"It's like I'm hearing about two different people," Zoro said looking at Coby, "Good job, kid. I'm sure you'll do great as a Marine"
"Zoro…" Coby breathed teary-eyed as he nodded resolutely, "Yes! I definitely will!"
"Eat up as much as you want!" Ririka said as she placed more plates of food at their table which was occupied by Luffy, Nami, Zoro, Coby and a very happy Rika who was sitting on top of the table right in front of Luffy as he fed her.
The surrounding tables were also filled with joyous townspeople and people were even crowding outside to see the heroes who had saved their town. And everyone was praising Coby for basically inspiring the other Marines to stand up for themselves and his face had gone bright red.
"Shishishi Coby, you sure have grown!"
"I want to say that we just met you yesterday and that's not enough time to judge if a person has grown or not," Nami chimed in, "But I guess I have to reevaluate that belief because you definitely did grow so much in just a day. You were so wimpy just yesterday but today, you stood up to a scary Marine captain that everyone was terrified of. That was really impressive, Coby"
"It's all because of you Luffy," Coby hastily said wanting to let everyone know that Luffy was the real hero here, "If it weren't for you, I would still be toiling away on Alvida's ship…"
"All you gotta do now is get stronger," Luffy said and wondered if him showing up three weeks early might affect Coby's meeting with Garp. Deciding to be on the safe side he added, "And the fastest way to get stronger is to find a good teacher. So, when you see someone strong, jump at the chance to train under them okay? You'll do great, Coby" Luffy patted Coby's shoulder leaving the rest up to him and Coby nodded resolutely.
"So what now?" Zoro asked changing the topic.
"Hmm we need to make a few stops, but we'll soon head to the Grand Line"
"What?! Don't be reckless! The Grand Line is a dangerous place," Coby started and continued ranting about all the horrors of the Grand Line. The surrounding people, who were listening in, also told them of some of the tales they had heard and Luffy was just amused by all the stories. Sure, they were all crazy stories like how whirlpools instantaneously formed with no warning, massive Sea Kings that could devour ships, crazy lightning and weather, and for the most part, they were actually true. But they were still relatively tame compared to how dangerous the Grand Line actually was.
He didn't comment anything and just let the people discuss what they wanted until Zoro brought up the topic of how Coby should worry about himself as he had been on a pirate ship for two years and Coby saying that he had shot at a Marine captain too, so he didn't know what would happen. Luffy promised that they would be friends regardless and Coby gave a heartfelt thanks to Luffy, Nami and Zoro for making him resolve to follow his dream.
But everything quietened down when the Marines eventually showed up.
"Excuse me!" Ripper said getting everyone's attention, "We heard you guys are pirates. Is that true?"
"Yep, we're pirates"
"Well, even if you are pirates, we would like to thank you on behalf of the Marines." he said bowing down to them. "But you are sti-"
Luffy knew the townspeople would speak up against the Marines if Ripper asked them to leave and not wanting to sour the relationship between them, he cut him off as he got up, "I think it's about time we left. I'll go check on Makino and then we'll leave. Thanks for the food, Ririka"
Ripper was surprised by his action and gave Luffy a grateful nod understanding why he was doing it. Nami and Zoro also understood his reasons and Zoro smirked liking his captain while Nami was again surprised by his unpirate-like behaviour.
Ripper then turned to Coby. "And you," he said causing Coby to stiffen up, "You want to join the Marines?"
"Yessir! Please let me join! I know I shot at a Marine Captain, bu-"
"It's okay, kid. Relax," Ripper said seeing that Coby was afraid of not being let in, "All of us pointed our guns at our superiors today. And also colluded with pirates in a way," he said pointing at Luffy. "We're all not getting dinner for a month as punishment. And we still don't know what our higher-ups might decide when they hear that we rebelled, so we might all even get fired… Do you still want to join?"
"Yessir!" Coby nodded resolutely with no hesitation.
"Alright then. You're accepted"
"Thank you, sir!"
Luffy smiled as he turned to Zoro and Nami. "I'll meet you guys at the boat"
"You're going, Big brother Luffy?" Rika hugged him with sad eyes.
"Yeah. Take care of your mom, okay?" he said ruffling her hair and she nodded. "And remember, when someone is starving themselves for no reason-"
"Shove food into their mouths!" Rika cheered even before he finished his question causing him to laugh and Nami to smack him saying "Don't corrupt kids!"
