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Since our return from Enies Lobby, it's been two days. Iceberg was kind enough to let us stay at his mansion to recover. Today was my first day out of bed, but I only made it to a nearby table before my legs gave out, and I had to sit down again. The wounds I got from Lucci were still throbbing.
Rose is doing okay, though she's still a little shaken up about her arm. Chopper told her he'd get started on a prosthetic as soon as he could, but Rose insisted he not rush. I think Zoro is more upset about it than she is. Wyper said it happened because she tried to protect him, so I think he's blaming himself for it.
"You really should stay in bed," Sanji said, walking over to me. "You know how Chopper gets."
"I'm sick of sitting in bed. I need to stretch my legs." I rubbed my knee. "Where's Robin?"
"She went with Chopper to help with the Franky Family's wounds," he replied. "Why? Do you miss her?"
"I guess so," I sighed. "I think a part of me is still worried that if I let her out of my sight, she won't come back. I know it's paranoid, but after everything that happened, I can't help it."
Sanji pulled up a chair and sat across from me, his voice dropping to a low, serious tone. "Listen, as annoyed as I am about you dating Robin, I won't get in your way. But just so we're clear, captain or not, if you ever hurt her, I'll kill you."
"If I ever do, I want you to," I told him honestly.
He smiled and put a plate of food in front of me. "Good to see we're on the same page. Now eat. You need to get your strength back."
I grabbed a fork and was about to take a bite when the food on my plate suddenly vanished.
"You're such a pain even when you're asleep," I grumbled. "Sanji, Luffy ate my food."
"Oh, that's his sleep-eating technique," he explained.
Just then, Kokoro and Chimney came to visit. The frog, Yokozuna, tried to come inside, but Kokoro wouldn't have it.
"Yokozuna, just wait outside!" she scolded the frog. She then turned to us. "So, everyone's awake, huh?"
"Not really," Wyper mumbled from across the room as he worked on his skates. "Luffy's still asleep."
"But he's eating!" Chimney said, confused.
"That would be his sleep-eating technique," Sanji explained again. "He hates to miss a meal."
"How's the girl with the arm doing?" Kokoro asked.
"She says she's fine," Sanji replied, "but I can tell she's lying."
"Where is Rose, anyway?" I asked, looking around.
"She went to the scrapyard with Zoro," Wyper said. "The two of them need to talk about what happened. If they both keep blaming themselves, neither of them will be able to move on."
"They'll be alright," I said. "Zoro's a tough guy, and Rose won't let something like an arm stop her."
"Well, regardless, your Log Pose should be set in a few more days," Kokoro explained.
"What does it matter?" Nami moaned from her seat at a smaller table. "The money for a new ship, our clothes, even the tangerine trees—they all got washed away in Aqua Laguna."
"We left all our things in a back-street hotel," Sanji said.
"Oh, so that's what those guests are here about," Kokoro realized.
Just then, a few men entered, carrying bags of our stuff from the hotel.
"My trees!" Nami cheered excitedly.
"We're sorry," one of the men said. "When we thought you'd killed Mr. Iceberg, we confiscated all your belongings as pirate loot."
"We're back!" Chopper shouted, bursting through the door with Robin right behind him. "I treated the Franky Family's wounds, and I didn't take my eyes off Robin for a second!"
"Good job, soldier," I said, giving him a thumbs-up.
Robin just laughed. "I told you I'm not going anywhere."
"It'll be a tough habit to break, but I guess I can trust you on your own," I joked.
"You're too kind," she smiled, taking a seat next to me.
Suddenly, the door swung open again. "YOW!" Franky yelled as he and his female companions came in. "Not everyone's here, but whatever. I've got something to tell you!"
Franky sat down on the floor. "There's an island with a never-ending war…"
"Get to the point," Wyper told him.
"Just shut up and listen!" Franky shot back. He explained that there was a giant tree on this island that, no matter how devastating the war, never fell. "They call it the Jewel Tree Adam," he said.
"A tree?" I asked.
"Every once in a while, a piece of the tree shows up on the black market," Franky continued. "I've always wanted a piece, but it costs 200 million Berries. Then one day, a group of pirates showed up…"
"Are you telling me you spent our money on a stick?!" Sanji shouted.
"Just listen!" Franky yelled. "I quit building ships a long time ago, but before I knew it, I was drawing blueprints again, trying to catch up to that man… My dream is to build a 'Dream Ship' that can cross any sea, and I'll use the Adam Wood to build it. Now I have the blueprints and the wood. I can build that ship, and when I finish, will you guys sail it? Will you sail the ship I made?"
"Wait," I said, standing up. "You're giving us the ship?"
