CHAPTER FINALE: REBORN
Everyone got off at Cocoyashi Village, the island where Nami stayed and grew up. They have dropped 3 2 1 Jango on another island quite far away from this island—they have no intention to have anything to do with this Michael Jackson wannabe anymore than he did. They hid the ship somewhere secluded just in case Smoker would be out at sea looking for them.
The Cocoyashi residents welcomed Nami back and gave an equally warm welcome to the rest of the crew. Of course, they had to get acquainted with Chopper for it was the first time they saw this member of the Going Merry crew. The village doctor took a look at Luffy’s condition and stroked his chin thoughtfully.
“This boy is a real fighter. He may have been revived and being in a coma state for quite a long time, but his new heart is really beating away, since you said that Luffy was stabbed in the heart.”
“Any chance that he would wake up from his coma state?” Sanji asked.
“I can’t give you a conclusive answer. Could be tomorrow, could be next week, could be anytime. You can never predict when a coma-stricken person will wake up. It’ll have to depend on his spirit now. Do you wish to leave him here for us to take care or take him home?”
“We’ll take him home and take care of him ourselves,” Zoro said as he carried the sleeping Luffy in his arms and walked out of the clinic.
“We can inform you when he wakes up, and we have the equipment…”
“It’s OK, doc,” Sanji laid a hand on the doctor’s shoulder to stop him from following Zoro, “we can handle it. We would rather get the news first hand.”
The crew walked all the way to Nami’s home at the far end of the village. Nojiko was quite surprised to see them all and even more surprised to see Luffy who was rumoured to be dead in Zoro’s arms. Nojiko’s husband, who happens to be studying a lot about the sea, said, “He may be fed with the self-generating fruit, a.k.a. the Dosu-Dosu fruit.”
“What the heck is that?” Usopp asked, surprised.
“It’s a fruit that can help the eater regenerate him/herself no matter how many wounds are infected on him/her. This fruit could be the fruit of immortality itself!”
“Wow!” Usopp was impressed. “To think we are about to suffer the same fate! We’re going to be immortals!”
“Yeah, but the idea of floating in a container filled with icky green fluid forever doesn’t give a good ring to our immortality,” Chopper said, his eyes half-closed in frustration.
“Whatever he’ll turn out to be, he’s here with us. That’s all that counts,” Zoro replied, stroking Luffy’s face gently. He then turned to his crew members and said, “Come, guys. Let’s get busy. We got a treasure to bury.”
“Let me do it,” Chopper said as he morphed to his battle mode. “The condition that you and Sanji are in is not appropriate to be carrying heavy objects, and as the Going Merry personal physician, I forbid you to do anymore strenuous exercise.”
“We’ll help out too,” Nami and Usopp said in unison.
So, with the help of Nojiko and her husband, the crew carried all the One Piece treasure from the wine cellar of Colonel Smoker’s ship all the way to the lime orchard of the late Bellemere. Nami and her brother-in-law took a shovel each and dug a hole under one of the lime bushes. Sanji and Zoro watched them from the house as they worked, propping the sleeping Luffy on their knees.
“Do you see that, Luffy? We’ve retrieved the One Piece you have been dreaming of for years now,” Zoro said as he stroked Luffy’s hair. “We’ve did it, Luffy. We’ve got back what was meant for you.”
“You are the one true Pirate King,” Sanji said too, as he popped a Gummy chewing gum into his mouth. “Our one true Pirate King.”
“Should we tell him, Sanji?”
“It’s now or never, Zoro. We won’t know when he is ever going to wake up.”
“OK,” Zoro took a deep breath before saying, “Luffy, I know you can somehow hear us, so listen carefully. Do you remember our first night after the wedding?”
“And do you remember the day you said that I could be your lover?” Sanji asked as he, too, stroked Luffy’s hair.
“Before you proposed to me, I have already made plans for anything incoming. I have bought myself some devil fruit from a person who works in some sort of black market. It wasn’t cheap, but it was worth it.”
“And I swiped some of it from Zoro when he wasn’t looking. It’s called the Piku fruit,” Sanji said. “It makes a person—especially men like us—able to conceive.”
“During our first night,” Zoro continued, “I ate a little of the fruit before we made love.”
“And I ate it too before we made love, Luffy.”
“The fruit took quite some time to take effect, but it actually worked.”
“And guess what, Luffy?”
“We’re pregnant,” Sanji and Zoro said in unison, loud enough for the sleeping Luffy to hear.
“Can you feel anything now, Zoro, Sanji?”
Zoro and Sanji shook their heads. Chopper nodded and took out a scalpel. He also took out two cloths and stuffed them into their mouths.
“Just in case you do feel anything. The effects of the anesthesia are unpredictable. Ready, guys? I’ll start with Zoro first.”
Zoro bit hard on the cloth when he felt the pressure of the scalpel below his round belly. Nine months have passed after the burial of the One Piece in Nami’s lime orchard. Zoro, Chopper and Sanji decided to stay in Cocoyashi Village with Nami while Usopp returned to his island to be with Kaya. They used some of the One Piece to build a home right next to Nami’s old hut, and offered to renovate her hut so that both Nami, her sister and her brother-in-law could live more comfortably. Luffy was kept in a special room upstairs and Zoro and Sanji took turns taking care of Luffy, hoping that one day he would wake up and see his children that they were carrying for him inside them. Nojiko had a son of her own, so she and Chopper teamed up to make sure that Zoro and Sanji took good care of the babies inside them. Now the time has come to let the children out to the world and Chopper was about to perform a C-section for both of them.
“Are you sure you can do this, Chopper?” Nojiko asked worriedly, wiping the cold sweat off both Zoro and Sanji’s head.
“Trust me, ma’am. I can do this.”
The procedure was quite tricky and needed a lot of patience, but finally, after much cutting and prying and wiping off the excess blood, Chopper finally pulled out the baby inside Zoro. He held the baby upside-down and tapped the baby’s back a few times until the baby started wailing, letting air into its lungs. Chopper smiled as he cut the umbilical cord and handed the baby to Nojiko to wrap.
“You have a son, Zoro. Congratulations!”
Zoro took the wailing baby in his arms and kissed him tenderly. He wanted to be cool and collected about this whole thing, but as much as he tried, he couldn’t help feeling touched at the sight of his newborn son. He kissed him over and over again, tears of joy flowing out of his eyes.
“Now it’s your turn, Sanji. Hang in there,” Chopper said after sewing up the gaping wound under Zoro’s belly. He laid the tip of the scalpel below Sanji’s round belly and started operating. Lucky for Sanji, the effects of the anesthesia had not worn off yet. The same procedure repeated: the cutting, the prying and the wiping of excess blood. Nojiko put her hand on Sanji’s shoulder, comforting him and telling him to relax. Zoro watched the whole procedure with interest, surprised to see that this was what happened to him before.
Finally, Chopper pulled out the baby inside Sanji. He did the same thing to the baby until it wailed to let the air into its lungs. Chopper cut the umbilical cord and handed it to the ever ready Nojiko. He quickly sewed up the wound while Sanji was occupied at the sight of the baby.
“You have a girl, Sanji. Congrats to you too!”
Sanji didn’t attempt to hold his tears of joy. He let it fall freely out of his eyes as he, too, kissed his daughter over and over again. Emotional kind of guy, but that’s how he is.
“Congratulations, both of you!” Nojiko said happily, clapping her hands with glee. “So, what are you going to name your children?”
“Luffy,” Zoro said almost immediately. “Monkey D. Luffy Junior.”
“I guess I’ll call her by your guardian’s name,” Sanji said. “Monkey D. Bellemere. It has a nice ring to it. If that’s OK with you, Nojiko-san.”
“No problem. No problem at all,” Nojiko smiled outgoingly.
“I have another surprise for you two, Zoro, Sanji,” Chopper said as he winked at the grinning Nojiko. “Nami, come down a second!”
Zoro and Sanji turned their heads weakly to see what he was talking about. Nami appeared—her face was all smiles. She seemed like she was supporting someone who was trying to walk properly. As the mysterious person revealed himself, Zoro and Sanji gasped. He was a little shorter than Nami and was wearing the ever familiar maroon vest and khaki jeans. He had a scar below his left eye and most importantly, he had the straw hat on. He opened his mouth and called out in his ever familiar voice:
“Zoro-chan? Sanji-chan?”
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Damn Cold Night-Chp8
CHAPTER 8: ESCAPE
The marine ship sailed across the vast sea for days. The Going Merry crew was not really well fed throughout the journey. Sanji felt the hunger he feared the most (bad memories of starving in the past) and would not give up even one small crumb of bread. Zoro refused to eat at all. He rather starve to death than be sentenced to death and be revived back again for all to see. It was Sanji who spent a whole of effort to persuade him to eat just a little bit. No one else, not even the quick-mouthed Usopp could talk him into it.
“Come on, Zoro, eat up before I take it away from you,” Sanji persuaded.
Zoro made no attempt to touch his food. Sanji sighed and went near his ear.
“Do it for Luffy. Remember that we have something important for him. If we ever get out of this joint, we will be able to give it to him some day.”
Zoro finally reached out for the plate and crammed the food into his mouth. He ate very little, but it’s better than none. Finally, after much travel, the boat reached Logue Island. Everyone got off the ship, including the Going Merry crew who was pretty tied up and walking in one single file. Again, they were taken into custody and locked into another prison, but not as dark as the dungeons in the Marine Force Centre and certainly not as damp and dark as the ship’s cabin.
Late that night, when everyone was pretty much asleep, the Going Merry crew gathered together in a circle for one last conversation.
“Well, mates, nervous about tomorrow?” Sanji started the conversation.
“Who wouldn’t?” Usopp hissed. “We are going to be executed in front of thousands upon thousands of people! I don’t see why I shouldn’t be nervous!”
“Yeah,” Chopper said sadly, “it’s actually our last day to live tonight.”
“Look on the bright side,” Sanji grinned, chewing his last piece of Gummy chewing gum, “at least we’ll be revived again and become a huge celebrity.”
“Not that it’s gonna make me feel any better! I cannot imagine myself become an exhibit item!” Usopp grumbled.
“No one likes to be stared at, even if you’re in a coma state,” Chopper folded his arms.
“Well, do you guys at least have any last wishes?” Nami asked, trying to act strong, as if this execution didn’t give her any emotional effect. “‘Coz I have. I don’t want to say it in front of everybody; it’ll mean nothing to me.”
“I have loads of last wishes!” Usopp stood up and exclaimed, then sat back on the floor and sighed, “But for now, I can only wish that Kaya will forgive me for my blind promise.”
“I wish that Nojiko will continue leading a happy life with her husband at Cocoyashi Village, and continue the lime business,” Nami said, struggling to hold back her tears which were beginning to well up in her eyes. “And I wish Bellemere will be proud of me.”
“Well, I wish that someday, when we are all revived and become exhibits, and are able to get out of this life-supporting cylinder ‘prison’, I will…” Sanji stopped abruptly, then shook his head.
“You’ll what?” Nami asked, brushing the tears off her eyes hastily.
“No. Nothing. I don’t think I have any last wishes.”
“You’re a worse liar than me!” Usopp grinned. “Come on, share with us! Don’t be embarrassed!”
“It’s not something you should know. Zoro and I have been keeping this secret ever since the beginning of this mission.”
“What? Zoro, you too? What is this big secret?” Chopper turned to Zoro, who was silent throughout the whole conversation. Sanji looked at Zoro with questioning eyes. Zoro noticed and considered for a while. Then he nodded reluctantly at Sanji, shifting his eyes to the wall beside him.
“Well…OK, since Zoro approved…after we get out of this joint, I wish that…” Sanji lowered his voice only for the Going Merry crew to hear. The crew was confused at first, but when Sanji whispered an explanation, the crew (except Zoro) toppled onto the floor like a deck of cards.
“No way! No way is this happening!” Nami exclaimed in disbelief.
“You’re a liar! You’re even worst than I am! You’re lying!!” Usopp practically howled the whole place down.
“There is no medical proof that this thing is possible!!” Chopper was in a state of denial.
“Say whatever you want,” Sanji said. “It’s true all the way. Do you think Luffy’s death is the only reason why I stopped smoking?”
Before the crew could question him any further, they heard someone coming in. They almost panicked. It’s not sunrise yet—the sky was still dark and the moon is still high up in the sky. Why did they arrive so early? Was it because the people couldn’t wait to see another great performance like the death sentence of Captain Roger? This wasn’t fair! They didn’t even have a chance to say kind words to each other!
The footsteps came closer and closer. There were two people walking into the prison area. They turned to look and saw that it was the tiny short Cobby and the tall thin Hermeppo. They widened their eyes in surprise.
“Shh! don’t say a word. It’s not easy for us to bribe the prison guard to let us in. We’re here to help,” Cobby whispered enough for the Going Merry crew to hear.
“Help us? Why would you want to help us?” Usopp hissed. “You knew all along that we’re coming here and you arrested us yourself. Why should we trust you?”
“Because Luffy is my friend. I owe him more than my life. She saved me from the clutches of Albida the Beautiful, and he gave me strength to stand on my own two feet. And…as unlikely as it may sound, I believe that…the One Piece should be truly his. I understand what you’re doing for him now. He is, I’m proud to admit, the true Pirate King.”
The crew was so touched that they were at lost of words. Zoro gave Cobby a sideways glance and smirked.
“Now I have a plan. Listen,” Cobby said, gesturing them to come closer. He whispered his scheme to the Going Merry crew before leaving them alone to play their part of the plan.
The dawn has come. The prison guard came in with Colonel Smoker and his marine soldiers and unlocked the cell. The marine soldiers dragged them out of their cell and shoved them out to the open. The Going Merry crew squinted their eyes as they tried to adjust with the morning light.
As they stepped out into the open, they could see almost the whole population of the Logue Island. They were all quite excited about this execution. Luffy really lived up to his name. The crew passed by Cobby and Hermeppo. They nodded at each other secretly. The crew went up slowly to the death sentence stand. Zoro looked around and thought, ‘So this is what the late Captain Roger, Luffy and Shanks saw from up here.’
The Going Merry crew was forced to kneel on the stand, their heads lowered in front of the 5 executioners. Colonel Smoker has just decided to sentence them all to death at the same time to increase the impact on the citizens. Colonel Smoker came up to the Going Merry crew and asked, “Any last words, my dear friends?”
The crew didn’t answer. They have made their last wishes last night, no point saying it out.
“Good. Then let’s get on with the execution,” Smoker said. He turned around to face the citizens and said out loud, “Behold citizens of Logue Island! Here before you are the accomplices of the late most wanted criminal of the entire sea, the would-be followers of the so-called Pirate King Monkey D. Luffy!”
The citizens whispered anxiously, pointing at the Going Merry crew in anxiety and disgust. Looks like Luffy really lived up to his name. Even his partners were an enemy of the people on land. Smoker continued, “These people are charged with multiple counterfeits, a number of injuries inflicted to the public and even murder in the past during their days of sailing with Monkey D. Luffy. They have disappeared for a while after the death of their captain, but nevertheless, we have apprehended them. Their verdict: Guilty! The sentence: Death!”
His announcement brought a cheer to the citizens of Logue Island. Usopp was about to swallow but was given a stern look from Sanji. He shook his head, warning him through eye-contact not to swallow. They waited for Smoker to announce the commencing of the sentence. Then, on Zoro’s signal, they lifted their heads and spit into the executioners’ eyes. They snarled in pain, holding their bleeding eyes as they backed away. The crew shook the stand a little, forcing the executioners to back away further until they actually fall off the stand and to the solid ground below.
The crew stood up quickly and, with a slight tug, broke the ropes that bind their hands. Colonel Smoker was surprised and was about to use his smoke hands to catch them when all of a sudden, Usopp took out a net that was hiding in his overall and threw it at Smoker, entangling him in it.
“What the…?! This net…!! Where did you…” Smoker was too shocked to be able to finish his words.
“That’s right, Smoker!” Usopp said proudly, impressed with his aim. “That’s the net you used to catch criminals that ate devil fruits! Now have a taste of your own medicine!”
“Come on, Usopp!” Zoro said as he ran quickly down the steps from the execution stand. “Stop dilly-dallying! We gotta save Luffy!”
All of Luffy’s crew rushed down to the marine building, fighting their way through as they went. They had to make do with things on the roadside, as their gadgets were confiscated by the marines: Zoro had to grab a butcher’s kitchen knives as substitute swords, Nami had to borrow a Y-pole from a lady who was hanging out the washing, and Usopp had to use eggs instead of bullets to throw it at the chasing marines. And he had to throw it with his own hands, not shoot them from catapults. Only Sanji and Chopper didn’t have to use any gadgets—Sanji had his feet and Chopper only had to morph.
They also had to fight their way into the marine building. It wasn’t easy because some of them were highly trained soldiers, but they managed to get through. Zoro grabbed one of the defeated ones by the collar and hissed, “Where is Monkey D. Luffy?”
“On-On the top floor! The room on the right! Please don’t kill me! I have a family to feed!”
They raced all the way to the top floor. Finally, after much climbing up the stairs, they’ve reached the room the soldier mentioned and burst in. There he was—Luffy—floating peacefully in the cylinder container waiting to be exhibited. They were relieved when they saw that their gadgets were also in the room. The One Piece wasn’t there but that wasn’t the main issue. They had to get out of there as soon as possible with Luffy.
“It’s no use!” Nami complained as she hit the glass of the cylinder over and over again. “This glass is like solid metal! We’ll never get him out of there!”
“Yeah! And do you notice that breathing mask over his face? What if that’s the only life-support he has? What’ll happen when we get him out into the open?” Usopp was worried.
“We’ll just have to risk it,” Sanji said as he raised his foot. “Step aside, guys. Chopper, you ready? On three. 1, 2, 3!”
Sanji concentrated all his energy on his foot and Chopper on his fists. They hit the glass as hard as their body could give it. The glass actually shattered into a hundred pieces, spilling the green fluid allover the crew and the floor. Zoro caught Luffy just in time before his face hits the shards of glass. Unfortunately though, it caused Sanji’s foot and Chopper’s fists some damage. Chopper’s fist bled quite seriously and blood seeped out of Sanji’s shoe. Sanji felt a little bit of pain in his stomach but he kept quiet about it.
“Are you alright?” Nami asked them worriedly.
“We can still hang on,” Chopper groaned. “Come on, let’s get out of here!”
Zoro was about to pick up Luffy and carry him in his arms when his stomachache acted up again. He fell on his knees and groaned in pain. Nami rushed to his aid and said, “Zoro, are you OK? Let me and Usopp carry Luffy instead.”
“It’s that cramp!” Chopper said. “The first few months…”
“Urusai, Chopper!” Zoro growled as he forced himself to stand up and take on Luffy’s weight in his arms. “Don’t remind me! I know! I can do this! Luffy is my husband and I’m responsible for him!”
“Hey, he’s my lover too,” Sanji said as he struggled to stand properly regardless of his bleeding foot. “I’m also responsible for him!”
“You can try by watching out if the coast is clear and get those bastards out of the way!!” Usopp exclaimed as he pointed at the mob of marine soldiers charging towards them. This time, the Going Merry crew was ready with their gadgets to fight. They fought their way through again, making way for Zoro, who was carrying Luffy painfully in his arms, so that he can run through without many obstacles. They didn’t want to leave so many injured—or possibly, dead—people behind, but this was the only way to make a clear path.
When they went out of the building and into the public, they saw all the citizens of Logue Island fast asleep on the ground, including Colonel Smoker and the soldiers who tried to free him from the net. Everyone was snoring peacefully, except Cobby and Hermeppo. The Going Merry crew was surprised.
