Vivi who also seemed to know it.
The crew might have been weird, but it was his crew now. And Chopper loved it. He was a pirate now!
Oh, he almost forgot about Momoo, the cow sea king of the Straw Hat pirates, who pulled the ship most of the time. The sea king was also very friendly, and calm. Kind of similar to Hatchan,
Chopper had sat on his head a few times, enjoying the breeze. He already liked the crew and he couldn't wait for the adventures they would have in the future.
196
It was just another day at Going Merry,
Nami and Vivi were chilling in the open sun, enjoying the warm breeze. The Going Merry was a bit crowded so they had to take the top floor, and set aside a few orange trees to make way for both of them to lay on.
Almost all of the men in the crew were either in the ocean, or swimming, except for the devil fruit users, who floated with the assistance of swim rings that were tied to the ship.
After the winter island, both of them had enough of the cold weather. Vivi especially as she was born and raised in a desert country.
"Nami-swan! Vivi-swan!" Sanji called out, a black blindfold matching his suit as he spun with two dishes with fruits and ice-cream. "I have brought snacks!"
With that he placed the two plates and noodled his way back to the kitchen.
"It's confusing to me how he can do all that work with that blindfold on." Vivi muttered, a bit impressed.
"Well, he is part of the monster trio," Nami shrugged. She was reading a book and without looking away from her current read she took one grape from the plate and popped it in her mouth.
"Yup," Vivi nodded. "Though, I find Kuina the most impressive out of the three. Well, she's cool."
"Literally," Nami chuckled. "And the boys amongst our crew are also hot…" she winked at Vivi, the blue-haired girl getting a bit of a blush on her cheeks.
"Yes, especially, Luffy." Vivi said, whispering, looking around to see to make sure he wasn't around. "He's got a really good body… like it's almost unreal, how perfect his body looks."
"Me too sister…" Nami agreed without a beat, but then she frowned and looked at Vivi. "But, I'm not gonna share just so you know…"
Vivi chuckled. "Right back at you… that would be weird," She said, both of them had feelings for Luffy, and he seemed quite open about it. So amongst other weird things, they accepted it. Also, Polygyny was quite common in the world, mainly when most dangerous professions were dominated by men. "Though, I'm sure Luffy would love to have a threesome. I mean, he's quite open about building his so-called harem." She then took a grape from the bowl and popped it in her mouth, enjoying the fresh fruit.
Nami chuckled, but she rubbed her chin. "I'm not sure on that part… if Luffy does take multiple partners I think he'll just marry all of them." She said, "Unlike Sanji, he isn't a skirt chaser, and doesn't actively try to get into every girl's pants… sure he's quite blunt about a few things… but he most likely will take responsibility rather than, you know, dick around."
"Speaking of dicks…" Vivi gave a foxy grin.
"No!" Nami squeaked, looking around to make sure no one was there, "We aren't having that conversation…!" She seemed a bit embarrassed.
"Come on, don't go all mushy on meeee…" Vivi whined, wrapping her arms around her, as she dramatically waved her hands… "He's hot… and you know I don't remember the last time I had a girl's talk." She said, relaxing on her chair. With the Baroque works and the revolutionaries, she had little time for all of that.
"What? I thought you had plenty of girl talk with Kuina on Drum Island?"
Vivi rolled her eyes. "Please, Kuina is… there's no better way to say it. She's as dense as the ice she summons." Nami chuckled. "I mean just look at them, Zoro and Kuina are just meant for each other, but at the same time, they were literally dumb about their feelings."
Nami shrugged, giving her a small smile. "They might as well be made out of the most densest material in the world."
Vivi chuckled. "God, I love having a girl to talk about this stuff…"
"So, you are one of those types… gossip queens." Nami rolled her eyes, but chuckled, yeah, even she hadn't had one for quite a while. While Nojiko was her sister and was just as much a troublemaker as her, they weren't that close to have those kinds of talks. Especially when she started working for Arlong. She did have a few friends in working relation, but after the last one left her and made a run with 'her' treasure. She tried actively avoiding having friends.
"Now back to the subject in hand… Luffy's dick."
