261
Robin, Sanji, and Usopp entered the capital city of Alabasta, Alubarna. Crossing through the front gates, into the big city.
As the three Straw Hat pirates entered, the people of the town looked at them with awe and respect. Clearing the way for the three pirates as they made their way toward the royal palace.
Even the Marines that were working, stopped and gave them respectful nods as they saw the three pirates. A very odd scene.
One that Robin was having a hard time getting used to. Mainly because all her life she had to shy away from attention. But then again she didn't need to worry, she did wear a face mask.
Now that Luffy was a Warlord she could, in theory, come out in the open and say that she was a Straw Hat Pirate. As Luffy was relatively sure the Marines or the World Government wouldn't care that much.
But Robin still wanted to hide her identity. That was the reason why she dressed completely differently. Wearing very traditional clothes, that usually Kuina wore. Well, then again, she did borrow that dress from her.
Robin tied her hair up, and dressed in a black traditional Geisha outfit. Her outfit was a purple kimono in white and purple square patterns, that made her look quite attractive, but a bit out of order since she had a scary-looking white oni mask that covered her full face.
With this, she didn't even remotely resemble her Miss All Sunday counterpart.
"Hehe.. some things never get old," Usopp said, as he waved to the people of Alabasta as some of them cheered as they walked past. Kids mainly were great fans of Usopp, mainly due to him spending a few days in Alubarna telling the tales of their journey.
That and Usopp had a knack for helping little ones, so he was quite popular amongst children.
All of the Straw Hats were, mainly because of their good deeds spreading throughout the country. Not only did they stop the corrupt Warlord Crocodile, they were also helping people rebuild their towns, lands and other areas that were harmed by the previous Warlord.
Like Robin, Usopp had also changed his outfit. Wearing clothes that made him look cool and menacing at the same time.
He wore a yellowish-green coat that looked similar to the Marine's justice coat, except the color was different. And on the back there was the kanji of 'Sniper King' written on his back. Underneath his open coat his upper body was bare, while he wore cargo shorts with lots of pockets to carry enough ammo and other stuff like or for his weapons.
He also had his two dual revolvers hidden underneath his jacket and his black large slingshot strapped to his back. He also wore a pair of yellow round sunglasses, and bandages wrapped around his arm to give him a cool look.
It was Luffy's idea to bring their fashion up to a good standard as they had a public image to keep. Most of the Straw Hats had changed their clothes to look much more modern.
Only Sanji's look remained relatively unchanged with an added overcoat that had an Kanji of 'cook' on the back over his regular clothes.
All three of them were getting a lot of attention in Alabasta.
As they entered the Royal palace, Robin spoke, "So… sniper-san, what actually was your devil fruit ability again?" she asked. Even though she knew it from the information she collected previously, Usopp's fruit power wasn't what it looked like.
Usopp blinked, "Oh, yeah… we didn't tell you about my fruit…" He said scratching the back of his head.
"Well, she did join the crew late." Sanji said.
Robin looked at Usopp from underneath her mask, "So it's not the Shrink-Shrink fruit?"
Usopp grinned proudly, "Nope, it's actually the Size-Size fruit." He said, puffing up his chest. "Luffy wanted me to hide it as the Shrink-Shrink fruit so that my opponent underestimates my ability…"
Robin was a bit surprised but nodded. "Well, information is power in a way…"
"That and we are making a lot of enemies real soon in our journey." Sanji casually said, "We have to take every advantage we can get."
Usopp nodded. "Though, I wasn't trying to hide it or anything… We are crewmates after all." He said, not wanting her to think of him wrongly.
"That… and I didn't give any of you any reason yet to trust me." Robin said politely.
Earning a warry chuckle from the sniper. "Well, I don't know about others… but I do trust you a bit. I mean… I trust Luffy. If he wanted you to be part of the crew, then that works for me." He said, "He didn't go wrong with any one of us… so I don't see why not."
"You guys really do trust your captain, don't you?" she asked, as they walked through the corridor.
"Well, isn't that what a crew is meant to do…? Trust each other and share each other's burdens?" Usopp said, looking at her weirdly as if not getting it. But then again the sniper had little experience knowing other pirate crew dynamics.
"You would be surprised that most crews don't actually work like that… sometimes they just fear the captain altogether or they just bear with him." Robin said, "Some captains are even known to sow fear in the hearts of their fellow crewmates to earn respect…"
Usopp's face turned grim with disgust, "Luffy would never do that…" he mumbled.
"Well, Robin-san is right there…" Sanji said. "I have seen other crews, don't forget Captain Kuro or Captain Krieg…" he reminded casually. "Luffy on the other hand doesn't need to earn respect… how should I say this… even with all of his antics, he knows exactly what to do and say to keep his crewmate safe when needed."
Usopp blinked before he snickered, "That and he could beat all of our asses if he wanted to… Luffy is strong. Unworldly strong… but at the same time, he is a man of character. You just joined the crew recently, but you will see… he is totally different from anyone."
"Yup, he's the only stubborn idiot of a Captain that I can respect." Sanji nodded, "He kind of reminds of Jeff in a way…" he mused, before he looked at Usopp. "Speaking of being stubborn, do you think he will recruit Anchor this time around?"
"It's not a question of if… it's a question of when." Usopp snickered.
A small smile appeared on Robin's face behind the mask. "It seems that you guys are sure he will join… he was an ex-marine after all."
Both Usopp and Sanji looked at her, before smiling.
262
"Well, let's just say you haven't been part of the crew too long, Robin-san." Sanji said politely.
Usopp chuckled. "Yeah, Luffy's stubborn… and this time. I'm sure he will somehow manage to bring Anchor into the crew. And thinking about it, we have a lot of weapon users in the crew, sooner or later we would need a smith. I'm good… but not that good."
Robin just hummed. She wasn't really thinking about Anchor, no she was more interested in what power Usopp showed. She wondered if all of the Straw Hats had devil fruit powers or not. For a new crew, they had some good abilities.
"Does all of the crew have devil fruit abilities?" She asked.
"A good chunk of them does," Sanji said. "We are aiming for the Strongest Crew's spot… so yeah, we need all the advantage we can get."
Robin nodded, "Though, you need to be careful… in the sea, having a devil fruit can be a weakness."
"Oh, that… well, let's just say… we are thinking of a way to get rid of that." Usopp snickered, "I'm making something, for that. Though it might take a while…"
"That… and we can always take the long route that Captain took." Sanji said. "I don't really like losing the ability to swim, as a chef I do need to catch fish from time to time."
Robin looked at them again, not getting what they meant. "How can a devil fruit user swim?"
"We don't know, actually, but Chopper said it has something to do with gaining immunity to the sea. You know like poison resistance and stuff some people have… Other than fighting, Luffy loves to train… and one day he just decided that he refused to let the sea hold him back. And started to learn swimming… and now, well he can." Usopp said, "Heck he sometimes pulls the Going Merry from time to time."
Robin was surprised underneath her mask. "What do you mean? Pull the ship… as in swim while pulling the ship?"
"Yup." Usopp snickered.
"But… how?"
"Well, he's Luffy," Sanji answered. "Logic sometimes bounces off of him."
"Luffy is… well, interesting," Robin said. "He's an odd one, isn't he? Grandson of the Marine Hero, a Warlord… I don't know what to say."
Usopp's smile widened, "Don't think about it too much… it will fry your brain." He snickered. "Speaking of Luffy, I heard he has come back to the castle after his honeymoon." He said looking at Sanji.
