Categories > Anime/Manga > One Piece > One Piece Spoiled Dreams
An anchor falls in the shadow of a stretch of shoreline just outside of Nanohana Port. What once was the main shipping artery of the kingdom of Alabasta is now a worn husk. Sand-worn domed buildings, a few ships sitting idly in port, and a listless quiet seem to stifle any attempts at noise a city should produce. Any sounds from the few citizens remaining are drowned out by the waves and the wind driving through the empty buildings on the outskirts. The massive dunes of light-brown sand surrounding the city look practically inviting compared to the empty city before them.
A wooden gangplank is lowered from the deck of a mournful ship, landing on the sandy shore.
Yet the port looks divine compared to the ragged, haunted crew disembarking from their vessel.
Zoro is first off the boat. Gaunt, with torn clothes, he feels the swords strapped to his side with a sigh of regret. He wears a pair of hole-filled black shorts, a white T-shirt with reddish oil stains, and his green hakama belt.
Nami follows him wordlessly, throwing herself on the barren earth and feeling the sand between her fingers with tearful eyes. Her plague suit clings tight to her gaunt frame, exposing her skinny arms and legs.
Nojiko follows her sister; the blue-haired girl’s eyes look around as if unable to believe they are on dry land. Her torn jeans and strapless bra are the only clothes she is wearing.
Chopper struggles to stand on the rocking ship but, with effort, pulls his body up and onto the rocks. His half-shaven body struggles with the intense heat assailing him. His normal gauntlets and black hat are gone, replaced by torn rags covering his hands and maroon shorts.
The Doctor drags Usopp behind him by a leash. The sniper's mouth is closed in a muzzle, and his centaur lower body is wrapped in a rubber wrap to prevent the spread of infection. The sniper's upper body is garbed in an orange shirt with a target on it. On top of his head, he wears a yellow bandana that is holding his black curly hair away from the binding around his mouth.
Luffy, the captain of the Strawhat Pirates, follows; his lanky body is even skinnier than normal, and his brown shorts and red vest hang loosely from his frame. His boots and gauntlets hang from a strap on his blue shorts, along with his hat.
And the last off the boat, her eyes taking in the country in front of her, is the princess of Alabasta. She looks worse than all the other crewmates combined, her bloodshot eyes surrounded by purple bags indicating sleepless nights filled with tears.
'Karoo...' Vivi's voice breaks the silence. She feels the wind in her face. She wears a windswept cloak under a patchwork set of black plage suit parts. Her restored metal arm twitches and whirs as it rests by her side. 'We made it, Karoo. We made it to Alabasta.'
She lets out a tear that falls into the sandy shore under her.
Every single one of the Strawhat Pirates looks dead inside. Sunken eyes, guilt-ridden expressions, and slow, methodical movements mark them as a group that has seen and endured things no person should have to face.
'We... we almost didn't.' Zoro stands up. 'If that Sea Cat hadn't shown up...'
'We would have starved to death a week ago.' Vivi says in an emotionless tone. 'The Sea Cat is our sacred beast. The gods of Alabasta must have sent it to us. It was a sign.'
'Yeah, lucky us.' He spits it out with no lack of venom. 'Maybe if your blasted gods had sent their pet to us a month ago, maybe then...'
'Zoro, stop!' Nami buries her forehead in the dirt. She pounds the dunes, trying to bite back a dry heave.
The group looks to Nami. Everyone fights back their bitterness as the navigator forces herself to calm down.
'Please... please... no more fighting. It won’t help us.'
The group gets quiet at their Navigator's plea. Next to Vivi, Nami had had the hardest time out of all of them these past two odd months. She had spent the few weeks endlessly castigating herself, blaming herself for the crew’s suffering. "If I had only stopped Wapol." Those words had plagued the crew; her regret and self-hatred had been nearly unbearable. Her multiple failures to navigate out of the freak doldrums that had kept them trapped had only made her despair worse.
Nojiko hugs her sister. Now, rather than relying on her sister for necessities, she had become Nami's rock of support during her dark hours. Even as the hunger set in and the last of their food dried up, she had been by her side, ensuring she kept her strength up and working her best to alleviate her pain.
'...Nami's right. This isn't the time for fighting.' Chopper says in his trademark callous manner. 'We're finally at a port, which means no more half-rotten sea beast. We need to restock and gather any leads about where Kureha is.'
'And that's all you care about, of course.' Zoro spits out. 'I'm honestly surprised you didn't eat more of us.'
'Zoro.' Luffy says. 'Shut up.'
Chopper glares at him. 'Please, a half-plagued idiot like you isn't worth eating. And in case you forgot, my medical skills are the only reason more of us didn't die, ingrate!'
'Chopper. Shut up.'
Zoro doesn't stop glaring back at "their" doctor. 'I don't know about that. You didn't object when we were eating Sanji, or the duck. You probably were thinking it was one less mouth to feed.' The swordsman advances mockingly. 'After all, if it wasn't for your pet, none of this would have happened.'
'Zoro. Shut up.'
'In fact, I think you sent your friend to eat all our food. What better way to get in our good graces and prove how useful you are too...'
Luffy tackles Zoro to the ground. 'Shut up!'
The Captain punches him in the face. 'Shut up, Zoro!'
He punches him again, anguish on his face. 'Shut up!'
He raises his bloody fist to strike again.
'Luffy, stop!' Nami cries out.
Luffy pants, his fist raised inches above Zoro's one good eye. 'The captain said SHUT UP. So shut up or leave.'
'...' Zoro looks away in shame, fighting back tears in his one good eye.
After a tense minute, Luffy gets up from on top of Zoro. He shakes Zoro's blood from his fist and holds it up.
Chopper walks over and inspects the wound.
'Everyone...' Luffy takes a deep breath. 'We made it to Alabasta. We got past the blockade around the country, and survived starving to death.'
The crew looks at their captain, hanging on his every word.
'We were able to get here because all of us are friends. We trust each other, depend on each other.' He looks around him. 'We can't turn on each other because none of us can do everything we need to survive.'
Nojiko nods, her hand rubbing Nami's back.
He looks to Nami. 'We would never have made it to Alabasta without Nami's skills in navigating through those windless seas.'
Chopper finishes cleaning Luffy's fist of any trace of infection.
He looks to Chopper. 'Chopper's medicine kept us from dying due to starvation.'
Zoro sits cross-legged on the ground.
He looks at Zoro. 'Zoro single-handedly cut through that Navy blockade when most of us were too weak to move.'
'And Sanji...' He looks down. He swallows back bile. 'Sanji and Karoo... they gave everything they had... just so we could make it another day.'
The group look shamefully down at the ground, ignoring the churning of disgust in their stomachs.
'We are Nakama. We’re a crew.' Luffy states with ice-cold certainty. 'We can't afford to let the bad things that happen to us mess that up. Because without our friendship, without those bonds...we're alone.'
A warm desert wind blows past them.
'So before we do anything else. Before we get a good meal or restock or anything else, there's something we have to do.' He looks out to sea. 'We need to have a funeral, and thank our Nakama for helping us get this far.'
……..
The funeral had begun as any funeral does. Rocks are gathered, and personal effects are placed in a stone pile by the sea. The rocky coast that served as their harbor would also serve as the pirates’ cemetery.
At the top of the piles are two large stones that stand against the crashing waves. They stand over the scant scraps of uneaten bones that were left on the ship. Barely more than a handful of bone shards, the only proof of their existence.
On top of one stone are a pair of simple black boots
On the other, a long yellow feather and woven cap held down by a rock against the wind.
The crew stands silently before the graves.
No one knows what to say.
No one wants to say anything.
What could they say?
The crew of pirates stand quietly in front of the stones, listening to the sounds of the wind and surf.
Vivi is the first to step forward.
'Karoo... I....' She struggles to find the words; every second she fights back tears. 'I understand... why you did what you did.'
She reaches out, feeling the feather held in place by a rock. 'You... you were always there for me. No matter how bad things got on that island, no matter how bad my missions got, you were there to help me. You were... are, my best friend, Karoo. And I... I....'
She wipes the tears pouring down her face. 'I love you, Karoo. I always will, but I... I have to go.' She hesitates.
She looks behind her at the sandy dunes. She looks to the town of citizens, her citizens. A gust of warm wind blows through her salt-crusted hair, blowing her towards her home. 'Alabasta... Alabasta needs me now; I have to go.' She turns back to the grave, feeling the feather one last time. She wipes some of the tears from her face. 'I'll... I'll let the others know about you. Okay... I'm... I'm going.'
She walks away from the grave on shaky feet. Tears flow down her face as she walks back to the group. Nami and Nojiko immediately embrace her as Vivi weeps.
The sounds of the princess's cries wash over the rocks. Nami rubs the woman’s back, whispering sweet comforts into her ear. Nojiko hugs her tighter as if her great strength could squeeze out her friend’s tears.
Luffy is next.
'S-Sanji...' He looks at the boots. His famished stomach growls. The remains of the half-digested Sea Cat sloshes about uncomfortably as he thinks back to those dark days of hunger. 'You... why? Why are you always so... selfless?'
The captain grips his stomach. 'Why are you always sacrificing yourself!? Why?'
'...because that's Sanji.'
Zoro steps forward, looking at the boots with a bitter glance. 'He was always going out of his way to help others, especially the women. No matter how badly he got hurt, he always placed others and his Nakama first.' The swordsman takes a deep breath and admits the man’s virtues. 'That's what made him... a good chef.'
Usopp walks forward to join him. 'Mmmurmp?' He taps the muzzle, keeping his mouth closed.
Luffy looks to Chopper and nods.
The doctor hesitates for a moment before reaching behind the sniper's head and unlocking the vice, keeping his jaw closed.
'Pleth!' Usopp smacks his mouth open and closed several times as if savoring the simple ability to open his own mouth were a blessing. He looks ready to say something cutting to Chopper, only for his eyes to catch the tombstone in front of him.
'Well? Anything to add, Sniper?' Zoro asks.
Usopp thinks for a moment, then nods, looking down at the grave. 'Sanji... he was the kindest out of all of us. Even when I... changed, he was always kind to me. Barely feared me at all.'
He laments as the group around him nod reassuringly. 'I wish... I wish it hadn't happened. He didn't deserve that. Him most of all. And Karoo, well, I think I’ll miss the long talks we had. He was always such a good listener. I’ll be sure to remember him. '
Content that Usopp has said his piece, Luffy looks to his navigator. Nami takes one look away from the princess in her arms. She stares at the grave and shakes her head no.
The captain sighs. 'Chopper?'
The doctor wipes sweat from his brow and looks to the grave. For a moment it looks as though he’ll respond in the same offensive way he responds to everything, only to stop.
'Chopper? If you don’t have something nice to say, please give it…'
'Actually? I have nothing but respect for both Sanji and Karoo. I just couldn’t think of a way to phrase it properly.'
The crew looks to their doctor.
'Look. I’m the first to admit that I'm not one to go to for sympathy; empty words rarely accomplish anything of merit. But Sanji?' He turns towards the stone, remembering the sacrifices their cook had to make to keep them fed. 'He had the heart of a doctor. Beyond our skills, all doctors swear to use their skills to help others to the best of their ability. They sacrifice time, energy, and their own health to slow the grim reaper down.'
The rest of the crew nods in agreement as Chopper continues. 'Sanji was just as determined to help the people under his care. He sacrificed himself for the health of others. Whether it was by cooking food or protecting his crew. I truly believe that I...'
'Look, guys, I appreciate the gesture and everything, but you don't need to do this for me. It's not like I'm dead or anything!'
The crew looks to Sanji sitting off to the side.
'Seriously, everyone, I'm fine.' He says with a level of happiness everyone can see is forced. 'At least I will once I get some actual cigarettes. I'll tell you I'd kill for a smoke right about now.'
The chef struggles, wheeling himself through the rough sands to better face the group. The improvised wheelchair fails to make traction in the deep sands.
'Sanji... please, don't say any more.' Nami looks away from him, unable to even glance in his direction.
With effort, the Chef manages to push over a troublesome rock up to a firmer section of ground. 'I said I'm fine! We made it to Alabasta. You don't need to worry about me.'
Zoro bites his lip, holding back a cutting remark.
'Really, guys.' Sanji pats his thighs. Thighs that end at the knees. 'It's just a pair of legs. It's nothing to worry about.' He tries to laugh. 'Heck, maybe Chopper's crazy medicine can regrow them or something.'
'I can't.' The doctor spits out, taking offense at the chef’s false cheer. 'My medicine isn't at that level yet. And even if my medicine was that effective, there would be horrible side effects.'
Sanji shrugs. 'Well, it was worth a shot.' He looks to Luffy. 'So don't you worry, Luffy. I can still do my duties; it's okay.'
'IT'S NOT OKAY, SANJI!' Luffy roars a; the group backs away from him. 'It's not fine! You... you...'
