Chapter 025

"So, Captain, mind telling me where we're going?" Sanji asked when it started to seem like they were wandering.

"We're heading to a place called Cocoyasi Village. It's Nami's hometown," he replied. Sanji's face lit up at the mention of the orange-haired girl, but Luffy's voice turned serious and he found himself straightening.

"Her hometown was taken over by the Arlong Pirates 8 years ago," he continued. "They're an all fishman pirate crew whose strength is said to be unrivalled in East Blue."

Sanji pondered this for a moment. "Wasn't the same supposedly true of the Krieg Pirates?"

Luffy smiled grimly. "These guys would kick their collective asses any day of the week. But you're right not to believe everything you hear." Luffy paused. "Sanji, I told you they were an all fishman pirate crew, but there is one exception. Nami is involved with them."

Sanji's eyes widened and he was about to question this when Luffy continued, "Her motives are complicated. But let's think about it for a moment. The same pirates that she's supposedly involved with are holding her hometown hostage. Can you think of anything?"

No one ever accused Sanji of being slow on the uptake. "So the question is, what do they want from her? And whatever it is, why has it taken 8 years to resolve?" he said slowly.

Luffy nodded. "The only way to find out is to go there. The only problem being…" Sanji looked at him curiously as he trailed off, before looking up to the sky. "I have absolutely no idea how to navigate us there."

Sanji lit a cigarette slowly, and after blowing out the smoke, he spoke. "The fuck is wrong with you?" he asked with a blank face. Luffy turned to him.

"Well, I'm just lucky I have you right now," he said. He pulled out a map from his pocket. "The island is to the northwest of Baratie. Do you think you can figure it out?" Sanji nodded.

"I'm a chef of the sea. It's a must to have fundamental navigational skills," he said as he looked towards the setting sun. Luffy wasn't all that surprised. He knew Sanji had been born in North Blue, and had made his way to the East at some point. They had recruited him shortly before going to the Grand Line, where fundamental navigational skills would get you nowhere. So it was no surprise that he had never gotten a chance to show his knowledge in the area.

"I'm counting on you, then," he said. "And so is Nami, even if she doesn't know it yet."

"There it is! The Going Merry," Yosaku said, handing the binoculars to Usopp. Usopp looked through them and he saw the problem.

"It's surrounded by fishmen," he said with a hint of fear in his voice. Zoro had already explained about the fishmen after he had somewhat recovered on the way there, as well as his theories as to why Nami was involved with Arlong. The subject was still shrouded in mystery, but they were determined to ask Nami themselves.

"This is bad," Johnny said. "How are we going to dock the ship? The coast is being heavily guarded by those fishmen."

"It's fine," Zoro said. "I'll cut them. Let's go." The three other occupants of the ship immediately protested.

"Are you kidding!?" Usopp asked frantically. "Those are fishmen! You said it yourself, each of them is 10 times stronger than the average human!"

"He's right, aniki! You're wounds still haven't healed. What do you plan on doing?" Johnny asked.

"Like I said, I'll just cut them," Zoro repeated. He started to bring them closer to the coast. Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku all took one look at each other before nodding. Suddenly, they produced 3 hammers seemingly out of nowhere, and each whacked Zoro upside the head.

Zoro's head sagged from the impact. He stood there for a moment with his head facing the deck and shadows covering his eyes. Rather than falling over, he turned towards them, and the frightening look on his face sent chills through their flesh and into their very blood. Suddenly remembering how he had been captured in his own timeline, he spoke.

"You guys sure are gutsy today," he said in a low, eerie voice.

"The hell is that?" Sanji asked nonchalantly, staring up at the strange sea king. "A cow?" He turned to Luffy, who seemed to have stars in his eyes. No really, his eyes had turned into what looked like stars. Sanji rubbed his own eyes before looking back and seeing Luffy's focused expression. He decided he was just a little tired. Luffy called out to the cow.

"Hey, cowfish! We need to get to Arlong Park. Give us a ride!" he commanded. Sanji was really starting to wonder what kind of dipshit of a captain he had decided to follow, when suddenly the cow leaned forward, offering his head to Luffy, who patted him with a chuckle. Luffy then tied a rope around his horns, and the cow pulled them forward at a greater speed than they had been going, seemingly knowing which way to go.

I'm not gonna ask. I'm not gonna ask. I'm not gonna ask. I'm not gonna…shit, I'm gonna ask, aren't I?

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