Journey to Raftel Chapter 11 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Journey to Raftel! As the celebration of the destruction of the Arlon Pirates begins, a large Navy ship heads for Cocoyashi. Who is it? Are they friend or foe? Nezumi still has to be dealt with, after all. Perhaps, if it’s a non-corrupt Marine Officer, they can let Nezumi be dealt with that way.

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 11 – Celebration

“Hey! There’s a Marine ship approaching!” One of the villagers of Cocoyashi called out to everyone. “I don’t recognize this one!”

“Not from around here, that’s for sure.” Another villager agreed, seeing the large ship sailing closer to their village.

“It’s the Marines that the elders called!” A young boy smiled at the approaching ship.

“How?” Nojiko had heard the commotion and joined the group that was gathering to watch the ship arrive.

“The elders found a small Transponder Snail and managed to scrap together enough parts to set up the communication device on its shell.” The little boy told the bluenette. “They were finally able to call the Marine Headquarters of the East Blue!”

“They’re a little late now.” Genzo appreciated the help sent to Cocoyashi, of course. But Nami had already dealt with the Arlong Pirates. “Wait…” He turned to glare at the tied up Nezumi and his subordinates. “Maybe we can tell them what this bastard has been doing this whole time.”

“Th-They’ll never believe you!” Nezumi denied with a shake of his head. “It’ll be a civilian’s word against a Marine Officer’s word! I’ll have you all arrested for treating me like this! You hear me?!”

“The flag they’re flying says ‘77’,” One of the villagers had their hand shielding their eyes from the sun to see better. “Does that mean their base number or something?”

“Sev…Seventy-Seven?” Nezumi squeaked out as sweat began to form on his face. This was bad! Marine Branch Seventy-Seven was led by one of only two Commodores in all of the East Blue! Commodore Vannet stayed at the East Blue Marine Headquarters to take care of the Blue as a whole. The Commodore that was at Branch Seventy-Seven regularly went out to subdue pirate crews throughout the sea. He wasn’t a man that could be bribed or lied to.

Several minutes later and the large Marine vessel had docked at Cocoyashi. The gangplank was lowered and a Marine Officer led the way down to the dock. He was a man of average height with light purple hair. All of his hair was kept in multiple ponytails that were tied into loops. Even his long goatee was held with a tie that made it into a loop. He wore a modified Marine Officer uniform with eight rows of buttons down the front, along with a Marine coat over his shoulders and a green scarf around his neck.

“I am Marine Commodore Purinpurin, we’ve come to liberate you from the Arlong Pirates.” Purinpurin announced to the gathered villagers. “Is there someone in charge that I may speak with? Do you have any injured? We’ve brought medical supplies if you need them.”

“Thank you for coming to help us, Commodore.” Genzo stepped forward and shook the Marine’s hand. “I’m happy to inform you that the Arlong Pirates are no more, one of our own returned from a trip and wiped them out.”

“Truly?” Purinpurin blinked in shock at the news. Behind him several of his subordinates started to murmur at the information as well.

“Yes, she apparently found a crew that helped her out, bounty hunters I think they are.” Genzo confirmed with a quick nod. “We do still have an issue that you are probably the best to help us deal with though.”

“Oh?” Purinpurin unconsciously straightened his back a bit. He wasn’t a vain man, but he’d joined the Marines to help people and eliminate pirates that caused so much suffering. To hear that there was something he could do for these people that had been oppressed under the heel of a despicable pirate for years made him happy. “What can I do to help you all?”

“That bastard over there,” Genzo pointed at the tied up Nezumi. “Has been in league with Arlong since shortly after he took over our archipelago. They had a deal wherein Nezumi got a hefty sum of money each month to not report what was going on here.” The various villagers nearby began jeering and booing Nezumi and his men.

“He did what?!” Purinpurin demanded, his face becoming a rictus of anger in a split second. The Commodore nearly stomped towards the restrained Captain as Nezumi started babbling.

