In the blink of an eye, Luffy vanished.
In the next second, he appeared in front of Angel, clearing the distance with unnatural speed. His glowing red eyes bore in Angel, who stood frozen with amazement.
"Gum-Gum…" Luffy said in a voice that sounded demonic. His right arm was in an angular punching position. He stared up into Angel's eyes with an almost murderous look. Angel was over six feet tall and far taller than Luffy, but at that moment they seemed almost equal in stature. "Dragon Fang!"
BANG!
Luffy punched Angel directly into his solar plexus, his fist coated in the black miasma emitting from his body. Angel was sent flying up into the sky pushed by Luffy's stretched out rubber fist and arm.
The force of Luffy's punch was at least as powerful as the power of his Third Gear attacks. Maybe even more.
Angel's ascent was halted when his wings flapped with enough strength to break his momentum. He was in a stationary position up twenty or so feet above the sea. His wing flapped wildly to keep him in the air, as his body hung limply and held the spot where he was hit. The crew wondered if he was out cold, but he moved his hands and touched various parts of his body. He stopped when he touched his face.
"Hehehe… still here, I suppose," he murmured in a soft voice only he could hear. He stared down at the pirate crew below him. To their chagrin, he was fine. Luffy's attack hurt him, but it didn't beat him. His gaze fixated on Luffy. A twisted look of affection spread across his face. "Not bad. Really, well done, Luffy-kun! I didn't expect you to unlock both your haki and your inherited devil fruit power simultaneously! What incredible luck! No, that was too much even for luck. Something else happened, didn't it?"
Still bathed in the darkness emitted from his body, Luffy stared coldly at Angel.
"...I heard voices," Luffy said, almost too soft for anyone to hear. "I can't remember what they said. But I know someone said "Don't give up. Don't give in." So I won't. Not to you, or anybody. I don't care how strong you are. If you try to hurt my friends, I'll kick your ass!"
"…What are you, schizophrenic?" Angel mused, staring at him with fascination. "You talk about voices in your head as if that's normal. But I understand now. What happened wasn't an asspull, but a case of me triggering a preset trap. That, and your rather amazing genetics are what caused this to happen. Honestly, it's frustrating, but also exhilarating. In any case, I suppose you've won the wager."
The wager he was referring to was the bet he made with the Straw Hats earlier after he had trapped Luffy. If any of them could any kind of hit on him, he'd leave them alone.
Technically, Luffy was supposed to be exempt from the wager, but he decided not to nic-pic.
"As frustrating as it is, I am a pirate of my word. I'll leave you kids alone for now… unless you want to continue?"
At his daring glare, varying looks of frustration and fear spread across the crew.
"Just go," was all Luffy said.
In truth, as frustrated as he was, no matter how badly he wanted to kick Angel's butt, nothing had really changed. What ever was happening to him, Angel was still far stronger than any of them. If he tried to fight, it wouldn't end well.
And he could feel the strength he had slipping. Worse still, he was sure Angel knew it, too.
"Leave. And don't come back. And don't you dare threaten my family!"
"Pretty sure all I said was that I'd leave and not hurt your little sisters for now. Until we meet again, Straw Hat Pirates!"
He flew away towards the direction of the Red Line. It was only after his silhouette was out of sight, did the Straw Hats breathe again.
"Ahh…!" Usopp breathed after several minutes. "That was insane!"
"That was scary!" Chopper whined.
"I can't say I don't agree," Sanji said, glaring in the direction Angel had flown in. Most of them did the same. That guy, on top of terrorizing them, had said things that significantly affected them on a personal level. "And all this before breakfast."
"What a way to start the morning," Zoro said, shearing his two swords. "He was a monster. In every way it counts. Aokiji was overwhelming, but he was human, at the least. That guy, though… it was like all he was doing was play at being human. Even that so-called honor he was talking about didn't feel like a real code. More like rules he made on a whim."
"One could say all codes are a whim," Robin mused. "But I'd say your assessment is correct, Zoro. I've heard many stories about the Angel Pirates and their captain. It is true he strictly doesn't harm civilians, but the things he's done to non-civilians is simply horrible."
If Robin was saying that, you had to believe her. Not that this experience alone wasn't enough to drive that point home.
