"It wasn't easy finding you. That confused look… you really don't remember me, do you?"
Alvida held her giant spiked iron club, smiling seductively at Tom. "Though it was just a brief glimpse back then, when your strong, powerful fist struck me, you left a deep impression in my mind."
What kind of lunatic is this woman, babbling as soon as we meet? Better to ignore her. Figuring out how to meet up with Luffy and the others is what matters.
Tom glanced at the tall, sexy woman with long black hair, thought hard, and was sure he'd never seen her before. He decided to pat his butt and leave.
"You really don't recognize me. But choosing between you and Luffy is so difficult. After all, he was the first man to hit me. His intense fists back then really made me feel something."
As she spoke, Alvida stroked her smooth, delicate face with an intoxicated expression. Tom felt a wave of chill, his goosebumps falling all over the ground.
Does this woman have a masochistic streak? And she says Luffy hit her? Since when does Luffy hit women?
Tom frowned. But then, he discovered something even more chilling.
"If possible, why don't both of you become my men? I do like strong men, after all. You and Luffy will both become mine. Then we can live happily together."
As Alvida spoke, her smile grew wider. Her beautiful oval face was full of longing, as if imagining the beautiful future of the three of them.
Hearing Alvida's words, Tom couldn't help but shudder. He never dreamed a woman would ever declare to his face that she intended to "marry" both him and Luffy. This was completely intolerable!
"Who are you, anyway? Stop talking nonsense! I don't know you! Keep spouting that inexplicable garbage, and I won't be polite!" Tom was truly disgusted by Alvida's words. If she kept grossing him out, he was afraid he might not be able to hold it in and vomit on the spot.
"It's me. Don't you know?" Alvida removed her coat, her body turning lightly in a circle, showcasing her perfectly curvy figure to the fullest. "All the men in this world would fall at my feet."
"Let me ask you all, what is the most beautiful thing on these seas?" Alvida asked the nearby onlookers.
"On the seas, the most beautiful is you!"
"You're truly too beautiful."
"An unparalleled beauty! Too dazzling!"
A large group of men, their eyes turned to hearts, spoke with faces full of infatuation toward Alvida.
"So many perverted cooks!" Tom's jaw nearly dropped seeing those staring at Alvida. Their expressions were practically stamped from the same mold as Sanji when he turned into a lecher.
Without realizing it, this secluded place had gathered quite a crowd, all men. They were clearly there for the woman with the giant spiked club.
Hearing Alvida's words just now reminded Tom of a phrase he'd heard before: "Koby, what is the most beautiful thing on the seas?"
"You… you couldn't be that ugly and fat Alvida, could you?" Tom stared blankly at the tall, slender woman before him. Aside from both carrying a giant spiked club, her image was completely different from the short, overweight, freckle-faced Alvida he'd seen before.
"How dare you call her ugly and fat! Your eyes must be defective!"
"That's right! She's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen!"
The surrounding onlooking men all pointed and criticized Tom, leaving him embarrassed on the spot.
"You finally recognize me! So? You won't refuse my proposal, will you? To be my man, together with Luffy?"
Alvida stuck out her small fragrant tongue, licked her alluring red lips, and the corners of her mouth curved upward slightly. Her beautiful, captivating smile caused the many men present to act like aroused male beasts, all shouting "I want to be your man!" at Alvida. Tom felt his stomach churn, his whole body uncomfortable.
"So you really are that fat cow. Have you been exercising too much lately, to lose weight so drastically? I have no interest in being your man. Maybe you can discuss it with Luffy, but I think he'll definitely refuse you."
Though curious about Alvida's dramatic change (assuming it was successful weight loss), the sky was getting darker and darker, starting to thunder and lightning. Combined with being disgusted beyond measure, Tom just wanted to leave as soon as possible and breathe some fresh air before he really threw up.
"Since you don't agree, I'll just have to kill you. That way, I won't have this trouble anymore."
Seeing Tom preparing to pat his butt and leave with no intention of staying, Alvida immediately swung her spiked club toward Tom.
