Logia Brothers Chapter 8 (Patreon)

I need to get back into the swing of things since my mother is now at peace. She always hated feeling like she was holding anyone back, so I'll move forward in her memory! To my mother, a woman who spent her life loving and raising her children! Cheers!

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of The Logia Brothers! With the Black Cat Pirates destroyed what’s next for the Straw Hats? A Ship? A Navigator’s request? A New Crewmate? Have their actions actually gone unnoticed?

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Chapter 8 – Going Merry, Nami’s Request

The morning light shone down on Syrup Village and the sleepy little village slowly roused itself from slumber and prepared for the day. It looked to be another quiet day in their corner of the East Blue without anything crazy happening. The common folk that lived here would never know of the fierce battle that had taken place on the other side of their island. Nor would they ever suspect that they had almost been raided by pirates.

The Straw Hat crew were standing next to their two small boats with Kaya and her butler, Merry, as they looked upon a larger ship in the water. It was much bigger than what they’d sailed to the island in. It was a two-mast ship, one in the center of the ship with a large square sail while another was near the stern of the ship and just a bit smaller but with a triangular lateen sail.

“It's a caravel!” Nami smiled happily while looking the ship over. Luffy was bouncing on his toes excitedly while sparkles practically poured from his eyes. Zoro was even smirking appreciatively at the ship. Kaya stood in front of them, her hands clasped in front of her and a happy smile on her face.

“I told you we'd get a huge ship!” Luffy cheered making Zoro snort in response.

Merry stood before the ship with a pleasant smile. He was a somewhat sheep-like man with a few bandages covering his body from Kuro’s attempt on his life. “I'm glad you all like the ship.” He said with a smile and bow. “Thank you for all of your help.” Merry thanked the three of them as he straightened up and turned towards the ship. “She's a bit of an older style, but she still sails like a dream. I designed her myself.” He said cheerfully, “She's called ‘The Going Merry’. She’s a double-mast caravel class with both square and triangular sails. When the late Master and Lady asked me to design her with enough space for all the servants to sail with them I ended up having to make her a bit larger than I originally intended. But Master spared no expense and only wanted the best for his wife and daughter.” Merry smiled as he reminisced his days of serving Kaya’s parents.

“Can we really have this?” Luffy asked still bouncing around.

“Of course,” Kaya giggled while watching the man, who single-handedly destroyed a ship nearly double the size, act like an excited child. “I insist, actually.”

“So you're the one who got rid of those Black Cat Pirates? You have my gratitude as both a resident of this island and as Lady Kaya’s butler.” Merry thanked the straw-hatted pirate. The sheep-like man couldn’t help but chuckle at Luffy's indifference to anything but the ship at the moment. “Well, I should explain the steering system. Firstly, in order to adjust the yards in relation to the crew garnet…” The butler began only to have Nami place her hand on his shoulder.

“You better tell me instead, Merry. I'm the crew's Navigator.” Nami giggled while watching Luffy's childlike excitement as he jumped up to the ship's deck. After a few moments of running around the Going Merry’s deck Luffy sat on the sheepshead figurehead with a huge grin.

“I had it fully loaded! It's the least we could do for all your help.” Kaya yelled up to him. Luffy quickly leapt from the figurehead and landed next to Kaya.

“You’re awesome!” Luffy declared while Kaya accepted a hug from the excited Captain before he jumped back onto the ship.

“Ahh!” Everyone turned and looked up at the hill, where Usopp was rolling down the hill with a massive backpack strapped to him. The size of the pack meant he had probably taken everything in his house that wasn’t nailed down. Though from his current predicament it was clear that he didn’t have the physicality to haul so much weight; at least not if he wanted to maintain his balance. “Someone stop me!” The long-nosed gunman pleaded as he rolled down the hill being repeatedly squashed by his large boulder-sized backpack.

“Usopp?!” Kaya exclaimed in shock.

“Hey, what's he doing?” Luffy asked confused.

“No idea, but whatever it is, we should probably stop him before he hits the ship.” Zoro replied as he stood beside Luffy and they both stuck their feet out. Usopp rolled into their feet, face first. The gunman’s nose was the only part of his face that escaped damage, sticking out between the two shoes smashed against his face.

“Th-thanks.” Usopp gurgled out before taking off his huge bag and getting back onto his feet. He brushed himself off a bit, before giving Kaya a wide smile. “I'm setting sail Kaya…” He stated quietly.

“I know.” Kaya replied with her eyes closed. The blonde opened them and smiled brightly at him. “You'll have to make sure you have plenty of stories for me when you return!” The two stared at each other, both trying not to tear up.

“Ah, to hell with it.” Usopp muttered before stepping forward and pulling Kaya into his arms for a kiss, which the blonde happily returned. Everyone else stared at the scene wide-eyed and in various states of shock.

“Usopp, you scoundrel! Unhand Lady Kaya this instant!" Merry demanded as he pointed at the liar.

“Ish fine.” Kaya mumbled through the lip lock.

“Didn't think he was that brave.” Zoro mumbled while Luffy chuckled next to him.

“Come on you two, leave them alone.” Nami shoved both of her crewmates and directed them to the Going Merry. Though she also didn’t think Usopp would have had the guts to pull off what he’d just done. The two separated and shared a bittersweet smile together. Kaya took a deep breath before speaking. 

“You should get going, Captain Usopp.” Kaya smiled, trying to hold back her tears.

“I'll make sure to bring back a bunch of stories for next time…” Usopp promised, holding back his own tears, as he turned away with resolve and headed towards the water. He waved up at the three Straw Hats as he started packing his things into his own little boat. “You guys have a safe trip! I'm sure we'll meet again someday!”

“Huh? What are you talking about?” Luffy frowned down at Usopp.

