The Going Merry sailed smoothly through calm seas as seagulls flocked overhead. Just a typical morning in the life of the Straw Hat Pirates. Of course, the Straw Hats themselves would be bored out of their minds if they had to sit through what was considered typical by anyone else's standards. Sanji was kicking Luffy in the face, Usopp was running around like a chicken without its head due to the Tabasco sauce in his eyes, Nami was complaining to an apologetic News Coo about the price of the paper, Zoro was experimenting, seeing if he could speed up the ship by sending blunt winds at the back of the sail with his sword, and Luffy was...well, getting kicked in the face by Sanji.
"Come on, Sanji! Let me have one! They look so good," Luffy complained as his stomach growled.
"Absolutely not! These are Nami-san's tangerine groves, and it is my sacred duty to defend them at any cost!"
"Thanks a lot, Sanji-kun!" Nami called. Luffy turned to Nami.
"What's your problem, Nami? Just one?" he whined.
"No way. That's what you get for trying to steal them," she said, without looking up from her newspaper.
"Oh, come on, Nami," Luffy said with a devious smile. "If I really wanted to steal one, do you honestly think Sanji could stop me?"
Sanji was indignant at this, and Nami looked at him curiously. Suddenly, he disappeared from his seated position before their eyes. Sanji blinked before Luffy called out to them from behind the tangerine grove.
Nami let out a resigned sigh, realizing he could probably have stolen every single one without getting caught, and relented. "I guess you have a point," she said.
"How so?" Sanji asked. His head was sagged and he was visibly sulking.
"But just one!" Nami called out. Luffy nodded his agreement and dashed back over before digging into the tangerine, peel and all. That was when the wind blew loose flyers out of the newspaper, and they landed on the deck. Everyone stared down at them with mixed expressions: Luffy in excitement, Nami in horror, Usopp in surprise, and Sanji in indifferent acknowledgement.
"Zoro!" Luffy called out eagerly.
It was a peaceful day in Marineford...well, as peaceful as the Headquarters of the World Government's military branch could get, anyway. Incessant mutterings broke out among the high-ranking Marines in the conference room before Brannew broke them off with a polite clearing of his throat.
"We apologize, Commodore," one Marine said. "But do you really think that our Marine branches in East Blue will be unable to deal with this threat?"
Brannew nodded. "To be blunt, they won't even come close," he said regretfully. He turned to three bounty posters that hung on the wall. "Buggy the Clown, 15 million Belly, Pirate Fleet Admiral Don Krieg, 17 million Belly, and Saw-Tooth Arlong, 20 million Belly. Taking into account that the average bounty in East Blue is 3 million, the fact that his crew crushed them all can't be ignored. These three had the highest active bounties in the eastern seas."
Brannew's audience processed this information as he continued, "It is not just their captain that has caught our attention, however. It was his first mate, former Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro, that ended Captain Morgan's...um...suspicious activity in Branch 153." A few Marines shifted uncomfortably at this. "Furthermore, Buggy the Clown unwittingly let slip during his interrogation that it was Roronoa Zoro that incapacitated him. Taking into account the nature of his Devil Fruit and the fact that Roronoa Zoro is a swordsman, this is an impressive feat."
Brannew rubbed his chin in thought. "Our sources suggest that Don Krieg, although not captured like the other two, was defeated by their captain, Monkey D. Luffy, rather easily, and Commander Chodo...or rather, Captain Chodo," he corrected absently, thinking back on the strange circumstances of the man's recent promotion, "confirmed that Arlong was taken out by the same man. Although they have yet to challenge the Marines or the World Government directly, Captain Nezumi and Lieutenant Fullbody have both readily suggested that bounties be placed on their heads.
"If I may interrupt, Commodore," one Marine said politely. Brannew nodded at him. "What of the strange gossip regarding Pirate Hunter Zoro's alleged clash with the Royal Warlord, Dracule Mihawk?" More mutterings broke out among the Marines in the room. Brannew grimaced.