"No," Nami denied, shushing her. "And keep your voice down…" her cheeks were already red. And to Vivi it looked quite cute.
"Come on," Vivi said, breaking Nami out of her world, "Do you think… you know… can he stretch his dick?"
Nami gasped, "Vivi!" she whisper-shouted, scandalized, her cheeks visibly red.
"Come on, big girl. Think about it… if he can stretch it, then he might also be able to control the girth…" Vivi said, winking, her cheeks were red as well. She was having the time of her life, when Nami was blushing even more. "You thought about it, haven't you… you closet pervert."
Nami gave her a heated glare, but there was no anger in it.
"I have seen you make quite a few bathroom visits after ogling Luffy's body… like to rub it in eh…?" Vivi wiggled her eyebrows.
"Hmph!" Nami said, looking away, not denying Vivi's claims.
"Come on…" Vivi poked at Nami's stomach. "Say it." She poked again, with a foxy grin. "Say it."
"Why you…" Nami grabbed Vivi, her arms wrapping around her as she gave her a noogie, while the girl laughed.
"You started it! Now face my ultimate technique!"
And then, Nami yelped when Vivi grabbed a handful of Nami's breasts, squeezing them, as she started playing with them.
"Hey, stop it," Nami yelped, actively trying to not moan.
"You let go first…"
"Why you…!" But amongst the scuffling between the two, both of them fell, laughing.
Only after a few minutes did they stop.
Surrounded by Orange trees, they were partly sure no one saw that, also all of their conversation were hushed, but still.
It was only then, Nami noticed something.
"Is that…"
"Huh, what…" Vivi looked at what Nami was pointing at and then got surprised because on the orange tree was a fruit, that is definitely not an orange. It was a devil fruit.
.
Marine Branch G-3 was in ruins, the base was located on the tropical island of Nanimonai, and was now in flames. Buildings were destroyed, the dead bodies of marines and pirates littered the ground. With most of the casualties being on the marine side.
Even the proud flag of the marines was scorched with flames. Still, the fighting was far from over.
Nanimonai Island was one of the islands that Log Poses logged to. That is why the marine branch was set here, so that unfortunate newbie pirates would be tangled by the marines before they could continue their journey.
Unlike other marine bases in the grandline, this island had living quarters. Like Marine-ford, only a few bases held civilians —close relatives of Marines— living with them. There were family quarters on the island, which is why it was one of the most guarded Marine Branches, and yet today it was under attack.
Civilians ran for their safety, children were crying as they boarded the ship. Marines trying to stop the pirates from harming the civilians.
Right in the center of the island, the fighting was still happening, pirates versus marines. And even if the number of marines were far greater than the pirates, there were more marine casualties then pirates.
Sinbad's body flew in like a bullet going through one of the buildings, before the Marine could stop himself. The man huffed, wiping the blood off of his face, as he stood up.
His blue armor was torn and dented in multiple places, cracks visible to the naked eye, and it was still yet repaired. His lungs might have been punctured by one of his ribs that got broken, yet the man stood tall against the enemy.
Sinbad's grip on his double edged sword tightened as electricity shimmered around his body.
"I have to say, your strength really is formidable for a mere Vice Admiral, I can guess why some of my mates got caught by your kind. No wonder you killed one of the Tobiroppo." The cruel pirate laughed, having multiple wounds on his body, and yet he seemed unfazed. "I will give you credit for actually managing to hurt me."
The man was tall, very tall, with two elephant-like tusks coming out from his shoulder.
Jack the Drought, one of the All-Stars of the Beast Pirates snorted. "But still, I shouldn't have wasted my time here… but someone needed to teach you a lesson, a lesson to not step out of your place. Not only did you kill one of my guys, but you captured two of them… For that, you will face the consequences."
——————————
A/N: I really know how to set up the mood and kill it, don't I?
Hehehe
Anyway, I added some stuff about Zoans that's basic AU, it will come into play later.
Also, why am I suddenly bringing Sinbad on this chapter? The clue is in the name of the island.
Anyway, have a good day. Bye!
197
"Well, now we know where the Maple Maple fruit was." Luffy mused looking at the spiraled orange. "We really forgot to check the most obvious place…" he shook his head.