"Are you alright, Nami?" Robin asked in concern.
"Yes, Nami-swan!" Sanji screamed dramatically. "Please, tell me that sociopath didn't hurt you!"
"I'm fine…" Nami said hoarsely. "I'm more worried about Luffy right now."
Their captain stood silent where had been when he punched Angel. The darkness was still emitting from him, but there was noticeably less of it now.
"Luffy, are you okay?" Chopper asked.
"…Yeah," he croaked.
"You should let me check you out, just in case."
None of them had actually been injured. Angel had toyed with them. He was about to kill Nami, but then something happened. Luffy did something.
"So… what exactly is that black stuff coming out of you, Luffy?" Usopp asked. "It certainly doesn't look like rubber to me."
"It actually looks pretty cool," Zoro commented. "Makes you look demonic. And here I thought I was the demon of the crew."
Luffy's new and mysterious power certainly made him appear frightening, but none of them were such cowards that they'd let it change how they acted around their captain.
"…Nami," Luffy said hoarsely. He turned his head stiffly, looking at him with his eyes still glowing a deep shade of red. Nami stared at his glowing eyes and found herself mesmerized by them. He smiled at her, tired and relieved. "I'm glad you're safe."
Nami's eyes widened with surprise. Although, she wasn't sure why.
After saying what he had wanted, the fading darkness vanished in an instant, as if disintegrated. Like a puppet with severed strings, Luffy collapsed.
"Luffy!"
Zoro caught him before he hit the ground. He lay limply in his arms. He was unconscious.
They brought him to the sick ward, and Chopper examined him. After several tests, he could diagnose nothing other than pure exhaustion. That was actually somewhat surprising to the Straw Hats, considering Luffy's incredible endurance, for him to collapse after anything besides a drawn out, brutal fight was hard to imagine.
However, in this case it made sense. What he had done to break free of Angel's power and free them as well, was powerful. They all felt it. When Luffy released that mysterious power, chills went down all of their spines.
Angel had called it Conqueror's Haki.
Unsurprisingly, Robin could tell them what it was.
"My knowledge of it is purely academic," she said. "I've never actually experienced it in all my years on the run, but I've heard of it. It's essentially the power to manifest one's will and turn it into real power."
She explained the two main types, Armament and Observation, and what they did. When they heard that, some of them realized that they had actually probably seen them before.
"Observation Haki sounds like that Matra thing those guys in Skypia used," Zoro said, recalling Eneru and his irritating priests.
"And Armament Haki explains how Garp hurt Luffy like he did," Sanji realized, remembering how he had hurt Luffy with just a punch. "That was Armament Haki!"
Robin nodded, just realizing the same things. "I didn't realize it until just now. There's not much literature out there about Haki, so I don't know much about it beyond the basics. It's a relatively unstudied concept. The most I can say is that all navy vice admiral's are required to learn Haki to earn the rank, and also… Conqueror's Haki is a rare one-in-a-million ability that one has to be born with."
"…So Luffy's one-in-million?" Usopp said.
"Didn't need to hear the statistics to know that," Sanji joked.
Zoro thought deeply on the subject of Haki. From the sound of things, it was a formidable power that would prove necessary down the line. Or rather, it had already been necessary quite a few times since the first entered the Grand Line. This most recent experience proved that much.
After several hours with Luffy unconscious, the crew started to get worried about him, but when he woke up around noon, he shouted…
"MEEEAAAATTTT!!!!!"
That assuaged any worries the crew had.
"Right away, Captain," Sanji said, having already prepared some of Luffy's favorite meals and carted it to his bedside.
"Food!" Luffy cheered. He began eating with the fervor of a man that hadn't eaten for several days.
The entire crew was in the sick bay, except for Zoro, who was on look out.
"Well, nice to see what happened hasn't curbed your appetite," Nami said dryly, as she watched him eat with a look of disgust. However, on the inside, she was glad to see him be himself. When he had snapped when she was about to get killed, he seemed to be different. Darker.
Perhaps that was normal (Not the actual darkness that was coming out of him. That was definitely a product of his monstrous genetics). Luffy, despite it all, was still a person with feelings. When pushed, he was at risk of breaking the same as anyone else.
