#[ of how /free/ he was but garp also knows how Selfish the man is so he's never truly been tempted but. he's thought about it

[pirate-queen-trafalgar-law]

And all the people say

Written for @in-memoriam-one-piece. Five lives Ace changed forever and the one person who changed his. 

1. Rogue

She had hoped for a girl. A little girl with her father’s wide smile and his eyes, had dreamt about it while sitting by the window and watching the marines interrogate one women after the other. Looking at him, at this little boy  with her eyes and her freckles and her cheeks and her lips and her chin… She couldn’t say she felt bad about him being a boy. He was still beautiful. He was still perfect. This little boy with her face whom she had carried for so long. Her little boy who would never know her. The little boy she would never know. And wasn’t that the worst part of it all? The thing that destroyed her beyond repair. She would never know him. Not really.

Because, see, Portgas D. Rogue was no fool. She knew she was about to die, had known it for all this time, had known since she decided to risk it all for the sake of her baby. Since she bent the rules of reality, did something beyond the realm possibility so her impossible child could life. And here she was hanging on to the last shreds of life just so she could say goodbye.

His face was still red, still dripping with her blood. She hadn’t let Garp take him away to get him washed. She knew she wouldn’t have enough time for him to come back and just for this few seconds she wanted her boy all to herself. Nothing else mattered right now. Nothing except those prexious seconds with her precious boy.

God, before her pregnancy Rogue had never thought much about kids. Sure she thought they were cute but they were also loud and she hadn’t thought they’d be worth the headache. But now her she was witnessing the first seconds of her son’s life. He was crying and it was the most beautiful sound she had ever heard. And he himself was so beautiful, so very beautiful.

And while she was lying there, cradling her baby closer, she could feel nothing but gratefulness. She was grateful that she got to witness this-  the first seconds of his life. And while she knew she would miss all the other firsts of his life: His first steps, his first words, his first time on a ship, she could not be more grateful for what she got. For those precious seconds. Even when she craved so much more. Craved so many other things that she would miss. She’d never see him have a family, never watch him grow old, get everything he wanted from this life and more. But she was still grateful because while she would lose so much, she still got his first seconds of life and that was everything.

The life Rogue knew was no more. It was over and while she wished she could start this new life with her son, she knew their paths were meant to be separate. Her life was over while his was just beginning. Rogue thought it fitting: her last seconds of life were the first of his. She couldn’t protect him anymore but she was glad that at the very least she had managed to give him this first taste of life.

And she didn’t know if Garp would keep his promise. If he would keep their- her- son safe but in this moment there was nothing she wanted more than him- her son- have his whole life ahead of him: Not even her own life. Because she knew this was not the end. No, this was his beginning.

With the last shred of energy that she had in her body she managed to sit up and slowly press her lips to his ear.

“We will meet again, I promise, Ace”

Portgas D. Rogue died with a smile on her face and holding on to the thought of meeting her son again in the afterlife. Portgas D. Rogue didn’t know that this day would come sooner than she had anticipated, so much sooner.

____________________

2. Garp

Monkey D. Garp was a marine. He was a proud man who would do about anything for the marines. But Garp was also a man of honor though few would believe it. And so he honored his promise to that- no good son of a- to that man. A part of him contemplated forsaking his promise and taking the child straight to headquarters. But looking at this little tiny baby that fit in just one of his hands, Garp couldn’t- it was just a baby. He had done no crimes, no wrong. He just… existed and not even that was his fault. How could he- how could anyone- blame  this little thing for existing? No, Garp decided, he would at the very least hide the little boy until he was old enough to take care of himself and that was it.

But that was not it.

When Garp first started in the marines his supervisor told him point black that while he was a strong fighter, he lacked cunningness, basic intelligence and he wasn’t able to lie to save his life. It was funny how he remembered that while he stood before the fleet admiral and the three admirals- the four strongest, most important people in the marines- explaining to them that Baterilla had been nothing but a false lead. No, Roger did not have a child, the Cipher Pol had been wrong. He almost could’ve laughed at their relieved expressions. These people were his friends and family people he had fought along side for years now and he had just lied straight to their faces.

Looking at the little boy now, stepping closer to him on wobbling little- adorable, cute- legs he couldn’t say he regretted it. Garp had made many decisions in his life and all of them had been made in the name of justice. But just this once Garp found himself bending to someone else, to this little boy that wasn’t even his own.

And suddenly there was a new dream. Where he once thought the day he would finally be rid of Roger’s little brat couldn’t come soon enough another thought had emerged. The picture of a beaming young man in a marine uniform standing along side his grandfather.

And suddenly the little brat was not Roger’s son anymore. He was a boy who would soon fight next to Garp and make the marines proud.

Garp wondered when Rogers brat had stopped being Rogers brat and become his brat instead.

And Ace had been just that to the very end- his little brat. Even when he declared his intention to set sail shadow and become a pirate, to outgrow his father’s. Even when he had turned down the offer to become a Shichibukai, instead joining up with the Whitebeards. Even when he ended up sitting next to Garp on that execution platform that was meant to be where Ace’s life would end.

Garp had never felt as relieved as he did in the moment Ace was finally free of his shackles and he had never known despair quiet as deep as in the moment Ace fell to his knees with a glowing red fist in his chest.

 ____________________

3. Dadan

Dadan was a coward. She had always known that but it wasn’t like she cared. That was how life worked. You either go and save yourself or, -well, you get yourself killed. She was never too good with words either.

So objectively she was the last person who should be allowed to raise a child. She was selfish and violent and a lousy no good criminal- for crying out loud. So no, Garp-san, I cannot raise this fucking-.

And yet here she was with a baby on her back. A baby that wasn’t just any fucking baby either, no,  it was the son of the pirate king. Because of course it was. And worst of all that good for nothing pirate king was dead so she couldn’t even get child support from him. Because obviously that was how Dadan’s life worked. Sometimes Dadan wondered why she hadn’t gone straight to the marines telling them all about this child. There was no way they would hunt her down when she gave them such top secret information. She quickly dismissed the thought as illogical. What kind of marine soldier would believe her anyway?

Her dismissal of the idea had nothing to do with how cute and tiny little Ace looked when he looked up at her with his big eyes. Even as a baby he was never really smiling. What he was doing couldn’t be called anything but a smirk. And she wouldn’t admit it even on her death bed, it was cuter than everything else she had ever seen in her life.

And years later the same smirk was still on that little shits lips. At this point he was uncontrollable, practically an animal, not that she had ever expected anything else from him. He was reckless and selfish and brooding- and brave and smart and confident- and if one of her men had pulled half the shit he did she would’ve murdered them long ago. He was a danger to all of them and especially to her. God, she really hated that little boy. She really should hate him. But she really didn’t.

