Chapter 23: Just in the Mink of Time! When Garp and Delta Collide!

  It's hard to believe, but it had been a year and a half since I started sailing already. Sailing on the Zephyr had been spectacular and smooth. The crew was as lively as ever, that's for sure. Especially when it came to birthdays. When it was someone's birthday onboard, we'd throw a feast and celebrate the night away. Speaking of birthdays, when it was one of my brothers' birthday, I would write them a letter, congratulating them on making it this far. I even write one to Sabo. His is obviously different. Every year on his birthday, I would write a letter addressed to him, congratulating him on his birth as well, but I would also throw in some side stories about some of the islands I had been to. Doc was the one that suggested this to me, as that is what she had been doing. I had to admit, it was rather therapeutic. I never actually knew where the delivery birds took letters that couldn't be delivered, but they always took it somewhere. 

  We never attempted to cross over to the New World, and, instead, have been sailing Paradise for awhile. When we reach Sabaody Archipelago at the end of a route, we would cross either the north or south Calm Belt and sail back to the Red Line to start all over again on a new path. 

  After Lyric had been dismissed from the crew, we didn't have as many run-ins with Delta, nor his special ops. And, because my bounty was rescinded, the Marines overlooked me now and didn't try anything. It was kind of nice.  Eventually, though, Delta's squad was able to figure out what we were doing after our third wraparound. Once they figured it out, they started camping out at Sabaody until we made our way back. We knew they would be there, and they knew we would come. So, it was always a game of cat and mouse when we got there. We'd sneak around Sabaody to gather our supplies, while they would try to hunt us down. It kind of reminded me of the old days where we used to play hide-and-seek in the Marines.

  As we approached Sabaody for the seventh time, Felix and I were in the cabin, looking over the collection of maps we had gathered of Paradise. Rubbing my temples, I groaned, "I've mentioned this before, but we seriously need a navigator."

  "And, as I've mentioned, I'm not  that bad at navigating," Felix defended. "We get there eventually!"

  "Yeah, about two weeks later than we would if we had a navigator," I retorted.

  "You accidentally follow the opposite way the log is pointing once and you never hear the end of it," Felix pouted as he crossed his arms like a child.

  "Three times," I corrected. "It happened three times just  yesterday."

  I noticed Felix was looking at the map with the region of his home island. His usual playful smile wasn't present, which made him unfamiliar for a moment. "I'm sorry we weren't able to help your island when we were there," I told him, rubbing my arm uncomfortably. "I really wish we could have, but not with Delta needlessly getting in the way."

  Felix shook his head. "It's all good," he reassured. "You didn't even get to see the inner part of the island. There's a large Marine base near the island's main building in the center of the island with multiple higher-ups there. Gotta keep a close eye on their profit mines. There's nothing anyone could have done, anyway. I wasn't expecting anything when we got there, which is why I didn't say anything."

  I playfully slugged him in the arm. "Hey, I promise we'll return to help free your island from the World Government when we can. Once we left, I sent a letter to the Revolutionary Island about what was going on there, so at least it's on their radar."

  He waved my hand away and tried to act sly. "Psh, I wasn't worried. My people are strong. They've lasted this long, they should be able to hang on a bit longer."

  He couldn't hide the small grin trying to form at the corner of his mouth as he looked back at Beryl Island. What a softie.

  I picked up the maps and put them away as I informed Felix, "We'll be reaching Sabaody in about 10 minutes. Everyone else has started to prep, so don't forget to do so yourself. Remember, into town and out as quick as possible and back to the ship."

  "Yeah, yeah," Felix waved me off. "Get everything, then off towards the Calm Belt for the next run. This isn't the first time, nor will it probably be the last. When do you plan to go to the New World?"

  I shrugged as I headed towards the cabin's door. "Not sure," I answered as I pushed the door open for both of us to exit. "I've been developing my powers a lot this past year, but I still can't tell if I'm ready. I think we might cross over when we can find someone to teach us haki. I think it would be very useful."

