Chương 68: Chapter 68
"Why are we walking at this ungodly hour?!" Usopp whined pathetically as he tried his best to keep his eyes open while walking in the cold sandy grounds and through the chilly winds which were hitting his body, making it feel barely functional. On top of that, he was way too sleepy to walk in the abnormally chilly desert at four o'clock in the morning of all things!
"At least the sun is not above our head." Chopper commented beside Usopp between his yawns. He was glad that he didn't have to be carried by 'Purple'- the lizard- who was not dealing with the cold too well.
"But can someone care to explain why we are starting our journey this early in the morning?!" Nami asked, feeling annoyed at getting her sleep time cut off. She was really glad that Eyelashes was carrying her, otherwise she could have sworn that the chilly winds wouldn't let her move well enough to keep up with the others- especially Ace, Sabo, Luffy, Zoro and Sanji- who were walking without any care about the chills.
"Because we need to hurry." Luffy provided a small frown to Nami, who insistently found something was going on, which Luffy once again didn't explain nicely to them. She knows that they are going after Crocodile, but if they started their journey a little bit late, then it wouldn't hamper their plans, right? After all, Crocodile didn't seem to leave his base like Vivi had informed.
"Hurry for what, Luffy?" Vivi questioned out of curiosity. She wasn't complaining regarding the turn of events but she was indeed curious about what Luffy and his brothers had planned. Moreover, the mood up in front of them was filled with hidden tension, which she could sense.
"Someone needs to get to the capital asap." Sabo let a small part of the secret out of the bag. In all honesty, he would have loved to explain the situation to everyone but knowing Vivi, Usopp, Chopper and Nami, even for a day, he knew that they would panic. He had already told the situation to Ace, Zoro, Sanji and Luffy, who had taken it all calmly and were determined to stop the war but he couldn't trust the others to do so yet.
"Weren't we going to fight Crocodile?" Usopp inquired, although he was truly relieved that he didn't have to meet the Warlord who was terrorizing the whole island of Alabasta behind the scenes. But he couldn't help but wonder why they were heading to the capital instead.
"Crocy is mine to fight." Luffy declared with his strawhat shadowing over his eyes as he kept on walking towards where the wind was guiding him. He could feel the carnage and the events which were happening near Alubarna and in the whole country. The distrust of the people for their king, the steadily fast steps of the royal army getting ready to apprehend the rebel army who were using horses to reach Alubarna. And the cause of it all? Crocodile! The fucking warlord, who was laughing gleefully in Rainbase. Luffy knew that Crocodile didn't feel safe enough to sleep.
"What are we supposed to do Captain?" Zoro questioned, looking at his teen captain, whose unforgiving gaze was hidden by his strawhat.
"Zoro." Luffy began, looking at Zoro with the aura of that of a captain and a king, maybe even something more powerful. "I need Zoro to take charge of the crew to Alubarna though Nami is navigating." Luffy ordered, leaving no place for any questions to be asked.
"Aye, Captain." Zoro responded swiftly even when he wanted to ask how Luffy would come back to them, knowing that his captain's sense of direction was way off. Zoro would have worried if Luffy could take on Crocodile by himself but having seen the teen god's powers first hand, he knew the one who needed mercy was Crocodile.
"Don't worry, we will be there to take care of him." Ace patted Zoro's back, sensing the worry hidden perfectly in the swordsman's face. Ace was truly proud seeing the worry and care Luffy's crew showered on him.
"Guys, I see something!" Nami bellowed from where she was sitting on the top of the camel, looking at the nearby settlements which were starting to show up through the sands.
"That must be Rainbase!" Vivi proclaimed, as she helped Nami to get down of Eyelashes at the same time. In about five more minutes, they would be inside the den of Crocodile. That thought was enough to make her feel her resolve shiver for a moment before solidifying. She was here with her friends to take him down.
"Will the shops be open at this hour?" Sanji questioned, looking at the city. Even if they needed to leave for Alubarna, the crew still needed food and water. They needed energy to keep moving and as the chef of the crew, it was his duty to make sure that everybody was ready for the fight they could be facing. Sabo had informed him and the mosshead about the main objective of Crocodile's plan- to not let Vivi meet Kouza- and their part in all of this.
"Rainbase is a very popular town, which stays open both day and night. So, I am sure the shops will be open." Vivi answered Sanji's question with a small smile on her face.
