A high-pitched scream echoed from the dark jungle. "AAAAAH! IT BURNS! IT HURTS!" It was Alvida's voice.
Buggy, who was swabbing, jumped. "Gya! What was that?!" Luffy didn't move from his chair. A moment later, they heard someone sprinting through the trees. Nami burst onto the deck, her face pale with panic. She ran right past Buggy, shaking Luffy by the shoulder.
"Captain!" she panted. Luffy slowly tilted his hat up. "Captain, it's Alvida! She's... she's dying or something! She found a Devil Fruit, ate it, and now she's on the ground, screaming!"
Buggy's head perked up. A slow, ugly grin spread on his face. "Gya? That fat hag is finally kicking the bucket? Flashy!"
"Shut up, Buggy!" Nami shrieked at him, her panic turning to anger. "This is serious! She's in real pain!"
Buggy put his hands up, suddenly looking a little more "helpful." "Hey, hey, I'm just saying! When I was a trainee, I heard stories. Rich people... they paint poisonous fruits to look just like Devil Fruits, then sell 'em for a fortune to idiots." He thought to himself, (Heh... I even heard a Celestial Dragon died from one. It was flashy as hell.)
Nami's face went from angry to pure white. "Poison...?"
Luffy, who had been listening, suddenly stood up from his chair. His calm expression was gone. He looked... concerned. "Nami. Lead the way," he said, his voice flat and urgent. "Right! This way!" Nami said, and she sprinted back off the ship. Luffy hurried right after her.
Buggy was left alone on the deck. He looked at his mop... then at the two pirates rushing into the jungle. He shivered. "Hey! Wait for me! Don't leave me here alone!" He dropped his mop and ran after them, not wanting to be left behind.
They got back to the dark cave. The screaming had stopped. Zoro was standing outside the cave entrance, leaning against the rock wall. His arms were crossed, and he was looking at the ground.
Nami stopped, confused. "Zoro?!" she yelled. "What are you doing out here?! You were supposed to be with her! Is she... is she dead?"
Zoro looked up. He had a strange, awkward look on his face. "She's not dead," he said. He glanced at Luffy, then back at Nami. "Nami... you should probably go in there." "What? Why?" "What's happening, Zoro," Luffy asked. His voice was flat.
Zoro uncrossed his arms. "Well... Alvida ate that Devil Fruit. After you ran for help, she... started screaming more. And then she... started... slimming down."
There was a moment of dead silence. "Slimming... down?" Nami repeated.
"Yeah," Zoro said. "All her... fat... just... it's gone. So, now she's in there. But... uh... she's not wearing anything. Her old clothes... they're won't fit."
Nami stared. Luffy stared. Buggy, who had just caught up and was panting from the run, just stared. "Slim... Alvida?" Buggy said. He was quiet for one second. Then he exploded. "GYAGYAGYAGYA! 'SLIM' ALVIDA?! That fat, ugly hag?! 'SLIM'?! GYAGYAGYAGYA! That's the flashiest joke I've ever heard!"
Luffy just ignored him. He looked at Nami. "Nami. Go in." "R-right!" Nami said, her face a mix of fear and pure curiosity. She ran into the dark cave.
Luffy turned to Zoro. "Let's go Back to the ship." "Aye, Captain," Zoro said. He turned and started walking.
"HEY! WAIT!" Buggy yelled, still cackling. "Aren't we gonna peek?! Come on, just one little look! I wanna see if it's true!"
Luffy didn't even turn around. He just jerked his thumb back toward the Big Top. "You," he said, his voice flat and cold. "Back to your mop. The deck isn't finished."
Buggy's laughter died in his throat. His face scrunched up. "My... my mopping duty?! But... but 'slim' Alvida! I just want one -"
"Move, clown," Luffy said, his voice dropping just a little.
Buggy froze. He saw the look in Zoro's eyes. He saw Luffy's rigid back. He wasn't joking. "Tch! Fine!" Buggy grumbled, his shoulders slumping. He kicked a rock. "Stupid rubber bastard... stupid green-haired gorilla... stupid fat hag... stupid... mop..."
