105 Departure

Two days later.....

"Luffy, are you sad that we're leaving now?" Nami asked Luffy who was staring at the desert kingdom they were sailing away from. Luffy grinned and shook his head.

"Nope! I'm excited! A new adventure awaits us! We will return to Alabasta soon! But not right now! I'm gonna miss Vivi though." Luffy muttered to himself, remembering what happened last night before he and the Straw Hat Pirates sailed away from Alabasta.

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Flashback to last night.....

Luffy found Vivi standing on a balcony, looking at the full moon that shined brightly under the night sky.

He breathed in and out calmly. He them approached her. Vivi heard someone approaching her and turned around to see that it was Luffy.

Vivi smiled at him. "Hey, Luffy. You couldn't sleep as well?" Vivi asked him. Luffy nodded and grinned at her.

"Yeah, what about you Vivi?" He asked her.

"I can't sleep as well. My mind still can't process what happened in the past few days. The alliance between your crew and the Marines, Crocodile's defeat, peace returning again. It all feels like a dream." Vivi muttered while smiling at him.

" What I'm about to do next may feel like one too." Luffy whispered with a low voice. Vivi heard him and was confused.

" What do you mean? " She asked him. Luffy sighed and looked at her.

"You know that me and my crew are about to leave tomorrow morning right?"

" I do. What's wrong—Oh, I get it. You don't want me to stay here do you? " Vivi teased Luffy while smiling slyly at him.

"It's not that Vivi! I just wished that we could stay connected to each other even though we're far far away. " Luffy grumbled with a small blush forming on his face.

"You have my Den Den Mushi number don't you?" Vivi asked him.

"I do, but I want something else. I want something else that'll let us know that we're connected to each other on a whole another level. Which is why I have this..... " Luffy muttered before reaching his hand into his pocket. Vivi widened her eyes in shock as Luffy took out a ring. It was a gold promise ring.

"This ring will signify the promise that once we meet each other again, we'll develop our relationship to the next level. Do you accept it, Vivi? " Luffy asked her with a smile on his face. Vivi was blushing up a storm.

"Yes!! Yes!!" Vivi squealed before pulling his shirt collar. Luffy widened his eyes as Vivi started kissing him clumsily.

He kissed back. They shared a long but passionate kiss on the balcony. They released it and looked into each other's unique eyes.

"I accept it, Luffy." Vivi whispered. Luffy grinned and put the ring in her ring finger. Vivi looked at it with an expression of awe on her face.

"Fun fact, your dad gave me this as an engagement ring but I'm pretty sure we're not ready for that level of commitment yet, but this ring shows that we are devoted and committed to each other. " Luffy revealed, making Vivi even more flustered than ever.

"But you know, this can act as one so that you can drive suitors away." Luffy suggested, making Vivi smirk evilly. He wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I love you, Vivi. Now say it back or else it'll be awkward." Luffy grinned at her. Vivi laughed and hugged him.

"I love you too, Luffy."

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Back to the present. Cobra was eyeing Vivi with a look of suspicion in his eyes. Vivi was extra lively today and he needed to find out why.

He studied his daughter for a while. She was getting ready to train with Chaka and Pell and was currently cleaning her Kusarigama. Suddenly, he widened his eyes as he saw the golden ring on her ring finger.

Cobra palmed his face. 'I told you to keep it until you need it, Luffy-san. Why the hell did you use it so soon?' Cobra grumbled in his mind. He called Vivi who quickly arrived in front of him.

"Yes, papa?" Vivi smiled at him. Cobra smiled back.

"So when did you get engaged?" He asked her, making Vivi blush up a storm.

"Th-this isn't what you think! This is just a promise ring!" Vivi stuttered, making Cobra laugh.

"Did Luffy-san give you that? " Cobra asked her. Vivi blushed harder and looked away. Cobra laughed harder.

"Well, Congratulations are in order, Vivi!! You're growing up so fast!! Mom would be very proud of you!!"

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Back at the Going Merry, everything was going smoothly until someone suddenly opened a door.

Everyone turned around and looked at the intruder. It was Robin and her outfit has changed. She wore a more modest buttoned-up long-sleeved lavender shirt with long purple pants and a pair of purple boots.