"And maybe next time, cook something for total softies like Zoro-"
"Oi!"
"-They'll be more inclined to eat that way"
"Cook something? Like what?"
"Onigiri?" he suggested and she nodded with a bright smile.
"I wanted to make them too!"
"Shishi good!"
She went on to say her goodbyes to Nami and Zoro, and he slipped out. He then went to the Marine base and quickly found the communications room. It was pretty much deserted with just one Marine who was operating the snails and even he seemed to have just connected the call and had given Makino some privacy.
"Makino?" Luffy said as he peeked into the room.
"Luffy? Come on in"
"You talking to gramps?" he said as he walked in. He also wanted to talk to him and let him know he was okay at least.
"I tried to, but he wasn't available. So I'm talking to Sengoku now"
Luffy did a double-take wondering if he heard right. "Did you just say Sengoku?"
"Yes" Makino chuckled.
"Nice to know you're safe," Sengoku's voice came over the snail Makino was holding and Luffy walked up to her with a questioning look.
"Well, I kept calling Garp a lot over the last two years," Makino began explaining, "But he wasn't there most of the time, so I had to keep leaving a message. I blew up at him one day and after that, he gave me Sengoku's number so that I can talk to him instead"
"That damn Garp sure likes to deflect such problems onto others…" Sengoku said before realizing what he had just said and hastily clarified himself, "Ah not that I think you're a problem, Makino"
"Hehe, that's okay. I know I was harsh sometimes"
Luffy stared at Makino in bewilderment, understanding that she had done way more than he had thought to search for him. He went up behind where she was sitting and put his arms around her hugging her, "You scolded Sengoku himself for not being able to find me huh?"
"Scold is a loose term for what she screa-I mean said to me"
"I did what I had to do," Makino smiled ruffling his hair.
"Thanks, Makino" he gave her a tight squeeze before letting go and sat next to her excited to talk to Sengoku, "I never imagined I would get a chance to talk to you so soon. How ya doing, Sen?"
"…No respect huh? You're your grandpa's grandson alright"
"You can say that again," an old woman's voice came over the snail and Luffy took a moment to realize who that was.
"Is that Tsuru?"
"You recognized me just by the voice? How? I haven't met you before, have I?" Tsuru asked in a puzzled tone.
"Old woman with Sengoku. Only you fit the bill"
"I see"
"Yeah anyway, where did you disappear to for the last two years?" Sengoku asked, "We searched a lot but had no clue where you even were"
Luffy looked at Makino and she shook her head. "Just away with a friend and took some time to come back, that's all"
Sengoku sighed knowing it wasn't the truth but he didn't pry and was just glad that he didn't have to listen to Makino's complaints anymore. "Well okay then. Garp should be back here in a week and he kinda has vacation rights now. So, he'll be choosing to go to East Blue, so I'll just have him look into this Morgan issue too"
"You're gonna have Morgan thrown in Impel Down?" Luffy asked.
"Yeah, most probably"
"I see" Luffy said with a tired sigh.
"What? You don't approve?" Tsuru asked.
"I understand that it holds the vilest criminals who need to be locked up so that they won't hurt others… but no one deserves to be locked up in that hellhole…"
Makino gasped, her breathing getting hitched. Her lips quivered, afraid to ask the question that was on her and also Sengoku and Tsuru's minds.
Knowing what they were thinking, Luffy quickly interjected, "No no, I wasn't there, don't worry. Just heard about what goes on in there from someone"
Makino's racing heart calmed down and she began breathing again. Sengoku and Tsuru also let out a sigh of relief. If Luffy was indeed locked up in Impel Down unjustly, and Garp found out about it, they were afraid of what he would do.
"Well, we'll worry about that. Don't break your head over it"
"Yeah sure," Luffy let it go before grinning, "So you're not gonna arrest me or something? You guys do know I'm a pirate right?"
"Yeah, Garp has been complaining for years that you keep saying that you wanted to become a pirate. You actually became one huh?"
"Yep! I'm gonna become the Pirate King!"
"God, I thought Garp was joking when he used to say that," Tsuru added, "But you actually want to? Imagine if this gets out. Grandson of the Hero of the Marines is aiming to become the Pirate King… Big News Morgan would have a field day with such info"
"Gramps and I have different things we want from life, that's all"
Sengoku gave a sigh before continuing, "Anyway, I'm gonna overlook this since Garp has ensured me that you have moral values and won't do anything to harm people. But I'm warning you - don't get out of line. Just stay quietly in some part of the East Blue without making a ruckus or attracting attention and we'll never have a problem"
Makino facepalmed knowing that Sengoku had just pushed all of Luffy's trigger buttons and she expected Luffy to yell back. But Luffy just calmly smiled before opening his mouth and said something that threw everyone off, "Do you like your desk, Sen?"
