Chapter XXXV: Trouble in Paradise

"Seriously, how the hell did we forget about that?" Nami asked again as the room erupted into a mix of joy and panic. "It's pretty damn important now that you mention it!"

"Could someone please explain how this happened?" Robin asked. "It would seem I missed something, having only now joined."

"Luffy's brother is Fire Fist Ace of the Whitebeard Pirates," Sanji explained, causing her eyes to widen. "He asked Luffy if we wanted to be their allies. Luffy agreed, and now...I guess Whitebeard must have agreed to it as well."

Robin turned to Luffy. "Is that true? Portgas D. Ace is your brother?" she asked. He nodded in response.

"Hey guys? Not to ruin the moment, but won't this make it harder for us to leave?" Usopp pointed out. A few of them stopped to consider the possibility. Being allies with one of the Yonko could make it much more difficult for them to move around.

"That depends," Zoro answered. "The thing about the Yonko is that they're powerful enough that even the World Government would rather avoid conflict with them. In theory, this could cause the marines to back off, but if they're determined enough to capture us that they'll risk challenging Whitebeard, it means they'll be that much more willing to commit their resources to taking us down. It's hard to predict which." The room was silent again as the rest of them soaked that in.

"No," Robin said suddenly. "They'll be coming for us, without a doubt." The rest of the crew looked at her in question. Luffy and Zoro seemed visibly intrigued by her input. "Haven't you noticed something strange?" she continued. "Not only has this crew toppled one of the Seven Warlords, but now it's allied with arguably the most powerful pirate fleet in the world. Normally after such an uproar, those involved would gain a large increase in bounty." Luffy and Zoro's eyes widened in comprehension as she gestured to the newspapers. "And yet none of you have."

Suddenly, Luffy and Zoro both smirked, which confused most of the crew. "Interesting," Luffy said. "Who do you think they'll send?"

"I don't know, but if they're that confident, they better not waste our time," Zoro replied. Nami groaned.

"What are you all talking about? Why didn't your bounties increase? What does this mean?" she asked impatiently.

"It means the World Government doesn't think it matters whether their bounties increase or not," Robin answered in a worried tone. "It means whoever they're sending after us, they're sure we won't be able to escape."

"I guess that means we better get going then!" Luffy concluded, a little too jovially. "We wouldn't want to prove them right, would we?"

Usopp looked at him oddly. "You seem unusually happy. I would have thought you two would be bummed about not getting new bounties."

"Not really," Zoro replied. "All it means is that we'll get bigger ones after this."

Vivi listened in trepidation as she recalled their conversation from the previous night.

If you asked me, I'd say you should come with us. But something like that isn't my decision. It's ultimately up to you. So we'll give you until noon tomorrow to make your choice. If you decide to come, we'll celebrate, like pirates. If not, just know that we will always think of you as a Strawhat.

She bit her lip. It was a tough decision. She loved being the princess of Alabasta, but she loved being a Strawhat pirate too. Nevertheless, she knew where she needed to be.

Luffy noticed her uneasiness. "Don't be nervous, Vivi. Just go where you feel you belong. Like I said, we won't think any less of you either way. You'll always be our comrade."

She smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Luffy-san. I'd love to come with you and have more adventures. I really would. But I can't...because I love my country."

Luffy smiled in melancholy. He didn't really expect it to be any different this time, but it was still sad to let her go. "I understand," he said. "Then all the best of luck, Vivi."

Vivi smiled back, but there were tears in her eyes. They all understood. She was torn between two lives that she loved equally. But in the end, her country simply had a more crucial need for her than the Strawhat Pirates did. Seal stared blanky at her as she wiped her tears away. After a moment, he looked up at Luffy.

"Kuoo!" he squealed, catching the Strawhat captain's attention.

"Oh, so you want to stay with her?" he asked. The kung fu dugong nodded. Vivi seemed shocked. "I see. Ok then," Luffy said, though he seemed even sadder now. "Make sure you two take care of each other, alright?"

"Kuoo!" Seal punched the air repeatedly in a manner that suggested that anyone who tried to hurt Vivi was in for some pain. Vivi smiled and bent down to face him.