The thing is, Nami did not want Luffy to change. Sure, she complained about his immaturity, selfishness, and inability to even consider the consequences… but those things made him who he was.
"So, what happened?" Luffy asked after completely finishing enough food to feed a family.
"Don't you remember?" Nami asked.
"Well, I remember that creepy bastard trapping us, then…" Luffy's voice trailed off, then looked at Nami with a look of both worry and anger. "Nami, you idiot!"
"Huh?!" Nami was shocked by his angry expression.
"Why didn't you just do what that guy said?!"
Luffy could only recall the moment until Angel was about to kill Nami. After that, everything was a blur.
"How could I?" She demanded. "That guy was going to make sure I got killed one way or another. It was just a matter of the easy way or hard way with him."
Angel had made it clear he was going to take her away and leave her on some dangerous island. Or worse.
"We would have found you!"
"That guy could go anywhere with those wings. Without me, you guys can barely tell where the cardinal directions are!"
"And we're gonna be any better with you dead? Nami, nothing in the world would have stopped us from finding you. All you have to do is survive. It doesn't matter what you have to say!"
"Well, it matters to me!" She snapped. "I'm not like you! I will do whatever I have to survive! Whatever lie I have to say, whatever dirty trick I have to pull, I'll do it. I'm no martyr… but he told me to say something I absolutely couldn't say.
"When I was under Arlong's thumb, I did whatever I had to do to live to see tomorrow. I said and did things I hated to the point it stopped bothering me. I still do that sort of thing to get out of a dangerous situation or to get what I want. It doesn't bother me. But I won't say I'm not a Straw Hat. That's my line. One that I will never cross."
Luffy was speechless. He hadn't realized Nami's feelings were that strong.
"If you have a problem with that, then don't let that sort of thing happen to me again."
"Exactly!" Sanji said, pressing his shoe in Luffy's face. "I for one vow to never let Nami or Robin be in that sort of danger ever again!"
"Hey," Usopp said. "What about the rest of us?!"
"Meh, I only care about the women."
"You sexist!"
"Sanji?" Luffy said, his face being still being pressed on by Sanji's shoe. "Why are you putting your foot in my face?"
"…I'm annoyed," he muttered darkly. Luffy looked confused. Nami blushed.
In the heat of the moment, she had forgotten that the others were in the sickbay with her. Without thought of the audience watching her, she made that really personal speech. She shrunk in embarrassment.
"That was a moving speech, Nami," Robin said, placing a hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "It's a sentiment I share as well. I would not have obeyed Angel either, Luffy. I don't think any of us would. Am I right, everyone?"
"W-Well, yeah!" Usopp said in a way that suggested he wouldn't but would be terrified the entire time. "Don't make me prove it, but I would have told that guy to shove it!"
"Yeah, me too!" Chopper said excitedly. "This is my crew and no one can make me say I'm not on it!"
"Well, I wouldn't have obeyed just to get under that smug bastard's skin," Sanji muttered.
"I'm sure Zoro would do the same," Robin said, speaking on the swordsman's behalf. "So, you see Luffy, if you're going to be mad at Nami, you will have to be mad at all of us, because none of us are going to ever say we aren't members of your crew."
"…You guys are idiots," Luffy said in a deadpan expression.
"You're one to talk, idiot!" Nami, Usopp, Sanji, and Chopper shouted in unison.
He laughed. "But thanks. And, sorry, Nami, for getting mad at you. Thank you for caring about being on my crew."
Seeing his sincere expression, Nami stared down at her feet. "…Just don't expect me to make a habit out of it."
"That whole thing was frustrating. That guy had us totally at his mercy and he treated it like a game. All to hurt my mom… to make me hate her."
The mood in the room turned tense. None of the crew even knew Luffy had a mom until this morning, let alone the fact she is a marine, which the fact alone was enough to open all sorts of questions, but the fact she had an enemy like Angel willing to go so far to hurt her suggested she was far from ordinary. Just like her son.
"…Would it have worked?" Nami finally asked. "If Angel had killed me? Would that have made you hate your mother?"
"No way!" Luffy said defiantly. "I'd hate him for sure, but it wouldn't be my mom's fault."
