Next Adventure

Yo! When I originally wrote this chapter, it ended up being over 7,000 words long. For reference, the average word count of every chapter of this story is ~3,000, so yeah, I split them up. I know you're probably pissed about it, but I'm using the extra time I have because of this to take out all of the extra annoying bullshit in 'Skypiea.' Trust me, this is for the best. I got way too drunk one night and wrote the whole fucking arc, and I have a stroke every time I try to read it.

GIMME POWER STONE SO I CAN THROW IT INTO A BODY OF WATER AND WATCH THE COOL SPLASH!!! MORE POWER STONE = BIGGER AND COOLER SPLASH!!!

Enjoy the chapter!

...

*YAWN*

Luffy woke up in the Royal Castle and looked around to see the room empty while he let out a yawn.

He closed his eyes and used 'Observation Haki' to find his friends, smiling when all of them except Zoro were spread out throughout the castle. He sweat-dropped when he realized what he just sensed.

'Where the hell did Zoro go now?'

He focused a bit harder and found his Vice-Captain using massive stones as weights. Luffy grinned wide before he jumped up and took a survey of the condition of his body.

"It's back to normal!! I'll go see if Zoro wants to spar!!" Luffy shouted, but before he could go anywhere, he was stopped by something more important than fighting.

*GROWL*

"I'm hungry!! I need meat!!!" Luffy shouted as he put a hand on his growling stomach.

*SNIFF* *SNIFF*

Luffy sniffed the air like a dog before a grin grew on his face.

"I smell meat!!"

*BAM*

As soon as Luffy shouted, a massive cart of different meats crashed through the door and was wheeled into the massive bedroom. Luffy smiled when he saw who was pushing it.

"Tube-hair guy!! You made it back!!" Luffy shouted out, making the woman laugh before she cleared her throat oddly.

"Hahahaha!! Ma~Ma~Ma, I assume you mean my husband, Igaram. I'm Terracotta, the royal head chef." She said, making Luffy's mouth hang open in shock when he heard her. 

*SNIFF*

Those feelings of shock were overtaken by the massive hunger he felt as he smelled the lovely meat.

*BOOM*

Terracotta and the other chefs who helped her bring the cart of meat in blinked in shock as they watched Luffy inhale food as if it were air. Their shock grew as they watched his stomach slowly inflate as he kept shoveling in the food.

*BURP* *PAT* *PAT*

"Ah, that hit the spot!!" Luffy said with a satisfied expression on his face as he patted his inflated stomach. Terracotta and the chefs were simply speechless.

*SNORT*

They all turned towards the open door to see Law leaning on it with his 'Kikoku' resting on his shoulder when they heard him snort in amusement before saying what he came to say.

"Captain-ya, there's a bunch of Marines outside," Law said, making Luffy pout.

"I keep telling you, call me Luffy!!" He shouted in outrage as he crossed his arms across his chest and looked the other way. Law just rolled his eyes before turning around and starting to walk out.

"It's that Vice-Admiral you and Portgas-ya fought when we first got here," Law said as he walked out, making Luffy perk up and turn back to him with a smile.

"Smokey is here?!!" He shouted out before he furrowed his eyebrows in concentration.

*HISSSSSS*

Terracotta and the chefs watched in astonishment as Luffy's inflated stomach slowly shrunk back down to its regular size while steam came off of his body, making a hissing noise.

They could only watch as Luffy ran outside to the balcony. Terracotta looked at where the boy was sitting, then the empty cart that used to have tons of meat on it, and finally, her chefs. She gained a determined spark in her eye.

"Everyone!! You saw how fast he finished that food we made, right?" She asked, making the chefs respond with confused nods. Terracotta suddenly grabbed the handle of the cart and started power walking out of the room with it.

"We have to make him more then!! We can't have the people who saved 'Alabasta' going hungry, now can we?!!" She asked as she sped back to the kitchen with her chefs following after a moment of processing.

.

.

