Chapter 66 - Cocoyasi Village 9.
[Chapter Size: 2458 Words.]
Third Person POV
Cocoyasi Island, East Blue.
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"What exhaustion..." Luffy murmured, finally opening his eyes after the last memories and looked around, trying to locate himself.
When Luffy woke up, he realized he was in a house and saw the window overlooking the sea. Recognizing this view, he noticed he was at Nami's house, and it was late afternoon.
'That means I stayed just a few hours or am I a day, but I doubt it's the latter...' Luffy thought and noticed someone in the bed next to him.
"Hm?!" He realized it was Nami herself, who was beside him in bed.
"LUFFY-SAMA!" Shirahoshi was heard, and Luffy looked at the window to be faced with a huge eye outside, looking at him curiously.
"Did she return to normal? Well, I got knocked out by my own mind..." Luffy couldn't help but speak softly.
"SHARKY!" A voice from behind the huge mermaid grumbled.
"Hello, princess. You too, Megalo." Luffy smiled.
"Are you okay, Luffy-Sama? I returned to being large... I wanted to come into the house too..." She said with a bit of regret.
"Wait a moment, I'm coming out." Luffy held her.
"Uhum..." She nodded with a smile.
Luffy sighed and yawned, getting up from the bed to check on someone and see how the others are, to find out how they dealt with the situation and its consequences.
Luffy left the room and went to the stairs at the end of the corridor, descending to the lower floor of the house; he encountered female members of his crew with Nojiko in the kitchen destroyed by Nami.
"LUFFY!" Yamato, unsurprisingly, was the first to notice and go to him.
"Are you okay?! We were really worried about you and Nami!" She hugged him before he could react.
"Hmmmmmmm...." Luffy being suffocated by her huge breasts, couldn't make any comprehensible sound.
"Yamato, don't suffocate him like that!" Kuina complained from his side.
"Hm?! Oh sorry, hahahaha!" She laughed and released Luffy, smiling at him with a cheerful expression.
"*Sigh* I'm okay, a bit sore, but I'll recover quickly; can you tell me what happened right after I passed out?" Luffy asked, wanting to catch up.
"Well, first off, our ship came out of your pocket to its real size as last time, with the poneglyphs, and as we heard you two talking up there, Shirahoshi and Megalo are giant again outside the house, waiting for you to shrink them again." Reiju said simply.
"The ship wasn't crushed by seawater, was it?" Luffy became worried about seawater filling that hole.
"No, it rose as soon as the water sank, but it's in the same place, while those strange stones are at the bottom of the water..." Yamato said in front of Luffy.
"Understandable, and the Fish-men?" Luffy wanted to know.
"Well..." Kuina hesitated.
"Arlong was found 4 kilometers away, at least his dead body, after being caught in Nami's explosion. Just like the majority of the fish-men, only a few remained since they were in the center of the hurricane, and some survived because they fell in better places than others, but not far from death... and some of those... died in the middle of their fight against Nami, caught by the elements you were throwing at each other, or crushed by your bodies as you had a battle that consumed and destroyed 30% of the entire island... dramatically changing the landscape!" Nojiko said what Yamato informed them after searching for the fish-men; all this information shocked them a lot, especially the result of a battle between Luffy and Nami, which lasted only 15 minutes; they knew that if the final confrontation had taken place on the island and not in the air, this fight could have caused much more destruction.
"Well, that's not surprising, but I'm finding Arlong an idiot now; the fool provoked Nami, making her lose control. It's like saying he played with fire after everything, and I bet he didn't expect to get burned by it; it was practically suicide." Luffy mocked; the fish-man brought about his own death in a moment of insane state.
"I can't blame him for thinking that way..." Reiju said simply.
"And Nami? Is she okay?" Luffy asked.
"Nami is fine too, from what I saw; she's just exhausted." Nojiko said.
"That's good, since Shirahoshi and Megalo are outside the house, where are Zoro, Usopp, Johnny, Yosaku, and Chouchou?" He wanted to know; there were only women here.
"They are in the village, helping to prepare a feast for tonight." Kuina said.
"Oh?! But that's great! Hahahahaha!" Luffy laughed joyfully with the news and continued talking.