The invincible captain falls to his knees in front of his chef. 'You... you...' he bows his head before him. 'It's my fault.'
'Luffy...'
'It's all my fault.' He grips his fists. 'I ate too much, and I didn't watch the pantry. I'm a horrible captain!'
'Luffy, you're not...'
'I am! It's... it's all...'
'I am a chef, Luffy!'
Sanji's thunderous voice stops Luffy dead in his tracks. The Straw Hats are stunned, given this is the first time the mild-mannered chef has raised his voice in months. Save, of course, the intense fury when Nami was blaming herself for their hunger.
'This...' he pats his legs, severed at the knee and bandaged over his black shorts. 'This is NOT your fault. It is the job of the crew's chef to feed his crew. No matter what.'
'Sanji…'
'NO. Matter. WHAT. Captain.' The chef states. 'The fact I wasn't able to... the fact that Karoo had to sacrifice himself... It's all on me.'
'No, Sanji!' Vivi shouts, pulling herself from Nami’s embrace to face the young man. 'You can't...'
Sanji raises his hand, cutting her off. 'Preparing food is my job on the crew, Vivi-chan. I am the one responsible for Karoo's death and all of you nearly dying from hunger.'
He looks over at Nami, biting her lip so hard it bleeds. 'It's not your fault either, Nami. What happened was an accident that could have happened to anyone.'
He levels the entire crew with a glare that could freeze ice. 'And I don't want to hear you guys blaming yourselves or taking out your anger on anyone else!'
'Sanji...' Luffy cries.
He turns to his captain. 'Luffy, I'm honored to be the cook for a great captain like you. And if you want to honor Karoo's sacrifice.' He clenches his thighs. 'And mine, you'll forget this self-hatred right now and never doubt you were worthy of it. Understood!?'
The crew stares at Sanji with mixed looks of awe and sorrow. Even Chopper, iron-hearted bastard he is, can't help but let out a tear.
Sanji glares at Luffy, his head still down in the dirt, his face obscured by the angle of his bow.
'Understood, captain?'
Luffy's hands relax. '...no.'
'No!?'
Luffy gets up, wipes the tears from his eyes, and takes a deep breath. 'No, Sanji. I'll never forget what you've done for us, Sanji. You saved all of us; you gave up your legs.'
Sanji flinches. 'Karoo gave more.'
'Even so. I can never forget what you gave up for us.' With sacred tenderness, he picks up his hat from his belt, slipping it on his head. 'And so... I'm making sure I don't forget.'
Luffy holds up his hat; the crew watches, wondering what will happen next.
'I, Monkey D Luffy, future Pirate King, do hereby swear that I will never eat until I am sure every member of my crew can eat their fill!!
The entire crew gasps in horror. Zoro literally falls over. Usopp’s eyes bulge. Nami’s Jaw drops. Nojiko stares in disbelief. Vivi stares blankly. Chopper is the only one who looks skeptical.
Sanji's eyes bug out of his head. 'Luffy!?! What-'
'I swear I will NEVER eat a meal until I'm sure my Nakama won’t go hungry!' He proclaims to his hat, the physical manifestation of his pride. 'And may my dream never come true and Davy Jones take my soul if I fail to uphold this vow!'
With a solemn nod, he places the hat on his head. 'There.' He dusts off his hands. 'Now you and my other friends will never grow hungry on my watch.'
'Luffy, you did...'
Their captain turns to his friends. 'It's done. We all have to remember that our food is precious. We can't ever take a single bite for granted from now on. Captain's orders.'
The crew nod as one; everyone is in perfect agreement. Having starved nearly to death for two months will teach anyone the value of sustenance.
Luffy catches Vivi's eye. 'So it's settled, every bite of food has to be enjoyed. We'll call it Karoo's law. Is that okay with you, Vivi?'
The princess freezes up before emphatically nodding.
The captain nods back. 'Good. Now that we've got that out of the way, we've got important stuff to do.' He points to town, like getting some food that isn't rotten. Who's with me?'
'Me!' Usopp's hand shoots in the air. 'I'm famished! I could eat anything!'
'You CAN eat anything now, Usopp!' Chopper holds up the muzzle. 'Which is why you're wearing this. Now hold still.'
'Eeagh!' Usopp snakes behind Luffy. 'Captain, help!'
'I said hold still! Doctor's orders!'
Usopp circles the other direction. 'Come on, Chop-Chop! I'm not going to try and eat you guys (again)!'
'Better safe than sorry! Luffy!'
The sniper avoids his hands. 'Captain Luffy! Chopper's being mean! And I'm hungry!'
'You're always hungry now, Usopp! It's the effect of the Munch fruit! Luffy, hold him down.'
Luffy sighs and grabs them both. 'Okay, you two.' He pushes them to the ground. 'Usopp. If I let you go without the muzzle, do you promise not to eat people?'
'It was just one time!' Usopp grumbles. 'And it's not like Wapol didn't deserve it...'
Luffy taps his foot. 'Usopp?'
The sniper sighs. 'I swear on the Merry not to eat anyone. Satisfied?'
His captain looks him up and down. 'And you won't eat anything you shouldn't?'
'... I'll, uh, try?'
'...Chopper. Keep an eye on him. No muzzle for now.' He looks to his doctor. 'He can help you carry supplies back to the Merry.'
Chopper nods. 'We'll need a lot. We ate all the bandages and drank every spare medicine that wasn't used for purifying our urine.'
Luffy looks to his navigator. 'Nami? Do we have any Beli left?'
'We ate most of the Beli notes, but we have plenty of gold and jewels for bartering.'
'How much in total?' Vivi asks.
Nami counts on her fingers, the familiar talk of money distracting her from her depression. 'Um. I think we're down to... around three hundred fifty-nine million. With around a hundred thousand worth of notes.'
'Okay then.' Vivi turns to the group, her leadership skills taking over. 'I know where the bank is here in Nanohana. Once we get there, we can convert some of the easy-to-sell treasure into notes. It’s less than a twenty-minute walk from here, so it shouldn’t take too long.'
'First though...' Sanji's fingers rap on his chair. 'We need some easily digestible food. We're still suffering from minor starvation, and we need something that isn't rotten cat meat to restore nutrients we've lost.'
'You have any ideas, chef?' Zoro asks, with no hint of mockery or snark.
Sanji raises his nose and sniffs the air. 'I'm thinking a vegetable curry. I can smell spice in the air, and it's easy to pack full of the vitamins we've lost over the past month.'
Zoro nods, walking behind the wheelchair. 'I'll take you. Nami?'
The swordsman holds up his hand and catches a wad of bills. 'There's a hundred thousand. Get as much as you think we need, Sanji.'
'Oy!' Sanji glares at Zoro. 'I wanted Nami Swan to take me, you bastard! I don't want to be wheeled around by you!'
Zoro scoffs. 'So you'd want a dainty lady to carry all the groceries? Where's your sense of chivalry?'
'Like you're one to talk!'
Nami sighs at the chef’s unimpeded bravado. 'Sanji, please let Zoro carry the groceries.'
'Yes, Nami Swaaaaaaannn!' Sanji comically salutes.
Nami nods. 'All right then. So we're going into town.' She looks back to the ship. 'Who's going to watch the ship? I don't feel comfortable leaving all our treasure unguarded.'
'Agh! I'm sorry, Merry!' Usopp cries out, turning towards his prized boat. 'I forgot about you! Don't worry, I'll protect...'
'Nojiko protect boat.'
'Nojiko!?' The sniper snaps at the quiet girl.
'Nojiko?' Nami asks.
The bull girl nods. 'Right Nojiko. Nojiko is strong; she protects the ship from bad.'
'Okay, I guess that's fine.' Nami admits. 'But why do you want to...'
Nojiko turns into her full bull form and immediately collapses from heat exhaustion. 'HOT.'
'Ah. Say no more.'
Zoro grunts. 'All right, enough of this comedy routine.' He pushes Sanji's wheelchair through the sand with sheer force. 'Come on, shitty chef. Let's get something to eat.'
'Shitty chef!? What happened to good chef!?'
'I don't know what you're talking about, pervy chef.'
'Hey! Go back to shitty chef!'
'...'
'Are you deaf, moss head?' Sanji asks before poking the guy behind him with a stern finger. 'Is your brain defective, or is it just your ears?'
'...we're out of earshot.'
'Huh?' Sanji looks around, finding themselves just outside of town. A few carts, the occasional diseased towns person, and a few open stalls surround them. After a few seconds of travel, their friends are gone from sight. 'Huh. Took you long enough to get us here, moss head.'
Zoro ignores him, wheeling him into a nearby alley cut off from the clamor.
'Idiot!' Sanji points behind him. 'The market is that way! You're getting lost on purpose now!'
'...you don't need to keep up the act around me.'
Sanji turns to shout in Sanji's face.
He sees a stern, painful look as hard as rock. 'You don't need to act strong around me, Sanji.' Zoro says, referring to the chef with his proper name for the first time in his life. 'You can let it out.'
Sanji looks at his rival.
His lip quivers.
'Nobody will see you. You've been acting strong for nearly a month.' Zoro says in a calming tone. 'Just, please. Let it out.'
Tears stream down Sanji's face. He wrenches his face away from his rival. There, in the shadow of an unnamed alleyway, Sanji abandons his strong front and weeps.
.........
Nami walks out of the shop in a foul mood. 'This is an outrage!' She waves her small sack. 'What a crook! "Twenty-five million is the most I can offer," my but!'
Vivi follows her enraged friend. 'Calm down, Nami. Remember, Alabasta is under blockade due to the outbreak; trade is limited.'
'Then why in blazes did you drag us here!?' Nami stomps through the streets.
Vivi looks around cautiously. 'We just need enough supplies to reach Alubarna, the capital. Once there, money won't be an issue.'
Nami scoffs. 'Yeah. Once you drop off your mystery info, right?'
Vivi nods. 'Yes, once you guide me there, your job will be done, and you'll be rewarded properly.'
'Huh?' Luffy looks confused, hands behind his back. 'You act like you're leaving us, Vivi.'
'That's because I am.' She scans the scattered crowds for signs of an assassin. 'The battle to come is mine alone. The last thing I want is one of you to die because of me. It's better if I'm the only target.'
Nami turns to face her friend in the town square of Nanohana. The city has faded. But despite the plague ripping through the country, some citizens dare to stand proud against the oppressive summer sun. Shrill voices hawk papers and foreign headlines. Guards in white turbans patrol the streets. A cart of mummified plague victims is dragged through the streets by a particularly swollen mass of tumors. An undercurrent of fear and suspicion seems ready to boil over any second. Only the delirium of hope, and their faith in their compassionate monarch, prevents their despair from exploding into outright madness.
'Vivi... that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.' Nami firmly states, crossing her arms.
'The stupidest?' Behind the princess, Usopp stops, the empty sack on his back making him look like a camel. 'Nami, have you heard some of the stuff that comes out of Luffy's mouth?'
Nami rolls her eyes. 'Okay, top twenty then.'
Luffy muses. 'It is pretty stupid... maybe seven?'
Chopper chuckles. 'I've been on your ship for a month, and I've already heard more stupid things than Drum's mental asylum. Top ten, at least.'
'We're missing the point!' Nami turns to Vivi. 'The point is we're not leaving until we're sure you're safe. Whoever is after you, we're going to protect you, Vivi.'
The princess looks away. 'That is not what I want.'
'Well, tough.' Luffy pats her on the back. 'You're our crewmate, and we're sticking with you. And that's that!'
'Seconded.' Usopp offers his confirmation. 'No way we're leaving you in trouble, Vivi. Whatever is happening to your country, we'll face it together!'
'Thirded.' Chopper states. 'Dr Kureha taught me that the only way a patient leaves your care is if they're completely cured or dead. And you're still sick from starvation, so I'm not leaving either.'
The princess looks around at the group of expectant faces. It both fills her with happiness and disgusts her. If they knew who she was up against, a Warlord of the sea, financed and supported by the World Government, they'd run, or they'd die. Frankly, she doesn't know which is worse. To watch people she's grown to love die, or watch them stab her in the back to save their lives. It seemed to be the story of her life that she was either betrayed or survived due to people dying on her behalf.
'Vivi? Are you okay?' Luffy asks expectantly.
'And you're all committed to following me?'
Luffy smiles. 'Yep!'
The others nod in the affirmative.
The princess grunts. 'You can follow me to Alubarna, but once we hear who we're up against...'
'We'll still be with you.' Nami says.
'... of course you will.' The princess reaches into the folds of her plague suit and pulls out a folded letter. 'Before we do anything, though, I need to give my father my report. I'd ask Karoo to deliver it...'
She restrains her anger and sadness with a tremendous degree of control. 'But now I need to mail it myself and hope it isn't intercepted. So I'm off to the post office to let my father know I'm coming in around a week.'
'I'll come with you.' Nami offers with a good-natured smile. 'We've been out on the seas for a while. I need to plug back in and see if there's any news.' She ignores Vivi's ire and turns to the rest of the group. 'You all can run your errands. We'll meet back here in an hour.'
