Money issues are one of the things Yukiko never thought pirates would have trouble with.
Then again, being such a successful trainer, Monarch to be honest, she would not know. The salary she makes is worth more than the chumps at the World Government would ever make in all their lifetimes. Combined.
Including her recent World Tournament Trophy!
But she also didn't expect to gain a boyfriend who is a pirate made of rubber and a literal black hole for food......
After evading the marines through a storm, the crew dropped anchor at a nearby island called Hannabal Island to resupply. It was already late, so they ate dinner at a dingy pub, which ended about the same as usual. Tons of plates stacked on the table and hardly any money left.
"Ahh~ I'm stuffed!" Luffy patted his belly with a mountain of plates piled up in front of him.
"I bet you are." Zoro scowled at him. "You ate a ton."
He laughed. "I still have room for more."
"That's enough!" Usopp ordered him.
Sanji let out a sigh as he finished the last bite to his meal. "Those were some simple, yet delicious dishes. Nami-san, Robin-chan, Yuki-chan, would you ladies care for some dessert?"
At the sound of hearing his girlfriend being called that, Luffy pulled Yukiko closer to him as she did sit next to him.
"I'm fine, thank you." Nami replied.
Yukiko nodded. "I'm good."
"I'll have some coffee." Asked Robin.
Sanji got up with a smile, walking towards the bar. "Certainly~."
"I'll have some more food!" Chopper asked.
"No fair!" Whined Luffy.
"No more for you!" Nami yelled at her captain.
"Eeeh?!"
"Don't 'eeh' me! Besides, Yukiko already gave you part of her dessert! If no one stops you, you're going to eat forever!" Nami finished.
"How are we doing on money?" Sanji asks as he brings Robin some coffee.
"Well, we haven't exactly earned anything." Nami answers. "Once we stock up on food we'll hardly have anything left."
"Great..." Sanji sighs, slumping in his chair.
"You know I could exchange some of my valuables for a good chunk of change. They are worth a lot. I even have Pokémon that can actually make more money." Yukiko offered.
"Yeah, but you already do a lot for us. Including feeding our captain and keeping him occupied. I don't want to give you more burdens than you need." Nami said.
"Alright, listen up!" Luffy suddenly announces. "I'm saying this as your Captain; you guys are spending too much money!"
...........
All the boys give him a hard pound for that, resulting in multiple lumps on his head as he hit the table. "BEFORE YUKIKO JOINED, IT ALL GOES TO FEEDING YOU!"
"Okay, but my offer is still up in case." Yukiko smiled as she sipped her drink as she sat with Luffy.
"Even so, this could be a problem in the long run." Sanji says.
Nami sighs, "There's gotta be some way to get some quick cash here."
Sanji shrugs, "Well, I didn't see any casinos or anything; we may just have to wait and hope that the next island has more to offer." He says.
While everyone talked amongst themselves and Luffy and Usopp where fighting over food, Nami noticed a pirate sitting down at the bar. She saw him place some coins on the table to show to the bar tender. At that moment, the bar tender brought the pirate to the back room, with him being the only one coming back out. She was curious to know what happened to the pirate...
"Doushita, Nami-chan?" Sanji asked, noticing her stares.
She shook her head. "It's nothing, really."
"The guy who walked in just now. Probably a pirate." Zoro stated, leaning back in his chair with his arms folded. "Plus, he had a suspicious exchange with the barkeep. Right?"
Nami tilted her head. "Zoro, you were watching him?"
He shrugged. "More like I caught it out of the corner of my eye. What do you think?"
"Beats me. Something seems to be up."
"What about you, Nami?" Zoro asked her.
She blinked. "What do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb." He smiled. "You smelled it, right? The scent of your beloved money."
"What?" Nami asked innocently. "Are you calling me a money-fiend?"
He closed his eyes, still smiling. "Am I wrong?" While they were talking, Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper where fighting over left overs while several small bones flew into Zoro's forehead, ignoring them. Chopper began to yell at the boys for throwing the food everywhere.
Sanji knelt forward defensively. "Why you! What did you say to Nami-san?!"
Nami interrupted him with a wide grin. "You got it! My favorite things are money and tangerines. I'd never pass them by~." She turned her attention to the others. "Luffy, Usopp, Chopper!" They stopped fighting to pay attention to her. "I smell an adventure. This isn't a time to be fighting."
Yukiko shook her head as she saw Luffy's face wound up. At least adventure can get him to stop eating....
--------
Suddenly the crew finds themselves heading down a tunnel that led to a surprising place.
It was a massive secret underground pub. They all shared in awe of the pirate flags around.
"Hey, Hey, Yukiko are you seeing this?" Luffy said taking her hand.
"Oh, I am! It's amazing!" Yukiko said.
"Pachi!"
"There's even a ship hanging from the ceiling!" Chopper said.
"What is this place? There were only a few ships at port when we arrived." Nami said in shock.
"Oi, babe." A pirate called out to Nami. "You come here to bet? The bookmaker's on the top floor."