"I don't have a hobby of hitting women, but don't push your luck, again and again, and keep causing trouble!" Seeing Alvida still stirring things up, Tom reached the limit of his patience. He turned, took a quick step to Alvida's front, and punched her in the stomach.
But the moment his fist touched Alvida's smooth belly, it felt like hitting something dozens of times slicker than soap. His fist uncontrollably slipped across her belly. Due to inertia, his body tilted to the side and rushed forward.
"What's going on? My attack slipped away?" Tom ran a short distance, stopped, and turned back to look at Alvida.
"Surprised? Because I ate the Smooth-Smooth Devil Fruit. Now, no matter what kind of attack, it can no longer harm my beautiful skin."
Alvida stroked her pretty face again. "The pity is, eating the fruit didn't change my beauty much. The biggest change, really, is that the cute freckles on my face have all disappeared."
"You're lying through your teeth." Seeing Alvida talking to herself, full of nonsense, Tom didn't want to waste any more time and prepared to leave. But Alvida attacked again.
"Aren't you annoying? Don't think I can't deal with you!" Tom said, dodging Alvida's attacks.
"If you want to become my man, you can't lose to me. I told you, I like strong men." Alvida's words made Tom feel extremely irritated. By her logic, if he beat her, she might shamelessly say he did it because he wanted to be her man. How was that any different from lifting a stone only to smash his own foot?
Hmm, better not overthink it. Wasting more time with this woman isn't worth it. If something happens to Luffy and the others and I miss it, that would be very bad.
Thinking this, Tom quickly jumped backward, pulled open the distance, then swung two long-range punches at Alvida. "Get away from me!"
POW! THUD!
Alvida took two Brick Fists head-on. Her Devil Fruit could slip away physical attacks but not the impact, so she was decisively sent flying.
The launched Alvida crashed into a sharp pillar behind her. But her body wasn't pierced; it slid off the pillar and slammed into a wall.
Tom then saw the impact-struck Alvida, smashing into the wall, sliding back and forth like a loach, in the blink of an eye sliding across several buildings, sliding farther and farther away.
"How dare you treat me like this! I won't let you off!" Alvida left this threat as she nearly vanished from Tom's sight.
"What nonsense. Should've hit her a few more times." Right after saying this, Tom remembered Alvida seemed to have a masochistic tendency. Hitting her more might actually please her. Wouldn't that be giving her a free advantage?
Having dealt with Alvida, Tom hadn't walked far when he ran straight into a bespectacled woman with a sword, wearing a dark-blue jacket and with short blue hair. Behind her was a large group of Marines.
"Found him, Chief Petty Officer Tashigi! 'Deadeye' of the Straw Hats is right there!" A Marine saluted Tashigi upon seeing Tom.
Tashigi stood not far from Tom, holding a bounty poster and doing a detailed comparison with the person the Marine pointed to. She adjusted her glasses. "Such a cute person… why is he an evil pirate?"
Seeing the Marines, Tom had already prepared for battle. But hearing Tashigi's words, the momentum that had just surged up immediately deflated, making him feel completely flattened.
"Report, Chief! What you're seeing is probably the sheep's head, not 'Deadeye' himself," a Marine kindly reminded Tashigi.
"Is that so? So that's how it is. I did think a pirate couldn't possibly look like that," Tashigi suddenly realized. Then her expression turned serious. She drew her sword and took the initiative to slash at Tom.
What's going on today? None of the women I've met are normal. Including Nami.
Tom's face was now black as charcoal. He faintly heard quite a bit of commotion two streets away. He felt Luffy might have caused something big, otherwise Loguetown wouldn't be this lively.
"I don't have time to play with you! Don't come bother me again! Otherwise, I'll take you all down!" The ear-splitting thunder coming intermittently from the sky made Tom feel irritated, with a constant sense that something bad was about to happen. His jet-black pupils quickly turned blood red. Within just a few moves, he subdued the blade-wielding Tashigi.
Seeing Tom easily suppress Tashigi and his strange dark-red blood pupils sweep over them, the Marines who wanted to rush up to help Tashigi all hesitated in fear.
