Enter the Pirate Hunter: Roronoa Zoro...

Chapter 11 - Enter the Pirate Hunter: Roronoa Zoro...

"So he finally set out to sea," Nami sighed, a fond look in her eyes.

"Now the journey officially begins!" Brook called out excitedly, his arms up in the air as he danced around. "Yohohoho, such a wonderful thing to see! Look how far our captain has come since then! Truly inspiring don't you all think? Yohohoho!"

"Well, I'll say this much," Sanji smirked, thinking back to that little kid who used to punch himself in the face when he fought. "He's not that brat who couldn't even through a straight punch."

"And that was how he became the monster we all know and love," Usopp said grinning, feeling more at ease than he had been for a long time. But as he waited for the darkness to fade, he couldn't help but let his mind wonder to some of the memories he had seen before. "You know," he said quietly, "I still don't get how it was possible that we could see some of those things. I mean, in some of those parts, Luffy was out cold right? So why were we able to see what was happening? Like when he was attacked by that bear? We shouldn't have seen some of that right? So what was going on?"

"I've been thinking a lot about that too, and it's hard to say for sure," Robin said, folding her arms as she decided to share her theory with them. "It's almost as if we're seeing bits and pieces of Ace's memories as well. But I don't know how that could be possible. There are so many things happening here that I don't understand."

"From Ace's memory?" Nami repeated startled.

"Just like Usopp said, some of those memories we shouldn't have seen as clearly as we did. Such as when Luffy was attacked, or how we were hearing about Garp and Dadan speaking about Dragon… Luffy shouldn't have been able to see or hear any of that… we shouldn't have been able to see that…" she explained softly. "It's almost like a part of Ace's memory is intertwined with Luffy's… though I don't know how else I can explain it."

"But how is that possible?" Sanji asked her. "Ace is…" he trailed off, unable to finish that line.

"I don't know any more than you do at this moment," Robin sighed helplessly. "But that is the only thing that really makes sense to me. It's only a little bit, but there are parts of Ace's memories mixed in here as well."

"What about Sabo?" Chopper asked her in confusion, "I mean, we didn't see any of his memories… at least I don't think so."

But Robin just shrugged, wishing that she had a better answer for them all.

"I'm just glad that we don't have to deal with watching those snot-nosed nobles again," Franky said, folding his arms as well he thought about them with a surge of anger. "I really can't wait to meet them when we go visit Goa."

"Even if they deserve it, we aren't going to hurt them are we?" Chopper asked worriedly, not liking the idea of being a bad guy.

"Of course we won't go that far," Zoro said coolly. "I never intended to go there and attack them like some low-life bandit. I merely meant simply going to stroll through town and make them sweat. If we attack them, we'll be no better than them won't we? I just want them to see that they're not as powerful as they think they are. I'll only attack if they're dumb enough to attack me." But as Chopper looked away, looking relieved, Zoro added in an undertone, "God, I hope they attack me."

Suddenly the darkness disappeared again and they were in a bright sunny day out on the bright, clear-blue ocean. The familiar sea stretched on forever on all sides, sparkling from the hot sun from above—but there was also a gentle breeze that blew over with clouds drifting lazily across the sky.

"It's gorgeous," Nami whispered, smiling brightly, breathing in the salty air—only wishing that she could really feel the sea air on her face. "It's so good to be back on the sea."

"Yeah, but I still don't like this," Usopp said, still standing on the water as he watched the waves lapped up over his boots but passed right through without getting wet. "It's not natural."

"Nothing about this crazy place is natural," Zoro said, wondering just what was happening now. But before he could get his bearing straight, Chopper suddenly screamed out and jumped up onto his shoulder fearfully, pointing out to their far left.

"Chopper, what is it?" he asked in annoyance, forcing him to let go of his neck as he glared out to see what was going on. "Oh…" he said in mild surprise.

"What?" Usopp asked but then his mouth fell open in horror. There was a giant whirlpool right in front of them, large enough to sink a sailboat. It stretched out in all directions in a perfect circle, spiraling down to, most likely, the bottom of the ocean… the center was pitch black and the sound coming from inside it would've been deafening if you were near it.

"Where'd that thing come from?" Brook called in surprise.

"I don't know, but judging from the calm weather, this should still be the East Blue," Nami said gazing up at the cloud formations, "But it's still unbelievable to see such a big whirlpool out here!"

"How can you tell, Nami-san?" Brook asked her, looking up as well, but unable to see what she was seeing.

"The weather patterns and wind are much more stable," Nami answered, still examining the clouds. "It's not as… random as the Grand Line weather."

"But why are we seeing this?" Sanji asked, when just that moment, they could see a large and luxurious ship sailing by the whirlpool.

"Is that a pirate ship?" Chopper asked curiously, shielding his eyes from the sun so that he could get a good look at the flag.

"No, it's just a passenger ship," Robin answered, "And considering the history of the East Blue, there are a lot of cruises and travelling done here."

"Hey!" Nami said worriedly, watching the ship sailing closer. "If they get any nearer they could get into trouble."

"It's big but is the whirlpool really big enough to suck them in?" Usopp asked in surprise.

