Chapter Text
It's Usopp's call that wakes him. For a moment he blinks confused into the darkness. Is the sun lazy today? Won't it come up and watch them have more adventures? Are they not interesting enough for it? Is it bored of them?
Then he hears the others complaining about the time. It's still night? That explains it. The sun is still asleep, not sulking. He wouldn't know what to do if it did. Doesn't want it to stay away. It's as much their Nakama as the rest of his friends. There for every step in their adventure.
He jumps out of his hammock and joins the others on the deck, sees the lights in the distance, that had attracted his sniper's attention. A row of them, actually. Only noticeable due to the darkness of a missing moon and easily dismissible as reflections in the waves.
“Good work, Usopp!” Nami praises, as the sniper jumps down the last few steps to the crows nest. He grins, takes it with a graceful restraint learned on their long time on the seas. So different to how he's been at the beginning. It makes Luffy's heart swell with pride. They've come so far. Their dreams get closer every day.
“Marines, eh?” Zoro's smile is as sharp as the swords strapped to his hip, hungry for blood, for the adrenaline of a good fight. A predator smelling its prey. “Bold of them to try and takes us on. Must think the night is their ally.” It isn't, because every Strawhat knows the dark. They've lived in it, been a part of it, learned to use it to their advantage. They all survived their own kind of hell. Used it, to make themselves stronger.
That is until the sun arrived, with laughter and a smile too bright for any shadows to linger. Eyes alight with hopes and dreams and freedom. It chased them away, like they were nothing more than a cloud in a raging storm. A little stick in the ever flowing waters of a river. Nothing could hold it. Nothing should hold it! Because their sun is free and he'll be the freest one in the world. (A god bringing freedom should be nothing but free.)
Luffy doesn't know of it. Even if he did, he wouldn't care either. His Nakama are free to their own decisions. They believe and strive for whatever they want. He'll be the last to stand in their way. He just makes sure no one else does.
These Marines do, so they must go.
“Who's calling dips on the Vice Admiral?” Sanji asks from where he's leaning on the railing, casually smoking. Obervation Haki has already revealed the strength of their enemies. Many, but one Strawhat could take them on alone, if necessary.
It isn't necessary and they all want in on the fun, so they'll go overkill, just like always. The Marines have no chance. Not like they cared about fairness anyway. They're pirates. Pirates who were woken in the middle of the night. Being left alive is as much mercy as these Marines will get.
Brook is the one to step forward. Finger bones already playing with the hilt of his cane sword. “I wouldn't mind stretching my muscles. Even though I have no muscles, YOHOHO!”
Luffy laughs, because his musician's skull jokes are the best and he loves his crew and there's no way he can hold all the happy feelings in, when they are about to have even more fun.
“Bro Jinbei and me will get the Sunny away, in case they're planning to do something to her.” Franky announces.
“I'll come join you, as soon as she's safe.” Jinbei nods and makes his way over to his place at the helm.
They all share a look, before leaving the ship to greet their enemies collectively. What was nothing more than a trace of light in the distance, soon turns into dozens of Marine battleships blocking off any possible escape paths. Not that the Strawhats want to take one anyway. They are confident to not going to have any problems here.
“You know,” Usopp says, casually playing with a few of his Pop Greens, waits for them to be close enough to get in a first strike. “I sometimes ask myself how they even get all the volunteers for things like this. Like, Luffy is a Yonko. They should know they have no chance, might even die in the attack and still so many try.”
Sanji takes a drag, a cloud of smoke drifts up into the sky. “Overconfidence mostly, I guess. Believe in their commanders, the promise of a new battle tactic, glory at the chance of victory and having no choice in the matter, probably too. They aren't pirates. They have to stand out to rise in rank. And if a superior officer tells you to go, you either say yes or leave.”
“I wouldn't want to be a Marine.”
“Then it's good you're a pirate, Doctor-san.” Robin smiles softly at a frowning Chopper. “We would miss you, if you weren't.”
A stretchy arm suddenly wraps around the reindeer, more rubber limbs follow to encompass him in a tight hug. “Chopper can't be a Marine!” Luffy wines in a high pitched voice, pressing himself closely into fluffy fur. “He's my doctor! No one else can have him!”
