Chapter 62
Kid jolted away, his eyelids refusing to open. The muffled sounds of the ship's creaks and the distant roar of a ocean waves were his only companions. The pillow under his head felt too soft, the air too warm, and the smell too... unfamiliar. His last recollection was the taste of defeat and the pain that accompanied it. The fight with the Red Haired Pirates had been a disaster, a complete and utter failure. But where was he now? This wasn't the medical bay of the Victoria Punk, nor was it the cold, unforgiving sea.
Kid jolted again when he felt a warm calloused hand on his forehead, and his body tensed up. “Hey, It’s okay, your on the Thousand sunny, your okay.” A voice said calmly. It was Luffy’s voice, but it was too calm, too collected, to be the captain of the Strawhat Pirates he knew.
“You’re okay, kid.” Luffy’s voice, yeah, it had to be his voice it couldn’t be anyone else’s, send. And Kid felt his mind reeling through the throbbing pain of his body. Luffy had never, not once called him Kid nor Eustass It’s always just Jaggy not Kid not Eustass, just Jaggy, so why was he calling him Kid now? “You’re okay, Kid.” Luffy repeated, his hand moving from his forehead to brush hair out of Kid’s face. “You don’t have to worry about anything, okay, I’ve got, and your crew, everyone’s safe, feed, watered, clothes, and warm. You don’t have to worry about anything, just leave it to me, okay? Everyone safe. Just leave everything else to me.”
Kid’s eyes shot open, the bright lights of the captain’s quarter on the Thousand Sunny burning into his eyes. He blinked rapidly trying to clear his vision, the room spinning around him like a carnival ride gone mad. His heart racing in his chest like a wild animal trying to escape a cage. He looked around frantically searching for his crew, his eyes settling on his left arm, or the lack of it. The stark reality hit him like a ton of bricks, the pain surging through his body as if the arm was still attached and on fire. The room was spinning faster now, and he felt like he was going to be sick, the taste of bile rising in his throat.
“Hey, hey, hey, hey.” Luffy’s voice cut through his panic, still to collected, to be the captain of the Strawhat Pirates he knew as he felt hands gently cut his face, forcing him to look away from his whack there of feft arm, and to Luffy’s, yeah that was Luffy but his expression was too calm, to collected, and to not carefree, and his eyes, his eyes their to to to to to hard and cold, to not happy and nonchalant and carefree. And there was no strawhat, where the fuck was his strawhat? “Look at me, Kid, look at me.” Luffy’s voice was firm but gentle, and it was all Kid could do to not look away, to not let the tears that were forming in his eyes spill over.
“It’s okay, I’ve got you. You’re on the Thousand Sunny, you’re okay. Take a breath and try to calm down.” Luffy’s words were like a gentle breeze in the midst of a storm, but the tempest raging in Kid’s mind was too intense to be soothed so easily. His eyes searched Luffy’s face, looking for the usual carefree grin, but instead, he found something different—something serious and concerned.
“I’ve got you kid, it’s okay, it’s okay to let go, it’s okay to cry, it’s okay to breakdown. But I can’t have you hurting yourself, so please, let it out, let it go, you’re safe here, we’re all safe here, I promise you that.” Luffy’s words were soothing, and the warmth in his eyes was reassuring. His gentle grip on Kid’s face remained firm, grounding him in reality.
Kid’s chest heaved with the effort of holding back his emotions, the dam threatening to break. His eyes searched Luffy’s for a sign of mockery or pity, but found none. Only understanding and a silent promise of support. With a shuddering breath, he finally allowed the tears to flow, his body convulsing with sobs as the pain, anger, and despair of the past weeks crashed over him like a tidal wave. The room spun less, the nausea subsided, and the pain in his stump lessened as he let his guard down.
“There we go.” Luffy murmured, brushing away the tears with his thumb. “It’s okay, let it out. I’m here, I’ve got you and I promise, nothing else will ever hurt you again. Not while I’m around.” He said with a seriousness that was uncharacteristic of him.