The chef in question looked down, almost whimpering. "I hate that Lucky bastard!" he mumbled.
Usopp sweatdropped at Sanji's reaction. "You're just being jealous here…" he pointed out.
"No, he's double timing… how does that even work?" Sanji said dramatically, almost crying.
Usopp scratched the back of his head, a bit confused, "Eh… didn't you also double time back in Whisky Peak? You know, the bounty hunting sisters you slept with…" he couldn't finish his sentence when Sanji grabbed his mouth.
"I don't even know what he's saying, Robin-swan." He cleared, almost making the sniper go blue due to not being able to breathe.
It was then that from the corner a pink haired boy walked down, it was Coby. "Oh, so you guys are back?" he asked, breaking off the two men, as Usopp gasped for air. "Did you find it?"
"Y-yup," Usopp coughed, giving a glare to the cook before he nodded, taking out a small ship from his back. It was Crocodile's old ship. "It's not the best, but it should work just fine for the upgrade."
Crocodile's ship that he used before settling in Alabasta. A ship that was meant for the Grand Line. All three of the Straw Hat pirates had left to collect Crocodile's old ship. It was roughly twice the size of the Going Merry. Located in one of the uninhabited parts of Alabasta.
They didn't intend to switch ships. No, there were some shipwrights in Alabasta, who were willing to help upgrade the Going Merry. That was why they left to get the ship.
As Crocodile's old ship was made with good wood that could be used to upgrade the Going Merry. Other ships that were on the island didn't have good materials in them for the upgrade.
It would take around two days to upgrade the ship, change the damaged parts, and reinforce the weaker ones. But after that, the Going Merry would be in pristine condition.
"Oh, before I forget… I need to ask Luffy something," Usopp said.
"He's a bit busy right now…" Coby said, looking around to see if anyone else was there or not. Finding no one, he whispered, "Him, and Sabo-san have been busy trying to contract the Revolutionary Army…"
'I need to know what they are talking about…' Robin thought to herself.
It was known that Luffy and Sabo tried to contact the Revolutionary Army before Luffy got married. But with how closed off the Revolutionary Army was, sometimes it was hard to get in contact with them. It seems they were trying again.
"Oh," Usopp said. "Then I will tell him later."
"I will go to the kitchen then… Do you want anything, Robin-san?" Sanji asked, "I could make something for an evening snack."
Robin politely declined, "No, I will rest in my room." She gave them a curt nod before going towards her room. A bit of haste in her steps.
263
A few minutes earlier,
"Gurararara… you are quite the ambitious one, brat."
"Shishishi… I already like you, Newgate." Luffy said with a grin on his face, as he looked at the transponder snail. The transponder snail on a video call between the pirates. Not just any pirates, it was between a Yonko and the future King of the Pirates, "Keep the title for me, will ya. Don't kick the bucket before I get there and kick your ass."
Whitebeard laughed, stroking his beard with his hand. "You are a hundred years too young for that, brat. Gurarara…" Luffy found it amusing that this world's Whitebeard actually had a beard.
"Gotta hand it to him, pops, the kid's got some brass balls." Said Marco the phoenix popping out from one side of the screen. "Heh, he's just like Ace in that regard. Young and foolish-yoi."
"Oi, who's side are you on, bird brains!?" Ace complained from Luffy's side, complaining at his crewmate. "And besides, for all my brother is worth, he still has to go through me before he can even touch pops."
Luffy rolled his eyes, "Keep saying that brother, and the next thing you know, you are a living donut."
Ace's brow twitched with annoyance. "I still don't know what that means, but piss off!"
Luffy butted heads with his brother, "You wanna go one round, match stick!"
"Bring it, rubber brain!" Ace said, pushing him back.
"Kids!" Sabo chopped the air between them, breaking off the fight. "Stop fighting."
Both Ace and Luffy looked at the blonde and did the mature thing, stuck out their tongue, and pulled down their eyelids.
"Gurarara…" Whitebeard laughed from the other side seeing their antics.
"It seems you got the brains in the family-yoi," Marco mused.
All of them present here had been talking for quite a while now. Detailing the terms of the alliance. They even brought in the fact about Luffy and Ace wanting to help the Revolutionaries, but Whitebeard didn't say anything, for now, the old man would rather only involve himself with the Straw Hats, not the Revolutionaries at large.
Worked out for him. Political relationship or any relationship for that matter was a give-and-take exchange. If Luffy proved to be beneficial for the Whitebeard Pirates, then he was sure the old man wouldn't mind allying with in taking down the World Government.
But then again he did see it from the old man's perspective. Newgate was in a crew —Rock's crew— that all things considered did just that and failed. So from his perspective, they looked like brats that didn't know stuff.
"You know I'm serious about fighting you," Luffy said with a grin, "But not like this… I want to fight you at your prime… if possible that is."
Whitebeard raised his eyebrow, before understanding what Luffy meant, Ace had informed him before. Though it was no guarantee of success, Ace was still keen on trying. The old man had an unreadable expression. "For all it's worth, you are a strange one, brat…" he hummed, "Though, I see myself as a legend of old… know this brat, I'm more than capable of fighting you. Age and sickness can hardly hold me back."
"Don't underestimate pops, Luffy." Ace said, before leaning in, "He's got a mean punch." He whispered aloud, getting a grin from Whitebeard and Marco.
It was then both Whitebeard and Marco looked towards their left, Luffy and the others could hear some background sounds.
"It seems the party is on-yoi." Marco said, "We will catch you guys later."
Whitebeard gave a curt nod, while also Luffy and the others agreed to end the call. With that, the transponder snail blinked off, and the video feed was cut off.
Right after the call was over Ace looked to his side, eyeing Luffy. Sabo blinked as he eyed Ace and Luffy, before musing.
The younger brother raised his eyebrow, but the fire logia didn't say anything for a while, just glaring at him. "Fine… what do you want?"
A grin split across Ace's face, "Well, little bro, can you tell me how you intend to make Pops go back to his prime? Any super rare medical potion? Or some kind of devil fruit powers?" he asked, "I'm really curious."
Luffy grinned, "Hm… should I tell you?" He hummed thoughtfully, making his older brother whine. He chuckled, "Fine… it's actually a theory, but devil fruit powers are rare, and have a vast range of abilities… so…"
But his speech was cut off when
"Pere pere pere pere pere…. Pere pere pere pere pere…." The transponder snail called. But it was not from Whitebeard, no it was from Dragon of the Revolutionary Army.
"Talk about timing…" Sabo snorted.
"Finally, the old man has the time to call his son," Luffy grumbled, giving an apologetic look to Ace.
"Nah, take the call." Ace said, waving him off. He could have the conversation later.
"Thanks," Luffy said, before taking the call, a video of Dragon came up, he looked menacing as ever, with tribal tattoo on his face and with a green cloak. "Oh-ho-ho, if it isn't my dear old dad. Finally managed to take some time off your work and call your son?"
Dragon gave him a small smile before he nodded, "I was busy with work so I didn't return the call."
"Eh, excuses," Luffy said waving him off, "But I did hear something about setting up new bases here in Paradise."
Dragon nodded. "Let's just say that your recent incident at the G-3 base gave us quite the opportunity to set up Revolutionary bases in the surrounding islands," Dragon revealed with a grin. "Also, congratulations on becoming a Warlord."
"Huh, thanks… I guess." Luffy said, "Wait, does Alabasta also have a Revolutionary base?"
