With the announcement of the execution date for Whitebeards 3rd in Command the Marines exploded into activity and developed world exploded into speculation and fear.
During that tumultuous period, the destruction occurring in the [East Blue] seemed far away for Marineford and nobody had time to spare a second thought for the mission of a small submarine making its way under the waves of [Paradise].
But while the outside world couldn’t care less about it, the emotions of the people involved ran high.
Standing in front of a trembling teenage girl, a 9ft tall Commodore was gnashing his teeth, and for the first time in years was truly angry: “Are my words a joke to you, do you just see me as a clown that you can ignore whenever it suits you, do you really despise me that much?!”
“Bill?! No Never! I just… jus- “Just what?!”
“I just wanted tO HeLP!”
Standing there, holding in her tears, Yoko’s voice cracked but Bill would have none of it: “Do you have any idea who it is we’re going to confront?! How am I supposed to subdue a man who was once rival to the [Pirate King] when I have to keep an eye on you?!
Furthermore, I even told you how you could help! Now, we have to turn the ship around and pray we can make the [Sake Cup Ceremony] in time!”
Moving away from the girl who was momentarily stunned, Bill started walking to the door when she scurried behind him and started holding on: “Nonono you can’t do that, please! I’m sorry, ok?! I was wrong! But please don’t turn the ship around!”
Seeing her act this way, he was at first confused. After all, Bill had known Yoko since she was a small child and had never ever seen her so panicked. Not even after Hannibal Island had she been so frantic looking.
Thinking this, a shadow formed over his face and with an ‘Eeep’ the girl jumped back.
“Who else did you sneak aboard?” said he in a dangerous tone, and in response to that the girl stammered: “Ok, Bill, now, you know that I love you and listen to you all the time so don’t be mad ok? now I know I was wrong but it’s not… their… fault...”
Seeing him giving her a look that could scare a ghost white, Yoko gulped and then started crying for real.
Not twenty minutes after that episode, Bill stood in front of a group of forty Marines that he did not authorize to come.
If at first, he was outraged, but now he found it something impressive that she had been able to sneak such a large number of her crew onboard and keep them hidden from not only himself, but also everyone else.
There was Carrot, Rapanui, Adelle, Akisu, Roule, and 35 spear-wielding Howler Monkey Minks who would have followed Yoko through hell and back if she asked them to.
Facing such a large number of stowaways, Bill figured he only had three options.
First, he could destroy Yoko’s credibility in front of her crew by turning the ship around.
Second, he could destroy his and his Special Operators credibility due to the fact that they were unable to sense so many stowaways onboard a moderately sized submarine.
Third, he could act like nothing had happened and that tactic would probably be mirrored by the rest of his crew who were undoubtedly as astonished as he was, after all, he currently had his Departments two Instructors with him!
‘At least I had been cooped up in my office.’ Bill thought with a feigned sneer directed at Masterson and Toma.
Yes, his powerful [Observation Haki] had been in use since he was concerned about possible Sea King attacks. Yes, he could taste the air itself for foreign particles. Yes, there were dozens of smelly monkeys sneaking around various parts of the ship.
However, he consoled himself by saying that his [Observation Haki] had been pointed outside the ship and he had been working on hypothetical designs for a force-field that used the same [Field Theory] principles behind his Pulse Gloves and Boots.
But despite that, when getting down to brass tacks, he decided that Yoko’s reprimand had to be private and so he said: “The test is over and I must say, excellent work. As I’m sure Yoko had told you, your responsibility while at [Merveille] is to remain hidden just in case that we need backup.”
Getting a bunch of confused nods, Bill did something he very rarely did against non-criminals and used [Thought Reading].
It turned out that these members of Yoko’s crew really didn’t have any idea why she had them hide, and so they themselves believed Bill’s quickly made-up explanation.
After his opening statement, Bill continued to simply speak out of his rear end – but made it clear over and over that they were ordered to hide and only to come out of hiding if called on by either himself or Instructors Masterson and Toma.
Thankfully, Yoko’s crew wasn’t as willful as she was and so readily agreed and after dismissing them, Bill called in an awkward looking Instructors.
He didn’t blame them outright but reiterated to them the importance of their mission.
Neither one of them spoke, unbeknownst to Bill, the commenting on the activities of Yoko was seen as a third rail for most of the older members of the Department. This was even more the case now that she had stopped doing pranks and other juvenile actions.