"Usopp, are you done with that without those party poppers?" Nami inquired Usopp with a very sweet smile, which in reality screamed evil and sent a shiver down Usopp's spine, who was going to happily run towards the town in search of water. But alas! Fate had other plans for him. Especially after he had gotten beaten to a pulp by Nami after their battle with the Baroque Works in the seas.
"Yes, I am done with it." Usopp instantly presented the three parts of the new climatact to Nami. He was really glad when Nami didn't berate him any further and took her new updated weapon. He wouldn't have got enough time dealing with the weapon, if not for Purple the massive lizard, who carried him and allowed him to keep tinkering with the staff. "I wrote a manual for the weapon too. Just read it when you get time." Usopp passed the manual to Nami, who stashed the paper in her pockets.
"Nami-swaann! You don't have to worry about fighting, my dear love, because if you or Vivi-swannn don't want to fight then you don't need to because I will protect you both with my life." Sanji gushed and swooned like a moron towards Nami and Vivi who instantly got away from his path of noodling. "And of course, Bonney-chan too! Just call me Prince, my ladies!" Sanji spoke the last line without flirting. He was serious about protecting the girl who had changed to her adult form and was walking with her brothers. He knows that Bonney is a girl, not a woman. He swears to never make such a mistake again.
"Move it, Prince." Zoro taunted Sanji with a straight face.
"I said only Ladies!" Sanji retorted back while gritting his teeth.
Though everyone present there could tell that the bickering was completely half-hearted and was an attempt to ease the tension of entering into the den of their enemy.
"Guys, do the Baroque Works know that we are in the country?" Usopp questioned as he started taking slow steps towards the town, which was just a few footsteps away from them now. He could already hear the hustling crowd of the town and catch some few phrases but what he couldn't miss for his life was the tension which was enveloped in the town like a ghost's veil. There was something going on and Usopp wished and prayed to the Gods for that 'something' to be not related to them.
"Yes, they do know." Ace informed Usopp, keeping his eyes and ears open for any news from the crowd which seemed to be on their edge. Ace looked at Sabo, who had a small tight smile on his face, indicating that he indeed knew what was wrong.
"So what if they know?" Luffy questioned, cocking his head in confusion. It really didn't matter to him if Crocy knew they were coming or not. All that mattered was that the sand warlord was going to get his ass kicked by him. "Moreover, I have already challenged Crocy."
"Keep it quiet!" Zoro, Usopp and Nami hissed at Luffy while Ace and Sabo turned their heads to their baby brother so fast that everyone could hear a pop sound from their necks.
"You did what?!" Ace and Sabo questioned Luffy while Bonney was laughing and the rest of the crew were facepalming themselves at the sheer stupidity of the situation.
"Your baby brother indeed did it." Nami uttered with a defeated sigh, remembering the day when the crew was personally informed by Luffy about this. Looking at the huge, confident smile on Luffy's face now, she could only hope that Crocodile regrets his decisions.
"Never change Luffy, never change." Ace snorted at Luffy's silly actions and grin. Meanwhile, Sabo could finally understand how Crocodile knew about the presence of 3C's in the island. It was because Luffy had challenged Crocodile as Cyra. Though, it made him wonder if Luffy was going to beat the warlord as Cyra or himself.
"Ace! Sabo!" Luffy hopped towards his brothers with a mischievous grin on his face, which almost put everyone on edge, knowing very well that grin meant something troublesome and it was confirmed when Luffy excitedly continued his words, without a care of the world. "Want to deal with the pest in our old style, please?" Luffy asked, unknowingly summoning puppy eyes, which no one could deny. In his defense, Luffy really wanted to go against Crocy with his brothers and show the sand Crocy how powerless he really was to even desire to get his hands on that.
"What do you mean?" Usopp questioned Luffy's mysterious words.
"I am all in for it!" Ace grinned without even giving it a single thought. It has been a long time since he had gone out with his brothers as 'Orange Wrath' Cole. Moreover, he would get to increase his bounty via this and also give his crew enough information about where he is.
The Strawhats were utterly confused about the conversation which the brothers were making. The only one who didn't look confused was Bonney who was scouting the area for food and water. She already knew what her older brothers were discussing. She would have felt sad knowing she wasn't included in it but knowing that the Warlord and the marines are going to freak out, gave her immense pleasure.
"You guys have those with you?" Sabo questioned his brothers in a very low voice, not wanting anyone else to hear what they were talking about. They had already entered the town but the main town square was still a bit far, from where the Baroque Work agents would start keeping an eye on them.