The crew was gathered, all of them were glad that they had another fruit in their hands. Luffy opened the chest and two other fruits were in there. "Now, we have three fruits…"
Luffy then looked at Usopp, the sniper shifted a bit uncomfortably. "So, even though Nami was the one who found the fruit… you were the person who had taken care of the Maple syrup user, you can eat it if you want. Though, you will owe Nami a favor."
That was the system Luffy had improvised. The crew would have a shit ton of money in the future, no doubt about that after Skypiea island. So exchanging stuff with money from crewmates would be pointless, as when everyone is rich, money was just paper and stone.
So he came up with owing favors in exchange for fruits or other stuff. Luffy would be the one who records it, and of course, the favors would need to be approved by him or the Vice-Captain when cashing in, unfair favors would not be approved.
Speaking of the Vice-Captain, Sparky refused to officially take on the title for some odd reason. Luffy didn't push, maybe something to do with his past. But his Vice-Captain position was vacant. And he was still yet to bring it up to his crewmates. Maybe he should after this.
Coby spoke, breaking Luffy out of his own thoughts.
"Usopp, with your creativity you could make a ton of stuff," Coby said, one of his claws poking out of his skin. "Devil fruit powers mainly come from creativity and you surely aren't lacking in that department."
There were a few nods.
"Or you can take any of the other two fruits, all of them could be used with your creativity…" Luffy said, "Wapol's fruit could help you with your engineering, creating new weapons and stuff and… the size size fruit could make you quite the resourceful person. You would basically be able to carry the Going Merry in your pocket and the same is true for other things… it's your choice."
"Hey, aren't you just breathing down his neck?" Sabo asked. "Even without a devil fruit one could do a lot of stuff. I mean I can do most things with my pipe." He said as he spun the metal stick playfully.
"Like to pipe your enemies, don't cha…" Luffy said flatly.
"Yeah… wait!" Sabo then grumbled as Luffy and a few others laughed. "I walked into that one, didn't I?"
Luffy just nodded before returning back to the subject at hand and looking at the sniper. "Anyway what Sabo said is true… but I don't want three fruits to be in one place. Devil Fruits are rare… it would be stupid if we lost them." The others nodded. "Also, you already know Geppo and Soru, you are also working on Life Return and Iron Body… so I think it would be a good time to bring a devil fruit into the mix to expand your skill set."
Before Sabo could say anything Usopp spoke. "Luffy, I think you should give me the Size Size fruit."
All of his crewmates looked at him. Some had a questioning look, while others accepted it.
"Is it for the Going Merry?" Luffy asked with sympathy in his eyes.
The small caravel ship wasn't meant for the rough waters of the Grand Line, and even with Luffy and the others being very careful, the waves were damaging the haul. Luffy could hear the ship's pain, which she was trying to hide. And with almost twenty members on board it was getting a bit crowded.
Usopp nodded. "Part of the reason, yes. But a logia would be fully combat based, and the Munch Munch fruit would be fully invention based… I want to have my feet on both fields."
Usopp then walked towards the fruit and picked it up.
"I'm not like you guys, but I do enjoy my fair share of fights… and with the Size Size fruit. I can make people underestimate me, and at the same time, carry an arsenal of infinite ammo with me for my guns or slingshot. Heck, I could even fit a canon or a bazooka in my pocket if I want to." Usopp then looked at Luffy and smiled.
Luffy nodded. "Speaking of making others underestimate you…" he looked at others, "Some fruits might do the same thing, but one could be better than the other. Like the Size Size fruit, there's also the Mini Mini fruit, which is a nerfed version of the same thing… I would recommend not revealing your fruit to the enemy or to at least mislead them with it."
Usopp was surprised but nodded. If his enemies thought he had the Mini Mini fruit, they wouldn't expect him to turn into a giant and stomp them with sheer force. Which was possible with the Size Size fruit.
"So I will take it." Usopp then looked at Yosaku, "Sorry, I know you also wanted to get the fruit… but I appreciate the giants as much as you do. So, don't hold it against me."