"These rumors were no doubt brought on by Mihawk's spontaneous appearance in the weakest of the eight seas. It is not surprising that gossip of this nature would start. Roronoa Zoro is the most famed swordsman in East Blue, after all," Brannew speculated. "Nevertheless, we will not humor such nonsense." He looked down at the posters in his hand. "Still, the ease with which they defeated these threats, and the threat that they themselves pose, cannot go unnoticed. It is for these reasons that we have placed record-setting bounties on their heads," he finished.
The Straw Hats continued to stare at the two wanted posters. Zoro walked up and whistled at the sight.
"Straw Hat Luffy, bounty 45 million Belly," Usopp whispered.
"Demon Wind Zoro, bounty 28 million Belly," Nami added in dismay.
Luffy laughed happily. "45 million! How about that?"
"28 million," Zoro repeated. "I must say I'm a little disappointed," he said with a smile that suggested he was not at all disappointed. I wonder what caused the change in title...oh, well, I never called myself a pirate hunter anyway.
"As usual, you fail to understand the gravity of the situation," Nami said with her head in her hand. "With this, Marines and bounty hunters will be actively seeking us out."
Luffy stopped laughing. "Yeah, you're right. Really weak Marines and bounty hunters," he said with a pout.
Zoro frowned. "Didn't think of that. Now a bunch of nobodies will be coming after us. What an insult."
"You're missing the point!" Nami shouted in frustration. Then she sighed. "I don't think we'll be able to lounge around in East Blue any longer."
"Well, that works out perfectly. Because I was planning on heading to the Grand Line after one last stop," Luffy said with a grin. Nami, Usopp, and Sanji looked at him curiously.
"One last stop? Where did you want to go?" Nami asked.
Luffy pointed to the horizon. "It's that island right there," he stated. They all looked to where he was pointing in surprise.
"That's..." Nami trailed off. "There's a place on that island called Loguetown."
"The town of the beginning and the end," Luffy recited from memory. Nami nodded.
"You've heard of it?"
"Yeah," he said. From you, he added mentally. He grinned again. "The town where the Pirate King, Gold Roger, was born and died. Where the Great Pirate Era began."
When they arrived on the coast, each of them took in the sights with varied reactions. "Well, I'm gonna go find the execution platform."
"Looks like I can find some fine ingredients here," Sanji said. And some fine women, too.
"I'm gonna look for some equipment to buy," Usopp added.
"OK, don't get ripped off," Luffy said mockingly before taking off without any idea where he was going.
"I'd like to buy some swords, actually," Zoro said aloud.
"Oh, and how will that work, Zoro? You don't have any money, after all," she said smugly. "You know, I can loan you some...at 300% interest."
Zoro just shot her his own smug grin. "No, I think I'll be fine. Thanks, though." Nami frowned as he walked away. Shopping without any money? What a weirdo...
As Zoro walked through the streets, he caught wind of a familiar aura, as well as a familiar argument. "Looks like that monster isn't with you today. This works out perfectly. We'll send you back to him in pieces!"
"Can't you just let it go?" a feminine voice asked. But the pirates confronting her completely ignored her. The crowd broke out in gasps and shouts as they pulled out their swords.
"Tell that boss of yours that this is what happens when he messes with our dream of getting to the Grand Line!"
Tashigi idly wondered how they wanted her to tell him that if they were planning on sending her back to him in pieces, but pulled out her sword. The crowd watched in awe as she cut them both down in one swift motion. The crowd cheered and applauded before she stumbled and fell face first onto the ground, her glasses sliding across the pavement. One spectator commented that she was too strong for her own good as Zoro walked forward and handed her her glasses, making sure not to break them this time.
In his many coincidental encounters with the Marine woman, Zoro had long since gotten over his discomfort at seeing an exact replica of the face of his childhood friend. As Tashigi thanked him politely, Zoro just nodded and walked in the opposite direction. He soon ran into a problem. He couldn't for the life of him remember which shop he had gotten those two swords from last time. Loguetown was huge. He suddenly stopped in the middle of the road, though, as a familiar feeling hit him. He turned to the direction of an arms shop off to his right and smiled. Well, isn't that convenient?
As he made his way over to the store and walked in, the feeling became more profound. He was in the right place for sure. "I'd like to buy two katana," he said to the familiar store clerk. The clerk rubbed his hands together in a poorly concealed gesture of greed.