“What’s going on? Why is everyone asleep?” Nami asked.
“That’ll be my doing,” a voice said from behind them. They turned around and saw that it was no other than the Michael Jackson wannabe, 3 2 1 Jango!
“What the…what the heck is he doing here?!” Usopp yelled and prepared his bullets to catapult him.
“Saving your butt, you baka!” Cobby said exasperatedly. “It’s a small price I have to pay. I had to let a criminal go in order to persuade him to hypnotize everyone and help you get you out of this joint as peacefully as possible.”
“Besides,” Jango said as he put out a moon-walking dance, “I have a liking for this Monkey D. Luffy. In a way, he did rescue me from the iron fists of Captain Crow. I somehow feel freer than before. Is he really…?”
“He’s still alive and kicking, thank you very much,” Zoro gave him a sideways glare.
“But he’s the accomplice of a very well-known pirate Captain Crow!” Usopp exclaimed, his eyes still showing a trace of distrust to Jango. “Smoker should be well aware about his abilities to prevent himself from being hypnotized by him!”
“He wasn’t hypnotized. He was whacked on the head by me and fainted,” Tashigi’s voice suddenly came from behind. The crew turned, their hearts shrinking at the sight of the colonel’s right-hand man (or woman). Tashigi adjusted her glasses, ignoring their horrified stares.
“Don’t worry, guys,” Cobby said reassuringly, “she’s with us.”
“I don’t know why I listened to you, Cobby. You’re asking me to break the biggest rule in the marine book and release a bunch of potential and deadly criminal of the sea.”
“Then why did you want to help us?” Sanji asked, grinning.
“Because I let my pathetic conscience take over me! I don’t want to admit it, but I noticed the…good side of Luffy when we had our last encounter. I…I even saw the whole thing when Shanks stabbed Luffy. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him…” Tashigi slapped her forehead and groaned, “What am I saying? I’m actually feeling sorry for the world’s greatest, most dangerous pirate in the whole sea!”
“Isn’t it why you feel sorry for him? Because you admire him as the greatest pirate and your greatest nemesis?” Zoro said, his arms carrying the slumping Luffy. Tashigi huffed and looked away.
“Don’t you even get me started!”
“You better hurry and leave now,” Cobby said, looking around the silent area. “The effects of the hypnotism won’t last very long. You too, Jango, get out of here.”
“With pleasure,” Jango grinned, then put out another Michael Jackson pose at the Going Merry crew. “Yo, guys. Mind if I take a ride on your ship? You can just drop me off at any faraway island.”
“We couldn’t get you back the Going Merry boat—we scouted the area as Miss Tashigi ordered and destroyed it. Sunimase. But we can give you Colonel Smoker’s personal ship. That’ll do OK, for now.” Cobby wished that Smoker would not kill him for this.
“Arigatogozaimasu, Cobby,” Zoro smirked, “but how are you going to explain this to Smoker?”
All of a sudden, Tashigi took out her sword and slashed her arms. She also did a few slashes on her legs and finally she stabbed her abdomen. Nowhere lethal, though, thank goodness. The crew was shocked at her sudden actions.
“You escaped and took the criminal Luffy with you,” Tashigi was struggling quite hard to stand properly with the stab wound on her. “Then you freed and ordered Jango to hypnotize everyone to sleep. One of you came from behind and attacked Smoker to knock him out cold. We were the only ones to prevent ourselves from being hypnotized.”
Cobby also used his dagger and slashed himself and Hermeppo (which surprised and pained him a lot) and smother some dirt on himself before saying, “We fought really hard but were unable to take you down. You escaped successfully. You have defeated us.”
“If Smoker was to ask about how you escaped from the ropes, I’ll say I gave him the wrong ropes to tie,” Hermeppo also joined in the excuse-making, after giving a hard, annoyed punch at Cobby’s face. He, too, smothered some dirt on himself.
“Now go! Before I change my mind!!” Tashigi yelled before falling down to the floor, gasping for breath. “GO!!”
“Arigato,” the crew said before rushing towards Colonel Smoker’s ship.
The Going Merry crew hid low out of sight until they were miles and miles away from Logue Island. After making sure that their ship was really in the middle of the vast sea, then they eased a little and tend to their problems. Chopper quickly nursed Sanji and himself of the wounds inflicted on them. After much bandaging and stuff, Sanji moved to the kitchen and made honey-milk for both Zoro and himself. Nami, Usopp and Chopper quickly moved Luffy to the bedroom in Colonel Smoker’s ship. Jango helped out a little by scouting the area to see if Smoker and his soldiers came after them.
So far, so good. No one’s chasing them at the moment.
“What a waste,” Sanji said as he sipped his honey-milk. “To think we broke our backs and risked our lives to come this far, yet we still couldn’t get our hands on the One Piece for Luffy as we vowed to.”
“At least we got back our Luffy,” Zoro said, smiling a little. “That’s enough for me for now. We can get the One Piece another day.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary!” Nami said cheerfully as she came from behind them and clapped their backs. “Come and take a look, guys!”
Sanji and Zoro followed her curiously. They were even curious when Chopper, Usopp and even Jango were in all smiles. Nami gestured them to enter the wine cellar under the boat.
At upon seeing the glittering gold, the crew and Jango cheered like mad.
The marine ship sailed across the vast sea for days. The Going Merry crew was not really well fed throughout the journey. Sanji felt the hunger he feared the most (bad memories of starving in the past) and would not give up even one small crumb of bread. Zoro refused to eat at all. He rather starve to death than be sentenced to death and be revived back again for all to see. It was Sanji who spent a whole of effort to persuade him to eat just a little bit. No one else, not even the quick-mouthed Usopp could talk him into it.
“Come on, Zoro, eat up before I take it away from you,” Sanji persuaded.
Zoro made no attempt to touch his food. Sanji sighed and went near his ear.
“Do it for Luffy. Remember that we have something important for him. If we ever get out of this joint, we will be able to give it to him some day.”
Zoro finally reached out for the plate and crammed the food into his mouth. He ate very little, but it’s better than none. Finally, after much travel, the boat reached Logue Island. Everyone got off the ship, including the Going Merry crew who was pretty tied up and walking in one single file. Again, they were taken into custody and locked into another prison, but not as dark as the dungeons in the Marine Force Centre and certainly not as damp and dark as the ship’s cabin.
Late that night, when everyone was pretty much asleep, the Going Merry crew gathered together in a circle for one last conversation.
“Well, mates, nervous about tomorrow?” Sanji started the conversation.
“Who wouldn’t?” Usopp hissed. “We are going to be executed in front of thousands upon thousands of people! I don’t see why I shouldn’t be nervous!”
“Yeah,” Chopper said sadly, “it’s actually our last day to live tonight.”
“Look on the bright side,” Sanji grinned, chewing his last piece of Gummy chewing gum, “at least we’ll be revived again and become a huge celebrity.”
“Not that it’s gonna make me feel any better! I cannot imagine myself become an exhibit item!” Usopp grumbled.
“No one likes to be stared at, even if you’re in a coma state,” Chopper folded his arms.
“Well, do you guys at least have any last wishes?” Nami asked, trying to act strong, as if this execution didn’t give her any emotional effect. “‘Coz I have. I don’t want to say it in front of everybody; it’ll mean nothing to me.”
“I have loads of last wishes!” Usopp stood up and exclaimed, then sat back on the floor and sighed, “But for now, I can only wish that Kaya will forgive me for my blind promise.”
“I wish that Nojiko will continue leading a happy life with her husband at Cocoyashi Village, and continue the lime business,” Nami said, struggling to hold back her tears which were beginning to well up in her eyes. “And I wish Bellemere will be proud of me.”
“Well, I wish that someday, when we are all revived and become exhibits, and are able to get out of this life-supporting cylinder ‘prison’, I will…” Sanji stopped abruptly, then shook his head.
“You’ll what?” Nami asked, brushing the tears off her eyes hastily.
“No. Nothing. I don’t think I have any last wishes.”
“You’re a worse liar than me!” Usopp grinned. “Come on, share with us! Don’t be embarrassed!”
“It’s not something you should know. Zoro and I have been keeping this secret ever since the beginning of this mission.”
“What? Zoro, you too? What is this big secret?” Chopper turned to Zoro, who was silent throughout the whole conversation. Sanji looked at Zoro with questioning eyes. Zoro noticed and considered for a while. Then he nodded reluctantly at Sanji, shifting his eyes to the wall beside him.
“Well…OK, since Zoro approved…after we get out of this joint, I wish that…” Sanji lowered his voice only for the Going Merry crew to hear. The crew was confused at first, but when Sanji whispered an explanation, the crew (except Zoro) toppled onto the floor like a deck of cards.
“No way! No way is this happening!” Nami exclaimed in disbelief.
“You’re a liar! You’re even worst than I am! You’re lying!!” Usopp practically howled the whole place down.
“There is no medical proof that this thing is possible!!” Chopper was in a state of denial.
“Say whatever you want,” Sanji said. “It’s true all the way. Do you think Luffy’s death is the only reason why I stopped smoking?”
Before the crew could question him any further, they heard someone coming in. They almost panicked. It’s not sunrise yet—the sky was still dark and the moon is still high up in the sky. Why did they arrive so early? Was it because the people couldn’t wait to see another great performance like the death sentence of Captain Roger? This wasn’t fair! They didn’t even have a chance to say kind words to each other!
The footsteps came closer and closer. There were two people walking into the prison area. They turned to look and saw that it was the tiny short Cobby and the tall thin Hermeppo. They widened their eyes in surprise.
“Shh! don’t say a word. It’s not easy for us to bribe the prison guard to let us in. We’re here to help,” Cobby whispered enough for the Going Merry crew to hear.
“Help us? Why would you want to help us?” Usopp hissed. “You knew all along that we’re coming here and you arrested us yourself. Why should we trust you?”
“Because Luffy is my friend. I owe him more than my life. She saved me from the clutches of Albida the Beautiful, and he gave me strength to stand on my own two feet. And…as unlikely as it may sound, I believe that…the One Piece should be truly his. I understand what you’re doing for him now. He is, I’m proud to admit, the true Pirate King.”
The crew was so touched that they were at lost of words. Zoro gave Cobby a sideways glance and smirked.
“Now I have a plan. Listen,” Cobby said, gesturing them to come closer. He whispered his scheme to the Going Merry crew before leaving them alone to play their part of the plan.
The dawn has come. The prison guard came in with Colonel Smoker and his marine soldiers and unlocked the cell. The marine soldiers dragged them out of their cell and shoved them out to the open. The Going Merry crew squinted their eyes as they tried to adjust with the morning light.
As they stepped out into the open, they could see almost the whole population of the Logue Island. They were all quite excited about this execution. Luffy really lived up to his name. The crew passed by Cobby and Hermeppo. They nodded at each other secretly. The crew went up slowly to the death sentence stand. Zoro looked around and thought, ‘So this is what the late Captain Roger, Luffy and Shanks saw from up here.’
The Going Merry crew was forced to kneel on the stand, their heads lowered in front of the 5 executioners. Colonel Smoker has just decided to sentence them all to death at the same time to increase the impact on the citizens. Colonel Smoker came up to the Going Merry crew and asked, “Any last words, my dear friends?”
The crew didn’t answer. They have made their last wishes last night, no point saying it out.
“Good. Then let’s get on with the execution,” Smoker said. He turned around to face the citizens and said out loud, “Behold citizens of Logue Island! Here before you are the accomplices of the late most wanted criminal of the entire sea, the would-be followers of the so-called Pirate King Monkey D. Luffy!”
The citizens whispered anxiously, pointing at the Going Merry crew in anxiety and disgust. Looks like Luffy really lived up to his name. Even his partners were an enemy of the people on land. Smoker continued, “These people are charged with multiple counterfeits, a number of injuries inflicted to the public and even murder in the past during their days of sailing with Monkey D. Luffy. They have disappeared for a while after the death of their captain, but nevertheless, we have apprehended them. Their verdict: Guilty! The sentence: Death!”
His announcement brought a cheer to the citizens of Logue Island. Usopp was about to swallow but was given a stern look from Sanji. He shook his head, warning him through eye-contact not to swallow. They waited for Smoker to announce the commencing of the sentence. Then, on Zoro’s signal, they lifted their heads and spit into the executioners’ eyes. They snarled in pain, holding their bleeding eyes as they backed away. The crew shook the stand a little, forcing the executioners to back away further until they actually fall off the stand and to the solid ground below.
The crew stood up quickly and, with a slight tug, broke the ropes that bind their hands. Colonel Smoker was surprised and was about to use his smoke hands to catch them when all of a sudden, Usopp took out a net that was hiding in his overall and threw it at Smoker, entangling him in it.
“What the…?! This net…!! Where did you…” Smoker was too shocked to be able to finish his words.
“That’s right, Smoker!” Usopp said proudly, impressed with his aim. “That’s the net you used to catch criminals that ate devil fruits! Now have a taste of your own medicine!”
“Come on, Usopp!” Zoro said as he ran quickly down the steps from the execution stand. “Stop dilly-dallying! We gotta save Luffy!”
All of Luffy’s crew rushed down to the marine building, fighting their way through as they went. They had to make do with things on the roadside, as their gadgets were confiscated by the marines: Zoro had to grab a butcher’s kitchen knives as substitute swords, Nami had to borrow a Y-pole from a lady who was hanging out the washing, and Usopp had to use eggs instead of bullets to throw it at the chasing marines. And he had to throw it with his own hands, not shoot them from catapults. Only Sanji and Chopper didn’t have to use any gadgets—Sanji had his feet and Chopper only had to morph.
They also had to fight their way into the marine building. It wasn’t easy because some of them were highly trained soldiers, but they managed to get through. Zoro grabbed one of the defeated ones by the collar and hissed, “Where is Monkey D. Luffy?”
“On-On the top floor! The room on the right! Please don’t kill me! I have a family to feed!”
They raced all the way to the top floor. Finally, after much climbing up the stairs, they’ve reached the room the soldier mentioned and burst in. There he was—Luffy—floating peacefully in the cylinder container waiting to be exhibited. They were relieved when they saw that their gadgets were also in the room. The One Piece wasn’t there but that wasn’t the main issue. They had to get out of there as soon as possible with Luffy.
“It’s no use!” Nami complained as she hit the glass of the cylinder over and over again. “This glass is like solid metal! We’ll never get him out of there!”
“Yeah! And do you notice that breathing mask over his face? What if that’s the only life-support he has? What’ll happen when we get him out into the open?” Usopp was worried.
“We’ll just have to risk it,” Sanji said as he raised his foot. “Step aside, guys. Chopper, you ready? On three. 1, 2, 3!”
Sanji concentrated all his energy on his foot and Chopper on his fists. They hit the glass as hard as their body could give it. The glass actually shattered into a hundred pieces, spilling the green fluid allover the crew and the floor. Zoro caught Luffy just in time before his face hits the shards of glass. Unfortunately though, it caused Sanji’s foot and Chopper’s fists some damage. Chopper’s fist bled quite seriously and blood seeped out of Sanji’s shoe. Sanji felt a little bit of pain in his stomach but he kept quiet about it.
“Are you alright?” Nami asked them worriedly.
“We can still hang on,” Chopper groaned. “Come on, let’s get out of here!”
Zoro was about to pick up Luffy and carry him in his arms when his stomachache acted up again. He fell on his knees and groaned in pain. Nami rushed to his aid and said, “Zoro, are you OK? Let me and Usopp carry Luffy instead.”
“It’s that cramp!” Chopper said. “The first few months…”
“Urusai, Chopper!” Zoro growled as he forced himself to stand up and take on Luffy’s weight in his arms. “Don’t remind me! I know! I can do this! Luffy is my husband and I’m responsible for him!”
“Hey, he’s my lover too,” Sanji said as he struggled to stand properly regardless of his bleeding foot. “I’m also responsible for him!”
“You can try by watching out if the coast is clear and get those bastards out of the way!!” Usopp exclaimed as he pointed at the mob of marine soldiers charging towards them. This time, the Going Merry crew was ready with their gadgets to fight. They fought their way through again, making way for Zoro, who was carrying Luffy painfully in his arms, so that he can run through without many obstacles. They didn’t want to leave so many injured—or possibly, dead—people behind, but this was the only way to make a clear path.
When they went out of the building and into the public, they saw all the citizens of Logue Island fast asleep on the ground, including Colonel Smoker and the soldiers who tried to free him from the net. Everyone was snoring peacefully, except Cobby and Hermeppo. The Going Merry crew was surprised.
“What’s going on? Why is everyone asleep?” Nami asked.
“That’ll be my doing,” a voice said from behind them. They turned around and saw that it was no other than the Michael Jackson wannabe, 3 2 1 Jango!
“What the…what the heck is he doing here?!” Usopp yelled and prepared his bullets to catapult him.
“Saving your butt, you baka!” Cobby said exasperatedly. “It’s a small price I have to pay. I had to let a criminal go in order to persuade him to hypnotize everyone and help you get you out of this joint as peacefully as possible.”
“Besides,” Jango said as he put out a moon-walking dance, “I have a liking for this Monkey D. Luffy. In a way, he did rescue me from the iron fists of Captain Crow. I somehow feel freer than before. Is he really…?”
“He’s still alive and kicking, thank you very much,” Zoro gave him a sideways glare.
“But he’s the accomplice of a very well-known pirate Captain Crow!” Usopp exclaimed, his eyes still showing a trace of distrust to Jango. “Smoker should be well aware about his abilities to prevent himself from being hypnotized by him!”
“He wasn’t hypnotized. He was whacked on the head by me and fainted,” Tashigi’s voice suddenly came from behind. The crew turned, their hearts shrinking at the sight of the colonel’s right-hand man (or woman). Tashigi adjusted her glasses, ignoring their horrified stares.
“Don’t worry, guys,” Cobby said reassuringly, “she’s with us.”
“I don’t know why I listened to you, Cobby. You’re asking me to break the biggest rule in the marine book and release a bunch of potential and deadly criminal of the sea.”
“Then why did you want to help us?” Sanji asked, grinning.
“Because I let my pathetic conscience take over me! I don’t want to admit it, but I noticed the…good side of Luffy when we had our last encounter. I…I even saw the whole thing when Shanks stabbed Luffy. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him…” Tashigi slapped her forehead and groaned, “What am I saying? I’m actually feeling sorry for the world’s greatest, most dangerous pirate in the whole sea!”
“Isn’t it why you feel sorry for him? Because you admire him as the greatest pirate and your greatest nemesis?” Zoro said, his arms carrying the slumping Luffy. Tashigi huffed and looked away.
“Don’t you even get me started!”
“You better hurry and leave now,” Cobby said, looking around the silent area. “The effects of the hypnotism won’t last very long. You too, Jango, get out of here.”
“With pleasure,” Jango grinned, then put out another Michael Jackson pose at the Going Merry crew. “Yo, guys. Mind if I take a ride on your ship? You can just drop me off at any faraway island.”
“We couldn’t get you back the Going Merry boat—we scouted the area as Miss Tashigi ordered and destroyed it. Sunimase. But we can give you Colonel Smoker’s personal ship. That’ll do OK, for now.” Cobby wished that Smoker would not kill him for this.
“Arigatogozaimasu, Cobby,” Zoro smirked, “but how are you going to explain this to Smoker?”
All of a sudden, Tashigi took out her sword and slashed her arms. She also did a few slashes on her legs and finally she stabbed her abdomen. Nowhere lethal, though, thank goodness. The crew was shocked at her sudden actions.
“You escaped and took the criminal Luffy with you,” Tashigi was struggling quite hard to stand properly with the stab wound on her. “Then you freed and ordered Jango to hypnotize everyone to sleep. One of you came from behind and attacked Smoker to knock him out cold. We were the only ones to prevent ourselves from being hypnotized.”