"Yeah," Franky said with a nod. "What would make me happiest is if there was someone I trust sailing it. Besides, you guys already paid for it. The only ship to ever reach the end of the Grand Line was Gold Roger's Oro Jackson—it was also made from Adam Wood. I want to make a ship that can accomplish that feat."
"Of course, we'll take the ship!" I yelled. "We can get to the next island now!"
"Today's gonna be a good day!" I cheered, leaping out of my seat.
Suddenly, the back wall of the room exploded, filling the air with dust and debris. I quickly put my body between the blast and Robin to shield her. When the smoke cleared, I turned to see what had happened.
"Who are you?" Sanji asked the man standing in the hole in the wall.
"Are you the Straw Hat Pirates?" the man asked.
That voice!
"There's someone I want Monkey D. Luffy to meet. Wake up!"
The man jumped over all of us and punched Luffy in the skull.
"OWW!" Luffy yelped.
"How could that punch hurt you?" Wyper asked. "You're a rubber man!"
"No one can escape the Fist of Love!" the man boomed. "I heard you've been doing reckless things again, Luffy!"
"Gah—Grandpa?!"
Everyone was completely shocked to learn that Garp was Luffy's grandfather.
"Nobody fight him," I warned them. "Old Man Garp will kill you."
"Who you calling old?!" he roared.
"Grandpa almost killed me a bunch of times!" Luffy told the crew.
"Don't say it like that!" Garp said. "Sure, I threw you off that cliff and left you in that jungle one night, but all of that was so you could become a strong man!"
"You forgot the time you tied him to a balloon and sent him into the sky," I added.
"In the end, I entrusted him and Ace to a friend, but as soon as I left, look what happened! You were supposed to become a Marine!"
"I always said I wanted to be a pirate!" Luffy shot back.
"Nonsense! You're just under the bad influence of the Red-Haired."
"Shanks saved my life!"
"Can we not bring my dad into your family argument?" I asked.
"You're no better, corrupting my grandson with your bad influence!"
"Steve's my friend!"
Garp grabbed Luffy by the collar. "Don't talk back to your grandfather!"
"He's not even trying to fight back," Nami said in surprise.
"No, they just fell asleep," I said, poking Luffy and getting no response. "See?"
"What'd we do?!" Franky yelled.
"Oh, I fell asleep," Garp said, opening his eyes. "Luffy! How dare you fall asleep when I'm talking to you?"
Garp proceeded to punch Luffy a few more times for random things. He even hit me.
"OW!" we both yelled from the ground.
"Do you have any idea what kind of guy that Red-Haired is?" Garp asked.
"Wait, do you know where my parents are?!" I asked, getting up. "Please tell me, are they okay?"
"There are a lot of notorious pirates out there. He's in the same league as Whitebeard, one of the pirates who rules over the second half of the Grand Line—one of the Four Emperors. The Marines and the Warlords exist to maintain the balance between us and them."
"I don't really get any of that, but I'm glad they're doing well," Luffy said simply.
"I miss them…" I said, feeling a little downcast.
Luffy put a hand on my shoulder and gave me a big smile. "They're fine! What are you worrying about?"
There's that smile. "You're right," I laughed, feeling better.
"Those two have a connection to Red-Haired Shanks?" Robin asked.
"That's my dad," I told her. "And 'Mother Nature' Lilly is my mom. 'Hawkeye' Mihawk is also my uncle."
"I guess they must be pretty important," Wyper said. "You and Rose must have some strong blood in you."
A commotion could be heard from outside.
"Oh, it's the Pirate Hunter and the girl," Garp said, turning to two Marines. "You two, try and stop them."
"Those two!"
"Zoro, don't fight them!" By the time Luffy and I got outside, the two of them were already engaged in combat with a man wielding two large knives. Rose, despite only having one hand, was holding her own.
"Stop, you two!" Luffy yelled, running forward, only to get kicked in the face. "Why, you!"
"Soru!"
Luffy punched forward but missed his target. I looked around and found the man as he came at us again.
"Shattering Grip!" I grabbed the man by his collar and slammed him to the ground.
Luffy had his fist about a foot from the guy's face when Garp told them to stop. I looked over and saw that Zoro had his swords at the other man's shoulder, and Rose had a knife an inch from that guy's jugular.
"Nearly getting killed by a girl with one arm is pretty pathetic," Rose told the man as she put the knife away on her belt.
"It's amazing," the man Luffy and I had pinned down said. "You're still so strong. I give up."
Luffy and I got off the kid, and he stood up and dusted off his clothes. "It's good to see you again, Luffy, Steve, Zoro."
"Who are you?" Luffy asked, confused.
"It's me, Coby."
