Odd Numbers and Strange Days...

Chapter 20 - Odd Numbers and Strange Days...

"Now that's something that you really don't see every day," Franky said, his eyes wide as Chopper and Brook screamed from behind him.

"BUT THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!" Chopper yelled, pointing wildly at the creature, "DINOSAURS DIED OUT MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO! HOW COULD THEY…?"

"Believe me, we were as surprised as you are," Nami said firmly. "I still don't get how this is all…?"

"Listen," Robin answered as Vivi started to talk again. She spoke about how this island somehow stayed frozen in time. Luffy looked at her and she explained that the climax must've stayed like this since ancient times.

"Can that really happen?" Brook asked in amazement.

"Given the circumstances, I would have to agree," Robin answered calmly. "And that creature's proof. It's impossible to say for certain… however, I believe that this would be the most likely reason. It's truly a fascinating thing to see…"

"Have you been here?" Nami asked her in surprise.

"Once," she admitted. "But merely to investigate. I have to admit that it was a marvel to see… in one way, it's an archeologist dream."

"Yeah, if you don't get eaten that is," Usopp whispered as Luffy's laughter rang out and he stretched out his arms so that he could hang onto the dinosaur's neck. "DINOSAUR!" he screamed joyfully.

"Of course he would be happy to see that," Zoro said shaking his head.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?!" Vivi screamed in terror.

"Actually, those are plant-eaters," Robin stated calmly. "The Brachiosaurus are strictly herbivores."

"Oh really?" Chopper asked in relief. "That's good to know. So Luffy isn't in danger."

"However, just because they don't eat meat doesn't mean that they still won't kill you," Robin added and Chopper's face turned a little blue at the thought as he stared at her.

"Robin, why do you love doing this to us?" Usopp asked, "Can you at least keep your morbid thoughts to yourself?"

She shrugged back as Luffy went jumping up to the dinosaur's head. He was standing up and looking around eagerly.

"How does he do it?" Nami asked in amazement, "I mean… turn even something dangerous like this into almost a game?"

"Luffy's a very complicated person to figure out," Robin said softly, "But… at the same time… he's not that hard at all. He's reckless and wild… but he's always had that childlike personality. It's like he hasn't grown out of that state of mind."

"Yeah," Usopp said, but he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy at that. Sure, Luffy was still like that in a lot of ways, but their Luffy wasn't exactly like the same person he was here. Of course, after travelling the Grand Line all this time, and everything they've been through together, he supposed that they shouldn't be surprised. He shook his head, pushing it from his mind as Luffy began yelling down at Vivi that he found a place to have their lunch.

"I really hope that he didn't mean on top of a dinosaur's head," Sanji said in a warning voice. "I don't care how nice the view is, that would ruin the taste!"

Vivi seemed to agree, but for a different reason. "It's dangerous up there! Come down already!" she yelled—like a mother would to a child who had climbed too high in a tree, "It may seem nice but it's still a dinosaur!"

"We have something in common! We both love to eat!" Luffy waved down happily.

"And imagine trying to fill his belly," Franky laughed.

"Hey, I bet that Luffy eats more than any dinosaur," Sanji said knowingly. After all he was the one who was stuck feeding that bottomless pit for a stomach. Luffy called out that there was a mountain full of holes and that they should go and check it out.

Vivi was continuing to yell at him to come down as he was trying to get the dinosaur to take him to that mountain. The poor thing howled in pain when Luffy turned its head sharply, the noise it made was so loud that it shook the land and soon dozens of other dinosaurs—much larger ones—appeared from out of nowhere.

"Oh, look how small it is. So that must mean that it's still just a baby," Robin commented as the others all looked up at it with open mouths.

"Imagine the meal I could make from just one of those things," Sanji said softly to himself.

"If I had run into one of those things I would've won that contest with no problems," Zoro said to himself, thinking of the hunting contest that he was still convinced that he won.

"Yeah, too bad you lost though," Sanji informed him.

"In your dreams," Zoro snapped back. "I won that contest and we both know it!"

"Please! My dino was clearly way bigger than yours!" Sanji yelled at him.

"Contest?" asked Franky in confusion.

"By the time that we got here we were really low on food," Nami said annoyed, "No thanks to Luffy… anyway, these two morons decided to go out and hunt dinosaurs for food."

"Which ended in a draw!" added Usopp, hoping that they understood that.

"A DRAW!?" they both yelled at him.

"They were both the same size you idiots!" Nami yelled at them.

"Please, mine was inches bigger!" Zoro disagreed, and he looked ready to go into a fight when Luffy was now fighting with the dinosaurs. They were all going at him, looking like a tangle of snakes above them as he slid down their necks like slides… jumping from head to head with laughter—until he was finally eaten by the biggest one that was covered in scars.

"That idiot!" Usopp and Nami yelled as Chopper and Brook screamed.

"Luffy was eaten!" Chopper yelled, looking ready to panic.

"That must be the head of the herd," Robin stated calmly, looking at it with curiosity. "That would explain the scars."

"I knew that I should've sent one of you with him!" Nami snapped at the others. But as they watched, some of the Straw Hats screamed when they saw the giant blade come flying out of nowhere and lobbed the neck of the beast off so suddenly that Luffy popped right out of the neck as it fell.

Chopper and Brook hugged each other as they screamed in terror when they saw the giant hand appear and caught Luffy like he was an action figure.

"That's…!" Sanji yelled.

"IT'S MASTER DORRY!" Usopp screamed in joy, tears in his eyes as he stared at him. The giant's head appeared and they all saw him. A well-built giant with a beard so long, that it went past his waist; he was dressed in Viking attire with a helmet that went right over his eyes. Luffy was standing on the giant's palm as the giant began to laugh.

"Gegyagyagyagya!" Dorry laughed, "What fun! That was glorious! Watching the likes of you grapple with long-necks is the most entertainment I've had in quite awhile! You are my first visitor in a long while!"

"Wow! You're huge! Are you human?!" Luffy asked, without a trace of fear.

"Really, anyone can tell that these guys are giants, Luffy!" Sanji said in annoyance.

"Human? What a joke!" Dorry laughed as he heaved his sword up on his shoulder, "Greatest Warrior of all Elbaf! I am Dorry!"

"These are the two you were talking about, Usopp?" Franky asked, staring at Dorry in amazement, "He fought with another warrior for a hundred years."

"Yes, these two are legendary," Robin answered for him, "They were pirates about a hundred years ago before they disappeared. Most assumed that they were dead."

"Well, they were wrong!" Usopp proclaimed proudly. "You are all looking at the legendary Dorry! A brave warrior of Elbaf! A true warrior of the sea of honor and pride!"

"Really?" Chopper asked, as if making sure. "So he's… not a bad person?"

"Are you kidding?!" Usopp asked eagerly, pointing up at him, "He helped to save us when we left this place! He and the warrior Brogy are so strong that they cut the sea itself!"

"AWESOME!" Chopper cried out in astonishment as Brook and Franky stared up at the giant with new admiration.

"Well, I guess I won't disagree with that," Zoro said, watching with new interest.

"Well, hi! I'm Luffy! And I'm a pirate!" Luffy answered as if he hadn't noticed that there was anything wrong.

"I'm beginning to think that nothing fazes him for long," Franky said lightly.

Dorry laughed again as he said, "A pirate? Well, good for you my friend!"

"Awww… he's already made a new friend," Robin laughed.

"He's always like that," Nami said shaking her head, but it was in a fond way. "He's very charming when he wants to be."

"WHAT?!" Sanji gasped at her, horrified at the thought.

"I didn't mean it that way," Nami sighed in annoyance, "I just mean that his positive attitude is very catchy. It's hard not to enjoy yourself when he gets like that even if he is an idiot."

"By the way," Luffy said, pointing down to Vivi, who was trying to get Carue—who seemed to have fainted—to wake up so that they could get out of here. "I'd like you to meet Vivi and Carue! Say hi to Dorry!" Luffy added, waving down at them.

Vivi was looking angry with him and yelled back from the ground, "That's great, Luffy! Just can't shut up!"

"No, he can't," they all agreed as Brook laughed happily.

Dorry just laughed again and invited them to his home in a good natured way as he bent down and picked Vivi and Carue up—both of them screaming fearfully as Luffy laughed. They were all enjoying this and were cheered up when the fading memory appeared again quickly. They spotted the mountain that Luffy talked about before and Dorry had already thrown an enormous chunk of meat to Luffy while the two were laughing.

"Oh, Luffy must be in heaven for that," Franky laughed as Luffy sat up on top of it, and was already making a head start on it.