"Maybe not sink it, but they could still do a lot of damage," Franky said, lifting his sunglasses to get a look at the ship.

But as Zoro kept his eye on the ship, he noticed something popping up from the ocean a little ways from the ocean's vortex. "Hmm?" he said as he looked over to see a large barrel bobbing in the water and drifting along the current towards the ship. He blinked once before his eye widen and he looked from the whirlpool to the barrel. "Oh, no…" he moaned out, "Don't tell me…?"

"What's wrong now?" Brook asked.

"What's wrong is that the barrel there looks familiar," Zoro told him, pointing it out. "Where did we see a barrel that big before…?"

"What you mean the one that Luffy took with him and…?" she stopped talking as it slowly dawned on her what he was saying.

"You don't think…?" Usopp asked, eyes wide.

"Did that idiot get sucked into that whirlpool?!" Nami cried out angrily, looking around and suddenly seeing the few broken shards of wood that must've come from a tiny boat. "Is he nuts? How could he sail straight into a whirlpool?!"

"Well, since he couldn't swim, I think that was his best option," Robin smiled as she watched the container go bobbing over to the ship were a few deckhands heard it bump against the side and looked down.

"That's hardly the issue here!" Nami yelled at her as the men pulled out a rope and hook so that they could try heaving it up, thinking it was full of booze or food.

"You really think that Luffy's in there?" Usopp asked with Chopper glancing at it with curiosity as it was slowly hauled to the deck.

"I'd bet my best cooking knife on that," Sanji sighed, "Idiot just left home and he already almost got himself killed."

"How could he have survived without us there?" Usopp asked exasperatedly. But just as the men were about to open the barrel, the crewmate in the crow's nest suddenly screamed out something about pirates. Looking up and over the deck, their jaws suddenly fell open in horror at what was coming towards them. Sneaking out from the cover of a nearby island was a large pink ship, with four sails, each with pink heart, and the ship itself has two hearts on each side. The figurehead looked like a duck, or swan it was hard to tell, while its flag was of a sideways skull with a heart.

"Oh, that poor ship!" Franky called out, falling to his knees in horror. "What the hell did they do to it?"

"It looks like something a little girl would use," Sanji said, sweating, "But a pirate?"

"Bet you anything that the captain's a girl," Zoro said, feeling sick at the thought of sailing under a flag like that.

"It's almost… too cute," Robin said blankly.

The men were freaking out and dropped the barrel at once just as the cannons were sounded off in the distance.

"Oh, come on! What's the point of seeing all that?" Usopp cried out as the memory quickly faded away.

"I think it's fascinating," Robin said lightly, "I see what happened. Luffy sets sail, and sometime during the journey he must've been pulled into the whirlpool and saved himself by climbing into the barrel. He just happened to end up here."

"What rotten timing," Brook said thinking it over, "He's pulled onto a ship just as a pirate raid is about to happen."

"He's always had bad luck when it comes to stuff like this," Zoro sighed.

"That's for sure," Nami agreed tiredly, thinking painfully of all the trouble that boy put them through because of his rotten luck, "But then again, when it counts, he does have amazingly good luck too. It really all depends on the situation I guess."

"But why doesn't he come out of that barrel?" Chopper asked her.

But before Nami could answer they were suddenly in the lower parts of the ship. They could hear the sounds of fighting above deck and Luffy's barrel was now lying among some destroyed tables and china showing that it somehow must've rolled down here and smashed.

"Um… hello?" squeaked a voice from nowhere. At first, the Straw Hats didn't see anyone until they noticed a boy's face cautiously sticking his head into the room. He was a chubby boy with pink hair and round glasses, his face was timid and he was glancing around fearfully as if he expected someone to jump out and attack him.

Recognizing him at once, Zoro's one eye widen in surprise. "Coby?" he said.

"Coby?" Brook repeated in confusion.

"Wait, you mean that's Coby?" Nami said startled, "That's the same friend of Luffy's that we met back at Water 7?"

"Ah, a friend of Luffy-san's," Brook said in understanding, looking at Coby with new interest.

"Yeah, a Marine friend of his," Chopper explained.

"Ehhhh? He's a Marine?" Brook cried in shock, "What a surprise this is!"

"Believe me, you aren't the only one who thinks that," Nami sighed.

"Coby sure looks different though," Chopper said, looking at him, "He was a lot taller when we saw him!"

"He did a lot of growing up in a short time," Zoro nodded, "Apparently Garp took him under his wing and had been training him since we last saw him."

"Garp? Oh, that explains a lot," Franky said, thinking of Luffy's insane grandpa.

Coby continued to look around. "I sure hope no one's in here," he said to himself as he walked in.

"I don't see anyone do you?" Sanji asked as if talking to someone slow.

Coby sighed in relief, his hand over his heart, glad to see that he was alone. "That's a relief," he said before he spotted the barrel. "Wow," he said, still talking to himself as he went over to look at it, "That's one big barrel, I wonder what's inside it?"

"Won't he get a shock to find out that there's a pirate inside it?" Usopp smirked, hoping that they would get to see it as Coby began to push it out of the room and through to the next room.

But as he struggled with it, a voice suddenly growled out, "It's our favorite coward."