Kid felt his throat tighten as he wept, his eyes never leaving Luffy's. The warmth of the hands on his cheeks and the softness of the voice in his ears brought a strange sense of comfort. He didn't know how long he had been out, or how he had ended up here, but he knew he wasn't dreaming. The smell of the sea, the weird scent of the cologne Luffy wears, a mix of Blood oranges, cinnamon, and Bourbon, was too real to be a figment of his imagination.
As the storm of his emotions began to subside, he felt the weight of his loss hit him anew. "What about Killer?" he choked out between sobs, "Is he... is he okay?"
“He’s okay, every single last one of your crew it okay, no one hurt, everyone’s on board of the sunny, they’re fed, watered, clothes, warm, everyone’s okay.” Luffy’s voice was soothing, like a balm to a deep wound. “They’re all safe here, with me, I promise you that. And as for your arm, we’ve got a Law and the rest of the heart Pirates on board, we’re going to take care of you, get you patched up and ready to go again. You’re not out of the game yet, Kid.”
The mention of Kid’s crew brought a fresh wave of pain, and Kid’s sobs grew louder. Luffy climbed into the bed beside, pulling him into a tight embrace, holding him like a lost child. “You’re not alone, we’re all here for you, all of us. Your crew, my crew, we’re all in this together. You’re not going to face this alone. And I’ll be damned if I let anyone else lay a finger on you again, especially not after what they did to your ship. The Victoria Punk was a good ship, but the Thousand Sunny, she’s the ship of dreams, and she’ll carry us to our goals, all of us together, you, me, your crew, my crew, we’re going to conquer the New World, and I’ll be damned if I let anything stand in our way, especially not a couple of scrapes and bruises. You’re going to be okay, I promise you, you’re going to be okay.”
Kid’s sobs grew quieter as Luffy’s words sunk in, his mind racing with the implications. He had lost his ship, his arm, and nearly his life, but here he was, on the enemy’s ship, being comforted by the very man he had sworn to surpass. He felt a mix of gratitude and embarrassment, but the warmth of Luffy’s body and the steady beat of his heart was a comfort he hadn’t expected, or expected to like so much.
Luffy shifted slightly, bringing one of his knees to his chest so Kid’s back rested on his leg, the rest of the upper half of kid leaning against Luffy’s chest. Luffy’s hand buried in Kid’s hair and cradling the back of his head so Kid did jostle his wounds on his face and head to much. The silence between them grew comfortable, the steady rhythm of Luffy’s heartbeat a strange source of comfort for the distraught pirate.
Kid’s sobs grew quieter and quieter until he was just breathing heavily against Luffy’s shirt, the fabric damp from his tears. Luffy didn’t say anything, just held him, letting him process everything. It was a moment that felt like an eternity, but in the grand scheme of things, was just a blip in their lives.
Kid sagged heavily against Luffy, his mind foggy and racing, but not about the recent fight he had, but about Luffy. This was not the Strawhat he knew and somewhat hated-liked. It was weird, he’s never nor heard Luffy so calm, so collected, so not off the walls bat shit fucking crazy. It was a side of him he hadn’t seen before. A side that was surprisingly comforting, and it made him feel things he didn’t even know he was capable of feeling.
His thoughts were spinning with thoughts that were definitely not appropriate for this point and time mixed in with a few other things like his crew, his sh— his old ship, what the fuck is he gonna do about his missing arm, onr of his eyes is bandaged did he lose it, and everything else. But the one thing his mind kept on was that Luffy was weirdly warm, no not just warm but weirdly hot, like the kind of hot you get from being in a sauna for too long. And it was comforting, like a warm blanket on a cold winter’s night. He could feel Luffy’s breath against the side of his head and neck, and it was steady and deep. He was definitely alive and not just a figment of his imagination, and that was all that mattered at the moment as he tried to push away the not so appropriate thoughts that were coming from Luffy’s change in demeanor.