Nami blinked. "Bookmaker?"
"Huh? You mean you're here to enter the race?"
Her eyes widened. "Race?"
"No way, don't bother! You'll just be wasting your lives doing that."
"Ah yes, so this is the place." Robin said, stepping forward. "It's been a while, so I didn't recall it at first."
"What is it Robin? You were here before?" Yukiko asked.
"I was here once before with the captain of the pirate ship I'd boarded. It's not regular, but they hold a race once every few years." She explained. "Organized by pirates for pirates, the anything-goes Dead End Race."
"By pirates?" Sanji repeated.
"Eh, ex-pirates , to be precise. All the citizens of this town were once pirates."
Luffy and Chopper nodded their heads. "Ah, I see~."
Robin continued. "The goal is different every time. But the starting point is always here. Participants sail via an Eternal Pose adjusted for the final goal. The rules are simple: whoever reaches the goal first is the winner. Then the winner will receive the prize. And whatever should occur in the route is your own problem. Sou... no matter what happens."
Zoro nodded. "That's easy to understand."
"As simple as figuring out what's going to happen next." Sanji commented.
"Though it does sound exciting, knowing the rush of it. I'm eager to enter." Yukiko said anticipating that she'll see many kinds of pirates.
Nami sighed. "The race sounds pretty dangerous. Well... it might not be so bad for a crew like ours... And it looks like you and Luffy and Yukiko are eager to join..." She looked up at the man who informed them of the race. "Ne, who else is entering the race? Do you know?"
The man laughed. "Eh? Are you really going to enter? Well, I'd say about a third of the guys here are entering."
Usopp smiled. "Ah~ That's a lot of people!"
"The guys at the bottom floor are the third favorite."
Usopp looked down. "Below?"
"See those big guys?" The man asked. "They're the giants Bobby and Pogo." The giants had old fashion armor on that looked like they were made out of wood and metal. They wore helmets that resembled Vikings as they ate and drank merrily.
Usopp smiled, remembering his encounter with giants before back on Little Garden island. "Ah~ So there's giants entering~!"
"Wow! I wonder if they knew Dorry and Broggy." Yukiko said to herself.
"And on the terrace in front of us, an old rival of Arlong and the second favorite, Grampus Merman Willy." Willy, who was surrounded by other mermen, looked like an older fatter version of an Orca whale, with white messy hair and long fangs. He wore an open shirt and torn shorts with goggles over his slit eyes.
Nami laughed nervously, remembering the horrible Arlong and his mermen when they once ruled her home island. "Eh heh heh. Even mermen..."
"This is my first time seeing one!" Yukiko said as Luffy and Chopper glomped onto her.
Luffy was overjoyed. "Uwaah~~ This is great~! There are so many people entering~! I'm really excited~! I wonder who's coming after us~!"
Nami quickly ran over to her captain and twisted her fist on the side of his head. "Wait just a minute, Luffy! We haven't decided yet if we're going to be entering in the race! Besides, there's no point in taking part in a crazy event like this! Listen!"
Robin walked up to the man. "Ne, how much is the prize money this year?"
He held his head up, remembering. "Hm... If I remember correctly, it's 300,000,000 berries this year."
Nami spun around with her fighting fist punching the air with determination. "YOSH~! We are entering the race~!"
Everyone cheered. "HAI~!"
"OI!" Usopp and Zoro shouted.
---------
As Nami and Sanji went to sign up, place a bet on themselves, and grab the Eternal Pose for their destination to Partia Island while the others went to grab food in the lounge. Robin stayed behind and sat at a table while sipping coffee. When Nami and Sanji returned, she learned that the favorite is General Gasparde. Soon after that, Nami learned that the food here was free and didn't have to worry about Luffy and the others pigging out without spending a dime.
The others gathered around an empty table where Luffy and Chopper instantly began to eat, already placing piles of dirty empty plates in the middle of the table. Usopp and Zoro grabbed drinks as the others ate. Yukiko was looking over her PC to determine which Pokémon to use.
"Weren't you full earlier as well?"
"Nope! That was only about 60%."
"E-eh... ok."
"The race starts tomorrow, right?" Luffy asked with food in his mouth. "I gotta get myself charged up for it"
"Gotta!" Chopper repeated.
"You don't have to echo him." Usopp teased.
Chopper's eyes went wide. "EH?! No I don't!"
At this point, Luffy began stretching and taking food from other tables and out of the waiter's hands. "Heehee~! I love this place~! The food just keeps coming and coming~!" Luffy muffled between food.
Zoro sighed. "Matakku.. You're stomach's bottomless... Ah?!"
Suddenly, Zoro's eyes went wide and he stood up at lightning speed, grabbing his swords. A man came up behind Luffy and slammed his head into the table, snapping it in two. The man wore a yellow jacket with two black sports stripes down the sleeves. He wore black pants that were rolled up just before the ankles, showing a bit of his tan legs before meeting his boots. His hair was wavy and short, almost shoulder length with a light color of auburn. A lone tattoo that looked like a sideways hook trailed across his left cheek.
