The game was on. You were on the verge of hyperventilating in your corner, fawning yourself to cool down the heat in your face. Why did you always attract the worst people around you? Why every time you visited an island with the crew and got yourself in a dire situation, you always end up being the center of interest of the bad guy?
A mystery you will never solve. The Universe truly hated you. After Doflamingo's face disappeared from the screen, the whole island seemed to be thrown into a different kind of chaos from before. It wasn't just survival anymore, but a fight for freedom too. However, the citizens of Dressrosa were too naive to think the Shichibukai would free them from the Birdcage. Even if they managed to kill the 12 targets and capture you, what's stopping Doflamingo from just shrinking the cage and slicing his 'people' into pieces?
Zoro searched through his pockets for the mini Den-Den Mushi you were given to contact the others. The snail rang a few times, before someone picked up from the other line:
"Zoro?" spoke the breathless voice of Robin.
"Yeah" the swordsman answered.
"Where are you now?"
"I'm with Luffy and the others. We're on, what they call, the King's Plateau. Things are getting messy, aren't they?"
"Is this Robin?!" asked Luffy before snatching the snail from Zoro's hand. "Did you see it?! Mingo's such a jerk, isn't he?! But Usopp's bit was hilarious!"
"WHAT DID YOU SAY, LUFFY?!" came the snarl from the sniper in the background, pissed at your captain from laughing.
"And you should have seen (y/n)'s face at the end! It was pretty funny too!" the boy chuckled, and you whipped around angrily.
"THERE'S NOTHING FUNNY ABOUT THAT!"
Both Viola and King Riku sweated nervously when you punched Luffy's face, causing him to crash on the ground. Smoke came from your red fist as you stood over him with a snarl:
"Do you even understand what those 10 stars mean, you dumbass?!"
"1 billion berries to kill you, right?" managed to say your captain through broken teeth.
"Not kill! Capture me so I can become his queen! Dumb fuck!"
"HIS QUEEN?! NANI?!" Luffy shut up at that, eyes wide in disbelief. "MINGO BASTARD WANTS TO MARRY YOU?! WHY WOULD YOU ACCEPT THAT?!"
"I DIDN'T!"
Cue another smack, and Luffy lying dead on the floor with blood seeping out from his forehead. You growled under your breath, crossing your arms over your chest while you fumed.
"Anyway, Rebecca was also on the list. I wonder if she's alright" you said.
"Rebecca is..." trailed Robin, but was cut by the pink haired female next to her.
"I'm here! (fake name)?! Lucy?!"
"Oh! It's good that you're there!" exclaimed Luffy with a bright smile. "The soldier is here....Uh? Where did he go?"
Indeed, the gladiator had completely disappeared from your sight. The others were surprised, too. No doubts they didn't see him left.
"Don't tell me he is..." muttered King Riku.
"Soldier-san?! He turned back to a human, too, didn't he?! Tell me, Lucy, what kind of a man is he?!" asked Rebecca desperately.
"What kind of a man?! What are you talking about?! That one-legged soldier was your father!"
You heard a gasp from the other side of the Den-Den Mushi, and a long pause followed right after. Luffy continued to speak, ignoring how Rebecca became silent.
"He's the old man the statue is of!"
"I t-thought so..." the girl replied shakily, her voice croaked.
"I'm so happy for you!" Luffy smiled as Rebecca's sobs were heard. "The soldier guy has gone somewhere now, but listen to me, Rebecca! Don't cry yet! I won't let the soldier die! You have to be safe, too! I feel bad that I couldn't let you have the Flare-Flare Fruit that you wanted. But instead, I promise I'll kick Doflamingo's ass for you! So stay with my friends! I'm gonna bring an end to this stupid game in no time! So survive, okay?!"
"Uh-huh!" she said, sniffing.
Luffy looked over his shoulder to glare at the Royal Palace in the distance.
He gritted his teeth in anger, promising this on this very moment:
"Wait for me, Mingo!"
"Luffy, who are you with now?" asked Robin as she retook the control of the Den-Den Mushi.
"I'm with (y/n), Zoro, Tra-guy. And..." Luffy turned to face Viola and King Riku, raising a brow inquisitively.
"Riku Doldo III, and Viola" said the princess.
"Okay, so there are six of you. On my side, we have...What?!"
"What's wrong, Robin?"
"...Anyway, I'm going to move there with Usopp and Rebecca" the archaeologist dismissed quickly.
"Do you know what you're doing, Straw Hat-ya?" spoke Law in a grave tone after a long time. "Our plan was to destroy the SMILE factory and provoke a conflict between Doflamingo and Kaido. But if we kill Doflamingo now, Kaido will direct all his anger over losing SMILEs...at us! Then we'll have to fight face-to-face with the angry Yonko!"