"Anyway, Yamato! Come with me; let's get our ship and stones in the water, after shrinking the princess and her shark, of course." Luffy announced and quickly left the house with his partner.
"Shirahoshi!" Luffy, seeing the princess on the cliff, called her quickly.
"Luffy-Sama! You're already out!"
"Come here; you too, Megalo."
After Luffy shrank his size to 10%, he did the same with Megalo and headed to the location of the hole made by the colossal battle with Yamato.
The trail of destruction was evident throughout the island, as if a giant hurricane had passed through. Uprooted trees lay fallen, broken rocks formed an irregular landscape, and the once-intact ground was now marked by huge fissures. Debris of vegetation and soil were thrown into the air, creating an apocalyptic scene that stretched across the entire horizon.
Wherever one looked, there were traces of the epic confrontation between Ifrit and Garuda. The once-peaceful land now exhibited the raw signs of the battle between two titans. It was a shocking and impactful sight, as if nature itself had been challenged and reshaped by the whims of these colossal creatures.
In a crater 200 meters wide and kilometers long coming from the sea entrance due to the impact, Luffy and Yamato followed its edge to the end. There was the Black Pearl, standing and floating in the water, disturbed only by some waves coming directly from the sea.
Looking at the damage, Luffy couldn't believe that the information about destruction was true. This fight opened a channel almost halfway through the island; this place would never be the same, and Luffy could still see flames on rocks in various places, which didn't stop burning even after hours of the fight, even on some mountains and in the devastated forests where the duo fought.
"With this channel created by our fight, this island could become a great commercial kingdom..." Luffy suddenly had this idea, imagining a large city like the Goa Kingdom, around the channel; it would be an invaluable port for resupply and trade since the island is between Loguetown and the rest of the East Blue.
The Goa Kingdom is quite wealthy but very distant from the other kingdoms and islands in this sea, so he knew that trade was not the main focus of that kingdom. In Luffy's opinion, this place is the best strategic point in the East Blue because it is in the middle of this sea.
'But I don't have money to mobilize for something so big... even if it gave me some profit after years... I should think first about what to do...' Luffy thought since his money was focused on improving his group first, but he didn't deny that this tempted him a lot, and he was already imagining how he could get some money for it.
"Forget that thought; first, I have to deal with the Poneglyphs, which are in the water..." Luffy said thoughtfully.
"Yamato, freeze the water, and let's break the ice to reach them." Luffy said, and Yamato quickly jumped into the water and froze that part of the channel. She wasn't as powerful in her element as Kuzan, but she could do things like these.
After freezing, Luffy jumped in place and began to punch with pure focus not to melt the ice with his fire. Yamato helped him with her weapon, and after reaching the historical texts, he quickly shrank and stored them again with the Black Pearl going directly back into his pocket. So they quickly returned to the village.
It was already dark, and the only lights in the forests were amethyst flames that still burned in many parts of the island as the night began. When they reached the village, everyone seemed to be celebrating already, despite a big fight in the end and a part of the island modified and destroyed, no citizen died, and as a result, despite this, they ended up getting rid of Arlong, so it was a great reason to celebrate their victory and new freedom.
Luffy quickly went to the village in celebration; the village was filled with a bubbling atmosphere of celebration. Laughter echoed through the air as residents expressed gratitude and enthusiasm. Tables adorned with festive foods and drinks decorated the streets, and colorful lanterns swayed gently, emitting a soft light that contributed to the festive atmosphere. Local musicians played cheerful melodies, and houses were decorated with vibrant flags. It was a vibrant and lively environment, where joy and relief blended after the intense events that shook the island.
Despite the damage caused to about 30% of the island, the festive atmosphere in the village was palpable. The residents celebrated with joy, destruction, far from extinguishing the spirit of the community for finally getting rid of the persistent threat of Arlong. The feeling of freedom and relief was evident in the smiles and hugs shared among the islanders.
As soon as Luffy and Yamato arrived, they were noticed and passed by everyone as they made their way for him and Yamato, with some words of thanks, and they went to where his crew was, many already drinking.
"Luffy!" Usopp shouted happily as I appeared there.
"Captain!"
"Brother Luffy!"
"Brother Luffy!"
