Ch. 5- Downward Ho


One Piece © Oda

Blizzard © Me


"Get the Straw Hat Pirates!" the Marines shouted.

"Uh-oh," Luffy muttered before he climbed up onto Blizzard's back, once more. "Blizzard! Let's ride!"

Blizzard ran off, following Zoro and Sanji.

"Bye, Rayleigh!" Nami called, holding onto Luffy from behind.

"See ya later!" Luffy called.

"Come on, Luffy!" Sanji said.

"Thanks for everything, Rayleigh!" Zoro called.

AWWOOOOOOOO! Blizzard howled.

We're off! he thought.

Rayleigh smiled as he remembered the training he put Luffy through in Rusukaina. At first, training Luffy to use his Haki seemed rather hard since sometimes, Luffy would act childish and fidget, but soon, he caught on quicker than he thought, and before Rayleigh knew it, Luffy had already learned everything he needed to know about Haki in only a year-and-a-half.

"After them!" the Marines cried.

"Luffy!" Rayleigh called. "Go all the way to the top!"

Luffy smiled.

"You bet!" he yelled.

"The Straw Hats are headed for Grove 42!" said a Marine commodore. "Don't let them get away!"

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you," said Rayleigh.

SHAK! Rayleigh slashed the ground with his sword, forcing the Marines to stop.

"D-Dark King Rayleigh?!"

"It's my pupil's farewell," said Rayleigh, "and I want it be proper. So, I advise you…not to step over this line."

The Marines shivered and swallowed the lumps in their throats.

XXX

At the entrance of Grove 46, the Straw Hats are still trying to escape the Marines. However, Sanji had to stop to get the bubble bags that he had.

"Hey, Sanji!" Luffy called. "What's that stuff?"

"It's food for the trip!" Sanji replied.

"Ooh!" Luffy exclaimed, drooling. "Can't wait!"

"Hey, Luffy!" Zoro called. "Can't you have Blizzard carry this backpack, instead?"

"He can't!" Luffy answered. "Blizzard can only carry up to two people! Not two people and a big backpack!"

"STOP!" Nami cried.

SKREEEEE~! The group stopped and saw that the Marines had blockaded them.

"Surrender, Straw Hats! You have nowhere to run!"

"Dammit!" Zoro cursed. "They've got us surrounded!"

"Now what do we do?" Nami asked. "We don't have time to fight them all off!"

Suddenly, Luffy spotted something. It looked like…a little ghost?

"Huh? What's that thing?" Luffy questioned.

"Hey…I think I recognize that ghost!" Nami commented.

"Oh, no," Zoro muttered. "Don't tell me…"

"Negative HOLLOW!"

SHOOM! The ghost went right through the Marines, causing them all to fall their knees in a state of depression.

"I wish was a dust mite."

"I wish I was a louse."

"HOROHOROHOROHORO!"

Upon hearing that laugh, the Straw Hats looked up and saw a familiar face: Perona.

Perona looks more mature than she did, two years ago. She is wearing a long black strapless with lavender ruchings, red high-heeled boots, and a big black top hat with floral décor. She has a pink bat tattoo on her left bicep, as well as a watch on her left wrist and wears pink nail polish on her fingernails. She still has her signature umbrella, and in her arms, she appears to be holding a stuffed animal that resembles Kumacy. Also, she has styled her now much longer hair into four spiral braids.

"I knew you people were behind this mess!" said Perona. "Why are you still here, anyway?!"

Nami gasped.

"It's you!" she said.

"Hey! You're that girl from Thriller Bark!" Sanji exclaimed, with hearts in his eyes.

"What the hell are you still doing here?!" Zoro questioned. "I thought you'd be gone, by now!"

"Who is she, again?" Luffy asked.

"Hey!" Perona snapped. "Don't you talk to me that way! Or did you forget that I'm the reason you got here, in the first place!"

No wonder he got here first, Blizzard thought. Of course he had to have some kind of escort. In a way…it's actually kinda funny.