Each of you stared in silence at the Surgeon of Death, no words exchanged between you. A shadow fell over Luffy's eyes, his lips pulled into a thin line.
"...That's not an issue now" Luffy stated seriously, taking Law aback. "Take a good look at this country! If I stop now, what's gonna happen to it?! "
The two of them stared at each other for a long time. Finally, Law let out a deep sigh and gave a short nod. Luffy grinned confidently, before his expression returned serious.
You blinked when you were suddenly tossed over your captain's shoulder, and said male walked to Zoro and Law. They stared at him weirdly, and they sweated when Luffy enrolled his arms around their necks.
"Alright! Let's go!" Luffy cried out.
"Wait! I'm still cuffed!" shouted Law.
"They'll come off"
"NO, THEY WON'T!"
"Don't worry, I'm gonna get the key!" said Viola.
"Do you know where it is?!"
"Yes. When we fell, I saw it landing somewhere on this plateau. I'll find it and...Eh?"
Viola blinked as she saw Luffy took a run straightforward, not even hearing the rest she had to say. Both Law and Zoro were laying limply under his arms, already done with his shit and knowing it was futile to argue.
You, on the other end, struggled to remove yourself from your captain's shoulder:
"LUFFY! DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!" you snapped.
"So, how should we get there?" asked Zoro casually, more than used to Luffy's antics.
"Go straight!" the boy answered simply. "Wait for me, Doflamingo!"
Luffy jumped from the edge of the plateau, causing you to scream in fright. Groans were heard from the two men under his arms, teeth clenched tightly.
The young man turned himself into a balloon as you got closer to the ground. Only, there was also several people down here too.
Zoro bounced off Luffy, with you falling on your ass when Luffy landed with Law still under his arm. Marines and lackeys of Doflamingo surrounded the four of you, with some members of the Don Quixote Family. A man wearing baby clothes, surrounded with young women only wearing their swimsuits.
Another that looked heavy with weights on his back, and a younger man wearing high heels with an eccentric fashion.
"It's Straw Hat Luffy!"
"Trafalgar Law!"
"Pirate Hunter!"
"The Immortal!"
"This is the worst spot to land!" you growled.
"Oi, Straw Hat! When I get uncuffed, I'm gonna kill you first!" snarled threateningly Law.
"There is no good spot to land here in the first place since everybody in this country is our enemy!" Zoro clicked his tongue.
"Yeah, but he didn't have to land where we are surrounded by Pinky's subordinates and Marine mutts!" you complained, standing up and dusting yourself.
"Anyway, we gotta run!"
"ZORO! THAT'S NOT THE RIGHT WAY!"
The swordsman blushed brightly as he froze in his steps, turning on his heels and running after you and Luffy.
"THAT'S NOT THIS WAY EITHER, STRAW HAT!"
Doing several turns back and forth, you finally managed to get on the right path following Law's instructions at the best as you could. Not really your fault if the town was so messed up in the first place.
Your enemies were chasing your group, adding at the same time the Don Quixote Family who weren't opponents to underestimate.
"Ah! Brother Law! It's so nice to see you!" cooed the young man with the horns, appearing right by Luffy.
"Who is he? Do you know him?" wondered your captain.
"That's Dellinger! Don't let your guard down around him! He's..."
Before Law could finish his sentence, Dellinger reappeared in front of Luffy, aiming a kick to his head that he avoided at the last second. The ebony male continued to run until something from the ground grabbed him by ankles.
He fell forward with Law, groaning in pain at the impact. A shadow hovered him, and Luffy looked up to see the heavy man from before.
"You have to run! He's a super weight human!" groaned Law.
"I'm stuck!" the boy struggled.
The heavy man was about to crush your comrades under his weight. You spun around and ran back to Luffy, jumping in the air at the same time Machvise fell down.
Swinging your leg back, you slammed your limb against the man's back. He was sent flying in Dellinger's direction, who cried out in surprise when the two collided.
Luffy was able to dash forward with his feet now released. The man with the pacifier's attention got caught from the commotion behind him.
"Thank you, (y/n)!" grinned Luffy.
"We gotta go!" said Zoro.
However, you were stopped once again by a wall of pirates who were there to claim your heads. Zoro quickly took care of them, and you were all able to advance.
Until, once again, you were stopped in your path by another group of pirates and civilians.
"They're pains in the ass!" scowled the swordsman. "But is it okay to chop them up? There are some civilians, too!"
"Then I'll use my Haki to..." trailed Luffy.
"Stop it" a voice sounded in the back, causing the crowd to gasp and step aside.
