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Grand Line – Paradise
At sea, near Alabasta
A few seconds after Bon Clay's ship had disappear on the horizon, the entire crew gather on deck to talk about what had just happened. "We could have caught him!", Zoro breaks the silence, looking at Luffy, who had stopped them from going after Bon Clay and capturing him.
"Caught him for what? He's our friend!", Luffy asks, not understanding how capturing Bon Clay would be of any use to them.
"He's our enemy, Luf! It doesn't matter what friendship you guys made with him, right now he's our enemy, and he has our faces and can try to trick us!", Nami argues. They had basically handed the enemy a free weapon to use against them at an opportune moment.
"And even so, we're stronger than them, you guys have Haki! If a surprise attack from someone who doesn't even know how to use Haki catches you off guard, I'll be really disappointed! The only ones strong enough to pose any kind of challenge to us in Alabasta are Crocodile, if he's not rusty, and the Marines, if they somehow pop up on the island and, by some miracle, decide to bring someone strong there with them like they did in Drum", Luffy argues, not expecting someone on Garp's level to show up there.
I mean, Garp isn't a good example because even giving it his all, Luffy still wouldn't beat him; someone a bit stronger than the Kaidou of the canon would be a better example.
To fight head-to-head on the same level as the current Luffy, it would have to be someone with at least all three Advanced Hakis and Armament Haki in the superior level, beyond the Advanced, not to mention other factors like physical strength, durability, endurance, or an Akuma no Mi.
To Luffy, if Crocodile is in Alabasta and not in the New World, it means he's rusty and has given up; therefore, he's not a challenge.
"And what about Vivi, Karoo, and Chopper? It's only been a few days since they started training; they still can't use Haki!", Nojiko joins the conversation and points out the fact that they may be strong, but these three can still be affected.
"I should've realized, I never met him in person, but I heard rumors that he was a huge Okama, spoke like an Okama, and wore a flamboyant swan coat", Vivi laments with her head down, firmly gripping the railing of the upper deck.
"How did you not notice something so obvious?", Usopp asks, impressed. She had basically described Bon Clay from head to toe, and yet, she didn't connect his appearance to the description she had in mind while he was aboard the Merry.
"I... one of the faces he used during that performance was my father's! Why would he have my father's face, the king?", Vivi stammers, trembling with worry.
"Definitely to do something bad! It must be part of Crocodile's plan", Sabo comments, already imagining what someone with bad intentions would do by using the face of Alabasta's ruler.
"Enough small talk, we need to discuss our plan of action for when we arrive in Alabasta! And about the walking peacock, I have an idea on how to neutralize his powers, so there's no need to worry or be afraid", Zoro raises his voice upon realizing that these lamentations and aimless conversations would lead nowhere, thus focusing everyone's mind on what really mattered.
"R-Right... right! We'll dock at the port of Nanohana, restock with supplies, and from there, we'll sail across the Sandora River, dock in Erumalu, and then cross the desert on foot until we reach the Yuba Oasis, which is used as a base by the rebel army. After we stop the rebellion, we'll head to Rain Base, which is where Crocodile resides, and make him pay for his crimes of conspiracy and for all the harm he's done!", still a bit shaken, Vivi lists the step-by-step of what they should do after arriving in Alabasta.
"Why don't we just go to Crocodile and beat him up? Isn't that easier?", Luffy asks in doubt.
"Because there might be bloodshed while we're dealing with Crocodile, so it's better to stop the rebellion first! For precaution", Vivi says, worried that armed conflict might erupt while they face Crocodile.
"And how are we supposed to stop this rebellion? By beating them up?", Zoro asks in doubt. To him, that was the only way to stop an army without causing casualties.
"No, I'll stop them. I'll make them see reason!", Vivi says, not wanting to hurt people just to make them stop.
"You sure you can stop an angry army with just words?", Sabo asks, raising an eyebrow slightly.
"I can only try and pray it works!", Vivi says bitterly, unsure if she really could.
"If talking doesn't work, we'll just knock them all out with punches and then beat up Crocodile and make him confess all the shit he did in front of everyone", Luffy says suddenly with a smile. If nothing else worked, a good old-fashioned beating always solved things.
=Scene Break=
"You seem happy, Mr. Bon Clay, sir!", one of Bon Clay's subordinates comments upon seeing his joyful smile.
"Gaahaahahahaha! I made some new friends!", Bon Clay says cheerfully.
At this moment, a loud noise followed by a scream coming from inside the ship catches everyone's attention. Then, in the next instant, one of his subordinates runs out to the deck, shouting urgently, "Mr. 2, sir Bon Clay, we have an intruder hiding among our supplies!! He knocked out some of our men!!
Quickly heading down to the storage room on the lower deck, Bon Clay comes face to face with none other than Mr. 3, surrounded by his men and in a fighting stance.