Luffy ran out to the balcony and saw Smoker, Tashigi, Hina, Dalmatian, and about 200 marine soldiers, who threw their guns at him as soon as he came outside. Luffy just ignored all of that while he smiled and waved at Smoker like he was an old friend.

"Hi, Smokey!!!" Luffy yelled out, getting a scowl from the Marine.

"Don't talk to me like we're friends, 'Straw Hat'!! Why the hell are you in the Royal palace?!" Smoker yelled out, making all of his comrades look at him in confusion. Tashigi was the one to voice their concerns out loud. 

"Smoker-san, Why are you asking him that? It's not like he will answer honestly. Didn't we come here to arrest him?" She asked, making all the other Marines nod in agreement.

Smoker ignored them completely, which made them upset, but before Tashigi could speak up again, Luffy spoke first.

"Oh, I just woke up here like five minutes ago and just finished breakfast. I guess I'm waiting for my crew to finish whatever they're doing, and then we'll go." Luffy answered Smoker's question, stunning all of the Marines except the smoke man, who just nodded his head in response.

"Sounds good. If we fought here, it would mess up everything, so how about we fight at sea? You're just taking the next route on the 'Log Pose', right?" Smoker asked, making all of the other Marines there look at him incredulously again. They turned those incredulous looks to Luffy when they saw him nod and respond.

"Yeah, that sounds good. Most of them are just somewhere in the palace, so it shouldn't be too long. Do you guys need any food before you leave?" Luffy asked.

Tashigi and Hina glanced at each other, confirming that this was real and that a pirate that just beat the hell out of one of the 'Seven Warlords' was talking with a Vice-Admiral like they were old friends and just invited hundreds of Marines to eat food with him.

Smoker shook his head in response to the question, making Luffy pout.

'No banquet then...' Luffy thought in sadness before he was snapped out of it by the Vice-Admiral.

"We all ate before we came over here, so we should be fine. Don't make me wait long, or else I'll come kick down the door, even if it's the Royal Palace!!" Smoker said, making every other Marine once again look at him like he was crazy.

Luffy nodded before he turned back towards the door to the balcony, making most of the marines breathe a sigh of relief.

*SNORT*

Smoker just snorted in amusement. Dalmatian and Tashigi looked at Smoker in confusion while Hina silently nodded her head.

"Smoker, why the hell aren't we going to catch this kid before his crew gets here? This could be our chance!!" Vice-Admiral Dalmation asked, with Tashigi nodding along.

*SCOFF*

They both turned to Hina when they heard her scoff at them. Dalmation glared at her, which did not affect her at all.

"Hina is disappointed in you, Vice-Admiral. You were the one that fought 'Black Leg' Sanji at 'Loguetown', and you also saw Smoker's fight with 'Straw Hat'." The Rear-Admiral said as she shook her head slowly, making Dalmation click his teeth in annoyance.

*Tsk*

"Yeah, what about it?" He asked as he unconsciously grabbed the burn scar he had on his chest from his fight with 'Black Leg'. Hina just scoffed again.

*SCOFF*

"How can you not see it? Hina is talking about the damage the fight would cause. Even if we all team up and manage to catch 'Straw Hat' Luffy, there would be tons of damage from the fight. The only way we can catch the 'Straw Hat Pirates' here without a massacre is to get them away from all of the civilians. Honestly, I don't know why we aren't waiting for more reinforcements from HQ." She explained, getting a scowl from Dalmation before he eventually nodded.

Smoker, who had both been silent the entire conversation, spoke up.

"I didn't think of that at all. I just wanted an open space to fight 'Straw Hat'. Plus, 'Straw Hat' isn't the type to cause a massacre." Smoker said honestly, making every single Marine there deadpan at him. He scowled when he saw that.

"Stop looking at me like that. If we call HQ for reinforcements, they will be gone by the time they get here, so we might as well just fight. Also, most of his crew was already inside when he got here." Tashigi looked at him for a few more seconds before letting out a sigh as everyone else was still deadpanning at him.