Just now watching him stand his ground against Bluejam,- the most notorious pirate on the island and refusing to run away. God, -she could’ve smacked him. So for the first time in her entire life Dadan decided she was not going to run away, instead she was going to fight alongside the little brat with fire surrounding them. Of course it had nothing to do with her caring for him, not at all. But Garp would murder her if something happened to him. It had nothing to do with the fact that she could not imagine never seeing his smirking little face again. Before she started fighting she looked at Ace and told him:

“One day you going to get yourself killed, Ace”

Years later when she learned that he had eaten the fire fruit she couldn’t help but laugh (and feel a twinge of pride for her -little all grown up- brat making a mess of things and leaving his mark on that big world). It would’ve been very convenient the night of the fire, she thought, but of course he would only get it now. Because imagine him making her life a little easier. She decided to smack him for it when she saw him next, that good for nothing brat. Little did she know that she would never get the chance to.

She was holding the newspaper and couldn’t comprehend what she was seeing. Dadan didn’t know pain could feel like this. All the wounds she had gotten in the fire, fighting Bluejam were nothing compared to what that picture of his dead body blasted on the front page was doing to her. In that moment all she could think was that no mother should live to see her son dying before she did.

 ____________________

4. Sabo

Sabo didn’t know what to think of the boy if he was being honest. In the two days since he had teamed up with him they had been attacked by three different people living in the gray terminal. In the two weeks Sabo had lived on his own before he had met the boy he had been attacked… by absolutely nobody.

The boy just didn’t seem to know when enough was enough. Trouble seemed to follow him wherever he went and if Sabo was being honest he wasn’t sure why he was still meeting up with him. Sure at the beginning it had seemed like a good idea. Sabo was just a kid surrounded by dangerous criminals, criminals he couldn’t beat on his own. And then there was this other kid his age who was in the same situation. Teaming up was just the most logical thing to do.

Turned out the kid was even more dangerous than eighty percent of the other people living in the gray terminal. Sabo couldn’t decide if he was lucky the boy was his ally or not. Well, at least he got by. And even though the boy was never smiling or really loving or anything Sabo had wished for while living at ho- no, that place was not his home, would never be his home-  that place. He still felt so refreshed.

Sabo was used to lying, was used to pretending to be someone he wasn’t to get by so he wouldn’t be scorned  for who he really was. He hadn’t been ready for someone like Ace. Someone who was so unabashedly himself, with no excuses, no fear. It didn’t matter who you were or what you did, Ace would stand up for himself, always. Even if it wasn’t necessary. And somehow Sabo found himself envying this, envying him.

All this time that Sabo had spent in that gigantic dump had been passed with his head kept down, with him not trying to bring any attention to himself. If he was being honest it wasn’t much different than living in high town. He was still just pretending. He was still not free.

But Ace was.

Ace did things without thinking them trough. He was brave and strong and nobody messed with him- not if they knew what was good for them. And weirdly enough, Sabo found himself looking up to him. Sure Ace was little on the slow side but that was what Sabo was there for. What he could contribute in their little team. And Sabo wished he could be like Ace. Just as free and wild and brave and strong.

Ace always got them into trouble but Sabo found himself not caring anymore. So what if he did? They always made it out anyway. Ace would get them out of it because somehow Ace had become something larger than life itself to Sabo.

He was the first person Sabo had really talked to since he had ran away. Ace had been his first friend, his first ally, his first glimpse at real freedom. And more important, Ace had been the first person to accept him for who he really was without judging him or forcing him to feel ashamed for being different.

It was a different kind of freedom, a freedom Sabo had never known.

One day, just like that- Sabo couldn’t really tell when exactly it happened- they were a notorious team. Known all over the gray terminal. Ace was the brawn and Sabo was the brain. And Sabo wasn’t scared about something bad happening anymore because with Ace by his side they were safe. Nothing could ever hurt Ace. Nothing could beat him, nothing could stop him, no, he would always come back. And with Sabo by his side, Sabo who could be reasonable from time to time, nothing could stop them. Grinning up to him with the latest treasure they had stolen in his hand Sabo knew they were unstoppable together.

And finally Sabo learned to set his wild side free. He learned how to be reckless, how to be strong and brave and a little crazy. It was something that followed him through life, be it in the gray terminal or many years later in the revolutionary army. Hell, he was best known for being a reckless idiot if you asked his colleagues. He wouldn’t change it for the world, though. Because what was a bigger freedom than just being unabashedly himself?

But by a horrible twist of faith instead of setting the boy that had finally freed him, free, he had somehow forgotten him instead. Had forgotten, that damn unforgettable boy who had changed his life. Forgotten his brother, his first friend and, in some ways, his savior. So while Ace had been in shackles, Sabo had been off in the world. Only finding the missing puzzle piece when it was already too late. Not being able to help Ace like he had helped Sabo, once upon a time.

 ____________________

5. Whitebeard

One would expect after having so many children, the thrill of a new one would eventually die down. But it didn’t. Especially not with his newest son on his hands. Though he wasn’t his son- yet. But Whitebeard knew it was only a matter of time until that would change.

His newest son was all fire and not just because of his devil fruit. Everything about him was fire. His spirit, his way of talking, his way of living, of fighting, just everything about him. But there was something more behind that.

Whitebeard had spent many years out on the sea so he considered himself as someone who had seen everything the ocean had to offer. And he just knew there was something more about the boy. There was an underlying sadness and insecurity -a darkness- that he desperately tried to hide. And Whitebeard had to give it to him: for the most part he was successful. But just not with him.

Maybe that was exactly why he had wanted him to be a part of his family, Whitebeard always had a weakness for outsiders, for the ones who were just a little bit broken. He brought them all together, turning them into one big- at times dysfunctional- family. A family that was always honest with each other, knew everything about each other and stayed together despite anything. And Whitebeard wanted that for Ace. Wanted him to safely share his secrets with all of them one day. But Whitebeard also knew that he could not push the boy since that would scare him off instead.

So he decided to let the brat be. At least for the time being. Let him do as he wanted, let him fight and let him get to know his new family on his own terms.

And surprisingly it worked. Soon enough Ace was not only a part of their crew but also a part of their family. Whitebeard couldn’t say that he was particularly surprised about that turn of events. He had wanted him as one of his sons from the very beginning after all.

So the day  Ace finally searched him out to tell him what had been torturing all this time came. Whitebeard couldn’t describe how happy that made him. Because Ace was finally accepting his place on their side. As one of them. What had him worried though was the look on his sons face when he told Whitebeard about his heritage.

