Chapter 21: Chapter 21
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East Blue – Organ Islands
Syrup Village - Kaya's Mansion
After the commotion, Luffy and his group were welcomed into the mansion by Merry, another butler, who guided them to Kaya's quarters, where they all properly introduced themselves to the young lady.
They chatted for quite a while, with Luffy joining in Usopp's storytelling, while also sharing his own experiences and adventures up until now. He even revealed for the first time that the Straw Hat crew had another member who wasn't present.
"Wait, so I'm not your first crewmate?", Nami asked, not realizing she was already considering herself part of the crew.
"So, does that mean you're accepting my invitation to join the crew?", Luffy asked, already excited.
"I didn't say that", Nami replied, trying to dodge the question.
"Anyway, what's she like?", Zoro asked, curious since the stories made her sound quite strong.
"Well, she's easily the second strongest in the crew right now. She's super smart, like scientist-level smart, she's cool, and she's got pink hair, and she's cool, and she's really nice—", Luffy began describing Reiju in his own way, only to be interrupted.
Chouchou barked, cutting him off. "Alright, alright Cap, we get it. You'd just keep repeating yourself forever."
"Shishishi, didn't even notice. Sorry, Chouchou", Luffy said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"You can understand Chouchou, Luffy?", Kaya asked, surprised by their interaction.
"Yeah, I can hear the Voice of All Things. It basically lets me hear and understand animals and even inanimate objects."
"Is it like hearing the breath of all things?", Zoro asked, intrigued.
"Not really. One big difference is that only a select few people can hear the 'voice,' whereas with 'breath,' anyone who dedicates themselves and trains hard can hear it", Luffy explained in a very basic way.
"And what's it like hearing inanimate objects all the time?", Usopp asked, curious.
"Well, with objects, I can kinda choose if I want to hear them or not. With animals, I hear them all the time", Luffy said, petting Chouchou, who was lying on his lap.
"Changing the subject, you mentioned my dad is part of a Yonko's crew, right? So that means he's strong, right?", Usopp asked, trying to learn more about his father.
"He's one of the best sharpshooters in the world, so yeah, your dad's really strong", Luffy said with a smile.
Hearing this made Usopp beam with pride, glancing at Kaya, who was just as happy for him.
"Actually, if you want, I can call Shanks right now, and you can talk to your dad for a bit", Luffy suggested, thinking it was a great idea.
"No, no, Luffy, I don't want to bother them—", Usopp tried to protest, but it clearly didn't work.
"Don't be shy, Pinocchio. I'll be right back", Luffy said before vanishing and reappearing in an instant with a transponder snail in his hand.
Dialing Shanks' number, he waited for the pirate to pick up. "Pero… pero… kacha… Hello, who is this, and why are you calling so early?"
"It's already three in the afternoon, Shanks, and it's me, Luffy."
"Oh, it's you, Luffy! Sorry, I've got a nasty hangover. By the way, I heard from Makino that you disappeared three years ago. What happened? You had everyone worried", Shanks said, waking up fully.
"I found a really good place to train, so I stayed there for a while. By the way, did you manage to talk to my brother?", Luffy asked, scratching his head.
"Yeah, I did. The kid's doing fine. I taught him some tricks and pointed him to an old crewmate for better training. I heard he's joined Whitebeard now."
"Well, Ace has his own adventures, and I don't usually meddle, but thanks for the favor."
"No problem, kid. But how are you doing?"
"I started my journey a few months ago and already have some crewmates, but I called to ask if you could pass the snail to Yasopp. I've got his son here, and I thought it'd be nice if they could chat."
"Ah, sure. Hold on."
After a moment, a new voice spoke, "Hey, how's it going?"
Luffy handed the transponder snail to Usopp, who responded, "Hi… hi, Dad, how are you?"
"Usopp, is that you? How are you doing?"
"I'm good. Uh, Dad, Mom passed away", Usopp said, lowering his head.
"I… I know, son. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you", Yasopp said, his voice heavy with guilt.
"No, it's okay. I don't blame you. Mom didn't either. She knew you were following your dream and was proud of that."
"Yeah… I know, but it's still no excuse for not being there."
After talking for a while, Usopp asked, "Dad, I've got a question."
"Go ahead."
"If I go out to sea, how will I know when I've become a Brave Warrior of the Sea?"
"You won't, son. There's no way to know. It's something you just feel. In the end, it all comes down to a leap of faith."
They said their goodbyes, and Usopp turned to Luffy, handing the transponder snail back. "Thanks for this, Luffy. I think I needed it."
"I told you it'd be nice", Luffy said with a smile.
=Scene Break=
After talking a bit more, Usopp led Luffy and Zoro to the kitchen because Luffy was hungry again, and Zoro wanted a drink.
In the kitchen, Usopp asked Luffy about that teleportation ability he had used earlier.
Luffy not only explained what Rokushiki was and how to train its techniques but also explained Haki and how to train it.
After Luffy finished eating, the three of them spent some time chatting in the kitchen, passing time until dinner. During that time, Usopp repeatedly demonstrated his marksmanship skills with his slingshot.
=Scene Break=
Time passed, and dinner finally arrived. After a while of eating and chatting, Luffy asked Kaya, "So, Pinocchio's girlfriend, did you manage to check on that ship we want to buy?"
Almost spitting out her drink and blushing deeply, Kaya responded after a moment, "Yes, I did. Merry agreed, and he'll show you the ship tomorrow. If you like it, we'll make the deal."
"By the way, if you want, you can stay the night here at the mansion. How about it?", Kaya offered.
"Fine by me", Luffy said, with the rest of his companions agreeing.