“No! No, sir!” Nezumi shook his head. “I’m innocent! I did no such thing! They’re lying!” His words were cut off as Purinpurin grabbed him by the collar and hoisted him to his feet.

“Is this why we didn’t know what the Arlong Pirates were doing for the last eight years?!” Purinpurin demanded, staring hard into Nezumi’s eyes. “Because you colluded with a pirate! These people suffered and died for eight years under that bastard because of you?!”

“I…no…I didn’t…” Nezumi’s panicked denials were unconvincing to say the least.

“Men!” Purinpurin raised his voice.

“Sir!” All of his subordinates called back, standing at attention.

“Detain all of Nezumi’s subordinates! Take control of the ship they have docked here too.” Purinpurin gave out orders with the swiftness of an Officer that had served for many years. “Get East Blue Headquarters on the Transponder Snail as well, I’ll be there shortly to inform them of what we’ve discovered. I have no doubt that we’ll receive orders to lockdown Marine Branch Sixteen shortly.”

“Yes, sir!” The Marines under the Commodore saluted and began to head off to fulfill their tasks.

“Ensign Havelock!” Purinpurin spoke up before the only other Officer on his ship could walk away.

“Yes, sir?” The man, slightly rougher looking with his five o’ clock shadow and the scar on the side of his jaw, once more stood at attention.

“Get a length of rope and a bucket of seawater ready.” Purinpurin looked at the Ensign. “We’ll begin Nezumi’s interrogation as soon as we ship out.”

“Yes, sir.” Ensign Havelock saluted, shooting a sharp glare at Nezumi as he turned away. Traitors got what was coming to them in due time. This was why he respected Commodore Purinpurin, the man had a no nonsense approach to pirates and criminal Marines. The two of them were also very adept at making criminals talk from their years as Marines.

“Take him to the brig.” Purinpurin roughly shoved Nezumi into the waiting hands of two of his subordinates. “If he tries anything, you are cleared to break bones or use a weapon to force compliance.”

“Yes, sir!” The two Marines nodded as they started dragging Nezumi away. The cowardly, rat-faced Marine was practically whimpering as he was forced along.

“Sorry to bother you, Commodore.” Genzo spoke up after Nezumi and his men were taken away. “But we did have a secondary matter that we need a Marine for.”

“Of course,” Purinpurin exhaled slowly as he recomposed himself. “What can I do for you?”

“Well, as I said earlier, the group that got rid of the Arlong Pirates are bounty hunters and they’d like to turn in the heads they collected.” Genzo informed the Marine politely.

“Ah, yes, certainly. Please show me to them, if you could.” Purinpurin gave the sheriff a smile. He’d stifle his rage at Nezumi until they shipped out. These civilians had suffered enough already. He’d do his utmost to be pleasant and proper with them.

To the Commodore’s surprise, it was actually a fairly short walk to find the bounty hunters in question. He of course recognized the ‘Pirate Hunter’ Roronoa Zoro right away, but the others were a mystery to him. A five-man crew of three men and two women. Not what he’d expected of the crew that took down the Arlong Pirates, but he wouldn’t doubt them based on appearances.

“Nami, this is Commodore Purinpurin.” Genzo introduced the Marine to the orangette. “He should be able to help with the bounty collection, I believe.”

“Nice to meet you, Miss Nami.” Purinpurin greeted the lovely woman with a short bow. “I’ve heard that your group defeated the Arlong Pirates before we could get here. You have the thanks of the Marines for saving these people.”

“This place if my home, we spent years under Arlong’s rule.” Nami explained vaguely. “When I returned with my new crew, we had enough firepower to deal with the pirates.”

“Which bounties are you looking to collect?” Purinpurin questioned, wondering which of the Arlong Pirates might’ve escaped or have been destroyed beyond recognition. If what little he’d been able to see of the so-called ‘Arlong Park’ was any indication, this group of bounty hunters could be in possession of powerful bombs and incendiary weapons.

“All of them.” Luffy grinned at the Marine with a laugh.

