On the Other Side of Town
"Shishishi! You aren't so bad after all, Toji-ossan!!"
Luffy burst into another one of his boisterous, signature carefree laughs. He leaned back in his chair, looking immensely satisfied as he patted his unnaturally distended, overblown belly. I had found the unscrupulous youth wandering about unsupervised by the rest of his crew and had easily managed to lure him away with the promise of food. At first, the seventeen-year-old had been reluctant and wary of me, but once I mentioned the possibility of eating meat, his response was immediate.
I hadn't intended to harm him; I was merely curious about Luffy as I stated before. I wanted to see the "Boy Who Lived", the Harry Potter of the One Piece world, for myself and the type of young man he truly was.
"Filled up now, are you?" I asked him with a smile.
The pirate captain didn't withhold another one of his toothy grins. "Very much!" he replied. "Those meat dishes were tasty!"
I chuckled at that. If he only knew how much the bill had cost. Nearly 20,000 berries in food had been ordered for him alone. I ate nothing, having already dined earlier.
"Tell me, Mugiwara," I began again, wanting to ask a question that almost the entire fandom wished to know. "Do you know anything about your mother?"
"Huh? Mother?" He looked buffoonishly curious, as if it were the first time he had ever heard the word. "What mother? I never had a mother." He spoke freely, seemingly seeing nothing wrong with the tone in which he said it. Every one had a mother, and luffy was no different he wasn't a darn Saiyan that fell from the sky.
"Hmm, I see." I nodded, pretending not to be disappointed by the lack of an answer. The rubber man was starting to look high from the food he had consumed; the "food coma," as I personally called it, seemed to be setting in.
I looked at him more seriously this time. This next question would set the minds of many at ease, a philosophical question of great magnitude.
"What bra size does Nami wear?" I asked, almost in a whisper.
"98 cm," he said without a second of pause.
Hah! I knew it! I mentally jumped from my seat. And you, Luffy, are a secret pervert. Playing the long game, are we? I caught you!!!
"Luffy!" I heard a voice call.
I looked beyond the boy and through the window to see the orange-haired woman again, and this time she wasn't alone. Sanji and Zoro followed in her wake like guards.
"Oi!!! Guys!!!" Luffy shouted back from inside the restaurant, disturbing the other customers. It was evident they heard him, and now they saw him. Nami made her way inside, stomping like a mad bull in a rage.
Whack! Whack!
She delivered two punches to his head that folded him like a piece of paper. It was a comedic sight, though rather curious; she shouldn't have the means to physically harm the rubber man. Either Luffy had disabled the use of his Devil Fruit, or there was something else entirely at play.
"I told you that we'd meet back in the square in an hour! It's been two hours since!" she barked, not even noticing me sitting at the table.
"Nami-swan!! You look so cute when you're angry!" Sanji complimented her in a tone and gesture that made me cringe. It was a hard thing to watch.
Zoro, the swordsman... well, he seemed to have noticed me. He stared unblinkingly, his hand nearing the hilt of his weapons. How perceptive of you, Pirate Hunter, I thought to myself with a chuckle.
I stood from my chair, and it was then that Nami's eyes redirected toward me. Her lips moved, mumbling something, but no words came. It was like the first time; she had become nervous again. This was quite unlike what I had seen in the shows, she might be a coward, but she was usually a smooth talker, not a stammering fool.
"It's nice to meet you again, fine lady," I said to her.
Sanji didn't seem to take kindly to that. "Oi! Oi! Who the hell do you think you are?" He stepped forward as if I were competition.
Sanji was a failed lady's man. First and foremost, if you want a woman, you never let her see you complimenting another woman, they take offence from that. secondly you talk to her constantly, give her the attention their brain so often seeks, and in their minds, they think they are the prize you are committed to. I had my fair share of being a "man of the girls" myself, but Sanji here had let the men of culture down.
Nami used her hand to stop him from going any further, though she seemed to have found her voice once again.
"What are you doing here?!" she asked, albeit shakily.
"Well, nothing. Am I not my own man? Can I not go where I wish?" I deflected easily.
Nami's eyes wandered worriedly toward Luffy, who was currently squatting on the floor and rubbing his head where her blows had landed.
"Come on, Nami! No need to worry about Toji-senpai," Luffy chirped. "He gave me meat, so he's a good guy!"
'Wait pause.' I thought mentally, that doesn't sound right to me.