"So I guess we're both honorary Strawhats then?" she said. He nodded again in agreement, and then did something that surprised everyone. He held up the arm that still had the mark of the crew's comradery on it. He triggered an instant reaction; the rest of the crew immediately did the same. Vivi smiled widely as she held out her own arm, and Carue mimicked her.

Off to the side, Robin and Bentham, neither of which had the mark, were content to just watch. Bentham was near tears. "That...was beautiful. Such bonds of friendship are rare to see!" he yelled.

"So what about you?" Luffy asked. "Did you want to join the crew?" Bentham's jaw dropped in shock.

"So quick to offer me a place in your family! Strawhat, I'm touched! But I'm afraid I must decline; you see, I have my own crew, and I cannot simply abandon them!"

Luffy pouted. "Oh. Well there's nothing that can be done then. Oh well."

Robin, who hadn't spoken for a while, still seemed disconcerted about something, until Vivi walked up to her. "Robin, I guess you had your reasons for what you did. And I don't want things between us to end on a bad note. We're both Strawhats after all. So...can we call it water under the bridge?"

Robin seemed surprised, but she smiled. "I'd like that," she said. The two shook hands, and Robin looked like a load had been lifted off of her shoulders after that.

Zoro raised an eyebrow as he turned to Bentham. "Hey, if you have a crew, shouldn't you be getting in contact with them?" he asked. "The marines will be after you too since you were a member of Baroque Works. You can't stay here for long."

Bentham's eyes widened. "Crap, you're right! Stop joking aroouuund! Where's the transponder snail!?"

Hina leaned back in her chair as she gazed upon the ship of the Strawhat pirates, which was docked at the bay and now swarming with marines under her command. The ship was anchored, and was flanked by marine vessels on all sides. The Disciple Trio were due to arrive soon, and when they did, the pirates' chances of escaping would be negligible at best. In addition, she had her Black Cage Formation on standby, so even if they somehow got passed the blockade at the shore, they would have to face another one at sea. Everything was going smoothly. So then why did Smoker's warning keep repeating itself in her mind?

"Captain Hina!" the soldier on watch yelled. "Were we expecting Sir Dracule Mihawk too?"

Hina turned toward the subordinate in question with a puzzled expression. "Of course not! We haven't been able to recruit his help in ages. He just does what he feels like!"

"Then what the hell is that!?" Hina turned to where he was pointing, and her eyes immediately widened. For a brief fraction of a second, she actually found herself wondering if Hawkeye Mihawk was here as she watched a colossal blade of wind, easily towering over their marine ships, head towards the blockade they had formed on the shore. Even from this distance it looked intimidating.

Marine soldiers scrambled to jump out of the way as the attack tore through two ships as if they were wet tissue paper. The marine vessels stood no chance, and the marines began jumping overboard as they sank. Hina looked on in shock. It was clear that they were under attack, but who could have produced a slash of that magnitude?

The transponder snail suddenly started ringing, and Hina immediately answered it. "Sergeant, report!"

"Captain, Demon Wind Zoro is attacking us!" came the panicked voice from the other line.

It took Hina a moment to process that statement. Roronoa Zoro? Filing away the unlikelihood of a rookie swordsman being able to do something like that for now, she gave her order.

"Sergeant, open fire on the Strawhats' ship!" But there was no answer from her underling other than a scream before the line went dead. She watched as another marine vessel was cleaved in two and sank into the water. She squinted as she looked towards the shore again. She grabbed a pair of binoculars and was able to make out a man with a straw hat, surrounded by several other individuals who were boarding the goat-like pirate ship in the chaos.

The Strawhat Pirates had arrived.

Usopp cringed as he heard the screams of pain and fear from the nearby ships. "Wow, he's not holding back is he?"

"Oh, he is," Luffy said. "Just not as much as usual. I think it's because he hasn't seen as much action lately. He's been getting restless."

"Raise anchor and unfurl the sails!" Nami ordered. "We have to bypass the next blockade!" But as the Going Merry pulled away from the bay, the marine ships were already firing on them. Curiously, they weren't firing cannonballs, but large black spears, which meant that Sanji would have trouble kicking them away.

