Chapter 27

After walking for a while, the crew arrived at what appeared to be a paddy field where the villagers planted rice. At the far end of the rice field was a tree that provided a large enough amount of shade, so Luffy decided to go there and relax for a while.

Zoro, Usopp, and Johnny then started to tell them all what had happened since they left the restaurant until they met Luffy again. They started talking about how Usopp and Johnny had left Zoro on the ship when they saw the Fishmen approaching and then gone into hiding in the city that Arlong had destroyed because one person couldn't pay the tribute money.

At first, Luffy was angry at Usopp for leaving Zoro and saving themselves, but after hearing what Zoro did at Arlong Park, he calmed down. Apparently, after Nami got Zoro out of prison and told him to leave, Zoro decided to wait there and killed a group of Fishman while he was there.

Luffy assumed that was what Nami was talking about when she said Arlong wanted to kill Zoro because of his stupidity. Luffy was later shocked to learn that Nami saved Usopp's life by stabbing herself in the hand, and now that she thinks back on it, Nami was wearing black gloves when they met her.

"So Nami saved you from Arlong?" asked Yosaku.

"Yes, that's right," replied Usopp.

"Why would he do that if he was a member of Arlong's crew?" asked Johnny with a confused look on his face.

"I believe I can help answer that question," said a female voice from nearby, surprising everyone. Luffy then turned to the source of the sound and saw Nami's sister.

"And who are you?" Zoro asked in an even tone. Before he could answer, Usopp answered Zoro's question.

"That's Nami's older sister, Nojiko," said Usopp, pointing at her. "He saved me from a fisherman when I just arrived and then took me to his house," said Usopp. Luffy sighed before he spoke to Usopp.

"I really need to teach you Haki, Usopp," said Luffy in a tired tone. After hearing the new girl was Nami's sister, Sanji immediately went into his lovesick mode, which caused Luffy to look at Zoro, and then Luffy nodded his head, signaling Zoro to hit Sanji on the head.

"You all need to know why she joined Arlong's group, and if that doesn't get you out of here, I don't know what will." Hearing Nojiko's words, Luffy just raised his eyebrows.

"Okay, tell us all." "I have to admit that I'm curious," said Usopp. Luffy then got up from where he was sitting and started to walk away. As he walked away, he spoke.

"I don't need to know," he said as he walked. "I don't care about his past." "I'm going on a trip," he said, confusing them all. Zoro just sighed and started to sit under the tree before he spoke.

"Don't mind him; that's just the way Luffy is," Zoro said as he put his hand behind his head. "We will hear you," he said. After Luffy left his crew to hear what Nojiko had to say about Nami, he started down a lonely road set in rice fields and shady trees.

Luffy had been walking for several minutes, and he was now quite far from the rest of his crew. That's when he noticed three figures in front of him. As he continued walking towards the three figures, he noticed that they weren't moving; they were just standing there staring at Luffy.

As Luffy got closer, he realized that they were actually fishmen. They are all slightly taller than Luffy and definitely more muscular. The three fishmen continued to stare at Luffy, and when he got closer and they were far enough away to hear each other, an octopus fishman was the first to speak to him.

"Hello, stranger," said the Octopus with folded arms.

"Hey," said Luffy as he walked past the three of them.

"I've never seen you on this island; are you a guest?" The octopus asked while the other two fisherman looked at Luffy with suspicious eyes.

"I was just passing by," Luffy replied without stopping; he didn't even look at them.

"And where are you going?" asked Fishman with a rather long mouth.

"I don't have any goals; I'm just walking around," said Luffy as he walked away from the three Fishmen. The octopus fisherman who first greeted Luffy smiled and started waving his arms at Luffy as he spoke.

"Goodbye, stranger," he said cheerfully, waving at Luffy. Luffy didn't say anything; all he did was keep walking away from the group.

If you ask Luffy where he's going, he can't give you an answer because he doesn't know where he's going. It was very strange for Luffy because normally he always makes well-thought-out decisions and everything he does must have a reason, but right now he has no reason to do what he does.

After walking some more, Luffy reached a cliff that gave a beautiful view of the coast and the open ocean. Staring out at the ocean, Luffy couldn't help but smile as he looked out at the ocean and thought about the freedom he had as a pirate.

As he looked and enjoyed the view, Luffy noticed something out of the corner of his eye. When he slightly turned to the left, he saw a marine ship, and from the looks of it, it was the ship from Marine Branch 16.

"Has Marine finally decided to take action against Arlong?" Luffy asked himself as he stared at the ocean liner.

"I better get back... "I have this weird feeling that some trouble is going to happen," Luffy said to himself, then turned around and started walking back to meet the rest of the crew.

He decided to take a different route, as he didn't want to run into the fisherman again. So he took the longer route, which would take him straight to the village, and then from there he would return to meet his crew.

After walking for about 15 minutes, Luffy entered the village and started walking down a fairly busy street. Suddenly everyone on the road, including Luffy, stopped and looked ahead. Walking towards Luffy is a group of Marines, along with Genzo. Luffy slightly narrowed his eyes before he started moving to the side of the road and ducked his head, hiding among the other villagers.

"Did Genzo call Marines here to catch me?" Luffy asked himself. Just as the group of Marines passed by, Luffy managed to hear a bit of their conversation.

"What do you want with Nami?" Genzo asked, causing Luffy's eyes to widen.

"Your job is just to lead us there; I suggest you do your job and stop asking questions," said the Marine captain, who looked a lot like a mouse. Just as the Marines were getting away, Luffy turned his body into lightning and then teleported himself to the location of his crew.

Zoro and the rest of the crew were sitting around waiting for Luffy, about 5 minutes now that Nojiko had finished telling his story. Right now, Usopp is doing something on his slingshot, Sanji is smoking, Zoro is sleeping, and then Johnny and Yosaku are playing cards.

Then, out of nowhere, a bolt of lightning struck the ground near them, causing dust to fly and scaring everyone to death. When the dust finally cleared, everyone saw Luffy standing up with a serious face. Upon seeing him, Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku immediately jumped to their feet and shouted at Luffy.

"LUFFY!" they shouted while running towards Luffy. Luffy looked at everyone before he spoke.

"Come on, time to move," he said before turning around and starting to walk towards the village with Zoro on his right and Sanji on his left, while Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku followed behind.