Chapter XXXVII: Monkeys vs. Monsters

The next morning, the Strawhats awoke to the revelation that Sanji had awakened his haki. Usopp got excited and immediately suggested that they help him refine it by having him dodge some attacks. Nami pointed out that he was still new at it and asked if he should take it slow, but Sanji politely assured her that he'd be fine. Luffy, Zoro, and Robin knew that Sanji was even more excited than Usopp even if he didn't show it. He had stayed up all night after his first breakthrough, content in simply getting a feel for all of the Strawhats' auras. He found that suddenly having a way to reassure himself of their presence was gratifying. He was, after all, one of the stronger members of the crew, and took it upon himself to protect the others, even if he didn't admit it when it came to the male members. So being able to reach out with his senses and find them, something which he was able to do more and more successfully as the night had progressed, was something he appreciated. Luffy and Zoro had understood perfectly and had left him so he could practice.

Now Usopp suggested that he try to dodge some of Chopper's punches with his eyes closed. Sanji consented. At first he was having trouble dodging multiple blows, and a few punches would connect every now and then, much to Chopper's concern, but Sanji insisted they continue, neglecting to mention that the reindeer hybrid's punches didn't hurt much anyway. A few minutes passed, and gradually less blows began getting through as Sanji's dodges became smoother and more purposeful. He was starting to know what to look for in Chopper's aura in order to anticipate his movements. From the intent that drove his body to move, to the rise of his arm, to the area that he was targeting with his punch, Sanji knew what Chopper was going to do a split second after he decided to do it. While he was a novice in training to the eyes of Luffy and Zoro, the rest of the crew watched with fascination and awe as Sanji danced around all of Chopper's blows without ever opening his eyes. Once Sanji lasted a solid minute without taking any hits, they stopped.

"That was awesome Sanji!" Usopp yelled. "What should we try next?"

"Why don't you try hitting him with your slingshot?" Luffy suggested. "Just use normal pellets." Usopp nodded and put some distance between himself and the chef before pulling out his slingshot. Sanji closed his eyes again and focused, but as Usopp got ready to shoot, Sanji's brow furrowed. The chef moved prematurely to dodge, but the sniper adjusted his aim in a flash, and the pellet hit Sanji in the forehead dead center. Luckily it wasn't any special type of ammo, and only resulted in a small twinge of pain. Sanji hummed in thought.

"I get it," he mumbled. Luffy grinned.

"Learn anything?" the captain asked. Sanji opened his eyes.

"Dodging projectiles is different than dodging punches or kicks," the chef said. "With Chopper I was able to follow the path of his arm as he swung at me, but I can't sense Usopp's pellets, so I have to predict where he's going to aim and dodge before he shoots. Usopp is too good of a sniper though, so he was able to adjust his aim."

"So how can you get around that?" Zoro asked, although he knew the answer already.

"The easy way is to open my eyes, but that would defeat the purpose," Sanji said. "Sometimes I'll have shooters in my blindspot and that would put me in the same situation. Another way is to simply move faster so he can't keep up, but if I ever fought someone with my speed and reactions who was wielding a gun, I would face the same problem." He thought for a moment. "Let me try something," he finally said.

Usopp readied his slingshot again, and this time, Sanji moved at the exact moment that Usopp fired, successfully dodging the pellet. He told the sniper to keep going, and like before, it took a while before he got used to it, with a few pellets hitting him every now and then. Soon he again reached the point where none of Usopp's pellets were hitting him. It wasn't that he lacked the speed to dodge the various attacks; he had simply needed to get a feel for his new ability before he could utilize it effectively. When it was clear that none of his attacks would connect, Usopp stopped shooting.

"Damn Sanji. You're really getting the hang of this quickly. Are you a genius or something?"

"He seems to have a strong affinity for observation haki," Zoro commented. "That's why he learned it so early and quickly. Most likely when he learns armaments he'll have a harder time. That's how I was, only in reverse. I got the hang of armaments really quickly but struggled with observation for a while."

Robin turned to him. "I was curious about that actually. When did you two learn these haki forms?" she asked.

Zoro thought for a moment. "We started learning over two years ago," he said. Robin absently noted that he had said 'we,' which meant that he had known Luffy back then.

