The waters of the New World were stormy as the Straw Hats burst through the water into the storm. The crew quickly went into action, running up and down the ship to keep the ship afloat. Then there were massive ice blocks falling onto the ship.
"Waaahh! That's huge!" Usopp screamed. The ice block was then smashed into many small pieces that fell into the water around the Sunny.
Luffy landed on the deck after destroying the ice with a grin. It seemed that the New World wanted to greet them.
The crew worked together to navigate the ocean and destroy any objects falling on them. Though there was one thing of note, and that the storms in the New World are much more powerful than Paradise.
Before long, the waters calmed, and the storm passed suddenly, and it was as if there had been no storm.
"Shishi, that was fun." Luffy remarked.
"I wonder what our first island will be?" Hancock queried. Coming up from Fishman Island, they could be at any number of islands.
"Well, we won't know until we reach an island. And for that, we need a heading. Luffy?" Nami showed the rubber captain the three needles of the New World log pose. Each had various degrees of movement.
"How does that work?" Chopper enquired.
Before Nami could explain and hopefully take a safe route, Robin beat her to it.
"There are three needles. Each needle records the magnetism of one of three different islands simultaneously, as opposed to the Paradise Log Pose, which only records the magnetic waves of one island at a time –"
"But there are three needles." Luffy stated.
"Luffy, don't cut off and let her finish. And it's because some of the islands of the New World either change their magnetic field or hide them, so you need a backup for when it happens." Hancock said, even though the bigger words were lost to Luffy, he understood the general gist of what they said.
"Yes, as Hancock said. It is also said that the more the needle moves, the more dangerous it generally is." Robin finished.
Nami quickly covered her wrist so Luffy couldn't see. She knew her captain. He would not be satisfied with a normal journey.
"Ohh, that looks interesting."
Nami screamed as Luffy's head was stretched like a snake very close to her wrist. One of the needles was visible through her fingers. It was the most erratic one of the lot.
Nami grabbed Luffy by the head and shook him.
"Please, I beg of you, let us have a normal trip." Nami begged, to which Luffy just laughed. Hancock laughed at the pair. Luffy would not be taking the easy route.
"Oi, look here, I got the paper." Franky walked over with the newspaper. "You guys are going to want to see the front page. It looks like the Marines are going to take a hit to their reputation."
Everyone gathered around the newspaper to see what was on it. Once done, they looked to their two crew members, astonished and scared.
"Isn't this a bit much?"
XXX
On an island somewhere in the New World, a group of pirates were partying. Among the partying pirates, there was a newspaper with Boa Hancock and Monkey D. Luffy's faces on the front page.
"Boss. Are we finally going to see Luffy?" Lucky asked.
"Ah, I'm not ready yet. What am I going to do?" Yassop was panicking, thinking about missed child support.
"Mhmm, not yet." Shanks said, looking to the ocean. The crew let out a disappointed sound. Yassop breathed a sigh of relief in the background. "But we have to be prepared. It looks like things are about to heat up."
XXX
"Worororo. That brat is still alive. He must be strong." Kaido stated, drinking from his gourd.
"Though it's said the Boa Hancock now travels with him. That is unbelievable." King commented, his arms crossed over his chest.
"That girl. I can take her. She thinks she is all that." Queen huffed. He was still sore over the last encounter he had with the empress of Amazon Lily that ended with him stoned.
"He must be strong, they went against Akainu and Fujitora." Jack added.
"Doesn't matter, that fool Akainu relies too much on their devil fruits, and Fujitora is still too new. That's no way to show your true strength!"
XXX
On Whole Cake Island, inside the throne room, Big Mom also received the latest news.
"That girl is also with the brat Straw Hat, just as Tamago and Pekoms said. Mamamama." Big Mom said, staring at the newspaper. "That makes things easier for me. I can wipe out both of those eye sores at the same time." Especially that girl, always walking around with that haughty look, thinking she was better than everyone. There can only be one strongest female pirate, and that was her.
"Mama, it did say that they forced Akainu to withdraw. Say what we want, Akainu is strong." Katakuri cautioned.
"Huh, Katakuri, do you think I will lose. Your worry is unfounded. Akainu may be strong, but it was both of them together." Not to mention Fujitora was there as well, but just because the man was an admiral didn't mean that he was on a level for them to worry about. They could only use Akainu as a crutch.
"Remember now, we still have a wedding to prepare."
XXX
On the rowdy island of Pirate Paradise, Blackbeard was laughing loudly after reading the latest newspaper.
"So, you've finally come, Straw Hat. I can't wait. But you aren't ready for the big leagues yet. Zahahaha."
"It says here they fought a buster call with two admirals. Should we not be more worried?" Shiryu asked.