"You sure knew how to cook, giant!" Luffy laughed up at him.

"Why thanks for the compliment! Your pirate goodies are good too, my little friend," Dorry said happily as he laughed with them, "Although the portions are a little small."

"Well, at least he has good taste," Sanji said proudly.

"What do you expect? He's been stuck living on an island with dinos and who knows what else. And he considers them good food… don't think that's a compliment," Zoro said with a shrug and soon the two were in another fight.

"Just ignore them," Nami said as the two began going at each other's throats as Luffy went on speaking, enjoying the meant, "Yeah, I know what you mean. But the chief on my ship made it special for this trip so I'm glad you liked it otherwise I'll have to beat you up!"

"Did he just threaten a giant?" Nami asked, rolling her eyes.

"I believe so," Robin said good-naturedly as Dorry stopped in mid-laugh and demanded, "Was that a threat, shorty?!"

Vivi and Carue freeze up in terror before he then started laughing, slapping his knee, "I like you little pirate! You're really funny!"

"Wow, they're becoming fast friends," Franky said impressed.

"Yes, almost as if they were two old friends instead of strangers who just met! Yohohoho!" Brook said joyfully. He liked this Dorry right away. It was a very interesting conversation from that point on as Luffy then asked Dorry why he was living here all on his own, and Dorry explained about how he and another giant named Brogy had been battling here for a hundred years. How that, in their land, when a fight breaks out and neither side yields, their god would then decide who is right of winning the duel and their life… so they had been battling each other all this time but there has yet to be a winner.

Vivi however couldn't believe the reason for that and was asking if there was possibly any hatred between the two after all this time, but Dorry just laughed as she continued to look confused. Suddenly, the volcano went off and Dorry was getting to his feet, a flash in his eyes and as they looked up at him—all of them feeling the surge of energy go through them. Dorry picked up his sword and shield, heading off to the battleground as he quickly explained how that volcano was their marker—they must rush off to fight whenever it erupts. Vivi tried to stop them, telling him that it was senseless to keep fighting and asking why he hated the other giant so much, but Luffy told her to stop, that this wasn't anything like that.

"He's right!" Usopp said firmly, "That's got nothing to do with hatred! They're best friends! This is all about honor!"

"You forget that she's a princess, so she hasn't grown up the warrior's life," Zoro said suddenly, and they looked back to see that the two had finished their fighting for now, but they were both glaring at the other. "So when she hears about fighting, naturally she assumes that it's all about hatred."

"But then… how did she intend to stop the rebellion without fighting?" Brook asked confused.

"That was a problem that she had to learn," Zoro stated, "Because the way that she planned to stop it wasn't going to work. She thought that they could stop it from happening without anyone getting hurt."

"But that's…?" Franky began, but Dorry was speaking again.

"You're right," Dorry agreed with a firm smile, "This is about honor! I had forgotten…" he then went running off towards the battle, "Our reason for our brawl!"

And at that moment they felt it—an enormous shockwave that came through the entire island. It was so great that they could all feel it, despite it being a memory. It sent a few chills up their spines and even Luffy was knocked backwards by it.

"Amazing!" Brook whispered, truly amazed by the strength these two had, "What a fight! One can only dream of such a battle!"

Usopp felt tears in his eyes once again. "I know! And that's what I'm going to be someday! Just wait and see!"

"Huh?" Chopper asked in confusion. "You mean you want to be a giant?"

Usopp glared at him as the others laughed. "THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT AT ALL!" he yelled as he breathed hard, mastering his temper quickly, "I mean I want to be a great warrior! Like them and the other warriors of Elbaf! It's been my dream to go there ever since I heard about it here!"

He stared up at the sky as he remembered seeing the fierce battle. When he first met them, they had heavily inspired his dream to seek out the land of Elbaf and train with Giants to become a great warrior of the sea. They were like heroes to them and when he fought to protect their honor, it was one of the few moments that he showed absolute bravery and confidence when he was against a strong opponent!

They watched and soon the battle ended… in a draw.

When it ended, they were able to get a good look at the giant Brogy. Like Dorry, he too dressed in Viking attire, complete with a red helmet with two horns. Brogy, himself, had a blond beard shaped like an axe's blade, beady eyes, pig-like nose—but he looked to be just as good-natured as Dorry was as he tossed him several barrels.

Dorry had rejoined Luffy, Vivi and Carue as he explained that he had seen Usopp and Nami with Brogy and that he thanked them for the drinks.

"Oh no," Usopp said, looking at the barrels nervously.

"Yeah, that was some good alcohol," Zoro said tragically.

"It was a trap you bonehead!" Usopp yelled at him.

"Trap?" Sanji asked in confusion as Vivi began asking Dorry if it really took a year for the Log to reset.

"A YEAR?!" Brook yelled out in amazement, "Why does it take so long?!"

"The Log is usually different for each island," Robin stated calmly. "Some are longer than others… for some islands the time is short. Though most is only a couple days, Little Garden probably takes the longest of any island I know of."

"Still… a year? I think it might be safer to just leave," Franky said, looking around at the dense jungle and thought of what else could be lurking here.

"If we didn't get our hands on another Eternal Pose to Alabasta, I don't think we would've had any other choice," Nami sighed. "It's a good thing that we did get one."

Meanwhile, Dorry admitted that it was the truth to Vivi, and also informed them that no human had ever survived on the island for the full year. He told them that some become dinosaur food, others have died from heat or starvation… some of them have even been dumb enough to attack him and Brogy. Dorry ended by stating he supposed that an entire year just seemed to be too long for humans.

Vivi was looking stricken, telling him that her country could be destroyed even if they could survive the year.

"She's right," Luffy added, "plus I'd get bored here after a year. Isn't there anything else we can do about it old man?"

"I was already bored of this place after the first few hours," Zoro yawned. "But I had to admit, there was no shortage of food."

"Well, I know I wasn't going to stay there for a whole stinkin' year!" Nami said firmly.

Dorry thought it over as he put the barrels down and admitted that there was another Eternal Pose on the island, but that led them to Elbaf… and that was basically what he and Brogy had been fighting over this whole time. He stated that they could try to take it from them if they wanted. But Luffy shook his head, telling him that they weren't trying to get to Elbaf, but to Alabasta. Vivi agreed, saying that they had to stay on the course that would lead them back to her home.

Dorry thought it over again and stated that they could try sailing randomly… if they were lucky, they'd get somewhere sooner or later. They all thought about it before Luffy burst out laughing.

"Maybe so!" he laughed, "We may actually get there!"

Dorry began laughing with him, along with the Straw Hats. For some reason, the whole thing did seem funny now that they mentioned it.

"Now that I think about it, someone did leave the island once before his log was reset!" Dorry confessed as he roared with laughter.

"And what happened to him?" Luffy asked, through tears of mirth.

"How should I know that?!" Dorry stated and soon, Luffy was practically rolling on the ground from laughter.

"I'm sure he was able to get to the next island!" he said, though it was clear that he didn't believe it as Dorry agreed just the same as they enjoyed themselves.

"Hey, what's wrong with Vivi?" Chopper asked, wiping away the tears of laughter in his eyes. Carue was looking close to laughing with the other two, but stopped when he saw the outraged look on Vivi's face. As if she couldn't understand just what was so funny.

"She's upset, and wants to get back home as soon as possible," Brook offered as he also began to calm down.

"Yes, but unless she had a way off the island, there wasn't much that could be done," Zoro stated.

"Now that's harsh, Zoro," Usopp said firmly, his smile fading a little.

"Just stating the truth," Zoro answered.

"Watch it, Moss Head!" Sanji snapped. "Don't you dare insult Vivi!"

"And her getting upset over everything is making a heck of a difference isn't it?" Zoro answered and they all looked at him. "I get the fact that she was in a hurry and I don't blame her for that. But getting ready to bite our heads off for every little thing wasn't going to help matters."

Nami stopped and thought that over. "This isn't about me," Zoro said, "I'm just saying that even though Vivi had a lot of guts and determination, she had to learn more about the world if she wanted to do something about it. Determination will only get you so far if you don't have a way to back it up or, in this case, know a way to go. Otherwise getting angry is just a waste of time and energy."

But just then, what sounded like an explosion came from within Dorry's stomach. He let out a strangle yell, his eyes rolling into the back of his head and smoke began to billow out of his mouth like the volcano. Most of the crew freaked out as Luffy let out a horrified yell as he jumped up to see for himself. He was yelling at Vivi what happened, stating that was the same alcohol they had on the ship.