"Nah, I'm cool with it big bro." Yosaku said as he gave a thumbs up. "You earned it. And besides, I admire giants… being one on the other hand…"
"Actually…" Luffy cut them off, "When I 'questioned' the Cipher Pol agent on the fruit's abilities… he could not only turn himself big and small, he could do it to others as well. But it would require more stamina."
Hearing that multiple of his crewmembers' eyes lit up.
"Oi, eat the fruit already." Gin was the one to say, and gained all of their attention. "I also wanna be a giant…" he said sheepishly, a bit embarrassed.
Usopp nodded. "So this is final." He looked at his own fruit and then at the others. "Also, I think it's better if Nami or Vivi get the logia fruit… they did find it. Also, I already have some good grasp over Tekkai and I'm crawling my way to learning Life Return… so I think they could use the intangibility aspect of the fruit better."
Both Nami and Vivi were a bit surprised and didn't know what to say. Usopp might be a goofball, but he did care very much for his crewmates.
Luffy patted him on the shoulder. "Good choice my friend." Luffy said, "Actually I didn't want to point it out, but the Going Merry is a bit small for all the people, so we really need the fruit's power… with that we might be able to shrink all the gold and other treasures down to a small size and clear it out for a temporary crew's quarter."
Usopp laughed, "That as well," he said. "Maybe then you would be able to sleep inside a room, rather than the crow's nest."
Luffy gave an amused huff, "Never!"
All of them chuckled, looking at the interactions.
198
Luffy then looked at Usopp again. "I know you had your eyes on the Phase Phase fruit and the Warp Warp fruit… but even with Morgan pulling strings, the first fruit could not be found anywhere in the Grand Line, not in Paradise nor in the New World… someone might have it, or it could be on any random Island. And like I said, if my info is right, someone is already using the Warp Warp fruit. So its the best we have right now."
And with how close they were getting to Jaya, his crewmates would need every advantage they could get if they wanted to survive against Blackbeard. After that, they could have much more breathing room. That's why he was being a bit pushy.
Sure Luffy, Ace and Sabo would face that fat fuck and beat the shit out of him. But Blackbeard's crew was also very troublesome. Especially since he didn't know if they knew Haki or not.
"Nah, being a ghost would be cool, but I could just be so tiny that I would just go through the cracks in the ground. But yeah being able to warp anywhere would be pretty cool as well, but we have to use what we have."
Luffy nodded, before he smiled. "Already thinking up ways, eh? Well then, good luck."
"Gah!" Usopp said, as he ate a small portion of the fruit and stuck out his tongue in disgust. "That tastes horrible!"
"Shishishi… well, with great power comes great disgust," he said, handing him a glass of water. After the fruit was consumed, Usopp first tested the power on himself and turned tiny.
"You guys look gigantic from down here!" Usopp said, his size comparable to a tennis ball.
"Hey, turn big! Turn Big!" Barto urged excitedly.
"No!" Luffy shook his head. "We are on a ship, remember." The green harried barrier user slumped down but nodded.
"Yeah, but not on the Going Merry… she would get damaged."
"Yeah…"
That was when they heard a small explosion from a bit far. All of them moved their heads and saw that pirate ships were attacking a marine vessel. And the fight seemed to be going in the favor of the Marines.
"Well, wanna test out your new powers?" Luffy asked as Usopp returned to his normal size. "No better experience than an open battle… Hatchi! Momoo! Get us near the battle."
As per the captain's order the sea king moved towards the Marine ship.
But as they got near the Marine ships, they saw that it was not just a simple marine ship. No, it looked much more like an evacuation ship.
"Yeah, I think we should experiment with my powers later," Usopp said, as his hand shot up his revolver and shot a pirate that was about to kill a child. The pirate was shot in the head as he fell to the waters. Leaving the poor girl safe momentarily, but at the same time the smaller girl saw the other group coming.
Luffy didn't say anything and jumped from his ship along with Sabo, Zoro and Sanji also following him from behind, all of them dropped onto the ship, bringing all attention to them. Mainly when Sabo slammed one of the pirates heads onto the floor, crushing his skull onto the deck.
"What the…" the pirates stopped and moved their heads towards the new figures.
