[Chapter Size: 2000 Words.]
Third Person POV
Alabasta, First Half of Grandline.
…
…
Luffy’s thunderous laughter echoed through the bar, filling the space with vibrant and uninhibited energy. He stood, an arrogant smile adorning his face, while the bar patrons looked on, open-mouthed and in absolute shock. The impact of his arrival still reverberated through the walls, and everyone’s eyes were fixed on the hole.
“HAHAHAHA! I wanted to see your face, Smoker!” Luffy proclaimed, his chest swelling with pride for the feat accomplished.
The civilians in the bar, some still with their drinks halfway to their lips, remained motionless as if time had frozen. It was a scene that defied comprehension, the infamous pirate of 200 million berries not only challenged, but also struck a Navy captain, but a commander of the Whitebeard pirates.
“Hey bartender, don’t just stand there! Bring me food!” Luffy announced, fiddling with his hat.
“Also, bring me a lot of food, my 400-meter whale is coming! Hahahaha!” Luffy laughed as everyone became even more stunned, wondering if this was a joke.
Luffy was served and began to eat with the waiter frowning at him, Laboon arrived at that moment, floating gracefully in the air with a bubble ring surrounding his waist, as if it were an aquatic display in the sky. The unanimous exclamation “IT’S REALLY A WHALE!” echoed through the space, with the customers and bar staff glued to the windows and doors, all wanting to witness the spectacle.
“Come Laboon, come eat,” Luffy invited, waving to his marine friend with a piece of meat in hand. Laboon responded with a deep and joyful sound, “Grrrr…,” which vibrated through the walls of the establishment.
As Luffy enjoyed his meal with contagious enthusiasm, the waiter approached him, his expression laden with caution and evident concern. Moving hesitantly, he said, “Hey, you should leave!”
Luffy, surprised, looked up, pausing his relentless gastronomic adventure for a moment. “Hm?! What’s up?” he asked, an expression of innocent curiosity on his face.
The waiter, swallowing hard, pointed to a considerable hole in the bar’s wall. “See that hole in the wall?”
Looking in the direction indicated, Luffy replied with a playful smile: “Yes, is that like an emergency exit from the bar?”
The bar’s response was swift. “Of course not! You did that!” echoed a chorus of voices, with the bar patrons expressing both fear and disbelief.
Luffy, keeping the smile, feigned surprise. “Me? I don’t think so…”
“OF COURSE IT WAS!” the bar shouted in unison, tension rising as the reality of the situation set in.
The waiter, clearly concerned about the possible consequences of Luffy’s action, tried to argue again. “You sent a Navy officer and a member of the Whitebeard pirates flying, you have to get out of here if you want to live.”
Luffy, unfazed, looked at Laboon, who floated peacefully by his side, and calmly replied: “I see… But it’s okay, I can handle it. And we haven’t finished eating yet, have we Laboon?”
“Grrrr…” Laboon made a deep sound, seeming to agree with his friend.
The waiter, realizing the futility of trying to persuade the pirate, sighed, accepting that there wasn’t much he could do. The other customers watched the scene, a mix of fascination and apprehension in the air, while they wondered what else this unexpected and extraordinary day would bring.
“GRRR!”
At that moment, Ace emerged from the wreckage, clearly furious, looking for the one responsible for his current situation. Smoker, following closely, maintained his stern expression and the imposing posture of a Navy officer determined on his mission.
As he emerged from the hole in the wall, Ace could hardly believe what he saw. There was Luffy, sitting calmly at the bar, enjoying his meal as if nothing extraordinary had happened.
“LU…!” began Ace, his voice laden with surprise and irritation.
“MUGIWARA!” However, before he could complete his thought, Smoker quickly acted, pushing Ace back to the ground with Smoker’s hand as he advanced towards Luffy.
Luffy, watching the scene with a relaxed smile, greeted Smoker undisturbed. “Hey Smoker, how are you? Did you like my kick?” he asked, the casualness of his voice contrasting sharply with the tension in the air.