Kid’s eyes grew heavy, the exhaustion and pain mixing with the emotional rollercoaster he had been through finally taking its toll. He leaned into Luffy’s embrace more, unconsciously nuzzling into the crook of his neck, and let the comfort of his warmth lull him into a much-needed sleep.
Luffy didn’t move a muscle, he sat there as Kid’s breathing evened out, feeling the weight of his body grow heavier.
The quiet was only interrupted by the occasional creak of the ship’s wooden boards and the distant murmurs of Luffy and Kid’s separate crews. The tension of the past few hours seemed to melt away with each passing moment.
After a while, it might’ve been 20-30 minutes, or an hour Sanji poked his head through the door, a concerned look on his face as he took in the sight before him.
Sanji stepped into the captains, quarters soundlessly. His eyes locked onto the pair, his gaze lingering on Luffy. Luffy’s shift and demeanor has been freaking out the entire crew, they don’t know what to do with… with this Luffy, this calm, collected, and gentle creature that had taken over their captain’s body. And, yeah, they’ve all seen him caring and gentle, but this never calm, never this collected, never this… not Luffy. It was like a flip was switched when they came across the record of the Kid pirate ship and Luffy was gone, replaced with something that can only be described as the son of the leader of the revolutionary army, the son of the most wanted criminal in the world, the son of the man with the highest bounty in history at 20,000,000,000 berries, Monkey D. Dragon. The grandson of the hero of the Marines, the grandson of the strongest marine in the world, the grandson of the strongest man in the world, the grandson of the man who could summon the strength of galaxies to his fist, Monkey D. Garp. It was like Luffy grabbed both of those literal monsters in human bodies and fuse them together and is now the living embodiment of the Hero of the Marines and the leader of the revolutionary army mixed into one.
And if Sanji was being completely honest, it was scary, it was horrifying to watch that flip get switched when they came across the ruins of the Kid pirate ship. And Sanji knows Luffy’s not just upset about Kid and the Kid pirates, Luffy’s upset about what Shanks and Shanks crew did Bartolomeo and the Barto club after they burned Shanks' flag. And Sanji knew Luffy wasn’t upset with Bartolomeo nor Bartolomeo’s crew. But he knew Luffy was upset with Shanks, not not just upset, but murderous bloodthirsty rage and animosity all pointed toward Shanks that was bubbling just below the surface of his calm exterior.
Sanji continue to just watch them, and he knew that Luffy knew he was there, just not acknowledging him. Sanji eyes flickered over his captain’s face, trying to find any semblance of tye Luffy he knew, trying to find any semblance of the happy-go-lucky carefree rubber airhead that they had all come to love. Not… not the Luffy that could make an army of mercenaries unease and most likely fucking terrified just by his presence. Sanji swallowed hard, his heart racing, and his palms sweating. When the ‘switch in Luffy was flipped’ nearly two weeks ago it was like the Devil himself and a mercenary grade tactician had fuse together and taken over his body and soul. He was cold, calculated, and most of all, he was furious. The type of furious that could make the sea part for him like Moses and the sky burn. The type of furious that could make even the strongest of men piss themselves and beg for mercy.
But now, Sanji is watching the horrifying monster his Captain had turned into holding the captain of the kid pirate like he was made of the finest most fragile glass in the world. The tension in the room was so thick it was almost palpable, the kind that could be sliced through with a hot knife. Sanji felt fear creeping into his bones that made a shiver run up and down his spine as he took in the sight of his Captain, the normally carefree and cheerful Luffy, now a terrifying force of nature that had had a cold, hard look in his eyes that spoke of a power much greater than anyone could ever imagine, that could easily rip apart the very fabric of reality if he so chose.
Luffy sighed, his eyes snapping to Sanji's, and they just stared at each other for a second before Luffy set Kid down gently on the bed, climbing off the bed himself and covering Kid up and turned to face the room full of shocked and silent pirates before just walking out of the room.
Sanji's eyes followed his Captain, Luffy, as he exited the room, leaving behind a wake of uneasy silence. Sanji stared at Kid for a few seconds before turning on his heels and walking out as well.