“Hmm?” Purinpurin raised an eyebrow at the straw hat wearing man.

“He means which of those that had bounties are we turning in, Luffy.” Zoro shook his head at his captain. “Of course, we’re going to collect the bounties on all of the heads we have.”

“I thought you’d been doing this for a while already?” Sanji looked at Luffy lie he’d said something stupid.

“Just get the sack!” Nami stopped the conversation with a look.

“Here you are, Commodore.” Reiju placed the thick sack in front of the Marine and then stepped back.

“Excuse me,” Purinpurin politely requested as he untied the sack and opened it as wide as it could go. In the sack he counted five heads, which confused him as he only knew of four members of the Arlong Pirates that had bounties. “Wait…is that ‘Pirate Admiral’ Don Krieg?!” He nearly gaped at seeing the head of the notorious pirate. “That’s ‘Man-Demon’ Gin as well!” He looked up form the contents of the sack to stare at the bounty hunters. “Did you wipe out the Krieg Pirates too?!”

“Yeah, they attacked the Baratie about a week ago, give or take.” Sanji exhaled some smoke from his cigarette. “We dealt with them before we left.”

“We haven’t even gotten a report on that yet.” Purinpurin shook his head at the new information. “Would it be too much trouble to ask you some questions about what happened at the Baratie? We’ll need to update the information that the Marines have on active pirates in the East Blue.”

“I’ll tell you about it, Commodore.” Reiju smiled at the man. She could see that it would be easiest for her to do it. She already knew what to omit from the retelling and would keep everything clear and simple.

“Thank you, kindly.” Purinpurin returned her smile, trying not to give the lovely pinkette a once over with his eyes. He should maintain proper decorum in this situation. The handling of bounties between the Marines and bounty hunters was a business transaction after all.

“We only got three of the Arlong Crew with bounties.” Nami spoke up next. “The Octopus Fishman escaped into the sea and fled. I doubt he’ll ever come back here again.”

“I see.” Purinpurin confirmed as he identified Chew, Kuroobi, and Arlong from their mostly undamaged faces. “I’ll have the numbers added up and a Collection Bill will be drawn up for you.” The purple-haired man nodded to the group. “We came here expecting to raid a pirate stronghold, so I’m afraid we don’t have the Beri on hand to pay out these bounties. But I’ll sign and stamp the Collection Bill with my own seal, so you can go to any of the larger Marine bases in the East Blue to collect your reward. I’d recommend Loguetown, myself. As they see more pirates than any other island due to their proximity to the Grand Line, they also have the most Beri on hand to pay out for the capture of said pirates.”

“That’s fine, we were planning to head that way already.” Luffy waved off the lack of immediate payment. As long as they got the Beri when they arrived at Loguetown, then everything would be fine.

Purinpurin had a form brought over along with a pen and Nami sat across from him to make sure the math was correct for all five bounties, minus the thirty percent for turning them in dead. After the form was filled out, completed with the Commodore’s signature and seal, Nami happily accepted the paper and stashed it away with a grin. As soon as they got to Loguetown they’d be getting a 44,450,000 Beri payday! Her eyes were Beri Symbols as she dreamed about it.

Not long after, Purinpurin and his men shipped out of Cocoyashi after getting the report on the Krieg Pirates fall at the Baratie from Reiju and multiple testimonies of Nezumi’s treasonous actions from the various villagers. Once the Marines were gone, with Nezumi’s ship in tow, the celebration of their newfound freedom really kicked off! Tables of food and booze were set out, music was in the air, people began to laugh and dance, children played in the streets as the sun began to set. The fear was gone, the oppression lifted, it was time to celebrate being alive!

“Nami!” An older woman called out to the navigator with a smile. “When were you blessed by the Goddess Pele?”

“What’re you talking about, Granny Kona?” Nami tilted her head at the old woman. She was practically a surrogate grandmother to every child in Cocoyashi Village.