All of them looked at what was going on. And when they saw the new people, some of them recognized them.
"It's… It's the Fallen Hero!" One of the civilians said, he was no marine, and yet he had a sword trying to hold off the pirates. Even though it was a Marine evacuation ship, the marines on the ship were small in number, so most of the people defending themselves from the pirates were civilians.
While some of the civilians had swords, others only could use wood, bricks and other stuff to defend themselves. They were that desperate.
And at Luffy's and his crew's arrival all of the pirates and civilians were now looking at them. And both sides were tense.
"Gahahah, if it isn't the newest rookie pirate… Mario, eh?" One of the pirates said, he then jabbed his finger at the flag that was flown on their ship. "You see that? We are members of the Beast pirates…"
All of them saw a large frosty tempest slash fired by Kuina —who was still on the ship— that destroyed the pirate ships, breaking it in half, while ice gathered around the unfortunate pirates that were still on that said ship.
"Thank you, Kuina," Sabo thanked, though it seemed that he wanted to do that himself. The blonde was raging with fury for all the destruction the pirates had cost.
"Boss… she destroyed the ship in one swing?!" One of the pirates said. "Jack-sama will kill us!"
Sanji snorted, it was times like this he wanted a cigar, so he just brushed his blond hair. "You have more immediate problems to think about."
The Going Merry pulled alongside the Navy evacuation ship, as other members of the crew were looking at them.
"You fucking bastard! Do you know who you messed…" But his head was separated from his head as Zoro moved behind him, sheathing Sandai Kitetsu. The cursed blade was clean, almost as if it wasn't the murder weapon.
"No one bad mouths the captain," Zoro said with his cold yet casual glare. Almost all of them didn't even see him moving, one moment he was by the side of Straw Hat, the other moment he was behind the now decapitated pirate.
For the first time, the pirates felt dread and fear, while the civilians found hope.
"Please!" the kid —that was saved by Usopp— ran up to Luffy, her eyes bawling with tears, "You have to help us, my mother… she's hurt!"
The other civilians wanted to stop the kid, before she got themselves hurt. But no one said a word. Luffy kneeled down and put his straw hat over the kid's head. "Hold onto the hat for me will you." He said, with the kindest smile. "Everything will be alright."
The girl stiffened, as she held onto the hat and cried.
"Leave none of them alive!" Luffy gave the order in a low voice, and all of his crew moved.
Like the pirates, the civilians were also afraid that the pirates would also kill them. As many pirates found sick pleasure in giving hope before killing it, but that wasn't the case.
The Straw Hats moved, one of them took to the sky, raining down bullets. Usopp, the gunner of the Straw Hats, never missed a target.
While a spear user ran like a bull, spearing through pirates one by one, going through multiple of them as if they were a shishkebab. Johnny.
Another of the heroic pirates threw his shield as it bounced from one pirate's head to another, breaking their necks as it bounced off from one person to the next. Yosaku.
The blonde-haired pirate that had disappeared from his spot as he kicked one pirate in his stomach fast enough to separate his lower body from torso, sending the unfortunate —now dead pirate— off of the ship. Every kick would maim and kill the pirates in a cruel way. Sanji, the cook of the Straw Hats.
The others also moved with frightening speed. And in just a few seconds, the pirates were done. All dead, most of their bodies either on the ship or floating out in the sea. Everyone but Luffy and Sabo participated in the slaughter.
199
"Chopper!" Luffy called.
The reindeer mink jumped out from the ship with his medical bag. "Tend to the wounded." Chopper was in his buff form as he quickly moved to go toward those that were in critical condition.
The captain of the Straw Hat pirates looked up and asked the first civilian, "What happened here?"
The people gulped, thankful expressions on their faces. So the people explained what had happened. And how things got to this.
Many knew the circulating rumors about Luffy being the grandson of the marines, so for the first time in a day. They felt hope. Hope to save their home or loved ones that weren't able to escape the island.
"We were attacked by those monsters…" one of them said. "If it wasn't for Vice Admiral Sinbad, we would have been killed… he gave us time to escape, but the pirates followed through. If it wasn't for you, we…"
No one saw the reaction of Vivi and Karoo, who had gotten extra pale. No one but Nami.