Because her willfulness was always in the direction of anti-pirate or pro-Marine, it was seen as not worth the risk of irritating the Commodore. Not only that though, but her own personal power also played a large part equation.
In spite of most people not knowing of her suppressed Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit, even the new Recruits who came into contact with her could tell that she would become very powerful in the future.
For all of these factors, Masterson and Toma didn’t question him but instead walked away thinking that young superhumans always caused the most problems.
With the stowaways now out in the open, the only problem left was what to feed them with. Bill had ordered extra provisions, but not enough for double their original number.
‘Well, we have enough to get there if Largo’s timetable was right.’ He thought, but on the chance that it wasn’t he ordered the submarine to periodically survey the surface for any merchant shipping that they could do trade with.
This went on for days on end with no ships in sight, and just when they were only about two weeks from their destinations, and when Bill had all but decided he’d have to steal food from Shiki, he was urgently called to the command room.
Walking on deck, he was saluted by his men and walked over to stand beside Masterson, Roule, and Rapanui who were looking at a large display with serious expressions.
Following their line of sight, his face also sank.
The display showed a familiar Jolly Roger on an unfamiliar ship, but despite having never seen this particular ship before, there was no question who it was.
‘[Straw Hat Luffy]!’
The pirate who had contributed to the destruction of Enies Lobby, who had declared war on the World Government, whose every move had been publicized, who was dubbed a ‘Supernova Rookie’, and who had been missing for nearly two years before reappearing and crushing Gecko Moria – a Warlord of the Sea.
Looking over at the new arrival, Masterson didn’t salute like the others but asked seriously: “What’re your orders, Commodore?”
Though he said this quietly the entire bridge heard it, and they stood motionless in anticipation.
Bill wanted to capture [Straw Hat Luffy], and he believed he could do it.
The last time they had met, all those years ago on Clockwork Island, he had been surprised by the strength of the lanky pirate and then fooled by their intentions. He did not blame the Straw Hats for the destruction of that place – in Bill’s mind the blame lay squarely on Bear King – but he held them in contempt for running away like they did after the island had collapsed.
But all of that was before the many assaults on Marine forces and finally the incident at [Enies Lobby] which had been so shocking it was almost unbelievable.
Remembering back to the Straw Hat’s crew, Bill recalled that the pirate captain had two very capable subordinates. One was a green haired swordsmen was more skilled than Sasha, and the other was a blonde headed man who was able to match Ranse blow for blow.
‘Roronoa Zoro and Sanji’ he thought to himself, and then said aloud: “Close in and surface the vessel. Masterson, go and quickly find Toma then meet me at the hatch. Be prepared for combat.”
Then while Masterson got on the move, Bill gave orders to several of his Special Operators: “Activate 8 [Iron Wardens] and prepare them to move on my mark. The Straw Hat crew is strong but doesn’t have many powerful fighters, when you see me move, you will target [Sogeking] and the cyborg [Franky] first.” Getting a mixture of ‘Ayes’ and ‘Yes, Sir!’ the bridge moved in a hurry and Bill walked towards the hatch.
Telling the others to ‘Follow my lead’ they were all dressed like the Amigo Pirates and waited for the submarine to surface. When it did, they opened the hatch and walked out of the room that doubled as a cabin in case the ship ever malfunctioned.
With the [Straw Hat] crew looking overboard at them, the first thing that Bill noticed was the tall skeleton standing beside the others, followed quickly by Luffy and the girl that had stopped their battle those years ago, Nami.
Not waiting for them to talk first, Bill easily altered his voice and said: “Aye Amigo’s! We approach for comercio!” Then seeing them still not say anything, Bill continued: “My compañeros and I were looking to see if you’s had any good food that you’d be interested in selling to us!”
Hearing this, the Straw Hats glanced at one another, but it was Nami who yelled back: “How much?”
“Señora! we need enough food to last forty people for una semana!”
“For what?” called back the orange haired woman, to which Bill hollered back: “For a week!”
“Do you have money?” shouted back Nami, to which Bill replied: “Aye, Señora! But may we not perhaps speak about this on your ship? El mar está picado!” speaking in Spanish again, and the realization that there was ‘Spanish’ spoken in this world was not lost on Bill, Nami asked him ‘What?’ one final time before he called back: “The sea is getting too choppy!”
