Chapter 382
382
Two more days passed and the Going Merry was now sailing on the blue ocean. As the crew was nearing Water Seven, Luffy decided to take the ship down, rather than gathering any attention.
It took a bit of an effort to land the ship, but they did it without damaging any part of the Going Merry. Even though the ship was reinforced with steel, it was better to be careful.
Time passed as the crew sailed towards their destination.
"Oi! There's a frog doing the front crawl off the starboard bow!" Gin said, attracting the attention of the rest of the crew.
"Really?!"
"I am Groot?!"
Aisa and Groot yelled excitedly as they raced to the railing to see it.
"Don't be ridiculous," Usopp chastised. "Frogs can't do that! Okay, I take it back. Guys, there's a frog doing the front crawl!" the sniper yelled.
"Oi, that's why I said!" Gin complained.
Sure enough, a giant frog with black hair and scars covering its body was doing the front crawl through the water. It swam like a professional swimmer as it went forward.
"A frog?" Cricket asked, "Then it must mean we are near."
Luffy internally nodded, "Follow that frog!"
"Aye aye Captain!" Coby said. The ship turned to two o'clock and began pursuing the amphibian.
And before long they found themselves on a lighthouse, getting introduced to a few new characters.
Kokoro the old mermaid, Chimney her granddaughter, and the cat —which was actually a rabbit— Gonbei. They were a good trio of people who were happy to show around the station and point them at Water Seven.
But they became a bit cautious when they found out that Luffy was a warlord.
It was a bit disheartening that some people would be more cautious about government-affiliated pirates than regular ones. So, unlike canon, she didn't give the recommendation letter to Iceberg.
It was sad in a way, but understandable. With how much Tom had suffered because of the world government it was quite practical that old lady Kokoro was hesitant to trust them.
With Luffy and the crew finally making it to the station, the first part of the journey was over.
"You know, be careful out there," Nami said, from the ship, as Luffy gave a nod. Standing in the station with a few of his crewmates, "Oh, and don't forget to steal something from me." She finished with a wink, as Luffy laughed.
"Sure sure…" Luffy said, before turning to Usopp, who was also at the ship, "Take care of Merry Usopp, and also don't forget to recruit a shipwright…"
"You don't have to worry," Usopp said while puffing his chest, "I will do it without any trouble…"
Luffy smiled, not even questioning if that was a lie or not. They were the straw hat crew, trouble was their middle name. 'Wait? Are we team-rocket or something?' Luffy thought with amusement.
"Don't worry, boss. I will take care of em," Gin said, jabbing a thumb towards himself while ruffling Usopp's hair, making the sniper irritated. Which went on as both Gin and Usopp started wrestling in a cloud of dust, causing Aisa and Groot to cheer for them. Yosaku tried to stop them, but got tangled up instead.
Luffy just laughed, "I'll miss you bunch." He snorted before giving Anchor and Cricket a nod.
He also gave the only doctor on the ship a grin, which Law returned the gesture by tipping his hat, stoically. While some might get a bit irritated about his lack of reaction, Luffy found it funny. 'Kind of like the emo cool kid that didn't speak to anyone cause he was too emo…' Luffy laughed internally. 'Good going Luffy, now we have an emo doctor, a shy doctor and a reindeer doctor… oh there's also the two assistants. Huh, my crew's having a doctor's monopoly here. Wonder if I can bag Marco as well?'
Luffy shook his head, even Shanks had been trying to bag that birdy for a while, but the said bird is too stubborn to leave his papa's nest.
After that, all of the crew members including the kids said their goodbyes as the ship started sailing.
Even though Luffy had explained what to do in Water seven, he was still a bit worried. But Water seven needed to happen, he didn't expect the sudden Warlord meeting.
The importance of recruiting Franky and also building a new ship, wasn't something he could postpone. While the Going Merry was a good ship, it wasn't meant for the rough waters of Grandline.
And unlike how Luffy had expected, Usopp fully agreed. They weren't going to throw away the Going Merry, but they needed a bigger ship for the crew. One that was meant to take them across the seas.
Luffy, Sparky, Coby, Zoro, and Kuina stood on the platform of the station as they waved their goodbyes to the rest of the crew. Sabo was also with them, but he was already wearing his invisible watch to keep himself hidden.
Usually, the Germa invisibility watch only lasted for an hour before it needed to recharge. But with Sabo's power, he could use it for longer periods of time.
And not only that after eating the lightning logia fruit, Sabo had become better at hiding his aura. And along with the Germa invisibility watch, it was very hard for anyone to find him.
Sabo didn't need to go to Marineford. But he was going there to test out how far he could hide from the marines, if his powers were able to even fool the admirals, then in time when they attacked Marijoa, he would be ready.
But if that didn't work, he could always change targets and try to infiltrate Impel Down. Ivankov should be in there. Even though there was no solid information, Luffy encouraged Sabo to go in there and find out.
Nami steered the Going Merry away heading to Water 7 while Luffy made a call to Sengoku. They needed a ride to Enies Lobby and the sea train was the best option. Meanwhile, Sabo took to the sky, going above the clouds as he waited.
------
Shameless Pa-atreon plug. I've got one, goes by the username (FallenCrown) on there, easy to find and everything.
Support me if you want, but don't feel pressured, I'll be uploading my stuff outside it regardless and not keeping it all behind a paywall or anything like that.
Read my other fics if you have the time. If you want to have a chat with me, hit me up on discord.
discord.gg/Gnxnuw56ks
Gnxnuw56ks