Changing One's World

Things can be different with one divergence in the timeline. One cannot begin to imagine how things will change with a decision being different. But will these changes be for the better or for the worst. Find out as the Straw Hats will face their adventures a whole lot differently.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece!

Chapter 1: The Beginning of a Relationship, News Around the World, and LogueTown

"NAMI, YOU WILL ALWAYS BE MY FRIEND!"

Nami played the words back in her head and smiled. She had come to a conclusion. She loved him. It took the freedom of her village and herself to come to the realisation. Spending two months with him allowed these feelings to develop and she was going to act on them. She was not shy. Never shy. She would be headstrong and would patiently educate him so he could understand the extent of her feelings.

She was in love with the idiot, Monkey D. Luffy.

Now despite what others think, Luffy is not an idiot.

Maybe not, but Makino had drilled into his head long enough for him to understand when one was in love. Sure he didn't know anything about relationships, recognising feelings of others and how to act accordingly in a relationship. But Makino had made sure to educate Luffy so that when the time came, he knew that he had found the one that Makino was talking about. That feeling of butterflies, the feeling of elation when they smile and the brutal hatred towards anyone who hurts her.

Now, it took him a while but after a night of thinking, which really hurt his brain, he discovered he was in love with Nami. He just had to find a way to tell her, as he knew nothing outside knowing when you are in love. And the talk that Makino gave him. Maybe, he thought, he could give her meat and she would immediately accept. Meat solves everything.

As Nami walked down the path towards the village, she thought of the battle that took place between Luffy and Arlong. She smiled at the memory of desks and bookshelves flying out of the wall, smashing on the ground, and smashing the chains that Arlong held to her as well. He made her life possible. He was the sun in the night that used to be her life. With Luffy she felt safe, reassured and happy. The feeling of conquering the world but only being able to do it with him by her side proved to her what she was feeling.

She would just have to be blunt, she thought as she entered the town but saw that Luffy was already running towards her.

Luffy was deep in thought about Nami until he saw Nami. He guessed this must be fate as he grabbed the meat that he was sure that would make Nami love him and ran towards her.

"Nami!" he said, but was immediately dragged into a clearing between the trees.

'I've done something. Now I'm going to die! Ace, don't mourn me! Move on!' Luffy thought as he imagined the death that was looming over him.

When Nami had finished dragging him into the clearing, she turned around and stared at him, only to find two pieces of meat in front of her face.

"What are yo-" she began but was cut off.

"I love you," Luffy said bluntly, with a smile and he gestured for her to take the meat. He just decided to be blunt about his feelings, it's not like they had a big effect.

Nami's breath was taken away as her mouth gaped open. She was astonished. Happy! Thrilled but confused. Her mind was running at a million kilometres per hour as the world spun.

She had so many questions. What, how, why? What was going on? How did he figure that out? Why her? What took him so long? How did he know what love was? And why was there meat in front of her face?

Annoyingly, Nami would see this part of the memory when she looked back to be exactly that, as Nami seemed to think that the last question was the most important.

"Why is there meat in front of my face?" she asked.

Luffy paused, tilting his head and pointed his finger in the air as if he was giving a lecture.

"I thought that I could make you love me if I gave you meat. I love meat, I love you, Meat loves me, so meat should make you love me!" he explained.

Normally Nami would have smashed his face into the ground for his idiocy, but this moment turned out in a way she had not expected. With reciprocation.

She smiled and threw the meat to the side, making Luffy whinge but she stood in front of him and looked him in the eyes.

"Do you really love me?" she asked.

Luffy nodded with his impossibly large grin.

"And what makes you think you know what love is?" asked Nami.

"Well Makino told me. She said you won't be able to see the future without this person by your side, and that's what is feel about you," Luffy said simply.

Nami didn't know who Makino was but she would be sure to thank her later. She grabbed Luffy by the shirt and pulled him against her lips.

She melted against him and internally sighed, while Luffy's arms flailed around comedically in shock.

But instinct took over and he returned the kiss, making Nami's legs feel like jelly. She grabbed his arms and placed them on her waist and he stopped struggling, and the two kissed further.

They finally broke off for air and both looked dazed.

"Wow! What was that?" Luffy asked amazed while licking his lips, savouring the taste.

"I love you," Nami said simply, pulling him into a hug.

"Hey Nami?" Luffy asked.

"Yes Luffy?"

"Do you know where the Raw Ham Melon is?"

Nami laughed and buried her head in the crook of his neck.

Luffy grinned and held her tighter, and the two stayed like that for ages, content with each other.

Meanwhile, five people were watching in a bush. Zoro, Usopp, Sanji, Nojiko and Genzo.

Zoro felt bad for Luffy being stuck with the witch, but he really didn't care as long as it didn't mess up the crew dynamics. But inside, though he would NEVER admit it, he was happy for the two.

Usopp ran away as fast as possible and didn't look back, as he did not want to be fined.

Sanji cried, he wanted to be with Nami as she was beautiful. Of coarse he didn't know her for long, so it was not that damaging, but he would still be mourning the loss of a chance. But as his captain and friend, he was glad it was Luffy. He took a long drag from his cigarette.

Nojiko had a huge smile on her face, happy her sister had finally found love. And in a kind, sweet boy who freed her. She knew he could protect her sister.

And Genzo, well he was going to have a talk with the kid later.

Later, Genzo was pouring sake onto Bellemere's grave.

"Bellemere, your daughters are strong, young women now. You would be proud! It's like I'm standing right in front of you again! We're not going to waste a single moment now. So much has been lost, everyone has had to make sacrifices, but I'm happy for the first time in years!"

"RAW HAM MELON!" said a familiar voice, shocking Genzo.

It was Luffy and Genzo was deep in thought.

In the end, he had decided. Bellemere would support the two's relationship and so must he. In honour of her spirit. But he needed to get a message across.

"There's no food out here!" Luffy said.

"BE QUIET!" Genzo shouted.

Luffy turned around and stared at the grave in shock.

"Is this her grave?" he said, sitting in front of it, "You have my deepest condolences."

"Thank you," Genzo said, staring down at the boy, "I know that Nami is going away with you and that you're together. But I've come to terms with that! But if you ever hurt her or take her smile, I will kill you."

There was silence and Genzo was worried how the boy would respond to the threat.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Luffy said seriously.

Genzo smiled and was thankful Nami found someone like this.

Meanwhile Nami was packing her bag at her house and stared at a photo of Bellemere.

She smiled and looked around the house. It was as if she could see Bellemere sitting at the table, smiling at her, as if she was accepting Nami's decisions. This made Nami feel more confident and she let out a long-awaited sigh.

"Well Bellemere, we finally made it. It took eight long years but we're finally free. The village... and me. It's just like you told us when we were children. Be brave and smile, and nothing will be able to stop you. It's so true! Arlong is gone, and now everyone is so happy. And I found someone, who can love me. The only way this could be better is if you were still alive. And then I will leave this island. And this time when I see the world it will be with Luffy and all of my friends! What I have always wanted. Goodbye. I'm going now, ok?" Nami said, walking towards the door.

Suddenly, it was as if someone had pushed her and Nami stumbled through the door. She turned around, shocked but no one was there. Nami smiled, as if she knew what had caused it.

The next day, the crew started packing up supplies, ready to leave.

"This is the last one, right?" Usopp asked.

"Yup!" Zoro said.

Luffy stared at the two.

"Have we got everything?" he asked.

"Yeah, we're stocked up with everything we need! I think we're good to go!" Sanji confirmed.

"It's feels as if we have been here a lifetime!" Usopp added, making the others nod in agreement.

The group then said goodbye to Johnny and Yosaku.

"Now it's time to get going!" Usopp said.

"But we can't leave yet! Nami isn't here!" said Sanji.

"Well maybe she's not coming," Zoro added, but knowing this was very unlikely.

Luffy snorted and waited for Nami.

"What, why not! She has Luffy here!" Sanji said.

Nojiko noticed that Nami had left the 100,000,000 with the village.

Luffy smiled widely and stared somewhere, and everyone else stared a few seconds later.

"SET THE SAILS!"

"You heard her!" Luffy said, while the others joined him in setting the sails.

