Ch. 51- The Hero Hat

One Piece © Oda

Blizzard, Moon, Joe, and Maxine © Me

Dante and Priscilla © SplashpointParabox

At the Mermaid Café, Camie is speaking with Madam Sharley.

"Um…Madam Sharley?" she asked. "Luffy-chin and his friends will be leaving, soon, so…I was wondering…"

"If you could go and say your farewells?" Sharley asked. "You don't need my permission, Camie. Go right ahead. You wouldn't be a very good friend if you didn't, now would you?"

"Thanks, Madam!" Camie said, smiling.

"Madam!" the other Mermaids cried.

"Can we go, too?!" asked Priscilla.

"Please~?!" asked Maxine.

"All of you?" Sharley asked, surprised. "Well, I suppose I'll have to shut down the café until you return. You know those customers we lost because of that jackass Hody will be coming back soon. I'm gonna be needing your help to make this café a buzzing place, again, okay girls?"

"Yes, Madam!"

And with that, the Mermaids left. Camie was about to follow…until she saw Madam Sharley's crystal ball…broken clean in half.

"Oh…Madam-" Camie said.

"My crystal ball?" Sharley asked. "Feh…I don't need that piece of garbage anymore. No more fortunetelling from now on. I never wanted to see a future as terrifying as Fishman Island brought to ruin by Straw Hat Luffy. Of course, I'd be happiest just to find out…that it was all a rare misreading on my part."

Camie seemed a bit unsettled upon hearing this. She knew that it was the fact that she's never made a bad prediction that terrified Sharley so much. Who knows? Even if the vision she saw did not happen now, it could happen in a year or two, maybe more. There's been no proof yet that she was wrong.

"…Madam…Luffy-chin and his friends aren't like th-" Camie began, but Sharley cut her off, once more.

"Camie," she said. "…Allow me to apologize. I doubted your friends, and I understand now how foolish I was. So now…I can truly put my trust in that Straw Hat Boy, can't I?"

Camie gasped happily and nodded her head.

"Yes!" she answered. "Yes, you can!"

Sharley smiled and chuckled.

"All right then," she said. "Off with you now."

XXX

The time has come. The Straw Hats have boarded the Thousand Sunny, which is docked at the island's Port Town…preparing to set sail. The party that Neptune had held for them has since ended, and now that they've rested up and had fun, it's time to hit the road.

However, one didn't seem very eager to let them go.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAHH~!" Shirahoshi sobbed, holding Luffy and Blizzard in her hands. "Must you leave now, Master Luffy and Master Blizzard?! And just when I thought I had some real friends! Can't you stay just one more day?! No, a week! No! A year at least?! PLEASE?!"

"Uh, you know," Luffy said. "I don't think I've EVER seen you when you WEREN'T crying, Wimpy-hoshi."

"When are you ever gonna stop calling her that?" Blizzard asked.

"Just saying," Luffy said.

"I…I'm sorry," Shirahoshi said, sniffling. "I-I'll try not to be a crybaby anymore!"

"Ahhh~!" Sanji sighed. "To think, the day would come when the Mermaid Princess of Fishman Island herself would shed tears at our departure! I wish I could live here for another year~!"

"Yohohoho! A capital idea!" Brook agreed. "I do believe I've got my new single about the dream life on Fishman Island. "And a one, two, three, four! Wake up at the crack of down, an' it's a good morn-maid~! YEAH~!"

"You know, that doesn't sound like a bad idea," Zoro said. "Maybe you should stay here forever, Nosebleed."

"What did you call me?!" Sanji questioned with comical flames of anger all around him before he began to try and kick Zoro. "You better watch out, the next time we're sitting down for a meal! You don't wanna find out what when you piss off the cook!"

"Actually, I DO!" Zoro barked as he blocked Sanji's kick with Wado Ichimonji. "I wanna see if I can digest poison and razorblades!"

Nearby, Neptune and the Minister of the Right are watching with slight anxiety.