"If it weren't for me, mister, you'd be…huh?" Perona started when she felt a slight chill go down her spine. Turning around, she saw Sanji…sniffing her.

"A woman…" he muttered. "A real live woman!"

"Of course I'm a real woman!" Perona shouted. "Are you sick in the head, or something?!"

"Luffy," Nami said. "Let's just go ahead and go."

Luffy nodded before he patted Blizzard's shoulder, telling him to keep running, which he did.

"Anyway," Perona began, "you guys had better get outta here! I saw a Marine battleship nearing the Archipelago!"

"WHAT?!" Zoro and Sanji questioned.

"Dammit, this is bad," Zoro said. "Hey, Luffy! Nami! We better- huh?"

"Where'd they go?" Sanji asked.

"They're probably on their way to your ship," Perona answered.

"But we didn't tell them where the ship is!" Sanji said. "By the time we catch up to Blizzard, the battleship will already be here!"

"So what do we do?!" Zoro asked.

Suddenly, a huge shadow loomed over them, causing everyone to look up.

"No way…!" Zoro gasped.

"Is that…?" Sanji muttered.

XXX

In Grove 45, Blizzard is still running away with Luffy and Nami still riding bareback on top of him.

"Looks like we lost them," Luffy said. "For now, at least."

"Yeah," Nami said.

"So, where's the ship from here?" Luffy asked.

A pause came, and Blizzard began to slow down into a walk. Nami wrapped her arms around Luffy's chest, her fingers tracing the scar on his chest.

"I don't know where the ship is," Nami said, "but for right now…I don't care."

Luffy looked back at Nami, inquisitively.

"Luffy…all I care about right now is you," she said. "I really missed you."

Luffy smiled before he removed his straw hat from his crown and placed it on Nami's head.

"I missed you, too, Nami," Luffy said with a soft smile. "I missed you so bad, it actually hurt."

Blizzard smiled at the captain and navigator as he continued to walk.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you, Luffy," Nami said. "Especially after…well…"

"Ace," Luffy said. "It's okay. I'm over it, now.

"Still…" Nami said. "I'm sorry about what happened. It must've been so hard for you."

"It was hard," Luffy said. "I almost completely gave up on everything." He then smiled and looked at Blizzard. "Good thing I had Blizzard with me." He scratched Blizzard behind the ears, causing him to thump his leg on the ground.

Nami smiled and scratched Blizzard on the side.

"Yeah," she agreed. "Thanks, Blizzard."

WOOF! Blizzard barked.

"But anyway, we gotta find the ship," Luffy said.

"You're right," Nami said. "I should've waited to hear Rayleigh tell us where to dock the Sunny, but I was too impatient to see you again. Now the Marines are probably gonna catch up to us because of me."

Just then, they felt a shadow hanging over them.

"Huh?" Luffy questioned. "Hey! Is it gonna rain?"

"But that can't be!" Nami said. "The weather's supposed to be sunny, all day! I predicted it!"

The trio looked up and saw…a giant bird, and sitting on its back are Zoro, Sanji, and Chopper!

"Hey, guys!" Chopper called.

"Chopper!" Luffy called back. "It's you! Whoa, look at that big bird! So awesome!"

"Follow us, Luffy!" Zoro called. "We're heading for Grove 42!"

"Got it!" Luffy said. "Lead the way!"

XXX

At Grove 42, where the Sunny is docked, Brook has finally arrived.

"YOHOHOHOHO!" Brook laughed. "Mister Usopp! Mister Franky! Miss Robin! How wonderful it is to see you all again! Even though I don't have eyes."

"Brook, you made it!" Usopp exclaimed.

"So you really gave up the life of stardom to come here," Franky mused. "I still can't believe it."

"Oh, this brings back so many memories!" Brook said. "Oh, yeah~!"

WHUP! THRUM-THRUM! Brook sat up on a barrel, strumming his guitar.

"Oh!" Usopp said. "You gonna sing something for us?"