“Sheesh, that’s cold! We're all going to be pirates, aren't we? We could meet again on the high seas!” Usopp explained with a huff.

“Just get on board already.” Zoro sighed as he waved towards the Merry.

“Huh?” Usopp stood there, wide-eyed.

“Didn’t I tell you? I made you the Gunner for my crew!” Luffy smiled as he looked at the stunned Usopp. “That means you're already a Nakama!”

“You…uh…actually didn’t tell me that…at all.” Usopp muttered in shock, before breaking out into a wide grin. “I'm the Captain!” He cheered as he leapt towards the gang plank, nearly forgetting his huge bag of possessions in the process.

“Idiot! I'm the Captain!” Luffy yelled back at the excited Gunman.

“The winds are in our favor, Luffy!” Nami called out as she felt the wind and looked towards the sky. “These are perfect conditions to set sail!”

“Let’s go!” Luffy exclaimed with a huge grin as he plopped himself down on the sheep figurehead. Usopp only had enough time to set down his backpack while Zoro raised the gang plank, before they both moved below deck to raise the anchors. In only a matter of minutes the Going Merry was drifting away from the shallows and heading for the high seas.

As the ship sailed away, Kaya looked on, with both happiness and sadness. It was a bittersweet moment. “It can hurt…to lie.” She whispered though Merry was close enough to hear her.

“You didn't want him to leave, did you?” Merry questioned his Lady.

“That…or I wanted to sail with him.” Kaya admitted though she knew she was still far too frail to sail the seas right now. The blonde wiped her tears away and smiled at the horizon. “I'll have to get stronger…so that when he comes back, I'll be able to leave with him.” She straightened up with determination. “Merry, I've decided!” The wind blew and her hair was gently tussled by the breeze. “The next time I see Usopp…I'm going to be a doctor!” She turned and walked away from the shore, heading back to her home.

“An excellent choice, Lady Kaya.” Merry chuckled as he followed along.

-On the Going Merry-

“This ship is bigger than I thought.” Zoro commented as the crew was exploring their new ship. The sails were filled by the breeze and the ship was locked on course thanks to Nami locking the rudder.

“I’ll say.” Nami stated happily. The women’s quarters, previously used for the female servants of Kaya’s family, had four beds, wardrobes, vanities, and even a large table to place things on. There was plenty of space for a few other female crewmates besides Nami.

“What’re these things?” Luffy asked as he pulled on a wooden thing on the wall.

“That’s an accordion wall.” Nami stated as she moved over and grabbed the handle. With a pull the wooden panels moved away from the wall and along the track built into the ceiling. When the wall was fully extended it completely cut off one of the bed, wardrobe, and vanity sets from the rest of the large room.

“Cool!” Luffy exclaimed as he watched Nami pull the other three walls closed around the room, making one large room into five smaller ones.

“I’m sure the men’s quarters have something similar. Merry did say that the late Master spared no expense when having this ship built.” Nami mused. It turned out that she was right; the men’s quarters did in fact have a similar set up. Though there were eight beds instead of four as male servants had apparently been used for the sailing of the ship more so than the female servants had been. 

The tour of the ship led them to find the water-drawing machines under both sets of stairs leading up from the main deck to the upper deck. The pedal-powered machines would suck up ocean water and force it through a filter that removed salt, particulates, and even bacteria. Nami cringed knowing that they’d have to supply replacement filters over time. Sure they weren’t incredibly expensive, but the small things added up! Thankfully they had a few dozen replacements already provided by Kaya’s stocking of the ship.

Luffy had been star-eyed throughout the tour, from the crew’s quarters, to the decks, the holds and the cannon decks. But what they found in the back of the kitchen/lounge/helm cabin made the Lightning Man burst out laughing. A large generator, also pedal-powered, and hooked up to an array of batteries that provided the power to the electric lights and fans that the four had noticed throughout the ship. Not to mention the large refrigerator that stood against the wall not far from the power supply.

“It’ll be decent cardio to power it manually, but I don’t think we’ll ever run out of power.” Luffy chuckled as he raised his hand and sparks danced around his palm. “Just have to be careful not to overload it. Shishishi.” Zoro, Nami and Usopp all got a chuckle out of this, but they were grateful to have the conveniences provided by having electricity on board. Nami was especially fond of the electric hot water heater that went to the shower and bath. A warm shower and bath everyday would be heaven while sailing!

The last stop of the tour had been the Captain’s quarters, formerly Kaya’s parent’s room on board the Going Merry. The room was large and housed a king-size bed, a desk on one wall, a large wardrobe, and even had its own full bathroom taking up one of the corners. Luffy had laughed himself silly as he launched himself onto the large bed and bounced on the quality mattress and soft sheets. With the tour over Zoro and Usopp went to pick out their own beds in the men’s quarters while Nami went to check their course and make any adjustments necessary. Less than an hour later the four pirates were standing on deck with flagons of booze raised as they celebrated their new ship and their new crewmate.

-That Night-

Night had fallen a couple hours ago; Nami was lying down in her new bed. Just like the rest of the ship it was of great quality and was incredibly comfy. She should have been happy and relaxed. But she still had to tell Luffy what she wanted, no, what she needed him to know. To make a request of her Captain as his nakama, the request that he’d already promised to do for her no matter what it may be. Just because she was his nakama and he wanted her happy.

But she wasn't happy. She’d still felt sore after the battle with the Black Cat Pirates. She’d taken down multiple grunts and in her rage had even managed to kill their hypnotist of a Captain. But then she’d almost been taken out by those cat-themed brothers before she could do anything! She’d have been dead if not for Luffy and Zoro. That wasn’t good enough! She couldn’t save her village if she couldn’t even save herself! Her blood was pounding in her ears as she heard that laugh, his laugh, 'Shahahaha!'

