Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.

"One Piece." – Speaking

'One Piece.' – Thinking

One Piece. – Flashbacks

One Piece. – Devil Fruits and Techniques

Deadly Drinking Pirate

Calm Before the Storm

Previously on Deadly Drunken Pirate,

"WHAT IN THE LIVING HELL!?" Luffy could only smile sheepishly while catching his hat falling back in the outburst. "We have been hearing about a World Noble being assaulted in broad daylight and now everyone is panicking about a freaking Marine Admiral coming here!?" Nami led the charge against her boyfriend and while everyone's complaints were soon drowned and unable to be understood, the entire room was flooded with heavy pressure.

"I have taught you all better than that." Luffy said in a solid stern tone. "What you heard were witnesses going overboard and spreading rumors like wildfire. If there was a Marine Admiral heading this way, you all would have picked it up by now." The pressure was uplifted but not Luffy's expression of annoyance and slight disappointment. "Now, like you trained, stretch your senses towards the sea around Sabaody, are there any signatures like that of a wild beast packed into a small package. Remember what you picked up at the Long Islands back then."

The Straw Hats knew that Luffy was not in the mood for nonsense did as ordered. They let out their anger and focuses on their Haki. Soon enough, they could feel the signatures on the archipelago, the next was the surrounding waters. And there were no sets of signatures that could be marine ships were sensed near the ports. However, there was this outline, faint but strong, that worried them.

"That's better. You caught the edge of an aura that could only belong to a Marine Admiral." Luffy responded. "And given how far the source is, we still have a good hour to get ready for them. If they are taking their time, we have two hours actually so let's have one last meal and drink before the cannons start firing. Besides, Rayleigh has a lot to tell you all."

Sitting on a stool without a care in the world, casually taking a glass of whisky with a large ice cube, "About Roger." Luffy finished with a large sip that sealed the deal.

"Seriously!? You sailed with the Pirate King!?" That was the general response in the pub. Everyone was facing away from their food and drinks to focus on the old man who was trying to enjoy a drink on behalf of the owner of the place.

After taking in a strong gulp, Rayleigh let out a sign only an old man or an aged grandfather could do. "I did more than sail with Roger. In fact, I was his first mate." To him, it was all reminiscing as he took a bottle to refill his drink. Most of the Straw Hats were gritting their teeth to hide how shocked they were; after everything they had been through and all they learned about the Grand Line, being surprised has gotten old. "Now I am just an old man trying to make the most of his retirement. That is, until a certain boy with red hair dragged in another boy that stretched like rubber into this bar. They won't leave me alone until I gave that second kid what I gave the first."

"You also trained Luffy-kun?" Robin walked up and asked. "Then you must have told him, about what is at Rathel…"

"Laugh Tale." Luffy interrupted and got everyone to look at him. "We called it Rathel at the start of our journey but Roger called it Laugh Tale instead. So, if you still want to call it Rathel, go for it. I personally think Laugh Tale is an oddly more suitable name, for some reason." (1)

Nobody had anything to say about that but Robin was not backing down just yet. "Anyways, is it there? The Rio Poneglyph, that all the Poneglyphs in the world originated?" Rayleigh just stared at the archeologist while taking another gulp of his drink. "I am not asking where it is, I just want to hear from the man who must have found it. Is it real?"

"You asking an old man of something that the world will burn to keep quiet, you really have been rubbed on by your captain." Rayleigh responded, as if you scold Robin for asking such a thing. Instead, "Yes." That single word almost froze time itself. "Yes, what you seek is real. Whether you find it or not will be up to how strong is your commitment to your dream and how ready you are for the reality. That is all I am going to tell you…"

"…and that is more than enough, Rayleigh-san." Robin spoke sincerely, feeling her heart flutter with relief and hope. She walked up to where Luffy was sitting and gave him a sudden hug along his neckline. "Thank you, Luffy-kun." She muttered with a strong kiss to the cheek. This made the youngest Straw hats gag again while the others weren't fazed; their hosts on the other hand, miss their younger days chasing after love.

"Anyhow, yes I did train your captain for a short period. It was still mostly that red-haired kid Shanks. Seriously, he forgot who kept him in line along with that kid with a red nose Buggy…" Rayleigh picked up and noticed that there was teeth gritting. "I guess that you know who I am talking about."

"Still can't believe that weakling was on the same boat as the Pirate King." This was the general response and Rayleigh only chuckled at their disbelief.