“That power you displayed when you dealt with Arlong and his lackeys.” Kona pointed at Nami with her cane. “It’s exactly like the legends of the Goddess Pele, the Mother of Islands.” She explained her words to the young woman. “I was wondering how you received the Goddess’s blessing.”

“Huh…” Nami thought back to the old stories that Granny Kona had told the children before Arlong had come. She did vaguely recall some tales of mythology and such among them. “Is that what my Devil Fruit is?”

“Devil Fruit?” Kona blinked at the term. “Those’re real too?”

“Very much so, Granny Kona.” Nami smiled at the old woman. “That’s where my powers came from. I think you also just helped me figure out which one I ate.”

“A Devil Fruit that’s a Goddess?” Kona seemed to think on it for a second. “That doesn’t really add up, now does it?” She let out a warm laugh at the conflicting terms of Devil and Goddess.

“As my Captain once told me: Devil Fruits are weird.” Nami giggled and the two shared a laugh together.

“Thank you, Nami, for freeing all of us.” Kona smiled warmly at the orangette. “We all know that you worked as hard as you could to try and free us. But I must admit, I prefer how you handled it today.” She chuckled and tapped her cane on the ground.

“Cocoyashi is my home, I would never abandon all of you to save myself.” Nami shook her head. “I needed to see Arlong dead just as much as all of you.” The two women shared a gentle hug for a moment before Kona moved off to join the festivities with the rest of the villagers.

“Now, where’s Luffy?” Nami looked around for her lover. She found the rest of her nakama first though.

“Nami-swan!” Sanji beamed at her. “Are you having a good time? Do you need anything? Would you like me to cook something up for you?” The cook had hearts for eyes as he waited to dote on the navigator.

“I’m fine.” Nami waved off with a laugh. “Go frolic among the village women, I’m sure you’ll find one of them that’s more than willing to celebrate tonight.”

“By your leave, Nami.” Sanji actually gave a bow before he noodled off into the party to try his luck.

“Your home has some decent booze.” Zoro was eating a mix of foods he’d piled onto a plate at one of the long tables. Next to him was a bottle of a local-made mikan liqueur that was popular in the archipelago and one of the Conomi Islands top exports. “Not usually a fan of fruit-based drinks, but it’s not bad.”

“Glad you like it.” Nami grinned at the swordsman.

“You’re certainly smiling much brighter now, Nami.” Reiju smiled at the orangette. “It’s good to see that weight has left your shoulders.”

“You have no idea.” Nami rolled her shoulders with a chuckle. “But I’d do it a thousand times if it meant saving my home.” She gazed fondly at all of the people, laughing, drinking, and finally able to live without the threat of death hanging over them.

“Nami!” Luffy landed behind her with a huge smile. “This party is great! There’s so much meat to try!” True to his words, he had three legs of meat in each hand.

“I’m happy that you’re happy, Luffy.” Nami leaned in to capture his lips in a kiss. “I’m pretty sure I found out the name of my Devil Fruit too.”

“You did?” Luffy tilted his head. “What is it?”

“Well, if Granny Kona is correct, then it’s a Zoan based off the Goddess Pele, the Mother of Islands.” Nami explained a brief overview of the legend.

“So, it’s like my Saru Saru no Mi – Model: Sun Wukong?” Luffy took the part that was the easiest to understand from what Nami had said.

“I suppose so,” Nami couldn’t help but giggle at him. “But Pele is a human-like Goddess, so I think my Devil Fruit is more of a Hito Hito no Mi?”

“Human-Human Fruit, huh?” Luffy mulled it over while devouring one of the legs of meat that he was carrying.

“That makes your Devil Fruit the Hito Hito no Mi – Model: Pele, doesn’t it?” Reiju had an amused smile on her lips. “Should we all aim for Devil Fruits based on myths and legends?”

“I don’t think Devil Fruits like ours are very common.” Nami shook her head with a laughed. “But…if we run across them, why not, right?” She had a gleam in her eyes at the thought of the strength they’d have if they all had the power of mythical beasts and deities. They’d be able to capture any bounty and claim any treasure!