They needn't have worried, however. Zoro jumped back onto the ship and started deflecting the spears with blasts of wind from his swords. Between that and Luffy punching and kicking them away, none of them were reaching the Going Merry.

Mounting their defense grew more difficult, however, as the eight marine ships began surrounding them. Zoro was soon producing whirlwinds to blow multiple spears off course while Luffy used gatlings to knock them away. Meanwhile, Usopp readied the cannon, and was able to open a hole in the marine's formation by hitting one of the ships dead center, causing it to crash into the other ship subsequently cause them both to sink.

"Alright Usopp!" Luffy yelled as the shooter stared in shock at his results. "That's why you're our sniper!"

Usopp quickly recovered and puffed out his chest proudly. "Of course! This was nothing. That's what happens when you mess with the great Captain-"

"Set a course for the opening you idiots!" Nami interrupted. The marines were scrambling to account for the change in their formation when the sound of more cannonfire was heard in the distance. Zoro acted fast and cut the cannonball from a distance as it flew towards the Going Merry. There was a large explosion from above the ship, which was rocked back and forth by the shockwave.

Usopp started panicking. "Bad news guys, they brought a warship too! It's coming in fast!" The rest of the Strawhats saw that he was right. The marine ships that were keeping them on their toes before were now making way for another, which easily dwarfed them all in size.

Zoro's eyes narrowed. "It looks like their backup has arrived."

He shared a quick glance with Luffy, who was no doubt sensing the same thing he was, and they both nodded. Luffy turned towards the rest of the crew. "Guys, don't try to fight them. You're not strong enough yet. That means you too, Sanji."

"Who are they?" the chef asked in bewilderment.

"Vice admirals," Robin answered as she uncrossed her arms and opened her eyes. "Three of them," she added. "Doberman, Momonga, and Onigumo. They're said to be the disciples of the three marine admirals themselves." She was visibly worried.

Usopp started freaking out. "Are you kidding me!? What are they doing here then!? Don't they have bigger fish to fry!?"

Nami was distressed as well. "Luffy! We can't fight those guys! We should just focus on getting away," she reasoned.

"They wouldn't just let us do that," Zoro said. "Take a look." The Strawhats looked and saw that the three marines in question were actually approaching them through the air.

"They're flying!" Chopper exclaimed. "Just like Luffy! They can do that too?"

Robin looked at Luffy curiously. "Captain-san, where exactly did you learn that technique?" she asked.

"Uh, I learned by watching someone do it," Luffy said. Robin looked like she wanted to ask something else, but she simply nodded. Luffy, for his part, had conveniently neglected to mention that the person he'd learned from watching was standing right next to them.

When the three vice admirals arrived within the vicinity of the Going Merry, they immediately began raining long ranged sword slashes and rankyaku blades down on the ship. Zoro immediately drew his three swords and began deflecting them, while Luffy launched off of the deck and went on the offensive.

The other Strawhats could do nothing but watch, and even that was difficult given that their movements were a blur. They could make out that Luffy's arms and legs had blackened as he dished out numerous assaults on the three high ranking marines. From the deck, Zoro supported him with a hail of fast and deadly long ranged slashes. Although the two were outnumbered, it seemed as though they actually had the advantage.

But with the two of them preoccupied with the three vice admirals, Captain Hina was now free to continue her assault, and one of the black spears finally got passed Sanji, embedding itself into the Going Merry's hull. Luffy took notice.

"Zoro, can you hold them off?" he yelled.

"Of course I can, go!" he swordsman shouted back. Luffy landed back on deck, noting that Sanji was still tied up deflecting the spears.

"Nami, try to navigate us out of their formation. Usopp, keep firing on those ships, that should make it easier for her. Chopper, get below deck and patch that hole. Robin, you get the cage lady. Break!" He then jumped off the ship again, heading towards the marine blockade.