This was another truth that was hard to dismiss. In just the time that they had surfaced, the wind and waves had picked up considerably, so Bill didn’t think it weird that Masterson and Toma had pulled their poncho’s close and sombreros down.
Getting the green light to come aboard, the three disguised Marines leapt over, and Bill quickly surveyed the ship. The ship was much larger than the old one he remembered that they had before, but the main thing he noticed was the crew.
There was Monkey D. Luffy, Roronoa Zoro, Sanji, the cyborg named Franky, the pet known as Chopper, Nico Robin the ‘Devil Child’, a long-nosed man he recalled seeing momentarily on Clockwork Island, and finally the walking skeleton.
‘Is this their entire crew…?’ he asked himself and then thought it may very well be possible to apprehend them right here and now.
“Looking for something?” asked Nami sharply, sensing that Bill was scouting the ship, and she wasn’t the only one as Zoro shifted his blades and the others moved slightly to get in better positions.
This also did not escape Bill’s notice, but he replied to her question in a natural-sounding Spanish accent: “Aye, Señora, I have heard tale of a brave and enérgico warrior of the sea who goes by the name of [Sogeking]. I was led to believe that this man was one of your camarada.”
To this question, the long-nosed man started laughing with his hands on his hips, and Bill would have been a fool to not instantly make the connection.
Still, playing the fool, Bill asked: “Aye, Amigo? And who are you to be laughing so brazenly at the brave warrior known as [Sogeking]?”
But before the long-nosed man could boast, he was glared at by Nami who said: “Enough, Usopp!”
‘Usopp? So that’s his name.’ Bill thought quickly and figured if by some miracle the [Straw Hats] got away today, he would see about the bounty being changed.
“You want enough food to feed forty people for a week, how much money do you have?” Demanded Nami, who Bill remembered was not one to play with about money. After all, she had tried to scam him as soon as he had rescued her from Bear King.
Before he could answer her though, a particularly big wave hit the side of the ship and the sombrero on Toma shifted just enough to reveal something and once the ship steadied, Bill watched Zoro move between them and Nami with one hand on his katana.
“Take off those hats.” He demanded with an even tone that said he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
Trying to talk his way out of it, Bill’s goal was to take Luffy down by surprise, but as the sea got choppier and clouds could be seen in the distance, he knew he didn’t have time.
Glancing at Toma, the Sword Instructor instantly moved to intercept Zoro with a slash while he rushed to grab Luffy.
Utilizing his [Observation Haki], Bill couldn’t see the future but did have a supernatural sense of things going on around him and dodged dozens of hands that sprouted from the ground before delivering punch that casually could smash a building square on Luffy’s chest.
The rubber pirate captain wasn’t idle though, despite being hit so hard that his chest expanded outwards like an inflated balloon, he kicked up and knocked the sombrero off Bill’s head.
On the other side of the ship, Masterson had pulled off his hat and drawn his two custom pistols. Pointing them at Sanji and Usopp said: “Heh, long time no see, eh?”
What Masterson had never felt the need to mention, he had indeed met the [Straw Hat] pirates back in [Loguetown] years before and had a shooting competition with the long-nosed Usopp.
What Toma had never felt the need to mention was that he had also met the [Straw Hats], and it was the very swordsmen he was fighting now who saved his Dojo Master as well as their entire Marine Dojo.
Out of all the [Straw Hats], it was naturally Nami who recognized Bill first, but instead of calling for Bill not to hurt them, she was calling for Luffy to calm down!
“Luffy! That’s the Marine who saved me Clockwork Island!” She screamed, to which Luffy – now not inflated after having exchanged a few hits with Bill – jumped back, looked at Bill, and said: “Ah! It’s the old Marine grandpa! Wait… you became a pirate too?”
Bill didn’t know why Monkey D. Luffy called him a grandpa, but shaking his head, he didn’t pursue this time, but said: “I’m on a very important mission, and I chanced upon you all. Now, you’re all under arrest. Come with me and you’ll have a fair day in court!”
Hearing him say this, Toma stopped fighting Zoro and Masterson slightly lowered his pistols.
On the [Straw Hats] end, they looked at each other, they looked three disguised Marines, and then started laughing hysterically.