Glancing up, there were three pirates poking their heads through the next door. "Trying to hide in here and duck out on all the action again?" one of them snarled at Coby who jumped back, waving his hands in the air, trying to explain that he was only trying to bring them that barrel of booze over to them.

"Wait a minute… if he's a marine, why would he be on a pirate crew?" Brook asked in confusion.

"Because he was being held prisoner," Zoro explained, thinking back to what Coby told him when they first met. "He was stuck as a cabin boy for a pirate captain named Alvida."

"Why?" Usopp asked baffled, "He doesn't look like much of a fighter."

"Neither do you, but you have your uses," Sanji pointed out as Usopp glared at him.

"HEY!" he yelled outraged.

"I think Coby was pretty decent at Navigation and that's why they kept him," Zoro said with a shrug as the pirates laughed at Coby and attempted to 'lighten the load'.

"You can't!" Coby cried out in fear, "Lady Alvida will kill us if she ever finds out!"

"She won't if you keep your trap shut," one sneered at him, "Right, Coby?"

"Yeah, right," Coby squealed, looking ready to agree with just about anything they said to keep them happy.

"We sure that's the same kid we met?" Sanji asked uncertainly, as the fat pirate heaved the barrel up right. "He's a chicken with no guts."

"Hold on boys," the pirate said again, cracking his knuckles, "I'll open her the old fashion way."

"Wait… you mean break a barrel of liquor?" Usopp repeated, jaw falling open, "What sense does that make?"

"Well, not all pirates are genius's you know," Zoro said sweatdropped, even if there was booze in there, it would be such a waste… tragic.

The pirate held his fist high but he held it there dramatically for a second to long… something came burst through the wood, smashing the lid to pieces and the familiar face of Monkey D. Luffy suddenly there. His face was one who had a good night's sleep and he was stretching out widely as he suddenly cried out, "I SLEPT SO GOOD!"

Without even realizing what he did, Luffy accidentally knocked out the same pirate who had been attempting to break open the barrel and he was out before he even hit the ground.

"Sounds like it was a good nap," Franky roared with laughter as Coby and the other two men screamed out in terror. "Now that's something I didn't see coming!"

Luffy finished yawning and stretching out—looking at the scene in confusion. The pirate he knocked out was now moaning slightly on the floor as he glanced down at him. "Who's that?"

"The pirate you knocked out?" Brook offered helpfully with a laugh.

The other two pirates were staring at him with open mouths, too stunned to move. "Who the hell are you?" Luffy asked as if they had bothered him.

"Who the hell are you!?" they screamed back at them.

"Your friend will catch a cold sleeping like that," Luffy added casually as he stepped out of his barrel.

"You're the one who knocked him out!" the pirates yelled hysterically.

"You think they've never seen a man fall asleep in a barrel before," Franky said grinning.

One of the pirates pointed a sword at Luffy's face as he demanded, "Hold up! Are you messing with us? Don't you know that we're vicious pirates!?"

Naturally, Luffy ignored what they were saying as he turned to Coby, who was staring at him in panic—like he thought that Luffy was going to eat him.

"I'm starving. Got any food?" he asked him.

"Of course that would be the first thing he thinks of," Sanji sighed, shaking his head. "Honestly doesn't he ever think about anything but food?"

"Fighting?" Usopp offered helpfully.

"Adventures?" Chopper added.

"He's got a one track mind that he can't help," Nami sighed, but she was fighting a smile. "I guess we just have to live with it."

"I'm talking to you!" the pirate yelled, furious that Luffy wasn't even looking at them.

"You damn kid!" the second shouted as they attempted to attack him with their swords. However, their fight was over so fast that most of them didn't see what had happened… the only thing they were aware of was that the swords were snapped in two, and the halves were now embedded in the ceiling while the two were brought to their knees shaking in terror as they stared at Luffy.

"Wow, he can break swords now?" Chopper asked in amazement.

"Those were some cheap swords," Zoro grunted, really why would anyone want to use just a couple dull blades like that? Those things were barely sharp. Pathetic…

"What is wrong with you two?" Luffy asked them both annoyed.

"Really," Franky agreed. "If they're crying over this… I'm almost afraid to see how their captain is."

"Wh…who are you?" one croaked out, his eyes wide and sweat pouring down his face.

"Me? My name's Monkey D. Luffy," Luffy said happily as he crossed his arms and grinned. "Hi."

"Nice way to meet someone," Usopp laughed as the two went screaming from the room, dragging out their unconscious friend behind them. "Knock them out, break their weapons and introduce themselves after all that. Typical of you, Luffy."

"They looked like they were about to shit themselves," Sanji laughed loudly.

Coby, who was cowering on his knees behind Luffy was now gawking up at him, as he peaked through his trembling fingers.

"So ah… what just happened?" Coby stuttered, not understanding what.

"Ya got me," Luffy said, unconcerned—probably thinking that those men had issues.

Coby blinked before he suddenly started to freak out and yelled, "Quick, you gotta run! If those guys come back with their buddies then they'll kill you on the spot!"

"Didn't he see him deal with those guys there?" Brook asked, tilting his head. "He shouldn't worry."