“You’re drooling a bit, Nami.” Reiju laughed behind her hand.

“Shishishishi!” Luffy chuckled and Nami flicked his forehead. “Hey!” Luffy recoiled a little, only for Nami to smile and pull him into another kiss. He was smiling when they separated.

“There’s something I want to do, so you go enjoy yourself, Luffy.” Nami smiled warmly at him.

“Sure thing!” Luffy leapt the length of the dirt road to land at the other end of the party on his quest to try every food being offered before the party ended.

“Did you need any help with what you’re doing?” Reiju asked, clearly willing to help if Nami asked.

“Nah, this is something that I’ve been wanting to do for years.” Nami ran her hand over her left shoulder for a brief second.

“Gonna replace it with Luffy’s name or something.” Zoro questioned after swallowing the food in his mouth.

“No.” Nami kicked his shin making the swordsman tsk at her.

“Witch!” Zoro glared as he drank straight from his bottle of booze.

-Dr. Nako’s Clinic-

“Will it be completely gone?” Nami questioned as she laid on the bed face down, her shirt off so that Dr. Nako could remove the Arlong Pirates tattoo from her shoulder.

“The image, yes, but you’ll always have a scar. That’s just how it is with tattoos.” Dr. Nako informed her as he finished up the removal of the damned mark that Nami had hated for so long.

“Hmm…it’ll never be completely gone.” Nami rested her chin on her right arm. She remembered when the damn tattoo had been forced on her. How much she hated it and didn’t want anyone else to see it. Nojiko, the amazing big sister that she was, had gone and gotten a tattoo herself a short time later. She still remembered how much it meant to her when Nojiko told her that they were the same. “Hey, Dr. Nako, can you give me this tattoo?” She held up a piece of paper with an image she’d drawn on it.

“Dr. Nako took the paper and looked it over for a second. He smiled slightly at the significance the image had. “Yeah, I can give it to you, but it’s going to aggravate that area since you just had the other tattoo removed.”

“That’s fine, I’ve handled worse pain than that.” Nami closed her eyes with a smile. She knew Luffy would love to see her new tattoo when it was ready.

‘Speaking of which…I should celebrate with Luffy as long and as often as possible before we ship out.’ Nami hid her naughty smile behind her arms as Dr. Nako prepared his equipment to give her the tattoo that she wanted over the scarred area on her shoulder.

Music and laughter, singing and dancing, the sounds of joy and life, that was what filled Cocoyashi Village as the sunset and torches were lit. The party hadn’t died down in the least. If anything, it had gotten more festive! Johnny was dancing with one of the local women, twirling her around to the beat of the music. Yosaku was leading a group of guys in a jig as they all drank and laughed their asses off. The entire archipelago was laughing and drinking, celebrating their freedom. It was time for them all to live their lives to the fullest once again!

“Hey, Sanji!” Luffy nearly landed on the table that Sanji was sharing with a lovely young woman with long black hair. “What was that thing you two were just eating?”

“Get outta here, shitty Captain!” Sanji barked at Luffy with sharp teeth.

“Tell me what it was first!” Luffy requested of his nakama.

“It was prosciutto and ham.” The young woman laughed at the pair’s antics. “There should be some over there.” She pointed towards a long table a fair distance from them.

“Thanks!” Luffy was gone in a leap as he went looking for the new food to sample.

“Geez, that idiot monkey.” Sanji shook his head.

“He seems fun.” The woman giggled. “Now, why don’t we pick up where we left off, Sanji~” Her voice was a teasing purr as she casually let one of the straps of her sundress slip off her shoulder.

“Mellorine!” Sanji’s heart-shaped eyes nearly left his head at the blatant come on. “Mai-chwan, you shouldn’t tease a healthy man like myself.”

“Who said I was teasing?” Mai leaned forward, giving him a generous view of her cleavage.

“Well,” Sanji gave his best suave smile. “Why don’t we find a nice quite place for ourselves then, my lady?” He stood up and offered her his hand.

