A/N: I must warn everyone that this chapter contains spoilers from the Manga. If you don't read/haven't caught up to chapter 1058 I suggest holding off until so, unless you want to read it still, then I won't stop you! ^_^ enjoy!
P.S. to avoid any confusion, if you haven't already read the A/N chapter, I recommend doing so :)
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"GYAAA! YOU SORRY EXCUSE FOR A CAPTAIN! THAT BRAIN DEAD STUNT ALMOST KILLED THE ENITRE CREW!"
"I'm swowy..."
"Ahhh! There's a limit to how much stupidity Well swallow!"
I grunted, turning my head slightly as I heard voices. Who the hell is yelling so loud...?
"WAHAHA! No one was hurt, don't be so hard on him."
"WE NEED TO KEEP HIM ON A TIGHT LEASH, JIMBEI!"
"WOAH! CO-CONQUER'S HAKI?!"
"Careful, Boss! Never cross Nami when she's Mad!"
I heard a voice right next to my head speak up. With another groan, I began to flutter my eyes open. "Wha-What's going on...?" Once my eyes fully opened, all I saw was blue. After registering for a moment, I realized I was looking at the sky.
"SEE HOW TOUGH THE SUNNY IS?! A drop like that... and we only busted a small yard on the mast!"
Wait- the Sunny...? But- wasn't I in the castle after battling Kaido? I thought to myself, confused. Kaido... With a sharp intake of breath, I let out a gasp, flinging my self up into a seating position, holding the side of my head. "Kai-"
"Y/N! YOU'RE AWAKE!" A shout from beside me cut me off, just as I felt someone crash into the side of me, clutching my arm.
I turned my head to the side, glancing down at Chopper, the culprit behind the sudden shout. "Chopper?"
"WAAAAHHHH I WAS SO WORRIED!" Chopper shouted, crying into my arm.
I let out a sigh of relief, chuckling as I brought the hand that was on my head to pat his. "I'm fine Chopper, no need to worry."
"(Y/N!)!" I brought my head up to see Nami turned her head in my direction with relief. "Glad to see your awake!" She smiled, as I gave her one in return. "Now that you're awake..." She trailed off, pointing behind her. "TALK SOME SENSE INTO THIS IDIOT WOULD YOU?!"
Confused by what's going on, I looked to see she was pointing at a cage, where a beat up Luffy was in, pouting.
"Y/N... Nami's being mean...!" Luffy pouted, pointing back at Nami.
"MEAN?! YOU ALMOST GOT US KILLED!" She schreeched, baring her teeth.
I look over to Jimbei, giving him a confused look, "What's going on? And what happened while I was out, last I remember was fighting Kaido before..." I trailed off before gasping, "Is Kin'emon and the others okay?! And Momonouske-!"
Noticing my confusion, Jimbei cut me off and explained how Luffy managed to defeat Kaido and that Yamato and Momonouske stayed behind to protect Wano.
I let out a sigh of relief, looking up into the sky. "So we won huh..." I felt myself smile, feeling peace takeover my body. 'Wonder what'll happen now. Especially since we took down two of the four Emperors...'
"Look, we got new bounties!" I brought my gaze to Nami in interest as she walked down to where the rest of us were. They read:
Dr. Chopper The Cotton Candy Lover- 1,000 berries.
Navigator, Cat Burglar Nami- 366 million berries.
Musician, Soul King Brook 383 million berries.
Shipwright, Cyborg Franky 394 million berries.
Sniper, God Usopp 500 million berries.
Archaeologist, Devil Child Nico Robin 930 million berries.
Cook, Black-Leg Sanji 1.032 billion berries.
Helmsman, Jimbei, Knight of the Sea 1.100 billion berries.
Swordsman, Pirate Hunter Zoro 1.111 billion berries.
Fleet Captain, Emperor Straw Hat Luffy 3 billion berries.
And me? I had a bounty of 920 million berries. To say I was shocked, was an understatement. I didn't think I would receive such a high bounty, then again, I never found out what my previous bounty was after the war. It never interested me.
I stood up, careful of my injuries that I now was conscious of, and walked over to Nami to read the news coo. Turns out, not only was Luffy labeled as an Emperor, but Buggy as well. "Buggy? Seriously..." I panned, recalling Buggy from the war. "He's an Emperor?"