And if Whitebeard was honest even though a lot of things about Ace had not surprised the Yonko in the slightest, he had to admit that one did. The only thing that was more surprising to him was how Ace expected him to kick him out of the crew just for who his father was.

Roger had been his rival, but Ace was still his nakama, a part of his chosen family, his son and Whitebeard took care of his own.

The relief on his sons face made him smile but that smile was soon dying on his lips with Aces next request.

“You cannot tell anyone, oyjai. They’ll hate me”

It hurt Whitebeard to see that his son still doubted how much his family loved him. Doubted them enough to ask for something like that.

“We’re family. Family doesn’t keep secrets from one another” he had told him firmly. But watching the desperate look on his sons face was his undoing. Edward Newgate loved his family more than anything else in the world and he hated the idea of keeping anything from them but he found himself complying to Aces demands and kept quiet about the connection between his newest son and the late pirate king. Whitebeard had no secrets from his family but in this one case he found himself respecting Ace’s wish. He didn’t like it but he was doing it for Ace.

In the end all the hiding had done nothing. The marines had still found out and now there was no longer any secrets to keep. But there was also no Ace anymore.    

 ____________________

+1 Luffy

Luffy was seven years old and the biggest crybaby Ace had ever met. Not that he had met many children if he was honest. The only child beside himself he knew was Sabo. And Sabo was the farthest thing from a crybaby. Even when he and Sabo had been seven they had never cried as much as Luffy did. Moreover Luffy was dumb. Ace had met a lot of idiotic people but Luffy surly took the cake. And also his powers were stupid.

Luffy was seven years old and he looked at Ace like he was the sun. And Ace had never loved anyone more than he loved his little brother.

For as long as Ace lived, it had been him against the world. Him proving that he was not his father. But that had changed when Luffy came into his life. Now his life wasn’t about proofing anything. Now Luffy was his life. Luffy who gave him about twenty heart attacks a day and answered his yelling with an simple “oops”.

Ace knew he was a burden to everyone in his life. Everyone but one. For Luffy he was anything but a burden because Luffy needed him. Luffy needed his big brother to take care of him because he was stupid and reckless and naïve. Luffy needed Ace to fish him out of the water when he had fallen in. Needed him at night when he couldn’t sleep and wanted to talk the whole night away. Luffy needed him to comfort him when he felt all alone. Luff needed him to chase the loneliness away.

When Ace looked at Luffy and he knew without a doubt that his little brother was not only in awe of him but also loved him deeply. He saw it when he brought Luffy his favorite kind of meat to eat, saw it when he defeated another one of the large forest animals and he saw it when he stopped shitty gramps from hitting his little brother.

The only love that was ever deeper than Luffy’s love for him was the love Ace had for his little brother.

The day Ace set sail had been the worst and simultaneously best day of his life. On one side he could finally show the world what he was made of. Proving to them (and himself) that he was not just a monster with dirty blood in him.

At the same time the thought of his little brother all alone scared him more than anything else ever could. Ace worried about Luffy falling into the water, getting eaten and every other horror scenario he could think of in his overprotective big brother mode. It wasn’t like it was far-fetched. All of those things had happened. More than once.  But there was more, he wasn’t just worried about his little brother. The thought of being without him hurt. But Ace knew it’ll be alright, one day out at sea when he had made a name for himself they would met again and then he’d get to be the big brother again.

The worry about his little brother never quiet left him though. Luffy was always on his mind. When he began to form his own crew, when he greeted red hair and even when he finally settled down with the Whitebeard pirates. So when Ace finally saw his brothers first wanted poster, he had been the happiest man in the world. His little brother was out there making a name for himself already- he was safe and fine- and no Marco he was not crying what are you even talking about.

But most of all it made Ace proud. He had taken care of Luffy and somewhat raised him. And now he was proud of the man his brother had become and he could not wait to meet him again.

So when he heard that his brother was on his way to Alabasta he could not help himself. He had to seek him out.

Ace was happy to see that Luffy had not changed at all. He may have been a little taller and perhaps a little stronger but he was still his dumb little brother. His little brother who trusted Ace to protect, to keep him save. To keep his new crew save. And Ace did just that. If shitty gramps who was a vice admiral and one of the strongest men Ace had ever met couldn’t get him, Ace would make sure that some lowly captain wouldn’t touch his little brother either.

Ace met Luffy’s crew and although he had to leave way too soon he was glad to know he left Luffy in safe hands. And this time he could even make sure his brother had an easier time finding him when he was in trouble (which would be in no time knowing Luffy). Sailing away from the little lamb ship his brother was on made Ace heart clinch but he knew they would be able to see each other again soon and really talk. But first he had to prove that nobody messed with his family and got away with it. First he had to take care of Teach and make sure Thatchs’ death was avenged.

And like Ace predicted he and his little brother saw each other again.

Even though he wished they hadn’t. Ace was a failure who couldn’t even take revenge for his fallen comrade and now he had gone and forced his little cry baby brother to came to save his worthless life. Forced him to come to these terrible places filled with terrible people who were out for his blood. Made Luffy risk his own life for him. And Luffy did risk his life, fought his way through all those marines, beating all the odds, surpassing every expectation. And to everyone’s surprise Luffy managed. He managed to free Ace of his handcuffs and now Ace could go and protect Luffy again just like he always had, just like he should. All was good in the world again.

Except it wasn’t.

There was a war going on around them and blood was being spilled right and left. Ace was angry about those lost lives, lost because of him. But looking at his little brother Ace knew that despite being no good he was loved and wanted. Not only by Luffy but by his whole crew and the rest of his family. And looking at Luffy who still looked at him like Ace was the best thing he had ever known, Ace knew everything was going to be alright.

But it wasn’t.

Because he was stupid and reckless and couldn’t keep a clear head and all he could see was the red first coming down on his brother and his body just reacted. He didn’t feel the impact, didn’t feel the heat when the fist went through his chest. He felt nothing but a deep feeling of gratitude and peace in the knowledge that he had managed to stop the blow before it could reach Luffy.

Because even though Luffy had looked at him like he was the sun the truth was it was Luffy who was the sun. If there was no Luffy, there was no light, there were no smiles and no happiness to be found in this world.

Looking up at his little brother’s face he couldn’t stop himself from smiling. His entire life he had fought the whole world, never backed down from a fight but none of that mattered now. Ace would easily let the world win as long as his brother was safe. And despite the look of complete disbelief and terror on his brother’s face, Ace knew was Luffy was going to be fine.

And in the end nothing else mattered to Ace.

