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One Piece Fic (CH10)
🕑 Added 2024-04-11 17:10:32 +0000 UTC"Gababababa-…!"
A tremendously huge giant laughed strangely, sitting on his haunches. He gingerly set a monstrous piece of spit-roasted meat on a leaf, having just finished cooking it.
"There! It's all done, so eat up!"
Nami and Usopp shook their heads, exchanging frightened glances. They didn't dare partake.
"W-we're not hungry."
Jack was the exception, unsheathing the knife near his waist and cutting a piece for himself.
"In that case, don't mind if I do."
Under the giant's interested gaze, he chomped down, rapidly chewing and swallowing his portion. He went back for seconds and then thirds, showcasing an appetite that seemed inhuman.
While he ate, Jack looked around, taking in the exotic scenery.
"So this is Little Garden, huh? Doesn't seem very 'little' to me, but I guess it depends on your perspective."
The giant chuckled.
"Humans always say that. I can hardly imagine it, but since you're all so tiny, it makes sense."
He glanced and Nami and Usopp, still frozen in fear.
"No need to decline out of modesty, you two. Eat as much as you want. Dinosaur meat is especially delicious!"
"…it's fine. We're really not up for much of a meal."
Swallowing nervously, Nami raised a hand.
"Uhm, Mr. Brogy… may I ask you a question?"
"What is it, little girl?"
"H-how long does it take for the log pose to finish recording the island?"
Brogy grinned, flashing a mouth of monolithic teeth.
"One full year. So you might as well take it easy while you're here! Gabababa-…!"
While they were chatting, a volcano erupted in the distance, the explosions ringing out like cannon fire. Turning his head in that direction, Brogy stood slowly, picking up his beaten-and-battered axe.
"Looks like it's about time. The eruption of that volcano is the signal for battle between me and my old foe."
Nami and Usopp looked at each other, realization dawning on their faces.
"There's… another giant on this island?"
Brogy threw his head back.
"Gabababa-…! That's right. You little guys just sit tight. I'll be back soon. It's not like the warriors of Elbaf to keep their guests waiting!"
Without another word, he stormed off, his footsteps causing the ground to tremble. In the distance, a different giant appeared above the tall treetops, clutching a mountain-length sword.
Soon, the fight started. It was overwhelming to watch, seeing creatures of such size and strength turning the environment to ruins. Every blow between sword, axe and shield was ear-shatteringly loud. If it had been closer, Nami and Usopp might not have been able to bear the shockwaves.
Nami swallowed nervously.
"…t-this is a good chance for us to escape. Let's go, you guys!"
Contrary to expectations, Usopp wasn't the first to flee. Instead, he stared fixedly at the fight, his eyes wide.
"I'm… going to stay a while longer and watch. You know, this is what I meant by being a brave warrior of the seas. One day, I want to become just like them. This is a matter of pride, a real battle!"
His words caused Nami to hesitate. She looked at Jack.
"Well, whatever. It's your funeral. What about you? Are you staying too?"
Jack shrugged.
"I know what you're thinking, but they're not cannibals. Those human bones we saw are probably from shipwrecked sailors, people who succumbed to the environment or predators. Don't be such a scaredy-cat."
Nami shot him a dirty glance, but she did sit back down with some hesitation.
"I don't want to hear that from you. You, Luffy and Sanji don't understand what it's like to be normal!"
For a while, the three of them sat in silence, returning their attention to the fight. When it ended in a draw, both giants collapsing to the ground while laughing obnoxiously, Jack spoke up.
"Actually, I bored holes in the barrels of rum we gave them. Everything should've leaked out by now."
His companions looked at him with alarm.
"Huh? Why would you do that? What if Brogy gets mad and stomps us to death?!"
Jack huffed.
"It's been, well… sabotaged. Remember that exploding guy from the island? If anybody drinks that rum, their stomach will be blown to pieces."
"Oh yeah. I definitely remember him. How couldn't I? It's not like I was asleep or anything…"
Ignoring Usopp's nonsense, Nami leapt to her feet, her face turning white. She glared at Jack.
"No way! You mean those Baroque Works people followed us all the way here? We have to warn Vivi and the others! How long have you known about this? Why didn't you say something earlier? If we knew, there's no way we would've split up!"
Jack was unbothered.
"…maybe it's not my place to say this. I'm nobody's dad, but you guys need to sharpen up. This is the Grand Line. You're not taking things seriously. Getting fooled by Mr. 9 and 'Ms. Wednesday' was the start of it. If they were bad people, things might've been a lot worse."
He gestured at Usopp.
"On Whiskey Peak, two of us were caught entirely off guard, sleeping off their hangovers while the rest had to pull the weight. Luffy and Zoro got into a stupid fight, so in the end, it was just me squaring off against Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine."
"Then there's this island. From the beginning, everyone was careless, treating it as some kind of vacation. Dorry and Brogy weren't hostile, but they could've been. Again, it was the result of luck. Now the rum has been sabotaged. Mr. 5 even managed to sneak on-board without any of you noticing. And after losing last time, I doubt he came without reinforcements."
As his speech progressed, the other two looked progressively more ashamed. Though, not one to take things lying down, Nami stepped forward, prodding Jack's chest.
"I get it, we screwed up! I know this place is dangerous, but that's even more of a reason for you to let us know sooner! Aren't we a crew?"
Jack shook his head.