Nami ran towards the crowd and the Merry started to already leave.

Nami ran through the crowd and Sanji stared at Luffy, concerned.

"You sure you want to let her leave like this?" Sanji asked.

"This is what Nami wants," Luffy said while shrugging.

Nami then jumped for the ship and everyone gasped when it looked like she wouldn't make it but she just smirked and looked up, to see a familiar hand stretched out towards her. She grasped it and was reeled in, falling on Luffy's chest.

"I guess what you took is compensation!" he whispered with a snicker.

"Uh huh!" she said, while standing up.

She pulled up her shirt a bit and showed the village that she had stolen all their wallets.

They all checked their pockets and noticed their wallets were gone.

"Thanks a bunch!" she said, kissing a note.

"DAMN YOU! YOU LITTLE BRAT!" Genzo shouted.

Nami laughed and Luffy joined her, and then they were joined by the whole crew.

"YOU LOUSY THIEF! I'M GONNA MISS YOU!" Genzo continued, "Boy, remember what I told you!"

"You got it! I will even find you if I end up breaking my promise! DEAL?" Luffy asked.

"Deal!" Genzo said with a grin, while Luffy hugged Nami from behind.

"Goodbye everyone!" Nami said while waving, "I'll miss you! Take care!"

"I can't believe her!" Nojiko said, "She got us good with that one!"

Nami stared at Bellemere's grave and smiled, and pointed it out to Luffy.

"She'd be proud!" he said.

"I know," Nami replied, leaning into his embrace.

Later on into the day, Nami was sunbathing and watched Luffy try to get one of her tangerines. Nami then saw the news bird fly in and drop a newspaper.

"You raised your prices again?" Nami said and the bird nodded sadly, "That's a little steep, don't you think? Raise your prices again and I'll stop paying!"

The bird cawed and flew off, while Nami frowned at it while holding her newspaper.

"What's the big deal?" asked Usopp, "It's just one paper!"

"Just one paper? I buy these everyday!" Nami said.

"Yeah but there is no need to save every beri so you can buy back your village from Arlong! You can finally stop obsessing about money!" Usopp noted, while preparing his tabasco star.

"You're so stupid! Now that all that stuff's over, I'm saving money for me now! Jeez!" she said, turning away, "I'm not going to be one of those pirates who can't even afford to dress up! Especially on our dates Luffy!"

Luffy then flew backwards and luckily dodged Usopp, not knocking the tabasco in his eyes.

"Nami!" he whinged, "Can I have a tangerine?"

"Yes, one a day. Starting from tomorrow!" she noted while ruffling his hair, before sitting down, "The world sure is a turbulent place! They just had another coup in Villa!"

She turned the next page and a wanted poster fell out.

"What's that?" asked Luffy and the others stared at it.

Everyone screamed, for different reasons.

At a marine base, marines were holding a meeting about a certain Straw Hat wearing boy.

"So even a conservative estimate of their power tells us that they are too much for our marine branches to handle?"

"That's right! Even before forming his pirate crew, he defeated Marine Branch Captain Axe Hand Morgan, which he did single-handed. Since then he showed no sign of stopping. Buggy the Clown, 15,000,000. Pirate Fleet Commodore, Don Kreig, 17,000,000. Fishman Pirate Saw Tooth Arlong, 20,000,000. These pirates were big players and they all had bounties of over 10,000,000 berris! By comparison, the average bounty is only 3,000,000 berris. He took them down. It's true that 30,000,000 berris as a starting bounty is globally unprecedented. But in my opinion it's necessary. It's the best to destroy seeds of villainy before they get out of hand!" one marine said.

"Absolutely!"

Meanwhile in Syrup Village, Merry had ran up to Kaya's room to show her a wanted poster.

"Look, it's Usopp!" she said, smiling.

Merry looked confused and stared at the poster.

"See that's definitely him!" she explained, pointing to a corner of the picture.

"Hey, know what? You're right!" Merry admitted.

Kaya laughed and ran towards the window and opened it.

"That's great! Usopp is moving towards his dream!"

In a Marine base, Coby was staring at a wanted poster with a grin.

"Finally, finally, finally! You're getting closer to you're dream!" Coby said with a grin, "And then we will meet at enemies, and I can show you how strong I have become!"

In the hull of the Black Cat Pirates ship, Kuro stared silently at the poster.

At the Baratie, Zeff was cooking a meal and silently remembering Sanji and Luffy.

Luffy, meanwhile, was laughing and holding up his poster. Nami was crying an hugging him and the other two stared at it.

"We're one step closer guys!" Luffy said while stroking Nami's hair, comforting her.

"Wanted: Dead or Alive. 30,000,000 berris?!" Usopp exclaimed.

"That's a whole lot of berris!" Luffy said.

"Check it out! I'll be seen all over the world. Girls might even fall for me! And you Luffy! We'll be loved around the world!" Usopp said while swooning.

Nami stopped crying and glared at the poster, as if challenging the women of the world.

"What if bounty hunters come after you?" she said softly, hugging his side tighter.

"I'll be fine," Luffy said.

"What, they put Long Nose in it and not me! Where are you?" Sanji growled.

Usopp pointed at the corner of the poster.

Sanji pouted and hunched up on the floor.

"It's the back of your head. That's not so cool!" Sanji said.

"Oh don't be so glum! You don't have to be a captain to get one of these!" said Usopp.

"Is that true?" Sanji perked up.

"Yeah, just really work for it!" Usopp said.

The two started chanting and Nami grinned.

"If pirates come after you, you can beat them up and steal their money!" Nami said, seeing a profit in her already profitable boyfriend.

"LET'S GO TO THE GRAND LINE MEN!" Luffy said.

'30,000,000 berris. With that amount I bet headquarters will take action. Not to mention there will be bounty hunters to deal with. And with this kind of bounty, they'll be good.' Zoro thought.

Meanwhile, Shanks' crew were looking out for things on the open sea. And then they found something.

"What's that?" one asked.

"Let me see!" the other said, looking in the telescope and then screaming.

Dracule Mihawk had arrived and he walked up to the group of pirates.

"Why are you here?" asked one, holding out his sword, "Answer me Hawkeye!"

"Just calm down. Where is your leader? My business is with him," Mihawk said, "Camping out on a island, how carefree!"

Meanwhile the messenger had run up to Shanks and he was given a beer.

"H-H-H-Hawkeye!" he said, then feeling the presence of the man himself and scampering away.

"Hey there Hawkeye! To what do I owe the pleasure? Have you come to fight me? Cause you know I'm not feeling so good at the moment!" Shanks said, his eyes covered.

"Now that you have lost your left arm, I have no intention to settle the score. I recently found an interesting pirate!" Mihawk began, pulling out a wanted poster, "Seeing him reminded me about a story you used to tell. About a strange boy from a small village!"

Everyone's eye's widened when they saw who was on the poster.

"Luffy, you made it. Alright then Hawkeye, in that case! I'm afraid I can't just let you leave! Not now," Shanks said, and then had a party with Hawkeye, and yes, it was a casual as I made it sound.

Meanwhile in Fuucha village, everyone was having a party themselves.

"Did you hear the news? Luffy's a wanted man now!"

"Good for him!"

"Well I'll be! A great pirate came from our little village!"

"Yeah who would have thought?"

"SHUT UP!" Woopslap said, "What's so great about some no good criminal coming from our village!"

"To Luffy!"

"Bunch of jerks! All of them!" he said to Makino, who handed him a drink.

"Just look at him mayor! He looks so happy!"

"A pirate's a pirate!"

"You see! Luffy is achieving his dream!" Makino said softly, hoping her lessons had also found him love.

"His dream or fate?" asked Woopslap.

On the Going Merry, everyone was gathered around a map.

"We're getting closer! We are nearly at the Grand Line! Looks like the only way into it is here! Reverse Mountain!" Nami said.

"What a pain! I hoped there would be somewhere around that thing!" Zoro grunted.

"The geezer told me that Reverse Mountain was the only way into the Grand Line. But it's really dangerous!" Sanji explained.

"Remember we can't sail into the calm belt, because of the lack of wind," Luffy explained, making Nami kiss his cheek.

