Chapter 2: The Assault of "Wet Hair" Caribou
"Secondly," Itachi continued, addressing the crew from his position on the mast, "I truly do not know how I came to be here."
"Furthermore, your samurai companion is unharmed. I merely subjected him to a minor genjutsu—an illusion—which I have now released."
"Samurai!?"
"Illusion?"
Chopper and Usopp exchanged bewildered glances. The words were unfamiliar, yet the meaning was clear enough.
Zoro had already regained his footing, blades drawn as he fixed Itachi with a gaze sharp enough to cut steel. "I don't know what you did to me, but I won't be caught off guard again."
He positioned himself carefully, muscles coiled, ready to counter whatever technique this stranger might employ next.
"If you're not here to fight, then where DID you come from?" Luffy asked, hands now resting on his hips rather than behind his head. His expression had shifted from simple curiosity to something more calculating—a reminder that beneath the fool's exterior lurked a sharp instinct. "And why are you on our ship?"
Itachi considered the question. His last clear memory was of releasing Edo Tensei, of speaking with Sasuke, of ascending toward the Pure Land. Nothing after that made sense.
He chose his words carefully. "I am from an organization called 'Akatsuki.'"
It seemed safer than revealing his origins as a Konoha shinobi—a village name that would mean nothing here anyway.
"Akatsuki?" The word clearly held no meaning for them. "Dawn?"
Before anyone could press further, Itachi posed his own question. "Where is this place? Who are you people?"
Luffy's face split into a wide grin. "Ah! Watashi wa Monkey D. Luffy!" He thumped his chest with a thumb. "I'm the man who's going to become the Pirate King!"
He swept his arm toward the ship and his crew. "This is our ship—the Thousand Sunny! And these are my nakama: Zoro, Na—"
WHAM!
Nami's fist connected with Luffy's skull, raising a lump large enough to rival the ones Sanji usually wore. "Don't just introduce yourself to every stranger who appears out of nowhere!"
She pointed accusingly at Itachi. "You're on OUR ship right now. If anyone gets to ask questions, it's us!"
"Sou ka sou ka! Nami's right!" Usopp chimed in, taking his position beside the navigator.
Itachi regarded the orange-haired woman thoughtfully. "Then you are the captain of this vessel?"
"No, I'm the captain!" Luffy raised his hand cheerfully, the lump on his head still prominent.
WHAM!
Nami's second fist connected without her even looking. "This isn't the time for that!"
She returned her attention to Itachi. "Are you a pirate? Or Navy? Revolutionary Army?"
The unfamiliar terms only deepened Itachi's confusion. None of these existed in the world he knew.
"No," he said simply. "I am none of those things."
He paused, then asked again: "Where is this place?"
"We're at—well, we WERE at the Sabaody Archipelago," Luffy explained, somehow completely unfazed by his recent beatings. "Now we're probably somewhere at the bottom of the ocean? Not sure how deep. Oh! We're heading to Fishman Island! Wanna come with us?"
The moment the words left his mouth, Nami's anger visibly rose higher than the ship's masts.
What followed was a storm of fists that left Luffy sprawled on the deck, smoking faintly as if electrocuted.
What a strange group, Itachi thought, a sigh escaping him despite himself.
Then something caught his eye—a flicker of movement in the deep.
His vision, he realized, had returned to what it was before he'd overused his Mangekyō Sharingan. Even in the darkness of the ocean depths, he could see clearly.
"A ship is approaching," he warned. "Rapidly."
Before anyone could react, the vessel surged forward at full speed and rammed directly into the Thousand Sunny.
BOOM!
The ship shuddered violently. The Straw Hat crew stumbled, grabbing for handholds, but Itachi remained steady on the secondary mast, watching the attacking vessel with calculating eyes.
"What's happening?!" Luffy scrambled to his feet, rushing to the deck rail.
"From the look of it," Itachi observed calmly, "this appears to be an enemy attack."
"Perfect timing—a stranger appears on our ship AND we're under attack?!" Zoro drew Enma, joining the others on the main deck. "Could this get any more complicated?"
"Turn the rudder! Turn the rudder!" Franky bellowed, his massive form straining as he worked the controls. "If that bubble coating pops, we're dead!"
Sanji leaped to the helm, wrenching it hard to port. The Sunny began to pull away, but the attacking ship wasn't finished.
