Announcement: Hey everyone! In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve edited some chapters, specifically the fights in the Arlong Park arc and a few other details in other chapters. Just to let you know, the edited chapters are: 11, 30, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 52, and 53. I made these edits because the Arlong Park arc was bothering me. Arlong was too strong, and that was going to interfere with setting up the strength of future enemies.
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Chapter - 62
East Blue – Loguetown
After running a bit further, the four finally reach the port and spot the Merry docked at one of the piers, kept from being swept away by the turbulent sea only by a rope tied to the port and held by a masked guy wearing a top hat on the Merry's deck.
On the dock where the Merry was moored, Mohji, now permanently bald after his unfortunate encounter with Luffy in Chouchou's hometown, and Richie, the wheelchair-bound lion who lost movement in his hind legs after taking a punch from Luffy, y sprawled on the ground, completely unconscious and beaten up.
And while they boarded the ship to leave, Chouchou took the opportunity to pee on Mohji and Richie's bodies before hopping onto the Merry, even making sure to aim for their mouths.
Once on board, Chouchou noticed everyone giving him strange looks, to which he barked defensively, “Woof woof? Woof woof.”
“Chouchou said: What? They deserved it”, Luffy said, doing his best Scooby-Doo impression.
“Fair enough, no judgment”, Nojiko replied, raising her hands in a peace gesture.
“These two were at the port looking for the Merry when we got here. They tried to attack us, demanding to know where the Merry was. Then, just as I was about to shoot them, this masked guy appeared out of nowhere and knocked them out”, Usopp expined.
“All right, everyone, let’s get to work. We need to get out of here before this storm gets worse. By the way, Luffy, this guy say he’s your brother, is that true?”, Nami asked, looking at the Sabo masked with suspicion as she set everyone to work.
“Yep, everyone, meet Sabo, my older brother. He’ll be sticking with us for a while. And Sabo, meet the crew. The guy with three swords is Zoro, my immediate, the one with the weird eyebrows, and bangs is Sanji, the cook; the one with the big nose is Usopp, our sniper; that fluffy white furball is Chouchou, man’s best and most loyal friend; the blonde girl over there is Kaya, our apprentice doctor; that one is Nami, the crew’s navigator and the girlfriend I mentioned; and the one with blue hair next to Nami is Nojiko, Nami’s sister”, Luffy said, quickly introducing Sabo to everyone as he helped Usopp hoist Merry’s sails.
"Hey everyone, how’s it going? Need help with anything?", Sabo greets them quickly and then offers his assistance, understanding that this wasn’t the time for conversations.
"Yeah, a little help here would be nice", Usopp says while adjusting the sails.
As Merry pulled away from the dock, entering the turbulent sea in the midst of the storm, on the roof of a building in the harbor, Dragon watches his son's ship depart towards the Grand Line.
“Well, things are going to get wild from now on”, he murmured before turning and disappearing.
=Scene Break=
Meanwhile, Smoker arrives running at the port, using Soru, only to see the Straw Hat ship already far from the isnd and Buggy's ship several meters away from the isnd.
Upon seeing the two pirate crews drifting away and managing to escape, Smoker makes his decision and returns to the square where Tashigi had already woken up most of the marines.
"We're sorry for passing out, sir!!!", the marines shout, snapping to attention and bowing their heads upon noticing Smoker's arrival.
“We’re going after Straw Hat. Prepare the men and the ship; we’re heading to the Grand Line”, Smoker ordered, focused on capturing Luffy and barely giving Buggy a thought.
“I’m going too! Roronoa Zoro won’t escape that easily. I’ll defeat him with my own hands”, Tashigi said, determined to make Zoro take her seriously.
“But Captain, the city is under your jurisdiction, sir! What will the superiors say?”, one Marine asked, apprehensive.
"Tell them to go screw themselves and not interfere with my work", Smoker says, with a look of hatred on his face.
=Scene Break=
Meanwhile, on Buggy's ship, all the crew members were gathered, including Mohji and Richie, who had been rescued before they departed. For some reason, the two of them smelled bad and had a strange taste in their mouths.
“We’re heading to the Grand Line?”, Alvida asked, surprised.
"Yes, the strength of that rubber brat won't stop me from following him there, I still have some things to settle with that bastard", Buggy says, trying not to be intimidated by how strong Luffy is or how dangerous he knows the Grand Line is.
=Scene Break=
“The sea is really rough”, Usopp commented, nearly losing his bance as the Merry rocked from the violent waves.
“Shishishi, true, but it’s kind of fun, it feels like the Merry might fly at any moment”, Luffy said, grinning as he sat on the figurehead of the Merry, watching the turbulent sea.