"What was that for?" Zoro asked very calmly.
The man shook his fist. "What was that for? What was that for?! What was that... what was... THAT'S WHAT I SHOULD ASK!"
"I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!" Zoro shouted back at him.
"URUSEIYAI! He stole my food stretching his arms like that! Just because his arms can stretch doesn't mean...! His arms... can stretch..." It finally clicked in his mind. "HIS ARMS CAN STRETCH?!"
Usopp, Yukiko and Chopper swung their hands to the side. "A little too slow..."
Luffy got up, wiping his face from the food. "Yosh... You know what I'm gonna do, right?"
The man stood tall, staring at him with low eyes. "Omae... You have the ability of the Devil's Fruit?"
"So what?"
"Oi, oi, oi, oi tee mee rou!" Some angry pirates called out to them from behind. "Don't get cocky just because nobody's been saying anything about you stealing all the food! Do you even know who we are?!"
The man turned around to face them with an annoyed face. "Eh?!"
The pirates laughed. "We're part of Gasparde's crew. Do you think you could piss us off and get away with it?!" The man walked over to the pirates. "We'll kill you guys before the race even starts." They were now face to face. "What's this? Going to apologize? Hee hee too late!"
Oi!" Luffy walked behind him, grabbing the man's shoulder. "You were about to fight me!"
One of the pirates shot Luffy, sending him stumbling backwards. Their leader, who was face to face with the mysterious man, laughed. "Keep quiet." He looked at the man who had his eyes looking curious at the stumbling pirate. "Oi, pay attention to me!"
Luffy smiled. "Heh! That won't work. Because I'm rubber." The bullet bounced back at the pirates, shooting into a wall and perfectly missing all the other pirates. As everyone stared with slacked jaws, Luffy yelled at the pirates. "Oi! Why the hell did you do that?!"
The pirate who shot him stuttered. "Maa... I was going for more than just a startle... Who the hell are you?"
"Ore? I've eaten the Gum Gum Fruit. I'm a rubberman!" With that said, Luffy used his Gum Gum Pistol to knock some pirates over, sending a few against a wall. Luffy's arms pulled back into place and he smiled with his fist out. "How was that, morons~?"
"Bakemono!" Some pirates called him. "He has the ability of the Devil's Fruit? Just like Gasparde-sama!"
The pirates attacked the man and Luffy, only to fall against their amazing fighting skills. Luffy was doing well stretching and punching the pirates, while the other man defended perfectly with such swift movement as if he was light as a feather on his feet. Not forgetting the others, some of the pirates turned their attention to Zoro and the others, blocking them into a wall. Zoro stood tall in front of the pirates, while Yukiko stood ready and Usopp and Chopper crouched behind them.
Usopp shook. "T-they're coming!"
"They're coming!" Chopper repeated.
"Zoro! Sic 'em!" Usopp ordered.
Zoro sweat dropped. "Omae...!"
The men rushed towards him without a warning. Zoro simply grinned evilly at them and pulled out his swords. When they all swung at him at once, Zoro blocked them all perfectly with his Santouryu technique. "I don't feel like cutting you up, so don't make me." Zoro warned.
"W-who the hell is this guy?" One of the pirates asked nervously.
"Yosh~ good!" Usopp said as he and Chopper hid behind a pillar with thumbs up.
Zoro's glared at them. "You're over there?!"
As for Yukiko, some pirates ambushed, or tried to Ambush her only for Pachi to take them down with Swift and Thunder Wave.
"Wow, we didn't even need Blaise for this. These guys are weak." She remarked.
"Pa."
--------
The crew went back to the ship later that night and rested up for the big race the next day. As the sun came up, everyone was making the ship ready as they prepare for the Dead End Race.
While everyone was working on the ship, Nami kept staring at the Eternal Pose. She sighed. "It's still pointing at that mountain."
"What is it, Nami?" Luffy asked, springing down off the mast and landing next to the navigator.
"The Eternal Pose is pointing over the mountain."
"So the starting point is over there?" Sanji asked, climbing down the mast's rope.
Nami shook her head. "No. The bookkeeper explicitly said that this town was the starting point. "
"I don't see any other ships." Zoro pointed out on the upper deck. "Did they leave without us?"
"We are indeed at the starting point." Robin assured them. "This island has several rivers that branch in from the sea, and they meet at the main stream in front of us."
Nami blinked. "In front if us? You mean... There?!"
"The other ships should be on standby at the other branches." Robin continued. "The starting point is at the top of that mountain."
"E-eh wait a minute! You mean we're going up the mountain?!"
"Right. Just like you've experienced on Reverse Mountain, right?"
"Yes, but there was a huge current at the time..."
"There is one here too." Robin smiled. "Once every few years, a strong back current accompanied by a fierce gale arrives here. That's what we'll be using."