"What's going on here?" Chopper yelled, running forward to get a good look at Dorry with his own eyes.

"The barrels of alcohol were bombs!" Usopp yelled, staring up at Dorry. "That's what happened! And when he drank them they went off!"

"How horrible! What happened?!" Brook yelled as Franky cracked his knuckled together furiously.

"Who would dare do something like this?!" he demanded, glaring around, as if hoping someone would come out so that he could punch them.

"It was Baroque Works again!" Nami explained.

"And the only person who could've done something like this would've been Mr. 5," Robin declared, thinking about him. "He ate the Bomb Bomb Fruit I recall. In other words… he's an exploding man."

"Exploding…?" Brook gasped.

"Yeah, you get weirdos in all shapes and sizes," Sanji stated.

"You mean that same guy we saw Luffy and Zoro beat up before back at Whiskey Peak?!" Chopper asked.

"Yeah, that was the same guy," Usopp said angrily, still furious that someone would dare get in the way of such an honorable duel. And he was outraged when Vivi suggested that the Brogy was responsible for this.

"WHAT?!" yelled Usopp at her, "HOW COULD YOU EVER THINK SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!"

Luffy obviously felt the same way. His eyes turned dangerous as he jumped down and yelled right in her face, "HOLD IT! WERE YOU EVEN WATCHING THEM?! THEY FIGHT THEIR DUELS HONORABLY! NO WAY HE'D DO THAT!"

"LUFFY HOW DARE YOU YELL AT A LADY LIKE THAT!" Sanji screamed.

"WOULD YOU ALL JUST STOP SCREAMING?!" screamed out Nami, "YOU'RE ALL GIVING ME A HEADACHE!"

"Alright then who did do it?!" Vivi demanded just as Dorry got back to his feet, reaching for his sword. His eyes were so angry they were now practically glowing red.

"What's… what's he doing?" Chopper asked, now suddenly terrified. There was no trace of the friendly, gracious giant here. There was cold fury practically radiating from him. Blood spurt from his mouth and Chopper screamed, trying to yell at Dorry to lie down so that he could take a good look at him.

"This isn't good," Zoro stated, seeing where this was going.

"What? He doesn't really think that Luffy-san was the one who did it does he?!" Brook cried in worry.

"It's only natural," Robin answered for him. "There were no problems before they arrived. And if Brogy would never do something like this…? Then it would only make sense that he would believe that they were behind this. After all, they already admitted that the barrels had been on their ship."

"But how did those barrels become bombs in the first place?!" Franky yelled.

"I'm guessing that Mr. 5 must've done something to them before they even left Whiskey Peak," Robin shrugged. "It's impossible to know for sure unless we ask the man himself, and as far as I know, he's dropped off the face of the earth."

"You strangers!" Dorry growled, breathing hard, "It wasn't Brogy! No way… no warrior of Elbaf would dare so… who else is there to suspect on this island then? BUT YOU!"

"Yep, can't say that I argue with that logic," Zoro confessed.

"Damn it Luffy, you better do something to keep Vivi-chan safe!" Sanji yelled as Luffy glared up at the giant. Carue screamed and went running off as Vivi told Luffy that they should get out of here. But Luffy wouldn't move, declaring that maybe talking wouldn't change anything, but running wasn't going to do any good either.

"Hell ya," Zoro nodded approvingly.

"He's not really going to fight him is he?!" Chopper yelled.

"Yeah, he's injured!" Nami yelled as well, pointing up at him. "And even if he wasn't he's still a giant!"

"Fighting is the only way," Sanji agreed dully. "If that idiot can show him that he fights honorably, then he'd know that he'd never do something like this."

"Are they crazy!?" screamed out Chopper horrified as he tried to get a good look at Dorry's wounds, but it was hard since he couldn't even touch anything. Luffy passed Vivi his hat and told her to stand back while he took care of things. She stared at him as she took the hat and asked, "You're going… to fight Dorry?"

"It's that, or have Dorry-san come after them," Brook said, "And if they run, it will only make it look like they're guilty!"

"Desperate times call for desperate measures!" Franky agreed. "Let's see how this works out."

Chopper could only stand back and looked on fearfully. Luffy cracked his knuckles and admitted that he didn't want to, but he had to settle this. Vivi shook her head as she looked to Dorry and tried to reason with him that they weren't the ones who did this and that he was in no shape to fight.

But he was beyond listening as he swung his sword, blood coming from his mouth so that Chopper cried out. The fight began and as it went on, it soon Chopper and Usopp were both cringing, half angry and half appalled at what Luffy was doing. But Dorry wasn't done yet as he finally slammed his foot down on top of Luffy.

However, this little fight seemed to be too much for him as he held onto his stomach, falling to his knees and finally passing out when he hit the ground. Crying out, Chopper went running over to where his head lay as the rest of them went to look at Luffy.

Luffy was laying in the boot print, gasping for breath. Dirty and bruised, but otherwise looked relatively unharmed. Nami sighed in relief, "Thank goodness…"

"Luffy should be glad that it ended when it did. If Dorry was at his full fighting power, I doubt he'd be coming out of this as well as he did," Robin stated as Vivi came running to him, asking if he was alright. But Luffy brushed off his own minor injuries and instead asked about Dorry as he took his hat back.

"He should be ok," she said softly looking at him. "Guess you were right about fighting," she admitted, "He seems a lot calmer now."

"Yes, hopefully he'll see now that they had no reason to fight," Brook said softly as Usopp went over to Chopper and asked if it was that serious.

Chopper had a hard time trying to look over him like this, but he looked up to answer him. "He suffered a lot of damage to his stomach," he answered, "And most likely to his digestive system… but it doesn't look like he ruptured anything… he should be alright if he gives his wounds to heal."

Usopp sighed. He had always wondered about that. Though he knew that it would take a lot more than that to kill Dorry off, he had been worried that these might've been permanent injuries.

Luffy put his hat back on and snapped, "Well, I'm not! The old guy was right about one thing anyway! The other giant would never do anything like this! But I know that our friends would never do it either! They aren't like that!"

"Here! Here!" Brook cheered on firmly.

"Yeah…" Vivi said softly, "But then…?"

"There must be somebody else on this island!" Luffy decided without hesitation.

"I'm surprised that he was able to figure that out on his own," Nami said impressed.

"I noticed that," Robin answered with half a chuckle, "Luffy also has a habit of saying things with a lot more weight and, occasionally, wisdom than he realizes without even thinking or meaning to."

"I guess even Luffy can use his brain once in awhile," Sanji stated thoughtfully as the volcano went off again. At the noise, Dorry's eyes opened and he looked ready to go off.

"NO!" Chopper screamed, "HE NEEDS TO REST! HE COULD GET HIMSELF KILLED IF HE GOES OUT TO FIGHT!"

"But sometimes a man has to it!" Usopp said, his heart constricting painfully watching how brave this was. "Even if it means risking his life he can't turn down a battle."

"His stupid pride could've gotten him killed!" Nami yelled.

Breathing hard, still having blood on the side of his mouth, Dorry tried to get up, but he doubled over in pain, still holding onto his stomach. Luffy tried to stop him as Vivi pleaded for him to rest. But he wouldn't listen. He claimed that he was a warrior and that if he was going to die, he was going to die as a warrior no matter what—even as blood erupted from inside him. With a great effort, he managed to get back to his feet.

Still breathing hard, Dorry made to run off. But before he did, he took hold of the mountainside and picked it up so that he could drop it on Luffy—to keep him from moving. Screaming loudly, Luffy fought to pull himself out. But Dorry said softly to himself, "Forgive me, Elbaf."

Luffy stopped as he watched Dorry go over to pick up his battered sword again. "It's been over a century… since we started the battle… this duel. Injured or not… I cannot allow myself to run away from this fight!" He held his sword tightly as he straightened up and Chopper was now screaming for him to lay down before he made his injuries worse.

"To do so would be like running away from the title 'warrior'. And if I was no longer a warrior of Elbaf…" Dorry stated grimly, "then I would no longer know who I am." He looked down and added, "I'm sorry I suspected you of causing the explosion."

"Well, he doesn't think that we did it anymore and that's good, but he should just tell Brogy what happened and just postponed the fight until he recovered!" Nami said anxiously. Though she knew that he survived, it was still a hard thing to see.

"Good luck trying to stop him like that," Sanji said, as Luffy was now struggling to pull his body out from under the mountain.

"That's got to be painful," Franky winced at the thought of having a mountain on top of him.

"I guess it doesn't take anything less than a mountain to keep Luffy from doing something stupid," Nami said softly.