While they were hesitating, Tom released Tashigi, who he had pinned to the ground, used his right wrist launcher to shoot a line, and in the blink of an eye was swinging far away on the fishing line, quickly shaking off Tashigi and the others.
"Why didn't he continue? Does he look down on me?" Tashigi tightly gripped Shigure in her hand, gritting her teeth and muttering softly. She glanced in the direction Tom left, then ordered the Marines to pursue.
Meanwhile, while Smoker was chasing Luffy, he encountered several small-time pirates emerging from the underground fights. Taking advantage of Smoker dealing with them, Luffy successfully shook him off and once again arrived at the execution platform.
When Luffy successfully climbed onto the execution platform, he looked at the vast square below, packed with people, the distant scenery fully in view. He marveled that this was the view the Pirate King saw before dying, and how the Pirate King died here, and so on.
Then a police officer below used a megaphone to tell Luffy to quickly come down, as it was a special platform managed by the World Government.
Unfortunately, before the officer could finish, Buggy arrived and took him out.
"Ever since the day you sent me flying… I've wanted to kill you. I relied on obsession to return to my crew." Buggy and his men behind him threw their disguise robes into the sky. "It was truly a great adventure! For me, lacking a body, it was a grand adventure for little Buggy, full of laughter and pain! But I, Buggy…"
Here, Buggy felt something was off. He was always cold and ruthless in front of outsiders. Now he was publicly saying such sentimental words. He immediately got angry, shouting at Luffy on the platform. "You bastard! Why did you make me say such things?!"
"Oh, it's Buggy," Luffy on the platform said casually upon seeing Buggy's true form.
"What kind of attitude is that?! And this damn bastard is still so bold!" Buggy had endured many hardships to regain his body. Missing his body, sailing alone, he was nearly killed by giant crabs, fang-toothed fish, and so on. Finally finding Luffy in Loguetown, only for Luffy to react so indifferently, was hard for him to take.
"Look at that symbol! It's 'Clown' Buggy!"
"Pirates are in the square! Run!"
The civilians in the square, seeing Buggy's pirates draw their weapons, all panicked and fled in all directions.
"No one move! Next, I'll let you witness my terror!" Buggy ordered his men to block those trying to flee. He wanted to execute Luffy publicly.
Luffy, caught off guard, was sneaked up on from behind by Cabaji, who used the guillotine to firmly pin his head and hands on the platform.
"Cabaji! Well done!" Buggy, seeing Luffy subdued, immediately burst into wild laughter. "Now we begin your public execution! You must feel honored, right? You'll die in the same place as the Pirate King!"
"Where's Alvida?" Buggy, noticing his ally wasn't there, asked a subordinate. Hearing they didn't know, he added, "Such an unreliable woman. I wanted her to witness how I execute Straw Hat."
At that moment, Sanji and Zoro were also heading toward the execution platform square. After being thrown by Luffy and Tom, Zoro unfortunately smashed into Sanji's head. The two then got into a big fight on the street. If not for seeing Luffy trapped in the guillotine from afar, they would have kept fighting.
Soon, Buggy climbed onto the platform, raising a sharp blade high, shouting to the crowd below. "The criminal pirate, Monkey D. Luffy, is guilty of the crime of being too arrogant and making me angry! Therefore, I sentence him to a magnificent death penalty!"
"Everyone, cheer to your heart's content!" As Buggy shouted, his men below fired blunderbusses in celebration.
Luffy, still not realizing the seriousness of the situation, said carefree to Buggy that he'd never seen an execution before; this was his first time.
Buggy informed Luffy that the person to be executed was himself. Luffy was immediately so shocked his eyes nearly popped out, thinking Buggy was joking.
"I'm not joking! Now begins the public execution of a magnificent death penalty!" Buggy, holding the knife, said to Luffy pinned under the guillotine. "Before you die, don't you have any last words? So many people are watching you die."
"I'm sorry. Please save me, quickly." Luffy's words to Buggy nearly drove him crazy. "You idiot! Who's going to save you?!"