  Felix chuffed as we walked onto the deck. "Someone who can teach us haki outside of the New World, let alone know what it is," he mocked. "Good luck with that. Let me know how that goes."

  I stuck my tongue out at him and he returned the gesture by flipping me off. Wynter, who had been standing outside of the cabin waiting, glared at Felix and growled, "You wanna lose that finger?"

  Taking a metal fan off of my hip, I slapped Wynter on the back of the head with it. The fan vibrated as he held his head. As usual, he gave a satisfying smirk from the pain. "Quit, it's too early for this," I scolded. 

  Felix turned his middle finger to Wynter to mock him for getting hit, which resulted in him also getting hit. It was Wynter's turn to laugh at Felix as he rubbed the new bump on his head.

  "I'm glad you're here, Wynter," I was starting to say, leading to the main topic.

  Before I could finish what I was saying, he leaned against the cabin's wall as he cockily said, "Well, I'm glad to hear that."

  I smacked my forehead. "Geez, you two are impossible," I muttered. "Anyhow, Wynter, I know you aren't going to be a fan, but I need you to go into town to check up on the wanted posters, since you don't have one like Doc, Felix and River for desertion. Chef will be getting groceries, so that leaves you."

  Wynter looked as though he had something to say. He always did when I told him he won't be able to accompany me on islands. "If it can't be helped," Wynter said in defeat. "You can count on me, though. I'll see if there's been any change."

  I thanked him as the rest of the crew made their way onto the deck. We all prepared to dock on the side of the archipelago where no one would see us and headed onto land. "Alright, see you all in an hour," I told everyone. "Remember, if you run into trouble, simple find a place to hide. If you aren't back by the appointed time, I'll come looking for ya."

  Everyone nodded and we went on our way. Felix, Doc and I were the group that was responsible for procuring fresh water and cloth to stitch up clothes if they get torn. As the three of us hid our faces with cloaks, we walked down the shopping district. We got the cloth without any issues and were on our way to get the water. As we were walking past a dark alley, I could hear a commotion going on down it.

  "Disgusting," I heard someone say down the alleyway, followed by a smack and an animal yelping.

  "I bet it's covered in fleas," another guy commented, with another whacking sound and a yip following after.

  "You belong on all fours, you filthy beast," a third added.

  Curious, I started to slink down the back alley. Felix grabbed my wrist and asked, "What do you think you are doing? Don't you know how dangerous back alleyways are?"

  I pulled my wrist free as I told her, "Of course I do, I grew up in them."

  Laughter could be heard as the sound of an injured animal continued to cry out. Doc pointed a finger at me and sternly said, "Don't act a fool."

  I just gave them a smile before I bolted down the alley. Once I was far enough in, I saw a group of men kicking some kind of giant, red-furred animal in clothes. However, upon closer inspection, it wasn't just some human-sized animal. It was a girl covered in fur. "'Ey," I shouted at the men, causing them to stop momentarily. "Leave them alone!"

  The girl on the ground looked to be around River's age, about 13 or 14. Under the dirt and grime covering her from the men's shoes, she had what looked like extremely silky fur and shiny fluffy red fur on her head that looked like a short hairdo. She had an adorable black button nose like a red panda with some whiskers poking out near it. A pair of white red panda ears sat on top of her head, and a poofy black and red striped tail came out the back of her skirt. Her hands, which were shielding her face from the blows, had black claws instead of nails, and the fur on them was black.

  One guy snickered as he faced me, then asked, "Oh yeah? What's a little thing like you gonna do 'bout it, girly?"

  "Oh, I don't think I should do anything," I told him as Felix started cracking his knuckle, appearing from the shadows. "Otherwise you may end up in the hospital. But maybe he'll go easy, so I'll leave it to him."

  The men burst out into laughter as the girl continued to shiver in a tight ball on the ground. "I'd love to see what a bitch like you could-."

