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mugiwara-no-toshokan · 9 months

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Thrice Prophesized

CisFem Reader x Roronoa Zoro

CW: In-Universe levels of violence, amnesia, romance, reader gets some good bad-ass moments, but shouldn't feel Overpowered if I did my job well, surprisingly no smut in this one loves, but it's book 1 of 2.

Still 18+

Chapter 7: Cold Call

It took a couple days for you to shake the heavy feelings of failure completely, but you did your best to keep the crew from worrying. You ate regularly and focused on working your Haki and keeping yourself busy. You let Chopper monitor your wounds as much as he wanted, assuring him that you were fine, just a little tired from all the excitement.

Fortunately for you the wounds of your encounter with the Marines had been mostly superficial, at least physically. You had effectively pulled your Haki “muscle”, but Jinbei helped you make up for it with his knowledge, effectively helping you rehabilitate yourself, so you didn’t lose progress.

After a couple of days, you were healed enough that Chopper stopped fussing over you randomly and let you train with your sword. He also managed to nervously - and at the same time sternly - request you not attempt to use winter magic again. The internal damage had been minimal this time, but the Sunny lacked the facilities for deep internal wounds.

“I shall,” you interrupt yourself and bow stiffly. “I’ll keep that in mind.” You say, trying to be a little more informal.

“I’ll do my best if it happens, but please stay safe.” Chopper’s expression was one of concern, and you found yourself feeling retroactively guilty for what had happened.

The ship had stayed at the island for the last couple days, though you had moved anchor to a new location and watches had been set to keep an eye out for Smoker and the marines. Luffy, Usopp and Robin were out exploring in connection with their shared goal, and you found you wanted to get back on land, at least for a couple hours.

Straight from your room you had gone to see Chopper, and were still effectively in your night clothes, and on your way back to your room to change you came across the animated skeleton. Brook bothered you the most out of anyone else - his appearance was unsettling, but he was not a mindless undead, and after you had adjusted a little you realized he was not a bad… creature. Nami had explained his situation and the fruit he had consumed, so you understood he was essentially a spry old man with no aching joints or muscles to slow him down.

But he still looked like an animated skeleton, and it was hard to get past that.

“Ma-is-ter Brook,” you catch yourself mid word and smile sheepishly as you approach him. “Is it possible to disembark without swimming ashore?”

“Luffy and the others took the mini Merry, but there is still the shark submarine, which can be used to go ashore. There are also a couple rowboats.” He lets out a gasp. “Ah, but you shouldn’t go ashore alone, I can operate the shark, would you mind if I accompanied you?”

“If it’s not too much to ask. I just need a moment to change, and I’ll be ready.” You reply, smiling the best you could.

“It will be my pleasure - ah, it seems you have begun to be more comfortable around me, so if I could, I would like to ask a question.”

“I - er, sure. Ask away.”

“May I see your panties?”

Your mind stutters, of all possible questions that was the most unexpected you could have considered. But you had spent years around knights, and before that knights in training, and both groups could be unexpected in this way.

You tug at the band on your pants, looking down before letting the band return to your waist. “My apologies Master Brook, I seem to have no panties to show.”

“Oh.” The single syllable escapes Brook as you walk away and head to your room. You’re almost to the door when you hear him laugh, and you glance up to see Sanji with his hand over his nose and mouth again. His face is red, and he’s not looking at you.

“Good morning, Cook.” You greet him with a small smile as you go into the room to change.

You put on some clothes that at least look warm, so you’re not looking completely out of place to anyone who may come across you and Brook. Though between the two of you, you imagine his appearance is far more memorable than yours, even if you skipped about in the snow in a bathing suit.

Stepping back outside you are a little surprised to see Chopper tending to Sanji. You start to ask if everything’s alright but a hand on your shoulder stops your words and your movement.

“He’s fine.” Zoro says, “His control around women is lacking.”

There’s a moment of confusion on your face before you realize he must’ve heard you joking with Brook. You pinch the bridge of your nose and sigh.

“Sor-,”

“Nah.” Zoro says, cutting you off as he lets go of your shoulder. “You didn’t do anything. He has the same thing happen when Nami praises his cooking.”

“… that sounds problematic.”

“Less so now than when we visited Jinbei’s home.” Zoro admit, a crooked smile on his face like he’s amused and irritated at the same time.

“I’m going ashore with Brook,” you say, shifting the subject away from anything that may irritate him, “if you wanted to join us.”

Zoro regards you for a second before he closes his eye. “With the Cook out for now I’ll stay on the ship.”

“Very well,” you incline your head a little and head off to find Brook.

You’re a little unsure about your decision to go ashore when you see the means of how the two of you will get there. Or maybe you regret asking Brook, thinking that Nami would’ve provided a more normal means.

“This is… metal.” You state flatly, looking at the shark submarine. “Does metal float in this world? The ship is wood, yes?”

“The ship is wood, and the submarine is metal.” Brook states in response to your questions. “Metal does not, on its own, float, but Franky is quite skilled.”

Franky’s skill was something you were very sure of, but Franky wasn’t in the immediate vicinity. After a moment of internal struggle, you get into the strange vehicle.

“I will trust your knowledge, Brook.” You say solemnly as you settle into the strange vessel. “But I am, admittedly, concerned.”

“I will keep you safe Miss (Y/N), have no fear.”

Brook steers the odd contraption to the shore - it’s a short trip, admittedly, and you quickly decide that you’ll need an excuse to ride in the submersible for far longer at some point. The view of the ocean below the waves was beautiful, brief as it was.

You hit the shore next to the Mini Merry II and jumped the short distance to snowy sand. You reached out with your haki and took a look around. The immediate area was deserted, but you could feel the tingling vibes of Luffy’s monstrous aura. He was deep in the island, and you just barely get a sense of Usopp and Robin.

They were strong, but it was hard to compare to the farm boy.

“I was planning on going for a bit of a run, Mister Brook. You needn’t accompany me if you don’t want to, but I have heard it on good authority that you’re quite swift.”

“Oh ho ho ho ho,” he laughs cheerfully. “If I lose you then I will return to the shore in advance. That way you don’t have to wait for me, but I would like to try to keep up.”

You smile, “it might be me who struggles to keep up.” You admit, stretching your limbs for a second before you began to run.

The beach was a mostly open area, one that wasn’t completely deserted, as there were a few obvious paths that cut into the forest ahead. In the summer months it might be a popular place to dive for shellfish and the like, not that anyone was diving in the winter.

The run lets you stretch your body, and your haki. Your primary focus was turning it off and on, having the armament haki flow only when you needed, and pulsing the observation haki until you needed to focus on either one. Your hope was that it would become second nature for you - something you would just do without feeling any stress or strain from it - like breathing.

Pulsing the observation haki also lets you idly keep track of Brook. He wasn’t following you exactly, but he was keeping pace. The old man was as at home with the cold as you were, and maybe even more so. He had swirls of cold around him at times that felt nothing like winter magic but manifested similarly to it.

After twenty minutes you were considering heading back when something caused you to draw your sword. Your observation haki wasn’t picking up anything you could translate, but it was setting your nerves on edge. You were vaguely aware of Brook in the branches of a tree, but you were ignoring him entirely.

If whatever was making you nervous was focused on only you then it would provide an advantage.

A strong cold wind kicked up around you and a sudden squall of snow whipped by you. It wasn’t normal snow, this felt cold, and the flakes stung your skin more than mere cold would be able to do. You pulsed armament haki and felt the snow flinch.

You put your sword away and swung into the snow like a brawler - but it was easier to control haki in your fists than through your sword. Knights learned to fight unarmed, but you hadn't ever been as comfortable with boxing as you were with your sword. In this instance, however, you had little choice.

The snow did more than flinch this time and retreated from you coalescing into a green haired woman with golden eyes. She looked unbothered, even though you both knew she had attacked you unsuccessfully.

“A snow woman,” you say, settling into a proper stance.

“You as well, running through these trees with so little on.” Her voice is soft and cool, fitting for someone who turns into snow.

“I’m warm enough.” You admit, looking at her she was wearing less than you. “I seem to have a knack for running into Devil fruit users.”

“I was deterred from my original objective and came upon you by chance,” she admits with a small smile. “I recognize your face.”

“You’re a bounty hunter?”

She giggles and it gives you a chill that has nothing to do with the snow. “I can be. But it wouldn’t be the marines to whom I would turn you over. I’m sure the Young Master has an interest in you.”

You have no love for this world’s government, but somehow you feel more inclined to be at Smoker’s mercy than this woman’s master.

“Well, then I guess we need to see who will walk away with what they want from this.” You admit and dash toward her. You can connect with someone who changes with haki, you had learned that even before you had swung at the snow, and you had Brook as backup. But there were two things about this fight you didn’t know: could her unnatural snow make you feel cold, and how much help could Brook be.

He was inclined toward attacks that were based in cold and ice, but this woman was made of snow. Did elements of Devil fruits work like elements in magic? Would his attacks be useless against her? Would her attacks be useless against him?

She dodges your first swing easily, but you can see a twinge of frustration on her face as you follow through, chaining your movements as smoothly as you could. Either she hadn’t expected you to be able to fight, or she hadn’t expected you to be on par with her, though once she speaks it turns out the answer was something else entirely.

She turns into flurries and creates distance between the two of you. “I don’t recognize your fighting style.” She says, putting words to her frustration. “You’re not a brawler, but that’s not fishman karate, or any other martial arts form I know of.”

Martial arts, and karate - there were phrases you knew. Alright, so you weren’t practiced in karate enough for it to do you any good back home, but you only needed to try and shake her. You shifted from boxing to karate as you knew it and could practically feel the snow around the woman bristle.

Karate incorporated kicks with punches, and usually it felt clunky to you, but you’ve felt stronger and lighter since coming to this world. You leapt over the demon swordsman accidentally, and your legs seemed to vault you forward faster than they had before. Maybe there was something about this world that was affecting you - either enhancing your muscles or a lack of gravity compared to your home world.

Whatever the case you leap into the air, leading your attack at the woman with your foot. The look of surprise on her face was enough to invigorate you, and after you landed you shifted again. Coating your hands in haki you reached for her even as she turned to snow, and felt your hands grab onto something tangible enough for what you needed. Stepping into the grab you use the momentum to toss what you had grabbed up and over your shoulder, forcing it into the ground in front of you.

The strange sense of something solid in your hand turned into the snow woman’s leg as she reformed with a cough in front of you. You had her rattled, and that gave you an upper hand, you landed a solid blow into her jaw, but even as you felt her body give under your blow she was shifting into snow.

“That marine got lucky the other day because I didn’t understand something fundamental.” You admit as she reforms some yards away from you again. “But you’re not as combat tempered as him, and I know a lot more today.” You settle back into a boxing stance, since it’s the style of unarmed combat you’re the most comfortable with, and shift your weight back and forth a couple of times before you reinforce your legs with haki and bolt toward the surprised snow woman.

Her surprise melts away and you realize it a split second too late as you hit a wall of snow with your shoulder, turning just barely to avoid crashing into it face-first. In the short time it takes you to come a stop you’re incased in snow. You shift to the center of the barrier quickly and look around.

“I can keep you in here eternally, especially in the snow of this island.” She promises you. You can sense her face in the snow, but you can’t see it. “You’re welcome to try and beat you’re way out of it, but I’ll have reinforcements here before you can- ah!”

You could sense Brook from the other side of the snow and smiled. The snow lady had her hands full yet again, and that meant you could focus on getting out. Focusing on the haki flowing through you, you tried to condense it into your hands. It wasn’t mana, but maybe it could be made more effective if it was layered.

There was a strange tingle in your fingers that made you abandon the idea, at least for the moment. You were concerned the concentration was going to break your fingers before it did anything you needed it to, and you couldn’t risk that right now. Utilizing haki the only way you could at this point you started to lay into the snowy barrier. It was solid, not too unlike bricks, but it was giving way, bit by bit.

By the time you broke free you crashed through the snow in time to see Brook standing nearby. He looked like he was trying to consider how to break through the snow and had eventually noticed you were making your way through on your own.

“Forgive me, I wasn’t sure how I could safely assist you.” He admits as you step out entirely.

“I needed the practice, so it’s okay. Thank you, it was difficult to sense her inside that dome.” You say as you look around. “She fled, huh?”

“It seems I have a reputation,” Brook says, and you can hear the small smile in his words. “She felt outclassed and retreated, I did not want to pursue her and leave you alone.”

You chuckle. “I appreciate that, and I wasn’t trying to handle her permanently anyway. Do you know who she is?”

“I believe her name is Monet.” Brook answers. “Alas, she wouldn’t let me see her panties before she left.”

