Everyone began to get to work preparing the Sunny for underwater departure to Fish-Man Island. Franky dove into the water and after a few seconds, (Y/N) saw the ship's coating beneath her begin to rise. "Hey. What's it doing?!" Luffy smiled at the sight as the coating lifted. Usopp quickly added into his captain's questioning. "Are we sure this is supposed to inflate?!"
"Yep! You guys are going to love this." (Y/N) smiled at her crew from ear to ear as the coating rose.
Soon enough, air filled the ship's coating making Chopper yell out. "Woah! Now our boats got a bubble roof!!"
"This is how it works!" Nami held out the paper Rayleigh gave her. "A ship that is properly coated has the ability to withstand almost any sort of pressure, but it also has very little buoyancy. The floating bag, beneath the ship, is the only thing keeping us afloat. By deflating it, the Sunny will become less buoyant and begin to sink! It's pretty simple really." (Y/N) cockily nodded her head in agreement with Nami's words since she already knew the information.
"Huh. Interesting." Luffy and Zoro stared off into the sea.
"Maybe not simple enough." Nami and (Y/N) blankly stared at the two before Nami continued. "Forget about it for now! Let's spread the sail!"
Brook and Chopper questioned their navigator about the sails before Robin explained. "We use it to catch the water current. Similar to how we would use the wind above sea level."
"I was hoping we would just sink down to Fish-Man Island. Darn." Usopp sassed making (Y/N) cross her arms at him. "I wish it was that easy, but it shouldn't be too difficult. I've met only a few sailors and pirates that came from the other side of the Grand Line, they said they're voyage wasn't too rough." (Y/N) placed her hand on her chin, thinking aloud. "Still... I wonder why there were so few."
"Perhaps the others drowned to death under the sea?" Robin calmly questioned making Usopp and Chopper scream in fear.
"Alright!" Nami yelled out to her crew. "We better hurry, unless we want to get into another fight!"
(Y/N) was working on untying the sails when she looked up to see two more marine vessels approaching. 'Damn. Looks like reinforcements are here.' (Y/N) looked over at Chopper on the other side of the sails when the reindeer yelled out for his crew, informing them about the battle ships. 'Ah, he must have saw the same thing.' (Y/N) stared up in awe at the large bird, Chopper and the others rode in on before, flew overhead the Sunny and towards the marine reinforcements. The bird tore the sails on the war ships making (Y/N) grin. Her smile didn't last for long when cannons were fired behind the Sunny. "I got it!!" Sanji yelled out before leaping though the sky and successfully kicking down the cannonball fired at the Sunny. 'I definitely could have had that, but go off, I guess.' (Y/N) shrugged and got back to work.
"NO! NOT AGAIN!!" Chopper screamed out making (Y/N) look up. She giggled when she saw Sanji falling in the air, blood spilling from his nose. 'I wonder what has him on Cloud Nine this time? Probably Nami.. yeah, definitely Nami.'
"You guys ready?!" Nami yelled up to the Zoro, Brook, Chopper and (Y/N) on the sails.
"Yeah! We're all set!" Zoro yelled back.
The Straw Hats waited in a peaceful silence for their captain's orders. Luffy stood on the foremast's bench before speaking to his crew. "Alright. Listen up, guys!!" (Y/N) smiled at her captain as he continued. "There's a lot I want to say and we don't have much time. One thing can't wait though. What you went through these past two years was selfish of me. So thanks for putting up with it."
"You make it sound like this has never happened before." Sanji sassed his captain, Usopp adding in. "That's no joke. You've always been a selfish piece of work."
Luffy giggled at his crew mates. The Sunny started to submerge in the water as Luffy took a deep breath of air. "SPREAD THE SAILS!!" The four on the sails quickly jumped down after hearing their captain's orders. Luffy help up his arms, shouting for all to hear. "LET'S GOOO!!"
"YEAHHH!!" The Straw Hats cheered on their captain's orders before the Sunny sunk into the ocean.
(Y/N) felt tears form in her eyes. "Ugh, it's just like old times."
Luffy yelled out. "We're off to Fish-Man Island!!"
(Y/N) wiped the joyful tears from her eyes as Zoro walked up to her. "You're such a cry baby."