Sanji sneaked up next to her with hearts as eyes. "Ah~ you know everything, Robin-chan~!"
"I guess that's an understandable theory..." Nami agreed...
"Wow, this is like Reverse Mountain all over again." Yukiko said.
"So it's a mystery start!" Luffy said.
Usopp hit him in the chest. "Yeah right."
Yukiko looked at Luffy. "Are you sure about this? The ship was nearly wrecked the last time, remember?"
"Dont worry!" Luffy grinned as he side-hugged the whitette. "We'll make it somehow!"
"Sometimes your optimism amazes me." Yukiko smiled.
Nami suddenly sensed something in the air and spun around to the others. "The gale's coming! Luffy, hurry and reinforce the yards! Usopp, take the helm! Chopper, watch the aft! Sanji-kun, Zoro, watch the shrouds on both sides of the mast!"
A moment later, a large wind blows, and the Merry sails through a tunnel and find themselves sailing right through the town, hundreds of people watching and cheering on the streets.
"So this is what they meant by 'Parade Start'." Nami muses.
"Can't believe they make a big deal out of this." Yukiko said.
"Pachi." Pachi nodded.
"Oi oi oi oi~!" Usopp smiled. "You wouldn't have guessed, but it looks like a lot of people bet on us, ne?"
Luffy and Usopp threw the crowd a confident smile and held their fists into the air. "Yosh~! Leave it to us~!"
"You punks better not mess anything up!" A few members of the crowd shouted at them angrily. "I've bet on the favorite! If you get in the way, I'll kill you!" Usopp and Luffy sweat dropped and fell over.
Yukiko giggled at this.
"I can see other ships over there." Sanji calls out from the net ladder.
Yukiko sees multiple ships around and spots a large steampowered ship.
"Hey, look at that one!" Yukiko shouted.
Sanji follows her gaze and whistles, "That's a big one. It's probably fifty times the size of the Merry."
But the weird thing is that the sails have the Marine symbol on it, but it's crossed out with a big red X.
"That's the Salamander, the ship of the race's favorite, Gasparde." Nami explains.
"Gasparde?" Yukiko asked.
"He's an ex-Marine that they call 'The General'. Not only does he have a Devil Fruit power, but he has a bounty of 95 million." Nami said.
"95 million?!" Usopp yelled.
"So what?" Luffy asked.
"Luffy?" Usopp asked.
"I hate him." The former said.
Yukiko stayed silent. That meant Gasparde did something he didn't like while she was with the others.
The canals finally begin to join together and they end up between a number of pirates with pretty huge ships, including pirate crews of Fishmen and even Giants!
"Sheesh, if this is our competition, this is gonna be one exciting day!" Yukiko shouted.
They draw closer to the mountain and the current picks up, sending us almost straight up the mountain.
Then before they knew it, the ship flew off a waterfall!
The Merry drops like a stone along with the rest of the ships. After a few moments of free falling, the back of the Merry hits the bottom of the waterfall and they zoom across the water in a perfect landing.
Luffy had grabbed Yukiko and Pachi to keep them on deck on they landed.
"T-that...was the Grand Fall...?" Nami whimpers, completely overwhelmed from fear.
"Now's not the time to be lying around Miss Navigator!" Robin calls. The moment she says that, other ships begin to open fire on each other, decimating the competition left and right.
"Looks like the race has started." Zoro comments.
"And they are going at it." Yukiko said with a surprised look.
"From this point on, anything goes." Robin agrees.
"Usopp, guard the rear!" Nami orders.
"Me?!" Usopp shouted.
A good time because one is already on their tail. "Geez, one's after us already?" Usopp asks then sighs, tying his bandana around his head, "Fine, let's get this over with." He pulls down his goggles, takes aim, and lights the cannon. "Take this!" The cannon fires and the ship smokes before sinking completely beneath the currents.
"Excellent work!" Yukiko said.
"Yeah!" Usopp cheers. "Never underestimate the Great Captain Usopp!"
Another ship attempted to attack the Merry from the side but Yukiko was prepared.
"Lunala, Meteor Beam!" Yukiko said as Lunala launched cosmic meteors at the ship destroying it.
"Nice one, Yukiko!" Luffy shouted as he stretched and took Yukiko and Pachi to his side on the head of the Merry.
They watch as multiple ships are taking others and sometimes even themselves out. Some even crash into the land because they were in a bad position to make the sharp turn coming up.
"Boy, they're really going for it!" Luffy laughs.
"But that sharp turn is coming up..." Yukiko pointed out.
"Chopper, cut the helm!" Nami yells.
"I'm trying!" Chopper grunts, pulling at the tiller. "It won't move! It's stuck! The current's too strong!"
"What if we just kick it from below to help cushion it?" Zoro suggests.
"There's no way that would-" Nami cuts herself off and hits her palm with her fist. "Oh yeah, cushion!" She gets a smile on her face. "Oh Luffy~!"