"Yep!" Ace and Luffy chimed back enthusiastically while patting their backpacks. Their trademark capes, without which they can't go out as the 3C's, were always with them as Luffy never took out the cape out of his backpack while Ace kept the cape always close to him as it's a comfort item for him and helps him remember the good times when he felt homesick. Even Sabo had his cape in his bag because he loves terrorizing the marines whenever he goes for solo missions.
"Guys, what are you talking about..?" Vivi questioned out of confusion and curiosity after hearing the snippets of their mysterious conversation. On top of that, she was getting worried as they were approaching the main town from where the crowd would increase and they needed to seriously plan what to do.
"It's a secret plan to terrorize Crocy." Bonney answered with a giggle when neither of her brothers answered Vivi or the confused looks of the other Strawhats, choosing to give a mysterious smile which could only mean mischief.
"Sorry but we don't really have any time to play things safe. A short and direct approach might be our best chance right now." Vivi worriedly spoke out her thoughts, not wanting to indulge in whatever the trio were planning right now.
"Indeed." Sabo answered with a nod as the group finally entered the main town which was already too crowded with civilians, merchants, gamblers and finally bounty hunters who had bounty posters in their hands. "But you leave that man to us." Sabo suggested, getting a nod from Ace and Luffy and finally a hesitant nod from Vivi.
"We need to get food and water though." Sanji commented as he took a swig from his cigarette. The chill in the atmosphere was still there but at a tolerable rate. He knew some of the plan which they- Sabo, Ace, Luffy, Zoro and him- have crafted in the morning but the new plan or mischief which the trio brothers were looming with was confusing and new to him even. Looking at the mosshead, he could see that even he didn't know about the new predicament.
"I and Bonney can go get food and water for everyone!" Luffy volunteered on behalf of him and Bonney, who instantly agreed with his plans.
'Why do I feel that I'm going to regret this?' Nami thought, looking at the impossibly happy Bonney and Luffy running through the crowd to get food and water.
"Why them?" Zoro sighed, leaning on the crumbling wall, behind which the group had chosen to hide from the prying eyes of the bounty hunters for now. He knew that trouble would follow Luffy wherever he goes.
"Bonney-chan will keep Luffy in control." Sanji asserted while lighting another cigarette by himself, wanting to stay positive that no marines or bounty hunters would chase Luffy and Bonney all the way back here.
"Yeah, let's hope for that."
"Anyways, we will see you guys later. We have some business in the town." Ace started after a minute of Luffy's and Bonney's departure. He pointedly decided to ignore the look which Zoro gave him, questioning about what he was up to, especially when they had offered to help Luffy deal with Crocy.
"You guys can leave us behind if we are too late. See ya later." Sabo also said his departing words and booked off from the Strawhat crew leaving them on their own devices. They needed to change to their capes, which they couldn't in front of the Strawhats as they didn't want to tell them about their real identities yet. Moreover, they have to even pick up Luffy before he causes any ruckus in the town.
.
Smoker was sitting in a bar, holding a jar filled with booze in one hand and a thick, fat cigar in his mouth. He really needed all the nicotine and alcohol right now, considering the situation which he found himself in. Not only did he manage to successfully lose the Strawhat Pirates or more specifically a certain strawhatted kid, whom he was sure was getting brainwashed by the people around him and also 'Fire Fist' Ace and the 'The Revolutionary tyrant' Kuma, to become a pirate and somehow want to kick Crocodile's ass, which was utterly impossible considering the childish, scrawny kid. But there was something wrong with the pirates and revs wanting to stick with the kid too. Maybe they saw the potential in Luffy and wanted to groom into a weapon for their selfish intentions, which led the kid wanting to be the king of pirates of all things. But that was more of a reason for Smoker to save Luffy from the terrible path which he's currently walking on.
"Capt. Smoker, what are we doing here in Rainbase?" Tashigi questioned, eyeing warily at Smoker, knowing very well that the man was pissed off since he couldn't get hold of the adorable strawhatted kid with an insane amount of bounty on his head. Well, she wasn't going to blame her captain for wanting to get to the kid considering how cute he is but she wondered if Smoker knew the kid from somewhere.
"I dunno. Instincts, I suppose." Smoker answered, remembering the little conversation which he had with the kid while he was chasing him so that he could get the boy away from the crazy pirates and the revolutionary. The kid had clearly announced that he was there to beat up Crocodile, which meant that he was going to come to Rainbase, the base where Crocodile is. But why would the kid want to go against a warlord? This was the most confusing question he had. "In any case, there is something suspicious going on in this country. Something big... I can feel it in my bones."
