Grove 33 was in chaos. Smoke billowed from the craters where the Pacifistas had once stood, and the screams of terrified pirates echoed through the mangroves.
Nami dragged Luffy by the arm, her breathing heavy. She was not tired from running, but from the sheer adrenaline of witnessing her captain dismantle two war machines as if they were made of wet cardboard.
"Luffy! Slow down!" Nami hissed, checking over her shoulder for more Marines. "We need to be stealthy! If an Admiral shows up before we regroup, we are done for!"
Luffy stopped, digging his heels into the grass. Nami stumbled, the sudden halt jerking her arm.
"We don't need to run anymore, Nami," Luffy said. He adjusted the massive backpack on his shoulders. "I just wanted to get away from the noise. That fake guy was annoying."
"It's not about noise! It's about survival!" Nami yelled, though a smile tugged at her lips. She punched his arm lightly. "But... you got strong. Really strong."
Luffy grinned. "Shishishi! You have no idea."
Suddenly, a familiar voice boomed from the trees above them.
"Fear not, fair Nami! For I, the brave warrior of the sea, have arrived to escort you!"
A projectile shot from the canopy—a Green Star. It exploded on the ground in front of them, blooming instantly into a massive, carnivorous plant that snapped its jaws at a pursuing squad of Marines who had just turned the corner. The Marines shrieked as the plant entangled them in vines.
A man leaped down from the branch, landing in a superhero pose. He wore a hat, goggles, and carried a massive slingshot. His muscles were defined, his posture confident.
"Usopp!" Luffy shouted, his eyes lighting up.
Usopp stood up, flicking his thumb across his nose. "Luffy! It has been two years. I hope you haven't been slacking off. I, the Great Captain Usopp, have become a master of the Pop Greens! I have eight thousand followers waiting on the coast, just in case things get ugly."
Luffy walked up to him. In the past, he might have been fooled by the lie about the followers. Now, he knew it was a lie, but he also knew the truth behind the man. Usopp had survived the Boin Archipelago. He had fought giant beetles and man-eating plants every day for two years.
Luffy reached out and squeezed Usopp's bicep. It was hard as rock.
"You got strong, Sniper King," Luffy said softly.
Usopp froze. He had expected Luffy to be impressed by the lie, or to laugh. He didn't expect the genuine, knowing look in his captain's eyes. It was a look of respect.
"Uh... yeah," Usopp stammered, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well! Naturally! I had to get strong to support the future Pirate King!"
"Luffy!"
A small, furry blur shot out of the bushes. Chopper, in his heavy point, tackled Luffy's legs, tears streaming down his face.
"Luffy! I missed you! I thought you were dead for so long!"
Luffy picked up the reindeer, hugging him tight. "Chopper! Did you bring enough medicine? We're going to get hurt a lot less this time, but I still need my doctor."
Chopper wiggled, his face turning red. "Shut up, idiot! That doesn't make me happy, you bastard!" He did the happy dance despite his words.
"We need to move," Nami interrupted, checking her Log Pose. "Franky said the ship is at Grove 42. Everyone else should be there."
"Not everyone," Luffy said. He turned his head toward Grove 41. His Observation Haki picked up two distinct, powerful signatures. They were clashing. Not fighting to kill, but clashing enough to disturb the wildlife. "The idiot swordsman and the love cook are busy measuring who has the bigger... sword."
Nami sighed. "They are fighting? Already?"
"Let's go," Luffy said. "I want to see them."
Grove 41 was a wreck. Several large mangrove roots had been sliced clean through, the cuts smooth as glass. On the other side, scorch marks blackened the ground.
"You got lost again, didn't you, Moss-head?"
"Ha? I was the first one here, number seven. You were probably off flirting with ugly mermaids, curly-brows."
Zoro and Sanji stood forehead to forehead, sparks flying between them. Zoro looked rugged, his one open eye sharp and dangerous, three swords at his hip. Sanji looked dapper in his suit, his goatee thicker, radiating heat.
"I was buying food for the beautiful Nami-swan and Robin-chwan!" Sanji yelled, pressing his forehead harder against Zoro's. "Something a brute like you wouldn't understand!"
"I'll slice you," Zoro grunted, his hand hovering over Wado Ichimonji.
"Try it, plant-life," Sanji retorted, lifting his leg.
"Zoro! Sanji!"
The two froze. They turned their heads in unison.
Luffy stood at the edge of the clearing, flanked by Nami, Usopp, and Chopper. He wasn't running. He was just standing there, smiling.
"Luffy!" Sanji's face melted into a grin. "You're finally here!"
Zoro smirked, letting his hand drop from his sword. "Took you long enough, Captain. I was about to fall asleep waiting."
Luffy walked toward them. He stopped a few feet away. He looked at Zoro's scar over his eye. He looked at Sanji's parting hair.
"You guys look ready," Luffy said.
"We've been ready," Zoro said. "Is it time to go?"
"Yeah," Luffy nodded. "But first..."
He pointed at Zoro.