“Be careful not to slip on the wet deck, everyone, and once things calm down, take a bath and dry off well so you don’t catch a cold”, Kaya said, concerned for the crew’s health.
“Thanks for the concern, Kaya… hmm? Look, there’s a lighthouse on that isnd ahead”, Nojiko said, noticing a beacon lit up ahead.
“That’s the ‘Guide Light’; if we go around it, we’ll reach the entrance to the Grand Line”, Nami said, navigating the ship.
“When are we getting out of this storm, anyway?”, Usopp asked, worried the Merry might capsize because of a wave.
At that moment, Sanji appears on the deck dragging a barrel. He then stops and says, catching Luffy's attention, "Hey Luffy, I had an idea, let's make an oath."
"Ohhhhhh, now you're speaking my nguage! Everyone, gather on the deck", Luffy shouts excitedly, calling everyone over.
“I’m going to find the All Blue!”, Sanji decred, pcing his foot on the barrel.
“I’m going to find the One Piece and become the King of the Pirates!”, Luffy decred, putting his foot on the barrel.
“I’m going to become the World’s Greatest Swordsman!”, Zoro decred, also pcing his foot on the barrel.
“I’m going to draw a World Map!”, Nami decred with a smile, putting her foot on the barrel.
“I’m going to help my sister achieve her dream!”, Nojiko decred, smiling at Nami, also pcing her foot on the barrel.
“I’m going to become a Competent and Respected Doctor!”, Kaya decres, doing the same and pcing her foot on the barrel.
“Woof woof woof woof woof woof woof!”, Chouchou jumped up and stood on top of the barrel in the open spot in the middle, decring his dream as Luffy transted, “I’m going to live my life to the fullest!”
“I… I’m going to become a Brave Warrior of the Sea!”, Usopp shouted, decring his dream while pcing his foot on the barrel as well.
“WHOO-HOO! WE’RE GOING TO THE GRAND LINE!!!”, all the Straw Hats shouted, howling to the stormy clouds above in celebration, while Sabo just stood by, smiling beneath his mask, watching the whole scene unfold.
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(AN: 1,162 Words)
Chapter - 63
East Blue Heading towards the entrance of the Grand Line
“Nami, Nami, we’re screwed! We lost the Guide Light, how are we going to get to the Grand Line entrance like this?”, Luffy asks, looking desperate, sitting on the figurehead of the Merry in the rain, trying to find the Guide Light on the horizon.
“The Guide Light is a lighthouse, Luffy. If we kept following the light, we’d be going in circles. Don’t worry, I know where we’re heading”, Nami, wearing a raincoat, says with a slight smile on her face.
“Now go back inside and take a hot shower, you’re soaked. You’ll catch a cold if you stay like this”, Nami says, looking worried.
“Awww, but I wanna see the entrance to the Grand Line”, Luffy whines, throwing a tantrum because he wants to see the Grand Line entrance.
“It’ll still take a few hours to get there, you silly. Go to the bathroom, I’ll meet you there”, Nami says, blushing, clearly having ulterior motives.
After spending some time having sex in the bathroom, Luffy comes out first, already dressed, with his hair a bit wet. He then heads to the kitchen to rex and grab something to eat.
Suddenly, while Luffy is eating some sandwiches that Sanji made for everyone, chatting aimlessly with the crew, Nami appears in the kitchen from the stairs with a towel around her neck, drying her still-wet hair, and holding a map in one hand, her brow furrowed.
“Hey Luffy, let me ask you something since you know more about the Grand Line. The map says the Grand Line entrance is on a mountain. Are the rumors true?”, Nami asks, sitting at the table next to Luffy, grabbing everyone’s attention.
"Yes, it’s called Reverse Mountain. The Red Line has five channels, four are connected to the Blues; basically, these four channels are powerful reverse currents that go up the mountain and flow into the fifth channel that’s connected to the first half of the Grand Line, the Paradise. But didn’t Bubblegum already expin this to you?”, Luffy says, confirming what Nami wanted to know before questioning her, as she often talked with Reiju, and more than a few times they conversed about the Grand Line.
"I even tried asking about it, but she said that if she told me, it would ruin the magic for those who didn’t know what it was like", Nami says, shrugging.
"Wait, is that really the only way to enter the Grand Line? Why don’t we just sail south and enter from there?", Zoro asks, joining the conversation.