___________________

Thank you for reading! A little late but I hope you like it. If you find any mistakes please let me now. Special thanks to @monkey-d-ace

[neverwatchedonepiece]

645-647: "Destruction Cannon Blasts! Lucy in Trouble!", "The Legendary Pirate! Don Chinjao!" and "Light and Darkness! The Shadow Behind Dressrosa!"

There is something rotten in the state of Dressrosa right now. Doflamingo has some seriously shady shenanigans on the go. Turning humans into toys? Letting them live alongside relatives who - it appears - have their memories wiped? Tossing them for scrap if they show any signs of rebellion? Yeah, this whole situation is totally messed up. Now I get why a Resistance is mounting against the Donquixote Family. 

I watched three episodes because I thought I might see the end of the Block C battles. No such luck, but Luffy vs Don Chinjao has been fun so far. 

Still, that freaky Toy Human transformation reveal was totally worth it. 

(Will catch up on replies this week too! It’s been a weirdly busy couple of weeks but next week won’t be as rammed. :D)

Electric Fist Bump

I am still not certain that Brutal Bull is, in fact, going to recover. Let’s just pretend he will. At least Luffy gently carried him to safety and thanked him for fighting with him. ;_;

A random called Ideo (way too much eyeliner, Shoulders McGee) finished the job by punching Hajrudin out the ring. After Ideo’s brag-fest, I thought Luffy would be the one to kick his ass too, but it was funnier than that.

A random competitor called Jean the Bounty Hunter (no relation to Dog) had seen through Luffy’s disguise. He knocked off Luffy’s helmet and slashed his beard. Instead of giving up his disguise, Luffy chased him (lmao) to get his helmet back. 

Once exposing Luffy, didn’t work, Jean picked up all the weapons dropped by competitors who fell to Don Chinjao’s conqueror’s haki. Jean seriously thought he could defeat Luffy by carrying around a giant blade ball. Okay, mate.

Jean, at least, was allowed a quick shit-talk. He’d made so much money recapturing all the criminals Luffy set free from Impel Down. Now, Jean was aiming to snare Buggy (I guess he doesn’t read the papers), Crocodile, Jimbei, Ivankov and Shiryu (good luck with those names, mate).

Meanwhile, Luffy was standing there, reminiscing over all the old names like it was old times. “I wonder how Jimbei and Iva are doing?”

Jean got mad, threw his dumb sword ball and... it did not go to plan.

Luffy dodged.

Instead, a rather large and intimidating man absorbed all the swords.

Staring down Don Chinjao was too much for poor Jean. He was so scared, he made moe eyes before Don Chinjao took him out. (Good luck chasing after Crocodile from your new job on Doflamingo’s Factory Assembly Line!)

The fight between Luffy and Don Chinjao was actually fun to watch. The moment when they both punched out Sai and Ideo “Get outta the way!” was funny. And the Conqueror’s Haki clash was stylish (still love that blue filter), powerful (that Whitebeard soundtrack) and also pretty interesting.

Diamante watched the whole thing from his private booth. He used it as a teaching moment for Bellamy. “See, that is what it takes to be a king.” Don Chinjao sort of backed this up later when he said to Luffy that loads of people in the New World could use Conqueror’s Haki. “Only battling it out amongst themselves will reveal who the Pirate King will be. A battle of conquerors. That’s what’ll decide.”

I thought Conqueror’s Haki was a much rarer type. Maybe it still is, but that all the big shots are now concentrated in a smaller area, so there’s more chance you’ll meet someone with it. I know Shanks has it, I know Whitebeard had it, but I’m wondering if Big Mom and Kaidou also have it? (The jury’s out on Teach. Is he too much of a coward, or will he awaken it too? Who knows?)

Don Chinjao also kept veering between wailing with rage and attacking with rage at what Garp had taken from him (treasure and strength, apparently).  He also kept demanding Luffy tell him what Garp had done. Luffy was like, “No, you walnut. I have no idea. How many times must I repeat myself?”

Luffy didn’t know whether Don Chinjao wanted to be sad or mad. Maybe Luffy should set himself up as a therapist because I think it’s a bit of both.

At the moment, Don Chinjao has transformed into an Upside Down Tornado of Large Man, so we’ll see how that pans out in the coming episodes.

Oh, and by the way, Bobby Funk wore his brother like a jacket during the fight. Don’t ask. It was deeply, hilariously weird and I’m glad they got their asses kicked because I felt wrong watching that.

He’s Not an Idiot. He’s Directionally Disadvantaged

On the way to Flower Field, Wicka was astonished to discover Zoro is the opposite of a homing pigeon. They yelled at each other the entire time. Wicka because Zoro veered away from Flower Field yet again, and Zoro because Wicka “sucked at leading the way.” Meanwhile, the concerned residents of Dressrosa wondered why the strange man was yelling at himself.

Wicka kept punching Zoro for not going the right way. Because the Tontatta people make up for their lack of stature with super strength, I actually cheered when Zoro had enough of Wicka smacking him. He set her down in a plant pot, was like, “I have friends I care about too. Stop complaining or ask some damned cat to carry you,” then walked off.

Damn straight, Zoro. Don’t put up with that crap.

Luckily for Wicka, Zoro has no sense of direction. He circled straight round, which gave her the opportunity to apologise.

I guess it’s for the best. Otherwise Zoro would end up stuck on Dressrosa forever. Or at least until Sanji turned up.

And speaking of Sanji, he has teamed up with Kinemon again. They are currently lurking outside the Colosseum. They have spotted something ominous. Lots of Marines gathered outside, including new Vice-Admiral Bastille, waiting to swoop and arrest any unsuspecting Block A and Block B fighters leaving the arena.

I laughed at Kinemon’s weird cognitive dissonance. “Yeah, well criminals should be caught!”

Sanji would not have it. He smacked Kinemon and was like, “You are working with pirates.” Lmao, Kinemon. Old habits die hard, I guess.

At least Sanji has returned to the Sanji I like best: sneaking about, trying to solve problems. He knows Luffy needs to know about the Marines lurking outside, but how to tell him?

Plus, what’s happened to all the Block A and Block B competitors who lost their fight? Vice-Admiral Bastille is on to something. None of them have left the Colosseum. Not a single one. That is strange. Something weird, and possibly sinister, is going on here. (I wonder if they’re being turned into toys?)

This is Why I Like Nami

This was only a short scene but I loved it.

In the last couple of episodes, I assumed Nami, Brook, Chopper and Momo were retreating to regroup with a master plan to win back Sunny.

Nope. As if they would ever leave Sunny in the hands of an enemy. What was I thinking?