He turned and started stomping his way back to the ship, muttering curses to himself. Luffy and Zoro followed, leaving him to his tantrum.
__________
Morning came. The sun was already high, beating down on the deck of the Big Top.
Luffy woke up, stretched his rubbery limbs, and felt a familiar growl in his stomach. He went to the galley. He wasn't their nanny. He'd cook for the crew when they were unable to—like after that first day of brutal training. But last night? Nami, Zoro, and Alvida were healthy enough to find Alvida's hidden booze and have a party without him. If they can drink, they can find their own food. He started cracking eggs into a massive bowl. He was making breakfast... but only for himself.
A few minutes later, the smell of fried eggs and meat filled the galley. Buggy's head floated in, his nose sniffing. "Oh! What's in breakfast?" he asked, his body shuffling in behind him.
Luffy didn't look up from the huge, basin-full of omelets he was making. "Prepare it yourself."
Buggy's face fell. "Huh? But... I don't know how to cook! I was a captain!" "Then either eat the dry rations," Luffy said, his voice flat, "or go ask Nami. She knows how."
Just as Buggy was about to complain again, Zoro walked in. He looked tired from his night watch. "They're still not back." He meant Nami and Alvida. Luffy just grunted.
Buggy saw his chance. Luffy was distracted. Heh heh... just one little omelet... he'll never notice... He quietly detached his hand. "Bara Bara..." His hand floated silently over to the huge basin of omelets, fingers ready to snatch one.
WHACK!
Luffy's hand, a blur of motion, slapped Buggy's hand hard out of the air. "GYA!" Buggy yelped, pulling his hand back. "What's the big deal?! You have a basin-full! It's flashy to share!"
Luffy slowly turned his head. He didn't say anything. He just gave Buggy a look. A cold, dead, "I dare you" stare. "I dare you to touch my food," he said, his voice quiet.
Buggy's face went pale. He held his hands up and backed away. "A-aye! Fine! I won't! heartless bastard..."
Zoro, seeing this, just snorted. He was still remembering the taste of that fine, aged whiskey from Alvida's cave. It was so little... He was drinking cheap booze from Buggy's stash now, and it was a real let-down. He looked at the horrified, hungry clown. "Hey, clown. Want a drink?"
Buggy looked at him like he was crazy. "Who starts drinking in the morning? You drunkard!"
Zoro snapped out of his whiskey-dream. "I also have some peanuts."
Buggy's expression instantly changed. "Peanuts? Well, that's more like it!"
__________
Luffy was rubbing his belly, satisfied, having finished his massive breakfast.
Just then, Nami and Alvida walked onto the deck.
Buggy, who was in the middle of a joke with Zoro ("...and then the flashy bastard said..."), stopped. His mouth remained open. He was staring, dumbfounded, at Alvida.
His eyes went wide. His jaw dropped. "Gya...?"
A slow, confident, dangerous smile spread on Alvida's new, beautiful face. She was enjoying Buggy's stupid, shocked expression. She knew she looked good. She posed, putting a hand on her hip. She even risked a small, sideways glance at Luffy, to see if the captain was also impressed.
But she was disappointed. Luffy wasn't looking at her... not really. He was leaning back in his chair, his eyes half-closed, nodding to himself as if he was thinking about something far away.
Luffy saw her, of course. He saw her posing. He saw her enjoying the attention.
It gave him a strange, tired feeling. Nostalgia.
He remembered his past life. Back when he was the top dog.
(Heh. Back in the day, there were so many women just like this, all fighting for his attention.)
And he, himself... he was a dog back then, chasing any chick he liked.
(I slept with so many women...) he thought, his face blank. (...I could probably father a town.)
"Captain?"
Nami's voice snapped him out of his daze.
Luffy let out a small, cold chuckle at his own memories.
"Alright," he said, standing up. "Since everybody is here. Let's depart."
