Chapter 10: Chapter 10: Farewells and Fishmen!

Luffy was currently sitting at one of the tables in the restaurant eating a bowl of soup with Sanji and all of the chefs. It had been a few hours since Luffy defeated Kreig and everything seem to have calmed down a bit. Other than a few pirates who chose to give up the pirate's life to become waiters at the restaurant, everything was somewhat peaceful. That was until he heard Patty yell out.

"Who made this soup!?" he asked loudly. Sanji got up from his seat with a smile on his face and walked over to Patty before he spoke.

"I did," he said with a smile. "Isn't it the best soup you ever tasted?" he asked. However, what Patty said next wiped the happy smile right off of his face and replaced it with an angry scowl.

"More like the worst soup I ever tasted," Patty said before he tossed the bowl of soup on the ground. Sanji then grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and yelled at him.

"What did you said you bastard?" He asked angrily. Before Patty could reply some more cooks started to comment on the soup.

"Yea, this thing this disgusting," said one chef.

"Taste like garbage in a bowl to me," said another. it continued like that for a while before every chef in the restaurant was yelling at Sanji for how disgusting his soup was. Luffy was beyond confused, he was wondering if he was eating the same soup that everyone else was tasting. He looked over next to Patty at the pot that was on the table to see if it was the same pot that he took his food out from. To Luffy's surprised it was the exact same pot. So, he took his spoon and took another taste of his soup, while ignoring the fight that broke out between Sanji and the chefs behind him. The soup tasted amazing to Luffy. It reminded him of the home cook food that Makino use to cook for him when he was a kid on Dawn Island. Luffy was interrupted from his reminiscing by the sound of what Luffy could make out as Zeff's wooden leg hitting the floor as he walked. The sound got everyone in the restaurant's attention, they all looked at the stairs to see Zeff walking down the stairs with a spoon in his hand. He walked straight to the pot of soup on the table before he dipped his spoon into the pot and scooped up some soup. All of the commotions stopped, people who were fighting and eating all paused and look at Zeff with baited breath to see what he would say about the soup. In Luffy's mind if there was anyone who could truly judge the tase of the soup and be right about it, was Zeff. Zeff placed a spoon full of the soup in his mouth and swirled it around in his mouth to get a good taste of it before he gave his opinion.

"This soup is horrible," he said before he spat on the floor. As he said that Luffy had his jaw practically hanging. He was about to take a sip of his whiskey before he stopped and looked at the glass and think to himself.

'Is the whiskey burning away my tastebuds?' he thought to himself before he shrugged his shoulders and tossed his drink back and savored the taste. He then turned his attention to Sanji who was walking over to Zeff with an angry expression on his face.

"What did you say, you only geezer!?" Sanji asked/yelled. Zeff folded his arms before he replied.

"You heard me the first time brat," he said before he turned around and started walking back towards the kitchen. As he was walking he looked over his shoulder and spoke to Sanji once more. "Might as well join that kid's pirate crew because I don't need a crappy cook like you working here," Zeff said. Luffy who saw how much that comment hit Sanji and decided to add his two cents. So, he got up with his bowl and walked over to the pot and started to take out some more soup. As he was serving himself seconds, he spoke to the entire restaurant.

"You know, I don't know what you guys are talking," he said getting all of their attention. "This is the best soup I've had in years," he said causing Sanji to smile. Sanji then looked at Luffy before looking back and Zeff and spoke.

"Fine then," he said making everyone look at him. "If you bastards can't appreciate good cooking then I'll just go where my cooking will be appreciated," he said before turning towards Luffy who was walking back to his table. "You got yourself a cook, Luffy," he said before walking out of the restaurant. As he said that Luffy smiled at the fact that he just found his cook, now all he need to do was go sort out his navigator issues. As soon as Sanji walked out of the restaurant Luffy looked at Zeff and spoke.

"You know, I really didn't taste anything wrong with the soup," he said causing Zeff to chuckle and a few of the chefs to look at him slightly ashamed which confused Luffy.