"Your Majesty," the Minister of the Right whispered, "Luffy and his men must be warned. They need to know that if the Tamate Box Luffy sent to Big Mom explodes…"

"I know, Minister," Neptune whispered. "But…look at those two."

Sitting nearby, Usopp and Chopper are sobbing mournfully at their own fate.

"It's over for us, Chopper, old pal," Usopp whimpered. "We're dead! One of the Four Emperors has it out for us! We're marching into the New World straight to our deaths!"

"I sure hope that Big Mom forgives Luffy when she sees all the treasure he gave her," Chopper sobbed.

"…Looking at them…I don't think we can tell them the truth-jamon!" Neptune whispered.

"Agreed," the Minister of the Right whispered.

"You planted a bomb in there a decade ago, yes? Maybe it might turn out to be a dud-jamon."

"That's the spirit, Your Majesty! The palace is a bit damp and drafty, after all, and there's no guarantee that Big Mom will even open the box! All we can do is pray for good fortune!"

"What are you two whispering about?" Robin asked.

"Oh, before I forget!" the Minister of the Left said. "I have something for the Straw Hats' navigator!"

"For me?" Nami asked.

Soon, she was handed an object. It looked like a Log Pose, only for some reason, it has three needles instead of one.

"What's this thing?" Nami asked.

"Your new Log Pose, of course!" said the Minister of the Left. "It's a new type used only in the New World. You must take it with you if you're going there."

"Why are there 3 needles?" Nami asked.

"Well, you simply cannot travel up in the New World with just ONE needle to follow," the Minister of the Left explained. "Take a look at the Log Pose you used while sailing in the first half of the Grand Line."

"Ooh, what's that?" Luffy asked as Shirahoshi lowered him and Blizzard to the ground. "A new Log Pose? Looks sweet!"

Nami looked down at her old Log Pose and gasped. The needle inside is still moving.

"What's going on?!" she asked. "I thought the Log Pose had set by now!"

"It HAS set," the Minister of the Left reassured. "Here, the Log Pose sets within half a day. On the Grand Line, we allow the Log Pose to read the unique magnetic field emanating from the next island so that it may serve as a compass through the treacherous waters ahead. But in the New World, not only do the currents and weather patterns change…but so do the magnetic fields that were our only means of navigation!"

"Huh?!" Nami questioned.

"Some islands will even lose their magnetic field abruptly, right in the middle of your voyage!" the Minister of the Left said.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Nami cried. "How can you ever get to the next island?!"

"With only one needle, you'd be ruined," said the Minister of the Left. "But what happens when you have three?"

Nami looked down at the New World Log Pose and noticed that while one needle is shaking as much as the original Log Pose did, the other two are completely still.

"So how come one needle shakes while the other two are steady?" Nami asked.

"Ah, yes," the Minister of the Left said. "Each of these needles is tuned to the field of a different island. In other words, you may choose your path from among these three courses, and it is your instinct alone that will prove the difference between life and death, itself!"

Upon hearing this, Nami began to feel a bit uneasy.

"Only a true experienced navigator can successfully determine the safest route," the Minister of the Left explained, "based on the tiniest movements of the needles. There is only one rule of thumb: the more violent the movement, the more dangerous the destination, for it indicates that the island ahead is suffering some anomaly that is disrupting its magnetic field!"

"What?!" Nami questioned. "Oh, screw that! I don't want this stupid thing! I'd rather be in the dark about that stuff!"

"But why?" asked the Minister of the Left. "If you know the safest route, then surely it will give you the best odds of-"

"Whoa, whoa! Back up!" Usopp cried. "That thing reads danger levels?! Get rid of that thing!"

"Hey, let me see!"

WROING! Luffy coiled his neck around Nami's torso like a boa constrictor and looked at the new Log Pose. Nami couldn't help but blush a bit at this, in spite of her panicked state.

"Whoa! Check out the way that middle needle is shaking!" Luffy said. "I bet that island is really fun to go!"