He looked at the horizon. "Next stop: Syrup Village."
___________
YAWN!
A loud, window-rattling yawn echoed through the captain's quarters. Vice-Admiral Garp woke up. He hated the Calm Belt. No wind, no waves, no noise. It was boring. He stood, his old bones cracking. He splashed cold water on his face, pulled on his white uniform jacket, and walked out.
The deck was dead. The air was still. A young Marine, standing guard, saw him and snapped to attention, holding out a giant, steaming tea mug. "Your tea, Vice-Admiral!"
Garp just grunted, taking the mug. He took a sip. Sluuurp... "Hah."
His second-in-command, Bogard, was already there, standing silently behind him like a shadow in a black suit. Garp didn't turn. "So, what's the situation?" he asked the still air. Bogard's voice was flat. "Still no news, sir."
Garp let out a frustrated sigh. "Hmph." He was getting annoyed. "Two whole days," he grumbled, "and not a single peep from that brat. He could be anywhere. There are hundreds of empty islands in the East Blue." He started walking, his hands behind his back. "He could decide to live in the sea," he said, "and I'd still find him." Bogard just walked with him, silent.
They reached the front of the ship—the giant, wooden dog head. A small table was already set up with a box of Garp's favorite rice crackers. He sat down and grabbed a big handful. CRUNCH! He ate them loudly, crumbs flying. "So," he asked, his mouth full, "how much time until we hit Shells Town?"
Bogard looked at the sky. "We are about to leave the Calm Belt, sir. If the wind is in our favor, we will be there in less than two days." He paused. "But... it could also take four. Or more." Garp just crunched another cracker, his eyes fixed on the horizon. He hated waiting.
_________
Two days passed.
Luffy sat in his deck chair, not meditating, but concentrating. He was working on a new move, something based on the "Iron Body" manual.
On the other side of the deck, Nami was finishing her own training. She grunted, her face red, and lifted a heavy crate full of cannonballs. She held it over her head. She could now lift it, a task that was impossible for her two days ago.
Nearby, Alvida was practicing. Ever since she ate the "Slim-Slim Fruit," she had a new problem. The "Iron Body" training was now useless for her. THWACK! Zoro had tried to hit her, but his fist just... slipped right off her new, smooth skin. So, Luffy gave her a new task. She was now training her arm and leg strength, swinging her heavy iron mace over and over, trying to learn how to really fight with it.
This left Buggy... alone... with Zoro. And Zoro was now in charge of his "Iron Body" training. The entire ship could hear the results.
"GYAAAAAAAHHH!" Buggy's head, which was floating near the railing, shrieked as Zoro's fist hit his tied-up torso. THUD! "This isn't training! This is torture!" Buggy's head cried. "I was a captain! I had a crew! I invented the Buggy Ball! I was going to the Grand Line! This is... this is not how it was supposed to happen!" "Stop complaining," Zoro grunted, his knuckles red. "GYAAAAAA! DON'T HIT THE SAME PLACE, YOU DEMON!snif... I hate this..."
Luffy watched all of this. He saw Nami's new strength. He saw Zoro's own arms, which were now covered in light bruises. Zoro's skin was starting to get thicker. It wasn't much, but it was there. So, it's true, Luffy thought, his face blank. The manual is real.
This brought up a new, much scarier question. Luffy had gotten that manual from Captain Morgan. A weak, loud-mouthed, East Blue Marine captain. If a small-base captain in the weakest sea has a copy of this......then how strong are the real fighters on the Grand Line?How many of them already know this?
It was a scary thought. It meant they were dangerously weak. Luffy looked at his crew. Nami, a strong thief. Alvida, a slippery tank. Zoro, a demon with swords. Buggy, a... well, Buggy was a clown. They were strong. But they weren't strong enough.
Luffy's decision was made. It was the right call to hide our movements. They had to lay low. They had to get stronger. They had to do it before the whole world knew their name.
__________
Author here :
Hello readers, hope you doing well !
Me here
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Us meet on Friday, BYE