"I'm just happy everyone's back." (Y/N) looked at her crew mates around her. "My family is really back and we're really going on a new adventure. It's like a dream come true. And look at this place... it's beautiful." (Y/N) walked up to Sunny's railing, leaning over the edge as she looked up at the mangrove roots submerged in water.
Brook hurried up next to (Y/N), clutching Sunny's railing as he stared up at the roots in awe. "Yohoho! Look at that! They're really trees, huh?"
Luffy giggled as he hugged (Y/N) from behind. "Wow! I totally forgot about that!" He sighed in awe as he placed his head on (Y/N)'s shoulder, looking up at the sight.
The crew shared few moments of beautiful silence, fully taking in the sight of the huge underwater mangrove roots. Sanji spoke up. "They're giant mangroves. You can't tell when you're up top, but it sure quite a sight to see from down here."
"The majesty of nature is truly humbling! Why my eyes would be popping out of my skull! Well if I had any eyes to speak of, I mean! Yohohoho!" Brook happily spoke to his crew.
(Y/N) rolled her eyes at her skeleton crew mate before Zoro calmly spoke. "Who cares? I've seen this." Sanji quickly yelled at the swordsman for getting on the wrong ship. 'What the hell are they even going on about...? Ya know what? Don't tell me. I don't want to know.' (Y/N) went back to peacefully watching the mangrove roots pass by the Sunny as the ship descended.
Robin stared at the sight in awe. "These roots. They're beautiful... and think about it. They stretch all the way down to the bottom on the sea." (Y/N) dug our her vision dial from her bag, snapping photos on the ocean. Robin curiously turned to the (h/c) haired woman. "You still have your vision dial, (Y/N)?"
"Yup!" (Y/N) giggled as she snapped a photo of Robin. "I've kept this baby in great condition."
The two shared a smile, but was interrupted by their captain's joyful yells. "Ooo fishies! I bet I can grab 'em!"
'I didn't even notice he hopped off my back.' (Y/N) lightly shook her head and turned to her captain. Her eyes popped out of her head along with Usopp's when they saw Luffy cling onto Sunny's air bubble. (Y/N)'s attention was quickly stolen by Zoro pulling out one of his swords. "I see. These look pretty good, too. Here it goes."
Both Chopper and Usopp quickly gave the two morons, trying to destroy Sunny's coating, a big bump on their heads. Usopp irritatedly screamed out. "That's not funny!!!" Chopper quickly added in. "If you pop that bubble and we all die, I'LL KILL YOU!! Twice!!"
"Seriously! What were you two thinking?!" (Y/N) irritatedly yelled at her captain and swordsman.
The two quickly stood up, holding their heads in pain as Sanji spoke up. "Nami. You know how the coating works, right? Can we get some basic tips before another idiot flips out on us?"
"Good point." Nami looked back at her chef as she spoke. "Okay. Rayleigh gave me a map, but I can summarize it. (Y/N), do you mind giving me some help explain?" (Y/N) innocently turned to her navigator with a slightly confused face before Nami explained. "Don't you know how the coating works?"
"Oh yes! I helped Pops multiple times with coating ships." (Y/N) shook her head with a small smile on her face as she placed her hands on her hips. "He called it 'training', but I think he just wanted some extra help."
Both (Y/N) and Nami turned to her crew mates, smiling at them. "Listen closely, okay?"
"They're real!! I can die happy!!" Blood poured from Sanji's nose making the chef fly through the air and slam into the bubble roof.
"SANJI!!" Chopper, Luffy and Usopp yelled at their chef before Chopper yelled out. "You don't have to take us with you!!" Usopp quickly added in. "Who's flipping out now, idiot?!!"
Sanji pressed against the bubble before popping out of it making Chopper, Luffy and Usopp scream out. "WHAT?!! His nose bleed shot him out!!"
"I see. It maintains it shape well. You think that it would burst. Especially considering the immense amount of water pressure the coating must be exposed to. How nice, and I thought we'll all drown down here. Never to be seen again." Robin softly smiled up at the sight.
(Y/N) slid over to Robin's side. "Rayleigh is the best when it comes to coating ships, but, if the coating is played with too much, even the best coating will pop. In other words, we will drown if they keep it up—" (Y/N)'s jaw dropped when Luffy stretched his arm to Sanji. "We're screwed." (Y/N) hung her head in defeat.