In response, Luffy leaps and........ "Gum Gum...Balloon!" He inflates and the hull of the Merry hits him dead on. Luffy starts to roll, and using the current pushing the Merry, the ship springs into the sky.
Usopp runs to the rear to catch Luffy's hand as he stretches towards us and we start flying over the town.
"But now what do we do?" Chopper exclaims.
Robin crosses her arms. "Grand Fleur!"
Yukiko watches as hundreds of hands appear on the side of the ship closest to the water and the hands all come together to form one massive hand that grips a building. The hand grips the ground and yanks us sharply back towards the water.
"NICE ONE ROBIIIIIIN!" Luffy yells, still flying behind us in the air.
But they made it for the first part of the race.
"G-Great job Robin, just like I planned!" Nami says shakily.
"You liar!" Zoro snaps.
"Well, now that we're out of the town, let's enjoy the rest of the voyage." Robin says with a smile.
"Yeah! I'm really pumped up now!" Luffy cheers. "Let's go you guys! Let's win this race!"
"Aye!"
-----------
Once the crew was out on the open ocean again, the rest of the ships slowly sail out of sight. Soon, we're on our own on the quiet ocean. "I guess the others are taking the course they think is best." Usopp comments.
"This is probably a good time to make lunch." Sanji says.
"Yes! Fooood!" Luffy cheers.
"Zoro, you check the inside of the ship for any damage," Nami says.
Yukiko went with Sanji to make some food as well. She decided to make some of her Pokepuffs as everyone loved eating them.
She also let Sanji make the main course as she made the Pokepuffs, Moomoo Caprese Salad, Apple Salad, and some Ribombee Chocolate Cake.
But then Zoro came and said they got a stowaway. A little kid.
------------
"Wh...what happened?" The kid mumbles, blinking tiredly.
"Glad to see you awake!" Chopper says happily. "You would've been in pretty bad shape if that fever was left unchecked."
The kid blinks at Chopper and springs up, backing into the corner. "A talking deer!"
"I'm not a deer, I'm a reindeer!" Chopper snaps.
"That doesn't make it any better!"
"Shut up you brat!"
"Y-You...m-m-m-"
"If you're about to say 'monster', forget it." Nami steps in.
"That's right. He's actually the best doctor there is." Yukiko smiled.
"Sh-shut up! Your compliments won't ever make me happy you asshole!" Chopper says, doing his signature wiggle. I smile and giggle at the sight; that never gets old.
"Looking for this?" Everyone turns as Nami places the kid's pistol on the table, having taken it from Sanji when he found it earlier. "You've got guts bringing something like this onto a pirate ship; no one would bat an eye if you ended up dead because of it."
"So, what exactly are you after?" Nami asks. "Did someone send you, or are you here on your own?" The kid grits his teeth and starts to shake; guess he's finally realizing that she's in way over his head.
"C'mon, it's okay; the kid is still recovering after all." Chopper says, probably trying to keep the mood. "We can ask questions later."
"To kill you." The kid says softly. "To kill you all and make some money!"
Nami doesn't seem impressed, "Our bounties huh?" She sighs. "You know there were tons of other ships to choose from, why pick ours?"
"Hey! That's the Going Merry you're talking about!" Usopp snaps, he and Luffy having appeared in the doorway. "This is the ship of the infamous Straw Hat pirates!"
"No, this ship looked weaker than the others!" The boy retorts.
Usopp then turned to Luffy and...."Okay, now you can laugh."
Which the latter did.
"Pirates are used to being wanted dead." Luffy says. "If you aren't ready to die, then you aren't ready to take on any pirate."
Robin's hand suddenly appears on the table and tosses the pistol back to the kid. "Go on," She says. "Show us how serious you are."
He stares at the gun and grits his teeth. This oughta be good. "Don't mock me..." the kid growls and takes aim at Luffy. "YOU BASTARD!" Oh man, he's in for it now.
The pistol fires and hits Luffy right in the chest, but as expected, it just ricochets right back only missing the kid by a few inches.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" He screams.
"You never heard of them? They are mysterious fruits that take your ability to swim, but in turn you gain powers superior to other humans." Yukiko gave a quick explanation. "Luffy-kun being made of Rubber for example. And Robin and Chopper have powers too."
Once the explanation is done, he starts to shake even more. "Kill me..." she says softly, making my ears perk up. She sits down, her head low and resigned, "Just kill me now and get it over with!"
"I'd like to call you brave..." Nami says, "But aren't you treating your life a little too lightly?"
"I don't need to be lectured by a pirate." He spits. "I failed, so there's no point for me to stay alive." He smiles lightly. "It'd probably be better if I never even existed!"
"Zoro, I'm boring your sword." Nami says, getting up.
"What?" Yukiko said.
"I've heard enough of this self-pity crap." Nami growls. "But if you really want to die, then I'll go ahead and kill you myself!"
"Ahh! Nami, don't!" Chopper squeals, leaping between her and the kid.