"I figured. I don't know your mom, but I know you. One of your best and most annoying qualities is that you don't think too deeply about anything. You wouldn't blame anyone outside the situation for anything. You'd think a stalker would know that."
"Ugh," Luffy stuck his tongue out in disgust. "That's so creepy. I can't believe he was watching me and my friends and family since I was a kid. I never noticed."
"Well, you are pretty oblivious," Sanji said.
"I am. But not all the people I grew up with were."
His friend Kyosuke should have sensed something. Of course, it was highly possible that Kyosuke may have said something, but Luffy didn't listen. That was their thing.
"From what I have heard," Robin said. "The Angel Pirates specialize in moving stealthily. No one even knows where their home base is."
"Stalkers specialize in moving undetected," Nami said critically.
"Indeed."
"Undetected, my ass!" Luffy shouted. "He sent a giant boulder to chase my friends Kyosuke, Sona, and I! We spent the whole day running from a boulder! A boulder! I always wondered how that happened. I never considered a devil fruit user was behind it."
"That's nuts," Usopp said. "How'd you guys get out of it."
"We tried to outrun it, but it just kept following us. We tried to break it, but it wouldn't break. We tried to make it fall into the bottomless ravine our grandparents threw us in by jumping over it, but it jumped, too! Finally, we just decided to jump into the ocean. To make it sink. It worked, but we had jumped off a cliff so we needed to swim for over an hour before we found shore. Well, they swam while dragging me because I can't swim. It was after sunset by the time we got back to land."
"…That's seriously messed up," Sanji said when Luffy finished. "You never saw that guy before today?"
"I don't think so. At that time, the three of us were trying to not be flattened by that boulder."
They believed him. Luffy may forget almost everyone who doesn't make an impression, but they doubted he'd forget Angel if he saw him back then.
"He said he would occasionally do things like that whenever he came to see you," Nami recalled. "Anything comes to mind?"
"…Maybe," he said. Truthfully, a lot of things that happened back then could have been because of him, or were unrelated. Unless the man himself told him everything he knew, he couldn't be sure. "That jerk! I got a ton of things to pay him back for when I see him again."
"Honestly, I'd be just fine never seeing him again," Usopp said. "It was a miracle you drove him away this time."
"I did? How'd I do that?"
"You really don't remember?" Chopper asked.
"Not really… everything is kind of a blur after he trapped us."
They explained what had happened. How they had been freed after Luffy unleashed something called Conqueror's Haki. And also how some sort of dark miasma had come out of his body.
"…Darkness?" Luffy whispered, a look of understanding on his face. "Are you sure?"
"Luffy, do you know what that was?" Chopper asked.
"I do!" He squealed excitedly. "That's my inheritance from my my mom!"
"Inheritance?!" They said in confusion.
"My mom ate the Human-Human Fruit Model:Demon. Part of it's affect is that power transfers through birth. My sisters can all use the darkness. I've never been able to, though."
"Devil Fruits can be passed on through birth?!" Usopp said, surprised.
"Mostly no," Robin said. "Although some are capable of letting a piece of the power carry on to a user's children. It's a rare phenomenon. I at least have never seen it."
"This is so cool!" Luffy cheered. "My sister's were always teasing me about how I couldn't use it. Now, I can!"
He tried to use it now. He pointed his outstretched hand at the wall and tried to blast some darkness.
Nothing happened.
"URRRRGGGHHH!" He shook as he tried to force something to happen. It looked like he was constipated.
"Okay, stop!" Nami smacked him to make him stop the weird face he was making.
"I can't do it…?" Luffy said, sounding a little depressed. "Are you guys lying to me?"
"As if!"
"You probably need to train," Sanji said. "Not that I know anything about inherited devil fruits, but that's the core of everything. No matter your talent, training and practice are how you perfect anything."
He didn't become a great chef in a day, nor did he become a great fighter that quickly either. He had to work hard under Zeff's instruction.
"Guess so. But, you know, I've never been able to use it before. I don't know what happened? I can't remember."
"You said you heard a voice," Nami said. "After you punched that Angel guy, you said somebody told you not to give up."
Luffy's eyes widened in remembrance. He did hear voices in his head. He couldn't remember what was said or who was talking. Like a dream, he forgot almost everything. The only thing he could recall was the feelings he had. It was a very nice dream that gave him the strength to fight. He smiled serenely at that faint memory he couldn't recall. He thanked whoever spoke to him in that dream.
