On the Thousand Sunny, Ben was in the aquarium room looking at the aquatic species feeling relaxed. This was something he needed for a while with all of the chaos that was going on. It's like a therapy session for him to ease his mind and look at the beautiful and interesting creatures that are in the ocean. Before he went on this big adventure to save Rias, he had been doing some research on marine creatures back in his world and was always curious to know what other marine creatures were in the waters. While he was looking at what creatures were in this tank, he turned around and saw Luffy walking over to him. "Oh hi, Luffy! What brings you here?"
Luffy looks at the boy while he is holding a fishing rod smiling "Chopper, Usopp and I are gonna go fishing and see what we can catch so Sanji can cook for us to eat on the ship! Would you like to join us to fish and see what's out there?"
Ben smiles and nods at Luffy's offer. He always wanted to fish and get a feel of the experience! "Of course, Luffy! I would like to fish with you guys!"
Luffy smiled as he patted Ben on the head "That's what I like to hear! Cmon Ben! Let's go!" He leads the kid to where the others are as he hands the boy a rod "Remember Ben. When it comes to fishing, it takes patience. You don't want to rush yourself trying to catch a fish!"
Ben received the rod Luffy handed to him and listened to every word he said to him about fishing. "OK, Luffy! Thanks for the information about fishing! Now let's see what's out there!" The kid tossed the line into the water until it hit the bottom and waited patiently for a bite. About a minute goes by, and the boy hooked into something "Got a fish on!"
Usopp looked at the boy as he walked over to him "Reel it in Ben! Let's see what you caught!"
"Ok, Usopp!" Ben reels in his line and sees that he has caught a pufferfish. "Wow! A puffer fish!" Just then, the boy paused for a moment. He has been researching marine creatures, and he knows what could happen if he were to take a bite out of this puffer fish if it was food. "...I don't think we can keep and cook this fish."
Chopper looked over to the kid and tilted his head. "What makes you say that, Ben? Is it dangerous? It doesn't look like it to me aside from it being prickly"
Ben looked at Chopper and nodded "Yeah. It's dangerous. But aside from being prickly, I did some research saying that it's very dangerous to eat if you don't cook it properly. I read in a book saying that its toxin is more deadly than cyanide...But, now that I think about it..." The kid then looked at Luffy after giving a little more thought about this fish "Hey Luffy. Didn't you say that Sanji is the best cook around?"
Luffy smiled and nodded "You bet! He can cook anything! But I don't think he cooked a pufferfish before. Let's go and ask him just to be on the safe side"
Ben nods agreeing with Luffy "You're right. Let's ask him" The kid then walks with Luffy to where Sanji is as the two enter the kitchen "Hey Sanji. There's something we would like to ask you after I caught a specific species of fish"
Sanji puts some of his stuff down as he turns around to look at the two "Sure. What is it that you caught, Ben?"
Luffy walked over to Sanji "Ben caught a pufferfish, and we aren't sure that we can eat it since it's very poisonous to eat it...Sanji. I knew you for a long time, but there was something I never asked you. Can you properly cook a pufferfish without any of us dying from it after eating a piece?"
Sanji listened to what the two were explaining, and he nodded smiling. "Of course, I can, boys! I've been cooking a lot of fish before I joined your crew, and I'm able to cook the pufferfish just fine! You can count on me! Besides. I did tell you I'm the best cook around!!"
Ben and Luffy smiled after listening to what Sanji said "Great! We'll bring the pufferfish to the fish tank right now!" The boys walk back outside and bring the pufferfish into the fish tank.
Luffy looked at the boy patting his head proud of what he caught "Great catch, Ben! Let's go see what else is out there!"
Ben smiles after he felt Luffy pat his head looking up at him "Thanks Luffy. And yeah! Let's go!" He walked back to where Usopp and Chopper were waiting and resumed fishing. While the boy was waiting for a bite, he noticed Robin sitting on the chair noticing that she was reading something. The boy decides to set the level wind reel to make a clicking sound that way he'll know there's something on the line, and walks over to where Robin is sitting. "Hey, Robin. What are you reading?"
Robin looks at the kid and smiles "I'm reading about a sunken ship I heard about from Mario's world. The name of the ship is still unknown, but it says here that a shark named Jonathan Jones who is the captain of this ship is still alive."
Ben was surprised after listening to what Robin had said about this legendary ship and this captain. He would always enjoy listening to stories from other heroes he met from other worlds, but it seems like he never heard Mario bring up this story about Jonathan Jones. "Wow. I don't think Mario told me about this back at Rosalina's observatory. I wonder if he's a nice guy- I mean shark if we meet him"
Robin smiled "Me too, Ben...I've been hearing some rumors before you came to this world that he might be here in our world right now."