Even though Nami sees herself as weak compared to the DF eaters and haki users of the crew, she is not helpless. One, she is smart, and two, Nami has freaking weather controlling powers! Nami used both of those qualities to her advantage. Chopper and Brook were a distraction. While Giolla’s attention was on them, Nami readied some thunder balls.

BOOM! Direct hit on Giolla’s submarine. Now, as a DF user, she has no means to return to Dressrosa and all her goons were smoked by thunderbolt.

Your move, Giolla! :D

How About Hide-and-Seek?

Like, with a four day head start? 

No?

I guess Law must be content with running like hell from the two Absolute Monsters chasing him. Fujitora was not making it easy. Every time he sheathes that sword, a jet of purple (no idea what it is. Let’s call it pure purple) rocketed into the clouds and, hello meteor shower!

Luckily, Law can Room those and slice them like bread rolls, but Doflamingo’s bullet strings were another matter. Law scarpered, dodged, hid and tried to call Nami. To no avail. Why wasn’t she picking up?

“I know what you’re trying to do. You’re trying to buy time,” Doflamingo said. “And I’m not gonna let you have it your way.”

No Burger King for you, Law.

Poor, beleaguered Law screeched to a halt when he realised that, somehow, Fujitora had overtaken him. My new favourite Admiral was sitting on a rock, as if he’d been politely waiting for Law to show for ages. Then it was meteor time.

Even Doflamingo was like, “Wow, you have no mercy.”

Fujitora just said, “I’m all thumbs.”

Lmao, mate. Yeah, those extreme overkill meteors? I’m just clumsy. Nah, no one believes you, Fujitora. You love smashing felons. Admit it.

Meanwhile, deep underground, Usopp was beginning to regret feigning descent from Noland. The ominous, earth-shattering rumbles from Fujitora’s onslaught were passed off as “just Usopp’s amazing haki!”

When he realised the Tontatta people kept going on about the Donquixote Family, he consulted Robin. “Um, what kind of relationship do they have with Doflamingo exactly?” he asked.

“Well, they’re serious about fighting him,” Robin replied.

Usopp had an uh-oh moment. He drew Leo (the battle hype man) aside and asked why they wanted to fight Doflaming. That’s my Usopp! Asking all the right plot questions.

Apparently, the Tontatta want to rescue five hundred friends forced to work at the “shady factory”. Moreover, Doflamingo also holds their “obnoxious, selfish, mean, moody and short-tempered Princess Mancherie” there too.

Good sell, Leo. Good sell.

“Um, she sounds horrible,” Usopp said (lmao).

“Yup!” Leo cheerfully agreed. But then he added, rather sweetly, “But she’s one of us too. Noland would save everyone who’s in trouble, right?”

Usopp looked a bit ill at that point. He did not have to answer that question, as Flapper, another Tontatta kid, hoofed it into frame. Apparently, the Donquixote Family at the palace were on the move. Rumour had it they were probably moving to the Colosseum basement. And why were they moving there?

Under the Colosseum is only where the Shady Factory is hidden! :D

I thought the Factory would be in Green Bit. This is even better! Now I’m very suspicious about all the defeated fighters. They are prime for processing. At least I got one thing right about people being forced to work at the Factory (though it wasn’t related to stealing stuff). 

This Really Makes You Re-Think Toy Story

I knew it! I knew there was something weird with the toys. At first I just went with it because, well, One Piece, right? There are giants, sentient fruit-eating swords, dudes stuck in barrels. Anything goes, right? I mean, who can explain the wonder of Gekko Moria?

Turns out this does not extend to talking toys. Talking toys are not normal. Unless they’ve been invented by Vegapunk, as Franky rightly thought.

Nope. These toys are not the work of Vegapunk.

They are the product of a twisted Devil Fruit user under the employ of Doflamingo, who transforms humans into toys.

Why? I have no idea.

But the reason has got to be some dodgy kind of punishment for something. 

There was a creepy scene when a toy desperately tried to convince the woman who was once his girlfriend that he was a human, that they once lived together, were once happy together. The trouble was, his girlfriend could not remember him! She looked at him in disgust, said, “This toy has human syndrome!” and he was dragged off to a ominous looking building with the word SCRAP emblazoned above a forbidding door.

It seems a lot of the toys remember being human. Sol spoke to a guy called Milo, who is currently masquerading as Onepoko-chan the dog. Turns out the boy who plays with him is actually his son, and the boy’s mother is his wife.

What. The. Actual?

Sol asked the boy if he had a dad. Nope, was the answer. What about the wife? Had she ever been married? Don’t be silly.

Something really, really weird is going on here. And I never even mentioned the midnight curfew. Anyone who is caught outside after then is arrested (and probably turned into a toy). Toys and humans are allowed to hang about during the day, but at night? They are segregated. Toys live in toy homes. Humans remain in their homes.

This is totally weird and cool and I cannot wait to see where this goes.

Every time questions are answered in Dressrosa, another ten rise to take their place. :D

[bottlepiecemuses]

Top 11 One Piece Hate Sinks (Part One)

 Hello One Piece fans (in GrandLine Review voice). Welcome as we dive into the world of your favorite manga. In this case, we look at a group of a top list of hate sink villains. What is a hate sink you ask? While there are tons of villains in the One Piece series, a lot of them are the love to hate variety. However, these scoundrels as defined by Tv Tropes as” a character designed to be disliked for villainous actions, or for ludicrously intolerable traits, usually in lieu of a hateable main villain.”In other words, characters like Doflamingo and Crocodile although are evil to their core, they are too entertaining to truly dislike. These individuals on the other hand, do not have that trait and are shown to be so irredeemably awful that you want to see karma come down on them hard.

8. Wapol

Here we have another king character in the series, but one who appeared much earlier than Stelly. This is Wapol former king of the Drum Kingdom (now renamed Sakura Kingdom) and current king of the Black Drum Kingdom. Even his father when he was still a prince thought he would be an unfit ruler, and he was proven right. During his reign on Drum Kingdom, he was selfish and oppressive to his people. He banished all the doctors, while keeping all but twenty to himself so that he could force the citizens to come to him for help. Not only was he a douche to his own country, but also to other responsible leaders like Cobra, who called him out at the last Reverie for his selfishness. In retaliation, he kicked his young daughter, Vivi, who showed more maturity than him and put on a straight face. This prompted his then bodyguard Dalton to question his loyalty to a man, who handled a situation with less dignity than a child.