Seeing Luffy had nothing more to say, Buggy said, "No matter. Whether you want to speak or not, probably no one wants to listen."
Buggy's crew causing such a commotion in the square was noticed early by Smoker. He quickly deployed his forces, surrounding the square to wipe out the pirates in one net, also sending men to guard the port to prevent escape.
"Oh dear, one of the men I've taken a liking to is about to be executed. How sad." Alvida, after being sent flying by Tom, used her Devil Fruit ability for zero-friction ground movement, arriving here faster than Tom. Seeing Luffy under the guillotine, she said she was sad, but smiled joyfully.
"Alvida! You're finally back! You look… injured? Are you okay?" Buggy, seeing Alvida here to witness the execution, became even happier. Noticing her complexion didn't look good, he asked.
"I'm perfectly fine. That sensation isn't something you can understand." Alvida stroked her stomach a few times, as if savoring it, and licked her lips. Buggy was completely dumbfounded, utterly unable to understand her mind.
"Alvida? Where is she? I don't see her." Luffy heard the name but looked around and completely failed to recognize the woman before him.
"You dull pig-head! Alvida is me!" Alvida said, dissatisfied that Luffy didn't recognize her even after Buggy said her name.
"What?! You're that Alvida? You seem a bit different from before." Luffy looked at Alvida below. Her image completely failed to overlap with his memory, making him feel strange.
"Heh. You noticed? With no freckles, I've become more beautiful than before. With such a big change, it's understandable you didn't recognize me at first." Alvida said narcissistically, stroking her smooth, delicate face.
"That's not the major change I meant." Luffy, seeing Alvida completely miss the point, said honestly.
A moment later, Luffy felt his nose itch. But with his hands pinned, he couldn't scratch it, making him very uncomfortable.
The people below stared blankly at the about-to-be-executed Luffy, never imagining that his unnatural expression was due to worry over not being able to scratch his nose.
"You still have the mood to chat? Seems you have no last words. I'll kill you now!" As Buggy said this and prepared to swing his blade, three voices rang out loudly together. "WAIT!"
"What's with that look? Jokes have their limits, Luffy." Zoro, wearing his green bandana, one hand on the sword at his waist, looked at Luffy, clearly ready for battle.
"If this is an extra performance, let me stir things up too." Sanji, cigarette in his mouth, looked at the towering execution platform. "In short, we just need to clear out that stinking pirate."
"You're not dead yet, Buggy!" Tom took the two fishing rods from his gauntlet, merged them together, glaring at Buggy on the platform holding his knife high. "Is your big red nose itching again?"
"Zoro! Sanji! Tom! Come save me!" Luffy, seeing Zoro and Sanji running over and Tom swinging through the air holding the fishing line with both hands, shouted happily.
"You bastard! Mentioning my nose as soon as we meet! You're just as annoying as Straw Hat! But even if you came here, you can't save him! After I execute him, you're next, 'Deadeye'! I've always wanted to cut off your head!" Buggy, seeing them cutting their way over, raised his knife and laughed triumphantly. "Watch closely! Your captain's end!"
"It's the Pirate Hunter Zoro! And 'Deadeye,' recently worth 30,000,000! Let's get out of here!" The civilians, hearing Zoro and Tom's names, all fled in all directions in shock, ignoring the shouts of Buggy's men. The scene immediately became utterly chaotic.
"Small fry, get lost!"
"We need to hurry! Destroy that execution platform first!"
"We know that!"
Tom, Zoro, and Sanji, while dealing with the pirates rushing at them, moved toward the execution platform, ignoring the panicking civilians. But the number of pirates attacking was considerable, and for a moment they really couldn't save Luffy.
"Captain! It's Roronoa Zoro! He's appeared in the square!" A Marine reported to Smoker.
"That famous Pirate Hunter from the East Blue? Appearing now of all times…" Smoker thought Zoro was there to take advantage of the chaos to catch some pirates for profit, which might ruin his plans. So hearing Zoro's appearance made him feel things might get even worse.