Finally, Sanji was pulled back on board the Sunny. Chopper, Luffy and Usopp fell back before the love-sick cook landed on top of them. Chopper requested blood before a few of his crew mates, so he can save Sanji. Chopper was pressing Sanji's chest to get the water out of his lungs as Usopp loomed over his cook. "Sanji?! What the heck happened to you back there?? I knew you were weak to pretty girls, but this is a real liability!!" Chopper yelled at the blonde. "You're supposed to be cool!!"
"That poor man..." Brook frowned at the sight. "I can only imagine the horrors he must have endured during the past two years. Let's hope he lives long enough to see the mermaids he was so looking forward to... Uhh and, let's also hope that they aren't so lovely that the sight of them knocks him dead."
"When we get there, we'll have to ask for blood donations." Chopper crossed his arms. "But they won't be human. I hope fishman have the same kind of blood as him."
"So.. Sunny's coating has the same properties as the bubble's on Sabadoy. Meaning that objects and people can pass in and out, without causing it any harm at all." Robin calmly explained.
Usopp pointed up at his archeologist. "Spare me the bubble science. We got a man down here!!"
"Sanji aside, she's not wrong." Nami spoke up making Usopp turn to her. "We saw this all over Sabadoy. It only stretches so far and then allows on object to pass through. So the good news is.. If we get attack by any sea creatures, we can still fire cannons at them. Just like we would if we were above water."
Usopp and Chopper stood up in confusion. The long nose spoke up first. "Wait... So, what would pop it? Is it 'that' durable?"
"The coating is fine when single objects pass through. But if too many pass through at once, it will eventually break." (Y/N) quickly explained before scolding the boys. "So don't mess with it too much! It's obvious what will happen if it was to pop!"
Nami held up the paper Rayleigh gave her. "Let's see... like if a sea king clamps down on the ship, that's bad."
Usopp and Chopper shrek in fear from Nami's words before a giant sea monster loomed over the Sunny. "WE'RE SCREWED!!" Usopp screamed again, but the sea monster was quickly eaten by another even bigger sea beast making the two sigh in relief. Chopper hung his head. "We're safe.. good riddens."
Nami continued reading. "Also, the coating doesn't protect the ship against anything except water." (Y/N) quickly explained. "Meaning, if the Sunny crashed into a rock or a trench and the ship is damaged, the bubble could also pop. So it's not like we can bounce around down here."
"Still, as long as we take the usual precautions, we should be fine." Nami smiled up at (Y/N) before rolling her eyes as she spoke. "I mean I'm sure Luffy will get us all killed, but what else is new?"
Chopper and Usopp smiled in relief. "So, we're in the clear after all?" Usopp laughed at the situation.
"Well..." Nami spoke up again. "In theory at least, but a lot of ships try to make to make the trip to Fish-Man island. And over 70% of them, sink."
"AHHH WE ARE SO DEAD!!" Chopper and Usopp screamed in fear.
"One Gum-Gum Gatling and I bet I can catch all the fish swimming out there." Luffy smiled at his swordsman. Zoro quickly replied. "Yeah? And I bet if I cut holes in this bubble thing, I can catch even more!"
Usopp and Chopper quickly rushed over to their crew mates, giving the two cocky pirates several bumps on their heads. "Weren't you listening to Nami and (Y/N)?! That's too many holes!! Our chances down here are bad enough as it is!!" Usopp screamed at the two as steam smoked from his fist, Chopper's fist had the same effect as he quickly added in. "I'll break your bones, then stitch them and break them again!!"
"No fair!! Hachi said that he'd show us to Fish-Man island like it was no big deal and now we're stuck in this death bubble, slowly descending to our demise!!" Usopp cried out making (Y/N) frown.
"Oh yeah!" Luffy pulled out a huge bag, hauling it over to his crew. "Lunch time! They packed a bunch of food for me! Since Sanji's sick, we should have ourselves a picnic!"
Chopper happily shouted. "Yayy!! All that screaming made me hungry!" Brook quickly added in. "Yohohoho! And I'm wasting away!!"