You laughed. You weren’t even sure what it was that you had found funny about it, but you laughed for long enough that you were apologizing to Brook while trying to compose yourself. The laughing turned to tears before you could stop it and you were crying into Brook’s jacket as he pat your head. Your emotions hadn’t had a chance to stabilize – you weren’t even in this world a week and you had nearly drowned, almost split yourself to pieces trying to use winter magic, lost your memory, lost your chance home and lost a fight because you misunderstood how haki worked compared to mana.

The only thing that was going well was that you had fallen in with the most patient, understanding, strangest collection of creatures to grace this or any other world.

“Thank you,” You say as Brook hands you a handkerchief when you finally get yourself under control.

“Of course. You have been through a great ordeal in a short amount of time, it’s okay.” He assures you.

“I just didn’t want to worry the crew. Especially not Chopper, he’s taken such good care of me.”

“… I will keep your secret, young lady.”

#x reader #reader insert #one piece fanfiction #roronoa zoro x reader #zoro x reader #Thrice Prophesized #grandline metro au

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purplehairedwonder · 2 years

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Chapter 1052: Choices Were Made

Oda made some... interesting choices in this chapter. Some make sense while others are just odd.

Odd choice #1

Zunesha just... peaced out after finding out Momo was keeping the borders shut for now. Like, his entire purpose was to show up, tell Momo that Luffy is Joyboy, and then leave? Anticlimactic to say the least.

Then we return to the Gorosei wanting to capture Robin. The surviving member of CP0 says that is still on the table...

And this feels somewhat ominous since Robin doesn’t appear in the chapter at all, but I assume Robin is off doing Poneglyph-related things and CP0 is just bluffing; after all, he stammers his response. Besides, we’ve already had a rescue Robin arc. With the final saga beginning after the month-long break, retreading old ground would be another odd choice.

Then we get the hacking of CP0′s signal.

My guess is that this is Ryokugyu, considering we see him nearing Wano at the end of the chapter. As to what he wants to talk to CP0 about... hm.

A Choice #1

I don’t have much sympathy for Hawkins, but we get an interesting parallel with him and Apoo this chapter. Both Hawkins and Apoo betrayed Kid for Kaido, but Hawkins decided that one betrayal was enough and stuck with the consequences of his choices -- even though they’ve (I think? One Piece has took many fake deaths) led to his death.

Meanwhile, Apoo changes sides as easily as breathing, and he lives on to fight -- and leak information about the events on Wano -- another day.

Of course, this dynamic is also parallel to Drake, who is an undercover Marine. Allegiances are all over the place here! Drake’s fate is also left up in the air; he’s in bad shape, but I think his status as a member of SWORD means he has a role to play in the future.

Odd Choice #2

So, not only is Hawkins dead, but so are Ashura and Izo.

Honestly, I call bullshit on this considering the condition Kiku and Kin’emon were in, yet those two are apparently fine? We also didn’t even see what happened with Izo or Kiku’s reaction, which is A Choice.

I can see Oda wanting to show that there are stakes in the fight -- even the Worst Generation is being culled before the final battle -- but as of this point, we haven’t lost anyone the main characters have any particular attachment to.

Then again, Kin’emon may be foreshadowing something concerning:

We know there is an admiral incoming -- though I question what a single admiral could do against a recovered fighting force that includes Luffy, Zoro, Law, Kid, Killer, Sanji, Yamato, Jinbei, the Scabbards, etc. -- and Robin has a target on her back, so it’s definitely worth being wary.

A Choice #2

I’m not even going to put pictures of the fanservice in. Just know my eyes rolled.

Hard.

The Momo gag stuff especially is just... it grosses me out.

Things I especially liked:

1. Adult Hiyori getting to dropkick adult* Momo. Some things never change.

2. This panel:

I love the look of the three ships side-by-side in the port.

Ships of three captains who I expect next chapter to be declared...

Emperors.

*insert Kermit flailing gif*

Also, bounties! I am hype.

3. Law, always.

This panel reminds me of Law’s first appearance in Wano when he was chilling in the hut.

Also, Bepo is so cute as he thinks about how high Law’s bounty might be now. He’s such a supportive bestie.

#One Piece #One Piece 1052 #One Piece chapter 1052 #One Piece spoilers #Basil Hawkins #Diez Drake #Scratchmen Apoo #Eustass Kid #Trafalgar Law #Monkey D. Luffy #Nico Robin #Kozuki Hiyori #Kozuki Momonosuke

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cptn-m · 4 months

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One Piece chapter 1102 review

This unseasonably cold and wet Christmas morning, Oda gifts us with yet another heartbreaker of a flashback chapter to close out the year, but also a promise of a return to the present, and maybe some clues about what will happen when we get there. It's a more relaxed easing into the present than I'd expected - I've been predicting for weeks there'd be one last secret tragedy as a stinger to close things out, and maybe the self-destruct switch would qualify, but maybe I should just be happy that Kuma isn't being made to suffer more.

We pick up where the last chapter left off with Bonney on her adventure. I have to say, this is the most I've liked her character up to this point. She's never been unlikable, but the spirit of getting out there and adventuring and seeing the world while hunting for her lost dad really comes through now that we have the full story. The childlike quality of her ideas of piracy and ways of compromising them echoes Luffy's own energy. She feels like the main character of her own story here, one with enough substance that it'd be enjoyable even removed from the wider context of One Piece. The vibe of her crew is infectious, and I'm happy to see them living their best lives out in the world. Uh, hope those guys are alright after the encounters with Blackbeard and Sakazuki before the timeskip…

I'm looking forward to paying more attention to Bonney with also info on hand on my next reread.

There was a theory I read a few chapters ago that suggested Bonney's bounty shot up to Supernova levels because of the need to get her back to control Kuma. This chapter instead suggests a misconception that her crew targets children and the elderly because of her power. Which is funny, but far less interesting. I think I would have liked this more if we'd learned is much sooner. Like in her original introduction she's talked up as a ruthless attacker of the vulnerable, and it leads toward the first reveal of her Devil Fruit and the joke lands that way. Maybe an idea for The One Piece, right? That's just going to be my go to for anything that might have worked better with earlier setup now. It's fine though. We can even still assume that control of Kuma remained a factor for the World Government behind the scenes while also satisfying all the bad PR she has for leaving injured children and old people in her wake.

The bits with Luffy, Dragon, Smoker, Ace and Jinbei are partly fanservice, but they do also serve to keep the timeline in check. They're synchronising moments. The translation of Sabo's line in the scans indicated that Dragon was going to Loguetown alone, which would have killed the theory that Sabo had been spotted in the crowd there (pictured below), but the official release makes it ambiguous enough that Sabo might have gone. To be honest I was never big on that theory, even if it would make things more interconnected and foreshadowed. I figure seeing Luffy that close, particularly his apparent execution, would have triggered Sabo's memories returning.

I'm a little disappointed that the return to the Thriller Bark doesn't give us anything new about Kuma's actual intentions should Luffy's allies have failed what now know to obviously have been a test. Seriously, was the plan to zip him off to Dragon, or just let him go and tell him he needs to find better friends, or given the previous scene with Vegapunk, would it just said to Kuma that Luffy didn't really have the Nika qualities he'd thought.

But that brings me to something I do like about the montage of Kuma learning about Luffy's life in the chapter. The rubber power is acknowledged, but only as a footnote. Even having seen a power that matches the myth, Nika can only be assumed to be a myth. Luffy's actions - declaring war on the World Government, earning the loyalty of the Thriller Bark victims, assaulting the unjust rulers of the world to save a single enslaved friend - are what make him stand out to Kuma. And while I'm sure we'll see something specific to Luffy, such as the D, the voice of all things, or yes, the fruit, become important to the plot eventually, but it's good that Oda is laying a foundation now that Luffy acts like Nika just by being himself, regardless of whatever other ways he's been made into the legendary figure by the narrative.

The next scene gives us two possible paths for things playing out in the present. The first is Kuma's self-destruct mechanism. Given that I've already put money down on Kuma's death, my immediate thought about this development is that it will be used to fight Saturn in a tragic heroic sacrifice. How ironic for Saturn to be destroyed by the mechanism he insisted Vegapunk install.

(But why wasn't it activated sooner, like when Kuma was rescued by the Revolutionaries, to keep them from reverse engineering his tech, or when he was rampaging in Marie Geoise? You have to assume there's a limited number of remotes for the thing, since the Celestial Dragons who've been using him can't be trusted with their impulses, and/or a limited range on the activation symbol.)

But the other curious thing is Vegapunk suggsting a personality switch. Which is odd, considering how impossible a reversion was said to be in previous chapters. And if Saturn really could detect it so reliably and keep it from being installed, why mention it in the first place? This feels like Oda giving himself an out - a way to save Kuma at the last moment just by saying 'oh, Vegapunk found a way to conceal it after all.' Which would be lame. The only way I'll accept this thing's use in the present is in tandem with the self-destruct so Kuma can go out as himself, and maybe exchange some words with Saturn on the way out.

And it's especially weird when you put it next to the revelation that viewing Kuma's extracted memories will consume them, taking off the board popular theories that Kuma would be restored by passing the bubble on to him. In one chapter, Kuma is twice doomed, once saved. Anyone's guess which way Oda will take it in the present.

The final sequence is the cherry on top of a fantastic One Piece flashback, one that will certainly be remembered as one of Oda's best. The life affirming message rings true to the broader themes of the series, bringing to mind scenes like Tom and Ace's deaths. Even the lab assistants are moved (oof, didn't Saturn order these guys' escape ship sunk? That's rougher knowing they were all on team Kuma all along), as the montage of Kuma's life and loved ones proves Vegapunk correct in calling Kuma a hero. And even in his final moments Kuma thinks first of his daughter. Beautiful stuff.

This is also very strongly framed like a death scene. It's not hard evidence, but I'm taking it as half a point toward Kuma's mind being unrecoverable and/or his destruction assured in the present.

And the flashback really does seem to be over. Never in the series' past have we cut from black panel gutters at the end of one chapter to the normal white ones in the first page of the next one. There's always a transitional page within the chapter, be it at the start or at the end. (At least for the full, multi-chapter flashbacks, I think one of the small, segmented Zou ones went straight from black to white over a chapter break.) I'm not sure where the fade to grey on the last page here leaves us. It's not quite the present, but with only a day left to cover, I can't imagine there being anything else worth showing. Maybe Bonney's view of the offscreen battle with York? A shorthand version only, though.

Either way, it's been a hell of a year for One Piece, and with Egghead's momentum going into its climax, I think the next one could be even better.

#One Piece #OP1102 #One Piece Spoilers #bartholomew kuma #manga review

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fallensnowfan · 1 year

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Been trying to pin point when Oda would have figured out the general details of Kiku's character and introduction.

Starting from Luffy meeting her during Act One and going backwards. Tama being there for the meeting between Luffy and Kiku feels very intentional, given her connection to Ace.

Whole Cake was an arc that was about things other than directly preparing to defeat Kaido, though the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance was already in place. Also Jinbei separates from the crew again. Early in the next arc is when Kiku is introduced. Kiku having been planned before this seems very likely.

The Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance was formed on Zou. Before this.

It was said by Oda in an SBS I believe, that Doflamingo was originally planned to be fought during Wano/Onigashima, so Dressrosa wasn't originally in Oda's plans for the story it seems. Kin and Momo had already been introduced too. Before this.

Kin and Momo were introduced on Punk Hazard. Before this.

Fishman Island has the first mention of Joy Boy, and has Jinbei delaying joining. Before this.

Return to Sabaody has the fake Straw Hats and Caribou(who I think is Blackbeard's tenth.) Before this.

Marineford has Luffy briefly interacting with Izo. Likely before this.

Note: Ace mentions learning how to weave straw hats, later shown to be something he learned from Tama, if I remember.

Jinbei is mentioned by Johnny and Yosaku in chapter 69, and is introduced all this time later when he meets Luffy in Impel Down. Likely before this.

First trip to Sabaody has the Supernovas introduced, which we know from Oda that they were designed in a week so they could be added to the arc. Likely before this because...

Thriller Bark has Wano and Kaido being mentioned, as well as introducing Ryuuma, who is from the region Kiku was born in, and Cindry, who is inspired by a Japanese ghost story with a character named Okiku. Ten plates are a part of the story, and One Piece Kiku would the tenth person to join Luffy, if it happens. Possibly here.

Water 7 has the Emperors mentioned, which included Kaido at the time. Likely already an idea here.

Marco was seen on Whitebeard's ship when Shanks went to meet with him during Jaya, though hardly seemed defined as a character at the time, and Izo was no where to be seen. After this, though I could see a very vague idea of an unassuming waitress/samurai being in Oda’s mind at the time.