"Luffy," Franky said suddenly, breaking Luffy from his thoughts. He had been silent ever since Angel had left. He looked seriously at his captain. "I want to talk about what that Angel douche said to me."
"What he said to you…?" Then Luffy remembered how Angel had spoke to each of the crew individually after trapping them. Specifically, he remembered what he had said to Franky. "Oh, right. Your master."
Franky nodded. "That sicko said Tom is alive. And that your mom has had him on her crew or whatever since his arrest."
"...Yeah. He did say that. I don't know if it's true, but it probably is."
"I can't believe that!" Franky snapped. "Tom would never do that! He'd never work for the government. Not after everything they did!"
Hate flashed into his eyes as the memory of eight years ago flashed in his mind. His creations used to hurt people and frame him, Ice-For-Brains, and Tom. The bogus trial.
Tom using his pardon to free him and Iceberg. And finally, his attempt to stop the sea train from taking Tom away to Enies Lobby, which nearly killed him and which led to him becoming a cyborg.
His angry tone made Usopp and Chopper flinch. Nami looked surprised. Sanji and Robin both stared at him with neutral expression. As for Luffy, he appeared to be deciding how to feel at this moment.
"Franky, are you asking if my mom is forcing your master to work for her?"
"...I am."
"Okay. Just checking." Luffy said in a calm tone, picking his nose with his pinky.
"Quit picking your nose!" They all yelled at him.
"Take this seriously, Luffy!" Frank shouted. "Is that something your mom would do?"
"I don't know. Maybe. I never asked about what she does. Plus, I haven't seen her in over two years now."
"If I may interject," Robin spoke up. "I am actually quite familiar with Vice Admiral Lilia the She-Demon and how she operates."
"You are?" Luffy asked.
She smiled at him. "I have narrowly avoided her several times in the past 10 or so years. I had no idea she had children, let alone that her son would one day be my captain."
"What can you tell us?" Nami asked.
"I want to know about Luffy's mom, too!" Chopper said, raising his hoof excitedly.
"Obviously, I do, too," Franky said.
Robin nodded. "May I, captain?"
"Sure," Luffy said. "This could be interesting."
"Very well.Firstly, Aura D. Lilia is called the She-Demon, and she leads the Demon Unit. They are regarded as the strongest unit in the Navy."
"The strongest?" Some of them looked surprised.
"Yes, the strongest. The vice admiral has recruited and trained some of the fiercest and most formidable fighters out there. Every pirate in the sea fears facing them as much as, if not more than, any single admiral."
As the crew struggled to imagine such a thing, Luffy nodded. His expression said that didn't surprise him.
"From what I have heard, she and her unit aren't very popular with the Government. The reason for that is that they are a very wild bunch who don't follow orders very well. Often, they have ignored the chain of command, and only go where Lilia wants."
"Is that so?" Nami mused. She cast a sidelong glance at Luffy, who looked pleased with what they were hearing. "Sounds like the apple didn't fall far off the tree. But how does she get away with all that?"
She couldn't imagine a stuffy organization like the World Government tolerating such behavior.
"Ultimately, it's because she's useful, effective, and has become practically irreplaceable to the Navy. The Demon Unit's strength is said to rival the crews' of the Four Emperors. The Government wouldn't want to lose such a valuable asset."
"They're that strong!" Chopper said in awe.
Robin looked almost solemn. "Yes. Not only that, Lilia is very well respected throughout the ranks of the Navy. It would cause dissent within the ranks if she was discharged or court martialed without the most valid reason. Politically speaking, she's almost untouchable. So long as she's technically on the side of the law, the powers at be have to tolerate her."
"Huh, mom's a pretty big deal, huh?" Luffy said, sounding surprised.
"You don't know anything about this?" Nami said incredulously. "How can you not realize how big of a deal your mom is? For that matter, how did you not know how big a deal your grandpa is?!"
"…Cause I don't ask?" He offered simply, exasperating her.
"Anyway," Robin continued. "She's allowed a lot of freedom and liberties. One of the things she's most known for is recruiting pirates and convicts into her unit."