Cobby also used his dagger and slashed himself and Hermeppo (which surprised and pained him a lot) and smother some dirt on himself before saying, “We fought really hard but were unable to take you down. You escaped successfully. You have defeated us.”
“If Smoker was to ask about how you escaped from the ropes, I’ll say I gave him the wrong ropes to tie,” Hermeppo also joined in the excuse-making, after giving a hard, annoyed punch at Cobby’s face. He, too, smothered some dirt on himself.
“Now go! Before I change my mind!!” Tashigi yelled before falling down to the floor, gasping for breath. “GO!!”
“Arigato,” the crew said before rushing towards Colonel Smoker’s ship.
The Going Merry crew hid low out of sight until they were miles and miles away from Logue Island. After making sure that their ship was really in the middle of the vast sea, then they eased a little and tend to their problems. Chopper quickly nursed Sanji and himself of the wounds inflicted on them. After much bandaging and stuff, Sanji moved to the kitchen and made honey-milk for both Zoro and himself. Nami, Usopp and Chopper quickly moved Luffy to the bedroom in Colonel Smoker’s ship. Jango helped out a little by scouting the area to see if Smoker and his soldiers came after them.
So far, so good. No one’s chasing them at the moment.
“What a waste,” Sanji said as he sipped his honey-milk. “To think we broke our backs and risked our lives to come this far, yet we still couldn’t get our hands on the One Piece for Luffy as we vowed to.”
“At least we got back our Luffy,” Zoro said, smiling a little. “That’s enough for me for now. We can get the One Piece another day.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary!” Nami said cheerfully as she came from behind them and clapped their backs. “Come and take a look, guys!”
Sanji and Zoro followed her curiously. They were even curious when Chopper, Usopp and even Jango were in all smiles. Nami gestured them to enter the wine cellar under the boat.
At upon seeing the glittering gold, the crew and Jango cheered like mad.
Damn Cold Night-Chp7
CHAPTER 7: SHOCK
There, submerged in greenish-coloured fliud, was Luffy. He was naked from head to toe and was floating in the cylinder container, breathing from an oxygen mask. He was actually alive! Alive and breathing! Zoro could hear him inhale and exhale steadily, his heart thumping ever so softly. His face was serene, as if he was having a lovely, peaceful dream.
Zoro trembled as he touched the cylinder container. How could this be? How could he be alive? He and Sanji were sure that he had breathed his last at the One Piece Island. Even Chopper, the doctor of the crew, checked his pulse and confirmed him dead. He remembered wrapping him up in loincloths and tossing him into the sea with Nami conducting the ceremony. They have heard the splash as Luffy’s body went down and saw him sink. How on earth did he end up here?
Suddenly, the door of this secret exhibit room slid open. Zoro turned around, brandishing his swords. It was Tashigi and her band of marine people. Behind her stood the ever familiar Colonel Smoker, his hands dissolved into smoke, grasping his crew members tightly. Behind him were Cobby and Hermeppo. It seemed that everybody they have encountered was here.
“Sanji! Nami! Usopp! Chopper! You guys hurt or anything?” Zoro called out, trying hard to gain his composure after receiving both shocks from Luffy’s existence and his crew members’ capture.
“A bit tied up, but we’re a-OK,” Sanji replied, still chewing his chewing gum. It’s a wonder he didn’t accidentally swallow it after all these tense moments. Slowly he saw Luffy in the cylinder and gasped, “Oh…my…God…”
The rest of the crew saw him too and gaped like crazy.
“Surprised to see your captain now, aren’t you, Roronoa Zoro?” Smoker grinned sarcastically, his mouth puffing out cigar smoke. “This is such a reunion.”
“What is he doing here?” Zoro asked, pointing at Luffy’s floating body in the cylinder. “I thought he’s…”
“Dead,” Smoker finished his words. “You thought he was dead. Well, for your information, he’s perfectly alive. We have been preserving him ever since you threw him into the sea. It wasn’t easy, but we actually brought him back from the dead.”
“How…?” Nami was stupefied.
“We’ve been following you all the way to the One Piece Island. Bagy the Clown and Albida the Beautiful somehow escaped from our captivity. We let them escape and we followed them secretly, because we knew their target was you. We were just surprised and happy as you were when we knew that the One Piece actually exists. We split up, one to continue following your crew and one to follow Shanks’ trail. It was a struggle trying to get both targets at once, but here they are: the One Piece and the most wanted Luffy himself.”
“Why all this?!” Usopp yelled, struggling to break free. “Why can’t you just let Luffy rest in peace?!”
“He needs to be set as an example to all pirates and to people who attempt to become pirates,” Tashigi exclaimed. “He made a potential warrior like you into a pirate! He made a delicate woman like this girl here a savage thief and money-swindler! He made this long-nosed man into a pirate he wasn’t supposed to be! And this reindeer! He could be a great doctor serving his hometown! Instead he made him serve a bunch of useless pirates and turned him to a fighting machine for his own benefits! He is the greatest yet most dangerous pirate in the whole sea! Everyone will see what kind of a pirate is he and then peace will be availed!”
“Excuse me, miss, but I’m no savage and I was a thief before meeting Luffy!” Nami protested.
“Yeah! And I became a pirate at my own free will, and am proud of it!” Usopp yelled too, but they were both ignored.
“He is going to be sent to Logue Island next week to be put up as an exhibit for all to see,” Cobby said timidly. “That’s why he’s kept alive. I’m sorry, Zoro, but this is the only way to curb those notorious pirates. He may have helped me a lot, but he’s still a pirate, an outlaw of the sea.”
“You knew it, didn’t you?” Zoro hissed. “You knew it all along about us coming here. I should’ve known everything is way too simple.”
“Now you know,” Smoker grinned and snapped his fingers. “Men, take them away to the deep dungeons. And no tricks, Zoro, or your crew gets it.”
Smoker tightened his grip around the crew, making them yelp in pain. Zoro quivered for a while before surrendering his swords and himself to the marine soldiers. Cautiously, they locked his hands behind his back and took him away. The crew tried to wriggle free from Smoker’s grasp but he was too strong for them; they couldn’t move an inch.
Zoro took one last sad look at Luffy who was still floating in the cylinder container.
“We’re trapped! Trapped like rats! What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do?!”
The Going Merry crew was strapped in chains inside their dungeon. It was quite crowded and there wasn’t much space for them to stretch their legs. Nami aimed her foot at Usopp’s face to stop him from complaining.
“Urusai, you bakero! Whining like a baby like this is NOT going to get us anywhere!”
“I can’t believe it,” Sanji sighed, his eyes showing a trace of sadness. “All this while, Luffy is still alive…He is still alive…!”
“Yeah,” Chopper said thoughtfully. “I wonder how they do it; I mean, bring him back to life. It is medically proven that there is no way you can bring someone back to life.”
“Unless they’ve acquired some certain gadgets to revive him or some sort,” Usopp replied, “or maybe they fed him with some sort of new devil fruit. There is no reason why there wouldn’t be soul-reviving fruit out there somewhere. Look what the Gum-Gum fruit did to Luffy last time.”
“To think that they went through all the trouble to revive Luffy just to set an example to the public,” Nami replied. “It seems like Luffy turned out to be a better legend than the late Captain Roger.”
“I heard that we’re gonna go with the marines to Logue Island again too,” Chopper sighed in defeat, “‘coz we’re going to be publicly sentence to death just like that Captain Roger and Shanks.”
“WHAT?! Sentenced to death?! I’m too young to die!! I can’t die!! I’ve promised Kaya I will return to her after this mission!! I can’t afford to die!!” Usopp exclaimed like a total maniac.
“Oh, so that means your pledge to be willing to sacrifice your life for this was a lie!” Nami yelled at him.
“Well, no! But I had to promise her that so as not to make her worry too much! Yet I hope I will come out alive!”
“We all hope we’ll get out of this alive, but I’m sorry, we can’t! So face it! We’re gonna die out here!”
“HUWAAA~~~!!! I don’t wanna die! Get me outta here!! Please!!”
“URUSAI!!!”
Almost immediately, Usopp stopped shouting. Zoro was trembling slightly, glaring at the crew with angry dark eyes. When Nami tried to check if he was OK (and apologize on Usopp’s behalf), she saw that tears were actually flowing out of his eyes.
“Uh…I’m sorry. We’re all sorry. Are you alright, Zoro?” Nami said hesitantly.
“Luffy…Luffy…” Zoro was too choked up to continue. He buried his face in his chained-up hands, sobbing like never before. He knew he had pledged not to cry before he and the crew complete this mission, but he couldn’t hold it anymore. He felt like he had failed his love terribly. Nami wanted to console him but Sanji laid his hand on her shoulder, shaking his head. She obliged to his gesture and left Zoro to cry his heart out. Usopp felt quite guilty for his childish outburst after that. This really was the end of the Going Merry crew. They were going down with Luffy, or probably preserved alive like Luffy too for everyone to see.
At least they won’t be going down alone.
The Going Merry crew woke up by the heavy footsteps of the dungeon guards and Colonel Smoker. They can smell his cigar from a mile away. They slowly crawled out of their uncomfortable sleeping positions and sat up to meet their doom. They were ready to face it, each and every one of them, no matter how good or bad the ending might turn out.
“Time to go on a sailing trip, my dear Luffy team,” Smoker’s voice echoed throughout the whole dungeons.
There, submerged in greenish-coloured fliud, was Luffy. He was naked from head to toe and was floating in the cylinder container, breathing from an oxygen mask. He was actually alive! Alive and breathing! Zoro could hear him inhale and exhale steadily, his heart thumping ever so softly. His face was serene, as if he was having a lovely, peaceful dream.
Zoro trembled as he touched the cylinder container. How could this be? How could he be alive? He and Sanji were sure that he had breathed his last at the One Piece Island. Even Chopper, the doctor of the crew, checked his pulse and confirmed him dead. He remembered wrapping him up in loincloths and tossing him into the sea with Nami conducting the ceremony. They have heard the splash as Luffy’s body went down and saw him sink. How on earth did he end up here?
Suddenly, the door of this secret exhibit room slid open. Zoro turned around, brandishing his swords. It was Tashigi and her band of marine people. Behind her stood the ever familiar Colonel Smoker, his hands dissolved into smoke, grasping his crew members tightly. Behind him were Cobby and Hermeppo. It seemed that everybody they have encountered was here.
“Sanji! Nami! Usopp! Chopper! You guys hurt or anything?” Zoro called out, trying hard to gain his composure after receiving both shocks from Luffy’s existence and his crew members’ capture.
“A bit tied up, but we’re a-OK,” Sanji replied, still chewing his chewing gum. It’s a wonder he didn’t accidentally swallow it after all these tense moments. Slowly he saw Luffy in the cylinder and gasped, “Oh…my…God…”
The rest of the crew saw him too and gaped like crazy.
“Surprised to see your captain now, aren’t you, Roronoa Zoro?” Smoker grinned sarcastically, his mouth puffing out cigar smoke. “This is such a reunion.”
“What is he doing here?” Zoro asked, pointing at Luffy’s floating body in the cylinder. “I thought he’s…”
“Dead,” Smoker finished his words. “You thought he was dead. Well, for your information, he’s perfectly alive. We have been preserving him ever since you threw him into the sea. It wasn’t easy, but we actually brought him back from the dead.”
“How…?” Nami was stupefied.
“We’ve been following you all the way to the One Piece Island. Bagy the Clown and Albida the Beautiful somehow escaped from our captivity. We let them escape and we followed them secretly, because we knew their target was you. We were just surprised and happy as you were when we knew that the One Piece actually exists. We split up, one to continue following your crew and one to follow Shanks’ trail. It was a struggle trying to get both targets at once, but here they are: the One Piece and the most wanted Luffy himself.”
“Why all this?!” Usopp yelled, struggling to break free. “Why can’t you just let Luffy rest in peace?!”
“He needs to be set as an example to all pirates and to people who attempt to become pirates,” Tashigi exclaimed. “He made a potential warrior like you into a pirate! He made a delicate woman like this girl here a savage thief and money-swindler! He made this long-nosed man into a pirate he wasn’t supposed to be! And this reindeer! He could be a great doctor serving his hometown! Instead he made him serve a bunch of useless pirates and turned him to a fighting machine for his own benefits! He is the greatest yet most dangerous pirate in the whole sea! Everyone will see what kind of a pirate is he and then peace will be availed!”
“Excuse me, miss, but I’m no savage and I was a thief before meeting Luffy!” Nami protested.
“Yeah! And I became a pirate at my own free will, and am proud of it!” Usopp yelled too, but they were both ignored.
“He is going to be sent to Logue Island next week to be put up as an exhibit for all to see,” Cobby said timidly. “That’s why he’s kept alive. I’m sorry, Zoro, but this is the only way to curb those notorious pirates. He may have helped me a lot, but he’s still a pirate, an outlaw of the sea.”
“You knew it, didn’t you?” Zoro hissed. “You knew it all along about us coming here. I should’ve known everything is way too simple.”
“Now you know,” Smoker grinned and snapped his fingers. “Men, take them away to the deep dungeons. And no tricks, Zoro, or your crew gets it.”
Smoker tightened his grip around the crew, making them yelp in pain. Zoro quivered for a while before surrendering his swords and himself to the marine soldiers. Cautiously, they locked his hands behind his back and took him away. The crew tried to wriggle free from Smoker’s grasp but he was too strong for them; they couldn’t move an inch.
Zoro took one last sad look at Luffy who was still floating in the cylinder container.
“We’re trapped! Trapped like rats! What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do?!”
The Going Merry crew was strapped in chains inside their dungeon. It was quite crowded and there wasn’t much space for them to stretch their legs. Nami aimed her foot at Usopp’s face to stop him from complaining.
“Urusai, you bakero! Whining like a baby like this is NOT going to get us anywhere!”
“I can’t believe it,” Sanji sighed, his eyes showing a trace of sadness. “All this while, Luffy is still alive…He is still alive…!”
“Yeah,” Chopper said thoughtfully. “I wonder how they do it; I mean, bring him back to life. It is medically proven that there is no way you can bring someone back to life.”
“Unless they’ve acquired some certain gadgets to revive him or some sort,” Usopp replied, “or maybe they fed him with some sort of new devil fruit. There is no reason why there wouldn’t be soul-reviving fruit out there somewhere. Look what the Gum-Gum fruit did to Luffy last time.”
“To think that they went through all the trouble to revive Luffy just to set an example to the public,” Nami replied. “It seems like Luffy turned out to be a better legend than the late Captain Roger.”
“I heard that we’re gonna go with the marines to Logue Island again too,” Chopper sighed in defeat, “‘coz we’re going to be publicly sentence to death just like that Captain Roger and Shanks.”
“WHAT?! Sentenced to death?! I’m too young to die!! I can’t die!! I’ve promised Kaya I will return to her after this mission!! I can’t afford to die!!” Usopp exclaimed like a total maniac.
“Oh, so that means your pledge to be willing to sacrifice your life for this was a lie!” Nami yelled at him.
“Well, no! But I had to promise her that so as not to make her worry too much! Yet I hope I will come out alive!”
“We all hope we’ll get out of this alive, but I’m sorry, we can’t! So face it! We’re gonna die out here!”
“HUWAAA~~~!!! I don’t wanna die! Get me outta here!! Please!!”
“URUSAI!!!”
Almost immediately, Usopp stopped shouting. Zoro was trembling slightly, glaring at the crew with angry dark eyes. When Nami tried to check if he was OK (and apologize on Usopp’s behalf), she saw that tears were actually flowing out of his eyes.
“Uh…I’m sorry. We’re all sorry. Are you alright, Zoro?” Nami said hesitantly.
“Luffy…Luffy…” Zoro was too choked up to continue. He buried his face in his chained-up hands, sobbing like never before. He knew he had pledged not to cry before he and the crew complete this mission, but he couldn’t hold it anymore. He felt like he had failed his love terribly. Nami wanted to console him but Sanji laid his hand on her shoulder, shaking his head. She obliged to his gesture and left Zoro to cry his heart out. Usopp felt quite guilty for his childish outburst after that. This really was the end of the Going Merry crew. They were going down with Luffy, or probably preserved alive like Luffy too for everyone to see.
At least they won’t be going down alone.
The Going Merry crew woke up by the heavy footsteps of the dungeon guards and Colonel Smoker. They can smell his cigar from a mile away. They slowly crawled out of their uncomfortable sleeping positions and sat up to meet their doom. They were ready to face it, each and every one of them, no matter how good or bad the ending might turn out.
“Time to go on a sailing trip, my dear Luffy team,” Smoker’s voice echoed throughout the whole dungeons.
Damn Cold Night-Chp6
CHAPTER 6: ADVENTURE
The Going Merry crew sailed their boat to find a less conspicuous spot before stopping and getting off. They found an underground cave and sailed into it, hoping no one noticed them. They gathered as much seaweed and rags as possible and covered the boat. They even lowered the sails and hid it in the cabin and smeared mud and goop over it to make it look like a useless boat just in case someone catches a glimpse of it and decided to haul it away.
“Stick together,” Zoro said as he scouted to see if the coast was clear. “We don’t want to lose each other. We’ll split up as soon as we reach the tunnels. Nami, lead the way.”
So, with Nami the navigator as the guide, they trotted their way around the island. When they hear footsteps at a distance, they sneaked quickly in the shadows or behind the rocks and held their breaths until the person passed by. As they continued their way, they suddenly saw someone at a distance. Instinctively, they crept into a narrow cave on the wall of the hill and kept their mouths shut.
Zoro took a peek and was shocked to see that it was Tashigi, wearing her usual leather coat covering her marine uniform. Her glasses shone under the moonlight, and Zoro had to admit that she looked like a real male marine crew, minus the slightly formed breasts, that is. He noticed that, under the moonlight, she had dyed a long blue streak across the middle of her head. Probably to make herself even more masculine. She had her sword ready by her side.
All of a sudden, Usopp felt ticklish on the nose by Chopper’s fur. He let out a sneeze. Though not too loud to cause an avalanche, but it was loud enough to let someone nearby hear. And that’s what Tashigi heard.
“Who’s there?” The Going Merry crew cringed. They hissed silently at Usopp and clasped his mouth shut with all of their hands to keep him from sneezing again. Tashigi walked closer towards their hiding place. The Going Merry crew was in the verge of panicking. Zoro gave them the signal through eye-contact that if she comes too close, they’ll have to make a dash for it. Everyone got ready. The atmosphere was tense. They held their breaths as Tashigi moved closer and closer towards the narrow cave. She brought out her sword and peered into the dark cave. The crew held their breaths. Though dark, they could make out the outline of Tashigi incoming closer towards them. The tense silence was deafening. Tashigi reached her hand out and was almost touching Chopper’s wet nose. Her fingers were getting closer and closer. Chopper held his breath, not wanting to breathe on her fingers and alert her. Everyone had their feet ready to run for it. Her hand was almost touching Chopper’s nose now…
“Miss Tashigi! Miss Tashigi, where are you?” Someone called from a distance.
“I’m here!” Tashigi replied as she moved out of the cave reluctantly. “What do you want?”
“Colonel Smoker called for you, miss,” a man in marine uniform replied.
“Didn’t you tell him I’m on a look-out?”
“Yes, miss. But he insisted to bring you to him. He said it’s urgent.”
Tashigi stared at the narrow cave for a while and said, “Alright. Take me to him. And alert the force to increase the security grounds.”
“Yes, miss!” the man saluted her and led the way.