"Hard to believe right?" Nami chuckled, shaking her head. "Not only that, but he, along with Mihawk and Crocdile joined together..."
"What do you suppose they are up to?" I grumbled, reading the paper.
"Who cares? We'll just beat 'em up!"
The both of us turned our heads to see none other than Luffy smirking. "WHO LET YOU OUT?!" Nami screeched, as he only giggled in response. "Ugh." Nami sighed, placing a hand on her head. "I give up..."
I placed a hand on Nami's shoulder, taking a deep breath as if I was about to speak some words of great wisdom. "It's for the best."
...
It was late in the afternoon, and everyone was taking some long needed rest, relaxing in the ways they knew best.
Sanji, taking his time to cook an excellent meal to satisfy everyone. Especially to satisfy Luffy's never ending hunger.
Franky, building some new contraption for the Sunny, Usopp helping with some input to improve the weapons by means of ammo he developed the past couple of years.
Chopper, continuing his research to cure any and every disease, sickness, or injury known to man.
Nami, adding Wano to her world map, while writing all the adventures we had into the log book for the future.
Robin, relaxing on the deck, reading up on ancient history from decades ago about the worlds mysteries that have still yet to be uncovered.
Jimbei, enjoying the beautiful scenery, taking in the fresh smell of the sea as he steered the Sunny.
Brook, playing a relaxing melody to please everyone who was in ears reach of his beautiful music.
Zoro, sleeping as usual...
And Luffy, laying up on his signature spot atop of the Sunny's head, glancing out into the vast ocean.
Smiling to myself, I walked up towards the head of the Sunny. "Well, you've achieved the title of Emperor, and managed to take down Kaido... Big Mom being a bonus." I spoke up , glancing over to Luffy as I stood at the rail.
He hummed in response, a far away look on his face as he stared at the sea. I let out a chuckle at his nonchalance, glancing back out to the ocean. "So what's the next move?" I took a few seconds before I continued. "There's only two Emperors left."
I side glanced to make sure he was listening. I noticed his gaze harden, telling me he heard what I had said. "I know you will probably save Shanks for last, so that only leaves... Blackbeard..." I hesitated to say his name, knowing the bad blood between the two.
"Yeah..." Luffy rasped out, frowning slightly.
Noticing, I climbed onto the Lions Head and sat beside him. He turned his head slightly to face me, to which I gave him a reassuring smile. "What's on your mind?"
He let out a small sigh before speaking up. "I don't think I'm ready to face Blackbeard yet."
I widened my eyes, not expecting him to say that. "Why's that?" Right as the question left my mouth, I saw the sadness in his eyes.
"I've thought about fighting him over and over, but every time I do, I can't help but to think of Ace." He admitted, breaking his gaze and looking down.
I thought so. I frowned, knowing the guilt he must still be carrying. I grabbed his hand, playing with his fingers as I spoke. "I know what you are thinking and I am going to tell you that it will be fine. All of us trained for 2 years and got stronger for a reason... to fight alongside you till you become the King of Pirates."
He glanced back up at me, and he gave me a smile. "I know you guys are strong, I just don't want to lose anyone else..."
I pondered my next words before I spoke up. "How about this- let's take a break and go on a few adventures, then when you think your ready, we will take down Blackbeard and you can reunite with Shanks."
I watched as his mood perked up before he gave me his signature smile, along with his laugh. "Sounds good to me, Shishishi!"
"Then it's settled!" I giggled, matching his energy as I looked out to the sea once more. "Luffy?" I asked after a minute of silence. I got a hum in response. "What do you want to do after you conquer the seas?"
"I want to go back to Fosha Village and see Dadan and Makino. Oh! And we have to see Laboon again, that way you can meet him and Brook can see him again!" He beamed, causing me to chuckle. "Then..." He trailed off. "I want to visit Ace's grave..."
I nodded my head, "Sounds good, maybe we can get Sabo to come with us."
"Yeah..." He replied. After a few minutes, he spoke up again. "There's one more thing..."
Confused, I turned my head towards him. "What is it?"
He gave me a smile, snickering mischievously. "It's a secret!"
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Published: 02/17/2023