Dragon shook his head, "No, unfortunately, the World Government has marines and spies all over the country… placing Revolutionaries there wouldn't do us any good." He said, "And besides they don't need any… the country has a good ruler, with a lot of resources. The Marines are very much active there, and along with other things… we are not putting any bases there… yet."
"Oh…" Luffy then scratched his chin, "I might also have an idea… you see I'm unofficially taking over Baroque Works which was under Crocodile. And I need new members to fill out the roster, powerful bounty hunters. I even changed the names to CDS. So…"
"You want some of the members of the Revolutionary Army to join your little bounty-hunting group…" He said, thoughtfully. Going over the benefits, "That could get us some connections… also, the extra income through an official source would also help. We weren't able to cash the bounty of most pirates… Hm… we might be able to do that if some members join your bounty-hunting organization. Many won't even bat an eye if it's under a Warlord." He said mainly thinking over the other warlords and how lax the world government was with them.
Luffy grinned, "Yeah, but I would still need to be careful… the World Government might let me spread some influence on the first few islands but I would need to be careful with CDS."
Dragon nodded, before asking, "What does this CDS stand for?"
Luffy was about to replay, Ace chimed in, "Court Dating Service!"
Luffy pushed his face down, while Dragon gave an amused smile.
"It's Courting Death Service, you idiot," Luffy said. Only he was powerful enough to name his organization with such Cringy grace. "Also our motto is 'Courting Death' to any and all pirates."
Dragon gave another amused chuckle when Sabo broke their fight off. "Anything else happened while on your visit to Alabasta?"
All three brothers stopped before Sabo and Ace glanced at Luffy.
264
Luffy cleared his throat, before putting his right hand forward. On the ring finger, there were two silver rings. Both rings were black with very different designs. One was laced with small thin blue diamonds while the other was laced with equally rare orange rubies.
"Yeah… I kind of got married." Luffy said.
Dragon blinked, then blinked again, to his credit the man didn't make any over dramatic reaction. But he was surprised nonetheless. "But there are two rings…"
Luffy puffed his chest proudly… "Of course, it would be… one for each wife." He grinned, waiting for Dragon's reaction.
Dragon paused for a while before a smile broke out. "Congratulations then. Hope you have a good life," he said. He didn't say anything much, but the man was happy for his son.
"Thanks." Luffy said, a bit confused by the lackluster reaction.
"I presume you are keeping your marriage secret?" He said, and Luffy nodded. "And I also presume that one of your wives is the princess?"
Luffy nodded again, a bit amused.
"So Princess Vivi, and…" Dragon asked the unanswered question.
"Nami, she is part of the crew." Luffy said, "She my beautiful orange-haired navigator. I would have had them meet you, but… well, they aren't here… and…"
"No worries. The call was sudden on my part." Dragon said, not minding it. A small smile on his face, "Honestly, I wasn't expecting you to marry this early… And not to two at the same time." Dragon admitted, but then he chuckled before he brought his own right hand up. On his hand there were two silver rings, "But then again, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree…" he said, though there was sadness in his eyes.
Luffy didn't know what to say. Those eyes didn't just reflect sadness, they reflected pain, struggle, and loneliness. All of it flashed for a second before it disappeared behind his mask of strength.
But Luffy, Ace, and Sabo could easily pick it up. Even the second in command in the Revolutionary Army didn't know that, most of the time, Dragon wore black hand gloves, so he was also surprised.
In the midst of chaos, all three brothers didn't notice an eye and an ear sprouting near the corner of the room.
The young pirate didn't know what to say. But as a man, and a son, he gave him a solemn nod. Before blinking, "Wait, you married two women at the same time?"
Dragon just grinned, "Surprising isn't it."
"I… I'm sure my mothers were great women." Luffy said, not knowing what else to say. Though he did want to learn about them, the series didn't flesh out Luffy's parents and he also wanted to satisfy his curiosity, "Can I know about them?"
Dragon nodded and was about to continue when Ace spoke.
"Ugh, I think we should go then," Ace said, leaving his chair to stand up.
"Yeah, we should give you guys some privacy." Sabo agreed.
"No, no stay…" Dragon said, waving them off. "I might be Luffy's biological father, but you are his brothers. Some relations go deeper than blood."
"Yeah, you guys can stay." Luffy agreed with his father. It would be a bit awkward to have a conversation one on one. This man might be his father, but he was mostly absent for Luffy's life.
The only person he considered a father figure was Garp. The old marine might be tough, but he was a loveable bastard.
Both Sabo and Ace looked at each other and shrugged, taking their seat. They were also curious about the world's World's Worst Criminal.
Dragon waited a bit before starting, "I married both of them at the same time as well. I wasn't as young as you, but young non the less." he said smiling at the fond memories, "I was maybe around twenty-five, had recently left the Marines at the time, and I was the captain of the Freedom Fighter Pirates then."
The Freedom Fighters weren't actually a pirate group, but an early team of revolutionaries. Later on Dragon founded the revolutionary army from there.
"We were a very small group back then," Dragon said, "And I met both love of my lives there."
"Where should I start…? Hmm, let's start with your mother." Dragon said, smiling "She was a kind-hearted woman, she joined our small group a bit later. Free-spirited, compassionate, and a dreamer."
Luffy and the others could feel the fondness in his voice, remembering the old times.
Dragon's lips curled up to a smile, before it went away. "She was also a princess… though her kingdom had perished when she was young. You wouldn't even find a mention of the island… the World Government made sure to erase that part of the history."
All three boys gave a grim look, they didn't know what happened. Maybe a buster call, but they didn't question it.
"How did she…?" Luffy didn't say the last part, but it wasn't needed.
"Luna was sick… her condition was incurable by the time we found out. She passed away a year later after you were born…" Dragon said with regret in his voice, "Maybe if the disease was found earlier she could have been saved. But like Olvia and your older sister… I failed her."
Luffy blinked, surprised. "I have a sister?"
Dragon sadly nodded. "Yes, but my precious little flower was from Olvia… you are from Luna. My daughter… I failed her as my firstborn." he said, there was shame, sorrow, and disappointment in his voice, "That is also the reason why I didn't want you to stay with me… I didn't want you to get into trouble."
Luffy just nodded.
Dragon continued, "I fell in love with both Luna and Olvia…" he said, grinning, "And like a real man, I didn't want to choose between them… and I never regretted that choice."
Luffy smiled thinking that he wasn't much different from him.
"Olvia and I worked together even before I defected from the marines. She in a way worked for the World Government," he said, "I first met her when I was still in the Marines. She was a strong woman, we clashed heads in many ways… but that's what I loved about her."
The revolutionary continued.
"After I left the Marines, I needed some help to stay under the radar of the World Government, and well, she came in for the help… joining our small group and acting more or less like a double agent… But then things happened, and I needed to go into hiding. While I could take Luna with me, Olvia, she… she still wanted to stay anonymous. She might have been part of the revolutionary, but she loved history. And she valued her work… I didn't want to take her away from her work and in some ways she was safe not being with me."
Dragon smiled at the old memories, "Luna was of course alive at the time. And she was with me, when I was hiding. I had to hide for a few years, and when I came out of hiding, I found out that I had a daughter." He said the last words with sadness.
"Wait…" Luffy said before remembering something, "The black transponder snail was just recent." he mumbled.
Dragon nodded. "Not just the black transponder snail, back then even the common transponder snail was uncommon. And there weren't much ways to communicate back then. So any transponder communication could easily be traced and marked."