#one piece

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snowmoonandflower · 1 year

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Chapter Notes | hagakure; hidden in leaves

you can read part one of this chapter here

and you can read part two here

chapter notes:

while this fic will explore shinazugawa sanemi's story and the lives he has touched over the course of his life, at the end of the day, this is a sanemi x oc story, so please keep that in mind. there will also be chapters in the future that do not feature sanemi, as i make an effort to explore as many POVs as i can, but the central plot will always return to him and my oc.

this chapter is labelled "part one" because it was initially written alongside the next chapter and was intended to be posted together. the final word count, however, comes to 17,000+, so i decided to split them. because each chapter title importantly conveys the themes i wanted to introduce for each POV and scene, i've labelled them in "parts" instead of naming them different.

as the story progresses, there may be other instances where i decide to split chapters, and they will be labelled in parts. they will always be considered and referred to as one chapter though.

there are also some Japanese words that I specifically chose not to translate as I felt they did not fit the tone of the story when translated to English.

translations:

jinbei - traditional attire consisting of a kimono-like top and a pair of trousers engawa - a wooden/bamboo edge strip that runs around a room or building, almost like a veranda kamigami - japanese pantheon of deities tsuka - the hilt of a katana seiza - specific way of sitting in which one kneels, which is considered very polite and formal agura - sitting crossed legged, which is considered casual and (sometimes) rude zabuton - a thin, flat cushion shishi-odoshi - this thing uguisu - japanese bush warbler, also called a "nightingale" kikkou - a common japanese hexagonal pattern that resembles a tortoise's shell the OCs in this story, for the most part, are introduced to flesh out the world of demon slayer and explore the struggles and hardships of the corps and its several-hundred-year journey. there are a handful of OCs who are an exception to this though and play a major role in the story.

this story is not canon-compliant as the fate of several characters differs from that of the manga (in addition to the introduction of certain important OCs). for the most part, though, this will follow the overall story that was presented in the manga, so please be aware of spoilers for un-animated episodes of the anime.

most of the story will run concurrently to the main story portrayed in the manga, exploring different POVs and the happenings of the corps around such events.

i deeply enjoyed writing this story and i'm excited to see it through to the end. the thirty-six chapters listed on the ao3 page are subject to change, especially if i have to split more future chapters, but for the most part the entire story's outline is completed, so i have charted a course for this turbulent ship!

please enjoy and i encourage you to read and comment, as i appreciate each and every one.

#demon slayer #kimetsu no yaiba #snow moon and flower #chapter notes

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groovydude269 · 3 years

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I just find Luffy’s face in this panel to be really funny

#one piece 976 #mangacap #monkey d. luffy #cat burglar nami #black leg sanji #soul king brook #also this is the chapter when jinbei returns #one piece

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beif0ngs · 4 years

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AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH OH MY GOD I’M SCREAMING AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS!!!!!

I CRIED, I LITERALLY CRIED. THERE ARE ACTUAL TEARS (HAPPY TEARS NO DOUBT) STREAMING DOWN FROM MY FACE 😭😭😭

I’VE WAITED... AND WAITED... AND WAITED FOR SOOOOO LONG. I JUST... I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT THIS INCREDIBLY LONG, ARDUOUS CYCLE OF CONSTANTLY WONDERING WHEN JINBEI IS GONNA JOIN THE CREW IS FINALLY OVER!!! AND TO WITNESS HIM MAKING SUCH A GRAND RETURN IN THE NEW CHAPTER AND BE OFFICIALLY RE-INTRODUCED AS THE HELMSMAN OF THE STRAW HAT PIRATES, AND ARRIVING TO DRAMATICALLY SAVE THE DAY AGAIN FOR THE DOZENTH TIME...!!

AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, THE STRAW HAT CREW WILL AT LAST BE FULLY REUNITED!!! \( ﾟヮﾟ)/

it also almost feels as though Jinbei is finally getting to fulfill Ace’s last wish now... (well, y’know apart from all the other times Jinbei has risked his own life to save Luffy and the Straw Hats)

on a side note, i couldn’t help but find Law and Kid’s reaction upon belatedly finding out about a powerhouse like Jinbei, who was once in the ranks of the OG Shichibukai, joining the Straw Hat Pirates absolutely priceless—

like realistically speaking, way before Luffy had invited Jinbei to join his crew, who would’ve ever imagined that someone of such high calibre, and an ex-shichibukai to boot, would end up joining a ragtag crew of misfits???

#One Piece #opspoilers #Jinbei #Portgas D. Ace #Trafalgar Law #Eustass Kid #ngl it still feels kinda surreal #just the fact alone that Jinbei's gonna be in the future chapters from now on feels UNREAL #but omg i'm so happy!!! 😭

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monkeydluffy19920 · 4 years

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I also noticed he’s wearing the circles like Nami does. Is there a reason for those circles?

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Greetings @icantthinkof1posts and many thanks for the submission :) I’ve never paid attention to this detail while watching Heart of Gold-tv special before so thanks for pointing this out! Now that I look at the jacket pattern it surely reminds me of Nami’s skirt and jeans’ circles and after browsing her outfit gallery in One Piece fandom wiki it seems like these circles appear in many of her outfits:

The reason how those circles ended up in Sanji’s jacket in Heart of Gold probably remains a mystery forever but it indeed is a nice detail from the perspective of shipping. However, I think it is partly a coincidence, they both enjoy fashionable clothings and maybe they like same clothing brands. An interesting topic and for example my fellow shippers @pernanegra [x] and @sanjiafsincedayone [x] have written nice thoughts about clothing related to Sanji x Nami for Sannami week- event.

But in general, it’s actually pretty interesting to notice that Sanji and Nami indeed do seem to have some similarities and/ or “parallels” when it comes down to their style and clothing. For example in the following cases there seem to be something:

Sanji’s Alabasta’s outfit

First one might be very far fetched but I admit when I first saw the desert outfit after a long while, the sun on his sleeve reminded me of the logo of the Sun Pirates and guess who was part of the Sun Pirates? Arlong and then who was working under Arlong? Nami!

It’s hard to say did Oda-sensei mean any foreshadowing in this but now to think about the connection to the Sun Pirates came up later in the story line when Jinbei revealed to be close to Arlong.

Sanji knew about Nami’s backstory because Nojiko told it to them earlier when Nami struggled to fight against Arlong’s terror. She didn’t know Sanji knows so she was probably surprised why it was difficult to Sanji to face Jinbei’s confessions.

Actually the Nami’s backstory that returned in Mermaid Island arc turned unexpectedly into a parallel at the latest in Zou arc where Nami became the one who learned about Sanji’s backstory (well there was also Brook and the others but the point is, they both know their backstories)

A bit similar pattern in shirts

Before the Strawhats arrived to Alabasta, Nami wore this colorful heart-patterned shirt and later she changes it to the black/blue bikini top. Sanji also switches his outfit in Skypiea to this red-shaded and flowery patterns too that are a bit similar to Namis (who knows, maybe the same brand?)

Punk Hazard style

Sanji’s winter outfit after the main adventures in Punk Hazard is stylish and has Nami’s colors and those S-patters partly resemble Nami’s iconic pinwheel tattoo. Her jacket instead follows a bit of Sanji’s suit jacket style (with 6 buttons)

Of course those swirls in Sanji’s jacket and in Nami’s could also represent the symbolism behind their names. My fellow shipper @eleamaya wrote a interesting analyze about their names: Sanji = whirlpool // Nami = Wave both things are linked to swirls.

The swirls can also be symbolism for Sanji’s curly eyebrows and now to think about, the symbol of the Arlong Pirates reminds a bit of a whirlpool if one looks quickly.

wearing blue and orange

There are obviously dozens of outfits Nami has worn but one thing that crossed my mind after browsing the One Piece’s fan gallery was that she wears a lot of blue, either the top or the bottom part which is nice because blue is a nice color.

(and yes I am color blind, I can’t distinguish blue and purple-ish well *laughs*)

Also Sanji likes to wear blue but also he has worn a lots of shades of yellow/orange. Shipwise this is an interesting thing to notice because their theme colors are blue and orange. Eleamaya linked it to the colors of the sunset which has these two very colors and she also pointed out there the common link in their names (related to the element of water).

(btw @sanjiafsincedayone‘s post about orange and blue sums ups well this theme)

ties

Both Nami and Sanji have been seen wearing ties both in canon and in Color Spreads, if we return into a earlier subject, Nami wears blue again in Water 7.

Offering the suit jacket to the lady

Sanji is a gentleman so it’s natural nice gesture for him to offer his jacket. First time he offered it to Nami when they survived the ordeals in Little Garden. Nami’s reaction was annoyed.

Later he gave his jacket when they were freezing in Punk Hazard’s cold side. Then Nami’s reaction was more friendly (she seemed actually be surprised about him doing it again). This is most likely because they’ve known each other for a longer time in Punk Hazard arc.

Number 3 in clothing

There has been great analyzes about this topic but to sum it a little bit: Oda-sensei has given each Straw Hats a “theme”number that is based on their birthday and names, Sanji’s is 3.

He has worn number 3 in his outfit in Whole Cake Island arc in flashbacks when he was a child, mostly so their father and his minions could distinguish Sanji and his siblings. Nami as well has worn number 3 in Water 7 arc. Actually Luffy has also worn numbers in the flashback arc. but they are linked to his own birthday as far as I remember, Nami is only strawhat who has worn numbers “just for fun” so far but correct if it’s false.

Of course it might be that since Nami was the third one to join the Straw Hats, her number also is therefore 3 which could be the reason why Oda-sensei made her wear that in Water 7.

clothing details in official art

@sanjiafsincedayone also wrote posts about the colors blue and orange and how they appear in One Piece. Oda-sensei likes to share his official One Piece art in Color Spreads between the chapters and in art collections (Color Walks) and once these are published, we fans then enjoy to find details that match to our OTP.

Here are some of the stylish details that has been pointed out in Sanji x Nami posts about official art:

- similar/matching accessories

One thing Sannami fandom has pondered together is that they like to wear accessories, for some reason there has been a couple of drawings where the accessories are very similar to each other

(the picture below with giraffe theme is from Color Spread chapter 357 and the picture below with similar flowery necklaces is from Color Walk 5)

(They both seem to really enjoy wearing necklaces)

(and who knows, maybe that necklace that appears in Color Walk 4 could be the same as in chapter 357)

When it comes down to similarities, there has also been same styled wristbands in chapter 878′s Color Spread

and sunglasses in the Color Spreads of chapter 941 and 835

Sanjiafsincedayone pointed out also that Nami seems to like to wear blue colored kimonos in Color Spreads

A couple of times Sanji and Nami either wear the same patterns in their clothes (i.e chapter 507)

or one wears swirls and the other rings (Chapter 937)

- character shirts, a (far fetched) foreshadow?

In chapter 692′s color spread Sanji wears a shirt where there is a character who l1ooks very much like Nami (with all the bikini top-style and curly hair)

Nami has actually worn character shirts as well, in chapter 578′s Color Spread. If the theory would be far fetched then we could imagine that picture in her shirt could be referred to Alabasta arc (because of the cactus and desert) where he referred himself with a codename Mr Prince.

If we wanted to put this thought of this even more trickier we would think about Sabo’s background as a noble who never wanted to be a noble and ran away, just like Sanji did so that picture on her shirt could be also a parallel

but since the guy looks more like Sabo perhaps it was more likely foreshadowing to Dressrosa when the Luffy’s long lost brother made a comeback.

And now to think about, Nami’s outfit in chapter 771′s and 588′s Color Spreads could have foreshadowed the upcoming art since Sanji also wore ruffle-styled shirt before the tea party? (and actually, Nami’s WCI arc dress had ruffles too).

fun fact: Robin’s outfit in that Alice in Wonderland themed Color Spread was very close to what Sanji wore in WCI)

sweet escape

The gingerbread theme in chapter 902′s color spread was cute and as a shipper the view of Sanji and Nami sharing the same pattern icing/frosting/topping is cute (there were other Straw hats too in that picture but their patterns were different).