"Zahaha, what do you think Akoji?" Blackbeard asked the ice man who sat at the bar with his drink. Akoji didn't answer straight away, giving silence to the room.
"Something doesn't add up about everything." That's all he said.
"We! That's all you have to say!" Burgess said.
"Well, it is strange. Like, why are Straw Hat and Boa Hancock together in the first place. That woman hates men." Catarina sated.
"Who knows. But we just continue as planned. Nothing can stop us! Zahahahaha!"
XXX
"That damned Morgan!" Saint Warcury said, looking at the newspaper in his hands.
Saint Nusjuro sat on the other couch, tapping his sword on his shoulder in thought. "You can always count on that bird to find out classified information."
"But we should have known he would find out, there were many marines on those ships." Commented Saint Ju Peter. It was bound to get out with such a large force, but they had hoped that Amazon Lily would have been razed into the sea. Then they could have spun their own version of events. Now, not only did they fail with the might of their Fleet Admiral – Boa Hancock was awakened and had a powerful ally that was also awakened.
"It that D again." Saint Mars said.
"We have to do something about this. Those powers look so familiar to-" Saint Saturn stopped.
All five elders stiffened as though listening for something before they all stood up and made their way out of the room. It was not long before they were in the throne room and kneeling at the bottom of the steps before the not-empty throne.
"Lord Imu." All five elders said with their heads bowed.
"Joyboy has returned." Imu's red eyes stared hard down at the five assembled before them. "You know of whom I speak. It has been a few days already, and every day he grows stronger."
His words confirmed their thoughts. When the rubber pirate first appeared, they had their suspicions but nothing concrete. That was until Marineford, where they had witnessed the pirates' power with their own eyes. The resemblance was too similar for it not to be. But they could not expose everything in the War – too many eyes were on the war.
Then with those injuries the pirate suffered, he was sure for dead, so there was no time to confirm their thoughts. Now he is back, and Joyboy is awakened; they could do nothing to stop what was coming.
"We must be careful with our next moves. We are almost ready and cannot afford any wild cards. Joyboy is already very powerful with powerful allies. I want this done properly this time. No mistakes."
With those stern words, Imu disappeared from the room. The five elders stood again and conversed.
"We are going to have to speed up our timeline."
"Indeed, let's see what our little spy has to say about that project."
The five elders went on their way back to their conference room to discuss what they would do going forward.
XXX
Right in the New World, a massive fortress stood tall and proud with an equally large M displayed over the island. At the very top of the fortress, the office of the fleet admiral was situated. Currentl,y there was only Borsalino sitting on the couch and Akainu was standing on the balcony looking out at the ocean with a newspaper burning to a crisp in his hands.
"That Morgan's!" Akainu ground out. The whole article made it as though he could do nothing against the pirates. Him! He would have killed those pirates if not for having to get his men out of the way.
"Ma, but that was surprising to hear. Boa Hancock and 'Straw Hat' Luffy both being so strong and together at that." Borsalino commented. "I do wonder how they got so strong."
Akainu turned to comment back to his friend when his door slammed open, followed by that insufferable laugh. "Bwahahaha!"
The progenitor of his big headache barged into his office. "Yo lava brat. Is it true? My grandson beat you?" Garp asked like a proud mother hen with no tact at all.
"Garp! You old man. Why are you even here!" Akainu blew at the old man. If it weren't for the man's legendary strength and prestige, Akainu would have kicked him out of his office before he stepped through the door.
Garp totally ignored Akainu's question and took a seat next to Borsalino, opening a packet of biscuits. "So he did. That's my grandson! Bwahaha!" He laughed, munching on his snacks.
Akainu could be mistaken for the personification of his devil fruit, he looked so red.
"Fufu, Fleet Admiral have some tea, I always found it helped."
A teacup appeared in front of Akainu's face, extended by the previous fleet admiral, Sengoku.
"Damn it. What are you old men doing here anyway." Akainu said, taking the cup of tea, calming himself as he took a seat behind his desk.
"Garp came to annoy you." The pair looked to the aforementioned person to see him munching away, Borsalino next to him, trimming his nails now. Akainu grunted at that. Trust Garp to do what he wants. "I myself was curious and wanted to offer some advice. But first, I wanted you to recall what happened at Amazon Lily."
Akainu wanted to blow up at the mention of his failed mission to destroy the pirates, but calming himself, he spoke with Sengoku at length of the fight. About both pirates being awakened and having to pull back to save his men. In turn, Sengoku offered what he could on handling things going forward, dealing with any fallout. Akainu listened to the man – he was Fleet admiral for many years before him.
"Lastly, Akainu, I don't think I need to tell, but let me say this anyway. Things are stirring up in the New World, and I have a bad feeling that the fallout will be bigger than anything we can possibly imagine."