"Those guys were nothing but a bunch of bullies and cowards anyway," Sanji said in a bored way. "They go after other weaklings… but when they finally meet someone stronger than them, off they go—crying all the way."

"That's usually what happens," Usopp sighed in disappointment. "These guys have no idea to what it means to be a real pirate."

"Isn't that what you used to do?" Nami asked him, eyebrows raised.

"Hey, I changed a lot since then I'll have you know!" he told hotly.

"I don't care about that, I'm hungry," Luffy said still grinning, even as he was sniffing the air—much like how a dog would when he smelled food.

"How can you just blow this off like that!?" Coby continued to panic, now screaming, "There are hundreds of them up on deck and they're waiting for an excuse to kill anything!"

Luffy ignored him as he headed towards the nearest door, Coby now attempting to hold him back as he grabbed hold of one of his arms. But Luffy kept going forward, not paying any attention as he went sniffing out for the source of the food. Nothing was going to stop him, even when Coby's head was slammed in the door.

"I think it goes without saying, nothing stands between Luffy and food," Robin smiled as they continued to follow him as he found his way to the storage room that was filled with crates of foodstuff. Drooling in happiness, Luffy jumped down, looking around to try and figure out what he should eat first.

"That's as good as treasure to him," Sanji laughed as Luffy finally made up his mind and dove his face into a giant crate of apples. He was so focused on eating, that they were pretty sure that he couldn't hear any of the questions that Coby was asking him.

"So you said that he's only being held as a prisoner, he's not actually a pirate?" Chopper asked them all as he looked at Coby.

"That's what I heard," Zoro told him, "So this is when Luffy met Coby… but why is this all important?"

"So are we on a pirate ship or what?" Luffy asked suddenly with a mouthful of apple.

"Why didn't he sit through Makino-san's lessons?" Sanji hissed to himself, disgusted at his manners.

"No, we're on a passenger ship that's being raided by pirates," Coby explained quickly, "Pirates under the command of Lady Alvida."

"Who?" Chopper asked in confusion.

"Never heard of her either," Franky said with a yawn.

"Just some run-of-the-mill pirate," Nami said, thinking back. "I remember stealing from her once."

"You did?" Robin asked in mild surprise.

"Yeah," Nami nodded, rubbing the back of her head with a satisfied smile. "It was when she was attacking a passenger ship just like this one once. I dressed up as a pirate and sunk on board. I left before the fighting was over with all her treasure… I have to say that it was a decent haul."

"Of all places to be stuck on," Usopp sighed. "Just what kind of star was he born under?"

"I think we all liked to know that," Zoro agreed darkly, folding his arms.

"Ah, who cares?" Luffy asked, not at all concerned. "What I wanna know is if they're any boats on board."

"What's the point of getting one when you'll just end up sinking it!" Nami hollered at him, once again, wishing that she could give Luffy a piece of her mind.

"I think there are a few," Coby said after thinking it over.

"Great, cause mine got sucked into some big whirlpool," Luffy explained.

"I knew it," Zoro muttered, shaking his head.

"That idiot!" Nami cried out, smacking her forehead. "You don't normally steer your ship into a whirlpool!"

"That big one outside?!" Coby cried out in amazement, "NO way! No one could've survived that!'

"Yeah, I gotta say it was a big surprise!" Luffy laughed loudly, finally turning to look at Coby.

"He doesn't seem that fazed by it, considering he can't swim!" Usopp called loudly.

"Would've been embarrassing if he drowned just when he left home," Zoro yawned.

As Coby continued to stare at Luffy, just as he asked, "So are you one of the pirates or one of the passengers."

Coby suddenly flinched and looked down in shame as he explained that he had been Alvida's prisoner after he accidently mistaken a fishing boat and a pirate boat together. So in order to live, he had been forced to work as a cabin boy for the last two years. He said that the only reason he was still alive was because he did whatever they told him.

"It must've been very hard for you Coby-san," Brook said softly, "Forced to serve a pirate crew for two years…"

Nami's eyes soften at that. She understood the feeling of being forced to work for such cruel pirates… but here Coby must've had plenty of chances to escape surely? So what was he waiting for?

"You mean he got on the wrong boat and now he's stuck here forever?" Usopp repeated incredulously.

"How can anyone be that dumb?" Zoro asked.

"If memory serves me correctly, didn't you get on the wrong ship back at Sabaody, Moss-Head?" Sanji reminded him with an amused grin. "You thought that this great big galleon was the fishing boat."

"Shut up!" Zoro shouted at him, his face slightly red. "It was that old man's fault! His instructions were too complicated!"

"Complicated?" Nami repeated, staring at him, amazed by his level's of stupidity. "How could you possibly get something like that mixed up?!"

"You weren't there so what do you know?!" he barked back at her.

"Geez, you're pretty stupid, you know that right?" Luffy asked Coby bluntly once he had heard everything and finished stuffing his mouth—the harsh honesty of his words made them all forget about the argument and turned to watch.

"Geez, thanks for your honesty," Coby muttered as he lowered his head pitifully.

"If you hate it here then leave?" Luffy suggested.

"For once I agree with him," Nami said frowning. "It's not like there's anything Alvida's holding over his head! He could've left a long time ago!"