"Go, Momoo!" a voice shouted from the other vessel.
The creature harnessed to the enemy ship's bow—a massive beast with a fish's body and a bull's head—surged forward with explosive strength, dragging the ship after the Sunny once more.
Itachi studied the creature. A summoned beast? No... not quite. "What is that?"
Nami followed his gaze and froze. She knew that creature. Momoo—the manatee that had served the Arlong Pirates who'd terrorized her village for years.
"It's..." she began, but Chopper's cry cut her off.
"The bubble! It's going to burst!"
The protective coatings surrounding both ships pressed against each other, warping under the strain. The crew braced for disaster—but instead of bursting, the bubbles merged into one.
"Well done, Momoo!"
On the enemy ship, the pirate captain laughed with savage glee. This was Caribou, the "Wet Hair" pirate, a supernova with a bounty of 100 million berries who had been lying in wait for exactly this opportunity.
"They're coming through!" Brook yelped.
"What do you want?! Why are you attacking us?!" Luffy demanded, his patience evaporating.
Zoro glanced from the approaching pirates to Itachi and back, teeth grinding. "This situation just keeps getting worse! Hey, Luffy! Curly-brow cook! Get ready to fight!"
"WHO are you calling curly-brow, you moss-headed idiot?!" Sanji shot back, even as he settled into a fighting stance.
On the attacking ship, Caribou's younger brother Coribou shouted, "The bubbles merged, brother!"
"Excellent! Everyone, GO!"
Caribou raised his arms in triumph and leaped onto the Sunny's deck, followed by his crew.
Itachi dropped gracefully from the mast, landing near Luffy and Zoro.
"It is confirmed, then—this is an enemy attack." His voice remained calm, almost clinical. "Let me be clear once more: I am not your enemy."
He glanced at the swarming pirates, then back at the Straw Hats. "However, I am also on this ship. If it comes under attack, that affects me as well. I suggest we deal with this intrusion first. Afterward, we can resolve the questions surrounding my presence."
Luffy's grin returned instantly. "Sounds good to me, Tear-Stripe Guy!"
Zoro remained wary, his eyes flicking between Itachi and the invaders, but he didn't object. For now, they had a common threat.
Luffy studied the attacking pirate captain. "Wait... I think I saw this guy at Sabaody!"
Caribou, oblivious to the danger, was already gloating. "I can't believe we breached their defenses so easily!" He spread his arms wide. "Get them, boys! Bring me Straw Hat Luffy's head!"
Behind him, Momoo the manatee had finally gotten a good look at the Sunny's crew.
His massive eyes went wide.
He recognized that orange-haired woman. He recognized the cook. He recognized ALL of them.
THE STRAW HATS!
The same pirates who had decimated Arlong Park. Who had beaten Arlong himself. Who had brought down an entire empire of fish-men.
Momoo began to tremble. Tears streamed from his eyes. And then, with a terrified bellow, he turned and FLEW, dragging the Caribou Pirates' ship—and all their remaining crew—with him.
Caribou, already mid-boast, slowly realized his reinforcements weren't arriving. He turned.
Empty ocean behind him. His ship, disappearing into the deep.
"WHAAAAT?!"
His eyes bulged. His jaw dropped. And then he noticed something else—a man standing apart from the Straw Hats, watching him with dark, measuring eyes.
Who the hell is THAT?
Before Caribou could process the question, he met Itachi's gaze.
The world twisted.
Caribou found himself bound to a gray cross, immense iron spikes driven through his hands and feet. Blood flowed from the wounds—warm, real, excruciating. He couldn't move. Couldn't transform into his swamp-body. Couldn't do ANYTHING.
"What—WHERE AM I?! THIS ISN'T REAL! I'M A LOGIA! NOTHING CAN HURT ME!"
But the pain was real. The blood was real. And in the real world, Caribou simply collapsed, unconscious before he hit the deck.
The Straw Hats stared.
"What... just happened?"
"He just... fell over?"
"Is this guy seriously an attacker?!" Chopper's confusion had reached new heights.
Zoro's hand tightened on Enma's hilt. He'd seen this before—mere moments ago, when it had happened to HIM.
He looked at Itachi, who stood calmly, his strange red eyes fading back to their original dark hue.
Itachi had neutralized a threat without lifting a finger.
What kind of monster have we picked up?
(End of Chapter)
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