"You won't get away, Strawhat!" Momonga shouted, following after the pirate captain. Zoro let him go, knowing that one of them wouldn't be a problem for Luffy. Once the Strawhat captain got in range, he let loose a blast of Conqueror's haki, targeting the ships that were blockading them, and immediately felt hundreds of weaker auras lose consciousness. Before he could concentrate enough to make it stronger, however, his observation haki alerted him to an attack. He quickly spun around and used armaments hardening on his arm, blocking a sword slash from Momonga. "So it's true," the vice admiral said. "You can use all three forms of haki. And here I thought those were just rumors. This is utterly ridiculous."

Luffy grinned. "Did you come here thinking this would be easy?" he asked.

As the two fought their midair battle, the rest of the Strawhats were carrying out their orders. Chopper was successfully attending to the damage below deck, which wasn't particularly strenuous considering there was only one hole, and the unconscious marines had stopped firing on them. Above deck, Usopp had sunk two more marine ships now that he had time to focus, which left a notable opening in their formation for Nami to work with.

One of the marine ships were now pulling up beside the Going Merry. The Strawhats could make out Captain Hina and two others that were slightly familiar. Hina immediately jumped across to the Going Merry, startling them, and was engaged by Robin. Hands sprouted all over her body in an attempt to subdue her. They were immobilized by her caging ability only to disappear, before more sprouted and attempted to clutch the marine captain. Hina attempted to get close, but Robin kept her at bay using more hands that sprouted from the ground.

"Demon Spawn, Nico Robin," Hina acknowledged with widened eyes. "You've joined the Strawhat pirates?"

"It would appear so," Robin replied with a genuine smile.

"I've been waiting for this, you damn cook!" Fullbody shouted as he jumped over to the Going Merry as well. "Now I'll take my revenge! I've gotten stronger since last time."

"Really? So you've been promoted?" Usopp asked with his head tilted to the side. Fullbody's face darkened, indicating that the sniper had hit a sore spot, and he lunged at Usopp, who shrieked and readied his slingshot. Before either of them could act, however, Sanji casually kicked Fullbody in the face, sending him flying back over to the marine ship, where he landed in a bloody, unconscious heap...again.

"Who was that guy?" the chef asked in annoyance. "He was acting like he knew me…"

"You bastards! How dare you do that to my partner!" Jango shouted as he pulled out his hypnotic ring. "Take this! When I say 1, 2, Jango, you will all fall asleep! 1…"

"Certain death, explosive star!" Usopp's projectile hit him dead on and sent him overboard. He landed in the ocean with a loud splash. "That was from Kaya, dickhead!"

Meanwhile, Hina was having trouble keeping up with her opponent. The arms that were caught by her cage ability immediately disappeared only for new ones to appear. Robin watched her every move with a well trained, scrutinizing eye. Hina was under even more pressure as she had to avoid the limbs that grew out of the ship's deck as well. She was a close quarters combatant that simply couldn't get close. If anything, she was being pushed back.

Finally, she slipped up. In her haste to avoid the many hands in front of her, she didn't notice the ones that had sprouted up behind her, and leapt backwards into them. Hands wrapped around her legs and were quickly caged, but didn't disappear this time. More hands grabbed her arms and shoulders, pulling her backwards towards the wall. She caged the hands that were touching her, but could do nothing to stop the ones that piled on top of those, and she was pinned to the wall by a myriad of disembodied limbs. Once she was immobilized, two of the hands went for her neck and started choking her. She struggled in vain to escape from the numerous arms holding her arms and legs in place as she was deprived of oxygen. She sent a glare of defiance towards the heavily wanted woman before her. "Hina...has failed…" she groaned before her vision grew blurry and she blacked out.

"That was...scary…" Usopp commented, as Robin released the marine captain and carried her back to her own ship. Nami nodded in agreement. They both made mental notes not to get on their new crewmate's bad side.

"3 sword style...1080 Pound Cannon!" They turned to see Zoro still facing off against Doberman and Onigumo, who both dodged the flying slash in midair. Onigumo landed in front of him, wielding eight swords at once through the use of a zoan devil fruit. Doberman landed behind him.

"So you're a haki user as well, Roronoa," Onigumo said.

"What a troublesome crew," Doberman commented. "We will end you all right here, in the name of Absolute Justice!" They both sent rankyaku attacks at him, which he deflected with two swords. They then used soru to get close and attempt to cut him in half, but he blocked their swords as well and pushed them both back with whirlwind.