Nami clenched her fists and ground her teeth as she began to tremble in rage, 'Shahahaha!' she heard that damned laugh again. She had a real crew, and she had true friends. She wanted to sail with them until the end, but she would never be able to do that if she remained weak! If she remained trapped under Arlong's control! 

She’d had no hope since that day Arlong and his crew came to the Conomi Islands. Not a single ray of it until she met Luffy. But now that it was here, it wasn't going away. Luffy hadn't even used his Devil Fruit against ‘Kuro of a Thousand Plans’, a pirate worth sixteen million Beri. Hell, he hadn't even tried in the fight. A single punch from Luffy had left the bastard reeling. A stronger punch had caved in the man’s face and killed him instantly. Hope was a foreign emotion to Nami, but it filled her entire body now. The pounding in her ears faded away and was replaced by a calm determination. Nami sat up from the bed, it was time; she would ask him now.

Walking out of the women’s quarters she headed to the bow of the ship. Stepping onto the main deck she spotted her Captain. He was sitting without a care on the ship's figurehead. She knew they’d already furled the sails and dropped both anchors for the night. The ship wouldn’t drift very far on the current so she could make her request in private. 

"Luffy!" Nami called out getting the straw-hatted man’s attention. Luffy spun on the figurehead and then leapt down to join her on the deck as soon as he caught sight of her. 

“Nami? I thought you already headed to bed for the night.” Luffy commented only to notice the look in Nami’s eyes. A mixture of determination, anger, and pleading that he’d never seen before.

“Luffy, can I tell you want I wanted to say back on the beach now?” Nami questioned.

“Sure, Nami.” Luffy nodded only to tilt his head when Nami reached out and took his hand in hers.

“Let’s go to your quarters. I want to tell you in private.” Nami stated as she led Luffy by the hand back to his room. Once there the two sat on the bed next to each other.

“What do you want to tell me Nami?” Luffy asked not use to seeing Nami in this state of determination and nervousness.

“Luffy, you said I’m your nakama, right?” Nami asked looking over at him.

“Of course, Nami, you’ll always be my nakama!” Luffy nodded sharply bringing a small grin to Nami’s lips.

“You told me if I needed you to do something for me that you’d do it no matter what. Are you sure?” Nami questioned working up her courage to ask him to risk his life for her.

“Anything you want, Nami, I’ll do it for you.” Luffy promised as he took her hands in his and turned so that they were sitting across from each other on the large bed. Nami’s gaze was locked onto the bedding she sat on, her bangs shadowing her eyes from Luffy’s view.

“Luffy…” Nami started before looking up at him her eyes burning with years of repressed rage and hatred. “There’s someone I want you to kill.”

“I’d need a name.” Luffy replied instantly his voice harder than diamond and his eyes sharp.

“Arlong ‘the Saw’.” Nami spat out and Luffy’s eyes narrowed.

“What did he do to you?” Luffy asked his tone serious.

“He and his crew came to my home archipelago almost ten years ago.” Nami started, and then found that she couldn’t stop. She told Luffy everything, how Arlong had taken over the Conomi Islands. How he’d forced the residents to pay for their lives every month. How Bell-mere, her mother, didn’t have enough money for all three of them and had sacrificed herself to buy her and her sister’s lives. How Arlong had shot her mother between the eyes in front of her. Then how her maps had been found and Arlong had enslaved her. How she’d been forced to draw maps for her mother’s murderer until she hated her own cartography skills and even hated her own dream to map the entire world. Then she’d told him about the one hundred million Beri deal that Arlong had struck with her. That he’d free Cocoyashi Village if she handed him a hundred million in cash. She felt tears start to fall when she told Luffy of her years spent thieving, hunting for buried treasures, and selling anything that she could get a good price for. She’d done everything short of selling her body in brothels or whoring herself out to the highest bidder in some Red Light District in one of East Blue’s wealthy kingdoms.

Nami finally finished and instantly noticed the tingling sensation on her skin. She felt her hair frizzing up and could smell ozone. Looking up she saw Luffy’s reaction to her past. The normally cheerful young man was replaced with a rage filled god. Luffy’s eyes were wide and full of anger, small sparks were jumping from his body and his teeth were grinding so hard she thought he might crack them. Only in the back of her mind did she recognize that even with his control being pushed to the limit by his rage, not once did Nami so much as get a shock from his power. 

“He’s dead.” Luffy ground out and Nami buried her face into his chest, her anguished tears turning into tears of relief at Luffy’s declaration. “I’ll crush him, shock him, break him; he’ll understand how much you suffered before I’m done with him. You have my word, Nami.” He promised as he plotted the death of the bastard that dare hurt his nakama, HIS Nami!

“Thank you, Luffy. Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Nami let out her years of pent up misery through her tears as Luffy pulled her into a warm embrace and held her close. Over half an hour later Nami’s tears slowly came to an end and she pulled back from Luffy’s arms.

“Feel better?” Luffy asked softly and Nami nodded silently before trying to wipe the tears from her face.

“Sorry about getting your cardigan wet, Luffy.” Nami apologized seeing the wet spots from where her tears had soaked into the fabric.

“No problem, here.” Luffy smiled as he pulled his cardigan off and held it out to Nami to use to dry her eyes. Nami smiled at him before taking him up on his offer and wiping her eyes. 

“Thanks.” Nami grinned once her eyes were dry. She handed the cardigan back to Luffy, but he simply tossed it into a basket near the door. Nami couldn’t help but let her eyes wander to Luffy’s body again. Since the first time she’d seen him shirtless she’d admitted, only to herself, that she found him attractive. His years of training were obvious from his defined musculature and Nami kind of wanted to run her hands over his torso. “Luffy, can I stay with you tonight?”