"Now that we can stay on topic, I gave your captain the same roundabout as those brats. Even now, I wonder why I agreed to break in yet another snot-nosed brat. But then I remember what that red-haired brat said to me." Rayleigh continued with a breather to add in on the suspense. "He said that your captain actually has a lot in common with Roger. It is almost like my old captain got reborn, whether you kids believe that stuff or not."

"I don't know about my crew but I am not Roger." Before anyone could respond, Luffy did. "And I want to make something clear that I will hate to repeat." That was the same tone that meant it so everyone gave Luffy their undivided attention. "Roger was a man who started off like the rest of us; a nobody and a nameless rookie. One that happened to have quite the spirit and said the darndest things, that he was going to run the world upside down. No one took him seriously but he couldn't care less. He had ambitions that helped him assemble a loyal crew that followed him to the Pirate's Graveyard." Rayleigh was fascinated by this and wanted to hear more.

"Everyone who knew him when he first left his home ocean, the East Blue, thought that he was going to die within a week of entering the Grand Line until they heard about him becoming more and more of a powerful pirate and a serious threat to the Navy." Luffy continued. "Eventually, he made it past the other half of the Red Line, into the New World, where he wreaked havoc and mayhem wherever he went. It wasn't until he was told that his lifespan has been reduced to only a year left that he wanted to see how far he could go. He made it to the final island, found a great treasure there, and soon enough, was called the Pirate King by the Navy."

Taking a break to catch his breath and enjoy another drink, Luffy paused before finishing his statement. "I intend to follow his footsteps but pave my own path. I wish to find the island too and see whether the One Piece is real or not. And after I do make it to the end of the Grand Line, the whole world will be the next big adventure. After all, …." Luffy turned to face his crewmates. "…when your dream is fulfilled, you get to help your friends do the same. That's why I became a pirate, my own pirate. Freedom to whatever I please with the best people in the world is greater than any treasure."

And just like that, the room lit up not by a candle's light but the expression on the face of one Monkey D. Luffy. It spread to everyone, warming their hearts and couldn't keep the smile from growing on their faces. They did not need any words to agree with their mature yet big-hearted captain. And yet they knew that they will need all the confidence they need once the Navy sends in an Admiral on the call of the World Noble.

XXXXX

Exactly an hour later, at the ports,

"Hey. What's that?" A fisherman was sorting the catch with a few others until his eyes strayed to the sea. There was something on the horizon that he couldn't make out. "Guys, take a look!"

The other fisherman and every other person within hearing range wanted to see what the fuss was about when they saw it too. And their curiosity kept them staring off rather than returning to their work. After a moment of staring and waiting, their eyes widen with fear and shock. Those were ships and not just any ships, those were Navy Battleships!

"The Marines are here!" The fisherman and everyone else on the docks screamed to the high heaven, dropped what they were doing and fled. They ran and ran and screamed of the dangers that have arrived. In just minutes, word had spread throughout the Archipelago and everyone is spooked. Despite being close to the Navy Headquarters, the native residents rarely see any Marines and that is the impression that has convinced pirates that they will be safe in reading for the New World. This is why almost every pirate on the archipelago is getting ready to hide or flee.

Those that did stay, for whatever reason, took out a pair of binoculars to see who was on the ship. There was someone standing on the nose of the ship leading the fleet. However, they only got a glimpse when the marines starting firing on the port! And yet a figure was spotted, riding one of the cannonballs!

"…hello? Hello? I am here so where's the trouble?" A deep man's voice was heard with all the destruction. Apparently, this guy was cool about making that killer entrance and is now trying to speak to something on his wrist. "I ought to get this fixed latter, but I never do get anything done when I am not in the mood." Believe or or not, this is one of the three Marine Admirals; his name is Borsalino, better known by his alias as Kizaru.

Kizaru is an incredibly tall man, roughly the same size as Aokiji. Kizaru is a middle-aged man with a moderate number of wrinkles on his face, black hair, and a very thin beard. His standard outfit consists of a yellow striped suit with a Marine coat draped over his shoulders like a cape, his arms not in its sleeves. Kizaru also wears pure white shoes, gold-amber tinted sunglasses, and a dark green shirt with a mauve tie under his yellow suit. There is a tiny Black Den Den Mushi (Transponder Snail) on his left wrist, like a wristwatch, underneath the sleeve of his suit.