After Tashigi and the junior were finally out of sight, the Going Merry crew fell out of their hiding place and caught their breaths. It felt like eternity and they were pretty surprised that they were able to hold their breaths for so long. Sanji aimed his foot on Usopp’s face, “You bakero! You almost got us caught back there! What were you thinking?!”
“Well, I can’t help it if my nose was tickled by that idiot reindeer’s fur!!” Usopp protested, aiming his fist at Sanji’s face.
“Oh, so it’s my fault, huh?” Chopper growled and chucked Usopp on the ribs.
“I’m surrounded by idiots,” Zoro groaned as he walked on his way, leaving the rest of the crew behind.
“Urusai, three of you! We got a mission to finish here!” Nami stopped the fight with a blow on the three bickering people’s heads. “Matte (Wait), Zoro, matte!”
The Going Merry crew continued their journey, evading more incoming marine soldiers along the way. Finally they reached the tunnels where Nami had mentioned in the blue prints. There were only two tunnels, and they led up towards the huge building towering over them: the Marine Force Centre. Zoro stood there for a moment to admire the building.
“We are finally here,” Zoro muttered to himself, fascinated at the monstrosity of the building.
“Alright, we’re here,” Usopp said, his knees begin to knock at each other. He tried to sound brave. “Now what’ll we do, Nami?”
“We go according as planned,” Nami said, taking out her blue prints to check if they were at the right track. “We split up into groups and we go through both tunnels. Wherever it ends up, we’ll still be inside the building. We’ll all meet at the kitchen entrance. Alright, who will go with whom?”
Usopp decided to stick with Chopper as he trusted Chopper would morph and fight better when the situation gets tough. Sanji opt to go with Zoro, as they make quite a good team, what with one who had great swordsmanship and one had a strong foot. Nami refused to be in the same team as Usopp and Chopper because to her, two bakero-s are enough to create total disaster, so she voted to go with Zoro’s team.
After sorting out the groups, Usopp chose the left side of the tunnel. He insisted that Chopper go in first before him, because he didn’t want to risk any booby traps in there. Zoro took the right tunnel and climbed in before Sanji. When it was almost Nami’s turn, she noticed something glimmering under the moonlight. She went to investigate and saw that in was a ladder leading to another tunnel. Since all of the Going Merry had their go in trying both tunnels, she might as well try this tunnel alone. Without further hesitation, she climbed up the ladder and slipped into the tunnel.
Zoro and Sanji’s tunnel pretty much led them safely into a garbage chute in the Centre’s kitchen. They peeked in to see if the coast was clear. Obviously not. They had to kidnap two of the cooks, who looked pretty thin and under-fed (obviously they are the inmates of the Centre) and wear their clothes and tried to blend in with the surroundings. Sanji couldn’t help cooking up a storm at the sight of the kitchen. Who could blame him? He’s a cook and being in a kitchen triggered his natural instincts. Zoro had to drag him by the collar before he blew everything they’ve planned out the window.
Nami’s outcome was quite unpleasant. Her tunnel led her to an underground drain that was infested with rats, dead or alive, and loads of rubbish. She grimaced and forced herself to wade through the murky drain, trying to avoid from at least touching those dead rats that were very bloated and very decaying and trying her luck on choosing which detour to take. She sighed with relief when she saw the end of the tunnel at a distance. She rushed towards it and sweatdropped when she saw that the drain ended in a shower room. It was quite full and packed with naked men washing themselves off grime and dirt. Doggan did mention about how cruel the marines treated him during his time in here, so she was positively sure that the people taking their baths were definitely not the inmates. She had to crouch on the dirty drain floor and wait until everyone left (and got showered by dirty soap water in the process *GROSS*!) before she could get into the showers. She jumped into the showers at a thrice and let the water run down her icky body, washing all the dirtiness.
Usopp and Chopper’s luck were even terrible. Their tunnel was ultimately stinky and foul, and they had to climb upwards to get to the end of the tunnel. Suddenly they heard a flushing sound and smelly water showered over them, accompanied by terrible foul-smelling goop. When they struggled their way up to the tunnel exit, they found themselves coming out of a toilet bowl! Which means someone actually flushed and sent shit covering all over their bodies (*DOUBLE GROSS*)!! Chopper glared at Usopp and growled, “Some tunnel we took, huh?”
“Well, you chose this tunnel! I just came after you!” Usopp said as he waited for Chopper to clamber out of the toilet bowl. The smell was worse than ever. They quickly rushed out of the toilet before other people who were ‘doing their business’ smelt them.
They came across Nami on their way to the kitchen entrance. The way Nami pinched her nose showed that they definitely do not smell pleasant at all.
“What? It’s just a couple of shitheads walking beside you,” Chopper said sarcastically. “There’s nothing to be disgusted about!”
The next minute, they found themselves standing under cold running water, forced by yours truly—Nami.
After Usopp and Chopper were quite clean (and less stinky) and quite dried up, they rushed towards the kitchen entrance, where they were supposed to meet. They saw no sign of Zoro or Sanji around. When they were about to split up and find them, they were suddenly pulled into a janitorial room, where the brooms and mops were. Luckily they heard Zoro and Sanji’s hush, or they would probably howl the whole place down.
“What are you guys doing here?” Nami hissed, removing Zoro’s large hand from her mouth.
“We had to hide here,” Zoro replied, peeking out to see if the coast was clear. “Us standing out at the entrance posing as inmate cooks are definitely too conspicuous.”
“Although it’s a shame Zoro didn’t let me try out my specialties,” Sanji replied, popping another chewing gum into his mouth.
“You baka! This is not the time for one of your cuisines!” Zoro growled. “So, Nami, where do we go now?”
“Well…the blue print was kinda soaked after clambering through gross-out tunnels infested with dead rats,” Nami said in grimace, “but I have an idea where we’re going to go. Since we’re near the kitchen entrance, then we are getting closer to the marines’ territory. All we have to do now is try to go as high as possible to find the exhibit centre. My guess is that since it’s an exhibit and we are talking about major valuables that worth a hunk of fortune, so it has to be in a highly-secured spot on the highest floor, wherever it may be. Each of us will have to try out different floors for this.”
“Alright, you heard what Nami said,” Zoro turned to the rest of the crew, “we’ll go to the lift and see how many floors this building exactly has. Then we’ll split up into groups again and choose which floor—or floors—we want to scout.”
“But how do we know who reached the exhibit first?” Chopper asked.
“I think I have a way for that,” Usopp said as he rummaged through his handy pockets on his overall. He took out 5 mini-beepers and passed one to each. “Whoever finds the exhibit centre, he/she can press the button under this device and the rest of the beepers will beep simultaneously. The speaker will also be activated when the beeper button is pressed. That way we’ll all know where the exhibit centre is and get there as soon as possible.”
“You are good!” Sanji said, clapping Usopp’s back.
“OK, this is it. On the count of three, we’ll make a dash for it. Let me check if the coast is clear,” Zoro said, then stopped in his tracks and asked, “What reeks? Phew!”
“Don’t even ask!” Chopper growled, glaring at both Usopp and the snorting Nami.
At the count of three, the Going Merry dashed as silent as possible out of the janitorial room and crept to the hallway towards the lift. They saw that there were 15 floors altogether. Each of them took 3 floors. Sanji took the first 3 floors. The lift needed a pass to open, so Zoro took out a pass card he got from one of the cooks he kidnapped and slipped it into the slot on the lift door. The door opened and they parted with Sanji. Nami took the second 3 floors. Chopper took the third 3 floors and Usopp took (or rather forced to take) the fourth 3 floors. Which left Zoro with the last 3 floors. He got off at the 13th floor (totally unlucky number) and started searching. He noticed that this was the place where the highest classed marines hung out. There were the meeting rooms and conference centres at the 13th floor, the security lines on the 14th floor and more important rooms on the 15th floor.
Zoro was about to stop searching this 15th floor and look for the others when he saw two guards guarding a door which he had not entered yet. He walked up to them slowly, refusing to answer their bombarding questions and, within seconds, slit the guards’ chests, making them fall down to the floor. Zoro rummaged through one of the guards’ pockets and found a pass card. He slotted it into a machine beside the door and the door slid open.
He had to cover his eyes a little when he entered the room. There, right in front of his eyes, the thing he and the Going Merry have been risking their lives for. Piled up comfortably on the exhibit stand was the one and only One Piece! Zoro gazed at the treasure dearly and thank the gods and Luffy for giving him and the crew strength to go this far. He wanted to just fall on the treasure and weep in joy but it wasn’t the time. Besides, no one is dumb enough to lie on the treasure when it could be covered with booby traps (except Luffy, obviously).
Zoro was about to take out the mini-beeper when he noticed a small cylinder-shaped metallic container somewhere behind the treasure. It was almost as tall as he was and there were sounds of bubbling inside it. Zoro stuck his ear close to the cylinder and he could hear a distinct breathing inside it too, accompanied by rhythmic bubbling of water. He searched and found a card-slotting machine right on the rims of the container. He tried his luck and slotted the card in. He was surprised at his dumb luck when the metal covering of the cylinder slid upwards.
What he saw next almost gave him a heart attack.
The Going Merry crew sailed their boat to find a less conspicuous spot before stopping and getting off. They found an underground cave and sailed into it, hoping no one noticed them. They gathered as much seaweed and rags as possible and covered the boat. They even lowered the sails and hid it in the cabin and smeared mud and goop over it to make it look like a useless boat just in case someone catches a glimpse of it and decided to haul it away.
“Stick together,” Zoro said as he scouted to see if the coast was clear. “We don’t want to lose each other. We’ll split up as soon as we reach the tunnels. Nami, lead the way.”
So, with Nami the navigator as the guide, they trotted their way around the island. When they hear footsteps at a distance, they sneaked quickly in the shadows or behind the rocks and held their breaths until the person passed by. As they continued their way, they suddenly saw someone at a distance. Instinctively, they crept into a narrow cave on the wall of the hill and kept their mouths shut.
Zoro took a peek and was shocked to see that it was Tashigi, wearing her usual leather coat covering her marine uniform. Her glasses shone under the moonlight, and Zoro had to admit that she looked like a real male marine crew, minus the slightly formed breasts, that is. He noticed that, under the moonlight, she had dyed a long blue streak across the middle of her head. Probably to make herself even more masculine. She had her sword ready by her side.
All of a sudden, Usopp felt ticklish on the nose by Chopper’s fur. He let out a sneeze. Though not too loud to cause an avalanche, but it was loud enough to let someone nearby hear. And that’s what Tashigi heard.
“Who’s there?” The Going Merry crew cringed. They hissed silently at Usopp and clasped his mouth shut with all of their hands to keep him from sneezing again. Tashigi walked closer towards their hiding place. The Going Merry crew was in the verge of panicking. Zoro gave them the signal through eye-contact that if she comes too close, they’ll have to make a dash for it. Everyone got ready. The atmosphere was tense. They held their breaths as Tashigi moved closer and closer towards the narrow cave. She brought out her sword and peered into the dark cave. The crew held their breaths. Though dark, they could make out the outline of Tashigi incoming closer towards them. The tense silence was deafening. Tashigi reached her hand out and was almost touching Chopper’s wet nose. Her fingers were getting closer and closer. Chopper held his breath, not wanting to breathe on her fingers and alert her. Everyone had their feet ready to run for it. Her hand was almost touching Chopper’s nose now…
“Miss Tashigi! Miss Tashigi, where are you?” Someone called from a distance.
“I’m here!” Tashigi replied as she moved out of the cave reluctantly. “What do you want?”
“Colonel Smoker called for you, miss,” a man in marine uniform replied.
“Didn’t you tell him I’m on a look-out?”
“Yes, miss. But he insisted to bring you to him. He said it’s urgent.”
Tashigi stared at the narrow cave for a while and said, “Alright. Take me to him. And alert the force to increase the security grounds.”
“Yes, miss!” the man saluted her and led the way.
After Tashigi and the junior were finally out of sight, the Going Merry crew fell out of their hiding place and caught their breaths. It felt like eternity and they were pretty surprised that they were able to hold their breaths for so long. Sanji aimed his foot on Usopp’s face, “You bakero! You almost got us caught back there! What were you thinking?!”
“Well, I can’t help it if my nose was tickled by that idiot reindeer’s fur!!” Usopp protested, aiming his fist at Sanji’s face.
“Oh, so it’s my fault, huh?” Chopper growled and chucked Usopp on the ribs.
“I’m surrounded by idiots,” Zoro groaned as he walked on his way, leaving the rest of the crew behind.
“Urusai, three of you! We got a mission to finish here!” Nami stopped the fight with a blow on the three bickering people’s heads. “Matte (Wait), Zoro, matte!”
The Going Merry crew continued their journey, evading more incoming marine soldiers along the way. Finally they reached the tunnels where Nami had mentioned in the blue prints. There were only two tunnels, and they led up towards the huge building towering over them: the Marine Force Centre. Zoro stood there for a moment to admire the building.
“We are finally here,” Zoro muttered to himself, fascinated at the monstrosity of the building.
“Alright, we’re here,” Usopp said, his knees begin to knock at each other. He tried to sound brave. “Now what’ll we do, Nami?”
“We go according as planned,” Nami said, taking out her blue prints to check if they were at the right track. “We split up into groups and we go through both tunnels. Wherever it ends up, we’ll still be inside the building. We’ll all meet at the kitchen entrance. Alright, who will go with whom?”
Usopp decided to stick with Chopper as he trusted Chopper would morph and fight better when the situation gets tough. Sanji opt to go with Zoro, as they make quite a good team, what with one who had great swordsmanship and one had a strong foot. Nami refused to be in the same team as Usopp and Chopper because to her, two bakero-s are enough to create total disaster, so she voted to go with Zoro’s team.
After sorting out the groups, Usopp chose the left side of the tunnel. He insisted that Chopper go in first before him, because he didn’t want to risk any booby traps in there. Zoro took the right tunnel and climbed in before Sanji. When it was almost Nami’s turn, she noticed something glimmering under the moonlight. She went to investigate and saw that in was a ladder leading to another tunnel. Since all of the Going Merry had their go in trying both tunnels, she might as well try this tunnel alone. Without further hesitation, she climbed up the ladder and slipped into the tunnel.
Zoro and Sanji’s tunnel pretty much led them safely into a garbage chute in the Centre’s kitchen. They peeked in to see if the coast was clear. Obviously not. They had to kidnap two of the cooks, who looked pretty thin and under-fed (obviously they are the inmates of the Centre) and wear their clothes and tried to blend in with the surroundings. Sanji couldn’t help cooking up a storm at the sight of the kitchen. Who could blame him? He’s a cook and being in a kitchen triggered his natural instincts. Zoro had to drag him by the collar before he blew everything they’ve planned out the window.
Nami’s outcome was quite unpleasant. Her tunnel led her to an underground drain that was infested with rats, dead or alive, and loads of rubbish. She grimaced and forced herself to wade through the murky drain, trying to avoid from at least touching those dead rats that were very bloated and very decaying and trying her luck on choosing which detour to take. She sighed with relief when she saw the end of the tunnel at a distance. She rushed towards it and sweatdropped when she saw that the drain ended in a shower room. It was quite full and packed with naked men washing themselves off grime and dirt. Doggan did mention about how cruel the marines treated him during his time in here, so she was positively sure that the people taking their baths were definitely not the inmates. She had to crouch on the dirty drain floor and wait until everyone left (and got showered by dirty soap water in the process *GROSS*!) before she could get into the showers. She jumped into the showers at a thrice and let the water run down her icky body, washing all the dirtiness.
Usopp and Chopper’s luck were even terrible. Their tunnel was ultimately stinky and foul, and they had to climb upwards to get to the end of the tunnel. Suddenly they heard a flushing sound and smelly water showered over them, accompanied by terrible foul-smelling goop. When they struggled their way up to the tunnel exit, they found themselves coming out of a toilet bowl! Which means someone actually flushed and sent shit covering all over their bodies (*DOUBLE GROSS*)!! Chopper glared at Usopp and growled, “Some tunnel we took, huh?”
“Well, you chose this tunnel! I just came after you!” Usopp said as he waited for Chopper to clamber out of the toilet bowl. The smell was worse than ever. They quickly rushed out of the toilet before other people who were ‘doing their business’ smelt them.
They came across Nami on their way to the kitchen entrance. The way Nami pinched her nose showed that they definitely do not smell pleasant at all.
“What? It’s just a couple of shitheads walking beside you,” Chopper said sarcastically. “There’s nothing to be disgusted about!”
The next minute, they found themselves standing under cold running water, forced by yours truly—Nami.
After Usopp and Chopper were quite clean (and less stinky) and quite dried up, they rushed towards the kitchen entrance, where they were supposed to meet. They saw no sign of Zoro or Sanji around. When they were about to split up and find them, they were suddenly pulled into a janitorial room, where the brooms and mops were. Luckily they heard Zoro and Sanji’s hush, or they would probably howl the whole place down.
“What are you guys doing here?” Nami hissed, removing Zoro’s large hand from her mouth.
“We had to hide here,” Zoro replied, peeking out to see if the coast was clear. “Us standing out at the entrance posing as inmate cooks are definitely too conspicuous.”
“Although it’s a shame Zoro didn’t let me try out my specialties,” Sanji replied, popping another chewing gum into his mouth.
“You baka! This is not the time for one of your cuisines!” Zoro growled. “So, Nami, where do we go now?”
“Well…the blue print was kinda soaked after clambering through gross-out tunnels infested with dead rats,” Nami said in grimace, “but I have an idea where we’re going to go. Since we’re near the kitchen entrance, then we are getting closer to the marines’ territory. All we have to do now is try to go as high as possible to find the exhibit centre. My guess is that since it’s an exhibit and we are talking about major valuables that worth a hunk of fortune, so it has to be in a highly-secured spot on the highest floor, wherever it may be. Each of us will have to try out different floors for this.”
“Alright, you heard what Nami said,” Zoro turned to the rest of the crew, “we’ll go to the lift and see how many floors this building exactly has. Then we’ll split up into groups again and choose which floor—or floors—we want to scout.”
“But how do we know who reached the exhibit first?” Chopper asked.
“I think I have a way for that,” Usopp said as he rummaged through his handy pockets on his overall. He took out 5 mini-beepers and passed one to each. “Whoever finds the exhibit centre, he/she can press the button under this device and the rest of the beepers will beep simultaneously. The speaker will also be activated when the beeper button is pressed. That way we’ll all know where the exhibit centre is and get there as soon as possible.”
“You are good!” Sanji said, clapping Usopp’s back.
“OK, this is it. On the count of three, we’ll make a dash for it. Let me check if the coast is clear,” Zoro said, then stopped in his tracks and asked, “What reeks? Phew!”
“Don’t even ask!” Chopper growled, glaring at both Usopp and the snorting Nami.
At the count of three, the Going Merry dashed as silent as possible out of the janitorial room and crept to the hallway towards the lift. They saw that there were 15 floors altogether. Each of them took 3 floors. Sanji took the first 3 floors. The lift needed a pass to open, so Zoro took out a pass card he got from one of the cooks he kidnapped and slipped it into the slot on the lift door. The door opened and they parted with Sanji. Nami took the second 3 floors. Chopper took the third 3 floors and Usopp took (or rather forced to take) the fourth 3 floors. Which left Zoro with the last 3 floors. He got off at the 13th floor (totally unlucky number) and started searching. He noticed that this was the place where the highest classed marines hung out. There were the meeting rooms and conference centres at the 13th floor, the security lines on the 14th floor and more important rooms on the 15th floor.