Sabo nodded. "Don't worry, nothing will happen." He said, "But who attacked you…? I know it's the Beast Pirates, but I don't think Kaido would come here…"
"No," he confirmed, stuttering a bit. "It was Jack the Drought… the monster… the first thing he did after coming to the island was destroy a quarter of the city." He said, his voice cracking. Obviously, he lost some family and friends there.
The man then walked over to Luffy and grabbed his hands, pleading. "Please help them… there are still others stuck on the island. The Beast Pirates wouldn't let our ships leave… we managed to escape, but they followed us."
Sabo also looked at his brother, they didn't need to speak to communicate.
Luffy nodded and turned back to look at his crew, cracking his knuckles. "Let's go and put a Jack in the box!"
The others nodded, and Luffy had left Chopper, Gin, and Kuina on the evacuated ship. White Fury was also with them as in case something happened they could escape with her.
With that, they started for the Island of Nanimonai, the G-3 base, which shouldn't be too far. Momoo moved at a fast pace, the island wasn't that far, and luckily enough they had an eternal pose for the island.
How? Well, from the log pose Nico Robin gave them. (When she warned them not to go to Little Garden.) That woman really tried to fool them into docking on a marine island. Typical Robin behavior.
As the ship moved, Nami was the first one to question. "Vivi, if you know something, then…" she held the girl's shoulder. "You can trust us?"
All of the crew looked at Vivi, the girl seemed to be a bit shaken. "It's Vice Admiral Sinbad… he is my cousin."
"What!?" Almost all of the crew was surprised.
Other than Luffy of course. "Oh, come on, my grandpa is a Vice Admiral too…" he rolled his eyes, Sabo chuckled at that, "But I'm curious as to how the son of Admiral Z is your cousin… I did my fair share of research on the Marines. Sinbad isn't just your average marine, you know."
Sabo nodded, impressed that Luffy had done research on the marines. He wondered if his supposed death and Ace's departure to his own adventure changed Luffy this much.
"Uh, Sinbad, I recognize that name…" Coby said with wide eyes, "Sinbad, as in the Prince of the Marines?"
Johnny blinked. "Yeah, I have heard some tales about that fellow…"
Coby nodded. "Before Luffy, there were a bunch of papers saying that he was the future of the Marines and whatnot… mainly because of him being the son of the former Admiral, Zephyr. He was quite famous for stopping human trafficking and kidnapping." The underlying meaning of it was, he was famous for stopping slave ships. But Morgan wouldn't state that directly as most of the slaves were owned by royalties.
"Well…?" Luffy looked at Vivi. "If he was your cousin… why didn't you go to him and ask for help with the Crocodile situation?" That was a good question.
Vivi bit her lips, and Nami was about to stop Luffy from pushing for more info when the blue haired girl spoke.
"He… I tried to contact him, father tried, we all tried… but he avoided us. Going as far to not even come near our island. He blames us for what happened to him and his mother." Vivi said, explaining Sinbad's backstory.
Sinbad's mother was the sister of King Cobra. Zephyr had met her when he was called to escort them during the Levely. In each Levely, Zephyr would come and escort King Cobra and her, and before long a relationship bloomed between them.
As Zephyr was a marine, his family had some much-needed protection. And as the sister of King Cobra, he took it upon himself to protect her. But one day a pirate group attacked, wanting to get revenge on Zephyr, and King Cobra's men weren't able to stop them.
So they were able to kill her and take young Sinbad with them. That day, the Alabasta kingdom not only lost her, but also the Prince of Alabasta.
Vivi sniffed, crying. "We thought… he died or even worse he was sold as a slave. Papa tried everything… but…" she sniffed as Nami comforted her. "He was my brother… but uncle Zephyr had managed to find him… we were so happy, back then. But…"
Luffy and the others looked on as the girl continued. "But, he wouldn't come. And we tried to bring him back to Alabasta multiple times, but still to this day he never set foot on the island. Uncle Zephyr told us that Alabasta reminded Sinbad of what he lost… so he never came back. After that, he became a marine and made a name for himself. But still, to this day… he tries to avoid us at all costs. Uncle Zephyr also avoids coming to the country, 'cause he also blames us for what happened to Aunty."