“Yeah! Luffy! Let’s have a ‘fair day in court’!” laughed Usopp and this was infectious as the ‘pet’ Chopper and ‘cyborg’ Franky joined in on the laughs.
For Bill though, he didn’t find it funny and turning to Nami he said sharply: “Woman! Do you remember the name of the corrupt Marine who was in charge of security on your home island?”
Hearing this, Nami’s face sank and said: “Nezumi! How could I ever forget? He’s the one who showed me how the Marines are hypocrites!”
Looking at her evenly, Bill replied back: “The former East Blue Captain is now a resident of [Impel Down] for his crimes.” Then turning back to Luffy, ignoring the stunned Nami, he said: “And you will all be resident’s there if you do not surrender.”
By now the sea had gotten very choppy and dark clouds had almost reached the ship. Now not laughing at him, Bill waited for the [Straw Hats] reply but a dark shadow was cast over the ship and a ‘Yo ho ho’ startled cry from the skeleton forced Bill to look up.
Seeing a huge ship blot out the sun above them, Bill narrowed his eyes and focused on the Jolly Roger.
‘Shiki!’
To run into these two pirates at once, Bill knew he wasn’t prepared to fight them unless he planned to be the only one of his crew to walk away from the battle.
Seeing the large flying ship slow down, Bill grabbed his sombrero and said sharply to Nami: “That is my mission. If you have one shred of goodness left in you, don’t blow my cover!”
And to her credit, and truthfully to the credit of everyone involved, she and the [Straw Hats] did have a shred of goodness. Even if Luffy nearly spilled the beans more than once.
After several rounds going back and forth, Bill – posing as Largo – reported the success of capturing the EvoBeetle and with that, the submarine was lifted into the air and made to follow the flying ship to their destination.
Having himself gone on Shiki’s flagship. Bill watched the ocean pass by him and thought about his next move.
Unfortunately, he didn’t know that their plan was discovered before it ever even began.
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What were the Straw Hats doing between Enies Lobby - Sabody Archipelago? for a year they were lost in the Florian Triangle, for a year they were either fighting Moria or having adventures on other lost islands.
Island Ship+Size Comparison
Spoiler [collapse] Spoiler [collapse]
With the announcement of the execution date for Whitebeards 3rd in Command the Marines exploded into activity and developed world exploded into speculation and fear.
During that tumultuous period, the destruction occurring in the [East Blue] seemed far away for Marineford and nobody had time to spare a second thought for the mission of a small submarine making its way under the waves of [Paradise].
But while the outside world couldn’t care less about it, the emotions of the people involved ran high.
Standing in front of a trembling teenage girl, a 9ft tall Commodore was gnashing his teeth, and for the first time in years was truly angry: “Are my words a joke to you, do you just see me as a clown that you can ignore whenever it suits you, do you really despise me that much?!”
“Bill?! No Never! I just… jus- “Just what?!”
“I just wanted tO HeLP!”
Standing there, holding in her tears, Yoko’s voice cracked but Bill would have none of it: “Do you have any idea who it is we’re going to confront?! How am I supposed to subdue a man who was once rival to the [Pirate King] when I have to keep an eye on you?!
Furthermore, I even told you how you could help! Now, we have to turn the ship around and pray we can make the [Sake Cup Ceremony] in time!”
Moving away from the girl who was momentarily stunned, Bill started walking to the door when she scurried behind him and started holding on: “Nonono you can’t do that, please! I’m sorry, ok?! I was wrong! But please don’t turn the ship around!”
Seeing her act this way, he was at first confused. After all, Bill had known Yoko since she was a small child and had never ever seen her so panicked. Not even after Hannibal Island had she been so frantic looking.
Thinking this, a shadow formed over his face and with an ‘Eeep’ the girl jumped back.
“Who else did you sneak aboard?” said he in a dangerous tone, and in response to that the girl stammered: “Ok, Bill, now, you know that I love you and listen to you all the time so don’t be mad ok? now I know I was wrong but it’s not… their… fault...”
Seeing him giving her a look that could scare a ghost white, Yoko gulped and then started crying for real.
Not twenty minutes after that episode, Bill stood in front of a group of forty Marines that he did not authorize to come.
If at first, he was outraged, but now he found it something impressive that she had been able to sneak such a large number of her crew onboard and keep them hidden from not only himself, but also everyone else.