"What?!" Franky was surprised that there were marines who'd do that. "You mean like Tom?"
"I'd say exactly like your master. I don't know if he's on her ship or not, but it would be in character if he was recruited by her."
Frank processed this information for several moments. "That's all well and good, but the problem is whether or not Tom is being forced to work for her."
"I can't tell you to trust a woman you have never met, but perhaps you can trust your captain? Not that I think bloodties are the be all and end all, but still."
Franky stared intently at Luffy. "What sort of lady is your mom, Luffy?"
"What sort… she's my mom."
The simple and unhelpful answer frustrated Franky.
"If you want to know, let's find her and meet her," Luffy said. "Not that I know where she is."
"Is there any way to find her?" Franky asked, looking at Robin.
"I have no idea. The Demon Unit goes everywhere and anywhere. It'd be impossible to guess without knowing what orders she's following. However, I do think we have one advantage. And that's Luffy."
"Me?"
"You are her son. Wouldn't she try to find you eventually?"
"Maybe."
"We'll explore other avenues, of course, to find her, but right now I believe you are the best way of attracting her."
"Okay… I guess that's how we'll do it."
"Hold on." Nami said. "What is the plan here, exactly? What do we plan to do if we find Luffy's mom?"
"If what Franky fears is the case," Luffy said with a serious face. "Then we will fight my mom and her crew to free Franky's master."
Everyone looked shocked.
"Y-You'd really fight your own mom…?" Franky asked in disbelief.
"If she did what you think, then yeah. If she did that, then she isn't the mom I thought she was."
Luffy stared at him with nothing but honesty in his eyes. Franky could do nothing but feel both grateful and ashamed.
"…Thanks, Luffy. And I'm sorry." With a mutter of saying he'd go to do maintenance, he left the sick bay.
"He seemed stressed," Luffy said.
"Well, learning someone you loved is actually alive after thinking he was dead all this time must be a lot to take," Nami said. "But are you really planning to fight your own mother, Luffy?"
"I said I would, didn't I? If I have to, I will. I think it's my duty as the captain to fight for my crew. Besides, I don't think it will come to that."
"And why's that?" Usopp asked.
Luffy smiled. It wasn't unlike the expression he had when he thought of Shanks. "She's my mom. I know she's not like that. I may not know how she acts on the job, but I know her. I'm sure Franky will understand, too, when we meet."
The crew all smiled at him. It was obvious that Luffy really loved his mother. They all thought of their mothers or mother figures, suddenly missing them strongly.
"At least…" Luffy's face suddenly turned fearful. "I hope she's like I believe she is, otherwise we'd actually have to fight her, and that doesn't sound fun."
Seeing the way he was shaking at the thought, they all wished to the heavens that it didn't have to come to that.
"Anyway," Robin said. "Angel said quite a lot while he was here. He mentioned it was incredibly ironic that I ended up on your ship, and that the destruction of Ohara was practically the beginning of everything for your parents."
"Oh, yeah. He did say that, didn't he?"
"Do you know what that means."
"Nope. I never even heard of Ohara before that loud and annoying guy started shouting about it at Enies Lobby. It was your home, wasn't it?"
Robin looked solemn as she remembered her homeland. Instinctively, Nami placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "Yes. The World Government destroyed it using the Buster Call twenty years ago."
"I'm seventeen… so I wasn't born then. Plus, I didn't even know I had a dad until grandpa told me at Water 7."
"Except for Franky," Sanji said. "All of us were born after that incident. Oh, how I curse fate for not having me be born early enough to save Robin from that tragedy. If I was born even ten years earlier, I would have crossed the perilous ocean to rescue you!"
Robin merely smiled. "Thank you, Sanji. I thought you probably wouldn't know what he was referring to, Luffy. I'm not even sure if it directly matters to me. I suppose it's just another thing we'd have to ask your mother when we meet her."
"About that," Usopp spoke up. "Since no one else has said it yet, your mom is a marine vice admiral, and your dad is Dragon, the leader of the Revolutionary Army. Don't you think that's weird?"
"No. Should I?"
Luffy was completely unbothered by the fact his parents had opposing occupations.
"Well, given everything we know about Luffy's family, like Ace and Garp," Nami said in an easy going tone. "It isn't really all that surprising. It might've been more surprising if your mom was a more ordinary woman."