"Nice remembered Luffy. Seems those lessons of mine do some good!" she said with a smile.

"Shishishishi!"

"First we go to Loguetown!" Nami said.

"So we can pick up some meat!" Luffy said.

"Sure," Nami said, hiding her face into her hand and smiling.

"Isn't Loguetown famous?" asked Zoro, "The City of the Beginning and the End!"

"Why is it famous?" Luffy asked Nami.

"It's the town where the old king of the pirates was both born and executed!" Nami said.

"That's where the King of the Pirates died?" Luffy said.

"Well?" asked Nami.

"Let's do it! This was the man who had the One Piece, everything the world has to offer! I need to see where the legacy was started!" Luffy said.

The Merry finally reached Loguetown and the whole crew disembarked.

"Woohoo! This is gunna be so fun!" Luffy said.

"Every pirate heading to the Grand Line stops here to resupply. It has everything you need!" Nami explained.

"If that's the case, I'm going on a shopping spree!" Usopp said.

"I'll go stock up on fresh produce!" Sanji said, "And fresh women!"

"You'd think there would be a swordsmith here?" asked Zoro.

"I thought you were broke! Are you going to steal a sword?" Nami mocked, "Ok Luffy! You go shopping with me and I'll see the execution stand with you!"

"Alright!" Luffy said and dragged Nami by the hand, but not before she said something to Zoro.

The two walked into a clothes store and Nami decided to try on some dresses.

"How do I look?" she asked, with a white outfit that revealed most of her stomach and collar.

"Pretty!" Luffy said.

"How about now?" she said, wearing a red dress that was open at the legs.

"Beautiful!" Luffy added, genuinely meaning his words.

"Would you like to buy these?" asked the owner of the shop.

"No thanks. Too expensive!" she said, leaving Luffy confused as to why she did that.

She then took Luffy's hat from him and placed it on her own head so that he would not be spotted by the Marines.

"How do I look now?" she asked, with her hair falling above her eyes and lifting the hat up with one finger.

Luffy decided that he liked kissing Nami, a lot, and lent in for a kiss. She smiled and moaned into his mouth. Luffy groaned and grabbed her by the waist, while she wrapped her arms around his neck.

The broke apart and they both were flushed.

"I guess that's one way to give an opinion," she said with a grin, and dragged Luffy with her.

Meanwhile, Usopp had walked into a store and stared at its magnificence.

"I think I've died and gone to heaven!" he said.

He then was tricked by the store clerk and believed he was seeing Gold Roger's gun.

Nami and Luffy had ended up in another store and Nami was buying clothes.

"Captain Smoker?" Nami asked while Luffy tilted his head.

"He's definitely one of the toughest Marines in this town. See Loguetown used to be a hangout for pirates entering the Grand Line. Not anymore. As soon as Smoker took over, any pirate that has ever come near this island has been caught, incarcerated and executed! Smoker is bad. He's a complete and utter monster. There are those who even say he has devil fruit powers!" the store owner explained.

"I wanna fight him!" Luffy said as they walked out the store and reached the docks.

"But where's the execution platform?" said Luffy.

"Sweetie listen..." Nami began.

"But Nami, you said you'd go with me!" Luffy whined.

"I'll make it up to you. I promise!" she said, kissed his cheek and ran off.

Luffy sighed and looked in the direction she had run off into. He made sure to grab his hat. He then noticed a man standing in the distance.

"Hey! Can you help me?" asked Luffy.

"Is he a member of this rubbish?" Smoker asked.

"No! Not him!" a marine said.

"Hi! I need some help! Do you happen to know where they execute people around here?" Luffy asked.

"The platform," Smoker stated.

"Yeah, I just can't seem to find it. My girlfriend is really good at finding things but as you saw, she ran off," Luffy said with a pout.

"I haven't seen you before," said Smoker.

"This is my first time here on the island. The town is a whole lot bigger than my hometown and it is a lot more spread out!" Luffy explained.

"So why go to the platform?" asked Smoker.

"Personal quest. To see where the King of the Pirates died," Luffy said with a grin, "I guess you don't know."

"Follow the smoke kid!" Smoker said.

"Great! That way! I'll see you later!" Luffy said, running off.

Meanwhile Zoro was staring at the swords in a store.

"The swords are all so freaking expensive!" he said, while thinking what Nami said.

'Sure, I'll lend you some money! That will just be 300% interest!'

'I can't afford to borrow any more money from that girl! But I can't go to the Grand Line with one sword! There's got to be a way!' he thought.

"How rude!" said a voice to his right.

"Shut up!" said another voice, "Our boss is behind bars because of you and your idiot of a captain!"

"Haven't you learnt your lesson?" asked Tashigi.

"Definitely not! Guess we need you to teach us again!" said one pirate.

"We're supposed to bring your corpse to our boss so he can see that we finished you off!" the other said.

"If you insist, I will fight you!" Tashigi said.

"That is so cute!"

"You do know you're a girl, right?"

The two charged and Zoro got ready his sword but Tashigi had dealt with it and cut them.

The crowd cheered her but Tashigi tripped and dropped her glasses.

Zoro picked them up and was about to hand them to her when she lifted her head.

"Thank you!" she said only to see Zoro had broken them because she looked exactly like Kuina.

"MY GLASSES! THOSE WERE REALLY EXPENSIVE! YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THOSE!" she said.

Luffy was walking in the alleyways of Loguetown and was clearly lost.

"This really sucks!" he said, frowning, "How do I keep getting lost?"

He then saw a bar called Gold Roger's bar and entered it. He walked down the stairs and opened the doors and saw and old man.

"Excuse me, do you work here? The sign hanging on the door said this is called the Gold Roger! How did it get that name?" asked Luffy.

"Scram! You should leave! And we're closed for good, starting from today!" said the old man.

"You're going out of business?" asked Luffy.

"No, I've decided to shut it down myself! I'm retiring!" said the old man.

"Sorry, I just wanted to know about the name! See I'm looking for the execution platform!" explained Luffy, "What the heck is that! It's a huge skull! That is so cool!"

"Killer Giant, one of the most feared heathens to ever sail the Grand Line! He sent hundreds of pirates to their deaths over the coarse of his life! But it only took Gold Roger a single blow to take him down!" the old man explained.

"Gold Roger killed him?" asked Luffy.

"With lightning speed!" exclaimed the old man, "You see, Killer Giant was known for using this massive blade but it didn't matter! The whole fight was over before he could even raise his weapon! And here's the wound that did it! And there are no more true pirates left and that's why I'm closing down!"

"I'm going to the Grand Line!" said Luffy, "Gold Roger is so cool! He's exactly how a pirate should be! That's why I'm here! To go to the Grand Line, get my hands on the One Piece and then be King of the Pirates!"

The old man's eyes widened as he saw Gold Roger's spirit in Luffy. They were exactly the same. What did Roger used to say? Inherited Will?

"Those are some pretty big words! Even more so because you're in this bar!" said the old man.

"I only said what I meant!" Luffy explained.

"Young man, if there are still people like you out there, should I hold off on closing this place?" asked the old man.

"I don't know, it could just be me!" Luffy said.

"That's right! It could just be you! In that case, let's have a drink! I haven't been in this good a mood for some time!" the old man said, getting out some rum.

"Neat!" Luffy said.

"Let's raise our glasses together! To the eternal King of the Pirates!" said the old man, pouring Luffy a glass of rum.

"Here's to the King of the Pirates!" said Luffy, and the two drank on that.

Later, after Luffy had left, Smoker had entered the bar and the old man growled at him.

"Ugh! So it's you!" said the old man.

"Now that's no way to treat a customer," Smoker said, "Especially your only one."

"Cut the crap! You just want to see me close this place down!" said the old man.

"So you had a guest?" asked Smoker, "I think I'd like a taste of rum old man!"

"Drank it all," he muttered and glared at Smoker.

Meanwhile Luffy was walking through the town.

"Finally I found main street!" said Luffy, with a huge grin, "I wonder if Gold Roger ever walked down this street like me?"

Luffy had finally reached the execution platform.

"The place where the great pirate age began!"