"So you both learned while in East Blue?" she inquired.

Zoro inwardly sighed as he nodded. Unlike Luffy, he could lie just fine, but he still didn't like deceiving his crewmates. He'd have to have a talk with Luffy later about when they could come clean about all this. Although he had a pretty good idea of what the captain had in mind, and if he was right, then they'd have to put up with this for a while longer.

"You said it was over two years ago," Nami said. "That was after you two met, wasn't it? Does that mean you learned it together?"

Luffy raised an eyebrow. "How'd you know when we met?" he asked.

"Zoro told me. I was curious and asked, and he said you met over two and a half years ago," she answered.

Luffy tried his best to suppress his laughter at the irony, something which didn't escape the crew's attention. "Oh, he told you that?" he asked, with a hint of mirth. "Well, we didn't train together or anything, but we learned it at the same time, and I knew he was going to be learning it. I assume it was the same for him."

Zoro nodded in confirmation. "Actually, he's the one who told me to learn it," the swordsman said, providing extra information so as not to seem like he was being withdrawn with it.

Luffy scratched his head. "Yea, in a sense." The crew seemed to accept this easily enough.

"So guys, guess what?" Luffy asked excitedly, changing the subject. "I was going to make an important call, and I wanted you all to listen." As he spoke, he picked up a transponder snail from the deck. Zoro smirked.

"An important call?" Usopp repeated. "To who?"

"Whitebeard," Luffy answered, grinning. The crew went silent for a moment before all hell broke loose.

"You've got to be kidding! Why now!?" Nami yelled.

"Are you crazy Luffy!?" Usopp asked frantically.

"The strongest man in the world huh? Wonder what he's like," Sanji said.

"Is he scary?" Chopper asked fearfully. As they all quarrelled, Robin cleared her throat, and they turned to her.

"I can understand why you'd be nervous. In fact, I'm a little disconcerted myself. But it does make sense, doesn't it? We're their allies now. It's good to communicate every now and then, and we still haven't gotten in touch with them after his declaration a few days ago." she reasoned. Nami and Usopp still didn't look convinced. Zoro scoffed.

"If you guys are that afraid of hearing his voice, you don't have to listen," he said.

"A-afraid? Whose afraid? I-I'm not afraid, y-you idiot." Usopp stuttered.

"If you're going to lie, lie better," Sanji said. Nami sighed in defeat.

"Fine, but don't make a bad first impression, you hear?" she said as she pointed accusingly at Luffy, who laughed lightheartedly.

"Ok, sure!" he said. With that, he pulled out Ace's vivre card from his hat and dialed the number written on it. The crew waited with bated breath as it rang. On the fourth ring, someone picked up. The crew heard a rather deep voice speak up at the end of the line, but it was partially drowned out by background noise. The crew was able to recognize the distinct sound of loud music and yelling.

"You've reached the ship of the Whitebeard pirates." Nami, Usopp, and Chopper gasped at the confirmation. "Sorry about the racket, we're in the middle of a party, and everyone's drunk." the voice said.

"Drunk?" Sanji asked. "Isn't it a bit early?"

"Early?" the voice asked. "Where are you calling from?"

"First half of the Grand Line," Luffy answered. Sanji's eyes lit up in comprehension.

"Oh, well that's rare. We don't get calls from Paradise often," the voice said. "What can I help you with?"

"Hey, I wanted to have a chat with old man Whitebeard!" Luffy shouted. "Who is this, by the way?" Some of the Strawhats thought he was being way too casual, but didn't voice it, not wanting to interrupt the conversation.

"This is 5th Division Commander Vista," the voice said. "If you want to talk to our captain, we're gonna need to know who you are at least."

"Oh yea," Luffy said. "This is Monkey D. Luffy." The other end was silent for a moment before the division commander started laughing.

"Ah, our new rookie brother! Sorry about that. Give me one sec." Most of the Strawhats let out breaths they didn't know they'd been holding. "Hey Pops!" they heard Vista shout. "It's the Strawhats!" It wasn't long before the crew heard an ever deeper voice start to speak.

"So, you finally contacted us. I was surprised when Ace called and requested that I ally your crew." Before the Strawhats could fully adjust to the fact that they were speaking with Whitebeard, Luffy answered.