Dorry sighed as he said that he knew now that this was judgment from Elbaf… their god of war. Luffy was looking furious as he screamed out, "LISTEN TO ME! GOD'S PROTECTIONS AND JUDGMENTS HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT'S GOING ON! IF A GOD TOLD YOU TO JUST RUN OFF AND DIE WOULD YOU?! SOMEONE'S INTERFERED WITH YOUR DUEL!"

"I agree!" Brook yelled. "This is no longer a fair fight! It's obvious that someone set this up!"

"Besides, what god is there?" Zoro asked with a yawn.

"Luffy's on a roll today," Franky said, "He's actually making sense here."

"Don't worry, he'll make up for that," Nami sighed, remembering how the moron only ended up helping that Mr. 3 jerk in turning them into wax statues even faster and how he kept getting stuck under that painter girl's color traps. Those weren't going to be pleasant to watch.

"But why is he so upset about this?" Chopper asked softly, looking at Luffy's enraged expression. Zoro followed his gaze and explained for him.

"The one thing that Luffy does not allow is someone or something getting involved in another person's fight," he told him, remembering his own battle with Mihawk and how Luffy held Johnny and Yosaku back.

"Even if it means forced to watch a friend die?!" Chopper yelled.

"If you can't watch it, then cover your eyes," he answered as Dorry stopped for a moment and listened to what Luffy was saying.

"AND A DUEL THAT'S BEEN INTERFERED WITH ISN'T A FAIR FIGHT ANYMORE!" Luffy screamed out at the top of his lungs. "ISN'T THAT RIGHT?!"

"SILENCE!" Dorry screamed out, sounding angry again. "What could you possibly know about this? You're a human who can't have been living on this earth for more than two decades! How can you possibly hope to understand the ways of the warriors of Elbaf?!"

"You don't need to be from Elbaf to know when something's not right!" Nami said in frustration. She didn't think it was possible, but the bigger that men are, the more stubborn they get.

And without another word, Dorry kept walking with Luffy beating his fists around like a child having a tantrum—trying to get the rock off him—screaming for Dorry to let him go. Vivi just stared at him, trying to calm him down—the look on her face clearly asked why he was so upset.

"Who was it?" Luffy demanded angrily, "Who would dare to interfere? I'll kill them!"

"Wow, he hasn't looked this angry since you two fought at Whiskey Peak," Franky said in awe. "I almost feel bad for the jerks who were behind this."

"Well, you can't say they didn't deserve it," Usopp said angrily as he remembered everything the guys who did dare to interfere in this.

"So if those bombs came from that Mr. 5 guy, does that mean that he was here with that Valentine's girl?" Franky asked.

"They were sent here," Robin agreed, "As well as two others. Mr. 3 and his partner Miss Goldenweek."

"They sure gave us problems," Nami sighed, shivering at how close they were to becoming whatever that Mr. 3 guy thought art was.

"Why? What did they do?" Brook asked but a familiar voice suddenly sounded off behind them, screaming for Luffy. Past Usopp came bursting through the trees, tripped, bounced on a rock before crashing right into the mountain.

"Quite the entrance, as usual," Sanji teased and Usopp sighed.

"What? You're not complaining about us teasing you anymore?" Sanji asked.

"I've gotten used to it," he said darkly.

"Shame," Sanji said, "You complaining was half the fun.

But past Usopp was looking up and when he spotted Luffy and Vivi there, he ran over to the, shouting out, "I HAVE TERRIBLE NEWS! A DINOSAUR ATE NAMI!"

"WHAT?!" screamed out Sanji, Franky, Chopper, and Brook.

"Nami!" Sanji burst out crying.

"I wasn't eaten you idiots!" she screamed at them as Luffy also yelled in terror.

Memory Usopp cried out that they were running away from the dinosaurs together, but when he turned around, she was gone. They both began to freak out until Vivi yelled for them both to calm down and think things through. That just because she disappeared didn't mean that she was eaten. Usopp demanded to know just what else she thought could've happened and Vivi finally suggested the answer.

"I don't know for sure," she confessed, "But if Baroque Works followed us from Whiskey Peak it would make sense for them to go after Nami, not you. I think we may be in great danger! We should go."

"Pretty much," Nami stated angrily, still sore that Usopp left her there. "That Mr. 3 dork used one of his wax statues to trick me and the next thing I knew… I was captured."

"Wax statues?" Franky repeated. "Well, that had to be one heck of a statue."

"It was very realistic," she admitted. "Mr. 3 had the powers of the Wax Wax Fruit."

"Wax Wax Fruit?" Brook repeated, "But how could that be dangerous in battle?"

"I've seen his powers," Robin nodded, thinking back. "It's a Paramecia-type of ability that allows the user to tap large quantities of wax from their body and mold it into any shape they wish to. When the wax hardens, it becomes as strong as steel. I've seen some of his work, and I know for a fact that he can create wax statues that completely resemble other people in every little detail. So it doesn't surprise me that you fell for it Nami."

Zoro looked away, not intending for any of them to know that he fell for that same trick. If they heard, then that idiot cook would never let him hear the end of it.

"Sounds dangerous when you put it that way," Brook said, thinking it all over. "I'm almost afraid to find out just what else he can do with it."

Past Usopp gasped at Vivi's words. "You mean Baroque Works is here on the Island with us?" he asked before he thought it over, and his fear was temporarily replaced with confusion. "Wait… but why capture Nami and not me?"

Vivi explained that that they most likely didn't know about Usopp or Sanji even existed and so that meant that they were probably not on Baroque Works assassination list because they never got in their way. She then suggested that the alcohol was probably meant for them instead. Luffy and Usopp's eyes widen as Usopp asked what she meant and she told them the whole story about the exploding drinks.

"NO WAY!" memory Usopp screamed out, sweat falling and his eyes wide in horror, "THEY ACTUALLY EXPLODED INSIDE THE GUY?!" he looked behind him in the direction of the battling giants and asked, "Wait, he was injured that badly and he still ran off to go fight?!"

"Seeing that determination is truly a sight that both warms my heart and causes it to ache!" proclaimed Brook. "Not that I have a heart…"

"Not now, Brook!" Usopp told him.

"I tried to stop him and that's how I ended up like this!" Luffy explained darkly, still trying to pull himself out.

"This is horrible!" memory Usopp yelled in panic, "Those two have been fighting for as hard as they can for a hundred years and they always ended in a draw!" In the distance they could hear the sounds of them fighting. "Plus, their duels are fought with the most honor and pride in the whole world! There's no way they can settle it once and for all like this!"

"And that's what would've been most tragic!" Usopp said, agreeing with his past self's words. "They would never be satisfied if it had to end like this."

"Was Dorry alright?!" Chopper asked at once.

"Don't worry, they were both still alive and kicking by the time we dealt with Baroque Works here and left," Zoro said. "We definitely had worse days."

"Yeah, but almost dying is still considered a bad day in my book," Nami told him darkly. Vivi just looked at them as Luffy fought harder than ever to get out. However… soon they saw what looked like a geyser of blood shoot above the trees. They all stared at it and knew it could only mean one thing…

"DORRY!" Chopper yelled in terror.

"DORRY-SAN!" also screamed Brook.

"Didn't you two just hear me?" Zoro asked in annoyance.

"How could he survive that?!" cried Franky, the blood falling back like rain. "That's…"

"Apparently, giants are tougher than we thought," Sanji said explained, "And their weapons were almost worn through by this point. It was a narrow miss, but it all ended on a good note."

"Thank goodness for that," Usopp agreed firmly. He learned a lot from the two of them in such a short time, and he never would've forgiven himself if something happened because they came to the island.

Luffy was now going crazy, banging his head against the ground in fury. Usopp and Vivi tried to calm him down but he ignored them both as he fought. "WHO WAS IIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTT?" he screamed out at the top of his lungs. "WHO DID TTTTTTTTTTHHHHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSS?!"

Past Usopp was with him completely, also looking angry. "I don't know what we're up against here… but I'm gonna take care of them by myself!" This lost its effect because his knees were shaking together—but Chopper didn't notice this as he looked to current Usopp with a sparkle in his eyes. Vivi said that she was going to go with him, but someone said, "You're not going anywhere!"

Looking back, they were standing there were the two they saw before. Though it was hard to tell it was them without the beat up faces…

Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine's were there, holding onto a beat up Carue—with Chopper looking furious as he yelled that they let him go. Mr. 5 did, but only because he wanted to. He threw the hurt duck to the ground and Vivi ran over to him in horror, calling out his name.

