Chapter 15 - Moves Behind The Shadows

『 Omniscient POV 』

Just like Zoro and Midoriya's battle, Luffy's fight with Buggy did not last that long.

The only reason why the duo were the first ones to be done with their battle was because, Luffy discovered that Buggy was associated with Shanks.

But after hearing the full story from Buggy, he quickly began to fight seriously.

Despite getting serious, however, Luffy did not manage to end their fight easily.

The reason for that was because of Buggy's annoying Devil Fruit, which is called Bara Bara no Mi.

This fruit allows him to split his body parts from each other, which allowed the clown pirate to barely dodge Luffy's attacks in disturbing ways.

There was one time when he separated his head from his neck just to dodge the punch that was just about to hit him.

In fact, after that attack, Buggy refused to fully return his body back to normal and just float around in the air with disconnected body parts.

This decision, however, allowed Luffy to learn about his weakness, which was that his feet could not float like the other parts, and thus, Luffy began to tickle him.

Fortunately, or not, Buggy managed to salvage his feet by throwing Mohji towards Luffy.

But despite his desperate situation, it seems like Buggy's treasures were more important to him as he refused to fight Luffy but instead went towards Nami, who was Haldol holding a bag of treasure.

But that became his downfall because, after Luffy managed to grab his attention back by catching and throwing his body parts away from each other, Nami somehow found a rope which she used to tie Buggy's body parts; which were just about to float back to their owner.

And from there, Luffy finished the job by punching Buggy' head and chest part so hard that he flew towards the end of the path that they were in.

And as if they were being pulled by a mysterious force, the tied up body parts, as well as the feet that was left behind, flew towards Buggy; which knocked the clown pirate out because of the painful impact that he received by his own body.

"Yo, Izuku, Zoro, are you guys alr-"

"What happened here?!"

"We're finally here, but how did this happen?"

"Those damn pirates dare to destroy my bar?! I'll make them pay!!"

But before Luffy and the others could even celebrate about this small victory, the group of people, who were looking for Boodle, suddenly appeared out a certain alley.

"Hey, you... I remember you. Did the pirates fight each other? If you know anything, please tell us."

Then, as the rest of the newcomers cause chaos, one of them saw Midoriya and asked that question.

"Well, after I heard from Oli wha-"

"Ahh!! Chief!! The chief is here!!"

"Goodness gracious!! What happened to you?!"

Unfortunately, before Midoriya could even reach the middle of his sentence, one of the villagers spotted the unconscious body of their chief.

"Ahh! Sorry, I did that to the chief."

Hearing their concern shouts, Luffy couldn't help but say his sincere apology... an apology that lacks the much needed guilt.

"You did what?!"

"Hey!! Why did you tell them that kinda thing on purpose!!"

And of course, his words not only caused the villager to get angry as it also made Midoriya and Nami frustrated.

"What? You saw me do it."

Answered the innocent looking pirate as he gave Nami a confused look, while ignoring the shout of his first mate; which he thought to be amusing.

"How dare you do this to our chief?!"

"It doesn't matter what excuse you try to give us, we'll make you pay for it!!"

"Who the hell are you? Could it be that you lot are pirates?"

"Yes, we are."

And once again, Luffy carelessly answered the question that he deemed to be the most important one.

"Guys, plea-"

"Hey kid, tell us honestly, are you with them?!

And despite Midoriya's attempt at calming the villagers down, after that question interrupted him, he knew that any explanation that he gives would only be ignored by them.

Thus, the only thing that he could do was turn around and follow the backs of his already running companions.

And once they reached the shore, Midoriya noticed a fairly large pirate boat, and without any second thoughts, he jumped onto it and yelled for Luffy and Zoro to get in, too.

"Zoro, Nami, hold on tight!!"

"Wha-aaahh~!!"

"Wha-waiiitt~!!"

Hearing Midoriya's yell, Luffy quickly wrapped his arms around the two people who were behind him before he jumped high enough to get on board.

"Let's go on to the next island!!"

"Aye!!"

Yelled out the straw hatted pirate as he ignored the screams and hits of their angered navigator.

She was angry because, for one, because of the stunt that he just pulled, which scared her like never before.

And for two, because of the fact that Luffy left behind the other half of Buggy's treasures, that is worth 5 million, belli for the villagers to use as a fund to restore their village.

But as they sail away, a loud farewell were heard by the crew, which somehow calmed the angered navigator down.

Shortly after Nami's scolding and beat-up session with Luffy, they all went around the ship to fully inspect it.

And after they made sure that the ship had no problem whatsoever, Midoriya revealed that he found quite a lot of food in the storage room, which could possibly last for a month with them.

... Possibly.

And with that, Luffy and his crew left the Orange Town and began to do the things that their navigator had instructed them to do... to sail, and this time, properly.

『 Meanwhile 』

As the boat that contains Midoriya and the others sail away, Adeline can be seen standing at a place that was surrounded by the tree.