“Sure Nami, whatever you want.” Luffy replied and Nami grinned as she stood up from the bed and removed her shirt and bra quickly. A moment later and her skirt hit the floor too. Turning her head to look at Luffy over her shoulder almost brought Nami to laughter as her Captain’s eyes were wider than she’d ever seen them. “Nami?” Luffy questioned his eyes rapidly moving up and down Nami’s form unsure of where it was ok to look.

“Yes, Captain?” Nami giggled as she watched Luffy eventually turn his head to look at the wall.

“Why’re you taking your clothes off?” Luffy asked as he continued to stare at the wall.

“I don’t sleep in my clothes, Luffy.” Nami replied simply. “You don’t want me to be uncomfortable, do you?”

“No, but isn’t it bad for a guy to look at a naked woman that isn’t his lover?” Luffy questioned since his, and his brother’s, lessons on manners and sexual education had both come from Makino with a little help from Fuusha Village’s local doctor.

“Normally yes, but if the woman wants the man to see her…” Nami grinned sexily as she slowly turned around and let Luffy look at her in only her panties. The black-haired young man’s eyes roved up and down her form before locking onto her bare breasts. “Then it’s ok for the man to look as much as he wants.” She finished as she took a small step and crawled onto the bed.

“Big…” Luffy commented before he tore his gaze from Nami’s breasts and looked her in the eyes. “Really big.”

“Oh, do you like them?” Nami asked with a raised eyebrow as she straddled his waist and crossed her arms under her bosom. This had the wonderful effect of pushing them up and making them look even bigger. “I admit I’m a bit proud of them. I’ve been rather confident about my looks for years now.”

“Yeah…” Luffy nodded to Nami’s question making the orangette giggle. She slowly laid herself on top of Luffy her soft skin meeting his rigid muscle and her breasts pressed up against his pectorals. Nami smiled contently when she felt Luffy’s arms wrap around her lower back and hold her against his chest.

“You’re nice and warm.” Nami mumbled as she lay on top of him.

“My teacher said some Fruits have side effects like that. Lightning is super-hot so my body is a bit warmer than normal. Heat and cold don’t bother me too much anymore.” Luffy explained softly his hands gently running up and down Nami’s back leaving pleasant tingles on her skin.

“I like it.” Nami grinned at him receiving a smile in return. Nami noticed Luffy’s eyes wander to her left shoulder, where that damn mark resided on her skin, before he briefly glared at it.

“I’m going to tear his left arm off for putting that mark on yours.” Luffy stated as his hands resumed their gentle up and down motion along her back.

“I’ll enjoy seeing that far more than I should.” Nami murmured as she gently kissed his chest.

“We’ll deal with him soon. But we’ll need another crewmate before too long. Otherwise nutrition might become a problem.” Luffy replied making Nami nod.

“That’s fine; I haven’t been gone too long yet. They won’t expect me back for at least another month. Plus it would be a shame to waste that nice kitchen.” Nami agreed running her hands slowly up and down Luffy’s muscled arms.

“We’ll find the best we can; then it’s straight to your home.” Luffy promised and Nami smiled as she snuggled closer.

“Blanket.” Nami murmured against Luffy’s neck and she felt his hand move from her back for a second. The softness of the blanket soon brushed against her skin as Luffy covered them both before putting his arm back around her. “Luffy, come here.” Nami smiled as she used her right hand on the back of his head to bring his face closer to hers. Their lips met and Luffy swore he felt a jolt run through his body, which was impossible since he was a Lightning Man and electricity didn’t affect him at all. Nami moaned softly into their kiss as Luffy pressed his lips against hers to return the kiss. Neither of them had any experience, but they’d learn together. “Good night, Luffy.” Nami sighed happily as she placed her head against his chest and listened to his heartbeat.

“Good night, Nami.” Luffy yawned as he started to drift off. Usopp had just woken up for his watch shift so Luffy was free to sleep until morning now. Observation Haki was so useful in times like this; Luffy mused to himself before holding Nami a little tighter as he fell asleep.

-Gecko Islands Marine Branch-

“Emergency report! Emergency report!” A Transponder Snail blared loudly at the Gecko Islands Marine Branch startling the on duty Marine.

“Who is this? Report!” The Communications Officer ordered as he waited for the person on the other end of the line to respond.

“This is Petty Officer Brag of Patrol Ship Eight, sir!” Brag identified himself.

“You’re on Patrol Route Twelve, what’s the big emergency?” The Communications Officer questioned.

“Sir, we were performing the usual patrol for Patrol Route Twelve this morning at O’ Seven Hundred when we noticed the Belzan Black moored on the north slope of the island.” Brag reported.

“What?! Are you telling me the Black Cat Pirates raided Syrup Village?!” The Officer asked loudly.

“No sir, we maintained distance as protocol dictates when facing large pirate crews while scouting. Through our telescopes and binoculars we were able to witness the incident. A group of four repelled the entire Black Cat crew!” Brag continued his report.

“You better start making sense Petty Officer Brag, or so help me…” The Officer growled. “There is no way four people repelled a pirate crew of near sixty men!”

“It’s the truth, sir!” Brag replied. “The initial wave was repelled by a teen in brown overalls with a long nose. He did something I’ve never seen before. He was literally able to fire four pistols at nearly the same time by himself. By using some kind of rapid juggling of all things! After that Jango ‘The Hypnotist’ the current Captain of the Black Cat Pirates used his hypnosis on his own men. The remaining pirates charged at the two on the slope only for the long-nosed teen to use a rifle to take down at least fifteen more of them.”

“Are you drunk, Brag? Because what you’re telling me sounds like something you’d see right before you black out!” The Officer roared at the Petty Officer.

“No sir! I’ll stake my position and rank on the veracity of my report and all of my sailors can confirm.” Brag replied confidently.

“Fine, continue.” The Officer sighed. This report was almost fantastical already.