"As much as I've enjoyed this, I have to end it quickly," Zoro said. "Sorry, but I won't hold back anymore."

"Don't get cocky, pirate!" Doberman shouted as he sent off another flying slash in Zoro's direction. Zoro barely payed it any mind as he deflected it to the side.

Suddenly, Zoro's arms, legs, and head multiplied. The rest of the crew watched in confusion, but Sanji's eyes widened as he recognized the move from when the swordsman had fought Mihawk. Zoro leapt toward Onigumo, whose eight swords blackened as he met the attack halfway.

"8 sword style, Spider Demon Blade!"

"9 sword style, Asura!" The two swordsman passed each other by, and the crew watched with bated breath. "One Mist Silver!" Zoro whispered, before the extra limbs around him vanished. A large wound opened across Onigumo's side, spraying blood all over the ship's deck. The vice admiral collapsed. Doberman stared in shock at the scene before Zoro turned to him, three obsidian swords still drawn.

"3 sword style, secret technique," he said as he leapt towards Doberman next. The vice admiral's sword blackened along with his entire body in an attempt to ward off the attack.

The vice admiral's sword was cut into four separate pieces as they clashed. His eyes widened in shock, but he used a tekkai as a last measure of defense.

"Three Thousand Worlds!" Zoro shouted, as three long gashes appeared along the marine's abdomen. Doberman coughed up a wad of blood.

"Defeated...by mere...rookies…Akainu-senpai...I'm sorry…" was the last thing he said before he collapsed.

Once he was sure they were both down, Zoro looked back to Luffy, and sighed upon seeing that his captain was taking his time. Momonga was barraging him with sword slashes, numerous rankyaku, and even a shigan here and there, but Luffy was comfortably dodging it all, even in midair. "Giving up yet?" the rubber man asked. "You won't beat us."

"It isn't over yet, Strawhat," the swordsman growled.

"Actually, it is," Luffy said, pointing down below. Momonga looked back to the Going Merry, and his eyes widened upon seeing that his two comrades had been defeated. Preoccupied by his own fight, he hadn't noticed their auras dim. He gritted his teeth. He didn't like those two, but they were still fellow marines, and they had still fought and bled together. This battle really was over.

He flew back to the ship, Luffy following behind him, and landed in between Zoro and the two other marines. He quickly picked up his two associates and flung them over his shoulders before leaping off of the deck again, back in the direction of the warship. Luffy watched him in interest as he left.

"Well, at least that one knows when to retreat," he commented. Zoro shrugged.

"Whatever, let's get out of here."

The Going Merry finally made its way down the Sandora river unopposed, sailing out to its next adventure.

A day later, in Foosha village of the Goa Kingdom

The village was in an uproar. The entire town was in celebration of a certain pirate's rise to fame, much to the annoyance of Major Whoop Slap, who admonished them for their support of a criminal. Said mayor plopped himself down on a stool in Makino's bar in frustration. "Those idiots," he muttered.

"They're just excited for Luffy," Makino replied.

"What's so great about a pirate originating from our town?" Whoop Slap asked. "That Luffy's gone and made a criminal out of himself."

"But that's his dream," Makino pointed out with a gentle smile.

Whoop Slap sighed as he stared at the wanted poster on the wall. "His dream, or his fate?"

In a certain dojo in East Blue

A tall sword master with dark hair and glasses rubbed his head in exasperation as his students crowded around him.

"Hey Koshiro-sensei! Is it really true that Roronoa Zoro trained in this dojo?" one asked.

"Yes, he did," Koshiro replied. I forbid you to look up to him though."

"Huh!? Why!?"

Koshiro looked towards Kuina's grave in melancholy. It looks like you're still chasing that dream of yours, Zoro. I may question your methods, but so long as you always treasure your kendo, I will fully support you.

In Shells town

In a certain bar not far from Marine Branch 153, little girl stared up at two bounty posters in excitement. "Mom, it's really them! Can you believe it?"

"Yes, it seems they've become quite famous," Ririka replied with an exasperated smile. As much as she was conflicted about her daughter's admiration of wanted pirates, that swordsman had really helped them, and they would always owe him for that.