"CATCH THEM!"
"WE NEED TO RUN!"
"Then do you think there's some connection between Crocodile and those criminal organizations?" Tashigi questioned, wanting to point towards the Baroque Works as well as the renowned criminals 3C's. From the moment she had arrived in the town, she could sense the tense atmosphere and the whispers of the 3C's present in the town, which was making her keep her eyes and ears open.
"HURRY! RUN AFTER THEM! DON'T LET THEM ESCAPE!"
"AGGHHH! RUN!!!"
"Maybe." Smoker answered after a moment of thinking about it all. There sure was something very big which was going on in the country, which somehow got that Strawhat kid involved in it but what?! "I still can't understand why the kid is with the Strawhat pirates-"
"STRAWHAT LUFFY! YOU CAN'T ESCAPE FROM ME!"
The shouts which Smoker was tuning out for a long while, couldn't be tuned out anymore. Not when he heard the name of the kid whom he wanted to find.
"KID!" Smoker dashed outside of the bar with a shout, only to find the bustling crowd of the civilians in Rainbase, parting ways to give way for the strawhatted kid and the same woman who was madly dashing after the kid in Nanohana and just behind them was a horde of bounty hunters shouting for the kid to wait and try to attack or capture him. "STOP RIGHT THERE!" Smoker started chasing after the duo too, who were miraculously running at a top notch speed while carrying barrels of water and a backpack which looked hastily stashed with lots of food. That gave Smoker a gut churning thought. Was the Strawhat Pirates keeping the kid as their 'captain' to make him run errands for them and take their blames? Is it a facade?
"SMOKEY?!" Luffy instantly caught onto the voice which was also chasing after them right now. He had tried his best to avoid making a scene at Rainbase, 'cause he wanted to terrorize Crocy as Cyra and also avoid Smoker whom he had sensed when he was entering the town but all his hard work had to gone down the drain when a stupid jerk recognized him, followed by bounty hunters chasing after him and Bonney. The only thing which he was glad of right now was the fact that they were able to stash water and food for the crew.
"WHY THE HELL IS THAT SMOKEY GUY HERE?!" Bonney shouted out in confusion seeing the man turn into smoke and chase after them along with the other bounty hunters. The only thing which seemed good about the situation was that the Smoker guy was crushing the bounty hunters on his way towards them.
"Smokey is way too reckless!" Luffy uttered with a giggle, feeling the concern and worry within Smoker for him rise. He would have stopped to answer the questions which the nice marine wanted to ask him but he didn't want Bonney to get caught and his friends to chide him right now.
"It's relentless, Luffy!"
.
"Do you think it was alright trusting them with getting water?" Chopper worriedly asked after ten minutes passed, seeing the direction which Luffy and Bonney left to. He was getting worried as the time passed and knowing Luffy, he really didn't want to repeat what happened last time.
"It's just a little errand. I am sure that they can handle it." Usopp tried to assure Chopper but in reality he was freaking out too, seeing the civilians continuously exchanging rumors about a dangerous pirate crew present in Alabasta. He really didn't want to face those pirates on top of a warlord, even if Luffy said that they didn't need to worry about the Warlord but knowing Luffy, his plans have a 99.99% chance to fail.
"They might just come back with more than just water if you know what I'm saying." Zoro stated nonchalantly, as he was growing familiar with Luffy's luck of attracting trouble even when he didn't want to.
"Shitty mosshead, you just jinxed it!" Sanji shouted at Zoro, the moment he heard hurried footsteps running towards him and shouts of a familiar marine captain who likes to chase them and on top of that Luffy's wild giggling and laughter echoing throughout the town and making their way towards them.
"No, that can't be!" Nami shrieked out with wide eyes filled with panic and worry for themselves and the teens who were sprinting towards them, with a horde of marines and bounty hunters on their back. "Why the hell are they running this way!?"
"Forget that and start running!" Zoro shouted out in a hurry to the others, who were still shocked and were either still processing what the hell was happening or were waiting for Luffy and Bonney to finally catch onto them to get some sense knocked into their heads.
"GUYS! THE MARINES ARE HERE!" Luffy warned with a huge smile on his face, while also laughing like a freaking idiot, getting chased by marines and bounty hunters. It looked to the Strawhat pirates as if Luffy was fucking enjoying getting chased which he indeed was.
"YEAH! THANKS TO YOU IDIOTS!" Zoro and Sanji shouted in unison to Luffy and Bonney, who weren't understanding the gravity of the situation at all and had successfully managed to gather a horde of men with swords and guns chasing after them.