"Of course, of course! Right this way, sir," he said happily. Suddenly though, he stopped as he caught sight of the sword on Zoro's hip. Zoro inwardly scoffed. Here we go. The man began stuttering nervously as he requested to get a good look at his sword. Zoro obliged and handed it over. The man's eyes widened as he unsheathed it before turning back to Zoro.
"Listen," he started. "I have a good eye for craftsmanship. What you've got here isn't the work of a master, but it's definitely an above average sword. What would you say to me giving you 300,000 Belly for it? If you want 3 swords that badly, then you could buy each for 100,000 without losing a single Belly."
"Nah," Zoro said blandly. It took a moment for it to register in the clerk's mind that his offer had been rejected before he started stuttering again.
"Then...how about 500,000 Belly?" he asked nervously.
"Nope."
"All right, you haggler! You've got me! I'll pay you 700,000 Belly, but that's my final offer!"
"Not for sale," Zoro said in a bored tone, although he was a little disgruntled by the presence that he felt walking into the store behind them.
"Whoa! That sword!" the voice said in enthusiasm. The clerk's face looked even more nervous now. Tashigi flipped through a book on swords and stopped on a page that had an illustration of Zoro's exact sword. "That's the Wado Ichimonji!" It's a famous Meito that sells for over 10,000,000 Belly! Where on earth did you get it?"
The store clerk was now visibly sulking, but he rounded on Tashigi. "Did you really have to open your mouth!? I should sue you for ruining my business!"
"Ruining your business?" Tashigi asked in an apologetic tone. "I'm sorry, did I say something? It's just I've never seen one of the 21 Superior Grade Swords before."
"Don't blame her," Zoro said in annoyance. "I wasn't gonna sell it anyway." The clerk just scoffed.
"You came for your Shigure right? Here, it's been polished," he said as he tossed the sword at Tashigi. Tashigi caught it, but failed to catch herself, and stumbled right into a shelf of swords, causing them to all clatter to the floor. "Why the hell did you fall that way!? Pick those up now!" the clerk yelled. Tashigi scrambled to do that as he turned back to Zoro.
"Fine, you've got a famous Meito. Enjoy it. Now find two swords and get out," he said grudgingly. Zoro rolled his eyes and walked over to a barrel of mostly cheap swords. 50,000 Belly swords? What, is this guy broke or something?the clerk thought.
"You seem to really love swords," Tashigi said as she walked up to him. "You're carrying three of them after all. It reminds me of this one bounty hunter named Roronoa Zoro," she said.
"I hear the name a lot," Zoro said truthfully, before quickly pulling out the sword that had long since caught his attention. Tashigi stilled at the sight of it before pulling out her book again. "That sword...Kitetsu III? That should sell for at least 1,000,000 Belly. I would buy it if I were you," she said. She turned to the clerk. "Are you really selling this for 50,000 Belly?" she asked.
"Yeah..." the clerk replied reluctantly.
Tashigi quickly went into a history of the three Kitetsu swords, commenting that the 1st Kitetsu was one of the 12 unrivaled works of craftsmanship in the world, before the clerk changed his mind and shouted that he wouldn't sell it. Tashigi looked surprised and asked why.
"It's cursed," Zoro said simply. "I could feel it before I even walked in here."
The clerk's eyes widened. It takes a great swordsman to recognize a cursed blade. Who is this guy?
Zoro hummed, taking in the familiar sight and feel of the blade. "You know, I like it. Actually, I really want it," he said with a nostalgic grin.
"What!? No way! You idiot, if I sold it to you and you died, wouldn't it be like I killed you!?" he shouted. Tashigi looked shocked at this revelation, and Zoro just continued smirking.
"Let's test it out, then. If this sword doesn't accept me as its master, we'll know here and now," he said, before throwing the blade up in the air and holding his arm out.
"Idiot! Its sharpness is the real thing! You'll lose an arm!" the clerk shouted. Tashigi gasped and placed a hand over her mouth.
