OP: NPL Chapter 2

One Piece: Neptune Pirate's Legacy


2. It's A Miracle?




With crystal waves licking its hull, the Going Merry glided over the sea to its next destination. According to the straw-hatted individual seated on her figurehead, she couldn't get there fast enough.


"Alright! We'll reach that island in no time!" Luffy said, turning to the dark-haired woman to his right, "So whaddaya know about this one Robin?"


"Well," she replied, "according to several voyage logs I've read it's called Oyster Island, but I'm afraid that's all anyone knows about it."


"You mean nobody lives there?"


"No there are people living there, but it never played a huge role in any world events. The Navy doesn't even have a base there."


"Sounds perfect!" called Nami, who had just dashed up from below deck carrying a pair of binoculars, "Maybe we'll have some peace and quiet for once."


"Aww, but that's no fun," Luffy pouted as the navigator squinted at the island through her binoculars. After a few minutes she lowered them, saying,


"It would probably be a good idea to keep the exploring to a minimum."


"Why? What's going on over there?" the captain asked and despite her best efforts to keep them out of his reach, Luffy's rubber arm quickly snatched away her binoculars and he took a look for himself. After some focusing he was able to clearly see 3 ships docked at Oyster Island and even though he didn't recognize one of them, the other two sent his heart racing.


"Shanks is here!" he yelled with excitement upon seeing the familiar flag.


"I thought you weren't going to see him again until after you became the Pirate King," Nami pointed out.


"No, I'm not giving him his hat back until after I become the Pirate King. I can't wait to see him again after all these years!"


He looked back at the three ships and gasped upon noticing the third one.


"WHITEBEARD'S HERE TOO!!!!!" he shouted louder than before, "And if he's here I bet Ace is with him! Hey Nami, how long's it gonna take us to get there?"  


"Well, if we keep following this current, we'll be there in less than a half hour."


"AWESOME!! THIS'LL PROBABLY BE OUR BIGGEST ADVENTURE EVER!!!!"


++++++++++++++++++++


From observing that the island housed a small village with no large stores or banks around, it was no surprise that Oyster Island hadn't made a name for itself. But nonetheless the Mugiwaras disembarked to see what there was to see. Luffy wasted no time in hunting down his old red-haired role model, literally running into him in the first 5 minutes.


"SHANKS!" He screeched, glomping the red-haired pirate who quickly put him in a headlock and gave him a noogie*.


"Ha! Long time no see Anchor! You been taking good care of my hat?"


"I sure have! So whatcha doin' here?"


"An old friend of mine wanted to see me," he turned and called out, "Hey Whit! Get over here, I want you to meet some people!"


From behind a nearby building the old pirate strode out to meet the newcomers. Shanks put his arm around his shoulder,


"Whitmore, I'd like you to meet my old buddy Monkey D. Luffy and his crew. Luffy, this is Captain Whitmore."


"Hi there!" the Strawhat captain said, giving Whitmore's hand a warm shake. The old captain smiled at him,


"Please, just call me Whit."


"So uh, Whit," Zoro suddenly spoke up, stepping in beside Luffy, "What's so important that you need to see all these guys here?"


"Well the gist of it is that I'm hoping to find someone to take on the Neptune Sword before I… you know."


"So it's real then?!?!?"


"You think I would almost get myself killed getting all these men together for something that doesn't exist?!"


"Sorry, I was always hopeful but also skeptical. So the sea god himself really did leave it in your care?"


"Absolutely."


Luffy suddenly interrupted,


"Whoa!  Hey maybe Zoro's gonna get the Neptune Sword! He is gonna be the world's greatest swordsman after all."


Whit chuckled at him,


"Well I don't know for sure, but hopefully I will with the help of the Spirit-Spirit Fruit."


"You ate a Devil Fruit?!?!"


"Yes indeed, but it'll only do its job when the time is right."


And that time had better be now, he added in his thoughts before Zoro asked,


"So where's this big to-do happening anyway?"


Whitmore gestured to a large building just a half mile off.


"That courthouse has been unused for a while now, so I figured what better place? We'll be beginning any minute now if you'd like to come."


"'Course we're coming!" Luffy cut in again. He was about to say more when the Merry's blond cook strode up to him.


"Hang on Captain," Sanji said, "we should be focusing on gathering what little supplies we can here, especially since we're down to the last half of our food supply," he added meaningfully.


"That stuff can wait," the Mugiwara captain replied, "if this whole thing is important enough for Shanks and Whitebeard to get involved than we should do what we can to help our fellow pirates!"


It really was no use trying to reason with the boy, considering once an inkling entered his head there was no stopping him until it was fulfilled, so just like that the Strawhat Pirates added themselves to Whitmore's allies.


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


As fast I could, I rushed down to the docks to verify what I had heard at the pub. Even though my speed could accurately be described as a lame deer running from wolves through a swamp, I tried to push myself harder than ever to get there.


I leaned against a nearby post and took my bearings once I'd arrived at the docks. I was excited enough to see that Shanks and Whitebeard had indeed arrived, along with Whitmore's old ship the Missy DeLite, but when I saw the fourth ship I could've died happy right then and there.


What the HELL?!?! I thought, THE STRAWHATS TOO?!?!? I'M SOO NOT MISSING THIS!!!!!