"But Mom," Rika continued as she stared at a third flyer curiously. "Whose this other guy that was in the newspaper with them?"

In Syrup village on the Gecko Islands

The village's local trio of infamous liars rushed toward a mansion on top of a hill. "Kaya!" they shouted in unison as they ran up to the door. The blond haired girl, used to their daily visits by now, opened the door welcomingly.

"Hello you three. How are you doing today?"

"Kaya! Look at this!" they shouted, each thrusting a wanted poster in her face.

"Oh, I see. So those two have gained new bounties. And...who is this gentleman?"

In the sea restaurant, Baratie

"Those fools are giving me a headache," Owner Zeff complained. "What are they so excited about anyway?"

"Oh, you mean you haven't seen yet?" Patty asked in disbelief. Come with me. You're going to love this!"

In Cocoyashi village

"Gen-san!" Nojiko shouted as she ran up to the village leader. "Have you heard the news yet?"

"Yea, I have. That kid has really done it this time. All I can say is, he better keep his promise."

"I'm sure he will," Nojiko said, grinning. "It's not his style to go back on his word. I could tell!"

In a castle atop the Drum Rockies

"Those brats are really in for it now," Dr. Kureha commented as she looked down at the newspaper.

"What could they have even done to earn bounties that high?" Dalton asked in wonder.

"They must have rattled the government's cage quite a bit," Kureha replied. She was silent for a moment. "Hey Dalton, have you ever heard of the Will of D?" she asked.

The village chief's brow furrowed. "Will of D? I'm not familiar with the term," he admitted.

"It was something said to have been possessed by Gol D. Roger himself."

"Gol D? You mean Gold Roger?"

"Is that what they're calling him now?" Kureha cackled before taking a swig of her sake. "Well, mark my words. That kid will become a legend. There's something about him that I just couldn't ignore when he made a ruckus here. Still, if he doesn't keep his promise, I'm going to hunt him down and gut him!"

In the holy land, Mariejois

"Gaaaarp! Get in here!" Sengoku shouted in fury. It wasn't long before the legendary vice admiral came crashing through the door, not bothering himself to open it.

"What is it Sengoku? Are you hungry? I brought rice crackers!"

"Garp, that blasted grandson of yours is the bane of my existence!" Sengoku shouted.

"Ah, you too? I know the feeling! Still, he's pretty badass isn't he? I guess it should be expected. I raised him after all! Hahaha!"

"Stop it! Stop being proud this instant!" Sengoku yelled. "That brat's a menace! Not only did he defeat one of our warlords, which by the way, we've failed to cover up, thanks to Alabasta's damn press getting wind of it before us...no, that wasn't enough for him, he had go and ally himself with the God fucking Whitebeard pirates! Now we can't even pursue him without risking war with a Yonko!"

"Ahahahaha! What did I say? Badass!" Garp said, still laughing.

"Dammit Garp! Take this seriously!" Sengoku shouted. "As if all that wasn't enough, he even defeated the Disciple Trio. Three vice admirals! What rookie pirate in the first half of the Grand Line can defeat vice admirals!? They've even reported that he was using all haki and rokushiki fluidly! I'm beginning to think you had a hand in this, Garp!"

"Who me? I barely trained him at all! You kept stationing me in the New World, so I didn't have time," Garp defended with a huff.

"Well, someone had to have taught him! Rookie pirates don't just master all three forms of haki before they even arrive in the Grand Line! It defies all logic!"

"Ahahaha! That's my grandson!"

"Shut up Garp!" But Garp just kept laughing merrily while chewing on his rice crackers.

"Gimme those!" Sengoku shouted, before snatching the rice crackers away.

"Hey, you can't hog them all!" Garp protested. Sengoku turned away and started chugging the whole bag, much to Garp's horror. As they fought over the bag, they knocked the wanted posters on Sengoku's desk to the floor.

On a raft in the middle of the most dangerous sea in the world, a bearded man with piercing eyes stared down at three wanted posters with a chilling smirk. They read:

Black Leg Sanji - 55 million berry

Demon Wind Zoro - 95 million berry

Strawhat Luffy - 175 million berry