He also had a hand in getting Dr. Hiriluk, Chopper’s surrogate father, killed (who died by his own hand) by baiting him into coming to help heal his doctors and later laughing cruelly at his demise. This of course made him a hated enemy of Chopper. Even though he ruled his country with an iron fist, he left it defenseless when Blackbeard and his gang invaded. After spending two to three months on sea as pirates, they returned back to reclaim the throne, which was now occupied by his former subordinate, Dalton and his former citizens, who no longer wanted anything to do with him. Like an entitled child, he did what ever he could to get back what he thought was his. This meant fighting by force, while again confronting Chopper, who defended the castle that now served as his mentor’s tomb. Eventually he was defeated by Luffy, who sent him flying out of the country and again exiled for good.

Afterwards he wandered as a homeless bum, who resorted to eating trash until he by accident created Wapometal, which turned him rich again and regained status in life. He went onto form a company making the metal and married Kinderella aka Miss Universe. While you would think these events would change a person, then think again. Due to how Wapometal made him famous, he was given his own country by the Celestial Dragons called the Black Drum Kingdom. Thus showing he never recanted his old ways and is still shitty person through and through. This can be seen as Reverie, where he can be seen confronting Dalton and Vivi. Thus showing that even when you are given humble pie, it doesn’t mean you will get character development.

9. Stelly

Like Kuro, he takes residence in the East Blue, but was introduce in the Post-Marineford arc in a flashback. At eight years old, he was adopted by Sabo’s parents as a more suitable heir, while he was away from home. As apart of the Goa Kingdom nobility, he looked down on the poor and considered them to be nonhuman. So it’s no surprise he was on board with the idea of burning the Grey Terminal down, even the people -who he considered trash. It shows that even at that young age that he held little value over other people’s lives, especially if he considered them inferior.

He would get even worse as he grew into an adult and climbed the social ladder in Goa, where he married into the royal family, was heavily implied to have murdered the king and crowned prince, and become king. Throughout Revere, it is obvious that the newbie king for all his false bravado is a craven, pompus, spoiled, and sheltered nitwit. When he tries to boss Garp around just because he’s from the same kingdom, the retired marine hero tells him off, which shocks his bean brain. He also believes that he can get in good with the Celestial Dragons, so he could become one as well, even though you have inherit that title. He also displays a racist streak that extends to believing the false belief that Seafolk spread diseases. And probably the most problematic of all is how power hungry he is when it was his turn to place a sword on the empty throne- to symbolize that his country was equal to the others, he instead was thinking of what he would gain by sitting in it. Given what we know about the truth about the throne, this could cause trouble for the Goa Kingdom if he did. He just shows what a king should not be.

10. Kuro

Now this is going way, way back to the beginning. However, this doesn’t mean he’s not worthy addition to the list. Among the early villains of One Piece, there is a certain darkness that this character brings to the table in contrast with the previous ones who got so far, or even Arlong. The reason is because in contrast with how all the East Blue Villains were evil in plain sight, this guy was someone who had his agenda hidden until the Strawhats and Usopp at that time stumbled across his plan. Before he went by the alias of Klahadore and became Kaya’s butler, he was a notorious pirate who faked his own death by hypnotizing his own shipwright, brainwashing him, and letting him be captured For three years, he went under the radar serving Kaya, while planning to one day assassinate her and retire with her fortunes from piracy.

What really makes him hateable is how he views all the relationships and connections as expendable. Everyone from Kaya, Merry, and even his crewmates are convenient tools for him. For his former co-worker Merry, he cut down in cold blood after he defended him from Usopp’s (rightful) accusations. To show how petty he could be, he crushed the glasses that Kaya gave him as a gift. In contrast with his false image he gave to Kaya, he hated serving her for the three years he was under her employ. All to make it clear to her that she meant nothing to him. Even when she said she would give him the money if he said so, he still wanted to stroke his ego by killing her. Even his crew wasn’t exempt from being tossed aside, because to complete his total vanished appearance he would have had to kill them as well. Ironically, he could have had a quiet normal life from piracy if he didn’t think of this plan and even had a group of people to care for him. However, due to his self-centered nature he couldn’t see that and in the end had to go back to the life of piracy, because he wanted more.  

11. Hogback

Although this character hasn’t been relevant since his days in Thriller Bark, he still is a good contender for the bottom list. Many people would instead put in Abasalom in his place, but if you could think about it harder then you would realize he was a bigger deviant than him. Before he worked for Moriah, he used to be a world renowned doctor who helped people.  However,  he only did it for the fame and fortune, while seeing his patients as nuances. He then fell in love with the talented actress, Victoria Cyndry, who died a tragic death but later dug her up and turned her into zombie with the help of Moria.

Before you think this is a sweet moment for him, it’s far from the truth. He only cared for her looks, rather than personality when he made her into a zombie. He also loved the way she was now under his control, which gives off a lot of creepy vibes when you think about the implications. In general, the zombies he helped create for Moria, he saw only as servants to do his bidding. That included his so-called love, Cyndry, who he ordered to lick the floor to demonstrate his power over her. All of this is what drove his former admirer, Chopper, to denounce him as a doctor and free all the zombies under the Mysterious Four’s control. Though he was a lower contender, he was still a piece of work that hit the creep factor.

[stereden]

Buggy is many things. Selfish. Greedy. Cowardly. To name only a few of them. He knows he’s not the smartest knife in the bunch, but he makes do, and he’s not a half-bad captain, all things told (he hopes).

Landing himself in Impel Down had not been in his plans, neither had been running into the damn Strawhat again, but he uses the boy’s escape to make his own anyway, as terrifying as the experience is, and he still does not understand what all the fuss about Firefist is, him being old man Whitebeard’s commander should not warrant such a spectacle, but it’s not like he can leave, so he’s along for the ride.

His goals definitely do not include involving himself into any fighting, but getting his five minutes of denden-fame while commenting the damn thing, and then getting the fuck away while everyone is distracted, preferably before Whitebeard sends Marineford six feet under seabed.

Simple enough, right?

At least it is until Sengoku announces that Firefist is Gol D Roger’s son, and Buggy freezes.

Captain had a son? He knows about the Batterilla purges, Davy Jones knows Shanks had cursed the Marines high and low at the time, actually going up to Edward Newgate to try and intervene, because any of the Rogers Kaizoku showing their faces there to try and get people out would only have brought a buster call, but by the time Whitebeard got there it was over. To hear that the child had survived?

(And somehow ended up with Strawhat as a brother, but Buggy will deal with that particular mindfuck when he’s not floored by the realisation that his Captain actually reproduced, thank you very much).

He steals a denden, makes a grand display of it and makes sure the world will see what is happening here.

Everyone believes he’s an idiot and a coward, only after fame and glory, and usually they would be right.

