Safety, Rebellion and Meeting

_________ POV Narration _________

Nami didn't have to drag along Robin for too long, as the archaeologist started running alongside her without much complaint.

The two of them both seemed to get a wired premonition at that moment, and they turned their gazes toward the sky.

Minutes before, Nami remembered seeing a sunny day, made a bit dirty by the fires and smoke the rebellion was causing.

But now a storm befitting of the Grand Line's chaotic seas was brewing.

Then, they both heard a large explosion from where they came from, followed by a loud fit of thunder which forced them both to cover their ears.

"What the hell is this weather?!?" Nami was well and thoroughly confused. She was an expert in the weather, and she had already checked to make sure that there wouldn't be any storms that day...

"... Don't worry about it. I'll explain later..." Robin smiled as she looked at the sky gratefully before continuing to run down alleyways, heading towards the Thousands Sunny slowly.

Nami still had many questions on her mind but decided against stopping to ask them in the middle of a dangerous storm.

Other people on the Island were able to take refuge in time before the rain started falling.

Brook, the skeletal rock star, had to stop his performance because of how dangerous it looked.

He simply stopped and looked at the sky, tilting his head and afro as he studied the abrupt change of weather.

'That's certainly unusual... Usually, this happens at sea, not on islands in the Grand Line...'

The skeleton just shook his head, there wasn't much he could do about it either way.

He was dressed in a dark violet tuxedo, a yellow feather bo, alongside a new top hat with a giant crown on the brim.

He was currently in the middle of his last concert.

His music was there to embolden the spirits of the revolution, and to give strength to those that dared step forward in a bid to create a better future.

Brook was there to make sure that their plight wouldn't be unheard of. Throughout the years of separation, that was what he had been doing.

Travelled the world, hosted converts, and immortalised the soul of resistance within his music.

An album he titled, 'The Rebel's Path'.

The government had gotten in his way several times already, fight after fight had led to Brook himself becoming stronger than ever.

His bounty had risen to match the annoyance he was causing the government as well. Reaching a crisp 300 million Beli, and matching his Captain's current bounty.

'With this thunder, the public would be better off heading for cover, instead of endangering themselves listening to my soul-healing music...'

Brook's skeletal figure would've released a sigh was he able to.

'I guess it's time to meet with the others...'

Brook picked up his guitar and looked at the diminishing crowd one last time.

A ghostly air emanated from his mouth as he loudly smacked his guitar against the stage floor before him.

"Yo-ho-ho!~" The Skelton gave the crowd one last peal of energising laughter as they roared in appreciation.

"This is the end of my performance! People of Sabaody, see you all on the world stage! Yo-ho-ho~" Brook shouted to the crowd, before bowing deeply and jumping away.

The crowd cheered on again as the Skeletal Straw hat pirate fled the scene with a peal of cheerful laughter.

But that cheerful laughter was quickly overshadowed by a deep robotic voice.

"Target Acquired: Soul King Brook. Engaging immediately!"

The skeleton turned his head towards the robotic voice in the distance and looked at it with a tinge of confusion in his mind.

"Watch out Soul King! It's a Pacifista!"

His fans from below were already warning him of the impending danger. By now, all of the people in Sabaody were more than used to Pacifistas and their overwhelming power.

They watched in desperation as the robotic warlord-lookalike opened its mouth widely, a barrel could be seen inside of it, from which a bright yellow light shined out.

The crowd that remained below was transfixed on the Pacifista and Brook... Until suddenly, their skeletal idol vanished from sight.

"Three-Pace Hum Soul Notch Slash..."

All it took was a blink of an eye, and the Soul King was already behind the fake Warlord. Already sheathing his curved cane sword with a cold whisper.

The pacifistas didn't even get to turn around properly before its head fell off, its entire body tumbling to the streets below as the crowd went wild.

"As expected of our Soul King!" "Hail the Soul King!" "Show'em what we stand for!"

The fires were stoked once again with Brook's last performance, a slash to immediately decapitate a threatening oppressor of the people in Sabaody.

"Yohohoho~" Before continuing to flee as the crowd behind him cheered once again at the spectacle they had just witnessed.

Enel was also a bit surprised, he had his 'eyes' on the situation from the moment it started at the end of the day.

'Holy... Seems Straw Hat's group may have gotten a lot stronger than in the original... That's for the better, but I wasn't expecting Brook to become a vital combatant...'

The Sky King raised an eyebrow as he then turned his attention to another side of the city, where the mascot of the pirates was currently still working hard to heal the people that fought for their own freedom.

Chopper was also spooked by the storm and thunder. Despite being used to the seas, he was still somewhat easy to scare.

But even scared, his small deer hands didn't stop bandaging the patient in front of him.

His eyes were resolute, even if his body was slightly trembling.

'I don't think Chopper got that much stronger... But it's a bit hard to tell... The true way I can measure him is by seeing the 'Monster Point' transformation...'

Enel had developed a bit of an interest in the Straw Hat's doctor, for a few reasons.

It was mostly one reason actually... His rumble balls.

'A drug capable of forcing a forced temporary awakening in Zoan Users... It's certainly absurd...

Even if the user loses reason, it is still powerful, and it might be the key to helping Luffy awaken his devil fruit without killing him myself...'

Enel had to consider many things now that Kaido, the one who was supposed to awaken Nika, was dead.

In the end, there were very few things he could do besides putting the Straw Hats in a situation similar to the one they were in when fighting Kaido.

He would have to act as the villain in that scenario, essentially, and kill Luffy in order to awaken Nika.

'This means I would also have to take over Wano, doesn't it?... Such a fucking mess. That stupid Kaido just had to go ahead and kill himself...'