Luffy greeted the lively crowd, raising his voice to be heard above the festive buzz. He grabbed a bottle of beer, a relaxed expression on his face as he blended into the collective joy. His eyes, however, turned to a specific corner of the celebration.
"Hey, everyone! How's everyone doing?" exclaimed Luffy, addressing the crowd before turning his attention to a specific point.
"Hey! Nami!" Luffy let out a contagious laugh as he entered the hustle and spotted the orange-haired girl next to her sister, surrounded by most of the crew.
"Luffy..." Nami responded with a mix of shyness and melancholy.
Luffy understood the reason behind this state of mind. Since she woke up, Nami had been horrified to hear about the events, especially when she learned about the devastating impact her loss of control could have had on the village after the fight against Arlong. This awareness had left her disturbed, to the point of avoiding being in the village for some time. She only showed up because her sister convinced her, and even Genzo went to see her, saying that everyone was still grateful for her getting rid of the Arlong pirates after all.
Luffy went to her with a big smile, ignoring those guilty thoughts of hers, and tried to cheer her up quickly. He didn't want to see his companion like this.
"Nami, you were amazing!"
*SLAP!*
Luffy slapped her on the back, and Nami flinched, looking at him stunned, as the slap made many stop to see what it was, it was so loud.
"..."
Nami didn't respond to Luffy but looked at him, stunned by the blow on her back.
"You defeated them so easily, it was so cool!"
*SLAP!*
The palm of Luffy's hand met Nami's back, making her tremble with the impact.
"..."
"In the end, you killed Arlong with that huge hurricane."
*SLAP!*
Another slap echoed through the air, and the crew's attentive eyes witnessed each moment.
"..."
"When you turned into Garuda, you were so powerful and giant."
*SLAP!*
Another hit, and Nami's surprised expression remained.
"..."
"You gave me the biggest battle I've ever had in my life, it was quite fun, despite being dangerous."
*SLAP!*
The sound of the slap accompanied Luffy's enthusiastic words, creating a unique cadence.
"..."
"I never imagined I could fight by destroying mountains and devastating forests with every move!"
*SLAP!*
Each impact was felt, and Nami continued to process the words and slaps.
"..."
"We were like two giant mechs!"
*SLAP!*
The rhythm of the slaps followed Luffy's narrative, involving everyone in the celebration.
"..."
"Everyone looked so small compared to us."
*SLAP!*
The crowd watched, amid laughter and astonishment, the unique dynamics of this interaction.
"..."
"The coolest part was flying!"
*SLAP!*
The slaps continued to resonate, punctuating each shared memory by Luffy.
"..."
"We exchanged punches in the air like titans!"
SLAP!
Each hit was a chapter in the story of this epic battle.
"..."
"It was so cool!"
SLAP!
The sounds of the slaps echoed in the festive atmosphere, creating a unique celebration melody.
"..."
"As expected of my navigator!"
SLAP!
Luffy's words were followed by another slap, concluding the peculiar performance.
"..."
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
SLAP!
Luffy's contagious laughter mixed with the sounds, forming a symphony of celebration.
BOOM!
"CAN YOU STOP SLAPPING PEOPLE ON THE BACK!" Nami shouted, punching Luffy in the chest, resulting in a comedic explosion that caught everyone's attention in that festive moment.
*BOOM!*
Luffy exploded into a nearby tree, creating a commotion.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! That's the Nami I know!!" Luffy got up from the debris with a big smile on his face, tapping his hat to remove the dust as he put it back on his head, but in doing so, he only messed up his hair even more, making the scene even more hilarious. He then returned to Nami, laughing at the situation.
"YOU!" Nami growled, her desire to hit Luffy again increasing.
"Nami, you can't treat your husband like that!" Nojiko warned beside her, assuming a serious posture.
"HE'S NOT MY HUSBAND, NOT UNTIL HE GIVES ME 10 BILLION OR GIVES ME A KINGDOM!" Nami shouted, expressing her demands with a touch of indignation, challenging her womanizing captain with a hint of mischief.
"Hm?! A kingdom? I guess that's fair, although it's quite greedy! Great, I'll create a kingdom on this island, and you'll be my queen, a great title for the wife of the emperor of the sea!" Luffy announced, his response eliciting incredulous looks and laughter from the entire crew.
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