"Miss Robin," Brook said. "It's been two long years since I last saw you, and I just wanted to ask…may I take a look at your panties?"

Robin just chuckled.

"Sorry, Brook," she said, politely. "Not today."

"YOHOHOHOHOHO!" Brook chortled.

"Man…where are Luffy, Nami, Blizzard, Zoro, and Sanji?" Usopp asked. "They should be here by now!"

"Relax, Usopp," Franky said. "Chopper went to go pick them up, remember?"

"Then why is he taking so long?!" Usopp asked. "It's been almost 45 minutes! The Marines could get the jump on us at any time!"

"They'll be here, Usopp," Robin said in reassurance. "Don't fret."

"HEY~!"

Everyone looked up and saw Chopper, Zoro, and Sanji, riding on top of the giant bird.

"Chopper, there you are!" Usopp said.

Sanji gasped upon seeing Robin, or rather, her cleavage.

"ROBIN!" he cried.

PLURT! PLOOSH! Sanji had yet another major nosebleed.

"WAAAH!" Chopper cried. "SANJI!"

"Damn lover boy cook," Zoro grumbled under his breath.

WHUP! TMP! He jumped down from the bird's back and landed on the deck, but when he looked up, he was met face-to-face with Robin, and then…something seemed to click.

Zoro felt his cheeks get hot as they flushed a bright pink and he felt his start racing. In his single eye, Robin…she looked…beautiful. Of course, she looked beautiful before, but seeing her now…it seemed different.

What could it be?

"Zoro," Franky called. "Zoro? Hello~? YO, ZORO!"

"Huh?" Zoro muttered, finally snapping out of his trance. "What? What is it?!"

"You okay there, bro?" Franky asked. "You kinda zonked out for a second, there."

"I'm fine," Zoro said. "Just fine."

"If you say so," Franky said.

"Hey, Chopper!" Usopp called, trying to revive an incapacitated Sanji. "Sanji needs help! He won't stop bleeding! Do something!"

"What?!" Chopper questioned. "H-hang on, Sanji! I'll be right there!"

"One beautiful lady…two beautiful ladies…" Sanji mumbled. "…three beautiful…"

"YO~!"

Everyone looked up upon hearing that familiar voice, and saw a white blur jump from the root of the Yarukiman Mangrove trees. Once it landed on the deck of the Sunny, it is revealed to be none other than Blizzard, carrying Luffy and Nami.

"Hey, guys!" Luffy said. "Long time, no see, huh?"

"LUFFY!" everyone cried.

"Ha-ha!" Franky laughed. "You look even more like a man, now, Luffy!"

"Mister Luffy~!" Brook cried, tearfully. "I missed you, so!"

"At last!" Usopp said, also in tears but not as much as Brook. "We're all together, again!"

Luffy smiled as he jumped down from Blizzard's back, followed by Nami.

"It's great to see you guys, again, too," said Luffy.

All of a sudden, Plip! Plip! Everyone saw little droplets beginning to fall from Luffy's eyes.

"Luffy?" Usopp asked.

"Hey, you okay, captain?" Zoro asked.

"I…" Luffy started. "I…I missed you all so much…!"

A slight pause.

"Oh…what the hell are we doing, just standing here?!" Usopp questioned before he pulled Luffy into a tight embrace, which the captain returned, sobbing into the sniper's shoulder.

"Group hug!" Franky exclaimed.

"Get in there, guys!" Nami chimed in.

"We missed you, too, Luffy," Robin added.

Soon, Luffy is surrounded by his whole crew. Nami and Blizzard hugged Luffy from behind, Sanji and Zoro put a hand on each of his shoulders, Chopper held onto his leg, Brook and Robin hugged him from both sides, and Franky hugged him from behind Usopp.

"Okay," Luffy said. "I think I'm good."

"You sure?" Usopp asked.

"Yeah," Luffy answered.

"You let it all out?" Chopper asked.

"Yeah," Luffy said before he pulled away from everyone, and that's when he saw Franky, and his eyes began to sparkle. "WHOA~! F-F-FRANKY! YOU…"

"What?" Franky asked.