"Are you kidding?" Coby cried out, shaking his head violently from side to side, "No way! Na'ah! Not a chance! Just the thought of Alvida finding me scares me so bad I wanna throw up!"

"What a baby," Franky sighed, "By the time she notice's he's gone, he'll be far away by then."

"So on top of being an idiot, he's stuck here for life!" Zoro said lightly.

"Harsh way to put it, but I have to agree," Usopp said darkly as Nami shook her own head. Come on, even he would've been desperate enough to escape as soon as he got the chance…

"So you're a moron and a coward!" Luffy laughed. "I hate people like you!"

At his words, Coby started crying out—just proving what they all knew. But Robin blinked in surprise before a small smile appeared on her face again as her eyes shone with amusement. Sanji glanced at her and asked, "What is it Robin-san?" he asked her.

"Just feeling a sense of Déjà vu," she answered honestly.

"Déjà vu?" Chopper repeated in confusion.

"It means the strong sensation that something like this has happened before," she answered. "I just noticed how similar that Luffy was treating Coby here. It was the same way to how Ace treated Luffy during their childhood: harsh and blunt."

"Huh… you know, now that you mention it… Luffy does seem to act a lot like Ace sometimes…" Chopper said thinking it over.

"After spending so much time together, it's only natural," Sanji said lightly as Coby kept crying. After a few minutes Coby regained control and rubbed his swollen eyes as he muttered, "Hey, you're right Luffy… If I had the courage, I could drift alone in a barrel and be rid of this place. I actually have my own dreams! Someday… I'd like to live out all of them."

"But he won't be able to do anything if he doesn't leave," Chopper said. He learned that years ago… just sitting around and waiting wasn't going to cause your dreams to come true. You have to be willing to go out into the world and risk your life for them! That was what Luffy taught him when they met… sure it had been a dangerous and long road since he left home… but he didn't regret it. He was happier here with his friends than he was back on Drum. There were plenty of nights that he felt homesick and wanted to go back to see it again… but when he woke up to a new day, he couldn't imagine anywhere he rather be.

"When the world shoves you around, you gotta stand up and shove back," Zoro said, folding his arms darkly. "It's not like somebody's gonna save you if you start babbling excuses."

"Very well said, Zoro-san," Brook said softly, but also remembering how when the Straw Hats appeared out of nowhere and saved him. "But a little help now and again doesn't hurt…"

Coby stayed quiet for a few more seconds before he finally looked up at Luffy and asked timidly, "So what about you, Luffy? What was it that got you to first set sail on these seas?"

"Well, I'm gonna be King of the pirates," Luffy said with a wide smile, as if he couldn't be happier that Coby had asked him that.

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Coby's mouth fell open in horror and his face was contorted in absolute panic—like he was close to having another freak-out episode.

"Maybe that wasn't the best thing to say to someone," Nami offered evenly.

Coby's mouth was moving, but he didn't seem to know how to speak. Finally, he croaked out, "The King…?"

Luffy nodded. "Yep," he said simply.

"Are you serious?" Coby asked in disbelief.

"Yeah," Luffy said cheerfully.

"But…" Coby hissed, "but that would mean you're a pirate too!"

"If you want to be the Pirate King, that would help," Robin smiled.

"Right," Luffy confirmed proudly.

"Your crew?" Coby continued to ask, shaking—as if terrified to learn the answer.

"Don't have one yet, but I'm looking for them," Luffy told him firmly. But at those words, Coby froze… as if he had become a statue.

"Is he ok?" Usopp asked slowly, watching Luffy's smile fade and waving his hand in front of Coby's face.

"Well, he didn't expect such a happy and cheerful person to be a pirate," Robin offered, "Luffy's nothing like the standard pirate that you normally think of. So I guess he was just taken aback, especially since he came out and opened up to him."

"He wouldn't be the first one to do that," Nami smiled, having the same feelings of surprise when she first met Luffy. "He's not like any other person I've ever met."

Coby stood up suddenly find his voice and he began yelling, "King of the Pirates is a title given to one who has attended everything the world has to offer! You're talking about seeking out the great treasure of wealth, fame, and power! The treasure that you seek is the One Piece!"

"Yeah," Luffy said brightly.

"Yeah… that's it?" Coby demanded sounding close to hysteria, "Pirates from all over the world are looking for that treasure you know!"

"Oh, he knows, he just doesn't care," Usopp said grinning.

"Yeah so?" Luffy asked predictably.

"No way! It's Impossible, impossible, impossible! There's no way someone like you could ever reach the top in the Great Pirate Age!" Coby yelled frantically as he shook his head rapidly.

"What's he mean by that?" Chopper asked, "He doesn't think Luffy can do it?"

But no one could answer him as Coby kept screaming out, getting louder with every second, "There are just too many out there who are meaner and better and…" But before he could finish saying what was on his mind, Luffy finally gave him a sharp punch to the top of his head, so that he did a face-plant on the floor.

"Thank you for shutting him up," Sanji said, flipping his hair back. "He was starting to drive me crazy."

"Any longer and he would've burst a blood vessel," Robin stated coolly as Coby moaned on the floor with his hands over his head.

"Ow!" he whined, "Why did you hit me!?"