Luffy moved silently and swiftly like a ghost through the ship, his mind racing with pure unadulterated animosity and rage all pointed towards Shanks and the Red haired pirates.
He walked into the mess hall/kitchen of the Thousand Sunny soundlessly, causing a few people, Strawhat pirates, kid Pirates, and Heart pirates alike, that were in their to jump. Luffy didn’t even spare them a glance, his eyes were glazed over as he walked over to the table on the four corner of the room were the sips Den Den Mushi and a few maps, and pens and papers were. He snatched one of the maps and laid it out on the table beside the Den Den Mushi, grabbing a pen and paper and writing something down the other Strawhat pirates, kid Pirates and Heart pirates couldn’t see.
Chopper looked at the map and his eyes widened, “What’s the plan Captain?” he asked his voice was shaking slightly, nervousness seeping into every syllable.
“Deal with a traitor.”
Luffy's voice was cold, his hand still hovering over the map, the tip of the pen tapping against the tabletop as he contemplated his next move. The words hung in the air like a dark cloud, sending a shiver down the spines of all who heard them.
Luffy took a deep breath, the tapping of the pin, stopping as he turned to the three separate cruise. “I’ve already got Bartolomeo and his crew a new ship, that’s why we’re circling back too Wano, we’re picking up a ship. Nami, Robin, Usopp, Jinbe, Brook, Robin I want you to start making calls to each of my division commanders, tell them to head to Sabaody Archipelago, after we get the new ship and pick up Bartolomeo and his crew that’s what we’ll be heading as well.” He said, picking up the notepad he had just been riding on and walking out of tve mess hall/kitchen with out waiting for a response, the door slamming shut behind him.
The silence that followed was thick with anticipation and a hint of unease as the sound of Luffy’s footsteps got further and further. And then finally, Heat, one of the kid pirate spoke up. “He has division commands?” He asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Nami clear her throat, and nodded. “Yeah, he has a grand fleet with 9 senior division commanders, which is us.” She said, gesturing to Zoro, Herself, Usopp, Sanji who had just walked in, Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brook, and Jinbe. “And then 7 division commanders and 5,640 members in total. And 69 ships in total under his command.”
“5… 5,640 members?” Killer echoed, his voice filled with a mix of disbelief and astonishment. He had always known Luffy was ambitious, but the sheer scale of his crew was beyond anything he had imagined.
“Yeah, it’s a long story.” Sanji murmured, rubbing his eyes with his thumb and pointer finger, bringing a cigarette up to his lips and lighting it.
The room was quiet for a moment, the only sound being the crackling of Sanji’s cigarette. Then, Nami spoke up, trying to break the tension. “Well, let’s not keep Luffy waiting. We’ve got work to do!” She said with a forced cheerfulness, standing up and walking towards the table in the far corner, grabbing a map of the Grand Line and spreading it out on the table, and a Den Den Mushi to start making calls. The rest of the crew nodded in agreement, though their eyes kept drifting towards door that Luffy had just exited.
Sanji took a drag from his cigarette and looked at the map with a furrowed brow, “This isn’t going to be easy, we’ve got to get all the divisions to Sabaody without alerting anyone, especially the Marines or the other Emperors’ crews. And then there’s the small matter of dealing with the traitor among us...”
“Sanji, you can’t be that dense, can you? Luffy was talking about Shanks. We are going after Shanks, not a traitor in the grand Fleet.” Nami said bluntly, not sugarcoating it at all. “Please tell me you’re not that dense. You saw the shift Luffy’s demeanor when we got the call from Bartolomeo and his crew, and then when we saw what happened to the kid pirates, Luffy going to kill that motherfucker just like he did Kaidou and Big mom.”