A bout of laughter rings out. Pure and delighted, even in the face of a battle. Then a strong arm sets on his shoulders. Reassuring in its presence alone. “No one is going to leave, Captain.” The gruffly voice of Zoro says. “You're stuck with us forever.” There's no need to say it. Luffy knows they won't. They are his and he is theirs. Nothing can change that. But sometimes it just needs to be given sound. To be heard by someone, for it to feel true. So he grins at his swordsman, happy, heart soaring with love for him. For all of them. His crew, his friends, his Nakama.
All fall silent the second the ships cross over into their snipers range. Time to show the Marines, that you don't wake a Yonko crew from their sleep, unless you want to regret it.
Most of the crew separates into smaller groups. Brook goes off to find the Vice Admiral, Robin right behind him as a precaution. Sanji stays close to Nami. Chopper and Usopp team up, later joined by Jinbei and Zoro does his own thing. Luffy keeps an eye on all of them, as he kicks and punches his own bunch of Marines. He's sure they can take care of themselves, so he's not worried about them loosing or such, but they still don't know if their opponents have some kind of hidden tactic. He just likes being ready to prevent something, if they do.
This is how he notices the Vice Admiral's clear evasion of any kind of confrontation Brook is seeking with him. Instead, he uses his Devil Fruit abilities, because of course he ate one, flees into the sky like a coward and starts to interrupt the others' fights with some weird air power. It makes Luffy angry.
Yes, there are no rules in a fight. Everything counts, as long as it makes you survive. So you can do sneak attacks, go for weak points, hit someone's heartstrings even. But he hates cowards and there is such a thing as honor between the two participating parties. Just like Zoro as a swordsman never turns his back on a fight. Just like Sanji doesn't attack women. Just like Luffy doesn't interrupt his Nakama's battles, if they ask him to stay out. (Just like Kaido apologized after an outsider made Luffy get directly hit by his attack, causing him to have nearly lost their fight, if not for Gear 5.)
This guy has no such honor!
Luffy swings his foot, brings the whole battalion coming for him to fall, then jumps over another to get to his musician. Brook understands without a word, taking a step back. “I'm sorry I couldn't do more, Luffy-san.” He says, as if it's his fault some Marines are cowards. It only makes Luffy want to beat up the guy even more. No one makes his Nakama feel bad!
“Let's have another party, when we get back to Sunny.” They have one after every battle. So there is no need to mention it. But this is his way of telling Brook, that he always needs him, without any big words rolling off his tongue wrongly, because they are difficult and hard to understand anyway. He prefers showing his love over saying.
The skull face never changes, but Luffy still sees the smile he receives. “Of course.” With that, he is left alone, attention now solely on his opponent high up in the sky. There are several possibilities to solve this problem. Number one, the most straight forward and easiest executable one, contains of just stretching his arm and dragging the guy down. Number two involves Gear 4, flying up there and make it an air battle. But Devil Fruit users with flying abilities are usually fast, Boundman isn't. It would take forever to land a hit. Number three is Gear 5.
He's tempted to go for three.
It's the fastest, for once. Being able to just float in the air makes it possible for him to use close ranged attacks and be fast at the same time. Him being in the mood of having a good laugh is another reason. He doesn't like being angry. He prefers being happy, just having fun with his friends on their adventures. It just happens, when someone does things that don't make sense. When bad people hurt good people, or make them cry. It causes his blood to boil uncomfortably, his fists to burn with the urge of punching the cause. The only relieve giving in, until his friends can smile again and everything is okay.
Gear 5, the form that some call by the name of a god, others of a legend, makes that rage disappear. It frees him of the bad feelings, washes his worries away, until all that's left is joy and elation. Who wouldn't laugh at that?
He sends out a tiny burst of Conqueror's Haki. Nothing much. Just a nudge, to alert his crew. A 'I need a moment, keep them away' message. He doesn't even wait for them to react, trusts them to fulfill his request without a thought of hesitation.
Entering Gear 5 still takes a lot of concentration. He has to calm his mind, will his heart into that strange beat sounding like drums. Impossible, if he weren't rubber and hadn't already had some practice with Gear 2. Accelerating to activate, slowing down to deactivate. The drums are nothing more than his heart beating in a different pace than usual. And once it does, it continues to do so, until he tells it to return to normal.
The moment snaps, all troubles of before fall away, become non-existent, as pure delight consumes him. Red eyes snap open, glint with open mirth as they focus high above in the sky. A laugh tumbles out of his lips. He wants to have a little fun with that guy!
“I'm never getting used to this.” Nami sights from where she just took down a group of Marines - who tried to seize the opportunity - with Zeus and is now staring at the godlike form of her captain.