"What?!" Nami shrieked, looking completely taken aghast. "You mean to tell me you were led astray by food? Luffy, do you honestly think everyone who offers you a snack is a saint?!"
"Yep," he replied flatly. His lack of hesitation earned him another swift punch from the navigator that sent him toppling over.
I chuckled internally, though I kept my expression neutral. I was "aura farming" right now; I didn't want to lose the momentum of my intimidating presence by laughing like a clown.
"An interesting captain you have here, fine lady," I drawled. "Very entertaining. He told me all about you."
She visibly flinched.
My eyes drifted past the main trio to a visible shaking figure in the back. Ah, I was wondering where you were. The Great God Usopp.
"Who is he, Nami?" Zoro asked, the frown on his face deepening.
"I don't know," she answered, looking at me as if I weren't standing right in front of her. "Some pirate, maybe?"
"You injure me," I paused for a beat. "Nami," I added, calling her by her name for the first time. "I am no pirate. Out of all the things I am, that is the one thing, I am not."
Zoro didn't believe a word of it. His instincts told him differently. To him, a beast was a beast regardless of how it acted, and standing before them was a monster wearing a very expensive mask. I was half a head taller than him, and my frame was sturdy, my muscles only partially hidden under the clothing draped over my shoulders.
"Then what are you?!" Usopp found the courage to squeak.
"Just a man trying to understand the complexities of people and the world," I said, before chuckling at nothing at all. They found my dismissal as annoying as it was uncomfortable.
The answer wasn't a lie, but it wasn't what they wanted. I had no intention of giving them more; teasing them was far more entertaining, like troubling a younger sibling.
"Come now, Miss Nami, don't look so dull. I bear no ill will toward you or him. I merely wished to see the type of man who earned a thirty-million-berry bounty."
"And do you wish to claim it?" Zoro opined darkly, his hand finally wrapping fully around the hilt of Wado Ichimonji.
"Of course not. Thirty million is a great sum, but I have no need for such figures. I am a man well-off; plus I don't dabble in bounty hunting."
It was true enough. Marine service rarely made one rich, though the pension and retirement policies were decent. And as a Rear Admiral, my base pay was roughly 220,000 usd per year before taxes, a comfortable life, but not the outlandish wealth a pirate might imagine.
"You're a Marine," Nami realized. The words were a subtle whisper, but they carried the weight of a realization.
'Bingo!'
Zoro drew his sword instantly. Sanji shifted into a steadier combat stance, and Usopp pulled back on his slingshot. A gun would fit that boy so well with that eyesight, I thought idly.
I didn't nod or deny it; the silence and the look I gave her were answer enough.
Luffy looked genuinely surprised, though he remained less on guard than the others. "You tricked me, you bastard!" he shouted, pointing an accusing finger.
His slow mind had connected the dots now.
"I never tricked you. You did that to yourself by never asking who I was," I admitted.
"its the same thing!" He shouted.
'Tis not.' I mentally answered
It was time to leave. I'd be seeing Luffy again soon enough. The Straw Hat Captain was a magnet for chaos, and his actions would inevitably lead me to greater success wherever he ventured, and I intended to venture close by wherever he roamed. Sky Island for example. I was hoping to go there, gold and all types of valuables awaited. Enel with his devil fruit even.
"Well... since we've all met and it's been a pleasure seeing you all so happy together, I have important matters to attend to. I'll be taking my leave."
I turned toward the exit. I could hear them shuffling softly behind me, tense and ready to strike if I made a sudden move to turn back towards them . I stepped out into the cool night air. The clouds above stirred, ready to burst.
I wondered if Ichimaru had captured Buggy and Alvida yet?
I had planned to change a many fates, but those two needed to go to Impel Down. They played a keen role in Luffy's future, and hypocritical , and foolish of me to say but I needed the timeline to not divert too far away; even with my own influence. For the efforts of my long-awaited plans. Nothing complex about them but still long awaited.
Inside the restaurant, the crew watched me disappear into the street.
"We need to leave now!" Usopp panicked. "Before he comes back with three dozen soldiers!"
"Yeah," Sanji agreed, his eyes still fixed on the door. "We need to get back to the ship immediately."
They sensed the danger. Zoro felt it, and even Nami felt the predatory aura I had tried to hide albeit sloppily. Only Luffy, led astray by the promise of meat, seemed to miss the gravity of the man who had just walked out.
"Let's go!" Nami urged, leading the charge toward the docks. They would have to sail into the storm; staying in Logue Town was now far too great a risk.
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