“So it was you? I came to arrest you!” Smoker growled, anger clear in his voice, as he fixed his gaze on Luffy.
Luffy, still nibbling on a piece of meat, looked at his brother still on the ground and said to Smoker: “It was, but can you first get off my brother?”
Smoker, with a momentarily surprised expression, looked at Ace, who was on the ground. “Hm? Brother?” he questioned, his voice tinged with incredulity as he connected the dots.
For some reason, perhaps a reluctant recognition of the fraternal bond between the two pirates, Smoker stepped aside, allowing Ace to rise. With a swift movement, Ace got up, fixing his gaze on Luffy.
“LUFFYYYY!!!!!” He shouted, a mix of relief and exasperation in his voice.
“ACE!” Luffy responded with a genuine and warm smile.
“LUFFY!” Ace called again, a smile forming on his face too.
“ACE!” Luffy echoed, his voice full of joy.
The two brothers continued, repeating each other’s names, until Smoker, clearly impatient with the scene, interrupted. “ARE YOU JUST GOING TO KEEP SAYING THAT?!” he growled, his voice raised in frustration.
The brothers’ response was a shared laugh, “HAHAHAHAHAHA!” followed by “HAHAHAHAHA”, their laughter mingling in the charged air of the bar.
Laboon, watching the scene, emitted a confused “Grr?” not fully understanding what was happening.
Luffy, still smiling, called the waiter. “Hey, waiter, a table for 4, please!” A moment later, a table was arranged in the middle of the restaurant, accommodating Luffy, Laboon, Ace, and a still reluctant Smoker.
“Why am I here? I should be arresting you!” Smoker growled, his expression still stern.
“Relax, navy captain, you don’t want to start a fight in the middle of a bar, do you?” Luffy joked, giving Smoker a friendly elbow nudge.
“TSK!” Smoker grunted, clearly displeased with the situation, but without many options.
Ace, looking at Luffy, commented: “Luffy, you look so different!” His voice carried a mix of surprise and admiration, observing the changes in his younger brother.
The scene was surreal – two notorious pirates, a Navy captain, and a flying whale, all sitting at the same table, creating a unique atmosphere that defied the reality of the One Piece world.
“Hahaha. I ate a zoan, it changed my body a bit,” Luffy explained, smiling as he ran his hand through his hair, subtly highlighting the changes in his appearance.
Ace, with a look of curiosity and admiration, asked: “So now you are an akuma no mi user too? Is it true that you met Lucy? How is she?”
Luffy, with a nostalgic glint in his eyes, replied: “She’s fine, we spent a week together with my crew. But, you know, there was that fight in Loguetown and we had to say goodbye.”
“That’s amazing! I wish I had met her too… It’s been so many years,” Ace commented, a melancholic smile forming on his lips.
“Hahahaha. You would laugh with her, she never changes,” Luffy said, and both brothers shared a moment of genuine laughter.
Meanwhile, the people in the bar watched the scene with a mix of incredulity and fascination. The sight of two infamous pirates, a Navy captain, and a flying whale sharing the same table was something that defied reality. Whispers and astonished looks traveled through the room.
The waiter, still with an expression of incredulity, brought more food, his trays laden with an absurd amount of dishes to satisfy the voracious appetites of the pirates and the whale. Each time he approached the table, his eyes widened a bit more, not believing the scene before him.
“It’s not every day that a Navy captain dines with pirates… and a whale, on top of that,” the waiter murmured to himself, as he placed the dishes on the table.
The tension remained high around the table, with Smoker sitting stiff and uncomfortable, the veins in his forehead pulsing with contained irritation. The casualness with which Luffy treated the situation irritated him more than he would like to admit.
“Don’t make me laugh, Mugiwara. You’re going to be arrested here!” Smoker said, his voice laden with cold anger, as he stared at the pirate in front of him.
Luffy just smiled, enjoying his meal with an enthusiasm that only he possessed. “Relax, Smoker. It’s just a meal. You should try to enjoy it,” he suggested, ignoring the other’s hostility.