"Smoker-san, you should learn when to censor your real thoughts." She advised her leading officer.

Smoker glanced at her before looking back up the balcony Luffy was just on before taking a long hit of his cigar.

*INHALE* 

He held it for about ten seconds before he slowly let out all of the smoke.

*EXHALE*

He glanced at Tashigi again, who had started sweating nervously by now. He just sighed at that before turning around and walking away, but not before answering her question.

"Fuck no."

.

.

Everyone but Zoro comes back from whatever they were doing throughout the royal palace, and Luffy tells them about the Marines, which makes Vivi sad as she realizes they have to leave.

She walked over to Luffy and gave him his straw hat back, which she still had before she gave him a huge hug.

"Thank you for everything!!" She shouted as she could no longer hold her tears back. After a minute of crying into Luffy's shoulder, Vivi stepped back and looked at everyone else.

"Thank you all for everything!! I'll never be able to repay you!!" Vivi said as she tried to wipe away her flowing tears. Nami crashed into her and gave her a massive hug.

"We're friends, Vivi!! You don't need to thank us." Nami said, making Vivi cry harder. The princess always knew she couldn't stay with her new friends because of how much she loved 'Alabasta', so she was worried about her friends getting upset with her decision. 

Looking around at everyone who had helped her save her country, who she could now proudly call her friends, she realized how ridiculous she was being.

Luffy laughed when he sensed these emotions from Vivi.

"Shishishishi!! You're always gonna be our friend, Vivi, so stop thinking about stupid shit like that!!" Luffy reassured her, making her let out a watery laugh.

"Still, thank you. I'll never be able to say it enough."

Suddenly, Luffy looked over to his right, which made everyone else copy him. They all saw a hand made of smoke flying towards them at high speeds. The hand stopped right in front of the window they were looking through, making Zoro and Law grab the hilt of their katanas, and Sanji narrowed his eyes.

*SNORT*

Luffy let out a snort of amusement as the hand stuck up its middle finger at them before disappearing. He stood up, making everyone but Vivi copy his actions. The princess in question just looked at them sadly.

"You guys can use the 'Super Spot-Billed Duck Troops' to get back to the 'Going Merry'. It should still be anchored at the 'Sandora River'." Vivi said sadly, making Luffy smile softly at her before walking over to her.

He put his hand on her head, making her face burn in embarrassment. When he saw that, he couldn't help but laugh.

"Shishishi!! Vivi, I know you're sad, but you have to remember this." Luffy said as he took his hand off her head, making her look up.

"You will always be one of us. It doesn't matter to us if you want to stay here or come with us, you'll always be our friend." Luffy reassured her, making tears appear in the corners of Vivi's eyes. She rubbed them away before showing Luffy and everyone else a massive smile.

"Yeah, I'll remember."

.

.

The Straw Hats made it through the 'Sandora Desert' in just a couple of hours, thanks to the 'Super Spot-Billed Duck Troops'. When they got back, Luffy laughed proudly when he saw the crowd of 'Kung-fu Dugongs' that surrounded the 'Going Merry'.

"Shishishi!! Thanks for protecting the 'Going Merry', but you'll have to get way stronger if you wanna beat me!!" Luffy said as he proudly crossed his hands across his chest.

The 'Kung-Fu Dugongs' were looking at him with stars in their eyes before they all suddenly rushed at him.

Everyone sweat-dropped as all of the 'Kung-fu Dugongs' tried to convince Luffy to take them with him by attacking him.

"Take us with you!!!" "Please teach me!!" "We'll protect the ship!!"

"Gomu-Gomu no Whip!!!"

*BOOM*

Luffy kicked all of the dugongs off of the 'Going Merry', but not too hard, so he wouldn't hurt them. Before anyone could ask what they were going to do about their ship protectors, Luffy spoke up.

"We can't take you guys!! But, listen!! I have a mission for you!!" Luffy shouted out, making all of the animals stop their preparations to charge again. Luffy smiled when he saw this.