“Sir! After the long-nosed teen apparently ran out of ammo an orange haired woman charged down the slope and tore her way through multiple pirates with a staff. She then engaged ‘The Hypnotist’ in combat and injured him twice. The pirate tried to flee to his crew but this woman caught up to him and…well…the only way to describe it was brutal. She bashed his head in with her staff until his skull was crushed.” Brag reported.

“So you can confirm that Jango ‘The Hypnotist’ is dead? A nine million Beri bounty was killed by some unknown woman with a staff?” The Officer demanded.

“Yes sir, we can confirm.” Brag replied. “Once Jango was killed the Meowban Brothers emerged from the ship and attacked the woman. They were knocked back down the slope by a man in a straw hat and a swordsman with green hair. We believe it was Roronoa Zoro based on his well-known appearance. The assumed ‘Zoro’ then proceeded to slay both Sham and Buchi in a single attack each. While the straw-hatted man looked on as if he was waiting for something.”

“If it was Roronoa that wouldn’t be surprising, the man has taken down bounties higher than the seven million the Meowban Brothers were worth.” The Communications Officer rumbled.

“Then we were all stunned when a butler appeared.” Brag informed. “Only, and I know this sounds impossible, the butler turned out to be Kuro ‘of a Thousand Plans’.”

“Now I know you’ve been drinking, Petty Officer! Kuro was executed three years ago!” The Officer roared.

“Sir, no sir! This man had the signature ‘Cat Claws’ and even performed Kuro’s infamous high-speed movement to attack the four people!” Brag countered making the Communications Officer slump in his chair.

“Who the hell was executed then?” The Officer muttered to himself.

“Sir, I’m afraid it gets weirder. The straw-hatted man stopped Kuro’s movement by grabbing the ‘Cat Claw’ blades with his bare hand. He then proceeded to punch Kuro. That first blow staggered the pirate and the second blow the straw-hatted man landed crushed Kuro’s face and killed him instantaneously. When the remaining pirates tried to flee in their ship the straw-hatted man annihilated the Belzan Black with what appeared to be a blast of lightning! He had to be a Devil Fruit User, sir!” Brag finished his initial report.

“How much do you know now? Why are we only hearing about this, hours after the fact?” The Communications Officer demanded.

“Sir, once all civilians left the area we moved in to confirm our initial observations. This is how we’ve been able to confirm that Jango, the Meowban Brothers, and even Kuro are who we believed them to be and that all four are dead. We’ve retrieved the corpses with bounties and threw the remaining dead into the sea as standard procedure dictates.” Brag finished reporting.

“Those descriptions are similar to a recent report involving Orange Town and Buggy ‘The Clown’. A group of three at the time, ‘Zoro’, an orange-haired woman and a man in a straw hat were said to have decimated the Buggy Pirates and freed Orange Town from occupation. But according to the residents the straw-hatted man claimed they were pirates themselves.” The Communications Officer rambled as he went through the stack of reports near the Transponder Snail.

“We’re returning to base with the identified corpses, sir. Is there anything else we need to do?” Brag asked.

“No, bring the bodies in for confirmation and disposal. We’ll send out an Investigation Unit to Syrup Village to acquire further information from the residents. If we are dealing with an emerging pirate crew that is capable of taking down the biggest, most infamous pirates in the East Blue we’re about to have a much worse problem. I’ll need your report written and on the Commander’s desk by O’ Eight Hundred tomorrow morning so that we can assemble a new compiled report between these two incidents.” The Officer ordered.

“Yes, sir! Over and out!” Brag replied as the Transponder Snail cut off.

“What the hell is going on? Where did these people come from? Especially a Devil Fruit User in East Blue?! Where will they head next? This group needs to be watched and, if possible, stopped before they become a true pirate crew.” The Communications Officer growled as he found the Orange Town Report and started going through it.

-Going Merry ~ The Next Morning-

“Luffy, don’t take this the wrong way…but…I don’t think art is your best talent.” Nami stifled her giggles as she looked at Luffy’s attempt to paint what would be their Jolly Roger. The whole thing was rather misshapen but the general idea was there. It was a traditional ‘Skull and Crossbones’ with Luffy’s signature straw hat.

“Hmm, you think so?” Luffy asked as he tilted his head while looking over his work.

“It sucks.” Usopp and Zoro confirmed in unison.

“Well I still want this design.” Luffy pouted making Nami laugh and lean against him. The closeness brought a smile to Luffy’s face and his arm was quickly around her waist.

Usopp gave Zoro a questioning look practically asking ‘Are they…?’

Zoro looked at his Captain and their Navigator before turning back to Usopp and giving a shrug. It was a classic ‘Probably, but who cares?’ being conveyed by the look and motion.

“Just leave the drawing to a pro!” Usopp boasted as he took up the brush with a blank black flag. Not too much later and Usopp had finished.

“It looks awesome!” Luffy cheered seeing his vision of their Jolly Roger come to life. Usopp did apparently have the artistic talent that Luffy lacked as he’d made Luffy’s misshapen design into a proper Jolly Roger.

“Never doubt the skills of Usopp, the Master Artist!” Usopp declared with a smug smile.

“Now paint it on the main sail too!” Luffy declared making Usopp’s eyes bug out.

“What!” Usopp cried in dismay.

“Also on the replacement we have for the main sail down in the holds too!” Nami chirped making Usopp crash into the deck with streams of crocodile tears running down his face. Zoro chuckled as he took the finished Jolly Roger and started climbing up to the crow’s nest to hang their new flag high.

“With this the Straw Hat Pirates are officially formed!” Luffy exclaimed to the world with a huge smile as he laughed.

When Usopp finally finished painting both the main sail and the replacement in the holds it was near lunch time. The crew of four sat down for a meal and Luffy explained their next course of action.