There was Carrot, Rapanui, Adelle, Akisu, Roule, and 35 spear-wielding Howler Monkey Minks who would have followed Yoko through hell and back if she asked them to.
Facing such a large number of stowaways, Bill figured he only had three options.
First, he could destroy Yoko’s credibility in front of her crew by turning the ship around.
Second, he could destroy his and his Special Operators credibility due to the fact that they were unable to sense so many stowaways onboard a moderately sized submarine.
Third, he could act like nothing had happened and that tactic would probably be mirrored by the rest of his crew who were undoubtedly as astonished as he was, after all, he currently had his Departments two Instructors with him!
‘At least I had been cooped up in my office.’ Bill thought with a feigned sneer directed at Masterson and Toma.
Yes, his powerful [Observation Haki] had been in use since he was concerned about possible Sea King attacks. Yes, he could taste the air itself for foreign particles. Yes, there were dozens of smelly monkeys sneaking around various parts of the ship.
However, he consoled himself by saying that his [Observation Haki] had been pointed outside the ship and he had been working on hypothetical designs for a force-field that used the same [Field Theory] principles behind his Pulse Gloves and Boots.
But despite that, when getting down to brass tacks, he decided that Yoko’s reprimand had to be private and so he said: “The test is over and I must say, excellent work. As I’m sure Yoko had told you, your responsibility while at [Merveille] is to remain hidden just in case that we need backup.”
Getting a bunch of confused nods, Bill did something he very rarely did against non-criminals and used [Thought Reading].
It turned out that these members of Yoko’s crew really didn’t have any idea why she had them hide, and so they themselves believed Bill’s quickly made-up explanation.
After his opening statement, Bill continued to simply speak out of his rear end – but made it clear over and over that they were ordered to hide and only to come out of hiding if called on by either himself or Instructors Masterson and Toma.
Thankfully, Yoko’s crew wasn’t as willful as she was and so readily agreed and after dismissing them, Bill called in an awkward looking Instructors.
He didn’t blame them outright but reiterated to them the importance of their mission.
Neither one of them spoke, unbeknownst to Bill, the commenting on the activities of Yoko was seen as a third rail for most of the older members of the Department. This was even more the case now that she had stopped doing pranks and other juvenile actions.
Because her willfulness was always in the direction of anti-pirate or pro-Marine, it was seen as not worth the risk of irritating the Commodore. Not only that though, but her own personal power also played a large part equation.
In spite of most people not knowing of her suppressed Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit, even the new Recruits who came into contact with her could tell that she would become very powerful in the future.
For all of these factors, Masterson and Toma didn’t question him but instead walked away thinking that young superhumans always caused the most problems.
With the stowaways now out in the open, the only problem left was what to feed them with. Bill had ordered extra provisions, but not enough for double their original number.
‘Well, we have enough to get there if Largo’s timetable was right.’ He thought, but on the chance that it wasn’t he ordered the submarine to periodically survey the surface for any merchant shipping that they could do trade with.
This went on for days on end with no ships in sight, and just when they were only about two weeks from their destinations, and when Bill had all but decided he’d have to steal food from Shiki, he was urgently called to the command room.
Walking on deck, he was saluted by his men and walked over to stand beside Masterson, Roule, and Rapanui who were looking at a large display with serious expressions.
Following their line of sight, his face also sank.
The display showed a familiar Jolly Roger on an unfamiliar ship, but despite having never seen this particular ship before, there was no question who it was.
‘[Straw Hat Luffy]!’
The pirate who had contributed to the destruction of Enies Lobby, who had declared war on the World Government, whose every move had been publicized, who was dubbed a ‘Supernova Rookie’, and who had been missing for nearly two years before reappearing and crushing Gecko Moria – a Warlord of the Sea.
Looking over at the new arrival, Masterson didn’t salute like the others but asked seriously: “What’re your orders, Commodore?”
Though he said this quietly the entire bridge heard it, and they stood motionless in anticipation.
Bill wanted to capture [Straw Hat Luffy], and he believed he could do it.
The last time they had met, all those years ago on Clockwork Island, he had been surprised by the strength of the lanky pirate and then fooled by their intentions. He did not blame the Straw Hats for the destruction of that place – in Bill’s mind the blame lay squarely on Bear King – but he held them in contempt for running away like they did after the island had collapsed.