"Wait, really?!" Ben was shocked after hearing what Robin said
Robin nods "Yeah. What are the chances anyway? We might see him here in our world."
Ben smiled feeling excited that they might see him in this world "Looks like we'll have to wait and find out if we meet him." Before he could finish his conversation with Robin, he started to hear his fishing line scream signaling that he had a fish on. "Yikes! I gotta go, Robin!! There's a fish on!" The kid ran over to his fishing rod as he didn't want this fish to escape
Robin laughed watching the kid run over to his fishing rod after "Haha! Don't worry Ben. Good luck catching that fish!"
Ben was reeling in his line and was pulling it back trying to catch this massive creature! "What the heck is on the end of this line?! It feels like a grouper!!!"
"Let me help you out, buddy!" King K. Rool runs over to the kid and helps him reel in this massive fish. "I saw a lot of fish to catch back in the jungle, but I don't know what you have hooked into!! You might've caught a monster!!!"
Luffy then joins in helping the boy catch this massive creature. "I don't know about you Ben, but I think you hooked into a monster!!"
"My thoughts, too!!" Ben continued to reel in this monster as he could see it break the surface it was a massive Octopus!!"
"HOLY GOD!!! LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THIS OCTOPUS!!"
Ben saw that the Octopus still had some fight in it, but was determined to bring it to the boat! "Come on!! We can do it!!" As he continued to give it his all trying to bring this beast onto the ship, he noticed there was someone on the octopus' head. "Wait who is that person?"
Luffy looked at the person Ben noticed and gasped "That's Bartolomeo!! He's a friend of ours!! Looks like we better kill this octopus for us to eat and help our friend!"
Ben Listened to what Luffy said and nodded "Right! Let's do this!"
-jump cut-
Bartolomeo stands back up after the chaos that happened after he was on that Octopus.
"Man. It felt like a rodeo while I was on that massive octopus! Thanks for saving me guys"
Luffy smiled "No problem Bartolomeo!"
Bartolomeo then looked at the kid who caught that octopus. He was proud that this kid who was so young managed to catch a massive marine creature like an octopus "Thanks for helping me too, kid. I owe you one!"
Ben smiled at Bartolomeo after hearing what he said to him. "No problem, Bartolomeo. If I may ask,...what the heck were you doing while you were on that octopus?"
Bartolomeo smiled as he was more than happy to bring up why he was riding that octopus in the first place "I was on the search looking for Jonathan Jones! I've been hearing some rumors that he's in our world right now, and I want to meet him so badly!!"
Robin chuckled after hearing what Bartolomeo said "I've been hearing that rumor, too!!"
Just then, it hit Bartolomeo on what was going on "Wait..." He then looks at Ben as his eyes begin to sparkle with excitement. "Are you the kid named Ben who's on a mission to save Rias?"
Ben was shocked by his sudden excitement and nodded "Y-Yeah. That's me."
Bartolomeo then hugs the boy tightly as if he were an uncle to the boy "I knew I would meet you one day!! Riser has been going all over the place in this world causing chaos and he left with tons of enemies for us to fight against! We even need to get power stars because things have gone even more crazy with enemies we fought in the past!"
Zoro felt more determined after hearing what Bartolomeo told everyone now wanting to get to where Riser is more than ever "What are we waiting for? Let's find Jonathan Jones, go to where Big Mom is quick so we can defeat her, and find where Riser is!"
Jinbe was surprised after hearing such determination from someone like Zoro. "Wow. I never knew you wanted to get to Riser and defeat him so badly."
Zoro looked at Jinbe nodding. "Well, after hearing what Ben had to go through while living with Riser, he doesn't deserve that much torture. He deserves a much better life!"
Brook looked at Zoro after hearing what the swordsman was saying "You got a big heart for someone who is usually cold, Zoro. I like that!"
Nami was taking a look at what was ahead of them in the sea and saw something she wasn't ready to see. "Hey, Ben! Check this out!"
"Hm?" Ben runs over to where Nami was after hearing her call out to him. It sounded urgent from the way she was calling him "What is it Nami?"
Nami handed the boy binoculars so he could see what she saw "Look right over there. It looks like a sunken ship with part of it exposed above the surface"
"Part of a sunken ship exposed?" He looks through the binoculars and sees what Nami is talking about
"Wow! That could be where Jonathan Jones is! Robin told me about him, and that ship could match the description of his ship!! Let's head over there quickly so we can have him join our team!"
Nami nods knowing that this mission is bigger than she thought "You're right, Ben! Let's go!!"