Zoro was about to stop searching this 15th floor and look for the others when he saw two guards guarding a door which he had not entered yet. He walked up to them slowly, refusing to answer their bombarding questions and, within seconds, slit the guards’ chests, making them fall down to the floor. Zoro rummaged through one of the guards’ pockets and found a pass card. He slotted it into a machine beside the door and the door slid open.
He had to cover his eyes a little when he entered the room. There, right in front of his eyes, the thing he and the Going Merry have been risking their lives for. Piled up comfortably on the exhibit stand was the one and only One Piece! Zoro gazed at the treasure dearly and thank the gods and Luffy for giving him and the crew strength to go this far. He wanted to just fall on the treasure and weep in joy but it wasn’t the time. Besides, no one is dumb enough to lie on the treasure when it could be covered with booby traps (except Luffy, obviously).
Zoro was about to take out the mini-beeper when he noticed a small cylinder-shaped metallic container somewhere behind the treasure. It was almost as tall as he was and there were sounds of bubbling inside it. Zoro stuck his ear close to the cylinder and he could hear a distinct breathing inside it too, accompanied by rhythmic bubbling of water. He searched and found a card-slotting machine right on the rims of the container. He tried his luck and slotted the card in. He was surprised at his dumb luck when the metal covering of the cylinder slid upwards.
What he saw next almost gave him a heart attack.
Damn Cold Night-Chp5
CHAPTER 5: PLAN
The Going Merry crew were on the boat again, sailing the vast blue sea. They were coming closer and closer to their destination. Zoro could almost smell the coming danger and adventure, and he relished the thought.
The rest of the Going Merry crew was even busier than before. Nami’s desk was filled with charts and maps, even blue prints of the Marine Force Centre, and loads of books. Usopp was more engrossed in his inventions that he sometimes ignored the fact that it was mealtimes. Chopper would often do training with Sanji on his fighting skills, and Sanji would also take the opportunity to give his leg a few practices. Sanji’s meals became tastier than ever, probably because of the idea that they might not survive this mission. It was obvious that everyone was quite uptight about this oncoming mission.
“You’ll see, Luffy. We will succeed in this mission. Give us strength.”
The Going Merry crew gathered in the meeting room. Nami had the blue print of the Marine Force Centre placed on the meeting table. Usopp eyed at the blue print in wonder and amazement.
“Wow! Where did you get this blue print? I don’t remember you asking that ol’ Doggan about any blue prints.”
“That’s because I didn’t ask him,” Nami said in an as-a-matter-of-fact way. “I tried to jot down everything I heard from Doggan about the structure of the Centre and I tried to do a rough sketch of it.”
“You’re really good,” Sanji said, impressed.
“Alright, crew. Back to business,” Zoro said, bringing them back to reality. “What do you have for us, Nami?”
“OK,” Nami said as she pointed a spot at the corner of the blue print, “see here? This is the entrance to the Marine Force Centre. Of course, we are not going to enter there. Security there is as tight as ever. As Doggan said, the Centre is on top of a hill in the middle of a very vast island. And there must be a way up from below the Centre, may it be a tunnel or a cave or whatever. Doggan said that he had taken the tunnel through from one of the kitchens of the Centre. I estimated about more than three kitchens, as the Centre is quite big. And either of their tunnels will lead us inside the building.
“All we have to do now is split into groups and go into those tunnels. We will all meet at this section that leads to the higher prisons. Be careful not to stay long in the deep prisons where Doggan used to be, if your tunnel so happens to lead to that way, because that place is a total nightmare. After that we’ll split up into groups again and set up some tasks for each group. One group will have to check if coasts are clear, the other will scout the area and find the exhibit centre, which Doggan did not reveal to us where, and if necessary, a group who can provide some distraction.”
“Usopp might the perfect candidate to become the distraction unit,” Sanji said, grinning from ear to ear.
“What?! Me?! Why me??” Usopp was quite offended.
“Because you run like the wind and you’re able to lure the guards faraway enough for us to find the exhibit centre.”
“Oh, I do the hard work while you guys get the target so easily,” Usopp growled. “Why don’t you ask Chopper to do the job? He runs faster than I do.”
“I will not be someone else’s bait!” Chopper said indignantly, sending the crew into fits of laughter. Zoro, the cool guy of the crew, only smirked.
“Alright! Enough serious stuff for today! Who’s in for dinner?” Sanji asked. As expected, everyone agreed with both hands up.
Sanji cooked a storm, as usual. There was thick mushroom soup, grilled lemon chicken, steamed fish, salad a la mode, boiled fish eggs with gravy sauce and red wine to go. The crew ate to their hearts’ content. After their ‘exclusive’ dinner by yours truly—Sanji, the crew resumed to normal tasks: Nami back to analyzing the Marine Force Centre blueprint, Usopp back to his gadgets, and Chopper morphed back to his battle mode and occupied himself by double-checking his kit while waiting for Sanji to finish doing the dishes so that he can train with him again.
Zoro took out his swords and did a few swishes with them. He started out with two swords, then slipped the third sword into his mouth and swished it around even more vigoriously. He leapt from one place to another, practicing all his moves. He remembered the move he used to defeat Mihawk last time on the island of One Piece. It was quite new and came out of his head quite by accident: The Triple X Slash. He tried that move and as he went on, he felt even more prepared for their mission ahead. His sword moves became more and more intense until at a point, he thought he was about to reach out to the heavens into Luffy’s welcoming arms…
His deep thoughts and his intense moves stopped dead in its track when he heard Usopp’s loud protests. He noticed that he was so engrossed in his training that he accidentally knocked over a number of bottles used by Usopp to concoct his catapult bullets.
“What in the world do you think you’re doing?! You almost got me killed!! Now you’ve ruined my stuff for my bullets!! Argh!! You even spilled the chili water for my chili bullet on my shirt!! Argh!!”
“Gomenasai, Usopp. I wasn’t looking,” Zoro apologized coolly as he put his swords away.
“Darn right you’re not! Someone get me some water!! Taskete (Help)!! My shirt is burning!!”
Zoro suddenly felt the sharp twine of pain again in his stomach. He had overdone his training. He staggered towards the lime orchard and hid behind the thick lime bushes, not wanting to let any wise guy—Chopper, for the matter of fact—to see him in this state. He sat down and clutched his stomach hard, breathing hard, trying to hold on to the pain.
“Here, drink this,” Sanji suddenly appeared from behind with a glass of yellowish-white liquid. “It’ll make you feel better. Don’t worry, I came alone.”
Zoro took a sip and said, “This is good. What is this?”
“Honey-milk. I’m drinking it too,” Sanji replied, sipping another glass of the same coloured liquid.
“You…You too…?” Zoro eyed at Sanji in disbelief. Sanji nodded.
“Let’s just keep it between us.”
“Land ahoy!”
Everyone stood at the deck and watched. In front of them was an island which had a tall hill in the middle. Although it was still quite for them to see clearly, they could make out an outline of a large building bearing a flag of the marines. Zoro smirked and got his swords ready. They have been sailing for about three days and two nights. Finally, their patience paid off.
“Guys, here we are. The Marine Force Centre.”
Everyone cheered. They had a brief moment of celebration before finally getting their act together. Nami and Usopp ran to get their newly-improved gadgets and Chopper prepared himself by muttering encouraging words to himself to give himself confidence, reminding himself not to morph unless necessary. Zoro and Sanji feasted their eyes at the sight of the Centre.
“We’re finally here,” Sanji said with a sigh of relief.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Zoro agreed.
“For Luffy.”
“For our Luffy.”
The Going Merry crew were on the boat again, sailing the vast blue sea. They were coming closer and closer to their destination. Zoro could almost smell the coming danger and adventure, and he relished the thought.
The rest of the Going Merry crew was even busier than before. Nami’s desk was filled with charts and maps, even blue prints of the Marine Force Centre, and loads of books. Usopp was more engrossed in his inventions that he sometimes ignored the fact that it was mealtimes. Chopper would often do training with Sanji on his fighting skills, and Sanji would also take the opportunity to give his leg a few practices. Sanji’s meals became tastier than ever, probably because of the idea that they might not survive this mission. It was obvious that everyone was quite uptight about this oncoming mission.
“You’ll see, Luffy. We will succeed in this mission. Give us strength.”
The Going Merry crew gathered in the meeting room. Nami had the blue print of the Marine Force Centre placed on the meeting table. Usopp eyed at the blue print in wonder and amazement.
“Wow! Where did you get this blue print? I don’t remember you asking that ol’ Doggan about any blue prints.”
“That’s because I didn’t ask him,” Nami said in an as-a-matter-of-fact way. “I tried to jot down everything I heard from Doggan about the structure of the Centre and I tried to do a rough sketch of it.”
“You’re really good,” Sanji said, impressed.
“Alright, crew. Back to business,” Zoro said, bringing them back to reality. “What do you have for us, Nami?”
“OK,” Nami said as she pointed a spot at the corner of the blue print, “see here? This is the entrance to the Marine Force Centre. Of course, we are not going to enter there. Security there is as tight as ever. As Doggan said, the Centre is on top of a hill in the middle of a very vast island. And there must be a way up from below the Centre, may it be a tunnel or a cave or whatever. Doggan said that he had taken the tunnel through from one of the kitchens of the Centre. I estimated about more than three kitchens, as the Centre is quite big. And either of their tunnels will lead us inside the building.
“All we have to do now is split into groups and go into those tunnels. We will all meet at this section that leads to the higher prisons. Be careful not to stay long in the deep prisons where Doggan used to be, if your tunnel so happens to lead to that way, because that place is a total nightmare. After that we’ll split up into groups again and set up some tasks for each group. One group will have to check if coasts are clear, the other will scout the area and find the exhibit centre, which Doggan did not reveal to us where, and if necessary, a group who can provide some distraction.”
“Usopp might the perfect candidate to become the distraction unit,” Sanji said, grinning from ear to ear.
“What?! Me?! Why me??” Usopp was quite offended.
“Because you run like the wind and you’re able to lure the guards faraway enough for us to find the exhibit centre.”
“Oh, I do the hard work while you guys get the target so easily,” Usopp growled. “Why don’t you ask Chopper to do the job? He runs faster than I do.”
“I will not be someone else’s bait!” Chopper said indignantly, sending the crew into fits of laughter. Zoro, the cool guy of the crew, only smirked.
“Alright! Enough serious stuff for today! Who’s in for dinner?” Sanji asked. As expected, everyone agreed with both hands up.
Sanji cooked a storm, as usual. There was thick mushroom soup, grilled lemon chicken, steamed fish, salad a la mode, boiled fish eggs with gravy sauce and red wine to go. The crew ate to their hearts’ content. After their ‘exclusive’ dinner by yours truly—Sanji, the crew resumed to normal tasks: Nami back to analyzing the Marine Force Centre blueprint, Usopp back to his gadgets, and Chopper morphed back to his battle mode and occupied himself by double-checking his kit while waiting for Sanji to finish doing the dishes so that he can train with him again.
Zoro took out his swords and did a few swishes with them. He started out with two swords, then slipped the third sword into his mouth and swished it around even more vigoriously. He leapt from one place to another, practicing all his moves. He remembered the move he used to defeat Mihawk last time on the island of One Piece. It was quite new and came out of his head quite by accident: The Triple X Slash. He tried that move and as he went on, he felt even more prepared for their mission ahead. His sword moves became more and more intense until at a point, he thought he was about to reach out to the heavens into Luffy’s welcoming arms…
His deep thoughts and his intense moves stopped dead in its track when he heard Usopp’s loud protests. He noticed that he was so engrossed in his training that he accidentally knocked over a number of bottles used by Usopp to concoct his catapult bullets.
“What in the world do you think you’re doing?! You almost got me killed!! Now you’ve ruined my stuff for my bullets!! Argh!! You even spilled the chili water for my chili bullet on my shirt!! Argh!!”
“Gomenasai, Usopp. I wasn’t looking,” Zoro apologized coolly as he put his swords away.
“Darn right you’re not! Someone get me some water!! Taskete (Help)!! My shirt is burning!!”
Zoro suddenly felt the sharp twine of pain again in his stomach. He had overdone his training. He staggered towards the lime orchard and hid behind the thick lime bushes, not wanting to let any wise guy—Chopper, for the matter of fact—to see him in this state. He sat down and clutched his stomach hard, breathing hard, trying to hold on to the pain.
“Here, drink this,” Sanji suddenly appeared from behind with a glass of yellowish-white liquid. “It’ll make you feel better. Don’t worry, I came alone.”
Zoro took a sip and said, “This is good. What is this?”
“Honey-milk. I’m drinking it too,” Sanji replied, sipping another glass of the same coloured liquid.
“You…You too…?” Zoro eyed at Sanji in disbelief. Sanji nodded.
“Let’s just keep it between us.”
“Land ahoy!”
Everyone stood at the deck and watched. In front of them was an island which had a tall hill in the middle. Although it was still quite for them to see clearly, they could make out an outline of a large building bearing a flag of the marines. Zoro smirked and got his swords ready. They have been sailing for about three days and two nights. Finally, their patience paid off.
“Guys, here we are. The Marine Force Centre.”
Everyone cheered. They had a brief moment of celebration before finally getting their act together. Nami and Usopp ran to get their newly-improved gadgets and Chopper prepared himself by muttering encouraging words to himself to give himself confidence, reminding himself not to morph unless necessary. Zoro and Sanji feasted their eyes at the sight of the Centre.
“We’re finally here,” Sanji said with a sigh of relief.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Zoro agreed.
“For Luffy.”
“For our Luffy.”
Damn Cold Night-Chp4
CHAPTER 4: ISLAND
The Going Merry slowly sailed into the harbour of the high-tech island. Only that the harbour was so big and technological, it looked as if the Titanic could stop there. Everyone got off the boat and scouted the area.
Before they could exactly figure out what kind of place was this, a robot rolled in. It looked like the short and stout robot from Star Wars, only it could talk.
“Welcome, foreigners. My name is RPH72. May I be of your assistance?”
“Yes, please,” Nami replied, looking down at the robot which was somewhere around her waist. “Could you tell me what kind of island is this?”
“This is Island TYR40918645X#, also known as Future Island. In this island, everything is as easy as a push of a button. Convenient as it is.”
“Wow~!” Usopp gaped at the elaborate features of the harbour. “Now that’s my kind of island! No monsters, no alien life-forms and no danger!”
“Correction,” RPH72 replied, “there is alien life-form existing in this island, although they are not harmful. They come from all around the world and have been living here since the dawn of this island.”
“Looks like Mr. Know-It-All isn’t so safe after all,” Sanji sneered, which resulted into a glare from Usopp. It seemed that his stomachache has already ceased torturing him.
“Would you foreigners like a tour around this island?” RPH72 offered.
“Sure, why not?” Zoro replied as he slipped his swords into his waist belt one by one. His stomach wasn’t that painful anymore either.
RPH72 took them out of the harbour. On the way out, the Going Merry crew feasted their eyes on the oddity of their surroundings. Big bulky machinery filled the whole place. They found themselves standing on a floor escalator; they only had to remain standing as the escalator brought them to the exit. There were machines for scanning luggage and bags. There were quite a number of counters which admitted passengers in and out of the harbour, managed by robots and androids of all shapes and sizes. There were even machines that scan through passengers at the exit, which was what the crew was brought through. Zoro was almost detained for bringing his three swords but the rest of the crew sweet-talked the security guard out of it, and RPH72 vouched for Zoro. Zoro would rather give up his life than his swords, especially when it was Luffy who helped him get them back from Captain Mogan’s office.
Outside the harbour was another story. The buildings were all made of solid metal. Robots, androids, cyborgs and humans walk among each other in a busy city. There were even a number of weird-looking beings walking about. Almost everyone had at least an android as a servant. Some carried little children on their backs, some helped their masters and mistresses carry groceries, and some even helped to walk the dog! Usopp gaped and gasped at everything in sight, like a child who was taken to a candy shop. Sanji noticed a few androids wearing marine uniforms and saw a tall building bearing the logo of the marines.
“Does your island have marine forces too?” Sanji asked, not shifting his eyes from the building.
“Yes, as a matter of fact, we do. But most of the marine crew are either androids or cyborgs,” RPH72 replied. “Our marine force is the only force with the least human members.”
“OK,” Sanji muttered under his breath. “Solid metal sea soldiers. Not very encouraging.”
After quite a long tour (and after satisfying gadget freak’s curiosity—namely Usopp), the crew was hungry. RPH72 took them to a small restaurant which sold Italian food. The crew gorged over pasta, lasagna, pizza, mushroom soup and more. Sanji and Zoro ate the most. Chopper felt weird at the sudden change of their appetite.
“Are you sure you can take it in, Zoro? You just recovered from a terrible stomachache,” Chopper asked, concerned. “And Sanji! You’re eating as if you’ve been starving for a week!”
“I feel normal,” Sanji replied. “I’m just impressed at this lovely food we’re served, although it still needs a little something. The food is really not bad, right, Zoro?”
Zoro could only nod, what with all the food in his mouth.
After lunch, each paid their share of the food to the cashier. The robot cashier eyed at their currency and shook his head, “Insufficient currency. Cannot accept.”
“Sorry, my friends, I forgot to tell you,” RPH72 said apologetically, “you have to change your currency. Over here, we don’t use the universal berry as currency. Come, let me change your money.”
So saying, RPH72 slid out a metallic pocket. The crew slipped in the money and moments later, RPH72 slid out a few pieces of metallic film with golden inscriptions engraved on it, showing the value of the film. Zoro took it and paid the cashier. The cashier took the money and slid it into his metallic pocket, saying, “Thank you for dining in our restaurant. Please come again.”
Before they could leave the restaurant, a man suddenly burst in. He looked really old and had long shaggy white hair and beard. His face was flushed and his eyes were glazed, and in his right hand held a bottle of beer.
“Hear ye, hear ye, everybody in this place! I have come to reveal our true enemies! It is the marines! The marines are our true enemies! They don’t give a damn about you! They torture the daylights out of you and leave you there to rot! I solemnly swear that…”
And the old man kept on ranting and raving drunken nonsense, much to the other customers’ amusement. RPH72 slid out an antenna from his head and beeped. Soon a few police androids came in and took the mad old man away. Everyone resumed back to their business. RPH72 sighed and slid the antenna back into his head.
“What was that about?” Chopper asked.
“Don’t mind him. He’s just a drunkard,” RPH72 said as he led them out of the restaurant, “and a nuisance. He was arrested by the marines a few years back and he became like this after his release ever since.”
“Arrested by the marines?” Zoro was interested. The Going Merry crew recognized his tone of voice and were ready at his command.
“Yes. But that’s the past. He’s an old man. Come, let me show you around some more.”
“Thanks, RPH72, but we can manage from here onwards,” Zoro replied as he gave the signal by a sideways look. “We need to explore this place personally. For a robot like you, you do care about your people.”
“All in a day’s work, sir. If you need me, please don’t hesitate to beep me,” RPH72 said as he passed a small remote control with only a red button. Zoro took it and handed it to Usopp, who marveled over it like a curious child.
As soon as the robot was out of sight, the crew followed the drunken man secretly. He and the police androids were not far away from them. They followed them at a distance. Surprisingly, they did not take the old man into the police station (and a really tall one indeed). They just passed it by and headed for the outskirts of the city. It was rocky and bare, with full of trees, caves and caverns but no trees at all. Not even synthetic ones they saw at the city. They tried hard to catch up with the fast-going police androids as they climbed the rocky hills and tramp over sandy ground, not wanting to lose them.
Soon they found the police androids taking the old man to a cylinder-shaped home. The walls were made of polished glass and the windows were of transparent film. One of the police androids took out the pass card that was hanging around the old man’s neck and opened the door. They shoved the man in and left. The Going Merry crew hid out of sight and waited until the police android went far away enough. Softly but swiftly, they went down the small hill and stood in front of the weird-looking house.