As the sword came down, Zoro's reflexes screamed at him to coat his arm in Armament Haki, but he ignored them and closed his eyes. The sword fell down and the blade hit his arm dead center before it fell to the ground and imbedded itself hilt deep into the floor. Zoro's audience stared in shock as he rolled his arm around in its socket. There wasn't a scratch on him. "Good sword," he said, still grinning.
The clerk fell to the ground as the tension left his body. He quickly got up and told Zoro to wait for him as he stumbled into the back of the shop. He came back with another familiar sword with a black hilt and sheath. "This is the best sword I have. It's one of the 50 Skillful Grade Swords, Yubashiri. Please take it free of charge, along with Kitetsu III."
Zoro nodded at the man gratefully. "Thank you," he said with sincerity. The man just waved his hand dismissively.
"Don't worry about it. It's not every day I see a true swordsman walk in here. They say the sword chooses the swordsman. Consider this a gift."
As Zoro walked out of the shop, he couldn't help but laugh joyfully at the feeling of the three swords on his waist as well as the emptiness of his pockets. He could hardly believe he'd just pulled that off.
Luffy ran through the streets, still looking for the execution platform. He had run into Smokey and asked him for directions, but he had gotten lost again somehow. As he kept running, he was surprised to sense the familiar presence of someone who should by all rights be on his way to a prison right now. Not that he cared either way. He wondered how the guy had escaped from the Marines though. "What are you looking for?" the man asked without looking at him.
"The execution platform," Luffy replied.
"It's that way," the man said, pointing.
Luffy ran off in the direction the was pointing before yelling, "Thanks, Big Nose!" The man looked after him in shock, finally realizing who he was, and his jaw dropped.
Fuck.
When Luffy finally arrived at the execution platform and climbed to the top, he whistled. He had seen it before, but he would never get over the symbolic value of this view. Bystanders looked up at him in annoyance and wonder before a woman walked up to the execution platform. "I've been looking for you, Straw Hat. It's been a while, hasn't it?"
Luffy stared down at her. "If by it's been a while you mean we've never met before, then sure," he said in confusion.
"Now, that's cold," the woman said. "Don't tell me you've forgotten my beautiful face," she said. Luffy was tempted to respond that he couldn't forget something that he'd never seen before, but settled for scanning her with his Observation Haki instead. He ignored the killing intent of the presences coming up behind him as his eyes widened. Alvida? Then it clicked. That's right. She ate a Devil Fruit that made her slim...I mean...got rid of her freckles...yeah, that was it. What else does it do again?
Buggy and Cabaji jumping out behind him brought him out of his thoughts, and he sidestepped Cabaji as the acrobat attempted to trap him. Cabaji tripped over himself in surprise, and Luffy promptly kicked him in the ass, sending him flying off of the execution platform. He turned to Buggy. "A plank of wood? I feel insulted. I think you should apologize."
Buggy looked at him in outrage and started screaming bloody murder at him, but Luffy wasn't paying attention. His focus was caught by another aura that had flickered to life. It was quite simply the greatest aura he had felt since coming back to the past, and taking into account their confrontation with Mihawk, that was saying something. It would have actually made him nervous if he didn't have an idea who it was.
"...think I'm apologizing to a stupid rubber bastard like you, you've got another thing coming!" Buggy finished. Luffy turned back to him.
"Uh...sorry, did you say something?"
Buggy got ready to lunge at him, but Luffy held his hand out. "Hey, Buggy. I have an idea. Why don't I stand here and do nothing while you execute me?"
Buggy looked extremely confused now. "What."
"No, really," Luffy said. "I'll stand right here. Take that sword and cut my head off or something."
"Are you mocking me?" Buggy seethed.
"Dead serious."
"I'll kill you whether you stand there or not, you straw hat bastard!" Buggy screamed indignantly before picking up the sword.
"Over this way!" Zoro yelled as he led Nami, Usopp, and Sanji toward the execution platform.
"Slow down, Zoro!" Usopp complained. "We just met up and now you have us running all over the place? What's the problem?"
"I told you, there's a huge storm coming!" Nami yelled. "We have to get back to the ship!"
"Just keep your mouths shut and follow me!" Zoro yelled. That aura I just felt...it was huge. This could be bad. We have to find Luffy.