"I thought it was obvious," Brook said cheerfully. "My ears were starting to hurt from all the shouting! Ah, not that I have any ears to hear with! Yohoho!"

"Brook…? Just do you hear?" Usopp asked curiously, wanting to have ask him that for a long time.

"The same way that I see, Usopp-san," Brook answered as if it was obvious.

Usopp blinked. "What…?" he asked, but Luffy had interrupted by answering Coby.

"Cause I felt like it," he said.

"He rarely ever thinks about anything… he goes by instinct," Nami sighed.

Coby slowly sat up, his hand still on the spot where Luffy hit him. "Oh well, I'm used to that stuff. My crewmates smack me around a lot. All the time in fact."

"With crewmates like that, who needs friends?" Franky asked in disgust.

Luffy gently put his hand on his hat as he explained, "It's not about if I can. I'm doing it 'cause I want to do it." Coby looked up at him as Luffy took the straw hat off and stared at it. The Straw Hats all knew at once what must've been going through his head as he stared at it. He was thinking of Shanks…

"I decided long ago that I was going to be King of the Pirates," he said without any doubt or fear in his voice, "If I have to die fighting for that, then I die."

Zoro smirked. "I think we all feel that way," he said as they all nodded. They all willingly chose to run off and chase their dreams and were willing to die for what they wanted. They were going to go to the end together.

Coby didn't say a word—he only continued to stare long and hard at him as seeing something that he never seen before. Zoro smirked again. He had seen that many times. Luffy's apparent selflessness often inspires others to chase their dreams as well. He knew better than anyone what that felt like… to be willing to risk your life for what you believe in… what you wanted… here, probably for the first time, Coby was thinking about what he wanted, and wondering if he was willing to fight for it. There was just something about Luffy that did that…

Right now… Luffy stood for everything that Coby was against, but already he could tell that Coby was beginning to see Luffy as a friend. After putting the hat back on, Luffy turned to leave, ready to go look for a boat to 'borrow'.

"I guess I never thought of it like that," Coby said to himself as he thought over everything Luffy said. "If I put my mind to it… if I'm prepared to die for it… could I do something like that?"

"Anyone can if you put your mind to it!" Usopp said grinning. "And if they laugh or say its impossible, just keep going and prove them wrong!"

"Well said," Franky said joyfully and clapped a metal hand on his shoulder.

Luffy must've heard him, even though it was hardly more than a whisper. "Like what?" he asked curiously.

"Do you think…?" Coby asked hesitantly, as if afraid that Luffy would laugh if he said what was on his mind, "Do you think I could ever join the Marines?"

"Marines?" Luffy repeated in surprise.

"Yes!" Coby yelled, standing up, tears in his eyes as he proclaimed his deepest wish of becoming a Marine and hunt down criminals.

"Do you think I can do it?" Coby asked Luffy.

"Criminal…" Robin said softly, suddenly thinking that down. Just what made a criminal she wondered? Did becoming a criminal make you bad? She learned the hard way a long time ago that the views of what's right and wrong change more often than the phases of the moon. Just what made something bad she wondered?

"How would I know that?" Luffy answered honestly with a short laugh, interrupting her thoughts—almost thinking that Luffy had heard her.

"Then I'm gonna do it!" Coby exclaimed as he pumped his arms up, his confidence going up by leaps and bounds as he followed after him. "I'm not gonna get stuck here as a cabin boy for the rest of my life!"

"You tell 'em!" Franky cheered on. "You go and do what you want!"

"I'll break out and then turn right around and catch Alvida myself!" Coby proclaimed loudly, quickly following Luffy… but almost as soon as he said that, the ceiling above them suddenly exploded.

"What the hell?!" Sanji yelled, quickly moving out of the way instinctively, though there wasn't any reason. Just then, the form of what looked like, at first, was a giant blob crashing from the upper decks and landed with a bang in front of them. Coby was screaming and moved back, all the confidence he once had vanishing on the spot.

"What's going on?" Chopper screamed out, ducking behind Franky, now wishing he knew what was going on.

"Who is that you're planning on catching, Coby?" demanded a harsh voice, definitely female however. "And you actually think this twig is gonna help you?"

Coby only shrank back to the corner, shaking in terror, covering his face with his hands as if hoping that would hide him.

"Well?" the voice demanded and the smoke cleared enough for them to see who it was and several of them gasped. "Answer me!"

Chopper's mouth dropped in surprise. "Wow, she's huge!"

"Who is that?" Brook gasped, hoping that he would never see her panties.

"That, my friends," Nami explained, her hands on her hips, "Is Alvida. Captain of the Alvida Pirates."

"Creative name," Zoro said sarcastically, rolling his eyes as most of the rest just gaped at her. She was a very obese woman with long wavy black hair, and freckles on her cheeks. But she looked more like a round dumpling… They'd never seen a woman as big as her before.

"Who are you going to catch!?" Alvida demanded again harshly, holding up an enormous mace over her shoulders.

"Come on Coby!" Chopper screamed out, getting over his shock, and now trying to encourage Coby to stand up and fight back, "You can do it!"