  Before he could finish, I surrounded my arms in spiraling air currents to create my air gauntlets. I closed the distance between the men and me, and, as soon as I was less than a foot from the man in the middle, my fist connected with his jaw. There was a loud crack and pop as he flew back into the wall. The other two men were speechless, only because I did not give them a chance to respond. I was over to the next guy in the blink of an eye, uppercutting him. Some teeth flew out of his mouth and a little piece of his tongue was bitten off. The last guy was horrified and the crouch of his pants became soaked and spread down his pant leg. He was about to try and run away, but Felix gave him a right hook to the side of the head as he tried to pass him.

  Felix gave a sigh as Doc made her way down the alley, and he asked, "What happened to leaving it to me?"

  I gave a shrug and told him, "I don't know. Maybe I didn't feel like using my abilities for only defensive purposes and wanted to take the offense."

  "You're still caught up on what I said a year ago," I groaned.

  I walked over to the girl from before and crouched down next to her. I held a hand out to her as I calmly asked, "Are you alright? Can you stand?"

  The red panda girl looked out from behind her hands, her emerald eyes scanning us over. She gave a small nod as she cautiously took my hand in hers. I helped her off of the dirty ground and started to brush some of the dirt off of her. She winced when I first started to dust her off, but when she saw I was not trying to harm her, her tail gave a small swish. Doc pulled out her emergency first aid kit and came over to look the girl over. Doc looked puzzled for a moment. "I'll admit," Doc started to say, pushing some of the girl's fur to try and see skin, "I've never treated a Mink before. I'm not entirely sure how to go about this."

  "A Mink," I repeated as a question. "Is that what she is?"

  The girl gave a nod. "Yes, I'm a red panda Mink," she told me, then shaking herself to get the dust off of herself. "Thank you for your help. I was about to use electro on them, but you beat me to it."

  Doc held some gauze on a small wound and wound some bandage around her arm. Doc knew I was about to ask some questions, so she informed me, "Minks are humanoid with mammal characteristics. For example, our friend here is a Mink with red panda characteristics. The term 'mink' refers to their fur, which they care for highly. Minks usually live on the island of Zou in the New World, but some venture out. They also have an ability called Electro, which allows them to shock people."

  I thanked Doc for the explanation. "Speaking of Zou, would you lesser Minks happen to be sailing to the New World," the panda asked. Was it racist for me to call her a panda? 

  Doc and Felix looked to me, allowing me to answer. Thanks, friends... "We plan to eventually, just not at the moment," I told her as Doc finished wrapping her arm. "Can I ask why?"

  "I'm trying to get to Zou," she told us, taking my hand in her soft paws. "Can you help me? I can help with cleaning the deck, navigating, fishing, or-."

  "Hold up," I interrupted. "Did you say navigation? You know how to navigate at your age? If you know how to do that, why don't you sail yourself? You got here yourself from Zou, right? Since Doc said Minks usually live there."

  The girl twiddled her fingers awkwardly as she shifted her stance. "About that," she shyly said. "My mom traveled away from Zou when a was just a baby, but she passed from illness not too long after we arrived here. I have been trying to see if anyone would take me, like... those guys, but I haven't had any luck. My mom loved to travel, so she would show me how to never get lost, even on the Grand Line, so I could help!"

  "You're telling me that you, a young teen girl, have been going up to grown men, asking for a ride," Felix asked in disbelief. "That is extremely dangerous."

  "Almost as dangerous as running blindly down a dark alley," Doc added, looking towards me.

  I gave a sigh and told the girl, "I'd love to help you, I really would. However, we aren't heading to the New World quite yet. We've been looking for someone who can teach us the basics of Haki before we head there, so it might take us awhile to get you there. We wouldn't be able to guarantee to get you there any time soon."

  "Haki? I know someone who knows Haki," the red panda exclaimed. "My mother and a guy I met with her talked about Haki once! If I take you to him and you're able to learn something from him, do you promise to take me to Zou some day?! It doesn't have to be soon, I just want to see where my mom grew up!"

  Felix pulled Doc and I into a group huddle. "Are we seriously considering bringing a child with us," he asked us, then glanced towards the girl. "We don't even know her name."

  The girl's ears twitched as Felix spoke, and, after mentioning we don't know her name, she piped up, "My name's Kit!"

