Chapter 135 – Alabasta 04.
[Chapter Size: 2100 Words.]
Third Person POV
Alabasta, First Half of Grandline.
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After facing Smoker and an intense battle in the desert, Luffy, Ace, and Laboon were walking through the streets of Alabasta heading towards a meeting with the rest of the crew. The streets were restless; people looked around with worried expressions, still frightened by the explosions and the uproar caused by the brothers' clash.
"I think we overdid it a bit, Luffy. We're no longer those kids trying to punch each other on top of the mountain, right? Our fights have many consequences now..." Ace said, looking at his brother with a half-smile.
Luffy laughed, shaking his head. "Maybe we did, but everyone will calm down soon; it's been a while since the explosions stopped." His voice was light, but he cast a sympathetic glance at the agitated people around still wanting to know what was happening in that rain of flames.
Ace changed the subject, his curiosity evident in his gaze. "Hey, Luffy, you still haven't told me about Laboon. How did you recruit a whale that floats in the air like a mermaid, and is that its real size?" He gestured towards the whale, which floated peacefully next to them.
Luffy looked at Laboon fondly. "Ah, that was quite an adventure. When I met it, it was blocking the way of my ship, so I beat it up, and after defeating it, I won it over and used one of my special tricks. But look how happy it is now!"
"GRRRR!" Laboon emitted a soft sound, as if agreeing with Luffy, besides finally having a flock with her, she was expectant about meeting one of her old friends.
"Maybe you've seen it before, Ace, do you remember that giant whale that was at the entrance of the Grand Line? I found Laboon blocking the way there," Luffy explained, giving a friendly pat on Laboon's head.
"What? You mean Laboon is that giant whale that kept bashing against the rocks?" Ace asked, his eyes wide with surprise and disbelief. "Wait, you fought against it? It must have been about 400 meters!"
"Exactly, that same one. Now it's one of us," Luffy replied with a proud smile. "I managed to shrink its size; it was one of my tricks."
"Incredible..." Ace murmured, looking at Laboon with newfound admiration. "Only you, Luffy, could do something like that." He smiled, impressed with his brother's ability to make the impossible possible. Both arrived at the place Luffy had arranged to meet his crew.
"Luffy!" Kuina's voice rang through the air as she approached, followed closely by Zoro, Broggy, and Dorry.
"You finally arrived!" Luffy greeted with a wave, a broad smile on his face.
"We were training when the explosions started echoing through the city. Who were you fighting to have all those purple and red flames beside the city?" Kuina asked, crossing her arms, an eyebrow raised.
"Ah, that was between me and my brother here. He's a user of the Mera Mera no mi, the fire logia," Luffy replied proudly, pointing to Ace. "The fight was good, but as expected, I won, of course." Luffy laughed, slapping Ace on the back.
"You bastard..." Ace murmured, but he was smiling despite Luffy's victory. "Hello everyone!" He greeted the first to arrive.
"Looks like it was a spectacular fight, wasn't it, Broggy?" Dorry intervened, looking at the two brothers.
"Yes, Dorry!" Broggy responded enthusiastically.
"So you're the captain's brother?" Zoro looked at Ace with interest.
Soon, the other crew members began to arrive, one by one, each expressing their surprise and relief to see that, despite the explosions and the fight, everything was fine and Luffy hadn't damaged the city.
"Besides the explosions and the fight between you two, it seems everything went well..." Nojiko commented.
"So this is your brother, Luffy-sama?!" Shirahoshi asked, her eyes shining with curiosity and admiration.
"And you are my brother's crew, I hope he doesn't cause too much trouble!" Ace commented with a smile and then turned to Luffy.
"Hey, Luffy, you still haven't explained why you're with the mermaid princess. Pops wants to know why you captured her and how she ended up in your hands in the East Blue," Ace said, pointing discreetly to Shirahoshi, who was a bit curious about him.
Luffy laughed softly, shaking his head. "It's a long story, Ace, I'll tell you another time. Right now, we need to focus on following the plan. We need to get to Rainbase to deal with Crocodile," he said with a determined look.
"But Luffy, crossing the entire desert won't be easy..." Vivi intervened, clear concern in her voice.
Shortly after, Hugo returned, reporting that he had eliminated over 200 agents of the Baroque Works who were pursuing them. With the threat neutralized, Luffy decided it was time for them to depart.
"Set the sails, we're heading for Rainbase!" Luffy announced, and the Black Pearl began to move over the desert sand as if it were sailing on the sea waves.
"This is amazing, captain!" exclaimed one of the Straw Hats, their eyes shining with admiration.
"Black Pearl is so cool!" commented another, watching the ship advance through the sand.
"Sailing in the desert? That's so cool!" Usopp said, clearly impressed with the unique ability of the ship.
And so, with the crew gathered and the spirit of adventure renewed, the Black Pearl moved forward, sailing through the Alabasta desert towards Rainbase.
Somewhere in the New World, the news about the fate of Ace and Jimbei reached the Whitebeard crew, creating a wave of shock and disbelief among the pirates.
"Poops, this is terrible!" exclaimed one of the commanders, running across the deck to where Marco and the others were gathered.
Marco, with a look of concern, turned to the commander. "What happened?" he asked, sensing the urgency in his voice.
"Ace and Jimbei were captured by Monkey D. Luffy!" The commander extended the Den Den Mushi, showing the photo to everyone. The image showed Ace and Jimbei tied to the mast of Luffy's ship, with Luffy himself standing between them, arms crossed and displaying an arrogant smile.
A shocked silence took over the deck. No one could believe what they were seeing. The photo was bizarre, almost comical, but the gravity of the situation was evident in Jimbei's battered appearance.
Marco frowned, concern evident on his face. "This doesn't seem right, Ace always spoke well of his brother, and he even mentioned that sometimes Luffy was crazy, but this surpasses any expectation I've ever had of Ace's brother..." he commented, thoughtfully.
Other crew members murmured among themselves, trying to understand the possible reasons behind Luffy's actions. Whitebeard, who had been informed, approached, his gaze serious and thoughtful.
"This is a challenge," said Whitebeard, his deep voice resonating across the deck. "Monkey D. Luffy is trying to provoke us. We need to find out what's really going on. I'm sure he won't do anything to his brother, so let's wait for Ace to contact us again."
With that, everyone agreed with Poops, Ace had always said Monkey D. Luffy was unpredictable.
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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!"
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