"Even though the Marines and World Government didn't target Olvia, because of her being a valuable asset of knowledge… she was still suspected. Playing the double agent had its own set of problems… They couldn't take action against my father, but… she would be in trouble… So I had to cut off all communication for a few years when I went into hiding. I had Luna with me, but I missed Olvia… It was one of the hard times back then."
"What did you do for them to target you?" Luffy asked.
Dragon expression darkened, "World Goverment wanted to kill Luna, and she was always on their hit list. Things happened and she got captured by some World Nobles. Had to save her and in doing so, killed Seven of them." He said, scowling, before giving a savage grin. On of a predator, "My only regret is that I couldn't kill the last one."
"I… Impressive." Luffy admitted. "But I would have killed the eighth one as well."
Dragon snorted, chuckling, relaxing a bit. After a while, he then continued, "When I went into hiding, the marines and world government were after me like wild dogs. I didn't know that Olvia was pregnant with our child. Even Olvia found out later, by then there was no way to contact me… Olvia was strong, and she raised our daughter alone. I missed the first few years of her life. And when I did find out my daughter was already four.
"My precious little flower didn't know that I was her father. Olvia didn't want the information to slip out, so she had lied to everyone, even to our daughter. To my sweet little flower, I was just a stranger that came from time to time and brought gifts." Dragon said, giving a sad smile.
Dragon continued.
"I wanted to tell her that I was her father. But… with Olvia working close to the world government, the information might slip out to the wrong people. Luna blamed herself for the whole mess, but Olvia didn't. I-I really lucked on getting those two."
"Wait, so she didn't know you were her father?" Luffy asked. "That's… Sorry, to be blunt, that's kind of stupid."
265
"Wait, so she didn't know you were her father?" Luffy asked. "That's… Sorry, to be blunt, that's kind of stupid."
Dragon gave a sad smile, "It was… I always wanted to live a life without regret, to live free. To help people, to do the greater good. But at that time I came up short." He said, sighing, pinching the bridge of his nose, "I-I… I was a father, and I wanted to take the responsibility for it, but I was powerless at the same time."
Luffy didn't say anything. But he could feel the man's sadness, it seems failing her supposed sister was his biggest regret.
"But it was better this way, or that's what I told myself." He sighed helplessly, "I still remember the times when I saw my precious little flower, she often saw me as a stranger, I couldn't even reveal my face to her, due to my bounty poster being all around the island."
Dragon said, sighing, "But I was underestimating my daughter, she got her intelligence from her mother. Once she asked me why I always hid my face, I told her that it was to protect her and her mother. And she accepted it as it is, being was content with the answer." A tear rolled down from his eye, as he wiped it away. "She was very mature for her own age…"
Even Luffy found himself shedding a few tears, and when he looked at his side, his brothers were down right crying with blowing their nose in their handkerchief. Luffy wanted to say something about it, but didn't bother.
"I wanted to give something to her. Something that would protect her at sea," Dragon said, "It was after a successful mission, and I got my hands on a pretty powerful fruit. Funny thing is, your mother was the one that got the fruit. One that was used by an assassin from the Cipher Pol unit, and I gifted it to my precious little flower. She was six at the time."
He smiled.
"Olvia protested giving such a powerful fruit to a child, but well, I couldn't keep myself. And Luan and I managed to convince Olvia otherwise. Like me Luna also thought it was a good idea… unlike me, Luna didn't have a bounty… and, well, she bonded well with our daughter. Though to her she was just a random aunt" He said, chuckling, "I didn't regret that decision, giving her that fruit I mean. The fruit power really suited her creative mind. The flower fruit for my precious little flower." Dragon said the last part mostly to himself and the three boys weren't able to hear it.
Dragon continued.
"But I was content with it… I didn't want to be greedy. I didn't want her to share my burden. I just wanted them to be safe, even if that meant being away from them." he said. "But the World Government took them away from me." he said, his voice hardening. "The Revolutionary Army and all of this… if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have made it."
That surprised all of them.
Dragon continued. "The World Government… they took them away from me." He gave a hollow chuckle as a single shed of tear rolled down his eye. He wiped it away with his hand, before looking at them. "And they did it without even knowing. For all the justice and revolution that I speak of… it was my personal hatred that started all of this.
"I might preach about Justice and Revolution, but I sometimes ask myself, if I am just looking for vengeance." He said looking to the side, "But then again, the flames of revolution were always in a way ignited with hate before it could bring peace and justice."
"You truly loved them," Luffy said, with a sad smile. "I could see myself doing worse for Nami or Vivi…"
Dragon smiled, "Protect them, son." he said, "When I found out what was about to happen, I left out with our fastest ship, but I was late. Olvia and our daughter were gone, and I was only left with Luna. I threw myself at work, trying everything to make the lives of every World Government worker's life miserable, trying to help anyone, so that like me, they wouldn't need to lose anyone precious to them. At least I had Luna by my side."
His look of determination broke again, "Then we found out about her sickness… she didn't have much time on her. And she decided to give me something before she left." He then looked at Luffy, "Then we had you… Her already short time was even shorter. And so… call it fear, or my cowardice but I didn't want to lose you like my firstborn."
Dragon continued.
"I didn't want to fail you like your sister. Who knows what challenges she faced and are facing right now… I… If you blame me son, then I'm sorry. But I couldn't lose you…" He said.
Luffy wanted to ask him about his sister but he didn't' interrupt him.
Dragon looked a bit awkward, "When you were small, you were a bit unruly. That was also the reason why I didn't show myself to you."
"Wait, you visited the village? Of course, you did." He said growing a bit. "But honestly I feel kind of betrayed that you didn't trust me… I could keep a secret, even with my unusual quirks."
"Yeah, he might have acted a bit stupid as a kid. But Luffy was stubborn when it came to keeping promises." Ace said, thinking over a time when Luffy had kept his secret even while he was beaten half to death.
"But wait, if you did visit him, how did you not know about me?" Sabo asked.
"Well, believe it or not, after Shanks visited the Foosha Village it became quite tough to visit the east blue back then." He said, "And I couldn't visit the island for two years, and when I did came back, I found Gray Terminal in flames, and you Sabo. I didn't actually think that you would be connected to Luffy. Goa Kingdom was very far from Foosha Village, and well… you lost your memories."
Sabo internally winched and nodded.
"Anyway, I didn't keep that much contact with my father," Dragon said, "And well, I had my hands full with the newly established revolutionary army. So I couldn't visit that much like your sister, also with other things…"
Luffy cut him off, "Before I forget, my sister… is she alive?"
Dragon looked at him, and sighed, "I… I don't know." He admitted, "When Oliva died I tried to find her… but she was gone. The last one to see her was Saul, the giant survived the incident but with bad burns but even he didn't know where she was. The only way I know she's alive is because of her active bounty poster… Over the years, her traces got so thin that finding her became impossible."
But Luffy frowned, "Olvia… Saul" he said, finally connecting the dots. "Hey, dad… don't mind me asking. But what's the name of my sister."
Dragon frowned, "It's Nico Robin." He said, a sad smile on his face, "Well, her name would have been Monkey D. Robin. But you know that would have been a dead giveaway… even without having any connection to her, she's one of the hit list of World Government, if they knew they might have sent CP9 agents to Vice Admirals at her by now." He said, with a sour look.
He then sighed, "I would give anything to hold my flower in my arms and tell her that I love her… though she's probably all grown up by now. I wonder if she took her looks from her mother, she did get my hair…" he said, saying the last parts mostly to himself. "But it's too late for that, now."
All three boys looked at each other, opening and closing their mouths like fishes. A wordless conversation going on between them.