He then began to climb the execution platform. He nearly fell but luckily, after flailing around for a moment, he grasped onto the scaffolding once more.

"Hey!" Smoker said from behind him, "You, kid!"

"I'm kind of busy right now! Could you come back later?" Luffy asked.

"You're him? The guy with the East Blue's biggest bounty?" asked Smoker.

"Yeah, that's me! Monkey D. Luffy!" he said, "Are you the Smoker Nami mentioned?"

"Yes, that's me! You're under arrest!" Smoker said.

"Arrest? Forget that! See, I'm going to the Grand Line to become King of the Pirates!" Luffy explained with a smile.

"King of the Pirates?" mumbled Smoker.

"And I refuse to get arrested in this town!" Luffy said.

"Then you'll have to go through me!" Smoker growled, "You don't get to enter the Grand Line unless you beat me first! That's the rule of this town! That's assuming you'll be stupid enough to fight me!"

"Well I was planning on fighting you eventually!" said Luffy.

"Let's get started!" said Smoker.

"Gum Gum-" but Luffy was cut off as his body stayed by the platform and he was left dangling upside down.

"He's made out of rubber?" Smoker sad astonished.

"No fair! My legs are all tangled up!" Luffy said annoyed.

"HEY! COME ON! GET DOWN FROM THERE!" Smoker said.

"Hey, I'm stuck! I'm trying to get down!" Luffy said, trying to release his feet.

He finally released himself and made a move to fight Smoker.

"Gum Gum Pistol!" he said, shooting his hand towards Smoker, who dodged.

"Too slow!" Smoker said from behind him, but Luffy jumped out of the way towards the crowd.

Smoker then tried to kick him in the chin but Luffy jumped into the air. He landed by the platform and grinned.

'He can keep up with my speed! Interesting!' Smoker thought.

"Gum Gum Whip!" Luffy said, swinging his leg out.

This move was too fast for Smoker, however the leg just passed through him, making Luffy's eyes widened.

'Faster then me... that's a pain!' Smoker thought, and didn't see that Luffy's leg had wrapped around a fountain.

Smoker turned around to see this and by the time he looked around, he didn't have time to see Luffy about to kick him by reeling himself in. Because of this, Smoker could not activate his Devil Fruit powers.

It was as if time stopped for him in that moment.

'He's going to kick me again, isn't he?' Smoker thought.

He then was smashed in the face and thrown to the ground. Sadly, Luffy was sent flying by the fact that he missed and pinged off into the distance.

"That... was a pain," Smoker thought, rubbing his face.

Meanwhile, Tashigi was leading Zoro through the street.

"I still can't believe you broke my glasses!" Tashigi growled.

"I told you! I'll pay you back, ok?" Zoro said with a sigh.

"You don't look like you have any money! Am I right?" she said.

"Well that's true," Zoro grumbled, "I'm kind of broke!"

"I knew it! I could tell by the look on your face that you're pretty desperate!" she said, "What is it? Your sick mother needs medicine?"

"Hey hold on!" Zoro growled.

"Don't explain! Just come with me!" she said, entering the marine base.

She led him through the corridors and passed him a broom and a bucket of water.

"Here, luckily for you our janitor quit this morning! Once you start working for the marines, you'll never have to worry about money problems again! There will always be a job here for you!" she explained.

"Not a chance in hell!" Zoro exclaimed annoyed, "I don't work for marines!"

"You can't leave now! I expect to be payed back for my glasses! Maybe you can clean your attitude next!" she said.

"Crap!" Zoro said.

"Sergeant Major! It's time for training!" said a marine who appeared.

"I'll be back to check on you!" she said, walking off.

Meanwhile Nami was walking around town with a smile on her face.

"Shopping always makes me feel better!" she said, walking past Luffy's wanted poster.

She then saw Zoro taking a bucket to the outside of the marine base.

"How the hell did this happen to me?" he said with a groan and walked back inside.

"Zoro, with the marines? How did that happen?" she said.

Zoro then started to clean the floor.

"Dammit, this is gunna take the whole damn day! Unless..." he started, grabbing two more broomsticks and putting one is his mouth.

He then rapidly cleaned the floor with great skill.

"3 Broom Technique worked like a charm!" he said.

He then looked through the window and saw Tashigi fighting two marines and how she easily beat them.

"Hey you!" two marines said from behind him, "Just what do you think you're doing?"

He turned around and they saw the three brooms he had with him.

"It's Zoro! The Pirate Hunter! Why are you cleaning? Intel says you've teamed up with Monkey D. Luffy's crew! Drop the broomstick!" one said.

But Zoro defeated them in a second.

"Well... guess I should leave!" he said.

He ran outside and went to find a place that sold swords. He eventually found one and walked in to see the owner sleeping.

"I'll like to pick up some swords!" he said and the owner woke up.

"Of coarse! Welcome! Have a look at anything you like!" he said, rubbing his hands together.

"I've got 100,000 berris for 2 swords! Can you do that?" Zoro asked.

"2 for 100,000? For 50,000 a piece you can buy two dull blades," the owner said, disappointed.

"I can make do with whatever!" Zoro said.

The owner then saw Wado and tensed.

"Can I look at that sword for a second! Is that ok?" asked the owner.

"Yeah whatever," Zoro said, giving him the sword.

The owner opened it a bit and started to hyperventilate.

"Wow! That's a pretty nice sword you got there! You wanna sell it?" the owner asked with a grin, "I'll give you 200,000 berris for it. What do you say? That would leave you with 300,000,000 which you could buy some pretty good steel with! At 100,000 a piece there are bound to be 3 swords you like!"

"What! Are you kidding me!" Zoro growled.

"Ok! I'll give you 250,000 for it. No wait, 300,000 berris! Final offer, 500,000!" he started to ask rapidly.

"Just stop!" Zoro said, "I'm not selling! The sword is mine!"

"I'll give you 650,000! How does 800,000 sound?" he screamed.

"I'm back!" Tashigi said, running in, "Did you finish polishing my Shigure? Oh, I was so worried about you. See, some marines were attacked earlier right where you had been mopping the floor. You were gone though, so I thought naturally you had been kidnapped. The fact that you're here must have meant you ran away! So hears your stupid money back! I don't need it! I can't accept money from a heartless ingrate! Besides look! I already got new glasses!"

She then noticed the blade in the owner's hand.

"That sword looks just like the Wado Ichimonji!" she exclaimed, "Is this really the sword?"

'Wado?' Zoro thought.

Tashigi unsheathed it and gasped.

"It's beautiful! This has to be one of the 21 O Wazamono Swords!" she said, looking through a book, "See, look at this! It says here that the sword is worth no less than 10,000,000 berris. But you're broke, how do you have this sword?"

"DAMN! YOU JUST HAD TO KEEP TALKING, DIDN'T YOU? I'M GOING TO SUE YOUR ASS FOR OBSTRUCTION OF BUSINESS!" said the owner.

"Obstruction of business? I'm sorry but I don't know what I did. Please forgive me," Tashigi said.

"Here! I finished polishing your Shigure! Now just take it and get out! I don't want to see you in my store again!" he said, tossing the sword to her.

Tashigi caught it and sighed.

"Did she ever do you a favour? It is a complete waste to have such a legendary sword in the hands who has no idea of its true value! You can pick from a large selection of barrel swords for 50,000 a piece! Pick any two you like!" the owner said annoyed.

"What is that guys problem?" Zoro said to himself while looking for a sword in the barrel.

"You must loose a lot of swords if you need to carry three! Unless you're like that famous Pirate Hunter!" Tashigi said.

"Pirate hunter... yeah," Zoro said with a smirk.

"He's quite the legend! His name is Roronoa Zoro!"

"Oh yeah! Him," Zoro murmured.

"Yeah, he's known throughout the East Blue for his amazing skills. But he's not a good person. A swordsman who is just a bounty hunter is no honourable swordsman at all!" she said angry, "Everything is backwards! It's really to bad for real swordsman. Pirates and bounty hunters as swords masters? It just doesn't make any sense! They have most of the worlds legendary swords too. It's a real tragedy!"

"I don't know. It's the kind of thing you have to look out for on a case by case basis, I guess. You never know what people are capable of," Zoro said quietly.