  Felix stared at the girl before turning back to us as I added, "She doesn't look much younger than River, and he's been doing fine. Plus, if we don't take her, who knows what'll happen when she tries to ask the next group of strangers."

  The girl, Kit, stood on her tip-toes to appear taller as she stated, "I'm almost 13! I'm old enough!"

  Felix dead-panned as he pulled away from the group huddle. "What's the point of a secret chat when she's got animal-like hearing..."

  Kit used her hands to push down her ears as she gave a pitiful look towards Felix. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," she apologized.

  "It's okay, we know you couldn't help it," I reassured her as I turned towards the way we came. "How about we meet this guy you talked about, and then we'll discuss your transportation."

  Kit's eyes lit up as both Felix and Doc knew they wouldn't be able to convince me otherwise. Kit began jumping with joy as she led the way to the main shopping district. She began looking around, scanning the faces of the busy crowd. She then stopped when she saw a specific tall man. "Hey, Mr. Garp," Kit called out as she ran over to the figure. "I found some people that will take me to Zou if I let them meet you! They helped me when I was getting hurt by some other lesser Minks and they want to learn Haki!"

  The three of us stopped in our tracts as soon as we saw the "Justice" white Marine jacket on the tall, older guy's back. Our blood went cold when he heard the name. The man slowly turned to Kit with a giant smile as he said with his familiar gruffy voice, "Well, you don't say, kid! I'm glad you found some helpful people. Who do we have to thank-."

  Garp turned to us and we made eye contact. It was silent, no one moved a muscle. The breeze could be heard as it whizzed by. As he started to stand up, I gave a sheepish wave. "Heeeeey, Gramps," I nervously greeted. "Fancy meeting you in a place like this."

  Garp stood there with his arms out and asked, "Where's my hug at, kid? After all this time and all the work I put in to clearing up that mess you caused, I deserve that much, don't I?"

  Blush painted my face as I tried to protest, "Come on, Gramps. I'm not a little kid anymore."

  Regardless, I started making my way over to him. I stretched my arms out as I approached, and, instead of wrapping his around me, he lifted them up and brought his fists down onto the top of my head. I slammed into the ground and was seeing stars. Doc started to try and rush over to help, but Felix stopped her and shook his head. Garp picked me by the back of my collar and lifted me up to be face-to-face with him. "What was this about Haki," Garp growled as I was still dizzy.

  "Say a group of, oh, say five or six want to learn a little more than the basics of Haki usage, but want to continue to grow while sailing," I asked as I rubbed the top of my head.

  After sailing for over a year and a half, the thought of staying at one island for  years sounded like torture at this point. If it was the only way to become strong enough for this New World, I would endure it. But, if I can skirt by on the basics and grow as we go, I would much prefer that.

  Garp thought it over before saying, "Well, if it were intense training under brutal conditions, I'd say you might be able to master Haki in about two years. We are currently lacking said conditions, so it would probably take about a year and a half or so to learn the basics, if your group is up for it."

  I shook my head free of the stars and exclaimed, "You will?!"

  "Bwahaha, of course I will," Gramps declared. "I spent all those years teaching you how to defend yourself more, except this time it'll be with Haki!"

  "This sounds all too good to be true," Felix chimed in. "Although, I'm not sure how possible that would be right now, with Delta still trying to get ya, Anne."

  "He's doing WHAT now," Garp boomed. "You're telling me that that Delta punk is still pursuing you?"

  "You didn't know," I asked. I thought it had become common knowledge, with how long this had been going on. Delta must have been doing this without the government's knowledge, since he was keeping it on the down low. "He hasn't stop since we left the Marines. We even had a mole in the crew about a year ago."

  "Then it's decided," Garp told me as he placed me back on my feet. "You and your crew will be under my watch as I train you. No ifs, ands, or buts! Now, show me to your ship and crew."

  I looked to Felix and Doc for help, but they just shrugged. I let out a sigh of defeat. I led my group, plus Kit and Gramps, to the Zephyr. When Garp saw the green beauty, he gave an impressed whistle. "My, that's an impressive caravel you got yourself," he said, looking over the ship. He then gave me a suspicious look. "Portgas D. Anne, you didn't commandeer this vessel, did you."