"Yea, I'm guessing you don't have many allies that you haven't met face to face," he said. "We'll try to get over there as quickly as possible."

"I'm not surprised," Whitebeard replied. "Your crew has risen to fame even faster than that Red-Haired brat's back in the day. We had a good laugh after reading the newspaper a few days ago. We were expecting the headline, but the second page silenced any and all complaints amongst the crew about 'snot-nosed rookie brats' being allied with us."

"Why do those sound like your words?" Luffy asked in a deadpan voice.

"Because they were," Whitebeard replied, before erupting into a fit of of deep, throaty laughter. The crew's eyes bulged out of their sockets. "So anyway, have you seen your new bounties?" he asked.

"Ah, no we haven't," Luffy replied. "Don't tell us yet. I like the surprise."

"Gurarara! Fine. So was there something else you wanted to talk about?"

"Actually, yea there was." Luffy said. "What should we do if we run into Teach?"

The other line was silent for a moment. "Hmm, Ace has given up his search for the time being. You're all my children now, so no one would hold it against you if you took him down, however, I'd prefer if you didn't. Ace feels largely responsible for Thatch's death, despite what we've told him, and I think he needs the closure. But if that conniving little brat attacks you, then by all means, give him hell."

"Ok, got it," Luffy said. "In that case, I'll let you get back to being drunk."

Whitebeard scoffed. "I don't get drunk, brat!"

"Shishishi! You're just like Zoro," Luffy replied. "Oh, by the way, I'm gonna become the Pirate King. That ok with you?"

"Well, I don't want the title," Whitebeard responded. "I was planning on giving it to Ace, but he recently told me that he isn't interested either. So I guess it's all yours. Good luck on your journey brat." He hung up.

Luffy got up. "Well, that's that then." He turned to the his crew, and was confused as to why they were all gawking at him. "What?" he asked.

"'What' my ass!" they shouted.

The rest of the morning was smooth sailing for the Going Merry. That lasted until the afternoon, when it spontaneously started raining galleons. When that passed, the Strawhats realized that the Log Pose was pointing up at the sky. Nami started panicking, thinking that it was broken.

"I wouldn't say that," Robin interjected. "It's locked onto another magnetic field. It must be a sky island."

"Sky island?" Nami asked, clearly not believing it. "Come on Robin. There's no way something like that could exist, even on the Grand Line."

"That's where your way of thought falls short, Navigator-san. Common logic can't be applied to this sea. The only thing you can trust is the way the needle points. If it's pointing at the sky, then there's an island up there. Although, to be accurate, what's floating up there is a sea of clouds, not just an island."

Nami sighed. "Ok, but that still doesn't help us. The fact remains that we have no way to navigate to the next island while the log is pointing at the sky."

"Alright, here's what we do!" Luffy interrupted. "I'm the captain, and I say we're setting our course for Sky Island!" Nami's eye twitched.

"This isn't the time for your weird whims Luffy! We don't even know how to get there!" she reasoned.

"What's the big deal?" Luffy asked. "Just point the rudder upwards. Jeez, you're stupid Nami."

He was promptly sent crashing head first into the deck by Nami's fist. He quickly rebounded and jumped to his feet. "Alright! To Sky Island we go!" Usopp and Chopper cheered in agreement. Nami huffed in annoyance before turning to Robin.

"See what I have to put up with?" The archaeologist smiled good naturedly.

"He does have a point though," Robin said. "Our next course of action should be figuring out how to get to the sky. Perhaps we can ask for information somewhere. The only problem is that we can't get to the nearest island while the log is already set."

Nami nodded. They were in a difficult position. As she was deep in thought, Luffy snuck up behind her.

"NAMI!" he shouted, causing her to jump.

"What!?" she shouted in annoyance. "Don't make me hit you again!"

"But I have an idea!" he said.

"Oh joy. What is it this time?"

"Well, that galleon fell from Sky Island right? We should salvage whatever was on the ship to see if there are any clues about how to get up there."

Nami blinked. "That's...a good idea?"

Robin nodded. "It's the best we have to work with for now," she agreed.

"Alright! Onward to Skypeia!" Luffy yelled. Nami and Robin looked at him curiously.