"Stay out of this, Chopper!" Nami snaps, pointing the sword at the boy. "It's attitudes like that that really piss me off!" Nami glares at Anaguma, her eyes blazing. "No point to stay alive? What kind of talk is that?!" She demands. "You're alive now, so why don't you actually do something with your life instead of giving up and dying like a coward?!"
Thankfully, Yukiko stops Nami with Merlin who uses a Psychic to keep her away from the kid and them has Petal calm her down with Aromatherapy.
Thankfully after lunch, Sanji had a little pep talk with the kid.
-----------
That evening, the crew was being tailed by one of the bigger ships.
"Who's that?" Sanji asks, referring to the captain, who's doing most of the screaming.
"I don't know, but he's getting on my nerves." Zoro says.
"Oh yeah; he's the guy from the start of the race!" Usopp points out.
"Yeah; I think his name was Vigaro." Chopper agrees.
"Weird; I thought we were in last place." Robin remarks.
"So they're in last?" Luffy and Yukiko asks, causing the pirates to finally shut up.
"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Vigaro yells.
"Guess we were right!" Nami says.
"That's it! I'll crush your bones into-" Vigaro's cut off as Usopp shoots an egg right into his face. "Whoa, I hit him!"
"Nice one, Usopp!" Nami says, giving him a thumbs up.
"Great job!" Yukiko agree.
"Yeah! How do you like that?" Usopp cheers happily. Then the crew looked back to see the Vigaro pirates mad and Usopp retreats, as usual. "Alright; go get 'em you guys!" He says.
Zoro rolls his eyes.
"Hold on, we've got this." Zoro says as he and Sanji step forward.
"Just sit out and relax for once." Sanji says, following Zoro.
"I'll do the main course for dinner." Yukiko said as they went to work.
Zoro and Sanji jump onto the ship and a few seconds later, the fighting begins. Pirates go flying as Zoro and Sanji go to town with their swords and kicks.
Just then, the boat shakes ever so slightly.
"What was that?" Nami asks. "I don't know." Robin answers.
Vigaro's ship suddenly rises and hordes of sea serpents appear in a huge group, Vigaro's ship resting right on the snout of a particularly big one.
"SEA KINGS!"
"THEY'RE HUGE!"
"Idiots! Don't make so much noise!" Someone yells. The serpent carrying the boat narrows its eyes and the boat starts to slip off its snout.
"Zoro, Sanji, hang on!" Luffy said with a Gum Gum Slingshot.........but it aimed for the sea kings' nostral and......
"! Oh no." Yukiko realizes it.
And suddenly the sea king sneezes!
They all scream as we fly over the ocean and the Vigaro ship skids over the water before sinking.
-------
That night at dinner, the kid, now named Anaguma still hasn't moved from his spot against the wall.
"Oi, you gonna eat? We got some food for you. And you really gotta try Yukiko's tropical curry. It's really good!" Luffy said, crouching to Anaguma.
Anaguma stares hard at him. "Are you guys always like that? You tell me not to talk about dying, but then you go and do something dangerous like that!" Anaguma exclaims. "You could've died out there!"
" I guess that was pretty dangerous!" Luffy giggles.
"Don't laugh; this is serious!" Anaguma snaps. "Aren't you afraid of dying?"
He nods.
"Then why?!" Anaguma demands.
"Because we can't just throw our lives away." We look up as Luffy approaches us and crouches down near us. "We all have dreams and ambitions, things we want to do no matter what." Luffy rests a hand on my head and grins, "And if we die fighting for them, then it'll be worth it, no matter what!"
"That's right. I've already accomplished my dream before I joined this crew, and now I'm doing my new dream, exploring the Grand Line. And I'll do it the best I can." Yukiko smiled.
"So, do you want food or not?" Luffy asks.
"...Maybe just a little..." Anaguma finally relents.
Luffy giggles, "Great! Sanji and Yukiko makes the best food!" As if on cue, Sanji walks over and hands her a plate full of food.
It had Yukiko's signature Tropical Curry with riceballs and mocha pokepuffs.
-------
After dinner though, they are met with a shocking sight...... multiple wrecked ships as well as spotlights and sirens.
"This...this is a Marine stronghold!" Nami exclaims.
"Any idea what this could mean?" Sanji asks.
Nami shakes her head as she gazes at the Eternal Pose, "There's no doubt; the needle is pointing straight ahead!"
Robin gazes at the pose suspiciously, "Perhaps that Eternal Pose isn't what we think it is."
"In other words...." Yukiko said.
Nami and Sanji start and examine the Pose closely. Nami picks at the label and it falls away, revealing another name, most likely the name of this stronghold. This whole race was one big pirate trap from the very beginning! "Dammit, I knew there was something fishy about this!" Sanji mutters.
"It was Gasparde." Luffy growls, glaring at the carnage. "Only he would do something like this."
"How could you possibly know that?" Nami asks.
"I just do." Luffy responds.
"I think he's right." They all turn to see Anaguma. "My grandpa and I sail on his ship; and I remember seeing a whole bunch of Eternal Poses in the cargo hold. That's probably one of them."