After dinner, everyone enjoyed a well-deserved bath and went about their own activities. Meanwhile, Luffy went to find Usopp to officially invite him to join the crew.
Asking around, he discovered Usopp had gone out, so using Observation Haki, Luffy found him near the beach.
When he got there, Luffy witnessed Usopp secretly listening to Kurahadol's conversation with a strange guy who seemed to be imitating Michael Jackson.
Lying next to Usopp, Luffy overheard Kurahadol and the man, whose name was revealed to be Jango, discussing their plan to assassinate Kaya to steal her fortune. Luffy also found out that Kurahadol's real name was Kuro and that he was a pirate, a fact Luffy already knew through his meta-knowledge and from having seen many wanted posters, including old ones.
After they set the attack time for the morning because Kuro wanted to hurry things up, both men went their separate ways.
"That guy seemed suspicious", Luffy said, startling Usopp, who hadn't realized he was there.
"Holy crap, don't scare me like that! How long have you been here?", Usopp asked, holding his chest.
"You need to learn Observation Haki soon. I've been here since those two started talking, and you didn't even notice", Luffy said, distractedly gazing at the stars.
"It's true. They're going to attack the village and kill Kaya. We need to warn them", Usopp said, getting up in a hurry.
"Calm down, Pinocchio. I'll get the crew to defend the island, then we'll kidnap your girlfriend in the dead of night to protect her. In the morning, we'll beat the crap out of this Captain Kubo and his crew", Luffy explained his 'plan,' making Usopp blush at the mention of Kaya being his girlfriend.
"Okay, okay, let's do that", Usopp said, calming down.
"But before that—", Luffy vanished and reappeared in the same spot, this time carrying a box. "Here, I'm sure you'll make good use of these."
Usopp opened the box to reveal two Malorian 3516 pistols, complete with silencers and several extended magazines, all neatly organized inside. "Wow, they're beautiful, Luffy. Thanks a lot."
"No problem. Alright, let's go", Luffy said, already heading toward the mansion.
"Wait, let's stop by my house first. I need to grab some things", Usopp said, not feeling afraid for the first time in his life.
When they arrived at his house, Usopp grabbed a double shoulder holster that had belonged to his father and wore it, storing his two new pistols in it. He then put on a large fanny pack that had belonged to his mother, where he stored the silencers and loaded magazines. Before leaving, he grabbed a cowboy hat his father used to wear and put it on.
Back at the mansion, Luffy called his crew and asked them to take Usopp to the boat and wait for him there. He then knocked out Kaya and her butler Merry, who were in their quarters when he arrived and carried them to the boat, where the group was already waiting.
"Did Pinocchio tell you?", Luffy asked as soon as he arrived.
"Yes, the butler with glasses is actually a pirate, and his crew will attack the village at dawn and then kill Kaya", Nami said, holding her bo staff, already prepared for the fight.
"Alright, Pinocchio, where could they land?", Luffy asked.
"They could arrive from the south coast, where you all came from and where we are now, or from the north coast", Usopp said, a little nervous.
"Okay, we'll just wait. When they arrive, I'll take us to them. Tangerine and Pinocchio will fight Kubo, and Zoro and Chouchou will take care of the rest. If any of you need help, I'll step in", Luffy said, assigning tasks.
Even though Usopp wasn't confident about fighting Kuro, he didn't object. Nami, feeling safe with Luffy around, didn't complain either.
At dawn, they spotted a ship in the distance with a Jolly Roger fluttering in the wind, approaching the coast where they stood.
"Yeah, looks like we're in the right place", Zoro said, unsheathing two swords.
As soon as the pirates docked, Zoro and Chouchou began walking toward them, with Chouchou transforming into a twenty-meter-tall white wolf along the way. They then dashed forward using Soru, obliterating any pirate that got in their way.
From Kuro's crew, only Jango and the Nyaban brothers remained, watching everything from the ship.
Zoro then unleashed two incredibly fast-flying slashes with his swords, the first time he had done so since starting his training under Luffy. These flying slashes hit the Nyaban brothers head-on, cutting them in half and continuing forward, splitting the ship into four pieces.
At that moment, due to all the noise, Kaya and Merry woke up, confused about how they ended up there.
"What's happening?", Kaya asked, disoriented.
"Miss Kaya, are you alright?", Merry asked, checking on her to see if she was unharmed.
"The island is under attack by pirates. Kurahadol isn't who he says he is. His real name is Kuro, and he's a pirate. He's trying to kill you to take your fortune", Usopp said, keeping a close eye on his surroundings.
"This has to be one of your jokes, right, Usopp?", Kaya asked, not wanting to believe it.
"No, this time he's telling the truth. Here", Nami said, handing her an old wanted poster of Kuro.
While Usopp and Nami comforted the young woman, who was shaken by the revelations, along with Merry, Luffy walked over to Jango and said, "I challenge you to a dance battle. You in?"
"A dance battle, huh? That's already in the bag. Let's go, Straw Hat", Jango said, immediately starting to show off his dance moves, identical to Michael Jackson's.
After showing his moves, it was Luffy's turn. He began with the choreography from the introduction scene of Deadpool and Wolverine, mixing in some breakdancing in the middle of the routine.
Meanwhile, everyone around, except for Jango, watched them with strange looks, utterly confused by the situation.
As soon as Luffy finished his dance moves, Jango said, "Not bad, you actuall—"
But he couldn't finish his sentence because he was killed by Kuro, who had just appeared, extremely angry, his face showing pure disgust and contempt for having witnessed such a ridiculous dance battle.
"Oh, come on, he was just about to compliment me", Luffy said, disappointed that his dance moves didn't get the praise he was hoping for.
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(AN: 2,133 Words)
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