"No, Captain. According to intel, Zoro is also a companion of the straw-hatted one." The Marine's words somewhat surprised Smoker. He hadn't expected a pirate hunter to become a pirate.
Tashigi, who had rendezvoused with Smoker, hearing this, hurriedly took out her binoculars. She then saw Zoro slashing people in the square—the same man who broke her glasses. She felt deceived, and anger flared up fiercely.
"Currently, the wanted pirates in the square are: 'Clown' Buggy, 'Iron Mace' Alvida, 'Straw Hat' Luffy, and 'Deadeye' Thomas Sin. Listen up. After Straw Hat Luffy's head is cut off, I'll handle 'Deadeye.' You focus on the other pirates' movements." Smoker ordered Tashigi. He planned to act immediately after Luffy's execution to annihilate the pirates in one strike. The Marines, hearing two 30,000,000 Berry pirates were present, all became tense. They hadn't encountered such formidable pirates in a long time.
If we can just cut down that platform, the problem's solved. Zoro, biting his sword, kept cutting down enemies blocking the way, his gaze never leaving the execution platform.
If I can just kick down that guillotine, the idiot will be out of danger. Sanji kept kicking away blocking pirates, his eyes locked on the execution platform, anxiety evident on his face.
Just a little further, and I can destroy that platform with one strike! Tom leaped forward, avoiding the encirclement of several pirates. Estimating he was 30–40 meters away, he extended the fishing rod in his hand and swept it horizontally toward the execution platform.
"Didn't expect to meet again so soon. I won't let you save him." Alvida, seeing Tom's long staff sweep toward the execution platform, directly used her body to block it.
Upon touching Alvida's body, the sweeping staff slid upward, failing to destroy the platform.
"Troublesome woman! You're asking for death!" Tom, seeing Alvida come out to ruin things at this critical moment, used a long-range Brick Fist, sending her flying with a single punch.
Seeing Tom and the others rushing desperately but unable to save him in time, and Buggy's blade about to fall, Luffy suddenly shouted loudly to the square below.
"I'M GOING TO BE THE KING OF THE PIRATES!!!!!!!!"
Pinned under the guillotine, his shout still carried majestic momentum and absolute conviction. It exploded like a heaven-shaking thunderclap across the square, multiple echoes lingering in the air, clearly entering everyone's ears.
"He's going to be the Pirate King?"
"To dare say such boastful words in this town!"
After Luffy's shout, the square fell into dead silence. Many fleeing in panic stopped. Then many showed doubtful expressions.
Loguetown, as the place where the Pirate King was born and died, rarely saw anyone dare to openly declare they would become the Pirate King.
"That's all you have to say, you idiot rubber man?!" Buggy had heard Luffy's goal before and wasn't surprised. He raised the blade in his hand, about to chop down Luffy's head.
"Tom!"
"Zoro!"
"Sanji!"
"Usopp!"
"Nami!"
Luffy, pinned under the guillotine, called out each companion's name. Then he grinned and said, "Sorry. I'm going to die."
His expression was calm, but the smile on his face had not a trace of falseness.
The cloud-covered sky thundered. The desolate cold wind blowing added a tragic atmosphere.
Smoker, watching from afar, saw Luffy smile before death. He felt that smile was just like the one the Pirate King, Gold Roger, wore on the execution platform twenty-two years ago.
What most concerned Smoker was that the Pirate King was executed on this very day twenty-two years ago. This coincidence gave him a dazed sense of cyclical fate. He felt pulled back to that day twenty-two years ago when he, a ten-year-old boy, watched the entire execution.
Even after twenty-two years, Smoker remembered Gold Roger's execution as vividly as yesterday. He clearly recalled how, on this day, hands cuffed, escorted through the streets to the square, Gold Roger's steps were like those of a victorious general. The man who had once possessed everything, clearly heading to his death, yet his posture was that of a glorious king. Even at life's final moment, he died smiling.
This was remarkably similar to Luffy.
Smoker witnessed the Great Pirate Era begin twenty-two years ago on this day. Now, twenty-two years later, he saw Luffy on the execution platform declaring he would be Pirate King. His heart was far from calm.