-one montage of going to that area of the ocean and defeating certain enemies along with collecting power stars later-
Later, the crew finally makes it to their destination. Hopefully, Jonathan Jones is still on the ship so he can join the rest of the gang. But before Ben can go underwater and look around the sunken ship, Franky equips him with scuba gear and swimwear before he goes into the ocean and finds Jonathan. "Be careful down there, Ben. We've never been around this area of the sea before, and I have no idea what's down there"
Ben puts the equipment on listening to Franky's advice. He knew what Franky was explaining and he too didn't know what could be in this area of the ocean "Ok Franky. I'll be careful" He then dives into the ocean swimming towards the sunken ship. He swims around the sunken ship trying to find Jonathan. After ten minutes go by, the kid swims back to the surface and climbs up the ladder as he goes back onto the ship. It was clear that he was disappointed that he couldn't find him. "*sigh* No one's home..."
Sanji walks over to the kid and lightly pats him on the back. He knew the kid was determined to find Jonathan, but he knew this was just the beginning "Don't blame yourself too hard, Ben. He might still be there."
Ben felt Sanji comforting him as he smiled softly. He knew there was nothing else he could do right now, and hopefully, they could meet him someday "You're right, Sanji. Hopefully, we'll see him before we go on a mission to defeat Big Mom." Just then, the boy remembered something while he was researching sharks back in his world. This could be the only chance for them to meet Jonathan! "Wait a minute...I have done my research on sharks, and Jonathan is a shark, too!! I read that during the night, sharks are more active!!! This could be our only chance!!"
Robin listened to what Ben was explaining and smiled "Ben has a point. It sounds like he's been doing his research on marine creatures more than I have."
Ben heard the compliment Robin brought up as he smiled softly and blushed. "Hehe. Thanks, Robin. I have a strong passion for doing my research on animals, especially sea creatures after all"
Luffy then came out with a set of fishing rods. After hearing what Ben was explaining, he wanted to get a chance to catch other species of fish in this area!
-as the night rolled in
Ben was resting by the rods waiting for a bite. He and the boys caught some suitable-sized fish for the ship, but no sign of the shark captain, Jonathan Jones. He was about to take a nap when he heard the line to the reel begin to click. He slowly holds up the rod waiting for the right moment to set the hook. Until then, the line begins to scream sounding like something strong and fast was on the end of the line! "FISH ON!!!" The boy sets the hook and starts fighting the fish. He didn't know what he hooked into, but it feels strong!! He looks over to the side, and yes! It was him!! It was Jonathan Jones!! "Guys!! I need help!! I have Jonathan Jones at the end of my line!!!"
Luffy ran over to the commotion he used his arms to stretch and brought the shark captain onto the ship "Got him!!"
Ben runs over to Jonathan and notices that he is just,.........fine. He wasn't injured or anything. He was perfectly fine. "Wait...You're alright?"
Jonathan Jones stands up and looks down at the kid
(Credit to Nintendo)
"Yep. I'm alright and not injured. I used MY hook to get a hold of that line, and I knew above the surface was The Thousand Sunny. I heard what's going on in this world, and Big Mom is hiding somewhere, and this was my previous spot I thought of looking for her since this is where she last was..."
Zoro was scratching his head completely perplexed "So, you wanted to get caught on purpose to help us??"
Jonathan looked at Zoro and nodded "Yep."
Bartolomeo runs over to the shark with his eyes sparkling. His fan-boy instincts kicked in "Jonathan!! I'm your biggest fan!! Can I please have your autograph?!"
Jonathan looked at Bartolomeo surprised. He never knew he would have someone who is a fan of him in this world "Hehe. I think it's best we do that after we defeat Big Mom"
Nami looked around herself for a moment as she saw something big in the distance, and it was not a good sign. "Guys? We got company!!"
Ben looked ahead and there she was! It was Big Mom!! "Looks like we finally meet, Big Mom!!"
Big Mom was fuming looking at the crew with her fists clenched "It's Charlotte Linlin, you pathetic kid!! And I will not be defeated by a crew like you all!!"
Ben got fired up and that was enough for him to go into action "Alright!! Bring it on!!"
*insert battle music*
(Credit to the original artist Nathan Evans; covered by Little V. Mills)
-after the battle-
Jonathan Jones puts his Trident on Big Mom's face ready to finish her off "Any last words before you die?"
Big mom looked at the shark as she smiled "Get off me,...you pest!!" She still had some energy in her as she slapped Jonathan off of her face "Good luck trying to defeat me again at Wano, Hay stacks!!" She gets up and starts making her way towards Wano
"Jonathan!" Ben runs over to Jonathan and helps him stand back up "Are you ok?"
Jonathan gets back up holding onto the kid "Yeah. I'm alright...She got a lot more strength than I thought..."
Nami looked at the crew determined. "Let's make our way towards Wano quick!! We have been there before, but this will finally be the chance she is done once and for all!! Let's go, everyone!!"
"ALRIGHT!!!!"
To be continued...