Movie 2 Clockwork Island

Last but not least in the list is One Piece’s second official movie. Yes, it’s a movie and therefore it’s non-canon but I find it interesing that out of all outfits and characters, Nami and Sanji are dressed as they could walk to the wedding aisle any minute. What makes it even more amusing is that Usopp and Zoro are dressed more traditionally and could bless their union *laughs*

And after the Whole Cake Island’s and Thriller Bark’s events and marriage theme that is quite a parallel in total (first Nami being the damsel in distress who needs to be saved from a forced marriage and then later Sanji being forced to marry because of his father’s policies) the more funnier the link between the arcs and movie 2 feels (since there is too Nami being kidnapped and almost forced to marry someone she doesn’t want and the movie’s promo picture includes a bridal carry)

When it comes down to the concept of the word canon, It really depends on the shipper which is counted so called shipwise-material. For some everything is potential but dor some, only manga as canon counts and therefore everything else like side stories (fillers, movies), merchandising (ads etc.) is shipwise just so called “nice extra” (like some of these examples mentioned before) since these filler-stories and movies are still mostly handwritten and directed by someone else than the main mangaka. Obviously Oda-sensei is the main supervisor and is very strict about what should happen and what not and he might do these detail things just for fun and it’s us reading it as signs for OTP. So all in all, as always said,

as much as we like to seek for details to support the ship, it’s all about interpretation ;)

#one piece #nami #sanji #sanami #sanji x nami #sannami #otp #mellorine #long post #luffy #zoro #usopp #nakama #submission #analyze #//sorry got carried away *laughs*

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g00d1uckch4rm · 3 years

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Chasing The Sun

Chapter 1: Story Time

Summary/Info Rated M

____________________________________________________

The Importance of Understanding Type Dynamics Version two: for coming-of-age young adults, patients and caregivers. By Doctor C. T. Tony

Section One

Introduction to Type Dynamics

These Types only influence the Human* reproductive system, also known as secondary-sex and holds no restriction over one's gender. There are four different Types Dynamics and; in most cases, are undetermined until one reaches sexual maturity. However, much like blood types, the parents Type Dynamic can influence what their children will have.

Listed here is a summary of information to do with sex and most common; but not limited to, behavioural patterns or traits. Further details well be addressed in Section Three and Four.

[*Other races such as Giants, Fishfolk, Minks, Sky People, Dwarves; including hybrids of previous races do not have Type Dynamics. While tribes/subraces of Humans have Types, it is even more rare for one to be Type A or O]

~~~~~~ ҉ ~~~~~~

It's a moment much like that of Fishman Island; the battle had been hard, the people almost lost hope, but they prevailed in the end. Sure, things hadn't gone according to plan, but everyone fought hard and like always, the Straw-Hat's pulled off miracle somehow. It felt like it was the same-old-same-old, and yet, oh so refreshing and new.

So here everyone was; wounded, sore, and still having the energy to throw the biggest party Wano has probably ever seen. Music and merriment flooded the air. Bonfires and free spirits lit up the night. Food and drink seemed to be endless. Which was probably a good thing, considering who the heroes were.

Jinbei chuckled as he sipped his drink, Luffy may still deny it and give whatever reasons against it, but the facts remain. The truth remains. That people saved by the Straw-Hat Pirates will always believe that they are heroes. That Luffy is their hero. Not to undermine the others in any way, Luffy just has this aura, this energy that pulls people in. And the rest of the crew, they seemed fine with Luffy in limelight. Perhaps some even a little proud.

"Amused by Luffy's impressions?" Robin smiled up at him. For the most part they had sat in peaceful silence, or rather whatever they could get with all the celebrating going on.

At first his response was simply a hum, but it only took a second to survey the crowd for Luffy. It appeared that the captain was making a show of his powers and making a fool of himself. Arms and chest inflated comically, with the ends of his kimono tucked into his sash, all the while jumping from pose to pose. While a number of onlookers were getting a good laugh and others simply smiled in amusement, Usopp and Chopper at front row appeared to be dying.

Jinbei was just confused as to whom Luffy was trying to impersonate. Till Luffy brought his fists together above his head and stood with a slant to one side. "Franky?"

"Mm-hm. Though, it took you awhile." She teased. "Did it really take his signature pose for you to figure it out?"

"I haven't exactly gotten familiar with everyone. The most I've interacted with any of the crew was back on Fishman Island and even those moments were brief." Totto Land had just been one mission to another, with even less personal interaction. It's not easy to get to know someone when you're constantly running for your life or fighting for it.

"Aside from our captain, that is?"

Our captain. My captain. It was still new, but it left him feeling light, reassured. Jinbei smiled a little. "Yes. Aside from our captain."

"Well, it won't take you long get to know the crew. A few in particular may become your shadow. For the first month or so at least."

"Oh, and why would that be?"

"Because you're new and someone important."

Important? "I don't follow."

But Robin didn't clarify and Jinbei didn't press the subject. It seemed like she wasn't going to completely open with him, not yet anyway. Which was fair, they didn't know him that well either.

"You know, with more practice, Luffy could become very skilled with disguises." Jinbei mused as he watched the young man shape himself like an hourglass and spun around with a stick in hand. Nami..? The ginger woman then came bolting straight for Luffy with beat-red cheeks and then proceeded to chase him around. Nami.

"It would be handy with infiltration. To be any shape, any size." Robin agreed and then they shared a moment of soft laughter. "But his acting would never hold up."

"Indeed. There are better odds in a plan actually being followed."

She giggled a little more before they returned to comfortable silence between them. Enjoying their drinks while they watched Luffy and the others. It wasn't long before one of the samurai joined in on the antics, offering paint and the boys were quick to take up the idea. Messy work and Luffy's roaring laughter drew in Franky's interest. Before long; Usopp having taken charge of the painting, the four goofballs are dramatically dancing around with serious looking faces of red and white.

~~~~~~ ҉ ~~~~~~

"Oi, helms' bro!" Franky greeted, now taking a cola break and held out his free hand to Jinbei as he approached. His face paint was a bit smeared after horsing around for a few hours. "Lookn' forward to workn' with ya!"

"Likewise." While they were close in size, the cyborg's main hands were still massive, leaving the handshake a bit awkward. But Franky appreciated the effort and firmness, the fishman's strength had his struts giving some resistance. It even gave Franky the momentary thought of challenging him to an arm-wrestling match sometime.

Releasing the hold and taking a seat next to Jinbei, Franky took a huge drink before continuing. "Heard from the nav' what you and Sunny were able to pull off back in Big Mom's territory. Pretty super stuff!"

"You share in some of that praise. Your craftsmanship is like nothing I've ever seen."

"Thanks! Oh, hey, by the way. I got a question for ya, but just don't take it the wrong way. Kay?"

"What might that be?"

"Do ya want me to adjust one of the hatches to the tank for ya?" They were definitely not big enough for the man to comfortably access as they were now.

"Tank?" Jinbei blinked, it had certainly not been along the lines of what he was expecting and was left puzzled.

"Ya, the aquarium around the bar? I'm sorta' in charge of accommodations an' stuff. But bein' a fishman, I don't know if you would feel more comfortable sleepin' the water or not."

"I was not aware that there was one on the ship. But it won't be necessary, just proceed as you normally would."

"Cool, sure thing-wait... Have you not seen the whole ship?"

"Afraid not, my brief times aboard has been spent getting everyone to safety."

Franky then clapped Jinbei on the back. "Well, can't have that, now can we! I'll show you all the gloriousness that is the Thousand Sunny!"

"I look forward to it. The more I know the ship, the better I'll be able to handle it."

"I would sure hope so, Sunny's full potential can't be reached by just anyone! I may have brought the lion to life, but I sure as hell can't tame that beast!" Franky howled with laughter.

"Hey, guys. Mind if I join?" Usopp asked as he came up to the group with a platter of food.

"Of course." Jinbei gestured for him to take a seat. Robin; having been simply enjoying the company, couldn't help but laugh a little. When the fishman looked her way, he was met with a knowing smile.

Usopp quirked a brow at her. "What's so funny, Robin?"

"What is the paint for?" She deflected.

"One of the samurai bros suggested it. Kubuki, I think is what he called it?" Franky offered before reaching to take some of Usopp's food. But he was not as swift as Luffy and Usopp moved his plate out of reach. "Come on, don't be stingy bro."

"Then ask, don't try to steal it. I was going to share, but now I don't think you deserve the courtesy."

Franky was quick to provide an exchange. "I'll share my cola with ya?"

"Sure." He grumbled and now offered the food to his crewmates. "Robin, Jinbei? Would you like some as well?" Each gave their thanks and took something from the plate to snack on. Not a moment after, Usopp was grinning. "So, Jinbei."

"Yes?"

"With you now officially a part of the crew, it makes sense that I; the Great Warrior Usopp, bring you up to speed of my grand adventures and heroic deeds." He said with great pride and fists posed on his hips. While Franky made the comment that; this was the real reason he brought food to share, Usopp either ignored him or didn't hear. Jinbei gave a mild expression of interest, but mostly wasn't sure what to expect.

Usopp began with a tale about befriending a pair of rival giants and helping to save their honour. Which was fascinating and Jinbei found the young man quite talented in storytelling. However, he ended up unintentionally raining on the sniper's parade when he began the next part. "-on a winter island, were a cruel King forces his people to support him by restricting access to doctors-"

Jinbei cuts him off when he recognizes the tale. "Oh, Drum Island. Not a huge fight, but it was Luffy's first notable appearance since Logue Town and the first kingdom he saved."

"Oh, so you know where we met Chopper." Undeterred, Usopp began anew. "Well, this next one is one of the Straw Hat's greatest moments! And one of our greatest secrets." Motivated to impress the helmsman with one of their adventures kept more under wraps. He sets the stage, does his buildups and is about to deliver the shocker. "-turns out she is none other than the Princess of Ala-"

When Jinbei speaks up and becomes a bit enthusiastic. "Alabasta. That was when Luffy fought his first Warlord, Crocodile. Quite the tough fight too, he had to figure out a way to defeat the Logia user before even knowing what Haki was."

"In much fewer and underwhelming words, but ya. Robin also joined the crew afterwards. I'm surprised you even know of this, the navy even covered it up and took credit for all our hard work."

Franky decided to chime in a little and tease Usopp. "You also messed up a little on the order there, Sanji said that you all knew who she was before Little Garden."

"Shh, you!" He scowled for a moment before going back into story mode. "So, the next adventure and this one you may have a hard time believing! It takes place on the mysterious White Sea-"

"Ah, the one about Skypiea. I would have certainly had trouble believing it, if not seeing some sky people myself."

At this point, Usopp deflated and lost most of his zeal. "... I probably should have started with asking what you've heard."

Jinbei felt bad for ruining Usopp's storytelling and apologised. "It was not my intention, but that was all rather rude of me wasn't it? I'm sorry. Though, I believe that I have heard most of Luffy's feats up to the point where we met."

"Where did you end up hearing all of this?" Robin asked, both amused and curious.

"On Fishman Island mainly, over the two years that the crew was separated, I-" Then Jinbei paused, coming to a realization and bringing a hand over his mouth. Oh... Oh, that's what they meant. Gods, he could hear them all laughing at him again and Aladdin was the worst of the lot. Why couldn't they have called him out on it sooner?

"You?" Usopp echoed.

Jinbei just hoped that his embarrassment didn't show on his face. Which it did, in an ever so slight flush. If anyone noticed, they didn't comment. Dropping his hand; to not bring further attention to his face, he continued. "I had many opportunities to speak to all sorts of travellers and some stories I even overheard."

"That would explain the focus on Luffy in the stories and why you didn't mention the points of new crew-members. You're hearing about it through the people that witnessed bits and pieces." Usopp was bitter that his spotlight had been taken from him. But he supposed that he still could fill in all the blanks. Along with the events of Punk Hazard, Dressrosa, and Zou. "I'll have to tell you the full stories."

"I'd like that." Jinbei then added. "It would good to get the whole truth of the events."

"Pft! Ya right!" Franky burst into a huge fit of laughter, to the point that he was on the verge of tears. "You'd best ask Robin, if that's the case!"

"Hey!" Usopp clearly offended does a karate-cop like gesture towards the cyborg. He likely had more to say on the matter, but his attention, along with everyone else was drawn to a rather loud, passing argument.

It was between the bear mink, Bepo and Law. "Captain, we understand-"

"Don't you dare-!" Law hissed in anger and pain; aside from Luffy, his injuries were some of the worse. It hurt to stand, let alone go for a walk. "None of you do- none of you can!"

"But Captain, you need to at least try to rest! You shouldn't-"

"Shut-up! It's my bloody body!" Law snapped, his harsh glare anchoring his first-mate on the spot. "Leave me alone." Then proceeded to the outskirts, with Kikoku held in his white-knuckle grip and a slight limp in his step.

Having witnessed that, Usopp felt bad for the mink. Whispering as he glanced from Bepo to Franky. "Yesh, that was harsh. Even for him. Do ya think maybe...?"

Franky knew what he left unsaid and while he didn't like it, he didn't think it was the place to interfere. "Ya." Tapping his nose as he replied, a cue to let Usopp know he was on point. "He's definitely off, but asking about it now might just make things worse."

"I get that, but what if Luffy," Usopp does a few uncertain gestures before holding his hands out towards Law's general direction. "...ya know?"

Though, Jinbei didn't want to wait on a group decision and as their conversation carried on, Jinbei took it upon himself to go talk to Luffy. He didn't want to be the one to jump to conclusions, but being aware that Law had gone through a great ordeal in the past couple months. It didn't help matters. However, he knew that there was nothing he could personally do for Law. Nothing that would likely be meaningful anyways.

It didn't take long to find Luffy. Giving the young man a wave, Jinbei made his way towards him.