  I held a hand up to me chest and over-exaggerated, "Grandpa, I am offended you would think that. The wonderful Air Zephyr was gifted to us by Felix's family friend. How could you think I would steal a ship… again?"

  Doc gave a concerned look. "I'm sorry, did you say 'again'," she asked.

  "Long story short, there was a pretty boat back in the day and I wanted it," I summed it up poorly. I then looked up towards the deck of the boat, cupped my hands around my mouth, and hollered up, "Ahoy, friends! I've got good news and bad news!"

  A couple of heads peeked over the railing, with Chef asking before seeing our company, "Welcome back, Captain. We do, as well-"

  Chef stopped dead in his words when he saw Vice Admirable Garp. Wynter immediately leaped over the side of the ship, and landed between Garp and I. He pulled out a knife and pointed it towards Garp, who did not budge. "Say the word, Anne," Wynter growled towards Garp.

  I gave my usual sigh, grabbed a metal fan, and whacked him out of the way. "Would you stop that," I scolded. "You're going to make my gramps think we're a bunch of thugs. We make other people believe that, not him. He'll kill us, otherwise."

  Garp glared menacingly, but then placed a big hand on top of my head. "Glad to see you are at least able to reign in your crew when needed," Garp praised, before hitting me on the top the head again. "But what is with all of the sketchy men on your crew! Not only did you already have two on your crew last we met, but now you have two more guys?! Where even is that runt from before? The one with the ground fruit or whatever?"

  "Hey, I also gained a female doctor and just took on a female navigator," I defended, then looked around. "But, you have a point. Where is River?"

  "That's what I was trying to tell you," Chef called down. "We managed to get everything on our end for the most part, but River hasn't returned. The Marines had just started acting strangely, too. I was about to go start looking around since you three and him had not returned, and Wynter was going to update you if you came back while I was gone."

  I cursed under my breath. I looked to everyone individually as I instructed, "Chef and Doc, get everything ready to depart. I'll catch you up on everything on my end later. Kit, make your way up onto the ship. Wynter and Felix, you're with me, just in case. Grandpa, wait with Kit while I go get River real quick."

  I was about to run past Garp, but he moved into my path and caused me to run into him with an 'oof'. "Oh no, you don't," Garp stated. "You aren't going anywhere without your Grandpa. You can't get rid of me that easily."

  "Okay, whatever," I told him, not bothering to fight him on this right now. "River's route was near the fruit stalls on the outskirts of the food market. Felix and Wynter, you'll help Kit get on board instead, while Gramps and I go. I'm trusting to you protect everyone and Zephyr if anything were to happen. Are you up for it?"

  Felix and Wynter gave a determined nod as Felix picked Kit up, threw her over his shoulder, and began climbing up the ship along side Wynter. Gramps and I followed along River's path until we reached the edge of the populated section of the island. As we were about turn back, I heard a lot of shouting coming from a denser collection of trees. Rushing towards the sound, we saw River tied up with his back against a towering tree as Delta stood in front of him. Delta's arms were crossed as he stood tall with a stern look upon his face. "I was beginning to wonder if you were going to save your follower," Delta intimidatingly hissed. He looked over to Garp and was displeased at seeing him. "If it isn't the one that committed the cover-up for his granddaughter, and started a cover-up for the other two deserters. What are you doing here, Vice Admirable Garp?"

  Garp returned the threatening stance with one of his own cross-armed stances. "I could ask you the same thing, Vice Admirable Delta," Garp barked back. "Anne is no longer wanted by the World Government, it serves no purpose for you to use Marine resources to hunt down a cleared citizen. She has been no threat to the World Government since you've been chasing her. As for the other two, last I heard, they were tricked by the imposter posing as my granddaughter and left to assist the real Anne."

  Delta glared hard at Garp. "I do not see how it could be an imposter if you brought her to the Marine base yourself, if I'm not mistaken," Delta retorted. "Unless you are going to say you were impersonated, as well. Or perhaps the Great Garp was fooled by the impersonator? Regardless, the facts do not line up, and I am here to nip the problem in the bud."