But all of that was before the many assaults on Marine forces and finally the incident at [Enies Lobby] which had been so shocking it was almost unbelievable.
Remembering back to the Straw Hat’s crew, Bill recalled that the pirate captain had two very capable subordinates. One was a green haired swordsmen was more skilled than Sasha, and the other was a blonde headed man who was able to match Ranse blow for blow.
‘Roronoa Zoro and Sanji’ he thought to himself, and then said aloud: “Close in and surface the vessel. Masterson, go and quickly find Toma then meet me at the hatch. Be prepared for combat.”
Then while Masterson got on the move, Bill gave orders to several of his Special Operators: “Activate 8 [Iron Wardens] and prepare them to move on my mark. The Straw Hat crew is strong but doesn’t have many powerful fighters, when you see me move, you will target [Sogeking] and the cyborg [Franky] first.” Getting a mixture of ‘Ayes’ and ‘Yes, Sir!’ the bridge moved in a hurry and Bill walked towards the hatch.
Telling the others to ‘Follow my lead’ they were all dressed like the Amigo Pirates and waited for the submarine to surface. When it did, they opened the hatch and walked out of the room that doubled as a cabin in case the ship ever malfunctioned.
With the [Straw Hat] crew looking overboard at them, the first thing that Bill noticed was the tall skeleton standing beside the others, followed quickly by Luffy and the girl that had stopped their battle those years ago, Nami.
Not waiting for them to talk first, Bill easily altered his voice and said: “Aye Amigo’s! We approach for comercio!” Then seeing them still not say anything, Bill continued: “My compañeros and I were looking to see if you’s had any good food that you’d be interested in selling to us!”
Hearing this, the Straw Hats glanced at one another, but it was Nami who yelled back: “How much?”
“Señora! we need enough food to last forty people for una semana!”
“For what?” called back the orange haired woman, to which Bill hollered back: “For a week!”
“Do you have money?” shouted back Nami, to which Bill replied: “Aye, Señora! But may we not perhaps speak about this on your ship? El mar está picado!” speaking in Spanish again, and the realization that there was ‘Spanish’ spoken in this world was not lost on Bill, Nami asked him ‘What?’ one final time before he called back: “The sea is getting too choppy!”
This was another truth that was hard to dismiss. In just the time that they had surfaced, the wind and waves had picked up considerably, so Bill didn’t think it weird that Masterson and Toma had pulled their poncho’s close and sombreros down.
Getting the green light to come aboard, the three disguised Marines leapt over, and Bill quickly surveyed the ship. The ship was much larger than the old one he remembered that they had before, but the main thing he noticed was the crew.
There was Monkey D. Luffy, Roronoa Zoro, Sanji, the cyborg named Franky, the pet known as Chopper, Nico Robin the ‘Devil Child’, a long-nosed man he recalled seeing momentarily on Clockwork Island, and finally the walking skeleton.
‘Is this their entire crew…?’ he asked himself and then thought it may very well be possible to apprehend them right here and now.
“Looking for something?” asked Nami sharply, sensing that Bill was scouting the ship, and she wasn’t the only one as Zoro shifted his blades and the others moved slightly to get in better positions.
This also did not escape Bill’s notice, but he replied to her question in a natural-sounding Spanish accent: “Aye, Señora, I have heard tale of a brave and enérgico warrior of the sea who goes by the name of [Sogeking]. I was led to believe that this man was one of your camarada.”
To this question, the long-nosed man started laughing with his hands on his hips, and Bill would have been a fool to not instantly make the connection.
Still, playing the fool, Bill asked: “Aye, Amigo? And who are you to be laughing so brazenly at the brave warrior known as [Sogeking]?”
But before the long-nosed man could boast, he was glared at by Nami who said: “Enough, Usopp!”
‘Usopp? So that’s his name.’ Bill thought quickly and figured if by some miracle the [Straw Hats] got away today, he would see about the bounty being changed.
“You want enough food to feed forty people for a week, how much money do you have?” Demanded Nami, who Bill remembered was not one to play with about money. After all, she had tried to scam him as soon as he had rescued her from Bear King.
Before he could answer her though, a particularly big wave hit the side of the ship and the sombrero on Toma shifted just enough to reveal something and once the ship steadied, Bill watched Zoro move between them and Nami with one hand on his katana.