"There is nothing wrong with the soup," Zeff said with a warm smile on his face.

"Sanji is a great cook, one of the best chefs in the restaurant," Patty said causing a few of the other chefs to nod in agreement.

"So, why did you tell him his food sucks?" Luffy asked before he started to eat his food. Zeff walked over to Luffy's table and sat down opposite him before he started to speak.

"That boy is extremely stubborn. He has dreams of his own yet he sticks around this restaurant thinking that he needed to repay a debt that I never expected him to pay back," Zeff said causing Luffy to nod his head showing he understood what Zeff was saying. "He would have never left on his own," he said with a chuckle.

"So, we decided to give him a push...a pretty hard push," Patty added making everyone laugh. It was at that moment that Luffy's observation Haki alerted him that Sanji was standing at the door listening to everything everyone was saying about him. Luffy smile and said nothing instead he got up and headed towards the back door to meet Sanji. When he got out there he saw him leaning over the side of the ship with tears in his eyes. Luffy walked and stood next to him with his back braced against the side of the ship.

"Got any dream, Sanji?" Luffy asked getting his attention. Sanji wiped his eyes before taking out a cigarette and lighting it.

"Yeah, I got one that I want to achieve before I die," he said before he took a deep pull on his cigarette. "Have you ever heard of the All Blue?" he asked. Luffy turned away from him and looked up to the sky and sighed before he replied.

"Yeah, I have," Luffy said surprising Sanji. "It is said it is a mystical sea of legend, rumored to be the only place in the world where the North, South, East, and West seas meet. In this legendary ocean, it is said that there are fish from each of the four seas...from what I head it is the ultimate dream of every chef," Luffy said before looking back at Sanji to see his eyes were wide at the fact that Luffy had heard about the All Blue.

"Do you think it exists?" Sanji asked in a voice that sounded as though he was scared of the answer.

"Don't know," Luffy said making Sanji's mood drop a bit. "However..." Luffy continued causing Sanji to look up at him with hopeful eyes. "...there is only one way to find out whether it exists or not," he said with a grin causing Sanji to grin alongside him.

"Guess there is only one way huh?" he asked rhetorically with a smirk on his face. Luffy then turned around and looked out into the open sea with a smirk of his own and spoke.

"Let's turn this world upside down," he said in a voice filled with conviction before he turned to Sanji and spoke again. "Go get your stuff ready. We need to leave as soon as possible," he said before starting off in the direction that Nami went. "I have a thief to catch," he said before heading back inside. When he got inside he saw everyone was cleaning up the restaurant and a few chefs were sitting back relaxing. Luffy walked over to an empty table and sat down with a glass in his hand before he poured himself some whiskey to drink. While Luffy was enjoying his drink the doors of the restaurant came flying off of its hinges and something came crashing in. Everyone in the restaurant was startled by the sudden change of events. It went from being a calm and peaceful moment to one long and scary one. A lot of the chefs thought it was the Kreig pirate came back for revenge, or the Marines heard about to fight between Luffy and Kreig and had come to arrest everyone. When the dust cloud finally settled everyone was left staring at a truly strange sight. Laying on the ground was a man inside of a sharks mouth. For the second time today Luffy was left wondering if he should stop drinking. He looked around to see if everyone was seeing the same thing that he was seeing and much to his surprise they were.

"Is that a Fishman?" asked one of the cooks.

"Did he come all the way from fish man island just to eat here?" another cook said going off of the previous.

"You idiot it is a human in a pan shark," Patty said to the two cooks. Luffy finally decided to get up from where he was sitting and walked over to get a good look and the man. What he saw caused his eyes to widen it was Yosaku.

"Yosaku!" Luffy yelled before he pulled him out of the shark's mouth. When he pulled him out of the shark's mouth some of the chefs picked up the shark and set it free while another brought a blanket for Yosaku. After sitting him down in a chark Luffy then began to question Yosaku. "Why are you here? Where are the others? Did you find Nami?" he asked. Yosaku wrapped himself up in a blanket before he spoke in a somber tone.