"NOOOOOOOOOO~!" Nami shrieked with tears of horror streaked down her cheeks.

"HE HEARD US~!" Usopp cried.

Suddenly, Nami grabbed Luffy's neck and began to throttle him.

"YOU BUTT OUT, LUFFY!" she snapped. "I'M THE NAVIGATOR AND I DETERMINE THE COURSE!"

"But I'm the captain- ACK!" Luffy began, but then Nami began to squeeze on his rubber throat and gave him a threatening leer.

"I decide where to go…got it?" Nami asked.

"Yes, Pretty Kitty…I love you…!" Luffy croaked.

"Aww, I love you, too, Gummy Bear~!" Nami swooned as she kissed Luffy's cheek.

I guess it's true what they say, Blizzard thought. Love IS blind.

"Thank you, Nami…!" Usopp and Chopper whimpered.

"Nami is so cute when she's threatening Luffy!" Sanji said.

"I have just the song for this situation!" Brook said, strumming his guitar. "Behold…'A Requiem for Us!'"

"Okay, gang!" Franky called. "We're all set! I've got a hang of the surfacing controls, too! Whenever you're ready!"

"Right!" Luffy said. "Time to go, guys!"

With that, the Straw Hats boarded the Sunny, preparing to ship off.

"Nyuu~! I've gotta stay and help repair the factory!" Hachi said. "Can you guys make it up to the surface without me?"

"We'll be okay!" Luffy reassured. "We've had enough for on the way down!"

"Yeah, that's right! No thanks to you, Hachi!" Usopp snapped. "We don't need your stupid help! We're already on a crash course with death, anyway!"

"Yeah!" Chopper agreed. "We're at war with common sense!"

"Poor boys are terrified," Robin noted.

"Y'all come back now, you hear?" Joe asked.

"Thanks for all your help, Straw Hats!" Dante said.

"Well, Moon…it's been a blast," Blizzard said.

"I'm gonna miss you, big brother," Moon said. "Promise me you'll come back and visit, okay?"

"Hey, you bet," Blizzard said. "We'll be back again in two shakes of a wolf-dog's tail."

"Take care of Luffy…and Chopper, too," Moon added.

"I'm not too worried about Chopper," Blizzard reassured. "Luffy, on the other hand…I'll have to keep an extra close eye on him. He's become even more of a troublemaker than he was, 2 years ago."

Moon seemed to giggle at this.

"Come by and see us again, Sanji~!" Maxine called.

"We'll be waiting~!" Priscilla added.

"We'll miss you, Sanji~!" the Mermaids exclaimed.

"And I will miss you, my undersea beauties~!" Sanji swooned. "You Mermaids are the all blue of my heart!"

"Stupidest dream I've ever heard of," Zoro said.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY, MOSS-HEAD?!"

"YOU HEARD ME, DARTBOARD!"

The Mermaids couldn't help but laugh.

"I've nothing but gratitude for what you and your crew have done for us," Fukaboshi said as he and Luffy shook hands. "You have my many thanks! May your voyage be safe."

"Thanks, Bro-hoshi!" Luffy said. "Sure thing!"

"Next time you see us," Manboshi began, "We'll be heading the greatest force the Sea Floor has ever seen! WHOO! Mambo~!"

"That's right!" Ryuboshi agreed. "Pretty soon, the tales of Neptune the Great Knight will replaced with a NEW legend, fa-so-la-ti-do~!"

"Shishishishi!" Luffy laughed. "Looking forward to it!"

Neptune couldn't help but chuckle, as well.

"Hey, Jimbei!" Luffy called to the Whale Shark Fishman, who looked up at him. No words were exchanged…for none were needed. Jimbei just gave a simple nod of the head and grinned, as did Luffy.

"Okay, then!" Luffy said before he turned to the others. "Okay, all! Set sail! We're leaving port!"

"Bye-bye, Fishman Island!" Chopper called. "So long! Adios! Aloha! Ciao! Toodle-loo! Auf wiedersehen!"