"I need you guys to help protect Vivi's country!! Go all around the country and beat up the bad guys you find!!" Luffy said, and before any of his friends could stop them or tell him how horrible of an idea that was...

"RAHHHHH!!!!"

All of the 'Kung-Fu Dugongs' let out a war cry before they all scattered. Luffy watched with a proud smile, and everyone else watched incredulously as Luffy sent an army of fighting animals around Vivi's country.

When Luffy saw the looks he was getting, he was very confused.

"What? I told them to go beat up bad guys, what's bad about that?" Luffy asked with a confused tilt of his head. Most just ignored the question as they boarded the 'Going Merry' while Nami just let out another sigh before shouting at him.

*SIGH*

"Hurry up and get on!! Who knows when those Marines you told me about will get here!!" She shouted out, getting nods from everyone but their Captain, who jumped up onto the 'Going Merry' with a confused face.

"Huh? I already talked to Smokey earlier. He said that if we fought at the Royal Palace, we'd break everything. So he's gonna meet us out at sea." He explained before turning to Sanji, who was looking at him with a sweat-drop.

"Can I have some lunch before we fight, Sanji?" Luffy asked, making his chef sigh.

*SIGH*

"Just go sit in the kitchen." The blonde man said with a tired expression, making Luffy smile widely at him.

"Thanks, Sanij!! You're the best!!"

*WHAM*

"OWW!! WHY DID YOU HIT ME?!!" Luffy looked at Nami, holding the fresh bump on his head while he held back his tears.

She just glared down at him before turning it to everyone else, which made everyone flinch.

"Go man the sails!! We're leaving so we can dodge the Marines!! I didn't know they were already here; I thought you and Ace got them to leave!!" She shouted out, making Luffy stand up straight and forget his fear.

"Hell no!! I wanna fight Smokey again!! It's super fun, and you can't stop me!! Smokey said he'd meet us on the route the 'Log Pose' has, so we're doing that!!" He flinched when Nami glared at him again, but he held his ground.

*SIGH*

When Nami saw her glare didn't make Luffy back down even after half a minute; she let out a sigh of resignation before turning back to Luffy.

"You better make sure they don't get close to the 'Going Merry'!!" She told him, to which he grinned and saluted her.

"Yes, Ma'am!!"

*GLUG* *GLUG*

Luffy raised an eyebrow when Zoro walked over to him as he took a long swing of his bottle. When he was done, he glanced at Luffy before looking back at the sea.

"You sure about this, Luffy? Even if you think he's cool, he's still a Marine." Zoro said in a serious tone, making Luffy smile at him.

"Don't worry, Zoro!! They weren't strong enough to beat us before, and we've only gotten stronger." Luffy said, getting a smirk out of his Vice-Captain.

Before Luffy could say anything else, he blinked as he sensed someone getting onto the 'Going Merry', with all of his friends that knew 'Observation Haki' copying him soon after, which got the few that didn't to turn in that direction as well.

They all saw a woman wearing a buttoned-up, long-sleeved lavender shirt with long purple pants and a pair of purple boots. She was about to open the book in her hand but was pleasantly surprised by her new Captain's proficiency in 'Observation Haki'.

"Ara~Ara~ I'm surprised you could sense me. Most take much longer." Robin commented as she looked at Luffy with a smile that he returned before addressing the feelings of confusion and hostility he sensed coming from everyone else.

"Guys..." Luffy trailed off as everyone turned to him. He flashed them a massive smile before explaining.

"I got the cool Ms. Every Saturday lady to join!! Her real name is Robin, she is super smart, and has a super cool devil fruit!!" Luffy said with lots of enthusiasm. He sweat-dropped and let out a sigh when he saw how his words did not dispel his friend's feelings of confusion and hostility.

*SIGH*

"Don't worry, guys!!" He shouted out, making everyone look at him again. He kept his massive smile on his face as he reassured them.