'I'll help Chopper and Usopp.' Luffy says. 'I need to get some smokes.'
Nami's eyes widen. 'Luffy, you smoke now!?'
'What? No!' The captain shakes his head. 'No, these are for Sanji! He said he really wanted some, and he'll be too busy shopping for food and stuff, so I figured I'd surprise him.'
The group looks at each other, stunned that no one else thought of it. They were all so caught up in their surroundings they had temporarily forgotten Sanji. Or more appropriately, they were all trying to forget he had recently lost his legs due to their hunger.
'Is that good, or should I let him buy his own?'
Nami, touched by Luffy's consideration, nods her head. 'Y-Yes! Yes, Luffy, that's a great idea!' She pulls out a wad of cash. 'Here, go with Chopper and look for "White Legs"; those are his brand of choice. And no snacks!'
The captain takes the bills. 'Wouldn't dream of it! You're talking to a whole new Luffy here!'
'Okay then, let's go, new Luffy!' Usopp turns around, eyeing a grime-covered container. 'Just wait a second. There's a perfectly delicious dumpster someone left lying around.'
He tries to walk off only to be grabbed by his doctor. 'Usopp, no.'
He squirms against the arm around his neck. 'Come on, Chopper! I'm hungry!'
'You're always hungry.'
'Usopp, it's a crate of garbage!'
'Exactly, Luffy! Nobody will miss it! Just one bite and I won't be hungry anymore!'
'An effect of the Devil Fruit you now have is that you're always hungry!'
'You don't know that, Chopper!'
Nami sighs. 'Look, Usopp, maybe you should go back to the ship to practice your Devil Fruit power. Chopper can hire someone to take our stuff back. We don't want you eating anything... or anyone you shouldn't.'
'Seriously, Nami?' The sniper protests, pulling against the firm doctor. 'I can control myself! I didn't eat the Merry, did I?'
Luffy scratches his head. 'Yeah, but, uh, didn't you eat all our tools, containers, and junk?'
Usopp freezes. 'Oh right! I need tools to fix the Merry!' In an instant, he drags Chopper behind him towards the market. 'Come on, Chop-Chop! We need to get tools and supplies to repair the Merry! Come on!'
Despite his massive girth, Chopper finds himself dragged away. 'Usopp, hold ... gugh! On!'
To the doctor’s great relief, Usopp stops. 'Oh right!' With a swift movement, he reaches into his bag. 'Nami, if you're going to the post office, I have a bunch of letters for Kaya!'
'...for... Kaya?'
'Yeah!' After fishing around for a minute, he pulls out a bundle of letters and hands it to the Navigator. 'Here! Sorry there's so much. We haven't come across a mailbox in a while.'
Nami looks at the stack of letters like it's going to bite her. After a moment of prodding, though, she takes it from the giddy sniper.
'All right, Chopper!' Usopp grabs his doctor by the neck, dragging him towards the market. 'Let's get some stuff for the Merry! The second girl in my life needs some tender love and care too!'
Luffy spares a sidelong glance at Nami and the letters for a second. He gives a nod and follows behind the crew's sniper.
Vivi follows Nami's gaze. 'What was that about?'
'...it's nothing.' She looks to the princess. 'So where's the post office in this town?'
.......
'So, moss head... are you done intentionally getting lost?' Sanji asks sarcastically. He stares at another dead end. 'Or do you want me to guide us back?'
Zoro grunts, glaring hatefully at the wall in front of him. His hands gripping Sanji's wheelchair tense.
'Are you devolving into more of a monkey, or was that a yes?'
A sword is drawn; three cuts dice a rectangular opening in the wall. The block shudders for a moment before hitting the dirt with a crash of stone.
'There. No more dead end.'
'My house!!' A woman sticks her head out of the window above them.
Zoro looks up. 'Hey, I gave you a free doorway! If anything, you should be thanking me!'
'Guards!!'
With a superhuman sprint, Zoro pushes Sanji through the hole. With another swing of his blade, he opens another “doorway” for the nice lady, coming out the other side of the house.
Only to come face to face with another dead end.
'Fish Sticks!' The swordsman curses. 'Who the abyss keeps putting these walls in front of me!?'
Sanji turns back towards him. 'You're the one who keeps walking into them!' He points to the clearly open road to his right. 'Market is that way!'
'I don't need directions!'
'No, you need a gods-damned map glued to your skull!'
'Halt!'
The two look behind them to see a portly man in a white turban, green robe, and chain mail charging towards them. The guard brandishes his halberd, the crescent-shaped head glinting in the sun.
'Up!' Sanji points above the wall.
Zoro grunts again, picking up the chair. With a burst of speed, he runs up and over the wall to the other side. The two hear the guard's cries from the other side of the wall. The pirates ignore the loud cursing of the police man, quickly blending into the crowd in the market around them. The two wait behind a basket seller for several seconds before the cries for justice die down, and the fat guard gives up on his search.
Sanji sighs. 'Are you done getting lost now?'
Zoro opens his mouth to say something. Something catches his eye.
He darts down another alleyway.
'SERIOUSLY!? You run into an-'
Zoro's hand wraps around Sanji's mouth. 'Shut up.' He whispers as he looks around the alley corner.
The chef prepares to bite off the man's fingers and damn the consequences, until he sees just what Zoro is looking at. Zoro removes his clean hand, not sullied by disease, and points towards the group in front of them.
A group of around twelve marines stands in the town square, talking quietly in a group huddle. Their uniforms are spick and span, and their weapons are well maintained.
That is, their uniforms weren't wet with bile, and their weapons weren't grafted into their bodies. In reality, the marines are infested with the plague from top to bottom. Tumors cover the parts of their flesh the pirates can clearly see, and a few are even coughing up colored mucus into the sands beneath them. Their mutations are as grotesque as they are intimidating; cannons for hands, additional arms, hides made of keratin plates, and eyes on the backs of their heads are some of the horrors they can see.
'Plague Marines.' The swordsman comments on the squad in front of them. 'The navy's own penal division.'
Sanji eyes up the marines. They seem decently well equipped and alert despite their situation, scanning their surroundings. 'They must have slipped into port on a disguised vessel.'
The swordsman scoffs. 'Of course they did. It's not like the Navy wants their little secret becoming public.'
The chef rolls his eyes. 'All Marines must be pure of heart and of body.' He recites part of the organization’s pledge. 'But what are they doing here?'
Zoro watches as two Marines, a large, flabby one with cancerous eyes and a skinny one with a sword fused to his head, walk off. 'Probably because any Marine division would be too scared to set foot in a country with the plague. That and sending a purity division would just result in a purge.'
'I know that, moss head!' Sanji watches as the others split up. 'It makes sense to send a bunch who already have the plague past a quarantine zone. But what are they doing here?'
'Well, if you want me to use my intuition...'
'I don't.'
Zoro shrugs. 'I'd say nothing good.'
......
'Uuuuuggghh!!' Chopper drags his feet.
It's sooooooo hot!
He could tell you the exact anatomy of the human body and the effects of countless diseases, but he had no earthly idea it could get this hot on a desert island.
Granted, he should have expected this, but still!
He had expected golden braziers, rich merchants, and scantily clad dancers. Instead, he found a half-dead market filled with whatever scant goods a quarantined nation and its haggard population could scrounge up.
He looks up to see Usopp drooling over a meat stand.
"INFECTED MEAT-500 BELLI A LB!" The shopkeeper points to the sign above him, his throat swollen to cartoonish proportions.
The doctor grunts once again, dragging Usopp along. The sacks on his back and side sway as he drags him away from the seller. 'Usopp, no. Eating that will make you sicker.'
'Huh?' Usopp says, oblivious to the fearful glances of the sellers around him. 'But that guy didn't look too infected.'
'...'
'I was kidding!' Usopp worms his way out of Chopper's sweaty palm. 'Besides, we need to save our money for Merry's supplies! I'll...' he looks around at the whispering crowd pointing at his lower half. 'I'll... grab a bite later.'
Chopper pants, wiping a handful of sweat off his chest.
'Chopper, are you okay?'
Chopper drinks from a canteen by his side. He drains it in a few gulps. 'Slight hyperthermia. Mild dehydration. Nothing too serious.'
'...Chopper, you are literally sweating buckets.' Chopper points to his pants and patches of fur covered in water.
'... Moderate dehydration.'
Chopper finds a large slushie shoved into his hands, courtesy of his captain. 'Here you go, Chopper, try this! It's really tasty!'
The doctor looks at the drink in his and his captain's hands. A large pink drink with a tiny umbrella and a large bendy straw is in his hands.
'...Luffy, where did you get this?'
Luffy slurps his drink. 'Smoothie guy.'
'...smoothie guy?'
'You know a guy that sells smoothies!'
'I know what... where is this smoothie guy, Luffy!?'
'Oh, he's handing out free drinks right...' he points at an empty stall. 'Wow, he packed up quick! I'm glad I got mine before he left!'
'Luffy, spit that out!' Usopp shouts. 'It could have plague in it!'
'Nope.' Luffy continues to slurp. 'Sanji taught me to taste for plague stuff. No bitter rotten stuff here.'
'And some magic smoothie seller just decided to give you a free smoothie!?'
'...you're just jealous that you didn't get one.'
'Damn straight!'
'Here.' Chopper shoves the drink into Usopp's hands. 'Have mine. I don't make a habit of drinking strange, unknown substances.'
Luffy continues to slurp. 'Don't you like eating those mystery balls?'
'I know what's in my Rumble Balls(trademarked). Thank you very much.' He looks around. 'We're wasting time. Usopp, what else do we need?'
Usopp slurps his drink, feeling a cool wave of relief pass over him.
Chopper snaps, the heat agitating his already sour mood. 'Usopp!'
The sniper shakes his head. 'Oh, right.' He reaches back with one hand, feeling the bags. 'Let's see, we've got your medical supplies, some nails, waterskins, some desert clothes I'll modify to fit us...' He turns back to Luffy and the rest. 'I just need some specialist tools and components for Nami's new weapon, and we'll be set.'
'Nami's weapon?'
'Yep! I've been going over the schematics during our... voyage.' He scuttles about. 'Seeing how I could mold metals and combine stuff with my Munch fruit, and I just need a few more things to make it work.'
'Right.' Chopper's eyes follow the sniper, suddenly catching sight of something in the distance. 'Usopp, do you think you can handle the rest of the shopping?'
Usopp nods. 'Yeah? Why?'
Chopper points to a nearby barber's pole hanging from a rusty sign. 'Because I could use a proper shave.' He points to his patchwork job removing his hair. 'This fur is very hard to remove with a buzz saw. Hopefully a professional will have better luck.'
He nods. 'Okay. Luffy, you're...'
Their captain is gone.
'Luffy?'
......
'Uragh!' Luffy shoots his hands in the air. 'Come on out, smoothie guy! I need to get more smoothies for my crew!'
Darn it.
It had already been a few hours, and he had already forgotten his promise! It had been soooo hot, and he had been really thirsty. So when a guy(?) offered him something delicious to drink, he hadn’t questioned it at all. He had drunk it all down without thinking. I mean, he did promise to EAT last, but smoothies are kinda eating. So maybe he just kinda broke his promise?
He shakes his head.
No! He needs... what did his grandpa call it? Diligence! That was it! He needs to be diligent and keep to his promises. And he can do that by making sure everyone on his crew gets a pink smoothie from the mysterious robed guy in the market.
Luffy’s train of thought slows for a moment.
... that's something he never thought he'd think today. Oh well, it's the Grand Line; don't think too hard about it. You’ll drive yourself crazy trying to understand all the nonsense that happens here.
'Smooth old man!'
Smoothie man?
Luffy looks in the direction of a group of thugs in front of a small shop.
A blonde-haired guy wearing brown cloth armor steps on the man under his boot. By his side, a man with spiked gloves and an orange bathrobe laughs cruelly. A round man dressed in a large blue kimono with yellow triangles just grunts. Finally, a rectangle-headed man wearing a padded vest plays with his sword.
'Really smooth move, old man!' The thug steps down harder, brushing his hair away from a boil on his forehead. 'You tripped over my foot!' He grinds his heel into the man's back. 'These boots are expensive!'
'Sir! Please.' The man beneath him pleads. 'I can't give you my goods for free! I have a family to feed.'
The thug calmly removes his boot. 'We're all struggling to feed ourselves, old man. That's why, as neighbors, we have to share what we have so we can make it through these tough times. Isn't that right, guys?'
The boxing-gloved bandit smashes his fists together; tainted fluid seeps from the holes in his glove. 'Right, Camus! We're just a bunch of poor orphans trying not to starve. You don't want us to starve, do you, old man?'
The sumo opens his mouth, revealing a green tongue that is as long as a whip. 'EEEHReffy fryj ffrt!' His every word splashes the ground with bile.