The Sky King just shook his head and continued searching through the Sabaody Archipelago.

'Seems Zoro and Perona arrived already... Well, Perona seems to be leaving, but at least she brought him here...

And Sanji is currently... Saving women in the chaos. Commendable, he doesn't seem to care much about the men, but at least he's trying...'

The Emperor could clearly feel Zoro getting lost as soon as Perona left him to his own devices.

He would eventually reach the ship... Hopefully...

Sanji was also rather impressive, he had already kicked the head off of two Pacifistas in quick succession. He was also a bit stronger than in the show, but not by much.

He looked about the same as well, regular black suit, golden lighter and smoking habits.

Enel assumed he was just trying to look cool while fighting. But he was also vehemently avoiding looking at the revolutionaries he was helping.

'He... Don't tell me he actually gets nosebleeds... I thought that was just a stupid gag or something...'

Enel rubbed the bridge of his nose in confusion as he opened one of his eyes and looked to the side.

'Whatever... He's stronger, I guess...'

Sanji was actively fighting against agents on the streets, but since they were at most at the level of Rear Admirals, they weren't standing much of a chance against him...

"So... All that's left is Luffy, and for all of them to come together and set sail, huh?" Enel sighed as he turned his attention towards their ship, the Thousand Sunny.

Franky seemed to look much the same as he did after the time skip in the show, his body morphed fully into a much larger Cyborg.

He had clearly gotten plenty of upgrades to his arsenal, though he was just minding his own business and checking the state of the ship.

Usopp was with him, a bit scared by the storm and thunder, but still assisting with anything he could, as a good crewmate would.

Eventually, Nami and Robin both made it to the ship. Robin wasn't even winded, but Nami was panting and crouching down.

"What the hell? Hah... How much stamina do you have now?" The Cat Burglar looked up at Robin who just smiled a bit and shook her head.

"I trained hard the past two years... But I still have a long way to go." Robin gave her a quick answer, not quite going into specifics yet.

But she did plan to tell Luffy and the others about her time on the Sky Archipelago, as well as the army that Enel had amassed.

She just didn't wish to have to explain things too many times, she already realised there would be too many questions to answer hitting her all at once, especially from Luffy...

After all, his entire family was essentially working with Enel already. Hell, his grandfather, the man that had insisted on him becoming a marine, had defected and become the Sky King's Left 'Wing'...

Vowed to fight alongside pirates and other legends in order to take down the Government he had previously served as a Marine Hero for decades.

The situation was certainly more complicated than that, but Robin was well aware that it would still floor Luffy.

"Oh, seems Nami and Robin are back!" Franky was the first to notice the only two women members of the Straw Hats.

Ussop's excitement seemed to also rise when noticing them, he was clearly glad to be reunited with his friends, to learn that they were safe and sound.

"Hehe, we managed to get back in one piece, somehow..."Nami smiled as she made a bad pun and rolled with it.

Robin gave her a somewhat frustrated side-ways glance as she muttered something along the lines of. 'I will pay you to never say that again...'

To which Nami gladly nodded.

Ussop just smiled, ignoring the joke and just greeting the two of them enthusiastically.

"Nami, Robin! The Ship is in great condition, you should see it! It's been so long, but nothing's even missing!" The long-nosed sniper god rubbed his hands together as he looked around with a stupid smile plastered on his face.

"Hoh! Our money's still here too?!" Nami jumped up and down in excitement almost immediately, while Robin just rubbed her chin and remembered a few of her favourite books.

'I wonder if Enel is still around... I wouldn't mind reading a few more books before departure...'

And just as she had that thought, a tall figure appeared right by her side.

"Seems everyone's almost ready!"

Robin and the others all jumped in fear for a second.

An extremely tall and muscular blonde man with excessively long earlobes appeared right at Robin's side, almost as if summoned by her thoughts.

"E-Enel?!" The Archeologist's voice trembled as a smile rose to her face.

'I guess it'll be easier to explain things with him here...'

"T-the Emperor?!?" Ussop immediately recoiled in fear and fell on his but, before Nami slapped him across the head and berated him.

"Calm down you idiot! Did you forget he saved Ace or something?" The Cat Burglar then turned back towards the Sky King with a wide smile, thanking him for saving their captain's ass.

"... It wasn't that big a deal..." Enel just waved his earlobe dismissively at them.

"More importantly, everyone's currently on Sabaody. Which means your reunion is just about started, I'll be resting on the ship since I have to talk with your captain."

Enel handed Robin her belongings and patted her shoulder before walking further on the deck of the ship, laying down a metallic beac chair from his staff, and laying down in a relaxed manner.

No one stopped him, Franky just studied his armour and called it cool, Usopp was still afraid to get close to him, and Nami was trying to pester him into giving her money since 'An Emperor has to be loaded!'.

Robin felt weird, maybe even a bit jealous, when seeing Nami actually trying to 'seduce' Enel. But she did feel a lot better when he outright rejected her.

"I'm old enough to be your grandpa gal, go bother someone else." That was all that the Sky King told her before closing his eyes again and falling asleep instantly.

The Cat Burglar left him alone in the end. Jokes were nice and all, but they weren't worth actually annoying an Emperor over.

Robin, however, wasn't told NOT to bother him... So she quickly smiled and walked to his side.

In a move that shocked both Enel and the rest of her crewmates, she sat directly in Enel's lap and started reading one of her old books.

The Emperor just half opened his eye before shrugging and going back to sleep.

'Hoho... So that's how it is...' Nami smiled at the side, covering her mouth with a palm in a mischievous manner.

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Hope you enjoyed today's chapter!

As I've said, this arc gon be fun ;))

Discord, decided to start promoting it again:

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