“We need a cook.” Luffy stated with a nod. He received looks of agreement from everyone at the table.

“I know the basics, but that won’t be enough if we plan to sail the Grand Line.” Nami mentioned. “We need a true professional or we could die of malnutrition, food poisoning, or any other number of things related to food.”

“True, a cook is indispensable for long voyages.” Usopp nodded stroking his chin with his right hand.

“Where do we find a professional cook that can handle the life of a pirate?” Zoro questioned, only to get blank looks from his crewmates.

“That’s going to be the problem.” Nami sighed.

“We’ll figure something out.” Luffy shrugged before smiling. “But now it’s time for training!” Nami pouted but still stood up to follow Luffy outside. Zoro smirked at finally being able to get in some real training. Usopp followed along blissfully unaware of what he was about to go through.

“Well before we begin we need to get Usopp to the starting point!” Luffy grinned as he placed his hand on Usopp’s shoulder.

“What starting point?” Usopp questioned not liking the grin on Luffy’s face.

“Don’t pass out, no matter what, ok?” Luffy asked and Usopp’s eyes bugged out in fear before Luffy’s demeanor changed and an indescribable wave of force suddenly slammed into the gunman’s senses.

“Ahh!” Usopp managed to shriek before being rendered mute by the pressure in his head suddenly becoming all he could perceive. He was terrified, he was shaking, sweating, his head was throbbing. He could hear his own heartbeat and feel his blood pounding in his ears. He saw black spots forming in his vision and then he felt the brief weightlessness of falling. His back and his head smacking into the deck barely kept him conscious and in a moment the force vanished.

“It looks like he couldn’t keep it together.” Zoro commented though Usopp barely heard the swordsman. His hearing was muffled as if he had ear plugs in.

“It’s not exactly a pleasant experience.” Nami replied through the cotton-stuffed ears Usopp felt like he had.

“I-I…I’m…s-still…aw-awake.” Usopp forced out slowly even though he felt somewhat nauseous from the action.

“That’s my nakama!” Luffy cheered with a loud laugh while Zoro and Nami gave approving nods and smirks in Zoro’s case.

“W-what…the hell…was t-that?” Usopp demanded as he slowly sat up and held his head.

“That was Conqueror’s Haki.” Luffy answered but that only brought up more questions for Usopp.

“What’s that?” Usopp asked and Luffy smiled.

“Haki is a power that awakens in those that have been pushed past their mental and physical limits. It’s absolutely mandatory for surviving the second half of the Grand Line so I’m making sure that everyone on my crew awakens it and learns how to use it.” Luffy responded.

“I have several questions.” Usopp deadpanned and Luffy chuckled before the two of them spent several minutes going over the ins and outs of Haki. By the end of their discussion Usopp was more than willing to learn how to utilize Haki. He would later regret boasting that he could endure any training that it would require. Now that the crew had space to train Luffy gave them all a glimpse of what Garp and Kuzan had put Luffy, Ace, and Sabo through when they were younger.

-Somewhere on the Grand Line-

“Brrr.” Ace shivered as he felt a cold chill go up his spine. Which was especially odd, as he didn’t get cold since he ate the Mera Mera no Mi all those years ago.

“You alright, Ace?” A crewmate asked noticing the shudder.

“Yeah, just suddenly remembered some of the things I went through when I was a kid is all.” Ace replied as he shook his head to dispel the memories.

-Baltigo-

“Ugh…” Sabo shuddered suddenly gaining the attention of his partner, Koala.

“Something wrong?” Koala asked her partner only for him to wave his hand placating.

“Just a bad memory, nothing to worry about.” Sabo assured his partner.

“I’ll help.” Koala smiled softly as she sat on the bed in Sabo’s quarters and patted her lap. “Lay down.”

“What about…” Sabo started to say only to be met with Koala’s pouting face. “Alright, alright…but just for a bit we still have work to do.” He relented as he lay down and placed his head on Koala’s lap. Her smile brought a grin to Sabo’s face as she started running her fingers through his blonde hair.

-Back on the Going Merry-

“Just a few more laps!” Luffy encouraged his crew as all four of them ran the length of the ship.

“He says that like it’s nothing.” Usopp panted out as he forced his legs to move and carry him up the stairs to the upper deck of the ship.

“Don’t complain; this is necessary to become strong.” Nami chastised the gunman from her place a few paces ahead of him. Even though she was drenched in sweat from the exertion; Nami would force herself through this training. She refused to be weak anymore. Luffy was doing everything he could to make them stronger and prepare them for the Grand Line. She’d be damned if she threw his efforts back in his face by being lazy.

“We haven’t even gotten to weights, sparring or trying to use Armament yet. Why are you complaining over the warm up?” Zoro questioned from ahead of both of them, a sheen of sweat on his forehead the only evidence the ‘warm up’ was getting to him even a little.

“Don’t worry,” Luffy yelled back from his significant distance ahead of even Zoro. “We’ll start off light for today!”

“Why do I get the feeling his version of ‘light’ is going to be insane?” Usopp panted.

“Shut up, Usopp.” Nami huffed, though her own face was a bit blue since she was also certain it would be crazy. Zoro only grinned at the challenge and pushed himself harder to try and catch up to Luffy.

At the end of the day Nami and Usopp were proven correct.

-Three Days Later ~ Going Merry-

“I think…I’m starting…to get use…to the warm up.” Nami huffed and puffed as she took a break after morning training. Usopp was spread eagle on the deck panting like an overheated dog. Zoro was drinking from a flagon of water while slowly steadying his breathing.

“You’re doing great, Nami!” Luffy smiled and Nami couldn’t help but grin back. “We’ll have free time once you’re all cooled down. I’m going to sit on my special seat and keep watch.” With that Luffy ran over to the figurehead and leapt on top of it to sit on the sheepshead, a large grin on his face.