Now it made sense why Sinbad was actively trying to take down slave ships. There was history. Also with this much change, Luffy doubted that the Neo Marines would surface any time soon.
Sabo felt his knuckle turn white hearing the story. For something so cruel to happen to a child. Ace, Luffy and Sabo had a rough childhood, but at least they had each other. He could only guess what scars that would leave behind on a child.
Luffy was also sad hearing it. And he's done some research on him, as well as other Vice and Rear Admirals. Information was the key. Luffy had kept an eye on him mostly because he knew for a fact that Zephyr's son should have been dead like in canon, but he was a special case like Kuina it seemed.
And Luffy knew that while he was no match for the likes of Jack alone. Sabo should be able to deal with him alone in a long drawn-out fight.
But that was only if he couldn't fight him alone. He needed to push himself and get at least on the Yonko Commander level if he wanted to prepare against Blackbeard.
Also, in the case of succeeding in beating Jack, he had plans that could change things entirely.
"Well… this just became personal," Luffy said, giving her a small smile. "But hey look at me," Vivi did, with tear-filled eyes, "I will try my best, don't worry… I don't want my future brother-in-law to kick the bucket." He gave her a playful wink, as the girl wiped back her tears.
200
Jack the Drought stood tall; he had a massive figure. Towering over most of the buildings that he had destroyed. Jack had multiple injuries on his body, and yet he was in better shape than his opponent.
Sinbad was kneeling due to his injuries, and Jack made no effort to strike. He was taking his time to give him as much pain as possible before killing him.
X-Drake suddenly came out from the rubble, his sword and mace covered in the blackness of Armament Haki, "Die pirate! Cross…"
But he couldn't even finish his sentence as Sasaki, one of the Beast Pirates that they had previously captured, met X-Drake head-on. And Jack slammed his fist onto X-Drake's side, sending him crashing into another building.
"Drake!" Sinbad winced from the pain he had from his side. He was sure his left lung was punctured, he could recover from his injuries if he could switch his armor, but it would leave him vulnerable to attacks. So, biting back the pain, he lunged toward Jack who was about to crush Drake beneath his feet.
He was able to stop it mid-air and force Jack to the side while X-Drake recovered, but Sasaki and Sheepshead came from both sides, attacking him from behind.
X-Drake parried their strikes once with his sword and mace, giving his back to Sinbad.
The Prince of the Marines moved, using his tail —a long blue scaly tail, that was part of his Lightning-dragon armor— to grab both pirates. Finding them in close range, he took a gamble. "Bararaq!"
Lightning poured out from his entire body, as his attackers got electrocuted and sent down like bullets, crashing into another group of Beast Pirates that were trying to get past Sinbad.
"Why you pesky little shit!" Sinbad heard Jack's voice before he got smashed down from above by his trunk. Sinbad jumped ahead and parried the strike mid-air, as that attack would destroy the plaza and take many of the lives of injured marines.
But Jack took the chance to use his other arm and swung his sword at him. Sin half-expected pain, but Ain's figure jumped in front and stopped Jack's blade with her dagger.
She was in her half-zoan form, gills could be seen from her throat. Her previous lethal injuries were now only flesh wounds. Her Zoan ability really had a knack for mending wounds but even she was on her last leg.
Sinbad used the chance provided by Ain to grab her and shot off a lightning bolt, "Bararaq!" before jumping back as Jack tried to attack.
He quickly got both of them to the Marine's side. X-Drake was already engaged with Sasaki and Sheepshead, with Binz providing help on the marine's side.
"Boss, we can't hold them back like this." Shuzo, the black man from the long arm tribe, said. His body was also littered with wounds, one of his arms missing. The man seemed to be hiding his pain really well, but Sinbad could tell it easily. "I have called for backup… but Vice Admiral Vergo isn't responding. There aren't any other marines that are capable around the area… but I did send an SOS. If we are lucky, someone will come…" his voice held no hope as, like others, he also accepted that today might be the end. "It was good knowing ya boss! Zephyr-sensei would have been proud."