“Ohayo!” Zoro called out at the door. “Anybody home?”
“He might have not recovered from the booze yet,” Chopper said. “Let’s just wait for a moment.”
They didn’t have to wait for long. A few minutes later, a huge fat robot lady answered the door. If it weren’t for her kind sweet face, Usopp would’ve run away helter-skelter. Then again, he’ll almost run away at the sight of anything big and scary to him anyway.
“May I help you?” the robot lady asked.
“We would like to speak to the master of the house, please,” Nami said, “that is, if he’s available. It’s really urgent.”
“The master is still quite intoxicated now. But I’m sure you can see him after I snap him out of it. Please, come inside.”
The Going Merry crew walked into the home. They were surprised to see that although the walls of the house were made of glass, it wasn’t transparent. They couldn’t see the outside from inside the house and vice versa. The robot lady led them to the living room and invited them to sit down. She made them drinks from the drink processor in her stomach.
“Please wait a bit while I call for the master,” the robot lady said as she left the crew.
“Nice house,” Usopp complimented, looking around, careful not to break anything.
“Yeah. This is so different from the other islands we’ve explored. And so much more different than our own hometown,” Nami agreed, testing on the softness of the sofa she was sitting on. “This place really is the future.”
“And a whole lot damage it did to me!” A gruff voice replied, much to the crew’s surprise. They turned around and saw the old man standing there, still a little bit flushed but quite sane than before. “Who are you and what are you doing here in my house?”
“We’re just tourists, and we’re just here to ask you for a little bit of information…” Nami tried to sweet-talk the old man into a better mood but Zoro hit him straight to the point.
“We heard that you’ve been arrested by the marines before. Can you spare us a little marine story?”
The old man stared long and hard at Zoro first, then said slowly, “You must be the legendary Greatest Swordsman everyone has been talking about. I may be drunk sometimes, but that doesn’t mean I don’t stay updated.”
“In the flesh,” Zoro replied.
“And you all must be the famous Luffy gang. I’ve heard a lot about you during my time in the marine prison. A lot of my inmates have been talking about you.”
“Wow! We’re even famous in the marine prison! That’s cool!” Usopp said, resulting to a smack from Nami.
“That is definitely not cool! We’ve become the talk of the century among the worst people in the world: pirates!”
“Yes, my inmates are mostly pirates. And we were all kept in the prisons deep down the Marine Force Centre,” the old man grinned as he took a seat.
“Marine Force Centre?! That’s where you were kept in custody?!” Now everyone was interested. Zoro kept a level head, but in his heart, he was skipping with joy at finally finding the right person to talk to.
“Yes, my friends. I was in the Marine Force Centre. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Doggan,” he said, and the Going Merry crew introduced themselves.
“So what was your offence?” Sanji asked as he sipped his drink.
“Nothing. I was framed. The marines accused me for something I didn’t do. They said I was in an alliance with a certain pirate to overtake the force and I was tortured into questioning. Of course, I didn’t tell them anything, because I couldn’t! They locked me up in their dark cellars and taken out for questioning everyday. I had to suffer the same torture everyday for the past few years until they found the real criminal behind all this. I think they just did it for the kicks, since the public has been pressuring them to catch the real culprit and they couldn’t get anything.”
“Is the Centre as bad as they say it is?” Usopp asked cowardly, his knees began to knock each other in fear.
“Oh, it isn’t too bad, come to think of it,” Doggan shrugged, “but it is worse than normal prisons. In normal prisons they at least feed you with something—anything, for a matter of fact—but there, they don’t give a damn about whether you live or die. They force you to do heavy work and never give you as much as a drop of water. They say it was so-called a rehabilitation system to rehabilitate pirates into decency. I had to escape from that hellish place. They didn’t attempt to find me, which confirmed my suspicion that they only arrested me for the kicks.”
“Where did you escape?” Zoro said after a long moment of silence.
In a low voice, Doggan told the Going Merry crew about the ins and outs of the Centre, including the ones he had seen when he was doing his hard labour work mopping the floors of the centre. He revealed that there were no junior marines working there, only highly trained professionals. The junior marines may have to do odd jobs and hard labour in their quarters, but in the Centre, it’s the inmates’ job.
The Going Merry crew were fascinated and enthralled with this piece of information. Doggan tried to be hospitable by inviting them to stay for the night and have dinner with him. Nami would jump to any opportunity which offered anything free, because she was sort of the treasurer of the crew and this means that they will not have to spend money on hotel food and accommodation (stingy girl!), and Sanji would love to know how well can a robot cook. Usopp and Chopper would always agree on anything hospitable. Zoro didn’t mind. He had almost the basic info he needed for their mission. During their stay at Doggan’s house, he shared more of his misfortune in the Centre and revealed more information for the crew. He even told some of his adventures when he escaped from the Centre and on his way sailing back to Future Island.
After a few stories exchanged and a whole lot of beer shared among the crew, they all retired to their rooms. Doggan still had some more room for whiskey. He poured himself a glass and took a peek at everyone sleeping in their beds: Sanji and Zoro sleeping side by side, Usopp snoring like a pig despite his long thin nose and using Chopper as his bolster, and Nami curled up on her bed sleeping peacefully, like an angel in mortal attire.
As Doggan sipped his whiskey, he muttered to himself, “I think I know what you Luffy team members are up to. Yet I have no right to stop you.”
Doggan walked slowly to his room, thinking about his action in revealing secret forbidden things about the Centre to the Going Merry crew. Slowly he shrugged and smirked.
“One Piece…”
“Thanks for the food and bed, Doggan,” the crew thanked the old man before leaving his cylinder glass house.
“Don’t mention it. You guys kept me company. That’s all I can do repay you. See ya guys soon!”
“SAYONARA!!” the Going Merry crew waved before climbing their way towards the big city.
“Come back alive,” Doggan said under his breath.
The Going Merry slowly sailed into the harbour of the high-tech island. Only that the harbour was so big and technological, it looked as if the Titanic could stop there. Everyone got off the boat and scouted the area.
Before they could exactly figure out what kind of place was this, a robot rolled in. It looked like the short and stout robot from Star Wars, only it could talk.
“Welcome, foreigners. My name is RPH72. May I be of your assistance?”
“Yes, please,” Nami replied, looking down at the robot which was somewhere around her waist. “Could you tell me what kind of island is this?”
“This is Island TYR40918645X#, also known as Future Island. In this island, everything is as easy as a push of a button. Convenient as it is.”
“Wow~!” Usopp gaped at the elaborate features of the harbour. “Now that’s my kind of island! No monsters, no alien life-forms and no danger!”
“Correction,” RPH72 replied, “there is alien life-form existing in this island, although they are not harmful. They come from all around the world and have been living here since the dawn of this island.”
“Looks like Mr. Know-It-All isn’t so safe after all,” Sanji sneered, which resulted into a glare from Usopp. It seemed that his stomachache has already ceased torturing him.
“Would you foreigners like a tour around this island?” RPH72 offered.
“Sure, why not?” Zoro replied as he slipped his swords into his waist belt one by one. His stomach wasn’t that painful anymore either.
RPH72 took them out of the harbour. On the way out, the Going Merry crew feasted their eyes on the oddity of their surroundings. Big bulky machinery filled the whole place. They found themselves standing on a floor escalator; they only had to remain standing as the escalator brought them to the exit. There were machines for scanning luggage and bags. There were quite a number of counters which admitted passengers in and out of the harbour, managed by robots and androids of all shapes and sizes. There were even machines that scan through passengers at the exit, which was what the crew was brought through. Zoro was almost detained for bringing his three swords but the rest of the crew sweet-talked the security guard out of it, and RPH72 vouched for Zoro. Zoro would rather give up his life than his swords, especially when it was Luffy who helped him get them back from Captain Mogan’s office.
Outside the harbour was another story. The buildings were all made of solid metal. Robots, androids, cyborgs and humans walk among each other in a busy city. There were even a number of weird-looking beings walking about. Almost everyone had at least an android as a servant. Some carried little children on their backs, some helped their masters and mistresses carry groceries, and some even helped to walk the dog! Usopp gaped and gasped at everything in sight, like a child who was taken to a candy shop. Sanji noticed a few androids wearing marine uniforms and saw a tall building bearing the logo of the marines.
“Does your island have marine forces too?” Sanji asked, not shifting his eyes from the building.
“Yes, as a matter of fact, we do. But most of the marine crew are either androids or cyborgs,” RPH72 replied. “Our marine force is the only force with the least human members.”
“OK,” Sanji muttered under his breath. “Solid metal sea soldiers. Not very encouraging.”
After quite a long tour (and after satisfying gadget freak’s curiosity—namely Usopp), the crew was hungry. RPH72 took them to a small restaurant which sold Italian food. The crew gorged over pasta, lasagna, pizza, mushroom soup and more. Sanji and Zoro ate the most. Chopper felt weird at the sudden change of their appetite.
“Are you sure you can take it in, Zoro? You just recovered from a terrible stomachache,” Chopper asked, concerned. “And Sanji! You’re eating as if you’ve been starving for a week!”
“I feel normal,” Sanji replied. “I’m just impressed at this lovely food we’re served, although it still needs a little something. The food is really not bad, right, Zoro?”
Zoro could only nod, what with all the food in his mouth.
After lunch, each paid their share of the food to the cashier. The robot cashier eyed at their currency and shook his head, “Insufficient currency. Cannot accept.”
“Sorry, my friends, I forgot to tell you,” RPH72 said apologetically, “you have to change your currency. Over here, we don’t use the universal berry as currency. Come, let me change your money.”
So saying, RPH72 slid out a metallic pocket. The crew slipped in the money and moments later, RPH72 slid out a few pieces of metallic film with golden inscriptions engraved on it, showing the value of the film. Zoro took it and paid the cashier. The cashier took the money and slid it into his metallic pocket, saying, “Thank you for dining in our restaurant. Please come again.”
Before they could leave the restaurant, a man suddenly burst in. He looked really old and had long shaggy white hair and beard. His face was flushed and his eyes were glazed, and in his right hand held a bottle of beer.
“Hear ye, hear ye, everybody in this place! I have come to reveal our true enemies! It is the marines! The marines are our true enemies! They don’t give a damn about you! They torture the daylights out of you and leave you there to rot! I solemnly swear that…”
And the old man kept on ranting and raving drunken nonsense, much to the other customers’ amusement. RPH72 slid out an antenna from his head and beeped. Soon a few police androids came in and took the mad old man away. Everyone resumed back to their business. RPH72 sighed and slid the antenna back into his head.
“What was that about?” Chopper asked.
“Don’t mind him. He’s just a drunkard,” RPH72 said as he led them out of the restaurant, “and a nuisance. He was arrested by the marines a few years back and he became like this after his release ever since.”
“Arrested by the marines?” Zoro was interested. The Going Merry crew recognized his tone of voice and were ready at his command.
“Yes. But that’s the past. He’s an old man. Come, let me show you around some more.”
“Thanks, RPH72, but we can manage from here onwards,” Zoro replied as he gave the signal by a sideways look. “We need to explore this place personally. For a robot like you, you do care about your people.”
“All in a day’s work, sir. If you need me, please don’t hesitate to beep me,” RPH72 said as he passed a small remote control with only a red button. Zoro took it and handed it to Usopp, who marveled over it like a curious child.
As soon as the robot was out of sight, the crew followed the drunken man secretly. He and the police androids were not far away from them. They followed them at a distance. Surprisingly, they did not take the old man into the police station (and a really tall one indeed). They just passed it by and headed for the outskirts of the city. It was rocky and bare, with full of trees, caves and caverns but no trees at all. Not even synthetic ones they saw at the city. They tried hard to catch up with the fast-going police androids as they climbed the rocky hills and tramp over sandy ground, not wanting to lose them.
Soon they found the police androids taking the old man to a cylinder-shaped home. The walls were made of polished glass and the windows were of transparent film. One of the police androids took out the pass card that was hanging around the old man’s neck and opened the door. They shoved the man in and left. The Going Merry crew hid out of sight and waited until the police android went far away enough. Softly but swiftly, they went down the small hill and stood in front of the weird-looking house.
“Ohayo!” Zoro called out at the door. “Anybody home?”
“He might have not recovered from the booze yet,” Chopper said. “Let’s just wait for a moment.”
They didn’t have to wait for long. A few minutes later, a huge fat robot lady answered the door. If it weren’t for her kind sweet face, Usopp would’ve run away helter-skelter. Then again, he’ll almost run away at the sight of anything big and scary to him anyway.
“May I help you?” the robot lady asked.
“We would like to speak to the master of the house, please,” Nami said, “that is, if he’s available. It’s really urgent.”
“The master is still quite intoxicated now. But I’m sure you can see him after I snap him out of it. Please, come inside.”
The Going Merry crew walked into the home. They were surprised to see that although the walls of the house were made of glass, it wasn’t transparent. They couldn’t see the outside from inside the house and vice versa. The robot lady led them to the living room and invited them to sit down. She made them drinks from the drink processor in her stomach.
“Please wait a bit while I call for the master,” the robot lady said as she left the crew.
“Nice house,” Usopp complimented, looking around, careful not to break anything.
“Yeah. This is so different from the other islands we’ve explored. And so much more different than our own hometown,” Nami agreed, testing on the softness of the sofa she was sitting on. “This place really is the future.”
“And a whole lot damage it did to me!” A gruff voice replied, much to the crew’s surprise. They turned around and saw the old man standing there, still a little bit flushed but quite sane than before. “Who are you and what are you doing here in my house?”
“We’re just tourists, and we’re just here to ask you for a little bit of information…” Nami tried to sweet-talk the old man into a better mood but Zoro hit him straight to the point.
“We heard that you’ve been arrested by the marines before. Can you spare us a little marine story?”
The old man stared long and hard at Zoro first, then said slowly, “You must be the legendary Greatest Swordsman everyone has been talking about. I may be drunk sometimes, but that doesn’t mean I don’t stay updated.”
“In the flesh,” Zoro replied.
“And you all must be the famous Luffy gang. I’ve heard a lot about you during my time in the marine prison. A lot of my inmates have been talking about you.”
“Wow! We’re even famous in the marine prison! That’s cool!” Usopp said, resulting to a smack from Nami.
“That is definitely not cool! We’ve become the talk of the century among the worst people in the world: pirates!”
“Yes, my inmates are mostly pirates. And we were all kept in the prisons deep down the Marine Force Centre,” the old man grinned as he took a seat.
“Marine Force Centre?! That’s where you were kept in custody?!” Now everyone was interested. Zoro kept a level head, but in his heart, he was skipping with joy at finally finding the right person to talk to.
“Yes, my friends. I was in the Marine Force Centre. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Doggan,” he said, and the Going Merry crew introduced themselves.
“So what was your offence?” Sanji asked as he sipped his drink.
“Nothing. I was framed. The marines accused me for something I didn’t do. They said I was in an alliance with a certain pirate to overtake the force and I was tortured into questioning. Of course, I didn’t tell them anything, because I couldn’t! They locked me up in their dark cellars and taken out for questioning everyday. I had to suffer the same torture everyday for the past few years until they found the real criminal behind all this. I think they just did it for the kicks, since the public has been pressuring them to catch the real culprit and they couldn’t get anything.”
“Is the Centre as bad as they say it is?” Usopp asked cowardly, his knees began to knock each other in fear.
“Oh, it isn’t too bad, come to think of it,” Doggan shrugged, “but it is worse than normal prisons. In normal prisons they at least feed you with something—anything, for a matter of fact—but there, they don’t give a damn about whether you live or die. They force you to do heavy work and never give you as much as a drop of water. They say it was so-called a rehabilitation system to rehabilitate pirates into decency. I had to escape from that hellish place. They didn’t attempt to find me, which confirmed my suspicion that they only arrested me for the kicks.”
“Where did you escape?” Zoro said after a long moment of silence.
In a low voice, Doggan told the Going Merry crew about the ins and outs of the Centre, including the ones he had seen when he was doing his hard labour work mopping the floors of the centre. He revealed that there were no junior marines working there, only highly trained professionals. The junior marines may have to do odd jobs and hard labour in their quarters, but in the Centre, it’s the inmates’ job.
The Going Merry crew were fascinated and enthralled with this piece of information. Doggan tried to be hospitable by inviting them to stay for the night and have dinner with him. Nami would jump to any opportunity which offered anything free, because she was sort of the treasurer of the crew and this means that they will not have to spend money on hotel food and accommodation (stingy girl!), and Sanji would love to know how well can a robot cook. Usopp and Chopper would always agree on anything hospitable. Zoro didn’t mind. He had almost the basic info he needed for their mission. During their stay at Doggan’s house, he shared more of his misfortune in the Centre and revealed more information for the crew. He even told some of his adventures when he escaped from the Centre and on his way sailing back to Future Island.
After a few stories exchanged and a whole lot of beer shared among the crew, they all retired to their rooms. Doggan still had some more room for whiskey. He poured himself a glass and took a peek at everyone sleeping in their beds: Sanji and Zoro sleeping side by side, Usopp snoring like a pig despite his long thin nose and using Chopper as his bolster, and Nami curled up on her bed sleeping peacefully, like an angel in mortal attire.
As Doggan sipped his whiskey, he muttered to himself, “I think I know what you Luffy team members are up to. Yet I have no right to stop you.”
Doggan walked slowly to his room, thinking about his action in revealing secret forbidden things about the Centre to the Going Merry crew. Slowly he shrugged and smirked.
“One Piece…”
“Thanks for the food and bed, Doggan,” the crew thanked the old man before leaving his cylinder glass house.
“Don’t mention it. You guys kept me company. That’s all I can do repay you. See ya guys soon!”
“SAYONARA!!” the Going Merry crew waved before climbing their way towards the big city.
“Come back alive,” Doggan said under his breath.
Damn Cold Night-Chp3
CHAPTER 3: JOURNEY
Zoro stood at the deck gazing at the vast sea, letting the wind blow at his face. The sea was really wide, not knowing where it will end. Seagulls were about in the sky and there a few fish jumping in and out of the deep blue sea. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Seems like there will be good weather ahead. He breathed in deep, taking in the sea air. He turned around and observed the rest of the crew.
Nami was busy navigating and watching her compass to see if they were on the right track. She was always on the look-out, and always busy. Well, not always really. She usually was relaxed, sitting near the deck reading newspaper or drinking soda made by Sanji or probably in her room sketching maps. It’s just that now that they were facing the greatest life-threatening adventure of all, she had to be on her toes all the time. She’s the one that will not risk her crew’s life for her own benefits and mostly the brains of the outfit. No point doubting her.
Usopp was sitting at another corner mixing and matching chemicals. Probably for his new catapult bullets. He was also screwing a few nuts and building more gadgets for both him and Nami’s use. Nami trusted his expertise on remodeling and modifying her staff, and he was really good at it. Besides being the artist and inventor, he was also the handyman of the group, fixing and mending any wrecks or holes of the boat itself. Zoro was amazed at Luffy’s sixth sense in choosing his crew members.
Sanji was plucking a basketful of limes from Nami’s orchard. No doubt Sanji was coming up with a new recipe to cook for the whole crew. He was the most essential crew member of all, because he’s the only one who could keep everyone in a full stomach and in full strength. His meals were getting tastier day by day, obviously because he wanted to keep the often hungry Luffy happy. Zoro could see that. His meals still taste nice now. It seemed that Luffy’s death hadn’t deteriorated his cooking one bit. It just got even better.