"Coby?" Luffy said. "I don't think so. My friend Coby is a short, pudgy kid."
"Yeah, that's me, the crybaby," Coby confirmed.
"Really?!" I said in surprise. "You certainly got taller."
"How'd you end up on the Grand Line?" Zoro asked him.
"I'm not a Marine officer yet, but when I heard you guys were nearby, I just had to come see you," Coby explained. "A lot of stuff happened, but we ended up being trained by Vice Admiral Garp."
"Come on, let's go inside and catch up," Luffy said.
"Hey, what about me?!" the guy Rose almost killed yelled.
"And you are?" Zoro asked.
"Don't act like you don't remember me! It's me, Captain Morgan's son, Helmeppo."
"Who?" Zoro asked again.
"That's the guy that tried to have you killed before we met," I reminded him. "I guess it's nice to see you."
Garp tried to get the Marines to fix the wall he had busted down, but they insisted he help them.
"By the way, Luffy," Garp said while hammering in a nail. "I heard you met your dad."
"I have a dad?" Luffy asked blankly.
"Of course you have a dad, dumbass!" I yelled. "But I've never met him either, so I always figured he was dead."
"He didn't introduce himself," Garp said. "I heard you crossed paths in Loguetown."
"Luffy's dad was in town?" Rose asked.
"What's he like?" Luffy asked Garp.
"I wonder what your dad's like?" I asked.
"Your father's name is Monkey D. Dragon, the revolutionary."
"WHAT?!"
Everyone was pretty surprised to hear who Luffy's dad was.
"Why's everyone freaking out?" Luffy asked me.
"You've never heard that name?" I yelled. "Your father is a very dangerous man!" I grabbed Luffy's head and turned it towards Robin. "Robin, give me a hand here."
Robin explained to Luffy that the revolutionaries were people who actively tried to attack and overthrow the World Government.
"Maybe I shouldn't have said anything," Garp mumbled.
"Ya think?!" Rose yelled.
After the Marines finished repairing the wall, Garp told us he'd let us go since Luffy was his grandson. Luffy went outside to talk to Coby and Helmeppo.
"I'll be out in a second; I'm gonna run to the bathroom," I told them.
When I came out, I found Rose staring out the window, playing with the loose sleeve of her new jacket.
"How are you doing?" I asked.
"I'm alright," she said. "It'll take some getting used to, but I think I can manage."
"What's with your neck?" I asked, noticing something.
"What?" she said, trying to reach for it with her newly short arm.
I grabbed her other hand and gently pulled the collar of her jacket down. "What is this?"
"It's nothing," she said.
"Rose, is this a hickey?!"
"No," she said, getting all awkward and blushing. "You're seeing things."
"I'm not blind, big sis," I told her. "You and Zoro went off to Scrap Island to 'talk.' What really happened?"
"Nothing happened," she said with a heavy blush. "It's probably just a bruise from the fight with Kaku."
"Fine, just remember back on Sky Island, you're the one that broke up with him," I said, putting my hand on her shoulder. "You're a big girl, and you can make your own decisions, but just be careful, alright? Chopper told you to take it easy; 'activity' like that is too much for you right now."
"Scram, little brother," she said, nudging me away.
"Just be safe if you're gonna do something like that," I told her. "I'm only eighteen. I don't need a niece or a nephew."
"G-go away," she stammered. "I'm a big girl. I know how to protect myself."
When I got outside, Coby was explaining that they had gotten to the Grand Line by crossing the Calm Belt in a ship coated in Seastone.
"The man behind that idea is the scientist Vegapunk," Coby explained.
"He's a smart man," I said. "I've heard the rumors that he's the one who found a way to give Devil Fruits to inanimate objects."
"That was his big project recently," Helmeppo added.
"There are so many interesting people in the world," Coby said. "I used to think the world was a small place until I met you two."
We talked for a little longer before Coby and Helmeppo decided it was time to go back to Garp.
"Don't you want to stay and eat?" Luffy asked.
"We have to head back," Coby said. "Listen, Luffy, do you know what they call the second half of the Grand Line? They call it the New World. They say the one who conquers that sea will be the King of the Pirates."
"Sounds like an interesting place," I said.
"Let's meet there someday," Coby remarked. "And I'll capture you once I see you there! I'll get stronger; I'll become a Marine Admiral! Sorry, I got a little carried away there."
"Coby!" Luffy yelled. "You gotta be one so you can fight me!"
"The Straw Hats will keep getting stronger," I told him. "So you just try and keep up."
"What, are you still a crybaby, Coby?" Zoro called out from inside.
"I'm really glad I got to see you again today!" Coby yelled back. "We'll get stronger, so let's meet again in the New World!"
I looked forward to it.