"Okay, Chopper, I think they get it," Blizzard said, chuckling.

Soon, the Straw Hats began to sail away from the island while the islanders began to shout their farewells.

"Come back again, soon~!"

"You humans aren't so bad after all!"

"And that goes for you too, raccoon dog, robot, and wolf!"

"I'M NOT A RACCOON DOG!" Chopper shouted.

"…No skeletons?" Brook asked, disappointed.

"We'll have lots of meat and sweets for you!"

"Ugh…I'll pass on the sweets, thank you," Luffy said, rubbing his stomach.

"Yeah, right," Blizzard said. "First, you say you're off sweets forever, but the next thing you know, you start eating them again."

"Take care, everyone!" Camie called.

"You can come have some octopus fritters, anytime you want!" Hachi shouted.

"We love you guys~!" Pappug shouted, tearfully.

"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed.

"And we love you, too, skeleton!" an islander shouted.

"Thank you, very much~!" Brook called.

As the Straw Hats continued to sail away…SPLASH! Shirahoshi appeared out of the water and grabbed onto the portside of the ship!

"Master Luffy!" Shirahoshi cried. "Please, wait!"

"Whoa! It's Wimpy-hoshi!" Luffy exclaimed, trying to keep his balance.

"Shirahoshi~!" Sanji swooned.

"Master Luffy…I know that I cannot stop you from leaving," Shirahoshi said with tears in her eyes, "but…if we should ever meet again…I will…I will no longer be the crybaby you know now! This, I swear! So…I hope that you and Master Blizzard…will escort me…on yet another enjoyable stroll."

"You wanna go another walk?" Luffy asked. "To your mom's grave, again?"

"No," Shirahoshi replied. "Someplace further, next time. Perhaps…the surface…or maybe even a real forest!"

"Oh, yeah," Luffy said. "You've never been outta the water, have ya? Okay! You're on! Next time we meet, we'll take another trip!"

"…Promise?" Shirahoshi asked as she tried to keep herself from crying. She held out her pinky finger to Luffy, who grinned and stretched his pinky around hers.

"Shishishishi!" he chuckled. "You bet! I promise!"

Blizzard raised his paw and touched Shirahoshi's pinky, as well.

Me, too, he thought.

"Hey, wait a minute, you two!" Nami said. "Don't hog the moment for yourself! Where's OUR responsibility in this?!"

"That's right, Mister Luffy!" Brook said. "Promises are kept to the death, you know!"

"I promise, too, Shirahoshi," Nami said as she put her pinky on the Mermaid Princess' pinky.

"And so do I!" Sanji added as he did the same.

"And me," Robin added.

"Me, too!" Chopper exclaimed.

"I promise, too!" Usopp said.

"As do I!" Brook chimed in.

Soon, Luffy, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Blizzard, and Brook touched Shirahoshi's pinky. Only Franky and Zoro stayed behind, but they smiled nonetheless.

"With this many promises," Robin said, "I'm sure it will come true, one day."

"Shishishishi!" Luffy laughed. "No more crying, got it?"

"Yes! Of course!" Shirahoshi said.

And so, the Straw Hats finally took their leave, letting Shirahoshi wave goodbye to them. At first, it looked like she was about to cry again…but then she began to splash water on her face and held her pinky to her heart.

"…My sons," Neptune said. "Don't EVER forget this debt we owe-jamon."

"Never!" the Neptune Princes vowed.

At that moment, Jimbei noticed a little Fishman boy walking up to his father.

"Dad! Dad, can I have a straw hat, please?!"

"A straw hat? What for?"

"I wanna play hero, like Mister Luffy!"

"You know they only sell those at the surface world, don't you?"

"Well, can you go up and get me one? Please~?"

"What? Don't be ridiculous, son! There are all sorts of humans up there who hate our kind and…err…"

"There are?"

"Well…not ALL of them are bad! Some of them are good, strong folks, like Luffy and his crew! And…err…oh! Jimbei! Excellent timing!"