"This is my Shigure! I'm going to work as hard as I can to prefect my skills and one day, I'll take back all the legendary swords! The 21 Top O Wazamonos! The 21 O Wazamonos! As well as the Ryo Wazamonos! I'll find them all!" she said, determined.

Zoro smirked and unsheathed Wado a bit.

"And this one? My sword. The Wado Ichimonji!" said Zoro.

Zoro grabbed one of the barrel swords and paused.

'This sword is...' Zoro thought.

He picked it up and stared at it.

"That's Kitetsu III! Are you really only selling this for 50,000 berris?" she asked the owner.

"Yeah..." he mumbled.

"Unbelievable! That's an authentic Wazamono! Wow! You have to buy it! It's worth at least 1,000,000 berris! You can't pass it up!"

"I can't sell it!" the owner shouted.

There was a silence as Zoro swung the sword around.

"This sword is cursed," he muttered.

"How do you know?" asked the owner.

"I just... do," Zoro mumbled.

The owner then told the two how the Kitetsu killed every wielder it had. And he was worried the curse would pass onto him if he sold it.

"I'll take it!" said Zoro with a smirk.

"I can't sell it you fool! The curse could come back to me!" the owner said.

"Well, we'll see! How about we find out which one is stronger? The sword's curse or my luck!" said Zoro, tossing the sword in the air and holding his arm under it.

"You're gonna chop your arm off!" the owner screamed.

And the sword missed his arm and sunk into the ground. The owner fell on his rear.

"I'll take it!" Zoro said with a smirk.

"Wait!" the owner screamed and went to the back of the store.

He came rushing back with a sword.

"It has an uneven timper pattern! My shop... is small! But this is the finest sword I have! It's name is Yubashiri!" introduced the owner.

"I told you! I'm broke," said Zoro.

"No matter! I'll give it to you free of charge if you'll take it! You're welcome to the Kitetsu as well! You deserve it! Haven't run across a real swordsman in a while! I'm sorry I tried to cheat you before! You must have some damn good luck friend!" he said, and gave Zoro the swords.

Zoro then walked out and felt at ease.

'I definitely feel better having three swords again!' thought Zoro.

Luffy had woken from his nap, which he went into after finally crashing down. He yawned and shot up.

"That was nice! Alright, where was I? Execution platform!" he said running off.

Zoro was inspecting Kitetsu as he sat on some stairs.

"A cursed sword! Interesting!" he said.

"Hey!" Luffy said, jumping in front of his vision, "That's a really cool sword!"

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" Zoro said annoyed.

"Have you seen Nami?" asked Luffy.

"No! I haven't seen the witch anywhere!" said Zoro.

"So why are you just siting there?" asked Luffy, confused.

"I'm bored. You? Aside from looking for your girlfriend?" asked Zoro.

"Me? Yeah! I'm completely lost!" admitted Luffy, "Do you know where the execution platform is?"

They both felt a strong presence and turned around to see a man with a cloak. They then saw him shoot a gang of criminals.

"Daddy the Father," Zoro said, "Bounty hunter."

Usopp meanwhile was walking down through town with a huge green bag on his back.

"I've got everything I need! I'm completely prepared for whatever the sea can throw at me! There isn't anything, Usopp, brave warrior can't face now!" he said, "Wait a minute. I think I'm forgetting something else! I need some goggles. I'm going to get the best pair I can find! I don't care what they cost, unless it's more than I can afford!"

He ran into a junk shop and was experimenting with some goggles that pulled down over the eyes through a mechanism.

"These are them! These are the ones! They're perfect!" he said.

"Those are brand new! They're the top of the line model from North Blue Company!" the owner said.

"Here!" Usopp said, handing her the money and grabbing the goggles.

"I want those!" a child said, angry that Usopp had taken her choice.

"No can do! I already bought these!" Usopp said.

He then walked out and started to be on his way, but the little girl cut him off.

"I'm friends with the marines! And I'll get them to beat you up!" she screamed.

"The marines? They would side with me on this!" he exclaimed.

"Their captain is a close personal friend of mine! He's kind of like my uncle!" said the girl.

"Well I'm a pirate! Arlong Park was destroyed by these two hands! I was surrounded by hundreds of fishmen and the last thing they ever saw was Captain Usopp!" he boldly claimed, "I have a bounty of 30,000,000 berris!"

"30,000,000 berris huh?" she asked.

"That's right!" Usopp said.

"PAPA!" she said, walking up to Daddy and snatching the goggles out of Usopp's hands.

"I bought a present for you! Happy Birthday!" she said with a smile.

"Oh, my girl! Carole, you are absolutely the most kind little girl a father could ask for!" he said.

"But Papa! That silly man over there is trying to take your present!" she whined.

He glared at Usopp.

"Are you the gentlemen who has been bothering my adorable little daughter?" he growled.

"Technically, I bought those goggles for me. They were just snatched off me! I have the receipt!" Usopp said, showing him the paper.

"But he has a bounty of 30,000,000 berris on his head!" she said.

"A bounty worth 30,000,000 huh? Let's take a look!" he said, taking wanted posters out of his cloak.

"Are those the new bad guys?" asked Carole.

"Yeah, I just picked them up today!" he said, "600; 1,300,000; 700; 30,000,000. Monkey D. Luffy! For a first bounty, that's impressive!"

Usopp started to sneak off but Daddy glared making him stop.

"Where are you going?" Daddy asked.

"Ok. That's not me! I'm not the guy in the poster! I was trying to pretend to be a bad guy to get the thing I bought back!" Usopp explained, "But you can keep the goggles! Bye bye now!"

He ran off but Daddy stopped him.

"That's you!" Daddy said, pointing to the corner of the poster.

"Ok! You got me again! Just try and lay a hand on me and you'll see what happens! My captain won't sit idly by and watch one of his crewmates be killed. He cares about his friends too much! He would destroy you like Arlong! You've got your daughter to worry about! Why risk your life over it?" Usopp asked.

"Your right! It's not worth it! Anyone worth 30,000,000 berris on his head is no ordinary man. And he got a good hit on Smoker, which should be impossible!" Daddy explained.

"Papa! You can beat him! You're the strongest man ever! And your not afraid of anyone! And he beat up Uncle!" Carole protested.

"Darling, I don't have to prove anything. I just need to get by with enough to get us happy!" Daddy said, "So long as you think I'm the greatest, that's all that matters to me! Understand?"

"But Papa-" the girl started.

'I scared him off just like that?' Usopp thought, confused

"Can I have my goggles?" Usopp asked.

"No. Let's settle this dispute like gentlemen," Daddy explained, while throwing Usopp a gun.

"A duel?" Usopp asked.

"If you win, the goggles are yours," he said, revealing 30 pistols.

"That's the same number as Daddy the Father!" Usopp said, frightened.

"Yup, that's me," Daddy said calmly.

Meanwhile, Nami was walking through town with her shopping, when she heard someone challenged Daddy the Father to a duel.

"Everybody knows that Daddy the Father is the greatest gunslinger in bounty hunter history. Not to mention he's never lost a duel before. So what kind of idiot-" she started, before noticing Usopp and Daddy standing back to back.

"Oh. That kind," she said.

'What the hell just happened? Why am I duelling this guy?' Usopp thought while quivering.

"Simple rules. Walk ten paces and fire," Daddy stated.

"Okay," Usopp barely managed to get out.

"What the hell are you doing? It looks like your facing Daddy the Father in a duel! Are you nuts?" Nami shouted.

"You're not helping! You never have anything nice to say except when you're talking to Luffy!" Usopp shouted.

"You get one shot! Are you ready?" Carole asked.

"No!" Usopp said, falling to his knees.

The crowd then sighed and walked away.

"Listen, if you want money, my friend here has loads! Please spare me! I'm begging you!" Usopp begged.

"What the hell?" Nami said, annoyed.

"So. Now you're cowering behind a woman?" Daddy said

Usopp stood up and growled.

"No! Leave her out of this! She had nothing to do with it! Nobody but me can get me out of this situation! And my captain would skin me if I let her get hurt!" Usopp said, determined, "Just leave Nami out of it!"

"Usopp?" Nami asked, while Daddy looked shocked.