There were some passerby's and witnesses to this strange sight but none of them could break it to Kizaru that he is using the wrong Den-Den Mushi for the purpose of making a call; those small, black ones were used as wire-taps for other conversations on other regular Den-Den Mushi. That was when they noticed two pirates close by, and one of them had a rifle aimed at the Marine Admiral! As much as they wanted to scream for him to stop, they were too scared.

That bullet was shot straight across the sky and landed right at the scalp on the left of Kizaru's head, only for it to go right through and land in a wall on the other side! That was the sign of a Logia user! Those pirates had dug themselves a grave for foolishly trying to kill a Logia user with just weapons; especially one on the level of a Marine Admiral! Upon seeing what they had done, those two tried to flee; not that it will help them escape from an Admiral.

Indeed, before they could make a yard away, Kizaru appeared right in front of them. "Pardon me, do you know where my underling has gone?" Just how laidback is this guy? And he is still one of the Monsters of the Navy! Those two men couldn't believe it and tried to flee again. "Sheesh, people around here sure are rude. Well, likes teach them a manner or two." Kizaru raised his leg which suddenly glowed so bright, it was painful to watch. When the Admiral made a basic kick, a bright beam shot out right between those two fleeing men.

When they wondered what was, one of the massive Mangroove trees suddenly exploded on its base! Kizaru shot an actual laser beam from his foot! That told everyone witnessing this, that hell has gotten the otherwise peaceful Sabaody Archipelago. Before the citizens could faint from all this, Kizaru took out a Baby Den-Den Mushi from one of his jacket pockets. "Oh, my underling. That's how you make calls. My mistake."

"Don't use that with me! You are a Marine Admiral, act like one!" The person on the other side caused anyone else who was listening to pass out. What kind of 'underling' will talk down the guy who took a bullet to the head like nothing and brought down a tree the size of a skyscraper!? "Now listen up! We have gotten a really bad bunch this time and we need to bring them to justice before they could escape to the New World! Get to it!"

"Yeah, yeah." Kizaru shrugged off like a pro and vanished in a burst of yellow light that completely covered his entire body. What will happen next will shake this entire archipelago.

XXXXX

Back at Shakky's Rip-Off Bar,

"Well, the marines are here with one of their Admirals seeking you and your crew out." Rayleigh stated casually, like it was a typical Friday. He also was a large sack on his back with a few over-sized paint brushes of various types; even Luffy was scratching his head on how this was supposed to coat the Grand King's Brew with the special resin. "Now listen, coating a ship as big as yours will take quite the while. In the years I had been a coating mechanic, the soonest I can ever completely coat an entire ship will take three days."

Luffy brought his fingers to his chin and thought so hard on it, it was easy to see that on his face. "Three days…the marines will never rest now that they know we are here. We can't even trust the other pirates to help us out, they will be mostly focused on saving their own as-!" He wasn't aware that he was mumbling out loud and a slender hand pulled hard on his cheek.

"We get you are trying to think of a way to keep us out of the fire but no cursing if little Aisa can hear it. It is bad enough that Chopper has picked it up, we don't need another cutie among us talking an actual sailor. Understand?" Nami had perfected the strict and overbearing mother/big sister routine down. And while most chuckled at the display, Aisa pouted for being called 'little'; as much as she wished to yell out, it was a fact she couldn't deny. Besides, she didn't want to interrupt Nami at the risk of getting another chew-out session starting back when Luffy found her in that barrel.

"Ah, you make me wish to be young again." Rayleigh mused, '…and in love too.' With everyone focused on the captain getting chewed out by one of his lovers, none on them noticed the dash of pink dust on his cheeks; it is unfortunate that a blushing old man is a bit disgusting. (No offense to all elders of course!) "Sorry to cut your fun short but I do suggest you find a way to hide until I am done with my work." With that, Rayleigh took his leave, casually walking to work even with a battlefield happening all around the archipelago. The Straw Hats, on the other hand, have no idea if they ever will get out of this nightmare waiting to happen.

Elsewhere,

"Admiral Kizaru! I have a report to make!" A marine hurried with a folder filled to the brim with papers over to where the flashy man, pun intended, was waiting to hear. "It is confirmed! Nine rookie pirates, most of them are captains, all have bounties over a hundred million Berries! All of them intend to enter the New World!" The marine stopped to catch his breath after the hurry over and stating the report out loud. Kizaru just scratched his chin without a hint of concern. However, "There is one more thing, Admiral! We got a confidential report from Fleet Admiral Sengoku, for you to read only!" That same Marine reached in his uniform and took out an envelope that was indeed stamped 'confidential' in all bold caps.