"Pirates betraying pirates," Zoro muses. "Some 'general' he turned out to be."
"So what do we do know?" Usopp asks. "Go after him?"
"We won't be able to without a proper Eternal Pose." Nami points out.
"It's too late anyway!" Anaguma suddenly blurts out. "Now Grandpa's gonna..."
"Your grandpa?" Nami asks.
"Not my real grandpa; he found me and saved my life." Anaguma explains. "He's really old and sickly, but Gasparde says that he's not really a part of the crew so he won't help him!"
Nami nods in understanding, "That's why you snuck aboard our ship."
Anaguma silently nods sadly. "Are you stupid or something?" Luffy asks, catching her attention. "Your grandpa didn't save you so you could die."
"I...I know that..." Anaguma says, tears coming to her eyes.
"Then stop acting like you're gonna die!" Luffy says. "If you really want to save him, then get him off that ship; if you're not gonna stand up and fight, then you can't talk about risking your life."
Anaguma sniffs, "I...I don't need you...to tell me that!"
"Good." Luffy says, facing him with a grin. "Cause I'm gonna kick Gasparde's ass; wanna come?"
"You bet I do!" Anaguma exclaims through his tears.
"Well, that's that." Nami says with a shrug. "And it's not like we can give up on that 300 million prize money; we're gonna need a proper Eternal Pose to get there."
"H-Hold on..." Usopp stutters. "It sounds like we're gonna actually take on Gasparde! Wait, how are we even gonna find him?" Usopp asks as they get away.
"Easy; with Chopper's nose!" Luffy answers.
"Got it!" Chopper says seriously.
"There's no way that will work..." Usopp grumbles.
"Relax, just leave the rest to me!" Nami says and we sail on.
------------
Surprisingly, the Merry actually managed to find Gasparde's ship with Chopper's sense of smell and Nami's navigating.
Once they got within a good distance, Luffy let out a battle cry and stretched on over to the ship, itching to get the fight started.
Yukiko and Pachi got on Suicune who leapt up as the mast had already toppled over.
Luffy must really be ticked.
Sanji, Zoro, Anaguma and Yukiko board the ship in time to see Luffy and Gasparde having quite the stare down.
She noticed a man wearing a yellow suit lying, badly injured, on the ground between the two. He must've tried to take out Gasparde before them; safe to say that didn't end well.
Sanji waits by the ladder while Zoro, Anaguma and Yukiko go look for his grandpa. Luckily, he's right out on the main deck.
Anaguma tells him that they're finally getting off this ship and Grandpa seems surprised by her attitude.
As things were looking intense, Luffy looked to Yukiko and gave his hat to her.
"Be careful!" Yukiko said as she took Anaguma to safety.
Though it turned out Anaguma was really a female named Adale Bascud.
---------
In the end during the storm, Gasparde lost and Luffy won.
Yukiko got Minerva to find the other man and Luffy and Adale's grandpa.
---------
Everyone else comes out to greet them only to have Chopper screech in alarm at Luffy's condition. It's not as bad as other fights he's had, but he's definitely seen better days. Luckily, it doesn't take him long to wake up (and for Yukiko to shove his hat back onto his head and giving him a kiss), and he doesn't even need that many bandages; a majority of his injuries are just bruises.
"From now on, I'm going into battle with you, no arguments, alright?" Yukiko said to Luffy as they set sail.
"Yosh! I don't mind." Luffy giggles.
However, the whole situation quickly becomes very awkward. Adelle's grandpa tells them that the Bounty Hunter guy and Adelle are actually brother and sister. They were separated when Gasparde attacked their island and killed their parents, and Grandpa saved her, but she lost her memory.
After that, Grandpa actually gives them the real Eternal pose of the real goal island. He had taken it as he thought it would be the perfect place to continue raising Adelle and give her brother a place to stay. With a proper Eternal Pose in hand, it isn't long before the real island comes into view.
"Is that it?" Chopper asks.
Nami nods, "No doubt, that's the goal island; which means..." We all look at each other excitedly.
"WE WON!"
However, our victory is short lived.
"Pachi!" Pachi panicked as she pointed to..............
"MARINES!" Usopp yells. "When the hell did they get here?!" Nami shrieks.
"Wait a sec!" Sanji exclaimed. "They're the same guys that were chasing us before the race!"
"Don't tell me they were waiting for us!" Yukiko exclaimed.
Adelle, her brother, and Grandpa gather up their few belongings and we hurry them into the lifeboat.
"But why?" Adelle demands. "Why won't you just tell them that you saved us?"
"Are you kidding? The Marines would never listen to us!" Usopp says.
"We're pirates, after all." Nami adds with a shrug. "We have no choice but to retreat when they come along."
"But...But..." Adelle stammers, tears pricking her eyes.
"You're going to a new island to rebuild your life, so you can't be seen associating with us." Nami continues before smiling. "And remember, don't go around treating your life like it's nothing, okay?" She gives one final wave and walks off.