Chopper was checking his kit again and stuffing in the new equipment and medicine he bought from Logue Island. He was another one of Luffy’s best choice of crew. Although he’s a walking, talking reindeer, he’s one of the finest doctors Luffy had ever come across. The other doctors they’ve met were either old or have their obligations to their own village, but Chopper was different. It wasn’t easy, but they were now in good terms with the anti-human Chopper, thanks again to the fun-loving, carefree Luffy.
Thinking back, it was Luffy all along that changed their lives for the better. If it weren’t for Luffy, he would’ve died in the hands of Captain Mogan; Nami would’ve still remain a slave to Arlong; Usopp would’ve become one of Crow’s victims; Sanji would’ve ended up dead fighting Don Click; and Chopper would’ve remained an anti-human freak. Luffy’s existence had done everyone good. He was glad that he and Sanji’s love for Luffy did not go to waste. He brought them more than just good memories. It was also something more that only he and Sanji share the same sentiments exactly. Zoro thanked the gods for bringing Luffy into their lives but also blamed the gods a little for taking him away from them so soon.
Zoro went up to the orchard and plucked one lime out of the bush. He peeled the lime and ate it. Sanji saw him and said, “Hey! You’re not supposed to eat before lunch! It’ll spoil your appetite!”
“Like I care,” Zoro grinned and pluck a few more limes before leaving the orchard. He was about to sit comfortably near the deck and enjoy the limes when he felt a sharp twine of pain in his stomach. It was as if his stomach were tying itself up into a dozen knots. He clutched his stomach and groaned silently. Chopper noticed and said, “Zoro, you OK?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Zoro said weakly. “I just got an upset stomach, that’s all.”
“You want some pills? I got some from the Logue Island…”
“No! No pills! I’m fine…just need to lie down and rest, that’s all, don’t you bother about me,” Zoro groaned as he lay down on the floor to sleep. Sleep is a remedy for all pains, Zoro always said.
“I told you, Sanji! You shouldn’t order that fish curry soup!” Chopper scolded at Sanji, who was out of sight between the orchards. “Spicy seafood is not healthy! And beer doesn’t go well with it either!”
“Land ahoy!” Usopp called out from above. Everyone except Zoro and Sanji looked. At a distance, there was an island which was completely bare of trees. Tall heavy buildings took its place.
“Wow! A high-tech land! Now that’s what I call class!” Usopp the gadget freak exclaimed in awe.
“Should we land?” Chopper asked Nami the navigator.
“I suppose so. I’ve never seen this island before; I must have a map of this. We might get more information about the Marine Force if we’re lucky,” Nami replied as she checked her compass.
“Then we’ll set foot here for the moment!” Usopp said enthusiastically as he slid down to steer the boat.
Behind the orchard, unknown to the rest of the Going Merry crew, Sanji was crouching on the floor, clutching his throbbing stomach really hard and clasping his mouth tight with his other hand, stopping himself from yelling in pain. Yet he was unable to stop his tears from flowing out like rain.
Zoro stood at the deck gazing at the vast sea, letting the wind blow at his face. The sea was really wide, not knowing where it will end. Seagulls were about in the sky and there a few fish jumping in and out of the deep blue sea. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Seems like there will be good weather ahead. He breathed in deep, taking in the sea air. He turned around and observed the rest of the crew.
Nami was busy navigating and watching her compass to see if they were on the right track. She was always on the look-out, and always busy. Well, not always really. She usually was relaxed, sitting near the deck reading newspaper or drinking soda made by Sanji or probably in her room sketching maps. It’s just that now that they were facing the greatest life-threatening adventure of all, she had to be on her toes all the time. She’s the one that will not risk her crew’s life for her own benefits and mostly the brains of the outfit. No point doubting her.
Usopp was sitting at another corner mixing and matching chemicals. Probably for his new catapult bullets. He was also screwing a few nuts and building more gadgets for both him and Nami’s use. Nami trusted his expertise on remodeling and modifying her staff, and he was really good at it. Besides being the artist and inventor, he was also the handyman of the group, fixing and mending any wrecks or holes of the boat itself. Zoro was amazed at Luffy’s sixth sense in choosing his crew members.
Sanji was plucking a basketful of limes from Nami’s orchard. No doubt Sanji was coming up with a new recipe to cook for the whole crew. He was the most essential crew member of all, because he’s the only one who could keep everyone in a full stomach and in full strength. His meals were getting tastier day by day, obviously because he wanted to keep the often hungry Luffy happy. Zoro could see that. His meals still taste nice now. It seemed that Luffy’s death hadn’t deteriorated his cooking one bit. It just got even better.
Chopper was checking his kit again and stuffing in the new equipment and medicine he bought from Logue Island. He was another one of Luffy’s best choice of crew. Although he’s a walking, talking reindeer, he’s one of the finest doctors Luffy had ever come across. The other doctors they’ve met were either old or have their obligations to their own village, but Chopper was different. It wasn’t easy, but they were now in good terms with the anti-human Chopper, thanks again to the fun-loving, carefree Luffy.
Thinking back, it was Luffy all along that changed their lives for the better. If it weren’t for Luffy, he would’ve died in the hands of Captain Mogan; Nami would’ve still remain a slave to Arlong; Usopp would’ve become one of Crow’s victims; Sanji would’ve ended up dead fighting Don Click; and Chopper would’ve remained an anti-human freak. Luffy’s existence had done everyone good. He was glad that he and Sanji’s love for Luffy did not go to waste. He brought them more than just good memories. It was also something more that only he and Sanji share the same sentiments exactly. Zoro thanked the gods for bringing Luffy into their lives but also blamed the gods a little for taking him away from them so soon.
Zoro went up to the orchard and plucked one lime out of the bush. He peeled the lime and ate it. Sanji saw him and said, “Hey! You’re not supposed to eat before lunch! It’ll spoil your appetite!”
“Like I care,” Zoro grinned and pluck a few more limes before leaving the orchard. He was about to sit comfortably near the deck and enjoy the limes when he felt a sharp twine of pain in his stomach. It was as if his stomach were tying itself up into a dozen knots. He clutched his stomach and groaned silently. Chopper noticed and said, “Zoro, you OK?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Zoro said weakly. “I just got an upset stomach, that’s all.”
“You want some pills? I got some from the Logue Island…”
“No! No pills! I’m fine…just need to lie down and rest, that’s all, don’t you bother about me,” Zoro groaned as he lay down on the floor to sleep. Sleep is a remedy for all pains, Zoro always said.
“I told you, Sanji! You shouldn’t order that fish curry soup!” Chopper scolded at Sanji, who was out of sight between the orchards. “Spicy seafood is not healthy! And beer doesn’t go well with it either!”
“Land ahoy!” Usopp called out from above. Everyone except Zoro and Sanji looked. At a distance, there was an island which was completely bare of trees. Tall heavy buildings took its place.
“Wow! A high-tech land! Now that’s what I call class!” Usopp the gadget freak exclaimed in awe.
“Should we land?” Chopper asked Nami the navigator.
“I suppose so. I’ve never seen this island before; I must have a map of this. We might get more information about the Marine Force if we’re lucky,” Nami replied as she checked her compass.
“Then we’ll set foot here for the moment!” Usopp said enthusiastically as he slid down to steer the boat.
Behind the orchard, unknown to the rest of the Going Merry crew, Sanji was crouching on the floor, clutching his throbbing stomach really hard and clasping his mouth tight with his other hand, stopping himself from yelling in pain. Yet he was unable to stop his tears from flowing out like rain.
Damn Cold Night-Chp2
CHAPTER 2: ENCOUNTER
“Land ahoy!” Usopp called from high above the post of the Going Merry.
Everyone gathered at the deck. There it was, right before their eyes, the Logue Island. They have finally reached their first stop. Nami the navigator did say that somewhere at the east-east-west of the island will be the road to the main Marine Force Centre. This was their first step to another dangerous adventure.
Thinking back, it had been a year since they started sail again. After Luffy’s death, the Going Merry crew went on their separate ways: Nami went back to her Cocoyashi Village and carried on with the lime business with her sister Nojiko, who was now married to a decent man from the next village; Usopp went back to his village and helped out with Kaya in her clinic, though he still had the habit of yelling “PIRATES!!” together with his little crew (who were not so little anymore); Sanji went back to the newly-improved restaurant boat and continued cooking for his customers together with Zeff, and surprised everyone in the restaurant boat by eating chewing gum instead of smoking; Chopper returned to his hometown and set up a clinic for the poor; and Zoro was celebrated by his fellow villagers for finally achieving his title as ‘The Greatest Swordsman’. Only after hearing about Shanks and his evil crew being sentenced to death did Zoro left his village again to gather all the ex-Luffy crew.
Before boarding back on the Going Merry after everyone was gathered, they did the swearing-in ceremony again. But this time they didn’t put their foot on the barrel. They had a moment of silence, thinking about the past and about Luffy. They shed their tears for Luffy that day and slit their arms with Nami’s dagger, letting their blood and tears fall on the barrel. There, they swore with their blood and tears that they will do this with no hesitations at all.
Now that they’re reaching Logue Island, they were ready for their ultimate quest. Slowly, they got on to the Logue harbour and scouted around to get themselves food supplies and pricked their ears for any information about the main Marine Force Centre. Zoro looked up at the death sentence stand and sighed. ‘At least he didn’t have to die up there for everyone to see,’ Zoro thought. He went to the shop where he got his recent swords and requested for a polish job.
“Ahh, here you are again,” the shopkeeper said cheerfully. “Word’s been spreading that you’re now the Greatest Swordsman status. How does it feel now you have recognition?”
“OK, I guess,” Zoro replied solemnly. “It wasn’t easy defeating Mihawk, but I succeeded.”
“Thanks to my great swords I gave you!”
“Yeah, I agree to that too.”
“Well, well, well. Look who came back from the land of the dead.”
Zoro turned around towards the owner of the voice. There behind him, wearing a thick leather jacket covering her marine uniform was Tashigi. She has changed the rims of her glasses from black to sky-blue, and was a few inches taller than the last time they met.
“Tashigi…” Zoro said, glaring darkly at her.
“It’s been a while, Zoro. Is that how you greet an old acquaintance?”
“I’ve no time for your cold remark and boyish pretence. If you wanna arrest me, I’m not going.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to arrest you. Not when your captain’s already dead and you have no one else to listen to.”
“Here are your polished swords, young man,” the shopkeeper handed the three swords to Zoro.
“Thanks,” Zoro said, then turned back to Tashigi, “If you’re not here to arrest me, what are you doing here?”
“I’m here to ask you if you want to join the marines.”
“Join the marines?” Zoro asked as he walked towards the shop door.
“Yes, the marines. You have the potential to be a marine fighter,” Tashigi replied, following suite. “That is, if you’re not into the pirate or the bounty-hunting business.”
“I’m neither. But I wouldn’t hesitate to become a pirate again if I have to.”
“Like I said before, it is a disgrace for great warriors like you to misuse the sword for cruel purposes. If you join the marines, those three swords of yours might be able to be put to good use. Come, join the marines. I can vouch for you if you like. I’m sure I can persuade Smoker to accept you.”
“Thanks for the kind offer, but I don’t think I can do that right now. I have unfinished business to take care of,” Zoro said, raising his swords to see if they’re polished right.
“If you’re looking for revenge, you’re too late,” Tashigi replied, looking worried. “I’ve heard about Shanks killing your captain. He’s already sentenced to death. Smoker did the honours.”
“I know that,” Zoro replied, not looking at Tashigi. He didn’t want to shed another tear. Not now.
“Then what are you going to do now? You have no captain and you have no reason to set sail. What else have you not done? Don’t tell me you’re back into bounty-hunting again!”
“No, I’m not. This unfinished business is something you’ll never understand the reason why. It might end my friends and me into serious trouble, maybe even death. Marine people like you will never comprehend what are we going to do. I can assure you that.”
“Zoro…” Tashigi was about to continue asking but was taken aback by Zoro’s sudden sweet smile.
“If I come back alive, I might consider your offer. See you then. Sayonara.”
Zoro walked off, leaving the dumbstruck Tashigi to her own thoughts.
“Hey, guys. Sorry I’m late,” Zoro called, entering the restaurant.
“What took you so long? Your lunch is getting cold!” Nami said.
“What did you get me?”
“Beef stew, fish curry soup and two pints of beer,” Sanji replied.
“Ahh, beer. Just what I need. Guess who I came across. That marine girl Tashigi.”
“Nani?! That tomboy Smoker’s girl?” Usopp was surprised. “What the heck is she doing here?!”
Zoro told them about their conversation. The rest of the crew was quite taken aback. Usopp whispered, “You didn’t tell her about our mission, did you?”
“Of course not, bakero! I wouldn’t want to risk us getting arrest before we even started now, would I? What is the atmosphere situation on this island, Nami?”
“Seems OK,” Nami said, looking her thermometer compass. “Air pressure is good, and the wind is blowing fine. I guess we’ll expect good weather today. We might still have time to gather more supplies for Going Merry.”
“Good!” Chopper beamed, “I can get more medicine and medical equipment for my kit. Don’t wanna go unprepared!”
“I thought you got enough the last time we went to see you,” Sanji asked, surprised.
“To you maybe, but not me.”
“Zoro! Is that really you, Zoro?”
Zoro searched around and was surprised to see Cobby and Hermeppo sitting at a table opposite his. Cobby waved happily at Zoro and Hermeppo looked at him grudgingly.
“You’re pretty famous today. Who’s that?” Sanji asked.
“An old friend of Luffy and I,” Zoro smirked and gestured them to come over. Cobby gladly obliged. Hermeppo hesitated before following suite.
“So, Cobby, you made it to the marines! You look so different now. Both of you look more muscular than the last we saw you. Don’t tell me Hermeppo is also in the marines!” Zoro grinned cunningly at the used-to-be-pampered-rich-boy Hermeppo. Hermeppo glared at him.
“If it weren’t for you and that rubber boy, I wouldn’t end up like this!” Hermeppo growled at first, then softened his tone, “Then again, I would’ve been as corrupted as my dad if you guys hadn’t appeared.”
“So you’re thanking me?”
“Not in a million years!”
“I knew it,” Zoro laughed. “What are you guys doing here?”
“We came to send a message to Colonel Smoker. Orders from the Marine Force Centre actually,” replied Cobby.
“The Marine Force Centre?!” Everyone exclaimed delightfully. “We’re so glad to meet you!!”
“Uhh…who are your friends? And…where’s Luffy?” Cobby asked, curious.
Zoro introduced the crew to Cobby and told him about what happened to Luffy. Cobby was downcast for a moment when he heard that Luffy was dead.
“So that’s what the Centre has been talking about Shanks. I’m sorry. Poor Luffy. Now I couldn’t thank him for the strength he gave me to enter the marines.”
“It’s already a year now,” Sanji said, “No point grieving about the past. We have to learn to let bygones be bygones.”
“How’s life in the Marine Force Centre? Is it cool?” Zoro tried to ask for info as inconspicuous as possible.
“It’s a top secret place! You’re not supposed to know!” Hermeppo snapped but Cobby stopped him.
“No need to be so harsh to our friends, Hermeppo. But he’s right. I’m not supposed to give away anything that has to do with the Force. I can say only one thing though: security there is really tough and there are guards at every door. There are about more than 1000 people just in the Force, not including the outside branches like the ones in Hermeppo’s hometown. You don’t want to mess with the Force, believe me. They have more than just laser movement sensors, I can tell you that. Apart from the grim and strict background of the Force, everything there is just fine.”
“Thanks, Cobby. You’re being really generous enough. You’re a good man. No wonder you fit in well with the marines,” Zoro replied.
“I sort of fit in well too!” Hermeppo exclaimed. “I’m now practicing sword-fighting using double blades like you! One day you and I are gonna have a serious duel!”
“How encouraging. We’ll see then,” Zoro said as he got up to leave. “Come on, people! Time to go. We’ve got much work to be done.”
“Zoro,” Cobby suddenly called out before they stepped out of the restaurant door, “are you doing something that I fear you’re going to do? You didn’t just ask me about the Force out of curiosity now, did you? You’re just as reckless as Luffy was, and I think I know what you’re up to.”
“Think whatever you want to think of,” Zoro replied without facing Cobby. “You’ll understand it sooner or later.”
Cobby and Hermeppo watched as the Going Merry crew left the restaurant completely. Hermeppo looked at Cobby questioningly and asked, “I don’t get it, Cobby. What do you mean by him doing something you fear he’s gonna do?”
“Keep your heads up, Hermeppo,” Cobby replied solemnly. “We have a Marine Force to protect.”
“Looks like we’ve got another enemy in our hands besides that tomboy Tashigi,” Sanji said as they boarded the Going Merry. “They sorta have a clue about what are we gonna do. What now?”
“Leave them be,” Zoro replied, smirking. “Like our Luffy would say: ‘This proves to be interesting’.”
“Land ahoy!” Usopp called from high above the post of the Going Merry.
Everyone gathered at the deck. There it was, right before their eyes, the Logue Island. They have finally reached their first stop. Nami the navigator did say that somewhere at the east-east-west of the island will be the road to the main Marine Force Centre. This was their first step to another dangerous adventure.
Thinking back, it had been a year since they started sail again. After Luffy’s death, the Going Merry crew went on their separate ways: Nami went back to her Cocoyashi Village and carried on with the lime business with her sister Nojiko, who was now married to a decent man from the next village; Usopp went back to his village and helped out with Kaya in her clinic, though he still had the habit of yelling “PIRATES!!” together with his little crew (who were not so little anymore); Sanji went back to the newly-improved restaurant boat and continued cooking for his customers together with Zeff, and surprised everyone in the restaurant boat by eating chewing gum instead of smoking; Chopper returned to his hometown and set up a clinic for the poor; and Zoro was celebrated by his fellow villagers for finally achieving his title as ‘The Greatest Swordsman’. Only after hearing about Shanks and his evil crew being sentenced to death did Zoro left his village again to gather all the ex-Luffy crew.
Before boarding back on the Going Merry after everyone was gathered, they did the swearing-in ceremony again. But this time they didn’t put their foot on the barrel. They had a moment of silence, thinking about the past and about Luffy. They shed their tears for Luffy that day and slit their arms with Nami’s dagger, letting their blood and tears fall on the barrel. There, they swore with their blood and tears that they will do this with no hesitations at all.
Now that they’re reaching Logue Island, they were ready for their ultimate quest. Slowly, they got on to the Logue harbour and scouted around to get themselves food supplies and pricked their ears for any information about the main Marine Force Centre. Zoro looked up at the death sentence stand and sighed. ‘At least he didn’t have to die up there for everyone to see,’ Zoro thought. He went to the shop where he got his recent swords and requested for a polish job.
“Ahh, here you are again,” the shopkeeper said cheerfully. “Word’s been spreading that you’re now the Greatest Swordsman status. How does it feel now you have recognition?”
“OK, I guess,” Zoro replied solemnly. “It wasn’t easy defeating Mihawk, but I succeeded.”
“Thanks to my great swords I gave you!”
“Yeah, I agree to that too.”
“Well, well, well. Look who came back from the land of the dead.”
Zoro turned around towards the owner of the voice. There behind him, wearing a thick leather jacket covering her marine uniform was Tashigi. She has changed the rims of her glasses from black to sky-blue, and was a few inches taller than the last time they met.
“Tashigi…” Zoro said, glaring darkly at her.
“It’s been a while, Zoro. Is that how you greet an old acquaintance?”
“I’ve no time for your cold remark and boyish pretence. If you wanna arrest me, I’m not going.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to arrest you. Not when your captain’s already dead and you have no one else to listen to.”
“Here are your polished swords, young man,” the shopkeeper handed the three swords to Zoro.