'You know, guys, I think he wants us to starve!' The vested swordsman smiles. 'He's a greedy businessman. He hates poor, plague-afflicted citizens like us and wants us to die so he can get more profits!'
'Is that true, old man?' The leader chuckles slyly. 'Do you want us to die? Are you so greedy that you'd let a bunch of kind, innocent men afflicted with poverty die like dogs?'
The townspeople around point and whisper, but none call the guards. They don't want to be next.
The old man maintains his bow. 'Sir, I have few goods and valuables to offer you. But if you want support, King Cobra has set up assistance for those...'
His comment earns him a boot to the back of his skull.
'Oh, come on, old man. I'm sure you have something to offer us. After all.' He leans down towards the man. 'You wouldn't want to upset the Revolutionary Army now, would you?'
The crowd gasps in fear and shimmies away from the scene as quickly as they can. Every single person within earshot tries to make themselves scarce.
The old man's face pales. 'R-R-R-R-Revolutionary A-A-Army!?!'
Camus smugly grins. 'Yep, we're heroes of the Revolutionary Army, fundraising for our noble cause.' He flashes his shit-eating grin as he looks at the small grocery store. 'And you know just what we do to those who support the monarchy? Don't you?'
The man quivers in fear. 'N-N-No! That's not necessary! Please take anything you like!'
'Good! I'd hate to have to burn you or your precious family alive and eat you!' The blonde-haired man turns to his group. 'All right, men, tak-'
A single fist from Luffy smashes him into the dirt.
The other goons stand shell-shocked for a moment, looking at the gauntlet-wearing pirate in a straw hat.
Luffy cracks his knuckles and levels a glare at the others.
They turn to run.
'Guards! Help! Murderer!!'
'Drrh dfhyh dftygc!!'
'He's going to kill us! Help!'
Luffy just watches as the group of "heroes" run out of sight, leaving their leader unconscious on the ground. 'You okay, smoothie guy?'
'Smoothie?' The old man gets up. 'Forget me! Do you know who you just attacked?'
Luffy offers the man a confused look. 'A bunch of thugs?'
'You attacked soldiers from the Revolutionary Army! Have you read the papers, boy!?' He trembles in fear. 'They eat babies to gain demonic powers and kill anyone who defies them! They're soulless monsters who slaughter with impunity!'
'...no, they don't.'
'Of course they do!' The man says. 'They had pictures in the Blueberry Times depicting their massacres and cannibalistic rites!'
'Well, I know for a fact they don't do that.' He kicks the groaning body at his feet. 'Plus, these guys weren't members of the Revolutionary Army.'
'They weren't?'
'Nope. Sabo would never let guys like this join.'
The man's pupils become pinpricks. 'Sabo...'
'Yeah. You know him?'
'Know him!? He's Sabo the Tune of Death!! He's the fourth most vile monster in the entire Revolutionary Army! Right behind that sexual abuser Ivancov!'
'...he's also my brother.'
'B-B-B-B-B-B-B-'
'So I'd really appreciate it if you didn't insult him.'
'B-B-B-B-B-B-B-'
'Uh? Old guy?' Luffy reaches forward to comfort him.
The old man faints dead away, foaming at the mouth and whispering the atrocities of the Revolutionary Army.
'...dang it.' Luffy curses to himself. 'I really should have asked him if he sold smoothies.'
......
'I can't believe it.'
'They were here! He was right!'
'Hold on, guys! They aren't our... mission. Shouldn't we...'
'Shut it, Marne! Do you remember what these guys did to Logue town!?'
'But that was...'
'It was thanks to them!' A marine with a cannon fused to his shoulder and a flintlock for a right hand shouts at his subordinate. 'They brought him there! If it wasn't for them escaping the purity division the first time... we're wasting words!'
Marine X, shining star of Shell Town, before contracting the plague, glares hatefully at the ship. 'The point is we have the pirates officially responsible for the Logue Town Massacre in our sights. We have their ship; we know where they're going to go!' He turns to the group. 'We just have to inform the Captain, set a trap, and bang!' He fires his gun in the air. 'We've got them!'
'And what's the point?' A marine with dozens of extra arms says, patting down his rumpled shirt. 'It's not like we'll get a promotion since we're not technically in the Marines. We're stuck in the Plague division until we croak. We won't get anything for handing them over.'
'Right, let's...' A man with a huge chest swells to twice his size as he breathes in through flesh-eaten holes in his ribs. 'Just look for the commander. That's... our mission.'
The final marine slithers on the ground with a slug-like tail. 'Marne's right. What if they come back before we can get the captain?'
The larger man reloads the pistol fused to his hand, grunting as a red pustule pops. 'Then we kill them. If they don't know we're here, they'll be easy pickings.'
'Marine X? Please, let's just...'
'Shut it, Marne! I'm the senior officer here, so we do what I say. And I say we ambush the brats.' He turns to the many armed Marines. 'Ortiz. Get the Captain and let them know the Straw Hats are here and we've got their ship.'
The armed Marine sighs. 'With respect, "Marine X," there are no ranks since the infected aren't allowed to hold rank. We don't have to-'
Bang
The objecting marine falls over dead, a hole in his head.
Marine X turns to the others. 'Anyone else want to mutiny?!'
The two look to the corpse of their friend bleeding out into the sands.
'Good.' He turns to the snail marine. 'Gep. Get back to the ship and let the others know what we're up to. Marne and I will wait on their ship; we'll give them a full broadside from our cannons when they get back!'
The marine shakes his head "no," backing away.
Marine X reloads his gun hand. 'Am I the only marine here that remembers we're supposed to kill pirates!? What is wrong with you cowards!?'
The slug marine whimpers and points behind him.
He hears something large walking behind him.
He turns, reading his flesh-mounted bazooka. 'Mortar!!'
He fires an explosive round that could demolish a small ship towards the approaching figure.
A minotaur swings its spade, cutting the cannonball in half. It explodes behind the creature, completely unfazed by the ship-destroying impact.
'Bad men.' It growls in a guttural voice before it charges into the terrified squad.
.....
The two mature women of the Strawhat Pirates walk out of a small outpost on the edge of town. Black ravens carrying papers, deliveries, and missives fly from and to the large tower-like nest.
'So what was in that letter?' Nami asks.
'A quick, coded summary of Baroque Work's plans.'
'And you're not going to share those plans or any info you have with us?'
'When we get to the Capital Alubarna.' The princess stretches her mechanical arm. 'More importantly, haven't you forgotten something?'
'Well, let's see. I got the newest papers from a month back...' She pats the thick backpack fastened to her suit. 'And I'm doing my job of pressuring you to open up, no nope!'
Vivi rolls her eyes. 'And Usopp's letters to Kaya?'
'...Oh, right. Usopp's letters.' She removes the tied pile from her pack and looks around, finding a small container. 'She shoots...'
With a flick of her wrist, Usopp's heart-filled papers land in the trash. 'She scores!'
'Nami!?' Vivi watches with horror. 'What are you doing?'
'Getting rid of another reason for you to avoid the conversation, Vivi.' She turns to face her friend. 'So, enough games. What don't you know, and why aren't you telling us?'
'And I said I'll let you know when we get to Alubarna.' The princess tries to walk past.
Nami grabs her shoulder and spins her back towards her with surprising strength. 'We both know that's fish crap, Vivi. You have no intention of letting us do anything once we get there.'
Vivi flinches. 'Y-You don't know that.'
'Wrong princess, I do.' Nami glares at her. 'Take it from someone who spent her entire life lying to herself. You're only hurting yourself by pushing away people who want to help you.'
Nami’s words from experience momentarily stun the guarded princess. The navigator’s keen insight once again strikes home.
'S-Shut up!' Vivi pathetically counters. 'Look, the more you know and the more deeply you get involved, the more danger you'll be in. Better you know nothing so you can walk away once you've dropped me off.'
'All to keep us from dying?'
'Exactly!' Vivi shouts. 'It's all to keep you safe! What about it don't you get?'
'...and keeping us from knowing exactly what we're up against will help us how?'
The princess grunts. 'Because if Baroque Works knows you know about them, or their boss, they'll hunt you down until you and everyone you care about are dead!!'
'Pretty sure that boat sailed when we destroyed two of their bases and killed several of their officers.'
'Uuuugghh!' Vivi grunts louder. 'Why are you doing this, Nami!? Do you have a death wish? Why do you want to know something that would only get you killed!?'
'Because we're friends, Vivi.'
The earnest response stuns the princess.
'As much of a smug witch as you can be, and even though we started as enemies, you're a friend, Vivi.' Nami says clearly. 'And friends don't let the people they care about throw away their lives.'
The navigator takes in a deep breath. 'I know you're still sad about Karoo.' She watches Vivi suppress a sob. 'And you don't want anyone else to die for you. But don't you see, Vivi?'
She reaches out and grabs her one human hand. 'You're trying to throw your own life away, rather than let anyone help you, and nobody wants that. Not me, not the crew, and not Karoo. Nobody wants you to die.'
Vivi tries to turn away, but finds herself unable to.
'We care about you, Vivi. Even in a world as messed up as this, there are people we care about and fight for.' Nami states, gripping her friend's hand. 'And you are definitely worth fighting to protect, Vivi. You just have to let us.'
A gust of hot desert wind blows over the two women. They stand there looking at each other. Nami is battering the gates of her heart, attempting to get her to open up. Vivi desperately seals herself off, trying to deny her friends the opportunity to die for her. But Vivi's resolve is weakening.
'Fu fu fu fu fu...'
A wet, gurgling chuckle travels through the wind. Despite the oppressive heat and warm tempest, Vivi finds her blood freezing in her veins. The hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, and she grips Nami's hand so hard she can feel bone bend.
'Ow!' The navigator rips her hand out of the death grip. 'Vivi!? What the Abyss is wrong?'
'Hmm. It's probably due to hearing my voice.' A concealed shadow elaborates. 'I wouldn't be surprised. I do have that effect on most people.'
Vivi draws her blade; her mechanical arm whirs to life.
'Oh, don't mind me. I wouldn't want to interrupt such a touching moment between friends.' A hand emerges from the darkness behind the tower above. 'Please finish your emotional heart-to-heart before we talk business. I insist!'
'Nami, run.'
'No, Vivi.' Nami stands her ground.
A melancholy sigh travels across the air. 'So no more friend-shipping? Now I'm sad.'
The princess takes a combat stance, gritting her teeth. 'Nami! Run! You'll die if she catches you!' She levels a death glare at the hand emerging from the other side of the building.
'Unfortunately, not wanting to die is a problem we all must face, Vivi Nefertari, princess of Alabasta.' Another hand joins the first from behind the pillar. 'Death and suffering are unfortunately the two inescapable facts of life.'
Another hand joins the first two, followed by a fourth, and from behind the tower a monster emerges.
Its most distinctive feature, other than its green eyes, is its four arms, which carry it around the rim of the building. The first two look human enough; however, the two sprouting from her back are as black as night, possessing cruel claws that bite through stone. It throws itself from the tower and, with acrobatic ease, it lands before them, adorned with a pair of pants and a holed gown as black as her raven hair. She opens her mouth in a discordant smile, showing off yellowed, misshapen teeth.
'Now, who wants the day's first dose of pain?' The twisted woman saunters towards them.
.......
Knock Knock
'Enter.'
The door slides open, and rays of sunlight enter the room. Yet not even the sun can pierce the smog that fills every inch of the cabin.
'Did you find them?'
A marine salutes his commander lounging in shadow, a huge bulb of pus swaying on his head. 'Yes, sir! The commander of the second division is sitting in a cafe! East block.'
The obscured man smokes his cigars; the only light in the room comes from his brand of choice.
'Good.' The smoky man says. 'But you don't have to salute me, soldier. I don't have a rank anymore.'
The soldier breaks from his salute. 'Sir, with respect, you'll always be our commander.'
'...so I am.' The man takes a drag of his smoke, mulling over the chart in front of him. 'Point to where it is.'
The soldier obliges, his fingertip hovering over a rectangular building near the side of town farthest from port.
The commander muses. 'Wide open roads, easy approach, but also easy escape.' He points to several roads on the map. 'Post soldiers here, here, and here. I, Tagashi, and a squad of soldiers will converge on the target.'
'Tagashi... isn't here, sir.'
A painful silence fills the cabin.
'...right. Tagashi... isn't, Tagashi.' He reaches over to the side of his desk, picking up a long, single-edged blade and sheathes it in a long case on his back. 'It's fine. Tagashi and I will have to do without her.'
Commander Smoker walks into the light. His body is large and well-built, with thick muscles under a thick white jacket lined with cigars. His bare chest is covered in bloody black-green sores that seem to have spread to his wild silver hairline. His brown boots and gloves cling to his hands and feet, fastened shut by plague boils. His bloodshot eyes look through his subordinate.