"We never actually caught up with her, but from the direction she is heading, we think we've figured out where big sis is going and what she plans on doing," he said causing Luffy to narrow his eyes a bit.

"I see," he said before taking a sip of his whiskey. "So we can get the ship back," Luffy said causing Yosaku to look down a bit before he replied.

"Maybe," he said causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow. "but if our suspicion turns out to be true then the place she is going could mean certain death to all of us if we follow her," Yosaku said surprising Luffy and everyone there with that comment. "The point is we really need your help big bro Luffy. Please come with me!" Yosaku said in a desperate voice.

"Okay, I don't really get it, but I got it. Let's go," Luffy said before he started walking towards the front door with Yosaku following right behind him along with all of the chefs who want to say goodbye. As they were walking out of the door everyone saw Sanji standing there with a bag over his shoulder. He then looked towards Luffy and spoke.

"Are you ready to go...Captain?" he asked surprising the chefs that were there.

"Yeah, looks like the rest of the guys are going to need some help," Luffy said before he walked towards the edge of the restaurant with Yosaku leaving Sanji to say goodbye. He could hear Sanji in the background yelling at the cooks about their bad acting and he could also hear Sanji crying while he thanked Zeff for all he did for him throughout the years. Luffy then decided to block out Sanji and look up to the sky and began concentrating to summon a cloud for them to ride on. A small part of the sky began to be filled with a small number of thunderclouds. After the size was suitable to Luffy's liking the cloud started to descend from the sky to the restaurant. By now Sanji had finish thanking Zeff and came to stand next to Luffy not noticing the cloud coming down from the sky.

"How are we going there?" he asked while wiping the remaining tears away from his eyes. "If you want I have a small boat that would be able to carry us," he said. Luffy didn't say anything he simply pointed up at the sky causing Sanji and the chefs to look up as well. To say they were surprised at what they saw would be an understatement. Their eyes were as wide as he can be and their jaws were practically hanging from their mouth as they saw a thunder slowly descending from the sky and stopping at the feet of Luffy. When the cloud arrived Luffy jumped on surprising everyone, except for Yosaku who had seen it before. From the cloud, a throne was formed along with two seats in front of the throne. He then looked at Sanji and Yosaku and spoke.

"Are you two going to stand there all day or get on already?" he asked rhetorically knocking the two of them out of their staring. They quickly hoped into the cloud and sat down in the seats. As he sat down a bolt of lightning came out of the cloud and went around them, strapping them to their seats. Luffy then turned towards Zeff and spoke. "Do take care of yourself old man," he said before the cloud raced away across the water at an amazing speed in the direction of where the others went.

"Cheeky brat," Zeff said as he stared at the cloud getting smaller and smaller as he sped away. Back on the cloud, Luffy was calmly sitting on his throne pouring himself a drink while Sanji and Yosaku were poking and touching the cloud trying to wrap their head around the fact that they are riding on a cloud.

"How are you able to do this?" asked an astonished Sanji. Luffy took a sip of his drink before he replied.

"I ate a lightning devil fruit. I can control lighting and become lightning itself," he said as he turned his right hand into a large bolt of lightning. "For some reason, I can control thunderclouds to a certain degree. It surprised me as well when I first discovered it," Luffy said. sanji nodded his head and went back to admiring the cloud but was interrupted when Luffy spoke to Yosaku. "So, Yosaku," he said getting Yosaku's attention. "Do you want to tell us what is so bad about where Nami is going?" he asked. Yosaku then sat us straight and spoke to both Luffy and Sanji.

"She...She went to Arlong," he said causing Luffy to narrow his eyes and Sanji raise his eyebrows.

"Arlong! as in "Saw-Tooth" Arlong?" Luffy asked in a surprised voice. Yosaku nodded his head before he spoke again.