"You can have him back!" Mr. 5 said, "We don't need him." Miss Valentines laughed mockingly as past Usopp asked Luffy who they were and he said that they were from the last island.

"How could they?!" yelled Chopper, running over to examine Carue. "What happened?! He looks like he was holding a bomb that went off!"

"Yes," Robin nodded, looking to Mr. 5 stated and had a bad feeling to what must've happened. "In a way… that's what happened."

"Carue never did anything to you! Why did you have to do this to him?!" Vivi screamed at them.

Mr. 5 merely answered that they didn't have to hurt him if he just cooperated with them. They had wanted to use him as bait to lure them into the jungle where they could attack them. But Carue had refused to help them and kept silence the whole time. But when they found out that Luffy was trapped like this they didn't think they had anything to worry about. As they laughed at Carue, Vivi declared she was going to kill him. Usopp demanded to know if they were the ones behind injuring Dorry, which they didn't bother to deny.

As soon as he heard, Luffy was now looking ready to kill as he tried to crawl out. Vivi pulled out her weapons and looked ready to fight as well but they didn't seem concerned. The two charged ahead, but Usopp's Exploding Stars didn't work as Miss Valentine's flew out of the way and Mr. 5 sent his own bomb at him. The Straw Hats all winced as Miss Valentine's fell on Usopp like a boulder and Mr. 5 grabbed Vivi by the throat.

"YOU LET HER GO YOU SHITTY BASTARD!" Sanji screamed, looking ready to kick his brains in, but he roared in rage when he passed right through. These memories were going to kill him…

Mr. 5 reassured them that he wasn't going to kill them because Mr. 3 gave them orders to bring them in alive. He passed Vivi to his partner as he walked over to Luffy, and some of them gasped in horror when they saw that he actually exploded—burning Luffy, Usopp, and Carue in the process.

"How can he explode and not have anything happen to him?!" Franky yelled out. Devil Fruit Users and their powers were such a pain to deal with.

"He's immune to explosions," Robin explained as the three lay there, their eyes rolled back and smoking.

"What a freak!" Usopp yelled, almost whimpering in pain at the memory of fighting that guy. He remembered when he grabbed hold of him and was close to exploding—and he was about to die… Oh, that was terrifying.

Mr. 5 smirked down at Luffy. "Consider this our 'thank you' for what happened at Whiskey Peak. You should learn to mind your own business you pathetic excuse of wannabe pirates. It will be quite beneficial for your heath. By the way, we have your swordsman friend. We've captured the other girl you brought along with you as well."

"They captured you too, Zoro-san?" Brook said in surprise.

"It was a dirty trick," Zoro said in deep annoyance.

"That must be painful considering how easy you and Luffy were able to deal with them," Franky said and Zoro felt a muscle going in his forehead at the reminder. "Please, in a fair fight, they wouldn't stand a chance," he snapped.

"So you caught… Zoro?" croaked out Luffy, his face still in the dirt.

"Damn right," Mr. 5 said with a sneer and suddenly, Luffy was chuckling softly.

"In that case," he whispered, "You're in more trouble than I thought."

Zoro smirked, glad that someone thought so.

"See?" Robin whispered to him quietly, "He does trust you."

"Well, I would've gotten us out of that mess if he had come or not," Zoro said confidently.

"You mean before or after you tried to cut off your own legs?!" Nami demanded.

"WHAT?!" Chopper screamed, "ZORO CUT HIS OWN LEGS OFF!?"

"Don't be stupid, I clearly still have them," he snapped back.

"Don't tell me you forgot!" Nami snapped, "We were trapped in some wax and were almost turned into wax statues by that freak 3 and you got the crazy idea to cut your feet off so that we could escape. Do you honestly still think that was a good idea?"

"That wasn't the point! I was going to chop them off so that I could fight those losers!" Zoro yelled.

"Oh, was that the plan? Because that was an even worse idea!" exclaimed Nami.

"What? I didn't hack them off in the end did I?" he demanded.

"You would have if the others didn't show up when they did," Nami reminded him.

"What are you all talking about?" Chopper demanded, completely lost, and sounding close to crying.

"Well," Mr. 5 said, bringing an end to the fighting, "Let's see how big you talk… after one of my kicking bombs blows up that little face of yours."

Luffy forced his head to look up, a smirk there, "Try whatever you want… I'm gonna kick your ass." And then he spit on Mr. 5's shoe.

"He did it now," Usopp said, shutting his eyes as he remembered what that bastard did next. Mr. 5 grew furious and then he kicked Luffy's face—which did explode. Vivi screamed as Mr. 5 continued to kick one… two… three…

He kept kicking about thirteen times—each kick exploding… until he was tired and Luffy was burnt black.

"I didn't think it'd be that brutal!" Nami said, shaking her head, "All those bombs to the face?"

"You weak little fool," Mr. 5 said, as Vivi screamed out for them and that was when the memory faded.

"Who's he calling weak?!" Franky demanded. "He couldn't fight on his own!"

"How was that girl able to fly away though?" Chopper asked quickly. "Is it levitation?"

"Not quite," Robin answered. "The Kilo Kilo Fruit is behind it. It's a Devil Fruit that allows the user to change their weight from 1 to 10,000 kilograms without, in any way, affecting the overall size of their bodies."

"What good is that?" Franky asked in confusion.

"This fruit's main strength is that it allows the user to change their weight at will. They can go from being 1 kilogram, light enough to float on the wind, to 10,000 kilograms, dropping with intense force to crush the opponents," Robin explained. "All Devil Fruits are different… but they can be dangerous in unexpected ways. It all depends on how you use them."

"I see," Franky said, thinking it all over. "But still… I'd never eat one. I'm SUPER enough without one!"

"If it's a good one, I might…?" Usopp said, thinking it all over. "But at the same time, the thought scares the hell outta me."

"I wouldn't eat one even if someone begged me," Zoro said. "I don't need it."

"There was one Fruit I wanted to eat," Sanji said, thinking of Thriller Bark in disgust, "However, it was already eaten by the time I found it so there's no point in it any longer."

"Really?" asked Brook in surprise. "What one was that Sanji-san?"

"It doesn't matter anymore," he stated, breathing deeply on the cigarette. "Even if I had it here with me, I wouldn't eat it. It's not worth it."

"You're making it sound like eating a Devil Fruit is something bad," Robin answered calmly. "The odds of you becoming weaker because of a Devil Fruit are slim… but if you can use its powers to your advantage, not being able to swim's not that bad."

"Maybe," Nami said with a shrug, "But I like being normal thanks."

"What? You're saying we're not normal?" Chopper asked her.

"No, you guys are far from normal. But in a good way," Nami smiled at him and he blushed as he did a little dance.

"You're just trying to make me happy, it won't work!" he said, a smile on his face.

The memories came back and they were all startled to see what was going on. The giants were on the ground, Dorry was face-down and bleeding as Brogy was being restraint with large quantities of wax—including what looked like large wax spokes impaled in his hands and feet.

Vivi, Zoro, and Nami were there as well… and they seemed to be trapped in a giant cake with a spinning pumpkin on a pillar above them. Flakes of wax from the candles on top of the pumpkin were falling fast and covering everything beneath them with a coating of wax. The four underneath were already halfway covered with it and Zoro seemed to be arguing with the girls over something.

Watching them were Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine's… however there were two others there with them. There was a young girl with blushed cheeks and braided pigtails while the other was a rather frail-looking man with one big 3 achieved through his top knot.

"I'm guessing that's Mr. 3?" Brook asked.

"Jeez, what gave that away?" Sanji said, rolling his eyes. "I remember this shitty candleman."

"Right, you beat him up to get him to let us out of that cage in Alabasta!" Usopp added.

"What cage?" Franky asked, but Chopper screamed just as Zoro plunged the blades into his feet, and then Luffy, Carue, and Usopp came bursting into the clearing with such force that they were sent flying. "When I get back I'm gonna kick your asses!" screamed Luffy as they threw by and smashing into some trees.

Zoro shook his head at the scene as Chopper was screaming into his ear about how stupid he was.

"Did you have a better idea?" he demanded harshly. "Besides, I'm alright!"

"Don't you know that once you cut a limb off, how difficult it is to reattach it?" Chopper demanded, "Even if you got medical help right away, there's no guarantee that you will use them just as well as before!"

"Luffy!" past Nami's voice called in relief, "Usopp!"

"Carue!" Vivi yelled as the three came marching back. All three of them were looking ticked off.

"We're here Brogy!" Usopp yelled, "Don't worry! We'll pick up where you left off!"