Their captain waved in return and met the man halfway. A light bounce in his step despite his own terrible injuries. "Hey, Jinbei! You having a good time?"

Jinbei gave a small nod as his answer, but glanced over his shoulder, at the direction the other captain had gone. "Luffy, you're close with Law, are you not?"

"Ya, we are! He's a really good friend." But then his grin became more of a smile. Still cheerful, but figuring something was up. "Why? Something happen with Torao?"

"I just saw him and he said some rather worrisome things to Bepo."

"A fight?"

"No, no... Not exactly. I only overheard bits and pieces. His crew is worried about him; while Law is obviously gravely injured from the fight, he appears to be refusing to rest. As a doctor, Law knows very well what he should be doing... Yet he doesn't seem to be in the right mind. He doesn't seem to be himself." Jinbei's voice was quiet. This situation was stirring too many unpleasant memories and it wouldn't be right to speak so freely of someone else's internal conflict where so many people could overhear. He didn't want to cause more trouble for Law, especially if Jinbei had the wrong idea. I hope I'm wrong.

Luffy was silent, waiting to hear the rest. An odd moment of him being completely focused. Well, perhaps not entirely odd, the wellbeing of his friends and crew were of the utmost importance to the young captain.

"I can't deny that I am worried for his safety and of those around him. But I think it would be best if you make sure he is alright."

"Hmm." Luffy tilted his head as he mulled it over, for a second. "I can do that. Where's Torao at?"

"He was headed that direction, but I'm not certain where he's at as of this moment."