"Hmm? Well, look who we have here! Quite a surprise, I was looking for you, Mr. 3!", Bon Clay comments with a playful smile.
"Look, I know you were sent to kill me, Mr. 2! But we're in the middle of the sea; if a fight breaks out here, we both die! We're both Akuma no Mi users, and while I'm no match for you, our battle would definitely destroy this ship, and the sea would finish the job! I'm just asking for one chance to speak with the boss. I want to redeem myself for the failure of the mission I was given", despite having other options and knowing his argument wasn't entirely correct, Mr. 3 chooses to try dialogue first.
"Where are the other three?", Bon Clay asks, not answering him yet.
"No idea! When I woke up, they were already gone from the island. You guys showed up shortly after, and I hid on your ship!", Mr. 3 answers, lying to protect Miss Goldenweek, Marianne.
"Hmm, one is better than none! Well, you're in luck, darling! The orders were to capture you, not kill you! Zero wants to deal with you personally", Bon Clay shrugs before then saying, making Mr. 3 think that maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to choose to come to Alabasta.
=Scene Break=
Back on the Merry, a few hours later, Usopp and Chopper were ready to launch Luffy, who had volunteered to serve as bait again, far away once more. They had been doing this for a while, and so far, nothing, no fish, sea beast, or Sea King had found the Straw Hat tempting enough to make even a single lunge.
"It's not possible, man! I'm sure these fish have something against me!", Luffy complains indignantly. They had been trying to catch a fish for hours, and he was starving at this point.
"Forget this shit, you guys have been at this for two hours already! I'm already making lunch for everyone with what we've got!", coming out of the kitchen to get some air, Sanji comments upon seeing that those three were still at this.
At this moment, a sea beast emerges from the water beside the Merry; it looked like a mix between a fish and a cat.
"Yes, we did it!!!", Chopper celebrates as if he had just won the finals of a world championship.
"I told you I'd get your fish, Sanji!", Usopp says with a smile, not afraid of the sea beast because he was confident he could easily defeat it.
"Wait, wait! Hey, catfish! Can you understand me?", Luffy, starving, asks the sea beast urgently.
"Meow meow, meow?" "Yes, I can, why?", the sea beast responds, tilting its head in doubt.
"Shit! You know what, fuck it! Sanji, get the knife ready, we're having cat skewers today", even though this sea beast understands him and is intelligent, Luffy is too hungry to even care about that detail.
At this moment, Vivi, who was coming out onto the deck, sees the Sea Cat and hears what Luffy said.
"Wait, Luffy! Sea Cats are sacred in Alabasta!", she shouts urgently, catching the attention of the four.
"So what? I'm not from Alabasta", Luffy, like Sanji, Chopper, and Usopp, turns his attention to Vivi and asks, turning his back to the Sea Cat, who takes the opportunity to flee back into the depths while thinking, 'Weird people, that was close!'
"It doesn't matter, you can't eat him!", Vivi scolds them, more relieved to see the Sea Cat leaving.
"But I'm hungry... NOOOOOOO! It got away!", Luffy complains, only to realize when he turns back to the Sea Cat that it had already escaped.
"Dude, stop being so dramatic! I already said I'm making food, so relax!", Sanji says, finding all this drama completely unnecessary.
"Is it going to take long?", Luffy asks hopefully.
"A little, I'm making enough lasagna for everyone, so it'll take a while", Sanji replies calmly.
"Can't be faster?", Luffy asks urgently.
"It's a lasagna, man! It takes time, but if you want something quick, just eat the ingredients separately and assemble the lasagna in your stomach?", Sanji replies. Food takes time to make, and if this idiot has no patience to wait, then he can go ahead and eat all the ingredients separately, but I guarantee it won't taste like lasagna.
"Wow, a Sea Cat, the sea is really huge and full of things!", meanwhile, Chopper says in awe, still looking where the Sea Cat had been just a second ago.
"Hahaha! You're still a kid if just that alone already impresses you! Let me tell you about when I fought a bunch of colossal Sea Kings in the Calm Belt", Usopp says, bragging about something that didn't happen the same way he just described it.
At this moment, Nami, coming from the Merry's bow, asks upon spotting Vivi, "Hey, Vivi! The wind and temperature have stabilized. We're close, right?"
"Yes, the appearance of a Sea Cat is the biggest proof of that, we've entered Alabasta's climate zone", Vivi says, confirming what Nami already suspected.
"I bet those ships to starboard, all heading in the same direction, are even bigger proof that we've reached Alabasta!", from the crow's nest, Zoro says loudly, catching everyone's attention on deck to the large number of ships converging in a single direction, the same direction the Merry was heading.
"They all have the Baroque Works symbol!", Vivi comments upon seeing that all the visible ships belonged to Baroque Works.
"Looks like Crocodile really did call everyone back!", Nami comments with a raised eyebrow.