"What nonsense are you saying?!" Zoro and Sanji exclaimed together, accelerating forward.
"We've always believed you, you bastard! How can you say you're going to die just like that?!" Tom slammed his long staff into the ground, jumped into the air, flying toward the platform while shouting at Luffy.
With Buggy's blade less than two centimeters from Luffy's head, Tom urgently extended his right fist. His pupils turned crimson, extremely striking against the dark sky. In less than a breath, he condensed all his strength into his right hand, veins bulging on his arm. Then, with a devastating momentum, he hurled a punch through the air toward the platform. "BREAK!"
At that moment, Buggy's blade was less than a centimeter from Luffy's head, the sharp edge nearly touching him.
Suddenly, a deafening boom sounded. A heaven-splitting bolt of lightning tore through the sky, illuminating the dark heavens like daylight. Almost everyone in Loguetown saw that lightning strike like a cleaving blade.
The extremely exaggerated lightning struck Buggy directly on the platform. Simultaneously, the platform was blasted apart by Tom's long-range punch.
Struck by lightning, even as it fell, the platform burst into flames.
Buggy was electrocuted into a charred black figure, seemingly unconscious, his whole body on fire, black smoke coming from his mouth, his red nose covered in scorch marks.
Then rain began pattering down, quickly turning into a torrential downpour, extinguishing the flames on Buggy.
Luffy's straw hat, which had fallen, landed by his feet. He put it back on and stood there laughing loudly. "I'm really still alive! Ha ha ha ha!"
The surrounding civilians, Buggy's men, and the just-returned Alvida all stood as if petrified, mouths agape, jaws about to hit the ground, staring dumbfounded in the rain at the unharmed Luffy and the collapsed, nearly burnt Buggy, shocked speechless.
"Hey. Do you believe in God?" Sanji asked Zoro beside him after coming back to his senses, seeing Luffy miraculously saved.
"Don't talk nonsense. Let's leave this town. This is going to cause a commotion." Zoro sheathed his sword and replied.
"You nearly scared me to death! I thought you were really going to die!" Tom, seeing Luffy safe and sound, excitedly grabbed Luffy's collar. Seeing Luffy still smiling carefree, Tom finally relaxed and laughed as well.
"Surround the square! Don't let a single pirate escape!" A large group of Marines rushed over, trying to completely encircle the square.
"Great! We're all okay." Luffy glanced at Tom and the others, then ran forward, grinning brightly. "Next, we run for it!"
"Which way do we go?!"
"Just follow us, green bandana! Don't get lost!"
"Pervert cook, stop talking and looking at women at the same time!"
Zoro, Sanji, and Tom, while escaping with Luffy, still didn't forget to trade insults.
Why was he still smiling? Because he knew he'd be saved?
No!
In that instant, he truly believed his life was ending. He smiled because he accepted death and was prepared.
Smoker, cigars clenched in his mouth, watched their gradually retreating figures. He had seen countless infamous pirates ascend the execution platform, faces ashen with despair at the moment of execution. But this was different.
"They're escaping to the west port. The First Unit should be waiting there." Smoker was calm; he had already deployed Marines at the ports.
"Report, Captain! Because of the sudden rain, all the gunpowder got wet. They had to return to re-equip. There are no troops at the port now." A Marine reported.
"What?!" Smoker checked the wind direction. "Their ship is at the west port. For them, the current west wind is favorable."
"Is all this coincidence? It's as if heaven itself wants them to live!" Smoker's face completely darkened. Raindrops slid down his face. He swore solemnly, word by word, "I, the White Hunter Smoker, stake my reputation as a Marine Headquarters Captain! I will not let them leave this island!"
Lightning flashed and thunder roared. The rain grew heavier and heavier, bean-sized raindrops falling so thick they nearly obscured vision. The howling gale blew the rain into their faces. Perhaps this weather was, for them, the perfect day to set sail…
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
T/N :
Support me and Access 25 chapters in Advance on my P@treon: [email protected]/GodFic