  While Garp had Delta momentarily distracted, I took the opportunity to try and get to River. Delta saw me in the corner of his eye and attempted to lung at me, however, Garp blocked him by getting in the way. They stood face-to-face, neither budging as I made it to River. "Delta, I would advise you to stand down and desist this unnecessary pursuit of a civilian," Garp barked sternly.

  "Garp, I would advise you to stand down and cease protecting a criminal," Delta hissed back.

  Delta glared my way as I began to free River. He attempted once more to throw a fist at me, but Garp caught it in his hand. "Excuse you, but we aren't done yet," Garp taunted. "As long as we are on Sabaody, Anne and her crew will be under my protection. That is, unless you think you can do something about it, punk."

  Delta cursed under his breath as I helped River up. Delta took Garp's statement as a challenged. He began trying to go full force on Garp. I had never seen Gramps use his full power before, and he was still not going full force. He was effortlessly blocking all of Delta's strikes with easy. In frustration, he pulled out a pistol and attempted to shoot Garp point-blank. Although, Garp ducked right as Delta pulled the trigger, the bullet whizzing above his head. Garp performed a quick disarming maneuver and bent the gun in half. "What other puny toys do you have," Garp mocked, cracking his knuckles.

  From his back, Delta pulled out some kind of rod off his back. He pressed some kind of mechanism on it, causing a ginormous spike ball on a chain to extend from the rod. The ball hit the ground with a heavy thud, before Delta began to swing it around. "To think, I used to look up to you as the prime example of what a Marine should be," Delta spat. "Now, you are nothing but a stain on the Marine's, and your prior, reputation."

  Not wanting to stay any longer than I needed to, I grabbed River by the wrist and took off into flight. "Meet you back at the Zephyr when you can get away, Gramps," I called to him as we flew away.

  Gramps gave a thumbs up and Delta began swinging his flail at Garp a few times. As we got out of sight, all we heard were loud clashes and the shaking of trees. The crew began waving their arms and cheering when they saw River and I approach. We landed on the deck and Felix asked if we were going to set sail immediately. I shook my head, saying, "No, We'll wait it out. I told Gramps that we would wait for him here. He'll beat me an inch from death if I went back on my word with him..."

  The clashing and explosions continued on for about ten minutes. After that, Garp came strutting to the ship without any indication of an injury. He jumped up onto the deck of Zephyr and seemed surprised for a moment. "Bwahaha, I thought you would have been gone by now," Garp laughed.

  "I've been hit enough today, thank you," I groaned as I rubbed my head. "So, what happened with Delta? You didn't..."

  "How, heavens no," Garp protested. "I just gave him a good thrashing! I even struck a deal with him. He said as long as you and your band of misfits stay on this island for about a two years, he'll leave you under my watch. As long as you don't cause any trouble to the civilians or Marines on the island."

  "About that," I said as I leaned against a side mast. "I'm leaving regardless in about a year and a half so that I can make it back for Ace's 17th birthday. I made a promise to both Ace and Luffy I would be at the island for their 17th birthdays, and I'm going to be there."

  Garp gave a groan before reluctantly saying, "I guess that'll do. Delta never specifically said it had to be two years, just about. If you round up, you should be good."

  Chef twiddled his fingers and nervously asked, "I get that you called him your grandfather, but why do we have a vice admirable on our ship?"

  I caught the crew up on what the plan was. How we would be training under Garp for the next year and a half, and how he would make sure Delta did not interfere while we were here. "If anyone does not wish to partake in these trainings, feel free to speak up," I told them at the end of the explanation. "This is not required, and you can choose if you want to leave the crew at any time, or stay while the rest of us train."

  No one objected to leaving, though Chef stated he did not wish to learn Haki. He was down to learn the absolute basics of observation Haki, but did not want to learn how to fight. He preferred to stay on the ship and study different cuisines. I reassured him that it was acceptable. After all, I don't blame him for wanting to skip out on the hell we were going to go through.