"…My…desk?"
"Yeah, the one you sit at and go through reports. Do you like it?"
"…I guess? It's a nice desk…what does this have to do with anything?"
"Okay, good. Doesn't seem like you have any emotional connection to it. One more question - Do you have a desk guy?"
"…a what?"
"A desk guy. You know, someone you go to who makes your desks in case it breaks or something"
"…what are you getting at, brat?"
"I'm saying," Luffy grinned, "that I'm gonna be causing you so many problems, so many issues that you'll start getting report after report after report of the stuff I've done coming to your desk… and I don't think your desk can endure you angrily slamming your fist or even bashing your head on it when you read what I did… it'll break and it'll keep happening again and again… So, I suggest you get a desk guy"
There was stunned silence where the three listeners took a moment to process what Luffy was saying and Makino was looking at him with disbelieving eyes.
"…hey kid, I get that you might be a bit ballsy thinking that your grandfather will protect you. But if you step out of line, even Garp won't be able to give you any sort of protection" Sengoku said losing the amicable tone he was using earlier.
"Yeah I know," Luffy said with a small sad smile, "You don't have to worry about gramps threatening you or something. Even if I'm being executed for being a pirate, I know gramps will choose his duty over family. He's a hero after all and I respect him for it… He might get angry or even leave the Marines, but he won't interfere in my execution. I have chosen this path of becoming a pirate despite knowing he and I will become enemies at one point"
"…and yet you threaten me?"
"God no," Luffy sighed, "I wasn't threatening you. Just stating a fact. With the amount of corruption you guys have in your organization, I'm gonna be butting heads with a lot of Marines soon and you'll hear all about it"
"Listen kid, Makino told me some of the things Morgan did, so I understand that you might have a bad impression of the Marines. But he's an outlier and there aren't many lik-"
"Sengoku, that might have been the funniest thing I've heard today and considering how much I teased Nami, that's saying something… Morgan is an outlier? Are you fucking kidding me?" he lost all cheeriness in his voice as he continued, "He's just like you and everyone else in your stupid organization. Status is everything. Status and Rank decide what's Justice. The one with the highest status is always right… That's the kind of delusional bullshit Morgan was spouting… But is that really delusional though? Doesn't what he said sound familiar to you?"
He gave a pause and when they didn't answer, continued, "Mouths shut huh? Why? Because you've done the exact same things as him, only much much worse? Poor Morgan probably respects a lot of his higher-ups given how much he advocates status, so when he sees his higher-ups, sees people as powerful as you bow down and follow every command a Celestial bastard gives like a dog, be it hunting down little girls, randomly picking someone off a street to make them a slave, randomly killing people even if it's a child for absolutely no reason… Can you really blame the guy for thinking that the world works that way? He's actually a good guy if we see him through that lens as he at least didn't brand people or use them as toys, saddles, or entertainment"
There was a long stretch of silence as neither Sengoku nor Tsuru spoke, and Makino was just staring at Luffy with sad teary eyes. Luffy saw Makino's face and sighed calming down. He gave her a reassuring smile before continuing. "Sorry, that came out too harsh… I know you're not responsible for all of that…"
"You don't understand anything, kid" Sengoku finally spoke, his voice steely as if rehearsed, "How this world works and how delicate the balance between everything is…"
"But I kinda do, Sen. Since you're like the leader, some of my anger might be concentrated on you, but I honestly think that you're not that bad of a guy. The world is shitty and with evil pirates, Warlords, the Celestial bastards, the Gorosei bastards, corrupt Marines in your own ranks, Marines like Akainu who'll kill a whole island of innocent people if it means a single criminal might be on it… I'm sure there are more… God, I don't know how you do it, Sen. I honestly pity you. Balancing that many people, keeping them all satisfied or in line so that the world doesn't become more of a hellhole than it already is… I'm sure you have done plenty of downright evil things in the name of Justice or to keep balance in the world, but I do understand. Choosing the lesser of two evils must be a frequent thing for you huh?"