But despite being surrounded by the trees, she could still peacefully watch Midoriya and the others leave.

*Crack!!*

Then, shortly after the boat fully disappeared from her view, the air around her began to crack, and some moments later, a portal that had an appearance of a wormhole appeared.

And soon after that, two human came out of it, but because of the shadows of the trees around them, it was hard to see their appearance.

"Adeline, thank you... for fulfilling my selfish request."

"Don't thank me for it... you bastard."

Replied Adeline to the unknown person who spoke first.

In response to her words, this person just smiled at her for the last time before the unknown duo disappeared, along with their portal.

Which leaves Adeline all alone once again.

"Leaving me alone once again... you really are a bastard."

Whispered the old lady as a tear fell from her left eye.

"Oh my, is my age getting to me already?"

Then, the moment when that lone tear touched the ground, Adeline seemed to had forgotten about what had just happened, as a confused expression emerged on her face after she wiped her tears away.

"Whatever... I just hope you have a safe and wonderful adventure, Izu-kun."

After shrugging her shoulders, the old lady whispered her words once again, but this time, no tears were released as a mysterious smile appeared on her face instead.

『 At The Same Time 』

In an unknown location, inside of a room which was filled with nothing but darkness, a tall and lean but muscular man can be seen being bound by the long chains that was attached to the end corners of the room.

Because of those chains, as he was being held above the ground, his body was creating a star pattern.

This man was without any clothes on his body, and instead, it was full of bleeding wounds that was still fresh for the eyes to see.

In fact, even his nails were not left untouched as all of them were painfully removed from his fingers, both from fingers and toes.

But despite his brutal situation, this person did not scream in anger, despair, or anything alike.

In fact, he fully accepted the punishment that he had received as if it was only the natural thing to do.

And if the smile on his face was not enough as an evidence, then what else would a person need for them to believe.

This tortured person was the same man who sunk the islet that Midoriya found himself to.

He has been in this place and had been tortured since the moment when he reported his failure on catching his target.

And although anger was gathering inside of him, he did not act on it but instead, fully contained that emotion to himself as that was the only thing that he could do at the moment.

*Creek~!*

And it seems like that decision of his finally paid off, as the door behind him finally opened after the torturous days that had passed.

*Click!*

*Clack!*

*Click!*

And after the slow sounds of footsteps finally arrived in front of him, the tortured man finally opened his eyes.

"Are you prepared to regain your name?"

Once he heard the words of the man who was in front of him, his smile only grew wider as his head gave a nod as a response.

"Excellent! Before you proceed to your next mission, however, endure this last session."

Said the the newcomer before the door, that he entered from, suddenly closed itself and shortly after that, the sounds of metal shaking and hitting each other, as well as the scream of agony, were heard... by no one.

『 Midoriya's POV 』

'Another day had passed by.'

I thought to myself as I once again watched how the sun makes its appearance for the first time of this day.

As I watched the sunrise, I couldn't stop myself from looking back to the past events that I've faced.

And so far, although enjoyable, my experience in this place has been quite annoying.

Because, if I was not fighting, I would either be unconscious or be reminded of the memories that I've long wanted to forget.

'Thankfully, not all are bad as I met good people like Coby, Luffy, Zoro, and the others.'

A smile was brought to my face as I thought about that.

"It's fixed!!"

On my side, as I continued to look at the slowly rising sun, I heard Luffy's loud shout as he held his newly fixed hat.

It seemed like Buggy had a grudge against the previous owner of the hat, and that's why he tried to destroy it.

Though, based on Nami's story, that decision just angered Luffy, and thus, Luffy made sure to make him pay for it.

Anyway, after watching the Sun for a bit more, I finally turned my head towards Luffy and Nami, who were once again sending quips to each.

I couldn't help but laugh whenever those two would act like that.

'I wouldn't even believe the fact that he's a pirate if I didn't know better.'

As I laughed rather loudly because of their ridiculous conversation, I couldn't help but think of that fact.

"Oi, you guys are noisy. I can't sleep."

But it seems like we got too loud as not long after, a grumpy Zoro spoke up his thought as he scratched his head.

Turning my head away from them, to avoid the chaos that is about to begin, I instantly saw an island that is quite close to us.

"Hey, Luffy looks like there's an island there."

"Great!! Let's go! We might find another member for our crew there!"

Thus, I revealed that discovery to Luffy, who, upon hearing my words, excitedly took control of the ship and sailed it toward the island.

"Wait! There's nothing there!!"

Though, it seems like that decision of mine was wrong as Nami revealed that that island contained no settlement in it.

Hearing Nami's protest against the idea of going there, I couldn't help but give her a guilty look.

Because I know that, no matter what she says... Luffy's decision would not be changed by others' if he himself doesn't want to change it.

"Let's just hope there will be no fighting in this place..."

I said particularly to no one as I noticed that my mind was once again being filled with the stress because of fighting.