"Stop talking like that…" Sinbad growled. He felt powerless, amongst the Vice Admirals he was one of the strongest, but against a figure like Jack, even he needed help. Vergo, where was that bastard when you needed him?! 'He's gonna be in a world of pain if I survive this!' he thought internally, he wasn't stupid. Communication was stable, and Vergo wasn't here. The Vice Admiral was actively avoiding duties.
Even though he hated to admit it, he wished Virgo was here. With another Vice Admiral there would have been a chance to fight off Jack, but without him it was a losing battle.
"We have to hold them off long enough for the civilians on the island to evacuate!" Ain said, her breathing ragged.
Jack, seeing Sinbad recovering, smiled cruelly, moving towards one of the weakest marines. He would kill them one by one, starting with those that were weak. Giving the Vice Admiral despair. "Binz! Move!"
X-Drake moved, pulling the man out of harm's way. But Jack smiled, he changed his target using his tusk to stab the Zoan user through his stomach.
"No, Drake!" Sinbad shouted, but he couldn't do anything as Jack grabbed his body and threw it towards Binz. Who caught it… but X-Drake was in critical condition as there was a hole in his stomach.
Ain and Sinbad rushed towards them, fighting off Sasaki and Sheepshead who were about to attack the marine. But Jack didn't stop it, he looked ahead and nodded at one of his underlings.
A few pirates had gained the high ground amongst the destroyed buildings.
"Fire the blaze bazookas!" One by one, the Beast Pirates held an oversized bazooka aiming upwards, their aim wasn't good, but with how much firepower each weapon had, they would smother the ships. "Destroy the ships!"
"Stop it!" Sinbad snapped as Haki flowed out of him, still holding onto X-Drake. His Haki was uncontrolled and yet powerful, knocking out the pirates before they could fire their weapons at the civilians.
Sinbad sighed in relief, before coughing up blood. At least he wasn't totally powerless.
"The Color of Conquer's? And from a marine no less…" Jack grinned, and laughed madly. "You really are a surprise! But the civilians… you fools are still trying to play the hero? I will start with them first, then." Jack said, and all of the marines were wide-eyed as Jack jumped through the air, his full body morphing into his zoan form as he flew through the air, aiming to crush the evacuation ships that were filled with civilians.
"NO!"
But Sinbad couldn't do anything but watch as the massive figure dropped from the sky. And yet he was stopped before his foot could crush the ship. It was as if his front legs were stopped by someone.
"Yeah, Buddy! Lightweight!"
And that was how almost all of the beast pirates and marines had their eyes comically pop out of their eye sockets as the giant of a Mammoth was thrown into the sky by a figure wearing a Straw Hat.
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A/N:
Sinbad's design does look like he came from a desert country, so what better way to make him a relative to Vivi and Z at the same time?
And another thing, Luffy has plans. And it would set in motion after him and Sinbad beat the oversized elephant.
Anyway, power scaling wise, I always believed Yonko commanders to be stronger than Doflamingo.
Why? 'Cause Cracker and Katakuri beat the shit out of Gear 4 Luffy when they first fought. (Who was a far more experienced version of Gear 4)
And Doffy got shit smacked with Gear 4. Sent through buildings, flabbergasted and all that jazz.
Also some might say Fujitora wasn't able to break his bird cage. I always saw that as him 'not' trying to break the birdcage. As Doffy was still a warlord and under the World Government. Cutting the birdcage would mean Doffy would attack the marines as well. And he was also betting on Luffy to end Doffy.
Also, big man Kaido called Doffy weak, while he called Jack strong. So I will also take that into account as well.
So where does 'my' Luffy stand on? Well, I would roughly say he's as strong as Doffy (or a bit weaker) if he pulls out all of his tricks. Rokushiki, Gear 4 (yeah spoiler he figured it out, yay) and Naginata.
Here he only had been training with Sabo for two months or so in Haki. Nowhere near the original Luffy that had been training with a Haki master for years. So his mastery over Haki is balanced out by his diverse techniques.
Anyway, happy reading.