Ace, for his part, tried to lighten the mood, but it was evident that he also enjoyed Smoker’s discomfort. “You know, it’s impressive how you manage to stay calm with him provoking you like that,” he commented, a laugh escaping between his words.
“GRRR!” Laboon vocalized from time to time, seemingly understanding the peculiar nature of the gathering.
Smoker just grunted in response, his hands clenched into fists under the table. “I’m not here to ‘enjoy’. I’m here because I have a job to do and you two are part of it. Don’t forget, Luffy, that you’re on a very short list of people I’d like to see behind bars.”
“Hey, waiter, bring another round! It’ll help our friend Smoker here relax,” Luffy called, waving to the waiter without paying any attention to the implicit threat in Smoker’s words.
The people in the bar continued to watch, waiting for any sign of an imminent fight. However, it was hard to believe that amid such bizarre camaraderie, something so violent could occur. The presence of the whale, in particular, seemed to confer an air of surrealism to the moment that disarmed the expectation of a confrontation.
Smoker, realizing the gazes upon him, knew he could not let the situation escalate there. “Just remember, Luffy, that your time is running out. And when it does, I’ll be there to make sure you pay for everything you’ve done.”
Luffy just nodded, his attention apparently more focused on the plate in front of him than on Smoker’s warnings. “As you wish, Smoker. But for now, let’s enjoy the food, right?”
As the meal continued, the bar began to resume a buzz of normality, even with the imposing presence of Smoker, Luffy, Ace, and the whale Laboon among them. Luffy and Ace, enjoying the food and each other’s company, laughed and chatted as if they had forgotten the world around them.
The waiter, now a little more relaxed, served another round of drinks, while observing the unusual dynamics of the brothers and the Navy captain. The entire place was enveloped in the contagious energy of the pirates, until a sudden silence fell over the table.
Smoker’s patience finally ran out. With a swift movement, he punched the table forcefully.
*CRACK!*
“Enough! I’m arresting you two!” He shouted, his voice echoing through the bar.
A customer, observing the scene in surprise, intervened: “Navy officer… They’re sleeping…!”
It was true. Both Luffy and Ace, amid conversation and laughter, had succumbed to sleep, their heads resting on the destroyed table. Laboon, confused by the sudden change, emitted an interrogative “Grrr?”.
“HOW CAN YOU SLEEP HERE!” Smoker, completely losing his composure, broke what remained of the table with his two hands.
At that moment, Ace began to wake up, sleepy and confused by the noise. “Hm??!! What’s all this noise, can’t you see people are sleeping here?” he asked, rubbing his eyes.
Luffy, still half asleep, murmured: “I think I slept a bit.” He looked at the destroyed table, slowly processing the situation. “It was a good meal, but I think we have to go now. Let’s go, Ace!” With a fluid movement, he grabbed a gold bar and threw it on the counter. “Waiter, this covers your costs!” Luffy said, grabbing Laboon by the arm and pulling Ace by the other.
“Goodbye, Smoker!” Luffy laughed, his voice full of amusement, as he left through the door.
“I won’t let you escape!” Smoker, transformed into smoke, rushed after Luffy, determined not to lose sight of the pirates.
As Luffy left with Ace and Laboon, leaving the bar and fleeing from the Navy officer, the customers were stunned, witnessing an ending as sudden and chaotic as the meeting itself. The bar, now silent, was filled with incredulous looks and whispers about the surreal scene they had just witnessed.
———————————————————————————-
Raccoon Here:
I know the chapter is short and slow, but this was one of the most fun episodes I found in One Piece.
“Stone Stone!”
I appreciate your early support in following this exciting journey! I hope each chapter has provided incredible moments.
If you enjoy my work and would like to support the continuation of this fanfic, consider becoming a patron. As a token of gratitude, I offer access to up to 110 extra chapters with 4 active fanfics at the same time, along with other exclusive benefits on my profile, such as images and significant decisions for the stories:
DazeRaccoon | Patreon