Anyhow, that was how we sailed for our third island.

『 Omniscient POV 』

After some minutes of sailing, the boat that carries Luffy and the others finally reached a new shore where they anchored their boat.

"We reached the isolated island!!"

The straw hatted pirate exclaimed excitedly as soon as his foot touched the sand of the island.

"That's right, and there's nothing here but forest!! Like I said, this is an unpopulated island! There's no way you will find someone for the crew here!"

"Hey, Zoro, Izuku!! Let's go explore this place!!"

Ignoring Nami's clear disapproval for coming here, Luffy quickly turned his head towards the duo, who had yet jumped down from their boat.

The boat, which now had a different jolly roger flag from before, when it was taken by Midoriya and the others.

Though, the said new jolly roger was still blank, for now, as Midoriya failed to find some paint along when he found the blank flag.

"Luffy, wait, Zoro went back to sleep, and I'm hungry. I will prepare some food for us, I will just wait for you guys here."

"Okay! Nami, let's go!!"

Hearing Midoriya's words, although he was quite tempted to wake Zoro up and bring Midoriya with them, the thought of Zoro's healthy sleep stopped Luffy from doing so... and it was definitely not because of the fact that Midoriya is about to prepare some food for them.

"Like I said, there's nothing here but poisonous snake and wild animals!"

"Oh~ look, Nami!!"

And just like that, the thief and pirate duo left for a short adventure that the former person eagerly wants to have.

And while they were gone, Midoriya made sure to fulfill his words as he prepared some light meals which could feed more than twenty people.

Once he was done with that, he went outside the kitchen cabin to take some fresh air.

Then, not long after that, the young green-haired teen joined the activity of the older one, which is sleeping.

But that activity of theirs did not last long as, less than an half of hour later, they both woke up at the arrival of Luffy and Nami.

And along with them, is a moving treasure chest which contained a human being inside.

Although confused by what he saw, Midoriya still brought out the sandwiches and milks that he prepared for them all, plus one, before he asked what or who the person that Luffy brought had back with them.

"20 years... you've waited that long enough just to find out that the treasure you are guarding was not even real... don't you feel frustrated or unjust by that?"

And after the previously sleeping duo heard the story of the man who was stuck in a box, who was called Gaimon, the literary lost green-haired one couldn't help but say his thoughts out loud.

"Of course it's frustrating... but what else can I do but accept it? It's not like I could just return back in time and change my actions, right? And besides, like I said to your friends earlier, I already had my own suspicions about whether it was true or not... that kid only proved my suspicions to be true."

Silence shortly followed Midoriya's words, but fortunately for him, Gaimon decided to answer him without any second thoughts.

And surprisingly, although it was a sad outcome for him, Gaimon was still fine with it as he accepted it without any tone of regret.

"But... what do you plan on doing now?"

"Forget it, Izuku. I've already asked him if he wants to join us, but he refused it."

"Your friend is right, although I appreciate your concerns... the truth is, I actually felt good at how things turned out to be. Because from now on, I clearly know what I need to protect from other people."

Realizing what was going on inside Midoriya's mind, Luffy immediately revealed that he had already done what he wanted to do, which was agreed by the person of interest himself.

And by the end of Gaimon's sentence, several animals suddenly began to emerge from the bushes not far from them.

Shortly after they all came out, the animals hurriedly ran towards Gaimon before they all rubbed their heads and furs on him.

"Jhajhajhajha~!! Do you see what I mean?!"

Exclaimed Gaimon rather loudly as he laughed with genuine happiness.

Seeing that wholesome sight, Midoriya just decided to respect the older man's decision before he began to clean their temporary eating place.

And not long after that, the small group of pirates once again bid their farewell to another friend as they sailed away.

"Izuku, are you sick? You've been quiet since earlier."

But as they sailed towards the next island, Luffy couldn't help but notice that Midoriya was acting strangely.

"I'm not..."

Replied the later person, but because of the doubtful looks that he was receiving from his companions, he released a deep breath before he revealed the thoughts that had been bugging him.

"I was just wondering... what would you do if this One Piece turned out to be the same as Gaimon's treasure? Nothing but an empty chest?"

"..."

After his question left his mouth, silence was what followed.

Nami and Midoriya were not the only curious ones about that as even Zoro, who previously had his eyes closed, is now fully listening.

"Oh, is that all?"

But despite the seriousness of Midoriya's question, Luffy seemed to be as carefree as ever.

"I guess, we will know once we found the One Piece! Shishishishi~!"

Answered the straw hatted pirate with the same goofy smile that he always had ever since Midoriya met him.

And his response only brought a smile, not only to Midoriya and Zoro, but also to Nami's faces.

"I suppose you are right! Now, let's go reach the Grand Line!!"

"Yosh!!"

Then, after several moments of happy silence, Midoriya decided to scream his excitement, which Luffy happily responded to.

『 To Be Continued 』