"…"
"…Garp always gave the impression that you're, to be blunt, quite a stupid kid," Tsuru sighed, "But you're more informed and smarter than you sound… Looks like we've got quite a wild card here"
"I agree with you…" Sengoku said in a calm tone before giving a deep sigh. "What is your goal here kid? What are you doing by saying all this to me?"
"Just a whim to be honest. I thought that you and I were gonna meet a bit later down the line when my goals would have been more well-defined, but I suddenly got this chance to talk to you out of nowhere. So I am just talking to you"
"Your goals? Isn't it to become the Pirate King?"
"Well yeah, that's my main goal… But something happened to me a couple of years ago and now, if I go through my journey with my only goal being becoming the Pirate King, I'll blow my brains out because of boredom. So, I've added a few side goals which I want to do along the way…like annoy the Marines, take down the Celestial bastards, eat a lot of raw ham melon, and I just added a new one - annoy Sengoku a lot…"
"Lord… Am I hearing this right?" Tsuru said with disbelief laced in his voice, "He's saying that he wants to take on the Gods of this world, the people even we can't defy…on a whim and as a 'side goal' because he's bored. And he's saying that to the Fleet Admiral… I thought Garp was crazy but this kid is insane on a whole other level"
"Yeah, I'm already getting a headache just from this," Sengoku sighed.
"It's really nothing personal guys. I even think we could be friends much later in life, but in the short run, you're gonna resent me. That's all I had to say…"
"And what makes you think we won't send someone right now to take care of you?"
"Shishishi now we're talking! I welcome you to try, Sen. The opponents in East Blue are all so boring so please send someone strong so that they won't be a disappointment"
"Unbelievable," Sengoku gave another deep sigh. "You do realize that you insulted the Celestial Dragons, told us that you'll take them down… That's more than enough reason for us to have you killed"
"Celestial bastards. I want to kill them all" Tsuru suddenly interjected.
"Tsuru!"
"Oh come now, Sen. You and I both would jump at the chance to take them down ourselves if we had the chance…"
"Shishishishi nice, Tsuru!"
Sengoku let out another deep sigh seemingly having had enough of this. "We'll talk about this later, Tsuru…And kid, as much as I'd like to send someone after you, you haven't actually done anything yet, other than talk big. If I send someone to kill you now for absolutely no reason, Garp will destroy Marine HQ…"
"Awww…" Luffy pouted.
"But I'm watching you, kid. You step too out of line, and I will do something about it… and as you said, if it's justified, even Garp won't interfere"
"Okay then, I'm looking forward to it. I'm glad we could keep this civil for now at least. Bye, Sen. Bye, Tsuru. Say hi to gramps! And oh, don't forget to get a desk guy!"
"Annoying brat"
KA-CHAK
Luffy chuckled as he disconnected the call, happy to have taunted Sengoku, and looked at Makino who was just gaping at him. "What?"
"It's just…just…" Makino muttered looking like she was unsure of what she wanted to say. She then took a deep breath and composed herself "Let's have a serious talk later, okay?"
"Sure," Luffy nodded and the two got up to leave.
"Hey Makino, do you know how to make holy water?"
"Holy water?" she asked confused.
"You boil the hell out of it"
"Pfft~"
Her mood lifted, Luffy cheered "Alright, let's go!"
—
"THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING, LUFFY!" Coby yelled as he saluted from the shore of Shellstown, "I'LL NEVER FORGET WHAT ALL YOU DID FOR ME!"
"BYE COBY! SEE YOU ON THE GRAND LINE!" Luffy waved with both arms as they sailed away.
"ATTENTION!" The other Marines also lined up behind Coby saluting them and many of the townspeople also came to say goodbye.
"BYE GUYS! STAY SAFE!" Luffy waved goodbye while sitting on the bow of their boat.
"Never thought I would see Marines saluting pirates," Zoro commented.
"Yeah, I would never believe it if I wasn't seeing it with my own eyes," Nami added.
"It's pretty much been like this at every island we've been at," Makino added, "Without the Marines of course, but you get the gist"
"I see" Zoro and Nami both nodded understanding that Luffy's idea of a pirate was very different and they both looked forward to see what kind of adventures their captain would pull them into.
Meanwhile, after waving goodbye to Coby and the others, Luffy picked up the newspaper he had bought just before he left. There was one particular story which had caught his attention and he read it intently.
'Hmmm could all of them be real?' he wondered with a glint in his eyes as his lips slowly curled up into a smile. 'Well, I did leave early for this reason. Let's go and check'