KLIK! He pressed his nose.

"Is there something the matter-mecha?"

FWUFF! Franky's hair popped out and formed a cubic style.

"MECHA~?!" Luffy repeated, smiling. "I WANNA TRY-"

"WAIT, A MINUTE!" Nami shouted as she pulled Luffy away. "I don't know what this is about, Luffy, but we gotta go! Chopper just told me there's a Marine battleship coming!"

"Uh, Nami?" Usopp called. "THE BATTLESHIP'S ALREADY HERE!"

"WHAT?!" Nami shouted.

"Uh-oh…" Luffy muttered.

"INCOMING!" Zoro shouted.

"TAKE COVER!" Chopper cried.

BOOM! SPLOOSH! A cannon was fired, and the cannonball barely missed the Sunny!

"We've been spotted!" Usopp exclaimed. "We gotta do something, or we're sunk!"

"Don't let the Straw Hat Pirates escape!" shouted a Rear Admiral. "Fire the cannons!"

BOOM! BOOM! They fired their base cannons at the ship.

"Hang on! I'll handle this!" Luffy said. "Gum-GUUUUM…"

"Slave ARROW!"

WOOSH! KLAK! KLAK! Some pink heart-shaped arrows came out of nowhere and hit the cannonballs, turning them to stone. SPLASH! SPLASH! The cannonballs fell into the water and sank.

The Marines looked up to see the Kuja Pirates' ship.

"Belay! Cease fire!" shouted the Rear Admiral.

"H-hey! That's-"

"The Kuja Pirates!" shouted the Rear Admiral. "What do you think you're doing?! You're interfering with our mission!"

"Who are you?" Hancock asked as she came out on deck. "And who do you think you are, sailing this battleship in my path?!"

"Hey," Robin said. "That's the mark of the Kuja Pirates."

"The who-ja?" Nami asked, looking through a pair of binoculars.

"The Kuja," Robin repeated. "They're a band Amazonian warriors led by the Pirate Empress, a member of the Seven Warlords."

"A Warlord?!" Usopp repeated.

"Yes," Robin replied. "Her name is Boa Hancock. They say that she's the most beautiful woman in the world, and anyone who sees her, even women, will fall for her and be turned to stone in the end."

"Oh!" Brook gasped as he fell back. "So bright! She's absolutely dazzling! Her beauty knows no limits!"

"Whoa!" Usopp shouted, looking through the spyglass. "She's hot! She must be a goddess!"

"A goddess?!" Sanji questioned. "Where?! Where is she?! Show her to me! WHERE IS SHE?!" He reached for his own spyglass, and the moment he spotted Hancock, KRINK! He turned into a stone statue!

"SANJI?!" Nami cried.

"HE TURNED TO STONE!" Usopp added.

"Hey, look, Blizzard!" Luffy said. "There's Hancock!"

The guys and Nami looked at Luffy in confusion.

Hancock looked over to the Sunny and winked her eye.

Now's your chance, Luffy, she thought.

"AAAAH!" Brook cried with hearts in eye sockets. "SHE WINKED AT US~!"

"Luffy, do you know her?" Nami asked.

"Oh, yeah!" Luffy replied. "Blizzard and I ended up landing on the island of women and we became friends with her after we fell in her bathtub!"

"WHAT?!" Usopp questioned. "T-the legendary island of women?! It really exists?!"

Nami just stood there, silently.

"The Pirate Empress is his friend…?!" Sanji growled.

WHAP! Sanji grabbed Luffy by the collar of his cardigan.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" he questioned. "HAVE YOU AND THAT FLEABAG OF ACTUALLY BEEN TRAINING?!"

"Yeah, and it went great!" Luffy answered.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT I HAD TO GO THROUGH THESE PAST TWO YEARS?!" Sanji snapped. "I WAS IN HELL!"

"Sanji!" Nami called. "Let him go."

"Yes, Nami, dear!" Sanji said before he released Luffy.