Dragon frowned, "What happened?"
Sabo was on the spoke, "*Ahem… I might have forgotten to mention something on my last report."
"Wait, you knew?" Luffy asked.
"No, of course not," Sabo said, warily. "It's news to me as well. But I did say the Revolutionary Army was looking for her."
Dragon frown deepened, "Sabo, what did you forget to report?"
It was then the room's door was flung open. And the transponder snail was positioned in a way, Dragon was clearly able to see who it was.
A woman with beautiful features, and onyx black hair.
And for the first time of the day, Dragon's eyes almost popped out of its sockets.
———–
A/N: The problem with Robin being Dragon's daughter is in fact Robin's age and knowledge.
She was around 8 when Ohara incident happened.
And it's a bit of hard to believe that Dragon didn't visit the place once. (But then again who knows, maybe he didn't.)
Dragon didn't even visit Luffy once in Canon, as far as we know. But maybe he did, the Gray Terminal incident could have been Dragon secretly visiting his son, and finding the incident shoved up in his face.
That's why I addressed that issue, in this fic, Robin does remember someone like Dragon visiting Ohara, a few times. But to her, Dragon was a stranger. A hooded stranger that didn't reveal his face, who sometimes visited Ohara. Who also gifted her the fruit.
Dragon and Olvia might have hid her so that she doesn't spill the beans.
I can see my theory working, but with Oda. Nico Olvia would be dragon's first wife/lover, then after his death, Luffy's mother would have been his second wife/lover. I named Luffy's mom Luna, cause… well, I liked the sound of it.
It means moon or moonlight in some countries. I would have named her Lily, but well with the recent chapters in the manga, I decided otherwise.
To my patreøn readers, I have changed a few things.
I write most of the blank stuff with theories and my imagination, so I would recommend going into all of this. One Piece has it's fair share of plot-holes. But oh well…
I love Sabo's character, but his sudden memory return only after his brother died was just a massive plot hole.
So even if later down the line Oda does confirm that Robin and Luffy are related, I wouldn't mind too much. I prefer nostalgia over logic sometimes.
266
Robin leaned on the balcony railing, the moon shining brightly tonight, its radiance making the view quite hypnotic. From here she could see the long desert, the deep blue night sky, filled with stars, and the shining moon.
The view was mesmerizing and she was using it to not think about what happened today.
'I have a family.' A whisper in her ears.
She shook her head, it was out of character to just barge in through the door and confront the leader of the Revolutionary Army. Who also happened to be his deadbeat father.
She sighed.
'I have a father now.' She thought, her lips becoming a thin line that stretched into a small smile. All the years of emptiness were gone. She wiped away the single tear that threatened to leak out of her eye. 'And a brother too… well brothers.'
She mused about the three boys, Luffy might be her biological brother. But in Ace's words, all of them came in a package. And hence now, she has three brothers.
From an orphan to now having an actual blood-related family, in just a few days… that was quite the promotion.
'And Saul is alive…' another smile stretched across her face. 'Heavily injured, but alive… I… I'm glad.'
She wondered if this was the crew her old friend had told her about. A crew that would accept her, people that would trust her.
And… another smile crept her face while tears rolled down her eyes. And… she was actually smiling now. It wasn't… she wasn't faking it anymore was she?
She didn't know how long its been since she could actually smile… be carefree. Be safe… at least to feel safe.
A small voice still called her to be paranoid. To look over the corner… but no… no, she wouldn't.
She had hope and she would protect it with all she had… Because she finally had it.
Hope.
The day was quite emotional in her books.
And a lot of crying, well, she could understand the three boys crying. Luffy and his brothers wore their emotions on their sleeves.
They were over the moon happy for her…
Her father too cried, the fearsome leader of the Revolutionary Army had cried, for her… it warmed her heart seeing the man care for her.
At the same time, the man cleared out any doubts she had of her origins, and why he didn't look for her. Well, he did.
It seems for all it's worth, her skills in hiding were good. So good that even the Revolutionary's Leader couldn't find her.
And he's been searching for her for two decades now. The man wanted to come to Paradise's side immediately and apologize to her. To hold her, to hug her, to say sorry to her. To at least be the father he couldn't have been.
But Luffy, her brother… a small smile appeared on her face. Who knew she would join the crew of her own brother?
She shook her head. Luffy didn't want Dragon to come into Paradise, it made sense… as that might put all of them in danger.
Finally, Luffy was able to gain the barest amount of trust from the World Government, so he didn't want to waste it. And of course, if somehow the World Government knew that Dragon also had a daughter…
One that could read the ancient texts, well, a buster call would be a mild response on their part.
But that was logical, Dragon for the most part wasn't listening to reason and told his son to shut up. Which brought about a verbal battle between the two Monkey D. Family members.
But after he reassured him that she would be all right and along with other things, Dragon agreed with holding off his visit for now.
Luffy had then also brought up how his grampa, or their grampa, would react. A father, three brothers, and now a grandfather.
Suddenly gaining that many family members… that felt surreal.
Robin again found herself wiping away her tears. She wouldn't cry… she wasn't sad. No, she was happy now.
All of this felt surreal. Almost as if she would suddenly wake up and find all of this to be a dream.
And she… and she was afraid.
"Sorry for bothering you, Robin-san. But here's your drink…" It was Sanji who spoke, the chef waiting at the door with a tray, "You haven't eaten anything for lunch… and captain is worried." He was as well, but he knew better than to say that right now.
"I… Thank you," Robin said as she quickly wiped away any remaining tears that she had. Not wanting to show any weakness, as years of habit wouldn't go away in one day.
Sanji walked in and placed the tray on the table, before walking down towards the balcony railing, standing a bit away from her. He looked over the horizon, the moonlight casting a shadow over his face as he leaned on the railing.
"I heard what happened…" he said, the whole crew knew. "If you want, I'm a good listener."
Robin didn't say anything for a while and Sanji was about to get back to the kitchen and resume his duties when she spoke.
"Can… can you stay?"
"…of course, my lady."
No one said anything for a while, there was a comfortable silence between them. Sanji was the first person in the crew that had accepted her alongside her brother, and she found the blond cook quite comforting to be around.
267
Time passed and after a while, Robin finally broke the silence.
"You know, most of my life, for nearly two decades I was alone. Jumping from one pirate ship to another, just to survive… not staying in one place, afraid of what might happen if the World Government finds out, all the while looking for anything resembling a family." Robin said, "And just in few days, not only did I find a crew that actually accepted me, but my family as well… can you believe that Sanji?"
Sanji didn't look towards her but rather looked at the open horizon on the front, as Robin sniffed trying to hold back her tears.
"All my life, I thought I was cursed… the World Government gave me the epithet 'Devil's Child' in my bounty poster, almost as if mocking my curse… I was hunted down by Marines and bounty hunters alike… and all I did was survive. All I knew was how to survive…" she said, wiping away her streaming tears.
She had glanced a few times to know Sanji wasn't looking at her, and she was thankful at that.
"I couldn't show myself to others… doing anything to survive, doing things that I regret just for my own survival… all the while I tried to hold onto hope. A foolish dream."
Sanji didn't say anything but passed a handkerchief to her, still not looking at her.
Robin took it, giving a wordless thanks, "I am an archaeologist… maybe my purpose was finding the poneglyphs. To find the history of the void century… But that hope died down as well, when I saw and read the poneglyph of Alabasta." She said, remembering how she and her brother sneaked into the tomb of kings to read the ancient text.