'Let's get this over with.' Ex-Captain Smoker says with a near-perpetual grimace. 'The sooner we take care of this ridiculous mission, the sooner we can kill Tagashi.'
'S-Sir?'
The man shakes his head; his blackened sores leak fluids over his coat. 'I mean, kill Strawhat Luffy. The sooner we can kill Strawhat Luffy.'
A wooden gangplank is lowered from the deck of a mournful ship, landing on the sandy shore.
Yet the port looks divine compared to the ragged, haunted crew disembarking from their vessel.
Zoro is first off the boat. Gaunt, with torn clothes, he feels the swords strapped to his side with a sigh of regret. He wears a pair of hole-filled black shorts, a white T-shirt with reddish oil stains, and his green hakama belt.
Nami follows him wordlessly, throwing herself on the barren earth and feeling the sand between her fingers with tearful eyes. Her plague suit clings tight to her gaunt frame, exposing her skinny arms and legs.
Nojiko follows her sister; the blue-haired girl’s eyes look around as if unable to believe they are on dry land. Her torn jeans and strapless bra are the only clothes she is wearing.
Chopper struggles to stand on the rocking ship but, with effort, pulls his body up and onto the rocks. His half-shaven body struggles with the intense heat assailing him. His normal gauntlets and black hat are gone, replaced by torn rags covering his hands and maroon shorts.
The Doctor drags Usopp behind him by a leash. The sniper's mouth is closed in a muzzle, and his centaur lower body is wrapped in a rubber wrap to prevent the spread of infection. The sniper's upper body is garbed in an orange shirt with a target on it. On top of his head, he wears a yellow bandana that is holding his black curly hair away from the binding around his mouth.
Luffy, the captain of the Strawhat Pirates, follows; his lanky body is even skinnier than normal, and his brown shorts and red vest hang loosely from his frame. His boots and gauntlets hang from a strap on his blue shorts, along with his hat.
And the last off the boat, her eyes taking in the country in front of her, is the princess of Alabasta. She looks worse than all the other crewmates combined, her bloodshot eyes surrounded by purple bags indicating sleepless nights filled with tears.
'Karoo...' Vivi's voice breaks the silence. She feels the wind in her face. She wears a windswept cloak under a patchwork set of black plage suit parts. Her restored metal arm twitches and whirs as it rests by her side. 'We made it, Karoo. We made it to Alabasta.'
She lets out a tear that falls into the sandy shore under her.
Every single one of the Strawhat Pirates looks dead inside. Sunken eyes, guilt-ridden expressions, and slow, methodical movements mark them as a group that has seen and endured things no person should have to face.
'We... we almost didn't.' Zoro stands up. 'If that Sea Cat hadn't shown up...'
'We would have starved to death a week ago.' Vivi says in an emotionless tone. 'The Sea Cat is our sacred beast. The gods of Alabasta must have sent it to us. It was a sign.'
'Yeah, lucky us.' He spits it out with no lack of venom. 'Maybe if your blasted gods had sent their pet to us a month ago, maybe then...'
'Zoro, stop!' Nami buries her forehead in the dirt. She pounds the dunes, trying to bite back a dry heave.
The group looks to Nami. Everyone fights back their bitterness as the navigator forces herself to calm down.
'Please... please... no more fighting. It won’t help us.'
The group gets quiet at their Navigator's plea. Next to Vivi, Nami had had the hardest time out of all of them these past two odd months. She had spent the few weeks endlessly castigating herself, blaming herself for the crew’s suffering. "If I had only stopped Wapol." Those words had plagued the crew; her regret and self-hatred had been nearly unbearable. Her multiple failures to navigate out of the freak doldrums that had kept them trapped had only made her despair worse.
Nojiko hugs her sister. Now, rather than relying on her sister for necessities, she had become Nami's rock of support during her dark hours. Even as the hunger set in and the last of their food dried up, she had been by her side, ensuring she kept her strength up and working her best to alleviate her pain.
'...Nami's right. This isn't the time for fighting.' Chopper says in his trademark callous manner. 'We're finally at a port, which means no more half-rotten sea beast. We need to restock and gather any leads about where Kureha is.'
'And that's all you care about, of course.' Zoro spits out. 'I'm honestly surprised you didn't eat more of us.'
'Zoro.' Luffy says. 'Shut up.'
Chopper glares at him. 'Please, a half-plagued idiot like you isn't worth eating. And in case you forgot, my medical skills are the only reason more of us didn't die, ingrate!'
'Chopper. Shut up.'
Zoro doesn't stop glaring back at "their" doctor. 'I don't know about that. You didn't object when we were eating Sanji, or the duck. You probably were thinking it was one less mouth to feed.' The swordsman advances mockingly. 'After all, if it wasn't for your pet, none of this would have happened.'
'Zoro. Shut up.'
'In fact, I think you sent your friend to eat all our food. What better way to get in our good graces and prove how useful you are too...'
Luffy tackles Zoro to the ground. 'Shut up!'
The Captain punches him in the face. 'Shut up, Zoro!'
He punches him again, anguish on his face. 'Shut up!'
He raises his bloody fist to strike again.
'Luffy, stop!' Nami cries out.
Luffy pants, his fist raised inches above Zoro's one good eye. 'The captain said SHUT UP. So shut up or leave.'
'...' Zoro looks away in shame, fighting back tears in his one good eye.
After a tense minute, Luffy gets up from on top of Zoro. He shakes Zoro's blood from his fist and holds it up.
Chopper walks over and inspects the wound.
'Everyone...' Luffy takes a deep breath. 'We made it to Alabasta. We got past the blockade around the country, and survived starving to death.'
The crew looks at their captain, hanging on his every word.
'We were able to get here because all of us are friends. We trust each other, depend on each other.' He looks around him. 'We can't turn on each other because none of us can do everything we need to survive.'
Nojiko nods, her hand rubbing Nami's back.
He looks to Nami. 'We would never have made it to Alabasta without Nami's skills in navigating through those windless seas.'
Chopper finishes cleaning Luffy's fist of any trace of infection.
He looks to Chopper. 'Chopper's medicine kept us from dying due to starvation.'
Zoro sits cross-legged on the ground.
He looks at Zoro. 'Zoro single-handedly cut through that Navy blockade when most of us were too weak to move.'
'And Sanji...' He looks down. He swallows back bile. 'Sanji and Karoo... they gave everything they had... just so we could make it another day.'
The group look shamefully down at the ground, ignoring the churning of disgust in their stomachs.
'We are Nakama. We’re a crew.' Luffy states with ice-cold certainty. 'We can't afford to let the bad things that happen to us mess that up. Because without our friendship, without those bonds...we're alone.'
A warm desert wind blows past them.
'So before we do anything else. Before we get a good meal or restock or anything else, there's something we have to do.' He looks out to sea. 'We need to have a funeral, and thank our Nakama for helping us get this far.'
……..
The funeral had begun as any funeral does. Rocks are gathered, and personal effects are placed in a stone pile by the sea. The rocky coast that served as their harbor would also serve as the pirates’ cemetery.
At the top of the piles are two large stones that stand against the crashing waves. They stand over the scant scraps of uneaten bones that were left on the ship. Barely more than a handful of bone shards, the only proof of their existence.
On top of one stone are a pair of simple black boots
On the other, a long yellow feather and woven cap held down by a rock against the wind.
The crew stands silently before the graves.
No one knows what to say.
No one wants to say anything.
What could they say?
The crew of pirates stand quietly in front of the stones, listening to the sounds of the wind and surf.
Vivi is the first to step forward.
'Karoo... I....' She struggles to find the words; every second she fights back tears. 'I understand... why you did what you did.'
She reaches out, feeling the feather held in place by a rock. 'You... you were always there for me. No matter how bad things got on that island, no matter how bad my missions got, you were there to help me. You were... are, my best friend, Karoo. And I... I....'
She wipes the tears pouring down her face. 'I love you, Karoo. I always will, but I... I have to go.' She hesitates.
She looks behind her at the sandy dunes. She looks to the town of citizens, her citizens. A gust of warm wind blows through her salt-crusted hair, blowing her towards her home. 'Alabasta... Alabasta needs me now; I have to go.' She turns back to the grave, feeling the feather one last time. She wipes some of the tears from her face. 'I'll... I'll let the others know about you. Okay... I'm... I'm going.'
She walks away from the grave on shaky feet. Tears flow down her face as she walks back to the group. Nami and Nojiko immediately embrace her as Vivi weeps.
The sounds of the princess's cries wash over the rocks. Nami rubs the woman’s back, whispering sweet comforts into her ear. Nojiko hugs her tighter as if her great strength could squeeze out her friend’s tears.
Luffy is next.
'S-Sanji...' He looks at the boots. His famished stomach growls. The remains of the half-digested Sea Cat sloshes about uncomfortably as he thinks back to those dark days of hunger. 'You... why? Why are you always so... selfless?'
The captain grips his stomach. 'Why are you always sacrificing yourself!? Why?'
'...because that's Sanji.'
Zoro steps forward, looking at the boots with a bitter glance. 'He was always going out of his way to help others, especially the women. No matter how badly he got hurt, he always placed others and his Nakama first.' The swordsman takes a deep breath and admits the man’s virtues. 'That's what made him... a good chef.'
Usopp walks forward to join him. 'Mmmurmp?' He taps the muzzle, keeping his mouth closed.
Luffy looks to Chopper and nods.
The doctor hesitates for a moment before reaching behind the sniper's head and unlocking the vice, keeping his jaw closed.
'Pleth!' Usopp smacks his mouth open and closed several times as if savoring the simple ability to open his own mouth were a blessing. He looks ready to say something cutting to Chopper, only for his eyes to catch the tombstone in front of him.
'Well? Anything to add, Sniper?' Zoro asks.
Usopp thinks for a moment, then nods, looking down at the grave. 'Sanji... he was the kindest out of all of us. Even when I... changed, he was always kind to me. Barely feared me at all.'
He laments as the group around him nod reassuringly. 'I wish... I wish it hadn't happened. He didn't deserve that. Him most of all. And Karoo, well, I think I’ll miss the long talks we had. He was always such a good listener. I’ll be sure to remember him. '
Content that Usopp has said his piece, Luffy looks to his navigator. Nami takes one look away from the princess in her arms. She stares at the grave and shakes her head no.
The captain sighs. 'Chopper?'
The doctor wipes sweat from his brow and looks to the grave. For a moment it looks as though he’ll respond in the same offensive way he responds to everything, only to stop.
'Chopper? If you don’t have something nice to say, please give it…'
'Actually? I have nothing but respect for both Sanji and Karoo. I just couldn’t think of a way to phrase it properly.'
The crew looks to their doctor.
'Look. I’m the first to admit that I'm not one to go to for sympathy; empty words rarely accomplish anything of merit. But Sanji?' He turns towards the stone, remembering the sacrifices their cook had to make to keep them fed. 'He had the heart of a doctor. Beyond our skills, all doctors swear to use their skills to help others to the best of their ability. They sacrifice time, energy, and their own health to slow the grim reaper down.'
The rest of the crew nods in agreement as Chopper continues. 'Sanji was just as determined to help the people under his care. He sacrificed himself for the health of others. Whether it was by cooking food or protecting his crew. I truly believe that I...'
'Look, guys, I appreciate the gesture and everything, but you don't need to do this for me. It's not like I'm dead or anything!'
The crew looks to Sanji sitting off to the side.
'Seriously, everyone, I'm fine.' He says with a level of happiness everyone can see is forced. 'At least I will once I get some actual cigarettes. I'll tell you I'd kill for a smoke right about now.'
The chef struggles, wheeling himself through the rough sands to better face the group. The improvised wheelchair fails to make traction in the deep sands.
'Sanji... please, don't say any more.' Nami looks away from him, unable to even glance in his direction.
With effort, the Chef manages to push over a troublesome rock up to a firmer section of ground. 'I said I'm fine! We made it to Alabasta. You don't need to worry about me.'
Zoro bites his lip, holding back a cutting remark.
'Really, guys.' Sanji pats his thighs. Thighs that end at the knees. 'It's just a pair of legs. It's nothing to worry about.' He tries to laugh. 'Heck, maybe Chopper's crazy medicine can regrow them or something.'
'I can't.' The doctor spits out, taking offense at the chef’s false cheer. 'My medicine isn't at that level yet. And even if my medicine was that effective, there would be horrible side effects.'
Sanji shrugs. 'Well, it was worth a shot.' He looks to Luffy. 'So don't you worry, Luffy. I can still do my duties; it's okay.'
'IT'S NOT OKAY, SANJI!' Luffy roars a; the group backs away from him. 'It's not fine! You... you...'
The invincible captain falls to his knees in front of his chef. 'You... you...' he bows his head before him. 'It's my fault.'
'Luffy...'
'It's all my fault.' He grips his fists. 'I ate too much, and I didn't watch the pantry. I'm a horrible captain!'
'Luffy, you're not...'
'I am! It's... it's all...'