"Thanks Usopp," he said, from where he lay as Nami screamed for them to hurry up and beat them until they were beyond recognition. Luffy promised that he intended to as Mr. 3 laughed at him. Trying to mock him, on how pathetic it was that he had such a high bounty. But Luffy just noticed his hair and gasped that it was on fire as Mr. 3 screamed at him to shut up.

"Yes, he has weird hair!" memory Nami screamed at him, "Now could you break this pillar?! We're about to turn into wax statues here!"

Luffy looked up at them in blasé surprise and asked bluntly, "Oh, are you guys in trouble?"

"What did he think?" Nami demanded them all as she looked ready to slap him for such a stupid question.

"Nope," past Zoro said, his sword over his shoulder. "No trouble at all."

"Wait, Zoro! Your legs!" memory Nami gasped and that was when they saw blood seeping over the edge of wax.

Zoro pretended that he couldn't hear Chopper screaming and throwing out insults at him as his past self admitted that he must've made it about halfway through and memory Nami screamed at him, asking how that was no trouble at all? Vivi looked sick at the sight of it, her face turning a bluish tint as Zoro ignored the girls and asked Luffy if he could take care of the pillar and Luffy smiled confidently.

Zoro then smirked back as he lifted his white blade high and Nami asked him why he was standing like that.

"If I'm gonna be a statue I prefer this pose," he said as if answering telling her what two plus two was as Vivi shouted at him, sounding close to hysterical.

"You're so cool here, bro," Franky laughed as Chopper twisted his own face around in frustration. How stupid was Zoro here? Look at all that blood!

"Were you trying to kill yourself?! You could've easily bled to death here!" he yelled, pointing a shaking hoof to the blood. Past Nami was also yelling at him for that, telling him to at least do something about all the blood because she was getting nauseous looking at it all.

"So quite looking at it then!" memory Zoro told her off.

"It's kinda hard to ignore!" she yelled back. And soon they were both arguing as Vivi stared at them, as if she was convinced that they just didn't realized how much danger they were in.

"It really is incredible how much trust you all had in each other back here," Robin said, watching them as Brogy smiled in understanding at their now calm attitude. Even Miss Goldenweek noticed as she spread out a blanket and served herself some tea. She pointed out the Mr. 3 how they didn't seemed concerned with what was about to happen to them.

"I was sure that they would get us out of there eventually," Zoro stated casually as his past self and Nami continued to argue about posing.

As Usopp and Carue moved back to hide in the trees, Luffy went against Mr. 3. Right off the bat, the Candleman was able to trap his feet—this proved to be a bad thing because in the end, Luffy was able to use this to his advantage by grabbing hold of Brogy's helmet and slamming his leg locks into the pillar, smashing it.

"It's amazing how, when he's fighting, he becomes intelligent with some pretty ingenious skills," Usopp said as the pillar cracked and Brook and Chopper cheered him on.

"He just goes by instinct, even more so than a wild animal would," Nami stated as she shook her head at what was going to happen next. The giant pumpkin fell, and for one horrible moment, they thought they were going to crush the three trapped below. But instead, it landed on the top tier of the wax cake and continued to spin—the process picking up rapidly.

Brook sighed in relief. "Oh, I thought for sure you would all be crushed under that!"

"Yeah, but that idiot didn't help matters!" Nami said in annoyance as Luffy asked them why they didn't run for it. Her past self and Vivi screamed that they were stuck.

"Oh, really?" he asked in surprise, "Is that what's going on?! The only thing you guys kept saying was for me to break the pillar. So that's what I did!"

"Fair point," Franky said, thinking it all over.

Robin laughed. "Maybe you should've been more specific?"

"I suppose," Zoro said with a nod.

"Mr. Bushido do you really think it's a good idea to put our lives in that guy's hands?!" Vivi screamed at his memory self.

"I think she's freaking out here," Usopp said, tilting his head.

"Well, we don't exactly have much of a choice here do we?" memory Zoro asked, not looking the least bit concerned. "I don't know about you but I'm having a little bit of trouble moving right now!"

"And you don't seem to be bothered by it somehow!" she screamed hysterically.

"You know, it wouldn't have killed her to trust us too," Zoro said, rolling his eye.

"Well, you guys aren't really kicking ass here," Franky laughed. Mr. 3 laughed out, saying that all Luffy had done was moved the candles closer and sped up the process turning them into wax statues.

"Wait!" Luffy yelled, finally understanding what was going on, "You guys are gonna turn into wax figures?!"

"THAT'S WHAT WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO TELL YOU!" memory Nami screamed.

"Well, you never mentioned anything about turning to wax," Usopp pointed out.

"I would've thought it was obvious since we couldn't move!" Nami snapped, giving Usopp a hard punch to the head. "Jeez, don't any of you boys have any common sense?"

"Hey!" all the men yelled at her, but she shut them up with a dangerous look.

"Please just hurry up and destroy this thing Luffy!" Vivi begged and Luffy said that he got it this time. Mr. 3 tried to attack him just as Usopp sent an Exploding Star at him; however Mr. 5 stepped in and, not only did he catch it with his mouth, but he swallowed it.

"Now that's some spicy food," Robin said causally as Brook shrieked at that.

Luffy went back to trying to break the pumpkin. He started up a Bazooka just as Mr. 3 created a wall to block it. He then tried to trap him up again—but had only been able to trap one of Luffy's arms in the wax. Which Luffy used to launch another attack at him—using the wax on his arm to break through Mr. 3's shield and sent him flying.

"YEAH!" Chopper cheered, jumping up and down, "NOW SMASH THE PUMPKIN!"

Luffy, however, was suddenly standing there as if frozen and Nami screamed at him to hurry up… but he kept saying no. Despite them pleading… he just kept saying no. That he didn't feel like saving them.

"What's going on?" Chopper gasped, he couldn't believe that Luffy was refusing to save his friends when they were right in front of him.

"That's not like Luffy-san at all!" Brook stated, suddenly anxious.

"It's because that moron is so simple-minded," Zoro stated, "Look at his feet."

"Feet…?" Franky asked, and looked to realize that Luffy was standing on a strange, black symbol on the grass.

"What is that?!" Chopper asked nervously.

"I recognize that," Robin said knowingly, and looked around to see Miss Goldenweek holding a black-tipped paintbrush in her hands.

Past Nami's eyes widen. "Luffy…? What's wrong?"

"He really scared me here," Nami confessed, "Thankfully, I know now that it's because his mind was being controlled."

"CONTROLLED?!" Brook gasped as they continued to yell at him. "But how…?"

"Yeah," Luffy said, still in that dead tone, "But for some reason I can't get motivated to help."

"Can't get motivated?" Sanji hissed. "DAMN YOU BASTARD! NAMI-SWAN AND VIVI-SAN ARE ASKING YOU FOR HELP! AND YOU CAN'T MOVE?!"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN CAN'T GET MOTIVATED!?" the three screamed. Finally, Vivi noticed the mark and yelled at Miss Goldenweek that she was behind it, which the girl confirmed.

"It's my colors trap: Betrayal Black," she said as she enjoyed some rice crackers. "If you touch the paint you'll want to betray your friends no matter what they might say. Even if they beg and pled for help."

"So she ate a Devil Fruit too?!" Chopper asked at once.

"Not quite," Robin said, and they all looked at her in surprise as she went on, "Remember that Jango person from Usopp's village?"

"Jango? You mean that dumbass who kept hypnotizing himself by accident?" Sanji asked.

"Exactly," Robin confirmed. "This is what it is. Hypnotism—only instead of a ring, she uses the colors of her paints to alter a person's emotions. Once someone is under the spell of her Colors Trap they are unable to break out of it unless the trap is removed or smeared. The trap overwrites all other actions attempted by the person under its influence, forcing them to do whatever the trap enables no matter what."

"Oh, that makes sense," Sanji hissed, turning back to watch, "That simpleton is already too easy to manipulate."

Vivi had also explained pretty much the same thing as Robin about Miss Goldenweek's ability. How her paint created different emotions and it could use it to manipulate others minds.

"Luffy does not do well against tricksters," Robin stated. "It really is a dangerous ability in the wrong hands. I guess we should count ourselves lucky that she's so laid-back."

"I guess that's true," Nami sighed.

"Yeah, if even someone as strong as Luffy is able to ignore his friends, it's dangerous," Chopper said firmly.

"Does that mean that all he has to do is get away from the paint and he'll be ok?" past Nami asked as she tried to yell at him to get out away from it, but Vivi was telling him the opposite; screaming at him not to step outside the symbol and not to save them.

