"WE WILL TAKE IT!"
The shout boomed from right behind them, mere feet away.
The terrified Kaya and the calculating Luffy were both jolted out of their daze. They spun around to face the owner of the voice.
Neither of them had sensed a presence. One second, the space was empty. The next, It was there.
A figure stood hunched over, dripping wet. It had the general shape of a human, but that was where the resemblance ended. It was covered head-to-toe in green slime, tangled seaweed, and dark ocean muck. It looked like a swamp demon that had materialized out of thin air to claim a sacrifice.
The Green Thing extended a dripping, slimy limb toward Kaya. "The deal," the monster gurgled, "is ours!"
Kaya's eyes rolled back in her head. She had reached her limit.
"KYAAAAAAA!"
Her terrified cry echoed across the beach. Surprising all the spectators, the sick, frail girl spun around and started sprinting with the speed of an Olympic athlete.
"A SEA MONSTER!" she shrieked. "RUN!"
Seeing her behaving like this, the villagers froze for a second. They looked at the Green Blob. Then at the Zombie Clown. Then at the pile of dead pirates. Snap. Something inside their minds broke.
This day had been a nightmare. First, explosions at dawn. Then, a rubber man beating a pirate captain they treated as kind butler.
Followed by a scary homicide. Then, a dead man coming back to life. And now? A Sea Monster appearing out of nowhere.
"RUN!"
"IT'S GOING TO EAT US!"
Villagers forgot everything. They just turned and sprinted into the forest, screaming their heads off, dragging the hysterical Kaya with them.
One senior citizen didn't even make it; he fainted from shock, his eyes white, and his friends had to drag him away by the legs.
The Green Monster stood there, slime dripping from its "face." It seemed offended. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING A SEA MONSTER?!" the thing shouted.
It started running after the escaping villagers, waving its slimy arms frantically. "HEY! WAIT! I'M NOT A MONSTER! I'M HERE FOR THE MONEY!"
This only scared them more. "IT'S CHASING US! FASTER!"
Luffy watched all of this with a dumbfounded stare. He recognized the voice. Anger rushed through him. A thick vein popped on his forehead, throbbing dangerously.
"N.A.M.I..."
___________
At Kaya's Mansion.
In the side room, the villagers were locked in. Zoro sat by the door, his arms crossed, silently supervising them. They were too terrified to make a sound.
In the corner of the main hall, Kuro and Jango were tied up like bundles of firewood, unconscious and thrown against the wall.
Near the window, Kaya was kneeling on the floor, frantically treating Usopp's broken nose and bruises. She was weeping silently.
In the center of the room, the "trial" was underway. Luffy sat on a high-backed velvet chair, looking like a mob boss.
Nami was kneeling on the rug in front of him. She was still dripping wet, smelling of the ocean, and pulling bits of green seaweed out of her hair.
"Nami..." Luffy said. His voice was low.
Nami looked up sheepishly. She blinked her big eyes. "Yes, Captain?" she said, playing the innocent flower.
"Zoro told you to guard the ship," Luffy stated. "Why were you running around the beach, covered in slime, screaming and scaring hostages?"
Nami winced. "Well... you see, Captain..." she started, her mind racing. "I thought... since you guys were doing all the fighting, I should be useful too!"
Luffy raised an eyebrow. "Useful?"
"Yes!" Nami nodded vigorously. "The Bezan Black blew up! All that treasure was sinking! I couldn't just let it go to waste! So... I dove in." She gestured to her wet clothes. "I swam down, grabbed what I could, and when I surfaced near the beach... I heard you making the deal. I just wanted to help!"
Luffy's mood didn't improve. "So," he said flatly. "You 'helped' me by dressing up as a swamp demon and causing a stampede?"
Nami shrank back. "Well, I didn't mean to look like a monster! It's just... there was a lot of algae..."
"Oh, stop it, Captain," a bored voice cut in. Alvida was leaning against a pillar, filing her nails. She and Nami had bonded over the last three days (mostly over clothes and money).
"How long are you going to lecture the poor girl?" Alvida asked. "She secured the assets. Isn't that what you want?"
A thick vein popped on Luffy's forehead. He turned his cold gaze to Alvida. "Will you shut up?" he growled. "Don't think you're safe. You're next on the list."