'I am a chef, Luffy!'
Sanji's thunderous voice stops Luffy dead in his tracks. The Straw Hats are stunned, given this is the first time the mild-mannered chef has raised his voice in months. Save, of course, the intense fury when Nami was blaming herself for their hunger.
'This...' he pats his legs, severed at the knee and bandaged over his black shorts. 'This is NOT your fault. It is the job of the crew's chef to feed his crew. No matter what.'
'Sanji…'
'NO. Matter. WHAT. Captain.' The chef states. 'The fact I wasn't able to... the fact that Karoo had to sacrifice himself... It's all on me.'
'No, Sanji!' Vivi shouts, pulling herself from Nami’s embrace to face the young man. 'You can't...'
Sanji raises his hand, cutting her off. 'Preparing food is my job on the crew, Vivi-chan. I am the one responsible for Karoo's death and all of you nearly dying from hunger.'
He looks over at Nami, biting her lip so hard it bleeds. 'It's not your fault either, Nami. What happened was an accident that could have happened to anyone.'
He levels the entire crew with a glare that could freeze ice. 'And I don't want to hear you guys blaming yourselves or taking out your anger on anyone else!'
'Sanji...' Luffy cries.
He turns to his captain. 'Luffy, I'm honored to be the cook for a great captain like you. And if you want to honor Karoo's sacrifice.' He clenches his thighs. 'And mine, you'll forget this self-hatred right now and never doubt you were worthy of it. Understood!?'
The crew stares at Sanji with mixed looks of awe and sorrow. Even Chopper, iron-hearted bastard he is, can't help but let out a tear.
Sanji glares at Luffy, his head still down in the dirt, his face obscured by the angle of his bow.
'Understood, captain?'
Luffy's hands relax. '...no.'
'No!?'
Luffy gets up, wipes the tears from his eyes, and takes a deep breath. 'No, Sanji. I'll never forget what you've done for us, Sanji. You saved all of us; you gave up your legs.'
Sanji flinches. 'Karoo gave more.'
'Even so. I can never forget what you gave up for us.' With sacred tenderness, he picks up his hat from his belt, slipping it on his head. 'And so... I'm making sure I don't forget.'
Luffy holds up his hat; the crew watches, wondering what will happen next.
'I, Monkey D Luffy, future Pirate King, do hereby swear that I will never eat until I am sure every member of my crew can eat their fill!!
The entire crew gasps in horror. Zoro literally falls over. Usopp’s eyes bulge. Nami’s Jaw drops. Nojiko stares in disbelief. Vivi stares blankly. Chopper is the only one who looks skeptical.
Sanji's eyes bug out of his head. 'Luffy!?! What-'
'I swear I will NEVER eat a meal until I'm sure my Nakama won’t go hungry!' He proclaims to his hat, the physical manifestation of his pride. 'And may my dream never come true and Davy Jones take my soul if I fail to uphold this vow!'
With a solemn nod, he places the hat on his head. 'There.' He dusts off his hands. 'Now you and my other friends will never grow hungry on my watch.'
'Luffy, you did...'
Their captain turns to his friends. 'It's done. We all have to remember that our food is precious. We can't ever take a single bite for granted from now on. Captain's orders.'
The crew nod as one; everyone is in perfect agreement. Having starved nearly to death for two months will teach anyone the value of sustenance.
Luffy catches Vivi's eye. 'So it's settled, every bite of food has to be enjoyed. We'll call it Karoo's law. Is that okay with you, Vivi?'
The princess freezes up before emphatically nodding.
The captain nods back. 'Good. Now that we've got that out of the way, we've got important stuff to do.' He points to town, like getting some food that isn't rotten. Who's with me?'
'Me!' Usopp's hand shoots in the air. 'I'm famished! I could eat anything!'
'You CAN eat anything now, Usopp!' Chopper holds up the muzzle. 'Which is why you're wearing this. Now hold still.'
'Eeagh!' Usopp snakes behind Luffy. 'Captain, help!'
'I said hold still! Doctor's orders!'
Usopp circles the other direction. 'Come on, Chop-Chop! I'm not going to try and eat you guys (again)!'
'Better safe than sorry! Luffy!'
The sniper avoids his hands. 'Captain Luffy! Chopper's being mean! And I'm hungry!'
'You're always hungry now, Usopp! It's the effect of the Munch fruit! Luffy, hold him down.'
Luffy sighs and grabs them both. 'Okay, you two.' He pushes them to the ground. 'Usopp. If I let you go without the muzzle, do you promise not to eat people?'
'It was just one time!' Usopp grumbles. 'And it's not like Wapol didn't deserve it...'
Luffy taps his foot. 'Usopp?'
The sniper sighs. 'I swear on the Merry not to eat anyone. Satisfied?'
His captain looks him up and down. 'And you won't eat anything you shouldn't?'
'... I'll, uh, try?'
'...Chopper. Keep an eye on him. No muzzle for now.' He looks to his doctor. 'He can help you carry supplies back to the Merry.'
Chopper nods. 'We'll need a lot. We ate all the bandages and drank every spare medicine that wasn't used for purifying our urine.'
Luffy looks to his navigator. 'Nami? Do we have any Beli left?'
'We ate most of the Beli notes, but we have plenty of gold and jewels for bartering.'
'How much in total?' Vivi asks.
Nami counts on her fingers, the familiar talk of money distracting her from her depression. 'Um. I think we're down to... around three hundred fifty-nine million. With around a hundred thousand worth of notes.'
'Okay then.' Vivi turns to the group, her leadership skills taking over. 'I know where the bank is here in Nanohana. Once we get there, we can convert some of the easy-to-sell treasure into notes. It’s less than a twenty-minute walk from here, so it shouldn’t take too long.'
'First though...' Sanji's fingers rap on his chair. 'We need some easily digestible food. We're still suffering from minor starvation, and we need something that isn't rotten cat meat to restore nutrients we've lost.'
'You have any ideas, chef?' Zoro asks, with no hint of mockery or snark.
Sanji raises his nose and sniffs the air. 'I'm thinking a vegetable curry. I can smell spice in the air, and it's easy to pack full of the vitamins we've lost over the past month.'
Zoro nods, walking behind the wheelchair. 'I'll take you. Nami?'
The swordsman holds up his hand and catches a wad of bills. 'There's a hundred thousand. Get as much as you think we need, Sanji.'
'Oy!' Sanji glares at Zoro. 'I wanted Nami Swan to take me, you bastard! I don't want to be wheeled around by you!'
Zoro scoffs. 'So you'd want a dainty lady to carry all the groceries? Where's your sense of chivalry?'
'Like you're one to talk!'
Nami sighs at the chef’s unimpeded bravado. 'Sanji, please let Zoro carry the groceries.'
'Yes, Nami Swaaaaaaannn!' Sanji comically salutes.
Nami nods. 'All right then. So we're going into town.' She looks back to the ship. 'Who's going to watch the ship? I don't feel comfortable leaving all our treasure unguarded.'
'Agh! I'm sorry, Merry!' Usopp cries out, turning towards his prized boat. 'I forgot about you! Don't worry, I'll protect...'
'Nojiko protect boat.'
'Nojiko!?' The sniper snaps at the quiet girl.
'Nojiko?' Nami asks.
The bull girl nods. 'Right Nojiko. Nojiko is strong; she protects the ship from bad.'
'Okay, I guess that's fine.' Nami admits. 'But why do you want to...'
Nojiko turns into her full bull form and immediately collapses from heat exhaustion. 'HOT.'
'Ah. Say no more.'
Zoro grunts. 'All right, enough of this comedy routine.' He pushes Sanji's wheelchair through the sand with sheer force. 'Come on, shitty chef. Let's get something to eat.'
'Shitty chef!? What happened to good chef!?'
'I don't know what you're talking about, pervy chef.'
'Hey! Go back to shitty chef!'
'...'
'Are you deaf, moss head?' Sanji asks before poking the guy behind him with a stern finger. 'Is your brain defective, or is it just your ears?'
'...we're out of earshot.'
'Huh?' Sanji looks around, finding themselves just outside of town. A few carts, the occasional diseased towns person, and a few open stalls surround them. After a few seconds of travel, their friends are gone from sight. 'Huh. Took you long enough to get us here, moss head.'
Zoro ignores him, wheeling him into a nearby alley cut off from the clamor.
'Idiot!' Sanji points behind him. 'The market is that way! You're getting lost on purpose now!'
'...you don't need to keep up the act around me.'
Sanji turns to shout in Sanji's face.
He sees a stern, painful look as hard as rock. 'You don't need to act strong around me, Sanji.' Zoro says, referring to the chef with his proper name for the first time in his life. 'You can let it out.'
Sanji looks at his rival.
His lip quivers.
'Nobody will see you. You've been acting strong for nearly a month.' Zoro says in a calming tone. 'Just, please. Let it out.'
Tears stream down Sanji's face. He wrenches his face away from his rival. There, in the shadow of an unnamed alleyway, Sanji abandons his strong front and weeps.
.........
Nami walks out of the shop in a foul mood. 'This is an outrage!' She waves her small sack. 'What a crook! "Twenty-five million is the most I can offer," my but!'
Vivi follows her enraged friend. 'Calm down, Nami. Remember, Alabasta is under blockade due to the outbreak; trade is limited.'
'Then why in blazes did you drag us here!?' Nami stomps through the streets.
Vivi looks around cautiously. 'We just need enough supplies to reach Alubarna, the capital. Once there, money won't be an issue.'
Nami scoffs. 'Yeah. Once you drop off your mystery info, right?'
Vivi nods. 'Yes, once you guide me there, your job will be done, and you'll be rewarded properly.'
'Huh?' Luffy looks confused, hands behind his back. 'You act like you're leaving us, Vivi.'
'That's because I am.' She scans the scattered crowds for signs of an assassin. 'The battle to come is mine alone. The last thing I want is one of you to die because of me. It's better if I'm the only target.'
Nami turns to face her friend in the town square of Nanohana. The city has faded. But despite the plague ripping through the country, some citizens dare to stand proud against the oppressive summer sun. Shrill voices hawk papers and foreign headlines. Guards in white turbans patrol the streets. A cart of mummified plague victims is dragged through the streets by a particularly swollen mass of tumors. An undercurrent of fear and suspicion seems ready to boil over any second. Only the delirium of hope, and their faith in their compassionate monarch, prevents their despair from exploding into outright madness.
'Vivi... that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.' Nami firmly states, crossing her arms.
'The stupidest?' Behind the princess, Usopp stops, the empty sack on his back making him look like a camel. 'Nami, have you heard some of the stuff that comes out of Luffy's mouth?'
Nami rolls her eyes. 'Okay, top twenty then.'
Luffy muses. 'It is pretty stupid... maybe seven?'
Chopper chuckles. 'I've been on your ship for a month, and I've already heard more stupid things than Drum's mental asylum. Top ten, at least.'
'We're missing the point!' Nami turns to Vivi. 'The point is we're not leaving until we're sure you're safe. Whoever is after you, we're going to protect you, Vivi.'
The princess looks away. 'That is not what I want.'
'Well, tough.' Luffy pats her on the back. 'You're our crewmate, and we're sticking with you. And that's that!'
'Seconded.' Usopp offers his confirmation. 'No way we're leaving you in trouble, Vivi. Whatever is happening to your country, we'll face it together!'
'Thirded.' Chopper states. 'Dr Kureha taught me that the only way a patient leaves your care is if they're completely cured or dead. And you're still sick from starvation, so I'm not leaving either.'
The princess looks around at the group of expectant faces. It both fills her with happiness and disgusts her. If they knew who she was up against, a Warlord of the sea, financed and supported by the World Government, they'd run, or they'd die. Frankly, she doesn't know which is worse. To watch people she's grown to love die, or watch them stab her in the back to save their lives. It seemed to be the story of her life that she was either betrayed or survived due to people dying on her behalf.
'Vivi? Are you okay?' Luffy asks expectantly.
'And you're all committed to following me?'
Luffy smiles. 'Yep!'
The others nod in the affirmative.
The princess grunts. 'You can follow me to Alubarna, but once we hear who we're up against...'
'We'll still be with you.' Nami says.
'... of course you will.' The princess reaches into the folds of her plague suit and pulls out a folded letter. 'Before we do anything, though, I need to give my father my report. I'd ask Karoo to deliver it...'
She restrains her anger and sadness with a tremendous degree of control. 'But now I need to mail it myself and hope it isn't intercepted. So I'm off to the post office to let my father know I'm coming in around a week.'
'I'll come with you.' Nami offers with a good-natured smile. 'We've been out on the seas for a while. I need to plug back in and see if there's any news.' She ignores Vivi's ire and turns to the rest of the group. 'You all can run your errands. We'll meet back here in an hour.'
'I'll help Chopper and Usopp.' Luffy says. 'I need to get some smokes.'
Nami's eyes widen. 'Luffy, you smoke now!?'