"I WON'T LET YOU ESCAPE THIS TIME, LUFFY!" Smoker bellowed out, running as fast as he could towards the kid, who was getting shouted by his crew mates. The more he was seeing the antics of the crew, the more he was getting worried if the crew was truly forcing the innocent kid to stay.
"Isn't it bad to run around the town like this?! We'll be spotted by B.W. agents!" Usopp cried out, running through the crowd of people who were hurriedly trying to get out of their way but some were still getting caught in the ruckus.
"You spoke too soon, Usopp!" Sanji chided at the long nosed guy, pointing towards the bounty hunters who were joining with the marines and the rest of the people who were chasing after them.
"LUFFY! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING GOING AROUND BEING A PIRATE? WHERE THE HELL ARE YOUR PARENTS!? DO THEY EVEN KNOW WHAT THE HELL YOU ARE DOING!?" Smoker shouted in irritation, noticing that he would lose the little brat once again in the crowd. Why the hell was there such a large crowd at 5 am in the morning in the first place?!
"ARE YOU STALKING NI-CHAN?!" Bonney gasped, turning to Smoker to give him a nasty look, which told that she didn't like Smoker chasing after her older favorite brother this way.
"What the?!" Luffy almost lost his footing at Smokey's question and Bonney's reaction. Smokey was not stalking him, right? Or was he?! Luffy gasped at the sudden realization but somewhere a sane part of him knew that it wasn't the case so he left his realization in the dumpster and ran ahead.
"Those fucking marines! Why the hell do they keep chasing Luffy?!" Zoro commented angrily, wanting to face off the marine, especially considering the weird way of how Smoker always found Luffy in strange situations.
"Roronoa Zoro! Stop right there!"
Zoro turned tail and began running as fast as he could. He did not want to face the rip off of Kuina. All the thoughts of confronting Smoker for the sake of Luffy vanished Zoro when he heard that voice. No way in hell was he going to stop for the woman.
"LIKE HELL I'M GONNA STOP, YOU RIP OFF!" Zoro yelled back, eliciting a peal of laughter from Luffy and a string of curses from Sanji who wanted to kick him for disrespecting a woman. But damn him!
"HOW DARE YOU DISRESPECT A WOMAN, YOU MOSSHEAD?!" Sanji spun to kick Zoro's head but Luffy was instantly between them, stopping their fight.
"It's not time for this, Zoro, Sanji!" Luffy caught Sanji's leg and Zoro's hand, before they could either kick Zoro's face or the katana left their hilts. The marines and bounty hunters were still hot on their tails and he didn't want them to ruin the plan which he thought out with his brothers. Moreover, the ruckus which they have created must have already gotten Crocy's attention. "Catch these!" Luffy threw the barrels of water to Zoro and Sanji, as he didn't have enough hands to drag both of them at the same time while carrying the barrels of water.
"Vivi, where is Crocy?" Luffy questioned, his face contorting into that of a serious expression. He was done playing around and needed to find Crocy's location unless he wanted to kick Crocy out of his base, which seemed fun.
"He's in that building with the crocodile on top." Vivi pointed at the yellow pyramid type building to Luffy. "That's Rain Dinners, the casino owned by Crocodile."
Luffy nodded and headed towards the place after glancing over his shoulder to look at his nakama. Nami was doing okayish but was searching safe escape routes, Zoro's eyes were too sharp looking for anyone threatening, Sanji was close to Vivi and Bonney keeping them safe, Usopp was panicking a bit but was doing okay like Chopper who was running too.
"Okay then-?!" Luffy yelped out of nowhere, his voice getting cut off mid sentence and his feet getting yanked off his ground and into the air. He would have punched the person who dared to kidnap him but sensing the familiar faint Haki of his brothers, Luffy relaxed in their holds but the same could not be said about the others. "DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME! GO AHEAD!" That was the last words which Luffy could utter to his worried crew, before he disappeared with his brothers.
Nobody had been able to see the two figures in the dark, dawned with capes covering their faces, moving through the rooftops to swoop Luffy with incredible speed and precision.
"LUFFY?!"
"WHAT THE HELL?!"
"WHERE DID HE GO?!"
The Strawhat pirates and the marines along with the bounty hunters gasped, screamed and shrieked, completely shocked at what was going on until someone with rapt attention recognized the iconic orange and blue capes rustling through the wind of the two kidnappers, who were also wearing the extravagant jewels which were hanging from their neck. Realization dawned on that man like cold icy water as he yelled out in shock and fear.