A small smile crept up her face. A real smile… and she continued.
"I had no hope, no nothing… I had no meaning to live. The only thing that was keeping me alive was the hate for the World Government. And then… When all my hopes were lost, I found this crew… and I found my family. I-I had a family… and Saul, my giant friend who saved me from Ohara, he was alive." Robin said, her voice cracking as she sniffed from time to time. "Just a few days, ago, I had no reason to live. And now, I… I want to live. I want to be happy… Isn't that selfish?"
"No, no it's not." Sanji said, it was then a very cold wind blew, almost making the girl shiver. Sanji walked over to her while taking of his coat and putting it around Robin.
"Thank you," Robin said, and Sanji nodded.
He then looked right into her eyes, "I… we are kind of similar Robin." He said, this was the first time he called her without any honorific. "We aren't much different, and I'm happy that you actually found your family… a family that loves you." he smiled.
Robin didn't say anything so the chef continued.
"Captain is overprotective of us… doing anything and everything for us… and I can only imagine what he would do for his own blood… he… he is a man I admire and he is a man that I'm jealous of." Sanji said, walking away from her before again taking his spot near the railing. "Unlike me, he's strong. Unlike me, he's self-controlled, and unlike me, he's committed."
"You know, when I first joined the crew, the only ones that were loyal to Luffy was Zoro and then Gin. After that, one by one, I saw how a boy that was younger than me, won over the hearts of his crewmates. Won over their loyalty." He gave a shallow grin, "That bastard even has me wrapped around his appreciation… heck, I wouldn't mind giving my life for the crew or him. While I am around seeking blind revenge. He… well, he's different." He then looked at him, "…you really are lucky Robin. And I'm happy for you."
Robing flashed a small smile, "If I didn't know any better I would have thought you had a crush on my brother."
Sanji's face turned green for a second, "D-Don't say that…"
"Now, don't say that… I have a very vivid imagination. Just imagine, you and him, half naked on a bed… shirtless and only covered by a blanket." She mused, "How scandalous!"
"Oh, god! You are evil..!" Sanji said, his face turning fully green, "Now, I can't get that image out of my head."
Robin chuckled, "Oh, what if rather than the captain… how about our certain green-haired swordsman. Fufufu…" she teased. "You seem to have deep feelings for him…"
"P-Please, can you not…?" Sanji said, looking like he was making a conscious effort to not throw up his lunch. He almost shivered at the thought.
"Okay, okay… I won't." Robin said chuckling, after some time Sanji joined the laugh as well. Robin tightened the coat around her when the wind blew again.
"You want to know a secret, Robin-san?" he asked, his voice didn't hold the flirty tone that he usually had. "I also have an older sister."
Robin blinked and looked at the chef.
"Vinsmoke Reiju, that's her name." Sanji said, "She… she was a great woman."
"Wait, Vinsmoke… you are from the Vinsmoke family?" She asked, surprised.
Sanji sighed, "Unfortunately, yes."
For a while none of them spoke, but Robin's curiosity got the better of her. "You said… she 'was', as far as I know the princess of the Germa Kingdom is alive." She kept tabs on the most prominent members in the world, so she had some info on them.
"Well, she is alive… but I don't think she's herself anymore," Sanji said, with sadness in his voice. "Judge, my biological bastard of a father, wanted the best soldiers for his kingdom and cause. And what better way than to experiment on your own children?"
Robin looked at Sanji, horrified.
"Reiju was the firstborn or so that's what the normal people believe. But she was the only one that survived my father's cruel experiments." Sanji said, his fist tightening on the railing, bending the structure. "After that he had my brothers and me. Each one stronger than the previous one… or at least that was his plan."
"You see, my mother saw what the experiments had done to my older sister, how it stripped her away from her emotions and will… so when she had me, she took something to halt my Vinsmoke genes development process." Sanji said, "My abilities became far less potent than my siblings, but I was able to keep my emotions and will… and of course, I was deemed flawed. And that gave the opportunity for my other siblings to pounce on me. Beat me, break me… torture me. And many other things."
Robin looked even paler now, "But… they were your siblings. Your family…"
Sanji gave her a sad smile, "I wish it was that… I might have forgot to mention, but my father never did actually marry my mother or any one of the women he had. No, for him, they were just breeding stock." Sanji could feel his flames rage on that memory, "Human, Fishman, Mink, women from other races and tribes were just for his experiments. To make the perfect soldier. Other than my sister, my other siblings were not from my mother.
"My mother saw how bad each day was for me to survive. Even she was thoroughly 'punished' for 'ruining' my father's 'creation'. With all of that… she decided to grab me and run." He said, a small smile crept his face. "For two years we ran from one island to another, doing anything to survive and flee away from 'my' father. Our only regret was that we left Reiju… But you can only run so much from your past, before it catches up to you."
"They found us, they beat us… and worst of all. I had to see my mother die right in front of my very eyes." Sanji said, his own tears streaming down his face at the memory. "I called for that bastard to stop, called for Reiju to stop him. But when my own sister looked at me, I only saw emptiness in her eyes. I didn't see a spark of will in them."
Sanji wiped away the painful tears, "When we escaped from Germa, I always questioned my mother as to why Reiju wasn't with us. Other than giving me a painful-looking smile, she didn't say anything." He said. "But that day, I found my answer… my sister was gone. Too lost by the effects of the experiments, she no longer had a will of her own. She was a husk of the person she previously was."
Sanji then looked towards the moon, thinking over what had happened that day. How his 'father' and siblings beat him and his mother. The pain was bearable, but the emptiness that he felt when Judge pulled the trigger killing his mother… that was unbearable. That scene still haunted him to this day. It made him feel how powerless he was, how weak he was, and what kind of a failure he truly was.
Sanji gave another self deprecating laugh, "And did you know what was funny…? Judge, that bastard, didn't actually care to retrieve me, or my mother. No, he didn't care for us… why would he.
"Heck, he didn't even care if I lived or died. I was broken and battered… my so-called brothers beating the life out of me. It was then Chef Jeff, a man that I would proudly call my father, who rushed in and grabbed me.
"He fought a losing battle before he went into the sea trying to save me… even lost his leg in the process. That man taught me how to care, how to be compassionate, and how to be strong for others. Of course, he also had his hand in teaching me how to cook." A Proud smile dawned on his face.
Robin looked at him and actually found his smile… cute? That was odd…
Sanji continued, "If it wasn't for him. I would have been driven by madness and revenge… and who knows if I would have died a long time ago." he then looked at Robin, giving her a smile. "That's why I'm happy for you… a beautiful lady like you deserves all the happiness in the world."
Robin's lips quirked up, "Flirting the moment when things get a bit stable… how noble of you."
"I aim to please." Sanji smirked, walking towards the table where he kept the juice, "Now, I would be more pleased if you have something… don't want all the emotional baggage ruining your beautiful skin."
"So you are only after my body…" Sanji's body went still. "And here I was thinking you were different…"
"I… I uh…" Sanji didn't know what to say, only after a bit did he realize Robin was teasing him. He sighed, smiling as he brought the glass of juice to her. "You got me… now as much as I would love to stay and gaze at your beauty, I need to make dinner. The poor chefs in the castle are almost planning to resign with how much food we eat."
Robin gave a small chuckle as Sanji made his way out. She chuckled to herself as she shook her head. She looked at the horizon, only now noticing that Sanji's coat was still on her.
A small smile dawned her face, as she sipped her juice and enjoyed the cold breeze.