They arrived at the execution platform and saw Luffy standing on top of it along with Buggy, just like last time. "What is that idiot doing?" Sanji asked. They watched in worry as Buggy reared back to swing his sword at Luffy's neck. Zoro's eyes narrowed as he realized Luffy wasn't about to dodge, block, or even use Haki to guard. What was he playing at? He was about to make a jump for the platform when the huge aura from before roared to life along with a crack of lightning that erupted from the dark clouds that had manifested in the previously clear sky. The heavens rained their cold fury down on the execution platform, and there was a large flash of light followed by a loud explosion.
Luffy picked his hat up from ground and walked past Buggy's unconscious, charred form. He looked at the stunned faces in front of him, before shouting out.
"I am the man who will become the Pirate King!"
His voice echoed out through the silent plaza. He walked by Buggy's crew and resisted the urge to laugh at the faces that Alvida and Cabaji were wearing. "Well, I guess that's that," he said. The crowd made way for him as he walked through to find his crewmates, who were all staring at him in wonder, except for Zoro, who just looked annoyed. "Everyone get what they needed?" he asked. At a round of weak nods, he grinned. "Then let's go."
As they ran towards the coast, Sanji turned to Zoro. "Hey, do you believe in God?"
"Nope," Zoro replied.
A lone man walked slowly through the stormy streets of Loguetown, his black cloak flowing in the wind.
Inherited will. The destiny of the era and the dreams of its people. These forces are unceasing and relentless. So long as humanity continues to pursue the true meaning of freedom, those dreams will never yield.
Another flash of lightning illuminated the man's madly grinning face. "Pirate King? Good. I expect nothing less."
The Straw Hats were still on their way back to the ship when they found their path obstructed by Tashigi, whose hair was shadowing her eyes. "So, you're Roronoa Zoro, and a pirate no less." She looked up in rage and Zoro got that old familiar feeling as thoughts of Kuina came into his mind. He hated it.
"I won't let such a magnificent blade stay in the hands of someone like you! Your Wado Ichimonji shall be confiscated!"
"Just try it," Zoro said as they crossed blades. Sanji started yelling at him for attacking a woman, but that only seemed to aggravate Tashigi more and she told them to leave. Nami and Usopp were surprised that a Marine was letting them go, but didn't complain as they ran past along with Luffy.
Zoro ended the fight quickly, disarming Tashigi and ramming his sword into the wall next to her head. She stared at him in shock. Zoro wordlessly lowered his blade and walked away, which infuriated her. "Why didn't you kill me!?" she shouted. Zoro looked back at her in annoyance. "Is it because I'm a woman?" she asked. Zoro stared at her for a few seconds longer before smirking.
"Think nothing of it. When you Marines catch a pirate, regulation dictates that you have to execute them. But whether I kill someone or not is up to my mood. Remember that well." Tashigi looked shocked at his answer, actually taking a moment to consider his words, before Zoro waved his sword in a downward arc. A small whirlwind obscured him from sight, and when it died down, he was gone.
Luffy stopped as a familiar Marine captain obstructed their path once again. "Go ahead, you guys. I'll catch up with you." They looked at him uncertainly before running past the white-haired man, who let them go.
"Straw Hat Luffy, bounty of 45 million Belly. I'm afraid I can't let you go anywhere."
Luffy shot him a cocky grin. "I'm afraid you won't be able to stop me."
"I wonder about that. While I've been stationed on this island, not a single pirate that's passed by here has been able to enter the Grand Line."
Luffy actually scowled. "Well, if you weren't so busy keeping up your perfect attendance record, maybe you could have stopped Arlong from enslaving an island. As it was, I had to do your job for you."
Smoker's eyes narrowed, and Luffy could tell he had offended him. He didn't really care, though. Smoker's attitude on this pissed him off. His pride hadn't allowed him to leave Loguetown until it finally demanded that he follow the only pirate to escape him to the Grand Line. Smoker was quite simply the only Marine in East Blue that could have done much of anything against the Arlong Pirates. Not only that, but he could have crushed them singlehandedly if he wasn't so busy keeping no-name pirates out of the Grand Line. It upset Luffy to think that Nami's predicament could have been solved much earlier in the previous timeline, but wasn't.