"She's not a bad person. She was just using the idiot Croc to get to some cool stone that was under Vivi's palace." Luffy explained, making everyone blink and turn back to Robin, who was smiling in amusement while watching the interaction and raised her eyebrows in surprise at Luffy's words, as she never mentioned as such. After a second, she answered the unasked question.

"It's true; I'm an archaeologist, and the 'cool stones' Captain-san talked about is called a 'Poneglyph', which is an indestructible stone that was carved hundreds of years ago that has pieces of history carved into it. They are very hard to find, so I've had to do things I'm not proud of to find them, and one of those things happens to be this." She explained before opening her book.

Before anyone could respond to that, Usopp, who went up to the lookout nest when they set sail, shouted out.

"LUFFY!!! THREE MARINE WARSHIPS DEAD AHEAD!!" They all heard him shout, making them whip their heads in that direction to see three massive Marine warships that were about three hundred meters away and heading right for them.

"So? Are they the same Marines from 'Loguetown'? What's the big deal then?" Zoro asked after letting out a yawn and standing up to see who they'd be fighting. Sanji scoffed but nodded along all the same.

*SCOFF* *SPARK*

"Seems like they couldn't manage any more reinforcements." The cook said after he sparked his cigarette and did a glance at the Marines on the warships.

*SIGH* *SIGH*

Chopper looked behind him at Nami and Usopp, who both just sighed in resignation and confusion.

"Why are you guys so upset?" Chopper asked with a confused head tilt. Why were they worried about a Marine when they just beat up a Warlord?

*SIGH* *SIGH*

His question made the two let out another long and resigned sigh before Usopp answered his question. 

"Luffy likes fighting this Vice-Admiral Smoker guy a lot. He fought him with his brother Ace when we first got to 'Alabasta', and I guess he talked to him before we left the 'Royal Palace'. What kind of pirate makes a plan to fight a Marine?" Usopp rhetorically asked as he shook his head and walked towards his workshop.

Usopp knew they didn't need any help.

When Luffy heard them talking, he pouted at them before turning back toward the incoming warships with a massive smile.

"I already told Nami I'm gonna fight Smokey, and nobody can stop me!!" Luffy shouted out before covering his fists in 'Advanced Armament Haki' and bending his knees.

"Law, you get the one on the left, and Sanji, you get the one on the right. Zoro, you come with me and fight that glasses swordswoman lady you like so much." Luffy said, making Sanji and Law snort while Zoro blushed bright red.

*SNORT* *SNORT*

"What the hell are you talking about!!" Zoro shouted as he started running at Luffy while drawing his katana, making the rubber man laugh before he stretched his arm toward Zoro.

"Shishishishi!! Come on, Zoro!!"

The swordsman paled as Luffy's arm wrapped around him countless times. He started getting flashbacks to the 'East Blue' when he realized what was going to happen.

"Gomu-Gomu no..."

*SIGH*

Zoro could only let out a sigh of resignation before Luffy shot toward the warship in the middle.

"ROCKET!!!"

*SIGH* *SIGH* *SIGH* *SIGH* *SIGH*

They all let out a collective sigh when they saw him do that, with Sanji being the first one to speak up.

*SPARK*

"I'll take the dog. I'm sure he's itching for a rematch," He said with a smirk as he sparked a cigarette before he shot off toward the warship on the right.

*BOOM*

Law watched everyone else jump into the fight and realized Captain-ya didn't give any orders besides the one for Zoro, Sanji, and him. He looked back to Chopper and Bepo, both of whom were looking a bit lost.

"Bepo, you protect the 'Going Merry' and make sure nothing comes close to it. Chopper-ya, help him out." The man said before he let a small smirk show on his face as he held his hand out.

"Room"

The massive blue bubble that was his 'Room' covered the 'Going Merry', the three Marine warships, and all the water in between them. Law's smirk grew as he held his index and middle fingers upwards before he flicked them.

"Shambles"