Akainu agreed, his instincts having been warning him, it's been too quiet lately, and all the major players in recent years seemed to be preparing for something. There just needed to be one spark.
With that, the meeting was done, and Sengoku dragged Garp out of the office. Akainu looked out the window in his office to the vast sea outside. "I'll be ready."
XXX
In the town of Windmill Village the townsfolk were all in the local bar of Partys Bar, a celebration in full swing. The reason being the new wanted poster on every table of a smiling young adult with a Straw Hat. They knew that brat wouldn't go easy, and now he was back and stronger than ever.
"This is a disgrace! Why are you partying!" Woop Slap shouted at his people.
"Come on, Mayor. Everyone is just happy Luffy is alright." Makino remarked, giving the mayor his drink. He took his drink and a sip.
"Mhm, that brat sure is doing big things."
Makino smiled at the mayor, "Is that something nice about a pirate?" She teased.
"No way it is!"
XXX
"So cool! Hancock check it out." Luffy screamed, taking his updated wanted poster and holding it by his face so there were now two smiling faces. Under the dead or alive was a staggeringly high number of 2,300,000,000 Beri.
"Hmph. This empress is at least this amount." Hancock remarked at her own bounty poster. The poster was a close-up photo of her looking enticing at the camera. Under the dead or alive, there was a bounty of 2,150,000,000 Beri.
"That's crazy!" Sanji remarked.
"Impressive," Zoro commented. He needed to catch up to his captain and his lover.
"Certainly, a high amount." Jinbe sad.
"Yohohoho."
"Oh no. We are going to get even stronger marines, bounty hunters, and pirates after us." Nami screamed in dread.
Usopp looked to be succumbing to a disease that Chopper was trying to diagnose.
"Super! Manly."
"My, what a change of pace. We have just entered the New World and are a big player now." Robin said with a smile.
"Stop laughing Luffy!" Nami shouted with shark teeth, then broke down with tears. Life was going to be much harder now.
"Shishi, Sanji! Let's party!" Luffy commanded which got cheers from everyone. This was a celebration.
The Straw Hats partied away, having a great celebration of Luffy's and Hancock's new bounties. The party went well into the night.
XXX
"Oi Nami, is that the island we are going to?"
At Usopp's questio,n the crew turned to where he was pointing. There in the distance was an island with a volcano that was currently erupting. Nami looked at her log Pose, but none of the needles were pointing to the island, which she stated.
"We are going there." Luffy declared with a wide smile.
"This could be interesting. An island that is not on the magnetic route so soon into our voyage." Robin remarked.
"But what about the flames on the sea? Will the Sunny be alright." Usopp voiced.
"Don't worry. Sunny isn't going to lose to that flame sea."
Their conversation is interrupted by the ringing of a Den Den Mushi. The crew headed into the dining room to answer the Den Den Mushi.
"I wonder who it could be?" Chopper asked.
"It seems to be a distress call." Jinbe remarked.
"Someone needs help! We have to answer." Chopper said.
Hancock decided to add some information just in case. "There is a 50/50 chance that it is the Marines. They often use this tactic to trap pirates."
"Hello, This is Monkey D. Luffy, Future Pirate King." Luffy answered anyway.
Immediately, there were screams from the receiver in full panic mode. "Help! Help. Somebody help us!" The Straw Hats looked at another, then at the Den Den Mushi. This was certainly serious. "Everybody's gone. The whole unit, all by some samurai. He came out of nowhere. Help. We are on Punk Hazard. Som-" The Den Den Mushi goes to sleep, indicating the call was disconnected.
The crew looked at another not sure what to make of the call.
"Samurai?" Zoro asked, puzzled.
"The only samurai that I know of are from Wano country, who are an isolated country not associated with the World Government," Brook remarked to the crew.
"If there are samurai, that means-"
Luffy and Usopp jumped next to each other with their hands held up. "Ninja!" they remarked excitedly. The rest laughed lightly at the antics of the two.
"While that settles it." Hancock said.
"I'll take us there." Jinbe stated, heading for the wheel.
XXX
Meanwhile, not far away on a Marine G-5 ship, a muscled white white-haired man was sitting before a Den Den Mushi puffing his cigars. He was complementing the call he just overheard and knowing Straw Hat like he did. His instincts told him that Straw Hat was definitely going to Punk Hazard. And that was where they were going. He looked at Tashigi who was in front of him.
"Tell the men. We're going to Punk Hazard."
"Yes, Sir!" Tashigi went barking out orders to take them to Punk Hazard.
Smoker thought that it was strange. Punk Hazard has been abandoned and restricted for years. Why were there others on the island? No matter what, he would find out what was happening.