“Thanks,” Zoro said, then turned back to Tashigi, “If you’re not here to arrest me, what are you doing here?”
“I’m here to ask you if you want to join the marines.”
“Join the marines?” Zoro asked as he walked towards the shop door.
“Yes, the marines. You have the potential to be a marine fighter,” Tashigi replied, following suite. “That is, if you’re not into the pirate or the bounty-hunting business.”
“I’m neither. But I wouldn’t hesitate to become a pirate again if I have to.”
“Like I said before, it is a disgrace for great warriors like you to misuse the sword for cruel purposes. If you join the marines, those three swords of yours might be able to be put to good use. Come, join the marines. I can vouch for you if you like. I’m sure I can persuade Smoker to accept you.”
“Thanks for the kind offer, but I don’t think I can do that right now. I have unfinished business to take care of,” Zoro said, raising his swords to see if they’re polished right.
“If you’re looking for revenge, you’re too late,” Tashigi replied, looking worried. “I’ve heard about Shanks killing your captain. He’s already sentenced to death. Smoker did the honours.”
“I know that,” Zoro replied, not looking at Tashigi. He didn’t want to shed another tear. Not now.
“Then what are you going to do now? You have no captain and you have no reason to set sail. What else have you not done? Don’t tell me you’re back into bounty-hunting again!”
“No, I’m not. This unfinished business is something you’ll never understand the reason why. It might end my friends and me into serious trouble, maybe even death. Marine people like you will never comprehend what are we going to do. I can assure you that.”
“Zoro…” Tashigi was about to continue asking but was taken aback by Zoro’s sudden sweet smile.
“If I come back alive, I might consider your offer. See you then. Sayonara.”
Zoro walked off, leaving the dumbstruck Tashigi to her own thoughts.
“Hey, guys. Sorry I’m late,” Zoro called, entering the restaurant.
“What took you so long? Your lunch is getting cold!” Nami said.
“What did you get me?”
“Beef stew, fish curry soup and two pints of beer,” Sanji replied.
“Ahh, beer. Just what I need. Guess who I came across. That marine girl Tashigi.”
“Nani?! That tomboy Smoker’s girl?” Usopp was surprised. “What the heck is she doing here?!”
Zoro told them about their conversation. The rest of the crew was quite taken aback. Usopp whispered, “You didn’t tell her about our mission, did you?”
“Of course not, bakero! I wouldn’t want to risk us getting arrest before we even started now, would I? What is the atmosphere situation on this island, Nami?”
“Seems OK,” Nami said, looking her thermometer compass. “Air pressure is good, and the wind is blowing fine. I guess we’ll expect good weather today. We might still have time to gather more supplies for Going Merry.”
“Good!” Chopper beamed, “I can get more medicine and medical equipment for my kit. Don’t wanna go unprepared!”
“I thought you got enough the last time we went to see you,” Sanji asked, surprised.
“To you maybe, but not me.”
“Zoro! Is that really you, Zoro?”
Zoro searched around and was surprised to see Cobby and Hermeppo sitting at a table opposite his. Cobby waved happily at Zoro and Hermeppo looked at him grudgingly.
“You’re pretty famous today. Who’s that?” Sanji asked.
“An old friend of Luffy and I,” Zoro smirked and gestured them to come over. Cobby gladly obliged. Hermeppo hesitated before following suite.
“So, Cobby, you made it to the marines! You look so different now. Both of you look more muscular than the last we saw you. Don’t tell me Hermeppo is also in the marines!” Zoro grinned cunningly at the used-to-be-pampered-rich-boy Hermeppo. Hermeppo glared at him.
“If it weren’t for you and that rubber boy, I wouldn’t end up like this!” Hermeppo growled at first, then softened his tone, “Then again, I would’ve been as corrupted as my dad if you guys hadn’t appeared.”
“So you’re thanking me?”
“Not in a million years!”
“I knew it,” Zoro laughed. “What are you guys doing here?”
“We came to send a message to Colonel Smoker. Orders from the Marine Force Centre actually,” replied Cobby.
“The Marine Force Centre?!” Everyone exclaimed delightfully. “We’re so glad to meet you!!”
“Uhh…who are your friends? And…where’s Luffy?” Cobby asked, curious.
Zoro introduced the crew to Cobby and told him about what happened to Luffy. Cobby was downcast for a moment when he heard that Luffy was dead.
“So that’s what the Centre has been talking about Shanks. I’m sorry. Poor Luffy. Now I couldn’t thank him for the strength he gave me to enter the marines.”
“It’s already a year now,” Sanji said, “No point grieving about the past. We have to learn to let bygones be bygones.”
“How’s life in the Marine Force Centre? Is it cool?” Zoro tried to ask for info as inconspicuous as possible.
“It’s a top secret place! You’re not supposed to know!” Hermeppo snapped but Cobby stopped him.
“No need to be so harsh to our friends, Hermeppo. But he’s right. I’m not supposed to give away anything that has to do with the Force. I can say only one thing though: security there is really tough and there are guards at every door. There are about more than 1000 people just in the Force, not including the outside branches like the ones in Hermeppo’s hometown. You don’t want to mess with the Force, believe me. They have more than just laser movement sensors, I can tell you that. Apart from the grim and strict background of the Force, everything there is just fine.”
“Thanks, Cobby. You’re being really generous enough. You’re a good man. No wonder you fit in well with the marines,” Zoro replied.
“I sort of fit in well too!” Hermeppo exclaimed. “I’m now practicing sword-fighting using double blades like you! One day you and I are gonna have a serious duel!”
“How encouraging. We’ll see then,” Zoro said as he got up to leave. “Come on, people! Time to go. We’ve got much work to be done.”
“Zoro,” Cobby suddenly called out before they stepped out of the restaurant door, “are you doing something that I fear you’re going to do? You didn’t just ask me about the Force out of curiosity now, did you? You’re just as reckless as Luffy was, and I think I know what you’re up to.”
“Think whatever you want to think of,” Zoro replied without facing Cobby. “You’ll understand it sooner or later.”
Cobby and Hermeppo watched as the Going Merry crew left the restaurant completely. Hermeppo looked at Cobby questioningly and asked, “I don’t get it, Cobby. What do you mean by him doing something you fear he’s gonna do?”
“Keep your heads up, Hermeppo,” Cobby replied solemnly. “We have a Marine Force to protect.”
“Looks like we’ve got another enemy in our hands besides that tomboy Tashigi,” Sanji said as they boarded the Going Merry. “They sorta have a clue about what are we gonna do. What now?”
“Leave them be,” Zoro replied, smirking. “Like our Luffy would say: ‘This proves to be interesting’.”
Damn Cold Night-Chp1
CHAPTER 1: MEMORIES
The rain was pouring down hard. The earth was wet, slowly forming into mud. Nami, Usopp and Chopper stood around the crouching Sanji and Zoro, who was holding the blood-drenched Luffy in his arms.
“In the…end…” Luffy whispered hoarsely, “In the end…I couldn’t be…the Pirate King…”
“Urusai, Luffy! Urusai!” Zoro shouted, holding back his tears. “You’ll be alright, Luffy! You are the Pirate King! You’ll always be our Pirate King!”
“Don’t die on us, Luffy! Don’t you dare die on us, Luffy!” Sanji shouted too, forgetting his cigarette which has dropped onto the wet mud.
“A…Arigato, every…one…” Luffy managed to smile weakly before his eyes closed for eternity and his head tilted sideways, his life ceased to exist.
Sanji and Zoro broke down and wailed.
Zoro shook the horrible memory out of his mind. Somehow, he found it hard to overcome this nightmare, although it has been a year since the incident happened. He eyed at his 3 swords and sighed.
They were so close to reaching the legendary One Piece, the late Captain Roger’s grand treasure. So close! They battled all the keepers of One Piece, from the great swordsman Mihawk to the highest level of the keepers. When they were about to reach their destination, the terrible pirate gang led by Bagy the Clown and Luffy’s idol Shanks and his gang appeared. Although Luffy’s team was able to defeat Bagy’s team and finally kill Bagy himself, they never expected Shanks to betray them. Shanks’ gang took all the One Piece treasure and Shanks himself, with his one hand, raised the sword and stabbed Luffy, without warning, right at the heart. His eyes were cold and merciless as he glared at Luffy falling onto the ground, his eyes full of surprise and questions. He smiled coldly, like the dark heartless Messenger of Death, saying, “This is for my eaten up hand, you little freak.”
“Shanks…why…?” Zoro remembered Luffy choked out the question.
“I told you before, Luffy, and I’ll tell you one last time. I never wanted to take you out to sea. The sea is dangerous and not suitable for you. You’re not cut out to be a pirate.”
“How could you do this to him?!” Usopp yelled, furious. “He idolized you for so long and he’s been dying to meet you for the past 10 years? How could you betray him? You should at least share the One Piece…”
“Share? One Piece is not for sharing; it’s for keeps. Whoever reaches the treasure first shall have the right to keep all of it. It’s the golden rule of pirates,” Shanks replied coldly, then turned to Luffy and hissed, “Do you know the real reason why I didn’t want you to go out to sea with me? Because I know your potential. I know that you will become the Pirate King that you have promised me 10 years ago. And I have come to eliminate you. Forever.”
Zoro could understand how badly betrayed Luffy felt. Shanks’ team was stronger; they couldn’t defeat them, not even when Zoro used all his ability with his swords, not even when Sanji kicked the hell out of everybody, not even when Nami and Usopp used their gadget, not even when Chopper morphed to battle mode, nothing. They lost terribly. All they could do was watch painfully as Shanks loaded his ship with the One Piece and left.
A few months after Luffy’s death, Shanks was arrested and sentenced to death. It was then they found out that behind Shanks’ polite and carefree exterior lies a past so horrifying and dark: during his quest to search for the One Piece, he has killed many other pirates and killed even more people on land. He burnt down many villages and robbed them of their valuables, mostly food, to sustain the team while he traveled the sea for the grand treasure. The reason he let Luffy’s village go was that the only satisfaction Shanks will ever get out of this village wasn’t the village and its valuables, but Luffy himself. His target was Luffy all along. His act of kindness was to lure Luffy out to sea. Pirates should die at sea, they always say, and that’s what Shanks have been waiting for the past 10 years—to kill Luffy at sea. He wanted One Piece so bad, just like any other pirate. After his death sentence, One Piece was confiscated by the Marine Force and officially became Marine Force’s exhibit property.
Zoro felt the urge to break down and cry again but he held it back with all his might. He has sworn not to cry until his ultimate goal was achieved. He and the Luffy Gang has already agreed on doing this mission and sworn with their own blood and tears that stormy night on the Going Merry that they were willing to die for this cause.
“Rest in peace, Luffy. I promise we’ll achieve this ultimate mission,” Zoro whispered to the stars.
Sanji was preparing dinner for the crew as usual. He wasn’t smoking anymore when he was cutting the fish or making the stew. He stopped a long time ago after Luffy’s death. In its place was chewing gum. Gummy brand. It was Luffy’s favourite junk food ever since he found out that the brand name was almost the same as the name of the Gum-Gum fruit he ate. Luffy did attempt to introduce this chewing gum to Sanji so that he will quit smoking, but Sanji fell on deaf ears, until now, that is.
Sanji remembered the days when Luffy was around. He remembered when Luffy used to barge into the kitchen when he got impatient of waiting for his meals and ended up being kicked out by Sanji. He also remembered the day he fell in love with Luffy. It was that fateful day when Luffy went into one of his impatient moods again. He barged into the kitchen as usual, hollering, “HUNGRY NE~~!!” and accidentally crashing a few pots and pans on the way.
“How many times do I have to tell you, don’t come in while I’m cooking!” Sanji growled exasperatedly.
“But you take too much time! Give me something to chew at least! I’ll die of hunger if you let me wait one more minute out there for our meal!” Luffy can be very demanding when it comes to food.
“Oh, alright! There might be some leftover toast in the cupboard. Go get it yourself.”
Bad idea. Clumsy Luffy actually hit the kettle on his way to the cupboard. The kettle overturned and was about to spill on Luffy but Sanji grabbed him away just in time. Still, the hot water scalded Sanji’s arm.
“Oh dear! I am so sorry! I didn’t mean…Are you hurt?” Luffy said hurriedly.
“It’s OK. It’s only a scald,” Sanji replied.
“A scald?! Quick! Put your arm under running water!”
Before Sanji could protest, Luffy has already dragged Sanji towards the tap, letting the cold water run down his hot throbbing arm. Sanji sighed and said, “You don’t have to bother. It’s OK.”
“How can I? A cook’s hands are the most important things to him. You told me that before,” Luffy replied, checking if Sanji’s arm was still red. “Oh dear, it’s still red. Maybe this’ll help.”
Without warning, Luffy took Sanji’s scalded arm to his mouth and licked it. Sanji was quite taken aback by Luffy’s sudden move. His heart throbbed more than his scalded arm did. He blushed redder than the arm too. As he watched Luffy closing his eyes while he licked his arm, his heart bloomed into a thousand roses. He never felt this before to anybody. His attraction towards Nami was only a bad habit of flirting, but this was real love. He was actually falling in love with a man! And with that clumsy little Luffy at that!
He couldn’t control himself anymore. He took Luffy by the chin and kissed him deeply. Luffy didn’t have time to fight at first—he was taken by surprise. When Sanji parted, Luffy looked at him weirdly and said, “What’s wrong with you?”
“You got me into this scald,” Sanji was good at making excuses, “so you’re gonna pay the penalty.”
Sanji kissed him again, sliding his tongue into Luffy’s mouth, tasting him like he was a new dish. Luffy put up a struggle and slowly inched his way out of Sanji’s passionate kiss. He caught his breath and scolded, “Why did you do that for? If you have a liking for me, you can just say so, not attacking me like this!”
“Sunimase,” Sanji replied, then lit up, “are you meaning what I think you’re meaning?”
“That is, if you don’t mind sharing and be my lover, only my lover, mind you,” Luffy can be very honest and straightforward sometimes.
“Share? Lover?” Sanji was confused.
“Zoro and I are getting married on our next stop.”
Dinner was served. Everyone was ready to gorge themselves silly. Sanji laid all the dishes onto the table and removed his apron before joining the others to eat. Before that, they said what Luffy used to say out of habit:
“Itadakimas (Bon appetite)!”
“A toast,” Nami raised her glass of lemonade, “to Zoro on him and Luffy’s wedding anniversary.”
“Hear ye! Hear ye!” Usopp joined in, raising his glass too. Chopper followed suite. So did Sanji.
Zoro smiled weakly and thanked the crew. Come to think of it, it has been 3 years since he was married to Luffy. They were planning to marry at Logue Island, where the beginning and the end existed, because Luffy thought that getting married on the island where the great Captain Roger died would be memorable. If it weren’t for the stupid Luffy who climbed up the death sentence stand and all the goings-on between Zoro and the Kuina look-alike, Tashigi; Luffy and Bagy the Clown crew together with Albida the Beautiful; and their battle with Smoker, they would’ve been married romantically at the island church. Sanji and Zoro could have sworn that they almost lost their beloved when Bagy had the sword incoming towards Luffy’s neck but sometimes, Luffy can be so darn lucky.
In the end, while they were closing in to the Grand Line and after doing the swearing-in with the barrel suggested by Sanji, they conducted a simple wedding under the rain, hosted by Nami and a little fireworks by Usopp. Zoro could still remember their wedding day, as if it just happened yesterday…
“It’s all your fault, Luffy! If you hadn’t showed yourself up on that stand, you might have a good chance of not being noticed by Bagy, and we would’ve had more time to get things ready for the wedding!” Zoro yelled under the loud rainstorm.
“Gomenasai, Zoro dear, I was carried away,” Luffy said, smiling from ear to ear.
“And I was looking forward to be the ‘bridesmaid’,” Nami sighed, disappointed.
“And I the best man!” Usopp folded his arms, pouting.
“Actually, this seems memorable enough,” Sanji said, looking up the rainy sky, “We’re closing in to the Grand Line and will soon enter the route to One Piece. Under these circumstances, a wedding sounds reasonable.”
So, under the rainstorm, Luffy and Zoro found themselves standing in front of Nami who acted as the wedding conductor. Under the loud noise of thunder and flashes of lightning, she had to shout out to be heard, “Right! I’ll skip the boring parts about today being a wondrous day and get on to the point! Luffy, do you take Zoro as your ‘wife’, under the witness of the sea and the sky of the Grand Line, for as long as you both shall live?!”
“I do!” Luffy shouted back, and slipped the ring into Zoro’s finger.
“And do you, Zoro, take Luffy as your ‘husband’, under the witness of the sea and the sky of the Grand Line, for as long as you both shall live?!”
“I do! Forever!” Zoro shouted too, and slipped the other ring into Luffy’s finger.
“By the power of the Grand Line and the riches of One Piece, I pronounce you ‘husband and wife’! You may kiss the ‘bride’, Luffy!” Nami ended the noisy wedding ceremony, sighing in relief. Luffy had to stand on his toes for Zoro was taller, and Zoro complied by bending down a little, and they kissed passionately under the rain. Everyone was drenched to the bone but they couldn’t care less. Usopp cheered and let go some of his water-resistant fireworks, brightening up the dark rainy sky. Luffy announced that right now, their journey to Grand Line will be their honeymoon. Zoro couldn’t agree more on this memorable type of honeymoon, especially the part where they sailed into the lane of the Grand Line. That was the most exhilarating part.
“Hey, Zoro, aren’t you gonna eat that?”
Usopp’s call brought Zoro back to reality. He shook his head and allowed Usopp to take his remaining piece of fish. Chopper and Nami have already had their fill and were on the deck discussing serious stuff.
“Thinking of Luffy?” Sanji asked, sipping his lemonade.
“Yeah. You too?” Zoro replied.
“Mmhmm.”
It wasn’t easy for Zoro to accept Sanji as Luffy’s lover at first when Luffy brought this issue to discussion. Zoro constantly gave Sanji the dark look every time he caught them together, but when Sanji tried to flirt with Zoro and Luffy stood up for Zoro, saying, “Don’t you dare touch my ‘wife’”, Zoro was so touched that he finally accepted the fact that no matter how much time Luffy spend on Sanji, he would always come back to him, his one and only ‘wife’.
“Are you 100% sure you’re gonna do this, Zoro? I mean, it can be risky. Our lives are at stake,” Sanji asked as he got up to clear the plates.
“Yeah! I mean, we’re talking about major risks and major danger here! It’s not as easy as it seems, you know!” Usopp backed Sanji up, burping a little as he spoke.
“You guys can back away if you want to,” Zoro said nonchalantly.
“Not in a million years!” Nami suddenly appeared from behind. “We have sworn by our blood and our tears that will do this, no matter what it takes! Don’t listen to that coward Usopp!”
“Yeah,” Chopper joined in. “Besides, you’re second-in-command. Whatever you say is also respected, after Luffy.”
“We are going to do this even if we might burn in Hell or get sentenced to death. There’s no turning back now. Going Merry is closing in to our destination,” Sanji said determinedly, then held out his hand, “For our Captain Monkey D. Luffy, our Pirate King, my lover.”
“For Monkey D. Luffy, our Pirate King, my saviour,” Nami laid her on his.
“For Monkey D. Luffy, our Pirate King, my friend,” Chopper followed suite.
Usopp was hesitant first, then he clenched his fist and put his hand on Chopper’s hoof, stammering, “F-for M-Monkey D. Luffy, our P-Pirate K-King, m-my best pal.”
“Thanks, guys,” Zoro smiled as he laid his hand on Usopp’s, “For Monkey D. Luffy, our Pirate King, my husband.”
The moon shone brightly at them as they confirmed their vows.
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