First thing, though, I had to find out exactly where I was supposed to go. Spotting a couple pirates heading up the pier, I ducked behind an old shack in the hopes they were talking about that very subject. I listened my hardest to the inaudible conversation, and it was probably through sheer good luck that I picked out the word "courthouse" from it all. Even though I knew where to go, I couldn't help groaning inwardly in my head. The distance from where I was to the courthouse was a good ½ half mile, and I had just about worn myself out getting to the dock. But hey, when cool stuff is about to happen you somehow always find a way to get to see it.


And I did.


Dashing that painful last half mile to the courthouse, my victory was again short-lived. The door had been chained shut, and while I begrudgingly accepted that as a sensible precaution, what really drove me nuts was the fact that there weren't any cracks or holes in the wall to speak of. Honestly, the building was who-knows-how-old and there weren't any punctures in it at all?!? Go figure.


After circling 4 times and only getting more and more frustrated with the situation, I finally slammed my back against a wall and slid down to sit on the grass.


So much for getting to see something awesome, I thought, tipping my head back to gaze at the sky, but for some reason focusing on the roof instead. The gap between the roof and the wall was a reasonable size, and the bricks sticking out coupled with the old vine clinging to the wall would be good enough for climbing.


I took a deep breath,


Well, it sure isn't the easiest way. But it looks like the only way.


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


"Friends," Whitmore called across the hall once the socializing had simmered down to the point where he could make himself heard, "Many thanks to all of you for agreeing to aid me in my quest."


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


I was barely a quarter of the way up the wall and I was already starting to wish I was still running. At least I would've been on a level surface. Urging my aching, athletically-challenged body to keep going, I continued to slowly-but-surely hall myself towards the roof.


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


"10 years ago I took on the task of following Reynard Scully, captain of the Soulless Rouge Pirates, with the aim of halting him before any more lives could be lost to his Cruel-Cruel powers."


An enraged hush fell over the room upon hearing the miscreant's name, even affecting those who had never heard of him.


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


I could've sworn that wall kept growing taller the longer I tried to scale it, but there was no way I was giving up. Not when I was that close to the action.


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


"In my possession I have the one weapon with the greatest potential of ending his horrible reign of terror on the high seas; I'm talking of course about the Neptune Sword."   


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Having finally made it up the bottom half I was starting to get my hopes up, until I happened to grab a protruding brick upon which was a bird nest, and in trying to get away from the angry mother bird I ended up sliding down a good 5ft.


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


"Whoever ends up bearing this great blade will have to accept the task of learning its secret, unlocking its hidden power, and ultimately defeating Scully.


They will become… the Neptune Pirate."


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++


I forced myself to climb extra fast in order to make up for the lost distance, and to my great relief this simple action was enough to get me 3ft away from the roof.


"Oh yeah," I smiled triumphantly, "come to mommy!"


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Whitmore's face suddenly fell,


"But in the event that I do not find a bearer this time, I ask if you will please aid me in keeping the seas safe from him… for as long as we can."


"But you will find the Neptune Pirate!" Tegowai suddenly interrupted. Rather than hushing him Whitmore stopped, a surprised expression suddenly crossing his face. He couldn't quite explain it, but all at once he felt an odd sensation deep within his heart, as though a wave had crashed onto him and a warm wind had blown around him at the same exact time. He barely stopped himself from falling to his knees, but then calmly looked down. Upon looking up again, everyone assembled could see him smiling.


"Yes, I will."


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


"But you will find the Neptune Pirate!"


I heard someone shout shortly after I squeezed myself under the eaves. To get a better view, I crawled onto a thick plank and gazed down at the scene. Rather than looking to see if I could make out the Strawhats from the rest of the crowd I instead focused on Whitmore since it appeared everyone else was too. He was walking silently towards somebody I couldn't immediately see, so I quickly ducked my head down to see who was under me. Captain Whitmore was walking slowly and purposefully towards his noble young novice, Tegowai.


Omigods YESSSSS!!!!!, I went hysterical in my head, I KNEW it would be him!


No one even breathed as the old pirate got closer and closer to the object of his attention. You probably would've been able to hear the mice crawling along the eaves, that's how quiet it was.


You probably also would've heard the plank starting to break under me as I watched.


I was so wrapped up in the moment that it took the sensation of my body falling out from under me to zap me back to earth and before I could think Maybe I shouldn't have had those late-night Danish pastries I found myself hurtling down from the ceiling, through the interior of the courthouse, and towards the floor.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


I slowly opened my eyes, feeling grateful that there had been a soft-ish thing under me to break my fall. Once I could see straight again I realized with horror that the soft-ish thing had been Tegowai.


I awkwardly got to my feet and tried to help the guy up while still being respectful to him, but he only frowned at me and dusted himself off. I turned to Whitmore, bowing apologetically to hide how much I was blushing.


"OMIGODS!!! I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY!!! I JUST WANTED TO SEE WHO THE NEPTUNE PIRATE WAS!!!"


"Really now?" I heard him say, his voice softer than I expected.


"Uh Captain Whit," I heard Tegowai speak behind me, "You were about to choose me to be the Neptune Pirate."


"Sorry Tegowai, but I can't."


"WHAT? But why?"


"Because she is."


Upon hearing the collective gasp I looked up to see that Whitmore was looking right at me. I turned quickly to be sure that he wasn't looking at Tegowai or someone else behind me, but it was crystal clear that his attention was on me and me alone.


All of a sudden, I was wishing I hadn't left the pub.


Whitmore layed his hands on my shoulders, making me flinch.


"The Neptune Pirate has come unto us."