And he did.

"Thank goodness," Brook said as Luffy snapped out of it and came back to his senses. Once he was freed, Vivi was screaming for help again. Luffy tried to charge in again to help, but Miss Goldenweek trapped him in another Color Trap and the yellow paint on his back was making him laugh helplessly.

"Color's Trap again: Laughter yellow!" she declared, "Shouldn't have stepped outside the circle."

"God, he better do something about her," Franky said, rubbing his head. "At this rate he's never going to be able to save you guys."

"If he can get the paint off his shirt then he should snap out of it!" Sanji declared. Memory Nami realized this as well and yelled at him to take his shirt off to get rid of the paint, but he couldn't move from laughing. Past Zoro glared at the wax covering his arms and mentioned that they'd be lucky to stay alive for another five minutes. It was looking bad, but thankfully, Usopp came running out on Carue—running from Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine's. They ran into Luffy and smeared the paint getting Luffy to stop laughing.

"Hurry and take her out before she does something else!" Usopp yelled.

Luffy, now looking annoyed, yelled at Miss Goldenweek for her to stop as he tried to fight. But instead she painted another symbol on the ground—this time a bright red color. And like a bull to a red cape, Luffy couldn't attack anything but the spot on the ground.

"Great! It doesn't matter how strong his attacks are! They're useless like this!" Franky yelled in frustration, "Man, this is a problem."

Finally, Miss Goldenweek combined her yellow and blue paints to make Colors Trap: Tranquil Green. So now Luffy was so peaceful that he was having a cup of tea with her.

"You've got to be kidding me," Sanji moaned, slapping his face. "Stupid…"

"Yeah, we were pretty much screwed here," Zoro confessed, looking to see that Luffy's face was twisted in pain—trying to break the spell. By this point, even past Usopp was yelling at him about what the hell he was doing. With the help of Usopp and Carue, they hit him with another Exploding Star so that they were able to burn the shirt and the Color's Trap right off.

"Nice going Usopp!" Chopper cried joyfully and Usopp grinned proudly.

"Well, when things get at their worse, someone had to step in and make things right!" he declared. The others didn't bother to correct him here, they knew that he deserved it this time.

"Yeah, but everyone has already turned to wax!" Brook yelled, pointing to the four encased in the wax and Chopper screamed at that. He treated someone completely frozen before—but wax?!

"Yeah, I don't remember anything that happened after this," Nami said, shaking her head. It had been an unpleasant experience to be trapped in that wax… but she was glad that they were eventually able to break them out of that… though she wished that they thought of another way besides almost burning to death.

"I'm tired of your stupid paints, you're through!" Luffy declared, waking up and gasping for air, his skin now burnt. "I'm not going to let you hurt anymore of my friends!" His eyes narrowed as he yelled out, "NOW I'M REALLY MAD!"

"Oh, this is gonna be good," Franky rubbed his hands together, looking forward to seeing them all get their asses handed to them. Mr. 3, who finally came back, had used the distraction to create himself a wax suit of armor; before he had Miss Goldenweek paint it to make it stronger.

"That is so cool!" Chopper gasped out and Usopp hit him over the head.

"GET REAL!" he yelled. As Luffy turned his attention back to Mr. 3, past Usopp suddenly realized and he screamed out the way to save the others. That he reminded him that it was still wax and if they could melt it, they could still save the others.

"Clever Usopp," Robin said and he beamed proudly at his own observation.

"Anyone with a brain could've figured that out," Sanji stated.

"Now, don't be jealous because you weren't here," Usopp poked fun at him.

"Yeah, where were you?" Franky asked suddenly, just realizing the cook was nowhere to be found. "Wow, first there was Whiskey Peak, and now Little Garden… you're missing all the action."

"Hey, I had my hands full with something else!" Sanji said loudly.

"No way! Seriously?!" Luffy cried out excitedly and Miss Goldenweek confirmed it as Mr. 3 yelled at her for that.

The Straw Hats all watched the battle go on. Luffy fought Mr. 3 while Usopp worked out a plan to get the others out of the wax. He covered a rope with oil and told Carue to run around the whole thing while he was slowly being crushed to death by Miss Valentine's. Thankfully, Luffy was able to grab hold of Mr. 3's burning hair and brought the little flame over to light the rope.

Franky lowered his sunglasses in time. "Oh, this is going to be a big boom!"

He was right. It was a massive fireball, like an explosion, going up in a tower of flames—the heat alone felt like it was going to knock them over.

"WOW!" Chopper gasped in awe.

"Imagine being stuck in it," Zoro said, thinking of his flaming swords and smirked. Those weren't half bad…

The heat alone was easily enough to melt the statues and Mr. 3's armor until they were a mass of wax—with his protection gone, Mr. 3 turned and went running off into the jungle with Luffy and Carue on his heels.

"Were you all alright?" Brook asked anxiously.

"Yeah," Nami answered, as they ran after them, "A little singed but nothing permanent."

The Straw Hats all kept chasing after Luffy until they came to a very strange sight.

"I think I'm seeing double," Usopp said, rubbing his eyes.

"Forget seeing double!" Sanji said loudly. They were in a clearing full of wax statues of Mr. 3. There were more than they could count—of all different positions all looking at him.

"I can see what you meant," Franky said, remembering what Robin said about Mr. 3's figures. "Wow… they're amazing!"

Just then, they heard Mr. 3's voice around them, trying to taunt Luffy into coming closer and try to find him. He then claimed that when he least expect it, he would stab him.

"Dumbass," Zoro growled. "He shouldn't go around tell people his plans!"

"I thought that he was smarter than that," Usopp said, shaking his head. Luffy just stood there—as if lost in his own thoughts before he looked up.

"But how's he going to find him in all…?" but Chopper's question ended when Luffy cried out, "Gum Gum… STAMP!" and he stretched his leg out in one random direction—and amazingly found him.

"How could you… have known… that this… was where I was?" he asked before he passed out, a giant footprint on his face now.

"Instinct," Luffy answered just as Carue spotted Miss Goldenweek trying to sneak away and he went after her, her scream echoing around them before the memory faded.

"Wow…" Usopp said in amazement, "How'd he know?!"

"He just answered," Sanji said, breathing out a puff of smoke. "He doesn't think… he just goes instinctively."

"But…?" Usopp began but Zoro cut him off.

"With Luffy, you don't ask… you just go along with it and hope for the best," he stated. The images came back right away and they were back in the clearing with everyone, even with Brogy out of the wax and was crying his eyes out. He was crying so much that his tears were making a waterfall and a rainbow to match. But to their amazement, the sounds of his wails had woken Dorry up and he was now sitting up—freaking everyone out. As Usopp, Chopper, Franky, and Brook all cried in joy at that, it turned out that it really had been the weapons that saved him and past Usopp realized that no weapon could hold up for a hundred years of battle. They had to have been dull by now…

"I'm running out of wows," Usopp said, staring at them in awe. "I can't tell you how relieved I was to know that they were ok… I was really scared there."

"You really thought that Dorry was dead?" Chopper asked.

"Are you nuts?!" Usopp yelled, "Like a warrior of Elbaf will die that easily!"

"All in all, it all ended well," Brook cried out happily, strumming up his guitar, "Yohohoho. This could inspire a whole new set of songs for me!"

"Aww man… I'm so happy that it all ended well," Franky sniffled. "Not that I was worried!"

Brogy however was crying shamelessly as he hugged Dorry and continued to sob and laugh at the same time; but the playful punches they were throwing at each other and soon they were fighting again. Chopper was just glad that they were alright. After all this madness, they took care of their injuries as they told Dorry everything that happened while he was out cold. As they talked, the two apparently forgot all about their bounties thanks to their years trapped on this island.

Vivi tried to apologize to them, telling them that it was her fault that they came here in the first place but no one else seemed to buy that as they all enjoyed the rice crackers that Miss Goldenweek left behind—and Luffy was even trying to get them to have a party.

"That is a wonderful outfit, Nami-san," Brook suddenly said, after it was discovered that the fire burned her shirt off so that she was in only a bra and shorts. Nami hit him over the head and told him to shut up as he tried to make another skull joke—but failed when he moaned in pain.

"Wait a minute!" Chopper yelled out when memory Nami was scratching at a bug bit on her stomach. "That's what happened!"

"What happened?" Robin asked curiously.

"Nami got really sick from a bug called Kestia!" Chopper exclaimed loudly. "Just one bite is enough to give someone a serious case of Jungle Fever! It gave Nami a fever so high that it almost killed her!"

"You mean you were that sick?" Robin asked Nami in great surprise.