Fujitora walked in your direction, an aura of strength emanating from him. His cane tapped the ground in front of him, and stopped a few feet away from you.
"He who shoots oft at last shall not hit the mark" he recited, Marine soldiers following after him. Zoro gripped his sword hard, sweat rolling down his forehead.
"It's the Admiral!"
"Gambling old man!" breathed in shock Luffy.
The wind picked up, causing the white coat to flutter gently. Zoro took a step forward, already taking an attacking stance in case the Admiral decided to fight you.
Your enemies didn't know how to react, simply stepping aside too since they didn't want to deal with the Marines.
"I'm gonna go kick Doflamingo's ass! Get out of my way!" ordered Luffy, frowning deeply.
"You are quite brash. But I'm not going to step aside" stated Fujitora, gripping his cane and sword.
"You wanna fight?" wondered Luffy.
"What an unpleasant chore this is"
Luffy dropped Law on the ground, who groaned in pain as he fell on his side. Your captain's arm turned a metallic color as it was infused with Haki, before charging at the blind man.
He clashed against Fujitora's blade, lighting sparks fuzzing in the air at the collision.
"Don't stand in my way!" said the ebony male, eyes wild.
Then, the boy pushed himself away from the Admiral as he used his weird technique again, the ground around him flattening. Zoro dashed in the Marine's direction, the two having their blades clashing against each other as they exchanged blows and slashes.
Their fight didn't last for long when the ground started to shake suddenly. But it was no earthquake. Buildings were pulled apart, a giant figure merging itself from the stones that made the entire island.
You all gaped at the sight of the stone giant, recognizning him as one of the top executives of the Don Quixote Family: Pica.
"That Devil Fruit is really a pain" you said, sweating.
"What the hell is that!?" cried out Luffy. "He's gigantic!"
People were already running away from the giant, even if they knew that it was impossible to escape him. Though, you weren't prepared for what came next when Pica opened his mouth and you heard him for the first time:
"Now, those of you who rebel against our family..." he stated in a high-pitched voice, not fitting at all.
"What?" croaked your captain, an unsure smile appearing on his lips.
"Eh?" all it came from both you and Zoro.
"...I'm gonna fight you!"
You were already starting the countdown to three seconds, knowing what will come next. You closed your eyes tightly, fists clenching as you felt it coming.
Three....Two...One...
Luffy literally exploded in tears, laughing loudly while he yelled about how high the giant's voice was. He clutched his stomach, bending down for laughing too hard.
You could probably hear him from the other side of the town, and without a doubt Pica was hearing him too. Doflamingo's lackeys froze on the spot, becoming white while they glared at Luffy in horror.
"What a funny voice!" wailed hilariously Luffy, pointing at Pica.
Said guy looked like he was about to explode too for a complete different reason. His eyes and fingers were twitching, almost becoming red in anger.
"Straw Hat!" he snarled.
"P-P-P-Please stop!" the boy continued to howl, becoming even louder.
"STOP LAUGHING, STRAW HAT!" panicked one of the soldiers. "Pica-sama is sensitive about his high-pitched voice! If he runs wild with that massive body..."
They screamed loudly when Pica started to move, having enough of Luffy's laughing fit.
"YOU IDIOT! YOU MADE PICA MAD!"
"How can you guys not laugh at it?" wondered Luffy.
"BECAUSE WE DON'T WANNA DIE YET!"
Pica clenched his fist, preparing to unleash his rage on many people as possible. You were already on the run with your comrades, not daring to look back so you wouldn't slow down.
You weren't the only ones, with the Don Quixote Family and the Marines running ahead of you.
"Luffy! You have to stop messing with your enemies..." Zoro clicked his tongue at his captain.
"Or else we're going to end up dead!" you snarled.
"I WON'T LET YOU GET AWAY!" screamed Pica.
"PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!"
Zoro brought his hands over his mouth to cover his laugh, while your saliva caught in your throat. However, a small snicker passed your nose and soon became a hard laugh just like Luffy.
"See! You can't help laughing either!" chuckled Luffy.
"You guys..." said in exasperation Law under Luffy's arm.
Pica's arm finally swung forward and was coming toward you rapidly. You accelerated your pace, but you knew the hit would come quicker and before you ever had the time to escape.
"It's coming!" you cried out.
"Run! It's gonna crush you up!" warned Law.
"I am running!" panted Luffy. "ACK!"
The boy somewhat managed to get Law's chains tangled with a debris on the floor, making Luffy fall backward. You whipped around with Zoro, crying out his name. Pica's fist was right above him. When it connected with him, the force threw both you and the swordsman in the sky. It was the last thing you saw before blacking out.