"Cool. As long as Nami and (Y/N) thinks the ship will stay stable." Franky turned to his navigator. "We don't have to steer it or anything right now, do we?"
"Nope. We'll just be cruising on the sea current til we get further down." Nami quickly explained. "So yeah. I'm sure we'll have more excitement a bit later, but for the time being. We might as well just kick back and take it easy."
"Well I wouldn't call this taking it easy exactly. There's something you guys should probably know before we reach Fish-Man island." Franky spoke up making silence run along the crew. The cyborg looked over at (Y/N) making her sadly sigh. Franky continued. "Now this is a little heavy, so I hope this doesn't ruin lunch for everybody."
The crew's tone switched from silly and fun to more of a serious one before Luffy spoke up. "I think I know. I'm ready."
Chopper, Luffy and Usopp broke the seriousness, screaming out with stars in their eyes. "It's robot stuff, right?!"
"You got all kinds of secrets, don't you?!" Luffy shouted out, peaking around Franky's left arm. Usopp joined him, peaking around Franky's right arm. "Can you transform into a tank?! Oh wait.. maybe, you got laser guns?!"
Chopper climbed up Franky's back. "Tell us, Robo Bro!!"
"Superrr Armored Me." Franky held up his hand, allowing a smaller hand to extend out of his big palm. The cyborg held his nose for a few seconds before his hair popped up. The three boys on his back fell down from awed excitement before Franky spoke up again. "Sorry. No new secrets. Secrets inaccessible, Robo!"
"He.. speaks.. ROBOT!!" Chopper, Usopp and Luffy happily exclaimed.
"Okay. I know robots are cool, but listen up." Frank sat down on the foremast's bench as he spoke. "Or eat and listen if you like. Like Usopp said, Hachi was supposed to show us the way to Fish-Man Island himself. But he got hurt real bad back on Sabadoy. He came down here ahead of us to get medical treatment. Anyway, it was the same that happened to Duval. Meaning, he was protecting the Sunny for anyone who came for it. Things got ugly about a year ago when the Navy found out the Navy was docked there. Both him and Duval got taken out in a big fight."
"Huh? Wait. A year? Then who was protecting the Sunny after that." Usopp innocently questioned before turning to (Y/N). "Wait a second, were you protecting the ship by yourself?"
(Y/N) gulped down the food she was eating before speaking. "Woah wait. You can't give me all the credit. I mean, yes. I did protect her whenever I could, but I was also training with Pops and I was working a lot too." (Y/N) awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck before deeply sighing. "But Pops told me not to go back to the Sunny after Hachi and Duval was injured. And when I tried, he would always stop me." (Y/N) looked back at Franky with confused curiosity.
"Yeah. There's a reason for that." Franky turned back to the rest of his crew. "We had one more secret ally."
"If not Rayleigh or (Y/N), then who?" Nami questioned.
"Someone that separated us two years ago for better or worse... The Warlord." Franky shocked everyone from his claim. "Turns out Bartholomew Kuma was on our side the whole time. A few days back, when I made it to the Sunny, I couldn't believe my eyes! He was right there. You saw it yourself, there wasn't a single scratch on the Sunny. Rayleigh gave me the whole story. You guys probably knew that something was up, but now we know the truth. He saved the Sunny and he saved our lives. And then, after we were sent flying from the island, Kuma paid Rayleigh a visit. And dropped around bomb shell. The details are a little sketchy, but evidently, Kuma surrender his body to the Navy, they used him as an experiment and replaced his body parts one by one. By the time of the War of the Best was around, his personality had been completely erased."
"Wait!" Chopper spoke up making (Y/N) look up at him. "He knew where he sent us, but he didn't know what we'll do once we got there. Or that we'll even make it back! And you said his personality was taken away, but he still protected the Sunny?!"
(Y/N) turned her head back to Franky as he replied. "The guy who worked on him is this dude named Dr. Vegapunk. And Kuma must have made a deal with him cause he programmed one final mission into his brain. Defend the Thousand Sunny from any attackers until the moment that a Straw Hat returns to claim it."
"Pops probably knew I would try and fight Kuma for what he did to us. And the fact I wouldn't be able to train since I would have had to guard the Sunny full-time." (Y/N) sighed, playing with her food. "I can't believe I never even knew he was even there."