“I’m going to get a shower.” Nami declared as she stood up on sore legs and made her way to the bathroom.

“I’m taking a nap.” Zoro yawned as he reclined back against the mast and dozed off.

“I should work on some more trick ammo. Also need to make more rounds for my pistols and rifle.” Usopp nodded once he could breathe properly. The gunman shakily made his way to one of the small storage rooms he’d commandeered as his workshop. The Going Merry had two such rooms, one on the port-side near the bow just off the cannon deck. The other was on the starboard-side near the stern of the ship. Usopp had taken the one off the cannon deck to be nearer to supplies for his tinkering while Nami had taken over the other one as a drying area for her clothes once they’d been put through the wash tub. Usopp still remembered ‘that’ particular conversation.

-The Previous Day-

“What do you mean, ‘Why do you need a private drying room?’, isn’t it obvious?” Nami glared with her arms crossed.

“Can’t we just hang our clothes on the line and let them dry in the sun?” Luffy asked and Usopp hung his head at the denseness of that statement.

“You men can do as you like with that.” Nami waved her hand. “But I don’t want my underthings waving in the wind for anyone sailing nearby to gawk at.”

“Oh, right.” Luffy nodded as he smacked his fist down on his opposite palm. Nami sighed at the lack of foresight from her Captain/soon-to-be Lover.

“I wish we had a way to dry clothes a bit faster but that’ll require some…tinkering.” Nami trailed off as her eyes turned to Usopp. “Say…Usopp, you said you’re a bit of a tinkerer didn’t you?”

“Yeah…” Usopp replied as he leaned back from the intense gaze of the orangette.

“We should have a talk soon.” Nami grinned and Usopp suddenly felt like he’d be getting several requests from their Navigator shortly.

“Sure thing…” Usopp sighed with crocodile tears running down his face.

-Flashback End-

“So much better!” Nami sighed happily as she stepped out into the sun and breeze. With a fresh change of clothes, after a nice warm shower, she felt like a new woman; aside from the soreness in her body from Luffy’s ‘training’. “Now where did Usopp get to? I have an idea!”

“Careful, slowly…” Usopp whispered as he gently hollowed out a metal ball to turn it into one of his slingshot ‘stars’. If he was to rough the metal would get too thin and it would break before he could fire it at an enemy. He had to leave just the right amount of thickness to the ball to hold his concoctions while still being able to break on impact.

“Hey Usopp!” Nami yelled as she slammed open his workshop door.

“Ahh!” Usopp yelled in shock and crushed the small ball that he’d just finished hollowing out. “Aw, damn it.” Usopp grumbled as he looked at the ruined ball before turning to face the orangette. “What, Nami?”

“I had an idea for a little upgrade to my staff.” Nami smiled like she hadn’t just startled the hell out of Usopp and made him mess up what he was doing.

“Like what?” Usopp queried since he couldn’t stop his tinkerer side from becoming curious.

“Well, we have unlimited electricity thanks to Luffy. I think I could make use of that with a few adjustments to my staff. A bit of metal on the ends to be conductive, some wiring to carry the current and then I have a shock staff!” The Navigator grinned with malevolence that made Usopp sweat drop.

“We’d need some kind of small battery set up to hold the charge though.” Usopp stated as he rubbed his chin in thought. “We’d need to go to a larger island with a big city or town for that. Electricity has only been widely available for a bit over a decade. There are still tons of islands that barely have any electric appliances or devices. For a battery set up to make this ‘shock staff’ it would have to be something that could fit inside the sections of your staff. You won’t find things like that on just any old island.” Usopp pondered aloud with a thoughtful look on his face.

“I’m sure you’ll be able to come up with something.” Nami encouraged, though the look on her face said ‘Figure it out, or else!’ in contrast to her words.

“Hey Nami, will you make me something to eat?” Luffy asked from the door way with a wide smile.

“Luffy, you glutton, we’re going to have lunch in a while, just be patient!” Nami reprimanded her Captain.

“Aww, come on, just a snack before lunch? Please?” Luffy pouted and Nami still thought it was adorable on his face.

“Fine, but only something small.” Nami huffed as she walked out of Usopp’s small workshop and closed the door behind her.

“Shishishi; thanks Nami.” Luffy smiled as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. Nami leaned back into the hug with a grin of her own.

“Are you sure you aren’t hungry for something else?” Nami teased as she pulled his head down to her shoulder and turned her head to meet his lips. The two enjoyed their impromptu lip lock for a few moments before Nami pulled back. “Alright, let’s feed that bottomless pit you call a stomach.” She giggled before hooking her left index finger into the top of his shirt and pulling him along behind her.

-Lunch Time-

The crew had just finished eating, courtesy of Nami’s cooking, when Luffy perked up suddenly and the crew all looked at him confused.

“We’re about to have a visitor.” Luffy stated. “His ‘voice’ is desperate though, I wonder why?”

“Well should we talk to the guy or what?” Usopp asked only for a yell to come from outside.

“Hey you pirates! If you don’t want to be captured and turned in you better hand over any medicine you’ve got!” A man’s voice yelled and Luffy was quickly at the door of the kitchen/lounge/helm cabin before anyone else could even stand up. Opening the door revealed a man in a blue jacket, white pants, with sunglasses over his eyes and a sword in his hand.

“Who’re you?” Luffy asked as he stepped up to the railing on the upper deck of his ship.

“I’m Johnny the Bounty Hunter.” Johnny declared as he pointed his sword at Luffy. “Yes, ‘that’ Johnny you small time pirate! If you don’t want me to capture you and turn you over to the Marines you’ll give me any medicine you have!”

“Why?” Luffy asked as Nami and Usopp poked their heads out of the doorway. The two completely blocked Zoro from getting out of the cabin to see what was going on.