"Kay, just need to do one last–" He then looked around quickly, till he spotted his doctor. "Chopper! You got a sec?" He took off and left Jinbei to return to the festivities.

~~~~~~ ҉ ~~~~~~

It was the first hour after dawn, most were still asleep and honestly, Jinbei would be too if not for old habits. Still groggy, having only got a couple hours of sleep, he decided he would go down to the water for a soak. Geta in hand, he did his best to remain as quiet as possible for the others still passed out in the room. On his way out of the building, he couldn't help but look into the other room as he passed. The door was left open so it wasn't his fault and he hadn't expected anyone to be in it.

He froze as his eyes met with Luffy's and then they smiled. The young captain was clearly awake, however the same couldn't be said for the other captain curled up behind him. Law was still peacefully sleeping, yet keeping a hold on Luffy. They were sharing a blanket and looking dishevelled as some of their bandages had come lose. Jinbei opened his mouth to apologize, to say something, but Luffy quickly brought a finger to his lips. Shh!

While Jinbei snapped his jaw shut, Luffy's sudden movements had irritated Law. He wasn't sure if it was a grumble or a growl that came from the man, but it was in a threatening manner. Pulling Luffy into a tight embrace and placing his nose to Luffy's exposed shoulder. Though Luffy appeared to be slightly unhappy about something, Law did not wake, returning to a relaxed state and Luffy did nothing.

Jinbei hadn't realized that he had been staring till the soft sliding of the front door startled him out of it. Looking to the entrance, he saw Sanji quietly slipping off his footwear with a plate of food in hand. When the blond looked up, he paused and gave the fishman a questioning look. As if he wasn't expecting him to be awake yet. Jinbei on the other hand, glanced back toward their captain and the... state he was in.

Carefully he reached for the door, for reasons he wasn't sure of, but stopped before he could lay a hand on it. Sanji gave him the same hushing gesture and slowly made his way towards the room. As the cook peeked into the room; as much as Jinbei felt the need to keep him from doing so, Luffy lit up at the sight of him. Even giving him a little wave, which was briefly returned.

A hidden tension faded away, but the whole situation was becoming too much and full of unexpected chain reactions. With someone else on the scene and to deal with the matter, Jinbei was swift in making his escape.

Jinbei had expected a fight, even if it had been a small one. But this... he hadn't expected that. Whatever that was meant to be. His mind was spinning around in confused, hazy laps of the few brief seconds of what he witnessed.

Next Chapter -->>

#JinLu #One Piece Jinbei #One Piece Luffy #A/B/O verse #Chasing The Sun FF #Mpreg #Written Work #Fanfic #Rated M #Rated R

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anubislover · 5 years

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Welcome to the Heart Pirates, Nami-ya Chapter 2: Check-Up

“I never agreed to this,” Nami insisted, hands on her hips as she stood her ground.

“You agreed the moment you signed onto my crew.”

“I agreed to work with you, not take off my clothes so you could ogle me like a pervert!”

It hadn’t even been a day, and the fiery thief was already regretting her decision. After finalizing plans with Haredas, ensuring the old man knew where and when to retrieve her in a year, Law briefly showed her around the Polar Tang before ushering her into the infirmary. It was nothing like Chopper’s sickbay; steel, sterile equipment gleamed ominously under the bright lights. The aroma of antiseptic and other cleaning materials hung heavily in the air, stinging her nose. Nothing looked warm or comfortable or pleasant, and she suddenly missed her reindeer friend. It was hard to feel nervous when a cute little guy like him was your doctor.

Unfortunately, instead of sweet, caring Chopper, she was under the penetrating scrutiny of the Surgeon of Death.

Slipping on a crisp, white lab coat and placing his hat on the counter, Law looked unimpressed at her defiance. “I’m both your doctor and captain now, Nami-ya; I have to ensure my newest subordinate is healthy, especially since we spend so much time underwater. For that, I need to give you a full examination, and for that, I need you to strip.”

Nami sniffed in disdain, then wrinkled her nose at the overpowering scent of latex and chemicals. Briefly, she wondered if Luffy had been just as disgusted by the smell. “A likely excuse. You just want to see me naked!”

Annoyance crept into his voice at the accusation. “I’m perfectly capable of keeping things professional. Surely this wasn’t a problem with your old doctor?”

“My old doctor was a talking reindeer!”

“…Maybe I should give you a psychological examination instead.”

Pink dusted her cheeks at his comment. It had been a long time since she’d considered just how unusual her crewmates were, but Law’s tone certainly made her feel like an idiot. “Oh, shut up. I’m still not stripping; you can easily check me over fully-dressed.”

Blue, latex surgical gloves encased his tattooed hands with a resounding snap. “I can also easily use my powers to remove your clothes without your consent.”

She blanched at the threat. Maybe he was bluffing, but she didn’t trust Law enough to believe he couldn’t and wouldn’t do it. Most of what she knew about him was through rumors and news articles, and none of them painted a pretty picture. Pirates—with the notable exception of her crew—were unscrupulous bastards, and the ones with Devil Fruits especially so. Besides that, men always seemed to find a way to use those weird powers for perverted purposes, so with how little she knew of Law’s particular abilities, it was better to err on the side of caution.

Teeth sinking into her lip, she hesitantly peeled off her shorts and top before kicking off her sandals, leaving her in nothing but her lacy white bra and panties. The infirmary’s cold air made goosebumps raise across her exposed flesh, or maybe it was the way the Dark Doctor studied her. It was at least comforting that his expression was serious and clinical; had there been even a hint of lust in his gold eyes, she would have slapped him, Supernova or not. “Try to cop a feel and I’ll not only bash your head in, but charge you 1 million belli,” she warned.

“Violent tendencies and delusions. Perhaps I’ve made a mistake recruiting you,” he said blandly, picking up a clipboard and beginning to fill in a chart.

Crossing her arms over her chest, she replied, “Then how about we consider the debt squared and you let me go?”

Lips curling upwards, he stalked forward, long legs invading her personal space in only a few strides. Brown eyes widening, Nami instinctively backed away, but soon found herself trapped against the wall with no choice but to look up at the imposing man before her. This close, there was no escaping his scrutiny, and she held her breath, waiting for him to attack.

“Unlucky for you, your pros far outweigh your cons. Now stand up straight; I’m trying to check your height.”

She blinked, then glanced to her left to find she was indeed next to a height chart. “Oh.”

With an amused chuckle, he backed off, jotting her measurements in his notebook. “You have nothing to fear in my infirmary, Nami-ya; in here, you’re my patient first and foremost. The Pirate Empress herself could be standing naked in front of me and I’d see her as nothing more than a body to examine.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” she challenged, even as she released the air from her strained lungs.

Bruskly and efficiently, the tattooed doctor proceeded to check her vitals, peering into her ears and mouth, observing the dilation of her eyes, and pressing along her throat in search of any irregularities or swelling. Though she tensed every time his hands touched her, they never lingered or strayed anywhere they shouldn’t. It helped that, while she could feel body heat through the material, the latex gloves provided a thin barrier between his fingers and her skin, making everything more impersonal. His expression, too, never changed, remaining stoic and professional. There was no evidence of his hungry stare from earlier, and though trust was still a long way off, Nami slowly started to give him the benefit of the doubt. That didn’t mean she wasn’t on her guard, though; the first inappropriate touch or innuendo, and she’d teach the man why even the Straw Hats’ Monster Trio feared her.

Wrapping the strap of a blood pressure gauge around her bicep, Law asked, “What’s your blood type?”

“X.”

“Good. Mugiwara-ya and Jinbei used up most of my type-F reserves, so if you got injured and needed a transfusion, you’d be shit out of luck until I can restock. Type-X is far more common, but I’ll still ask you to donate a pint of blood as a precaution.”

Orange eyebrows furrowed suspiciously. “You’re not going to do anything weird with it, right?”

“Damn, you’ve caught on to my plan to use your blood to ritualistically summon a hell-beast to help me take over the Grand Line,” he replied sarcastically, not looking up from the little pressure gauge as he steadily pumped.

Her cheeks puffed in indignation. “Hey, I travel with a talking skeleton, room with a woman who can sprout body parts anywhere, and regularly watch my captain’s body defy the laws of physics thanks to Devil Fruit. I may not believe in any of that superstitious crap, but that doesn’t mean your abilities couldn’t somehow use my blood against me.”

Removing the gauge and writing on her chart, he snorted. “I assure you, the Ope-Ope Fruit can’t use your blood like that. At least, not in any way I’ve tried, and I’ve experimented extensively.” Taking out a thermometer, he motioned for her to open her mouth. “Its powers revolve around space manipulation. Once I activate my Room, everything inside it is in my control. For example, say you were pointing a gun at me; I could switch the gun with whatever I had in my hand and shoot you instead. That’s not really my style, though; so anti-climactic. I’d rather remove your organs and replace them with bombs. Or perhaps rearrange your limbs so your legs are on your shoulders and your arms backwards on your hips. And of course, there’s always the old standby; ripping out your still-beating heart.”

She let out a squeak of fear around the thermometer, which coaxed a chuckle from the doctor. A glint of his old sadism had returned to his eyes, though it quickly vanished as he resumed his work. “Lucky for you, I save such things for my enemies, not my crew or patients.” His brow furrowed as her studied her temperature. “You run a little hot, Nami-ya, but you don’t seem to have a fever, so I’ll assume this is your norm.”

Jerking her head back, she mumbled, “You do that.”

Moving the stethoscope to her chest, he sighed. “Your heart’s pounding. I’d hoped you would have calmed down by this point so I could check it properly.”

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t have told me about all the horrible ways you could kill me with your powers!” she snapped. She was seriously second-guessing the doctor’s sanity; of course her heart was racing like a cornered rabbit’s, especially considering she now had terrifying confirmation that those horror stories about gruesome deaths weren’t just hearsay. The images he’d conjured sent a shiver down her spine. She’d always rivaled Usopp in terms of coming up with horrible scenarios, but Law’s sick creativity put even her worst nightmares to shame. She really hoped he was serious about not seeing her as an enemy.

“Please, that’s not even the worst of what I can do. But I suppose you have a point; I’ll endeavor to avoid such topics next time I give you a check-up.” Backing off a few paces, he made another note on his chart. “And now for the personal questions; any hereditary diseases or illness-related deaths in your family history?”

Nami grimaced, rubbing her arms. She really didn’t want to discuss her past with the likes of Trafalgar Law, but she understood the necessity of the question. “I wouldn’t know; I was found as a baby by a Marine in a ruined village. I have no clue who my birth parents are, and I’ve never really cared to find out. My adopted mother and sister were enough.”

That seemed to catch his interest, as amber eyes studied her closely. “Do you at least know what island you were found on?” When she shook her head, he made another note. “I’ll have to take a blood sample to run some tests on, then. It’s possible everyone was wiped out in a war or some natural disaster, I’ve also known of a city or two that the World Government that razed to the ground under the claim that the people carried infectious diseases,” he said, surprising her with the bitterness in his voice.

“You think I might be carrying something?”

“No, I’m just curious if you’re from one of them. If your village had succumbed to plague, I doubt any Marine would have risked relocating you and spreading it, baby or not.”

The scratch of his pen was the only sound between them for a few moments, the air tense—Nami could tell she’d stumbled onto a sensitive topic, and though she was curious, she knew better than to pry. Finally, the deep furrow on his brow smoothed out, professionalism resuming. “Your weather attacks—are those the result of eating a Devil Fruit?”

“No, I’m a normal human. If you don’t believe me, I’m happy to swim a few laps outside.”

“That won’t be necessary. Any notable past illnesses?”

“Nearly died from a Kestia bite.”

He actually paused, looking up from his clipboard. “Those went extinct over a hundred years ago.”

“Not on Little Garden they didn’t. Luckily Dr. Kureha still had some antibiotics for it.”

“Dr. Kureha? From Drum Island?” He sounded genuinely impressed, and Nami had to chuckle at how pleased Chopper would be to know that even the Surgeon of Death admired his old mentor.

“Yeah, she treated me and was the one who trained our ship’s doctor.”

“Well, you’re just getting more intriguing by the minute, Nami-ya,” he said with a small, sly grin, posture relaxing as he crossed his long legs. “A mysterious past, the ability to manipulate the weather in battle without a Devil Fruit, surviving prehistoric diseases, treatment from one of the most acclaimed and infamous doctors on the Grand Line—you’re definitely more than a pretty face.”

Unbidden, a proud smirk lifted the corner of her pink lips. “And don’t you forget it.”

“Oh, trust me, I won’t.” The amusement on his face vanished as he looked at the next page of his chart, his mouth twisting into a grimace. “In the interest of you not slapping me, you should know I’m about to ask some rather…delicate questions.”

“Taking the warnings of asking a lady’s weight seriously?” she joked weakly, rubbing her arms. For the most part, she’d gotten used to the infirmary’s chill, but Law’s gaze somehow continued to raise goosebumps along her arms.

“More like a rundown of your sexual history.” At her aghast expression, he held up his hands placatingly. “I need to know if I should check you for sexually transmitted diseases and what kind of birth control you take. Believe me, I’ve had to have this conversation with everyone on my crew, male and female. Now—and I’m going to need you to be honest—how sexually active are you?”

“I’m not.”

He raised a disbelieving eyebrow at that, making her blush. “I know I flirt and tease, but I’ve never let a guy get past third base!” Somehow, she found herself embarrassed and feeling defensive; there was nothing wrong with being a virgin, and she had plenty of reasons for it, and what right did Law have to judge her? Before she could stop herself, nerves took over, and she continued, “When you’re as good as I am, you don’t need to do more than bat your eyelashes to con a guy, so sex has never been necessary. It’s not exactly easy to have a relationship while travelling the Grand Line, either, and I’m not the kind of girl who likes one-night stands. Most of the guys that come onto me are gross, anyway. You ever have a creep with a lion’s muzzle sewed on his face try to force you to marry him? Stuff like that makes abstinence real appealing.”

“I’m not judging, Nami-ya; just surprised,” he said, interrupting her tirade. A severe frown darkened his face. “Though I now have to ask—”

Her fury cooled at his implication. “Sanji-kun saved me before anything could happen. I even had Chopper do an examination to make sure I wasn’t assaulted while unconscious.” She shuddered at the memory. Absalom might have been soundly trounced by the amorous cook, but that near-miss had been a stark reminder of how dangerous it was being a beautiful woman on the high seas. Not all her admirers were going to be good-natured, relatively harmless perverts like Sanji and Brook. Nor would she always find herself at the mercy of creatures who would never be physically attracted to her, like the Fishman Pirates.

So as proud as she was of her body, and as much as she loved using her looks to her advantage, the danger of attracting the wrong kind of attention was never far from her mind.

Nodding in confirmation, Law scribbled another note on her chart. “Are you on any form of birth control?”

“Chopper always made me some, but I couldn’t tell you exactly what he gave me. I haven’t been able to take it since Sabaody, anyway.”

“I’ve got a few options we can work with but notify me if you find yourself having any side effects or unusual symptoms. Once we know exactly what your body can handle, I can give you an injection that’ll last you at least a year; that way, you won’t have to worry about taking a pill every day or missing doses. You might not be sexually active, but a woman can never be too careful.”

Pleasantly surprised at how professional and forward-thinking he was being, Nami allowed herself to relax just the slightest bit. With his thinly veiled request for sexual favors up on the deck, she’d written him off as another creep, but maybe he’d just been testing her resolve? The Law she was dealing with now was far less intimidating, and while he was certainly cold and sarcastic, if he kept treating her like this, perhaps working for him for the next year wouldn’t be so bad after all.

The Surgeon of Death was dangerous, not just because of his abilities and status as a Supernova, but because he was, in his own way, quite attractive. Questionable fashion choices aside, he was the epitome of tall, dark, and sexy. His irises glittered like treasure, his voice was smooth and deep, and his perfectly groomed sideburns and goatee showed he took pride in his appearance. He was long and lean and walked with a sure, predatory grace. It was his confidence that pulled her in like a magnet, though; it was quiet assurance of his own ability, that easy smirk proclaiming he knew he was far above everyone else’s level as loudly as Luffy would scream about becoming the Pirate King.

Despite his appeal, Nami refused to let herself give in to physical desire. For her, rule number one was not to mix business with pleasure. Thus, she hoped his earlier flirting had just been a test, because spending a year under his command could end up being a test to her iron-clad control. If he managed to get under her skin, earn even a fraction of her trust, it would be so much harder to resist.

Another note was made on her chart before Law ushered her towards the center of the room. “Now that we’ve got that unpleasantness out of the way, turn around and touch your toes; I want to check your back for scoliosis and spinal irregularities.”