Sanji’s eyes widened, and he dropped his cigarette in shock. “What? Shanks? No way, Nami! He’s like Luffy’s hero! Why would he—”
“SANJI!” Nami yelled, cutting him off. “He doesn’t even wear the fucking strawhat anymore, that straw hat used to belong to the pirate King, that hat used to belong to Gol D. Roger, that is the only reason Luffy didn’t burn that son of a bitch yet, if it was just some random fucking hat Shanks had given him that thing would’ve been gone the second Bartolomeo called, this isn’t about heroes or anything anymore. This is about Luffy protecting wasn’t his, protecting his grand fleet, and protecting Kid and his crew.” She pointed at the stunned kid pirate. “I feel like you of all people should understand how Luffy thanks, it’s been me, you, Luffy, and Usopp from the beginning. The four of us should know exactly how Luffy ticks by now. And you should know ever send the Kid pirates agreed to that goddamn motherfucking alliance they shot up on his list of things to protect like a fucking bullet, just like the heart Pirates whenever we agreed to the alliance with Law. Even though half the the time the Kid pirates seems to be more of a fucking liability than anything else. We are the fucking Strawhat pirates, we don’t leave our own to die!”
Sanji nodded solemnly, understanding Nami’s words and the gravity of Luffy’s decision. Despite the light-heartedness and joy he often brought to the crew, Luffy had always been fiercely protective of those he considered his allies and friends.
Nami roughly rubbed her face, making a noise of frustration, as she swung her arm out, gesturing to the Strawhat pirates, heart pirates, and the kid Pirates alike. “Okay, since it seems some of the Strawhat pirates have forgotten. Luffy comes from crazy fucking more crazy creating even more crazy children than those children go off and fuck even more crazy people and then they create even more fucking bat shit off the walls fucking insane children. So, let’s all remember who we are dealing with here, shall we? The son of Monkey D. Dragon, his son of the leader of the revolutionary army, the son of the most wanted criminal in the world, the son of the man with the highest bounty in history at 20,000,000,000 berries! Did you hear that? Luffy’s dad has a bounty of 20,000,000,000 berries! That’s twenty fucking billion! Oh oh oh oh and let’s not forget about Monkey D. Garp, Luffy granddad, Who is let me remind you the Hero of the marines, The guy who killed the worst criminal in the world before Dragon, The guy who went to to toe with the king of the Pirates and Whitebeard at the same time, The guy who fought white beard, big mom, and Kaido at the same time and won, the guy who can destroy entire islands to smithereens with one punch, the guy who can summon the strength of galaxies to his fist! And then then how could I forget both of Luffy’s Brothers Ace and Sabo, One of them is the second division commander of the whitebeard Pirates and one of them is the second most wanted criminal in the world who is also the chief of staff of the revolutionary army! And then, been there’s Luffy! The man who survived the execution platform because his dad is the fucking revolutionary-Army-weather-god, and the one who made a promise to become the fucking Pirate King. This isn’t a fucking tea party, Sanji! This is a declaration of war, and we are all in this boat, sinking or not!”
The mess hall fell into a tense silence as Nami’s words hung in the air, her voice echoing off the wooden walls.
“D-did you just s-say?…” Penguin stuttered, his eyes wide with shock as he gripped the edge of the table. His mind raced, trying to comprehend the magnitude of Luffy’s lineage.
“20 billion… barry bounty?” Wire whispered, his eyes going wide. “Destroy entire islands with… one punch?” Heat echoed, looking at each other in a mix of shock and disbelief.
Sanji nodded solemnly. “The world is a dangerous place. And Luffy’s family? They’re the ones who help write the history books.” His eyes flicked over to the stunned kid Pirates and heart Pirates for a brief second before returning to Nami and starting to help her make calls.
Chopper, who had been quietly munching on a sandwich, paused mid-bite, his eyes growing large. “W-Wow, Captain Luffy’s family is really amazing!” He exclaimed, awe seeping into his voice. “I knew he was special, but to be related to the Revolutionary Army leader and the strongest marine ever? That’s like...like being born with a treasure map to victory!”
Jinbe, with his usual calmness, spoke up. “Luffy’s heritage is indeed formidable, but let us not forget that he has earned his own reputation. His power and determination are what truly set him apart, not just his bloodline.” His words were met with nods of agreement around the table.