To the Whiskey Peak

Laboon narrowed his eyes at Luffy before he jumped out of the water and slammed his head on Luffy. Luffy didn't dodge, nor did he let the attack get past him; he just stood there and took it.

When Laboon returned to the water and turned towards him, Luffy covered his fist in Armament Haki before sliding forward and punching Laboon in the head.

"LUFFY WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Shouted Nami and Nojiko. Luffy didn't answer, but he did grin as he and Laboon fought. Laboon then swam away from the Twin Capes briefly before coming towards Luffy.

As he was about to attack, Luffy spoke and stopped him.

"It's a draw," he said, causing Laboon to stop in his tracks and stare at Luffy. "I'm a lot stronger than I look, but I have a feeling you know that already," he said as he dusted himself off.

"I can always tell when someone wants to fight, and if you want to fight, I'll be happy to give it to you." "You used to spar with your old friends, right?" Luffy asked, causing everyone's eyes to widen.

"Well, I can rival anything they can throw at you." "Tell you what, after me and my friends conquer the Grand Line, I will come back here and fight alongside you," Luffy said, causing tears to form in Laboon's eyes. Laboon then looked up into the sky and howled with joy.

Crocus looked at the sight with a smile on his face. Luffy then transformed into Lightning and teleported into the ship before reappearing at Laboon's head with several buckets of paint and a large paint brush.

"Now shut up," said Luffy before he started to paint Laboon's head. When he finished, a copy of Luffy's jolly roger was drawn on Laboon's head. "Good, now it's a rush painting job, so you have to avoid hitting your head lest it get lost," he said, causing Crocus to smile.

Laboon wailed happily, as if to tell Luffy he wouldn't do it. Luffy then started walking to his crew.

"That's very kind of you, young man," Crocus said.

"Oh right, I never introduced myself," said Luffy with a laugh. "My name is Monkey D. Luffy; nice to meet you," he said as he held out his hand for Crocus to shake.

"I'm Crocus, the lighthouse keeper here at Twin Capes," he said as he shook Luffy's hand. "Now how did you get to know Shanks and Rayleigh?" he asked with a smile. Luffy smiled back before he answered.

"I'm a member of Shank's crew," he said, pulling up his shirt and showing him Shanks' jolly roger. "He and Rayleigh taught me Haki," he said before assuming a thinking pose.

"Mmm, more like Rayleigh taught me Haki while Sanks was drunk," he said while laughing, making Crocus laugh too.

"It's been 10 years since I last saw Red-Hair," he said, surprising Luffy. "I met him ten years ago when he came back from East Blue," she said.

"Yeah, that's when I joined the crew, but I don't remember seeing Laboon when we came in," he said.

"Laboon must be banging his head into the Red Line," he said, causing Luffy to nod. "Hey Crocus, can you help me?" he asked.

"Sure, after what you just did for Laboon, I would do anything," he said. Luffy smiled and looked grateful before speaking.

"Great, can you explain to my navigator how the log pose works?" he said, pointing at Nami. "I want to do it, but I want to change these clothes," he said while looking at his dirty clothes. Crocus smiled at him before he answered.

"Of course," he said before he walked over to Nami.

"Thank you very much," said Luffy before turning to the rest of the crew. "Other than Nami, finish eating and getting ready soon; we will set sail soon," he said before turning around and starting to walk towards the ship.

"AYE CAPTAIN!" they all shouted in unison. Luffy entered his captain's room and started changing his clothes. When he emerged from his private room, he was wearing the same steel-toed shoes with black cargo pants, and instead of his usual red shirt, Luffy was wearing a slim-fit black long-sleeve shirt with the top two buttons undone, showing off a chain necklace with a lightning bolt on it. her chest.

Beyond the shirt was a captain's coat with a jolly roger on the back covering his shoulders and most eye-catching was the famous straw hat on his head.

When Luffy came out of his private room, he heard commotion on the side of the ship. Deciding to see what was going on, he walked to the side and saw the two men who had attempted to kill Laboon kneeling before his crew.

"What's going on here?" Luffy asked in a monotone voice that caught everyone's attention.

"These two are here to ask for a ride to a place called Whiskey Peak" Nojiko said causing Luffy to get a little excited when he heard the name.

"Do they make whiskey there?" he asked excitedly making everyone sweat.

"Umm, no," said the woman, which caused Luffy's smile to disappear.

"Well, I'm not interested," he said before looking at Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku. "You three fix the rudder," Luffy said, causing them to salute before running to the ship.

"Please!" The man shouted, causing Luffy to look at him with raised eyebrows. "Our ship was destroyed, and we had no other way to go home," he said.

"And why is that my problem?" Luffy replied coldly, causing them to flinch. "You should have thought of that before you tried to kill Laboon," he said before he jumped off the ship and landed next to Nami.

He grabbed his wrist and looked at the pose log before looking at Crocus. "What island did he point to?" he asked. Crocus looked at the pose of the log before he answered with a sigh.

"Whiskey peak," he said, causing the two whalers to get excited.

"Why are you guys getting excited?" said Luffy while looking at the two of them. "I didn't say I'd take you," he said, causing them to be a bit disappointed. "Who are you two, and what are you doing anyway?" he asked.

"We can't tell you," they said, causing Luffy to narrow his eyes at them. "You know mystery is our company motto; however, you can call me Mr. 9," said the man with the crown on his head.

"And you can call me Ms. Wednesday," he said. Luffy just sighed before he spoke.

"Consider me helping you; what's in it for me?" he asked while looking at them with one raised eyebrow. They both seemed to think for a moment before they started whispering amongst themselves before they answered Luffy.

"We have a lot of gold and money," said Mr. 9, causing Nami to get excited and Luffy to smile even though he knew they were lying.

"Okay then, we'll take you," he said, causing the two of them to hug each other. Luffy looked at Zoro and silently signaled for him to watch over them. Zoro saw this and nodded.

"Captain!" Usopp shouted, getting everyone's attention. "The rudder is fixed!" he said, causing Luffy to nod before turning to his men.

"Okay! " "Pack your things; it's time to set sail," he said, causing everyone to take plates and glasses back to the ship before they all started to board. Luffy walks over to Laboon and talks to him.

"I'll be going now, Laboon, and I promise I'll come back to fight you one day," causing Laboon to howl happily. "Stop hitting your head or the paint will come off," Luffy said, causing the giant whale to nod.

Luffy then turned to Crocus and shook his hand before he spoke. "You take care of yourself and Laboon, Crocus," he said with a smile as he shook his hand.

"And give my regards to Shanks when you see him," said Crocus.

"Definitely," said Luffy before he made his way to his ship. "Nojiko, Zoro," Luffy said, getting their attention. "Tie them both for me," he said, pointing to Ms. Wednesday and Mr. 9. The two screamed as Zoro and Nojiko started to tie them up, but Luffy ignored them.

"Ready, Captain?" said Nami, standing next to Luffy. Luffy nodded before he shouted an order to the crew.

"All right! Johnny, Yosaku, raise the anchor! He shouted, causing the two of them to run towards the anchor and start pulling it up.

"Nojiko, take the wheel; Sanji, set the sails!" His shout caused the three of them to scatter. Zoro then walked up to Luffy with the two passengers on his shoulders.

"Where do you want to put them, captain?" he asked. Luffy stared at him as he thought about it for a moment before answering.

"Throw them in there with Nojiko; she will keep an eye on them while steering the ship," he said, causing Zoro to nod before walking away.

"Now to Whiskey Peak," thought Luffy as he poured himself a drink before making his way to his throne and sitting down.