-Chapter Thirty-
"That's no problem, Vivi" Sanji said once the princess had finished going over her plan.
"Alright! Now things are getting interesting!" Luffy grinned.
"What do you mean by interesting?" Chopper questioned.
"Just means that he's excited" I said as I started putting up my hair.
"Hold on, Luffy, you need to calm down" Nami frowned as she tried to reel in the captain's excitement. "This isn't a game, understand?" she asked.
"Yeah, yeah—basically, we're going to track down these fake Rebel guys and beat them up, right?" he asked, grin only getting bigger as he eagerly nodded.
"I don't think he understands at all" I sweat dropped, tying my bandana as I made sure my hair was properly stuffed inside. "But then again, what's new..." I muttered with the roll of my eyes as I straightened out the cloth wrapped around my head.
"Of course, he doesn't understand—he doesn't understand a thing, someone needs to put him on a leash" Sanji sighed.
-Later-
"Fuck, it's really hot today..." I lowly cursed from my place amongst the men, unable to hide my displeasure of having to stand out underneath the hot desert sun as we waited for the "Rebel soldiers" to make their appearance. It felt like an eternity standing there before they finally arrived, their faces scrunched up into looks of utter defeat as they stared wide-eyed at the six of us. Fear seemed to take hold of them the second they realized there was nowhere for them to run—no gaps for them to squeeze by and book it.
"Get 'em! Get 'em, invincible Rebel Army!" a chubby man loudly cheered from atop the wall that surrounded the village and kept out any unwanted guests.
"What's that? You're a Rebel soldier?" Luffy growled in a tone that genuinely sounded menacing...no doubt he was having fun.
"No, nothing of the sort—we're just simple travelers passing through!" the supposed leader of the group quickly and quietly explained, blond hair now drenched in sweat as he tried his hardest not to shout and give away his and his men ruse to the townsfolk that watched from above.
"Now say your prayers—you dastardly sea pirates are dead!" the chubby man from earlier screamed. "These brave Rebel soldiers are going to make mincemeat out of a whole lot of you, you cowardly thieves!" he boasted, confident in the abilities of the men that continued to cower before us.
"Stop talking, you're not helping!" the blond angrily cried out.
"Right, right, Camu" the heavy man quickly nodded. "It won't happen again, please carry on—I'm not even here" he nervously laughed with the wave of his hand, finally settling down and backing off.
"Hey, according to the crowd, you guys are the real deal" Luffy said.
"No! No, you don't understand!' Camu tensed, quickly shaking his head.
"We're in trouble, big bro" a tall, dark, and overly skinny man whimpered from behind the blond.
"Dammit! Our one chance to escape is gone!" a small and overly heavy man bitterly hissed. "What do we do, big bro?" he suddenly asked, looking to the blond beside him for guidance.
"Stop asking me!" Camu snapped before huddling closer to his men, lowly whispering to them something that I couldn't quite hear. "If it's a fight you want, consider yourselves warned because we aren't the only Rebel soldiers around here in the village! There are a hundred million more like us!" the blond suddenly shouted.
"Come on, babies lie better" Usopp frowned.
"Yeah, you would know" I snorted.
"What did you say?!" he snapped.
"Nothing" I innocently smiled, causing him to lowly grumble.
"You're one to talk" Sanji scoffed.
"Not you too..." Usopp depressingly muttered.
"A hundred million?!" Luffy cried out in shock as if he really believed what the man had said.
"Can't you tell a lie when you hear one?!" Sanji and Usopp snapped.
"Luffy, no" I sweat dropped.
"That was one of the worst bluffs ever!" Usopp huffed.
"Wait, it's a lie?" Luffy questioned.
"Obviously" Usopp confirmed.
"It's a lie" Chopper sighed in relief.
"Geez..." Zoro muttered.
"Faker! How dare you lie to me!" Luffy sneered, sounding genuinely upset at the attempted deceit.
"Damn, they know the truth" Camu quietly cursed.
"It wasn't that great of a lie to begin with" I pointed out.
"Did you really think that old line was going to work?" the tall man of the group of "soldiers" frowned.
"Gum Gum Pistol!" Luffy suddenly shouted, his fist now rocketing forward and socking the leader of the group right in the face.
"What the hell was that?!" the tall man of the group fearfully cried, startled by the captain's sudden attack.
"He has Devil Fruit powers!"
"It knocked him right out!"
"Not even Rebel soldiers can withstand such power!"
"We're doomed!" the villagers cried in worry as they hastily spoke over one another.
"Big brother Camu!" a young boy suddenly cried from the crowd the moment he spotted Luffy starting to advance forward toward the blond he had knocked out flat.
"You can do it!" another boy cheered.
"The sea pirate is coming!" a young girl this time whimpered.
"We believe in you!"
"Come on!"
"Stand up!" the children seemed to repeatedly and desperately shout as Luffy continued to draw closer toward the blond and his men. Cracking his knuckles, I was entirely convinced for a full minute that the captain did indeed plan on beating the absolute shit out of these men. But such a thought was quick to disappear the second the blond grabbed hold of his wrist, halting him in his tracks a little too easily.
"Big bro!" the other three "soldiers" gasped.
"It's true...we aren't Rebel soldiers...we lied..." Camu finally admitted through gritted teeth. "All we ever wanted was to be strong like our childhood heroes—now we're just a bunch of scoundrels" he spat. "Even if my hopes never become reality, those dreams we had as kids will never die—today I stop running and face my fears, I may be no match for you, but I'm willing to give it my best..." he panted as he shakily pushed himself up off the ground. "My defeat will inspire these children to grow up and fight—I'd rather die as a hero who taught the youth of this miserable world to stand up and rise against scum like you than be remembered as a lying coward that ran away!" he cried, angrily smashing his fist against Luffy's grinning face.
"Big bro!" the other men cried.
"What's your deal?" Sanji frowned, looking up at the heavy man that now approached him and Usopp with a raised brow.
"You're not alone, big bro—I'll help you fight!" the man cried. "We share the same dream! From the time we were little, we've made all sorts of bad decisions that I'm not proud of!" he sniffed. "But, no matter what we did, you were always there to protect the weak!" he lunged to attack, causing the two to jump out of the way. "I'll...I'll always be right beside you—helping you to defend those who are helpless! We'll find redemption together!" he tearfully proclaimed.
"He's right" a small yet still just as heavy man sobbed as both he and the tall man of the group got ready to attack Zoro, Chopper, and me.
"I'm with you guys—what do we have to lose?" the tall man agreed. "Let's show them what we're made of!"
"Alright, no more running—this is our time to shine!" the shorter one nodded.
"Yeah, but..." Camu trailed off as he stared at the three in awe. My attention was quickly drawn away from the men and towards Usopp the second he grunted as he now squinted his eyes against the beam of light that was now being shined into them.
Looks like it was time for us to go.