"Remember what I told you back in East Blue? These guys won't get it if I just lecture them. They need to suffer a little first. The only reason I drained the barrels was because of the giants. I couldn't have them getting maimed or killed by our rum."
This in particular seemed to get through to Usopp. He looked down at his feet, his face ashen.
Nami sighed.
"So? What are you going to do?"
"I'm not going to do anything. You're going to have to deal with Baroque Works somehow."
Getting up from the log, Jack strolled toward the dense forest. He waved casually over his shoulder.
"Good luck, by the way."
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"Put me down! Jack, I said put me down!"
On the other side of a grassy clearing, a certain blue-haired princess was high up in a tree. Jack stood on a tremendous branch, holding her in his arms.
"Sorry princess, but you're were just going to get captured anyway. These guys are stronger than I expected, and the crew can't afford the distraction of protecting you."
The girl briefly stopped banging her fists against his chest, turning her gaze downward. The battle had already started, with Luffy facing off against Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine. Usopp and Nami were assisting him.
As for the rest, well… they weren't in good shape. Mr. 3, possessing the power of the wax-wax fruit, had easily dealt with the giants. Causing them to slip during their battle, he locked them down with bindings stronger than steel.
Both Zoro and Sanji were captured too, caught unaware by his painted wax-dummies.
"Oh no… How could Mr. 3 be here? Please, Jack! We have to save everyone!"
Jack shook his head.
"If they can't deal with this, then you might as well give up. Crocodile is a lot stronger than his lackies."
Vivi's head whipped around, glaring at him with outrage.
"What are you saying? Aren't they your friends?!"
Jack sighed.
"Man, this is annoying. I'm not going to keep repeating myself every time this comes up."
Sitting on the branch and dangling his legs off the edge, he plopped Vivi in his lap. An arm circled her waist, keeping her from falling off.
"Just be quiet and watch."
"You-…! Let me down this instant!"
"No."
"Why not?!"
"I already told you. You can't help them. You'll just be a burden."
Vivi's face fell. His words had clearly hit a sore spot.
"…but you won't be. You're strong. Please, please… they need you! Even Karoo is-…!"
While she was in the middle of her sentence, Jack put a finger over her lips.
"No means no."
"Jack!"
"I'm ignoring you."
"Why?! You helped on Whiskey Peak! Why not now?"
"…"
"Just help them! If you do, I'll… I'll do anything!"
Her statement drew his attention away from the fight, noticing her pink-tinted cheeks.
"…anything, huh?"
The intensity of Jack's gaze caused her to squirm.
"T-That's, well… not a-anything…"
"No, no—you're a princess. You should keep your word, right?"
"You c-can't take advantage of the situation like this-…!"
"I'm a pirate. I can do anything I want."
Smiling, Jack brough his face closer to hers until their noses were almost touching.
Vivi maintained eye-contact for a moment before shutting her eyes, sitting there stiffly. Her face was progressively getting redder until she seemed about ready to explode.
"It's not a problem if I collect some of the reward early, right?"
Vivi's hands gripped his shirt, neither pulling him closer nor pushing him away.
"N-No-…! Not here~…"
Despite herself, her tone ended up sounding a little ambiguous, not exactly like a refusal.
Jack huffed.
"Well, I already got your promise, so I guess there's no point in rushing."
He gave her a pat on the head.
"Be a good girl and stay here. I'll go see how those guys are doing."
Depositing her in a crook in the trunk, he made his way down the gargantuan tree.
Vivi watched him go with a mix of shyness and anger.
"Jack, you meanie-…! Just… be careful, alright?"
He looked up at her, grinning wickedly.
"Don't worry, princess. I'll take good care of myself. I wouldn't want to miss out on my 'reward', after all."
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Back on the ground, things were progressing worse than Jack anticipated. Luffy, who'd put up a good fight against Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine, was done in by Mr. 3's partner. She didn't have a devil-fruit ability, but her hypnosis made short work of their simple-minded captain.
Without his assistance, Nami and Usopp hadn't lasted long. They were prone on the ground, their limbs weighed down by wax-casts. Dorry and Brogy were in similar situations, their limbs pierced by giant wax-swords.
Appearing stealthily behind Zoro and Sanji, Jack lamented the situation.
"…my evaluation my sound harsh, but I think you guys should give up on being pirates."
Startled by his arrival, they turned their heads. They looked annoyed instead of relieved.
"Damn you, where have you been this whole time? Get us out of these things!"
Jack shook his head at Sanji.
"You guys need to figure this out on your own. It's really not that hard."
Zoro furrowed his brows.
"What the hell are you saying? If I wasn't caught off-guard, those guys wouldn't have stood a chance!"
"But you were. And now you're just laying around, doing nothing. Why not at least try and cut through the wax?"
Zoro scoffed.
"You think I didn't? This stuff's hard as steel!"
"So what? You can't even cut steel? If that's the case, you don't belong in the Grand Line. There are plenty of people who can, and you'll end up fighting them eventually."
Jack shifted his gaze to Sanji.
"I thought you at least had a bit more brain-power than this barbaric guy, but it seems I was wrong."
Sanji growled, flopping on the ground like a fish.
"Bastard! Don't talk down to me. When I get out of here, I'll fillet you like a mignon!"
Jack chuckled.
"That's a big 'if'. But hey, I'm a generous guy, and I have an agreement with a pretty lady. Since she wants me to help you, I don't mind giving a hint. How about I tell you how to deal with a wax-wax fruit user?"
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