"Nami couldn't stop looking at Arlong's picture when she saw it. And it wasn't a normal kind of stare, there was something different about the way she was staring, something focused. I'm telling you Nami is planning of taking down Arlong and collecting the 20 million berry bounty!" Yosaku said causing Sanji's eyes to widen. Luffy didn't say anything he simply waited for Yosaku to continue before he said anything because something did not add up in Luffy's mind. "The Warlord and Captain of the Fishman Pirates, Jimbe left Arlong here in the East Blue and since coming here he has taken control of twenty towns," Yosaku said surprising Sanji once more. As Yosaku was about to speak Luffy interrupted him.

"Jimbe didn't leave Arlong here to cause trouble. The two of them had a fallen out a long time ago and Arlong and a few other Fishmen who think themselves to be superior to humans came took up shop in the East Blue after leaving the Fishman Pirates," Luffy said shedding some light on the subject.

"How do you know that?" asked Sanji getting a nod from Yosaku showing he too wanted to know how Luffy knew that.

"I men Jimbe a long time ago when I went to Fishman Island," Luffy said surprising the two passengers on the cloud. "He was really nice. He even gave me meat," Luffy said with a smile causing the two of them to sweatdrop. "Anyway while I was there he told me the story of Fisher Tiger and other stories about his pirate journey. The story about Arlong happen to be one of them," he finished.

"Wow, you went to Fishman Island," Sanji said with a weird look on his face. "You've got to tell me...are the mermaids as beautiful as the stories say?" he asked with hearts in his eyes while his cigarette was puffing out heart-shaped smoke.

"The stories don't do them justice," Luffy said causing Sanji to have a nosebleed. "but you don't have to take my word for it, you can see for yourself when we go there," Luffy said causing Sanji to smile widely and started singing about how many mermaids he's going to marry. Luffy just shook his head and turned to Yosaku and told him to continue where he left off.

"Arlong set up his main base of operation on Conomi Islands. He calls it Arlong Park and that's where Nami is headed," Yosaku said. Luffy sighed and took a sip of his drink before he replied.

"This girl is more trouble than she is worth," he said while massaging his forehead with his right hand. "I mean if she wants to kill Arlong for his bounty why didn't she just say so and all of us would've helped her. Is she that greedy that she wants it all for herself?" he asked causing the two of them to shrug their shoulders. "Something about her behavior doesn't add up. Hold on tight," Luffy said suddenly puzzling Sanji and Yosaku. Then all of a sudden the thundercloud that they were riding on sped up and angled itself upward a wit and began to climb higher and higher in the sky.

"What are you doing!?" screamed Yosaku.

"Going to a higher altitude. We will get there faster this way," he said before he increased the speed of the cloud once more. Now the cloud was flying across the sky at about 80 mph and was about 20,000 ft in the air. Yosaku and Sanji looked beyond scared at the hight they were. Sanji was doing a better job of hiding it while Yosaku was screaming for his life. After traveling for about thirty minutes high in the clouds, the thundercloud began to descend from the sky until it was back to about 10 ft above the water. Looking ahead of them they could see an island in the distance. Luffy looked to Yosaku, who was trying compose himself and spoke. "Is that the island?" he asked. Yosaku looked ahead of the cloud before he spoke.

"Yeah, that's it," he said while pointing ahead. "And that's Arlong Park right there," he said pointing at the silhouette of the tall building just at the front of the island. As he said that Luffy turned the cloud to the right and started moving away from Arlong Park.

"What are you doing? Arlong Park is right there," Yosaku asked with a confused look on his face.

"We are going to the other side of the island. Let's find Zoro and the rest of the guys before we go tearing this place apart," he said getting a nod of agreement from Yosaku and Sanji. They flew around the island until they reached the rear shore that looked to be secluded enough for them not to be noticed by anyone. The cloud flew ashore before coming to a stop. when it stopped the lightning bolts that were holding Sanji and Yosaku in their seats disappeared. Luffy then stood up from his throne soon followed by Sanji and Yosaku. The cloud then began to get closer and closer to the ground until it touched the ground. Upon contact with the ground, it slowly started to dissipate until the entire cloud was gone and three boys were left standing in the shore.