Everyone was cautious as they stared at her. Even though she was a part of the crew now, they can't help it because of the things she had done while she was in Baroque Works.

Luffy sighed at his crew's reactions. Even though they trust him a lot, some of his decisions, such as inviting Robin to his crew, made them more cautious than ever.

Robin smiled at them. She grabbed the folded deck chair that was leaning against a wall and unfolded it.

She leaned against it and looked at them. "What's wrong? Am I still not a part of your crew, Monkey D Luffy?" Robin asked him. Luffy grinned and looked at his friends.

" Don't worry guys! She's not as bad as you all think! She has a dream just like all of us do!" Luffy assured them. Usopp raised his hand.

" Can I interrogate her?" Usopp asked him. Luffy scratched his head.

"Why would you need to do that?" Luffy asked, not getting the point.

"So that I can evaluate how dangerous she is." Usopp explained. Luffy sighed and palmed his face.

" Fine Usopp, but make it quick, we have training to do."

"Gotcha!"

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" Hm....." Usopp hummed as Robin just explained small parts of her backstory. She began as an archeologist when she was 8, then she had a bounty put on her.

Her being an archeologist is because it's her family's tradition. For the next 20 years of her life, she was being chased by the World Government.

She has been working with various 'villains' to protect herself, that's why she's good at stealthy things.

"You're pretty confident. What kind of operations are you good at?" Usopp asked while rubbing his chin. Robin smiled and rested her chin on her right palm.

"Assassination." She replied with a smile on her face.

" Luffy!! This investigation has concluded that she's too dangerous!! " Usopp shouted at him.

" Shishishishishi!!!"

Usopp looked at Luffy and Chopper who was being tickled by hands made from Robin's Devil Fruit.

"That's good Usopp! I want dangerous people in my crew!! She has a dangerous dream and dangerous powers!! She's the perfect person to join!! " Luffy shouted back and continued laughing like a maniac while being tickled by the hands. Robin was giggling at her captain's antics.

"Is he always like this, Mr Longnose?" She asked him. Usopp nodded.

" Mhm. " He replied. Robin smiled wider.

"Really?" She asked. Zoro looked at him cautiously.

"What is she planning?" Zoro asked himself.

" Hey guys, look at this! " Luffy called out to everyone. Luffy grinned at everyone. He had two of Robin's hands sprouting out of his straw hat.

"Chopper!" Luffy shouted out while mimicking Chopper's face. Robin giggled to herself while everyone quickly burst out in laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!"

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"Sanji! Where are you going? We have training to do." Luffy reminded him. Sanji smiled back at him.

" I'm gonna make some snacks for Robin-chan. Since she's new, she can just watch. Or do you want her to join?" Sanji asked him. Luffy looked at Robin who was busy reading a book from Kaya's collection.

"Just make some for us too." Luffy whispered in his ear. Sanji nodded and went off to the kitchen.

"Hmm?" Zoro hummed as there were some small things falling down from the sky.

"Is it raining?" She asked Nami who shook her head.

"Hail?" She asked. Usopp hummed then he suddenly gasped as his eyes glowed bright red. He had activated Kenbunshoku Haki. Sensing what it actually was, he widened his eyes in shock.

"That's not either of those! It's a ship falling from the sky!!" He shouted, shocking everyone, even Robin.

Luffy looked up to see a galleon slowly falling down from the sky. Nami quickly steered the ship away from where the galleon was about to land.

*FWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!!!*

The galleon landed on the sea, splashing water everywhere and created massive waves that shook the Going Merry.

"What the—A coffin!" Usopp shouted as a skull landed on the deck of the ship. There were a lot of things falling on the ship.

Nami narrowed her eyes as she steered the Going Merry out of harm's way. After the chaos was over, everyone breathed out a sigh of relief.

"What the hell!?" Nami shouted while looking at the Log Pose on her wrist. Everyone looked at her.

"The Log Pose is pointing up from where the ship just fell!" Nami told them, shocking them all. Luffy never thought this was possible at all.

"It's another magnetic field. It's changing the direction of the Pose. If it's pointing up it means.... " Robin looked at the clear sky.

" It must've locked onto a sky island! "

To be continued...