But this not for him. This is for his former nakamas, for the Roger Kaizoku, so that they will know that their Captain left behind a legacy.

It’s highly unlikely that any of them will be able to do something to help, Buggy knows it all too well. Where are they right now, he wonders. Crocus is probably still at his stupid lighthouse, babysitting Laboon, and Rayleigh is either gambling or sold into slavery AGAIN back on Sabaody, but what about the others? Scopper Gaban? Seagull? He hasn’t heard from any of them since the crew disbanded, hasn’t dared to ask Rayleigh about them the few times he’s dared to approach the former first mate, not sure of his welcome, and while Shanks is a pain in the ass, he’s the only one who bothered to stay somewhat in touch with Buggy, even if he does so by regularly highjacking his denden.

They had been nakama, once upon a time, and this is about their Captain’s legacy, their Captain’s child, and while Buggy is too much of a coward to enter this particular battlefield, the less he can do is bear witness to what will happen and make sure the others will know.

At first, it looks like everything might end well for Firefist. Strawhat manages to get to him and free him with Mr 3’s help while Whitebeard and his allies demolish the opposition, and captain’s son is as much a reckless loyal idiot as his father had been, and they’re running towards the ships on Whitebeard’s orders when everything goes to hell.

Akainu provokes Firefist, who reacts about as well as Buggy himself would have to someone insulting his captain and stops running. To face a bloody admiral.

And if that were not enough, Strawhat collapses and Akainu hones in on his weakness.

Buggy doesn’t know what the trigger is. Maybe it’s the familiar strawhat on a boy who smiled when he tried (not that hard) to execute him. Maybe it’s Shanks voice, yammering on the denden he keeps hacking about the boy who is going to be the pirate King. Maybe it’s Captain’s boy’s devastated face when he realises what is happening, the grim determination not to let his brother die.

Maybe it’s a memory of sitting on the floor in Captain Roger’s cabin as a kid, no older than ten, still shaking from their last battle and tears streaming down his face because he had been terrified, had hid away, and he was a coward unfit to serve under Captain Roger’s banner, and Captain’s hand on his shoulder as he tells him that it’s okay to be afraid, to want to protect oneself, that Roger doesn’t mind if Buggy keeps away from danger more often than not, as long as Buggy remembers that there are things worth fighting for and that in Captain’s eyes, Buggy was one of these things.

Maybe it’s that Buggy remembers that he once sailed with Gol D Roger, that the man had once been the closest thing Buggy had had to a father, and maybe it’s the fact that he remembers all too well the day his Captain knelt on the execution platform while Buggy could do nothing but watch.

Maybe it’s all of these at once, but Buggy is moving before he registers it, limbs darkening with armament haki drilled into his head by Rayleigh years before he ate his devil fruit.

Not again. Not on his watch.

Buggy’s dark and shiny fists collide with Akainu’s attack and stop it in its track, less than a meter away from Firefist’s unprotected back as the boy had thrown himself over Strawhat in a vain attempt to protect him.

“Don’t. You. Dare.” Buggy growls out in the sudden silence of the battlefield. “Touch Captain Roger’s son.”

He’s standing between the Mad Dog of the Marine and his prey, magma fists blocked bare handed even as his entire frame shakes ( fear, adrenaline, pure unadulterated terror, what the fuck is he doing what the fuck was he thinking) , still clad in his prison uniform, two pistols and three knives he’d scavenged somewhere as his only weapons, and the Universe blinks.

“Firefist. Take the moron and get out of here” He hisses even as he gathers Haki into his lower body.

Said lower half rockets away from him and collides with the Admiral’s crotch with enough force to send him flying to another part of the battlefield.

“Are you deaf?” He barks at Firefist. “Get the fuck out of here! Do you have any idea how fucking annoying Shanks will be if something happens to the brat?”

Focus on Shanks. Being angry at the damn red-head is good, is familiar, and will keep the freak-out at bay once he realizes fully just what he has done.

Behind him, Firefist finally unfreezes, and Jinbei and Ivankov are rushing towards them too, but Buggy ignores them, keeping an eye out for his surrounding. Observation Haki, rough with disuse, tries to make sense of the damn battlefield.

Whitebeard’s commanders are mobilizing again, half remaining to guard their siblings’ backs while they retreat to their ships following Newgate’s last order, while the rest, led by a livid Phoenix, engages the remaining Admirals and Vice-Admirals. Whitebeard himself is still standing tall, an immovable wall between the marines and his precious children. Buggy’s merry band of prisoners is still gaping at him, but the smarter ones have started to regroup by the ships.

Buggy inhales.

Whitebeard is going to die on this battlefield. He knows it, his crew knows it, the marines know it.

Buggy had never liked the man. Respected his strength, yes, he would have to be the highest moron not to, but he had never understood his disregard for treasure and fame.

(Whitebeard also kept making fun of his nose, the asshole!)

But Buggy had also never understood Captain Roger’s love of adventure, and Newgate had been Roger’s friend and Rival, the last great captain of that Era, and his death would cause a great ripple around the oceans.

Behind him, Firefist is running, Strawhat in his arms, protected by Jinbei, Vista and Ivankov.

Buggy exhales. His lower half finally rejoins his upper half. Sengoku is sitting on Garp, who looks ready to join the Phoenix and the others in trying to separate Akainu’s head from his shoulders.

“Red-Nose.”

“What do you want, old bastard?” He retorts angrily, glaring at the strongest man in the world.

“You saved my precious son. Thank you.”

“I didn’t do it for you!” Buggy bristles, and it’s true. “I didn’t want to have to deal with stupid Shanks’ reaction if something happened to his damn Strawhat!”

And maybe that’s part of it, but Buggy remembers Roger standing between him and Shiki when the other pirate had been about to cut him in two, long before he got his devil fruit. And maybe Firefist hates Captain Roger, maybe he truly considers Whitebeard his father, but the boy is Captain’s son and while Buggy is many things (a liar a coward a greedy fool a doublecrosser) he is still a Roger Kaizoku, and always will be, no matter how long it has been since the Oro Jackson last took to the seas, no matter how much he used to disagree with Captain Roger’s ideals.

When Shanks shows up after everything is said and done, after Whitebeard dies standing and Blackbeard the backstabber somehow manages to steal his power, and stops the war in its track, forcing the marines to allow the pirates to collect their dead, Buggy punches him in the face with a haki reinforced punch.

Where the fuck were you? He wants to yell. Any of you? What happened to the great crew of the pirate King, to those who traveled the world and reached Raftel? What happened to those who once held the same dream as Captain Roger, that they fell apart after his death?

“You’re late, you red-headed menace!” He yells instead. “And your protégé is a bloody lunatic!”