"It's nothing," Nami said, waving her hand, "After all… it was just after this nightmare did we meet Chopper and he fixed me up."

At those words, Chopper blushed again. "Saying something like that won't make me happy or anything you jerk!" he smiled, as past Nami was yelling at Luffy and Usopp—who were fighting over the crackers—about what they were supposed to do over their Log Pose.

"All of you helped save us from those other guys," Brogy said. "If we can, we'd really like to repay the favor."

But when Luffy suggested that they could help with their pose, they sadly admitted that there wasn't anything they could do about that.

"Yeah, what were you guys gonna do?" Franky asked in concern. "Even if you did stay the year, you had to get Vivi back in time?"

Just then, Sanji came out of the jungle—swooning declares of love when he saw the women.

"Funny that you show up now…" Usopp hissed at him.

"Well, if I had known that the ladies here were in trouble, nothing would've stopped me from coming here," Sanji said, angry at himself that he was wasting time while he almost ended up both the loves of his life. "But I was busy talking with Crocodile."

"WHAT?!" half the crew yelled, gapping at him.

Usopp's past self and Carue were looking just as outraged as current Usopp. "Of course he's happy the big, useless jerk!" his past self yelled, "He shows up after we take care of everything!"

Sanji yelled in shock after he spotted the giants and demanded if one of them was Mr. 3. When they pressed him to how he learned that name, he explained that he had been talking to Mr. 0 over a transponder snail in a hideout in the jungle and pretended to be Mr. 3 when he talked to him.

"And since I had him on the line," he finished up, "I went ahead and told him that we were all dead."

"Clever," Robin laughed. "I always wondered what happened here…"

"Thank you!" Sanji yelled joyfully, hearts back in his eyes.

"So he thinks that he doesn't have to send anyone else after us anymore!" Vivi gasped in understanding.

"So your saying that we're finally free from people chasing us now that we can't go anywhere anyway?!" past Usopp yelled dramatically. "Oh, that is just perfect!"

Sanji couldn't see what the problem was as he pulled out the Eternal Pose to Alabasta that he stole. Which stunned them all, their jaws dropping open as they stared at it—but soon it was a celebration as Vivi hugged him tightly and they were getting ready to leave.

"You did it, Sanji!" Chopper yelled happily.

"Hey, I pull my weight," he said proudly as Zoro rolled his eye.

"'Kay! Giant old guys! It's really been a lot of fun," Luffy said, waving up at them, both giants seemed to have been lost in their thoughts for a moment—as if remembering something from a long time ago when they heard Sanji and Zoro go on about their hunting contest, "But we gotta go!"

"Of course," Brogy said in understanding, "Right. We can tell that you really need to get going."

"It's too bad that you have leave so soon," Dorry added, looking directly at Vivi, "I hope you make it to your homeland in time."

"Me too! Thank you," Vivi said gratefully and they all started to head off with Usopp declaring that someday he would visit Elbaf one day.

"Such nice guys," Brook said, he truly hoped to meet them someday, and he could understand why Usopp looked up to them so much. The next memory that came up, they were standing on the Merry's deck and sailing down the river to the ocean's edge. It turned out that the giants were standing on either side of the river, their backs to them and their capes waving in the wind. It looked as if they had come to say goodbye.

As they got nearer, Brogy spoke without looking at them. "A great danger still lies ahead of you!"

"It is an obstacle that has always been here," Dorry added, just as dramatically, "To try and prevent people reaching the next island."

"What? What's here?!" cried out Chopper fearfully.

"Relax!" Usopp said confidently, "They took care of it for us!"

The past Straw Hats were looking scared as their jaws dropped. But Dorry went on, "But every one of you fought like true warriors to protect the pride of our duel."

"You all truly did," Brook said respectfully.

"And because you were willing to do that no matter what enemy you may face…" Brogy stated.

"We will never let them destroy your pride, friends!" Dorry declared, his voice echoing around them, as if proving the sincerity of their words.

"YOW!" Franky cried out enthusiastically, "These two are SUPER awesome!"

"You must have faith in what we say!" Brogy told them. "Go straight! No matter whathappens, keep going straight! Understand?!"

"Yeah! Got it!" Luffy cried out. "No matter what happens, just go straight!"

They sailed passed them both, with them bidding their final farewells; but soon past Nami yelled out in terror to see something enormous rise out of the sea. The water rising up and some of them screamed when it was revealed to be an enormous goldfish—greater than even some Sea Kings.

"That's the biggest goldfish I've ever seen," Sanji stated as more screams came around them from both past and present selves.

"Hello Island-Eater!" declared Dorry's voice from behind them.

"You will open the path!" yelled Brogy, "In the name of Elbaf, you will open it!"

"This is going to be amazing to see again!" Usopp cried out eagerly, running to the upper deck to get the full view of what was going to happen, his heart racing.

"Why?! Why would you willingly go sailing into the belly of a giant fish?!" yelled Franky.

Past Nami screamed at them to turn, but Usopp and Luffy both refused, saying that they just had to keep going straight. When she couldn't calm down, Luffy just told her to calm down as he threw the last cracker at her.

"Now you know that he's confident if he's sharing food," Sanji stated as past Nami kept screaming at him to chance course, but Zoro leaning back against the door telling her to just give it up. Sanji, Vivi, and Nami continued to try to change his mind, but onwards they went—the last thing that they saw before they were swallowed was the two giants holding their weapons high.

"JUST GO STRAIGHT!" Usopp screamed, but he sounded close to tears. "GO STRAIGHT!"

"What does it matter?!" Nami hollered at him, it was so dark that they couldn't see anything in front of them, "We've already been eaten here!"

"Straight, you hear?!" Luffy yelled from the front, "Just keep going straight!"

"Now… how'd you get out of this?" Franky asked. He had an idea, but he was afraid of getting beaten up again if he suggested it to Nami.

"You'll see!" Usopp called from the front, impatiently looking around—waiting. But before they were able to ask anymore there was a shockwave behind them and they were shot forward as the entire goldfish was ripped apart so that they were sent flying out into the open sky—the giants battle cries behind them. It was just like how Luffy arrived with Sanji and Yosaku to Arlong Park as they were soaring high, across the bright blue sky and warm sun…

"We're flying!" Luffy screamed out. Both past and present Straw Hats were smiling in amazement as Vivi and Carue cowered in terror. "Don't bother looking back; cause we're going straight ahead! Look at us! Look at us! It's so incredible!"

Past Usopp was crying with his future self. "They cut… the sea… itself! The strength of… the Elbaf warriors… IS AMAZING!"

"Took the words right out of my mouth!" cried current Usopp as Chopper joyfully screamed out, the two doing a dance together as Brook watched on with his jaw wide open.

"Amazing doesn't even describe it!" he yelled, "It's so unbelievable that I cannot believe my own eyes! Not that I have eyes, yohohoho!"

The Merry hit the water, and by this point the island was almost out of their sight. But they could still just make out the voices of the giants behind them yelling out one last thing to them. "FRIENDS! GO! GOOD LUCK!"

"Truly remarkable," Robin said calmly, a hint of a smile on her face.

"I get why you look up to these guys so much, bro," Franky commented as Usopp continued to swing Chopper around.

"They're so cool!" Chopper cried out as past Usopp declared to the others that he will go to Elbaf someday—to one day see the village of warriors.

"Me too!" cried Chopper as he hung onto Usopp's arm, his eyes dizzy from the spinning around. "I wanna see them too!"

"I've been looking forward to seeing them ever since this adventure," Usopp proclaimed excitedly. "And I will! I'm going to go there and become a great warrior just like them!"

"Go for it Usopp!" Chopper yelled and they were jumping around again as Luffy and memory Usopp were both singing and dancing on the Merry's railing about the giants of Elbaf with Carue running in circles behind them.

"Yohohoho, that looks like fun," Brook laughed. "You all recovered from that ordeal rather quickly."

"Yeah, we're resilient," Nami said sighed as her past self leaned up against the mast, looking a little red in the face.

Finally, the duo slipped and almost fell off the railing—but it didn't faze them—they were still laughing the whole time. Sanji was inside making some snacks while Zoro was lifting a set of weights that were even bigger than he was. His ankles were heavily bandaged and Chopper shot Zoro a deeply annoyed look while the swordsman ignored him as he watched himself train—he remembered how weak he was here. Here, he wasn't even able to cut through steel… but now he was able to slice and dice it like fruit.

He shook his head at his own foolishness. He had much more to train if he wanted to get even stronger.

All in all, it was a pretty normal day...