268
"I have to say, I'm honored to be speaking to a boss man like you." The person from the other side of the transponder snail said. The snail's face reflected an ugly smile with missing teeth. "So, how can I help you?"
"You do know of Straw Hat Luffy, right?" He said, "I want you to get rid of him."
[Note: I haven't pointed out before, but Luffy has two epithets.
Straw Hat Luffy was given by the Marines.
Fallen Hero Luffy was given by the newspapers. Mainly Morgan hyping up Luffy as the next best thing since Shwarma.
That's why they are used interchangeably.]
The smile on the transponder snail dropped a bit. "I… I usually like being straight to the point. But this is… he's a Warlord, and he is strong enough to get that…"
"Don't waste my time, pirate." The World Noble said, "I know from the information I have on you, that you were looking for a way to get into the Warlord system. So what better way to kill the new brat that doesn't know his place?"
For a while, the pirate on the other side didn't speak, before he laughed, "Zehahahaha… I already like you Saint Camael. I will do it… I will kill that brat, but what do I get in return?"
Saint Camael looked at the transponder snail and said something that made the person on the other side stop with a jaw-drop expression.
"That… can you really do it?" Blackbeard asked. "But that fruit… I thought it was a legend?"
"So, do we have a deal pirate?"
"O-Of course," Blackbeard said, smiling with his all missing teeth, the transponder reflecting the disgusting smile. "But I take payment up front… that would also help me in taking down the new warlord."
"Sure…" the World Noble said, surprising Blackbeard on the other side. "I will be sending the fruit along with a few members that will help you in taking that crew down. Don't miss your chance."
"Who will come? The Cipher Pol? If so, I don't really need those broken unskilled agents for him." Teach said waving him off. "My crew might only have five members but I'm strong enough take the whole Straw Hat crew and then some… I'm a former Whitebeard pirate."
Camael scoffed, "Don't underestimate the boy. And you will be getting help. One of them is Green Bull Aramaki and the other one is Shiryu of the Rain." He said, the World Noble had to pull a lot of strings to get Shiryu out of Impel Down, but it should be worth it. "Along with them, I will be sending a few Pacifistas…"
"Paci-what?" Blackbeard asked.
"Human weapons developed by Dr. Vegapunk. They are basically, robotic clones of Warlord Kuma…"
Blackbeard's eyes widened, "So the rumors were true…" he mumbled. "I… why are you doing this…? With all of them, couldn't you take the new kid out? Straw Hat Luffy shouldn't be that strong…"
Saint Camael narrowed his eyes, "Know your place pirate…" he said, "And don't question my judgment. That pest needs to be dealt with by a pirate… and you will do it. But if you are hesitant I can look for someone else."
He was prohibited by the Five Elders to take action against Luffy, now that he was Warlord. All because to appease the public now that he was being celebrated as a new hero. But Saint Camael wasn't one to give up.
So, he hatched a plan. If he used other forces, pirates, and bounty hunters to attack the Warlord, then the public wouldn't know. Of course, he would get backlash from the Five Elders, with some of his property and toys being seized by them. But it would be worth it.
That son a bitch needed to die… he smiled cruelly thinking of Dragon's face when he would see news of his son's death in the newspaper.
"Now, why would I let you do that." Blackbeard grinned, "The kid's mine… send your cavalry to Jaya… I'm sure that the Straw Hats will pass through here if they ever leave Alabasta. If not, then we will have to attack that."
Saint Camael nodded, a grin appearing on his face. "You think well for a pirate… who knows this might set up a long-time business relationship between us."
"Zehahaha… oh, and I might be a bit authoritative, but tell Aramaki and Shiryu to follow my lead, and while with me, they would need to follow my orders." At the same time Blackbeard was thinking on how to make the new members stay on his crew permanently.
"Of course, as long as you kill the new Warlord in a month, I won't mind." Saint Camael dismissed. "Now, I have other things to do, places to be… have a good hunt."
"Aye!" with that the call ended.
269
Luffy laid on Nami's lap, while the navigator combed her fingers into his black hair, softly massaging his scalp. "It's still hard to believe what happened…" Luffy muttered. "I… I have sister? I didn't see that coming…"
Nami hummed, "Well… now that its out… I kind of do see the resemblance."
Luffy gave her a flat look and Nami pinched his cheek, giving a teasing smile.
"I mean both of you have black hair." She smiled, giggling when Luffy rolled his eyes, and yelped when he pinched her side. The orange head pouted cutely at Luffy, making the pirate muse.
"No seriously though… I didn't see that coming." Luffy said, "And when you added in the fact that, what she had to go through… I'm just… I don't know what to say."
"Hey, sometimes, things happened… and what's done is done. The important thing is now she's safe." Nami said.
Luffy sighed, "Still though, Nami… she's my sister. Even if she's older than me, I'm sure I owed her a couple of piggyback rides, teasing, and a bunch of birthdays… and more teasing… I… I just feel useless." He sighed again.
Knowing who Robin was sooner wouldn't help him either, he wasn't ready to set out to the sea back then. It was the same reason why he didn't go and save Nami's village when he had enough strength.
Did he regret that? Yup. With his strength, it would have been easy to handle Arlong, but he delayed it. Sure, he could give out excuses, but there was still a pang of guilt for what he did. But what was done was done. The same was for Robin. Regretting it now was just a waste of time.
Nami cupped her husband's face, not knowing what went through his head. "No, Luffy, you aren't useless…" she said, "Well, things happen… and well, you can't always stop it." She sighed, "I saw my mother die in front of my very eyes, and I still feel useless about doing nothing… but that's the thing, some things are just beyond our control. And we have to accept that."
"You know, for a cat burglar, you are quite the wise one…" Luffy said, pushing Nami off to the bed and resting his face in her growing breasts, "Is this where you store them… your wisdom I mean." He said poking one of her breasts. "They have been growing well from all the wisdom lately."
"Hey… hey, Luffy… don't do that… you know I'm ticklish…" she pouted.
Luffy just grinned, before his smile fell a bit.
"You are worried about how Vivi is reacting to all of this aren't you?" she asked, again combing her thin fingers down Luffy's hair. "But I'm sure, she will understand…"
"…understand what exactly?" Vivi said entering the room, Luffy and Nami both sat up looking at the princess as she entered the room.
Vivi was wearing a blue dress and in her hand was a tray full of sandwiches and three glasses of drinks. Vivi, for all the wild she was, seemed to love taking the role of a traditional wife.
A bit different from Nami, who would have instead just cuddled up to Luffy to spend her time. Even though Nami was the more mature out of the two, she still had her childish moments.
"Hmm… no, I was thinking of why you like to feed me so much," Luffy said, aimlessly.
Vivi puffed her chest a bit, and anime logic did its thing and made her assets jiggle. But hey, he wasn't complaining.
"Well, you know what they say. Don't let a man leave the house hungry or horny, 'cause, there's always some hoe out there with a sandwich." She said the words nonchalantly.
Both Luffy and Nami blinked before both of them laughed.
As Vivi put the tray down Luffy came up to her and gave his blue-haired wife a light kiss.
"Well, thank you…" Vivi said, pushing Luffy back, and handing over a sandwich and one glass, "So, you gonna tell me what you guys were speaking about behind my back?" She said with slightly narrowed eyes.
"…we were talking about what happened with Robin… ya know, the whole family thing and stuff," Luffy answered, appreciating the sandwich and biting into it. "It's kind of surreal that she's my sister…"
"O-oh…" Vivi said, feeling a bit awkward.