So he honestly didn't feel that bad about the beating he was about to give his Marine rival.
Smoker lunged forward, propelled to great speeds by a trail of smoke behind him. He was clearly much faster than any opponent Luffy had gone up against since coming back. But not fast enough. Luffy ducked under the extended punch from Smoker's Logia arm and grabbed it. Smoker's eyes widened as he felt the grip on his body, which was very much tangible right now. While Mihawk had taken the concept of proficient Haki users outside the Grand Line in stride, Smoker wasn't as composed. Luffy quickly flipped him over onto his back and rammed his fist down into the man's gut. Smoker coughed up blood and his body went limp.
Luffy started to walk away, only to stop and turn back to see Smoker panting but on his feet. "You didn't think it would be that easy did you?" he asked.
"Oh, impressive," Luffy said with a small smile. He had put much more strength into that punch than anything he had thrown at Krieg or Arlong. He had almost forgotten that Smokey wasn't like most of those overconfident Logias out there. He trained his body as much as he trained his Devil Fruit.
Smoker lunged at him again after pulling out his jutte, but Luffy sidestepped him. Smoker quickly took flight in his Logia form, looking for an opening as he circled around Luffy. Not good enough.
"Gomu Gomu no...Pistol!" He sniped Smoker out of the air, and the man came crashing to the ground. He quickly recovered this time, and dissolved into smoke. The smoke surrounded Luffy from all sides. This was meant to make his attacks unpredictable, as his jutte could come from anywhere. But it was a double-edged sword. It also meant that Luffy could go for any part of the smoke and land a solid hit. In addition, Luffy could see his attacks coming either way.
"Gomu Gomu no..." The smoke closed in on him. "Gatling!" His fists rammed at the smoke in all directions, pushing it back until finally Smoker couldn't keep it up anymore. The smoke fell back and took the form of a man again. Said man was panting heavily, and was covered in blood from head to toe. He took one step toward Luffy before letting out a groan and collapsing to the ground.
Luffy walked in the direction of the ship again before he found another man standing in front of him. His eyes widened. The man's aura was suppressed to that of a civilian, but Luffy knew better.
"That was quite the display," the man said, sounding impressed. Luffy just stared at him before speaking.
"It was nothing much," he said.
"I wouldn't have guessed that you'd have come so far by now," the man continued. Luffy thought for a moment. He knew that he wouldn't be able to hide his aura. Not from this guy. So he stopped suppressing it, letting it flare. He could see the man's grin grow wider under his hood.
"There are a lot of things you wouldn't know about me, Dad." A flash of lightning illuminated the man's face once again. Dragon kept smiling, but his smile seemed to turn a bit sad at that statement.
"I'm aware," he said. "And there are a lot of things that I'd like to know." He looked towards the sky. "But they'll have to wait. The world is awaiting our answer." With that, they walked past each other, and Dragon's voice called out one last time from behind Luffy. "The winds are changing," he said cryptically. "Once you board your ship, you'll have a tailwind toward the southwest. It will take you to Reverse Mountain." Luffy kept walking, but let a small smile grace his lips. Well, he's not making any negative progress.
When Luffy finally arrived at the ship, he took note of the bloody, beaten form of Mohji and his lion on the ground. It looked like Sanji's handiwork...or rather, footwork. Zoro had already arrived and was yelling for him to hurry up. They all quickly boarded and raised anchor.
After they set sail, Nami commented that they had a promising tailwind, and Sanji brought a barrel out to the middle of the deck. "This calls for a celebration," he said.
"To become Pirate King!" Luffy said.
"To become the World's Greatest Swordsman," Zoro recited.
"To find All Blue," Sanji said with a smile.
"To draw a world map," Nami said with enthusiasm.
"To become a brave warrior of the sea!" Usopp said despite his trembles. They cracked open the barrel as their ship sailed on through rough waters towards the Light of Guidance.
"To the Grand Line!"
A/N: And that concludes the East Blue saga! As always, leave some reviews and tell me what you thought. Lost out.