“You think this is a joke?!” Johnny roared as he hefted his sword. “I’ll slice this ship to pieces if you don’t hand over whatever medicine you got!” Just as Johnny was about to swing his sword into the nearby railing on the edge of the deck, he suddenly found his sword knocked from his hand. That turned out to be the least of his problems though. Luffy’s left hand was currently around Johnny’s neck and crushing his windpipe.

“I don’t take kindly to people that threaten my nakama or my ship.” Luffy coldly stated as Johnny’s face began to turn red from the lack of air. The bounty hunter tried to throw a punch at Luffy; the punch didn’t even make the pirate flinch. It did however, make Luffy increase the strength of his grip and Johnny was forced to his knees as he used both hands to try and pry the pirate’s hand from his throat. Soon enough Johnny’s face turned purple from the prolonged lack of air and his hands fell limply from Luffy’s wrist. He was roughly thrown to the deck as Luffy let go of his throat and the black-haired man sucked in as much air as he could through his damaged windpipe.

“Johnny? Is that you?” Zoro asked as he finally pushed past Nami and Usopp to see what was going on.

“B-bro?” Johnny coughed out as he looked up to see his former bounty hunting associate.

“Where’s Yosaku? Aren’t you two still partners?” Zoro asked as Johnny hacked and coughed as he tried to refill his lungs.

“It’s terrible, bro!” Johnny cried as he turned to Zoro. “Yosaku suddenly started feeling ill a few days ago. Then some of his old wounds re-opened and a few teeth fell out. I found a small patch of rock while we were sailing and let him rest there. Then I saw this pirate ship and thought I could force them to give me some medicine for Yosaku. What are you doing here, bro?”

“Hmm, do you mean that patch of rock?” Usopp asked as he pointed to a rocky outcropping sticking out of the sea a bit away from the Going Merry’s course.

“Go get Yosaku; I’m sure Luffy won’t mind bringing him on board if he’s as bad as you say.” Zoro ordered Johnny after Luffy shrugged and gave the go ahead. Within twenty minutes Yosaku was laid out on some spare bedding in the shade on deck. Nami looked the man over before asking Johnny a question.

“What do you guys normally eat while sailing?” Nami asked and Johnny looked at her confused for a moment.

“You know; regular stuff that lasts for a while. Smoked and salted meat, fish that we can catch sometimes, stuff like that.” Johnny replied and Nami cocked an eyebrow.

“When was the last time you two ate fruits or vegetables?” Nami questioned and Johnny stopped to think for a moment.

“It’s been a while; we’ve been having a hard time tracking down worthwhile bounties these last couple months. So we’ve only been eating two meals a day at best. Then we got caught up in the tail end of a storm and the squall pushed us way off our course so our food ran out the other day. Thankfully we still had our water and rum though, couldn’t imagine either of us even making it this far without the booze.” Johnny remarked only for Nami to smack him upside the head.

“You idiots! You have to eat right if you want to sail the sea! Your friend has scurvy! Drinking alcohol makes it worse!” Nami yelled at the hapless bounty hunter. “Luffy go fetch a couple bottles of lime juice from the kitchen both of these idiots need plenty of vitamin C for the next week or so.”

“Right.” Luffy nodded and quickly went to fetch the juice.

“How the hells are you two still alive?” Zoro sighed while shaking his head.

“Sorry, bro.” Johnny looked down in shame. Within a few minutes both Johnny and Yosaku were drinking from their own bottles of lime juice. Yosaku had awoken and tried to sit up only for Zoro to force him to stay down. The ill bounty hunter would need at least a week of extra vitamin C before he’d be well enough to even move about regularly.

“This is why we need a professional cook.” Nami stated after the two bounty hunters were given temporary lodging in the men’s quarters.

“Agreed, but we still have no idea where to find a professional cook that can live like a pirate.” Usopp replied.

“You need a cook that can fight?” Johnny asked as he walked into the cabin, his bottle of lime juice in hand. “I know a place full of them!”

“Where’s that?” Luffy asked his curiosity peaked.

“The sea-faring restaurant, Baratie!” Johnny exclaimed. “It’s full of tough cooks that fight off even pirates! They serve anybody as long as you can pay for your meal. Pirate, Bounty Hunter, Marine, Merchant, Civilian, doesn’t matter to those cooks!”

“Is the food good?” Luffy asked and Johnny smiled widely.

“The best food I’ve ever eaten in my whole life!” Johnny proclaimed and Luffy’s eyes sparkled!

“Do you know where it is?” Nami questioned since the bounty hunters had been blown off course they might not know which way to go.

“Yeah, I was able to confirm our general area last night because the sky was clear and I could finally see all the stars. Feel free to confirm my positioning but if we sail south-west from here we’ll spot it in about five or six days.” Johnny nodded. “It’s fairly close to the entrance to the Grand Line so a lot of strong pirates pass through those waters. Apparently a ‘hawk-eyed’ man has been seen at the restaurant before too.” Johnny mentioned looking directly at Zoro.

“You don’t say.” Zoro grinned his eyes full of determination.

“Alright! Nami set a course for this Baratie place! Let’s get ourselves some good food!” Luffy cheered while Nami playfully rolled her eyes.

“And a professional cook that can fight, remember?” Nami reminded and Luffy laughed.

“Shishishi, that too!” Luffy smiled as the crew adjusted their course. Next stop, the sea-going restaurant Baratie!

-End Chapter-

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Arlong is in trouble~! The Marines have started compiling the recent East Blue incidents involving the Straw Hats! What will become of their investigations? Will Nami get the ‘shock staff’ she wants? Will she make more requests from Usopp? Probably… Luffy and Nami have gotten rather close now. What is next for them? How will a certain blonde chef react? Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!