"Skypeia?" they asked in unison. Luffy nodded.

"That's what the island is called," he said, pulling out a piece of paper. See?" The two looked at it in shock. It was a very old map of an island in the sky called Skypeia.

"Luffy, where did you get this?" Nami asked, bewildered.

"It was in the wreckage," Luffy said, pointing at the galleon, which was now mostly sunken.

"So there really is a sky island!?" Chopper asked in excitement. Nami sighed.

"Maybe," she admitted, causing Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper to cheer.

"Wow, there's so much air down here now," Luffy commented. He was currently underwater along with Zoro and Sanji. Nami had sent them diving down to the ocean floor to find whatever they could from the wreckage. So far they had found a lot, but nothing that would help them get to Skypeia. Luckily, Luffy and Zoro now had a plan for that. The aura they had both locked onto came bursting through the wall.

"Who the hell are you guys!? What are you doing in my territory!?" the man shouted.

"Oh look, it's a monkey," Luffy said.

The monkey like man immediately blushed. "Do I really look like a monkey?" he asked.

"You are a monkey," Luffy replied.

"Aw, you're just saying that!"

Zoro peered at him closely. "I don't think he's really a monkey," the swordsman said. "He just looks like one."

The monkey like man's demeanor immediately changed. "You bastard! Why don't you try saying that again!?" he shouted. Sanji stared in apathy.

"Hey monkey guy, who are you?" Luffy asked. His expression became friendly again.

"Oh, me? I'm the salvage king, Masira! There's no ship my crew can't salvage!" Suddenly, he took note of the many items that Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji had collected. "Hey, what are you guys doing with those?" he asked menacingly.

"Oh, we were looking for clues on how to get to Sky Island," Luffy said. This caught Masira's attention.

"Hmm? Sky Island you say?"

"Yea, we wanna go there!" Luffy said enthusiastically.

"Well, you're in luck. I happen to know someone who can get you there," Masira said. "I can take you to him, but I demand those artifacts you've collected in exchange," he said.

"You've got a deal, monkey guy!" Luffy yelled, causing Masira puff out his chest. "Oh, can I keep the armor though? I don't think it will fit you."

"Armor?" Masira asked, before catching sight of what he was talking about. "Hmm, I see. You're a real man. But you'll have to fight me for it."

Luffy grinned. "Ok!"

"Um, guys? Am I imagining things, or is there something in the water?" Nami asked nervously. Usopp took a look for himself and started sweating bullets at the sight of the underwater silhouette, which dwarfed the Going Merry in size a hundred times over.

"I think it's safe to say you're imagining things," he said, still sweating.

"Are you sure?" Nami asked. "Because that looks exactly like-"

"Yep, definitely just your imagination! There are absolutely no monsters under the surface other than our very own monster trio-"

"It seems to be the silhouette of a colossal sea creature," Robin said calmly. Her comment seemed to shatter Usopp's barrier of denial, and he immediately began freaking out.

"Aaaaaauuuuuggghhh! We're gonna diiiieeee! Get out of there Luffy!" he screamed frantically.

Masira rubbed his sore head, attempting to shake off the cobwebs. "Man, that was one hell of a punch, I tell ya! You know, you're alright! You can keep that armor."

"Shishishi, thanks! But man, you really look like a monkey!"

"Nah, you're just saying that!"

What's with this conversation? Sanji thought. Zoro sweatdropped.

"So, how about we raise this ship up to the surface?" Luffy suggested.

Masira rubbed his head in embarrassment. "Oh, well you see I was going to do that, but then I came down here to investigate."

Luffy just grinned. "Don't worry about it. I have a better idea."

Nami, Usopp, and Chopper shivered in fright as massive waves rocked the Going Merry, displaced by gargantuan creature that was currently rising to the surface. As it emerged from the Grand Line waters, they saw that it appeared to be a...turtle. A really big turtle.

That surprised them almost as much as the sight of Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Masira riding on top of it...along with the sunken galleon.

"Heeeeyy! Guuuuys!" Luffy yelled happily. "Look what we found!" Their jaws collectively dropped as the smiling monster swam up to the Going Merry. Luffy grabbed Zoro, Sanji, and Masira and jumped down onto the ship, slowing his descent with geppou before landing.