"Actually, Reverse Mountain is the simplest way to enter the Grand Line. There are three ways to get in: the first is Reverse Mountain, which is dangerous, but simple and fast. The second way is the transport ship elevator on the Red Line, but it’s controlled by the World Government, is very expensive, and takes too long. The third way is to cross the Calm Belt, which are two stretches of ocean without wind or currents that parallel the Grand Line. That’s basically what you’re suggesting, but besides being much more dangerous than going through Reverse Mountain, to have at least a bit of safety, your ship would have to be modified. It would need to be able to navigate without wind or ocean currents and have its hull coated with sea stone, and those modifications would be extremely expensive”, Sabo says, joining the conversation.
“Okay, I get that Merry needs to be modified to sail without wind and ocean currents since it would take forever if the ship wasn’t modified. But if that’s all, why did you say it’s more dangerous than going through Reverse Mountain? And why would we have to coat Merry’s hull with sea stone?”, Zoro asks, still not understanding what makes the Calm Belt so dangerous.
"It's because the Calm Belt is the territory and nest of the Sea Kings, it's where most of them are born and stay", Nami answers for Sabo.
"And what allows ships to navigate with some safety there is the coating of sea stone on the hull, it basically makes the ships invisible to the Sea Kings. Of course, this only happens when they are submerged in the water. If a Sea King has its body out of the water, it can still see the ship easily. That's why the Calm Belt remains dangerous even with people taking precautions", Sabo says, providing additional information.
“And while it sounds fun to enter the Grand Line through the Calm Belt, I think entering the Grand Line by getting up a mountain at high speed sounds way more exciting”, Luffy says, giving his opinion, or rather, his decision.
Without questioning his captain’s decision, Zoro says, “Alright, no objections.”
“By the way, Sabo, why are you still wearing that mask?”, Luffy asks, changing the subject when he notices Sabo is still wearing that idiot mask.
“Oh right, I forgot I was wearing it. I think when it's just us, I won't need to wear this anymore", Sabo says before removing the mask, revealing his face to Luffy's crew.
"Luffy, why didn't you say earlier that your brother is handsome?", Nojiko asks, surprised by Sabo's looks, causing him to blush slightly upon hearing this.
“Well, no one asked, and why would I go around saying my brothers are handsome or that I’m better looking than them? Besides, Sabo already has a girlfriend”, Luffy says, shrugging.
“You’ve gotten pretty cocky after gaining some muscles, huh?”, Sabo jokes, ughing at what Luffy said.
"Hmphf! At least I'm dating, while you're over there stringing Koa along", Luffy says, retorting like a spoiled child.
=Scene Break=
Several hours ter, while everyone was in the kitchen rexing and chatting, including Nami, who was adjusting the direction of the ship every hour.
Noticing that the rain suddenly stopped, Luffy looks at Nami and sees that she hasn't realized it yet. He then uses his Observation Haki to sense his surroundings, ending up feeling many Sea Kings swimming near the Merry.
Realizing they’ve entered the Calm Belt, Luffy decides to see how long it will take for Nami to notice.
“One, two, three...”, Luffy begins counting aloud, grabbing everyone’s attention.
"What are you doing? Why are you suddenly counting out loud?", Usopp asks, confused.
“Four, five, six, seven...”, Luffy continues.
"What’s gotten into you, Luffy? Did you suddenly turn stupid?", Nami asks, confused, not understanding what her idiot boyfriend is doing.
“Eight, nine, ten, eleven... you still haven’t noticed...”, Luffy continues, smiling.
“Noticed what, you idiot? Just stop counting out loud”, Nami says, starting to get irritated.
"Twelve, thirteen, fourteen... and you still haven’t noticed", Luffy says, holding back his ughter.
Luffy then notices that Sabo has figured out what’s happening, and with a look, signals for him to be quiet.
“I love you, but you’re starting to annoy me, Luffy”, Nami says, with a vein popping out of her forehead.
“Shishishishi, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen...”, Luffy ughs, unable to hold it in any longer.
“What the hell is wrong with you?”, Nami asks, angry.
“Shishishishi, eighteen, nineteen, twenty...”
“Yeah, the captain has gone completely crazy”, Sanji says, thinking that Luffy has gone completely crazy.
“Hmmm? Finally, the storm’s over”, Nojiko says suddenly, looking out the window.
“What? The storm’s over?”, Nami asks, panicking before running outside, finally realizing what’s going on. “Fuck.”
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(AN: 1,231 Words)
Announcement: Hey everyone! In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve edited some chapters, specifically the fights in the Arlong Park arc and a few other details in other chapters. Just to let you know, the edited chapters are: 11, 30, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 52, and 53. I made these edits because the Arlong Park arc was bothering me. Arlong was too strong, and that was going to interfere with setting up the strength of future enemies.
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