"Yeah, that's true," Usopp said. The others nodded in agreement.
"Hey! Who are you?!"
Zoro's loud shout could be heard from inside the sick room. Their internal alarm bells sounded, they all moved to run out and see what was happening.
Except for Luffy, who the moment he attempted to get out of bed fell to the floor.
"Luffy!" They shouted in concern.
"I can't move!" He complained as he laid on the floor. He felt fine when he was in bed, and his appetite had been normal (by his standards), but the moment he had tried to actually do something strenuous, his body refused. "What's wrong with me?"
"You're in a state of mandatory recovery," Chopper surmised. "Your body's exhausted and it isn't going to let you do anything active until you recover more."
"What?!" His eyes widened in disbelief. He glared at his body as it was doing something wrong. "Stupid body! Let me move!"
The sound of a fight could be heard from outside. It sounded like Franky was also fighting.
"I'm going to go check on Moss Head and the cyborg," Sanji said quickly. "You guys take care of Luffy!"
Sanji ran out without another word.
"Damn it!" Luffy cursed, forcing himself onto his feet. It was taking a lot of strength just to manage that. "I need to get out there!"
"Easy, Luffy!" Chopper ordered. He transformed into his human form and went over to his side to act as his crutch. "You need to rest."
The sound of Zoro and Sanji struggling was clear. Whoever was out there was strong enough to take on the two of them and Franky.
"Something is happening out there!" Luffy said heatedly. "I need to go see!"
"But-"
"Let's not waste time arguing, Chopper," Nami sighed in a mix of exasperation and urgency. "This idiot will just push himself no matter what we say. We might as well all go."
Conceding, Chopper helped Luffy move with Usopp's assistance. All five of them left the sick room to see what was happening outside.
They saw Zoro, Sanji, and Franky Fighting a single man. Franky was on one knee, clutching his chest area where he must've been struck. Both Zoro and Sanji looked disheveled from a tough fight, despite the fact this situation began no more than a minute ago.
The man, on the other hand, did not look disheveled. He looked elegant in a perfectly put together black suit.
'He's beautiful!' Those were Nami and Robin's initial thoughts on the man. They could not help it. Neither were the sort of woman who got distracted by a handsome man-especially not in this sort of situation-but in this case it was a natural reaction.
He was a tall, elegant looking man with rich wavy soft looking black hair. His handsome face was sharp and angular. His clear grey eyes were cool and indifferent despite being surrounded.
He was easily the most beautiful man either of them had ever laid eyes on. Robin thought of Boa Hancock, who was recognized as the most beautiful woman in the world. This man could be her male equivalent.
Both she and Nami bit their tongues in an attempt to break free of the spell he had put them under. Both of them were annoyed at themselves that such feelings stirred in them in this sort of situation. Was this what it was like to be Sanji?
"Who are you?!" Luffy shouted at the man.
The man stared directly at him. There was the slightest tinge of emotion in his stare that only Luffy could see.
"I'm Ryuuhei," he said calmly. His face was cool and impassive. The moment he spoke, Nami and Robin became frustrated with the shiver that went down their spine at the sound of his voice. "I'm what you call the Revolutionary Army's shadow head."
Everyone's eyes widened. This man was a member of the revolutionary army.
"I've come here onto your ship," he continued. "Because you brats learned something you shouldn't have at Water 7. I take it, you can guess what I mean?"
"Yeah," Zoro demanded. "So what?"
"Give me a reason, Straw Hat Pirates, not to kill every last one of you where you stand."
A wave of fear washed over all of them. The cold look in Ryuuhei's eyes told them he was serious. He was the polar opposite of Angel. He had no intention of playing any games with them. He would just kill them all.
However, Luffy wasn't paying attention to his threat. He was distracted by that man's voice. It sounded so familiar to him. And he knew exactly.
He was one of the voices he had heard in his dream when Angel was about to kill Nami.
The third chapter ends here. Thanks for coming this far. If you want to see what happens next. Come to my Patreon at patreon.com/TheWorldForger. Also, if you don't want to become a patron but would still like to offer me support, you could also just pay what you want to Paypal at paypal.me/TheWorldForger. It means the world to me!