Franky looked at (Y/N) with light sadness in his eyes before continuing. "So even though he's been reduced to a living weapon with no memory, he's been carrying out his own orders. Protecting our ship for the last two years, fulfilling his last wish."
"But why? He barely knew us. I mean, why did it matter to him?" Zoro questioned his crew.
"I don't know." Usopp spoke up with a mouthful of food. "Maybe it was because of Luffy? You said Kuma was apart of the Revolutionary Army and Luffy's dad is the leader of those guys, right?"
"I don't know much about my dad, but it seems like that robot-bear dude was a good guy. So he can't be too bad if they're friends." Luffy also spoke with his mouthful of food making (Y/N) cringe at the two.
(Y/N) went back to eating as Franky spoke up once more. "The bottom line is. Our survival and all the things we accomplished in the past two years, we owe to him. Whatever his reason was, we should be grateful. And we may never find out the truth because it's not like we could ask him to explain himself anymore. All we can do now is honor his memory.. and know that Bartholomew Kuma was our greatest ally until he took his last breath as a human. Unfortunately, we'll never be able to thank him since he'll just be a weapon and likely our enemy the next time we meet. That's all I wanted to say."
"Kinda a lot to work through at once, isn't it? Someday, I hope we can at least find out the rest of the story." Zoro calmly stated.
Sanji spoke up. "Kuma saved us, huh?"
(Y/N) whipped her head towards her cook as Chopper spoke to Sanji. "Oh, you're awake. Good."
Luffy held up a bento box. "Have some lunch. It's from Amazon Lily."
"Oh, Amazon Lily? The island with all the woman. Of course that's where he sent you. Do you know where I was these past two years? Because I'm kinda thinking Kuma's not such a good friend after all!" Anger began to burn through Sanji's voice as he continued. "In fact, I would like to kick his metal face in!!"
Brook held up his boney hands in defense. "Now now, Sanji. We've all had our share of troubles. Before I became a pop music sensation, I was trapping in a cage. Still, the only thing that matter's now is the voyage awaiting us!"
"You don't know, man! You don't know anything!!" Sanji cried out in frustration.
"Oh that reminds me." (Y/N) placed her head in her hand, smiling at her captain. Luffy looked back at (Y/N) with confusion in his eyes before she spoke again. "You wanna see something cool?"
Chopper rushed over to the (h/c) haired woman with stars in his eyes. "Ooo! Are you going to let Pluto out! I want to talk to him!!"
"Him?" Zoro questioned followed by Luffy. "Who's Pluto?"
"I guess you can call him my pet, but he's really my left sickle." (Y/N) took her blade from her sleeve, revealing her sickle's new look.
Nami looked puzzled by (Y/N)'s actions and words before sassing the (Y/N) haired woman. "Now how is Chopper going to talk to your weapon exactly?"
"Let me show you." (Y/N) tossed her sickle into the air. "Pluto, you can come out now." As her blade spun, the sickle began to transform into a small griffin. Pluto coo'd in the air before landing on (Y/N) shoulder.
"WOAHH!!" Luffy had stars in his eyes, staring at the creature in shock before Nami questioned in shock. "What is it??"
"I told you already, he's my left sickle." (Y/N) giggled at the frustrated ginger before she explained. "I fed my blade the Griffin-Griffin Fruit, that's how Pluto came to be."
Nami squealed at the griffin. "Can I pet him? He's so cute!!"
"Of course. He loves attention." (Y/N) smiled as Nami picked Pluto up and cuddled him on her chest. Pluto happily coo'd at the ginger as (Y/N) continued. "He may be cute, but don't let him deceive you. Pluto is great in combat. Before you ask how, I'll show you guys later when we're not underwater. Let's just say, he has multiple forms."
"Sounds interesting." Zoro stared at the creature as Pluto flew back to (Y/N)'s shoulder. "Don't you think you're going to get questions if you let him hang around freely like that?"
"We have a walking, talking skeleton. A gigantic robot and an adorable talking reindeer on our crew. I think he fits in fine." (Y/N) blankly stared at her swordsman.
"Yeah, she's right. I'm sure the little guy is going to be looked over when it come to the rest of us." Franky spoke with a laugh making everyone laugh with him.