=Scene Break=
A few minutes later, Alabasta appears on the horizon; even from afar, the island looked enormous.
"Tie this tight, it's the only way Vivi, Karoo, and Chopper will know it's us, and if for some reason, even with Haki, we're unsure too, this here is the final confirmation!", Zoro says, finishing tying a white cloth around his arm.
"Wanna bet they'll try to copy this thinking only the white cloth is our way to identify each other?", Nojiko comments with a playful smile, a white cloth firmly tied to her left arm.
"They won't even know what hit them!", Kaya says, punching the air with a confident smile, the cloth tied to her outstretched arm.
"Did he really look that much like you guys?", Sanji asks as he finishes tying the cloth on his left arm, having not seen Bon Clay's transformations.
"It's not that 'he looked like us', he 'was' us! You had to see it!", Usopp comments, giving a final tap on the cloth tied to his left arm to confirm it was tight.
"No thanks! I'm not into Okamas!", Sanji says, not interested.
"It would've been interesting to see your reaction when he transformed into Nojiko and tried to show the boobs... BAMMM!", Usopp starts to comment with a mischievous smile, only to immediately be punched in the head by both Nojiko and Kaya.
"Shut up, Usopp!", Nojiko says angrily.
"Stop talking about other girls' boobs!", Kaya says, jealous.
"Is it serious that he tried to do that? I'm going to have to beat up this Okama when I find him!", Sanji comments angrily, promising to avenge his girlfriend.
"Woof!" "Simp!", Chouchou, beside Karoo, snorts mockingly, the two animals laughing between themselves, a white cloth tied around their left leg and wing, respectively.
"Well, at least he didn't copy everyone's face!", Sabo comments, also with a cloth tied to his left arm, after all, it was more of a precaution than anything else.
"Alright! This left arm might end up being useless in the end! But right now, it's the symbol of our friendship!", Luffy says, extending his left arm; everyone following suit right after, forming a circle, their left arms outstretched to the center.
"Now let's dock 'cause I'm starving, that lasagna is taking forever!", seeing that his speech had the intended effect, Luffy says with a hungry look right after, his stomach growling like a beast.
"So you're not going to eat the lasagna?", Sanji asks to be sure.
"I didn't say that, I'm just going to fill my stomach a little before the lasagna, there'll still be plenty of space reserved for when it's ready!", Luffy says, he was starving and yes, he was going to gorge himself in a restaurant as soon as they dock, but that didn't mean he wouldn't eat Sanji's lasagna, on the contrary, he will save a special space in his stomach just for it.
=Scene Break=
As they dock at the port of Nanohana, Luffy doesn't wait even a second before grabbing Sabo by the arm and dragging him running into the port city while saying, "Let's find a restaurant, Sabo!"
"You felt that strong presence in the city, too?", Sabo asks while following his little brother right behind.
"Yeah, I think it's Ace!", Luffy responds without much concern, sniffing the air as he speaks, more interested in finding a restaurant than reuniting with his brother.
"Are you sure it's Ace?", Sabo asks, eager to see Ace's face when he finds out he's alive.
"No idea, probably yes! I just know I'm smelling some tasty food coming from that direction!", Luffy says, drooling as he smells a delicious scent coming from the same direction where the strong presence is.
"What are we waiting for then? Let's go see if it's Ace!", Sabo says quickly, eager to reunite with his brother, hug him, and tell him he was alive and well.
"You took the words right out of my mouth! Food, here we go!", rubbing his hands together like a cartoon villain while thinking about food, Luffy suddenly vanishes using Soru, with Sabo following him right behind.
The two quickly arrive in front of a restaurant, the place where the strong presence was, and from where the delicious smell Luffy had sensed was coming.
Swinging the door open forcefully, Luffy shouts as he enters the establishment, "Food!!!"
Running to the counter, Luffy greets Smoker, who was standing in the middle of the dining room, "Hey Smokey!!", before sitting down at the counter next to Ace, who looks at his little brother, surprised.
"Hey, old man! Gimme food, quick!", Luffy says to the server, banging on the counter a few times like a spoiled child.
"Luffy?", Ace asks, mouth agape, his little brother had changed a lot in three years; he had grown and was full of muscles.
"Oh! Hey, Ace! Just a sec, I'm starving! By the way, Sabo's alive!", upon seeing Ace sitting next to him, Luffy greets him with a happy smile before suddenly excusing himself and turning to the food that was hastily placed in front of him, dropping a bomb on his brother's lap while stuffing himself with food.
"What?!!!!", Ace.exe has stopped working; system reboot recommended.
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(AN: 2,781 Words)
If you guys decide to give ideas or suggestions about things I should pay attention to in the story, keep in mind that on Patreon, the fic is currently at the Alabasta Arc, more specifically, on Rainbase/Katorea.
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