"Usopp? Did she just call you Usopp?" Daddy asked.

"Yes," Usopp replied.

"Do you know a man by the name of Yasopp?" asked Daddy, making Usopp widen his eyes in surprise.

"Yasopp! That's my dad's name! Are you saying you and my father are friends?" asked Usopp.

"So then you are his son! I met your dad, and I've never spoken a word to anyone about that fateful day. Until now that is. We met on a day very much like today!" said Daddy.

He then explained how he lost a duel to Yasopp, and how Yasopp told him to stay with his daughter.

"So that's why you left the marines to become a bounty hunter. It all makes sense now," Nami realised.

"Papa! No! A pirate didn't spare your life! Tell me it's not true! Tell me you killed him, right?" Carole asked, distressed.

"Usopp, wow! Your father must have been amazing!" said Nami.

Usopp had tears in his eyes.

"You embarrassed yourself for me! You put yourself beneath me so I would know what type of man my father was! I'll never forget that! Most people would just bury that story and never tell it to anyone! But you, you're not afraid of anything! Even shame! A coward would never do what you just did!" he explained, "Carole! Your dad is the bravest man alive! Men who are big and strong are easy to find, but the ones who put their honour on the line for others are one in a million! If I accept your dads mercy, it will only bring him more shame! I have one choice and that is to face my death! Give me another chance! I have to prove to myself that I am not a coward! A life or death fight!"

"Alright! Choose the weapon you feel most comfortable with! This will be our final duel!" Daddy explained.

Usopp pulled out his slingshot.

"Good, now. You must hit that weather vane!" Daddy said, pointing at a whale with a crown on it's head, then pulling out a gun and pointing it at Usopp, "If you miss..."

"Right! You'll shoot me through the heart! So this shot determines whether I live or die with honour!" Usopp said, preparing his shot.

He then fired and there was silence.

"You missed..." Nami said, shocked.

"Please don't kill him Daddy! Please no!" Carole said, while Daddy looked disbelieved, with his mouth open wide.

"I can't shoot him because he shot right through the crown!" Daddy explained, while Nami looked through a telescope and saw that it was true.

Usopp fell to his knees and let out a sigh of relief.

"You're as good as your father! And just as brave as well! Go to the Grand Line. You'll find him and he'll be proud!" said Daddy.

Carole handed him the goggles and smiled.

"You're a pretty good shot! And these are rightfully yours anyway!" said Carole, before walking away with her father.

Meanwhile in a plaza.

"Sanji, I finally found you after 10 years!" said a woman.

"Behold! The amazing Carmen!" said a man.

"The greatest cook in the East Blue!" said another man.

"I am passion!" said Carmen.

"You are beauty itself! It is my best dream come true! Yes! And you have come searching for me!" he said, with a heart instead of his eyes, while getting on his knee and grabbing Carmen's hand, "It is my honour!"

Sanji was about to kiss her hand, but Carmen hit him with a frying pan.

"Oh my! You are so passionate! But tell me Carmen, how is it you and I know each other?" asked Sanji.

The men handed Sanji pictures of cooks.

"These are pictures of cooks," said Sanji, while one of the men burst through the cards.

"True!" he said, while covering Sanji's face in saliva, "These are the most famous cooks in the East Blue! And the great Carmen defeated every one of them in competition!"

"Yes! I am really the greatest cook in the East Blue! The cooks who challenged me have all been disappointing simpletons! And I was beginning to think that there was no one left to challenge my skills! But then I came across an article on the Baratie Sea Restaurant when you still worked there! A cook at the Baratie said that their prior sous chef was the best cook in the East Blue! He said that in all his years in the restaurant business, he had never met your equal!" Carmen elaborated, "From that moment until now, I have spent every minute of the last ten years searching for you!"

"Actually it has been 10 days!" said one of the men.

"Carmen has a bit of trouble with what we call the truth!" said the other.

Carmen then hit them with her frying pan.

"Now I challenge you, Sanji! Meet me at Market Place cooking competition!" she said, before spinning and floating off.

But this actually only made her dizzy, and her men had to carry her off.

"Finally, a woman with a passion like mine!" said Sanji.

"So kid!" a crowd member said, "You going to compete in the market place?"

"Nah. I don't like contests!" Sanji said.

Meanwhile, Zoro and Luffy had left a bar, stopping Buggy from attacking Luffy.

Sanji had then ended up at the market place and was looking around. He then saw some fish that a fisherman was selling.

"These are superb!" Sanji said.

"You sure know how to pick them! You're looking at some coastal fish we just caught earlier this morning!" said the man.

"Coastal fish? They certainly are firm and fresh! Are you sure they were caught in the East Blue? I've never seen them before!" Sanji explained.

"You definitely know your way around sea food! You are correct! These fish are different! They are from the West Blue! People from the East Blue don't usually know this type!" the man explained.

"The West Blue? Then why do you call them coastal fish?" asked Sanji.

"Young man, is this your first time here?" asked the man.

"Uh... yeah," Sanji replied.

"Just look at this! You won't find fish like these in the East Blue! And we got tonnes of them! You can pull them right out of the water all day long!" the man said.

"So how does that happen?" asked Sanji.

"The crossing ocean current bring them all from the other seas out there! Loguetown is just in the right place!" said the man, before they heard gasps from behind him, "Hey! Sounds like they caught something good!"

Sanji pushed his way through the crowd and was shocked at what he saw.

"It's an Elephant Blue Finned Tuna Fish! How much for it?" Sanji asked, as they were lifting it away, "Sell the fish to me!"

"I'm sorry! I can't sell this to you! This fish is going to be the grand prize for the contest!" explained the fisherman.

"It's a prize?" asked Sanji.

"That's right! The annual cooking contest starts today! So, cooks from all over the East Blue will be here to compete! And this fish is going to be the grand prize for the winner! If you want the fish, sign up! But do it before there are no more places left!" said the man.

Sanji then went to run to the competition to sign up.

Over there, the crowd was wild and everyone was pushing to get to the front.

"The annual cooking festivities are about to begin! The greatest cooks from the East Blue are here competing today!" said the man.

Over in the crowd, Nami and Usopp were wondering what was going on.

"It's so crowded! I wonder what's going on?" though Nami out loud.

"This years grand prize is an Elephant Blue Finned Tuna!" said the man.

Meanwhile Sanji finally noticed Carmen.

"I'm so glad you decided to show Sanji! But the title of East Blue number one is going to be me!" said Carmen, "This will be fun! I've never had any real competition before!"

Meanwhile, Nami and Usopp noticed Sanji and they called for him.

"Sanji!" Usopp called.

"Over here!" Nami said, and upon hearing her voice, Sanji ran over.

"Nami! You came to watch me cook!" said Sanji.

"No way. I was just walking by, looking for my idiot! Have you seen him?" asked Nami.

"No," said Sanji with a sigh.

"What made you want to compete Sanji?" asked Usopp, making Sanji look at him in surprise.

"Usopp! When did you get here?" Sanji said, making Nami sweat drop.

"I'm the one who called for you first!" Usopp shouted.

"OKAY! Who's ready to start the contest?" shouted the man, "Just for fun, we picked one of you from the crowd to be one of our judges! Say hello to Sam, who was in a rush on his way home to sleep off the rest of his daughters wedding reception! You ready Sam?"

"YEAH!" Sam screamed.

"The rules are very simple. Each competes in a blind draw, head to head, in each round! The one with the highest total score wins! Whoever end up undefeated for all the rounds, wins!" explained the man.

The competition went on, with Sanji and Carmen making it to the finals.

"With his instinctive skills and sense for food, we have Sanji!" said the man.

"Facing him with her beautiful presentation and cooking expertise, Carmen!"

"Start you cooking!"

Carmen made a grab for some carrots and started washing them. And the peeling them at a rapid pace.

"And how is Sanji doing?" said the man.

Sanji was cutting fish in half, throwing them in the air while switching his knife hand, throwing the fish to the side, and repeating the process.

"He is rocking with blades flying!" said the man.

Carmen filled a pot with water while Sanji assorted his knives. He then started to break several eggs at once, then whisking them. While thinking about the All Blue, before cutting vegetables and adding them into a pot. He then added wine into the pot.