"So what now, Captain?" Asked Sanji as he lit a new cigarette. Luffy looked around for a bit before he replied.

"There doesn't seem to be any towns or villages nearby," Luffy said while using his observation Haki to check around for people. "There is probably one more inland. For now, I think we just need to find the rest of the guys," he said.

"How are we going to do that, Big Bro Luffy?" asked Yosaku with a confused look on his face. Luffy thought for a bit before he came up with an idea.

"I think we just let them know we're here on the island and then take it from there," he said confusing both Sanji and Yosaku.

"And how do you plan on letting them know?" Sanji asked causing Luffy to smirk.

"You'll see," he said before looking up to the sky.

*At Arlong Park*

Sitting tied up in front of what looks to be some kind of pool is Zoro. Surrounding him are numerous Fishmen and Nami. Sitting behind Nami is the leader of the Arlong Pirates, Arlong. Arlong is a large, muscular, light blue saw-shark Fishman. He has long, black hair with a widow's peak reaching down to his shoulders, under a brown ushanka. He has a fin on his nape, surrounded by his hair, and the gills are located on both the sides of his neck. On the left side of his chest is the tattoo of the Fishman Pirates, while his own Jolly Roger is on his lower left arm. He was sitting on a white lawn chair staring at Zoro who was staring at Nami.

"I guess you finally get it. I just used you guys to get what I wanted. You were skilled enough to get me my needs, but boy were you guys a bunch of suckers," Nami said with a smug look on her face causing Zoro to grit his teeth. The moment she said that Arlong started laughing.

"She had you guys completely fooled. It's no use she is cold-blooded, she betrayed her own family for money so you really shouldn't feel too bad," Arlong said causing Nami to flinch which didn't go unnoticed by Zoro. "If I were you I would just admit defeat and try to forget the day you even met her," he said causing Zoro to look down a bit before he started to chuckle which puzzled everybody including Nami. Here was a man who is most likely about to die and he is laughing as though everything is alright.

"Forget about it?" Zoro asked rhetorically. "That's kinda impossible. And as for the thing about us trusting her, we didn't. well, the Captain sure didn't," Zoro said surprising everyone including Nami. "The only reason she stole our ship is cause I wasn't watching as the Captain told me to...I got distracted a bit," he said.

"What are you talking about?" Nami asked. Zoro chuckled some more before he replied.

"You see, the Captain told me to keep an eye on you before we went to that restaurant, bust after someone showed up I got distracted and took my eyes off you," he said causing Nami to scoff at him. " And as for not being able to forget about this... Let's just say she pissed off the wrong person," Zoro said cryptically. Arlong was watching the interaction with narrowed eyes along with every other Fishman.

"What are you talking about?" Nami asked in a curious voice. Zoro's face took on a serious look before he answered.

"You joined the Captain's crew then committed treason and on top of them stole his ship with his jolly roger on it," Zoro said scaring Nami a bit. "You don't really think there won't be any repercussions for your actions do you?" he asked with a smirk on his face. "He is probably on his way here right now and for your sake, you better hope he calmed down a bit from the last time I saw him," he said. As he said that a large shadow was cast over Arlong park and was spreading outwards towards the sea. Everyone looked up and was surprised by what they saw, well everyone except Nami and Zoro. Nami's face lost all color while Zoro was smiling as he looked up to the sky. Up in the sky, lightning could be seen flashing and striking random parts of the island. Then out of nowhere, a loud thunderclap was heard throughout the island and in a few neighboring islands. The fishmen were confused at what they were seeing. It was as though a major storm just came out of nowhere without any warning. Zoro and Nami however, they knew that wasn't a normal storm. That could only mean one thing.

Luffy was here and he is still pissed.

*CHAPTER END*