"Oh, oh! The boss has something for dear old me? How sweet of him~!" It was getting harder and hard to take him serious as a Marine Admiral but that marine officer said nothing while Kizaru simply took the envelope, tearing the seal off with his fingers. Then Kizaru took a seat on the fountain nearby to relax and read the report to himself. Taking a slow look around for anyone that would dare try to read over his shoulder, Kizaru retrieved the papers from inside and started reading the report. Suddenly, the air around him got thick and hard to breathe. His face only twitched but it was clear that something had bugged him something big.

After a tense moment that felt like forever, Kizaru returned the papers to the envelope and tucked into his own uniform. Standing up tall, turned to the marine who delivered the reports. "Many thanks, my good man. The boss had bad news for me indeed and you lot will not like to hear it. So, speak nothing of all this, just tell them to come to me if they insist. Understand?" The marine officer nodded his head swiftly, rather not question what upset the monster that Kizaru is now proving to be. "As for the rest of you, get to your positions. We now have a major headache on our hands. And I hate those."

XXXXX

Back with Luffy's group,

"…I still think I should kill you for getting the marines to send one of their monsters on us for real…" It was hard to tell if it was a joke or a serious threat, the Den-Den Mushi didn't even change its expression yet Luffy was not worried. "But we will still watch over the Grand King's Brew for anyone who will want to sink her. Let's hope this Rayleigh character gets here soon. You just watch on yourself, wherever you are."

"Thank you, Franky. Best of luck." The young captain responded, tucking in the little snail back in his vest. Now, he knows that he can count on his crew to do their duty but with the marines getting ready to go after the other nine big shots scattered across the archipelago, there was this bad feeling. Like the one you get when it seems that your enemy is going to pull something under your feet.

And yet, "MUGIWARA (STRAWHAT)!" A wild roar was heard that shook the massive trees a bit, just a bit. "What the hell are you fucking shitting us over with!? You got the fucking marines to send one of their fucking monsters on us! What the fuck is your fucking problem!?" For being a pirate, the young man had a good excuse for talking like a sailor.

"Hello Eustass Kid, glad to see that there is a brain in there somewhere." It takes a lot to scare this young captain. "If you wanted to talk business, you could have just said so. Now little Aisa is going to have nightmares for weeks." Luffy's casual tone was amplified somehow with his crew glaring something terrible at the foul-mouthed Eustass. Not to mention how the little girl was watched over by the women Straw Hats like mother hens. While the Kid Pirates were trembling, Eustass and Killer just took a step back; something about a painful memory rather than fear.

"Now how about we start over, what has gotten you all worked up about?" Luffy broke the ice with a friendly tone. There was still the glare of promised pain to any fool speak out in another vulgar curse. However, "Hold that thought. We have company."

As if on cue, something large landed right behind the Kid Pirates, causing them to either scream or get on the defense. "ARRGH! What the….!?" As much as Eustass wanted to curse out in spite of the Straw Hats' warning glare, his breath was taken away from the sight. Whatever landed in their presence had stirred up a lot of smoke and as it cleared, it looked like. "Bartholomew Kuma!?"

While everyone was panicking, focused on this 'being' that truly resembles the Shichibuki Kuma, Luffy noticed something else while the massive man was standing up from its landing. Large bold letters that inscribed 'PX-4'.

End of Chapter 60.

*Hello Everyone! With the government telling us to only leave our homes if necessary, that gives us a lot of time to check out other authors and their Fanfics. So, thanks for the taking the time to read mine. I also have to say that this crisis has led to terrible rates of unemployment, with most of it being us good people being laid off for our own health. All we can do is hang in, look for a new job and best of luck to everyone doing just that!

I am only stopping here because I actually wen through a very long period of writer's block before deciding on this ending. Like usual, constructive criticism is always appreciated and flamers will be ignored! Have a good day!*

1. I know that Laugh Tale was actually introduced in the latest movie, Stampede, but Mr. Oda actually used it in the manga so it is considered canon. And so I feel like using Laugh Tale to describe the very last island in the Grand Line.