"I couldn't help but overhear your little conversation. Perhaps I can send up a trading ship for you, lad."

"Really?! You'd do that, Big Boss Jimbei?!"

"Of course! One shipment of Hero Hats! HAHAHAHAHA!"

XXX

Outside, the Sunny has reached the outer sea and is floating upwards to the surface. For some reason, there is a rope with large blocks of wood tied to the front.

"Haa…you gotta love that Mermaid Paradise…!" Sanji sighed, lying on the deck.

"Hey! Get your heads in gear, you guys!" Nami called. "Once we're out on the surface, there's no refuge! We'll be navigator stormy seas, once again!"

"Hey, Franky!" Usopp said. "What's with those blocks of wood?"

"They're blocks of SUPER buoyant Taolf Wood," Franky answered. "I'm using them to lift the ship. The number of blocks on the line controls the speed of ascent."

At that moment, everyone noticed how eerily quiet that Luffy is being.

"Hey, Luffy, you all right?" Zoro asked.

"Luffy?" Nami asked.

"…Soon," Luffy said.

"What?" Nami asked.

"Soon…we'll be in the same sea as Shanks!" Luffy said. "I can't wait to finally see him!"

As he said this, he remembered the day when Shanks first gave him his hat, 12 years ago…as well as other memories.

Flashback; 2 years ago

Ace panted as he sat, dying in Luffy's arms.

"But I know you can do it, Lu," he said, blood seeping from his mouth. "You're my little brother, after all."

Fast forward; Amazon Lily

Luffy, his body wrapped up in bandages from head-to-toe, embraces Blizzard, who is also wrapped up in bandages and is comforting after the devastating loss of his brother.

"Well…at least I didn't lose you," Luffy said.

Fast forward; Sabaody Archipelago

"Luffy!" Rayleigh called as he watched Luffy, Nami, Zoro, Sanji, and Blizzard escaping from the Marines. "Go all the way to the top!"

Flashback end

Luffy grinned determinedly as he thought back to one more memory.

Flashback; 2 years ago

Luffy and Zoro have reunited with Coby and Helmeppo in Water 7, and the former is regaling the two pirates about the second half of the Grand Line.

"The end of this ocean," Coby said, "is a place they call the 'New World'. The people who can guide that new age are gathering on the sea…and the who can master them…will become the next King of the Pirates!"

Luffy smirked at this.

Flashback end

"Once we reach the surface," Luffy began, his fists trembling with excitement, "then we'll be on the mightiest sea in the world, guys!"

"About damn time," Zoro said, smirking. "I'll cut 'em all down to size."

"Just wait a bit longer, Laboon!" Brook said. "I'm halfway there!"

"We'll take you wherever you need to go!" Nami exclaimed.

"You name it, the Sunny can take you there!" Franky added.

"Guys! Get hurt as much as you want, okay!?" Chopper asked. "I'll show you the medical skills I learned over the two years!"

"You won't starve to death as long as you've got me on board!" Sanji said.

"And don't forget that you have at least one brave warrior of the sea to back you up!" Usopp shouted…despite his legs shaking.

Robin only chuckled.

I haven't forgotten our promise, Master, Blizzard said. Luffy, everyone…I'll be having the greatest adventures with them, and more!

"HERE WE GO, PEOPLE~!" Luffy shouted with all his might. "WE'RE OFF FOR…THE NEW WORLD~!"

"YEAH~!" the Straw Hats cheered.

AWWOOOOOOOOOO~! Blizzard let out a powerful howl of determination. The Straw Hats have finally set off the New World…and once they make it to that side…their new strength and skills will be put to the test.

What adventures await once they reached the other side? Well…that is an entirely different story for an entirely different time.

GO TO NEW WORLD…

Well, that's all folks! Finally done!

Now that this is finished, I'm gonna get back to working on the Soul Eater X One Piece Crossover Special 2! And I'll be putting up a one shot that tells of the Straw Hats entering the New World!

Until then, review please!