Suddenly, several swords came through the back wall, just missing Luffy's head on either side of him. Glancing at them in mild surprise, Alvida glared at Coby before she turned her attention back up at Luffy—looking him up and down. She suddenly smirked. "Well… my guess is that you're not Zoro the Pirate Hunter."

Zoro's one eye blinked in surprise as Luffy looked confused as he repeated, "Zoro?"

But Alvida didn't go on as she glared back down at Coby. "Coby," she barked and he jumped in terror, "who's the most beautiful of all on these seas?"

"Sure as hell isn't you," Franky answered, which made Brook laugh loudly.

"Has she ever seen her reflection?" Usopp said, looking ready to collapse at such a question. "She can't honestly mean herself can she?"

"Yeah, the answer is me obviously," Nami said shaking her head and this time, Usopp really did fall over at Nami's lack of modesty.

"There is no doubt in my mind, Nami my love!" Sanji suddenly cried out, turning his attention back to her, now gazing at her as if she were the setting sun.

"What an idiot," Zoro muttered in disgust.

"What was that, Moss-head?" Sanji barked. While at the same time, Coby tried to answer her, but stuttered the whole time… unable to form any audible words.

"Hey Coby, who's the fat lady?" Luffy asked bluntly as he pointed at Alvida. There was stunned silence for a fraction of a moment. Coby and Alvida were both gapping at him, as the pirates who were sticking their heads down through the hole were staring at him in shock. But the Straw Hats were all roaring with laughter.

Brook had fallen to his knees and was beating the floor with a boney fist as Robin giggled to herself and everyone had tears of laughter in their eyes. Only Sanji remained silent, but only because he believed that every woman deserved respect… he just stood there, watching them, shaking his head at Luffy's rudeness.

"Oh no!" one of the pirates above them croaked out, knowing that their captain wasn't going to take this sitting down.

Alvida looked like she was really going to burst blood vessels as she glared at Luffy—her face contorted with fury. "YOU RUNTS!" she roared as she brought her mace swinging down at him, who easily jumped up and landed light as a feather next to Coby once Alvida smashed the floor where he had been standing a moment before… the attack sending the shrapnel everywhere.

"Let's go!" Luffy said excitedly as he grabbed Coby's arm, and together, they went flying through the hole, Coby clinging to Luffy in terror.

"This is a riot!" Franky laughed as he jumped up, and they all followed after them. "I can't remember enjoying a show more!"

They jumped up in time to arrive on a large deck with Luffy already fighting the entire crew; who was jumping around and smacking them all like they were rag dolls. It wasn't even a fight… the monsters back in Goa were a bigger threat than these weaklings. But, without a doubt, the best part was where Luffy finally decided to show off his powers. And with one Gum Gum Rocket… ended up clobbering them all as they tried to run in terror…

"Just shows how hard work and determination can pay off," Sanji answered, remembering all the times that he worked with cooking and fighting. His ribs still hurt at the memories of all the kicks he got from the old geezer while he was growing up.

Coby staggered to his feet and took a few shaky steps towards Luffy, staring at him with his jaw wide open. "Luffy… what are you?"

"You would think they've never seen a Rubberman before," Brook said happily.

"Oh," Luffy said, as if just remembering. He grabbed hold of his cheek and stretched it out, explaining, "I'm a Rubberman."

"So you're… made of rubber?" Coby repeated in disbelief. He was completely unaware that Alvida was now standing behind him.

"That's normally what a Rubberman is made of," Nami said evenly as Alvida cleared her throat from behind Coby, who squealed and went to hide behind Luffy as she gazed at Luffy with new interest.

"So, you've eaten one of the Devil Fruits, right?" Alvida asked, although she already had her answer.

"Yeah, I ate the Gum Gum Fruit," Luffy confirmed, letting his cheek snap back into place.

"I've heard rumors about it, but I haven't seen any proof of them before today," Alvida said idly, and then she asked if he was a bounty hunter.

"I'm a pirate," Luffy corrected.

"Pirate?" Alvida scoffed, rolling her eyes. "All by yourself on these waters?"

"Well, we all have to start somewhere," Usopp laughed. But Robin's attention was distracted for a moment when she saw someone behind them on Alvida's ship sneaking over the side with a giant load on her back. She blinked, startled, she could've sworn she recognized that orange hair… was that…?

But Luffy was talking again, "Today it's just me! But I'll find my crew tomorrow! Or next week or something. I need, I dunno, like ten guys. Yeah… ten," he decided.

"Well, he's gotten that," Sanji said. "All of us here… plus once our favorite Fishman once he joins…"

"Ace was right, that's just like him to want a small crew," Nami sighed, but still having a good time. She was liking these memories much better than the sad ones they had watched.

Alvida only laughed again as she demanded, "Tell me. If we're both pirates and we're not under the same flag… then that makes us enemies am I right?"

"Luffy? Let's go," Coby whispered in fear, trying to get his attention.

"But why?" Luffy asked in confusion.

"Yeah, why?" Zoro said in annoyance, "He saw what he could do… you think he would be more optimistic about him beating her."

"Fear does that to people I suppose," Chopper said, wondering just what was going to happen next.