Instinct told her he just wanted to check out her ass, but she found it was easier for her rational mind to calm her nerves. Not that she wasn’t immediately put on edge when she felt his gloved fingers run down her spine, though it felt different from her usual fight-or-flight reaction. The shiver that rocked through her she desperately wanted to say was due to the cold, but the heat that lingered on her skin said otherwise.

“Spine looks good, Nami-ya, and I’m impressed at how flexible you are. I’m sure it’s advantageous in a fight or sneaking around.” The muscles of her back jumped as the icy head of the stethoscope pressed against them. “Take a deep breath.”

She did so, forcing her heart to remain steady. If she panicked again they’d be at this all day, and even if she no longer believed Law was looking to jump her the second she gave him an opening, she still had better things to do than stand around in her underwear.

“Glad to hear your heart isn’t about to beat out of your chest anymore. Good lung capacity, too.” Coaxing her to straighten up, she could feel his calculating gaze on her arm. “Who did your tattoo?”

“Dr. Nako of Cocoyashi Village, about a year ago.”

“Was he also the one who sewed up these cuts?” he asked, thumb trailing over one of the pale scars on her shoulder. The heat of his touch was instantly snuffed out as his fingers inadvertently traced the invisible pattern of Arlong’s Jolly Roger, and the Fishman’s cruel laugh echoed in her mind.

Flinching away, Nami grabbed her arm instinctively. “H-he did.”

Sensing they were straying from the comfortable bubble they’d built, Law simply nodded, again going back to his chart. She suspected he wanted to ask how she got such an injury; any decent doctor could tell it was self-inflicted just from the angle, but instead he stated, “I’ll assume the tattoo was done with sterile equipment, then, and I won’t have to check you for tetanus and the like. I’ve seen more than a few back-alley tattoos turn septic. I commend his work; very neat, and you could almost miss the scars if you’re not looking for them.”

“Who does yours?” she asked, eager to change the subject. Thoughts of her past were floating far too close to the surface for her taste. Hoping to banish her former captain’s ghost, cocoa eyes focused on Law’s fingers, easily imagining the bold, black letters beneath the blue latex. “Considering how a surgeon’s hands are his most valuable tool, I’m surprised you even took the risk. Was looking edgy really worth it?”

Leading her over to the table, he helped her hop up, smirking at the verbal jab. “Oh, it was absolutely worth it; the look on people’s faces when they see a doctor with DEATH on his hands is priceless. Ikkaku does all my tattoos. You’ll meet her soon; she’ll be your roommate during your stay. I think she’ll be happy to have another woman aboard.”

Nami sighed in relief. She hadn’t sailed with an all-male crew since entering the Grand Line, and she hadn’t been really looking forward to doing it again. Perhaps this Ikkaku woman would make her miss Robin a little less. “I certainly will be.”

“And here I assumed you’d want a ship full of men you could easily manipulate,” he said, grin widening.

Winking, she replied, “Oh, I do, but that gets boring after a while. I need someone who can talk to me without staring at my breasts.”

“What makes you think she won’t?”

That actually coaxed a small laugh out of her. “Then at least it’s someone I can hopefully borrow clothes from. I’m not looking forward to wearing the same outfit every day, and before you say it—no, I’m not wearing your crew’s uniform. They’re not cute, and bulky jumpsuits like that are terrible for sneaking around.” Secretly, it wasn’t even the ugliness of the suits that repelled her—it was the Heart Pirate’s Jolly Roger she’d seen emblazoned across the front and back. She may have agreed to a partnership, but she refused to wear another crew’s insignia. It made her think too much of Arlong, and how he’d forced her to walk around with that horrible tattoo. He might as well have branded her like cattle, showing how little he thought of humans.

It was one of the reasons she respected Luffy as her captain—he’d never even considered placing such a mark of ownership on his crew.

Nami had expected a fight, but the doctor merely thought it over before nodding. “I suppose I can give you that freedom; with your high internal body temp, I’d be concerned about you overheating. The sub gets pretty hot when we’ve been underwater too long, and Bepo certainly suffers for it. I’ll supply you a uniform for when we’re on islands with colder climates, but otherwise, I won’t hold you to the normal dress code.”

Pleasantly surprised at his leniency, she allowed him to gently push her back so she lay on the table, arms positioned above her head. Again, she blanched at how provocative the position was, but Law completely ignored the way her chest was thrust out, his hands instead poking and prodding at her stomach, carefully checking for any unusual lumps or organ placement. The muscles twitched slightly at his ministrations, and Law gave her a considering look. “Sensitive, Nami-ya?”

“Maybe a little ticklish,” she said, eyebrow raised, daring him to make an off-color comment.

A non-committal hum was her only response. Part of the fiery cartographer wanted to be insulted at how unaffected he seemed to be at having a beautiful woman like herself sprawled out before him clad only in her underwear. He hadn’t even given her a breast exam! She swiftly shoved that feeling down, though. How irrational could she get? Just ten minutes ago she saw him as a threat, and now she actually wanted him to lust after her? Clearly, the stress of the day was getting to her.

Upon finishing his inspection, Law held out a hand, helping her off the table. “Seems I can give you a clean bill of health,” he said, scratching a few more notes on her chart before handing over her clothes.

As she quickly dressed, the Supernova busied himself with filing her information away, giving her a small semblance of privacy.

“Just so you know, the majority of the crew knows basic first aid, but I’ll still expect you to report any injuries or illness to me. We’re in close quarters and sickness spreads quickly, so if you get so much as a cold, you’re quarantined until I give the all-clear. I take my crew’s well-being very seriously, so this is non-negotiable. In fact, most of my rules are. Uniform aside, I’m not in the habit of giving out special privileges without good reason. I want you to be aware that I won’t tolerate reckless defiance or ignoring my orders. As your doctor and captain, it’s in your best interest to do as I say without question. Do you understand?” he asked, turning to frown at her sternly.

“Absolutely,” she agreed, holding up her hands in surrender. She couldn’t guarantee she wouldn’t argue if she found a rule stupid, or try to get around them, but she understood there were limits, and it was best to pick her battles. Once she had a better understanding of the captain and crew, she’d have more wiggle-room and loopholes to work with.

She was momentarily distracted by the sight of the Dark Doctor’s white teeth gripping the edge of one of his surgical gloves, carefully pulling the tight latex off his hand. It was surprisingly arousing, seeing the tattooed, olive skin slowly emerge back into the light, his lips lightly brushing the newly-exposed flesh.

An image of him taking her clothes off like that popped into her mind, and she nearly slapped herself. Keep it together, girl! Nami scolded herself. Remember rule number one!

Not noticing her staring, or possibly just ignoring it, he tossed the gloves into the trash. “Good. I watched Mugiwara-ya nearly undo all my hard work, running around like a madman after I’d spent hours saving his life. I’d like to think you’re a bit more sensible.”

“A rock is more sensible than Luffy,” she said dryly, which earned her a slight smirk. Shrugging off his lab coat, he led her out of the infirmary, chuckling when she took a deep breath of the antiseptic-free air in the hallway.

A large, warm hand rested on the small of her back, and Nami jumped at the contact, turning to look up at the Heart Captain. His grin was lazy but confident, gold eyes once more regarding her with interest. No longer contained by the latex gloves, the heat of his palm radiated through the thin cotton of her shirt, seeping into her flesh.

“Shall I introduce you to the rest of the crew, Nami-ya?” he asked, long fingers curling around her waist when she instinctively attempted to step away. As if she were no more than a misbehaving kitten, he pulled her close, leaving little more than an inch of space between them. “They’d be heartbroken if they thought I was keeping you all to myself.”

Nami swallowed, pulse quickening as she realized something; Law had promised she had nothing to fear while in his infirmary.

He’d never said anything about outside it.

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basedkikuenjoyer · 2 years

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A Tale of Two Hannya

This is both the capstone to this whole “Case” series and the one I’m least thrilled to write. There’s a big ol flashy Makami in the room for all this recruit talk. Simply put, do you think I’d take the time to lay out an entire case for someone else if I didn’t have an answer for ol’ Yamsey?

Yeah. I do. One of the main reasons I feel like I have something here is that unlike other alternatives, this one can run right through Yamato’s role in the arc. I’m going to keep a lot of it to myself for now. Because there’s little point in pointing out every instance of the same concept. This is a dynamic that could pan out in a lot of shades too. Also, as little as two weeks could prove I’m way off base. It’s not like I have a problem with Pirate Inuyasha being the final recruit, but well...don’t make the mistake of thinking the notion Kiku may end up pulling a surprise is born out of really, really, really liking her and just wanting to make it work. I’ve said before my guess for most of Wano was Speed’s ending with Tama. It’s born out of three observations:

While I can certainly see the hype, I also can’t ignore that many of the big scenes for Yamato do have some hook in there that undercuts a new recruit narrative. Plenty of people have pointed these out independently over the past two years.

The more I started to understand this element, the more I caught myself using Okiku’s role as a counterpoint. As the arc rolled on, it became harder to ignore how much the two are polar opposites and how frequently they end up having similar scenes perfect for contrast.

From there, a lingering concept I can’t shake. I can see why an author would make the decision to mask his weapons-grade unassuming, tactful, tenth with a flashy but flawed foil. I could hypothetically see letting a side character with similar themes carry some early weight before introducing the newbie. I can’t see why you’d do that and then have her still be the one more involved with the crew in the back half. Kiku...hasn’t stepped back to nearly the same degree as say, Paulie. Her story is still growing too.

It feels like the misdirection boils down to presenting someone who looks borderline inevitable only as long as you’re looking at him in a vacuum, overlooking major thematic elements like disorder on the Rocks Crew from too many big heads. All the current tension in alliances. Whitebeard’s words on “the type to follow others.” Yamato’s own bumbles and inconsistencies. It’s how he fits into the big picture and where we’re at in the overall story that make me feel right to maintain that skepticism. Even moreso when you have that sweet, refined opposite perfectly set up to run away with the final phase as much as she did the first phase of Wano. Was that sparkler a fuse? Definitely still see the possibility even with recent chapters. I already said I felt vindicated by 1042. 1051?

I mean, the following scene with Jinbei dousing the hype is too easy. Before that though, recall when this blog was starting off in Act 1, long before we ever saw this chapter. I made a few observations pointing out that Kiku had a fun trend of not reacting to the usual Straw Hat weirdness despite ample opportunity and being in the right position to be that girl for those regular arc gags. These contrasts are all over, many in the same chapter.

Then on top of that we have Aramaki’s arrival. Already running long so I won’t dwell. Just...he’s the perfect beat to take all that work Yamato’s done building a bond with Momo, all that deep love for Wano and desire to be loved in return, and have him surpass Oden. Realize the magnitude of this still present threat and that Wano needs a powerful “Guardian” backing Momo. You can still fulfill your dream of going out to sea, but right here right now isn’t the best timing. That’s if we’re playing nice. And I see no reason things would need to go harsh if my hunch here is right...

...But I find myself frequently being reminded of something when I get into this territory. A pretty famous pair in anime history. Not saying it’s a direct allusion, the dynamic isn’t unique to them, but it’s one some of y’all might recognize that should shed a bit of light on the possibility I see.

Pinkie is the titular character from Revolutionary Girl Utena and red dress is Anthy, the “Rose Bride” and perennial damsel in distress. How many of y’all are familiar with this shoujo classic contemporary with One Piece’s debut? Spoilers ahead I quess. Many have compared Yamato to Utena having this drive to live as a dashing, noble “Prince.” That’s the big hook, it’s what motivates everything. Utena is so cool and hype and this awesome main character! And Anthy? She’s kinda flat. Alright I guess.

Well...until the end. That perception shattered in an instant because you the viewer were being led by the nose the whole time. (Pitting viewer vs. character perceptions...where have I heard that?) With that swift, decisive climax Utena is deconstructed and left as this lesson on the folly, the outright childishness of leaning so hard on chasing an ideal that was ultimately an unhealthy coping mechanism. And Anthy? Mastermind who was just playing the unassuming, ditzy doormat before girlbossing off on her own adventure at the end. You can’t rewatch Utena after finishing it without seeing how sly Anthy is at pushing things her way the entire, fucking, series. Right under your nose, hidden in plain sight the whole time. But it doesn’t make sense until it’s spelled out at the end.

I do at least see the potential of spinning Kiku/Yamato into a similar, if way less melodramatic, conclusion. A lot of our journey through Kiku’s arc has been simply pointing out scenes with potential. That fundamental idea that she was introduced showcasing acting ability and is a proper young lady who knows to mind her tongue. Meaning she could always theoretically be doing that in any scene.

#one piece #okiku #yamato #The Case for a Quartermaster #the prosecution rests #or am i the defense?

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staticgriffon · 5 years

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So Kiku’s getting quite a lot of attention since the new chapter came out, and honestly good for her. She deserves it. But this post isn’t going to be about her, mainly because of all of the attention she’s getting.

I think the person who was finally introduced deserves at least a mention. So I guess I’ll talk a bit about him.

The cage that was holding him in was broken by Big Mom in previous chapters, but he has yet to emerge. He’s still cuffed up in the cell.

It’s hard to say if these are just regular handcuffs or sea stone handcuffs. To which I’m extremely interested in knowing if this guy’s a devil fruit user or not. I would also like to know if smile fruits have the same reaction to sea stone as devil fruits. (If this has already been shown I don’t remember it) The comment one of the jailers gives him is very rude, but also makes you question what he is or if the jailers don’t see him as an individual anymore.

Still unable to see his face, he yet again attacks the jailers using fish bones, allowing Raizo to return his sword and give him the key to his cuffs.

With Raizo giving over the key to the cuffs, one of The Red Scabbard’s is free and able to join the cause. We finally start to see what this guy looks like, through a panel of him grabbing the key. And from the looks of it, he’s a fishman!

He’s free and about to murder all of the jailers in the prison. And more of his appearance is shown through outlines. Also I like the fact that he out right said the name of his sword, we don’t see that much.

To me the statement on the right just furthers the fact he’s a fishman. But it’s interesting to me that his sword style is named after a monster until this panel…

You find out that he, himself is a kappa. And with Kawamatsu’s entire reveal, I’ve gained a lot more questions. Such as the smile fruit vs sea stone as mentioned earlier and a whole lot of other questions, like ‘Is Kawamatsu a devil fruit user/smile fruit user and this is the outcome?’, ‘Will Jinbei be okay without disguising himself when he gets to the country?’, and ‘Is Kawamatsu the only fishman on the island?’.

There’s for sure more questions I have, but they’re not coming to mind right now.

#chapter 948 #kawamatsu #kawamatsu the kappa #one piece #op #my stuff #jinbei #jimbei #raizo #kiku #okiku #big mom

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cptn-m · 2 days

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One Piece chapter 1112 review

It's good to be back! To be honest, I had a fairly busy April, so it feels like the big break has gone faster than previous years. I thought I would suffer more. Maybe we're all just getting more used to this now-annual tradition. Hope Oda's feeling more rested as well!

This is the chapter that could be the twelfth of volume 109, but I think it's more likely the first or second of volume 110 instead. Both Dorry and Brogy's arrival in chapter 1110 and the ancient robot standing in chapter 1111 are incredible end-of-book cliffhangers, but I think maybe chapter 1111 has a better volume opener, easing into its action with the wordless page of Mars breaking from the barrier while Jinbei looks up, awed. But we'll see, the opening pages here also do a lot to ease a returning reader back into the conflict in its present state. In a matter of panels, Oda reminds us of the Buster Call, Nusjuro's disabling of the Pacifistas and Bonney's power over them, and the giants' goals and location. But it's possible the return from the break was a motivator for this level of restaging as well.

After those opening two pages we're right back into the action. Even if it's brief, it's great seeing Franky get a win. The long tail of his speech bubble running under Redking's legs in the anticipation panel is fun as well. Bonney's methods are pretty funny as well, when compounded with Guillotine's shock despite having witnessed the transformation happen.

Mars is not wasting any time in the Labophase. There seems to be an electrical effect around his blast of energy, but I haven't read up enough on his specific brand of yokai to say if that should be interesting or not. It's cool that we can see the back of Vegapunk's lab here, and the side structures that looked like speakers from the front are plugged full of power and audio cables like speakers from the back too. I wonder how many design elements here were influenced by the knowledge that it would be used to send an important message really, really far.