Alvida paused. "What did I do?"
"I haven't forgotten," Luffy said, his eyes narrowing. "You laughed at me. Remember?" He stood up. He was just looking for a way to vent his frustration. "I need to teach you what happens when you mock the Captain."
"Yeah! You tell her, Captain!" Buggy shouted from behind Alvida. He was enjoying this. "She's disrespectful! I was having such a flashy, wonderful dream before she woke me up!"
Seeing Buggy join in Nami saw an opening. A distraction. "Oh?" she asked, turning to the clown with a sweet, fake smile. "What kind of dream, Buggy-sama?"
Buggy puffed out his chest, forgetting who was in the room. "GYAGYAGYA! It was glorious! I was the Captain! And there was this little brat with a straw hat, kneeling on the floor, begging to polish my shoes! He was crying, 'Oh, Captain Buggy, you're so great, please let me....'"
Buggy stopped. He felt a shadow fall over him. He slowly looked up. Luffy was standing right in front of him. He wasn't smiling.
Nami scooted away, suppressing a giggle. Buggy's face went pale. "Oh... crap. Damn you, woman."
SMACK!
THUD.
Zoro, leaning on the doorframe, watched the scene with a tired expression. He let out a long sigh. "They're at it again."
___________
Luffy and Kaya sat with a small table between them in the side room. He wanted the villagers to hear exactly what was at stake, so he had insisted on talking right there, where the villagers were being kept under guard.
"I have some conditions," Luffy said, leaning forward. "After fulfilling them, we will leave. But the news that we were here must not spread. If it falls into any ear outside this mansion..." Luffy did not continue, but the dangerous glint in his eyes was evident.
"What conditions?" Kaya asked. "Please tell me, I will help! And don't you worry, Luffy-sama. I promise that nobody will speak of what happened today ever again." She replied with a confidence that felt foreign to her, born of desperation.
"Good," Luffy spoke.
Hearing him, Nami was very nervous. She desperately wanted to add that they also wanted money. But she looked at Luffy's face and knew when not to speak.
"I want a person named Usopp."
"Usopp?" murmurs started among the villagers. Kaya shouted, "Why him?!"
"I know his father," Luffy said calmly. "I want him to join my crew."
"WHAT...?" Kaya stammered. "But... but he is unconscious!" While speaking, she looked toward the makeshift bed in the corner where the baker and one other person were lying.
"So, that man with the broken nose is Usopp," Luffy said, looking over. "Hah! He looks weak." He shrugged. "But, it's not like I can complain. We will take him with us, no matter if he wakes up or not." Luffy stated it plainly. He needed to complete the mission to gain more contracts.
He eyed the unconscious Kuro in the corner. He remembered the mission completion notice he got when he beat him up.
he thought. Now, there is only more thing left.
He turned back to Kaya. "You own the shipyard"
"...Yes," Kaya answered, waking from her trance. She had been thinking of all possible ways she could save Usopp when Luffy questioned her.
"I need a ship," Luffy said. "The Going Merry. You have it, right?"
This question puzzled Kaya. With a frown, she replied. "No." but then she felt like she had misspoken something
Seeing Luffy's face darken dangerously, Kaya desperately tried to salvage the situation. "The shipyard... it's a private one. We only have three ships docked, and none of them are named Going Merry. You... you can take all of them if you want!"
Seeing his expression remain cold, she hurried on. "We... we also have a newly finished ship! It hasn't been named yet! You can name it whatever you want! Please... just don't get angry."
Luffy stood up from his seat and spoke calmly. "Nami. Take Buggy and Alvida. I want you at the shipyard with the ship."
"Okay, Captain," Nami said, and the three of them left the room immediately.
Then he also started walking while issuing his last command. "You all can go. Kaya, lead the way."
Seeing them leaving, the villagers let out a heavy sigh of relief. As they were shuffling out of the mansion, one of them, absentmindedly, voiced his worry. "Usopp... are we really just..."
"Don't talk. Just keep walking," the man next to him hushed him urgently, glancing fearfully at Zoro, who was watching them leave in silence.
________
Author here:
Sorry guys,
I am busy for the month, so next few updates will only be on Sundays.