He then started to cook the meat and left that alone while checking his stew. The man noticed Sanji and Carmen were moving onto their final stages of preparation.

Sanji then threw the meat into the air and caught them with two plates. The crowd went wild.

The two were done. The judges had then decided after eating.

"Well then, here is the result! The winner of this years cooking championship is San-" another man started.

"WAIT!" Carmen shouted before walking up to Sanji, "I can't forgive myself. I can't believe I thought I could beat you! I watched you cook when you were young! You were driven, even back then. They wouldn't let me in the kitchen like you! And it made me so resentful. I've trained so hard, for so long. That's why I wanted to find you and show you what I learnt. But after all this time, you've only gotten better! I don't know what made me think I could beat you! The truth is, you beat me, fair and square. You are the greatest cook in the East Blue!"

Sanji smiled and stood up.

"Carmen, that's the best compliment anyone has ever given me! I'm so happy I could kiss you!" Sanji said, kissing her.

"I'm forfeiting this round. I hope you are ready for the next time we meet! I won't loose to you again!" she said, after breaking away and leaving Sanji dazed.

"Well if it's a challenge from you Carmen! I'll definitely accept!" Sanji said.

"AND THE WINNER IS... SANJI!" said the man, and the crowd burst out into cheers.

The three then were walking through the town with Sanji's fish being carried.

Nami then stopped and looked up.

"What's up Nami?" Usopp asked.

"It's the air!" Nami mumbled, "It's going to rain!"

"But it's so nice!" Usopp said.

"I'm sure of it! Let's hurry!" she said, jogging forward.

Meanwhile Luffy had left behind Zoro after his hat had blown away in the wind.

It took him to the execution platform, and Buggy and Smoker were told that Luffy was there.

Luffy had finally made it to the top of the platform.

"Hey you! Up there!" a voice said, which revealed to be a marine's, "Get down from there immediately!"

"Well why?" asked Luffy.

Before he could answer, the man was hit by an iron club.

"Now is not the time for such things," a woman said, "Long time no see, Luffy. I've been looking for you! Don't tell me you've forgotten my face!"

"I'm pretty sure we've never met! Who are you?" asked Luffy.

"Well I will never forget you! You're the first man who ever truly struck me! " she said.

"What! I never hit you!" Luffy shouted.

"When you struck me with your passionate fist! It felt good!" she said, "Listen up boys! What would you say is the most beautiful sight in the whole East Blue?"

"THAT WOULD BE YOU!" everyone said.

"Nami," Luffy said quietly, "Or meat."

"I am quite breath-taking aren't I? But I prefer strong men Luffy! Like you! I'm going to make you all mine Luffy! Just wait!" she said, while somewhere else, an orange haired woman in Loguetown growled, not knowing why.

"But I'm with Nami," Luffy said.

"Who?" Alvida growled.

"Just who the heck are you?" asked Luffy.

Then a cannonball hit the fountain and knocked some police away.

"Surprise!" Buggy shouted.

"That little stunt was dangerous," the woman said, as a piece of rubble had slipped right off her.

"I'm flashily sorry! But your smooth skin is unharmed, so there is no need for trouble!" said Buggy, "Fairest Alvida!"

"Alvida?" Luffy said, thinking of a fat woman, "I don't see Alvida."

"I'm Alvida!" Alvida said.

Luffy frowned.

"Are you sure? Cause I don't think you're her!" he said.

"I guess I really did change after eating the Smooth Smooth Fruit!" she said, "And then I decided to join forces with some one who shared my goal of finding you."

The figure behind her then took off their cloaks, revealing Buggy and his men.

"Behold the real star of the show! Monkey D. Luffy! Ever since the day you sent me flying, I've been obsessed with enacting my revenge!" he explained.

"What was your name again?" asked Luffy, "Boggy? Boogy? Beefy? Baggy? It's Buffoon!"

"It's Buggy!" he screamed.

"Hey! It's Buggy the Clown!" said a member of the crowd and the whole crowd ran away.

"You people stay where you are! I want every single one of you to see how exactly scary I can be!" he said menacingly.

"Oh! Buggy right?" Luffy said.

"YOU JUST NOW REMEMBERED?" screamed Buggy.

Luffy then was trapped in stocks by Cabaji.

"How's Zoro?" asked Cabaji.

Luffy tried to escape but couldn't.

"Do you feel honoured? You'll die in the same place as the King of the Pirates!" said Buggy.

Meanwhile with Nami and the group, she was looking at a barometer.

"The barometric pressure is falling fast. I've never seen such a sharp drop before!" said Nami.

"You know I thought I felt something strange!" Sanji said.

"There's a storm headed straight for the island!" Nami exclaimed.

"A storm?" Usopp said.

"Yeah! We better hurry back to the ship or we'll be in trouble!" she said.

"Hey!" Zoro said behind them , without Luffy next to him.

"Zoro? Where's Luffy?" Nami asked.

"We got separated! And I keep getting this feeling! It's not good! It usually means that something bad is going to happen!" Zoro growled.

"PIRATES ARE HERE!" screamed someone.

"It's Buggy the Clown!" another screamed.

"What'd they say?" Nami asked.

"I think they said Buggy!" Zoro said.

"It's time for the execution!" another person said, making Nami widen her eyes.

'Please. No...' she thought worried.

"Buggy the Clown is going to kill Straw Hat Luffy!" another said, and Nami dropped her bags in shock.

"What..." she said.

"They're going to execute him!" shouted Usopp.

Nami looked paralysed.

"Let's go!" Zoro said, and Nami regained her senses and followed him.

"Nami!" Sanji said but stopped when he saw the look in her eyes.

"I'll get back to the ship then!" Sanji said, walking off with the fish while picking up her bag.

Meanwhile Buggy was grinning like a madman.

"Pirate Monkey D. Luffy of the Straw Hat Pirates will be flashily executed!" shouted Buggy, "For the crime of being stuck up and making me angry! Now live it up flashily!"

"Oh boy! I've never seen an execution before!" Luffy said, excited.

"Well you're about to kid!" Buggy said.

Luffy then realised his position.

"STOP JOKING AROUND!" Luffy shouted.

"It's no joke!" Buggy shouted back, "I now begin the festivities of this public execution!"

"I'm so sorry. Really I am," Luffy said, deadpanned and a bit bored, "Please spare my life."

"Why would I spare your life?" Buggy asked.

"This is what happens when you go against us!" Cabaji said.

"I guess this is it for the man I had my eye on!" Alvida said.

"You've got quite a big audience here today Straw Hat! You want to say a few words before you die?" Buggy asked.

"LISTEN! I'M THE MAN WHO'LL BE KING OF THE PIRATES!" Luffy screamed.

The crowd looked shocked.

"What?" one said.

"He said King of the Pirates," another said.

"In this town?" said another, "Of all places."

"Crazy thing to say," one remarked.

"We're finally getting to the best part of the show! Bye bye now!" said Buggy.

"STOP THE EXECUTION! NOW!" Zoro and Nami screamed.

"Nami! Zoro!" Luffy said, relieved.

"Zoro?" Tashigi said.

"Luffy you idiot! Guess all that fooling around finally caught up with you?" Zoro said, preparing his sword.

Nami remained silent.

"Zoro. Let's get rid of them," Nami said darkly, making Zoro actually gulp in fear.

"Yeah," he mumbled.

"Look! It's Pirate Hunter Zoro!" screamed one, and the whole crowd cleared out of the way.

"Hey guys!" Luffy said, with a grin.

"So you made it Zoro and Nami! But you're just a little bit too late!" said Buggy, raising his sword.

Zoro and Nami dashed forward.

"We've got to break that platform!" said Zoro.

"Roronoa Zoro!" Tashigi said, looking into her binoculars.

"Okay boys! Get them!" screamed Alvida.

Zoro cut through his enemies like they were nothing. And Nami fought like she had never done before, getting rid of people just as fast as Zoro was doing with her Bo Staff, although Zoro was clearly not going full strength as he was not using his moves.

Nami's staff tinted black for a second and it smashed several people forward at once when it hit one of them.