'What? No!' The captain shakes his head. 'No, these are for Sanji! He said he really wanted some, and he'll be too busy shopping for food and stuff, so I figured I'd surprise him.'
The group looks at each other, stunned that no one else thought of it. They were all so caught up in their surroundings they had temporarily forgotten Sanji. Or more appropriately, they were all trying to forget he had recently lost his legs due to their hunger.
'Is that good, or should I let him buy his own?'
Nami, touched by Luffy's consideration, nods her head. 'Y-Yes! Yes, Luffy, that's a great idea!' She pulls out a wad of cash. 'Here, go with Chopper and look for "White Legs"; those are his brand of choice. And no snacks!'
The captain takes the bills. 'Wouldn't dream of it! You're talking to a whole new Luffy here!'
'Okay then, let's go, new Luffy!' Usopp turns around, eyeing a grime-covered container. 'Just wait a second. There's a perfectly delicious dumpster someone left lying around.'
He tries to walk off only to be grabbed by his doctor. 'Usopp, no.'
He squirms against the arm around his neck. 'Come on, Chopper! I'm hungry!'
'You're always hungry.'
'Usopp, it's a crate of garbage!'
'Exactly, Luffy! Nobody will miss it! Just one bite and I won't be hungry anymore!'
'An effect of the Devil Fruit you now have is that you're always hungry!'
'You don't know that, Chopper!'
Nami sighs. 'Look, Usopp, maybe you should go back to the ship to practice your Devil Fruit power. Chopper can hire someone to take our stuff back. We don't want you eating anything... or anyone you shouldn't.'
'Seriously, Nami?' The sniper protests, pulling against the firm doctor. 'I can control myself! I didn't eat the Merry, did I?'
Luffy scratches his head. 'Yeah, but, uh, didn't you eat all our tools, containers, and junk?'
Usopp freezes. 'Oh right! I need tools to fix the Merry!' In an instant, he drags Chopper behind him towards the market. 'Come on, Chop-Chop! We need to get tools and supplies to repair the Merry! Come on!'
Despite his massive girth, Chopper finds himself dragged away. 'Usopp, hold ... gugh! On!'
To the doctor’s great relief, Usopp stops. 'Oh right!' With a swift movement, he reaches into his bag. 'Nami, if you're going to the post office, I have a bunch of letters for Kaya!'
'...for... Kaya?'
'Yeah!' After fishing around for a minute, he pulls out a bundle of letters and hands it to the Navigator. 'Here! Sorry there's so much. We haven't come across a mailbox in a while.'
Nami looks at the stack of letters like it's going to bite her. After a moment of prodding, though, she takes it from the giddy sniper.
'All right, Chopper!' Usopp grabs his doctor by the neck, dragging him towards the market. 'Let's get some stuff for the Merry! The second girl in my life needs some tender love and care too!'
Luffy spares a sidelong glance at Nami and the letters for a second. He gives a nod and follows behind the crew's sniper.
Vivi follows Nami's gaze. 'What was that about?'
'...it's nothing.' She looks to the princess. 'So where's the post office in this town?'
.......
'So, moss head... are you done intentionally getting lost?' Sanji asks sarcastically. He stares at another dead end. 'Or do you want me to guide us back?'
Zoro grunts, glaring hatefully at the wall in front of him. His hands gripping Sanji's wheelchair tense.
'Are you devolving into more of a monkey, or was that a yes?'
A sword is drawn; three cuts dice a rectangular opening in the wall. The block shudders for a moment before hitting the dirt with a crash of stone.
'There. No more dead end.'
'My house!!' A woman sticks her head out of the window above them.
Zoro looks up. 'Hey, I gave you a free doorway! If anything, you should be thanking me!'
'Guards!!'
With a superhuman sprint, Zoro pushes Sanji through the hole. With another swing of his blade, he opens another “doorway” for the nice lady, coming out the other side of the house.
Only to come face to face with another dead end.
'Fish Sticks!' The swordsman curses. 'Who the abyss keeps putting these walls in front of me!?'
Sanji turns back towards him. 'You're the one who keeps walking into them!' He points to the clearly open road to his right. 'Market is that way!'
'I don't need directions!'
'No, you need a gods-damned map glued to your skull!'
'Halt!'
The two look behind them to see a portly man in a white turban, green robe, and chain mail charging towards them. The guard brandishes his halberd, the crescent-shaped head glinting in the sun.
'Up!' Sanji points above the wall.
Zoro grunts again, picking up the chair. With a burst of speed, he runs up and over the wall to the other side. The two hear the guard's cries from the other side of the wall. The pirates ignore the loud cursing of the police man, quickly blending into the crowd in the market around them. The two wait behind a basket seller for several seconds before the cries for justice die down, and the fat guard gives up on his search.
Sanji sighs. 'Are you done getting lost now?'
Zoro opens his mouth to say something. Something catches his eye.
He darts down another alleyway.
'SERIOUSLY!? You run into an-'
Zoro's hand wraps around Sanji's mouth. 'Shut up.' He whispers as he looks around the alley corner.
The chef prepares to bite off the man's fingers and damn the consequences, until he sees just what Zoro is looking at. Zoro removes his clean hand, not sullied by disease, and points towards the group in front of them.
A group of around twelve marines stands in the town square, talking quietly in a group huddle. Their uniforms are spick and span, and their weapons are well maintained.
That is, their uniforms weren't wet with bile, and their weapons weren't grafted into their bodies. In reality, the marines are infested with the plague from top to bottom. Tumors cover the parts of their flesh the pirates can clearly see, and a few are even coughing up colored mucus into the sands beneath them. Their mutations are as grotesque as they are intimidating; cannons for hands, additional arms, hides made of keratin plates, and eyes on the backs of their heads are some of the horrors they can see.
'Plague Marines.' The swordsman comments on the squad in front of them. 'The navy's own penal division.'
Sanji eyes up the marines. They seem decently well equipped and alert despite their situation, scanning their surroundings. 'They must have slipped into port on a disguised vessel.'
The swordsman scoffs. 'Of course they did. It's not like the Navy wants their little secret becoming public.'
The chef rolls his eyes. 'All Marines must be pure of heart and of body.' He recites part of the organization’s pledge. 'But what are they doing here?'
Zoro watches as two Marines, a large, flabby one with cancerous eyes and a skinny one with a sword fused to his head, walk off. 'Probably because any Marine division would be too scared to set foot in a country with the plague. That and sending a purity division would just result in a purge.'
'I know that, moss head!' Sanji watches as the others split up. 'It makes sense to send a bunch who already have the plague past a quarantine zone. But what are they doing here?'
'Well, if you want me to use my intuition...'
'I don't.'
Zoro shrugs. 'I'd say nothing good.'
......
'Uuuuuggghh!!' Chopper drags his feet.
It's sooooooo hot!
He could tell you the exact anatomy of the human body and the effects of countless diseases, but he had no earthly idea it could get this hot on a desert island.
Granted, he should have expected this, but still!
He had expected golden braziers, rich merchants, and scantily clad dancers. Instead, he found a half-dead market filled with whatever scant goods a quarantined nation and its haggard population could scrounge up.
He looks up to see Usopp drooling over a meat stand.
"INFECTED MEAT-500 BELLI A LB!" The shopkeeper points to the sign above him, his throat swollen to cartoonish proportions.
The doctor grunts once again, dragging Usopp along. The sacks on his back and side sway as he drags him away from the seller. 'Usopp, no. Eating that will make you sicker.'
'Huh?' Usopp says, oblivious to the fearful glances of the sellers around him. 'But that guy didn't look too infected.'
'...'
'I was kidding!' Usopp worms his way out of Chopper's sweaty palm. 'Besides, we need to save our money for Merry's supplies! I'll...' he looks around at the whispering crowd pointing at his lower half. 'I'll... grab a bite later.'
Chopper pants, wiping a handful of sweat off his chest.
'Chopper, are you okay?'
Chopper drinks from a canteen by his side. He drains it in a few gulps. 'Slight hyperthermia. Mild dehydration. Nothing too serious.'
'...Chopper, you are literally sweating buckets.' Chopper points to his pants and patches of fur covered in water.
'... Moderate dehydration.'
Chopper finds a large slushie shoved into his hands, courtesy of his captain. 'Here you go, Chopper, try this! It's really tasty!'
The doctor looks at the drink in his and his captain's hands. A large pink drink with a tiny umbrella and a large bendy straw is in his hands.
'...Luffy, where did you get this?'
Luffy slurps his drink. 'Smoothie guy.'
'...smoothie guy?'
'You know a guy that sells smoothies!'
'I know what... where is this smoothie guy, Luffy!?'
'Oh, he's handing out free drinks right...' he points at an empty stall. 'Wow, he packed up quick! I'm glad I got mine before he left!'
'Luffy, spit that out!' Usopp shouts. 'It could have plague in it!'
'Nope.' Luffy continues to slurp. 'Sanji taught me to taste for plague stuff. No bitter rotten stuff here.'
'And some magic smoothie seller just decided to give you a free smoothie!?'
'...you're just jealous that you didn't get one.'
'Damn straight!'
'Here.' Chopper shoves the drink into Usopp's hands. 'Have mine. I don't make a habit of drinking strange, unknown substances.'
Luffy continues to slurp. 'Don't you like eating those mystery balls?'
'I know what's in my Rumble Balls(trademarked). Thank you very much.' He looks around. 'We're wasting time. Usopp, what else do we need?'
Usopp slurps his drink, feeling a cool wave of relief pass over him.
Chopper snaps, the heat agitating his already sour mood. 'Usopp!'
The sniper shakes his head. 'Oh, right.' He reaches back with one hand, feeling the bags. 'Let's see, we've got your medical supplies, some nails, waterskins, some desert clothes I'll modify to fit us...' He turns back to Luffy and the rest. 'I just need some specialist tools and components for Nami's new weapon, and we'll be set.'
'Nami's weapon?'
'Yep! I've been going over the schematics during our... voyage.' He scuttles about. 'Seeing how I could mold metals and combine stuff with my Munch fruit, and I just need a few more things to make it work.'
'Right.' Chopper's eyes follow the sniper, suddenly catching sight of something in the distance. 'Usopp, do you think you can handle the rest of the shopping?'
Usopp nods. 'Yeah? Why?'
Chopper points to a nearby barber's pole hanging from a rusty sign. 'Because I could use a proper shave.' He points to his patchwork job removing his hair. 'This fur is very hard to remove with a buzz saw. Hopefully a professional will have better luck.'
He nods. 'Okay. Luffy, you're...'
Their captain is gone.
'Luffy?'
......
'Uragh!' Luffy shoots his hands in the air. 'Come on out, smoothie guy! I need to get more smoothies for my crew!'
Darn it.
It had already been a few hours, and he had already forgotten his promise! It had been soooo hot, and he had been really thirsty. So when a guy(?) offered him something delicious to drink, he hadn’t questioned it at all. He had drunk it all down without thinking. I mean, he did promise to EAT last, but smoothies are kinda eating. So maybe he just kinda broke his promise?
He shakes his head.
No! He needs... what did his grandpa call it? Diligence! That was it! He needs to be diligent and keep to his promises. And he can do that by making sure everyone on his crew gets a pink smoothie from the mysterious robed guy in the market.
Luffy’s train of thought slows for a moment.
... that's something he never thought he'd think today. Oh well, it's the Grand Line; don't think too hard about it. You’ll drive yourself crazy trying to understand all the nonsense that happens here.
'Smooth old man!'
Smoothie man?
Luffy looks in the direction of a group of thugs in front of a small shop.
A blonde-haired guy wearing brown cloth armor steps on the man under his boot. By his side, a man with spiked gloves and an orange bathrobe laughs cruelly. A round man dressed in a large blue kimono with yellow triangles just grunts. Finally, a rectangle-headed man wearing a padded vest plays with his sword.
'Really smooth move, old man!' The thug steps down harder, brushing his hair away from a boil on his forehead. 'You tripped over my foot!' He grinds his heel into the man's back. 'These boots are expensive!'
'Sir! Please.' The man beneath him pleads. 'I can't give you my goods for free! I have a family to feed.'
The thug calmly removes his boot. 'We're all struggling to feed ourselves, old man. That's why, as neighbors, we have to share what we have so we can make it through these tough times. Isn't that right, guys?'
The boxing-gloved bandit smashes his fists together; tainted fluid seeps from the holes in his glove. 'Right, Camus! We're just a bunch of poor orphans trying not to starve. You don't want us to starve, do you, old man?'
The sumo opens his mouth, revealing a green tongue that is as long as a whip. 'EEEHReffy fryj ffrt!' His every word splashes the ground with bile.
'You know, guys, I think he wants us to starve!' The vested swordsman smiles. 'He's a greedy businessman. He hates poor, plague-afflicted citizens like us and wants us to die so he can get more profits!'