"Nice direction sense, Moss-head. Perona told me you got on a fishing boat to the North Blue before she stopped you."
Zoro's face turned purple. "That ghost woman is a liar! And don't call me Moss-head!"
"And you," Luffy pointed at Sanji. "Don't die of a nosebleed when we get to Fishman Island. I need you to cook, not bleed out."
Sanji blinked. "Nosebleed? What are you talking about? I am a gentleman!"
"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed.
"Captain!" Franky's voice boomed over a transponder snail in Nami's pocket. "The ship is coated! We are ready to dive! But we have a problem! The Navy has surrounded the coast!"
Luffy's expression didn't change. "We're coming."
The group sprinted toward Grove 42. As they broke through the tree line and onto the coast, they saw the Thousand Sunny. It was beautiful. The soldier dock system shone in the sunlight, the lion figurehead looking proud and ready. Robin, Franky, and Brook were already on deck.
But blocking their path to the ship was a massive Marine Galleon. It sat in the water, its cannons trained on the docks.
"Stop right there, Straw Hat Pirates!" a Marine Captain shouted from the deck of the Galleon. "In the name of Justice, you are all under arrest!"
Zoro drew Shusui. The black blade glinted. "I'll cut the ship in half."
Sanji lit a cigarette, his leg bursting into flames. "Don't bother, Moss-head. I'll kick it into kindling."
"No," Luffy said.
He stepped past them. He walked to the edge of the dock.
"Fire!" the Marine Captain screamed.
BOOM.
A heavy iron cannonball fired from the main battery. It whistled through the air, aimed directly at Luffy's chest.
"Luffy!" Chopper screamed.
Luffy didn't move. He didn't dodge. He puffed out his chest.
The cannonball slammed into him.
Boing.
His rubber body absorbed the impact, stretching backward like a slingshot. The cannonball lost all its momentum, caught in the elasticity of his chest.
"It's rubber!" The Marines gasped. "It didn't work!"
Usually, Luffy would just let it bounce back aimlessly. But this time, he gripped the cannonball with both hands as it pushed into his chest.
"Thanks for the ammo," Luffy said.
His fingers dug into the solid iron. He channeled Ryou into the ball. The advanced armament Haki flowed from his hands, permeating the structure of the metal, destabilizing it, turning it into a ticking bomb.
"Gomu Gomu no..."
He leaned back, putting his entire body weight into the throw.
"...Cannonball Return."
He hurled it.
It didn't just fly back. It vanished.
The speed was supersonic. The air cracked with a sonic boom. The cannonball struck the hull of the Marine Galleon instantly.
It didn't just punch a hole. The Ryou inside the ball detonated upon impact.
KA-BOOM!
The entire front half of the Galleon disintegrated. Wood splinters rained down like confetti. The ship groaned and tilted violently, sinking within seconds. The Marines jumped into the water, screaming.
Zoro's eye widened slightly. "He infused the projectile? That wasn't just a throw."
Sanji let out a puff of smoke, hiding his surprise. "He's been eating well."
Luffy turned back to his crew. He adjusted his hat.
"Get on the ship," he ordered.
They didn't argue. They boarded the Sunny, the nostalgia hitting them like a wave.
As the ship prepared to submerge, a figure appeared on a high root overlooking the bay. It was Silvers Rayleigh, drinking from a flask.
Luffy looked up. He didn't wave. He didn't shout a tearful goodbye like he might have in another life. He just looked at his master and nodded.
I'm ready, Rayleigh. I won't lose anyone this time.
Rayleigh saw the look. He saw the confidence, the lack of hesitation. A tear formed in the corner of the old legend's eye.
"Go," Rayleigh whispered to the wind. "To the summit."
"Set sail!" Nami shouted. "Dive!"
The coating expanded. The Thousand Sunny dipped beneath the surface, the water rushing over the bubble. The light of the sun began to fade, replaced by the deep, azure blue of the ocean.
"We are underwater!" Luffy glued his face to the bubble. "Fish! Look at the fish!"
"We are finally heading to the New World," Robin said, closing her book with a smile. "It has been a long time."
"Sanji!" Luffy turned from the window. "I'm hungry! Make me a Sea King sandwich! The big one!"
"Hai, hai," Sanji walked toward the kitchen. "I'll make something that won't kill you."
"Franky," Luffy called out.
"Super?" Franky struck his pose.
"Check the coating twice," Luffy said, his voice dropping an octave so only the crew could hear. "We have a guest coming soon."
"A guest?" Franky asked.
"Yeah," Luffy grinned, his eyes flashing red. "A guy who thinks he likes mud. Be ready to seal a barrel."
The crew looked at each other. They didn't know how he knew, but looking at their captain, they realized they didn't need to ask. If Luffy said a mud-guy was coming, then a mud-guy was coming.
Luffy sat on the figurehead of the lion, looking down into the abyss.
Fishman Island, he thought. Hody Jones. Big Mom's candy. And Shirahoshi.
He clenched his fist.
Time to save a princess.