Departing and New Crew!

"A friend…"

"Mr. Bon Clay!?"

Mr. 2's subordinates shouted as they saw him seem to stay in the Strawhat pirate's ship.

"...If we run away now, we're not worthy of being Okama!"

"!?"

"If we're not able to sacrifice ourselves to help our friends...we will not rest in peace!"

"!!!"

Mr. 2 begun his pose while tears streaming down his eyes.

"Strawhat Luffy and the rascals, listen to me carefully! We...will be your decoy and draw them out for you!"

"BON-CHAN!!!"

Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper were all crying as they watched Mr. 2 transform his face into Luffy's and jumped off to his ship!

At the distance, the marines noticed the two ships separate and immediately reported to Hina.

"Miss Hina! Their two boats have left their course! The duck ship is going south!"

"Is the duck ship a decoy?

"No...that's!? Strawhat Luffy and his crew are on the duck ship! The Going Merry is a decoy!"

!?

Hina took the binoculars and indeed saw Luffy in the duck ship.

"Chase them quickly! Full speed ahead!"

The marine's ship are all top notch, naturally, it wouldn't be any slower than a small ship like the duck ship of Mr. 2.

Soon, they were able to surround the duck ship and noticed that Luffy wasn't truly there!

In the Going Merry, Luffy and the rest saw the marines starting to attack Mr. 2's ship!

"Bon Bon! We...we will never forget you!"

Lucas sighed. He knew that Mr. 2 will survive this but will be sent to Impel Down in the future. Maybe he can still change this a bit?

But if he changes it...and Luffy still ends up going to Impel Down in the future...he may not be able to get out without Mr. 2 there…

Lucas looked at Luffy and the rest then at Mr. 2. Eventually, he shook his head and sighed.

"Forget it. I'll think about the future once I get there…"

Lucas stood on the deck once again and raised his hand in a chopping stance.

He glared at the sea ahead and gritted his teeth.

"Ocean...Splitter!"

He swung down his hand...and the sea split in half all the way to the marine's ships!

"!!!"

The marines and Mr. 2's ship immediately separated! Using this chance, they sped away from the marines as fast as they can!

Seeing as they were able to get away, Lucas sighed in relief and collapsed to the ground.

"Lucas!"

Nami, who was closest to him just now, immediately caught him as he fell.

"Heh, that...that was something huh?"

Lucas weakly laughed as he savored Nami's embrace a bit.

"Lucas! That was amazing!"

"Are you alright!?"

"Doctor! Where's the doctor!?

"You're the doctor!"

"Ah, that's right."

Even now, in this situation, they were still joking around...or is it that they're not quite right in the head?

In any case, seeing their expressions which were worry, excitement, proud...Lucas felt a sense of belonging in this small ship.

In his heart, he thought to himself.

'I want to see it...the day Luffy becomes the Pirate King! I...want to see him reach it alongside him!'

At this instant, the resolve in his heart grew!

Meanwhile, back in the island.

Vivi had begun her speech.

Tens of thousands were gathered in front of the palace to see her and listen to her voice. But she isn't there.

Instead, she began her speech while standing on the edge of the island!

"I recently...went on an adventure."

"It was an adventure over deep oceans and dark tides in search of 'hope'...The ocean that I faced was vast the day I left this country...It is full of unbelievable islands which hold many things."

"There are creatures I had never seen, incredible sceneries, and sounds of the waves…"

"They are sometimes so peaceful...it's as if they were trying to cover up all the trouble around us."

"But sometimes they are so violent, as if they were laughing at the weak."

"But in the darkness and storms, I found a tiny ship. That ship pushed me forward and told me, can you see those lights?"

"That ship will always find its way out of the darkness. And unbelievable ship indeed. It's as if it was dancing, sailing through gigantic waves."

"Even though it seems like they're just drifting, they only go forward, even going against the wind. In the end, it will raise it's finger...and say, 'Look! There is light!'"

"Even if history will make this light seem like an illusion, they will always be real to me."

"And with that said…"

Vivi's voice trailed off as she saw a familiar ship in the distance.

"Let's go...it's almost 12 already."

"She will come, I know it! She is definitely over there! Let's dock and look for her!"

Luffy insisted, still hoping of having Vivi join his crew.

"Hey! Bad news! The marines caught up with us!"

Usopp pointed over to the marine ships approaching while Zoro began to make preparations to leave.

"How many are there? Let's sail now! Full speed ahead!"

"Forget it Luffy...she is different from Vivi that was with us."

"..."

Lucas looked at Luffy and stood up again.

"Ah, Lucas! You can't move too much yet! You're way too exhausted!"

"...I'll hold off the marines for a few more minutes…"

"!!! What are you saying!? Anymore of that power and you really will collapse!"

Lucas ignored them and was about to make another big move when suddenly, a familiar voice shouted over from the island.

"EVERYONE!!!"

Looking over, they all saw a blue haired woman wearing a beautiful dress along with a large duck.

"Vivi!? Carue!?"

"Look, she came, right!? Let's turn back! Quick!"