Luffy noticed it. "Hey, you don't have to say sorry to her or anything like that…" he said, "She might be my sister, but what she did was totally wrong. Though, you should give her a chance."
"What happened to her…?" Vivi asked, "I only know that her homeland was destroyed by the Marines. But other than that, I don't know anything."
Nami looked at Luffy, "Yeah, same here." She said, having her own sandwich. "It would probably help if we knew her whole story… some of us have messed up backgrounds, so we could relate in a way."
Luffy looked at both of his wives, "Even though it's not my story to tell… alright,let me give you a brief summary… but remember you never heard it from me. And keep it a secret."
They gave a nod, so with that Luffy went into all details he knew about the Ohara incident, about Robin's mother, Jaguar D. Saul and Aokiji, Akainu, and her life after that, jumping from one crew to another. Of course, the last bits of information he told from canon knowledge he had.
And he had to make sure Robin wasn't snooping around or that would open a new can of worms in the matter.
By the time the explanation was over, both women looked horrified. Luffy also hinted at Robin's depression about how she saw no meaning in living, though now it might have gone better. Still, he had to check on her.
"I-I thought my backstory was messed up… but that… oh God!" Nami said, looking a bit pale. She didn't know the full story before, only knew that Robin was on the run for nearly two decades but now that Luffy had gone into details about what happened she could see why Robin turned out like that.
"That… she has been through a lot," Vivi said, biting her lower lip. She could only wonder how she would have turned out to be if her homeland was destroyed and she was on the run for that long. "I have to say something to her…" She stood up.
But Luffy caught her hand. "I know that would mean a lot to her… but let her figure things out for herself for a while." Luffy said, "I would love for both of you to fix things between yourselves. And with things going like this, I think we should stay in Alabasta for a few more days. Let things settle in before starting the journey."
Vivi blinked, happy that Luffy had decided to stay a little longer.
The pirate continued, "So maybe later… let her think things through. Just not showing open hostility would be enough. Also, don't look at her with pity, if she's anything like me in any sense she would hate that… rather, just be normal around her. And if you do wanna confront her, do it tomorrow, it's pretty late right now." Also, they weren't staying the castle, but in one of the royal guest houses that was away from the main castle, for some privacy.
Also what was left unsaid was that Robin couldn't know that Luffy knew her backstory. That might backfire. And sometimes, letting things heal with time was for the better.
And even if Vivi wanted to confront Robin, it would be better to do it tomorrow. Robin was emotionally stressed, with all the crying and literal worldview shattering, it would be better to leave her alone for the day.
It was then the transponder snail went off.
"Perepereperepere… Perepereperepere…"
All three of them blinked, who would be calling now? At this hour no less.
Luffy frowned picking it up. "Moshi Moshi, who's this…"
"It's Big News Morgan!" The bird man said from the other side, "And I bring bad news…" with that the bird man continued.
By the time it was over, Luffy was very happy that he decided to hold off on the journey. Things in the sea are about to get wild.
270
Next day,
King Cobra took a walk as he was going over the recent reports of his kingdom. Behind him Chaka, Pell, and Igaram followed. Igaram had returned to the kingdom recently and took back his duties in the royal castle.
"The Straw Hats really are a great help," King Cobra muttered, going over the report, and all the things they did. Even though King Cobra trusted Luffy and his companions, he still made a point to look into what all the pirates were doing.
He was a king first and foremost, so he had his duties.
Luffy had said before that his crew would help with the problems in the kingdom, and he was keeping his promise. Heck, he was doing more than that.
From creating new artificial river pathways to helping people with food problems by catching large sea-kings. They were doing their best for the people of Alabasta.
Though at the same time, King Cobra knew Luffy was also doing this to gain fame from the people of Alabasta and maybe gain his own trust. Like the Sakura Kingdom, the young pirate wanted this island fully under him.
Thinking of Luffy, the King couldn't help but sigh. He was now his son-in-law, not that he disliked the young man. He was headstrong, focused, and had grand goals.
But still… this… this wasn't what he was expecting. Getting married to his daughter.
And to top it all off Vivi was fully in love with him, her daughter had the same eyes as her mother. So he could see it from a mile away.
As a single father, he saw how her daughter looked at the pirate. And knew something like this might happen, still he hoped and prayed that his intuition might be wrong. But it seemed it wasn't.
But then again, the king didn't fully dislike the young man. He had a reputation of being a hero before becoming a pirate. He saw his actions first hand when the boy saved the capital by tossing the giant bomb sky high.
And also, Luffy was upfront.
Rather than being in a relationship behind his back, Luffy had faced him head on asking for his daughter's hand in marriage. An act of courage only a few men were willing to take. Though, he was a bit surprised when it turned out that Vivi wasn't the only one he was marrying.
But then again if Vivi was okay with it, then it wasn't his place to protest. Still as a father, he was a bit concerned about his daughter's choice.
"My king is something on your mind?" Pell asked.
"Yes… it's about Vivi and Luffy." The king said, they were the only three people in the kingdom that knew about the marriage between his daughter and the pirate. "What do you think of it?"
Chaka and Igaram looked at each other but didn't say anything.
"This king… it's a matter between the princess and her husband." Pell said, "Though, I am concerned about the princess… her marriage with a pirate. This might put her in danger… news is bound to spread out. If not from us, then from other sources, and one with the 'D' middle name are bound to catch trouble."
King Cobra nodded. Among the royals, the middle name 'D' was always cautioned about. But then again he wasn't concerned. Why would he? When he himself was connected to that name, long ago.
Very few people knew the original history of Alabasta and tie in with the word 'D'… Cobra shook his head. "Let's just hope things turn out to be good. That is all we can do."
'The middle name "D," I haven't told Vivi yet, but now that she's married, I should do it.' King Cobra thought as he continued his walk. 'The World Government's inaction during our crisis made me see a lot of things that my predecessors have warned me about… I should be prepared.'
.
With Usopp,
"Is the wood ready yet?" Usopp asked, carrying a few steel beams with ease. Each one of them weighing more than ten kilograms. But with how much he was training it was only light work for him. He wasn't freakishly strong like the other members of the crew, but he was strong enough.
"Not yet… working with wood is much tougher than steel." Grunted the newest member of the crew. As hammering sounds continued, "It will be finished in a minute…"
"Sure thing Anchor, take your time," Usopp called out. Luffy had decided to stay in Alabasta for a few more days, he hadn't explained much but Usopp had a feeling it wasn't a good reason.
Most of the Straw Hats were waiting for their ship to be upgraded, but with more time they could add more stuff. From Crocodie's old ship, they took wood and any good materials that could be used for the Going Merry.
The small ship was getting an upgrade that would make her better suited for the rough waters of the Grand Line. Other than Crocodile's ship, they also had Mr. 3 work with his Wax.
However, the use of wax was limited as it's weakness was high temperature. Still, a good layer of wax on the bottom of the ship would last for quite a few days until their next island, it would protect the ship from damaging waves.
Usopp doubted it was needed, still one couldn't be too safe.
Now the Going Merry had three lairs at the bottom of the ship. The first part was metal, which would keep contact with the sea and mostly save it from the harsh waters of the Grand Line. After that was a layer of orange wood, a rare type of wood that had rubber-like properties, and could absorb damage better than most wood. A wood that they collected off of Crocodile's ship. And the last layer was the original wood that the Going Merry was made out of.
Other than that, the Going Merry also had been added with quite a bit of artilleries like custom cannons and slingshots. An upgrade that the sniper very much appreciated.