Stussy and Kaku's dialogue in the following scene seems at odds with Lucci's immediate recognition of and deference to Mars in his bird form a few chapters ago. Maybe he's better at recognising voices than the two of them are, or he may simply hold a higher rank and have gotten more hints about the true nature of his bosses than the other two. I'm sad for Stussy's sacrifice, in part because this arc hasn't at all made the most of her as a character. Her betrayal of Cipher Pol was a compelling early twist, but then she lost her stylish and memorable original outft for the same leotard look every other woman in this arc got, dropped off the map through the middle of the story, just to get finger gunned and now make the ultimate sacrifice. This is a character who's been lurking on the sidelines of the plot for seven years. That's getting close to the point where there, at least in Japanese, the series might have readers younger than she is as a character. A minor character, sure, but I hope this isn't truly the end for her. Oda can offer far better.

That said, I did say a few chapters back that I expected the need for someone in the control room to turn off the dome to be a problem to solve, though I predicted a race against the clock to get on the ship before it launched, not fully staying behind. Careful what you wish for I guess.

And on the topic of sacrifices and problems to solve, I wonder what Edison has planned to help the Sunny make the distance. If you asked me to guess, I'd say something in the junkyard. Not the ancient robot specifically, but I think whatever he's going to get will be the excuse to bring someone from the Strawhats' side in contact with it.

It's a good moment for Usopp rallying the crew here, both to follow the plan and to improvise if it doesn't work. Confident leadership from a once self-proclaimed captain. Good for him.

The squished up Ju Peter head as he swallows the building is hilarious. Being able to capture the shape of the turret embedding in the back of his skull and the wrinkles of everything folding up around it in monochrome with only the white shading on his back body is some great artistic detail. It cannot have been easy to make that read clearly.

The situation gets more dire after this last little win though. Luffy's back in normal form, and even if we're handwaving away the exhaustion effect at the end of Gear Five, Oda is telling us clearly it won't be enough to stand up to the monstrous Elders. Love the detail of his hand still being on fire from Red Roc even as he clutches it in pain from Warcury's deflection. It makes such an absurd visual. The question does have to be asked though: was the sheer power with which this attack was rejected relate to haki, a monstrous ability, the strange regeneration that keeps these beats immortal or something else? It can't just be natural hardness like Kaido's dragon scales - that wouldn't hurt Luffy like this did. There needs to be an energy involved for there to be pain on Luffy's end. I don't want to sound too consipracy-minded though; haki is the most obvious bet. Look back to the moment in the Katakuri fight when they meet fist to fist and Luffy's hands are hurt by his superior haki. There's a similar trembling effect around the the injured hands, and though they were also swollen there, that would be hidden by the inflated fist in this case.

Saturn's spider limbs coming over the edge of the Labophase cloud is a wonderfully terrifying visual, as is the silhouette of the centaur Nusjuro, and each of them so bad for the groups they're confronting. Even with the inevitability of Zoro and Jinbei arriving in time to protect the group with the Sunny and Luffy and the giants close to converging with Franky's team, we still don't know how to deal lasting damage to one of these bastards. You have to hand it to them, as villains, they've all found their way to the worst places they could be for the heroes very, very efficiently, and at this stage no one is expecting any of them to be felled in this arc.

Mars' final scene with the snail just emphasises the 'game over'-ness of the whole last two pages. I don't think he'll succeed in stopping it, the broadcast is the most obvious thing to fulfill the promise of a huge, world-shaking event coming from this arc, but there'll probably be some kind of deception involved in why he can't cut things off from here. I'm curious to see what the inside of Punk Records looks like as well. Maybe it's just big computers, but it would be cool for it to be something with a bit more mad science cred, like a giant brain in a jar.

I'm determinedly not getting my hopes too high for a Toriyama tribute in next week's colour spread. Which isn't to say it's not likely, but I don't want to be disappointed if it doesn't turn out that way. With only a minute on the clock, Mars at the broadcast's apparent source and two groups of heroes being menaced by unstoppable foes, the climax of the arc feels afoot, so it's going to be time to start the big reveals, cavalry calls and final turnabout moments as the 110th volume escalates. Good time to have that post-break momentum, if you ask me!

#one piece #manga review #monkey d luffy

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kumapillow · 6 years

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Please see the list below for some (very short) summaries of the GakuBaby chapters yet to be scanlated as of this writing, including links to chapter summaries I did previously.

For the anon who asked about the special chapters, I don’t have them all translated but I listed the untranslated ones below, after the main chapter summaries, and added links to those I did translate.

I hope this helps~

Main Chapters

Chapter 85 Summary

Chapter 88: Kousuke-san just got home from a long shoot and brought some Justi-Knight toys for his twins (two Justi-Knight figures and one Boido figure), but Takuma and Kazuma both want the Boido figure and don't want to share. This starts a series of fights between the twins over wanting the same stuff.

Chapter 89: Hebihara-sensei wins a Panda-san shaved ice maker at a lottery in the local supermarket and decides to give it to the people in the daycare room.

Features a persistent Taka latching on to Hebihara and declaring the Chemistry teacher as his friend, and memories of Hebihara making shaved ice with a very young Hayato (^^)

Chapter 90 Summary

Chapter 91: Summer is almost at an end. The Morinomiya household is weeding the garden when Kotarou comes across a cicada lying on its back. He helps it back on its feet and it flies away, surprising the toddler. Baa-chan tells him he did a good thing because the cicada might have died if left lying on its back, so for quite some time after that, Kotarou actively looks for cicadas to help.

Will the cicadas somehow return the favor to Kotarou…?

Features Hayato and Taka in glorious summer tan looks, an end-of-summer mini fireworks party by the daycare, the toddlers in yukata/jinbei and, very unusually, Kotarou getting reprimanded by Ryuuichi (because unattended toddler + fireworks = OH NO).

Chapter 92 Summary

Chapter 93: Baa-chan gives Ryuuichi a smartphone to replace his flip phone. Having never used a smartphone before, Ryuuichi and Kotarou try the camera first.

And Kotarou becomes obsessed with taking pictures.

(He does get some pointers from professional photographer/papa wolf Satoru-san.)

Chapter 94: A closer look in the life of the Nezu family and the relationship between cool, collected and capable Chuukichi and his cheerful but clumsy older brother Daikichi.

Features a sudden trip to the local bathhouse with the Kashima and Nezu brothers, and a flashback to when Daikichi and Chuukichi were kids.

Chapter 95: The Morinomiya Daycare Room undergoes spring cleaning.

With Usaida wearing a high school tracksuit (I think it's his old one lol).

Chapter 96: Kumatsuka-sensei tells the tale of the Golden Axe to Kirin for their bedtime story one evening.

Knowing that it's almost her mom's birthday and wanting to give her a nice present, Kirin then takes her mom's engagement ring the next day and throws it into the river, believing in the tale and hoping for the river goddess to appear.

We see Satoru-san's fatherly side as he comforts Kirin when he found out what happened :D

Chapter 97: It's exam week again, so Ryuuichi spends the time focusing on his studies, leaving Kotarou and the kids in the daycare under the care of Saikawa-san (like in chapter 49).

In which Kotarou, seeing how his ni-cha is doing his best, tries to support him in the way he knows how. Also, he learns how to write his own name (^^)

Chapter 98: Kousuke-san goes to the daycare again incognito, hoping to talk to Hayato, because the actor got cast in a 2-hour drama as an ore-sama high school student (who's also the no.1 ikemen in the school). Usaida teases him about the ore-sama part (in that it's the total opposite of his real trait), which brings Ryuuichi to ask him again how he got into acting.

This brings him to reminisce on his high school days, when he first met Umi and what made him decide to enter the world of showbiz.

Chapter 99: Hayato sprained his right hand when he fell in the bath. So Kamitani-sensei tells him to stay put (or else she'll destroy his baseball DVD collection), and for everyone in the daycare to take care of her son until he gets better. And the kids, especially Taka, do their best to make him feel better.

Awkward (and lightly blushing) Hayato doesn't know what to do with the care he's receiving from others (lol), so he finds himself retreating to a quieter place: his father's office.

Bonus Manga and Special Chapters

Vol. 1: Little Red Riding Hood

The Morinomiya Daycare’s take on the classic fairy tale.

Vol. 2: The Mysterious Saikawa-san

Ryuuichi and Kotarou find Saikawa-san standing still in the middle of the hallway.

Vol. 4: The Grateful Crane

Vol. 5: A Day in the Life of Ushimaru Yuki-chan

Scenes showing what Yuki was doing in the Summer Festival, the School Festival, and the Christmas chapters.

Vol. 6: Telepathy Between Saikawa-san and Kotarou

Vol. 7: Midori-chan and Usaida-san | Playing House

Vol. 8: A Day in the Life of Yagi-kun

Rumors are spreading that Yagi-kun got himself a girlfriend.

Vol. 8: A Day in the Life of Nezu-kun

A girl tries to confess her feelings to Nezu-kun.

Vol. 9: Ushimaru Yuki-chan’s Love Diary

“Dear diary, Kashima-kun was nodding off during class today!”

Yuki sees Ryuuichi nodding off during Hebihara-sensei's class and tries to discreetly wake him up.

Vol. 14 (Special Chapter): Ryuuichi and Kotarou’s Early Days

With the Kashima parents having jobs that keep them very busy (with Dad always out of town as part of an I.T. company's Sales department, and Mom most of the time locked in her office keeping odd hours as a translator/interpreter), Ryuuichi usually finds himself tasked with taking care of his baby brother Kotarou.

Vol. 15: Bonus info on toddlers

The extra featured in volume 16 is an early oneshot by Tokeino-sensei called Love Log.

#gakuen babysitters #manga #translation #spoiler #spoilers #reply #anonymous #ispeakhalflies #super long post

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pernanegra · 6 years

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Thoughts on Whole Cake Island arc and chapter 902

The Whole Cake Island arc is finally coming to an end.

How do I feel about it? Well... I have mixed feelings. I thought the first half was really great, it had almost everything I could hope for: a real sense of danger, interesting villains (especially Pudding tricking everyone), new characters, inner conflicts and dilemmas... everything was leading to a great climax, and since this is One Piece, everyone thought that the fights (and perhaps new powers) were granted - it wasn’t.

Instead, Oda decided to make some choices that I can’t help but feel like he wasted a lot of potential. Starting with the “fake” handcuffs: it seemed like a cheap way to get rid of a problem he created but regreted later. In my opinion, the Strawhats inflitrating the castle, like a heist, could be really interesting and could give us an emotional reunion with Sanji while they open the handcuffs.

The fake mask Sanji was wearing to hide his wounds was also a missed opportunity to make the Strawhats know about Sanji being a victim of abuse or even his entire past. It could be also an interesting scenario because Nami slapped his face without knowing about it. It seems like the only purpose of the mask was to make Pudding mock his injuries.

We ended up getting a funny heist to save Brook and the emotional reunion with only Sanji and Luffy (which was great), while Sanji communicated later with the rest by mirror shards - which lessed a lot the impact imo - but still was a nice scene. Oda skipped the group reunion immediately to show Capone’s plan.

Knowing about the plan was really anticlimactic to me. It was clear that it wouldn’t work as intended. The mother Carmel picture seems like just a set up for Elbaf, but back then it felt out of place and a really random condition to make Big Mom go “berserk”.

Which was also really disappointing as the yonkou was played like a fool by Nami, Brook and the others while she was chasing the SHs. The whole point about the cake being necessary to stop Big Mom was proved to be counter-effective. It seemed like she was really close to be defeated by lack of energy and while the cake really distracted her, it restored her strength. All the panels with Sanji and the cooks making the cake feels odd now. Despite Sanji being confirmed to be an extraordinary cook, the reaction the readers were expecting from Big Mom wasn’t really delivered by Oda.

Luffy was the only one that shined through fights, by defeating Cracker and Katakuri, two sweet commanders. It’s expected from the protagonist, but him being the only one, while the rest of the crew worked mostly as distractions and fought or clashed lesser opponents, was really bad to me. But it wasn’t only the good guys, Smoothie especially didn’t do anything relevant as a villain. The Germa also had few panels to show something, but at least they had some cool moments.

That said, let’s talk about Pudding, the most controversial character of this arc. She started as a sweet girl who seemed to be a perfect match for Sanji. Since she was supposed to be his bride, it made sense to make her exactly like that. It’s fair to create a certain narrative tension by making the readers wonder if Sanji would really tie the knot or not. If Pudding was immediately despicable, there wouldn’t be any tension, Oda wouldn’t pair one of the main characters with someone bad.

Then, the plot twist happened with Pudding being a great actress and a savage, by shooting Reiju and mocking Sanji in one of his most hopeless moments. She was supposed to be his “ray of hope”, which made her betrayal even more cruel but still epic from a narrative standpoint. It felt like a great and a progressive decision from Oda back then. There were several lessons we could take from that chapter, but one that I think it would be great is that appearances can be deceiving, and that not all girls are innocent. That could be really an interesting point for Sanji’s character as he tends to idolizes women and receives a lot of criticism in the fandom for that.

It happens that Oda didn’t want that, he basically rewrote Pudding’s character (adding the infatuation caused by a ludicrous compliment about her third eye) and last chapter seems some sort of a retcon of her actions, by making all her cruel deeds somewhat justified by the way she was raised. She ended up being another victim and a less interest character to me, despite all the depth. It seemed like Oda regreted making her evil or he wasn’t sure what to do with her character (actually the second half of the arc looked like he didn’t know the direction he wanted). Certainly, most if not all villains have a sad past that explains how they became the person they are. Doflamingo and Arlong are great examples of that. Pudding, however, was redeemed and it’s really likely that we are seeing her again and this time, it has great chances that she will be a damsel in distress by the vibes of this chapter, if she is not escaping.

Regarding her romantic feelings, we had the goodbye kiss, like it was expected, and it came from Pudding (she “stole” it), she is the one really sad about parting ways. Sanji was ready to say goodbye and didn't think twice about her. This doesn’t look like someone who is parting ways with someone he loves:

Sanji finds Pudding attractive and he is grateful for everything she did, but it’s just that. To me, their relationship looked really one sided, even knowing that Sanji was with heart eyes after the kiss, but that's the usual Sanji and I can see him reacting like that if Kalifa or Viola kissed him. He is still a perv. xD I think Pudding knows that Sanji won't return her feelings:

Since she was an important character and the bride of this wedding themed arc, I think Oda decided to gave her a proper farewell. But it wasn’t only her. This chapter also showed Katakuri. I think Oda was making a parallel with the people Luffy and Sanji “converted” from the enemy side. Pudding is obvious, but we also get to see Katakuri smiling after knowing that Luffy escaped. Other parallel is Jinbei and Germa staying behind to defend the Strawhats. They are also doing this because of Luffy and Sanji, respectively. This arc was heavily about Sanji and Luffy. So, more than just a Sanji and Pudding moment, I think the intention behind this chapter is to show the human side of Pudding and Katakuri and how Sanji and Luffy affected them. They are both characters that had childhood problems, with the SHs accepting them the way they are, unlike many of the citizens of WCI.

Back to Pudding, it seems to me like this is the end of a romance that wasn't really meant to be, given the circunstamces of an arranged marriage. There is, of course, still the possibility of them meeting again in the future and I admit that the ship has more depth now and Pudding's feelings are genuine. It’s fair to say it’s a stronger ship now, but at the same time it feels to me like it’s destined to be tragic rather than canon. I just think that it's really difficult to imagine why Sanji discovering about this kiss would change anything from his side or how he would end up discovering it to begin with, as I don't think Pudding has the intention to reveal it:

Sanji still remembers everything except the kiss, and it doesn’t seem like Pudding really impacted him that much as we didn’t see Sanji thinking about her. I think the kiss will remain as Pudding's own memento of her bittersweet end - it was a last wish after all. Hopefully she will find someone like she hinted when they first met her at the café.

That said, I certainly don't blame people shipping them now because the angst was real from Pudding's side and people might want her to be happy with the guy she loves. It's unfortunate that Oda is really giving moments to ships, including SaNa, knowing that some of them won't happen in the end (perhaps none of them will happen). I really don't like this kind of bait and all sides can feel legit betrayed in the end after all the "tease".

It’s up to Oda, like always. But I’m glad that Sanji is back with the crew and that we are moving on from this arc. There are still many years to come from One Piece and we can take a lesson from this arc: a chapter can change everything, so until the end, there is hope for everyone. ^^

#one piece #chapter 902 #sanji #charlotte pudding #whole cake island

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