One Piece (Love Story) [Part One]

Chapter Ninety Six [Rewritten]

"For at least an hour or two...on second thought, make that the rest of the day" I hummed, nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, just don't rock the boat—know what I'm saying?" Usopp questioned.

"Here you are, captain" Robin said, using her Devil Fruit powers to hand a rolled-up map to our captain.

"Oh! Thanks, Robin!" Luffy brightly smiled as he took the map.

"Looks like a normal map, so what's the big deal?" Usopp asked as he examined the piece of paper that Luffy was now holding.

"It's of the island" Robin answered as I made my way closer to Luffy and curiously peered down at the map as well. "On the left side is Mock Town—which is where we are now—and if you look on the other side, you'll see an "X" on the coast" she explained. "Supposedly a man lives there—he was banished from this town because he didn't blend in."

"Didn't blend in?" Luffy and Usopp inquired.

"You mean they basically kicked him out for being an outcast?" I frowned as she nodded. "That's stupid..." I muttered as I silently thought about back home and the way the villagers always treated my brothers and me since our arrival on the island.

"His name is Montblanc Cricket—apparently, Mr. Cricket talked about his dreams too much" Robin explained. "Sounds like you have something in common" she said, gaze lingering on Luffy for a couple of minutes before she fully disappeared into one of the rooms on the ship.

"Sounds like we need to pay this guy a visit" Luffy smiled.

"Wait a second, Luffy, it might not be such a good idea to do that—at least not now" Usopp butted in. "Wouldn't you agree, Chopper? Skylar?" he asked, looking at me first before turning his attention toward the soaking-wet reindeer Zoro had dragged back on board. "What the heck happened to you two?" he asked as he looked at the two in confusion.

"I thought I was a goner..." Chopper panted out as I kept my attention elsewhere, ignoring the warmth of my cheeks as I totally didn't sneak a few peeks at Zoro's shirtless chest.

"You're such a pain" Zoro growled.

"But Nami was freaking out!" Chopper protested.

"What did you say?!" Nami frowned. "Wait a second, you better not be laughing at me!" she snapped

"No, of course not!" Chopper cried, causing me to softly chuckle.

-Later-

"Well, it didn't take long to run into something weird!" Luffy laughed once we finally started to near another ship after taking off. "Do you think it's that same salvage boat from before or...?" he asked when he noticed the similar décor to Masira's ship.

"Nah, it might look like a similar ship, but it's not Masira's group" Sanji shook his head.

"Yeah, 'cause Chopper and I saw those guys, right?" Usopp asked.

"Right" Chopper nodded. "We saw them docking, turns out they ported Mock Town the same as most ships in these waters—they're greedy slime, just like the others" he frowned.

"Hm" I hummed in agreement.

"You know those guys better hope we don't run into them again!" Luffy huffed.

"Hey! Hey! Hey, you guys!" a green orangutan scowled once he finally noticed us. "Shut your traps and pay attention—huh? Can you believe that I actually got all worked up wondering who you people were?" he scoffed once he saw just how tiny our ship was compared to his own.

"He's got the same hair color as you, Zoro" I couldn't help but whisper to the swordsman beside me who narrowed his eyes.

"Don't" he huffed when he saw my lips tug upwards into a mischievous grin.

"Maybe you two are related" I snickered as a hand was placed on the side of my head and I was shoved away from the man.

"Your face looks weird, what species are you?" Luffy frowned.

"I'm a human, moron!" the orangutan snapped.

"You sure?" I questioned in disbelief.

"Of course, I'm sure!" the orangutan sneered.

"Are you telling us you don't know who Shoujou is? He's only the captain of the Shoujou Pirates and the world's leader in the undersea search!" one of the orangutan's men stated, a baffled look on his face.

"I wouldn't make our boss angry if I were you" another man warned with a grin.

"Hey now, now hold on" Shoujou said, holding up a hand. "It looks like we're in the same profession—were you aware that Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, was defeated recently?" he curiously asked. "When you consider my dominating abilities, that open spot is as good as mine! I've been doing my best to stay patient, but lately, anticipation has gotten the best of me" he confessed.

"So your goal is to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea?" Luffy questioned.

"Didn't I just say that?!" Shoujou huffed. "In any case, you're obviously not a threat to me, so let's get to know each other personally" he suggested. "I'll start—did you know I haven't had my hair cut in my entire life? That's over twenty-five years, you're impressed and jealous, admit it" he boasted with a cocky grin.

"That's lame" Luffy bluntly responded.

"How dare you!" the orangutan frowned, hurt by the rubber man's harsh response as he glared at him.

"Watch your mouth, kid!" one of Shoujou's men sneered.

"Settle down my faithful divers, I'm not going to let the foul mouth punk get away with insulting me—take this to heart, sail through the tunnel that is my rage and you'll be met by a sea of blood that you'll never escape" Shoujou warned.

"Very poetic for a threat" I hummed.

"Yeah, whatever" Luffy dismissively waved. "Move aside, we have places to go and people to meet" he frowned.

"You just don't get it, do you?" Shoujou sneered. "This is my turf and if you want to pass, you either pay the toll or be sunk! Got it?" he shouted.

"What's this guy mean by his turf? He's starting to sound like our old friend Masira" Usopp warily pointed out.

"Huh? Masira said stuff like that?" Luffy questioned.

"What? Masira?" Shoujou blinked. "What about Masira?" he curiously asked.

"If you must know," Luffy started, "we kicked his butt off our boat, but we didn't think—"

"You what? Kicked him?!" Shoujou interrupted with a venomous glare.

"Easy boss" his men suddenly said, now looking a bit nervous as they tried to soothe the angry orangutan.

"No! How dare you lay a hand on my brother!" Shoujou sneered.