“Maa, maa Buggy, I had to put little Kaido back in his place before he plundered Newgate’s territory, and he’s a persistent little brat, I’ll give him that. Besides,” he adds, giving him a knowing look “I knew you had things well in hand. Quite literally, or so I heard. Old Man Rayleigh will be proud to know that his teachings held true despite the years.”

“Old man Rayleigh can kiss my ass!” Buggy snarls, and Shanks’ eyes widen as he notices that, for the first time since their captain’s execution was announced, Buggy is more than just angry. He is furious, a cold and contained fury that few would believe him capable of.

“The Law brat tok your brat and Captain’s brat on his sub, I’ve got no clue where they’ll be going.” Buggy says calmly, too calmly. “And I’ll be going now. Have fun dealing with this mess.”

He turns around to leave, to join his fellow prisoners on the battleship that they’ve commandeered in the chaos following Newgate’s death and Shanks’s arrival.

“Buggy.”

It’s Shanks, and he sounds… tired, and sad, and more serious than Buggy wants to remember him ever being.

“Thank you.” He says quietly, so quietly that Buggy is the only one to hear it. “Same place as last time, three weeks from now? I’ll bring the booze.”

Buggy pauses.

“Alright. Fair warning, Shanks. Any of the others show up, I’ll be asking for answers.”

“As will I.”

Three weeks later, Buggy makes his way to a small, anonymous island in East Blue, not too far away from Loguetown, an island he hasn’t set foot on in over twenty years, ever since the Roger Kaizoku had gathered there for one last send-off.

They hadn’t even gotten to give their captain’s body the farewell he’d deserved. The marines had destroyed it, scattering even his ashes to prevent anyone from finding them.

Buggy knows very well that this is why Shanks insisted on allowing Whitebeard’s people to take the old man’s body with them.

When he arrives on the island, Shanks is already there waiting for him, early for the first time in his entire life. They’re a day early, both of them, but odds are the others might show up before the night is over. Or they might not. Buggy doesn’t even pretend to know how they think anymore. And he isn’t quite sure how he feels about that.

“Buggy.”

“Shanks.”

He’s too tired, too weary to play their usual game of cat and mouse, and he takes a long gulp from the offered bottle before sitting down on the cliff’s edge, next to the redhead.

“How have you been?” Shanks asks, and Buggy wants to snort, because really? but doesn’t.

He shrugs instead. “Busy. My crew basically decupled, even after most of the former prisoners went their own way. I expect at least half of the remaining ones to leave before the month is up - the marines have been on our asses like hemoroïds.”

“That’s what happen when you prevent the execution of the Pirate King’s son on live TV.”

Buggy groans. “Don’t remind me. Have you seen these blasted articles? Half of them are accusing me of playing the fool until now, and the rest of only saving the kid because he might have some intel about Raftel! Raftel! Morons! Does no one remembers that we were there when Captain set found on bloody Raftel?!”

“Captain did his best to keep us cabin-boys from the limelight, remember?” Shanks reminded him.

“Yeah, and he was a moron too!”

“And that’s the other reason many have trouble understanding why you stood up for Ace. You never made it a secret that you didn’t have a very high opinion of Captain Roger’s goals.”

These words, coming from Shanks , hurt a lot more than expected, and Buggy gulps down the ret of his bottle before grabbing the next.

“Captain and I had our differences of opinions” He says flatly, trying to keep the hurt and betrayal out of his voice. “But he was still my Captain. Ore wa Roger Kaizokudesu , Shanks. That used to mean something, once. Didn’t it? Is it so hard to believe that it still means something to me?”

Buggy…”

“No!” Buggy’s voice does not stutter as he interrupts the Yonko. “You do not get to accuse me of betraying my Captain and then brush it off as a joke, Akagami no Shanks. My goals have always differed from his, but he was my Captain, and as long as he was that didn’t matter. He knew I wasn’t in it for the same reasons as he was, and he accepted me in his crew nonetheless. I may not have shared his ideals and his dreams, but I respected them, admired them despite that. I used to wish that I could believe like he did, that adventures and nakamas were all we needed in this world. But just as I started to see things his way, he disbanded the crew, disappeared for two months, then gave himself up to the marines. And everything fell apart. Everyone left, went their own way, and maybe it was naïve of me to believe that they would at least try to stay in touch, to reach out, but I did. And they never did. We were still kids, still fucking kids, and he was the closest thing either of us had to a fucking parent, and they left us hanging.”

He takes a swig of the bottle by his side, still facing the sea rather than the man beside him.

“So no, I’m never going to put my dreams in adventures and friends and family. I’ve learned my lesson. At least treasures and money have never betrayed me when I needed them the most. Do you remember how it felt, Shanks? Not even fourteen years old, barely even fifteen in your case, being thrust into the world on your own after losing the center of your universe? Of course you do. That’s why you never took that Strawhat kid of yours on the Red Force. Becaue he was just a kid and had no idea what he was really getting himself into. He still doesn’t, though I hope Marineford was a wake-up call for him.”

“You tried to kill him in Loguetown. On the same platform they killed Captain Roger on.”

Buggy laughs. It sounds hollow in the increasing darkness.

“Did I? Tell me, Akagami no Shanks, Emperor of the New World. Have I ever deliberately killed anyone younger than twenty-five?”

Shanks freezes, and Buggy laughs again. Even Shanks hadn’t bothered to look beneath Buggy’s surface, and it hurts more than it should.

“The one they call the Supernova? I met them all at some point, when they started out. I ‘tried’ to kill them. Them and all the others. Some gave up, some didn’t. Some won, and some I let go. All of them learned a valuable lesson. Someone had to make sure they knew what they were getting themselves into before they got themselves killed. And damned if I was going to let them find out the same way I did.”

He takes another swig, frowns at the empty bottle and grabs another.

“You want to know why I mostly stayed in East Blue, Shanks? I stayed there because I learned the hard way that I’m not like the rest of you. I’m not strong enough to keep my crew alive out there. So I’m not going to risk it. I might not believe in that ‘nakama are family’ crap, but they’re my responsibility. And contrary to others, I’m not going to abandon them.”

He stands up, turns around and starts to walk away.

“It was nice to see you, Akagami, but I’ve got to get back to my crew and make sure they’re going to survive the shit-fest I landed them into. Give my greetings to the others when they have the decency to show themselves instead of eavesdropping like naughty cabin-boys.”

He leaves with these words, ignoring the wince that shot through his fellow former cabin brat at the iting tone. Shanks doesn’t try to stop him, though, and neither do the others he can sense hidden in the trees.