"Take care!" Usopp calls.
"You're sure to be a fine young lady one day." Sanji says.
"And when you do, be careful who you pick fights with." Robin adds.
"Work hard." Zoro chimes.
"And take care of yourselves!" Chopper calls with a wave.
Yukiko and Luffy were the only ones left.
Shiuriya just smirks. "Whatever. I don't want to see you again."
Luffy smiles as he cuts the rope.
"Bye! Take care!"
"Be careful out there!" Yukiko said as she waved.
"Pachi, pachi!" Pachi waved goodbye too.
Luffy and Yukiko returned to the deck as they walk holding hands and stop as they see Nami, leaning on the railing, looking pretty down.
"Well, this is a surprise." Zoro remarks. "I never thought that you'd actually give up on that prize money."
"It couldn't be helped..." Nami says dangerously. "I mean we had no choice right?!" Yukiko sighs as Nami starts strangling Zoro until Yukiko has Petal to calm her down again.
"C'mon, it's okay!" Luffy says with a toothy smile. "Don't worry, we'll find some other way!"
"Don't worry, I'll have my golden Nuggets to exchange for currency once we hit land again." Yukiko smiled.
"They are right," Sanji says, stepping up. "But for now, we should probably take care of these guys." He said looking back at the Marines.
"I'm tired of being a poor pirate..." Nami moans, slumping. "How do you guys always stay so upbeat?"
"Better than fiddling and moping around." Yukiko said.
Nami then perks up, "Listen up; we have to lose these ships so we can sail to the next island!" She yells. "So get moving!"
"Yes, my dear!" Sanji says.
"Way ahead of you." Yukiko said as she took out a wave ball.
"Neptune, lose these guys and give us a head start with Surf!"
Her Wailord appeared shocking the Marines as the Merry sailed on a large wave.
"Alright!" Luffy cheers, clenching his fists. "Let's go!!"
"Aye!"
--------------
At Marine HQ.........
A group of Marines have gotten word that the Strawhats have gotten away again.
Others that were there, or forced to, whoever you ask, included Hawkeye Mihawk, Boa Hancock, Bartholomew Kuma, Doflamingo, Jinbe, and Gekko Moria.
Then they hear an outrageous thing that some kind of whale appeared out of nowhere to help them get away.
"This is like the story of those Djinns..." One officer said.
As they were discussing this, three people came into the room. They all wore scientists coats along with a marine coat of arms they don't recognize.
"Djinns? What Djinns?" A woman with Violet hair said getting everyone's attention.
"Hm? And you are?" Sengoku asked.
"Andrew Hargrove." A man with brown hair said.
"Luis Hill."
"Lilia Rosemont, we are researchers under Dr. Cypress, head of MONARCH. A top-secret government research facility closed off to even the Celestial Dragons." The Violet haired woman said surprising the people in the room.
"What brings researchers of such an elusive group here?" Tsuru asked.
"We have proof of what's been going on is true. And it means more than you think." Lilia said.
And files appeared before all the people with photos of Thundurus, Landorus, Enamourus and Tornadus. And one of an ancient mural depicting them.
"Turns out, Alabasta had ancient murals of them, thought to be lost to time. They were known as the Forces of Nature. At one point, they herald the coming of a certain season they were aligned with.
Enamourus, the Herald and Blesser of Spring
Thundurus, Herald of Summer and Bringer of Storms
Landorus, Herald of Autumn and Lord of the Harvest
And
Tornadus, Herald of Winter and the Wind.
They are also said to bring the rain wherever they go.
And what happened in Alabasta was no coincidence. They were waiting for Crocodile to be exposed to bring it back.
Only they could some a colossal rainfall that could provide a country years of water.
And they are just the beginning." Lilia said grabbing their attention.
"There's more out there." Luis said.
"What do you mean 'more'?" Sengoku asked.
"......This world never belonged to humans. And it never belonged to the Celestial Dragons either. It belonged to them. The re-emergence of these Djinns prove it. They were the ones who were really in charge of the world's balance, but certain events forced them and the people that stayed loyal to them to vanish to an unknown place. Its also been said their return means that two certain beings will return as well. The real question you should be asking, 'How long before they decide to reclaim it?'" Andrew said.
Then a transponder snail began filming.
"Those Djinns............are not the only Gods." Lilia said.
Then the marines and Warlords then saw a series of murals depicting certain creatures of titanic sizes.
Rayquaza
Groudon
Kyogre
Xeraneus
Yvetal
Kyurem
Lugia
Giratina
Dialga
Palkia
The Regis
Lunala
Solgaleo
Necrozma
The Titan Birds
Hoopa Unbound
Eternatus
But the most disturbing one was one that had
Arceus
And around him looked like destroyed buildings of the Holy Land.
---------
I decided to include a little Godzilla twist to this!
And how do you think the warlords, marines, and the five elders would react to this?
Let me know what you think!