"IT'S 'ORANGE WRATH' COLE AND 'BLUE SLY' CYANE!" The person shouted out, regretting the next moment when shrieks and screams of fear resounded throughout the town, spreading panic like a wildfire.
"THE FUCK?!"
"THEY WERE THE 3C'S?!"
"THEY FUCKING ACTUALLY EXIST?!"
Marines and the bounty hunters let out in fear. Some even ran with their tail between their legs. The rumors which they had been hearing about the presence of the 3C's was considered fake, which had given the bounty hunters enough guts to face the Strawhat pirates and not leave the fucking island. But now, they were not sure! All they knew was if they don't want to be killed or be traumatized forever, they needed to run, leave and never show their faces in this island, lest the 3C's come after them.
"Those bastards..!" Zoro gritted his teeth, his eyes wide with shock but the shock resided soon with the worry of Luffy and he unsheathed all his katana from their hilts and ran after those motherfucking ghosts of the past, which he had just thought was a myth to keep the greedy bounty hunters and the marines away from pirates but those fuckers were not just a myth but a reality. Zoro was feeling his blood run cold when the realization of the 3C's having kidnapped Luffy, a God, dawned on him.
The moment Zoro started running, Sanji wasn't too far behind. He was frightened at the possibility of what would happen to their captain, who is a beacon of sunshine to everyone. "Captain! Dammit! Give him back!" Sanji shouted out, snapping his cigarette in half and running towards the place where Cole and Cyane disappeared to. He was alarmed from the moment he had heard someone mentioning the presence of Cyra in the crowd, but he had never thought that it was true! Because people talk shit! He had heard pirates and marines alike talking about 3C's in the Baratie, about how brutal they were. There was no way he was going to leave his captain- despite how reckless, stupid, dumb he is- in their hands.
"N-No... It can't be!" Nami's voice trembled with fear and her face turned pale and contorted into that of sheer horror at what she heard and saw. "L-Luffy..." Nami felt like collapsing out of pure terror which made her legs feel jelly-like. She had heard of the 3C's during her travels even in the East Blue and even from Arlong, who was seemingly afraid of the legendary pirates. Their fearsome stories had always scared Nami, especially after hearing that the crew would disappear like a ghost in the wide oceans after utterly crushing the pirates or the marines they would encounter.
Usopp, Vivi and Chopper were completely frozen in their place, their eyes wide with fear and legs unable to carry them. They had heard snippets about the terrific tales and adventures of the 3C's, spewing chaos wherever they went. Their knees almost buckled under as they remembered the advertisements in the newspapers regarding 'impenetrable items which even 3C's can't break or steal', made by the 3P's or originally known as P.P.P., but they had never known what it truly was until a few minutes back where Luffy, the guy who could fight a war all by himself, got freaking kidnapped by them!
The marines and the bounty hunters were in utter chaos, trying to run away and escape from the wrath of the 3C's, except for Smoker, who was running after the 3C's, the moment they snatched the kid, whom he was determined to save from the terrible pirate life but now... the situation had escalated to far worse than the kid being a pirate.
"This isn't good at all!" Smoker cursed under his breath, his fists clenching and body turning to smoke to cover the distance as fast as he could to find the innocent kid. Because he knew once those wretched criminals have Luffy, it was game over for the kid. But Smoker wasn't going to give up on the kid, even if he can't compete with the 3C's. A protective instinct which he hadn't realized within him surged above seeing Luffy in the clutches of the 3C's. "I have to get Luffy back!"
Zoro and Sanji exchanged brief glances, both of them shocked that Smoker of all people was willing to help them get Luffy back but the shock was shoved under the rug as they were determined to get Luffy back, no matter what.
With Smoker, Zoro and Sanji leading the charge and madly dashing towards their deaths in the hands of the 3C's, the Strawhat pirates couldn't stay still shocked. Even if they were scared and confused, worried and terrified for their captain, they stood up and followed after Zoro and Sanji, replacing their fear with determination, which was fueled with the bright sounds of laughter which they could hear resound in their minds. They couldn't let their captain be taken, not like this.
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TheIntrovertRin
TheIntrovertRin Hello guys! What's up? We hope the chapter was good enough.
Also, we need some beta readers for an idea we have, so we would like some volunteers to see if it will be worth writing into the plot. Next week we will contact those who we would be working with. Also, if you do end up being picked as a volunteer do NOT share what you had read unless given permission, because it may become a spoiler if it's accepted.
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