Nami approached Luffy, wearing a sweet smile on her face, but Luffy knew this look all too well: she would always look like this whenever she got mad, and it was usually at him.

"Uh…Nami?" Luffy asked. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, Luffy," Nami replied. "You didn't do anything wrong."

KRIK! KRIK! Nami's grip on her binoculars began to tighten.

"Uh…" Luffy muttered, sweating bullets, "then…why does it feel like you're getting angry?"

"Angry?" Nami repeated. "No, Luffy, you've got it all wrong! I'm just…fine!"

KRAK! She crushed the binoculars in her hand. GULP! Luffy swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Uh…okay," Luffy said, smiling nervously. "I'm just gonna go…somewhere over there."

With that, Luffy ran over to Blizzard's side.

"Damn, she's gotten even scarier, now…!" he said, hiding behind Blizzard.

It's your own fault! Blizzard thought. You had to go and mention Hancock around her!

At the Kuja Pirates' ship, Marguerite and Sweet Pea are watching.

"Wow!" Marguerite said. "So those people are Luffy's and Blizzard's friend! They sure look fun!"

"The saga of: 'I've never seen such mysterious creatures'!" Sweet Pea commented. "Let's see. One…two…three…four…"

XXX

Down underwater, Franky is seen turning some kind of valve under the ship's keel.

XXX

BLUP! A bubble began to rise up.

"Hey!" Luffy said. "What's going on?!"

"The jelly's inflating!" Usopp cried.

BLOOP! A giant has formed around the ship!

"Whoa! Cool!" Luffy cried. "We're inside a giant bubble!"

At that moment, Chopper noticed that Usopp is looking over the railing.

"Usopp?" Chopper called. "What's wrong? Do you feel sick?"

"Got a tummy ache, Usopp?" asked Luffy.

"Hey," Usopp said. "Did any of you clobber all those soldiers on the way here?"

Luffy and Chopper looked at each other, and then back at Usopp.

"No," they answered.

"I still heard their voices on the way here," said Chopper.

"Then how come I don't see any of them coming after us?" Usopp asked.

"If they're not coming, then don't worry about it!" Franky said from above the surface of the water. "Now's our chance to set the sails and high-tail it outta here! If they ran into some trouble, good luck for us!"

"Amen to that," Nami agreed.

Usopp continued to stare back at the island.

What is going on, back there? he thought.

XXX

Back on the island, it is revealed that something is holding the Marines up.

"This is the third reinforcements platoon!" said a Marine captain.

"FIRE AT WILL!"

BANG! BANG! KABANG! The Marines fired their rifles at…something.

"We can't reach Grove 42!"

"What? Why not?!"

"Because…WE'VE ENCOUNTERED SOME GIANT BEETLES!"

"BEETLES?!"

Yes, beetles. The Marines are being attacked by a giant Hercules beetle and stag beetle.

Nearby, Heracles watched as his giant insects attacked the Marines before he looked out to sea.

I wish you the best of luck…Usopp'n, he thought.

In a different part of the island, the Marines are drenched in a torrential downpour.

"This is the fourth platoon!" said a Marine soldier in a Baby Transponder Snail. "I'm sorry, but this sudden downpour has soaked our gunpowder! Our rifles are useless!"

"Downpour?! It's not raining here! The entire Sabaody Archipelago is supposed to be sunny, today!"

XXX

Above the Sabaody Archipelago, it is revealed that the Sky Island of Weatheria is right above the island.

"Don't use lightning!" said Haredas "You don't want to hit any of the civilians!"

"The bubbles really get in the way here!" said one of the scientists. "But the winds are magnificent, all around the Sabaody Archipelago!"

"Nami was such a good child," said Haredas. "I wish her the best, but it's going to be awfully lonely in Weatheria from here on out."

XXX

Back on the island…

"This is the fifth platoon reporting the center of Grove 42! The second platoon went on, ahead of us! Their report is completely negative!"

"Negative?! What do you mean?!"