"How…" was all Usopp said. Luffy grinned ecstatically.

"I tamed him!" he said in enthusiasm. They were silent. Even Robin looked dumbfounded.

"Again, how?" she asked.

"Conqueror's haki," Zoro said simply. Nami facepalmed.

"How about a warning next time?" she said.

"You sent us to the sea floor of the Grand Line," Zoro retorted. "What did you think would happen?"

"Damn, that was badass bro!" Masira practically shouted. "I thought we were in deep when I saw that thing! Then you just hold your hand out and it's practically at your beck and call!"

Nami looked at him in annoyance. "And you're still here...why?" Masira looked terribly offended by the question and huffed.

"He's gonna show us how to get to Sky Island...apparently," Sanji said.

"Really? You'll help us?" Usopp asked in excitement.

"You bet! I'll be taking you all to the manliest of men, the dreamer amongst dreamers himself: Montblanc Cricket! He lives on an island called Jaya, and he can get you there for sure!"

Sanji's eyebrow furrowed. "Montblanc? Where have I heard that name before…?" He was broken out of his thoughts as the sky turned dark. The Strawhats and Masira blinked in confusion. It was nowhere near nighttime yet. Was this another spontaneous Grand Line occurrence? Luffy and Zoro shared a glance. Something about this seemed...familiar.

Suddenly, both of their eyes widened. Slowly, they turned their heads toward the fog in the distance, and soon everyone else followed suit.

Their blood ran cold.

Submerged in the fog were the silhouettes of...well, monsters. There was no other way to phrase it. They were shaped like humans, but they were kilometers tall, easily dwarfing Luffy's newest "pet" in size. The silence lasted all of five seconds before all hell broke loose.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Luffy yelled as chaos ensued on the Going Merry. Most of the crew were scrambling to get the hell out of there.

"Stop standing around and help us get the ship to safety you idiots!" Nami shouted at Luffy and Zoro, who were standing still.

"If you would just wait one second..." Zoro began before getting cut off by Nami's shouting.

"Why the hell should we wait!? We're gonna die if we stay here!"

"I...don't think so?" Luffy said uncertainly. "Everyone calm down. Captain's orders." The Strawhats grudgingly stopped scrambling around, wondering what Luffy could possibly be thinking, ordering them to stay here of all places. Luffy turned to his first mate. "Zoro, do you notice something weird about those things?" he asked. The monsters were currently standing still, towering above the clouds, but immobile. Zoro nodded.

"They don't have auras," he replied. The Strawhats stared at the two in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Usopp asked.

"He means they're not real," Robin breathed in realization. Luffy nodded slowly, as if he had just now come to the same conclusion. True to Robin's words, the silhouettes in the fog soon dissipated as if they had never been there to begin with. Luffy erupted into laughter as everyone collapsed onto the deck in relief. Zoro scoffed.

"Did you really think something that huge could sneak up on us?" the swordsman asked. Nami sighed.

"I guess not," she admitted.

"That...was terrifying," Chopper said.

"I-it w-wasn't that s-scary," Usopp stuttered from his seated position. Chopper looked at him in admiration. The crew soon recovered from their fright and remembered their destination.

"Hey monkey dude! Before we see this grasshopper guy, can we stop at the nearest town for supplies?" Luffy asked. Masira nodded in consent and said they could stop at Mock town. Nami's eyes widened.

"S-since when do you think about supplies?" she asked. Luffy looked at he quizzically.

"What do you mean? I'm the captain," he said. She looked at him wearily, but Luffy ignored her. "Next stop, Jaya!" The two ships started following Masira's Eternal Pose towards the island as the giant turtle followed behind.

In a bar in Mock town, a man in a black hooded cloak ignored the skirmishes of the numerous pirates around him as he took a sip of his wine. To an observer, it would seem as if he was waiting for someone. It wasn't long before a similarly dressed individual entered the bar and walked up to him. "Sir, they should be arriving soon according to our calculations."

The man nodded in acknowledgement. "I've got eyes on them right now," he said. He took another sip of his wine and grinned. "Let's see what you have in store for us...Monkey D. Luffy."