'Is that true, old man?' The leader chuckles slyly. 'Do you want us to die? Are you so greedy that you'd let a bunch of kind, innocent men afflicted with poverty die like dogs?'
The townspeople around point and whisper, but none call the guards. They don't want to be next.
The old man maintains his bow. 'Sir, I have few goods and valuables to offer you. But if you want support, King Cobra has set up assistance for those...'
His comment earns him a boot to the back of his skull.
'Oh, come on, old man. I'm sure you have something to offer us. After all.' He leans down towards the man. 'You wouldn't want to upset the Revolutionary Army now, would you?'
The crowd gasps in fear and shimmies away from the scene as quickly as they can. Every single person within earshot tries to make themselves scarce.
The old man's face pales. 'R-R-R-R-Revolutionary A-A-Army!?!'
Camus smugly grins. 'Yep, we're heroes of the Revolutionary Army, fundraising for our noble cause.' He flashes his shit-eating grin as he looks at the small grocery store. 'And you know just what we do to those who support the monarchy? Don't you?'
The man quivers in fear. 'N-N-No! That's not necessary! Please take anything you like!'
'Good! I'd hate to have to burn you or your precious family alive and eat you!' The blonde-haired man turns to his group. 'All right, men, tak-'
A single fist from Luffy smashes him into the dirt.
The other goons stand shell-shocked for a moment, looking at the gauntlet-wearing pirate in a straw hat.
Luffy cracks his knuckles and levels a glare at the others.
They turn to run.
'Guards! Help! Murderer!!'
'Drrh dfhyh dftygc!!'
'He's going to kill us! Help!'
Luffy just watches as the group of "heroes" run out of sight, leaving their leader unconscious on the ground. 'You okay, smoothie guy?'
'Smoothie?' The old man gets up. 'Forget me! Do you know who you just attacked?'
Luffy offers the man a confused look. 'A bunch of thugs?'
'You attacked soldiers from the Revolutionary Army! Have you read the papers, boy!?' He trembles in fear. 'They eat babies to gain demonic powers and kill anyone who defies them! They're soulless monsters who slaughter with impunity!'
'...no, they don't.'
'Of course they do!' The man says. 'They had pictures in the Blueberry Times depicting their massacres and cannibalistic rites!'
'Well, I know for a fact they don't do that.' He kicks the groaning body at his feet. 'Plus, these guys weren't members of the Revolutionary Army.'
'They weren't?'
'Nope. Sabo would never let guys like this join.'
The man's pupils become pinpricks. 'Sabo...'
'Yeah. You know him?'
'Know him!? He's Sabo the Tune of Death!! He's the fourth most vile monster in the entire Revolutionary Army! Right behind that sexual abuser Ivancov!'
'...he's also my brother.'
'B-B-B-B-B-B-B-'
'So I'd really appreciate it if you didn't insult him.'
'B-B-B-B-B-B-B-'
'Uh? Old guy?' Luffy reaches forward to comfort him.
The old man faints dead away, foaming at the mouth and whispering the atrocities of the Revolutionary Army.
'...dang it.' Luffy curses to himself. 'I really should have asked him if he sold smoothies.'
......
'I can't believe it.'
'They were here! He was right!'
'Hold on, guys! They aren't our... mission. Shouldn't we...'
'Shut it, Marne! Do you remember what these guys did to Logue town!?'
'But that was...'
'It was thanks to them!' A marine with a cannon fused to his shoulder and a flintlock for a right hand shouts at his subordinate. 'They brought him there! If it wasn't for them escaping the purity division the first time... we're wasting words!'
Marine X, shining star of Shell Town, before contracting the plague, glares hatefully at the ship. 'The point is we have the pirates officially responsible for the Logue Town Massacre in our sights. We have their ship; we know where they're going to go!' He turns to the group. 'We just have to inform the Captain, set a trap, and bang!' He fires his gun in the air. 'We've got them!'
'And what's the point?' A marine with dozens of extra arms says, patting down his rumpled shirt. 'It's not like we'll get a promotion since we're not technically in the Marines. We're stuck in the Plague division until we croak. We won't get anything for handing them over.'
'Right, let's...' A man with a huge chest swells to twice his size as he breathes in through flesh-eaten holes in his ribs. 'Just look for the commander. That's... our mission.'
The final marine slithers on the ground with a slug-like tail. 'Marne's right. What if they come back before we can get the captain?'
The larger man reloads the pistol fused to his hand, grunting as a red pustule pops. 'Then we kill them. If they don't know we're here, they'll be easy pickings.'
'Marine X? Please, let's just...'
'Shut it, Marne! I'm the senior officer here, so we do what I say. And I say we ambush the brats.' He turns to the many armed Marines. 'Ortiz. Get the Captain and let them know the Straw Hats are here and we've got their ship.'
The armed Marine sighs. 'With respect, "Marine X," there are no ranks since the infected aren't allowed to hold rank. We don't have to-'
Bang
The objecting marine falls over dead, a hole in his head.
Marine X turns to the others. 'Anyone else want to mutiny?!'
The two look to the corpse of their friend bleeding out into the sands.
'Good.' He turns to the snail marine. 'Gep. Get back to the ship and let the others know what we're up to. Marne and I will wait on their ship; we'll give them a full broadside from our cannons when they get back!'
The marine shakes his head "no," backing away.
Marine X reloads his gun hand. 'Am I the only marine here that remembers we're supposed to kill pirates!? What is wrong with you cowards!?'
The slug marine whimpers and points behind him.
He hears something large walking behind him.
He turns, reading his flesh-mounted bazooka. 'Mortar!!'
He fires an explosive round that could demolish a small ship towards the approaching figure.
A minotaur swings its spade, cutting the cannonball in half. It explodes behind the creature, completely unfazed by the ship-destroying impact.
'Bad men.' It growls in a guttural voice before it charges into the terrified squad.
.....
The two mature women of the Strawhat Pirates walk out of a small outpost on the edge of town. Black ravens carrying papers, deliveries, and missives fly from and to the large tower-like nest.
'So what was in that letter?' Nami asks.
'A quick, coded summary of Baroque Work's plans.'
'And you're not going to share those plans or any info you have with us?'
'When we get to the Capital Alubarna.' The princess stretches her mechanical arm. 'More importantly, haven't you forgotten something?'
'Well, let's see. I got the newest papers from a month back...' She pats the thick backpack fastened to her suit. 'And I'm doing my job of pressuring you to open up, no nope!'
Vivi rolls her eyes. 'And Usopp's letters to Kaya?'
'...Oh, right. Usopp's letters.' She removes the tied pile from her pack and looks around, finding a small container. 'She shoots...'
With a flick of her wrist, Usopp's heart-filled papers land in the trash. 'She scores!'
'Nami!?' Vivi watches with horror. 'What are you doing?'
'Getting rid of another reason for you to avoid the conversation, Vivi.' She turns to face her friend. 'So, enough games. What don't you know, and why aren't you telling us?'
'And I said I'll let you know when we get to Alubarna.' The princess tries to walk past.
Nami grabs her shoulder and spins her back towards her with surprising strength. 'We both know that's fish crap, Vivi. You have no intention of letting us do anything once we get there.'
Vivi flinches. 'Y-You don't know that.'
'Wrong princess, I do.' Nami glares at her. 'Take it from someone who spent her entire life lying to herself. You're only hurting yourself by pushing away people who want to help you.'
Nami’s words from experience momentarily stun the guarded princess. The navigator’s keen insight once again strikes home.
'S-Shut up!' Vivi pathetically counters. 'Look, the more you know and the more deeply you get involved, the more danger you'll be in. Better you know nothing so you can walk away once you've dropped me off.'
'All to keep us from dying?'
'Exactly!' Vivi shouts. 'It's all to keep you safe! What about it don't you get?'
'...and keeping us from knowing exactly what we're up against will help us how?'
The princess grunts. 'Because if Baroque Works knows you know about them, or their boss, they'll hunt you down until you and everyone you care about are dead!!'
'Pretty sure that boat sailed when we destroyed two of their bases and killed several of their officers.'
'Uuuugghh!' Vivi grunts louder. 'Why are you doing this, Nami!? Do you have a death wish? Why do you want to know something that would only get you killed!?'
'Because we're friends, Vivi.'
The earnest response stuns the princess.
'As much of a smug witch as you can be, and even though we started as enemies, you're a friend, Vivi.' Nami says clearly. 'And friends don't let the people they care about throw away their lives.'
The navigator takes in a deep breath. 'I know you're still sad about Karoo.' She watches Vivi suppress a sob. 'And you don't want anyone else to die for you. But don't you see, Vivi?'
She reaches out and grabs her one human hand. 'You're trying to throw your own life away, rather than let anyone help you, and nobody wants that. Not me, not the crew, and not Karoo. Nobody wants you to die.'
Vivi tries to turn away, but finds herself unable to.
'We care about you, Vivi. Even in a world as messed up as this, there are people we care about and fight for.' Nami states, gripping her friend's hand. 'And you are definitely worth fighting to protect, Vivi. You just have to let us.'
A gust of hot desert wind blows over the two women. They stand there looking at each other. Nami is battering the gates of her heart, attempting to get her to open up. Vivi desperately seals herself off, trying to deny her friends the opportunity to die for her. But Vivi's resolve is weakening.
'Fu fu fu fu fu...'
A wet, gurgling chuckle travels through the wind. Despite the oppressive heat and warm tempest, Vivi finds her blood freezing in her veins. The hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, and she grips Nami's hand so hard she can feel bone bend.
'Ow!' The navigator rips her hand out of the death grip. 'Vivi!? What the Abyss is wrong?'
'Hmm. It's probably due to hearing my voice.' A concealed shadow elaborates. 'I wouldn't be surprised. I do have that effect on most people.'
Vivi draws her blade; her mechanical arm whirs to life.
'Oh, don't mind me. I wouldn't want to interrupt such a touching moment between friends.' A hand emerges from the darkness behind the tower above. 'Please finish your emotional heart-to-heart before we talk business. I insist!'
'Nami, run.'
'No, Vivi.' Nami stands her ground.
A melancholy sigh travels across the air. 'So no more friend-shipping? Now I'm sad.'
The princess takes a combat stance, gritting her teeth. 'Nami! Run! You'll die if she catches you!' She levels a death glare at the hand emerging from the other side of the building.
'Unfortunately, not wanting to die is a problem we all must face, Vivi Nefertari, princess of Alabasta.' Another hand joins the first from behind the pillar. 'Death and suffering are unfortunately the two inescapable facts of life.'
Another hand joins the first two, followed by a fourth, and from behind the tower a monster emerges.
Its most distinctive feature, other than its green eyes, is its four arms, which carry it around the rim of the building. The first two look human enough; however, the two sprouting from her back are as black as night, possessing cruel claws that bite through stone. It throws itself from the tower and, with acrobatic ease, it lands before them, adorned with a pair of pants and a holed gown as black as her raven hair. She opens her mouth in a discordant smile, showing off yellowed, misshapen teeth.
'Now, who wants the day's first dose of pain?' The twisted woman saunters towards them.
.......
Knock Knock
'Enter.'
The door slides open, and rays of sunlight enter the room. Yet not even the sun can pierce the smog that fills every inch of the cabin.
'Did you find them?'
A marine salutes his commander lounging in shadow, a huge bulb of pus swaying on his head. 'Yes, sir! The commander of the second division is sitting in a cafe! East block.'
The obscured man smokes his cigars; the only light in the room comes from his brand of choice.
'Good.' The smoky man says. 'But you don't have to salute me, soldier. I don't have a rank anymore.'
The soldier breaks from his salute. 'Sir, with respect, you'll always be our commander.'
'...so I am.' The man takes a drag of his smoke, mulling over the chart in front of him. 'Point to where it is.'
The soldier obliges, his fingertip hovering over a rectangular building near the side of town farthest from port.
The commander muses. 'Wide open roads, easy approach, but also easy escape.' He points to several roads on the map. 'Post soldiers here, here, and here. I, Tagashi, and a squad of soldiers will converge on the target.'
'Tagashi... isn't here, sir.'
A painful silence fills the cabin.
'...right. Tagashi... isn't, Tagashi.' He reaches over to the side of his desk, picking up a long, single-edged blade and sheathes it in a long case on his back. 'It's fine. Tagashi and I will have to do without her.'
Commander Smoker walks into the light. His body is large and well-built, with thick muscles under a thick white jacket lined with cigars. His bare chest is covered in bloody black-green sores that seem to have spread to his wild silver hairline. His brown boots and gloves cling to his hands and feet, fastened shut by plague boils. His bloodshot eyes look through his subordinate.
'Let's get this over with.' Ex-Captain Smoker says with a near-perpetual grimace. 'The sooner we take care of this ridiculous mission, the sooner we can kill Tagashi.'
'S-Sir?'
The man shakes his head; his blackened sores leak fluids over his coat. 'I mean, kill Strawhat Luffy. The sooner we can kill Strawhat Luffy.'
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