"Vivi! The marines are closing in!"

Though Luffy and the rest rejoiced, Lucas looked at Vivi's expression and sighed. He knew that Vivi wouldn't be joining them.

"...I'm here...to say goodbye!"

"!? What did you say?"

"Carue, give me the speaker."

Carue quaked and handed over the speaker she was using just now.

"I...can't go with you all!"

In the island, everyone was confused as to who the princess was suddenly talking to.

"Thank you all for what you have done for me! Even though I still want to go with you...but right now I...really love this country! So I can't come along!"

Vivi shouted with all her heart.

Hearing this, Luffy was silent for a moment before smiling.

"...Really!?"

"I...Even though I...want to stay here...But if there is one day where we meet each other again, will you all take me as a friend!?"

As soon as she said that, the marines who also heard her began to panic.

"Did you hear that!? The princess is Strawhat Luffy's friend!?"

"The princess has pirates for friends!? No way!"

Luffy didn't care about all this and was about to shout back but Nami held him back.

"Idiot! We shouldn't answer her! The marines already saw her. If they found out we're friends, they will mark Vivi as a criminal!"

Let's just part quietly…

Vivi naturally knew what they were worried about but the tears in her face still kept dropping.

"..."

However, this didn't last long.

When she looked over, all seven of them...Luffy, Nami, Sanji, Zoro, Usopp, Chopper...and Lucas were all raising their left arm and had taken off their bandages, revealing the X marks beneath!

Seeing this, Vivi and Carue also both raised their left arms as they thought back to the time they all made this mark.

'From now on. No matter what happens, the sign on this left arm...will forever be the sign of our friendship!'

"Let's sail!!!"

Just as Luffy and the rest sets off, Vivi shouted at them once more.

"Lucas! Just you see! I'll become a great Queen! When the time comes, I'll definitely not let you get away again!"

Lucas staggered as he heard her declaration.

Panic occurred in the cities who heard this as well.

"Lucas? Who's that?"

"I don't know but he seems to be an important person in the princess' heart!"

"Kyaa, I wonder what sort of man he is for the princess to like him!?"

"Dammit! The princess is already taken!?"

"Noooo!"

Not only the citizens, even King Cobra had began to flare up!

"Chase! Chase that damn bastard!"

"Y-your Majesty, we can't! They just saved our country!"

"I don't care! How dare that bastard woo my daughter!"

"..."

It was the same in the marine's side.

"Dammit! Which one of those bastards is that Lucas! Shoot! Shoot him down!"

"Kill him!"

"Quickly find out what we know about that bastard!"

"Eh? He was the one responsible for the huge wave and the water splitting earlier!? Make a call to HQ! Raise his bounty!"

But of course, nothing can be said about the chaos in the Strawhat pirate's ship.

"Lucas you bastard! What did you do to my Vivi-chan!?"

"Eh? Ehh?? Did something happen between you two that we didn't know!? Quickly tell us!"

"Shishishishi! Does that make Lucas the future King then?"

"NOOOOO!!!"

Fully aware of the ruckus that she had created, Vivi chuckled and tied her hair back as she turned around.

"Let's go back! To Alubarna!"

"Quack!"

Some time had passed, Luffy and the rest finally broke free from the marine's pursuit and they all laid on the railings while sighing.

Zoro and Lucas sighed as they looked at them looking so lonely without Vivi.

"Well, don't be too down. I'm sure our paths will cross again in the sea someday. More importantly...I think you should focus on the stowaway in the ship."

Lucas shook his head and resumed a serious expression.

"Stowaway?"

Just as they were about to ask, the door leading to the cabins opened up and revealed a familiar black haired beauty.

"At last we're out to sea...good work."

"...?"

"!!!???"

As soon as they saw her, they all sprung into action!

Zoro grabbed his swords, Sanji was being his usual pervert self, Nami, Usopp, and Chopper all began to panic.

Only Luffy and Lucas were not as excited.

"What…? It's you! You're not dead?"

"Don't point these dangerous things at me. Didn't I tell you that before?"

"Hands!?"

Robin simple smiled and swung her hands, summoning a hand on Nami and Zoro as she swiftly slapped their weapons away.

"Since when did you board this ship!?"

"I was here the whole time in the cabin, reading a book and taking a bath. These clothes are yours? Lend them to me."

Nami was pissed and immediately retorted at her but Robin paid her no mind.

"Lucas"

"Hm?"

"You didn't forget what you said, did you?"

"...Huh?"

Lucas blanked out.

What was going on? This didn't seem quite right from the original story?

"Ahh! Hey Lucas! What did you say to this beautiful lady!?"

Sanji immediately freaked out and grabbed his collar as he shook him.

"Hey! I didn't say anything!?"

"No, I remember clearly...you better...take responsibility!"

!!!???

Hearing this, Sanji began choking Lucas and shaking him even harder.

Luffy glared at her with an annoyed look.

"You're really weird, what do you want?"

"Let me...join your crew."

"EEEEHH!!!???"