“It would be my pleasure, Sanji.” Mai’s teasing lilt made Sanji swoon all the more. She led him away from the party with a beautiful laugh and Sanji nearly floated on air behind her.

-Bellmère’s Grave-

“I think I’ve gone too far…” Luffy looked around, not seeing any more food stalls or tables. Most of the people were also far away down the hill.

“Oh, it’s you.” Genzo spoke up from in front of a wooden grave marker.

“A grave?” Luffy walked forward a bit. “Did someone die?”

“Yeah, somebody died…a long time ago.” Genzo took a swig from the bottle he held in his hands. He ‘d already poured out a drink for Bellmère on the marker before Luffy had shown up.

‘Uh…what are you supposed to say again? What’s the word Makino said? Congelences…no, confol…nah it had a ‘D’ in it…condolences? Yeah! That was it!’ Luffy quickly racked his brain for the proper word for this situation. “My condolences.” He took off his hat and held it against his chest as he gave a short bow to the grave marker.

“Listen, kid.” Genzo looked out over the ocean view from atop the hill. “Nami is going to be sailing off with you. It will be a dangerous voyage, I’m sure.” His shoulders squared up and he stood to his full height, even though he didn’t face Luffy. “But if you all do anything to make her unhappy, I’ll kill you.”

“I wouldn’t do…” Luffy began only to be cut off.

“DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!” Genzo roared, still facing the ocean.

“I understand.” Luffy nodded, a small grin on his face. This man was probably the closest person to a father that Nami had. He was just looking out for his surrogate daughter like any good parent would.

“Don’t ever forget those words.” Genzo finally turned to look at Luffy. “It’s a promise between us men.”

“Right.” Luffy agreed with a wide smile. “You’re alright, old man. Shishishishi!”

“Heh…you little punk.” Genzo shook his head before taking another swig of booze. “No idea what Nami sees in you.”

“She likes that I can get into safes and things really easily.” Luffy chuckled as they both headed back down the hill together.

“That makes some sense.” Genzo laughed at the little thief cat that Nami had always been.

“She also likes it when we take baths together and…” Luffy spoke only to be cut off.

“You finish that sentence and I’ll kill you!” Genzo yelled at Luffy, his face looking demonic with glaring eyes and a mouth filled with fangs.

“Shishishishi!” Luffy laughed loudly at the look on Genzo’s face.

“Nami’s a lovely young woman and she’s of that age, but I don’t need to ever know about it!” Genzo took a swipe at the back of Luffy’s head, but the monkey-like young man leaned out of the way without even breaking stride.

“Sure thing.” Luffy shrugged, completely unphased by the subject. “Hey, can you help me find some prosciutto and ham? I’ve looked all over, but I can’t find it.”

“That stuff is popular, so you might be out of luck.” Genzo was happy for the topic change.

“What?! No way!” Luffy gaped at the sheriff in shock.

Not having known Genzo, Luffy was unaware of the pinwheel that used to be stuck on the man’s hat. The same pinwheel that now spun slowly at the grave they’d just left. The grave of a loving mother that had given everything for the sake of her daughters, to ensure their future and happiness.

-End Chapter-

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Time to party!

Days and days of partying, food, music, booze, and even sexy times! Woohoo!

Nami is getting her new tattoo and can’t wait to show it off to Luffy. Not to mention start their own ‘celebration’ while she’s at it!

Sanji is getting lucky! The chivalrous pervert has his day!

Zoro is just enjoying the party. Reiju might wonder where Sanji ended up after a while though.

Luffy and Genzo have a chat and a promise is made. Nami should never lose her smile and be unhappy.

Little does Genzo know just how willing Luffy is to turn the world upside down if it’s for his nakama, especially his lover.

We all know what’s coming next, right?

A certain Arc that can’t be as eventful as Canon because the Straw Hats aren’t pirates. Or can it?!

Keep reading to find out!

Until next time, later!