"You saw how powerful her club is. And of all the villainous cheats in all these waters she's easily the most…" Coby suddenly stopped himself in mid-sentence. He stared long and hard at Luffy, and they could see that his mind was working hard. Here was his chance… to either turn back on his dream, or to finally start fighting for it… and himself.

"Go on, tell me?" Alvida asked with a wide grin on her face.

Coby was shaking, his teeth were grinding together as he fought to find the right words. Finally, he looked Alvida straight in the eyes and yelled out, "You're the most… ugliest thing on the seas!"

"Yeah!" Franky yelled out, punching the air. "That's right!"

"He did it!" Chopper cried out happily, jumping up and down. "He found his courage!"

Zoro, Nami, and Usopp were all laughing with Luffy, who seemed to be having a great deal of fun. Alvida's eyes were dark… she was glaring down at Coby coldly, who was shaking—stunned by his own daring.

"What did you say!?" Alvida demanded, and though it was clear that Coby was terrified, he didn't back down—even with tears burning his eyes.

"I'm leaving and I'm gonna join the Marines!" he yelled up at her, his courage rushing forward like how it did before when he talked to Luffy, "Then I'm gonna spend the rest of my life beating up dirty pirates like you!"

"Do you have any clue to what you're saying to me right now?" she bellowed at him.

"Of course I do and I'm gonna do what I want and no one's gonna stop me! And when I join the Marines I'll join them!" Coby said loudly, before finally screaming out, "And I'm gonna capture your lousy ass first!"

"You tell her!" Brook said proudly. "Standing up for yourself is the same for standing up for your dreams!"

Alvida lost it completely as she held her mace high, screaming out that he was dead. Coby froze, and was screaming just as Luffy stopped laughing, but the smile never faded.

"Well said!" Luffy told him, moving to stand in front as he took the full blunt of the weapon. Coby screamed again as he was hit, but the Straw Hats all grinned—knowing that this was nothing. The spikes were dull, and he was now grinning.

"That won't work," he taunted so that Alvida eyes widen in disbelief. Luffy knocked the mace upwards. "Cause I'm rubber!" he told her—the Straw Hats heard that often enough to think fondly of how many times that little fact had gotten Luffy out of trouble.

Luffy pulled his arm back, sending it back as far as it would stretch so that it left the ship and was already over the ocean. "Gum Gum… PISTOL!" he screamed, bringing it back—and like that—Alvida was sent flying off as he punched her to the gut.

"LUFFY!" Sanji hollered at him furiously, "DON'T YOU DARE MISTREAT A LADY!"

But no one took him any heed as everyone in the memory gapped at Luffy… unable to believe that he took out their captain in one hit. But he turned to the rest of the crew on the opposite ship and demanded, "Hey, you? Go find a boat and give it to Coby. He's leaving to join the Marines. You're not gonna stop him!"

Nami smiled quietly. "That's so like him…"

"Even though they just met, he's already treating Coby like a friend," Usopp stated, "And he's helping him out here."

"When he sees someone willing to fight for their dream, then he wants to fight with them as well," Brook said, truly touched by the scene as Coby thanked Luffy, his voice full of sincerity. Not a moment too soon though, there was the sounds of cannon fire and the ship was tossed violently as they all turned to see that the Marines had finally shown up.

"Right on time, they arrive after the problem's been dealt with, like always," Sanji sighed. Luffy happily told Coby that the timing couldn't have been better as he jumped overboard to where the pirates had gotten the boat ready.

But Coby didn't want to stay—not that they blamed him. If the Marines caught him, then they would surely throw him into prison for his work on Alvida's crew. Though technically a pirate himself the fact that he had still been doing odd jobs for them would have been more than enough to earn him a prison cell.

So the two jumped into the boat, and let it fall to the ocean below—deciding to take their chances in escaping.

"You know, Luffy's still not technically a pirate, so they can't really do anything to him," Usopp pointed out. "He's got no crew, he hasn't done anything yet… so they can't…"

"You think that loudmouth would keep that a secret?" Sanji demanded irritably. "He's proud of it! He can't wait to tell that to anyone who even looks at him that he's… he's a pirate…" he stopped dead, his voice caught in his throat as he looked up.

The others had followed his gaze, and Nami's eyes widen. As the ship had fallen, water had splashed everywhere and though it was hard to tell—especially with all the cannons going off—but there was a single passenger in another small boat who was tying an enormous bag that could only be filled with treasure…

"Nami?" Usopp cried out in surprise.

"That is me!" Nami said, remembering now. "That's right! I told you all that I robbed from Alvida before! I just didn't think that this was that same day!"

"You don't remember seeing Luffy there?" Chopper asked as the Luffy and Nami in the memory both caught each other's attention. They exchanged eye contact for a fraction of a second, but that didn't last long as they both turned back to the matter at hand on escaping.

"So much was happening," Nami said softly, "I didn't really get a good look at his face… but I do remember wondering what kind of idiot would drop down like that with no warning!" The truth was that she was used to risking her life and doing dangerous stuff all the time after eight years of stealing from pirates so she didn't pay any attention to him. But really, how could she have possibly known that the boy she saw that day would become her future captain?

Robin voiced her thought: "Fate works in strange ways," she said as they all nodded along with her.