Buggy looked shocked.

'That was...' he thought in shock, but go back to his task.

"Not even the great Zoro can stop me now!" screamed Buggy, "There is nothing you two can do! It's the end for your captain!"

"No!" Nami shouted, working even harder.

'If I could just cut down the platform!' Zoro thought.

"Nami, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp! Sorry, but I'm dead!" Luffy said with a huge grin as Buggy's sword came down.

'Idiot!' Zoro thought.

'NO!' Nami thought in despair with tears in her eyes.

"He smiled," Smoker said, shocked.

All of a sudden, lightning struck down from the storm and shocked Buggy and Luffy, as well as destroying the platform.

It then started to rain.

The tower fell, and a straw hat fell from the sky, while Nami noticed something and ran forward.

The straw hat landed in front of Luffy and he picked it up and put it on his head.

"I'm still alive!" he said with a laugh, "That's nice!"

Nami jumped onto him for a hug and then kissed him, before crying onto his shoulder.

"Don't ever do that to me again!" she wailed.

"I'm fine! That's not happening again!" Luffy said, rubbing soothing circles onto her back with his finger.

She calmed down and she, Luffy and Zoro all ran off.

"Attack! Surround all the pirates now!" shouted Smoker.

Marines surrounded the group and charged.

The three broke through a group of marines and got away.

'Why did he smile? Did he know he'd be saved? No! At that moment, he was certain his life was about to end! He simply accepted death and smiled after preparing himself!' Smoker thought.

"Captain, we have to pursue the pirates!" the Lieutenant said.

"Lieutenant! Think back! Have you ever seen any pirates who smiled on the execution platform?" asked Smoker.

"No sir! At the moment of death, they all turn pale and die in despair!" he replied.

"That straw hat smiled! I saw it! He smiled just like Gold Roger did 22 years ago! Just like the old King of the Pirates did! On that exact execution platform! Where is the straw hat now?" Smoker asked.

"Sir! He slipped past us and sped towards the dock!" one marine explained.

"Captain Smoker, he will be able to sail to the Grand Line before we can capture him!" said Tashigi.

"The wind is blowing towards the west! It's a tail wind for that ship! Is this just mere coincidence? It's as if heaven itself has special plans for this young pirate! I won't let that man leave this island!" Smoker explained.

Meanwhile with the trio, they were running as fast as they could.

"What the hell is up with all this rain?" Zoro asked Nami.

"I don't know! But we need to get to the Merry!" said Nami.

"Just keep running!" shouted Luffy.

Sanji and Usopp had gotten to the Merry. Mohji was there but Sanji immediately kicked him and Richie into the water.

"Who were they?" asked Sanji.

"Don't know," Usopp replied, getting onto the Merry with Sanji.

Marines then arrived but Sanji beat them up with Usopp. It was not difficult enough to write about in detail, the author concluded.

"Which way is the sea?" asked Zoro.

"This way!" said Nami, leading them down a road.

Tashigi was in front of the group and Zoro growled.

"I didn't know you were Zoro! But a pirate as well! You lied! You're just another liar!" she screamed.

Luffy and Nami looked at Zoro as if he was an idiot.

"You never asked me what my name was, did you?" said Zoro, "So I never lied, did I?"

"He has a point you know," Nami added.

"You know there is no way I'm going to allow some one like you to leave with such a legendary sword! Give it to me! THE WADO ICHIMONJI!" Tashigi shouted.

"Come and get it!" Zoro said, preparing Wado.

Tashigi charged with Shigure but Zoro easily blocked it. She went for a swipe at the left but Zoro blocked that as well.

"Let's go!" Nami said, but Luffy only started jogging ahead.

"Why aren't you running?" asked Nami, jogging next to him.

"Waiting for Zoro," he said and he turned around to see Zoro running up to them. He had beaten Tashigi easily as she had gotten too angry and lost her composure. He left her with a scar running across her right leg, to show her that not all men were afraid to hit her, and to show himself that he had finally accepted that Kuina was gone and that he couldn't live in the past to a point where he could not face someone who looked like her.

The three were running and they saw the Merry.

"I see the dock!" said Luffy but then he noticed someone. It was Smoker.

"Great! Now what!" Nami growled.

"Straw Hat Luffy! You're finally here! I already told you that you couldn't get to the Grand Line without beating me first!" Smoker said.

"If the bruise on your face is saying anything, I think he already did!" Nami shouted.

"Nami, Zoro! Go on ahead! I'll be right behind you! Someone wants a rematch!" Luffy said.

The two nodded and ran ahead, while Sanji raised the anchors as cannons were firing at him.

"You can't set sail yet! Luffy and the others aren't back!" Usopp shouted.

"There is no other choice!" Sanji said as the Merry started to move, "If we stay, the ship sinks!"

"Guys!" Zoro and Nami shouted, running along side the ship.

"Where's Luffy?" asked Usopp.

"We'll get him later! Or he can stretch to the ship!" Nami explained.

The two then had to start beating up marines as they had arrived in large numbers.

Zoro growled and picked up Nami, throwing her onto the boat.

"ZORO!" Nami screamed as she fell on the deck.

Sanji and Usopp then jumped off, with Usopp jumping in the water as he could not jump that far, and Sanji jumping onto the ground and helping Zoro.

Meanwhile Luffy and Smoker were fighting.

"Gum Gum Pistol!" Luffy shouted, but his hand went through and Smoker charged at him. The hand then ripped out a piece of rubble and it came reeling back, and Smoker was caught off guard as the rock smashed into the back of his head. Luffy then jumped it the air and Smoker took out his Jutte. He smacked Luffy with it and Luffy was sent flying back. Luffy charged forward and slid under Smoker's legs while Smoker brought the Jutte down, but it hid the ground. Luffy then whipped his leg up, smacking the top of Smoker's head, which then sent his forehead smacking into his own Jutte.

Then Smoker back flipped and crashed both of his feet onto Luffy's head, making Luffy growl as he grabbed Smoker's feet but his hands went through. Luffy then jumped up, making Smoker fall off. Smoker was about to smash Luffy with his Jutte, but a hand grabbed the Jutte and stopped him.

"Why are you here? Dragon?" asked Smoker.

"Dragon?" Luffy said, tilting his head, "You look familiar. Do I know you?"

"Perhaps. The world is still waiting for our answer!" he replied.

A massive wind current picked up and carried Luffy and Smoker away. Zoro, Sanji, Usopp and the marines were also flown away. Nami was grabbing onto the rail of the Going Merry to not be blown away.

The wind died down and the Straw Hats ended up in the same place.

"What did Dragon do?" asked Luffy, guessing the man had done it.

"Dragon?" Sanji asked, not thinking that it was the Dragon.

"Dunno. Said he knew me though," said Luffy.

"GUYS! HELP!" Nami screamed from the ship.

"Nami!" Luffy said while jumping up.

He then grabbed the group and then grabbed the railings, before stretching his arms.

"Gum Gum Rocket!" he shouted, making the three scream.

They hit the sail and bounced off, landing on the Merry.

"Nice one!" Nami complemented.

"Thanks!" Luffy said, with a smile.

Nami smiled back and gave him a hug.

"We made it!" Usopp said.

"Hey look! A light!" Sanji said.

"That's a light house! One of the guide posts. The entrance to the Grand Line is somewhere near by!" said Nami.

"And we're ready!" Luffy said, breaking away from the hug.

"Okay then! I think we should say something to mark the occasion!" said Sanji.

The others agreed.

"I'm going to the Grand Line to find the All Blue!" Sanji said, placing his leg on the barrel.

"I'm going to be King of the Pirates!" said Luffy, placing his leg.

"The World's Best Swordsman!" Zoro said, placing his leg.

"I'm going to draw a map of the world!" said Nami, placing her leg.

"I guess I'm going to be a brave warrior of the sea!" Usopp said, placing his leg last.

"And now to the Grand Line!" Luffy said.

The group brought their feet up and smashed the barrel, beginning their dreams, here.

And this is the new story I mentioned in the Straw Hat Pokemon. I have lots of plans for this so stick around.

I'm really excited, like really.

Anyway, please read and review.

This is, TheHumulisScriptor, signing out.