"They say that the Straw Hat Luffy and Cat Burglar Nami fled on White Wolf Blizzard's back while following a giant bird!"

"A bird?! What are you guys doing over there?!"

It is revealed that the second platoon is now down on their hands and knees, completely depressed.

"I wish I was a flea…" muttered a Marine soldier.

"I'm finished," said another. "I'd rather be moss."

Up above, Perona is floating in the air.

"Humph," she muttered. "What a pain." She then looked out to sea before she clutched her stuffed toy. "Now I need to find a new boy toy."

In a different part of the grove…

"We're being held up by…an expected contingency!"

It is revealed that the Marines have been held up by the cross-dressers of the Peachy Kingdom!

"Why did you turn down my invitation?!"

"You're not shy, are you?"

"Let's go and have tea, together!"

"Our hearts are about to crushed!"

"WHAT?!"

Now's your chance, Sanji! thought one of the cross-dressers, winking his eye.

XXX

Sanji suddenly gasped and clutched his heart.

"Sanji?" Usopp called. "What's wrong?! You okay?!"

"I-I'm fine," said Sanji. "It just felt like…someone was trying to rip my heart out!"

CLAP! CLAP! Nami clapped her hands, getting everyone's attention.

"Okay, guys!" she called. "Eyes and ears on me! A coated ship is less susceptible to several different kinds of pressure. To reiterate, coated ships have very little buoyancy. If we removed the buoyancy pouch supporting us, we'd sink."

"We understand," said Luffy and Zoro.

"Right," Nami said, sarcastically. "Of course you idiots don't understand. Some things never change."

"Oh, Miss Nami!" Brook said. "I almost forgot to ask! Since it's been two years, then may I see your-"

"NO!" Nami shouted.

THWAK! She kicked Brook in the skull, sending him flying into a wall.

"I didn't show you two years ago!" Nami shouted. "So what the HELL makes you think I'll show you, now?!"

"Ugh…" Brook moaned. "You see? I'm so happy to see you…my chest is shaking…even though I don't have one."

"Yep…definitely a lot more scary," Luffy muttered.

SPLASH! Franky jumped up onto the ship from underwater.

"I removed the buoyancy pouch," he said.

"Good," Nami said. "Guys! We're about to submerge! Man the sails!"

"The sails?" Chopper repeated. "But why?"

"Because a coated ship is propelled by ocean currents instead of the wind," said Robin.

"Really?" Usopp asked. "I thought we'd get there automatically once we went underwater!"

"Nami!" Luffy called, standing against the mast. "Are we getting under way?"

"Aye aye, Captain!" Nami said, smiling. "Go ahead."

Luffy grinned.

"Attention, Straw Hat Crew!" he called. "I have a lot of stuff I wanna talk to you guys about, but for now, I just wanna say thank you for going along with my selfishness for the past two years!"

Everyone smiled at Luffy.

"It wouldn't be the first time," Sanji said. "It wouldn't be the last time, either."

"You got that right!" Usopp agreed. "But then, when he is ever not like this?"

SPLASH! The Sunny submerged under the water.

"Rear Admiral!" called a soldier from the Marine battleship. "The Straw Hats are going underwater!"

"No!" the Rear Admiral cried before he turned to Hancock…with hearts in his eyes. "You bitch! Do you have any idea what you've done?! It's like you wanted them to escape!"

"Rear Admiral!" the soldiers cried, also with hearts in their eyes.

XXX

FWAP! The Straw Hats' Jolly Roger flapped in the water.

"SET SAIL~!" Luffy yelled. "FISHMAN ISLAND, HERE WE COME~!"

"YEAAAAAAAAAHH!" the Straw Hat Pirates cheered.

ARROOOOOOOOOOO~! Blizzard howled loudly along with his crewmates.

At last, the Straw Hat Pirates have been reunited, and now, they are making their way to their long-planned destination: Fishman Island. From this point on…there will be no going back.

GO TO NEW WORLD…


Man! That was fast, but then again, this is a short arc!

Review, please!