“Take off those hats.” He demanded with an even tone that said he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
Trying to talk his way out of it, Bill’s goal was to take Luffy down by surprise, but as the sea got choppier and clouds could be seen in the distance, he knew he didn’t have time.
Glancing at Toma, the Sword Instructor instantly moved to intercept Zoro with a slash while he rushed to grab Luffy.
Utilizing his [Observation Haki], Bill couldn’t see the future but did have a supernatural sense of things going on around him and dodged dozens of hands that sprouted from the ground before delivering punch that casually could smash a building square on Luffy’s chest.
The rubber pirate captain wasn’t idle though, despite being hit so hard that his chest expanded outwards like an inflated balloon, he kicked up and knocked the sombrero off Bill’s head.
On the other side of the ship, Masterson had pulled off his hat and drawn his two custom pistols. Pointing them at Sanji and Usopp said: “Heh, long time no see, eh?”
What Masterson had never felt the need to mention, he had indeed met the [Straw Hat] pirates back in [Loguetown] years before and had a shooting competition with the long-nosed Usopp.
What Toma had never felt the need to mention was that he had also met the [Straw Hats], and it was the very swordsmen he was fighting now who saved his Dojo Master as well as their entire Marine Dojo.
Out of all the [Straw Hats], it was naturally Nami who recognized Bill first, but instead of calling for Bill not to hurt them, she was calling for Luffy to calm down!
“Luffy! That’s the Marine who saved me Clockwork Island!” She screamed, to which Luffy – now not inflated after having exchanged a few hits with Bill – jumped back, looked at Bill, and said: “Ah! It’s the old Marine grandpa! Wait… you became a pirate too?”
Bill didn’t know why Monkey D. Luffy called him a grandpa, but shaking his head, he didn’t pursue this time, but said: “I’m on a very important mission, and I chanced upon you all. Now, you’re all under arrest. Come with me and you’ll have a fair day in court!”
Hearing him say this, Toma stopped fighting Zoro and Masterson slightly lowered his pistols.
On the [Straw Hats] end, they looked at each other, they looked three disguised Marines, and then started laughing hysterically.
“Yeah! Luffy! Let’s have a ‘fair day in court’!” laughed Usopp and this was infectious as the ‘pet’ Chopper and ‘cyborg’ Franky joined in on the laughs.
For Bill though, he didn’t find it funny and turning to Nami he said sharply: “Woman! Do you remember the name of the corrupt Marine who was in charge of security on your home island?”
Hearing this, Nami’s face sank and said: “Nezumi! How could I ever forget? He’s the one who showed me how the Marines are hypocrites!”
Looking at her evenly, Bill replied back: “The former East Blue Captain is now a resident of [Impel Down] for his crimes.” Then turning back to Luffy, ignoring the stunned Nami, he said: “And you will all be resident’s there if you do not surrender.”
By now the sea had gotten very choppy and dark clouds had almost reached the ship. Now not laughing at him, Bill waited for the [Straw Hats] reply but a dark shadow was cast over the ship and a ‘Yo ho ho’ startled cry from the skeleton forced Bill to look up.
Seeing a huge ship blot out the sun above them, Bill narrowed his eyes and focused on the Jolly Roger.
‘Shiki!’
To run into these two pirates at once, Bill knew he wasn’t prepared to fight them unless he planned to be the only one of his crew to walk away from the battle.
Seeing the large flying ship slow down, Bill grabbed his sombrero and said sharply to Nami: “That is my mission. If you have one shred of goodness left in you, don’t blow my cover!”
And to her credit, and truthfully to the credit of everyone involved, she and the [Straw Hats] did have a shred of goodness. Even if Luffy nearly spilled the beans more than once.
After several rounds going back and forth, Bill – posing as Largo – reported the success of capturing the EvoBeetle and with that, the submarine was lifted into the air and made to follow the flying ship to their destination.
Having himself gone on Shiki’s flagship. Bill watched the ocean pass by him and thought about his next move.
Unfortunately, he didn’t know that their plan was discovered before it ever even began.
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What were the Straw Hats doing between Enies Lobby - Sabody Archipelago? for a year they were lost in the Florian Triangle, for a year they were either fighting Moria or having adventures on other lost islands.
Island Ship+Size Comparison
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