“It's okay, Nami-swan. None of us will. There's no way someone can get used to that.” Sanji grins around a cigarette, before going and bashing in more skulls with his kicks.
Luffy shoots them a big smile. The ground beneath him bends, as it's turned into rubber, catapults him into the sky the next moment. Yes, this is much better! Flying is so much fun. It makes him feel light and free. Not even gravity is able to chain him to the ground like this. More laughter escapes, overflowing emotions breaking out. He's not going to hold them back. They want to be free too.
“Taking out the big guns, eh Strawhat? I must be pretty famous for you to go so far.” A voice interrupts his moment. Vice Admiral guy floats before him in the air, arms crossed in a desperate attempt of looking casual. It fails with the way he's sweating bullets at the same time.
Luffy blinks. Oh, he's already high enough? He didn't even notice.
“Of course it's only natural for my name to have spread to high ranking pirates like you. I am on the level of an Admiral after all. I only turned down the position, because I wanted to give others the opportunity.”
They guy doesn't look like much. Without the Vice Admiral Coat hanging around his shoulders and the fact he's floating in the air, he would've gone by Luffy's attention like all the other small fry Marines. His power level might be a bit higher than theirs too, but way too low for his rank. A glory taker then.
“You're probably speechless from how awesome I am. Not often you meet someone with such an army at their disposal, right? They're all my loyal followers! Nothing you can do against this po-”
“You know” Luffy's tone is light, grin still in place, but it turns sharper, more like a predator's as sunset-like eyes fix on their prey. Daring it to make another sound. “My sniper lies much better than you.”
He gives the man a second to take in the sight. It's not every day you're threatened by a Yonko, without said Yonko speaking even one hostile word. Some people need time to process. For their minds to catch up to the fact, that a single wrong move could mean their end. This guy is a slow one. He dares to boast about his non-existent strength in the face of absolute power. Believing he can scare it away, if his claims are great enough. But even he reaches a point, at which he realizes, there's no way out.
...and he runs!
“Coward!” Luffy laughs, turns a bit of air under his feet into rubber, to follow with a little speed boost. Liar-guy is fast, as expected. He twists and turns in mid air, like a rabbit, lets Luffy -who doesn't take this seriously - overshoot several times, dives closer to the ground, climbs back up in the sky. The giggles and hollers of joy always right behind him.
“Leave me alone you demon!” He screeches at one point close to a massive breakdown. More laughter is the only answer.
Finally, Luffy gets bored of their little chase. He stretches his arm at the next turn, grabs Liar-guys ankle and pulls him back, who let's out a desperate cry. Tears are running now. Loud and ugly. Yeah, his fun truly is over now. There's no way he's gonna get another laugh out of this.
He reels his arm back, plans to end this with a single punch. One that sends Liar-guy back to the ground where he belongs. The higher they fly, the deeper they fall.
It never comes to that... and he's not entirely sure how it doesn't.
One moment, he soars in the sky, about to wrap up this fight, so they can return to the ship and get their well deserved rest. The next he falls, his shoulder burns, hot and cold, burns like it's on fire, like it's made of ice. It hurts. It hurts! Freedom escapes him. He desperately grabs at it, tries to keep it, but it slips through his fingers like water, like sand. He's left powerless, where before he could bend reality to his will.
He falls. His shoulder burns. He falls and with freedom gone, he can't catch himself. But he's rubber right? That shouldn't be a problem. It shouldn't and yet he's grateful when arms sprout all around him, form wings to slow him down. The deceleration rips at his shoulder and he cries out, because it explodes with pain, but it's better than whatever hitting the ground in free-fall would've felt like.
He's able to collect enough of his thoughts to know it's not over when he's down. They're still in a fight. There are still lots of Marine soldiers running around and he can't protect himself like this. Not with fire and ice running through him, taking away every little strength. Not all of them at once. And even though he knows his crew must have seen him fall – Robin's hands protecting him right now from taking even more damage are proof – they have to fight their way to him first. Enough time for someone to land the final hit. To end his journey here and now, so close to his goal but never reached.
So his Haki just reaches out, calls to the one person he's sure can reach him before. Begs him to make it, to please be there, because he needs him by his side right now! Even as he sinks to the ground, thoughts clouded over with pain, he silently cries for his First Mate's strength.
...and Zoro responds by wiping out every Marine even so much as thinking about harming his captain.